Chinas role on green transition highlighted before COP30

08:20, November 10, 2025 By Zhao Yusha ( Global Times

Just ahead of the UN Climate Conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil, which officially kicks off on Monday, China has sent a series of positive signals underscoring its ambitions and achievements in tackling climate change. These include a Chinese official stating that the scale and difficulty of China's carbon reduction efforts are rarely seen in the world.

China's role at this year's COP is being closely watched by global media, which highlights its growing leadership in driving the global energy transition. At the same time, Beijing has also become the defender of international cooperation on climate change, working hand in hand with other nations to advance collective action.

China's Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu told the media that China's 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) target has been historically expanded to cover the entire economy and include all greenhouse gases, marking the first time the country has set an absolute reduction target for total greenhouse gas emissions - demonstrating its strongest determination and commitment to date, according to a video published by China Central Television (CCTV) on Sunday.

Huang emphasized that for most developed countries, the time span between reaching their emissions peak and achieving noticeable reductions ranges from 20 to 50 years, which is incomparable to China's planned decline of around five years after peaking.

Both the magnitude (7 to 10 percent) and the absolute volume (1 to 1.5 billion tons) of China's pledged reductions significantly exceed those achieved by the US and Europe over comparable periods.

The minister also said China remains a developing country, and setting carbon reduction targets even before reaching its emissions peak is a task of extraordinary difficulty. The scale and depth of China's emission cuts and industrial transformation are rarely seen in the world.

On Saturday, China released a white paper titled "Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality China's Plans and Solutions," which presents a comprehensive overview of China's major achievements in pursuing peak carbon and carbon neutrality over the last five years and shares China's approaches, actions and experience, per Xinhua.

This year's summit comes as the US once again withdraws from the Paris Agreement and the world experiences yet another year of record heat and extreme weather. China's role and its climate commitments are being closely watched by foreign media.

"China's goals are particularly important for two reasons: It is the world's largest producer of emissions  And it's the global leader in the production of green technologies from wind and solar power to electric vehicles," the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday.

China "leads the world when it comes to adopting clean energy and producing the equipment needed for the transition to a decarbonized economy, including solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicles," according to the Nature.

The New York Times took note of Chinese EV's presence during the conference. It said that "the fleet of electric cars pulling up to the conference hall was mostly Chinese."

The report noted that although the car that carried Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula, whose country host this year's COP30, was a Chevrolet, but it was among a fleet of Chinese electric and hybrid cars assembled to shuttle delegations to the summit's opening on Thursday.

The Guardian noted that during this year's conference, "cooperation among countries in the Global South - which could include China, and some of the middle-income countries that have already started on a greener path - will also be key."

China has already emerged as a leading force in the global energy and economic transition, and its role in addressing global warming and sustaining international cooperation on climate issues carries high expectations, Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times.

Ma cited examples from this year, noting that China has signed climate cooperation agreements with the EU, the UK, Brazil, and several other countries. These bilateral mechanisms, he said, serve as key cornerstones supporting multilateral efforts to address global warming.

The real disrupter

The US' withdrawal from the Paris Agreement has also been widely seen by the media as a hinderance to global effort in tackling global warming.

Reuters also reported that governments heading to the COP30 in Brazil are bracing for the possibility that the US may seek to disrupt negotiations at the event - even without any US officials showing up.

Three European officials told Reuters the EU has been preparing for multiple scenarios at COP30: including the US skipping it entirely, actively participating and seeking to block deals, or staging sideline events to denounce climate policies.

At a UN Security Council debate on climate and security on Thursday, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, Geng Shuang, twice took the floor to rebut US' accusations.

The US representative initially did not name China directly but later singled it out in his statement. In response, Geng, who at first did not name the US but later did so explicitly, said Washington should stop shifting blameand instead work with other countries to tackle global climate challenges.

The US making groundless accusations against China is, in fact, an attempt to divert international attention from its own backsliding on climate policy and to cover up the fact that it has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement twice, said Song Wei, a professor at the School of International Relations and Diplomacy at Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Ma said that it seems that climate issues have become a convenient pretext for some Western countries to attack China - when we weren't doing well, they criticized us, and now that we've made progress, they still find fault. It's been reduced to nothing more than a political weapon.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
Educational activity on forest fire prevention held at primary school in China's Ningxia

Xinhua) 09:42, November 10, 2025

Students pose for a group photo during an educational activity about forest fire prevention at a primary school in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Nov. 7, 2025. Currently, the risk of forest fire is high across the Helan Mountain. Staff members of local nature reserve administration have rolled out a series of educational activities with the theme of forest fire prevention, aiming to enhance students' safety awareness via lectures, equipment demonstrations, and hands-on experiences. (Xinhua/Yang Zhisen)

A staff member of Ningxia Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve Administration instructs a student to use equipment for forest fire prevention at a primary school in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Nov. 7, 2025. Currently, the risk of forest fire is high across the Helan Mountain. Staff members of local nature reserve administration have rolled out a series of educational activities with the theme of forest fire prevention, aiming to enhance students' safety awareness via lectures, equipment demonstrations, and hands-on experiences. (Xinhua/Yang Zhisen)

A staff member of Ningxia Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve Administration explains the use of fire extinguisher to students at a primary school in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Nov. 7, 2025. Currently, the risk of forest fire is high across the Helan Mountain. Staff members of local nature reserve administration have rolled out a series of educational activities with the theme of forest fire prevention, aiming to enhance students' safety awareness via lectures, equipment demonstrations, and hands-on experiences. (Xinhua/Yang Zhisen)

A staff member of Ningxia Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve Administration gives a lecture on forest fire prevention at a primary school in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Nov. 7, 2025. Currently, the risk of forest fire is high across the Helan Mountain. Staff members of local nature reserve administration have rolled out a series of educational activities with the theme of forest fire prevention, aiming to enhance students' safety awareness via lectures, equipment demonstrations, and hands-on experiences. (Xinhua/Yang Zhisen)

Staff members of Ningxia Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve Administration introduce equipment for forest fire prevention to students at a primary school in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Nov. 7, 2025. Currently, the risk of forest fire is high across the Helan Mountain. Staff members of local nature reserve administration have rolled out a series of educational activities with the theme of forest fire prevention, aiming to enhance students' safety awareness via lectures, equipment demonstrations, and hands-on experiences. (Xinhua/Yang Zhisen)

A staff member of Ningxia Helan Mountain National Nature Reserve Administration demonstrates the use of fire extinguisher to students at a primary school in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Nov. 7, 2025. Currently, the risk of forest fire is high across the Helan Mountain. Staff members of local nature reserve administration have rolled out a series of educational activities with the theme of forest fire prevention, aiming to enhance students' safety awareness via lectures, equipment demonstrations, and hands-on experiences. (Xinhua/Yang Zhisen)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
BEDFORD, Va., Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Prominently featured in The Inner Circle, Linda L. Parker is acknowledged as a Pinnacle Professional Member Inner Circle of Excellence for her contributions to The Bedford Boys Tribute Center.

Linda L. Parker

Linda L. Parker, co-owner and curator of the Bedford Boys Tribute Center in Bedford, Virginia, has dedicated herself to preserving the memory of 19 local soldiers who gave their lives on D-Day in the first minutes of the Normandy invasion. Though she and her husband, Ken Parker, have no familial connection to the town, their profound respect for its history inspired them to found the center as a regional hub for education, remembrance, and reflection.

With a background in accounting and A Financial Advisor in Estate Planning, Ms. Parker has applied her skills and passion toward building a Museum that honors sacrifice and encourages historical awareness. Since the Tribute Center's founding six years ago, she has helped guide its development into a meaningful destination for residents, students, and veterans alike from all over the America and the world.

Beyond her curatorial work, Ms. Parker is a published author and creative storyteller. Her Austin and Charlie Adventures, children's book series, inspired by two real dogs, offers imaginative tales that convey positive life lessons. She regularly visits schools to read aloud and engage young audiences in storytelling.

Together Linda & Ken Parker produced the documentary "We Have Casualties...", which brings wartime narratives to life through film. Ms. Parker was also awarded an Honorary Colonel in the 116th Infantry regiment for the work she has done with the Bedford Boys and Company A.

A committed civic leader, she is a Past Exalted ruler with the Elks. Works with the Moose, Greater Federation of Women's Clubs in Bedford, VA, the Lions and the University Women Association at Smith Mountain Lake. Her dedication to community and history is both personal and purposeful.

Ms. Parker's outstanding contributions have earned her widespread recognition and numerous honors throughout her career. She is in consideration for the prestigious Empowered Woman Award and a feature in TIP (Top Industry Professionals) Magazine. This December, she will be celebrated at IAOTP's annual awards gala, held at the renowned Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, where she will be formally recognized as the 2025 Top Co-owner and Curator of the Year.

Looking ahead, Linda L. Parker remains focused on expanding the reach and impact of the Bedford Boys Tribute Center, ensuring that future generations never forget the cost of freedom. Freedom is not Free and we must reflect, remember and retell the stories.

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE The Inner Circle
HA NOI  The Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) plans to fully divest from the PetroVietnam General Services Corporation (HoSE: PET) through a public auction.

According to a plan announced by the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE), the auction will be held at 9am on December 11. Participants in the auction include domestic individual and institutional investors who meet the conditions under current regulations.

The number of shares put up for auction is more than 24.9 million, accounting for about 23.2 per cent of PET's charter capital. With a starting price of VN36,500 per share, PetroVietnam expects to collect at least VN909 billion (US$34.56 million) from the divestment.

PET shares closed last week at VN30,100 per share. The starting price is therefore about 21.2 per cent higher than the current market price. However, it remains lower than the peak of VN41,300 per share reached last August, the highest level in more than three years.

PET operates across various sectors including technology product distribution, oil and gas service supply and logistics, building operation management and real estate. Alongside logistics, its traditional core business, the company is also an official distribution partner for major technology brands such as Apple, Nokia and Realme.

PetroVietnam's divestment takes place as PET reports strong business performance in the first nine months of 2025, with accumulated profits surpassing its full-year target.

PET recorded after-tax profit of about VN145 billion in the third quarter of 2025, up 95 per cent year-on-year. This was the companys highest quarterly profit since 2022.

In the first nine months of 2025, PETs net revenue reached about VN14.2 trillion, a slight decline compared to the same period. However, financial activities continued to contribute significantly, helping accumulated after-tax profit in the period reach nearly VN248 billion, an increase of about 56 per cent.

In 2025, PET set a revenue target of VN20.5 trillion and after-tax profit of VN244 billion. With current results, the company has completed about 70 per cent of its revenue plan and exceeded its profit target for the year.  BIZHUB/VNS
HA NOI  Ha Noi has approved a comprehensive project to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for the 202630 period, aiming to foster innovation, strengthen competitiveness and promote private sector growth for a more sustainable economy.

Under Decision No 5418/Q-UBND dated November 1 and signed by Deputy Chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee Truong Viet Dung, the project seeks to help establish 40,000 new SMEs each year, while providing capacity-building support for at least 5,000 firms and indirect assistance for another 40,000.

The programme prioritises enterprises in key sectors including manufacturing and processing, digital technology, automation, high-tech agriculture and creative industries.

Support measures will cover infrastructure development, business consultancy, quality control and export networking, all contributing to the goal of achieving annual export growth of 10 per cent or higher.

Training will be offered to at least 15,000 SME employees each year in business management, innovation, digital transformation, start-ups, corporate governance, quality control, market development and export promotion.

The initiative also aims to train 1,000 chief executive officers annually, reaching a total of 5,000 CEOs by 2030.

In addition, Ha Noi plans to create a more favourable business environment, accelerate administrative reform and expand digital public services to improve market access and enhance the citys Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI).

The Department of Finance has been tasked with leading the implementation of the project in collaboration with relevant departments, local authorities and business associations to develop annual plans ensuring effective execution. The department will also oversee data integration and monitor progress through the citys digital management system for SME support.

Commune-level peoples committees will focus on increasing public awareness of the SME support programme and encouraging business households to transition into registered enterprises.

Support in details

The plan outlines three main groups of tasks and solutions covering governance, the support ecosystem and direct support to SMEs.

With regard to governance solutions, Ha Noi will develop a digital management system to monitor SME support, integrating digital technologies. Efforts to streamline administrative procedures for SMEs will also be strengthened, together with standardising processes across departments and local governments and improving online public services.

To strengthen the SME support ecosystem, the plan calls for investment and assistance in science, technology, innovation and digital transformation infrastructure.

Training will also be provided to improve the skills of public officials responsible for supporting SMEs. The city will fund training in capital building for business consultants.

The city will also finance communication campaigns to raise awareness among SMEs about economic development trends such as entrepreneurship, innovation and digital and green transformation. Accordingly, the city will develop and upgrade an e-portal for investment promotion and enterprise support, along with social network pages managed by the Ha Noi Support Centre for Enterprise and Investment Promotion (SCE) to provide updates on business support policies.

Each year, five networking events will be organised to connect SMEs with investors, support organisations and investment funds, together with the issuance of the Ha Noi Business White Book and a report on the citys start-up ecosystem.

Direct support for SMEs and business households includes improving access to credit, expanding export markets, promoting e-commerce and supporting digital transformation and the adoption of digital technologies to improve operational efficiency, corporate governance and accelerate business model transition.

The city will provide financial support of 50 per cent for technology transfer and intellectual property registration, together with rent support for production sites in industrial zones.

In particular, start-ups in science, technology, innovation and digital transformation will receive up to 70 per cent support for overseas training in innovation and AI, and up to 50 per cent for equipment rental and co-working spaces. SMEs participating in value chains will receive financial support for training, capacity building and technical upgrades.

Stressing the importance of green and sustainable growth following the circular economy model, the programme will enhance communication to increase awareness about green growth, the circular economy, climate change, green finance and ESG, as well as providing guidance, financial and technical support for energy efficiency, clean production, greenhouse gas inventories and environmental management certification.

According to Mac Quoc Anh, Deputy President of the Ha Noi Association of SMEs, SMEs remain the backbone of the Vietnamese economy in general and Ha Noi in particular.

He cited statistics showing that among more than 930,000 operating firms nationwide as of the end of 2024, 97.2 per cent are SMEs, which contribute 45 per cent of GDP, 31 per cent of budget revenue and 82 per cent of job creation.

In Ha Noi alone, SMEs make up the majority of more than 410,000 enterprises, with around 25,000 new firms established each year.

It is necessary to develop policies to support SMEs, including credit access, innovation support, training and trade promotion, he said.

The citys SME support programme is part of the broader effort to implement the Politburos Resolution 68-NQ/TW on private sector development.

The resolution has laid out bold reforms to create the foundation for a new growth period for Viet Nam in the next decade, he added.

As the countrys major economic hub, Ha Noi is targeting 500,000 active enterprises by 2030, with 30 per cent fully adopting digital transformation, Anh said.

The city has placed the private sector at the centre of its development agenda, rolling out a series of policies to support start-ups, SMEs, digital and green transition, access to land and credit and workforce training.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nams fruit and vegetable exports reached over US$7.09 billion in the first 10 months of 2025, up 15.1 per cent year on year, according to the latest updates of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.

This robust export creates a firm ground for the industry to reach a record value of $8.5 billion for the full year and $10 billion in the near future as the country enhances quality, expands markets and adapts to new import regulations, particularly from China.

China remains the largest buyer, accounting for 62.9 per cent of the total fruit and vegetable exports value, followed by the US with 6.6 per cent and the Republic of Korea with 3.9 per cent.

Exports to Malaysia saw the highest increasing rate of 70.2 per cent while Thailand saw the largest drop of 55.6 per cent.

According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit), the sectors growth has been driven by strategic fruits such as durian, banana, mango, jackfruit, coconut and pomelo.

Thanks to the strong recovery of durian exports, total fruit and vegetable shipments had risen sharply, said Vinafruit Secretary-General ang Phuc Nguyen, adding that durian exports alone may exceed $3 billion this year.

Vietnamese fruits were increasingly entering high-end markets. Durian exports had recorded double-digit growth in destinations such as the US, Canada and Japan. Most notably, Vietnamese pomelos were recently approved for import into Australia - a breakthrough demonstrating Viet Nams ability to meet stringent food safety standards.

The entry into Australia marks an important milestone and could open doors to other demanding markets, Nguyen said, adding that exporters also hope to soon ship pomelos to China, where demand is strong.

Nguyen said export turnover had consistently exceeded $900 million per month since August, reflecting surging demand in major import markets.

If this momentum continues in the remaining months of this year, fruit and vegetable exports could reach $8.5 billion in 2025, he said.

This achievement will not only mark a milestone in export value but also reaffirm Viet Nams position on the global fruit and vegetable map - moving toward sustainable growth and a stronger national agricultural brand.

However, sustaining growth requires stricter quality control.

Nguyen Phong Phu, Technical Director of Vina T&T Group, warned that some farming areas still used outdated methods and non-compliant pesticides, posing contamination risks. He noted that importing countries strictly monitored pesticide residues, so even a slight excess could lead to shipment rejection, damaging the industrys reputation.

Developing standardised raw material zones is seen as crucial for sustainable growth.

Nguyen said the national pilot scheme for certified production zones during the 202225 period was a timely initiative.

To enter markets like Australia, the US, the EU or the Republic of Korea, consistency and traceability were essential, he emphasised, noting that farming zones must be properly planned, use the right varieties and comply with VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards.

Still, small-scale production and limited infrastructure remained bottlenecks.

Each importing country has different regulations. Without proper training, even minor errors can cause entire shipments to be rejected, Nguyen warned.

Amid these challenges, Chinas new Decree No 280, which will take effect on June 1, 2026, replacing Decree 248, marks a significant regulatory shift.

According to Ngo Xuan Nam, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point (SPS Vietnam), the decree introduces a risk-based management approach, classifying products and exporters by risk level and aligning regulations with international practices.

He advised Vietnamese companies to review their registration on Chinas Import Food Enterprise Registration (CIFER) system, as major changes in legal status or operations could result in immediate cancellation of registration codes.

Before the new rules take effect, businesses are urged to raise production standards, enhance traceability and improve risk management, with strict compliance in planting and packing facility codes remaining essential.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam has strong demand for soybeans, corn, cotton, and iron ore to support feed production, textiles, and metallurgy, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Brazil Bui Van Nghi during a recent meeting with Mauricio Buffon, President of the Brazilian Association of Soybean Producers (Aprosoja), in Brasilia.

The meeting aimed to strengthen agricultural, industrial, and trade cooperation between the two countries.

The diplomat highlighted Brazils role in ensuring stable and strategic agricultural supplies for Viet Nam.

Noting the high complementarity of the two economies, he said Viet Nam is a dynamic production and processing hub in Asia with strengths in electronics, textiles, footwear, aquatic products, and processed agricultural products, connecting Brazil and other South American countries with the ASEAN market of nearly 700 million people, the Indo-Pacific region, and southern China.

Brazil, meanwhile, is a global agricultural powerhouse, leading the export of soybeans, corn, beef, poultry, cotton, and iron ore, offering Viet Nam opportunities to expand economic, trade, and investment ties with and access MERCOSUR and other Latin American markets.

The ambassador expressed Viet Nams desire to increase the export of aquatic products, cashews, wood items, processed farm produce, apparel, mobile phones, computers, and electronic components to Brazil.

He also stressed the importance of a free trade agreement between Viet Nam and MERCOSUR and called on Brazil, as the 2025 rotating chair, along with its industrial and agricultural associations, to support the process to establish a comprehensive legal framework for trade, investment, and sustainable development cooperation.

Mauricio Buffon said Brazil views Viet Nam as a strategic partner in Southeast Asia and believes that with the strong political-diplomatic foundation and economic potential, the two countries will continue to expand cooperation in agriculture, processing, and agri-trade, helping promote a practical, balanced, and sustainable Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

He noted that Aprosoja serves as a bridge between producers, exporters, and international markets, with Viet Nam considered a top potential partner in Asia.

Currently, Brazil is Viet Nams largest soybean supplier, accounting for 57.2 per cent of total imports. In the first eight months of this year, Viet Nam imported 1.81 million tonnes of soybeans, with Brazil supplying over 57 per cent.  VNS
LONDON  Nestled in a 117-year-old heritage building in Middleton, Manchester, Saigon Lotus: The Viet Nam  UK Culture House harmoniously blends classic British architecture with distinctly Vietnamese decor, offering Vietnamese visitors a heartwarming sense of home.

Founded by Pham Thi Thanh Nhung, Saigon Lotus officially opened in October 2024, exactly a decade after the first restaurant branch was established in Ancoats, Manchester. The new centre marks a new chapter in Nhungs vision: to create a Viet Nam  UK house of culture that connects the overseas Vietnamese community with their origin while introducing Vietnamese culture to international friends.

Evolving from an authentic Vietnamese restaurant into a community cultural centre, Saigon Lotus embraces a simple yet distinctly traditional Vietnamese design. Its interior features hand-painted scenes of Hoi An Ancient Town, Ha Noi's Old Quarter, Ben Thanh Market, and Hues Truong Tien Bridge on conical hats, complemented by Hoi An lanterns, bamboo and rattan decorations forming the map of Viet Nam, a Hoi An-inspired check-in corner, and intricately carved wooden furniture.

Together, these elements create a meaningful cultural space that not only brings together the Vietnamese community in Manchester but also captivates British and international visitors to the city.

Nhungs inspiration stemmed from years of studying and working in the UK, carrying a deep love for her homeland and an enduring wish to preserve and pass on Vietnamese cultural values to younger generations in a foreign land.

A highlight among recent activities was the Open Mic Charity Event, a musical fundraiser supporting Vietnamese cancer patients, which drew over 30 international guests, including representatives from British political parties. Their presence reflected strong local recognition and support for the centres community contributions.

In addition to cultural promotion, Saigon Lotus showcases the richness of Vietnamese cuisine through traditional dishes and street food served during community events such as the Mid-Autumn Festival held on October 4 this year. Workshops on lantern-making and competitions in preparing spring rolls and banh chung (square glutinous rice cake) have helped introduce Vietnamese cultural heritage to international friends.

Beyond cultural activities, Nhung has also turned Saigon Lotus into a nurturing space for youth development. Through initiatives like Reading With Me, co-founded and sponsored by Saigon Lotus, children are encouraged to read from an early age to develop empathy, critical thinking, and strong language skills. The centre also organises international English-speaking contests, debates, and talent awards that inspire young people from Viet Nam, the UK, Europe, and the US to grow with kindness, gratitude, and confidence.

Saigon Lotus is not only a place for heritage preservation but also a hub for nurturing and training the younger generation. The centre proudly offers scholarships and paid internships to young people in Middleton and Manchester in areas such as customer service, barista and Vietnamese culinary training, along with life skills and leadership courses designed to help them live healthier and happier lives while developing creativity, adaptability, and essential life competencies.

More than just a restaurant, Saigon Lotus has become a vibrant hub of culture and arts  a shared home where Vietnamese traditions, hospitality, and community spirit flourish. From authentic cuisine and traditional crafts to volunteer and educational initiatives, it stands as a living bridge that honours Viet Nam's heritage, connects generations, and touches the hearts of international friends.  VNA/VNS
HCM CITY  The Slovak Culture Day was held in HCM City last weekend, marking 75 years of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Slovakia (19502025).

The event brought together Marian Veres, Charge dAffaires a.i. of Slovakia in Viet Nam; Ha Thanh, Chairwoman of the HCM City Union of Friendship Organisations; Ho Huy, Honorary Consul of Slovakia in HCM City; members of the city's Viet Nam  Slovakia Friendship Association; and representatives of local people.

Highlights included an exhibition titled Party in the 21st Century, featuring 58 works blending photography, painting, and ethnography to showcase traditional Slovak Party headpieces worn by unmarried women and brides in the 19th20th centuries.

Attendees also met the exhibitions creators, photographers Zuzana Senasiova, Cubomir Sabo, and ethnologist Katrina Sabova. This was the 80th international showing of the exhibition, which has attracted about 2 million visitors worldwide.

The programme also featured a multimedia concert Andy Warhol  Songs of Mother Julia by Slovak opera artist Igor Kucer.

Marian Veres emphasised that the event aimed to introduce Slovak cultural traditions to the Vietnamese public and strengthen friendship and understanding between the two nations.

The Slovak Embassy previously hosted the Slovak Culture Day in Ha Noi on November 6, drawing strong public interest.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI  The Ha Noi Tourism Ao Dai Festival 2025 wrapped up at the Ha Noi Museum on November 9, celebrating the cultural beauty of Viet Nam's traditional long dress and promoting Ha Noi as a civilised, creative, and heritage-rich capital to domestic and international visitors.

Deputy Director of the Ha Noi Department of Tourism Nguyen Tran Quang emphasised that the four-day festival served a dual mission, honouring and preserving the intangible cultural heritage of the ao dai while boosting tourism and raising public awareness, particularly among the youth, about the importance of national cultural identity.

He expressed confidence that the festival will continue to act as a "tourism ambassador," promoting Ha Noi as a safe, friendly, high-quality, and attractive destination.

As an annual cultural-tourism highlight within the Thang LongHa Noi Festival series, this years event featured nearly 80 booths from fashion designers, craft villages, fashion brands, and design schools.

Renowned names such as uc Hung, La Hang, Ngoc Han, Quang Hoa and Quyen Nguyen joined traditional artisans from Van Phuc silk village and Trach Xa tailoring village, offering visitors a vibrant cultural experience. The festival attracted tens of thousands of visitors who enjoyed exhibitions, photo zones, and artistic performances recreating iconic Ha Noi landmarks such as the Khue Van Cac (the pavilion of the constellation of literature) in Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam (the Temple of Literature).

A standout moment was the opening night show Ha Noi Ao Dai  Shining Heritage Elegance, which showcased the evolution of the ao dai from the craft village of Trach Xa to all regions of Viet Nam, combining modern creativity with traditional charm.

The festival also featured the I Love Ha Noi programme for children, engaging hundreds of young models in colourful ao dai collections to nurture pride and love for the national costume.

The design contest Ao Dai  Connecting Heritage highlighted 10 student collections, with the top prize awarded to A Thousand Years Flowing, Life Renewed by students of the University of Economics- Technology for Industries.

Another highlight was the Capital Women in Integration and Development 2025 mass performance, gathering more than 600 women and professional designers to honour the grace and confidence of Vietnamese women in the modern era.

Following the festival, organisers will hold the Ha Noi Ao Dai Parade 2025 on November 15 at ong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square and Hoan Kiem walking street, along with a Touching Hanoi Autumn bus tour encouraging visitors to explore the city in ao dai.

The festival reaffirmed the cultural and aesthetic significance of the ao dai in modern life, enhancing Ha Noi's image as an elegant, welcoming, and innovative capital.  VNA/VNS
LONDON  Outstanding Vietnamese individuals in the UK and across the world were honoured at the Vietnam International Awards (VIAwards) 2025 Gala Night, held at the Leonardo Royal London Tower Bridge Hotel at the weekend.

Attracting nearly 200 distinguished guests from around the globe, the prestigious event was not only an awards ceremony but also a celebration of culture, knowledge and compassion.

Following a rigorous selection process carried out by a panel of seasoned judges across diverse fields, the organising committee officially honoured 10 exceptional individuals, each representing one of the following categories: Entrepreneur, Law, Finance, Education, Hospitality & Tourism, Arts, Health & Beauty, Technology and Humanitarian Service. These honourees exemplify innovation, dedication and the desire to create meaningful global impact.

The winners of the VIAwards 2025 include CEO of Dunskey Estate Anne Tristine Nguyen; Dr Nguyen Minh Dung, a paediatric hepatology specialist at Kings College Hospital; founder and festival director of Star Nha Ease Tuyet Van Huynh; and head chef and founder of The Saigon Kitchen and Resilient Womens Club Network Trinh Tien Trung.

The list also names the managing director of UK LINKS GROUP LTD, Phuong Thao Nguy; co-founder of VietPro UK and recipient of the ICAEW Knox Prize Hien Vo; founder and executive chairman of KOTO (Know One, Teach One) Jimmy Pham; the creator of DrugPipe, ViDeBERTa and VietMedKG Dr Hy Truong Son; and celebrated journalist, author and former Member of Parliament Mr Chris Mullin.

The gala evening was a rich celebration of arts and heritage. Highlights included a contemporary dance performance retelling the Vietnamese legend of Lac Long Quan and Au Co, using movement, music and storytelling to awaken cultural memory and convey how heritage inspires the present and future.

Audiences were also moved by a powerful opera excerpt from The Phantom of the Opera and an elegant ao dai showcase by designer Lan Huong, celebrating Vietnamese grace through intricate embroidery and traditional silhouettes.

The charity auction exceeded expectations, featuring symbolic and culturally rich items such as a silk ao dai from La Khe village featuring the Phuong Tho motif  symbolising longevity and prosperity  and ceramic boots by Bat Trang Museum, a replica of the artwork The Ceramic Boots by the National Artisan Vu Thang. Each item told a story of craftsmanship, creativity and cultural pride.

All proceeds from the auction will be dedicated to community support initiatives for the Vietnamese diaspora in the UK, reinforcing VIAwards commitment to social impact and humanitarian values.

As part of the VIAwards 2025 celebration, the official delegation took part in the Lord Mayors Show in London, one of the UKs most iconic and historic parades. The event gathered hundreds of international organisations and cultural groups, highlighting global diversity and unity.

The participation of the VIAwards delegation not only showcased a vibrant modern Viet Nam to the world but also marked a meaningful step in promoting Vietnamese excellence and cultural identity on the international stage.

Founded in the United Kingdom in 2022, VIAwards is an independent, non-profit initiative with a mission to connect the global Vietnamese community and promote a positive, lasting impact. VIAwards honours individuals and organisations creating meaningful change  for the community, for the future and for an inspired Viet Nam.  VNS
PARIS  The International Decade on Culture for Sustainable Development initiative proposed by Viet Nam has received high appreciation from the UNESCO Director-General and member states for its relevance to the organisations strategy and current global priorities, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ngo Le Van has stated.

Talking to the press about the adoption of the resolution, proposed by Viet Nam and other co-authors recommending the launch of an International Decade on Culture for Sustainable Development," at the 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference, Van said that nearly 40 years after the World Decade for Cultural Development (1988-1997), this marked the first time UNESCO reached a consensus to initiate a new international decade centred on culture.

The initiative highlighted UNESCOs pioneering role in making culture an independent pillar contributing to sustainable development at both national and global levels  a motivation to maintain peace, promote creative industries, and protect cultural diversity and inclusive economic growth, and enhance social cohesion.

Adopted with the co-sponsorship of 71 countries, the resolution underscores the pivotal role of culture as the foundation of identity, a source of innovation, and a pillar of sustainable development and resilience to contemporary challenges. The resolution calls on the UN to launch the decade with the aim of fostering a fundamental shift in public awareness of the role played by culture, and promoting actions at all levels to mobilise resources and increase investment in heritage education, cultural and arts education, cultural industries, and the creative economy linked to sustainable livelihoods. It also seeks to foster equal access to culture, intercultural dialogue, digital culture, and the application of cultural knowledge in climate change adaptation and environmental protection  toward a sustainable and prosperous future for all.

Viet Nam and the co-sponsoring countries will next submit the resolution to the UN General Assembly for consideration and official adoption, paving the way for the early launch of an International Decade on Culture for Sustainable Development for the 202736 period.

Van said the initiative was a concrete step in implementing the Partys and States policies emphasising culture, cultural diplomacy, and international integration in the new context.

"Culture is the foundation, resource, internal strength, and motivation for regulating sustainable social development and fostering the revitalisation and advancement of Vietnamese culture in the new era; strengthening and elevating cultural diplomacy; internationalising Viet Nams cultural identity, and embracing global cultural values to contribute to human civilisation."

Van noted that the initiative, built on Viet Nam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation of relations, reflected the countrys proactive and comprehensive integration mindset for the common good of the international community. It represented an important contribution demonstrating Viet Nams leading role in shaping global development priorities, in line with Resolution 59-NQ/TW, positioning the country as an active and responsible partner in the international community.

This is Viet Nam's largest initiative at UNESCO to date. Adopted by the UN, it marked a strategic contribution affirming UNESCOs leadership in culture and showcase Viet Nam's global commitment to working with the international community to build a peaceful, prosperous, and humane future.

At the 43rd session of the UNESCOs General Conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam was re-elected Vice President of the session. Consecutive elections at the 42nd and 43rd sessions reflects Viet Nam's growing stature, credibility, and capacity in global multilateral institutions, as well as the international communitys trust in its proactive and responsible role, especially within UNESCO.

This further affirms the Party and States sound foreign policy of diversification, multilateralisation, and comprehensive, deep, and effective international integration, reflecting the commitment to strengthening multilateral diplomacy in line with the spirit of the 13th National Party Congresss Resolution, the draft resolution of the 14th National Party Congress, Directive No. 25-CT/TW of the Secretariat, the Politburos Resolution 59-NQ/TW on international integration in the new context.

As a Vice President of the 43rd session of the UNESCOs General Conference, Viet Nam has simultaneously held key roles in six of UNESCOs key bodies.

According to Deputy FM Van, Viet Nam's sound foreign policy, socio-economic development achievements, international prestige and position, and proactive contributions at UNESCO have earned the trust and support of other countries.

He noted that holding the position provides an opportunity for Viet Nam to engage more actively in international issues, advance UNESCOs key programmes in education, culture, science, and communication, and apply the organisations knowledge and initiatives to implement strategic resolutions that serve the countrys development.  VNA/VNS
On the occasion of the visit of the Dutch trade mission to Vietnam led by Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Aukje de Vries and Chairman of the Dutch Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW) between November 9-13, 2025, the Netherlands Ambassador to Viet Nam Kees van Baar spoke to Viet Nam News.

Your Excellency, to begin with, could you share some insights into the objectives of the Dutch trade mission to Viet Nam on this occasion? How do you expect the outcome of the visit?

Thank you for this opportunity. Minister Aukje de Vries' visit represents a significant occasion in the enduring partnership between the Netherlands and Viet Nam. Our two nations share a long-lasting and trusted relationship, particularly in water management, climate adaptation, and sustainable agriculture  areas where our cooperation has proven both historically fruitful and forward-looking.

This mission has several strategic objectives. First and foremost, we aim to strengthen economic cooperation, especially in the critical fields of logistics and infrastructure development. These sectors are vital for Viet Nam's continued economic growth and regional connectivity.

We are particularly pleased that this trade mission includes 27 leading companies from the Netherlands, each bringing innovative solutions and cutting-edge expertise across diverse sectors. What makes this visit especially valuable is that it facilitates a meaningful platform where Dutch and Vietnamese businesses can meet, engage in substantive dialogue, and explore concrete opportunities. Through these exchanges, Dutch companies can truly understand Vietnamese needs and offer tailor-made solutions that address specific local challenges and opportunities.

We expect this visit to yield tangible outcomes, new partnerships, investment commitments, and collaborative projects that will benefit both our economies while advancing our shared vision for sustainable development.

Given the strong focus on sustainability in aviation and seaport cooperation between Viet Nam and the Netherlands in this trade mission, how is the Netherlands supporting Viet Nam in enhancing its capacity for a green transition - in other words, in reaching the country's net-zero emissions target by 2050?

First, I would like to commend Viet Nam's Resolution 68 encouraging private sector participation in infrastructure development as an exceptionally forward-thinking policy. This approach ensures that cutting-edge sustainable technologies will be deployed in Viet Nam's infrastructure, delivering lasting benefits for future generations

Airport and seaport developments are the areas where Dutch expertise and Vietnamese ambition align exceptionally well. The Netherlands has been pioneering smart and sustainable port and airport development, and we are eager to share these innovations with Viet Nam.

Now lets turn to smart and sustainable seaport development, which is indeed vital. The Port of Rotterdam leads globally in smart port development, operating a modern maritime model that integrates advanced technologies, AI, blockchain and automation, to optimise all port operations. Unlike traditional ports that rely heavily on manual labour and paper-based processes, smart ports operate on real-time data, automate container handling, enable intelligent vessel traffic management, and create seamless connectivity among all logistics supply chain stakeholders. This helps increase productivity, security and safety, while decrease operational costs and carbon emissions.

Viet Nam's strategic position along major shipping routes, extensive coastline with natural deep-water locations, and rapidly growing manufacturing sectors create ideal conditions for world-class seaport development. Dutch expertise in smart, sustainable port solutions complements Viet Nam's natural advantages as the country emerges as a critical logistics hub amid global supply chain diversification.

Viet Nam's rapidly expanding aviation sector requires top-tier airport infrastructure that is both efficient and sustainable. The future of aviation lies in smart airports that integrate advanced digital technology and green solutions to enhance operational efficiency, improve passenger experience, and minimise environmental impact.

NACO, Vanderlande Industries, Hunter Douglas Asia Holdings and other Dutch companies participating in this mission are ready to engage closely with Vietnamese counterparts to understand the specific requirements of Viet Nam's aviation development plans in order to offer tailor-made solutions that truly address Viet Nam's unique geographical conditions, passenger demographics, operational priorities, and sustainability commitments.

Could you elaborate on the current scope of Dutch investment in Viet Nam? Which sectors are the primary focus for businesses from the Netherlands?

Dutch investment in Viet Nam reflects a comprehensive commitment that extends well beyond capital flows. Our companies bring not only green capital but also sustainable business practices, advanced technologies, and capacity-building expertise.

What distinguishes Dutch investment is our partnership approach. Dutch companies work closely with local suppliers to elevate their capabilities in green business practices. This is not merely corporate social responsibility, it's a requirement. Our enterprises must comply with rigorous European green policies, including stringent ESG standards that extend throughout their entire value chain. When Dutch companies collaborate with Vietnamese suppliers, they transfer knowledge, share best practices, and help strengthen the role of Vietnamese enterprises within global value chains.

Moreover, Dutch companies in Viet Nam are not simply engaged in import-processing-export operations. They bring high-quality, sustainably produced products to serve the domestic market, contributing directly to Vietnamese consumers' quality of life. It's also noteworthy that many Dutch FDI companies operating in Viet Nam are led by Vietnamese executives, which facilitates deeper local integration, cultural understanding, and community engagement.

A concrete example in the semiconductor industry is the collaboration between NXP Semiconductors with FPT Software, engaging hundreds of Vietnamese software developers in cutting-edge chip design projects. This demonstrates Dutch companies' confidence in Viet Nam's technical capabilities and workforce quality.

What sets Vietnam-Netherlands partnerships apart is our 'combi track' approach, which integrates economic cooperation with knowledge transfer and capacity building. In aquaculture development in the Mekong Delta, for example, we combine business collaboration among enterprises with vocational training programmes that enhance local expertise. We apply the latest innovations and implement nature-based, circular solutions that enable communities to develop sustainable economic sectors, ensuring that prosperity and environmental protection advance together while improving livelihoods and community welfare.

Are Dutch firms interested in expanding investment in Viet Nam, particularly in areas including high-tech, AI, and semiconductors?

Absolutely. Dutch companies maintain strong and growing interest in Viet Nam across multiple strategic sectors.

The impressive number of 27 leading companies joining this November Dutch trade mission shows great interest of companies in logistics and infrastructure development.

Through numerous trade promotion activities, we see that Viet Nam is high on the Dutch trade agenda as we consistently witness high levels of interest from Dutch enterprises in horticulture, floriculture, aquaculture, water technologies, circular economy solutions, and semiconductors, to name but a few. As Viet Nam's economy continues to evolve and diversify, we anticipate emerging opportunities in additional sectors where Dutch innovation and Vietnamese dynamism can create mutual value.

Your Excellency, as we conclude, what is your overall vision for Netherlands-Viet Nam relations in the coming years?

For years, the Netherlands has been Viet Nam's largest European investor as well as Viet Nam's biggest export destination in Europe. Our two nations share remarkable commonalities as delta countries, open economies that are export-oriented, and we share a vision for a net-zero future where technology and inclusiveness ensure future-proof economies for everyone.

I look forward to witnessing deepening collaboration between our business communities, because ultimately, it is the private sector that will lead transformative change. When Dutch innovation meets Vietnamese dynamism, when our companies work together not merely for profit but for purpose, we create solutions that benefit not only our two nations but contribute to addressing global challenges.

The partnerships forged during Minister De Vries' visit represent seeds that, with nurturing and commitment from both sides, will grow into enduring cooperation that creates prosperity, protects our planet, and empowers our people.

Thank you for this meaningful conversation, and I extend my appreciation to Viet Nam News for your continued interest in Netherlands-Viet Nam relations. VNS
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NYC Launch Dinner - Seats are Limited!

You're invited to grab a seat and join Brian Baumgartner, known for his on-and-off the screen chili fandom, at his exclusive 'Chili Night' dinner in New York City. On November 18 from 3 p.m.  5 p.m. ET, 20 chili fans will have the opportunity to gather around to enjoy what we believe is the ultimate comfort and connection food: a big, hearty bowl of chili. The first drop of 10 guest seats to Brian's Chili Night gathering are now live to book here*, with a second drop of 10 guest seats available at 9 a.m. ET on November 13. More event details will be shared with those who secure a spot.

"Bush's Chili Beans? Yeah they've always been the not-so-secret weapon in my family's chili," said Baumgartner. "But it's more than just what's in the pot  chili has this way of bringing people together. It can turn an ordinary Tuesday into something special. So, I'm teaming up with Bush's to help more folks bring back those moments, because chili night? That's always a good night."

Host Your Own Chili Night Nationwide

For chili makers that can't make it to NYC, the new Chili Nights booking platform makes hosting these special dinners seamless from the comfort of home. The first 200 hosts who sign up through 11:59 p.m. ET on November 24 (or while supplies last), unlock everything they need for a memorable Chili Night, including an exclusive toolkit with Bush's Chili Beans coupons, Brian's famous chili recipe and his expert tips for hosting sent directly to their home.

"With life moving 100 miles per hour, shared family meals often fall by the wayside. Our Chili Nights booking platform is a way to press pause and make room for connection around the table," said BJ Thomas, Brand Manager at Bush's Beans. "Whether it's a weeknight dinner at a friend's place or a full-on chili celebration, we're here to help make Chili Nights an easy, delicious tradition worth gathering for."

Masterfully slow-simmered to perfection in a rich sauce with a unique blend of spices infused into every bean, Bush's Chili Beans are the secret ingredient for making homemade chili even better. Bush's Chili Beans are the key to an award-winning recipe and have been the go-to ingredient for both world champion chili and office chili cookoffs. Available in both mild and spicy sauce varieties, Bush's Chili Beans can be found on shelves nationwide; to locate a store near you, visit www.bushbeans.com/en_US/product-locator/find-in-store.

*Attendance at the NYC Chili Night launch dinner is limited to 20 guests due to capacity and safety guidelines and requires advanced registration through the reservation link provided. Seats are on a first-come, first-served basis and registration ends 12:00 p.m. ET on November 13, 2025 or while openings are available, whichever occurs first. Must be 18+. For full terms, visit https://bushschilinightsdinner.dja.com.

About Bush's Beans

Bush's is That Beautiful Bean Co.a quality-obsessed, family-owned business since 1908. We believe in the goodness of the humble bean, a food that's equally good for humans and the earth. When you enjoy our beans, you can trust that they're the very best. Because we wouldn't serve your family anything less. Since we got our start more than 115 years ago in Chestnut Hill, Tenn., Bush's has always maintained that quality is the best policy. We pursue excellence and exceptional taste in our beans, sauces and everything we do. That's why, from mouthwatering Baked Beans to Chili Beans to our newest Sidekicks, you're cooking up the best with Bush's. For more information, visit www.bushbeans.com.

About Eventbrite

Eventbrite is a global events marketplace that serves event creators and event-goers in nearly 180 countries. Since its inception, Eventbrite has been at the center of the experience economy, transforming the way people organize and attend events. The company was founded by Julia Hartz, Kevin Hartz, and Renaud Visage, with a vision to build a self-service platform that empowers anyone to host and discover live experiences. In 2024, Eventbrite distributed 83 million paid tickets to over 4.7 million events across a global community of 89 million monthly average users, helping people find new things to do or new ways to do more of what they love. Eventbrite has also earned industry recognition as a top employer, with special designations that include a coveted spot on Fast Company's prestigious "The World's 50 Most Innovative Companies" and "Brands That Matter" lists, the Great Place to Work Award in the U.S., and Inc.'s "Best-Led Companies" honor. Learn more at www.eventbrite.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

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QUANG TRI  Legal aid in Quang Tri Province has become a vital safety net for disadvantaged groups, particularly ethnic communities in remote areas, helping them access justice on an equal footing and strengthening trust in the law. However, strengthening resources, coordination mechanisms and outreach methods remains crucial to ensure that legal aid truly reaches every citizen.

At around 11am on June 4, 2022, 40-year-old Ho Van Dinh was driving a motorbike carrying 17-year-old Ho Van Vu from Mo O Commune to Ba Long Commune. Dinh did not hold a drivers licence and failed to observe a danger warning sign along a section of Provincial Road 588A known for its sharp curves.

When he saw a car with licence plate 74H-005.95 approaching from the opposite direction, Dinh braked suddenly, causing the motorbike to skid. As a result, Vu was thrown onto the opposite lane, where he was struck by the car and suffered severe injuries.

He lost one-third of his left thigh and sustained skin damage on his right leg, with a total bodily injury rate of 66 per cent.

The police initiated criminal proceedings against Dinh for violating road traffic regulations. Prosecutors proposed a suspended sentence of 24 to 30 months.

Le Thi Thuy Linh, a legal aid officer from Quang Tri Provincial Legal Aid Centre No 2, defended Dinh, highlighting mitigating circumstances such as his sincere confession, voluntary compensation for the victim, the victims written request for leniency, good character, and the fact that he was the main breadwinner in a poor household.

Linh explained that Dinh, an ethnic man living in hardship, had limited legal awareness. At the trial, she appealed to the courts compassion, asking for a suspended sentence so he could have a chance to make amends and continue supporting his family. She also filed a request for exemption from first-instance criminal court fees.

Her arguments were accepted. The court sentenced Dinh to 18 months in prison, suspended for 36 months and waived his criminal court fees.

Another case involving Ho Van Thon, an ethnic resident of Quang Tri Province, further illustrates the vital role of legal aid in ensuring justice for vulnerable groups.

In mid-2024, Thon threw a rock at a moving truck, shattering its windshield and slightly injuring the driver. According to the valuation report, the property damage totalled more than VN10.7 million (US$406). The victim suffered a 5 per cent bodily injury but chose not to pursue criminal charges.

For this act, Thon was initially fined VN6.5 million ($246) for an administrative violation. However, on December 19, 2024, the Peoples Court of Huong Hoa District held a first-instance trial and sentenced him to six months in prison for deliberate destruction of property.

Thon appealed and filed a request with the provincial Legal Aid Centre No 2, seeking legal representation in hopes of receiving a suspended sentence.

Le Thi Dieu Huong, the legal aid officer assigned to his case, said that upon reviewing the file, she recognised that Thon, a member of a poor ethnic minority household, qualified for free legal assistance. He was the familys main breadwinner, raising two young children alone after his wife had left, with little understanding of legal matters.

Thanks to Huongs defence, the appellate court reduced the sentence, granting Thon a six-month suspended term with a 12-month probation period and exempted him from appellate criminal court fees.

According to Nguyen Luong Chinh, Acting Deputy Director of Quang Tri Provincial Legal Aid Centre No 2, the centre handles hundreds of cases each year, most of them involving poor households, ethnic minorities, people with meritorious service to the revolution, and children.

In addition, the centre has taken on complex civil disputes that have dragged on for years, involving land, administrative and inheritance issues. Thanks to legal aid, many citizens have come to understand their rights, received lawful protection and have been exonerated or had their penalties reduced.

This is how the law reaches the people, so that justice does not remain only in books, Chinh said.

Judge Tran Trung Thanh of the Quang Tri Peoples Court commended the presence of legal aid officers in court proceedings, noting that their participation helps defendants and plaintiffs better understand the law, prepare documents and evidence, and present well-founded arguments before the court.

The thorough preparation made by legal aid officers ensures that proceedings are conducted smoothly and in accordance with due process, Thanh said.

It also provides judges with a sound basis for delivering fair and objective verdicts.

More access to legal aid

Despite significant progress, legal aid activities in Quang Tri Province still face numerous challenges.

According to Chinh, the greatest obstacles include language barriers, geographic isolation, and the hesitancy of local residents to seek assistance.

To reach people in remote and mountainous areas, legal aid officers often have to travel hundreds of kilometres through winding mountain roads, sometimes just to provide counsel for a single case, Chinh said.

Accessing case files or meeting with defendants for legal aid cannot be done in one trip. It usually requires multiple visits.

Many people are still unaware of their right to free legal assistance. Even those eligible often hesitate to contact legal authorities due to fear or unfamiliarity. Most beneficiaries of legal aid are ethnic minorities who may be illiterate or persons with disabilities who struggle to communicate. As a result, legal aid officers must rely on family members or witnesses to gather information, understand clients wishes and reconstruct case details.

Chinh added that a shortage of legal aid officers was another problem. At the same time, the growing volume of complex and prolonged cases has placed increasing pressure on staff, requiring legal aid officers to possess in-depth expertise, strong problem-solving skills and more time to review case files.

With a limited number of legal aid officers, we often have to work two or three times beyond our normal capacity, he noted.

Expanding eligibility for legal aid is also an urgent need. Under current regulations, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and people living with HIV are entitled to legal aid only if they face financial hardship.

Those who have just escaped poverty also need legal support, he said. These groups should be included in the next amendments to the Law on Legal Aid.

Seeking solutions

ao Thi Binh, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Justice, said that to address geographic challenges and local conditions, the department has proposed that the provincial Peoples Committee maintain two State Legal Aid Centres, including Centre No.1 (formerly based in Quang Binh) and Centre No.2 (formerly in Quang Tri), to better serve residents across the province.

Binh further noted that the province plans to broaden eligibility to include vulnerable groups such as single mothers, the elderly, and persons with disabilities in difficult circumstances. The Department of Justice will also focus on training legal aid officers in communication and counselling skills when working with disadvantaged people, aiming to enhance the quality of free legal services in the coming years.

In addition, the department has proposed that the Ministry of Justice review and amend relevant legal aid policies to ensure greater effectiveness and inclusivity. Binh said that key priorities ahead include strengthening digital infrastructure, modernising administrative procedures and innovating public outreach through diverse and creative communication methods.

These efforts aim to integrate legal aid activities with the objectives of national target programmes, she added, ensuring that everyone entitled to legal aid can access it and that justice truly reaches every citizen.

Nguyen Ngoc Huy, Deputy Chief Judge of the provincial Peoples Court for Region 7, acknowledged that while coordination between the courts and the legal aid centres has been effective, the rising number of cases demands more time for research and evidence collection.

This underscores the urgent need for enhanced professional training, reasonable support policies, and stronger incentives to attract and retain qualified legal aid personnel, Huy said.

He and other officials also emphasised the importance of digital transformation, applying information technology to manage case records, access legal documents, and provide remote consultations to ease workloads and improve service efficiency.  VNS
HA NOI  Lawmakers convened on Monday morning to discuss personnel matters under their authority, following the agenda of the 10th session of the 15th National Assembly (NA).

In the afternoon, the NA held a plenary discussion regarding two draft laws on population and on disease prevention.

The draft population law outlines measures to maintain replacement fertility rates amid a declining birth rate, as well as policies to address gender imbalance at birth. It strictly prohibits any form of gender selection for fetuses, and promotes communication, education, and public awareness campaigns to restore the natural sex ratio at birth.

To adapt to population ageing, the draft law includes provisions to support elderly care and develop a skilled workforce for eldercare services. It also contains measures to improve population quality, while further integrating population factors into national socio-economic strategies, plans, and projects, and specifying the responsibilities of state agencies in population management.

Meanwhile, the draft disease prevention law comprises six chapters with 41 articles. It introduces several new provisions, including the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), early detection and community-based management of such diseases, and measures to mitigate risk factors associated with NCDs.

On mental health, the draft law stipulates the identification of risk factors, early detection, and preventive measures for mental disorders, along with the rights and responsibilities of agencies, organisations, and individuals involved in mental health promotion.

Regarding nutrition in disease prevention, it sets out principles for healthy nutrition and specific guidance for vulnerable groups, such as pregnant and breastfeeding women, children under 24 months, schoolchildren, workers, and the elderly.

The draft also details conditions necessary for effective disease prevention, including research and application of science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation in public health. It further specifies the regimes and support for those engaged in epidemic control, training and capacity building for preventive health workers, financial mechanisms, and the establishment of a disease prevention fund.  VNA/VNS
BERLIN  The Vietnamese Embassy in Germany held a seminar on Saturday (local time) to gather opinions from Vietnamese intellectuals and entrepreneurs in Germany on the draft documents for the 14th National Party Congress.

Opening the event, Ambassador Nguyen ac Thanh affirmed that the Party and State always highly evaluate the insights of overseas Vietnamese, especially intellectuals, experts and entrepreneurs who possess modern knowledge, international experience and a deep sense of patriotism  an important resource for national development and sustainable integration.

Participants praised the quality of the draft documents, which concisely combine key contents into a 50-page political report with 18 new highlights.

Dr. Nguyen Thai Chinh, an Earth Science and Satellite Geodesy expert and member of the VietGerman Innovation Network (VGI), said the documents reflect the collective wisdom of the Party and people. He described each sentence as a manifesto guiding actions across all levels.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thinh from Technical University Dortmund, Acting President of the Union of Vietnamese Associations in Germany and Chairman of VGI, commended the Partys openness in publicising the drafts early to seek feedback from overseas intellectuals. This demonstrates transparency, democracy and respect for the intellectual contributions of the Vietnamese community while enhancing the practicality of development policies, he said.

Thinh emphasised that to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, the action programme should further prioritise green and renewable energy as national development pillars, including hydrogen technology and green architecture. He also called for strategic infrastructure investment in the Mekong Delta to foster green growth, linking transport, logistics and energy development with emission reduction goals.

Young intellectuals working in German universities and organisations focused their comments on education, science, technology and culture.

Nguyen Bang Tu, Vice President of the Vietnamese Students Association in Germany, proposed creating a national human resource database to connect overseas Vietnamese talents with job opportunities in the homeland, while the Government should establish a national digital competency framework.

Dr. Nguyen Viet Tuan, who is working at Tentamus Group, suggested Viet Nam learn from Germanys project management model to optimise investment in science and technology.

Nguyen Son Thu, Chairman of the VietGerman Bridge Association, called for clearer objectives in Viet Nams economic relations with Germany and the European Union.

On cultural development, Prof. Nguyen Hong Thai from the University of Stettin, expressed strong support for fostering an advanced Vietnamese culture rich in national identity, grounded in core national, cultural and family values.

Concluding the seminar, Ambassador Thanh said the heartfelt and strategic contributions of overseas Vietnamese intellectuals and entrepreneurs would help refine the Partys development directions and enhance Viet Nams position in the world.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI  National Assembly deputies have called for greater emphasis on social welfare and the well-being of citizens in the draft documents for the 14th National Congress of the Party.

During the group discussion at the 10th Session, deputies suggested adding concrete milestones to show the countrys achievements in improving the lives of its people.

Deputy inh Ngoc Quy, from Gia Lai Province, welcomed the drafts comprehensive approach but noted that the section assessing the nations progress leaned heavily towards economic achievements, while social welfare remained underrepresented.

He said that in 1995, nearly 2.3 million people participated in social insurance, a figure that had now grown to more than 20 million. He added that health insurance coverage had increased even more dramatically.

While around 7 million people were covered out of a population of about 72 million in 1995, today, with a population exceeding 100 million, more than 90 per cent of citizens were enrolled. These numbers illustrated the significant progress of the countrys social policies, he said.

Deputy Quy recalled the intense debates that surrounded the Health Insurance Law. Many questioned whether universal coverage could be achieved, even arguing over what universal truly meant. The law was eventually passed, and today universal health insurance had substantially reduced the financial burden on citizens while improving the stability and efficiency of the public healthcare system.

Social insurance policies had seen a similar evolution, he noted. Initially confined to the state sector, coverage later expanded to private-sector employees and eventually included unemployment insurance.

With the adoption of Resolution 28-NQ/TW, Viet Nam has now set the goal of universal social insurance - a landmark step forward in both policy and implementation. Deputy Quy stressed that including these milestones in the Draft Documents would give a clearer picture of the nations progress in social welfare.

Deputy Nguyen Lan Hieu, also from Gia Lai Province, highlighted the drafts goal of providing annual health check-ups for all citizens without out-of-pocket costs, showing the States commitment to public health and social welfare.

He said that achieving this goal would require a strategic approach to healthcare development. Scattered and evenly distributed investment would not allow the system to reach advanced regional standards.

He explained that focusing on key areas and investing in specialised hospitals with adequate expertise and infrastructure would be essential for ensuring the population receives high-quality healthcare.

Deputy Nguyen Van Canh, also representing Gia Lai Province, pointed to citizens overall well-being, as measured by the happiness index. He said that despite Viet Nams modest income levels, strong social welfare policies had contributed to the country ranking second in Southeast Asia for happiness.

He noted that high income had not always corresponded to high happiness, citing Bhutan as an example of a country with modest income that consistently ranks highly in happiness. He said that from the Declaration of Independence, President Ho Chi Minh affirmed every citizens right to pursue happiness, a value that continues to guide the countrys development goals.

"Happiness is shaped by education, income, and cultural life," he said, but also noting that balancing economic growth with cultural preservation is challenging, with some suggesting small economic sacrifices could be worthwhile to enhance well-being.

He proposed that alongside the Human Development Index (HDI) target of 0.78, the Draft Documents should include an explicit goal to improve the national happiness index, reflecting a more comprehensive concern for citizens well-being.

Deputy Nguyen Thi Hue, from Thai Nguyen Province, supported this perspective, stressing that national development should not be measured solely by GDP growth. She called for governance metrics that would track citizens satisfaction and quality of life at all stages - from policy planning to implementation and evaluation.  VNS
HA NOI  The 10th session of the 15th National Assembly adopted a resolution electing Nguyen Van Quang, member of the Party Central Committee, as Chief Justice of the Supreme Peoples Court for the 20212026 tenure.

Of the 441 deputies present, 440 voted in favour, accounting for 92.83 per cent of all lawmakers.

After the vote, the newly elected Chief Justice took the oath of office, pledging absolute loyalty to the Fatherland, the people and the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and vowing to fulfil the duties entrusted by the Party, the State and the people.

He said it was a great honour and a profound responsibility before the Party, the National Assembly and the people.

As the head of the nations judiciary, the body exercising judicial power under the Constitution, Quang affirmed his commitment to abide by his oath before the National Assembly, to uphold the Partys leadership and to ensure full compliance with the principles and provisions of the Constitution and the law.

He pledged to work with the entire political system and judicial bodies toward the highest goal of safeguarding justice, protecting human and citizens rights, defending the socialist regime, the States interests and the legitimate rights and interests of organisations and individuals.

Quang said he would continuously strive to learn and improve, drawing on the experience of his predecessors and uphold the responsibility and exemplary role of the head of the judiciary. Together with the Party Committee and the Council of Judges of the Supreme Peoples Court, he vowed to promote unity and build on the achievements the court sector has made over the past 80 years.

He expressed his determination to implement the Partys guidelines on judicial reform and the building of a socialist rule-of-law state, while improving the legal system to help foster national development in the new era.

Particularly, he emphasised the importance of translating into action the instructions of Party General Secretary To Lam, delivered at the 80th anniversary of the Peoples Court sector, calling this a key task for 2026 and the following years.

The Chief Justice also underlined the need to further strengthen Party building within the court system, streamline the organisational apparatus for greater efficiency in line with the three-tier court model and tighten discipline and order.

He stressed the importance of developing a strong, professional and upright contingent of judges as a firm foundation for improving the quality and effectiveness of trials at all levels, fulfilling the goals and tasks set by the National Assembly.

Born in 1969, Nguyen Van Quang previously served as Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme Peoples Procuracy, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the a Nang Party Committee for the 20152020 tenure, Secretary of the a Nang Party Committee for the 20202025 tenure, and Permanent Deputy Inspector General of the Government Inspectorate.  VNS
HA NOI  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) must continue its pioneering role with an innovative mindset and approach for diplomacy in all aspects, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh as he attended the ministrys Patriotic Emulation Congress for the 2025-2030 period.

Over the past five years, amid profound global and regional changes, the MoFA has effectively implemented the foreign policy set out by the 13th National Party Congress and achieved numerous breakthroughs.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, in response to the national emulation movement, the ministry launched the vaccine diplomacy campaign, securing over 258 million doses of vaccines and medical equipment for Viet Nam worth around US$80 million.

The MoFA also helped localities sign over 400 cooperation agreements with international partners, worked with 73 countries to recognise Viet Nams market economy status and advised the countrys leaders on new diplomatic areas such as health, environment, agriculture and technology.

The ministry took the lead in advising and coordinating with the Party and State to issue 17 official documents on key foreign affairs issues. It also organised or provided support to over 340 major bilateral and multilateral diplomatic events, including more than 80 high-level visits by Vietnamese leaders and receptions for over 100 foreign delegations.

Notable achievements include the upgrade of bilateral relations to comprehensive strategic partnerships with 11 countries, strategic partnerships with six, comprehensive partnerships with four and strategic sectoral partnerships with five, creating the most favourable diplomatic landscape for Viet Nam since oi moi (Renewal).

The MoFA made significant achievements to Viet Nams successful tenure as the ASEAN chair in 2020, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021 and a member of the UN Human Rights Council for 2023-2025, re-elected for 2026-2028.

Viet Nam also secured membership in nine key UNESCO mechanisms and hosted the signing ceremony of the UN Convention on Cybercrime (Hanoi Convention), earning international recognition.

The foreign ministry helped localities sign over 600 international agreements, raised Viet Nams participation in 17 free trade agreements and secured ratification of the EUViet Nam Investment Protection Agreement by 19 of 27 EU member states. It also effectively organised conferences chaired by the PM on economic diplomacy.

Regarding cultural diplomacy, the Vietnamese MoFA advised the countrys leaders on the Cultural Diplomacy Strategy to 2030, bringing Viet Nams total UNESCO titles to 75, and initiated the UNESCO International Decade for Culture for Sustainable Development adopted on November 8.

For the 20252030 period, the Vietnamese foreign ministry will focus on three key tasks set by Party General Secretary To Lam: ensuring peace and stability, promoting development and improving peoples livelihoods.

Speaking at the MoFAs Patriotic Emulation Congress for 2025-2030, Chinh stressed that "emulation plays a crucial role in motivating, inspiring and enhancing creativity and work efficiency through encouragement, education, recognition and commendation".

The PM, who also heads the Central Emulation and Commendation Council, emphasised that patriotic emulation in foreign affairs carried special meaning. He cited late President Ho Chi Minhs words that the sectors emulation "embodies the spirit of internationalism and contributes to peace and democracy in the world".

Along with defence and security, diplomacy had safeguarded national independence and sovereignty, maintained peace and stability, and created the most favourable international environment for Viet Nam, he said.

Through economic, cultural, consular and citizen diplomacy, as well as overseas Vietnamese affairs, Viet Nams global position had been enhanced. The country had also strengthened its role as an active and responsible member of the international community, contributing to regional and global solutions and consolidating the foundations of a comprehensive, modern and professional diplomacy.

Recognising the MoFAs achievements, Chinh urged the ministry to continue its pioneering role, deepening relations with neighbours, major powers, ASEAN members, strategic partners, traditional friends and emerging partners to enhance trust, efficiency and sustainability.

Diplomatic activities should be synchronised across all three pillars  Party diplomacy, State diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy  while coordinating closely between central and local departments to ensure unified, effective foreign relations management.

The diplomatic corps must continue to build a contingent of virtuous, competent officials who are politically steadfast, professionally capable and internationally competitive.

Chinh emphasised that in todays complex international context, the patriotic emulation spirit in diplomacy must be stronger than ever, with a focus on strategic innovation, strong partnerships and advancing the national digital transformation as well as science, technology and innovation progress.

The diplomatic corps must perform better in their regular duties, fostering connections and fulfilling international missions, he said, adding that every diplomat must serve as a "pioneer soldier" and "source of inspiration" for a courageous, humane and modern Viet Nam that continues to strive for peace, cooperation and sustainable development.  VNS
HA NOI  Building on the achievements of current cooperation, Viet Nam and Angola expect a promising future economic collaboration with agriculture as a spearhead area, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Angola Duong Chinh Chuc in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency's reporter on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries (November 12, 1975  2025).

Reviewing key milestones in the bilateral ties, the diplomat said that the past half-century stands as vivid testimony to the enduring friendship between the two peoples, united by their shared aspiration for independence, peace and development. On November 12, 1975  just one day after President Agostinho Neto declared Angolas independence Viet Nam officially recognised and established diplomatic relations with Angola.

Politically, ties between the Communist Party of Viet Nam and the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) have remained a firm cornerstone of the bilateral relations.

The Cooperation Agreement for 20242029 reaffirms both sides determination to elevate their partnership. High-level exchanges have been maintained regularly, including visits to Angola by State President Tran uc Luong (2002), Party General Secretary Nong uc Manh (2008), Minister of Public Security To Lam (2023), and most recently, State President Luong Cuong (August 2025). From the Angolan side, notable visits include those by President Jose Eduardo dos Santos (1987), Vice President Manuel Vicente (2012), and Foreign Minister Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti (2017).

The two countries have also coordinated closely at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, and the African Union (AU). With President Joao Lourenco serving as AU Chair since February 2025, Angola has been promoting ASEANAU cooperation, opening a new space for Viet NamAngola relations.

Economically, bilateral trade is approaching US$270 million, with the two sides targeting $1 billion following Vietnamese State President Luong Cuongs visit. Agriculture remains a strategic focus given Viet Nam's strengths and Angolas efforts to revitalise domestic production.

The 7th Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee (March 2024) set new directions, while Xuan Thien Group  the first Vietnamese enterprise investing in Angola  has launched major projects in energy, agriculture, finance and infrastructure, marking substantive and mutually beneficial progress.

The naming of Ho Chi Minh Avenue in central Luanda stands as a powerful symbol of the enduring Viet NamAngola friendship, stated the diplomat.

Assessing future prospects for bilateral trade, the ambassador said that economic ties remain modest compared to the robust political foundation. However, a solid legal framework has been established, including the Trade Agreement (1978, renewed 2008) and the Framework Agreement on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation (2008). Two-way trade has averaged US$200 million annually, primarily raw goods such as rice, textiles and coffee from Viet Nam, and timber and liquefied gas from Angola, he noted.

Chuc said that positive changes have emerged as Angola diversifies its economy beyond oil, prioritising agriculture and processing industries. The 7th Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee identified over 20 new areas of cooperation, and the Joint Declaration issued during President Cuongs state visit provided fresh momentum.

Vietnamese enterprises are showing growing interest in Angola. The Xuan Thien Groups large-scale investments, along with the establishment of the Vietnamese Business Association in Angola (June 2024), have created a reliable platform for trade promotion. The Vietnamese Embassy has continued to receive many requests for market and project information.

Over the past 50 years, bilateral cooperation has evolved from simple trade to investment and technical collaboration, laying a strong foundation for future development.

Chuc held that agriculture will remain a spearhead sector, alongside new opportunities in infrastructure, energy, mining, health care and education. Two two sides are dealing with logistics challenges. Viet Nam's support for Angolas economic diversification reflects not only partnership but also trust, while Angola can serve as Viet Nam's gateway to West and Southern Africa, said the diplomat.

The ambassador underscored that the bilateral relations are ready to enter a new phase of accelerated growth. During President Cuongs visit, the sides issued a Viet NamAngola Joint Declaration, outlining shared strategic visions and concrete cooperation objectives.

To realise these goals, relevant agencies must work closely and effectively. Regular high-level exchanges should be maintained to strengthen trust and create a favourable political environment. Both sides should adopt practical measures to support economic and technical cooperation, facilitate direct engagement between businesses and experts, and address logistical and payment bottlenecks. Updating the legal framework  through agreements on investment protection, double taxation avoidance, financial settlement, and visa facilitation  will also help safeguard people and assets, he said.

Lastly, the ambassador said, Viet Nam needs a long-term strategy to develop relations with Africa, spanning not just five years but 10, 20 or more, to ensure sustained engagement with the continent, which offers abundant opportunities.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI  The 15th National Assembly, during its 10th sitting on Monday, adopted a resolution approving the proposal of the Chairperson of the National Election Council (NEC) on the appointment of several Vice Chairpersons and members of the council.

All 435 deputies present at the session voted in favour, accounting for 91.77 per cent of the total number of NA deputies and 100 per cent of those in attendance.

Accordingly, the legislature approved the appointment of Politburo member and National Assembly Vice Chairman o Van Chien as Permanent Vice Chairman of the NEC and head of its Personnel Sub-committee; and Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, and President of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee Bui Thi Minh Hoai as Vice Chairwoman.

The NA also ratified the appointment of the following NEC members: Trinh Van Quyet, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, head of the Party Central Committee's Commission for Information, Education, and Mass Mobilisation; Nguyen Thi Thanh, member of the Party Central Committee and NA Vice Chairwoman; Tran Sy Thanh, Party Central Committee member and Chairman of the Party Central Committees Inspection Commission.

The resolution took effect immediately upon its adoption on Monday.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI  Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang hosted a reception for Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh in Ha Noi on Monday, during which both sides expressed satisfaction with the fruitful outcomes of the 15th Viet NamIndia Defence Policy Dialogue held earlier the same day.

Giang highlighted the great potential for cooperation between the two countries and called on the defence ministries to further promote friendship, mutual understanding, and trust, making bilateral defence ties more practical and effective.

Affirming that Viet Nam always treasures its traditional friendship with India, he expressed his belief that the Indian delegations visit, led by Singh, will be a success, contributing to strengthening bilateral relations in general and defence cooperation in particular.

The Vietnamese minister appreciated Indias support for Viet Nam in recent years, especially in training hundreds of Vietnamese military officers in various fields, and in providing aid packages and preferential credit.

He also noted bilateral defence cooperation has expanded continuously and achieved tangible results as seen in regular mutual visits, consultations, young officers exchanges, training cooperation, joint efforts in peacekeeping operations, and coordination at multilateral forums.

For his part, Singh noted India and Viet Nam share many similarities in culture, people, and history, and that defence cooperation is one of the important driving forces of bilateral relations.

He expressed confidence that the outcomes of the 15th Defence Policy Dialogue, co-chaired by the Indian Defence Secretary and Vietnamese Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lt. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien, will further deepen the defence partnership between the two countries.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI  National Assembly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man has called for full, timely, and coordinated compliance with all legal requirements, emphasising that no procedural mistakes should compromise the voting and candidacy rights in the upcoming nationwide election.

Speaking at the third session of the National Election Council (NEC) on Monday, the NA Chairman stressed the need for a professional and well-organised election process, with enhanced independent checks and supervision, and a voter-centred approach ensuring transparent and accessible information and maximum convenience for candidates and voters.

He also highlighted the importance of accelerating digital transformation in election management, maintaining smooth coordination between central and local authorities, holding leaders accountable, and promptly addressing bottlenecks or any issues arising.

The top legislator urged members of the NEC, its subcommittees, and the NEC Office to expedite the completion of legal documents, forms, and operational guidelines; carefully prepare personnel; strengthen communications; boost technology application; enhance security; and ensure the rights of voters, especially those in remote, border, insular, and industrial areas.

The development of a national voter database should involve close coordination between the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the NA Office, the NEC Office, and localities, ensuring accuracy, security, and convenience.

Besides, political security must be safeguarded while acts of law violations, malicious information, distortion, disruption, or abuse of elections for sabotage must be strictly prevented, he added.

The NA leader assigned the NEC Office to coordinate with the NA Office to thoroughly prepare for a national conference disseminating the Politburo's directive on the election organisation and launching relevant tasks on November 15.

During the session, the NEC approved a resolution adjusting and assigning responsibilities to certain members and subcommittees.

Participants also received an update on the official launch of the election information e-portal, which will provide connected, updated, and publicly available information on election-related activities. The portal serves as the NECs official channel and can be accessed at http://hoidongbaucu.quochoi.vn/. VNA/VNS
GUANGZHOU, China, Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Yatsen Holding Limited ("Yatsen" or the "Company") (NYSE: YSG), a leading China-based beauty group, today announced that it will release its unaudited financial results for the third quarter of 2025, on Monday, November 17, 2025, before the open of the U.S. markets.

The Company's management will hold a conference call on Monday, November 17, 2025 at 7:30 A.M. U.S. Eastern Standard Time (8:30 P.M. Beijing/Hong Kong Time) to discuss the financial results. Listeners may access the call by dialing the following numbers:

United States (toll free): +1-888-346-8982 International: +1-412-902-4272 Mainland China (toll free): 400-120-1203 Hong Kong (toll free): 800-905-945 Hong Kong: +852-3018-4992

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the Company's investor relations website at http://ir.yatsenglobal.com.

A replay of the conference call will be accessible by phone one hour after the conclusion of the live call at the following numbers, until November 24, 2025:

United States: +1-877-344-7529 International: +1-412-317-0088 Replay Access Code: 4338347

About Yatsen Holding Limited

Yatsen Holding Limited (NYSE: YSG) is a leading China-based beauty group with the mission of creating an exciting new journey of beauty discovery for consumers around the world. Founded in 2016, the Company has launched and acquired numerous color cosmetics and skincare brands including Perfect Diary, Little Ondine, Pink Bear, Galenic, DR.WU (its mainland China business) and Eve Lom. The Company's flagship brand, Perfect Diary, is one of the leading color cosmetics brands in China in terms of retail sales value. The Company primarily reaches and engages with customers directly both online and offline, with expansive presence across all major e-commerce, social and content platforms in China.

For more information, please visit http://ir.yatsenglobal.com.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

Yatsen Holding Limited

Investor Relations

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Yatsen Holding Limited
VIENTIANE  A delegation from the Department of Political Education under the General Department of Politics of Viet Nam Peoples Army (VPA), led by its head Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Van uc, held talks with its Lao counterpart, headed by Maj. Gen Keosouvanh Phangphilavong in Vientiane on Monday, praising tight collaboration under their annual plan.

uc underscored achievements in coordination, particularly following recent visits and engagements, noting effective implementation of bilateral defence agreements and protocols for 20252029, with a focus on external information, friendship exchanges, and major defence activities.

Both sides have directed extensive communications on cooperation activities between the two militaries, particularly in culture and external information. Notable events included the Viet Nam International Defence Expo, the second Viet NamLaos Border Defence Friendship Exchange, the official Lao visit by Minister of National Defence Gen. Phan Van Giang, annual meetings among Vietnamese, Lao, Cambodian defence ministers, and this years trilateral rescue drills.

They successfully raised public awareness of the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, States and armies in the new situation. They provided timely information on activities of leaders of the two defence ministries and general departments of politics, especially official visits by the chiefs of the political education departments of the VPA and the Lao Peoples Army in 20242025.

On the occasion, the Vietnamese side thanked the Lao Ministry of Defence for sending officers to Viet Nam for military parades and processions marking the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification (April 30), and the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day (September 2).

Looking ahead, both sides agreed to continue promoting political education work, contributing to consolidating the loyal, pure and and particularly close relationship between the two political education departments and, more broadly, between Viet Nam and Laos.

They committed to continued sharing of experience in information and education, rapporteurs work, social sciences and humanities, emulation - commendation, news and journalism, culture - performing arts, and management of publishing, printing, and film distribution.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI  The State Audit of Vietnam (SAV) and the Spanish Court of Audit agreed to continue promoting the implementation of their existing cooperation agreement, through exchanges of high-level delegations and specialised working groups on topics of their expertise and mutual interest.

During a recent meeting in Madrid, leaders from both institutions highlighted that the 2010 cooperation agreement laid a solid foundation for effective collaboration in various forms, helping to enhance mutual support in professional fields.

Over the years, both sides have organised visits and working sessions between their senior leaders at each institutions headquarters and have strengthened cooperation at multilateral forums, notably through Spains role as Secretariat of the European Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (EUROSAI) and Vietnams chairmanship of the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) for the 20182021 term.

Looking ahead, they agreed to press on with implementing the cooperation deal and keep supporting each other at multilateral forums, particularly within the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI).

Deputy Auditor General Ha Thi My Dung requested that the Spanish Court of Auditors assist SAV in building capacity in priority areas such as IT auditing, information technology application to auditing, regional auditing, environmental auditing, and performance auditing. This should include sending Spanish experts to Viet Nam and enabling Vietnamese auditors to participate in training courses and workshops in Spain.

Genaro Moya, President of the Audit Section at the Spanish Court of Audit, affirmed that future cooperation programmes will focus on practical and emerging areas, including environmental auditing, crisis management auditing, post-disaster recovery auditing, and gender equality auditing.

He expressed confidence that the partnership between the two institutions will continue to develop effectively and substantively.

Within the framework of the meeting, the two sides also held a seminar to share experiences regarding the role of supreme audit institutions in preventing corruption and wastefulness.

Prior to the meeting, the SAV delegation visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Madrid to gain updates on economic, political, and community matters. VNA/VNS
HA NOI  Secretary-General of the National Assembly (NA) and Chairman of the NA Office Le Quang Manh on Monday launched an electronic portal at http://hoidongbaucu.quochoi.vn, which supplies information about the elections of deputies to the 16th NA and all-level Peoples Councils for the 20262031 tenure.

Built under an NA Standing Committee resolution, the platform, developed by the NA Office, the Committee for Deputy Affairs and Viettel Group, is also accessible via the NAs official website at http://quochoi.vn.

Powered by cutting-edge technology, the official portal of the National Election Council (NEC) provides comprehensive information, documents, and guidance on election procedures from the Party, NEC, Government, Vietnam Fatherland Front, and municipal and provincial election committees.

It aims to raise public awareness, foster political consensus, and ensure the elections are conducted democratically, fairly, lawfully, safely, and cost-effectively, truly a nationwide festival. The portal also seeks to bolster public trust in the Party and State, fully uphold citizens right to mastery, and support the building and perfection of a law-governed socialist state of the people, by the people, and for the people, helping with Viet Nams transition into a new era of prosperity.

It connects voters at home and abroad with updated data: laws, schedules, candidate rosters, results, FAQs, and local feeds, among others.

The launch, made at the NEC's third session in Ha Noi, underscores the NA and NECs commitment to digital transformation, leveraging technology to ensure transparency and public engagement, paving the way for electoral success. VNA/VNS
HCM CITY  Fishermen and the armed forces are working side by side to safeguard Viet Nams waters, forming a unified presence that links economic development with the protection of national sovereignty. Standing with them at sea are the Peoples Navy, Coast Guard and Border Guard, who help ensure that traditional livelihoods remain closely connected to national defence.

With more than 3,260km of coastline, Viet Nam holds a favourable position as a gateway for international trade and maritime transport. Twenty-one out of its 34 cities and provinces border the sea and more than half of the population live in coastal areas, making fishermen vital to national security and defence at sea.

Amid the vast ocean, each fishing vessel serves as a living marker affirming the nations maritime and island sovereignty.

Maritime strategy

After a decade of implementing Viet Nams Maritime Strategy to 2020, awareness across the political system, among citizens and overseas Vietnamese, of the role of the sea and islands in economic growth and sovereignty improved significantly, according to the 12th-tenure Party Central Committees Resolution No 36-NQ/TW, issued on October 22, 2018.

National sovereignty and security at sea have been firmly maintained while maritime safety and search-and-rescue work has been ensured and international cooperation on maritime issues proactively and comprehensively promoted.

However, many limitations and weaknesses remain and sustainable marine economic development continues to face difficulties and challenges. Maritime economic growth has yet to be harmoniously linked with social development and environmental protection.

Resolution 36 identifies subjective causes as the main reason behind these shortcomings.

The East Sea (internationally known as the South China Sea), particularly its southern waters, has been identified as resource-rich. This area also hosts some of the countrys most dynamic economic activities, including offshore oil and gas rigs and pipelines, world-class seaports with heavy vessel traffic, the DK1 platform cluster providing economic, scientific and technical services, as well as international undersea fibre-optic cables and emerging offshore wind-power developments.

It is also a long-established traditional fishing ground attracting vessels from central and south-central regions. Over the years, these activities have contributed greatly to national development, underlining the strategic importance of this maritime zone.

In this context, Resolution 36 sets out a breakthrough policy to improve living standards and ensure security and safety for coastal, island and marine workers. It also seeks to develop cultural institutions for maritime communities and promote national identity, history and maritime cultural values as the basis for building a distinctive maritime culture in Viet Nam.

The resolution calls for consolidating all-people national defence and security at sea, enhancing the ability to effectively handle maritime situations and resolutely safeguarding independence, sovereignty, sovereign rights, jurisdiction and national interests over Viet Nams maritime zones.

These measures reaffirm the countrys consistent policy of maintaining a peaceful, stable environment and respecting international law at sea.

All-people defence

Viet Nams southern maritime region is protected by a combination of armed forces, including Navy Region 2, Coast Guard Region 3, the Border Guard, naval and border-guard flotillas and key defence zones located at the maritime gateways of HCM City.

On May 30, 2019, Navy Region 2 was chosen by the Viet Nam Peoples Navy as the first unit to coordinate with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ba RiaVung Tau Province (now part of HCM City) to launch the programme 'Viet Nam Peoples Navy  A steadfast support for fishermen at sea.'

The programme aims to strengthen communication, advocacy assistance and protection for fishermen engaged in safe and lawful fishing, building all-people national defence at sea and contributing together with the Navy to safeguarding maritime and island sovereignty in the new era.

Similar programmes have been launched with the coast guard and border guard forces to help stabilise fishermens livelihoods and provide support to fishing vessels at sea.

Through various creative and practical approaches, these programmes have garnered wide social engagement, strong political and social significance and tangible results, earning an enthusiastic response and participation from local Party Committees, authorities and coastal communities, fisheries organisations, vessel owners and fishermen alike.

As a result, the quality and effectiveness of support and protection for fishermen conducting safe, lawful fishing have steadily improved, with their political awareness and sense of responsibility strengthened.

According to Navy Region 2, thanks to the strong bond between the military and the people at sea, from 2019 to mid-2025, fishermen operating in the waters under the regions management had detected and promptly reported nearly 450 ships, mostly foreign military or law-enforcement vessels. This has helped naval forces effectively track, monitor and handle situations, ensuring safety for both maritime economic and defence activities.

Deputy Political Commissar of Navy Region 2 Colonel o Hong Duyen noted that in addition to the core professional role of the armed forces in protecting maritime sovereignty, the presence of fishermen at sea is not only vital for economic development but also constitutes an early and distant defensive line for safeguarding the nations maritime domain.

Heartfelt efforts

Along with strong investment from the State in infrastructure for fisheries logistics centres such as ports, storm shelters and credit support policies for fishermen, recent years have seen an increase in meaningful activities carried out by the armed forces, local Party committees and coastal authorities.

These practical, heartfelt efforts have become a firm source of support, helping fishermen feel secure as they head out to sea.

From the beginning of 2025 until now, the HCM City Border Guard Command has organised free medical check-ups and medicine distribution for 1,300 people and presented nearly 5,400 gift packages, 936 scholarships, as well as numerous production funds and tools to disadvantaged households, fishermen and students.

In addition to educational and livelihood charity programmes, the border guards also mobilised funding to build and repair 18 temporary and dilapidated houses in their managed areas, worth over VN1 billion (US$38,000) in total.

Navy officers and coast guards also carried out similar initiatives, distributing life jackets, torches, first-aid kits and national flags to fishermen.

Nguyen Van Ton, a fishing boat owner from HCM Citys Phuoc Thang Ward, said the Breakfast with Fishermen programme running for the past five years has provided a valuable space for fishermen to share their thoughts and aspirations with officers.

Authorities in the citys Phuoc Hiep Hamlet also regularly hold morning coffee sessions with local fishermen, said the hamlets Party Organisation Secretary Nguyen Van Nho. This is the occasion for officers to inform and communicate with fishermen about current regulations and combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

As a result, fishermens awareness has greatly improved. They now strictly comply with regulations, maintain their vessel monitoring devices throughout operations at sea, avoid encroaching on foreign waters, and ensure that their fishing activities follow the law.

Navy Region 2s Deputy Political Commissar Colonel Duyen said that the number of Vietnamese fishing vessels entering foreign waters has dropped significantly and is on track for complete elimination.

In addition to supporting residents in coastal areas, Navy Region 2 consistently maintains forces and ships on patrol duty in assigned waters, especially in preventing IUU fishing in overlapping areas between Viet Nam and Indonesia, and Viet Nam and Malaysia.

Since 2019, the regions vessels have successfully negotiated and rescued 12 Vietnamese fishing boats seized abroad, returning them safely to Vietnamese waters and handing them over to competent authorities. The unit has also participated in 248 rescue missions.

Meanwhile, Platform DK1 recorded over 2,000 fishing trips, rescued 58 fishermen in distress and provided medical treatment and medicine for over 300 fishermen suffering illnesses at sea.

Since early 2025, Coast Guard Region 3 has carried out over 250 long-term patrols and inspections, during which crews have provided timely aid to numerous fishermen injured in marine accidents.

Deputy Director of the HCM City Department of Agriculture and Environment Pham Thi Na noted that labour conditions at sea are harsh and the regular presence of Coast Guard and Navy vessels in recent years has greatly reassured fishermen in their offshore operations.

As one of the countrys largest fisheries centres with over 4,700 fishing vessels, HCM Citys Border Guard has actively coordinated to maintain thousands of self-managed safe boat teams and self-managed security teams with local fishermen.

Border guards were also assigned to coastal households to ensure close contact and timely grasp of fishermens situations and concerns.

Thanks to regular interaction and the dedicated support of the armed forces, local Party Committees and authorities, more fishermen now better understand the Partys guidelines and the States laws on sustainable marine economic development.

They comply with regulations, avoid violations of foreign waters and actively cooperate with functional forces while working offshore, protecting both their livelihoods and the nations maritime sovereignty.  VNS
HCM CITY  As Viet Nam prepares for the European Commissions (EC) inspection in November, HCM City is intensifying efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The visit will play a decisive role in determining whether the European Union will lift the yellow card warning on Vietnamese seafood  a measure that has long affected tens of thousands of fishermen and exporters nationwide.

At a press briefing last week, Pham Thi Na, deputy director of the city Department of Agriculture and Environment, said the city had launched a peak month of action against IUU fishing with concrete and practical measures to help the country achieve the goal of removing the yellow card.

The city currently has around 4,900 fishing vessels, of which many operate regularly in southern waters.

Effective fleet management, therefore, plays a crucial role in fulfilling national commitments to legal and sustainable fisheries.

During this campaign, the Fisheries and Fishery Surveillance Sub-department is working with coastal wards and communes to review the entire fleet, removing from the system any boats that are damaged, abandoned or sold to other provinces.

All active vessels are now registered and managed under the national fisheries database, which allows real-time monitoring of operations.

This enables EC inspectors to verify data remotely, ensuring transparency and traceability.

Every activity of each vessel can now be tracked and verified, Na said.

The citys nine fishing ports have all been equipped with the electronic Catch Documentation and Traceability system (eCDT), which monitors vessel arrivals and departures, catch volumes, and the origins of raw materials supplied to processing plants.

All vessels 15 metres or longer must submit electronic logbooks and undergo cross-checks by port authorities, border guards and fishery inspectors.

Fishing ports are now more than mooring places  they are data verification stations, Na said.

With digital records, we can prove the legal origin of seafood, a key condition for the EC to consider lifting the yellow card.

At sea, two shore-based monitoring stations  one managed by the Border Guard and the other by the Fisheries Surveillance Sub-department  operate 24 hours a day to track all vessels through the vessel monitoring system (VMS).

When a vessel loses signal, rapid-response teams immediately alert the owner and local authorities to restore connectivity, preventing attempts to cross into foreign waters  a major cause of previous IUU violations.

The results have been clear. The number of the city's vessels detained by foreign authorities has fallen sharply from 23 cases in 2020 to eight in 2022, two in 2023, and only one in 2024.

Since August 2024, no vessel from the city has been detained.

This is a positive signal, showing the effectiveness of monitoring and the growing compliance among fishermen, Na noted.

Since 2024, all border guard posts and fishing ports have been equipped with computers, GPS devices and eCDT software, ensuring all seafood products are recorded digitally from harvesting to processing and export.

Each vessels electronic logbook is linked to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environments national database, providing verifiable proof of the legal catch  a prerequisite for exports to the EU market.

According to the department, strict law enforcement is the most decisive factor in the ECs assessment.

Every suspected violation is investigated and penalised. To date, HCM City has resolved almost all cases with signs of wrongdoing, with only 11 vessels still under verification aftering losing connection.

The city is home to more than 50 seafood processing and exporting enterprises, employing around 30,000 workers.

Removing the yellow card would restore access to the lucrative European market, reduce inspection costs, and enhance competitiveness.

It would also stabilise fishermens livelihoods, boost exports, and strengthen Viet Nams seafood reputation abroad.

Beyond economic benefits, Na stressed that the citys anti-IUU actions contribute to safeguarding the nations maritime sovereignty.

Our efforts do not stop after this peak month, she said. These measures will be maintained and upgraded long term. Electronic management, vessel monitoring, traceability and law enforcement will continue to be improved and integrated across agencies.

She added that compliance with fishing regulations is not just to satisfy EC inspectors but to ensure the sustainable development of Viet Nams fisheries and their responsibility towards the environment and international community.

Maintaining and upgrading digital monitoring and traceability systems require an annual investment of about VN35 billion (US$1.4 million), but the city officials consider it essential for the sectors long-term integrity.

With determination from both authorities and fishermen, HCM City is setting an example in the national effort to remove the yellow card and secure a sustainable future for Viet Nams fisheries sector.  VNS
HCM CITY  Over the past week, eight hospitals in HCM City have received 202 people suspected of suffering food poisoning after having banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) from two stores of the same chain.

The municipal health department on Monday reported that Military Hospital 175 had admitted 131 patients with suspected food poisoning linked to the sandwiches. All of them were children, the oldest only 15 years old.

In total, the victims were hospitalised after eating banh mi from one store on Nguyen Thai Son Street, Hanh Thong Ward, and another on Le Quang inh Street, Binh Loi Trung Ward, Most patients have been discharged, but dozens remain hospitalised, with some in serious condition.

According to reports from eight hospitals, the 175 Military Hospital is treating the most cases. Tam Anh Hospital is dealing with 20 cases, including one in intensive care  toxicology unit, Gia inh Peoples Hospital with 36 cases (including one admitted on November 5 whose blood culture tested positive for Salmonella), Binh Dan Hospital (1 case), My uc Hospital (formerly Tan Binh District Hospital) with one pregnant patient at 34 weeks, Becamex International Hospital (6 cases), Trung My Tay General Hospital (formerly District 12 Hospital) with 5 cases, and Childrens Hospital 2 with 2 cases.

Preliminary clinical and subclinical data from most patients are consistent with intestinal bacterial infection, most likely caused by Salmonella.

The Department has submitted a report on the incident to the HCM City Peoples Committee and the Ministry of Health, and has instructed hospitals to ensure proper triage and treatment in line with the issued food poisoning treatment protocols.

Hospitals are also required to provide rapid reports to the department.

Earlier, after a surge of hospitalisations linked to banh mi, the Hanh Thong Ward Peoples Committee set up an inspection team to verify the case and sealed food samples at the first branch on Nguyen Thai Son Street.

HCM City's Food Safety Management Authority has temporarily suspended operations at this branch, collected food and environmental samples, and launched an investigation to identify the cause of the poisoning in accordance with its jurisdiction.

A report from the food safety agency showed that all food items, including pork sausage, cold cuts, pate, eggs, vegetables, chillies, and cucumbers, had invoices and documents proving clear origins.

The establishment was equipped with a refrigerator for food storage and kept records of goods received and dispatched. Food processing and storage utensils met hygiene standards; the processing area was roofed and equipped with measures to prevent insects and harmful animals.

At the second branch on Le Quang inh Street (a mobile banh mi cart operating on the pavement at No.363 Le Quang inh), business activities have been suspended since the morning of November 7.

The case is currently under investigation by relevant authorities.  VNS
HA NOI  A new generation of Vietnamese students is setting its sights far beyond Earth, onto the skies and space itself, as the country pushes to turn aerospace technology into one of its next strategic industries.

On Monday, more than 1,000 students, scientists and engineers joined the Student Scientific Conference on Aerospace Technology in Ha Noi as part of a national series highlighting fields tied to Viet Nams high-tech ambitions.

"The aviation and space sector is no longer some distant dream. Its becoming a pillar of national security, sustainable development and Viet Nams global standing," said Vice President of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology Tran Hong Thai.

He recalled how even during years of hardship, Viet Nam sent its first cosmonaut, Pham Tuan, into orbit and began training young engineers abroad.

Today, Thai said, aerospace technology ranked among the countrys 11 designated strategic technology groups from low-orbit satellites and ground-control systems to unmanned aircraft.

"To build these fields, we need people who love science and dare to take on the toughest intellectual challenges," he said.

The demand is immense. By 2030, Viet Nam will need up to 1.5 million high-tech workers, according to Lam Tung, vice president of the Vietnam Students Association.

"Weve met less than half that number," Tung said.

"That gap may sound daunting, but its also an opportunity for young people today  a generation capable, confident and ambitious enough to master science and technology, conquer space and invent the future."

Every satellite prototype, every aerodynamic model, he added, "is a small brick in building Viet Nams dream to own its skies and space."

Tung also said the association aimed to use the conference to link young researchers in Viet Nam and abroad into a global network of Vietnamese talent, connecting masters and PhD students, engineers and innovators to strengthen collaboration across borders.

Thai said students with strong academic foundations could find opportunities at the Vietnam National Space Centre, from internships and R&D projects to graduation theses tied to real-world engineering problems.

The conference underscored a growing push to bring universities, research institutes, businesses and international partners together to build a highly skilled workforce for the countrys aviation and space industry, part of a long-term strategy stretching to 2045.

For many of the students in attendance, that horizon feels closer than ever. What once sounded like a distant dream, they said, was fast becoming a national mission.  VNS
HA NOI  Recommendations and solutions have been discussed to safeguard security in cyberspace, carefully suited to Viet Nam's current conditions.

Experts at an international seminar, titled 'Building resilience against online frauds and scams in Southeast Asia: Spotlight on Viet Nam', proposed strengthen national capacity to ensure the country is less vulnerable to potential attacks.

The seminar was held in Ha Noi by the Institute of Human Geography and Sustainable Development under the Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences, in collaboration with the Tech for Good Institute (TFGI) of Singapore.

It acts as a forum for scientific dialogue, bringing together leaders, researchers, companies, social organisations and community representatives to explore the landscape of online scams and fraud in Southeast Asia from multiple fields.

Participants also proposed mechanisms to build and strengthen user resilience against increasingly sophisticated forms of scams.

Cybercriminals are exploiting emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to automate and personalise fraudulent activities. In 2024, Asia accounted for more than half of the total global financial losses related to scams.

Viet Nam's digital transformation has achieved remarkable progress. However, similar to other countries in the region, online scams and fraud cases are on the rise. Last year, authorities recorded 10,000 online fraud cases, with estimated losses of nearly US$759 million.

From January to August 2025 alone, the number of online scams surged by 65 per cent compared to the same period last year. These figures highlight the urgent need to strengthen domestic resilience and enhance cross-border cooperation to combat transnational cybercrime.

Citra Nasruddin, Programme Director of TFGI, said: "Given the cross-border nature and rapid growth of online scam tactics, an 'all-of-society' approach is essential to protect citizens and strengthen trust within the digital ecosystem."

Le Van Hung, Deputy Director of the Institute of Human Geography and Sustainable Development, said: "Online scams are increasing, with methods becoming more diverse and sophisticated, especially as digital transformation accelerates across most sectors in Viet Nam."

"This issue significantly affects business operations of enterprises and households, as well as the daily lives of citizens. Therefore, discussions aimed at identifying comprehensive solutions, from state management agencies, businesses, social organisations and improvements in public awareness, are extremely important."

Keith Detros, Programme Manager at TFGI, cited the results of the institute's latest report, titled 'Building Resilience Against Digitally-enabled Scams and Fraud in Southeast Asia: A Whole-of-Society Approach,' as saying that governments around the world are responding to online scams and fraud in various ways, from new laws and regulatory measures to public-private partnerships, consumer education campaigns and community initiatives.

Given the rapidly evolving and cross-border nature of digital fraud, countries need to adopt a whole-of-society approach in the coming time to protect people and maintain trust in the digital ecosystem, he added.

One of the key highlights of the workshop is the capacity-building approach structured around four pillars that guide anti-scam efforts throughout the entire process, including Protection  Identification and Detection  Response and Recovery  Adaptation.  VNS
HA NOI  Feedback on the draft documents to be submitted to the upcoming 14th National Party Congress has highlighted the role of science, technology, innovation, and sustainable resource management as key pillars for the countrys next development phase.

These elements are seen as strategic foundations to achieve rapid, sustainable growth and attain high-income, developed country status by 2045.

Professor Dr. ao Xuan Hoc, President of the Vietnam Irrigation Association, stressed that sustainable development requires breakthroughs in management of resources, particularly water resources, which are crucial for ecological security and long-term development. He noted that fragmented responsibilities across ministries have limited policy effectiveness and proposed consolidating water management under a single authority to ensure consistent planning, oversight, and administration.

Drawing on international experience, Hoc suggested a comprehensive water law framework, including the Irrigation Law, the Law on Management and Exploitation of Hydraulic Works, the Water Supply and Drainage Law, and the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Law. He also recommended two priority programmes for 2026-2030: sustainable urban flood control and the development and management of flood corridors along major rivers. He called for flexible, framework-based planning supported by big data and artificial intelligence to enhance forecasting, warning, and decision-making.

Meanwhile, Associate Professor Dr. Bui Thi An, Director of the Institute of Natural Resources, Environment, and Community Development, urged the documents to emphasise institutional innovation, resource mobilisation, and a national innovation ecosystem centred on enterprises, with research institutions and state policies providing support.

An proposed five key solutions: fostering an open policy environment to make science, technology, and innovation primary growth drivers; developing high-quality human resources in strategic sectors including green technology, biotechnology, and digital transformation; ensuring equal opportunities for young and female intellectuals; strengthening connections with domestic and overseas Vietnamese experts; and establishing a National Intellectual Advisory Council and a global expert network to contribute to policymaking, social critique, and strategic solutions.

The draft documents should also enable intellectuals to provide independent and candid feedback, recognising social critique as a driver of innovation. Regular national forums will allow Party and State leaders to engage directly with scientists and experts on strategic issues.

An stressed that science and technology should support sustainable development while advancing green transition and digital transformation. Priority research areas should include energy efficiency, bio-based materials, renewable energy, smart agriculture, and a circular economy, positioning green innovation as vital to enhancing productivity, quality, and economic competitiveness.

The scholar concluded that the draft documents should reflect the spirit of commitment, innovation, and dedication of Vietnamese intellectuals, not only in research but also in policymaking, positioning them as a pioneering force in building a knowledge-based, green, and sustainable economy. VNA/VNS
MANILA  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a one-year state of national calamity due to the destruction left by Typhoon Tino (international name: Kalmaegi) last week, upon the recommendation of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

Under Proclamation No. 155, the state of national calamity shall also be in preparation and in response to the upcoming disasters, including Super Typhoon Uwan (Fung-wong), whose severe winds and heavy rainfall batter Luzon.

In a memorandum dated on Saturday, Defence Secretary Teodoro, who also chairs the NDRRMC, said the proclamation shall be interpreted to encompass all natural calamities occurring within one year from November 7, 2025, unless sooner lifted by the President.

The declaration will hasten rescue, recovery, relief, and rehabilitation efforts of the government and the private sector, including the facilitation of international humanitarian assistance.

It will also immediately authorise the imposition of a price freeze on basic necessities and prime commodities in the entire country, granting of no-interest calamity loans, as well as prevent the overpricing, profiteering or hoarding of prime commodities, medicines, and petroleum products.

The state of national calamity will also grant wide latitude to national and local governments in utilizing appropriate funds, including calamity and quick response funds, for rescue, recovery, relief, and rehabilitation efforts.

President Marcos ordered all government agencies to continuously undertake urgent and critical disaster response to save lives, reduce health impacts, ensure public safety and meet the basic subsistence needs of the people affected.

They were also directed to implement post-disaster recovery measures to restore normalcy, and improve facilities, livelihood, and living conditions of disaster-stricken communities.

National government agencies shall provide or augment the basic services and facilities of affected local government units, and facilitate private sector and international assistance, as may be necessary.

224 dead

Based on the latest report of the NDRRMC on Sunday, Tino left at least 224 people dead, of which 158 were from Cebu province  making it the deadliest tropical cyclone to hit the country this year.

The death toll could go higher with at least 109 still reported missing, and at least 526 were injured.

More than 3.5 million Filipinos were affected in eight regions of the country.

Running estimates of the cost of damage to infrastructure and agriculture are at P219 million.

Due to the continuous inclement weather across the country, the majority of the utility lines that were down by Tino remain unrestored.

Of the 165 cities and municipalities whose power was cut off, 104 (63 percent) still have no electricity. None of the 11 localities whose water supply was halted had been restored.

Meanwhile, of the 88 cities and towns whose communication lines had fallen, 58 (66 per cent) remain unreachable.  Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
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At the Vietnam Urban Sustainability Summit 2025, hosted by the Ministry of Construction in partnership with the Central Commission for Policy and Strategy on November 5, development partners from Switzerland and France urged Vietnam to rethink the way it builds, plans, and governs its cities.

They called for a shift from short-term, reactive responses to a long-term approach that strengthens resilience through good governance, human capacity, and climate adaptation.

Julien Seillan, country director of the Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) in Vietnam, echoed the people-first resilience message, stressing that climate change has become an urgent and inescapable reality for Vietnamese cities.

Referring to the devastating floods caused by Typhoon Matmo in October and others, Seillan remarked that such extreme events are now the new normal.

We must move from responding to crises after they occur to preventing them through better planning and investment, explained Seillan. Urban development and resilience must be treated as two sides of the same strategy. Every new road, building, or drainage system should be designed to protect, not expose, communities to risk.

He reaffirmed AFDs strong partnership with the Ministry of Construction in developing urban resilience indicators, integrating climate adaptation into planning, piloting resilient city models, and building institutional capacity.

Our goal is to ensure that the next generation of urban and regional master plans systematically integrates hydrological analysis, exposure mapping, and climate projections, he said.

Julien Seillan, country director of the Agence Francaise de Developpement

Seillan also highlighted the Team Europe approach for Vietnams cities, with the EU providing grant funding through the WARM Facility and the CRUIV Project to support more than 12 provinces in embedding climate adaptation into urban infrastructure.

These initiatives perfectly reflect the spirit of Team Europe, acting together for greener, safer, and more resilient Vietnamese cities, he said. Thanks to this joint effort, more than 12 provinces are receiving technical and financial support to integrate climate adaptation and disaster risk management into urban planning and infrastructure investments, while also building the capacity of local institutions.

Amid record-breaking floods across Vietnam, Tran Van Giai Phong, senior national programme officer at the Embassy of Switzerland in Vietnam, warned that the recent disasters from the northern mountains to the Mekong Delta are a powerful reminder that urban resilience is not an abstract concept but a matter of human safety and national competitiveness.

Resilience is about peoples safety, a citys ability to compete, and the shared future of its citizens, he said. Resilience begins with governance, not infrastructure. Cities that are well governed recover faster, plan better, and protect their people more effectively.

Tran Van Giai Phong, senior national programme officer at the Embassy of Switzerland in Vietnam

Phong further stressed the value of adaptive, people-centered planning, pointing out that local communities are often the first to detect vulnerabilities.

Listening to those voices early and often helps avoid costly mistakes later, he said. Digital tools should serve citizens, guided by clear rules, shared standards, and skilled users who can apply them for the public good.

On financing, Phong urged a long-term perspective that looks beyond construction to sustainability.

Financing resilience is not only about building new projects but about sustaining what already exists, he explained. True resilience is ultimately human. The more we invest in people, the more sustainable every reform and every project becomes.

The messages from Switzerland and France converged on a shared vision: building Vietnamese cities that are not only larger and more modern, but also smarter, safer, and more livable with cities prepared not just to withstand the next storm, but to thrive beyond it.

Resilience is not built in a single day, but every day, through consistent commitment, transparent governance, and trust between citizens and their government, stated Phong.

France and EU back climate-resilient infrastructure in Ninh Thuan As part of French President Emmanuel Macrons official visit to Vietnam, two key financing agreements were signed between the Ministry of Finance and the French Development Agency (AFD) on May 26, reinforcing the EU's commitment to climate resilience in one of Vietnam's most drought-prone regions.

Resilient industrial system within reach A new focus on private sector development should create the best conditions for businesses in industrial real estate and eco-industrial parks to grow more sustainably.
Since October, CHIN-SU and Nam Ngu products have been available at global retail giants Costco in the US and South Korea, and Woolworths in Australia. The move reflects Vietnams growing presence in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector and the rising competitiveness of locally developed brands on the global stage.

Masan Consumer, a member of Masan Group, is among Vietnams leading FMCG companies. It operates a closed-loop production chain  from raw materials to finished products  that adheres to international standards for quality management and food safety. Central to its innovation capacity is the Consumer Innovation Centre (CIC), which focuses on research and development (R&D) driven by a deep understanding of consumer preferences and shopping behaviour.

MCHs strategy is built on three pillars: premiumisation, out-of-home consumption, and R&D. Each year, CIC develops over 100 new initiatives, many of which have shaped modern consumer trends, such as Omachi Self-Heating Hotpot, Nam Ngu Ly Son chilli garlic fish sauce, and Wake-Up 247 energy drinks.

By combining strong R&D capabilities with advanced technology, MCH has shortened its product development cycle to under 12 months  about twice as fast as the FMCG industry average. Between 2018 and 2024, nearly 20 per cent of its revenue came from new products, highlighting the strength of its innovation-driven growth strategy.

Expanding into international retail chains further demonstrates MCHs ability to compete globally, showcasing the growing capacity of Vietnams consumer goods sector in quality management, logistics, and compliance with global standards. This milestone also strengthens the position of Vietnamese products within the regional consumer value chain.

After restructuring its distribution network, MCH expects to return to positive growth in Q4, setting a strong foundation for recovery in 2026. The companys new direct coverage initiative aims to optimise inventory and logistics to ensure products reach points of sale closest to consumers.

Q3 revenue fell 5.9 per cent on-year and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation were down 7.1 per cent, mainly due to short-term impacts from our new direct coverage model, said Huynh Viet Thang, CFO of Masan Consumer. The initiative, now rolled out in 34 provinces, has already started showing positive results since October.

Centred on people, technology, and connectivity, direct coverage has streamlined operations by restructuring the sales force by region, automating the ordering system, and connecting sales representatives directly with points of sale. As a result, direct coverage has increased by 40 per cent to 345,000 points of sale, while the share of wholesale channels fell from 60 to 30 per cent. Labour productivity rose by 50 per cent, with costs remaining stable.

"Restructuring the distribution system is the right step for medium- and long-term growth," said Danny Le, CEO of Masan Group. "We are moving towards modernising the entire consumer value chain in Vietnam."

MCH is expected to return to growth in Q4. The company is also preparing for an initial public offering with advisory from international investment banks.

"The company is likely to list on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange by late 2025 or early 2026, supported by its solid financials and positive market sentiment," a representative of Masan Group's board of directors said. "A successful listing would pave the way for inclusion in the VN30-Index, broadening our investor base and reinforcing our position as a leading consumer goods company."

Masan Group recorded its strongest quarterly profit since early 2022, supported by improved performance across WinCommerce, Masan MEATLife, and Masan High-Tech Materials. Building on this momentum, MCH is expected to enter a new growth phase from late 2025 to 2026 as it completes restructuring and advances plans for a public listing.

Focusing on distribution optimisation, R&D, and international expansion, MCH aims to strengthen its competitiveness in the evolving consumer goods market, positioning itself as a top Vietnamese brand built on quality, innovation, and operational efficiency.

The only consumer company named in top 10 listed firms by market cap Masan Consumer, the consumer goods arm of Masan Group, has seen its stock price soar more than 240 per centin the year to date.

Masan Consumer Holdings honoured with consecutive "Great Place To Work" certifications Masan Consumer Holdings received the prestigious "Great Place to Work" certification from Great Place to Work for the second year in a row in November.
Unis Hanoi celebrates United Nations Day and 80 years of global partnership

On November 7, UNIS Hanoi brought together nearly 3,000 members of Vietnams international community to celebrate United Nations Day. This years event was especially significant, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the United Nations and 80 years since Vietnam gained independence, highlighting a shared commitment to a peaceful, sustainable, and inclusive future.

Distinguished guests from the United Nations Resident Coordinators Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and numerous embassies and international organisations joined families, alumni, and staff for a vibrant ceremony that reflected the schools unique role as a bridge between the UN and Vietnam.

UNIS Hanoi was founded through a visionary partnership between the United Nations and the government of Vietnam - a partnership that continues to inspire and empower our students, said Dr Elizabeth Gale, head of School at UNIS Hanoi. As we celebrate these anniversaries, we also celebrate the generations of young people learning to lead with empathy, purpose, and global responsibility.

Dr Elizabeth Gale, head of School at UNIS Hanoi

The morning opened with the much-anticipated Parade of Nations, featuring students representing the schools 63 nationalities and carrying the flags of all 195 UN member states. A student-led assembly followed, blending music, dance, and heartfelt reflections on what it means to be global citizens in a world that needs unity more than ever.

This years United Nations Day is also linked to Gaia, the spectacular installation of Earth by British artist Luke Jerram, which continues to inspire environmental awareness and collective action at UNIS Hanoi. The illuminated Earth artwork - which captivated thousands of visitors during its public display in Tay Ho earlier this month - served as both backdrop and symbol for the day, reminding everyone present of the planet we share and the urgent need to protect it.

Following the assembly, the community gathered for the traditional International community lunch, where families shared dishes from around the world, celebrating unity through food, friendship, and culture.

United Nations Day is a moment to reflect on how far we have come - and how much more we can achieve together, said Pauline Tamesis, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Vietnam. The spirit of partnership and inclusion we see here at UNIS Hanoi is exactly what the UN stands for: learning together, acting together, and shaping a sustainable and peaceful future for all.

For almost four decades, UNIS Hanoi has embodied the ideals of the United Nations through education. Founded in 1988, it remains a testament to the strength of collaboration between Vietnam and the UN - a place where students learn to connect knowledge with action and to shape a better world for the next 80 years and beyond.

UN International Procurement Seminar Held in Asia for the First Time: A Collaborative Initiative Between the UN and Ningbo On November 13 , the 2024 United Nations International Procurement Seminar (IPS) commenced in Ningbo , marking the first time this authoritative, high-profile and professional conference has been held in Asia.

Vietnam and UN plan to enhance development cooperation Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong and United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator Pauline Tamesis co-chaired a meeting of the Joint Steering Committee (JSC) on cooperation between Vietnam and the UN on August 27.

Promoting cooperation between the United Nations and Vietnam Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong received Kanni Wignaraja, assistant secretary-general of the United Nations, on September 4 to discuss further cooperation.
Hoang Trung Hieu, deputy director of NIC

At a conference on November 8, experts outlined a vision for Vietnams high-tech future, positioning AI and semiconductors as key drivers of economic transformation. The government and industry alike are aiming to capitalise on this historic opportunity to modernise manufacturing and strengthen competitiveness.

According to Hoang Trung Hieu, deputy director of the National Innovation Centre (NIC), AI is reshaping every stage of high-tech manufacturing, from design and production to supply chain management. In the semiconductor industry, AI is enabling intelligent, automated factories that enhance productivity and resilience. AI will play a decisive role in accelerating Vietnams shift from traditional manufacturing to an innovation-driven, knowledge-based ecosystem, Hieu said.

Globally, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates AI could contribute over $15 trillion to the world economy by 2030. For Vietnam, this technology represents an opportunity for growth and a strategic pathway to transition from traditional manufacturing to an innovation-driven, knowledge-based economy.

The government has placed innovation and AI at the heart of national policy, identifying them as strategic priorities through 2030, with a vision towards 2045. The List of Strategic Technologies and Technology Products also ranks AI among Vietnams highest priorities, affirming its role as a fundamental driver of the high-tech sector.

The NIC is tasked with developing Vietnams innovation ecosystem, mobilising domestic and international resources for research, technology transfer, and adoption of emerging technologies, especially AI and semiconductors.

Hieu stressed that collaboration among government, industry, academia, and research institutions is essential to building a globally competitive high-tech ecosystem. Events like SEMIExpo serve as platforms for such cooperation, bringing together global and local leaders to discuss automation, digital transformation, and AI strategies in the semiconductor industry.

Vietnams semiconductor ambition goes beyond technology, he added. It aims to nurture innovation, develop world-class talent, and build intelligent manufacturing centres with a strong Vietnamese identity.

Ho Duc Thang, director general of the Ministry of Science and Technology's (MST) National Institute of Digital Technology and Digital Transformation, called the gathering more than a technical exchange, describing it as a forum to jointly shape the future of two strategic sectors: AI and semiconductors.

Vietnam faces a historic opportunity to move from technology adopter to technology creator, Thang said. Our goal is to gradually achieve mastery and assert national digital sovereignty over AI.

Ho Duc Thang, director general of the MSTs National Institute of Digital Technology and Digital Transformation

To realise that vision, Thang outlined four decisive steps Vietnam is taking:

Institutional breakthrough: AI Law proposal

Thang revealed that the MST has submitted a draft Law on AI to the National Assembly. If approved, Vietnam would join the EU, Japan, and South Korea among the first nations to enact dedicated AI legislation.

This is the clearest testament to the Party and states commitment to AI as a top strategic technology, Thang said. He added that the proposed law is not about control but about enabling innovation, providing an open, safe legal framework that encourages experimentation while ensuring ethical AI use.

Computing infrastructure: Foundation for autonomy

Thang stressed the need for strategic independence in computing power through large-scale High-Performance Computing centres. The state must take the lead in investing in computing infrastructure to ensure strategic independence, he said.

The move also opens opportunities for Vietnams domestic semiconductor industry. We need Vietnamese-made chips, designed, packaged, and tested locally, to power those supercomputers, he noted. Developing AI infrastructure is a giant order for the semiconductor industry.

Financial mechanisms: Fuelling innovation

On the financial front, Vietnam is building mechanisms to accelerate innovation. Beyond existing funds like NAFOSTED and NATIF, the government is exploring a National AI Development Fund and an AI Voucher scheme to help enterprises adopt AI technologies and expand market demand.

Human resources: Dual-skilled workforce

Perhaps most crucially, Vietnams AI-semiconductor ambition depends on people. Thang highlighted the importance of cultivating dual-skilled engineers who understand both semiconductor hardware and advanced AI algorithms.

This is the most valuable asset to ensure sustainable autonomy, he said, calling for stronger education and training partnerships between universities and industry to prepare the workforce for future needs.

Thang likened the governments role to that of a conductor, orchestrating collaboration among the three pillars of state, academia, and enterprise. Ministries such as Science and Technology and Finance are coordinating efforts to align institutions, infrastructure, data, and financial resources.

Crucially, the state will act as the largest customer, posing complex technological challenges and inviting the private sector and academia to co-develop solutions. This ensures that national projects generate real demand and drive innovation within the domestic ecosystem, he said.

Speakers at the conference shared a common vision: Vietnams path to technological self-reliance and global competitiveness must be built on innovation, collaboration, and human talent. AI and semiconductors, as Thang put it, are two sides of the same coin, the wings for Vietnams economy to soar.

From institutional reform and infrastructure investment to financial mechanisms and workforce development, Vietnam is laying the groundwork for a modern digital economy  one that aims not just to participate in, but to lead, the global transformation of high-tech manufacturing.

Vietnams semiconductor ascent amid trillion-dollar global industry boom As Vietnam steps deeper into the global semiconductor race, experts say the country's strategic clarity, talent investment, and growing international partnerships are setting it apart.

Vietnams semiconductor industry drive gains global momentum At the opening ceremony of the Vietnam Semiconductor Industry Exhibition 2025 (SemiExpo 2025), Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung said that Vietnam is proactively paving the way for technology investors, with science, innovation, and digital transformation serving as the driving forces for growth, aiming to catch up, move together, and rise ahead.

Vietnams semiconductor leap: turning vision into global leadership The Vietnam Semiconductor Industry Exhibition 2025 (SemiExpo Vietnam 2025) opened on November 7, marking an important milestone in Vietnams journey towards high-tech integration and global innovation.
Mark Wheaton, BUVs director of Higher Education

As globalisation and climate change reshape the world, Vietnam is asserting itself as a proactive player in the green transition. At the Sustainable Innovation in Business and Economics (SIBE) 2025 International Conference on November 6 at British University Vietnam (BUV) in Ecopark, Hung Yen, nearly 130 scholars, policymakers, and business leaders from six countries convened, both in person and online, to explore innovation-driven strategies for sustainable, inclusive, and environmentally conscious growth.

In just the blink of an eye, the need for innovation and a sustainable future has become more urgent than ever, said Mark Wheaton, BUVs director of Higher Education.

Wheaton expressed hope that SIBE would grow into an annual platform connecting global expertise and shaping practical solutions for the challenges of a changing economy.

Among the most notable presentations, Prof. Magiswary from Taylors University in Malaysia highlighted the role of AI as a catalyst for green growth. "By optimising processes, reducing waste, and expanding access to technology, AI, demonstrates that innovation is not just a growth driver but also an ethical responsibility to future generations," she argued.

Echoing that message, John Daly from Swiss Education Group added, "Innovation is a matter of survival for the hospitality industry  adapt, innovate or be left behind. Vietnam can become a regional innovation hub if it manages to combine technology, creativity, and human experience to redefine service value and elevate its national brand."

In finance, researchers Paul Amerigo Jr. II Belviz Pajo and Henry De Vera Castro examined how recent US tariff policies are reshaping trade and investment across ASEAN. Meanwhile, other Vietnamese scholars found that economic shocks from the US have increased volatility in Bitcoin and digital assets  showing how fintech is directly responding to global volatility.

From a business perspective, Nguyen Huu Hieu, CEO of FiinGroup, analysed Vietnams green bond transactions and noted that while demand for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data and evaluation tools is growing rapidly, the market still lacks transparency. "Building a standardised ESG framework, he argued, will be crucial to attracting sustainable capital and reinforcing investor confidence," he said.

Together, these insights underline a broader truth: Vietnam must continue to strengthen its institutions, data systems, and fintech to adapt and lead in the regions journey towards sustainable growth.

Another topic that sparked strong debate was 'greenwashing'  when companies claim to be 'green' but fail to deliver in practice. Experts warned that such practices risk eroding consumer trust, particularly among Gen Z, a generation that values authenticity and social responsibility.

Researchers identified four strategies companies often used to project a 'green' image: symbolic disclosure, perception management, greenwashing, and inconsistent ESG reporting. They highlighted stronger accountability and greater transparency in sustainability communication.

From the consumer side, it has been found that Gen Z cosmetics consumers respond most positively to campaigns that reflect Vietnamese identity rather than imitating Western formats, valuing sincerity and emotional authenticity.

In sustainable fashion, social media trends showed that while 72 per cent of Gen Z respondents recognised the importance of sustainability, only 41 per cent made purchases  citing price barriers and doubts over authenticity. The study concluded that micro-influencers and relatable, locally grounded storytelling are essential for encouraging responsible consumption.

Together, these findings underscore a clear message: sustainability cannot remain a slogan  it must be backed by tangible action and transparent practices.

The conference also highlighted how Vietnam is entering a decisive phase where technology, human capital, and national identity form the foundation of sustainable progress.

Urban human capital can serve as a catalyst for innovation, enabling small and medium-sized enterprises to raise productivity through local knowledge networks. Beyond it, when universities and students share common values and purpose, this connection can become a powerful driver of innovation and long-term engagement.

Collectively, these perspectives reveal that Vietnam is not merely catching up with global trends  it is shaping its own path, rooted in local action, human-centred investment, and a vision for a greener, more innovative, and truly sustainable economy.

Vietnam and Denmark advance Green Strategic Partnership Vietnam and Denmark are deepening their Green Strategic Partnership with practical action, advancing renewable energy and clean production to meet climate goals.

South Korean enterprises show interest in developing green agriculture in Vietnam An increasing number of South Korean entrepreneurs are turning their attention to Vietnam, believing in the country's economic growth potential and its goals for green and low-emission agricultural development.

EuroCham to host green economy forum The European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) will host the Green Economy Forum (GEF) 2025 in Hanoi on November 27.
In the first 10 months of 2025, Vietnam imported seafood worth around $2.73 billion, a more than 30 per cent increase from the same period last year. Data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development show that October alone saw imports exceed $304 million, with India, Indonesia, and Norway supplying 15 per cent, 14.2 per cent, and 10.7 per cent of the total import value, respectively.

Compared to last year, imports from India doubled, those from Indonesia rose by 58 per cent, and imports from Norway increased by 17 per cent.

Most imported seafood is used for export processing and domestic consumption. According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, the country currently has over 600 processing plants exporting to the US, EU, Japan, and China, though many still rely on imported raw materials to sustain operations.

India, one of the worlds top three shrimp exporters, offers shrimp prices 10-15 per cent lower than those in Vietnam, helping local firms expand their low-cost product segments. Indonesia mainly supplies tuna, squid, and offshore-caught seafood, while Norway exports salmon, cod, and other cold-water species catering to high-end and hospitality markets.

According to the Norwegian Seafood Council, Vietnam ranks among Norways five fastest-growing seafood markets, following China, South Korea, the UK, and the Netherlands.

In 2024, Norway exported over 24,000 tonnes of salmon to Vietnam, making it Norways largest market in Southeast Asia.
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Council Tax precept rise: How much are you prepared to pay for policing in North Wales?

How much money are you prepared to pay for policing across the region?

That is the question being asked by the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Andy Dunbobbin as a public consultation launches on a planned rise on precept levied through Council Tax.

Around half the money for North Wales Polices comes from the UK Government and the rest comes from Council Tax. The amount people pay for policing in their Council Tax depends on the Precept levied by Police and Crime Commissioners.

Three increase options are currently under consideration, with members of the public having until December 19 to have their say on the plans. These are:

From today (10 November) until 19 December North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Andy Dunbobbin is asking the people of the region to say how much money they are prepared to pay for policing across North Wales through the precept levied on their Council Tax.

35 pence per week (18 per year)  This would result in the Police and Crime Commissioner needing to find approximately 1.050 million in cuts.

41 pence per week (21.50 per year)  This is the estimated standstill position.

48 pence per week (25 per year)  This would allow a level of growth estimated at 1.050 million.

The survey also asks what people want to see any money available for growth invested in. There are also questions on peoples levels of confidence in local police and whether they feel officers are dealing with the things that matter in their area. The survey also asks if police locally can be relied on to be there when needed.

Following the closing of the survey, the results will be studied and Andy Dunbobbin will make a proposal on the level of precept to the Police and Crime Panel at a meeting on 30 January 2026.

The amount paid by people will then change in April, at the start of the coming financial year 2026/27.

Andy Dunbobbin said he would encourage everyone who pays Council Tax or Business Rates to take part in the survey.

To perform their crucial role in keeping the public safe and secure, we need a well-funded and well-equipped police force, said the commissioner.

However, I understand the pressures on households at the moment and, whatever increase is agreed, I will hold the Chief Constable and the Force to account to ensure the funding from peoples Council Tax and Business Rates is spent wisely and invested effectively in the service and security of the people.

The PCC will also hold a series of public meetings across the region in November and December as part of the community-led consultation.

The Peoples Pulse will act as an open forum to hear residents thoughts on policing and reducing crime, and those attending will also have the chance to complete the survey on the proposed precept amount.

All views count in my survey and I want to hear from the broadest range of people possible, wherever in North Wales you live and whatever your background, added Andy Dunbobbin.

I would also encourage anyone interested to come along to one of my Peoples Pulse sessions to have their say in person and talk to me about policing in their community.

Residents can fill in the survey via the following links:

To receive a paper copy by post to complete, contact the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner in the following ways:

Email: OPCC@northwales.police.uk

Phone: 01492 805486

Post: Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner North Wales, Police Headquarters. Glan y Don, Colwyn Bay, LL29 8AW

To book to attend one of the Peoples Pulse sessions visit: https://forms.office.com/e/PsEPWRbxAr

The PCCs survey is fully bilingual in Welsh and English (as well as Easy Read), and print copies are available at libraries and police stations across North Wales.

Residents can also email or write to request a copy to be sent to them. Representatives of the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner will also be at locations across North Wales throughout the survey period engaging with people in person to complete the survey.

Anyone struggling to pay their Council Tax is urged to contact the local authority for details of any discounts they may be eligible for, or for information about their Council Tax reduction scheme.

The consultation launches on 10 November 2025 and closes on the 19 December 2025.
The Washoe County Sheriff's Office teamed up with Vitalant-Nevada to donate blood enough to save 51 lives.

According to an online post by WCSO, deputies and staff members donated blood while listening to rock music.

(WCSO contributed to this story.)
A Sparks man has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty in a child pornography case.

The Washoe County District Attorney's Office says Donald Karr II was arrested by Sparks Police in 2024, after the 10-year-old victim found a hidden camera in a shared bathroom that she and the 12-year-old victim used.

Prosecutors say he also had previously placed a cell phone in two separate bathrooms to record the children.

The DA's office says he pleaded guilty to Using or Permitting a Minor Under 14 to be the Subject of a Sexual Portrayal in a Performance and Possessing Pornography of a Person Under 16.

He will be eligible for parole after 12 years.

(Washoe County District Attorney's Office contributed to this report.)
President Donald Trump has pardoned his former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and others accused of backing the Republican's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, a Justice Department official says.

Ed Martin, the government's pardon attorney, posted on social media a signed proclamation of the full, complete, and unconditional" pardon, which also names Sidney Powell, an attorney who promoted baseless conspiracy theories about a stolen election, and John Eastman, another lawyer who pushed a plan to keep Trump in power. The proclamation, posted online late Sunday, explicitly says the pardon does not apply to Trump.

Presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes, and none of the Trump allies named were charged in federal cases over the 2020 election. But the move underscores Trump's continued efforts to promote the idea that the 2020 election was stolen from him even though courts around the country and U.S. officials found no evidence of fraud that could have affected the outcome. It follows the sweeping pardons of the hundreds of Trump supporters charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, including those convicted of attacking law enforcement.

The proclamation described efforts to prosecute those accused of aiding Trump's efforts to cling to power as "a grave national injustice perpetrated on the American people and said the pardons were designed to continue the process of national reconciliation.

CBS News reports that Ed Martin, a Justice Department attorney whose focus is pardons, posted what appeared to be the pardons document on social media, which was later confirmed by the White House.

Also pardoned were Republicans who acted as fake electors for Trump in 2020 and were charged in state cases accusing them of submitting false certificates that confirmed they were legitimate electors despite Democrat Joe Biden's victory in those states. Another key figure on the list is Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official who championed Trump's efforts to challenge his election loss.

Trump himself was indicted on felony charges accusing him of working overturn his 2020 election defeat, but the case brought by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith was abandoned in November after Trump's victory over Democrat Kamala Harris because of the department's policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. Giuliani, Powell, Eastman and Clark were alleged co-conspirators in the federal case brought against Trump but were never charged with federal crimes.

Giuliani, Meadows and others named in the proclamation had been charged by prosecutors in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin over the 2020 election, but the cases have hit a dead end or are just limping along. A judge in September dismissed the Michigan case against 15 Republicans accused of attempting to falsely certify Trump as the winner of the election in that battleground state.

Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, was one of the most vocal supporters of Trump's unsubstantiated claims of large-scale voter fraud after the 2020 election. He has since been disbarred in Washington, D.C., and New York over his advocacy of Trump's bogus election claims and lost a $148 million defamation case brought by two former Georgia election workers whose lives were upended by conspiracy theories he pushed.

Eastman, a former dean of Chapman University Law School in Southern California, was a close adviser to Trump in the wake of the 2020 election and wrote a memo laying out steps Vice President Mike Pence could take to stop the counting of electoral votes while presiding over Congress joint session on Jan. 6 to keep Trump in office.

(Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)
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Ore Production Update Reward Gold Mine

Perth, Nov 10, 2025 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Vertex Minerals Limited ( ASX:VTX ) ( VTXXF:OTCMKTS ) reported that the stripping of areas of low back height has been completed, and rehabilitation of Decline 3 is progressing well with approximately 100m of decline to be bolted before production activities commence.



Operational Milestones



- Development/Production Ore provided $197,000 of gold sales for last week, with another consignment to be sent for refining and sale this week.



- Significant effort has been placed on rehabilitation of areas that were previously submerged. Ground conditions were worse than anticipated, worse than areas that had not been underwater. This has required more time to access the area.



- Vertex is committed to world's best underground mining practices.



- Gold production ramp up is progressing with more development headings coming online. Completion of rehabilitation tasks will also add to the number of stopes available to join the ore production profile.



- The development work, that has been undertaken, is on the back of significant development undertaken in 2010 including the 260m Reward shaft and the Amalgamated adit.



- The Company is well placed to commence exploration activities with the aim of significantly adding to the mineral resource and ore reserves for the Project. The first of the diamond drilling chambers is completed.



The production ramp up in the underground mine has experienced delays, to the date of commencement and anticipated production ramp up. The delays are a result of many interacting factors. The most significant of these include:



- Stripping and rehabilitation of the main access to the underground workings has contributed to 'timeline creep'. More work and time have been expended than originally anticipated.



- Delivery of electrical power has taken longer than planned due to delays in delivery and commissioning of specialised equipment suitable for small development headings.



- Delays in the establishment of radio communication curtailed underground activities over several weeks. Underground radio communication to all working areas is now a mandatory requirement in NSW.



- The new Aramine 350D loader installed with tele remote arrived on site on the 24 October 2025. The supplier has indicated that software updates, allowing communication between the loader and tele remote hut, will not be active until 20 November 2025. The stope ore has been blasted and is available but requires the tele remote loaders for the stope ore to be safely extracted from the mine. While the 1438 long-hole stope has been fired and "free bog" removed, most of the ore cannot be loaded out until the tele-remote loader is commissioned.



- Rehabilitation of ground support for the existing three declines below 640 (Amalgamated) Level have increased following a recent geotechnical assessment.



These declines had been flooded and, while they were recently dewatered allowing access, subsequent and recent geotechnical assessments have shown significant deterioration of rock mass conditions in the submerged sections compared to areas above the water level. This resulted in greater rehabilitation ground support requirements, particularly in Declines 1 and 2.



To mitigate these negative factors, the Company has employed the following actions:



- Mobilised a second jumbo to provide an additional resource to cater for the increased rehabilitation requirements.



- Implemented the 1670 airleg stope in an unscheduled area outside the existing resource.



- Additional scrapers have been purchased to allow mining of higher grade airleg stopes, which will supplement the planned longhole open stoping.



- The 1438 Stope was bought forward from March 2026, the T1D was refitted for production long hole stoping and has been fired. The remaining ore will be extracted once the tele remote loader becomes available.



- Commenced jumbo development on the Amalgamated and Star of Peace 2 veins. Both these areas are outside the existing resource, although face sampling has indicated that the Star of Peace Vein contains economic grade Au. Both the drives are required to access higher grade areas and are part of the strategy of placing essential development on a vein to augment exploration by diamond drilling.



Comment by Roger Jackson Chairman



"We are moving the Reward Mine forward to high grade gold production, but we must do this with a 100% commitment to best practice mining, safety of our people is paramount. We have an experienced team who are motivated to achieve results and do it safely."





About Vertex Minerals Limited





Vertex Minerals Limited (ASX:VTX) is an Australian based gold exploration company developing its advanced Hargraves and Hill End gold projects located in the highly prospective Eastern Lachlan Fold Belt of Central West NSW. Other Company assets include the Pride of Elvire gold project and Taylors Rock gold/nickel/lithium project both located in the Eastern Goldfields of WA. The focus of Vertex Minerals is to advance the commercial production of gold from its NSW projects embracing an ethical and environmentally sustainable approach.

Related Companies
New Mexico students in grades K-12 are invited to put down their rod and reel and pick up a pencil or brush for the Art of Conservation New Mexico Fish Art Contest.

Sponsored by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, in conjunction with Wildlife Forever, student artists can compete for first, second and third prizes in four grade categories: K-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12.

Additional awards include:

Invader Crusader Award  Featuring both invasive and native aquatic species from the students local area.

Mighty Minnow Award  For kindergarten participants.

New Mexico Native Trout Award  Submissions featuring New Mexicos unique native trout species (Gila trout or the Rio Grande cutthroat trout).

New Mexico Species of Greatest Conservation Need Award Artwork featuring fish species identified by the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish as being most at risk and in need of proactive conservation.

Outdoor Show Fan Favorite Awards  Awarded to a winner in each grade category based on the votes of attendees at the New Mexico Outdoor Adventures Show from Feb. 13-15 in Albuquerque.

The entry deadline is Jan. 31, 2026, with judging taking place in March. Submissions should be scanned and submitted online. Visit wildlife.dgf.nm.gov/art-of-conservation to submit an entry and for a list of eligible fish species.
Four years ago, Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education candidates backed by the business community won three of the four seats up for election  taking power away from the Albuquerque Teachers Federation for the first time in decades.

But the results of Tuesdays municipal election gave the teachers union four candidates on the board and cut the number of chamber-backed candidates to two and the union became the dominant political power on the board again.

As a result, the way that the largest school district in New Mexicos governing operates, passes policy and prioritizes academic performance could change.

Following the 2021 election, in 2023, the board became gridlocked as union-backed Ronalda Tome-Warito defeated longtime board member Peggy Muller-Aragon in District 2. Heather Benavidez, also backed by ATF, won easily in District 4, and Janelle Astorga, not endorsed by either the business community or teachers union, won in District 1.

Since then, the board has had its ATF-endorsed members and three business community-endorsed representatives, while Astorga has largely been a swing voter.

However, before the board became split three to three between the factions, goals and guardrails were set by the previous board centered around improving students early literacy, math proficiency, college readiness and skills for life success. But Ellen Bernstein, longtime president of ATF, questioned their effectiveness in an interview Friday.

Heres the thing, it doesnt matter what your goals are, and it doesnt matter if you call them guardrails, Bernstein said. What matters is whether or not, as the community voice in the governance of the school district, you understand your schools.

She also expressed some discontent with APS Superintendent Gabriella Blakey, whom the board picked unanimously to head the district in 2024. The superintendent is the only APS staff member for whom the board oversees employment.

Right now, Im frustrated, Bernstein said. She added that, as the representative for district employees, she hears mixed perceptions from teachers about Blakey.

Everything that has to do with their working conditions ... thats how they measure Gabriella, Bernstein said. Are they in a cool classroom or a hot classroom? Are they overwhelmed by mandates, or do they have the ability to put some professional creativity in the lessons they design and the work that they do? Thats how they judge the superintendent.

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Other things the union leader took issue with were the amount of time students are spending using technology in classrooms from a young age, the emphasis on standardized testing and the amount of work being placed on teachers to align with the districts target scores on assessments.

With the Albuquerque Teachers Federation now the primary political presence on the board again, their opponents worry some of the growth the district has seen under the current board and superintendent, such as students hitting the academic targets established by goals, improvements in early literacy and rising graduation rates could be at stake.

Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce President Terri Cole expressed concern about the focus on adults.

Our public schools need to prioritize student learning and career preparedness above all else. Those things just havent been the unions priorities; its a special interest group that has generally valued the comfort of adults over the academic progress of our children, she wrote in a statement to the Journal. The business community continues to be energized about our superintendents laser focus on students being able to do math well and read on grade level, and were also really pleased to see her vision of preparing students at a younger age for exciting careers and aligning instruction to better prepare young people for the workforce.

Additionally, New Mexico Kids Can, an education policy advocacy group whose political fundraising arm was the lead donor for candidates backed by the business community, also worries about the direction the new board could lead APS.

Im really concerned that we will revert back to the way things were before, Amanda Aragon, executive director of the organization, said in an interview Friday. A lack of prioritization on academic achievement, a board that functions more like seven individual people with seven individual agendas trying to get something done, versus a board thats united around a common goal and a common mission.

She also questions why voters, who have tasked APS with improving the environment in which it educates its students, bounced Board President Danielle Gonzales from her seat.

We talk a lot about how we want young people to stay and invest in New Mexico, Aragon said. We talk a lot about keeping talent here, we talk a lot about electing people with a heart of service, Aragon said. And yet, we had the opportunity to keep  a board president who led a massive turnaround of a district that was finally starting to see academic results, a member of the board, who chose to move back to New Mexico five years ago to reinvest in the community that she comes from, and we said, No, thank you.

In the 2021 election, the key was fundraising: In the three races the Chamber of Commerce-endorsed candidates won, they significantly out-raised their opponents.

But on Tuesday  despite the chamber candidates out-fundraising their opponents in those three board races again  the teachers union reclaimed the board majority, flipping one of the seats they lost in the 2021 election.

It always worries me when money can buy where we go in this country, Bernstein said. Do I believe in the power of the people? Yes. I mean, thats what I do, is organize people around common ideas and ideals.

Business-backed candidates brought in around $186,000 in the four races where they endorsed a candidate, while the teachers union-supported candidates received about $129,000 in the three races where the ATF endorsed. The elected candidates will assume their seats in January.

District 5 chamber-endorsed candidate Joshua Martinez garnered $22,550 in campaign contributions against his independent non-union endorsed opponent Brian Laurent Jr., who raised $2,025. Martinez won his race handily.

In District 7, incumbent board Vice President Courtney Jackson raised over $60,000 in contributions compared to her union-backed opponent, Kristin Wood-Hegner, who raised $36,000. Jackson held onto her seat.

District 6 was the only race where the teachers union endorsed candidate out-raised a business-backed candidate, with Warigia Bowman bringing in $49,366 compared to David Ams $31,600 in contributions. Bowman won with 62% of the vote.

It was the race in District 3 that shifted the balance of power on the board.

In that district, the seat flipped by the union, Gonzales shattered the previous campaign finance record of $55,889  held by Jackson in the 2021 race  taking in $73,275 in contributions for her reelection campaign. But she only won 39% of the vote on Tuesday.

Union-backed Rebecca Betzen earned 50% of the vote, coming out victorious in the race. Her campaign raised $45,845 with key donations from the local and state teachers unions.

Both Aragon and Bernstein  though they disagree on how the process should have been handled  believe that the shuttering and subsequent repurposing of Taft Middle School North Valley played a key role in the election.

The decision came as part of the districts right-sizing plan as APS adjusts the number of campuses they operate to fit the declining number of students enrolled as APS, like public districts across the county since the pandemic, sees a declining number of students.

Time will tell. I think we hope that there continues to be a sincere accountability and whats happening daily in our classrooms, especially in ensuring that funding reaches the classroom and that teachers are supported in ways that allow them to do the job, Mandi Torrez, the education reform director for statewide think tank Think New Mexico, said in an interview Thursday.

She added that she is concerned with the increased and continued politicization of the board races.

Its unfortunate that we have to go to these sorts of business versus teacher kind of discussions, because then that puts a focus on the adults and not on the students, Torrez said. In recent years, APS has taken on accountability, with achievement, with transparency and with the board members themselves. And thats not an easy thing to do.
The Karna Syndrome: When Brilliance Turns Against Its Own Roots 2

Theres a certain tragic pattern that repeats itself through history  a pattern that might well be called the Karna Syndrome. It is not just a mythological symbol but a living political phenomenon that re-emerges whenever a man, convinced of his own brilliance, begins to believe that he alone defines discipline, truth, and power. Such a person may rise high, shake the system, even appear invincible for a while  but eventually, he ends up isolated, misused by others, and consumed by his own ego. He can disturb, yes  but he can never truly defeat the system that gave him birth.

Look at modern India, and this syndrome shows its face in several forms. You see it in people like Subramanian Swamy, Prashant Kishor, Shatrughan Sinha, Yashwant Sinha  men once celebrated within the Bharatiya Janata Party ecosystem, now adrift, neither here nor there. You see it even in Narendra Modi himself, who at one point appeared to have detached from the very collective discipline that created his rise, leaning instead on the weight of his personal image. And when you begin to detach from your own foundation, when self-belief begins to overshadow collective wisdom, thats when Karna Syndrome starts to show its cracks.

Lets start from the roots of the idea. In the Mahabharata, Karna was a warrior of unmatched skill and courage. Born of Kunti but abandoned at birth, he grew up away from his true lineage, denied his rightful place among the Pandavas. Out of loyalty and gratitude, he allied himself with Duryodhana  a man who recognized his talent but also used him as a weapon against his own brothers. Karnas tragedy was not his lack of ability; it was his misplaced faith and his disconnection from his origin. He believed in his own discipline, in his own code of honor, so fiercely that he ignored where he truly belonged. That self-imposed exile defined his destiny. He could fight the greatest battles, but he could never win the war for himself.

In todays political arena, the same script unfolds with startling familiarity. Subramanian Swamy  an intellectual powerhouse, an economist, and a fighter  built his reputation alongside the very ideology that shaped modern Hindu politics. Yet, his repeated clashes with his own party leadership reveal a man caught between brilliance and bitterness. He is a classic case of the Karna Syndrome  convinced that his intellect alone is the final truth, dismissing the need for collective discipline. He can wound with his words, expose weaknesses, and create tremors within the system, but he cant defeat it because he long severed his roots with the very institution that gave him a platform.

Prashant Kishor, on the other hand, carries a different version of the same ailment. He began as a strategist within the BJP camp, a brain behind successful campaigns. Over time, he built his own brand  a one-man political consultancy machine that promised to outsmart every party, ideology, and structure. He started believing that his formula could replace conviction, that data could substitute roots. But politics is not a math problem; its a living organism built on trust, loyalty, and belonging. In Bihar, where he now seeks to play his biggest gamble, this syndrome might come to claim its next victim. Because in Bihars soil, politics still demands a connection to the heartland  not just clever arithmetic. If you lose touch with the people, if you float too far above the ground, you become just another ambitious outsider, eventually crushed between factions and forgotten when the dust settles.

Whats striking is that even a leader as powerful as Narendra Modi wasnt immune to shades of this syndrome before the 2024 election. Over the years, his image grew larger than the party, larger than the ideology, larger even than the collective wisdom of his peers. The BJP, once a disciplined cadre-based organisation built on teamwork, slowly began to revolve around one mans aura. Modis discipline became the only discipline. That concentration of power brought him unmatched dominance  but it also created fractures. In believing that his own style was the final word, he unintentionally created dozens of smaller Karnas  ambitious men who thought they too could rise purely on their personal discipline, without loyalty to the collective. They sprouted inside and outside the party, from Shatrughan Sinha to Yashwant Sinha to even Kishor and Swamy, each convinced they could fight their own battles, free of the mother structure that nurtured them.

The irony is sharp: these men drew their strength from the very party or ideology they later rebelled against. Their identity was born in that soil  like Karna born of Kunti  yet they turned their energies against it, often aligning with rivals or critics who were too happy to use their rebellion as ammunition. They became tools in someone elses fight, believing all the while that they were masters of their destiny. But like Karna, their loyalty to a borrowed cause never brought them peace. You can lend your sword to another side, but if your roots are elsewhere, you will always stand alone in the battlefield.

And this loneliness shows. Swamy, once a giant in intellectual politics, now fights his battles on social media, ignored by the system he helped shape. Shatrughan Sinha, once a fiery voice of rebellion, now echoes cliches in borrowed platforms. Yashwant Sinha, once a respected finance minister, turned critic and faded into irrelevance after switching sides. Each one is an example of how the Karna Syndrome ends  not with defeat by others, but with defeat by disconnection. The tragedy isnt betrayal; its isolation.

Even Prashant Kishor, who now projects himself as Bihars independent messiah, seems to be walking into the same trap. He believes he can out-think every party, that his data-driven discipline will triumph over ideology. But Bihars political landscape doesnt reward outsiders  it rewards belonging. He may shake the tree, but he cannot change its roots. When the election dust settles, he might discover that Bihar is not a chessboard; its a pulse, a sentiment, a legacy. And those who play against their own origins rarely win the long game.

The Karna Syndrome also explains a subtler danger within Indian politics  the slow erosion of rootedness. When individuals begin to think they alone define the movement, they hollow out the very institutions that made them powerful. They create noise, not continuity. They draw applause, not allegiance. And soon, they find themselves surrounded not by comrades, but by opportunists  people who will cheer them while they rise and vanish when they fall. This cycle is repeating today with eerie precision: too many stars, too little sky.

You mentioned that Modi himself, at one point, seemed to embody the same syndrome that produced his critics. Indeed, his belief in his personal discipline  his unshakeable image, his method of command  became the defining feature of his rule. But leadership divorced from the collective eventually begins to wobble. When the same self-belief that built a leader becomes too absolute, it isolates him from the very base that sustained him. What follows is the rise of internal dissent, the birth of new mini-Karnas, and a sense of drift both within and beyond borders. Once personal pride replaces collective identity, decline begins  not always visible immediately, but inevitable in time.

And when such a decline sets in at the top, it trickles down through the ranks. The leaders detachment legitimises individual detachment. The system starts producing replicas of himself  people who speak his language but follow their own ambitions. The discipline that once united the movement now fragments into competing egos. The faithful turn cynical, the opportunists take charge, and the movement begins to lose its moral gravity. This isnt just politics  its psychology. When self-belief becomes arrogance, it stops inspiring and starts isolating.

That is why the Karna Syndrome is not just about individuals  its about a culture. A culture that forgets the sanctity of roots. A culture that mistakes self-confidence for self-sufficiency. A culture that believes ones personal code is greater than the collective destiny. Such a mindset can shake systems, create temporary storms, even alter narratives  but it cannot build lasting order. Because real power comes not from standing apart, but from standing rooted.

And when this syndrome spreads too deep, it threatens more than just parties or politicians  it threatens the dignity of national discourse itself. When men who were once torchbearers of certain ideals start fighting against their own origins, they weaken not just themselves, but the moral spine of the institutions they once represented. In such moments, even the opposition should not remain silent. Because when internal disintegration begins, when ego starts to eat ideology, the consequences ripple beyond partisan lines. Its no longer a party problem  its a national problem. Its a question of self-respect and sovereignty. A house divided from within can be invaded from without, and silence becomes complicity.

The lesson of Karna, then, is timeless. Talent, intellect, and strength are never enough without rootedness. You can fight brilliantly, but if you forget where you belong, you will eventually fall  not because you lacked ability, but because you lost alignment. Karna was brave, generous, loyal  yet all that nobility couldnt save him once he severed his link with his truth. His tragedy wasnt written by fate; it was written by dislocation.

In todays politics, we are seeing too many modern Karnas  intelligent, ambitious, capable  but torn away from their origins, wandering in search of validation, often from the very forces they once opposed. They create tremors, yes. They make noise. But in the long run, they fade, one by one. Their fall isnt dramatic  its quiet, lonely, inevitable.

Prashant Kishors upcoming Bihar election may well be the next chapter of that story. Like every Karna, he believes his own discipline will rewrite destiny. But history has a way of humbling such men. Karna Syndrome, as we know it, never fails to punish brilliance without belonging.So yes  they may disturb, they may challenge, they may even appear unstoppable for a while. But they cannot defeat the order that gave them birth. Because in the end, roots are stronger than rebellion, and loyalty.
A Jefferson County man was sentenced Monday to life without the possibility of parole for the drugging, raping, sodomizing, and sexual torturing of a 9-year-old girl left in his care.

Ronald Shane Crow of Trafford was also sentenced by a Blount County judge to 99 years for sexual abuse of a child under the age of twelve, 365 days for indecent exposure and unlawful imprisonment and 180 days for menacing, according to a news release.

The sentences will run concurrently.

The crimes committed by Ronald Shane Crow are among the most horrific our community has ever seen, said Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey in the release.

Crows actions were depraved, and the life without-parole sentence ensures that he will never again harm another child.

Circuit Judge Christopher Abel presided over the trial and sentencing, according to the release.

Crow was convicted in September 2025 of 13 counts, including:

Two counts of sexual torture of a child under the age of twelve

Rape in the first degree

Three counts of sodomy in the first degree

Sexual abuse of a child under the age of twelve

Distributing a controlled substance to a minor

Two counts of unlawful imprisonment

Indecent exposure

Menacing

The jury deliberated less than 15 minutes before handing down the verdict, according to the press release.

On Saturday, May 1, 2021, a nine-year-old girl was left in Crows care for the weekend, according to court records.

The next day, her stepfather went to pick her up and said she was agitated and hallucinating about snakes, rats, and spiders crawling on her.

On the way home, she started taking her clothes off.

When they arrived home, the girls mother called 911.

The child was transported to Childrens Hospital in Birmingham where doctors found she was suffering from methamphetamine and amphetamine toxicity.

On Tuesday, May 4, the child awoke from sedation and said that Crow made her take pills, raped her, subjected her to deviate sexual intercourse and to sexual torture with what she described as a stick.

The child also said that Crow tied her hands and feet together, put tape over her mouth, put a black plastic bag over her head, and threatened to kill her if she told anyone, putting a gun to her head at one point.

Sgt. Edward Hull with the Blount County Sheriffs Department obtained and executed a search warrant on Crows residence and recovered pieces of duct tape, a roll of black bags and a small bag containing methamphetamine.

He also found ammunition for a .38 caliber revolver.

One of the bedrooms in Crows residence had a pole suspended over a bed consistent with the pole disclosed by the child, according to court records.

Photographs were taken of the bedroom and introduced into evidence at trial.

Hull had the pieces of duct tape submitted to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for testing and a forensic scientist testified at trial that the childs DNA was recovered from the pieces of duct tape.

I want to again recognize the extraordinary courage of the young victim who found the strength to tell what happened to her, Casey said in the release.

This verdict and sentence send a clear message: in Blount County, we will protect our children and hold predators fully accountable. Justice was served, and a dangerous man will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
November 10, 2025: The latest innovation in drone warfare if the Ukrainian use of AI/Artificial Intelligence for drone targeting systems. The AI drone contains a targeting system that finds targets. The AI drone operator confirms which targets are real and once a target is confirmed the AI targeting system needs no further communication with anyone. It is resistant to all forms of jamming.

Modern warfare has been radically changed by the introduction of First Person View/FPV drones. These drones are an omnipresent aerial threat to armored vehicles and infantry on foot. Each FPV drone costs less than a thousand dollars. Operators use the video camera on the drone to see what is below and find targets. Armed FPV operators are several kilometers away to decide when their FPV drones will drop explosives on an armored vehicle, which has thinner armor on top, or infantry in the open or in trenches. To do so, the drone operators often operate in pairs, with one flying behind the other and concentrating on the big picture while seeking a likely target. When such a target is found by the reconnaissance drone, the armed drone is directed to the target. The two FPV drone operators are usually in the same room or tent and can take control of new drones, which are lined up and brought outside for launch when needed. The reconnaissance drones are often unarmed so they can spend more time in the air to seek a target.

The Ukrainians developed the FPV drone in 2022, when only a few FPV drone attacks were recorded. The Ukrainian Army was the first to appreciate the potential of FPV drones. By the summer of 2023, the Russian Army also began to use FPV drones in greater numbers. Since then, the number of FPV drone attacks has grown exponentially on both sides. Only twelve percent of those attacks led to the destruction of the target, which could be a vehicle or group of infantry or even a sniper who was firing through a window from inside a building. In this case, the armed FPV drone would fly through the window and explode in the room the sniper was in. The only defense from this was having a nearby open door the sniper could run to or dive through as the FPV drone approached. Sometimes that isnt possible because the armed FPV drone is coming down from above the window and then in. You dont see those coming until its too late.

Nearly five million drones are being built this year. The total for 2024 was 1.5 million drones. There have been problems. Chinese component producers are having a hard time keeping up, and, last year, to assist the Russians, China halted sending drone components to Ukraine. Suppliers in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere were quickly found. At least 70 percent of Ukrainian drones are built entirely in Ukraine, and the rest from imported parts or whole assemblies. Some Ukrainian firms have improvised by using plywood and similar materials for their drones. For the FPV First Person View drones, cheaper is better if the drone can hit its first and only target. Most Ukrainian drones are FPV models, which are considered a form of ammunition.

Both sides now use the FPV drones, but there are substantial differences in how the FPV drones are put to work in combat. The Ukrainians seek out high-value targets like armored vehicles, electronic warfare equipment, anti-aircraft systems, and storage sites for munitions or other supplies. Russian trucks carrying supplies are another prime target.
"Trailer Park Boys" star actor Mike Smith has been charged with sexual assault in Canada related to an incident thar allegedly occurred in 2017, according to reports. (Bernard Weil/Toronto Star via Getty Images) Toronto Star via Getty Images

Mike Smith, who starred as Bubbles on the cult classic comedy series Trailer Park Boys, has been charged with sexual assault, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

According to documents filed in Nova Scotia provincial court obtained by the outlet, Smith was charged on Oct. 2 in connection with an alleged assault that took place in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, on Dec. 30, 2017.

Smiths rep and lawyer did not immediately respond to Varietys request for comment.

Production banner Trailer Park Boys Inc. told CBC in a statement that it was aware of the allegation concerning Mike Smith, and confirmed he has stepped away from his post as the companys managing director.

We recognize how difficult an allegation of this nature is for all involved, read the statement. Out of respect for the legal process, we will not comment further on the case.

Smith made up one-third of the leading trio behind Trailer Park Boys, alongside John Paul Tremblay and Robb Wells. The mockumentary comedy first debuted in 2001 on the Canadian TV network Showcase, and was picked up by Netflix in 2014.

Trailer Park Boys has run for 116 episodes and spawned a number of films and spin-off series. The show follows three trouble-making trailer park residents, Julian (Tremblay), Bubbles (Smith) and Ricky (Wells), who are inexplicably the subject of a documentary about their lives.

Trailer Park Boys Season 13 recently wrapped production in August.

Set to stream on their recently launched TPB+ streaming service, the 13th season is expected to debut in April 2026, coinciding with the shows 25th anniversary.

 2025 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
A man who spent 28 years on Alabama Death Row for arranging the murder of a police officer died Sunday, a little more than a year after he was resentenced to serve life without parole.

Larry Wayne Whitehead, 63, was an inmate at Donaldson prison.

On Oct. 31, he was taken from the prison infirmary to UAB Hospital for treatment of complications of natural disease, according to the Jefferson County Coroners Office.

He died at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the hospital.

Whitehead was convicted in 1996 for the death of Albertville police officer and detective Andrew Whitten. Whitten was set to testify against Whitehead in an upcoming theft trial, according to court records.

In an appeal from 2014, Whiteheads lawyers argued he was intellectually disabled and couldnt be executed under the Supreme Courts rules on cruel and unusual punishment.

In 2023, the Alabama Attorney Generals Office agreed.

In a motion to a Marshall County judge, Alabamas top prosecutor said that a state expert had evaluated Whitehead and agreed that he was too intellectually disabled to be put to death.

In October 2024, Attorney General Steve Marshalls office and Whiteheads lawyers agreed to a settlement that would resentence Whitehead to spend his life behind bars, and in exchange, Whitehead would drop his appeals.
Gov. Kay Ivey administers the oath of office for Will Parker to serve on the Alabama Supreme Court. Parker's wife Karen and their sons joined him for the ceremony. Governor's office

Will Parker, who has been general counsel for Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey for six years, is the newest member of the Alabama Supreme Court.

Ivey announced Monday that she chose Parker to replace Bill Lewis, who was nominated by President Trump for a federal judgeship.

The Senate confirmed the Lewis nomination in October and he is now a U.S. district judge for the Middle District of Alabama.

Parker joined the governors staff in June 2017, shortly after she replaced Robert Bentley as governor. Parker became general counsel in December 2019.

Parker takes over the six-year term initially won by Jay Mitchell in 2024. Ivey had appointed Lewis to replace Mitchell when Mitchell resigned from the court to run for attorney general.

Will Parker is the exact kind of person you want serving on the Alabama Supreme Court, Ivey said in a press release.

He is not only highly capable and dedicated to the rule of law, but he is a truly good man with the utmost integrity.

According to the governors office, Parker oversaw the drafting of legislation to ban cell phones in schools, change the leadership structure of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, provide paid parental leave for teachers and state employees, and promote public safety through Iveys Safe Alabama public safety package.

Parkers wife, Karen, and his two sons joined him in the governors office for a swearing-in ceremony. He issued a statement thanking Ivey for the appointment to the nine-member court.

Over her remarkable eight and a half years in office, Governor Ivey has provided steady leadership for our great state, always faithfully fulfilling her duties and serving the people, Parker said.

This is the example I hope to follow on the Court each and every day as I work to uphold the Constitution and preserve the rule of law.

Before working in the governors office, Parker worked for almost 10 years as assistant attorney general in the Constitutional Defense Division of the Office of the Attorney General.

Parker graduated magna cum laude from the University of Alabama School of Law in 2006.

Parker received his undergraduate degree from Davidson College in 2002. He taught U.S. history at a Montgomery public high school.
Volunteers prepare food boxes at the Community Food Bank of Central Alabama in Birmingham, Ala., Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Will McLelland | WMcLelland@al.com) Will McLelland

This is an opinion column.

It was something. At least. Food banks across the state need every dollar. The stores from which they purchase food need every dollar.

And Alabamians need food. They needed it before becoming fodder in the federal governments tug-of-war shutdown. And theyll need it well after the stalemate is resolved.

They need it, whether theyre among the 752,000 Alabamians who receive help to help pay for food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or if theyre federal employees whove not received a paycheck during the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history.

Good for Gov. Kay Ivey. She did something.

Maybe she acted because she was prodded by Black lawmakers, who called on her to convene a special session to tap state funds to support SNAP recipients.

Maybe because she was shamed by the benevolent actions of almost 30 of her peers  Democrat and Republican governors who took action to support SNAP recipients in their states.

Whatever the reason, whatever the motivation, Ivey unlocked $5 million from the states emergency fund and the Department of Human Resources to send to eight food banks that feed people in all 67 counties. DHR is also sending families enrolled in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program $300 for each child in their home.

Thats something. Its not crumbs or cake. Yet I was curious.

Why genuflect like Twister to not send funds directly to SNAP enrollees, as many states have done? TANF only supports families with children, so elderly or disabled SNAP recipients wont receive a dollar from Ivey or DHR. Or food, unless they have a car to get to the nearest food bank.

Now maybe we know.

I suspected Ivey targeted food banks and a non-SNAP program to avoid the crosshairs of a president whos backflipped all the way to the Supreme Court to avoid feeding low-income Americans. People not like him, or anyone he knows or cares about.

If Ivey funded SNAP directly, Donald Trump mightve snapped a gasket and aimed ire at a state he loves.

Thats what I thought. Now, whether Ivey knew it then or not, we know Trump wants people to be hungry. Period.

Not satisfied with the most vulnerable among us being pawns in the shutdown tug-of-war, the president actually wants them to suffer. To be hungry.

Over the weekend, the USDA ordered states not to pay full SNAP benefits this month  to distribute just 65 percent of peoples allowances during the shutdown. Imagine if, through no fault of your own, more than a third of your food money vanished.

Even worse, the administration  and this is outright evil  ordered states to yank back any money above the 65 percent threshold that has already been delivered.

To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized, the USDA memo reads. Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025.

Trump wants to pickpocket the hungry  all to continue to enrich the rich.

Im sure Ivey didnt do it intentionally. But in doing something to address this very real and shameful American crisis, she may have shown us what would likely happen under Gov. Tommy Tuberville.

Alabamas senior U.S. Senator is Iveys assumed successor, at least by Republicans too weak to challenge Tubervilles magic carpet ride to the governors mansion. Yet Tubervilles clearly yet to grasp that he represents all Alabamians. Not just those who vote Republican. (Our junior senator is often guilty of the same lapse, though less so.)

If previous rants are an indication, as governor, Tuberville might not pluck a dollar from the states coffers to feed folks he doesnt deem to be his constituents, folks who checked his (and, presumably, Trumps) name on the ballot. Its their constituents, a lot of them, in some of these inner cities, that are going to need SNAP to survive, he said last week, blaming Democrats for the shutdown.

Here are truths that the wanna-be-gov and president ignore:

+ Almost seven in 10 Alabama SNAP recipients are families with children, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

+ Four in 10 are families with elder adults or members who are disabled.

+ Almost four in 10 are working families.

+ More than 8 in 10 have incomes below our woefully low poverty line.

+ Last year, SNAP recipients, on a national average, received from $4.80 to about $6.20 per person per day.

Thats it.

Heres a bonus: Every $1 in SNAP benefits generates $1.50 in economic growth, according to USDA estimates, because those dollars are spent in our grocery stores  which are threatened by the SNAP suspension.

To his credit, Tuberville also said: A lot of people deserve the SNAP. We need to help the elderly, the sick. People that really deserve it. Theyre out of a job. All those things.

All those things. All those people. No matter for whom they voted.

Tuberville regularly embarrasses us with his banal, factless and divisive rants.

What will he do as governor?

Gov. Tuberville might starve us. If Trump doesnt do so first.
A man has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting and killing two people in north Alabama Sunday evening.

According the to the Fort Payne Police Department, Jacob Mitchum was arrested and charged for allegedly killing Alisha Keller, 27, and Logan Brown, 24, both of Fort Payne.

The shooting, described as a domestic incident, occurred shortly before 6 p.m. in an apartment on Alabama Avenue NW.

When officers arrived on scene they discovered two victims with apparent gunshot wounds, in the kitchen area of the apartment, the department said. After securing the apartment, officers rendered aid to the victims until medical personnel arrived on scene. Life saving measures were unsuccessful and both victims were later pronounced deceased.

Fort Payne police said Mitchum was headed back to Oxford where he resides when the Oxford Police Department and Calhoun County Sheriffs Office found and arrested him.

Mitchum has since been transported to the custody of Fort Payne police and, according to court documents, has been charged with capital murder of two people and given no bond.

The Fort Payne Police Department said that no children were present at the apartment during the shooting contrary to circulating misinformation.
Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch talks to the media about the shooting of a 2-year-old child in Prichard during a news conference on Wednesday, June 4, 2025, at his office in Mobile, Ala. John Sharp

Former Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine, coming off an unsuccessful bid for mayor, announced Monday he will run for Mobile County sheriff in 2026, setting up a high-profile Republican matchup for the countys top law enforcement position.

Prine made the announcement in an emailed statement, confirming he will challenge incumbent Sheriff Paul Burch in the May 19, 2026, Republican primary.

The safety and security of Mobile Countys citizens must remain a top priority, Prine said in the statement. The Sheriffs Office not only bears the responsibility of reducing crime in the countys rural areas but must also take a proactive role in addressing the crime, and perception of crime, within the City of Mobile, which affects our region.

Prine highlighted his tenure as police chief, saying he led with integrity and achieved proven results in reducing crime while strengthening trust between law enforcement and the community.

Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine (left) and Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch (right) answer questions from the media during a news conference on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at the Sheriff's Office in downtown Mobile, Ala. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

Prine stopped short of naming Burch, but said it was time for proven leadership that is tough on crime and committed to protecting every corner of Mobile County with integrity and honor.

Burch, who was elected sheriff in 2022, announced his re-election campaign on Oct. 29 and pointed to his experience and deep ties to the community as reasons voters should keep him in office.

My qualifications for this job go beyond words on a resume, Burch said in a news release. I want to protect Mobile County because its my home. Born and raised here, its been a privilege to serve the community that shaped who I am today.

He added, Mobile County is not a place for criminals, and as your Sheriff, I aim to keep it that way.

J. David Greene, Burchs campaign manager, said that Burchs focus remains on serving as sheriff.

The Sheriff has known Paul (Prine) for many years, Greene said. He knows (Prine) enjoys being a candidate. But our Sheriff is passionate about serving the people of Mobile County. While anyone has a right to run for office, Paul Burchs focus remains as serving as sheriff and protecting the citizens of Mobile County.

Burch enters the race with a financial advantage, reporting $109,196 in cash on hand at the end of October. Prines mayoral campaign ended in August with about $55,000 remaining.

Prine finished third in the Aug. 26 mayoral election with 8,186 votes, about 3,200 votes behind eventual winner Spiro Cheriogotis. Prine spent $117,901 on his campaign, the least among the four candidates, while Cheriogotis spent more than $1 million ahead of the election.

Supporters for suspended Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine gather inside the Government Plaza Atrium on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, in downtown Mobile, Ala. John Sharp

Prine told AL.com in October that he was considering a run for sheriff but was also weighing other offices. His mayoral bid drew grassroots support, particularly online, where his campaign Facebook page has more than 6,600 members.

Both candidates bring recent controversies into the race.

Prine was fired by the Mobile City Council in April 2024 after being placed on administrative leave by then-Mayor Sandy Stimpson. The move followed a public dispute between Prine and the administration and came after former U.S. Attorney Kenyen Brown released a report criticizing the police departments treatment of Black residents. Prine called the report a hit piece and later filed a federal lawsuit against the City Council, Brown and others.

Burch recently faced criticism over a Halloween display at his home that featured skeletons dressed as immigration officers chasing other skeletons in stereotypical Hispanic attire. His wife, Michelle Burch, said in media statements that she was solely responsible for the display and that her husband had no involvement.

The controversy followed the release of a video showing a Mobile County sheriffs deputy striking a man during an immigration enforcement operation. Burch defended the deputys actions, saying the man was resisting arrest.

In June, Burch also faced backlash after he threatened violent retaliation if protesters at a No Kings demonstration became unruly. Members of Indivisible Mobile said his comments risked escalating tensions and undermined the right to protest.

This story was updated at 2:57 p.m. on Nov. 10, 2025, to include a statement from Sheriff Paul Burchs campaign manager.
FILE - People enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in Alabama can expect partial benefits likely by the end of the week. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, file) AP

People enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in Alabama can expect partial benefits likely by the end of the week, according to a recent notice from the state.

The Alabama Department of Human Resources said in a press release on Monday that the federal government notified them over the weekend that there would be a 35% reduction in benefits this month.

At this time, DHR is working to update the SNAP system with the change in the Thrifty Food Plan to determine each households benefit amount at the reduced rate, the state agency said in the release.

More than 750,000 people in Alabama are enrolled in SNAP - thats about 14.5% of the states population. In October, the federal Department of Agriculture announced food stamps would be suspended due to the ongoing government shutdown.

The notice from DHR comes after a legal battle between the Trump administration and cities and nonprofits across the country.

Last week, the administration was ordered by a federal judge to fully fund the program for November, which costs about $8 billion a month.

The administration then requested a stay on that order, with the USDA sending a memo to states Saturday saying they must immediately undo any action to provide full benefits or face financial penalties.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit denied the Trump administrations request to put a hold on the benefits on Monday. The administration, however, said it intends to file a brief with the Supreme Court on the matter this afternoon.

The shutdown could be coming to an end as Senate Democrats just voted on a resolution to reopen the government, which would allow SNAP benefits to resume as normal.

As that vote now moves to the House, Alabama will begin processing partial payments for now.

It is important to understand that the Thrifty Food Plan was changed; and as a result, a straight 35 percent reduction from a recipients normal monthly benefit may not be the amount received, DHR said in the notice.
A woman has been charged in the Birmingham shooting death of the father of her sisters children.

Brittney Watson, 26, of Brighton, is charged with murder and discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling in the Saturday slaying of 30-year-old Anson Quandarius Henderson, Birmingham police announced Sunday night.

Officers were dispatched shortly before 10:15 a.m. Saturday to a report of a domestic disturbance at a house in the 3200 block of 32nd Street North in the Collegeville community.

While officers were en route to the home, they saw a vehicle speeding away.

Officers stopped that vehicle and detained that person while other officers proceeded to the house.

When they got to the home, they found Henderson unresponsive on the front porch. Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service pronounced him dead on the scene.

Police said the investigation showed a domestic altercation happened between Henderson and the mother of his children.

When the argument ended, the childrens mother left the home.

Moments later, another vehicle pulled up and fired shots at the victim.

Watson, now identified as the alleged shooter, fired the shots and attempted to leave the neighborhood but was detained, authorities said.

Police on Sunday confirmed Watson is the sister of the woman involved in the initial domestic incident.

Officer Truman Fitzgerald said Watson will be booked into the Jefferson County Jail where she will be held without bond.
FILE - A board outlining the case against Ghislaine Maxwell is seen during a news conference to announce charges against Maxwell for her alleged role in the sexual exploitation and abuse of multiple minor girls by Jeffrey Epstein, July 2, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) AP

Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted child sex trafficker and co-conspirator in the Jeffrey Epstein case, is preparing to formally ask President Donald Trump to commute her sentence, according to the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

The committee also received information that Maxwell, who was transferred to a cushy minimum-security prison camp in Texas over the summer, is being waited on hand and foot by prison staff, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., wrote in a letter Monday to Trump.

The concierge-style treatment, according to Raskin, includes Maxwells meals being customized and prepared by federal prison camp staff and then personally delivered to her in her cell by longtime federal employees and her guests being allowed to bring computers, which he said represents a security risk and allows for Maxwell to communicate with the outside world.

Maxwell was also given access to a puppy to play with by an inmate who trains puppies to be service dogs.

Documents and information received over the last several days by this Committee indicate that ... the federal law enforcement staff working at the camp have been waiting on Ms. Maxwell hand and foot. This information also indicates that Ghislaine Maxwell is working on filing a Commutation Application with your Administrationdemonstrating either that Ms. Maxwell is herself requesting you release her from her 20-year prison sentence for her role as a coconspirator in Jeffrey Epsteins international child sex trafficking ring, or that this child sex predator now holds such tremendous sway in the second Trump Administration that you and your DOJ will follow her clemency recommendations," Raskin wrote to Trump.

The Maryland Democrat urged Trump not to commute Maxwells sentence.

You should not grant any form of clemency to this convicted and unrepentant sex offender. Your Administration should not be providing her with room service, with puppies to play with, with federal law enforcement officials waiting on her every need, or with any special treatment or institutional privilege at all, Raskin wrote.

It is indisputable that the order to treat Ms. Maxwell as an honored guest, rather than a federal prisoner, has come from the highest levels, although you could reassure America, today, by telling us that Ms. Maxwells treatment has been orchestrated by a renegade faction within the Bureau of Prisons, and you are ordering an investigation, he continued.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., left, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speak to reporters outside the Senate chamber as they charge President Donald Trump and the Republicans with the government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

A legislative package to end the government shutdown appears on track Monday after a handful of Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to break the impasse in what has become a deepening disruption of federal programs and services, the longest in history.

Whats in and out of the bipartisan deal drew sharp criticism and leaves few senators fully satisfied. The legislation provides funding to reopen the government, including for SNAP food aid and other programs, while also ensuring backpay for furloughed federal workers the Trump administration had left in doubt.

But notably lacking is any clear resolution to expiring health care subsidies that Democrats have been fighting for as millions of Americans stare down rising insurance premiums. That debate was pushed off for a vote next month, weeks before the subsidies are set to expire.

The Senate could wrap up passage as soon as Monday. The bill cleared a procedural hurdle, 60-40, late Sunday, with eight Democrats joining most Republicans. In a rare dissent, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York voted against because it failed to fully address the health care funds.

None of the eight Democrats are currently up for election. They are: Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D- Nev.; Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; John Fetterman, D-Penn.; Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; Tim Kaine, D-Va.; Angus King, D-Me.; Jacky Rosen, D-Nev; and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.

It would next go to the House, where lawmakers have been away since September but were being told to prepare to return to Washington this week. Then, its to Trumps desk for his signature.

Heres a look at the deal as its moving through Congress:

Funding to reopen the government, for now

Included is funding to keep much of the federal government running for the next couple of months, to Jan. 30, with a stopgap measure. It largely funds government operations at their current rates.

Yet in a breakthrough for whats considered a more normal appropriations process, the package also includes several bills to fully fund other government operations including agricultural programs and military construction along with veterans affairs for the full fiscal year, through September 2026.

Additionally, the package ensures states would be reimbursed for money they spent to keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, and the Women, Infants and Children program, or WIC, running during the shutdown.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the chair of the Appropriations Committee, said she was relieved.

This shutdown has gone on far too long, she said. And I also think its highly significant that well have three yearlong appropriations bills attached. Veterans Day is coming very soon, and it would be wonderful if we get the full-year Veterans Affairs bill signed into law.

Health care funding still up for debate

The Democrats failed to secure their main demand during the shutdown, which was an extension of the health care subsidies that many of the 24 million people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act rely on to help defray costs.

Instead, the package guarantees a vote on the issue in December  which was not enough for most of the Democrats, who rejected the deal and voted against it.

The American people want us to stand and fight for health care, said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Federal workers get a reprieve

The package seeks to roll back some of the Trump administrations shutdown-related hits to the federal workforce. Employees have faced repeated threats of firings and mass layoffs this year.

The stopgap measure reinstates federal workers who had received reductions in force, or layoff, notices and protects against such future actions.

It also would provide back pay for federal workers who were furloughed or working without pay during the shutdown  something thats traditionally provided but that the Trump administration had threatened was not guaranteed.

Getting the bill to the presidents desk

Political and procedural hurdles remain as Congress, which is controlled by Republicans, slogs through more voting and the shutdown entered its 41st day Monday.

Senators hope to skip past a series of steps that could drag voting out all week if the dissenters put up a prolonged fight.

One Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against advancing the package Sunday, and he is said to have concerns over a hemp industry provision. And three ultra-conservative GOP senators held up voting for more than two hours as they demanded consideration of their ideas. It is unclear if any of them plans to stage further protests.

Democrats, who have fought for the past month in their hopes of preserving the health care subsidies, also could delay final passage, and their next steps are uncertain.

And the package faces fresh scrutiny once it goes to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana holds a slim GOP majority and would likely need almost all Republicans to support the bill in the face of objections from Democrats who are holding out for the health care funds.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said the party will fight the bill, forcing the Republicans in the House to pass it largely on their own.

We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits Jeffries said. Donald Trump and the Republican Party own the toxic mess they have created.
A sweeping overhaul of the United States' student-loan system has triggered nationwide concern after the elimination of the Graduate PLUS Loan Programme.

The change, finalised by the US Department of Education under President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is being described by education experts as one of the most significant shifts in federal higher-education funding in decades.

Announced on 6 November 2025, the reform aims to simplify repayment and limit borrowing for postgraduate students. Yet critics warn that it could push America's middle-class families out of graduate school entirely, creating a divide between students who can self-fund and those who cannot.

What the Policy Change Means

In an official press release, the Department of Education confirmed that the Graduate PLUS Loan Programme, which allowed students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance, will be discontinued beginning 1 July 2026. In its place, new borrowing caps will restrict how much postgraduate and professional students can take on through federal loans.

The overhaul also reduces the number of repayment options from seven to two: a Standard Repayment Plan and a new Repayment Assistance Plan, or RAP, designed to streamline repayments and link them more closely to income levels. Public Service Loan Forgiveness rules will also be tightened, excluding some employers from eligibility.

According to an Education Department statement, the changes are intended to simplify a complex system and 'better align higher education with workforce needs.'

Middle-Class Students Feel the Impact

The elimination of the Graduate PLUS Programme is expected to hit middle-income students hardest, particularly those in medicine, law, and doctoral programmes where tuition often exceeds standard federal-loan limits. Many of these students relied on Grad PLUS loans to cover the full cost of attendance after exhausting other aid options.

Analysts warn that the changes could create a two-tier higher-education system: one for affluent students who can afford full tuition and another for those forced to abandon their plans due to new loan restrictions.

Universities and Experts Sound the Alarm

University associations across the country have criticised the move, warning it will reduce diversity and accessibility in advanced education. Institutions are now expected to explore partnerships with private loan providers to bridge the funding gap for affected students.

Policy experts argue the reform marks a departure from previous efforts to expand educational access, instead prioritising fiscal conservatism and private sector involvement.

Financial and Political Fallout

The elimination of Grad PLUS loans could redirect billions of dollars in potential interest revenue from the federal government to private lenders such as SoFi and Sallie Mae. Economic analysts warn this shift could create long-term consequences for student debt management and affordability.

Critics argue the overhaul reflects a broader move by the Trump administration to limit government involvement in higher education following the Supreme Court's 2023 ruling in Biden v. Nebraska, which curtailed the Department of Education's authority to cancel student debt without congressional approval.

Reports noted that the administration's approach aligns with its broader goal of reducing federal expenditure and promoting private competition in the lending sector.

Next Steps for Borrowers

Current borrowers under the Grad PLUS programme will retain their existing loan terms, according to the Education Department. However, new postgraduate borrowers from July 2026 will face stricter annual and lifetime borrowing limits.

Advocacy groups are urging students to explore institutional scholarships, work-study opportunities, and income-based repayment plans. Legal experts expect further litigation over accessibility and potential discrimination claims once the new rules take effect.

Originally published on IBTimes UK
This is a guest opinion column from the mayors of the 10 largest cities in Alabama

Public safety is the first and most important responsibility of every city leader. Every day, we, as the mayors of Alabamas largest cities, work to protect our residents, our neighborhoods, and our businesses. When violent criminals are allowed back on the streets our communities are put at risk.

Thats exactly why we came together several years ago to fight for Aniahs Law, named in memory of Aniah Blanchard, a young woman whose life was tragically cut short in a senseless act of violence. Aniah was kidnapped and murdered by a man who never should have been free. Adding to her familys pain, the alleged murderer was already out on bond for violent crimes while awaiting a different trial. The judge in that case had no choice but to set bail, because Alabama law at the time didnt allow bond to be denied for most serious offenses.

We wanted to make sure that this situation never happened again.

Working with state lawmakers, Governor Kay Ivey, law enforcement, and, importantly, Aniahs family, we successfully championed Aniahs Law to give judges and prosecutors the ability to deny bond for those charged with the most heinous crimes  including murder, rape, kidnapping, and arson. Since its passage, Aniahs Law has been an important tool for keeping violent offenders behind bars while they await trial.

But as recent events have reminded us, our work is not done.

Just weeks ago, a tragic mass shooting left two dead and multiple people injured. One of the individuals arrested and charged with attempted murder was recently released on bond. The judges hands were tied. Under current law, attempted murder is not yet one of the crimes for which bond can be denied.

Thankfully, Alabama voters can change that.

Last legislative session, the Alabama Big 10 Mayors once again stood together to advocate for strengthening Aniahs Law  to expand it to include attempted murder and other serious violent offenses. The Legislature passed this proposal, and Governor Ivey signed it into law. But because Aniahs Law is part of the Alabama Constitution, this important expansion must now be ratified by you, the voters, in the 2026 Primary Election.

This recent shooting is a painful reminder that our current laws still force judges to set bail for people accused of extremely violent crimes  people who pose a clear threat to public safety. As mayors, we see the consequences of these loopholes every day. We are the ones who have to answer to grieving families, shaken neighborhoods, and police officers put in harms way.

Strengthening Aniahs Law is about protecting our communities. Its about ensuring that no family ever has to endure what Aniah Blanchards family suffered. Its about giving our judges the authority and discretion they need to keep dangerous individuals behind bars while they await trial.

We urge every Alabamian to join us in standing up for safer communities by stopping this revolving door that puts criminals back on the street. When the primary election day comes in 2026, join us in strengthening this law so we can empower our legal system to keep our communities safe.

Big 10 mayors:

Auburn Mayor Ron Anders

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin

Decatur Mayor Kent Lawrence

Dothan Mayor Mark Saliba

Hoover Mayor Nick Derzis

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle

Madison Mayor Ranae Bartlett

Mobile Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox.
President Donald Trump said a Georgia congresswoman who once strongly supported him has lost her way after criticizing his emphasis on foreign policy and claiming he has not done enough to bring down grocery prices.

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has been outspoken against Trump, accusing the president of betraying his America First agenda.

I dont know what happened to Marjorie. Shes a nice woman. But I dont know what happened. Shes lost her way, I think, Trump told reporters Monday at the White House.

The president said Greenes isolationist view is not best for the country.

We could have a world thats on fire where wars come to our shores very easily if you had a bad president. We had a horrible president, and we ended up with Russia-Ukraine, Trump said, referring to his predecessor, Joe Biden.

The president claimed foreign policy is strongly linked to domestic policy.

Well, the world is the United States. Because if the world is in trouble or the world is ripping us off  if I dont do all these things, our country is doing very poorly," he said.

Its easy to say, oh dont worry about the world. But the world is turning out to be our biggest customer, Trump continued.

The world was on fire, and we couldve been in that fire very easily if you didnt have a president that knew what he was doing.










English News Shenzhou-21 heads for space: New milestones in China's space program

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 4 Novembre 2025



Looking ahead, China will continue to expand commercial participation in future projects, including the development of lunar scientific probe platforms and crater-detection platform, to further stimulate innovation and vitality in the country's commercial space sector.

By Liu Shiyao, Li Junqiang, People's Daily At 11:44 p.m. Beijing time on Oct. 31, the Shenzhou-21 manned spacecraft, aboard a Long March-2F carrier rocket, lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, embarking on a journey to China's space station.



This marked the 37th flight mission of China's manned space program and the sixth manned flight mission since the space station entered the application and development phase.



According to Zhang Jingbo, a spokesperson for the China Manned Space Agency, the main objectives of the mission are to complete an in-orbit rotation with the Shenzhou-20 crew, stay in the space station for about six months, and carry out space science and application tasks.



The astronauts will perform extravehicular activities, manage cargo transfers in and out of the modules, install space debris protection devices, and mount and retrieve external payloads and facilities. They will also engage in science education and public outreach activities, as well as conduct space-based experiments to further enhance the comprehensive benefits of the space station's applications.



During their stay, the Shenzhou-21 crew will undertake 27 new scientific and application projects. These projects will focus on key scientific issues in areas such as space life science and biotechnology, space medicine, space materials science, microgravity fluid physics and combustion, and new spacecraft technologies.



Notably, the mission will carry out China's first in-orbit scientific experiment involving rodent mammals. Four mice, two male and two females, have traveled with the spacecraft and will be raised in orbit. The experiment will explore how microgravity and confined space conditions affect behavioral patterns. After returning to Earth, further studies will be conducted to explore how multiple organs and tissues of mice respond and adapt to the stress of the space environment.



The spacecraft also carries experimental payloads related to space applications, including in-situ electrochemical and optical studies of lithium-ion batteries and an on-orbit intelligent computing platform. These projects are expected to provide a scientific foundation for future research and strengthen the station's long-term application capabilities.



Since its inception, China's manned space program has adhered to the principles of peaceful use, equality and mutual benefit, and common development. China continues to promote international cooperation by inviting foreign astronauts to participate in missions to its space station, contributing to the progress of space technology and benefiting humanity as a whole.



Following the signing of a cooperation agreement between China and Pakistan in February this year, the selection of Pakistani astronauts for participation in China's space missions has officially begun. The preliminary selection process is currently under way in Pakistan, while the secondary and final selections will take place in China.



Upon completion, two Pakistani astronauts will train alongside their Chinese counterparts. One of them will be selected to participate in a short-duration spaceflight mission as a payload specialist and conduct scientific experiments for Pakistan.



Zhang reaffirmed that China is holding firm to its goal of landing astronauts on the moon by 2030. He noted that the country's manned lunar exploration program is progressing smoothly.



Since the beginning of this year, China has completed several key tests, including the second-stage propulsion system test and the captive firing test for the Long March-10 rocket, the zero-altitude escape test for the Mengzhou spacecraft, and the comprehensive landing and takeoff verification test for the Lanyue lander.



Upcoming tests will include integrated testing of the lander, thermal and maximum dynamic pressure escape tests of the Mengzhou spacecraft, and low-altitude and technology verification flights of the Long March-10 rocket.



Since the approval of the space station application and development project and the manned lunar exploration program, China has actively adopted a commercial competition model to encourage the participation of private enterprises in spacecraft development and manufacturing. This approach has been applied to projects such as the low-cost cargo transport system for the space station, the crewed lunar rover, and lunar remote-sensing satellites. Contracts for these projects have been signed, and development work is under way. The share of commercial participation in China's manned space program has increased substantially, accelerating technological progress and yielding increasingly significant results.



Looking ahead, China will continue to expand commercial participation in future projects, including the development of lunar scientific probe platforms and crater-detection platform, to further stimulate innovation and vitality in the country's commercial space sector.



Dans la meme rubrique : < > Tang Xianzu and Shakespeare: Theater as a bridge for global cultural dialogue Shanghai seed bank hits 100 million samples in biodiversity conservation push China unveils world's first mid-infrared solar magnetic-field telescope Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
The Samsung Galaxy S26 series launch timeline rumors are all over the place, to say the least. Initially, we expected the phones to arrive in January, then rumors started mentioning March, and then a February 25 launch date was mentioned. Well, the latest rumor claims that were back to January, actually.

The Galaxy S26 series is now expected to launch in January after all

According to a report from Korea, Samsung plans to launch the Galaxy S26 series by late January and make the phones available by mid-February. So, theyd go on sale around 2 weeks after launch.

Chosun, the source, quotes an insider for this information. It is said that Samsung initially delayed the launch of the Galaxy S26 series due to a brief reorganization of the available models in the lineup.

That is no concern anymore, though, allegedly, so the company can proceed with the January launch. If the report is accurate, this January launch event will come around the same time as the Galaxy S25s launch this year. As a reminder, the Galaxy S25 series arrived on January 22.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra wont use the Exynos 2600 at all

Chosun also says that the Exynos 2600 chip wont be used in all three variants of the Galaxy S26 series. The source claims that the Galaxy S26 Ultra will not use that chip at all. It will be fueled by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

The Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+, on the other hand, will use the Exynos 2600. They wont use that chip exclusively, though, as the availability will be market-dependent. This goes hand-in-hand with Qualcomms claim that around 75% of the Galaxy S26 series will use its flagship processor.

As a reminder, the Galaxy S26 Pro, Galaxy S26 Edge, and Galaxy S26 Ultra were supposed to launch initially. Samsung changed its mind since then, hence the reorganization we mentioned earlier. The company is now planning to launch the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26+, and Galaxy S26 Ultra.
The most innocent file on your phonea digital photographturned out to be a Trojan horse for nearly a year. A powerful, commercial-grade surveillance tool dubbed LANDFALL successfully exploited a secret flaw in Samsung Galaxy phones, allowing hackers to gain complete control simply by sending a malicious image.

Samsung patched the core zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2025-21042) in the Galaxys image processing library in April 2025. However, security researchers confirmed the targeted attacks were already active in the wild as early as July 2024. It was a really simple attack to carry out in relation to its severity. The flaw was hidden deep within the Galaxys photo handling component, waiting for a malicious DNG image file to trigger it.

Samsung Galaxy S phone flaw allowed full surveillance via LANDFALL spyware

Attackers allegedly sent victims a corrupted DNG file, often disguised with common names like WhatsApp Image This file contained an embedded ZIP archive. The exploit chain then forced the phone to unpack and execute LANDFALL, often without the user needing to interact with the image at all. Yes, this was a zero-click attack capable of evading user suspicion.

Once activated, LANDFALL transformed the targeted Samsung phone into a total spy machine. It was capable of collecting sensitive data: recording the microphone, tracking location, and stealing photos, contacts, SMS, and call logs. The spyware specifically targeted high-end flagships, including the Galaxy S22, S23, and S24 series. Various Z Fold and Z Flip models were also affected. Researchers tracked the attacks to individuals in the Middle East, specifically Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Morocco.

The professional level of LANDFALL suggests development by a sophisticated vendor. Analysis of the spywares infrastructure showed intriguing overlaps with an infamous surveillance group known as Stealth Falcon. This group has past associations with state-level espionage.

It seems the attack chain was part of a broader trend. A similar DNG image flaw also recently exploited iOS devices.
If you want to make sure the private information on your phone is kept safe, then you might want to reconsider using public WiFi. This is according to a recent warning that Google and the TSA have issued.

Google and TSA warning against public WiFi

Google and TSAs warning about using public WiFi isnt new. Many security experts have long advocated against the use of public WiFi. While public WiFi is convenient (and free), you dont necessarily know who owns it and whether it is secure.

According to Google, it warns that these networks can be unencrypted and easily exploited by attackers. The company stated it in its recent Behind the Screen advisory for both Android and iPhone users. Its also a response to a surge in text-based scams that are happening across the world.

That being said, Googles warning is somewhat controversial. This is because not everyone agrees that public WiFis are bad. In fact, the FTC sort of disagrees with Googles claims. The government agency acknowledges that in the past, public WiFi could put your information at risk. This was due to how most websites back in the day did not offer encryption. That has changed today, so even if youre on public WiFi, your data should be safe.

Should you continue using public WiFi?

At the end of the day, its up to you. Googles warnings do have merit to a certain degree, but this doesnt mean you should avoid public WiFi like the plague. Instead, being smart about your usage could go a long way in keeping your data safe.

For starters, you should disable automatic connections to public and unknown WiFi networks. This is because some hackers broadcast public WiFi in hopes of you joining and intercepting your data. Next, you should avoid downloading any software that would require you to connect to a public WiFi. You should only give your email address when connecting to a captive portal.

Next, you can always check if your connection to a website is secure by looking at the address bar. If it shows a padlock icon, you should be good to go. Speaking of address bars, also make sure that the URL youre visiting is the one youre supposed to be visiting. Sometimes scam websites use URLs that look like a legitimate URL with some slight variances to them.

Last but not least, if youre really concerned and want to protect yourself on public WiFi, consider getting a VPN.
Samsung is expanding its One UI 8 Watch Beta rollout to more Galaxy wearables. the firm is now adding the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro models to the mix. This lets users of the smartwatches try out the next OS version and all that it has to offer before the official release.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and 5 Pro get One UI 8 Watch beta

As usual, the One UI 8 Watch beta for the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro is rolling out in South Korea but may reach the US soon. You should see a notification about this in the Samsung Members app. The beta release suggests that Samsung may take its sweet time to issue the stable build. The company previously mentioned that it would release the stable One UI 8 Watch for more Galaxy Watches before the end of the year. While it may be on track, the progress sure seems slow.

Currently, the Galaxy Watch 7 and Ultra (2024) are the only models to enjoy the stable One UI 8 Watch. Meanwhile, beta testing for the Galaxy Watch 6 series is currently ongoing, with the fifth beta build.

Though the Galaxy Watch 5 users may have wanted the stable build, the beta build gives you a chance to check out all the goodies of the new version. The One UI 8 Watch upgrade brings improved hand gestures and the ability to add more widgets in tiles. You get features like Bedtime Guidance, Now Bar for real-time live updates, new watch faces, and a mindfulness feature.

Theres a new charging animation, a grid layout for the app drawer, and updated app icons. Notifications for messages now appear in grouped stacks, and you can clear them instantly through a double pinch gesture.
Yemen's Houthis vow to resume striking Israel if Gaza ceasefire collapses

Xinhua) 09:53, November 10, 2025

Demonstrators shout slogans during a rally to celebrate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, in Sanaa, Yemen, Oct. 10, 2025. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

SANAA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Houthi group warned on Sunday that it would resume missile and drone attacks against Israel if the ceasefire in Gaza collapses, according to a letter sent to the Palestinian Hamas movement.

The threat, broadcast by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV channel, comes amid heightened regional tensions that could undermine the fragile U.S.-brokered truce in Gaza, as well as renewed friction between Iran and the United States over stalled nuclear talks.

In the letter, the Houthis' newly appointed chief of staff, Yousif al-Madani, told Hamas, "We remain steadfast in our pledge and promise to stand with you, no matter the sacrifices."

Madani was appointed by the group last month to replace Mohammed Abdulkarim Al-Ghamari, who was killed along with dozens of Houthi officials in Israeli airstrikes on a building in Sanaa in August.

Since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, the Houthis had launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones toward Israel -- most of which were reportedly intercepted -- until the current ceasefire went into effect on Oct. 10. The group also targeted Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea, sinking four.

Last week, the Houthis declared a state of general mobilization, recruiting hundreds of tribal fighters, tightening security measures in their areas, setting up additional checkpoints, and detaining more UN employees on alleged accusations of spying for Israel. They also sent reinforcements to frontlines near Marib, an oil-rich province under the control of Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces.

These developments followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's televised speech last week, in which he said the Houthis pose a threat to Israel and that "work is underway to eliminate it."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
It's cold and flu season again. (Getty Images) (HUIZENG HU via Getty Images)

This time of year, there are a number of viruses doing the rounds, and it can be hard to dodge the dreaded flu or common cold.

If you are unlucky enough to get struck down with illness, you will likely experience a range of symptoms, which can come and go in waves.

"Usually, when we think about the common cold, it's a virus," Dr Cheryl Lythgoe of Benenden Health explains to Yahoo UK. "With viruses, we can pick them up anywhere, really. They can live on surfaces and are really easily transmitted through coughs and sneezes.

"With the cold, specifically, the virus then multiplies in the body. The challenge with a cold, though, is that you may appear to be symptom-free, but in reality could be harbouring that virus. So you could be passing it on without even realising it," she adds.

Here, Dr Lythgoe talks through the different stages of a cold, and how to protect yourself and others from illness.

The stages of a common cold

You may still be fit enough to go to work or school, but usually this is the stage when you are most contagious. (Getty Images) (Jose Luis Pelaez Inc via Getty Images)

Days 1-3: You could have a cold virus but may not be presenting all the usual symptoms yet. "Perhaps you have a slight sniffle or you're not practising good hand hygiene," Dr Lythgoe says.

Days 3-4: According to the expert, this is when you are likely to start feeling congested and develop a runny nose.

"Those early symptoms can take a good two or three days to really start developing and maturing, and what we find then is actually, from a contagion point of view, you're really contagious during that time. So when you're starting to think, 'Oh, God, am I brewing something?', that's actually when you're starting to pass it on and spread to other people as well," she notes.

If you do feel that something is coming on, then, make sure that you're staying on top of hand hygiene, and use a tissue or the crook of your arm if you sneeze or cough.

You may be spreading the virus before you reach the sofa/bed phase. (Getty Images) (Catherine Falls Commercial via Getty Images)

Days 4-5: "This is when your symptoms are really at their worst," Dr Lythgoe states. "Coughing, headaches, body aches  sometimes temperatures, though usually in babies and children rather than adults."

You can also experience fatigue, tiredness and achiness. "That's when your symptoms are at that peak level," she adds, "but also when most people tend to isolate more  curling up on the sofa at home or sleeping it off in bed."

Day 5 onwards: "That's when you start hitting that recovery part of the illness," Dr Lythgoe says. "Your body starts to recuperate and repair, and you might find that you're not feeling quite as sick and that your energy levels are starting to come back. You could still be bunged up and a bit sniffly, but generally, you feel able to get back to normal life  just at a bit of a slower pace."

While most people start making a recovery at this stage, the expert stresses that others can take a good two to three weeks to fully get back on their feet, particularly if they have a weakened immune system, underlying health conditions and pre-existing respiratory problems.

The best way to prevent and treat a cold

Getting a flu jab not only reduces the risk of you getting sick, it can benefit others. (Getty Images) (alvaro gonzalez via Getty Images)

Wash your hands regularly

The best way to prevent catching a cold, per the expert, is to maintain good hand hygiene by regularly washing your hands with soap and hot water, or using antibacterial gel if you're out and about.

Use a tissue

As well as catching sneezes or coughs in a tissue, you can use the crook of your arm to prevent droplets spreading. Once finished with the tissue, make sure you dispose of it and wash your hands and surfaces.

Avoid touching your face

The more you touch your face, the higher the risk of infection and spread.

Get vaccinated

Although the criteria for free flu jabs on the NHS is relatively strict, you can book in a vaccination at your nearest pharmacy for around 10-15. Some workplaces also offer them to staff as part of their benefits system. By getting vaccinated, you are increasing your immunity to nasty germs and viruses that are doing the rounds  which not only helps you stay fit and healthy, but also those around you.

Steam is one of the best ways to combat a cold. (Getty Images) (Roos Koole via Getty Images)

Food is fuel

Eating well is also really key  both for prevention and healing. "Your body needs vitamins, minerals and nutrients to make those good, healthy cells and hormones," she adds.

Get out and about

While you should avoid contact with others and rest up where possible, Dr Lythgoe says that getting some fresh air can make all the difference when you're sick.

"Get out into some green spaces, move the body a little bit, get some vitamin D into you," she says. "All of those things can help with that recuperative stage that you're going into."

Get steamy

"Steam inhalation can definitely make things feel much better," Dr Lythgoe says. "Menthol  so Vicks, Tiger Balm, Olbas Oil  also helps with that congestion and opens up the airways."

Pop some paracetamol

"The thing with paracetamol is that it's really cheap and readily available. Everybody thinks because you can buy it over the counter, it's not effective. But actually, paracetamol helps from top to toe," the expert concludes.

Read more about seasonal health:
A huge portion of our society gets marginalised through absolutely no fault of their own  you cant choose where youre born, and you cant choose where you end your life (Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock)

The magic of Andrea Riseborough is never quite knowing where youve seen her. I tell a friend her name, and he hasnt a clue  then he googles her and realises hes seen her in 16 films and two limited series for television. He recognised her face instantly. Riseborough tells me that its important to be slightly unknowable. It takes her a while. The actor speaks in long pauses, gathering her words and thoughts as if theyre precious, fragile little things.

If youre going to represent people in real life... you should retain... to the best of your ability... what might be considered a real life... in the sense that you can move through the world... in quiet observation. Speaking to me over video call, Riseborough is curled up on the sofa of her London flat, a temporary abode while shes appearing in a play. Surrounding her is vast nothing  white walls, a cushion. All the better to disappear into.

Riseborough has her hits: as an ambitious Broadway diva in Birdman; as Emma Stones love interest in the Billie Jean King film Battle of the Sexes; as Nicolas Cages spectral betrothed in Mandy. But she also creates the kind of puzzlement wherein you think you might have brushed up against her on the Tube that day, or seen her waiting at a bus stop. The word chameleonic appears in so many of her profile interviews that Im slightly embarrassed even to mention it here.

When half of Hollywoods A-list seemed to launch a grassroots Oscar campaign on her behalf in 2023  for the notoriously little-seen indie To Leslie, about a woman in poverty putting her broken life back together  yes, it seemed a genuine response to an actor giving a full-bodied, emotive, painful, scrappy performance in a haunting character study of a film. But it also felt like a celebration of a woman whos cracked an elusive Hollywood code: great performances, great projects, great directors  and absolutely none of the celebrity noise that tends to obscure it all. She is, that whole saga suggested, a wonderful actor and an actors aspirational ideal.

To Leslie was a tale of wrong-side-of-the-tracks melancholy, and provided a showcase for Riseborough to weep, flail, and furrow her brow. Its an effect mirrored in her latest film, too, an eerie suburban drama called Dragonfly, which is also about people who tend to slip down the back of our cultural sofa: erratic loners, the elderly, the poor. It was such a perfect expression of friendship and loneliness and what it feels like to be marginalised in some way, she explains.

To Leslie became very meaningful to many, many people, and that was the real jaw-dropper for me of that entire experience

Riseborough plays Colleen, a woman on benefits who has a dog and a murky past, and who ingratiates herself to Brenda Blethyns Elsie, the pensioner who lives in the bungalow next to hers. They strike up an earnest if oddly charged friendship  Colleen buys Elsies milk and does her household chores, and ragefully goes after the visiting carers who have been hired to look after Elsie but seem to do the bare minimum. Elsie is flattered but wary. Elsies son, a pompous busybody played by Jason Watkins, takes an immediate dislike to his mothers unofficial new guardian.

Dragonfly is directed by Paul Andrew Williams, a filmmaker so accustomed to genre-spinning  his credits include the sicko revenge movie Bull and the coming-of-age thriller London to Brighton  that it shouldnt come as much of a surprise when Elsie and Colleens relationship darkens. By its end, Dragonfly has transformed into something deeply disturbing.

I very specifically knew Colleen on the page, Riseborough says. And I think her character speaks for the place that I come from; she speaks for, adjacently, family members or my family background, or people Ive known. She adds that while she was born and raised in Newcastle, and Dragonfly is set in a nameless Yorkshire town, the principle remains the same. A huge portion of our society gets marginalised through absolutely no fault of their own  you cant choose where youre born, and you cant choose where you end your life.

What it feels like to be marginalised: Riseborough in Dragonfly (Lissa Haines-Beardow)

Blethyn stepped into Dragonfly with just a weeks notice, replacing the films original star, Vanessa Redgrave. She and Riseborough make a little more sense together: both grew up working-class, Blethyn in Ramsgate and Riseborough in Whitley Bay, and both discovered themselves at drama school. Both, too, found early film success with Mike Leigh  Blethyn, to an Oscar nod, for Secrets & Lies, and Riseborough with a small role in his Happy-Go-Lucky.

When you first go out into the world and youre attempting to act professionally, you recognise people whove gathered the same tools from similar places, Riseborough says. Brendas one of those people. Working with her was like coming home, because its almost like you share a very different language together. I dont know whether its because you spend so much time making an absolute f***ing fool of yourself when youre training, and in front of all of your peers, that you then act without ego... but whatever that language is, its very fun and comfortable, in light of the fact that where youve got to go is mentally horrific. She smiles. Psychologically, what I do is no picnic. Or, if it is, its one where theyre serving prickly pears with the skin still on.

Riseborough speaks in dramatic metaphors  working is a plunge; the women of Dragonfly sit in a gaping dam of isolation. I dont think she dislikes interviews  as has been claimed by some other journalists  but I do think she keeps an interesting distance from the dance of them. Entirely innocuous questions are extensively chewed over. Theories are challenged. She disagrees, and then  after moments of humming and hawing  agrees to agree. I ask her how she chooses roles, each of them seeming so wildly divergent from the others. One day shes a young Maggie Thatcher in The Long Walk to Finchley. The next, shes Tom Cruises girlfriend in Oblivion.

I dont know how this has all happened, she says. I dont consider myself particularly strong-minded. Im as easily led as anyone. Still, she adds, Ive always had my own taste. And I respond to things that feel authentic. I credit that to Newcastle. Its quite a geordie quality, I think, to be able to be lovingly critical of everyone, and especially yourself. She pauses. I think back now, and how on earth did I have my head on my shoulders enough to be able to know what I wanted to work on, and who I wanted to work with? Especially coming out of drama school, youre just like jelly with a strong diaphragm, you know? She laughs. Its amazing that any of us make any good choices at all, really.

Completely bamboozling: Riseborough in To Leslie (Momentum Pictures/Shutterstock)

In some ways, Riseborough seems like the absolute worst person to receive a shock grassroots Oscar nomination  I wonder if its a bit like switching a massive floodlight onto a tiny ladybird who just wants to get on with their business. Riseborough, though, doesnt express any discomfort with what went down in 2023, when the flank of A-listers loudly and unexpectedly backing her  Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston and Edward Norton among them  was met with a mix of cynicism, anger and utmost confusion.

No matter what you feel, its such a joy to be recognised by your peers, she says. But what was and remains completely bamboozling is that [To Leslie] was responded to in the way that it was. Because if Im backing a horse creatively, Im never thinking, you know, Everyones gonna love this. But that film became very meaningful to many, many people, and that was the real jaw-dropper for me, of that entire experience.

As an actor, she continues, we get so caught up in the project, and the character were playing. It feels like throwing something out into a canyon. You dont always expect a huge echo.

And with that, our time is up. I sign off our Zoom call, and leave Riseborough on the edge of her canyon.

Dragonfly is in cinemas
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were pictured holding hands as they stepped out in Gothic gowns for the European premiere of musical movie Wicked: For Good.

The sequel picks up where the first film left off, covering the years after green witch Elphaba, played by Erivo, 38, parted ways with her friend, Glinda, portrayed by US pop star Grande.

The looks marked a change from the 2024 press tour when the duo often paid homage to their characters by wearing the colours they are associated with in the musical.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande arriving for the European premiere of Wicked: For Good (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Grande, 32, wore a one shoulder black dress decorated with shiny polka dots to the event on Monday, while Erivo sported a dark blue and black dress featuring PVC-look detachable sleeves.

Jeff Goldblum (Jonathan Brady/PA)

The premiere, held at Cineworld in Leicester Square, was decorated with pink and white flowers  and the red carpet swapped out for a yellow brick road.

Among the attendees was US actor Jeff Goldblum, who plays the Wizard in the film.

Jonathan Bailey, who plays Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Brady/PA)

The 73-year-old posed for photos while wearing a long overcoat and green waistcoat, enhancing the look with a silver broach.

British star Jonathan Bailey, who plays Prince Fiyero, wore an all grey ensemble, finishing the outfit with a red poppy to mark Remembrance Day.

Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Also at the event was Oscar-winning actress Michell Yeoh, who plays Madame Morrible, and director Jon M Chu, who wore a black suit.

Among the celebrity attendees were The Celebrity Traitors stars Cat Burns and Jonathan Ross as well as Britains Got Talent judge Amanda Holden.

Director Jon M Chu (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Two-part film adaptation Wicked is based on the Broadway smash which scored Idina Menzel a Tony Award for best leading actress in a musical for her role as Elphaba in 2004.

For Good sees Elphaba demonised by those in Oz, and transformed into The Wicked Witch Of The West, as she is known in L Frank Baums novel about the fantastical world.

The Celebrity Traitor star Cat Burns (Jonathan Brady/PA)

The films have been adapted from the musical, which was based on Gregory Maguires 1995 novel of the same name  which was in turn inspired by the story first told in Baums 1900 childrens novel, adapted into the 1939 film starring Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale.

Amanda Holden (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Wickeds next instalment will arrive to cinemas in the UK and Ireland from November 21.
BBC chairman Samir Shah has said the corporation would like to apologise for an error of judgment over the editing of a speech by Donald Trump for Panorama.

The apology follows the resignation of two of the corporations most senior figures on Sunday  chief executive of BBC News Deborah Turness and director-general Tim Davie  who announced their departure from the BBC after concerns were raised in Michael Prescotts report that the speech had been selectively edited.

Critics said the Panorama documentary, broadcast by the BBC the week before last years US election, was misleading and removed a section where Mr Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.

Responding to a letter from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee (CMS), Mr Shah said there have been more than 500 complaints since the publication of Mr Prescotts memo, adding: We accept that the way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action.

Mr Shah said it is simply not true that Mr Prescott, a former external advisor to the BBCs editorial guidelines and standards committee (EGSC), uncovered issues that the BBC has sought to bury.

He added: The issues raised by Mr Prescott are precisely the issues that have been considered by the EGSC and the Board.

He continued: There is another view that has gained currency in the coverage that the BBC has done nothing to tackle these problems.

That is also simply not true.

Outgoing chief executive of BBC News Deborah Turness arrives at BBC Broadcasting House in London (James Manning/PA)

Downing Street has said the BBC is not corrupt nor institutionally biased, appearing to hit back at claims by US President Donald Trump and other critics of the public broadcaster.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman told reporters: On the question of is the BBC corrupt?: No. The BBC has a vital role in an age of disinformation where theres a clear argument for a robust, impartial British news service to deliver, and that case is stronger than ever.

I think Ive already addressed some of the comments that have been made over the last 24 hours, but we are of the view that its important that the BBC acts swiftly to maintain trust and correct mistakes quickly when they occur.

The spokesman was also asked if Sir Keir Starmer believed the BBC was institutionally biased, and replied: No, but it is important that the BBC acts to maintain trust and correct mistakes quickly when they occur, because as I say, for any public service broadcaster, accountability is vital to maintain trust.

The spokesman would not say whether the future of the BBC licence fee was on the table as part of a wider review of the broadcasters charter.

Tim Davie said mistakes had been made and as director-general he had to take ultimate responsibility (PA)

Mr Trump welcomed the BBC resignations and claimed there had been an attempt to step on the scales of a presidential election, adding on social media: What a terrible thing for Democracy!

It is understood Sir Keir and Mr Trump have not spoken over the weekend following his criticism, and neither have US and British officials.

Reform leader Nigel Farage said he spoke to Mr Trump on Friday, telling a London press conference: He just said to me: Is this how you treat your best ally?

Its quite a powerful comment.

The Prescott memo raised concerns about the way clips of Mr Trumps speech on January 6 2021 were spliced together to make it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to fight like hell.

Mr Shah said the EGSC was told by BBC News the purpose of editing the clip was to convey the message of the speech made by President Trump so that Panoramas audience could better understand how it had been received by President Trumps supporters and what was happening on the ground at that time.

The issue was considered and discussed as part of a wider review of the BBCs US election coverage, commissioned by the committee, rather than handled as a specific programme complaint, given it had not attracted significant audience feedback and had been transmitted before the US election, so the point wasnt pursued further that that time, he added.

The letter continued: The points raised in the review were relayed to the Panorama team, including the decision making on this edit. With hindsight, it would have been better to take more formal action.

Mr Shah said the BBC board will revisit every item set out in Mr Prescotts memo, including the editing of the Trump speech and the reporting of casualty figures in Gaza and will take further action where appropriate.

He added: I would like to assure you and the committee that I am absolutely clear that the BBC must champion impartiality There is an increasing need for the public to be informed in a way that is impartial, truthful and is based on evidence they can trust. That is the sacred job of the BBC.

The resignation of Mr Davie and Ms Turness on Sunday followed days of pressure on the broadcaster over the matter.

In a statement on Sunday, Mr Davie, who had been in the role for five years, said that the BBC was delivering well overall, but added there have been some mistakes made and as director-general I have to take ultimate responsibility.
At a glance

Former BBC editor Mark Urban revealed an attempt at the BBC to block an interview with JK Rowling over her views on trans rights.

It comes after a leaked internal BBC report into impartiality said there was effective censorship by LGBT staff in the news division.

BBC leaders director-general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness have resigned following backlash over editing of a Donald Trump speech in a Panorama documentary

BBC staff attempted to block an interview with JK Rowling from taking place due to her views on womens rights, a former senior editor at the broadcaster revealed.

A Newsnight producer with strong views on trans issues labelled the Harry Potter author very problematic during an editorial meeting, it is said.

Ex-diplomatic editor Mark Urban claimed executives adopted a position of defensiveness when the broadcaster is criticised and have a tendency to ignore complaints in the hope theyll go away.

Mr Urban wrote on his Substack page that at the BBC, like with other media organisations, generational change brought a younger, more dirigiste kind of progressivism onto the team.

Because of this the language of lived experience, dont be a bystander and silence is violence entered the editorial conversation, he said.

Mr Urban added: Thus I was in a meeting where one producer with strong views on trans issues tried to veto an interview bid for JK Rowling, saying she was very problematic (she didnt want to come on anyway).

A leaked internal BBC report into impartiality said there was effective censorship by LGBT staff in the news division.

Michael Prescott, a former independent adviser to the BBCs editorial watchdog, added the broadcaster had been captured by a small group of people promoting a pro-trans agenda and keeping other perspectives off air.

Tim Davie is stepping down as director-general (Andrew Milligan/PA) (PA Archive)

The BBC said: We have taken a number of actions relating to our reporting of sex and gender including updating the news style guide and sharing new guidance, making our Social Affairs Editor responsible for this coverage, and where there have been concerns about particular stories, we have addressed them.

We continually review our coverage to reflect developments such as the recent Supreme Court Ruling.

BBC chairman Samir Shah is expected to apologise on Monday for the way a speech by Donald Trump was edited for Panorama after several days of pressure on the broadcaster prompted the resignation of director-general Tim Davie.

The chief executive of BBC News, Deborah Turness, also quit on Sunday after the corporation was accused of misleading the public following claims that the speech had been selectively edited in the documentary, Trump: A Second Chance?

Prescott raised concerns in the summer about the way clips of the US Presidents speech in January 2021 were spliced together to make it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to fight like hell.

Critics said the documentary, broadcast the week before last years election, was misleading and removed a section where Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.
At a glance

 The US president has issued the BBC with a $1billion lawsuit threat and given the corporation until Friday evening to respond

 BBC chairman Samir Shah faces questions over his leadership amid a fake news storm over the reporting of a Donald Trump speech

 Mr Shah apologised to a Commons committee for the way a speech by the US president was edited for Panorama

Donald Trump is threatening to sue the BBC for $1 billion over the editing of one of his speeches in a growing fake news storm.

In a legal letter to the corporation, Trump counsel Alejandro Brito demanded that "false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements" made about the US President be retracted immediately.

It gives the corporation a Friday deadline to respond, adding if it does not, Trump will be "left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for no less than 1,000,000,000 dollars in damages."

The threat came as BBC chairman Samir Shah apologised for an "error of judgment" over the editing of a speech by Trump for the way a speech by the US president was edited for Panorama

Earlier, the chairman faced questions over his leadership as the Corporation was battered by a fake news storm over the reporting of the speech.

As the BBC was left reeling from the crisis, a Government minister failed to back Mr Shah keeping his job.

Mr Shah said sorry on behalf of the Corporation on Monday after several days of pressure on the broadcaster over its reporting of the speech he made ahead of the US Capitol riot.

The mounting criticism prompted the resignation of director-general Tim Davie.

The chief executive of BBC News, Deborah Turness, also announced her resignation on Sunday after the corporation was accused of misleading the public following claims that the speech had been selectively edited in the documentary, Trump: A Second Chance?

The US president slammed the dishonest BBC following the resignations.

Trump also accused BBC journalists of being corrupt, a claim rejected by No10.

In a letter to the Commons culture committee, Mr Shah said the Corporation would like to "apologise for that error of judgment" over the editing of a speech by Trump for Panorama.

He added that there have been more than 500 complaints since the publication of the memo that raised concerns about the editing of the US presidents speech.

"We accept that the way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action, Mr Shah stated.

On the threat of legal action Mr Shah said: We have received a communication from president Trump and his people and we are now considering how to reply to him.

Asked by a senior BBC journalist whether Trump had said whether he was going to sue the Corporation, Mr Shah added: I dont know that yet but hes a litigious fellow so we should be prepared for all outcomes.

Amid the swirling furore, the chairman was on Monday himself facing questions over his leadership of the Corporation at a time of such crisis and the Government minister, on the morning media round, stopped short of giving him backing.

Director-general Tim Davie has announced his resignation from the BBC (Andrew Milligan/PA) (PA Wire)

Asked if the chairman should go as well as the furore grows, veterans minister Louise Sandher-Jones told LBC Radio: Thats a matter for them.

Its not for a Government minister to opine over that kind of thing.

What I would say is it has been clear that there have been editorial failings at the BBC that dont meet the high standards that the public have a right to expect.

The BBC chairman is in fact appointed by the King on the advice of the Government.

Dame Caroline Dinenage chairs the Culture, Media and Sport Committee (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (PA Archive)

Dame Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Commons culture, media and sport committee, said early on Monday that it had yet to receive a letter it was expecting from Mr Shah and branded the situation odd.

She told BBC Radio: We are still waiting for their letter, we have no indication what is in it, we have not had a statement from them and that seems a little bit odd.

The letter was sent around midday.

Meanwhile, BBC Today programme presenter Nick Robinson questioned whether there was a lack of leadership at the helm of the BBC amid the crisis.

Interviewing Mark Damazer, a former controller of BBC Radio 4, Robinson asked: When you say someone should stand up...a final thought before we turn to the chair of the select committee that is going to hear from Samir Shah...isnt he the person who should be standing up...we still do not have leadership, do we?

The storm engulfing the Corporation erupted after a memo by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBCs editorial standards committee, raised concerns in the summer about the way clips of the US presidents speech on January 6 2021 were spliced together in Trump: A Second Chance?

The editing made it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to fight like hell.

Donald Trump (PA Wire)

Critics said the documentary, broadcast by the BBC the week before last years US election, was misleading and removed a section where the US president said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.

Trump welcomed the resignations and claimed there had been an attempt to step on the scales of a presidential election, adding: What a terrible thing for Democracy!

Mr Shah provided further details on the Panorama episode on Monday in his response to the Culture Media and Sport Committee which asked how he would address the concerns.

The chairman said Sunday was a sad day for the BBC and stressed Mr Davie, who he praised as "an outstanding director-general, had still had his and the boards backing before his resignation.

Mark Damazer has insisted Davie was an 'outstanding Director General' and maintains it is absolutely wrong to claim the BBC is systemically biased.

Mr Davie said his departure will not be immediate and that he is working through timings to ensure an orderly transition over the coming months, while Ms Turness said controversy around the Panorama edit had reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC - an institution that I love.

In a statement sent to staff, Mr Davie said his resignation was entirely his decision and he was thankful to the chairman and board for their unswerving and unanimous support during his tenure.

He said: Like all public organisations, the BBC is not perfect, and we must always be open, transparent and accountable.

BBC presenter Nick Robinson (PA Archive)

The Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy thanked Mr Davie for his service to public service broadcasting and for leading the BBC through a period of significant change.

She said the Government will support the BBC board through the transition and the upcoming charter review will help the corporation to adapt to a new era that secures its role at the heart of national life for decades to come.

The BBCs Royal Charter, which expires at the end of 2027, sets out the corporations mission, public purposes and funding.

Ms Nandy said in November last year that the Government would use the review of the charter to consider alternative ways of funding the corporation but ruled out the licence fee being replaced by general taxation.

Ms Turness, who has been in the role since 2022, said that she had offered her resignation to Mr Davie on Saturday night adding that, despite mistakes being made, the recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong.

In a message sent to staff, she said she was proud of the work they had done adding: The ongoing controversy around the Panorama on President Trump has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC - an institution that I love.

In public life leaders need to be fully accountable, and that is why I am stepping down.

The BBC has been criticised for a number of failings in recent months which include breaching its own accuracy editorial guidelines, livestreaming the controversial Bob Vylan Glastonbury set, as well as misconduct allegations surrounding former MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace.

Leading politicians said the BBC must change to rebuild its reputation.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said it was the BBCs last chance, adding: I dont want to abolish the BBC, I make that very clear, but we cannot have the BBC being seen to be our main national news broadcaster if it cannot perform in a straightforward, simple, unbiased way.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the corporation needs to turn a new leaf while Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch called for top-to-bottom reform.

They claimed the BBC has become too woke in recent years and captured by a minority ideology especially on reporting of transgender issues and Gaza, which they claim is often one-sided.

This latest controversy comes after presenter Martine Croxall changed the script from pregnant people to women live on air.

One big name BBC source told the Mail that they are amazed that Mr Davie and Ms Turness were not sacked long ago, given the volume of controversies on their watch. They explained how Davie and Turness had consistently 'failed' to enforce impartiality at the BBC, most evidently during the Gaza documentary featuring the son of a Hamas official.

Other high-profile scandals included Huw Edwards, political tweets from Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker and now Panorama's editing of a Trump speech.

The source said: They have both been asleep at the wheel. Davie and Turness have failed to get a grip.
Memorial photographs of the hundreds of young people who were murdered or kidnapped as hostages, often with accompanying acts of torture and rape, at the Nova music festival in the Hamas terror attack of 07 October, 2023. The BBCs Arabic service has often sought to suggest that subsequent Israeli military action against Hamas has been inappropriate - Martin Grimes/Getty

The seemingly endless succession of scandals involving the BBCs coverage of international issues completely undermines the Corporations claim to be the worlds most trusted news brand.

It is a reflection of the parallel universe inhabited by the BBCs senior executives that, at the same time that they are being forced to apologise for further mistakes in the bodys news output, they continue to insist their coverage of key events represents a gold standard. As Director-General Tim Davie wrote in his resignation letter, the BBC remains the most trusted news brand globally.

Davies comments certainly stand in stark contrast to the realities of the BBCs recent coverage of world affairs where, on issues ranging from Donald Trumps presidency to the Gaza conflict, the BBCs very distinctive world view has resulted in the organisation facing accusations of institutional bias.

Far from confirming the Corporations status as a trusted news brand, the constant controversies over its failure to provide properly informed coverage of key global events has inevitably raised questions about its impartiality, both at home and abroad.

In such circumstances it is hard to imagine the BBC scoring a more spectacular own goal than the recent Panorama documentary on Trumps second term in office, where it has now admitted to deliberately editing the Presidents comments to portray him in a bad light.

It is not as though Trumps antipathy towards what he regards as the liberal, left-of-centre media is unknown. Since returning to the White House in January, he has launched a series of high profile lawsuits against prominent media outlets in the US, including Paramount, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

So it was hardly surprising that, within days of The Telegraphs revelation that Panorama had edited a speech Trump delivered prior to the attack on the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, the White House should issue a furious response, denouncing the corporation as a leftist propaganda machine that was only interested in broadcasting 100 percent fake news.

The Trump administration, for one, clearly does not subscribe to Davies view that the organisation is a trusted news brand. The Trump stance could get a bigger public airing if Trump persists with his threat to initiate legal action against the BBC.

Nor is there much love lost between the Corporation and the Israeli government, which has levelled numerous accusations of anti-Israel bias as a result of the BBCs coverage of the Gaza conflict.

The most blatant example of the organisations failure to provide impartial coverage of this highly complex issue was its now discredited documentary, Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone, which was heavily criticised by Ofcom after it emerged that the teenage narrator was the son of a senior Hamas member. The BBCs failure to inform viewers of this salient fact led to Ofcom ordering the BBC to broadcast an apology, and the scandal over the Gaza documentary is symptomatic of the BBCs wider failure to provide balanced and accurate coverage of the Gaza conflict.

Since Hamas terrorists provoked the war by launching their October 7 attack against Israel in 2023, the BBC has consistently relied on the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry for Palestinian casualty figures, taking at face value the Hamas claims that the majority of those killed and injured are innocent civilians, when in fact a significant proportion of the casualties are Hamas terrorists fighting the Israelis.

Other issues where the BBCs coverage of global issues has consistently failed to meet the requisite standards of fairness and impartiality are Brexit, where the corporations strong pro-Remain bias has been clearly visible.

Climate change is another contentious issue, where the BBCs institutional conviction that man-made global warming is destroying the planet often means that any opinion that challenges this view struggles to get air time.

Another area where BBC bias is often evident is in its coverage of the vexed issue of historical reparations, with its reports often appearing to support the notion that the UK should pay eye-watering compensation  perhaps amounting to 18 trillion  for its historical role in slavery and colonialism.

If the BBC has any genuine interest in promoting itself as a trusted global news brand, the Corporation will first need to deliver fundamental changes to its coverage of vital global issues.
First mover: Stelios Haji-Ioannou and the maiden flight of easyJet, from Luton to Glasgow, on 10 November 1995 (Tony Anderson/easyJet)

In the olden days, press releases landed at The Independent travel desk with a thump. By the sackload. The analogue predecessor of repeatedly hitting the delete key involved painstakingly opening each envelope, skimming the first couple of lines of the announcement and then binning it.

In October 1995, though, one press release caught my eye. EasyJet 29 airfare makes flying as affordable as a pair of jeans read the headline. The fact that the message was printed on bright orange paper helped it stand out, too.

Reading on, it seemed that The EasyJet Airline Company planned to revolutionise aviation in the UK.

The airline is starting three daily services (two daily at the weekend), with Boeing 737s, between London Luton and Glasgow International Airport on 10 November 1995, and three daily services (two daily at the weekend) to Edinburgh will commence two weeks later on 24 November 1995.

It seemed sadly obvious to me that, as with so many airline start-ups before and since, the venture was doomed to failure. A one-way fare of 29 from London to either of the two biggest Scottish cities was preposterously low. The prevailing lowest return fare from Heathrow, on both British Airways and its rival British Midland, was over 100. And those incumbents made a fortune by charging hundreds of pounds return for business travellers who were not staying in Scotland over a Saturday night.

We have spent a lot of time researching how to make our fares affordable to everyone while making air travel convenient and fun, said the chairman and chief executive, Stelios Haji-loannou.

EasyJet made clear that 29 was the lead-in price, and that fares could rise as high as 59. Yet this was a fraction of the sums commanded by its established competitors. Whats more, the airline didnt seek to segment the market by insisting on that despised Saturday night stay rule for cheap tickets. Whether you chose to visit London from Edinburgh for a day, or fly one way and take the train the other, the fare stayed the same.

Theres undercutting, and theres commercial suicide, I concluded. The only question was how long easyJet could survive before the cash ran out. Initially, it had to borrow planes. The Boeing 737s were chartered in from another airline, GB Airways. At the controls of the first flight: Captain Fred Rivett, who happened to be on secondment from British Airways.

As BA will have noticed, easyJet is very much still in business. It has more than 350 Airbus A320 jets, 1,207 routes linking 164 airports in 38 countries and a market capitalisation of 3.58bn.

So where did it all go right?

The first few months, rocky for any airline, were made smoother by Stelios having deep pockets; his father, a shipping billionaire, helped out with a 5m loan.

Handily, the entrepreneur was also a super-smart visionary. In the mid-1990s, the UK and the rest of Europe were deregulating aviation, adopting the then novel concept of allowing airlines to fly where they chose and charge whatever fares they wished. Stelios saw an opportunity to democratise flying, and seized it.

With no airline background to burden him with convention, he could cheerfully decide to cut out the middleman: travel agents who, at the time, took a healthy cut of the price of a ticket. Catering ceased to be a cost and instead became a revenue stream: cup of tea, 50p. He recruited formidably good people, a tradition that continues today. And he cut a deal with Luton airport that rewarded growth with low airport charges.

In the early days, some travellers were nervous about flying with a budget airline: surely the carrier must be cutting corners? Fortunately, easyJet has demonstrated it is so risk-averse that it is now the second-safest airline in the world in terms of the number of passengers flown without a fatal accident.

Only Ryanair has done better. The Irish carrier now flies around twice as many passengers as easyJet, and is seven times more valuable, according to the markets.

Yet easyJet has worked wonders for British travellers by spurring ferocious competition that is still delivering rewards. The lowest easyJet Luton-Glasgow fare in 1995 was 29  equivalent to 71 today. Yet anyone who wants to fly the route this month can easily find a fare of 27.

EasyJet has created vast social and economic benefits; the environmental cost of flying without frontiers is another matter. But todays aircraft are far quieter and more efficient than the Boeing 737 in which Captain Rivett, Stelios, passengers and crew roared down the runway on 10 November 1995.

To my considerable regret, I was not on board. But I have made up for it since, enjoying endless convenient and fun air travel at fares that, 30 years ago, were beyond the travellers wildest dreams.

Thanks for the memories you have helped to create, easyJet. Many happy returns.

Simon Calder, also known as The Man Who Pays His Way, has been writing about travel for The Independent since 1994. In his weekly opinion column, he explores a key travel issue  and what it means for you.
Chris Woakes believes Australia have gifted England a psychological boost by hosting this months Ashes opener in Perth rather than their traditional stronghold at the Gabba.

Brisbanes cricketing cauldron has been home to the curtain-raiser between the two sides since 1986, with the hosts winning seven and drawing two of the 10 subsequent Tests in South Australia.

England have collected some traumatic memories at the venue, including heavy losses on their past three visits, but organisers have decided to shake up the order this time around.

England head to the Optus Stadium for the first Ashes Test (PA)

That means the opener on November 21 will take place at Optus Stadium, a relative new build with no Ashes history, while the Gabba holds a day/night second Test.

And recently retired all-rounder Woakes, who was part of Brisbane defeats in 2017-18 and 2021-22, thinks that could play into English hands.

Australia have a great Ashes record at the Gabba, if I was them Id want to be playing there first up, he told the PA news agency.

Perth is quite extreme in terms of the bounce and pace you can get so its not an easy place to start but its certainly surprising that theyve given up that Gabbatoir factor. As an England player, knowing you wont be going there first where theres a bit of a baggage, is a definite bonus.

Youre always looking for those small one per centers and lets face it, this is just a one per center. The main thing is that you still have to go out and perform against a very good team in challenging conditions.

Chris Woakes Ashes hopes were ended by a dislocated shoulder (Ben Whitley/PA)

Its a small advantage but you take anything you can in an away Ashes where youre up against it. Its going to be a tough tour and you take every little advantage you can.

Woakes won the Compton-Miller Medal for player of the series in the last clash between the two sides in 2023, but saw his hopes of one last battle for the urn ended by a dislocated shoulder in what turned out to be his final Test appearance against India.

The 36-year-old subsequently called time on his international career, following the exits of stalwarts James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

England may lack the weight of experience the trio brought but Woakes is confident a pace attack which features speed merchants Mark Wood and Jofra Archer as well as Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts is up the task.

Mark Wood and Jofra Archer bring pace to Englands attack (Mike Egerton/PA)

They definitely have the tools to perform well in Australia, theyre well equipped for conditions, he said.

Weve been building a batch to come here for a few years now and its coming to fruition. We can get a bit obsessed about who the leader of the attack is but it might be shared around this winter. Well need different guys to stand up at different times.

England begin a three-day warm-up fixture against the second-string England Lions at Perths Lilac Hill ground on Thursday.
(Supplied)

The Commonwealth Fair marked its 100th anniversary in spectacular fashion at the Kensington & Chelsea Town Hall bringing together communities from across the Commonwealth.

The fair on Saturday was a vibrant showcase of all that the Commonwealth has to offer  from a vast range of foods and exotic drinks to dazzling fashion, colourful arts and cultural displays.

It celebrated a century of friendship, culture, and shared purpose through the Commonwealth Countries League.

Sierra Leone Womens Association presented their annual 500 cheque, earmarked for the education of girls in Sierra Leone.

Together: The Commonwealth Fair at the Kensington & Chelsea Town Hall (.)

This tradition holds deep historical significance, as Sierra Leone was the first country to receive funds from the CCL following a visit by suffragette Alice Hemming to an orphanage in 1967.

Celebrations continued with the Centenary Cake Cutting Ceremony, featuring a stunning cake donated by Maylene Cupcakes, and a stirring performance from soprano Grace OMalley who sang Youll Never Walk Alone, accompanied by special effects from Confetti Magic.

Joyful rhythms came from PanDiva, from Trinidad & Tobago, the energetic performances of cultural troupe dancers from Ghana, and the graceful movements of St Lucias traditional dancers.
Democrats rage after 8 cross the aisle and join Republicans in vote to end shutdown: Senseless surrender

House Democrats and progressive activists are fuming over the deal a handful of breakaway Senate Democrats brokered with Republicans to end the government shutdown, The Independent has learned.

Eight Democratic senators defected from the caucus on a motion to proceed to pass a continuing resolution to kick it back to the House of Representatives for a vote to reopen the government. The final vote will happen on Monday evening.

According to a section-by-section breakdown of the agreement, the deal brokered by a handful of moderates and Senate Republicans would reopen the government until January 2026, ensure backpay for federal workers who did not receive a check and undo the reductions in force that the Trump administration put in place during the shutdown.

But it would not address a key plank for Democratic leaders who have opposed a stopgap funding bill, known as a continuing resolution  an extension of Covid-era enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Acts health insurance marketplace.

Were three weeks out from the largest protest in American history, less than one week out from a stunningly successful election nationwide, Greenberg told The Independent via text message, making reference to the No Kings rallies across the country.

What on Earth does the base have to do to convince Dems they need to fight?

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he would oppose the final deal to reopen the government. But activists criticized the fact he did not communicate what could happen during the shutdown. (Getty Images)

The deal brokered Sunday night reportedly guarantees that Republicans would allow for a vote on extending the Obamacare tax credits in the future. Still, that does not mean that the House of Representatives, led by House Speaker Mike Johnson, would be guaranteed to hold a vote, given many of his Republican members, swayed by President Donald Trump, have opposed the tax credits.

But many Democratic activists repudiated the deal almost immediately. Leah Greenberg, a cofounder of the group Indivisible, called it a senseless surrender.

The agreement comes less than a week after Democrats blew out Republicans in races as small as the Georgia public service commission elections to the governorships in Virginia and New Jersey.

But in the days that followed, photos and videos abounded of people stuck at airports during travel as the Federal Aviation Administration cut flight schedules ahead of the busiest days of travel in the year for Thanksgiving.

In addition, the Trump administration has aggressively fought efforts in court to make it resume funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.

But even some members of the Democratic National Committee lambasted the agreement Sunday.

Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jeanne Shaheen speak during a press conference following the Senate vote on ending the shutdown on Capitol Hill on November 9 2025 (Getty)

This deal doesnt come close to meeting the seriousness of this moment. I mean, its not even in the same Zip code, DNC Vice Chairman Malcolm Kenyatta told The Independent.

Healthcare costs are exploding in ways that will make it completely out of reach for many of my neighbors. I have a job to speak up with and for them. This shutdown has always been the sole property of Donald Trump and Republicans. They should own the pain they are gleefully inflicting on the American people.

A group of three former governors  New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine  broke the six-week stalemate on Sunday when they agreed to vote to advance three bipartisan annual spending bills and extend the rest of government funding until late January in exchange for a mid-December vote on extending the health care tax credits.

In addition to Shaheen, King and Hassan, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, home to tens of thousands of federal workers, also voted in favor of moving forward on the agreement. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen also voted yes.

But despite Durbin voting for the agreement, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker blasted the agreement.

This is not a deal  it's an empty promise, Pritzker, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, said on X. Trump and his Republican Congress are making healthcare more expensive for the middle class and ending it for working families.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, another candidate for president, also criticized the measure.

Pathetic., he said on X. This isnt a deal. Its a surrender. Dont bend the knee!

Their words proved useless as the measure opassed by a 60-40 vote.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) lambasted the agreement on the floor on Sunday evening and said the ability to have a vote on health care was a sham.

As everybody here knows, that is a totally meaningless gesture, he said. You can get 100 votes here in the Senate, won't mean anything, because the House is not going to take it up, and the president of the United States certainly will not sign it.

Avast majority of Democratic senators opposed the agreement. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized it after he spent most of the shutdown holding the line. Democrats harshly criticized him in March after he voted for a Republican continuing resolution and his approval ratings in New York plummeted.

So, in conclusion, the contrast between the two parties is clear: Republicans are the party hell-bent on taking peoples healthcare away, all to bow to the billionaire elite and special interests. Democrats are united as the party of lower healthcare costs and improving our healthcare system, Schumer said.

But House Democrats were not as generous.

If people believe this is a deal, I have a bridge to sell you, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee that handles SNAP, tweeted. Im not going to put 24 million Americans at risk of losing their health care. Im a no.

Other moderates like Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) also criticized the agreement.

Thats not a deal, he said. Its an unconditional surrender that abandons the 24 million Americans whose health care premiums are about to double.

It wasnt just Torres. Some of the most steadfast Democratic activists and fundraisers criticized the agreement. Others said that Democrats were not level with their voters about what could happen during the government shutdown.

There were always only two options: Democrats cave or Republicans nuke the filibuster, Shannon Watts, who founded Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, texted The Independent. Watts faulted Schumer for not being transparent with activists about what would happen.

If Schumer were better at messaging and organizing we would have all understood this going into today, she said. Instead of being angry at our own party, wed be going to war with Republicans and preparing to hold them accountable over the next year. Its exhausting.

Watts criticized the lack of communication with activists and voters. She said how Republicans had resorted to talking about health savings accounts while Democrats were talking about ending the shutdown when nobody understood why.

The days of leaders going into back rooms and hammering out deals without explaining their strategy with the public is over, but our leaders dont realize that yet, she said.

But the biggest obstacle to voting on the health care subsidies remains the House of Representatives. Johnson so far has kept the House out of session since September largely pushing for the Senate to pass the continuing resolution it passed that month.
It would be unwise to write Jack Della Maddalena off ahead of his UFC 322 title clash with the imperious Islam Makhachev. Thats according to a former opponent of the reigning welterweight champion.

Della Maddalena will defend his UFC crown for the first time on Saturday when he takes on Makhachev, who moves up to 170lb after a dominant run as the king of lightweights. The Dagestani 33-year-old, who is arguably the pound-for-pound best in the sport, looked near-unbeatable as champion and boasts a resume that includes title-fight victories over Charles Oliveira, Alexander Volkanovski and Dustin Poirier.

Makhachev thus poses an almighty maiden challenge for Della Maddalena, six months on from the Aussie outpointing Belal Muhammad to dethrone the grappler and reach the welterweight mountain top.

But ex-UFC star Danny Roberts knows from first-hand experience the quality that the champion possesses. He, after all, fell victim to JDMs rise, succumbing to a first-round knockout in November 2022.

It was amazing to get in there, and I knew from the second we started throwing hard: This is a good kid, Roberts told The Independent.

You know your levels. Ive had X amount of fights in the UFC, I know what it is when I get in there with someone  I know their level, their skillset, their potential  and I knew he was going to be great.

When he was fighting Belal, I knew he was going to win that title. Hes going to give Makhachev problems, and a lot of people might not see that. Some people counted him out against Belal, some people counted him out against a friend of mine, Gilbert Burns. The kids special.

Danny Roberts knew Jack Della Maddalena (left) was going to be special (Getty Images)

Della Maddalena lost his first two fights as a pro but has since gone on an 18-fight win streak, with victories over Randy Brown, Bassil Hafez, Kevin Holland and Burns following his ruthless finish of Roberts.

Roberts, now fighting in PFL, has since admitted that he took the Della Maddalena fight in the midst of unstable financial times, something which he feels the UFC should do better to prevent among its athletes.

Fighting JDM was a financial transaction, he explained. It was business. I needed Christmas presents for my kids, I needed food on the f*****g table. I took that fight on like two weeks notice.

I wasnt really ready for it. Fights come up when they come up. You can take them or you dont. Sometimes you have a financial burden on your shoulders.
Greggs is launching new smaller format Bitesize stores as it continues its expansion across the UK.

The high street bakery chain opened its first Bitesize Greggs in Sevenoaks Railway Station on Friday.

It said this will be followed by two further Bitesize stores next month, in Dartford Station, Kent and Cheshire Oaks, with ambitions for further openings.

Greggs has around 2,675 stores across the UK (Devika Bilimoria/Greggs/PA)

The rollout, which is initially taking place on a trial basis, is part of the companys major expansion programme.

Last month, the group  which currently has 2,675 shops  said it was on track for 120 net openings in 2025.

Earlier this year, the company said it believes it could grow to as many as 3,500 sites across the UK.

The new Bitesize locations are aimed at attracting customers in high-footfall, prime locations which are constrained by space.

Tony Rowson, property director at Greggs, said: Were excited to announce the launch of our Bitesize Greggs concept.

This small but mighty new format will allow us to reach more customers on the go from compact units, whilst still offering a selection of our best-selling products.

The rollout of Bitesize Greggs, initially on a trial basis, will support our broader estate growth plans.
The remains of a soldier killed in the Gaza Strip in 2014 have been returned to Israel.

Hadar Goldin was 23 and died just two hours after a ceasefire took effect.

For the past 11 years, his family have been campaigning for his body to come home.

His remains had been the only ones left in Gaza that predated the most recent war between Israel and Hamas.

This marks a significant development in the US-brokered truce, which remains fragile.

At present, the remains of four hostages from the current conflict remain in Gaza - with Israel criticising how long it is taking for them to be returned.

As Mr Goldin's body returned to Israel, dozens of people gathered along intersections to watch a police convoy travel to the national forensic institute for examination.

The soldier's parents said Israel's military "and not anyone else" had brought home their son, in an apparent criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Earlier this year, his mother Leah said her family often felt alone in their struggle to bring his body home for burial.

"Hadar is a soldier who went to combat and they abandoned him, and they destroyed his humanitarian rights and ours as well," she told the AP news agency.

Ms Goldin alleged that opportunities had been missed to repatriate his remains.

"The biggest disappointment was during the COVID-19 pandemic when it was actually possible to bring back Hadar  in exchange for vaccines while the entire world was in a humanitarian crisis," she said.

"And those who didn't do it were the decision-makers in Israel."

Read more world news:

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For each hostage returned, Israel has been releasing the remains of 15 Palestinians.

A total of 300 Palestinians have been returned - but because DNA labs are prohibited in Gaza, only 89 have been identified so far.

In other developments, Turkey says it is working to ensure the safe passage of an estimated 200 civilians who are currently trapped in tunnels inside Gaza.
Seven dead and hundreds missing after Rohingya migrant boat sinks off Malaysia

At least seven people died and hundreds were missing after a boat carrying members of Myanmars persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority sank near the Thailand-Malaysia border on Sunday.

At least 13 survivors had been found by Monday morning, an official from Malaysias maritime authority said.

Thai officials said earlier on Monday that their search had found four dead people.

The boat that sank was reportedly carrying about 70 people. The status of two other boats in the fleet carrying about 230 people remained unclear.

More victims could be found at sea as rescue efforts continued, First Admiral Romli Mustafa, the maritime authority director of the northern Malaysian states of Kedah and Perlis, said.

Rescuers were combing an area of around 170 square nautical miles near Langkawi island, he added.

Images from the agency showed one survivor covered with a sheet and another on a stretcher.

A member of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency searches for survivors (Reuters)

Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar's impoverished Rakhine state have suffered years of conflict, hunger and ethnic violence. Driven out of their homeland following a brutal 2017 military crackdown, over 1.3 million Rohingya now live as refugees in densely packed camps in neighbouring Bangladesh. Smaller numbers have fled to Malaysia, Pakistan and the Gulf nations as well.

Rohingya Muslims are seen in majority Buddhist Myanmar as foreign interlopers from South Asia, who are denied citizenship and face widespread abuse from both the state and largely non-Muslims ethnic militias.

Among the survivors found in the waters off Langkawi were two Rohingya men and one Bangladeshi man, state media outlet Bernama reported, citing the Kedah police chief Adzli Abu Shah. The body of a Rohingya woman was also found.

A member of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency checks on a survivor rescued by a fishing boat's crew (Reuters)

The sailors, looking to reach Malaysia, had initially boarded a large vessel but were told to transfer into three smaller boats as they neared the border to avoid detection by the Malaysian authorities, Mr Adzli was quoted as saying.

The status of the other two boats was not known and a search-and-rescue operation was ongoing, he said.

Facing violence at home in Myanmar and increasingly difficult living conditions in the Bangladeshi refugee camps, Rohingya from both countries regularly attempt perilous journeys by sea, including to Malaysia.

More than 5,100 Rohingya took boats from Myanmar and Bangladesh between January and early November this year, with nearly 600 people reported dead or missing, according to data from the UN refugee agency.

Additional reporting by agencies.
The BBC is under immense pressure following the resignation of Tim Davie amid continuing furore over its editing of a speech by Donald Trump in a documentary.

The broadcasters director-general resigned on Sunday alongside the chief executive of news, Deborah Turness, following repeated controversies over impartiality claims.

The latest controversy involved a BBC Panorama episode called Trump: A Second Chance?, which critics have said was misleading in the way it edited the presidents speech on 6 January 2021.

The US president himself weighed in on the resignations, saying that the documentary, which aired a week before the US presidential election last year, had been an attempt to step on the scales of a presidential election.

And he issued the BBC with an ultimatum: apologise by Friday and appropriately compensate him or face legal action for $1bn (760m) in damages.

Questions have been asked about how effectively the BBC has dealt with accusations of institutional bias, because until Monday it failed to either apologise or defend itself.

A clip in the programme spliced clips together from sections of the US presidents speech on 6 January 2021 (AFP/Getty)

A clip in the programme spliced clips together from sections of the US presidents speech on 6 January 2021 to make it appear he told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to fight like hell.

In the original speech, Mr Trump said: We're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.

But the edit put the first part of that speech with another section from 50 minutes later, so he was shown saying: Were going to walk down to the Capitol ... and Ill be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.

However, it would not be until over a year later that the edit would place enough pressure on the BBC to warrant resignations.

A former external adviser to the BBCs editorial standards committee raised concerns in the summer about the way clips had been edited (Reuters)

In the summer, a memo by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBCs editorial standards committee, raised concerns about the way clips had been edited.

The memo was last week leaked by a whistleblower to The Daily Telegraph, which published extracts from it, including: It was completely misleading to edit the clip in the way Panorama aired it. The fact that he did not explicitly exhort supporters to go down and fight at Capitol Hill was one of the reasons there were no federal charges for incitement to riot.

The report sparked criticism from both sides of the Atlantic, including from the presidents son himself.

Donald Trump Jr posted on X (Twitter) last week: The FAKE NEWS reporters in the UK are just as dishonest and full of s---t as the ones here in America!!!!

Mr Trumps press secretary Karoline Leavitt also criticised the BBC, telling The Telegraph: This purposefully dishonestly, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that they are total, 100 per cent fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom.

Donald Trump accused the BBC of doctoring his very good (PERFECT!) speech (PA)

Many have questioned the BBCs response to the leaked memo, saying the corporation failed to either properly defend itself from criticism or issue an apology.

The BBCs culture and media editor, Katie Razzall, reported that the broadcaster had a statement ready to go, admitting it should have made it clear there had been splicing of the speech but that instead, the board decided to send a letter to parliaments culture, media and sport committee.

It was also reported that Ms Turness was ripped apart by a board meeting last week about the Telegraph reports.

The mounting pressure saw director general Tim Davie and news boss Deborah Turness announce their resignations on Sunday (PA)

The mounting pressure culminated in both Mr Davie and Ms Turness announcing their resignations on Sunday. In a statement to staff, Mr Davie said his resignation was entirely his decision, adding: Like all public organisations, the BBC is not perfect, and we must always be open, transparent and accountable.

Ms Turness said controversy around the Panorama edit had reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC  an institution that I love, but insisted there was no institutional bias at the BBC and she stood by the journalism of her team.

Mr Trump led the reaction to the resignations, writing on Truth Social: The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught doctoring my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th.

Turness said controversy around the Panorama edit had reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC  an institution that I love (Getty)

The Times quotes BBC sources as describing the departures as the result of death by a thousand cuts, following other impartiality rows from both sides of the political spectrum on its Gaza reporting and Glastonbury coverage.

The former editor of The Sun newspaper described the resignations as a coup and an inside job.

David Yelland told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: There were people inside the BBC, very close to the board, very close to the, on the board, who have systematically undermined Tim Davie and his senior team over a period of [time] and this has been going on for a long time. What happened yesterday didnt just happen in isolation.

A former Downing Street communications chief suggested the broadcaster had not properly defended itself, saying: Were living in a fast-moving digital world where there are a lot of people who want to attack the BBC, and what weve seen is really a vacuum that has been created.

Its been obvious for days now that the BBC needed to step up, explain, apologise, move on.

A former Downing Street communications chief suggested the broadcaster had not properly defended itself (PA)

And what weve seen is the governance of the BBC saying, Well get back to you on Monday  well leave that for days. Well allow the president of the United States to be attacking the institution, and were not going to properly defend it.

BBC chair Samir Shah apologised for an "error of judgment. But he said it was simply not true that Mr Prescott uncovered issues that the BBC had sought to "bury".

The search for the next two candidates for the top jobs in British media will now commence, and they will be appointed by the BBC board, which ensures the corporation delivers its mission and public purposes.
Marcus Decker entering the immigration tribunal in London, outside which hundreds of people were gathered to support him. Photograph: Sabrina Merolla/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock

A climate activist who served one of the longest prison sentences in modern British history for a peaceful protest has won his appeal against deportation.

Marcus Decker was jailed for two years and seven months for a protest in which he climbed the Queen Elizabeth Bridge over the Dartford Crossing and unveiled a Just Stop Oil banner in October 2022. He was served with an automatic deportation order while in prison.

If he had been unsuccessful in his appeal, the 36-year-old German national would have been the first person to have been deported from the UK for peaceful protest. His legal team argued that such action would be disproportionate, violate his right to family life with his partner and stepchildren and further chill legitimate protest at a time of escalating climate crisis.

Decker had expected the tribunal judge to make a decision in his case at a later date, but his appeal was allowed at the end of Mondays hearing.

Decker said: After an intense day of legal proceedings and an hour of harrowing cross-examination for both my partner, Holly, and me, Im deeply relieved that weve won today. I feel this is a huge victory for the climate movement and for the laws protecting peaceful protest in this country as a whole. The judges level of confidence in unusually announcing the outcome immediately is a chink of hope in an environment of repression.

Related: Jailed climate activist facing deportation from UK fights crazy double punishment

He was released from prison in February last year after serving 16 months. Because he began the appeal against deportation while in prison, he served longer than his fellow protester, Morgan Trowland, despite Trowland having been given a longer three-year jail term.

Deckers appeal against deportation was supported by climate experts, religious leaders, celebrities and members of the public. The UN special rapporteur on environmental defenders, Michel Forst, sent a 10-page letter to the government opposing deportation, while he also had support from 22 Nobel prize laureates and 562 actors, musicians and other artists.

Among those who issued statements opposing his deportation before the appeal were the former cabinet minister Lord Hain, who was a leader of the anti-apartheid movement during the 1970s and 1980s, a former chief scientific adviser to the UK government, Sir David King, the actor Juliet Stevenson and the former archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

The Home Office has been approached for comment.
John Laws (Getty Images)

John Laws, the towering and often divisive figure of Australian talk radio known as the Golden Tonsils, has died, aged 90.

His death was confirmed on Sunday by his family, who said in a statement: Today marks a very difficult day for our family, with the news that our beloved father/grandfather/uncle John Laws has died peacefully at home.

While fame and prominence had become a mainstay of his life, for us he was always the person who meant so much, away from the microphone, the cameras, and the headlines. It is comforting to know that Johns was a life lived well  he had remained in good health and even better spirits right up until the last few weeks.

Laws spent two weeks in hospital in October and died at his home in the Sydney suburb of Woolloomooloo, reported ABC News.

Laws gravelly and indisputably familiar voice dominated Australian airwaves for more than seven decades, making him one of the countrys most influential broadcasters and a transformational presence in commercial radio.

Born Richard John Sinclair Laws in Wau in what was then the Territory of New Guinea in August 1935, Laws survived polio twice in his life. He began his career at station 3BO in 1953 and moved into Sydneys major radio circuit before eventually becoming dominant in morning talkback.

Laws was one of the highest-paid radio performers of his era and syndicated across scores of stations. In his peak years, his morning show drew an audience estimated at around two million listeners.

John Laws, the towering and often divisive figure of Australian talk radio known as the Golden Tonsils, has died (Getty)

His reach went well beyond his radio show, as commercial brands paid for his voice and senior politicians used his programme as a place to make announcements.

In the 1980s, he fronted a Valvoline motor oil campaign 1980s and supplied voiceover for a 1968 Holden advert.

At the same time, political figures treated his morning programme as a platform, and by the early 1980s, politicians were routinely booking time on his show to reach voters directly.

The 1983 federal election was widely described at the time as the John Laws election because of the number of major campaign announcements made on his programme, and former prime minister Paul Keating later said, according to The Conversation: Forget the press gallery. Educate John Laws and you educate Australia.

In a 2017 interview with The Big Smoke, Laws pushed back on the idea that he was permanently enraged: No, some people say I have but Im just as angry as I ever was. I dont have any trouble being angry. Im not angry all the time, I have soft moments.

Over a 71-year career, he interviewed 17 Australian prime ministers, more than any other commercial radio host, and was inducted into the Commercial Radio Hall of Fame in 2003 in recognition of his decades on the air.

He had earlier been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1974 for services to broadcasting and charity, with the honour upgraded to Commander of the British Empire four years later.

However, his career also featured significant public and regulatory challenges. A 1999 cash-for-comment inquiry found he had failed to disclose sponsorship deals with major corporations, though he denied any wrongdoing.

In 2007, he drew criticism after asking a caller who disclosed years of childhood sexual abuse whether it had been her fault and if she had been provocative.

He later said he had been just trying to keep it light and apologised if I upset anybody.

In 2004, the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal ruled that remarks he and fellow host Steve Price made about a gay couple on The Block were capable of inciting ridicule. Both later apologised and 2UE donated AU$10,000 (4,962) to the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation.

In 2007, John Laws drew criticism after asking a caller who disclosed years of childhood sexual abuse whether it had been her fault and if she had been provocative (AFP via Getty)

Laws was also an author. He published a 1978 collection of poems, Just You and Me Together Love, and several later books and collections like The John Laws Book of Uncommon Sense and Theres Always More to the Story.

Laws retired from broadcasting last year, signing off with his final show in November 2024. His remarkable career spanned the evolution of the industry, from the days of vinyl records and vacuum-tube transmitters to the modern era of podcasts and streaming audio.

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese offered his condolences. John Laws was an iconic voice and so much more. Generations of Australians trusted and respected him for telling it straight, digging deep and giving his guests and his listeners a chance to be heard. John was always a thoroughly prepared and thoughtful interviewer - and wonderful company off-air. My condolences to his loved ones and to all who benefited from his wisdom and guidance, he wrote on X.

John Laws was an iconic voice and so much more.



Generations of Australians trusted and respected him for telling it straight, digging deep and giving his guests and his listeners a chance to be heard.



John was always a thoroughly prepared and thoughtful interviewer - and  Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) November 9, 2025

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of John Laws, a towering figure in Australian radio whose voice resonated across the nation for more than seven decades. pic.twitter.com/yNaXn9zoFM  Chris Minns (@ChrisMinnsMP) November 9, 2025

New South Wales premier Chris Minns wrote that few broadcasters have left such a deep and lasting mark on Australian media.

Gladiator star Russell Crowe described Laws as a wise mentor, a mischievous mate and a very good friend.

He wrote: John Laws was my neighbour for 23 years. He was a wise mentor, a mischievous mate and a very good friend. I am deeply saddened by his passing, however, I am buoyed in the sure and certain knowledge that he led a magnificent life of achievement and adventure and he lived every moment. He worked hard, played harder and loved completely. A legend, in the very best, most Australian, sense of the word. I loved him and Ill never forget him. Vale John Laws.

John Laws was my neighbour for 23 years. He was a wise mentor, a mischievous mate and a very good friend.

I am deeply saddened by his passing, however, I am buoyed in the sure and certain knowledge that he led a magnificent life of achievement and adventure  Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) November 9, 2025

John Laws was one of the true originals. You could never mistake him for anyone else. He said what he thought, didn't care who he offended, but could also show deep compassion when required. I'm devastated to have lost a mentor and a mate. Radio won't be the same without him, wrote radio host Kyle Sandilands.

Sydney radio broadcaster Ray Hadley called Laws the king of radio, according to The Daily Telegraph. He started careers, he helped careers. Many of the things I did on my radio program had their genesis in John Laws, because he was the best, without peer. He was gifted in his craft, he was able to extract things from politicians that no one else could.
Samata Khatoon, a Labour councillor for St Pancras and Somers Town, was mayor of Camden for the year 2024-25 - Dave Benett

A Labour-run council spent almost 11,000 on taxi fares for its mayor and deputy mayor despite it employing a full-time chauffeur.

Camden council, in north-west London, spent 10,977.88 on a taxi company last year to supplement the work of the mayors full-time chauffeur, according to data obtained under freedom of information laws.

The council, which covers Sir Keir Starmers constituency of Holborn and St Pancras, overspent its budget by 22.8m in the 2024-25 fiscal year.

The authority, which increased council tax by 4.99 per cent, said it used the taxi company on an ad hoc basis and that it was cheaper than hiring a second full-time chauffeur.

It said: [It] does mean the mayor can attend events and not disappoint constituents when they otherwise would not be able to attend.

Stephen Stark, a Conservative councillor on Camden council, said: This sounds to be extravagant and self-indulgent given that Labour are telling us to be self-sacrificing and contribute to others.

Could these trips be taken using public transport or are these individuals considering themselves a superior class above those with ordinary jobs outside of the role of governance?

This is revealing as to budgetary restraint and attitudes towards the public who fund this choice of transport.

Eddie Hanson, a Labour councillor for Kilburn, was Camdens deputy mayor for 2024-25. He is now mayor - Matthew Chattle

The mayor, who is elected by other councillors, is an apolitical appointee who represents the authority at ceremonial and civic events in the robes of office.

In 2024-25, the mayor was Samata Khatoon, a Labour councillor for St Pancras and Somers Town, and the deputy mayor was Eddie Hanson, a Labour councillor for Kilburn.

William Yarwood, media campaign manager of the TaxPayers Alliance, said: Taxpayers in Camden will be absolutely livid that their council is spending so lavishly on what is an increasingly absurd luxury.

Camden council have been one of the ringleaders of the increasingly vicious anti-driving campaign, yet are continuing to cover the cost not just of a chauffeur for the mayor but taxis as well when the chauffeur isnt available.

The council should transition to a taxi-only service for their local mayor.

A Camden council spokesman said: Camdens mayor has a significant civic and fundraising role, and during this time period the mayor and deputy in post attended 439 civic events across the borough and across London.

The mayors driver covers most of the requirements but given the sheer number of appointments and the demand for the mayor to attend events, taxis are needed to supplement this during times outside of the drivers standard working arrangements.
Supporters of Palestine Action demonstrate outside the high court in London. The group was banned in July. Photograph: Carlos Jasso/Reuters

Legal experts, former government ministers and an ex-MI6 director have criticised the process used to ban Palestine Action.

The members of an independent commission set up by the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law said the definition of terrorism was too broad and better parliamentary oversight and judicial scrutiny was needed.

Palestine Action became the first direct action group to be banned under the Terrorism Act after officials concluded that it met the criteria for proscription. These include serious damage to property designed to influence the government or to intimidate the public for a political, religious or ideological cause.

The commission was chaired by the former lord chief justice of Northern Ireland, Sir Declan Morgan KC, and included the former attorney general for England and Wales, Dominic Grieve, and the former global counter-terrorism director of MI6, Richard Barrett.

It said the ban on Palestine Action highlighted several of the features of and concerns about the power to proscribe.

A [terrorism] definition that relies heavily on executive discretion risks inconsistency, perceptions of unfairness, and the treatment of legitimate protest as terrorism, said the commission, which heard evidence from more than 200 experts and stakeholders. To ensure clarity and proportionality while maintaining operational effectiveness, the commission recommends a more focused statutory definition.

Terrorism should be defined narrowly as acts intended to coerce, compel, or subvert government or an international governmental organisation, and the threshold for property damage should apply only to conduct causing serious risk to life, national security, or public safety, or involving arson, explosives, or firearms.

Related: Legal challenge to Palestine Action ban can go ahead, court rules

The ban on Palestine Action was proposed in June by the former home secretary Yvette Cooper after protesters sprayed red paint on two Voyager aircraft at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire  an incident for which the direct action group claimed responsibility. Officials had first recommended Palestine Action be banned in March. Prior to Brize Norton, the group predominantly targeted the UK sites of the Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems and linked companies.

The report, which will be published on Tuesday, said there should be a review of classified evidence by parliaments intelligence and security committee before proscription and an end to grouping together organisations in a single proscription order as happened with Palestine Action. It was banned alongside two neo-Nazi groups, the Maniacs Murder Cult and the Russia Imperial Movement  a move critics said deterred MPs from abstaining in a Commons vote or opposing the order.

Since the ban came into effect on 5 July, more than 2,000 people have been arrested for alleged support of the direct action group, mostly for holding placards saying I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action. The report said the explanatory memorandum for the proscription order failed to explain that such people would fall foul of the law.

Other members of the commission include the former chief inspector of prisons, Anne Owers, and the former Conservative party chair Sayeeda Warsi.
Liverpool have contacted referees chief Howard Webb to raise concerns about the interpretation of the rules concerning Virgil van Dijks disallowed goal in the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City.

The Netherlands captains header was ruled out on the field and reviewed by VAR due to Andy Robertson, in an offside position, ducking under the ball.

It was a pivotal moment with the score at 1-0 and afterwards head coach Arne Slot said it was obvious and clear a wrong decision had been made.

"For me, it's a goal."  Jamie Carragher analyses why he thinks Liverpool's goal against Man City should have stood  pic.twitter.com/VmRniVqQjo  Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 9, 2025

A statement from the Premier League Match Centre at the time claimed Robertson was deemed to be making an obvious action directly in front of the goalkeeper but the PA news agency understands Liverpool do not agree with the premise.

They do not accept any elements were met of the criteria relating to the wording of Law 11, relating to what constitutes offside, and are also of the view the usual checks and balances in the VAR process did not take place.

Having scrutinised all available footage the club reject the assertion goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarummas view was impeded by Robertson as he was not in the Italians line of vision.

Liverpool do not believe the criteria for disallowing Virgil van Dijks goal was not met (Nick Potts/PA)

The decision on the field was offside but Michael Oliver, the video assistant referee for the match, did not invite referee Chris Kavanagh to watch the incident again on the pitchside monitor.

Liverpool have argued a different outcome may have been reached had he been asked to do so.

The PGMOL, which is committed to greater engagement, including ongoing dialogue with clubs, has not commented on Liverpools complaint.
At a glance

 More than 140 people have been arrested in a week-long Met Police crime crackdown in Londons West End

 In excess of 100 extra officers were deployed to tackle offences including shoplifting and phone theft

 Offenders snared include phone thieves targeting people at an ice rink and a prolific upskirter

More than 140 people have been arrested as part of a week-long Metropolitan Police operation targeting crime in London's West End.

Over 100 additional officers were deployed to tackle offences including shoplifting and phone theft as part of Operation Baselife.

Those arrested included two phone thieves operating at a Leicester Square ice rink and a prolific upskirter caught covertly filming women as they queued to use the toilet in a Soho cafe.

On November 4, two men were arrested after covert officers observed them trying to steal mobile phones from women at an ice rink. Officers searched the men and found several stolen phones on them, with one returned to its owner.

More than 140 people have been arrested during Operation Baselife (Met Police)

The following day, covert officers arrested a suspect for an upskirting offence after a man was caught standing behind two women and filming their buttocks as they waited for the bathroom in a coffee shop. After seizing the man's phone, officers discovered a significant number of similar videos taken around London.

Superintendent Natasha Evans, who led the Met's operation in London's West End, said: This operation shows that targeting prolific offenders in crime hotspots works.

Our intelligence-led approach means we're solving twice as many shoplifting cases and taking hundreds of offenders off the streets.

Through this intensified action, we are continuing to ensure the West End remains a safe and welcoming place for residents, businesses and the millions of visitors who come here each month.

The Met flooded parts of the West End with an extra 100 officers as part of the week-long operation (Met Police)

We're doubling down before Christmas, as the West End enters one of its busiest periods. Local officers, specialist teams and tech such as Live Facial Recognition will focus on the areas with the most crime to keep driving numbers down.

Our officers continue to tackle crimes that matter most to Londoners through highly visible, intelligence-led policing that builds trust in our communities.

Between April 1 and October 29, officers achieved reductions in several types of crime in the West End compared to the same period last year, including a 22.3% reduction in knife crime and a 23.7% fall in theft from a person.
Credit: Reuters

Four people died when a super typhoon hit the Philippines just days after a storm killed hundreds on the islands.

Super Typhoon Fung-wong, known locally as Uwan, made landfall on Sunday, forcing the evacuation of 1.4 million people as the storm set off floods and landslides.

The powerful storm, with a radius which spans nearly the whole of the archipelago, slammed into its east coast only days after Typhoon Kalmaegi killed more than 220 people, prompting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to declare a state of emergency.

Locals survey a highway destroyed by storm surges brought - Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

Fung-wong first made landfall in northeastern Aurora province on Sunday night as winds of up to 115 mph and gusts of up to 143 mph knocked down homes and power lines. Entire provinces were plunged into darkness.

The typhoon weakened overnight then blew out of the northwestern Philippines into the South China Sea on Monday.

It was forecast to head northwest toward Taiwan.

Zero visibility

Fierce wind and rain flooded at least 132 northern villages, including one where some residents were trapped on their roofs as floodwaters rapidly rose.

About 1,000 houses were damaged, Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro IV of the Office of Civil Defence said on Monday.

Credit: Reuters/Dyves Meno Turado

While the typhoon has passed, its rains still pose a danger in certain areas in northern Luzon, including in metropolitan Manila, Mr Alejandro said.

Well undertake today rescue, relief and disaster-response operations.

More than 300,000 people remained in evacuation centres on Monday as the clean-up began and while workers tried to clear roads covered by mud and debris during the landslides.

The rain and wind were so strong there was nearly zero visibility, Roberto Monterola, a disaster-mitigation officer for eastern Catanduanes province, told The Associated Press.

The Philippines Defence Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr, who oversees disaster response, had issued a warning about the storm on Saturday night and advised those in high-risk environments to evacuate.

We ask that people pre-emptively evacuate so that we dont end up having to conduct rescues at the last minute, which could put the lives of police, soldiers, firefighters and coastguard personnel at risk, said Mr Teodoro.

Storm surges left the streets of Macabebe town in the Philippine province of Pampanga underwater - Lisa Marie David

Many of the evacuation efforts targeted high-risk villages in the countrys north-east, including across Bicol region on the east coast, which is vulnerable to mudflows from Mayon, one of the Philippines most active volcanoes.

Mr Monterola said earlier on Sunday that his team had already had to rescue 14 people who were trapped inside the roof of a house that had been swept up in a flood.

Flights cancelled as relief teams prepare

At least 325 domestic and 61 international flights were cancelled over the weekend and into Monday, and more than 6,600 commuters and cargo workers were stranded in at least 109 seaports.

Children queue for food at an evacuation centre in Cauayan ahead of Typhoon Fung-wong - Eloisa Lopez/Reuters

The Philippines experiences an average of 20 typhoons and storms every year.

Prior to Fung-wong, the strongest storm to hit the country was Super Typhoon Ragasa, which struck in late September and was quickly followed by Typhoon Bualoi.

People wade through flood water in Manila. The Philippines has been struck by a series of powerful storms in recent weeks - ROLEX DELA PENA/EPA/Shutterstock

A wave of protests erupted across the Philippines in early September after it was revealed that billions of dollars in flood control spending, which is critical to emergency responses around typhoons, had been lost to corruption.

At least one person died and more than 200 others were arrested during the demonstrations.

Projections show that Fung-Wong will curve north after making landfall in the Philippines and move towards Taiwan and southern China.
Nestle has officially confirmed that its once-popular Drifter chocolate bar will not be returning to UK shelves, marking a bittersweet end for a treat many still remember fondly.

Originally launched by Rowntrees in 1980, the Drifter was a wafer-and-caramel bar covered in milk chocolate.

When Nestle acquired Rowntrees in 1988, the bar continued under its new ownership and developed a small but loyal following among chocolate lovers. Despite its cult status, the Drifter was quietly discontinued in 2018 due to declining sales.

Nestle has since addressed fan questions about the bars fate, confirming there are no plans to bring Drifter back.

A company spokesperson stated: Unfortunately, the Drifter bar has been discontinued from our range. This confirmation follows years of speculation and online petitions urging Nestle to revive the product.

One Change.org campaign, for instance, attracted nostalgic fans who fondly recalled the bars crisp texture and caramel sweetness.

Industry observers point out that the discontinuation reflects a wider shift in the confectionery market. As consumer tastes change and manufacturers streamline their ranges, wafer-based bars like the Drifter have struggled to compete with newer, more indulgent products.

Nestle itself has recently phased out several long-standing chocolate bars, including the Breakaway and Caramac, as part of its effort to simplify production and focus on stronger-selling lines.

Still, the Drifters legacy endures. Social media platforms are filled with posts reminiscing about the snack, with users describing it as the perfect mix of crunch and caramel.

One user wrote: Please could you consider bringing back these great chocolate bar please

@Nestle Please could you consider bringing back these great chocolate bar please  pic.twitter.com/YuPk88mNfd  Sarah M  (@SpeesrA) November 27, 2024

While another added: Hey @Nestle @NestleCare, I don't tend to eat many chocolate bars these days as I am getting older, but I did, and still do, have a hankering for a Drifter and was disappointed not to find one on the 'high street' or in shops. Yes, you discontinued it. It was a favourite.

Hey @Nestle @NestleCare, I don't tend to eat many chocolate bars these days as I am getting older, but I did, and still do, have a hankering for a Drifter and was disappointed not to find one on the 'high street' or in shops. Yes, you discontinued it. It was a favourite.   Neil Burns (@foreverantrim) November 2, 2025

For now, though, the only place the Drifter lives on is in memory  and perhaps the occasional vintage photo or empty wrapper kept by devoted fans.

Unless Nestle decides to lean into nostalgia and revive the brand for a limited edition in the future, the Drifter remains a part of Britains chocolate history rather than its current confectionery aisle.
Yellow weather warnings have been put in place for several parts of the UK on Tuesday after the Met Office gave its verdict on whether Brits can expect to see snow next week amid a prediction temperatures will plummet.

This week has seen a series of record-breaking November temperatures due to remarkably mild weather, including the warmest Bonfire Night on record. But as we move into mid-November, winter could well and truly be on the way, with reports of potential snow gaining attention.

The weather agency issued the yellow warnings for areas in Wales, southeast England, and parts of southwest Scotland, with heavy rain expected from Tuesday morning, persisting until midnight.

A Met Office spokesperson said: By Wednesday night, much of Scotland will be in cooler air moving in from the north. This will bring below freezing overnight temperatures, as well as the risk of some snow over higher ground.

Those across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as lower levels in most of Scotland, will continue to see precipitation falling as rain.

Simon Partridge said next weeks forecast is still all to play for (Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)

Speaking to The Independent, Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said there was potential northern parts of the UK could see snowfall over the next week - but added warm air coming in from the south meant it was still all to play for.

There is the possibility of snow by the end of next week and into next weekend, he explained. There are lots of different computer models and they all run multiple times a day, but some of them are coming up with some cold air coming in from the north that might result in some snow across most likely Scotland.

But Mr Partridge warned a lot could change between the current forecast and next weekend, with some weather systems predicting a flow of warm air pushing up from the south - which could result in mild temperatures and grey conditions similar to those seen this week.

Yellow weather warnings are in place across the UK as heavy rain is expected on Tuesday (PA Wire)

At the moment it looks like there is warm air trying to come in from the south and cold air coming in from the north, he said. It wont take a lot for the warm air to be the one that comes out on top which would mean it will probably be very similar to this week.

But he added there is certainly is the potential of colder air coming in across northern parts of the UK, which could result in some snow. He added that although the country has had above-average temperatures this week, a sprinkling of the white stuff in Scotland in mid-November was not uncommon.

Currently, any chance of snow looks limited to Scotland, he said. But just like that warm air might move in, theres a chance that cold air might come a little bit further south. Its still all to play for, and we will see how the forecast develops over the coming week.

It comes after a mild October which saw warmer than average temperatures. The mean temperature in October was provisionally 0.7C above the 1991-2020 average, with Scotland and Northern Ireland experiencing slightly warmer conditions than the rest of the country.
The leader of the protesters, centre right, addresses guests at the Museum of West African Art in Benin City on Sunday. Photograph: Toyin Adedokun/AFP/Getty Images

Protesters have disrupted a preview event at a major new museum in the Nigerian city of Benin that has become embroiled in a row over the restitution of artefacts looted by British colonial forces.

The demonstrators asserted that the opening of the Museum of West African Art (Mowaa) is a violation of Benin Citys cultural heritage, which falls under the authority of its traditional ruler, the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II.

In a video circulating on social media, protesters were seen loudly chanting Oba ghato kpere ise (Long live the king in the Bini language) while foreign and local visitors were ushered out by security personnel.

Reporters at the scene said there was minor damage to the museum, which is due to open to the public on Tuesday.

Phillip Ihenacho, Mowaas director, told Agence France-Presse: Protesters entered and began vandalising part of the reception pavilion, where we receive visitors, then they stormed inside the front section, where the exhibition area is located.

In a statement, the museum said it was deeply grateful to guests for their patience. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this situation may have caused, it said.

Mowaa comprises conservation labs, galleries, and studios aimed at fostering exchanges around west African art. Originally called the Edo Museum of West African Art, it is in what was once the capital of the ancient Benin empire, whose vassal states included modern-day Lagos. Benin City is now the capital of Edo state.

The museum, which is co-funded by the French and German governments as well as private donors, was supposed to host several of the Benin bronzes  the name given to artefacts looted by British soldiers during a punitive expedition in 1897 that were then scattered across collections in Europe and America. About 40 miles (65km) north of Mowaa is a smaller museum dedicated to the victim of a similar British expedition four years earlier.

More than 150 original bronzes have been returned to Nigeria over the last five years from European state museums and private collections, as the west attempts to atone for its past.

However, a rivalry between Edo states former and current governors, who belong to different political parties, means none of the bronzes will be on public display at Mowaa.

The current administration is allied to Ewuare II, the spiritual and cultural leader of the Edo people. In March 2023, Nigerias federal government sided with Ewuare, a former diplomat who has long posited that the artefacts should be housed at the Benin palace because they were looted from there.

Related: Restitution row: how Nigerias new home for the Benin bronzes ended up with clay replicas

In its statement, Mowaa distanced itself from the state government, saying it was an independent, nonprofit institution, of which the former governor had no interest financial or otherwise. It also advised against any visits to the campus until further notice.

Nigerias culture minister, Hannatu Musawa, said: The reported disruption at Mowaa not only endangers a treasured cultural asset but also threatens the peaceful environment necessary for cultural exchange and the preservation of our artistic patrimony.

The incident drew mixed reactions across Nigeria, with some calling for a quick resolution as the country seeks to consolidate its standing as a cultural superpower.

This is not good optics for Edo state and not also for Nigeria, the Lagos-based Zero Prive gallery said in a post on Instagram. We stand in support of Mowaa as an independent body. Whatever political issues or differences let it be sorted out in the interest of the people of Edo state and the country.
At a glance

 Reform UKs two London Assembly Members, Alex Wilson and Keith Prince, were criticised for missing the City Hall Remembrance Day service

 A party spokesperson said Wilson was in Israel visiting Commonwealth war graves, while Prince attended local remembrance events

 Political figures from Labour and the Conservatives condemned their absence

Reform UKs two London Assembly Members have been criticised by political rivals for missing the annual Remembrance Day service at City Hall.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and London Assembly Members joined representatives from organisations such as the Metropolitan Police, Transport for London, London Fire Brigade, London Ambulance Service, British Red Cross and the Royal British Legion to lay wreaths to mark the 80th anniversary year of the end of World War II.

But neither Alex Wilson nor Keith Prince, who recently defected from the Conservative Party, were present at the event.

A Reform UK spokesperson said Mr Wilson has travelled to Israel as part of a party delegation, while Mr Prince had attended two local services and will be attending another on Tuesday.

The latter posted a picture of party leader Nigel Farage giving a policy speech in Central London aimed at supporting small businesses the same morning, with a spokesperson saying it was important for Keith to sit shoulder to shoulder with fellow small business owners during such a landmark step for Reform.

Sir Sadiq Khan at the service at City Hall (London Assembly)

Bassam Mahfouz, Labours London Assembly Member for Ealing and Hillingdon, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that both were conspicuous by their absence.

This is a moment when representatives from all parties should stand together to honour the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms, and to show solidarity with our armed forces and emergency services, he added. Their courage binds us as a nation  we will remember them.

Assembly Member Emma Best, Deputy Leader of the City Hall Conservatives, said: This is the second year Reform have not turned up to the Remembrance Service at City Hall. In Waltham Forest they also did not turn up to events this weekend. Patriotism isnt a bit. Respect for our country and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice means being present.

Pictures from the service showed Assembly Members from Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives and the Green Party attending the service, which took place on Monday morning.

Chair of the London Assembly Len Duvall said of the event: The 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War reminds us of the debt we owe to those who gave their lives to protect our country, our values and the rights of billions around the world.

Britain and her allies came together to defend democracy against totalitarianism and fascism being imposed on other countries  struggles that echo across the world today.

The London Assembly remembers those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and stands steadfast alongside armed forces personnel, past and present, to thank them for their service to our city and our country.

On Sunday Mr Farage did not attend the national remembrance service at the Cenotaph with other political party leaders, instead appearing at a separate event in Walton-on-the-Naze in his constituency.

A spokesperson for Reform UK told the LDRS: Alex Wilson AM is currently away as part of a Reform UK delegation to Israel, where on Remembrance Sunday he visited Commonwealth war graves to pay his respect to fallen soldiers.

Keith Prince AM paid his respect at two Remembrance services in his constituency over the weekend, and will be attending another service tomorrow.

Both Reform UK Assembly Members remain dedicated to the act of remembrance, and are proud to have taken part in services both at home and abroad.
Whooping cough affects the lungs and airways and can cause severe illness and death in babies (Getty/iStock)

Scientists have created a vaccine against whooping cough that doesnt require a needle injection  instead it can be delivered via the nose.

A research team from Trinity College Dublin have created a nasally delivered vaccine that not only prevents severe disease but also curbs bacterial transmission.

It comes as cases of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, have soared. More than 500 cases of the highly infectious disease were reported between January and June this year, including eight in babies under three months old, the latest UKHSA data revealed.

Current whooping cough vaccines, while life-saving, have key limitations. They protect infants from severe illness but fail to prevent bacterial colonisation in the nose and throat  allowing the illness to spread within communities.

But the new vaccine can deliver immunity directly at the infection site and provide stronger protection.

The findings address an urgent global need for new vaccination methods (Getty/iStock)

Weve applied our understanding of protective immune pathways to engineer a fundamentally different kind of vaccine, said Professor Kingston Mills of Trinitys School of Biochemistry and Immunology.

By stimulating immunity where infections begin, at the respiratory mucosa, we can offer stronger protection and potentially interrupt community transmission.

The findings published in the journal Nature Microbiology address an urgent global need for new vaccination methods.

For the vaccine, researchers used antibiotic-inactivated Bordetella pertussis (AIBP)  an approach where bacteria are killed using antibiotics to create a whole-cell vaccine that can be administered via the respiratory tract.

By administering the vaccine through the nose, researchers found it activated T-cells, which help the body fight germs in the lungs and upper respiratory tract without triggering unwanted inflammation.

In preclinical studies in mice, AIBP protected against infection of the lungs and nasal cavity, outperforming current whooping cough vaccines.

These findings suggest AIBP could serve as both a stand-alone next-generation pertussis vaccine and a starting point for other vaccines against other pathogens that cause respiratory illnesses. But more research is needed before it can be used on people.

Whooping cough affects the lungs and airways and can cause severe illness and death in babies.

The infection gets its name from the distinctive whoop sound that young children can make as they gasp for breath between bouts of severe coughing.

It spreads through droplets in the air from coughing and sneezing, and can lead to pneumonia, brain damage, heart and lung failure, and death.

Vaccine uptake among children in England is now at its lowest level for 15 years, according to the UKHSA.

Almost one in five children who started primary school this year in England were not fully protected against diseases, including whooping cough, polio, tetanus and diphtheria.

Vaccination rates among pregnant women have also been in long-term decline. Uptake peaked at 76 per cent in 2016 but fell to 59 per cent by March last year. Following whooping cough deaths last year, uptake has improved to 73 per cent, though this remains below the previous high.
Injury setback: Randal Kolo Muani (Getty Images)

Tottenham could have the option to replace Randal Kolo Muani in their Champions League squad after a change to UEFA rules.

Kolo Muani was replaced at half-time during Saturday's 2-2 draw to Manchester United and has since pulled out of the France squad with a jaw injury.

SPURS NEWS: THREE THINGS WE LEARNED FROM MANCHESTER UNITED DRAW

The striker collided heavily with Harry Maguire early in the match and, although he was able to play on for the rest of the half, reports in France claim he has suffered a fractured jaw.

It has since been reported that Kolo Muani does not require surgery. Although, while initial fears of a two month absence has been allayed, there is no definitive timescale of a return to action.

Kolo Muani was injured against Manchester United on Saturday (Getty Images)

Should the Frenchman be sidelined for up to eight weeks, Spurs could decide to make a change to their squad for their remaining league-phase fixtures in the Champions League.

UEFA rules this season state that clubs can replace an outfield player in their squad if they have suffered a long-term injury.

That is defined as one that lasts at least 60 days as of the day the injury or illness occurred.

Liverpool used that rule to add Federico Chiesa to their squad earlier this season after Giovanni Leoni's injury.

Medical evidence must be provided to UEFA, who also have the right to require further medical examination by an expert of their choosing.

Clubs have the option to make the change to their squad up until matchday six, which for Spurs is on December 9 at home to Slavia Prague.

If the injured player recovers ahead of schedule, he is still ineligible until at least the end of the 60-day period.

After that point, the player can return to the squad if at least 24 hours notice is given before the next match, with the replacement dropping out.

That would mean that should Spurs now deem it necessary to replace Kolo Muani in their squad, he could potentially come back in for the matches against Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt in January.

If Kolo Muani's injury does prove to be a serious one, Mathys Tel would be the most likely player to be brought into the Champions League squad.

Spurs left Mathys Tel out of their initial Champions League squad (Getty Images)

He was left out of the initial list by Thomas Frank but his availability would provide a much-needed boost. Dominic Solanke is not ready to return and Spurs are short of options up front.

Frank could also technically turn to Radu Dragusin, who is hoping to be back in first-team contention after the international break, if he wanted to strengthen in defence.

Dejan Kulusevski is also an option to come in, however he is unlikely to return until December at the earliest and will need to time to get up to speed.

Tel is therefore expected to be the one to benefit if it comes to that, though it remains to be seen how long Kolo Muani is ruled out for.
A logo for the NSO Group in Israel on 8 February 2022. Photograph: Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images

Apple and WhatsApp have vowed to keep warning users if their mobile phones are targeted by governments using hacking software against them, including in the US, as two spyware makers seek to make inroads with the Trump administration.

The two technology giants made their statements in response to queries from the Guardian as the two cyberweapons makers  both founded in Israel and now owned by American investors  are aggressively pursuing access to the US market.

Paragon Solutions, which makes a spyware called Graphite, already cemented a deal with the Trump administration in September to give US immigration agents access to one of the worlds most sophisticated hacking tools, after the Department of Homeland lifted a freeze on a $2m contract with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

Paragon did not respond to requests for comment.

Another company, NSO Group, which was accused by the Biden administration in 2021 of engaging in business that was contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the US, announced this weekend that David Friedman, the US ambassador to Israel during Donald Trumps first term, had agreed to become executive chairman of the holding company that owns NSO. The company was recently taken over by new investors, reportedly including the American movie producer Robert Simonds.

Both Paragon and NSO Group make spyware that can hack into any phone without a user ever knowing. The software can in effect take control of a phone, allowing the spyware user to read a targeted individuals texts, listen to calls, track their location, and transform any mobile phone into a listening device or remote camera.

The companies have defended their software, saying their products are meant to be used to fight serious crime, and even thwart possible terror attacks, but both companies spyware has also been abused by government clients to hack individuals they want to monitor secretly, from journalists to business leaders to human rights activists.

For years, two technology companies  Apple and WhatsApp  have taken a tough stance against the proliferation of spyware around the world and have alerted individuals through notifications when possible hacking attacks are detected, including in cases in Italy, Spain, India and dozens of other countries.

A US court in October sided with WhatsApp when, after six years of litigation, it banned NSO from ever targeting WhatsApp users again.

But both Apple and WhatsApps owner, Meta, also have a close relationship with the Trump administration, leading to concerns over whether they would continue to alert individuals in the event such spyware attacks occurred against users in the US.

In a statement, Apple said: Threat notifications are designed to inform and assist users who may have been individually targeted by mercenary spyware and geographic location is not a factor in who they are sent to.

A spokesperson for WhatsApp said: WhatsApps priority is to protect our users by disrupting hacking efforts by mercenary spyware, building new layers of protection and alerting people whose device has come under threat, no matter where they are in the world.

Christopher Wray, the former FBI director, has testified that the FBI tested NSOs Pegasus for possible use, but that the bureau ultimately decided against including the commercial spyware in its arsenal. Experts say many legal questions surround whether spyware could ever legally be used domestically in the US given laws that prohibit targeted surveillance of Americans.

An aide to Ron Wyden, a Democratic senator and member of the select committee on intelligence, said current immigration officials provided an initial briefing to his office in which they indicated their policies are still being written, but have not responded to follow-up emails since the government shutdown began in October.

Asked whether he would seek to have sanctions that were placed on NSO by the Biden administration in 2021 removed, Friedman said by phone from Israel: I hope that will be accomplished, but we havent made that request yet and said he had not yet discussed the matter with Trump. The former ambassador added that it was too soon to know when NSO would seek to have those sanctions lifted.

Nobody is protected when it comes to mercenary spyware, cautioned John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, who is one of the worlds leading experts in tracking and disrupting the use of spyware tools against members of civil society around the world.

American businesses arent ready to start detecting and defending against this kind of threat at home. Nor is anybody else, by the way. Not hospitals, not lawyers and judges, not politicians, and certainly not regular citizens, he said. The last thing America needs right now is a silent spyware epidemic.

Paragon first entered an agreement with ICE in 2024, under the Biden administration. Several people who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the relatively small contract had slipped under the White Houses radar until it was reported by Wired. The contract was then paused in order to determine whether the contract met the requirements of an ambitious executive order that had been signed by the White House in May 2023 and prohibited the operational use of spyware that poses risks to national security or has been misused by foreign actors to enable human rights abuses around the world.

At that time, Paragon was not associated with any surveillance scandals, unlike NSO Group, whose Pegasus spyware has been used by governments to target civil society in dozens of cases.

But that changed in January 2025, when WhatsApp said it had discovered that 90 people, including journalists and members of civil society, had been targeted by Paragons Graphite.

Paragon subsequently ended its relationship with the Italian government, suggesting Italy had violated terms of service that prohibit the spyware from being used against members of civil society.

Since then, media reports have described how several Italian journalists, at least two Italian business executives, including the chief executive of one of Italys largest banks, Italian human rights activists, and an Italian political strategist, were each targeted with the hacking spyware in 2024.

The government of the current prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, has acknowledged the software was used against some activists by an Italian agency with legal authority, but has not claimed responsibility for other high-profile targeting.

This is the Italian Watergate, said Matteo Renzi, the former Italian prime minister, in an interview.

This is a tool only a government can use. If the Italian government continues to deny they have used this against [multiple Italian business executives] and journalists, then the question is, who did? he said. I am not the best friend of journalists, but the freedom of the press is a priority in a liberal democracy. For me, it is unacceptable to use this tool against journalists.

The prospect of Graphite now being in the hands of US immigration officials has some senior figures worried.

ICE is already shredding due process and ruining lives in its rush to lock up kids and families who pose no threat to anyone, Wyden said in a statement to the Guardian. Im extremely concerned about how ICE will use spyware, facial recognition and other technology to further trample on the rights of Americans and anyone who Donald Trump labels as an enemy.

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment.
Tim Davies resignation as the director-general of the BBC is very sad but was avoidable, according to the chairwoman of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

Dame Caroline Dinenage said Mr Davie ignored concerns raised in Michael Prescotts report over the way a speech by Donald Trump was edited for Panorama.

BBC chairman Samir Shah is expected to send a letter to the committee on Monday in which he apologises after the corporation was accused of misleading the public following claims that the speech had been selectively edited in the documentary, Trump: A Second Chance?

Dame Caroline told BBC Radio 4s Today: Im very sad about Tim Davie stepping down. I think he was an effective leader at the BBC.

I think he was a great champion for public service media, but there is no escaping the fact that he was very slow to act on this particular issue. But this isnt the first time and on this particular issue, Michael Prescotts report, he just didnt take it seriously until it was too late.

He should have reacted with concern and examined the claims, but just ignored it.

But you know, I do feel it was entirely avoidable and its really regretful given the huge commitment to the BBC and public service that Tim Davie demonstrated.

Dame Caroline Dinenage said she thought Tim Davie was an effective leader at the BBC but he ignored concerns (Richard Townshend/UK Parliament)

She added that she thinks it seems a little bit odd that her committee has not yet heard from Mr Shah.

The resignation of Mr Davie and chief executive of BBC News, Deborah Turness, on Sunday followed days of pressure on the broadcaster over the matter.

A memo by Mr Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBCs editorial standards committee, raised concerns in the summer about the way clips of the US presidents speech on January 6 2021 were spliced together to make it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to fight like hell.

"There seems to be a muscle memory at the BBC as to how to badly respond to any kind of editorial crisis." Dame Caroline Dinenage, Conservative chair of the Culture, Media and Sport select committee, reacts to the resignations of the BBC's Director General and News CEO. pic.twitter.com/UxaakA5k0F  BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) November 10, 2025

Critics said the documentary, broadcast by the BBC the week before last years US election, was misleading and removed a section where the US president said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.

Mr Trump welcomed the resignations and claimed there had been an attempt to step on the scales of a presidential election, adding: What a terrible thing for Democracy!

Veterans minister Louise Sandher-Jones rejected suggestions the BBC was institutionally biased and told Sky News: When you look at the huge range of domestic issues, local issues, international issues, that it has to cover, I think its output is very trusted.

When I speak to people whove got very strongly held views on those, theyre still using the BBC for a lot of their information, its forming their views on this.

I think we can all point to elements of BBC broadcasting of news and say well, that reflects my views, and that doesnt and thats absolutely right, that we should be able to say that.

Asked about Donald Trumps comments on the BBC, Ms Sandher-Jones said: President Trump will obviously speak for himself.

Tim Davie and Deborah Turness have been quite clear that its their decision that theyve stepped down and I note that the board has thanked them for their service and had said that it had supported them.

But theyve, as theyve said, taken accountability for what the BBC has put out. I think it is very important that public figures have accountability.

Former Downing Street communications chief Sir Craig Oliver, who is also a former BBC news executive, told BBC Radio 4s Today programme the BBCs board has not properly defended the corporation.

"It's been obvious for days now that the BBC needed to step up, explain, apologise." Former BBC editor and ex-No 10 comms director Sir Craig Oliver says the situation that led to the resignation of Tim Davie and Deborah Turness was allowed to get 'out of hand. #R4Today pic.twitter.com/PiOmAfF6Db  BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) November 10, 2025

He said: What I think has gone wrong here, I think, is really an issue of the governance of the institution.

Were living in a fast-moving digital world where there are a lot of people who want to attack the BBC, and what weve seen is really a vacuum that has been created.

Its been obvious for days now that the BBC needed to step up, explain, apologise, move on.

And what weve seen is the governance of the BBC saying, well get back to you on Monday  well leave that for days. Well allow the President of the United States to be attacking the institution, and were not going to properly defend it.

David Yelland, who edited The Sun from 1998 to 2003, told the Today programme that the departure of Mr Davie and Ms Turness was a coup, and worse than that, it was an inside job.

He added: There were people inside the BBC, very close to the board  who have systematically undermined Tim Davie and his senior team over a period of (time) and this has been going on for a long time. What happened yesterday didnt just happen in isolation.

He also described Mr Davies resignation as a failure of governance.

He added: I dont blame the chairman (Samir Shah) as an individual, but the job of the chair of any organisation, a company  including the BBC  is to keep their CEO, their top man or woman, in post or fire them.

And that has not happened, because Tim Davie was not fired. He walked and so there was, that is the definition of a failure of governance.

Lord Charles Moore, a former editor of The Daily Telegraph, told Today the BBC must show it takes impartiality seriously.

He said: First thing you have to do is admit youre wrong instead of trying to defend yourself in this ridiculous way.

All the BBC bias goes in one direction the memo goes, it could go much, much further, but its about trans issues, identity, race, (US President Donald) Trump, Israel, Gaza its always from a sort of metropolitan, left position, absolutely consistently. Thats how the bias is.

So that means that its not serving a very large percentage of the licence fee-payers.

Im not, of course, saying that it should be right-wing either. Im saying it should take impartiality seriously and put in people capable of running this gigantic and self-satisfied bureaucracy.
At a glance

 DJ Tim Westwood has appeared in court for the first time over rape and sexual assault charges

 The former BBC star denies allegations of sexual abuse across more than three decades

 Westwood is accused of indecent assault on BBC premises in the 1990s

DJ Tim Westwood has appeared in court to face rape and sexual assault charges for the first time, including claims of abuse at BBC studios.

The 68-year-old former Radio One presenter faces allegations spanning more than three decades, with his accusers saying they were abused when in their late teens and early 20s.

Westwood, who lives in Westminster, faces 15 charges dating from 1983 to 2016.

The DJ was flanked by security and police as he arrived at Westminster magistrates court building, wearing a dark puffer jacket and jeans.

He was spotted breaking court rules shortly after passing through security, by taking pictures on his phone of his own court listing.

In the dock, Westwood spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address, and did not enter any pleas to the charges.

When asked at the end whether he could hear properly, Westwood told the judge not really. He nodded as his bail condition was confirmed.

According to court papers, he is accused of indecently assaulting an alleged victim three times at the BBC Studios in the 1990s.

Ex-BBC DJ Tim Westwood arriving at court (Lucy North/PA Wire)

Westwood faces allegations of rape at a London hotel, as well as a claim of sexual assault at a London music festival.

According to the charges, he is accused of kissing alleged victims without consent, groping them, and forcing himself on to the women.

In total, he faces nine counts of indecent assault, two counts of sexual assault, and four counts of rape.

The court heard Westwood flew in to the UK from Nigeria ahead of his court appearance. He was informed of the charges in August.

Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring released Westwood on bail until a hearing at Southwark crown court on December 8.

The DJ is not allowed to contact prosecution witnesses, as the single condition of his bail.

His barrister, Orla Daly, told the court that Westwood has been interviewed five times during the course of the police investigation, he is a man of good character, and he has co-operated throughout the period of facing allegations.

Suffolk-born Westwood, the son of an Anglican Bishop, joined BBC Radio One in 1994 to present a rap show, and continued to be one of the Corporations stars on the channel and 1Xtra until his departure in 2013.

Tim Westwood (Lia Toby/PA) (PA Archive)

The court case comes with the BBC in crisis, after edited footage of President Donald Trump forced the resignations of the Corporations Director General Tim Davie and news chief executive Deborah Turness.

Announcing details of the case last month, the CPS said the charges against Westwood relate to reported non-recent offences between 1983 and 2016, involving seven women.

The allegations come after a lengthy Metropolitan police investigation into the DJ, who was once one of BBC Radio 1s biggest stars.

Westwood (right) hosted Crib Sessions with up and coming artists

Scotland Yard said Westwood is accused of indecently assaulting a 17-year-old girl in Fulham in 1983, and sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s in Vauxhall, south London in 1986.

He is accused of raping and sexually assaulting a teenager aged 17-18 in central London in the mid-90s, and raping and sexually assaulting another teen of the same age between 2000 and 2001.

The Met said Westwood is accused of raping a woman in her 20s in 2010 in London, allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s in Stroud in the same year, and sexually assaulting another woman in her 20s in Finchley, north London in 2016.

After leaving the BBC, Westwood launched a show on Capital Xtra, but he was stood down when allegations of sexual misconduct were first made.

DJ Tim Westwood has been involved in rap and hip hop music since the 1970s

The hip-hop DJ has previously strongly denied "all allegations of inappropriate behaviour" and wrongdoing.

Westwood began his career as a DJ in the early 1980s, performing at clubs and pirate radio stations in London. He gained prominence on LWR, Kiss FM and Capital Radio, where he helped to introduce UK listeners to emerging hip-hop acts from both sides of the Atlantic.

He has been credited with championing UK rap and grime, giving early exposure to artists such as Skepta, Stormzy, and Giggs.

Westwood has won a number of MOBO awards and hosted the UK version of MTVs Pimp My Ride.
Donald Trump celebrated the resignations of Tim Davie, the BBCs director-general, and Deborah Turness, the corporations chief of news, on Sunday - Tasos Katopodis

Donald Trump threatened to sue the BBC for $1bn (760m), accusing it of a reckless disregard for the truth.

The US president turned the screw on the corporation as it was reeling from the resignation of director-general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness over the selective editing of Mr Trumps speech on the day of the Capitol Hill riot.

A senior official in the Trump administration suggested it may consider removing the BBCs White House passes as a result of the row.

The Telegraph first disclosed on Nov 3 that Panorama spliced together two separate parts of the speech in a way that wrongly suggested Mr Trump had urged his supporters to behave violently. The revelations were contained in a leaked internal memo that also identified anti-Israel and pro-trans bias inside the BBC.

Lawyers acting for Mr Trump sent a legal letter to the BBC on Sunday demanding compensation, an apology and a retraction of false and inflammatory statements made about him in the Panorama documentary.

Mr Trumps lawyers said a failure to comply will leave President Trump with no choice than to pursue the broadcaster for damages for the overwhelming financial and reputational harm. The US president gave the BBC a deadline of Friday to comply, or face a legal claim for $1bn in the Florida courts.

The ultimatum was delivered as the BBC grappled with the fallout from the resignations on Sunday night of Mr Davie and Ms Turness, the chief executive in charge of news and current affairs.

Samir Shah, the BBCs chairman, apologised for an error of judgment over the doctoring of Mr Trumps speech in a letter to the culture, media and sport committee of MPs. But he insisted in a later interview that the corporation was not suffering from systemic bias.

Mr Shah said in his letter to MPs that there were no issues the BBC had sought to bury. However, he added that he was considering a personal apology to Mr Trump.

Meanwhile, BBC reporters suggested the whole affair could be part of a politically motivated boardroom plot. The Today programme presenter Nick Robinson said that sources inside the corporation had told him about alleged political interference after what they described as a hostile takeover of parts of the BBC.

A third senior executive  Jonathan Munro, the global director of BBC news who had previously argued that the Panorama edit of the Trump speech was normal practice  continued in post on Monday. In a show of defiance, he emailed staff to say that the coming days and weeks will be hard but our work continues as normal.

Mr Davie leaves the BBC after five years in charge and is expected to stay on until the board finds a successor - David Rose/The Telegraph

The fallout comes as Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, begins a fundamental review of the BBCs Royal Charter, which is up for renewal at the end of 2027. The review will look at wholesale changes to the BBCs governance and include alternatives to the licence fee, set to rise to 181 next year.

Mr Trumps threat of legal action was contained in a four-page legal letter sent by one of his personal lawyers, Alejandro Brito, direct to Mr Shah. The letter was sent on Sunday, almost a week after The Telegraph first revealed the selective editing of his infamous speech in Washington DC on Jan 6 2021.

The episode of Panorama, broadcast a week before the 2024 US election, completely misled viewers, according to a memo written by Michael Prescott, a former standards adviser to the BBC.

The programme showed Mr Trump telling supporters he was going to walk to the Capitol with them to fight like hell, when in fact he said he would walk with them to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.

A spokesman for Mr Trumps legal team said: The BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally and deceitfully editing its documentary in order to try and interfere in the presidential election. President Trump will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in lies, deception and fake news.

In the letter, Mr Trumps lawyers demanded that the misleading claims be taken down, along with an apology and appropriate compensation for the harm caused. The documentary was designed to deliberately denigrate him, the legal letter states.

The timing of the fabricated documentary is evident, the letter reads. The BBCs reckless disregard for the truth underscores the actual malice behind the decision to publish the wrongful content, given the plain falsity of the statements.

Mr Trumps lawyers gave the corporation until 5pm on Friday to take action. If the corporation failed to respond by then, President Trump will be left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for no less than $1bn in damages.

The letter concludes: The BBC is on notice.

Ms Turness says she stepped down over the weekend because the buck stops with me - Leon Neal/Getty Images

In June, the BBC launched a pilot paywall for US visitors to its website, promising to deliver trustworthy news. The legal action could put plans to charge people in the US for BBC content in jeopardy at a time when the broadcaster is seeking alternative revenue streams.

Announcing the project before her resignation, Ms Turness said: Through our partnership with BBC Studios we are growing our audiences in North America  providing more people with news they can trust at a time of dramatic global uncertainty.

The legal threat ratchets up the war of words being waged by the White House against the BBC. On Saturday, the White House condemned the corporation as a Leftist propaganda machine.

Hopes that the resignations of Mr Davie and Ms Turness would draw a line under the affair dissipated when Mr Trump took to Truth Social, his social media platform, to celebrate their resignations and praise The Telegraphs reporting.

Mr Trump wrote: Thank you to The Telegraph for exposing these corrupt journalists. These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a presidential election.

The statute of limitations for libel has expired in the UK for a Panorama programme. It stands at one year.

Mr Trumps lawyers said they would bring the legal action in Florida, where the presidents primary residence is, and where plaintiffs have two years to launch their case.

Mr Trump has repeatedly used his legal muscle to push large news organisations into line.

Paramount, the parent company of CBS News, reached a $16m (12.2m) settlement with Mr Trump in 2024 after he accused the broadcaster of deceptively editing an interview with Kamala Harris, his Democratic opponent.

ABC News settled a defamation lawsuit for $15m (11.4m) in December after George Stephanopoulos, one of the broadcasters anchors, incorrectly claimed Mr Trump had been found liable for rape in a court case. In fact, a jury found him liable for sexual abuse.

On Monday night, former Question Time host David Dimbleby said errors with the Panorama programme should have been fixed sooner. He told Channel 4 News: It should have been corrected at the time, and the editor of Panorama should have been fired, in my view, if he knew it was done. Its ridiculous.

And to put the BBC in a position where President Trump can legitimately say, liar BBC and use that as a stick to beat the BBC with, with all the work the BBC does all over the world... to get tripped up by something like this seems to me absurd.

A YouGov poll published on Monday night found half of the public believed the BBC was biased, with 31 per cent saying it was too Left-wing and 19 per cent saying it was too Right-wing.

Meanwhile, 44 per cent of people said Mr Davie was right to resign compared with just 7 per cent who said he made the wrong decision.
Turness: BBC is not institutionally biased and journalists are not corrupt

The outgoing chief executive of BBC News has stressed the corporation is not institutionally biased and the journalists are not corrupt.

Deborah Turness resigned on Sunday alongside director-general Tim Davie over concerns raised in Michael Prescotts report about the way a speech by Donald Trump was edited for Panorama.

Arriving at Broadcasting House in central London, she told reporters: I would like to say it has been the privilege of my career to serve as the CEO of BBC News and to work with our brilliant team of journalists.

I stepped down over the weekend because the buck stops with me.

But Id like to make one thing very clear, BBC News is not institutionally biased. Thats why its the worlds most trusted news provider.

Outgoing chief executive of BBC News, Deborah Turness (James Manning/PA)

Asked if BBC journalists are institutionally corrupt, she replied: Of course our journalists arent corrupt, our journalists are hard working people who strive for impartiality, and I will stand by their journalism.

There is no institutional bias. Mistakes are made, but theres no institutional bias.

Asked why mistakes were not dealt with, including on Mr Trump, on antisemitism and on womens rights, Ms Turness replied: Im sure that story will emerge.

BBC director-general Tim Davie resigned over concerns raised in Michael Prescotts report (PA)

BBC chairman Samir Shah is expected to send a letter to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on Monday in which he apologises after the corporation was accused of misleading the public following claims that the speech had been selectively edited in the documentary, Trump: A Second Chance?

Committee chairwoman Dame Caroline told BBC Radio 4s Today programme that Mr Davies resignation was sad but avoidable.

She said: Im very sad about Tim Davie stepping down. I think he was an effective leader at the BBC.

I think he was a great champion for public service media, but there is no escaping the fact that he was very slow to act on this particular issue. But this isnt the first time and on this particular issue, Michael Prescotts report, he just didnt take it seriously until it was too late.

"There seems to be a muscle memory at the BBC as to how to badly respond to any kind of editorial crisis." Dame Caroline Dinenage, Conservative chair of the Culture, Media and Sport select committee, reacts to the resignations of the BBC's Director General and News CEO. pic.twitter.com/UxaakA5k0F  BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) November 10, 2025

He should have reacted with concern and examined the claims, but just ignored it.

But you know, I do feel it was entirely avoidable and its really regretful given the huge commitment to the BBC and public service that Tim Davie demonstrated.

She added that she thinks it seems a little bit odd that her committee has not yet heard from Mr Shah.

The resignation of Mr Davie and Ms Turness on Sunday followed days of pressure on the broadcaster over the matter.

A memo by Mr Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBCs editorial standards committee, raised concerns in the summer about the way clips of the US presidents speech on January 6 2021 were spliced together to make it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to fight like hell.

Critics said the documentary, broadcast by the BBC the week before last years US election, was misleading and removed a section where the US president said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.

Mr Trump welcomed the BBC resignations and claimed there had been an attempt to step on the scales of a presidential election, adding: What a terrible thing for Democracy!
Floodwaters triggered by typhoon Fung-wong hit Catanduanes province, the Philippines on 9 Nov, 2025. Photograph: Xinhua/Shutterstock

The super-typhoon Fung-wong has blown through the Philippines, leaving at least eight dead, 1.4 million people displaced and widespread damage in its wake.

More than 1.4 million people were evacuated across the country as the storm triggered flash flooding, storm surges, landslides and gale-force winds, Philippine authorities said on Monday. Deadly mudslides had killed least six people across the country, including three children, with others still missing.

The biggest typhoon to threaten the Philippines in years, Fung-wong was forecast to cover two-thirds of the archipelago with its 1,100-mile (1,800km) band of rain and wind.

In Pandan, Catanduanes province, one of the worst-affected areas, footage and photos from disaster response authorities showed flood waters rising to the rooftops and houses being washed away. At least one person was killed in flash flooding as civil defence workers rescued more than a dozen others.

Our personnel rescued 14 people who were trapped on the roof of a house engulfed in flood in a low-lying neighbourhood, Roberto Monterola, a disaster-mitigation officer for Catanduanes, told the Associated Press. A father also called in panic, saying the roof of his house was about to be ripped off by the wind. We saved him and four relatives.

At least eight people have been confirmed dead by authorities as of Monday evening. In the northern province of Nueva Vizcaya, three children died in landslides and four others were injured, police told the Associated Press.

An elderly person was killed in a mudslide in Barlig, a town in northern mountain province. Another landslide in Lubuagan, a town in nearby Kalinga province, killed two people and two others were missing, provincial officials said late Monday. Earlier in the day, officials had reported one person drowned in the Catanduanes, and another killed when her house collapsed on her in eastern Samar.

The super-typhoon was downgraded to a typhoon in the early hours of Monday morning, as it crossed the Philippines largest island, where the capital city is located. The storms sustained wind speed had dropped from 115mph (185km/h) to 102mph, but gusts were still reaching more than 171mph, according to the state weather service PAGASA. The storm system is expected to continue weakening as it moves north toward Taiwan.

The national disaster response service (NDRRMC) said it was still working to assess damage to infrastructure and homes. Almost 3 million people had been left without power on Monday, the National Electrification Administration said, after power lines were downed and grid infrastructure damaged. About 6,000 evacuation centres have been opened to temporarily house 92,000 families.

Fung-wong battered the country just days after Typhoon Kalmaegi, which killed at least 224 people and left another 135 missing, before moving on to Vietnam, where it killed five. Searches for those still missing had to be suspended on Sunday due to safety concerns for rescue workers.

Having a second typhoon hit so soon after Kalmaegi may have worsened the destruction, as torrential rain fell upon already soaked and destabilised soils. In northern Luzon, where mudslides killed a number of children, civil defence authorities said the ground had already been saturated by heavy rains.

The climate crisis is making tropical storms and typhoons more intense and frequent. Fung-wong is the 21st typhoon to hit the Philippines in 2025. The rate of super-typhoons hitting the Philippines has increased by more than 100% over the last two decades, scientists have found. The World Bank estimates that the intense storms cause an average of US$3.5bn (2.7bn) in damage to the country every year.

The Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, said on Monday that a state of national calamity declared over Kalmaegi and Fung-wong would be extended to a full year.

Associated Press contributed to this report

 This article was amended on 10 November 2025. An earlier version said intense storms cause $3.5m in damage to the Philippines every year; this should have said $3.5bn.
Russias foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, emerged from seclusion to say he was ready to meet the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, to discuss the war in Ukraine and mending bilateral ties. It breaks a weeks-long absence of Lavrov from the public sphere after the collapse of attempts to stage a Putin-Trump summit in Hungary. Speaking to Russias Ria state news agency, Lavrov signalled there was no change in Moscows maximalist demands for Ukraines capitulation. He said peace could not be achieved without taking Russian interests into account.

Lavrov appeared to be contradicted by the Kremlin after the reappearing foreign minister said work had begun on Vladimir Putins order to prepare plans for a possible Russian nuclear test. Putin ordered officials to study the possibility of resuming nuclear testing after Donald Trumps statements that the US would begin immediately to match nuclear tests by China and Russia  even though, like the US, neither is known to have exploded a nuclear bomb since the 1990s. On Sunday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: Putin has repeatedly said that Russia is committed to its obligation to end nuclear tests, and that we have no intention [of conducting them]. Putin has said Russia would not conduct a nuclear test unless the US did so first.

Ukrainian strikes disrupted power and heating to Voronezh and Belgorod  large Russian cities near the Ukrainian border, Russian officials reported on Sunday. In Voronezh, home to just over a million people, a drone started a fire at an energy facility, said the areas governor. Russian and Ukrainian news channels on Telegram said the Voronezh strike targeted a thermal power plant.

A missile strike late on Saturday affected about 20,000 Belgorod households, said the local governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, who declared the electricity and heating supply network has suffered severe damage. In the western Kursk region, a fire broke out at one of the power plants in the village of Korenevo, cutting power to 10 localities, said the governor, Alexander Khinshtein.

Ukrainian crews scrambled on Sunday to repair damage caused by one of the most devastating Russian attacks on Ukraines energy infrastructure, Volodymyr Zelensky said. Although the situation is difficult, thousands of people are involved in stabilising the system and repairing the damage, Ukraines president said. The situation was most difficult in the north-eastern regions of Kharkiv and Sumy.

Russia has switched tactics, simultaneously striking generation facilities as well as power transmission and distribution systems, said deputy Ukrainian energy minister Artem Nekrasov. This complicates the prompt restoration of normal power supply and the normal operation of the energy system.

In the central region of Poltava, one of the areas most affected, power was mostly restored on Sunday but damaged equipment left parts of its main city still in the dark, local authorities said. Ukraines energy minister, Svitlana Grynchuk, said the wave of attacks, which killed four people, marked one of the most difficult nights for Ukrainian energy since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
The BBC could miss out on covering policy announcements held on the campus of the White House - Andrew Harnik/2025 Getty Images

The White House is considering blacklisting BBC reporters after the corporation admitted to an error of judgment in the way it selectively edited a Donald Trump speech.

On Monday, Mr Trumps lawyers threatened a $1bn lawsuit if the broadcaster did not immediately retract the false statements and pay compensation.

A senior White House official said there could be further fallout for the BBC.

The White House may consider restricting the BBCs access to open press events due to their admission of falsely doctoring President Trumps words, the official told The Telegraph.

That could mean the BBC would no longer be able to cover briefings by Mr Trumps press secretary, arrivals and departures of world leaders, or major speeches and policy announcements held on the campus of the White House.

It follows a week of turmoil since The Telegraph revealed that a whistleblower report raised serious concerns about the way Panorama edited the speech Mr Trump gave on January 6, shortly before his supporters stormed the US Capitol in 2021.

The episode spliced together two sections of the speech to make it sound as if the president was urging followers to march on the Capitol and fight like hell.

It omitted another passage in which he said he wanted supporters to protest peacefully.

On Friday, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, condemned the corporation as a Leftist propaganda machine.

Two days later, Tim Davie resigned as director-general and Deborah Turness stepped down as news chief on Sunday.

Mr Trump and his supporters have repeatedly railed against major news organisations, accusing them of fake news for the way they cover the president.

And the administration has taken a muscular approach since taking office in January.

The BBC is now in the crosshairs.

The corporation is part of the press pool rotation that travels aboard Air Force One and covers the presidents events in the Oval Office.

The Wall Street Journal is on a no-fly list after being sued for reporting on the presidents past links with Jeffrey Epstein, the late paedophile.

The Associated Press was barred for more than seven months in a different dispute.

A White House source said it was too early to talk about taking the BBC out of the Air Force One rotation.

We havent taken legal action against them yet, they said, before pointing out that the AP had challenged its ban in court and lost, showing that travelling with the president was a privilege rather than a right.

In the meantime, lawyers for Mr Trump have written to the BBC accusing it of reckless disregard for the truth.

The BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally and deceitfully editing its documentary in order to try and interfere in the presidential election, said a spokesman for his legal team.

President Trump will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in lies, deception, and fake news.

The BBC has until Friday afternoon to respond to Mr Trumps lawyers.

In his letter, Alejandro Brito demanded that the BBC retract the false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements, apologise and appropriately compensate President Trump for the harm caused, or face legal action for $1bn in damages.

A spokesman for the BBC said: We will review the letter and respond directly in due course.
Credit: BBC News

The chairman of the BBC has insisted there is no systemic bias at the corporation.

Samir Shah defended the BBC in his first remarks since the resignation of Tim Davie as its director-general and Deborah Turness as the chief executive of BBC News.

Mr Davie and Ms Turness quit on Sunday night after a Telegraph expose of bias over Donald Trump, the war in Gaza and the transgender row.

On Monday, Mr Trump wrote to the corporation and threatened to sue them for $1bn (760m) because of the misleading editing of one of his speeches in a Panorama documentary.

In a letter to the culture, media and sport committee, Mr Shah accepted that there were occasions when the BBC gets things wrong and when its reporting requires additional context.

He apologised for the editing of a Panorama documentary which made it appear Donald Trump had incited the Capitol Hill riots, saying it had been an error of judgement.

Asked later by the BBC if allegations of bias were wrong, Mr Shah said: About systemic bias, yes.

Speaking before the news of Mr Trumps legal action threat, Mr Shah said he did not know if the president would sue and he was considering making a personal apology to him.

The letter from Mr Trumps lawyers, reported by The New York Times, called for an immediate apology and compensation.

It demanded a full and fair retraction of the documentary and any and all other false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading and inflammatory statements about President Trump in as conspicuous a manner as they were originally published.

The letter continued: If the BBC does not comply with the above by Nov 14, 2025 at 5.00pm EST, President Trump will be left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for no less than $1,000,000,000 in damages. The BBC is on notice.

Last week, The Telegraph disclosed that a Panorama documentary had spliced together different parts of a speech by Mr Trump and made it seem as though he had told supporters to go to the Capitol and fight like hell on the day of the 2021 riot.

The Telegraph published an 8,000-word dossier sent to members of the BBC board by Michael Prescott, a former standards adviser, who wrote of his despair at inaction by the BBC executive over widespread evidence of bias.

The letter accused the corporation of effective censorship of its reporting on transgender issues and expressed concerns that BBC Arabic was downplaying the suffering of Israelis in the war with Hamas to paint their country as the aggressor.

Mr Prescott claimed that he had attempted to raise these issues with the board and Mr Shah, but had been ignored.

But Mr Shah insisted in his letter to MPs that there were no issues the BBC had sought to bury.

He wrote: That interpretation is simply not true. The issues raised by Mr Prescott are precisely the issues that have been considered by the Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee [EGSC] and the board.

Mr Shah noted that while there were some underlying problems, including long-form journalism and the operations of BBC Arabic, mistakes were often one-offs.

The letter continued: There is another view that has gained currency in the coverage that the BBC has done nothing to tackle these problems. That is also simply not true.

Over the three years Mr Prescott was an adviser to the EGSC, the BBC has published corrections where we have got things wrong, changed editorial guidance to make the BBCs position on issues clearer, made changes to leadership where the problems point to underlying issues and carried out formal disciplinary measures.

Mr Shah wrote: Since the publication of Mr Prescotts memo, this issue has led to over 500 complaints. These are now being dealt with in the normal way. It has also prompted further reflection by the BBC.

The conclusion of that deliberation is that we accept that the way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action. The BBC would like to apologise for that error of judgement.

But he said that Mr Prescotts memo was a personal account which does not present a full picture of discussions, decisions and actions that were taken.

On Mr Prescotts accusation that the BBC had been one-sided in the trans debate for years, Mr Shah devoted just one line: On the review of sex and gender identity, the EGSC noted much of the coverage met the BBCs standards of impartiality and accuracy.

He concluded: There is an increasing need for the public to be informed in a way that is impartial, truthful and is based on evidence they can trust. That is the sacred job of the BBC.

Speaking to the BBC after the release of the letter, Mr Shah added that he had been contacted by Mr Trumps team and was considering a personal apology.

Asked if Mr Trump would sue, he said: I do not know that yet. But hes a litigious fellow. So we should be prepared for all outcomes.

On Monday, Sir Keir Starmers spokesman said the Prime Minister did not believe the BBC was institutionally biased.

He said: It is important the BBC acts to maintain trust and corrects mistakes quickly when they occur.

On Monday morning, senior figures at the corporation denied that it had any problem with bias and publicised claims that Mr Davie was forced out by a political stitch-up at board level.

Ms Turness said: BBC News is not institutionally biased.

Nick Robinson, the presenter of Radio 4s Today programme, cited claims that there had been political interference following a hostile takeover of parts of the BBC by board members appointed by the previous Conservative government.

He also wrote on X that claims were swirling around the BBC that Mr Davie had been forced out by the board.

He said: The argument which raged on the BBC board ensured that the BBC neither defended itself nor admitted its mistakes for day after day after the leaking of the Prescott dossier alleging institutional bias.

Mr Robinson added: One source described the arguments that have raged ever since The Telegraph published a leaked memo by a former adviser to the BBC board as like armed combat.

The Today programme publicised claims by David Yelland, the former Sun editor, who said: It was a coup, and worse than that, it was an inside job. There were people inside the BBC close to the board who have systematically undermined Tim Davie and his senior team

Look at who is celebrating this morning, including the president of the United States.

Credit: BBC Radio 4 / The Today Programme

Labour MP Graham Stringer said Mr Shah should consider his position, as his letter shows he does not understand the problems facing the BBC.

This is complacent nonsense from an arrogant, out-of-touch, self-satisfied bureaucracy, he said. Two resignations will not remedy the institutional failures of the BBC.

He added: It is just a lie for the BBC to say there is no systematic bias.

The BBC is riddled from top to bottom with bias, whether its over gender, climate change, Europe, the north-south divide.

They are a North London elite who just reproduce their own prejudices rather than produce objective news. They have no idea that they are the biggest threat to the BBC.

Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said the BBC has been institutionally biased for decades at a press conference on Monday.

He added: We need a very much slimmed-down BBC. The licence fee, as it currently is, cannot survive. It is wholly unsustainable.

He earlier told LBC that you would need to appoint a new director-general to come in and completely change the culture of the BBC.

He added: And given frankly the thousands of people working in that building, given the very narrow section of society that they come from, I think its going to be very, very difficult.

Dame Caroline Dinenage, the Tory MP who chairs the Commons culture, media and sport committee, said: The BBC just seem to drop the ball at every opportunity. And thats not a board-level problem, thats an institutional problem. Replacing Tim Davie isnt going to sort that out.

The BBC are doing a really good job here of trying to obfuscate what the real issue is here. Tim Davie didnt stand down because the board asked him to; he stood down because of an editorial failure, and its not the first time.

There seems to be a muscle memory at the BBC as to how to respond badly to any editorial crisis or scandal.
David Lammy, the Justice Secretary, has tried to blame the Tories for the rise in the number of prisoners being released in error - Jacob King/PW Wire

Record numbers of violent and sex offenders have absconded or broken the terms of their temporary release from prison, official figures show.

Some 321 violent or sexual offenders either failed to come back to jail after being temporarily freed, returned late or breached the terms of their licence in the past year, according to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data.

This represents the highest number on record, nearly double the 177 prisoners four years ago and five times the low of 59 a decade ago in 2014-15.

The figures were disclosed on the eve of a Commons statement on Tuesday by David Lammy, the Justice Secretary, following the mistaken release of two migrant sex offenders and a convicted British fraudster. Three other criminals remain on the run months after being wrongly freed from jail.

Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, demanded on Monday that Mr Lammy publish full details of the number of prisoners accidentally released since April 1, how many are still at large and how many are violent or sexual offenders.

He warned he would demand Mr Lammys resignation if the Deputy Prime Minister failed to produce the data. So far, the MoJ has only published figures for the year to the end of March, showing the number of prisoners accidentally freed jumped to 262 from 115 in the previous year.

Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, was accidentally freed from HMP Wandsworth before being caught on Friday - Sky News

This is a matter of the utmost seriousness, said Mr Jenrick. If you refuse again to provide this information, despite my multiple requests and my forewarning, the only remaining conclusion is that you are incapable of telling the truth. In which case, you must make way for someone who will.

Mr Lammy faced criticism after declining to come back to the Commons on Wednesday afternoon to give MPs details of the release in error of the Algerian Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, from HMP Wandsworth. He had earlier in the day refused five times to answer Tory questions on whether a migrant had been wrongly freed from jail.

On Monday, facing an urgent question on the prison release crisis, Lord Timpson, the prisons minister, suggested that AI chatbots could be deployed to help combat accidental releases at HMP Wandsworth from which Kaddour-Cherif and the fraudster Billy Smith, 35, were wrongly freed. Both have been returned to jail.

Billy Smith smiles to the cameras as he hands himself back into HMP Wandsworth after his accidental release - ITV

Lord Timpson said a team of digital experts were being deployed to prisons to advise on replacing the chaotic paper-based system for determining which prisoners are released when. HMP Wandsworth releases 2,000 prisoners a year, or 40 a week.

That is why the digital team last week went into HMP Wandsworth to look at what are the opportunities for some quick fixes to embrace digital technology, Lord Timpson said.

They think an AI chatbot would be really helpful, and also a cross-referencing for aliases, because we know some offenders have more than 20 aliases. So it is examples like that, and weve given them, weve given the team, the green light to get on with that.

Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, warned Mr Lammy he should be transparent about the scale of releases or resign - Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

It is not just accidental releases that have risen sharply. Last week, it emerged that Ola Abimbola, 36, a violent Nigerian kidnapper jailed for 21 years, was on the run from HMP Ford in Arundel in Sussex after being transferred early to the open prison under rules introduced by Labour to tackle overcrowding in more secure closed jails.

MoJ data analysed by The Telegraph show the number of sex offenders who have failed to adhere to rules requiring them to return after temporary release, largely from open prisons, have nearly doubled from 47 to 90 in just two years.

The number of violent offenders who are failing to return to prison or abide by the conditions of their temporary release has also doubled since the 2010s when it averaged about 100 a year to 260 in 2023-24 and 231 in 2024-25.

Lord Timpson blamed the crisis on the Tories failing to build enough prisons or maintain those they had, cutting prison officers including many with years of experience and failing to invest in digital technology that would be far more efficient and accurate in organising releases than hours and hours of boxes of paperwork.

A prison service spokesman said: Absconding is a serious criminal offence, and any defendant who commits this crime could face longer behind bars.

Prisoners are subject to strict risk assessments before they are allowed out on temporary release and 99 per cent of offenders comply with the rules  temporary release failures decreased by 12 per cent in the last year.

Those who do not comply with the rules may face extra time in prison.
Britains veterans minister has refused to say whether former IRA terrorists will join Labours Troubles commission.

Louise Sandher-Jones insisted that the commission, which would investigate incidents that took place during the Troubles, would consist of a range of victims and survivors of 30-year civil conflict.

But despite being asked four times during an interview if panel members would include ex-IRA officials, the former Army officer was unable to give a clear answer.

Ms Sandher-Jones has now been accused of hypocrisy by the Conservatives, while a former military chief said giving the IRA a seat at the table would be outrageous.

Her refusal to comment on the matter comes weeks after Soldier F, a Parachute Regiment veteran, was cleared of the murder and attempted murder during the Bloody Sunday shooting 53 years after a judge declared the evidence fell well short of what was needed for conviction.

In an interview with Times Radio, Ms Sandher-Jones said it was vitally important that we have the voices of veterans on the panel to ensure accountability for the murder of some 200 British servicemen during the conflict.

Louise Sandher-Jones, the new veterans minister, was accused of thinking she is representing veterans of the IRA as much as shes representing veterans of the Crown - Roger Harris

However, asked if former IRA members would join the body, the minister said: I absolutely think it should be for victims and for survivors and if you are a member of a group, which means that you are not a victim and not a survivor, of course I wouldnt want that.

But for me, whats super important is that veterans are on that because of course there is no equivalent between veterans and people who served in the IRA.

But there will be people who will be listening to this and will say, well, some of those people who used to be members of the IRA do think that they are victims, they do think that they count under that.

Supporters of Soldier F, a Parachute Regiment veteran, marching to court last month before he was cleared of murder and attempted murder during the Bloody Sunday shooting - Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Gen Sir Richard Barrons said it would be disgraceful if ex-IRA terrorists were allowed to sit on the panel alongside British veterans.

How can you have a protagonist in a very difficult struggle sit in judgment over one side? Its outrageous, he told The Telegraph.

Veterans will absolutely reject equivalency. You do not expect to be put in the same basket as the people who have opted to commit acts of terrorism.

Dr Bob Parr, an SAS veteran who served during Operation Banner, the codename for the UKs mission in Northern Ireland, said: Having a veterans minister who will not disavow the notion that former IRA terrorists could sit on a committee connected to investigations of the Army in Northern Ireland shows utter contempt for those who served during Operation Banner.

It strikes me from her words, Louise Sandher-Jones thinks shes representing veterans of the IRA as much as shes representing veterans of the Crown. What she is doing in this interview is fundamentally drawing a moral equivalence between murdering terrorists and heroes of the nation. This plays directly into how Sinn Fein/IRA would like to rewrite history.

Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, a former squadron commander of the 22nd SAS, said the ministers repeated refusal to answer the straightforward question ... hints at the appalling prospect of British soldiers having to answer to the very terrorists they confronted on the nations behalf.

If this should happen, it would take the relationship between the Government and servicemen and women and the veteran community into uncharted and dangerous waters, he warned.

Labour said veterans would be given protections, which includes the right to anonymity and not to travel to Northern Ireland.

A debate on the Governments Troubles Bill is expected next week.

The Government insisted no former paramilitary personnel, like those from the IRA, would be part of the commission panel.

A spokesman added: It is absolutely vital that this group can command confidence. This Government will therefore not appoint anyone who has previously been involved in paramilitary activity to this group.
Supply chain issues have left the rollout of the Armys armoured Boxer vehicles in chaos - Jack Eckersley

Delays to the rollout of key armoured vehicles in the Army are putting lives at risk, it has been claimed.

Hundreds of soldiers in at least four battalions of 3rd Division, the Armys premier armoured war-fighting unit, are reportedly in disarray over the delays.

The problems stem from the sluggish rollout of a 600-strong fleet of armoured Boxer vehicles, which has encountered setbacks because of global supply issues, as well as a shift in tactics prompted by the war in Ukraine.

The eight-wheeled troop carriers were meant to take over the roles performed by the Mastiff and the ageing Warrior, which was first built in the 1980s and is in the process of being decommissioned.

However, the delays mean 3rd Division battalions will now have to use tracked variants such as Ares from the troubled Ajax family of machines instead to support armoured infantry operations.

Sources have claimed the Army is facing a major capability gap because of the changes, with the shift to the Ares for some units prompting chaos.

People behind closed doors are just pulling their hair out. Its absolute bedlam, one defence source told The Telegraph.

The Armys ageing fleet of Warrior armoured fighting vehicles are being decommissioned - MOD CROWN

The units have faced confusion as the swap from Boxer to Ares came with little warning. There are also concerns about the use of the Ares in an infantry fighting vehicle role, traditionally carried out by the more heavily-armed Warrior.

Ben Obese-Jecty, a retired soldier who is now a Conservative MP, said he was worried about the situation.

The former infantry officer, who operated with Warrior, warned: Its putting lives at risk.

He added: Theres a real problem. The Army has been given the answer to a question it never asked. It seems crazy.

No one Ive spoken to can tell me how to square this circle and find this solution. No one can tell me what an armoured infantry battalion looks like in Ajax.

Four battalions  1 Mercian, 1 Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, 1 Royal Welsh and 5 Rifles  will now be using the Ares platform, a troop-carrying variant of the Ajax, instead of Boxer. They previously operated the Warrior.

Experts have raised concerns over the firepower it would offer, which they fear would leave dismounted soldiers exposed.

The Ares, which was built to ferry specialist soldiers, like those armed with Javelin anti-tank missiles, is touted to be able to provide overwatch to dismounted troops, the Army says.

However, the vehicles main weapon will either be a remotely controlled 7.62mm general purpose machine gun, 12.7mm heavy machine gun, or 40mm grenade machine gun, compared with the Warriors more powerful 30mm cannon and 7.62mm chain gun.

Mastiff patrol vehicles have been donated to Ukrainian forces - Marco Di Lauro/Getty Images

Mr Obese-Jecty said the weapons did not pack the punch needed for the machines to act as traditional infantry fighting vehicles. These are very well-armoured and capable cross-country battle taxis, but you cant lodge an assault in them We will have to rewrite our entire army doctrine if we are going to use Ares, he added.

Army insiders insist troops are not being put at risk, with a source saying: We are not in a position where we are using either Ares or Boxer operationally these are both excellent platforms.

It is understood military top brass are considering bringing a new infantry fighting vehicle into the Army and that the Ares was acting as a stopgap while a decision is taken.

The change of tack seems to have taken place over the past year. In November 2024, Maria Eagle, the former defence procurement minister, said plans would see infantry battalions equipped and structured around the Boxer.

Ben Obese-Jecty, a Conservative MP, says troops cant lodge an assault in tracked variants like the Ares

However, months later this was changed, with Ms Eagles saying in July the Army intended to equip infantry units within 3 Division with Ares in the infantry troop-carrying role.

In a fresh update on Boxer, Luke Pollard, a defence minister, said plans to bring the vehicle into service were under review and could well slip into next year.

Robert Clark, a research fellow at the Yorktown Institute, said the ridiculous situation had left troops confused about which vehicles they would be fielding.

The Army has got a half-fleet of Warriors, which will be replaced by Boxer, and now theyre having to get Ares rushed out in a role its not meant to fill. Its completely chaotic, added the veteran soldier, who previously operated with Warrior.

The Government seems completely unwilling to recognise this fact. There is no clarity from them yet about what this will look like.

He claimed the problem was affecting training schedules for units set to deploy to Europe as part of a mission to protect Natos eastern borders from Russia.

How on earth are the only war-fighting divisions in the Army even thinking about deploying when we dont even know what vehicles we will be deploying in? he added.

These questions will be coming thick and fast for the Government over this.

Military planners are understood to have taken the decision in response to how the Ukraine war has developed.

Senior leaders want to ensure 3rd Divisions fleet of armoured transports are all equipped with tracks and not wheels so they can manoeuvre in the same way, working alongside tanks like the Challengers and other Ajax variants. Using the eight-wheeled Boxer would not fit into this strategy.

The Army has already put in measures to ensure troops will all receive the training needed before they deploy on operations, with a team of experts having already been put in place to deliver this.

The concerns over the delayed rollout of the Boxer were disclosed after it was revealed on Friday that some troops testing the three variants of Ajax during the summer were taken to hospital as a result of noise and vibration concerns.

It is the latest blunder to affect the 6.3bn armoured vehicle programme after 310 army personnel previously needed to have hearing assessments, with 17 involved in the trials reportedly now undergoing treatment for hearing loss.

Cuts and penny-pinching

On Sunday night, James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, accused Labour of delaying the placement of orders in key areas for the Army.

For example, with cross-party support, the British Army gifted a significant part of its AS90 artillery guns to Ukraine, he said. Whilst this was absolutely the right thing to do, the public would have expected rapid procurement of our own new artillery in parallel.

Instead of prioritising in-year cuts and penny-pinching, we need to see much more pace from the Government in new orders for the Army, whilst tackling supply chain glitches on current vehicles already under contract.

The Ministry of Defence was approached for comment.
Sir Keir Starmers spokesman said media takeovers must be closely examined to uphold British democracy - Wiktor Szymanowicz

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted a free and independent press is one of the foundations on which British democracy is built.

The Prime Minister made the announcement as Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, reviewed a bid for The Telegraph by RedBird, a United States-based private equity firm.

Ms Nandy is under pressure from more than 30 peers to investigate Chinese and Emirati links to RedBird, which critics argue could undermine the newspapers editorial independence.

On Monday, the Prime Ministers spokesman said he could not comment on the proposed sale, as it was going through a quasi-judicial process.

It emerged last week that RedBird had been reported to the Government for potentially breaching rules protecting the newspapers editorial independence, after allegedly threatening to go to war with its newsroom.

Sir Keir spoke to the president of the United Arab Emirates on Monday morning and highlighted the value of a closer relationship between the UK and the UAE.

Asked about the Telegraph sale, the Prime Ministers spokesman said: Free and independent press is one of the foundations on which our democracy is built, and there are rightly legal regimes in place in this country to scrutinise media takeovers in the public interest in order to ensure there are no adverse impacts on media freedom and morality, and to prevent influence by foreign states on the substantive issue.

We know that this is now a quasi-judicial process and a decision for the secretary of state [Ms Nandy], something I just cant comment further on.

Lisa Nandy is reviewing a bid for The Telegraph from RedBird, the United States-based private equity firm - Wiktor Szymanowicz

Baron Moore of Etchingham, The Telegraphs former editor, disclosed last month that inquiries by the newspapers journalists into RedBird Capitals bid had prompted Gerry Cardinale, its chief executive, to threaten he would go to war with the entire newsroom.

It was reported previously that the independent directors of Telegraph Media Group have alerted the culture department to the comments, which Mr Moore said were made to current editor Chris Evans.

Separately, free speech campaigner Lord Young of Acton and dozens of Conservative and crossbench colleagues said the bid met the legal threshold of reasonable grounds for suspecting a foreign state could gain influence over the newspaper.

The group called on Ms Nandy to issue a foreign state intervention notice to trigger close scrutiny of RedBird and its relationships in China and the UAE.

They told Ms Nandy to trigger regulatory investigations of RedBirds Chinese links. Its financial ties include an office in Hong Kong, a Hong Kong securities-dealing licence and claims that a Shanghai-based fund is an investor in the firm.

Emirates holds stake in investment firm

A spokesman for Redbird has previously said: There is no Chinese influence in RedBird Capitals proposed acquisition of The Telegraph.

There are no Chinese state funds being invested in this deal. There are no Chinese LPs [limited partners] in RedBird funds.

Laws to prevent foreign state influence over newspapers were introduced last year to block a previous bid for control of the Telegraph by Redbird IMI, an investment vehicle 75 per cent funded by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a senior member of the UAEs ruling dynasty.

The current takeover attempt led by RedBird Capital still includes a 15 per cent passive stake for the UAE, which could be allowed by Ms Nandy after she overturned the Conservatives outright ban of foreign state shareholdings.
Jennings County Sheriff's Office Benjamin J Tackett, Kayla T Thompson

NEED TO KNOW

Benjamin Joseph Tackett and Kayla Therese Thompson, both 25, were were taken into custody on felony neglect charges including neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury

During the investigation, detectives with the Jennings County Sheriff Office discovered the couple's infant daughter was allegedly "suffering from severe malnourishment, hygiene related neglect, severe dermatitis, and developmental delays," per a sheriff's press release

Both parents allegedly admitted to "knowingly" neglecting the child



A mother and father in Indiana have been charged with neglect after their 8-month-old daughter was found malnourished and weighing just nine lbs.

Benjamin Joseph Tackett and Kayla Therese Thompson, both 25, were taken into custody on felony neglect charges including neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury.

During the investigation, detectives with the Jennings County Sheriff Office discovered their infant daughter was suffering from severe malnourishment, hygiene related neglect, severe dermatitis, and developmental delays, per a sheriffs press release.

"It was determined at 8-months-old, the child weighed approximately 9 lbs."

According to the sheriffs office, both parents admitted to knowingly neglecting their daughter.

Benjamin and Kayla advised detectives during interviews that they were tired after work, and at times locked the child in a separate bedroom for approximately 10 hours at a time so they could sleep, per the release.

A warrant was issued for their arrest.

According to the release, the case came to light after the Indiana Department of Child Services reached out to the sheriffs office.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Tackett and Thompson were taken into custody on Nov. 5. Other children in the North Vernon home were removed by the Department of Child Services.

A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 13.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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Hamas fighters gather at the site of the handing over of two Israeli hostages in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, as part of the seventh hostage-prisoner release on February 22, 2025. Photo by Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images

The Arabic-language version of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has been forced to correct over 100 stories a year about the war in Gaza, The Telegraph reported Monday.

Two top BBC officials, Director General Tim Davie and CEO of News Deborah Turness, resigned on Monday after a dossier by Michael Prescott, a former external advisor to the networks Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee, detailing instances of bias was leaked to the Telegraph. A total of 215 stories about the conflict that began with the October 7, 2023, attack by the radical Islamic terrorist group Hamas that killed 1,200 people were were found to be biased, inaccurate or misleading, according to The Telegraph. (RELATED: Leaked Dossier Accuses BBC Of Doctoring Trumps Speech In Documentary: REPORT)

The dossier, which also accused the BBC of doctoring video of President Donald Trumps speech on Jan. 6, 2021, to make it appear he incited the riot at the Capitol building, said the state-funded outlet regularly minimized the suffering of Israelis during the conflict. In one instance, BBC Arabic described some Israeli hostages as being guarded by members of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.

You would think having to issue so many corrections would raise red flags that there was a problem, but Tim Davie has failed to sort it out. Global news director Jonathan Munro refuses to accept anything is wrong, Danny Cohen, a former director of BBC Television, told the Telegraph. In fact, he said BBC Arabics reporters are an unrivalled source of knowledge and editorial content for the wider BBC. This is deeply concerning and speaks volumes about the BBCs failings during the Israel-Hamas war.

The BBC operates under a Royal Charter and is funded through a license fee paid by members of the public, according to its website.

The outlet is also under fire for platforming journalists who expressed antisemitic views, including one who called the perpetrator of a mass shooting at a synagogue a hero, who made 217 appearances on BBC Arabic. Another journalist who called Jews devils made over 500 appearances on the outlet.

BBC News Arabic strives for the highest standards of journalism across its services. Whenever mistakes are made or clarifications are needed, we take action to ensure clarity and accuracy for our audiences, a BBC spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. The Executive Complaints Unit works outside of BBC News and assesses complaints independently.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporters byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
President Donald Trump speaks with members of the press at the White House, Sept. 15, 2025. Harrison Koeppel / Official White House Photo via Flickr / United States Government Work

(The Center Square)  Cornell University will pay $60 million to settle the Trump administration's claims that the Ivy League school discriminated against students with its diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

The settlement will require Cornell, located in upstate New York, to pay the federal government $30 million and invest another $30 million by 2028 on research programs on agriculture, farming and other studies that the Department of Justice said will "support American farmers through lower costs of production and enhanced efficiency."

The university has also agreed to provide the DOJ's Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination as a training resource to faculty and staff, and conduct annual surveys to evaluate the campus climate for Cornell students. The university will also be required to comply with future DOJ inquiries about foreign funding.

In exchange, the Trump administration will restore more than $250 million in federal grants and research funding it terminated or froze earlier this year, and drop federal anti-discrimination investigations against the elite school over its DEI policies, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

The Trump Administration has secured another transformative commitment from an Ivy League institution to end divisive DEl policies," Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. "These reforms are a huge win in the fight to restore excellence to American higher education and make our schools the greatest in the world."

Attorney General Pam Bondi called the deal a "positive outcome that illustrates the value of universities working with this administration" and said the DOJ is "grateful to Cornell for working towards this agreement."

"Recipients of federal funding must fully adhere to federal civil rights laws and ensure that harmful DEI policies do not discriminate against students," she said in a statement.

Cornell is the fourth Ivy League school  including University of Pennsylvania, Brown University and Columbia University  to strike a deal with the Trump administration to restore federal funding. The Trump administration launched an investigation of Cornell and other elite schools in February and froze hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants over the university's "failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment."

Cornell President Michael I. Kotlikoff said the settlement revives a "decades-long research partnership between Cornell and the federal government" while "affirming the universitys commitment to the principles of academic freedom, independence, and institutional autonomy that, from our founding, have been integral to our excellence."

The months of stop-work orders, grant terminations, and funding freezes have stalled cutting-edge research, upended lives and careers, and threatened the future of academic programs at Cornell," he said in a statement. "With this resolution, Cornell looks forward to resuming the long and fruitful partnership with the federal government that has yielded, for so many years, so much progress and well-being for our nation and our world."
An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Michael Blake leaving NBC Studios after the NYC Democratic Mayoral Debate, Image 2 shows Screenshot from the social media post by Mike Blake , Image 3 shows Screenshot from the social media post by Mike Blake

A Democrat challenger to Rep. Ritchie Torres blasted the Bronx politician as beholden to pro-Israel lobbying group  after deleting social media posts showing him rubbing elbows with the same organization.

Former Bronx Assemblyman Michael Blake, who is looking to unseat Torres in a Democratic Party primary next year, scrubbed posts touting his attendance at an event by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as he went on a tirade against the three-term incumbent.

I am ready to fight for you and lower your cost of living while Ritchie fights for a Genocide, said Blake, who finished eighth in a ranked-choice Democratic primary for New York City mayor.

Former Bronx Assemblyman Michael Blake is running against incumbent Rep. Ritchie Torres in the Democratic primary for New Yorks 15th Congressional District. Christopher Sadowski

I will focus on Affordable Housing and Books as Ritchie will only focus on AIPAC and [Israeli Prime Minister] Bibi [Netanyahu]. I will invest in the community. Ritchie invests in Bombs. I want to end credit scores for housing. Ritchie only wants to take credit.

But Blake had previously taken a pro-Israel stance and attended AIPAC events from 2014 to 2017.

Honored to share the AIPAC stage, Blake under the handle MikeBlake1922 gushed on March 28, 2017, while attending an AIPAC event.

He even posted a photo of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu talking about compassion of the people@AIPAC.

Blake cross-endorsed Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani before the June Democratic primary, which saw Torres endorse ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Torres didnt endorse Mamdani after he won the primary and went on to win in the general election last week.

Blake deleted photos of him attending the 2014 AIPAC conference after bashing Torres over his support for Israel. mikeblake1922/Instagram

Blake attended AIPAC conferences from 2014 to 2017. mikeblake1922/Instagram

A photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the 2014 AIPAC conferences posted by Blake. mikeblake1922/Instagram

Torres also flirted with running for governor, fiercely attacking Democratic incumbent Kathy Hochul before backing off and deciding to run for re-election to his 15th District House seat.

Other lefty Democrats have joined Blake to file primary challenges to try to knock off incumbents in the wake of democratic socialist Mamdanis victory, including Brooklyn Councilman Chi Osse, whom The Post reported Sunday is gearing up to primary House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

New York Jewish activists slammed Blake for flipping on Israel as an opportunistic and soulless ploy to win office.

Blake accused Torres of fighting for a Genocide. ZUMAPRESS.com

When you delete every pro-Israel post you ever made on the eve of an election, youre not just throwing your Jewish friends under the bus  youre deleting your sincerity and integrity in the process, said Mark Treyger, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council.

At a time of rising hate and deep division, New Yorkers need leaders who are honest, honorable, and inclusive, with the utmost integrity  not ones who deepen division and rewrite their values every election cycle, he said.

Brooklyn Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein said of Blakes turn on Israel, So who is the real

@MrMikeBlake ? Just a few months ago , when he asked me to endorse him in the mayoral primary (despite his inability to garner even 1% of the vote), he referred to himself as the most pro-Israel candidate in the race, with a record to reflect that.

Did all that change when he was looking for an angle to challenge @RitchieTorres?

Blake ended his bid for New York City mayor after finishing eight in the Democratic primary. Michael Nagle

Torres campaign spokesman Benjamin Stanislawski responded, Michael Blake is not interested in the Bronx; hes only interested in using it to run for office for the fifth time, and the result will be the same as before: another loss.

Theres a reason Bronx voters trust Ritchie Torres. Hes been their champion in Congress, laser-focused on issues like public housing and affordability while standing up to Donald Trump. Thats why hes going to win again next year.

Blake had no immediate comment.

Torres is a former city councilman who represents the 15th Congressional District, which stretches from the north to the south Bronx and includes the neighborhoods of Allerton, Bathgate, Baychester, Belmont, Claremont, Fordham, Melrose, Morrisania, Morris Park, Mott Haven, Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Tremont, Olinville, Norwood, Highbridge , Van Nest, West Farms, Williamsbridge and Woodlawn.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., led a letter asking the GAO to investigate political shutdown messages posted on federal websites. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

WASHINGTON  A group of Senate Democrats is pushing for an investigation into the Trump administrations use of federal agency websites and emails to post partisan messages blaming Democrats for the government shutdown.

In a letter obtained by NBC News, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and other Democrats ask the Government Accountability Office to open a probe into whether the political messages violated federal appropriations laws.

The lawmakers point specifically to a rule that prohibits the executive branch from using funds for purely partisan purposes. They are asking for more information from the GAO to see if several agencies violated laws that pertain to ethics and partisan political activity.

Text shown on the USDA's website. (USDA)

As NBC News previously reported, multiple agencies have posted messages on their official federal websites blaming Democrats and the radical left for the shutdown. Some also encouraged employees to post similar messages in their out-of-office replies. And five employees of the Education Department told NBC News that their automatic email replies were changed to partisan messages without their consent.

The letter points to a message posted two days before funding lapsed at the end of September on the Housing and Urban Development Departments website as an example. The Radical Left are going to shut down the government and inflict massive pain on the American people unless they get their $1.5 trillion wish list of demands, the post read. The Trump administration wants to keep the government open for the American people.

Once the shutdown began, it was amended to: The Radical Left shut down the government. HUD will use available resources to help Americans in need.

A spokesperson for HUD defended the message to NBC News in October, saying it was carefully crafted not to blame a political party, but instead focused on an ideology.

The departments of Agriculture, Justice and the Treasury, as well as the Small Business Administration, used similar language on their websites, with some specifically naming Democrats. The Transportation Security Administration began playing videos at some airports nationwide that blamed the shutdown on Democrats as well.

Text shown on the FDA website. (FDA)

The letter cites all of these examples as evidence and was signed by 11 other Democratic senators: Angela Alsobrooks and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland; Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut; Cory Booker and Andy Kim of New Jersey; Kirsten Gillibrand of New York; Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff of California; Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware; Tina Smith of Minnesota; and Ron Wyden of Oregon.

The group is also asking the GAO to make a legal determination about whether out-of-office messages that were changed without federal employees consent violate federal laws.

The American Federation of Government Employees filed a lawsuit last month on behalf of the Education Department employees, and a federal judge ruled Friday that the altered partisan language violated their First Amendment rights, deeming the move unconstitutional.

Senate Democrats note in their letter to the GAO that federal law bars agencies from using any appropriated funds to generate publicity designed to influence Congress in supporting or opposing legislation or appropriations.

When agencies violate restrictions on the use of appropriated funds for publicity or propaganda, GAO usually finds that those actions also violate the Antideficiency Act, the lawmakers write.

They are also asking the GAO to identify any and all officials who were responsible for the decision to post partisan messages related to the shutdown. Beyond that, the senators are seeking the costs associated with the messages, including personnel and technology expenses used at each applicable agency.

Lastly, the Democrats are asking the GAO whether the ongoing shutdown might impact its ability to decide whether and how any of the relevant regulations were violated.

The GAO is run by the comptroller of the United States, Gene Dodaro, who has served in that position since 2008.
FILE PHOTO: A view shows a board with the logo of Lukoil company during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 19, 2025. REUTERS/Anton Vaganov/File Photo

By Ahmed Rasheed

BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Lukoil declared force majeure at its Iraqi oil field, sources told Reuters on Monday, and Bulgaria was poised to seize its Burgas refinery, as the Russian company's international operations buckled under the strain of U.S. sanctions.

The force majeure at the West Qurna-2 field in Iraq marks the biggest fallout yet from the sanctions imposed on Russian oil majors Lukoil and Rosneft last month as part of U.S. President Donald Trump's push to end the war in Ukraine.

Four sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that Lukoil sent a letter to Iraq's oil ministry last Tuesday saying force majeure conditions prevented it from continuing normal operations at West Qurna-2.

Lukoil did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Monday.

Lukoil is the Russian company with the most exposure to international markets. Its attept to sell its foreign assets to Swiss commodity trader Gunvor failed last week after the U.S. Treasury signalled Washington opposed the deal.

LUKOIL RISKS EXITING ITS MOST PRIZED FOREIGN ASSET

Located 65 kilometres (40 miles) northwest of the port of Basra, West Qurna-2 is one of the world's largest oilfields and Lukoil's most prized foreign asset.

It accounts for around 9% of Iraq's total oil output and is currently producing around 480,000 barrels per day, two oilfield officials said.

If the reasons behind the force majeure are not resolved within six months, Lukoil will shut production and exit the project entirely, a senior Iraqi oil industry official said.

Reuters had reported last week that Iraq's state oil firm SOMO cancelled loadings of three crude oil cargoes from Lukoil's equity production at the oilfield over the sanctions.

And three of the sources on Monday said Iraq had halted all cash and crude payments to the company due to the sanctions.

Payments to Lukoil will remain frozen until there is a contractual adjustment securing a mechanism for developing the oilfield and a way of making payments to non-sanctioned entities, said one of the sources, an oil ministry official.

About 4 million barrels of crude oil allocated for in-kind payments to Lukoil for November have, meanwhile, been cancelled, the official said.

SOMO will not be able to continue its crude oil supply contract with Lukoil until the issues behind these sanctions are resolved, the source added.

BULGARIA PREPARES TO SEIZE BURGAS REFINERY

By declaring force majeure as permitted under its contract, Lukoil is seeking legal protection against penalties for failing to meet contractual obligations with the oil ministry, another Iraqi official said.

Lukoil in an email sent on Friday terminated the services of all non-Russian foreign staff, a manager at West Qurna-2 said, meaning only Russian and Iraqi Lukoil staff remain.

Separately on Monday, Bulgaria's Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov said authorities were conducting inspections and implementing security measures at Lukoil's Burgas oil refinery.

The government is looking to sustain its operation while preparing to seize control of the site.

Last week, Bulgaria adopted legal changes allowing it to take over the refinery and sell it to a new owner.

(Reporting by Aref Mohammed and Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Ahmed Rasheed and Yousef Saba; Editing by Joe Bavier and Jason Neely)
Early Voting Begins In Western North Carolina As Residents Continue Recovery From Hurricane Helene Devastation (Photo by Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

The Republican National Committee responded to 28 bomb threats and nearly 500 tips while Americans voted Nov. 4, officials told the Daily Caller, the latest example of their efforts to secure election integrity.

Ahead of the 2025 elections, the RNC put an election integrity team on the ground in both Virginia and New Jersey and invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the cycle, the Caller previously reported. Prior to Election Day, the party recruited 964 poll workers in New Jersey and successfully placed 463 on Election Day, more than double what had been achieved in previous years, the Caller learned. (RELATED: Inside Team Trumps Big Bet On Election Integrity  And How It Paid Off)

Election integrity is essential, and the RNC is leading the fight to secure the ballot. This cycle, we are building a strong ground operation with staff, attorneys, and volunteers to ensure accountability at every level, RNC Chairman Joe Gruters told the Caller in a statement.

In New Jersey and Virginia, our teams resolved hundreds of issues in real time, defended ballot security laws, and made sure every lawful vote was counted. While Democrats try to make it easier to cheat, Republicans are safeguarding confidence in our elections, the chairman continued.

A man exits a voting booth at a polling station in Lancaster, New Hampshire, on Election Day, November 5, 2024. (Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images)

The increase in poll workers and volunteer attorneys on the ground in both New Jersey and Virginia helped the RNC respond to 478 reports of voting issues on election day, the party shared with the Caller. The reports ranged from polling place disturbances and machine malfunctions to voter check-in and accessibility concerns.

A party election integrity official told the Caller that they tracked bomb threats at 28 locations during last Tuesdays voting, which affected 37 precincts.

The official explained to the Caller how they respond to such security threats in real time. The party will get an immediate notification of election integrity concerns from one of their poll observers on the ground, and then the worker tracks how long voting booths are closed.

We just tried to continuously feed information back up to the beast so that we at the top can then communicate to elected officials, to local police, to the registrars of election, whomever is in charge at that specific location  so we know exactly what what theyre tracking, and we just try to have a dialogue, the party official told the Caller.

And its never antagonistic. It is just truly dialogue. So we can, you know, help communicate and find a solution, the official continued.

People stand in voting booths during early voting for the 2024 presidential election at the Reno  Sparks Indian Colony in Reno, Nevada, on October 19, 2024. (Photo by ALEJANDRA RUBIO/AFP via Getty Images)

The party also got involved in a lawsuit in New Jersey to stop the Bergen County Board of Elections from counting over 300 naked ballots, which did not have an inner envelope. The judge sided with the party, ruling that the ballots violated the law.

Since breaking free of a 1982 consent decree in 2018, the GOP has been building up its election integrity efforts. The RNC finally began diving head first into the election integrity realm in 2022, an official previously told the Caller. Then-RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel established an official department for election integrity following the 2022 midterm elections which allowed the party to pull resources from all departments, such as communications, politics, and legal, the Caller previously reported.

The 2024 election cycle was about building the department up, and positioned the party to continue to make real progress in the 2025 off-year election and the 2026 midterms, an official previously told the Caller. Coming off a strong presidential election cycle for the department, a RNC official told the Caller that they were able to put boots on the ground much earlier in Virginia and New Jersey than in years past.

Before doing that, the party recruited 1,500 election judges in Pennsylvania, the official shared, adding that they had a team in California tracking the Proposition 50 gerrymandering proposal. In Wisconsin, the party is continuing to work on recruiting poll workers, the official shared.

The official told the Caller that the department has not stopped working on the election integrity despite Trumps victory in November. The department kept a full staff while other departments lost people who joined the administration.

What we have at the RNC is we have more continuity than any department of staff that are true believers in building an election integrity operation, the official told the Caller. Everybody that is on our team right now participated in election integrity in one way, shape or form, last election cycle.
Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/Getty Images Travelers waiting in line at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) as flight reductions continue.

Key Points

As the government shutdown nears a possible resolution, flight disruptions continue nationwide due to FAA capacity cuts and staffing shortages.

Some of the hardest hit airports include those in Atlanta, Chicago, and Newark, with hundreds of cancellations and delays.

Even after the shutdown ends, air travel may take several days to fully recover as airlines reposition aircraft and crews.

While a potential resolution to the government shutdown is in the works, travelers are still facing cancellations or delays at airports throughout the United States.



On Sunday, the Senate took a major step forward towards reopening the government in a 60 to 40 vote in favor of a continuing resolution to fund the federal government through Jan. 30. The bill must first pass some final rounds of voting in the Senate before it can go to the HouseSpeaker Mike Johnson has stated that he hopes for a Wednesday vote, and gave members 36 hours to return to Washington, D.C. Afterwards, the CR will need to land on the President's desk for the shutdown to officially end.



As the process drags on, travelers are still facing nationwide delays and cancellations, as the FAA continues to restrict the volume of flights across the country, due to staffing issues with air traffic control and Transportation Security Administration officers. Total flight capacity will be cut as much as 10 percent, the Department of Transportation previously revealed. If the shutdown continues, flights could be reduced to a trickle, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNN.



The hardest hit airports on Sunday, Nov. 9, included Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) with 221 flights cancelled, Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) with 200 flights cancelled, and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) with 177 flights cancelled, according to data from aviation analytics company Cirium.



Airlines have been providing advance notice of flight cancellations, offering rebooking options, and the opportunity to cancel completely without charge.



Any customer who doesnt want to travel can have a refund, even if their flight isnt impacted, a United Airlines spokesperson said in a statement to Travel + Leisure. We encourage travelers to download the United app for updates.



The DOT has also published an order to restrict general aviation and private aviation from some of the largest airports in the United States, in an effort to ease congestion and provide priority to commercial flights.

The private aviation restrictions include airports in ORD in Chicago, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Denver International Airport (DEN), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), and SeattleTacoma International Airport (SEA), according to a press release from the National Business Aviation Association.



Even after the shutdown ends, some of the impacts may be felt for a substantial amount of time. On Sunday, Secretary Duffy shared that nearly 15 to 20 air traffic controllers are retiring each day since the shutdown, compared to an average of 4 before the shutdown.



Beyond the staffing issues, the recovery time for airlines themselves could take several days as companies rebase airplanes, crew, and accommodate passengers who have not been able to catch an originally scheduled flight.



"Itll be two or three days based on past examples," a Cirium spokesperson shared with T+L. "Aircraft are parked as optimally as possible."



However, the recovery will not be as disruptive as if it were a winter storm, Cirium says, due to the aircraft locations.



Travelers who are planning to fly over the next week are encouraged to check the flight status before leaving home, arrive early for longer than usual security lines, and consider backup options before the departure day.

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure
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Blues posters, pictures and drawings are displayed for sale at Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Art in Clarksdale, MS.

The Delta stretches across northwestern Mississippi like a big fallen leaf, tucked between two rivers. It spans 220 miles north to south and, at its widest, 87 miles east to west.

How can so many great musical artists come from so small a place? As historian Ted Gioia observed, the Deltas influence on American music is so pervasive today that it is almost impossible to take full measure of its impact.

Here are 16 great Delta blues artists. All are Black. Fifteen are men.

From Clarksdale to Yazoo City: tracing the roots of Delta blues and the musicians who gave it a voice.

Many of Americas greatest blues artists are women, including Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Sister Rosetta Tharpe  but they werent from the Delta. The royal lineage that stretches from Charley Patton through Robert Johnson to B.B. King is largely a procession of men with guitars.

W.C. Handy: Bandleader William Christopher Handy claimed to have discovered the blues around 1903 while waiting for a train in the Delta town of Tutwiler, where a local serenaded him with a song about goin where the Southern cross the Dog. Handy moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and penned arguably the first blues hit, Memphis Blues, published in 1912.

Charley Patton: The first great Delta bluesman learned music on the Dockery Plantation, a legendary blues incubator. In a series of recordings between 1929 and 1934, Patton wrote the vocabulary of Delta blues, introducing songs and lyrical themes that would be passed down for generations, including the Great Flood epic High Water Everywhere.

An exhibit of performers is seen at Club Ebony in Indianola, MS.

Son House: Eddie James House Jr. was born in 1902 near the Delta blues mecca of Clarksdale. House shot a man dead in 1928 and did time at Parchman Farm, a holding tank for several blues icons. Under Pattons wing, House recorded the epic 1930 sides My Black Mama and Preachin the Blues. Then, he faded into obscurity, only to be rediscovered in the 1960s amid a folk blues revival.

The journey: We followed the music of the blues from 'the most Southern place on earth'

Skip James: Nehemiah Curtis James grew up on the Woodbine Plantation, near Yazoo City, Mississippi. He developed a unique, three-fingered picking style on the guitar. In 1931, he recorded the haunting Devil Got My Woman and Hard Time Killing Floor Blues, singing in a supernatural moan. James, too, was forgotten, but folk revivalists resurfaced him in the 1960s. He performed at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island.

A mural with a depiction of Robert Johnson is seen on the side of Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, MS.

Robert Johnson: Born in Hazlehurst, Mississippi, Johnson learned the blues by shadowing Patton and House. He vanished for a spell and then returned with unearthly gifts, having purportedly sold his soul to the devil at a lonely crossroads. In 1936 and 1937, he recorded songs that marked the apex of classic Delta blues, including I Believe Ill Dust My Broom, Cross Road Blues and Hell Hound on My Trail. He died in 1938, all but forgotten until his rediscovery amid the folk blues revival.

Muddy Waters performs in Paris, France in 1963.

Muddy Waters: McKinley Morganfield was born in 1913 and grew up on Stovall Plantation, near Clarksdale. He formed a band and studied the work of House and Johnson. Then, he moved to Chicago, a prime destination for African Americans in the Great Migration. Around 1945, tired of boisterous Chicago crowds, he went electric, creating a whole new idiom of Chicago blues. His breakout 1948 single, I Cant Be Satisfied, might be the signature recording of postwar blues.

John Lee Hooker performs in Paris, France in 1990.

John Lee Hooker: The facts are hazy, but Hooker came out of the Delta and migrated north to Detroit, where he made his first recordings in 1948. He scored a hit in 1949 with Boogie Chillen, becoming one of the first guitarists to top the R&B charts. After many singles on independent labels, Hooker crossed over to mainstream success in the folk blues revival. In 1980, he performed Boom Boom in the film The Blues Brothers, cementing his status as a giant of postwar blues.

B.B. King performs in 1979.

B.B. King: Born in the Delta in 1925, Riley B. King crisscrossed Mississippi as a child, working as a sharecropper and migrating with kin. He learned the guitar and formed a gospel quartet in Indianola and then struck out on his own as a sidewalk blues performer. He moved to Memphis, broke into radio and developed a new style of solo guitar, based on the natural vibrato of the human voice. He scored his first hit in 1951 with 3 OClock Blues, launching a career that would redefine the role of guitars and guitarists in popular music. His best-known song is the 1969 single The Thrill Is Gone.

Ike Turner, circa 1970.

Ike Turner: Izear Turner grew up in Clarksdale. By age 18, he worked as a DJ and led his own band. In 1951, Turner took his group to Memphis and recorded Rocket 88, a song later cited as the first rock 'n' roll record. He soared to greater fame with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, a band powered by perhaps the greatest frontwoman in rhythm and blues. Their hits include River Deep  Mountain High and an incendiary cover of John Fogertys Proud Mary. Subsequent reports of domestic abuse would dim his legend.

Howlin' Wolf smiling beside an electric guitar, 1960s.

Howlin Wolf: Born near West Point, Mississippi, in 1910, Chester Arthur Burnett hitched a train to the Delta at 13. He studied under Charley Patton and developed a distinctive howl. In 1953, Wolf migrated north to Chicago, where he came to rival Waters in renown, recording the classics Spoonful, Smokestack Lightning and Back Door Man. Wolfs voice, a bone-rattling growl, is his greatest legacy.

Willie Dixon plays the double bass during a concert in the 1960s.

Willie Dixon: Born at the Deltas southern tip in 1915, Dixon followed the Great Migration to Chicago. There, he penned some of the greatest blues songs of the century, delivering hits to Waters, Wolf and other blues greats. His compositions include Back Door Man, Hoochie Coochie Man, Little Red Rooster and Spoonful.

Musician Sonny Boy Williamson performing on stage, Nov. 18, 1964.

Sonny Boy Williamson: Perhaps the greatest Delta harmonica player, Williamson was born Alex Ford around 1912. In the 1930s, he traveled the region and performed with Robert Johnson. In 1941, he landed a coveted DJ job on radio station KFFA in Helena, Arkansas, on the program King Biscuit Time. Sponsors rechristened him Sonny Boy Williamson, a name that belonged to another musician. Nowadays, historians call him Sonny Boy II. His signature recordings include Eyesight to the Blind.

Elmore James: Born in Richland, Mississippi, in 1918, James first played a one-string guitar and then built a multi-stringed instrument out of a lard can. He studied slide guitar with Johnson. His recording of Dust My Broom became an R&B hit in 1952. After that, James migrated between Mississippi and Chicago, touring and recording such classics as The Sky Is Crying and It Hurts Me Too. James is regarded today as King of the Slide Guitar.

Denise LaSalle: Born in Leflore County, Mississippi, Ora Denise Allen grew up in a sharecropper family in Belzoni and sang in church choirs. She broke through in 1971 with the hit Trapped By a Thing Called Love, recorded in Memphis. More hits followed, including Now Run and Tell That and Man Sized Job, cutting across the genres of soul and blues. By the time of her death in 2018, LaSalle was R&B royalty.

Albert King during the 1970s.

Albert King: Many B.B. King acolytes appeared in the years that followed his rise, but none could top Albert King. He was born Albert Nelson in Indianola, the Mississippi city where B.B. King reached adulthood. He adopted his heros last name and claimed to be his half-brother, which he was not. Albert King gained traction in 1967 with the album Born Under a Bad Sign. B.B. King marked him as a rival, and the two waged legendary guitar battles onstage. Albert King proved influential in his own right, with an explosive style that inspired many blues rockers.

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram performs at the Recording Academy Memphis Membership Celebration at Halloran Centre for Performing Arts & Education on June 20, 2022 in Memphis.

Christone Kingfish Ingram: Born in 1999 in Clarksdale, Ingram, 26, embodies the next generation of Delta blues. He learned from the masters, and he was playing gigs by adolescence. Since 2019, he has released four albums, won a Grammy, opened for the Rolling Stones and lent his name to a custom Fender Telecaster guitar.

Portions of this report were adapted from the Grove Atlantic book King of the Blues: The Rise and Reign of B.B. King, written by Daniel de Vise.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Here are 16 artists who spread Delta blues across America
Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza attends an event. Photo: Greg Bishop / The Center Square

(The Center Square)  Transparency is a key talking point for Illinois comptroller candidates.

One Republican and five Democrats have filed nominating petitions to replace outgoing Comptroller Susana Mendoza, who announced earlier this year she would not seek reelection.

State Rep. Margaret Croke, D-Chicago, said transparency is incredibly important.

One of the big things I would love to see if Im lucky enough to be the next comptroller is that we have literally from the budget that the General Assembly passes to paying the bill where a taxpayer can see the entire life cycle of our taxpayer money, Croke said.

Croke said she wants to leave the state fiscally healthy for the next generation.

State Rep. Stephanie Kifowit, D-Oswego, State Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim and Champaign County Auditor George Danos are also seeking the Democratic nomination.

Kim said she is the only candidate who is already doing the comptroller function.

Currently, all checks, billions of dollars, come out of my office with my name on them, so you can be assured of that integrity and that oversight. With my tech background, I plan to do a lot of modernizing, software improvement as well, Kim said.

When The Center Square asked her about the states late reporting of financial reports, Kim said theres no teeth to the law governing audit deadlines.

One of the things we could look into is how we could add some teeth to it so people do file their audits more timely, Kim suggested.

Earlier this year, Kifowit told The Center Square she would work to make financial audits of state spending more timely.

And certainly, making sure that  not only the office is accountable, but the whole state of Illinois is accountable to the taxpayers, she said.

Illinois is among the states with the most tardy comprehensive annual financial reports.

Villas website says she has the endorsements of Illinois U.S. Reps Delia Ramirez and Jesus Chuy Garcia and Illinois Senate President Don Harmon.

Danos is the only downstate Democrat in the field. His duties as auditor include providing a continuous internal audit of Champaign County's financial transactions.

The lone Republican, attorney Bryan Drew, is from the southern Illinois city of Benton.

Drew said right now its nearly impossible for taxpayers to figure out where their money is being spent.

So I think it needs to be made a lot more transparent and a lot more easily accessible to the average Illinoisan who is really the one paying all these taxes, Drew told The Center Square.

Drew said he wants to be part of the solution, adding that people have been too quiet about spending on non-governmental organizations.

Recently its been found that a billion dollars are going to NGOs in Illinois, and theres really no transparency about why or what these organizations really do. I think its something the taxpayers are entitled to know about, where their moneys going, Drew said.

Illinois Democratic and Republican primary elections are scheduled for March 17, 2026. The general election is Nov. 3, 2026.

Greg Bishop contributed to this story.
Some are calling it a compromise, others a caving-in. Eight Democratic Senators on Sunday joined their GOP colleagues to break the impasse over government funding that had resulted in the longest-ever federal shutdown in U.S. history.

Its only a first step toward reopening the government, but President Donald Trump described the development as getting close to the end of the shutdown, which entered its 41st day on Monday and has resulted in hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed, thousands of flights delayed or cancelled due to staffing challenges, and millions facing dwindling food assistance benefits.

Senate Democrats had been withholding their support for a House-passed funding bill over healthcare subsidies they wanted extended, but the eight Democrats who broke rank with their party leadership said they agreed to a handshake deal with the White House and Senate Republicans to back a stopgap measure to fund the government through January in return for a promised future vote on those healthcare subsidies, though the Republicans did not pledge their support for extending them.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D, N.Y.) emerged from a party meeting before the procedural vote on the continuing resolution Sunday saying that he would vote no and expressing disappointment in Republicans for not accepting his earlier compromise offer of supporting the governments reopening in exchange for a one-year extension of healthcare subsidies. However this vote turns out, he said before the continuing resolution passed 60-40, with the help of the eight members of his own caucus, this fight will and must continue.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D, N.Y.) said House Democrats would not support the funding bill when it returns to the House, where Republicans have a razor-thin majority to pass it without Democratic support. I dont think that the House Democratic caucus is prepared to support a promise, a wing and a prayer, from folks who have been devastating the health care of the American people for years, Jeffries said earlier Sunday on Meet the Press about the reported deal the eight Senate Democrats made.

Whats in the deal?

The continuing resolution acts as a legislative vehicle to reopen the government, and will extend government funding till Jan. 30, 2026.

The legislation will also put an end to the mass firings of federal workers by the Trump Administration during the shutdown, reverse those that have happened, and guarantee back pay. It also includes a prohibition on additional reductions-in-force by government departments and agencies until the end of January.

The agreement also included a larger funding package, bundled with the continuing resolution, that includes three full-year appropriations bills that would fund military construction, veterans affairs, the legislative branch, and the Department of Agriculture till Sept. 30, 2026. As part of that, the bill will reinstate funding for health care for veterans; the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) federal assistance program; and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which the Trump Administration had ordered states to undo full payments of.

Included in that package is $204 million to fund enhanced security for Congressmembers and $852 million for U.S. Capitol Police, as well as $812 million for the Government Accountability Officethe same as last fiscal yearwhich House Republicans had sought to significantly cut down.

A group of Democrats had been engaged in weeks of closed-door negotiations with Republicans. The resultant deal promised that at least eight Democratic Senatorsthe minimum needed to advance a bill without eliminating the filiibusterwould vote in favor of advancing the funding package.

In exchange for the Democrats votes, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R, S.D.) promised a vote in mid-December on an extension bill for ACA subsidies of Democrats choosing.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R, La.), however, has made no similar promises for a House vote.

Who is involved and how have others reacted?

Thune, members of the Appropriations Committee, and reportedly Trump, were in talks with several Democrats around a deal to end the shutdown. The seven Democrats and one independent who caucuses with the Democrats who sided with Senate Republicans on the bill were Jeanne Shaheen (D, N.H.), John Fetterman (D, Pa.), Tim Kaine (D, Va.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D, Nev.), Dick Durbin (D, Ill.), Maggie Hassan (D, N.H.), Angus King (I, Maine), and Jacky Rosen (D, Nev.).

Rand Paul (R, Ky.) was the sole Republican to vote against the bill.

Kaine defended his vote, saying the deal guarantees a vote to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, which Republicans werent willing to do, and he expressed confidence that that vote would ultimately result in an extension of those subsidies.

Lawmakers know their constituents expect them to vote for it, and if they dont, they could very well be replaced at the ballot box by someone who will, Kaine said in a statement.

Shaheen said in a statement that the deal gives Democrats control of the Senate floorat a time when Republicans control every level of poweron one of our top legislative priorities.

This is a major step that was not predetermined, Shaheen said. But weeks of negotiations with Republicans have made clear that they will not address health care as part of shutdown talksand that waiting longer will only prolong the pain Americans are feeling because of the shutdown.

But several Democrats criticized the promised future vote as far from a guarantee.

I am unwilling to accept a vague promise of a vote at some indeterminate time, on some undefined measure that extends the healthcare tax credits, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D, Conn.), told reporters before the vote. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I, Vt.) called it a policy and political disaster for the Democrats to cave.

California Gov. Gavin Newsoms press office posted on X, Pathetic. This isnt a deal. Its a surrender. Dont bend the knee!

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D, Mich.), who had been part of earlier talks around a funding deal, ended up voting no, as did Sens. Jon Ossoff (D, Ga.), Tammy Baldwin (D, Wis.), and Peter Welch (D, Vt.).

I was involved for many weeks then over the last couple weeks, it changed, Slotkin told reporters on Sunday evening, adding that she was not involved in final negotiations. I always said its got to do something concrete on health care and its hard to see how that happened.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D, N.Y.) said in a post that the average monthly ACA benefit per person of $550 outweighs that of SNAP at $177. People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. Its about peoples lives, she wrote.

What comes next?

Now that the Senate has voted to pass the stopgap measure, Senators are extended to amend the legislation with the broader bill appropriations package. The bill will then face more procedural votes in the Senate, which the group of eight Democrats pledged their support for.

After that, it returns to the House for final passage before it can be sent to Trumps desk. That means the bills passageand the government reopeningcould face several more delays.

We will fight the GOP bill in the House of Representatives, where Mike Johnson will be compelled to end the seven week Republican taxpayer-funded vacation, Jeffries said.

Even if the shutdown comes to an end soon, most of the government will only have funding secured through January, which could lead to further stalemate in the not too distant future.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
Illustration: Eddie Marshall | ballotpedia | publicsource | Justin Lynn Facebook

It wasn't just the Democratic Party that did well on Election Day this year. The Libertarian Party won several notable local races.

In Renovo, Pennsylvania, voters elected Justin Lynn mayor. Lynn, a lifelong Libertarian, told WNEP, a local ABC affiliate, that he'll prioritize fiscal restraint, saying Renovo is "four times the national average of poverty" and lacks the tax revenue of larger municipalities. He begins his term on January 1.

Elsewhere in Pennsylvania, 22-year-old Reece Smith won a seat on the Carlynton School Board, which serves the boroughs of Carnegie, Crafton, and Rosslyn Farms. While he also ran on the Republican and Democratic tickets, Smith openly identified as a member of the Libertarian Party and the state and county parties publicly recognized his affiliation.* On his website, Smith criticized the board's decision making process, writing: "The School Board makes too many decisions behind closed doors." He has pledged to push for greater transparency and public input, to conduct an audit of the budget, and to reevaluate the lunches that schools provide to students.

The Libertarian Party also scored some victories in Michigan. Chris Clark, a party member, won a seat on the Taylor City Council in a nonpartisan race. Clark's platform includes some ideas that are at least libertarian-flavored, such as a property tax freeze for senior homeowners on fixed incomes, but it also includes several measures that libertarians would typically reject, such as expanding code enforcement, offering city-backed loans to small businesses, and applying "aggressively" for state and federal infrastructure subsidies.

In Detroit, Scotty Boman was elected to the city's Board of Police Commissioners. Boman is well-known within the Libertarian Party of Michigan, where he has served as both vice chair and political director. His election placed a prominent Libertarian voice in a position involved in police oversight and departmental accountability.

The results in Renovo, Carlynton, Taylor, and Detroit don't mean that a Libertarian wave is about to sweep the nation. The Libertarian Party has usually had its best results on the local level, and this is in line with that history. But if nothing else, these wins are another reminder of the country's simmering discontent with the two major partiesand of the Libertarian alternative waiting to step in when Republicans and Democrats fail.

*CORRECTION: This article originally misstated the partisan nature of Smith's race and his party affiliation on the ballot.

The post Libertarians Quietly Notch Local Wins in Michigan and Pennsylvania appeared first on Reason.com.
Electric vehicle charges are seen at a Tesla Supercharger station. Photo: Alan Wooten / The Center Square

(The Center Square)  As Michigan ramps up its push for an electric future in transportation, the state is rolling out new grants to expand the electric vehicle infrastructure.

It recently announced $1.84 million in taxpayer-funded grants through the Clean Fuel and Charging Infrastructure Program.

That amount makes up just the first two rounds of funding. In total, $30 million was allocated to the program in 2024 as a one-time amount.

The $1.84 million funded 201 new electric vehicle charging stations at 31 multifamily properties across Michigan. That means each station cost an average of $9,200.

The next two rounds of funding, which should be announced soon, will also fund stations as multifamily properties. According to a statement from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, which implements the program, this is because those sites often lack at-home charging options.

This is all part of a broader clean energy plan that Michigan is hoping to implement, titled the MI Healthy Climate Plan.

As part of that plan, the state plans to build out the infrastructure to support 2 million EVs on Michigan roads by 2030.

Currently, the state reports 1,700 charging locations across Michigan. To support its 2030 goal, Michigan will need approximately 10,000 DCFC and 90,000 Level 2 chargers, making this program just a small part of the states overall EV charger plan.

This is just one of many grant programs funded by the taxpayers in Michigan that are pushing this climate plan.

Another example is a recently announced new round of funding totaling $35.9 million for electric school buses. This funding is part of the Michigan Department of Educations $125 million Clean Bus Energy Grant program, which will help 23 schools and districts add 87 electric buses and 10 propane buses to fleets across the state.

While the typical new diesel school bus can cost in the $125,000 to $150,000 range, electric school buses are substantially more expensive. Many electric school buses currently cost about $300,000 to $400,000.

The MDEs grant program is allocating about $370,000 per bus. Interim State Superintendent Sue C. Carnell applauded the funding.

Children and others in their communities benefit from cleaner air, she said. We are happy to work with our partners at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to make our state greener.
The U.S. Capitol with the dome and an American flag against a blue sky in Washington, D.C. Photo: Caroline Boda / The Center Square

(The Center Square) - Progress on Affordable Care Act tax credits was enough to convince U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada, to join seven fellow Democrats and one independent to vote to end America's longest federal government shutdown.

The updated continuing resolution passed 60-40 on its 15th vote Sunday night. It's the first of the bills needed to reopen the government, and the revised legislation will need to go back to the U.S. House for its vote.

Republicans have 53 seats in the Senate, but 60 were required because of the chambers filibuster rule. Eight votes from Democrats and independents were needed because one Republican, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against the measure. The GOP secured the remaining votes it needed from Rosen, and four other Democrats: Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, both of New Hampshire.; Tim Kaine of Virginia and Dick Durbin of Illinois.

Also voting for the bill were those who previously supported it: Democrats Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and an independent, Angus King of Maine.

Rosen, Shaheen, Hassan, Kaine and Durbin decided to vote for the legislation after Republicans over the weekend agreed to guarantee a vote on extending the Affordable Care Act's enhanced Premium Tax Credit and reverse the Trump administrations layoffs during the shutdown. It also blocks any additional layoffs from happening while the continuing resolution remains in effect, as reported earlier by The Center Square.

The tax credits under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, expire Dec. 31, and supporters say Americans' insurance costs will skyrocket without them.

The concession weve been able to extract to get closer to extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits is a vote on a bill drafted and negotiated by Senate Democrats, Rosen said in a statement Monday.

For the last 40 days, Ive been fighting tooth and nail to hold President Trump and my Republican colleagues accountable and make sure Congress takes action to prevent a massive spike in health care costs for millions of hardworking families who will be financially devastated by these increases, Rosen said. Unfortunately, its become clear as we go deeper into the second month of this Republican government shutdown that President Trump and Washington Republicans are weaponizing their power in alarming ways to inflict unimaginable pain and suffering on working people, like fully withholding SNAP benefits and gutting our tourism industry by grinding air travel to a halt.

The Center Square reached out Monday to Rosens and Cortez Mastos offices, but did not get a response by press time.

Like Rosen, Cortez Masto issued a statement on her website.

Unlike Rosen, Cortez Masto has voted for the continuing resolution all 15 times.

I have consistently voted against shutting down the government because I know the pain it is causing working families, from TSA [Transportation Security Administration] agents to government contractors, Cortez Masto said in her statement. We must extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits, but that cant come at the expense of the millions of Americans across our country impacted by a shutdown.

Cortez Masto said Congress can now work on restoring funding that President Donald Trump cut and deliver millions of dollars of federal funding for Nevada.

She added she sees the upcoming vote on tax credits as a way to put Republicans on the record on the Affordable Care Act.

If Republicans want to join us in lowering costs for working families, they have the chance to do so, Cortez Masto said. And if they do not come to the table, they will own the premium increases they cause.
Dr. Jennifer Arnold Photos of Dr. Jennifer Arnold and her family while traveling.

For Travel + Leisures column Traveling As, were talking to travelers about what its like to explore the world through their unique perspectives. We talked to Dr. Jennifer Arnold, who starred on TLCs The Little Couple, about the hurdles she faces as a frequent world traveler. Heres her story

I'm a neonatologist, but I was born in a time when they didn't routinely do prenatal ultrasounds, which can often identify a fetus with skeletal dysplasia. So when I was born, they didnt know that I was a little person. I was average size at birth, but had some respiratory complications. I was about 2 years old when my new pediatrician, who had trained at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, sent my parents and me up to its genetics clinic, where I was diagnosed with a type of skeletal dysplasia called spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia, Strudwick type.

Growing up with working class parents in Florida, we didn't get to travel the world as much as I would have liked. We found a surgeon who dedicated his entire career to kids with skeletal dysplasia, so I benefited greatly from his amazing care. But we spent many of our summers traveling to see him in Baltimore.

As a little person, or for anyone with a disability, you have to think about travel and plan ahead. For my graduation present when I was 18, I asked to travel to Europe with my aunt, who was like my best friend. We explored northern Italy, Germany, and Switzerland, and had a blast. With family, you recognize the challenges, but you figure it out. We had to be creative about how I could reach a sink in a hotel or open the door, but I learned to navigate rooms.

As I started doing more travel on my own, particularly for work, I recognized the need to be prepared. I have to make sure I can reach the lock on the hotel room door and that towels arent kept up high. I used to ask for a tub because I can use it as a backup sink, but now more places dont have tubs. A single-step stool is not enough for me. Sometimes, housekeeping will have a double-step, but some hotels dont want to share them because theyre afraid its a liability. But then I have to use a rolling desk chair, which is even less stable.



Its interesting how many biases and obstacles there are when you're a little personbecause even ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act) rooms are not meant for us. The sinks are often higher to accommodate a wheelchair user, so its even more difficult than a typical room.

Dr. Jennifer Arnold Jennifer with her friends at the airport and at The Taj Mahal Palace hotel.

There's just so much you can't predict, but I love to travel. I love to experience the world, and I travel so much now. I was on four different trips in just one month. When theres time to prepare, Ill email the hotel and ask for a double-step stool and a room closer to the elevators; some hotels are big and long, and dragging my suitcase across the carpeted floor is not easy.

Despite being short statured, I don't pack light, so I need to make sure I can push my suitcase. Im embarrassed to admit its as big as I am. Oftentimes, I have to pay the overage fee because its more than 50 poundsand I weigh 56. I wish I was a lighter packer since it would make things so much easier. Im working on that.

Airports are big and hard to navigate. The more I travel, the more I get to know each one and decide if I need a wheelchair for the distance. They used to be so systematic in how they handled wheelchair requests, but now you dont know what the wait time will be. There are times I make it halfway there and realize my gate is farther than I thought. I used to be able to stop and call someone, but now you have to walk all the way back to the wheelchair counter at the beginning. Ill already be halfway there and feel stuck.

The TSA doesn't always know how to support travelers with disabilities, particularly short-statured individuals. Many little people like myself have had a lot of surgeries because of our orthopedic complications, and we oftentimes have joint replacement. I've got metal in my back. I'm on my second round of hip replacements and probably need a new knee soon.

I'm half-mechanical, so going through the regular metal detector is not fun. Can I do it? Sure. Am I going to get a pat-down every single time? Yes.

When you travel on planes 10 times a month, you get tired of being felt up. Theres the body scanner, but kids cant go through and some agents think the limit is by height. Im 3 feet, 2 inches, and I'm not a kid. I can hold still and put my arms in the air. But a lot of TSA agents see me and say, Youre not tall enough. I have to pull out my Twitter account and show AskTSA, asking them to let me try because it saves me from a full pat-down.

On top of it, there are fewer female TSA agents, and you end up waiting a long time for that pat-down. You try to educate the agents so that the next person who goes through is hopefully supported the right way. I'm not asking for anything special; I'm just asking for what [I know] is possible.

Its also extraordinarily hard for me to rent a car. Some places have pedal extensions, but theyre usually four inches long, and I need a foot. So Ive learned to bring my own, as well as my own seat cushion thats big enough. It has been a big limiting factor in traveling on my own because public transportation is not an option for me in many cities. Plus, I have orthopedic issues, so walking a ton is not possible.

Unfortunately, the world is not getting easier as an individual with a disability. But the one thing that is easier is having Uber. Now, I don't have to worry about renting a car.

It's nice when a hotel asks if there's anything they can do to help accommodate my needs. Then, I know theyre willing [to make adjustments] after I scope out the room because its variable each time. When I was traveling to Houston before we ended up moving there, I checked into a hotel and they offered me a step stool created by another reality star little person, Matt Roloff. It really makes it easy for little people to navigate their rooms. The person at the front desk actually had watched my show and asked if they could buy it [before my stay]. I was so impressed they did that.

Sometimes, theres stereotyping or people are annoyed they have to find you a wheelchair, Or, there just isnt a good system in place for supporting an individual with a physical disability, so they're not proactive. But 27 percent of the U.S. population has a disability, and it matters. It's evident when you're in a place that is accommodating versus one that is not.

While there are challenges, I don't want it to stop me from seeing the world. If I can't go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, it is what it is, but at least I can go to the bottom, experience the people around it, and see how beautiful it isand enjoy some really good French food. There are many ways to experience the world.

Dr. Jennifer Arnold A family photo.

Now, I get to travel with my family, but we're all short statured, so we have to figure it out. Being the parent of two internationally adopted children, traveling to India and China to bring them home with us were my most memorable trips. Obviously, the best part was getting to meet our kids for the first time, but from a travel perspective, the ability to see where they came from was special.

We tried to integrate into the environment, understand the culture, and get to know the locals, even with the language barriers. I love to experience everything from the ocean to mountains to the architecture when traveling, but where I get the most excitement is meeting people and seeing what everyday life looks like for them.

I want to instill in my kids being unafraid to travel because my parents, as supportive as they were, were nervous about me traveling independently in the beginningrightfully so. There are all these physical barriers, obstacles and challenges, and the world is not always an easy place to navigate. Not everyone is receptive toward individuals with disabilities. Particularly when you're a little person, the bias and discrimination are just so profound.

So I want my kids to feel empowered and excited to travel, but I also want them to be safe. My husband, Bill, and I both have had the opportunity to travel to so many great places, and we want to give them those practical tips. Over time, I hope there'll be fewer obstacles for them.

Dr. Jennifer Arnold Jennifer and her kids on an airplane.

It's important to travel because life is shortno pun intended. We have an amazing, beautiful world out there, and I want to experience as much as I can. There's the culture, the food, and the vibrance of the people. Every place is unique and fascinating, and the biggest challenge is not having enough time to see it all.



Read the original article on Travel & Leisure
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown speaks at a news conference. Photo: Spencer Pauley / The Center Square

(The Center Square)  Newly obtained records reveal further details of the Washington State Bar Association investigation into Attorney General Nick Brown that ended hours after The Center Square reached out for comment.

WSBA rules dictate that bar complaint investigations into private attorneys are to be kept confidential, but The Center Square obtained records of the investigation through a public records request to the AGO. The office acted as defense counsel for Brown and AGO employees and resources were used to prepare the response.

Among the new details revealed is that Solicitor General Noah Purcell sought and obtained two separate extensions of deadlines set by the WSBA, albeit the first one was after two deadlines had not been met. The Center Square has previously inquired with the WSBA whether extensions were granted but did not receive any response. The AGO has also never responded to The Center Square's requests to confirm the information.

The WSBA inquiry occurred after a bar complaint was filed against Brown for signing an amicus brief in support of a motion for a temporary restraining order made by private law firm Perkins Coie, Purcells former law firm, to maintain access to federal contracts. President Donald Trump sought to cancel the contracts and revoke the security clearances for firm employees.

The motion was eventually granted in federal court.

Although the amicus brief mentioned prior cases in which Perkins Coie sued the state on behalf of a client, left unmentioned was that the law firm had 10 active contracts with the AGO, making them special assistance attorneys general or the attorney for the AGO in 10 separate legal cases.

The complaint was filed in response to story by The Center Square revealing that the AGO had active contracts with the law firm.

After the bar complaint was filed, the WSBA in May sent an email to Browns Executive Assistant Angie Adams, his point of contact on his WSBA profile page, requesting a response to the allegations. When a response was not sent, the WSBA sent a follow up letter threatening to temporarily suspend Browns license to practice law if he did not respond by July 16.

According to AGO emails, Adams reached out to other AGO employees on July 17, saying she had been out on vacation when the email was initially sent.

The next day, Purcell contacted Managing Disciplinary Counsel Craig Bray, urgently requesting that he call him on his cell phone. Within minutes of that email, Bray emailed Purcell telling him that he had granted a deadline extension from July 16 to Aug. 11.

I have also taken the liberty of listing you as respondents counsel," he wrote. "Please advise if I should list someone else.

On Aug. 4, Purcell wrote again to Bray, saying he had been unexpectedly busy with other matters and have not had as much time as I would like to devote to this, requesting an additional extension to Aug. 15. The request was granted by Bray two days later.

These emails did not include the complainant, who claimed to be unaware of both extensions until The Center Square reached out for comment. Emails obtained by The Center Square show the complainant did communicate with Bray asking for an update the same day Purcell reached out to Bray.

Bray responded to the complainant on July 22, writing that we have not received a preliminary response from the respondent yet, but do expect to receive one."

The complainant again requested an update on July 31 as well as Aug. 10, but claims to have not received any further response.

Although Purcell was designated Browns defense counsel with the WSBA, AGO emails reveal that the response was prepared by a variety of other AGO employees. They included Deputy Solicitor General Emma Grunberg, who signed the amicus brief and offered advice to Perkins Coie on where and when to file their motion.

Others involved in preparing the WSBA response were Purcells Executive Assistant Kelsi Zweifel and IT Systems Administrator Sue Budsberg, who searched internally for cases in which Perkins Coie had represent plaintiffs against the state of Washington.

On Aug 12, Bray emailed Purcell, asking him if he could get the response to the WSBA by prior to the Aug. 15 deadline. Purcell provided the response on Aug. 14.

The next day, The Center Square reached out to the WSBA for comment on the investigation.

The WSBA ultimately launched a formal investigation on Aug. 29 and assigned it to Senior Disciplinary Counsel Henry Cruz, who was also assigned a bar complaint filed against Purcell for defending Brown. The AGO is not allowed to provide legal counsel or advice to private individuals. The AGO argued that state law allows them to defend state employees, but the WSBA previously told The Center Square their investigations concern individuals as private attorneys.

Cruz later dismissed both complaints last month hours after The Center Square contacted him via phone and left a message requesting an interview.

While the investigation against him was still ongoing, Brown was collaborating with his communications staff to create a short video featuring him mocking social media posts critical of him.

The complainant has 45 days since the dismissal of his complaint against Brown to appeal.
"The View" co-host Sunny Hostin [Screenshot/The View]

The View co-host Sunny Hostin called on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to be replaced on Monday after the necessary amount of Democrats voted in favor of reopening the government.

During a procedural vote on Sunday, eight Democratic senators defied Schumer by voting in favor of the Republican-led continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the government until Jan. 31 and end the longest shutdown in U.S. history. Hostin declared that Schumer needs to go since he cannot unify his party against President Donald Trump and Republicans.

I think Chuck Schumer, his days are over. If he cannot keep his caucus together, if he cannot keep his caucus together, he needs to go. He needs to be replaced, Hostin said. (RELATED: MSNBC Panelists Rage At Democrats For Getting Nothing In Return After Shutting Government Down)

WATCH:

Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance have repeatedly stated that Schumer has backed the shutdown because he is fearful of a primary challenge by Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Cortez refused to answer whether she had threatened to take Schumers seat during an interview with MSNBCs Chris Hayes and during a townhall with CNNs Kaitlan Collins.

Hostin further noted that the Democrats let down the American people by voting in favor of reopening the government and agreeing to schedule a vote on Obamacare subsidy extensions in December. Democrats said that they shut the government down on Oct. 1 because the CR did not include these tax credits which are set to expire on Dec. 31.

Shame on the Democrats for even believing that the Republicans will even vote on it. Theres no guarantee in this new deal that theres going to be a vote. Theres no even commitment to have a vote. So the bottom line is the Democrats went into this after a blue wave out of the American people saying, we do want the opposition. The working people want the Democratic Party to fight for them. And now they just caved and surrendered, Hostin said.

The eight Democrats who are backing the CR include Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who is retiring after her term ends in January 2027. Democratic Virginia Tim Kaine, who is not up for reelection in 2026, expressed support for reopening the government just five days after his partys sweeping victory in the Virginia gubernatorial election.

Republican Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin said on Tuesday that Schumer privately urged his party to keep the government shut down until after Election Day, believing that the shutdown would help Democrats secure victories.

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An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani speaks during the SOMOS Puerto Rico conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. , Image 2 shows Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch speaking at a podium with a microphone

A top New York City rabbi has issued a chilling now-viral warning after Zohran Mamdanis mayoral win: The pols positions on Israel may severely threaten Jewish safety everywhere in the city.

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch delivered his blistering take on the radical extremist in a fiery sermon at his liberal Stephen Wise Free Synagogue on the Upper West Side on Friday.

Hirsch claimed Mamdanis opposition to Israel is existential.

A prominent New York change rabbi claimed that Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdanis positions on Israel may threaten Jewish safety in the city. AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo

He believes that Israel has no right to exist at all  as a Jewish state in any territory, the Manhattan rabbi said.

Hirsch, president of the New York Board of Rabbis, explained that he and other prominent and liberal rabbis went with open hearts and open minds to a one-hour meeting with the then-candidate in August.

He said they left horrified by his dangerous positions on Israel.

Throughout the meeting, the rabbis moods steadily darkened, Hirsch said.

And our fears increased.

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch said that Mamdanis opposition to Israel is existential. Stephen Wise Free Synagogue

Mamdani, who founded a controversial Students for Justice in Palestine chapter while in college, is a dogmatic opponent to the Zionist ideal, Hirsch said.

He is not simply a critic of Israel, said the rabbi, who moved to Israel as a teen and served in the Israel Defense Force.

He does not believe in coexistence or two states for two peoples.

Despite relentless accusations of antisemitism, Mamdani, a 34-year-old Muslim immigrant and supporter of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, captured one-third of Jewish voters in the city to win the mayors race last week, according to exit polls.

The mayor-elect has repeatedly refused to condemn the phrase Globalize the intifada, widely seen as a call to violence, and espouses extremist positions indistinguishable from Israels most implacable foes, according to the rabbi.

Hirsch compared the dangerous ideology to that of terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah and their supporter Iran.

During the religious leaders meeting with Mamdani in August, security was the focus as the group expressed the fears of New York Jews if he were elected.

The rabbi warned that a phalanx of security alone cant protect the Jewish community  only a safe environment can.

You could put 50 police officers outside this building, Hirsch told his congregants. If the overall atmosphere is hostile to Jews, it will severely threaten Jewish safety everywhere in the city every day.

And history has proven conclusively that what starts with Jews never ends with Jews. The city itself will become much nastier and much more violent, he warned.

Hirsch claimed that Mamdani does not believe in coexistence in Israel. AP

And that is the main threat from the ideologically driven anti-Zionism of Zohran Mamdani.

Congregant Ronen Schwartzman told The Post on Sunday that hes proud of his rabbi for being vocal when you need it.

Hes very pro-Israel and not afraid to speak up  a big contrast to the Reform movement, who dont always support the Jewish state, the man said.

Some city Jewish activists championed the progressive rabbis speech, too.

He is unafraid to speak the truth, said Israel activist Lizzy Savetsky on social media. We need more Jewish leaders like this.

Mamdanis camp did not immediately respond to a Post request for comment.
A potent storm is expected to move in from the Pacific Wednesday night and Thursday, bringing drenching rain, heavy mountain snow and travel disruptions to the West Coast of the United States, especially in California, AccuWeather meteorologists warn. The storm is poised to bring heavy rain to the deserts as well for the weekend.

Warmth will linger along the Pacific coast states until the storm's arrival.

AccuWeather.com

Soon after rain begins Wednesday night, temperatures are expected to drop sharply over the Sierra Nevada, allowing snow to accumulate quickly above the passes in northern areas. Over the ridges and peaks above 8,000 feet, a couple of feet of snow and blizzard conditions are possible as strong winds develop.

At Donner Pass, California, along Interstate 80, most of the storm will bring rain or a mixture of rain and wet snow from late Wednesday night through much of Thursday.

During the latter part of the storm, temperatures are forecast to drop, resulting in a period of heavy snow Thursday night into early Friday morning. Whiteout conditions and several inches of snow are possible, depending on the speed of the changeover. Regardless, treacherous travel is anticipated over the summit.

"Travelers should monitor the latest conditions and be prepared for snow-covered roads and possible closures," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Heather Zehr.

AccuWeather.com

"For the Lake Tahoe, California, area, which is a bit lower in elevation, rain during Thursday and midday will be followed by a change to wet snow Thursday night before ending," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said. "From 1 to 3 inches of slushy snow seems likely at the resort area." Temperatures are not expected to fall quickly enough for snow over the Southern California passes, but rain, wind and fog could still lead to hazardous travel conditions in the mountains.

Over much of California's lower elevations, the storm will bring a period or two of drenching rain that could lead to ponding, flash flooding and mudslides.

AccuWeather.com

Winds will howl along the coast, over the ridges and through the passes. Significant travel delays are likely due to rain during the height of the storm, affecting both roadways and airports.

"The bulk of the rain for San Francisco and the Bay Area in general will fall from Wednesday night to Thursday morning," Zehr said.

AccuWeather.com

Approximately 1 inch of rain is likely around Los Angeles. Lower rainfall totals are expected in San Diego and higher amounts to the north along the California coast and along the west and southwest-facing slopes of the Coast Ranges and in the lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada, Siskiyous and Oregon Cascades.

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A general inch or so of rain is likely in San Francisco. From 2 to 4 inches of rain is likely along the lower, seaward-facing slopes of the coastal ranges in Northern California and southern Oregon. The AccuWeather Local StormMax is 6 inches.

There may be a slight split in the storm's rain and mountain snow in parts of Oregon, with another wave of precipitation likely in Washington and southern British Columbia from late Wednesday to Thursday. Rain is expected over the Cascade passes in Washington due to the storm.

AccuWeather.com

Colder air, lingering moisture and the arrival of a second, weaker storm could produce snow over the passes Friday, creating slippery travel conditions across the Northwest.

Weekend desert downpours loom

As the main body of the storm pivots inland, moisture from the tropical Pacific is likely to be funneled into the Southwest to end the week.

This setup will lead to an abundance of rain over the deserts from Southern California through Arizona from Friday night to Saturday night.

AccuWeather.com

So much rain may pour down, leading to flash flooding, as well as significant drought relief. Motorists should be prepared for urban flooding in Las Vegas, as well as Phoenix and Flagstaff, Arizona.

Motorists should be prepared for rainy travel, poor visibility and ponding on stretches of interstates 5, 10, 15 and 40 in the region.

Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
Jared Isaacman is seen at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in April. - Nishimura/Bloomberg/Getty Images

A 62-page document written by President Donald Trumps on-again-off-again pick to run NASA, billionaire Jared Isaacman, outlines a sweeping, ambitious, and at times controversial plan for the space agency.

Isaacman, who was tapped to be NASA administrator after Trump was elected in 2024, only to see his nomination retracted months later, was renominated for the top job last Tuesday.

While Isaacman has publicly acknowledged the leaked document, which is labeled May 2025 but was recently leaked to several news outlets, he said in a social media post that parts of it are now dated. He did not specify which portions were obsolete.

It nonetheless set off a flurry of speculation about how the space agency would function with Isaacman at the helm. A copy of the document was obtained and authenticated by CNN.

In his statement, which was posted the day of his renomination, Isaacman said that Project Athena, as the paper is titled, was always intended to be a living document refined through data gathering post-confirmation.

I would think it is better to have a plan going into a responsibility as great as the leadership of NASA than no plan at all, the statement reads.

Among the proposed goals are revamping some NASA centers to focus on nuclear electric propulsion, establishing a new Mars exploration program, and embracing an accelerate/fix/delete philosophy to reshape the agency.

If enacted, many of the policies laid out could significantly alter the day-to-day lives of NASA workers and transform the 67-year-old agency.

I think it is presenting a more dramatic set of changes than many in the space community were expecting, said Casey Dreier, the chief of space policy at the nonprofit exploration advocacy group Planetary Society, of the document.

Some lawmakers have also expressed concern about how Isaacman might seek to reform NASA campuses across the country.

Isaacman still faces a confirmation vote in the Senate and would need Congressional approval for many of the objectives mapped out in the document.

As a tech CEO  who made his fortune by founding payments company Shift4 at age 16 and has twice flown to orbit on self-funded SpaceX missions  Isaacman is an unorthodox pick for NASAs top role.

Space agency administrators are typically selected from a pool of scientists, engineers, academics and public servants.

But Isaacman has also garnered broad support within the commercial space industry, where hes perceived as an energetic outsider ready to usher NASA into a new era.

A power struggle

According to a source familiar with the matter, the original Project Athena document was more than 100 pages. Isaacman made only three hard copies of a truncated 62-page version and distributed them to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and his chief of staff. The leak  according to a recent Ars Technica report and a source who confirmed the account to CNN  looked to have been part of an effort by Duffy, who is temporarily running NASA, to spur controversy and potentially thwart Isaacmans renomination.

CNN previously reported that Duffy has said privately that he would like to hold the space chief title permanently, according to a source familiar with the matter.

US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is seen at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on November 7. - Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

A spokesperson for Duffy previously denied that hes said he wishes to remain in the NASA administrator job, and Isaacman said in his social media statement, posted after the Project Athena document was leaked, that he believes Duffy has great instincts and is an excellent communicator. (The spokesperson for Duffy did not offer comment for this story.)

If there is any friction, I suspect it is more political operators causing the controversy, Isaacman said.

Isaacman was renominated for the NASA post on November 4, one day after reports about the Athena document began circulating in the news.

I think (the people who leaked Project Athena) thought this would ruffle feathers amongst the delegations that care about human spaceflight, said one former NASA official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private document. I will tell you  it hasnt worked.

CNN reached out to nearly a dozen senators whose home states have NASA centers that could be pegged for major changes, according to the Project Athena document. Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia and Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland  the home of Goddard Space Flight Center  offered the most detailed responses.

Van Hollen said in a statement that he had met with Isaacman earlier this year and he looks forward to another hearing to discuss further with him why the next space race and the search for habitable planets runs through Maryland.

To protect our nations innovation leadership, he must be more than a rubber stamp for the Administrations chainsaw approach to our space science initiatives, Van Hollen said.

Workers in clean suits are pictured in the Roman Telescope assembly room at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, last year. - Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Warner, whose state houses NASAs Langley campus, urged Isaacman to engage with Congress and reconsider any plan that threatens these world-class facilities and the communities that depend on them.

The reported proposals to downsize or privatize key missions at Langley and Wallops would be a serious mistake, jeopardizing critical scientific capabilities and the talented workforce whose expertise keeps the United States at the forefront of aerospace research, Warners statement reads.

No lawmaker reached by CNN indicated how they intended to vote on Isaacmans confirmation.

A Mars shot and nuclear propulsion

One eye-popping proposal in Project Athena is to set up a new Mars program, dubbed Olympus.

Much of that vision, the source familiar with the document told CNN, was intended to align NASA with SpaceXs goal of sending an uncrewed Starship spacecraft to the Martian surface next year.

SpaceXs plan, which CEO Elon Musk discussed publicly in May, was going to be a more-or-less free mission that SpaceX was going to do anyway, the source said. The thinking was that NASA could step in to provide support through the Olympus program at minimal cost to taxpayers, according to the source.

The document also includes numerous mentions of setting up an expansive program to pursue nuclear electric propulsion  which involves powering spacecraft engines with electricity from small nuclear reactors. The technology could one day provide steady, long-lasting power for faster and more flexible deep-space missions, including Mars travel.

Isaacman has pushed publicly for expanding such research, writing in an August op-ed for RealClearScience that he coauthored with Newt Gingrich that the space agency should focus on tasks and research no other agency, organization, or company is capable of accomplishing.

Nuclear electric propulsion is an example of such a focus area, the op-ed argues.

Our competitors are not waiting. China and Russia are investing heavily in nuclear space technologies. If America wants to lead, NASA must take on the hard problems again and do the near-impossible, Isaacman and Gingrich wrote in the article.

Project Athena also suggests setting up a demonstration mission to dock a nuclear electric propulsion spacecraft with a crewed vehicle in orbit, according to the leaked paper.

NASA rolls out hardware for the SLS, or Space Launch System, rocket from Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, on August 21. - Brandon Hancock/NASA

Isaacmans nuclear vision also proposes that NASA centers working on projects like the Space Launch System rocket  including the Marshall and Michoud facilities in Alabama and Louisiana  shift their focus to nuclear electric propulsion development when the SLS program concludes.

When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama said Tuberville had not met with Isaacman yet but he will, of course, ask about Marshall.

The source familiar with the document noted that it was crafted around the same time the Trump White House drafted the Presidents Budget Request, or PBR, which called for canceling NASAs SLS rocket and some other major projects that could have left multiple NASA centers without a cornerstone program.

The source said that Isaacman began compiling the Project Athena document in late 2024 and updated it as he had conversations with policymakers. The source also said that Isaacman did not help draft the PBR.

With this summers Big Beautiful Bill expressly extending the SLS program through at least the next four missions, it appears Isaacman may delay implementing a bold new focus on nuclear electric propulsion research.

Isaacman said November 4 on social media that he hopes to zero-in on those pursuits only after a foundation of lunar exploration has been built.

To the moon

When the Project Athena document was drafted in early 2025, Trump had already signaled a renewed interest in Mars  even mentioning exploration of the planet in his inaugural address while staying silent on NASAs ongoing efforts to return astronauts to the moon.

Isaacman echoed Trumps Mars ambitions during a confirmation hearing in April, saying he intended to pursue exploration of the red planet in tandem with NASAs moon program. However, questions about how he would fund such projects loomed.

This artists illustration depicts NASA Artemis astronauts working on the moon. - NASA

In the months since, however, the moon has emerged as the clear policy priority amid a renewed space race with China, which is aiming to land its taikonauts on the lunar surface by 2030.

The recent push to bolster NASAs moon missions, including a $10 billion influx Congress gave the agencys human spaceflight efforts in July, brings clarity to the topic, Isaacman said in his social media statement.

But Isaacman is back in the running for the top NASA job at a time when the agencys plans for a crewed moon landing, called Artemis III, are in flux.

Shifting lunar plans

The Artemis III mission, which is slated to launch later this decade, currently hinges on SpaceXs Starship ferrying NASA astronauts down to the lunar surface.

But some policy experts have grown increasingly concerned that Starship  the most powerful rocket ever built  is too large, novel and complex to meet NASAs urgent timeline.

Duffy recently signaled a willingness to boot SpaceX off the project, saying he would ask the company and its chief competitor, Blue Origin, to show how they could expedite development of their respective lunar landers.

Those remarks prompted an acerbic response from Musk, a friend of Isaacmans, who referred to the interim NASA leader as Sean Dummy.

Isaacman has not publicly said whether he would support sidelining SpaceX from the Artemis III mission. But a source familiar with the matter said that Isaacman has expressed an intention to partner with whichever company most quickly produces an astronaut-worthy lunar lander.

The Project Athena plan never favored any one vendor, never recommended closing centers, or directed the cancellation of programs before objectives were achieved, Isaacman said in his social media statement.

The plan valued human exploration as much as scientific discovery, Isaacman said. It was written as a starting place to give NASA, international partners, and the commercial sector the best chance for long-term success.

Uncertainty for science

The source familiar with the Project Athena document said some of the more controversial aspects of the plan warrant more explanation.

One line item in the document, for example, states that Isaacman intends to take NASA out of the taxpayer funded climate science business and leave it for academia to determine  a proposal that critics say said could impede the nations ability to gather crucial environmental data.

The document also maps out similar policies that could be applied across many of NASAs initiatives, such as recommendations to embrace science-as-service for future projects.

Such measures, calling for researchers to focus on purchasing data from the private sector, could mark a significant change for the agency.

This artist concept of NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter features one of its instruments  the Mars Climate Sounder  in action. - NASA/JPL

Similar policy philosophies have been tried at NASA, particularly in the 1990s during a better, faster, cheaper reformulation, Dreier noted. But enthusiasm waned for that approach when a pair of Mars missions were lost.

And the commercial space industry may not be in a position to take up all the tasks Isaacmans Athena document suggests it can, he said.

It places a lot of faith on the commercial marketplace to deliver in ways that it hasnt had the chance to fully be tested on, Dreier said.

Isaacmans social media statement also acknowledges his science-as-a-service concept got people fired up but clarified that he intended to focus on purchasing data from Earth observation satellites: Why build bespoke satellites at greater cost and delay when you could pay for the data as needed from existing providers and repurpose the funds for more planetary science missions (as an example)?

Isaacman has also publicly defended science programs such as the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which was slated for budget cuts in the PBR. And he stated hed be willing to spend his own money to get the Nancy Grace Roman space telescope off the ground. I was prepared to personally cover the cost to launch Roman  if thats what it took to get to the science, Isaacman said in a June social media post. (That same promise appears in the Project Athena document.)

Anything suggesting that I am anti-science or want to outsource that responsibility is simply untrue, Isaacmans November 4 statement reads.

A rankled workforce

Among the other proposals in the Project Athena document are plans to hasten NASAs reorganization. The agency has already lost roughly 4,000 of its 18,000 employees as part of the Trump administrations deferred resignation program.

Isaacman said in his social media statement last week that he wishes to move away from rolling out piecemeal change and instead implement a single, data-driven reorganization aimed at reducing layers of bureaucracy between leadership and the engineers, researchers, and technicians.

Extensive changes, however, could further disgruntle a workforce that has been reeling from looming budget cuts and what employees have described as political distractions and discordant communication from leadership.

Isaacmans document also details myriad other plans to change how the agency operates  such as conducting a sweeping review of NASAs boards and committees to suspend any that delay decision making, and reimagine the space agencys approach to risk assessment.

We will ensure safety is at the forefront of our decisions but achieving the mission of NASA means accepting that some risks are worth taking, the document reads.

Seven candles burn in paper bags outside NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, inscribed with the names of the seven astronauts lost on February 1, 2003, in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. - Jim Bourg/Reuters

Former NASA astronaut and SpaceX advisor Garrett Reisman, who has long said he believes NASA may have become too risk-averse in the wake of the 2003 Columbia disaster, told CNN in a November 8 phone interview he was encouraged to see that Isaacman hopes to reevaluate that aspect of the agency.

It would be unwise, he added, to start eliminating safety organizations  but they could be revamped to create a healthy tension between risk assessors and engineers seeking to push boundaries.

However, he cautioned that its really hard to know in the moment if youre going too far or not, Reisman said. Its a very difficult thing to do, so I wish him good luck.

A leader of change

Isaacman is generally well regarded across the space industry, where he has largely been viewed as a passionate leader who can enact visionary change.

In an emailed statement, Dreier, the Planetary Society executive, acknowledged that the Project Athena document was prepared in a different era. NASA has since received billions of dollars for projects including lunar exploration, Dreier noted, and science advocates have demonstrated an outpouring of opposition to Trumps proposed cuts to research.

Isaacmans renomination to the NASA chief job now presents a good opportunity to engage on some of these proposals, particularly as they relate to science, Dreier added.

In his social media post, Isaacman said that, if the Project Athena document becomes public, I will stand behind it, adding that he believes there are many elements of the plan that the space community and NASA would find exciting.

But he did not wish to debate the plan line-by-line while NASA and the rest of the government are going through a shutdown, according to the November 4 post.

More broadly, Isaacman has suggested he intends to enter the NASA job with an open mind and adjust course based on feedback.

In a social media post in June, for example, Isaacman wrote that he didnt love being approached by people who thought they were uniquely NASAs savior. He added: I have little interest in doing the same.

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This screengrab taken from a video posted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, shows a boat shortly before it is struck by a missile on November 9, 2025. - Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth

The US military carried out another attack against suspected drug boats on Sunday, killing six people in the Eastern Pacific, according to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.

The military launched two lethal strikes against two separate vessels operated by designated terrorist organizations, Hegseth wrote on X, without disclosing which organizations the ships crew are believed to have been affiliated with.

These vessels were known by our intelligence to be associated with illicit narcotics smuggling, were carrying narcotics, and were transiting along a known narco-trafficking transit route in the Eastern Pacific, Hegseth said.

The US military has killed 76 people in 19 strikes that have destroyed 20 boats as part of a campaign that Washington says is aimed at curtailing the flow of drugs into the United States.

There had been three survivors of those strikes, two of whom were briefly detained by the US Navy before being returned to their home countries. The other is presumed dead after a search by the Mexican Navy.

In several briefings to Congress, including one last week, administration officials have acknowledged that they do not necessarily know the identities of each person on board a vessel before they attack it. Strikes are instead conducted based on intelligence that the vessels are linked to a specific cartel or criminal organization, CNN has reported.

The Trump administration has also told Congress the US is now in an armed conflict against drug cartels beginning with its first strike on September 2, labeling those killed unlawful combatants and claiming the ability to engage in lethal strikes without judicial review due to a classified Justice Department finding.

Some members of Congress as well as human rights groups have questioned that finding and argued that potential drug traffickers should face prosecution, as had been the policy of interdiction carried out by the US before President Donald Trump took office.

The Trump administration has also not provided public evidence of the presence of narcotics on the boats struck, nor their affiliation with drug cartels.

Military officials have said that no US service members have been harmed in the strikes.

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Residential buildings in Dnipro were hit during the huge Russian attack. - Mykola Synelnykov/Reuters

Millions of Ukrainians are enduring cold temperatures and darkness after a wave of Russian attacks against energy facilities caused widespread power outages across the country.

Ukrainian authorities have warned that the large scale of the damage means it will take time to restore energy flows. Electricity supplies across the country are being rationed  with people in the capital Kyiv set to be without power for 10-12 hours on Sunday, according to schedules published by energy companies.

Svitlana Grynchuk, Ukraines energy minister, said the attack on Saturday was one of the largest direct ballistic attacks on energy facilities since the start of the war.

She said that emergency power cuts were implemented across almost all regions to stabilise the network. We then switched to hourly power cuts, so that consumers could more easily plan their activities around the outages, Grynchuk said.

The attack over the weekend came just as temperatures in Ukraine began to drop to single digits degrees Celsius. Russia has targeted Ukraines energy infrastructure on numerous occasions since it launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, usually stepping up attacks around this time of the year.

These frequent disruptions have forced Ukrainians to adapt  diesel generators have become a common sight across the country and people have become accustomed to scheduling their lives around planned outages.

Many families are now scheduling cooking and homework time around the power schedules, and elderly people not leaving their homes in fear of getting stuck without an access to the lift.

Russia strikes when people are asleep

Nine Ukrainian regions came under attack overnight into Saturday, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

At least 15 civilians have been killed by Russian strikes over the weekend, according to Ukrainian local authorities.

Three people were killed and 12 injured when a Russian drone struck a nine-story apartment building in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Video captured the moment the drone struck in the darkness.

Theres nothing here, just ordinary buildings, said a woman who gave her name as Maia.

I dont know how I survived, because all the shrapnel flew onto the bed where I was sleeping, said Larysa, another resident of the building.

We gathered quickly and started to go downstairs. People were screaming. You could already hear screams from the street, she added.

Of the 45 missiles fired by Russia overnight Saturday, some of which were ballistic weapons, the Ukrainian air force said only nine had been intercepted. Some 450 drones were also launched.

Three people were killed and 12 injured when a Russian drone hit an apartment block in Dnipro on November 8, 2025. - Mykola Miakshykov/Ukrinform/NurPhoto/Getty Images

26 missiles and 52 strike UAVs (drones) have been recorded hitting 25 locations, it said, with many of the attacks occurring in the central regions of Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk as well as Kyiv.

It is extremely difficult to counter ballistic and aero-ballistic missiles, Zelensky said in his daily address later Saturday. Only a few systems in the world are capable of intercepting such missiles effectively  and to protect our entire territory, we need far more of these systems and far more of the missiles for them.

The Ukrainian president said Kyiv was working with the US to purchase additional Patriot air defense systems, which have proved capable in intercepting Russian missiles.

Ukraine has requested more help from allies to replenish its air defenses, as well as longer-range missiles to attack Russian energy and military facilities. Its request for US Tomahawk missiles was turned down by President Donald Trump last month.

Russias defense ministry said the strikes had come in response to Ukrainian attacks, and had included Kinzhal ballistic missiles and other weapons in strikes against enterprises of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex and gas and energy facilities of Ukraine that supported their operations.

The frequent attacks on energy have seriously damaged Ukrainian gas production. Ukrainian officials have said theyll have to turn to expensive imports of European gas to make up the shortfall.

Despite the enemys plans, Ukraine will have light and heat this winter, said energy minister Grynchuk.

The Ukrainian military and security services have also stepped up drone and missile attacks against Russian refineries and other infrastructure such as pipelines and pumping stations in recent months.

On Saturday, Ukrainian drones carried out what one Russian official described as a massive attack on energy facilities in the Volgograd region, a frequent target of Ukraine.

A substation was hit, according to Andrey Bocharov, the regional governor, who said power was restored several hours after the strike.

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Heavy snow flew across the Great Lakes region on the morning of Monday, Nov. 10 as a frigid airmass brought "sharply colder" weather across the eastern two-thirds of the country, with temperatures between 20 to 30 degrees below average expected to break many records across the Southeast through the night of Nov. 10, the National Weather Service said.

Snow was reported falling in Chicago for much of the morning. Several reports of around a foot of snow were reported around the Great Lakes in the morning, according to the National Weather Service, including 14 inches near Big Bay, Michigan; 13 inches in Kenosha County, Wisconsin; and 11.5 inches in Lakeville, Indiana.

The weather service said freeze watches and warnings were in effect from the Lower Mississippi Valley to the Virginia Tidewater through the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 11, with winter weather advisories in effect across multiple states, including portions of Ohio, Wisconsin, Virginia, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, and New York, among others.

Record-breaking cold was possible in Florida, forecasters said.

Snow in Greenwood, Indiana.

According to AccuWeather's latest forecast, a "significant round of snow" was likely from the shores of Lake Superior to Lake Ontario, affecting areas such as Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh, among others.

"This storm pattern will introduce some of the coldest air seen for early November, and that is the reason for the robust snow amounts expected in the Great Lakes and the far southern extent of the flurries into the southern Appalachians," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Chad Merrill on the site's morning forecast for Monday, Nov. 10.

Lightning, tornadoes and wild storms: See these incredible weather photos Surfers take advantage of the swells coming from Hurricane Erin into Wrightsville Beach around Crystal Pier on Aug. 19, 2025, in Wrightsville Beach, N.C.

More weather news: An arctic blast is headed for the eastern US. How cold will it get?

Where will it snow?

According to the NWS office in Chicago, "gusty lake-effect snow" is ongoing and expected to impact the morning commute on Nov. 10. Forecasters said conditions will vary "considerably" across short distances, and travel is not advised where the snow is occurring.

"Snow will gradually diminish from north to southeast through the morning," NWS said.

The NWS office in Buffalo said generally light snow on Nov. 10, will give way to "developing areas of lake effect snow southeast of the lakes," which are then forecast to shift to areas east of the lakes and weaken Tuesday, Nov. 11.

Areas near Albion and Rochester are likely to see between 4 to 6 inches of snow, while areas slightly to the east, such as Sodus and Fulton, are expected to see between 6 to 8 inches of snow.

In Cleveland, the weather service said "off and on snow showers" are expected to continue through Monday, with the bulk of the accumulations expected in the traditional snow belt area, especially inland northwestern Pennsylvania. The weather service said Erie County, Pennsylvania, could see between 6 to 11 inches of snow, with locally higher amounts possible in areas of higher elevation.

According to AccuWeather, accumulating snow will expand across southeastern Indiana, southern Ohio, central and northern Pennsylvania, and into the Appalachian Mountains, with snow showers potentially expanding southward into eastern Kentucky, southern West Virginia, eastern Tennessee, and portions of the Carolinas early this week.

Snow covers a tree in Hilliard after over night snow fell in Columbus. Accumulation of 1 to 2 inches now exists over central Ohio as temps are into the low 30s and upper 20s, with scattered snowfall expected for the Monday morning commute.

Florida freeze

On the night of Monday, Nov. 10, very low overnight temperatures will continue to creep southward through areas of the Mississippi Valley and Southeast states, AccuWeather said.

Even portions of the Florida Panhandle and coastlines are projected to observe low temperatures in the 30s and 40s.

According to the National Weather Service, record breaking cold temperatures are also possible for much of the Florida peninsula on Tuesday, Nov. 11, as the polar airmass continues its southward progression.

"The Florida Peninsula will shiver, with highs stuck in the 50s as far south as Central Florida, and 60s will be as warm as it gets in South Florida, all likely to set daily records for cold high temperatures," said Weather.com meteorologist Jonathan Erdman in an online forecast.

How long will the cold snap last?

"If this cold is too soon for you, we have some good news: It won't last that long," Erdman said.

He said milder air will already return to the nation's mid-section by Tuesday, Nov. 11. "And that milder air will spread through much of the South, then Midwest the rest of this week."

However, the chilly air may be somewhat more stubborn to leave the Northeast, as another reinforcing cold front sweeps out of Canada, according to Weather.com.

This story has been updated with new information.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Heavy snow wallops North as Southerners shiver in record cold.
In Kenyas Garissa County, a single male giraffe now carries the distinction of being the only known white giraffe alive. His pale appearance isnt due to albinism but to a rare genetic condition called leucism, which affects pigment in the skin but not the eyes.

Earlier in 2020, his mother and her young calf were found lifeless after a poaching incident, which left him alone. To reduce the risk of further loss, conservationists installed a solar-powered device on one of his horns.

The Loss of His Family

In March 2020, rangers discovered the skeletal remains of a white female giraffe and her seven-month-old calf in Garissa County, northeast Kenya. The lives of these two had been taken by poachers, and the surviving male was their direct descendant. All three had lived within the Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy, an area known for its conservation efforts.

The discovery of the two carcasses marked the end of the worlds only known white giraffe family. These giraffes had received global attention and even appeared in news reports and nature documentaries. Their unusual coloring made them highly recognizableand extremely vulnerable.

A GPS Tracker Now Sends Hourly Updates

Professionals then fitted the lone male giraffe with a GPS tracker on November 8, 2020. The device, powered by solar energy, was attached to one of his ossicones, the horn-like protrusions on his head. Rangers now receive real-time updates on his movement, which allows them to respond quickly if he enters unfamiliar or high-risk territory.

The technology offers the ease of monitoring and also acts as a deterrent. Knowing the giraffes movements makes it harder for people to target him unnoticed. The tracker provides coverage across his entire grazing range. His location is now constantly mapped by teams keeping an eye on his activity.

This surveillance system is one part of broader preservation efforts supported by several organizations. The Kenya Wildlife Service, Northern Rangelands Trust, and Save Giraffes Now all contributed to the project. Their goal is to reduce the risk of another poaching incident while also gathering data for future protection planning.

His Death Would Impact the Local Economy

Image via iStockphoto/Dragos Condrea

Before the poaching incident, the white giraffe family had become a significant draw for eco-tourism. Tourists traveled to Garissa County to see the rare animals firsthand. This interest helped bring income to the surrounding community, which had worked closely with conservation groups.

Visitors came from different countries, guided through the Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy by local teams. The giraffes had also been featured by major global news outlets and wildlife platforms. Their visibility helped raise awareness about poaching and conservation in Kenya.

The loss of two members of the group not only ended a unique wildlife story but also further damaged the local economy. Tourism numbers dropped, and the momentum behind wildlife protection work slowed.

According to statements by Mohammed Ahmednoor, the conservancys manager, the community saw the incident as a setback as it disrupted years of progress. That context helps explain why protecting the remaining male giraffe isnt only about species survival, but also supports livelihoods in an area that depends on responsible wildlife tourism.
Joe Biden has bizarrely claimed his late son Beau, who died of cancer in 2015, should have been president instead of him.MEGA

Joe Biden has bizarrely declared his late son Beau should have been president instead of him as health concerns surrounding the former commander-in-chief grow.

RadarOnline.com can reveal Biden, 82, was sporting a freshly-bandaged head when he made the claim.

Bold Claim

Biden paid tribute to Beau while laying into the Trump administration for 'cutting cancer research.'MEGA

He was speaking at the Nebraska Democratic Party's Ben Nelson Gala on Friday, when he hit out at the Trump administration for "cutting government funding for cancer research" after his administration made it a "priority."

His son Beau passed away from brain cancer in 2015 aged just 46.

Heartbroken Biden told the crowd: "Cancer hits every family. It's hit my family hard.

"When the love of my life, my oldest son, the attorney general of the state of Delaware  who should've been the president, not me  volunteered to go to Iraq for a year, didnt have to, he came back with stage four glioblastoma because he lived in a burn pit just like those guys did on 9/11, and he died."

'The Love Of My Life'

Biden claimed his late son told him to stay in politics while on his deathbed.MEGA

Biden then went on to recount how his eldest son pleaded with him to remain in politics from his hospital room  a moment the former president has spoken about in the past, which served as the title for his memoir.

"He said, 'Dad, look at me. Look at me. I know what you're going to do, Dad. When I go, you're going to quit. You're not going to want to be engaged. But look at me, Dad. Give me your word as a Biden, you'll stay involved. Give me your word.' And I did," Biden recounted.

Beau worked as a federal prosecutor before being elected Delaware's attorney general in 2006 and re-elected to a second term in 2010.

He joined the military in 2003 as a member of the Delaware Army National Guard and as a major in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) corps.

In 2008, his unit was deployed to Iraq, and Beau served in active duty overseas until September 2009.

Health Worries

Biden was sporting bandages on his head during the heartfelt speech.MEGA

Announcing his death in a statement, Biden said his son  whom he described as "the finest man" he had ever known  had battled his condition "with the same integrity, courage and strength he demonstrated every day of his life."

"More than his professional accomplishments, Beau measured himself as a husband, father, son and brother," the then-vice president said at the time.

"His absolute honor made him a role model for our family. Beau embodied my father's saying that a parent knows success when his child turns out better than he did."

Biden was diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer in May.MEGA

Biden is now facing his own health battle with cancer, having been diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer in May.

He has since been spotted appearing in public with a large bandage on his head in August, after undergoing Mohs surgery  a procedure to detect how deep skin cancer has spread.

The 46th president was then seen wearing another bandage as he spoke in Omaha, sharing his experience with cancer treatment and the importance of researching the disease.
COLOMBIA-CELAC-EU-SUMMIT (Photo by LUIS ACOSTA/AFP via Getty Images)

The leader of the top cocaine-exporting nation in Latin America issued threatening statements directed at President Trump on Sunday in response to the ongoing U.S. crackdown on drug cartels.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro had bold words for Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a speech on Sunday, warning the president not to attack the condor following repeated strikes on cartel boats and a massive pressure campaign against Latin American nations that back and enable those cartels. The Trump administration has reportedly mulled striking cartel targets in both Venezuela and Mexico.

Beware. There are people in the Caribbean that have always been used to hurricanes and can unleash themselves like one Petro said in his remarks according to a Daily Caller News Foundation translation. Like the legend goes, if the golden eagle attacks the condor, the American peoples jaguar awakens. Dont awaken the jaguar. We can still talk. South America can save the U.S. by cleaning up its energetic(sic) grid.

Colombia has a massive role in the illicit drug trade as the worlds top exporter of cocaine and hosts a sprawling criminal underworld. (RELATED: Trump Blasts Colombias Illegal Drug Leader Gustavo Petro, Yanks Foreign Aid After Criticism Of Boat Strikes)

Petro is an avowed leftist and frequent critic of Trump, formerly a member of the M-19 Marxist militant group turned political party.

Petro previously said it was time to get rid of President Trump in October in the wake of the bombing of a suspected drug cartel boat. Trump has characterized the president as an illegal drug leader while describing cocaine farms in Colombia as killing fields.

Colombias President Gustavo Petro at COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belem, Para State, Brazil on November 6, 2025. (Photo by MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images)

Colombia exported a record high of 2,664 metric tons of cocaine in 2023, according to United Nations statistics. Petro has claimed that cocaine is outlawed in part because it was chiefly made in Latin America, saying the powerful, addictive narcotic is no worse than whiskey.

Despite policy differences with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the United States remains committed to its longstanding relationship with the Colombian people, a State Department spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. The Trump Administration has had plenty of private and public exchanges with Petro and his representatives. The problem is Petros refusal to alter course of his disastrous and ineffective counternarcotics policies.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporters byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
Illustration: Joanna Andreasson

"Under my administration, we have taken decisive action to stand with the good people of Cuba and Venezuela," President Donald Trump said at the White House in 2017. "The same failed communist ideology that has brought oppression to Cuba has brought nothing but suffering and misery everywhere and every place it has been anywhere in the world. Communism is the past. Freedom is the future."

Communism should indeed be a thing of the pastbut a recent immigration policy from Trump's second administration threatens to trap its victims there.

Consider the case of a man identified in court filings as M.A.R., a political dissident from Cuba who came to the United States legally in 2024. A ruling from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia outlined that he faced "threats, harassment, and retaliation from Cuban authorities" for his views. He was granted humanitarian parole, obtained work authorization, and married a U.S. citizen. He has no criminal record.

But when M.A.R. attended an immigration hearing in May 2025, he was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers afterward, though he had met the legal obligations of his parole and his asylum case had not been dismissed. He soon found out, according to his attorney, that the government would subject him to expedited removala fast-track proceeding with a much less robust process, including no hearing in front of a judge.

That quicker process has typically been limited to people arrested crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. But the Trump administration expanded it in January to apply to humanitarian parolees. In doing so, the government exceeded its statutory authority, ruled Judge Jia Cobb of D.C.'s federal district court in August, temporarily barring the Department of Homeland Security from executing fast-track deportations for migrants admitted to the U.S. on humanitarian grounds.

In that same speech from 2017, Trump singled out another country: We "stand with the people of Venezuela, who are suffering under the ruthless socialism of the Maduro regime," he said. "We reject socialist oppression."

Those remarkswhich reflect his longstanding rhetorical antipathy to socialismare puzzling in the context of another individual mentioned in the decision, R.J.L.B., a Venezuelan military officer who came to the U.S. legally. The Venezuelan government, he says, is surveilling him and his family. He too was arrested this year after an immigration proceeding and set for a fast-track return to Venezuela, notwithstanding that he believes he will be killed for desertion if forced to return. It's a strange way for the Trump administration to "reject socialist oppression."

The post Don't Send Cubans and Venezuelans Back To Suffer Under Communism appeared first on Reason.com.
Its something that we want to know when we have our executive off-sites  how do we actually look at ourselves and at our business, and how do we adapt into that space? Were not too proud to say that we can adapt as the business changes, he said.

Bunt also said the changes to the business were made alongside changes taking place to its client mentality, with an emphasis on risk awareness.

Broadly, we see our clients becoming more aware of the risks that theyre positioned under, he said. Its not just very traditional approaches; we see a lot more organisations now having very mature conversations around, How do I articulate my risk?, How do I manage that risk? and then, How do I put in particular control?

Theres some good maturation happening in that space.

Miller agreed with Bunts sentiments, adding that its customers wanted more of the business, past its cyber security advisory services.

We definitely saw the need for extending that MDR [managed detection and response] service to management compliance, he said. Thats a market-making concept as far as our services are concerned, and thats embodying our advisory service into something that we can commoditise and have customers realise and benefit from on an ongoing basis.

Thats why weve been very selective with the vendors that we have for our SOC services, so that we can achieve that that managed compliance outcome.

Those vendors, Miller said, include the likes of Google, as well as Trend Micro and SentinelOne.

Meanwhile, the entry into New Zealand isnt exactly a fresh incursion for the pair, as theyve been travelling to the country for a long time.

We see New Zealand as being a market that is maturing. Its probably not as mature as Australia, but they need more security and compliance, Miller continued. ISO 27001 and other ISO standards arent as dominant over there as what they are here in Australia.

So, from our perspective, we can take our advisory services and present them to New Zealand as well.

Leading the charge across the Tasman is business manager Dave Butler-Peck, who had previously worked with Bunt over 25 years ago at Cisco training provider Global Knowledge. Since then, he worked in a number of different positions within the government sector.

My role is to look at the market in terms of where were at, where the opportunities are and the expertise of Insicon Cyber, Butler-Peck said.

Being based in New Zealand is a massive advantage in terms of having that local connection and knowledge.

Ive been there 20 years for work, and it is my adopted home my family are all Kiwis as well and, like anyone, Kiwis like to deal with people on the ground. So, its an absolute pleasure to be there.

Miller said one of the reasons behind Butler-Pecks recruitment was his government knowledge, which he noted is the largest sector of the New Zealand economy.

Were very fortunate to have Dave on board, he said. He comes with a very different perspective than just hiring someone else out of another cyber company or out of a vendor. Hes coming out of government with intimate knowledge of the cyber ministers as well.

When it comes to Insicon Cybers own workforce, aside from skills, Bunt said he wants employees that bring the right attitude to the table.

For example, everyone thats in the delivery part of the organisation as a minimum has ISO 27001 implementation certifications, he said. That investment allows us to talk the same language. It means that when were talking to clients, we use the same words  and thats whats important.
by Nirmala Carvalho

The family of Manish Nishad, 50, moved his body from village to village for three days because residents refused to allow his burial on private land after he abandoned his original religion. This is the latest in a series of cases in tribal areas. Kanker has become the hotbed of Hindu fanaticism, International Christian Concern reports.

Raipur (AsiaNews)  Residents of Kanker, a district in the State of Chhattisgarh, have prevented the burial of Manish Nishad, a 50-year-old Christian convert, forcing his family to move the body from village to village for three days, unable to perform funeral rites due to local opposition.

The family had to finally bury the body at the Sankra burial ground away from Jewartala village, said Balod District Police Chief Yogesh Patel.

Nishad died on 4 November while undergoing treatment in Raipur. When his family brought his body home to bury him on their private land, villagers objected, arguing that those who had abandoned their traditional faith could not be buried within the village boundaries.

According to some witnesses, villagers forcibly prevented the body from entering the village and demanded that only traditional local rites be performed.

The police intervened, but did not reduce tensions. The Christian community surrounded the Kodekurse police station, demanding the right to bury the body. The police transferred the body to the Kodekurse hospital morgue.

Last Friday, the family, escorted by a police team, took the body to Charama, hoping for a peaceful burial. But members of a Hindu organisation stopped the vehicle, saying that they would disrupt the funeral. As the pressure mounted, Nishad's body was taken to Raipur, where it remained, still unburied three days after the death.

Kodekurse follows traditional customs, said Devendra Tekam, member of the district panchayat, trying to justify the villagers' position. The community has its own burial system. If the body must be buried, it should follow village tradition; otherwise, it should be taken outside the village.

He left his original religion, added Raghunandan Goswami, a villager. We told the administration that unless they return to the old faith, we won't allow burial here. This is a Fifth Schedule area, and we are following our customs.

The case echoes previous incidents in Chhattisgarhs tribal areas. Last July, violent clashes broke out in Jamgaon, a village in Kanker, when locals protested the burial of another Christian. A mob eventually vandalised churches and attacked homes.

This year, a case involving the disputed cremation of a pastor Subhash Baghel from Bastar region reached the Supreme Court. The son, Ramesh Baghel, wanted to bury his father near the ancestral graves in the village, but the villagers objected.

On 7 January, a two-member panel on India's highest court finally ordered the burial 35 kilometres away. The decision was, nevertheless, controversial since the two justices split over the issue, one favoured burial in the ancestral village, while the other argued that final rites should take place in a designated cemetery, eventually settling for the latter.

The village in question is home to several tribal communities: Kalhar, Raut, Kumhar, Maria, Bhatra, Halba, and Dhurva, along with Dalits of the Mahara caste. Panchayat officials argued that the issue was not merely religious, but one of tribal identity and reservation rights.

Citing the Fifth Schedule (Regulatory Framework for the Administration of Protected Areas and Protected Tribes) and the PESA Act, they argued that bodies can only be buried in designated community plots.

In February 2024, the gram sabha (local assembly) passed a resolution declaring that anyone who abandons their traditional religion would lose the right to be buried in the village cemetery.

Many residents consider Christian burial customs a challenge to their orthodox tribal practices, causing a divide between faith and tradition.

According to International Christian Concern (ICC), on Sunday, 5 October, about 400 people from 22 villages in Kanker District gathered to discuss the growing number of conversions to Christianity in their area affecting their cultural identity, customs, and traditions.

By the end of the meeting, they decided to oppose Christian burial practices, the ICC said.

In recent months, Kanker has become the hotbed of Hindu fanaticism, with multiple tribal villages adopting violent or non-violent methods to impede Christians from practising their religious freedom guaranteed by Indias Constitution, the ICC explained.
With the military and displaced persons voting, operations have begun and will culminate tomorrow. Outgoing Prime Minister al-Sudani claims the government's success and seeks a second term. On the Shiite front, the influence of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki remains, while al-Sadr has confirmed his boycott. Sunnis and Kurds are the other forces in the field. The number of young candidates is significant, but experts say the vote is unlikely to bring about change.

Baghdad (AsiaNews) - A few hours before the electoral silence, which came into effect over the weekend, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani claimed his government's success in holding parliamentary elections on schedule.

For the outgoing head of government, meeting the deadline set for tomorrow, 11 November 2025, when the country will go to the polls for the sixth general election since the fall of former leader Saddam Hussein, is an important event for the nation. At the same time, he reaffirmed the commitment of the state and its institutions to a democratic path and a peaceful transfer of power.

A total of 7,768 candidates, including 5,520 men and 2,248 women, representing 31 coalitions, 38 parties and 75 independent lists, are competing for 329 seats in the Council of Representatives (the Parliament), which elects the president and grants confidence to the government. According to the Electoral Commission, around 21 million Iraqis are eligible to vote. The capital, Baghdad, has the largest share with a total of 71 seats.

Meanwhile, members of the security forces and internally displaced persons began voting yesterday. Polls opened at 7 a.m. local time for 1.3 million members of the security forces in 809 polling stations, closing at 6 p.m.

Early voting was justified on logistical grounds, as they will be busy guarding the polling stations on 11 November. In addition to these, there are more than 26,500 internally displaced persons, who were also entitled to vote early yesterday at 97 polling stations in 27 centres across the country. Interior Minister Abdul Amir al-Shammari reported that the process went smoothly and in an organised manner.

Speaking during a visit to the Joint Operations Command headquarters in Baghdad, the prime minister confirmed that there will be no curfew on election day to ensure a high degree of mobility for voters. Al-Sudani, who took office in 2022, leads the Reconstruction and Development coalition, which includes several Shia parties.

His campaign has focused on improving services, fighting corruption and consolidating state authority. He is one of the few recent prime ministers who has been able to advance reconstruction projects by balancing relations with both Iran and the United States, Iraq's two main allies, albeit on diametrically opposed sides.

Several other party blocs are vying for the electorate's vote. The State of Law coalition, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, remains influential and competes with al-Sudani's camp for dominance within the Shiite community, which is the majority in the country, especially in the central-southern region.

A number of parties with ties to Tehran and its armed militias are also running on separate lists. On the other hand, on the Shiite front, the influential Moqtada al-Sadr has in recent days ruled out his movement's participation in the vote after preventing his own men from standing as candidates, with the risk of further lowering the already uncertain turnout figures. I know for a fact that the decision to boycott is difficult and painful for many, al-Sadr himself said, but the homeland is too precious to be sold to the corrupt and the dependent.

On the Sunni Muslim front, the main political force is the Taqadum party, led by former parliamentary speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi, with its support concentrated in areas where it is in the majority in the west and north of the country.

The party supports the reconstruction of state institutions and the empowerment of Sunni communities after years of conflict and marginalisation. In the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by veteran leader Masoud Barzani, dominates the regional government and is seeking a larger share of the oil revenues that support the national budget. Its main rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Bafel Talabani, supports closer ties with Baghdad and has often allied itself with Shiite factions.

This year's elections will be conducted under a new electoral law that returns to a single-member constituency system for each governorate, a change from the multi-district system used previously that is expected to favour larger parties.

The vote will also feature significant technological developments aimed at increasing transparency and speed in the announcement of results. For the first time since 2005, the Independent High Electoral Commission has eliminated the use of indelible ink to mark voters' fingers. Instead, iris scanning will be the primary method of voter identification, replacing fingerprinting.

Regardless of alliances, boycotts and voting methods, many Iraqis remain sceptical, seeing that the 11 November vote is unlikely to bring real change to the country's stagnant politics, with the same powerful groups controlling the state and its oil wealth since Saddam's fall in 2003.

Nevertheless, the presence of a significant number of young candidates  for the second time since the 2005 elections  marks the entry into active political life of citizens who were infants or young children when the former dictator was overthrown, stimulating new  and legitimate  demands for reform.

Some are optimistic about the potential for change, while others remain cool, citing the influence of powerful groups and the potential for violence from armed militias. Despite the challenges, many young candidates are determined to bring about a new Iraq and support reforms (electoral and otherwise) and a reduction in Iranian influence.
The conservative leader is accused of seeking military escalation with North Korea to justify martial law, which he declared last year. Several analysts argue that progressive President Lee Jae Myung, who appointed the special prosecutor, must tread carefully to avoid accusations of political vengeance in an increasingly divided and polarised country.

Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was indicted today on new charges of treason and abuse of power. He is already on trial for attempting to impose martial law.

This marks a further escalation in the complex legal case involving the former conservative leader, who was ousted last April and is currently in custody.

The charges were filed by a special prosecutor appointed by the current progressive president, Lee Jae Myung, who is more open to interacting with North Korea.

According to the indictment, Yoon endangered national security by ordering the military to fly spy drones over Pyongyang in October 2024.

Prosecutors argue that these missions had no defensive purpose, but were part of a plan to stoke tensions and provoke a North Korean military response, thus creating the pretext for declaring martial law.

Prosecutor Park Ji-young believes the investigation has shown that Yoon and others "conspired to create conditions that would allow the declaration of a state of emergency, increasing the risk of inter-Korean armed confrontation and harming military public interests.

The evidence includes notes written by the former commander of military counterintelligence under the Yoon administration, proposing to create an unstable situation or seize an arising opportunity" and target locations "that must make them (the North) lose face, so that a response is inevitable, such as Pyongyang or the major coastal city of Wonsan.

Other evidence cited by prosecutors includes the use of words such as "drones" and "surgical strike" found in a military officer's mobile phone.

Last October, Pyongyang accused Seoul of flying drones to drop propaganda leaflets over the North Korean capital, a charge South Korean authorities initially denied, later saying that they could not confirm the claim.

In addition to Yoon, former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun and former counterintelligence chief Yeo In-hyung were also indicted for complicity.

Yoon's defence team argues that the former president was not informed of the drone operations.

The new charges are directly linked to the events of about a year ago, when Yoon plunged the country into chaos by suddenly declaring martial law.

Although the state of emergency lasted only six hours, the decision triggered an unprecedented political crisis, the effects of which are still felt today, with increasingly marked ideological polarisation in the country.

According to some experts, Lee Jae Myung's victory in the last election was interpreted more as a rejection of the conservative bloc than as a commitment to his platform.

The two candidates opposed to Lee received a combined vote of 49.49 per cent, compared to the 49.42 per cent with which Lee was ultimately elected.

Today, the political confrontation has turned into mutual hostility, with both factions claiming to be the sole guardians of democracy.

Precisely for this reason, political analysts have stressed the need to prevent the accusations against Yoon from being perceived as an act of political vengeance, as they risk further exacerbating the climate of distrust and antagonism that today pervades South Korean society.
by Mathias Hariyadi

Despite accusations of human rights violations, Indonesias incumbent president presented the National Hero title to Suhartos children. The official narrative cites the role the late strongman played in expelling the Japanese in 1945. The same title was also awarded to the late Abdurrahman Wahid, a symbol of democracy and pluralism, and the late trade unionist Marsinah, who was killed during the Suharto years.

Jakarta (AsiaNews)  The decision by the Indonesian government to grant Suharto (Soeharto), the country's second president in power from 1967 to 1998, the title of national hero was met with disappointment by many Indonesians. Suharto was the former father-in-law of incumbent President Prabowo Subianto.

Although the country widely acknowledges Suharto's significant contributions, such as achieving national self-sufficiency in rice production (which earned him a FAO award in 1995) and expanding access to healthcare in rural areas through the Puskesmas system, most Indonesians still see his authoritarian regime as a reason to deny him any national honour.

Suharto is broadly associated, directly or indirectly, with human rights violations, corruption, and nepotism. But this did not stop Prabowo. In a ceremony held today, Indonesia's National Heroes Day, the president officially bestowed upon Suharto the title of National Hero (Pahlawan Nasional), part of a rehabilitation process undertaken since he assumed the presidency.

The ceremony took place at the Presidential Palace, where Prabowo symbolically presented the government decree to two of Suharto's children, Siti Hardijanti Rukmana (known as Mbak Tutut) and Bambang Trihatmodjo.

For the incumbent president, Suharto's recognition as a national hero is based on his prominent role since the war of independence. The official narrative read during the ceremony noted that "as Deputy Commander of the People's Security Agency (BKR) in Yogyakarta, he led the disarmament of Japanese troops in Kota Baru in 1945.

Interestingly, there was no public outcry when President Prabowo awarded the title of National Hero to Abdurrahman Wahid, known as Gus Dur, the country's fourth president, in honour of his commitment to humanity, democracy, and pluralism in Indonesia.

Another notable name among this year's honourees is that of Marsinah (19691993), a young labour activist killed for demanding fair wages. Marsinah was an activist in an independent labour union employed in a watch factory in East Java.

She was involved in negotiations on behalf of 500 workers who were striking after the company failed to respect the minimum wage and union autonomy. On 5 May 1993, she was abducted after a demonstration  her mutilated body was found four days later.

The army was widely suspected of involvement in her disappearance and death. Her assassination drew international attention to the brutal repression of workers under the Suharto dictatorship.

Other individuals honoured this year as national heroes include Mochtar Kusumaatmadja, a former Foreign Minister during the Suharto era; Hajjah Rahmah El Yunusiyyah, recognised for her contributions to Islamic education; General Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, father-in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who played an active role in the repression of the Indonesian Communist Party; Muhammad Salahuddin, recognised for his work in education and diplomacy; Syaikhona Muhammad Kholil, honoured for his contributions to Islamic education; Tuan Rondahaim Saragih, recognised for his role in the anti-colonial armed resistance; and Zainal Abidin Syah, honoured for his contributions to diplomacy.
by Joseph Masilamany

A boat carrying Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi citizens capsized off the coast of Langkawi in one of the worst accidents ever recorded. Malaysian authorities have reported seven victims and only 13 survivors so far. This year alone, the UNHCR has reported over 600 deaths or missing persons along the Gulf of Bengal routes.

Langkawi (AsiaNews) - A new tragedy in the sea between Thailand and Malaysia has brought attention back to the desperate flight of Rohingya from Myanmar: hundreds of refugees are missing after an overloaded boat capsized off Langkawi, which marks the maritime border between the two Southeast Asian countries.

Malaysian authorities reported that they recovered seven bodies and 13 survivors yesterday, Sunday 9 November, three days after the accident. Images released by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) show rescuers helping exhausted migrants, some wrapped in sheets or lying on stretchers.

The boat, which set sail from Buthidaung in Myanmar's western Rakhine State, was carrying about 300 people, mostly Rohingya refugees and Bangladeshi citizens. Authorities in Kedah and Perlis, Malaysia, have extended the search to an area of 170 square nautical miles, mobilising ships and aircraft to locate other survivors.

So far, three men who left Myanmar have been identified, while a Rohingya woman has been identified among the victims.

According to Kedah police chief Adzli Abu Shah, the migrants had initially travelled on a larger ship, but human traffickers forced them to transfer to three smaller boats, each carrying about 100 people, in an attempt to evade detection. The fate of the other two boats remains unknown, the official said.

The Rohingya have long been persecuted by Myanmar's military regime, where they have no right to citizenship, but are also considered foreigners in other South Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, where they have sought refuge since 2017 due to military attacks by the army.

More than a million Rohingya live in overcrowded refugee camps where living conditions are increasingly difficult, especially following financial cuts by major humanitarian agencies.

Driven by poverty, hunger and growing violence even within the refugee camps, many have attempted dangerous journeys to Malaysia in recent years.

However, the routes in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea are among the deadliest in the world: according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), between January and early November 2025 alone, more than 5,100 Rohingya left Myanmar and Bangladesh by sea, and nearly 600 people are reported dead or missing.

The Malaysian authorities have also described the Langkawi incident as one of the most serious in recent years, a sign of a humanitarian crisis that continues to spread in silence.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

The trade agreements signed at the White House on rare earths and other sectors seem to focus more on US economic interests than on geopolitical balances. And even the Kremlin, which in the past had shown some impatience with these contacts, this time expressed great acquiescence.

Washington (AsiaNews) - The meeting in Washington between Donald Trump and the presidents of Central Asian countries in the 5+1 format was described by the US president himself as a correction of the mistakes made by my predecessors, who ignored this region.

In reality, interest in the middle zone of the various trade corridors has become a priority, especially in the last year, partly as a result of the new balance imposed by Trump's erratic policy, with the imposition of universal tariffs and confrontations at all levels, especially with the great power of China.

One of the most sensitive issues concerns mineral raw materials, with China holding a large share of the indispensable rare earths that Central Asia is rich in, but which are very difficult to extract, process, and transport.

American interest in this sector began more than ten years ago, with the visit of then-Secretary of State John Kerry to all five countries, who shortly before had confused them to the point of creating a new state he called Kirzastan, mixing Kyrgyzstan with Kazakhstan.

On that occasion, the 5+1 format was defined, which is now in its tenth year and has also been proposed with other partners such as China and the European Union.

Joe Biden's administration then held a full-fledged summit with all the presidents in 2023, on the occasion of the UN General Assembly in New York, with an emphasis on political solidarity and support for the independence of the countries, in the context of the war in Ukraine unleashed by Russia.

Biden expressed concern about Moscow's influence in Central Asia, while today Trump shows that he is primarily focused on the interests of the United States.

It is no coincidence that the Kremlin, which in the past had shown a certain impatience with contacts between Central Asians and Americans, has in this case expressed great acquiescence, stating that all states have the right to maintain relations with others, we ourselves look with interest at these negotiations, as spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The US president then presented a series of commercial and diplomatic agreements, focusing on the region's mineral resources, such as tungsten in Kazakhstan, for which a specific agreement was signed for the processing of the still virtually untouched deposits, which are among the most important in the world.

The American company Cove Kaz Capital Group will receive a 70% stake in the joint venture with the Kazakhs, with an investment of over billion. Another deal involved the sale of 37 Boeing aircraft to the airlines of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, along with the integration of Starlink services for satellite internet connection, owned by magnate Elon Musk.

Kazakh President Kasym-Zomart Tokaev also stated that Astana and Washington have signed agreements worth a total of billion, not only for mineral resources, but also for energy and transport.

On a diplomatic level, Kazakhstan's accession to the Abraham Accords, the US initiative to regulate relations between Israel and Arab states and Muslim-majority countries, has had a major impact.

This is an issue to which Kazakhs are particularly sensitive in terms of global interfaith dialogue (although in reality, having had diplomatic relations with Israel for more than 30 years, this new accession sounds more like a symbolic gesture, ed.).

Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to explain the importance of the summit by stating that we often spend so much time trying to resolve crises and problems that we are unable to pay due attention to the new and exciting possibilities that may open up, as is the case for us at this meeting.

Joseph Epstein, director of the Turan Center for Post-Soviet Studies, said that this summit marks the beginning of a new phase in building global peace together, promoting the ideals of tolerance and common development.
10 November 2025 15:17 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

The South Caucasus is no longer a peripheral zone between Europe and Russia. It is rapidly transforming into a geopolitical hub, shaped by shifting global power dynamics and the rise of new actors such as China and India. As global logistics corridors expand and energy routes diversify, the regions strategic importance grows exponentially. Once a buffer between NATO and Russia, the South Caucasus is now asserting itself as a contributor to global realignment  a trend made unmistakably clear by the war in Ukraine.

Indias increasing involvement in the region, particularly through Armenia, is emblematic of this shift. Over the past several years, and especially since 2020, India has ramped up its military support for Armenia. While Armenian officials and media outlets often attribute this to Russias distraction in Ukraine and its inability to fulfil defence obligations, a deeper analysis reveals a more calculated strategy. India is leveraging the geopolitical vacuum to establish its own footprint in the region, not merely as a supplier of arms, but as a rising power seeking influence in Eurasia.

This development is understandably unsettling for regional actors, especially Azerbaijan, which has long suffered from Armenias irredentist and expansionist foreign policies. However, where there is the proverbial poison, there is also an antidote. Indias ambitions are counterbalanced by China, its technological rival in Asia and a global power with growing interests in the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan has responded by deepening its ties with China across political, economic, cultural, and now military domains.

Historically, Azerbaijan relied on Pakistan to offset Indias influence. That partnership remains strong, but now China has entered the equation. Until recently, Azerbaijans defence cooperation with China was indirect, often mediated through third countries. A prime example is the acquisition of the Polonez multiple launch rocket system, co-produced by Belarus and China, which significantly enhanced Azerbaijans artillery capabilities.

The most prominent Chinese-origin platform in Azerbaijans arsenal is the JF-17 Block 3 fighter jet  a joint product of China and Pakistan. This aircraft has dramatically boosted Azerbaijans air force capabilities, with its Chinese-made avionics and weapon systems, including the PL-15E air-to-air missile, which extended Azerbaijans strike range by 4050 percent. No neighboring country, excluding Russia, currently fields a comparable platform.

Speculation about further Chinese acquisitions intensified when Lieutenant General Namig Islamzade, commander of Azerbaijans Air Force, was reported to be evaluating the J-10CE  a fourth-generation Chinese fighter with fifth-generation capabilities. This coincided with Azerbaijans broader efforts to modernize its air fleet, sparking rumors that the country might soon procure advanced Chinese aircraft directly. Unfortunately, this speculation has not turned into reality so far.

However, those rumors gained substance when footage emerged from Bakus streets showing HQ-9BE surface-to-air missile systems  Chinas long-range air defense platform  during preparations for the fifth anniversary of Azerbaijans 2020 military victory. This marked a turning point: Azerbaijan was no longer acquiring Chinese systems through intermediaries. It was now engaging in direct military procurement from Beijing.

This shift signals more than just a transactional defense relationship. It reflects Chinas deeper entry into the South Caucasus and its alignment with Pakistan to counterbalance Indias growing presence via Armenia. For Azerbaijan, this trilateral dynamic  with China and Pakistan on one side, and India-Armenia on the other  offers strategic depth and diversification.

And diversification is key. Prior to 2020, Azerbaijans military arsenal was dominated by Russian, Israeli, and Belarusian systems. Post-war procurement has seen a surge in Turkish and Pakistani platforms. The addition of Chinese systems not only enhances Azerbaijans capabilities but also reduces dependence on any single supplier, making its defense posture more resilient and adaptive.

Azerbaijans pivot toward China and Pakistan is not merely reactive  it is strategic. As India seeks to expand its influence through Armenia, Azerbaijan is building a counterweight rooted in technological sophistication, diplomatic pragmatism, and regional balance. The South Caucasus is no longer a passive stage for great power competition; it is becoming an active player in shaping the future of Eurasian geopolitics. And in this emerging order, Azerbaijan is positioning itself not just as a regional actor, but as a strategic bridge between East and West.
10 November 2025 19:55 (UTC+04:00)

Elnur Enveroglu Read more

When Donald Trump declared earlier this summer that Azerbaijan was on the right side of history and that the Trans-Regional Integration Project (TRIP) would reshape the future of Eurasian trade, many in Washington dismissed it as yet another bold flourish from the US president. Yet behind the bombast lay a sober truth: the geopolitical arithmetic of Eurasia is shifting, and both the United States and the broader region are being forced to keep up.

Trumps remarks, made shortly after the landmark 8 August AzerbaijanArmenia peace meeting in Washington, reflected a new American willingness to insert itself into the South Caucasus peace process. This was not the usual rhetorical dip into regional diplomacy, but it was a carefully calculated move. For the first time in years, Washington stepped in as the primary broker for a document now known informally as the Washington Declaration, a seven-clause framework outlining the contours of an eventual peace settlement.

The significance of that meeting should not be underestimated. It represented not merely a step forward in the long and painful post-conflict process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, but also a signal that the United States was ready to reclaim strategic ground in a region long dominated by Russian influence. For many observers, the Washington talks were proof that Baku and Yerevan had finally reached the point where a negotiated future was within touching distance. For the United States, it was a chance to reassert itself as a security provider in a corridor where European and Asian interests increasingly intersect.

In private conversations with diplomats in Baku and Washington, the same point is repeated: the United States simply could not afford to sit on the sidelines. Russias position in the South Caucasus has weakened since it invaded Ukraine, while Chinas expanding economic footprint has made the region a crucial link in its broader Belt and Road calculus. If Washington stood idle, the strategic vacuum would be filled by others.

The 8 August meeting was therefore less about symbolism and more about shaping a durable political architecture. American officials, including Trumps own advisers, have long argued that stability in the South Caucasus is vital for the Middle Corridor, a trans-Eurasian route linking Central Asia to Europe through the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan sits at the heart of this route, not merely as a transit point but as a state that has invested billions in ports, railways and logistics networks. Any long-term connectivity vision, whether American, European or Asian, must run through Baku.

Trumps pointed praise for Azerbaijans leadership was therefore not accidental. The United States understands that without Bakus buy-in, much of Asias westward trade will remain vulnerable to unpredictability, chokepoints and political friction. Azerbaijans geopolitical leverage has risen precisely because it now anchors a corridor the world increasingly depends on.

Meanwhile, several thousand kilometres to the east, Central Asia is quietly undergoing a foreign-policy transformation. For decades, the region balanced cautiously between Moscow and Beijing, with Washington playing a marginal role. But the global race for critical minerals, energy corridors and diversified supply chains has changed the equation.

Recent months have seen a flurry of agreements between the United States and Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. These include cooperation on critical minerals, green technologies, semiconductor-related supply chains and agriculture. What was once a region diplomatically adrift is now one that Washington courts with a seriousness not seen since the early 2000s.

American officials have been blunt: if the United States is to prevent a world in which China controls the lions share of strategic minerals, from rare earths to lithium, tungsten and beryllium, then Central Asia must become a key partner. The region, rich in unexplored deposits, is no longer on the periphery of global politics. It is front and centre.

But minerals alone do not move markets. They must be transported, refined and shipped to consumers. This brings the narrative firmly back to Azerbaijan.

The Middle Corridor: from concept to backbone

For years, the Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, was treated as a technical detail in grand economic plans. Today it has become a strategic artery, and Azerbaijan is its beating heart. The route runs from China across Kazakhstan to the Caspian Sea, where cargo then crosses to Azerbaijan, continues by rail through Georgia and exits through Turkiye into Europe.

Within it lies the even more politically charged element: the Zangezur Corridor. Long discussed, often disputed and frequently delayed, this link connecting mainland Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan has gradually moved from theoretical blueprint to actionable project. If fully operationalised, it would shorten transit times dramatically and provide an uninterrupted east-west spine connecting Central Asia to Europe.

For the Central Asian republics, especially Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, this is a dream come true. Their exports have long been trapped between dependence on Russian-controlled routes and the high political costs of dealing with Chinese transit logistics. The Middle Corridor offers a third way: a path to global markets that is faster, less politically entangled and supported by Western partners.

It is no surprise that nearly every Central Asian leader visiting Washington in the past year has made a point of emphasising the Middle Corridor. For them, Azerbaijan is not just another transit state; it is the lynchpin holding the entire project in place.

Azerbaijans unique diplomatic posture, balancing relations with Russia, Turkiye, the West, Central Asia and much of the Muslim world, allows it to act as a bridge at a time when bridges are in short supply. Baku has crafted a foreign policy that is clear-eyed and pragmatic, avoiding zero-sum traps while leveraging its infrastructure and energy resources to maintain autonomy.

In this sense, Trumps remarks about Azerbaijans pivotal role were not just political flattery. They were an acknowledgement of reality. As the United States deepens its economic and security engagement with Central Asia, it finds that it needs Azerbaijan more than ever, not only as a transit partner but as a stable political actor in an often-unsettled neighbourhood.

The renewed American focus on the region is not occurring in a vacuum. Russia remains a major security actor, despite a weakened capacity. China will not sit back as Washington expands its partnerships in Central Asia. Turkiye, meanwhile, continues its push to deepen pan-regional economic and cultural integration. Europe, anxious about its energy security, has also accelerated its engagement with Baku.

This makes competition inevitable. Yet it also creates opportunities for pragmatic cooperation. If the Middle Corridor becomes a space for managed coexistence rather than confrontation, it could emerge as one of the most important stabilising frameworks in Eurasia.

For this to happen, the 8 August peace process must solidify into a lasting settlement. The South Caucasus cannot become a reliable transit hub if it remains trapped in cycles of tension. Washingtons mediation has opened a door, but it is up to Baku and Yerevan to walk through it.

In hindsight, Trumps comments may be remembered not for their rhetoric but for their timing. The world is entering an era of intense competition over minerals, trade routes and influence. Central Asia is no longer a geopolitical afterthought, and Azerbaijan is no longer a regional player boxed into its neighbourhood. Both now sit at the crossroads of interests far larger than themselves.

The future of Eurasias connectivity, whether through TRIP, the Middle Corridor or the Zangezur link, will depend heavily on whether regional and global powers choose confrontation or cooperation. For now, the momentum is on the side of connectivity.

And as the 8 August peace meeting suggested, the United States is ready to return to the board, willing to take up the role of mediator and strategic partner. Azerbaijan, positioned at the centre of Eurasias new transport and political architecture, holds the cards that others increasingly need.
10 November 2025 15:46 (UTC+04:00)

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10 November 2025 12:04 (UTC+04:00)

The Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum hosted the presentation of the Cngi carpet, created in honour of the fifth anniversary of the Victory achieved in the Patriotic War.

At the event, actors from Theatre O2 performed a specially prepared stage production for the carpets presentation, according to Azernews. The scriptwriter and director of the performance was Konstantin Soldatov, and the choreographer was Nigar Ibrahimbayli.

Later, speeches were delivered by the director of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum, Amina Malikova; the author of the Cngi carpet, artist CHINGIZ; and art scholar and visual art theorist Elchin Shamilli. The speakers discussed the conceptual meaning of the Cngi carpet, the creative process behind it, and the importance of modern approaches to carpet art. They emphasised that this artwork symbolises the historic Victory in the Patriotic War, as well as national spirit and unity. They also sincerely congratulated the people of Azerbaijan on Victory Day and honoured the memory of the martyrs with deep respect.

The work expresses the heroism, determination, suffering and pride of the Azerbaijani people through a modern artistic language. The silhouettes of dancing wounded warriors presented along the border of the carpet symbolise unity, resilience and remembrance. The artwork brings together carpet-weaving traditions, the symbolic codes of national dance, and the tragic experience of war. As a living expression of the nations historical memory, the Cngi carpet reflects the continuity of our cultural heritage.

The technical sketch of the Cngi carpet was prepared by carpet artist Afaq Abdullayeva. The work was produced over eight months by weavers Rena Suleymanova, Ulduz Najafova and Shekermo Alaskarova at the Traditional Technologies Department of the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum.

The event was organised by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum.
10 November 2025 10:00 (UTC+04:00)

Akbar Novruz Read more

The sight of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Turkiye, and Pakistan standing together at the military parade is not just a photograph of diplomacy; it is a historic affirmation of a shared soul and strategic destiny.

This was stated by Mr. Qaiser Nawab, prominent Pakistani youth leader and President of the Pakistan-Azerbaijan Alumni Association (PAAA), in his remarks to Azernews following the historic visit of the Pakistani Prime Minister to Azerbaijan and the participation of the three nations leaders in a landmark military parade.

Mr. Nawab noted that the profound relationship among the three brotherly nations is rooted in common faith, culture, and reciprocal supportone that transcends political alliances to form a genuine brotherhood. He emphasized that the recent developments mark a defining moment in decades-long cooperation.

The presence of our Prime Minister in Baku, alongside our brothers, sends an unambiguous message to the world: when it comes to regional peace, stability, and mutual development, Azerbaijan, Turkiye, and Pakistan stand as one, unbreakable force, he said.

Highlighting the importance of youth and alumni engagement in strengthening trilateral ties, Mr. Nawab underscored that the unity demonstrated in Baku will help ensure a prosperous and peaceful future for the next generation.

Our nations have always supported each other through challenging times. This trilateral convergence, symbolized by the joint military display, secures the foundations for a prosperous future, ensuring that the next generation inherits a strong, strategically aligned, and peaceful region. We, the alumni and youth leaders, are committed to transforming this deep-seated camaraderie into even greater economic, educational, and defense collaboration, he added.

Expressing his gratitude for the recent praise bestowed upon him by the President of Azerbaijan, Mr. Nawab stated that such recognition only strengthens his resolve to serve the cause of trilateral friendship.

To receive such high recognition from His Excellency the President of Azerbaijan is an honor that only deepens my resolve to serve the cause of this vital trilateral friendship.

Mr. Nawab concluded by reaffirming the commitment of the Pakistan-Azerbaijan Alumni Association to building bridges between the people and ensuring that the strategic vision shared by the leaders of the three nations continues to be strengthened through active youth and community engagement.
10 November 2025 10:25 (UTC+04:00)

The Embassy of Azerbaijan in Algeria has held a solemn event dedicated to the fifth anniversary of 8 November  Victory Day.

The Embassy informed AZERTAC that the event was attended by representatives of the Algerian state and government, prominent political and public figures, heads and staff of diplomatic and international missions accredited in Algeria, Azerbaijani compatriots living, working, and studying in the country, as well as media representatives.

The national anthems of Azerbaijan and Algeria were performed at the beginning of the event.

Azerbaijans Ambassador to Algeria, Mr. Tural Rzayev, delivered a speech, stating that 8 November  Victory Day  holds exceptional significance for the people of Azerbaijan and is commemorated as a page of pride and honour in the history of our country. He emphasised that 8 November, one of the brightest pages of Azerbaijans history, symbolises the unity, determination, and resilience of our people.

The Ambassador noted that as a result of the 44-day Patriotic War, Azerbaijan restored its territorial integrity and ensured the implementation of the four UN Security Council resolutions, acting on the basis of international law and its principles. He stated that the glorious Victory achieved by the Azerbaijani Army under the leadership of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev, was a triumph of national unity and will. It was also highlighted that following the brilliant Victory in the 44-day Patriotic War, the people of Azerbaijan now celebrate State Flag Day with even greater pride and joy.

The diplomat further stressed that this victory was not only military but also political and moral. He noted that Azerbaijan is now pursuing a policy aimed at promoting peace, security, and cooperation in the region. Referring to the ongoing talks on signing a peace agreement with Armenia, he underlined Azerbaijans peaceful and constructive position. The Ambassador highlighted that the peace agreement reached in Washington on August 8 this year once again clearly demonstrated Azerbaijans consistent commitment to peace initiatives.

Tural Rzayev also spoke about the large-scale restoration and reconstruction works carried out in the liberated territories, as well as the return of internally displaced persons to their native lands.

The event continued with a reception, during which a video dedicated to 8 November  Victory Day  was shown, and footage of Azerbaijans historic cities and the reconstruction of the liberated lands was screened. Guests were presented with printed materials about Azerbaijans path of independence and development.

Within the framework of the event, guests showed great interest in an exhibition showcasing Azerbaijans rich cultural heritage and materials prepared in honour of Victory Day.

At the end, the guests thanked the Embassy for organising the event on this significant day and conveyed their wishes for lasting peace, progress, and prosperity to the people of Azerbaijan.

The event was widely covered by Algerias leading news portals.
China urges Netherlands to restore stability of global semiconductor supply chain

Xinhua) 10:02, November 10, 2025

BEIJING, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Commerce on Saturday called on the Netherlands to put forward constructive plans and take concrete actions to restore the stability of the global semiconductor supply chain.

A spokesperson for the ministry made these remarks when asked to comment on the statement concerning the issue of the semiconductor manufacturer Nexperia, an overseas subsidiary of Chinese company Wingtech, released on Thursday by Vincent Karremans, Dutch minister of economic affairs.

China has noted the statement, the spokesperson said, adding that to date, China has not seen any practical actions taken by the Dutch side to stop infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and restore the stability of the global semiconductor supply chain.

In a responsible attitude toward the stability and security of the global semiconductor supply chain, China announced on Nov. 1 that it would grant export exemptions to eligible enterprises, the spokesperson said. The spokesperson emphasized that the Dutch side is the source of, and bears responsibility for, the current disruption in the global semiconductor supply chain.

China hopes that the Dutch side's statement will not remain mere rhetoric. The Netherlands should put forward substantive and constructive proposals and take practical actions to effectively restore the stability of the global semiconductor supply chain at its source, the spokesperson added.

The Dutch side should stop using administrative means to intervene and meddle in the internal affairs of enterprises and it should promote an early resolution of the Nexperia issue, the spokesperson said.

China has agreed to the request of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs to send personnel to China for consultations, according to the spokesperson.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
10 November 2025 14:09 (UTC+04:00)

The graduation ceremony of the 34th NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC-34) was held at the NATO Defence College (NDC) in Rome, Italy.

Azernews reports via the press service of the Ministry of Defence that, during the course, participants from allied and partner countries took part in lessons, seminars, and practical exercises on strategic thinking, regional security, cooperation mechanisms, and field studies.

Lieutenant Colonel Frman Mmmdov of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces successfully completed the course.

At the end of the event, diplomas were presented to the graduates by the commander of the military education institution.
10 November 2025 16:35 (UTC+04:00)

The large-scale tree-planting campaign held every year on 11 November in brotherly Turkey under the slogan Breath for the Future! has already become a tradition in Azerbaijan.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, Irad Ibrahimova, told AZRTAC that Azerbaijan is once again supporting Turkeys initiative this year.

Within the campaign organised by the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, 111,111 trees will be planted across all regions of our country. We believe that these trees will eventually grow into broad green areas and make a significant contribution to the environment, Irad Ibrahimova said.

She noted that since 11 November falls on a non-working day this year, the campaign in Azerbaijan will be held on 12 November:

The campaign will begin in the settlement of Musfiqabad, with the participation of officials and employees of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, eco-volunteers, and representatives of the embassies of the member states of the Organization of Turkic States. A total of 1,111 trees will be planted in Musfiqabad.
10 November 2025 18:13 (UTC+04:00)

A business mission from Azerbaijan to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is planned for 2329 November this year, Azernews reports.

According to the AfricaAzerbaijan Cooperation Organisation (AFAZ), the mission programme includes an EthiopiaAzerbaijan business forum, B2B and B2G meetings, as well as visits to industrial parks and manufacturing facilities.

The agenda also features meetings at MUSIAD Ethiopia, at the MESOB centre (an analogue of Azerbaijans ASAN Service), with local government agencies, chambers of commerce and various trade associations.

The mission aims to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries, build new partnerships and discuss wider opportunities for Azerbaijani companies to enter the African market.

It is worth recalling that during a meeting last November between Azerbaijans Minister of Economy, Mikayil Jabbarov, and a delegation led by Ethiopias State Minister Aklilu Tadess, the sides emphasised the importance of realising the economic cooperation potential between the two countries. They reviewed partnership prospects in trade, investment and green energy.

The parties also discussed using Azerbaijans experience in industrial parks, expanding cooperation between business communities, enlarging the legal and contractual framework and organising joint business events, as well as exchanging expertise in areas of mutual interest.
10 November 2025 20:48 (UTC+04:00)

At the official opening ceremony of COP30 in Belem, Brazil, Andre Correa do Lago was elected President of COP30.

Azernews reports that the COP29 President, Muxtar Babayev, Azerbaijans Special Envoy on Climate Issues, officially handed over the presidency to Andre Correa do Lago. With this, leadership of the UN climate summits has passed from Azerbaijan to Brazil.

It should be noted that COP29 was held for the first time in the South Caucasus region, in Baku. During that summit, a new global climate finance agreement, the Baku Finance Goal, was adopted. COP29 also presented a practical plan to mobilize $1.3 trillion in climate finance through the Baku-to-Belem Roadmap, establishing close cooperation between the COP29 and COP30 presidencies.

The COP in Belem will mark the implementation phase of this roadmap and the application of the agreements reached in Baku.
10 November 2025 19:18 (UTC+04:00)

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced on Monday that more than 117 million people have been displaced worldwide this year due to conflict, persecution, and violence, warning that their situation is being made far worse by the escalating climate crisis.

The agency noted that extreme weather events are hitting vulnerable communities with growing force. Floods in South Sudan and Brazil, unprecedented heatwaves in Kenya and Pakistan, and severe water shortages in Chad and Ethiopia are pushing already fragile populations to the brink, UNHCR said.

Over the past ten years, weather-related disasters have triggered 250 million internal displacements, averaging around 70,000 people a day, or roughly two every three seconds.

UNHCR cautioned that basic support systems for refugees are already under immense pressure. In parts of flood-hit Chad, newly arrived refugees escaping war in Sudan receive less than 10 litres of water per day, far below emergency standards.

Research also suggests that by 2050, the hottest refugee camps could endure nearly 200 days of extreme heat stress annually, posing severe threats to health and survival. Many such locations may become unlivable because of lethal combinations of heat and humidity.

The agency added that 1.2 million refugees returned home in early 2025, but half of them resettled in areas highly vulnerable to climate impacts. Across Africa, 75 per cent of land is degrading, and more than half of all refugee settlements are located in high-stress zones. These conditions are shrinking access to food, water, and livelihoods, fuelling recruitment by armed groups in the Sahel and driving cycles of conflict and displacement.

Despite surging needs, UNHCR says severe funding gaps and what it calls an unfair global climate finance system have left millions exposed. Countries hosting refugees receive only one quarter of the climate funding they require, while most climate finance never reaches displaced populations or their host communities.

Speaking at the opening of the UN COP30 climate summit in Belem, Brazil, UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi warned that funding cuts are undermining efforts to shield refugees from extreme weather. If we want stability, we must invest where people are most at risk, he said. Climate finance must reach communities already living on the edge. They cannot be left on their own. This COP must deliver real action, not empty promises.
10 November 2025 20:22 (UTC+04:00)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has convened with Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu in Cairo to strengthen military cooperation and advance several major joint economic initiatives. The high-level meeting focused on expanding the strategic partnership between Egypt and Russia across multiple sectors, including defense, trade, tourism, and political coordination, according to statements from the Egyptian presidency.

Both officials emphasized building upon agreements reached in May 2025, particularly the establishment of a Russian industrial zone within the Suez Canal Economic Zone and the ongoing El-Dabaa nuclear power plant project in northwestern Egypt. These substantial infrastructure developments represent significant components of the deepening economic relationship between Cairo and Moscow, extending beyond their traditional military cooperation into long-term strategic investments.

President Sisi reaffirmed Egypt's commitment to supporting peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, expressing backing for "all efforts to end the Russian-Ukraine crisis and achieve comprehensive peace." Secretary Shoigu reciprocated by acknowledging Egypt's stabilizing role in the Middle East and emphasizing Moscow's intention to maintain close coordination with Cairo on regional security matters affecting the broader Middle East area.

The Egypt-Russia partnership has historical roots dating to the Soviet era, when Moscow served as Cairo's primary military supplier and strategic ally. In recent years, the relationship has evolved to encompass broader economic and technical cooperation, with both nations seeking to counterbalance Western influence in the region while pursuing mutually beneficial development projects that strengthen their respective regional positions.
10 November 2025 22:43 (UTC+04:00)

Senegal is resisting calls from the International Monetary Fund to restructure its debt, its prime minister said, as the nation grapples with its worst economic crisis in decades. Ousmane Sonko, addressing a rally in Dakar, said such a move would be a disgrace.

The IMF froze Senegals $1.8 billion program last year after its government disclosed hidden debts shortly after coming to power, blaming the hole in the public purse on the previous administration. The debts have since ballooned to more than $11 billion.

Sonkos comments came days after the IMF completed a mission to Senegal on Thursday without agreeing a new lending program. The government unveiled an economic recovery plan in August, 90% of which it said would be financed through domestic resources to avoid incurring additional debt. The increasingly parlous state of Francophone West Africas second-largest economy led to a credit downgrade by S&P in July which has pushed up borrowing costs.
10 November 2025 21:15 (UTC+04:00)

At least eight people were killed and 15 others seriously injured in an explosion in the Indian capital New Delhi on Monday, state media reported.

8 people (were) reported killed in a car blast near the Red Fort. Rescue operations underway, state-run Doordarshan News reported, referring to a historic Mughal structure.

The incident happened at around 6.52 pm (0122GMT), according to the police.

It added that after the explosion 15 others who were critically injured were taken to Lok Nayak Jaya Prakash Hospital.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly assessed the situation during a phone call with Amit Shah, the home minister.

Quoting the Delhi Fire Department, the report added that after the blast, nearby vehicles also caught fire and sustained damage.

The dog squad, forensic team, and Delhi Police are present at the spot as investigations are underway, it said.

Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha told reporters at the site that the explosion came from a slow-moving vehicle that stopped at a red light.

Locals in the area said they heard a "loud noise when the explosion took place.

A high alert was sounded in Delhi after the explosion.

The nature of the blast was not immediately known.
10 November 2025 23:09 (UTC+04:00)

The US has partially suspended imposition of Caesar Act sanctions on Syria for 180 days, the Treasury Department announced Monday.

The suspension replaces a May 23 waiver, which also granted a 180-day exemption from mandatory Caesar Act sanctions, and represents "our commitment to continued sanctions relief for Syria," according to an advisory from the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The move coincided with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa's history-making visit to Washington.

The suspension halts the imposition of Caesar Act sanctions except for certain transactions involving the governments of Russia and Iran, or transfers of Russian-origin or Iranian-origin goods, technology, software, funds, financing, or services, according to the advisory

The 2019 Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act has been a central element of US policy pressuring the former Syrian regime of Bashar Assad, which was ousted last December. The sanctions block international investments and economic transactions involving the Syrian government and its affiliates.
Belfast Harbour has marked the end of its 2025 cruise season with the departure of the Ambassador Ambition, after a record year that saw the city welcome its 1,500th cruise ship.
Lowe Rental Corporation's turnover has grown from 33m in 2019 to around 120m in 2025

Lowe Rental Corporation specialises in commercial refrigeration and catering equipment as well as kitchen and cold room infrastructure

A commercial refrigeration firm in Lisburn has announced a new majority investment to help fund international expansion.

Lowe Rental Corporation specialises in commercial refrigeration and catering equipment as well as kitchen and cold room infrastructure.

The business, which is led by Rachel McCausland, has signed an agreement for a new majority investment from MML Keystone, which it said would mark a new chapter of international growth and technological innovation.

And existing private equity investor Perwyn will be reinvesting into the business.

Andrew Honan, co-managing partner of MML Keystone, said: We have been greatly impressed by the global platform that Rachel and the team at Lowe Rental have built, and we have a strong conviction in the value that the Lowe Rental Equipment-as-a-service model delivers to its clients.

"The combination of customer impact, innovation, and sustainable growth aligns closely with MML Keystones investment philosophy.

He said MML had been Lowe Rentals first institutional investor more than a decade ago.

"We have every confidence in the teams ability to deliver the next phase of growth and look forward to supporting them as they continue to expand across multiple market-leading verticals.

Perwyn has been the companys majority shareholder since 2018, and over that time, Lowe Rentals turnover has grown from 33m in 2019 to around 120m in 2025.

Mark Blower, partner at Perwyn, said: During the time of our investment in Lowe Rental it has evolved into a truly global platform, operating 12 strategic distribution centres across North America, the UK and Europe, the GCC, and Asia.

We are proud to have supported the company to build a diverse customer base spanning grocery retail, food and beverage exhibitions, major sporting events, and public sector institutions.

Working with the talented management team, we also supported the development of an equipment-as-a-Service model for Lowe, and we have every confidence that the team will continue to prosper.

Rachel McCausland, Lowe Rental Corporation

Rachel McCausland, CEO of Lowe Rental Corporation, said: We are delighted to enter an agreement that will welcome MML Keystone as our new majority shareholder.

"This partnership will mark an exciting milestone for Lowe Rental as we accelerate our global growth strategy and strengthen our technology-led approach to rental services.

With MMLs support, well continue to scale our impact, advance our sustainability agenda, and deliver even greater value to our customers worldwide.

I would also like to thank Perwyn for their partnership and guidance since 2018, they have been instrumental in helping us build the strong international platform we have today.

Lowe Rental was advised by DC Advisory, Eversheds Sutherland, CIL and Deloitte.

The management was advised by Pinsent Masons and Jamieson.

MML Keystone was advised by Macquarie Capital, Hogan Lovells, Roland Berger, Queens Tower Advisory, EY, Howden and Sustainable Advantage.

Lowe Rental was founded in 1977 and provides refrigeration, cold rooms, catering equipment, and kitchen infrastructure to businesses across retail, hospitality, events, and public sector markets.

It has over 500 staff globally throughout 12 distribution centres and offices worldwide.
Northern Ireland IT firm Kainos has posted record revenues for the first six months of the year, although pre-tax profits have gone down slightly.

Revenue at the only Northern Irish firm to be listed on the FTSE 250 rose to 196.1m in the first half of 2025, a 7% rise on the same period last year. However, pre-tax profits declined 17% to 28.4m.

Kainos CEO Brendan Mooney attributed the decrease in profitability to factors including the increased costs of contractors in the period.

The company, which is currently building a new HQ at Bankmore Square on Dublin Road, said that contractors and third-party suppliers were used to provide short-term delivery capacity.

Artist's impression of Kainos plc's new offices at Bankmore Square

Kainos performed strongly in the first half of the year, with 227.9m worth of bookings recorded, and a contracted backlog of 396.9m.

The firm also announced that it will extend its share buyback programme for another six months, with a further 30m set aside for this purpose.

Mr Mooney said: This was a positive six months for Kainos, underpinned by our success in securing several new contracts with new and existing customers.

This positions us for accelerated growth in the second half, with each of our divisions set to increase revenue. We therefore anticipate a strong performance for Kainos as a whole.

We remain on track to achieve our ARR (annual recurring revenue) targets of 100m by the end of 2026 and 200m by the end of 2030.

Brendan Mooney of Kainos

News Catch Up - Friday 7 November

The companys work includes providing technology services to government.

Mr Mooney said the UK government regarded technology as central to its mission to improve the quality and efficiency of public services, while making them easier for citizens to access.

The significant programme wins in the period are testament to our capabilities in the public and healthcare sectors.

We also look forward to continued progress in North America, reinforced by our newly acquired Davis Pier business in Canada.

Our success depends on nurturing long-term customer relationships and ensuring our people remain engaged and committed. We are deeply grateful for our customers continued trust in us and for the energy and talent of our colleagues.
PSNI Superintendent Allister Hagan (left) and Constable Owen Kelly (right) and Retail NI chief executive Glyn Roberts launch the national week of action on business crime, with a series of Safer Business Action Days across Northern Ireland

The PSNI is set to increase patrols in towns and city centres across Northern Ireland to target business crime as part of a week of action.

The police are also urging retailers to report offences and incidents such as anti-social behaviour and theft, to help reduce business-related crime.

Starting today, PSNI officers will carry out planned operations, engage with local businesses and communities, and step up high-visibility patrols.

Throughout the week, the Safer Business Action Days (SaBA) initiative will also see a programme of crime-prevention activity, targeted patrols and interventions with offenders.

Superintendent Allister Hagan said the force hopes it will provide businesses with reassurance that officers are actively engaged in tackling crime and targeting offenders.

"We are aware that our business community do not always contact police when dealing with this type of offence, but through increased engagement and crime prevention initiatives; we hope this will provide reassurance that our officers are there to help, said Superintendent Hagan.

Through our local Neighbourhood policing officers, we want retailers and businesses to engage with police to help us target our approach to reducing business crime.

"Under-reporting is an issue that police are aware of, but we want all members of our local communities to come forward if they have been a victim of crime or see something suspicious.

This information is vital in apprehending offenders, focusing resources, and ultimately reducing crime and anti-social behaviour.

He continued: We have an extremely diverse range of businesses for shoppers visiting our town and cities.

"This is one of the key elements that makes Northern Ireland a great place to work, live and socialise. We hope that further businesses will see the potential of making towns and cities across Northern Ireland their home.

Our towns and cities have some of the lowest crime rates in the UK. We want retailers, businesses, and the local community to feel safe when shopping and doing business across Northern Ireland.

"Working closely with our key stakeholders and partner agencies, we will continue to make towns and cities desirable and prosperous where business crime is not tolerated and will be dealt with robustly."

PSNI Superintendent Allister Hagan (left) and Constable Owen Kelly (right) and Retail NI chief executive Glyn Roberts launch the national week of action on business crime, with a series of Safer Business Action Days across Northern Ireland

The story behind Belfast's 'Alec the Goose' tribute outside St George's Market in Belfast

Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts said: Retail NI is pleased to support this action week and look forward to seeing increased engagement with our PSNI colleagues.

This is a good example of the partnership we have with the PSNI in tackling crime and ensuring our members, their staff, and shoppers stay safe.
After last trip ended in brawl, David Fisher says Glentoran will bring different fighting spirit to Inver Park
Tim Westwood is due in to appear court on Monday (Ian West/PA)

Former Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood is due to appear in court on Monday after being charged with rape and sexual assault.

The Metropolitan Police said the 68-year-old is accused of offences against seven different women as young as 17 years old.
5

Ash's Tim Wheeler on being called a legend, the anguish of watching his father's battle with Alzheimer's and why he'd like to be a dad himself one day
Actor and musician Ferdia Walsh-Peelo

Ferdia Walsh-Peelo is an actor and musician. At the age of 14, he was picked to play the lead role in Sing Street, John Carneys 2016 semi-autobiographical musical comedy.

The teenager then made his small screen debut as Alfred the Great in the hit TV series Vikings.

The Wicklow native played the love interest and singing partner of Emilia Joness character in the hit Apple TV+ film Coda, which won three Oscars in 2022.

This year, Walsh-Peelo starred alongside Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham-Carter and Gabriel Byrne in Four Letters of Love, an adaptation of the Niall Williams novel.

Music was Walsh-Peelos first love; he began his musical career as a soprano at the age of seven and toured with the Opera Theatre Company.

The apple didnt fall far from the tree: his mother is soprano and music teacher Toni Walsh (his father is documentary maker and reporter Mick Peelo).

Hes a founding member of The Fynches with his brother Oisin. The Fynches debut self-titled album is now available on all streaming platforms and the band will start touring Ireland this month. Tickets and tour dates are available at thefynches.com/tour.

How did your upbringing influence your relationship with money?

My parents were always very strategic with how they spent their money. Which, when I very first started earning, led me to be more reckless with my spending. But certainly these days, as I head into my later 20s, Ive become a lot more cautious, and its probably due to my upbringing.

Have you ever felt broke?

I have in recent months, while pursuing music full time. Having a band, making a record, and touring in this day and age is a pretty guaranteed way to put stress on the bank account. Even when we play sold-out shows, we lose money. Same thing goes with my friends who have record deals.

Whats the most expensive place youve ever been to?

Probably the town of Carmel in California. Thankfully I was travelling for work, so my expenses were taken care of  but a coffee was about $10 (8.60) before the tip, and you have to tip at least 15pc.

Have you ever seen anyone spend money in a way that shocked you?

A few times in America. I once saw a famous film producer spend $500 per bottle of wine  there were four bottles  at a dinner I was at years ago.

Whats your biggest extravagance?

Probably eating out and going to the pub. I love it and its my main way of socialising. Its just getting more and more expensive.

Ferdia Walsh-Peelo is a founding member of The Fynches

What was your best ever investment?

The Fynches  I hope. We put all our own money into our album and upcoming tour. Holding the vinyl in my hands certainly felt worth it, but financially that remains to be seen

Would you buy Irish property now?

Maybe Id buy some land if I had the extra cash. I think that would be valuable in the future.

Do you still carry cash?

I do. Mainly as a protest to a cashless society  I dont like the idea of a cashless future.

What was your worst ever job?

Probably being a musician, because Ive never been paid.

Whats your biggest financial regret?

Renting.

Are you a spender or a saver?

A spender.

What three things would you not be able to do without if you had to tighten your belt?

Living in a capital city (I live in London), going out for dinner, and travelling by train.
Golf

David Careys PGA Tour dream in tatters as Aine Donegan and Olivia Mehaffey shine at Q-School
Belfast man jailed after assisting rioters in loyalist area during attacks on police and businesses

Gary Richardson from Rowland Way in Belfast was handed a 14-month sentence

Disorder taking place during the racist rioting in the Sandy Row area of Belfast in August 2024. Photo: Kevin Scott

Ashleigh McDonald Mon 10 Nov 2025 at 15:49

A Crown Court judge has warned that anyone who involved themselves in religious or race-related rioting "can expect an immediate custodial sentence.
latest | Top NI businessman told in writing and to his face that he had to declare interests, Nama official tells trial

Defence barrister says even if his client had a moral obligation to disclose financial interests, he didnt have a legal duty to do so, as alleged by the prosecution

Former Nama adviser Frank Cushnahan outside Belfast Crown Court (Credit: Alan Lewis/Photopress)

Sam McBride Mon 10 Nov 2025 at 16:57

Frank Cushnahan was told both in person and in writing that he had to declare potential conflicts of interest, Namas head of compliance has told the former bankers trial in Belfast.
Police have caught a newly qualified R plate driver travelling at 135mph on the M1 outside Belfast.

Roads Policing Officers were carrying out speed checks on the motorway on Sunday morning when they detected the vehicle travelling at almost double the M1s 70mph speed limit and three times the restricted speed for newly qualified drivers.

The car was displaying R plates when stopped by the police, indicating the driver had passed their test less than a year ago.

When stopped, the motorist told officers they had only passed their driving test less than five months earlier.

Roads Policing Officers stopped the vehicle on Sunday

MLA Claire Sugden chats to Niamh Campbell on migraines

Police have confirmed the matter will be reported to the Public Prosecution Service.

The PSNI described the drivers actions as completely reckless, warning that excessive speed remains one of the leading causes of serious collisions on Northern Irelands roads.

This article was amended on November 12 2025 correcting a reference to the M1 speed limit.
Councillor Paul McCusker, Kelly Burke and Carla Lindberg from the 174 pre-school nursery with two pupils at the launch of their campaign banner on Monday.

A group of preschool children in north Belfast fed up of dodging dirt outside their nursery have teamed up with a local artist to combat dog fouling.

The young activists and their parents have collaborated with Caroline Murphy to send a message to dog owners after one pupil stepped in faeces on their way to class at the Duncairn Arts Centre.

They helped create a large banner to make it clear that "I don't want poo on my shoes".

The poster, illustrated with brown footprints to reinforce the point, was unveiled at the facility on Duncairn Avenue on Monday.

Executive director of the 174 Trust, Tim Magowan, said the problem arises all too often.

"Every week there are dog poos left on the street outside our nursery," he explained.

"One morning there was actually a dog poo left in the middle of our entrance and one unfortunate child walked it in."

Councillor Paul McCusker, Kelly Burke and Carla Lindberg from the 174 pre-school nursery with two pupils at the launch of their campaign banner on Monday.

The story behind Belfast's 'Alec the Goose' tribute outside St George's Market in Belfast

Preschool leader Kelly Burke warned that the messy issue poses a serious problem.

"Our children know that their health is at risk from these dog foulers and they want to be heard, she said.

The banner, which is intended to show how easily dog poo can be walked into the nursery, also features pictures of canine owners responsibly picking up after their pet.

Local councillor Paul McCusker said dog fouling is a huge issue across the north of the city as he confirmed Belfast City Council has already agreed to step up patrols in response to the children's campaign.

"Those walking their dogs need to be more responsible as this is a health risk to the public, particularly children," he added.

"As a local community we all have responsibility to ensure our streets are clean and pose no risk to the public and I will be supporting 174 to work with Belfast City Council to stop those who allow their dogs to foul on the streets".
Almost 500 pigs have died following a major overnight blaze at a farm in Co Tyrone.

Emergency services were called to reports of a shed fire on the Fyfin Road outside Newtownstewart shortly before 10:45pm.

Firefighters from Newtownstewart, Strabane, Kilrea, Castlederg, Omagh attended the incident alongside a Specialist Support Vehicle from Omagh Fire Station, a Water Tanker from Pomeroy Fire Station and Aerial Support from Northland Fire Station attended the incident.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used 2 hose reels jets to bring the fire under control and to stop it from spreading.

Stock Image: Firefighters attended the incident overnight

MLA Claire Sugden chats to Niamh Campbell on migraines

In a statement a spokesperson for NIFRS said: Unfortunately, approximately 450 pigs died in the incident.

"The cause of the fire is believed to have been accidental ignition and the incident was dealt with by 2.58am
Caroline Flack, who died in February 2020, is the subject of a new Disney Plus documentary fronted by her mother

A Northern Ireland entertainment journalist has described the tabloid scandal surrounding Caroline Flack as on par with phone hacking.

Paul Martin was speaking in a new Disney+ documentary which revisits the intense media scrutiny faced by the late presenter in the lead up to her tragic death.
Emma Little-Pengelly has appealed directly to Michelle ONeill to lift a block on economic development at the former Maze prison site to unleash its incredible potential.

The deputy First Minister told MLAs that she believed parts of the site could be developed while discussions continue on dealing with difficult legacy issues.

The derelict paramilitary prison only compromises part of the huge 347 acre site near Lisburn that falls under the remit of the Maze Long Kesh Development Corporation, which was established in 2011.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said the impasse at the Maze site was a source of frustration for her (Liam McBurney/PA)

While there has been some development  most significantly the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society becoming an anchor tenant and moving the annual Balmoral Show to the venue  the wider transformation of the site has been stalled for over a decade.

The Ulster Aviation Society and the Northern Ireland Air Ambulance also operate out of the site.

The full regeneration plan hit the buffers in 2013 when former DUP first minister Peter Robinson blocked efforts to build a peace centre as part of the redevelopment of the sprawling grounds which once housed the high-security jail and were gifted to the Northern Ireland Executive by the UK Government.

The prison held paramilitary inmates during the Troubles and was the location for republican hunger strikes in 1981 in which 10 died, including Bobby Sands.

Mr Robinsons move came amid unionist concerns about the symbolism of building a peace centre on the site of the prison.

A political impasse has continued since.

At ministerial question time on Monday, Sinn Fein MLA Sinead Ennis asked the deputy First Minster about progress on the site.

Ms Little-Pengelly, whose Lagan Valley constituency contains the sprawling site, said the issue had been a source of real frustration for me.

The DUP politician said: I dont agree with the Sinn Fein position that nothing can happen on that site until you get your way in relation to the listed buildings.

I think the listed buildings are a very sensitive issue, there is the potential for a huge amount of hurt depending on what happens there, particularly for victims and survivors.

Ms Little-Pengelly said former Sinn Fein deputy first minister Martin McGuinness made clear that nothing, or very little, could happen on the site in terms of economic development unless there was an agreement on the listed prison buildings.

She added: I would appeal to Sinn Fein, I would appeal to my colleague in this office (First Minister Ms ONeill) to lift that restriction and allow that economic potential on a main Belfast to Dublin corridor to go ahead while discussions continue in terms of dealing with those difficult issues and legacy issues from the past.

She said: That is such a key site, you can see all kinds of businesses and different economic development that would be interested in going there.

Given its key strategic site, the importance to my constituency of Lagan Valley.

I would appeal to lift that condition on economic development, allow that economic development to go ahead, and unleash the incredible potential of the Maze/Long Kesh site, not just for Lagan Valley, but for the entirety of Northern Ireland.
Child was airlifted to hospital after the emergency services attended the collision outside Limavady

A GAA club has asked for prayers for a former player of their club who suffered injuries described as critical after a collision involving a lorry.

Earlier, emergency services attended scene of a serious road traffic collision outside Limavady.

Two fire appliances, police, ambulance, and the charity air ambulance were at the scene on the Boleran Road between Coleraine, Garvagh and Limavady.

A young girl has since been airlifted to Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children for further injuries which have been described as critical.

In a social media post, Ballerin GAA asked for prayers for the girl: We ask our community to come together to pray for a young member who was injured in an accident this evening.

"The rosary will be said at 8pm in St Marys Church. Padre Pio pray for her.

Its understood the young girl is a former player at the club, while her family are still members.

NI Air Ambulance stock image

Paul Givan heckled by protesters as he faced vote of no confidence

The road has been closed to traffic, with specialist rescue teams working at the scene.

A spokesperson for the PSNI said: Police received a report of a road traffic collision in the Boleran Road area of Limavady involving a lorry and a child pedestrian shortly before 4pm, today Monday 10th November.

Officers alongside colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and Northern Ireland Ambulance Service attended the scene.

The girl remains in hospital at this time being treated for injuries which are described as critical.

The road remains closed at this time and road users are advised to seek an alternative route.
LATEST | No-confidence motion falls as DUP minister accused of 'grinning like panto villain' during bad-tempered debate

Assembly discussion was also interrupted at one point by pro-Palestine protestors who began shouting 'murder', 'genocide' and 'shame on you minister'

Paul Givan heckled by protesters as he faced vote of no confidence

Niamh Campbell Mon 10 Nov 2025 at 17:11







A no-confidence motion in Education Minister Paul Givan has fallen after failing to gather support from a majority of both nationalists and unionists.
Michael D Higginss 14 years as President of Ireland saw the poet expand on how the office is viewed and take outspoken positions on Government policy.

Mr Higgins also leaves Aras an Uachtarain as a figure who has inspired memes, tea cosies and childrens books.

Born on April 18 1941 in Limerick city, Michael Daniel Higgins was the third of John and Alice Higginss four children.

A War of Independence veteran, John Higgins struggled with alcohol which exacerbated his poor health and Michael and his brother were sent to Newmarket-on-Fergus, County Clare to live with their aunt and uncle.

After leaving school the future President Higgins worked in a factory and as a clerk before studying at University College Galway, the first of his family to access higher education.

Michael D Higgins with then Labour leader Pat Rabbitte after the party did not put him forward as a candidate in 2004 (Haydn West/PA)

As a student he led demonstrations, the beginning of a life-long commitment to speaking out on issues such as the rights of women and people with disabilities.

An academic career followed, which included spells studying and lecturing in the US, before he entered politics.

After a number of unsuccessful general election campaigns he was nominated for the Seanad in 1973 by the then taoiseach Liam Cosgrave, before being elected to the Dail in 1981 as a Labour TD for Galway West.

In 1974 Mr Higgins married actor Sabina Coyne and the couple went on to have four children.

Michael D Higgins smiles after winning the Labour Party nomination to run as its candidate for the presidential election in 2011 (Niall Carson/PA)

Throughout his career in politics he built a lengthy CV serving in a variety of roles including mayor of Galway, president of the Labour Party and cabinet minister for arts, culture and the Gaeltacht.

It was during that period as a minister that Mr Higgins launched Teilifis na Gaeilge, later TG4, and reinstated the Irish Film Board, both credited with rejuvenating the Irish media landscape.

His politics were not just inward looking, he championed global peace and democracy.

In 1982 he was deported from El Salvador when he travelled there with the charity Trocaire in an attempt to investigate reports of a massacre in a village in the south of the country.

President Michael D Higgins attends a homecoming in Eyre Square, Galway city, after his resounding victory in the presidential election (Kifah Abu Ajamia/PA)

Alongside his political work, Mr Higgins has published a number of books including collections of poetry, speeches and essays and contributed to numerous others.

Then in 2011 came a run for the Presidency where he beat six other candidates, winning with 39.6% of first preference votes.

He was joined in the Aras by his wife Sabina and a cast of Bernese Mountain dogs.

They soon became a beloved fixture at the Aras, greeting dignitaries and interrupting events in pursuit of belly rubs.

Mr Higgins was elected during a turbulent period in recent Irish history, and the economic crisis dominated the start of his presidency.

Queen Elizabeth II accompanies Irish President Michael D Higgins as he is shown Irish related items from the Royal Collection (Justin Tallis/PA)

He took on the role in 2011, the first year of the EU-IMF economic bailout programme, when Ireland was experiencing high levels of unemployment fuelling emigration.

In one of his first acts as president, he voluntarily waived almost a quarter of his salary, following a similar pay cut taken by predecessor Mary McAleese after Ireland was hit with a recession.

The countrys financial crash forced him to cut short a 2013 state visit to Italy.

He returned to Ireland in order to sign emergency legislation to liquidate the Irish Bank Resolution Company (IBRC), the entity formed when Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide merged.

President Michael D Higgins will be succeeded by Catherine Connolly (Brian Lawless/PA)

Austerity measures brought in to mitigate the crash included new water charges, which were ferociously opposed.

President Higgins bore the brunt of demonstrators during a visit to a school in Finglas, Dublin in early 2015, where some of the protesters were filmed shouting abuse at him.

His first term also saw some milestones in Anglo-Irish relations, and in April 2014 he became the first President of Ireland to make a state visit to the United Kingdom, during which he delivered an historic address at Westminster.

Later that day, in his toast during a state banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle he described the trip as a very visible sign of the warmth and maturity of the relationship between our two countries.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina Coyne, and the presidents dog, Brod (Phil Noble/PA)

However, during the celebrations marking 100 years since the 1916 rising, Mr Higgins pulled out of a civic dinner in Belfast, where he was due to be guest of honour, because of a lack of cross-party support for the occasion.

His spokesperson claimed the decision was made because he does not want to become embroiled in matters of political controversy.

During his presidency, Mr Higgins became known for speaking his mind.

He faced criticism in late 2016 for describing Fidel Castro as a giant among global leaders in a statement marking the death of the former Cuban president.

Mr Higgins rejected claims he ignored human rights concerns and a statement issued by his spokesperson described the criticism as unsustainable and unwarranted.

In 2018, he welcomed Pope Francis to Aras an Uachtarain during the first papal visit to Ireland in 40 years.

The Irish flag is dipped in respect as President Michael D Higgins leaves St Patricks Cathedral in his final public engagement (Conor OMearain/PA)

Mr Higgins told the pontiff of the anger felt by those in Ireland who were abused as children by Catholic clerics.

As his first term came to an end in 2018, he announced he would seek a second despite previously saying he would not run again.

Mr Higgins stood as an independent candidate but was backed by Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Labour, who agreed not to field their own candidates.

He instead faced a Sinn Fein candidate and four independents but won with 55% of the vote.

On RTEs Late Late Show during the Covid-19 pandemic he described the word cocooning, used to describe a measure to protect the over-70s, as infantilising.

In 2021, he wrote to the Oireachtas, raising concerns about the large volume of complex legislation sent to his office which needed to be signed quickly.

It sparked an emergency meeting of Oireachtas committees, and the taoiseach described the concerns as legitimate, claiming the problem had partially been caused by the pandemic.

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins in the stands before a Fifa World Cup Qualifying match at the Aviva Stadium (Brian Lawless/PA)

Later that year, the Government defended the Presidents decision not to attend a cross-community service to mark the centenary of the formation of Northern Ireland.

British and Irish political leaders attended the event at St Patricks Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh, but Mr Higgins declined his invitation because he believed it was not politically neutral.

He was championed by the opposition in June 2022 when he described housing in Ireland as our great, great failure.

The statement was referenced by Sinn Fein, Labour and People Before Profit during leaders questions.

A vocal critic of the war in Gaza, Mr Higgins was criticised several times by Israels ambassador to Ireland.

President of Ireland Michael D Higgins (Conor OMearain/PA)

In 2024, he accused the Israeli embassy in Dublin of leaking a letter in which he sent his best wishes to the new president of Iran.

The embassy rejected the claim and called the remarks highly inflammatory and potentially slanderous.

While remaining vocally forceful, Mr Higgins has become visibly more frail.

In February 2024 when he was 82, the President spent over a week in hospital for what was later revealed to be a mild stroke.

He cut back on public appearances for a number of weeks and was later seen in public using two walking sticks.

The final few weeks of his presidency involved another hospital stay, this time to treat an infection.

The President and his wife intend to return to Galway following 14 years at Aras an Uachtarain.
Holidaymakers returning to Northern Ireland have found their child benefit cut off after HMRC accused them of emigrating

HMRC is reviewing decisions to strip child benefit payments from 23,500 people  many from Northern Ireland  after using individuals travel data to conclude that they had emigrated from the UK.

The benefit is normally stopped if someone spends more than eight weeks living outside the UK, but many of the people affected complained the tax body stopped their payments after they went abroad for a holiday.

Families who flew out from Belfast but returned to Northern Ireland via Dublin Airport found themselves losing benefit payments because the Government thought they had moved abroad, as there are no checks on the Irish border.

It comes after the Government began a new crackdown on child benefit fraud as part of an attempt to save 350m over the next five years.

The system allows HMRC to use Home Office international travel data to assess whether people are still living in the UK.

But all the affected cases are now being reviewed after a growing number of complaints from people who briefly left the UK and returned to find their payments had been stopped.

The problem, first reported by The Detail website, was initially identified in Northern Ireland after some families had flown out of the UK from Belfast and then returned to Dublin, in the EU, before driving home over the border.

According to the Guardian, almost half of the families initially flagged as having emigrated were still living in the UK.

Families in other parts of the UK were also affected, for example, one family that flew to France for a holiday but returned via ferry and a passenger who had simply failed to board a flight after her child fell ill at the departure gate.

The newspaper reported that the scheme saved HMRC 17m but left 46% of the families targeted incorrectly suspected of fraud.

In Northern Ireland, 78% were incorrectly identified as not having returned from trips abroad. Some 129 families were flagged during the pilot as having left the country when only 28 had actually done so.

We have information that shows that you left the UK on May 19, 2025 and travelled to Italy. This was more than eight weeks ago, and we have no record of your return, the HMRC letter to one woman read.

Those wrongly identified then faced a barrage of 12-page list of questions in order to prove they still lived in the UK to get the benefit reinstated.

Holidaymakers returning to Northern Ireland have found their child benefit cut off after HMRC accused them of emigrating

The story behind Belfast's 'Alec the Goose' tribute outside St George's Market in Belfast

HMRC told The Guardian it will no longer use data on travel through Dublin airport to assess fraud because it is part of the common travel area, and will not stop benefits before cross-checking with the person concerned and looking at PAYE records. However families will still have to prove their entitlement, despite no fault on their part.

A spokesperson for HMRC said: Were very sorry to those whose payments have been suspended incorrectly.
Another migrant has re-entered the UK by small boat after being removed to France under the Governments one in, one out returns deal, the Home Office has confirmed.

The man was detained immediately and will be sent back to France as quickly as possible, according to officials.

He is the second migrant confirmed to have returned to the UK after being removed to France as part of efforts to deter small boat crossings.

A Home Office spokesperson said: Anyone looking to return to the UK after being removed under the UK-France agreement is wasting their time and money.

This individual was detected by biometrics and detained immediately. His case will be expedited, and he will be returned to France as quickly as possible.

The message is clear: if you try to return to the UK you will be sent back. We will do whatever it takes to scale up removals of illegal migrants and secure our borders.

The move comes after an Iranian man re-entered the UK by small boat on October 18, a month after being removed to France.

He was deported again last Wednesday.

Downing Street insisted that the detection of a second one in, one out migrant returning to the UK showed the system was working.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: It is absolutely evidence of the system working. Youve got a person whos arrived at the front door, whos been detected immediately, their journey has been wasted completely.

They are in line to return to France, just as the previous case was, out of pocket and out of chances, they are destined to go back straight to France and their money spent on this dangerous crossing will have been spent in vain.

The pilot scheme with France is aimed at deterring migrants from coming to the UK in small boats across the English Channel.

Some 349 people made the journey in five boats on Sunday, according to latest Home Office figures, bringing the total for the year so far to 39,075.

The arrivals have already passed the number for the whole of 2024 (36,816) and 2023 (29,437), but the number is 2% below the total at this point in 2022 (39,929).

As part of the UK-France agreement which came into force in August, people who arrive in the UK by small boat can be detained and returned to France, in exchange for an equivalent number of people who apply through a safe and legal route.

Last Wednesday, the Home Office confirmed so far 94 migrants have been returned to France and 57 people have arrived in the UK under the scheme.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said on Monday the deal is no deterrent at all and only a handful of people have been removed since the deal was announced in the summer.

Reacting to the latest return, he added: We deport them to France and theyre back before you know it.

The Channel is now a revolving door for illegal immigration, and Keir Starmer is waving them through with taxpayer-funded hotel keys.

Only the Conservative Party have a clear, hard-edged BORDERS Plan to restore control. Leave the ECHR, remove all illegal immigrants within a week of arrival, end the merry-go-round of appeals.
Katie Moore said out of sight policies for phone use in schools do not go far enough (Alamy/PA)

A teenager and a mother-of-three have joined two fathers seeking to legally challenge government guidance on phones in schools.

Flossie McShea, 17, and Katie Moore, 43, have added their support to Will Orr-Ewing and Pete Montgomerys claim for a judicial review which seeks to have smartphones completely banned in schools.

Miss McShea, from Devon, has joined as a claimant because she feels the Department for Education (DfE) has failed to protect her and other children from harms inflicted from phones during the school day.

Flossie McShea, 17 from Devon, who has joined a bid to legally challenge government guidance on phones in schools (Family handout/PA)

She told the PA news agency using smartphones completely changed my life from year 7 onwards and that she still thinks about content she has been shown.

I was exposed to pornography and violent videos, like beheading videos. I was sent a video of two young children who had found a gun and one of them accidentally shot the other one, Miss McShea said.

I had to go home. There was a lot of incidents like that and a lot of my friends had the same experiences.

All of this really happens at school because you can see live reactions. Were all gathered in this place, so people feel its much more appealing to share this stuff online when you can get a reaction from 30 kids in the classroom.

I think if I hadnt had a phone, and if we didnt have phones in school, I wouldnt have been exposed to things that I would not want to be exposed to.

Miss McSheas school has brought in a complete ban on smartphones on school premises.

The other day I got on the school bus and a group of year 7s were laughing and chatting together. I felt so happy for them, she said.

We never had that because we were just always looking down and scrolling.

Northampton mother Mrs Moore is also joining the claim after her daughter, now 18, told her she had been shown sexually explicit images in school changing rooms on phones, and once had been exposed to a video of men masturbating when another student accessed a video chatroom at school.

She told the PA news agency it was devastating to hear what her daughter had been exposed to online.

Its been exhausting as a parent, bringing up a teenager in a world that is so driven around pushing us to technology and being reliant on these technologies, Mrs Moore said.

She added she had tried to delay giving her daughter a smartphone as long as possible, but had felt pressure to give in when all her peers had one.

Katie Moore wants to see a complete statutory ban on smartphones in schools (Family handout/PA)

Mrs Moore believes a complete statutory ban on phones at school is the only solution and said out of sight policies for phone use in schools do not go far enough.

Mr Orr-Ewing and Mr Montgomery, both parents of school-age children, wrote to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson in July to say they intended to challenge a mandatory school phone ban not being included in safeguarding guidance for schools.

They are pursuing the judicial review under an organisation they have set up called Generation Alpha CIC.

Lawyers will lodge papers in the High Court on Monday.

Under the former Conservative government, schools were issued non-statutory guidance intended to stop the use of phones during the school day.

A survey by the Childrens Commissioner earlier this year found 90% of secondary schools and 99.8% of primary schools already have policies in place to stop the use of phones during the school day.

The majority of secondary schools (79%) surveyed allowed pupils to bring phones in, but said it must stay out of sight and not be used. Only 3.5% said pupils were not allowed to bring phones to school.

In July, Mr Montgomery and Mr Orr-Ewing said they had made freedom of information requests to schools about phone and social media-related safeguarding incidents. They found that in one schools case, it had passed on 55 incidents to social services, 17 of which were referred to the police.

Mr Montgomery said getting smartphones out of schools is a no-brainer.

It should be the easiest decision in the world for the Government to take, he added. But they havent taken it, so we have no other option but to go to court.

A Government spokesperson said: Phones have no place in our schools, and leaders already have the power to ban phones.

We support headteachers to take the necessary steps to prevent disruption, backed by clear guidance, and have also brought in better protections for children from harmful content through the Online Safety Act.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer gives a speech at the Cop30 summit in Belem, Brazil (Mauro Pimentel/PA)

The latest UN climate talks kick off this week with countries hoping to drive forward action in the face of a major breakdown in global consensus.

World leaders, including Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, gathered in Brazil ahead of the opening of Cop30 negotiations on Monday in the city of Belem in the Amazon.

With the shift towards clean energy progressing at different rates across the world, negotiators will focus on how to accelerate the transition, deliver on commitments to cut planet-warming emissions and boost adaptation to the changing climate.

By hosting the summit at the mouth of the Amazon River, Brazil also hopes to put nature at the heart of talks so that its role in scaling up climate resilience and solutions is meaningfully recognised in the final agreement.

A sign for the upcoming Cop30 UN climate summit sits outside the press centre in Belem, Brazil (Eraldo Peres/AP/PA)

But many countries, including the UK, are bracing to defend multilateralism itself as geopolitical divisions continue to deepen, especially over commitments to phase out fossil fuels.

This year, negotiators are grappling with the fallout from the election of US President Donald Trump, who began his second term this year by backing fossil fuels and ditching green policies.

Mr Trump is also pulling America out of the 2015 UN Paris Agreement for the second time, marking a significant setback for the global framework that committed countries to pursue efforts to limit dangerous warming to the key threshold of 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

The US president snubbed the leaders summit last week, as did leaders from China and India, and his administration is not expected to send any high-level representatives to Cop30.

Concerns remain that the US will still seek to frustrate the talks after it helped to derail a landmark deal to cut global shipping emissions in London last month.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during a roundtable with leaders of tropical forest countries and nations committed to investing in the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (Fernando Llano/AP/PA)

At the same time, Cop30 begins in the wake of deadly weather events which experts say were intensified by global warming.

This includes Hurricane Melissa, which devastated Jamaica last month, wildfires in Los Angeles which destroyed entire neighbourhoods, widespread droughts across South America and floods in Pakistan which left millions homeless.

Last year was the warmest on record globally as climate change was compounded by the El Nino weather phenomenon and UN scientists recently warned that 2025 is on track to be the second or third warmest.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said it was virtually impossible to curb global warming to 1.5C in the next few years without temporarily overshooting the threshold, beyond which extreme weather events as well as threats to ecosystems, human health and food security significantly increase.

A boat moves through Guajara Bay ahead of the Cop30 UN climate summit, in Belem, Brazil (Eraldo Peres/AP/PA)

However, it is still entirely possible and essential to bring temperatures down to the goal by the end of the century, the WMO said.

Under current policies in place, the world is facing long-term global warming of 2.8C, according to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

In a speech in Brazil on Friday, the Prime Minister admitted that consensus is gone in the UK and conceded that global unity in the face of unequivocal science has splintered since the Paris Accord a decade ago.

Yet the UK was doubling down on the fight against climate change, Sir Keir said as he staunchly defended his Governments clean energy policies despite pressure from Mr Trump, who has repeatedly criticised Britains green agenda.

Following his speech, the Prime Ministers efforts to show leadership on climate action were somewhat dampened by backlash to the Governments decision not to invest in a Brazilian-led rainforest fund, which the UK played a key role in establishing.

Indigenous people hold hands during a demonstration in defence of the Amazon (Eraldo Peres/AP/PA)

The British delegation is understood to be going into the talks with a strategy focused on accelerating the implementation of climate action as well as defending multilateralism and the Paris Agreement from the direct attacks it now faces.

Under the accord, governments set out country-level action plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs), to meet the agreed targets through actions such as reducing emissions from activities such as burning fossil fuels and creating or restoring habitats such as forests to capture carbon.

Countries were supposed to submit updated NDCs covering emissions cuts for the 2025-2035 period by September 30.

Only a third have put forward their updated plans so far, with the majority of countries missing the deadline, which had already been extended from February.

Leaders attending the Cop30 UN climate summit pose for a group photo in Belem (Fernando Llano/AP/PA)

UNEP last week warned that countries are off-track even for their older 2030 NDCs, let alone new 2035 targets.

With more NDCs expected to be unveiled in Belem, the world will be waiting to scrutinise the plans as negotiators discuss how to accelerate the rollout of measures they outline.

Elsewhere, Cop30 could bring a package of announcements on nature initiatives, carbon markets, nature finance and a set of initiatives around different parts of the energy mix, with the Brazilian hosts very focused on biofuels.

Talks will also focus on measures to tackle nitrogen emissions and cut down on methane as a handbrake to warming in the near-term, as well as the viability of the 300 billion that wealthy countries pledged in finance for developing economies at Cop29 last year.
US President Donald Trump is hosting Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the White House, welcoming the once-pariah state into a US-led global coalition to fight the so-called Islamic State (IS) group.

It is the first visit to the White House by a Syrian head of state since the Middle Eastern country gained independence from France in 1946 and comes after the US lifted sanctions imposed on Syria during the decades the country was ruled by the Assad family.

Mr al-Sharaa arrived at the White House a little after 11.30am and began his Oval Office meeting shortly afterwards.

The meeting is closed to the press, and the Syrian president entered the building through West Executive Avenue, adjacent to the White House, rather than on the West Wing driveway used for other foreign leaders arrivals.

Mr Al-Sharaa led the rebel forces that toppled Syrian president Bashar Assad last December and was named the countrys interim leader in January.

Mr Trump and Mr al-Sharaa  who once had ties to al Qaida and had a 10 million-dollar (7.6 million) US bounty on his head  first met in May in Saudi Arabia.

Crowds waited near the White House to see Syrias President Ahmed al-Sharaa (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

At the time, the US president described Mr al-Sharaa as a young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past, very strong past. Fighter.

It was the first official encounter between the US and Syria since 2000, when then-president Bill Clinton met Hafez Assad, the father of Bashar Assad.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Mondays visit is part of the presidents efforts in diplomacy to meet with anyone around the world in the pursuit of peace.

Mr Trump, a Republican, has recently said that Mr al-Sharaa is doing a very good job so far and that a lot of progress has been made with Syria since the US eased sanctions.

One official with knowledge of the administrations plans said Syrias entry into the global coalition fighting IS will allow it to work more closely with US forces, although the new Syrian military and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the countrys northeast had already been fighting the group.

Before Mr al-Sharaas arrival in the US, the United Nations Security Council voted to lift sanctions on the Syrian president and other government officials in a move that the US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, said was a strong sign that Syria is in a new era since the fall of Mr Assad.

Mr al-Sharaa comes into the meeting with his own priorities. He wants a permanent repeal of sanctions that punished Syria for widespread allegations of human rights abuses by Mr Assads government and security forces. While the Caesar Act sanctions are currently waived by Mr Trump, a permanent repeal would require Congress to act.

One option is a proposal from Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that would end the sanctions without any conditions. The other was drafted by Senator Lindsey Graham, a hawkish Trump ally who wants to set conditions for a sanctions repeal that would be reviewed every six months.

But advocates argue that any repeal with conditions would prevent companies from investing in Syria because they would fear potentially being sanctioned.

Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, likened it to a hanging shadow that paralyses any initiatives for our country.
Johnathan Walton on how being scammed by Marianne Smyth made him a Con-hunterSmyth was sentenced in September to 4 years in jail at Downpatrick Crown Court

Johnathan Walton and Marianne Smyth, the 'Queen of the Con'

Author and podcaster Johnathan Walton describes himself as a con-hunter but thats not what he set out to be.

The tv producer turned vigilante after he was scammed by con artist Marianne Smyth, the so-called Queen of Con.

Over several years he had handed his supposed best friend Smyth, who claimed to be an Irish heiress, over $100,000.

But Walton was not her first victim. His lengthy investigations revealed she had scammed scores of people since childhood.

She used a range of strategies, lies and aliases  posing as Jennifer Anniston, becoming a satanic priestess, claiming to be on the IRAs army council, pretending to have cancer.

Smyth was sentenced in September to 4 years in jail at Downpatrick Crown Court as it was revealed that she had scammed over 100,000 from people in Northern Ireland.

Johnathan Walton has written a book on his experience with the fraudster. Its called  Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters, and Thieves and is host of the hit podcast Queen of the Con.

He joined Ciaran Dunbar on the BelTel.
Regardless of official policy, these bear sightings are a reminder that the beauty of living in the Berkshires comes with the responsibility of having care and common sense. Mind your children and pets. Gird your yard and garden. Think twice about bird feeders. And, above all else, do not feed the bears.
Access this story and all of our stories with 24/7 unlimited access.

Susan Phillips is a former reporter for The Berkshire Eagle. She lives in Windsor after living abroad and in Washington, D.C.
Attorney General Andrea Campbell on Friday night expressed disappointment that the U.S. Supreme Court granted the U.S. Department of Agricultures request to suspend a lower courts order compelling them to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The high court decision came a few hours after Gov. Maura Healey on Friday afternoon cited a lower court ruling and ordered the distribution of benefits, announcing that her administration was directing "full SNAP benefits to be paid and expects recipients to start receiving their delayed benefits as early" as Saturday.

By Sunday, as talks percolated in Washington about a potential deal to reopen the federal government, both Campbell and Healey were promising more SNAP litigation and objecting to reports that the Trump administration wants to claw back payments sent by states to food aid recipients.

Now that Massachusetts has issued full benefits  something the federal government should have done in the first place  the President is trying to claw back those resources from children, elderly, veterans, and people with disabilities who desperately need them," Campbell said. "My office will not let this administration continue to use Massachusetts residents lives as a political bargaining chip. This chaos and confusion must stop. Well see them in Court.

Said Healey, "If President Trump wants to penalize states for preventing Americans from going hungry, we will see him in court. Massachusetts residents with funds on their cards should continue to spend it on food. These funds were processed in accordance with guidance we received from the Trump Administration and a lower court order, and they were processed before the Supreme Court order on Friday night. We will continue to work with Attorney General Campbell to make sure everyone gets the full benefits they are owed. President Trump should be focusing on reopening the government that he controls instead of repeatedly fighting to take away food from American families.

In an update memo on Saturday, the USDA''s Patrick Penn wrote, "To the extent States sent full SNAP payment files for November 2025, this was unauthorized. Accordingly, States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025 ... Per 7 CFR 271.7(h), failure to comply with this memorandum may result in USDA taking various actions, including cancellation of the Federal share of State administrative costs and holding States liable for any overissuances that result from the noncompliance."

Connecticut Gov. Governor Ned Lamont announced over the weekend that full SNAP benefits for November had been loaded onto the EBT cards of SNAP recipients in that state as of Saturday afternoon.

A Project Bread representative on Saturday called the Supreme Court's Friday ruling "the latest in a series of whiplash-inducing announcements" that are contributing to "panic and confusion" among SNAP households.

Campbell plans to travel Chelsea at 9:30 a.m. Monday to visits staff at La Colaborativa and provide an update on her offices ongoing SNAP litigation. Following a media availability, she plans to assist the nonprofit in distributing food to an age-restricted public housing building near La Colaborativa's 63 Sixth Street office.

At noon Monday, Healey plans a media event in her office's reception room to talk about SNAP and call for the extension of Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that are set to expire soon under current law.
Vyli Health inks partnership with Risaya Academy at Bengaluru Skill Summit 2025

November 10, 2025 | Monday | News

To create psychologically safe, equitable and global-ready workforces

image credit- shutterstock

At the Bengaluru Skill Summit 2025, organised by the Department of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship & Livelihood (SDEL), Government of Karnataka, a landmark definitive contract was announced between Risaya Academy and Vyli Health, expected to benefit more than 10,000 students across South India.

The collaboration was facilitated by IFIA Bharat, the Indian chapter of the International Federation of Inventors Associations (IFIA)  a UN-affiliated, non-governmental organisation functioning under the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India. IFIA Bharat promotes innovation-led education, translational research, and inventor entrepreneurship for national development.

Through this partnership, Risaya Academy, a next-generation education enterprise, and Vyli Health, a deep-tech healthcare venture operating out of the K-tech MeitY NASSCOM Centre of Excellence for IoT & AI, will implement structured psychosocial-wellbeing and 21st-century skills-transformation programmes across higher-education institutions in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Coimbatore and Cochin.

The definitive contract will roll out its first batches in January 2026, embedding resilience, flexibility and agility  key human-capability clusters identified by the World Economic Forums 2025 Skills Report.

Vyli Health has served around 2,000 learners and professionals across academic, healthcare and corporate sectors, and on 20 June 2025 signed an MoU with the Tamil Nadu Apex Skills Development Centre for Healthcare, which will also serve as a certification partner for programs for nurses and doctors.

Risaya Academy currently operates in 14 autonomous colleges and deemed universities across South India and collaborates with over 12 universities abroad, including those in the USA, Australia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan. The collaboration integrates Vyli Healths evidence-based transformation framework into Risayas global learning ecosystem.
Former Tesco boss Dave Lewis has been appointed as chief executive of Diageo as the Guinness and Johnnie Walker drinks giant looks to boost its flagging performance.

Mr Lewis will take on the role on January 1st, replacing Nik Jhangiani  the groups previous chief financial officer  who has been acting as interim chief executive since Debra Crew resigned abruptly in July.

Mr Jhangiani will revert back to being chief financial officer once Mr Lewis starts in the post.

Mr Lewis will resign as chairman of consumer healthcare firm Haleon at the end of December to take the helm at Diageo.

Dave Lewis was chief executive of Tesco for six years (Joe Giddens/PA)

He led Tesco as group chief executive for six years until 2020, having previously spent nearly 30 years at Ben & Jerrys and Marmite firm Unilever earlier in his career.

His appointment comes at a challenging time for Diageo as it grapples with weaker sales and a sinking share price.

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On Thursday, the group alerted over tough trading once again, cautioning over weaker demand from consumers in China and the US, meaning it could sell fewer drinks this year, which sent its shares slumping further.

Diageo chairman John Manzoni, who led the appointment process, said: Having conducted an extensive and thorough global search, the board unanimously felt that Dave has both the extensive CEO experience, and the proven leadership skills in building and marketing world-leading brands, that is right for Diageo at this time.

We are confident that Dave will work with the team to take Diageo into its next successful chapter in the evolving consumer environment.

Mr Lewis said: The market faces some headwinds but there are also significant opportunities.

I look forward to working with the team to face these challenges and realise some of the opportunities in a way which creates shareholder value.

Debra Crews tenure lasted two years (Alamy/PA)

Mr Lewis will be paid an annual salary of 1.5 million, plus 210,000 in pension contributions, as well as performance-based bonuses.

Diageo has seen its share price pummelled in recent years, with the FTSE 100 stock down by a fifth over the past six months and nearly halving in value over the past two years.

Ms Crew had launched a major cost-cutting plan just months before she stepped down, looking to save 500 million US dollars (380 million) as its trading has come under pressure and as it faced a 150 million US dollar (114 million) annual hit from higher US tariffs.

Its sales had already dropped for the first time in around four years during the 2023-24 financial year, dragged lower by a weaker performance in Latin America.

Her resignation in the summer followed just a two-year tenure.

Ms Crew had taken over from former boss Ivan Menezes, who died in June 2023, becoming its first female chief executive.
Another developer behind an International Protection accommodation project has sued the Government over the shelving of its support for the plan, the Commercial Court has heard.

The Palmerstown Temporary Accommodation (PTA) Ltd company says it spent 17 million on converting a unit in the Cherry Orchard Industrial Estate in west Dublin which was to accommodate 456 individuals.

It would bring in some 26.6 million in State payments, based on an 80 per person per day fee, over an initial two-year period.

PTA's parent is Tailored Projects Ltd, with a registered office at The Box, Chapel Lane, Killarney, Co Kerry, which bought the unit for around 3.5m in early 2024.

In February 2024, South Dublin Co Council issued a "declaration of exemption for planning" which meant the 32,000 sq feet building did not require planning permission to turn it into accommodation.

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PTA signed a contract in July 2024 with the Minister for Children to carry out the conversion. Last May, responsibility for the accommodation of international protection applicants passed to the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.

In April, at a meeting with Department of Justice officials, PTA director Peter Dunlea said he was informed the defendant "might not proceed" the the accommodation at that centre. Later in April, Mr Dunlea said in an affidavit, he was told the property was being removed from consideration as an accommodation centre.

Mr Dunlea said this came "as a complete shock to me as this is completely out of the blue."

Mr Dunlea also said it was deeply concerning that the Department of Justice was informing public representatives that the centre was not going to proceed.

It was apparent the defendant was "attempting to walk away" from the contract without acknowledging its binding nature or the "enormous costs" already incurred in getting it ready, he said.

PTA said it would be willing to participate in mediation as per a clause in the contract dealing with disputes between the parties. However, no response was received after a number of letters and legal action was initiated.

In the proceedings, it seeks a declaration the defendant has repudiated the contact as well as damages for a number of matters including alleged negligent misrepresentation/misstatement and breach of duty.

On Monday, Mr Justice Michael Quinn entered the case into the fast track Commercial Court on the application of Joe Jeffers SC, for PTA.

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Ireland Public express concern about cost of deportation flights Read more

Ailbhe O'Neill SC, for the defendant, consented to the entry application but sought an adjournment for a week because this and a number of similar matters which are going to mediation will be dealt with on that day.

She said there may also be an application for security for costs against PTA.

In relation to a similar case before the court on Monday, Ms O'Neill was granted an adjournment to February as she said the parties have agreed to go to mediation.

In that case it is alleged by a developer that the Government has also repudiated a contract to refurbish Knockmitten House in the Western Industrial Estate in Dublin as accommodation for 66 international protection applicants.
The absence of the DUP from the inauguration of Catherine Connolly as president is not a snub, leader Gavin Robinson has insisted.

DUP deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly confirmed last week she could not attend the event in Dublin on Tuesday because of a clash with Remembrance Day events.

The unionist party has since confirmed it will not be sending any representative to Dublin Castle when Ms Connolly is sworn is as Irelands 10th president.

We dont need to make more out of this than there is, there is a clash and that clash has been accepted by the majority of people Gavin Robinson

Mr Robinson faced questioning about why the party was not able to send someone else to the ceremony.

He told reporters: It is not a snub. I was personally invited by the Taoiseach.

I received the invitation on Thursday last week, I personally responded to him on Friday to indicate that whilst I recognised the significance of this event for his nation, I trust that he in turn recognises the significance of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

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That is just how it is and I think he has accepted that.

I think the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland have accepted that, but just as the deputy First Minister was gracious enough to say that she looks forward to welcoming the newly elected President of the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland, as will be right in due course, that will extend to my colleagues as well.

Mr Robinson added: We dont need to make more out of this than there is, there is a clash and that clash has been accepted by the majority of people.

Deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly speaking to the media on Monday (Liam McBurney/PA)

I dont think anything will be gained by people trying to add some grist to the mill or make this an issue that it is not.

The issue was raised during ministerial question time at Stormont later on Monday by SDLP Opposition leader Matthew OToole.

Addressing Ms Little-Pengelly, he said: Many people feel that your party, which is the lead party in unionism, is now embarked on a journey, perhaps not by design, of fear, grievance and anger.

The SDLP MLA asked the deputy First Minister to confirm that the DUP would move back towards some vague progress towards reconciliation.

Ms Little-Pengelly said: I can advise the member that in everything I do, I strive to do that to represent everyone across Northern Ireland.

I do believe the Irish Government, the Taoiseach and others understand completely the importance of the 11th of November.

I am not going to get involved in such a serious matter in what is an attempt at political point scoring Emma Little-Pengelly

I recognise it is a huge personal day for the incoming president, I have sought to have a personal call with her in recognition of that very significant personal achievement.

Sinn Fein MLA Orlaithi Flynn said: Regrettably what a lot of people will hear from right across our communities is going to be a sense that your refusal to attend is not fulfilling your duties, your cross-community duties.

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Ms Flynn said it was in stark contrast to the leadership shown by Sinn Fein First Minister Michelle ONeill when she attended a remembrance event in Belfast on Sunday.

Ms Little-Pengelly said: I think that is a very unfair characterisation of this.

I am not going to get involved in such a serious matter in what is an attempt at political point scoring.
A Special Criminal Court judge has told lawyers for Sean McGovern, who has applied for legal aid after being charged with murder and directing a criminal organisation, that the defendant has provided no information about how he funded his lifestyle in Dubai for the past eight years.

Presiding judge Ms Justice Karen OConnor said on Monday that the non-jury court was not satisfied about the level of information provided in a statement of means document, which she said had contained "at best, scant detail".

Sean Guerin SC, for McGovern, said the matter was listed before the court to deal with questions about his client's legal aid application.

Ms Justice O'Connor said the court had seen a statement of means and asked the prosecution whether the State had adopted a position.

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Maddie Grant BL, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said it was a matter for the court and that the State had no observations or comments to make about the matter.

Ms Justice O'Connor said the statement of means document provided to the court was "very scant" in detail, which she called "a difficulty". The judge added there was practically no detail contained in the document on certain questions.

"We have received no information or assistance on how Mr McGovern has been living for the last eight years in Dubai and how that has been funded. No details at all in respect of his financial position," said Ms Justice O'Connor.

Mr Guerin said he was unable to assist, as he had signed instructions from his client.

"Are you saying you are not in a position to put anything further before the court?" asked the judge.

"The instructions I have are affecting the legal aid form before the court," replied Mr Guerin.

After rising for a few minutes, Ms Justice O'Connor told Mr Guerin that the court had already said it was not satisfied about the level of information provided in the document; "we referred to it as at best, scant detail".

Ms Justice O'Connor, sitting with Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge David McHugh, said that the matter should be listed for mention next week so that the court could be provided with "some answers".

McGovern (39), with a previous address at Kildare Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12 is charged with the murder of Noel Kirwan on December 22nd, 2016 at St Ronan's Drive, Clondalkin in Dublin.

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Further offences with which McGovern is charged include directing the activities of a criminal organisation in connection with the same murder between October 20th, 2016 and December 22nd, 2016.

He is also charged with directing the activities of a criminal organisation in connection with the surveillance of James Gately in preparation for the commission of an indictable offence between October 17th, 2015 and April 6th, 2017.

Another charge alleges that between October 20th and December 22nd, 2016 he contributed to or participated in activity intending or being reckless as to whether such activity would facilitate a criminal organisation in the murder of Mr Kirwan.

He faces a similar charge of facilitating a criminal organisation in a conspiracy to murder James Gately.

He was previously extradited from the United Arab Emirates to face the charges, but in June, lawyers for McGovern raised a concern about the legality of his return to Ireland.
The jury in the trial of Ruth Lawrence, who stands accused of shooting a drug dealer and working "as a unit" with her boyfriend to murder him and another man, has been given the option of returning a majority verdict.

The panel of four men and eight women began considering their verdict on Thursday afternoon and has spent a total of eight hours and 21 minutes over three days deliberating in their jury room in the Criminal Courts of Justice building.

The five-week trial has heard that Ms Lawrence was extradited from South Africa to face trial in 2023, nearly a decade after the bodies of Anthony Keegan (33) and Eoin O'Connor (32) were found on a lake island in the midlands.

Ms Lawrence (46), who is originally from Clontarf in Dublin but with an address at Patricks Cottage, Ross, Mountnugent in Co Meath has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Keegan and Mr O'Connor at an unknown location within the State on a date between April 22nd, 2014 and May 26th, 2014, both dates inclusive.

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At 2.24pm today the panel handed up a note to Mr Justice Tony Hunt asking how they should proceed if they were not "unanimous on a verdict" and when they could "use" the alternative verdict of "guilty of assisting an offender".

The judge said he was able to provide them with further guidance given they had been deliberating for six hours and 50 minutes at that stage. He said it was appropriate for them to move on to the next stage and he could accept a majority verdict on one or both counts, provided at least ten of them agreed.

There are three verdicts the jury can return in relation to each of the two murder charges against Ms Lawrence, namely; guilty of murder, not guilty of murder but guilty of assisting an offender or not guilty.

In his charge, the judge said the panel could return alternative verdicts of assisting an offender if they found the prosecution had not made out their case beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms Lawrence was part of a joint enterprise to murder the two men.

Addressing the jury this afternoon as to when they could use the alternative verdict of "guilty of assisting an offender", the judge said this was a "fall back" as they were initially asked to deliberate on murder verdicts on a separate basis. He said the alternative verdict only arose if they were satisfied Ms Lawrence was not guilty on the murder charges. "It can't be used as a substitute or a broker verdict," he added.

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The judge said the verdict of "not guilty simpliciter" was open to them but "on the run of the case that's a theoretical consideration".

He told the jury that anything lower than a 10-2 majority was not a verdict and if it could not be moved by further discussion then to come back and tell him.

The jury asked to go home for the evening at 4pm, which Mr Justice Hunt said they were fully entitled to do. He said he assumed they had not reached a verdict on which at least ten of them agreed and asked them to return to the Central Criminal Court tomorrow morning.

The trial has heard that two protected witnesses - father and daughter Jason and Stacey Symes - came forward to An Garda Siochana in 2014 and gave voluntary statements about the alleged involvement of Ms Lawrence and her boyfriend, South African national Neville van der Westhuizen, in the murders of the two men.

Stacey Symes gave evidence to the trial that Ms Lawrence told her that she had shot Mr O'Connor "but it went wrong", so her boyfriend Neville "took over". The witness also said that she and her father were asked to help move the bodies of the two men.

Ireland Stalker, 24, who followed influencer left her wondering if she 'would even still be here' afterwards Read more

Michael O'Higgins SC with Jane Horgan-Jones BL, prosecuting, told the jury in his closing address that Ms Lawrence and her boyfriend had acted as "a unit and a tag team" to "lure" drug dealer Eoin O'Connor to their home to murder him in a "highly calculated" crime.

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The State contends that Mr van der Westhuizen also shot Mr Keegan while "acting as a team" with Ms Lawrence, making both guilty of murder.

Whereas in his closing speech Patrick Gageby SC alongside Sarah Connolly BL, for the defence, said father and daughter Jason and Stacey Symes - the two key witnesses in the case - painted themselves as "innocents abroad" and had downplayed their own roles. He said they could not be trusted to convict Ms Lawrence of murdering the two men, telling the jury that: "they played the system and they tried to play you"

In his opening address, Mr O'Higgins said the evidence will be that Mr O'Connor sold drugs to Neville van der Westhuizen, who owed the deceased man in the region of 70,000.
An arrest warrant has been issued after a criminal failed to comply with the conditions of his release following his conviction for acting as a getaway driver in the gangland-style murder of a loving father who had no involvement in crime.

Eric Shorthall was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison in November 2020 for assisting murderer Warren Nolan following the fatal shooting of Alan O'Neill.

Nolan shot Mr O'Neill dead on May 27th, 2015, in the driveway of the victim's home on Kiltalown Road in Tallaght.

Nolan (28), of Rowlagh Park in Clondalkin was convicted in December 2018 of Mr O'Neill's murder, and of burning out the car used in the shooting. He is serving a life sentence.

The plan was that Shorthall would act as the second getaway driver once Nolan had burned out the car used in the hit.

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Ireland Boy (16) who stabbed teenager in back jailed for four and a half years Read more

However, gardai who happened to be in the area heard the call of a shooting on their garda radio, saw a car being set on fire and arrested Nolan as he ran towards where Shorthall was waiting in his own car.

Shorthall (28), with a former address at Muskerry Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin `10 but now of Thomond Rd in Ballyfermot, was jailed for six years and nine months with the final nine months suspended for two years.

Passing sentence in 2020, Mr Justice Paul McDermott suspended the nine months on condition that Shorthall keep the peace and attend all appointments deemed appropriate by the Probation Service.

Mr Justice McDermott heard today that Shorthall has not adhered to the conditions of his release and his probation officer has been unable to contact him. The judge issued a warrant for Shorthall's arrest.
A variety of stories feature on Irish front pages on Monday morning, from housing to COP30 and politics.

The Irish Times lead with the government's long-awaited housing plan, COP30, and a judge's rage that Tusla could not provide a secure bed for a young child.

The Irish Independent lead with banks warning about AI celebrity scams targeting retirees.

The Irish Examiner lead with mothers without homes fearing for their babies, a surge in fraudsters targeting those over 50 years of age, 'on edge' muslims 'living in fear' and world leaders gathering for COP30.

The Echo lead with a rise in the number of deaths linked to Cork Prison, and special education teachers being redeployed.

The Belfast Telegraph lead with firms having made millions from a delayed road project.

The Irish Daily Mail lead with a "searing attack" by MEP Billy Kelleher on Taoiseach Micheal Martin's northern and domestic politics.

The Irish Daily Mirror lead with a former prosecution chief claiming that TV star Caroline Flack should not have been prosecuted for assault.

The Irish Daily Star lead with DJ Carey being moved out of the main jail part of Mountjoy Prison due to fears for his safety.

The Herald lead with sales reps selling e-scooters that can reach 80km/h for use on public roads.
BBC chairman Samir Shah has said the corporation would like to apologise for that error of judgment over the editing of a speech by Donald Trump for Panorama.

The apology follows the resignation of two of the corporations most senior figures on Sunday  chief executive of BBC News Deborah Turness and director-general Tim Davie  who announced their departure from the BBC after concerns were raised in Michael Prescotts report.

Mr Shah, who was responding to a letter from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee (CMS), said there have been more than 500 complaints since the publication of the memo, adding: We accept that the way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action.

Outgoing chief executive of BBC News Deborah Turness arrives at BBC Broadcasting House in London after her resignation (James Manning/PA)

On Monday, Ms Turness stressed the corporation is not institutionally biased and its journalists are not corrupt as she arrived at Broadcasting House in central London.

She said: I stepped down over the weekend because the buck stops with me.

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But Id like to make one thing very clear, BBC News is not institutionally biased. Thats why its the worlds most trusted news provider.

Asked if BBC journalists are institutionally corrupt, she replied: Of course our journalists arent corrupt, our journalists are hard-working people who strive for impartiality, and I will stand by their journalism.

There is no institutional bias. Mistakes are made, but theres no institutional bias.

The resignation of Mr Davie and Ms Turness on Sunday followed days of pressure on the broadcaster over the matter.

A memo by Mr Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBCs editorial standards committee, raised concerns in the summer about the way clips of Mr Trumps speech on January 6 2021 were spliced together to make it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to fight like hell.

Critics said the documentary, broadcast by the BBC the week before last years US election, was misleading and removed a section where Mr Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.

Mr Trump welcomed the BBC resignations and claimed there had been an attempt to step on the scales of a presidential election, adding on social media: What a terrible thing for Democracy!

In a statement on Sunday, Mr Davie, who had been in the role for five years, said that the BBC was delivering well overall, but added there have been some mistakes made and as Director-General I have to take ultimate responsibility.
Frances former president Nicolas Sarkozy left a Paris prison on Monday after an appeals court granted him release under judicial supervision.

It came less than three weeks after he began serving a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya.

Sarkozys black car with tinted windows was seen leaving the prison in the direction of his home in western Paris. He later quickly stepped into his home.

The brief scene was in contrast to his very public incarceration three weeks earlier, when he walked down the alley near his house hand-in-hand with his wife and former supermodel Carla Bruni-Sarkozy as he waved to supporters.



Nicolas Sarkozy became the first former French head of state in modern times to be jailed (Thibault Camus/AP)

The former president, 70, is banned from leaving the French territory and from being in touch with key people including co-defendants and witnesses in the case, the court said. An appeals trial is expected to take place later, possibly in the spring.

Sarkozy became the first former French head of state in modern times to be put behind bars after his conviction on September 25. He denies wrongdoing.

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He was jailed on October 21 pending appeal but immediately filed for early release.

I had never imagined I would experience prison at 70 Nicolas Sarkozy

During Mondays hearing, Sarkozy, speaking from Pariss La Sante prison via videolink, argued he has always met all justice requirements.

I had never imagined I would experience prison at 70. This ordeal was imposed on me, and I lived through it. Its hard, very hard, he said.

Sarkozy also paid tribute to prison staff who he said helped him through this nightmare.

Ms Bruni-Sarkozy, and two of his sons attended the hearing at the Paris court.

Mondays proceedings did not involve the motives for the sentencing.



Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and Nicolas Sarkozys son Jean Sarkozy leaving the Paris court on Monday before the decision was announced (Emma Da Silva/AP)

Still, Sarkozy told the court he never asked Libyas longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi for any financing.

I will never admit something I didnt do, he said.

Under French law, release is the general rule pending appeal, while detention remains the exception.

Sarkozys lawyer, Christophe Ingrain, praised normal implementation of law in a brief statement.

The next step is the appeal trial and our work now  is to get prepared for that, he said.

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In a rare decision, the court specifically banned Sarkozy from being in touch with Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin.

Mr Darmanin, a former conservative who once considered Sarkozy as his mentor before rejoining President Emmanuel Macrons centrist party in 2017, visited Sarkozy in prison last month. Some French magistrates criticised the move as undermining the independence of judges.

The former president, who governed from 2007 to 2012, faces separate proceedings, including a November 26 ruling by Frances highest court over illegal financing of his failed 2012 re-election bid, and an ongoing investigation into alleged witness tampering in the Libya case.

In 2023, he was found guilty of corruption and influence peddling for trying to bribe a magistrate in exchange for information about a legal case in which he was implicated. Frances highest court, the Court of Cassation, later upheld the verdict.
Lebanese authorities released the son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Monday after he paid a 900,000-dollar (683,460) bail, ending his 10-year detention for allegedly withholding information about a missing Lebanese cleric, security officials and a member of his defence team said.

One of Hannibal Gaddafi s lawyers, Charbel Milad al-Khoury, told The Associated Press that Gaddafi was released on Monday evening after necessary paperwork was finished. Two security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, also confirmed that Gaddafi was set free.

The release came days after Lebanese authorities lifted a travel ban and reduced the bail for Hannibal Gaddafi, paving the way for his release.

Thursdays decision by the countrys judicial authorities to lift the travel ban and reduce the bail from 11 million dollars came days after a Libyan delegation visited Lebanon and made progress in talks for the release of Gaddafi.

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In mid-October, a Lebanese judge ordered Gaddafis release on 11 million dollars (8.3 million) bail, but banned him from travelling outside Lebanon. His lawyers said at the time that he did not have enough to pay that amount, and sought permission for him to leave the country.

On Thursday, his bail was reduced to 80 billion Lebanese pounds (about 900,000 dollars) and the travel ban was lifted allowing him to leave the country once he pays the bail.

The two judicial and one security official said the bail was paid by the Libyan delegation. The Justice Ministry of the Tripoli-based government also posted on its social media platforms that the Libyan delegation paid the bail.
US President Donald Trump is hosting Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the White House, welcoming the once-pariah state into a US-led global coalition to fight the so-called Islamic State (IS) group.

It is the first visit to the White House by a Syrian head of state since the Middle Eastern country gained independence from France in 1946 and comes after the US lifted sanctions imposed on Syria during the decades the country was ruled by the Assad family.

Mr al-Sharaa arrived at the White House a little after 11.30am and began his Oval Office meeting shortly afterwards.

The meeting is closed to the press, and the Syrian president entered the building through West Executive Avenue, adjacent to the White House, rather than on the West Wing driveway used for other foreign leaders arrivals.

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Mr Al-Sharaa led the rebel forces that toppled Syrian president Bashar Assad last December and was named the countrys interim leader in January.

Mr Trump and Mr al-Sharaa  who once had ties to al Qaida and had a 10 million-dollar (7.6 million) US bounty on his head  first met in May in Saudi Arabia.



Ahmad al-Sharaa led the rebel forces that toppled Syrian president Bashar Assad (Francisco Seco/AP)

At the time, the US president described Mr al-Sharaa as a young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past, very strong past. Fighter.

It was the first official encounter between the US and Syria since 2000, when then-president Bill Clinton met Hafez Assad, the father of Bashar Assad.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Mondays visit is part of the presidents efforts in diplomacy to meet with anyone around the world in the pursuit of peace.

Mr Trump, a Republican, has recently said that Mr al-Sharaa is doing a very good job so far and that a lot of progress has been made with Syria since the US eased sanctions.

One official with knowledge of the administrations plans said Syrias entry into the global coalition fighting IS will allow it to work more closely with US forces, although the new Syrian military and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the countrys northeast had already been fighting the group.

Before Mr al-Sharaas arrival in the US, the United Nations Security Council voted to lift sanctions on the Syrian president and other government officials in a move that the US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, said was a strong sign that Syria is in a new era since the fall of Mr Assad.

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Mr al-Sharaa comes into the meeting with his own priorities. He wants a permanent repeal of sanctions that punished Syria for widespread allegations of human rights abuses by Mr Assads government and security forces. While the Caesar Act sanctions are currently waived by Mr Trump, a permanent repeal would require Congress to act.

One option is a proposal from Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that would end the sanctions without any conditions. The other was drafted by Senator Lindsey Graham, a hawkish Trump ally who wants to set conditions for a sanctions repeal that would be reviewed every six months.

But advocates argue that any repeal with conditions would prevent companies from investing in Syria because they would fear potentially being sanctioned.

Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, likened it to a hanging shadow that paralyses any initiatives for our country.
Donald Trump has sent a letter to the BBC threatening legal action, following uproar over the editing of a speech by the US president in a Panorama documentary.

Critics said the Panorama edit was misleading and removed a section where Mr Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.

A BBC spokesperson said: We will review the letter and respond directly in due course.

BBC chair Samir Shah previously said the corporation has received communication from Mr Trump over the editing of the documentary, broadcast the week before last years US election, but did not confirm the US president has threatened to sue.

He said: We are now considering how to reply to him.

BBC chairman Samir Shah confirmed the BBC had received communication from Mr Trump (Danny Lawson/PA)

Asked directly if Mr Trump has said he will be suing the BBC, Mr Shah told culture editor Katie Razzall: I do not know that yet, but hes a litigious fellow so we should be prepared for all outcomes.

Reform leader Nigel Farage said he spoke with Mr Trump on Friday, telling a London press conference: He just said to me: Is this how you treat your best ally?

Its quite a powerful comment.
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BusinessBanking & financeWall Street Escape from New York: Wall Street is fleeing from Mamdani Melissa Lawford November 11, 2025  5:23am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

When New York Governor Kathy Hochul spoke at a rally for Zohran Mamdani in the final days of his New York mayoral campaign, she was drowned out by an overwhelming chant from the crowd: Tax the rich! New Yorks new socialist mayor-elect swept to victory this week on promises for universal free childcare, free buses and freezing rents on the citys rent-controlled apartments. Zohran Mamdanis victory has sent a shiver through Wall Street. AP But paying for these measures will mean tax rises. Mamdani wants to increase corporation tax from 7.5 per cent to 11.5 per cent and add 2 per cent to the income tax rate for those earning $US1 million ($1.5 million) or more  plans that will raise $US4 billion to $US5 billion each. His plans have naturally sparked fear on Wall Street, the spiritual home of the millionaire class.

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Elon Musk From Mamdani to Musk: The cult of the visionary puts people power to test Elizabeth Knight Business columnist Suddenly youll have an exodus of folks who are generating quite a bit of profit, says investment banker Philip Blancato, chief executive of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management. Its already happening  this is just going to accelerate it. In response, Wall Streets top earners are turning to an unlikely corner of the country to shelter from Mamdanis tax raid: Texas. Or, more specifically, Dallas, where the booming financial district  nicknamed YAll Street  benefits from a lower-tax, lower-regulation environment than New York.

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For some, Mamdanis new regime means Texas is on course to take New Yorks crown as the financial capital of America. Its hard to remain a financial capital when you despise capitalism. Cities run by people who have never run a business or met a payroll are killing their own proverbial golden goose, says Chris Furlow, chief executive of the Texas Bankers Association. The Big Apple has already been suffering from a millionaire problem, one that has proved very expensive. The states share of Americas wealthiest citizens slumped from 12.7 per cent to 8.7 per cent in the decade to 2022  the most significant drop in the country, according to the Citizens Budget Commission (CBC) of New York City. This decline has cost the state and the city a combined $US13.2 billion in tax revenue each year. The root cause is the high cost and expensive tax in New York City, says Blancato.

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Texass growing financial power In contrast, Texass share of Americas millionaires has climbed from 8.5 per cent to 9.2 per cent over the same period. The financial services sector is at the heart of the story. In the last five years, the number of jobs in the industry in New York has grown by just 19,000. In Texas, the number was more than 100,000. Wall Streets top earners are turning to an unlikely corner of the country to shelter from Mamdanis tax raid: Texas. Bloomberg Dallas is at the heart of the growth. In September, Texas received Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval for its own stock exchange, the first new exchange approved in decades.

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The Texas Stock Exchange, headquartered in Dallas, will launch trading and corporate listings next year. The big beasts of Wall Street are flocking south. Wells Fargo opened a new $US570 million campus for 4500 employees in the Dallas suburb of Irving in October. Bank of America is building a new office tower in the city, which will open in 2027. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs, which has long had a presence in Dallas, is spending $US500 million on a new campus for 5000 employees, which will be its largest base outside of New York and open in 2028. JP Morgan has also more than doubled the number of employees working at its 50-acre campus in the Plano suburb since it opened in 2017 and now has 32,000 workers across Texas  more than in any other state, including New York.

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Related Article World elections From unknown rapper to mayor: What Mamdanis victory can teach the Democrats The list goes on. A significant driver for the exodus to Texas is the punishing personal tax rates many bankers face. Mamdanis proposals for higher taxes on top earners will build on the fact that New York City already has the highest marginal tax rates on high earners in the country. The top 1 per cent of earners  which include most of Wall Street  pay 40 per cent of the states income tax, says CBCs vice president of research, Ana Champeny. With state and city taxes combined, married couples in New York City face a tax rate of 13.5 per cent on combined earnings above $US2.15 million, 14.2 per cent on earnings above $US5 million and 14.8 per cent above $US25m, according to CBC.

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In Dallas, by contrast, there is no state or city income tax whatsoever  adding an extra layer of appeal. Texas has long been a business hub, known more for oil barons than sharp-suited bankers. But that old yee-haw image is fading fast, replaced by a more urbane picture. It is home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other state. Banking and financial services initially moved more slowly to Texas, says Furlow. Now, that has changed. Goldman Sachs is spending $US500 million on a new campus for 5000 employees in Dallas. Bloomberg Places like New York and San Francisco were historically perceived to be financial capitals. But political weaponisation, out-of-control taxation and affordability for employees have led to the new reality that staying in those jurisdictions is unsustainable, says Furlow.

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Its hard to remain a financial capital when you despise capitalism. Cities run by people who have never run a business or met a payroll are killing their own proverbial golden goose. Furlow argues that Texas is now where Americas financial power lies. Youd have to put Texas high on your list because of its low tax and pro-business environment, says Blancato. Mamdanis tax proposals will certainly make the disparity between New York and Dallas even more stark. Were having emergency meetings where were looking at how big our portfolio is in New York, says William Stern, founder of Cardiff, which lends more than $US2 billion a year to small businesses.

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I do think its a war on capital. New Yorkers are already taxed to hell and back. Cardiff is based in San Diego but has a portfolio in New York of nearly $US500m. Thats a lot of money. And when youre unsure of the political climate, you pull back your bets, says Stern. I think many companies are rethinking whether they want to be there, whether they want to do business there right now. Mamdani argues that his corporation tax rise plans will simply bring New Yorks tax rate in line with that of neighbouring New Jersey. Loading

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But this overlooks the fact that businesses in New York City also pay the corporate franchise tax and a state surcharge to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) region. If you combine all three of those, business activity in New York is already taxed at 17.44 per cent, which is higher than New Jerseys rate, says Champeny. Texas, by contrast, is known as a low-tax, pro-business state. We dont view business as something just to be squeezed to fund political agendas  business is a partner in building thriving communities, says Furlow. Texas also has a significant talent pipeline from its universities and is cheaper and more family-friendly than New York. It also has a strong network of well-run community and mid-sized banks, says Furlow. However, financier and former Treasury official Antonio Weiss says that while the Mamdanis tax rises would be steep, the mayor-elects push to improve affordability in New York should also benefit businesses if they make it easier for families to stay living in the city.

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Todays young families become tomorrows high earners. If young families continue to leave the city as they have in recent years, that erodes the future tax base, says Weiss. Related Article World elections Rent freeze, free buses: Heres what to expect from New Yorks new mayor But several factors mean the tax calculation matters much more than it would have done in previous years. Mamdanis plans come after former governor Andrew Cuomo already pushed through $US4 billion in tax rises on businesses and higher earners in 2021. Donald Trumps first term Tax Cuts and Jobs Act also capped the amount of state and local taxes (SALT) that individuals can deduct from their federal tax bills  a move that hit higher earners in high-tax cities and states

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On top of this, COVID brought new possibilities for remote work and made people more mobile. Mamdanis plans to increase taxes may not go ahead. Both the corporation and income tax rises would require Hochuls sign-off, even though she has said she does not support them. But there is another lever he can pull: increasing property taxes, which would bring its own problems. If costs go significantly higher, where does our footprint go? says Blancato. I dont think firms will absolutely leave New York City. What I think happens is growth opportunities will be outside of New York. Mamdanis office was contacted for comment.

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The Australian actor has become adored for her comedy turns. But in her latest role, she does everything possible to be loathed.

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Its the role that has brought her the biggest accolade of her career, but when Australian actor Rose Byrne first read the screenplay for If I Had Legs Id Kick You, she had no idea how she could possibly play it. The script just read like fire, says Byrne. It was very funny and very refreshing and just hot  it was incendiary. And I was like, where does one begin with this character? Because thats my job, reverse-engineering back from who this woman is in this crisis. I was like, Who was she before this, and why is she responding like this?  The woman in question is Linda, a psychotherapist struggling to care for her seriously sick child while her husband is away. And the crisis shes facing is nothing short of existential. As her life spirals out of control, Linda begins to will herself out of being, hoping perhaps to be sucked into the massive hole that has mysteriously opened in the ceiling of her New York apartment, or to throw herself hopelessly and helplessly into the surf off the New Jersey coast until all her troubles are washed away forever. Its a picture of extreme despair, drawn from writer-director Mary Bronsteins own experience of caring for a seriously ill child. Byrne as Linda, a psychotherapist caring for a sick (and unseen) child in If I Had Legs Id Kick You. AP My daughter and I lived together as sort of demented roommates in a small motel room for eight months, and I had a full existential crisis, Bronstein, who has a masters in psychology as well as being an actor, writer and director, told me earlier this year when her movie opened the Melbourne International Film Festival. I was so focused on the situation at hand, which was everything to do with her, that I felt like I was disappearing, literally. Linda is an avatar for Bronstein, though a fictional and heightened one. But the emotions and anguish shes experiencing is something Byrne  who has two children with husband and fellow actor Bobby Cannavale (and a third from his first marriage)  can relate to, at least in the abstract.

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Parenting just is the biggest mirror to your own limitations and your own struggles and your capacity, or lack of capacity, she says. It is the most challenging role of a persons life  and fulfilling and rewarding and life-changing, and all of those extraordinary things. But Mary is really expressing some pretty radical behaviour in this that isnt generally seen. That behaviour includes Linda abandoning her child in her hotel room, where she is hooked up to a machine that drips nutrients into her wasting body, as she goes in search of alcohol and drugs. It also involves some pretty dubious choices in her role as therapist, and a desperate plea of her own therapist (played by Conan OBrien) to just tell me what to do. Its dark stuff, but its also very funny. Or at least some people (me included) think so. Byrne has seen it in the cinema a few times and, she says, its like a magic trick  it plays so differently to different audiences. At the New York Film Festival, it played like a comedy because people immediately understood the tone and the gallows humour of the film, and they allowed themselves to laugh very early on. But at the Berlin Film Festival, where she won the best actress award in February, it played very cerebral, very quiet, very serious. And in Toronto in September, she says, it played like a horror film.

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Theres no question Bronsteins take on motherhood is deliberately provocative. She is a polarising character, absolutely, Byrne says of Linda. Its the most fundamental role in the world, the mother, so this sort of behaviour is absolutely going to be challenging for people to see. Related Article Cinema All the rage: The shocking new Rose Byrne film that tackles the mother load The film doesnt demand that viewers like Linda. But it does its best to make sure they understand her, and  to some degree at least  empathise with her. There are a couple of key tricks Bronstein employs to that end. One is to film Byrne in extreme close-up, with the camera often just 15 centimetres or so from her face. I could hear the camera going click-click-click, because it was film, says Byrne. On the first day, I was like, are you really going to get that close? But then it was cool. I mean, it was obviously confronting to see the film and realise, oh, God, you can see everything on my face. Thats the power of dissociation when youre performing, you think, no ones actually gonna see it that close. And then you see it! The other trick was to not show the sick daughter at all. If you see the child, your empathy is going to go with the child, not with Linda, Byrne observes. So shes taking that choice away from the audience and forcing you to reckon with this parent, with this woman. Obviously, I will defend the character  thats my job, to be the best lawyer I can be for the character  but I do think she kind of had to do what she did.

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Actors will often tell you that they always look for a way to empathise with the character they are playing, no matter how unlikeable or even villainous they might be. But when the character is based on a real person who just happens to be the writer and director too, well, the pressure to do that is really on. Luckily, the pair clicked as soon as they met. We are exactly the same age, we both have kids, she has a great sense of humour, and we hit it off, the Australian says. They started working together just as the Hollywood strikes began. And that meant they had plenty of time to work out how to approach the material. Writer-director Mary Bronstein with Rose Byrne at the films London premiere last month. Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images for BFI We had a five- or six-week period where Id drop off my kids, shed drop her kids, and Id go over and wed sit at her kitchen table three or four days a week, Byrne says. We started at page one, scene one, word one, and just combed through every single thing. They traded what Byrne calls parenting war stories, and at one point, Bronstein even opened up the journals she had kept at the peak of her daughters illness (who, now 15, is fully recovered). It was heartbreaking, such an intimate thing to share with me, in her handwriting, just the simple day-to-day struggle she was going through, and the pressure she was under to help her daughter, Byrne says.

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The goal through that long rehearsal process, Bronstein adds, was to make Linda come alive as such a real person that if somebody was to walk by and hear us talk about her, they would just assume were gossiping about a friend. So by the time we get to set, theres just no choice Rose could make that would be wrong because we know this woman so well. For my money, they succeeded brilliantly: Byrnes performance is astonishing. And shes ably supported by a terrific cast that includes OBrien as Lindas therapist, Bronstein herself as a very judgmental doctor, fellow Australian Danielle Macdonald as a young mother struggling to care for her infant, rapper A$AP Rocky as a hotel worker whose attempts to befriend Linda are more or less brutally rebuffed, and Christian Slater in a delightful cameo. Conan OBrien plays Lindas therapist in the film. AP But, I wonder, how does Sydney-born Byrne, who has become one of Hollywoods most surprising and revered comedic actors, see the movie? Is it a comedy or is it a tragedy? I mean, Im always looking for a gag, you know what I mean, says Byrne, with just a hint of Groucho Marx in the delivery. In terms of performance, she adds, they come from the same place, though she thinks comedy is harder. You have to take it more seriously, she explains. If the stakes arent high, its never going to be funny. We can all agree on what is sad, but what is funny is far harder to agree on.

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Eating outJust open $15 martinis, midnight spag and Bloody Mary salad. Inside Lygon Streets new public house The owner of hatted restaurant Etta has opened a more easygoing and economical venue, Daphne, just down the road. Its fun, loose and for you to use as you see fit. Tomas Telegramma November 10, 2025 Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Melbourne has been lucky when it comes to new bars this year. Heres whats opened over winter and spring, ready for all the summer fun you can throw at them. See all stories .

Daphne, the sophomore opening for Hannah Green  owner of hatted Brunswick East diner Etta  has been created as a chameleon. Its not a pub or a wine bar or a restaurant. Its all of the above and more, intended to be a neighbourhood institution. A few doors down from Etta on Lygon Street, Daphne is what Green calls her public house. The 125-seat bar and restaurant is fun, loose and for you to use as you see fit, she says. Its a more easygoing  and economical  experience than what Etta has flourished into. Hannah Greens Daphne is a pub, wine bar and restaurant rolled into one neighbourhood institution. Ashley Ludkin Designed by IF Architecture (Etta, Cutler, Baker Bleu), Daphne is a fresh face for the space once home to the long-standing Cafe Romantica, but known most recently as Bar Romantica. I wanted to pay respect to the site because it was fairly iconic, Green says. But I also wanted to bring light in.

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While the original terrazzo floor and popcorn-look vermiculite ceiling remain, the room has been brightened in a big way. Everything is reflective, Green says, from the iridescent 3D-printed lightshades to the stainless-steel open kitchen. New street-side seating flows into a casual front bar where you order at the counter. Beyond: a full-service bistro with clothed tables and a curtained-off private dining room. 1 / 9 From left: Pip Littore, chef Diana Desensi and owner Hannah Green. Kristoffer Paulsen 2 / 9 Wood-fire oven roasted half chook with blistered grapes and a salty-sweet agrodolce-like sauce. Kristoffer Paulsen 3 / 9 The former Bar Romantica space has been redesigned by IF Architecture. Shelley Horan 4 / 9 Daphne is Ettas more affordable, casual sibling venue. Shelley Horan 5 / 9 Potato flatbread with mussels escabeche and whipped cod roe. Kristoffer Paulsen 6 / 9 Bloody Mary salad. Ashley Ludkin 7 / 9 Ricotta tortellini with artichoke, radicchio and milk sauce. Shelley Horan 8 / 9 A curtained-off private dining room lies at the rear. Shelley Horan 9 / 9 Olive oil cake. Shelley Horan Previous Slide Next Slide Presiding over the food is Diana Desensi, former head chef of Montalto and the now-closed Saint George, who has a simple motto: If it hasnt been done before, were not doing it. But thats not to say she isnt putting her own flair and flourishes on familiar dishes. The same menu runs across the front bar and bistro, featuring a dish Desensi cooked for Green to help her get the gig. Its a half chicken thats brined, dunked in herb butter so the whole thing kind of mummifies, then roasted to golden perfection in the wood-fire oven before being served with blistered grapes and a salty-sweet agrodolce-like sauce.

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If it hasnt been done before, were not doing it. Daphne chef Diana Desensi Other highlights include a fermented potato flatbread with mussels escabeche and whipped cod roe, and unusually exciting salads like a colourful cobb and an heirloom tomato medley with all the flavours of a Bloody Mary. Weekly neighbourhood nights each have a different hero item. Go for $15 martinis on Mondays (and get an olive stamp on your loyalty card so your 10th is free), $30 steak with fries on Tuesdays, and $25 handmade pasta on Wednesdays. Theres also a kids menu, and a supper menu on Fridays and Saturdays. With last orders at midnight, it appropriately stars a midnight spaghetti jam-packed with anchovies and capers. The Guinness Americano cocktail tastes like a chocolate negroni. Shelley Horan As at Etta, the cocktails are a cut above, curated by drinks maverick Sam Peasnell who also lent his expertise to the drinks lists at Barragunda and Doms Social Club. His take on the Americano Perfecto (topped with lager instead of the Americanos usual soda) subs in Guinness, which floats atop the Campari and vermouth for a low-ABV drink that he says tastes like a chocolate negroni.

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Related Article Lygon Street hatted restaurant Etta to open more affordable sibling (and its close by) Sommelier Ashley Boburkas wine list puts Victoria centre stage, including pinot gris and chilled sangiovese by Yarra Valley winemaker Valentine, both on tap for $10 a glass. After dinner, the old Bar Romantica sound system cranks up for late-night DJ sets. Daphne opens today, November 10 at 52-54 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, daphne.melbourne Open dinner Mon-Sat
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Review Eating outNorth Melbourne This gloriously unique wine bar is the kind of casual excellence Melbourne does so well If Mauritian restaurant Manze feels like North Melbournes best dinner party, opposing wine bar Boire feels like its kitchen table and front porch. Besha Rodell November 11, 2025 Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Melbourne has been lucky when it comes to new bars this year. Heres whats opened over winter and spring, ready for all the summer fun you can throw at them. See all stories .

1 / 8 Inside Boire, the offshoot of hatted Mauritian restaurant Manze. Jason South 2 / 8 Asparagus with green almonds and yoghurt. Jason South 3 / 8 Quail lacquered with fermented pineapple and smoked chilli. Jason South 4 / 8 Manzes signature taro fritters. Jason South 5 / 8 Eggplant dish. Jason South 6 / 8 Theres always a raw fish dish on the menu. Jason South 7 / 8 Snack plates at Boire. Jason South 8 / 8 In the kitchen at Boire. Jason South Previous Slide Next Slide 14 / 20 How we score Mauritian$$$$ I have a new favourite word, gifted by the chefs who run the restaurant Masala y Maiz in Mexico City. Mestizaje is the term they use to describe their food, which incorporates influence from Indian, Mexican and East African cuisines; it encompasses the mixing of migrant tastes and traditions, creating new foodways that exist in more than one cultural context. If we might borrow the word, mestizaje is the most exciting thing happening in Australias rapidly evolving culinary identity. And no restaurant better embodies the term than Manze, the four-year-old room in North Melbourne where chef Nagesh Seethiah serves the food of Mauritius. Related Article Good Food hat 15.5 / 20 Review This add-on is like the designer dress you stumble upon in an op shop: an absolute steal

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Mauritius itself is a fine example of mestizaje  the small island nations population is descended from India, Africa, China and Europe, and its food is a reflection of that diversity. Seethiah takes that food and deftly puts it in a Melbourne context, making it snacky, wine-friendly, and adding ingredients from our own Australian pantry. Snack plates at Boire. Jason South Apart from being gloriously unique  and I dont use that word lightly  Manze has become both a draw to North Melbourne and a centre of community for the neighbourhood. As such, its hard to view Boire, the new wine bar Seethiah and co-owner Osman Faruqi opened directly across the street in August, as anything other than an extension of Manze. (Boire means drink in Mauritian; Manze means eat). When it opened, Seethiah envisioned Manze as a wine bar, somewhere you might stop in for a glass and a few bites, but demand and logistics necessitated a more bookings-driven, organised approach. Boire is that original idea come to life, a classic narrow shopfront that feels lived-in and decidedly Manze-ish, with one large communal table, stools on the footpath, a pared-back food preparation area that barely even qualifies as a kitchen, and walls lined with wine. There are a few cocktails  including an excellent martini  a few things to eat, and rather than providing a by-the-bottle wine list, youre encouraged to browse the shelves and fridge, where you might have to dig around to see whats on offer. Alternatively, you can ask Seethiah what hes got  he loves wine, is happy to talk about it, and the setup is built for engagement: what do you like, what do you want to spend? Weve got just the thing.

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Theres always a raw fish dish on the menu. Jason South Its possible to cobble together a full meal for two people here, but only by ordering the entire menu. Its much more geared towards snacking: olives with turmeric and the pert sting of garlic; the beloved taro fritters from across the street sitting in a pool of zingy hot sauce. Theres always some sort of raw fish situation. Recently, its been a sweet, fleshy Tasmania trumpeter, its light pink flesh brightened by sauce lail  a snappy Mauritian garlic sauce  and kumquat. Seethiah is making beautiful use of this seasons asparagus, pairing them with house-made yoghurt and slivers of green almond. Quail is given a glossy lacquer of fermented pineapple underpinned by smoked chilli, its sticky glazed surface giving way to rosy tender meat. Related Article Exclusive First look: Hatted North Melbourne restaurant opens a casual bar for pop-in visits

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During lunch hours, the options are simple: chicken sandwich or egg sandwich. You can add raw oysters, if you want, or those taro fritters, but the main event is a round, crackly, soft in the centre roll, with charcoal chicken and pickled red onion, or egg salad, pickled beetroot, and green chilli mayo. If Manze feels like North Melbournes best dinner party, Boire feels like its kitchen table and front porch. Id want to hang out here just for the sunlight streaming in through antique windows, the connection to the street outside, and the company. That there are fun and delicious things to eat and drink feels like a bonus. Its a wonderful expression of community, of the casual excellence of Melbourne dining, and yes, of the particular magic of mestizaje. The low-down Atmosphere: Cafe meets wine bar meets your stylish friends sunny kitchen Go-to dishes: Egg salad sandwich ($17); taro fritters ($4.50 each); quail with fermented pineapple and smoked chilli ($20) Drinks: Fresh and refreshing cocktails, broadly eclectic by-the-glass wines, bottle collection thats wide-ranging and natural-leaning Cost: Light snacks for as little as $20 per person  a full meal for two for around $100 before drinks is completely possible Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant cant pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.
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LifestyleLife & relationshipsFriendship Another end of year event to go to? Why its (really) OK to say no Shona Hendley November 8, 2025  4:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 7 View all comments

Nothing quite says the Christmas party season is upon us like Mariah Carey announcing, Its time, via her annual social media video. And with the 2025 clip making the rounds, well soon hear continuous loops of All I Want for Christmas is You  and see our social calendars quickly filling up, too. But while catching up with friends for a Christmas cocktail might be fun, wrangling a carload of kids to attend a futsal break-up or sourcing a themed outfit for your spouses work party may not be your idea of a good time. From office parties to end-of-year school events, the round of social engagements can feel overwhelming. Getty Images Being less than enthused about a seemingly never-ending list of social events is common, says clinical psychologist and author, Dr Rebecca Ray. This time of year often comes with emotional pressure to be cheerful and available, even when were exhausted, she says. Not all social interactions are nourishing. For some, large groups or surface-level conversations can feel draining. Others may struggle with social anxiety, family tension, or simply being peopled out; this is especially the case for introverts.

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And this, Ray says, can be a bit much. When connection feels performative instead of genuine, it tends to deplete rather than restore us. The mix of social expectations, end-of-year fatigue, and a sense of obligation can make boundaries harder to hold. Related Article Friendship Is being a people pleaser unhealthy? The five signs you might be in trouble When to say no In the name of wellbeing and boundaries, how do you decide what invites to accept and which ones to decline?

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Check in with your energy and intention before saying yes, says Ray. Ask yourself: Will this event leave me feeling lighter or heavier? Am I saying yes out of joy or guilt? A simple rule is to prioritise what feels meaningful, aligned with your values, or genuinely restful and to let go of the rest. Your nervous system is a better guide than your calendar. Chief executive of Relationships Australia NSW, Elisabeth Shaw, says that context also matters when deciding whether to attend a social event. Think about the history of these events. What do you look forward to, and what do you not? she says. Is there a recent conflict or something from last year unresolved? If so, think about addressing it now. Ring the person involved and say, I want better for us this year  without blaming or taking the blame. Its OK to say no sometimes, especially at this time of year when events can pile up. Getty Images

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How to say no While deciding how to respond can be difficult, so can declining an invitation. How can you do this without upsetting the friend or family member who has extended the invitation? Etiquette expert Jo Hayes says the way we communicate our no is important. Good manners and basic social courtesy dictate that we respond to an invitation with grace, courtesy, and respect, she says. Communicating the fact that we are grateful for, and appreciate, the invitation, and express either our delight/joy in being able to attend, or, conversely, our disappointment/regret that we are unable to attend [is important]. Hayes says even if you are not personally disappointed or regretful that you are unable to attend, you should still express an apology. [It] is a polite and respectful thing to include in ones RSVP, she says.

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A wrong way to decline an invitation, according to Hayes, would include not thanking the host for the invitation and not expressing an appropriate sentiment of regret. Related Article Ageing If social connection leads to a longer life, are introverts doomed? One wants to avoid sounding blunt  its disrespectful and uncharitable, and basic poor manners, she says. An example of this would be responding, We wont be able to attend. [Its] incredulous that any human could think this is an appropriate way to respond to an invitation  its so blunt and rude, says Hayes.

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Associate Professor of psychology at Australian Catholic University, Dr Megan Willis, agrees that there is a right way to decline an invitation: being honest and kind. Thank them for the invitation and clearly state your boundary. It can also help to suggest another time to catch up, which makes it clear that youre declining the event, not the person, she says. While the best way to decline will depend on the circumstances and the nature of the relationship, Willis says one example might be: Thank you so much for inviting me. I really appreciate it, but Ill need to sit this one out. Id love to catch up another time, though. Willis adds that often, we worry unwarrantedly about declining an invitation. We often imagine that saying no will upset others far more than it typically does, she says.

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But if saying no does hurt the invitee, respond by acknowledging their feelings while maintaining your boundary. Validating how they feel can help reduce defensiveness and preserve the connection, says Willis. A response such as, I understand youre disappointed. I value our relationship and would love to catch up another time, shows empathy without compromising your boundary.  Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday.
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NationalThe Dismissal A huge mistake that changed history: Whitlam failed to tell the right people hed been sacked John Faulkner November 10, 2025  4:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 244 View all comments

On this day 50 years ago, Gough Whitlam had served for two years, 11 months and six days as Australias prime minister. For the Labor faithful, Whitlams election offered hope, opportunity and the promise of real and lasting change after 23 years of continuous opposition. The legitimacy of Whitlams election had never been accepted by the opposition and it drove frenzied efforts to reclaim government by any means. Since Federation in 1901, the Senate in its first 71 years of existence had rejected only 68 government bills; in just the next three years, it rejected 93 Whitlam government bills. Gough Whitlam on the steps of Parliament House after his dismissal as prime minister in 1975. Age Archives Conservative state premiers abandoned the convention of filling casual Senate vacancies with a nominee of the same party. In 1975, Labor was down two Senate seats it had won in May 1974.

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On October 15, 1975, the opposition announced it would withhold supply until the government agreed to go to an election. Delaying the passage of the budget was possible solely because Coalition state governments had broken the convention on filling Senate vacancies. Related Article Explainer

The Dismissal What are the Palace Letters, in a nutshell? The Liberal and National parties at all levels had abandoned tradition in favour of a reckless path back into government. Even then, their strategy was failing but for the treachery of the governor-general, Sir John Kerr. He debauched his office by conspiring against, and deceiving, the elected prime minister. As the stalemate between the houses over the refusal to pass supply rolled on, Kerr did not inform Whitlam that he was considering the dismissal of the government, not even a hint. Whitlam advised Kerr not to consult chief justice Sir Garfield Barwick. Kerr consulted Barwick. Kerr did not inform Whitlam that he had sought advice from High Court justice Sir Anthony Mason. Thanks to Jenny Hockings research, we now know Mason provided advice secretly to Kerr on multiple occasions.

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On November 11, 1975, Kerr ambushed Whitlam. Loading At 1pm, Whitlam arrived at Government House in Yarralumla to advise the governor-general that a half-Senate election be held. Kerr didnt waste words or time, informing Whitlam that he had withdrawn his commission, and handing him a letter of dismissal. A few minutes later, Kerr completed the ambush. Liberal opposition leader Malcolm Fraser, hidden metres away in an anteroom at Yarralumla, was sworn in as prime minister. The man elected prime minister of Australia headed back to The Lodge. Whitlams first phone call was to his wife, Margaret, in Sydney. She told him he should have just torn up the letter. A typical Whitlam response followed: You cant do that; its a legal document. She then said: You shouldve slapped his face and told him to pull himself together. He had time to eat his lunch though  medium steak with German mustard and a horiatiki side salad. Whitlam as prime minister, governor-general Sir John Kerr and senator Ken Wriedt in 1975, months before the Dismissal. Fairfax Archives

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Paul Keatings response was even stronger. Keating has recently shared what he would have told Kerr. I quote: Youre seeking to illegally dismiss the government of Australia, which I regard as a criminal act, and I am ordering the police to arrest you. Those views were not a recent reflection. Just a couple of hours after the Dismissal, Keating described Kerr to his senior colleagues Frank Crean and Fred Daly as a pseudo crim  and what you do with pseudo crims? You lock them up. As someone who served in the Senate, my thoughts about that day have always gone to what might have occurred in that chamber where the Whitlam government had been so frustrated  if Labor senators had been told about the governments sacking. John Faulkner and Whitlam at the launch of their SBS documentary, Gough Whitlam: In His Own Words. This was based on an in-depth conversation between the pair covering Whitlams public life including The Dismissal. Photo: Steven Siewert On returning to The Lodge after the Dismissal, Whitlam planned tactics with senior staff and cabinet colleagues including deputy prime minister Frank Crean, the leader of the House, Fred Daly, attorney-general Kep Enderby and House speaker Gordon Scholes. Present too were key staffers John Mant and Graham Freudenberg, and for a short time the secretary of the Prime Ministers Department, John Menadue. ALP national secretary David Combe was also there.

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Unfortunately, Whitlam and his inner circle  every one of them  focused exclusively on how events would unfold that afternoon in the House of Representatives. Incredibly, with the Senate due to consider the appropriation bills shortly after resuming at 2pm, no one thought to tell any Labor senators, let alone its leadership, that the government had been sacked. Related Article The Dismissal She heard an extraordinary plot against the government: The call that would haunt Winsome Nash The appropriation bills were brought on for a Senate vote at 2.20pm. To the complete surprise of Labor senators, the Coalition instantly ticked them through on the voices. Labor senators had no idea their government had been dismissed. With the supply bills passed, the last vital stage of the coup was completed in mere minutes. Labor had forfeited its best chance to frustrate Kerrs decision. We now know that during the vice-regal lunch following the Dismissal, Kerrs wife suggested he should inform the queen. That was done. Yet at no stage did Kerr inform the Australian parliament, or the presiding officer or clerk in either chamber. This omission by Kerr is a most extraordinary and reprehensible failure  a massive dereliction of duty. Yet, in 50 years, it has received little attention.

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Whitlam did not even know that Fraser had been sworn in as prime minister until Fraser himself, at 2.24pm, informed the House of Representatives. The morning after: Prime minister Malcolm Fraser, Sir John Kerr, and Frasers deputy, Doug Anthony, after the swearing in of the caretaker government. Fairfax Media The president of the Senate, Labors Justin OByrne, could have simply, and very properly, suspended the Senate sitting until it had been formally advised of the status and composition of the government. Surely that advice could not have been provided until the governor-general had dealt with the House of Representatives motion of no confidence in Fraser, which also called upon Kerr to recommission a Whitlam government? Under the Senates standing orders, only a minister, or a senator acting on behalf of a minister, was entitled to move that motion to pass the budget, which Labor Senate leader Ken Wriedt did in 1975. Of course, Wriedt was unaware hed been sacked. In fact, there were no ministers in the Senate at the time. Whitlams ministers had been sacked. The Fraser government ministers were not sworn in. It would have been very easy for any Labor senator wanting to delay or upend Senate business to raise hell while events unfolded elsewhere in Parliament House and Government House. Not for minutes, but for many, many hours.

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The opportunity was there for Labor to return the favour  with interest  in the chamber that had caused the Whitlam government such grief. It did not happen, as not one of those present at the meeting at The Lodge thought to tell the Senate team about the Dismissal. It was a huge mistake. It mattered because only after the passage of the supply bills was Kerr willing to dissolve the parliament so an election could be held. As the then clerk of the Senate, Jim Odgers, wrote: If the Senate had been informed of the dismissal of the Whitlam ministry, the course of events might have been different. After the Dismissal, Kerr  advised by Mason again  ignored the House of Representatives motion of no confidence in Fraser and its call that he recommission a Whitlam government. Kerr thumbed his nose at the parliament. Fraser remained prime minister. Maintain the rage: Whitlam addresses reporters on the steps of Parliament House after his dismissal. Keystone So contemptuous, improper and unethical was Kerr that he refused to receive the speaker at Yarralumla until he had dissolved the parliament.

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After the dissolution of both houses was proclaimed on the steps of Old Parliament House, Whitlam took the microphone to make the greatest extemporaneous political speech in our nations history, exhorting supporters to maintain their rage and enthusiasm. On this 50th anniversary, I hope we will see a renewed focus on the achievements of Gough Whitlam and his government. Whitlam set aflame a languishing light on the hill for the Labor Party and its supporters in the 1960s and 70s. Yes, he took risks and he certainly made mistakes  some on a grand scale  but remember what an inspiring and visionary leader he was: reforming the ALP; delivering two election victories; and creating a fairer, more modern, outward-looking and independent Australia. For many Australians, Whitlam remains a heroic figure  his standing never dimmed by the Dismissal. Yes, Labor lost the short-term politics of the Dismissal  it suffered a resounding election defeat  but, half a century later, it is clear the constitutional argument has been won. The Senate has not since contemplated withholding supply and dividing the nation. It is accepted that Kerr conspired against, and deceived, his prime minister. That he improperly misused the reserve powers. That he was partisan and dishonest. That he failed to observe longstanding conventions. That he abused his office. It must never happen again.

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This is an edited extract from a speech by former Labor senator, minister and now chair of the Whitlam Institute John Faulkner, which he presents on Monday at the Whitlam Dismissal and the Crisis of November 1975 symposium in Canberra. The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own. Sign up here.
The prime minister was urged to increase defence spending, as the nation paused at 11am today to honour our war fallen.

Major General Greg Melick said in his commemorative address that the Returned & Services Leagues warnings on defence spending had long been ignored and Australia had become complacent about the threats it faced.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese lays a wreath. Alex Ellinghausen

Speaking at the Australian War Memorial on Tuesday to mark the end of World War I, Melick said: For many years the RSLs defence and security committee has been agitating, without apparent success, on the need to ensure we bolster defence spending and significantly increase our reserves, especially in fuel and ammunition, to best equip our dedicated servicemen and women before we send them into harms way.

Read more here.

The RSLs Rod Holtham, Ron Webb and Bob Hall attend a Remembrance Day Service at The Cenotaph in Sydney. Sam Mooy

Meanwhile, heres a look at how The Age covered Armistice Day with its front page the following day.

Armistice signed, the front page read. The magic words were flashed over the city. Cheer after cheer went up into the night. Thousands of voices rang out in song. Roll of drum and call of trumpet, bang of cracker and ring of bell, shriek of whistle and hoot of siren.

Opposition leader Sussan Ley lays a wreath. Alex Ellinghausen

Armistice signed! The pent-up feelings of the last momentous days were released, and from the hearts of the people came mighty shouts and cheers. The emotions could be expressed in no other way.

Peace had come! The years of sorrow and agony were over. The moment for rejoicing was now.
Throughout Graham Richardsons 23 years in political life  he never learnt the finer points of ethical behaviour. He had always traded in favours, mateship and deals, wrote Marian Wilkinson in The Fixer, her 1996 unauthorised biography of Richardson.

Former foreign minister Gareth Evans once said Richos inclination for doing whatever it takes  was not always a recipe for good, principled government.

An Antipodean Machiavelli, was how Richardsons former cabinet colleague Neal Blewett once described him, offering that he was the arch proponent of vested interests.

Its hard to know where to start when talking about Graham Frederick Richardson: bagman, political fixer and bon vivant. There were the bribes paid to him by way of prostitutes, Offset Alpine, Swiss bank accounts , taking a cut of the political donations he collected, accepting a hefty payment from Eddie Obeid in return for getting Obeid into parliament, having a major property developer build the extension on his home, being on the payroll of developers, and so much more.

For a reporter whose career has been spent uncovering crime and corruption, Richo was the one who got away.

I know that you know, but youll never be able to prove it, Graham Richardson once said to me more than 20 years ago, back when we were still talking.

Much to the astonishment of fellow diners, a woman marched over to Richos table and hurled a kangaroo scrotum purse at him, saying: If we were in the jungle, Id have cut your balls off and worn them round my neck.

It was 2011, and Richardson and a female luncheon companion were tucking into their pasta at Machiavelli, a restaurant popular with politicians, poseurs and wheeler-dealers.

One curious event, which perfectly captures the absurd corruption in which Richo was embroiled for most of his life, involves lunch at his favourite restaurant, Machiavelli, a kangaroo scrotum purse, and the request of sex for favours.

Once a fountain of knowledge on Richos unscrupulous behaviour, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has offered the late powerbroker a state funeral, saying: We have lost a giant of the Labor Party and a remarkable Australian.

But Labors current political leaders appear to have turned a blind eye to Richardsons unethical and immoral behaviour, which he deployed with a combination of unbridled ruthlessness and abundant charm to achieve both personal and political ends.

Years earlier, Richos penchant for sex workers in payment of favours ultimately led to his resignation from federal parliament. A Queensland investigation into a prostitution ring discovered Richardson had been involved in a $4000 sex romp with two Gold Coast sex workers at the five-star Hyatt Sanctuary Cove hotel on August 10, 1993.

When lunching, Richo would speak candidly of his extramarital activities. He once told a senior News Corp figure that his secret was to conduct such liaisons, west of Five Dock and south of Brighton-le-Sands.

Leanne rang me to tell me of her spectacular encounter with Richo at the restaurant. Following her call, I received a breathless call from my colleague Deb Snow, who just happened to be Richos luncheon companion as she was writing a Lunch With piece on Richo for the Herald . Snow recorded the extraordinary incident with the kangaroo scrotum purse in her piece, including Richos claim that he had never met the woman before.

At the time, her controversial husband, Dr Geoffrey Edelsten, was facing charges that hed hired a hitman, Chris Flannery, to deal with a troublesome patient. She claimed that Richo had offered to get her husband off the charges if Leanne would have sex with him. Leanne told me she looked Richo up and down, before saying: I love my husband, but not that much.

The woman in question was Leanne Edelsten, who had complained to me years earlier that Richo had propositioned her.

It was so well known that Richardson demanded sex workers in payment for his services that when Independent Commission Against Corruption officers served a subpoena on Richo in 2014, they waited in the lobby of the five-star Sheraton in Sydneys CBD. Richardson had gone into a room with two sex workers and as he was leaving was served.

Burgess was subsequently jailed in NSW for paying $330,000 in corrupt secret commissions to a senior executive of Mitsubishi Electric Australia.

While the CJC was satisfied that the sex workers had been provided to Richardson, ultimately, the corruption watchdog couldnt establish that Burgess had supplied them.

Only two years earlier, Richardson had resigned from the ministry after it was revealed he had aided his cousin by marriage, Gregory Symons, in the so-called Marshall Islands affair.

In her book, Wilkinson revealed that six days after Burgess gave evidence to the Criminal Justice Commission, Richo offered his resignation from federal parliament to then-prime minister Paul Keating, citing ill health.

The women were allegedly provided to Richardson by restaurateur Nick Karlos and his former business partner Bob Burgess in exchange for Richardson making favourable representations to a US defence contractor on Burgess behalf.

Both the Telegraph and the Herald had photographers snapping the amorous couple leaving the restaurant. Richo, who had obviously not stuck to his Five Dock rule, rang the editors of both papers offering a deal. In return for not running the photo, he would give us an exclusive on how then-premier Nathan Rees was about to be rolled.

On another occasion, I got a tip-off that Richo was having a cosy lunch with a young woman at the Golden Century. Maybe its his daughter? I asked. Theyre holding hands by the lobster tank, so I dont think so, my informant said.

I also told the news desk that the legal team of barrister Bruce McClintock and solicitor Mark OBrien was acting for the Sky News employee. I knew the pair only too well as they had acted for Eddie Obeid in 2006 when he successfully sued journalist Anne Davies and me for suggesting that he was corrupt.

I am still cooling my heels outside court 9B. All I learnt before the court was closed was that a journo at Sky News is objecting to receiving a summons to produce documents. ICAC wants to access all the emails and electronic diaries of one of their employees who was variously described as a political commentator or a political journalist. ICAC wont tell the journo what the case is about.

The truth was much simpler. Instead of ICAC tipping me off, it was a mysterious listing in the NSW Supreme Court that read: Sky News v The Independent Commission Against Corruption. This is the email I sent to the news desk on August 11, 2014.

When I wrote that Richo was facing his own ICAC inquiry, he went ballistic. He demanded a formal inquiry into who at ICAC has been leaking to me for 20 years.

Graham Richardson and his lunch companion are photographed departing the Golden Century restaurant in August 2009. Simon Alekna

I jokingly said to tell him it was the Swiss bank account details or nothing. We declined his offer and ran the photo. Weeks later, Rees was on the steps of NSW Parliament House saying, I will not hand over NSW to Eddie Obeid or Joe Tripodi and declared any challenger would be a puppet of Obeid and Tripodi. By the end of the day, he was no longer the premier, having lost a secret ballot to Kristina Keneally.

Richardson is widely credited with creating the political career of Eddie Obeid, who has twice been jailed for misconduct in public office. Over the years, several Labor figures were adamant that Obeid paid Richardson for getting him a seat in the NSW upper house. One said the $80,000 figure is out of the horses mouth, referring to Richardson.

All I know is that he paid Graham Richardson to get on the ticket, said another.

But like the CJC inquiry 20 years earlier, the 2014 NSW corruption inquiry into Richo went nowhere.

Richos lucky escapes were legendary.

While NSW ALP general secretary in 1977, Richardsons then-wife Cheryl was put on the payroll of Balmain Welding, a company owned by Richos friend Danny Casey, an ex-boxer and Balmain Labor Party stalwart. Balmain Welding was involved in the repair of shipping containers.

Cheryl was the companys paid typist, even though she never went into the office. Alongside Cheryl on Balmain Weldings payroll were a string of Sydneys underworld crime figures. The foreman was underworld boss Stan the Man Smith.

When Balmain Welding came to the attention of the Woodward royal commission on drug trafficking, many of the alleged drug traffickers claimed they were working at Caseys Balmain Welding when they were actually in the Philippines arranging drug importations. The commissioner observed it was reasonable to assume that some of the drugs were brought in via the containers.

At the very time the royal commissions investigation of Casey was under way, Richardson  the NSW Labor Party boss  had become a silent partner in the container repair business.

Graham Richardson and his then wife Cheryl at their Ramsgate home in 1976. Martin James Brannan

It was an act of extraordinary recklessness, to say the least. Compounding it, he began lobbying the transport minister to lease railway land to Caseys company without revealing his financial interest. His lobbying was unsuccessful.

In the middle of 1987, West Australian developer John Roberts, who founded one of the countrys largest construction and property groups in Multiplex, received a call from Richardson about donating money to the federal Labor Party. He subsequently gave $200,000 after attending Bob Hawkes famous gold tax lunch on June 15, 1987. When asked whether Richardson ever got him to donate to the NSW branch of the ALP, Roberts paused, then laughed: Put it this way, we never gave.

Richardson later asked Roberts to do the renovations on his Killara house. In a later interview with Roberts, I asked him why Multiplex, an international building firm, would build extensions on Richardsons house. Roberts answered: I willingly did it. I wanted to do it. He was influential; he was going places. It was more of an in for me; I make no bones about that. Why shouldnt I do it?

In 1992, when media tycoon Kerry Packer was offloading assets, Eddie Obeid was offered the firms printing plant, Offset Alpine. Obeids mate, Richo, who was by now a federal Labor minister, put Obeid in touch with his stockbroker, Rene Rivkin, who was funding the purchase.

Offset Alpines Sydney printing plant mysteriously burned down on Christmas Eve 1993, causing the companys share price to soar as it had recently been insured at three times its purchase price.

Rene Rivkin with Graham Richardson. Peter Wilmoth

Obeids oldest son, Paul, had been put on the board to look after the Obeids 25 per cent interest in Offset Alpine. The only problem was that  as was their wont  the Obeids hadnt yet paid Rivkin for their quarter shareholding of the company. Despite this, behind the scenes, Eddie Obeid was insisting on sharing in the bonanza.

Years later, my colleague Linton Besser and I discovered that in December 1994, a few months after the final insurance payout was made, Obeids mentor Richardson transferred $1 million from his Swiss account to an account in Beirut, Lebanon. The bank account just happened to be owned by Dennis Lattouf, a close associate of the Obeid family.

The million-dollar payment appeared to be Eddie Obeids cut of the insurance payout.

The Offset Alpine scandal came back to haunt Rivkin and Richardson in 2003, when The Australian Financial Review revealed that the colourful stockbroker had set up Swiss bank accounts to hide the late publishing stalwart Trevor Kennedys and Richardsons secret shareholdings in Offset Alpine.

Rivkin, later jailed for insider trading, told Swiss authorities, Graham Richardson  did not want an official account in his own name and so we opened for him a portfolio called Cheshire in my account.

The Financial Reviews revelation sparked a long-running battle between Richardson and the tax office over his Swiss account. Richardson said the substantial funds were merely gifts from Rivkin in recognition of Richardsons personal qualities. The matter was eventually settled.

In July 2018, the Swiss bank account and other alleged misdeeds were at the centre of a breathtaking battle which erupted on Paul Murray Live on Sky News. The combatants were Richardson and former Federal Labor leader Mark Latham. Richardson had attacked Latham for abandoning the ALP for One Nation. Calling each other rats, dogs and shysters, the pair went at it.

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Shouting at Richo, Latham reeled off a list of Richos wrongdoings.

I will tell you whats sad, taking money from Ron Medich, as you did as a lobbyist.

I will tell you whats sad, putting Eddie Obeid into NSW parliament.

I will tell you whats sad, having a wife on the payroll of Balmain Welding, when they were into organised crime  having a Swiss bank account.

When he could get a word in, Richo denied ever having a Swiss bank account in his name. And of Balmain Welding, he said there had been a royal commission which didnt find Casey guilty of a bloody thing.

Of the since-convicted murderer Ron Medich, Richo spluttered: By the way, I stopped taking money from Ron Medich and only took it from his brother [property developer Roy] because I didnt like the people he was mixing with.

My own lunching relationship came to an abrupt end in 2005 when I reported crime figure Joe Meissner had revealed for the first time Richardsons involvement in the bashing of Peter Baldwin, who was in the rival Left faction of the NSW Labor Party.

In 1976, at the age of just 26, Richardson became general secretary of the NSW Labor Party. At the time, there were bitter factional battles for control of inner-west branches.

Baldwin, a member of the Left faction, was beaten in his home on July 16, 1980. Baldwin had been investigating the rorting of the books by the Enmore branch. In his police statement, Baldwin named as suspects in his bashing underworld figures Meissner, who was the secretary of the Enmore branch, and Tom Domican, who was employed as the Marrickville mayors driver.

In 2005, Meissner told me in a recorded interview that it was suggested to Tom [Domican] that Baldwin be fixed up and it developed from there. Meissner says Domican  who has been charged with murder, attempted murder, and five conspiracies to murder, and acquitted of all of them  organised two associates to do the bashing.

When asked who had suggested this to Domican, Meissner replied: Who else, our good friend Graham [Richardson]. Ask him.

Richardson denied knowing anything about the bashing of Baldwin. Ive got no knowledge of who did it or who organised it, but they were obviously acting on a frolic of their own because it was madness. Domican has always denied any part in Baldwins assault.

In a radio interview with the late John Laws, Domican said hed been a very close friend of Richardsons, but theyd had a falling out. Asked what Richo had done to upset him, Domican replied: It wasnt what he did, it was what he didnt do  The Prince of Promises, I called him.

On the last day of the window to sue, Richardson did just that. At the time, Fairfax settled the matter on the basis that we would be relying on the word of Meissner, a convicted criminal.

A decade later, following my revelation that Richo was the subject of his own ICAC inquiry, he abused me on his Sky News program and his column in The Australian.

Over many years she has penned thousands of words critical of me, he wrote.

Of the Meissner case, he wrote, She managed to make me some easy money as well. After yet another front-page piece on me the Fairfax lawyers ran up a white flag after a simple letter from a solicitor. No court case, no high-priced QC, and a handsome cheque for which I continue to be very grateful.

Richo concluded by telling his Sky viewers: Therell be no finding ever of corruption against me.

Sadly, on this, he was right.

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Graphic content NationalNSWCrime Texts expose Tatianas inner turmoil in weeks before domestic violence murder Clare Sibthorpe November 10, 2025  4:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

An alarming number of Australian women have been killed in recent years. Find out more about their lives. Some of the cases are still before the courts. See all stories .

Convicted murderer Danny Zayat texted his ex-partner Tatiana Dokhotaru after he choked her, pulled her hair and spat on her in a jealous rage over her talking to another man. We keep getting brought back together. We are meant to be. Tatiana Dokhotaru was murdered by her ex-partner Danny Zayat in her 22nd floor apartment in Liverpool. Instagram Sixteen days later, on May 26, 2023, Zayat murdered 34-year-old Dokhotaru inside her 22nd-floor apartment in Liverpool in Sydneys south-west, after ending her desperate Triple Zero call and throwing her phone off her balcony. The NSW Supreme Court heard how Zayat, 30, fled with money Dokhotaru had saved for their future, left her body in the apartment for 20 hours, and blamed her death on suicide when emergency services found her the next day.

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An analysis of hundreds of text messages  which were publicly released in the wake of Zayats guilty murder verdict on Thursday  revealed the manipulative and controlling tactics Zayat harnessed to keep Dokhotaru entangled in his web of abuse, leading up to her death. Dokhotaru is one of an alarming number of Australian women lost to domestic violence. One woman was killed every four days in the first half of 2024. Loading Six weeks before the murder When Russian-born and Canadian-raised Dokhotaru met Zayat in 2017, she described him as the love of her life.

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By 2021, their relationship had spiralled into violence, with friends witnessing Zayats physical abuse in public. In November 2022, they moved out of their shared home and Dokhotaru rented the Liverpool apartment she later died in. Despite their separation, Zayat remained possessive of Dokhotatu, exploding into rage whenever he discovered shed spoken to other men. In early April 2023, the month before Dokhotaru was killed, their relationship was at rock bottom. They had broken up but continued communicating, expressing their love for each other despite Zayats escalating violence. On April 11, Zayat found messages he did not like on her phone and physically attacked her.

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These acts of controlling, monitoring and restricting another persons freedom are common characteristics of coercive control, which was criminalised in NSW in July last year. Related Article Updated

Courts Like putting together broken glass: How Tatianas fairytale descended into fatal violence Coercive control is a pattern of behaviours used to manipulate, intimidate, isolate and control a partner and develop an uneven power dynamic. The day after this attack, Zayat told Dokhotaru that he was truly sorry. One minute later, he minimised his abuse into general relationship issues, writing: Im sick of all this bullshit. In a heartbreaking response, Dokhotaru said their relationship was like putting together broken glass and Zayat had destroyed her.

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I know Ive done my part of damage also but its incomparable to what you have done to me, she wrote. A 2024 federal government study on gender-based violence found that five per cent of Australians believed women who do not leave their abusive partners are partly responsible for violence continuing. Research shows this victim-blaming can cause women to wrongly believe they are partly responsible for the abuse. Tatiana Dokhotaru and Danny Zayat inside her apartment complex between seven and eight hours before Zayat murdered her. NSW Supreme Court One text shows that Dokhotaru felt her capacity to love had somewhat allowed the abuse, which was caused by Zayat alone. I hate that my heart is so big and I love so deep. Look where its taken me, she wrote.

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Meanwhile, Zayat attempted to gaslight Dokhotaru, trying to convince her fate overrode his responsibility to be accountable for his actions. He wrote: I cant love anyone else the way I do you and I know you feel the same towards me despite what has happened. According to the Coercive Control Literature Review, published in 2023 by the Australian Institute of Family Services (AIFS), gaslighting is a common form of coercive control, which can erode a victims sense of self-trust and sense of reality. When Dokhotaru asked for space to heal, Zayat agreed, but made her promise to stay loyal to him. Four weeks before the murder By April 29, Dokhotaru had forgiven Zayat. She shared her wish to reunite and move together to Dubai. Zayat wrote: Yeah sounds good baby.

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Dokhotaru sent a photo of bundles of cash inside a shoebox, writing: Lets f---ing build an empire. CCTV footage shows Danny Zayat leaving the Liverpool apartment minutes after committing murder. NSW Supreme Court The Crown argued Zayat stole some of this cash from her unit on the night he murdered her. Dokhotaru then wrote: I love you  Im giving you a second chance. Zayat responded: Trust me we are going to be better than ever. But, the next day, their dysfunctional relationship took another turn for the worse. Zayat again went through Dokhotarus phone and messaged a man on Instagram about photos she had liked. Then he brutally attacked her.

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Dokhotaru sent him videos and photos of her bruises a day later, but he pretended they couldnt load on his phone. Two days later, Dokhotaru lent him money to cover overdue bills after a desperate plea, but asked him to pay her back as fast as possible because hed previously taken months and months to repay her. According to a study published by Australias National Research Organisation for Womens Safety (ANROWS), financial abuse is a common type of coercive control. Two to three weeks before the murder Research shows that psychological abuse also regularly accompanies physical abuse. This was another tactic Zayat used to shattered Dokhotarus self-worth.

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On May 5, three weeks before her murder, Dokhotaru expressed sadness when Zayat told her it will be better for everyone if she died. Then Zayat claimed he says things he doesnt mean when hes angry. Zayat used derogatory language to try to control Dokhotarus social media use. Police warn this sort of technology-facilitated abuse is on the rise. Instagram Laying false blame, he said it was wrong of him but was nothing compared to what she had done, and she didnt have to get over his physical abuse right away. One week later, after Dokhotaru left on a trip to Thailand, Zayat showered her with compliments and promised shed see a big difference when she returned.

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I hope so, she replied, adding she needed to learn to love herself as hed made her hate herself. Shed become a shell of her former self. One week before the murder Zayat inflicted countless types of domestic abuse before he eventually murdered Dokhotaru, including secretly monitoring her phone and dictating her social media use. Police recently warned that reports of technology-facilitated domestic violence in NSW had surged this year. On May 17, while Dokhotaru was still in Thailand, Zayat used derogatory language instructing her to delete an Instagram photo. After some resistance, she did so, writing: Fixed it.

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The next day, she said she wouldnt tolerate any mental or physical abuse  you still manage to mentally abuse me from a million miles away. Sketch of Danny Zayat as he was convicted in the NSW Supreme Court of murdering Tatiana Dokhotaru. Rocco Fazzari Zayat said he genuinely cared about her and he tries to make [her] feel better when shes upset. After her return to Australia, Zayat learned Dokhotaru had spent a night with another man. He broke her ribs in a brutal bashing. Dokhotaru told friends shed been in a car crash. Three days later, on May 23, Zayat texted: Hey babe how are you doing, to which Dokhotaru said she was so shit and depressed.

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Despite her pain being caused by his assault, a manipulative Zayat went into caretaker mode, telling her to rest up and shed soon return to normal. Night of the murder As Dokhotaru grappled with the internal conflict of continuing to love Zayat but remaining trapped in his cycle of abuse, he slept at her apartment for the last few nights of her life. On her last night alive, she shared a meal and some wine with a friend in her unit, before texting Zayat that her ribs were about to pop from his attack. Minutes later, she said she missed him and was in so much pain.

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I miss you to [sic] baby, and Im sorry, Zayat responded, telling her he was heading over to her apartment. At 9:50pm, he sent her his final text: Im here to look after you. Within two hours, she was dead. If you or anyone you know needs support, the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732). Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
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NationalNSWPlanning Why granny flats are the latest front in Sydneys housing wars David Barwell November 10, 2025  10:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 104 View all comments

Councils and rural landholders are at loggerheads over plans to allow more granny flats and self-contained homes on Sydneys urban fringes as part of the latest proposed shake-up of state planning laws. A NSW parliamentary inquiry will look into proposed changes that would make it easier for rural landholders to build secondary dwellings via a streamlined approval process. The overhaul has been met with support from many rural landholders who say permitting small dwellings such as granny flats on their land would support multi-generational living, provide accommodation for seasonal workers, and allow farmers to make extra income from rent. Janette Purdon would like to build a granny flat on her rural block in Freemans Reach. Sitthixay Ditthavong Multiple councils on Sydneys urban fringes have flagged objections, including concerns a surge in development activity in rural areas could strain infrastructure and cause conflicts with the citys agricultural land uses.

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Under existing laws, rural landholders seeking to build secondary dwellings are subject to strict council planning restrictions that vary between local government areas. Hornsby Council caps the size of secondary homes in rural areas at 120 square metres  about the size of an average Sydney unit  while at Hawkesbury Council the limit is 110 square metres or 20 per cent of the floor space of the principal dwellings, whichever is greater. Planning changes are being considered to make it easier for secondary dwellings to be built in rural land across NSW. Wolter Peeters Freemans Reach resident Janette Purdon, who has spent the past year trying to build a granny flat on her rural block, said she gave up after failing to gain approval from Hawkesbury Council. Im at the age where Im thinking of where I want to live in my older years and all Ive been trying to do is have a small granny flat at the back of the home where Id be able to live after I retire, and then my daughter could move into my current home, she said.

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I dont want anything big  just a small house that I could live in and that would enable us to keep the property and provide that sense of security as I get older. Janette Purdon, pictured at her property in Freemans Reach. Sitthixay Ditthavong Philip Walton, who lives on rural acreage in Yarramundi on Sydneys western fringes, faced similar barriers trying to obtain approval for a secondary dwelling on his property for his children. He questioned why residents in urban areas can build granny flats on residential blocks as small as 450 square metres, but rural landowners living on more than 10 hectares in size cannot. We have four kids, and its on the cards that theyre going to be living at home until I can afford to help them into a property, he said.

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All were asking for is the same rights as people have in the city but there doesnt seem to be any flexibility in the planning process. Related Article City life The eastern suburbs homes and the sinking feeling that has residents on edge Draft planning changes due to be considered as part of the inquiry include limiting secondary dwellings to no more than two homes on a single rural lot for the use of either permanent housing, rental accommodation or family accommodation. If adopted, the laws would apply to more than 350,000 NSW properties. Many councils on Sydneys urban fringes have also raised concerns that an increase in development activity in outer metropolitan rural areas could cause conflicts with land uses that supply about 20 per cent of the citys food needs.

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Blue Mountains Council, in a submission to the inquiry, argued a blanket planning approach could trigger inappropriate development in land susceptible to bushfires or flooding, resulting in poor development outcomes and significant environmental impacts. The Hills Shire Council  which has more than 27,600 hectares of rural zoned land, or 70 per cent of the local government area  has warned population growth in other parts of Sydney has meant the role of the rural areas to provide fresh produce and building materials for Sydney and the wider region should not be undervalued. Editor's pick Night-time economy How this New Yorker says Sydney can be the city that never sleeps Planning changes to be considered by the inquiry include permitting secondary dwellings through a complying development certificate process which would negate the need for landholders to lodge detailed development applications to local councils. Housing Institute of Australia executive director Brad Armitage estimated that streamlining planning approvals could cut $15,000 from the cost of development.

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The peak body for councils, Local Government NSW, has cautioned against such an approach, instead calling for councils to retain flexibility with the power to adopt provisions that reflect local circumstances. Hornsby Council acting general manager Glen Magus said rural areas had specific issues that needed to be considered as part of the development process, including on-site sewerage management requirements. Despite those concerns, NSW Farmers Association president Xavier Martin said the planning changes could increase the viability for farming communities by permitting housing options that would facilitate multi-generational living and accommodation for seasonal workers. NSW Farmers president Xavier Martin supports the proposed planning changes. Sydney Morning Herald In a statement, Planning Minister Paul Scully said the NSW government supported the inquiry, adding that secondary dwellings are an important component in the suite of responses necessary to address the housing challenge in rural NSW.

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Hawkesbury councillor Nathan Zamprogno has downplayed concerns over the impact on agricultural land, saying targeted controls would balance environmental factors in rural areas while providing housing options for landholders. The inquiry is due to report back to NSW Parliament in February next year. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
Over a dozen new food outlets are preparing to open in Brisbane International Airport, expanding the culinary offerings for travellers.

Thirteen new food outlets will open in the international terminal over the next year.

The likes of McDonalds, Hungry Jacks and KFC will be opening in the international terminal, alongside a Mediterranean-inspired bar Manna, Sushi Jiro and Liv Eat kiosks, and coffee brand Bellissimo. McDonalds will be one of the first to open in late December, with additional outlets opening throughout 2026.

This upgrade is about celebrating the best of Brisbane and giving our customers more of what they love, great food, great coffee, and a great start to their journey, said Scott Norris, executive general manager commercial at Brisbane Airport.

This development is part of the airports $5 billion Future BNE transformation.
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Updated NationalQueenslandQueensland Police Never afraid to speak up: Former police union boss Ian Leavers found dead at home Julius Dennis Updated November 10, 2025  2:01pm ,first published November 10, 2025  12:28pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Former Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers has been found dead at his Brisbane home. The 57-year-old, who led the police union for 15 years from 2009 to 2024, was found dead just before 10am on Monday, in what police said were non-suspicious circumstances. Police were called to a sudden death at Mount Ommaney, in Brisbanes south-west, at about 9.50am. Former police union president Ian Leavers with officers. Queensland Police Union/Facebook Police investigations in relation to this matter are ongoing, a spokesperson said.

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After leaving the union, Leavers became the states first Cross-Border Commissioner in August 2024, tasked with supporting border communities in Queensland. Premier David Crisafulli said Leavers earned the respect of Queenslanders for saying it how it was, and always standing up for the police service he loved. He was dedicated, principled and driven to make a difference for this state, Crisafulli said. Queenslanders will remember his leadership during some of our states most tragic and defining events. The Police Federation of Australia remembered Leavers as a long-serving and respected leader within the policing community for more than three decades.

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Ians contribution to policing  both in Queensland and nationally  was significant and enduring, the federation said in a statement. He was a dedicated advocate for the welfare, safety and professional standing of police officers across Australia, and his leadership shaped the [Police Federation Australia] in important and lasting ways. Leavers at a ceremony marking a year since the Wieambilla tragedy. Queensland Police Union Of Employees Leavers graduated from St Laurences College in South Brisbane in 1985 and joined the Queensland Police Service in 1989. He worked across the organisation, including in roles in the Criminal Investigation Branch and Child Protection Investigation Unit. He was a prominent figure in the aftermath of the 2022 Wieambilla police shootings, in which constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, as well as civilian Alan Dare, were killed at a remote property, 300 kilometres west of Brisbane.

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Leavers called it one of the darkest days in the history of the Queensland Police Service. His successor Shane Prior said Leavers was his mentor, and a man who always represented his fellow police. There is a reason so many people are offering their tributes today of Ian Leavers  he was a giant, not just of our union but of the entire police movement, Prior told ABC radio Brisbane. The void he leaves is really immense, but so too is the mark hes left on every single police officer in Queensland. Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said Leavers led the union with unwavering purpose and commitment.

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I had the privilege of working with Ian for many years and have the deepest respect for him personally and professionally, and his steadfast commitment to our people, especially during times of crisis, Gollschewski said. Police Minister Dan Purdie said he was deeply saddened to learn of Leavers death, describing the former union president as a champion for police and the community. He was a passionate and fearless advocate for police, never afraid to speak up for what he believed was right, Purdie said. His loss will be felt deeply by the police family, but most of all by his own family and friends. My thoughts are with Ians loved ones at this difficult time. Opposition leader Steven Miles said he was reeling from the news of Leavers passing, having worked with him in his role as union leader and appointing him in the cross-border role.

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Hes had a massive impact on Queensland, largely through that time as president of the police union. He did a lot to build community support for our police, he did a lot to deliver nation-leading wages and conditions for our police, Miles said. If you, or someone you know, needs support you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636. Get alerts on significant breaking news as happens. Sign up for our Breaking News Alert.
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What We Know NationalSocial media TikTok is making upsetting changes to comply with the social media ban. Heres how it will work Bronte Gossling Updated December 5, 2025  2:08pm ,first published November 10, 2025  9:55am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 27 View all comments

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Social media No one wants it: Sydney teens unite against social media ban Meta, YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok have issued guidance to users on account deactivation, while Reddit and X still havent yet said whether they will comply. The legislation takes effect in five days. TikTok confirms it will comply with Australias social media ban, five days before deadline We understand that these changes may be upsetting, but they are necessary to ensure that TikTok complies with Australian law, an update from TikTok, published on December 5, read. TikTok confirmed today that existing accounts held by users they believe to be between the ages of 13 (the platforms global minimum age) and 15 will become inactive, and Australians in said age bracket will no longer be able to create an account on TikTok from December 10.

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The video-sharing platform encourages users to download their account information to their personal devices, and says, if they dont delete their account, they will be able to re-access it when they turn 16. YouTubes disappointing update On December 3, YouTube confirmed it will comply with the federal governments teen social media ban, and will boot all Australian users under 16 out of signed-in accounts from December 10. Loading The video giant said under16s will be automatically signed out and barred from logging in next week, meaning no subscriptions, likes, playlists or default wellbeing tools such as Take a Break and bedtime reminders.

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This is a disappointing update to share, YouTubes senior manager of public policy for Australia and New Zealand Rachel Lord wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. Related Article Social media Shut it down: The sites already policing the worlds first social media ban As we have consistently said, this rushed regulation misunderstands our platform and the way young Australians use it. Most importantly, this law will not fulfil its promise to make kids safer online, and will, in fact, make Australian kids less safe on YouTube. Weve heard from parents and educators who share these concerns. Even as the ban comes into effect next week, we will continue to work with the Australian government to advocate for effective, evidence-based regulation that actually protects kids and teens, respects parental choice, and avoids unintended consequences. As December 10 inches closer, the tech giants begrudgingly in charge of enforcing it have been drip-feeding the masses logistical information  though a lot remains unknown, and many teens believe theyll be able to circumvent it.

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Cloak-and-dagger is not an uncommon modus operandi for social media providers, and, although eSafety has emphasised the need for transparency, the year since the world-first Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024s passing has been no different. What will life actually look like for under-16s when they wake up on December 10? How will age verification actually work? Platforms are expected to take reasonable steps to prevent those under 16 in Australia from having accounts. Exactly what those reasonable steps are, however, have not been explicitly defined by eSafety. At minimum, they must implement age assurance technology, but the independent regulators guidelines do not require a specific type or method. This is in line with the Age Assurance Technology Trials final report. Published in August, it also did not endorse specific methods or technologies.

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There is specific guidance on what not to do. Platforms, for example, must not rely solely on users declaring their age or date of birth, a common practice on alcohol brand websites. Related Article Good Weekend Idk what to do: Teens share their thoughts after test-driving the social-media ban While the most accurate way of age assurance is verification with government identification documents, such as passports or a drivers licence, eSafety says platforms must not rely solely on that method, and reasonable alternative means for age assurance must be offered to users. This is because there are, of course, concerns among users about the security of their private information, and where it will be stored. OK, but what age verification methods will each social media platform be using? Snapchat  which uses every chance it can to convey its strong disagreement with its classification as an age-restricted platform  started sending the at least 435,000 users it identified as under-16 in-app, email and SMS notifications from November 22.

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These notifications included details about how they will be impacted by the social media ban, and information about age verification methods. Those the platform believes to be under-16 (due to declared age or Snapchats inferred age modelling signals) are expected to verify their age through third-party providers ConnectID (secure verification through an Australian bank account) or k-ID (government-issued identification document validation, and facial age estimation via selfie). ESafety recommends platforms employ a waterfall approach to age assurance, which consists of multiple methods and technologies, starting with the least complicated, least invasive option. How each platform plans to verify a users age Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Threads): Those who want to appeal an under-16 age classification will have to supply a video selfie, and if further information is required, supply a government-issued ID to third-party Yoti.

Those who want to appeal an under-16 age classification will have to supply a video selfie, and if further information is required, supply a government-issued ID to third-party Yoti. TikTok: The video-sharing platform already implements age assurance technology for its Live function, where users must supply photos of their government-issued ID and submit three selfies from different angles. TikTok will also be using Yoti for facial age estimation, and will also use a credit card authorisation as an age assurance method.

The video-sharing platform already implements age assurance technology for its Live function, where users must supply photos of their government-issued ID and submit three selfies from different angles. TikTok will also be using Yoti for facial age estimation, and will also use a credit card authorisation as an age assurance method. Snapchat: The multimedia messaging platform confirmed it will be using third-parties Connect ID and k-ID to verify age through a secure connection to an Australian bank account, scans of government-issued ID documents, or facial age estimation via selfies. Thats normally the inference method, where a users age is deduced with location data, such as an IP address, or behavioural data, such as the age of the account itself, or if the account engages with content targeted at children or early teens.

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Related Article Senate estimates Conflict bait: How MPs are turning tedious hearings into social media gold In the United Kingdom, since July, Pornhub has used a combination of email-based age estimation, and credit card, mobile phone or open banking verification. Another method is age estimation facial scans, but thats not always accurate, and has a known source of bias when it comes to skin tone. Predictive technologies that work for over-18s are also known to struggle with accuracy for younger faces. For more than a decade, many organisations and companies have tried to solve the complex challenge of online age assurance, TikTok said in a statement published on December 5. Despite these efforts, and as recognised by eSafety, there is still no single method that can be used to effectively confirm a persons age in a way that also preserves their privacy.

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TikTok already implements age assurance technology for users who want to livestream, as the requirement is they must be aged 18 or over. To confirm their age for that, users must supply photos of their government-issued ID, and submit selfies taken from three different angles to prove theyre a real person. The platform confirmed they will use a range of methods for age assurance from December 10, including facial age estimation provided by Yoti, credit card authorisation, and supplying government-issued identification documentation. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, pictured with Communications Minister Anika Wells (left) at a press conference in November, said platforms werent assessed based on the harms they pose to children, but whether their sole or significant purpose is social interaction, which is why Roblox, for example, isnt included despite safety concerns. Alex Ellinghausen In an email alert sent in November, Meta said it is initially adopting the least privacy intrusive measure to understand age and will then seek additional information when it has reason to doubt the information provided. Related Article Education A year ago, this girls school swapped smartphones for Nokias. Heres what happened

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Kick told this masthead in early November it intends to introduce a range of measures, which will be communicated to our community in due course. A representative for Reddit said the platform did not have anything to share at this time, and representatives for Google and X did not respond. Will my social media account be removed by exactly 12.01am on December 10? A key word in the eSafety Commissioners regulatory guidelines is from. The social media minimum age act is effective from December 10, which is when eSafety will be looking for evidence that accounts already identified as belonging to under-16s have been removed, and that age assurance methods have been implemented to prevent under-16s opening new accounts. Platforms are expected by eSafety to have been monitoring common circumvention methods  increasing declared age to over 16, changing location settings  before December 10, and accounts with that type of activity to be flagged for review.

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Meta is aiming to comply by December 10, and began removing the Facebook, Instagram (at least 300,000 under-16s have been identified as users already) and Threads accounts of children aged 13 to 15 on December 4. New accounts for under-16s were also blocked from December 4. Read more about how that will work here. Loading Some under-16s may wake up on December 10 and still be able to use age-restricted apps because their age has yet to be determined. Where is the age verification information stored? Is my personal data secure? Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected claims the policys age assurance digital ID feature would steal users information.

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Discord, which is not an age-restricted platform under the social media ban but did roll out age assurance in Australia and the United Kingdom this year, says it deletes facial images and identification documents directly after ages are confirmed. Loading In October, however, hackers gained access to a small number of government ID images from users who had appealed an age determination through the platforms manual review process with its trust and safety team. The main risk to the security of personal data, according to an expert from VerifyMy, is dodgy third-party providers that have not signed up to the voluntary global standards for age assurance, or scammers posing as third-party age assurers. Read the full story here. Will my account disappear completely and the content be deleted? Or will I get it back when I turn 16?

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Meta has confirmed under-16s will be able to archive their existing Facebook, Instagram and Threads accounts so they can re-access them when they turn 16. Related Article Analysis

Social media Australias teen social media ban has a gaming-sized loophole In November, Meta started sending out a combination of in-app messages, notifications, SMS messages and emails to users they have identified as under-16, giving them two weeks notice before their profiles are removed. These users were encouraged to download any photos, videos or posts before they lose access to their accounts. Snapchat also encourages under-16s to download their data as soon as possible and cancel paid subscriptions to services including Snapchat+ or Memories+. From December 10, their accounts will be locked for up to three years, or until the user turns 16 and chooses to reactivate their account. TikTok Australias public policy lead for content and safety, Ella Woods-Joyce, said in a hearing that the platform will give users identified as under 16 a choice.

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We will deactivate, and that will give the user the ability to archive their content that they already have, but, if they prefer, they can delete their account, Woods-Joyce said on October 28. If they choose to delete their account, the account information will be deleted. Representatives for Google, Kick, Reddit, and X did not answer this mastheads questions about whether accounts will be completely deleted, or deactivated with the possibility of restoration. Generally, you can download your accounts data on each platform through account settings. Loading What happens if I am mistakenly identified as under 16? There is the possibility that social media users above the age of 16, or those who are not Australian residents but happen to be in Australia on December 10, could get caught up in the ban.

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Related Article Social media Allowing 16-year-olds in may be the toughest part of social media ban ESafety stipulates that users should have accessible options to dispute a platforms age determination, and communications from the platforms throughout the appeals process should be clear and timely, and a good practice example in its regulatory guidelines includes the option to reactivate an account after a successful appeal. Meta revealed last month that users who are incorrectly classified as underage will have to verify their identity through either a video selfie or by supplying government-issued ID to Yoti. Users who have already changed their age to above 16 in their account settings will also have to verify their age. Will I be punished if I circumvent the social media ban? No  and neither will your parents.

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The responsibility is on platforms to comply with the law, which means they are responsible for confirming a users age and ensuring they cant have an account if they are under 16. Non-compliance carries a maximum penalty of $49.5 million for the platform  perhaps that is why some are suggesting that application stores confirm a users age before they can download an application. ESafety expects platforms to detect when a virtual private network (known as a VPN, it masks your IP address and therefore can make it appear as if youre in another location) has been used, and detect if that user is in Australia. They are also encouraged to have reporting systems in place, so users can flag other accounts they suspect belong to under-16s. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
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NationalVictoriaHospitals Beyond end-of-life: $8b rebuild urged for Melbourne hospitals Broede Carmody November 11, 2025  4:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Three of Victorias busiest hospitals require urgent redevelopment if they are to manage the states booming population and the spike in chronic health conditions tied to the rapidly ageing demographic. The Alfred, Austin and Royal Melbourne hospitals provide some of the most specialised healthcare in the state  including organ transplants and treatments for rare cancers  but all three have needed major infrastructure refreshes for close to a decade. The Alfred is Melbournes oldest hospital still operating on its original site. Luis Ascui The Alfred has been forced to close wards and reschedule procedures, while the Austin is unable to use some of its facilities, due to infrastructure issues going back to at least 2017. Many of the Royal Melbourne Hospitals assets are also past their useful life. Spokespeople for the Alfred, Austin and Melbourne Health  which runs the Royal Melbourne Hospital  all said their health services were committed to meeting the growing needs of their communities.

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Healthcare Broken noses, bites, threats: The most dangerous Melbourne hospitals for doctors and nurses Between $6 and $8 billion in additional funding is needed over the next decade  according to Infrastructure Victorias official 30-year strategy  to properly replace the Alfreds operating theatres, upgrade much of the Austin, and build new hospital wards in Parkville. Construction at all three hospitals should begin in the next five years and finish by 2035, according to the final report, which will be published on Tuesday and comes eight months after the states independent infrastructure adviser handed down its draft strategy in March. Providing hospital services in run-down assets can drive up long-term costs, the strategy says. The Victorian government should announce the scope and timeframes to redevelop the Royal Melbourne Hospitals facilities in Parkville. It should replace the Alfred hospitals operating theatres and announce the scope, timing and funding to further redevelop the Alfred and Austin hospitals.

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The Alfred is Melbournes oldest hospital still operating on its original site. Earlier this year, the hospital apologised to patients and visitors who endured sweltering wards and waiting rooms due to issues with ambient heat and the buildings inefficient cooling system. The Royal Melbourne Hospital moved to its current Parkville location in the 1940s, with many of its assets now past their useful life. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation assistant secretary Nicole Allan said she had heard of hospitals with pipes bursting due to age and wards with no windows being referred to as dungeons by union members. The design of older buildings can impact safe and best practice care, Allan said. Older hospitals have problems with narrow halls and doors making it hard to manoeuvre beds and equipment, with small rooms making it more difficult to provide care to patients. Hard-working nurses and midwives deserve to feel supported at work, and that includes having fit-for-purpose workplaces.

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A former physician, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the Alfred needed a major rebuild but staff were not hopeful this would happen any time soon. They are broke, the source said of the state government. But a spokesperson for the Allan government said millions had been spent future-proofing the Alfred, noting that the Austin is getting a new emergency department and that work is under way in Parkville for the first stage of the $2.3 billion redevelopment of the Royal Melbourne and Royal Womens hospitals. Were getting on with delivering our massive $15 billion pipeline of health infrastructure projects right across Victoria, the spokesperson said. Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said Infrastructure Victorias report was evidence that Labor had been prioritising the Suburban Rail Loop at the expense of health.

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Labor conned Victorians at the last election saying they could do it all, but the spiralling debt, waste and mismanagement means there is even less for critical health infrastructure, Crozier said. Related Article Exclusive

Hospitals Bloody hot: Hospital wards swelter in high temperatures Victorians are due to head to the polls late next year, with health once again expected to be a major battleground between Labor and the Coalition. While Infrastructure Victoria is confident that general revenue will be able to fund the three redevelopments, it has also suggested the government could find additional income streams like leasing out parts of hospitals or seeking donations and bequests. The Victorian government might expand these hospitals at the same time, but at additional cost, Infrastructure Victorias final report says.

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We estimate that operational costs are unlikely to increase following the redevelopments, given existing infrastructure is inefficient and already has high maintenance costs. Victorias debt is expected to reach $185.2 billion by 2027-28, according to this years state budget. Infrastructure Victoria chief executive Dr Jonathan Spear acknowledged previous government spending, but said now was the time to move beyond the three major hospitals being patched up. The infrastructure theyre working in impacts both the capacity and quality of care that they can provide. In some instances, its well beyond end-of-life, Spear said. We think it is the right time for government to commit to a decade-long process of renewal. Its not cheap  its between $6 billion and $8 billion  but its a cost that has been deferred for a long time. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.

Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share License this article More: Hospitals Broede Carmody is a health reporter for The Age. Previously, he was a state political reporter for The Age and the national news blogger for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. or email. Connect via Twitter
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Exclusive NationalVictoriaHealthcare Broken noses, bites, threats: The most dangerous Melbourne hospitals for doctors and nurses Henrietta Cook and Broede Carmody November 10, 2025  10:50am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 105 View all comments

Violence against nurses, doctors and other healthcare workers in Victoria has reached unprecedented levels, as the states public hospitals recorded nearly 24,000 violent incidents last year, a 20 per cent spike. The escalating violence has prompted healthcare workers to call for legislative changes to allow hospitals to be prosecuted for failing to protect their staff. Violence against Victorian hospital workers is once again on the rise. Getty Images Broken noses and dislocated shoulders are among the serious injuries sustained by healthcare workers on the job, according to hospital insiders. Doctors have also warned that more patients are carrying weapons into Australian emergency departments.

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At least 23,977 violent incidents occurred in Victorian public health services last financial year, according to an analysis by this masthead of more than 60 annual reports tabled in state parliament last week. This equates to about 65 incidents every day, and is a 20 per cent spike compared to the 19,859 cases reported in 2023-24. Nurses, midwives and carers are kicked, bitten, hit with an object, punched and spat on, said Maddy Harradence, Victorian secretary of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation. Some nurses and midwives never return to work. It ruins lives.

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Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation state secretary Maddy Harradence. Chris Hopkins Australian Medical Association Victorian president Dr Simon Judkins blamed the increase in violence on overcrowding, long waits in hospitals and inadequate access to health services in the broader community. When people cant get the care they need in the community, they end up in the emergency department, said Judkins, who works as an emergency physician. Combine that with mental health needs, drug and alcohol issues, long waits for care and the high stress of being in an emergency department - no wonder they get angry and upset. He has received reports that patients and families are smuggling an increasing number of weapons, such as knives and syringes, into emergency departments.

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In a bid to stem the violence  which can range from verbal threats to physical assaults  hospitals are installing lockdown security doors and 24/7 response teams. One mental health nurse, who did not want to be identified because she was not authorised to speak publicly, said a patient recently threw her onto a wall, while another had chased her into the staffroom and tried to kick down the door while she was trembling inside. I was running for my life, she said. The nurse said that the drug methamphetamine, or ice, had made patients more violent.

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She said staff experienced violence daily, but rarely reported these incidents unless they resulted in physical injuries. Theres constant verbal abuse, she said. At times, staff get spat on. The patients often chase me around corridors. Victorian healthcare workers want legislative changes amid a rise in violent incidents at hospitals. Marija Ercegvoac The Health and Community Services Union and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation are calling for health to be made a regulated industry under the Occupational Health and Safety Act  like the male-dominated industries of construction and mining  so that hospitals can be prosecuted for not doing enough to protect staff. Rebecca Sprekos, assistant state secretary of the Health and Community Services Union, said it was demoralising for staff to report violent incidents and then not see any meaningful change come about as a result.

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Trauma after trauma really takes a toll on staff, she said. Fewer than half of mental health emergency department presentations were assigned a mental health bed within eight hours, according to Department of Healths last annual report. Northern Health, which provides healthcare to Melbournes northern suburbs, reported the highest number of violent incidents in Victoria, with 4275 cases, up from 3649 the previous year. This equates to 69 violent incidents per 100 full-time employees. In the 2022-23 financial year, there were 643 incidents. Every staff member has the right to feel safe at work, and we take this issue extremely seriously, a Northern Health spokesperson said.

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Related Article Hospitals What are hospitals hiding? Key financial indicators vanish from government reports The spokesperson said the increase in reported cases of workplace violence was due to staff being encouraged to report incidents. The health service had invested heavily in staff training, de-escalation techniques and support services, the spokesperson said. Latrobe Regional Health was the healthcare service with the second-highest number of violent incidents, with 1842, up from 543 the previous year. Monash Health, which covers Melbournes south-eastern suburbs, recorded the third-highest figure with 1439 cases, which was a decrease on the previous years 1576. However, the vast majority of health services reported a spike in violence. Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the situation was another example of Victorias crime crisis.

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Just as crime is out of control in Victoria, violence against our doctors, nurses and paramedics is only getting worse, she said. There was a rise in violent incidents against both hospital staff and paramedics in 2024-25. Eddie Jim Despite the record figures, violence in emergency departments is actually under-reported, according to the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM). Pain, grief, psychosis, dementia, alcohol and other drugs are said to play a role, with long wait times and overcrowding also contributing factors. At Alfred Health, there was previously one dedicated code grey response team for the entire hospital. Now, there are multiple code grey teams embedded within parts of the hospital for 24/7 coverage. A code grey is called when a patient or visitor exhibits aggressive or threatening behaviour.

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Healthcare More health centre closures planned as calls to save cohealth grow ACEM president Dr Stephen Gourley called on governments and hospitals to fund and hire appropriately trained security officers at all health services. We are seeing more people with weapons coming through emergency departments, Gourley said. If we want frontline services, were going to need to start protecting them a little more. A good security guard can work out and sense who is escalating and step in proactively to manage a situation. Violence against paramedics has also increased year-on-year. Ambulance Victoria reported 1045 occupational violence incidents in 2024-25, up from 903 the previous year.

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A government spokeswoman said health workers deserved to work in a safe environment. She said health services and their boards had a legal responsibility for maintaining a safe workplace. We have invested significant funding for a range of initiatives to keep staff, patients and visitors safe at our hospitals, including de-escalation training and the Safewards program, she said. Safewards is running in more than 50 public mental health units across Australia and creates a therapeutic environment for patients. The Victorian government has made injuring an emergency worker  such as a paramedic  a category 1 offence, which carries a mandatory minimum six-month jail sentence.

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One of the biggest reductions in hospital violence year-on-year was at Inglewood and Districts Health Service, north-west of Bendigo. There were 27 incidents in 2023-24 but just two in 2024-25. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
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PoliticsFederalThe Dismissal A partisan ambush: Albanese maintains the Whitlam rage Shane Wright November 10, 2025  5:30pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share 196 View all comments

The dismissal of the Whitlam government was not a constitutional crisis but a partisan political ambush, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared while attacking conservative forces for usurping the will of the nations voters. Announcing plans to erect a statue to mark Gough Whitlam and the most controversial day in Australias federal parliamentary history, Albanese on Monday evening said the then governments sacking on November 11, 1975, was the sternest test of Australian democracy. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, pictured on the steps of Old Parliament House, announced plans to erect a statue to remember Gough Whitlam and the most controversial day in Australias federal parliamentary history. Alex Ellinghausen The 50th anniversary of Whitlams sacking is being marked by a series of events across the country, although most are centred on Old Parliament House. Albanese revealed the statue marking the dismissal would be placed in front of the old parliament to mark both Whitlams speech of November 11 and the achievements of the government.

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It was on the doorsteps of that building that Whitlam made his famous Kerrs cur speech soon after his government was formally dismissed by then governor-general Sir John Kerr. A month later, Whitlam was easily defeated by the man who helped orchestrate the dismissal, Liberal leader Malcolm Fraser. Watched by Gough Whitlam, David Smith, official secretary to the governor-general, reads the proclamation dissolving parliament following the dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975. Fairfax In an address at Old Parliament House in Canberra, Albanese said the Whitlam dismissal was an earthquake that continued to reverberate through Australian politics half a century later. In some of his strongest ever remarks about the dismissal, Albanese rejected the notion that it was a constitutional issue.

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Make no mistake: November 11th, 1975, was not a constitutional crisis, it was a partisan political ambush. There was no real precedent, and no legitimate pretext, he said. Related Article The Dismissal She heard an extraordinary plot against the government: The call that would haunt Winsome Nash The opposition orchestrated a parliamentary gridlock over the budget and then secretly prevailed upon the governor-general to break it by sacking the prime minister. While the scenes in this building on 11 November may have been chaotic, the dismissal was a calculated plot, hatched by conservative forces which sacrificed conventions and institutions in the pursuit of power.

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And the result of the election that followed does not wash any of that away. Albanese admitted the Whitlam government was not perfect, noting the opposition had preyed on Kerrs desire to be at the centre of events while cultivating his paranoia that the prime minister was about to sack him. But he said the government still had a majority in the House of Representatives and was just a year into its second term. In those circumstances, the decision as to when to call an election should belong to the prime minister, not the opposition, not the governor-general, he said. Anthony Albanese says the dismissal of the Whitlam government was a partisan political ambush. AAP/Archive

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And in precisely the same way, the choice as to whether a new government is formed, belongs to the people of Australia. Behind all the various schemes and subplots that will be unpacked and revisited tomorrow lies an overt refusal to respect the mandate or even acknowledge the legitimacy of a Labor government that had secured a majority in two consecutive federal elections inside three years. Photo: Matt Golding The statue of Whitlam will join a growing number of permanent memorials to past political giants in central Canberra. It will be within sight of the most recent statue, that of the first women to sit in parliament, Dorothy Tangney and Dame Enid Lyons, and not far from a bronze memorial of John Curtin and Ben Chifley. Other statues in the parliamentary area include representations of Sir Robert Menzies, Edmund Barton, John McEwen and Neville Bonner.

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Albanese said the statue would celebrate the ability of democracy to change the nation for the better. Australians will be able to stand with Gough, put an arm around the great mans shoulders, and remind ourselves that if we maintain our enthusiasm, its always time, he said. Related Article Opinion

The Dismissal Why Whitlams dismissal was a blow to womens rights Michelle Arrow Professor of Modern History The statue will not be the first memorial to Whitlam in Canberra. In line with past prime ministers, a suburb in the citys west is being established. It includes a childrens playground called the Blue Poles Park to honour the Whitlam governments purchase of the famous Jackson Pollock artwork. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
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Exclusive PoliticsVictoriaProtests Premiers promised mask laws to fall short amid prospect of legal challenges Chip Le Grand and Rachel Eddie November 10, 2025  6:56pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Protesters will be free to conceal their identity at public demonstrations unless they are instructed by police to remove face coverings under weaker than promised mask laws to be considered by the state cabinet on Tuesday. Under the proposed new legislation, police can only order the removal of masks if they reasonably suspect a protester is committing or about to commit a criminal offence. Even in these circumstances, exemptions can apply for health, cultural and religious reasons. Masked protesters clash with police during a demonstration against the Land Forces expo in Melbourne in September. Chris Hopkins However, the government was facing the prospect of possible court challenges to the constitutionality of a blanket mask ban, as well as a potential revolt from Labor Party faithful. The details were confirmed by three sources with knowledge of the governments plans. The bill will be introduced to parliament this week, if approved by cabinet on Tuesday, among other law and order measures.

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The proposed laws fall short of what Premier Jacinta Allan pledged in the aftermath of the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue and then weekly protests against Israels bombardment of Gaza, which she said had included extreme, dangerous and radical conduct and antisemitism by some of those who attended. Speaking shortly after the synagogue was destroyed by arsonists, Allan promised to stop protesters using face masks to hide their identity and counter the use of pepper spray by police. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan outside the Adass Israel synagogue after it was destroyed in December 2024. Luis Enrique Ascui Well ban the use of face masks and balaclavas at protests, Allan said on December 17 last year. We know they are being used to conceal identities to shield agitators from crowd control measures like capsicum spray. Face masks arent a free pass to break the law. There should be no place to hide in this state if youre a racist stirring up hate on the streets.

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Under Victorian law, police already have the power to direct someone to remove face coverings if they are within a designated area  a geographic space gazetted by police for the purpose of deploying greater search powers. If a protester refuses to comply, police can direct them to leave. Failure to comply with a direction is an offence. Under the proposed new laws, police will no longer have to designate an area to request the removal of face masks but must comply with the reasonable suspicion provision. The governments attempt to strike a balance between legal concerns and its promise to crack down on extreme behaviour at public demonstrations, while likely to be cautiously welcomed by libertarian and legal advocates, will disappoint Jewish community organisations. It is also likely to prompt heated debate around the cabinet table on Tuesday.

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Opposition police spokesman David Southwick said the proposed changes were too little, too late and would frustrate people who had been waiting for the government to take strong action. It is simply going to provide more cover for people who want to break the law, he said. The opposition has already pledged that a Coalition government would ban face masks and reinstate move-on powers to help police deal with violent and disruptive protests. Opposition police spokesman David Southwick. Christopher Hopkins The Allan government will deliver on a separate promise to ban the public display of symbols of proscribed terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, and the use of glue, rope, chains, locks and other attachment devices used by protesters to resist police.

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The legislation will contain provisions designed to limit protests outside synagogues, mosques and other places of worship but not impose a blanket ban. There was a general acceptance an outright prohibition would have unintended consequences, including for child sex abuse survivors who have previously protested outside churches. When the law changes were first promised by the government, Police Minister Anthony Carbines said ski masks were for Mount Buller, not the streets of Melbourne. If you stand for something, you dont get to hide behind a mask here in Victoria, he said. After clashes with police at the Land Forces weapons expo in 2024, then-chief commissioner Shane Patton said demonstrators had been intent on causing violence. They were standing there in full-face balaclavas with ski masks on. There was no snow there, he said. They only wore those for one reason: to avoid being subject to a [capsicum] spray when they came with intent to provoke, to attack.

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The legislation was drafted following extensive consultation with human rights advocates and Jewish, Islamic and other community groups. The Human Rights Law Centre had raised concerns about the legal validity of a face mask ban, arguing it would criminalise people who wear them for health or cultural reasons, to maintain their privacy, or who wear mask coverings as a form of political communication or art. The centres legal director, Sarah Schwartz, said on Monday that the High Court had affirmed that laws restricting peaceful protest had to be justified and proportionate. A blanket ban on face coverings at protests would not only be a clear overreach but would likely breach the constitutions implied freedom of political communication, she said. A proposed mask ban would deter participation in peaceful protest, especially among racialised communities, religious minorities, and people with disabilities. Schwartz, who is also executive officer for the pro-Palestine Jewish Council of Australia, said if the government was serious about addressing extremist conduct, it must not cut across peoples right to protest peacefully.

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The centre also opposed banning the use of attachment devices, the display of terrorist symbols and protests outside places of worship. Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
MEMBERS of the Irish Defence Forces boosted the organisations level of expertise when 182 of them were conferred with academic awards from South East Technological University last Friday afternoon. The conferring ceremony at SETUs Carlow campus is the largest annual military graduation from a higher education institution to take place in Ireland.

Graduates received awards in leadership, management and defence studies (LMDS) across certificate, bachelors and masters levels. Several achieved masters level in communications technology management, military engineering management and ordnance, munitions and explosives engineering.

Lieut Gen Rossa Mulcahy, chief of staff of the Defence Forces, said he was very proud of the graduates. These awards are a culmination of what has been a very challenging and rewarding process, he noted.

President of SETU Professor Veronica Campbell said the graduation holds a distinctive place during the universitys week of conferrals.

I have every confidence that our graduates will respond to the challenges of today and make your unique and lasting contribution to society. You have proven that your knowledge and curiosity for learning is underpinned by resilience and empathy, she added.

The LMDS programme remains the most popular academic course within the Defence Forces, with currently over 2,000 graduates.

Nine serving and retired personnel additionally received recognition of prior learning awards this year, which recognises their experiential learning during their military service.

More than 2,400 military personnel have received awards since the collaborative partnership between SETU and the Defence Forces began in 2012. The partnership enables personnel to adapt to the complex and challenging demands of military operations and deliver effective military capability, explained Lieut Gen Mulcahy.

It is heartening to see the great value that our Defence Forces places on education, said Thomas Byrne, minister of state for defence, at the ceremony.

Minister of state Jennifer Murnane O'Connor, MEP Cynthia Ni Mhurchu, Major General Colm OLuasa and officers and personnel from the Defence Forces attended the conferring ceremony.
A POPULAR Thai restaurant in Carlow town has announced that it will be closing down on 30 November.

In a statement posted to their social media channels, the owners of the award-winning Baht restaurant said that the the burden of rising costs made sustaining the quality of their fare without raising prices simply impossible.

Baht opened its doors in June 2024 and quickly gained acclaim from locals along with national media attention.

The Irish Independent published a glowing review of the restaurant in August 2024 where it praised Baht for its tasty fare, stylish decor and delightful staff.

The restaurant won the Best Thai Restaurant in Leinster award at the 2024 Asian Restaurant Awards and last March won the Best World Cuisine at the 2025 Leinster Regional Irish Restaurant Awards.

Despite its success the restaurant said that the combination of the upcoming minimum wage increase in January, the VAT rate unchanged until July 2026, mandatory pension contributions and the constant rise in overhead costs made it impossible for them to sustain the quality and care we have always promised while keeping prices fair for customers.

In their statement they gave thanks for the warmth and support of the Carlow community and regulars and friends from neighbouring counties.

Baht is a family affair for the Srakhunthod family and they said that they may one day return to the restaurant industry when the time is right.

They said: You welcomed us, shared your stories and made us feel at home. Saying farewell to you is the hardest of all. A spokesperson for Carlow Chamber of Commerce said that while the restaurant was not a member of their chamber, its very sad to see any business close and wished them all the best in the future.
Chinese tech leaders spotlight AI future at World Internet Conference

Xinhua) 10:05, November 10, 2025

This photo taken on Nov. 7, 2025 shows a scene during the opening ceremony of the 2025 World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)

HANGZHOU, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- With artificial intelligence (AI) evolving at breakneck pace, one cannot help but wonder how it will reshape our daily lives in the near future, and how we need to navigate potential challenges stemming from its rapid advancement.

At the 2025 World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit which opened on Friday in eastern China, founders and executives of Chinese tech companies shared their vision regarding topics such as AI. The event in Zhejiang Province has drawn over 1,600 participants from more than 130 countries and regions.

Wang Xingxing, founder and CEO of Unitree Robotics, a leader in legged and humanoid robotics, believes that AI is fueling accelerated growth across the robotics sector.

He said that many scenarios once confined to science fiction, like robots dancing and performing, have become reality in the past year alone. "The next two years will bring even greater surprises," he noted at a meeting at the summit on Friday.

Also upbeat about AI's speedy advancement, Liu Qiangdong, founder and chairman of e-commerce giant JD.com, said that robotics is poised to revolutionize the logistics ecosystem.

Addressing the opening ceremony, he highlighted that JD's recently established sorting center in Beijing has already replaced 90 percent of its former workforce with robots, and that by next April, the company will launch the world's first fully unmanned delivery station.

Han Bicheng, founder and CEO of the brain-machine interface company BrainCo, envisions expanding this technology's reach beyond its current focus on assisting people with disabilities -- to serve wider populations.

He said the company will roll out a next-generation sleep aid next year and a weight management product in the coming two years, all aimed at addressing diverse challenges in daily life.

As the WIC Wuzhen Summit marks its 12th edition, AI has unquestionably stolen the show.

In recent years, the government's supportive policies on AI have acted as a powerful catalyst, propelling the AI industry into explosive growth and positioning China at the forefront of global technological innovation.

In August, China's State Council published a document on boosting the large-scale commercial application of AI, stipulating that by 2030, the adoption rate of new-generation smart terminals, agents and other applications will exceed 90 percent, and by 2035, China will fully enter a new phase of development characterized by an intelligent economy and an intelligent society.

Eddie Wu, CEO of e-commerce and AI titan Alibaba, expressed full confidence in achieving this goal. He revealed at the opening ceremony that Alibaba is currently constructing massive AI infrastructure and significantly increasing investments to build a super AI cloud. Through its full-stack technological capabilities, the company aims to provide leading AI services to developers worldwide.

"AI's potential to liberate both productivity and humanity itself will surpass all expectations," he added.

AI's swift ascent, however, is prompting growing concerns about human job displacement -- a key issue that tech company leaders sought to address.

Noting that AI could displace many jobs in the market in the coming decade or two, Chen Deli, senior researcher of DeepSeek, said that tech companies have a responsibility to identify these at-risk roles and raise public awareness.

"Tech companies should act as guardians of humanity, safeguarding human safety and participating in the reshaping of social order," he said.

Yet, he remains optimistic about the future, believing that while some jobs will vanish and others emerge, overall societal productivity will increase -- with humanity retaining its unshakable role as the center of wisdom.

Feng Ji, founder and CEO of Game Science, the developer of the blockbuster video game "Black Myth: Wukong," echoed Chen's view, saying that AI should empower ordinary people, rather than being a technology concentrated solely in the hands of tech companies.

"The true potential of AI lies in its ability to give us more time to freely pursue our passions and expertise," he added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
David Raleigh

A jury has been sworn in to hear the trial of four serving gardai and a retired Garda Superintendent accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The jury of eight men and four women was sworn in before the Limerick Circuit Criminal Court and told that the trial would likely last up to six weeks.

The five accused are retired Garda Superintendent Eamon O'Neill, formerly Roxboro Road Garda Station; Sgt Michelle Leahy, Roxboro Road Garda Station; Sgt Anne-Marie Hassett, Kerry Garda Division, formerly Limerick; Garda Tom McGlinchey, Murroe Garda Station; and Garda Colm Geary, Clare Garda Division.

The five accused, who each pleaded not guilty in court, are facing a total of 42 counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to fixed charge penalty notices.

Prosecuting barrister, senior counsel, Carol Hanahoe, with junior counsels Jane Horgan Jones and Amy Walsh, told the court the fixed charge penalty notices related to a number of persons who were prominent in the sporting community in Co Limerick and the wider environs.

The jury heard that the five accused, while serving as members of An Garda Siochana, did communicate with other gardai for the proposed of terminating fixed charge penalty notices on dates for persons on dates between October 2016 and September 2019.

According to the charges, the fixed charge penalty points involved relate to alleged road traffic offences including speeding, failing to produce insurance, holding a mobile phone while driving, failing to wear a seatbelt, and driving without insurance.

The charges were brought against the five accused following a lengthy investigation by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI).

Each accused is represented by a senior counsel, and a number of junior counsels, instructed by a solicitor.

Eamon ONeill, represented by senior counsel Felix McEnroy, and junior counsels Amy Nix and Breffni Gordon and Denise London, instructed by Dan OGorman Solicitors, is accused of 30 of the 42 total alleged offences, while he was a serving Garda Superintendent.

Sergeant Michelle Leahy, represented by senior defence counsel, Andrew Sexton, and junior counsels Liam Carroll and Maria Brosnan, instructed by Sarah Ryan Solicitors, Limerick, is facing two charges.

Sergeant Anne Marie Hassett, represented by senior counsel Jim OMahoney, and junior counsels Yvonne Quinn and Jessica Kelleher, instructed by solicitor Dan Murphy, Carey Murphy Sols, Cork, is charged with three out of the total offences.

Garda Tom McGlinchey, represented by senior counsel John Byrne, and junior counsels Kenny Keirns and Ben OConnor, instructed by Hughes and Murphy Solicitors, is accused of four of the charges.

Garda Colm Geary, represented by senior counsel Vincent Heneghan, and junior counsels Kevin Roche and Brian Lindsay, is facing three charges.

The court heard that around 100 witnesses may be called to give evidence, including senior ranking gardai attached to the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) and from stations around the country; as well as civilian witnesses, including IT analysts attached to national GoSafe speed vans, mobile phone telecommunications experts, An Post employees, and persons working within the Department of Transport.

Detective Chief Superintendent Walter OSullivan, head of the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI), now retired, previously gave evidence before Limerick District Court of arresting and charging all five accused at Mayorstone Garda Station, on April 29th 2021.

None of the five accused replied when charged.

All five accused have been on continuing bail since their arrest four years ago.

On Monday the jury was told to return to court on Tuesday, for the opening days evidence.
MEMBERS of the Irish Defence Forces boosted the organisations level of expertise when 182 of them were conferred with academic awards from South East Technological University last Friday afternoon. The conferring ceremony at SETUs Carlow campus is the largest annual military graduation from a higher education institution to take place in Ireland.

Anita Kelly, Graham Hogan, James Murphy and Danielle Burgess

Patryk Babiarski and Caoimhe Creedon

Abbi Stafford and Leslie Nolan

Graduates received awards in leadership, management and defence studies (LMDS) across certificate, bachelors and masters levels. Several achieved masters level in communications technology management, military engineering management and ordnance, munitions and explosives engineering.
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Saudi Arabias Tabuk Cement Co reported a 49.75 per cent decline in net profit for the first nine months of 2025, posting SAR35.42m (US$9.45m) compared with SAR70.50m a year earlier.

In the third quarter of 2025, the company recorded a 64.2 per cent drop in net profit to SAR8.25m, compared with SAR23.05m in 3Q24. Quarterly sales also weakened, falling 19.15 per cent to SAR72.86m from SAR 90.12m YoY.

On a sequential basis, 3Q profit was down 41.61 per cent from SAR14.13m in the previous quarter, despite a 4.97 per cent increase in revenue from SAR69.41m.

Tabuk Cement is one of Saudi Arabias key regional producers and continues to face a softer domestic market alongside margin pressures linked to higher input costs and competitive pricing conditions across the Kingdoms construction sector.
Richard Perry Covert, 97, died on November 6, 2025.

He was born May 26, 1928, in Rapid City, South Dakota to Simon Perry and Eda Luella (Edzards) Covert, the middle of three brothers. He is survived by his younger brother, LeRoy, two of his three children, Ralph Scott Covert and Cheryl Ann (Covert) Hilling, and four grandchildren, Ashe Hilling, Fiona Schenkelberg, Matthew Hilling, and Raven Roquitte. His older brother Eugene died in 2015, his wife Mary Jean (Mertz) Covert died in 2017, and his daughter Nancy died in 2022.

Dick, as he was called by friends and family, was active and vibrant until the end. Despite considering himself a shy and introspective person, his twice a day exercise regime walking the halls of his residence community made him a familiar and well-loved neighbor. He was a loving parent, devoted husband, and a loyal friend.

He graduated from Norfolk High School in Nebraska in 1945, and enlisted in the Navy that June, serving 18 months on active duty at the NAS in Minneapolis before being placed on inactive status. He attended Norfolk Junior College for one year, setting a new conference record in cross country, before enrolling at Iowa State College, where he received a bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering in 1950. He was employed at Iowa Illinois Gas and Electric Company (IIG&E) in Davenport until he was recalled by the Navy in 1951. He served 15 months in this tour of duty as permanent crew on the naval training ship the USS PCE 899, stationed in Milwaukee, Wi.

Upon his discharge from the Navy in 1952, he returned to Davenport as IIE&Gs electrical field engineer on the installation of a new boiler, turbine, and electric generator at IIE&Gs Moline station, and in 1955 was assigned to the Iowa City station. In 1956, he resigned to become a design engineer on the B-58 Supersonic bomber being built by Convair in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1957, he returned to Iowa City to become a graduate student and instructor in the department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Iowa, where he received his MS in 1958 and his PhD in 1961 in Industrial Engineering.

In 1961 he also met and married Mary Jean Mertz. He accepted a position as associate professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, where his son Ralph was born in 1962 and his daughter Cheryl was born in 1964. In 1967 he accepted the position of Professor of Mechanical Engineering at South Dakota State University, and 1967 his daughter Nancy was born in Brookings, South Dakota. In 1973 he left SDSU to be visiting professor in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and the following year left academia to become Associate Director of the American Hospital Associations Hospital Research and Educational Trust in Richmond, Virginia.

In 1976, he became director of the Hospital Management Engineering Society, which was under the umbrella of the American Hospital Association at their headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. At the time, the organization had about 500 members and attracted 100-200 people for their annual meetings. One of his innovations was believing that computers could be used in health care for tasks other than accounting and he was instrumental in lobbying the industry to consider the possibility. Under his leadership, the organization embraced his ideas and became the Hospital Information and Management Services Society (HIMSS), which currently has 120,000 members worldwide and attracts 35,000 people for their annual meeting. Next time you see your doctor holding an iPad, thats one piece of his legacy. In 2024 he was honored at the HIMSS International Conference for his accomplishments as a pioneer in the field of hospital management engineering.

He was the author of over 30 technical papers and gave over 50 invited presentations. He was selected as a Fellow in both HIMSS as well as the Institute of Industrial Engineers Health Services Division, now known as the Society for Health Systems. He was selected as a Knight of St. Patrick, a student awarded honor while at the University of Missouri.

He was active in the Presbyterian Church throughout his adult life, except for a five-year period when he was active in the Congregational Church, serving on many committees and governing sessions in each of the Presbyterian Churches and on the governing board of the Congregational Church.

He was active in The Arc (formerly the Association for Retarded Children) in South Dakota, Virginia, and in Lexington, Kentucky, where he and his wife moved to when he retired in 1991. In South Dakota and Kentucky, he served on the state associations Board of Directors as well as on the boards of local chapters. In Kentucky, he was President of The Arc of the Bluegrass from 1997-1999, and the Arc of Central Kentucky from 2008-2010. He was Secretary of the Arc of Central Kentucky from 2010-2015 as well as Secretary of the Board of Directors of The Arc of Kentucky.

He and his wife Mary Jean were given the Carl Perkins Service Award and the Sandra Cookie Wenneker Family Service Award by the University of Kentucky, as well as the Presidents Award for Outstanding Service by the Arc of Kentucky. He was inducted into the University of Missouri Industrial Engineering Hall of Fame and the Norfolk High Schools Academic Wall of Fame, where he is celebrated along with his older brother Gene and their childhood friend Johnny Carson. While living in Lexington, he developed a presentation showing how his daughter Nancy overcame her intellectual disabilities which he presented multiple times at workshops, for graduate classes at the University of Kentucky, and at national conferences.

A celebration of his life will be held at Hunter Presbyterian Church in Lexington, Kentucky at 3:00pm on Saturday, Nov. 22. Friends are encouraged to share their remembrances of his life at that time.

Arrangements are by the East Brainerd Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory & Florist, 8214 East Brainerd Road, Chattanooga, Tn. 37421.

Please share your thoughts and memories at www.ChattanoogaEastBrainerdChapel.com.
Retired U.S. Army Gen. Burwell Baxter B.B. Bell III has donated his personal papers and recently published memoir, Memoirs of a Nondescript Four-Star General: A Love Story, to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Librarys Special Collections.A 1969 graduate of the University of Chattanooga, Bell commanded at every level from platoon to four-star general during his 39 years with the Army from 1969 to 2008. His career included serving as executive officer to Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and as a brigade commander under Gen.Barry McCaffrey.Bells Army career began after he was commissioned as a second lieutenant through the Reserve Officers Training Corps. He rose through the ranks to command the U.S. Army Armor Center at Fort Knox, Kentucky; III Corps at Fort Hood, Texas; and U.S. Army Europe and NATOs Land Component Headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany. As a four-star general, he later commanded U.S. Forces Korea and all Allied forces in Korea.The donation includes an extraordinary collection of materials chronicling both the personal and professional aspects of Bells life, from his childhood in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and years at the University of Chattanooga to his military service and family life with his late wife, Kathleen Katie Fields Bellwho died in 2023.The Bells were married for 54 years.The collection consists of 37 chronologically organized boxes of my life and Katies life, Bell said. They trace my career from graduating from the University of Chattanooga, commissioning as a second lieutenant in 1969, and serving in assignments that ultimately led to my retirement as a four-star general.The papers include correspondence, photographs, awards, certificates, deployment records and tons of letters, he said, written between Bell and his wife while he was stationed around the world.I would say noteworthy in the entire collection of my personal papers and memorabilia would be the personal notes that I took for Norm Schwarzkopf during the Desert Shield and Desert Storm campaigns, Bell said. That set of binders with all those personal notes is one of two that are known to exist on this planet.The six binders, containing the day-to-day log Bell kept while serving as Schwarzkopfs executive officer, have been reviewed and declassified through the U.S. Department of Defense.Alongside the papers, Bells memoir provides what he describes as the key to interpreting the source material.It was very meaningful to write my memoirs and put them into a book and have them publishedsimply to go through everything once more and remember my life as best I could and write it all down. I found that pretty healthy, he said. By laying my wifes life out in a book for others to look at, it might give them some advice and counsel about how to live their lives.Bells 350-page volume weaves together his military service, a lifetime of leadership and a marriage that began in Chattanooga and endured through 33 moves across the globe.Oh, it was a 100% labor of love, he said. These are not my memoirs; these are our memoirs. Unfortunately, I wrote them for her because she had passed away. They were my best shot to leave her legacy of who this woman was from Brainerd, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and how important she was to our military and to its families and service members.Carolyn Runyon, director of UTC Librarys Special Collections, said Bells donation is part of a growing legacy of preserving the stories of Chattanoogans whose influence extends far beyond the city.Bells papers are the latest collection acquired by Special Collections in recent years, following donations by composer Roland Carter , artist Barry Moser and state legislator Dr. Tommie Brown Every time we add a new collection, we provide global access to materials that represent part of Chattanoogas history, Runyon said. Collections like this help make Chattanooga part of the larger historical conversation.Special Collections will process the papers before making them fully available to researchers. A detailed finding aid will be published when processing is complete.Bell said hes grateful for the opportunity to share his story through UTC.Im not seeking any publicity, he said, noting that all proceeds from the books sales benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundationa nonprofit organization supporting veterans and first responders. These are just my memoirs. But if they help tell the story of my family, my wife and our lives of service, and if they help future students or historians understand what it means to lead and to lovethen thats a story worth preserving.To learn more about UTC Library Special Collections and its digital holdings, visit UTC Digital Collections
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Family and friends on Saturday celebrated telecommunicator Whitney Galloway's handling of a high profile call in August. The event was held at Cillas/ Hermans Soulfood and Catering.



Ms. Galloway received an Outstanding Performance Award (OPA) for her actions.



The details of her accomplishment can be found in this narrative prepared by Floor Supervisor Amanda Jones.



"In the early afternoon hours of Thursday, August 21st, 2025, TC Whitney Galloway received a phone call from a male party stating there was an active shooter at the The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

The call taker - who has children who attend UTC - kept a calm demeanor, continuing to ask questions and tried to check for safety measures in place. She created the CAD card within 10 seconds of answer. Once it was received by the Adam dispatcher, all units were notified and began getting enroute to the campus."Over the next hour and a half, more than 65 units from at least seven law enforcement agencies, as well as Hamilton County EMS and Chattanooga Fire Department, came together to clear the buildings and ensure the safety of the students. This event touched every channel in the room in one way or another and involved every employee that was on duty at that time. There were also a few employees that called and/or came in to provide extra support for our on-duty staff."Everyone did a phenomenal job and worked together seamlessly. I watched employees show support for their fellow dispatchers as well as the call takers who were being bombarded. I also witnessed several employees check on the emotional wellbeing of their co-workers who had family and friends attending the school. I was proud of how hard everyone in the room worked and how well they worked together. This was a very stressful situation, and as always, our team did an amazing job throughout the entire event, ensuring all citizens and responders were safe."The call taker who received this call, TC Whitney Galloway, did an outstanding job on the phone call. She gathered as much information as she was able, created the CAD card quickly, and tried to keep the party on the phone as long as she was able to. She asked questions and gathered as many details as possible for the responders, and tried to ensure the exact location, details, and safety of the caller and those around him. She did all of this while she also was worrying about her own children who were attending classes at UTC' s campus on this date. This just goes to show the professionalism and duty that TC Galloway feels toward what she does every day. Great job, Whitney."
UPM, the world-leading producer of wood-based biochemicals and biofuels, has joined Cefic  the European chemical industry Council. By becoming part of Europes strongest chemical industry network, UPM underlines its commitment to strengthening the role of renewable chemistry as an integral part of a competitive and sustainable European chemical industry.

Handshake in Brussels between Harald Dialer, Executive Vice President UPM Biorefining & Technology, and Marco Mensink, Director General of Cefic. UPM

Europes chemical industry is vital for our continents prosperity and technological leadership, says Harald Dialer, Executive Vice President, UPM Biorefining & Technology. As a pioneer in wood-based biochemicals and biofuels, we are determined to help secure a strong, innovative and sustainable European chemical industry  one that is built on renewable and circular solutions.

We welcome UPM as a leading representative of the growing bio-based segment of our industry, says Marco Mensink, Director General of Cefic. Bio-based chemistry is key to achieving climate neutrality while driving innovation and securing Europes industrial competitiveness.

UPMs membership in Cefic marks another step in the companys transformation from a forest industry leader into a major player in the European chemical landscape. With its state-of-the-art biorefinery in Leuna, Germany, UPM is pioneering the production of wood-based biochemicals  renewable alternatives to fossil-based materials used in packaging, textiles, and automotive applications.
Swiss battery start-up BTRY AG has raised $5.7 million in an oversubscribed seed round. The funds will accelerate the industrialization of its ultra-thin solid-state batteries  a new category of energy storage combining fast charging, extreme temperature stability, and intrinsic safety in one of the worlds thinnest formats. They power next-generation devices such as connected labels, wireless sensors, and wearables  applications where conventional batteries could not fit or endure.

Comparison of conventional Li-ion and BTRYs all-solid-state design: fewer layers, no liquid electrolyte, and an ultra-thin, safer architecture. BTRY AG

The round was led by Redstone VC, a European deep-tech venture capital firm, with participation from Bloomhaus Ventures, Linear Capital, Kickfund, Kick Foundation, and the CustomCells founders Leopold Konig and Torge Thonnessen as new investors. Existing investors HTGF (High-Tech Grunderfonds) and Zurcher Kantonalbank (ZKB) renewed their commitment, reinforcing confidence in BTRYs technology and market potential.

BTRY will use the funds to scale production to industrial roll-to-roll manufacturing, transforming its thin-film batteries into market-ready products. The company is now focusing on establishing its production set-up, advancing industrial processes, and securing offtake agreements for integration in next-generation devices.

The oversubscribed round confirms strong investor confidence from experienced deep-tech and industrial backers. Working closely with this international consortium will enable us to transform world-class research into a scalable product, said Dr. Moritz Futscher, CEO and Co-Founder of BTRY AG.

From Lab to Line: Solid State Redefines Li-Ion Battery Performance BTRYs thin-film solid-state batteries combine ultra-fast charging, temperature resilience, and non-flammable safety, outperforming todays lithium-ion cells. By applying solid-state technology from semiconductor production to battery manufacturing, BTRY represents a leap in the global trend toward thinner, safer, and longer-lasting batteries that enable more reliable, compact, and connected devices.

Potential customers are ready with their next-generation solutions, like active badges in logistics. What they need is a small, powerful, and safe battery  exactly what BTRY offers. We believe the company has not only the potential but the proof to set a new standard for high-performance energy storage and are excited to support its journey toward industrial scale, said Mohamed Foulser, Investment Director at Redstone VC.

They operate safely at temperatures up to 150 C, where conventional cells fail, swell, or catch fire. Starting at just 0.1 mm thickness, they charge within one minute, directly powering wireless transmissions without additional capacitors.

BTRY is a perfect example of Swiss deep-tech at its best  science-driven, bold, and globally relevant. The founding team combines deep scientific expertise with entrepreneurial grit. Their combination of material innovation and industrial scalability makes them a frontrunner in Europes next generation of battery companies, said Pascal Sturchler, CEO at Bloomhaus Ventures.

In just two years, BTRY has moved from prototypes to repeatable production and clear customer use cases. The combination of deep materials science and manufacturing excellence is truly rare. Were proud to have backed this exceptional team from the very beginning and are excited to continue supporting them as their scientific breakthroughs translate into real industrial impact and scale, adds Timo Bertsch, Investment Manager at HTGF.

The Next Battery Moment: Small, Sustainable, and Strategic Unlike large-scale energy storage for electric vehicles and grids, BTRY powers next-generation solutions such as smart connected labels, high-temperature industrial sensors, and light consumer electronics. For these high-value applications, miniaturization and longevity of the power supply matter most.

BTRYs manufacturing approach also achieves high sustainability standards with its solvent-free production and low material waste. Backed by an international group of investors uniting deep-tech expertise and industrialization know-how, BTRY is driving the next Battery Moment: scalable, high-end energy storage developed in Switzerland and built for global impact.
Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. | Photo credit: Facebook/ Moody Bible Institute

Moody Bible Institute sued the Chicago Board of Education, claiming it was excluded from a studentteaching program over its faithbased hiring.

The complaint was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, and contends that Chicago education officials blocked Moodys participation solely based on the Evangelical schools employment policies.

According to the lawsuit, the district requires participating institutions to agree to non-discrimination provisions that conflict with Moodys longstanding practice of hiring only employees who affirm the schools Christian beliefs and lifestyle expectations.

The filing explains that Moodys staff standards include requiring employees to refrain from sexual activity outside of marriage, to abstain from same-sex romantic relationships, and to be actively involved in a local church congregation.

These religious requirements and expectations help ensure that anyone who interacts with the ministry encounters Christ not just in what is taught in its classrooms, radio and media broadcasts, and publications, but also in the lives of Moodys messengers and representatives, reads the lawsuit.

The suit argues that by excluding Moody on this basis, the Chicago Board of Education is violating the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The filing further notes that Chicagos stance places Moodys own elementary education program in a difficult position, since that program requires its teacher candidates to log at least 10 hours of classroom observation in a public school and at least 10 hours in a Christian school.

Moody is being represented in the case by Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit legal organization known for litigating religious liberty disputes and for winning several First Amendment cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

ADF Senior Counsel Jeremiah Galus, in a statement provided to The Christian Post, criticized the districts decision, pointing out that Chicago desperately needs more teachers to fill hundreds of vacancies, yet, he said, public school leaders are putting personal agendas ahead of the needs of families.

Moody holds its faculty and students to high standards of excellence and is more than qualified to participate in Chicagos student-teaching program, stated Galus.

By excluding Moody for its religious beliefs, Chicago Public Schools is illegally injecting itself into a religious nonprofits hiring practices, which the Constitution and state laws expressly forbid.

Responding to the controversy, Chicago Public Schools spokesman Evan Moore told The College Fix on Wednesday that the district remains committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of its students.

In accordance with district policy, CPS does not comment on matters involving pending litigation, he added.
Representative Riley Moore, Republican of West Virginia. | Photo credit: Facebook/ Congressman Riley M. Moore

Rep. Riley Moore (RW.Va.) introduced a resolution condemning violent attacks on Christians in Nigeria and urging decisive U.S. action to hold those responsible accountable.

This initiative follows President Donald Trumps recent announcement designating Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.

According to Moores office, the resolution has gained the support of at least 20 House Republicans. It demands that the U.S. government pressure Nigerian authorities to safeguard Christian communities and put an end to impunity for attacks carried out by armed groups such as Boko Haram, Islamic State West Africa Province, and Fulani militants.

Moores proposal also advocates for the repeal of Nigerias blasphemy laws, the release of individuals imprisoned for their religious beliefs, and the safe return of displaced Christians to their homes. In addition, the resolution calls for direct humanitarian aid to victims through faith-based and nongovernmental organizations.

The United States must make it clear that we will not tolerate the slaughter of Christians or the persecution of anyone for their belief in Jesus Christ, Moore said in the statement. I want to thank President Trump for his bold and unwavering leadership in defense of Christians in Nigeria.

Serving on the House Appropriations Committee, Moore emphasized that President Trump has tasked him with leading congressional efforts to confront the ongoing persecution of Christians in the region. He urged lawmakers from both parties to support the resolution.

The resolution cites data showing that between 50,000 and 100,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria since Boko Harams rise in 2009. It also follows a similar initiative introduced by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., reaffirming Nigerias designation as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

According to ADF International, 31 members of the House Values Action Team have also voiced their support for the CPC designation.

This status, assigned by the U.S. government, applies to nations that engage in or tolerate severe violations of religious freedom, allowing the U.S. to impose diplomatic, economic, or other penalties to encourage reforms.

The resolution has earned endorsements from more than 60 organizations, including Catholic Vote, the American Center for Law and Justice, Family Research Council, International Christian Concern, and Open Doors. Statements of support have also come from leaders representing Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist communities.

Kelly M. Kullberg of the American Association of Evangelicals issued a direct appeal, saying, We must stop the murder and genocide of our Christian brothers and sisters in Nigeria.

In northern Nigeria, 12 states still enforce Sharia-based blasphemy laws that carry the death penalty. Among those affected is Sufi musician Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, whose case is pending before Nigerias Supreme Court. Christian mother Rhoda Jatau also remains imprisoned for alleged blasphemy.

ADF International reports that at least 7,000 people have been killed in Nigeria this year alonean average of 35 deaths each dayand more than 19,000 churches have been attacked or destroyed, citing findings from Open Doors.
Home News Anglicans meet in India to tackle modern slavery: 'Church cannot remain passive'

Anglicans met in the Diocese of Durgapur in north India for a conference aimed at tackling human trafficking and slavery. The conference was run by the diocese in conjunction with the missionary organisation United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG).

The Diocese of Durgapur has been praised for its long-running anti-trafficking programme, which is operated in partnership with USPG.

It is estimated that nearly 50 million people around the world are living in a form of modern slavery, of these, 11 million are estimated to live in India, making the country the slavery capital of the world.

Criminal profits generated from forced labour are estimated to be around $236 billion per year across the globe.

The Rev. Canon Peniel Rajkumar, global theologian and director of global mission at USPG, said, "These are not distant statistics: they are real people created in Gods image, with inherent worth, dignity, and value, regardless of status or circumstance. Because of this, the Church cannot remain passive.

"As Christians, we are called to respond: to 'let the oppressed go free' (Isaiah 58:6), to 'seek justice, rescue the oppressed' (Isaiah 1:17), and to proclaim 'freedom for the captives' (Luke 4:18).

The conference drew around 50 participants from different countries, professions and backgrounds across the Anglican Communion worldwide.

Delegates also took part in a field visit to Durgapurs anti-trafficking program and met with those who operate it to gain insights into how to defeat modern slavery.

The Rt. Rev. Sameer Isaac Khimla, bishop of Durgapur, said: Human trafficking continues to be one of the darkest realities of our time, affecting millions, stripping individuals of their identity, freedom, and hope. As a Church and as a community rooted in faith and compassion, we cannot stand by in silence.

This article was originally published at Christian Today
Home News Christian house church leaders arrested, detained by authorities on fraud charges

Three leaders of an unregistered Christian house church in Xian city in central China have been arrested by communist authorities and detained on fraud charges, reigniting concerns over religious freedom in China.

Pastor Lian Xuliang, Pastor Lian Changnian and church member Fu Juan were taken into custody last Sunday by the First Branch of the Xian Municipal Public Security Bureau, according to the watchdog organization ChinaAid.

The arrests were approved by the Baqiao District Court, and the three are currently held at the Weiyang District Detention Center, the group added.

The arrests mark a repeat of legal action against the same individuals, who were previously detained on similar fraud charges on Aug. 17, 2022. They were held for nearly three years before being released on bail in April 2025.

Pastor Lian Changnian, who is 71 years old, had been receiving hospital care for declining health before being taken into custody again earlier this month.

This case was tried on July 9, 2025, and no verdict has yet been issued, the Church of Abundance, where the three serve, said in a statement last week. What is shocking is that while awaiting the verdict, the authorities took the three individuals away again and detained them.

The church, also known as Fengsheng Church, was founded approximately 30 years ago and was officially banned in August 2022 by the Xian Civil Affairs Bureau on the grounds that it was an illegal social organization, according to ChinaAid. It is one of several unregistered Protestant churches in China that have come under increased government scrutiny following President Xi Jinpings December 2021 directive for greater control over religious groups.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has noted that the original August 2022 arrests were part of a larger campaign targeting unregistered churches. Along with the fraud charges, Chinese authorities also accused the three individuals of endangering national security.

During a six-month period of residential surveillance that followed, Pastor Lian was reportedly tortured before being transferred to a detention center and criminally charged with fraud in March 2023, according to USCIRF.

House churches often collect voluntary offerings and tithes, and authorities have used this standard practice to support fraud accusations, ChinaAid reports.

In the current case against the Church of Abundance leaders, the prosecution is reportedly relying on the testimony of Qin Wen, who was identified as a victim of fraud.

However, ChinaAid reports she has publicly denied suffering any harm and said she was coerced into testifying. Qin has since retained legal counsel in an effort to clear the names of the accused.

In 2022, the church was accused of collecting illegal donations and labeled a cult by local authorities, according to Morning Star News.

Church members have also reported physical abuse by police. The wife of Pastor Lian told ChinaAid that her husband showed visible injuries after being beaten during arrest. His eyes were bloodshot, and there was dried blood in the corner of his eyes, she said. His arms and hands were bruised and swollen.

Bitter Winter, a religious freedom watchdog based in Italy, reported at the time that the closure was part of a nationwide strategy aimed at forcing Protestant churches to join the state-run Three-Self Patriotic Movement.

Last month, prominant underground church Pastor Jin Mingri, whose children are American citizens and is himself a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary in California, was detained on Friday at his home in Beihai, Guangxi Province. Around the same time, nearly 30 other leaders and members of Zion Church were either arrested or reported missing from multiple cities.

The arrests drew condemnation from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

This crackdown further demonstrates how the [Chinese Communist Party] exercises hostility towards Christians who reject Party interference in their faith and choose to worship at unregistered house churches, Rubio said in a statement.
Home News Over 80 faith leaders urge Trump to address Syrian Christians with al-Sharaa: 'Impending catastrophe'

More than 80 Christian leaders signed a letter to President Donald Trump ahead of his historic White House meeting Monday with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, urging him to remember the plight of persecuted Christians, Druze and other religious minorities in Syria.

"With the visit of Syria's new President, Ahmed al-Sharaa, scheduled for November 10, 2025, we urge you to address directly the massacre of Christians, Kurds, Druze, and Alawites in Syria, notably in the greater Suwayda area," said the Nov. 7 letter, which can be read on the website of the advocacy group Save the Persecuted Christians.

Dede Laugesen, president of the Colorado-based organization, wrote the letter to Trump, describing him as the only major world leader fighting for religious freedom and highlighting his recent attention to the persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

"These religious minorities [in Syria] face ongoing violence, death, displacement, starvation, and water and medical deprivation, all while innocent women and children are held hostage by ISIS terrorists," the letter continued.

Expressing gratitude for the Trump administration's recent announcement that humanitarian aid is being rushed to southern Syria, the letter expressed urgency for more to be done "to prevent impending catastrophe" as winter approaches.

The signatories urged Trump to secure al-Sharaa's commitment to opening a secure humanitarian corridor from Hader to Suwayda in southern Syria.

"This corridor will enable safe and secure aid delivery and civilian evacuation, signaling the new government's commitment to minority rights and stability," they wrote.

Signatories include Dr. Ben Carson and Eric Metaxas, both members of the White House Religious Liberty Commission; former Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback; Family Research Council President Tony Perkins; Pastors Rob McCoy, Jack Hibbs and Rob Pacienza; Faith & Freedom Coalition founder Ralph Reed, and others.

Al-Sharaa's visit marks the first time a sitting Syrian president has visited Washington, D.C., since Syria gained independence in 1946.

A former leader of al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, al-Nusra Front, al-Sharaa rose to power after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied militant groups ousted former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last December, who fled to Russia when his regime collapsed after 25 years.

Al-Sharaa has since distanced himself from his former extremism and pursued U.S. alignment, which has led to steps that include his removal from U.S. and United Nations terror lists as well as Syria's anticipated formal entry into a U.S.-led coalition to fight a resurgent Islamic State in the region.

On Saturday, Syrian security forces conducted nationwide preemptive raids against suspected Islamic State operatives, detaining dozens. Officials claim to have intercepted information suggesting the brutal terrorist organization, which controlled large swaths of Iraq and Syria a decade ago, is preparing new attacks.

In June, dozens were killed in a suicide bombing at a Greek Orthodox church in Damascus that occured during a Sunday morning service, furthering concern among advocates about whether al-Sharaa is doing enough to protect Christians and other minorities.

In March, hundreds of people were killed in Syria's Alawite coastal areas amid fighting between pro-Assadist militias and the governments forces in the area. At least a dozen factions under the command of the government participated in the killing of civilians in the March fighting, according to Reuters. Some of the killings involved sheer brutality and torture, including one man whose heart was ripped out of his chest.

The Christian population in Syria has crumbled in the last decade-plus since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011. Speaking recently in Rome, Archbishop Jacques Mourad of Homs, Hama and Nabek, who heads the Syriac Catholic Church in central Syria, warned that Christianity is disappearing from Syria amid a mass Christian exodus and disastrous political and economic situation."

Aid to the Church in Need estimates that Christians in Syria have plummeted from about 2.1 million in 2011 to around 540,000 in 2024.
Home News Syria carries out raids against Islamic State before al-Sharaa arrives in Washington for historic visit

Syrian security forces conducted nationwide raids against suspected Islamic State operatives, detaining dozens, before President Ahmed al-Sharaa's scheduled historic meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

The visit follows recent diplomatic overtures between the two governments, including the removal of al-Sharaa, a former leader of an al-Qaeda affiliated terror group, from the United States and United Nations terror sanctions lists.

Syria's interior ministry said Saturday that 61 coordinated raids were carried out across the country, resulting in 71 arrests and the seizure of weapons and explosives.

The raids were reportedly conducted based on "precise" intelligence, with evidence linking the detainees to planned terrorist activities and efforts to recruit youth for militant operations, Sky News reports.

Interior ministry spokesperson Nour al Din al Baba told al Ekhbariya TV that "the current major threat lies in IS' attempts to reconstitute itself and recruit new members, particularly among the youth."

Officials say they have intercepted information suggesting the Islamic State, a brutal terror organization that controlled regions of Iraq and Syria during the mid-2010s, is preparing new attacks.

The crackdown coincides with al-Sharaa's arrival in the U.S., the first visit by a sitting Syrian president to Washington since the country's independence in 1946. Al-Sharaa took office after the ouster of former President Bashar al-Assad late last year. Assad, who ruled Syria for 25 years, fled to Russia following the collapse of his regime.

Al-Sharaa, who once led the al-Qaeda Syrian branch, Al-Nusra Front, has since distanced himself from the group and has taken steps to align Syria with U.S. regional objectives.

His meeting with Trump is expected to solidify Syria's entry into the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group. Al-Sharaa and Trump previously met in May in Riyadh during the American president's regional tour.

U.S. envoy to Syria Tom Barrack said earlier this month that al-Sharaa was expected to sign an agreement to formally join the coalition.

Al-Sharaa is also reportedly using the trip to push for the full repeal of the Caesar Act, a sweeping sanctions regime enacted in response to human rights abuses committed under Assad, according to The Washington Post. Although the sanctions are currently waived under presidential authority, a permanent repeal would require a congressional vote.

"Syria's economic recovery and investment growth" depend on the lifting of sanctions, Syria's Ministry of Information said in a statement on Sunday, reaffirming the government's commitment to combating terrorism and promoting regional security.

On Thursday, the U.N. Security Council voted to lift sanctions on both al-Sharaa and his interior minister, and the U.S. subsequently removed them from its "specially designated global terrorist" list. The U.K. followed suit on Friday.

Trump confirmed the decision ahead of al-Sharaa's visit, saying on Thursday that "Sharaa's doing a very good job so far."

"It's a tough neighborhood and he's a tough guy, but I got along with him very well, and a lot of progress has been made with Syria," Trump told reporters on Thursday.

U.S. State Department officials said the decision to lift sanctions recognized progress by Syrian leadership, including cooperation on dismantling chemical weapons and efforts to combat narcotics.

Al-Sharaa's government has made overtures to international allies to reestablish diplomatic and economic relations. The World Bank in October estimated the cost of rebuilding Syria after more than a decade of civil war at $216 billion.

The U.S. is also preparing to establish a military presence at an airbase in Damascus to support a new security agreement between Syria and Israel, Reuters previously reported.

Al-Sharaa's past affiliations remain a point of contention.

Two decades ago, he was detained at a U.S.-run facility in Iraq for fighting alongside al-Qaeda militants. He later severed ties with the group and has since led efforts to distance Syria from extremist networks.

Minority communities in Syria remain wary.

Sectarian violence over the past year has involved pro-government Sunni fighters attacking Alawite and Druze civilians. While al-Sharaa has vowed to hold those responsible accountable, trust remains fragile, and key U.S. lawmakers are divided over the pace and conditions of lifting sanctions.

In Congress, efforts to repeal the Caesar Act have advanced in the Senate as part of the annual defense authorization bill, but negotiations with the House are ongoing. Some Republican lawmakers have demanded conditions be attached, including provisions for minority protections, peaceful regional relations, and the removal of foreign fighters from Syria's government and military ranks.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a close Trump ally, has supported conditional repeal, while Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has raised concerns about a full rollback of sanctions.
Home News Ohio school district blocked from enforcing pronouns policies by federal appeals court

A federal appeals court has barred an Ohio school district from enforcing policies that opponents say compel students to use preferred pronouns for students who trans identify, as litigation surrounding the matter continues.

In a divided en banc ruling last week, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the parental rights advocacy group Defending Education in its litigation over a policy in the Olentangy Local School District in Ohio that plaintiffs warned could punish students for referring to trans-identified and nonbinary students using their given name and pronouns as opposed to their preferred name and pronouns.

The 6th Circuit granted Defending Educations request for a preliminary injunction, ruling that it was likely to succeed on the merits of its First Amendment arguments. The en banc ruling overturned earlier rulings from a federal judge and a 6th Circuit panel.

Judge Eric Murphy, a Trump appointee, authored the majority opinion. The opinion focused on the precedent set in the 1969 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Tinker v. Des Moines, a case concerning the speech rights of students protesting the Vietnam War.

"This case about pronouns pits two important interests against each other. On the one hand, the school district has prohibited speech (biological pronouns) that expresses a message on a matter of pressing public concern. And because the district requires other speech (preferred pronouns) that expresses a competing view, it has discriminated based on its students viewpoints," Murphy wrote.

"Its approach thus raises serious free-speech concerns. On the other hand, the school district rightly responds that it has a duty to protect all students  including transgender and nonbinary students  from bullying and harassment. And this protection, while necessarily restricting speech, does not violate the Free Speech Clause. So which of these competing concerns should prevail in this case?"

Murphy also wrote that the school district was "wrong to treat the use of biological pronouns alone as analogous" to "abusive invective."

"Defending Educations members want to use biological pronouns not because they seek to ridicule others but because they want to speak what they view as the truth (and cannot 'affirm' a view with which they disagree on a pressing matter of public concern)," the ruling stated.

Judge Jane Stranch, an Obama appointee, wrote a dissenting opinion in which she argued that such a policy was necessary to protect the mental health of trans-identified students.

"Though the record satisfied Tinkers requirement that the School Districts forecast be

reasonable, the majority opinion concluded otherwise, positing and applying a new approach: that 'the closer the speech resembles political expression at the First Amendments core, the more evidence a school must present of the potential disruption or violation of rights,'" Stranch wrote. "I have several concerns with this approach."

Alliance Defending Freedom, the nonprofit legal organization that represented the plaintiffs in the litigation, praised the development in a statement published Thursday.

First Amendment rights dont disappear behind school doors  whether youre a teacher, parent, or student. For many, the choice of pronouns communicates their belief that sex is immutable, and to use pronouns or names that reflect a gender identity inconsistent with sex violates their core convictions and tells a harmful lie, said ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch. Schools cant force students who hold that belief to use other pronouns instead.

Thursdays ruling comes more than a year after the full 6th Circuit agreed to rehear the case en banc after a three-judge panel on the federal appellate court upheld a district court ruling siding with the school district. The litigation dates back to 2023, when parents of children residing in the school district challenged aspects of the districts policies related to anti-harassment policies and use of personal devices as well as its Code of Conduct.

As outlined in Thursdays opinion, Policy 5517 authorizes the district to vigorously enforce its prohibition against discriminatory harassment based on gender identity.

The policy defines harassment as any threatening, insulting, or dehumanizing gesture, use of technology, or written, verbal or physical conduct directed against a student or school employee, including any speech that has the effect of substantially interfering with a students educational performance, opportunities, or benefits or of substantially disrupting the orderly operation of a school.

Policy 5136 prohibits students from using their personal communication devices such as cell phones and tablets in any way that might reasonably create in the mind of another person an impression of being threatened, humiliated, harassed, embarrassed or intimidated. The districts Code of Conduct prohibits students from engaging in harassment or bullying in addition to using discriminatory language.

The definition of discriminatory language covers verbal or written comments, jokes, and slurs that are derogatory towards an individual or group based on gender identity and other characteristics. The plaintiffs challenged the policies as violations of the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The plaintiffs viewed Policy 5136 as a violation of the 14th Amendment because it regulated students use of electronic devices outside of school. The advocacy group expressed concern that the districts policies prohibiting misgendering could have resulted in students facing no-contact orders as well as suspension or expulsion.

Defending Education President Nicole Neilly praised Thursdays decision and its implications for the First Amendment in the U.S.

We are deeply gratified by the 6th Circuits intensive analysis not only of our case but the state of student First Amendment rights in [the] modern era," Neilly said. "The courts decision  and its many concurrences  articulate the importance of free speech, the limits and perils of public schools claiming to act in loco parentis, and the critical role of persuasion  rather than coercion  in Americas public square.

Teachers in other school districts have faced disciplinary action for declining to refer to trans-identified students using their preferred names and pronouns because of their deeply held religious beliefs about gender and sexuality. For example, Wisconsin teacher Jordan Cernek was fired in 2023 for opposing a requirement that teachers refer to trans-identified students by their preferred name and pronouns.

Virginia teacher Peter Vlaming faced a similar fate in 2018 while Kansas teacher Pamela Ricard was suspended in 2021 for calling a trans-identified student by her given name and pronouns. In response to these cases, several states have passed laws protecting teachers from having to use trans-identified students preferred pronouns: Idaho, Tennessee and Wyoming.
Home News Pastors mistress LaToshia Daniels is found guilty of second-degree murder

LaToshia Daniels, the former social worker mistress of the late Pastor Brodes Perry of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tennessee, was spared having to spend the rest of her life in prison last Friday after a jury found her not guilty of first-degree murder.

She will find out on Dec. 17 how much of the 15 to 60 years in prison she will have to serve for second-degree murder, which the jury found her guilty of on Friday for Perry's 2019 killing, The Commercial Appeal reported. She was also found guilty of reckless endangerment.

Daniels, 46, was on trial for first-degree murder and attempted murder in the April 4, 2019, shooting at the Perrys' apartment in Collierville, Tennessee. The late pastor's widow, Tabatha Archie, was also shot by Daniels during the 2019 attack at her apartment.

Archie testified in court that she was unaware that her late husband was in a relationship with Daniels, whom she met through a church in Little Rock, Arkansas, two years before the shooting. Perry was serving as pastor of assimilation at Saint Mark Baptist Church at the time.

In her testimony during the trial, Daniels testified that Perry seduced her during a counseling session at the Arkansas church, where she was being counseled through a divorce. She stated, however, that she never meant to kill him.

"I loved Brodes. I would never intentionally hurt him," Daniels said Thursday as she spoke in her defense on the third day of her trial in Shelby County, Tennessee, WATN-TV reported.

The prosecution tried to convince the jury that Daniels premeditated the murder through testimony that she bought the gun she used in the attack hours before the murder. Daniels, who was a licensed social worker and owned The Root Behavioral Health, specializing in anger management, insisted that she bought the gun to end her own life.

A prosecutor reiterated in closing arguments that Daniels told Perry, "You broke my heart" when she shot him, according to Fox 13 Memphis.

"'You broke my heart,' so I'm gonna shoot you and kill you in your doorway, and along the way, shoot your wife. But it's OK, because 'you broke my heart.' Decision after decision after decision, ladies and gentlemen," prosecutor Irris Williams told the jury. "If a broken heart was an excuse or defense to murder, I wouldn't have a job."

Lauren Fuchs, Daniels' defense attorney, argued that the jury was not just deciding the fate of a suspect but also a victim.

"He [Brodes Perry] got to have this lifestyle where he was cheating on multiple women, and it was OK. It was OK that he, as a pastor, does those things. That's what these women gave him," Fuchs said. "Latoshia, she gave him whatever he wanted, and Tabatha was his wife. He took and took and took from these women, and the whole time, he was lying to all of them."
Home News Scottish Parliament rejects safeguards to assisted suicide as concerns mount

The Catholic Parliamentary Office has reacted with concern to the rejection of a number of proposed safeguards to Scotlands assisted suicide bill.

The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill is currently at Stage 2 of the legislative process, meaning that the Scottish Parliaments Health and Sport Committee are examining amendments to the proposal. The Scottish legislation is separate from that currently being debated in the House of Lords in Westminster.

Concerns have been raised at the speed of the process, which is currently set to examine all 287 proposed amendments in just three weeks, with just one session per week.

One amendment that has already been rejected is a proposal that would restrict assisted suicide to those with six months or less to live.

Independent MSP, Jeremy Balfour, said that rejecting the amendment left the definition of terminal illness extraordinarily broad.

He said, As it stands it could include individuals who would live not for weeks or months, but for years. People managing long-term conditions, people receiving treatment that stabilises their illness, people who still have meaningful time ahead of them, would all fall within the scope of the Bill as drafted at the moment.

Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy also took issue with the definition. Diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis as a baby, and a wheelchair user, Duncan-Glancy said her condition is not something Im going to recover from and that she could be regarded as terminally ill under the proposed bill.

The committee also rejected a proposal by Balfour that would exclude people with non-terminal conditions from receiving assisted suicide. As such, under the bill as it stands, eating disorders, loneliness, financial hardship and Down syndrome could all become reasons a person could opt for suicide.

Anthony Horan, director of the Catholic Parliamentary Office, said that the committees decision to reject such safeguards was deeply concerning.

These amendments were clearly designed to protect some of the most vulnerable people in our communities from being coerced into a premature death; disabled people, those with poor mental health, and people struggling with financial hardship.

Their rejection is deeply troubling and suggests a direction of travel that should alarm MSPs right across the Parliament," he said.

This article was originally published by Christian Today.
Home News Supreme Court hears case of Rastafarian forced to shave dreadlocks

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Monday for a case involving whether Louisiana prison officials must pay damages to a former inmate who had his hair forcibly shaved in violation of his religious beliefs.

The case centers on Damon Landor, a Rastafarian who was handcuffed to a chair and forcibly shaved at the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center, ignoring his religious objections.

The question before the high court is whether Landor can demand damages from individual government employees under the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

During the oral arguments, Zachary Tripp, an attorney for Landor, argued that if damages cannot be awarded under RLUIPA, then officials can literally treat the law like garbage.

It expressly authorizes suit against an official or any other person acting under color of state law, Tripp said. That obviously means individual capacity. And then, once you see theres an individual capacity action, the rest of it falls into line.

This court has already held  that officers in a federally funded state prison can be held individually liable for misconduct that threatens the integrity or proper operation of the program, and that describes this case to a T.

Tripp also argued that the defendants voluntarily accepted a job that would hold them to federal standards like RLUIPA, and that individual capacity damages are the norm for them.

Libby Baird, assistant to the Solicitor General of the U.S. Department of Justice, supported Landor, telling the justices that RLUIPA clearly authorizes individual capacity damages suits against state officials.

RLUIPAs language puts states on clear notice that state officials can be sued for damages in their individual capacity, she said. And under the spending and necessary and proper clauses, Congress can create personal liability for state officials acting as agents of the state when they violate conditions on federal funding.

Jorge Benjamin Aguinaga, an attorney for the defendants, argued that RLUIPA does not clearly and unambiguously create an individual capacity cause of action for damages and that, if even if they had done so, Congress exceeded its constitutional authority by doing it.

It is extraordinarily important that the court reject petitioners attempt to radically expand congressional power, he continued, noting that while there might be valid concerns over the lack of such protections, the solution to fix the problem lies with Congress, not the Supreme Court.

Additionally, during arguments, Aguinaga said that Landor had the option of pursuing a complaint for individual damages through a state version of RLUIPA and clarified that the warden involved in the incident was no longer employed at the prison.

Landor had taken a religious vow not to cut his hair, having refused to do so for nearly 20 years before he was incarcerated in 2020 for less than a year. Known as the Nazirite vow, it is derived from Numbers 6:5.

The first two facilities where he was kept  St. Tammany Parish Detention Center and LaSalle Correctional Center  allowed for him to keep his dreadlocks for religious reasons.

However, according to court documents, when Landor was transferred to Laborde, the intake guard threw his accommodation documents in the trash and had him forcibly shaved.

Following his release, Landor filed a complaint against the Louisiana Department of Corrections, the prison and others, claiming among other things that officials violated his rights under the RLUIPA, as well as the U.S. Constitution.

In September 2023, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Landor, with Circuit Judge Edith Brown Clement, a George H.W. Bush appointee, authoring the unanimous opinion.

Clement noted that while the judges emphatically condemn the treatment that Landor endured, the former inmate cannot seek money damages from officials in their individual capacities under RLUIPA.

RLUIPA does not permit suits against officers in their individual capacities, which, in turn, means claimants cannot recover monetary damages, she wrote.

After a request to have the entire 5th Circuit hear his case was rejected in February 2024, Landor appealed to the Supreme Court, which, in June, agreed to hear oral arguments.

In June 2024, the National Association of Evangelicals and the Christian Legal Society joined an amicus brief with other religious organizations in support of Landor.

To hold that damages suits against officials in their individual capacity are unavailable under RLUIPA conflicts with this Courts decisions, in particular with Tanzin v. Tanvir, read the brief.

Every step in Tanzins reasoning that [the Religious Freedom Restoration Act] authorizes individual-capacity damages suits means, likewise, that RLUIPA authorizes such suits.
Home News Supreme Court rejects Kim Davis request to reconsider landmark gay marriage ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a petition filed by former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis to reconsider the 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.

In an orders list released Monday morning, the high court denied without comment a petition for a writ of certiorari in the case of Kim Davis v. David Ermold, et al.

Additionally, the Supreme Court denied a motion from the Alabama-based conservative group Foundation for Moral Law to file a friend-of-the-court brief "out of time."

In June 2015, the nation's high court ruled 5-4 in Obergefell v. Hodges that states could not ban same-sex marriage, concluding that the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protected the unions.

Shortly after the ruling was issued, Davis garnered national attention when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples while serving as a clerk in Rowan County.

Davis served several days in jail after being held in contempt of court for her refusal to issue the licenses. She was also eventually the subject of litigation by a same-sex couple that she had refused to give a license to.

In late December 2023, U.S. District Judge David L. Bunning of the Eastern District of Kentucky issued a memorandum opinion and order requiring Davis to pay $260,000 in attorneys' fees and other expenses over her actions in 2015.

A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower decision in March, prompting Davis to file an appeal with the Supreme Court in July.

Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver, whose organization is helping to represent Davis, said in a statement Monday that the Supreme Court "has let stand a decision to strip a government defendant of their immunity and any personal First Amendment defense for their religious expression."

"This cannot be right because government officials do not shed their constitutional rights upon election," Staver said. "Like the abortion decision in Roe v. Wade, Obergefell was egregiously wrong from the start. This opinion has no basis in the Constitution. We will continue to work to overturn Obergefell. It is not a matter of if, but when the Supreme Court will overturn Obergefell.

In 2022, the Obergefell ruling was federally codified when a Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress passed legislation that then-President Joe Biden signed into law.
Home News Violent mob attacks Christian families inside church, try to force pastor to teach about Hindu gods

NEW DELHI  When a Hindu extremist mob assaulted Christian men, women and children during a church service in India in late September, police jailed the pastor and charged him and four other Christians, sources said.

In Rajasthan states Hanumangarh District, several Hindu women intruded into the church building in Nohar city, followed by Hindu men, young and old, at about 10 a.m. on Sep. 28, as the congregation was singing in worship, said 45-year-old Pastor Wazir Singh.

They let the Hindu women take the forefront. Hindu women attacked Christian women and Hindu men attacked Christian men, Pastor Singh told Morning Star News following his release from jail on Oct. 4.

The mob forced Pastor Singh to sit and demanded he teach about Hindu deities such as Rama and Ganesha instead of Christ and read to the congregation passages from the Ramayana or Mahabharata Hindu scriptures instead of the Bible, he said. When he responded, My faith is in Jesus Christ, and my country gives me the right to choose whom I want to believe in and freedom to practice my faith, they called police and had him arrested.

Pastor Singhs wife and three other Christians were also named in the police complaint but were not arrested.

The three Christian men named in the complaint do not belong to my church and were not in my church at that time, said Pastor Singh, surprised at finding their names in the complaint.

Assailants were from the area around the church and instigated by members of the Hindu nationalist Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the Hindu nationalist umbrella group Vishva Hindu Parishad, which has an office in the area.

Bajrang Dal members went to the police station and filed a formal complaint. A First Information Report was filed under FIR No. 383 against Pastor Singh, his wife, Jaspal Parmar, and two others identified only as Pastor Vinod and Bala, for offenses of promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place, deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings, offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender, taking gift to help to recover stolen property, and unlawful assembly.

Officers took Pastor Singh to the Nohar police station and held him until the following day, when he appeared before the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), who remanded him to custody. When he appeared again before the magistrate on Oct. 3, he was denied release after the judge read a pamphlet presented as evidence against the pastor.

My name and cell number were printed on it, and it read, Abandon all your idols and come to Jesus Christ, Pastor Singh said. Looking at the pamphlet, she denied my release, and I was sent to jail.

He denied that he or other Christians printed the pamphlets.

The members of the Bajrang Dal got the pamphlets printed with my name, cell number, and this material to frame me, Pastor Singh said. Christians never print materials that demean other religions and uplift Christianity.

Pastor Singhs fellow inmates conspired to assault him when they learned the reason for his arrest, he said.

They said, He converts people, and they attacked me, but the Muslim inmates stepped in and rescued me from them, Pastor Singh told Morning Star News.

He was released on bail the following day, Oct. 4.

Threats and confiscation

Following his arrest, Hindu neighbors gathered and threatened his family, he said.

A group of women and men knocked at the door of his church building and residence. When Pastor Singhs wife, Metu Devi, answered the door, the mob stormed in and began to assault Christians, he said. There were 14 Christians inside supporting her and planning their next steps.

The mob began to assault a Christian ruthlessly, and when an elderly Christian woman tried to rescue him, they hit her as well, Devi told Morning Star News. They hit me and young children too. We will not let you stay here  if we find you here, we will assault you, they said.

Though the Christians had been on good terms with their Hindu neighbors, the latter recently had begun to show signs of opposition, Devi said.

When we would be worshipping in the church, they would start to play Hanuman Chalisa [a Hindu devotional hymn in praise of the deity Hanuman] on amplifiers and try to disrupt our worship time, she said.

Outwardly, the neighbors spoke nicely, but in their hearts, they were conspiring to join hands with the Bajrang Dal and attack us, Devi said.

The Hindu crowd grew more agitated while assaulting the Christians inside the church building, shouting, Conversions have been happening in this house, so we will set this house on fire, along with whoever chooses to stay. If you want to live, flee from this house, she said.

The wounded Christians ran for their lives.

I fled from home with my children without any belongings and took shelter in the house of another Christian family about half a mile away for two nights, Devi said.

The Hindu neighbors learned of their location and conspired to attack them.

Because the Christian host and his family were also at risk for sheltering my family, they decided to send them away, Pastor Singh said.

In the middle of the night, Devi and her two sons, ages 14 and 10, rode 80 miles to Haryana on a motorbike with another pastor.

Police seized Pastor Singhs house, his security IDs and cell phone and did not return them to him even after his bail, he said.

All my belongings are in the house, and we are left with nothing to live on, Pastor Singh said.

He had lived in the house for more than two years following his move from his home state of Haryana 30 months ago.

We as a family fled persecution in our hometown in Haryana and changed homes three times in Rajasthan after facing opposition every time, but nothing like what we went through this time, Pastor Singh said.

He and his family became Christians in 2018, converting from Hinduism after his wife was diagnosed with Hepatitis B and doctors had given up hope of her survival. A distant relative during a phone call told them about Christ, and they went to a church service.

We started to believe, and my wife was healed. I was able to get rid of all my bad habits like smoking and substance abuse, said Pastor Singh, adding that they then joined a regular fellowship until he felt called by the Lord to start hiw own fellowship.

Devi said their children have been missing regular school since they fled their home.

I looked at my children and wondered how we will sustain, but then I found comfort in Gods Word that says He will never forsake us, she said.

Protest of Anti-Conversion Bill

Following passage of Rajasthans anti-conversion bill on Sept. 9, a coalition of civil society organizations condemned the legislation at a press conference in Vinoba Gyan Mandir, Jaipur, on Sept. 26.

The groups, including the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, Jaipur Christian Fellowship, Rajasthan Samagra Seva Sangh, Association for Protection of Civil Rights and several interfaith organizations representing Buddhist, Muslim and Dalit communities urged the governor to withhold assent and refer the bill to the president under Article 200 of the Constitution.

They argued that the bill violates Articles 14, 19, 21, and 25 of the Constitution and noted that governors blocked similar bills in 2006 and 2008 by withholding assent. The Rajasthan governor gave his assent on Oct. 3, and the state brought it into force on Oct. 29, making Rajasthan the 12th state with an anti-conversion law along with Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Christian support organization Open Doors ranks India 11th on its 2025 World Watch List of countries where Christians face the most severe persecution. India stood at 31st place in 2013 but has steadily fallen in the rankings since Narendra Modi came to power as prime minister.

Religious rights advocates blame the increasingly hostile rhetoric of the National Democratic Alliance government, led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which they say has emboldened Hindu extremists in India since Modi took power in May 2014.

This article was originally published at Morning Star News
Fox News Erika Kirk Special, Scripture Engagement Linked To Generosity, Evangelicals Urge Refugee Admissions

link to download the audio instead. link to download the audio instead. 06:51 06:51

Top headlines for Monday, November 10, 2025

In this episode, we explore how deeper engagement with scripture is linked to more generous and positive social behavior. We also examine the National Association of Evangelicals call for the Trump administration to reconsider its refugee admission cuts. Plus, we share five key takeaways from the Fox News special Erika Kirk: In Her Own Words.

00:11 5 highlights from Erika Kirk's Fox News interview

00:59 Bible engagement impacts tithing, social interaction and views

01:49 Protestant group complains about King Charles III's papal service

02:35 Evangelical org. urges Trump to reconsider refugee cuts

03:28 Princeton University facing civil rights complaint over bathrooms

04:17 Anti-Israel agitators disrupt Christian, Jewish worship services

05:08 1,000 Evangelicals gather at Hispanic church for 'Bless Israel'
Home Opinion The biggest danger of all isnt what you think

In the movie Addams Family Values, Wednesday is made fun of by other girls and is asked why she dresses in black like shes going to a funeral. Why are you dressed like somebody died? a girl asks.

Wait, Wednesday responds.

Shes right. And the thing is, you dont have to wait long.

Recent stats peg the number of deaths at 7.8 deaths per 1,000 people for 2025. In raw numbers: about 62 million people die each year worldwide, which breaks down to around 172,800 deaths per day globally in 2025, 120 deaths per minute, or about 2 deaths every second.

Thats a lot of souls going into eternity, some of which got up today having no idea it would be their last. Stop and think about that for just a minute, and keep in mind that it could be any one of us.

John MacArthur talks about that reality when he recounts being on the Larry King show the day after 9/11:

Larry King said to me, What is the lesson here. I said, The lesson is everybodys going to die, and youre not necessarily in control of when. The danger of death is around us, and what contributes to that death is both around us, and even in us. Everyone dies. A hundred years from now none of us will be around; thats inevitable. Life is the most comprehensive danger of all; no one escapes its inevitable end.

I doubt you would select life as the biggest danger out of a list of other options, but I get what MacArthur is saying. In fact, it explains something Jesus said in one of His biographies that has always bugged me.

When towers fall

The part in Scripture Im talking about is in Luke, and starts like this:

Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those 18 on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish (Luke 13:15).

Every day, skeptics throw out the problem of reconciling God and evil to Christians as their number 1 supposed issue with the Christian faith, and what do we do? We pull out our apologetics 101 course, turn to the section that covers the subject of evil, and see if it assuages their stance.

Not Jesus.

Both of the primary subgroups of evil are in the story  moral evil with the murders Pilate committed and gratuitous natural evil with the tower collapsing on unsuspecting people  and yet we dont get an apologetics narrative or explanation from Christ about them. Instead, He tells His hearers: Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

I used to think that was a pretty cold and unsympathetic response. Think about it  if you were a relative of someone killed by Pilate or in the tower collapse, how would you have felt after hearing that?

But as usual, Jesus is zeroing in on the most critical thing in the account that those back then and we need to hear today, which is this: No one dies in a tragedy or atrocity that wasn't going to die.

Whether you or I leave this earth in an event like one of those or peacefully in our sleep, we all still die. And then what?

The people who died in the recent hurricane in Jamaica or the 2012 Aurora theater shooting were not greater sinners as Jesus put it, than anyone else (notice how he deep-sixes the concept of karma?); in reality, none of us are immune from something like that. Thus, His point is you need to get right with God before you feel deaths tap on your shoulder, however it comes.

He emphasizes this again in the section that immediately follows:

And He began telling this parable: A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard-keeper, Behold, that for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground? And he answered and said to him, Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down (Luke 13:69).

You see the illustration of bearing fruit in many places in Scripture, and they all refer to the outworkings of saving faith (see James 2 for an example). No fruit, no faith, no salvation.

And no eternal protection from what the Bible calls the second death (Rev. 2:11).

So while we arent given weighty explanations for the problem of theodicy in this passage, we do have good news if we keep reading. When He delivered this teaching, Christ was headed up to Jerusalem to be delivered into the hands of Pilate, and to have his blood not mingled with other sacrifices as in the case of the murdered Gentiles, but made the sacrifice itself.

Like the pleading vineyard-keeper in the parable, Christ is our great intercessor who intervenes on our behalf where judgment is concerned. However, while God is very patient, His patience does not last forever. Notice that, in His story, Jesus asks for a reprieve for the tree not bearing fruit, not for its continued barren existence.

If it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.

During a time of a nationwide illness, theologian Warren Wiersbe once asked a friend in a neighboring town about his citys death rate. His friend replied, One apiece, then added, People are dying who never died before.

Just like you and I will someday.

Without Jesus, life is indeed the biggest danger of all. Its easy to forget that, especially when youre young or things are going well, and you get settled into that it-cant-happen-to-you mentality. But remember what Wednesday said.
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On October 28, I boarded a flight from Budapest to Zurich to attend the yearly editorial summit of international media conglomerate Ringier, the Swiss parent company of Blikk, the tabloid I had edited since April 2025.

When I landed and checked my phone, I saw a calendar invite from Blikks CEO summoning me to an emergency meeting three days later. The meeting was labeled obligatory. My colleagues back home didnt know what was happening, so I desperately called our legal counsel, who said: Ivan, Im not allowed to tell you anything.

Sixteen years into the regime of Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, a notorious enemy of independent journalism, muscle memory kicked in. I soon learned that Ringier, which owned Glamours Hungarian edition and numerous other womens magazines as well as Blikk, had received an offer it could not refuse from a pro-Orban group called Indamedia.

The deal was finalized while I was in Switzerland. Had the owners told me not to bother going, they would have spoiled the surprise. So I sat in conference rooms for two days with people who knew something I was only going to find out when I landed back in Budapest. When I did, Ringiers Hungarian CEO was waiting for me in the terminal. He sat me down for a coffee and explained what had happened while I was gone.

The next day, Ringiers Swiss leadership flew to Hungary and broke the news to my colleagues. On the morning of November 3, the first Monday after the takeover, the new owners were waiting for me in the CEOs office. They explained that they did not intend to work with me. I told them I didnt intend to stay.

By Tuesday, a week after Id received that ominous email at the airport in Zurich, my desk at Blikk was empty. Once again, politics had triumphed over press freedom and the public good in Hungary. Its a story that has defined my career as a journalist here.

A Press Massacre

When Hungarys socialist regime fell in 1989, the press did not ride the wave of change. Most journalists who had served the regime stuck around, and many even became loudmouthed political advocatessome for the left, some, perhaps surprisingly, for the right. Hungary was the only country in the former Eastern Bloc in which every major news title survived the transition to democracy.

It wasnt long before the countrys new leaders realized that the press, trained to be docile, could still be controlled. Even after the rise of online media brought new faces and a modern approach, the government found a way to trample its democratizing hopes. All governments have worn these boots, but no one has worn them quite like Viktor Orban.

Today, a media conglomerate led by Orbans allies, known as the Central European Press and Media Foundation, or KESMA, controls nearly five hundred outlets, all of which echo the governments every utterance, be it state propaganda or the nastiest smear campaign against Orbans enemies. Whoevers not with them is against them: independent media have stopped getting responses to questions, been kicked out of government press briefings, and had state advertising withdrawn from their pages. Any journalist who doesnt submit to the governments pressure campaign is intimidated and labeled a foreign agent of whomever Orban currently deems his fiercest rival, usually the European Union, foreign billionaires, or, most recently, Ukraine.

Im a loyal guy. In my thirty-two-year career, Ive spent six, seven, even twelve years at various news organizations. Almost every time Ive left a newsroom, it was because politics got in the way of my work.

In one case, I saw my newspaper placed under the guardianship of another outlet to appease political leaders. Elsewhere, an owner fired my editor in chief to bring in someone who was willing to follow political instructions.

I was editing the Hungarian national public radios news broadcast when Orban was elected prime minister in 2010, and I didnt even wait for his guys to arrive at the doorwhat followed was not a simple restructuring, more like a press massacre. Later, I worked for a leading online news outlet until its owners revealed their plans to cozy up to the government. Funnily enough, that takeover was orchestrated by the same man whos now taken over Blikktwo-nil to him, I guess.

Money Talks

Over the past week, I have been asked if I was sure that Blikks purchase was political. From the Swiss end, it may not have been; rumor has it that Indamedia paid way above market value. And lets not forget that Orban has the power to make any media owners life hell with new business and advertising regulations. It was an economic decisionand on those grounds, a reasonable one.

But Im sure this wasnt Ringiers original plan for Blikk. They brought me on in April with an ambitious pitch and a multiyear commitment. They wanted me to attempt the near-impossible: to reposition Blikk, a name synonymous with hardcore tabloid journalism in Hungary, as a one-of-a-kind, sophisticated outlet that skipped loud, outlandish, and clickbait-y stories in favor of current affairs, politics, and economic and cultural coverage. They imagined a twenty-first-century newspaper that experiments with AI, but only to produce even more rigorous journalism.

By the time they finalized the sale, Blikks readership had risen, and people had begun noticing the shift in tone. A shift that, as I write this, is being reversed. After three decades in the industry, I was never going to stay at an outlet that doesnt even pretend to take itself and its readers seriouslylet alone one that takes its orders from the government.

Some think Ringier should have held on, that they should have resisted the financial temptation and protected whatever is left of press freedom in Hungary. I disagree. Media ownership is a business, and getting big money is good business. Moreover, why on earth should we expect a foreign interest to save the values that we, as a society and in the media industry, never bothered to protect? Its up to readers to decide whether to support independent newsrooms. More importantly, its up to media owners and journalists to stand up for themselves, to resist the siren song of politics, to avoid becoming activists, to take neither the governments nor the oppositions side. As long as we dont hold ourselves to these standards, theres no point in blaming others for where we are.

Its also in the interest of Indamedia to frame the acquisitions as an economic move. After all, they just added Hungarys most valuable tabloid and some womens magazines to their illustrious stable, which includes the countrys top online news site, Index, and its leading commercial TV channel, TV2.

A Political Gamble

Theres an old joke in Hungary: workers in a Soviet washing machine factory somehow always end up making Kalashnikovs. By the same logic, Hungarian newspapers bought by Orbans business cronies always end up echoing government propaganda.

One of Indamedias owners is the president of the supervisory board of MBH Bank, which is owned by Hungarys richest man, who also happens to be a childhood friend of Viktor Orbans. The same owner presides over TV2, whose news presenters openly supported Orbans reelection campaign in 2022. Index does soft propaganda: it doesnt deny that criticism of Orban exists, but it is first in line to run anonymous hit pieces on his political opponents, which often become the basis for government communication campaigns.

This is how we got to the present day, and it explains why Blikks purchase was so timely. For the first time in sixteen years, Orban faces an actual challenger: Peter Magyar, a man who led state businesses and was a lifelong conservative but broke away in 2024 to build a new political party, Tisza, which, with five months to go before the next general election, is polling ten points ahead of Orbans Fidesz. No wonder that, when I told a friend in the media industry about Blikks acquisition, their reaction was: Damn, Fidesz must be on the ropes.

It is, and buying Blikk might be a Hail Mary to hold on to power. Blikk has a large audiencein addition to being the most-read print newspaper in the country, it has a daily online audience of more than five hundred thousand, making it Hungarys third-largest online publication. Many of those readers are older and live in the countryside, important demographics for Fidesz.

Or maybe Orbans party is preparing to lose the electionand already plotting its return. Even if Magyar defeats Orban, Index, TV2, and Blikk will remain profitable thanks to their massive audiences, and they can continue to serve as political vehicles for Fidesz.

Either way, the regimes survival is at stake, and nothingcertainly not Blikkis too expensive for the cause.

Once again, journalists are on the losing end of the story. As the industry continues to shrink, Ive seen many talented colleagues leave the field, or worse, the country, because theyd had enough of the pressure, or couldnt make enough money to live a decent life.

Id like to keep doing my job independently and impartially, as I always have. But the odds are not in my favor.
Internet domain registrar GoDaddy owes a patent owner $170 million for violating its rights in website-building technology, a Delaware federal jury said in a verdict made public on Friday.

The jury agreed with Express Mobile that GoDaddys web-design tools infringe two of its patents.

GoDaddy said in a statement that it disagrees with the verdict and will vigorously fight it in the district court and on appeal, if necessary. Express Mobile attorney Jay Nuttall called the verdict an outstanding result for our client that confirms the value of Express Mobiles foundational patents.

Novato, California-based Express Mobile owns patents covering internet and mobile technology developed by the companys founder, former IBM engineer Steven Rempell. Express Mobile sued GoDaddy in 2019, arguing that its user tools for building websites infringed Express Mobiles patents related to similar technology.

Tempe, Arizona-based GoDaddy denied the allegations and argued that the patents were invalid. GoDaddy won a separate jury trial over related Express Mobile infringement claims in 2023.

Express Mobile won a $40 million verdict in a similar case against e-commerce platform Shopify in 2022. Shopify convinced a Delaware federal judge to overturn the verdict last year.

(Reporting by Brittain in Washington; editing by Diane Craft)
Richmond Heights City Council will add one new face in 2026 in Cherita Shaw, while Council President Bobby Jordan and Councilman at-large Daniel Ursu will remain in their roles. Jeff Piorkowski

RICHMOND HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The three main takeaways from the Nov. 4 election were that Councilman at-large Daniel Ursu will continue his long career in public service, newcomer Cherita Shaw will join Richmond Heights City Council, and Bobby Jordan will serve another four years as council president.

Ursu received the most votes in a field of five at-large candidates vying for two open seats. Unofficial Cuyahoga County Board of Elections results had Ursu atracting 1,360 votes for 30.4 percent, followed by second-time candidate Shaw, who will serve her first term after receiving 1,116 votes for 25 percent.

Ursu served on City Council first from 1985-89 before becoming the citys longest serving mayor at 24 years (1989-2013). He returned to council in 2015 and has served ever since.

Shaw gained the second seat by topping challengers Charlotte Camp (942 votes, 21 percent); Judy McElroy (765 votes, 17.1 percent); and Alex Harper (296 votes, 6.6 percent).

"The overwhelming amount of support I have received from the residents of Richmond Heights has made winning this election special, said Shaw, in an email response to cleveland.com. The gratitude I feel that the residents trust me to represent them is humbling.

I take the responsibility of being their voice serious and hope my work shows my appreciation.

Council President Bobby Jordan Bobby Jordan

When asked what she wants to accomplish when the new council is seated in January, Shaw replied, One of the first things I want to work on is continuing to enhance youth programs. Providing resources and mentorship to high school kids as they begin their transition into adulthood is important to me.

I want to be able to provide the tools they need to put them on the right path to financial literacy and career development.

I would like my new constituents to know that I am not a politician, but a passionate resident that cares about my community. I am proud to be a Richmond Heights resident and want to stay deeply engaged, not just as an elected official, but as a neighbor.

Shaw will take the seat vacated by longtime Councilwoman at-large Juanita Lewis, who did not seek re-election.

Councilman at-large Daniel Ursu Daniel Ursu

Of winning his second term on council after having served for several years on the citys school board, Jordan, also via email, stated, I am honored to be re-elected as council president for another four-year term. This opportunity to continue serving the residents of Richmond Heights is one that I take seriously.

I remain committed to leading with transparency, unity, and purpose, always keeping the best interests of our community at the heart of every decision.

Looking ahead to 2026, Jordan said, One of my top priorities moving into the new year is ensuring that our council operates as a cohesive unit. When we work together, we move our city forward.

Ive already begun the planning process of hosting community-wide ward meetings (for all wards) to engage residents across Richmond Heights. These meetings will help keep everyone informed about new developments, available resources, and upcoming events, because informed communities are empowered communities.

Councilwoman-elect Cherita Shaw Cherita Shaw

In January, I will assign committee chairs and introduce additional training opportunities for council members, especially our newest colleague (Shaw). Understanding how to govern effectively is essential, and I want every member to feel confident and equipped to serve.

I will also remain actively engaged with the administration to offer support and collaboration. Government works best when the council and administration are aligned, working toward the same goals to move the city forward and improve the quality of life for our residents.

Last year, we passed our budget before the new year for the first time. This early approval ensures uninterrupted city services. It allows us to tackle some vital projects early, such as capital improvement projects, secure contractors, and order equipment thats already facing delays due to tariffs.

As we look ahead, Jordan continued, I look forward to continuing to work alongside Mayor (Kim) Thomas, the administration, and my fellow council members. We have several important initiatives on the horizon, particularly those focused on our youth and expanded programming for seniors. These are heavy lifts, but they are necessary ones, and Im ready to help carry them forward.

He concluded by stating to residents, Thank you for your trust. I promise to keep showing up, doing the work, and advocating for every resident of Richmond Heights.

Jordan won re-election against challenger, and current Ward 3 Councilwoman Cassandra Nelson. Unofficial figures had Jordan with 1,413 votes (52.7 percent), and Nelson with 1,268, for 47.3 percent. Nelson will continue to serve as Ward 3 councilwoman.

Read more from the Sun Messenger.
"Trailer Park Boys" star Mike Smith, shown here in character as Bubbles, has been charged with sexual assault in Canada related to an incident that reportedly occurred in 2017, according to reports. Following the charge, Smith, 53, has stepped away from his role as managing director of production company Trailer Park Boys Inc., the company announced. (Bernard Weil/Toronto Star via Getty Images) Toronto Star via Getty Images

Actor Mike Smith, best known for his role as Bubbles on Trailer Park Boys, has been accused of sexual assault in Canada, according to reports.

Smith, 53, was charged with sexual assault on Oct. 2 in Halifax, Canada, for an incident that reportedly occurred Dec. 30, 2017, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, according to court documents obtained by CBC News. Smith has also been ordered not to communicate with the accuser or visit their school, workplace, or home.

He is scheduled to appear in court in Halifax on Monday, Nov. 10.

Following the charge against him, Smith has stepped away from his role as managing director of production company Trailer Park Boys Inc., the company announced.

We are aware of the allegation concerning Mike Smith dating back to 2017 and take such matters seriously, TPB Inc. said in a statement. We recognize how difficult an allegation of this nature is for all involved. Out of respect for the legal process, we will not comment further on the case.

Smith, in his role as Bubbles, comprises one-third of the Trailer Park Boys leading trio alongside Julian, played by John Paul Tremblay, and Ricky, played by Robb Wells. The TV series has spanned 12 seasons and 116 episodes since its debut in 2001, with plans for a 13th season to be released in 2026.

We remain focused on delivering the long-awaited 13th season for our fans, TBP Inc. said in its statement.
Ohios decision to cut Planned Parenthood from Medicaid isnt about abortionits a political choice that will predictably harm public health, driving up disease, maternal deaths and costs, while stripping essential care from those who can least afford to lose it. Getty Images

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Lets start with what this isnt.

Ohios move to cut Planned Parenthood from participation in the Medicaid program isnt about abortion  thats already off the table for nearly all public funding. Its about whether more than 27,000 low-income Ohioans will still have a place to turn for birth control, cancer screenings or treatment they couldnt afford anywhere else.

Its about the practical care that keeps people healthy and families stable  the kind of care most of us take for granted until its gone.

As its justification, the state cited only a federal budget reconciliation act passed this summer that prohibits Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid reimbursements. But its a calculated political decision that will harm public health in ways we can already predict  because weve seen it happen, again and again, in other states.

The pattern is as familiar as it is grim. When Planned Parenthood loses funding, clinics close, disease rates rise, unintended pregnancies increase, and costs to taxpayers climb.

No state illustrates this better than Texas. When lawmakers defunded Planned Parenthood in 2011 and slashed family-planning budgets by two-thirds, more than 80 clinics closed  about a quarter of the states network.

The immediate fallout was sharp and measurable. Claims for the most effective contraceptives  IUDs and implants  fell by 35%. Women switched to less reliable methods or went without. Within two years, Medicaid births rose 27% in counties that had lost Planned Parenthood clinics.

Then came the deeper cost. Between 2010 and 2014, Texass maternal mortality rate nearly doubled, climbing from 18 deaths per 100,000 live births to 34. Black women bore the brunt of that spike, dying preventable deaths at a higher rate than white women.

The states Legislative Budget Board later calculated that the cuts led to more than 20,000 additional Medicaid births  each costing taxpayers roughly $12,000 in hospital and infant care. The effort that was supposed to save money did the opposite.

In 2017, Iowa lawmakers followed suit, cutting Planned Parenthood out of the states family-planning program. Within a year, four clinics closed, leaving entire regions without affordable testing for sexually transmitted infections.

The results were immediate. According to a study published in JAMA Network Open, gonorrhea rates in Iowa nearly doubled between 2016 and 2018  from 83 cases per 100,000 residents to 153.7. Counties that lost clinics saw the steepest increases. In one small county, infections jumped nearly 300% in a single year.

In other words, people lost access to care, and disease spread.

Indianas experience might be the most tragic. In 2013, a Planned Parenthood clinic in rural Scott County closed after funding cuts. It was the only HIV testing site in the region. Two years later, the county faced one of the worst HIV outbreaks in U.S. history. Out of fewer than 24,000 residents, more than 200 people were diagnosed with HIV infection, corresponding to an incidence rate over 50 times the national average.

Public health experts were emphatic: the outbreak was avoidable and preventable.

Clearly, Ohio is not alone in seeing its reproductive health infrastructure eroded. Since the 2025 federal budget act barred Planned Parenthood from receiving Medicaid reimbursements, at least 25 clinics across 10 states have closed, with projections that nearly 200 nationwide could soon follow  about 60% of all Planned Parenthood sites.

The notion that other clinics can simply absorb Planned Parenthoods patients doesnt hold up. Most community health centers included in one study reported that they are already stretched thin and would not be able to accept a major increase in new patients. Theyre not built for the same specialized care  contraception, sexually transmitted infection testing, and preventive services  that Planned Parenthood provides.

But even if the moral calculus doesnt move policymakers, the economics should. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that excluding Planned Parenthood from Medicaid will increase federal spending by $300 million over the next decade. Why? Because unintended pregnancies, untreated infections and delayed cancer diagnoses are expensive. Defunding doesnt eliminate those needs. It just makes them harder  and more expensive  to meet.

And the damage doesnt fall evenly. It lands hardest on the people with the fewest alternatives. Low-income women are most at risk  in Ohio, nearly 60% of those with Medicaid rely on publicly funded family-planning services, a higher share than the national average. Young people, who account for half of all new sexually transmitted infections, depend on Planned Parenthood for confidential, judgment-free care that many community clinics arent equipped to provide. Black women, nearly half of whom have used Planned Parenthoods services nationwide, face the steepest loss of access and the worst health outcomes when clinics close  a pattern already visible in Texass maternal mortality data.

And in at least nine Ohio counties, mostly rural, Planned Parenthood was the only Title X provider before its 2019 withdrawal, leaving entire communities without affordable reproductive healthcare. For them, Planned Parenthood isnt a political symbol. Its their doctor.

Ohios Planned Parenthood affiliates are requesting an administrative hearing over the termination letters from state officials. But if Ohio completes this Medicaid termination, the fallout will be visible in public health data within a year. Fewer women will get Pap tests and mammograms. Sexually transmitted infections will rise. Unintended pregnancies will climb. Some small-town health departments will face crises they arent equipped to manage.

And Cleveland  already grappling with rising infant mortality and intractable health disparities  will lose one more piece of its fragile healthcare safety net.

I know we live in a time when empathy feels like betrayal, when seeing the world through anothers eyes can mean breaking from your tribe. But try anyway. For just a moment, try to imagine yourself in their place  a young woman in a small town waiting months for a cancer screening, a mother driving two hours for birth control, a teenager afraid to ask for help.

Because in the end, this is not about abortion, or ideology or allegiance to any political tribe. Its about the people who need care and the communities that depend on it. Seeing that clearly requires humility and a willingness to live in the gray  to recognize that protecting access to healthcare isnt a matter of choosing sides, but of holding onto our shared humanity.

Leila Atassi is the editor of the Public Interest and Advocacy team at cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. She writes a weekly opinion column on state and local issues. You can reach her at latassi@cleveland.com.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported slowing growth in its revenue in October, potentially another indication that AI demand is moderating as the market turns frothy.Sales in October rose 16.9%, the slowest pace since February 2024. Analysts on average expect TSMC sales to increase 27.4% in the current quarter. Still, TSMC shares have gained about 37% since the beginning of this year.Global tech stocks suffered a rout last week on investors growing unease over the sectors sky-high valuations, with Wall Street chief executives warning of an overdue market correction. Michael Burrys Scion Asset Management also disclosed bearish wagers on Nvidia Corp.But industry executives remain buoyant about AI-driven growth.Meta Platforms Inc., Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. will collectively spend more than $400 billion to fund an artificial intelligence buildout next year, a 21% hike from 2025, to secure leadership in the race in emerging technologies.Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang of Nvidia, which is the primary AI chip supplier to major companies, said on Saturday his business is growing month by month, stronger and stronger.Huang met TSMC Chief Executive Officer C.C. Wei and asked for more chip supplies during his two-day whirlwind trip to Taiwan this time, when major chip designers are all chasing limited supplies from the Hsinchu-based company.TSMC is also the go-to chipmaker for the Santa Clara, California-based firms competitors, including Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Qualcomm Inc,. and it makes Apple Inc.s silicon for iPhones and other gadgets.Huangs optimism is shared by his rivals. Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer Cristiano Amon told Bloomberg TV last week that the world is underestimating how big AI will get.In October, Wei told analysts that TSMCs capacity was still very tight and the company is working hard to narrow the gap between demand and supply.
U.S. expert depicts China's initiatives as paradigm for harmony, cooperation

Xinhua) 10:33, November 10, 2025

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Amid mounting conflicts and uncertainty, the Global Governance Initiative (GGI), together with other China-proposed initiatives, provides what an international observer described as a new paradigm for promoting harmony and cooperation among nations.

"We have a chaotic situation in front of us ... more wars, more destruction, more economic problems, even for developed countries at this time," William Jones, an international relations expert and former White House correspondent for Executive Intelligence Review, has told Xinhua.

"We have a system today that, in many respects, has failed," he said.

Facing such challenges, China has maintained a clear vision of what the world should look like, said the expert, viewing the GGI as important not just for China, but for the entire world.

The four global initiatives -- the GGI, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative -- together with the Belt and Road Initiative "point the way toward a world in which harmony and peace rule rather than conflict and destruction," he said.

"Of course, we haven't reached that transition point yet, but China's proposals on global governance point a way out of the current global dilemma," Jones said, noting the initiatives "can be understood by most countries and implemented if there is sufficient political will."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Multiple flights were cancelled across Pakistan over the weekend amid the worsening of a dispute between Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and an aircraft engineers' body.While the national flag carrier claimed that any cancellations over the weekend were due to weather conditions or operational reasons, the Society of Aircraft Engineers of Pakistan (SAEP) said that flight operations problems would persist unless talks on "serious issues" were held between PIA management and society officials.PIA spokesperson Hafeez Khan said that reports of flights being cancelled due to the strike called by the engineers were fabricated.Flight operations have not been hampered by this strike by the engineering staff as stand-by arrangements have been made through the Civil Aviation Authority and other airlines to keep flights on schedule, he said.A senior engineer at the airline, Kashan Ahmed, said flight disruptions would continue unless PIA management held talks with SAEP officials to address serious issues affecting the carriers safety and airworthiness.Ahmed said SAEP was responsible for air safety in Pakistan as it clears all aircraft for flights. He added that the body had been pointing out the shortage of parts, schedule problems, and aircraft fitness for months now.And we are being accused of trying to sabotage the privatisation of the airlines or to raise our pay, he said.The PIA spokesperson disputed claims about aircraft safety and said the body responsible for air safety in Pakistan is the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA), which regulates all airlines, including PIA, under the strictest international standards and procedures."All matters concerning the use and replacement of parts, the fitness of aircraft for flight, and the routes, schedules, or changes thereto are under the direct purview of the PCAA and are executed only after seeking their approvals, the spokesperson added.Some TV channels showed passengers exiting airports in Karachi and Lahore because of flight cancellations or inordinate delays over the weekend.Whatever is the dispute, it should be resolved quickly by the CAA as the passengers are the ones suffering the most, one irate passenger said.The SAEP's demands include an increase in salaries, which it said have remained stagnant for the past eight years, along with the timely provision of aircraft spare parts and an improved working environment.
The 2025 United States federal government shutdown, now in its 40-plus days and the longest in U.S. history, appears to be nearing resolution after the United States Senate advanced a funding deal that secured 60 votes.

The deal would fund the government through January 30, 2026 and reinstate federal workers who were laid off, but it does not immediately resolve the much-fought issue of extending premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act marketplacesa sticking point for many Democrats.

Even in the event that the deal becomes law, the shutdowns ripple effects are being felt across critical services: tens of thousands of flight cancellations and delays, major disruptions to food assistance programs, and scientific research furloughed or delayed.

The longest U.S. government shutdown in history may be ending. Eight Senate Democrats joined all Republicans in the chamber on a procedural vote to break the filibuster that had prevented a vote to pass a continuing resolution that contains no other spending provisions.

The government shutdown began on October 1, 2025 after Congress failed to enact appropriations legislation for the fiscal year. The core point of contention was whether to extend enhanced marketplace premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which Democrats insisted upon and which Republicans resisted.

The breakdown in negotiations triggered furloughs of hundreds of thousands of federal employees and forced many agencies to curtail operations or close altogether. By last week, it had also begun to impact air travel.

Whats in the deal

On Sunday, the Senate narrowly approved a continuing resolution and omnibus package that would:

Authorize funding for federal agencies and departments until January 30, 2026.

Reinstate federal employees who were laid off during the shutdown and guarantee back-pay for furloughed workers.

Include full-year appropriations for key sectors (including Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, military construction).

Promise a vote by mid-December on extending the ACA premium subsidiesbut with no guarantee of passage and no assurance from the United States House of Representatives that the measure will be brought to the floor.

However, the deal still faces hurdles in the House and then needs to be signed by the President to take effect. The House is currently on recess and political resistance remains sizable on both sides.

Impacts for consumers

Air Travel:

With the shutdown dragging on, staffing shortages in air-traffic control have forced the Federal Aviation Administration to cut flight operations. More than 2,700 flights were cancelled and 10,000 + delayed on a single day. For travelers, this means potentially major delays, cancellations, and uncertainty creeping into holiday travel plans.

In a move that extended the shutdown pain to the most wealthy, the FAA today began barring private aircraft at 12 of the nation's largest airports.

Food assistance and benefit programs:

The shutdown interrupted funding for critical food-assistance programs. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which serves some 42 million Americans, was ordered by the administration to reduce payments to roughly 65% of typical benefit levels, pending congressional action. States face pressure and legal battles over distribution.

For consumers who rely on these benefits, this means increased food insecurity and strain on local food banks or nonprofits.

Science, research and education:

Research funding, grant reviews, and agency operations have been delayed. For example, the National Institutes of Health and other scientific agencies are projecting recovery will take longer than the shutdown itself.

For families, students, and researchers, this results in uncertainty in university funding, scholarship administration and potentially slowed innovation.

What to watch

Monitor the House vote: The Senate deal is just one step. If the House fails to approve funding, the shutdown could stretch further despite Senate action.

Air travel planning: If you have flights booked, monitor airlines closely, consider flexible tickets, and be prepared for delays or changes even after a deal is struck because recovery will not be immediate.

Check benefits eligibility and timing: For those on programs like SNAP, WIC, or other federal assistance, check with your states agency for updates on benefit amounts and timing. Unexpected cuts may arrive before full funding is restored.

Be aware of lagging effects: Even when government funding resumes, agencies will take time to restart full operations. Expect slower approval processes, delayed announcements, and potential backlog in services.

Political risk for future budgeting: Note that this deal is only a stop-gap through January 30. With a key issue (ACA subsidies) unresolved, another budget impasse remains possible. Consumers should remain vigilant about the risk of repetition.

What it means for you

For most consumers, government shutdowns may seem distant, but the ripple effects reach into everyday life: from flights being delayed to food-assistance benefits shrinking, from research being delayed to a backlog in federal services.

If the deal passes and the government reopens, relief will follow, but not overnight. Some services may still lag for weeks or months, and some benefits may be reduced or delayed in the interim.
One of the very best Lisa-centric episodes of The Simpsons found Homer and Marges daughter taking on the toy industry. Season Fives Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy begins with the release of the new Talking Malibu Stacy doll, which turns out to be a mouthpiece for sexist drivel like I wish they taught shopping in school, lets bake some cookies for the boys and dont ask me, Im just a girl!

Sadly, Lisas efforts to fight the toys misogynistic stereotypes by partnering with Malibu Stacy's reclusive creator to create a new, more progressive doll are ultimately thwarted by a stupid, cheap hat.

Obviously the Malibu Stacy brand was a thinly-veiled stand-in for Mattels Barbie empire, but some fans may not realize that the episodes storyline was inspired by one specific Barbie.

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Back in 1992, Mattel released the Teen Talk Barbie, which was programmed to say four different phrases from a library of 270. Some of the possible phrases included Let's plan our dream wedding!" and I love shopping!  but oddly not Where the heck did Kens dick go?

One phrase in particular sparked a massive backlash: Math class is tough!

As The New York Times reported at the time, the American Association of University Women attacked the math comment in a report on how schools shortchange girls. It similarly earned rebukes from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and other groups, eventually forcing Mattel to yank the line from circulation and issue an apology.

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Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy came from two different incidents about Barbie from the same era, the episodes co-writer told Crackeds Brian VanHooker. First there was that Math Is Hard Barbie, which spawned outrage. Then there was the Barbie Liberation Organization, which was an anonymous group of feminist activists who, in 1993, went into Toys R Uses all over the country and switched the voice boxes of G.I. Joes and Barbies.

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And the Barbie Liberation Organization was a direct response to the Teen Talk Barbie controversy. After switching the voice boxes, the Barbies said things like, Dead men tell no lies, while G.I. Joe said, I love to shop, the groups founder, Igor Vamos explained. Both of those toys have their cultural baggage, which was really easy to see when their voice boxes were swapped.

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But at least Teen Talk Barbie inadvertently led to a classic Simpsons episode, which is more than we can say for Audio Surveillance Barbie.
Some comedians struggle to stay funny or likeable when they make it. Once youre a millionaire partying with the Saudis, its possible to lose some of the sharpness that made you so popular in the first place. Bill Burr and Dave Chappelle come to mind.

Money changes you, and no one is more aware of that than comedians who have just made it or are just about to make it. Enter Stavros Halkias, 36, and Caleb Hearon, 30.

Halkias, the host of Stavvys World, just had his debut role in an Oscar-winning directors film. He stars alongside Emma Stone and Jessie Plemmons in Yorgos Lanthimos new Bugonia. Plus, hes going on his nationwide The Dreamboat Tour and getting fancy profiles written about him in The New York Times.

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Its a far cry from where the comedian was on the now-defunct Cum Town podcast. Hearon is experiencing a similar rise to big-time fame. The comedian hosts the podcast So True, and is racking up film and TV credits, including the upcoming highly-anticipated The Devil Wears Prada 2.

In the most recent episode of Stavvys World, the pair discussed what its like to rise from one tax bracket to anotherespecially when part of your public image has been a relatable one for working class people.

Youve changed, Hearon said to Halkias after observing his new podcast studio has an actual doorman.

Look, dude. What can I say? I'm subletting an insane rich man's apartment for 6 months. I'm cosplaying like a wealthy captain of industry, Halkias replied.

We weren't supposed to be in these spaces, Hearon said.

Not at all, Halkias agreed. But I told you this. You're 6 years younger than me. I know where you are. I was 30 and about to get rich and being like it'll never happen to me. No, I'm a, I'm salt of the earth and you're clinging hard to it. It's very hard. It's important for you, as particularly your image, to cling hard to it. You know what I mean? And don't get me wrong, me too on some level. Im from Baltimore. I talk about inequality as a big problem. I listen, I bought a new car. I bought a RAV 4.

Now, was it a $55,000 RAV four? Hearon chimed in.

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It was the absolute highest RAV 4 possible, Halkias confirmed. Fully loaded RAV 4. I wanted the cameras up top so that I could uh, you know, parallel park with ease. I've been a pedestrian in New York for too longBut, did I test drive every luxury SUV and was too fat for the seats? Yes.

The conversation continued and included a major swipe at the other podcasts helmed by comedians who are ultra rich and have decided to use that privilege to host President Donald Trump on their shows. (Looking at you, Theo Von, Andrew Schulz, and Joe Rogan.)

I was getting ready to make that move. You know, we're about to reach out to the Trump administration's press secretary and say, I know he's not running, but could the big man squeeze us? Could the big man squeeze in Stavvy's world? Halkias joked.

Can Savvi throw him some softball questions that make it look like he has no point of view? Hearon added.

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Could I humanize a piece of shit? Halkias continued.

Clearly, both comedians are aware that getting rich is a fast track to potential integrity-rot. Theres nothing more alluring than selling out; thats always been true, yet theres a comedian junkyard full of comedians who cashed checks blindly. But hearing this conversation from people who are a) aware of that possibility and b) are just now being faced with those actual decisions is affirming that some people at least think about the process.

Get your money, guys. But keep trying to find that RAV 4 balance moving forward.
I've been a fucking political comic for so many years, way before this Trump bullshit, veteran comedian Eddie Pepitone told me last week. I've been calling out the oligarchs and corporate fucking power for a long time.

So when Pepitone clobbered the comedians who performed at the Riyadh Comedy Festival last month, it wasnt just another comic podcaster stirring up controversy for views. The Saudi regime is fucking brutal, he said. I mean, that whole thing about dismembering a journalist and taking him out of that fucking embassy or whatever in a suitcase. Man, I was like, really? You're gonna go over there and fucking take their blood money?

His comments echoed earlier criticism on his podcast, Apocalypse Soon. These comics are going to Riyadh because they were offered a ton of money. But (Dave) Chappelle? I expect someone like Aziz Ansari to do it, but Chappelle? Bill Burr? Bill has been so good calling out different corporate stuff and media stuff. And now, hes going to go shill for some brutal, oppressive regime?

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Pepitone couldnt help but shine a light on the irony. The free speech comics are doing this festival where there is no free speech.

The long-time stand-up pointed out that things arent much better back home. At this point, performing in America is like  Jesus Christ, the fascism going on here. It's very scary here now.

Pepitone, whose father was a union leader, doesnt have much patience for conservative comedy. I'll just dismiss right-wing comics. I fucking dismiss them, because they're not funny, he says. I really believe that old adage that a comic should be fucking standing up for the little guy, like punching up. Don't punch down. I really fucking believe that.

To make his point, Pepitone pointed to one of his comedy heroes. George Carlin is my fucking idol for that, he said. Have you seen these clips that go around now that we are in a complete fucking meltdown as a society?

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Pepitone didnt name specific clips, but its not hard to find Carlin videos that argue for punching up. While Carlin said hed fight to the death for Andrew Dice Clays right to tell any jokes he wanted, he criticized Clay for using underdogs as his targets. Comedy has traditionally picked on people in power, people who abuse their power, Carlin told Larry King during a CNN interview. Women and gays and immigrants are, to my way of thinking, underdogs.

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Pepitones criticisms can make it awkward when he runs into those comics at the Comedy Store or other venues. I can still be friends with them, he says. But when they do things like accept gigs in Riyadh? I call them out.
Weve reached a point of no return. Back in September, actor and technologist Eline Van der Velden and her AI talent studio Xicoia announced the creation of an AI generated actor named Tilly Norwood. The goal was, according to Van der Velden, to create the next Scarlett Johansson.

In a new report from Deadline, Van der Velden revealed that Norwood is but the first of many AI generated actors to come.

The plan is to create 40 very diverse characters to build her whole universe and to play in this AI genre with a whole new cast, Van der Velden told Deadline. Its a bold move, considering the announcement of Norwoodthe beautiful, fake, brunette, sweet-smiled, fake actorearned immediate ire from Hollywood.

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Good lord, we're screwed, Oscar-nominated actress Emily Blunt told Variety after the news of Norwood first emerged. That is really, really scary. Come on, agencies, don't do that.

SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors, went as far as condemning the creation, which they likened to mass plagiarism of real artists work.

To be clear, Tilly Norwood is not an actor, its a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers  without permission or compensation, SAG-AFTRA wrote in the statement shared with Variety on September 30, shortly after news of major Hollywood talent agencies expressing interest in the computer-generated actor surfaced.

It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what weve seen, audiences arent interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience, SAG-AFTRAs takedown continued. It doesnt solve any problem  it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry.

It was such a sweeping rebuttal from the industry that your first instinct might be to feel bad for Norwooduntil you remember this is not a piled-on ingenue but rather an amalgamation built by code stealing the faces and expressions of real life women in the industry. Van der Velden, who claims the creation of all the AI actors will be ethical, has clearly not been dissuaded by the backlash. Some could argue that the widespread coverage has fit exactly into the tech founders goals for Norwood.

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When I first envisioned Tilly, I did imagine global stardom for her, thats what she was built for. For that to come true has been a funny self-fulfilling prophecy, Van der Velden told Deadline. I think it showed off our quality, and a lot of people were amazed by that, and that the quality of Tilly sparked a conversation that needed to be had around the world about: How is this tech going to fit into this industry?

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In Van der Veldens mind, AI actors will be just another branch of the industry. I feel strongly that there are three genres: animation, traditional live action and the AI genre, she said. Tilly was always meant to be in her AI genre, and thats where shell stay.

Despite the total rebuke from actors and other Hollywood creatives, agencies that represent Hollywood actors are reportedly interested in what Van der Velden has to offer. She declined to name any specific companies or individuals, but detailed that for as much public recrimination Norwood has received, theres been almost as many behind-the-scenes conversations.

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As much as there was a backlash, we have been absolutely inundated with requests of top talent, Van der Velden explained. Were talking to Academy Award-winning writers, directors and actors who want to explore this space to see where this can go for them. Everybody wants to have a play and thats a positive thing. This AI renaissance is about thinking outside of the box.

Welcome to the future, I guess. It sucks.

You can read the complete interview on Deadline.
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When Rachel Reeves moved into No 11 Downing Street, I was genuinely touched by her message to young women and girls.

Let there be no ceiling on your ambitions, your hopes and your dreams, she said.

Her words took me back to my childhood as the daughter of a steelworker in the North East. Then, my dreams of a Fleet Street career being fulfilled seemed as unlikely as me landing on the moon.

Sceptical though I was about Reeves, I wanted her to succeed: for the sake of the country and for the sake of all the females watching her that day.

Larceny

Now she wants to pilfer my pension  and yours  and I could not be more disillusioned with our first woman Chancellor. She is not a role model for little girls with big dreams, as I once was.

No, she is hell-bent on trampling over peoples ambitions and crushing their efforts to improve their lives.

The latest onslaught involves curbing the tax breaks on salary sacrifice schemes. It is one of a volley of potential acts of pension larceny, putting anyone aged 50 or over who has some savings for retirement in a state of high anxiety.

As for those in younger age brackets, the Chancellor is making pension saving  always a hard sell for people when retirement seems a long way off  even less of an attractive prospect.

Having put in decades of hard graft to climb the career ladder, I had hoped to be rewarded with some financial security when I reached old age, writes Ruth Sunderland

As someone from a working class background, taught from birth to strive for a better life, this jars with all my values  which ought to be Labour values too.

The bombardment of threats from Reeves  against people whose only crime is to have worked hard and been prudent  is relentless. She should be encouraging these traits, which are, after all, traditional Labour values, not punishing us.

Having put in decades of hard graft to climb the career ladder, I had hoped to be rewarded with some financial security when I reached old age. Yet like millions of other middle-aged, middle-class people, Reeves pension siege is the source of a great deal of stress.

The salary sacrifice raid she is said to be planning is complex. These schemes allow employees to give up part of their pay and put it into their pension. This is transferred before tax or National Insurance are charged, so it reduces their taxable income.

Reeves is reported to be planning to limit the amount that can be sacrificed in this way to 2,000 a year, with anything above the limit becoming liable to National Insurance.

That would hurt employees paying more than that figure into their pension. It would also hit employers, who under current salary sacrifice arrangements dont have to pay the 15 per cent National Insurance charge on the portion of an employees salary put into a pension.

Greedy

As a result, it piles yet more pressure on firms over their payroll costs. And business is already groaning under increases in National Insurance and the minimum wage, which have put up the costs of hiring, particularly when it comes to younger workers.

The bombardment of threats from Reeves  against people whose only crime is to have worked hard and been prudent  is relentless

Strip away the technicalities and the message is simple: Reeves is clobbering companies and individuals for trying to do the right thing. The Chancellor clearly sees pensions as a giant jam pot in which she wants to dip her greedy fingers.

She is egged on by her pensions minister Torsten Bell, previously a leading light of the Left-wing Resolution Foundation think tank.

Among the other measures being touted is a slashing of the rate of tax relief on payments into a pension. Currently this matches the highest rate of tax the individual is paying. And so the millions who are paid more than around 50,000 benefit from 40 per cent tax relief, while high earners on more than just over 125,000 get 45 per cent. Under Reeves Budget plans it might be cut to 30 per cent for all, or even less.

Millions more people, by the way, have been dragged into the higher tax brackets because the thresholds have been frozen since 2022, so such a change would not merely harm the well-off.

Reeves also expressed support for bringing back a lifetime limit on pension pots of just over 1million, that was rightly scrapped by her Tory predecessor Jeremy Hunt.

She has already caused misery and mayhem by putting stock market-linked pensions into the inheritance tax net from April.

Another scary option, reducing the amount people can take as a tax-free lump sum, currently just under 270,000, seems to have bitten the dust.

Phew. But even if her plots dont materialise, just airing them has become damaging. It gives people like me, who feel too young to retire but too old to repair Reeves pension vandalism, a deep sense of foreboding.

The rot began to set in under Gordon Brown, who in 1997 launched a 5billion a year tax raid on pension fund dividends. Commentators warned the measure would be harmful and so it came to pass

The pre-Budget kite-flying has encouraged many to take lump sums out of their pensions when its not in their best interests to do so.

The cumulative effect of the speculation is to erode peoples willingness to save in a pension at all. This is at a time when, as a nation, we are already setting aside far too little. Women, in particular, are at risk of not earmarking enough for a comfortable retirement.

The cost-of-living crisis means it is too easy in many households to neglect pension contributions in favour of more immediate needs.

The long-term harm this can create is immeasurable. After all, a pension with tax incentives is a valuable job perk that could be used to encourage some of the 9.4million economically inactive people in the UK to go back into the workplace. At the same time as Reeves is trying to plunder pension funds to fix the Budget black hole, she is also trying to make these funds invest more money in the UK.

It makes no sense. Labours contempt for pension savers is as intellectually incoherent as it is distasteful.

The rot began to set in under Gordon Brown, who in 1997 launched a 5billion a year tax raid on pension fund dividends. Commentators, including me, warned the measure would be harmful and so it came to pass.

The Brown raid was a major contributor to the demise of gold-standard final salary pension schemes in Britain. These pensions, which offered a secure income in retirement for life, have largely been replaced by much riskier stock market-linked vehicles. Reeves is intent on finishing what Brown started.

Battered

The only people who can look forward to a decent retirement with any sense of certainty are public sector workers, who still enjoy gold-plated pensions  as, of course, do Westminster politicians like Reeves herself

The only people who can look forward to a decent retirement with any sense of certainty are public sector workers, who still enjoy gold-plated pensions  as, of course, do Westminster politicians like Reeves herself.

Pensions are a key battleground in the war on aspiration. Strivers are not respected but treated as cash cows to be taxed and now fleeced of their pensions. Of course it will backfire politically. Of course it will undermine her aim of encouraging greater investment in UK plc to rebuild our battered economy.

This electoral and economic self-harm, however, comes as little consolation when you are watching your retirement hopes suffer death by a thousand cuts.

Having been brought up in a staunchly Labour household, I voted for the party all my life until 2019. It broke my heart when, faced with Jeremy Corbyn, I could no longer bring myself to do so.

I always felt Labour was the party that supported people like me trying to make our way in the world.

Now they are coming after my pension  and I just feel betrayed.
Only months after lavishing 10 million on a new security door for the House of Lords that failed to work, Parliament is back for more of our money.

I can disclose that Parliamentary clerks, who love spending public cash, are drafting plans for a giant security fence in the Thames outside the Palace of Westminster.

This would involve driving vast pillars into the river bed that would protrude above the waterline to stop terrorist attacks. As the proposed barrier would extend 50 yards from the bank, it would close most of the first arch of Westminster Bridge to river traffic.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is not just aghast at the sheer scale of the project, but also the cost, which I hear is an eye-watering 90 million.

Hoyle knows the price will rocket (the security door was supposed to cost 6 million) and wants a cheaper option: round-the-clock patrols by police boats.

Talking turkey in Moscow

Diplomat Tim Barrow, making his maiden speech in the Lords last week, talked turkey.

On Christmas Day 1991 he was pulled out of a Moscow embassy party to watch Mikhail Gorbachevs resignation speech. Hours later, Barrow realised hed left his turkey in the oven.

He recalled: Rather than seeking to digest the momentous events of the day, I was more preoccupied by the fact I could not digest the turkey.

Since its local elections triumph last May, Reform UK has won 54 more seats in by-elections.

But Nigel Farage has also lost 36 councillors: 18 have quit, 11 have been expelled and six suspended, while one defected to his old home Ukip.

Kwasi Kwarteng was on the winning Cambridge team on University Challenge in 1995

When is it right to swear on the telly? Labours Jonathan Ashworth, who lost his seat at the last election, said on ITVs Good Morning Britain: Ive never sworn on TV, certainly not.

Kwasi Kwarteng, who was Liz Trusss short-lived chancellor, confessed: I did once, on University Challenge about 30 years ago. Presenter Ed Balls asked: Was it [quizmaster] Bamber Gascoigne winding you up?

Kwarteng: It was Jeremy Paxman. Paxo could make a saint swear.

On Radio 4s Today programme on Saturday, Amol Rajan breezily announced: Hello, its seven oclock on Saturday the 17th of November...

It took him a few minutes to correct himself: It is in fact the eighth of November, not the 17th...

Proof, if any were required, the BBC doesnt know what day it is.

The Red, red whine...

Dead Ringers Jan Ravens, the voice behind Theresa May, Nigella Lawson and the late Queen

Jan Ravens, the voice behind Theresa May, Nigella Lawson and the late Queen on Radio 4s comedy impressions show Dead Ringers, laments the absence of Labour top brass from the show.

Speaking to veteran impressionist Rory Bremner on stage at Worthing Assembly Hall, she said: Its extraordinary that Rachel Reeves has this adenoidal, miserable voice. And so does Keir Starmer.

And Ed Milliband. Angela Rayner is like the northern version of that. Its so weird in the Labour Party, like a nursery school where theres always a cold going round.
Nearly a week has passed since we learned about a leaked report showing how BBCs Panorama had doctored a speech by Donald Trump to make him say something awful that he hadnt actually said.

For days the BBC didnt respond to the shocking evidence contained in a dossier written by Michael Prescott, a former adviser to the broadcaster on editorial issues.

The Corporations bosses went to ground. Director-general Tim Davie might just as well have not existed.

Then, last night, he dramatically fell on his sword. So also did Deborah Turness, head of News and Current Affairs. Their resignations are amply justified. Whether they will cure the BBC of its very deep-seated malaise is another matter.

The refusal of BBC bosses to give a proper account of themselves has been extremely disturbing. Even more shocking has been the almost total failure of the Beebs journalists to refer to the controversy on its numerous radio and television bulletins until yesterday.

Without the Press, Davie and Turness would still be in their jobs. Without the scrutiny of newspapers, BBC chairman Samir Shah wouldnt today be expected to deliver, at last, some sort of apology.

He will reportedly write a letter to the Commons culture, media and sport committee expressing regret for the way that Trumps speech, made on the day of the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots in Washington, was misleadingly spliced together.

Director-general Tim Davie had no option but to resign. He presided over discreditable journalistic practices and showed no shame over the Trump debacle

Shah will attempt to stem criticism  including from the White House, which on Friday accused the broadcaster of 100 per cent fake news  by admitting that the Panorama interview unintentionally misled viewers.

Do they take us for fools? Notwithstanding the resignations of Davie and Turness, if this is the extent of the BBCs apology, it will be an outrage. No one with a brain will accept that Aunties doctoring of President Trumps speech was inadvertent.

No, it was calculating and deliberate. The episode of Panorama, shown eight days before last Novembers presidential elections, appeared to show Trump urging his supporters to march with him on the Capitol to fight like hell.

In fact, he actually said he would accompany them to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard. The fight like hell comment came almost an hour later in the Presidents characteristically rambling speech.

The splicing cant conceivably have been accidental. If Mr Shah, who has a background in journalism, really does maintain that what happened was unintentional, he will be digging an even bigger hole for himself and the BBC.

How can we explain the Corporations refusal to take full and immediate responsibility for egregious behaviour that it would have instantly condemned had it occurred in a newspaper?

Panorama doctored a speech by Donald Trump from 2021, which was broadcast eight days before the presidential elections last year. It appeared to show Trump urging his supporters to march with him on the Capitol to fight like hell

Generous souls may be tempted to excuse Auntie on the grounds that she was shocked by the evidence that emerged six days ago, and has understandably taken a while to respond.

But the shameful facts were first presented to the BBC by Michael Prescott months ago. According to his account, he met a brick wall. Executives either could not accept that anything wrong had been done, or didnt care.

The broadcaster wasnt taken unawares last Tuesday when the Daily Telegraph first published excerpts from the dossier. Bosses knew perfectly well what Mr Prescott had up his sleeve.

I believe that their refusal to take his evidence seriously when he first presented it to them, or to respond promptly when it was made public, reveals a profound institutional arrogance.

The BBC is at the same time extremely powerful and convinced that its liberal-Left view of the world is the only one that deserves to be taken seriously. It believes that Trump is a wicked man, and therefore any attempt to misrepresent him must be morally justified.

It is of course possible to believe that he is a very flawed leader (as I do) without thinking that it is allowable to distort what he says. The BBC, however, is plainly determined to make him sound worse than he is.

An enormous effort has been required on the Beebs part for it even partially to concede that it has offended against fundamental journalistic values, and for it to plan a muted semi-apology.

Deborah Turness, head of News and Current Affairs, also resigned

I dont doubt that some rank-and-file journalists at the Corporation do grasp that something rotten has occurred. But their misgivings havent been taken seriously by self-righteous bosses.

We had a glimpse of such thinking on Radio 4s Today programme on Saturday morning, when senior presenter Nick Robinson finally acknowledged the controversy.

He accepted that there is genuine concern about editorial standards and mistakes but then talked about a political campaign to destroy the organisation you are currently listening to.

How depressing that veteran BBC foreign affairs reporter John Simpson should have said that Robinson was exactly right.

This is the voice of entitlement. There is no political campaign to destroy the BBC. Many people are simply appalled by the dishonesty and lack of impartiality of our national broadcaster  which has still showed no contrition.

Youd think from the high-handed way in which Mr Robinson talks that the BBC is a private club authorised to organise itself as it wishes, and that licence payers have no right to object when it misbehaves.

Its not just Trump, of course. Michael Prescotts dossier plausibly alleges that the BBC Arabic service gave large amounts of space to statements from the terrorist group Hamas, making its editorial slant considerably different to that of the main BBC website.

Many believe the broadcaster is guilty on its home ground of bias in its coverage of the Middle East. Todays Daily Mail reports that more than 200 Jewish BBC staff have written to the Corporations board to accuse it of ignoring their plea for an investigation into anti-Semitism.

Mr Prescotts dossier also suggests that a unit of rogue LGBT+ reporters is censoring coverage of the trans debate. BBC staff were reportedly part of a Pride group that lodged complaints about newsreader Martine Croxalls response to a script referring to pregnant people.

In a news bulletin in June, she had the good sense to change the autocue from pregnant people to women live on air, and raised her eyebrow at the gender- neutral language.

Yet last week the Corporations Executive Complaints Unit upheld submissions from just 20 viewers suggesting that she broke BBC rules, and that her facial expression conveyed a controversial view about trans people.

It is barely credible. The same BBC that has taken six days to issue what will probably be a half-apology for corrupting a speech by the American President can find time to censure an employee for displaying common sense.

Tim Davie and Deborah Turness had no option but to resign. They presided over discreditable journalistic practices. They showed no shame over the Trump debacle. Surely the individuals responsible for re-designing what Trump said should also go.

But which of us really believes that getting rid of Davie and Turness will fundamentally change the character of the BBC? Is it likely that the Corporation grasps the magnitude of its errors?

It increasingly resembles a wokeish metropolitan sect  rather than the national broadcaster it is supposed to be  reflecting minority views that arent shared by most of those obliged to pay for it.
Nurses bowed their heads in silent reverence as a cadre of medical support staff wheeled TJ Hoover to the operating room, his eyes desperately darting from wall to wall, face to face.

His sister, Donna Rhorer, gripped his hand, and his two sons  eight and nine years old  looked on, witnessing the solemn 'honor walk' down the sterile hallway of Baptist Health hospital in northern Kentucky.

The patient was being delivered to surgery to have his kidneys and pancreas removed for donation, even though he was very much alive.

Two days prior, Hoover, 33, had laid unresponsive and on life-support in a hospital bed after suffering an accidental methamphetamine overdose.

That was when staff for the Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KYDA), a non-profit that coordinates transplants in the state, approached Rhorer to inform her that Hoover was an organ donor and ask for her consent to remove the breathing tubes that, they thought, were keeping him alive.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Rhorer said she did what she believed her brother would have wanted  and gave her approval to end his life.

Reflecting on that day, Rhorer said, 'You're losing a loved one, you're grieving, you're hoping that they pull through but at the same time, it feels like you're pressured to go ahead and kill them for the organs.'

But TJ Hoover did not die, and KYDA staff  according to a blockbuster federal report  allegedly proceeded with plans to remove his organs, nevertheless.

Hoover (pictured in 2021) lives out his days under the care of his sister

But TJ Hoover (pictured with Rhorer in an undated image) did not die, and KYDA staff  according to a blockbuster federal report  allegedly proceeded with plans to remove his organs, nevertheless

Now an exclusive Daily Mail investigation has detailed Hoover's October 2021 ordeal with new insights from Rhorer as well as two former KYDA employees turned whistleblowers, including one staffer who was in the operating room when Hoover's surgery was halted at the last moment.

Among the Daily Mail's most startling findings is that as Hoover lives out his days in the care of his sister, the former president and CEO of KYDA, Julie Bergin, is still working in organ procurement as an executive at an even larger organization and earning a reported $367,900 a year.

Hoover's case became the focus of a comprehensive federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) investigation and discussed in a September Congressional hearing.

The government probe found a total of 73 instances of organ removal operations in Kentucky over the past four years that officials should have considered abandoning because patients had high or improving levels of consciousness. Most of those patients reportedly later died. Some, like TJ Hoover, survived. But not without enduring a living nightmare.

According to the government's report, Hoover 'showed clear signs of life at multiple points' but KYDA's staff 'directed the organ recovery' to 'proceed.'

During a minimally invasive procedure to check Hoover's heart function, his eyes reportedly opened and he began tracking movement around the room, a hallmark sign of neurological activity. Then, Hoover began 'thrashing on the bed,' according to the HRSA report.

The HRSA report cited a record kept by a KYDA staff member that read: '[Cardiologist] made comment "I am no neurologist but if [sic] I would most certainly call this purposeful movement and they should not have said that patient was not going to have a meaningful recovery with these reflexes."' But the report notes there is 'no documentation of discussions among [KYDA] staff' at the time to reconsider the procurement operation, even as 'hospital staff kept stating that this was euthanasia.'

Once in the operating room, tears rolling down his face, Hoover shook his head no, pulled his knees to his chest and showed visible signs of pain, according to notes taken by KYDA staff.

Still the operation was not stopped.

Hoover 'periodically appeared aware of his surroundings,' and then '2 doses of morphine sulfate,' a powerful pain reliever with sedative properties, was administered, the report said.

Hoover's case became the focus of a comprehensive federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) investigation and discussed in a September Congressional hearing (Pictured: Rhorer and Hoover in 2024)

Natasha Miller, a former KYDA employee in that operating room that day, October 29, 2021, told the Daily Mail that the procedure was only stopped 45 minutes later when a palliative care physician refused to go forward with the surgery.

'It was obvious that the staff was extremely uncomfortable. [KYDA staff] stepped out of the [operating room] and [hospital physician] followed and stated that she felt that this was inhumane and unethical and she would not participate in this process,' a KYDA staff note said.

Then, another whistleblower told the Daily Mail, KYDA staff were still directed to complete the organ procurement.

Nyckoletta Martin, a KYDA staffer, said she was on the phone with Miller, and overheard another KYDA employee named Courtney speaking to 'KYDA administrators.'

Martin told the Daily Mail: 'I could hear Courtney talking on the phone to KYDA's admin, and she was just in tears. She was being told, "Find another doctor who will complete this case, because we're going to complete the case." And Court was like, "There are no doctors, there is nobody," so at that point, they gave up.'

The HRSA report also highlighted other alleged misconduct, recounting several patient stories, all anonymous, in which family members said they felt pressured to consent to donations or were in no fit state to approve them.

In one case, a KYDA staffer allegedly insisted  inaccurately  that a donor's registration was a 'legally binding document' that a family couldn't override. In another, KYDA allegedly sought consent from a cognitively impaired 'child-like' brother of patient, only stopping when hospital staff intervened. A third case saw KYDA workers allegedly proceed with a donation discussion after witnessing a family member, later documented as 'clearly inebriated' and 'high off of something,' take psychoactive medication.

The blistering report concluded by noting 'the prevalence of patient-level failures' at KYDA and claimed that Hoover's case was symptomatic of organization-wide mistakes that may have been occurred as recently as December 2024.

In a statement to the Daily Mail, Network for Hope (which was formed by a merger of KYDA and another organ procurement organization on October 1, 2024) did not respond to any specific allegations in this report. But Network for Hope CEO Barry Massa did say that they reviewed TJ Hoover's case and 'learned that while procedure was followed, there are improvements that can be made to various policies.'

'Since our merger in October 2024,' they added, 'we have worked collaboratively with the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Health Resources and Services Administration to implement policies that support the betterment of the organ transplant system as a whole.'

Julie Bergin, former president and CEO of KYDA, is now President and COO at Network for Hope. And she, too, was mentioned in the HRSA report.

Julie Bergin (pictured), former president and CEO of KYDA, is now President and COO at Network for Hope

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Rhorer (left, with Hoover, right in 2024) said she did what she believed her brother would have wanted  and gave her approval to end his life

According to investigators, when the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN)  the organization that oversees the US organ donation system  first demanded documents about Hoover's case KYDA appeared to stonewall.

Instead of providing medical records or communications, Bergin returned a one-page letter on Sept 20, 2024, writing: 'The potential donor was treated following standard protocols... The proper guardrails were in place and worked to the expectations, policies, and procedures of all regulatory agencies KYDA is satisfied and confident in the donation process for [TJ Hoover].'

HRSA, unsatisfied with Bergin's response, compelled the OPTN to launch the formal investigation that ultimately resulted in the Congressional hearing in September.

In Bergin's new role with Network for Hope, she earns $367,900 per year, according to ProPublica reporting.

Network for Hope told the Daily Mail that their 'board determined the President and COO's compensation at the time of our merger.'

All this is a very bitter pill for Donna Rhorer. '[TJ] is a shell of the person that he used to be,' she told the Daily Mail.

Hoover's life now, nearly four years after the ordeal, is filled with therapy appointments: physical, emotional, speech and occupational, a fight to reclaim fragments of his former self.

The damage he suffered  likely from a combination of his drug overdose and subsequent treatment  is permanent and progressive. Doctors suspect he is in the early stages of Parkinson's, meaning his therapy is a lifelong battle, not for recovery, but to slow an inevitable decline.

His short-term memory is largely gone, yet, in cruel, fleeting moments, clarity breaks through, and he is consumed by survivor's guilt, agonizing over why he lived when others did not.

The trauma, Rhorer said, has left him with a deep-seated terror of hospitals and doctors' offices. His anxiety becomes unmanageable; a visceral reminder of what was done to him.

Hoover lives with the knowledge, on some level, that he was once on an operating table, aware enough to feel trapped in his own body and to fight for a life that others has seemingly given up on.
A leading pharmacist has revealed the medications that you should never mix with alcoholwarning that it's not worth the potentially dangerous side effects.

While some drugs simply do not mix with drink, others can simply leave you feeling drowsy, making it harder to realise just how drunk you are.

Deborah Grayson, a pharmacist with over 30 years experience, told the Daily Mail that in some extreme cases, the combination can trigger internal bleeding, blood clots, permanent liver damage and even death.

She said: 'I've had patients taking painkillers who have ended up unwell after mixing them with alcohol.

'They'd tell me they'd drunk alcohol thinking that if they only had a little, they'd be OK, but then had been quite, quite poorly.'

The severity of the dangers really depends on the type of medication, she explained, warning some are worse than others.

With this in mind, these are the six types of medication that you should never, ever, mix with alcohol.

Antibiotics

Some antibiotics can make you very unwell if you take them with alcohol

It's never advised to drink alcohol while taking antibiotics, but the one that will cause the worst reaction is metronidazole.

It is prescribed to tackle anaerobic bacterial infectionssuch as tooth abscesses and bacterial vaginosis and trichomoniasiswhich happen deep inside the body.

Chemically, it is very similar to a drug which used to be prescribed to combat alcoholism, and can have severe adverse reactions.

Ms Grayson said: 'If you mix that particular antibiotic with alcohol, it can make you significantly poorly, to the point that sometimes patients have felt like they've almost been dying. It's been that severe.

'That warning is on the label, but sometimes people don't realise that even just a tiny bit of alcohol such as a sherry trifle can cause a significant reaction.'

Mixing it with alcohol can cause 'nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, agitation, and heart palpitations'.

'It's quite a dramatic reaction. It mimics an old-fashioned drug that we used to use for alcoholism,' she explained.

But it's not the only antibiotic she warned of. Similarly to metronidazole, she warned ciprofloxacinwhich is prescribed to treat STIs and pneumoniacan be 'particularly risky'.

The same goes for doxycycline and other tetracyclines, which can affect the liver when drinking long-term.

Blood thinners

In 2024, approximately 3.22 million prescription items for warfarin were dispensed in England

The second medication Ms Grayson warned against mixing with alcohol is warfarin, a type of blood thinner.

These are life-saving medications which prevent blood clots from forming or growing, that if untreated could trigger heart attack or stroke.

The danger, she said: 'Is alcohol can interfere with how the body processes this blood thinner, increasing the risk of blood clots and internal bleeding.

'Both warfarin and alcohol can also put strain on the liver'. While it is rare for warfarin to cause liver damage alone, there have been clinical cases.

Meanwhile, the effect of excessively drinking alcohol on the liver have long been known.

ADHD medication

Deborah Grayson spoke to the Daily Mail

The third medication she warned of are stimulant medications attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

These drugs work by increasing the levels of certain neurotransmitters - tiny chemical messengers - like dopamine in the brain.

There has been a rise in the number of people in the UK being prescribed them - with NHS prescriptions for ADHD medications having doubled in six years to 230,000.

The most frequently prescribed stimulant ADHD drug in Britain remains Methylphenidate, despite alternatives now being available.

It is known by many different brand names including Ritalin, Medikinet, Concerta, Equasym, Delmosart and Xaggitin.

According to the NHS you should 'try not to drink alcohol while taking methylphenidate'.

This is because, it explained: 'Alcohol can increase the effects of methylphenidate and make you more likely to get side effects.'

Ms Grayson also warned: 'Medications such as methylphenidate and lisdexamfetamine [another stimulant] can mask the effects of alcohol.

'This may lead to unintentional overconsumption and a higher risk of harm.'

Antidepressants

Alcohol can stop antidepressants working properly, warns Ms Grayson

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It's widely advised not to mix alcohol with antidepressants, and official guidance from the NHS warns that the combination can cause side effects.

Ms Grayson agrees, telling the Daily Mail: 'Alcohol can worsen low mood and reduce how well antidepressants work.

'Certain antidepressants, including amitriptyline and mirtazapine, can cause drowsiness and dizziness, which are made worse by alcohol.'

An estimated 8.8 million people in England take antidepressants, about one in seven people, with numbers increasingly annually.

In 2024-25 alone, over 92 million antidepressants were prescribed in England.

It's important not to mix the drugs with alcohol as they can amplify each other's side effects, and, because alcohol is a depressive substance, can exacerbate symptoms of the mental health condition.

Drinking while on one particular type of antidepressants, Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), can cause a spike in blood pressure and potentially trigger a deadly stroke.

Antipsychotic medication

It's 'not safe' to combine alcohol with antipsychotic medication

The next medication Ms Grayson warned to not mix alcohol with is antipsychotic medications which are used to treat mental health conditions like schizophrenia.

However, they are also used to treat problems like nausea, vomiting and relentless involuntary hiccups.

In the UK, commonly prescribed antipsychotic medications include amisulpride also known as Solian and aripiprazole which has the brand name Abilify.

The NHS warns that you shouldn't mix alcohol with either of the drugs as it could leave you feeling quite drowsy.

Ms Grayson explained: 'Antipsychotic medicines can cause significant drowsiness on their own.

'Alcohol intensifies these effects and can further affect mood and judgement, making it unsafe to combine the two.'

Sleeping tablets

Mixing sleeping pills with alcohol can be dangerous

The final medication she warned to never mix with alcohol are sleeping tablets, both prescription and over the counter.

'Combining alcohol with sleeping tablets increases drowsiness and the risk of falls, particularly in older adults,' explained Ms Grayson.

'Alcohol also disrupts normal sleep patterns, reducing the overall benefit of the medication,' she said.

In the UK most sleeping medications are prescription-only, one of the most common examples is zopiclone, with the brand name Zimovane.

The NHS says you should never mix zopiclone with alcohol, because together they can 'make you sleep very deeply'.

It warns that this deep sleep can cause you to not breath properly and have difficulty waking up.

It's not just sleeping medicines that can cause drowsiness. Ms Grayson said: 'Alcohol should be avoided with other medicines that have sedative effects.

'These include opioid painkillers, gabapentin [an epilepsy drug], other epilepsy medications, and sedating antihistamines like Piriton or Nytol.

'Mixing these can dangerously increase drowsiness and impair coordination or alertness.'
Feeling short of breath makes you six times more likely to die in hospital, concerning new research suggests.

US researchers at Harvard Medical School looked at data taken from nearly 10,000 adults who reported issues with their breathing upon admission to hospital.

Over three quarters of the cohort (77 per cent) came in through the emergency department.

The researchers asked doctors to ask them to rate their breathlessness (dyspnoea) and pain on a scale from 0 to 10 when they arrived and during their hospital stay.

Then they tracked the patients' outcomesincluding death, readmission, length of stay, and need for intensive careover the next two years.

They concluded that patients who developed shortness of breath during their hospital stay were six times more likely to die in hospital.

Meanwhile, patients who reported experiencing shortness of breath upon arrival had a three-fold risk of dying.

Their analysis showed the higher patients rated their shortness of breath, the higher their risk of death.

A study has found that feeling short of breath at hospital increases your risk of death six-fold

Patients with shortness of breath were also more likely to need care from a rapid response team and be transferred to intensive care.

Even after discharge, breathlessness continued to predict poor outcomes. people who were breathless in hospital had a 5070 per cent higher chance of dying within two years.

Experts have called for patients to be asked about if they are experiencing shortness of breath when they are admitted to hospital, as the quick checkwhich takes just secondscould potentially save lives.

Study lead Professor Robert Banzett, from Harvard Medical School said: 'Some patients experience it as feeling starved of air or suffocated.

'In hospitals, nurses routinely ask patients to rate any pain they are experiencing, but this is not the case for dyspnoea.

'In the past, our research has shown that most people are good at judging and reporting this symptom.'

In the journal ERJ Open Research, where the findings were published, the researchers wrote that hospitals should monitor if patients find themselves struggling with shortness of breath during their stay.

This they explained could 'improve symptom management' and help 'identify patients at a higher concern' who need more urgent medical attention.

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Interestingly his study found that reported pain - which they also got staff to ask patients to rank - wasn't linked increased death.

'Pain is also a useful warning system, but it does not usually warn of an existential threat,' said Professor Banzett.

'If you hit your thumb with a hammer, you'll probably rate your pain 11 on a scale of 0-10, but there is no threat to your life.

'It is possible that specific kinds of pain, for instance in internal organs, may predict mortality, but this distinction is not made in clinical record of pain ratings.'

Professor Banzett added: 'It is important to note that dyspnoea is not a death sentence.

'Even in the highest risk groups, 94 per cent of patients survive hospitalization, and 70 per cent survived at least two years following hospitalisation.

'But knowing which patients are at risk with a simple, fast, and inexpensive assessment should allow better individualised care.

'We believe that routinely asking patients to rate their shortness of breath will lead to better management of this often-frightening symptom.'

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Explaining, why shortness of breath may be a strong predicator of death, he said: 'The sensation of dyspnoea is an alert that the body is not getting enough oxygen in and carbon dioxide out.

'Failure of this system is an existential threat.

'Sensors throughout the body, in the lungs, heart and other tissues, have evolved to report on the status at all times and provide early warning of impending failure accompanied by a strong emotional response.'

Reacting to the findings, Hilary Pinnock, chair of the European Respiratory Society's Education Council, from the University of Edinburgh said: 'It is interesting to read about the association of subject breathlessness with mortality and other adverse outcomes.

'Breathlessness was assessed on a zero to 10 scale which took less than a minute to administer.

'These noteworthy findings should trigger more research to understand the mechanisms underpinning this association and how the 'powerful alarm' can be harnessed to improve patient care.

Dr Claudia Almeida Vicente, chair of the European Respiratory Society's general practice and primary care group and a GP in Portugal, also not involved in the research commented on the findings.

'Feeling short of breath can be a very unpleasant symptom and it can be caused by a variety of problems including asthma, a chest infection, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and even heart failure,' she said.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a group of lung diseases that cause breathlessness, wheezing and chest tightness - which are estimated to affect 1.7 million Britons.

She continued: 'This study highlights how a simple dyspnoea rating can serve as a strong, early warning sign of clinical decline. New-onset breathlessness during hospitalisation carried especially high risk, far exceeding that associated with pain.

'For inpatient teams, any rise in dyspnoea should prompt rapid assessment and closer monitoring.

'From a primary care perspective, the elevated two-year mortality in patients discharged with dyspnoea signals the need for tighter post-hospital follow-up.

'These patients may benefit from early visits, medication review and proactive management of cardiopulmonary disease.' Cardiopulmonary disease is a group of conditions that affect both the heart and lungs.

'A quick dyspnoea score offers powerful prognostic value and should inform both inpatient decisions and outpatient planning,' added Dr Vicente.
Sydney is once again at the centre of a national debate, but this time it has been sparked by claims it is now 'unliveable' for everyday Australians.

A recent Reddit thread quickly filled with complaints about skyrocketing rents, traffic jams, and the rising cost of even the most ordinary pleasures like grabbing a coffee on the way to work.

It comes after Sydney found itself at the centre of a loneliness epidemic, with thousands of Gen Z travellers and expats claiming the city fails to welcome newcomers or provide affordable socialisation options.

A local who started the conversation claimed that if you're not earning well over six figures or have family wealth, residing in Sydney now comes with financial strain.

'Between rent, traffic, and the cost of literally everything, it's starting to feel like Sydney's pushing out the very people who keep it running,' they wrote.

'I love this city. The beaches, the energy, [and] the lifestyle, but sometimes it feels like it's only liveable if you're earning well over 6 figures or have family money.

'Even simple stuff like parking, going out, or buying a coffee has become a mini financial event.'

But despite the pile-on, the thread took an unexpected turn.

Sydney is once again at the centre of a national debate, but this time it has been sparked by a Reddit post asking whether the harbour city has become 'unliveable' for everyday Australians

Rather than letting the doom-and-gloom narrative stand, a resounding number of Sydneysiders rushed to the city's defence.

While some admitted the cost of living and housing pressures were real, others insisted Sydney has never been more exciting, more beautiful, or more alive.

They pointed to the city's booming cultural scene, its ever-expanding public transport network, its revitalised waterfront precincts, and, of course, the harbour and beaches that remain the envy of the world.

In their eyes, Sydney hasn't lost its soul at all, it's simply evolving.

'I'm going to go against the grain but I think Sydney is, in many ways, better than ever,' one fan wrote after pointing to the city's transformation over the last ten years.

Sydney's new metro lines, tunnels, and public transport links are slowly easing congestion, as well as noticeably cleaner, greener streets, and major new cultural and recreational developments that have reshaped the CBD and waterfront.

Barangaroo, Darling Harbour, and the expanded Art Gallery of NSW were cited as proof that Sydney is investing in itself again.

With the new fish market nearing opening and a brand-new airport underway, many residents say the energy and ambition that once defined Sydney are returning.

Despite the criticism, Sydneysiders came to their city's defence, with many insisting Sydney is more exciting and vibrant than ever, even as some admit the cost of living is tough

'The vibe and energy of the city has improved immensely recently,' a Sydneysider said.

'The cost of living and the cost of real estate is out of control. But this is affecting the whole country and many places around the world to some extent.'

Another resident noted that the city is gradually shaking off the shadow of lockdown laws and pandemic closures.

Sydney's nightlife and social atmosphere, they said, is 'finally coming back to life', and while it's happening slowly, the shift is noticeable.

And yet, the strongest defence came down to something simpler, with Sydney still offering a lifestyle that most global cities can't compete with.

Endless beaches, coastal walks, pristine national parks, harbor lookouts, and ocean pools, and all of it free.

For many, that is the heart of Sydney, and it remains unchanged.

'Yes, it's expensive, but people forget how much there still is to do here without spending a cent,' one resident acknowledged.

Sydney's rental crisis is part of a nationwide problem, with costs soaring across the country. The latest data shows Sydney is still the priciest city to rent. Pictured: A long line of renters inspecting an apartment listed for rent in Bondi highlights the lack of supply in the market

However, the rental crisis facing Sydney is a huge problem, and it's far from unique. As the city's rental market tightens even further, housing costs are rising at an alarming rate across the country.

According to the latest figures from Cotality, the median weekly rental value across Australia's combined capital cities has climbed to $702 per week, with Sydney and Brisbane driving the latest surge in annual rental growth.

Across the capitals, Sydney remains by far the most expensive city to rent in, with the typical dwelling now costing $807 a week, while Hobart remains the most affordable at $584.

In the September quarter, Brisbane and Sydney recorded the strongest acceleration in rental growth - up 1.7 and 1.5 percentage points respectively compared to June - while Adelaide was the only capital to see conditions ease, down 90 basis points.

Overall, rents across Australia's combined capitals jumped 4.3 per cent in the 12 months to September 2025.

In Bondi, one of Sydney's most sought-after suburbs, the cheapest listing on Domain is $400 a week for a single bedroom, while the median rent for a modest two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit now sits around $1,000 a week.

Economist Kaytlin Ezzy said the rapid growth in rents is being fuelled by an acute shortage of available properties.

'Ongoing scarcity in for rent listings, coupled with continued strength in rental demand has pushed the national vacancy rate to a new record low of 1.4 per cent, less than half the pre-COVID decade average of 3.3 per cent,' she said.

'Supply is particularly tight in the unit sector, especially in Sydney, which recorded both a new record low vacancy rate across its unit sector and broader dwelling rental market in September.'
A royal expert has claimed that Prince Harry is likely 'relieved' about Meghan Markle's bold new career move - and divulged how it could affect their longstanding relationship.

Last week, it was revealed that The Duchess of Sussex, 44, will be making her return to the big screen, as she's set to play herself in a new movie, Close Personal Friends.

The film, which also features actors Lily Collins, Brie Larson, and Jack Quaid, follows two couples, where one is famous and the other is not.

Meghan is best known for her role as Rachel Zane in the hit US TV-drama Suits, but also had Hollywood roles in Horrible Bosses, Get Him To The Greek and Remember Me.

She put her acting on pause when she married Prince Harry, 41, but the couple stepped down from their roles as working royals in 2020.

Since then, the two have been living in Montecito, California, with their two children, son Archie, six, and daughter Lilibet, four.

It's been a big year for Meghan, as she's launched her lifestyle brand, As Ever, and debuted two seasons of a hospitality show on Netflix, called With Love, Meghan.

Prince Harry has been supportive of the star - so much so he even appeared in one of the episodes of her Netflix show - but could this new movie role be leaving a more sour taste?

A royal expert has claimed that Prince Harry is likely 'relieved' about Meghan Markle 's bold new career move - and divulged how it could affect their longstanding relationship

She put her acting on pause when she married Prince Harry, but the couple stepped down from their roles as working royals in 2020

It's been a big year for Meghan, as she's launched her lifestyle brand, As Ever, and debuted two seasons of a hospitality show on Netflix, called With Love, Meghan

According to royal expert Kinsey Schofield, it certainly doesn't look like it.

In fact, she believes that Meghan's new job may come as a 'relief' for Prince Harry.

'If Meghan is on set it means she's not at home filming intimate moments to share on social media,' Schofield, host of Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered, told Daily Mail exclusively.

'I imagine it's a relief. Plus, happy wife happy life,' she continued.

'Harry goes out of his way to give Meghan want she wants and has from day one,' Schofield said.

On Thursday, it was widely reported that The Duchess was 'very relaxed and happy' while seen on set recently in Pasadena.

While plot details are still being kept under wraps, filmmaker Isaac Aptaker, known for This Is Us, has written the script, with Jason Orley taking the helm as director.

And it appears Meghan is taking it all in her stride with insiders reportedly praising the actress as 'very sweet.'

'If Meghan is on set it means she's not at home filming intimate moments to share on social media,' Schofield, host of Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered , told Daily Mail exclusively

'Harry goes out of his way to give Meghan want she wants and has from day one,' Schofield said

Meghan is best known for her role as Rachel Zane in the hit US TV-drama Suits, but also had Hollywood roles in Horrible Bosses, Get Him To The Greek and Remember Me

Speaking to People, the source revealed that she has a 'small role' in the project and was 'on the set today.'

'She seemed very relaxed and happy. She introduced herself to everyone and was very sweet and down-to-earth,' the source added.

It all comes as Meghan recently opened up about her difficulties with finding roles early on in her acting career during an appearance on entrepreneur Emma Grede's podcast in June.

Meghan said that she was often put forward for 'girl next door' roles because she was 'half white/'

The Duchess, whose mother Doria Ragland, is black and whose father, Thomas Markle, is white, told Grede, 'When I was an auditioning actress and this was well before Suits, you have to think at that time there were certainly not a lot of mixed race parts.'

Grede replied: 'Really?' Meghan then insisted: 'No' - and Grede again said: 'Really?'

'No, there weren't a lot. If I was going in for an audition - you have to remember this was a very different time than it is now - it was Girl Next Door,' Meghan shared.

'That was typically blond-haired, blue-eyed and a certain look. But because I'm half white, I would also be submitted for those roles and then if it was a character that had any sort of ethnicity, there was always a bit of a edge to those characters,' she continued.

It all comes as Meghan recently opened up about her difficulties with finding roles early on in her acting career during an appearance on entrepreneur Emma Grede's podcast in June

The Duchess said that she 'went through my chapter of self-doubt as an auditioning actor and beyond that', adding that 'when you're so consumed with what everyone around you thinks of you, that can be a really hard way to live'

'But I'd be submitted for those roles and I also, to a lot of people in casting, they thought I was Latina. So I share that because, and I've shared this before, because it was a numbers game,' Meghan shared.

'If I'm only up for 10 parts, that could be 10 nos, but if I'm up for 30 parts because I can fit into so many different rooms, that could be 30 nos. That is a lot to chip away that is a lot to chip away at your self-esteem - that is really hard.'

The Duchess said that she 'went through my chapter of self-doubt as an auditioning actor and beyond that', adding that 'when you're so consumed with what everyone around you thinks of you, that can be a really hard way to live'.

She told how in her 40s and as a mother, she wanted to set an example for what her children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are 'going to think about themselves'.

'You can't have an imposter syndrome around. You have to be so authentically the role model and the example of confidence, self-forgiveness, kindness, fun - all of those things, you can't fake that,' Meghan said.

'You want to model that for them, so all of that really shifted in the past six years of becoming a mom for me.'
Theres a particular type of patient Ive been seeing more of lately. They sit in my consulting room, wringing their hands, describing a creeping sense of dread that wasnt there before.

I dont want to get on the Tube, one woman told me last week. I know its silly, but every time Im on a train, Im looking at everyone, wondering... She trailed off, but I knew what she meant. The shocking stabbings on that Doncaster to London train had shaken her badly.

Ive lost count of the number of conversations Ive had recently that begin with, Did you see the news about... followed by another horrifying incident.

The prisoner mistakenly released from Wandsworth. The knife attacks linked across multiple locations. It feels relentless, doesnt it? As though were living through some sort of moral collapse, a descent into lawlessness where nowhere is truly safe anymore.

But heres the thing that might surprise you: Were not. In fact, statistically speaking, were living in one of the safest periods in modern history.

Since 2005 robbery has fallen by 60 per cent in the UK. Burglary is down by two-thirds. Overall violent crime has halved. Yes, halved.

If Id told my younger self, fresh out of medical school in the early 2000s, that crime would plummet like this, I wouldnt have believed it.

Social media algorithms, designed to keep us engaged, serve up the most shocking content because thats what makes us stop scrolling and read it

So why does it feel so terrifying? Why are my patients  sensible, rational people  suddenly afraid to travel, to go out after dark, to let their children catch the bus alone?

The answer lies partly in the nature of modern information. Were not just hearing about violent incidents in our immediate vicinity anymore; were hearing about every single one that happens across the entire country, often within minutes of it occurring. Social media algorithms, designed to keep us engaged, serve up the most shocking content because thats what makes us stop scrolling and read it.

Our brains, evolved to respond to threats, cant distinguish between a danger in our postcode and one 200 miles away.

It all registers as: Threat nearby, be vigilant.

What worries me particularly as a psychiatrist is how these news cycles can pour petrol on the flames of existing anxiety disorders. The catastrophic thinking that characterises anxiety (something terrible is going to happen) finds validation in every news alert.

Ive seen patients, who were managing their anxiety well, suddenly spiral after a weekend of being bombarded by social media coverage of violent incidents.

Their underlying condition doesnt create the fear out of nothing; the news stories provide a hook for it to latch on to, making everything feel more urgent, more immediate and more threatening.

So what do we do? How do we function when our nervous systems are jangling with anxiety every time we step on to public transport or walk through a city centre at night?

1. Be honest about what youre consuming. If checking the news five times a day is making you feel worse, limit it to once. Choose a specific time, perhaps over breakfast, then step away. You dont need real-time updates on every incident.

Youre not missing crucial safety information; youre just marinating in fear. This is especially important for anyone with a history of anxiety  think of news consumption like alcohol for someone with a drinking problem. It needs boundaries.

2. Remember our brains are terrible at assessing risk. We worry about stranger attacks while happily driving cars which are statistically far more dangerous.

We fret about plane crashes but not ladders, despite the latter killing far more people annually. This isnt stupidity; its how were wired. But recognising this bias helps our fears.

3. Build your confidence slowly. When my patients describe avoiding trains or public spaces, I encourage gradual exposure not complete avoidance.

Avoidance makes anxiety grow. Start small: A short journey at a quiet time. Bring a friend. Use headphones and calming music. This isnt about being reckless; its about not letting fear steal your life.

4. Acknowledge anxiety rather than fighting it. When you feel that spike of fear on the train, dont berate yourself for being silly. Instead, notice it: Im feeling anxious right now.

Then look around. What do you actually see? Usually, its ordinary people doing ordinary things  reading, sleeping, scrolling through phones, looking as bored and tired as you feel. This grounds you in reality rather than catastrophic possibility.

5. Talk to your loved ones, especially children, honestly but proportionately. Yes, bad things happen sometimes, but theyre rare. We take sensible precautions  staying aware of our surroundings, trusting our instincts  but we dont let fear win. Because thats what these isolated perpetrators of violence ultimately want: To make us feel unsafe in our own communities.

6. Consider what you can control. You cant prevent every possible tragedy, but you can be kind to the person next to you on the train. You can check in on anxious friends. You can build connection and community, which are the very best antidotes to fear.

The world isnt falling apart, even when it feels that way. Were just hearing about every crack more loudly than ever before.

I loved Alans treachery

Comedian Alan Carr with Claudia Winkleman, host of The Celebrity Traitors

Ill confess: Ive been utterly gripped by The Celebrity Traitors. And last weeks final, which saw Alan Carr triumph, was a masterclass in exactly why we humans are such magnificently terrible lie detectors.

Time and again, someone would voice a suspicion about a Traitor, only to be talked down by the group.

Alans victory reveals something crucial about how we assess trustworthiness.

The Faithfuls came into that castle with 15 years of pre-existing beliefs about who Alan Carr is: relatable, funny, a bit ditzy, unthreatening.

Even when suspicions arose, the group couldnt shake their fundamental perception of him.

This is what psychologists call the halo effect: when one positive trait (in this case, likability) influences our judgment of someones other characteristics, including their honesty.

The genius of Alans win is that he weaponised his own public persona. We struggle to believe someone who makes us laugh, who feels like a friend, could be systematically deceiving us.

Alan didnt fit their mental template of what a Traitor looks like. But his entire career has been built on making people feel comfortable, at ease, entertained. Those same skills translate perfectly to this game.

The brilliance of The Traitors is that its not really a game show about deception. Its a behavioural experiment that reveals how easily our social instincts can be exploited.

We trust faces over facts, emotion over evidence, and pre-existing perceptions over present reality.

And Alan? He understood that the best disguise isnt a mask - its being exactly who people already think you are.

There are moments when NHS management decisions leave me genuinely speechless, and news that University Hospital Southampton Trust are scrapping free tea and coffee for staff is one of them.

Yes, itll save 50,000. Itll also tell exhausted nurses and doctors exactly how valued they are: less than the cost of a digestive biscuit.

Ive worked in hospitals where the only thing keeping you upright during a 13-hour shift is knowing theres a tea break coming.

That cup of coffee isnt a luxury  its a lifeline. Its the two minutes you catch your breath between a cardiac arrest and breaking bad news to a family. Its the moment of human connection with colleagues when youre all running on empty.

But heres what really grates: this same trust will undoubtedly spend far more than 50,000 on management consultants, on glossy strategy documents, on restructuring exercises that achieve nothing. Yet its the tea that has to go.

Morale is in the gutter. Recruitment is dire. And managements response? Make them pay for their own bloody tea! You cant preach about wellbeing and staff retention while literally taking the tea out of their hands. Some savings simply arent worth making.

The NHS is issuing a flu jab SOS and frankly, I wish theyd used stronger language.

Heres the brutal truth: flu kills. The vaccine isnt perfect, but its the best defence we have. If youre eligible over 65, pregnant, or have underlying conditions  book it today. Not next week. Today.

This isnt about you being tough enough to weather flu. Its about not ending up on a trolley in A&E while exhausted staff try to save your life.

Dr Max Prescribes: 3 Good Things

Recent research shows practicing gratitude may help reduce stress, improve sleep and support physical health, and may also strengthen relationships.

This week, Im prescribing the Three Good Things exercise: before bed, write down three things that went well today and why they happened.

Small daily moments of gratitude can have a lasting impact on mental health and may even help train the brain to naturally look for more positives than negatives.

They dont need to be momentous  warm water from the tap, a text from a friend, the bus arriving on time. The noticing is the medicine.
Im crying my eyes out at the thought of my former partner Alex leaving our Notting Hill home for ever.

I dont want him to go, I sob as I hug our golden retriever, Muggles, close to me, making his white fluffy fur all wet, and suddenly feeling panic-stricken at the idea of waving Alex off through the pink front door.

There is something strangely reassuring about having Alex here. Even though he is dead.

I know how absurd that sounds. Im not even talking about removing his ashes from the flat.

What I mean is, for many years I have felt his presence here, in this place where he died, and at last  though I know it will be difficult  it is time for him to go.

It was 11 years ago that Alex killed himself, after a bout of depression. Wed been together for ten years and he was the love of my life. Yet since that terrible day, Ive often wondered if he really left. Is his ghost still here? If so, after more than a decade, I need it to move on.

Thats why Ive called in famous house healer Amaryllis Fraser, a 50-year-old former Vogue model-turned-psychic medium, who refers to herself as an upmarket cleaning lady.

Shes more used to clearing ghosts from castles and stately homes  she helped the Duchess of Rutland at Belvoir Castle, and Countess Karen Spencer recently requested her services at her new home, after splitting from Charles Spencer. But ghosts dont just haunt the aristocracy.

Soon after the death of her partner, Charlotte Cripps found weird things happening in the house they had shared

As Im waiting nervously for Amaryllis to arrive, I have a quiet word with Alex, telling him to hide while shes here and reappear after the exorcism. Even to myself I sound quite mad  and yet deep down I believe he is listening to me.

Of course he lives on in our children, Lola, nine, and Liberty, seven, though they never met their father. At the time of his death in 2014, I was 38, he was 48 and we were in the midst of fertility treatment. Several years later, I had the girls via IVF with his banked sperm.

Ever since, as joyous as single motherhood has been, my life has been a whirlwind of juggling  of babies, toddlers, work, school  and to be honest that is part of the problem. I havent had the time to properly process Alexs death and the idea of him leaving me now  in spirit at least  triggers my grief all over again.

I did have some bereavement therapy when I first got pregnant in 2015, but it takes longer than the 12 sessions I had to heal. Instead I compartmentalised the enormity of what had happened, putting it in a box in the back of my mind. I didnt get over it, but made Alex a part of the furniture. A ghost. Still with me.

And that means Im stuck. Now the children are older, I am open to the idea of a new relationship, but Alex looms over everything.

Its not just psychological. Weird things started to happen soon after he died. First, I had this inexplicable feeling he was in the kitchen with me as I unloaded the dishwasher  a change in the energy around me, and inside me, as though my vibrational energy, the phrase used by spiritualists to describe your emotional wellness, was changing. A stream of cold air wrapped itself around me.

This has since happened regularly in different rooms.

Then, a few years ago, Alexs cousin swore blind hed seen a fleeting figure in the hallway that looked just like Alex. It got more spooky when I tried to move Alexs mountainous collection of DVDs to the front door to take them to the charity shop.

Charlotte at home in front of a portrait of her true love, late partner Alex

As I set the last few down, a helium balloon from my daughter Lolas birthday moved itself across the hallway and perched on top of his favourite film, Dr Zhivago.

There were the flip-flops that thudded to the floor from the top of a cupboard when his name was mentioned in an adjoining room. The light on the mirror in my en-suite bathroom that regularly clicked on and off in the middle of the night when I lay awake worrying about getting pregnant, as I often did  as if to jolt me out of my negative thinking.

Our children tell friends at school that Daddy comes back as a butterfly because theyve often landed on us and act in a very strange way, jumping from me to the children, and even sitting on Muggless head. Is it possible hes stuck too? Perhaps Amaryllis can help us both to move on.

When she arrives at my front door, bright and breezy with a leather bag full of crystals and a pendulum used for dowsing, Im shocked to hear Alex has already been in communication with her.

They spoke while she was at the airport, on her way back for our appointment, after a trip to France. He knows she is coming to visit his house and confirmed it is him Ive been feeling all these years. I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

Amaryllis says she can clear negative imprinted energy and restore a houses harmony through a form of Reiki, the Japanese energy healing practice.

She helps spirits move on by communicating with them and her spirit guides, and can also facilitate a release from events that are blocking the positive energy in a home.

Alex lives on in his children, Lola, nine, and Liberty, seven, though they never met their father. At the time of his death in 2014, the couple were in the midst of fertility treatment. Several years later, Charlotte had the girls via IVF with his banked sperm

Her services help when houses wont sell, for example. Sometimes, she explains there is a heavy, unsettled or uninviting energy in a house  the echoes of deceased emotions  that can be evidence of ghostly activity.

Before Ive even had a chance to make her a cup of coffee, she reads out a verbatim note, jotted down on her phone, of what Alex supposedly told her at the airport.

I know what its like not getting things together, he said. Immediately my mind goes to his struggle to get back to work after depression. My head got into such a dark place, Amaryllis goes on. I was ashamed of the lack of strength I had. The shame is what kills you. A darkness crept over me. A moment of madness. Charlotte anchored me many a time, probably more than she knows. But she knows.

Amaryllis says he asked her to help me understand there is no such thing as separation when we die. Even if he moves on from being glued to me and the flat, which she senses is the case, we can always stay in touch.

Ive always been open to the supernatural  Ive seen clairvoyants and used to read Tarot cards for fun  but this is blowing my mind.

Can I really be expected to believe Alex has been nattering away to her in an airport lounge  and is ready to let go, too? Yet what she tells me rings true in terms of his mindset at the end.

Amaryllis claims to have seen ghosts since she was a child, but only began to develop her psychic abilities aged 18, after a car crash that changed her psychologically and spiritually so that she was more open to conversing with spirits and becoming clairvoyant.

She advises that if people sense a spirit in their own home, and it feels uncomfortable and like something is off, its important to stay calm, rather than fearful, and positively state to them: I am aware youre here in my home. Please look for the light. But ghostbusting is generally a far more complex procedure  and best left to the experts, she says.

Now she moves around the kitchen, waving her hands to clear its energy, and occasionally chuckling at whatever she alone is hearing from the spirit world.

Through communicating with spirits, I guide them away from the home to another plane, she tells me.

My house clearing, she hopes, will give me a blank canvas to begin to create a new life, a renewed sense of peace, and a freedom from grief.

It will also help things speed into positivity and clear any adversities that may be present in your life, she adds in the peculiar syntax of the spiritualist.

Then she reaches my bedroom door and suddenly comes to a halt. I havent told her  or ever mentioned before in anything Ive written as a journalist  that this is where Alex died. Yet Amaryllis senses it. Its all in here, she says. It feels very heavy.

To find different energies and confirm her gut instincts, she gently swings a pendulum  a necklace-like chain with a gold teardrop shape at the end.

If it starts to whizz around clockwise, it essentially confirms what shes feeling, and if it goes anti-clockwise, shes on the wrong track.

This is also the room my 92-year-old father stayed in for six months last year while I looked after him as he came to the end of his life. Hes not here now, says Amaryllis. Alex is.

She asks me to leave the bedroom so she can start clearing it. As I sit in the kitchen for 45 minutes, I feel strangely left out, as if Amaryllis and Alex are having a secret chinwag without me.

Then she calls me into the bedroom where, rather embarrassingly, shes flung open the doors on my messily hung, rammed-packed wardrobe. Apparently, Alex asked her to find a message inside it.

Lying on top of a pile is a Cinderella T-shirt I sometimes wear in bed, with the words The clock strikes midnight on it. Thats the clue, she says. Im about to start a new relationship  as if a fairytale dream life awaits me.

Its real, Alex tells me, through her. He still loves me, he says, but now its my time to be looked after, adored and loved. He is ready to move on, says Amaryllis, but only because I am ready.

Alex asks her to keep her phone on at night so she can text me if he has any messages to pass on. You do that for your kids, he apparently jokes.

It sounds absurd but its the kind of joke Alex would have made. Then it descends even further into farce. Apparently, now Alex has let go, he gets to choose what he wants to do in the spirit world  a sort of job, if you like.

Apparently what he wants to do now is help those whove ended their lives to seek the light too.

She tells me Alex will give me a dramatic sign all this is real when shes gone, in a private moment before the end of the day.

Then she moves around the rest of the flat doing what she describes as lighter dusting after a deep clean, before sitting down with me at the kitchen table. By this point, Im feeling very emotional  baffled but I do feel strangely lighter too.

Alex wasnt stuck, says Amaryllis, but he was hovering around a lot with you because your vibrational fields were very much attached.

It will now feel different, she says, and I gulp back tears. Its going to be strange living here without him.

Yet perhaps I wont have to. Just because Alex has been helped to another plane, it doesnt mean I cant sometimes sense him.

It defines a better state of clarity for both your energies, says Amaryllis. Hes at one, in a state of peace, which makes it easier to call for him to ask for help.

Later that day, after Amaryllis has left, my daughter Liberty goes to bed in my bedroom, and I turn off the lights. Im working in the next-door room, with elder daughter Lola, reading in her bunk bed, when about 15 minutes later, Liberty wakes up and calls out. Mummy, quick, come into the bedroom. The lights have magically turned themselves on! I run in. All the spotlights are on at full strength

The girls are bemused but have no idea of the significance. I quickly text Amaryllis  Its happened, Alex did something dramatic!  but, of course, it doesnt surprise her. She sees it all the time.

A week later, another bizarre episode occurs. A new male friend in my life, who Ive just met, told me something very strange happened. He felt like he was pulled out of bed by his arms and landed with a thud on his floor, with his bedside table and light falling on top of him. Hed never had anything like this happen before.

I took a gulp. Oh no, is it connected to Alex? I secretly wondered. Its the first time Ive spent so much time with another man since Alex died  weve been spending time with our kids, as both of us are single parents, and getting very close.

I texted Amaryllis, who confirmed, Yes, it is Alex, who was being protective of me. She told me I must tell Alex I do not need protecting and he must not do that again. I chuckled to myself: He sure still has a sense of humour. It didnt really comfort me  I dont want him scaring off male rivals with his dramatic showy performances, even if he didnt mean any harm.

Id wanted him to appear to Amaryllis  and jump out at her from the hallway like a real ghost  to prove he was there, but since the house clearing, Ive got all the evidence I needed.

I just hope its his swan song, and not a regular thing, or Ill have to get Amaryllis to talk to him. But Im happy Alex has got my back.

Hell always be my true love.

And the fact is I do feel better, as if a new era is beginning. Whether what Amaryllis did was real or not, it has been therapeutic. Im comforted by the thought Alex is somewhere nearby, but I also believe he is no longer connected to me so closely that Im unable to live my life freely. That feels good. A goodbye at last.
Disney World's newest attraction has been brutally slammed by riders, who branded it as 'straight garbage' and 'lazy' following its debut on Friday.

The beloved theme park's brand new 4D show, entitled Zootopia: Better Zoogether!, is finally here after months of anticipation.

However, many guests were left disappointed by the newest addition to the park, and took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their outrage after experiencing it for the first time.

The show, which is the first Zootopia-themed attraction at Disney World, replaced the It's Tough to Be a Bug! show in the Tree of Life Theater at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

It allows guests to 'celebrate Zoogether Day' with fan-favorite characters Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde.

But reviews were mixed following its grand opening last week.

'Zootopia: Better Zoogether! is straight garbage,' raged one user. 'This is my least favorite attraction on property.

'It's a horrible clip montage with no overarching theme, [and the] pacing [is] too fast to keep up with on the dim screen and [in] 3D.

Disney World's newest attraction Zootopia: Better Zoogether! has been brutally slammed by riders, who branded it as 'straight garbage' and 'lazy' following its debut on Friday

The 4D show, which is the first Zootopia-themed attraction at Disney World, replaced the It's Tough to Be a Bug! show in the Tree of Life Theater at Disney's Animal Kingdom (stock image)

'An absurdly awful song, corny writing, and zero attempt to fit [Animal Kingdom's theme].'

'I found it frantic and the sound balance was horrible all I could hear was the sound effects and music and not any dialogue,' chimed in another.

'The show honestly is straight trash and should not be in the park period,' someone else penned.

'I thought it was horrible. It's definitely not an improvement over It's Tough to be a Bug! It's a one a done kind of show,' read a fourth post.

'Besides the [animatronic], the show is a cheap, poorly put together Disney+ clip show reusing the typical 3D tricks,' someone else wrote in a review.

'Will the kids like it sure. Could they have done better absolutely!'

'Hey I understand things cost money, time and everything has a budget. But this was lazy, elementary and didn't pay tribute to the park it's in,' they added.

'The Zootopia movie has nothing to do with animal problems or about Animal Kingdom's message, but you can make a good show with the Zootopia characters that reflects the parks message and core. This is just slapped together and anyone could have produced it.'

Many guests were left disappointed by the newest addition to the park, and took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their outrage after experiencing it for the first time

It allows guests to 'celebrate Zoogether Day' with fan-favorite characters Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde

Others also slammed the show for not having anything about conservation in its message, a recurring theme throughout most of Animal Kingdom.

'Zootopia: Better Zoogether! is the perfect example of how this company is run by bean counters with total disregard for thematic integrity,' scathed a different user.

'Zootopia as an IP could work if done right, but the new show has nothing to do with conservation, nor the park's overall message.'

Another post said: 'The Zootopia show is definitely entertaining and will be a hit for younger audiences. [But] I'm sad over the lack of a strong conservation message.'

Some people, however, came to the new attraction's defense, pointing out that all of the social media users who were bashing it are adults when it's actually made for kids.

'When will you guys get you're not the target audience for this attraction?' a user asked in response to one of the negative posts.

'My kids liked it so sorry bro almost like it wasn't meant for you or something,' replied another.

The new show features an original song and an advanced Officer Clawhauser audio-animatronic like the one in the Zootopia: Hot Pursuit ride at Shanghai Disneyland

'Zootopia: Better Zoogether! is straight garbage,' raged one user. 'It's a horrible clip montage with no overarching theme, [and the] pacing [is] too fast to keep up with on the dim screen'

'I loved it,' announced someone else. 'It was an amazing and coming from a fan of the Zootopia movie.

'If you didn't like it I respect your opinion but then don't see it at all and let real Disney fans be excited about it.'

'The bug show was damn near empty year round, it wasn't drawing crowds. The show may not meet your standards due to nostalgia, but think about all the kids and families getting to experience this fresh for the first time. They are gonna have a blast. This is who it's for' pointed out a different Disney fan.

'This show was cute and my niece who is seven loved it,' shared another.

'For the average family with young kids, this show has high-energy moments, recognizable characters and it is noticeably less scary than the former show,' read a different post.

It's Tough to Be a Bug!, which had been enjoyed by park goers for 27 years before it closed in March, allowed guests to shrink to the size of an insect and learn about human-insect coexistence.

The new show features an original song and an advanced Officer Clawhauser audio-animatronic like the one in the Zootopia: Hot Pursuit ride at Shanghai Disneyland.

'The time has come for citizens from every biome in Zootopia to come together for fur-ocious fun in honor of Zoogether Day,' reads a description.

'From special performances across Zootopia to an epic musical finale, come ready to leap, laugh and let loose.

'It's the perfect way for your pack, pride or herd to celebrate how we are all better zoogether.'
The View's Ana Navarro hit out at 'bully' Donald Trump for punishing 'suffering' Americans with the continued government shutdown in a furious rant.

In a blistering attack on Monday's show, the 53-year-old co-host pleaded with Americans to 'demand better' from the president as thousands of federal employees continue to go without pay leaving many forced to go to food banks.

Launching into an impassioned speech, Navarro called out the 'ridiculous' and 'shameful' situation and scolded Trump, 79, for attending a 'fancy party' over the weekend amid the ongoing chaos.

'I lay this on Donald Trump because the one that has the biggest bully pulpit here is Donald Trump,' she began.

'He is the president of the United States, much to my chagrin, but means he has the responsibility to lead, to convene Republicans and Democrats, sit them around a table and have them craft a deal.

'But you know what Donald Trump was doing this weekend?... This weekend, he was hosting another fancy party with towers of seafood and champagne.

'The president of Argentina was at the fancy party this weekend dancing happily. You know why? Because Donald Trump bailed him out with $40 billion of your U.S. taxpayer money while he refuses to fund Snap [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] benefits.'

Navarro argued that Trump is swapping one group of suffering Americans for another and warned that the lives of many will be disastrously impacted by his actions.

Ana Navarro obliterated Donald Trump in a blistering speech on The View on Monday morning

The government has been at deadlock for 40 days, the longest on record in American history

'If people drop out of insurance, not only will it be the death of Obamacare, it will [also] be the death of Americans because people will not go get screenings,' she continued.

'People will get diagnosed with later stages of cancer and this will cost lives.'

'We must demand better starting with Donald Trump,' she added defiantly.

Fellow co-host Sunny Hostin agreed but went even further and argued that Trump 'does not care.'

She said: 'We're not going to get better because with Donald Trump, cruelty is the point. He does not care. It's a Republican choice.

'The last thing I'll say about the federal workers, there's a 2019 law that requires the federal government to pay federal workers.'

Whoopi Goldberg was just as irate.

'This is the richest country in the world, and somebody had the nerve to write we're out of money,' she said before later furiously asking, 'What the hell is going on in this country?'

Navarro blasted Trump and urged the American people to 'demand better' from him

Slamming her hands on the desk, she asked again: 'What the hell is going on in this country?'

Major delays continue to plague US airports as the record-breaking government shutdown continues.

Thousands of flights have been impacted by the federal labor shortages, sparking travel misery across the country as the holiday season approaches.

As of 10.30am Monday, the exact number of flight cancellations stood at 1,960, and total flight delays stood at an astounding 13,433, according to FlightAware.com.

Both those numbers are likely to increase over the course of the day.

The lengthy government shutdown is the result of a dispute over funding allocations between Congress Democrats and Republicans.

On Sunday, the Senate voted to break the record-long shutdown, but that vote was just the first step to reopen the government.
Russell Crowe has opened up about his debilitating health woes while revealing the secrets to his staggering 55-pound weight loss.

The actor, 61, appeared on the latest episode of Joe Rogan's podcast, during which he detailed his recent struggles and impressive body transformation.

While speaking to the podcaster, he explained that because of numerous 'old injuries,' his shoulders had become 'deeply arthritic,' which made it hard for him to workout.

But he said that he's been working with the wellness company Ways2Well, which has helped him immensely.

The Texas based brand, founded by Brigham Buhler, uses 'innovative diagnostic testing, physician-guided treatment plans and a focus on whole-body wellness' to 'help individuals take control of their health' and provide 'advanced, preventive care that go beyond traditional healthcare models,' per its website.

Crowe said he's been getting 'injections' in his shoulders and knees, as well as 'IVs' that have 'calmed down his body's inflammation.'

He also revealed that he lost 55 pounds since he wrapped filming the movie Nuremberg, which premiered earlier this week.

'I was [277 pounds] when I finished Nuremberg. I'm [222] right now,' he shared.

Russell Crowe has opened up about his debilitating health woes while revealing the secrets to his staggering 55-pound weight loss on the latest episode of Joe Rogan 's podcast

While speaking to the podcaster, he explained that he had lost 55 pounds since he wrapped filming the movie Nuremberg, which premiered earlier this week. He's seen in the film

'A lot of [my weight loss] is because you introduced me to your mate Brigham [Buhler] from Ways2Well,' Crowe continued.

'I've connected with them about five times since we first met.'

The Beautiful Mind star added that ultrasounds have showed that his arthritis has 'lessened by about 70 percent' since he started working with Ways2Well.

'So my range of motion [is much better]... Ways2Well was a great call for me,' he said.

'It's calmed down a lot of stuff and taken a lot of pain away from me so I can work out and not have to suffer for two to three hours afterwards.'

Crowe explained that he had to work out three times a day to prepare for his role in the upcoming Highlander reboot, but added that he knew that was not something he could continue long-term.

'That, for me, is a bad recipe. I can do that for X amount of time but once I stop I'm going to stop completely. What I want to do is make all these changes long-term,' he added.

Elsewhere in the interview, Crowe revealed that he has also cut back on his consumption of alcohol as of late.

'I was [277 pounds] when I finished Nuremberg. I'm [222] right now,' he shared. He's seen left in Nuremberg and right during the podcast

He went on to credit wellness company Ways2Well, founded by Brigham Buhler (r), with helping him lose the weight

The Beautiful Mind star (seen last month) said he had been getting 'injections' in his shoulders and knees to combat arthritis

'I'm a big proponent for having a drink. It's my cultural heritage and as a working-class man, it's my goddamn right,' he joked.

'But as you get older, there are certain things you start to learn about your capacities...

'Now that I'm an older guy, I know that one night a week, if I'm having fun, is plenty. I try to cut out the interstitial stuff.

'I try not to have casual drinks now, having a drink for the sake of it.'
A heart surgeon has revealed the top four things that you must avoid after you turn 40 for the sake of your health.

The crucial information was shared in a recent video posted to TikTok by Dr Jeremy London, a heart surgeon who is based in Georgia.

The doctor, who has over 25 years of clinical experience as a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon, garnered over 2.6 million views on his viral video.

And, it turns out that the first two things he recommends avoiding after the age of 40 actually apply to all ages.

Dr London suggested that everyone skip out on alcohol and smoking.

'If you really want to set the stage for yourself long-term, limit or remove alcohol,' he explained in the beginning of the video.

'It's toxic to every cell in the body,' he continued.

The surgeon admitted that he understood that it can be difficult for some to cut out alcohol, and that it was a 'personal choice'.

'If you really want to set the stage for yourself long-term, limit or remove alcohol,' he explained in the beginning of the video (stock image)

'Just be thoughtful,' he suggested.

He shared similar points about smoking and vaping.

'I don't think anybody would disagree that it's bad for you,' Dr London explained.

'It increases your risk of lung cancer, heart attack, and stroke, don't vape, don't smoke,' he said.

And third on his list of things to avoid after you turn 40?

'Don't trade sleep for other activities,' he warned, as he acknowledged that this can be something even he has trouble with.

Though, rest is something that people really need to make a priority, the doctor said, especially as we age.

'Recovery is so important throughout our lives, but it's really important as we get older,' he explained.

'Focus and nurture on your relationships with the people you care about and love, because in the end, that's what truly matters,' he shared (stock image)

Last but not least, Dr London urged viewers over the age of 40 to 'avoid toxic people.'

'Focus and nurture on your relationships with the people you care about and love, because in the end, that's what truly matters,' he shared.

In the comments section, many seemed to agree with the doctor, as they echoed his advice.

'Quitting alcohol seems hard at first because it's so cultural, but it's so worth it to quit/reduce drinking. Better sleep, better body, skin looks better. No hangovers. Improvements in every way,' one person wrote.

Another seconded, 'Love the last point the most. People don't understand how bad a toxic relationship can be in your health.'

'The most important point here for people in US is the sleep. Overworked and overburdened people, and no one takes it seriously,' someone else typed.

One commenter wrote, 'My husband and I don't drink because we just don't feel the need or care for it. Our skin looks wonderful lol.'
Bill Maher voiced his support for the massive missile-defense initiative put forward by President Donald Trump in a surprisingly direct segment of his Friday night show.

Trump has proposed a $180 billion defense system - dubbed the Golden Dome that would protect the US from the world's most powerful weapons.

'I have a problem if we don't build it: just because Trump thought of it, I'm not against it,' Maher began.

'Something that would stop the increasing number of rogue missiles that are in this world from maybe coming over here and incinerating me? Yeah. Mark me down as a pro for that. I'm pro having.

'Now, can we do it? I don't know. He says it'll take three years and $180 billion. And they [Democrats] say, 'Well, that's bulls***' Of course, everything is over scheduled and never comes in on time or on budget, but that's to me a worthy thing.'

Trump's sweeping vision would see a kind of missile-defense umbrella erected over the US, capable of intercepting threats from space, hypersonic missiles, or long-range warheads.

A major defense contractor, Lockheed Martin, announced that it plans to demonstrate space-based interceptor missile capability by 2028.

The firm said that the Golden Dome initiative is 'a challenge unlike anything attempted at this scale or on this timeline, and we're moving fast to bring together connected C2 capabilities that work now,' according to the company's C2 director, Thad Beckert.

Bill Maher voiced support for the massive missile-defense initiative put forward by President Donald Trump in a surprisingly direct segment of his Friday-night Overtime show

Known as the Golden Dome, the $180 billion defense system would protect the US from the world's most powerful weapons

Trump's sweeping vision would see a kind of missile-defense umbrella erected over the US, capable of intercepting threats from space, hypersonic missiles, or long-range warheads

Trump has publicly placed the project timeline at three years although analysts warn the real expense could soar far higher than the projected $180 billion.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the initiative could cost up to $540 billion over the next two decades.

Meanwhile, a non-governmental estimate puts possible total funding at as high as $500 billion.

Congress already approved around $24.4 billion of funding for the Golden Dome program via what Trump calls his 'One Big, Beautiful Bill.'

As a liberal talk-show host, Maher's remarks could be seen as coming out of left field as he voices support for one of Trump's biggest defense-spending plans.

Trump's critics point to the plans stratospheric cost and the historical precedent of major defense initiatives such as the Strategic Defense Initiative - better known as 'Star Wars' under President Ronald Reagan, which was ultimately cancelled.

\The Golden Dome, Lockheed notes, is leveraging decades of 'investments and industry partnerships' and aims for testing by 2028.

Trump has framed the project in dramatic terms: 'This is very important for the success and even survival of our country. It's a pretty evil world out there,' he said, and has promised the system when complete would deliver 'close to 100 percent protection' of the US.

Posters for the proposed Golden Dome for America missile defense shield are seen in the White House

Trump's Golden Dome appears to draw inspiration from Israel's 'Iron Dome,' which protects the country against attacks by shooting missiles out of the sky.

In 1983, former President Ronald Reagan addressed the nation from the Oval Office to detail his plan for the SDI, which involved a missile defense program based in space.

Trump first announced the Golden Dome initiative in May, expressing his desire to create a system similar to Israel's Iron Dome, which has proved vital in its war with Hamas.

The missile defense system, along with others, has been praised for shooting down ballistic missiles launched at Israel from Iran and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

The U.S. Golden Dome project will feature a vast array of sensors, satellites, land and space-based weapons that all work together to identify and neutralize targets.
Netflix's new hit period drama Death by Lightning is earning rave reviews - but viewers say they've been struck by a glaring, 'woke' rewrite of history.

The four-part series, which follows the events leading to the 1881 assassination of President James Garfield and the motives of his killer, debuted Thursday to critical acclaim.

But within minutes of the premiere, eagle-eyed viewers were calling out apparent inaccuracies. An establishing shot shows an Asian woman, two black men, a black woman and an amputee all strolling the streets of Gilded Age-era Chicago.

YouTuber Craig Richard Skistimas quickly explained why the scene was yet another Hollywood invention.

'It immediately stuck out to me, so I looked up the actual demographics for Chicago in 1880. Here's what the numbers say,' he said on X.

The information cited in his post showed how Chicago's population in 1880 was about 503,000, with black people comprising about 1.3 percent of that number, with around 6,500 citizens.

He added that Asian people made up just 0.03 percent of the overall population in Chicago at the time.

'So if you ran the math on the odds of seeing all of that - an Asian woman, two Black men, and an amputee - in one random 50-person crowd downtown, it comes out to about 0.00016 percent, or roughly 1 in 640,000,' Skistimas declared.

Netflix's new hit historical drama Death by Lightning came out on the streaming service Thursday. The period drama surrounding the assassination of James Garfield begins with this shot in Gilded Age-era Chicago

'In other words, Netflix made a scene that's about as statistically likely as spotting a UFO on your morning commute - but hey, at least the diversity box got checked.'

The post, published late Sunday, has already amassed more than 2million views.

As it picked up steam, Skistimas revealed in a follow-up how he miscalculated, making unlikely cast of characters even more unlikely than he initially thought.

'I looked closer - it's actually two Black men and a Black woman, not just two men. So I re-ran the math,' he observed.

'With that correction, the odds of this exact group (Asian woman + 2 Black men + 1 Black woman + one-legged man) randomly walking together in 1880 Chicago? About 1 in 2.4 million.

'Netflix didn't just bend history - they straight-up violated statistics.'

Census records indicate Chicagos Black population in 1880 numbered somewhere between several hundred and about 8,000, while just 172 Chinese residents were recorded  though the actresss ethnicity has not been confirmed.

Skistimas went on to add he had spotted another oversight, after realizing the Chinese extra was dressed as if she were 'an upper-class socialite while casually walking beside a black guy in 1880 Chicago.'

YouTuber Craig Richard Skistimas crunched some numbers on X to show how unlikely the cast of characters in the establishing shot would have been

The four-part series that seeks to recount the events that led up to President James Garfield's assassination in 1881. Garfield is played by Michael Shannon

'Let's be clear - that would've been impossible. There were maybe 5 Chinese women in the entire city, none mingling publicly, and certainly not strolling downtown arm-in-arm with anyone outside Chinatown,' Skistimas explained.

He went on to share another still from the start of the show's first episode - a disclaimer to viewers that told them what they were about to watch was a 'true story.'

'The show opens with this screen: 'This is a true story about two men the world forgot,' Skistimas wrote, receiving hundreds of thousands of views.

'So when Netflix inserts a statistically impossible, 2024-style 'diverse' crowd into 1880 Chicago, it's not artistic license - it's rewriting history while calling it 'true.''

He added: 'I don't care if a Black man and a Chinese woman walk together on screen - that's not the issue. What's ridiculous is how blatantly tokenized it is. This shot isn't part of the story, it's just tossed in to check boxes.'

The influencer went on to concede that the rest of the star-studded series 'sticks closely to historical accuracy.'

'[E]very delegate and politician is white, as they were in 1880. Then suddenly, in the establishing shot, Netflix drops in a 'diverse' mix that would've been statistically impossible,' he wrote.

'That's not representation - that's lazy tokenism. And honestly, it does the entire movement a disservice.'

The story seeks to tell the true story via a dual narrative that also follows Garfield's killer Charles Guiteau, a failed lawyer played by Succession star Matthew Macfayden

All four episodes are available for streaming on Netflix. The show has been received well by critics

The show stars Mad Men's Michael Shannon as Garfield and Succession's Matthew Macfadyen as assassin Charles Guiteau.

In an interview with USA Today on Friday, creator Mike Makowsky maintained that he did not need to add much to change much to the true story to make the show accessible.

'These situations are insane and so unfathomable by today's standards [and] how we understand our politics,' he said as the budget for the splashy production has yet to be disclosed.

All four episodes are available for streaming on Netflix.
A Texas TV station that touts itself as Houston's most trusted news source has taken on the unusual step of partnering with a social media influencer known for reporting from the 'hood.'

KPRC-TV, the NBC affiliate in America's fourth largest city, has hired 'Grizzy's Hood News,' channel 2 announced last week.

With over 1.3 million followers on Facebook, Grizzy's Hood News started off as a local page by about news 'in the hood' by Griselda Castillo in 2019, but she has since amassed a huge following and influence in the Bayou City.

The Houston native, 46, has been open about what she has described as her tough childhood in Northeast Houston and criminal past.

While attending the University of Houston, Castillo was arrested and pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery in 2003, she told a school publication.

'I wish somebody would have stopped me back then. I wish there was a Hood News that would have stopped me in my (curse word) because I would have never had to do a seven-year sentence for aggravated robbery,' she told a podcast in March.

Her background that would normally disqualify most people who want to be reporters and must have clean records for employment.

'Lol...really scraping the bottom of the barrel. I can't wait to see how this goes,' posted Jon Riveira when KPRC announced the partnership with Castillo.

The announcement itself generated over 1,000 comments on the station's Facebook page with a mix of negative and positive reactions.

Griselda Castillo started 'Grizzy's Hood News' in 2019, posting about events and tip in her neighborhood in Houston, Texas

KPRC announced its partnership with Grizzy's Hood News last week, generating many negative and positive responses from viewers of Channel 2

'This is a partnership, not a takeover. Grizzys Hood News remains independent of KPRC, just as KPRC will not be controlled by Grizzy. People follow Grizzy because she is authentic, and that authenticity is something we respect and will not try to change,' the station's news director Ana Lastra told Daily Mail Tuesday.

Castillo has been open about her aggravated robbery plea in 2003 while she was in college, followed by a seven-year prison sentence, she has said in previous interviews

It's unclear if Castillo has journalism experience, as she earned an associated degree from Houston Community College and later became a paralegal.

Castillo did not respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.

'Risky because Channel two will have to take responsibility for her content. Hoping they will screen it before they put on the air,' commented MaLinda Lee Evans about KPRC using Grizzy's information.

Grizzy clapped back replying, 'You have no clue whatsoever how it works. I don't sit here and lie on folks.'

Responding to online criticism is something most TV journalists are traditionally discouraged from doing, if not explicitly banned from doing by employers.

'I've heard both praise and criticism, including concerns that Grizzy might become "mainstream media" or that our standards could slip. We take that feedback seriously,' Lastra added.

'Our editorial standards and vetting processes stay the same for any content we collaborate on. Likewise, Grizzy follows her own standards for her platform.'

Despite her non-traditional background, Grizzy's Hood News often has information on big stories before Houston's TV stations have it, as cops and locals send tips to her over established news outlets.

KPRC, also known as Click2Houston, is Houston's NBC affiliate. It announced last week it's began a partnership with 'Grizzy's Hood News'

Griselda Castillo, 46, poses with members for the Northwest Volunteer Fire Department

Castillo has made it a point to brag about not being a part of the main stream media or 'MSM' in the past, as she said during a profile written by the school district she attended as a child.

However, collecting a pay check from a local station owned by Graham Media is as mainstream as it gets.

Graham is headquartered in Detroit and operates newsrooms in six US states, including Texas and Florida.

'The goal is to expand how we serve Houstonians,' Lastra explained.

'As newsrooms across the country shrink, KPRC 2 is investing in hyperlocal community reporting. We're hiring more reporters and creating new workflows to increase content distribution while exploring responsible partnerships. This allows us to broaden our reach and connect us more deeply with communities through collaborative reporting, sharing tips, amplifying stories, and trying different formats without sacrificing factchecking and editorial review.'
Toyota has unveiled the ninth generation of one of its all-time best-selling vehicles which has been snapped up by more than 21 million customers worldwide - and confirmed it will be going electric for 2026.

Famous for being 'indestructible' when Jeremy Clarkson failed to destroy one as part of a memorable Top Gear feature 20 years ago, the model has been a reliable workhorse loved all around the world for 53 years.

But in 2026 the Toyota Hilux will enter a new era, with the Japanese company announcing it will sell a full-electric variant alongside a conventional diesel model.

And it won't stop there; by 2028, bosses also confirm there will be a hydrogen fuel cell version too, making the legendary Toyota pick-up one of the greenest commercial vehicles on the market.

Executives said the new generation of its 'global icon' will continue to offer 'strength, reliability and lasting quality' despite its newfound electrification.

But new taxation rules imposed by Rachel Reeves in April will make the truck less appealing to Britons.

This is the new ninth-generation Toyota Hilux - and it's available as an EV. Despite its newfound electrification, bosses are adamant it will continue to offer 'strength, reliability and lasting quality'

The robustness of the Hilux was made famous during season 6 of BBC Top Gear when Jeremy Clarkson failed in his attempt to kill one (pictured) after submerging it in the sea, dropping a caravan on top of it, and letting it fall from a demolished 23-stroey block of flats

Confirmation of an EV and hydrogen fuel cell variant of the new Hilux is part of Toyota's 'multipath philosophy' to give customers 'multiple powertrain options to best meet their needs and local driving conditions'.

The most popular in Europe - and worldwide - will be the diesel, which will be available first from around the middle of next year.

However, even this powertrain has absorbed a form of electrification and will be sold exclusively with mild hybrid support.

It will use the same 2.8-litre 48V setup used in the current Hilux, featuring a small 48-volt lithium-ion battery - which is located under the floor beneath the rear seats as to not compromise interior space - and an electric motor to support the combustion engine.

Toyota says it will deliver 'smooth, quiet and refined performance' in both on and off-road driving and despite its electrification retains a 700mm wading depth.

In this more conventional guise, it will be able to carry up to one tonne in its bed and tow braked trailers up to 3,500kg in weight.

The Japanese company on Monday announced a full-electric Hilux BEV that will be sold alongside a mild-hybrid diesel. And it won't stop there; by 2028, bosses also confirm there will be a hydrogen fuel cell version, too

The Hilux has been available across eight generations dating back to 1972. Toyota has sold over 21 million examples globally since then

Its capabilities off-road will be bolstered by Toyota's 'Multi-Terrain Select' system - the first time a Hilux gets this clever setup.

At the switch of a button, drivers can optimise the vehicle's characteristics - including throttle response, traction control, and braking - for a number of specific surface types: mud, sand, rock, dirt, or deep snow.

There's an 'auto' mode too, which automatically detects the driving conditions and spares drivers from needing to switch between different adaptable settings.

The most popular in Europe - and worldwide - will be the mild-hybrid diesel option, which will be available first from around the middle of next year

Motorists will be able to tell it apart from the EV variant by its grille, with the Hilux BEV having a flush panel across its face

 Slide me  In this more conventional diesel guise, the new Hilux will be able to carry up to one tonne in its bed and tow braked trailers up to 3,500kg in weight. The Hilux BEV doesn't match these capabiities - in fact, it can tow less than half the maximum weight of the diesel

But the big talking point is the fully electric Hilux BEV [Battery Electric Vehicle] variant, which will rival other EV pick-ups sold in overseas markets, namely the Ford F150 Lightning and Rivian R1T in the US.

Toyota says the move into the EV market is a 'breakthrough innovation for Hilux' without sacrificing 'any of the model's renowned quality, durability and reliability'.

It uses a 59.2kWh lithium-ion battery and a pair of e-motors - one on each axle - to provide permanent all-wheel drive.

But range will be limited at 'approximately 150 miles' between charges.

While this is well short of the 300-mile average for new models arriving in 2025, it should still be enough for a hard day's graft on farmland and general use away from the tarmac.

Toyota too says it will have 'best-in-class charging capabilities' to minimise vehicle down-time, though has yet to reveal how quickly the batteries can be replenished.

While the front electric motor generates 205Nm of torque, it will be slightly rear bias with the back axle putting out 268.6Nm.

Toyota says 'tentative' data based on its prototypes suggest it will be able to carry 715kg on weight - 285kg less than the diesel - and have a 1,600kg towing capacity, which is less than half what the conventional 2.8D can haul.

The Hilux BEV has a 59.2kWh lithium-ion battery and a pair of e-motors - one on each axle - to provide permanent all-wheel drive. But range will be limited at 'approximately 150 miles'

Toyota too says it will have 'best-in-class charging capabilities' to minimise vehicle down-time, though has yet to reveal how quickly the batteries can be replenished

While this is well short of the 300-mile average for new models arriving in 2025, it should still be enough for a hard day's graft on farmland and general use away from the tarmac

Like the diesel, it uses the Hilux's signature 'body-on-frame' construction with its primary focus on off-road performance.

Specific measures have also been put in place to protect the battery from damage and water ingress, which means the Hilux EV matches the 700mm wading depth offered by the combustion-engine variant.

It also gets the Multi-Terrain Select system. But while the diesel's off-road controls are grouped on the interior centre console for ease of operation, the Hilux EV uses a single-action shift-by-wire drive selector.

The 2026 model is the first Hilux equipped with electric power steering, providing 'more direct operation, easier manoeuvrability and less risk of kick-back when driving over uneven ground,' Toyota says.

The Mk9 Hilux will also boast a suite of new assisted driving safety technology.

Toyota continues to back hydrogen fuel cell tech

The Japanese car giant has been one of the front runners in terms of bringing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to market, having launched two generations of its Mirai FCEV in Europe.

However, steep pricing of 50,000 plus and a limited hydrogen filling station network has stunted its demand, especially against electric rivals like the Tesla Model 3, which is around 10,000 cheaper.

While these have been available in the UK since 2015, DVLA records show that just 88 are registered in Briton.

Yet, Toyota UK confirms that a hydrogen fuel cell electric Hilux is scheduled to arrive in 2028.

'The fuel cell Hilux will be a further demonstration of Toyota's commitment to realising the potential of hydrogen as a valuable source of clean energy and will add stimulus to a wider roll-out of hydrogen eco-systems and infrastructure in Europe,' the company said, though has yet to reveal any further details of the powertrain and its capabilities.

Toyota's electrification of the Hilux doesn't end with the BEV; by 2028, it will also sell a hydrogen fuel cell variant

'The fuel cell Hilux will be a further demonstration of Toyota's commitment to realising the potential of hydrogen as a valuable source of clean energy and will add stimulus to a wider roll-out of hydrogen eco-systems and infrastructure in Europe,' the Japanese marque said

A 'tough' look to go with its indestructible

Toyota says a new design for the ninth-generation Hilux is aimed at retaining its famous 'tough' identity.

This was dramatically bolstered by the Top Gear season six feature where Clarkson and sidekicks James May and Richard Hammond went to great lengths to attempt to destroy an ageing Hilux in an extreme durability test.

Having purchased the vehicle from a farmyard with 190,000 miles on the clock, the Toyota was running without issue, though showing some signs of corrosion on the body.

But to see if it was the most robust motor on the planet, it endured a number of 'tests' at the hands of the Top Gear presenters to see if it could be registered undrivable.

This included sending it down a flight of steps, crashing into a tree, and submerging it in the Bristol Channel to the point it needed to be winched free.

It was also dropped from a crane, driven head-on at speed into a wooden structure, hit with a wrecking ball, had a caravan dropped on top of it from a height, and set on fire.

Yet, using basic tools, the Hilux started after minor repairs.

In 2005, BBC's Top Gear attempted to permanently disable a Toyota Hilux, to no avail

The pick-up truck was crashed through a wooden shed at speed as part of the extreme BBC Top Gear test

The team even set the truck alight as part of the durability test of the Hilux, which has for a long time been regarded as one of the most durable vehicles of all time

Clarkson and co left the Hilux in the sea in Bristol (pictured), clobbered it with a wrecking ball and even dropped a caravan on top of it from a height

Even after falling from a 23-storey block of flats that was demolished, the Hilux's engine started after a little fettling by a team of mechanics using basic tools

Having far failed to permanently disable the Hilux op to that point, Clarkson went to a new extreme, arranging for the vehicle to be placed on the roof of a 23-storey building scheduled for demolition.

Following the explosive scene, the Hilux was recovered from the rubble showing significant body and mechanical damage.

With mechanics on hand again to see if they could spark the engine back to life, the diesel motor astonishingly started, with the Hilux victoriously limping into the Top Gear studio to a huge round of applause from the live audience.

Such was its feat of endurance, the vehicle was displayed as a decoration piece for the future seasons.

Toyota continues to play on that unbreakable reputation by giving the new Hilux a powerful front end that gives the 'visibly strong stance' customers and businesses want from a pick-up truck.

The reworked cockpit now has a central infotainment screen up to 12.3-inches and a digital and customisable driver's instrument cluster

The simple cabin layout is dominated by a new portrait centre console unit housing the adaptable driving surface settings

The redesign includes new slimmer headlight clusters that are connected by a central bar carrying the Toyota name badge.

With the EV not requiring the cooling benefits of a traditional grille, it instead has a flush panel across the front to tell it apart from the diesel.

It also rides on a unique alloy wheel design.

New features for all versions include a new rear deck step for easy access, while higher trim levels get a redesigned side step to make it aid occupants getting in and out.

The reworked cockpit now has a central infotainment screen up to 12.3-inches and a digital and customisable driver's instrument cluster.

Owners and businesses will also have access to remote and connected services using the MyToyota app.

For fleet operators, they will be able to track up to 10 Hilux using the application, which provides information about their location, fuel level and EV charging status, and driving analytics such as journey history.

BiK tax changes introduced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves are likely to restrict appetite for the new Hilux. We explain why...

Rachell Reeves tax change threatens Hilux demand in the UK

Toyota has confirmed the new generation Hilux will be sold exclusively as a double cab variant, which is said to be 'in line with customer preference'.

But for Britons, this could be a problem.

It means every Hilux will fall into a higher Benefit in Kind (BiK) company car tax band following changes introduced by the Chancellor earlier this year, with double cab pick-ups treated as 'cars' from 6 April.

Double cab pick-up trucks - which have five seats like a conventional family motor - had been popular amongst labourers because they previously qualified for fixed BIK rates for 'commercial vehicles'. But under new tax rules introduced by Rachel Reeves, they're now classified as cars and are therefore subject to higher taxation

This means they will be taxed on CO2 emissions and the vehicle's list price and will no longer benefit from low fixed BIK rates or eligible for tax relief claims.

The previous tax loophole had made it affordable for builders, farmers and traders to have a vehicle that can double as a personal car as well as a haulage vehicle, with the double cab providing seating for a family of five.

But with double cab pick-ups now subject to 37 per cent BIK rates, compared to previous fixed BIK rates for 'commercial vehicles' of 3,960 regardless of emissions or price, it will almost certainly restrict demand for the new Hilux in Britain.

Ford - which makes Europe's best-selling pick-up, the Ranger - slammed the Government's changes earlier this year, with a spokesperson telling the Daily Mail: 'The change in taxation to double-cab pick-up vehicles for benefit-in-kind and capital allowance purposes is a rash move by the Government that will have a big impact on UK business'.
A record proportion of second-hand car buyers are choosing pure electric models, new figures published on Monday show.

Britons snapped up 80,614 used EVs between July and September, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) confirmed in its latest market report.

It means EVs accounted for one in 25 second-hand car transactions (4 per cent) this summer, up from 2.8 per cent in the same three-month period in 2024.

A total of 2,021,265 used car transactions were recorded in the three months to the end of September, up 2.4 per cent from a year earlier.

However, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes warned that the Government plans to make vehicles obtained through Employee Car Ownership Schemes liable for company car tax could restrict the availability of used EVs and hamper the switch to electric motoring.

The motor industry body has also criticised the reported introduction of pay-per-mile taxation for EVs from 2028, which is due to be announced in Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Autumn Budget statement later this month.

Britons snapped up 80,614 used EVs between July and September, the SMMT confirmed in its latest market report

Petrol remained the best-selling fuel type among second-hand buyers, with transactions rising 1.9 per cent to 1,145,148 units between July and September.

In contrast, the used diesel market contracted by 2.8 per cent to 658,664 sales.

Transactions of conventional - self charging - hybrid cars rose by 30 per cent to 107,727 vehicles, while plug-in hybrids grew by 2 per cent to 23,480 second-hand sales, the official data shows.

Yet, despite the increase in availability and demand for used electric and hybrid vehicles, internal combustion engine cars still account for nine in ten pre-owned motors changing hands across the country.

But the SMMT has warned that the broader availability of quality 'nearly-new' year-old used motors could potentially become far more limited ahead of new rule changes set to be announced by the Chancellor.

Of all second-hand car transactions over the summer, 4% were EV models. That's up from 2.8% over the same period in 2024

It says 99,313 cars under a year old  a third of them electrified  changed hands in the last three months.

And many of these will have entered the used car market via employee car ownership schemes (ECOS) available to workers within the nation's automotive sector.

But this supply of the latest - greener - cars will be 'severely impacted' by the Government's plans to levy company car tax on ECOS vehicles, which would see new car registrations fall by around 80,000 units a year, it estimated, as it warned that and access to more sustainable motoring would be restricted.

'With used EV uptake at a record high, a robust used car market is essential for fleet renewal, and helps make electrified mobility more accessible for more motorists,' SMMT chief executive, Mike Hawes, said.

'However, overall consumer choice and affordability are at risk if the government scraps ECOS, a move that would stifle supply of the very latest vehicles into the used market and cut Exchequer revenue.'

The body has also spoken out on the impact of Ms Reeves' plan to introduce pay-per-mile taxation on EVs from 2028.

It would see all electric car owners charged 3p for every mile they drive on top of existing Vehicle Excise Duty rates, which currently stand at 195 a year.

The contentious move is aimed at recovering some of the lost revenue expected when more Britons switch to EVs, which will see fuel duty on every litre of petrol and diesel dry up for Treasury coffers.

A spokesperson for the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders told the Daily Mail last week 'We recognise the need for a new approach to motoring taxes but at such a pivotal moment in the UK's EV transition, this would be entirely the wrong measure at the wrong time.'

They added: 'A smarter, fair and future-ready taxation system requires a fundamental rethink  one that must be done in full partnership with the industry and other stakeholders.'

Commenting again today, Hawes stated: 'Britain needs fiscal policy that promotes rather than prevents economic growth, social mobility and decarbonisation.'
Shares in Diageo surged after it hired the former boss of Tesco to revive its fortunes.

Dave Lewis  whose reputation for cost-cutting has earned him the nickname 'Drastic Dave'  will take over as chief executive of the struggling drinks giant at the start of next year.

The appointment sent shares up 5.2 per cent, or 90p, to 1816.5p as investors backed him to emulate his success at Tesco and turn the Guinness and Smirnoff maker around.

Jefferies analyst Ed Mundy hailed the arrival of 'a heavyweight leader' while Richard Hunter, of Interactive Investor, described it as 'a potential inflection point' for Diageo.

The FTSE 100 giant, whose brands also include Captain Morgan and Johnnie Walker, has struggled since the death of former boss Ivan Menezes in 2023 amid weak demand and sluggish sales.

His successor, Debra Crew, lasted just two years before leaving abruptly in the summer, and shares crashed to a ten-year low last week following a bleak trading update under interim boss Nik Jhangiani.

Sir Dave Lewis spent almost three decades at Unilever before taking over at Tesco

Analysts believe the slump in value  to below 40billion last week from a peak of 90billion at the end of 2021  has left it vulnerable to predators looking to snap it up on the cheap.

It also underlines the scale of the task facing Lewis, who is credited with turning Tesco around during his six years as chief executive from 2014 to 2020 and will be paid 1.5million a year plus bonuses at Diageo.

He previously spent nearly three decades at Ben & Jerry's and Marmite firm Unilever and, since leaving Tesco, has held a string of non-executive jobs.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said convincing him to return to being a chief executive 'will have been a challenge', adding: 'The salary is certainly tasty, but Lewis is more likely to have been driven by the size of the task  pull off a second business recovery of this scale and he'll become a legend in the business world.

'Diageo has pulled a blinder by hiring the man who saved Tesco. Dave Lewis is 'Mr Fix-it' as far as the market is concerned. This is a significant hire and a pleasant surprise. The share price jump says it all.'

Lewis, 60, will stand down as chairman of consumer healthcare giant Haleon to take up the role at Diageo, while Jhangiani will resume his job as finance chief.

Lewis was dubbed 'Drastic Dave' at Unilever due to his ability to make bold decisions. At Tesco, he lived up to his reputation by cutting jobs, closing underperforming stores and selling off areas of the business.

Speculation is mounting over what he will do at Diageo. The Mail on Sunday this weekend revealed the company is braced for an activist investor to climb aboard and push for the sale of the Guinness business  worth as much as 14billion.

'Investors will be keen to know if Lewis will split the company into two: beer and spirits,' said Coatsworth. 'There is a lot of talk about Guinness potentially being sold, but that's not a decision that will be taken lightly.'

Diageo chairman Sir John Manzoni said Lewis 'has the extensive CEO experience and the proven leadership skills in building and marketing world-leading brands that is right for Diageo at this time'.
The Barclay family has sold online retailer The Very Group to US private equity after more than 20 years of ownership.

The company, which owns the Littlewoods and Very brands, where Michelle Keegan has a collection, has been snapped up by Washington-based Carlyle.

Abu Dhabi-based investment fund International Media Investments (IMI) - which along with Carlyle has been a major lender to the group since 2021 - continuing as a 'key stakeholder'.

The deal ends a lengthy period under the ownership of the Barclay family, which has been forced to give up control of a raft of businesses in recent years, including The Daily Telegraph newspaper, The Ritz hotel in London and delivery company Yodel.

Robbie Feather, group chief executive of The Very Group, said: 'This marks an important milestone for The Very Group as we move into an exciting new phase of growth. We are delighted to continue to partner with Carlyle and IMI.

'Their continued backing provides us with a stronger foundation to execute on our strategy, increase investment in technology and the customer experience and to build on the momentum across the business.'

Actress Michelle Keegan has a collection with online clothing brand Very

The Barclay family, headed by identical twins Sir Frederick and the late Sir David, had bought the then Littlewoods catalogue business in 2002, before merging the business with Shop Direct in 2004, creating what in later years was rebranded as The Very Group.

Sir David died aged 86 in January 2021.

The brothers were among the UK's most high-profile businessmen, whose assets made them billionaires at one stage and the family one of the richest in Britain.

But the family's fortunes have apparently worsened in recent years and they lost control of the Telegraph newspapers after the family struggled to repay hefty loans.

Despite the change in control, Very Group - which sells electrical products, homeware and clothing - has delivered rising profits and just last month reported a 16% rise in underlying earnings to 307 million for the year to June 28 as sales reached 2.1 billion.

Feather paid tribute to the Barclay family, recognising 'their stewardship and contribution to the company over the past two decades'.

The company said: 'Over this period and thanks to their leadership, The Very Group has grown significantly - evolving from a traditional catalogue business into one of the UK's largest and most dynamic online retailers.

'The Barclay family pass on a business that is performing very strongly.'

Former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi is chairman of Very Group, having been appointed to the role in May last year.
At a time when global capital continues to chase Silicon Valley valuations and the so-called Magnificent Seven of US tech, a quieter outperformance is unfolding much closer to home.

UK equity investment trusts, long overlooked and often dismissed, are not only holding their ground but delivering total returns well ahead of the FTSE All-Share Index and paying dividends that leave even the most celebrated American stocks looking stingy.

Stifels latest note on the UK Equity Income and UK All Companies sectors points to a standout 12 months.

Of the 19 trusts surveyed, 14 posted net asset value (NAV) total returns exceeding 20 per cent.

Nearly three-quarters have also outperformed the FTSE All-Share over six months.

These are not flukes driven by short-term speculation but by seasoned active managers tapping into consistent dividend income and undervalued sectors across the UK market.

UK equity trusts are beating the wider market this year

In a year where the FTSE All-Share delivered a 21 per cent total return, trusts such as Temple Bar (+32.3 per cent NAV TR), Lowland (+27 per cent), Law Debenture (+27.2 per cent) and City of London (+23.9 per cent) demonstrate the potency of active management, particularly when it leans into value and recovery themes.

The UK equity sector continues to offer an attractive opportunity, say analysts Iain Scouller and William Crighton.

Many trusts are trading at high-single digit discounts despite the strong performance and robust income.

A dividend backbone

One of the defining features of the UK equity income sector has always been its yield, and 2025 has proven no exception.

Fourteen of the 19 trusts reviewed yield more than the FTSE All-Shares 3.2 per cent, with some comfortably north of 4 per cent. The highest payer, abrdn Equity Income, offers a headline yield of 5.9 per cent, driven by a value-oriented approach under manager Thomas Moore.

Yet yield alone does not tell the full story. Stifel highlights the importance of progressive dividend growth.

Over the past five years, most trusts have delivered annual increases between 2 per cent and 5 per cent. The strongest growers include Law Debenture (+5.2 per cent) and Fidelity Special Values (+10.7 per cent), while Baillie Gifford UK Growth leads with +13.0 per cent, albeit from a low base.

The consistency of income growth is equally notable. City of London Investment Trust stands apart with 59 years of unbroken dividend increases, a feat unmatched across the sector. Its 2025 payout of 21.3p was fully covered by earnings and backed by solid revenue reserves.

Style matters

One of the sectors key advantages in 2025 has been its diversity of strategy. Investors can find a trust tailored to most appetites, from deep value to recovery and growth.

Temple Bar, managed with a strict value discipline, has been the standout, delivering a price total return of 43.5 per cent. Its strategy of buying companies trading below intrinsic value has been well suited to a market that still underappreciates much of UK plc.

Law Debenture offers an interesting hybrid model, combining a diversified equity portfolio with a professional services business, a unique feature that has supported revenue and dividend growth.

Fidelity Special Values continues its contrarian approach, targeting unloved stocks with recovery potential. While it offers a lower yield at 2.4 per cent, its NAV return of 22.4 per cent reflects the value of its high-conviction strategy.

The Mercantile Investment Trust, meanwhile, provides exposure to UK small and mid-cap companies. Despite the broader markets preference for large caps, Mercantiles 9 per cent NAV return suggests there are still rewards for stock-pickers further down the capitalisation scale.

Discounts remain despite rally

Despite this impressive performance, valuations remain modest. Many trusts continue to trade at discounts to NAV of between 5 per cent and 10 per cent. Lowland, for instance, sits at a 10 per cent discount, while Mercantile trades at 11 per cent below NAV. Edinburgh Investment Trust is also available on an 8 per cent discount, despite recent improvements under Liontrusts management team.

For private investors, these discounts offer an additional layer of potential upside. With share prices lagging NAV growth, there is room for rerating, especially if wider sentiment towards the UK market improves.

Leverage, used by 17 of the 19 trusts, has also contributed to performance in a rising market. While most keep gearing modest, typically 5 per cent to 10 per cent of NAV, trusts like abrdn Equity Income, Lowland and Schroder Income Growth run slightly higher at 11 per cent. In a low-cost debt environment, this has added a useful boost to returns.

Opportunity amid indifference

The UK equity market may still carry the stigma of political risk, sluggish growth forecasts and institutional disinterest. But for trusts willing to dig deeper, the rewards have been significant.

Stifels analysis challenges the idea that the UK is a market to avoid. Instead, it is a case study in how professional stock-picking and a focus on income can deliver both yield and capital growth, even in a tough macroeconomic climate.

With many trusts offering high yields, progressive dividends and well-managed portfolios at discounted prices, there is a compelling argument to revisit the UK equity trust space.

For long-term investors, the combination of income, valuation support and demonstrable performance makes it difficult to ignore.

For all the market's breaking mid- and small-cap news, go to www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk
He created a solution on a napkin while waiting for his brew

Bill Purton got fed-up with waiting for his latte

When a Melburnian was made to wait 25 minutes for a coffee, he created the perfect solution on a napkin.

Bill Purton has always been full of good ideas - just don't tell him his solutions to simple problems are easy to come up with.

A lot goes into working out how to make life simpler and Mr Purton is a bloke who puts his money where his mouth is.

Born and bred in country Victoria, Mr Purton developed a taste for quality coffee while working around Carltons inner-city precinct.

It is a world away from where he made his mark on the back of some ingenious inventions in an industry better known for dishing out complimentary beers than cappuccinos.

Mr Purton went from Melbourne to Monte Carlo, Hong Kong to Las Vegas selling high-tech solutions to some of the planet's largest casinos.

It all began in Melbourne, where he ran a modest plastic-moulding business in the 1980s.

Bill Purton saw a problem with the way inexperienced people made coffee and went about creating a solution

With a scientific background, Mr Purton was working in the research department at the Royal Childrens Hospital when he decided to take the plunge.

His little company grew from 11 to 125 employees by 2005 when he sold it to a United States company.

While he initially made plasticware for lab use, he studied polymer technology at RMIT to enhance his expertise.

His work drew him into the casino industry, developing plastic racks for chips and wheel checks - non-value chips for roulette - innovating to give chips a distinctive clay texture and sound.

Unfamiliar with the casino world, he sank $38,000 into a tool, only to learn Melbourne's Crown Casino expected to pay $5 per rack - a $5,000 return on his hefty investment.

Undeterred, the inventor's ingenuity won the casino over.

This evolved into creating secure, microchip-embedded gaming chips, overcoming technical challenges like signal collision, using advanced frequency-hopping technology from a Western Australian firm.

Mr Purton's innovations improved casino security and table game tracking.

He told the Daily Mail his casino ideas came simply from chatting to a dealer.

'This fellow said "you know, it's not as easy as you think. We have real pressure. You know, we work 10 or 12 hour shifts. And then at the end of the shift, we have to count all the cards in a shoe. There's 416 cards",' Mr Purton said.

Bill Purton had already made a name for himself with inventions like the 'Deck Checker', which is used globally in casinos

Mr Purton said he felt sorry for the dealer and promised to make him something that would deal with the problem.

'So although I've never been trained as an engineer, I'm not a bad engineer, but where I don't have skills, I will always ask,' he said.

Bringing in brains from New Zealand - the CSIRO bogged him down with an 80-page contract - Mr Purton came up with the technology to scan and count the cards, streamlining a process that had burdened casinos and dealers across the world for decades.

The 'Deck Checker' used optical character recognition, scanning and sorting casino cards in seconds and eliminating human error in a process plagued by the brains love for patterns.

Crown funded the project with $100,000, and the Deck Checker became a hit at trade shows, further solidifying Mr Purton's reputation as a problem-solver.

Fast forward to today and Mr Purton's masterful solutions to simple problems are now being used by some of the largest companies on the planet, including Hungry Jacks, Brunetti's, Krispy Kreme, United Petroleum, BP and Pacific Group.

His latest invention, Caffe Assist, is aptly named for the job it does.

'I believe a name should do what it says it does,' Mr Purton said.

The machine is streamlining the way milk is heated in cafes, addressing inefficiencies he observed while waiting in a South Australian cafe.

The device ensures consistent milk quality, self-cleans, and reduces barista workload, allowing better customer engagement.

The Caffe Assist is making life easier for baristas and cafe owners and will soon make its way into ordinary households

Its programmable for various milk types and has been adopted by chains around the world with a view to roll them out to both large and small cafes across the globe.

'I was waiting for 25 minutes for a takeaway coffee. And there were only six customers in the cafe,' Mr Purton said.

'And the person behind the machine was a bit of a novice, and I made the mistake of coming up and trying to help them and said "look, if you do it this way. You know, you don't have to do milk one serve at a time".'

Mr Purton had previously owned a small coffee company, so he of course knew what he was talking about.

Fuming at the wait, Mr Purton sat down and worked out a solution right there and then on a napkin.

'I did the same thing I did with the card scanning machine. I designed that literally on the back of an envelope, and this time, I was sitting in the cafe in South Australia and I designed it on a napkin,' he said.

'So that led me into the field of steaming milk and there's a lot of science behind steaming milk and I think I always take it one step further.'

With Australias hospitality industry facing 50 per cent staff turnover, Mr Purton said Caffe Assist ensures consistency and frees baristas to chat with customers, boosting discretionary sales by 7 per cent through repeat business.

Bill Purton took on some basic work for Crown Casino, which ended up changing the way casinos did business around the globe

Bill Purton revolutionised the way casino chips worked

Mr Purton's patents on milk detection and self-cleaning tech are keeping his competitors at bay, with his small company now eyeing global domination despite stiff competition from Swiss and Italian push-button machines.

His vision is clear: streamline processes, use minimal materials, and make life easier.

Whether its a casino chip or a flat white, his inventions are about precision and practicality.
A Melbourne woman was left stunned after her dentist called police during a bizarre encounter - all because she didn't want him using artificial intelligence during her appointment.

Caerwin Martin, 52, says the strange situation unfolded during a routine check-up for a toothache, but quickly spiralled when the periodontist asked for her consent to use an AI program to take notes.

Feeling uneasy about her private medical information being uploaded online and concerned about the safety of the software, Ms Martin refused, sparking an extraordinary reaction that left her in disbelief.

'I'm just so shocked,' she told Daily Mail. 'It was just the most bizarre situation. I had the cops called for not wanting to use AI to take my notes.'

'The police officer thought it was quite funny. He walked up and goes, 'what's going on?' This was a triple zero call, an emergency, and there's me sitting calmly in the waiting room.'

The incident unfolded earlier this week when Ms Martin attended a specialist appointment with a periodontist she had been referred to after ongoing issues with pain.

'He said he was using AI to make notes and write referrals and I said no, I'm a musician and I'm divesting in AI,' she said.

'He kind of froze and looked at his assistant and after that became really agitated.

Caerwin Martin, 52, says the strange situation unfolded during a routine check-up for a toothache

She claims her dentist called police when she said no to the use of AI during her appointment

'I opened my mouth and he looked inside for like 30 seconds and said I needed a referral and that was it.

'He seemed annoyed and was really jittery and kind of bouncing his leg angrily.'

As the doctor sat to write the referral, Ms Martin, who is a composer, said the topic was raised again.

'I told him I didn't think it was safe and I had security concerns about it and he said that was legally untrue and he couldn't allow me to say things that were legally untrue,' she recalled.

'It was really weird and I don't really understand that sentence, but that's what he said and then he absolutely lost it.

'He said they were not using ChatGPT and he wouldn't give me any more details about it and things got really heated.'

Ms Martin says she told the doctor he needed to regulate himself and asked if he wanted her to leave.

'I left the appointment and walked to reception to pay and he chased me out into the waiting room and yelled 'call the police'.

It was once she got to the waiting room the doctor requested the receptionist call the police

Ms Martin said the doctor was very agitated

'The receptionist, who was a bit perplexed, called the police, called triple zero.'

Ms Martin says she remained seated in the waiting room until officers arrived and, after briefly speaking to them, she left and has not heard back since.

Feeling uneasy about the confrontation, she later contacted the Dental Board of Australia for advice.

'They were amazing. They said I absolutely did have the right to choose and what happened shouldn't have happened,' she said.

'And what I think this raises is a bit of a conversation around AI use in medical practitioners.

'I know people are often asked by GPs if they do use AI, do they have your consent and permission and of course you should be allowed to say no.

'I have lots of ethical reasons why I don't want AI to have access to my medical records.

'Im a musician and I'm offended that the government had to step in to stop AI from hoovering up all of our stuff.

Ms Martin has contacted the Dentist Board of Australia about the incident

'So I have a boycott on AI anyway and I don't think AI is good for the world.'

Last month the Australian government blocked artificial intelligence companies from training their models on Australian creative works.

The move could have seen local artists' work recreated and used with no royalties paid.

'I also don't want my medical records to be written by anyone other than the medical professional,' Ms Martin added.

'I'm very concerned that ChatGPT had leaks. I don't think it's secure and I don't trust it.

'I understand if doctors are pressed for time they may want to use it and maybe there is an argument about keeping costs down, but we should all have the right to say no thank-you very much.'
A vendor's advocate has shared the biggest 'red flags' to look out for when engaging a real estate agent to sell your home.

Australia has long been among the world's most expensive countries for buying a home, but Aussies are also paying an exorbitant amount of money to sell them.

Many costs go into selling a home, from conveyancing to mortgage discharge fees, but agents fees tend to make up the single biggest cost.

Finding the right agent can mean the difference between a profitable sale or a bust, making it crucial to invest time in finding the right salesperson.

Alec Jenman from vendor advocacy service Jenman Support told the Daily Mail there are five key signs to watch out for when deciding whether an agent is right for you.

Discounted commissions

As appealing as it may seem, Mr Jenman said to be wary of real estate agents who offer to drop their commission without good reason.

'Interviewing an agent is your first opportunity to see how they negotiate,' Mr Jenman said.

Homeowners should be wary of real estate agents who are too willing to compromise on their commission (stock)

'When you question them on their fee or ask them for a discount, many agents drop their fee instantly.'

Most estate agents charge between two and three per cent of the final sale price in commission. This works out to about $20,000 to $30,000 for a $1million home.

Given a single percentage point difference can mean tens of thousands in savings, it's natural most homeowners would want to press for a discount.

But the way an agent negotiates over their fees can say a lot about their ability to secure a competitive offer on your home.

'If they give their money away under just a moment of pressure, what do you think theyll do when it comes to your money?' he said.

Hidden marketing fees

Australian homeowners pay the most expensive advertising fees in the world to list their properties online - often costing thousands for a single ad.

However, less attention is given to the countless additional costs agents include in their marketing bills - costs that can add up fast.

Among the more troubling examples he has seen recently are a $300 administrative fee, $200 translation fee, $150 copywriting fee and a $300 floor plan fees.

Agents fees make up the single biggest average cost when selling a home (stock)

Asked for the most egregious example, Mr Jenman cited a $900 auctioneer fee he said a homeowner was on the hook for regardless of whether an auction took place.

'Knowing that the owner is only concerned with the overwhelming (and highly unnecessary) costs of online marketing, many agents sneak countless costs into their bills that stack up fast,' he said.

Unreliable reviews

Reviews are a valuable way to gauge whether an agent is right for you - but not all endorsements should be treated equally.

While there is no substitute for word-of-mouth, Mr Jenman said Google reviews are better than alternative sites made 'by and for' agents.

Some sites make it 'nearly impossible to leave a negative review', he added.

Third party marketing financing

Any real estate agent who offers to engage a third-party to help a homeowner pay marketing costs should be treated with suspicion, Mr Jenman said.

Australian homeowners pay among the highest advertising costs in the world

He said agents typically offer to engage a third-party lender after a seller takes issue with the costs of an agent's marketing plan.

The lender will pay the agent's marketing bill and later charge the homeowner the entire cost plus interest - typically around seven per cent per annum, he said.

While there's nothing wrong the practice in theory, Mr Jenman said agents will often give the impression an owner will only have to pay the lender at the point of sale.

'They pitch it as a "pay later" option, giving the impression that you only need to pay at the time of sale, which is not true.'

Upfront marketing fees

Agents will typically require homeowners to pay the full costs of marketing their home regardless of whether a sale is achieved.

While this is common practice in the industry, Mr Jenman said it creates an imbalance in the agent relationship - one that means they can never entirely lose out.

'As a home seller, you go to an agent to sell your home. If your home doesnt sell, you gain nothing,' Mr Jenman said.

'Yet, if your home doesnt sell, the agent still has plenty to gain.

'They gain lots of buyer leads, seller leads and, of course, publicity. All leading to potential sales and money in their pocket.'
IsraeliAmerican designer and brand founder Elie Tahari, 73, has cemented himself as an icon for working women in the New York fashion world and beyond.

Now, he's making an even bigger statement for women and what they can accomplish debuting his latest collection with a bold twist  female IDF soldiers, including wounded veterans, strutting the catwalk in his designs.

Tahari, born into an IranianJewish family in Jerusalem, told the Daily Mail the show was born from heartbreak after the October 7 Hamas attacks.

'I was up watching the news,' he recalled. 'I cried for many days, many weeks. The violence was horrific  children, women, families I couldn't stop thinking about it. All my life I've seen violence, and my motivation for peace is here.'

His passion for supporting wounded soldiers really began when a friend, Eli Shako  a wounded IDF veteran  stayed with him in New York.

'I asked if I could do anything. He said, 'They have no clothes.' So I started dressing them. Some sent me videos  filmed in the dark because they were embarrassed, missing arms, legs, eyes. It affected me deeply.'

It get's even more personal for Tahari, who fled Iran and spent much of his life as an orphan  all before joining the Israeli military.

'I remember when I was a soldier, we had no pocket money, we had nothing,' Tahari said. 'And that's why I think it's so important for the soldiers to have clothes.'

The Miami show, held at St. Thomas University, a Catholic campus, was entirely volunteerrun. 'I didn't want fame or money, just to help,' Tahari said. 'All the models, all the workers, they're doing it from the heart.'

Among the participants were wounded soldiers turned models, including one woman who survived after being shot 12 times.

IDF soldier Dvorah Lea Bart in uniform

Dvorah Lea Bart, former IDF soldier flaunts Tahari's new collection on the runway

Eden Ram, IDF First Lieutenant. Ram was shot 12 times while serving, now debuting Tahari's fashion line in Miami

IsraeliAmerican designer and brand founder Elie Tahari, 73, has cemented himself as an icon for working women in the New York fashion world and beyond

Tobi Rubinstein, the organizer of the event, tells Daily Mail that producing a fashion show with purpose 'transforms the runway into a stage of meaning'

Tahari says his passion for supporting wounded soldiers really began when a friend, Eli Shakell  a wounded IDF veteran  stayed with him in New York. 'I asked if I could do anything. He said, 'They have no clothes.' So I started dressing them. Some sent me videos  filmed in the dark because they were embarrassed, missing arms, legs, eyes. It affected me deeply'

Tahari pledged that profits from his online business would go to support Israel's wounded soldiers

'She looked amazing,' Tahari said proudly. 'They are all beautiful  inside and out. That's the point.'

Tobi Rubinstein, the organizer of the event, tells Daily Mail that producing a fashion show with purpose 'transforms the runway into a stage of meaning.'

Rubinstein calls it a 'platform for impact.'

'Each design reflects not only Tahari's artistry but the courage and spirit of Israel's female IDF soldiers. This purposeful presentation gives voice to the message behind the material  turning fashion into a language of gratitude, empowerment and unity.'

Tahari pledged that profits from his online business would go to support Israel's wounded soldiers.

'Everything I design from my own company  a portion of the profits from each sale will go to them to providing clothing and financial assistance to these women,' he said.

Amid the pain, his message remains hopeful.

'I am a peaceloving man,' Tahari said. 'We celebrate women whose bravery reminds us that beauty is also strength.'

Fourteen models walked the runway, including college students, professional models and two IDF soldiers  all wearing Tahari's couture designs.
Concerns were raised about a care home manager seven years before she faked an elderly woman's will when she allegedly drugged a colleague by putting a resident's prescribed medication in her cups of tea.

Fraudster Jamiel Slaney-Summers, 65, tried to snatch 85-year-old Rita Barnsley's 175,000 lifesavings by drawing up the 'dodgy' document with felt tip pens and different coloured handwriting on the day she died in 2021.

Ms Slaney-Summers was due to receive 50 per cent of Ms Barnsley's estate - with two other care workers also in on the plot.

The trio were found guilty by a jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court last month - in what was described as one of the biggest elder fraud investigations ever seen in the UK.

However, we can now reveal that serious concerns were raised about Ms Slaney- Summers and how she treated care home residents and staff as far back as 2014.

And in a separate case, she has also been accused of running a rescue dog scam - that reportedly left one devastated mother and daughter nearly 1,000 out of pocket.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Alexandra Cooper-Kite, 49, claimed she was bullied by Ms Slaney-Summers while she was working at a care home in the West Midlands.

She said the manager gave her diazepam - a drug used to treat anxiety disorder and muscle spasms - after she questioned her ability to do her job because she had bipolar disorder.

Fraudster Jamiel Slaney-Summers, 65, (pictured) tried to snatch 85-year-old Rita Barnsley's 175,000 lifesavings by drawing up the 'dodgy' document on the day she died in 2021

Alexandra Cooper-Kite, 49, said she was bullied by Ms Slaney-Summers at a care home in the West Midlands

Ms Slaney-Summers (pictured) has also been accused of running a rescue dog scam - that left one devastated mother and daughter nearly 1,000 out of pocket

It is then believed Ms Slaney-Summers forged Ms Cooper-Kite's signature on a sheet used to record medication, suggesting the pills had been damaged by accident.

The senior care assistant collapsed at work after taking the tablets, and an ambulance was called.

She said she reported the incident to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in October 2014, but claims her allegations were not taken seriously by the watchdog.

Ms Cooper-Kite was then sacked by Ms Slaney-Summers for supposed 'gross misconduct' the following the month.

She took the owners of the care home to an employment tribunal in December 2015, where she was awarded 33,000 in compensation for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination.

Ms Cooper-Kite told the Daily Mail: 'This woman is just pure evil. I had a nervous breakdown because of this woman.

'The CQC were total failures in this. I told multiple times about this woman and they did nothing. They let her carry on, and carry on, and carry on abusing her position.'

Ms Cooper-Kite said she believes Ms Slaney-Summers took an 'instant dislike' to her because she had bipolar disorder.

'She [Ms Slaney-Summers] said that I should be on the dole and that people with mental health conditions should not be working,' Ms Cooper-Kite explained.

'She would make me look bad when I used to go to work, but then she started making me cups of tea and I thought she was trying to befriend me somehow.

Sarah Barker, 62, is seen with the dog they adopted from Ms Slaney-Summers

The adopted dog is seen on the day Jade Just met Ms Slaney-Summers at a car boot sale

'Then I started feeling tired constantly on shift and disorientated.

'And it wasn't until I collapsed at work, that I found out that she was actually putting diazepam in my cups of tea.

'A carer witnessed it, and she witnessed her signing my name for this diazepam medication.'

Ms Cooper-Kite's allegations are detailed in the court documents from her employment tribunal, where the judge ruled the 'evidence supports' her claims.

The judgment reads: 'On September 16 [2014], the claimant approached Ms Slaney-Summers in distress.

'Ms Slaney-Summers obtained the keys for the medicine cabinet and gave the claimant two tablets in a plastic pot. It is believed she gave her diazepam.

'The MARS sheet shows two diazepam tablets prescribed for a resident as being crushed and destroyed that day, and apparently signed as such by the claimant, who denied making that entry.'

The court, which was presided over by Judge Warren in Birmingham, concluded that Ms Cooper-Kite had done nothing wrong.

It ruled that Ms Slaney-Summers made up a catalogue of 'lies and exaggerations' and that Ms Cooper-Kite's dismissal 'arose directly from the claimant's disability'.

Graham Walker, 74, his wife Lyn, 71, and ex-manager Jamiel Slaney-Summers, 65, plotted to scam frail 85-year-old Rita Barnsley (pictured)

Moreover, the ex-care home manager has also been accused of scamming a mother and daughter who paid 500 to adopt a rescue dog through her.

Jade Just met Ms Slaney-Summers at a car boot sale in Birmingham and paid 500 to adopt a 'two-year-old' Boston Terrier for her mother's 60th birthday in August 2023.

She said the care home manager claimed that she was from a dog rescue centre in Wales and that her first name was 'Joy' not Jamiel.

However, when the dog arrived, Ms Just said the dog had a series of issues that they had not been made aware of.

Ms Slaney-Summers also allegedly 'repeatedly came up with excuses' about why she could not send over any formal documents about the adoption.

Ms Just said: '"Joy" kept sending sending my mum excuses as to why she couldn't get the details over.

'I took it upon myself to get the dog checked over with the vet, but as no paperwork had been transferred, nothing could be logged, nor could a file be made.

'I was told by the vet she hadn't been neutered she had already had one set of puppies (within the prior weeks to the adoption).

'She also wasn't two or three years old as we were told. The vet said she was barely 12/14 months and in the vet's words had been brought to breed!'

The mother and daughter described Ms Slaney-Summers as an 'out-an-out conwoman', who had cost them a total of nearly 1,000.

They added that they had been forced to put the terrier back up for adoption due to its complex needs.

Ms Barker, 62, also explained that when they tried to get back in touch with the care home manager, she claimed she was seriously ill in hospital.

Pictured: Rita Barnsley's will. The elderly care home resident had 175,000 of life savings

The will, which was described in court as a 'sham', was produced the day after Rita died in August 2021. Pictured: Graham and Lyn Walker

She said: 'She [Ms Slaney-Summers] sent this picture of herself on a hospital bed, on a drip and said I'm seriously ill in hospital and I can't get to you.

'My daughter's boyfriend looked at the photo and blew it up.

'The photo was two years old and it was a different name and a different date of birth on the arm band on her wrist.

'We googled the picture and that was when he realised her first name was Jamiel and she was being charged with fraud.'

Ms Barker added: 'She's an out and out conwoman. There is no other word for it. We lost over 1000 because of this whole situation.'

Ms Slaney-Summers is due to be sentenced alongside her co-defendants Graham Walker, 74, and his wife Lyn, 71, on December 5.

The court previously heard that the trio who ran Amberley Care Home in Brierley Hill, West Midlands - drew up a 'dodgy' will to snatch Rita Barnsley's lifesavings.

The document, which was described in court as a 'sham', was produced the day after Rita died in August 2021.

It named Mrs Walker and Ms Slaney-Summers as executors and the main beneficiaries of the will.

Ms Slaney-Summers was due to receive 50 per cent of Rita's estate, while Mrs Walker would get 25 per cent. A sum of 5,000 was also left to the care home staff.

The scam was exposed thanks to Rita's cousin Verna, who raised the alarm with Dudley Council's Trading Standards team.

Ms Slaney-Summers was also found to have taken 6,000 from Rita's bank accounts, which she blew on online bingo.

She claimed she had used the money to buy Rita flowers every Friday and on incontinence pads - but was found guilty of theft.

The court heard Rita had moved into the care home in May 2020 after falling ill.

However instead of receiving care, she was financially abused by the very people meant to protect her.

Trading Standards officers uncovered several 'red flags' in the will which led to the Walkers and Slaney-Summers being arrested.

The jury took just 90 minutes to return unanimous guilty verdicts following the four-week trial.

The Daily Mail contacted the CQC for comment on the concerns raised by Ms Cooper-Kite.

A spokesperson said: 'We received concerns about this matter in October 2014 and carried out initial checks with the home.

'We also referred this issue to the local authority safeguarding team to carry out their responsibilities.

'We remained in contact with both the local authority and the provider and took all necessary steps to seek assurances that this matter was being dealt with and concluded that there was no further action for us to take at that stage.

'Any information that we receive such as this is used to inform our monitoring, inspection activity and what regulatory action we may take.'
Eagle-eyed fans accused Meghan Markle's wealthy friends' bookshop of selling alcohol without a licence after spotting bottles of wine in promotional shots for an As Ever pop-up.

A photo of a bottle of fizz in a bucket of ice, and some wine in a wooden crate amongst an array of the Duchess's products sparked claims that they had been a breach of rules - but the situation wasn't quite as it seemed.

The duchess announced the launch of the first 'pop-up store' for her As Ever brand at the Godmothers bookshop in California earlier this week.

The shop is just a stone's throw from her Montecito mansion and is run by her close pals, literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, and cosmetics mogul Victoria Jackson.

Meghan posted several snaps of the pop up on her Instagram on Thursday, showing off an array of As Ever products from fruit spreads and candles to herbal teas and spice kits.

But keen-eyed viewers also spotted what appeared to be an opened bottle of sparkling wine perched in a bucket of ice, while another box seemingly on display contained a trio of As Ever wines.

This prompted several of them to say they had reported the business to the local council over an alleged breach of licensing laws - given Godmothers' application for an alcohol licence was still pending.

However, a source has since thrown cold water over the theory by insisting the bottle was filled with water and the ice cubes were fake.

The source said the bottle was purely for display purposes and no As Ever wine was served.

Meghan posted a video of her arranging As Ever products to sell at Californian bookshop, Godmothers

There were plenty of products on offer at the store, which is run by her close pals, literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh and cosmetics mogul Victoria Jackson

Among the sea of assorted goods was a box seemingly on display that contained a trio of As Ever wines - despite the shop not having a licence to sell alcohol

An open 'bottle of sparkling wine' that turned out to actually contain water

Before the explanation emerged, several people had claimed to have reported the shop to licensing officials who could issue a penalty to the owners if found to be in breach of licensing rules.

Meghan's As Ever brand has previously sold a range of products online, however it is the first time any have been available to purchase from a physical store.

As Ever products had also been available to purchase on the Godmothers website, according to some shoppers, although they no longer appeared to be available at the time of writing.

Meghan's most recent beverage brought to market was released in August, though unlike its predecessor the stock has not sold out and is still available to buy on her website.

The 2024 Napa Valley Rose was launched on August 5 with bottles retailing for $30 each.

Buyers must purchase either a minimum of three bottles of wine, six for $159 (119) including a 12 per cent discount, or 12 bottles for $300 (225), including 17 per cent off.

By contrast, Meghan's 2023 rose sold out within an hour when it launched in July.

The Duchess drinks wine with chef Alice Waters during her Netflix show With Love, Meghan

The Duchess of Sussex released her As Ever Napa Valley Rose 2024 in August - though unlike its predecessor stock has not sold out and is still available to buy on her website

Meghan launched her new Napa Valley rose wine in June as part of her As Ever brand

The 2024 wine is described as evoking the same 'soft notes of stone fruit, gentle minerality and a lasting finish' as the 2023 rose - but it has packed less of a punch with buyers.

The Daily Mail revealed previously that the 2023 wine used grapes from the Fairwinds estate so Meghan could show her support after the winery was almost destroyed in a devastating wildfire in 2020 which caused $15million worth of damage.

Napa Valley wine country is in northern California, around 50 miles from San Francisco.

Earlier on Thursday, the royal's cheerleader Oprah plugged As Ever's Fruit Spread Gift Box on her annual 'Favorite Things list'.

To capitalise on Oprah's endorsement, As Ever was quick to send out a celebratory e-mail with a discount code for 10 per cent off the 'beloved spreads' - the first time she's offered money off her products.

It prompted royal watchers to question the sudden input from Meghan's pals, with one writing on X: 'She is not shifting her subpar products, so they are helping her out.'

A second added, 'Since she couldn't sell out, she's stuck staging her rack at a bougie store.'

Hours later, it was revealed that Meghan is to return to acting and will make a cameo as herself in a new film, Close Personal Friends, alongside Lily Collins, Brie Larson and Jack Quaid.

Meghan Markle is back on a movie set and acting again for the first time since she left Suits

The Duchess of Sussex walked away from the craft when she married Harry but is said to be super excited to be back in the business

Meghan is best known for her role as Rachel Zane in the hit US TV-drama Suits, but also had Hollywood roles in Horrible Bosses, Get Him To The Greek and Remember Me.

She was also once a 'briefcase girl'  one of the models who hold the suitcases full of cash  on the US version of Deal Or No Deal.

Prince Harry is said to be supportive of 'whatever brings her joy', but as a source recently told the Daily Mail's Alison Boshoff, the Sussexes seem to be 'throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks'.

A return to acting is just the latest career foray for Meghan who has tried her hand at being an entrepreneur, an influencer, a philanthropist, a TV star and a producer - although her big money deal with Netflix was recently downgraded.

Meghan was pictured on set of her new movie on Thursday, wearing a casual white and navy pinstripe shirt, which she paired with elegant white linen trousers, and waved excitedly to a member of the crew.

She added brown sandals and chic sunglasses for the warm weather in Pasadena, making for a relaxed look while filming. She also appeared to be wearing her staple 5,850 Cartier love bracelets and Princess Diana's Cartier watch.

Meghan looked delighted as she climbed into a luxurious Range Rover and was swept to a large estate in the hills of Pasadena.

A source close to the production has insisted that Meghan has been 'swamped with offers' for acting work 'but this one felt right'.

Meghan was seen wearing a casual white and navy pinstripe shirt, which she paired with elegant white linen trousers

She appeared to be wearing her staple 5,850 Cartier love bracelets and Princess Diana's Cartier watch

The gig is with the full support of her husband because he knows acting 'brings her joy', the insider said.

Close Personal Friends follows two couples - one famous and the other, not.

Little is known yet about the plot, or Meghan's role, but the couples at the heart of the script meet in Santa Barbara and 'fast become friends'.

An LA insider told the Daily Mail that executives in Hollywood have been urging her to return to acting given her success in Suits, and the failure of some of her projects since she left the business and married Harry.

'She's finally seen sense', the insider said.

Another Hollywood source told the Daily Mail that this is part of yet another Sussex relaunch.

'Meghan's in fully fledged celebrity mode, that's all she can cash in on now, being a star with a lifestyle to match,' they said.

'Her playing herself in a film cameo is just stunt casting - just like when like Kate Moss played herself in Ab Fab movie'.

Branding it another PR power move as part of yet another wider Sussex relaunch, the insider said of her return to acting: 'It's fun and gets people talking. There will be lots more [stunts] in the next few months.'

Mark Borkowski, one of Britain's leading PR gurus, said the timing of her appearance on set is intriguing given William is in Brazil promoting and celebrating his Earthshot Prize.

'It's not just dusting off her craft. It is trying to seize control', Mr Borkowski said.

'Andrew has been stripped of all his titles, palace in a mess trying to sanitise it all, and meanwhile Harry and Meghan have faded. When silence sets in someone like Meghan knows when it is time to make a move.

'She is a magnet for attention, whether people like or loath her. It's a reminder she can make headlines without lifting a finger'.

Godmothers bookshop and representatives for the Sussexes have been contacted for comment.
The lawyer for the woman shot five times by a Border Patrol agent has called for his immediate suspension after he boasted that he would do it again.

Charles Exum, of Calais, Maine, texted colleagues 'I'm up for another round of f**k around and find out,' the day after the shooting in Chicago.

'The fact he's not suspended is crazy,' said attorney Christopher Parente, a former federal prosecutor.

'Why would you put a guy who's telling you that he's looking forward to shooting people back with a firearm in a situation like that?' he added.

'To me that's completely reckless.'

Parente's client Marimar Martinez, 30 was shot after a collision between Exum's government-issued Chevy Tahoe and two other vehicles, one of which she was driving.

Exum had been sent to the Windy City as part of President Trump's program to round-up people who are in the country illegally.

'No law enforcement wakes up and wants to shoot people,' lawyer Parente told the Daily Mail.

Chicago native Marimar Martinez, a Montessori teacher, was shot five times by border patrol agent Charles Exum on October 4, following a collision involving the two and another driver

Screenshots of text messages obtained by the Daily Mail show the agent boasting about how many times he shot her, stating he was ready for 'another round of f*** around and find out'

The agent sent an article about the incident to an unidentified person, telling them to read it  seemingly bragging that he fired seven shots and struck her five times

Martinez's lawyer, Christopher Parente, told the Daily Mail that the 'crazy' part of the case is that Exum has escaped suspension and is already back on armed duty

'This guy is saying he's looking forward the next round of f**k around and find out. To me the fact CBP is putting him back out in some other city with an assault rifle is shocking.'

However, US Customs and Border Protection has since allowed agent Exum, who has worked border patrol for two decades, to return to duty.

Exum, who has worked border patrol for over two decades, shot Marimar Martinez five times on the southwest side of the Windy City on October 4, following a collision between the two and a separate car driven by Ian Santos Ruiz, 21, according to officials.

Martinez, 30, and Ruiz, 21, were charged with assault on a federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon.

However, Martinez claims that it was the agent who sideswiped her.

'Our position is that he swerved into her lane, and I think that's consistent with the body camera video that I've seen,' Parente told the Daily Mail.

He claimed his client presented no threat.

'She's a US citizen with no criminal history, a Montessori school teacher who was on her way to drop off a bag of clothes to donate at her local parish on a Saturday morning when this all happened,' he said.

In another text, Exum wrote 'I have a MOF amendment to add to my story. I fired five rounds, and she had seven holes  put that in your book boys,' later telling a judge that 'MOF' stood for 'Miserable Old F**ker'

Martinez and the other driver, 21-year-old Ian Santos Ruiz, were charged with assault on a federal officer using a deadly or dangerous weapon and taken into custody by the FBI

He also boasted about getting his '15 mins of fame', telling the judge his reasoning behind sending the texts in the first place stemmed from taking pride in his shooting skills as a firearms instructor

At a hearing in Chicago on Wednesday, Exum's texts on a private Signal chat, disclosed to the defense, became topic number one.

The texts show Exum sent a news article from the Guardian about the shooting and urged his colleagues to 'Read it. 5 shots, seven holes.'

'I have a MOF amendment to add to my story,' he added in the exchange. 'I fired five rounds, and she had seven holes. Put that in your book, boys.'

Facing questions at the hearing, Exum explained to US District Judge Georgia Alexakis that a MOF is a 'Miserable Old F**ker' that is always trying to outdo others.

When asked by Parente why he sent the texts, Exum replied: 'I'm a firearms instructor, and I take pride in my shooting skills.'

A day after the shooting, Exum had sent another message that read: 'Cool. I'm up for another round of 'f**k around and find out.'

Apparently yukking it up with colleagues, whose comments are redacted, he also wrote: 'S**t happens,' 'Lmao' and bragged about his '15 mins of fame', the texts show.

In court, Exum defended his use of force: 'I did what I had to do,' he said, contending that his life was at risk, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

None of the officers sustained serious injuries.

Speaking with the Daily Mail on Friday, Parente said the text exchange offer a disturbing window into the mindset of certain border agents at a pivotal time, as the Trump administration carries out 'Operation Midway Blitz,' detaining illegal immigrants all across the windy city while facing protests on the street.

'People want to know what these border patrol agents are thinking,' Parente said.

'This is what he's texting to other border patrol agents on an encrypted app. So why are a bunch of border patrol agents using Signal, bragging about shooting US citizens, and then saying they're looking forward to the next one.

'That's alarming to me just as a citizen.'

Apparently joking with colleagues whose replies were redacted, Exum also wrote 'S**t happens' and 'Lmao,' according to the texts

The CBP vehicle that Martinez's lawyer alleges sideswiped her car. Parente said that from the body camera footage he saw it appeared Exum 'swerved into her lane'

Border patrol agents and Chicago police officers talk along Kedzie Avenue in the Brighton Park Neighborhood as Federal Agents were investigating a shooting on October 4  the day Martinez was shot five times

A person is detained as residents of Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood confront US Border Patrol and other law enforcement officers at a gas station, after ICE agents took a man into custody from his car on October 4 in Chicago

The Department of Homeland Security, commenting on the shooting said when the agents exited their vehicle, 'a suspect tried to run them over, forcing the officers to fire defensively'.

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Martinez was armed with a semiautomatic weapon, according to the Boston Herald.

Martinez was treated at the hospital and was taken into custody by the FBI after her release.

On Wednesday in court, Parente argued that the agency destroyed evidence after allowing Exum to drive his SUV from Chicago back to his station in Maine, where the scratches and marks were buffed out.

Exum told the court that he was 'told to pick it up, I picked it up.' After it was processed and released by the FBI.

However, Judge Alexakis questioned why Martinez and Ruiz's vehicles were kept in Chicago as evidence while the agent's was released.

'What gives me great pause is the fact that the cars have been treated differently,' Alexakis said.

The judge ordered the government to return the agent's vehicle to Chicago on a flatbed truck, according to CNN.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson have pushed back against sending armed troops into the city.

Despite their efforts, Trump has attempted to deploy the National Guard to the city, a decision now being reviewed by the Supreme Court to determine if the deployment is fair.

Estimates indicate Chicago is home to approximately 150,000 illegal immigrants, accounting for about 8 percent of households.
A group of suburban moms were arrested in Chicago after peacefully protesting outside of an ICE facility.

The 14 women joined hands and parked themselves in the street in front of the Broadview immigration processing center on Friday, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office.

With ages ranging from 23 to 59, they faced charges of obstruction and disorderly conduct for staging the sit-in outside a designated protest zone.

'We are here to stand with our friends and neighbors who have been abducted and terrified,' said one mom.

Protests at the facility have ramped up as residents object to its treatment of detainees and the increased presence of ICE throughout the city.

The moms hailed from Chicago's western suburbs. They called out the Department of Homeland Security's 'campaign of chaos,' which they say is inciting fear in their neighborhoods.

They hoped to use their 'privilege as white women' to stand up for immigrants who could not do so for themselves.

'Nothing is more important than the harm that is happening to people. We have to get people's attention to notice what's actually going on,' Meg Thomas-Cary, witness to Friday's protests, told NBC Chicago.

'Someone sitting in the road is not doing harm - people being apprehended is harmful.'

A group of 14 suburban moms protest near an ICE facility in Chicago. They were later arrested

The women joined hands and sat in a circle outside of the Broadview processing facility

Members of the community seemed to support the moms' actions. Some took to local Facebook groups to commend the women for their courage.

'Thank you for continually showing up and using your voice. With you in spirit!' wrote one commenter.

'Heroic! Good on them for peacefully dissenting,' added another.

'These women are so inspiring!' a third chimed in.

Their sit-in comes as a federal judge ordered DHS to improve the treatment and conditions for detainees at the Broadview center by last Friday.

The demand calls on the government to issue clean bedding, soap, towels, and adequate meals and water.

The group was arrested on charges of obstruction and disorderly conduct for staging the sit-in outside a designated protest zone

Protestors ridiculed ICE for its treatment of immigrants and DHS for its overwhelming presence in Chicago

DHS has repeatedly denied any inhumane treatment within the processing facility.

'Despite hoaxes spread by criminal illegal aliens, the complicit media, and now an activist judge, the ICE Broadview Facility does NOT have subprime conditions,' said assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement.

'All detainees are provided with three meals a day, water, and have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers.

'No one is denied access to proper medical care.'

On the same day, several church groups joined the moms for a prayer service. Some even attempted to deliver a letter that demanded access to the center in hopes of providing spiritual guidance.

'Today, we are demanding that we have the opportunity to provide pastoral and spiritual care for those who are detained,' Reverend Ciera Bates told the press.

The group was one of many that have been protesting ICE outside of the Broadview facility

Protesters have alleged inhumane treatment of detainees at the Broadview center

A caravan of 20 cars also drove by the facility that day, honking their horns and holding out signs that read 'Hands Off Chicago.'

In early September, the Trump administration initiated Operation Midway Blitz, which forcefully targets immigrants in the Chicago area.

The government increased ICE presence in the city and has boasted more than 3,000 arrests in just two months.

Federal agents have been accused of aggressively grabbing people, deploying tear gas, and using excessive force, according to WGNTV.

DHS claimed the operation was to rid the city of 'the worst of the worst' criminals who entered the country illegally, though dissenters have claimed that many detainees had no criminal record at all.
Joe Biden astonishingly admitted his son, Beau, should have been president instead of him as concerns mounted over the former commander-in-chief's health.

The 82-year-old former president spoke at the Nebraska Democratic Partys Ben Nelson Gala on Friday, when he hit out at the Trump administration for 'cutting government funding for cancer research' after his administration made it a 'priority.'

'Cancer hits every family. Its hit my family hard,' Biden told the crowd.

'When the love of my life, my oldest son, the attorney general of the state of Delaware  who shouldve been the president, not me  volunteered to go to Iraq for a year, didnt have to, he came back with stage four glioblastoma because he lived in a burn pit just like those guys did on 9/11, and he died.'

Biden then went on to recount how his eldest son pleaded with him to remain in politics from his hospital room - a moment the former president has spoken about in the past, which served as the title for his memoir.

'He said, "Dad, look at me. Look at me. I know what you're going to do, Dad. When I go, you're going to quit. You're not going to want to be engaged. But look at me, Dad. Give me your word as a Biden, you'll stay involved. Give me your word." And I did,' Biden recounted.

His son, Beau, died in 2015 at the age of 46 from brain cancer.

He had worked as a federal prosecutor before being elected Delaware's attorney general in 2006 and re-elected to a second term in 2010.

Former President Joe Biden spoke at the Nebraska Democratic Partys Ben Nelson Gala on Friday, when he hit out at the Trump administration for 'cutting government funding for cancer research' after his administration made it a 'priority'

He admitted in his speech that his late son, Beau, should have been president instead of him. Biden is pictured here with his wife, Jill Biden, and Beau after he was elected Delaware attorney general in 2006

Beau joined the military in 2003 as a member of Delaware Army National Guard and as a major in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) corps.

In 2008, his unit was deployed to Iraq, and Beau served in active duty overseas until September 2009.

Announcing his death in a statement, Joe said his son - whom he described as 'the finest man' he had ever known - had battled his condition 'with the same integrity, courage and strength he demonstrated every day of his life'.

'More than his professional accomplishments, Beau measured himself as a husband, father, son and brother,' the then-vice president said at the time.

'His absolute honor made him a role model for our family. Beau embodied my father's saying that a parent knows success when his child turns out better than he did.

'In the words of the Biden family: Beau Biden was, quite simply, the finest man any of us have ever known.'

Biden is now facing his own health battle with cancer, having been diagnosed with late-stage prostate cancer in May.

He has since been spotted appearing in public with a large bandage on his head in August, after receiving Mohs surgery - a procedure to detect how deep skin cancer has spread.

The 46th president was then seen wearing another bandage as he spoke in Omaha on Friday, sharing his experience with cancer treatment and the importance of researching the disease.

Beau (left) died in 2015 at the age of 46. He is pictured here walking in the Inaugural Parade with his father and brother, Hunter, in 2009

In announcing his death, the then vice president described as 'the finest man' he had ever known. Biden is pictured here reacting to a plaque dedicated to his late son

'When you get that research theyre doing, when they diagnose it  in my case, I just had prostate cancer  when you finish that round of treatment, you get to ring that bell at the end of each treatment.

'Well, thank God for the doctors and nurses and incredible breakthroughs were making in cancer research. Now, Trump and his Republican friends are cutting government funding for health care, making it more expensive.'

The former president then continued on with more jabs at the Trump administration, getting particularly incensed when discussing the record-long government shutdown, which is now in its 40th day.

He said Trump 'better get the damn government open' and accused Trump of 'deliberately making hunger worse for Americans,' in reference to the lack of funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

'In the United States of America, one in five children, one in five children, go to bed hungry every night!' Biden claimed.

In August, Biden was seen with a large bandage over his head after receiving Mohs surgery

He had a smaller bandage on his head as he spoke in Nebraska on Friday

Republicans have blamed Democrats for keeping the government closed, because almost every Republican senator has voted in favor of the proposed spending plan.

But a breakthrough was in sight on Sunday night, as Democrats joined their Republican rivals to strike a temporary deal to end the chaos. The deal reportedly includes a clause guaranteeing federal employees who were fired during the shutdown would have their jobs reinstated, as well as an assurance that such measures would not take place in the future.

It also reportedly ensures food stamp funding through the end of the 2026 fiscal year. The measure must still be formally voted on in the Senate before returning to the House and eventually to Trump's desk for his signature.

He weighed in on the latest development when he returned to the White House on Sunday, telling reporters: 'It looks like we're getting close to the shutdown ending.'

'We'll never agree to give any substantial money, or any money, to illegals that come into this country, and I think the Democrats understand that.'
Hundreds of migrants crossed the English Channel on Saturday - just days after Keir Starmer's crackdown was said to be 'in tatters'.

The new arrivals came over in seven small boats, bringing the total number over the past three days to 1,772 and the grand total for this year so far up to 38,726.

This compares with 32,119 who made the journey by the same date last year, and 26,699 in 2023.

A total of 503 asylum seekers travelled to Britain yesterday from France despite the Prime Minister's warning anyone who returned to the UK would be swiftly sent back under the 'one in, one out' deal.

Emmanuel Macron is said to be ditching an agreement to intercept boats that would see more forceful interventions to stop dinghies leaving shore.

Sources claimed the idea was only a 'political stunt', adding that it had been abandoned.

More people were photographed in Dover today as they were brought ashore on a Border Force vessel while wearing lifejackets, with some wrapped in blankets.

It comes after Sir Keir and Mr Macron held a summit in July on ways to tackle the Channel crisis.

A group of people are pictured as they are brought in to Dover, Kent, from a Border Force vessel following a small boat incident in the Channel

A total of 503 asylum seekers travelled to Britain yesterday from France despite the Prime Minister's warning anyone who returned to the UK would be swiftly sent back

Hundreds of migrants crossed the English Channel on Saturday - just days after Keir Starmer's crackdown was said to be 'in tatters'

They discussed how to intercept so-called 'taxi boats' used by people smugglers to cruise close to the coastline, collecting passengers as they waded in.

Footage at the time showing French officers slashing a dinghy as it tried to depart was hailed as a 'a really significant moment' by Downing Street.

The French interior ministry signalled that 'interventions at sea' would be starting. But since then Mr Macron's administration has been plunged into a political crisis, with his interior minister ousted.

One figure closely linked to French maritime security told the BBC that the concept was unlikely to be implemented.

'It's just a political stunt. It's much blah-blah,' they said.

Peter Walsh, who researches the issue at Oxford's Migration Observatory, added: 'It's possible that might never happen.'

Speaking to ITV Meridian on a visit to Peacehaven last month, the Prime Minister was pressed on whether the Government's approach to stopping small boats was 'in tatters'.

Sir Keir said 'no'.

Sir Keir and Mr Macron held a summit in July on ways to tackle the Channel crisis. They are pictured together last month

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The arrivals in the Kent port today come as Shabana Mahmood is due to announce a major shake-up of Britain's immigration rules in the coming weeks, with changes modelled on the Danish system.

The Home Secretary sent officials to Denmark last month to study its border control and asylum policies, which are seen as some of the toughest in Europe.

Its tighter rules on family reunions and restricting some refugees to a temporary stay are among the policies being looked at.

Ms Mahmood has said she wants deterrents in place to stop people seeking to enter the UK via unauthorised routes, while making it easier to remove those who are found to have no right to stay.

Sources said she was eager to meet Danish immigration minister Rasmus Stoklund as soon as possible.
A teenager and a mother-of-three have joined as claimants in legal action against the Government's refusal to ban smartphones in schools.

Flossie McShea, 17, and Katie Moore, 43, have added their support to a claim for judicial review set up by two fathers earlier this year.

Ministers have claimed it is 'unnecessary' to impose a statutory ban because most schools already have restrictions in place voluntarily.

However, a survey by the Children's Commissioner found eight in ten secondaries allow pupils to bring phones in and one in ten allow unfettered use.

The legal challenge was launched in July by Will Orr-Ewing, 40, and Pete Montgomery, 45, who both have primary-aged children and are running local campaigns.

Yesterday, Miss McShea, from Devon, said the Department for Education (DfE) failed to protect her and other children from online harms during the school day.

She said smartphones 'completely changed my life from Year 7 onwards' and that she still thinks about content she has been shown.

She added: 'I was exposed to pornography and violent videos, like beheading videos. I was sent a video of two young children who had found a gun and one of them accidentally shot the other one.

A teenager and a mother-of-three have joined as claimants in legal action against the Government's refusal to ban smartphones in schools (pictured: Flossie McShea)

Flossie McShea, 17, and Katie Moore (pictured), 43, have added their support to a claim for judicial review set up by two fathers earlier this year.

'I had to go home.

'If we didn't have phones in school, I wouldn't have been exposed to things that I would not want to be exposed to.'

Northampton mother Mrs Moore is also joining the claim after her daughter, now 18, told her she had been shown sexually explicit images in school changing rooms on phones.

She said it was 'devastating' to hear what her daughter had been exposed to online.

Mrs Moore believes a complete statutory ban on phones at school is the only solution and said 'out of sight' policies for phone use in schools do not go far enough.

The group, which is running a campaign called Generation Alpha CIC, will lodge papers in the High Court today.

Under the former Conservative government, schools were issued non-statutory guidance intended to stop the use of phones during the school day.

It comes after Esther Ghey, mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey, said locking mobile phones away in pouches at the start of the school day would create 'safer and more focused classrooms'.

She has campaigned against phones after discovering her transgender daughter's 15-year-old murderers had accessed violent content online.

She believes phone pouches in schools would have given Brianna 'a better chance in life'.

Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner Dan Price has said he wants the county to be the first where all state secondary schools have them.

A Government spokesperson said: 'Phones have no place in our schools, and leaders already have the power to ban phones.

'We support headteachers to take the necessary steps to prevent disruption, backed by clear guidance, and have also brought in better protections for children from harmful content through the Online Safety Act.'
An Aussie schoolgirl fears she may never see out of her left eye again after being viciously attacked by a magpie on her way home from school.

Twelve-year-old Sam Moodie was walking home in Australind, in Western Australia's south-west, when the bird suddenly swooped and struck her in the face.

The Year 7 student has already undergone two surgeries and remains in Perth Children's Hospital, 160km from home, as doctors assess the extent of the damage to her eye.

Her mother Nicole said her daughter was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time - and has now urged Australians to stay alert during the peak of magpie season.

'I've always taught my kids not to look up when they hear a bird,' Ms Moodie told Nine News.

'She was head down and it's just come from the front and straight into the eye.'

'Her lens was impacted by the beak, so she may not have any eyesight out of that eye.'

She realised her daughter was in a lot of pain as soon as she arrived home from school.

'She's got a high pain tolerance but she was very pained, she was crying, and panicking,' Ms Moodie said

Sam Moodie was attacked in the eye by a magpie on her way home from school

The extent of damage to Sam's left eye remains unknown

At least 556 injuries have been reported from swooping magpies this year (stock image)

It's understood other students had also encountered problems with the same magpie before the attack.

'From what I understand, they had moved the baby the day of, and obviously the dad was still where he was, so he was a bit annoyed, I think,' Ms Moodie said.

Magpie season typically runs from August to November, when the birds become highly territorial and aggressively defend their nests, often swooping at anyone who comes too close. Their sharp beaks and claws can cause serious injuries.

Australians are being urged to take precautions - including avoiding known magpie hotspots, wearing a broad-brimmed hat and sunglasses, carrying an umbrella, and walking in groups to lower the risk of attack.

According to the Magpie Alert website, there have been 4,649 swooping incidents and 556 injuries recorded across Australia in 2025.

The last fatal attack occurred in August 2021, when five-month-old Mia died after her mother tripped and fell while trying to shield her from a swooping magpie in a Brisbane park.
California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed 'pathetic' Democrats who joined their GOP rivals to strike a late-night deal that could end the longest government shutdown in US history.

Republicans in the Senate were joined by seven Democrats and one Independent on Sunday night to vote on a stopgap measure which would allow government funding to resume until late January.

The breakthrough deal to end the 40-day government impasse overcame its first major hurdle with a 60-40 Senate vote at about 11pm. The House will convene on Monday and send the bill to President Donald Trump's desk.

The shutdown has left 42 million Americans with no access to their SNAP benefits, forced airlines to cancel thousands of flights and left more than a million federal workers without an income.

Although some Democrats applauded the breakthrough, Newsom was among vocal critics to instantly hit out at his colleagues for caving to Republican demands.

'Pathetic. America deserves better,' Newsom said. 'This isnt a deal. Its a surrender. Dont bend the knee!'

California Democrat Ro Khanna demanded Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stand down after the betrayal by rogue Dems.

'Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced,' Khanna wrote after the vote. 'If you cant lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?'

Immediately after the vote, Independent Senator Angus King held a press conference alongside the Democrats who, with him, voted with the Republicans to push the bill through

The shutdown left 42 million Americans with no access to their SNAP benefits, forced airlines to cancel thousands of flights and left more than a million federal workers without an income

California Governor Gavin Newsom , ripped the agreement as 'pathetic'

The seven Democrats and one Independent who caucused with the GOP were: Dick Durbin of Illinois, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Angus King (I) of Maine.

'I never thought that shutting down the government was leverage against the Republicans, and that was proven to be the case,' Senator King told CNN.

'But I think everybody, everybody felt we had to do something, and the only tool at the time was the shutdown. The question now is, what do you do now? And it's been proven that it didn't achieve the desired result.'

Kaine voted in favor of the proposal after securing a promise to give laid-off federal workers their jobs back, with back pay.

'This legislation will protect federal workers from baseless firings, reinstate those who have been wrongfully terminated during the shutdown, and ensure federal workers receive back pay, as required by a law I got passed in 2019,' Kaine said.

'That's a critical step that will help federal employees and all Americans who rely on government services.'

He said the pain of the government shutdown was worth it for federal employees who could now be assured they would not face sudden termination.

But Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who has gone head-to-head with Trump repeatedly during his second administration, argued 'this is not a deal  it's an empty promise.

'Trump and his Republican Congress are making healthcare more expensive for the middle class and ending it for working families. Time for Democrats to stand tall for affordable healthcare.'

At issue was a provision that Democrats said would continue to fund health benefits to millions of Americans. That measure will be voted on at a later date.

'Pathetic. America deserves better,' Newsom wrote on X. His press office added: 'Pathetic. This isnt a deal. Its a surrender. Dont bend the knee!'

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) revealed earlier on Sunday that progress was being made toward a deal

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (pictured) has been locked in tense negotiations to get a deal through. He revealed on Sunday he would oppose the Republican plan

Fetterman, who repeatedly voted in favor of ending the shutdown, told his colleagues to do what it takes to get the deal passed and consider the American public.

'It's like, take the win. You know, we had an election, and it went well on Tuesday,' he said. 'You want to overplay your hand. America, people are not leverage, and it's not about a political game.'

Trump weighed in on the progress when he returned to the White House on Sunday prior to the vote, telling reporters: 'It looks like we're getting close to the shutdown ending.'

'We'll never agree to give any substantial money, or any money, to illegals that come into this country, and I think the Democrats understand that.'

The deal includes a clause guaranteeing federal employees who were fired during the shutdown would have their jobs reinstated, as well as an assurance that such measures would not take place in the future.

It also ensures food stamp funding through the end of the 2026 fiscal year.

Democrats had previously voted 14 times against Republican continuing resolutions to reopen the government while negotiations were ongoing.

The measure was put to a vote in the Senate on Sunday night (pictured)

Bernie Sanders (pictured leaving a Senate caucus meeting on Sunday) slammed the deal

Party leaders had up until this point refused to work with the GOP to reopen government unless they agreed to an extension of subsidies for health plans offered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

As part of the newly agreed upon deal, the ACA will be put to a vote by mid-December.

Despite holding a majority in Congress, Republicans only have 53 seats in the Senate, falling short of the 60 votes needed to pass a funding bill.

Both parties have been uneasy about the shutdown's escalating consequences. They are eager to get the government running again before the situation worsens.

Concerns range from delayed flights and unpaid federal workers to economic strain and suspension of food assistance for vulnerable families.

The crisis reached boiling point last week as 42 million Americans who rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were informed the money had run dry due to the shutdown for the first time in history.

Already, upwards of 730,000 government employees are working without pay and a further 600,000 have been furloughed as a result of the crisis.

Then, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that staffing shortages as a result of the shutdown are worsening, potentially reducing air travel to a trickle right in time for the holiday season.

On Sunday alone, more than 2,000 flights were canceled into, out of, or within the United States and a further 7,000 delayed.

Dick Durbin (left) and Jeanne Shaheen (right) are two of the Democrats who voted to end the shutdown. Both are retiring in 2026

Catherine Cortez Masto (left) and John Fetterman (right) are two other Democrats who opted to vote with Republicans. The duo will face re-election in 2028

The travel chaos will only get worse as airlines are mandated to gradually reduce their schedules further over the next week.

But the bulk of the Senate Democrats were not on board with the decision to work with Republicans to end the shutdown, and could still introduce procedural hurdles that could delay final passage of the bill.

Schumer emerged from a closed door meeting on Sunday evening after news broke that Republicans had secured the numbers they needed.

'I'm voting no,' he said, adding that everyday Americans 'need healthcare.'

Senator Elissa Slotkin said: 'I always said, like, it's got to do something concrete on health care, and it's hard to see how that happened.'

And Senator Bernie Sanders warned it 'would be a policy and political disaster' to cave to the Republican demands after such a resounding win during state elections last week.

'My own thought is that it would be a horrific mistake to cave in to Trump right now,' he said.

'Essentially, if Democrats cave on this issue, what it will say to Donald Trump is that he has a green light to go forward toward authoritarianism, and I think that would be a tragedy for this country.'

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he and other House members are committed to 'fight' the deal.

'We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,' Jeffries said.

'We will fight the GOP bill in the House of Representatives, where Mike Johnson will be compelled to end the seven week Republican taxpayer-funded vacation.'

On Sunday alone, more than 2,000 flights were canceled into, out of, or within the United States and a further 7,000 delayed

The travel chaos will only get worse as airlines are mandated to gradually reduce their schedules further over the next week

As many as 42 million Americans have been struggling with food insecurity since SNAP benefits ran dry

But Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine revealed he would vote in favor of the proposal after securing a promise to give laid-off federal workers their jobs back, with back pay.

'This legislation will protect federal workers from baseless firings, reinstate those who have been wrongfully terminated during the shutdown, and ensure federal workers receive back pay, as required by a law I got passed in 2019,' Kaine said.

'That's a critical step that will help federal employees and all Americans who rely on government services.'

He said the pain of the government shutdown was worth it for federal employees who could now be assured they would not face sudden termination.

New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen acknowledged that in voting with the Republicans, she had upset some of her colleagues, but she argued there was no better solution.

'I understand that not all of my Democratic colleagues are satisfied with this agreement, but waiting another week or another month wouldn't deliver a better outcome,' she said.

'There was no vote that we were going to get on the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.'

Texas Representative Greg Casar, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said a deal that doesn't reduce health care costs is a 'betrayal' of millions of Americans who are counting on Democrats to fight for them.

Pictured: Independent Angus King (left), who caucuses with the Democrats, and Democrat Maggie Hassan, both voted in favor of the Republican proposal

Jacky Rosen (left) and Tim Kaine (right) rounded out the group of seven Democrats and one Independent who sided with Republicans to get a deal done on Sunday night

'Accepting nothing but a pinky promise from Republicans isnt a compromise - its capitulation,' Casar said in a post on X. 'Millions of families would pay the price.'

Both Shaheen and Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin are retiring in 2026. The remaining six liberals who voted with the Republicans are not facing re-election until at least 2028.

Senators Fetterman, Cortez Masto and Hassan will next go to the polls in 2028, while Kaine Rosen and King aren't up for re-election until 2030.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune hopes to pass the measure tomorrow and have it sent to the House to be voted on as early as possible.

'We'll see how motivated people are tomorrow,' he said after the late-night voting session on Sunday.

Public frustration with the prolonged shutdown had been intensifying, increasing pressure on both parties to reach an agreement.

Trump partially blamed poor results for Republicans in last week's state elections on the shutdown.

But amid negotiations, a high-ranking Democrat acknowledged the political leverage hardships caused by the shutdown create for her party.

Massachusetts Congresswoman Katherine Clark, Minority Whip of the United States House of Representatives, admitted families struggling during the shutdown could be used as 'leverage' for her party.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (pictured) slammed the deal on Sunday night

'Shutdowns are terrible. And of course, there will be families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously, but it is one of the few leverage times we have,' Clark said.

The House of Representatives has been in recess since Republicans passed their funding bill, leaving the resolution of the shutdown in the hands of their Senate colleagues. They will likely return this week to vote on the Senate's bill.

The Trump administration was ordered to address food insecurity which had come as a result of the shutdown by fully funding SNAP benefits by tapping agriculture reserves.

SNAP typically costs about $9 billion a month. The Trump administration planned to cover only 65 per cent of November benefits using contingency funds until the order by District Judge Jack McConnell in Rhode Island.

The administration appealed, arguing courts cannot appropriate funds, and on Friday the Supreme Court temporarily blocked McConnell's order, giving the White House more time to fight the mandate.

As a result, full benefits remain uncertain, and partial payments promised by the USDA have yet to reach most households.

The fallout has been immediate. Feeding America, the nation's largest hunger-relief network, reported a sixfold spike in traffic to its food-bank locator, with more than 28,000 daily visitors seeking help.

'This situation is catastrophic,' said Monica Lopez Gonzales, the group's chief marketing and communications officer, told Fortune. 'Right now, 42 million people are having a hard time affording groceries, and their lives are being disrupted because their benefits have been disrupted.'

Food banks across the country are seeing longer lines and empty shelves. 'The lines are getting longer, and the food is running out early,' Gonzales said. 'We see veterans, older adults, moms, and kids - everyone is stressed.'
There was a sense of order restored and duty served yesterday as the King led the nation in Remembrance at the Cenotaph on Whitehall.

More than 10,000 spectators had lined the pavements from 8am to pay their own respects.

And, as the crowds broke into spontaneous applause following the conclusion of the National Anthem, one could not help but feel that the most solemn and reflective day in our national calendar had come at a perfect time.

For the King, it has been a trying fortnight in which he ultimately took the unprecedented decision to strip his disgraced younger brother, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, of his royal titles.

Meanwhile, the shocking state of our national morale had been laid bare in a poll released last week that suggests pride in Britain has plummeted with half of us believing the UK is changing too quickly.

No wonder, then, that Second World War veteran, 100-year-old Alec Penstone, shocked viewers of Good Morning Britain on Friday when he questioned whether the sacrifice of his brothers in arms had been 'worth it'.

However, for a country seemingly so divided, this was a day to come together. And one given added poignancy, too, by the knowledge that this year marks the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe and the end of the Second World War.

'Eighty years is an awful long time,' veteran Flight Sergeant Jack Ruck, 100, told me yesterday afternoon. 'I've lost all my pals now. I've only got their children to keep me company.'

King Charles stared solemnly as he saluted in front of the Cenotaph to mark Remembrance Day

The Princess of Wales watched on alongside Queen Camilla as an impeccable two-minute silence was held

Indeed, yesterday's commemoration will likely be one of the last witnessed by veterans who fought the Axis forces in 1945, of which around 20 were present on Sunday, the oldest being 101-year-old Arthur Oborne.

As if to drive this point home, there were just three D-Day veterans representing the Spirit of Normandy Association, half the number that came last year.

After hours of waiting in the autumnal chill, the sun emerged just as the Foot Guards Band performed Elgar's rousing Nimrod shortly before the royal delegation  led by the Monarch and followed by Princes William and Edward  entered Whitehall, just shy of 11am.

The Queen and the Princess of Wales  both cloaked in black  looked down from the central balcony of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, while Princess Anne, who is currently in Australia, observed Remembrance at the Anzac Memorial in Sydney.

As Big Ben struck 11, the two-minute silence began. Quietude came easy for Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, standing next to each other, as the pair observe a glacial indifference at the best of times.

The Leader of the Opposition rose to the occasion, quite literally, in dauntingly high heels  a courageous option when there is wreath-laying to be done.

Behind them stood the line-up of living former prime ministers, a spectrum of hair shades ranging from Rishi Sunak's salt and pepper to John Major's snowy white.

They were joined by representatives from the Crown Dependencies and UK overseas territories, and faith leaders and dignitaries from across the Commonwealth  including 49 High Commissioners from as far afield as St Lucia and Sierra Leone.

There was no Nigel Farage, despite his party leading many polls, as custom dictates only party leaders with six or more seats in Parliament participate. Reform UK has just five.

Prime Ministers past and present, including David Cameron, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, paid their respects as they lined up by the Cenotaph

The Prince and Princess of Wales arrive for the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph

In time-honoured tradition, the two-minute silence was brought to a close by The Last Post played by the buglers of the Royal Marines. Little has changed of this ceremony over more than a century  its proceedings comfortingly familiar to any who witnessed the then Prince Charles lay his first wreath 53 years ago, bar the forest of smartphones held aloft by spectators.

The King  as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces  laid a wreath composed of 41 poppies and mounted on an arrangement of black leaves, as is tradition.

The wreath was completed by a ribbon and bow in scarlet, purple and gold, a nod to his royal racing silks. Shortly before midday, 10,000 veterans  many in wheelchairs  began the March Past organised by the Royal British Legion to dignified applause that continued for a good hour.

It was impossible not to be moved as the veterans  one by one  removed their berets in tribute to their fallen comrades as they passed the Cenotaph, that Portland stone monument to the Fallen designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

Military charity Fighting With Pride also took part, marking the 25th anniversary since the ban on LGBT personnel in the Armed Forces was lifted and just a fortnight since the King unveiled a memorial to LGBT service people at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

A special mention must go to the King's Bodyguard of the Yeoman of the Guard, which celebrated the 540th year since its formation by Henry VII following the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, which began the Tudor dynasty. Today, the 73 Yeoman of the Guard serve a ceremonial role in royal life.

Marking its 15th anniversary was Scotty's Little Soldiers, a charity started by Nikki Scott to help bereaved Forces children following the death in Afghanistan of her husband, Lee Scott of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, in 2009.

Part of the troop was eight-year-old Evie Roots, the youngest member of this year's March Past who walked  clad in the charity's black and yellow colours  in honour of her late father Adam Roots who served with the Army Air Corps and tragically died in a parachute accident in July 2018.

King Charles III followed by the Prince of Wales, (left) and the Duke of Edinburgh (right)

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer lays a wreath during the Remembrance Sunday service

This year, the Duke of Edinburgh took the salute of the March Past from Horse Guard's Parade, and was aided by his equerry, the dashing young Captain the Honourable Will Jack, for whom the day held further poignancy as his wife was at home expecting the birth of their first child.

It was a particularly special day for Jack Ruck who was celebrating his 100th birthday by taking part in the march past for the first time. Jack joined the RAF at the age of 17 and went on to serve in Egypt as a gunner on Ansons and Baltimore Bombers.

'I can't believe I've finally made it,' a visibly moved Jack told me on Horse Guard's Parade later, standing resolutely beside his wheelchair. 'I usually watch it on the TV. But I wanted to come and pay my respects to the blokes that made this country what it is. There's no place like England.'

'He's marvellous,' Jack said of his 38-year-old grandson, Squadron Leader Alex Ruck, who followed his 'inspirational grandfather' into the Royal Air Force. 'He's reliable, daring and never stops. He deserves more medals!'

A new centenarian, Jack's wish is to receive a letter from the King. 'I think the world of Charles,' he said. 'Perhaps my letter will be waiting on the doormat when I get home.'

On a day to give thanks, a word must also be said for London's inimitable black cabbies who collectively donated around 1,000 free journeys to help veterans to and from the commemoration as part of the 'Poppy Cabs' initiative.

Veterans on Whitehall ahead of the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph

Services will also take place across the country to honour the fallen

With so many now elderly and infirm, this is a service without which many veterans would simply not have been able to attend at all.

A sobering reminder, indeed, of the financial hardship faced by so many veterans, a scandal that the Royal British Legion's (RBL) annual Poppy Appeal goes some small way to addressing.

This year, the RBL hopes to raise over 50million to support the Armed Forces community across Britain. Last year alone, RBL provided welfare support to more 22,000 struggling people.

One D-Day veteran who was not present was Mr Penstone, who had decided against attending at the last minute following his appearance on Friday's Good Morning Britain.

His words should serve as a sobering reminder to Prime Minister Sir Keir, and the other Government ministers assembled yesterday, that remembrance isn't just about laying a wreath in front of the Cenotaph once a year, it's working ever harder to tend the flame of freedom for which Mr Penstone's comrades laid down their lives.
Leading doctors have hit back at mounting outrage over a Melbourne hospital's policy to prioritise Indigenous patients in its emergency department.

For the last 19 months, Indigenous patients who present to Melbourne's St Vincent's Hospital emergency department have been automatically assigned a minimum category three triage and must be attended to within 30 minutes.

While many have welcomed the policy aimed at improving outcomes for Indigenous Australians, critics have claimed that it amounts to discrimination, could fuel division and undermine confidence in the healthcare system.

Columnists Andrew Bolt and Rita Panahi likened the policy to an 'apartheid', before Indigenous activist and prominent Voice 'No' campaigner Warren Mundine joined the pile-on.

'We aren't asking for that, we're asking to be treated like everyone else,' he told The Herald Sun last month.

'This is where governments try and do nice things and you wind up with idiot policies.'

The criticism prompted Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association to joined forces with Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians to condemn the 'divisive and racist' comments.

In a joint statement, the medical bodies slammed the backlash as 'opportunistic, uninformed and deeply concerning'.

St Vincent's Hospital in Melbourne stands by its policy to fast-track the treatment of Indigenous patients

Leading doctors have endorsed the hospital's move following public backlash

'This policy is Closing the Gap in action and is a response to the well-documented disparities in health outcomes and access to timely care experienced by First Nations peoples,' AIDA acting president Dr Olivia O'Donoghue said.

'Any attitude to the contrary undermines the work being done to create a culturally safe hospital system that ensures Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people receive equitable access to excellent and safe healthcare.'

ACEM Fellow and emergency specialist Dr Glenn Harrison added: 'The triage initiative is a practical, evidence-based measure that helps close the gap in access without disadvantaging anyone else.

'It's a step toward a more just, equitable and culturally safe health system.'

The bodies stand by the hospital, which has closed the gap in ED wait times between First Nations and non-Indigenous patients.

Previously, Indigenous patients were three times more likely to leave the ED without being seen and were waiting on average, three times longer than others.

The Australian Human Rights Commission identified racism in healthcare as a key contributor to poor health outcomes.

Hospital chief executive Nicole Tweddle strongly defended the policy which she insists has had no impact on overall ED flow.

Australian Indigenous Doctors' Association acting president said the policy is about creating equity, not preferential treatment

'Patients presenting with a serious or life-threatening emergency  regardless of their background  will always be seen first. That's what ED triage is designed to do,' she said in a statement.

'We're not ignoring medical urgency. We're simply addressing the factors that were causing First Nations patients to be waiting three times longer than everyone else in our ED.

'We have fewer patients in hospital beds they don't need; fewer patients having their treatment start again. and fewer patients coming back much sicker than they were.'

The backlash also prompted Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan to support the policy.

'St Vincent's is putting in place an initiative that supports the principle of treating the sickest patients quickest,' she told reporters.

'When you have better outcomes for every health outcomes for everyone, that's good for our strong, healthy community.'
Disgraced lingerie tycoon Michelle Mone has felt rather sorry for herself in the face of public anger sparked by her failure to repay 122million to the Government for her unsuitable Covid gowns.

Yet it seems the Glasgow-born entrepreneur has herself been the orchestrator of online 'bullying'  after the Daily Mail discovered she threatened to expose her builders on social media to get them to do a better job.

A whistleblower who worked for Baroness Mone, 54, said she sent aggressive emails to workmen who were hired to carry out work on one of her London townhouses, which she has since sold.

After some delays to the building work, she sent a note to her glazier saying she would bill him 1,000 a night for her hotel room and threatened to tell her '1 million-plus social media followers' his firm 'have let us down'.

The glazier, who asked not to be named through fear of more threats from the baroness, said: 'She was horrible to everyone, not just me. When one builder dropped some heavy gym equipment on to her new floors, she called him a c*** and told him he'd have to pay for repairs.'

The revelations come months after a television investigation reported that her former empire, MJM International  which was responsible for the Ultimo bra  was at the centre of several employment tribunals, including one high-profile case in which a member of staff found a recording device in his office.

Pictures supplied to the Daily Mail show stunning glasswork installed in one of her London homes, including a three-storey water feature backdropped by a mirror and 'floating' skylights. The Belgravia property was sold for 17.8 million two years ago as part of attempts by the baroness and her businessman husband Doug Barrowman to offload some of their UK property portfolio.

When the Covid pandemic began in 2020, Baroness Mone personally lobbied the Government to spend 200 million on hospital gowns and masks. This month, a judge ruled that the 25 million Chinese-made surgical gowns supplied by PPE Medpro had not been properly sterilised.

Michelle Mone has been the orchestrator of online 'bullying'  after the Daily Mail discovered she threatened to expose her builders on social media to get them to do a better job

The Belgravia property was sold for 17.8 million two years ago as part of attempts by the baroness and her businessman husband Doug Barrowman to offload some of their UK property portfolio

Astonishingly, Baroness Mone came out fighting, denying any personal responsibility, and attacking the Government for having a 'vendetta' against her.

When Chancellor Rachel Reeves laughed 'too right we do', the peer complained of 'dangerous and inflammatory' language.

And she complained that social media had 'gone into meltdown with threats and abuse' after the 'machinery of the state' was 'deployed' against her, 'a private citizen'. She was particularly aggrieved that criticism had been directed 'at me personally' rather than at the business PPE Medpro 'as a corporate entity'.

However, Baroness Mone took a rather more relaxed attitude to 'deploying' her title and House of Lords address when her own will was thwarted.

The glazier, brought in to do up the London mansion in 2018, said he had never worked with someone so rude.

A series of angry emails  all featuring the sign-off 'Kindest Regards, Lady Michelle Mone OBE, Baroness of Mayfair, House of Lords, London SW1A 0PW'  read: 'We are moving into our new home in less than two weeks. Your company is holding us up.

'Failure to deliver on time will cost your company hotel bills for myself and my partner Doug Barrowman at The Corinthia Hotel.'

A week later, she wrote directly to the glazier a second time, saying: 'You have failed to turn up & broken your promise again. Don't you dare make any excuses that the payment was slightly held up when you've sat with our money in your bank for months. Get your team down ASAP tomorrow & finish this job before you deal with our lawyers in hotel bills etc.

'I'm sure my 1 million-plus social media followers don't want to hear that you have let us down!'

The bemused glazier said he never agreed any timescale with the baroness, made clear he was waiting on other workmen, and that he offered to return the money if the mirrors could be fitted by others sooner.

Pictures supplied to the Daily Mail show stunning glasswork installed in one of her London homes, including a three-storey water feature backdropped by a mirror and 'floating' skylights

He added: 'To her, I was just something she trod in.'

Baroness Mone and Mr Barrowman, 60, remain under National Crime Agency fraud and bribery investigation over their PPE deals, and PPE Medpro shows no sign of repaying the 122m.

A spokesman for Baroness Mone said: 'The refurbishment work was significantly delayed due to poor project management. The emails in question were neither threatening nor bullying, reflecting understandable frustration at unacceptable quality and repeated delays.

'There is absolutely no evidence to support any claim of bullying, and Baroness Mone completely rejects such an allegation.

'Regarding the claim she used offensive language towards someone delivering gym equipment, Baroness Mone categorically denies this. These are entirely false and malicious claims.'
When the time came to tell the world 90-year-old John Laws had died the sad task fell to Jodee Borgo, his longtime personal assistant.

It was Borgo who picked up the phone on Sunday and made the hard calls to the broadcasting giant's former colleagues and senior radio industry figures.

Laws famously called female staff his 'handmaidens' - the men were 'foot soldiers' - and his wife Caroline was always 'The Princess'.

Just as famously, Laws expected the handmaidens to wear skirts and heels in the office - the rule was unwritten but for any young woman who wanted a job, it was clear.

For 30 years Borgo was the queen handmaiden, acting as Lawsie's secretary, social organiser, protector, confidant, and gatekeeper. After Caroline died in February 2020, Borgo became his closest companion.

Borgo began working for Laws about 1995 when he was on his fourth stint at 2UE. She stayed with him during his four-year 'retirement' from 2007 and was still by his side at 2SM from 2011 to last year.

When Laws finally stepped away from the golden microphone in November 2024 he took time to thank Borgo on air for her role helping him maintain a radio career that began in 1953.

Weekend Today co-host Alison Piotrowski was one of Laws's handmaidens at 2UE from late 2004 to the end of 2007, first as a 'phone girl' then junior producer. It was Piotrowski's first job out of university.

When the time came to tell the world 90-year-old John Laws had died the sad task fell to Jodee Borgo, his longtime personal assistant. Laws and Bongo are pictured in his Rolls-Royce in 2022

Weekend Today co-host Alison Piotrowski was one of Laws's 'handmaidens' at 2UE and loved working for the king of radio. Piotrowski and Laws are pictured

The Nine Network star reporter and presenter remembered Borgo as 'the engine room of the John Laws brand' and said his longtime employee would be grieving.

'She was by his side for decades,' Piotrowski said. 'She was incredibly loyal to him.

'She was the gatekeeper, and probably later in life she was his protector as well, to make sure that he was being respected and he was being looked after. She always just cared about his welfare more than anything.'

In a 2013 profile on Laws for The Weekend Australian Magazine, Borgo described the talkback titan as a 'very good boss' and said she had become part of his family.

'Like a fussy mother on an outing, she carries a hessian bag with things he might need,' that feature story explained. 'Fresh orange juice, various pills, diced fruit in plastic containers, eye-drops, a blood-pressure machine.'

For the same piece, journalist Greg Bearup asked Laws who his closest friends were so that he might talk to them.

'I don't really have friends,' Laws replied. 'You'll have to ask Jodee. Caroline... if she'd talk... You could talk to Jodee.'

Borgo told Bearup her sometimes demanding employer was a good and interesting man but, 'I can't lie, he can be difficult'.

For 30 years Borgo was the queen handmaiden, acting as Lawsie's secretary, social organiser, protector, confidant, and gatekeeper. Laws and Borgo are pictured

Laws called his wife of 44 years 'The Princess'. After she died in February 2020, Borgo became his closest companion. Laws and Caroline are pictured

In November 1999, Borgo was called to give evidence at the Australian Broadcasting Authority's 'cash-for-comment' inquiry after Laws was accused of secretly presenting paid advertisements as his opinion.

Borgo backed Laws's claim that a July 1998 warning from then 2UE chairman John Conde against disguising advertising as news or comment was not directed at him.

Her testimony included recounting what Laws told her Conde had said about that memo when the pair held a closed-door meeting.

'Mr Laws said: "Well, he said not to worry about it. It doesn't really concern me, it's more..." and he pointed towards Alan Jones's office,' she told the inquiry.

Laws was sometimes accused of being sexist, or at least out of touch with modern sensibilities. In 1976 he had recorded an album titled You've Never Been Trucked Like This Before with a cover featuring three servile, scantily clad women.

In 2013, Laws took a call on his morning program from a woman named Carol who revealed she had been sexually abused by her father, uncles and brothers from the age of six.

'My God they were having a good time with you,' Laws replied. 'Was it in any way your fault? You weren't being provocative?'

Carol: 'No, I was just a little girl.'

In 1976 Laws recorded an album titled You've Never Been Trucked Like This Before with a cover featuring three subservient, scantily clad women

Laws was reportedly bewildered by the outrage that followed. He said he had spoken kindly to Carol, who had not complained, and insisted he was not condoning sexual abuse.

[When protesters from activist groups GetUp! and Destroy the Joint converged on the 2SM studios to demand Laws undergo education on sexual assault it was Borgo who was dispatched to deal with them].

Piotrowski told the Daily Mail Laws was 'truly old-school' but she also considered him a feminist.

'I always tell people that he was the ultimate gentleman,' she said.

'He was the kind of man that would still open doors for every woman in the building, including his staff members. He would care about their welfare.'

Piotrowski recalled Laws seeing her and another young female producer who had nowhere to park their cars walking to 2UE's Greenwich studios in the dark early one morning.

Concerned for their safety, Laws 'hassled management' until they were given parking spaces.

'He was always looking after people,' Piotrowski said.

Alison Piotrowski said the Laws edict that his handmaidens wear skirts was about looking professional rather than Laws being sexist. Piotrowski and Laws are pictured

'I remember how interested he was in our thoughts on the news of the day and what was going on in our lives, like he was just always inherently curious.

'I was a 20, 21-year-old with no life experience, no career experience, and I knew nothing, but he still valued your opinion and made you feel heard.'

As for the skirt and heels edict, Piotrowski said it was about looking professional rather than Laws being sexist.

'It was about being presentable and looking like a woman,' she said. 'Lawsie was just big on people looking neat and tidy and respectful.

'Like if you were going to a nice dinner your grandparents and your granddad wanted you to look respectable.

'It was just about looking professional. And it wasn't like, he ever sat me down and said, "You must wear a skirt. I want to see your legs."

'It was just when I started in the office, there was a little whisper that, you know, handmaidens looked appropriate.'

Piotrowski was conscious when she worked for Laws that some critics thought the skirt rule was, at best, ridiculous.

Laws looked frail and inconsolable at his wife Caroline's funeral at St Mark's Anglican Church in Darling Point in Sydney's eastern suburbs

'I was dating a boy at the time and his auntie was just outraged,' she said.

'It was certainly never about sexism. John was actually such a feminist for his time.

'He always wanted to know what the women in his life thought. As a female producer, I felt like I had a really valued voice.

'He would listen to what I had to say. Jodee would be a really strong voice in his ear. His wife, Caroline. He wanted to know what Caroline thought about stuff.'

Another former Laws producer, Melanie Tait, penned a piece for news.com.au in 2017 in which she wrote, 'that old-fashioned manner of John's felt respectful to me'.

She could not recall Laws ever raising his voice to staff and said he always listened to the story ideas presented by Tait and her young colleagues.

If Laws was going to be away from work sick, Borgo - who Tait described as 'one of the most wonderful women I know - would send out a text saying little more than 'Jeans today!'

'If John rallied and decided hed be in at work after all, wed get another text saying, "John will be in! Let me know you've got this message or I'll bring in a skirt for you",' Tait wrote in her piece.

When Laws finally stepped away from the golden microphone in November 2024 he took time to thank Borgo on air for her role helping him maintain a radio career that began in 1953

Tait, who worked for Laws for nine months in 2007, became an award-winning journalist, producing and presenting radio and podcasts and writing plays.

Piotrowski, who remains close to Tait, said Laws always kept track of his former staff, with Borgo's assistance.

'Jodee would be on top of everything,' she said. 'She would keep John updated on what all of his former staff were doing.'

It had been 15 years since Piotrowski had worked for Laws when she was appointed Nine's US correspondent.

'I remember I had a phone call from a private number, so I sent it through to voicemail, and then I listened to the voicemail later,' she said.

'And it's like, "Alison, it's John Laws, don't call me back. I just wanted to say that I'm so very proud of you. Go out there and shine like a diamond.'"
Labour could lumber Middle England with 14 council tax bands, forcing families to pay thousands of pounds more a year, Sir James Cleverly warned last night.

The Conservative housing spokesman accused Labour of a 'Left-wing plot for higher council tax' that could leave households in the top band forking out almost nine times more than those in the lowest.

A potential council tax revaluation could mirror 'progressive' proposals in Wales and Scotland, with the Tories warning: 'Middle-class areas would be particularly hit.'

At the moment, there are eight bands in Britain  A to H, with an extra one in Wales. But last month, the Scottish government revealed plans for a 14-band model.

The Tories warn that if this was mirrored in England, band K would pay 4.2 times the current band D council tax of 2,280  or 9,626, band J would pay 8,361, and band I would pay 7,346.

The Labour Government in Wales is also undertaking a council tax revaluation and exploring similar proposals to add additional bands as well as higher multipliers in them.

A Welsh government consultation in 2023 proposed a 12-band model, with households in the highest band paying nine times more than those in the lowest one.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously described the Welsh Labour government as providing a 'blueprint for what Labour can do across the UK'.

A potential council tax revaluation could mirror 'progressive' proposals in Wales and Scotland, with the Tories warning: 'Middle-class areas would be particularly hit' (file image)

The Labour Government in Wales is also undertaking a council tax revaluation and exploring similar proposals to add additional bands as well as higher multipliers in them (file image)

Last night, Mr Cleverly warned that Chancellor Rachel Reeves was after more money from 'ordinary people', adding: 'When it comes to council tax, the SNP and Labour are a match made in heaven. However much they hike it, they can't get enough.

'Scotland's council tax consultation is a Left-wing blueprint for how to tax the middle class. Meanwhile, Labour are planning higher bands and a revaluation in Wales.

'Rachel Reeves is scrabbling around for ways to take more of ordinary people's money ahead of the Budget. What's being planned in Scotland and Wales is clearly on the table for Middle England too.'

Council tax bands are graded according to property values in April 1991. Councils set bills within these bands.

The Chancellor has been urged by the Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank to double council tax bills for bands G and H, taking the respective average annual bills to 7,600 and 9,120.

Ms Reeves is also said to be considering an annual mansion tax. The Government said it had 'no plans to change council tax bands in England to mirror those proposed in Scotland or Wales'.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: Council tax is a devolved tax and is a matter for respective Scottish and Welsh Governments.

The government has no plans to change council tax bands in England to mirror those proposed in Scotland or Wales.
Two teenagers have been arrested after seeking to copy the Southport killer, it can be disclosed.

Axel Rudakubana was jailed for a minimum 52 years after he murdered three schoolgirls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last year.

The first copycat case involved a 17-year-old who talked of emulating Rudakubana and conducted research into obtaining large knives.

Police found a note on his phone headed 'places to attack', which included images of a dance school near his home in Cwmbran, South Wales. Location data suggested he had been close to the school just days before his arrest in June.

He also researched other potential targets, including his own school, and told people on Snapchat of a plan to attack the first Oasis reunion concert on July 4 in Cardiff.

He pleaded guilty to possession of a document useful for terrorism, and is to be sentenced in January.

The case was adjourned for psychiatric reports amid concerns he has autism  as did Rudakubana.

In the second case, a boy aged 16 from Merseyside allegedly planned to attack a Taylor Swift-themed event wearing a hoodie in the same way as Rudakubana.

Court sketch of Axel Rudakubana who was jailed for a minimum 52 years after he murdered three schoolgirls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last year

He allegedly visited Southport, collected knives and downloaded the same Al Qaeda manual used by Rudakubana to produce the poison ricin.

He also researched high school shootings and considered an attack on his old school, said prosecutors.

The youth, arrested in August, is also charged with possession of documents useful for terrorism plus of making threats to kill. He is due to enter pleas next month.

Neither can be named due to their age.

It comes as referrals to the Prevent de-radicalisation programme with 'no ideology' have soared over the past year to make up more than half of all cases, although only 7 per cent were offered intervention.

Rudakubana, turned down three times by Prevent, was 17 when he murdered Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, and injured ten others. The first phase of an inquiry into the killings concluded on Friday, after examining missed opportunities to prevent the attack.
A drunk motorist who killed Melbourne model Elise Hodder while four times the limit was more worried about his jail sentence than what he had done to his young victim.

Ms Hodder, 24, was fatally struck by Connor Mathiasson's Holden Commodore just after 1am at Sir Zelman Cowen Park, Kooyong, inner Melbourne, in October 2024.

The glamorous young model with the world at her feet was on her way to a rave party with friends when unlicensed Mathiasson, also 24, mowed her down in his car.

Mathiasson had drunkenly attempted to reverse from a nearby car park when he lost control, driving over Ms Hodder and striking two other pedestrians.

Ms Hodder was trapped under the car and died at the scene.

Another victim, Emma Swords, 26 at the time, was taken to the Alfred Hospital where she underwent emergency surgery to reconstruct both her ankles.

On Monday at the County Court of Victoria, Mathiasson was sentenced to 11 years in prison, with a non-parole period of seven.

The court heard Mathiasson had been dreading the thought of going to jail, telling forensic psychologist Patrick Newton it weighed on his mind more than what he had done to Ms Hodder.

Elise Hodder was killed by Connor Mathiasson

Connor Mathiasson will spend at least seven years behind bars

'I know how it feels to lose someone abruptly and that fact that I'm the one who made the decision that caused it to happen to them is really hurtful,' the killer told Mr Newton.

'But prison is more on my mind. It's hard not to think about prison all the time.

'I'm worried about the victim and the victim's friends, and I have written letters to them, but I'm not sure about sending them. It was pretty difficult.

'They just seemed to want me dead. I would probably want the same thing.'

Mathiasson, of Sunbury in Melbourne's north-west, pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death and one charge of negligently causing serious injury to Ms Swords.

In sentencing, Judge Robyn Harper told the court Mathiasson had expressed more concern about his own plight than those whose lives he had destroyed with his actions.

Judge Harper condemned Mathiasson for his callous disregard, but accepted he had shown some remorse.

'You are clearly immature, as reflected in your statement that prison is on your mind, while others are so clearly suffering as a result of your actions,' she told him.

Elise Hodder (pictured) had the world at her feet when her life was snuffed out by a drunk driver

Connor Mathiasson had been more worried about going to jail than the grief he had caused his victims

'While you have displayed a concern for your own welfare, I find that this coexists with your remorse.'

The court heard Mathiasson had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.213 per cent after the crash and traces of cocaine and cannabis were also found in his system.

Ms Hodder's mother, Pauline, told the court that the loss of her daughter in such sudden and horrific circumstances had been utterly devastating.

'The experience of being woken at 6am by two police officers at our door and being told that Elise had been killed by a drunk driver was beyond traumatic,' she told the court in her victim impact statement.

'There are no words to describe that level of shock and disbelief.

'The thought of that being the end of her life and in those circumstances, without me or Michael there to comfort her, is unbearable.

'As her parents, we had always protected her and kept her safe. I would have lain beside her, kept her warm, kissed her, comforted her, and told her that we loved her.

'I would have said goodbye. What a violent, cruel ending for my gentle, loving girl.'

Elise Hodder (right) in happier times

Elise Hodder's parents pictured outside the County Court of Victoria on Monday

Ms Hodders parents were required to identify her body, but due to the extent of her injuries, much of her body had to remain covered.

Ms Swords told the court she now suffered 'survivor's guilt' after her brush with death.

'Emma Swords detailed the guilt she suffers for having survived the collision and how she recalls images of her friend dying beside her,' Judge Harper said.

'She also outlined the horrific injuries she suffered as a result of your driving: the multiple operations, the metal fixation, and casts on her ankles for months.

'She has lost her job, her apartment, her friends, and her independence, having had to return to her family interstate.

'She stated, "I will never be the person I was before that night. I will carry this loss, this grief, and this fear into everything I do. I saw my best friend die. I survived in a way that haunts me".'

The court heard Mathiasson had a history of alcohol and drug abuse dating back to his teenage years.

On the night of the crash, Mathiasson shared a 10 pack of premixed Jack Daniels and Coke cans while driving his mates to the rave.

The crime scene where Elise Hodder was killed

He had been caught by a speed camera on his way there, driving in excess of the speed limit.

Police had been parked outside the event when Mathiasson and his crew decided to leave.

One officer recalled watching in horror as Mathiasson ploughed into his victims.

'I saw one person go under the engine block area of the vehicle, get dragged under,' the officer told the court.

The officers blocked Mathiasson from escaping and dragged him out of the car.

'I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it,' Mathiasson told them.

One officer comforted Ms Hodder as she passed away.

Judge Harper told Ms Hodders family that the sentence could not reflect the value of her life.

Elise Hodder was run down by Connor Mathiasson

'No sentence this court can impose can in any way compensate for her loss,' she said.

'This is a sentence based in law, applying the principles of sentencing that I must take into account.'

Judge Harper told the court Mathiasson's sentence was mitigated by his guilty plea, youth, mental health conditions and chances of rehabilitation.

Outside court, Ms Hodder's heartbroken parents said they had been given a life sentence.

'Our Elise was one of the most beautiful, loving people that you can imagine,' her father Michael Hodder said.

'She has no life, she's got no future ... we, her family and friends, have got a life sentence. And this continues because of poor policy, poor legislation for the state.'

The sentence came amid revelations from the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council that male offenders represented nearly 90 per cent of all cases of culpable driving causing death between July 2018 and June 2023.

Mr Hodder said the over-representation must be met with 'a lot of deterrence'.

'This was another male in charge of a motor vehicle, which is effectively a weapon, that has killed another female in this state,' he said outside court.

'Our daughter died a horrific death in the most evil of circumstances by a person that should not have been driving and had plenty of opportunities to not drive.'
Robert De Niro's daughter Drena has broken her silence in a deeply emotional post from the Vatican just two weeks after five people were arrested in connection with the overdose death of her 19-year-old son, Leandro De Niro Rodriguez.

The 58-year-old actress and filmmaker revealed she had met Pope Leo XIV while in Rome, writing that the encounter left her 'filled with gratitude' and convinced that her late son's spirit was with her throughout the trip.

'I may never find the words to describe the fullness in my heart,' Drena wrote in a moving Instagram post on Sunday.

'To stand in His Holiness's presence and aura in a room filled with so much love and kindness is an honor that will stay with me for the rest of my days.'

Drena then went on to explain how her son's spirit was seemingly with them throughout their journey to the Vatican.

'My little Leo has been showering us with so many signs of his constant presence this entire trip,' she said.

'His love for his family, his mischievousness, his playfulness  my mantilla falling off every time his Holiness came near me (I almost felt him knocking it off and laughing as I silently freaked out and kept putting it back on my head), the inability for the first 30 seconds for several grown men and myself to do nothing but giggle and smile, the strange nagging reminder to make sure my pearl charm was on my chain, forgetting to bring my rosary and that little voice that says 'it's OK. You don't need it' and then to be gifted with a blessed rosary of pearls .all Leo.'

She described the moment Pope Leo accepted her small gift and offered his blessing.

Pope Leo XIV poses for a photo with actor Robert De Niro and his daughter Drena at the Vatican on Friday

Leandro was the only son of De Niro's adopted daughter Drena, 58. They are pictured together

Drena posted several images and video of her time at the Vatican alongside her father

'The warmth and kindness in Pope Leo's eyes when he accepted my small token of reverence and affection, asking that my son remain in his presence and grace. I was given this blessing not only in my Leo's memory, but in acknowledgment of all the young beautiful lives that have been taken too soon,' she wrote.

Drena ended the post with a message of faith and love for both her father and her son.

'I'm so shamelessly filled with gratitude to my family here in Rome, my dad, my darling Julian, and all who made this possible. With love and gratitude always to the 2 most divine Leo's I've ever met, may we all know your peace, higher power and mission one day #PopeLeoXIV #CantSpellLoveWithoutLeo.'

Her post comes in the wake of a major breakthrough in the investigation into her son's 2023 death.

On October 30, prosecutors announced the arrests of five men, Grant McIver, Bruce Epperson, Eddie Barreto, John Nicolas and Roy Nicolas, accused of running a New York City drug ring that supplied counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl to teenagers and young adults.

According to the federal indictment, the group allegedly distributed thousands of fake prescription pills.

One of the victims, identified as 'victim 3,' matches the details of Leandro De Niro Rodriguez who was found dead inside a $950,000 apartment in the Cipriani Club Residences on Wall Street on July 2, 2023.

The court filing alleges that a female dealer, identified as 'CC-1,' sold Leandro 'a mix of fentanyl pills and Xanax' in the week leading up to his death and even warned him to be cautious.

The legendary actor's grandson, Leandro, died at the age of 19 in New York City. A white powdery substance was found on a plate near his body. (Pictured: De Niro and Leandro)

The legendary actor's grandson, Leandro, died at the age of 19 in New York City on July 2, 2023. A white powdery substance was found on a plate near his body. The above photograph from the indictment released this week is an evidence photograph from victim 3's file

Pope Leo XIV spend time Robert De Niro and held a private audience with him at the Vatican

Robert De Niro's daughter, Drena, seen left, mets with Pope Leo at the Vatican on Friday

Another angle captures De Niro speaking with The Pope on Friday

De Niro's grandson Leandro died in 2023 (pictured with his mother Drena and grandfather)

Drena was in a reminiscing mood as she posted photos and video of Leandro from his younger years

'I don't want to kill you,' she allegedly texted him, adding: 'Do u rly need them Ion wanna kill you (sic).'

When Leandro appeared confused, replying, 'Huh? Elaborate,' the dealer wrote back: 'What's confusing abt that?' He responded: 'Sorry I b mad paranoid  I misinterpreted this,' to which she replied, 'I j(ust) don't like serving them cuz they not script (prescription).'

Leandro ultimately purchased three fentanyl pills and two Xanax for $105.

The drugs were delivered by car service to a friend's downtown apartment on June 30. At 1:50am on July 2, the dealer texted him 'u good?' He never responded.

Later that morning, Leandro was found lifeless in a chair with a plate of white powder beside him.

Authorities say the same ring also supplied the pills that killed Akira Stein, 19, the daughter of Blondie guitarist Chris Stein, who is listed as 'victim 1' in the indictment.

A separate dealer known as the 'Percocet Princess,' 20-year-old Sophia Haley Marks, was charged last year with selling the fatal pills to Leandro.

The New York City Medical Examiner ruled his death an accident caused by toxic effects of fentanyl, bromazolam, alprazolam, 7-aminoclonazepam, ketamine and cocaine.

The group had time to take plenty of photos following a private audience with the Pope

The family posed alongside some of the staff members at the Vatican

Drena posted a picture of a prayer card she had made for her son

Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, 19, was the son of De Niro's adopted daughter Drena, 58

At the time, Robert De Niro issued a short statement saying, 'I'm deeply distressed by the passing of my beloved grandson Leo. We're greatly appreciative of the condolences from everyone.'

The building's concierge remembered the young man as friendly and polite.

'I'd see him every now and then, and he'd always say hi,' he told the Daily Mail. 'He just was friendly, kept to himself. It's a tragedy. You see his picture, he was a baby.'
Fly-tipping has become a problem across almost all of Britain with more than half of councils now admitting they will never be able to tackle it, research has found.

Some 98 per cent of local authorities polled say that illegal waste dumping is an issue in their area and more than half report that incidents have increased in the past year.

The research by Keep Britain Tidy found that almost all councils are frustrated with the increasing severity of fly-tipping  and 54 per cent now feel 'that they won't ever get on top of the problem'.

A poll of 86 local authorities by the environmental charity found that 98 per cent say fly-tipping is a problem in their area, with 70 per cent reporting that it is now a 'major problem'.

Keep Britain Tidy is launching a new campaign to warn the public about waste criminals who 'lure people in with cheap rubbish removal deals on social media, only to illegally dump household waste in our streets, fields and public spaces'.

Research by the charity has found that 40 per cent of fly-tipping incidents are now reported to be left by rogue 'white van' operators seeking to make a quick profit, rather than individuals.

Dr Anna Scott, director of services at Keep Britain Tidy, said: 'Fly-tipping is a rubbish deal for all of us. For the public, for councils, for communities and for the environment.

'That cheap deal on Facebook or WhatsApp may look like a bargain, but it's a false economy and it's you and your community that end up paying the price.'

Some 98 per cent of local authorities polled say that illegal waste dumping is an issue in their area and more than half report that incidents have increased in the past year. Pictured: A 10-ft-high pile of waste from Watery Lane, on the outskirts of Lichfield in Staffordshire

More than 1.15million fly-tipping incidents were reported by councils in 2023-24, costing up to 150million and diverting key funds away from vital services such as schools.

The public has also noticed an increase in fly-tipping, with more than a third saying it has become worse in their area in the past year, and 61 per cent saying they feel angry when they see people's 'old stuff dumped in their local area'.

However according to a YouGov survey, households are unknowingly fuelling the problem by failing to carry out basic checks when hiring someone to collect their rubbish.

Less than half of respondents were aware they should check for a licence when hiring someone to take away rubbish and, of those who were aware, only 13 per cent have ever done so.

Some 42 per cent of those who considered hiring someone to remove waste said they simply 'trusted' an operator based on their advert, two YouGov surveys of more than 2,000 UK adults found.

Almost half of household wrongly believe the person they hired is responsible if rubbish is dumped illegally, and just 34 per cent would ask for a receipt or proof of the service when paying someone to remove their rubbish.

However the poll found there is strong public support for solutions to fly-tipping, with 86 per cent saying they would back schemes requiring retailers to collect old sofas or mattresses when delivering new ones.

Dr Scott said: 'Fly-tipping isn't just unsightly, it's often linked to organised criminal networks making millions of pounds by exploiting gaps in enforcement and undercutting legitimate businesses.

'It's a serious criminal offence, and we all have a part to play in stopping it. People need to know that they are responsible for what happens to their own waste, even if they've hired someone else to take it away.

'By doing simple checks and getting a receipt, people can protect themselves, protect their neighbourhoods and ensure public money does not have to spent on clearing up after criminals.'
A mutated strain of the flu that spreads particularly quickly could overwhelm hospitals and cause record deaths this winter, experts have warned.

A potentially dangerous new strain of the virus has emerged and started spreading much earlier than usual in the UK.

It appears to be easier to catch and pass on and is a 'hotter' and 'nastier' virus that could impact more of the population, specialists say.

And it could trigger the worst flu season in a decade  surpassing previous years which saw nearly 16,000 people die.

'We haven't seen a virus like this for a while,' Professor Nicola Lewis, director of the World Influenza Centre at the Francis Crick Institute, told the BBC.

'These dynamics are unusual. I'm not panicking, but I am worried.'

The flu virus evolves constantly but in June this year there was a substantial shift, with seven mutations in a strain of H3N2.

Experts say the form of flu the UK is facing this year is more severe than usual, particularly for older people.

Experts warn that a new form of the flu virus is 'hotter' and 'nastier' that could impact more of the population

'H3 is always a hotter virus, it's a nastier virus, it's more impactful on the population,' Professor Lewis added.

Hospital admissions for flu have already surged by 60 per cent in England over the past week, from 251 to 422, with the rate already at a level not usually seen until the start of December.

It follows the biggest flu season ever in Australia  with more than 410,000 cases  which is often seen as a guide to what happens in the UK.

Sir Jim Mackey, chief executive of NHS England, has warned a particularly bad flu season is likely to hit just as the NHS emerges from a five-day doctors' strike.

Thousands of medics  previously known as junior doctors  are set to walk out from November 14 to November 19 amid a row over pay and conditions.

The combination of a strike and rampant flu could set hospitals 'at capacity' from December to March, Sir Jim said.

Health officials have also warned that many people at risk of flu may be unaware they are eligible for a vaccine.

Only 28.9 per cent of those with a long-term health condition have received this year's jab. Meanwhile, data shows that flu deaths more than doubled in England last year with 7,757 fatalities  up from 3,555 on 2023.

Duncan Burton, chief nursing officer for England, said: 'We are issuing an urgent SOS to the eligible people who have yet to get jabbed.'
A German tourist penned a love letter to his Aussie fling after a one-night stand in Phuket, writing that she was 'peacefully sleeping' - but she was actually dying in bed.

Darwin mum Karla Drescher, 47, was on a solo trip to southern Thailand when she met Perry Shamiri, 49, during a night out at a Kata Beach bar on October 26.

Sources told the Daily Mail the pair had an instant connection and ended up back at the Sawasdee Village Resort, her $700-a-night hotel, at about 1am.

They stayed up drinking cocktails and having sex, and they tried to go swimming in the resort pool near her room at about 4am, but it was closed and Ms Drescher fell asleep.

As she slept, Mr Shamiri grabbed a resort-branded notepad from her desk and wrote her a letter, saying: 'Thank you for the most beautiful night of my life. I don't know how to say thank you.

'Now I'm watching you sleep peacefully in front of me. You are the most beautiful woman I ever met. I love you.'

Mr Shamiri was too drunk to recall what time he wrote the letter, according to the source, but police believe she died sometime between 6.30am and 8.30am that morning.

He was woken by cleaners before midday, realised she wasn't breathing and called police, who found him kneeling at the bedside, holding her hands and crying.

Karla Drescher, 47, died suddenly after a night out in Phuket, Thailand

Her new lover, Perry Shamiri, wrote her a love letter after they had sex in her resort (circled)

It is understood Ms Drescher may have gone into cardiac arrest following an accidental overdose of anxiety medication and alcohol, but a post-mortem examination will confirm her cause of death.

Lieutenant Phirawat Yodtor from local police said Ms Drescher was lying on her bed and there were no signs of a struggle or evidence of any injury.

Prescription medications including antidepressants were located in the room, along with three open cans of alcoholic drinks and two cocktail glasses.

Mr Shamiri provided a negative drug test and was questioned extensively by police, saying Ms Drescher had 'consumed a large amount of alcohol'.

'We had another drink in the room... sex and went to sleep. Around noon I woke up when cleaning staff knocked on the door,' he said.

'When I went to wake her, she wasn't breathing.'

Karla Drescher, who lived in Darwin, was on a solo holiday in Thailand when she died

Ms Drescher was staying at the Sawasdee Village Resort (pictured) when she died

He was cleared as a suspect and left Thailand in early November.

Her son Travis Deveraux has launched a GoFundMe appeal to bring his mother's body home.

Mr Deveraux told news.com.au he had become concerned for his mother's welfare when he did not receive a return text message from her.

'Sadly the way I found out was very wrong,' Mr Deveraux said.

'[I received] no contact from police or anyone [I was] worried about her as she messages me every day [but] she didn't reply for two days so I called her hotel where she was staying and they said, "Have the police not contacted you? Sadly she has passed".'

Mr Deveraux said his mother was his best friend and she was 'healthy and not unwell' in any way.
Melbourne meth queen Tess Rowlatt is back in hot water for suspected major drug trafficking after she was allegedly caught dealing in a swanky party precinct.

Rowlatt, 36, fronted Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Monday afternoon charged with trafficking a commercial quantity of meth.

Rowlatt was arrested in Melbourne's high-rise apartment district Southbank on August 16 this year.

It's alleged Rowlatt was caught with meth, GHB-mirror drug 1,4 butanediol, $725 cash and modified proof of ID cards in a party hot spot that is home to Crown Casino as well as several other upmarket restaurants and bars.

Rowlatt, who appeared briefly via videolink on from Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, dumped her law firm at Monday's hearing.

The court heard Rowlatt had intended to plead guilty to three charges, but the convicted drug dealer changed her mind and will now seek a new legal representative.

Police allege Rowlatt intended to use the fake IDs to commit criminal offences and the cash in her possession was suspected of being the proceeds of crime.

Rowlatt, a glamorous society party girl, exploded into infamy after it was revealed she had been the focus of a targeted Victoria Police Major Drug Squad investigation in mid-2021.

Melbourne meth queen Tess Rowlatt is back in hot water for suspected major drug trafficking

Rowlatt was sentenced to 419 days and a four-year community correction order in February last year after pleading guilty to trafficking a commercial quantity of drugs

The former marketing guru was accused of running a major drug racket out of 16 Melbourne Airbnbs between July and October 2021.

Rowlatt was sentenced to 419 days and a four-year community corrections order in February last year after pleading guilty to trafficking a commercial quantity of drugs.

Covert cops secretly tracked Rowlatt and another suspected drug dealer during an investigation that lasted several months and involved hours of physical and electronic surveillance.

She was eventually arrested at her Upper West Side Spencer St apartment on October 21, 2021.

Rowlatt initially faced more than 70 charges including trafficking a large commercial quantity of meth and heroin and trafficking bute - known to be a deadly rave drug.

The court had previously heard allegations Rowlatt shifted between 16 separate Airbnb properties, including the View Hotel St Kilda and Upper West Side in the city.

Police had alleged Rowlatt stayed at the properties for periods lasting between a night and a few days while she sold vast amounts of meth.

Rowlatt sold drugs at the short-stay properties which police alleged she secured with fake IDs.

The one-time high-flying marketing guru was accused of running a major drug racket out of 16 Melbourne Airbnbs between July and October 2021

Rowlatt, who appeared briefly via videolink on from Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, dumped her law firm at Monday's hearing

The court also heard a prior allegation Rowlatt made multiple drug deals including a single transaction suspected to be worth $34,000.

Police uncovered the alleged evidence after seizing an examining multiple of Rowlatt's devices.

The glamorous party girl claimed, via social media, that she graduated from Monash Uni before holding sales roles within multiple marketing companies.

Rowlatt also sparked a police investigation after she surprisingly appeared to be living at a inner-city Melbourne apartment unlawfully leased to convicted sex offender and drug dealer Simon Simoudis.

Simoudis, who lived in Sydney before quietly moving to Melbourne, appeared on the radar of police after he used false references to secure an inner-city apartment in April last year.

He pleaded guilty to producing a false document he used to pose as a Mayne Pharma employee and secure the apartment in Melbourne's inner-east.

It's understood Simoudis was a major annoyance for other tenants shortly after he arrived.

The glamorous party girl claimed, via social media, that she graduated from Monash Uni before holding sales roles within multiple marketing companies

The court heard the arrangement was facilitated by Luxico, an upmarket Airbnb-type company which markets itself for 'rock stars, families and anyone who loves being treated like a VIP'.

Luxico greenlit Simoudis after he presented 'exemplary references' and claimed to be in Melbourne for 'work'.

It's been reported Simoudis made life hell for tenants with all-night parties and people coming and going at all hours.

A witness also claimed 'shady looking men' kicked in Simoudis' apartment door before leaving shortly after and it was reported theft and property damage occurred at the luxury residential complex.

Simon Simoudis pleaded guilty in the Melbourne County Court earlier this year to trafficking commercial quantities of meth and 1,4 butanediol

The building manager reported Simoudis to police after an eagle-eyed local spotted Rowlatt apparently living at the apartment.

The Melbourne Magistrates' Court heard police also discovered documents with Rowlatt's name at the apartment.

Simoudis pleaded guilty in the Melbourne County Court earlier this year to trafficking commercial quantities of meth and 1,4 butanediol.

Rowlatt was remanded in custody to next appear in court in January.
A beloved 20-year-old University of Kansas student was struck and killed by a hit and run driver while jogging near the Lawrence Regional Airport, west of Kansas City, with her body lying undiscovered for nearly 10 hours.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office identified the victim as Elsa McGrain, a pre-med student originally from Omaha, Nebraska, who was slated to graduate in 2026.

The sheriff's office confirmed that McGrain 'was running and a vehicle struck her around 6pm on Thursday.'

Her body was not found until 3:35am, early on Friday morning, when a passerby spotted her along the road and called police. Authorities later determined she had died while running in the area.

Investigators released two images of a vehicle of interest described as an all-white pickup truck with no side markings.

No charges have been filed in the case, however 36-year-old William Ray Klinger, of Lawrence, was arrested and booked into the Douglas County Jail in connection with one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of failure to appear.

He has a previous criminal history including several drug offenses, according to online court records.

'Our hearts go out to Elsa's family and friends in this incredibly tragic situation,' the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said.

Elsa McGrain, a 20-year-old pre-med student originally from Omaha, Nebraska was struck and killed by a hit and run driver while jogging near the Lawrence Regional Airport on Thursday

Investigators have released two images of a vehicle of interest described as an all-white pickup truck with no side markings

William Ray Klinger, 36, of Lawrence, was arrested and booked into the Douglas County Jail in connection with one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of failure to appear

McGrain was a member of Chi Omega, where she served on the sorority's executive board as house manager.

Her sisters described her as the kind of person who 'made everyone around her feel valued and loved.'

'It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of our beloved sister, Elsa McGrain,' Chi Omega wrote in a statement on Instagram.

'Elsa was the kind of person everyone wanted to be: genuine, kind, and full of light.'

Her sorority sisters recalled her radiant spirit and her ability to make everyone she met feel seen.

'She noticed the quiet one in the room, checked in on you whether things were good or bad, and was the loyal friend we all strive to be. She had a gift for making everyone around her feel valued and loved.'

The statement continued: 'Elsa was an active member of PC '23 and served on Exec as House Manager, where she led with grace, compassion, and a servant's heart. Her faith was the guiding light in her life and in the lives of everyone blessed to know her.

'Our hearts go out to Elsa's friends, family, and all those who were touched by her light. Her faith, kindness, and sisterhood will forever remain in our hearts.'

McGrain's sorority sisters at Chi Omega recalled her radiant spirit and her ability to make everyone she met feel seen

Elsa McGrain was slated to graduate in 2026

Her sorority sisters described her as the kind of person who 'made everyone around her feel valued and loved.'

'Elsa was the kind of person everyone wanted to be: genuine, kind, and full of light,' her sorority sisters wrote

Investigators believe she was struck by the white pickup truck between 6 and 6:30pm on Thursday evening but the driver fled the scene, leaving her in the dark along the roadside

McGrain was described by the University of Kansas community as a bright, compassionate student who balanced her pre-med studies with a passion for faith, service, and friendship.

She had been jogging on a rural stretch of road that runs parallel to farmland and open fields near the airport - an area that turns dark quickly after sunset.

Investigators believe she was struck by the white pickup truck between 6 and 6:30pm but the driver fled the scene, leaving her in the dark along the roadside.

The grim discovery came hours later in the early morning darkness, when a passerby found her body and called authorities.

The tragedy has sent shockwaves through the Lawrence campus and Elsa's hometown of Omaha, where friends and former classmates described her as driven, joyful, and deeply caring.

'Our hearts go out to Elsa's family and friends in this incredibly tragic situation,' the sheriff's office reiterated in its statement, emphasizing that detectives are working 'diligently to find the driver involved and work appropriately through the justice system from there.'
An eight-year-old boy has drowned in regional Victoria.

Emergency services were called to a property in Kialla, near Shepparton, just before 7pm on Sunday after a boy was found unresponsive in a swimming pool.

The boy died at the scene, despite paramedics' best efforts to revive him.

It's understood that the boy was a local.

Frantic attempts by emergency responders to locate a defibrillator at a nearby fast food outlet were unsuccessful, the Herald Sun reported.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

There were 357 drownings across Australia in 2024-25, according to the National Drowning report.

Authorities said that the latest tragedy is 'a sad and timely reminder' for parents to keep a vigilant eye on their children when around water.

An eight-year-old boy drowned in a backyard swimming pool in Kialla on Sunday night

The tragedy occurred 280km north of Melbourne

'Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this tragic incident in Kialla,' a Life Saving Victoria spokesperson said.

'Children remain one of the highest risk groups for drowning with home pools, bathtubs and dams leading locations for these incidents.

'We encourage parents and caregivers to actively supervise children at all times when around water, enrol your child in swimming and water safety lessons, learn CPR so you can assist in an emergency, and restrict children's access to pools and other water bodies by ensuring there are sufficient barriers in place.'
An investigation is underway after former Queensland police union boss Ian Leavers died suddenly at his home.

Mr Leavers, 57, was found dead at his Mount Ommaney home, in Brisbane's south west, about 9.50am on Tuesday.

Police are treating the death as non-suspicious and investigations are ongoing.

Mr Leavers was a longstanding member of the Queensland Police community.

He joined the force in 1989 before working in various divisions, including the criminal investigation branch and child investigation unit.

He served the general president and CEO of the Queensland Police Union for 15 years from 2009, and also took on the role of Police Federation of Australia from 2021.

He resigned from both positions last year before he was appointed as Queensland's inaugural Cross-Border Commissioner in August 2024.

In his most recent role, Mr Leavers worked to support cross-border communities in the state by working with local governments, community groups, and businesses.

Ian Leavers is seen talking to the media outside the inquest into the Wieambilla shooting at the Brisbane Coroners Court in Brisbane, Friday, August 2, 2024.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli described Mr Leavers as 'dedicated, principled, and driven to make a difference for this state'.

'As Queenslands first Cross-Border Commissioner Mr Leavers has been a strong voice for the challenges facing communities and businesses along the states borders during a critical stage of rebuilding following the impact of the COVID pandemic,' he said.

'Ian earned the respect of Queenslanders for saying it how it was, and always standing up for the Police Service he loved.

'Queenslanders will remember his leadership during some our states most tragic and defining events.'

Mr Crisafulli said Mr Leavers left a strong contribution through his service with Queensland Police and the union, where he 'championed safer working environments' and advocated for the police to be 'well-resourced and supported'.

'On behalf of all Queenslanders, we extend heartfelt condolences to Ians family and friends during this difficult time,' he said.

The Police Federation of Australia remembered Mr Leavers as a 'long-serving and respected leader within the policing community for more than three decades'.

Mr Leavers is seen addressing the media in 2014 while he was the Queensland Police Union President

'Ians contribution to policingboth in Queensland and nationallywas significant and enduring,' it said.

'He was a dedicated advocate for the welfare, safety, and professional standing of police officers across Australia, and his leadership shaped the PFA in important and lasting ways.

'His loss will be felt profoundly by colleagues, friends, and all who had the privilege of working alongside him.

'At this difficult time, the PFA extends its heartfelt condolences to Ians family, loved ones, and friends.'

Queensland Police Service Commissioner Steve Gollschewski APM said it was a 'privilege it was to know and work alongside' Mr Leavers.

'For more than 15 years as President of the QPUE, Ian led with unwavering purpose and commitment to QPS members,' he said.

'Ians passing will have significant impacts across the organisation, with partners and the community due to his deep connection and advocacy for the frontline and the relationships he built.'

'I had the privilege of working with Ian for many years and have the deepest respect for him personally and professionally, and his steadfast commitment to our people, especially during times of crisis.'

Mr Gollschewski said Mr Leavers leadership was defined by his relentless support for the workforce, marked by his introduction of significant policy improvements, and better conditions and entitlements for members.

He said the former cop would be be deeply missed by all of those who knew him.

'The thoughts of the service and our sincerest condolences are with Ians family and friends at this difficult time,' he said.

'With honour he served.'

For confidential support 24/7, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.
A runaway dog caused rush hour chaos in Boston after wandering onto the road of a busy tunnel.

Surveillance footage from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation showed a black and white pup frolicking toward oncoming traffic on the left shoulder of the Ted Williams Tunnel Thursday morning.

As multiple cars and trucks sped by, narrowly missing the dog as they passed, the furry friend seemed completely unphased by the danger.

Massachusetts police finally arrived and attempted to coax the animal out of the road and into the back seat of a police cruiser.

Six state police vehicles were parked in the middle of the interstate in a staggering formation to assist with the unusually adorable emergency.

Traffic was momentarily completely stopped thanks to the dog's shenanigans.

Video showed several civilian cars stopped behind the flashing police lights as an officer chased the dog around the road.

Even a school bus was paused on its journey.

A black and white dog ran rogue during rush hour last week in one of Boston's busiest tunnels

State police were forced to stop traffic as they attempted to corral the dog to safety

A state trooper was finally able to corral the stray into the back seat of his car.

The dog did not appear to have a collar.

According to Humane World for Animals, stopping for a stray in the road can be dangerous, so it's important to proceed cautiously.

If you see a dog like the one prancing Boston's roadways, turn on hazard lights and pull over completely to the side of the road.

Asses if the animal looks dangerous or aggressive before attempting to restrain it and lure it into a vehicle.

Drivers that are unable to safely rescue a stray due to safety concerns should call local officials to assist the animal instead.

Police or animal control can help get the wanderer to safety whether or not it has an identification tag.

It's unclear who called Massachusetts police for assistance with the runaway rover in the Ted Williams Tunnel.

The Ted Williams Tunnel is a busy major highway tunnel that connects South Boston to East Boston

The tunnel is one of three major highway tunnels built in conjunction with the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, according to Mass.gov.

It is 1.6 miles long and serves as a passageway for thousands of commuters. The tunnel connects southern and eastern Boston.

Logan International Airport sits near the east entrance.

Animal lovers on social media commended state police for their rescue effort.

'Wow that's one brave pup!' said one commenter under an X post of the incident.

'Kudos to the state police for rescuing the little adventurer.'
Billionaire Peter Thiel has issued a stark warning about the rise of socialism in the United States after an eerily prescient comment he made five years ago came to light following Zohran Mamdani's victory in New Yok City.

Back in 2020, the Silicon Valley venture capitalist sent an email to Mark Zuckerberg and others, urging them to take young people's draw towards socialism more seriously.

'When 70 percent of millennials say they are pro-socialist, we need to do better than simply dismiss them by saying that they are stupid or entitled or brainwashed; we should try and understand why,' the 58-year-old PayPal cofounder wrote at the time.

'There seems to be a pretty straightforward answer to me, namely that when one has too much student debt or if housing is too unaffordable, then one will have negative capital for a long time and/or find it very hard to start accumulating capital in the form of real estate; and if one has no stake in the capitalist system, then one may well turn against it.'

The message was shared on Wednesday by one of its recipients, fellow venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, as Americans grappled with Mamdani's win. In the days since, the email has been viewed 4.5 million times.

When Thiel was then asked about the email by the Free Press, he gave a stern warning: 'If you proletarianize the young people, you shouldn't be surprised if they eventually become communist.'

He went on to explain that strict zoning laws and construction limits were good for boomers, who have seen their properties appreciate, but have been terrible for millennials who have had an extremely hard time buying homes.

And while Thiel, who has an estimated net worth of $20.8 billion and considers himself libertarian, disagrees with Mamdani's answers to New York City's housing affordability crisis, he credited the mayor-elect for talking about the issue more than establishment figures.

Billionaire Peter Thiel has issued a stark warning about the rise of socialism in the United States

He spoke about New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's victory, running as a Democratic Socialist

Mamdani, 34, became the first New York City mayoral candidate since 1969 to win more than a million votes by exploiting the anger of younger voters at spiraling costs in one of the most expensive cities on Earth.

They then globbed on to his promises of cheaper housing, an increased minimum wage, a freeze on rent hikes, free bus services, fully-funded daycare and city-owned grocery stores.

In doing so, he secured over 50 percent, and a nine-point margin over his nearest rival, the establishment Democrat Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an Independent.

But Thiel said he is unsure whether young people are actually in favor of socialism or if they have just become disillusioned with capitalism.

'So in some relative sense, they're more socialist, even though I think it's more just: Capitalism doesn't work for me. Or this thing called capitalism is just an excuse for people ripping you off,' he said.

Thiel then went on to express sympathy for voters seeking bold ideas to fix issues like student debt and housing costs, which he said politicians previously only addressed by 'tinkering at the margins.'

Those incremental approaches haven't worked, Thiel said, spurring voters to warm up to proposals outside the normal political discourse, including 'some very left-wing economics, socialist-type stuff.'

Taken together, Thiel said he is not surprised that young voters gravitated toward Mamdani.

'Capitalism is not working for a lot of people in New York City,' the venture capitalist said. 'It's not working for young people.'

Mamdani, 34, surged to victory by exploiting the anger of younger voters at spiraling costs in one of the most expensive cities on Earth

Voters globbed on to his promises of cheaper housing, an increased minimum wage, a freeze on rent hikes, free bus services, fully-funded daycare and city-owned grocery stores

He noted that the surge in popularity of socialism among young voters comes amid a 'multi-decade political bull market' in which politics is becoming more intense and people are looking more at politics to help them solve their problems.

Part of that, Thiel said, is due to a mismatch between people's hopes and reality.

'Younger generations are told that if they do the same things as the boomers did, things will work out well for them,' he said.

'But society has changed very drastically and it doesn't work in quite the same way.'

'There are some dimensions in which the millennials are better off than the boomers,' he continued. 'There's some ways our society has changed for the better.

'But the gap between the expectations the boomer parents had for their kids and what those kids were actually able to do is just extraordinary.

'I don't think there's ever been a generation where the gap has been as extreme as the millennials.'

His comments came as the United States' housing market is seeing a meltdown with potential buyers pulling out of sale contracts in shocking numbers, as their demands for expensive repairs and huge price chops are not being met.

And sellers are mad they are even making these demands.

Your browser does not support iframes.

Sellers now outnumber buyers in the housing market by about 500,000, according to a new report from Redfin.

Buyers are using that imbalance to wield more negotiating leverage, and as they demand high price cuts, sellers are refusing to face reality.

In August, an estimated 56,000 purchase agreements were abruptly cancelled, representing 15.1 percent of homes that went under contract that month, said the report.

That equals a staggering one in seven home deals in which a buyer pulled out. That's the highest cancellation rate ever recorded in August since Redfin began tracking the metric in 2017.

Still, Thiel said he does not believe a socialist revolution is on the horizon - given that communism and fascism are 'youth movements' and America's demographics are aging, with fewer children being born.

'And so we have more of a gerontocracy, which means that if the US becomes socialist, it will be more of an old people's socialism than a young people's socialism, where it's more about free healthcare or something like that,' he said.

Thiel denied that a socialist revolution is coming to the United States

'The word "revolution" sounds pretty high-testosterone and violent and youthful,' he continued. 'And today, it it's a revolution, it's 70-something grandmothers.'

The billionaire concluded by saying: 'We'll see how Mamdani can do as mayor of New York.

'But I would say [his victory is] symptomatic of things being very unhealthy. It's symptomatic of establishment parties not tackling certain very basic problems or having broken this generational compact.'

Despite this, Republican strategists have said they would be delighted to see Democrats run on a similar agenda to Mamdani's elsewhere in the country during next year's midterm elections.

They feel confident his appeal ends at the limits of New York City, and that his policies would lead the Democrats into political oblivion nationally.
As the mystery over what happened to missing South Australian boy Gus Lamont stretches into a sixth week, a leading private investigator reveals how the search could have gone differently.

The four-year-old is believed to have wandered off while on his grandparents' remote Outback sheep station near Yunta on September 27.

His grandmother, Shannon Murray, was the last person to see him, when he was playing in a mound of sand outside the family homestead around 5pm.

No sign of him has been seen since, despite multiple land, air and waterway searches by SA Police, the SES, and the army.

Ken Gamble - one of Australia's top private investigators - said one change early on during the search could have shed light on the boy's whereabouts.

When police first attended the property the evening Gus went missing, they commenced a search within a radius of 2km.

This search was then scaled back within six days, but authorities later returned and expanded the radius to 5km.

Mr Gamble told The Daily Mail the little boy's abilities may have been underestimated and that if it were up to him, he would have launched a wide-scale, grid-based search with a 7km to 8km radius in the crucial first hours.

Yunta child Gus Lamont, 4, has been missing since September 27

Private investigator Ken Gamble believes police should have widened their initial search area

Police searched a 2km radius of the Oak Park Station homestead, later expanding to 5km

He noted police have their work cut out of them as they desperately try to locate the missing child, explaining there was a 'concerning lack of evidence' over Gus' disappearance.

Mr Gamble has assisted in several missing persons cases, and is currently working pro bono for the mother of Belgian tourist Celine Cremer, who went missing while hiking in the Tasmanian wilderness in June 2023.

Police have long insisted that Gus simply wandered off, and do not believe there was foul play.

'You would think in that terrain that there would be footprints if he'd walked off,' Mr Gamble said, noting that one lone footprint matching a boot Gus was thought to be wearing was discovered in the red dust.

'It is unusual behavior for a child to just run off into the bush. It's not normal, but if he did go and do that, he could have gone in any direction, and he could've gone a significant distance,' he said.

'People can underestimate just how far someone would walk, especially an energetic little boy like that.'

Since Gus' disappearance hit headlines more than six weeks ago, social media disinformation - including fake AI images of a little boy with his likeness being placed in a ute by a strange man - has spread like wildfire.

Baseless rumours, accusations, and theories abounded on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram - largely against Gus' loved ones.

Gus' devastated parents, Jessica Murray and Joshua Lamont

Grandparent Josie Murray (left) was 10km away tending sheep when her grandson vanished. Dams on the property have been searched (right)

The boy's family - which includes parents Josh Lamont and Jessica Murray, grandmother Shannon Murray, and transgender grandparent Josie Murray - have refused to speak publicly.

Instead, they shared a brief statement delivered by family friend Bill Harbison, and only released one picture of Gus when police were forced to admit the likelihood of his survival was dwindling.

Mr Gamble suggested the family could have avoided the rampant social media interest and speculation by addressing the public.

'People generally in Australia believe that if there's a child missing, parents should be jumping straight in front of the cameras and making a public appeal for information (and) sharing the photos,' he said.

'When they don't, it fuels speculation that something is not quite right.'

Daily Mail does not suggest Gus's family had anything to do with his disappearance - they have been cooperating with police enquiries.

'Some people are just very private... there may be legitimate reasons why they didn't go public,' Mr Gamble said.

'If he was located, that photo would have been on the internet forever.'

One boot print has been found in the dust - police said it might not be relevant

With extensive searching of the remote scrubland surrounding the Murrays' Oak Park Station already completed with no results, hopes are fading that Gus will be found.

But Mr Gamble said there is still an option available to searchers.

'I would be expanding the search radius to 8km and using the LiDAir radar system, and mapping out with exact grids,' he said.

LidAir is a laser based mapping system that specialises in precise terrain imaging via drone technology.

Daily Mail approached police for a response to this story, and asked whether they had deployed LiDAir technology in the search for Gus.

They refused to comment.

'(LiDAir) takes a lot of effort and a lot of people to do it, but if he's not there within that range, it raises the question... was he taken away? If so, by whom?' Mr Gamble said.

'It's very unusual, the circumstances of this disappearance and I think police would be keeping an open mind about everything. They may have no evidence that foul play was involved, they can never rule that out, and they shouldn't.'

Mr Gamble is currently searching for Celine Cremer, who vanished while hiking in Tasmania

On October 31, police returned to Gus' family's property to drain 3.2 million litres of water from a dam on the property, but heartbreakingly, they found 'nothing of significance'.

Last week, SA Police commissioner Grant Stevens revealed there had been independent reviews of their search for Gus.

'We've done a minimum of two reviews in relation to the searching exercise from the moment we were advised that Gus had gone missing,' he said.

'Peer-reviews by experts who have taken an objective view of whether or not things could have gone differently.

'Those reviews have identified opportunities to enhance what we've done but there's been no criticism of the search effort.'

He has not ruled out returning to Oak Park Station for a fourth search.

'We've been acting on the advice of survivability experts, doctors, medical staff, in relation to how far Gus might travel and how long he would be able to survive without any support or assistance,' he said.

'That was a factor that dictated how far we would search and how long.

'We are continuing to go back because we are still committed to recovering Gus for the family, so everybody has some sense of closure in relation to what's occurred up in Yunta.'
President Donald Trump has pardoned one-time ally Rudy Giuliani and other Republicans for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

The president signed the pardon listing 77 'fake electors' and people involved with Trump's campaign, including Giuliani and Sydney Powell, it was revealed late Sunday.

'This proclamation ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 Presidential Election and continues the process of national reconciliation,' Trump's pardon attorney Ed Martin said.

Pardons also went to former chief of staff Mark Meadows as well as other 2020 campaign employees who were accused of trying to submit names of fake electors in key battleground states to Congress to keep Trump in office.

It notes, however, that the pardon does not apply to Trump himself.

The plot, according to Democratic state attorneys general, was to have fake electors sign fraudulent papers claiming Trump won their state's presidential race - and then get then-Vice President Mike Pence to certify that Trump won those state's electoral votes rather than his opponent, Joe Biden.

When Pence then refused to do so, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The entire mob of convicted rioters have since been pardoned by Trump.

Trump's latest pardon came as attorneys general in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin faced looming deadlines in their cases.

President Donald Trump has pardoned Republicans for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential Election

Trump's former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani was among those who were pardoned

Prosecutors argued that Trump allies had conspired to get Vice President Mike Pence to declare certain states for the then-president, and when he didn't, some of Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol

In Arizona, for example, Attorney General Kris Mayes faced a decision on whether to press forward with her case or let it fizzle out after a state judge in May ordered prosecutors to return the case to a grand jury, The Hill reports.

A group of politicians and party leaders there argued that prosecutors failed to present to a grand jury a century-old law they claimed excused their decision to send Republican electoral votes to Congress despite Biden's victory in the state, according to the Courthouse News Service.

Maricopa County Jude Sam Myers agreed, ruing 'a prosecutor has a duty to instruct the grand jury on all law applicable to the facts of the case.'

By omitting mention of the law Republicans said justified their actions, Myers ruled that the defendants - who included Giuliani, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and campaign advisor Boris Epshteyn - were 'denied a substantial procedural right.'

Mayes faced a deadline to either revive the case or let it be dismissed of November 21, and had hinted that she was planning on dismissing the case in an interview, according to 12 News.

'The one thing I do know for sure is that I am so proud of the prosecutors and investigators in the Attorney General's office, and I'm proud of the work we did on that case,' she said, notably using the past tense.

Meanwhile, in Michigan, a state judge dismissed charges faced by 15 pro-Trump electors in September after finding insufficient evidence to prove criminal intent.

District Court Judge Kristen Simmons, who was appointed to the court by Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, ruled that the Republican defendants 'seriously believed' there was fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

'I believe they were executing their constitutional right to seek redress,' she wrote in her decision.

'Right, wrong or indifferent, it was these individuals and many other individuals in the state of Michigan that sincerely believed that for some reason there were some serious irregularities with the election.'

Giuliani had been facing charges in Arizona for falsely signing documents saying Trump had won the election in the state, but the case was transferred back to a grand jury in May

Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows was also among those charged in Arizona

Michigan District Court Judge Kristen Simmons dismissed charges faced by 15 pro-Trump electors in September after finding insufficient evidence to prove criminal intent

All the defendants, which included former Michigan GOP co-chair Meshawn Maddock, maintained their innocence throughout the trial.

Prosecutors during the initial indictment dropped charges against a 16th individual after the defendant agreed to cooperate with the attorney general's office.

During her ruling, Simmons said the defendants lacked the 'sophistication' to carry out the crimes outlined by the prosecution.

'The prosecution would like the court to believe that these named defendants were savvy or sophisticated enough to understand fully the electoral process, which the court does disagree because the document that was presented doesn't even align with the level of sophistication that they want me to believe,' Simmons added.

After Simmons' brutal dismissal, the state attorney general stood by the case, claiming the defendants 'knew they lied.'

'The evidence was clear: They lied. They knew they lied, and they tried to steal the votes of millions of Michiganders,' Attorney General Dana Nessel said while leaving the courthouse.

'And if they can get away with this, well, what can they get away with next?'

In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis's office was disqualified from prosecuting Trump allies after her affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, a member of her team, helped blow up the case

In Georgia, prosecutors also faced an uphill battle trying to convict Trump allies of falsifying election results after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis's office was disqualified over her relationship with one of the prosecutors.

Ruling in a 2-1 opinion, the Georgia appeals court said she was 'wholly disqualified from this case,' and pointed to 'a significant appearance of impropriety.'

The Georgia Prosecuting Attorney's Council then faced the difficult task of appointing a new prosecutor, and Judge Scott McAfee gave the council until this Friday to provide a name or see the charges dismissed.

Trump allies were also facing prosecution in Nevada, but a fight over the venue has tied up the case against six alternate electors for more than a year.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford had filed his original case in left-leaning Clark County, home to Las Vegas.

But Judge Mary Kay Holthus determined he chose the wrong venue, ruling it should have been brought in Carson City, the state capital, where the sham ballots were cast in 2020.

Ford appealed that decision, which was heard by the Nevada Supreme Court in August. It had not yet issued a ruling on the matter.

In the meantime, the statue of limitations passed for one of the two charges, and Ford refiled the other charge in Carson City, which a source told The Hill was to ensure that charge wasn't also lost.

Former President Joe Biden ultimately declared victory in the 2020 presidential election

Last month, though, Justice of the Peace Derek Dreiling ruled that forgery charges could proceed to a higher court, the Nevada Independent reports.

He called it the 'hardest call I've had to make in my career.'

Trump's pardon does not affect the state charges the so-called fake electors in that state face.

And in Wisconsin, a judge refused in August to dismiss charges against two former Trump attorneys and a former campaign aide.

A White House official, though, likened the cases to the alternate electors who voted for President John F Kennedy in 1960 - noting that those electors were 'never prosecuted or even questioned.'

'These great Americans were persecuted and put through hell by the Biden Administration for challenging an election, which is the cornerstone of democracy,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Daily Mail.

'Getting prosecuted for challenging results is something that happens in communist Venezuela, not the United States of America, and President Trump is putting an end to the Biden Regimes communist tactics once and for all.'
The investigation into the death of a one-year-old boy has been taken over by homicide detectives.

Victoria Police on Monday confirmed it is handing the death of the young boy in Sebastopol, south Ballarat in regional Victoria, to the Homicide Squad.

Police were told the baby became unresponsive about 12pm on Tuesday, November 4, and was rushed to hospital by his mother, 26, and her partner, 18.

The one-year-old was treated at a hospital in Melbourne but sadly died two days later on Thursday, November 6.

'The exact circumstances leading up to the child's death are still being determined,' Victoria Police said in a statement.

'Detectives from the Homicide Squad and the Ballarat Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Investigation Team have spoken with the boy's mother and her male partner.'

The investigation remains ongoing.

Police have handed the investigation into a one-year-old boy's death in Sebastopol (pictured) to the Homicide Squad
A Vietnam War veteran managed to fend off a deranged, naked intruder who broke into a woman's California home on Friday morning.

The elderly vet was thrown to the ground by the maniac, fracturing both of his legs before he opened fire and fatally shot the intruder.

The terrifying incident unfolded in Studio City just after 7am on Tujunga Avenue, a quiet residential stretch near the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley.

Police say the nude suspect had been wandering the neighborhood moments earlier, shouting incoherently and attempting to break into several homes.

LAPD Capt. Warner Castillo told reporters that the suspect eventually forced his way into a residence where a woman and two other people were inside, including the 79-year-old veteran, identified by neighbors only as George.

'The 79-year-old man tells the suspect to leave, tells him I have a gun and I will shoot you. The suspect grabs the man, lifts him, throws him on the ground, and that's where the man suffered two broken legs,' Castillo said to Fox News.

Despite being in agony having been body slammed to the ground by the intruder, the elderly homeowner managed to grab his firearm.

'The suspect got shot one time and the suspect still approached the 79-year-old, shot the suspect again, killing him,' Castillo confirmed.

Police said the rambling man was shot at least two or three times inside the home before collapsing.

Surveillance footage captured a naked intruder stumbling along the street, screaming and attempting to open car doors before approaching the property and trying to break in

The man could be seen holding up a security sign as he attempted to break through a hedge

Moments before the fatal confrontation, surveillance footage captured the naked intruder stumbling along the street, screaming and attempting to open car doors before approaching the property.

Witnesses said he appeared to be in a 'psychotic' or 'drug-induced' state, banging on gates and shouting unintelligibly.

Police arrived minutes later to find the suspect dead and the veteran critically injured.

'I looked over, and the naked guy was on the ground, and the older guy was on the ground, and he shot him two more times,' a neighbor told ABC News.

George was rushed to a local hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery for two broken legs.

'Hopefully he makes it out of here without being in a wheelchair for the rest of his life,' Capt. Castillo told reporters, adding that the homeowner's condition was stable following the operation.

The incident has shaken the typically peaceful Studio City community, where neighbors awoke to the sound of gunfire and police sirens.

'I think it's a textbook example of self-defense, and I really, really hope he does not face charges,' neighbor Betsy Weiss told CBS News.

LAPD Capt. Warner Castillo told reporters that the suspect eventually forced his way into a residence where a woman and two other people were inside, including the veteran, 79

Some of the occupants of the home are believed to have been in wheelchairs

The incident has shaken the typically peaceful Studio City community, where neighbors awoke to the sound of gunfire and police sirens

The man could be seen pacing outside the home before breaking in through the fence

A screen can be seen erected in the driveway of the home following the shooting

The man's body was taken away by the medical examiner following the shooting

Another resident told reporters that the same naked man had been seen earlier trying to break into nearby homes, terrifying locals before finally forcing his way into the veteran's residence.

Police said they later discovered a Toyota Prius parked around the corner with the door open and a pile of clothes nearby, believed to belong to the attacker. The vehicle has been impounded as evidence.

Police said the case will be presented to Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman, who will decide whether any charges will be filed.
A woman and a child have died after falling into a waterway in southeast Melbourne.

The mother and child drowned in the water at Dandenong Creek, near Allan Street in Dandenong, about 3.45pm on Monday.

Police believe the mother began struggling in the water after attempting to rescue the child.

Emergency services attended the scene and found the pair unconscious.

They performed CPR but the mother and child were unable to be revived.

Both were declared dead at the scene.

Neither the woman or child have been formally identified.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

A mother and child drowned in the water at Dandenong Creek, near Allan Street in Dandenong (pictured)
A baguette-sized missile will prove to be the most important weapon in modern warfare, the chief executive of a leading defence company has said.

The Mark 1 may only span 65cm and be smaller than the average human arm, but the missile developed by Frankenburg Technology will be crucial in countering Moscows growing drone capabilities.

The pitch is simple: as Russia continues to develop lethal drones that are cheap and highly scalable amid the war with Ukraine, the interceptors must also be quick off the rail and affordable.

As a cost-effective air defence optimised for mass-production, Mark 1 is billed to be the perfect antidote to the short-range aerial threats of the 21st century.

'We aim to produce missiles 10 times cheaper and 100 times more than whats currently possible,' said Kusti Salm, the former chief civil servant in Estonias defence ministry.

'Its about redefining the economies of air defence and this is, frankly speaking, the only reason why the Russians are putting all their efforts into drone manufacturing.'

On September 9, after 20 Russian drones intercepted the Poland border in an unprecedented incursion, NATO was forced to deploy F-16s worth around 500,000 to shoot them down.

But such military tactics are not economically sustainable in the long-term, because Russia's Iranian-designed Shahed drones only cost around 50,000 each.

While traditional missile systems are costly and slow to produce, the affordable, agile and AI-guided Mark 1 promises to equip Europe with a modern response to the realities of drone warfare.

An actual-size model of the Mark 1, a cutting-edge air defense missile that features an advanced artificial intelligence-driven targeting system

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Firefighters work on the destroyed roof of a house, after Russian drones violated Polish airspace, with some being shot down by Poland with the backing from its NATO allies, in Wyryki-Wola, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, September 10, 2025

'We are not afraid to say we are manufacturing [weapons] to take down Russian long-range drones,' Frankenburg CEO Salm said.

'And we are not all apologetic about the fact that this will be the most-needed capability in the Western world in the next five to 10 years.'

The Mark 1 will be the world's smallest guided missile, designed to intercept low, slow, massed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at an altitude of two kilometers (1.2 miles) - similar to what the Shahed-131 and Shahed-136 (Geran-2) drones typically fly at.

The interceptor is designed for serial production rather than bespoke performance, meaning a balance has been struck between the search for cheap parts and overall capability.

In September, the company said that 53 live fire tests have taken place, but accuracy hovers at around 56 per cent (a figure it hopes to eventually boost to 90 per cent).

Factories have already been set up in two NATO nations, with the aim to produce hundreds of missiles per day.

Although Salm has not yet indicated a price for the weapon, he confirmed it will cost roughly a tenth of existing rocket defence systems (European IRIS-T missiles are priced at roughly 400,000).

As part of a dangerous race with Russia to improve drone technology, Ukraine is currently developing its own own cheap interceptor drones that cost $1,000 to $5,000 per unit.

They can accelerate to a speed of about 330 kilometers per hour before hitting their targets.

Parts of discovered drone are seen in the village of Mniszkow in central Poland, where one of the Russian drones that breached Polish airspace last night was discovered on September 10, 2025

A house is damaged following violations of Polish airspace during a Russian attack on Ukraine, in Wyryki municipality, Poland

A drone that fell in Poland as Warsaw accused Russia of an incursion into its airspace

The Mark 1 uses solid rocket propellant and will be guided to its target using AI, enabling the missile to offer real-time situational awareness to detect, track and ultimately neutralise UAVs.

The system can be mounted on a moving platform or a static installation, and once fired it does not require a persistent data link to the launcher - keeping the engagement chain short and less vulnerable to electronic interference.

The miniature missile's speed is approximately 750 mph, faster than Shaheds which reach speeds of 115 mph.

The Mark 1 is a fraction of the cost of Patriot interceptors, which can be over 3 million.

Extensive use of cheap drones by Moscow in the Ukraine war has necessitated the development of a corresponding cost-effective counter-drone technology across NATO.

Russia launched nearly 6,900 drones at Ukraine in September, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said, including more than 3,600 Shaheds.

Originally designed in Iran and mass-produced in Russia under the name Geran-2, the drones have become a central part of Vladimir Putin's onslaught and are frequently used to target cities and civilian infrastructure.

Russia is understood to have produced more than 6,000 one-way attack (OWA) UAVs in 2024, according to Ukrainian sources, and has seemed to only increase these numbers through 2025.

Salm has previously accusing the West of doing 'virtually nothing' to solve the recurrent drone threat that has plagued European airspace over recent months.

Short-range air defence (SHORAD) will be the 'biggest need in the world' over the next five to ten years, he said, if NATO is to stand a chance against Russia.

While a conventional IM-92 Stinger missile costs close to half a million dollars, the cheap and scalable Mark 1 might be the key to European air defence in the future.

Dozens of flights at Belgium's main international airport in Brussels were cancelled on Wednesday after drone sightings on Tuesday night forced it to close temporarily

To innovate air defence manufacturing, Frankenburg hired world-renowned experts, including chief engineer Andreas Bappert who designed the highly sought-after Iris-T air defence system.

The company also employs the chief engineer working on the Spear III missile at MBDA UK, alongside Latvian experts.

They are doing 'stuff that you cannot learn over a weekend from YouTube videos, as you can with drones', Salm said. 'There are no Rocket Science for Dummies books that you can order from Amazon.'

It comes as British troops and military kit are being sent to Belgium to help defend the country's skies against suspected Russian drones.

It comes after dozens of flights at Belgium's main international airport in Brussels were cancelled last week after drone sightings forced it to close temporarily.

Drones were also seen in other locations, including a military base.

Sir Richard, the chief of defence staff, said Britain had since agreed to a Belgian government request for support from NATO allies.

Sir Richard said it was not known if the recent incursions into Belgian airspace were by Russia, but added it was 'plausible' they had been ordered by Moscow.


Donald Trump is seeking $1 billion in damages as he threatens legal action against the BBC over a Panorama documentary which edited one of his speeches.

The US President has fired off a letter warning the BBC is 'on notice' in response to an editing scandal involving.

BBC chairman Samir Shah has today apologised for an 'error of judgment' and said the BBC accepts Mr Trump's speech was edited to 'give the impression of a direct call for violent action' before the US Capitol attack on January 6.

More than 500 complaints have been lodged after concerns came to light following an internal memo by a former adviser who also highlighted shortcomings over the BBC's coverage of the war in Gaza and transgender issues.

It comes as director-general Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, chief executive of BBC News, quit last night following a series of scandals at the corporation.

An impartiality row has rocked the national broadcaster after an internal report accused it of bias, censorship and doctoring footage of Mr Trump.

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Al-Qaeda-linked Jihadists in Mali have kidnapped and executed a female TikTok star in front of her family after accusing her of filming them and collaborating with the army.

Mariam Cisse, who posted videos about the city of Tonka in the northern Timbuktu region to her 90,000 followers, was shot dead by suspected members of the notorious Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) terror group in a public square on November 7.

News of her death has shocked the country, which is ruled by a military junta that is struggling to contain the jihadist insurgency that has gripped the country since 2012.

Mali is one of a series of African countries descending into chaos with Sudan torn apart by civil war and a humanitarian crisis and Nigeria ravaged by jihadist violence in its restive northeast.

'My sister was arrested Thursday [November 6] by the jihadists,' Mariam's brother said, claiming the Al-Qaeda affliate had accused her of 'informing the Malian army of their movements'.

Mariam, known for publicly supporting the army by wearing their uniforms in her videos, was reportedly taken out of the city from a local fair by several armed men.

She was livestreaming her day at the fair at the time of her kidnapping.

The following day, they took her on a motorbike to Tonka, where she was shot in Independence Square, a significant landmark in the city, her brother said, adding that he was forced to watch from the crowd.

Mariam Cisse (pictured) posted videos about the city of Tonka in the northern Timbuktu region and had 90,000 followers, but her abductors accused her of working with the military

In recent weeks, fighters from JNIM, the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, have imposed a fuel blockade that has forced the government to close schools and prevented harvesting in several regions (File image of JNIM fighters)

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Mariam largely posted comedic and lighthearted videos that focused on social issues and the perils of living in an unstable country.

A security source said: 'Mariam Cisse has been assassinated in a public square in Tonka by jihadists who accused her of having filmed them for the Malian army.'

The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, called it a 'barbaric' act.

A local official also confirmed the execution, denouncing it as an 'ignoble act' and adding that the terrorists carried out the attack to discourage Malians from publicly supporting government forces.

The military junta is struggling to contain the long-running jihadist insurgency.

In recent weeks, fighters from JNIM, the Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims, have imposed a fuel blockade that has forced the government to close schools and prevented harvesting in several regions.

JNIM is the most influential jihadist group in Mali and the 'most significant threat in the Sahel', according to the United Nations.

It wants to implement Sharia law and is acting to delegitimize Sahelian states - at both the military and political level - by positioning itself as a more credible alternative.

It indirectly governs villages via agreements tailored to different localities, claiming in its propaganda to be defending the local populations.

In recent months, JNIM has expanded its influence over a large swathe of territory - how much is not yet clear - funding itself through tax collection and kidnap for ransom.

People line up to fill the tanks of their vehicles at a fuel station in Bamako, Mali, on October 31 2025 amid a major fuel blockade

Last week JNIM obtained 'at least $50 million' for the release of two Emirati hostages and their Iranian employee, AFP learned from sources close to the negotiations.

For Sambe, the jihadists' 'strategic objective' with their blockade is to 'bring down the regime'.

And one European security source told AFP that JNIM 'wants to overthrow the junta and install a government with which it can negotiate, which it can force to implement its agenda'.

It has forced the government to close schools, prevented harvesting in several regions and limited access to electricity.

Last week, President Assimi Goita called on citizens to do their part, particularly by reducing unnecessary travel, while promising to 'do everything possible to deliver fuel'.

For Alioune Tine, formerly the UN's independent expert on the human rights situation in Mali, the leader's statement was a 'terrible admission of failure'.

The ruling military junta, which seized power in back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, had promised to stem the jihadist expansion that has plagued the country for more than a decade.

It broke ties with former western military allies, including France, partnering instead with Russian paramilitaries to fight the jihadists.

Smoke billows after drone strikes by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted the northern port in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, Sudan, Tuesday, May 6, 20

A large burned area along flat land and numerous burned vehicles northwest of El Fasher, Sudan, October 15 2025

But 'the Malian state no longer controls anything' within its territory, Bakary Sambe from the Dakar-based Timbuktu Institute think tank said. Instead, he said, it 'is concentrating its forces around Bamako to secure the regime'.

And the population's initial support for the junta 'is beginning to erode in the face of the military regime's inability to keep its security promise', he added.

Faced with the deteriorating situation, the United States and United Kingdom announced they were withdrawing non-essential personnel from Mali at the end of October.

Several other embassies, including most recently France on Friday, have asked their citizens to leave the country.

Last week, militants in Sudan were reported to have staged horrific public mass gang rapes and slaughtered 40 people at a funeral as the country's 'nightmare of violence' continues.

Frightened people who have been forced to flee El-Fasher after it fell to the Rapid Support Forces have described horrific abuse, including rape at the hands of the militants.

Speaking from a makeshift shelter, Amira, a mother of four, said: 'The rapes were gang rapes. Mass rape in public, rape in front of everyone and no one could stop it.'

'You'd be asleep and they'd come and rape you,' said Amira, using a pseudonym while speaking during a webinar organised by campaign group Avaaz.

'I saw with my own eyes people who couldn't afford to pay and the fighters took their daughters instead. They said, ''Since you can't pay, we'll take the girls.'' If you had daughters of a young age, they would take them immediately.'

Fires and smoke around El Fasher Airport, Sudan, October 26 2025

Two girls stand next to a burnt car at the Bungha Central Mosque in Mangu, NIgeria, on February 2, 2024

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said more than 300 survivors of sexual violence had sought care from its teams in Tawila after a previous RSF assault on the nearby Zamzam camp, which displaced more than 380,000 people last spring.

According to a report by charity groups, children as young as one have been brutally raped.

Over in Nigeria, Christians have welcomed Donald Trump's threat to send the US military to the West African nation 'guns-a-blazing', though its leaders are wary of American intervention.

Nigeria has been roiled by internal violence in the wake of a jihadist insurgency spearheaded by extremist group Boko Haram in the northeast since 2009.

Trump, 79, had already designated Nigeria a 'country of particular concern,' but he took his condemnation of the situation in the country even further after hearing about it on Fox News, threatening to cut aid and even send in US troops.

Some Christian communities have welcomed the US president's menace, believing that foreign armies are needed to restore peace in their homeland.

'We see President Trump as our second God,' Christian community leader Bamshak Daniel told the Wall Street Journal.

'We have been praying for a supernatural intervention to save the lives of our people. President Trump must make haste and carry out this military intervention.'

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu was shocked by the fiery 'guns-a-blazing' rhetoric coming from the leader of one of his country's most important partners.

A Nigerian soldier stands on a military truck, during the tour of the Theatre Command Operation Lafiya Dole by Nigeria's Chief of Army Staff, at the Maimalari Cantonment in Maiduguri, Borno, Nigeria, November 7, 2025

Burnt grains and farming equipment sit inside a storehouse following a deadly gunmen attack in Yelwata, Benue State, Nigeria, June 16, 2025

He was stunned when he first saw Trump's Truth Social post - which occurred during his morning routine of drinking a shot of espresso and having his routine doctor's check-up, the Journal said.

Tinubu - a 73-year-old Muslim married to one of Nigeria's most prominent Christian Pentecostal preachers - said Trump's interpretation of his country's malaise is a 'gross misrepresentation of the reality'.

Amid the various forms of bloodletting around the country - including ethnic rivalry and banditry - the Islamist militants have been slaughtering Christians as well as Muslims they regard as 'apostates' for failing to comply with their brand of Islam.

There has also been a separate onslaught by Fulani Muslim tribesmen against mainly Christian farming communities, a protracted crisis linked to a tangle of issues like religion, ethnicity and a scramble over the dwindling supply of arable land.

While Christians are among those targeted, analysts say the majority of victims of armed groups are Muslims in Nigeria's Muslim-majority north, where most attacks occur, according to the Associated Press.
A day of violent armed rioting at a prison in southwest Ecuador on Sunday led to the deaths of at least 31 inmates, the country's prisons agency said.

Twenty-seven prisoners in port town Machala died due to asphyxiation and 'immediate death by hanging,' according to a statement shared on X by the SNAI prisons agency. There were no other details about how the prisoners died.

Authorities said they were still working to 'fully clarify the facts,' and forensic medical personnel were on site to verify information.

Earlier Sunday, SNAI reported that four people had been killed due to the deadly rioting, which was later brought under control by tactical police.

The incident broke out around 3:00am (0800 GMT) at the prison, where local residents recalled hearing gunfire, explosions, and cries for help coming from inside the prison's walls.

Elite police teams entered the prison immediately and regained control after the riot broke out, the agency said.

But it did not specify the identities of the deceased or confirm whether the violence was another case of inter-gang fighting.

Four people died in the morning violence, while 33 inmates and one police officer were injured, SNAI said.

Twenty-seven prisoners in port town Machala died due to asphyxiation and 'immediate death by hanging,' according to a statement shared on X by the SNAI prisons agency

Authorities said they were still working to 'fully clarify the facts,' and forensic medical personnel were on site to verify information

Police officers stand guard at the entrance of the prison after an armed riot that left four dead and dozens more injured in Machala, Ecuador on November 9, 2025

Earlier Sunday, SNAI reported four deaths due to deadly rioting, which was brought under control by tactical police

That riot was prompted by a reorganisation of the prisoners in a new maximum security facility, the statement said.

Ecuadoran prisons have become operational centers for rival drug-trafficking gangs, with over 500 inmates killed in fighting between groups competing to control the lucrative but illegal trade.

They are now considered the 'epicenter' of the country's organised crime, according to a 2024 report by Insight Crime think tank.

President Daniel Noboa's administration, which has pledged to take a tough stance on crime, blames the violence on rival gangs battling for dominance and territorial control.

In September, a riot caused by gang fighting in the same prison left 14 people dead and another 14 wounded.

In that incident, prisoners used guns and explosives and an unknown number escaped. Some were recaptured.

Days later, another 17 people were killed in a prison riot in the northern city of Esmeraldas, near the border with Colombia.

Bloody fighting broke out in a prison in the troubled coastal city, where police said they found 10 dead prisoners in two cell blocks.

Images of the aftermath shared on social media and verified by AFP showed dead men sprawled on the ground with bare, blood-stained torsos, at least two of them decapitated.

Dozens of worried family members gathered outside the prison for news of their loved ones as the SNAI prison authority raised the official toll from 10 to 17 within a few hours.

'There are women here who have been asking after their relatives since 5:30am,' an anguished woman, who asked not to be named, told AFP at the time.

She herself rushed to the prison after receiving a call from people who live nearby and told her 'they heard the shooting, they heard the screams'.

When she arrived, she said, soldiers told her to go to the morgue to check if her loved one was dead or alive.

Since February 2021, gang wars have largely played out inside the country's prisons, where inmates have often been killed in gruesome fashion - their bodies dismembered and burnt.

Police officers stand guard in front of a prison in Esmeraldas, Ecuador on September 25, 2025

Ecuador's biggest prison massacre also took place in 2021, when more than 100 inmates were killed in the port city of Guayaquil in the southwest.

Inmates have on more than one occasion gone live on social media to broadcast their violent campaigns, showing off the decapitated and charred bodies of their enemies.

Last year, gang members took scores of prison guards hostage after the jailbreak of narco boss Jose Adolfo Macias, known as Fito, while allies on the outside detonated bombs and held a television presenter at gunpoint live on air.

Nestled between Peru and Colombia, the world's two largest cocaine producers, Ecuador has become a major hub for the global cocaine trade.

More than 70 per cent of all cocaine produced in the world now passes through Ecuador's ports, according to government data.

The tiny country of some 18 million people has become engulfed in violence in the past few years and is now one of the most dangerous places in Latin America.

The roots of this crisis 'can be traced directly to the country's prison system and the criminal networks that have evolved inside of it,' Insight Crime found.
Vladimir Putin's daughter is reportedly behind a campaign to bring down Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, as she attempts to end the war in Ukraine.

Last week, reports indicated that the president had sidelined Lavrov, 75, who has been one of his staunch allies over the years and has been in charge of foreign policy for more than two decades.

The Kremlin was forced to deny that Putin had fallen out with the minister. 'Lavrov is working as foreign minister, of course,' said a spokesman in a lukewarm vote of confidence.

But Putin's former speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov has revealed that his second daughter, Katerina Tikhonova, 39, is looking to sink Lavrov in a bid to end the Ukraine war, which began in 2022 when Russia launched an invasion.

Lavrov 'remains in his role' despite not appearing at a security council session and being stripped of his role as head of the Russian delegation at the upcoming G20 meeting in South Africa.

Gallyamov said: 'Rumours about Lavrov were already circulating six months ago. Serious sources said that Katerina Tikhonova had supposedly spoken to Putin repeatedly, saying that Lavrov was making things worse.'

The foreign minister was blamed for Donald Trump's refusal to agree to a summit with Putin in Budapest last month. He is believed to have upset US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a 'disastrous' phone call in September.

According to Russian media reports, he was also accused of 'sabotage' by some Kremlin officials after he refused to engage in a peace process. Russia was hit by huge sanctions imposed by the US shortly after Lavrov's call with Rubio, amid speculation that officials may have opened a probe against the minister.

Tikhonova is now said to have told Putin that Lavrov was 'too aggressive and his hawkish screeching hindered the achievement of agreements'.

Gallyamov added: 'Perhaps Putin finally listened to his daughter? And besides, she's got a point. Strictly speaking, it's true - he's in the way. He should have been replaced long ago. Lavrov is a foreign minister for times when you're winning.

Putin's daughter, Katerina Tikhonova, is reportedly determined to topple Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov

Sergei Lavrov, who has been in charge of Russia's foreign policy for more than two decades is one of Putin's staunch allies

Officials were forced to deny claims that Putin had spectacularly fallen out with his top diplomat

'When you've won a war, then Lavrov is the perfect diplomat to bluster. But when you can't win, you need to become more reasonable, and Lavrov is no longer capable of such reasonableness.'

Putin and his foreign ministry were now seen as 'propagandists', not diplomats, Gallyamov told Zhivoy Gvozd media outlet.

A conflict is seen as swirling over Katerina's favourite Kirill Dmitriev, 50, who is married to her best friend and business partner.

Dmitriev heads the Russian sovereign wealth fund and has been used by Putin as a back channel to the Trump administration, where he has contacts.

But this has upset Lavrov, who once personally removed a chair intended for Dmitriev ahead of US talks to get him out of the way, according to accounts in Moscow.

'Lavrov has come to be associated with a hardline course,' said Gallyamov. 'He has long since become a kind of hawk who exacerbates conflicts rather than softens them.

'And of course, in the current situation - when Putin has problems up to his ears and Trump is furious - Lavrov is out of the picture. He's not particularly needed.'

Meanwhile, Lavrov has reappeared after days out of the limelight to accuse the US of reneging on promises made when Putin met Trump in Alaska.

The war hawk told a state media outlet: 'At that time the Americans assured us that they would ensure that Volodymyr Zelensky would not obstruct the attainment of peace. Apparently, certain difficulties have arisen in this matter.

'In addition, to our knowledge, Brussels and London are trying to persuade Washington to abandon the intention of resolving the crisis politically-diplomatically and to engage fully in efforts to apply military pressure on Russia.'

If the claim about Tikhonova is true, it shows she is growing in sway behind the scenes in Russia, but also would reflect deep turmoil in the Putin regime under stress from its failures in almost four years of war.

Some believe that Putin may be be grooming Tikhonova to take over him as president

Putin with his family - his second daughter, Tikhonova, left, is being backed one of Putin's top allies to take over from him

Gallyamov has previously claimed Putin could even groom Katerina, the second of his three known daughters, as his eventual successor.

She is said to be backed by close Putin crony Mikhail Kovalchuk, 78, the dictator's anti-ageing guru, head of the Kurchatov Institute, Russia's leading nuclear institute.

Tikhonova, head of the Innopraktika Institute in Moscow, has started making conference and TV appearances, but not on a large scale, and until now, Putin has insisted his children - he is believed to have five - are not public figures.

She is seen as an unofficial integrator of all high-tech companies in Russia, and plays a role in sanctions-busting on behalf of her father's regime.

'The circle around the president's daughter, Katerina Tikhonova has every chance, given time, to seize power in the country,' said Gallyamov earlier this year. 'It's not the worst-case scenario, though of course things could shift.

'They are not war enthusiasts, although it's clear they don't openly criticise it.

'[Their] idea is that Russia should advance its interests through soft power rather than by waging wars.'

Katerina is married to ballet dancer and artistic director, Igor Zelensky, 56, previously head of the Bavarian State Ballet. This means her married name is Mrs Zelensky.

She used to make regular clandestine trips by private jet to Munich, accompanied by state bodyguards.

Tikhonova performing in May 2014. She has now began appearing at conferences and on TV stations across the country

She is known to favour the 'Vampire Facelift', a beauty remedy used by Kim Kardashian.

Katerina's blood was removed, then processed and injected back under the skin in a treatment costing 4,310 per session.

She also underwent Botox procedures and had hyaluronic acid injections to treat frown lines on her forehead and laugh lines on her mouth, say reports.

Earlier, she was married to Russia's youngest billionaire, Kirill Shamalov, now 43, son of a close Putin crony.
The BBC has been warned it faces a 'last chance' after the extraordinary meltdown over editing a Donald Trump speech.

The corporation is reeling after director general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness stepped down in the wake of an internal report detecting bias and censorship.

Mr Trump's speech on January 6, 2021, was edited in a Panorama documentary to make it seem that he told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to 'fight like hell'.

Ministers and Labour MPs are scrambling to prop up the national broadcaster following a direct attack from the US President overnight.

Mr Trump described Mr Davie and BBC journalists as 'very dishonest' and a 'terrible thing for democracy'. Nigel Farage revealed this morning that the the US commander-in-chief was 'enraged' by the situation.

The intervention leaves Keir Starmer - who has so far remained silent on the developments - walking a diplomatic tightrope.

Mr Davie (pictured in February 2024) stepped down amid an impartiality row which has rocked the national broadcaster after an internal report accused it of bias and censorship

Mr Trump described Mr Davie and BBC journalists as 'very dishonest' as he launched a new attack against the scandal-hit corporation

Mr Trump's attack leaves Keir Starmer - who has so far remained silent on the developments - walking a diplomatic tightrope

Nigel Farage warned that the BBC faces a 'last chance' to prevent disaster

Labour minister Chris Bryant insisted the BBC is still the 'most trusted news broadcaster' and it would be 'folly to lose it'

BBC chairman Samir Shah is expected to apologise for the Panorama editing today, although the board does not yet appear to have agreed a text of the statement.

Mr Farage revealed today that he spoke to Ms Trump on Friday.

'To say that he was angry would be an understatement,' he told LBC.

'As he said, 'I thought you guys were allies', and this was a state broadcaster.

'Absolutely appalling, but it's just the latest of a long list of political biases that we see running throughout the BBC.

'I've watched it for decades, whether it was their coverage of the European Union, their coverage of immigration, their coverage of climate change, their swallowing - hook, line and sinker - Hamas propaganda coming out of Gaza, and the woke agenda runs through not just news, but every cultural programme as well.

'And so you have to conclude that the BBC has been not just run, but staffed by the wrong people for way, way too long.'

Veterans minister Louise Sandher-Jones told Sky News that the BBC is still 'trusted'.

'When you look at the huge range of domestic issues, local issues, international issues, that it has to cover, I think its output is very trusted,' she said.

'When I speak to people who've got very strongly held views on those, they're still using the BBC for a lot of their information, it's forming their views on this.

'I think we can all point to elements of BBC broadcasting of news and say 'well, that reflects my views, and that doesn't' and that's absolutely right, that we should be able to say that.'

Asked about Mr Trump's comments on the BBC, she said: 'President Trump will obviously speak for himself.

'Tim Davie and Deborah Turness have been quite clear that it's their decision that they've stepped down and I note that the board has thanked them for their service and had said that it had supported them.

'But they've, as they've said, taken accountability for what the BBC has put out. I think it is very important that public figures have accountability.'

Ms Furness arrived at the BBC's HQ this morning with a defiant message that the BBC is 'not institutionally biased'.

'I would like to say it has been the privilege of my career to serve as the CEO of BBC News and to work with our brilliant team of journalists,' she said.

'I stepped down over the weekend because the buck stops with me. But I'd like to make one thing very clear, BBC News is not institutionally biased. That's why it's the world's most trusted news provider.'

In a post on Truth Social last night, Mr Trump wrote: 'The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught 'doctoring' my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th.

'These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election. On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for Democracy!'

He also shared a Daily Mail column from Boris Johnson, where the former Prime Minister vowed to withhold his licence fee unless Mr Davie broke his silence on the incident or resigned.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the 'BBC is dying because they are anti-Trump Fake News'.

It followed comments from last week where she said the corporation was '100 per cent fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom'.

Last night she posted a screenshot of her comments alongside the broadcaster's announcement of Mr Davie's resignation. She captioned the tweet: 'Shot' and 'Chaser'.

Mr Davie admitted 'mistakes' had been made, adding: 'I have to take ultimate responsibility.'

Donald Trump last night condemned the 'corrupt' BBC as he tore into director-general Tim Davie

Ms Turness said the 'buck stops with me' and acknowledged the editing of footage of the US President in the documentary 'Trump: A Second Chance?' had caused 'damage' to the BBC.

But she denied claims that the broadcaster was institutionally biased.

Both executives have resigned and not been sacked, with Mr Shah calling it a 'sad day'.

A BBC insider told the Daily Mail that Mr Davie was 'furious' at political leaders who 'jumped on the report to bring him down'.
Asylum seekers could be given 100 a week to leave taxpayer-funded hotels and live with family or friends instead.

Ministers are desperate to find ways to move migrants out of hotels, which cost an average of 145 per person, per night.

With Sir Keir Starmer pledging to end the use of hotels by the end of this Parliament in 2029, Home Office officials are reportedly suggesting paying asylum seekers to find alternative accommodation.

The 100 per week figure would be on top of the 49.18 weekly payment they usually receive to cover expenses like food, clothing and toiletries.

The latest data from June 2025 showed 32,000 migrants were living in hotels at a cost of 5.5million a day or 2.1billion a year.

Another way Labour hopes to reduce the use of hotels is by opening up accommodation in military bases, with six currently being considered for use.

A list of sites from Surrey to Cumbria  all of which could be brought into use within weeks - has been compiled by the Ministry of Defence, the Mail on Sunday disclosed.

The plan would see migrants accommodated on Army training camps where facilities have recently been upgraded but which are not currently being used by the military.

Asylum hotels have been a focus of protests, including in Epping, Essex

The bases include two sites in Norfolk, West Tofts and Wretham; Knook Camp in Wiltshire; Brunswick Camp in Surrey; Warcop in Cumbria; and Castlemartin in Pembrokeshire.

All the sites have been upgraded since 2020 and would be able to accept migrants immediately, defence sources confirmed.

The 100-a-week payment to asylum seekers - which could be trialled in 2026 - is among a series of options put to ministers, according to reports.

Migrants would have to provide proof they have found appropriate accommodation and report regularly to the Home Office.

A source told the Telegraph: 'It's important that officials provide advice to ministers that sets out a range of options but it doesn't mean ministers will pursue every option. Nothing is off the table.'

Officials already offer a 3,000 payment to asylum seekers or anyone in the UK illegally who agrees to return to their home country.

A Home Office spokesman said : 'The Government is furious about the number of illegal migrants in this country and in hotels. That is why we will close every single asylum hotel.'

The department said the voluntary returns service played a 'vital' role.

'We make no apology for saving taxpayers millions of pounds by removing individuals who have no legal right to remain in the United Kingdom, or who are seeking to leave voluntarily,' the spokesman said.

Migrant accommodation on ex-military bases is now cheaper than migrant hotels, it emerged last month, vindicating the Tory government's decision to set them up.

Migrants pictured yesterday as they are brought in to Dover, Kent, from a Border Force vessel

The cost of running existing large-scale centres  Wethersfield and Napier Barracks in Kent  has fallen below the bill of 145 per person per night faced by the taxpayer for hotels.

Napier Barracks now costs 108.58 per person per night, while Wethersfield costs 132, new data from the Home Office showed.

A damning report by MPs last month found the Home Office had 'squandered' billions of pounds on asylum hotels.

It blasted the department's 'incompetence' over its handling of a 'failed, chaotic and expensive' system, adding that private accommodation providers had been allowed to make 'excessive profits' from the Channel crisis.

Hundreds of migrants crossed the English Channel on Saturday, bringing the total number over the past three days to 1,772.

The total for this year so far is 38,726 compared with 32,119 who made the journey by the same date last year, and 26,699 in 2023.

Sir Keir scrapped the Tories' Rwanda scheme - which was designed to deter small boat crossings and save lives - as one of his first acts in office.

Labour signed a 'one in, one out' deal with the French in July, in an attempt to get on top of soaring Channel crossings.

The treaty allows the Home Office to send migrants who arrive by small boat back to France, in exchange for an equal number of migrants who have made an official application to come here.

The Home Office confirmed on Wednesday there have been 94 migrants removed from the UK under the deal so far.

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In addition, 57 migrants have been brought to the UK under the reciprocal terms of the deal.

They are handed three-month visas and a chance to 'regularise' their stay here, usually by making asylum applications.

The scheme was thrown into crisis last month when it emerged a small boat migrant who had been deported under the treaty had come back to Britain a second time by small boat.

The unnamed Iranian man was finally deported to France again on Wednesday, 18 days after his second small boat crossing.

His farcical back-and-forth journeys left the Government's flagship scheme in disarray, raising new questions over ministers' plan to tackle the Channel crisis.
Residents of a Swedish town that was moved three miles are now complaining that temperatures in the new location are 10C colder.

Kiruna, Sweden's northernmost settlement, has been gradually moved in order to mitigate the growing safety risks of iron ore mining that takes place at its original location.

But the people behind the extraordinary project failed to account for the heavy winds at the new location, as well as the layout of the new town, according to a new report.

One resident called the town's new centre 'a damn wind tunnel', with researchers from the University of Gothenburg slamming the relocation's decision-makers for 'not [optimising] the design for the urban climate when they planned the city'.

Jennie Sjoholm, the author of the damning report and a specialist in built heritage, said the town's new location in a valley that was chosen for its connections with existing infrastructure, meant cold air was easily trapped there, a situation that has worsened in the winter.

And the town's new layout has only made things worse. With a grid of narrow streets and high buildings, Kiruna has been turned into a wind tunnel that blocks the winter sun from reaching the ground.

Sjoholm said the challenges facing urban planning in the Arctic Circle, and their solutions, are already well-known but 'that knowledge was not fully used'.

Instead, town planners focuses on 'adding value' to the town by adding three shopping centres, a square and a new town hall.

Aerial view of the church transport approaching the new foundations on August 20, 2025 in Kiruna, Sweden

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Earlier this year, the town's church took a two-day journey to its new home to stop it from sinking into the nearby iron ore mine.

The 113-year-old Kiruna Church was slowly moved across on a vast convoy of trailers travelling at around 500 metres per hour.

The town's relocation process began almost two decades ago and is expected to continue for years to come.

The new town centre was officially inaugurated in September 2022.

The relocation of the church alone is expected to cost 500 million kronor ($52 million) and is being paid for by LKAB, the state-owned mining company.

LKAB alerted authorities in 2004 that recovering more iron ore from the Kiruna mine meant further excavation, risking the destabilisation of the city's centre.

'It feels a bit nostalgic and a little sad,' one resident, Mia Mortlund, told Sveriges Radio at the time, reflecting the views of many residents who feel more sentimental about the old city than angry at the prospect of relocating to a new one.

'For most people in Kiruna the fact that the town and its inhabitants will have to move is accepted as part of life,' Mikael Stenqvist, an architect at White, told The Independent.
An elderly man was hacked at by a machete-wielding man wearing an ankle monitor in the latest instance of violence to rock the Northern Territory.

A horrified onlooker filmed the attack inside a shopping centre on Hartley Street in Alice Springs about 12.10pm on Monday, as frightened shoppers in a nearby food court rushed to clear the area.

The video shows a young male wearing a black hoodie and shorts and carrying a huge knife. He repeatedly sliced at the other man in the footage, with witnesses saying the attack went on for about a minute before they filmed it.

Two elderly men attempted to intervene, but the assailant only stopped the wild attack once a off-duty female police officer physically attempted to apprehend him and chased him out of the centre.

The man who filmed the incident wished to stay anonymous but said he had been visiting Alice Springs from Victoria for a FIFO business.

He is now considering closing his business in the area.

'My kids were crying, my twoyearold child and fiveyearold boy just witnessed this and they were pretty scared,' he told The Australian.

'I saw the victim about 20 minutes later with a bandage and a bit of blood on his face.'

A man was filmed brandishing a large machete inside an Alice Springs shopping centre

The hooded figure appeared to slash at an older man with the weapon

An off-duty policewoman (right) chased the armed male (left) out of the shopping centre

It's understood the machete had been concealed in a scabbard inside the attacker's pants before he used it.

Police said they believe the violent outburst was a 'family dispute' and linked it to several other disputes in the shopping centre within the same hour.

'What we've seen in this video is appalling - a violent and deliberate attack carried out in a public space, in front of families and children going about their day. This type of behaviour is completely unacceptable,' Police Commissioner Martin Dole said.

'Our community deserves to feel safe in its shopping centres, on its streets, and in every corner of Alice Springs. Those responsible for such violence are not only breaking the law, they're breaking the trust of the community and that will not be tolerated.'

Commissioner Dole said his force is 'committed to identifying and arresting' those involved in the incident.

Officers have already identified one person of interest and are attempting to speak to the victim.

A horrifying spate of machete attacks have been recorded across the Northern Territory in this year alone.

These include the stabbing death of Darwin supermarket owner Linford Feick by a teenager on bail, an elderly Darwin man found lying in a pool of his own blood after two youths broke into his home to steal his car, and a man stabbed in central Alice Springs in front of young families.

A wave of machete-related violence has been recorded around the Northern Territory this year (pictured: businesses with shutters in Alice Springs, which were installed because crime)

Opposition Leader Selena Uibo described the trend as 'incredibly concerning' and called the Country Liberal Party's revamped youth crime laws 'completely reactive'.

'It's doing very little to reduce crime, particularly violent crime. It's not making our community safer,' she said.

'This government needs to stop chasing headlines and start putting in place measures that actually prevent crime in the first place, which is what they promised Territorians.'

The changes include lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 10 and strengthening bail laws.
A car driver was seen in terrifying footage swerving off a road and plunging down a steep flight of steps in Brazil, only to walk away with a scratch on one of his fingers.

Railson Souza, 48, had been driving through Jardim Apura, Sao Paulo, at around 5:30am on Saturday when the incident took place.

A clip of the accident captured the security worker flying through the air in his car before ending up trapped in the twisted wreckage of his upturned vehicle.

Photos of his severely damaged car showed the level of destruction caused to the driver's side after it rolled onto its roof at speed and flew down the flight of stairs.

The footage of the crash appeared to show that Souza may have fainted at the wheel as he could be seen heading straight for the abyss and coming off the ground, rather than taking the bend in the road which could have kept him out of danger.

Metal railings in the middle of the pedestrian stairs were left in pieces on the ground as Souza smashed into them on the way down.

Firefighters rushed to the scene to free him before an ambulance took him to hospital.

But Souza was miraculously released within hours after a scan and X-rays showed he had not broken a single broken bone and had not suffered any other significant injuries.

Footage appeared to show that the driver may have fainted at the wheel as he could be seen heading straight for the abyss, rather than taking the bend in the road

Metal railings in the middle of the pedestrian stairs were left in pieces on the ground as Souza smashed into them on the way down

A clip of the accident captured the security worker flying through the air in his car before ending up trapped in the twisted wreckage of his upturned vehicle

Fighting back tears overnight as he watched a video of the drama and looked at photos of his wrecked car, he said: 'God is marvellous.

'I'm only sore because it shook a lot, but nothing broke. The only thing that happened was a tiny scratch on my hand, nothing more.

'I'm here to say that I wasn't drunk, I wasn't on drugs, I wasn't racing, I wasn't drag racing, nothing like that,' he added.

Police chiefs confirmed in the aftermath of the accident that Souza had passed drink and drug tests, and that alcohol and narcotics had been ruled out as a contributory factor in what happened.

Souza later explained to local media that he had begun feeling unwell before driving home from work after forgetting to take medication for high blood pressure.

The man told Brazilian TV programme SPTV in an emotional interview: 'I had a bad headache and was thinking: 'I'll get home and take a shower, take the medicine, and sleep.

'All I remember about the accident is being down at the bottom of the steps and someone saying: 'Railson, calm down, Railson.'

'I don't know how I ended up where I did. Tears fall from my eyes when I watch the video.

'I try to find an explanation and the explanation is God.

'It was God that protected me at that moment, me and my family, so that I could be here today.'

Social media user Rita Muniz, commenting on the footage, said: 'Thanks God he survived unharmed and no-one was on those steps at the time and the damage is only material damage.'

Nair Guedes added: 'I wish Railson a long life. God does perform miracles. It looks like something out of a film.'
Foreign talents invited to visit 8th CIIE during themed event

Xinhua) 10:36, November 10, 2025

Guests pose for a group photo in front of the gate of the National Convention Center (Shanghai) during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 8, 2025. Over 30 foreign talents and their families were invited to visit the eighth CIIE at the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Shanghai) during a themed event on Saturday. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

A guest takes photos of a bionic shark exhibited at the China Pavilion during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 8, 2025. Over 30 foreign talents and their families were invited to visit the eighth CIIE at the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Shanghai) during a themed event on Saturday. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Guests view a new energy vehicle (NEV) of BYD, China's leading NEV manufacturer, at the China Pavilion during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 8, 2025. Over 30 foreign talents and their families were invited to visit the eighth CIIE at the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Shanghai) during a themed event on Saturday. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

A guest views a model displaying China's lunar exploration program at the China Pavilion during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 8, 2025. Over 30 foreign talents and their families were invited to visit the eighth CIIE at the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Shanghai) during a themed event on Saturday. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Guests hold a calligraphy written by a humanoid robot at the China Pavilion during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 8, 2025. Over 30 foreign talents and their families were invited to visit the eighth CIIE at the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Shanghai) during a themed event on Saturday. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

A guest tries Scent TV at the China Pavilion during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 8, 2025. Over 30 foreign talents and their families were invited to visit the eighth CIIE at the National Convention and Exhibition Center (Shanghai) during a themed event on Saturday. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Spain's largest police union has claimed the country has lost control in its war against drug traffickers after an officer was seriously injured in a gun battle with narcos in Sevilla.

The shootout erupted in the early hours of Saturday when National Police officers attempted to intercept a drug shipment inside an industrial warehouse in Isla Mayor, south of Sevilla, a city hugely popular with British tourists.

According to police sources, the traffickers opened fire with assault rifles, including AK-47s, as cops tried to enter.

One officer, a member of the elite Greco Tartesos anti-narcotics unit, was shot in the stomach and leg. He underwent surgery and remains in the hospital.

Spanish media say police seized 700kg of hashish and recovered two vehicles.

It comes after dramatic footage, said to have been recorded on Sunday, showed suspected drug smugglers in a boat being handed several containers of gasoline by others in two smaller vessels in Cardiz.

Cops shared the footage and wrote: 'Drug traffickers unloading their cargo in broad daylight, with complete impunity.

'Warning: Either they give us the resources to combat this crime, or this area of Spain will be taken over by drug traffickers.' The statement continued: 'They murder police officers with powerful speedboats, they shoot at us with military-grade weapons, they have better resources.'

In the aftermath of the shooting, Spain's top National Police union, Jupol, called for the immediate resignation of the interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, accusing him of abandoning officers and allowing criminal gangs to thrive.

In a blistering statement, Jupol said: 'The narco roams freely in Spain, the State has lost control in the fight against the narcos and our police officers are unprotected. Marlaska is the main person responsible for this failure and must resign immediately.

The union described the shooting as 'definitive proof of the failure' of the government's Special Security Plan for the Campo de Gibraltar, claiming it 'has only served to hide the Government's inaction while drug traffickers operate freely in Spain.'

There was a huge police presence in the aftermath of the shooting which left an officer seriously injured after being shot in the stomach and leg

A high speed boat chase involving cops and suspected drug gangs in Spain. The country's largest police union says it is losing the war with narcos

Police using helicopters to prevent people in Spain from stealing seized drugs. Spain has grappled with violence from organised drug gangs in recent times

It stressed that what happened in Sevilla was 'not an isolated case' but the result of years of 'insufficient resources, poor planning and a lack of real commitment' in the fight against organised crime.

'The plan covering six Andalusian provinces has not strengthened security, it has only served to inflate statistics and feed headlines while the violence of criminal groups grows exponentially and officers continue to be cannon fodder without bulletproof vests, without proper helmets and without armoured vehicles,' the statement continued.

Jupol added: 'We don't want medals or empty speeches, we want to live and work safely.'

'Each operation becomes a game of Russian roulette because there aren't enough officers or equipment. We don't want medals or tributes after each tragedy, we want to go home alive.'

The union is demanding an immediate government response and the implementation of a 'real, effective and properly funded plan' to replace what it called 'propaganda without results.'

Jupol also urged tougher laws on drug-related crimes, more officers and better equipment for both the National Police and Guardia Civil, and the designation of all drug-trafficking zones, particularly in Andalucia, as Areas of Special Singularity.

This, it says, would provide officers stationed there with extra pay and protection.

It also renewed calls for a fair retirement scheme for officers under the civil service system, describing policing as 'a profession of real and constant risk.'

'Our colleagues face criminals armed with military-grade weapons and boats that surpass those of the State. Marlaska cannot keep looking the other way while officers put their bodies on the line to make up for his incompetence,' the union said.

They also highlighted the 'extreme conditions' faced by elite units in Malaga and Sevilla.

'We don't even have armoured vehicles,' the statement read. 'It's shameful that special operations groups like GOES, which fight drug traffickers directly, don't have a single bullet-resistant vehicle. It's reckless and irresponsible of the Ministry of the Interior.'

Jupol also accused the minister of abandoning Spain's police forces and turning his leadership 'into an exercise in empty propaganda without tangible results.'

'Marlaska has lost the respect of the police and of society. His continued presence in office is an insult to those who risk their lives on the streets. If he had any dignity, he would resign today,' Jupol said.

'Spain needs a Ministry of the Interior that protects its officers, not one that exposes them. We need a government that looks drug trafficking in the eye, not one that downplays it.

'This country cannot continue to be governed from behind a desk while our colleagues fall wounded on the battlefield.'

Spanish police involved in a high-speed chase with suspected drug traffickers. Jupol has said police does not have enough resources to help fight crime

Revelers look on in shock as police storm a tourist spot after a spate of violent drug related crimes

Jupol also expressed its solidarity with the injured officer saying: 'We hope for a full recovery for our colleague. We stand with him and with all officers who risk their lives every day in unacceptable conditions, caused by political neglect and lack of commitment to public safety.'

Spain remains a major strategic route for narcos looking to make an entry into Europe. Many of the shipments come in from Latin American countries.

The country has often reported record-breaking seizures, violent crimes, and an uptick in organised criminal gangs.

In June, 50 people were arrested as four tonnes of cocaine were seized in a major operation. Earlier this month, 13 suspected members of a notorious Venezuelan drug gang, Tren de Aragua, were arrested by Spanish officials in Barcelona, Madrid, Girona, A Coruna and Valencia.

Kidnap, torture, attacks on law enforcement, and murders have been recorded in resort towns such as Marbella and Benalmadena.
More than 10,000 small boat migrants have reached Britain since Shabana Mahmood became Home Secretary, after 2,000 crossings in just four days.

The grim milestone has been reached under Ms Mahmood more quickly than under any of her predecessors since 2022.

There were 621 arrivals on Thursday, 648 on Friday and 503 on Saturday, followed by 349 on Sunday.

It means 10,072 Channel migrants came to Britain in Ms Mahmoods first 66 days in charge of the Home Office.

Under her predecessor Yvette Cooper it took 74 days to reach the same milestone.

She was moved sideways to the Foreign Office by PM Sir Keir Starmer after failing to get a grip of the Channel crisis.

Under Tory home secretaries the 10,000 point took 171 days under James Cleverly and 583 days under Priti Patel.

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Only under Suella Braverman was the 10,000 mark reached more quickly, in 43 days in 2022  the year which saw a record annual number of migrants amid a surge of Albanian arrivals.

One government source told the Daily Mail the timing of the mark being hit was 'unfortunate' as Ms Mahmood is said to be creating 10,000 asylum accommodation places in old army barracks and other sites.

More than 10,000 small boat migrants have reached the UK in Shabana Mahmood's first 66 days in the Home Office - the second-fastest rate on record since the crisis began in 2018

The pace of arrivals seemed to be driven by gangs deploying larger boats  dubbed mega-dinghies - with many now carrying close to 100 migrants, insiders said.

Traffickers have been able to obtain the dangerous bumper-size vessels despite Labours pledge to smash the gangs.

The UK Border Force catamaran, 'Defender', picked up migrants mid-Channel on Sunday and brought them to Britain

Dozens of migrants disembark from the Border Force vessel at the Port of Dover on Sunday

Meanwhile, since Labours flagship one in, one out returns deal with France was announced in July there have been 17,958 arrivals across the Channel.

But so far only 94 migrants have been deported, while a further 57 have been brought into the UK under the reciprocal terms of the deal.

Since Labour came to power last year 62,317 Channel migrants have reached British soil.

The one in, one out deal was thrown into disarray last month after it emerged a small boat migrant came back to Britain after being deported.

The Iranian mans farcical back-and-forth journeys saw him arrive here on August 6 - the day the deal with France came into force, and removed from Britain on September 19.

He later slipped out of a migrant shelter in Paris, where he had been housed, and headed back to the northern French coast, re-entering Britain on a small boat on October 18.

The unnamed man was finally removed  for a second time  18 days later on November 5.

Other migrants deported under Labours scheme are also reported to have made their way back to the French coast to attempt a second crossing.
Rachel Reeves is facing a mounting revolt on her Budget plans today amid warnings smashing promises on tax would trigger disaster for Labour.

The Chancellor has been dropping heavy hints that income tax could go up in the package on November 26 - despite the move being explicitly ruled out in the manifesto.

It would be the first increase in the rate since 1975, as Ms Reeves struggles to fill a black hole in the finances estimated at between 20billion and 40billion.

But MPs are increasingly alarmed at the signals coming out of the Treasury - which is due to receive the first costings of draft policies from the OBR watchdog today.

Former minister Cat West told the BBC's Westminster Hour that breaking the manifesto could be as catastrophic for Labour as the tuition fees backtrack was for the Lib Dems in 2015.

Cabinet ministers have also been privately voicing concerns about the fallout should Ms Reeves and Keir Starmer choose the option.

Rachel Reeves has been dropping heavy hints that income tax could go up in the package on November 26 - despite the move being explicitly ruled out in the manifesto

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Labour's recently-installed deputy leader Lucy Powell insisted last week that it was 'really important' to stick to the promises.

Left-wing Labour MPs have been pushing for Ms Reeves to rinse the 'wealthy', despite fears that could deal another devastating blow to hopes of getting the economy growing faster.

Ms West said last night: 'If I were Rachel, I think I wouldn't be breaking the manifesto promise.

'I just think back to the Liberal Democrats and the university fees, because that was, you know, the big one for me that I remember and was very important for me.

'That's how I won my seat, because I won that from the Liberal Democrats. So I think those big ones, they do come back to haunt you.'

Rumours have been swirling about a range of eye-watering ways in which Ms Reeves could seek to raise more revenue.

They include raids on 'mansions', pensions and savings.

In a rare pre-Budget speech last week, Ms Reeves admitted that everyone will have to 'contribute' to stabilising the government's finances.

She insisted 'we will all have to contribute' to closing the gap, reeling off a laundry list of factors to blame - including Brexit, the Tories, Covid, the Ukraine war and President Trump's tariffs.

Cabinet ministers have also been privately voicing concerns about the fallout should Ms Reeves and Keir Starmer choose the option

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Such a move would be a blatant breach of Labour's manifesto pledge to not raise income tax, National Insurance or VAT - and triggered Tory calls for her to be sacked.

But Ms Reeves said she was 'not going to walk away because the situation is difficult'.

Left-wingers have demanded the Chancellor spares the 'working class'.
A former chief constable accused of lying about his military service has appeared in court charged with fraud and misconduct in public office.

Nick Adderley, 59, formerly the most senior officer in Northamptonshire Police, is accused of lying about having served in the Falklands War, being a decorated Royal Naval officer, and making false claims about his educational achievements on his CV.

He was not asked to enter pleas to the charges when he appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court on Monday morning.

He spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address during the four-minute hearing.

The district judge, Hina Rai, said the case was so serious it needed to be dealt with at the crown court.

Adderley, who wore a dark suit, tie and a poppy on his chest, was released on unconditional bail ahead of his next hearing at Southwark Crown Court on December 8.

Nick Adderley, pictured here in May 2024, was the chief constable of Northamptonshire Police but is facing allegations he lied on his CV

The court heard he falsely claimed he was a former lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy and was entitled to wear associated service medals.

He is also accused of lying about having served during the Falklands War, a conflict which broke out in 1982 when Adderley would have been just 15 years old.

Adderley is accused of committing the offences between 2018 and 2024, allegedly making the claims on his CV during his bid to become Northamptonshire Police's chief constable in June 2018.

He had previously been dismissed from the 176,000 a year role without notice in June last year, bringing to an end his six-year stint as chief constable with the force.

The charges come following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Adderley could lose his lucrative police pension if convicted of a criminal offence.
An NHS executive raped and sexually assaulted girls he groomed on Snapchat, a court heard today.

Paul Lipscombe, 51, has admitted 34 offences against six victims who were aged between 12 and 15 when they were targeted on social media.

One girl, who Lipscombe used two fake accounts to groom, was taken to bedsits and even asked to wear primary school uniforms for him.

The court heard the campaign of abuse came to light when attempts by police to trace a missing teenager led to them discovering there were further victims.

The teenager made a pre-organised late-night departure and was collected by Lipscombe  having told his wife he was away on business.

Lipscombe, associate director in performance & informatics at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, then instructed the girl to call 999 and read from a script.

Prosecutor Frida Hussain KC said: She told police she had left home because she was being abused. This was not true.

She said the script also detailed her name, address, that she was safe and would be staying with a friend.

Paul Lipscombe, 51, was an executive at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire

Her mother only discovered she was missing when police arrived at the address at 1.30am to tell her.

Lipscombe was pulled over by police as he drove to buy a KFC takeaway for the girl, Ms Hussain revealed. He told officers where she could be found at an Airbnb he had rented.

Lipscombe, who boasted online about being a keynote speaker at national conferences, had earlier taken the girl to an Ibis hotel before moving her to the Airbnb in Birstall, Leicestershire, which he found after creating a fake Facebook profile and posting that he was looking for accommodation for a vulnerable girl.

Ms Hussain said police later discovered four used condoms in the hotel room, cider tins and an open bottle of vodka. There was also a leather bondage collar, Viagra, childrens clothes and soft toys.

The girls sim card had been taken out and her phone completely wiped, Leicester Crown Court also heard.

And when Lipscombes home was searched, police found a bag in his office containing extra small female clothing, restraints, a sex toy, black tape and a rope.

Judge Keith Raynor was told the defendant contacted another girl on Snapchat using the name George and claiming to be 15. But when she blocked him after he asked for nude images, he added her again a few weeks later under the name Dom Woodmore.

The court heard he took her to bedsits where she told police sexual things always happened, and bought her a primary school uniform for her to wear for him.

A third victim was molested in her own home after Lipscombe, who described himself as a software expert, followed her upstairs and grabbed her in a choke hold.

The prosecutor told the court a spy camera app was found on Lipscombes phone, which could be used to make secret recordings while showing an image of a clock or webpage on its screen.

Lipscombe previously pleaded guilty to 21 counts of sexual activity with a child, six counts of making indecent photographs of children, three sexual assaults, two rapes, one count of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and one count of distributing indecent photographs of children.

In a victim impact statement read by Ms Hussain, one girl said she is haunted by the damage he has done to me.

Her stepmother said she had become very anxious and unable to concentrate at school, jeopardising her exam prospects.

The parents of another victim told how their daughter cant get it (the abuse) out of her mind.

They added: We can honestly say we hate the man who ruined our daughters childhood and condemned Lipscombe for waiting until the last minute - the eve of his trial - to plead guilty in February.

The sister of a third victim told how her sibling now suffers from anger issues, anxiety and is withdrawn.

Lipscombe, of Rothley in Leicestershire, made no comment in initial police interviews and refused to speak to police while in prison on remand, the prosecutor said.

He is expected to be sentenced tomorrow.
A handshake between Vladimir Putin and a health expert has sparked debate over his health as eagle-eyed viewers spotted bulging veins in his hands and unusual fist-clenching.

Putin, 73, met with Yekaterina Leshchinskaya, 22, the chair of the Russian Healthy Fatherland movement, to discuss the possibility of banning the sale of e-cigarettes in the country when the marks on his hands were noticed.

As he reached to shake the woman's hand, the Russian leader's right hand was seen with visible bulging veins, prominent tendons, and thin, wrinkled skin.

Footage of the moment saw the Russian leader appear to nervously move his fingers and clench them into a fist under his blazer sleeve.

Following the circulation of the clip on X, and later in Polish media, Ukrainian sources have suggested that the Russian dictator may be suffering from pain.

Prominent interviewer, and media personality Dmytro Gordon said: 'Putin clenches his hands into something resembling fists.

'They look swollen and sore, with veins bulging prominently on one hand.'

Other source say that Putin merely exhibits the normal signs of male ageing which he seeks - through alleged cosmetic surgery - to hide from Russians after more than a quarter of a century in power.

Putin, 73, met with Yekaterina Leshchinskaya, 22, a representative of Poland 's official National Health Program to discuss the possibility of banning the sale of e-cigarettes in Russia when the marks on his hands were noticed

As he reached to shake the woman's hand, the Russian leader's right hand was seen with visible bulging veins, prominent tendons, and thin, wrinkled skin

Following the circulation of the clip on social media, Ukrainian sources have suggested that the Russian dictator may be suffering from pain

The footage has reignited rumours around the Russian president's health, but the Kremlin has dismissed all suggestions that the Russian leader is ill as 'hoaxes'.

It comes two months after Putin and Chinese dictator Xi Jinping, 72, enthusiastically discussed biological innovations which might allow them to live to 150.

Putin told his fellow despot: 'Human organs can be continuously transplanted. The longer you live, the younger you become.'

In an overheard conversation in China, Xi told Putin: 'People used to rarely live to 70, but now at 70 you are still a child.'

This is not the first time Putin's health has been quizzed, however, as in November last year, the leader displayed some bizarre jerky leg movements on a trip to Astana, Kazakhstan.

As he spoke at a press conference, he gripped the lectern in front of him as his legs twitched, seemingly uncontrollably.

The twitching started with his left foot, and he appeared to take a wider stance to steady himself. Then, both knees started wobbling side to side, and he put his left leg forward before it started jerking up and down.

When shown the video, Dr Bob Berookhim, a urologist in New York, told the Daily Mail several culprits could be at play.

'There are a few different things that could lead to movements like this, including Parkinson's disease and other neurological conditions,' he said.

'Based on just a few images and videos that are curated by Russia, it is hard to say what someone is dealing with here, but there may be something more significant going on with him that would tie everything together.'

Pressed on whether it could indicate Parkinson's, he said, 'It wouldn't be an isolated thing like that, it would usually be more related to ongoing treatment for that kind of jelly leg movement - a one off means much less.'

The 'jelly legs' incident came a month after Putin was seen repeatedly rubbing and scratching his face and neck during an appearance at a fencing center in the city of Ufa.

Putin's face appears much thinner as he travels in an armored train in 2012

Putin appears fuller around the face and neck during an inauguration ceremony in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia, on May 7, 2024

There was similar itching and scratching the previous day in Moscow.

Putin has also, on several occasions in recent years, displayed distinctly puffy facial features.

Notably, in November 2023, his face appeared much fuller, leading a senior Ukrainian official to ask, 'What's up with Putin's cheeks?'

Bloating around the face and neck can be a sign that someone is being treated with steroids.

'This puffy face could be the look of someone who gets steroid treatments, which could be for a variety of reasons, whether inflammatory conditions, or pain, or part of a treatment for something more significant that could cause him to take on this appearance,' said Dr Berookhim. 'It could also be weight gain.

Some doctors have said it could be allergies or a sinus or tooth infection. Others suggested Putin was receiving Botox injections.

One cancer charity warned that, 'when taken in higher doses, steroids can cause confusion or changes in thinking. This can include having strange or frightening thoughts.'

The theory that Putin has been treated by cancer specialists stems mainly from a 2022 report by the Russian investigative outlet Proekt, which looked at trips the Russian president took to his residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

By cross-referencing the dates with bookings at nearby hotels, it reported that an oncology surgeon specializing in thyroid cancer had visited 35 times and spent 166 days there.

Two ear, nose and throat specialists were there even more often, according to the report. Typically, specialists diagnose thyroid problems before an oncologist is called in.

In 2019 Putin was said to have had an average of nine doctors with him, including and intensive care specialist, an anesthetist and a neurosurgeon.

The Kremlin dismissed the report as 'fiction and untruth'.

Then, in 2022, an unverified recording emerged of what was said to be a Russian oligarch, who was secretly recorded saying Putin was 'very ill with blood cancer'.

In February of the same year, Marco Rubio, then a senator, dropped a heavy hint there may be something wrong with Putin.

At the time, Rubio was part of the 'Gang of Eight' members of Congress with access to extremely sensitive classified intelligence.

He said: Putin 'appears to have some neurophysiological health issues.'

'I wish I could share more, but for now, I can say its pretty obvious to many that something is off with Putin,' he said at the time. 'He has always been a killer, but his problem now is different and significant'.

More recently, in 2025, claims spread that Putin had sent a doppelganger on a visit to the front line in the Kursk region.

Photographs from the event showed him with a noticeably thinner body and face.

It was also noticeable that he used handwritten notes, rather than Putin's usual printed ones, and they were smaller than the president's normal large type.

Japanese AI researchers have claimed there are two regular doubles used by Putin.

They analysed his speeches to see if the voices matched each other, and used facial recognition technology.

Body double? Vladimir Putin drives a Mercedes over the missile-damaged Crimean Bridge in 2022

It was found that there was only a 53 percent facial similarity between the Putin at a Red Square parade in May 2023, and the Putin pictured on the Crimean Bridge in December 2022.

The Putin at the 2023 parade showed only a 40 percent match to the Putin who visited Mariupol and talked to residents two months before.

Similarity between the Crimean Bridge Putin, and the one in Mariupol was only 18 percent.

Speculation about doubles has led to wild conspiracy theories that Putin could already have died, and been replaced by a doppelganger.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman said the theory 'belongs to the category of absurd information hoaxes that a whole series of media discuss with enviable tenacity. This evokes nothing but a smile.'

A reporter for the Russian news agency TASS subsequently asked Putin in February 2020: 'Are you real?'

Putin replied 'Yes' but added that it had been suggested by his security officials.

'I declined these body doubles,' he added at the time. 'This was during the most difficult periods of the fight against terrorism.'
EastEnders legend Anita Dobson says the area of London where she grew up has become 'unrecognisable in a shocking way' after she returned on a recent visit to the capital.

The actress, 76, grew up in Stepney Green in the East End, the daughter of a tailoress and a dress cutter - but now says the streets and the sense of community she knew as a child have long since changed.

On a recent return visit, she says she was able to spot the pub where she would go for a drink with her father, but failed to recognise much else.

Among the streets she no longer recognised was Brick Lane, once home to market stalls where she recalled her father buying books on a Saturday.

She told the Telegraph that she found the East End 'completely unrecognisable in a shocking way,' adding of Brick Lane: 'It wasnt as I remembered it. The shops were all different and even the street names were different so it was quite a shock.'

Brick Lane is now a strongly Bangladeshi neighbourhood and one of the UK's top 'curry capitals' - though it has fewer restaurants than it did at its peak in the 2000s.

Anita, who now lives in Surrey with Queen rock guitarist husband Brian May, said she had asked her driver to make a trip through the East End as she headed into the capital on business for nostalgia's sake.

She labelled the current East End as an 'extraordinary mixture' of its past as she remembers it and 'the influx of whats happened to England, to the world; that its much more cosmopolitan'.

Anita Dobson says she does not recognise some areas of East London where she grew up after returning there recently (pictured in April)

The actress said the East End was more 'cosmopolitan' and home to 'many, many more different races and colours and accents and voices' (pictured: signs on Brick Lane)

Anita Dobson is best known to millions as Angie Watts, the alcoholic landlady of the Queen Vic lovestruck by 'Dirty' Den Watts (Leslie Grantham)

The star added: 'Now theres many, many more different races and colours and accents and voices, and many more religions. So it has been good in a lot of ways but in some ways you lose something as well.

'(We've lost) community. Were not a society any more. Were not social. People dont talk to each other like they used to.'

She added that society had changed from when she was small, noting: 'Mum would leave a key on a piece of string through the letterbox and youd come home, pull the string up and let yourself in. You wouldnt dream of doing that now.'

Anita is known to millions as the landlady of the Queen Vic Angie Watts - whose heartbreaking sparring with conniving husband Dirty Den, played by Leslie Grantham, kept viewers on the edge of their seats for three years.

The actress trained at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in South Kensington and joined the soap at its inception in 1985 after a number of TV roles including presenting children's show Play Away, but eventually left in 1988.

Despite being begged by producers she vowed she would never come back, saying: 'Why tarnish the gorgeous creation that was Angie Watts?'

The character was killed off off-screen in 2002 - but she made a sensational return to the role earlier this year as a ghost appearing before her daughter, Sharon Watts.

As Sharon, played by Letitia Dean, lies in the rubble of an explosion in the Queen Vic, Angie appears to her and implores her to call for help - sending Ross Kemp's Grant Mitchell to the rescue so she can live to fight another day.

She has since appeared in a wealth of other television programmes including Doctors, Holby City, The Bill and Casualty - and appeared opposite Ncuti Gatwa in Doctor Who as long-time foe The Rani.

She lives with rock star husband Brian May (pictured together in March) in Surrey after leaving London in 2021

The King and Queen visited Brick Lane's Bangladeshi community in 2023. The community has been a hub of Bengali culture and food for decades

Signs at nearby Whitechapel Underground station were made dual-language in 2022 in recognition of the contributions made to the area by the Bengali community

She married Brian May in 2000 after meeting him at a film premiere in 1986; they lived in Kensington until 2021, when flooding wrecked their basement, when they relocated to Surrey, where she is helping him recover from a minor stroke last year.

Brick Lane has been London's curry capital for decades, home to a number of Bangladeshi restaurants - most of which proclaim themselves to be the best in the city.

A large number of families from Bangladesh emigrated to Britain after World War II and began establishing businesses including restaurants in a corner of the East End.

This eventually earned the area the nickname Banglatown, which was formalised by Tower Hamlets council in 1997 amid a regeneration boost to the area to firmly establish it as a cultural quarter.

The electoral ward in which it sits was also renamed Spitalfields and Banglatown in 2002.

Twenty years later, signs at Whitechapel Underground station were made dual-language in both English and Bengali in recognition of the contributions made to the area by the Bangladeshi community.

A weekly market is still held on Sundays and the street is also home to nightclubs, bars and its famous 24 hour Jewish bagel shops, Beigel Shop and Beigel Bake.
Nikki Haley's son has called for a ban on legal immigration and for all foreign aid to be slashed in a marked break from his mother.

Nalin Haley, son of the ex-UN Ambassador and presidential candidate, sparked controversy in an interview Saturday with anti-woke online commentary site UnHerd.

He called for prominent Muslim liberal journalist Mehdi Hasan, who is British, to be thrown out of the country as he warned that the younger generation of MAGA conservatives wasn't concerned with rigid adherence to outdated conventions.

The 24-year-old, who has been making waves for his strident Republican stance, even suggested that he only supported his mother's 2024 primary to be a 'good son'.

Nikki, whose parents are Indian immigrants who moved to the United States from Punjab in the early 1960s, has previously defended legal immigration and supported maintaining foreign aid as a core element of America's global strategy.

When pressed on his remarks about deporting Hasan, Nalin emphasized he was being serious.

'No, I quite literally mean that I mean, [Hasan] hates America. If you hate America, you shouldn't be in America.  Everyone wants to make it so complicated. That's the thing with the past generation. They always talk about the rules, regulations, and process. No, it's simple. If you don't like America, get out,' he said.

Nalin said that he refused to simply follow the political views of his parents.

Nalin Haley, 24, called for a prominent Muslim liberal journalist to be thrown out of the US

With his mom Nikki Haley, a former Republican presidential candidate, at an Iowa event in 2023

'I didn't and was never going to be an advocate for a view that I did not have,' he said, referring to his mother's challenge to Donald Trump in the GOP primary.

He also argued that the US should stop all forms of foreign aid until issues like unemployment and medical debt are addressed.

Nalin went against Vivek Ramaswamy's call to Republicans to move away from identity politics and avoid focusing on race or religion following the party's losses in New Jersey, New York and Virginia.

The young firebrand dismissed Ramaswamy's stance as 'cringeworthy'.

'My friend group from high school, all graduated, great degrees from great schools. It's been a year and a half, and not one of them has a job  not one,' he said, adding, 'I'm angry at that, because I'm having to try and help my friends get jobs when their parents got jobs immediately  not just after graduating college, but out of high school,' he said.

Nalin went on to say that housing has become increasingly unaffordable, adding that he feels he won't be able to afford one in this economy.

'My parents bought their first house for $90,000. I mean, that house is probably now worth $400,000,' he said. 'How can we compete?'

Nikki has often spoken about her parents' journey to the US from India, describing how they built a life for her and her three siblings in rural South Carolina.

Nikki's parents, Ajit and Raj Randhawa, are seen in the center surrounded by their children in the late 1970s. Nikki is in the jumper on the left. Clockwise from her are older sister Simran, big brother Mitti and, at bottom, little brother Simmi

Nikki has often spoken about her parents' journey to the US from India; she is seen with them in a 2017 Facebook post

Nalin has called for a complete freeze on legal immigration - a marked change from his mother

The Republican has framed their experience, as the only Indian family in their community, as evidence of America's openness to hardworking immigrants who want to contribute and succeed.

During her tenure as UN ambassador, Nikki defended foreign aid as a tool of soft power, emphasizing that strategic assistance to allies helps prevent global instability and promotes US interests abroad.

She argued that aid, when properly targeted, can reduce conflict and terrorism long before it reaches the US.

On immigration, Nikki has repeatedly drawn a distinction between legal and illegal entry, calling for stronger border security but praising legal immigrants as a vital part of the country's economic and cultural diversity.

She frequently referred to her own family's story as a testament to the American Dream - a perspective at odds with her son's calls for freezing legal immigration entirely.

The Daily Mail reached out to Hasan for comment.
An anti-ICE activist who chased down federal agents in her electric Mustang was left wailing and hyperventilating when officers threatened her with arrest.

Video shows the moment the unidentified woman suddenly changed her tune and begged for mercy after being stopped for recklessly driving through north Portland on Thursday.

The woman ran a red light, nearly struck a school bus and wove through traffic as she tried to box in ICE vehicles with her car, according to the Post Millennial, whose reporter was on a ride-along with the ICE Seattle Field Office.

She was also seen flipping off agents, blasting her car horn and mocking Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

After she allegedly ignored multiple warnings from police, federal agents orchestrated a traffic stop in the middle of a multi-lane, two-way road.

She appeared to speed off, swerving between lanes in rainy weather, as officers pursued her down the street, the footage showed.

When agents finally caught up to her, she tried to drive away - but officials managed to block her in with their vehicles.

'Please, give me a warning. I have kids,' she begged as officers informed her that she would face prosecution for allegedly impeding with a federal investigation. 'I'm just a mom. I am just a mom.'

An anti-ICE activist who chased down federal agents in her electric Mustang was left wailing and hyperventilating when officers threatened her with arrest

The woman allegedly ran a red light, nearly struck a school bus and wove through traffic as she tried to box in ICE vehicles with her car

'Please don't arrest me, please,' she begged.

The immigration agent explained that she would not be arrested, but informed her that her case would be referred to the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit.

The woman, who appeared visibly upset as the agent addressed her, asked 'please give me a warning' as he asked for her driver's license.

'You have placed us in danger,' the agent told her, before instructing her to place her Mustang in park and turn off the engine.

'You are almost causing an accident. You are surrounded by federal agents.'

The woman said she understood, but doubled down on her defense, saying multiple times: 'I am just worried about my community.'

'Please don't,' she added. 'I'm just a mom. Please, please, please. I'm just a mom.'

She repeated the phrase 'I'm just a mom' over and over again as the officer instructed her to leave the area and go home.

The officer told her to 'take a deep breath' and said he would stop traffic for her as she expressed that she was panicked and 'shaking.'

She is then seen making a U-turn and driving off, presumably towards her residence.

She was also seen flipping off agents, blasting her car horn and mocking Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem

Federal officers line up as people take part in a protest organized by Portland Contra Deportaciones, at the city's ICE facility on October 25, 2025

ICE Deputy Field Officer Director Julio Hernandez told the Post Millennial that the woman was one of several so-called 'spotters' stationed throughout the neighborhood on Thursday.

Spotters use vehicles, whistles and horns to alert illegal immigrants that ICE operations are underway, he explained.

Hernandez alleged that the woman blocked ICE vehicles several times and received multiple warnings before they stepped in.

'This time, enough was enough,' he explained. 'Like [Secretary Noem] said, enough is enough, we're drawing the line, and that's what we did now.'

ICE has handed her information over to HSI and the US Attorney's Office for prosecution, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin confirmed to The Daily Mail.

A federal officer detains a protester during a World Naked Bike Ride protest against increased activity by ICE in Portland, Oregon on October 12, 2025

Law enforcement officers stand guard near the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland on October 21, 2025

Portland is one of the cities in which President Donald Trump wants to deploy the National Guard to help combat crime.

A federal judge in Oregon on Friday ruled that the Trump administration failed to meet the legal requirements for deploying the Guard to Portland after the city and state sued in September to block the deployment.

The ruling from US District Court Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, followed a three-day trial in which both sides argued over whether protests at the city's ICE building met the conditions for using the military domestically under federal law.

The administration said the troops were needed to protect federal personnel and property in a city that Trump described as 'war ravaged' with 'fires all over the place.'

In a 106-page opinion, Immergut found that even though the president is entitled to 'great deference' in his decision on whether to call up the Guard, he did not have a legal basis for doing so because he did not establish that there was a rebellion or danger of rebellion, or that he was unable to enforce the law with regular forces.

'The trial record showed that although protests outside the Portland ICE building occurred nightly between June and October 2025, ever since a few particularly disruptive days in mid-June, protests have remained peaceful with only isolated and sporadic instances of violence,' Immergut wrote.

'The occasional interference to federal officers has been minimal, and there is no evidence that these small-scale protests have significantly impeded the execution of any immigration laws.'

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem looks on from the roof of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) headquarters in Portland, Oregon on October 7, 2025

The Trump administration criticized the judge's ruling.

'The facts haven't changed. Amidst ongoing violent riots and lawlessness, that local leaders have refused to step in to quell, President Trump has exercised his lawful authority to protect federal officers and assets. President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities and we expect to be vindicated by a higher court,' White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said Friday.

'The courts are holding this administration accountable to the truth and the rule of law,' Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a statement.

'From the beginning, this case has been about making sure that facts, not political whims, guide how the law is applied. Todays decision protects that principle.'
A Portland lawmaker wants the city to redirect its funds to help refugees instead of using that money to help clear homeless encampments that have taken over the area in recent years.

Councilor Angelita Morillo, who lives outside of downtown Portland - the homelessness hotspot of the city - in a luxury high-rise apartment building, wants to cut approximately $4.3 million from the Impact Reduction Program to support refugees.

The program just recently went into effect in July and specifically helps assist the unhoused population in the Democrat-run sanctuary city by cleaning sites and supporting those in need.

But Morillo's plan, which she proposed on Thursday, would take about a third of the program's current fiscal year budget and put that money toward food assistance, housing and support for refugees.

As part of her proposal, Morillo, 'a Paraguayan immigrant and Portlander who has experienced homelessness' herself, has asked that the homeless initiative also 'reduce campsite sweeps.'

Her idea has not sat well with other political leaders in the city, including Portland Mayor Keith Wilson, who told residents 'you neighborhood livability (is) at risk' because of her proposal.

In a Sunday email newsletter, the liberal leader warned locals that the proposed reductions would force the city to cut service levels by 75 percent and leave a slew of biohazardous material on the streets.

Wilson said it would lead to layoffs of up to 100 workers if the proposal goes through.

Portland Councilor Angelita Morillo has proposed that money set aside to help the growing homeless community in the city should instead go toward supporting refugees

The homeless population has risen 61 percent from 2023 and is spread out across Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. (Pictured: Homeless campsite set up on the city's streets)

'This would be devastating for every neighborhood,' Wilson wrote.

The mayor went on to urge residents to show up at a council meeting on Wednesday to lobby their councilors and speak up against Morillo's proposal.

In June city councilors approved Wilson's $8.6 billion budget that put $16 million away for the city's homeless encampment removal program. That also included state funding.

During that time, Morillo attempted to get about $428,000 from the program to go toward rent assistance but was not successful after receiving very little support.

According to Wilson, the Impact Reduction Program allows Portlanders to call in 'problem campsites and derelict RVs.'

It also allows the city to come in and clean the sites based on their level of hazards, among other factors.

The current budget for the project is now at $14.7 million after the Oregon Department of Transportation suddenly halted paying the state to carry out removals on state-owned properties, per city officials, Oregon Live reported.

Officials started to focus more on enforcing the city's existing camping ban on November 1 amid Wilson's campaign to offer more shelter beds to the unhoused population.

Morillo lives outside of downtown Portland - the homelessness hotspot of the city - in a luxury high-rise apartment building (pictured)

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson told residents 'you neighborhood livability (is) at risk' after hearing of Morillo's proposal

But according to Morillo, Wilson's push to move people from the streets to shelters is wasting funds on 'short-term solutions,' she told the Portland Mercury.

The Daily Mail contacted Morillo and Wilson for comment.

As of this month, a total of 12,034 people are experiencing homelessness in Portland's tri-county area, according to a report by Portland State University (PSU)s Homeless Research & Action Collaborative.

That population has risen 61 percent from 2023 and is spread out across Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties, per the report.

Though there is no exact number of how many refugees live in the sanctuary city, it is home to one of the largest populations across the state.

A total of 13.5 percent of the city's population are immigrants, compared to about 10 percent statewide, according to research from the New American Economy.

Though there is no exact number of how many refugees live in the sanctuary city, it is home to one of the largest populations across the state. (Pictured: A female protestor is seen holding up a scarf that reads 'Refugees Welcome')

Morillo describes herself as a 'Paraguayan immigrant and Portlander who has experienced homelessness' on her government profile page

In September Mayor Wilson sent a mass email to Portlanders asking them to hand over their time, money and household items to combat homelessness.

He reached out to the community over fears that President Donald Trump would turn his attention to cleaning up the beleaguered city.

The unusual message came in the form of an email sent to 17,000 recipients on the City Hall email list.

It said: 'I need your help. We're delivering real change to Portland, and if you can contribute a bag of snacks, an hour of your time as an artist, teacher, or builder, or even a small show of financial support to our emergency shelter system, I want to connect.

'Recent events in Washington, D.C. show us what will happen to Portland if we don't move with speed, purpose, and compassion to address the humanitarian crisis on our streets.

'The federal administration deploys bulldozers and mass arrests by masked agents, the opposite of our outreach worker and emergency shelter strategy.

'Let's work together by volunteering and donating, and prove the administration's heavy-handed tactics are not needed in our city.'

Trump did deploy the National Guard to Portland in September, but a federal judge recently ruled he did not meet legal requirements when he did so.

The ruling from US District Court Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, followed a three-day trial last week in which both sides argued over whether protests at the city's US Immigration and Customs Enforcement building met the conditions for using the military domestically under federal law.

The administration said troops were needed to protect federal personnel and property in a city that Trump described as 'war ravaged' with 'fires all over the place.'
A ten-year-old made her first court appearance after being charged with the rape and attempted murder of a young child.

The girl, who has not been named publicly because of her age, is accused of attacking the five-year-old in Cleveland, Ohio.

Antavia Kennibrew, the victim's mother, said she discovered her child severely injured and disfigured after she managed to leave a family member's home in September.

'I found my daughter unresponsive, bloody with her hair pulled from her scalp, her body covered in bruises,' Kennibrew wrote on Facebook.

Her daughter had 'signs of strangulation,' a 'big lump on her head,' and appeared to have been beaten and raped.

'I couldnt believe what I saw in front of me. My daughter did not look like herself. She was traumatized,' Kennibrew said.

Officials launched an investigation and charged the girl and a nine-year-old boy with attempted murder, rape, assault, kidnapping and strangulation.

The ten-year-old appeared in juvenile court on Wednesday wearing a face mask and a pink coat, and was accompanied by an unidentified woman who wore a hood over her head and walked with a cane, WOIO reported.

Antavia Kennibrew said her five-year-old daughter was scalped and raped by a group of children in September

A ten-year-old girl and a nine-year-old boy have been charged with attempted murder, rape, assault, kidnapping and strangulation over the alleged attack, which took place near the Cleveland home (pictured) of one of the victim's family members

Kennibrew pleaded with the judge not to be unduly lenient on the suspects because of their age on Wednesday

Kennibrew pleaded with the judge not to be unduly lenient on the suspects because of their age, according to Cleveland.com.

'This type of behavior doesnt deserve grace. They knew what they were doing. And they were okay with that. They even played after not caring about my baby. Remember that,' she said.

'[My daughter] has been going through it, and thats how it should be for the offenders. This type of behavior doesnt deserve grace.'

Neither the ten-year-old nor the woman who accompanied her spoke at the hearing, but her lawyer denied the charges.

A judge placed her on home detention with an ankle monitor, noting that the girl's parents were not at the hearing, and ordered a competency evaluation. Her next hearing is scheduled for January.

The nine-year-old boy was supposed to appear in court but did not show up. His lawyer asked for a continuance, claiming the boy's mother's car had broken down.

The judge rescheduled the hearing for the following week and warned that if he does not show up, she will issue an arrest warrant.

Kennibrew claimed that the youngsters took her daughter 'by her hand and walked her to a field that was far away from the residence'.

The ten-year-old girl appeared in court on Wednesday wearing a face mask and a pink coat, and was accompanied by a woman (pictured) who wore a hood over her head and walked with a cane

Kennibrew said her daughter is traumatized and is having 'behavioral problems' as a result of the attack

'In that field, they beat my daughter until she was unconscious,' she said. 'They ripped out her hair... They also shoved sticks down her throat. They stripped her naked and strangled her with her own shirt.'

She further alleged that her daughter is having 'behavioral problems' as a result of the attack.

'She is mentally not OK. Me not getting justice for my daughter makes me feel like I failed her,' Kennibrew said.

'I literally saw the worst thing ever! I saw my daughter unrecognizable. I couldnt wrap my head around it.'

Kennibrew described the scene as 'unbelievable' and claimed that in addition to being badly beaten and scalped, her daughter was raped.

'My daughter was not my daughter,' she said. 'Her hair was scalped from her head. She had bruises and blood all over her body.

'Her eyes were filled with blood. Her lips and mouth were filled with blood. Her nails had debris and dirt stuck in it.'

The case continues.
A senior Democrat has accused Donald Trump of orchestrating a quid pro quo with Ghislaine Maxwell, alleging that she provided closed-door testimony exonerating the President in the Jeffrey Epstein case in exchange for her freedom.

Maxwell is preparing a commutation application for approval by the Trump administration, according to House Judiciary Committee Democrats.

Representative Jamie Raskin sent Trump a fiery letter on Sunday, repeating accusations of corruption from an alleged whistleblower claiming she is receiving preferential treatment in prison.

The six-page letter accused the President of allowing 'a corrupt misuse of law-enforcement resources' and demanded testimony from the Deputy US Attorney General Todd Blanche before the Judiciary Committee.

Raskin claimed that Blanche, Pam Bondi's deputy and Trump's former attorney, was involved in a 'potential exchange of favors.'

The Democratic lawmaker claimed that a July meeting between Blanche and Maxwell resulted in a deal 'for false testimony exonerating you [Trump] and other Epstein accomplices.'

Blanche and Maxwell met over a two-day period in July to discuss Epstein's case and potential other accomplices. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for her role in assisting the pedophile billionaire with sex trafficking crimes.

Maxwell's recorded testimony exonerated Trump of any wrongdoing amid scrutiny over the President's personal relationship with Epstein.

Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for her role in Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking crimes

Maxwell exonerated Trump of any wrongdoing during a meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in July

Raskin sent a letter to Trump on Sunday accusing the President of a secret deal to free Maxwell

Following the closed-door meeting with Blanche, Maxwell was transferred to a minimum security prison in Texas where she is reportedly 'much, much happier.'

Raskin's recent letter is a follow-up to a prior statement Democrats sent to the Department of Justice accusing the administration of 'apparent flagrant violation of BOP [Bureau of Prison] policies, including one that explicitly prohibits the placement of sex offenders in such facilities.'

Previously, Maxwell was serving out her prison sentence for assisting Epstein in FCI Tallahassee, which is a 'low security' prison for men and women. However, her latest prison pad is a 'minimum security' camp for only women.

Maxwell, however, now plans to send a commutation application to Trump via her lawyer Leah Saffian, according to allegations from an unidentified whistleblower.

'I am struggling to keep it all together as it is big and there are so many attachments,' Maxwell wrote in an email with the subject line 'RE: Commutation Application.'

Maxwell plans to send the application materials through the prison's warden for the administration to review.

Trump and Bondi have faced criticism after Maxwell was moved to a minimum security prison following her July testimony

If Trump approves Maxwell's request, her 20-year sex trafficking sentence will be significantly reduced.

Maxwell added, 'More coming to replace others... hopefully it will all make sense.'

The Supreme Court rejected Maxwell's conviction appeal last month, meaning a pardon or commutation from Trump is her only hope for freedom.

White House spokesman Abigail Jackson told the Daily Mail: 'The White House does not comment on potential clemency requests. As President Trump has stated, pardoning Ghislaine Maxwell is not something he has thought about.'
A 'Las Vegas tough guy' was banned from all Sin City casinos nearly 34 years ago.

Now he petitioned to become the first person ever removed from Nevadas infamous 'black book.'

Francis 'Frankie' Citro Jr is one of the 37 people in the 'black book,' filled with names of people who have ties to organized crime and have been caught cheating in casino games.

The 81-year-old was banished from entering all state casinos on November 21, 1991, for his 'felony convictions and allegedly unsavory character,' with the LA Times saying 'he had consorted with known mobsters.'

Citro was convicted of extortion in August 1980, then in July 1987 for 'conspiracy to use counterfeit credit cards'. He was also found guilty in 1986 of racketeering, leading to a two-year sentence and probation.

Despite this blemished past, he petitioned on Friday to have his name removed.

'Maybe, just maybe, they will show a little kindness and consideration and let me be the first one removed', Citro told the Daily Mail.

Michael Lasher, Citro's attorney, labeled the 81-year-old as 'a reformed man' in his petition obtained by the Review-Journal.

'In the decades that have passed,[Citro's] reputation have become stellar,' the petition stated.

Francis 'Frankie' Citro Jr is one of the 37 people on the 'black book' who petitioned his name removal

If accepted, he would become the first person ever removed from Nevadas infamous 'black book'

'He is doing good for his community by charity fundraising as an entertainer. And the media has taken note.'

The Gaming Control Commission has 90 days to review his case, and if they believe he has a worthy argument, a hearing will be scheduled.

Lasher told the Daily Mail that it's hard to predict which way the commission will sway, as this is unprecedented.

'He absolutely has demonstrated good cause because he has not had any offenses in decades,' he said.

'If he was attempting to seal his convictions under Nevada law, he'd absolutely be able to because of the lack of offenses.'

Citro is optimistic about his odds, quipping 'I got a better chance getting out of the black book than winning an argument with my wife after 50 years of marriage!'

The spry 81-year-old has gained devoted supporters who have praised his transformation.

He told the Daily Mail that people used to fear talking to him because of his past - now that is not the case.

'Every Wednesday I meet up with a group of men, some retired, some doctors, lawyers, entertainers. And we sit at the same cafe and discuss life.

'They're there not because they have to be, but because I've earned their respect' Citro said.

Lasher noted in the petition that Citro 'is not known as a mobster or criminal, but as a friend in the community.'

Citro drew upon his 'extensive' fundraising for Child Haven, a local charity for abused children.

He hosted a Christmas Dance Party to benefit the kids, and asked all attendees to donate an unwrapped toy.

Frankie Citro has lived in Las Vegas since the late 1960s and has high hopes for his name removal

Citro spending his Tuesday night at a local bar playing backgammon while chain smoking

'I would get a truckload every year to be delivered to these kids,' Citro said.

Lasher also wrote in the petition that Citro 'assisted in another charity drive, which collected 3,000 socks for homeless people.'

The 'Vegas tough guy' said he's 'the greatest survival story that you could ever know about,' and behind his machismo is a soft spot for performing Doo-wop music and comedy.

'I enjoy making people happy, because you know, beside the curtain wall, there's a little sadness in my heart.'

Performing coincides with his charity work, which plays a big role in why he wants to be lifted from the list - to take the stage at a casino.

His attorney believes there's a 'unique opportunity' to show that people can be removed from the black list.

'There should be no reason why they shouldn't show the consideration and fairness of the commission,' Lasher said.

According to the commission, 'no person who is still alive has ever been removed from the List of Excluded Persons.'

Citro's daughter, who passed away a year ago, was his biggest advocate for his reform. Now he believes her prayers are finally going to be answered.

'She said, "Daddy one day they're going to do it." And I think that time has finally come.'
A Canadian woman has claimed that she was barred from entering the US because customs officers unjustifiably flagged her as a suspicious traveler.

Julia, who chose not to share her last name, had been looking forward to her six-week-long trip to Orlando, Florida, to visit her grandparents.

The 20-year-old is on a break from her studies until the spring and is unemployed, so she figured now would be the perfect time for a vacation.

But she told CTV that her plans went terribly awry when she approached US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Preclearance at Pearson International Airport in Toronto.

What was supposed to be a standard round of questioning allegedly turned into an interrogation, and agents brought Julia into a separate room.

'I was starting to hyperventilate a bit, because I was nervous that something was going to happen. Then Im told Im denied entrance into America,' she claimed to CTV.

Julia alleged that she was held back from boarding her Porter Airlines flight because the agents believed she was attempting to move to America illegally.

'I have no interest of ever living in America,' she bluntly told the outlet.

Disappointed and confused, Julia said she was sent home from the airport with nothing but a checklist indicating why she was barred from entering the US.

Officers claimed Julia failed to provide proof of a return flight to Canada, but CTV reviewed her itinerary and her return flight booking.

Julia claimed that trouble arose when she approached US Customs and Border Protection Preclearance at Pearson International Airport (pictured) in Toronto

US Customs had also requested proof of either employment or schooling, Julia said, both of which she was unable to hand over because she does not have a job and is not in school.

'It felt like a bit of abuse of power, honestly,' Julia's distraught mother, Kate, told CTV.

Julia, who traveled to visit her grandparents in February with no hiccups, said she is worried that she will run into similar travel issues in the future.

Although she was fully refunded by Porter Airlines, her mother is furious and wants other Canadians to know that they run the risk of being blocked from entering the US.

'It can have financial repercussions, as well as emotional. If our story helps any family avoid it, that would be great,' Kate told CTV.

'I think a lot of people are boycotting travel to the US, and after this experience, Im all for it.'

Julia's experience is far from unique, Immigration lawyer Heather Segal told CTV.

'US immigration takes their orders from the top and when theres a more anti-immigration sentiment in the country, they have all the tools to use at their discretion in a negative manner,' Segal said.

Immigration lawyer Heather Segal claimed that getting through US Customs and Border Protection has become more difficult amid US-Canadian political tensions (stock image)

Julia said she visited Orlando, Florida (pictured) in February and had no issues entering the US

'Some of the politics between Canada and the US play out at the border.'

The attorney said that in recent months, she has heard of an increasing number of Canadians facing extensive questioning about the purpose of their trips.

She also alleged that US Customs agents have been demanding to review more documents from travelers.

The Daily Mail has reached out to CBP for comment.
A second migrant has returned to Britain by small boat after being deported under Labour's 'one in, one out' scheme.

In a new farce, the unnamed migrant came back to the UK across the Channel yesterday, Remembrance Sunday.

It comes just days after the first 'back-and-forth' migrant was finally deported again.

The new 'hokey cokey' case, which was first reported by GB News, will further undermine Labour's flagship scheme to deal with the Channel crisis.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced the returns deal in July after a summit in London with French president Emmanuel Macron.

So far, 94 migrants have been removed and a further 57 have been brought into the UK under the reciprocal terms of the deal.

Since the treaty was announced there have been 17,958 confirmed arrivals across the Channel.

Migrants arrive at the Port of Dover yesterday - the same day a previously-deported migrant came back to Britain

The UK Border Force catamaran, 'Defender', picked up scores of migrants mid-Channel yesterday and delivered them to Dover

In the first case of a deported migrant coming back, the Iranian man arrived here on August 6 - the day the deal with France came into force, and was removed from Britain on September 19.

He later slipped out of a migrant shelter in Paris, where he had been housed, and headed back to the northern French coast, re-entering Britain on a small boat on October 18.

The unnamed man was finally removed  for a second time  18 days later on November 5.

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The Home Office said the new to-and-fro migrant had been detained and officials will seek to 'expedite' his removal to France.

PM Sir Keir scrapped the Conservatives' Rwanda asylum deal - which was designed to deter crossings and save lives - as one of his first acts in office.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said migrants returned under the deal were 'back before you know it'.

'The Channel is now a revolving door for illegal immigration, and Keir Starmer is waving them through with taxpayer-funded hotel keys,' he said.

'Since the French returns deal was announced nearly 18,000 illegal immigrants have arrived and only a handful removed.

'Starmer is completely out of his depth.

'In the past four days alone, we have seen over 2,000 arrivals.

'Labour dont have a plan, and they certainly dont have the backbone to take the tough decisions this crisis demands.

'The government is mired in migrant chaos and has clearly lost control of our borders.'

He added: 'It was a huge mistake by Keir Starmer to cancel the Rwanda removal deterrent before it even started.

'We now need tougher action to end this - coming out of the European Convention on Human Rights which will enable us to remove every illegal immigrant within a week of arrival. That is the Conservative plan.'

A Home Office spokesman said: 'Anyone looking to return to the UK after being removed under the UK-France agreement is wasting their time and money.

'This individual was detected by biometrics and detained immediately. His case will be expedited, and he will be returned to France as quickly as possible.

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'The message is clear: if you try to return to the UK you will be sent back.

'We will do whatever it takes to scale up removals of illegal migrants and secure our borders.'

Since Labour came to power last year 62,317 Channel migrants have reached British soil.

The latest fiasco comes after it emerged more than 10,000 small boat migrants have reached Britain since Shabana Mahmood became Home Secretary - a grim milestone reached more quickly than under any of her predecessors since 2022.

The 10,000 point was reached after she was in charge of the Home Office for 66 days.

Under her predecessor Yvette Cooper it took 74 days to reach the same milestone.

Ms Cooper was moved sideways to the Foreign Office by the PM after failing to get a grip of the Channel crisis.

Under Tory home secretaries the 10,000 point took 171 days under James Cleverly and 583 days under Priti Patel.

Only under Suella Braverman was the same point reached more quickly, in 43 days in 2022  the year which saw a record annual number of migrants amid a surge of Albanian arrivals.
An 18-year-old schoolgirl has died aboard a Carnival cruise ship sailing from Miami to the Caribbean.

Straight-A student Anna Kepner, from Florida, died on the Carnival Horizon on Saturday.

Further details on how she died have not been released, with the Horizon returning to port after the tragedy. The FBI is investigating her death.

Kepner had just started her senior year at high school and was planning on joining the military.

'When she walked into a room, she would light it up,' a relative told ABC News.

'If you were sad, she'd make you laugh. She would joke around and be the funniest little person in school.'

'She had just finished taking the test to join the military,' they added.

'She was already talking to recruiters and had chosen her career path. She wanted to do something that would help her community.'

Kepner died aboard Carnival Horizon cruise ship on Saturday. She was 18 years old

Straight-A student Anna Kepner, from Florida, died on the Carnival Horizon (pictured)

Carnival Cruise Line confirmed her death in a statement to ABC, adding: 'Our focus is on supporting the family of our guest and cooperating with the FBI.'

Kepner's family said she volunteered in her grandparents' 55+ neighborhood and helped out at local businesses in her home town of Titusville, Florida.

'She loved being around people,' her family said.

'She had that type of energy that just drew you in with her smile and the way she carried herself. She was such an easy person to talk to.'

'She was the best child you could ever meet,' they added. 'We'll always remember her for who she was.'

Kepner was on her high school varsity cheerleading team, and she started practicing gymnastics at the age of two.

She had also earned her boater's license and scuba certification.

Kepner had just started her senior year at high school and was planning on joining the military

'When she walked into a room, she would light it up,' a relative said of Kepner

Kepner had just started her senior year at high school and was planning on joining the military

The Carnival Horizon ship which Kepner was on board traveled through the Western Carribbean, docking at Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel.

Kepner's death came on the final day of the trip. Passengers were told to leave their cabins earlier than usual, according to Cruise Blog.

The Daily Mail has contacted the FBI for more information.
Donald Trump unleashed fire and death against alleged narco-terrorists in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday.

Two strikes were conducted under the President's orders yesterday, killing six. It brings the death toll of suspected drug terrorists so far to 75.

US intelligence discovered the vessels were 'associated with illicit narcotics smuggling,' according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who announced the operation on social media today.

He claimed both vessels were carrying narcotics but did not specify the exact drugs or location in the Eastern Pacific Ocean where the strike took place.

The cabinet secretary added: 'Both strikes were conducted in international waters and three male narco-terrorists were aboard each vessel. All six were killed. No US forces were harmed.'

The US military has conducted 18 lethal strikes against suspected drug vessels over the last few months, killing approximately 75 people after Sunday's deadly operation.

Since starting his second term, Trump has applied more military pressure on Venezuela by accusing the socialist regime of trafficking drugs into the United States.

Trump has also labeled the largest drug cartels in Mexico as terrorist organizations.

The US military killed six alleged narco-terrorists in two separate strikes on drug boats in the Pacific Ocean yesterday

Donald Trump has labeled the largest drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations

Pete Hegseth announced the latest military operation via social media on Monday morning

'Under President Trump, we are protecting the homeland and killing these cartel terrorists who wish to harm our country and its people,' Hegseth concluded.

Last week, the US conducted its 17th deadly strike on drug boats moving narcotics through international waters in the Caribbean.

Hegseth revealed this on Thursday, noting that all three alleged narco-terrorists had been killed on board.

Critics have claimed that the Trump administration's targeted strikes on drug smugglers represent extrajudicial killings.

The Pentagon has yet to release concrete evidence to the public that the vessels were carrying narcotics or posed a threat to the US.

Back in October, America rescued two survivors from a military strike on a drug vessel. The pair were later repatriated to Colombia and Ecuador.

Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.

He has asserted America is engaged in an 'armed conflict' with drug cartels, relying on the same legal authority used by the Bush administration when it declared a war on terrorism after the September 11 attacks.

The Trump administration has applied more military pressure towards Latin American drug cartels over the last few months

There were believed to be no survivors after Sunday's military operation in the Pacific Ocean

Senate Democrats have expressed doubts over the legality of the strikes, and last week renewed their request for more information about the strikes in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Hegseth.

'We also request that you provide all legal opinions related to these strikes and a list of the groups or other entities the President has deemed targetable,' the senators wrote.

A White House spokesman claimed Trump has a mandate from the American public to take decisive action against cartels.
This is the terrifying moment a two-year-old survived a plunge down a lift shaft after it he leaned on the door to the elevator.

Footage taken from a block of flats in Voronezh, Russia, showed the toddler putting his weight on the lift door, which somehow gave way.

As the child fell, the boy's father leapt after him fearing the elevator could descend from a higher floor at any moment and crush him.

By some miracle, the toddler avoided metal spikes at the bottom following his 6ft plunge from the ground floor into the darkness of the shaft.

His mother shone the torch so her husband could locate the boy.

Hero neighbours heard the screams and held the lift at the third floor, preventing it from lowering and crushing the pair.

The father plucked his son back through the caved-in door before clambering out himself as the child was hugged tight by his mother.

'We rushed to hospital and thank God our child is fine,' said the father, who was only identified by his first name in local media.

Footage taken from a block of flats in Voronezh, Russia, showed the toddler leaning on the lift door, which gave way

As the child fell, the boy's father leapt in after fearing the elevator could descend from a higher floor at any moment

'He got away with just a fright and a few bruises on his head and back. But the situation is terrifying.'

He said: 'I immediately jumped after him. We were lucky that the neighbours heard the noise, came out, and stopped the lift so it wouldn't go further.

'My son was saved by a miracle  he fell safely and didn't land on the rebar lying at the bottom of the shaft.'

The child was now home and 'has calmed down'.

The Russian Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, has opened a criminal probe.

'The lifts in our new building, which was put into operation just over a year ago, are simply awful,' said the father.

'Over the entire year, both of them have worked for only about two months in total..

'And when they do work, it's frightening to ride them  there's noise, creaking, and grinding. A new lift shouldn't operate like that.'
A Metropolitan Police motorcyclist sped through a red light and killed a grandmother while escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh through London, a court heard.

Christopher Harrison, 68, was riding his BMW motorcycle at 58mph in a motorcade for the royal when he struck 81-year-old Helen Holland in Earl's Court on May 10, 2023.

The mother-of-four was seriously injured in the collision and died in hospital two weeks later on May 23, 2023.

Witnesses said she was thrown into the air and looked 'like a ragdoll' in the road after being fatally injured.

The convoy, which included PC Harrison left the Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office shortly after 3pm.

Duchess Sophie was travelling in a car which was accompanied by a police backup vehicle and four motorbike outriders.

PC Harrison and the convoy largely followed communication protocol as they weaved through red lights and controlled traffic, the Old Bailey heard.

However when they reached West Cromwell Road in Earl's Court, PC Harrison's motorcycle collided with Ms Holland at a pedestrian crossing.

The lead bike passed through the lights while they were green, but they turned red as the second bike passed. The rider of the second bike communicated this to the rest of the convoy.

Mother-of-four Helen Holland, 81, died two weeks after she was seriously injured in the collision

However 18 seconds later PC Harrison drove through the red light and hit Mrs Holland on the crossing.

PC Harrison was allegedly driving 'somewhere between 44-58 mph' at the time of the collision. West Cromwell Road had a speed limit of 30mph at the time.

PC Harrison was 178 metres away when the light turned red and he saw them change at least 10 seconds before he went through.

Prosecutor Michelle Heeley, KC, said: 'On 10 May 2023, Helen Holland was crossing the road on a pedestrian crossing.

'The lights were on red for traffic, but this defendant drove through the red light and hit Mrs Holland. She died.

'The prosecution say his driving was careless and he is guilty of causing death by careless driving.'

She said Harrison was a motorbike escort rider escorting the Duchess of Edinburgh.

'He was one of a number of motorbike outriders that ensured the way was clear for the car that the Duchess was in to travel through London.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, was being escorted by Met police officers through London when a motorcyclist hit a pedestrian

'As a police escort motorbike, the defendant was allowed to do things other drivers can't do, for example, he could exceed the speed limit, and he could go through red lights, but he still had a duty to other road users, including pedestrians, to make sure that his driving was careful.'

The majority of the outriders wore body-worn video, meaning the journey was largely fully recorded.

The convoy had a team leader, who rode directly in front of the escorted vehicle, while the other three motorbikes were called working bikes.

Ms Heeley continued: 'It was their job to take control of any perceived hazards, and to facilitate a safe and secure progress for the convoy.

'A hazard could be something like a junction, or a traffic light, it is better from a security point of view to keep the convoy moving, rather than having to stop and start.

'The motorbikes should look out for danger and then provide cover. If they came to a pedestrian crossing and it was a green light, then they should check to see whether there are any pedestrians waiting to cross.

'If it is clear, then the motorbike can confirm its safe for the convoy to drive through,' said Ms Heeley.

'But if the light is red for the convoy, or there are people who may be crossing then the job of the motorcyclist is to control the crossing, for example by placing one of the bikes across the crossing, communicating with the pedestrians, to ensure they don't cross and the way is clear for the convoy.

The charge alleges he caused the death of Ms Holland by driving a BMW R1200 Motorcycle on West Cromwell Road without due care and attention. Pictured: The scene of the crash

'The three outriders work in a leapfrog movement, one overtaking the other, passing information back to ensure that all people in the convoy know about what is coming up and what hazards they are about to encounter.'

All the motorcyclists were equipped with whistles to help to alert the public, while their bikes had blue lights on too.

'The collision took place on West Cromwell Road, the lead bike turned onto West Cromwell Road, the convoy was following,' Ms Heely continued.

'There was a pedestrian crossing which was on green for the traffic as the first motorbike went through, the information that there was a crossing was made known to all of the motorcyclists, so they knew to look out for it.

'The crossing had changed to red for the traffic, the second bike in the convoy went through and passed back the information that the lights had changed to red.

'18 seconds later, Mr Harrison drove through the red light, he collided with Mrs Holland who had been crossing at the pedestrian crossing.

'Mrs Holland was entitled to be crossing then, Mr Harrison knew that the light for traffic, ie for him, was red, and so he should have taken care when driving through that red light, but he did not stop and he did not see Mrs Holland which is why he drove straight into her.

'He should have seen her, he should have expected there to be pedestrians and thus modified his driving somehow, but he didn't, and that is why the prosecution say he was driving carelessly at that point.'

The Duchess was travelling in a car which was accompanied by a police backup vehicle and four motorbike outriders

Mrs Holland was crossing from PC Harrison's right to left, the lights were very clear for PC Harrison and he was informed they had turned red.

The court heard there was a structure to the right that may have impeded PC Harrison's view.

Jurors were told that the view of the traffic lights was clear for PC Harrison for about 240 metres.

Ms Heeley said: 'His speed as he approached the light was somewhere between 44-58 mph.

'He was allowed to exceed the speed limit but he still had a duty to drive carefully.

'The traffic lights turned red for Mr Harrison at least 10 seconds before he went through them, he was 178 metres away at the point they turned red.

'Mrs Holland began to cross and was three metres into the carriageway when she was hit, so she had not just stepped off the kerb.'

The motorbike was analysed after the collision, and it was deemed there was nothing wrong with the bike.

PC Harrison accepted in interview that he did not see Mrs Holland and that she appeared from nowhere.

Christopher Harrison, 68, denies causing death by careless driving at the Old Bailey

Ms Heeley added: 'She didn't appear from nowhere, ladies and gentlemen, she must have been at the side of the road before she crossed, and then she was three metres into the carriageway when she was hit.

'He could see the pedestrian crossing up ahead, it was on red for him for at least 10 seconds, he had been told it was on red.

'It was not unexpected that someone might cross at the pedestrian crossing and Mr Harrison should have kept a close lookout for pedestrians.

'He should also have modified his speed, rather than approaching at more than double the speed limit.

'He made no attempt to control the crossing and he collided with Mrs Holland.

'The prosecution do not underestimate that Mr Harrison had a difficult job but he also had a responsibility to do that job properly and on this occasion, he did not do so.

'He drove without due care and attention and as a result of that, Mrs Holland lost her life.

'That is why the prosecution say you can be sure he is guilty of causing death by careless driving.'

Witness Helen Mott, who was visiting London from Bristol, was crossing on the road when said she heard 'a sickening crash' behind her.

She said: 'I turned around and saw the broken body of a woman. My sense was that she was hit very hard and very fast.

'I couldn't see the woman's face but my strong impression was she was not coming back.

'I am sorry to say at this point my strong impression was she was like a ragdoll in the road.'

She added: 'If the collision had been three seconds earlier, it would have been me in the road.'

Lance Corporal Ben Goodfellow was also part of the escort team, driving an Audi vehicle containing Sophie and one of her personal protection officers when the motorcycle ahead struck the victim.

He said: 'I saw the woman in the centre of the road, Helen. Next, then I saw she was flying in the area. It all happened very quickly.

'People (in the car) looked up and asked what was going on, I stated I wasn't sure - because how do you explain what happened?'

The Met Police's Special Escort Group provides armed escorts for Royal Family members, VIPs, protected members of the Government, visiting royals, heads of state and other visiting dignitaries.

Mrs Holland's death is the first to be associated with the special escort group, although in 2019 riders with the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge hit Irene Mayor, 83, who suffered a broken leg, pelvis and arm and a head injury.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said at the time: 'The duchess's heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the injured lady and her family.

'She is grateful for the swift response by the emergency services and will keep abreast of developments. Further comment at this time would not be appropriate while the incident is being investigated.'

PC Harrison, of Billericay, Essex, denies causing death by careless driving.
A one-year-old girl had to be rushed to the hospital after Border Patrol agents allegedly pepper-sprayed her family in a Chicago suburb amid a chaotic ICE operation.

Rafael Veraza said that he and his young daughter, Ariana, were sprayed with the painful chemical near the parking lot of Sam's Club in Cicero, Illinois, on Saturday.

The Veraza family was driving out of the parking lot with the car's windows down when Border Patrol agents allegedly pepper-sprayed inside the vehicle.

Harrowing video from the aftermath of the alleged incident shows Rafael squinting in pain, while Ariana was seen sobbing in her mother's arms when the family pulled over.

Both Ariana and her father were briefly hospitalized after the alleged confrontation.

Rafael detailed his troubling claims during a press conference on Sunday, noting that his family never made it inside the grocery store, as per Fox 32.

After pulling into the parking lot, Rafael noticed a helicopter hovering above and heard whistles being blown, indicating that ICE was in the area.

Fearful for his family's safety as federal agents clashed with community members close by, he promptly decided to drive away.

Rafael Veraza, Ariana Veraza's father, said: 'My daughter was trying to open her eyes. She was struggling to breathe'

Rafael held Ariana at a Sunday press conference about the incident

One-year-old Ariana sobbed on the side of the road after an ICE agent allegedly pepper-sprayed inside of her family's car

But just as he tried to leave, Rafael says a dark-colored truck pulled up beside them and sprayed the chemical irritant inside the window 'for no reason'.

'[The agent] started spraying from the front of the car towards the back. Basically, I got sprayed all over my face,' Rafael said.

He said he could barely breathe and the spray's burning effects were amplified by his asthma. But the true horror he experienced was watching his innocent baby in agony.

'My daughter was trying to open her eyes. She was struggling to breathe,' he recalled.

'I was not a protester. I didn't have nothing against them.'

The horrified family said they are considering taking legal action to cover the care Ariana now needs, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin posted a statement to social media Sunday denying Rafael's accusations.

'No. There was no crowd control or pepper spray deployed in a Sam's Club parking lot,' she wrote.

'Though, over the weekend in Chicago, law enforcement was shot at, bricks thrown at them [and] they were rammed with vehicles and other attacks.'

According to a DHS press release, Border Patrol was attacked while conducting immigration enforcement operations in Little Village, which is the town neighboring Cicero.

A federal agent was recorded on a street in Little Village as residents clashed with ICE

Smoke bombs were apparently set off in the street, as captured by a witness video

'Border Patrol was accosted by a hostile crowd that boxed them into a street and alleyway,' the statement reads.

Agents were allegedly shot at by someone driving a black Jeep as they tried to arrest someone.

Heart-pounding video of the dramatic scene captured cars piled up in traffic, blaring their horns, as gun-bearing officers roamed the crowded street.

A gunshot was heard ringing in the background, followed by a blood-curdling scream.

Heated confrontations between people in the neighborhood and ICE agents unfolded in the street.

The DHS claimed unruly protestors threw bricks and paint cans from a roof to wreck Border Patrol vehicles. No agents were injured.

Eight US citizens and one illegal immigrant were arrested in Little Village on Saturday.

While many community members have pointed their fingers at ICE agents for bringing violence to Chicago as a part of the Donald Trump administration's Operation Midway Blitz, the DHS has blamed the city and state's leadership.

The DHS shared pictures of the aftermath of the Saturday ICE operation, in which the department claimed rioters attacked agents

A federal vehicle's back window was shattered by protestors throwing bricks, the DHS said

McLaughlin said that Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson have 'fueled an environment of lawlessness and assault on federal law enforcement.'

The DHS launched Operation Midway Blitz in September, vowing to target migrants with criminal records who flocked to Illinois because of its sanctuary policies.

President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem stand with the victims of illegal alien crime while Governor Pritzker stands with criminal illegal aliens,' the DHS wrote at the time.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Rafael and his wife for comment.
Skyscrapers in Denver are now virtually worthless after the Covid-19 pandemic and crime took over the downtown area.

The scenic Colorado city recently lost more than $340 million after Brookfield Properties sold two massive 17th Street office buildings - a 29-story space known as Johns Manville Plaza and a 42-story structure - on Tuesday.

The New York-based real estate company sold the 1.28 million square-feet of office space located in Denver's City Center for $57.4 million, according to public records reviewed by The Denver Post.

That sale price is a stark difference compared to the $400 million price tag the real estate conglomerate bought it for in January 2020 - the same exact time Covid hit the US and forced all non-essential workers to vacate offices and work from home.

But now five years after the pandemic, the buildings were purchased for just $45 a square foot by two unnamed LLCs created by Minnesota-based investor Patrick Halloran, per the outlet.

When the space was snapped up in 2020 it was 94 percent occupied, according to Shorenstein Properties, the seller in that deal.

Now the massive office building is only 50 percent leased in the liberal city with the highest violent crime rate in the state, per JLL brokers Mark Katz and Hilary Barnett.

Compared to nearby Aurora, Colorado Springs and Centennial, Denver's crime rate is at nearly 235 per 100,000 people at the start of 2025, according to a new report by Common Sense Institute (CSI).

Brookfield Properties sold two massive 17th Street office buildings - a 29-story space known as Johns Manville Plaza (pictured) and a 42-story structure - on Tuesday. The real estate giant purchased them in January 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit

The stunning city was once a safe haven for people, but over the years crime rates have surged the most in Denver compared to cities statewide

The high crime rates have truly become 'costly' for the city, according to DJ Summers, CSIs director of communications and research operations.

'According to the data, overall crime is declining across Colorado, but Denvers persistently high rates of violent and property offenses show that progress is uneven and costly,' Summers said.

He added: 'These patterns carry real economic consequences, from lost business investment to declining community confidence, and come at a time when arrests are also trending lower.

'Cities like Aurora and Centennial may demonstrate some successes that are worth exploring further.'

The occupancy rate of the skyscraper would actually be far less if Brookfield Properties hadn't secured the 2024 lease renewal of Johns Manville, a manufacturing company that's been headquartered there.

Earlier this year, the state's labor department snatched up 131,000 square-feet of space in the skyscraper - but it still wasn't enough to stay afloat.

Brookfield was able to secure the office building with a $230 million loan from Wells Fargo that was supposed to have been paid off in February of this year, records reviewed by the outlet showed.

Despite the loss of the buildings, a spokesperson with Brookfield told the outlet it 'has no impact on our real estate business.'

'Divesting this asset has no impact on our real estate business, where our core U.S. office portfolio is 95 percent leased with net operating income up nearly 20 percent since 2020,' they said.

The Daily Mail contacted Brookfield Properties for comment.

The city was rocked by the dangerous Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua (TdA) last year. ICE agents are seen arresting 50 illegal migrants linked to the gang earlier this year

Just last year, a dangerous Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua (TdA) moved into three apartment complexes in Aurora before settling into one in Denver.

The gang members, considered terrorist by President Donald Trump after he classified TdA as a terrorist organization after wreaking havoc in the state by selling drugs and prostitution.

Since Trump returned to the White House, he and his administration have cracked down on immigration across the US, including in Colorado.

In February, right after the gang moved into Denver, Trump's Border Czar Tom Homan announced hundreds of agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the FBI, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) descended on a number of apartment complexes.

During a nine-day operation in July, ICE officers arrested 243 immigrants who did not have legal status in the Denver area, the agency announced at the time.

In September 2024 a trio of masked gunmen were caught on camera raiding a home in Denver and stealing a motorcycle.

Two of them were seen carrying what police described as a handgun and an AR-style rifle, then using flashlights to look around the home's garage.

Eventually the suspects kneeled down and dragged a motorcycle out of the garage, before fleeing in what police describe as a dark-colored, older-model Ford pickup with a silver stripe on the bottom.

Although The Mile High City has the most crime in the state, violent crime is down in every city, except Colorado Springs which saw a 12.2 percent increase, the study found.

Denver's crime rate dipped by 14.3 percent, Aurora dropped 36.5 percent and Lakewood's crime rate fell 34.46 percent.
A 21-year-old woman was bitten in the neck by a lion after being dragged off a horse during a South Africa safari - but miraculously survived.

Swedish volunteer Naemi Boy from Malmo was accompanying a group on a horse safari in Tzaneen when the horrifying incident took place.

She had been assigned to ride at the back of the group as a safety measure, but unbeknownst to anyone a lion had been lying in the nearby undergrowth.

As Naemi passed, the young male animal suddenly sprang out, bit her in the neck and dragged her from her horse.

What happened immediately afterwards is unclear, but the lion reportedly let go of her and disappeared into the savannah.

The incident left Naemi with severe injuries.

Her colleagues rushed to her aid and took her to hospital in Tzaneen.

Naemi later told local media: 'The bite went down to the vertebrae. Two vertebrae broke, and the spinal cord was damaged.'

A 21-year-old woman was bitten in the neck by a lion after being dragged off a horse during a South Africa safari - but miraculously survived

Swedish volunteer Naemi Boy from Malmo was accompanying a group on a horse safari in Tzaneen when the horrifying incident took place

She had been assigned to ride at the back of the group as a safety measure, but unbeknownst to anyone a lion had been lying in the nearby undergrowth

She also broke her hand when she fell from the horse in October.

She later suffered a stroke in hospital, and an infection developed in the bite wound.

After several weeks of treatment, Naemi was stable enough to be flown home to Sweden on Friday, where she is now being treated in Malmo.

She said: 'I must have had a guardian angel. Im numb on the left side after the stroke, but I can move everything. The doctors say I will make a full recovery.

'Who can say that after a lion attack?'

She continues to wear a neck brace and faces the possibility of surgery, though doctors believe she may recover without an operation.

Naemi said she recognised the lion that attacked her, describing it as around two years old and previously seen several times near the safari area.

She believes the lion may have jumped at her out of curiosity.

Naemi also broke her hand when she fell from the horse

Naemi said she recognised the lion that attacked her, describing it as around two years old and previously seen several times near the safari area

She later suffered a stroke in hospital, and an infection developed in the bite wound

Despite the attack, Naemi said she plans to return to South Africa once she has recovered fully

Naemi said she remembers mounting the horse before waking up in hospital and thinks the trauma caused her memory to block the rest.

She avoids thinking about what could have happened because it keeps her awake at night.

Despite the attack, Naemi said she plans to return to South Africa once she has recovered fully.

She said: 'I had such a good time there. I definitely want to go on another horseback safari. But Ill never ride last again.'

A four-year-old boy was left with severe facial paralysis after he was bitten on the face by a spitting cobra whilst he slept during a safari in South Africa.

The Dutch boy was on holiday with his family when he was bitten on the face by a Mozambican spitting cobra in 2021.

He was saved by doctors in South Africa at a rural hospital where he was resuscitated and treated with antivenom.

The boy was flown back to Holland 12 days later where he was treated by Doctor Willem Rinkel at the Utrecht University Medical Centre.

A four-year-old Dutch boy was bitten on the face by a spitting cobra whilst he slept during a safari in South Africa. Pictured: The little boy in hospital after being bitten by the cobra

Uriel Nuri (pictured, with a leopard) was pronounced dead after suffering wounds to his neck and upper body at Jerusalem Biblical Zoo in August

Doctors originally feared the paralysis would be permanent but following months of rehabilitation, most of it has been reversed.

In August, a zookeeper has been mauled to death by a leopard after it escaped from its enclosure while he prepared a tour for visitors.

The 36-year-old employee at Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, named locally as Uriel Nuri, was pronounced dead after suffering wounds to his neck and upper body.

The zoo said in a statement: 'During a routine activity to prepare food for the leopards, which took place as part of a behind-the-scenes tour for visitors of the zoo, a leopard managed to escape from the leopard house into the inner courtyard and attacked one of the zoo employees.'

An investigation was launched in association with the police to understand how the leopard managed to escape into the courtyard.
A police chief has issued an extraordinary public rebuke of light-touch judges in his New Mexico city, which is being overrun by violent crime.

Jeremy Story, head of the Las Cruces Police Department, slammed lenient sentencing practices, which he says have allowed criminals back on the streets.

He pointed to the case of Neil Garcia, a man arrested more than 100 times, including for assaults and gun threats, calling it a 'microcosm of the New Mexico criminal justice system.'

Despite prosecutors pushing for the man to be involuntarily committed and tougher sentences, the man reoffended as recently as April 2025, punching a Walmart employee after being caught stealing.

'Mr Garcia had had several cases dismissed because he was found incompetent, and again, that's being dismissed without consequences or treatment,' Story said in a social media video. 'He [Mr Garcia] was also deemed to be not dangerous by the courts.'

Story added: 'I would argue that he poses a clear danger to the public and community. And the people he is victimizing are people who are just working and trying to live their lives in the community we all share.'

The police chief said sadly this case was 'not an exception, this is the rule'.

'My officers are out there arresting him and others like him every day without options,' said Story, before signing off the video by asking the public to share their ideas and thoughts in the comments about how to make Las Cruces safer.

Las Cruces Police Jeremy Story (pictured) called out judges with lenient sentencing practices that have allowed criminals back on the streets

In 2024, Las Cruces (pictured) recorded a violent crime rate of roughly 720 per 100,000 residents, nearly double the national average

Las Cruces is facing crime rates well above both state and national averages.

In 2024, the city recorded a violent crime rate of roughly 720 per 100,000 residents, nearly double the national average of 398 and significantly higher than the New Mexico state average of 525.

Property crime is also soaring, with 4,882 incidents per 100,000 residents, compared with the state average of 3,600 per 100,000, placing Las Cruces among the top 20 US cities for theft, burglary and vehicle crime.

Violent crime is also climbing, with homicides jumping from 10 in 2023 to 17 in 2024 and aggravated assaults surging.

In response to rising crime Las Cruces police met with local residents at city hall in April 2024 outlining the challenges officers face and asking the public for suggestions on improving safety.

Ironically, this is when Garcia was caught breaking windows at the city hall building and was charged with felony vandalism.

Two months later, Story said Garcia was arrested again for breaking windows at the same building.

'Why do I bring up these cases other than the obvious irony? Because a case was recently dismissed by a district court judge because Mr Garcia was found to be incompetent,' the police chief said.

Story pointed to the case of Neil Garcia (pictured), a man arrested more than 100 times, including for assaults and gun threats, who recently had a case against him dismissed

Las Cruces (pictured) residents praised Story for calling out the judges and providing transparency in the comments on his video

'The judge also denied a petition by the District Attorney's Office for assisted outpatient treatment, and the judge did not use the new community based restoration option that's available in New Mexico.'

Although it is unclear which judge allowed Garcia to walk free, district judges in New Mexico are initially appointed to their roles by the governor.

After their first year, judges must be elected to the office. Daily Mail contacted the office of New Mexico's Democrat Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham for comment.

Residents praised Story for calling out the judges and providing transparency in the comments on his video.

'I applaud you for calling out the judges who keep allowing these things to happen. It brings clarity to moments when the community thinks the police arent doing their job,' one person wrote.

'People want to complain that the police dont do anything but a lot of times it seems that they just already know the judges wont do anything about it so they let things slide.'

'Thank you for all you're doing to make actual change,' wrote another. 'This is wrong on the Judge's part. You are 100 percent right. It isn't an outlier, it is a rule. The repeat offenders are negatively impacting local businesses, schools, our entire community.'

A third person wrote: 'Shame on the judge for denying alternative resources which couldve helped that individual and the community in the long run.

'Its refreshing to see a Chief in the light all the time, fighting for his community, and fighting for his officers. You dont see that anymore!'

Some suggested the judge and the police chief work together to reach an understand on how to address the issue of repeat offenders.

'The judge and Story need to get together and have a serious conversation. Then come together in a town hall and lets get both sides,' one person wrote.
A doctor has been struck off after he invented a fake landlord and fictional tenancy agreement as part of a 12,000 housing benefits scam.

King's College Hospital doctor Olubunmi Adeagbo-Sheikh told the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) that he was renting a London property.

Adeagbo-Sheikh, who is in his 40s, actually lived with his mother in Swanley, Kent but fraudulently claimed 900 a month for his fictitious home in the capital - at an address that didn't exist.

He was able to maintain the deception for 13 months between September 2018 and September 2019, collecting 11,700 in total.

He pleaded guilty to dishonestly making a false statement to obtain a benefit, advantage or payment in February 2024 and avoided jail time.

Now Dr Adeagbo-Sheikh has been removed from the medical register, with the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service calling his 'deliberate' fraud 'fundamentally incompatible with his continued registration'.

Dr Adeagbo-Sheikh qualified with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery in 2013 in Nigeria, and worked as a locum doctor there before moving to the UK in 2016.

In 2024 he was working as a junior clinical doctor at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Nigerian Olubunmi Adeagbo-Sheikh, pictured outside court in February 2024, made the fake claim while training to work as a medic in the UK

On 16 August 2018, Dr Adeagbo-Sheikh submitted an application for Universal Credit to the DWP which included a claim for housing costs of 900 per month for rent at a London property.

The address of the house that Dr Adeagbo-Sheikh gave in that application did not exist and the tenancy agreement he provided was completely concocted.

The DWP investigated the irregularities and Dr Adeagbo-Sheikh was arrested on October 7, 2019.

His laptop was seized and examined, and the police found WhatsApp messages between the doctor and a friend referring to the fraud.

Further documentation included fake copies of a tenancy agreement for a non-existent property and a false CV.

Dr Adeagbo-Sheikh was later summoned to appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court in 2023 with the charge of dishonestly making a false statement to obtain a benefit/advantage/payment.

The prosecutor in the case said: 'This deprives the public purse of valuable resources that could be used elsewhere and it also increases the costs and administrative burden on the system, because people like you seek to cheat the system.'

Dr Adeagbo-Sheikh completed the unpaid work requirement of 100 hours of his Community Order by July 2024, and later paid back the money to the DWP.

However, he failed to alert the General Medical Council, which accredits doctors, that he had a criminal conviction.

At a tribunal held by the MPTS, he was found to have 'not upheld' the 'honesty and integrity that is a fundamental tenet of the medical profession'.

It found: 'This Tribunal has found that Dr Adeagbo-Sheikh made a deliberate choice to commit fraud, which was persistent in terms of continuing to receive the monies into his bank over a 13-month period and would likely have continued if the fraud had not been uncovered.

'The Tribunal was clear as to the importance of honesty and integrity that is a fundamental tenet of the medical profession and of the impact and seriousness when this is not upheld.

'The Tribunal returns to... the need for doctors to make sure that their conduct justifies their patients' trust in them and the public's trust in the profession.

'This principle has been undermined by Dr Adeagbo-Sheikh's actions and all of the various paragraphs within the SG that have been shown to apply in this case also show the seriousness of the situation.'

It continued: 'In all the circumstances, the Tribunal determined that Dr Adeagbo-Sheikh's conduct was fundamentally incompatible with his continued registration.

'The Tribunal therefore directs that Dr Adeagbo-Sheikh's name be erased from the Medical Register.

'It concluded that, in all the circumstances, despite the remorse and genuine apology by Dr Adeagbo-Sheikh for his actions and the arguments put forward cogently by Mr Gledhill, erasure was the only necessary and proportionate sanction which would sufficiently and adequately promote and maintain public confidence in the medical profession and promote and maintain proper professional standards and conduct for members of that profession.

'In all the circumstances, the Tribunal determined not to impose an immediate order of suspension on Dr Adeagbo-Sheikh's registration.'
John Fetterman has opened up about his battles with suicidal thoughts in a forthcoming memoir set to be released on Tuesday.

The Pennsylvania senators revelations stunned Washington, DC, on Monday, offering new insight into the health struggles that have long drawn emotional reactions from across the political aisle.

Fetterman, 56, recounts for the first time the health crisis that nearly derailed his 2022 campaign as well as his battle with depression in an exclusive excerpt published by The Free Press.

He suffered a stroke just days before the Democratic primary election. His wife Gisele recognized the warning signs and rushed him to the hospital, where doctors removed a life-threatening blood clot and later implanted a pacemaker.

Though he survived and won the primary, the stroke left him with auditory processing difficulties. The senator pressed forward with his general election campaign against Republican Mehmet Oz despite his condition.

On reflection in his memoir, released more than three years later, he says: 'In hindsight, I should have quit.'

Fetterman has faced intense media scrutiny and personal attacks about his health, which he says contributed to severe depression.

In Unfettered, he traces these struggles to deeper psychological wounds stemming from being born to teenage parents, which he says left him with persistent feelings of shame and inadequacy throughout his life.

US Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) departs a Democratic luncheon at the US Capitol on November 6 in Washington, DC

John Fetterman, his wife Gisele Barreto Fetterman, and their kids in front of the White House

Fetterman writes: 'Once, as I lay in bed, I asked myself, what would you do if there were a pill on the nightstand you could take and not wake up? I would have taken it.'

Reacting to the shocking excerpt, one user wrote on X: 'Respect to him for sharing that, heavy but needed.'

Another said: 'Wow! An amazing story. I'm a conservative so I would not naturally listen to this, but two things, One, after my wife died I became suicidal so now when I see people discussing that, it interests me, and, two, I have seen Fetterman stand up to the Jew haters and as a Jew, I appreciate that, especially considering that now we see both parties tolerating very evil Jew haters inside the parties.

'Definitely a book I will read. I wish him well.'

During the campaign, his mental health worsened, especially after a disastrous debate that drew public mockery.

He became consumed by self-loathing and suicidal thoughts. Even as he won the general election by five points - outperforming President Biden in most counties - his struggles continued.

His victory brought no relief. He spent months bedridden, emotionally detached, and unable to function. By early 2023, he was isolated, barely eating or sleeping, and finally entered Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. There, he was diagnosed with severe depression that further affected his physical health.

At Walter Reed, through therapy and reading, he slowly began to heal. A young therapist's reminder, delivered with a simple phrase - 'Children need their daddy' - became a turning point, rekindling his will to live and reconnect with his family.

The love and encouragement delivered by his three children ultimately brought him home after 44 days.

Now, in 2025, Fetterman reflects candidly on surviving both a stroke and suicidal depression while serving as a US senator.

He acknowledges that stigma and political criticism persist, especially regarding his independent positions; however, he has found strength in his family and self-acceptance. His message to others struggling with depression is clear: recovery is slow, love is essential, and survival - however fragile - is possible.

Senator John Fetterman, D-Penn, left, and Senator Dave McCormick, R-Penn, right, after participating in a debate Monday, June 2, 2025,in Boston

US Senator John Fetterman (L) and his wife Gisele Barreto Fetterman arrive for the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) dinner at the Washington Hilton, in Washington, DC, on April 27, 2024

John Fetterman (L) and former Republican Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr Mehmet Oz (R) during the Nexstar Pennsylvania Senate Debate at WHTM abc27 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, October 25, 2022

He also opened up candidly for the first time about the worries that he had about the impact that his various health conditions had been having on his wife, Gisele.

'After the stroke, I think the depression broke Gisele - as it does so many spouses trying to deal with it in a partner,' Fetterman writes in one excerpt of his book.

'The depressive says over and over, "you don't understand the pain I am in." The spouse says, "what I don't understand is your refusal to do anything about it. How can I help when you refuse to help yourself",' he also noted.

The work offers an eye-opening glimpse into the inner battles Fetterman has faced in private, despite being in a public-facing role.

It may also provide a deeper insight into why Fetterman has been unafraid to buck his party and side with Republicans and Trump on issues such as immigration, Israel, and his unwavering commitment to reopening the government amid the shutdown that has plagued Washington for nearly six weeks.
A Russian crypto millionaire and his wife were kidnapped and dismembered after being lured to meet 'investors' in the United Arab Emirates.

Roman Novak, 38, and his wife Anna were last seen alive a month ago when they drove to meet who they thought were investors in Dubai's mountain resort Hatta.

The Dubai-based couple - who boasted of an affluent life of fast cars and private jets on social media - were 'extorted' for crypto-currency, said reports citing law enforcement.

Just before disappearing Novak had obtained a highly collectable elite British AC Cobra car.

It is believed that the couple were driven to Hatta by their personal driver who took them to a car park by a lake before they transferred to a different vehicle for the remainder of the journey.

It was at this time, Novak had messaged contacts in his phone to say he was 'stuck in the mountains on the Oman border' and desperately needed 152,000.

'Subsequently, contact with the young couple was lost,' said Svetlana Petrenko, of the Russian Investigative Committee.

Their phones were then tracked for two days in Hatta, and next in Oman and Cape Town where the signals vanished in early October. It is now believed the killers arranged for the victims' phones to be turned on in order to confuse investigators.

Roman Novak, 38, and his wife Anna were last seen alive a month ago when they drove to meet who they thought were investors in Dubai's mountain resort Hatta

The Dubai-based couple - who boasted of an affluent life of fast cars and private jets on social media - were 'extorted' for crypto-currency, said reports citing law enforcement

'Emirati police found traces of Anna Novak's blood at the villa, blood in the rented car, a cache of knives near the crime scene, and one of the organisers' T-shirts left behind in haste,' reported Fontanka

The alarm was raised by the glamorous couple's relatives in Russia before the severed remains of Novak and his wife were found buried in a desert in the UAE.

Two fighters from Putin's war in Ukraine and an ex-murder squad detective are now said to be behind the killing and dismembering of a Russian couple.

Three Russian suspects were shown being detained in St Petersburg, and the Stavropol and Krasnodar regions of Russia 'after returning from Dubai'.

They were named as Russian citizens Konstantin Shakht, 53, a former homicide investigator turned drugs smuggler, along with Yury Sharypov, 46, and Vladimir Dalekin, 45, who both fought for Russia in the war before being discharged.

Allegedly they were the 'investors', who after abducting the couple, demanded the password to Novak's crypto wallet.

'Novak didn't resist - but there was no cryptocurrency left. The wallet was empty,' reported Fontanka news outlet.

The pair failed to raise a ransom from elsewhere. 'Roman and Anna were killed and then dismembered.

'Emirati police found traces of Anna Novak's blood at the villa, blood in the rented car, a cache of knives near the crime scene, and one of the organisers' T-shirts left behind in haste,' reported Fontanka.

The three alleged conspirators were remanded in custody until December 28. Five other Russians, all under 25, are believed to be linked to the gruesome case.

Novak had boasted of wealthy contacts including the billionaire owner of the Telegram social media empire, Pavel Durov.

Konstantin Shakht, Yury Sharypov, and Vladimir Dalekin, - suspects in the murder and dismembering of crypto multi-millionaire Roman Novak, 38, and his wife Anna, were detained in Russia

Konstantin Shakht, 53, suspected in the murder and dismembering of crypto multi-millionaire Roman Novak, 38, and his wife Anna

He was under investigation at the time he disappeared over the alleged theft of more than 38million from crypto investors on the pretext of business development.

Among the alleged victims were 'businessmen from China and Middle Eastern countries', according to a Russian report.

'He had a knack for presenting himself as someone operating on the same level as Pavel Durov and Arab sheikhs,' said Komsomolskaya Pravda [KP] newspaper.

'In reality, Novak was simply a talented manipulator who managed to convince people to hand over hundreds of millions of dollars.'

He ran a 'fast and reliable crypto network' with an app developed 'by Ukrainian programmers'.

Novak had earlier served a prison sentence for embezzlement, according to Russian reports.

'Recently, Russian law enforcement carried out inspections of crypto exchanges in Moscow City, searching for traces of his investments,' said KP.

The couple's orphaned children were collected by Anna's parents after their disappearance.
The Supreme Court rejected an effort to overturn a landmark decision that legalized same sex marriage nationwide on Monday.

The challenge to the case came from a Kentucky woman, Kim Davis, a court worker who refused to issue a marriage license to same-sex couples after the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges case that legalized same-sex unions.

At the time, the narrow 5-4 decision forced 14 states to change their laws to allow same-sex marriage.

The nine-judge panel refused to consider Davis's petition, it announced on Monday.

The justices did not provide a comment on why they turned down the case, which is typical.

However, the lack of public comment shrouds whether any justices were in favor of reviewing the ruling.

The Kentucky woman has sought relief from the Supreme Court after a lower court ruled that she must pay $360,000 in damages and legal fees to a couple whom she denied a marriage license.

Davis told David Moore and David Ermold, the couple to whom she denied a license, that she was acting 'under God's authority' and suggested they get a license in a different county.

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis makes a statement to the media at the front door of the Rowan County Judicial Center in Morehead, Kentucky, in 2015

The Supreme Court rejected an effort to overturn a landmark 2022 decision that legalized same sex marriage nationwide on Monday

After the incident, she began denying licenses to straight couples as well.

Davis's lawyers used some Supreme Court justices' words against them in their challenge, as some had publicly opposed the original 2015 ruling.

Davis's legal representation noted in their arguments that Justice Clarence Thomas, a noted conservative, was among the four Supreme Court members to dissent in the 2015 decision, arguing that the choice to allow same-sex marriages should be left with the states.

Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito and late Justice Antonin Scalia all dissented.

Since the 2015 decision was made, the Supreme Court has become notably more conservative, leading to questions about whether the challenge would be successful.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett has signaled her openness to reviewing past decisions made by the court that members of the panel view as problematic.

In 2022, for example, the Supreme Court overturned its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which legalized abortion.

The revision stripped away the constitutionally protected right to abortion that had been the norm for the previous half-century.

Davis's lawyer Mat Staver warned that she 'now faces crippling monetary damages based on nothing hurt feelings.'

He called the Supreme Court's decision 'heartbreaking for Kim Davis and for religious freedom.'

'We are committed to overturning Obergefell,' Staver said in a statement. 'Like the abortion issue in Roe v. Wade, the Obergefell opinion has no basis in the US Constitution. Marriage should have never been federalized.'

In a petition filed to the Supreme Court over the summer, Staver argued against gay marriage on religious grounds.

'This flawed opinion has produced disastrous results, leaving individuals like Davis "find[ing] it increasingly difficult to participate in society without running afoul of Obergefell and its effect on other antidiscrimination laws,"' it read.

'And, until the Court revisits its "creation of atextual constitutional rights," Obergefell will continue to have ruinous consequences for religious liberty.'
A former Fox anchor has been charged with murdering her elderly mother after she was discovered covered in blood and cuts by police.

Angelynn Mock, 48, was arrested on Halloween for allegedly stabbing her 80-year-old mother, Anita Avers, to death.

Mock, who used to anchor for Missouri's St Louis local station Fox 2, was charged with first-degree murder by the Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office last Tuesday.

Officers allegedly discovered the former journalist standing outside a property in Kansas with cuts on her hands, according to Fox News.

'Inside the residence, officers found Avers unresponsive in her bed with multiple stab wounds,' the Wichita Police Department said.

First-responders transported Avers to hospital where she was later pronounced dead.

Mock was also taken to the hospital for unspecified treatment before being brought into custody.

She is being held at the Sedgwick County jail on $1 million bond and her next court hearing is scheduled for November 14.

Former Fox anchor Angelynn Mock, 48, has been charged with murdering her elderly mother on Halloween

Police say when they arrived at the scene they found Mock covered in cuts and blood, and her mother, Anita Avers (pictured), with multiple stab wounds

Mock, who used to anchor for Missouri's St Louis local station Fox 2, was charged with first-degree murder

The journalist worked at Fox 2 as an anchor and reporter from March 2011 to February 2015, according to her LinkedIn page.

Alyssa Castro, a neighbor, claimed Mock approached her and her boyfriend with blood all over her.

'There was a woman who approached our vehicle with like blood, like her hands were filled, her body was filled with blood, asking to call 911,' Castro told KAKE.

The startled resident told the outlet Mock begged to use her boyfriend's cell phone to call the police and then ran back in the house with it. The phone was later returned to him by officers.

Castro recalled trying to help Mock as much as she could after authorities were called.

'I asked her if she was okay, and she was pretty shaken up and she seemed scared, and she just ran off,' she said.

Avers was a marriage and family therapist at Wichita Counseling Professionals and was beloved by her clients.

One client, Alexandra Brewer, told KAKE that Avers was a compassionate and supportive therapist.

The journalist worked for Fox 2 as an anchor and reporter from March 2011 to February 2015

A neighbor who witnessed the aftermath of the gruesome incident said Mock (pictured with her mother) approached her and her boyfriend with blood all over her

Mock is being held at the Sedgwick County jail on $1 million bond and her next court hearing is scheduled for November 14

'She was just very warm, very loving, and had a way of just making you feel compassionate towards yourself,' she said.

'If she was teaching from experience, she wasn't letting you know that was from experience. She just was there for you.

'I just wish that everyone could see that part of Anita, not just this tragic ending. I wish you could see the rest of what made her, her.'
This is the first picture of the woman who was stabbed to death in a seemingly random attack in the centre of Birmingham.

Katie Fox, 34, was knifed in the neck at the Smallbrook Queensway, a busy road which runs between Birmingham New Street station and the Bullring shopping centre, shortly before 9pm on Friday.

She was rushed to hospital with a serious neck injury but West Midlands Police confirmed today that she had 'since tragically died in hospital'.

Her family were too upset to speak at her childhood home in Northfield, Birmingham, this afternoon.

A family friend, who did not give her name, said: 'It's too soon to talk I'm afraid. They are all in total shock. It's horrible.'

Neighbours described Katie as a 'nice girl' who moved into the semi-detached house when she was a teenager.

The family are believed to be in the process of selling the property and moving to Devon.

One neighbour said: 'They've lived there for 20-odd years, Katie was a teenager when they arrived. She was a nice girl.

'I heard there had been an incident in the city centre but can't believe she has died. It's a tragedy. She didn't live in the family home, I think she had a flat in Longbridge.'

Katie Fox in a picture posted on social media

Katie Fox, pictured left with mother Maria Fox

Tributes have also poured in for Katie online, with one describing her as a 'beautiful soul'.

Cathy Crossley, from Arts All Over The Place, (AAOTP) wrote: 'Tragic news today that Katie Fox, partner of Gary Morris died after being stabbed on Friday Evening in Birmingham.

'She was a friend of AAOTP for many years, and attended several events. we are all devastated and send so much love and support to Gary Morris, who is bass player in our band ADHD.'

Melanie Cox Pryce wrote: 'This is absolutely devastating to hear! Poor lady was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

'More needs to be done to help people feel safe again, more police on the streets and greater consequence for the crime.

'Sad for the family and friends.'

Chloe Heath posted: 'I've been thinking about her all weekend, praying for her recovery.

'This is heartbreaking news. Sending love and prayers to her family. Rest in peace.'

Moet Jaffier-White said: 'Getting home each day truly is a blessing, RIP to the beautiful soul who lost her life for nothing.'

Leanne Maycock wrote: 'Devastating news. I so hoped she would pull through..

'How can any family get their head around losing a loved one in such a traumatic way for absolutely no reason whatsoever, sending love to all who knew her, may she rest in peace.'

Theresa Louise wrote: 'Just awful. Condolences to her family.

'You should be able to go about your business, when did our country become unsafe?'

Scarlet Nathaly said: 'I really wished she would have made it. What is happening in this city! In this country... we're not safe anywhere.

'My thoughts and prayers are with her family, absolutely heartbreaking. Rest in Peace sweetheart.'

Andrea Shillingford wrote: 'I've been praying she would pull through so saddened to hear this news condolences to her family and friends.'

Djeison Rafael, 21, appeared before Birmingham magistrates' court today charged with Ms Fox's murder, as well as two counts of actual bodily harm, possession of a Stanley knife and assaulting an emergency worker.

He appeared in court wearing a grey t-shirt and spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address.

The court heard he has been charged with actual bodily harm against Hailing Du on November 7 and a further count of actual bodily harm against Mariamo Sow, which allegedly took place a week earlier, on October 27.

Rafael is also accused of assaulting a police detention escort officer the day after the alleged murder, on November 8.

A 34-year-old woman was stabbed in the neck in an 'unprovoked attack' in Birmingham city centre on Friday night. Picture from the scene

The victim, aged in her 30s, suffered a 'serious injury' and was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, but she has since died

Katie Fox (pictured) was knifed in the neck on Smallbrook Queensway shortly before 9pm on Friday, November 8

District Judge John Bristow remanded Rafael in custody to appear before Birmingham Crown Court on November 12.

Appealing for further information today, West Midlands Police said Rafael was wearing a grey tracksuit, black hat, trainers and rucksack at the time of the fatal stabbing on Friday.

Police said specially trained officers were supporting the victim's family.

The force said in a statement today: 'We are still keen to hear from anyone who knows more about what happened or the movements of Rafael, who we believe was wearing an all-grey tracksuit, black hat, trainers and rucksack on Friday evening.'

Extra officers will also be around Birmingham city centre to offer reassurance, according to the force.

The attack, which unfolded just yards from Birmingham New Street station, was the third reported stabbing in the city centre in just over a month.

Two 17-year-old boys were knifed outside a Primark store within the space of a week in October.

In the lead up to one of the assaults, about ten men were said to have been involved in a fight near the city's famous bronze bull sculpture.

Witnesses or anyone with information have been asked to contact West Midlands Police by calling 101 and quoting log 5503 of November 7.
A car has exploded near the historic Red Fort in India's capital today, killing at least eight people and injuring several others.

Several fire engines rushed to the scene after the blast near one of the gates of the Red Fort metro station in New Delhi. The cause of the explosion remained unclear.

Police said a 'slow-moving vehicle' stopped at a nearby red light at 6.52pm before it exploded by the Red Fort.

Ambulances streamed into a nearby public hospital, carrying several injured people. Local media reported at least 13 people were killed and 24 were injured in the explosion, though this number has not been confirmed by officials.

Footage showed damaged vehicles and a police cordon at the site. At least six vehicles and three rickshaws caught fire during the explosion.

Local officials are investigating the cause of the blast, which one witness described as 'window-shattering'.

Watch LIVE: Investigators comb the scene after explosion near New Delhi's Red Fort

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The Red Fort area was cordoned off amid a heavy police deployment as officers moved through the corridors.

Outside, anxious relatives gathered after hearing that their loved ones had been brought in.

Several fire engines rushed to the scene after the blast was reported near one of the gates of the Red Fort metro station, the city's fire services said

Police officers and forensic technicians work at the site of an explosion in the old quarters of Delhi, India, November 10, 2025

Fire Brigade trying to douse fire after a blast near the Red Fort Metro Station Gate No. 1. on November 10, 2025 in New Delhi, India

Teams from the National Security Guard (NSG), National Investigation Agency (NIA), forensic department and Delhi team investigate the site where a blast occurred near the Red Fort Metro Station Gate No. 1. on November 10, 2025 in New Delhi, India

Musarrat Ansari said her brother was injured after a burning car hit the motorbike he was riding.

'He called me and said his leg was hurt - he couldn't walk,' she said.

'I was at the metro station, going down the stairs, when I heard an explosion. I turned around and saw a fire. People started running helter-skelter,' Suman Mishra, whose husband owns a hotel in a nearby area, told Reuters.

Wali Ur Rehman said he was sitting at his shop when he heard a loud explosion. 'I fell from the impact of the explosion, it was that intense,' he told news agency ANI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to those who had lost loved ones.

'May the injured recover at the earliest. Those affected are being assisted by authorities,' Modi posted on X

Formerly an imperial palace, the Red Fort is a major tourist attraction in New Delhi. Indian prime ministers address the nation from its ramparts on Independence Day, and it features on the largest banknote.

Known locally as Lal Qila, the Red Fort is a sprawling, 17th-century Mughal-era edifice melding Persian and Indian architectural styles.

The prime minister addresses the nation from the fort's ramparts every year on August 15, India's independence day.

The wider Uttar Pradesh region has been put on high alert in the wake of the explosion.

Local media footage showed damaged vehicles and a police cordon at the site

A man reacts while speaking to the media outside a hospital, following an explosion in the old quarters of Delhi, India, November 10, 2025

Security officials inspect damaged vehicles at the site after a car explosion near the historic Red Fort in New Delhi, India, Monday, November 10, 2025

Security personnel stand beside a charred vehicle at the blast site after an explosion near the Red Fort in the old quarters of Delhi on November 10, 2025

Provincial official Amitabh Yash told local media that all senior officials in the region have been ordered to increase security at religious sites, sensitive districts, and border areas.

Meanwhile, cops in all districts of the region have been put on alert, and patrols and checks are to be increased.

Delhi was the target of blasts during the 1980s and 1990s, with public places such as bus stations and crowded market areas hit in attacks blamed on Islamist militants or on separatists from the northern Sikh state of Punjab.

About a dozen people were killed in a briefcase explosion outside the Delhi High Court in 2011 - the last such major incident in the city.
A veteran Harvard professor told a 60 Minutes reporter there's a 'grain of truth' in President Trump's assertion that the college is a 'liberal mess.'

CBS's Bill Whitaker asked Ivy League professor Steven Pinker if there was any truth to the president's scathing assessment of the higher education institution.

To the journalist's bemusement, Pinker agreed that Harvard has become somewhat of a progressive breeding ground in recent years.

Whitaker said in the interview: 'President Trump has described Harvard as a liberal mess, that it has been hiring almost all woke, radical left idiots and birdbrains.'

'The language is a bit harsh, but does he have a point here?' the interviewer asked.

Pinker responded: 'Not there, no. I think there's a grain of truth in that.'

Before the professor could continue, a seemingly taken aback Whitaker asked: 'What's the grain of truth?'

Pinker said: 'I think there should be more voices on the right at Harvard. I don't want Donald Trump to decide who those people are gonna be, or how many we should have.'

On the latest episode of 60 Minutes, veteran Harvard professor Steven Pinker told CBS's Bill Whitaker that there's a 'grain of truth' in Trump's assertion that Harvard is a 'liberal mess'

Whitaker seemed somewhat surprised by Pinker's statement

The interview came after the Trump administration has withheld billions of dollars in federal grants from Ivy League universities

The interview came after the Trump administration withheld billions of dollars in federal grants from Ivy League universities over concerns of antisemitism on their campuses and a push to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Earlier this year, Trump cut nearly $3billion - the largest freeze of its kind - in federal grants to Harvard due to its failure to comply with the recommendations of a federal antisemitism task force.

The university pushed back with lawsuits, and in early September, a federal district court judge blocked the funding freeze, arguing that it was an 'ideologically-motivated assault.'

The Trump administration has vowed to appeal the decision.

During his 60 Minutes appearance, the professor said: 'Harvard has not done enough to ensure a wide range of opinions being represented on campus... I think there have been too many incidents in which someone has expressed a controversial opinion and has been shamed or cancelled.'

Pinker specifically pointed to the case of biology lecturer Carole Hooven, who resigned from Harvard in 2021 after she felt ostracized on campus due to comments she made on Fox News that were perceived as controversial by colleagues and students.

This is what she said: 'The ideology seems to be that biology really isn't as important as how somebody feels about themselves or feels their sex to be.

'The facts are that there are, in fact, two sexes - there are male and female - and those sexes are designated by the kind of gametes we produce.'

Other Ivy League universities that were also in the president's crosshairs quickly capitulated to the administration in order to restore funding.

Pinker is a cognitive psychologist who has been a professor at Harvard for 22 years, and he has long been outspoken about the liberal bias he believes exists on campus

Earlier this year, Trump cut nearly $3billion in federal grants to Harvard due to its failure to comply with the recommendations of a federal antisemitism task force

Columbia University, where major pro-Palestine demonstrations that engulfed college campuses across the country in 2023 began, was threatened with a $400million federal grant freeze.

In response, Columbia agreed to administration demands of overhauling its student disciplinary process, applying a federally backed definition of antisemitism to teaching and creating a disciplinary committee investigating students critical of Israel.

The university also agreed to pay a $200million fine to restore federal funding.

Brown University made concessions to adopt the government's definition of 'male' and 'female' and remove any consideration of race from the admissions process.

The University of Pennsylvania modified school records set by a transgender swimmer and said it would apologize to female athletes who were 'disadvantaged.'

Cornell, Northwestern University, Duke and Princeton have all had federal funding withheld as well.

Pinker is a cognitive psychologist who has been a professor at Harvard for 22 years, and he has long been outspoken about the liberal bias he believes exists on campus.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Harvard University for comment.
David Lammy has been challenged to reveal key facts about the prison release gaffes  and warned he should resign if he fails to answer.

The Deputy Prime Minister has been asked to provide a full picture of how many criminals have been wrongly freed, and how many are still on the run.

It comes as Mr Lammy, who is also Justice Secretary, prepares to appear before MPs for the first time since his disastrous appearance at PMQs last week.

He was roundly criticised for failing to admit on Wednesday that another foreign offender had been let out by mistake.

Mr Lammys stance prompted mutterings  even within Labour ranks  about whether he was up to the job.

Now Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has taken the unusual step of revealing in advance the questions he will ask Mr Lammy during a Commons session tomorrow.

In an open letter, tweeted by Mr Jenrick this afternoon, he wrote: I have written to you, submitted Parliamentary questions and asked you in the House of Commons.

'You have failed to give any answers.

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary, filling in for the Prime Minister at last week's PMQs, failed to mention another foreign criminal had been let out of jail by mistake

Tomorrow, in Parliament, I will once again ask basic questions that any competent Lord Chancellor would know the answers to.

How many prisoners have been accidentally released since 1st April 2025?

How many prisoners accidentally released are still at large?

Who has been accidentally released and how many are violent or sexual offenders?

Hadush Kebatu (pictured) was wrongly freed from HMP Chelmsford instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre

Mr Jenrick added: This is a matter of the utmost seriousness.

If you refuse again to provide this information despite my multiple requests, and my forewarning, the only remaining conclusion is that you are incapable of telling the truth.

In which case, you must make way for someone who will.

It comes after Epping migrant hotel resident and sex offender Hadush Kebatu was let out of HMP Chelmsford, on October 24 and arrested in north London after a two-day manhunt.

Brahim Kaddour-Cherif had been serving a sentence at HMP Wandsworth for trespass with intent to steal. He has a past conviction for indecent exposure

At last weeks PMQs  led by Mr Lammy in the absence of Sir Keir Starmer  Mr Lammy was asked whether there had been further releases in error.

He failed to mention that Algerian criminal Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, who was serving time for trespass with intent to steal and had a previous conviction for indecent exposure, had been let out by mistake.

Mr Lammy later insisted he had been right not to disclose the case at the time because he was not equipped with all the detail.

I took the judgment that it is important when updating the House and the country about serious matters like this, that you have all of the details, he said on Thursday.

I was not equipped with all of the detail, and the danger is that you end up misleading the House and the general public.

So that is the judgment I took. I think it's the right judgment.

Police were not informed Kaddour-Cherif had been released for six days. He was detained by police on Friday.

It also emerged that fraudster William Billy Smith, 35, had been freed from HMP Wandsworth on the day he was due to begin a 45-month sentence due to a clerical error by court staff. He later handed himself in.

Mr Jenricks letter said the recent releases were just the tip of the iceberg.

The British people deserve to know the truth about the scale of the security crisis in our prisons, he wrote.

Mr Lammy is due to appear before MPs for a routine question-and-answer session in the Commons tomorrow, which is likely to be dominated by the recent jail gaffes.

Ministry of Justice data shows there were 262 prisoners freed in error in the year to March, an increase of 128 per cent on the previous 12 months.

Mr Jenrick has been pressing Mr Lammy to publish the number of accidental releases since the beginning of April, and a breakdown of those cases.

The data would indicate whether the problem has continued to worsen under Labour.

Last week the ex-chief inspector of prisons said Labour's early jail release scheme had caused confusion in the prison system and contributed to the surge in lags being freed by mistake.

Nick Hardwick said increasing numbers of errors seems to be related to the Governments programme which has so far let more than 38,000 criminals out of jail early.

The early release scheme - introduced last year by then justice secretary Shabana Mahmood - allows most offenders to be freed after they serve 40 per cent of the sentence handed down by the courts, rather than the previous 50 per cent.

That caused confusion in the bits of the prison service that are supposed to calculate how long someone is supposed to spend in prison, Mr Hardwick told the BBC.

Prison leaders also revealed jail computer systems are so antiquated officers are forced to use a pen and paper to calculate and recalculate prison sentences.
A high-school cheerleader who died on a Carnival cruise over the weekend posted a TikTok on board the ship six months ago saying how much she wanted to return.

Anna Kepner, 18, was a straight-A student from Florida who was enjoying a family holiday before her passing. The FBI is investigating her death and further details on how she died aboard the Carnival Horizon have not been shared.

In May, Kepner posted a TikTok video of herself dancing in a white dress while enjoying a previous vacation on the cruise ship, which came with the caption: 'I wanna go back.'

But her return to the luxury vessel ended in tragedy. She passed away on the ship on Saturday, and the boat returned to port in Miami.

Her relatives remembered Kepner in her obituary as someone who 'brought immense love, warmth, and laughter to everyone around her.'

The high-school senior was on the varsity cheerleading team, and she aspired to join the military after graduation next year, her family said.

Kepner also shared photographs of happy memories from a previous cruise vacation via Instagram, showing her dressed up with her relatives.

Anna Kepner, 18, who died on a Carnival cruise over the weekend, posted a TikTok video from on board the ship six months ago saying how much she wanted to return

She was a straight-A student from Florida who was enjoying a family holiday on the Carnival Horizon when horror struck. The FBI is investigating her death

The Carnival Horizon had traveled through the Western Carribbean, docking at Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel

'When she walked into a room, she would light it up,' a relative told ABC News.

'If you were sad, she'd make you laugh. She would joke around and be the funniest little person in school.'

'She had just finished taking the test to join the military,' they added.

'She was already talking to recruiters and had chosen her career path. She wanted to do something that would help her community.'

Kepner's family said she volunteered in her grandparents' 55 and older neighborhood and helped out at local businesses in her hometown of Titusville, Florida.

'She loved being around people,' her family said.

'She had that type of energy that just drew you in with her smile and the way she carried herself. She was such an easy person to talk to.'

'She was the best child you could ever meet,' they added. 'We'll always remember her for who she was.'

Kepner's death came on the final day of the trip, with guests 'told to leave their cabins early'

Kepner was on her high school varsity cheerleading team, and she started practicing gymnastics at the age of two.

She had also earned her boater's license and scuba certification.

Carnival Cruise Line confirmed her death in a statement to ABC, adding: 'Our focus is on supporting the family of our guest and cooperating with the FBI.'

The Carnival Horizon ship, which Kepner was vacationing on, traveled through the Western Carribbean, docking at Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

Kepner's death came on the final day of the trip. Passengers were told to leave their cabins earlier than usual, according to Cruise Blog.

The Daily Mail has contacted the FBI for more information.
A Chinese fraudster involved in a Bitcoin scam worth more than 5.5 billion spent years evading British authorities by sightseeing across Europe and staying in luxury hotels as they pieced together her empire, a court heard.

Zhimin Qian, 47, masterminded a Ponzi scheme which defrauded more than 128,000 victims in China between 2014 and 2017 and stored the illegally obtained funds in Bitcoin assets before fleeing the country.

Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang and nicknamed both the 'Bitcoin Queen' and the 'Goddess of Wealth', fled to the UK as a 'fugitive' in 2017 after coming to the attention of Chinese authorities.

Upon arriving, she recruited accomplices to help her 'set up a new life' - both of whom have now been convicted, with one already behind bars.

A sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court on Monday heard Qian travelled extensively in the months and years that followed while sitting on what is believed to be the world's largest single seizure of illicit Bitcoin.

She would stay in upmarket hotels across the continent and buying expensive jewellery - on one occasion purchasing two watches for nearly 120,000.

The businesswoman attracted the attention of British authorities in 2018 and was subsequently arrested in April last year after spending nearly six years 'at large' in what has been described as the UK's largest cryptocurrency seizure.

After pleading guilty to money laundering offences, Qian and her accomplice Seng Hok Ling, 47, - who served as her 'butler' - are to be sentenced on Tuesday for the roles they played in the multibillion-pound fraudulent Bitcoin scheme.

Another accomplice, takeaway worker Jian Wen, was jailed for six years and eight months last year for her role in the scheme. In January this year she was ordered to pay back 3.1million.

Zhimin Qian, also known as Yadi Zhang, who is facing prison after conducting an enormous crypto scan after fleeing China

Accomplice Seng Hok Ling is also being sentenced at Southwark Crown Court tomorrow

Jian Wen, another accomplice, is pictured in a trip to Germany. Zhimin Qian would travel with her on holidays in order to evade the authorities

Gillian Jones KC, prosecuting, told the sentencing hearing that Qian set up fraudulent business, Lantian Gerui, which translates to Blue Sky in English, in March 2014.

More than 128,000 victims invested in the company, many of whom went on to lose 'substantial sums of money'.

Qian's fraudulent activities eventually came to the attention of Chinese authorities, prompting her to flee the country before eventually arriving in the UK in September 2017.

She recruited an accomplice, Jian Wen, to help her 'set up a new life'.

The court heard Wen was 'handsomely rewarded' for her services, transforming her 'life and prospects' overnight.

In September, Qian started renting a 'lavish' property in Hampstead, London, having told an estate agent a 'lie' that she ran a successful jewellery business.

The monthly rent for this property was 17,333, the court heard.

In October 2017, Wen travelled to Thailand on Qian's request to collect a laptop on which Bitcoin was stored.

Ms Jones KC said: 'Over the months and years following her arrival in the UK, Ms Qian travelled extensively throughout Europe often accompanied by Ms Wen, staying in expensive hotels and sightseeing.

'During these trips Bitcoin was transferred and sold in exchange for cash, fine jewellery bought and property in Europe considered for purchase.'

The court heard Qian was careful to avoid countries that had extradition treaties with China, and travelled predominantly by car to avoid customs checks.

It was heard that in one trip, the pair spent 119,200 purchasing two watches at a jewellery shop in Zurich, Switzerland.

In 2018, Qian attempted to purchase a 12.5 million property in London and after suspicions were raised over her Bitcoin, UK authorities were notified.

Ms Jones KC said this acted as a 'catalyst for subsequent investigation'. UK police emailed Wen, who was attempting to secure the property on Qian's behalf, to tell her that they had concerns about the source of the money.

Qian rented this 17,300-a-month property in Hampstead, London alongside accomplice Jian Wen - where she was later traced by police

A fake passport belonging to Zhimin Qian under the alias Yadi Zhang, where she claimed to be a citizen of Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean

A false citizenship certificate belonging to Zhimin Qian, operating under the alias Yadi Zhang

The court heard that Qian was aware that UK police were questioning the source of her Bitcoin.

In October 2018, Metropolitan Police officers visited her Hampstead home to execute a search warrant.

Qian was discovered in bed by officers and she told them she was ill with a sore leg and brain injury.

She provided a fake name, Yadi Zhang, and the court heard that at this stage, the police had no idea who Qian was.

They discovered laptops in her property with millions of pounds' worth of Bitcoin contained on them.

Neither Qian or Wen were arrested at this stage as the police were unaware of the extent of what they had uncovered.

In a later discovery, officers found documents recording Qian's 'aspirations and intentions'.

Referring to one document, Ms Jones KC said: '(This) included her intention to become the monarch of Liberland, a self-proclaimed country consisting of a strip of land between Croatia and Serbia.'

After the police raid in October 2018, Qian fled the country. The court heard that for nearly six years, she managed to 'evade arrest' and was ultimately 'at large'.

Wen was arrested in May 2021 at the Hampstead address in London and was subsequently charged with money laundering.

While her trial was ongoing, a transfer of Bitcoin was made which led the police to identify Seng Hok Ling at an address in York.

Police visited the address in April 2024 and discovered Qian and four other individuals.

It was heard they were all living at the address and were working for Qian, carrying out roles like cooking, shopping, and cleaning, while she remained 'hidden away' from the authorities.

Jian Wen (pictured) was jailed last year for her role in the scam and has since been told to pay back millions of pounds

Police later found wads of cash as they carried out searches linked to accomplice Jian Wen

Jian Wen in a Lindt chocolate shop in Jungfraujoch, Switzerland - one of many trips she is said to have taken with ringleader Zhimin Qian

Authorities discovered several devices at Qian's address, including a laptop containing a cryptocurrency wallet with 27.3 million worth of Bitcoin.

Qian was arrested at the address in York in April 2024 and taken to a local police station.

She mostly remained silent but in the few questions she did answer, Qian maintained her innocence.

The court heard Ling, a Malaysian national, had arranged the rental of properties for Qian to live in, including an Airbnb in Scotland.

Qian, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to acquiring criminal property and possessing criminal property.

Ling, from Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to transferring criminal property.

Wen was convicted of one charge of money laundering after a trial at Southwark Crown Court. She was later sentenced to six years' and eight months' imprisonment.

The sentencing hearing for Qian and Ling continues and is due to conclude on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump has demanded that air traffic controllers return to work or have their pay cut as staffing levels threaten delays at airports nationwide.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned that dozens of airports around the country are seeing significant delays due to the ongoing government shutdown.

As a result of the 40-day funding impasse, federal workers such as air traffic controllers have faced threats to their paychecks, leading some to stay home.

Travel delays and snafus are now becoming one of the most tangible impacts of the shutdown on US citizens, and the president is demanding that the unpaid air traffic controllers continue working to alleviate stress on travelers.

'All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!' the president posted on social media Monday morning.

'Anyone who doesnt will be substantially docked,"' he added.

Sunday was the worst day for air traffic in the US since the shutdown began. Over 10,800 flights were delayed and 2,800 were canceled on Sunday. The disruptions impacted hundreds of thousands of Americans.

Already, there have been 3,600 delays and 1,700 cancellations on Monday, according to data from FlightAware.

President Donald Trump threatened air traffic controllers who have not worked during the ongoing federal shutdown will be 'docked' and those who have not complained and worked without pay will be given $10,000 bonuses

The FAA has noted it has staffing issues because of the 40-day government funding impasse

Delays and cancellations have increased in recent weeks due to funding issues

Despite his apparent dissatisfaction with the federal aviation employees, the 79-year-old president did laud those who have refrained from complaining and who dutifully worked without any payment.

For these select 'patriotic' controllers, Trump suggested they receive $10,000 bonuses.

'For those Air Traffic Controllers who were GREAT PATRIOTS, and didnt take ANY TIME OFF for the Democrat Shutdown Hoax, I will be recommending a BONUS of $10,000 per person for distinguished service to our Country.'

'For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU.'

The lengthy statement also urged those who were not up to the challenge to quit their posts, despite the FAA already facing staffing issues.

The threat to the air traffic controllers comes the same week that Trump has doubled down on his proposal to send Americans $2,000 checks with money generated through his tariff plans.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has warned that the travel woes will only continue to get worse until the holidays kick off on Thanksgiving.

'It's only going to get worse... the two weeks before Thanksgiving, you're going to see air travel be reduced to a trickle," Duffy said on CNN over the weekend.

Travelers make their way through a security line at Boston Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts on November 10, 2025. Hundreds of thousands were impacted on Sunday by delays and cancellations across the US

'Many of them are not going to be able to get on an airplane, because there are not going to be that many flights that fly if this thing doesn't open back up,' Duffy said.

Earlier this month, Duffy noted in an interview with CNBC that the government is short 2,000 to 3,000 air traffic controllers. There are roughly 14,000 controllers in the US.

Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays in the US for travel, and millions regularly fly home or to loved ones for the day, posing issues for the beleaguered federal aviation workers who have gone without pay for close to a month and a half.

However, a funding breakthrough may be close.

On Sunday evening, the Senate voted to advance a framework for a legislative deal to fund the government and end the shutdown.

The move sets up a potential funding vote later this week, though congressional leadership has remained opaque on the details.
A United Airlines stewardess was 10 times the legal limit to fly after downing vodka on a transatlantic jet, a court heard.

Margit Lake, 56, had to be taken to hospital after sneaking 'multiple miniature bottles' of the spirit onto the 10-hour flight from San Francisco to Heathrow last month.

The Californian stewardess had low blood pressure and paramedics 'smelt alcohol on her breath' after the Boeing 777 landed in London, a court heard.

A blood test later revealed Lake had 216 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres in her blood - more than times the legal limit for flight attendants in the UK.

Lake had worked for United Airlines for 26 years but has since resigned and been attending Alcoholics Anonymous almost daily, the court heard.

She appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court in a black cardigan and admitted performing an aviation function when over the alcohol limit on October 17.

She was fined 1,461 financial penalty, a 584 victim surcharge and 85 in court costs.

Ben Lansbury, defending, said Lake had been feeling 'isolated', was estranged from her family and 'had been dealing with grief'.

A United Airlines stewardess was 10 times the legal limit to fly after downing vodka on a transatlantic jet, a court heard (file image)

Mr Lansbury said: 'She had the alcohol because she needed to calm down. It was something of a shock to her as to what happened. She deeply regrets what happened.

'Ms Lake has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous almost daily since the last hearing. She is supported by colleagues here in the UK and they sit in the back of the court.'

Magistrate Tony Delliston told her: 'We are not going to commit this to the crown court. We can deal with this here.

'You are not going to prison. We are going to deal with this with a financial penalty.'
Housekeepers who work for the ultra-wealthy are raking in six figures as the demand for highly trained cleaners surges.

While domestic service workers generally earned about $60,000 before the pandemic, they can now bring home more than $100,000 plus benefits.

'Rich people are richer, and theyre buying more delicate things,' Charles MacPherson, who runs a Toronto-based household staffing and training agency, told Bloomberg.

'They want their homes to be more museum-quality, versus just normal stuff. And then theres a lack of supply of trained people. You put those two together - its supply and demand - and salaries go through the roof.'

MacPherson has observed a spike in demand for 'people who actually know what they're doing' when it comes to cleaning lavish homes.

Over the past decade, there has been a rise in affluent families viewing furniture as art - and investing in it as such.

But the price the elite must pay does not end after dropping $456,000 on a Wendell Castle chair or $19.4million on a Francois-Xavier Lalanne cabinet from 1964.

It is critical that rare, elaborate and expensive pieces of furniture are handled with care, MacPherson said, and many house cleaners are not up to the task.

'Cleaning correctly is actually a skill that has to be taught and learned, and its actually a serious job,' McPherson added.

Housekeepers working for wealthy families are bringing in more than $100,000 each year (stock image)

There is a high demand for well-trained cleaners who know how to handle expensive pieces (stock image)

'Youve got to know about art. Youve got to know about antiques. Theres a lot of custom pieces, and of course theyre not replaceable,' Gina, a housekeeper in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, told Bloomberg.

Gina began her career as a standard cleaner before advancing to a circle of upper-class clientele.

'The value of the pieces has increased greatly, even if its not the most known artist,' she explained. 'High-end houses have crazy prices in almost everything.'

To avoid any furniture fiascos, Gina said she extensively researches every single piece she deals with.

MacPherson said his company, Charles MacPherson Associates, once had a client who had a housekeeper come clean while she was on vacation.

But when the homeowner returned, she was dismayed to see that all the doorknobs had been polished, removing all their finish coats. The mistake cost her $75,000.

MacPherson said she knew 'it was her own fault' for not training her staff properly.

Charles MacPherson runs a company that trains wealthy homeowners and cleaners on household communication and management

Stories like this are why MacPherson runs a five-week course, training clients and their employees on household communication and management.

Ben Schwartz, president of Bloomfield Hills, a Michigan-based placement agency, told Bloomberg that wealthy individuals seeking cleaners would do much better to spend a pretty penny finding the right employee than regret not doing so later.

'Youd rather overpay and be overcovered, rather than underpay and be under-covered,' Schwartz said.
Officials are planning to spend tens of millions of pounds moving hundreds of female criminals out of jail to make room for more male offenders.

Documents accidentally released by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) outline a scheme which would cost an initial 68million and then a further 47million a year to divert women offenders out of jail.

Another scheme would see female offenders placed in another type of residential centre instead of jail, at a cost of 60,000 to 100,000 a year per head.

This would cost the taxpayer far more than a prison place, which averages 37,000 a year according to MoJ figures.

The plans emerged after bungling MoJ officials accidentally sent the plans to Tory frontbencher Robert Jenrick.

The Shadow Justice Secretary was mistakenly copied into an email setting out the proposals, which were due to be presented to prisons minister Lord Timpson today.

A Tory source said: 'Only this Labour Government would consider a scheme for criminals to avoid prison and somehow force taxpayers to pay an even bigger bill.'

Labour has already said it wants to reduce the number of women offenders in jail.

The measures are designed to free up space to allow womens jails to be redesignated for male offenders, amid an overcrowding crisis which has already seen 38,000 criminals let out of prison early by Labour.

Prisons minister Lord Timpson in the House of Lords today, answering questions about recent jail gaffes

The internal memo from a senior civil servant, seen by the Daily Mail, said: We would need a best guess number of women who wed like to capture for the residential options.

Appreciate this is very finger in the air approach again but I assume we can narrow down or figure this out.

[One named official] thinks we should go for the maxmum [sic] number of women who could logically be accommodated in the community instead of custody.

Would this be based on offence type? Level of risk? We can then try and make some calculations as to bed costs per year.

The official who sent the email set out diversion costs of 67,950,000  and then 47.45m per annum.

They added that another unnamed project would cost 7.2million a year.

The email set a deadline of noon today to finalise the proposals so they could be submitted to prisons minister Lord Timpson.

It was sent to 19 MoJ officials  and Mr Jenrick.

Labours early release scheme - introduced last year by then justice secretary Shabana Mahmood - allows most offenders to be freed after serve 40 per cent of the sentence handed down by the courts, rather than the previous 50 per cent.

On the first day of Labour's early release scheme in September 2024, lags released early were seen celebrating outside jails. Pictured: A man celebrates as he is released from HMP Wandsworth

So far more than 38,000 criminals have been out of jail early under the programme.

A wide range of further measures being set in motion by ministers will see even further sentence discounts.

An MoJ spokesman said: We do not comment on leaks.

The Government has been clear the prison system it inherited is not working leading to more crime, not less, which is why we continue to explore more options to rehabilitate female offenders in the community.

The most serious offenders will still go to prison.
A former FBI informant has been found dead on a paradise island in Hawaii.

Jonnaven Monalim, 55, was discovered deceased Friday night in Waipo, the Honolulu Police Department said.

The department issued a CrimeStoppers missing person alert for Monalim on Saturday, describing him as 5'8'' and Hispanic.

'Jonnaven Monalim was last heard from after leaving his Ae Street residence in Kapolei on November 5, around 7.13pm,' they said.

'Monalim has not been seen or heard from since, and his family is concerned for his safety and well-being.'

His body was discovered around 11.15pm on the picturesque O'ahu island on Friday, and medical examiners confirmed his identity on Sunday morning.

Homicide detectives from the Honolulu Police Department are investigating. The cause of death is yet to be confirmed.

Monalim was an informant for the FBI during a high-profile court trial of his cousins Ethan Motta and Rodney Joseph Jr., who were part of an organized crime ring.

Former FBI informant Jonnaven Monalim has been found dead on a paradise island in Hawaii

Monalim, 55, was discovered deceased Friday night in Waipo (pictured), Honolulu Police said

The 2009 trial centered over a double homicide.

Monalim's cousins were charged with racketeering and murder, as part of a conspiracy for control of illegal gambling operations in Oahu.

Both were found guilty of several offenses, including the murders, gambling, extortion and armed robbery, according to Star Advertiser.

Monalim told the court at the time that he began working with the FBI after agents raided his home in February 2004 and said they had evidence that he had conspired to distribute methamphetamine.

He helped provide evidence in the court case against his cousins by secretly recording a conversation with Motta in October 2004.

Motta could be heard saying you have to 'put blood on the table' to send a message.

Monalim confirmed that this meant somebody would have to be killed to scare Motta's enemies.

His body was discovered around 11.15pm on the picturesque O'ahu island on Friday

Authorities have asked anyone with information about Monalims death to call 911 or CrimeStoppers at 808-955-8300.

When lawyers asked him why Motta would disclose this to him, he said: 'Because we cousins, and he thought he could trust me.'

Monalim also has several criminal convictions in Hawaii. He was sentenced in 1998 to 10 years in prison for second-degree assault, first-degree burglary, and first-degree terroristic threatening.

Joseph was his co-defendant in some of the cases.
An ally of Vladimir Putin who told a divorce court he was penniless had 240m worth of assets including a 4m art collection, a judge has found.

Vladimir Sloutsker, 69, who died from cancer in September, fought until his death to hide his assets, which include a luxurious nine-bedroom 45m family home in south Kensington, central London.

The month before his death, judge Mr Justice Garrido ordered Sloutsker to pay 25m to his ex-wife Alona and, in an unusual move, has now made the judgement public.

The judge said this was appropriate given Sloutsker's position as a former senator in Russian parliament and his 'serious and repeated litigation misconduct'.

The solicitor representing Alona Sloutsker, David Allison, said: 'Unfortunately, Mr Sloutsker's obstructive behaviour continued after trial until his death in late September.

'Neither he nor his estate has paid a penny to his former wife and prior to his death he disappeared, cutting off all contact with his young children.'

Sloutsker, a former senator who represented the Chuvash Republic until 2010, made his vast fortune through ownership of the Russian investment vehicle Finvest.

He was a close political ally of the Russian president and co-founder of the Israeli Jewish Congress.

He claimed last year that his assets in Russia had been stolen, plunging him into severe financial hardship and leaving him unable to pay the mortgage on his London home.

The Russian had insisted that this change of circumstances had nothing to do with his wife's pursuit of a divorce at the time.

Vladimir Sloutsker, 69, who died from cancer in September, had claimed his assets had been stolen

Judge Garrido found that his true wealth could be evidenced by documents generated on Sloutsker's own behalf that had been signed or authorised by him, however.

Before the couple separated, they had lived in a 'very grand' 2,790sqm home which had a cinema room, heated indoor pool, commercial chef's kitchen, a four-car garage and a gym, the court heard.

Sloutsker had spent millions redecorating and renovating the property, the judge added.

The couple's holidays included a Christmas trip to ski resort Courchevel that cost almost 440,000, a 60,000 trip to Zermatt and a 350,000 summer holiday in Tuscany, the judge said.

Sloutsker's London family home was worth about 45m  though he had failed to pay millions in mortgage repayments over the past 12 months, the court heard.

The Russian also had a 150m plot of land in Moscow as well as a 22m family home in the city, 17m worth of investments in US private equity and 4m in a Swiss bank account, the court heard.

Among the pieces in his 4m art collection is a 1m work by Michelangelo Pistoletto, a 2m George Condo and a piece by American artist Cindy Sherman worth 250,000.

The judge described Mr Sloutsker as a 'dishonest witness' who had 'attempted to mislead' the court.

Having died on September 26, the responsibility for the 25m owed to Alona Sloutsker will now fall to Mr Sloutsker's estate.
Dame Penny Mordaunt on Monday sobbed in court as she alleged that an infatuated stalker bombarded her with emails and calls and even jumped the security barrier at her office.

The former defence secretary, 52, told a jury that Edward Brandt, 60, left her 'feeling very vulnerable' and tried to form a 'personal relationship' with her during an alleged campaign of stalking.

Brandt - a Conservative Party member - went on trial at Southampton Crown Court, accused of stalking the former Tory MP.

He is accused of ignoring a police warning and continuing to stalk Ms Mordaunt, claiming he wanted to have a 'much-famed pint' with her.

Prosecutors said the defendant also claimed he wanted to shake her 'precious and gold-plated hand' to praise her for her work.

Brandt jumped the barrier at her office and Mordaunt had to bolster her security, it was also heard.

Giving evidence today, Mordaunt was reduced to tears as she explained how 'drained' she felt by the whole situation.

She described how the ordeal took a toll on her entire team and her foster child, whom she had to tell not to open the front door out of fear Brandt would turn up at her address.

Mordaunt was MP for Portsmouth North between 2010 and 2024 and served as leader of the House of Commons in the final two years. She lost her seat to Amanda Martin in 2024.

Edward Brandt - a Conservative Party member - went on trial on Monday at Southampton Crown Court, accused of stalking former Tory MP Penny Mordaunt

The former Defence Secretary, 52, told a jury that Edward Brandt, 60, left her 'feeling very vulnerable'

Robert Bryan, prosecuting, said: 'Mr Brandt faces an allegation of stalking involving severe harm or distress.

'His victim is Penny Mordaunt, who was until 2024 the Member of Parliament for Portsmouth North and the leader of the House of Commons.

'He was a resident on the Isle of Wight and so was not a constituent of Penny Mordaunt.

'Even though she is an MP, she is entitled to exactly the same legal protection as anyone else.

'MPs are vulnerable. Just look at Jo Cox or David Amess. Their baseline level of fear is higher than ordinary members of the public.

'The story starts in Autumn of 2023 when Mr Brandt makes an initial call and sends a follow-up email to her office phone. He asks to meet her and for half an hour of her time for a cuppa.

'The following day Penny Mordaunt's office manager returns her call. Initially he was polite but he began to ask her about her security arrangements within the constituency. She does not answer the questions and says email in. She believes they will not hear from him again.

'On September 14 he emails again and asks her for a chat.'

Mr Bryan went on to explain that Brandt emailed Mordaunt several times over the coming months asking to meet up. He sent her messages for Christmas, New Year and her birthday on March 4.

In November 2023 he sent her a message relating to diver Tom Daley - with whom Mordaunt had appeared on television show Splash!

Mr Bryan continued: 'On December 16 he went to her constituency office - which is caught on CCTV - but what he did next was not.

'He went to the end of the building where the turnstiles were and tried to jump the barriers - which triggered the alarms.

'Security rushed after him and asked him questions about what he was doing. This marked an escalation. She was in her office and was escorted back to her car.'

Brandt admitted to the police that he had been sending messages but said he 'just wanted to shake her hand'.

He was told he should not contact her and he said he fully understood yet he emailed her again on March 5 to wish her a happy birthday - apologising for being a day late and saying he just want to 'shake her hand' and that her rejections had 'stiffened his resolve'.

He was later bailed with conditions not to contact Mordaunt. He also had to attend a victim awareness course and pay 75.

Mr Bryan said: 'On May 6 he called her office again leaving a voicemail.

'He said there was a photograph on her LinkedIn of her with one of his neighbours: "There was a pretty blonde in the photograph just like you".

'On May 10 he messaged again saying "I am just going to keep knocking on your door until you open it and let me shake your hand".'

He was said to have added: 'I liked your recent comment about being the most left-wing member of the Labour Party. I myself am about the most left-wing member of the Conservative Party.'

The prosecutor continued: 'Seventeen days after admitting his guilt he told her he was not giving up.

'He was arrested and interviewed on May 11. He showed no remorse and her security had to be bolstered as she will explain.'

Brandt is accused of ignoring a police warning and continuing to stalk Ms Mordaunt, claiming he wanted to have a 'much-famed pint' with her

Prosecutors said the defendant also claimed he wanted to shake her 'precious and gold plated hand' to praise her for her work

It was heard that Brandt said he 'wanted to meet her in the pub on a Friday afternoon for her much-famed pint' and once messaged her: 'I just want the chance to meet you and shake your precious and gold-plated hand.'

Giving evidence, Mordaunt said: 'He made me feel very vulnerable and I had concerns for my own safety.

'When he mentioned Tom Daley I really didn't know what he was referring to. I had known Tom as I had appeared on a television programme with him.

'I hoped after January that that would be an end to the matter.

'I was very disappointed that he hadn't listened to the police warning.

'I thought his behaviour was inappropriate and it was very disappointing that it was continuing. I think he wanted a personal relationship with me.

'We sent him a formal email to cease contact and anything further would be reported to the police.

'It was becoming clear that all normal reasonable requests that were being made were being ignored.

'I had had assessments with the police and the parliament security team.

'We had to change the security in the constituency office and we had to change some of my normal routine which was quite predictable and I was told not to use public transport.

'I had to change security in the office, hide signage to the office and change the locks so we had personal fobs to get in.

'I also had CCTV installed outside the office and me and my staff had personal alarms which we had not had before.'

She said when he hopped her barrier 'I was escorted to the car by security where I was concerned for my own safety'.

Mordaunt explained that she had fostered a Ukrainian girl as she has no children of her own.

She said: 'She is a vulnerable person. I had to explain to her that this was happening and this was incredibly concerning as I had to explain what she should do if he came to the door.

'The references to my personal appearance just increased my view that he wanted a personal relationship with me.

'On the weekends I would try and spend times away from home.

'The whole situation took its toll on me. When you're constantly having to think about whether he was going to be in your workplace or on your street. It is a responsibility for me with my staff.

'It just became so much more work for them. It was just incredibly draining.'

The trial continues.
The curious case of the undamaged rainbow umbrella is unlikely to have troubled Sherlock Holmes for more than about five seconds.

But Police Scotland spent time and money they claim not to have looking into an allegation that a trans activists brolly was broken during a protest.

Its owner, Tom Harlow, was a counter-demonstrator accused of trying to drown out a feminist rally at the Scottish parliament with loud music.

Susan Smith of For Women Scotland was told she was facing vandalism charges before a humiliating U-turn on Friday when the inquiry was dropped.

Only a few days before, Chief Constable Jo Farrell had said the investigation concerned a potential crime and had to be taken seriously.

Yet the umbrella appeared to be broken prior to Harlow telling police it had been vandalised  a key fact that officers seemed to have overlooked.

Police Scotland got involved in a row involving an umbrella during a Women Won't Wait protest outside the Scottish Parliament

Police Scotland apologised to Susan Smith after dropping an investigation into whether a counter-demonstrator's umbrella was broken during a protest

Brollygate is further proof that the forces top brass seem to have taken leave of their senses, but it also raises questions over Police Scotlands proportionate response strategy.

This meant officers wouldnt investigate minor crime unless there was a solid lead, because the force is said to be running out of cash.

Mind you, it scraped together more than 130,000 to give to Chief Constable Jo Farrell to help her buy a second home  the same woman who said policing needed 140million to stay afloat at a parliamentary committee hearing last week.

She hasnt explained how the brolly fiasco was allowed to happen at a time when police have effectively written off less serious crimes.

As former Police Scotland superintendent Martin Gallagher told me, Brollygate is another example of what happens when the police have sadly given the impression over the last few years that they have abandoned political neutrality and favour some causes over others.

Its all part of a gender obsession which has gripped the public sector across the UK for years, and Scottish policing is no exception  indeed in many ways it led the charge.

Much time has been wasted on the supposedly vexed question of whether a rapist should be allowed to self-identify as a woman.

On Wednesday, Ms Farrell will appear before MSPs who are looking at a call by a feminist think-tank to ban the practice of sex offenders being able to choose their gender for crime-recording purposes.

Remarkably, the petition was lodged back in 2021 but Holyrood is only just now getting round to taking oral evidence from Ms Farrell and her deputy Alan Speirs.

Last year Ms Farrell said the public and MSPs should be assured that a man who commits rape or serious sexual assault will always be recorded as male.

But this stance, which campaigners said was a major policy change, was not communicated to officers, sparking claims that police may have misled parliament.

Meanwhile, the woke crusade has continued as earlier this year, Police Scotland was accused of promoting trans ideology by putting up virtue-signalling gender posters in a station.

The placards explain the words and phrases by going through each letter of the alphabet  for example G is for gender identity.

H is for hir/zie, described as the most common spelling for gender-neutral pronouns, with hir replacing his or her and zie replacing he or she.

The Police Scotland LGBT Toolkit asks officers to sign a pledge and evangelise their allyship, something which was said to be a stepping stone to fostering good relations, rather than a breach of impartiality.

And earlier this year you might also recall that the force compared feminist campaigners who oppose transgender policies to Nazis.

A document was circulated saying gender binary [the belief there are only two genders] was a key feature of Nazism.

Naturally, no one faced disciplinary action and we were assured that Ms Farrell, perhaps otherwise occupied on estate agents websites, was unaware of this appalling slur before it was posted.

Its worth remembering that while this sorry farce is being played out, were in the midst of a crimewave.

Nearly 490,000 crimes were recorded in the year up to June  one offence every minute  up from almost 480,000 in the previous year, including a 12 per cent increase in violent offending.

A lot of crime isnt being reported because the public no longer trust police to catch criminals, which is no real surprise.

Scottish policing isnt alone in its gender fixation, of course, as the Graham Linehan row demonstrates.

The co-creator of the TV sitcom Father Ted was arrested by five police officers when he landed at Heathrow Airport from Arizona in September on suspicion of inciting violence on the social media platform X.

He has since been informed by the Crown Prosecution Service that he will not face further action for trans- related posts after a careful review of the evidence provided by the Metropolitan Police.

The extraordinary heavy- handedness of the response, which led to Mr Linehan being taken to hospital after concern over his blood pressure, was another illustration of the disconnect between police priorities and those of us in the real world.

The Metropolitan Police later said it would stop investigating non-crime hate incidents to reduce ambiguity following the Linehan case.

Police Scotland took a different tack and are continuing with their own policy, so that incidents where no actual crime has been detected will continue to be officially logged.

Consider the case of Tory MSP Murdo Fraser, whose mocking tweet about the SNP governments transgender policy was recorded as a hate incident.

He shared a column which claimed the governments non-binary equality action plan would lead to children being damaged by this cult.

If you arent chilled to the bone by this Orwellian nonsense, you should be, not least because police, at least in Scotland, still havent learned their lesson.

It took police in England long enough to change their approach.

Back in 2020, the High Court ruled that police officers unlawfully interfered with a mans right to freedom of expression by turning up at his place of work to speak to him about allegedly transphobic tweets.

Harry Miller, a former police officer who founded the campaign group Fair Cop, said a Humberside cop told him he had not committed a crime, but that his tweeting was being recorded as a hate incident.

One of his contentious tweets was: Transwomen are women. Anyone know where this new biological classification was first proposed and adopted?

Hardly a trigger for a police visit to your workplace, but that was what happened and five years on Mr Linehan found himself in police custody for broadly similar reasons.

In the meantime, hardened criminals are watching all of this unfold and rubbing their hands in glee  as policing turns into a national joke.
Police Scotland paid out more than 5.3million last year to settle claims from their own officers and the public, new figures show.

The force forked out an eye-watering 5,357,824 in 2024/25 to settle hundreds of compensation and discrimination claims - the highest amount on record.

It was 2,269,193 more than the previous year and almost 3million more than in 2021/22.

Settling public claims alone last year cost the force close to 2.8million.

Analysis shows the cost of those cases spiralled by 2,452,805 from the previous year when the total paid out was 319,097.

In 2022/23, the total paid out in public claims was under a quarter of a million pounds.

Police Scotland refused to confirm if the 386 recipients from last years round of costly compensation settlements - which includes payments up to March 31 - included damages paid to the family of Sheku Bayoh.

Police Scotland's Clyde Gateway building in Dalmarnock, Glasgow

The force forked out an eye-watering 5,357,824 in 2024/25 to settle hundreds of compensation and discrimination claims

Police Scotland did not confirm whether the bill included damages paid to the family of Sheku Bayoh, who died nine years ago in Police custody in Fife

Mr Bayoh, 31, died in police custody in Fife nine years ago and police chiefs settled their damages action over his unlawful killing against the force in March.

Compensation was paid to up to 10 members of his family, with one individual understood to have received a single award of more than 1million.

Police chiefs have since refused to publicly confirm the total amount paid to the Bayoh family in the out-of-court civil settlement, insisting the details are confidential to respect the privacy of the family.

They have claimed the settlement represented best value for the public purse. The types of cases being raised against Police Scotland include assault, damage to property, dog bites, excessive force, failure to investigate, injuries and unlawful arrest.

Compensation can be paid for accidents involving police cars and staff discrimination cases ending up in employment tribunals.

A breakdown of the overall costs shows Police Scotland paid out 2,771,902 to settle 76 public liability claims - of which 1,070,000 was the largest single payment.

The majority of public claims (68) were at the lower end of the scale, up to 75,000, amounting to a total of 171,902.

There were two payments in the 250,000 to 1million band totalling 790,000; two in the 150,000 - 25,000 band adding up to 450,000; and three 75,000 to 150,000 payments adding another 290,000.

Data shows it cost the force more than 1.2million to settle 53 employer liability claims from within their own ranks.

According to Police Scotland, the overwhelming majority of cases brought by officers relate to injuries suffered while on duty.

Settling 257 claims from motorists and road users cost the force another 1.3million - up by 333,446 from the previous year.

Scottish Conservative shadow minister for community safety Sharon Dowey MSP said: These multi-million-pound payouts mean fewer resources for frontline policing, at a time when the SNPs failure to properly fund Police Scotland is already putting huge pressure on officers.

SNP ministers who are responsible for underfunding our police and the broken complaints system must get to the bottom of why the number of legitimate claims and payouts are so high and address the root causes.

Ms Dowey added: But it could well be down to the Nationalists false economy - namely their swingeing cuts making Police Scotland more likely to make mistakes and less able to provide the service it would like to offer.

Scottish Labour Justice spokesperson Pauline McNeil insists Policing in Scotland is stretched to breaking point as a result of SNP neglect.

She said: It is crucial that money is being spent well.

Tory MSP Sharon Dowey said the payouts 'mean fewer resources for frontline policing'

The SNP must work with Police Scotland to ensure the highest standards are being upheld at all times and address the underlying issues causing these claims, so that more funding can go to the frontline where it is badly needed.

The figures do not reflect the millions of pounds spent on legal costs defending actions brought against the force.

News of last years record compensation bill comes as Chief Constable Jo Farrell warns police in Scotland needs a minimum of 104.9million in additional funding just to maintain current staffing levels.

Officers are reportedly pushed beyond breaking point with thousands of rest days being cancelled to cover operational requirements for major events and protests.

Police Scotland have also announced plans to close 29 stations across Scotland, including ones in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee, to help plug their budget hole.

A spokesman said: Compensation payments are dealt with on a case by case basis with a view to securing best value for the public purse.
A Romanian who raped a doctor in a city centre street has been jailed for nine years and branded a danger to women by a judge.

Mihai Nicolae Patran attacked the then 27-year-old stranger in Glasgows Mitchell Street in November 2023.

The traumatised victim eventually fled from Patran whilst partially clothed to the safety of a taxi.

Patran was later arrested  and went on to perform a sex act on himself while sitting in the dock during his first court appearance.

The 34-year-old Romanian was yesterday sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow, having been found guilty following a trial last month.

Judge Norman McFadyen told Patran: You are a dangerous man and a danger to women.

It is hoped you will be deported or removed from the country at the earliest opportunity.

However, the judge said he had to consider the possibility that Patran could be released in Scotland where he would continue to present a risk to the public.

Rapist Mihai Nicolae Patran has been jailed for nine years

Patran also flashed at a woman on a train between Perth and Stirling on October 22, 2023

CCTV footage of Mihai Nicolae Patran walking on Mitchell Street, Glasgow

In those circumstances, he said that Patran would need to be supervised for three years after any release.

The doctor had not long moved to the city prior to the attack. She told how she had been at a party and had decided to join others in going into the city centre.

She got delayed in leaving and ended up getting a taxi on her own. Realising it was late and most bars would be shut, she headed for a Taco Bell restaurant to get some food, walking onto Mitchell Street.

She spoke of her arm being touched and just like a strange man being there.

A man emerged from an indent in the alleyway and that she froze. She told prosecutor Greg Farrell: I was just so scared. I think I kind of mentally froze.

The woman said she ended up on the ground with the man kind of towering over her.

She told jurors how she eventually got away, saying: I remember I got my phone and quickly ordered an Uber taxi  thankfully it came quite quickly. Patran was arrested following an police investigation. He claimed that the doctor had consented to sex.

Patran appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court days after the attack. He was handcuffed to a female custody officer who was sickened as she saw the predator groping himself.

The sheriff was later alerted and police became involved.

It also emerged Patran had flashed at a woman on a train between Perth and Stirling on October 22, 2023.

Patran was found guilty of all three charges and put on the sex offenders list indefinitely.
A serial offender who carried out a knifepoint sex attack on a woman who went to his house to fit him with an electronic tag has been sentenced to more than four years in prison.

Patrick Nolan carried out the assault on the G4S employee as she went in to collect a previous tag and place a new device on his ankle at his home in the Western Isles.

The 39-year-old first appeared friendly towards the woman but as she got ready to leave, he returned form the kitchen armed with a long-bladed knife demanding she takes her clothes off.

He grabbed the waistband of her trousers but did not manage to pull them down as she struck out with her forearm, resulting in her attacker losing his balance.

Nolan, who had been drinking, recovered and moved back towards her and a scuffle broke out.

The woman managed to make her way to the door of the property and held his right wrist tightly when they were face to face.

She began talking to him to fool him into de-escalating the situation and said he didnt have to do this and told him she would never tell anyone.

The worker managed to take control of the situation and Nolan threw the knife away and she made her escape.

Edinburgh's High Court

An electronic tag used to put on offenders released into the community

She went to her car to call a G4S supervisor and explained what happened but became so distressed she struggled to breath.

The woman then contacted police and was described as being clearly in a state of distress and close to tears.

Nolan was under a court imposed restriction of liberty order at the time of the offence and was fitted with an electronic tag because of curfew conditions placed on him.

A judge said that custody officers and those such as the woman, who act as field monitoring officers, deserve to be treated with respect and work in circumstances that can be stressful in the criminal justice system.

Lady Ross said at the High Court in Edinburgh: You assaulted her with the intention of raping her, fortunately the complainer took control of the situation.

The judge said it was only thanks to the quick thinking of the victim that the situation was not worse.

She told Nolan that he has a bad record of criminal offending with 31 previous convictions, including assault and sex crime. She pointed out that alcohol abuse lies behind much of his offending.

The judge said: The seriousness of this offence means that a substantial custodial sentence is necessary. The complainer was at the time carrying out her duties as a G4S officer.

Lady Ross

She told Nolan that he would have faced a six and a half year jail term for the offence, but for his guilty plea.

Lady Ross jailed him for four and a half years and ordered that he should be under supervision in the community for a further two year period meaning he can be returned to jail if he breaches its terms.

Nolan earlier admitted assaulting the woman, then acting in the course of her employment, with intent to rape her on May 25 this year at a house in the Hebrides.

He approached her with a knife, seized her, struggled with her and struck her on the hand with the weapon. He instructed her to remove her clothing and tried to remove her clothing during the sexual assault.

Defence solicitor advocate Shahid Latif previously praised the professionalism and fortitude of the victim of the crime who suffered a cut to her thumb.

He told the court yesterday (Mon): He [Nolan] has, through me, asked to express his remorse, regret and apologies to the complainer.

Mr Latif concluded: He has told me in terms that no one should have had to go through what happened that day.

He said that the conviction for the attack on the woman was a crossroads in his life for Nolan and he has indicated that he will take part in any programmes available to him in prison.

Nolan was placed on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period and Lady Ross made a non harassment order banning him for contacting or attempting to contact the victim.
A serving police officer is behind bars after taking home six shotguns and other weapons which had been surrendered to him.

Alan Sharp was a constable with the Firearms and Explosive Licensing Department in Kinross when he was caught in a search of his home in 2022.

There had been concerns about the 52 year-old failing to carry out proper checks on those applying for gun certificates.

He pleaded guilty yesterday to three charges under the Firearms Act and another of wilful neglect of police duty.

Sharp  an officer since 2001  who holds his own shotgun certificate faces a minimum five-year jail term.

He had been on bail, but was remanded in custody at the High Court in Glasgow, pending sentencing on December 8.

Sharp qualified as a Firearms Enquiry Officer in 2015. In January 2021, a man handed over parts of a rifle and two firearm barrels to Sharp at Kinross police station as part of a government surrender scheme.

That November, another man decided not to renew his shotgun licence due to old age.

Alan Sharp took home six shotguns and other weapons when he was a constable with the Firearms and Explosive Licensing Department in Kinross

Prosecutor Liam Ewing KC said: Sharp went to his home and took possession of six shotguns.

He told the man they would be held in a safe holding area and that they would be taken to Glasgow to be crushed.

Sharp later sent an email to the firearms licensing unit detailing that he had collected the guns for destruction. But the weapons were found in working order in a secure cabinet at his large home in Kinross. A total of 1,919 bullets were also seized.

Mr Ewing said: It was his duty, given the potential for loss of life or serious injury arising from the misuse of firearms, to ensure that the six shotguns surrendered were securely stored or taken to the armoury in Perth.

He neglected his duty by falsely recording the shotguns were in storage... removing them from Kinross police station and taking them to his home.

Sharp stated he had got an instruction firearms were not to be stored at Kinross police station and admitted he did not carry out proper checks due to work related stress and time constraints.

The court heard there was no record of Sharp signing out or removing the shotguns.
A trans woman who threatened to 'batter' a top surgeon after she carried out her gender reassignment surgery is facing jail.

Vivienne Taylor, 28, bombarded Tina Rashid with unwanted emails, and even turned up at her workplace several times claiming she had booked an appointment.

Ms Rashid, who specialises in surgery for trans women at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, carried out Taylor's gender reassignment surgery in 2021, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard.

The surgeon realised there were 'a large number of photographs' of herself on Taylor's phone, who was later discharged from hospital but returned after suffering 'complications' believed to be 'self-inflicted', Prosecutor Jonathan Bryan told the court.

'The defendant was insisting that she be treated by the same surgeon. She threatened to kill herself if she wasn't dealt with by that surgeon,' Mr Bryan said.

Ms Rashid believed the matter had ended after Taylor was banned from seeing her and moved away from London later that year. But Taylor got back in contact last year when she returned to the capital.

She sent Ms Rashid a series of emails before requesting to connect with her on LinkedIn in March 2025 and began turning up at the hospital to see her in May.

Vivienne Taylor, 28, threatened to 'batter' a top surgeon after she carried out her gender reassignment surgery

Taylor (pictured) bombarded Tina Rashid with unwanted emails, and even turned up at her workplace several times claiming she had booked an appointment

Ms Rashid (pictured) who specialises in surgery for trans women at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, carried out Taylor's gender reassignment surgery in 2021

Mr Bryan said: 'She was requesting to be under the complainant's care team.

'Later that month, she went to the hospital saying she had an appointment with the complainant.'

Mr Bryan said Taylor turned up for invented appointments five more times before sending Ms Rashid a threatening email on November 2.

Taylor said she 'would batter her and shag her partner', the prosecutor told the court.

The court heard Taylor had suffered past breakdowns in her mental health and moved back to London to escape domestic abuse.

The defendant admitted stalking causing serious alarm or distress at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Monday and will be sentenced at a later date.

She will also undergo a psychological profile and be assessed by probation ahead of a sentencing hearing.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is getting battered by his own party members who are furious over a deal hatched by centrist Democrats to end the government shutdown.

Schumer, 74, the top Democratic leader in the Senate, was unable to hold his party together in opposition to Republicans' government spending plans, even as he opposed the deal himself.

On Sunday evening, eight liberal senators voted with Republicans to begin negotiations on a GOP-authored government funding bill.

The New York senator aired his frustrations with the vote on social media Sunday night, noting how he will vote no on the agreement and will 'keep fighting' for the health care reforms Democrats have been angling for.

On ABC's 'The View' on Monday, the heavily Democratic panel of hosts ripped Schumer for not being able to control his own party.

'I want an opposition party. I think the Democrats caved,' co-host Sunny Hostin said after blaming the Republicans for the shutdown. 'I think the Democrats let down the American people. And like you, Whoopi, I have absolutely no faith the Republican Party will come to the negotiating table.'

'I think Chuck Schumer, his days are over. If he cannot keep his caucus together, he needs to go, he needs to be replaced,' Hostin charged.

However, another co-host, Sarah Haines, disagreed and backed Schumer.

The View's Sunny Hostin turns on Chuck Schumer and called on him to step down as minority leader on Monday, saying, 'If he cannot keep his caucus together, he needs to go. He needs to be replaced'

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer was unable to keep eight of his liberal members from voting with Republicans to end the shutdown. His inability to get his party on the same page has led to criticism over Schumer's ability to lead

Co-host Whoopi Goldberg also expressed frustration with Schumer and Democrats' deal with Republican lawmakers to fund the government and end the shutdown

'I have no faith they [Republicans] are going to negotiate and come back to the table,' co-host Whoopi Goldberg said, driving home her belief that Democrats were duped into a bad deal.

In addition to losing the liberal talk show hosts, Schumer is also bleeding support among lawmakers in his own party.

'Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced,' Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California posted on X this weekend. 'If you cant lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?'

Connecticut Democratic Representative Seth Moulton similarly skewered Schumer.

'Tonight is another example of why we need new leadership. If [Schumer] were an effective leader, he would have united his caucus to vote No tonight and hold the line on healthcare.'

Maine Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner also called on Schumer to step aside.

'Chuck Schumer should step down,' he posted on social media along with a video about why the New York senator is no longer fit to lead the party after some democrats 'caved' and voted with the GOP.

Further, when Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona was asked by MSNBC over the weekend whether he would endorse Schumer for another term as party leader, Kelly notably declined to offer his support.

Congressman Ro Khanna of California called on Schumer to be replaced as Senate Democratic leader over the weekend

Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly refused to endorse Schumer for another stint atop party leadership when asked over the weekend

And discontent may have leaked into Schumer's own Senate office.

The Democratic leader's digital director for the last seven years, Ken Meyers, abruptly resigned on Friday.

Schumer will be up for re-election in 2028.

Schumer's office did not immediately respond to the Daily Mail's request for comment.
A young girl has been airlifted to hospital in a critical condition after a crash involving a lorry.

Emergency services were called to Boleran Road - between Coleraine, Garvagh and Limavady in Northern Ireland - just before 4pm on Monday.

Police, two fire appliances and an ambulance were raced to the scene of the collision.

Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service Group Commander Barry Sands said the youngster was taken to Royal Victoria Hospital, where she was being treated for her injuries.

Police Service of Northern Ireland said in a statement: 'Police received a report of a road traffic collision in the Boleran Road area of Limavady involving a lorry and a child pedestrian shortly before 4pm, today Monday 10th November.

'Officers alongside colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service and Northern Ireland Ambulance Service attended the scene.

A young girl has been airlifted to Royal Victoria Hospital where she's being treated for her injuries which are critical after being hit by a lorry (file photo)

'The girl remains in hospital at this time being treated for injuries which are described as critical.

'The road remains closed at this time and road users are advised to seek an alternative route.'

Local diversions are still in place.
A Polish woman who claimed to be Madeleine McCann is set to be deported after being found guilty of harassing the missing girl's parents.

Julia Wandelt, 24, tormented Kate and Gerry McCann during a relentless three-year campaign that resulted in her turning up at the family's home claiming to be their daughter.

She also bombarded them with endless messages, voicemails and calls demanding they take a DNA test to prove she was the girl who vanished from Praia Da Luz in the Algarve, Portugal, during a holiday in 2007.

Wandelt was found guilty of harassment but was found not guilty of stalking last week following a five-week trial at Leicester Crown Court.

She was jailed for six months on Friday but had already served nine months in prison following her arrest at Bristol Airport in February. It meant she could have been released, but remained in custody.

Judge Mrs Justice Cutts said a 'notice of deportation has been served' had already been served, meaning it was now a 'matter for the Secretary of State as to how things proceed'.

Wendelt previously told the court she did not want to stay in the UK and had a 'life here in Poland' with a boyfriend and cats.

The Home Office has now confirmed she will return to her home country as it 'has begun deportation proceedings in Ms Wandelt's case' following the outcome of the trial on Friday.

Julia Wandelt (pictured) was found guilty of harassing the missing Madeleine McCann's parents after claiming she was their daughter, who has been missing since May 2007

Madeleine was three years old when she vanished during a family holiday to The Algarve in May 2007

Wandelt was also made the subject of a restraining order, with a judge telling her she poses a 'significant risk of the harassment of the McCanns in future'.

During her trial, Wandelt said she would did not want to live in the UK.

In a recording of an answerphone message left on Mrs McCann's phone, she said: 'What if there is a small chance that I'm her? What then? Isn't that important for you?

'I don't want money, I have a life here in Poland, I just want to know.'

She told the court she had a boyfriend in Poland, though he later asked her to move out, and cats.

After the trial, Madeleine's parents said they 'take no pleasure in the result' after the verdict, adding that they 'only wanted the harassment to stop'.

The McCanns' statement read: 'Despite the jury's guilty verdict of harassment, we take no pleasure in the result.

'Like most people, we did not want to go through a court process and only wanted the harassment to stop.

Kate and Gerry McCann (pictured) both gave evidence from behind a screen at the trial

'The decision to prosecute was taken by the Crown Prosecution Service, based on the evidence gathered by the police.

'We hope Ms Wandelt will receive the appropriate care and support she needs and any vulnerability will not be exploited by others.

'If anyone has new evidence relating to Madeleine's disappearance, please pass this on to the police.'

Wandelt's co-defendant, Karen Spragg, was found not guilty of stalking and harassment.

The five-week trial also heard Wandelt claimed to have memories, induced by hypnosis sessions, of being abducted and of living with the McCanns as a child.

Jurors heard Wandelt tried to persuade 'anybody prepared to listen' that she was Madeleine, and that she had been kidnapped from Portugal and abused with other girls in Poland.

Wandelt called and messaged Mrs McCann more than 60 times in one day on April 13 last year, claiming to have a memory of the mother stroking her head and saying she would find her before the abduction.

Sentencing judge Mrs Justice Cutts told Wandelt her 'pestering' and 'badgering' of the McCanns was 'unwarranted' and 'unkind'.

Wandelt, 24, was convicted of tormenting Kate and Gerry McCann in a campaign that began on the internet but resulted in her turning up at the family's home

She told the defendant: 'They (the McCanns) were entitled to refuse to engage with you, particularly in the sad circumstances in which they live with the disappearance of Madeleine.

'They have suffered from that disappearance of their young child for many years, they are entitled to their privacy and to get on with their lives in the best way they can and to decide with whom, and with whom not, they will engage.

'Your constant pestering, badgering and eventually attendance at their home address on a dark evening in December was unwarranted, unkind, and as the jury have now found, criminal.'

Wandelt, who sat beside Spragg in the dock, gasped at the verdicts, while Spragg cried.
A 15-year-old girl was arrested and charged with a felony in Florida after she was caught on camera attacking a police car with a shovel, according to authorities.

Amy Chance was seen bashing a Port St. Lucie Police patrol car on November 3 in body camera footage after officers responded to a home over a disturbance that was caused by the teenager, police said on Sunday.

But when officers arrived they witnessed Chance in the middle of the street with a metal shovel in her hand that she allegedly slammed into the cop car, striking the hood several times.

The two male officers quickly hopped out of the vehicle and approached Chance, yelling at her to put the shovel down.

One of them was heard saying: 'Are you kidding me?' as he pulled out what appeared to be a Taser gun and pointed it at the teen.

Chance immediately dropped the tool, walked away a bit then looked back at the officers seemingly shocked by their response.

'Get on the f***ing ground,' one of them told Chance as she turned around and placed her hands behind her back before the officer made her kneel on the pavement while he locked handcuffs on her.

She was taken into custody without incident and charged with felony criminal mischief after causing more than $1,200 worth of damage to the car, authorities said.

Amy Chance, 15, was seen repeatedly striking a Port St. Lucie Police vehicle in Florida on November 3

Once she put the shovel down, Chance appeared shocked about the officers' response to her hitting the car

'Regardless of age, resorting to intentional damage of people or property in our city will result in an arrest,' the police department said.

The nature of the initial disturbance and why Chance decided to attack the police cruiser remain unknown.

The Daily Mail contacted the Port St. Lucie Police Department for comment.

Chance's arrest comes just months after police fatally shot a shovel-wielding man outside an elementary school in California.

The Anaheim Police Department received a call about the man, Rudy Anthony Martinez II, standing outside of a home in the area holding a brick around 12.10pm on September 15.

Police arrived at the scene half an hour later, but by then another call came in that the 36-year-old, who appeared to be homeless and under the influence of drugs, was near John Marshall Elementary School.

The school employee who called in the spotting said Martinez was 'just pacing around' with a broken shovel and had been loitering in the area for about an hour.

He had first been in the parking lot of the school, and was later pacing along Falmouth Street, she explained.

As officers pulled up to the scene, Chance charged at the vehicle with the tool

The cops then got out of the car and demanded she put the shovel down as one of them was seen pointing what appeared to be a taser gun at the teenager

She was taken into custody without incident and charged with felony criminal mischief after causing more than $1,200 worth of damage to the car

Just minutes later, an unidentified police officer saw the suspect using a crosswalk with the shovel slung over his shoulder.

'Oh s***,' the cop could be heard saying in the dashcam video as he approached the suspect.

As soon as Martinez noticed the officer, he could be seen running toward the patrol car with a shovel raised over his head.

Martinez then proceeded to strike the car several times, prompting the officer to get out.

'Sit down,' he said as Martinez once again struck the vehicle. 'Sit... you're gonna get shot.'

At that point, body camera footage captured Martinez charging directly at the officer with his shovel raised - prompting the officer to fire at least four shots, striking the suspect, who fell to the ground on his back.

Police noted that the officer was not injured in the incident, and a shovel with a broken handle was recovered from the scene.
Keir Starmer rallied behind the BBC on Monday, despite growing calls to scrap the licence fee.

Downing Street pushed back against claims by Donald Trump that the corporation's 'corrupt' journalists are peddling '100 per cent fake news'.

And the Prime Minister's official spokesman said the case for retaining the BBC was 'stronger than ever'.

Senior opposition figures on Monday warned that the disastrous lapse in standards that triggered the resignation of director-general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness had raised questions about the future of the licence fee.

Nigel Farage said the corporation was 'in the last-chance saloon' and a Reform government would 'defund the BBC from its current funding model', with most of its output moved to a subscription basis.

Kemi Badenoch said the BBC could justify continuing with a licence fee only if it could demonstrate it had changed to become truly impartial.

The Tory leader added: 'The new leadership must now deliver genuine reform of the culture of the BBC, top to bottom  because it should not expect the public to keep funding it through a compulsory licence fee unless it can finally demonstrate true impartiality.'

Mrs Badenoch said the BBC was a 'treasured institution' but needed to embrace impartiality and show 'a bit of humility' to survive.

Director-general Tim Davie quit the BBC on Sunday after five years in the corporation's top job

She added: 'We need to start looking at who is joining the BBC and whether they actually understand what impartiality is. This is not an issue of Left or Right  understanding that facts need to be true is a critical reform we need to see within the BBC.'

Former PM Liz Truss and former home secretary Suella Braverman both called for the licence fee to be scrapped immediately.

Downing Street confirmed that the future funding of the BBC would be considered next year as part of a scheduled review of the corporation's charter.

But the PM's spokesman said Sir Keir wanted to see the BBC 'continue to prosper, supported by a sustainable funding model'.

Asked about the crisis gripping the corporation, the spokesman said Mr Davie and Ms Turness were right to 'take responsibility for mistakes the BBC admits it has made'.

'It is right we now continue to support the BBC as an important national institution and manage the transition,' he said.

The spokesman added: 'Let's be clear about this, we support a strong, independent BBC and in an age of disinformation the argument for a robust, impartial British news service is stronger than ever. It's important that trust is maintained and that errors are corrected.'

Downing Street said the BBC was right to admit 'mistakes' over the editing of a Donald Trump speech, which has enraged the US President. But the PM's spokesman rejected wider criticism of the corporation by Mr Trump.

Donald Trump on Sunday condemned the 'corrupt' BBC as he tore into director-general Tim Davie and the corporation. He has threatened to sue for $1billion

Deborah Turness (pictured in October 2022), the CEO of News, has also resigned following criticism that the BBC documentary misled viewers

Under current government rules the licence fee is expected to rise by 3.8 per cent next year to just over 181, although No 10 said on Monday no formal decision had been made. Mr Farage said: 'The BBC has been institutionally biased for decades.'

He cited areas including its coverage of Europe, immigration, climate change and Gaza as well as its reporting on Mr Trump. The Reform UK leader said the US President asked him in a phone conversation on Friday: 'Is this how you treat your best ally?'

Mr Farage claimed that half a million people had stopped paying for a TV licence in each of the past two years.

He warned: 'If the BBC doesn't now get a grip... what you'll see over the next couple of years are many, many millions just refusing, just not wanting to have the licence fee.' He said the current licence fee arrangement 'cannot survive, it is wholly unsustainable' and that if the BBC cannot do 'straight news', then it has 'no future at all'.

Writing in the Daily Mail at the weekend, Boris Johnson said he would stop paying his licence fee until he had received a 'convincing explanation' for the latest bias scandal.

Tory MP Ben Spencer said the licence fee should be ditched immediately, adding: 'Forced purchasing of content through the licence fee, with no consumer choice, is an analogue anachronism in the digital age.'
Brittany Higgins may be declared bankrupt today, just weeks after she dropped her appeal against former Liberal Senator Linda Reynold's defamation win.

Reynolds has applied for a creditors petition against Higgins in a dramatic escalation of her bankruptcy proceedings against her former staffer in the Federal Court.

Reynolds's legal team reportedly plans to ask the court for a sequestration order allowing a trustee in bankruptcy to take control of Higgins' financial affairs.

It is unclear whether Higgins intends to oppose the order, first reported by The Australian, though she is not expected to appear in court in person.

Should the court approve the order, the next step would be for a trustee in bankruptcy to take control of Higgins' financial affairs with Reynolds as a creditor of the estate.

It will move Reynolds one step closer to finding out whether Higgins retains any of the $2.4m payout she received from the Commonwealth following allegations she was raped by former colleague Bruce Lehrmann in Parliament House in 2019.

Higgins is believed to have spent the lion's share of the payout since it was handed down in 2022, mostly on legal fees.

Higgins was found to have defamed Reynolds in a series of social media posts in 2022 and 2022 the former senator claimed led to her suffering health issues, damaged her reputation and stymied her career.

Former Senator Linda Reynolds (above) has escalated her bankruptcy claim against Higgins

Ms Higgins and her husband David Sharaz (pictured) defamed the former Senator in a series of social media posts, a court held

In August, the WA Supreme Court awarded Reynolds $315,000 in damages plus $26,000 in interest and Higgins was ordered to pay 80 per cent of her legal fees, which, combined with her own legal bills, is an estimated $2million bill.

A month later, Higgins' lawyers lodged an appeal on the defamation ruling, meaning that any bankruptcy proceedings were stalled until after it was finalised.

Higgins abandoned her appeal three weeks ago. She reportedly spent more than $600,000 defending against the defamation claim.

The former defence minister is also pursuing bankruptcy against Higgins' husband David Sharaz to recover damages for defamation.

He is expected to face a hearing in December.

A federal court justice found on the balance of probabilities Lehrmann raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House in 2019.

Lehrmann has always denied the allegations against him and a criminal trial was aborted and further proceedings were dropped.

Daily Mail has contacted Higgins for comment. Mr Sharaz declined to comment.
Two people were killed when a plane bringing much-needed supplies to storm-ravaged Jamaica crashed in Florida on Monday.

The Beechcraft King Air turboprop plane took off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport at around 10.14am headed for Montego Bay, and crashed into the pond of a gated residential neighborhood in Coral Springs soon after, narrowly avoiding homes as it went down, WPTV reports.

Shocking surveillance footage obtained by Local 10 News showed the small plane diving nose-first at a high rate of speed into the ground - taking out part of a fence in the wealthy Windsor Bay neighborhood - before it splashed into the water behind a resident's pool.

'We just see this black figure, it was a plane, going straight down,' witness Marcos Lima recounted.

Moments later, he said he and others saw 'pieces of the plane and body parts everywhere.'

Emergency crews responded within minutes of the first phone call about the crashed plane, and were on the scene at 10.19am - just five minutes after the plane took off, Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department Deputy Chief Mike Moser said.

No victims were originally found as authorities conducted rescue efforts, and first responders then shifted to a recovery operation.

Police have since confirmed that two people were killed in the collision and there were no survivors onboard, but did not provide any further details about the occupants of the plane.

No injuries were reported on the ground.

Shocking surveillance footage caught the moment a small plane crashed into the pond of a residential neighborhood in Florida on Monday morning

'There was no actual plane to be seen,' Moser said. 'They followed the debris to the water. We had divers that entered the water and tried to search for any victims and didn't find any.'

The crash shocked residents in the upscale community, where it cracked one resident's rear window and left canned goods and mangled plane parts sprawled throughout the neighborhood.

'We heard a big explosion, we we saw all the water rise up in the air, we ran towards it to see what happened,' David Ubegi told NBC South Florida.

'We saw all the parts of the plane and some body parts along sides of the houses, and when police arrived we helped them look for body parts.'

Kenneth DeTrolio also told the Sun Sentinel that he and his wife were at their house when the plane crashed through their backyard, destroying his fence and ripping down multiple palm trees.

The impact of the crash, he said, left his yard scattered with debris and his pool and backyard 'contaminated' with fuel.

'We heard the strangest sound,' DeTrolio recounted. 'I never heard anything like it before and apparently that was when this plane must have flown between my home and my neighbor's home.'

Michael Barish, who lives across the pond from DeTrolio, meanwhile, was at the front of his house when the plane crashed. Hours later, his backyard was covered with police markers identifying spots where different pieces of debris landed.

Emergency crews sprang into action when a small turboprop plane crashed in a gated community in Florida on Monday

The plane narrowly avoided residential homes as it crashed into a residential pond

Chris Howes also shared how she heard what she thought sounded like a 'rapid acceleration' and then a boom.

'The noise just didn't fit anything I'd heard before,' she said.

At first, Howes said she thought it may have been a car crash or an accident with a landscaping crew - but when she went outside and saw the hordes of police and fire rescue crews, as well as helicopters, she realized it was something more.

Meanwhile, Zane Smith said he, too, heard a loud boom and hhe and his business partner thought a bomb went off.

In the aftermath, he said, his business partner's glass fell as what felt like a shockwave reverberated throughout the home.

The storm ripped the roofs off of some 120,000 buildings in Jamaica, affecting some 90,000 families

Hurricane Melissa devastated the island nation of Jamaica last month

Federal records show the plane is registered to International Air Services Inc, of Nevada, a company that markets itself as specializing in providing trust agreements to non-US citizens that enable them to register aircrafts with the FAA.

It had been manufactured in 1976, according to Federal Aviation Administration records, and is designed to hold between seven to 12 people, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

Flight tracking website FlightAware shows the plane made four other trips to Jamaica over the past week, but it is unclear who was organizing the trips.

Broward County in southern Florida, however, is home to a large Caribbean American community that sprang into action to collect relief supplies following Hurricane Melissa - a Category 5 storm that ripped the roofs off of some 120,000 buildings in Jamaica, affecting some 90,000 families.

One week later, more than 2,000 people were still reported to be in shelters.

The Coral Springs Police Department is now taking over the recovery efforts, as federal aviation officials investigate the cause of the crash.

In the meantime, police warned residents they may notice a strong odor of fuel in the air, which may take time to dissipate.

'The city strongly recommends residents in the area to avoid being outdoors and keep doors closed for the remainder of the night,' the department said.
Prince William's homelessness initiative is teaming up with Gordon Brown as the royal continues his efforts to help society's most vulnerable.

Homewards has announced a partnership with The Multibank charity, of which the former Prime Minister is President.

The charity, which rescues furniture and other various wares through British business surplus stocks, will be furnishing accommodation delivered through the Prince of Wales' Innovative Housing Projects (IHP).

With the help of big brands including IKEA, B&Q, Bosch, and DFS, The Multibank has committed to furnishing an initial 250 homes.

The new partnership will operate across Homewards' six flagship locations: Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole, Lambeth, Newport, Northern Ireland, and Sheffield.

Its aim is to connect local businesses that are able to help, with the people who need that assistance.

According to Gordon Brown: 'The Multibank began with a simple conviction that surplus goods should never be wasted while families go without.

'Companies have the goods people need, and local charities know the people who need them, so The Multibank is an anti-pollution and anti-poverty project at the same time.

Prince William and former PM Gordon Brown are pictured speaking during the two year anniversary event of the Homewards programme, in July, in Sheffield

'I am delighted that Prince William is doing so much to overturn stigma towards those experiencing homelessness and is working to restore dignity and humanity to people who need compassion the most.'

Mr Brown continued: 'Poverty entrenching effects can be reversed and hope, dignity and opportunity can be restored.

'The Multibank is delighted to become a Homewards Activator and we all look forward to working with Prince William and his Homewards team to provide safe and secure places, where we hope people can thrive.'

Homewards, which was launched by Prince William and Royal Foundation in June 2023, has one goal.

According to the organisation, this is 'to demonstrate that its possible to end homelessness  making it rare, brief and unrepeated'.

Through these partnerships, more than one million pounds worth of essential items will be supplied to homes across the UK.

According to research, people are 12.5 per cent more likely to be able to sustain a tenancy when they are provided furniture and essential goods.

By using these items, Homewards aim to transform empty properties into safe and secure homes - and prevent repeat homelessness.

Prince William has spoken out about his desire to end homelessness several times, and is now working to ease the issue with his Homewards initiative

Gunjan Srivastava, CEO of Bosch Home Appliances, said: 'At Bosch, we believe in the power of community and the responsibility we hold to make a positive impact in people's lives.

'Our partnership with Homewards reflects this commitment to social responsibility and sustainability, values that are at the core of our business.

'By donating these appliances, we are proud to be part of an initiative which provides safe and secure homes for those in need.'

Homewards, which describes itself as a 'transformative programme', has six flagship locations around the UK, and will be investing up to 500,000 into each of these.

Its goal is to achieve significant change in these areas by 2028 (five years since the programme launched).

The Multibank is just one of the 'dozens of partner organisations, from frontline homelessness charities to big businesses' involved with the project.

Earlier this year, Homewards launched its Innovative Housing Project in Aberdeen, focusing on 'bringing empty homes back into use for those at risk of homelessness'.

It worked with local partner Langstane Housing Association, with the project combining 'housing provision with essential household items that were provided by local and national businesses'.

Prince William is pictured during a visit to Faithworks Carpentry Workshop in Bournemouth, as part of his tour to launch the scheme in June 2023

In doing so, it 'provided clear evidence as to how partnerships with the private sector can support longer-term housing solutions' says Homewards.

It added that Monday's announcement about the partnership between Homewards and The Multibank 'marks the scaling of this successful model to all four nations, showcasing how businesses can play a positive role in preventing homelessness'.

Hazel Detsiny, Executive Director of Homelessness at The Royal Foundation, said: 'This partnership is a powerful example of major industry players  even competitors  coming together to tackle a pressing societal challenge.

'Homewards is looking to collaborate with businesses across all sectors to address the deeper causes of homelessness, including housing, financial stability, and employment.

'Together, we can show what's truly possible when businesses become part of the solution.'
Did BBC deliberately try to mislead me? Did they lie to me, just as their reporter Martin Bashir lied to Princess Diana to get her to pour her heart out to the nation in the now notorious Panorama programme back in 1995?

All I can say is that, in my 20-year pursuit of the corporation to find the truth about who had known what and when about Bashir's deceptions, there were many incriminating internal documents I asked to see that mysteriously went missing.

Of course there could have been completely innocent reasons. Perhaps they simply wafted away through an open window. Or fell behind a radiator. Perhaps they were eaten by mice.

But fortunately for me (though not for them) one crucial document survived  an eight-page memorandum, composed by Anne Sloman, the acting head of weekly programmes.

It was dated April 22, 1996, five months after the programme was broadcast  a time when Bashir was under internal scrutiny.

He had been interrogated by Sloman and Tony Hall, head of news and current affairs, in what Hall would later describe as a 'tough encounter' as he and Sloman 'pushed Bashir hard on the details because we were very concerned he had lied to the BBC'.

Under pressure, Bashir eventually crumbled and admitted, yes, he had lied about what he'd done with the forged documents he'd ordered from a BBC graphic artist.

'By the end of the meeting,' Hall reported, 'Bashir was in tears and came across as completely remorseful.'

The Martin Bashir interview with Princess Diana in 1995 which used mock up bank statements to get her speak

Andy Webb tells in devastating detail how the Martin Bashir scandal cannot have come at a worse time for the beleaguered BBC

Diana's brother Ear Spencer, pictured last year, took his story to the Daily Mail. 'EARL SPENCER: BBC'S VILE SLURS TO ENTRAP DIANA' was the front-page headline

He and Sloman accepted that Bashir was sorry, believing he was telling them the truth. Later, it would transpire that during that tearful interview he had been trotting out still more lies, which Hall and Sloman, despite being among the most senior and highly paid journalists in the UK, did not spot.

And so, apart from Sloman writing her memo  which ended with the chilling observation that 'the Diana story is probably now dead, unless [Charles] Spencer talks'  they did nothing. The small knot of senior BBC executives charged with managing the scandal thought they had weathered the storm.

But one critical encounter was still looming. The final test would be a meeting of the BBC Board of Governors the following week. The task of addressing the 12 men and women  two lords, three knights, business titans, academics  in the ornate council chamber of New Broadcasting House fell to Hall.

He had prepared notes for the meeting, which I was finally able to extract from the BBC after a long, drawn-out battle using the Freedom of Information Act. What these notes leave out is as instructive as what they actually say.

Hall  who at this point knew beyond doubt that Bashir had passed off his forgeries to Charles Spencer as genuine documents, had lied about doing so three times, but then been forced to confess  drew up a statement in preparation for the governors' meeting saying not that, but something else instead: 'I have talked to Martin, and others involved, and I am satisfied of the following points: the graphic had no part whatsoever in gaining the interview with the Princess of Wales.

'I have talked to Martin at length about his reasons for compiling the graphic: he has none, other than he wasn't thinking.

'I believe he is, even with his lapse, honest and an honourable man. He is contrite.'

Hall then went on to demonstrate to the governors that, having satisfied himself about Bashir's honesty, tough action would be taken regarding someone else.

Diana and the then-Prince Charles pictured in 1991 in Toronto, Canada

Princess Di - pictured in Liverpool in November 1995

Matt Wiessler would be blacklisted: 'We are taking steps to ensure that the graphic designer involved  Matthew Wiessler  will not work for the BBC again.' It was Wiessler who had blown the whistle on Bashir's duplicity in an article in The Mail on Sunday and now, shamefully, he was the one person made to carry the can.

This was when the whole truth might have been told. But it was not. The BBC governors were the people appointed to keep an eye on the men and women who actually made the TV and radio programmes. But these watchdogs did not growl, much less bite.

Of the 12 governors present on that Thursday morning the chairman Sir Christopher Bland and three others are dead. The youngest survivor, now aged 81, is the distinguished theatre director Sir Richard Eyre, who years later confirmed: 'The fact that Bashir lied should have been made clear to us, but it never was.'

I asked Sir Richard what the result would have been had Hall told the whole truth about what he knew: that Bashir had commissioned forged documents, passed them off as genuine to Spencer and then lied about his actions.

Sir Richard's reply was unequivocal: 'There is no question that the governors would have insisted on a full-scale inquiry had they been aware of the circumstances.'

An inquiry would eventually take place but not for another quarter of a century, by which time the interview's damage had been done and Diana was dead, having shrugged off her royal protection team and foolishly put her security in the hands of playboy Dodi Fayed, with fatal consequences. And so the intervention of this former BBC governor is crucial.

Here is confirmation that had Hall not covered up what he knew in April 1996, then Charles Spencer would have been alerted to Bashir's duplicity. In turn, Diana would almost certainly have received a briefing on the hoax that had been perpetrated  and history would undoubtedly have been different.

It is that realisation which today members of Diana's family find maddening and utterly heartbreaking.

Charles and Diana in 1985

Princess Di in November 1995

Diana during the interview

Curiously, there is another person who complains he was not told the whole truth at the earliest opportunity  the director-general John Birt. He was emphatic that he had not been briefed by Hall on Bashir's lying.

This was the same John Birt who had a close relationship with Hall and had messaged him before the board meeting reminding him that they 'needed to be clear about the matters we have been discussing'.

Later, in evidence to a House of Commons committee, Birt (by then Lord Birt, having been ennobled) said he was never made aware of Bashir's deceptions at the time and was 'greatly shocked' when he was eventually told.

But in the words of an unimpeachable source, who was in the room when Birt was briefed on the scandal: 'It was impossible for him to know nothing of Bashir's lies.'

Birt's extraordinary testimony also asks us to accept that he remained ignorant of vital matters already known and extensively discussed among other senior BBC executives.

It is clear from Sloman's memo that behind the scenes at the BBC, for five months there was constant fire-fighting as details seemed likely to burst into the public domain.

It seems odd Birt would have missed this, especially given that he was a very hands-on DG, often criticised for micromanaging the most mundane aspects of BBC affairs.

We are also asked to believe that Hall, having learned the terrifying news that Panorama harboured a reporter who was both a forger and a serial liar, did not tell his boss and did not follow one of the basic tenets drilled into every BBC employee always to refer up.

But now the matter was all apparently resolved. At stake had been the very reputation of the BBC. If it had come clean and admitted that the Diana interview on Panorama  its prestige current affairs programme since 1953 and the world's longest-running television news magazine  had been obtained by deception, not only would heads have rolled but trust in the whole organisation would have been seriously undermined, perhaps never to recover.

To protect itself, the BBC took the decision to protect Bashir, a man they knew to be a liar. With a collective sigh of relief, the management team handling the crisis could put the whole scandal to bed and hope it would never arise again.

But it did arise again, and of its own making. In 2005, the BBC had apparently put aside any lingering misgivings about the Panorama interview and commissioned a special documentary to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the original broadcast. It seems to have been prompted by an unquenchable desire for certain BBC bosses to relive what they still believed was their finest hour.

It was a rash decision. Sloman had ended her memo back in 1996 describing the Diana story as dead with the proviso, 'unless Spencer talks', referring to Charles Spencer, who could settle once and for all what Bashir had told him and shown him.

A decade earlier he had chosen to say nothing. Now his moment had come. Asked to take part in the documentary, he wrote back in a letter he copied to the director-general, Mark Thompson: 'I cannot believe that you're celebrating such an appalling moment in the BBC's history. Panorama's role was less than honest, the interview was obtained by dishonesty and I have all the documentary evidence to prove that.'

Thompson  a hot shot who had been brought to the BBC by Birt  did not respond.

He says today that the letter never reached his desk. But Spencer has been able to prove that his letter received serious consideration within the BBC. A stamp showed it was classed as 'Governance and Accountability Correspondence'. But still he got the brush-off.

Had Thompson or the documentary makers responded in 2005, then the hoaxing of Diana would have been revealed at a much earlier date. It would also probably have taken its toll on the careers of several people then still in powerful positions.

Hall's later appointment as BBC director-general  and elevation to the House of Lords in 2010 to sit alongside his old boss Lord Birt  would have been very unlikely.

Despite Spencer's objections, the documentary The Princess And Panorama went ahead. It was an extraordinary bit of film-making in which Hall described Bashir as 'the sort of interviewer people trust'. Bashir, though, was a notable absence in the celebratory line-up.

The documentary, though, did have the effect of renewing my own interest in the case.

There had been a number of carefully sourced and authoritative books exploring how Bashir had obtained the interview, the forgeries and so on. It seemed to me astonishing that this information was so glaringly in the public domain and that nobody seemed to care.

How had Bashir not been collared and brought to account?

So I put a new set of questions to the BBC, requesting under the Freedom of Information Act details of Hall and Sloman's questioning of Bashir. The BBC replied that it did not hold the information I'd asked for.

Yet it is beyond doubt that it did have detailed notes, minutes and reports on all of this, including

Sloman's eight-page memo detailing the complete process. A copy sits on my desk right now. But if the BBC has decided simply to lie, what can one do?

Over the following years I continued to build up a research file, a little bit here, a bit there. It seemed, though, that Bashir had acquired what I call 'protective notoriety'  where a famous person tainted with scandal manages to prevent the full story emerging, as with Jimmy Savile, for example.

Bashir was back in the fold at the BBC as, of all things, its editor of religion, an appointment beyond satire.

But eventually the Bashir time bomb, which since 1995 had been ever so quietly ticking, burst in a thunderous detonation in 2020. It was 25 years now since the iconic interview and, to mark the anniversary, three documentaries were being made about it, including one by me for Channel 4.

I knew there were many among the BBC staff who had witnessed the cover-up of the Bashir scandal over the years and been appalled. They were incensed that this proven scoundrel had been eased into a highly paid job.

I tipped off the Sunday Times about this unrest and its reporters managed to establish from Charles Spencer that Bashir had shown him the forged bank statements. After years of denials, the BBC finally admitted this was true.

Again I pressed the BBC to release all the documents it had on the affair, particularly about that meeting where Bashir had confessed to Hall and Sloman. I was told now that it had the relevant documents  which it had denied when I first asked 13 years earlier  but would not release them.

It was stalemate. The BBC accepted that there were documents showing that Bashir was a serial liar but it decided not to reveal them, instead giving every indication still that everything that had gone on was above board.

Then, finally, the organisation appeared to decide to help me with my documentary, admittedly in a somewhat sly way.

At 12.58pm on Monday, October 19, 2020, a BBC employee sent me an email, in a plan thrashed out by the corporation's top-most managers and lawyers. What they did not know was that this email would plunge the BBC into the greatest crisis in its 100-year history.

The email comprised a five-page covering letter, but intriguingly also a separate PDF file. Sixty-seven pages of documents, scanned from internal BBC memos and reports a quarter of a century old, many marked 'confidential'.

As I began to flip through the documents I was puzzled. What had I now been sent and why? It was when I reached page 43 that I stopped dead. What was written there, partly obscured by heavy black redactions, was extraordinary. It could not be true.

It was a note prepared by Hall for his appearance before the BBC governors suggesting that it was Spencer who had shown Bashir the controversial bank documents and not the other way round.

At that board meeting on April 25, 1996, Hall had apparently pointed the finger at Spencer, assuring 12 of the country's great and good that he had helped Bashir produce the forgeries. And now the BBC felt confident enough, 24 years later, to brief me in the expectation that I would in turn let the world know in my documentary.

I put the allegation to Spencer who, when I had last approached him two months earlier, to ask if he would take part in my documentary, had politely declined. His reaction to the screenshot I sent him of the redacted email was explosive. He was outraged. 'I did no such thing.' The BBC was lying.

Over the next 40 minutes on the phone, Spencer unfolded the full amazing story.

Quoting precise dates and timings, he told me how Martin Bashir had spoken of a plot by Prince Charles to murder not only Diana but the rest of the Spencer family too; the lies about Charles having an affair with Tiggy Legge-Bourke, that Diana's private secretary Patrick Jephson was working for MI5, that she was bugged and followed, that the whole world was plotting against her.

He was reading from notes he had himself recorded at that extraordinary first meeting between Bashir and Diana in September 1995  the one in which Diana had been mesmerised into thinking she was indeed the victim of a conspiracy and would therefore allow Bashir to interview her.

When I came off the phone, I had conflicting stories about those forged bank statements and opposite accounts about from where the forged bank statements had come  one from the BBC, and one from Spencer. Both were sensational but they couldn't both be true. I had to choose which one to use in the documentary I was about to finish and air.

Common sense told me that, if Spencer had indeed done what the BBC claimed, he would now surely just be lying low, ignoring my approach to him? That's what you'd do if you had a secret to hide.

So I went with my gut. The story from Lord Hall's report was not true. Earl Spencer's story was.

My expectation was that, when my documentary was aired, the BBC would have no choice but to launch a full public inquiry.

But even when I told them in detail the astonishing background story  all the lies that Charles Spencer had heard Bashir telling Diana  the BBC responded: 'The BBC does not intend to take further action on events which happened 25 years ago.'

Once again, it was circling the wagons and hoping to get away with it.

But Spencer had had enough by now. He went directly to the BBC to report what Bashir had done and in a letter to the then director-general Tim Davie, urged it to investigate.

He wrote: 'It is astounding to me that I was not contacted at that time, so that senior figures in the BBC could hear my version of events. It leads me to suspect that the truth was not being sought.'

Spencer's email was truly chilling stuff, the sort to which the only appropriate response is, 'Stay right there. I'm coming over!' Instead, the reply came a day and a half later. It said: 'Dear Charles, Thank you for the email, I wanted to confirm receipt. I will get a response back to you over the coming days. Best regards, Tim.'

But Spencer was not so easily put off. More emails followed back and forth in the coming days, until he got a full response. Gone was the chummy tone of 'Tim's' previous notes. This 900-word email bore every sign of having been composed by a team of BBC lawyers.

If it was an attempt to silence the increasingly furious Spencer, it would fail, dramatically. Davie had written: 'Unfortunately, the account you give does not accord with the account that Mr Bashir gave the BBC at the time.'

Excuse me? Was that the same Mr Bashir who had lied to the BBC  not once but three times  about these events in 1996? It was, but Mr Bashir's story was apparently easier for Davie to swallow than the story being told to him now by Princess Diana's brother.

For Spencer, that was it. Now the gloves would come off. He said to me: 'It was outrageous. It's absolutely clear that they thought if they could just see me off till after the 25th anniversary of the programme, they could get away with it. When they made it clear they weren't going to help, I thought, 'Well, it's got to come out.'

Spencer took his story to the Daily Mail. 'EARL SPENCER: BBC'S VILE SLURS TO ENTRAP DIANA' was the front-page headline, followed by page after page of detail inside. Here at last was the evidence about Bashir which Spencer had patiently offered to bring to the BBC, time and again, privately, in a grown-up way.

And so  at last  the BBC sprang into action. Davie offered a meeting with Spencer. But it was too late to stop the Press onslaught led by the Daily Mail.

Inside the BBC bunker a crisis group were huddled virtually, linked by email, as the press office pinged each of them a ghastly screenshot of the latest Daily Mail story. One commented: 'These front pages are like a parallel universe where it's still the 1990s.'

But no they weren't. Those revelations about Bashir's entrapment of Diana never did make front page news in the 1990s. Because he had got away with it. The BBC had covered up for him.

After seven days' brutal pounding, the BBC could take no more. Buckling under the intense pressure, the decision was finally taken inside the organisation to find out exactly how Diana was hoaxed into giving her Panorama interview 25 years ago.

Yes, there would be an inquiry.

Davie announced: 'The BBC is determined to get to the truth about these events and that is why we have commissioned an independent investigation. Lord Dyson is an eminent and highly respected figure who will lead a thorough process.'

But was Dyson that thorough? Did he get to the whole truth? I don't think so  as I will explain in tomorrow's Daily Mail.

Adapted from Dianarama by Andy Webb (Michael Joseph, 22), to be published November 20.  Andy Webb 2025. To order a copy for 19.80 (offer valid to 22/11/2025; UK P&P free on orders over 25) go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937.
The Sussexes were seen arriving at Jeff Bezos' mansion in Beverly Hills

Meghan Markle dressed to impress as she attended Kris Jenner's birthday party on Saturday night - donning more than $10,500 in accessories alone.

The Duchess of Sussex, 44, and her husband Prince Harry, 41, joined a parade of world-famous names for the exclusive James Bond-themed bash, held at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's $165million Beverly Hills mansion, according to TMZ.

The former royal's take on the theme included a chic high-neck black top and maxi skirt with a slit up the thigh, believed to be Kardashian-approved Balenciaga.

But it was her jewellery and accessories that stole the show, with Meghan wearing a series of statement pieces from Aquazzura, a luxury Italian brand she's been a fan of for many years, even before her wedding to Harry.

Meghan paired the brand's chunky $625 love link earrings with their velvet bow tie clutch ($2,360) in the colour espresso, and matching heels ($1,105), also embellished with a bow.

The Duchess also wore a couple of her beloved staple pieces, including her $6,446 Cartier Love Bracelet, and what appeared to be her $160,000 engagement ring.

Unlike her husband, however, who wore a red poppy pinned to his tuxedo, Meghan's pricey ensemble appeared to be missing the symbol of remembrance.

The pair's fun-filled evening was worlds away from the solemn occurrences that took place in the UK on Remembrance Sunday - an event that, prior to relinquishing his royal role in 2020, Harry would have been expected to attend and lay a wreath at Whitehall.

Meghan Markle dressed to impress as she attended Kris Jenner's birthday party on Saturday night (pictured) - donning more than 170,000 worth of clothing and jewellery

The Duchess of Sussex, 44, and her husband Prince Harry, 41, joined a parade of world-famous names for the exclusive James Bond-themed bash

Indeed, Meghan's look needed to be a versatile one, as just hours before Kris's party, they attended the Baby2Baby annual gala with Meghan's long-time friend, Serena Williams.

The Sussexes have supported the non-profit organisation for several years through their Archewell Foundation.

Baby2Baby gala provides children in need across America with diapers, clothing, and other basic necessities - and Saturday's lavish gala single-handedly raises millions of dollars each year to make the non-profit's work feasible, its website claims.

Meghan also took a photo opportunity with the Baby2Baby co-CEOs, Norah Weinstein and Kelly Sawyer Patricof, who were both named among Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2024.

Later, as they arrived for an evening of James Bond-themed celebrations, Harry entered the venue walking slightly ahead of Meghan, who trailed just behind him, aglow with an ear-to-ear smile.

They were joined by the world's best known A-listers including Sarah Paulson, Naomi Watts, Martha Stewart and, of course, the Kardashian sisters.

Talking to the Daily Mail about the Sussexes' entrance, UK body language expert Judi James explained that Harry longed to protect his wife from paparazzi, taking a serious approach, and allowing the attention to be on a 'radiant' Meghan.

The expert said that Harry and Meghan's ritual here is 'more old-school A-list', with a rather serious and focused-looking Harry towing Meghan along like her personal bodyguard.

'In star terms, this reflects her return to the big screen as an actress, while he seems to be back in 'Spare' mode here.

On Saturday, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex smiled with Serena Williams at Saturday's Baby2Baby charity gala - hours before attending the 70th birthday bash

Meghan, who smiled alongside Serena Williams at the event, wore a tight black top and mid-length skirt

'Harry's expressionless mode directs the attention to his wife here, although his ritual is one favored by the likes of Travis Kelce, with the outstretched arm held behind and away from his torso to suggest muscle power, and with his hand gripped around Meghan's in a similar 'Big Paw' Travis grasp that speaks of a desire to protect as they go past the press.'

The expert referred to the announcement made last week that Meghan is to return to acting and will make a cameo as herself in a new film, Close Personal Friends, alongside Lily Collins, Brie Larson and Jack Quaid.

Meghan is best known for her role as Rachel Zane in the hit US TV drama Suits, but she also had Hollywood roles in Horrible Bosses, Get Him To The Greek and Remember Me.

She was also once a 'briefcase girl'  one of the models who hold suitcases full of cash  on the US version of Deal Or No Deal.

Meghan's attendance at Kris Jenner's party comes amid rumours that the Duchess could be set to launch a Kardashian-style 'mega brand' after she was spotted cosying up to the British Dragon's Den star who masterminded Kim's hugely popular Skims range.

Multi-millionaire Emma Grede shared a flurry of posts featuring Meghan as the 'star guest' at her Los Angeles dinner on Instagram last month.

Pictured (from L to R): Kelly Sawyer Patricof, Co-CEO, Baby2Baby, Serena Williams, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Norah Weinstein, Co-CEO, Baby2Baby at the 2025 Baby2Baby Gala

PR experts speculated the posts were an indication that Prince Harry's wife is leaning on the businesswoman's years of expertise ahead of launching a new venture.

The Duchess was photographed attending Emma's vegan banquet, which celebrated women 'owning their power' and helping 'each other get s**t done'.

Rumours of a potential new venture for the Duchess spread last month after she posted two clips on Instagram showing her applying lipstick  with the brand names obscured.

It's a 'tell-tale sign' she may be gearing up to promote her own range, industry sources said at the time.

One told The Mail on Sunday: 'On her Instagram reel, the make-up lined up on her dressing table was unbranded or had the brand labels obscured, which felt deliberate.

'That's a tell-tale sign Meghan has something in the pipeline. The fact she didn't want to promote or reveal any other brand is a big clue that she's gearing up to promote her own range eventually  it is a sign for industry insiders.'
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Each year, the Princess of Wales attends the Remembrance Festival in an ensemble that strikes the perfect balance between elegance and reverence.

This year was no exception, as Kate chose a sophisticated new dress by one of her go-to designers, Alessandra Rich.

Her black Envers midi dress, complete with a contrasting lace-trimmed collar, bow detailing and a flattering peplum waist, delivered a masterclass in timeless style.

Kate complemented the look with recycled accessories: Gianvito Rossi court shoes, a Mulberry clutch, and Queen Elizabeth II's Bahrain pearl earrings.

The best part? Her exact dress is still available to buy - and it's currently on sale. It's a true investment piece, one that promises to outlast fleeting trends and remain a wardrobe classic for years to come.

If you prefer a more accessible price point, explore our edit of high street alternatives that capture Kate's impeccable style.

Or, for a regal refresh of your favourite black dress, try adding a statement collar - the easiest way to channel the Princess' polished aesthetic.

Shop the best of the rest

Shop detachable collars
The pictures of Princess Beatrice regally holding court at an exclusive tea party for filthy rich Saudi investors at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton last month are proof to me that both she and her sister Eugenie should now be stripped of their royal titles by King Charles and his heir, William.

I say this not just because it is crucial for the very survival of the monarchy, which is only just starting to recover from those humiliating revelations about their parents Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and Fergies relationship with the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. But also because removing the Princesses royal titles would be the kindest thing to do for them  since, as Beatrices Saudi jaunt proves, their HRH status will only end in scrutiny, tears and then most likely abject humiliation.

It may sound cruel, but let me explain. The photographs of Beatrice that emerged this week  taken just days before it was announced her father would be stripped of his royal titles and honours and ordered to leave his longtime residence, Royal Lodge  prove that, in a modern Britain, it is no longer possible to pursue both royal duty and lucrative business interests  especially where foreign autocracies are involved.

The mother-of-two, who is involved in software companies, was shown wearing a long black dress with matching pumps and a black bow in her hair, leading the event for women business leaders.

The invitation cards announced: We cordially invite you to Afternoon Tea hosted by Princess Beatrice of York, along with Canadian wellness entrepreneur Ruma Bose, and a US-based organisation called the Lioness Collective.

How she arrived in Saudi Arabia  by scheduled airline or private jet  is not known, nor what fee, if any, she was paid for the gig. Still, she was certainly treated as a VIP by the assembled royals, energy bosses and high-powered bankers, with podcaster Sunil Sharma posing for a selfie with her in the hotel.

Princess Beatrice hosted an exclusive tea party for Saudi investors at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton last month

'As Beatrice should know from the fate of her parents, you cant immerse yourself in the world of high finance one day and then represent the Royal Family the next,' says Amanda Platell. Pictured: Beatrice and Eugenie with their parents at the 102 Dalmatians premiere in 2000

As Beatrice should know from the fate of her parents, you cant immerse yourself in the world of high finance one day and then represent the Royal Family the next, especially at a time of existential crisis for the monarchy.

I fear she may have inherited her parents pig-headed obliviousness to public mood, unaware that such ill-conceived events only expose the royals to scandal, as the ludicrous tea party with a princess last month certainly did. The optics were terrible: Princess Beatrice fawning over some of the states most wealthy citizens at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton, the hotel notorious for being central to the Arab states violent purge of hundreds of its most powerful royals, tycoons and ministers in 2017. From this very hotel emerged some of the most disturbing scenes of Saudis old guard being beaten and tortured. So what was Beatrice thinking?

Her presence was only made more unpalatable by the memories of her fathers frequent visits to the country as UK trade envoy.

Andrew was often accused of using the role not to boost Britains trade relationships, but to feather his own nest  with critics pointing out that many of his official trips coincided with the weekends of F1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi or Bahrain. Id hate for Beatrice to be accused of following in her disgraced dads footsteps.

After Andrew and Fergie gave up their royal titles last month, I wrote that the King should also strip his nieces, Beatrice and Eugenie of their HRHs in order to complete the cleansing process and that they should completely disappear from royal life.

My opinion was not popular. Online readers replied arguing the young women should not be punished for the sins of their parents.

That may be true. But, as the late Queen so firmly insisted back when Meghan and Harry wanted a half-in-half-out royal role, there is and never will be such an arrangement. Youre either in the Firm as a full-time working role or youre out of it.

The afternoon tea invitations billed the event as offering the chance to share 'insights and bold ideas for investing in women, wellness and the next generation of leaders'

'If Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie want to continue courting interests in the Middle East, they should not use their royal titles,' writes Amanda Platell

If Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie  who have also made several visits to the region  want to continue courting interests in the Middle East, they should not use their royal titles.

Why cant they take a leaf out of Zara Tindalls book? Her mother, Princess Anne wisely chose for her children not to receive HRHs and to make their own way in the world.

And look where they are now: Olympic equestrian Zara and her ex-England rugby playing husband Mike Tindall have carved a fine and lucrative life for themselves and their three young children.

The royal expert Ingrid Seward suspects both Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice are waiting in the wings to further ingratiate themselves and take on more royal duties as their cousin Prince William prepares for his future as King.

But however fond William is of his cousins and however painful it may be, it is for their sake and his future as King that Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie become respectively Mrs Mapelli Mozzi and Mrs Brooksbank, just as their father is now plain Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

If they have any common sense, they would give up their HRH status willingly. The world would think a great deal more of them  and, without the pressure and scrutiny that being an HRH brings, they might even be happier.

Although, as Yorks, daughters of the most capricious, disgraced, money-grabbing royals in recent history, I am not holding my breath.
Meghan Markle has revealed that her holiday special will be airing on Netflix on December 3.

The Duchess of Sussex made the announcement on Instagram, sharing a glossy promotional shot of herself putting on a festive spread.

Wearing an emerald green gown, the mother-of-two was photographed placing ornate Christmas decorations for a Yuletide feast.

'Embrace traditions and make new ones this holiday season,' the caption read. 'With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration arrives December 3rd on Netflix.'

The streaming giant has already aired two seasons of the show, touting a selection of cooking and hosting 'tips' from the ex-working royal.

Previous A-lister guests have included the likes of Chrissy Teigen and Mindy Kaling, as well as members of the Sussexes' 'Montecito Crew', such as Abigail Spencer.

However, the date may raise eyebrows as it clashes with a major event set to be held by King Charles, who will be hosting a state visit from the President of Germany at Windsor Castle on that day.

The post comes just one day after she and Prince Harry were spotted at Kris Jenner's James Bond-themed birthday bash, while the Royal Family stepped out for emotional scenes for Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph in London's Whitehall.

King Charles led members of the firm, including the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, in a two-minute silence to honour fallen soldiers who lost their lives in conflict.

Meghan Markle has revealed that her holiday special will be airing on Netflix on December 3

Meghan Markle opens up about her family a number of times in the lifestyle show, which features cooking, crafting and hosting tips

The special will follow a similar style to her Netflix series, which was hit with scathing reviews in August when the second season dropped.

Season two of With Love, Meghan was panned as 'marginally less mad but more needy' than its predecessor - despite pulling in millions of viewers in its debut run.

The Mail's Liz Jones branded the new season 'staged, fake and dull' - but unlike other critics, commended Meghan for being 'genuinely earnest'.

The Guardian dismissed the show as 'so boring' and 'so contrived', while The Telegraph described the Duchess as a 'Montecito Marie Antoinette'.

The Times was equally cutting, calling the eight-part show 'a series in search of a meaning, fronted by a woman in need of some cash'.

Even with celebrity guests including Chrissy Teigen, John Legend and Tan France, critics argue the show lacks substance - and claim Meghan failed to be authentic.

The Duchess is seen baking several times throughout the show, preparing sourdough for her friend Teigen and using ready-made puff pastry to create McDonald's apple pies with France.

But she admits to chef Christina Tosi: 'Usually, I don't like baking because it's so measured.' Meghan's As Ever range launched in March includes ready-made shortbread cookies and crepe mixes with pre-measured amounts.

Model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen turned up with her husband, the singer-songwriter John Legend, in the series

Preparing her apple pies, which she claims she used to get from McDonald's after successful acting auditions, Meghan says: 'Let's get our puff pastry ready. We're going to use pre-made, good puff pastry as opposed to making our dough from scratch.'

The Duchess adds later: 'I love the idea of being able to rethink baking to be just a little more spontaneous.'

Meghan also told viewers about her love story with Harry, revealing it was him who said the 'L word' first.

She added that she really understood she was falling in love with 'H' on their third date, which was a safari trip to Botswana.
More than a quarter of five-year-olds in England still have rotten teeth, a damning report reveals.

Rates of tooth decay in young children remain very poor despite a range of interventions, health experts warn today.

It comes one year since the unacceptable state of childrens oral health was first exposed, prompting the government to take urgent action.

And while there has been some improvement, millions of children are still suffering from entirely preventable issues, figures show.

Analysis of the latest government data reveals that 26.9 per cent of five-year-olds in England have tooth decay  a condition caused by a breakdown of the tooths surface often linked to having too much sugary food and drink.

Researchers also discovered that children living in the most deprived areas of England are more than twice as likely to experience decay as those living in the least deprived areas.

Some areas are especially hard hit. In West Yorkshire, for example, 950 school days were lost for dental reasons across nine schools in just one academic year.

The report, titled Improving Childrens Oral Health Update, was compiled by scientists from the Universities of Leeds and Sheffield as part of the Child of the North initiative.

Millions of children are still suffering from entirely preventable issues, figures show (stock image)

In it, they commend government action taken in the past year to improve childrens oral health, including the introduction of a national supervised toothbrushing programme.

There have also been bans on both the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children and on junk food advertising before 9pm.

But they also warned that childrens access to NHS dentists is still very poor.

Professor Mark Mon-Williams, who edited the report, said: The number of children with rotten teeth is a powerful indicator of the wider decay in child wellbeing that is affecting millions of young lives across the UK.

Baroness Anne Longfield, founder of the Centre for Young Lives, welcomed the action taken by the government in recent months.

But she added: The reality is that far too many children continue to suffer the effects of poor oral health, particularly in areas of higher deprivation.

We need to take evidence-based action and develop a national plan to tackle a rotten teeth crisis affecting millions of our children.

Earlier this year health ministers announced that children in the most deprived areas of England would get access to a supervised toothbrushing programme in a bid to tackle tooth decay.

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The scheme was designed to help up to 600,000 children develop positive brushing habits and since launching in March, has been rolled out to 240,000 youngsters across nurseries and primary schools.

Other initiatives include the expansion of water fluoridation across the North-East of England to help prevent tooth decay.

In September, figures revealed tooth decay is the leading cause of hospital admissions among children aged five to nine in England.

The data, published by NHS England, showed that 21,162 children aged 5 to 9 were admitted to hospital in 2024/2025 due to tooth decay, compared to 13,667 children admitted for acute tonsillitis, making decay the leading cause of hospital admissions in this age group.

At the time Dr Charlotte Eckhardt, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of England said: These figures are a public health emergency.

Tooth decay is entirely preventable, yet thousands of children are hospitalised every year for procedures that could have been avoided with simple daily habits and better access to an NHS dentist. The governments dental contract must be boldly overhauled if they want to improve patient access and outcomes.

A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: 'This government inherited a broken NHS dental system after years of neglect, but we are getting on with fixing it through our Plan for Change. We have already begun the rollout of 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments, and we are reforming the NHS dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

'We are also rolling out supervised tooth brushing for three-to-five year-olds in the most deprived communities and have partnered with industry to provide millions of free dental products to families, because prevention is better than cure.'
It's a rite of passage that's regularly frowned upon  but drinking with friends in your late teens could boost career prospects, a controversial study claims.

Experts have discovered that those who take part in communal binges as youngsters go on to earn more money later in life.

Despite a raft of evidence citing the perils of binge drinking, a new study suggests there are some benefits to enjoying alcohol.

But specialists have urged caution over the findings  warning that even small amounts of alcohol can have significant negative effects on health.

As part of a study, Willy Pedersen, a sociology professor at the University of Oslo, tracked the drinking habits of more than 3,000 Norwegians aged 13 to 31 for 18 years.

Analysis revealed those who started regularly binge drinking in their late teens and 20s were later found to have higher levels of education and income compared to those who abstained or drank very little.

'The statistical findings are quite strong, so clearly significant,' Professor Pedersen told The Times.

'The most likely explanation is that all alcohol is a kind of marker of sociality and that habit comes with some types of benefits.'

Despite a raft of evidence citing the perils of binge drinking, a new study suggests there are some benefits from enjoying alcohol with friends (file image)

The Bullingdon Club, said to have inspired the 2014 film The Riot Club (pictured), has a long history of excessive drinking but has produced several prime ministers

In his book, The Beauty and Pain of Drugs, Professor Pedersen points to the Bullingdon Club at Oxford University as an example.

The private allmale institution is known for its raucous behaviour and has a long history of excessive drinking.

However, it has also produced three former prime ministers, including Boris Johnson.

It is possible that young people who are already on promising career paths and who come from wealthy backgrounds are more willing and able to drink in excess.

But Professor Pedersen says he believes alcohol also makes people more sociable and open to networking.

In a column titled 'Those who drink the most will earn the most', published last month in the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, he wrote: 'Alcohol has major harmful effects, but it also brings joy.

'Alcohol intoxication can make us "lower our guard", and that can be useful in many areas of life.'

He explained that drinking can help students integrate into communities at universities, while previous studies have shown drinking wine with dinner can be useful in business.

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However, he also acknowledged that alcohol use has a 'staggering cost' including traffic accidents, violence, an increased risk of liver and cardiovascular disease, dementia, cancer and depression'.

'There is no lower limit for "safe use" and the risk increases with the amount of consumption,' he added.

He also warned there is no evidence alcoholism itself is a sensible career strategy, and discouraged people from drinking on their own.

Commenting on the study Paolo Deluca, professor of addiction research at King's College London, told the Daily Mail: 'In Norway, as in many other countries, socioeconomic status remains one of the strongest predictors of future success, making it likely that the reported association between heavy drinking and later achievement reflects differences in wealth and opportunity, rather than the social effects of alcohol itself.

'Taken together, these findings suggest that any apparent "benefit" of youthful binge drinking is more plausibly a reflection of privilege and social context, not a positive causal effect of alcohol.

'Moreover, binge drinking remains linked to increased risks of accidents, injuries, and mental health harms, which far outweigh any speculative networking advantages.'

Psychotherapist Fiona Yassin has previously warned of the dangers of teens drinking too much when they go to university, saying: 'Young people might drink to feel involved and motivated, but then feel horrible because of the alcohol and end up stuck in their room, and the fear that theyd be lonely becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.'

She told parents to look out for signs their child is over-indulging, including a change in weight, ploughing through their money and increased anxiousness.

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She also warned that teenage binge drinking can impact friendships, make youngsters become more verbally aggressive and make them appear more dishevelled.

Meanwhile, experts have warned that one in three children in England have now tried alcohol by the age of just 11.

A World Health Organisation (WHO) commissioned report revealed that England has the highest rate of childhood drinking across 44 countries.

Health chiefs warned middle-class parents who normalise alcohol are party responsible for soaring rates of under-age drinking, and said more must be done to protect youngsters.

Dr Katherine Severi, chief executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies, said: 'People tend to have this perception that introducing children to moderate drinking is a good way of teaching them safer drinking habits.

'This is untrue. The earlier a child drinks, the more likely they are to develop problems with alcohol in later life.

'A pro-alcohol environment leads to the normalisation of drinking and "cultural blindness" to alcohol harm among children. That's true even with moderate parental drinking.

'And as more affluent people tend to drink more, this normalisation will be especially true, which is likely why we see higher rates of drinking in children from affluent families.'
Around 4,500 years after it was constructed, scientists think they've located the remains of a hidden entrance at a historic pyramid in Egypt.

Built around 2510 BC and standing nearly 200 feet tall, Pyramid of Menkaure is the smallest of the three main pyramids of the famous Giza complex.

It was built to serve as the tomb of the King Menkaure, the Fourth Dynasty king whose sarcophagus mysteriously went missing.

Researchers in Egypt and Germany have used high-tech scanning methods to peer behind the pyramid's historic granite bricks.

They report that there are two hidden air-filled anomalies which suggest a hidden entrance undetected in the modern era until now.

Christian Grosse, professor of non-destructive testing at Technical University of Munich (TUM), called it 'an important finding in Giza'.

'The testing methodology we developed allows very precise conclusions to be drawn about the nature of the pyramid's interior,' he said.

'The hypothesis of another entrance is very plausible, and our results take us a big step closer to confirming it.'

Around 4,500 years after it was constructed, scientists think they've located the remains of a hidden entrance at a historic pyramid in Egypt

Pyramid of Menkaure, - the smallest of the three main pyramids of the Giza pyramid complex, standing at nearly 200 feet tall - had a second entrance, experts think. In this photo, the northern side (featuring the primary entrance) is in shadow. The southern side is illuminated by sunlight. Also seen are three much smaller pyramids known as the Queens' Pyramids

The Menkaure pyramid's primary entrance is on its northern side, but experts think the second one is on the eastern side, which faces the River Nile.

In particular, they point to a 13ft by 19ft (four metres high and six metres wide) rectangular area of the eastern side that's close to the ground.

Weirdly, the granite blocks in this area of the eastern facade are 'unusually smooth' as if they'd been rigorously polished millennia ago.

Tellingly, such smooth stones are found at the primary entrance on the northern side  suggesting a second one long existed here too but has been forgotten.

Independent researcher Stijn van den Hoven theorized this possible additional entrance for the first time in 2019, but this has remained a hypothesis  until now.

The experts at Cairo University and Technical University of Munich (TUM) used 'non-invasive' methods  radar, ultrasound and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT)  to peer inside without pulling apart the ancient bricks.

Excitingly, they detected two air-filled voids behind the smooth facade, both of different sizes and at different heights.

One of the air-filled 'anomalies' is located at a depth of 4.5 feet (1.4 metres), measuring 3.2 feet by 4.8 feet (1 metre high by 1.5 metre wide), while the other anomaly is at a depth of 3.7 feet (1.13 metres), measuring 2.9 feet by 2.2 feet (0.9 metres by 0.7 metres).

The research using radar, ultrasound and ERT prove the existence of two air-filled voids underneath the eastern facade, providing initial evidence to support the hypothesis

What is the Pyramid of Menkaure? Pyramid of Menkaure is the smallest of the three main pyramids of the Giza pyramid complex - Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. Built in around 2510 BC, it currently stands at 200 feet (61 metres) tall with a base of 356 feet (108.5 metres). Pyramid of Menkaure is thought to have been built to serve as the tomb of the Fourth Dynasty King Menkaure. Advertisement

Why the two void-filled spaces are arranged exactly like this is puzzling, but together they 'could support the hypothesis of a second entrance'.

The team point out that each technique used in this study has its own limitations, but by using a combination of all three their conclusions are reliable.

Today, tourists can go inside Pyramid of Menkaure and traverse its burial chambers, corridors and other little niches, but a second entrance on the eastern side hints that there could be still undiscovered chambers or passages containing treasures unseen by modern eyes.

However, the interpretation of the detected anomalies should be 'discussed among Egyptologists' before any firm conclusions are made.

Researchers caution it was 'difficult to determine how far the anomalies extend inside the pyramid' due to limitations in the penetration depth of their methods.

Nevertheless, the study published in NDT & E International, marks the first time structural anomalies have been identified behind the distinctive facade on the east side.

It's believed Pyramid of Menkaure was built to serve as the tomb of Menkaure, the Fourth Dynasty king, who died as a young man in 2503 BC for reasons unknown.

Pictured, the location and dimensions of the detected anomalies overlaid on a photograph of the Eastern face of Menkaure

'The hypothesis of an entrance is very plausible': Researchers have identified two air-filled voids in the Menkaure Pyramid by using non-invasive methods

Unfortunately, the sarcophagus within the pyramid was lost at sea nearly 200 years ago during attempts to transport it to the British Museum in London.

The merchant ship carrying it, Beatrice, was mysteriously lost after leaving port at Malta on October 13, 1838.

The Giza complex, west of Cairo, includes the pyramids of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure, along with the Great Sphinx.

All are shrouded in mystery due to their unclear construction methods, precise astronomical alignment, and still-debated purpose.
Brits have flocked to social media to discuss the unusually mild weather  with one claiming 'it's a little too warm for midNovember'.

The start of the month has indeed been 'exceptionally' warm, according to the Met Office, which confirmed that Bonfire Night was recordbreaking.

On November 5, temperatures overnight only dropped to 14.4C in Teddington, London, provisionally making it the mildest Bonfire Night ever recorded.

Hundreds of baffled Brits have flocked to TikTok, with one, @nathan_caselton, asking: 'Why is it so hot in November?'

He added: 'It's the 9th of November and I'm in shorts and a Tshirt, is anyone worried about this?'

Another user, @abbitrotterr, added: 'As much as I dislike winter  it being this warm in November is a tad concerning.'

Now, the Met Office has revealed the combination of factors behind the mild spell.

And if you're yearning to pack away your Tshirts in favour of cosy jumpers, there's good news  cooler conditions are on their way.

Hundreds of baffled Brits have flocked to TikTok , with one, @nathan_caselton, asking: 'Why is it so hot in November?'

The warm weather has caused much confusion across social media over the last few days.

One early riser, @jaykaylaughs, posted a TikTok explaining his surprise at the balmy conditions in the Ribble Valley.

'It's the 7th of November, it's 6 o'clock in the morning, and it's 12C,' he said.

'This is summer for me. I'm out here in a hoodie and my gilet, and I'm sweating.'

Meanwhile, @keira.ashley_ questioned why she was still wearing a Tshirt in November.

She said: 'It is scarily warm for this time of year. I have my window open, I'm in a f***ing Tshirt and it is warm.'

The mild weather started last month, with the average temperature for October 0.7C above the 19912020 average, according to the Met Office.

Then, as we moved through to November, a 'flow of warm air from the south' swept across the UK.

The warm conditions have caused much confusion across social media over the last few days

Record-breaking weather in November Valley, Gwynedd: 14.1C on 6 November, surpassing the previous 13.6C from 2022, with 94 years of records. Chivenor, Devon: 14.8C on 5 November, beating the old record of 14.1C from 1996. Culdrose, Cornwall: 13.8C on 5 November, exceeding the previous 13.6C set in 2010. Leeming, North Yorkshire: 13.7C on 4 November, surpassing 13.6C from 2007. Scolton Country Park, Dyfed: 13.7C on 6 November, breaking the previous 13.2C from 2011. Advertisement

'This southerly pattern, combined with cloudy skies, helped trap warmth overnight, leading to unusually high daily minimum temperatures,' the Met Office explained.

So far, there have been several 'standout' records set in early November.

On 4 November, Leeming, North Yorkshire recorded a minimum temperature of 13.7C  surpassing the previous record of 13.6C, set back in 2007.

The following day, Chivenor, Devon, had a minimum of 14.8C, while Culdrose, Cornwall's lowest temperature was a balmy 13.8C.

Meanwhile, on 6 November, Valley, Gwynedd, recorded its highest minimum temperature (14.1C) in 94 years!

So, why is it so warm?

According to the Met Office, the mild spell has been driven by a combination of factors  warm air from the south, persistent cloud cover, and a lack of cold continental air.

'The North Sea, only slightly cooler than average, played a role in moderating temperatures, especially in eastern areas,' the weather monitoring service explained.

On November 5, temperatures overnight only dropped to 14.4C in Teddington, London, provisionally making it the mildest Bonfire Night ever recorded

So far, there have been several 'standout' records set in early November. For example, on 4 November, Leeming, North Yorkshire recorded a minimum temperature of 13.7C  surpassing the previous record of 13.6C, set back in 2007

'As high pressure builds and winds turn more to the southeast, temperatures are expected to cool, particularly in the east.

'However, the continent is not especially cold at this time of year, so temperatures are likely to return to average levels for November, rather than dropping sharply.'

Looking ahead, the Met Office models suggest much of the UK can expect a 'gradual decline in temperatures'  especially for Brits living in eastern areas.

'After an exceptionally mild spell, conditions are returning to something closer to normal for the time of year,' it added.
Scientists have come up with a bizarre solution to stop children spending too much time on electronics and not taking care of their toys.

But it won't be popular with germaphobes.

The 'organic Tamagotchi', dubbed SquidKid, is filled with bacteria which children must keep alive.

Kids will need to provide food, oxygen, and constant agitation to prevent their bacterial companions from dying.

The toy is inspired by the Hawaiian bobtail squid and its symbiotic relationship with glowing bioluminescent bacteria.

And if children look after their toy correctly, they will be rewarded with a mysterious glow from the thriving bacterial colony.

The toy even features a squeezable tentacle that pumps air into the water.

This not only helps the bacteria stay alive, but also prompts them to glow in a flurry of activity.

The SquidKid is an 'organic Tamagotchi' filled with bioluminescent bacteria that children need to keep alive

Just like the classic 90s toy Tamagotchi, the SquidKid challenges children to look after a pet with very simple needs.

But, unlike the digital creatures found on Tamagotchis, this toy requires looking after something really alive.

Deirdre Ni Chonaill, one of the team from Northeastern University behind SquidKid, described the toy as a miniature 'bioreactor'.

These are essentially controlled environments that maintain the right conditions for bacteria and other microorganisms to grow.

For example, in a brewery, tanks will be heated to the right temperatures for yeast to convert sugars into alcohol.

However, bioreactors are also used in more sophisticated techniques like creating medicines from genetically engineered bacteria.

Mr Ni Chonaill says the idea behind SquidKid was to give children a toy version of a bioreactor that they could keep going for a long period of time.

'Kids don't always treat their toys very well,' he explained.

Just like the 90s sensation Tamagotchi (pictured), SquidKid requires children to look after a pet with very simple needs. The big difference is that these bacteria really are alive

'With Tamagotchi, there are times where if you ignored it, it died. In this case, you're actually killing something.'

All bacteria need to stay alive is oxygen, food, appropriate temperatures, and agitation to keep everything mixed together.

However, even for scientists, keeping bacteria alive and uncontaminated can be tricky.

Bioluminescent bacteria, such as the Vibrio fischeri that give bobtail squid their glow, generally aren't pathogenic.

This means that there's no risk of them creating infections or illnesses in humans.

However, just like in real bioreactors, there is always a chance that the warm, food-rich environment gets hijacked by less friendly microorganisms.

During the development process for SquidKid, the scientists had some 'disastrous' experiments with their early bacterial colonies.

In one incident, the team even needed to use an electron microscope to ensure their bacteria hadn't been infected with E. coli.

SquidKid is inspired by the Hawaiian bobtail squid (pictured), which has a symbiotic relationship with glowing bacteria that allow it to give off light

Most types of E. Coli can live in the human gut without hurting us, but some strains can cause watery diarrhoea, vomiting and a fever.

Understandably, that's not something many parents would be happy about their children playing with.

However, the team behind SquidKid say these issues have been resolved and that the bacteria in the toy shouldn't become infected with unwanted strains.

With these issues resolved, the team says that SquidKid should make a great educational toy.

By keeping the toy alive, children can learn about how bacteria grow and the roles they can play in bioengineering.

Likewise, the researchers hope that the squid-based design will inspire children to think more about the amazing science of symbiosis in the real world.

Katia Zolotovsky, assistant professor of Design and Biotechnology at Northeastern University, says: 'SquidKid, it's not only microbiology.

'It's also teaching kids how to take care of the environment and then learn biology, mutualism and environmental interdependence.'

If the bacteria are looked after correctly, they will produce a ghostly blue glow. The toy even has a squeezable tentacle to inject oxygen, prompting the bacteria to glow (stock image)

The researchers behind SquidKid describe it as an educational toy that will teach children about bacteria and symbiotic relationships

If that sounds like the perfect Christmas gift for a science-mad kid, the bad news is that SquidKid is just a prototype for now.

The design was the winner of the Outstanding Display prize in the 2025 Biodesign Challenge.

But there are currently no plans to turn this design into a real commercial product.

However, this isn't the first time that the classic Tamagotchi design has sparked some wild ideas for toys.

For example, the Sleepagotchi requires users to make sure they get enough rest every night to keep their digital pet happy.

The creators say this was to help 'gamify' healthy habits and encourage better behaviour.

In a much darker twist, another group of engineers created the so-called 'Vape-o-Gotchi'.

This twisted toy links your e-cigarette to a virtual pet that dies if you stop puffing, and was created because its inventors thought 'it'd be kind of funnier to be evil.'
Websites produced for COP conferences emit up to 10 times more carbon than average internet pages, according to a new study.

As this year's United Nations climate summit kicks off in Brazil, researchers have revealed a sharp increase in the carbon emissions generated by the conference's websites over time.

Analysis indicates that between 1995  when the first Conference of the Parties (COP) was held  and 2024, average emissions from COP host websites have risen by more than 13,000 per cent.

And this year's page is set to emit the equivalent of 313kg of CO2  the amount of carbon that would take 15 mature trees a whole year to absorb.

While the increase is partly the result of huge growth in computing power and internet use, the carbon footprint of COP sites is still significantly higher than the average webpage, scientists said.

This is likely due to COP pages increasingly using content that requires greater computing power, such as highres images and videos, they explained.

'We chose first to look at the COP conferences themselves, given they are the focus of so much discussion on climate change,' Professor Melissa Terras, from Edinburgh University, said.

'Our research shows that the carbon cost of digital presence is often overlooked by even those who care about, and are meant to protect, the environment.'

Average CO2 emissions per pageview of COP host country websites has steadily increased, this graph shows

This year's COP website features highres images and several embedded videos, which can add to its carbon footprint

For their study, the team analysed web archive data to assess changes in the carbon footprint of COP websites over a 30year period.

Their findings, published in the journal PLOS Climate, revealed emissions remained relatively low until COP14 in 2008, with sites emitting the equivalent of 0.02g carbon per page view.

However, from COP15 onwards emissions have risen sharply, with pages emitting the equivalent of more than 2.4g of carbon per visit on average, with some emitting substantially more.

In contrast, the average website emits the equivalent of 0.36g of carbon per page view, the team said.

PhD student David Mahoney, who also worked on the study, said: 'While AI rightly captures much of today's attention, websites remain the longeststanding and most widespread form of humancomputer interaction, and one of the largest contributors to the internet's environmental impact.

'Our work shows how reusing web archives can expose this growing blind spot, even among organisations at the heart of climate discussions, and help identify practical ways to cut digital emissions.'

The homepage for last year's COP, which was held in Baku, Azerbaijan, features a moving video at the top of the screen along with photographs that expand when a mouse is hovered over them.

Meanwhile the homepage for COP28, held in Dubai, features three main videos and a moveable sliding 'status report'.

The page size for earlier COP host websites, up to COP14 which was held in Poland (left) compared to later COP host websites (right) which had a much larger page size

The website for this year's COP30, held in Brazil, is set to emit the equivalent of 313kg of CO2, the researchers said

The conference with the highest average CO2 emissions per page view was from COP25, which was held in Madrid, the study indicates.

The website created for that conference was 'heavily media basedwith some individual webpage links dynamically updating content', the paper reads.

This kind of multimedia requires greater computing power than older websites, which will have been much more basic.

The team suggest several ways to reduce the carbon footprint of websites including placing strict limits on page sizes, optimising layouts and hosting websites on servers powered by renewable energy.
The owner of a Canadian ostrich farm has claimed that the government killed 314 birds to bury life-saving medical research, not to stop bird flu.

Katie Pasitney, who co-owns Universal Ostrich Farms in British Columbia with her mother Karen Espersen, told the Daily Mail that officials used avian flu as a pretext to destroy their flock, which she said was healthy when it was killed Thursday night.

According to Pasitney, the farm was developing antibody treatments from ostrich egg yolks that showed promise against major viruses, including COVID-19 and H1N1.

The antibodies, produced naturally by the giant birds, had reportedly been proven in labs to neutralize 99.9 percent of coronavirus particles and were being developed into nasal sprays and face masks.

'They didn't want our therapeutic bodies out,' Pasitney said. 'We went to the government looking for funding, and not long after that, we suddenly had an influenza outbreak.' The Daily Mail asked Canadian authorities to respond to Pasitneys allegations but received no response.

The controversy began in December, when the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) received an anonymous report of ostrich deaths at the farm. Tests confirmed two birds carried H5N1, a highly contagious strain of bird flu, and within weeks, the agency ordered the entire flock to be killed.

The farm owners had hoped to avert the cull through additional testing, but Canadas Federal Court of Appeal in June refused to allow it, blocking their final attempt to save the birds.

Images shared by a local media crew, Dacey Media, captured the gruesome aftermath, hundreds of ostriches lying lifeless under tarps, some reportedly beheaded after a firing-squad-style execution.

Shocking images of the slaughter on the Canadian farm show some birds were beheaded

Authorities ordered the cull after dozens of birds died earlier in the year due to bird flu

Pasitney described the scene as 'a war zone,' saying the birds, some over 35 years old and known by name, were placed inside a pen and executed.

'They could've quarantined, tested, monitored, but they chose slaughter,' she said.

'There was no testing or protocol checks. This is all a theatrical display for punishment.'

It all began when roughly 69 ostriches died from December through mid-January, all due to bird flu.

While Pasitney insists that the cull was unnecessary and targeted the flock due to their medical research, the CFIA maintains that its actions followed standard protocols for controlling highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The agency says depopulation, quarantine and biosecurity measures are routine for infected premises, and that all birds were euthanized humanely according to international animal health guidelines.

Officials also note that compensation is offered for each bird, and that such measures are intended to protect public health, prevent the spread of disease, and safeguard Canadas poultry industry.

'Given that the flock has had multiple laboratory-confirmed cases of H5N1 and the ongoing serious risks for animal and human health and trade, the CFIA is carrying out response activities at the infected premises,' CFIA said in a statement.

Katie Pasitney (right), who co-owns Universal Ostrich Farms in British Columbia with her mother Karen Espersen (left), told the Daily Mail that officials used avian flu as a pretext to destroy their flock, which she said was healthy when they were killed Thursday night

Authorities were spotted in hazmat suits after the cull, covering the bodies with tarps

'The CFIA takes the responsibility to protect the health of animals and Canadians extremely seriously as we conduct these necessary disease control measures to protect public health and minimize the economic impact on Canada's poultry industry.'

The Daily Mail contacted CFIA on Friday for comment and has yet to receive a response.

Espersen, along with partner Dave Bilinski, had been working with a laboratory in eastern Canada to develop antibody therapeutics derived from ostrich egg yolks.

Ostriches, the largest birds on the planet, possess an exceptionally strong immune system and can generate antibodies to viruses, including COVID-19, within weeks of exposure.

'Working with a lab back east, we inoculated our hens with the dead COVID-19 virus,' Espersen explained to North Shore News in 2021. 'The hen produces antibodies in two weeks, and two weeks after that, she puts them into her eggs.'

The team later began developing a nasal spray capable of neutralizing the virus, including the Delta variant, and envisioned a product 'everyone could keep in their pocket or medicine cabinet.'

Their work mirrored efforts overseas, where Japanese researchers at Kyoto Prefectural University and Ostrich Pharma USA had already used similar antibodies in masks, nasal drops and even candies.

Clinical trials in Osaka were testing ostrich antibody nasal drops to prevent hospital-acquired COVID-19 infections.

Espersen said the Universal Ostrich Farms farm dedicated all its laying hens to the program, describing it as 'a natural, sustainable way to help the world.'

Many of the ostriches had been at the farm for 35 years, each one had a name

The ostriches were placed in the pen hours before the cull. Independent journalist flew drones overhead to capture the gruesome scene

Lab testing revealed the infection was a new strain of bird flu not seen anywhere else in Canada. It included a genetic mix known as D1.3, previously linked to a human infection in an Ohio poultry worker.

In January, Espersen said that despite losing 10 percent of the flock, the birds appeared to have developed herd immunity.

The farm later won a temporary legal victory, stopping the government from killing their ostriches.

Justice Michael Battista stated that allowing the cull before thoroughly reviewing the evidence would expose the applicant to irreparable harm, meaning the deaths of the ostriches would be permanent and could not be undone later, even if the farm were to win in court.

Hundreds of ostriches were wrangled in a pen on the farm on Thursday and killed hours later

Universal Ostrich Farms then reported that approximately 100 days had passed in April since an ostrich on its farm had died or been ill from a respiratory infection.

The farm lost its last appeal in August. Canadian authorities have maintained that the cull was necessary to prevent further spread of the virus, which poses a serious threat to both wild and domestic bird populations.

At 6pm local time on November 6, Pasitney said she heard hundreds of gunshots ringing out near the pen where authorities had corralled the birds.

'They are all gone. They were unnecessarily killed... they didn't need to die,' Pasitney said.
Selena Gomez's controversial Emilia Perez co-star Karla Sofia Gascon has revealed why she was unable to make her wedding earlier this year.

While attending the Los40 Music Awards in Valencia, Spain, Gascon, 53, said work obligations kept her from being at the wedding.

In an interview conducted in Spanish, Gascon told the organization she hasn't been able to attend her own family member's wedding, let alone afford being a guest at Gomez's nuptials.

Absent: Karla Sofia Gascon has revealed why she couldn't make it to Selena Gomez's wedding after starring together on Emilia Perez; pictured 2024

When the topic of her absence came up, she replied: 'I'm working. Imagine, I don't even go to my family's.

'Because there's a lot of money to spend. Imagine if I had to pay at Selena's. No, no. I'd be ruined!'

Gomez tied the knot with music producer Benny Blanco just north of Santa Barbara in late September.

While Gascon was not present, Gomez's Emilia Perez co-stars Zoe Saldana and Edgar Ramirez were able to celebrate in person.

Striking: Gascon was attending the Los40 Music Awards in Valencia, Spain when she dropped the revelation

It was only months earlier that Hollywood was toasting Gomez and Gascon's film Emilia Perez - until a tweet scandal cast a shadow over it.

Gascon became the first trans woman to be nominated for an acting Oscar and was heavily favored to win the award, until racist tweets she made years earlier plunged her into controversy.

Unearthed by journalist Sarah Hagi, the posts made by Karla in 2020 and 2021 spewed anti-Islam and racist rhetoric.

As a result of the subsequent backlash, the actress opted not to attend the BAFTA, SAG and Goya Awards in the height of this past awards season.

Hitched: Gomez and Blanco said 'I do' earlier this year

One posted in November 2020 read: 'I'm sorry. Is it just my impression or is there more muslims in Spain? Every time I go to pick up my daughter from school there are more women with their hair covered and their skirts down to their heels. Next year instead of English we'll have to teach Arabic.'

In September 2020, she posted an image of a Muslim family eating at a restaurant, where the wife was in a full black burqa, along with a sarcastic comment.

She wrote: 'Islam is marvelous, without any machismo. Women are respected, and when they are so respected they are left with a little squared hole on their faces for their eyes to be visible and their mouths, but only if she behaves. Although they dress this way for their own enjoyment. How DEEPLY DISGUSTING OF HUMANITY.'

She also tweeted about the Black Lives Matter riots sparked by George Floyd's death in police custody, in another post that drew brickbats.

Together: Gascon, with Gomez at this year's Oscars, said she couldn't even afford to attend the A-list wedding

She wrote: 'I really think that very few people ever cared about George Floyd, a drug addict swindler, but his death has served to once again demonstrate that there are people who still consider black people to be monkeys without rights and consider policemen to be assassins. They are both wrong.'

Gascon apologized for for the posts but had insisted she is not a racist.

She said in a statement via Netflix, where her film can be streamed: 'As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain.

'All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.'

Gascon was a regular in Mexican telenovelas before transitioning in 2018. In Emilia Perez, she plays both a menacing cartel kingpin and the woman who emerges after the kingpin fakes his own death. Years later, her character contacts the lawyer who facilitated her transition to help her reunite with her wife and their children.
A travel expert has warned Eurostar's 2billion fleet upgrade poses new challenges for UK hubs due to the new trains' size, design and technical complexity.

It comes after the high-speed rail company recently announced plans to introduce double-decker trains for use across its entire network, including the UK.

In October, Eurostar said it will order up to 50 two-storey trains for its London St Pancras routes to Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam through the Channel Tunnel.

The 2billion (1.7billion) investment is part of a growth strategy to increase passenger capacity and will mark the first time a double-decker train fleet operates in the UK.

The fully electric fleet will be named Eurostar Celestia, which is derived from the Latin word caelestis, meaning 'heavenly'.

However, David Martin, Managing Director at tooling and maintenance equipment supplier, Heamar, has warned the process may not be smooth sailing.

Currently, Temple Mills in east London is the only British depot equipped to service Eurostar's high-speed trains.

With the arrival of larger, more technically advanced double-decker units, Martin says the facility will face higher demands in areas such as lifting systems, inspection bays, and specialist tooling.

Eurostar has reached a 1.7billion agreement for Alstom to build the trains in factories in France

However, David Martin, Managing Director at tooling and maintenance equipment supplier, Heamar, has warned the process may not be smooth sailing

Plans are already in place for Eurostar to invest around 80million (69million) in expanding and upgrading Temple Mills, but, according to Martin, this must be matched by technician training and the right maintenance equipment.

He said: 'Modern high-speed trains, particularly double-decker models, require a completely different maintenance toolkit compared to older rolling stock.

'From high-voltage diagnostics to precision torque applications, technicians must be trained to use insulated, calibrated and compliant tools that not only help them work efficiently but also ensure safety and meet strict European rail standards.'

He added: 'Comprehensive tooling training ensures technicians understand not just how to use equipment, but why specific torque levels, materials used for connectors and calibration matter.

'This new investment will also create new jobs, meaning many technicians will be entering depot environments where they may be unfamiliar with the tools required.'

According to the expert, the key to keeping services reliable is to ensure technicians are properly trained to use specialist tools and they understand the reasons behind strict maintenance procedures.

Martin also noted that delays in rail infrastructure upgrades are common, but problems caused by inadequate tooling or training are avoidable.

He stressed that investment in both equipment and people will be vital to prevent maintenance issues or service disruptions once the new trains enter service.

Currently, Temple Mills in east London is the only British depot equipped to service Eurostar's high-speed trains

Martin concluded: 'Ultimately, the success of this rollout won't just be measured by capacity or comfort, but by how effectively the new fleet can be maintained, serviced and kept safely in motion.'

Meanwhile, Virgin's plans for a service to rival Eurostar has been approved and its launch date revealed.

The British company intends to bring in an international train service through the Channel Tunnel.

Earlier this year, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) revealed it would allocate spare capacity at Eurostar's Temple Mills maintenance depot in Leyton, East London.
When the first Easyjet flight took off from Luton to Glasgow exactly 30 years ago tomorrow, the price of one-way tickets was 29.99  at the time, British Airways fares from London to Scotland were a minimum of 120.

In the fledgling airlines adverts, the catchline said it was making flying as affordable as a pair of jeans (a pair of Levis back then also cost 29.99).

Unsurprisingly the cheap flights on eye-catching orange planes proved a massive hit  and it helped that new carriers founder was charismatic, energetic and young, aged just 28.

Greek-Cypriot entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou, referred to by one and all simply as Stelios, was the perfect figurehead for the groundbreaking new airline.

He was a man on a mission to take on national carriers such as British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France, which he felt had been getting away with inflated fares for years.

Born into a wealthy ship-owning family, Stelios had come up with the idea for his airline out of sheer frustration with high ticket prices.

He had worked out that to visit a Greek island such as Kefalonia or Crete it was sometimes cheaper to buy a package holiday  with charter flights, hotel and transfers included  than to book seats on scheduled flights.

This was, he rightly thought, bonkers.

Easyjet's founder, Greek-Cypriot entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou,gets ready to depart for Glasgow from Luton on the airline's first flight

Stelios Haji-Ioannou was a man on a mission to take on national carriers such as British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France, which he felt had been getting away with inflated fares for years

Easyjet cabin crew model their onboard uniform with a model aircraft featuring the airline's telephone booking number at the time.

At that time in the US, no-frills carrier Southwest Airlines was beginning to do well, and Stelios studied its low-cost business strategy.

With the handy boost of a 5 million loan from his father  and after toying with the name of Stelair  Stelios took inspiration from Southwests winning formula... and the rest is aviation history.

Heres how things have changed at the airline since that momentous day, three decades ago.

Passenger numbers soar

On that first flight, EZY121 from Luton to Glasgow, there were 122 passengers, including Stelios, on a leased Boeing 737-200  Easyjet did not buy its first plane until April 1996.

In its first year it carried 40,000 passengers. Such was the airlines popularity, however, that a mere six years later this figure had ballooned to 10 million, before reaching 50 million by 2010.

Last year Easyjet topped 100 million passengers  which compares with 46 million at BA.

Its now the UKs biggest airline, and easily saw off BAs early attempt to emulate its no-frills model in 1998 with a subsidiary named Go Fly. Such was Go Flys failure that Easyjet bought its entire fleet in 2002.

Actress Lorraine Chase helped launch EasyJet's new low-cost service to Edinburgh and Glasgow from Luton Airport. The airline aimed to fly passengers to Scotland for 29 - less than the cost of a pair of jeans - and Luton Airport declared themselves to be delighted with the chance to be involved in the venture

A few routes added

It wasnt until April 1996 that Easyjet introduced its first international flight  from Luton to Amsterdam.

Until then it had focused on Luton to Glasgow and Edinburgh. Nice and Barcelona were soon to follow later that year.

Over the decades the airline has branched out with routes to destinations as varied as the Azores, Djerba in Tunisia, Tel Aviv and Moscow  although services to the latter have been cancelled for some time for geopolitical reasons.

Now it operates 355 aircraft out of 164 airports covering 38 countries and offering 1,207 routes.

Its furthest service, which began earlier this year, is a six-hour, 2,400-mile flight from Gatwick to Sal, one of Cape Verdes islands off the west coast of Africa.

Employee Numbers

It began with 70 staff, but these days its a huge business with about 12,000 employees and an annual turnover of 9.3 billion.

It wasnt until April 1996 that Easyjet introduced its first international flight  from Luton to Amsterdam. Until then it had focused on Luton to Glasgow and Edinburgh. Nice and Barcelona were soon to follow later that year

Internet revolution

Initially Easyjet took bookings over the telephone, and its call centre number was emblazoned on the fuselage of all its aircraft.

At the time, Stelios said: The internet is for nerds  it will never make money for my business. However, his position on this soon shifted, and the website easyjet.com was launched in 1997.

At first it was simply used as a way for customers to look up fares before calling to make bookings.

The technology was swiftly improved, though, and from April 1998 tickets could be bought online.

Uniforms smartened up

Back in November 1995, the cabin crew wore baggy black jeans (rumoured to be sourced from Tesco) and orange polo shirts from high street fashion store United Colours of Benetton.

Now staff wear smart charcoal-grey uniforms with orange trimmings and either orange or white shirts. Female staff have orange and grey neckties.

Plane cabin crew, Drew Brown (top left), Ben Goodson, Caroline Baker (bottom left) and Sarah Chapman during a photocall to show the airline's new uniform - which will be launched at the end of September - at easyLand, easyJet's Head Office, at Luton Airport

Makeover at Luton

Luton Airport, from where many Easyjet flights depart, used to be the butt of jokes.

It famously featured in a Campari advert, in which a suave gentleman attempts to chat up the actress/model Lorraine Chase in a tropical holiday destination by asking her: Were you truly wafted here from paradise?

To which she replies in a strong cockney accent: Nooo, Luton Airport.

Ok, its hardly super-slick now, and can get extremely crowded.

But two years ago a new rail link was opened, called Luton Dart, offering fast connections into London, which has made access easier.

And over the past two years more than 30 million has been spent on improvements to its terminals, with better retail and food-and-drink offerings, plus more seating.

Meanwhile, Easyjets expansion has seen it set up operations in several other UK airports  it now has ten UK bases, with the most recent being at Southend Airport, which opened earlier this year.

Luton Airport, from where many Easyjet flights depart, used to be the butt of jokes

From Boeing to Airbus

The airline launched using US-made Boeing planes, but in 2003, in a major expansion to its operations, Easyjet switched to Europe-made Airbus with an order for 240 new A319s.

And the company has just invested in a further 290 modern and more fuel-efficient Airbus A320neo family aircraft, being delivered up to 2034.

Stelios takes a back seat

After falling out with the carriers leadership, Stelios ceased involvement in the day-to-day operations of his airline in 2010.

And in 2021 he allowed his share holding in Easyjet to drop from 25 per cent to 15 per cent, which meant he became unable to veto decisions by the board.

Add-ons added

Before 2012 the airline did not offer seat allocation  if you wanted a specific one, you needed to be at the front of the queue for boarding.

After falling out with the carriers leadership, Stelios ceased involvement in the day-to-day operations of his airline in 2010. And in 2021 he allowed his share holding in Easyjet to drop from 25 per cent to 15 per cent, which meant he became unable to veto decisions by the board

In 2006, Speedy Boarding was introduced so passengers could pay extra to get on first, effectively jumping the queue.

Then, from 2012, along with seat allocation charges, extra add-ons also came in for Up Front and Extra Legroom seats.

Hold luggage charges had started in 2007, and charges for large cabin bags began in 2021.

Now only a small bag that fits under the seat in front is allowed on for free.

There are additional costs for a dedicated bag drop (so you do not have to queue for as long as others) and for fast-track security.

Slogans still cheesy

The companys slogan in the beginning was: This is Generation Easyjet.

It moved on to become The webs favourite airline (playing on British Airways former slogan of The worlds favourite airline) and also To fly, to save (again playing on a BA slogan, of To fly, to serve).

The companys slogan in the beginning was: This is Generation Easyjet. It moved on to become The webs favourite airline (playing on British Airways former slogan of The worlds favourite airline) and also To fly, to save (again playing on a BA slogan, of To fly, to serve)

The current slogan is NextGen Easyjet, echoing the original one.

Culinary stalemate

Part of the airlines low-cost model has been always to charge for food and drink on board  and that will never change.

Menus have improved over time, however, and now its offerings include chicken korma and basmati rice, penne pomodoro and mini pizzas.

Brand expansion

Stelios was quick to develop the brand and there are now no fewer than 360 official Easy spin-offs, including EasyBBQ.com, EasyCinema.com, EasyHolidays.co.uk and EasyHotel.com.

There is even an EasyBitcoin app. See the long list of Easy brands at easy.com.

But prices stay low

It's amazing, but Easyjet fares are often cheaper in real terms now than they were in 1995. The original Luton-Glasgow fare was 29.99, and that same price can now get you all the way to Marrakech.

With inflation over the past 30 years, the 29.99 of 1995 would now be 62.01.

Indeed, Easyjet says that fares on some of key routes we still operate today, like Glasgow, Belfast, Amsterdam, Milan and Barcelona, have fallen by over 50 per cent in real terms since 1995.

Tom Chesshyre is author of How Low Can You Go? Round Europe For 1p Each Way (Plus Tax).
The UK's best value theme park is set to open all of its major rides over the Christmas period.

Drayton Manor, located in the Midlands, has a range of thrills - from water rides to roller coasters.

The park usually closes for the winter months but will be celebrating its 75th anniversary by running its biggest rides throughout December.

Visitors will be able to enjoy Drayton Manor's festivities while also whizzing around on roller coasters like Gold Rush, The Wave and Maelstrom.

Accelerator, Air Race and the Bounty Pirate Ship, as well as many others, will be open.

The rides will be operating on weekends in December, Christmas week and Twixmas.

Many other theme parks, including Thorpe Park and Alton Towers, often wind down their services over winter.

Thrillseekers will also be treated to a new end-of-day show - Drayton Manor's Christmas Miracle.

Drayton Manor, located in the Midlands, has a range of thrills - from water rides to roller coasters

The park usually closes for the winter months but will be celebrating its 75th anniversary by running its biggest rides throughout December

The spectacle takes place on the historic lake and features a 30-metre water screen, more than 65 choreographed water jets, dramatic fire effects, vibrant lighting and magical festive animations.

Managing Director, Victoria Lynn, said: 'As we celebrate our 75th anniversary this year, we want Christmas at Drayton Manor to be bigger and better than ever before.

'As the only UK theme park to operate its biggest rides throughout the festive season, plus our brand new "Christmas Miracle" end of day show, we're proud to offer an epic day of exhilarating fun for all the family this December.'

Various festive attractions will be on offer in the park, too.

Guests might get to encounter cheerful elves around the resort who will be creating unforgettable moments for visitors this winter.

The cheeky characters will be engaging in snowball fights, marshmallow toasting and decorating cookies in Vikings Land for the first time.

Castle Grotto will be returning to the park again with Mrs Claus who will be proving an enchanting story-time experience.

Other Christmas activities will be available for children to get stuck into, including making reindeer food and Santa letter writing.

Visitors will be able to enjoy Drayton Manor's festivities while also whizzing around on roller coasters like Gold Rush, The Wave and Maelstrom

They will also be able to share a magical moment with Father Christmas himself.

Tickets are priced from 25 and include the festivities as well as access to exciting rides.

Victoria added: 'We know that our guests love the thrills, spills, drops and dives of some of our biggest and boldest rides, and this year's winter wonderland will offer even more exhilarating experiences for our most thrillseeking visitors, as well as magical festive moments that the whole family can enjoy.'

Drayton Manor will be open on selected dates between November 22 and December 31.
TUI has announced three new direct routes to an idyllic Greek island - making it easier than ever to get a taste of true Mediterranean charm with its sublime beaches, ancient Angora ruins and hospitable locals.

The island of Kos is the third largest island in the Dodecanese group, situated 277 miles from Central Greece and only 20 kilometres from Bodrum, Turkey.

Known as the home of Hippocrates and the father medicine, Kos boasts a long, rich history, having been inhabited since the first Primaeval Bronze Age (2.900 - 2.100 BC) and influenced by many cultures, such as the Romans, Venetians and Ottomans.

Thanks to the remains of all these cultures, along with its ancient archaeological sites, vibrant nightlife, and crystal-clear waters, the island remains a popular holiday destination - with almost 1 million tourists visiting each year.

Now, TUI has launched brand-new flights from London Stansted, Bournemouth and Exeter for Summer 2026 - giving UK holidaymakers a hassle-free way of seeing the Greek gem for themselves.

For the first time ever, Bournemouth and Exeter are directly connected to Kos by TUI, which will benefit travellers who can now jet off to the island from their local airport.

The Stansted route, meanwhile, is making a comeback after being axed in 2019, with twice-weekly flights operating on Mondays and Thursdays.

Customers flying from Bournemouth and Exeter can book longer seven or 14-night holidays, while Stansted offers more flexibility with 3, 4, 7, 10, 11, or 14-night stays.

TUI has announced three new direct routes to the idyllic Greek island of Kos, which boasts sublime beaches, ancient Angora ruins and hospitable locals

Thanks to its rich cultural influence, along with its ancient archaeological sites, vibrant nightlife, and crystal-clear waters, the island remains a popular holiday destination - with almost 1 million tourists visiting each year

Thanks to the remains of all these cultures, along with its ancient archaeological sites, vibrant nightlife, and crystal-clear waters, the island remains a popular holiday destination - with almost 1 million tourists visiting each year

The island is an ideal hotspot for summer trips, with average temperatures hitting a toasty 27C - perfect for sun-chasers to soak up some Mediterranean rays.

It's also a bargain destination for travellers sticking to a strict budget - with the average beer costing around 3.50 and an ice cream around 2.60.

The best way to see the island in all of its glory is to book a guided tour, which will take visitors on trips trips to the mountain village of Zia and the ancient Asclepieion archaeological site.

TUI Musement, an online platform for activities, tours, museums, shows and events, offers a range of trips in Kos - from sights of Greece's youngest volcano in Nisyros, to sunset cruises along its stunning turquoise coastline.

For families with young children, the Pirates of Kos boat trip offers swashbuckling fun, while adventure seekers can enjoy glass-bottom boat tours through the Gulf of Kefalos.

Neil Swanson, Managing Director, at TUI UK&I said: 'These new routes to Kos follow a rise in demand for this picturesque Island, which is one of our customers' favourite Greek destinations.

'By launching services from Bournemouth and Exeter for the first time, and reinstating our popular London Stansted route, we're making it easier than ever for customers across the South of England to enjoy an unforgettable Greek island holiday.

'The variety of durations available gives our customers real flexibility in planning their perfect getaway, whether that's a quick 3-night escape or a full two-week break.

TUI has launched brand-new flights from London Stansted, Bournemouth and Exeter for Summer 2026 - giving UK holidaymakers a hassle-free way of seeing the Greek gem for themselves

Kos is a bargain destination for travellers sticking to a strict budget - with the average beer costing around 3.50 and an ice cream around 2.60

The best way to see the island in all of its glory is to book a guided tour, which will take visitors on trips trips to the mountain village of Zia and the ancient Asclepieion archaeological site (pictured)

'And with pristine beaches, classic tavernas, crystal-clear waters, charming villages, and rich history, its easy for Brits to make the most of their holiday in Kos.'

It comes after a major airline has launched its first direct route from the UK to Thailand's largest island.

Virgin Atlantic is set to jet off from London Heathrow to Phuket from October 18, 2026.

The new route will operate three times a week on a Boeing 787-9 and packages including the flight are available to book from today (October 30).
A This Morning star has taken a withering swipe at Good Morning Britain host Adil Ray after comments he made about Sharia law that saw him scolded by ITV bosses.

Former show contributor regular Emma Kenny unleashed her fiery response on social media after Mr Ray, 51, appeared to endorse Sharia law.

TV presenter Adil is said to have been 'hauled in' by 'very cross' GMB bosses following the segment, after he congratulated fellow Muslim Zohran Mamdani on his stateside victory becoming New York mayor by praising the values behind Sharia law in a social media post.

In the post in which he appeared to back the new mayor bringing in the religious code Sharia, which has been severely criticised by women's rights groups for its pro-male stance, he wrote: 'Some say Mamdani may implement Sharia Law.

'He might. The heart of Sharia is social justice, welfare, fairness, charity and cohesion.

'Most Muslim countries operate a hybrid of Sharia and civil law and are slowly reforming and abandoning unethical practices despite the West's portrayal.'

A This Morning star has taken a withering swipe at Good Morning Britain host Adil Ray after comments he made about Sharia law that saw him scolded by ITV bosses

Former show contributor regular Emma Kenny unleashed her fiery response on social media after Mr Ray, 51, appeared to endorse Sharia law

A source told The Sun that Good Morning Britain (GMB) bosses were particularly furious as Ray's comments clashed with ITV's high profile talks with Sky.

They said: 'GMB execs are pretty cross. His comments sent bosses into a tailspin and he was called in. It was a nightmare as hours earlier ITV revealed it was in talks to sell its broadcasting arm to Sky in a 1.6billion deal. Obviously, they don't want anything to derail that.'

Following backlash, Mr Ray returned to social media to, writing: 'To clarify. I am not actually suggesting Mamdani would implement "Sharia law".

'But many of the issues he campaigned for are also some of the positive values of Sharia that Muslims try to live by. Something many of us would agree on.'

It sparked former This Morning star Emma, the show's resident psychologist who was removed from air during the Covid pandemic over controversial views on coronavirus lockdown rules, to hit back.

Taking a swipe at Mr Ray, she penned on X, formerly Twitter: 'Just some light stoning, a pinch of beheading and a little touch of female subjugation..whats not to like?'

The divisive post was seen by nearly 300,000 users, who flooded the comments both to praise and hit back at her response.

One wrote: '3 good points there Emma! Maybe he should answer those allegations on TV! Lets see if he backs those cultural values,' as a second agreed: 'Ray is on another planet.'

While a third hit back: 'I'm a Muslim and none of the things you mention have ever been part of my life or any other Muslim families that I know.'

A fourth added: 'Thought better of you Emma, but hey ho.'

Emma penned a swipe back to Adil Ray on X

Adil shared his views on Sharia law following Zohran Mamdani's election as mayor

This Morning star Emma was the show's resident psychologist and was removed from air during the Covid pandemic over controversial views on coronavirus lockdown rules

Fans responded to the message on X with their own views

Emma was a former familiar face on the ITV daytime series, but was dumped from the lineup for her views on the lockdown and government restrictions in 2020.

In posts that were later deleted, the psychologist said she would ignore the guidelines set by the Government in the run up to Christmas.

'I'm going to have parties, see my friends, invite EVERYONE around,' she penned in one. 'I'm going to visit elderly neighbours and take cake, I'm not wearing a mask and I'm going to do what as a human I was born to do socialise.'

In another she wrote: 'Just want to check in with you Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock just to politely inform you that I'm declining your tiers because you have no evidence to base them on!

'The law of the land must be based on the interests of the population. I'm taking back my kids' future.'

She also suggested that 'vaccines will damage more children than they will help' and alleged that 'mandated vaccines mean child abuse'.

Her outburst followed a report that Australian airline Qantas airline would require passengers to be vaccinated before being allowed to fly.

Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am and This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV and ITVX.
Jonathan Bailey has opened up about the motivating power of shame, as he explained how he wanted to use his success to help others in the LGBTQIA+ community.

The actor, 37, appeared on the cover of Esquire UK's Better Man issue, displaying his handsome good looks in the racy accompanying photoshoot.

Referencing his famous role in Bridgerton, he posed up a storm in a black blazer and trousers with a white cravat around his neck, but forgoing a shirt underneath to flash a steamy glimpse of his chiselled chest.

Speaking to the publication, Jonathan talked about his plans for the Shameless Fund, a charitable initiative he launched last year to raise money for LGBTQ+ initiatives.

Discussing his motivation to harness his power of celebrity to make a difference for the community, he admitted to having felt 'shame' as a gay man, calling it 'part of the human experience'.

However, Jonathan - who was just named the first openly gay Sexiest Man Alive by People - insisted that he was also aware of his privilege and how he had benefitted from 'everyone who came before', inspiring him to want to help his community back.

Jonathan Bailey has opened up about the motivating power of shame, as he explained how he wanted to use his success to help others in the LGBTQIA+ community

The actor, 37, appeared on the cover of Esquire UK 's Better Man issue, displaying his handsome good looks in the racy accompanying photoshoot

Referencing his famous role in Bridgerton, he posed up a storm in a black blazer and trousers with a white cravat around his neck, but forgoing a shirt underneath to flash a steamy glimpse of his chiselled chest

The Wicked star said: 'I think we all feel shame. Anyone who's ever felt any sort of aggression or corrective judgement. That's part of the human experience.

'But of course, there is this huge triangle of privilege within it. And I'm fully aware that I'm right at the top of that. I'm also a massive benefactor of everyone who came before me.

'If, in the short time that I'm here, I can be a benefactor of the plight and the fight of a community that created a world in which I can play a Winkie prince'

Detailing where he hopes to take the Shameless Fund, he went on: 'The aim is to scale it up, and it's exciting. One of the metrics of success is the money we raise, but another metric is joy and activation.

'When it comes to showing up in a way that supports the LGBTQIA+ global community, it's about being creative in a time when the bumpers have been put up.

'People currently feel straitjacketed about how they tell stories and engage with potential customers and communities in a time when community is being pulled apart at the sinews. It's about thinking of ways to bring people back together.'

With his work with the Shameless Fund and his career skyrocketing this year off the back of starring turns in Jurassic World Rebirth and Wicked: For Good, Jonathan also revealed his thoughts about starting a family.

He candidly admitted: 'There's obviously loads of kids that could really benefit from love and support.

Speaking to the publication, Jonathan talked about his plans for the Shameless Fund, a charitable initiative he launched last year to raise money for LGBTQ+ initiatives

Discussing his motivation to harness his power of celebrity to make a difference for the community, he admitted to having felt 'shame' as a gay man, calling it 'part of the human experience'

However, Jonathan - who was just named the first openly gay Sexiest Man Alive by People - insisted that he was also aware of his privilege and how he had benefitted from 'everyone who came before', inspiring him to want to help his community back

With his work with the Shameless Fund and his career skyrocketing this year off the back of starring turns in Jurassic World Rebirth and Wicked: For Good, Jonathan also revealed his thoughts about starting a family

'I have the absolute privilege of being a gay man  there's no biological clock. It's such a privilege, isn't it, to even be able to have a kid?

'So, I'm aware of it as an idea, as a concept, but it doesn't feel very loud in my head at the moment.'

Jonathan previously confessed to feeling pressured to hide his sexuality in order to further his career after being told a publicly gay actor would struggle to win roles.

He admitted to having reservations about public disclosure after discussing the issue with actor friends and casting directors about the difficulties associated with being openly gay in the TV and film industry.

Speaking to GQ Hype in 2022, he recalled his initial reaction after a friend told him about his own experience while auditioning for roles.

He recalled: 'At the time he was told "There's two things we don't want to know: If you're an alcoholic or if you're gay."

'All it takes is for one of those people in that position of power to say that, and it ripples through. So, yeah, of course I thought that. Of course I thought that in order to be happy, I needed to be straight.'

Eventually he made the decision to be speak publicly about his sexuality after becoming frustrated with the restrictions a closeted public image placed on his personal life.

Jonathan previously confessed to feeling pressured to hide his sexuality in order to further his career after being told a publicly gay actor would struggle to win roles (seen in Bridgerton)

Eventually he made the decision to be speak publicly about his sexuality after becoming frustrated with the restrictions a closeted public image placed on his personal life (seen with his People's Sexiest Man Alive cover last week)

He said: 'I reached a point where I thought, "F**k this." I'd much prefer to hold my boyfriend's hand in public or be able to put my own face picture on Tinder and not be so concerned about that, than getting a part.'

Jonathan came out to his close friends and family in his early twenties, after he was in a two-year relationship with a woman.

He previously said of his sexuality: 'It's interesting with the binary, where you're perceived to be either this or that. That's how I saw it at the time, but there are so many nuances to it.

'My experience of that relationship was not that I was in the shadows. She remains one of my best friends. I think other people understood my sexuality before I was even aware of it.'
Pierce Brosnan has reconciled with his estranged son Christopher, 20 years after the actor revealed he had cut him off over his refusal to kick his drug addiction.

The Hollywood legend, 72, who adopted Christopher in 1986, was seen for the first time with his son, 52, in years in Notting Hill earlier this week.

They were joined by Pierce's model son Dylan, 28, for a family dinner at celebrity hotspot Dorian.

Pierce looked delighted to be in the company of Christopher and Dylan and was pictured beaming as he left the restaurant in a black jacket.

It was a big milestone step for the actor, who made the heartbreaking decision to cut all contact due to his son's drug addiction.

Of their meeting, a source told The Mirror: 'They both looked happy and relaxed while sitting down with one of Brosnans other sons Dylan.'

Pierce Brosnan has reconciled with his estranged son Christopher, 20 years after the actor revealed he had cut him off over his refusal to kick his drug habit; pictured left to right - Christopher, Pierce and Dylan

The Hollywood legend, 72, who adopted Christopher in 1986, was seen for the first time with his son, 52, in years in Notting Hill this week. They were joined by Pierce's son Dylan, 28

'Pierce and Christophers problems have been well documented. But it seems theyve managed to put them behind them. It was really nice to see them together.'

The Daily Mail has contacted Pierce's representatives for comment.

Chris suffered from cocaine and heroin addictions and once fell into a coma following an overdose.

Back in 2005, Pierce said Chris' woes had prompted him to 'cut him off'.

Speaking to Playboy at the time, Pierce said: 'Christopher is still very lost. Shockingly so. I know where he is, but he's having a hard life.

'I can only have strong faith and believe he will recover. He has tested everybody in this family but none more so than himself. He knows how to get out. He doesn't want to.'

Proving that it was a case of tough love, Pierce continued: 'It's painful because you shut down. You never completely cut them off, but I have cut Christopher off. I had to say, "Go. Get busy living, or get busy dying". He has my prayers.'

Chris is the biological son of Pierce's late first wife, Australian actress Cassandra Harris, and her ex-husband Dermot.

Pierce looked delighted to be in the company of Christopher and Dylan

The actor was pictured beaming as he left the restaurant in a black jacket

It was a big milestone step for the pair, after Pierce made the heartbreaking decision to cut all contact due to his drug addiction

Model Dylan cut a cool figure in jeans and a navy jacket

Chris suffered from cocaine and heroin addictions, and once fell into a coma following an overdose. Back in 2005, Pierce said Chris' woes had prompted him to 'cut him off'

The family looked pleased to be in one another's company

Pierce said previously of their estranged relationship: 'You never completely cut them off, but I have cut Christopher off. I had to say, "Go. Get busy living, or get busy dying"'

Pierce appeared to reach out to Chris in a Father's Day post back in June 2022. However while Pierce beamed alongside his other three sons Paris, Dylan and Sean, Chris was not present

Christopher's sister Charlotte (right) tragically died from ovarian cancer - the same illness that took the life of her mother - in 2013 at the age of just 41 (pictured in 2003)

Pierce went on to marry Keely Shaye Smith. The pair have been together since 1994 and tied the knot at Ballintubber Abbey in County Mayo, Ireland, in 2001

Pierce adopted both Chris and his late sister Charlotte when their birth father died in 1986 while he was married to Cassandra.

Charlotte tragically died from ovarian cancer - the same illness that took the life of her mother - in 2013 at the age of just 41.

Christopher worked on two of Pierce's Bond films as an assistant director, including The World Is Not Enough.

Pierce went on to marry Keely Shaye Smith. The pair have been together since 1994 and tied the knot at Ballintubber Abbey in County Mayo, Ireland, in 2001.

Pierce appeared to reach out to Chris in a Father's Day post back in June 2022.

He wrote: 'My love forever to you dear sons, Paris, Dylan, Sean and Christopher, thank you deeply for your love on this Fathers Day.'

In 1997, Christopher was jailed for three months for drink-driving after being fined 1,000 for the same offence the year earlier.

Chris, who starred on the original Love Island series in 2005, was also involved in a massive brawl at Browns nightclub in London and was later banned from the venue.

He was also arrested for theft at another club, Chinawhite, but charges were later dropped.
Davina McCall, Myleene Klass and Twiggy are among the celebrity names making up the first ever HELLO! Second Act Power List.

This collective of women, spanning television, fashion, sport, philanthropy, literature, beauty and activism, take centre stage on a stunning cover shoot, cementing their status as role models for a new generation.

Headlining the list is HELLO!'s Second Act hero Davina, who on Saturday shared she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer, just a year after undergoing surgery on a benign brain tumour.

She's joined by a host of legendary women including Dame Twiggy Lawson, Myleene, Dame Denise Lewis, Dame Kelly Holmes, Marie Helvin, Mariella Frostrup, Tanya Moodie, Jo Wood, Ruby Hammer, Susannah Constantine, Amanda Wakeley, and Amber Nuttall.

The Power List was unveiled at an exclusive celebration at Sartoria Launceston Place, the latest opening from The EVOLV Collection, where influential women gathered for an unforgettable night of fun and inspiration.

From empowering speeches to a packed dancefloor, the evening encapsulated everything HELLO!'s Second Act stands for: independence, reinvention and unapologetic self-belief.

Davina McCall, Myleene Klass and Dame Twiggy Lawson are among stars showing that life doesn't stop when you turn 40, as they join the first ever HELLO! Second Act Power List (L-R Davina, Denise Lewis, Twiggy, Myleene, Kelly Holmes, Mariella Frostrup, Michelle Griffith-Robinson, Ruby Hammer, Amanda Wakeley, Susanna Constantine, Marie Helvin, Jo Wood, Kathy Lette, Tanya Moodie)

This first-of-its-kind Powerlist celebrates women who are not just embracing their Second Act but owning it.

Whether through activism, artistry, reinvention or leadership, each honouree embodies the message that life after 40, 50, 60 and beyond can be the most vibrant chapter yet.

Guests were greeted on arrival with mini bottles of Piaff Champagne  sipped bespoke cocktails such as Jo Vodka's Blackberry Jo-jito and Apple Old Fashioned, alongside trays of Margot Robbie's Papa Salt Coastal Gin martinis, while Sartoria Launcenston Place served up canapes including truffle arancini, beef tartare and burrata and anchovy tartlets.

Among those lighting up the room were The Marchioness of Bath Emma Thynn, Glynis Barber, Tessy Ojo, Adele Parks, Jenny Stoute, Jo Good, Donna Ida, Jo Glynn-Smith, and Nadia Alibhai.

Davina delivered a rousing speech celebrating women's power and resilience, followed by author Kathy Lette.

Kathy urged guests to 'hit the dancefloor with panache' - a call enthusiastically answered as Dame Denise Lewis led the crowd in a choreographed Candy dance routine, while Dame Kelly Holmes later joined Mi-Soul DJs Lorraine Ashdown and Janice Vee on the decks to the crowd's delight.

HELLO!s Chief Content Officer Sophie Vokes-Dudgeon also delivered a heartfelt speech highlighting the community behind the Second Act.

She shared why the Power List is such an important milestone saying: HELLO! is committed to reframing the conversation around midlife.

Headlining the list is HELLO!'s Second Act hero Davina, who on Saturday shared she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer, just a year after undergoing surgery on a benign brain tumour

The Power List was unveiled at an exclusive celebration at Sartoria Launceston Place, where influential women gathered for an unforgettable night of fun and inspiration

Dame Twiggy Lawson, 76, one of the 60s most iconic supermodels, reflected on a life of embracing new adventures, saying: 'You've got to have faith and believe I only do the things I want to do'

Dame Kelly Holmes, 55, also shared the liberation of living authentically adding: 'You get to an age where you think: ''I know me now You matter to yourself'''

'Once seen as a time when women became invisible, the beginning of the end, we now see midlife as an exciting new start, an opportunity to reset ambitions, renew priorities, and take stock of life, with the powerful perspective of lived experience.

'This list is a celebration of the incredible leaps forward that have been taken, to allow women the confidence to create the Second Act they want for themselves  and to ensure the rest of the world is behind them as they embark on this exciting new chapter.'

Throughout the evening, honourees spoke candidly about empowerment, identity and the freedom that comes with life's next chapter, with Davina's words proving the most poignant in the wake of her cancer diagnosis.

She said: 'I feel like my life started at 50, and I think that what mother nature takes away in terms of youth and bearing children ability she gives you back in wisdom.'

Twiggy, 76, known as one of the 60s most iconic supermodels, reflected on a life of embracing new adventures, saying: 'You've got to have faith and believe I only do the things I want to do.'

Myleene Klass, 47, spoke about turning pain into purpose after campaigning for change in miscarriage law, declaring: 'My superpower isn't just endurance  it's transformation.'

For Denise Lewis, 53, she described her later years as a 'second act' after confirming she'd split from her husband Steve Finan after 17 years of marriage.

She said: 'I'm loving my second act  I feel like I can do anything.'

Dame Kelly Holmes, 55, also shared the liberation of living authentically adding: 'You get to an age where you think: ''I know me now You matter to yourself.'''

On Saturday, Davina shared the news that she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer, but was saved from a potentially devastating fate thanks to a poster warning of the signs of breast cancer.

She shared how she was 'sitting on the loo' when she found the lump whilst checking herself after being urged to by posters put up by Lorraine Kelly and her daytime show.

Davina had spotted the signs inside ITV headquarters that encouraged women to 'check their boobs'.

The poster illustrates what women should be checking for and says: 'If you notice anything unusual see your doctor or nurse as soon as possible.'

It also carries an eye-grabbing large message at the top, reading: 'SAVE YOUR LIFE in the time it takes to get changed.'

In her video message announcing the diagnosis, Davina stressed her cancer had been caught 'very very early' but would still require five days of radiotherapy in January as an 'insurance policy' to remain cancer free.

She said: 'So I underwent a biopsy and it was indeed breast cancer and I had it taken out in a lumpectomy nearly three weeks ago.'

On Saturday, Davina shared the news that she'd been diagnosed with breast cancer, and ha undergone surgery after finding a lump in her breast while filming The Masked Singer

Davina went on to discuss the results of her surgery and how doctors had now given her the all clear.

The former Big Brother host went on: 'It was very very small so I got it very very early, which is incredibly lucky, but I am so relieved that I have had it removed and that it hasn't spread.'

She thanked the doctors and nurses as well as her family and fiance Michael Douglas before admitting: 'I was very angry when I found out, but I let go of that and I feel in a much more positive place now.'

Davina captioned the clip: 'The message here, is know your boobs. Notice any changes. Don't procrastinate. Get your free checkups. And never ignore a niggle. Sending out huge love.'

The star had first revealed her diagnosis during a charity her Dine With Davina charity event which left the gathered crowd gasping.

She said: 'Lorraine Kelly had put signs on the backs of all the doors saying 'check your breasts' and every time I went for a wee I did that.

'It was still there, and then one morning I saw myself in the mirror and thought 'I'm going to get that looked at'.'

Following the announcement fans and famous friends rushed to the comments to the star the star their best wishes.

Davina announced in November 2024 that she had been diagnosed with a colloid cyst, a rare type of benign brain tumour.

And, after a gruelling six-hour operation to remove the 14mm cyst from her brain, she revealed she was cancer-free.

Click here to read the full article: https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/861446/hello-second-act-power-list-2025-star-studded/
The Bachelorette's Bill Goldsmith and his partner Isabelle Eisermann have broken their silence following the tragic stillborn death of their daughter Olive.

The couple shared a joint statement to social media on Sunday night thanking fans for their support during this incredibly difficult time.

Alongside a heartbreaking photo of them tenderly cradling their stillborn baby, they wrote some appreciative words.

'We've been absolutely overwhelmed by the support and love for our beautiful Olive, not only from family and friends, but also from complete strangers,' they began.

'When we shared the loss of Olive, we did so because we promised to say her name, to talk about her, to never hide her, to be proud of her.

'She will always be our first child and the one who made us parents.'

The Bachelorette's Bill Goldsmith and his partner Isabelle Eisermann have broken their silence following the tragic stillborn death of their daughter Olive

They then revealed the surprising reason they decided to share their heartbreaking story.

'My hope was that others who have experienced something similar might feel seen and heard. I never imagined just how many people it would reach or the impact it would have,' they wrote.

'I am so grateful for the many parents who have reached out to share their story with me since we shared Olive. I will always be here to listen.'

Earlier this month, the couple shared the heartbreaking news that their daughter was tragically stillborn.

The pair revealed the announcement on Instagram on alongside a gallery of black and white images, in which they cradle their baby girl.

'Our sweet girl, Olive May Goldsmith, was born sleeping on Thursday, 31st October at 4.14am at 27 weeks,' they began.

'She put up the strongest fight, especially these last few weeks, with all odds against her and continued to surprise the doctors and midwives with her strength to hold on, until she no longer could.'

The couple added they were still processing the news.

The couple shared a joint statement to social media on Sunday night thanking fans for their support during this incredibly difficult time

Alongside a heartbreaking photo of them tenderly cradling their stillborn baby, they wrote some appreciative words

'We have never known a love like this and have never felt a pain like this. The words "I'm sorry, there is no heartbeat" will haunt us forever,' they wrote.

The couple said they spent three days with Olive in hospital after her birth.

'We cuddled endlessly, showered her with kisses, dressed her, read to her, sang to her, and took her outside. We told her every second how perfect and loved she is,' they wrote.

'Leaving Olive was the hardest thing we will ever have to do. No parent should ever have to say goodbye to their baby or walk out of the hospital without them.

'We love you more than you could ever imagine, Olive. You were a fighter until the end and kept your mum and dad strong throughout the most heartbreaking journey.'

The couple's friends quickly took to the comment section to offer their words of support.

'This broke my heart, I'm so sorry guys. Sending you all my love,' wrote influencer Mitchell Orval and social media star Chloe Szepanowski added: 'Sending you guys so much love. I'm so sorry.'

The pair first shared the news they were expecting their first child in September, posting an image of a cake surrounded by ultrasound frames.

'Baby Goldsmith arriving Jan 2026! Cant believe youre half way grown already,' Isabelle shared with family and friends.

Goldsmith shot to fame as an early frontrunner on Ali Oetjen's season of The Bachelorette in 2018.

The Red Nose Grief and Loss Support Line is available 24/7 for anyone affected by the loss of a pregnancy, stillbirth or death of a baby or child on 1300 308 307
Bella Hadid looked effortlessly chic in a Prada co-ord as she arrived at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai for the Orebella pop-up hosted by Ulta Beauty on Sunday.

The supermodel, 29, stunned in a vintage sleeveless brocade top which featured an embroidered nude, gold and brown design.

She paired the top with a pair of matching long-length trousers, which featured a flared design and a buckled belt.

Adding inches to her statuesque frame, Bella slipped into a pair of towering, chic, brown heels.

To accessorise, Bella completed her glamourous ensemble with a pair of diamond earrings and a ring.

As she stepped out at the shopping center, Bella greeted her adoring fans with smiles and waves to the crowds.

Bella Hadid, 29, looked effortlessly chic in a Prada co-ord as she arrived at the Mall of the Emirates for the Orebella pop-up hosted by Ulta Beauty on Sunday

The supermodel stunned in a vintage sleeveless brocade top which featured an embroidered nude, gold and brown design

Her appearance comes after she enjoyed a low-key birthday celebration with some of her close friends, including pal Hailey Bieber.

The Victoria's Secret model, who turned 29 on October 9, shared a number of new snaps from the festivities to her Instagram earlier this month.

In one photo, she posed with Justin Biebers wife, 28, and large balloons, including a giant 29.

Bella flashed a hint of her toned midriff in a sheer crop top and blue jeans, while Hailey looked effortlessly cool in a white t-shirt and dark jeans.

'Surprise [ghost emoji] I have the best friends ever cutest girls in the world.

'I love you so so much,' Bella  who was recently at a clinic in Germany for treatment to help with her decade-long struggle with chronic neurological Lyme disease  wrote in the caption.

There was also a video of Bella blowing out candles on her red cake, which featured a photo of her in lingerie on the Victoria's Secret runway.

The cake featured the phrase 'That's all folks!'

Bella also shared her Halloween preparations, with one picture showing her posing with a number of colorful pumpkins.

She paired the top with a pair of matching long-length trousers, which featured a flared design and a buckled belt

To accessorise, Bella completed her glamourous ensemble with a pair of diamond earrings and a ring

As she stepped out to the shopping center, Bella greeted her adoring fans with smiles as she waved to the crowds

Her appearance comes after she enjoyed a low-key birthday celebration with some of her close friends, including pal Hailey Bieber

Another clip showed the birthday girl rocking a crown while enjoying a pumpkin carving session with her pals.

She also included a picture of Hailey holding a unique pumpkin that was painted black and featured eyes and cat ears.

The carousel went on with a snap of Bella painting a pumpkin.

She also gave a glimpse of several wrapped birthday presents.
He has claimed on The Golden Bachelor he has been relatively single since the death of his wife Audrey 14 years ago.

But now it has been revealed Barry 'Bear' Myrden was engaged to a millionaire heiress for several years after he became a widower.

Jo Kinghorn, a Sydney nanny from a wealthy family, fell 'madly in love' with Bear after meeting the Canadian widower in 2012, according to Woman's Day.

A friend of Kinghorn told the publication that Bear's claims about his love life on the show have left her and her friends 'gobsmacked'.

For not only had the pair been engaged and lived together, but Kinghorn even stepped into the 'step-mum' role with Bear's three young boys - Charlie, Jack and Declan.

'She really opened her heart to them and dedicated her life to them  and they adored her,' Jo's friend revealed.

Barry 'Bear' Myrden was engaged to a wealthy heiress for several years after he became a widower

Jo Kinghorn, a Sydney nanny from a wealthy family, fell 'madly in love' with Bear after meeting the Canadian widow in 2012, according to Woman's Day

However, as soon as money started playing a major role in their relationship, things seemed to go down hill for the couple.

Kinghorn is a millionaire heiress. Her father founded Allco Financial Services and RAMS Home Loans and has been featured the Aussie Rich List.

Bear seemingly lived the good life with Kinghorn, who hired a full-time nanny for his children so that she and the engineer could travel the world together.

What's more, she even bought him a warehouse with a million-dollar price tag, which Bear transformed into a 'man cave'.

'I know for a fact that she was paying for almost everything in the last three years they were together because Barry quit his job,' the friend added.

The publication revealed that when the pair got engaged in 2016, Bear and his three kids moved into Kinghorn's $6 million home in Manly.

However, just two years later, the couple called it quits on their relationship in what was dubbed as an 'acrimonious' split by the insider.

'There were lawyers called in and they spent a whole day in mediation before it was settled,' Kinghorn's pal revealed to Woman's Day, adding that Bear even asked her to return the diamond solitaire engagement ring.

Barry 'Bear' Myrden and his late wife Audrey

While Bear kept his house and Kinghorn kept hers, she eventually sold the Manly abode because of 'bad memories'.

Daily Mal has reached out to Nine for comment.

Bear recently came clean about his romantic past, admitting to Daily Mail that he dated 'multiple women' after the death of his late wife.

'I've had a few partners since the passing of my wife and we had wonderful times and they were lovely ladies,' he said.

'Very nice but it didn't work out.'

He added: 'I don't think I was ready. I believe I was still grieving. And it's unfortunate, they were absolutely lovely, they were tremendous people, but it didn't work out.'

Bear has reportedly had two significant relationships following his late wife Audrey's death.

'Bear was in a six-year relationship with his ex-fiancee... and then had a two-year relationship with another woman after that,' an insider told Woman's Day.
Oasis has taken to social media to thank fans after completing their first gigs Down Under in 20 years.

Brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher played to an estimated 320,000 concertgoers in Sydney and Melbourne over the last two weeks.

Sharing a highlight reel of the Aussie leg of their world tour on their Instagram on Monday, many followers claimed the shows were the best they had ever seen.

At one point in the video, one local fan showed off an amazing tattoo tribute to the boys from Manchester.

Inked on the Aussie's arm is a portrait of the Gallagher brothers dressed in their trademark parkas.

'Thank you, Australia,' the band said in the caption of the video, which featured countless scenes of die-hard Oasis fans rocking out while sporting band merch - including the notorious bucket hat.

Oasis has taken to social media to thank fans after completing their first gigs Down Under in 20 years

Sharing a highlight reel of the Aussie leg of their World Tour on their Instagram many ga-ga followers claimed the shows were the best they had ever seen. Pictured: At one point in the video, one local Oasis fan showed off an amazing tattoo tribute to the boys from Manchester

Fans rushed to comment on their concert experience on the post, with more than one devotee dubbing the Aussie shows as 'biblical'.

'The most incredible two nights. Still pinching myself that it happened. OASIS FOREVER!!!' gushed one fan, while another said, 'It was one of the best days of my life!'

Another Oasis enthusiast said simply: 'Best band in the world.'

'Biblical - come back soon,' cooed another fan.

'Thank you, Oasis, it was biblical,' agreed a fellow rock enthusiast on the same thread.

It comes after the band's first Sydney shows on Friday had some fans fuming ahead of the sold-out gig.

A clip shared to Instagram just moments before the concert kicked off saw thousands of fans stuck in a line outside Accor Stadium with just 45 minutes until the main act hit the stage.

The fan shared the footage to the Bondi Lines account, saying the line was 'f***ed' and 'not moving at all'.

'Thank you, Australia,' the band said in the caption of the video. Pictured: Liam and Noel Gallagher on stage in Melbourne

The highlight reel featured countless scenes of die-hard Oasis rocking out while sporting band merch - including the notorious bucket hat. Pictured: Aussie fans at the band's show last month at Marvel Stadium in Melbounre

'Few people missing out on [the] first song,' one person responded in the comments.

'It was crazy! And no staff around,' another added.

Some people blamed the concertgoers rather than staff, saying they should have arrived at the venue earlier if they wanted to get inside quickly.

'Not that fook'n hard to understandget there EARLIER,' one wrote.

'Should [have] got here earlier then, like me,' added someone else.

Some fans began queuing outside Accor Stadium well into the early hours of Friday morning, with the gates opening at 6pm and the show starting at 7.30pm.

The tour was a massive success, with promoters Live Nation confirming that they sold 320,000 tickets for Oasis' five stadium shows - three in Melbourne and two in Sydney - reported The Australian Financial Review last week.

The band will complete their tour with a series of shows in South America, including gigs in Argentina, Chile and Brazil.
Newly single Hollywood star Orlando Bloom is said to be 'interested in dating' Nicole Kidman following both of their recent splits from their high-profile partners.

According to an unconfirmed report, the English-born actor, 48, has put Nicole - who split with husband Keith Urban in September - 'at the top' of his dating wish list after his split from Katy Perry earlier this year.

'Orlando has Nicole at the top of his dream date wish list, and not just because of her A-list status,' an insider told this week's New Idea magazine.

'He's always had a thing for Nicole, for a very simple reason - they have history together.'

Although the pair have never publicly dated, in March 2002 they put on a very cosy display together at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party, one year after her split from ex-husband Tom Cruise.

'There was chemistry between them, all night. Orlando was clearly entranced by Nicole and she loved his attention,' the source added.

Newly single Hollywood star Orlando Bloom (left) is said to be 'interested in dating' Nicole Kidman (right) following both of their recent splits from their high-profile partners

According to an unconfirmed report, the English-born actor, 48, has put Nicole - who split with husband Keith Urban in September - 'at the top' of his dating wish list after his split from Katy Perry (left) earlier this year

'But the truth is she didn't take him seriously. He was devastated.'

Another source allegedly said Orlando was more determined than ever to attract Nicole's attention, especially after his ex Katy began dating former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month.

'Orlando wears his heart on his sleeve. He's determined to land a date with Nicole,' they said.

'Nicole has been lonely for a while. Having a charming dinner with a fun Brit like Orlando could be just what she needs.'

Nicole shares daughters Sunday Rose, 17, and Faith Margaret, 14, with her country singer ex.

It was revealed in September they had gone their separate ways.

While the Oscar winner is in a 'good headspace' as she moves on, the estranged couple have also been facing challenges.

'The hardest part is navigating the dynamic with their daughters,' a source told Us Weekly.

Orlando's ex Katy is now dating former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Pictured

'The last thing Nicole wanted was a broken family,' the insider added before further expressing that she 'raised her daughters to be strong and is leading by example for them.'

The insider told the outlet that the star 'isn't necessarily trying to find her new normal throughout all of this, because they had been quietly separated for a while now.'

It was also revealed that, 'this next chapter feels more like a transition than a shock.'

According to divorce documents previously obtained by the Daily Mail, Nicole will become the primary residential parent of their two teenage daughters.

The estranged couple have agreed to an unusual parenting plan in which Nicole gets 306 days while Keith receives just 59 with their kids.
Nick Knowles has admitted he was petrified when his wife Katie was rushed to hospital eight weeks ago for life-saving surgery.

Katie, 35, needed an emergency operation after suffering complications from a hysterectomy.

The lingerie business owner underwent the procedure in July after 'surviving' years of pain due to PCOS and endometriosis.

A hysterectomy is a surgical procedure which removes a woman's womb and may also involve the removal of other organs, such as the ovaries.

Now, two months on Nick, 63, has reflected on the harrowing moment and provided an update on Katie's recovery.

'It was frightening. You just desperately want your wife to be well and healthy and not in pain, I dont think anything I ever go through will be a scratch on the surface of what she has been through in the last six months. She has been amazing,' Nick told The Sun.

Nick Knowles has admitted he was petrified when his wife Katie was rushed to hospital eight weeks ago for life-saving surgery (pictured in October at Pride Of Britain)

Katie, 35, needed an emergency operation after suffering complications from a hysterectomy

'The whole thing of having a hysterectomy, especially at the age she is, being thrust into perimenopause and menopause that process is really brutal.'

Katie had to be admitted to A&E in September after the stitches where her cervix had been sewn up had ruptured, leaving her in pain, bleeding and close to passing out.

A team of six surgeons performed the operation with fears her bowel had been perforated.

Speaking of the terrifying moment, a helpless Nick said: 'For Katie to be three months into her recovery, and for it to fail and her to then have to go in for life-saving surgery. The emergency operation that was the one that was really frightening.'

Katie previously spoke about the health scare on Instagram. She said: 'The bit where they took my cervix and sealed it up ruptured which basically meant my insides went rogue, with crippling abdominal pains, difficulty breathing, incredibly painful gas, blood like Moses parting the Red Sea, fluid, and even my bowel where it definitely didn't belong.

'I was rushed in for emergency surgery. I thought it would be lots of waiting round, but they did blood tests, a CT scan, and had me up and ready for surgery in under 10 hours.'

Nick said he is so proud of Katie for finding the courage to speak out about her journey, despite the traumatising experience she has had.

The presenter said Katie 'pushed herself too far' after her hysterectomy and they are now having to be 'very careful' about her recovery.

The lingerie business owner, who is a mother-of-two, decided to have a hysterectomy after living through almost unbearable pain which left her 'vomiting, curled up in bed and missing out on life'.

Katie told her fans: 'Im 35 and Ive just had a hysterectomy. Ive lived with pcos, endometriosis and adenomyosis since Moses wore short pants. And no, it wasnt just a bad period.

'It was constant hospital trips. Multiple laparoscopies. Bleeding through clothes. Vomiting from the pain. Being curled up in bed, missing out on life.

'It was extreme bloating that made me look pregnant. It was migraines, stabbing pains in my legs, butt and stomach. It was chronic fatigue...

'It was hiding in loos, crying over another ruined day. It was my daughters terrified of getting their periods in case they end up like mummy.

A hysterectomy is a surgical procedure which removes a woman's womb and may also involve the removal of other organs, such as the ovaries

Nick said he is so proud of Katie for finding the courage to speak out about her journey, despite the traumatising experience she has had

Katie previously explained how stitches in her cervix had ruptured, leaving her in pain, bleeding and nearly passing out as she admitted it was the 'most terrifying day I've ever had'

Katie and Nick, 27 years her senior, exchanged vows in September during a lavish six-figure wedding at Braxted Park in Essex (pictured in June)

'Years of misdiagnosis & being fobbed off. Told to take painkillers. That it was normal. It wasnt. Ive cried on bathroom floors...

'Ive bled through clothes in public. Ive had 3 surgeries. Ive tried every pill, every patch, every hormone tweak. Ive been put on a medical menopause just to get through uni. And still the pain came.'

Katie also spoke about not being able to recognise herself due to the pain of her diagnoses. Post-operation, she candidly admitted she feels 'less like a woman', but said she took the decision to undergo the surgery in order to 'take her life back'.

Katie wrote: 'It feels like something in me has changed, apart form being sans uterus. Right now, Im in lots of pain. I'm bloated. Im exhausted. Im hot. Im forgetful.

'I feel raw and less like myself. Less like a woman, if Im being really honest. But this was a decision I made to take my life back. To stop surviving and start living again, & have days that arent defined by pain.

'This is hopefully the beginning of healing. The beginning of self-love, scars, stitches and all. And please, if youve made it this far, I ask gently: This is something deeply personal.

'If youre tempted to leave a judgmental or flippant comment, Im asking you to just scroll on. There is a real person behind this post.'

Katie and Nick, 27 years her senior, exchanged vows in September during a lavish six-figure wedding at Braxted Park in Essex.

The couple were thought to have spared no expense on the ceremony, which was attended by celebrity guests including Nick's Strictly Come Dancing co-stars.

The newlyweds have however been the subject of cruel trolling during their relationship, with critics mocking their age difference and financial setup.

Katie, began dating her spouse in 2021, hit back at those dubbing her a 'gold digger', revealing they don't get to her as much as they used to because she and Nick know it's not true.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, she said of their age gap: ''I think at the start, it was probably more irritating, especially for my family. But now those comments kind of just pass over me because we both know it's not true.

Katie stressed: 'Nick works hard, he has what he has. I work hard, I have what I have and then we buy each other stuff.'
Kim Kardashian isn't letting her recent bar exam disappointment stop her from keeping up with her Instagram content.

The star, 45, dropped sexy bikini photos taken during Kendall Jenner's recent birthday bash, just one day after learning she failed to pass the rigorous test.

The post, captioned with a palm tree emoji, made no mention of the disappointment, but showed the star enjoying a well-deserved break from her legal efforts.

Kardashian kicked off the carousel with particularly busty photos of her in a studded bikini top, followed by more images of her idyllic getaway to the private Caribbean island of Mustique.

From the beachfront setting to a golden sunset, Kardashian was living in the lap of luxury as she enjoyed the type of getaway only most could dream of.

It was definitely a very different type of update than the one Kardashian gave fans a day earlier.

Kim Kardashian isn't letting the bar exam disappointment stop her from keeping up with her Instagram content

Kardashian revealed she didn't pass the bar exam, four months after taking the challenging test.

But Kardashian was undeterred by the results in her efforts to continue pursuing a legal career.

'Well...I'm not a lawyer yet, I just play a very well-dressed one on TV,' she began, referencing to her new Hulu series 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.'

Kim then sent gratitude to those who have 'supported and encouraged me along the way so far.'

The mom-of-four concluded her statement with a positive message and stated that she nearly passed the bar exam. 'Falling short isn't failure - it's fuel. I was so close to passing the exam and that only motivates me even more. Let's Go!!!!!!!!!!'

A source close to Kim also told TMZ that the aspiring lawyer wanted to announce her results with fans before they were made public as she has long been candid with them about her educational journey and was aware followers were invested.

Kardashian kicked off the carousel with particularly busty photos of her in a studded bikini top

The post showed several angles of Kim in her studded top

She made no mention of the disappointment, only captioning the post with a palm tree emoji

She also included this rather blurry image of her relaxing in the idyllic location

The post was taken during Kendall Jenner's recent birthday bash on a private Caribbean island

Jenner celebrated her birthday with friends and family on the private island of Mustique

The insider explained that the social media personality wanted to continue being open about her journey to become a lawyer as she has done in the past.

Late last month during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, the reality star explained that she had taken the bar exam in July and that she was awaiting her results.

The SKIMS founder also expressed at the time that if the results showed that she passed, she had plans to be a lawyer in two weeks.

'I took the bar exam in July. I get the results a few days after our [All's Fair] premiere. So in two weeks. So everyone please pray for me. I worked really hard,' Kim said.

From the beachfront setting to a golden sunset, Kardashian was living in the lap of luxury as she enjoyed the type of getaway only most could dream of

One of the photos showed the gorgeous sunset glowing in the distance

The TV personality - who took the exam back in July - jumped to her Instagram stories on Saturday to share that she did not pass, but has no intentions of giving up

'Falling short isn't failure - it's fuel. I was so close to passing the exam and that only motivates me even more. Let's Go!!!!!!!!!!' she concluded; seen above as a lawyer in Hulu series All's Fair

She further opened up about her goal to work in the legal field by adding, 'Maybe in 10 years, I think I'll give up being Kim K and be a trial lawyer. That's what I really want.'

Back in May, the media personality reached a major milestone as she graduated from her law school program following a six year journey.

The star celebrated the big moment by taking part in a backyard ceremony which she gave a glimpse of on social media.

Kardashian took part in the four-year California Law Office Study Program (LOSP) rather than attending traditional law school.

Back in May, the media personality reached a major milestone as she graduated from her law school program following a six year journey

During the ceremony, her mentor had opened up about the star's 'fierce desire to fight for justice' and also expressed that Kardashian is full of 'determination.'

They also applauded the TV personality for finishing the program while simultaneously 'raising four children, running businesses, filming television shows, and showing up in courtrooms to advocate for others.'

A second mentor discussed how Kardashian has 'advocated for clemency, helped reunite families, and brought national attention to the most broken parts of our legal system.'

Kim's late father Robert Kardashian had been a lawyer and notably was the defense attorney for O.J. Simpson amid his 1995 murder trial.
Oasis kicked off the Sydney leg of its Australia tour on Friday night to a crowd of screaming fans, but one spectator was unable to keep his eyes open throughout the two-hour-long gig.

A man, who looked to be in his early 40s, didn't seem to be too impressed by the live performance from the iconic British rock band led by brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher.

Sitting in $700+ seats with two friends at the sold-out show, he drifted in-and-out of sleep throughout the entire show, held at Accor Stadium in Homebush in Sydneys west.

When he wasnt on the nod, the man checked his email, Shazamed songs - even the bands biggest hits - and bizarrely played on graphic design app Canva.

Patrons in the seats behind him were left outraged, shaking their heads at his blatant disrespect for the band who had returned to Australia for the first time since 1994.

The show, which has received stellar reviews in both Melbourne and Sydney, also made headlines after a clip shared to Instagram moments before the concert showed thousands of fans stuck in line outside Accor Stadium  with just 45 minutes until the main act was due on stage.

Oasis kicked off the Sydney leg of its Australia tour on Friday night to a crowd of screaming fans, but one spectator was unable to keep his eyes open throughout the two-hour-long gig

Sitting in $700+ seats with two friends at the sold-out show, he drifted in-and-out-of sleep throughout the entire show held at Accor Stadium in Homebush in Sydneys west

A fan posted the footage to the Bondi Lines account, describing the queue as f***ed and not moving at all.

'Few people missing out on [the] first song,' one person responded in the comments.

'It was crazy! And no staff around,' another added.

Some people blamed the concertgoers rather than staff, saying they should have arrived at the venue earlier if they wanted to get inside quickly.

Not that fook'n hard to understandget there EARLIER,' one wrote.

'Should [have] got here earlier then like me,' added someone else.

Some fans began queuing outside Accor Stadium well into the early hours of Friday morning, with the gates opening at 6pm and the show starting at 7.30pm.

Meanwhile, others pointed to the opening Australia show in Melbourne last Friday as the source of the lengthy lines in Sydney.

'Security are probably checking for flares,' one person commented.

'You can thank the person who brought the flare to the first Australian concert for that!' someone else wrote.

When he wasnt on the nod, the man checked his email, Shazamed songs - even the bands biggest hits - and bizarrely played on graphic design app Canva

The show, which has received stellar reviews in both Melbourne and Sydney, also made headlines after a clip shared to Instagram moments before the concert showed thousands of fans stuck in line outside Accor Stadium  with just 45 minutes until the main act was due on stage

Daily Mail has reached out to Accor Stadium for comment.

Frightening scenes unfolded during the opening show at Marvel Stadium last week, with Britpop legends Liam and Noel Gallagher playing to 55,000 screaming fans.

The iconic brothers were left stunned halfway through their song Champagne Supernova when one fan set off flares in the middle of their set.

Footage of the incident showed the bright red light illuminating the nosebleeds before someone threw a flare into the surrounding crowd.

It landed on the ground amid the packed moshpit, burning as concertgoers attempted to back away from the glare.

Liam, 53, and Noel, 58, didn't let the disruption interrupt their set, though the younger of the two called out the reckless act when he finished singing.

'That was naughty. Naughty, naughty, naughty,' he said as he wagged his finger at the culprit before continuing on with the show.

However, according to one attendee, Noel 'looked worried' about the incident.

Liam later took to X  formerly Twitter  to slam the culprit yet again.

'To the massive C*** who launched that flare into the crowd last night at the gig in Melbourne you are one seriously f***ed up individual and you will get yours trust me,' he vowed.
Eva Longoria put on a leggy display in a sheer skirt as she hosted a glitzy dinnera at the Nota Blu Restaurant in Madrid on Sunday.

The Desperate Housewives star, 50, stunned in a black leotard which she layered under her black skirt.

She layered her figure-hugging top under a sleek, structured blazer, which featured padded shoulders.

Adding inches to her petite frame, Eva completed her ensemble by slipping into a pair of black, pointed heels.

During the glamourous dinner, Eva welcomed her guests as she posed for pictures alongside Mar Saura, Vicky Martin Berrocal, Amaury Nolasco and Maria Bravo.

Eva Longoria, 50, put on a leggy display in a sheer skirt as she hosted a glitzy dinner at the Nota Blu Restaurant in Madrid on Sunday

The Desperate Housewives star stunned in a black leotard which she layered under her black skirt

Eva's appearance comes after she insisted that she wouldn't change anything about the challenging start to her career or her failed marriages, as she 'loves the path I was on'.

The star grew up in Texas and first got the acting bug after winning a talent competition that led her to Los Angeles and being spotted and signed by an agent.

But she decided to make the move to Hollywood in the 1990s with just six dollars to her name.

At first, she struggled to make ends meet and worked as a headhunter for four years to pay the bills.

But Eva got her first TV gig with a small part on Beverly Hills, 90210.

She then bagged another role on General Hospital, before landing the role of Isabella Brana on the soap opera, The Young and the Restless.

Four years later, she was cast as Gabrielle Solis on Desperate Housewives, which made her a household name across the country.

And despite having to endure a challenging number of years before her big break, she has now insisted: 'I loved my struggle', as it helps her appreciate where she is now.

She layered her figure-hugging top under a sleek, structured blazer, which featured padded shoulders

Adding inches to her petite frame, Eva (pictured center with guests) completed her ensemble by slipping into a pair of black, pointed heels

To accessorise her outfit with a pair of chunky gold earrings as she styled her short brunette tresses into wet-look curls

She had a big smile on her face as she was pictured outside the restaurant

Eva's look showed off her incredible legs due to the sheerness of the skirt's fabric

During the glamourous dinner, Eva welcomed her guests as she posed for pictures alongside Mar Saura (left), Vicky Martin Berrocal (right), Amaury Nolasco and Maria Bravo

Eva's appearance comes after she insisted that she wouldn't change anything about the challenging start to her career or her failed marriages, as she 'loves the path I was on'

In a new interview with The Sun, the Flamin' Hot director said: 'I loved my struggle, I loved when I moved to Hollywood and had six dollars in my bank account.

'I love my failures, thats where you grow and learn. I was in the rat race and I was in auditions, and I was in corporate America and I was in many jobs at one time.

'I struggled to pay my rent and I had a student loan and I went through that  and I would never change my experience of hardship or touching every rung of the ladder.

'I like that because it makes me appreciate this position I am in more now.'
Gladiators Athena and Diamond delighted fans by making a surprise return to the arena during the live tour on Saturday, despite pulling out of the show due to injury.

The pair were among four favourites from the iconic BBC series who suffered injuries during filming for the main show, which is set to return in January 2026.

But with the Gladiators tour kicking off in London's O2 Arena, the pair still made an appearance to pose for snaps with fans.

And while they were still unable to take part in the famous challenges, Athena and Diamond did take a moment to speak to the huge 12,500-strong crowd, declaring they would be back in the arena soon.

Diamond, whose real name is Livi Sheldon, reassured the crowd she was on the mend and led them in a tutorial of her 'shine like a Diamond pose.'

Athena, whose real name is Karenjeet Kaur Bains, told the arena: 'Every setback is a set-up for a comeback, and this comeback story is going to be epic.'

Gladiators Athena and Diamond delighted fans by making a surprise return to the arena during the live tour on Saturday, despite pulling out of the show due to injury

The pair were among four favourites from the iconic BBC series who suffered injuries during filming for the main show, which is set to return in January 2026 (Diamond is pictured)

In August, Diamond took to Instagram to reveal she'd been forced to withdraw from filming for Gladiators' main show in Sheffield, after suffering a knee injury, and rupturing her ACL and MCL during filming.

In an update to Instagram, Livi explained: 'Hey Tribe I've got a life update  and unfortunately, it's not the news I was hoping to share.'

She continued: 'While filming Gladiators, i suffered a full ACL and MCL rupture. One moment I was in full action, the next I was facing surgery and a brand-new challenge: recovery.

'It's never easy hitting pause on something you love, but this isn't the end of my journey  it's just a detour. I've been through tough battles before, and every time I've come back stronger and this time is no different.

'I'm going to need all the support I can get, and I'll be sharing this journey with you every step of the way. If my experience can help even one person facing their own challenges, it'll make this journey even more meaningful.

'Now, after having my surgery, I'm ready to attack this rehab with everything I've got & more because being unbreakable is more than strength or how powerful you are  it's about how you rise after you fall.

'And every step I take now is building the comeback that will define me. It's never about the setback - it's always about the comeback.'

The reboot of Gladiators was a smash hit when it aired last year, and a celebrity spin-off was quickly commissioned, featuring comedians and gym lovers.

But with the Gladiators tour kicking off in London's O2 Arena, the pair still made an appearance to pose for snaps with fans and celebrity guests including Luisa Zissman

Diamond, whose real name is Livi Sheldon, reassured the crowd she was on the mend and led them in a tutorial of her 'shine like a Diamond pose'

But this year the casting team have stepped it up and found four stars who can definitely give the Gladiators a run for their money.

The Sun reported that model Vogue Williams will be joined on the show by fitness guru Joe Wicks, former Olympic boxer Nicola Adams, and gym-obsessed I'm A Celeb winner Sam Thompson.

Vogue won the first series of Bear Grylls: Mission Survive and regularly shares fitness tips and workout videos with her Instagram followers.

Meanwhile Joe dominated British TV screens during Covid thanks to his at-home workout clips, and reality star Sam often shares his gym progress.

Former Olympian Nicola could however prove the one to beat, after retiring undefeated in 2019 and becoming the first female boxer to become an Olympic champion after winning gold at London 2012.

A source told the publication: 'Last year, producers of the debut celebrity version played it for laughs with three comedians taking part  with hilarious results for viewers.

'But this year they've assembled four celebrities who can give the Gladiators a serious run for their money, and serve up a clash to savour.

The first series of Celebrity Gladiators saw Joel Dommett and Ellie Taylor crowned the winners after a tense finale.

The one-hour special saw Joel go head-to-head with comedian Rob Beckett, while Ellie faced a string of challenges with former BBC Breakfast presenter Louise Minchin.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are being teased by fans after creating another viral moment during their ongoing Wicked press tour.

During the Wicked: For Good premiere in Paris on Friday, the pop star, 32, and Oscar-nominated actress, 38, were asked to describe each other's 'auras' by an Elle magazine journalist.

Ariana said Cynthia's was 'yellow,' like 'sunshine.' She added, 'I think there's also purple.'

Cynthia then said about Ariana: 'I see, like a ciel blue, you know? Like aqua. And like, sunset-orange.'

The co-stars-turned-friends are in the throes of promoting the follow-up to last year's Wicked. And the pair are once again generating buzz for their emphatic, effervescent chemistry during interviews.

Following the red carpet moment, one person wrote on Reddit, 'I can't go through this again,' in reference to the movie stars' previous 'cringeworthy' press run moments last year.

Ariana Grande, 32, and Cynthia Erivo, 38, are being teased by fans after creating another viral moment during their ongoing Wicked press tour

Using popular therapy-talk jargon, another Redditor added, 'We're all holding space for them. Did I say that right?'

And one person observed, 'It seems like they've toned it down compared to last year, and wisely so.

'I'm sure another full court press like they did last year would've annoyed everyone and possibly turned some people off from seeing the new movie.'

There was also someone who inserted, 'They're sweet and all but this annoys tf out of me.'

Contrarily, another social media user added to the thread, 'They r so funny honestly.'

It prompted someone else to share, 'I died laughing when Cynthia said "ciel blue."'

'Lmao they are SO annoying... and I love it. It's not harming anyone, so it's just funny to me,' wrote No_Barracuda8791.

In the minute-long clip, originally posted by Elle Germany on YouTube, the silver screen sensations gushed over the interviewer's question.

'We've never been asked that,' Ariana said first before Cynthia echoed the sentence with emphasis and added, 'That's a great question to ask!'

During the Wicked: For Good premiere in Paris on Friday, they were asked to describe each other's 'auras', with Ariana saying Cynthia's was 'yellow,' like 'sunshine', and Cynthia quipping about her co-star, 'I see, like a ciel blue, you know?'

Following the red carpet moment, one person wrote on Reddit , 'I can't go through this again,' in reference to the movie stars' previous 'cringeworthy' press run moments last year

There was also someone who inserted, 'They're sweet and all but this annoys tf out of me'

'Lmao they are SO annoying... and I love it. It's not harming anyone, so it's just funny to me,' wrote No_Barracuda8791

One of last year's most memorable interview highlights with Ariana and Cynthia was when the hitmaker clasped her co-star's index finger during an emotional moment

Wicked: For Good is set to hit cinemas on November 21; Seen in a still

One of last year's most memorable interview highlights with Ariana and Cynthia was when the Positions hitmaker clasped her co-star's index finger  adorned with an ornately manicured green nail  during an emotional moment.

During a sit-down, journalist Tracy E. Gilchrist told Cynthia that she had seen people online discussing the 'lyrics of Defying Gravity,' the stirring ballad her character sings in the film, and 'feeling power' from it.

Cynthia was visibly moved by the revelation, as she replied, 'I didn't know that was happening. That's really powerful. That's what I wanted.'

As she spoke, Ariana, who also got choked up over the comment, reached over and grabbed her costar's pointer finger in what appeared to be a display of support  and many people poked fun at the exchange on the internet.

'What was this?' one person wrote on X alongside a screenshot of Ariana's hand wrapped around Cynthia's finger.

'Is this a sketch comedy show or something?' asked someone else.
Kyle Sandilands has paid an emotional tribute to his old friend and mentor, John Laws.

In a video shared to The Kyle and Jackie O Show Instagram, the 54-year-old shock jock could be seen fighting back tears as he remembered Laws, who died on Sunday at age 90.

'We look back on our time with John Laws, our good friend and radio legend who Kyle learnt a lot from and who helped him kickstart his career,' the radio duo shared in the post.

'Rest easy, John, you will be missed.'

'He was very funny and a lot more caring than people gave him credit for,' Kyle began his tribute on the KIIS FM breakfast show on Monday.

He added that his mother had cried when he told her the sad news that the media veteran known as 'the Golden Tonsils' had passed away.

Kyle Sandilands has paid an emotional tribute to his old friend and mentor John Laws after his death aged 91

During the chat, Kyle went on to recall how he had first encountered Laws four decades ago when he was a panel operator in Townsville

Kyle went on to recall how he had first encountered Laws four decades ago when he was a panel operator in Townsville.

'He was a great mentor because when I first started in radio, I was pushing buttons for his ad breaks,' he said, adding he was only 16 at the time.

'I ended up being mates with him, we'd have dinner, we'd have lunch.'

Laws, who retired last year after 71 years in radio, appeared regularly on The Kyle and Jackie O Show over the years.

Known for his brash style with listeners, Laws was often heard cheekily teasing the duo during his many appearances.

On Monday, Kyle and Jackie also shared a throwback clip of Laws affectionately referring to Jackie as 'Jackie Naught'.

Kyle also shared how Laws accused him of 'imitating' his style. Like Laws, Kyle used a golden microphone in the studio, and just like his mentor, he enjoyed driving a Rolls-Royce.

The radio star continued: 'I remember the first time we got him on the show,' [and Laws had] said: ''You're just copying me'' and I said: ''You inspire me."'

On Monday, Kyle and Jackie also shared a throwback clip of Laws affectionately referring to Jackie as 'Jackie Naught'

Kyle could be seen choking up as he recalled one touching moment with Laws when the radio legend had dubbed him 'the last of the radio cowboys'.

After you, who is there?' Laws told him.

On Sunday, Kyle was one of the first celebrities to pay tribute to Laws.

'You could never mistake him for anyone else,' he tweeted on X.

'He said what he thought, didn't care who he offended, but could also show deep compassion when required,' Kyle said.

'I'm devastated to have lost a mentor and a mate. Radio won't be the same without him.'

Regarded as one of Australia's most powerful talkback hosts, Laws rose to become one of the country's most well-known and highest-paid media personalities.

He is understood to have been in end-of-life care in recent months, and he leaves behind five children.

His wife Caroline, who he called his 'princess' and to whom he was married for more than four decades, died from cancer in 2020.

Laws began his career in AM radio back in 1953 at 3BO in Bendigo and his unique style earned the broadcaster the nickname 'The Golden Tonsils'.

He was inducted into the Australian Radio Hall of Fame in 2003 and received an ARIA lifetime achievement award in 2008.
Lara Worthington looked every inch the fashionista when she headed out in Sydney on Saturday.

The Australian model ensured all eyes were on her as she slipped her lithe frame into $59,000 worth of designer clothes and accessories.

The 38-year-old turned heads in a $3,600 Miu Miu silk dress, which cut off at her knee and featured a tailored bodice and sweet bow detail on the neckline.

Lara paired the chic frock with a $3,700 Alalia handbag and $1,650 Alalia sandal kitten heels.

She accessorised with her Cartier Panthere watch, which retails for $48,900, and a couple of diamond rings.

Lara attempted to go incognito in a pair of shades, however she was instantly recognisable thanks to her signature bob.

Lara Worthington (pictured) looked every inch the fashionista when she headed out in Sydney on Saturday

The Australian model ensured all eyes were on her as she slipped her lithe frame into $59,000 worth of designer clothes and accessories

The mother-of-three has been sporting a new look of late, rocking strawberry blonde hair as she arrived Down Under on Friday.

The model landed in Sydney with one of her sons, marking the first time in almost a year that the star has returned to Australia.

She was seen at Sydney Airport pushing a luggage trolley while her son, who she shares with Sam Worthington, sat on one of the suitcases.

Later on, she could be seen walking to her car with a giant smile on her face, obviously happy to be home.

The Base founder looked almost unrecognisable, having ditched her signature golden locks for a head-turning strawberry blonde do.

Lara looked effortlessly chic in a $2,370 Miu Miu shirt.

She paired the laidback button-up with black trousers, maroon-coloured loafers and a leopard-print handbag.

Despite being known as one of Australia's most fashionable natives, Lara recently turned heads for all the wrong reasons at Paris Fashion Week after landing on the worst-dressed list.

The 38-year-old turned heads in a $3,600 Miu Miu silk dress, which cut off at her knee and featured a tailored bodice and sweet bow detail on the neckline

Lara paired the chic frock with a $3,700 Alalia handbag and $1,650 Alalia sandal kitten heels

She stepped out at the Louis Vuitton show last month, putting on an eye-catching display in a striking blue mini dress, distinguished by its unusual pockets positioned above the waist.

The loose-fitting dress was cinched at the pleated waist with a blue canvas belt and was accented with an unusually placed buckle at the collarbone.

Showing off her trim and toned pins, Lara completed the look with a pair of black leather wedge boots.

She was in good company, though, with the likes of FKA Twigs, Hailey Bieber, and Cara Delevingne also making the list.

However, Lara would more than likely be unfazed by the lacklustre critique.

She has previously stated that she does not care what others think of her often bold sartorial choices.

Speaking to Stellar in 2022, the blonde beauty admitted that she has no regrets about some of her more daring choices in the style department.

'I wear whatever the hell I want and I don't care,' Lara said.
Jay Leno made a touching remark about caring for his wife Mavis Leno amid her heartbreaking diagnosis of 'advanced' dementia.

The couple have been married for over 45 years, and the philanthropist, 79, was diagnosed with dementia in January 2024, with Leno having to file for conservatorship.

The 75-year-old former host of The Tonight Show said it's 'not work' to care for his spouse and that he is 'lucky' to be able to do so.

'I've been very lucky in my life. My wife is fighting dementia and all that, but it's not cancer,' he optimistically told People in an article published on Sunday.

'It's not a tumor, so I enjoy taking care of her,' he shared.

Leno  who shared a rare update on her health over half a year ago after he had a serious injury  also added that fans don't need to feel sympathy for him.

Jay Leno, 75, made a touching remark about caring for his wife Mavis Leno, 79, amid her heartbreaking diagnosis of 'advanced' dementia; pictured in August 2022

'It's not work, because people come up, and say they feel so sorry. I understand the sympathy, because I know a lot of people are going through it, but it's okay.'

The former late night host continued: 'I like taking care of her. I enjoy her company, and we have a good time. We have fun with it, and it is what it is.'

He said it could get 'tricky' in the future but said they have had and will continue to have 'really great' times together.

'There are going to be a couple of years that are tricky. So, the first 46, really great. But it's okay,' he continued.

'It's not terrible. I'm not a woe-is-me person. I'm just lucky that I am able to take care of her,' he said.

He said he feels grateful that he is in a place where he can afford to continue taking care of her and her medical needs.

'I'm very lucky,' he acknowledged. 'I enjoy her company. As soon as this ride's over, I'm going home and I'll make her lunch.'

Leno is a grand marshal for Love Ride, Harley Davidson's charity motorcycle ride.

A couple of months ago, he said that even when he travels for work, he always returns home each night to be with his wife.

He said that it's 'not work' to him to be the caretaker to his wife and that he is 'lucky' to be able to do so in an interview with People; Pictured in September 2024

'I like taking care of her. I enjoy her company, and we have a good time. We have fun with it, and it is what it is'; Pictured in 2024

The couple have been married for over 45 years, and the philanthropist was diagnosed with dementia in January 2024, with Leno having to file for conservatorship; Pictured in 2024

Leno met his now-wife in the 1970s at the Comedy Store in Los Angeles; Seen in a throwback snap

They have been married since 1980; Pictured in 1980

'I come home every day,' he he told the outlet when sharing an emotional update about his wife in September.

He then recounted a recent, domestic trip where he immediately traveled home within the same day.

'I went to Puerto Rico for the day and [the] plane waited and I came right back,' he said.

'That's what I do. I try to be home every night. So that's kind [of] what I do.'

In early 2024, Leno and his wife revealed that she was diagnosed with dementia.

That April, he was granted conservatorship of his wife, and her lawyer said that she was 'in agreement' with the terms.

A court filing revealed at that time said she 'sometimes does not' recognize him and does not remember her own birth date.

His wife's lawyer also said she is 'receiving excellent care with her husband, Mr. Leno.'
A rep for Sean 'Diddy' Combs has defended the imprisoned rapper amid allegations that he had been caught consuming alcohol while in custody at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey.

Combs had been caught consuming a concoction of fermented Fanta, sugar and apples, sources told TMZ Friday.

Combs, 56, 'has not violated any prison rules,' his spokesperson said, adding that the musical artist is looking to keep clean while serving his sentence.

'His sobriety and self-discipline are priorities,' the spokesperson said, 'and he is taking them seriously.'

Combs' rep said that 'this is only his first week at FCI Fort Dix, and unfortunately, rumors will surface throughout his time there.'

Daily Mail has reached out to reps for Combs for further comment on the story.

A rep for Sean 'Diddy' Combs has defended the rapper amid allegations that he had been caught consuming alcohol while in custody FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey. Pictured 2023 in Atlanta

Combs' rep said, 'We ask the public and the press to give him the benefit of the doubt, the privacy to focus on his personal growth, and the grace to move forward in peace.'

A separate statement was posted to Combs X account on Saturday, but appeared to have been taken down.

It read: 'The rumors claiming Mr. Combs was caught with alcohol are completely false.

'His only focus is becoming the best version of himself and returning to his family.'

Combs last month was sentenced to four years and two months in federal prison in connection with his July prostitution conviction.

On October 30, Combs was transferred from Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn (MDC) to Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix (FCI Fort Dix) in New Jersey.

Subsequently, a picture of Combs socializing with other prisoners in the prison yard was leaked publicly.

Lawyers for Combs had asked that he be transferred to Fort Dix, which they said they felt was best suited to address their client's issues with substance abuse.

A separate statement was posted to Combs X account, but appeared to have been taken down

Combs performs at 2023 MTV Video Music Awards in Newark, New Jersey.

'In order to address drug abuse issues and to maximize family visitation and rehabilitative efforts, we request that the court strongly recommend to the Bureau of Prisons that Mr. Combs be placed at FCI Fort Dix,' Combs' lawyer Teny Geragos said.

Sentencing judge U.S. District Judge Arun Subramania has noted that Combs be allowed to enter a program to rehabilitate himself from substance abuse while in custody.

Combs said in a letter to Judge Subramanian of his rehab efforts: 'I'm on a journey that will take time and hard work.

'I'm proud to say I'm working harder than I ever have before. I'm committed to the journey of remaining a drug-free, non-violent and peaceful person.'

Combs added, 'I thank God that I'm stronger, wiser, clean, clear and sober. God makes no mistakes.'
Kris Jenner looked the ultimate Bond girl as she brandished a pistol at her 007-themed birthday party.

The Kardashian-Jenner matriarch was seen partying the night away with her A-list pals in a glamorous red gown at the weekend.

She put on a show-stopping display and looked vibrant as she posed in snapshots at the star-studded soiree hosted at billionaire Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's megamansion in Beverly Hills.

In one photo, she beamed as she leaned against her longtime partner, Corey Gamble, 45, who posed with a cigar in his mouth.

'Magical night celebrating my 70th birthday with beautiful family and friends,' the reality TV star wrote alongside her post, which she shared on Sunday.

The entrepreneur, who celebrated turning 60 with a party inspired by The Great Gatsby, is said to have opted for 007 this year as a play on the number 70.

Kris Jenner, 70, looks the ultimate Bond girl as she brandishes a pistol at her 007-themed birthday party alongside her partner Corey Gamble, 45

The day after celebrating her 70th birthday, the Kardashian-Jenner matriarch took to Instagram to share photos of herself partying the night away in a glamorous red gown

Her carousel post included snapshots with no shortage of A-list stars as they all celebrated her milestone birthday.

In several photos, she posed alongside her partner and in others, alongside her daughters, in the space decorated with red velvet drapes and golden chandeliers.

She shared a photo of herself and Mariah Carey clinking glasses and showcasing their seemingly age-defying beauty.

Kris also posted a photo of herself standing beside Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan.

In one snap, the businesswoman shared an air smooch with longtime pal Kathy Hilton.

Also among the celebrity guests were Oprah Winfrey, Adele, Harry and Meghan, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, Gayle King, Niecy Nash, Sarah Paulson and Naomi Watts, who were all dressed to the nines for the James Bondthemed blowout.

While guests and attendees were allowed to film the party, insiders told People that no reality TV cameras were permitted inside, making it one of the few celebrations not captured for the family's reality show, The Kardashians.

'It was just all about celebrating Kris,' a source told People. 'And it was everything you'd expect from Kris: over-the-top, glamorous and full of love from her family. It was obvious that she had the best night.'

Another insider told the outlet earlier this month that Jenner has been 'excited about turning 70.'

They added: 'Sure, she looks amazing, but it's her energy that stands out... she has this nonstop enthusiasm for life.'

The evening reportedly hosted around 300 invitees.

In the snaps, she parties with the likes of Mariah Carey and the rest of her starry guest list

With Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, who hosted the bash at their Beverly Hills megamansion

Kris also posted a photo of herself with Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan

Stevie Wonder is also seen in attendance at her glamorous bash in Los Angeles

In one snap Kris shares an air smooch with longtime pal Kathy Hilton

And Kris's birthday bash was so over the top that it had Beverly Hills neighbors dialing 911, multiple times in one night.

According to TMZ, police were dispatched to Bezos and Sanchez's $165 million Beverly Hills estate on Saturday after nearby residents complained about the loud music.

Sources at the party told the outlet that the noise 'was off the charts,' thanks to a live performance by Bruno Mars, which sent the glamorous crowd into a frenzy.

Under California law, noise complaints are taken seriously, especially in residential areas like Beverly Hills, where city ordinances prohibit excessive sound after 10pm.

Officers reportedly spoke with security and issued a warning, but that wasn't the end of it.

Later in the night, police returned after learning that large decorative hedges had been placed outside the property to block off the street, a move that apparently required a permit the hosts didn't have.

The fake greenery was ordered to be 'removed [just] as dozens of celebs were leaving the party.'

The Daily Mail previously reached out to Kris's representatives for comment but have not yet heard back.

The evening reportedly hosted around 300 invitees with no shortage of star power and influence

And Kris's birthday bash was so over the top that it had Beverly Hills neighbors dialing 911, multiple times in one night

Kris pairs her chic red gown with black opera gloves and sparkling ruby jewelry as she sips on espresso martinis and poses with her many guests

Her birthday party comes after the businesswoman went viral for her incredible transformation following her $100,000 facelift.

The star has made sure to parade her new look at numerous events, recently looking more like Kim Kardashian's sister than her mother at the star's 45th birthday celebrations in London, as well as at Kendall Jenner's 30th birthday on an island.

Similarly, she stole the show at Kim's All's Fair premiere last month, wearing a vibrant yellow coat dress.

Posing for a stunning cover shoot for Vogue Arabia's September issue, the star spoke openly about her decision to go under the knife earlier this year.

Speaking to Vogue, Kris unapologetically admitted that 'for me, this is ageing gracefully. It's my version.'

'I had a facelift about 15 years ago, so it was time for a refresh,' she confided. 'I decided to do this facelift because I want to be the best version of myself, and that makes me happy.'
Jessica Alba's boyfriend Danny Ramirez posted his first shot alongside the actress to his 489,000 Instagram followers Sunday.

Ramirez, 33, posted a carousel of images taken with the stunning actress, 44, at the 2025 Baby2Baby Gala, which was held at West Hollywood, California's Pacific Design Center.

'What a remarkable evening by the entire @baby2baby team and all who donated. $19.5 million raised in minutes!' Ramirez said in the caption of the post.

The Chicago-born actor continued, 'Helping baby2baby support for children across America and continue their vital work providing essentials to families in need.'

Ramirez shared a series of shots from the black tie charity gala, including a red carpet shot of himself, a few selfies with Alba and some group shots from the proceedings.

Alba and her new beau matched in dark ensembles at the luxe event.

Jessica Alba's boyfriend Danny Ramirez, 33, posted his first shot alongside the actress, 44, to his 489,000 Instagram followers Sunday from the 2025 Baby2Baby Gala in LA

Alba and her new beau matched in dark ensembles at the luxe event in LA

Ramirez was clad in a black tuz, while the Sin City star was clad in a strapless black silk gown, with a draped skirt and fitted bodice rounding out the classy ensemble.

The Honest Company founder had her brown locks down and accessorized with a diamond choker.

Other stars pictured at the annual event included Demi Lovato, Ciara, Lizzo, Serena Williams, Anna Kendrick, Olivia Munn, Ayesha Curry, Jenna Dewan and Sofia Richie Grainge.

The new couple was celebrated in the comment thread on Ramirez's Instagram, including Rachel Zegler and Maude Apatow.

The Euphoria star wrote, 'Its like you 2 have always been together.'

Alba is mother to daughters Honor, 17, and Haven, 14, and son Hayes, seven, with estranged husband Cash Warren, 46.

Ramirez has been seen in films such as Captain America: Brave New World, Top Gun: Maverick and Assassination Nation.

The Honest Company founder and Ramirez have been linked since this past summer.

The Honest Company founder and Ramirez who have been linked since this past summer,

The actor, who has been seen in films such as Captain America: Brave New World, Top Gun: Maverick and Assassination Nation, some group shots from the proceedings

The Dear Eleanor actress flashed a peace sign in a group shot with friends

They initially emerged together publicly at the debut of the movie Valentina at the Mill Valley Film Festival on October 3.

Alba previously showcased their relationship on the popular social media platform  known as going 'Instagram Official'  last month when the two visited Australia.

Alba shared a romantic shot from an excursion she and the actor took to Byron Bay, Australia.

Alba is on the board of directors for Baby2Baby, as the nonprofit says it's focused on providing 'children in need across the country with diapers, clothing' as well as additional 'basic necessities.'
Bruce Willis' wife Emma Heming Willis was pictured running errands with their rarely seen two daughters on Sunday, amid the actor's battle with dementia.

Emma, 47, was joined by Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, in Santa Monica, after Bruce, 70, was recently seen taking a walk with a caregiver following his move out of the family home to a separate house where he has a 24/7 care team.

She opted for a casual look, sporting a white t-shirt and oversized blue jeans along with red converse sneakers. Wrapped around her shoulders was a gray sweater.

The girls looked to be in good spirits, smiling and chatting as they walked side-by-side.

Mabel was pictured in a grey t-shirt and jeans. Meanwhile her sister wore a cozy brown cardigan and khaki pants.

It comes weeks after Emma  who wed Willis in 2009  shared a heartbreaking update on how their young daughters are coping with his declining health.

Bruce Willis', 70, wife Emma Heming Willis, 47, was pictured running errands with their rarely seen two daughters on Sunday, amid the actor's battle with dementia

Emma  who wed Willis in 2009  was joined by Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11, in Santa Monica, after recently sharing that the girls 'miss their dad so much'

'I think they're doing well, all things considered but it's hard,' she told Vogue Australia in October.

'They grieve, they miss their dad so much. He's missing important milestones, that's tough for them - but kids are resilient, [although] I used to hate hearing that because people didn't understand what we were walking through.'

She added: 'I don't know if my kids will ever bounce back, but they're learning and so am I.'

Last week Bruce was pictured holding his carer's hand during a rare public outing.

The Die Hard star, who retired from acting in 2022 due to his worsening health, enjoyed a beachfront stroll in Los Angeles and appeared to be in good spirits, flashing a smile at one point.

The Hollywood icon kept hold of his carer's hand as they walked together.

During one moment, an unsteady Willis reached his other hand for the railing, appearing to use it for support.

The sighting came a day after Emma and Willis' ex-wife, Demi Moore, 62, attended a star-studded charity benefit held in his honor in New York City.

Willis was not in attendance, and has mostly stayed out of the spotlight since his diagnosis.

The actor also shares older daughters Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31, with ex-wife Demi, to whom he was married from 1987 to 2000.

Willis' family announced in 2023 that he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a form of dementia that causes a rapid decline in the areas of the brain linked to personality and language abilities.

In August, his wife said in an interview with Diane Sawyer that Willis has been moved into a separate one-story home away from their main house, where he has a full-time care team.

She opted for a casual look, sporting a white t-shirt and oversized blue jeans along with red converse sneakers. Wrapped around her shoulders was a gray sweater

It comes after Bruce was recently seen taking a walk with a caregiver, following his move out of his family home and to a separate one-story house where he has a 24/7 care team

The Die Hard star, who retired from acting in 2022 due to his worsening health, enjoyed a beachfront stroll in Los Angeles

A separate family insider recently told the Daily Mail: 'He is going downhill fast.'

Last month, sources close to the family revealed Emma is struggling to not only help manage the star's rapidly deteriorating condition but also manage his hefty estate.

The source said: 'Taking care of Bruce isn't just about keeping up his spirits and making sure he can physically get through the day. It also involves looking after the massive fortune he accrued as an A-list movie star.'

Emma herself said moving her husband into a separate residence was the best decision for their family.

She said moving Bruce into a new home where is supported by carers 24/7, has allowed her to go back to just being his wife.

Emma told The Sunday Times: 'It was of the hardest decisions I ever had to make.'

'But among the sadness and discomfort, it was the right move  for him, for our girls, for me. Ultimately, I could get back to being his wife. And that's such a gift.'

Emma added it has also given Bruce more independence, giving him the chance to reconnect with friends and family.

Last month, sources close to the family revealed Emma is struggling to not only help manage the star's rapidly deteriorating condition but also his hefty estate; The pair seen in 2017

She explained: 'It's made such a difference for more friends and family to have their own experience with him without it being my home, without me hovering, or my anxiety of how to manage the guest and their expectations, and then have to see their reactions - their sadness at what is.'

Willis has an estimated $250million in the bank, which his wife is reportedly now in charge of, as his FTD is too advanced for him to manage it with his team.

FTD eats away at the parts of the brain that control language, behavior and personality. Unlike Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, patients don't lose their memory immediately but instead undergo personality changes.

The disease also attacks areas of the brain responsible for judgment, impulse control and decision-making, leading patients vulnerable to mismanaging their finances, which adds an extra burden on to caregivers.

His wife recently revealed the 'wake-up call' that forced her to rethink her husband's dementia care.

This week, she appeared on the HealSquad podcast with actress Maria Menounos to discuss caring for her husband.

She said Willis' neurologist warned her of a grim statistic: about 30 percent of caregivers die before their loved ones.

This could be because 40 percent of caregivers don't schedule their own medical appointments because they don't have enough support to care for their loved one.

Willis also shares older daughters Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31, with ex-wife Demi Moore, 62, to whom he was married from 1987 to 2000; Pictured with Emma, Demi, and their kids

The Hollywood legend has starred in numerous iconic films, including Die Hard (seen in a still)

Chronic stress from caregiving can also exacerbate pre-existing conditions by triggering the body's 'fight-or-flight' response, which leads to inflammation, high blood pressure and an increased risk of heart attack.

Emma said: 'I really needed to hear that to wake up.'

'We are making appointments for everyone, handling, doing this. We are doing so much.'

Emma said: 'Caregivers need to know that in order to make it sustainable, you must care for yourself, that it is not selfish, it is self-preserving.'
Demi Moore showed off her ageless beauty as she larked around with co-star Ali Larter at the premiere of Landman season two on Sunday in New York City.

The Hollywood actress, 62, put on a leggy display in a black and red minidress which boasted short sleeves as she hugged Ali, 49, from behind.

Demi rocked a pair of black knee high boots as she laughed with the Legally Blonde actress while posing for photos on the red carpet.

The duo were spotted whispering in each others ears before larking around at the premiere held at The Whitby Hotel, in Midtown Manhattan

Ali showed off her amazing figure as she went braless under an unbuttoned burgundy shirt which she tucked into a coordinated spotted ruffled miniskirt.

The blonde beauty turned heads as she put on a leggy display in a pair of black opaque tights and black stilettos.

Demi Moore showed off her ageless beauty as she larked around with co-star Ali Larter at the premiere of Landman season two on Sunday in New York City

The Hollywood actress, 62, put on a leggy display in a black and red minidress which boasted short sleeves as she hugged Ali, 49, from behind

During the event, Demi also posed with her beloved pooch Pilaf, who was dressed in a black dog jumper.

She couldn't contain her smile as she cradled her micro-Chihuahua and was spotted earlier in the night carrying Pilaf to the screening.

Demi and Ali were also joined by their co-stars Christian Wallace, Paulina Chavez, Billy Bob Thornton, Michelle Randolph and Jacob Lofland.

The synopsis for the Paramount+ show reads: 'Deep in the heart of West Texas, roughnecks and wildcat billionaires try to get rich quick in the oil business as oil rigs begin to dominate the state. Crisis executive Tommy Norris (Billy Bob Thornton) tries to bring his company to the top during a fuelling boom.'

It comes after Demi led the arrivals at a star-studded benefit show honoring her ex-husband and iconic actor Bruce Willis amid his devastating battle with dementia.

After a decades-long Hollywood career, Willis, 70, announced his shock retirement from acting after being diagnosed with aphasia, a cognitive disorder, in 2022.

One year later in February 2023, Willis' family confirmed that he was suffering from frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a form of dementia that causes a gradual decline in the areas of the brain linked to personality and language abilities.

Since then, Willis has been in the care of his devoted wife Emma Heming, 47, with whom he shares two young children: Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11.

Demi rocked a pair of black knee high boots as she laughed with the Legally Blonde actress while posing for photos on the red carpet

The duo were spotted whispering in each others ears before larking around at the premiere

Ali showed off her amazing figure as she went braless under an unbuttoned burgundy shirt which she tucked into a coordinated spotted ruffled miniskirt

During the event, Demi also posed with her beloved pooch Pilaf, who was dressed in a black dog jumper

She couldn't contain her smile as she cradled her micro-Chihuahua and was spotted earlier in the night carrying Pilaf

Demi and Ali were also joined by their co-stars L-R Christian Wallace, Paulina Chavez, Billy Bob Thornton, Michelle Randolph and Jacob Lofland.

Demi looked chic ahead of stepping onto the red carpet

As she arrived she toted her belongings in a crisp white handbag

Demi held up two thumbs to the camera with excitement

The stars chatted away to the crowd during a panel ahead of the screening at Whitby Hotel

Demi, who was married to Willis from 1987 to 2000, has also stepped up to support her ex-husband amid his ongoing health battle, often visiting with him and providing updates for fans.

And on earlier this month, Demi attended Soho Sessions' special event in New York City honoring Willis while raising funds for the non-profit, The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration.

According to the official flyer, the event promised a very special evening and performance 'in celebration of our friend Bruce Willis.'

Demi looked chic in an all-black outfit that included a black pea coat, a leather turtleneck top and skinny trousers.

The actress wore her long raven hair down and kept a pair of yellow-tinted glasses over her hazel eyes.

Moore and Willis have had an amicable co-parenting relationship and friendship since their divorce in 2000.

The former Hollywood power couple are parents to three daughters: Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31.

Also in attendance was Willis' current wife Emma, who mingled with attendees while on crutches.
An alleged stalker has been ordered to maintain a one hundred yard distance from Kaia Gerber and her supermodel mother Cindy Crawford after they were granted long-term restraining orders.

Gerber and Crawford both received a temporary restraining order against Daniel Lee Schoonover, a 35-year-old man they allege has appeared at their whereabouts and threatened their lives, according to court documents obtained by The Daily Mail.

In a bizarre twist, Schoonover allegedly asked Gerber to participate in a seance after turning up at a theatre in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where she was performing onstage in White Girls Gang.

Months later, he was seen outside her mother's home in southern California, where security camera footage captured him dressed in black clothing.

At a hearing in Los Angeles on Friday, Schoonover was ordered to stay at least one hundred yards away from their homes, workplaces and vehicles, reports TMZ.

Additionally, he was ordered to hand over a firearm registered in his name within 24 hours of the restraining order being granted.

An alleged stalker has been ordered to maintain a one hundred yard distance from Kaia Gerber and her supermodel mother Cindy Crawford after they were granted restraining orders

Gerber and Crawford both received a temporary restraining order against Daniel Lee Schoonover (pictured), a 35-year-old man they allege has 'threatened their lives'

Crawford, who suffered another alleged stalker incident in 2022, claims he rang the doorbell and asked if Gerber resided at the home, to which Crawford responded no.

Gerber served Schoonover with an emergency protective order after she learned it was the same man at her theatre festival.

But the alleged harassment is said to have persisted on social media, where he left comments that the documents described as 'threatening, sexually graphic and extremely concerning.'

'I am very troubled by this situation and it has caused me severe emotional distress,' Crawford wrote in her petition.

'I do not know how Schoonover learned of my address. I am even more disturbed that Schoonover has threatened to murder me and my husband, particularly [now] that he knows where I live.'

'I fear for my daughter's safety and I fear for my safety as well. Schoonover is physically imposing and is clearly persistent in his attempts to contact Kaia.'

In the documents, Gerber said that, 'as a result of Schoonover's stalking and threats, I have suffered, and continue to suffer, severe emotional distress and anxiety' as a result of Schoonover, and is 'even more terrified' after seeing his social media postings and knowing he attempted to find her home.

Both of the requests for protection were granted by the court. Crawford's husband Rande Gerber has also been granted protection after his wife asked that he be protected in her request as Schoonover also allegedly threatened to kill him as well.

Schoonover allegedly asked Gerber (centre) to participate in a seance after turning up at a theatre in Williamstown, Massachusetts , where she was performing in White Girls Gang

Gerber has followed in her mother's modelling footsteps, but has also spread her wings by pursuing acting.

Last year, she spoke highly of Crawford as she reflected on how working together over the years has taken their relationship to a new level.

'I do feel like we've established a really strong bond and friendship outside of just a mother-daughter dynamic, which has been so fun for me over the last few years,' Gerber told People.

Crawford agreed, adding: 'We went to Burning Man together.'

Daily Mail has contacted a representative for further comment.
Tim Minchin has sparked backlash online after appearing to congratulate himself for not cheating on his wife during a candid podcast interview.

The Matilda the Musical creator, 49, made the comments during a recent appearance on the Inherited podcast, where he reflected on the challenges of fame, temptation, and his decades-long marriage to wife Sarah, who he married in 2002.

'I got myself in this situation that I, uh, and I got very close to doing the wrong thing,' Minchin admitted.

'There was a time, I don't think Sarah will mind me saying this, where she's like, "Tim, don't, don't tell me this s**t. Like, do the right thing and don't come to me with like, oh, almost." I didn't, I'm such a good boy. Like, I don't, you just, that feels s**t.'

The comic and musician continued: 'It's not in my nature to think that the goal of life is to get the best version of everything. I'm not someone going, 'Well, what are the imperfections of my relationship? I might be able to get a better one.' It's not what I'm interested in. I'm not interested in trying to find a younger, smarter, hotter [partner]. I'm interested in a nice life where you have a lovely companion.'

He went on to describe how his relationship evolved as his career took off.

Tim Minchin has sparked backlash online after appearing to congratulate himself for not cheating on his wife during a candid podcast interview. Pictured with wife Sarah in 2020

'We went from having no money to plenty. We went from having no recognition to being stopped on the street all the time. We went from living in Australia to living in London,' he said.

'We went from me having a terrible self-esteem and thinking, "Oh, well, I'm no one, I'm never gonna be able to do it," to, you know, having moments of thinking I was all that and we just happened to be perfectly able to cope with that.'

Many listeners of the podcast were appalled by Tim's comments, with several voicing their concerns on the Inherited's official Instagram page.

'The bar is on the floor and Tim is praising himself for hitting it. Not cheating on your partner and actually wanting to be with them is the bare minimum my guy,' wrote one person in the comments.

'The way he talks about his wife in this is pretty demeaning,' said another, while someone else said: 'I feel sorry for his wife, imagine thinking this is praise-worthy.'

One more penned: 'That interviewer needs an Oscar for keeping a pleasant look on her face throughout whatever THAT self-congratulatory monologue was'

'Oh Tim. I'm a fan but this is another example of a man praising himself for giving a woman the bare minimum,' someone else wrote.

'Nothing says, "I love you" like, "I decided to settle for this". He's bloody lucky the mother of his children has not kicked him to the kerb,' another person said.

The Matilda the Musical creator, 49, made the comments during a recent appearance on the Inherited podcast , where he reflected on the challenges of fame, temptation, and his decades-long marriage to wife Sarah, who he married in 2002

'I got myself in this situation that I, uh, and I got very close to doing the wrong thing,' Minchin admitted. Pictured with Sarah in 2017

'"I just want a quiet life". WTF? It is just insulting and gross. Not okay,' someone else wrote with another saying, 'If my man spoke this way about me I would be gone'.

Not everyone was angered, with some praising the podcast for allowing Tim to be 'honest' and calling his comments 'refreshing'.

It comes after Tim revealed his negative experiences working in Hollywood.

Tim spent almost a decade in London and Los Angeles, where he achieved success by writing Broadway hit Matilda, based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name.

But in 2018, Tim told the Sydney Morning Herald he had 'such a terrible experience in Hollywood' after losing work.

Most notable was the cancellation of his $100 million DreamWorks animation project, Larrikins.

The comedian decided to return to his home country, where he has since had incredible success with his album Apart Together and comedy series Upright, which won the 2020 AACTA Award for Best Comedy Series.
Whilst he may be one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Pierce Brosnan has dealt with his fair share of tragedy and challenges in his personal life.

The James Bond actor, 72, was spotted earlier this week reconciling with his estranged son Christopher, 52, after previously revealing he had cut him off over his refusal to kick his drug addiction.

Chris is the biological son of Pierce's late first wife, Australian actress Cassandra Harris, and her ex-husband Dermot.

But their lives were tragically turned upside down when Cassandra died after a battle with ovarian cancer in 1991. His daughter Charlotte then heartbreakingly died of the same disease in 2013.

Tying the knot in 1980, the Australian-born actress, known as Cassie to friends and family, died at just 43 years-old - just a day after their 11th wedding anniversary.

Pierce adopted both Chris and Charlotte after their biological dad Dermot died in 1986. In 1983, he and Cassandra also welcomed their son, Sean William Brosnan.

Pierce Brosnans tragic family history: As Hollywood legend takes steps to repair relationship with estranged son how Bond star was left grieving the loss of his first wife and daughter after they died under the same tragic circumstances (pictured with his late wife Cassandra in 1985)

The actor, 72, previously revealed he had cut Chris, now 52, off in 2005 over his refusal to kick his drug addiction (pictured together in 1998)

However Pierce and Chris have navigated a tricky relationship over the years with Chris battling both cocaine and heroin addictions and once falling into a coma following an overdose.

Meanwhile the actor has spoken openly about Cassie's passing, a year after her death he told People: 'She has made me the man I am, the actor I am, the father I am.

'She's forever embedded in every fibre of my being. She's there with me every day. I was so blessed to have met someone like that.'

He also spoke of the 'incredible cruelty' of losing someone so close to him and with whom he shared so much.

'This is the first time in my life I've ever experienced bereavement, and it's overwhelming,' he said.

As he spoke about Cassandra's 18 month-long battle with the aggressive cancer in raw detail, he revealed how their youngest son Sean would 'play doctor' and would nurse his mother after chemotherapy sessions when she was feeling nauseous and fatigued.

He also recalled the heartbreaking moment his wife of 14 years died in his arms while Charlotte, who was studying at RADA in London at the time, was on the phone and Christopher joined him in the room.

'We were all together. And that's how she went to God,' he said.

In 2013 his eldest daughter Charlotte died from ovarian cancer at 42 years old, the same disease which claimed her mother's life 21 years earlier (pictured 2006)

Tying the knot in 1980, the Australian-born actress already had daughter Charlotte and son Christopher when she met Pierce. They went on to welcome son Sean (pictured 1985)

Pierce said of her passing: 'She's forever embedded in every fibre of my being. She's there with me every day. I was so blessed to have met someone like that'

After Cassie's passing, Pierce later found love again with American journalist, author, actress and model, Keely Shaye Smith.

Over the year's fans have been particularly touched by how Keely, who shares sons Paris and Dylan with the actor, has supported her husband as he continued to grieve over his first wife.

Speaking to the Irish Times in 2013, Pierce said: 'Keely has always been kind and compassionate and encouraged me to mourn Cassie.  I suppose Keely is my North Star, always looking out for me.'

Yet tragedy struck again in 2013 after his eldest daughter Charlotte died from ovarian cancer, the same disease which claimed her mother's life 21 years earlier. She was just 42 years old.

Announcing her death in a statement, he said: 'On June 28 my darling daughter Charlotte Emily passed on to eternal life, having succumbed to ovarian cancer.

'She was surrounded by her husband Alex, children Isabella and Lucas and brothers Christopher and Sean.

'Charlotte fought her cancer with grace and humanity, courage and dignity. Our hearts are heavy with the loss of our beautiful dear girl.

'We pray for her and that the cure for this wretched disease will be close at hand soon. We thank everyone for their heartfelt condolences.'

The Irish actor reportedly flew back from Eastern Europe, where he had been filming spy thriller November Man, to the UK to be at his daughter's bedside.

In 2014, Pierce opened up on Stand Up For Cancer's LA telethon about the profound loss Cassandra and Charlotte had left after they lost their battles.

The Irish born star said on The Dolby Theatre stage: 'To watch someone you love have his or her life eaten away bit by bit by this insidious disease, that kind of sorrow becomes an indelible part of your psyche.

'I held the generous, strong, beautiful hand of my first wife Cassie as ovarian cancer took her life much too soon.

'And just last year, I held the hand of my funny, wonderful daughter Charlotte before she too died from this wretched, inherited disease.'

After Cassie's passing, Pierce later found love again with American journalist, author, actress and model, Keely Shaye Smith (pictured in 1996)

His second wife Keely has also supported him through the loss of his daughter, after he told the Irish Mirror: 'Love is just the most beautiful, joyous feeling. It can come from many places'

As well as the tragedy of losing Charlotte, Pierce and Chris have had a very difficult relationship and in 2005, Pierce said Chris' addiction woes had prompted him to 'cut him off'.

Speaking to Playboy at the time, Pierce said: 'Christopher is still very lost. Shockingly so. I know where he is, but he's having a hard life.

'I can only have strong faith and believe he will recover. He has tested everybody in this family but none more so than himself. He knows how to get out. He doesn't want to.'

Proving that it was a case of tough love, Pierce continued: 'It's painful because you shut down. You never completely cut them off, but I have cut Christopher off. I had to say, "Go. Get busy living, or get busy dying". He has my prayers.'

In 1997, Christopher was jailed for three months for drink-driving after being fined 1,000 for the same offence the year earlier.

Chris, who starred on the original Love Island series in 2005, was also involved in a massive brawl at Browns nightclub in London and was later banned from the venue.

He was also arrested for theft at another club, Chinawhite, but charges were later dropped.

He was also involved in a massive brawl at Browns nightclub in London and was later banned from the venue.

However last week Pierce and Chris showed signs they have repaired their relationship as they were seen together at a family dinner in Notting Hill.

Of their meeting, a source told The Mirror: 'They both looked happy and relaxed while sitting down with one of Brosnans other sons Dylan.'

'Pierce and Christophers problems have been well documented. But it seems theyve managed to put them behind them. It was really nice to see them together.'

The Daily Mail has contacted Pierce's representatives for comment.

Speaking about his tense relationship with Chris he said: 'You never completely cut them off, but I have cut Christopher off. I had to say, "Go. Get busy living, or get busy dying". He has my prayers' (pictured together in 2007)

However last week Pierce and Chris showed signs they have repaired their relationship as they were seen together at a family dinner in Notting Hil. They were joined by Pierce's son Dylan, 28

Later speaking to Esquire Magazine in 2017 he discussed how his life has forever been effected after losing the women dear to him.

He explained: 'I dont look at the cup as half full, believe me. The dark, melancholy Irish black dog sits beside me from time to time.'

Pierce also spoke out about how he found strength in his faith to help him 'survive the pain' following Charlotte's death.

He explained to German newspaper Bild at the time: 'That's all you have left when your heart is just a dark hole at four in the morning and you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.

'No one can escape life's pain. That's life.'

His second wife Keely has also supported him through the loss of his daughter, after he told the Irish Mirror: 'Love is just the most beautiful, joyous feeling. It can come from many places.

'Hopefully the one who is beside you, the one who is there on the pillow beside you in the morning  my wife.'

He added: 'We seem to do well at being together and being in love and, more importantly, liking each other. The like factor is a great thing. Love cannot burn constantly.

'It's very hard for it to be so intense. But it's wonderful. I tell her I love her everyday. It's important to say that.'

In a statement announcing Charlotte's death he said: 'We pray for her and that the cure for this wretched disease will be close at hand soon'

On the profound loss of Cassandra and Charlotte he said: 'To watch someone you love have his or her life eaten away bit by bit by this insidious disease, that kind of sorrow becomes an indelible part of your psyche' (pictured in 1980)

As well as suffering multiple losses, Pierce also grew up without a father figure after his dad Tom abandoned the family shortly after he was born.

He recalled that he only met Tom once as he filmed Remington Steele in Ireland in 1984.

Speaking to Esquire, he added: 'My fatherly instincts are purely my own. They relate back to no one, because there was no one.'

'I only met Tom the once, I had a Sunday afternoon with him. A story about this and that, had a few pints of Guinness, and we said goodbye. I would have loved to have known him. He was a good whistler and he had a good walkThats as much as I know about him.'
You'd be hard pressed to find anyone who didn't recognise Morgan Freeman's signature voice.

From Driving Miss Daisy to The Shawshank Redemption and beyond, Freeman's unmistakably deep cadence, powerful delivery and commanding use of speech has helped establish him as one Hollywood's most in-demand actors and voice-over artists.

Indeed, Freeman's masterful narration for 2005 nature film March Of The Penguins arguably contributed to it winning Best Documentary Feature at the 78th annual Academy Awards the following year.

But a growing reliance on cost-effective AI technology to accurately replicate famous acting voices - among them Freeman, 88, and the late James Earl Jones - has infuriated the veteran star, who believes it has cost him valuable work.

'Im a little POd, you know,' he told The Guardian. 'Im like any other actor: dont mimic me with falseness. I dont appreciate it and I get paid for doing stuff like that, so if youre gonna do it without me, youre robbing me.'

While Jones had agreed for his deep, rumbling voice as Star Wars nemesis Darth Vader to be replicated by artificial intelligence after parting ways with the franchise, Freeman is less charitable.

Morgan Freeman believes artificial intelligence has robbed him of work and resulted in him taking legal action against various companies for replicating his voice without consent

Unsurprisingly, Freeman takes a dim view of Tilly Norwood (pictured), the entirely fictional, AI generated actress created by technologist Eline Van der Velden and unveiled over the summer

And perhaps with good cause, after discovering numerous projects where his voice has been replicated without prior consent.

'Well, I tell you, my lawyers have been very, very busy,' he admitted.

Unsurprisingly, Freeman - whose career began in the 1960s - takes a dim view of Tilly Norwood, the entirely fictional, AI generated actress created by technologist Eline Van der Velden and unveiled over the summer.

Norwood's development as Hollywood's first synthetic actress has sparked inevitable backlash, not least because a growing reliance on AI was at the heart of industry crippling SAG-AFRA writers strikes in 2023.

Guilds, actors and filmmakers have met the product with an immediate wave of backlash, protesting that artificial intelligence should not have a starring role in the acting profession.

In a statement Tuesday, the Screen Actors Guild said that "creativity is, and should remain, human-centered."

'To be clear, `Tilly Norwood is not an actor, its a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers - without permission or compensation,' the guild said.

'It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what weve seen, audiences aren't interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience.'

From Driving Miss Daisy to The Shawshank Redemption and beyond, Freeman's deep cadence and powerful delivery have established him as one Hollywood's most in-demand actors

Van der Velden (pictured), founder of the AI production studio Particle6, recently promoted Tilly Norwood at the Zurich Summit

Van der Velden, founder of the AI production studio Particle6, recently promoted Tilly Norwood at the Zurich Summit, the industry sidebar of the Zurich Film Festival.

She said then that talent agencies were circling Norwood and that she expected to soon announce a signing.

'Nobody likes her because shes not real and that takes the part of a real person, so its not going to work out very well in the movies or in television,' Freeman said of Norwood.

'The unions job is to keep actors acting, so theres going to be that conflict.'

Present frustrations aside, Freeman insists the future still has plenty to offer - and he has no intention of following in his The Bucket List co-star Jack Nicholson's footsteps by retiring.

He said: 'Sometimes the idea of retirement would float past me but, as soon as my agent says theres a job or somebody wants you or theyve made an offer, the whole thing just boils back into where it was yesterday: how much youre going to pay, where were gonna be?

'The appetite is still there. I will concede that its dimmed a little. But not enough to make a serious difference.'
Holly Ramsay and Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty have banned his mother from their wedding after an astonishing family row over his bride's failure to invite her future mother-in-law to her hen party.

The influencer daughter of fiery chef Gordon Ramsay welcomed her own mother Tana, family friend Victoria Beckham and Adam's sister to her pre-nuptial celebrations at the celebrity hotspot Soho Farmhouse.

But she failed to invite the swimmer's mother Caroline Peaty, 59, who helped steer him to Olympic glory. Caroline instead stayed at home in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, looking after her five-year-old grandson George.

A source close to Adam's working-class family said the apparent snub happened after the swimmer, who was once close to his mother, had distanced himself from her after being seduced by the fame and glamour of the Ramsays.

The ill-feeling was apparently made worse by Adam, who has three Olympic gold medals, inviting his future father-in-law Gordon Ramsay to his own stag night while his mother was not asked to attend his bride's stylish celebrations in the Cotswolds.

His aunt Louise Williams exposed the heartbreak over her sister being left off the guest list last weekend by hitting out at Holly in a public Instagram post which accused her of being 'divisive and hurtful'.

Louise blasted Holly over the snub to her future mother-in-law who had 'opened her home and heart to you', saying it had inflicted 'a hurt on my sister that will take a very long time to heal if ever'.

Her post stated: '@hollyramsayy I'm so glad that you had a great hen do. As a bride, you deserve that. However, as a person you were divisive and hurtful towards a woman, who I have loved and continue to love deeply.

Holly Ramsay and fiance Adam Peaty are caught in a bitter family feud after the Olympian banned his mother from their wedding

The Daily Mail can reveal bride-to-be Holly, the daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, caused 'deep upset' by not welcoming Adam's mother Caroline at her hen party this weekend

Holly celebrated her nuptials to Adam by hosting close friends and family at Soho Farmhouse, with guests including her mother Tana Ramsay, sisters Megan and Tilly, and Victoria Beckham

'A woman who opened her home and heart to you. You decided, for whatever reason, not to invite her, your prospective mother-in-law to your hen night yet Adam invited his father-in-law, your dad, to his stag night.

'You invited your mum (quite rightly) and even your mum's assistant, your sisters, your friends, my niece, but not my sister, your future mother-in-law.

'I have also seen messages passing between her and Adam about this and other matters and, quite frankly, I expected better of you and definitely of Adam. You have inflicted a hurt on my sister that will take a very long time to heal if ever.'

The post is said to have deeply upset Holly, 25, and world champion swimmer Adam, 30, who have been dating for more than two years and are due to get married at Bath Abbey at Christmas.

A source close to the Peaty family revealed that the swimmer had left his mother 'heartbroken' after her sister's post by contacting her to ban her from the wedding and to tell her she would not see his son George or any future grandchildren again.

In another message to his mother, seen by the Daily Mail, Adam stated his intention to disown his family, despite them having supported him throughout his career.

Caroline waded into the incredible row by expressing her distress in an Instagram post which stated: 'Crying is a way your eyes speak when your mouth can't explain how broken your heart is.'

Her post attracted messages of support and concern from friends including one who commented: 'Don't let them drag you down Caroline.'

The same person added in a further comment: 'You know considering they are both supposed to be mental health advocates they don't seem to be showing much regard for yours.'

A source close to the Peaty family revealed that the swimmer had left his mother 'heartbroken' after her sister's post

A source close to Adam's working class family said the snub happened after the swimmer had distanced himself from her after being seduced by the fame and glamour of the Ramsays

Adam's aunt Louise Williams exposed the heartbreak over her sister being left off the guest list last weekend by hitting out at Holly in a public Instagram post

The Olympian's mum posted on her Instagram profile: 'Crying is a way your eyes speak when your mouth can't explain how broken your heart is'

The remark was a reference to the well-publicised mental health struggles of Holly and world champion Adam who took a competitive break from swimming in 2023 after 'three years of hell' which saw him battle depression and alcoholism.

Adam's mother was always known as one of his staunchest supporters during his swimming career, and famously got up at 4am when he was a boy to drive him for 40 minutes to training sessions with the City of Derby swimming club.

In a punishing routine which went on for more than three years, she would then hang around for up to two hours before driving him home and going to her own job as a nursery manager while her husband and Adam's father Mark worked as a caretaker at a Lidl store.

A source close to Adam's family said they believed the 'heartbreaking' rift had been developing between the swimming star and his mother ever since he had begun dating Holly.

The pair met on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021 when Peaty and Holly's younger sister Tilly were both competing on the series.

Adam split with his partner Eirianedd Munro, the mother of his son George, in 2022. He and Holly reportedly began dating in May 2023 and quickly confirmed their relationship the following month.

The source explained Adam's deteriorating relationship with his mother, saying: 'It's partly because Adam doesn't feel his family is good enough for the new one he is now part of.

'Adam has changed so much since he's been with Holly. She comes from a celebrity world, while his parents do not, and his ego and self-importance have grown. He's no longer the lovely boy next door we all remember.'

The source said that Adam's parents 'sacrificed so much' for him, even putting themselves into debt as he trained for Olympic glory.

A source close to Adam's family said they believed the 'heartbreaking' rift had been developing between the swimming star and his mother ever since he began dating Holly

Holly, the daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and his wife Tana, is set to marry her fiance Adam this Christmas in Bath

Gordon, who owns more than 80 restaurants and is worth millions, counts the Beckhams among his close circle

They added: 'Caroline is devastated by the rift and doesn't know what she has done wrong.

'Adam's relationship with his mum and dad Mark are at an all-time low, and now she's not coming to the wedding,

'She had been so excited and really wanted to be involved and had offered to make lovely table setting name plates, as she is a skillful craftswoman, but she was told her help wasn't needed.

'As time has gone on, things have become strained and there have been rows, the tension has been very fraught. Caroline is in pieces and is absolutely heartbroken that it's gotten to this point.

'Caroline and Mark put Adam's career above everything and supported him through thick and thin so for their relationship to have crumbled is so upsetting.

'They feel that Adam started to grow distant from his family after he met Holly and they started to become more serious. There is a feeling that money is an issue.

'His family are working class and proud - it's a stark contrast to the Ramsay family and some members of the family have said it feels like Adam is ashamed of them.'

The source said it was believed that the only member of Adam's family now due to attend the wedding is his sister Bethany, with nobody else being able to afford the hotel costs.

In a stinging attack on the Olympian the family member told the Daily Mail: 'Adam has forgotten where he has come from. He no longer thinks his own family is good enough for him, and it's very hurtful and spiteful.

'Adam's mum did everything in her power to help him pursue his Olympic dream and now he's banning her from his life.

'She was so happy when he and Holly got snagged and opened her heart and home to her.'

Initially, Mrs Peaty and her husband were invited to the wedding, along with other family members, and Caroline excitedly bought a dress.

But, according to the source, the star and his fiancee didn't like it so offered to buy her a different one of their choice.

The Peatys had been gifted train travel and accommodation to visit Bath to go shopping, which they accepted.

But the planned trip never happened because train services going south were either delayed or cancelled due to multiple stabbings on a train in Huntingdon two weeks ago.

The source said: 'Caroline and Mark couldn't make the journey and instead of rearranging it, Adam went mad they had missed it and moaned they had wasted his money and he wouldn't be able to get a refund.

'For goodness sake, he's a multi-millionaire. It's all so sad, not one really knows what goes on behind closed doors.

'Adam doesn't really want or need his family anymore.

'It is heartbreaking to see this once normal, close-knit family fall apart.'

The source said that on Sunday after the extended hen celebrations, Mrs Peaty received a berated call from her son and a series of text messages while she was dropping her grandson George back with his ex-partner.

Victoria Beckham was among the guests at Holly's hen party this weekend, held at the celebrity hotspot Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire

Holly wore a veil reading 'Mrs Peaty' during her hen party as she posed in a white and silver minidress

During Holly's star-studded hen party, guests donned masks of Adam's face, complete with swimming goggles and cap, as they sipped spicy Margaritas at the private soiree

A childhood photo of Holly was placed at her seat at the table, alongside a 'bride' headdress

'Caroline had kindly looked after George while missing out on the party, and was thanked with a volley of abuse after a relative posted a comment on Holly's Instagram.'

Adam won his first Olympic gold in the 100m breaststroke in 2016, and won a second in the same event, as well as another in the mixed relay, at the 2020 games which were held in Tokyo in 2021 due to Covid.

He claimed two years ago that he never 'wanted to see a pool again' due to the pressure of the sport, leaving him 'broken'.

But he overcame his depression with the help of his family and Holly, and made a roaring return at the Paris Olympics last year, earning a silver medal and falling just short of gold by an agonising 0.02 seconds in the breaststroke.

Holly posted a series of pictures on her Instagram account showing her and her friends and family arriving for her stylish pre-wedding bachelorette celebration at the Soho Farmhouse last Friday.

She looked stunning in all white as she was joined by her mother Tana, sisters Megan and Tilly and Peaty's sister Bethany to kick off her weekend of celebrations.

Holly posted a series of pictures on her Instagram account which has nearly 400,000 followers as her weekend got underway, alongside a message saying: 'Bachelorette weekend starts now. I love my sisters and mama so much.'

The Olympic swimmer split from ex-girlfriend Eirianedd, mother of his son, in August 2022, eight months after his stint on Strictly Come Dancing (pictured December 2021)

Adam, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time silver medalist, has previously credited his parents for supporting him throughout his illustrious Olympic career

One picture showed her wearing a long wool coat layered over a long-sleeved top and wide-leg jeans with cream trainers and a cute white bow in her hair.

Another snap featured her and Tana walking hand-in-hand at the exclusive Cotswolds venue, set in 100 acres of Oxfordshire countryside.

A further picture showed a beautifully arranged table featuring a personalised champagne bottle, and cups labelled 'Bride' and 'Team Bride'.

More pictures from later on in the weekend showed Holly in a short white dress, high heels and a bridal headdress while others showed her and guests wearing Adam Peaty face masks.

One showed her in a group shot with her guests, including Victoria Beckham, and a post saying: 'My girls gave me the best weekend, my heart is so full', accompanied by a heart emoji.

Holly and Adam declined to comment.
Interview: Africa-China cooperation remains instrumental in Africa's dev't, says Zimbabwean scholar

Xinhua) 10:40, November 10, 2025

HARARE, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- China's cooperation with African countries has been instrumental in fostering tangible growth and development on the continent, a Zimbabwean scholar has said.

Tungamirai Eric Mupona, deputy chairman of the China-Zimbabwe Exchange Center, a non-governmental organization dedicated to the advancement of China-Zimbabwe cultural and socio-economic development, told Xinhua in a recent interview that China has evolved from being Africa's largest trading partner to establishing a more comprehensive cooperation with African countries, which has brought tangible benefits to the continent.

"China is bringing much-needed capital, expertise, and technology to the continent, fostering its industrialization by investing in manufacturing, infrastructure development, mineral value-addition, and many other critical sectors," said Mupona.

He hailed the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, saying it has been key in deepening China-Africa economic cooperation, enhancing connectivity, and delivering persistent developmental benefits across the continent.

"In addition to these incoming investments, China has continuously opened its market to African products in recent years," he said, adding that these measures have provided "green lanes" to African agricultural products and enabled local farmers to generate more revenue.

Mupona said China, as a nation with a vast consumer market and high-quality development, has made significant contributions to global economic development, with the ongoing China International Import Expo showcasing China's willingness to pursue high-level opening-up.

"In recent years, China has continued to open up, offering more opportunities for multinational companies and global investors," said Mupona.

"The 2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment is also a positive signal that China will continue to deepen reforms, further expand market access, and enhance the business environment. We can therefore expect even greater openness under the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan," he said.

China has forged a distinctive path to modernization with unique institutional arrangements, an approach that may inspire Africa and other developing countries to find innovative ways to foster growth, thereby contributing to global development, said Mupona.

The scholar noted that, beyond investment, China has also made significant contributions to the cause of global development.

"One notable example is the Global Development Initiative proposed in 2021, which aligns closely with the goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," said Mupona.

"Overall, given these sustained efforts and partnerships, I believe China will remain a proactive force in global development moving forward," he added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Manchester rapper, Aitch and YouTube sensation AngryGinge have touched down in Brisbane Airport ahead of this year's I'm A Celebrity which will air on Sunday.

Aitch, 25, whose real name is Harrison Armstrong, arrived Down Under wearing a full black and white Adidas tracksuit, insisting that he was in Australia on 'tour' as the contestants still cannot confirm they are going into the Jungle.

The Rain rapper told the Daily Mail: 'I was gonna say that I'll miss the rain in the UK but it's raining here so nothing's changed much.

'I've been to Australia plenty of times, I love it over here. I don't mind snakes, snake on toast.'

The artist who hails from New Moston in Manchester revealed that he was going to miss his little sister, Gracie, who has Down Syndrome, 'Even though she's a little s*** I'm still going to miss her.'

And then in a message to his fans, he said: 'I want to shout them all out and say that I'll be back home soon and if I'm not then someone needs to have a word.'

Rapper Aitch, (pictured) and YouTube sensation AngryGinge are the latest contestants to land at Brisbane Airport ahead of this year's I'm A Celebrity

AngryGinge, real name Morgan Burtwistle, was the fifth contestant to touched down in Brisbane Airport

Elsewhere his close friend AngryGinge, whose real name is Morgan Burtwistle, was also seen arriving at Brisbane Airport.

The YouTube and Twitch sensation wearing a full black tracksuit with a pair of 50 Crocs after the cartoon Cars, as he told the Daily Mail: 'I'm really excited to be here, I've never been to Australia.'

Poking fun at all his fellow contestant excuses as to why they were there, he added: 'You won't believe why I'm here, I got a random phone call off Kelly Brook saying that she's coming out to visit her Auntie Sheila and would I like to join, so I said I might as well.

'Then Lisa Riley phones me and says she's doing a Dingle Down Under, do I want to join, and then Aitch said he's going on tour so I said I might as well join him.

'And then Aitch's mum phoned me and said she won two weeks in Australia on the postcode lottery and would I like to join her and so I said I would, so I'm going to by busy.'

When quizzed about his close friendship with the Manchester-based rapper who arrived just hours before him, Ginge joked: 'I'm not a number one fan of his music, don't get me wrong, but he's a nice guy, so it should be fun.'

On the subject of camping, the social media sensation said: 'Well I did bronze Duke of Edinburgh, so I weren't too bad at that, I've done it before.

'But I vowed I would never come to Australia because of the spiders and animals, so I'm hoping the hotel is secure and their not getting in.'

When asked what he would miss about being at home he listed his Twitch chat, his mum and Manchester United.

It comes after he was spotted on Sunday checking in at the Emirates First Class desk as he prepared to board his flight.

ITV bosses hope Burtwistle will attract hoards of new younger Gen Z viewers to its flagship show as the TikTok star already boasts three million followers across the video sharing app and Instagram.

The popular streamer and YouTuber is known for his high-energy, emotional gameplay took part in ITV's Soccer Aid, earlier this year, where he played alongside a whole host of famous faces at Old Trafford.

After his performance, which saw him many fans called for him to play pro, Tyson Fury told him that he 'smashed it'.

The pair will join the likes of Kelly Brook, Shona McGarty, Lisa Riley, AngryGinge and Martin Kemp in the Jungle for the show's 25th series.

The BRIT Award winner will follow in the footsteps of fellow rapper Tinchie Stryder, who appeared on the show 11 years ago.

Aitch, whose real name is Harrison Armstrong, has had nine top 10 hits and became a viral sensation after he struck up a very close connection with YouTube creator Amelia Dimoldenberg, when the pair met on her Chicken Shop series.

Despite neither of the pair ever confirming the relationship, Amelia did appear in his Baby video, appearing as his date, which sent fans into a frenzy.

Aitch who is from Manchester, won the British Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act at The Brits in 2023 and has over six million followers across all his social platforms and YouTube.

It's this broad following and the fact he is younger which is thought to have had an appeal on ITV bosses.

It comes after Ant and Dec kicked back in a pair of jungle-themed pyjamas as the I'm A Celebrity contestants started to arrive in Australia ahead of the new series.

Aitch arrived Down Under wearing a full black and white Adidas tracksuit with a pair of silver Apple headphones on

The Rain rapper told the Daily Mail: 'I was gonna say that I'll miss the rain in the UK but it's raining here so nothing's changed much'

Aitch insisted that he was in Australia on 'tour' as the contestants still cannot confirm they are going into the Jungle

'I've been to Australia plenty of times, I love it over here,' he added. 'I don't mind snakes, snake on toast'

The social media star was seen wheeling his bright red suitcase through the airport and wearing a pair of Disney's Cars crocs

Morgan, 23, landed in Brisbane Airport wearing a full black tracksuit

He was seen checking into a first class Emirates flight on Sunday ahead of his arrival into Brisbane

The YouTube sensation dressed casually for the long journey ahead of his stint in the I'm A Celebrity jungle

The ITV show returns on Sunday with a host of new celebrities braving the creep crawlies in the jungle.

And the hosting duo are taking it easy before the series kicks off, with the pair seen sporting jungle-themed pyjamas.

In a snap shared on Instagram on Sunday, Ant was seen wearing crocodile slippers while Dec opted for dark green crocs covered in insects.

'If anybody needs us, well just be waiting here until 16th November #ImACeleb,' they captioned the snap.

Kelly was the first star to touch down in Australia on Sunday ahead of the series, soon followed by Lisa Riley. EastEnders' star Shona McGarty arrived later that night.

Model and actress Kelly, 45, was the first to arrive as she looked very glamorous in a 250 yellow and orange dress from Louisa Ballou - which she proudly said was like 'the Australian sunset'.

It comes after Ant and Dec kicked back in a pair of jungle-themed pyjamas on Instagram on Sunday as the I'm A Celebrity contestants started to arrive in Australia ahead of the new series

She told the Daily Mail: 'I'm just here to visit my Auntie Sheila' as celebrities are not allowed to confirm whether they are appearing on the ITV show yet.

When asked what she would miss most about the UK, she said: 'My dog Teddy and my husband Jeremy.

'But I'm looking forward to surfing and seeing my distant cousin I've not seen for a long time and the Koalas and Kangaroos of course. I'm not sure about sleeping under the stars, I'm hoping she has a spare room.'

Meanwhile Emmerdale star Lisa, who has played Mandy Dingle on the ITV soap for 11 years, was the second contestant to arrive in Australia as she declared: 'We did "Dingle Down Under" many years ago, so it's only fair that we do it again.'
Imogen Thomas proudly showed off the results of her breast reduction and uplift surgery as she posed in a bikini during a lavish Dubai getaway on Monday.

The Welsh model, 42, took to social media as she modelled an eye catching orange and blue striped two-piece as she cooled off in the water during the sun-soaked trip.

Imogen looked sensational in the swimwear, which boasted a scoop neck top and matching tie side bottoms, as she shielded from the sun behind a pair of sunglasses.

The Big Brother star later modelled a white bikini as she strutted towards the camera on her balcony at the Atlantis The Royal hotel, which overlooked the picturesque ocean.

Leaving her long tresses loose, the stunner tied her bikini bottoms as she flaunted her jaw-dropping figure.

Imogen was all smiles as she sat crossed legged on a sun lounger while pouring herself a large glass of Veuve Clicquot champagne.

Imogen Thomas proudly showed off the results of her breast reduction and uplift surgery as she posed in a bikini during a lavish Dubai getaway on Monday

The Welsh model, 42, took to social media as she modelled a white bikini as she strutted towards the camera on her balcony at the Atlantis The Royal hotel

Keeping cool she pulled her long locks into a high bun as she soaked up the sun while enjoying drinks at rooftop bar Cloud 22.

The TV personality simply penned: 'Im on a cloud'.

Recently Imogen also showed off her breast reduction results in a plunging brown cut out swimsuit as she soaked up the sun on holiday.

The reality star gushed that having her implants removed was the 'best decision she's made' as she beamed for the stunning selfie.

She wrote: 'Getting my implants removed is the best decision I made. And I have one person to thank @dr.salihonurbasat. Girls if your thinking about it please just go for it! My only regret is that I didnt go sooner'.

The post comes after the reality star took to Instagram earlier this year to share a health update after she went under the knife again.

Ahead of the surgery, Imogen toyed with getting her implants taken out and having more put in, or just going natural and having an uplift.

She went for the second option after asking her fans to decide for her the day before.

Leaving her long tresses loose, the stunner tied her bikini bottoms as she flaunted her jaw-dropping figure

Imogen was all smiles as she sat crossed legged on a sun lounger while pouring herself a large glass of Veuve Clicquot champagne

Imogen previously had her breasts increased from a 34C to a 34E.

She previously told fans: 'Success. Im recovering RN. I havent seen the results yet, so stay tuned. But my day was so smooth and extremely organised.

'Thank you @dr.salihonurbasat for making me feel at ease. I cant wait to see the results.'

Alongside the update, Imogen posted footage of her experience, showing her preparing to head for the clinic that morning.

Once she arrived at the hospital, a doctor could be seen marking her breasts ahead of the operation.

At the end of the clip, Imogen gave a thumbs up to the camera while revealing the significant bandages on her chest.

Fans flooded her with supportive messages as she healed, with one writing: 'Good for you doing what makes you happy. Glad all well, take it easy.'

A second said: 'Omg been thinking of you, glad it went well. Speedy recovery.'

'So glad youre okay. Speedy recovery', said a third.

In September, Imogen revealed to fans she had flown to Istanbul for the procedure, admitting how her breasts had become 'too big' for her.

The post comes after the reality star shared a health update last month after she went under the knife again (pictured in 2024)

The ex-glamour model shared a video with fans of the build-up to the operation, including as doctors performed the surgery on her bust

Imogen hinted she was going to have her breasts enlarged even more after asking fans to decide in an online poll - where the majority told her to reduce her bust (pictured in 2023)

She said: 'I cannot wait, my boobs right now are really big for me. I've lost quite a bit of weight, and I just can't have this anymore. So I found the best surgeon in Istanbul.'

In a previous interview with The Mirror, Imogen admitted she doesn't pay for her surgeries and instead offers her surgeons 'collaborations' on social media.

She went on to say: 'Im doing a lot of reformer Pilates, and when I do that, I feel top-heavy, and Ive had a lot of lower back pain.

'They are quite big, so I would like to have a reduction.'

The former Big Brother star was left 'petrified and in tears' following her previous breast surgery in 2017.

She told New! Magazine at the time: 'I started crying. Going under [anaesthetic], you think the worst, like, 'I'm being too selfish here for my kids. What if I don't pull through?' It can happen. I was more nervous about being put to sleep.'
Kris Jenner managed to attract the biggest A-listers to her all-star 70th birthday party over the weekend.

Among the most coveted celebrity guests was Beyonce, who joined Kris in a photo that she posted to Instagram on Monday.

But Kris had plenty of other star power on hand to celebrate her birthday, which fell on November 5.

The celebrated momager also shared a photo of herself dancing up a storm with Justin Bieber, who gave her a respectful bow on the dance floor.

Her photo with Beyonce featured the singer in a busty black minidress with tonal stripes, a sheer panel over her cleavage and furry trim on the skirt.

She also wore opulent necklaces, rings and bracelets, and she wore sheer black gloves to complement the look.

Kris Jenner managed to attract the biggest A-listers to her all-star 70th birthday party over the weekend. Among the most coveted celebrity guests was Beyonce, who joined Kris in a photo that she posted to Instagram on Monday

But Kris had plenty of other star power on hand to celebrate her birthday, which fell on November 5. The celebrated momager also shared a photo of herself dancing up a storm with Justin Bieber

He gave her a respectful bow on the dance floor

Her mother Tina Knowles was also featured in the photo. She rocked a gorgeous crimson sequined dress that contrasted with Kris' youthful scarlet off-the-shoulder number, which she paired with black opera gloves.

Justin was seen in photos in an oddly lustrous black suit as he and Kris cut a rug.

They held hands while dancing, and Justin also bowed down in honor of the birthday girl in another fun snap.

Several of the stars of her Kris' daughter Kim's new Hulu series All's Fair joined her to celebrate the big day, including Naomi Watts, Sarah Paulson, Niecy Nash and Teyana Taylor, as well as the show's creator, Ryan Murphy.

Selma Blair stunned in a sleeveless gold-sequins suit with a plunging top, while Mariah Carey flaunted her curves in a beige dress covered in spangles and Tyler Perry stood out in a black tux decorated with sequined pinstripes.

Kris was also seen chatting with Carey and music mogul David Geffen, who wore a classic tuxedo, in another photo.

The star of the evening managed to draw Hollywood stars, including the Fast & Furious icon Vin Diesel, who wore a sparkling black tuxedo with an untucked black shirt.

Kris rubbed elbows with Melanie Griffith, who shined in a silver sequined top and a black satin skirt.

Several of the stars of her Kris' daughter Kim's new Hulu series All's Fair joined her to celebrate the big day, including Naomi Watts, Sarah Paulson, Niecy Nash and Teyana Taylor, as well as the show's creator, Ryan Murphy

Selma Blair stunned in a sleeveless gold-sequins suit with a plunging top, while Mariah Carey flaunted her curves in a beige dress covered in spangles and Tyler Perry stood out in a black tux decorated with sequined pinstripes

Kris was also seen chatting with Carey and music mogul David Geffen, who wore a classic tuxedo, in another photo

The star of the evening managed to draw Hollywood stars, including the Fast & Furious icon Vin Diesel, who wore a sparkling black tuxedo with an untucked black shirt

Kris rubbed elbows with Melanie Griffith, who shined in a silver sequined top and a black satin skirt

She managed to attract some billionaire action, as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg were spotted playing cards together in honor of the birthday's 007 theme. Meanwhile, Kim had a reunion with her old bossturnedfriend, Paris Hilton.

The Hollywood superproducer Brian Grazer favored a three-piece tuxedo while snapping a photo with Kris and Mark Zuckerberg.

Kris also cooled down outside under her trees while sharing a laugh with Michael Kives, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez.

Bezos favored a white tuxedo jacket, while Sanchez showcased her fit figure in a plunging sheer black dress with a ruched skirt and exposed sides.

The event featured plenty of musical entertainment, and the singer and producer Babyface was seen lounging near the stage while wearing a suave double-breasted suit with an vibrant orange ascot.

The sports world was represented at the gathering by Sugar Ray Leonard, who favored a classic black tux.

But some of the biggest stars of the evening were Kris' own children: Kourtney, Kim and Khloe Kardashian and Kendall and Kylie Jenner.

Kim wore a striking two-piece mesh ensemble, which featured a striking plunging backside that she flaunted for the cameras.

She managed to attract some billionaire action, as Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg were spotted playing cards together in honor of the birthday's 007 theme. Meanwhile, Kim had a reunion with her old bossturnedfriend, Paris Hilton

The Hollywood superproducer Brian Grazer favored a three-piece tuxedo while snapping a photo with Kris and Mark Zuckerberg

Kris also cooled down outside under her trees while sharing a laugh with Michael Kives, billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sanchez. Bezos favored a white tuxedo jacket, while Sanchez showcased her fit figure in a plunging sheer black dress with a ruched skirt and exposed sides

The event featured plenty of musical entertainment, and the singer and producer Babyface was seen lounging near the stage while wearing a suave double-breasted suit with an vibrant orange ascot

The sports world was represented at the gathering by Sugar Ray Leonard, who favored a classic black tux

But some of the biggest stars of the evening were Kris' own children: Kourtney, Kim and Khloe Kardashian and Kendall and Kylie Jenner

Kim wore a striking two-piece mesh ensemble, which featured a striking plunging backside that she flaunted for the cameras. Khloe channeled Marilyn Monroe in a gorgeous silver sequined dress that highlighted her cleavage

Kylie wore a sizzling white halter dress with cutouts over her hips, while her sister Kendall showcased her lithe frame in a classic scarlet spaghetti-strap dress

Kourtney rocked a plunging black satin dress with tall gloves

Rounding out Kris' photos was a jubilant image of her blowing out her birthday candles as bellhops lifted the cake for her

Kourtney rocked a plunging black satin dress with tall gloves, while Khloe channeled Marilyn Monroe in a gorgeous silver sequined dress that highlighted her cleavage.

Kylie wore a sizzling white halter dress with cutouts over her hips, while her sister Kendall showcased her lithe frame in a classic scarlet spaghetti-strap dress.

Rounding out Kris' photos was a jubilant image of her blowing out her birthday candles as bellhops lifted the cake for her.

In a fitting move for the James Bondthemed party  dubbed '0070' for Kris' new age  Beyonce managed to sneak in without ever being detected by photographers.

According to TMZ, the songstress, who was accompanied by her husband Jay-Z, arrived at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchezs lavish Beverly Hills estate, where the soiree took place, yet somehow avoided being spotted by photographers.

Despite other high-profile guests like Oprah Winfrey, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Hailey Bieber, Mariah Carey and Mark Zuckerberg all being snapped upon arrival, Queen Bey and her rapper husband managed to keep their attendance completely secret.

Insiders told the outlet that the pair pulled off their quiet entrance thanks to prime parking access, which simply entailed pulling directly onto the sprawling estate and slipping out of their vehicle away from prying eyes.

It wasnt until two days later that fans learned the couple had even been there at all.

Beyonce and Jay-Z proved theyre masters of stealth as they managed to attend Jenners glamorous birthday celebration without being photographed

Interestingly, Beyonces mother, Tina Knowles, did not share her daughters aversion to the spotlight as she happily posing for photos in her vibrant red outfit, confirming at least one Knowles was in attendance.

Jenner's bash was so over the top that it had Beverly Hills neighbors dialing 911, multiple times in one night.

According to TMZ, police were dispatched to Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's $165 million Beverly Hills estate on Saturday after nearby residents complained about loud music blaring from the A-list celebration.

Sources at the party told the outlet that the noise 'was off the charts,' thanks to a live performance by Bruno Mars, which sent the glamorous crowd into a frenzy.

Under California law, noise complaints are taken seriously, especially in residential areas like Beverly Hills, where city ordinances prohibit excessive sound after 10pm.

Officers reportedly spoke with security and issued a warning, but that wasn't the end of it.

Later in the night, police returned after learning that large decorative hedges had been placed outside the property to block off the street, a move that apparently required a permit the hosts didn't have.

The fake greenery was ordered to be 'removed [just] as dozens of celebs were leaving the party.'

The power couple arrived at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchezs lavish Beverly Hills estate, where the James Bondthemed soiree took place, yet avoided being spotted by photographers

Despite other high-profile guests like Oprah Winfrey and Meghan Markle all being snapped upon arrival, the duo managed to keep their attendance completely secret; seen in 2024

The lavish soiree was thrown in honor of the Kardashian-Jenner matriarch's milestone 70th birthday, drawing a staggering list of Hollywood royalty.

Among the guests were Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, Adele, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, Gayle King, Niecy Nash, Sarah Paulson, and Naomi Watts, all dressed to the nines for the James Bondthemed blowout.

While the party was filmed by guests and attendees, insiders told People that no reality TV cameras were allowed inside, making it one of the few Kardashian celebrations not captured for The Kardashians.

'It was just all about celebrating Kris,' a source told People. 'And it was everything you'd expect from Kris: over-the-top, glamorous and full of love from her family. It was obvious that she had the best night.'

Another insider told the outlet earlier this month that Kris has been 'excited about turning 70'.

They added: 'Sure, she looks amazing, but it's her energy that stands out... she has this nonstop enthusiasm for life.'
It's been two decades since Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards divorced, but the actor can't seem to get over how 'messy' it was.

While on his book tour in Atlantic City, New Jersey, over the weekend, Sheen, 60, discussed his past divorces and urged a fan to get a prenup, especially after going through what he went through with Richards, 54, and Brooke Mueller, 48.

When speaking about his time on Two and a Half Men - which he starred on from 2003 to 2011 - he said, 'As far as the memories, the great memories, there's a lot of them. We were cooking with gas for a while there until that thing,' he told the audience, seemingly referring to his firing from the sitcom.

'I just got really overloaded. It really wasn't so much about what was going on at the job. It was all the personal s**t that it was nearly impossible not to bring with me to work.'

He continued: 'I had four children during those eight years and went through two really messy divorces, you know. And pricey!'

According to a Daily Mail reporter who attended the event, a fan then asked him during the Q&A portion, 'As a 23-year-old, you're saying to sign the prenup, right?'

Charlie Sheen threw shade at ex Denise Richards while promoting his book at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on November 8 (pictured)

The Two and a Half Men star and Richards were last seen together on September 4 when she attended the Los Angeles premiere of his documentary, 'aka Charlie Sheen'

Sheen responded, 'If you can. If you can, yeah. You're gonna get pushback, you're gonna get pushback. But maybe she needs you to sign one. Maybe it goes both ways.'

The Wall Street actor was married three times: once to Donna Peele from 1995 to 1996, a second time to Richards from 2002 until 2006, and then a third time to Mueller from 2008 until 2011. It was reported that he did not have a prenup with Richards, but he did have one with Mueller.

The moderator at the Charlie Sheen: Alive On Stage event at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino brought up the actor's three marriages during the talk.

'You were married three times, and the amount of lovers you've had in your life - can you even begin to count them?' the moderator asked.

'No,' Sheen responded. 'But why would I want to? It kind of cheapens it.'

In his memoir, he opened up about having 'weird but fun' sexual experiences with men. However, he did not address this during Saturday's show.

One of the actor's exes, Dolly Fox, however, made a surprise appearance at Hard Rock's Sound Waves. He wrote about dating her in the '80s in his book, The Book of Sheen. He said, 'Nice to see you,' and she stood up and asked him a question about movies he's interested in making nowadays.

During his interview, Sheen, who has been sober for eight years, did not hide the fact that he still smokes, as he smoked his vape onstage multiple times throughout the evening, telling the crowd, 'I need some nicotine.'

Sheen told the audience: 'I had four children during those eight years [on Two and a Half Men] and went through two really messy divorces. And pricey!'

Richards and Sheen were married from 2002 until 2006 (pictured in 2002)

Sheen's ex from the '80s, Dolly Fox, made an appearance during the Q&A at Sound Waves inside Hard Rock Hotel on Saturday when she stood up to ask the actor a question

Sheen has five children: Cassandra Jade Estevez, 40, whom he shares with his ex Paula Profit; Sami Sheen, 21, and Lola Sheen, 20, whom he shares with Richards; and his twins Bob and Max Sheen, 16, whom he shares with Mueller.

While talking about his sobriety journey, he shared the reason behind his decision to remain sober, saying it's for his kids, who are 'counting' on him.

'I got all these kids and they're counting on me. I really take a lot of pride in being that guy you can call. It doesn't matter when or where. I'm consistent without being predictable,' he said. 'That's what I strive for. I feel like there's such nobility in that.

'Plus, I've gotten to a place where it's not a me-first existence. I've got kids that need my attention daily, and that's just something that I put first, and I can't do any of that loaded, you know. I really can't... I made a decision and I'm sticking to that.'

Sheen did not go into detail about which 'kids' he was referring to. It's publicly known that he's estranged from Sami after she revealed on her mom's reality show, Denise Richards & Her Wild Things, that she had not spoken to her father in five months.

The OnlyFans star apparently blocked him in April after he sent her 'crazy stuff' after a heated exchange, and he also did not call her after she got nose surgery.

Sheen addressed their estrangement in September, telling People magazine, 'Theres some stuff going on with Sami, but we'll fix it,' he said.

Meanwhile, he reunited with his estranged ex Richards at the Los Angeles premiere of his Netflix documentary 'aka Charlie Sheen' on September 4.

Sheen spoke about how his kids need his 'attention daily.' He's said to be estranged from Sami after she revealed she blocked him earlier this year (pictured are Lola, Denise and Sami)

The RHOBH alum recently denied on Sheen's claim that she once cashed a $1 million check, which he gave to her as a joke

The RHOBH alum showed her support, writing on Instagram at the time, 'We both looked at each other on the red carpet and just laughed. Charlie asked, "Is it 2002?" and I said, "It sure feels like it." Who would have thought? What a journey weve had- so many ups and downs.

'But when life gets tough, deep down we both know we can count on each other. Im so proud of him, and truly honored he asked me to be part of his story. Congrats, Charles.'

Richards, who's currently going through her own divorce - this time with ex Aaron Phypers - appears to be on good terms with Sheen, even though she recently responded to Sheen's claim that she once cashed a $1 million check, which he gave to her as a joke.

Posting on her Instagram story last month, Richards shared a photo of the check in question, and captioned it, 'Found this during my recent move. I never cashed it, @charliesheen. Is it still good?!'
Kourtney Kardashian did not seem to be in the mood to party as she headed to mom Kris Jenner's 70th birthday bash.

The star, 46, flashed quite the frosty expression as she sat in the back of a chauffeured car, her face a mixture of irritation and annoyance.

The momentary display of agitation appeared to have been fleeting - or perhaps a glimpse into something deeper - her feud with her sister Khloe Kardashian is currently unfolding on her family's reality show.

Khloe, 41, of course, was also among the many stars present at the party.

Kourtney also has a reputation for having a cold demeanor and deadpan vocal delivery. Earlier this year she took a dig at her own reliably frosty facial expression on Instagram, joking: 'the happiest people (smiling on the inside ;)'.

Saturday's lavish soiree was thrown in honor of the Kardashian-Jenner matriarch's milestone 70th birthday, drawing a staggering list of Hollywood royalty.

Kourtney Kardashian was not exactly hiding her displeasure as she celebrated mom Kris Jenner's 70th birthday bash over the weekend

Among the guests were Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, Adele, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, Gayle King, Niecy Nash, Sarah Paulson, and Naomi Watts, all dressed to the nines for the James Bondthemed blowout.

While the party was filmed by guests and attendees, insiders told People that no reality TV cameras were allowed inside, making it one of the few Kardashian celebrations not captured for The Kardashians.

'It was just all about celebrating Kris,' a source told People. 'And it was everything you'd expect from Kris: over-the-top, glamorous and full of love from her family. It was obvious that she had the best night.'

Another insider told the outlet earlier this month that Kris has been 'excited about turning 70'.

They added: 'Sure, she looks amazing, but it's her energy that stands out... she has this nonstop enthusiasm for life.'

The evening reportedly hosted around 300 invitees.

Jenner and her longtime boyfriend, Corey Gamble, are close friends with Sanchez and Bezos.

In addition to attending the couple's Venice wedding this summer, the pals are often seen on date nights and showing public support for one another.

The lavish soiree was thrown in honor of the Kardashian-Jenner matriarch's milestone 70th birthday, drawing a staggering list of Hollywood royalty

Kardashian was seen sitting at the back of the car, glammed up and dressed to the nines

In September, Jenner praised Sanchez's second childrens book, The Fly Who Flew Under The Sea, which spotlights overcoming learning differences.

'We love you so much!!! Thank you for shining your beautiful (inside and out) light on such amazing and important causes always, but opening up about Dyslexia which is so personal for you will help and encourage so many!!! You are truly an inspiration and such a special girl and friend. I love you,' Kris wrote on Instagram.

Meanwhile, Jenner's birthday bash was so over the top that it had Beverly Hills neighbors dialing 911, multiple times in one night.

According to TMZ, police were dispatched to Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's $165 million Beverly Hills estate on Saturday after nearby residents complained about loud music blaring from the A-list celebration.

The momentary display of agitation could have been fleeting, or a sign of something deeper - she is currently feuding with her sister Khloe Kardashian, who was also present at the party

Sources at the party told the outlet that the noise 'was off the charts,' thanks to a live performance by Bruno Mars, which sent the glamorous crowd into a frenzy.

Under California law, noise complaints are taken seriously, especially in residential areas like Beverly Hills, where city ordinances prohibit excessive sound after 10pm.

Officers reportedly spoke with security and issued a warning, but that wasn't the end of it.

Later in the night, police returned after learning that large decorative hedges had been placed outside the property to block off the street, a move that apparently required a permit the hosts didn't have.

The fake greenery was ordered to be 'removed [just] as dozens of celebs were leaving the party'.
Kylie Jenner shared a hilarious video of herself drunkenly arguing with her friends over a bag of potato chips following a wild night of partying.

In the footage, uploaded to Instagram on Sunday, the 28-year-old makeup mogul playfully warned her best pals, Anastasia 'Stassie' Karanikolaou, Carter Gregory, Victoria Villarroel and Doni Nahmias, to stop trying to steal her snacks.

'Sharing is not caring when you're drunk at 2am after a party,' the mother-of-two joked in her caption, alongside the clip showing her in pajamas clutching a bag of Doritos.

The video opens with Kylie scolding Gregory after he asks for another chip, shouting: 'I said before you can only have one, I've given you three!'

As she laughs, Gregory tries to plead his case, insisting: 'You can give me one! I didn't really get to taste it.'

Villarroel then jumps in, telling Kylie, 'Please, you're being a little crazy, and we need to help you,' prompting Karanikolaou, who was filming, to charge at Kylie as she screamed, 'Attack!'

Kylie Jenner shared a hilarious video of herself drunkenly arguing with her friends over a bag of potato chips following a wild night of partying

'No! Don't be mean!' Kylie protested, still laughing.

In another clip, Karanikolaou kept filming as Kylie sat cross-legged on her bed, passionately defending her stance.

'I was being nice by giving each of you one chip,' she said. 'But I knew that was going to make you want more and I still gave you one! There are so many other options!'

Eventually, she relented and handed out what she had left.

'They're crumbly little pieces because you guys literally attacked me,' she explained, exasperated but giggling.

Kylie's drunken snack drama came after she attended her mom Kris Jenner's star-studded, James Bond-themed 70th birthday bash on Saturday, where the liquor clearly kept flowing long into the night.

The party was reportedly so noisy that neighbors called the police multiple times.

According to TMZ, police were dispatched to Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's $165 million Beverly Hills estate on Saturday after nearby residents complained about loud music blaring from the A-list celebration.

In the footage, uploaded to Instagram on Sunday, the 28-year-old makeup mogul playfully warned her best pals to stop trying to steal her snacks

'Sharing is not caring when you're drunk at 2 a.m. after a party,' the mother-of-two joked in her caption, alongside the clip showing her in pajamas clutching a bag of Doritos

Kylie's drunken snack drama came after she attended her mom Kris Jenner's star-studded, 70th birthday bash on Saturday, where the liquor clearly kept flowing long into the night

Sources at the party told the outlet that the noise 'was off the charts,' thanks to a live performance by Bruno Mars, which sent the glamorous crowd into a frenzy.

Under California law, noise complaints are taken seriously, especially in residential areas like Beverly Hills, where city ordinances prohibit excessive sound after 10pm.

Officers reportedly spoke with security and issued a warning, but that wasn't the end of it.

Later in the night, police returned after learning that large decorative hedges had been placed outside the property to block off the street, a move that apparently required a permit the hosts didn't have.

The fake greenery was ordered to be 'removed [just] as dozens of celebs were leaving the party.'

The party was reportedly so noisy that neighbors called the police multiple times; seen in May

Police were dispatched to Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's $165 million Beverly Hills estate after nearby residents complained about loud music blaring from the A-list celebration; Kris pictured last year

The lavish soiree was thrown in honor of the Kardashian-Jenner matriarch's milestone 70th birthday, drawing a staggering list of Hollywood royalty.

Among the guests were Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, Adele, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, Gayle King, Niecy Nash, Sarah Paulson and Naomi Watts, all dressed to the nines for the James Bondthemed blowout.

While guests and attendees were allowed to film the party, insiders told People that no reality TV cameras were allowed inside, making it one of the few Kardashian celebrations not captured for The Kardashians.

'It was just all about celebrating Kris,' a source told the outlet. 'And it was everything you'd expect from Kris: over-the-top, glamorous and full of love from her family. It was obvious that she had the best night.'
Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers have been named as defendants in a lawsuit despite the former being granted a five-year restraining order against the latter.

The 54-year-old actress and her 53-year-old estranged spouse are being sued by their landlord who is seeking $84,000 in back rent and eviction.

Daily Mail has obtained court documents that a man named John Karan had filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday.

In the documents, the landlord claimed that the former couple had signed a lease in 2020 where they agreed to pay $12,000 a month for a six-bedroom, five-bedroom 6,985 square-foot home in Calabasas.

Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Richards and Phypers for comment and has yet to hear back.

In addition to the $84,000 in rent, Karan also wants possession of the property immediately in addition to damages for every day it takes him to get the keys back.

Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers have been named as defendants in a lawsuit from their landlord who is seeking $84,000 in back rent and eviction (the former couple are seen in LA back in January)

Richards has not lived at the home since late 2023 when she moved into her own townhome as she claims that Phypers, his parents, and brothers have continued living at the property as she has continued to pay the bills.

Previously in their court battle, Richards has claimed that she has asked Phypers to move out of the home in addition to accusing him of causing extensive damage to the house which her ex has denied.

Just days ago, Richards was granted a five-year restraining order against her soon-to-be-ex husband Phypers - after accusing him of physically and emotionally abusing her throughout their seven-year marriage.

Phypers was arrested outside a Los Angeles courthouse during a restraining order hearing last month and charged with two felony counts of injuring a spouse.

On Friday, the feuding couple appeared in court again for a continuance of that hearing, during which a judge ordered Phypers to stay away from the actress, stop threatening or harassing her, and to hand over any guns to police.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mark Juhas also ordered him to stop leaking or sharing nude photos of the 54-year-old Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star.

Richards appeared at the hearing in downtown LA looking stylish in a cream-colored knitted top, gray skin-tight pants, high-heeled brown leather boots, and freshly manicured nails painted pink. She was accompanied by a burly, tattooed bodyguard.

The couple came face to face inside the courthouse, with Richards sitting alongside her legal team at one end of a long table, and Phypers, wearing a shabby black jacket over white shirt and blue tie and faded gray jeans, at the other.

This comes days after Richards was granted a five-year restraining order against her estranged husband Phypers during a court hearing in Los Angeles on Friday

Phypers filed for divorce from Richards in July, citing 'irreconcilable differences', with their date of separation listed as July 4, 2025

During the two-and-a-half hour hearing, Richards's attorney Jeff Layfield reiterated her claims of physical abuse, adding that the reality star has 'hired private security and moved to a gated community', in fear of her estranged husband.

Layfield told the court that Phypers also subjected Richards to 'extreme stress and anxiety' by sharing nude photos of her with Daily Mail to whom he gave an interview in July (the Daily Mail did not publish the pictures).

Calling the nude photos 'revenge porn', Layfield said sharing them with media was 'not only disturbing Ms Richards's peace, it was a violation of the penal code and a violation of the temporary restraining order.'

He also argued for the five-year extension, adding: 'Phypers has repeatedly violated the temporary restraining order. There is no evidence whatsoever that Phypers is going to stop the abuse.

'Mr Phypers simply does not understand that disseminating nude photos of Ms Richards is abuse.'

Phypers has vehemently denied the allegations and accused Richards of lying, telling the Daily Mail: 'Let me be unequivocally clear: I have never physically or emotionally abused Denise - or anyone.'

'These accusations are completely false and deeply hurtful. Denise and I, like many couples, have faced our share of challenges, but any suggestion of abuse is categorically untrue.'

Phypers was ordered to stay away from the actress, stop threatening or harassing her, and to hand over any guns to police

The court hearing was a continuance of the hearing held on October 17 for Richards's temporary restraining order

In court Friday, Phypers attorney, Michael Finley accused Richards of 'perjury' and dismissed three witnesses who corroborated her claims at an earlier hearing, as 'biased' or 'hostile'.

Addressing Richards's claim that she's frightened of Phypers, Finley told the court: 'She never called the police. If she was really afraid, why would she not want the police called?

'She never went to a doctor after her alleged injuries, including the alleged concussionsnorth bruised eye. Why? Because they didn't happen.'

Pointing out that Richards shares revealing photos of herself on the OnlyFans website and she also did a Playboy layout, Finley said that the reason Phypers took screenshots of nude photos of her and her alleged lover was to 'have the evidence to prove adultery in order to get a divorce.

'The idea that my client violated the temporary restraining order willy nilly is ridiculous. She has no fear of him. He's a good man, not a monster. Ms Richards has no need for a restraining order.'

In issuing the five-year restraining order, Judge Juhas said that he found 'her peace was disturbed by the photographs.'

Richards, seen leaving court with her legal team on Friday, has accused her ex of physical abuse and threatening her - which Phypers denies

Richards appeared at the hearing in downtown LA looking stylish in a camel trench coat, pants, and knee-high brown heeled boots. She was accompanied by a burly, tattooed bodyguard

Regarding Richards' claims of physical abuse and the witnesses whose testimony backed her up, the judge added: 'I don't find that Ms Richards and the witnesses sat down together and made the whole thing up.'

In addition to telling Phypers to stay away from Richards, the judge ordered him to return to her any photos and videos that belong to her, not to share any more private pictures, videos or emails of hers, and to return to her a laptop computer she claims he took from her.

It marks the latest episode in an increasingly ugly split that began July 7 when Phypers filed for divorce from Richards after an explosive fight with her during Independence Day weekend over another man he claimed she was cheating on him with.

In an interview in July, Phypers told the Daily Mail that he allegedly learned Richards was cheating on him in April and when he confronted her she had promised to break it off - only for him to catch her lying about another hookup with her alleged lover the following month.

He claimed his discovery of the May tryst led to a massive argument over the July 4th holiday weekend, during which Richards allegedly smashed his phone.

Just days later, Richards slapped Phypers with a court plea for a domestic violence restraining order against him and despite his denial of all her abuse accusations, Judge Juhas granted the restraining order to run temporarily until Friday when the judge made it permanent.

Phypers swiftly bonded out of the Lost Hills Sheriffs Station that same night after satisfying his $200,000 bail, per TMZ; (Phypers and Richards in 2023)

Richards - who married Phypers in 2018 - included a graphic photo of herself with a black eye in court documents claiming: 'Throughout our relationship, Aaron would frequently violently choke me, violently squeeze my head with both hands, tightly squeeze my arms, violently slap me in my face and head.'

She also alleged that 'Aaron regularly threatened to "break my jaw" and would cry, beg me to stay, and promise to get help  none of which ever happened.'

'Aaron has caused me at least three concussions. He has told me that he left recording devices to record me while I was alone in hotel rooms and at my townhouses.'

The couple's bitter divorce battle took a dramatic turn October 17 when LA Sheriff's deputies arrested Phypers outside the LA courtroom where he had shown up for a hearing about Richards's restraining order against him.

Phypers, who filed for divorce from Richards in July citing 'irreconcilable differences', was released just hours after his arrest.

He swiftly bonded out of the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station that same night after satisfying his $200,000 bail.

At the time of the arrest, Phypers's lawyer Michael Finley told the Daily Mail he had not yet seen the criminal complaint but 'it appears to be the same allegations we're already fighting, and I think we're proving it all to be false in the domestic violence case.'

'So, we expect it to also be proven false and for him to be exonerated in this new criminal case.'

Documents later obtained by the Daily Mail revealed Phypers was charged with two felony counts of injuring a spouse and two felony counts of dissuading a witness by force or threat.

The documents state the two charges of dissuading a witness by force or threat and one of the charges for injuring a spouse allegedly occurred on January 17, 2022.

The second charge of injuring a spouse allegedly took place on May 3, 2022.

Finley told the Daily Mail: 'We feel that it is highly unusual that criminal charges would be brought now over allegations from nearly four years ago.

'In our opinion, Denise's allegations are false, so we expect that the evidence will prove Aaron's innocence and that he will be exonerated.'

During the October 17 hearing, Phypers's mother had testified that she saw Richards throw a can opener at her son, prompting the hearing to get contentious. She also said Phypers never abused or threatened Richards.
Days Of Our Lives star Suzanne Rogers is now in remission in her battle with stage two colon cancer.

Rogers, 82, shared the positive health update with People, just days after publicly revealing she was diagnosed over the summer.

The soap star has since completed treatment, and credits an anointing her priest gave her in helping her get through the health ordeal.

'I'm feeling so much better. I mean, my summer was rough. I had cancer removed, radiation, that was tough. But I didn't lose my hair. I guess I got it early,' she told the publication at Peacocks Days of our Lives 60th Anniversary Celebration in Los Angeles on Saturday.

'I was stage two, and it was a certain kind of chemo that they gave me, it was pills and the radiation, and it didnt affect it so that was good,' she said, adding she is currently 'in remission.'

The diagnosis put things into perspective for Rogers, who is better able to let 'small' issues roll off her back.

Days Of Our Lives star Suzanne Rogers is now in remission in her battle with stage two colon cancer

'I don't worry about the small things. It's not worth it. I was rushing here, and I went, 'Wait a minute. You're not going anywhere,' she said.

Rogers turned to her family and faith as she weathered the diagnosis.

'The day before I started my chemo and radiation, my priest, I told him, I said, "Can I talk to you about something?" I said, "I'm starting chemo and radiation tomorrow,"' she recalled. 'He said, "Come with me." And he took me into the church, up the aisle, up on the altar. He said, "Stand right here." And he went and got some oils and a prayer and did the anointing. So I felt that thats what helped me through.'

Rogers first revealed her diagnosis with TV Insider in a story published on October 30.

The 70s soap legend said she felt like something 'wasn't quite right' with her body, prompting her to make a doctor's appointment over the summer.

After a number of tests, which included a colonoscopy, MRI, PET scan and biopsy, her doctor told her she had cancer.

'[My doctor] said, "You have cancer and you have to start treatment,"' Rogers  who is the longest-running actor in an American soap opera  recalled.

Rogers, 82, shared the positive health update with People , just days after revealing the diagnosis publicly

She has credited an anointing she received from her priest for helping her get through chemotherapy

'It was all a shock. I mean, I think I was in shock for several days because I take pretty good care of myself. But he said, "Its a good thing you caught it in time."'

Colorectal cancer, which starts in the colon or the rectum, is the third most common cancer in the world, after lung and breast cancers.

In the United States, colorectal cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and the fourth leading cause in women, according to American Cancer Society.

Stage 2 colorectal cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes, but may have spread through and beyond the wall of the colon or rectum.

After she wrapped up Days of Our Lives for the summer, the star began treatment three days later.

'It was radiation every day and chemo every day for six weeks and it was tough,' Rogers shared.

'It was tough knowing you had to do it five days a week and then you had off Saturday and Sunday. I thoroughly enjoyed my weekends because I didn't have to go to and see a doctor. I was so tired of seeing doctors.'

The star said that after wrapping up Days of Our Lives for the summer she did 'radiation every day and chemo every day for six weeks' adding that it was 'tough'; Seen in 2017

Rogers said she completed her treatment on July 31 and is 'feeling really good' now; Pictured in 2018

While undergoing treatment, Rogers found crucial support from her Days of Our Lives co-stars, especially from Linsey Godfrey, who is a cancer survivor.

'It was scary,' she said, adding, 'When I had to go see a doctor, one of them would go with me because you get to a point where once they say cancer, you don't hear anything else.'

'I had to have an infusion, and it takes about an hour and a half, so Linsey sat there with me and held my hand while I was having it,' she recalled.

'We would go out to lunch or dinner with Paul Telfer and Linseys daughter, Aleda. I knew I could count on them, so it was a lovely experience on and off the set. We really feel like a family.'

Rogers said she completed her treatment on July 31 and is 'feeling really good' now.

However, it hasn't been without challenges.

The actress also revealed she did not lose her iconic red hair during treatment. 'I guess because I was taking the chemo pills,' she explained; Seen in a still

'The biggest thing is that I was tired because that's not like me. I have a lot of energy all the time, so it really kind of shook me thinking, "Am I going to get my energy back?" And it seems like it's coming back. It's not 100% yet, but I feel better. Today I feel really good, and thats happening more and more than the other way around, so I'm really happy about that.'

'I start back to work next week, so we'll see how that goes,' Rogers added.

'Now, I'm feeling anxious like I do any time I get scripts because I want to do my very best and you don't want to hold up anybody. So that's the only anxiousness I feel. It's not because of my illness, let's put it that way.'

Rogers also revealed she did not lose her iconic red hair during treatment.

'I guess because I was taking the chemo pills,' she explained. 'I'm sure there'll be people that are saying, "Well, she didnt really have cancer," but you know what? I really don't care what people say. I know what Ive gone through and I've come out on the other side, so thats all I care about.'

Rogers made history as the longest-running actor in any American soap opera for portraying the character Maggie Horton Kiriakis on Days of Our Lives for 52 years - beginning in 1973

In 1984, the Virginia-born redhead was diagnosed with the rare muscle disease myasthenia gravis, greatly impacting how much she could work, but she's reportedly in remission now.

Rogers made history as the longest-running actor in any American soap opera for portraying the character Maggie Horton Kiriakis on Days of Our Lives for 52 years - beginning in 1973.

She won her first and only Daytime Emmy Award in 1979 for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series.

Rogers also appeared in episodes of Knight Rider; Little House on the Prairie; Quincy, M.E.; and Love, American Style.

The former Rockette got her start at Radio City Music Hall as well as numerous Broadway productions.

Rogers was married to Another World star Sam Groom between 1980-1982.
Stars of the much-anticipated sequel Wicked: For Good graced their very own yellow brick road on Monday as they attended the glitzy UK premiere in London.

The film, set for release on November 21, is the conclusion of the beloved tale of famous two witches of Oz, and is based on the hugely successful musical, which first premiered in 2003.

As ever, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo took centre stage, with their outfits a stark contrast to the pink and green looks they'd worn to promote the first film last year.

Touching on the film's darker tone, the duo opted for sultry outfits, with Ariana dazzling in a vintage black gown adorned with sequins from iconic costume designer Gilbert Adrian, who created outfits for The Wizard Of Oz in 1939.

Meanwhile Cynthia was dressed in an edgy navy blue gown with PVC leather detailing, with a belted waist and a bustier neckline, and jewellery from Roberto Coin.

While may die-hard Wicked fans were in attendance at the premiere, star Michelle Yeoh was among the early arrivals.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo swapped their trademark pink and green looks for dark sultry gowns as they attended the UK premiere of Wicked: For Good on Monday

The pair brushed off recent backlash from fans who mocked an 'annoying' red carpet exchange between them

Touching on the film's darker tone, the duo opted for sultry dark outfits, with Ariana opting for a dazzling black gown adorned with glittering sequins

The actress, who plays the villain Madame Morrible, exuded elegance in a black satin gown with an eye-catching lace detailing.

Ariana's boyfriend Ethan Slater was also among the early arrivals on the red carpet, though he did not pose for snaps with her, following rumours that they were heading for a split.

It comes after Ariana and Cynthia were teased by fans after creating another viral moment during their ongoing Wicked press tour.

During the Wicked: For Good premiere in Paris on Friday, the duo were asked to describe each other's 'auras' by an Elle magazine journalist.

Ariana said Cynthia's was 'yellow,' like 'sunshine.' She added, 'I think there's also purple.'

Cynthia then said about Ariana: 'I see, like a ciel blue, you know? Like aqua. And like, sunset-orange.'

The co-stars-turned-friends are in the throes of promoting the follow-up to last year's Wicked. And the pair are once again generating buzz for their emphatic, effervescent chemistry during interviews.

Following the red carpet moment, one person wrote on Reddit, 'I can't go through this again,' in reference to the movie stars' previous 'cringeworthy' press run moments last year.

Meanwhile Cynthia was dressed in an edgy navy blue gown with PVC leather detailing, with a belted waist and a bustier neckline

As ever, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo took centre stage, with their outfits a stark contrast to the pink and green looks they'd worn to promote the first film last year

It comes after Ariana and Cynthia were teased by fans after creating another viral moment during their ongoing Wicked press tour

During the Wicked: For Good premiere in Paris on Friday, the duo were asked to describe each other's 'auras', with one fan referencing their bizarre exchanges during last year's press run

After recently returning to her natural brunette look, Ariana swept her tresses into a high bun as she blew kisses to the fans at the premiere

Cynthia has once again reprised her role as the famous Wicked Witch of the West Elphaba, who was exiled from Oz at the end of the first film

Wicked: For Good is directed by award-winning Jon M Chu, who was also behind the 2024 film

The first movie was a box office success and raked in around $747.2 million on a budget of $150 million

Fans queued for hours in the capital in a bid to land a spot alongside the red carpet, and Cynthia posed for snaps alongside some in attendance

Joined by the film's director Jon M Chu, Ariana and Cynthia showed off their glamorous gowns as they arrived for the premiere

Wicked also received critical praise and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won two in March this year during the glitzy ceremony

Ariana and Cynthia's looks were a stark contrast to the colourful outfits they'd worn to promote the first film

Ariana's gown boasted a dramatic bow shouldered detailing and a voluminous skirt

After being crowned People's Sexiest Man Alive, Jonathan Bailey was in high spirits as he arrived for the premiere

The Bridgerton star, who plays the Prince Fiyero in the Wicked Films, opted for an all-grey look

While may die-hard Wicked fans were in attendance at the premiere, star Michelle Yeoh was among the early arrivals

The actress, who plays the villain Madame Morrible, exuded elegance in a black satin gown with an eye-catching lace detailing

The Oscar winner was joined by her husband Jean Todt, as they posed on a recreation of Oz's famous yellow brick road

Ever the gentleman, Jean offered a helping hand for Michelle as she made her way along the yellow brick road to pose for photos

Michelle and Ariana enjoyed a sweet moment together as they reunited at the premiere

Jeff Goldblum, who stars as the famous Wizard of Oz, was in high spirits as he attended the premiere after a string of promotional appearance

The Jurassic Park star was joined by his wife Emilie Livingston, who stunned in a stylish black dress with a lace trim

Marissa Bode, who stars as Elphaba's sister Nessrose, offered a glimpse at her own character's darker turn in the upcoming film with her beaded gown

Ariana's boyfriend Ethan Slater was also among the the early arrivals on the red carpet, though he did not pose for snaps with her, following rumours that they were heading for a split

Referencing one viral clip from last year, another Redditor added, 'We're all holding space for them. Did I say that right?'

And one person observed, 'It seems like they've toned it down compared to last year, and wisely so.

'I'm sure another full court press like they did last year would've annoyed everyone and possibly turned some people off from seeing the new movie.'

There was also someone who inserted, 'They're sweet and all but this annoys tf out of me.'

Contrarily, another social media user added to the thread, 'They r so funny honestly.'

It prompted someone else to share, 'I died laughing when Cynthia said "ciel blue."'

'Lmao they are SO annoying... and I love it. It's not harming anyone, so it's just funny to me,' wrote No_Barracuda8791.

In the minute-long clip, originally posted by Elle Germany on YouTube, the silver screen sensations gushed over the interviewer's question.

'We've never been asked that,' Ariana said first before Cynthia echoed the sentence with emphasis and added, 'That's a great question to ask!'

One of last year's most memorable interview highlights with Ariana and Cynthia was when the Positions hitmaker clasped her co-star's index finger  adorned with an ornately manicured green nail  during an emotional moment.

During a sit-down, journalist Tracy E Gilchrist told Cynthia that she had seen people online discussing the 'lyrics of Defying Gravity,' the stirring ballad her character sings in the film, and 'feeling power' from it.

Cynthia was visibly moved by the revelation, as she replied, 'I didn't know that was happening. That's really powerful. That's what I wanted.'

Wicked: For Good is set to hit cinemas on November 21 (Ariana and Cynthia are pictured as Glinda and Elphaba in the film)

Ashley Roberts was also among the glamorous names who attended the premiere, and she opted for a racy pale blue dress with daring cut-outs

The Pussycat Dolls star left little to the imagination in her revealing look, which showed off every inch of her incredible figure

Ashley's daring dress showed off her toned pins as she posed for snaps on the yellow carpet

Amanda Holden took inspiration from Glinda's iconic pink wardrobe as she opted for a stunning pale pink gown with ruched detailing

The Britain's Got Talent star was joined by her youngest daughter Hollie, who opted for a green satin dress

Amanda showed off her incredible figure in her stunning pale pink gown with a dramatic train

Amanda and Hollie looked excited to be at the premiere

The presenter sported a bronzed tan and accessorised with silver jewellery which matched her heels

Amanda looked in good spirits as she departed the star-studded premiere

Roxy Horner vamped it up in a form-fitting black strapless gown, accessorising with a gold beaded clutch bag from ASOS and Akind jewellery

The model put on a classy display in her dress, which boasted a fitted bodice and voluminous flowing skirt

Myleene Klass dazzled in a neon green dress adorned with sequins and sparkly silver detailing, and offered her own nod to the Wizard of Oz tale with ruby red heels

Louise Redknapp flaunted her figure in a ruched grown dress with a midi skirt and long sleeves, teamed with matching accessories

The Eternal star posed up a storm in her stylish dress

Jonathan Ross and his daughter Honey enjoyed a family night out at the premiere, after the presenter's appearance in Celebrity Traitors

Jess Wright commanded attention in a dramatic cream gown with gold leaf embroidery

Dani Dyer opted for a Glinda-inspired look as she attended the premiere in a glitzy pale pink with diamante detailing

The former Love Island star was joined by her sister Sunnie, who was dressed in a fun sparkly green mini dress

The Traitors star Cat Burns looked stylish in a green suit just days after the BBC final

Strictly star Amber Davies put on a leggy display in a dramatic pale yellow ruffled mini dress

The West End star has been impressing with her moves on the Strictly dancefloor, after joining the lineup as a last-minute addition in September

Following speculation about her chemistry with professional partner Nikita Kuzmin, Amber was joined by her boyfriend Ben Joyce at the premiere

Strictly pro Nadiya Bychkova set pulses racing in an incredibly revealing sheer blue gown with a fishtail skirt

The dancer was joined by former Strictly star Alexandra Burke, who showed off her ample cleavage in a fitted grey dress

Alexandra put on a stylish display in her vintage-inspired grey gown with black leather gloves and matching heels

Kimberley Walsh commanded attention in a glitzy green gown adorned with sequins and a daring thigh-high split

She was joined by her Girls Aloud bandmate Nicola Roberts, who cut a chic figure in all-black

Vanessa Sam aka Inspiring Vanessa looked incredible in an Elphaba inspired look from House of Alvin

Nadiya Bychkova and Alexandra Burke departed the premiee hand-in-hand

Munroe Bergdorf commanded attention into a look fit for the Emerald City, as she arrived for the premiere in a deep green PVC gown with a daring thigh-high split

Tasha Ghouri posed up a storm in a black semi-sheer gown with a corset body and delicate floral embroidery, while accessorising with REIS jewellery

Scarlett Moffatt channelled her inner Glinda as she arrived for the premiere in a pale pink dress covered in gold sequins

Scarlett looked in good spirits as she departed the premiere

Beverley Knight cut a glamorous figure in a fun black and grey gown

Social media star Hannah Lowther wowed in a voluminous pink ruffled mini dress

Actress Bel Priestley stunned in a plunging olive green gown

Jim Chapman cut a dapper figure in a dark green velvet suit

Charley Marlowe put on a stylish display in a bubblegum pink dress with a feathered trim

TikTok star Luke Hamnett was also among the stars in attendance for the premiere

BBC Radio 2's Scott Mills (L) was joined by handsome husband Sam Vaughan (R)

Louise Pentland was joined by her daughter Darcy at the premiere

Grace Jackson stunned in a sequinned skirt and peplum top by Arrange Studios at ASOS

Ariana's brother Frankie and her parents Joan and Edward Butera were also at the premiere to support her, after she earned critical acclaim for her role as Glinda in the first film

Frankie posed up a storm in an all-leather outfit, as he playfully blew a kiss for the cameras

Clara Amfo was among the first stars to arrive for the premiere, posing in a form-fitting black gown with a feathered trim

Love Island winner Cacharel Mercer showed off his edgy sense of style in a metallic silver look

TV's Melvin Odoom was dressed to impress on the VIP red carpet

Yasmin Evans looked sensational in green faux fur coat

Influencer Kaine Ruddach stood out in an eye-catching red top

As she spoke, Ariana, who also got choked up over the comment, reached over and grabbed her costar's pointer finger in what appeared to be a display of support  and many people poked fun at the exchange on the internet.

'What was this?' one person wrote on X alongside a screenshot of Ariana's hand wrapped around Cynthia's finger.

'Is this a sketch comedy show or something?' asked someone else.

Ahead of its release on November 21, the film's final trailer showed the consequences of the first instalment as Elphaba lives in exile.

There, she is continuing her fight for freedom while the silenced animals of Oz are desperate to expose the truth of The Wizard, who is played by Jeff Goldblum.

In a defiant message, the witch can be seen spelling out in the clouds floating above Oz: 'Our Wizard lies.'

Meanwhile, Glinda has become the symbol of goodness in Oz, living in a breathtaking palace in the Emerald City, and is also preparing to marry Jonathan Bailey's character Prince Fiyero.

In the teaser, fans saw the people of Oz hunt for Elphaba, with one carrying a bucket of liquid which reads: 'Melt her.'

Posters erected around Oz warn of her, with one showing her claws out as it read: 'Beware of the Wicked Witch'.

Glinda and Elphaba also shared a tense shutdown as Grande's character attempts to fight back as the witch told her she has 'no real power'.

However, by the end of the trailer, a glimmer of their friendship could be seen, with Glinda tearfully telling her: 'Think of what we could do together'.

Fans were also treated to a first look of Dorothy's arrival in Oz, alongside the Cowardly Lion, Tin Man and the Scarecrow.

Wicked: For Good is directed by award-winning Jon M Chu, who was also behind the 2024 film.

The first movie was a box office success and raked in around $747.2 million on a budget of $150 million.

Wicked also received critical praise and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won two in March this year during the glitzy ceremony.
Nineties Hollywood pinup Bridget Fonda flashed a rare smile on Sunday afternoon.

The niece of acting powerhouse and activist Jane Fonda - best known for her series Grace And Frankie - was seen enjoying an al fresco lunch at Sweet Butter in Los Angeles with three other women.

The 61-year-old star, who made her acting debut in 1990's The Godfather: Part III, looked radiant with little makeup on and her silver hair pulled back into a low bun.

She also had on tinted prescription glasses and wore a black purse crossbody style.

Her figure looked much more slender after losing 80lbs over the past year due to a lifestyle change. The Jackie Brown cast member covered up in a blue floral-print button-down shirt over a pale gray T-shirt with dark slacks and sensible white-soled shoes.

The Hollywood vet is married to successful film composer Danny Elfman, now 72, but she was not wearing her wedding rings. Together they have 20-year-old son Oliver Elfman.

Nineties Hollywood pinup Bridget Fonda flashed a rare smile on Sunday afternoon

The niece of acting powerhouse and activist Jane Fonda - best known for her series Grace And Frankie - was seen enjoying an al fresco lunch at Sweet Butter in Los Angeles with three other women

The 61-year-old star, who made her acting debut in The Godfather: Part III, looked radiant with little makeup on and her silver hair pulled back into a low bun

The last Hollywood project she made was Snow Queen, which came out 23 years ago.

Soon after, the beautiful blonde was in a terrible accident: In February 2003 Bridget fractured her vertebrae in a car crash on the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu.

Fonda retreated to life out of the public eye as she said she preferred being a 'civilian' to navigating life as a celebrity.

Her experience with Hollywood was not the most rosy as she said the persistent focus on her body gave her self-esteem issues that she had difficulty recovering from.

Fonda added the 'pressure' to look perfect was agonizing even though she comes from an acting clan that includes not only Jane, but also her father Peter Fonda and grandfather Henry Fonda.

Earlier this year Bridget lost a significant amount of weight.

Functional nutritionist Monica Partier shed some light on the star's dramatic weight loss.

'It appears that she has shed at least 75lbs in the past few years, which is not an easy thing to do over the age of 50,' said Partier to Daily Mail.

'Fonda could have taken the diabetes drug Ozempic that could have aided in her weight loss journey or she could have tried GLP-1 agonists like semaglutide - brand name Wegovy - and a tirzepatide l- brand name Zepbound. But if she did it without drugs, there are several paths she could have taken.'

Partier noted that achieving metabolic balance is essential. 'It's important to look at hormone levels, gut health, nutrient deficiencies, obesogens, and chronic stress,' said the nutritionist.

'I tell my clients to eat whole, unprocessed foods as often as they can, like cutting up a tomato and avocado while adding avocado oil and sea salt for a fast salad. Or focusing on healthy fibers such as fruits, nuts and legumes.'

Healthy fats are also vital stressed Partier: 'Eating fatty fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel as well as using coconut oil in cooking is a good way to go.'

And the wellness expert suggested to 'stop counting calories' and start 'shopping for healthy foods full of nutrition which can be prepared at home.'

Her first role was in the 1990 film The Godfather Part III; she played a reporter who seduced Andy Garcia

Her figure looked much more slender after losing 80lbs over the past year due to a lifestyle change. The Jackie Brown cast member covered up in a floral-print button-down shirt

The Hollywood vet is married to successful film composer Danny Elfman, now 72, but she was not wearing her wedding rings. Together they have 20-year-old son Oliver Elfman

The last Hollywood project she made came was Snow Queen, which came out 23 years ago. Soon after, the beautiful blonde was in a terrible accident: In February 2003 Bridget fractured her vertebrae in a car crash near Malibu. Fonda retreated to life out of the public eye

Seen in 2022; functional nutritionist Monica Partier has shed some light on the '90s icon's dramatic weight loss

Partier added that eating right can be overwhelming so for those who want to keep it simple they should remember to 'eat plenty of protein and fresh vegetables while limiting fried foods, processed sugar and bad carbs.'

Partier also shared that consuming healthy, whole foods will keep people from getting sick: 'Eating right can combat chronic illness and restore optimal health.'

Finally, getting rid of stress is smart and Partier says the best way to do that is to 'take daily walks in nature and meditate.'

Fonda - who used to date Eric Stoltz in the 1990s - has not publicly commented on her weight loss.

The blonde married film composter Elfman - who used to be with the band Oingo Boingo - in 2003.

Her movie singles with Matt Dillon was a cult classic from 1992

The siren seen here in a skimpy outfit for Quentin Tarantino's film Jackie Brown in 1997

The former Hollywood star shot to fame during the 1990s when she appeared in a string of movies, however she retired from acting in 2002

Elfman has frequently worked with directors Tim Burton, Sam Raimi and Gus Van Sant.

He has worked on almost 20 Burton projects, including Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands, Batman Returns, Mars Attacks!, Sleepy Hollow, Big Fish and Alice in Wonderland.

And he has added music to A Simple Plan, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Oz the Great and Powerful, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

In recent years Danny has had to deny a slew of sexual harassment allegations, including from a former protegee.

It is believed that Elfman is still with Fonda.

The blonde married 72-year-old film composter Danny Elfman - who used to be with the band Oingo Boingo - in 2003. Seen in 2003

Aunt Jane Fonda, right, with longtime friend Jamie Lee Curtis in Beverly Hills on November 6

The daughter of Peter Fonda got her start with The Godfather Part III (1990).

She went on to have incredible acting success with Single White Female (1992), Singles (1992), Point of No Return (1993), It Could Happen to You (1994), Balto (1995), City Hall (1996), Jackie Brown (1997), A Simple Plan (1998), Lake Placid (1999), and Kiss of the Dragon (2001).

She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Mandy Rice-Davies in Scandal (1989), and received Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for the television films In the Gloaming (1997) and No Ordinary Baby (2001), respectively.
Amanda Holden took inspiration from Glinda the Good Witch as she attended the Wicked: For Good premiere in London on Monday.

The Heart FM presenter, 54, turned heads in a pale pink gown with ruche detailing as she joined her daughter Hollie, 13, on the yellow brick road themed carpet.

The dress had a dramatic train and showcased her tanned legs thanks to a daring thigh-high split.

Hollie, meanwhile, channeled Elphaba in a satin green dress and matching heels.

Amanda proudly posed with her youngest daughter at Cineworld in Leicester Square, which saw leading stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo attend.

The film, set for release on November 21, is the conclusion of the beloved tale of famous two witches of Oz, and is based on the hugely successful musical, which first premiered in 2003.

Amanda Holden took inspiration from Glinda the Good Witch as she attended the Wicked: For Good premiere in London on Monday

The Heart FM presenter, 54, turned heads in a pale pink gown with ruche detailing as she joined her daughter Hollie, 13, on the yellow brick road themed carpet

Last month, Amanda revealed her youngest daughter goes out of her way to avoid being seen with her - insisting the teenager wants 'no connection' with her famous mother.

The TV star, said her daughters Lexi, 19, and Hollie couldn't be less interested in her showbiz career, despite growing up with one of the most recognisable faces on British TV.

Amanda said she has always encouraged her girls to stay grounded and to develop 'a thick skin' if they ever choose to follow her into the public eye.

Speaking about life at home with husband Chris Hughes, she told The Sun: 'You do have to develop a thick skin and they both know that mummy has one and that we take everything with a pinch of salt in our house. So I hope they've learnt enough from me.'

While eldest daughter Lexi has already signed to top modelling agency Storm, Amanda admitted Hollie has no interest in fame and even dodges being spotted with her mum at the school gates.

The Heart FM presenter said: 'I picked Hollie up from her new school the other day and she does not want any connection with me. I got out of the car, she saw me and literally crossed the road.'

Her husband music producer, Chris stepped in to defend her, shouting to their daughter that she should be proud.

But Amanda laughed how her teenager was having none of it, as she said: 'She's like, "mum, please get back in the car!" So they're both very down to earth.'

The dress had a dramatic train and showcased her tanned legs thanks to a daring thigh-high split

Hollie, meanwhile, channeled Elphaba in a satin green dress and matching heels

Amanda gave a wave to the cameras as she strutted down the carpet in silver embellished Louboutins

Amanda and Hollie looked excited to be at the premiere

The presenter sported a bronzed tan and accessorised with silver jewellery which matched her heels

Meanwhile, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo swapped their trademark pink and green looks for dark sultry gowns for the premiere

The sequel sees the return of Cynthia as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Ariana Grande as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North

Ahead of its release on November 21, the film's final trailer showed the consequences of the first instalment as Elphaba lives in exile.

There, she is continuing her fight for freedom while the silenced animals of Oz are desperate to expose truth of The Wizard, who is played by Jeff Goldblum.

In a defiant message, the witch can be seen spelling out in the clouds floating above Oz: 'Our Wizard lies.'

Meanwhile, Glinda has become the symbol of goodness in Oz, living in a breathtaking palace in the Emerald City, and is also preparing to marry Jonathan Bailey's character Prince Fiyero.

In the teaser, fans saw the people of Oz hunt for Elphaba, with one carrying a bucket of liquid which reads: 'Melt her.'
Joel Dommett has revealed he's set to become a father again, as his wife Hannah is pregnant with their second child.

The comedian, 40, shared his baby news in an Instagram post on Monday as he and his family prepare to fly to Australia while he hosts I'm A Celebrity spin-off Unpacked.

The post showed both Joel and Hannah with their son Wilde, two, caressing her growing bump, along with the cheeky caption: 'Baby in mumma tummy. Hard to keep secrets with a toddler around.'

Many of Joel's famous pals shared their congratulations in the comments, with Sian Welby writing: 'CONGRATS!!' while Jess Wright wrote: 'Aww you guys, congratulations.'

After sliding into Joel's DMs following his 2016 appearance on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!, the star and Hannah Cooper went on their first date just days later and immediately hit it off.

The couple tied the knot three years later in a romantic beach ceremony in Mykonos and in September 2023 they welcomed their son Wilde.

Joel Dommett has revealed he's set to become a father again, as his wife Hannah is pregnant with their second child

The comedian shared his baby news in an Instagram post on Monday as he and his family prepare to fly to Australia while he hosts I'm A Celebrity spin-off Unpacked

Joel previously shared that Hannah and Wilde would be joining him Down Under while he presents Unpacked with Kemi Rogers.

He told The Mirror: 'This year I'm taking my family with me, so it's going to be great getting home from work and being able to see them and Wilde learning how to swim and all of that stuff.

'I'm really excited for them to be there. Hopefully I can enjoy a bit of family time before I have to go to bed at 3pm in the afternoon.'

Joel added that he'll be glad to have Hannah by his side during the trip, saying: 'Every year halfway through the run, I realise I've run out of clothes and I have to go to the nearest town to buy lots of stuff.

'I never take enough, my wife despairs at my packing. At some point, you have to understand that you have to wash your pants and do a washing run every five days.'

Hannah previously shed light on her life married to comedian Joel in an interview with Daily Mail, admitting that nothing surprises her with her husband as there are no boundaries when it comes to their private life crossing into his comedy.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail ahead of the release of her new jewellery collection with Posh Totty Designs, Hannah admitted she was shocked when she sat in the audience of one of Joel's shows and listened to jokes about her breastfeeding and giving birth.

She explained: 'I had a lot more time before Wilde to go to a lot more work in progress gigs. So I almost like vetted the material, whereas obviously now that's not so much the case.

After sliding into Joel's DMs following his 2016 appearance on I'm A Celebrity, the star and Hannah Cooper went on their first date just days later, and they married in 2019

'So actually he ended up going on tour, and it wasn't until possibly the 10th tour date that I had a chance to go to one that was pretty local.

'And then I was sitting there going like, Oh, okay, right cool. We're talking about me breastfeeding, me giving birth me, like quite intimate areas of my body.

'And he's like, Oh, you know. But it's fine and I'm like, Yeah, but you could have checked with me. And he's like, Well, I can't change it now. It's the show.'

She joked: 'But I guess that does come with sort of marrying a comedian.

'I guess the price that you pay is that no stone is unturned. And same with the podcast it's all out there anyway, so it's hard to be surprised now.'

Speaking about how her husband's career has rocketed since meeting Hannah she teased: 'Yeah I say to Joel, "Is it a coincidence that when you met me it all changed. Is that a coincidence, or is it just a weird thing?"'

Joel and Kemi are hosting I'm A Celebrity spin-off Unpacked for the second year in a row, with the lineup for this year's series announced on Monday.

Shona McGarty, Eddie Kadi, Aitch, Alex Scott, Jack Osbourne, Lisa Riley, Kelly Brook, Angry Ginge, Ruby Wax and Martin Kemp will be moving into the Austalian jungle when the new series begins on Sunday.
Venezuela Fury and her fiance got into the Christmas spirit as she shared a series of sweet festive pictures on Instagram.

The 16-year-old, who is the daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury, got engaged to Noah Price in September.

And in the new couple snaps Venezuela put on a very glamourous display as she posed in a Moschino look.

She paired her designer jacket with a black dress, sheer black lace tights and a black leather cross-body bag.

Meanwhile, Noah wrapped up in a thick padded coat, a black T-shirt, black jeans and a beany hat.

Venezuela captioned her post with a love heart emoji and her mother, Paris, commented: 'Looking cute guys'

Venezuela Fury and her fiance got into the Christmas spirit as she shared a series of sweet festive pictures on Instagram

The 16-year-old, who is the daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury, got engaged to Noah Price in September

Before popping the question to his future bride, Noah asked for Tyson's blessing to ask Venezuela for her hand in marriage.

The bide-to-be revealed how Noah was 'having palpitations about doing it' but the conversation went well.

Venezuela added that her dad 'wouldnt interfere' and hes 'very happy for us.'

Paris recently defended her daughter's engagement when she was asked about the news during an appearance on This Morning.

She was quizzed by hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard on her reaction, and whether she felt her eldest child was 'too young' to be preparing for a wedding.

Paris, 35, admitted that her daughter had only 'followed in her footsteps', as she got engaged to champion boxer husband Tyson, 37, when she was just 17.

Hitting back against the backlash from fans, Paris told Cat, 48, and Ben, 50: 'She's very young, [but we don't] worry at all, Venezuela is so mature for her years.

'She has done so much, even in such a short time just because of who she is and the fact that she's got six younger brothers and sisters that she has helped bring up, I can't deny it.

Before popping the question to his future bride, Noah asked for Tyson's blessing to ask Venezuela for her hand in marriage

She said how Noah was 'having palpitations about doing it' but the conversation went well. Venezuela added that her dad 'wouldnt interfere' and hes 'very happy for us'

'She is very mature, and in the last 12 months I've been doing work with Venezuela, she's been doing different shoots, interviews, working on social media.

'I've given her all options in life, and she has chosen this path and I can't deny her. I was 17 when I got engaged, so she's obviously following in my footsteps, and how could I judge her in any which way?

'I know she's young, but I think she's found the person that she loves, and if she's happy, I will completely support her.'

Venezuela recently revealed she's not yet met her future in-laws despite being engaged.

She explained how planning for the wedding won't get underway until she's come face-to-face with Noah's father and mother.

Venezuela said: 'I haven't met his family yet. So I'm looking forward to seeing them. He lives a few hours' away from me and works during the week, so we only see each other on weekends.

'We haven't discussed where we are going to live after we are married yet.'
Sarah Jessica Parker lived up to her author alter ego Carrie Bradshaw as she joined the judges for the 2025 Booker Prize.

This year's winner, chosen from among 153 submitted novels, has been picked by a panel that includes Irish writer Roddy Doyle and the Sex And The City star.

Sarah rose to fame as protagonist Carrie, who is a New York City-based newspaper columnist and fashion enthusiast.

And the actress, 60, proved she has her character's passion for writing as she arrived at the Old Billingsgate in London on Monday.

Sarah opted for purple satin dress with a structured bodice and black criss cross ribbon on the skirt.

She added a boost to her height with glittery heels and accessorised with a pearl necklace and brown handbag.

Sarah Jessica Parker lived up to her author alter ego Carrie Bradshaw as she joined the judges for the 2025 Booker Prize

The actress, 60, proved she has her character's passion for writing as she arrived at the Old Billingsgate in London on Monday

Gavin and Stacey creator Ruth Jones was in attendance alongside the likes of Sir Lenny Henry and Lisa Makin, Jason Isaacs and Emma Hewitt and Charles Dance.

British novelist Andrew Miller and Indian author Kiran Desai are oddsmakers' favorites to win the Booker Prize for fiction.

They are among six finalists for the coveted literary award, which bring a 50,000 payday and a big boost to the winner's sales and profile.

The Booker Prize was founded in 1969 and has established a reputation for transforming writers' careers.

Its winners have included Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, Arundhati Roy and Samantha Harvey, who took the 2024 prize for space station story 'Orbital.'

Originally open to English-language novels from the U.K., Ireland and the Commonwealth, the prize expanded in 2014 to admit American writers.

This year's six finalists include three U.S. writers - Choi, Kitamura and Markovits - and a fourth, Desai, who has long lived in New York.

Last month, Sarah grew emotional as she discussed the recent brutal cancellation of her Sex and the City spinoff And Just Like That....

Many fans of the original series were left exasperated by the follow-up, accusing it of having cloying dialogue, cringeworthy new characters and hackneyed storylines.

While Sarah, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon returned to play their old fan favorite roles, Kim Cattrall notably declined to come back full-time, following years of reports she had feuded with her co-stars.

Over the summer it emerged HBO had axed the show after three seasons, and Kristin has since confirmed rumours the cast had 'no idea' they were going to be canceled until after they had wrapped their final episodes.

Sarah, who is an executive producer on And Just Like That..., has talked about the decision to 'gracefully walk away' from the show - only to drop the bombshell that she may only be on 'hiatus,' on CBS Mornings.

Sarah opted for purple satin dress with a structured bodice and black criss cross ribbon on the skirt

She added a boost to her height with glittery heels and accessorised with a pearl necklace and brown handbag

The actress posed for a photo with judge Kiley Reid

Gavin and Stacey creator Ruth Jones was in attendance and cut an elegant figure in a pink satin suit

Stephen Mangan and Louise Delamere arriving for the announcement of the 2025 Booker Prize winner

Sir Lenny Henry and Lisa Makin appeared in high spirits

Jason Isaacs and Emma Hewitt also arrived for the award ceremony and dinner

Charles Dance looked smart in a black suit and polka dot tie for the occasion

Adjoa Andoh beamed for the cameras

Natascha McElhone also hit the red carpet

Tanya Burr looked sophisticated in a black gown as she hit the red carpet

Susan Choi, author of Flashlight showed off her book

She said that giving up her iconic character of sex columnist Carrie was a 'very difficult decision,' but she left the door open to a potential return.

'I'm not certain I understand what that decision means, because I could just be on hiatus,' teased the Ed Wood actress with a small smile.

Sarah revealed she extensively discussed the cancelation with showrunner Michael Patrick King, who had held the same job on Sex and the City.

'I think it's out of respect for this really singular professional experience that you have to consider what you want to do, have you done it, and sometimes it's best to gracefully walk away when things feel really right and energetic, versus squeezing and exploiting people's generosity and hospitality,' she claimed.
Jon Bon Jovi has become a grandfather again for the second time in a matter of weeks.

Nearly three months after daughter-in-law Millie Bobby Brown, 21, and son Jake Bongiovi, 23, revealed they had welcomed a child together, Jake's older brother Jesse, 30, revealed he has welcomed a new child.

The older Bongiovi brother and wife Jesse Light, 31, welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Blair Lucy, on Monday.

The happy couple took to Instagram to make a joint post to make the happy announcement as they shared a snap of the bouncing baby girl holding the new mom's index finger.

They captioned the sweet image: 'Blair Lucy Bongiovi. Our sweet girl has arrived, and we couldnt be happier. Welcome to the world, baby Blair bear.'

The couple tied the knot in May 2024 after a 2022 engagement following four years of dating.

Jon Bon Jovi has become a grandfather again for the second time in a matter of weeks as his son Jesse Bongiovi, 30, revealed he has welcomed a new child (the father and son are seen in West Hollywood back in March 2019)

The older Bongiovi brother and wife Jesse Light, 31, welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Blair Lucy, on Monday

Light has been an executive producer on Amazon Video's new reality series Forever Summer: Hamptons, and is CAA head of music Rob Light's daughter and Miley Cyrus' best friend.

Much like her father, Light has found plenty of success at a young age. After attending The Buckley School, a private school in New York City, she went on to earn her Bachelors Degree at New York University.

Meanwhile, the blessings keep coming for the Bongiovi family as Brown gave an insight into new motherhood last month as she shared a first look at her adopted baby girl.

The Stranger Things star, who wed Jake Bongiovi last year, made the surprise announcement that she had adopted in a social media post from August 21.

The post read: 'This summer, we welcomed our sweet baby girl through adoption.'

'We are beyond excited to embark on this beautiful next chapter of parenthood in both peace and privacy.

'And then there were three. Love, Millie and Jake Bongiovi.'

In the new snap, the new parents gazed adoringly at their daughter, whose face and tiny hand could be seen.

The happy couple took to Instagram to make a joint post to make the happy announcement as they shared a snap of the bouncing baby girl holding the new mom's index finger

They captioned the sweet image: 'Blair Lucy Bongiovi. Our sweet girl has arrived, and we couldnt be happier. Welcome to the world, baby Blair bear'

The couple tied the knot in May 2024 after a 2022 engagement following four years of dating

Meanwhile, the blessings keep coming for the Bongiovi family as Millie Bobby Brown gave an insight into new motherhood last month as she shared a first look at her adopted baby girl

The Stranger Things star, who wed Jake Bongiovi, 23, last year, made the surprise announcement that she had adopted in a social media post from August 21 - pictured February 2025

On July 20 Brown dropped a hint there was a baby in their life.

In an Instagram post Bongiovi was seen pushing a stroller in a post shared by Brown captioned: 'helluva summer thus far.' It was not 100 percent certain what was going on.

The pair married in May 2024 and the couple had discussed having children, adoption and their plans on having a big family.

Earlier this year she said she wanted to be a mother.

During an appearance on the Smartless podcast, which is hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett, the actress said that although she knows she is 'really young,' she is looking forward to motherhood.

'My mom actually had her first child at 21, and my dad was 19. And you know, it's been my thing since before I met Jake,' she explained.

Since I was a baby... I wanted to be a mom just like the way my mom was to me. And my nan, my grandmother is, she was a huge part of my life.

'And so, yeah, I mean, Jake knows how important it is to me and, of course, I want to focus on really establishing myself as an actor and as a producer, but I also find it's so important to start a family for me personally,' Millie continued.

'It's a huge thing. Jake was like, we cannot do that until we get married. So that was his thing.'

Brown then added: 'And my thing was, I really want a family. I really want a big family.

In another snap the couple cuddled up together in a sweet moment

Bongiovi and Brown are pictured with rock icon dad Jon Bon Jovi and mom Dorothea Hurley in 2024

Earlier this year Brown shared a single image of her baby girl in a carrier being held by Bongiovi. They were on the tarmac heading to a private jet

'I'm one of four. He's one of four. So, it is definitely in our future, but, for me, I don't see having your own child, you know, as really any different [from] adopting.'

She went on to say: 'My home is full of love for anyone and anything, and so that is what we kind of stand by, Jake and I, our energy in the house is "the door is always open", and we want everyone to feel really comfortable.'

Her comments come just a few weeks after she opened up to Vanity Fair in February about her relationship with Bongiovi and how they're 'pretty united' on major topics.

'We talked about our political views, what kind of family we want to build, the kind of home we want to live in, the kind of relationship we're looking for, the kind of careers we want,' she told the publication.

'It's such an important decision, and we wanted to make sure we were making the right one. I knew I was. It always felt right with him.'

Brown and Bongiovi, whose father is musician Jon Bon Jovi, first started dating in 2021 and announced their engagement in April 2023.

The couple tied the knot in May 2024 in a lavish ceremony in Italy where they said 'I do' at Villa Cetinale in Tuscany.
Kim Kardashian has been roasted for copying Halle Berry.

The 45-year-old reality TV star wore a very similar dress to what the actress donned in the 2002 movie Die Another Day.

Berry, 59, memorably wore the risque frock when meeting James Bond face-to-face at a swanky party.

'Kim, no way you can be Jinx,' said one; Jinx is the name of Berry's character in Die Another Day. Another shared, 'Don't do Halle, please!' but did not explain why.

This person took a nasty swipe at Kim who did not pass the California bar this year: 'Girl go pass exam you wasnt focused.' And one fan said the costume was off: 'It feels like an Indian outfit .'

Still, others thought Kim looks 'incredible' and called her 'the queen.' Another said, 'Kim is more Jinx than Jinx was!'

Kardashian modeled almost an exact same version of the lavender dress, complete with the low-cut back, when at her mother Kris Jenner's 70th birthday party at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's property in Beverly Hills.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashian star's move was intentional: She wanted to look like a Bond character because Jenner's party theme was 007.

Kim Kardashian has been roasted for copying Halle Berry. The reality TV star wore a very similar dress to what the actress donned in the 2002 movie Die Another Day. Berry memorably wore the risque frock when meeting James Bond face-to-face at a swanky party

'Die Another Day. 0070 James Bond Party for the one and only 70th birthday!!!' the SKIMS founder captioned an Instagram post where she had on the dress. Sister Khloe supported her as she wrote in the comment box: 'Theres my girl!!!!!!!!!'

Die Another Day was a massive success when it came out 23 years ago.

The action film saw James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) captured by North Korean agents and set for a grueling prison sentence.

When he is finally released, Bond is convinced that someone in his own agency betrayed him.

He escapes from custody and travels to Cuba to chase Zao (Rick Yune), the agent who put Bond behind bars.

Meanwhile, Bond begins romancing NSA agent Jinx (Berry) as he uncovers a scheme concocted by Zao and British millionaire Graves (Toby Stephens), involving a highly destructive laser.

The film that was directed by the late Lee Tamahori starred not only Brosnan and Berry but also Rosamund Pike; John Cleese; and Judi Dench.

TV wonder Kardashian and the Hollywood staple Berry have been linked recently: Berry almost starred on Kardashian's legal drama All's Fair.

In July 2024 Berry dropped out of All's Fair due to scheduling conflicts, according to Variety.

Berry was slated to serve as an executive producer as well.

Kardashian modeled almost an exact same version of the lavender dress, complete with the low-cut back, when at her mother Kris Jenner's 70th birthday party at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's property

The Keeping Up With The Kardashian star's move was intentional: She wanted to look like a Bond character because Jenner's party theme was 007. 'Die Another Day. 0070 James Bond Party for the one and only 70th birthday!!!' the SKIMS founder captioned a post

The reality TV wonder and the Hollywood staple have been linked recently: Berry almost starred on Kardashian's legal drama All's Fair. Berry seen in September in NYC

American Horror Story creator Ryan Murphy came to Kris Jenner's home to pitch this series, after she starred in AHS: Delicate, it was learned on The Kardashians.

The series was first announced back in December 2023, the first series under Murphy's new overall deal at Disney.

The show follows Kim playing the powerful divorce lawyer in Los Angeles, who runs a successful all-female law firm.

The show is inspired by Kardashian's actual lawyer, Laura Wasser, who represented her in divorce proceedings with Kanye West and Kris Humphries.

All's Fair was created by Jon Robin Baitz (Brothers & Sisters, Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans) and Joe Baken.

Kardashian, her mother/manager Kris Jenner and Murphy are executive producing with Baitz and Baken.

All's Fair stars Kardashian, Naomi Watts, Niecy Nash-Betts, Teyana Taylor, Matthew Noszka, Sarah Paulson and Glenn Close. The series premiered on November 4, 2025, on Hulu.
Comedian and actress, Ruby Wax, is the sixth contestant to land in Brisbane Airport ahead of this year's I'm A Celeb launching on Sunday.

The When Ruby Met presenter, 72, wore a pair of sunglasses, grey t-shirt and jeans for her arrival Down Under.

She told the Daily Mail: 'I don't mind about camping, I've been on desert islands before, I did a show where I had to live alone for 10 days, so this is nothing.

'It's the people, that is exciting, to pick them apart and find out what makes them so interesting.'

Ruby said that she wouldn't miss much about home in the UK apart from her cats and said: 'This is the weirdest thing I have ever done.

'What if you don't like the people, but I usually do get on with people, if I don't it shows on my face.'

Comedian and actress, Ruby Wax , is the sixth contestant to land in Brisbane Airport ahead of this year's I'm A Celeb launching on Sunday

The When Ruby Met presenter, 72, wore a pair of sunglasses, grey t-shirt and jeans for her arrival Down Under

It comes after she was spotted in Heathrow Airport on Sunday and was beaming ahead of her lengthy flight.

Ruby is set to join names including Martin Kemp, Lisa Riley and Kelly Brook in the famous jungle when the new series kicks off on Sunday.

She found fame on ITV sitcom Girls On Top in 1985 and went on to be an interviewer on shows such as the BBC's Ruby Wax Meets.

Ahead of her stint, she said: 'It hasnt actually sunk in that I am doing this, but I am really looking forward to meeting my fellow campmates.

'I was offered the chance to take part a long time ago and I thought, "No, I could never do that" but now its the right time. I like doing adventurous things.

'It will be nice for people to get to know the real me because you cant hide in the jungle.

'In my personas before, I looked quite aggressive and pushy, and I think it was just my nerves. I am not aggressive, its the way I talk. Im not confrontational and it looked like I was. '

The survival reality show, presented by Declan Donnelly, 50, and Ant McPartlin, 49, will be back on the popular channel this coming Sunday (November 16).

She told the Daily Mail: 'I don't mind about camping, I've been on desert islands before, I did a show where I had to live alone for 10 days, so this is nothing

Ruby looked in great spirits as she climbed into her waiting car for the last part of her long journey

Ruby appeared in bright spirits as she made her way through the airport

It comes after she was spotted in Heathrow Airport on Sunday and was beaming ahead of her lengthy flight

The survival reality show, presented by Declan Donnelly , 50, and Ant McPartlin , 49, will be back on the popular channel this coming Sunday (November 16)

Irish TV personality, Vogue Williams, and beloved Celebs Go Dating receptionist, Tom Read Wilson, have been confirmed as the late entries to this year's I'm A Celeb.

Each year, two contestants enter a week later than the first batch of 10 celebrities and typically have to complete their own task before joining the rest of the camp.
Jasmine Tookes gave birth just over a week after she rocked her massive pregnancy belly to open the 2025 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

The 34-year-old runway queen announced that she and husband Juan David Borrero had welcomed their second baby together.

Tookes had welcomed the bouncing baby boy, named Mateo Ira Borrero, on October 28 which was just 13 days after the runway show which took place on October 15.

The happy parents took to Instagram on Monday to share the happy news as they posted a gallery of cute black and white snaps including newborn Mateo and two-year-old daughter Mia.

The couple captioned the post: 'The greatest blessing. Mateo Ira Borrero [brown heart emoji 10.28.25.'

Tookes and then boyfriend of four years Borrero announced their engagement in September 2020.

Jasmine Tookes announced that she and husband Juan David Borrero had welcomed their second baby together (they are seen together in LA back in November 2021)

This came just over a week after she rocked her massive pregnancy belly to open the 2025 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

They married a year later at Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco in Quito, Ecuador in September 2021.

Borrero is the director of international markets of Snap Inc and is the son of doctor Alfredo Borrero Vega who is the former vice president of Ecuador.

Just weeks ago, Tookes didn't let being nearly nine months pregnant with her second child keep her from her duty opening the 2025 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.

The then expecting model looked divinely celestial as she showcased her substantial baby bump down the runway at Steiner Studios located in New York's Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Jasmine has previously strutted in every single show for the San Francisco bra brand spanning 2012-2018 as well as its rebranded return in 2024.

Tookes - who braved a pair of stiletto heels - modeled a nude bodysuit beneath a beaded fishnet midi-dress while hauling a matching shell-shaped wire frame on her back.

In early September, Jasmine confirmed that she only had 'a couple more months to go' before she welcomes a baby brother for her aforementioned two-year-old daughter Mia.

'I think this second time around is a little bit harder just because I do have a toddler,' Tookes confessed to People.

They were engaged in September 2020 and married a year later at Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco in Quito, Ecuador in September 2021 (pictured)

Just weeks ago, Tookes didn't let being nearly nine months pregnant with her second child keep her from her duty opening the 2025 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

Jasmine has previously strutted in every single show for the San Francisco bra brand spanning 2012-2018 as well as its rebranded return in 2024

Tookes - who braved a pair of stiletto heels - modeled a nude bodysuit beneath a beaded fishnet midi-dress while hauling a matching shell-shaped wire frame on her back

In early September, Jasmine confirmed that she only had 'a couple more months to go' before she welcomes a baby brother for her two-year-old daughter Mia Victoria Borrero (pictured October 4)

'It's going to be such a special moment. My husband's family is going to come into town for two to three months, so it'll be nice to have that support along with my mom and my family. It'll be a full house over here at the Tookes-Borrero household, which I'm just so excited about.'

The JOJA co-founder and her husband of four years - Airbnb exec Juan David Borrero - originally met at a Venice Beach restaurant in 2016 after being introduced by Miranda Kerr and her husband Evan Spiegel.

Jasmine walked her first-ever Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2012, but she didn't officially earn her 'wings' until 2015.

The next year, Tookes had the honor of donning the $3M Fantasy Bra, which she dubbed her all-time favorite VS look.

The 5ft9in stunner told Who What Wear in October: 'It was such an honor, and the bra was stunning  made with emeralds and diamonds. I'll never forget how special that moment was.'
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday apprised the Centre that as many as 14 fishermen were arrested and their mechanised fishing boat was seized by the Sri Lankan Navy. Underscoring that over 120 fishermen from Tamil Nadu and more than 240 fishing boats remain under Sri Lankan custody, the chief minister urged the Centre to take all steps for the early release of the fishermen and their fishing boats.

Writing to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Stalin said the mechanised fishing boat was from Mayiladuthurai, and the fishermen were arrested on the night of November 9.
Bangladesh Police on Saturday carried out a large-scale coordinated security drill at key points of the Capital ahead of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasinas now disbanded Awami Leagues Dhaka Lockdown programme on November 13. Several newspapers quoting unidentified sources in the Dhaka Metropolitan Police said some 7,000 policemen took part in a drill at 142 locations. Witnesses reported increased police presence across Dhaka, which enhanced concerns among residents of the capital about the law and order situation on November 13. Bangladeshs International Crimes Tribunal is set to announce a date for delivering judgment against deposed PM Hasina after her trial in absentia on charges of alleged crimes against humanity.
Peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Istanbul have ended without agreement, with the sides trading blame for the breakdown in negotiations aimed at easing border tensions and upholding a fragile ceasefire, officials said Saturday. Tensions have escalated in recent weeks following deadly border fighting that killed dozens of soldiers and civilians. The violence erupted after explosions in Kabul on October 9, which Afghanistans Taliban Government said were drone strikes conducted by Pakistan and vowed to avenge. The clashes subsided after Qatar brokered a ceasefire on October 19, which remains tenuously in place.Afghanistans Government spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, blamed Pakistan for the talks failure, saying that Pakistans demands in the negotiations were unreasonable and the talks could not proceed, the meeting ended and the talks are at a standstill for now.
UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC  Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of Hold from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $6.4643.

UWMC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised UWM from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. BTIG Research reiterated a buy rating and issued a $10.00 target price on shares of UWM in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price target on UWM from $4.50 to $5.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of UWM from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and raised their price objective for the company from $4.50 to $6.50 in a report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of UWM from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th.

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UWM Price Performance

UWMC stock opened at $5.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -104.90 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $4.97. UWM has a 1 year low of $3.80 and a 1 year high of $7.14.

UWM (NYSE:UWMC  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.07 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $151.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $651.51 million. UWM had a net margin of 0.48% and a negative return on equity of 5.56%. Research analysts anticipate that UWM will post 0.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

UWM Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 18th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other UWM news, CEO Ishbia Mat sold 596,356 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.84, for a total value of $4,079,075.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 6,705,072 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,862,692.48. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,916,676 shares of company stock worth $111,271,154. 87.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of UWM by 101.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the companys stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 2,958 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in UWM in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of UWM by 135.4% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,159 shares of the companys stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 4,693 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of UWM during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of UWM during the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. 53.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About UWM

(Get Free Report)

UWM Holdings Corporation engages in the residential mortgage lending business in the United States. The company offers mortgage loans through wholesale channel. It originates primarily conforming and government loans. UWM Holdings Corporation was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Pontiac, Michigan.

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Barratt Redrow plc (LON:BTRW  Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 509.29.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Barratt Redrow from GBX 575 to GBX 550 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Berenberg Bank reiterated a hold rating and issued a GBX 440 target price on shares of Barratt Redrow in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Peel Hunt reissued a buy rating and set a GBX 470 price target on shares of Barratt Redrow in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Barratt Redrow from GBX 591 to GBX 510 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a GBX 536 price objective on shares of Barratt Redrow in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th.

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Insider Transactions at Barratt Redrow

Barratt Redrow Trading Down 0.2%

In other Barratt Redrow news, insider Mike Scott bought 13,275 shares of Barratt Redrow stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 25th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 377 per share, with a total value of 50,046.75. Also, insider Geeta Nanda purchased 1,347 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 369 per share, with a total value of 4,970.43. Insiders have acquired 19,659 shares of company stock worth $7,385,556 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the companys stock.

Shares of Barratt Redrow stock opened at GBX 376 on Friday. The company has a market cap of 5.32 billion and a PE ratio of 28.27. Barratt Redrow has a 1-year low of GBX 347.60 and a 1-year high of GBX 486.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of GBX 379.70 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 410.53.

Barratt Redrow (LON:BTRW  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 17th. The company reported GBX 25.50 EPS for the quarter.

About Barratt Redrow

(Get Free Report)

Barratt Redrow plc is an exceptional FTSE 100 listed UK home builder, building the homes the country needs, and dedicated to quality, service and sustainability.

Together, we offer a range of highly respected and complementary brands, Barratt, David Wilson and Redrow.

We put our customers at the heart of everything we do, through our focus on:

 Quality  We deliver high-quality, energy-efficient homes which are built to the highest standards.

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Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM  Get Free Report) and Augusta Gold (OTCMKTS:AUGG  Get Free Report) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Agnico Eagle Mines and Augusta Gold, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Agnico Eagle Mines 0 2 11 4 3.12 Augusta Gold 0 0 0 0 0.00

Agnico Eagle Mines presently has a consensus target price of $184.50, suggesting a potential upside of 14.40%. Given Agnico Eagle Mines stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Agnico Eagle Mines is more favorable than Augusta Gold.

Profitability

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Agnico Eagle Mines 32.62% 15.97% 11.25% Augusta Gold N/A -34.03% -12.24%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

This table compares Agnico Eagle Mines and Augusta Golds net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

68.3% of Agnico Eagle Mines shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.4% of Augusta Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Agnico Eagle Mines shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 45.8% of Augusta Gold shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Agnico Eagle Mines and Augusta Golds top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Agnico Eagle Mines $10.57 billion 7.67 $1.90 billion $6.85 23.54 Augusta Gold N/A N/A -$6.59 million ($0.09) -13.51

Agnico Eagle Mines has higher revenue and earnings than Augusta Gold. Augusta Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Agnico Eagle Mines, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Agnico Eagle Mines has a beta of 0.45, meaning that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Augusta Gold has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Agnico Eagle Mines beats Augusta Gold on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Agnico Eagle Mines

(Get Free Report)

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, a gold mining company, exploration, development, and production of precious metals. It explores for gold. The company's mines are located in Canada, Australia, Finland and Mexico, with exploration and development activities in Canada, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited was incorporated in 1953 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

About Augusta Gold

(Get Free Report)

Augusta Gold Corp. engages in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in the United States. The company primarily explores for gold, silver, and other metals. It holds interests in the Bullfrog gold project consists of 734 unpatented lode mining claims and mill site claims, and 87 patented mining claims located in the Bullfrog Hills of Nye County, Nevada; and the Reward Gold Project comprises 123 unpatented Bureau of Land Management (BLM) placer and lode mining claims, and six patented placer mining claims covering approximately 2,333 acres located in Nye County, Nevada. The company was formerly known as Bullfrog Gold Corp. and changed its name to Augusta Gold Corp. in January 2021. Augusta Gold Corp. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB  Get Free Report) and Pacific Valley Bancorp (OTCMKTS:PVBK  Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Prosperity Bancshares and Pacific Valley Bancorps net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Prosperity Bancshares 30.28% 7.06% 1.37% Pacific Valley Bancorp 12.14% N/A N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

80.7% of Prosperity Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.8% of Pacific Valley Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of Prosperity Bancshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Prosperity Bancshares $1.19 billion 5.38 $479.39 million $5.61 12.03 Pacific Valley Bancorp $30.26 million 1.73 $4.42 million $0.79 13.41

This table compares Prosperity Bancshares and Pacific Valley Bancorps revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Prosperity Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Pacific Valley Bancorp. Prosperity Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Pacific Valley Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Prosperity Bancshares has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pacific Valley Bancorp has a beta of 0.22, meaning that its stock price is 78% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Prosperity Bancshares and Pacific Valley Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Prosperity Bancshares 0 6 11 0 2.65 Pacific Valley Bancorp 0 0 0 0 0.00

Prosperity Bancshares currently has a consensus price target of $80.50, suggesting a potential upside of 19.26%. Given Prosperity Bancshares stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Prosperity Bancshares is more favorable than Pacific Valley Bancorp.

Summary

Prosperity Bancshares beats Pacific Valley Bancorp on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Prosperity Bancshares

(Get Free Report)

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; term loans and lines of credit; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery. In addition, it provides internet banking, mobile banking, trust and wealth management, retail brokerage, mortgage services, and treasury management, as well as debit and credit cards. The company was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Pacific Valley Bancorp

(Get Free Report)

Pacific Valley Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Pacific Valley Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company offers personal and business banking, including checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, and certificates of deposit; and online solutions, such as online and mobile banking, bill pay, remote deposit capture, positive pay, e-statements, and order checks. It also provides commercial or agriculture lines of credit, commercial or agriculture terms loans, commercial constructions loans, agriculture production lending, and government guaranteed loan programs; and debit card, incoming wire instructions, ATM locator, fraud prevention, identity theft, and FDIC insurance estimator services. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Salinas, California.

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Monarch Cement (OTCMKTS:MCEM  Get Free Report) and Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM  Get Free Report) are both construction companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Monarch Cement and Martin Marietta Materialss revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Monarch Cement $268.05 million 2.91 $66.05 million $16.07 13.26 Martin Marietta Materials $6.90 billion 5.33 $2.00 billion $18.97 32.16

Profitability

Martin Marietta Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Monarch Cement. Monarch Cement is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Martin Marietta Materials, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

This table compares Monarch Cement and Martin Marietta Materials net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Monarch Cement 19.56% 12.31% 10.87% Martin Marietta Materials 16.47% 11.88% 6.25%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Monarch Cement and Martin Marietta Materials, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Monarch Cement 0 0 0 0 0.00 Martin Marietta Materials 0 5 13 2 2.85

Martin Marietta Materials has a consensus target price of $632.88, indicating a potential upside of 3.74%. Given Martin Marietta Materials stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Martin Marietta Materials is more favorable than Monarch Cement.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.0% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are held by institutional investors. 26.0% of Monarch Cement shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Monarch Cement pays an annual dividend of $3.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Martin Marietta Materials pays an annual dividend of $3.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Monarch Cement pays out 20.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Martin Marietta Materials pays out 17.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Martin Marietta Materials has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years.

Risk & Volatility

Monarch Cement has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Martin Marietta Materials has a beta of 1.06, meaning that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Martin Marietta Materials beats Monarch Cement on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Monarch Cement

(Get Free Report)

The Monarch Cement Company engages in the manufacture and sale of portland cement in the United States. The company also provides masonry cement, ready-mixed concrete, concrete products, and sundry building materials. It primarily serves contractors, ready-mixed concrete plants, concrete products plants, building materials dealers, and governmental agencies. The company sells its products principally in the State of Kansas, the State of Iowa, southeast Nebraska, western Missouri, northwest Arkansas, and northern Oklahoma. The Monarch Cement Company was founded in 1908 and is based in Humboldt, Kansas.

About Martin Marietta Materials

(Get Free Report)

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., a natural resource-based building materials company, supplies aggregates and heavy-side building materials to the construction industry in the United States and internationally. It offers crushed stone, sand, and gravel products; ready mixed concrete and asphalt; paving products and services; and Portland and specialty cement for use in the infrastructure projects, and nonresidential and residential construction markets, as well as in the railroad, agricultural, utility, and environmental industries. The company also produces magnesia-based chemicals products; dolomitic lime primarily to customers for steel production and soil stabilization; and cement treated materials. Its chemical products are used in flame retardants, wastewater treatment, pulp and paper production, and other environmental applications. The company was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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MasterBrand (NYSE:MBC  Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c) rating on shares of MasterBrand in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $15.00.

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MasterBrand Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MBC opened at $10.93 on Friday. MasterBrand has a fifty-two week low of $9.63 and a fifty-two week high of $18.43. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.88.

MasterBrand (NYSE:MBC  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 13th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $777.10 million during the quarter. MasterBrand had a net margin of 3.00% and a return on equity of 10.88%.

Institutional Trading of MasterBrand

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MasterBrand by 3.2% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 707,817 shares of the companys stock worth $9,244,000 after buying an additional 22,065 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of MasterBrand by 4.4% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,510,270 shares of the companys stock worth $32,784,000 after acquiring an additional 106,290 shares during the period. Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MasterBrand during the 1st quarter worth about $814,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of MasterBrand by 64.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,480 shares of the companys stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 7,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MasterBrand during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,646,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.32% of the companys stock.

About MasterBrand

(Get Free Report)

MasterBrand, Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of residential cabinets in the United States and Canada. The company offers a range of residential cabinetry products for the kitchen, bathroom, and other parts of the home. It sells its products to remodeling and new construction markets through dealers, retailers, and builders.

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Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) by 18.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 191,883 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after purchasing an additional 29,391 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Funds holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $26,098,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IMG Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 759.1% in the second quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 189 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. William Blair raised Abbott Laboratories to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $147.00 price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $142.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $147.00.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

ABT stock opened at $126.28 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $219.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.30 and a current ratio of 1.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.41. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $110.86 and a 52 week high of $141.23.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.30. The business had revenue of $11.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $11.40 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 17.78%. Abbott Laboratoriess revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be issued a $0.59 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio is 29.57%.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

(Free Report)

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Menieres disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.

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Aviva PLC increased its holdings in shares of Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM  Free Report) (TSE:AEM) by 7.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 376,065 shares of the mining companys stock after buying an additional 25,187 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned 0.07% of Agnico Eagle Mines worth $44,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in Agnico Eagle Mines by 5.3% in the second quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 3,391 shares of the mining companys stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Agnico Eagle Mines by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 1,285,079 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $153,105,000 after purchasing an additional 34,389 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Agnico Eagle Mines during the second quarter valued at about $615,000. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Agnico Eagle Mines by 12.6% during the second quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 63,085 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $7,516,000 after purchasing an additional 7,075 shares during the period. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Agnico Eagle Mines by 2.3% during the second quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 5,003 shares of the mining companys stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.34% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Agnico Eagle Mines from a buy (a) rating to a buy (b+) rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Agnico Eagle Mines from $165.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an outperformer rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Agnico Eagle Mines from $209.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Agnico Eagle Mines from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Agnico Eagle Mines in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Agnico Eagle Mines has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $184.50.

Agnico Eagle Mines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AEM opened at $161.28 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $81.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.16. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited has a twelve month low of $75.17 and a twelve month high of $187.50.

Agnico Eagle Mines (NYSE:AEM  Get Free Report) (TSE:AEM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The mining company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.40. Agnico Eagle Mines had a net margin of 32.62% and a return on equity of 15.97%. The firm had revenue of $3.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.14 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Agnico Eagle Mines Limited will post 4.63 EPS for the current year.

Agnico Eagle Mines Company Profile

(Free Report)

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, a gold mining company, exploration, development, and production of precious metals. It explores for gold. The company's mines are located in Canada, Australia, Finland and Mexico, with exploration and development activities in Canada, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States.

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Shares of American Integrity Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:AII  Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $25.43 and last traded at $25.5850, with a volume of 27460 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $25.01.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on AII shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an outperform rating and issued a $24.00 target price (up from $22.00) on shares of American Integrity Insurance Group in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of American Integrity Insurance Group from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Citigroup restated an outperform rating on shares of American Integrity Insurance Group in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. JMP Securities lifted their price target on American Integrity Insurance Group from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a sell (e+) rating on shares of American Integrity Insurance Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $25.20.

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American Integrity Insurance Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $496.74 million and a PE ratio of 6.70. The companys fifty day moving average is $22.25.

American Integrity Insurance Group (NYSE:AII  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 3rd. The company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $74.50 million for the quarter.

Institutional Trading of American Integrity Insurance Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of American Integrity Insurance Group in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Integrity Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at $45,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new position in shares of American Integrity Insurance Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $72,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in American Integrity Insurance Group during the second quarter worth $101,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers bought a new stake in American Integrity Insurance Group in the third quarter worth about $155,000.

About American Integrity Insurance Group

(Get Free Report)

We are a profitable and growing insurance group headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Through our insurance carrier subsidiary, American Integrity Insurance Company of Florida, Inc (AIICFL), we provide personal residential property insurance for single-family homeowners and condominium owners as well as coverage for vacant dwellings and investment properties, predominantly in Florida.

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Claritev (NYSE:CTEV  Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Citigroup from $74.00 to $80.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock. Citigroups price objective suggests a potential upside of 39.11% from the stocks previous close.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a sell (d-) rating on shares of Claritev in a research note on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $80.00.

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View Our Latest Stock Report on CTEV

Claritev Stock Down 17.0%

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Claritev

CTEV traded down $11.74 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $57.51. The companys stock had a trading volume of 121,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 125,181. Claritev has a 1 year low of $4.80 and a 1 year high of $74.07. The stocks 50-day moving average is $60.29 and its 200-day moving average is $47.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $947.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.75 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 310.26.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ares Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Claritev by 108.5% in the first quarter. Ares Management LLC now owns 1,863,105 shares of the companys stock worth $43,131,000 after acquiring an additional 969,367 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers bought a new position in Claritev during the third quarter valued at approximately $567,000. Citigroup Inc. purchased a new stake in Claritev in the third quarter worth approximately $2,025,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new stake in Claritev in the third quarter worth approximately $1,245,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new stake in Claritev in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,483,000. Institutional investors own 87.15% of the companys stock.

Claritev Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

MultiPlan Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides data analytics and technology-enabled cost management, payment, and revenue integrity solutions to the healthcare industry in the United States. The company offers analytics-based services that reduce medical costs, through data-driven algorithms and insights that detect claims over-charges and negotiate or recommend reimbursement; and network-based services that provide contracted discounts with healthcare providers, as well as outsourced network development and management services.

Further Reading

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Dividends

M&F Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. M&F Bancorp pays out 17.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, BANKS  SOUTHEAST companies pay a dividend yield of 2.1% and pay out 24.1% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

50.4% of shares of all BANKS  SOUTHEAST companies are owned by institutional investors. 2.9% of M&F Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 12.8% of shares of all BANKS  SOUTHEAST companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

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Volatility and Risk

M&F Bancorp has a beta of -0.5, suggesting that its share price is 150% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, M&F Bancorps peers have a beta of 0.64, suggesting that their average share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio M&F Bancorp $29.33 million $4.77 million 13.05 M&F Bancorp Competitors $604.71 million $154.64 million 14.11

This table compares M&F Bancorp and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

M&F Bancorps peers have higher revenue and earnings than M&F Bancorp. M&F Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares M&F Bancorp and its peers net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets M&F Bancorp N/A N/A N/A M&F Bancorp Competitors 16.48% 9.97% 1.05%

Summary

M&F Bancorp peers beat M&F Bancorp on 10 of the 11 factors compared.

About M&F Bancorp

(Get Free Report)

M&F Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for the Mechanics and Farmers Bank that provides consumer and commercial banking products and services in North Carolina. It offers deposit products, including demand deposits; checking, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company provides loans for commercial and residential real estate, and construction; and consumer and other loans; as well as ATM services. M&F Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in Durham, North Carolina.

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Shares of Daito Trust Construction Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:DIFTY  Get Free Report) saw strong trading volume on Monday . 89,587 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 46% from the previous sessions volume of 61,493 shares.The stock last traded at $4.68 and had previously closed at $4.70.

Daito Trust Construction Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.19.

About Daito Trust Construction

(Get Free Report)

Daito Trust Construction Co,Ltd. designs, constructs, and rents apartments and condominiums in Japan. It operates through three segments: Construction, Real Estate, and Finance. The company design and construct rental housing and other structure construction; ironwork and construction; building management and renovation, and whole building leasing; rental housing tenant guarantor services; advertising; and LP gas supply businesses.

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Davis R M Inc. increased its holdings in iShares Russell 3000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWV  Free Report) by 0.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 159,610 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. iShares Russell 3000 ETF accounts for 1.0% of Davis R M Inc.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Davis R M Inc.s holdings in iShares Russell 3000 ETF were worth $56,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of IWV. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of iShares Russell 3000 ETF by 1.1% during the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,692 shares of the companys stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. ETF Portfolio Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of iShares Russell 3000 ETF by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. ETF Portfolio Partners Inc. now owns 3,702 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,299,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Veracity Capital LLC lifted its holdings in iShares Russell 3000 ETF by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Veracity Capital LLC now owns 1,401 shares of the companys stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors boosted its stake in iShares Russell 3000 ETF by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 240 shares of the companys stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC grew its holdings in iShares Russell 3000 ETF by 50.5% during the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 149 shares of the companys stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter.

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iShares Russell 3000 ETF Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of IWV opened at $380.80 on Monday. iShares Russell 3000 ETF has a twelve month low of $273.60 and a twelve month high of $391.17. The stock has a market cap of $17.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.11 and a beta of 1.02. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $378.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $357.37.

iShares Russell 3000 ETF Company Profile

iShares Russell 3000 ETF, formerly iShares Russell 3000 Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the United States equity market, as represented by the Russell 3000 Index (the Index).

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Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR  Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on DLR. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Digital Realty Trust in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Moffett Nathanson increased their price target on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $163.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Digital Realty Trust from $141.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a buy (b-) rating on shares of Digital Realty Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $198.14.

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Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Digital Realty Trust

Digital Realty Trust Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of DLR stock opened at $169.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 2.22 and a current ratio of 2.02. The stock has a market cap of $58.15 billion, a PE ratio of 43.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.96. The businesss fifty day moving average is $171.44 and its 200-day moving average is $171.03. Digital Realty Trust has a 1 year low of $129.95 and a 1 year high of $198.00.

Digital Realty Trust (NYSE:DLR  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.53 billion. Digital Realty Trust had a return on equity of 6.41% and a net margin of 23.67%.Digital Realty Trusts revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. Digital Realty Trust has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.320-7.380 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Digital Realty Trust will post 7.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Digital Realty Trust

In other Digital Realty Trust news, CEO Andrew Power sold 53,269 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.16, for a total value of $9,330,598.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Digital Realty Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,808,270,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 63.0% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 7,144,737 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,023,769,000 after buying an additional 2,760,286 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Digital Realty Trust during the 1st quarter worth $342,389,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Digital Realty Trust by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,378,860 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $7,505,367,000 after acquiring an additional 925,674 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Digital Realty Trust by 41.5% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,129,819 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $448,422,000 after purchasing an additional 918,549 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.71% of the companys stock.

About Digital Realty Trust

(Get Free Report)

Digital Realty Trust, Inc operates as a real estate investment trust, which engages in the provision of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions. It serves the following industries: artificial intelligence (AI), networks, cloud, digital media, mobile, financial services, healthcare, and gaming.

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Wall Street Zen cut shares of Edison International (NYSE:EIX  Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Sunday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Edison International in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Edison International from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Edison International in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a buy rating and a $71.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Edison International from $68.00 to $66.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Edison International to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Edison International has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $64.30.

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Edison International Trading Up 0.5%

Edison International stock traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $57.34. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,801,937 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,091,298. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $55.54 and a 200-day moving average of $54.40. Edison International has a one year low of $47.73 and a one year high of $88.64. The stock has a market cap of $22.06 billion, a PE ratio of 7.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.85.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $5.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. Edison International had a return on equity of 13.62% and a net margin of 17.24%.The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share. Edison International has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.950-6.200 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Edison International will post 4.95 EPS for the current year.

Edison International Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 7th were issued a $0.8275 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 7th. This represents a $3.31 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.8%. Edison Internationals dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Edison International

In related news, Director Peter J. Taylor sold 1,800 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.27, for a total transaction of $99,486.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 35,212 shares in the company, valued at $1,946,167.24. This represents a 4.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Edison International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV increased its position in shares of Edison International by 159.6% during the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 431 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co raised its position in shares of Edison International by 66.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 500 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Edison International by 677.8% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 560 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Edison International by 113.7% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 577 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of Edison International during the first quarter valued at $35,000. 88.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Edison International Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Edison International, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation and distribution of electric power. The company supplies and delivers electricity to approximately 50,000 square mile area of southern California to residential, commercial, industrial, public authorities, agricultural, and other sectors.

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Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS  Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $280.00 to $268.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trusts stock. Wells Fargo & Companys price objective points to a potential upside of 4.12% from the companys current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Essex Property Trust from $298.00 to $297.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. BNP Paribas lowered Essex Property Trust from an outperform rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $285.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Piper Sandler cut shares of Essex Property Trust from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $355.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c+) rating on shares of Essex Property Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $294.28.

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Essex Property Trust Stock Down 1.2%

ESS stock traded down $3.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $257.40. 21,678 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 480,025. Essex Property Trust has a fifty-two week low of $243.25 and a fifty-two week high of $316.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firms 50 day moving average price is $262.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $272.37. The stock has a market cap of $16.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.82.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.01. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 45.46%.The business had revenue of $473.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $472.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.91 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 3.930-4.030 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 15.890-15.990 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,440,274 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $3,200,675,000 after buying an additional 87,117 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in Essex Property Trust by 26.7% during the 1st quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 75,510 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $23,149,000 after acquiring an additional 15,912 shares in the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its holdings in shares of Essex Property Trust by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 9,636 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,731,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Essex Property Trust by 12,050.0% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 243 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Essex Property Trust by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 45,083 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $13,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.51% of the companys stock.

About Essex Property Trust

(Get Free Report)

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.

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Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA  Free Report) by 46.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 667 shares of the credit services providers stock after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the quarter. Global Wealth Management Investment Advisory Inc.s holdings in Mastercard were worth $375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MA. LGT Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Mastercard during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Family Legacy Financial Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Mastercard in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Keystone Global Partners LLC bought a new position in Mastercard during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Mastercard in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 97.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Mastercard from $638.00 to $630.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Macquarie increased their target price on shares of Mastercard from $655.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. KeyCorp reiterated an overweight rating and set a $665.00 price target on shares of Mastercard in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $665.00 price objective on Mastercard and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Mastercard from $690.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $649.26.

Mastercard Trading Down 0.2%

Mastercard stock opened at $551.98 on Monday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 52 week low of $465.59 and a 52 week high of $601.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $499.00 billion, a PE ratio of 37.22, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.92. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $572.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $569.51.

Mastercard (NYSE:MA  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The credit services provider reported $4.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $4.31 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.53 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 200.01% and a net margin of 44.93%.The companys revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.89 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Mastercard Incorporated will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Mastercard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 9th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 9th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Mastercards payout ratio is 19.44%.

Insider Transactions at Mastercard

In related news, CFO J. Mehra Sachin sold 17,816 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $586.89, for a total transaction of $10,456,032.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 31,234 shares in the company, valued at $18,330,922.26. This represents a 36.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the companys stock.

Mastercard Profile

(Free Report)

Mastercard Incorporated, a technology company, provides transaction processing and other payment-related products and services in the United States and internationally. The company offers integrated products and value-added services for account holders, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, businesses, governments, and other organizations, such as programs that enable issuers to provide consumers with credits to defer payments; payment products and solutions that allow its customers to access funds in deposit and other accounts; prepaid programs services; and commercial credit, debit, and prepaid payment products and solutions.

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goeasy (TSE:GSY  Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from C$225.00 to C$194.00 in a report issued on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. Jefferies Financial Groups price target would indicate a potential upside of 53.86% from the stocks current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on goeasy from C$232.00 to C$226.00 in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on shares of goeasy from C$226.00 to C$208.00 in a research note on Thursday. National Bankshares lowered their target price on goeasy from C$265.00 to C$245.00 in a research note on Thursday. TD Securities cut their price target on goeasy from C$210.00 to C$160.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of goeasy from C$194.00 to C$156.00 in a research report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, goeasy presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$203.00.

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goeasy Trading Down 2.6%

goeasy Company Profile

Shares of TSE:GSY traded down C$3.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting C$126.09. The stock had a trading volume of 130,725 shares, compared to its average volume of 75,423. goeasy has a 12-month low of C$126.09 and a 12-month high of C$216.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 287.63, a quick ratio of 28.46 and a current ratio of 82.04. The company has a market cap of C$2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 9.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.92. The companys 50 day moving average is C$178.04 and its 200-day moving average is C$173.55.

(Get Free Report)

goeasy Ltd provides financial services to own furniture, electronics, computers, and appliances. It offers merchandise leasing of household furnishings, appliances, and home electronic products to consumers under weekly or monthly leasing agreements. The company also offers unsecured installment loans to consumers.

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Hartford Funds Management Co LLC lowered its position in Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR  Free Report) by 95.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 406 shares of the industrial products companys stock after selling 9,414 shares during the period. Hartford Funds Management Co LLCs holdings in Ingersoll Rand were worth $34,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ingersoll Rand by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,066 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Ingersoll Rand by 4.3% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,797,823 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $149,920,000 after purchasing an additional 74,070 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Ingersoll Rand by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 726,564 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $58,147,000 after purchasing an additional 91,777 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Ingersoll Rand by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 190,986 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $15,285,000 after buying an additional 4,690 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Ingersoll Rand by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 246,020 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $19,689,000 after buying an additional 4,372 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.27% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on IR shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Ingersoll Rand from $103.00 to $100.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Melius Research set a $93.00 price objective on Ingersoll Rand in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a hold (c-) rating on shares of Ingersoll Rand in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Melius downgraded shares of Ingersoll Rand from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $93.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Ingersoll Rand from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $96.64.

Ingersoll Rand Price Performance

IR stock opened at $77.50 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.55 and a 200-day moving average of $81.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 1.43. Ingersoll Rand Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.61 and a 12 month high of $106.03.

Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. Ingersoll Rand had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 12.14%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. Ingersoll Rand has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.250-3.310 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ingersoll Rand Inc. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ingersoll Rand Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 13th will be paid a $0.02 dividend. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 13th. Ingersoll Rands dividend payout ratio is currently 5.93%.

Ingersoll Rand Profile

(Free Report)

Ingersoll Rand Inc provides various mission-critical air, gas, liquid, and solid flow creation technologies services and solutions worldwide. It operates through two segments, Industrial Technologies and Services, and Precision and Science Technologies. The Industrial Technologies and Services segment designs, manufactures, markets, and services air and gas compression, vacuum, and blower products; fluid transfer equipment and loading systems; and power tools and lifting equipment, including associated aftermarket parts, consumables, air treatment equipment, controls, other accessories, and services under the under the Ingersoll Rand, Gardner Denver, Nash, CompAir, Elmo Rietschle brands, etc.

Further Reading

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Ibex Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:EFAV  Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,705 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,152,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF in the second quarter worth $36,072,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF by 118.9% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 513,119 shares of the companys stock valued at $43,133,000 after acquiring an additional 278,742 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF by 210.5% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 240,428 shares of the companys stock worth $18,734,000 after purchasing an additional 162,996 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF during the 1st quarter worth $10,429,000. Finally, Elevation Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF in the 1st quarter valued at $9,702,000.

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iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF Price Performance

BATS:EFAV opened at $85.41 on Monday. The businesss 50-day moving average is $84.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 0.57. iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF has a 12 month low of $69.19 and a 12 month high of $85.52.

iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF Company Profile

The iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF (EFAV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI EAFE Minimum Volatility (USD) index. The fund tracks an index of developed-market equities, ex-US and Canada, selected and weighted to create a low volatility portfolio subject to constraints including sector exposure.

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Ibex Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP  Free Report) by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,056 shares of the payment services companys stock after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares during the quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors holdings in American Express were worth $5,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Express by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in American Express by 3.8% during the second quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 869 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. PFG Advisors lifted its position in shares of American Express by 0.7% in the second quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 5,059 shares of the payment services companys stock valued at $1,614,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of American Express by 4.7% in the first quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 772 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Express by 0.7% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,921 shares of the payment services companys stock worth $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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American Express Trading Up 0.9%

AXP stock opened at $368.90 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $339.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $314.74. American Express Company has a fifty-two week low of $220.43 and a fifty-two week high of $370.00. The firm has a market cap of $254.12 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61.

American Express Announces Dividend

American Express ( NYSE:AXP Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.98 by $0.16. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The business had revenue of $18.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.49 earnings per share. American Expresss quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. American Expresss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.01%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, insider Denise Pickett sold 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.73, for a total transaction of $1,753,650.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,726 shares in the company, valued at $2,709,739.98. This represents a 39.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total value of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 92,810 shares of the companys stock, valued at $30,614,306.60. The trade was a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 193,292 shares of company stock valued at $65,363,878 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AXP. Truist Financial boosted their price target on American Express from $375.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Express from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of American Express from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $375.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $332.65.

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About American Express

(Free Report)

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.

Further Reading

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Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY  Free Report) by 9.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 699,138 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 74,227 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Funds holdings in Bristol Myers Squibb were worth $32,363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BMY. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 10.4% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 392,668 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $18,177,000 after acquiring an additional 37,125 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in Bristol Myers Squibb by 115.2% in the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 536,588 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $24,839,000 after purchasing an additional 287,201 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co purchased a new stake in Bristol Myers Squibb during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,671,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb by 958.5% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,775,057 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $82,161,000 after buying an additional 1,607,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CSM Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Bristol Myers Squibb during the second quarter worth $17,696,000. 76.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Bristol Myers Squibb

In other Bristol Myers Squibb news, EVP David V. Elkins sold 56,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.33, for a total transaction of $2,650,480.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 167,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,922,048.07. The trade was a 25.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the companys stock.

Bristol Myers Squibb Price Performance

Bristol Myers Squibb stock opened at $46.74 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.21. Bristol Myers Squibb Company has a one year low of $42.52 and a one year high of $63.33. The company has a market cap of $95.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $45.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.68.

Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $12.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $11.75 billion. Bristol Myers Squibb had a net margin of 10.58% and a return on equity of 80.04%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.80 earnings per share. Bristol Myers Squibb has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.400-6.600 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Bristol Myers Squibb Company will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bristol Myers Squibb Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 3rd were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 3rd. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Bristol Myers Squibbs dividend payout ratio is currently 83.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on BMY. Morgan Stanley reiterated a hold rating on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a market perform rating on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Dbs Bank raised Bristol Myers Squibb to a moderate buy rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Daiwa America downgraded Bristol Myers Squibb from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Citigroup restated a neutral rating on shares of Bristol Myers Squibb in a research report on Monday, October 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $57.23.

View Our Latest Research Report on Bristol Myers Squibb

About Bristol Myers Squibb

(Free Report)

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, fibrotic, and neuroscience diseases. The company's products include Eliquis for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in non-valvular atrial fibrillation, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for various anti-cancer indications, including bladder, blood, CRC, head and neck, RCC, HCC, lung, melanoma, MPM, stomach and esophageal cancer; Pomalyst/Imnovid for multiple myeloma; Orencia for active rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis; and Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.

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ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING  Get Free Report)s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $26.27 and last traded at $26.2850, with a volume of 1050288 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $25.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings raised ING Group from a hold (c+) rating to a buy (b-) rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Barclays raised ING Group from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Cfra Research raised shares of ING Group from a hold rating to a moderate buy rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of ING Group from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Buy.

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View Our Latest Stock Analysis on ING

ING Group Price Performance

The stocks 50-day moving average price is $24.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.05.

ING Group (NYSE:ING  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.35 billion. ING Group had a net margin of 26.94% and a return on equity of 11.57%. Equities research analysts expect that ING Group, N.V. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ING Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Abound Wealth Management boosted its stake in ING Group by 2,757.6% during the third quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 943 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of ING Group by 2,440.8% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,196 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of ING Group during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ING Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of ING Group by 135.3% in the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,586 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 4.49% of the companys stock.

ING Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

ING Groep N.V. provides various banking products and services in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through five segments: Retail Netherlands, Retail Belgium, Retail Germany, Retail Other, and Wholesale Banking. The company accepts current and savings accounts.

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Midland Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:IWF  Free Report) by 41.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,708 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 3,977 shares during the quarter. Midland Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF were worth $2,424,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its position in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF by 722,329.3% in the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 17,851,227 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $7,579,274,000 after buying an additional 17,848,756 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF during the first quarter worth about $424,812,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF by 311.4% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,285,798 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $464,289,000 after acquiring an additional 973,250 shares during the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd lifted its stake in shares of iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF by 36,009.0% in the first quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 494,693 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $178,629,000 after acquiring an additional 493,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF by 4.3% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,109,809 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $1,845,101,000 after purchasing an additional 208,598 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.33% of the companys stock.

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iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSEARCA IWF opened at $471.43 on Monday. iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF has a fifty-two week low of $308.67 and a fifty-two week high of $493.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $467.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $434.25. The firm has a market cap of $122.41 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43 and a beta of 1.13.

About iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF

iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment returns that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell 1000 Growth Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of equity securities of Russell 1000 index issuers with relatively higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth.

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KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF  Get Free Report) CEO Matthew Salem purchased 32,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $7.84 per share, with a total value of $250,880.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 561,825 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,404,708. The trade was a 6.04% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Trading Up 3.4%

KREF opened at $8.14 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $8.96 and a 200-day moving average of $9.10. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust has a 52 week low of $7.78 and a 52 week high of $12.06. The stock has a market cap of $532.83 million, a PE ratio of -23.30 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 423.43, a current ratio of 423.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.63.

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KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (NYSE:KREF  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.01 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $31.41 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.90 million. KKR Real Estate Finance Trust had a negative return on equity of 0.60% and a negative net margin of 0.12%. Equities research analysts predict that KKR Real Estate Finance Trust will post 1.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Dividend Announcement

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 12.3%. KKR Real Estate Finance Trusts dividend payout ratio is -285.71%.

KREF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $9.00 target price (down from $9.50) on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a sell (d) rating on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust from $11.00 to $10.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $9.94.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on KREF

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KKR Real Estate Finance Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 8.2% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,115,655 shares of the companys stock valued at $9,784,000 after purchasing an additional 84,647 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 92.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 841,503 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,380,000 after purchasing an additional 403,660 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 666,973 shares of the companys stock worth $7,203,000 after acquiring an additional 29,112 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 560,847 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,057,000 after buying an additional 31,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust by 368.5% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 536,084 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,701,000 after purchasing an additional 421,657 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.23% of the companys stock.

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc, a mortgage real estate investment trust, focuses primarily on originating and acquiring transitional senior loans secured by commercial real estate (CRE) assets. It engages in the origination and purchase of credit investments related to CRE, including leveraged and unleveraged commercial real estate loans.

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Laffer Tengler Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF (BATS:BBCA  Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,027 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp acquired a new position in JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF in the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF in the second quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, SSA Swiss Advisors AG acquired a new stake in JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF during the first quarter worth about $56,000.

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JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF Trading Up 22.6%

Shares of BBCA stock opened at $86.11 on Monday. JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF has a twelve month low of $62.71 and a twelve month high of $82.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $86.73 and a 200 day moving average of $82.16. The stock has a market cap of $8.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87 and a beta of 0.95.

JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF Company Profile

The JPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF (BBCA) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in total market equity. The fund tracks a market cap-weighted index of large- and mid-cap Canadian equities. BBCA was launched on Aug 7, 2018 and is managed by JPMorgan Chase.

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Midland Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK  Free Report) by 10.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,998 shares of the asset managers stock after selling 239 shares during the quarter. Midland Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in BlackRock were worth $2,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 73.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,313,350 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $1,243,059,000 after purchasing an additional 555,098 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BlackRock by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,764,072 shares of the asset managers stock worth $13,027,419,000 after buying an additional 387,466 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BlackRock by 32.8% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,131,919 shares of the asset managers stock worth $1,071,339,000 after buying an additional 279,336 shares during the period. McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock in the 2nd quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, Unisphere Establishment raised its holdings in BlackRock by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Unisphere Establishment now owns 839,500 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $794,570,000 after acquiring an additional 189,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.69% of the companys stock.

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BlackRock Stock Up 1.1%

BLK stock opened at $1,081.66 on Monday. BlackRock has a 52 week low of $773.74 and a 52 week high of $1,219.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,130.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,070.51. The company has a quick ratio of 4.04, a current ratio of 4.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $167.50 billion, a PE ratio of 27.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.48.

Insider Activity

BlackRock ( NYSE:BLK Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 14th. The asset manager reported $11.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $11.78 by ($0.23). BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.36% and a net margin of 26.64%.The firm had revenue of $6.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.22 billion. The companys quarterly revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $11.46 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BlackRock will post 47.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

In related news, Director Rachel Lord sold 12,000 shares of BlackRock stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,165.04, for a total value of $13,980,480.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,205 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,394,113.20. This trade represents a 62.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.98% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BLK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,320.00 price objective on BlackRock and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Zacks Research downgraded BlackRock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b) rating on shares of BlackRock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on BlackRock from $1,196.00 to $1,325.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of BlackRock from $1,163.00 to $1,312.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $1,303.41.

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BlackRock Company Profile

(Free Report)

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.

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MV Oil Trust (NYSE:MVO  Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Monday. The oil and gas producer reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, Zacks reports.

MV Oil Trust Price Performance

Shares of MVO traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $4.32. 80,889 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 90,951. MV Oil Trust has a twelve month low of $4.25 and a twelve month high of $9.46. The company has a market capitalization of $49.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.43 and a beta of -0.08. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $5.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.75.

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MV Oil Trust Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 19.0%. This is an increase from MV Oil Trusts previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 15th. MV Oil Trusts payout ratio is presently 65.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a sell (d+) rating on shares of MV Oil Trust in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Sell.

View Our Latest Report on MV Oil Trust

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

An institutional investor recently bought a new position in MV Oil Trust stock. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in MV Oil Trust (NYSE:MVO  Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 15,270 shares of the oil and gas producers stock, valued at approximately $88,000. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.13% of MV Oil Trust at the end of the most recent quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 3.54% of the companys stock.

MV Oil Trust Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

MV Oil Trust acquires and holds term net profits interests in the oil and natural gas properties of MV Partners, LLC. Its properties wells located in the Mid-Continent region in the states of Kansas and Colorado. MV Oil Trust was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Houston, Texas.

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Premier African Minerals Limited (LON:PREM  Get Free Report)s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as GBX 0.08 and last traded at GBX 0.09, with a volume of 22207834 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 0.09.

Premier African Minerals Stock Up 1.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 2.54, a current ratio of 0.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of 7.89 million, a P/E ratio of -0.22 and a beta of 0.99. The companys 50 day moving average price is GBX 0.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 0.04.

About Premier African Minerals

(Get Free Report)

Premier African Minerals Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the mining, exploration, evaluation, development, and investment of natural resource properties on the African continent. It explores for tungsten, lithium, tantalum, fluorspar, potash, and gold deposits. The company holds interests in RHA Tungsten mine, Katete REE project, zulu project, and Tinde projects in Zimbabwe, as well as properties in Mozambique.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Applied Materials, Johnson Controls International, Stellantis, and Phillips 66 are the five Manufacturing stocks to watch today, according to MarketBeats stock screener tool. Manufacturing stocks are shares of companies whose primary business is producing physical goodssuch as machinery, automobiles, electronics, chemicals or consumer productsrather than providing services. Investors treat them as cyclical, often capitalintensive plays that tend to track industrial demand, commodity and supplychain dynamics, and broader economic growth, so they are evaluated for earnings sensitivity, cashflow stability and dividend potential. These companies had the highest dollar trading volume of any Manufacturing stocks within the last several days.

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides a range of wafer fabrication processes, including processes to manufacture complementary metal- oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, embedded memory, bipolar CMOS mixed-signal, and others.

Applied Materials (AMAT)

Applied Materials, Inc. engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.

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Johnson Controls International (JCI)

Johnson Controls International plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in engineering, manufacturing, commissioning, and retrofitting building products and systems in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates in four segments: Building Solutions North America, Building Solutions EMEA/LA, Building Solutions Asia Pacific, and Global Products.

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Stellantis (STLA)

Stellantis N.V. engages in the design, engineering, manufacturing, distribution, and sale of automobiles and light commercial vehicles, engines, transmission systems, metallurgical products, mobility services, and production systems worldwide. It provides luxury and premium vehicles; sport utility vehicles; American and European brand vehicles; and parts and services, as well as retail and dealer financing, leasing, and rental services.

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Phillips 66 (PSX)

Phillips 66 operates as an energy manufacturing and logistics company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties (M&S). The Midstream segment transports crude oil and other feedstocks; delivers refined petroleum products to market; provides terminaling and storage services for crude oil and refined petroleum products; transports, stores, fractionates, exports, and markets natural gas liquids; provides other fee-based processing services; and gathers, processes, transports, and markets natural gas.

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ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW  Free Report) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 720,902 shares of the industrial products companys stock after purchasing an additional 20,809 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLCs holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $178,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,519 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $1,399,000 after buying an additional 277 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,555 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $901,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. TFR Capital LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. TFR Capital LLC. now owns 972 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 18,696 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $4,637,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Secured Retirement Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Illinois Tool Works in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,098,000. 79.77% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Illinois Tool Works

In other Illinois Tool Works news, Director Pamela B. Strobel sold 1,521 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.25, for a total value of $373,025.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 39,249 shares in the company, valued at $9,625,817.25. This represents a 3.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Randall J. Scheuneman sold 6,802 shares of Illinois Tool Works stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.08, for a total value of $1,803,074.16. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 10,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,734,035.12. This trade represents a 39.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the companys stock.

Illinois Tool Works Stock Performance

NYSE:ITW opened at $245.47 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $255.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $253.00. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 12 month low of $214.66 and a 12 month high of $279.13.

Illinois Tool Works (NYSE:ITW  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 24th. The industrial products company reported $2.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.72 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $4.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.09 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 93.26% and a net margin of 19.05%.The businesss quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.91 EPS. Illinois Tool Works has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.400-10.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 10.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Illinois Tool Works Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $1.61 per share. This represents a $6.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Illinois Tool Workss payout ratio is currently 62.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ITW. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $250.00 to $245.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $254.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Illinois Tool Works and gave the company an underperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Illinois Tool Works from $255.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Reduce and a consensus target price of $262.00.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Illinois Tool Works

Illinois Tool Works Profile

(Free Report)

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment in the United States and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products.

Further Reading

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Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM  Free Report) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,823 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLCs holdings in iShares Russell 2000 ETF were worth $6,867,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quaker Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF by 211.1% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 120 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in iShares Russell 2000 ETF in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in iShares Russell 2000 ETF in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in iShares Russell 2000 ETF in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Proathlete Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of iShares Russell 2000 ETF during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000.

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iShares Russell 2000 ETF Stock Performance

iShares Russell 2000 ETF stock opened at $241.61 on Monday. iShares Russell 2000 ETF has a fifty-two week low of $171.73 and a fifty-two week high of $252.77. The stock has a market cap of $66.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 1.13. The firms fifty day moving average price is $242.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.74.

About iShares Russell 2000 ETF

iShares Russell 2000 ETF (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell 2000 Index (the Index). The Index is a float-adjusted capitalization weighted index that measures the performance of the small-capitalization sector of the United States equity market and includes securities issued by the approximately 2,000 smallest issuers in the Russell 3000 Index.

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Huntsman (NYSE:HUN  Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by Royal Bank Of Canada from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the basic materials companys stock. Royal Bank Of Canadas price objective points to a potential upside of 8.11% from the stocks previous close.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on HUN. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Huntsman from $9.00 to $8.50 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Huntsman from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a sell rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Huntsman from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Huntsman from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Huntsman from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Huntsman has a consensus rating of Reduce and a consensus target price of $10.82.

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Read Our Latest Research Report on Huntsman

Huntsman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HUN traded up $0.15 during trading on Monday, hitting $8.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,665,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,221,249. The company has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.26 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.43. The businesss 50-day moving average is $9.30 and its 200 day moving average is $10.52. Huntsman has a 52 week low of $7.30 and a 52 week high of $20.94.

Huntsman (NYSE:HUN  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.10. Huntsman had a negative return on equity of 2.48% and a negative net margin of 5.75%.The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.10 earnings per share. Huntsmans revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Huntsman will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Huntsman

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 21.7% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 312,015 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $2,802,000 after purchasing an additional 55,693 shares during the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Huntsman during the 3rd quarter worth about $120,000. AMG National Trust Bank increased its position in Huntsman by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 162,513 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $1,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,769 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Huntsman by 1.6% during the third quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 5,393,866 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $48,437,000 after purchasing an additional 83,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Huntsman by 40.2% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 92,170 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $828,000 after purchasing an additional 26,419 shares in the last quarter. 84.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Huntsman Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Huntsman Corporation manufactures and sells diversified organic chemical products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Polyurethanes, Performance Products, and Advanced Materials. The Polyurethanes segment offers polyurethane chemicals, including methyl diphenyl diisocyanate, polyether and polyester polyols, and thermoplastic polyurethane; and aniline, benzene, nitrobenzene and other co-products.

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ATCO (TSE:ACO.X  Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from C$53.00 to C$59.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. Royal Bank Of Canadas price objective would suggest a potential upside of 5.83% from the companys current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on ACO.X. TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of ATCO from C$56.00 to C$55.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of ATCO from C$54.00 to C$55.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of C$59.00.

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ATCO Stock Performance

ATCO Company Profile

TSE ACO.X traded up C$0.57 on Monday, reaching C$55.75. The stock had a trading volume of 115,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 218,917. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 131.63, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of C$6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of C$50.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$50.89. ATCO has a 1-year low of C$44.42 and a 1-year high of C$56.06.

(Get Free Report)

Atco Ltd is a Canadian holding company that offers gas, electric, and infrastructure solutions. The largest subsidiary of the company is Canadian utilities, which operates natural gas, electricity, and logistical services. Atcos primary segments include Structures and Logistics; Utilities; Energy Infrastructure; Neltume Ports and Corporate and Other.

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SandRidge Energy (NYSE:SD  Get Free Report) and PostRock Energy (OTCMKTS:PSTRQ  Get Free Report) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for SandRidge Energy and PostRock Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score SandRidge Energy 0 1 0 0 2.00 PostRock Energy 0 0 0 0 0.00

Given PostRock Energys higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe PostRock Energy is more favorable than SandRidge Energy.

Profitability

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets SandRidge Energy 51.77% 10.05% 7.96% PostRock Energy N/A N/A N/A

Risk & Volatility

This table compares SandRidge Energy and PostRock Energys net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

SandRidge Energy has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PostRock Energy has a beta of -9.07, suggesting that its share price is 1,007% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares SandRidge Energy and PostRock Energys revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio SandRidge Energy $155.93 million 3.02 $62.99 million $1.78 7.19 PostRock Energy N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

SandRidge Energy has higher revenue and earnings than PostRock Energy.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

61.8% of SandRidge Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of SandRidge Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 79.2% of PostRock Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

SandRidge Energy beats PostRock Energy on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SandRidge Energy

(Get Free Report)

SandRidge Energy, Inc. engages in the acquisition, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States Mid-Continent. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

About PostRock Energy

(Get Free Report)

PostRock Energy Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, production, and gathering of crude oil and natural gas. It focuses on the Cherokee Basin project in southeastern Kansas, northeastern Oklahoma, and central Oklahoma. The firm also owns and operates minor oil and gas producing properties in the Appalachian Basin. The company was founded in July 2009 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK.

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S&CO Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) by 3.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,100 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. S&CO Inc.s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $9,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Blume Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 46.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 44 shares of the companys stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. TD Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 129.2% during the first quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 55 shares of the companys stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Family CFO Inc acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the second quarter valued at approximately $54,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

NYSE LLY opened at $923.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stocks fifty day moving average is $799.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $775.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $872.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.43. Eli Lilly and Company has a fifty-two week low of $623.78 and a fifty-two week high of $955.46.

Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend

Eli Lilly and Company ( NYSE:LLY Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $7.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.42 by $0.60. The business had revenue of $17.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 92.72% and a net margin of 25.91%.The companys quarterly revenue was up 53.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 23.000-23.700 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Eli Lilly and Companys payout ratio is 29.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LLY. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,028.00 to $1,023.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Erste Group Bank upgraded Eli Lilly and Company from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. DZ Bank raised shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $930.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $983.76.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Eli Lilly and Company

Insider Activity

In other news, Director J Erik Fyrwald bought 1,565 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $642.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,005,246.45. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 74,578 shares of the companys stock, valued at $47,903,686.74. This trade represents a 2.14% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gabrielle Sulzberger purchased 117 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $641.18 per share, with a total value of $75,018.06. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,733,109.54. The trade was a 4.52% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 4,314 shares of company stock valued at $2,766,929. Company insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Eli Lilly and Company Profile

(Free Report)

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity.

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Summit Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V  Free Report) by 5.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,290 shares of the credit-card processors stock after selling 324 shares during the quarter. Summit Asset Management LLCs holdings in Visa were worth $1,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of V. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Visa in the 1st quarter worth about $3,518,533,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Visa by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 161,082,431 shares of the credit-card processors stock worth $56,452,949,000 after acquiring an additional 1,677,088 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Visa by 17.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,979,720 shares of the credit-card processors stock valued at $3,847,953,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,954 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in Visa during the first quarter valued at approximately $373,240,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Visa by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 14,277,146 shares of the credit-card processors stock valued at $5,003,569,000 after purchasing an additional 955,392 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.15% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at Visa

In related news, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 10,485 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $341.00, for a total value of $3,575,385.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 537 shares of the companys stock, valued at $183,117. This represents a 95.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Julie B. Rottenberg sold 2,027 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.02, for a total value of $697,328.54. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 11,925 shares in the company, valued at $4,102,438.50. The trade was a 14.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,897 shares of company stock worth $8,164,561. Company insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised Visa to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group set a $425.00 price objective on shares of Visa and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial restated an outperform rating and issued a $408.00 target price (up previously from $398.00) on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $405.00 price target on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $400.00.

Read Our Latest Analysis on V

Visa Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of V opened at $335.91 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $343.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $348.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $615.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.87. Visa Inc. has a 12-month low of $299.00 and a 12-month high of $375.51.

Visa (NYSE:V  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 28th. The credit-card processor reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $10.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.60 billion. Visa had a net margin of 50.15% and a return on equity of 60.31%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.71 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a boost from Visas previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 12th. Visas payout ratio is presently 23.11%.

Visa Company Profile

(Free Report)

Visa Inc operates as a payment technology company in the United States and internationally. The company operates VisaNet, a transaction processing network that enables authorization, clearing, and settlement of payment transactions. It also offers credit, debit, and prepaid card products; tap to pay, tokenization, and click to pay services; Visa Direct, a solution that facilitates the delivery of funds to eligible cards, deposit accounts, and digital wallets; Visa B2B Connect, a multilateral business-to-business cross-border payments network; Visa Cross-Border Solution, a cross-border consumer payments solution; and Visa DPS that provides a range of value-added services, including fraud mitigation, dispute management, data analytics, campaign management, a suite of digital solutions, and contact center services.

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Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TEVA  Get Free Report) Director Roberto Mignone sold 200,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.11, for a total value of $4,822,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 495,000 shares in the company, valued at $11,934,450. This trade represents a 28.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE TEVA traded up $0.33 on Monday, hitting $24.30. The company had a trading volume of 11,579,926 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,860,872. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.45. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has a 12-month low of $12.47 and a 12-month high of $25.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -151.88, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $19.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.89.

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Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NYSE:TEVA  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $4.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.36 billion. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries had a positive return on equity of 46.10% and a negative net margin of 0.95%.Teva Pharmaceutical Industriess revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.550-2.650 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. will post 2.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on TEVA shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a sell (d-) rating on shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of $25.86.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Teva Pharmaceutical Industries

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 100.7% during the second quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 723,974 shares of the companys stock worth $12,134,000 after purchasing an additional 363,252 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 678,758 shares of the companys stock worth $10,080,000 after buying an additional 105,846 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 226,534 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,797,000 after buying an additional 19,447 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 172.1% during the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 1,325,526 shares of the companys stock valued at $20,373,000 after buying an additional 838,423 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Sense Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 63.5% during the first quarter. Financial Sense Advisors Inc. now owns 405,421 shares of the companys stock worth $6,231,000 after acquiring an additional 157,421 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 54.05% of the companys stock.

About Teva Pharmaceutical Industries

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Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes generic medicines, specialty medicines, and biopharmaceutical products in North America, Europe, Israel, and internationally. It offers generic medicines in various dosage forms, such as tablets, capsules, injectables, inhalants, liquids, transdermal patches, ointments, and creams; sterile products, hormones, high-potency drugs, and cytotoxic substances in parenteral and solid dosage forms; and generic products with medical devices and combination products.

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Booking, Expedia Group, Travelers Companies, Trip.com Group, and MakeMyTrip are the five Travel stocks to watch today, according to MarketBeats stock screener tool. Travel stocks are shares of publicly traded companies whose primary business depends on travel and tourismsuch as airlines, hotels and resorts, cruise lines, car rental firms, online travel agencies, and tour operators. Investors use them to gain exposure to consumer travel demand, but they tend to be cyclical and sensitive to economic conditions, fuel and labor costs, seasonality, and disruptive events like pandemics or geopolitical crises. These companies had the highest dollar trading volume of any Travel stocks within the last several days.

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Booking (BKNG)

Booking Holdings Inc, formerly The Priceline Group Inc., is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands.

Expedia Group (EXPE)

Expedia Group, Inc. operates as an online travel company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through B2C, B2B, and trivago segments. Its B2C segment includes Brand Expedia, a full-service online travel brand offers various travel products and services; Hotels.com for lodging accommodations; Vrbo, an online marketplace for the alternative accommodations; Orbitz, Travelocity, Wotif Group, ebookers, CheapTickets, Hotwire.com and CarRentals.com.

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Travelers Companies (TRV)

The Travelers Companies, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance.

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Trip.com Group (TCOM)

Trip.com Group Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a travel service provider for accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tours and in-destination, corporate travel management, and other travel-related services in China and internationally. The company acts as an agent for hotel-related transactions and selling air tickets, as well as provides train, long-distance bus, and ferry tickets; travel insurance products, such as flight delay, air accident, and baggage loss coverage; and air-ticket delivery, online check-in and seat selection, express security screening, real-time flight status tracker, and airport VIP lounge services.

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MakeMyTrip (MMYT)

MakeMyTrip Limited, an online travel company, sells travel products and solutions in India, the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Peru, Colombia, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The company operates through three segments: Air Ticketing, Hotels and Packages, and Bus Ticketing.

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Centerspace (NYSE:CSR  Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at UBS Group from $60.00 to $63.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a neutral rating on the stock. UBS Groups target price points to a potential upside of 6.88% from the stocks current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Centerspace from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Centerspace from $68.00 to $66.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised Centerspace from a sell (d+) rating to a hold (c) rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Centerspace from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Centerspace in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $68.11.

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View Our Latest Research Report on CSR

Centerspace Price Performance

CSR stock traded down $0.88 on Monday, reaching $58.94. 40,600 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 105,465. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $59.09 and a 200-day moving average of $59.62. Centerspace has a twelve month low of $52.76 and a twelve month high of $75.92. The firm has a market cap of $984.54 million, a PE ratio of -32.70 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 0.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Centerspace (NYSE:CSR  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $71.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.07 million. Centerspace had a negative net margin of 9.13% and a negative return on equity of 2.81%. Centerspace has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.880-4.960 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Centerspace will post 4.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Centerspace by 10.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 224,583 shares of the companys stock worth $13,228,000 after acquiring an additional 21,337 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Centerspace by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,111 shares of the companys stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 935 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in shares of Centerspace by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 5,270 shares of the companys stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Centerspace in the third quarter valued at $252,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Centerspace during the third quarter worth about $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.00% of the companys stock.

Centerspace Company Profile

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Centerspace is an owner and operator of apartment communities committed to providing great homes by focusing on integrity and serving others. Founded in 1970, as of September 30, 2023, Centerspace owned interests in 71 apartment communities consisting of 12,785 apartment homes located in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

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Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA (OTCMKTS:USNZY  Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $1.09, but opened at $0.96. Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais shares last traded at $1.07, with a volume of 3,151 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Zacks Research raised shares of Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold.

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View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais

Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais Stock Down 1.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.56 and a current ratio of 4.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $0.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $0.91. The firm has a market cap of $586.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.18 and a beta of 1.48.

Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais (OTCMKTS:USNZY  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 24th. The basic materials company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.02. Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais had a positive return on equity of 1.19% and a negative net margin of 12.91%.The business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA will post 0.09 EPS for the current year.

Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais Company Profile

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Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA manufactures and markets flat steel products in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Mining and Logistics, Steel Metallurgy, and Steel Transformation. It extracts and process iron ore, such as pellet and sinter feed and, granulated iron ore; provides storage, handling, and road cargo transportation services; and operates highway and railway cargo terminals.

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Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO  Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $216.00 to $220.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas companys stock. Wells Fargo & Companys price target indicates a potential upside of 26.89% from the stocks previous close.

VLO has been the topic of a number of other reports. UBS Group restated a buy rating and issued a $183.00 target price on shares of Valero Energy in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Wolfe Research cut Valero Energy from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Valero Energy from $200.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Valero Energy from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and increased their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Valero Energy from $166.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $179.53.

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Read Our Latest Research Report on VLO

Valero Energy Stock Down 1.3%

VLO stock opened at $173.38 on Monday. Valero Energy has a twelve month low of $99.00 and a twelve month high of $179.10. The stock has a market cap of $52.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.40, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.01. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $164.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The oil and gas company reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $32.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.80 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The companys revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Valero Energy will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $461,000. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. grew its holdings in Valero Energy by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. now owns 5,915 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $1,007,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Valero Energy by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 12,589 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $2,143,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 11,179 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 1,589 shares during the period. Finally, Syon Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Valero Energy by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 13,186 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $2,245,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. 78.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Valero Energy Company Profile

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Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol.

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Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR  Free Report) by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,530 shares of the business services providers stock after purchasing an additional 1,576 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.s holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $2,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BR. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $217,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 40.8% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 220,314 shares of the business services providers stock worth $52,900,000 after buying an additional 63,798 shares during the period. Triangle Securities Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $784,000. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Broadridge Financial Solutions in the second quarter worth approximately $12,865,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 15,523 shares of the business services providers stock worth $3,772,000 after acquiring an additional 1,952 shares in the last quarter. 90.03% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity

In other Broadridge Financial Solutions news, President Christopher John Perry sold 7,036 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.72, for a total value of $1,848,497.92. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 48,813 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,824,151.36. The trade was a 12.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Timothy C. Gokey sold 5,674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.37, for a total value of $1,465,991.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 143,285 shares of the companys stock, valued at $37,020,545.45. The trade was a 3.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 147,532 shares of company stock valued at $38,417,208 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on BR. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions from $261.00 to $256.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. DA Davidson reiterated a neutral rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Broadridge Financial Solutions from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b) rating on shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Broadridge Financial Solutions has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $264.83.

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Broadridge Financial Solutions Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE BR opened at $221.83 on Monday. The firms fifty day moving average price is $236.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $241.81. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12 month low of $212.33 and a 12 month high of $271.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $25.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40 and a beta of 0.96.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 3rd. The business services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a net margin of 13.11% and a return on equity of 43.28%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 8.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Company Profile

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Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions for the financial services industry. The company's Investor Communication Solutions segment processes and distributes proxy materials to investors in equity securities and mutual funds, as well as facilitates related vote processing services; and distributes regulatory reports, class action, and corporate action/reorganization event information, as well as tax reporting solutions.

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Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEARCA:GLD  Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,905 shares of the exchange traded funds stock, valued at approximately $1,495,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of GLD. American National Bank & Trust boosted its position in SPDR Gold Shares by 52.4% during the 2nd quarter. American National Bank & Trust now owns 291 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. StrongBox Wealth LLC increased its position in SPDR Gold Shares by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. StrongBox Wealth LLC now owns 1,487 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $453,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of SPDR Gold Shares by 6.5% during the second quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,509 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $1,070,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SPDR Gold Shares by 14.6% during the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 51,235 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $15,618,000 after purchasing an additional 6,540 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of SPDR Gold Shares by 151.5% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. 42.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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SPDR Gold Shares Stock Up 0.6%

NYSEARCA GLD opened at $368.31 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $133.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.43 and a beta of 0.09. SPDR Gold Shares has a twelve month low of $236.13 and a twelve month high of $403.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $356.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $324.83.

SPDR Gold Shares Profile

SPDR Gold Trust (the Trust) is an investment trust. The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less the Trusts expenses. The Trusts business activity is the investment of gold. The Trust creates and redeems Shares from time to time, but in one or more Baskets (a Basket equals a block of 100,000 Shares).

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Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO  Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 91,907 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,388,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 73.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 197,244 shares of the companys stock valued at $11,564,000 after purchasing an additional 83,491 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 10.5% during the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 2,406 shares of the companys stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Altria Group by 85.0% during the second quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 712,415 shares of the companys stock valued at $41,769,000 after buying an additional 327,429 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Altria Group by 6.2% during the second quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,589 shares of the companys stock worth $1,048,000 after buying an additional 972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Altria Group by 11.8% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 290,340 shares of the companys stock worth $17,023,000 after acquiring an additional 30,718 shares during the period. 57.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MO shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b) rating on shares of Altria Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Altria Group from $64.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Altria Group from $65.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Altria Group has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $62.33.

Altria Group Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $58.02 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.16 and a 200 day moving average of $61.89. The stock has a market cap of $97.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.08 and a 12 month high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.31 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 37.24% and a negative return on equity of 295.26%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 30th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the companys leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $1.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This is a positive change from Altria Groups previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.3%. Altria Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.92%.

About Altria Group

(Free Report)

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.

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Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:USMV  Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 48,449 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,548,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ROSS JOHNSON & Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Avion Wealth boosted its position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 88.8% in the second quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 304 shares of the companys stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 77.9% during the 1st quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 386 shares of the companys stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Price Performance

USMV stock opened at $92.95 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.90 and a beta of 0.72. iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF has a 12 month low of $83.99 and a 12 month high of $95.12. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $94.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $93.43.

iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Profile

The iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (USMV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Minimum Volatility (USD) index. The fund tracks an index of US-listed firms selected and weighted to create a low-volatility portfolio subject to various constraints. USMV was launched on Oct 18, 2011 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 56,796 shares of the healthcare product makers stock, valued at approximately $7,725,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 169,823,136 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $22,527,039,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177,739 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,763,415 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $3,948,117,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371,113 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $2,120,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616,471 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,451,305 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $1,916,966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639,954 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,108,416 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $1,738,831,000 after buying an additional 168,095 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.18% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Benchmark initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a report on Friday, October 10th. They set a buy rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a buy (b) rating on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. William Blair upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $159.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $134.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $147.00.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE ABT opened at $126.28 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.68. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $110.86 and a 52 week high of $141.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $1.30. The company had revenue of $11.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $11.40 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.88% and a return on equity of 17.78%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. Abbott Laboratories has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.120-5.180 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 15th. Abbott Laboratoriess payout ratio is presently 29.57%.

About Abbott Laboratories

(Free Report)

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Menieres disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.

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Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM  Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 82,159 shares of the semiconductor companys stock, valued at approximately $18,608,000. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing accounts for about 0.8% of Vise Technologies Inc.s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. 1248 Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. bought a new stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 174.1% in the second quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 159 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 16.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

TSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and issued a $360.00 price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Itau BBA Securities assumed coverage on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. They issued an outperform rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup reissued a buy rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $371.67.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE TSM opened at $286.56 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.39, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.31. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. has a 1-year low of $134.25 and a 1-year high of $311.37. The businesss 50 day moving average is $279.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.37 and a quick ratio of 2.15.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The semiconductor company reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $32.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $951.89 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 36.06% and a net margin of 43.72%.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings quarterly revenue was up 40.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 EPS. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. will post 9.2 EPS for the current year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be given a $0.8348 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 11th. This is a positive change from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings dividend payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Profile

(Free Report)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides a range of wafer fabrication processes, including processes to manufacture complementary metal- oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, embedded memory, bipolar CMOS mixed-signal, and others.

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W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW  Free Report) had its price target lifted by Barclays from $963.00 to $975.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an underweight rating on the industrial products companys stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on GWW. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,215.00 to $1,160.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b-) rating on shares of W.W. Grainger in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,006.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Loop Capital decreased their target price on W.W. Grainger from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on W.W. Grainger from $1,035.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $1,061.57.

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Check Out Our Latest Research Report on GWW

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GWW traded down $7.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $947.27. The company had a trading volume of 96,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 290,668. The stock has a market cap of $45.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 2.82, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. W.W. Grainger has a 52-week low of $893.99 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The companys 50 day moving average price is $973.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $1,014.89.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $10.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $9.95 by $0.26. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 49.63%. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.87 EPS. W.W. Graingers revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. W.W. Grainger has set its FY 2025 guidance at 39.000-39.750 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that W.W. Grainger will post 40.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

W.W. Grainger Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a $2.26 dividend. This represents a $9.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. W.W. Graingers payout ratio is 25.35%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jonny M. Leroy sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.86, for a total value of $496,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,771 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,758,355.06. This represents a 22.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.W. Grainger

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GWW. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in W.W. Grainger by 196.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 24 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of W.W. Grainger in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. raised its position in W.W. Grainger by 316.7% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 25 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of W.W. Grainger during the second quarter worth $27,000. 80.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About W.W. Grainger

(Get Free Report)

W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.

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Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC  Free Report) by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 99,502 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 9,149 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLCs holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $10,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 42,882 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $4,673,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.7% during the first quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 4,886 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 0.6% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 17,100 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,864,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 35.1% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 932 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the period. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at $278,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC stock opened at $112.85 on Monday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.94 and a 1 year high of $118.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $112.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.80.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

WEC Energy Group ( NYSE:WEC Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 17.75%. Equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. WEC Energy Groups dividend payout ratio is currently 67.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Scotiabank increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $129.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. BTIG Research raised WEC Energy Group to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a buy (b-) rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $120.21.

View Our Latest Analysis on WEC

About WEC Energy Group

(Free Report)

WEC Energy Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. It operates through Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, and Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure segments.

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Atmus Filtration Technologies (NYSE:ATMU  Get Free Report) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $47.00 to $52.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Companys target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.23% from the stocks previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ATMU. Wall Street Zen downgraded Atmus Filtration Technologies from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a buy (b-) rating on shares of Atmus Filtration Technologies in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Atmus Filtration Technologies from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Atmus Filtration Technologies from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmus Filtration Technologies presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $46.60.

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Atmus Filtration Technologies Price Performance

Shares of ATMU stock traded up $1.52 during trading on Monday, hitting $49.42. The company had a trading volume of 73,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 766,395. Atmus Filtration Technologies has a 52 week low of $30.94 and a 52 week high of $51.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.69 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The stocks 50-day moving average is $45.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.64.

Atmus Filtration Technologies (NYSE:ATMU  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $447.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $415.02 million. Atmus Filtration Technologies had a return on equity of 81.62% and a net margin of 11.57%.The businesss quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. Atmus Filtration Technologies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 2.500-2.650 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Atmus Filtration Technologies will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmus Filtration Technologies

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Atmus Filtration Technologies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,966,000. Eminence Capital LP increased its holdings in shares of Atmus Filtration Technologies by 25.4% in the 1st quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 5,757,054 shares of the companys stock worth $211,457,000 after acquiring an additional 1,164,440 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Atmus Filtration Technologies by 84.8% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,157,850 shares of the companys stock worth $79,258,000 after buying an additional 990,468 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Atmus Filtration Technologies by 24.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,425,657 shares of the companys stock worth $89,094,000 after purchasing an additional 478,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Atmus Filtration Technologies by 73.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,024,574 shares of the companys stock valued at $37,315,000 after buying an additional 433,166 shares during the period. 32.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Atmus Filtration Technologies

(Get Free Report)

Atmus Filtration Technologies Inc designs, manufactures, and sells filtration products under the Fleetguard brand name in North America, Europe, South America, Asia, Australia, Africa, and internationally. The company offers fuel filters, lube filters, air filters, crankcase ventilation, hydraulic filters, coolants, and fuel additives, as well as other chemicals; and fuel water separators and other filtration systems to original equipment manufacturers, dealers/distributors, and end-users.

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Goldman Sachs BDC (NYSE:GSBD  Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $10.00 to $9.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the financial services providers stock. Wells Fargo & Companys price objective points to a potential downside of 8.16% from the companys previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Zacks Research lowered Goldman Sachs BDC from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c-) rating on shares of Goldman Sachs BDC in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Sell and an average price target of $9.00.

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Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Goldman Sachs BDC

Goldman Sachs BDC Stock Performance

NYSE:GSBD opened at $9.80 on Monday. The stocks 50-day moving average is $10.45 and its 200-day moving average is $11.02. Goldman Sachs BDC has a 1-year low of $9.38 and a 1-year high of $13.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.87 and a beta of 0.75.

Goldman Sachs BDC (NYSE:GSBD  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.03. Goldman Sachs BDC had a net margin of 36.17% and a return on equity of 13.95%. The firm had revenue of $91.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.16 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Goldman Sachs BDC will post 2.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Goldman Sachs BDC

In related news, CEO Vivek Bantwal purchased 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.36 per share, with a total value of $249,920.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 22,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at $249,920. This represents a  increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.12% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MTM Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Goldman Sachs BDC in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Goldman Sachs BDC in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Goldman Sachs BDC by 187.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,864 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 3,174 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Goldman Sachs BDC by 1,471.7% during the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,045 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 4,724 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in shares of Goldman Sachs BDC in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. 28.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Goldman Sachs BDC

(Get Free Report)

Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc is a business development company specializing in middle market and mezzanine investment in private companies. It seeks to make capital appreciation through direct originations of secured debt, senior secured debt, junior secured debt, including first lien, first lien/last-out unitranche and second lien debt, unsecured debt, including mezzanine debt and, to a lesser extent, investments in equities.

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Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW  Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $31.00 to $30.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trusts stock. Wells Fargo & Companys price objective suggests a potential upside of 3.47% from the companys previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Highwoods Properties from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Sunday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c) rating on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Highwoods Properties in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set an outperform rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, New Street Research set a $30.00 price target on Highwoods Properties in a report on Monday, October 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $31.00.

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Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on HIW

Highwoods Properties Price Performance

Shares of Highwoods Properties stock traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $29.00. 35,780 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,011,914. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Highwoods Properties has a fifty-two week low of $24.18 and a fifty-two week high of $34.22.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.86. Highwoods Properties had a return on equity of 5.48% and a net margin of 15.98%.The business had revenue of $201.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $205.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Highwoods Propertiess revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.410-3.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Highwoods Properties

In other Highwoods Properties news, Director David John Hartzell sold 4,300 shares of Highwoods Properties stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total value of $138,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,489 shares of the companys stock, valued at $882,396.90. The trade was a 13.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HIW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,496,091 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $524,906,000 after buying an additional 295,289 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,564,027 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $204,076,000 after buying an additional 86,506 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,302,750 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $200,554,000 after buying an additional 205,761 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Highwoods Properties by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,660,872 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $108,509,000 after acquiring an additional 10,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,959,480 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $87,719,000 after acquiring an additional 388,332 shares in the last quarter. 96.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Highwoods Properties

(Get Free Report)

Highwoods Properties, Inc, headquartered in Raleigh, is a publicly-traded (NYSE:HIW), fully-integrated office real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa.

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Hamas terrorist Abu Kalb Qadhir is set to head the BBC after the resignation of former boss Tim Davie, who was forced out of the job yesterday.

Tim Davie resigned in disgrace as the BBCs top boss on Sunday after saying we did nothing wrong following criticism a Panorama documentary misled viewers by doctoring a speech by US President Donald Trump.

After being asked whether it was the right thing to do to have a terrorist as head of the BBC, the corporation further denied any wrongdoing.

We see nothing wrong with Abu Kalb Qadhir. He will run the BBC from a tunnel in Gaza as he conducts further attacks on Israel. There is nothing wrong here, what are you insinuating? Death! Death to the IDF! BBC spokesman Terrie ORisse told the media.

Keir Starmers Labour government has given the new appointment its full backing, and are even promising more sanctions on Israel, and RPGs for BBC studios.

All BBC programs will continue as normal. Please continue to pay your TV Licence Tax.
The Indigenous Student Centre on Sexton (ISCoS) is quickly becoming the heart of Indigenous student life on Dalhousies downtown campus.

The Faculty of Engineering officially opened the doors to the centre this week, marking a milestone in its efforts to create a more inclusive campus. Students in the Faculty of Architecture and Planning, also located on Sexton Campus, are welcome in the centre as well.

The centre  which features study and collaboration spaces, an in-house program coordinator, and a virbrant, colourful atmosphere  has been designed as a place where community and learning come together.

But Dr. John Newhook, dean of the Faculty, said the space represents far more than a spot for students to gather between classes.

Its a space designed for students to connect, engage, learn, share experiences, and celebrate their culture, said Dr. Newhook at the centres opening this week.

Building pathways



The centre builds on the success of the Inclusive Pathways to Engineering Careers Program, launched in 2023 with community leaders. The program removes barriers and increases access to engineering education for equity-deserving groups.

Speakers at the opening ceremony for the Indigenous Student Centre on Sexton (clockwise from top left): Elder Ann LaBillois (Dalhousie Elder in Residence); Christopher Googoo (Chief Operating Officer of Ulnooweg); John Newhook (Dean, Faculty of Engineering); Ingrid Kassem (student).



The Faculty partnered with the Ulnooweg Education Centre to introduce the Indigenous stream of the Pathways Program to provide academic preparation, mentorship, cultural support, and career guidance to Indigenous students across the region. A second stream for African Nova Scotian and Black students launched last winter with community partners supporting Black excellence in education.

These programs speak volumes to the inclusive vision we are creating between students, faculty, and community

These programs speak volumes to the inclusive vision we are creating between students, faculty, and community, says Sherida Sherry Hassanali, assistant dean, EDIA in the Faculty of Engineering. We are creating places and spaces for transformation, healing, and growth.

She adds that the programs also serve as an invitation to communities that have been historically marginalized and reinforces Dal Engineerings commitment to a warm and inclusive learning environment.

The Indigenous Pathways Program welcomed its first cohort in September 2024. Since then, the number of Indigenous students in engineering at Dal has grown. By 2029, the broader pathways program is expected to graduate at least forty additional Indigenous, African Nova Scotian, and Black students.

When we launched the Indigenous Stream, one of our top priorities was ensuring students had not only the supports they needed to succeed, but also a space that truly felt like their own, says Hassanali.

Celebrating culture



The new centre brings that vision to life, providing a bright, welcoming environment where students can build relationships, and access the resources they need.

Located on the fifth floor of Angus L. MacDonald Building, the space combines areas for focused work, collaboration, and relaxation. At its heart is a bold orange accent wall, chosen for healing, remembrance, and cultural significance. A local artist will soon add a blue river through the orange, symbolizing movement, connection, and life.
Ryanair, Europes No. 1 airline, has announced new online fast-track security access for passengers travelling through City of Derry Airport, as the airline launches its winter schedule in the Northwest. Ryanair is operating flights three days per week between City of Derry Airport and Manchester to meet the travel needs of the local region across Winter 2025.

Steve Frazer, Managing Director at City of Derry Airport stated: We are thrilled to have Ryanair providing much needed air connectivity from the Gateway of the Northwest for travellers across the region this Winter.

The addition of fast-track security access offers Ryanair passengers with the ease and convenience of combining their flights and fast-track in one simple booking on the Ryanair website. As operations continue to grow at City of Derry, our fast-track service offers an efficient and stress-free experience for passengers travelling at peak times and is also great value at just 5pp.

Ryanair's Manchester service will operate on a Monday, Friday and Saturday throughout the winter season to meet the needs of our local catchment area in Derry City and Strabane, the Causeway Coast, Donegal, and beyond.

"The schedule is ideal for business passengers and students travelling out during the week, and for leisure travellers planning a short weekend break.

Ryanair is a key airline partner, having celebrated the momentous milestone of 5 million passengers at City of Derry over 24 years within the last year. The airline has been an important economic driver for the Northwest in supporting regional development and tourism growth. We look forward to growing the airline's presence further in the Northwest for years to come.

For more information on Ryanair flights and fast-track services from City of Derry Airport, visit www.ryanair.com.
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A woman stole more than 36,000 from her special needs brother's bank account in Donegal to feed her drug habit.

Amy Harpur appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court on a single charge of theft.

The 27-year-old was charged that she did steal property, to wit 36,027, the property of Andrew Harpur at Ulster Bank, Main Street in Ballybofey.

The alleged thefts took place between June 7, 2021 and July 10, 2022.

The court was told that Ms Harpur used her mobile phone to make a total of 178 transactions stealing money from her brother's account.

When caught, there was just 250 left in Mr Harpur's account.

The court heard that the victim, who has both autism and Asperger syndrome, did not realise the money had been stolen from his account.

Detective Garda John O'Sullivan, led by barrister for the state, Ms Fiona Crawford BL, outlined the details of the thefts.

He told how Gardai received a complaint from Ms Florence McConaghey, the mother of the victim and the accused.

She said she realised that her son's bank account was gone very low and that a number of withdrawals had been made by her daughter, Amy.

Ms Harpur was arrested on September 14, 2023 and immediately made full admissions to taking the money.

When interviewed by Gardai, Mr Harpur told detectives: "I put my hands up, he didn't know what was happening."

The court was told that Ms Harpur has no previous convictions.

Barrister for Ms Harpur, Mr Ciaran O'Rourke, BL, instructed by PA Dorrian and Company, said the accused woman's mother was in court supporting her and that she did not wish her daughter to receive a custodial sentence.

Explaining the series of thefts, Mr O'Rourke said his client had originally planned to borrow to pay off a drug debt and pay for drugs but she got access to her brother's account and things "spiralled out of control."

Mr O'Rourke asked Detective Garda O'Sullivan if he had engaged with Mr Harpur, with a previous address at Pump Street, Carrigans, since the incident.

The detective said: "She is a different person now. She was in a bad place then but thankfully she has her life back on track compared to the day we searched her house."

Ms Harpur took to the witness stand and told how she developed a drug habit after becoming involved with a man during what she called a toxic relationship.

She began taking cannabis and cocaine and then developed a large drug debt for which she took money from her brother's account.

The accused said she began taking small amounts of money but that the thefts "spiralled out of control" to a point when she did not know how much money she was stealing.

However, she told the court that she was no longer in that relationship and is now clean from drugs having started a new relationship.

"I'm not the same person and I have cut off all contact with those people and I have new friends and hobbies and I have made myself a different person," she said.

She added that she was now living in Derry, had a good job and had brought 15,000stg (22,789.39) to court to give back to her brother as part of the money she had stolen from him.

She said that paying back the money to her brother is only the start of trying to rebuild her relationship with him and with her family in general.

Judge John Aylmer asked how long did the accused estimate it would be before she paid the balance of the money she stole from her brother.

She replied that she could repay between 500 and 1,000 each month.

Judge Aylmer said he would adjourn the case for 12 months until October 26th, 2026 saying he could deal with the matter on a non custodial basis.

"I want to see steady and significant progress in that direction," he added.
BBC Radio Ulsters The Nolan Show has come under fire for what have been described as inaccurate claims made about the Motability Scheme.

The scheme enables disabled people in receipt of certain disability benefits, their families and their carers to lease a car, scooter or powered wheelchair.

Several people, including Sinead Quinn, a disability activist from Derry leasing a Motability car, have lodged a complaint with the BBC about the content of The Nolan Show broadcast on November 5.

According to Ms Quinn the complaint has also been sent to Tim Davie, the corporations director-general, and Adam Smyth, the director of BBC NI.

Speaking to The Derry News, Ms Quinn said the entire debate was set up on a false pretence.

Claims were made in the programme young people were accessing luxury cars via the Motability scheme, and there were no rules in place ensuring the cars were used for the benefit of the disabled person, said Ms Quinn.

These are inaccurate claims, made freely by the presenter, and easily debunked by googling or going to the Motability website, which is something Id expect Nolan and his team to have done before even deciding to cover the topic, she added.

Given the entire premise of the angle was manufactured from falsehoods, it leaves the listener wondering what BBC Radio Ulsters agenda was with this piece and where it came from? Other than to sensationalise the issue further and vilify disabled people in the process, of course.

The distorted portrayal of the issue by the media is causing distress and harm to disabled people on a daily basis and, as such, I would expect the BBC to have a rounded out discussion instead of focusing almost exclusively on luxury cars (only 6% of Motability leases in UK), fraud (0%, UK Govt stats) and 18/19 year olds in Motability leased BMWs & Mercs at night (0% due to those specific cars being unavailable to under 25s).

The broadcast piece was also full of inaccuracies. As a result, there were multiple breaches of the editorial guidelines and I would argue the entire premise of the debate from the beginning, as a result of a decision to rely on inaccurate and imaginary scenarios instead of factual or evidenced information, breached the principle of impartiality..

Ms Quinn said one of the most egregious falsehoods made by the presenter on air was that people under 25 years of age could drive luxury cars like BMWs or Mercedes via the Motability Scheme.

She added: This information is readily available on the Motability website. This was clearly a breach of editorial guidelines on accuracy, fairness and impartiality.

Contrary to statements made by the presenter live on air, there is a rule that the car must be used for the benefit of the disabled person, again, information readily available on the Motability website. There is also a penalty attached to the rule. Again I consider this a breach of BBC editorial guidelines on accuracy, fairness and impartiality.

Contrary to statements made by the presenter live on air, the lowest advance payment for a BMW or Mercedes on the scheme is six times the amount quoted, being 2,999, not 400/500. Again, this information is readily available on the Motability Website. This is a further breach of editorial guidelines on accuracy, fairness and impartiality.

The show could have focused on the great many people who can already no longer afford to lease a car that meets their needs under the scheme due to ever increasing Advance Payments, said Ms Quinn.

The show could have focused on the great many people who would love to lease the electric cars being pushed at 0 Advance Payments but cant due to the lack of driveways in social housing, for example and how governments will be unable to meet targets without addressing it.

The show could have focused on how people who may end up completely excluded from the scheme will also be completely excluded from society due to the underfunded and underdeveloped public transport system we have here in NI.

But instead a decision was made to incite the public to look a little closer at who is driving Motability vehicles in a society that already discriminates against disabled people but in particular those with invisible disabilities.

Shame on the Nolan Show and BBC Radio Ulster.

Contacted for comment by The Derry news about the complaint, a spokesperson for the BBC said: We think that this was an important discussion about a topic that has been otherwise in the news over recent days.

We explored its specifics and heard from people with different views and experiences.
The City and Districts Mayor, Ruairi McHugh called to the Model Primary School last Friday morning last to hand over the North West Anti-Racism Charter to the schools council

The Charter was developed through a series of meetings and community consultation workshops organised by the Bloody Sunday Trust, the North West Migrants Forum and the Irish Network Against Racism, with the final version devised by local playwright and author, Dave Duggan.

It is a statement of intent, delivering a way for businesses, organisations, community groups, schools and individuals to push back against the rise of racist messaging and actions in the region.

Handing over the Charter to Mrs. Julie McCarter, Principal, Ms. Daisy Mules, chair, board of governors and the Schools Council, the Mayor heaped praise on the school for becoming part of the charter and all it stands for.

He said: The Charter is a powerful statement from the local community that we reject racism, xenophobia and hate in all its forms. Its great credit to the Principal Mrs. McCarter, chair Ms. Mules, staff, and indeed, the school council and pupils of Model Primary School for endorsing the Anti-Racism Charter. Well done to all involved.

Thanking the Mayor for his kind words, Principal, Mrs. McCarter added: As a school community we are proud to adopt the North West Anti-Racism Charter. It appropriately reflects our commitment to respect, inclusion and equality. Governers and staff unanimously believe it is something we can aspire to and support.

Ms. Mules added: The Charter perfectly complements our school ethos of celebrating cultural diversity. With a school population of 14 ethnicities incorporating 9 languages, we strive to build a community where differences are not just accepted but celebrated too.

During Fridays visit the Mayor met with the School Council, had photos taken with the P1 group and then enjoyed refreshments in the school library.
Emma Little-Pengelly has appealed directly to Michelle ONeill to lift a block on economic development at the former Maze prison site to unleash its incredible potential.

The deputy First Minister told MLAs that she believed parts of the site could be developed while discussions continue on dealing with difficult legacy issues.

The derelict paramilitary prison only compromises part of the huge 347 acre site near Lisburn that falls under the remit of the Maze Long Kesh Development Corporation, which was established in 2011.

While there has been some development  most significantly the Royal Ulster Agricultural Society becoming an anchor tenant and moving the annual Balmoral Show to the venue  the wider transformation of the site has been stalled for over a decade.

The Ulster Aviation Society and the Northern Ireland Air Ambulance also operate out of the site.

The full regeneration plan hit the buffers in 2013 when former DUP first minister Peter Robinson blocked efforts to build a peace centre as part of the redevelopment of the sprawling grounds which once housed the high-security jail and were gifted to the Northern Ireland Executive by the UK Government.

The prison held paramilitary inmates during the Troubles and was the location for republican hunger strikes in 1981 in which 10 died, including Bobby Sands.

Mr Robinsons move came amid unionist concerns about the symbolism of building a peace centre on the site of the prison.

A political impasse has continued since.

At ministerial question time on Monday, Sinn Fein MLA Sinead Ennis asked the deputy First Minster about progress on the site.

Ms Little-Pengelly, whose Lagan Valley constituency contains the sprawling site, said the issue had been a source of real frustration for me.

The DUP politician said: I dont agree with the Sinn Fein position that nothing can happen on that site until you get your way in relation to the listed buildings.

I think the listed buildings are a very sensitive issue, there is the potential for a huge amount of hurt depending on what happens there, particularly for victims and survivors.

Ms Little-Pengelly said former Sinn Fein deputy first minister Martin McGuinness made clear that nothing, or very little, could happen on the site in terms of economic development unless there was an agreement on the listed prison buildings.

She added: I would appeal to Sinn Fein, I would appeal to my colleague in this office (First Minister Ms ONeill) to lift that restriction and allow that economic potential on a main Belfast to Dublin corridor to go ahead while discussions continue in terms of dealing with those difficult issues and legacy issues from the past.

She said: That is such a key site, you can see all kinds of businesses and different economic development that would be interested in going there.

Given its key strategic site, the importance to my constituency of Lagan Valley.

I would appeal to lift that condition on economic development, allow that economic development to go ahead, and unleash the incredible potential of the Maze/Long Kesh site, not just for Lagan Valley, but for the entirety of Northern Ireland.
The all-Ireland Irish Doctors Orchestra will play Guildhall Derry on Sunday, November 30 to raise funds for Foyle Search and Rescue. Founded during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Irish Doctors Orchestra is an all-Ireland fellowship of medical professionals who are also classically trained musicians.

The charity partner for this performance, Foyle Search and Rescue is a registered, voluntary based search and rescue charity, operating in Derry and set up by local people in 1993 with a goal of reducing the numbers of suicides through drowning.

They work closely with other public and community bodies to patrol the river and operate an emergency pager crew who are on call 24hrs per day. They also Facilitate the North West Bereaved by Suicide Support Group for families and friends who have lost a loved one to suicide and are involved in education on water safety and suicide awareness within the local community.

Dr Eoghan Ferrie, a founding orchestra member and Consultant in Emergency medicine based in Belfast highlights what attendees at Guildhall can expect on the night: "The Irish Doctors Orchestra have a wonderful programme of music in store for our upcoming concert in Derry on November 30.

As well as Sibelius Finlandia and the glorious 5th Symphony from Tchaikovsky, we are delighted to be joined on stage with Codetta Choir and Charlotte O'Hare for Poulenc's Gloria. We are also thrilled to have Sinead Hayes once again conducting us for this performance."

Commentating on their charity partner, Foyle Search and Rescue, he continues: The work of our charity partner, Foyle Search and Rescue, is known only too well by many of those working in the Health Sector in the North West.

Through their work patrolling the river and providing education around water safety and suicide awareness, their work is invaluable to supporting those who live in the local areas around the River Foyle. We hope the funds raised from this performance will continue to support their vital work.

ChristinaMcKeegan, Charity Manager, Foyle Search and Rescue adds: We are incredibly grateful to be chosen as the charity partner for this event. The support we receive allows our volunteers to continue their life-saving work along the River Foyle - offering patrols, education, and support to those in crisis.

Every donation helps us protect the most vulnerable in our community, and we are deeply thankful for this recognition and generosity.

Tickets can be purchased at: https://millenniumforum.co.uk/whats-on/irish-doctors-orchestra

To learn more about this performance, visit their Twitter page at @irishdoctorsorc or Instagram @irishdoctorsorchestra
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Chinese medical team offers free medical care at Botswana's university

Xinhua) 10:42, November 10, 2025

Members of the 17th batch of the Chinese medical team in Botswana provide consultations during a free medical outreach at the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) in Palapye, Botswana, Nov. 7, 2025. The 17th batch of the Chinese medical team in Botswana has conducted a free medical outreach in Palapye in Botswana's Central District, offering direct medical services to the university community. (Photo by Shingirai Madondo/Xinhua)

GABORONE, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The 17th batch of the Chinese medical team in Botswana has conducted a free medical outreach in Palapye in Botswana's Central District, offering direct medical services to the university community.

The event, held at the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) on Friday, attracted about 120 participants for health consultations and examinations, as well as acupuncture and massage treatments.

BIUST Vice Chancellor Otlogetswe Totolo said in his welcoming remarks that the Francistown branch of the Chinese medical team's outreach program brought professional and compassionate healthcare directly to local communities.

"This is a demonstration of the good bilateral relationship between Botswana and China in delivering health services in the country," he said, adding that the event not only offered health services but also strengthened the bridge of friendship between the two countries.

Fan Wandong, head of the Chinese medical team, described the medical outreach as a vivid example of how medical assistance and cultural exchange came together.

He said the Chinese medical team cares about the health of Botswana citizens, striving to build a bridge of friendship and mutual trust between the two countries through delivering healthcare with professionalism and dedication.

Since 1981, 17 groups of doctors and nurses have been sent to work in local hospitals in Gaborone and Francistown, with a total number of over 500 medical staff. More than three million patients have received diagnosis and treatment from them, according to the Chinese medical team.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
As AI advances, DeepSeek calls for moral accountability

At a rare public appearance, Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek issued a stark warning: the long-term advance of AI could upend jobs and disrupt social structures, and companies must act by openly disclosing which professions are likely to disappear.

According to reports from the South China Morning Post and STAR Market Daily, leading Chinese tech companies  including DeepSeek, Unitree Robotics, BrainCo, Game Science, ManyCore Tech, and DEEP Robotics  gathered in Wuzhen, Zhejiang, for the World Internet Conference to discuss trends spanning brain-computer interfaces, robotics, spatial intelligence, gaming, and open-source AI.

The most closely watched speaker was Chen Deli, a senior researcher at DeepSeek, whose comments stood out for their philosophical and social undertones. Other participants included Xingxing Wang, founder of Unitree Robotics; Bicheng Han, CEO of BrainCo; Xiaohuang Huang, chairman of ManyCore Tech; Qiuguo Zhu, CEO of DEEP Robotics; and Ji Feng, producer at Game Science.

The three phases of AI and humanity

Chen outlined a three-stage framework describing how technology's relationship with humanity may evolve, and the roles companies must play in each phase.

In the short term (three to five years), he said, AI and humans are entering a "honeymoon period," in which collaboration yields immense benefits. During this stage, companies should act as "preachers", ensuring technology remains open and accessible, a principle behind DeepSeek's commitment to open-source AI.

In the medium term (five to ten years), as AI begins to replace certain professions, Chen argued that companies should become "forewarners", alerting workers to the need for reskilling and transition.

In the long term (ten to twenty years), he warned, AI may supplant most forms of human labor, potentially triggering social instability. At that stage, technology companies must evolve into "protectors", protecting social order and human welfare.

Despite the risks, DeepSeek remains committed to developing artificial general intelligence (AGI). Chen was candid: slowing AI progress is unlikely, he said, because "everyone is trying to profit from it." The ultimate measure of the AI revolution's success, he added, may be "whether it can replace most of the work done by humans."

Echoes of a global concern

Chen's comments mirror a growing global unease about AI's trajectory. Last month, more than a hundred AI experts  including Zhipu AI CEO Peng Zhang, Tsinghua University professor Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, and AI pioneers Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio  signed an open letter calling for a pause in the development of superintelligent systems until society reaches a shared understanding of the risks.

Article edited by Jack Wu
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Michael D Higginss 14 years as President of Ireland saw the poet expand on how the office is viewed and take outspoken positions on Government policy.

Mr Higgins also leaves Aras an Uachtarain as a figure who has inspired memes, tea cosies and childrens books.

Born on April 18 1941 in Limerick city, Michael Daniel Higgins was the third of John and Alice Higginss four children.

A War of Independence veteran, John Higgins struggled with alcohol which exacerbated his poor health and Michael and his brother were sent to Newmarket-on-Fergus, County Clare to live with their aunt and uncle.

After leaving school the future President Higgins worked in a factory and as a clerk before studying at University College Galway, the first of his family to access higher education.

As a student he led demonstrations, the beginning of a life-long commitment to speaking out on issues such as the rights of women and people with disabilities.

An academic career followed, which included spells studying and lecturing in the US, before he entered politics.

After a number of unsuccessful general election campaigns he was nominated for the Seanad in 1973 by the then taoiseach Liam Cosgrave, before being elected to the Dail in 1981 as a Labour TD for Galway West.

In 1974 Mr Higgins married actor Sabina Coyne and the couple went on to have four children.

Throughout his career in politics he built a lengthy CV serving in a variety of roles including mayor of Galway, president of the Labour Party and cabinet minister for arts, culture and the Gaeltacht.

It was during that period as a minister that Mr Higgins launched Teilifis na Gaeilge, later TG4, and reinstated the Irish Film Board, both credited with rejuvenating the Irish media landscape.

His politics were not just inward looking, he championed global peace and democracy.

In 1982 he was deported from El Salvador when he travelled there with the charity Trocaire in an attempt to investigate reports of a massacre in a village in the south of the country.

Alongside his political work, Mr Higgins has published a number of books including collections of poetry, speeches and essays and contributed to numerous others.

Then in 2011 came a run for the Presidency where he beat six other candidates, winning with 39.6% of first preference votes.

He was joined in the Aras by his wife Sabina and a cast of Bernese Mountain dogs.

They soon became a beloved fixture at the Aras, greeting dignitaries and interrupting events in pursuit of belly rubs.

Mr Higgins was elected during a turbulent period in recent Irish history, and the economic crisis dominated the start of his presidency.

He took on the role in 2011, the first year of the EU-IMF economic bailout programme, when Ireland was experiencing high levels of unemployment fuelling emigration.

In one of his first acts as president, he voluntarily waived almost a quarter of his salary, following a similar pay cut taken by predecessor Mary McAleese after Ireland was hit with a recession.

The countrys financial crash forced him to cut short a 2013 state visit to Italy.

He returned to Ireland in order to sign emergency legislation to liquidate the Irish Bank Resolution Company (IBRC), the entity formed when Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide merged.

Austerity measures brought in to mitigate the crash included new water charges, which were ferociously opposed.

President Higgins bore the brunt of demonstrators during a visit to a school in Finglas, Dublin in early 2015, where some of the protesters were filmed shouting abuse at him.

His first term also saw some milestones in Anglo-Irish relations, and in April 2014 he became the first President of Ireland to make a state visit to the United Kingdom, during which he delivered an historic address at Westminster.

Later that day, in his toast during a state banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle he described the trip as a very visible sign of the warmth and maturity of the relationship between our two countries.

However, during the celebrations marking 100 years since the 1916 rising, Mr Higgins pulled out of a civic dinner in Belfast, where he was due to be guest of honour, because of a lack of cross-party support for the occasion.

His spokesperson claimed the decision was made because he does not want to become embroiled in matters of political controversy.

During his presidency, Mr Higgins became known for speaking his mind.

He faced criticism in late 2016 for describing Fidel Castro as a giant among global leaders in a statement marking the death of the former Cuban president.

Mr Higgins rejected claims he ignored human rights concerns and a statement issued by his spokesperson described the criticism as unsustainable and unwarranted.

In 2018, he welcomed Pope Francis to Aras an Uachtarain during the first papal visit to Ireland in 40 years.

Mr Higgins told the pontiff of the anger felt by those in Ireland who were abused as children by Catholic clerics.

As his first term came to an end in 2018, he announced he would seek a second despite previously saying he would not run again.

Mr Higgins stood as an independent candidate but was backed by Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Labour, who agreed not to field their own candidates.

He instead faced a Sinn Fein candidate and four independents but won with 55% of the vote.

On RTEs Late Late Show during the Covid-19 pandemic he described the word cocooning, used to describe a measure to protect the over-70s, as infantilising.

In 2021, he wrote to the Oireachtas, raising concerns about the large volume of complex legislation sent to his office which needed to be signed quickly.

It sparked an emergency meeting of Oireachtas committees, and the taoiseach described the concerns as legitimate, claiming the problem had partially been caused by the pandemic.

Later that year, the Government defended the Presidents decision not to attend a cross-community service to mark the centenary of the formation of Northern Ireland.

British and Irish political leaders attended the event at St Patricks Church of Ireland Cathedral in Armagh, but Mr Higgins declined his invitation because he believed it was not politically neutral.

He was championed by the opposition in June 2022 when he described housing in Ireland as our great, great failure.

The statement was referenced by Sinn Fein, Labour and People Before Profit during leaders questions.

A vocal critic of the war in Gaza, Mr Higgins was criticised several times by Israels ambassador to Ireland.

In 2024, he accused the Israeli embassy in Dublin of leaking a letter in which he sent his best wishes to the new president of Iran.

The embassy rejected the claim and called the remarks highly inflammatory and potentially slanderous.

While remaining vocally forceful, Mr Higgins has become visibly more frail.

In February 2024 when he was 82, the President spent over a week in hospital for what was later revealed to be a mild stroke.

He cut back on public appearances for a number of weeks and was later seen in public using two walking sticks.

The final few weeks of his presidency involved another hospital stay, this time to treat an infection.

The President and his wife intend to return to Galway following 14 years at Aras an Uachtarain.
Rumours are swirling that Irish presenter Ryan Tubridy could make a sensational return to RTE after reports of a recent meeting with Director General Kevin Bakhurst.

According to the Irish Independent, the pair were seen having "coffee and a chat" in what is believed to be their first proper conversation since Tubridy's high-profile departure in 2023.

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A source told the newspaper: "Bakhurst is having cups of coffee with Tubs, so purgatory may be temporary."

The meeting has reignited speculation that the broadcaster could be preparing to welcome the Dublin presenter back to the national airwaves next year.

Bookmakers have slashed odds to just 4/1 on Tubridy landing a brand new RTE chat show in 2026.

"Tubs was a popular figure until the drama that saw him leave the station. With RTE in flux at the moment, it looks like there could be a space for the presenter to land a new hosting gig in 2026," said Cal Gildart of Ladbrokes.

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Tubridy left RTE following the undisclosed payments controversy that rocked the broadcaster in 2023.

He has since repaid the 150,000 at the centre of the scandal and now presents a weekday radio show on Virgin Radio in the UK, which is also simulcast on Dublin's Q102.

Kevin Bakhurst previously told RTE News that while "now is not the right time" for Tubridy to return, "the door is not shut forever".

For many fans, it now seems that the door could soon be creaking back open for Tubs' return to the mainstream Irish media landscape.
The absence of the DUP from the inauguration of Catherine Connolly as Irish president is not a snub, leader Gavin Robinson has insisted.

DUP deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly confirmed last week she could not attend the event in Dublin on Tuesday because of a clash with Remembrance Day events.

The unionist party has since confirmed it will not be sending any representative to Dublin Castle when Ms Connolly is sworn is as Irelands 10th president.

Mr Robinson faced questioning about why the party was not able to send someone else to the ceremony.

He told reporters: It is not a snub. I was personally invited by the Taoiseach.

I received the invitation on Thursday last week, I personally responded to him on Friday to indicate that whilst I recognised the significance of this event for his nation, I trust that he in turn recognises the significance of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

That is just how it is and I think he has accepted that.

I think the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland have accepted that, but just as the deputy First Minister was gracious enough to say that she looks forward to welcoming the newly elected President of the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland, as will be right in due course, that will extend to my colleagues as well.

Mr Robinson added: We dont need to make more out of this than there is, there is a clash and that clash has been accepted by the majority of people.

I dont think anything will be gained by people trying to add some grist to the mill or make this an issue that it is not.

The issue was raised during ministerial question time at Stormont later on Monday by SDLP Opposition leader Matthew OToole.

Addressing Ms Little-Pengelly, he said: Many people feel that your party, which is the lead party in unionism, is now embarked on a journey, perhaps not by design, of fear, grievance and anger.

The SDLP MLA asked the deputy First Minister to confirm that the DUP would move back towards some vague progress towards reconciliation.

Ms Little-Pengelly said: I can advise the member that in everything I do, I strive to do that to represent everyone across Northern Ireland.

I do believe the Irish Government, the Taoiseach and others understand completely the importance of the 11th of November.

I recognise it is a huge personal day for the incoming president, I have sought to have a personal call with her in recognition of that very significant personal achievement.

Sinn Fein MLA Orlaithi Flynn said: Regrettably what a lot of people will hear from right across our communities is going to be a sense that your refusal to attend is not fulfilling your duties, your cross-community duties.

Ms Flynn said it was in stark contrast to the leadership shown by Sinn Fein First Minister Michelle ONeill when she attended a remembrance event in Belfast on Sunday.

Ms Little-Pengelly said: I think that is a very unfair characterisation of this.

I am not going to get involved in such a serious matter in what is an attempt at political point scoring.
Two of Dundalks Irish Red Cross volunteers have been shortlisted in the Irish Red Cross Volunteer of the Year Awards. Isabella Norden and Ryan Hayes, both volunteers with the Dundalk branch have received national recognition for their tireless volunteer service for Irish Red Cross. The Irish Red Cross National Volunteer Awards recognise the commitment, compassion and hard work of Irish Red Cross volunteers who generously give their time for the betterment of communities across Ireland. These inspiring volunteers - who provide first aid at local community events, check on isolated or vulnerable people, help communities prepare and respond to severe weather episodes or provide therapeutic hand care to nursing home residents, to mention just some examples  will be celebrated at a ceremony in Croke Park on 29th November. Eight award winners will be announced during the event: Volunteer of the Year Young Volunteer of the Year Community Support Volunteer of the Year Unit Member of the Year Instructor of the Year Branch of the Year Newcomer of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award Isabella Nordon (age 15) who volunteers with the Irish Red Cross Dundalk branch has been shortlisted for the Irish Red Cross Young Volunteer of the Year Award 2025. Read also: Dundalk Dog Rescue volunteer honoured with Louth Volunteer Leader Award Isabella has been an active volunteer for 11 yearssince the age of four. Although she has not yet held formal positions due to her age, her contributions and leadership have far exceeded expectations for a youth member. Lorna Costelloe from the Irish Red Cross who nominated Isabella explained why they think she is worthy of the award, "Isabella exemplifies everything the Irish Red Cross stands forcompassion, leadership, humanitarian values and unwavering commitment to community. At just 15 years old, she has already dedicated 11 years of service to the Dundalk branch."

Throughout her time with the organisation, Isabella has supported the branch in a wide range of activities including fundraising, duty cover, youth classes, emergency responses, youth education, and representation at national events such as Dublin Pride, National Youth Camp, National Youth Challenge, and the National Youth Forumwhere she was nominated for the inaugural Niall Delaney Memorial Award, having previously won the equivalent award at branch level.

Above: Isabella Nordon

Her impact was especially evident during Storm Eowyn, when she volunteered at the "Happy Hub" in Carrickmacrossa mental health and support space for young people affected by power outages.

"With just one day's notice, Isabella travelled with youth leaders to help set up and run the hub, creating a warm and welcoming environment filled with games, food, and mental health resources. Adult volunteers praised her as a shining example of youth leadership, noting how her presence helped young visitors feel seen and supported."

Ryan Hayes, the current Unit Officer of the Irish Red Cross Dundalk Branch, has been nominated for a national volunteer award in recognition of his outstanding leadership, strategic vision and success in building a thriving and inclusive unit. With 16 years of service across three different branches, Ryans two years in Dundalk have been marked by dramatic growth and professionalisation.

Since taking on the Unit Officer role, Ryan has transformed the unit into one of the most active and professional in the region. He has substantially increased the number of duties covered, expanded patient transfer operations, and secured consistent contracted duties, ensuring fair and thorough coverage of community events.

One of his most remarkable achievements has been his commitment to inclusion and integration. Ryan successfully inducted a large number of newly arrived migrants, many of whom faced language barriers.

He tailored weekly training sessions to meet their specific needs, supported their progression through Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) accredited courses, and seamlessly integrated them with long-standing unit members. Thanks to his mentorship, many of these new volunteers now serve regularly on duties, contributing confidently to the community.

Irish Red Cross said that Ryan truly embodies the Red Cross Principles through his fairness, compassion and unwavering commitment to service. He is approachable and responsive, ensuring that every volunteer feels listened to, valued, and supported in their training and development needs.
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Koyonnor Williams with her aunt Madeline Nwaorgu from Dundalk

Over 1,300 students recently marked a major milestone as they became the newest graduates of

Over 1,300 students recently marked a major milestone as they became the newest graduates of Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT).

Institute of Technology (DkIT).

The students received their parchments across six separate graduation ceremonies on the DkIT campus on the 30th and 31st October.

Students from all four academic schoolsBusiness & Humanities, Engineering, Informatics & Creative Arts, and Health & Sciencegraduated with awards ranging from certificates to PhDs.

Among the prize winners from Dundalk and the surrounding areas were Roman Dovhan from Dundalk, winner of the Presidents Prize for the Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and Rebecca Lambe Fagan from Dundalk, who received the HIAB Ireland Female Engineering Graduate 2025 Award.

Leah Glass from Ardee won the Presidents Prize for the Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering, and Karen Kearney from Cooley received the Presidents Prize for the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Social Care. Radka Valna from Dundalk earned the Presidents Prize for the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in International Tourism Management, while Shane Gray, also from Dundalk, was honoured with the Presidents Prize for Enterprising Student of the Year 2025.

Pauraic Cleary from Dundalk won the Presidents Prize for the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Audio and Music Production, while Leon Smyth from Ravensdale received the Presidents Prize for the Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Data Science, and Fionan OBrien from Blackrock won the Presidents Prize for the Higher Diploma in Science in Networking and Systems. Other prize winners from Dundalk included Dominik Hampejs, who was the winner of the Presidents Prize for the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Computing in Games Development, Naoise Gray, who was awarded the Presidents Prize for the Bachelor of Science in Pharmaceutical Science and Tony McArdle, who won the Presidents Prize for the Bachelor of Arts in Community Youth Work.

It was a very proud day for three students who had previously completed the Headstart and Pathways community education programmes delivered by DkIT in partnership with Louth Local Development (LLD), which provide supported access routes to Third Level Education. Students Elizabeth Awosanya, Denise Burns and Yevhenii Melnyk all received their parchments, cheered on by Headstart and Pathways co-ordinator Johdi Quinn.

Congratulating this years graduates Dr Diarmuid OCallaghan DkIT president said:

DkIT is proud to celebrate another outstanding cohort of graduates as they mark this important milestone in their academic journey. Graduation is more than a ceremony , it is a celebration of the many journeys that have taken place over several years here in DkIT and it marks the moment when the efforts and determination of our students are honoured, and the next chapter of their life-story begins.

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"This occasion reflects the true essence of education: knowledge gained, skills developed, and wisdom earned. As our graduates step into the future, we hope they carry forward the values, friendships, and experiences formed here at DkIT, using them to make a positive impact in the ever-changing world around them, shaped by innovation and new ways of thinking.

"These achievements are shared with those who supported our graduates along the way, families, friends, lecturers and entire DkIT community, all of whom have contributed in some way to the success of the class of 2025. 
Locals in Louth have generated 9,491 Christmas shoebox gifts for children affected by poverty over the last three years and helped a charity pass the 3million mark nationally in time for Christmas.

Since 2010, Team Hope has delivered over 2.8million shoebox gifts from Ireland to countries across Africa and Eastern Europe - and will ship off its three-millionth in the coming weeks.

The charitys figures show that in the last three years, kind-hearted donors in Louth have created almost 10,000 gifts.

And there is still time to increase that total  with drop-off points open around the county until 15th November.

The support we have received from the people of Louth since 2010 has been incredible, said Team Hope CEO, Deborah Lowry.

But theres always a need for more shoeboxes so it would be great if schools, parents, businesses and community groups across the county can come together for one last push to create their own.

They are often packed by children for children and carry not only toys and treats but also the invisible gifts of love and hope.

That kindness, travelling across oceans, reminds a child that they are not forgotten  that someone, somewhere cares about them.

Surpassing the magical 3million shoebox mark ties in with the charitys 15th anniversary of bringing happiness to children in some of the poorest parts of the world, many of whom have never experienced the joy of Christmas.

Read Next: Dundalk volunteers nominated for Irish Red Cross Awards 2025

Everyone in Louth is urged to continue the effort - filled shoeboxes can be dropped off until November 15 at The Mill Enterprise Hub, Greenhills, Drogheda, Dundalk FM, Axa Insurance, Drogheda, Dealz, Drogheda Town Centre, and to local volunteer Vanessa Harte.

Donors, if they prefer, can choose to send a personalised 25 shoebox online through Team Hopes website, right up until Christmas Eve.

To get involved, see www.teamhope.ie
Before the sun rose on a frosty Saturday, November 9, 1935, Annie Gallagher from Torries, on Arranmore islands far side off Donegal's north-west coast, had already lit the fire and was soon dressing the beds.

The excitement was because her children were expected home later that evening from Scotland, where they had been seasonal potato picking - or tatie-hoking as it was known.

Ten years beforehand, on January 30, 1925, Annies husband Edward had lost his sister Sarah and her own husband Philip Boyle in the Owencarrow Disaster. Four people died, and nine were injured, as a steam train on the Letterkenny and Burtonport Extension Railway came off the viaduct outside Creeslough during a gale.



The Owencarrow Disaster of 1925

Sarah and Philip Boyle were returning to the island from Dublin, having bought stock for their grocery and drapery shop. They had just picked up their son, Philly, 18, who had been discharged from hospital in Letterkenny after having three fingers amputated following an accident whilst working as a relief lighthouse keeper on the island. He survived the trainwreck.

Although poor weather had meant the tatie-hoking season lasted a little longer than usual in 1935, Annie was comforted that crisp morning as she looked towards the mainland and could only see a stillness in the sea.

Later that evening, after darkness fell at about 5:45pm, 20 people boarded a yawl in Burtonport to make their way home. Seven had made their way from Arranmore that afternoon to meet those who were returning from five months in Scotland. Only one of the 20 would set foot on Arranmore alive.

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The migrants had boarded the Burns and Laird at 7pm on Friday from Broomielaw in Glasgow and had an exhaustive overnight crossing, although one that passed quickly with plenty of dancing as the accordion played. The passengers finally disembarked tiredly down the gangplank in Derry, not long after Annie wouldve been rising on Arranmore.

Some would wander in Derry - a few were window-shopping and others picking up presents and treats - as the smell of the sizzling bacon was too much to ignore, wafting from Con Molloys at 31 Waterlook Street, not far from the Gweedore Bar.

Molloy was originally from Burtonport and married to Margaret Boyle from Maas, just outside Glenties, and their Rosses Bar murmured with Donegal accents - most as Gaeilge - that morning.

Danny Green from Poolawaddy spent his morning pounding the streets of the Walled City. He had lost his tie-pin and would end up missing the train to Burtonport because of it, but would live to tell the tale. Sisters Fanny and Mary Gallagher, as well as Mary Henry and her brother Owen Henry, had also travelled on the Glasgow boat to Derry.

It was later reported: They too would have got the train but for the fact that one of their number, a young lad, insisted on going into a local store for sweets, and as a result all missed the train.

Back on Arranmore, Annies husband, 61-year-old Edward Gallagher, would soon set off for Burtonport as five of their children - Madgie, 28; Eddie, 24; Johnny, 22; Charlie 20, and Hannah, 16 - were due home.

Another son, Mickie, who was 29, had stayed home that summer to work on the lobsters, and another, Paddy, 26, had contracted rheumatic fever in Scotland and returned in August. The night he came back was so foggy, it was said the first time many of those on board only recognised Aphort Pier as they were about to dock.

A nephew of Annies, John Gallagher, 20, Aphort, as well as 34-year-old John Rodgers from Torries and John Bow ODonnell, 50, also from Aphort, would join Edward in going to the mainland on the dark red-painted yawl.

At the last minute, Eamon Ned Ward, 51, who had been working on the lifeboat by the pier at Aphort, decided to join them, needing to pick up a wireless in Burtonport, thus bringing the party to seven. They pulled out at 2:45pm. With the wind coming in from the mainland, they would row over with the tide and then could use the 24-foot double-edged sail on the way back.

An 11-year-old Jimmy ODonnell was almost on his way over too, relieved of his duties of paying the stationmaster in Burtonport for groceries for the local shop by Edward Gallagher, who said he would sort it out, save him the journey and to go on home. Sunday was time enough.

As they rowed out into the sea, John Bow ODonnell shared the story of his trip from Derry to New York; of seven days and seven nights on a stormy Atlantic - and then two more days by train to Chicago.

Eamon Sweeney, who was discharging timber at the pier as they went off into the horizon, saw the clouds darken and swiftly drift in and hauntingly remarked: It was like an evening on which hundreds were being hanged.

On the other side, the Swilly train left Derry at 10am, headed for Burtonport and arrived sometime after 4pm - an hour late, although a common occurrence as John McCole, the conductor, would regularly drop off necessities in Creeslough, Falcarragh and Crolly on the way.

There was a 45-minute stop in Letterkenny, where 16-year-old Hannah Gallagher, who was finding the train uncomfortable after her second year in Scotland and due to a sore leg. She had burned it a couple of days beforehand when a kettle slipped from her grasp as she was washing. Whilst in Letterkenny, she took a wander and came back smiling with biscuits and lemonade.

In all, the 75-mile journey from Derry to Burtonport by train took over six hours. Hannah is said to have looked out the window just before the train pulled in, saying: I can see father and Paddy.

Edward soon got to hug his sons and kiss his daughters, Hannah and Madgie. He was in Burtonport with seven of his children - the two sons that had rowed over with him and then the three boys and two girls who were returning from Scotland.

He also greeted another Hannah Gallagher, who was 21, with her brothers Daniel (27) and Manus (17), who were expected to be in Scotland another week and were known as the Mickie Mor Gallaghers. They had received a letter from Hannah to say they'd be leaving for home on November 15.

Edward Gallaghers son, Mickie, a pioneer who had travelled from the island, was placing the cases and boxes into the boat, with his brother Charlie, and Paddy ODonnell passing them down. Eamon Ned Ward helped Mickie with the sail.

Peter Leonard, 61, whose daughter Maggie stayed in Edinburgh to work in a rubber factory for the winter, offered to help with the cases. Hannah sat on a lobster pot watching on, with a bandage around her leg, which was still hurting despite her walk around Letterkenny.

Willie Bonner, the owner of a motorboat from Leabgarrow, the opposite side of the island to where Edward Gallagher was going, offered a lift. Its shorter and faster, he said, but with all those going home were from the Aphort end, they decided to continue with Edward. That motorboat initially followed Edward Gallaghers before heading east for home.

Madgie Gallagher, who came back from the shop with sweets and apples, told Willie Bonner the two-and-a-half-mile walk from Leabgarrow would be awkward for Hannah. They had planned to go to Leabgarrow, where a welcome-home dance was planned in Neily Phils Hall, the following night.

Before departure, James P ODonnell from Burtonport spoke to Edward Gallagher, who passed a remark about how high the sea was in the west bay, just off the island, and said he had seen the highest waves in his life that evening. He also said it was stated on the wireless that there was a storm rising.

Peter Leonard from Ballintra, who the lift with Willie Bonner may have suited, decided to stick with the original plan, and Edward Gallagher helped Hannah on board and told her to sit beside her brother, Paddy. Brother and sister, Patrick O'Donnell, 44, and Katie O'Donnell, 45, from Leabrannagh, got on together. Both were veterans of the trip, having served their first stints before reaching their teens. The group left Burtonport in good spirits, just three miles from home.

Even after the boat had been enveloped in the darkness, the lilt of their laughter could be heard by those who had seen them off, read The Donegal Democrat a week later on Saturday, November 16, 1935, of those who had departed the mainland. It must have been little more than half an hour later that disaster overtook them.

At home, Annie Gallagher put the paraffin light on the inside windowsill and was soon joined by her sister-in-law Mary, who brought buttermilk and together the pair hung a pot full of washed potatoes over the fire to boil. Annies youngest son Condy, 7, had fallen asleep in the warmth, while another, Anthon, 13, was waiting at Aphort for the arrivals. Annie and Mary went to the door as they noticed a heavy hailstone shower.

The sailboat set off into the night to Arranmore, towards the South Channel between Duck Island and Rutland, with everyone ducking as a hail shower rolled by, clacking off their jackets pulled over their heads.

Edward Gallagher called on Mickie to take the sprit out of the sail, with the boat travelling uncomfortably fast in the worsening conditions of increasing wind and persistent hail. John Rodgers, who was on lookout on the bow and minding Eamon Wards radio, screamed to lower the sails.

Suddenly, a crash, before a wave carried the boat halfway up on a rock. The boat fell backwards, emptying its cargo and occupants into the sea.

Men shouted and cursed, women screamed and cried, wrote Jimmy ODonnell in The Arranmore Disaster. Some tore frantically at the sails. Edward turned the helm to put the boat about as she slid over a large rock. The steer was caught and torn off.

The following wave caught the boat broadside, capsizing her to port among the rocks. The load screams, the desperate shouting for a few short moments was silenced quickly in the icy waters, where they struggled for their lives for a short time before disappearing below the surface of the sea, their lives lost to eternity. Some clung to the overturned boat, prolonging their lives for a little while longer.

Annie and Mary were getting worried and presumed the train could be late, or perhaps the homecomers mightve missed it, while Mickie Mor Gallagher and his wife Una, were wondering how the children - Hannah, Daniel and Manus - were getting on in what was supposed to be their last weekend in Scotland. Little did they know that despite Hannah's letter, the trio would decide to come home early.

As the boat overturned, Paddy Gallagher would later recall, there were maybe nine people holding on. By the third time it flipped, there were only three - himself, his brother Johnny, a carpenter, and their father Edward, with the mast hanging off. The sons, by now grasping the keel, couldnt hold onto their father, and he slipped under the waterline like many of those he had been taking back to Arranmore.

John Rodgers had managed to swim to the highest rock nearby before taking off his Wellington boots and decided to return to the boat. Uncertain where he was, he thought he was at a cluster of rocks halfway between Arran and Rutland called Carraic Bheal atShrotha, when, in fact, it was Eileen, a collection of rocks stretching out from the island itself at Cloughcorr. This meant that had he stayed where he was, he could have walked back to the island later, when the tide was out.

He had previously told Neddy Beg Gallagher one stormy night they were fishing salmon, that if he were ever to get into trouble at sea, he would tie a rope around his waist. This meant he would be fastened to the boat so they can bury my body in peace and not have ot floating around the sea till Judgement Day. True to his word, John Rodgers body would be found tied to the boat, which had left a dark-red paint mark on a rock at Eileen, on Sunday.

Brothers Paddy and Johnny were holding on for dear life, in the freezing water, with the latter much the more uncomfortable. Johnny was tired, cold and hungry and started to cry, wondering how their mother Annie would cope with only the two youngest boys, Anthon and Cody, to look after her.

Paddy and Johnny, with mouths dry from gulping seawater, could see the lights dotted in the windows on Arranmore, although neither could swim.

They shouted till they were hoarse, but nobody could hear, although their brother Anthon, who was at Aphort, would later say he heard cries as he waited at the pier with Condy O'Donnell, Hughie McCauley, Mickie Gallagher and the boy who almost boarded the boat that afternoon, Jimmy O'Donnell, who were all aged between 11 and 13. As the cupped their ears, they too were hit with hail and ran for cover. Mickie and Jimy went onto Illion but believed what they had heard was probably children playing.

Paddy joked, sang and encouraged Johnny, saying the calmness after the storm, and the full moon that was rising over Errigal in the now calm conditions, would help them get spotted.

Paddys heart sank as the last light on the island, Barney McGills, went out at bedtime and a lone dog barked in the night. They hoped against hope that John Rodgers, Eamon Ned Ward or their brother Mickie - all accomplished swimmers - had made it to land.

Thinking they were drifting towards the island, they were in fact edging from it, towards Iniskeeragh, where there were 14 houses, with the weather turning nasty again for a spell. Paddy rubbed Johnnys cheeks to keep him warm and keep him talking.

Paddy asked his brother if he knew where he was. Yes, Johnny replied, with clattering teeth. At Crolly Station, which showed he was suffering from delirium. At around 4:30am, some 10 hours after the boat crashed, Johnny took his last breath.

Paddy couldnt bear to let him go, even though he knew his brother was gone, and held onto him on the keel with one arm. Their mother, Annie, unable to sleep with worry, was up not long afterwards and got dressed to go to the pier with her sister-in-law, Mary.

Before sunrise, seven-year-old Hughie Gallagher woke over at Plohogue and decided to let it be known from his bed that he was hungry, with his father Charlie Ban getting up to fix him something to eat.

Charlie Ban, with morning not yet starting to break through, stood outside to see what the weather would bring. He would tell the inquest later that week at the Glen Hotel, owned by Mrs Jack Boyle, exactly what happened from there.

At half-past seven on Sunday morning, I went to the door and heard a man shouting at sea, he said. I saw an object in the water but did not know what it was. I thought at first it was a man fishing for glassan, and that the boat had capsized.

Charlie Ban called to Anthony O'Donnell and Mick McNulty and leapt into a 12-foot boat as fast as they could. Paddy Gallagher was still on the upside-down boat, grasping his dead brother, waving back at them.

"I saw you running from the house through the fields, Paddy Gallagher would later say to Charlie Ban. "I knew you saw me. It was the gladdest sight I ever saw.

We went as fast as we could towards it, Charlie Ban Gallagher added. We saw it was Paddy Gallagher, and he had his brother Johnny across the keel of the boat. We threw a rope and Paddy tied it to the body and we took it to the boat. Then we took Paddy. He was talking a lot, and I did not remember half of it. We were kind of excited. He was in fairly good condition and smoked a cigarette on the way in.

The Coroner, Joseph P McGinley from Letterkenny, said of Paddy Gallagher: This is the most marvellous man I have ever heard of.

The Derry Journal, on Wednesday, Friday, November 15, would say: The part Paddy Gallagher played; the superhuman strength he showed; his coolness and presence of mind in the face of seeming death; his wonderful solicitude and consideration for his father and brother, who died in his arms, reveal an example of manhood, courage, and self-sacrifice which could not possibly be excelled.

As he signed off at the inquest, Paddy Gallagher said: "It surely was a terrible night."

Charlie Ban Gallagher went on to explain that he believed the high tide meant rocks were probably not visible the night of the tragedy, and the boat may have been only 100 yards from the shore at one point, but for that high tide.

Mr Eugene Doherty, an ex-TD from Dungloe, said the rocks referred to were a veritable death-trap. In his own time, he said: Authority was given to put up beacons to guide those at sea, but this had never been carried into effect.

An exhausted Paddy Gallagher had spent almost 16 hours grasping the keel in the freezing cold conditions and collapsed as he arrived at the pier with Charlie Ban Gallagher, Mick McNulty and Anthony ODonnell. He was attended to by Rev Bernard Gallagher CC of Arranmore Island and was cared for by Dr Frank Gallagher, with his condition being described as one more of shock.



Paddy Gallagher recovering in Arranmore following the 1935 tragedy. Photo: Irish Independent

The Donegal News, on Saturday, November 16, would report: Harrowing scenes were witnessed on the island when news of the disaster spread amongst the inhabitants. Many of them rushed to the shore.

That day, news of the disaster began to spread and the Civic Guards from Burtonport were joined by boatmen from both Arranmore and the mainland and nine bodies in all would be found.

Mickey Mor Gallager was helping with the search, thinking of his own three children in Scotland. To his surprise, he saw his two sons, Daniel and Manus, sitting up against a boulder, with their eyes open. Mickey Mor told them he hadnt expected them home, only for it to dawn on him they were dead, and all that would ever be found of Hannah was her trunk.

Located along the rocks, it contained new curtains, blinds and bedcovers for the new bungalow the family had just built. Mickey Mor would spend the next 15 years, the remaining of his life, looking for her in vain.

The bodies found at Eileen that day were four of Edward Gallaghers immediate family - Mickie, Madgie, Eddie and Charlie, their cousin John Gallagher and Mickey Mors two sons, Daniel and Manus, which made nine in all with John Rodgers tied to the boat and Johnny Gallagher, who was in Paddys arms from early morning.

The search had to be postponed until Monday, at 11am, due to treacherous conditions. Sergeant Griffin was in charge of the search party of An Garda Siochana, said on Sunday night that the scenes on the island were pitiable in the extreme. Many of the inhabitants were prostrate with grief.

The most tragic figure is Mrs Annie Gallagher, the widow of the boatman, Edward, The Derry Journal added. She lost her husband, four sons and two daughters, but is still under the impression that she lost her husband and one son only. She believes that her other children are still in Scotland at the harvesting. The children of seven families who have lost their breadwinner are ignorant of the tragedy.

At the inquest that week, both skipper Edward Gallagher and lookout John Rodgers as were described as experienced fishemen.

The place where the boat floundered was called Ballinellan, meaning gap of the clutch, Bernard Gallagher added. It is a dangerous spot, and no boat would go there unless put off course. There was a high tide and poor visibility, and those, along with the frequent squalls, probably accounted for the disaster.

The nine bodies were laid out in the Lifeboat house at Rannagh in three rows of three  eight young men aged between 17 and 29 and that of Madgie Gallagher.



Mourners at the funeral of nine Arranmore natives in 1935. Photo: Donegal Genealogy

The funeral of the victims whose bodies were found took place the following Wednesday, November 13, where it was reported: Distressing scenes in the chapter during Fr John McAteers pagency, scenes that have never before been witnessed and that must be without parallel even in Ireland.

The Solemn Requiem Mass was celebrated by Fr Bernard Gallagher at 11am, with internment postponed from 12 noon to 2pm to further the search for more bodies. Eventually, the nine bodies were buried, in three rows of three, like they had been laid in Rannagh.

Louder and louder grew the cries, The Donegal News wrote. Women in transports of sorrow and grief rushed hither and thither, some not knowing where they were going, wandering aimlessly around the tombstones and calling on the dead to return.

Men began to weep as the grave was slowly filled, and women, crowding around the scene, added to the general poignancy by their shrill interpolations, spoken in the Gaelic, and their ititent cries. The kindly parish priest, moved to the deepest distress at the sight of such sorrow, recommenced the prayers at the graveside, and within a moment the nature of the scene changed.

Gone were the cautions and laments, save for the cries of the women in another portion of the cemetery. In their stead, nothing was heard but the soft murmur of the comforting words of spiritual solace spoken by their beloved pastor.

Sixteen days after the tragedy, on Wednesday, November 27, at 9am, a 15-year-old boy called Neil ODonnell found a body at Magherameelan that turned out to be that of Patrick ODonnell. Before the body could make it to Arranmore, news of another sighting emerged. It was that of 16-year-old Hannah Gallagher, found in seaweed at Inismeel near Burtonport. She was fully clothed, even with her gloves still on, only missing a shoe.

Eamon Ned Wards body was picked up at Bunanid on Sunday, December 1, tellingly with his pocket watch stopped at exactly 6:20pm, which confirmed the time the tragedy took place three weeks before.

Edward Gallaghers remains were buried in the sand for nine months before, on Tuesday, August 4, 1936, Charles ODonnells dog began digging to find the fully clothed body at Inniscoo. Brothers Tony Gallagher (17) and Edward Gallagher (15) were located on Tuesday, December 3, at Inisfree and on Monday, December 16 at Maghery. Their brother Johnny had decided to stay in Scotland for the winter, to set the potatoes and cut turf.

Peter Leonards remains were located on Wednesday, December 4 at Maghery, close to where, 12 days later, the man who had spoken of Chicago, John Bow ODonnell, was located. Katie ODonnell and Hannah Mickey Mor Gallagher were never given a burial and are still lost at sea.

The inquest's verdict of accidental death called attention to "the dangerous passage that had been allowed to exist for years without any precaution being taken by the Government."

A fund for the relief of the relatives and dependents of the victims of the disaster was established, which eventually raised 18,000, and the Donegal Association in Dublin, proudly running to this day, was founded to raise money in 1935 for the Arranmore families.



Paddy Gallagher from Aphort, the sole survivor of the Arranmore Disaster in 1935 and Mick McNulty from Ploghogue. Photo: Eddie McIntyre, Arainn Mhor History



Paddy Gallagher lost seven members of his immediate family and eventually passed away in 1987. In an interview before his death, he couldnt explain why he was the one to live, especially since he was unwell that summer.

"It never leaves my mind, he said. The sight was something terrible - it seems I had to survive to tell the tale."

Those who died were Edward Gallagher, 61, of Torris, and his children Edward Gallagher, 24, Johnny Gallagher, 22, Mickie Gallagher, 29 and Charles Gallagher, 20, his sons, and Madgie, 28 and Hannah Gallagher, 16, his daughters; brothers Anthony Gallagher, 17 and Edward Gallagher, 15, from Aphort; Siblings Manus Gallagher, 17 Daniel Gallagher, 27, and Hannah Gallagher, 21, Aphort; Siblings Patrick O'Donnell, 44 and Katie O'Donnell, 45, Leabgarrow; John Rodgers, 34, Torris; John Bow O'Donnell, 50, Aphort; Edward Ward, 51, Torris; Peter Leonard, 61, Ballintra and John Gallagher, 20, Aphort.
It may seem a little strange that the culinary director of Gaucho, the storied Argentinian steak brand, which has been serving up huge hunks of grilled beef in the UK since 1994, didnt actually used to like meat.

French-born chef Anthony Ekizian, who has lived in London for 20 years, as a kid, was not carnivorous. If he did have to eat it, it was well done.

But just as he accidentally stumbled into the world of high dining - he left school at 16 without much of a plan, and ended up working at Club 55 in Saint Tropez (I really didnt choose to be a chef) - meat found him somehow.

When I started as an apprentice, there were some steaks on the grill, on the wood fire. I remember the [team was] showing me. I was just putting vegetables next to it, I was observing, and the head chef was talking to me about cuts. I didnt know anything really about it, but he cooked it rare, I remember it was very rare inside. And that was it, he became a meat lover.

Since then, Ekizian has travelled the world, worked in a number of Michelin-starred restaurants, including in Cannes, and now heads up Gaucho, for whom he has written a new cookbook, Gaucho: The Spirit Of Argentina: A Cookbook.

It contains essays on the history of the Gaucho (traditional Argentinian cattle herders) and the incredible landscapes they rear their cows on, alongside recipes for steak that go beyond a slab of meat and fries (although, it doesnt knock the basics in the least).

So what are Ekizians foolproof tips for getting steak right at home?

The major mistake home cooks make when it comes to steak

It comes way before you even start cooking. [They] buy the wrong quality of beef. You need to buy quality, says Ekizian. I know there are some good supermarkets, but we need to also support our farmers and individual businesses, like butchers and farms. It needs to be about quality, the right product from the beginning.

He says theres incredible British beef available, although it may not quite compete with Argentinian cows. You go to Argentina and the beef is exceptional. Everything is kilometres and kilometres of pampas grass and hills, and you have these cows moving every day to a different patch to eat different types of grass or herbs. They are just outside. Theres no barn. Theyre like wild cows, really, and when you get that, its gonna be great.

Dont be swayed by trendy cuts

For me, the perfect steak is obviously a cut that you like, says Ekizian. So what if the flat iron steak is everywhere?! If you like a T-bone, get a T-bone. Your butcher will be able to talk you through the different cuts, from skirt to fillet, sirloin to rump, and from there, its about working out what your taste buds appreciate the most.

Let it hang out in the fridge for a bit

Once youve picked the right cut for you, and it has the right provenance and quality, usually I put it on a wire rack in the fridge so theres air going through - I let it air-dry, says Ekizian. If I dont have time, for a couple of hours, or ideally, overnight. It always helps to take out the moisture, so its a bit dry but its not dry-aged. It means theres less moisture when it goes in the pan and it gives you a nice crust.

Dont forget the seasoning

He says that with seasoning, there are different schools of thought You can season it a bit before, like a minute before, or you can season it directly on the grill, which I do. Either way, salt is non-negotiable.

Whack it on the grill, or barbie

When its time to start cooking - once your beef has come up to room temperature - you need a very hot grill or a very hot pan, says Ekizian. And the ideal scenario is to be cooking on real fire.

There is something about cooking over a wood fire that makes it better, he says, almost wistfully. You get a smokiness and a char that cooking on an induction hob, for instance, isnt going to give you.

Its all about timing

How long you sear your steak for on either side depends on its thickness, and how well done you like it. Regardless, it needs to rest. If you cook a steak for four minutes, two minutes on each side, then leave it to rest for a good minute, minute and a half, and thats gonna be just perfect, says Ekizian.

Done-ness can be confusing, and people prod their thumbs to work out what the meat should feel like. Meat probes are great when youre not sure, reassures Ekizian. Someone like me whos been doing this for years, we know by touching, or by looking at the meat, but I do recommend people use a probe.

Sides and sauces

Fries and baked potatoes are the obvious, delicious accompaniments (or if youre going retro, grilled tomatoes and portobello mushrooms), but with sauce, Ill be honest with you, Im not a sauce person, so I like to have my steak with a bit of salt, says Ekizian, upsetting peppercorn sauce fans everywhere.

If I do have a sauce, it will be a chimichurri, because this is just brilliant: oregano, a bit of olive oil.

Try not to feel overwhelmed

Ekizian admits: Its scary when you dont know [what youre doing completely]. But, once you understand the basics it can be very simple. Actually, its not that difficult, just a couple of steps that you need to take. Its really about practice.

Now try these three recipes...

Gaucho: The Spirit Of Argentina: A Cookbook, by Anthony Ekizian, is published in hardback by Bloomsbury Photography by Sam A. Harris.

***

Churrasco de Chorizo

A simple sirloin that will become a staple dish.

One of Gauchos original offerings, this steak borrows the word churrasco from the Brazilian equivalent to asado, explains Gaucho culinary director Anthony Ekizian.

It is a butterfly-cut, marinated sirloin and delivers a bold, smoky South American char. For best results, choose steaks that are around eight centimetres thick.

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 x thick 800g sirloins (a chorizos cut in Argentina)

2tsps sea salt

For churrasco marinade:

100g flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped

200ml rapeseed oil

10 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Churrasco de chorizo from Gaucho: The Spirit of Argentina: A Cookbook by Anthony Ekizian. Picture: Sam A. Harris/PA

Method

First, prepare marinade. In a large bowl, combine the marinade ingredients until well mixed.

To prepare the beef, one at a time, position each sirloin on its edge, fat uppermost. Place blade of meat knife in centre ofthe width of steak. Supporting the steak with your free hand (and minding your fingers), carefully slice through the thickness of the steak, using the knife heel to tip and taking care not to cut all the way to the end of the steak. Once youve made a full slice downwards, lay the steak flat and cut towards the hinge, stopping about three to four centimetres from the end for even thickness. Open out the steak, like a book.

Place prepared sirloins in a shallow dish or resealable plastic bag. Pour marinade over meat, ensuring its evenly coated. Cover dish tightly with cling film or seal the bag, and refrigerate for at least two hours, preferably overnight, to allow flavours to meld.

Prepare your barbecue (or heat source).

When youre almost ready to cook, remove meat from fridge and leave to come up to room temperature - about 30 minutes should do it. Meanwhile, prepare a cooking area over your embers/flame to give a medium-high grilling heat.

Remove sirloins from the marinade, shaking off any excess. Place steaks on your prepared grill and cook for about 4-5 minutes per side (for medium-rare), or until cooked to your desired level of doneness. Use marinade left in dish to baste meat as its grilling - to ensure you get maximum flavour.

Cover cooked meat with foil and leave to rest for about 5 minutes to allow juices to redistribute. Slice, and serve with your favourite sides.

Lomo Al Diablo

Its all about the spices with this steak.

A fiery, flavourful take on steak, this dish combines succulent and tender beef fillet with a bold kick of spices. Its perfect if you like something thats quick to cook and gives plenty of heat, says Anthony Ekizian.

Ingredients (serves 2)

4 x 100g fillet (lomo) medallions

Olive oil, for brushing

Sea salt

For the spicy rub:

2tsp onion powder

2tsp garlic powder

1/2tsp chilli powder

2tbsp sweet paprika

For the salsa Argentinos:

2tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

30g flat-leaf parsley, leaves finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

2tsp aji molido

1/2tsp sherry vinegar

1/2tbsp dried oregano

Lomo al diablo from Gaucho: The Spirit of Argentina: A Cookbook by Anthony Ekizian. Picture: Sam A. Harris/PA

Method

Mix all the ingredients for the rub together and set aside (this will make a little more than you need for the recipe, but the remainder will keep for up to one month in an airtight container).

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the salsa. Set aside.

Place the steak medallions on a large tray and pat dry with kitchen paper. Brush both sides lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle two tablespoons of the spicy rub evenly over the beef medallions, massaging the rub into the surface to ensure it sticks well. Cover the medallions with foil and marinate them in the fridge for at least one hour, or up to 12 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare your barbecue to produce a high heat. Or prepare your heat source. Bring the meat up to room temperature.

When youre ready to cook, season the medallions with salt, then place them directly on the grill. Sear them for two minutes, then flip them and grill them for two minutes on the other side - this will give you a medium-rare finish.

Remove the steaks from the grill, cover with foil and leave them to rest for about five minutes before serving with the salsa drizzled over.

Sweet Baked Potatoes with Goats Cheese & Creme Fraiche

These are great on their own, or with a side of perfectly cooked steak.

This Gaucho classic does everything it can to celebrate versatile and delicious sweet potatoes, which appear frequently in various forms in Argentinian cooking, says Anthony Ekizian.

Ingredients (serves 4)

4 sweet potatoes

1tsbp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to garnish

150g goats cheese, crumbled

100g creme fraiche

2tbsp finely chopped chives

2tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Sea salt and black pepper

Baked sweet potatoes from Gaucho: The Spirit of Argentina: A Cookbook by Anthony Ekizian. Picture: Sam A. Harris/PA

Method
Fifty years ago, a shorthand typist at Midleton Community College (now St Colmans College), Noreen Wrenne started Midleton Writers Group, a new concept then unknown in Ireland.

Noreens vision took hold and half a century later, coinciding with their 50th anniversary, the Midleton Writers Group have celebrated their golden anniversary with their second book.

The collaborative work, Midleton Golden Miscellany, was one of six books, shortlisted for the Anthologies category at the 2025 CAP Independent Book Awards.

Midleton Golden Miscellany, celebrating 50 years of the group, is dedicated to their most esteemed and valued member and President, the late Helena Kelleher Kahn.

We sadly lost Helena this year, says Anne F. Healy, originally from Blackrock, now living in Midleton.

Helena, a wonderful storyteller, author and poet, published her last book, The Silver Cage, a fine work recalling her time as a social worker in one of Londons poorest districts in the 1960s.

Midleton Golden Miscellany was launched in December, 2024, in honour of Helenas vital support and kindness with the love of each and every member of Midleton Writers Group.

The cover of Midleton Golden Miscellany, celebrating 50 years of Midleton Writers Group

Fresh from being shortlisted for best Irish independent book anthology, the Midleton Writers Group has launched a new website to showcase the talent within its community.

In addition, members have produced many of their own books, including group secretary Anne F. Healy, who published her first book of short stories, My Own Place, this year. Anne discovered the Midleton Writers Group when she moved to the town almost 20 years ago and has never looked back.

One of her contributions in Midleton Golden Miscellany, entitled A Trip To Youghal On The Steam Train, evokes the sense of excitement and expectation that many will remember so well. The huge train was on the track. Its shining green engine puffing out smoke in a steady stream. It was almost too exciting to bear.

The Writers Group provides a wonderful outlet for writing, says Christopher McCarthy, whose short story, Capacocha, in Midleton Golden Miscellany, is a riveting read.

It is about a significant sacrificial rite in the Inca Empire, and Christopher writes: The blessed Intip Churin has been ill for a long time and the Capacocha rite is necessary so that he can be healthy again. It was an honour for me to be chosen.

Why is he chosen and taken from his village?

The plot thickens...

Capacocha is but one of the short stories in the book published by The Midleton Writers Group that could send shivers down your spine in the dark of cold winter nights.

Others, like Ronnie McGinns Doing The Dog On It, will make you laugh aloud to take the chill out of those dark winter nights.

Ronnie was instrumental in getting poems by the Midleton Writers Group published in The Echo. A poet and writer, he was manager of the well-known Dixies Showband back in the day.

Author Ronnie McGinns story Doing The Dog On It appears in the new anthology

Ronnie then took up journalism and created The Douglas Post magazine and other journals. Today he concentrates on writing poems and short stories, which was his dream since he was a small boy.

In existence now for more than 50 years, and with the publication of Midleton Golden Miscellany, the East Cork writers star is in the ascendancy.

Writers get confidence and encouragement when they learn from each other. Otherwise, wed all be in our own bubble, explains Christopher, who is also the author of Dark Omens And Halos.

Christopher, using another of his talents, took the photographs for the covers of Midleton Golden Miscellany. The beauty of nature is his inspiration.

Jim Tait, author of A Farmers Poetry: Fields Of Verse, and The Ballad Of Midleton Mart, joined Midleton Writers Group at the age of 62, 23 years ago.

There were some upheavals happening in my life at the time, says Jim. I found writing about those upheavals therapeutic.

I found joining the Midleton Writers Group offered me support in every way. And of course I love poetry. The group is a wonderful showcase for writers.

Jim confesses: It is unusual for a farmer to write poetry!

His poem, Wool Gathering, that appears in Midleton Golden Miscellany, captures the halcyon days of yore when his dad would load his trailer right and hard, and wed go off to Midleton to Potter Cogans Yard.

Midleton Golden Miscellany brings together the works of the present keepers of the writers group, poets and short story writers, joined by the student artists from Midleton College who illustrated the Miscellany.

There are also memoirs from the older generation at Midleton Hospital.

Impressed readers of the literary works by members of Midleton Writers Group include our out-going President Michael D. Higgins, who praised the poems and short stories which exemplify the richness of our cultural heritage, highlighting the depth of talent within our esteemed community of writers, and are proof of the creativity that thrives within Ireland.

Former Amazon editor, Amy Vickers, who is a member of Midleton Writers Group, worked as a journalist in London before coming to Cork, and is the new chairperson of the group.

I am in the process of writing a trilogy called Divine Bubbles, says Amy, whose vision is to create a community collective for writers and to host writing workshops.

The creative culture here in East Cork is amazing, says Amy. The talent here is huge.

The talents of Anthony Wade, who edited the book Midleton Golden Miscellany, are well documented throughout the book.

His poem, Before The Crawford Art Gallery, brings the well-known Cork establishment to life. He writes:

We stand on what had been the old Kings Quay

Then busy with the painted masts of Corks John Butt

But Emmets Place now carries the sounds of persons passing

Not the sweating of cargoes on and off ships restlessly moored.

The biographies of the 12 contributors appear at the end of Midleton Golden Miscellany. These are unique stories in themselves.

The last word goes to Jim Tait. I am still trying to get it write, a book is down the road, and I am enjoying every minute.

Publications by members include (available in Midleton Books):

Jim Tait, Poet: A Farmers Poetry: Fields of Verse.

Christopher McCarthy: Short Story Collection; Capacocha. Christopher also produced the photography for the cover and inside cover of the Miscellany.

Lorna Mulvany: Short Story, The Shandon Clock Tower Strikes a New Hour in The Four Faced Liar.

Paudrig Lee, Poetry Collection Smoking Bees. (www.paudriglee.com)

Deirdre Sparrow, Childrens Stories: Jack The Reindeer Saves the Day and Abigails Royal Trip to London.

Anne F. Healy, Short Story Collection: My Own Place and Other Stories

Emma Clohessy, Poetry Collection, Poems Lost and Found.

Anthony Wade and Marian Stout also had their poetry printed in Shine On, a Youghal-based publication for charity.

Midleton Golden Miscellany by Midleton Writers Group is available at Midleton Books, price 15.

The group meet at My Place Midleton on the first Thursday of every month from 7.30pm to 10pm. All are welcome.

Email: writersgroupmidleton@gmail.com

Website: http//midletonwritersgroup.substack.com
A group of East Cork residents whose homes were flooded in the wake of Storm Babet in 2023 are due to address an Oireachtas committee tomorrow.

Members of the Gleann Fia Residents Association, the Rathcormac Flood Protection Group, and the Castlemartyr Flood Protection Group have been invited to make a presentation to the joint Oireachtas committee on public petitions and the Ombudsman.

They will discuss before the committee their petition for urgent flood relief for Rathcormac, Castlemartyr, Killeagh, and Mogeely.

Pat Buckley, Sinn Fein TD for East Cork, said he had invited the residents to speak before the committee.

Having listened to the harrowing accounts of residents whose homes were flooded during Storm Babet, I am delighted that these residents will have the chance to share their stories with the committee, he said.

These residents and their families feel abandoned. Many have broken under the mental strain of trying to ensure their homes are protected.

Mr Buckley said flooding was causing families to be displaced, while local businesses were suffering long-term damage and community morale was being eroded.

Each new flood adds to the already significant financial and emotional burden faced by residents."

The residents are fearful with every rainfall of the danger in poses to them, while their homes are left without adequate protection.

It is imperative that the Government include these areas in tranche two of the flood protection scheme so that there is never a repeat of the devastation they suffered in 2023.
A public meeting held in South Parish Community Centre in Cork city on Saturday has kickstarted a campaign for a new city library building.

Staff at the library, on the Grand Parade, have long contended that it is no longer fit for purpose.

In 2021, Cork City Council announced that 46.05m from Ireland 2040s Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) for the Grand Parade Quarter would help revive the southern end of the Grand Parade.

This included the refurbishment of Bishop Lucey Park, which is to reopen this month, and progress plans to develop a new, 7,700sq m city library.

Spark

Social Democrats TD Padraig Rice, one of the organisers of Saturdays meeting, said: A spark has been lit, and we are determined to see a new library be built.

Four years ago, Taoiseach Micheal Martin announced that 50m would be spent transforming Grand Parade with a new library, a new central plaza, and a boardwalk to facilitate cultural and recreational activities.

Like so many other key capital projects in Cork, the Government has so far failed to deliver it, and the promised new library is still nowhere to be seen, said Mr Rice.

He said there is huge demand for a new library: The new library should be a space for all: Children, teenagers, students, workers, visitors, and retired people. It should ensure full participation by providing people with access to information, study spaces, and opportunities to engage with others.

Spaces

A new library could include new exhibition and performance spaces, as well as meeting rooms for book clubs and local groups.

Mr Rice thanked the speakers at the meeting, including Gerry Kelly, of the Cork School of Music Campaign; Jude Sherry and Frank OConnor, from Dereliction Ireland; Louise Cotter, the architect behind the Dun Laoghaire Library; and MC, former Independent senator Colette Kelleher.

He also thanked everyone who contributed during the roundtable session.
The number of deaths linked to Cork Prison more than doubled last year, with the inspector of prisons saying overcrowding has played a role in the increase.

The annual report of the Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP) also highlights low morale among prison staff and insufficient access to a GP in Cork Prison.

During 2024, there were 31 deaths nationally, a significant increase on the 2023 total of 20 deaths.

The figures include five deaths in Cork Prison. Two of these occurred while an inmate was in custody, one while a prisoner was in hospital, and two within one month of the inmates being granted temporary release. During the previous year, there were no deaths in custody, one in hospital, and one within a month of temporary release.

Scourge of overcrowding

Chief inspector Mark Kelly said: We have found that the scourge of overcrowding continues to afflict almost every prison in Ireland, and the situation has worsened significantly over the last year. Very many prisoners are being held in conditions that can be described as inhuman and degrading.

Sadly, 2024 saw 31 deaths, the highest-ever number in any year since the inspectorate first undertook this task in 2012, said Mr Kelly.

There is no doubt that the pressures created by overcrowding have played their part in generating this increase.

Cork Prison is frequently the most overcrowded prison in Ireland. In August, a record 403 people were in custody in the 296-bed-capacity facility. Last Friday, there were 372 inmates, meaning nearly 80 prisoners were without a regular bed.

Recommendations

The inspector made several recommendations, including that the Irish Prison Service (IPS) reviews the working and management culture at Cork Prison to identify the underlying reasons for reported levels of low morale amongst certain staff.

The review should examine whether grievance procedures are dissuading staff and/or prisoners from pursuing complaints.

He also said the IPS should ensure an adequate complement of healthcare staff, specifically in relation to Cork Prison, where there was a need to increase the hours of presence of the GP. There is also a need for additional nurse staffing at night and an increase in psychology and addiction service staffing.

Several other recommendations were made, including:

The minister for justice should take urgent action to place an enforceable upper limit on the number of persons that can be committed to prisons, including Cork Prison.

A new strategy should be put in place that considers the implementation of alternative measures and restorative justice practices, such as conflict mediation, to reduce prisoner tensions and concerns for safety.

The minister and director general of the IPS must ensure that every person in custody has their own bed and that cell occupancy is in line with living space standards of 4sq m for each person in a multi-occupancy cell, exclusive of sanitary facilities.
Gardai in Cork are seeking the publics assistance in tracing the whereabouts of a woman who has been missing from the northside of the city since Saturday.

Laura ODonoghue (43) was reported missing from her home in The Glen on Saturday, November 8.

Ms ODonoghue is described as being approximately 4 foot 7 inches in height, with long brown hair and green/blue eyes.

When last seen, she was wearing a black jacket with a black jumper underneath, black leggings and white runners.

Gardai and Ms ODonoghues family are concerned for her well-being.

Anyone with information on Laura ODonoghues whereabouts is asked to contact Mayfield Garda Station on 021 455 8510, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station.
Cork people are being encouraged to contribute photos of the northern lights to help compile Irelands largest archive of aurora borealis images.

Led by Alexandra Ruth Fogg, postdoctoral fellow with Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), the initiative asks people to share photographs taken during the Northern Lights displays in May and October of 2024, which were caused by some of the most intense geomagnetic storms of the 21st century.

Spectacular images were captured across the island of Ireland.

The Northern Lights visible above Cork skies over Passage West last October Picture Chani Anderson

Now DIAS researchers are asking people to share these images as part of a citizen science research project.

Ms Fogg said that data and images gathered will provide valuable insights into space weather and contribute to Irelands understanding of this natural phenomenon.

To find out more about the project and submit your photos, visit here.
Cork city-based educational charity EIL Intercultural Learning has announced that applications are open for Explore 2026, offering fully funded travel scholarships to Irish people.

The scholarships are an opportunity for people aged 16 and over to engage in immersive intercultural learning experiences in destinations such as Ecuador, Ghana, Hong Kong, Mexico, Vietnam, and beyond.

With more than 20 scholarships across 13 distinct awards, Explore 2026 is designed to foster cultural awareness, personal growth, and social responsibility.

Scholarship recipients will have the chance to travel on structured programmes of between two and 14 weeks, tailored to promote both personal and professional development, while encouraging active global citizenship.

Explore 2026 empowers participants to address social and global justice issues, equipping them with skills to make a meaningful impact in their communities.

Whether through educational formats, hands-on volunteer work, community immersion, or cultural exchanges, participants will leave with a deeper understanding of global perspectives.

Leo Snygans - Mature Student Award Winner who spent 8 weeks in Mexico

There are more than 20 scholarships available across 13 award categories, with programmes focusing on cultural awareness, personal and emotional growth, and social and global justice.

Lucy Lehane, who won a scholarship to Vietnam recently, said: The Explore Award transformed how I see the world in more ways than one, teaching me the power of empathy in ways I never imagined. Through volunteering and understanding experiences other than my own, Ive grown in to such a better, stronger person because of it."

All Irish residents with a passion for intercultural exchange and a desire to become an active global citizen are encouraged to apply and applications are open until Friday, December 5.

Faith Akintokun - Ecuador Award Winner who had a summer adventure in Ecuador rainforests and local communities on a cultural exploration.

For more details on the scholarship opportunities, destinations, and how to apply, visit website www.eilexplore.ie.

EIL Intercultural Learning, based on Washington St in Cork city, is a non-profit organisation dedicated to fostering global understanding through intercultural learning experiences.

With more than 50 years of experience, EIL supports individuals in developing the skills and perspectives necessary to thrive in an increasingly interconnected world.
A Cork man who pleaded guilty to drink driving is addressing his problem with alcohol, a recent sitting of Macroom District Court was told.

Court presenter Sergeant Trish OSullivan told the court that gardai attended a road traffic accident at Aherla More in Aherla, Co Cork, on August 26, 2025. At the scene, they found a van that had been involved in a single-vehicle accident.

Sitting down next to the passenger side of the van was Paul Moriarty, aged 40, of Iona Hall, Glasheen Rd, Wilton, Cork.

Moriarty, who admitted he was the driver of the vehicle, appeared to be intoxicated, was slurring his words, and his eyes were bloodshot.

He failed a roadside breath test, was arrested, and taken to Macroom Garda Station.

At the garda station, Moriarty recorded a breath alcohol level of 85mg per 100ml, placing him in the three-year mandatory disqualification category as he had no previous convictions.

Defence solicitor Sean Cahill said Moriarty was a full-time carpenter who was a valued employee.

The court heard that Moriarty had an alcohol problem and had not driven since the incident.

Mr Cahill said his client was now attending support services and had good family support.

Judge John King said Moriarty appeared to be addressing the problem, and noted that he had no previous convictions and made full admissions.

Moriarty was convicted, fined 350, and disqualified from driving for three years.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
This month, Ireland will celebrate something remarkable  30 years of Science Week. Three decades of harnessing the power of curiosity and collaboration to advance science in Ireland.

This year, we reflect on the Science Weeks that have come before, and the progress made in making science more accessible and engaging to the general public. What began as a small series of outreach events in 1995 has grown into one of the most vibrant and inclusive national celebrations in our calendar. Supported by Research Ireland, Science Week is now a platform for connection  a moment each year when communities across the country come together to explore how science has shaped and improved the lives we live today.

Over the 30 years of Science Week, many Cork institutions and organisations including University College Cork (UCC), Tyndall National Institute (TNI), Blackrock Castle Observatory, Munster Technological University (MTU), Marina Market, Lifetime Lab, Cork City Council and local libraries and schools have hosted Science Week activities. Cork communities have always been eager and engaged to learn more about science and its impact on the world around them.

The theme for Science Week 2025, Then. Today. Tomorrow., captures that spirit perfectly. Its a chance to look at how far weve come, to reflect on the science that defines our present, and to imagine what the future might hold for Ireland and the wider world.

Then  The Foundations of Discovery

Three decades ago, science in Ireland was not as prominent  either in academia or society  as it is today. The internet was a burgeoning technology and the human genome hadnt yet been sequenced. Smart phones didnt exist, and contactless payment technology hadnt been adopted. Cancer survival rates were far lower.

The idea of a Science Week was itself an experiment. Could science be demystified and become something that belonged not just in laboratories or universities, but in schools, theatres, libraries, and homes? The answer, resoundingly, has been yes.

Since then, countless volunteers, educators, researchers, and local organisers have helped to build an enduring legacy of engagement. They are the heroes and heartbeat of Science Week at the local and national level.

Today  A Nation of Curiosity

Today, science is everywhere. It shapes how we engage with our environment, create businesses, deliver healthcare, develop new technologies, and understand our place in the universe.

Through agencies like our own, the Government is ensuring that Ireland competes at an international level by backing excellence, talent and collaboration across and between our universities and enterprises. Strategic investment in world-class research, which is aligned with EU priorities and leveraged through programmes like Horizon Europe, helps to drive innovation, strengthen our competitiveness, and ensure high-value, sustainable growth.

Indeed, Research Irelands establishment last year as the national research and innovation agency is a reflection of the priority that government is placing on research across the full spectrum of disciplines. Societal and economic impact are at our core.

With its mature and impactful ecosystem of higher education institutions, research bodies and industry, and other partners, Cork has long been a true centre of excellence and collaboration on scientific research.

Celebrating the local connection with research, Science Week 2025 sees many great events taking place in Cork. Having worked with renowned spectacle theatre company Macnas last year, we are thrilled that it will make its Cork premiere with a specially curated indoor performance at Marina Market. An installation inspired by the performance will remain at Marina Market, alongside the Science Week-funded SpaceFest.

Cork-based projects have received almost 80,000 in government funding for their Science Week initiatives this year. And, with over 20 events happening across Cork this Science Week  from otter spotters, music and cultural connections with the science of trees, to tours of an observatory and building a rocket  there is something for everyone.

Tomorrow  The Questions Ahead

As we look to the future, science is central to addressing the great questions of our time: how we tackle climate change, harness the power of artificial intelligence responsibly, and ensure that discoveries in health, energy, and technology benefit everyone.

A better tomorrow is supported by Research Ireland through a current investment in over 280 research and innovation projects in UCC, TNI and MTU valued at over 200 million, providing for current and future talent, exciting discoveries and impactful outcomes.

The Tomorrow of Science Week is not just about new inventions  its about imagination and inclusion. Its about who gets to participate in shaping that better future. By bringing science into schools, public spaces, and even markets and theatres, Science Week aims to make discovery accessible to all and for a multitude of voices to shape the future.

Then. Today. Tomorrow.

Science doesnt stand still. It evolves, challenges, and connects us. Over the past three decades, Science Week has helped Ireland build a culture of curiosity  one that values knowledge, creativity, and collaboration. As we enter the next phase of that Science Week journey, we do so with the same ambition that sparked the very first Science Week: to make science part of the fabric of our lives, every day.

Between now and November 16, I encourage people of all ages and abilities to be a part of Science Week  to discover an event or listen to podcast that appeals to them. You may well be surprised at what sparks your curiosity and allows you to imagine what comes next.
It looks like Samsung is sticking with its Plus line of Galaxy phones, according to a report by Android Headlines. This comes after rumors swirled that the company would be dropping the Plus line in favor of the slim Edge handset. This report indicates that not only is Samsung keeping the Plus, but it's ditching the well-reviewed Edge entirely.

A leaker has given us a peek at the forthcoming S26+ and it looks similar to the company's other modern smartphones. The camera island has been tweaked a bit. The leak shows a small, raised camera island, which is different from the design of the S25+.

Also, the leaked images seem to suggest that the S26+ won't have the full-width camera that was rumored to be coming with the S26 Edge. That phone is now reportedly cancelled, so we don't know when we'll get that camera.

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The publication suggests that the S26+ will be 7.35mm thick, which is in line with the S25+. It also seems to be decidedly chunkier than the S25 Edge, so this is likely not a covert rebrand. The Verge has suggested that the company is also ditching the long-rumored S26 Pro. In other words, we'll likely be getting a standard S26, the S26+ and the S26 Ultra next year. That's the same naming convention as this year.

We won't have too long to wait for actual details from Samsung. The company typically reveals new Galaxy phones sometime in January. It's been reported that Samsung is dropping the Edge due to poor sales. However, Dutch fansite Galaxy Club has reported that the company is still developing a slim handset for release sometime in the coming years.
During an interview in Brazil, Prince William remained composed and in control of the conversation as he was pressed about ongoing controversies within the British royal family, including his uncle Prince Andrew's scandal.

According to Mirror, the Prince of Wales performed a "subtle yet powerful conversational swerve" that kept the focus on his environmental advocacy rather than his family's turmoil.

The future king is in Brazil to attend the Earthshot Prize, an annual global award recognizing major contributions to environmentalism. While much of the discussion centered on climate change, CNN reporter Christiane Amanpour steered the conversation toward personal matters involving Prince Andrew and Prince Harry.

Read more: Prince William Considering Complete Separation of Harry and Meghan from Monarchy Using Andrew Precedent

Ms. Amanpour noted, "Something that drew a lot of interest was when you said to Eugene: 'I think it's safe to say that change is on my agenda, change for the good. I embrace and I enjoy that change, I don't fear it.' ... Given the fact that there has been a lot of change in your own family recently, talk about that a little bit. Where do you see the change, what do you think needs to happen?"

Calmly, William replied: "I think The Earthshot Prize is a classic example of change. Rather than talk about it, we're doing it, and that's where I want it to be. These people in here are the true action heroes of our time, and change will come by backing them, not by what I do."

He went on to add, "It's really important, you have to provide a leadership and a vision that there's good things to come, and it's not all negative. For my children especially, knowing the planet is going to be in a healthier, better state because of the brilliant people in this room."

Sky News reported that the audience immediately erupted into applause after the Prince's response. Observers hailed him for sticking to his message. The outlet called his tone "measured yet assertive," a quality that has become his hallmark of confidence as an emerging global leader.

Body language expert Judi James explained to The Mirror that William "performs a conversational swerve here that many politicians would have been proud of." She explained, "Holding his mic away from his face allows him some element of control... it announces when he wants to speak and when he is finished."

James added, "He redirects the subject away from his family and back onto his cause, goals, and priorities... placing the mic back to his knee announces politely but firmly that the subject is closed."

The poised exchange underlined Prince William's diplomatic skill in balancing personal restraint with public leadership as he continues to shape his image in advance of his future role as king.
Kylie Jenner is reportedly left "shocked and raging" after her boyfriend, actor Timothee Chalamet, declined to talk about their relationship in a recent Vogue interview.

During the interview, Chalamet, 29, "would not talk about his relationship with girlfriend Jenner," noting, "And I don't say that with any fear, I just don't have anything to say."

While the couple has occasionally shared public displays of affection, they have largely kept their romance private in recent months. Jenner, 28, similarly refrained from discussing Chalamet in a 2024 British Vogue interview, saying, "Privacy is so important to me in life."

Tensions Over Publicity and Effort

Insiders told Radar Online that Jenner felt blindsided by Chalamet's dismissal of the topic.

"Kylie was really upset by how casually Timothee dismissed the question. She honestly believed they were past the point of hiding things and that he'd want to celebrate their relationship, not act like it doesn't exist," a friend said.

A source added that Jenner is increasingly frustrated by what she perceives as an imbalance in effort.

"She's traveled everywhere to support Timothee, but he rarely returns the favor. It's starting to really bother her," the source told Radar.

The couple's differing schedules have also put strain on their romance. Chalamet spent most of the summer in Hungary filming the third installment of "Dune," while Jenner remained in Los Angeles with her children, Stormi Webster, 7, and Aire Webster, 3. "It's really strained things," a source said.

"Kylie's been the one reaching out, calling, visiting  but she's beginning to feel like she's putting in all the effort."

A film industry insider told Radar that Chalamet is typically private about his personal life.

"He's never been the kind of person to make his relationships part of the spotlight," they said.

Despite avoiding discussion of Jenner, Chalamet acknowledged other aspects of his life in the Vogue interview, including his sister becoming a parent and his co-star Zendaya's engagement to Tom Holland.

He also hinted at his desire to become a father, stating, "That could be on the radar."

its the way kylie & timothee look at each other pic.twitter.com/XogJw6yiNL  alison  (@JJKOBITO) October 9, 2025

Public Appearances and Relationship Strains

Since making their relationship public in September 2023 with a passionate kiss at a Beyonce concert in Los Angeles, the two have been photographed attending various events, including award shows and Knicks games, and even taking holidays in the south of France.

However, in recent months, the couple has been inactive in public, resulting in speculation that they have parted ways.

Chalamet has never appeared on Jenner's family reality show, joined her at the Met Gala, or publicly acknowledged her birthdays, according to multiple sources cited by the Daily Mail.

"Relationships get ugly when one party loves you more, wants more than the other," trauma counselor Audrey Hope told the Daily Mail.

"The fact that Kylie Jenner is at all Timothee's events and he does not reciprocate in the same way is a big deal. It shows that something is afoot in paradise."
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Excelsio. Founded by journalist Nelson Alarcon, the platform arrived as a response to the scarcity of accessible local information during his research into Sogamoso's history. Drawing inspiration from the region's journalistic rootsdating back to 1873 with "El Rejenerador", established by Arnulfo M. GuarinExcelsio.net positioned itself as a modern evolution, trading ink and paper for pixels and connectivity. Today, on its 20th anniversary, Excelsio.net stands as a testament to resilient, independent digital storytelling, having evolved from a weekly local bulletin to a bilingual global media outlet. In November 2005, amid a landscape dominated by print media, a modest digital venture emerged from Sogamoso, Colombia, marking the birth of. Founded by journalist, the platform arrived as a response to the scarcity of accessible local information during his research into Sogamoso's history. Drawing inspiration from the region's journalistic rootsdating back to 1873 with "El Rejenerador", established by Arnulfo M. GuarinExcelsio.net positioned itself as a modern evolution, trading ink and paper for pixels and connectivity. Today, on its 20th anniversary, Excelsio.net stands as a testament to resilient, independent digital storytelling, having evolved from a weekly local bulletin to a bilingual global media outlet.

Humble Beginnings: A Weekly Spark in Sogamoso

Excelsio launched on a shared Yahoo GeoCities domain, with Alarcon preparing editions every Friday for Saturday release. The name "Excelsio" derives from the Latin excelsus, meaning "superior" or "highest," though Alarcon drew further inspiration from a 19th-century French newspaper, The War Excelsior, encountered during his archival divesnot to be confused with Mexico's Excelsior. From the outset, it focused on news from Sogamoso and the Province of Sugamuxi in Boyaca, blending timely reporting with historical insights unearthed by Alarcon.



launched on a shared Yahoo GeoCities domain, with Alarcon preparing editions every Friday for Saturday release. The name "Excelsio" derives from the Latin excelsus, meaning "superior" or "highest," though Alarcon drew further inspiration from a 19th-century French newspaper,, encountered during his archival divesnot to be confused with Mexico's Excelsior. From the outset, it focused on news from Sogamoso and the Province of Sugamuxi in Boyaca, blending timely reporting with historical insights unearthed by Alarcon.



Milestones of Growth: From Local Voice to Regional Beacon The platform's advantages were clear: drastically reduced operational costs by eliminating print expenses, editorial independence free from advertising pressures, and unprecedented global accessibility for the Boyaca diaspora. It invited reader participation through comments and submissions, fostering a collaborative ethos that aligned with its constitutional duty to inform truthfully and impartially. As one of Colombia's early digital experiments, Excelsio.net quickly filled a void, offering objective coverage of local events without the biases often seen in traditional outlets.

Cesar Rodriguez Granados hailed it as "the first virtual newspaper of Sogamoso," a vital lifeline for emigrants craving updates on their homeland and a trusted source for locals seeking unbiased analysis. Features like multimedia content, opinion spaces, and polls on current affairs enhanced its appeal, turning it into a "window" for objective national and regional insights.



By October 2007, after 1,095 days of uninterrupted effort, Excelsio.net celebrated its 100th edition. Contributorhailed it as "the first virtual newspaper of Sogamoso," a vital lifeline for emigrants craving updates on their homeland and a trusted source for locals seeking unbiased analysis. Features like multimedia content, opinion spaces, and polls on current affairs enhanced its appeal, turning it into a "window" for objective national and regional insights.

The site's expansion accelerated in 2006 with a move to its own domain, excelsio.net (later incorporating excelsio.co), driven by surging reader queries that demanded greater storage and interactivity. In 2008, Alarcon broadened its scope beyond Sogamoso, rebranding it as the first virtual newspaper of Boyacaa pivotal shift that encompassed all 123 municipalities, spotlighting their people, landscapes, festivals, cultural attractions, and socioeconomic challenges. This era also saw integration with social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube starting in 2009, boosting traffic to over one million page views by 2010.





A decade in, November 2015 brought reflections on an "admirable" journey of 3,650 days. Rodriguez Granados praised its unwavering quality, independence in editorials, and role in elevating Boyaca's visibility on the national stage. By then, Excelsio.net had earned a reputation as a daily essential, with readers turning to it for pre-dawn briefings on local, national, and global affairsits technological modernity a draw for a growing audience. National coverage, such as a 2015 Semana feature, recognized it as a near-decade-old regional reference in Boyaca, emblematic of how digital portals were challenging traditional media's dominance.

A Pause and Bold Relaunch: Toward Global Horizons



After 13 years of near-solo stewardship by Alarconbolstered by occasional collaborators like Rodriguez GranadosExcelsio.net paused in 2017. It resumed in 2020 as Excelsio Media, a reimagined entity with an international lens. Now bilingual in English and Spanish, it connects Latin American stories to worldwide trends, structured around three pillars: News & Analysis for factual depth on regional developments; Data & Trends for underreported statistics; and Culture & Language for explorations of identity and communication.



After 13 years of near-solo stewardship by Alarconbolstered by occasional collaborators like Rodriguez GranadosExcelsio.net paused in 2017. It resumed in 2020 as, a reimagined entity with an international lens. Now bilingual in English and Spanish, it connects Latin American stories to worldwide trends, structured around three pillars: News & Analysis for factual depth on regional developments; Data & Trends for underreported statistics; and Culture & Language for explorations of identity and communication.

This evolution underscores Excelsio's core mission: to elevate public discourse through contextual, accurate information that respects readers' intelligence, free from political or corporate ties. From its pioneering multimedia experiments in Boyaca to today's data-driven narratives, it has consistently prioritized integrity and accessibility.

A Lasting Legacy: Independence in the Digital Age

Two decades on, Excelsio.net's trajectory mirrors the broader rise of Colombia's digital media ecosystemfrom 391 outlets in 2010 to 745 by 2012, with Boyaca contributing 19 regional voices. As the first virtual newspaper of Boyaca, it has not only chronicled its home province but also empowered a sense of belonging for expatriates and locals alike. Its commitment to veracity, reader engagement, and unyielding independence has made it a bridge between the local and the globala path forged, as Antonio Machado's sonnet evokes, by walking it.





As Nelson Alarcon continues to steer this venturerefractory to self-congratulation yet driven by visionExcelsio Media endures as a symbol of journalistic adaptability in an ever-connected world. Here's to the next 20 years of illuminating truths, one story at a time.
US President Trump said he 'never had the privilege' of visiting Jeffrey Epstein's island, saying he turned down an invitation f...
BOZEMAN, Mont.  Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is raising serious concerns in the Montana hunting community.

The disease, affecting elk, deer and moose, has hunters on high alert as the general hunting season gets underway, running from October 25th to November 30th.

According to the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP), CWD is a fatal neurological disease caused by misfolded proteins called prions.

These prions can spread throughout animals, eventually leading to organ failure and death.

Montana FWP reported the state's first case of CWD in 2017.

Although this disease is not known to be fatal to humans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises hunters to have their animals tested if they suspect CWD.

The CDC also recommends that hunters avoid consuming meat from animals that test positive for the disease, as transmission of CWD from animals to humans can occur in this way.

For those interested in learning more, Montana FWP will host a chronic wasting disease sampling workshop at their Bozeman office on November 12, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. RSVPs are requested, but walk-ins are welcome.

To learn more about chronic wasting disease, visit the links below:

About Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) | CWD | CDC

Chronic Wasting Disease | Montana FWP
CANTON, Ohio  As demand for food assistance continues to rise across her community, Stephanie Sweany, executive director of the Stark County Hunger Task Force, said the situation feels all too familiar.

I was here through COVID. And I would kind of compare the need and sort of the desperation that people are feeling, and the uncertainty that people are feeling, to COVID, she said.

Sweany has watched as the federal government shutdown led to the suspension of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits this month, putting greater pressure on food banks already stretched thin by earlier federal cuts. As the matter pinballed through the courts, the standoff between the federal government and the states over SNAP deepened, even as a deal to fund the government appeared close.

On Nov. 9, the Trump administration ordered states to immediately undo any unauthorized SNAP payments for the month. At the same time, progress toward ending the shutdown emerged when eight Democratic senators joined Republicans in backing a plan to break the weeks-long deadlock. The proposal would reopen the government, restore funding for SNAP and other programs and guarantee back pay for furloughed workers, but it leaves out the expiring health care subsidies Democrats have been fighting to preserve as millions face rising insurance costs.

In the meantime, state officials across the country are scrambling to feed their residents, and local food banks are bracing for another surge in need.

Ohio

In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine announced new steps to help families caught in the fallout. On Nov. 6, his office said the state is moving forward with a $25 million plan to support almost 1.5 million residents affected by the suspension of federal food benefits.

The plan includes $7 million in direct aid to regional food banks, including nearly $900,000 for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, from which a significant portion of Stark County Hunger Task Forces food is purchased.

Additional funds will go to food banks in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and other parts of the state, based on the size of their SNAP caseloads.

DeWine also directed the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services to provide up to $18 million in emergency relief to more than 63,000 Ohioans  most of them children  who receive Ohio Works First cash assistance. Those families will see their monthly benefit effectively doubled through weekly payments until federal SNAP funding resumes.

Meanwhile, the states Women, Infants and Children program received $10.3 million in new federal funding, allowing services to continue into December for about 180,000 mothers and children statewide.

State officials and food banks alike say that these measures can only go so far, and that the need grows by the day.

For now, though, the Stark County Hunger Task Force is ready.

Its on-site pantry at the Goodwill Ken Weber Community Campus, 408 9th St SW, Canton, Ohio, serves nearly 5,000 residents each month with fresh and shelf-stable food. The organization also supports a network of about 35 partner pantries across the county, which help to feed roughly 32,000 people in all. And through its Backpack for Kids program, the Task Force provides more than 2,300 weekend food bags each week to children in 19 schools and several libraries, ensuring they dont go hungry when school meals arent available.

This is a time for unity. I think its a great way to rally around your neighbors right now, Sweany said. And even when we see an end to this particular increase that were seeing, neighbors are still going to need the community support.

Over the past year, Ohios 12 regional food banks were already providing about 19 million meals a month, enough to support roughly 1.4 million pantry visits  up from 800,000 just a few years earlier, before the current crisis ever materialized, according to Joree Novotny, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

Both the number of people seeking help and the frequency of their visits have grown. Many families who once needed food assistance only occasionally, after an expensive car repair or missed paycheck, are now coming regularly as rising costs make it harder to stay afloat.

Losing federal SNAP benefits, Novotny said, represents a gap of more than $250 million in monthly purchasing power statewide, the equivalent of roughly 74 million meals based on the average meal cost in Ohio. Replacing that amount through charitable food alone, she added, would require them to more than quadruple what were already doing at extraordinarily high levels which is, you know, not possible. Not possible.

When asked which communities shes most worried about, Novotny didnt hesitate.

Right now Im worried about every SNAP family, she said. She singled out seniors as particularly vulnerable, noting that they often are more hesitant to raise their hands and seek the help they need to stay safe and nourished because they dont want to take from someone else they believe is more needy, as well as disabled Ohioans and residents of rural counties where times were already hard.

The moment, she said, remains unlike anything her organization has faced before.

We are built for responding in times of disaster and crisis, Novotny said, noting the resilient community-based infrastructure of staff, volunteers and trucks along with a partner network that works every month to fill food gaps. But all of that is true, and weve never responded to a situation of this magnitude.

Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro has declared a state of emergency and mobilized more than $7 million in public and private funding to help the nearly two million people there left without federal food assistance. His administration is releasing $5 million in state aid to food banks through Feeding Pennsylvania and has raised an additional $2 million from private donors to strengthen the charitable food network.

Visiting the Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank in Luzerne County on Nov. 6, Shapiro said nearly two million Pennsylvanians rely on SNAP each month and should not have to go hungry because of federal inaction.

My administration is stepping up to use every tool we have  state resources, private sector support, and the compassion of our communities  to keep our food banks stocked and our families fed, he said in a press release, admonishing the federal government for failing to issue full benefits.

The crisis deepened last week after Judge John J. McConnell Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island rebuked the Trump administration on Nov. 6 for failing to comply with court orders requiring the full release of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits during the shutdown. The judge said the administration did neither of what the court had ordered earlier that week  to either pay benefits in full or swiftly fix administrative delays  and instead allowed payments to lapse for the first time in U.S. history.

In no uncertain terms, the lack of action by the government, McConnell said, brought irreparable harm upon families, elderly, children and others that cannot be undone.

Without SNAP funding for the month of November, 16 million children are immediately at risk of going hungry. This should never happen in America, the judge said.

McConnell then accused the President and administration of withholding full SNAP benefits for political reasons, noting Trump had already declared his intent to suspend food assistance until the government reopened when he posted on Truth Social Nov. 4 that SNAP payments will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government.

West Virginia

In neighboring West Virginia, Gov. Patrick Morrisey has taken similar steps to brace for rising hunger facing the 300,000 residents who rely on SNAP there. His administration has now released more than $11 million to food banks to meet growing demand during the shutdown, including an additional $2.5 million announced Nov. 6. Morrisey has authorized up to $14.1 million in total aid and said hes prepared to call the legislature back if more funding is needed.

Even before the shutdown, advocates say the food system in his state wasnt meeting everyones needs.

The West Virginia Food For All Summit aims to change that, bringing together food advocates, organizations and community members from across the state on Nov. 14 to talk about how to build a stronger, fairer food system.

The summit comes at a time when many West Virginians are having to go without more than ever. Lida Shepherd, the director of the American Friends Service Committees West Virginia Economic Justice Project, said its no accident the federal government hasnt come up with many solutions.

Cutting SNAP is a policy choice. In previous government shutdowns, the USDA was directed to use its authority to use contingency funds, emergency funds to keep SNAP running. That is what has always happened. That is what could be happening now but a policy choice is being made to not do that, she said.

Her organization, part of the Food For All Coalition, is preparing for its annual summit next week where attendees will share strategies for mutual aid, navigating new SNAP rules and building localized food systems. She has a clear message for lawmakers.

Stop playing politics with 42 million people and just guarantee the funding of SNAP and WIC that is already available, she said.

For more information about where to find food and other resources, visit ohiofoodbanks.org, pa-navigate.org or wv211.org.
A major boost for farming businesses and livestock markets has been announced, with England and Wales now operating under one bluetongue zone to restore confidence and cross-border trade.

From today (10 November), both countries will function as a single bluetongue BTV-3 restricted zone (RZ), removing the hard border that has caused major challenges for auction marts and farmers since the outbreak began.

There have been 160 cases of bluetongue in Great Britain during the 2025 season, which began in July. In England, 147 cases have been confirmed  including 141 of only BTV-3, one of only BTV-8, and five cases where both strains were present. Wales has recorded 13 cases of BTV-3, while there have been no cases in Scotland.

While industry leaders remain cautious, with hopes that no new variants emerge in spring 2026, the Livestock Auctioneers Association (LAA) said the move marks a turning point for confidence and trade.

At the associations AGM, farmers and rural businesses recognised the heavy impact of the restrictions and called for stronger contingency planning in future.

Matthew Nicholls, director of Sunderlands Marts and Wales LAA vice chair, said the changes were welcome but the impact of the restricted movements has been colossal.

He explained that his business was around 15,000 sheep down because of bluetongue, with thousands fewer breeding ewes and significant losses in throughput.

Managing marts on both sides of the border  including Hereford, Builth Wells and Talgarth  Nicholls said cross-border trade had effectively become a two-tier system.

Welsh buyers had been unable to purchase from England, creating sharp price differences. Prices in Builth Wells were up to 100 a head higher than in England simply because Welsh farmers were forced to buy from a smaller breeding pool, he said.

He added that the logistical and financial strain had been immense. Weve had to double our workforce to run two sales on the same day  one in England and one in Wales  splitting 9,000 sheep between Hereford and Builth instead of holding one sale under one roof. Its been a logistical nightmare and mental strain for everyone involved.

Nicholls welcomed the relaxation but said it came too late to rescue this trading season. Scotland showed foresight by easing restrictions in September. While nobody wants bluetongue, the negative economic impact has far outweighed any perceived risk, he said.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds have been lost across the industry, and its been a devastating autumn for markets, auctioneers and farmers alike.

Charlotte Baxter of Thame Mart said the Shearwell Thame Summer Sheep Fair, a major cross-border event, had been hit hard. For the last 20 years, more than 3,000 breeding sheep sold have gone to Welsh buyers. This year, that number was zero, she said.

Ted Ogden, auctioneer at Skipton, added that northern marts had also suffered as Welsh buyers were unable to travel south to buy grazing stock. Its had a huge effect on northern trade, he said.

Sheep that would normally move south into Wales for finishing simply couldnt. Thats not just bad for farmers, but for the entire network of northern marts.
With less than a month left before the consultation closes, farmers are being urged to share their views on the proposed Glyndwr National Park  a move that could reshape the future of land use, conservation, and rural economies across north and mid Wales.

The 12-week statutory consultation, launched by Natural Resources Wales (NRW) on 15 September 2025, invites public responses to a final draft map and supporting evidence.

It follows two years of detailed evaluation commissioned by the Welsh government, including data gathering, technical assessments and engagement with communities and stakeholders.

If approved, Glyndwr would become Waless fourth national park, stretching from the coast near Prestatyn in Denbighshire, through Flintshire and Wrexham County Borough, and into the north of Powys.

The proposal builds on earlier public engagement in 2023 and a full consultation in 2024, which helped shape the parks current boundaries.

For the farming community, the proposals present both opportunities and challenges. Supporters highlight potential gains for agri-tourism, biodiversity, and access to nature-based funding.

But many farmers fear tighter planning restrictions and additional bureaucracy could undermine food production and traditional land management.

Ash Pearce, programme manager for NRW, described the consultation as an exceptionally rare opportunity to influence the long-term protection of this special landscape.

He added: We know change can be difficult, but with the right approach, a new National Park could bring real benefits for people, wildlife and the local economy.

The debate mirrors similar tensions seen in other national parks, where efforts to balance conservation goals with the realities of working farmland remain a central challenge.

With large areas of productive farmland falling inside the proposed boundary, industry groups have stressed the importance of ensuring rural voices are heard before decisions are finalised.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, Pearce said. Please share your thoughts by submitting a response form before the consultation closes.

With the clock ticking, farmers across north and mid Wales are being urged to make their voices heard  before decisions are made that could shape their land and livelihoods for generations to come.
The University of Nottingham has announced plans to suspend its long-running Agriculture BSc degree at the Sutton Bonington campus, sparking outrage among students, alumni and the wider farming community.

The course, which has shaped agricultural education in Britain since the 1800s, will not recruit new students for the 2026/27 academic year while the university considers a proposal to close it permanently.

The decision, critics say, risks weakening the UKs pipeline of skilled graduates entering food production, agritech and environmental research  at a time when the sector faces mounting global challenges and rising demand for expertise in sustainable farming.

The move forms part of the institutions Future Nottingham restructuring programme, which aims to focus on areas of excellence and address financial pressures across the higher education sector.

In a statement to students, the university said only a small number of courses were being suspended due to low demand, declining enrolment and limited research income, making them less financially viable. Current students will be allowed to finish their degrees and will receive support during the transition.

However, the announcement has prompted an impassioned response from those connected to Sutton Bonington, a campus long regarded as a cornerstone of UK agricultural education. Critics argue the decision undermines the nations food security and disconnects the university from its rural roots.

One supporter described the move as a blow to a lifeline for rural communities and the future of farming, adding that the course had shaped the minds and skills of generations who have gone on to lead in food production, environmental science and research.

Speaking on Change.org, she added that you need a farmer three times a day, every day, and urged the university to reconsider before they have no food on their plates.

The universitys governing council is due to meet on 25 November 2025 to decide whether to begin formal discussions on permanently closing the course.

Alongside the proposed suspension, the university is also considering merging its 26 existing schools into three colleges to introduce efficiencies and promote cross-discipline collaboration.

For many, the suspension feels symbolic of how agricultural education is being sidelined at a time when its importance has never been greater.
Farmers are being placed centre stage in Natural Englands new vision for growth and sustainability, with a strategy that puts nature-friendly farming at the core of both a thriving countryside and a resilient economy.

The plan, Recovering Nature for Growth, Health and Security, sets out how working with the land  not against it  can boost food production, strengthen rural economies and restore vital ecosystems.

It signals a shift towards large-scale, joined-up recovery across whole landscapes rather than isolated conservation projects.

For farmers, this could mean greater access to support for regenerative practices, new funding for nature-based projects and growing recognition of the role land managers play in tackling climate change.

Natural England wants to make it easier for farmers to lead on soil restoration, hedgerow planting and wetland recovery  while keeping farms productive and profitable.

More than 200 organisations, including farming groups, land managers and agri-businesses, helped shape the strategy, which places collaboration at its heart.

Tony Juniper, Chair of Natural England, said nature provides the foundation stones of our growth, health and security, warning that the pressures facing wildlife are also threats to our way of life.

He called for bigger and better action through partnership, saying the strategy shows how the country can grow the economy and meet the governments stretching legal environment targets at the same time.

Chief executive Marian Spain described a huge positive opportunity to unlock the power of nature in driving national priorities.

We know this can be done, she said, pointing to examples from Lincolnshires farmland to Dorsets wetlands and the uplands of the Pennines, where diverse partnerships for recovery are already delivering results.

Natural England argues that investing in nature is also investing in rural prosperity. Healthy ecosystems have tangible economic value  peatlands provide up to 888 million a year in water filtration, while access to green spaces delivers 25.6 billion annually in health and wellbeing benefits.

The plan centres on four key goals  restoring natural systems like rivers, forests and wetlands; weaving green infrastructure into how we build and invest; widening access to nature for better health and wellbeing; and backing farmers, foresters and fishers to produce food while protecting the environment.

The approach builds on Natural Englands wider role in planning and infrastructure, such as its position as Lead Environmental Regulator for the Lower Thames Crossing.

It also aligns with government goals to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030 and will feed into the next Environmental Improvement Plan.

For many in the industry, the message is clear: farming is not the problem  its the solution. Restoring nature isnt just vital for the environment; its central to Britains food security, rural economy and long-term resilience.
The Scottish government has again rejected calls to cut livestock, backing farmers and pledging to reach net zero without sacrificing rural Scotlands way of life.

Cabinet Secretary for Energy and the Environment Gillian Martin said in the Scottish Parliament that agriculture must remain central to Scotlands economy and identity.

The MSP for Aberdeenshire East argued that reducing livestock numbers in Scotland would simply lead to higher imports, adding that such an approach would not cut emissions.

She told MSPs on 6 November: "We will support farmers, crofters and other land managers to continue to produce high-quality food and protect rural livelihoods, while enhancing diversity, soil health and agricultural business productivity.

Cutting our livestock numbers would mean that we would import more produce from outside the UK. That would not help to reduce emissions globally.

Martin also confirmed that the UKs Climate Change Committee (CCC) respects Scotland taking its own approach, reaffirming that farming is at the heart of Scotland.

Her comments follow the Scottish governments decision in June to reject advice from the CCC and instead pursue a climate strategy tailored to Scottish land use, food production and rural life.

Earlier this year, the CCC, which advises UK and devolved governments on emissions reductions, proposed a 27% reduction in Scotlands livestock herd by 2040 as part of the countrys net zero pathway.

The recommendation was met with alarm from the farming sector, which has long argued that well-managed livestock systems can play a crucial role in tackling climate change.

NFU Scotland had urged ministers to resist what it described as narrow proposals focusing on livestock reduction and instead commit to a realistic, fully funded plan supporting food production, biodiversity and rural livelihoods in tandem.

Recent greenhouse gas statistics show agriculture emissions in Scotland have already fallen by 13.6% since 1990, demonstrating progress without cutting output.

NFU Scotland Vice President Duncan Macalister said farmers were already cutting emissions and increasing efficiencies  not by reducing output, but by improving how we produce food.

He added, Its about net zero, not zero emissions, stressing that grazing livestock are part of the solution, not the problem  especially when managed well in pasture-based systems like ours.

Macalister urged ministers to clarify how future agricultural support would reflect that reality, asking: Where does livestock fit in a climate-smart farming future?

The union is calling on the Scottish government to set out a clear policy framework recognising livestocks essential role in Scotlands food system, to ensure future agricultural support rewards low-emission production, and to reject any advice that threatens food security or rural stability.

NFU Scotland says the goal must be a fair, practical transition  one that lets farmers lead the path to net zero rather than bear its cost.
British sheep and goat breeders have won access to Kenyas vast livestock market in a deal worth around 700,000 a year  marking another win for the UKs world-leading livestock genetics sector.

The agreement, secured through Defras network of agri-food attaches, opens the door for UK exports of sheep and goat genetic material to Kenyas estimated 46 million-strong livestock population.

It is seen as a key boost for Britains genetics export industry  supporting breeders, research institutions and rural businesses across the country.

The deal follows two years of discussions and will help Kenya meet its growing demand for high-quality breeding stock as it works to strengthen food security and agricultural productivity.

Kenyas sheep and goat numbers are expected to rise sharply in the coming years, creating sustained demand for British genetics.

The UKs reputation for excellence in livestock breeding  from Suffolk sheep and Dorking chickens to Angus cattle and Large White pigs  has long made it a global leader in animal science and genetics research.

British livestock genetics are already exported to more than 100 countries, while UK breeding stock underpins around 70 per cent of the worlds poultry.

Farming Minister Dame Angela Eagle said the new export deal reflects the global demand for the high quality that defines UK agriculture.

She praised the work of agri-attaches, saying they are championing UK agriculture across the globe. Eagle added: This is exactly the kind of international collaboration that strengthens both our agricultural sector and our trading relationships worldwide.

The agreement builds on growing international demand for British genetics. UK rams bred from imported embryos are achieving record prices in Argentina, while pig breeders are exporting frozen semen to countries affected by African swine fever  reducing biosecurity risks linked to transporting live animals.

Earlier this year, Turkmenistan also opened its market to high-value UK poultry genetics worth an estimated 250,000 annually.

Marcus Bates, industry chair of the UK Export Certification Partnership, said collaboration between industry and government was now delivering great results for UK livestock genetics exporters.

He added that partnership with the agri-attache network had allowed the UK to compete with the USA and some EU countries who have been using Ag Attaches for many years.

British Poultry Council chief executive Richard Griffiths said 70% of the worlds poultry is rooted in high-value UK breeding stock, describing the export industry as worth 320 million.

He praised agri-attaches for maintaining trade during avian influenza restrictions and opening Turkmenistan for high-value genetics worth a quarter of a million pounds.

The deal marks another stride in the UKs effort to combine cutting-edge genetics research with global trade ambition  securing new markets abroad and proving that British breeding still sets the standard worldwide.
In This Article

What Is Yearning All About?



Emotionally Speaking



The Best Yearning Is Reciprocal



Yearn Right



No, theres no prompt to generate a yearning man. They dont make them like that anymore is the unanimous verdict of the internet and people IRL whenever men of this kind are mentioned. A collective longing to see a man yearn for his partner makes us look back at those who raised the bar so high that settling for someone too cool to be vulnerable, too nonchalant to express himself, and so indifferent as to make you question your own love for them feels almost tragic.Once upon a time, Napoleon Bonaparte, in pursuit of his wife Josephine de Beauharnais, wrote letters to her from the battlefield, pleading that she reply. One of the most prolific composers of all time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart used to place his wifes portrait before him while writing to her, urging her not to be melancholy and to take care of her health. Centuries later, physicist Richard Feynman, whose contributions to quantum physics remain invaluable, wrote to his late wife, You, dead, are so much better than anyone else alive. There are countless such accounts of great men in history that remind us of what true yearning once looked like.So where did our generation go wrong? When Conrad Fisher appeared in the romantic drama series The Summer I Turned Pretty (2022-2025), it showed everyone what longing truly looks like. The way he paused, his glimmering eyes, the soft gasps of breath, the way he hung on to every word uttered by his love interest, Belly. The moments that led him to follow her to Paris. Much like the men of the period drama series Bridgerton (since 2020), who cannot keep calm until their love interests are finally within reach, Conrad brought back the kind of yearning that feels both cinematic and achingly real. For those of us who cherish the idea of the yearning man, watching these fictional characters is a cue, a sign that some part of romance as it once was might still exist.Experts believe that the right amount of yearning is bare minimum. Its not about the men being at the mercy of their partners; for them, yearning is how they show their partners that they are the one  that this is how they love and how they wish to be loved. Its a form of empathy they reserve only for the ones they deeply love.Psychologically, yearning reflects presence, which means someone has touched your inner world deeply enough to be missed, says Delhi-based counselling psychologist and expressive arts therapist. When we allow ourselves to feel that without shame, it actually strengthens emotional resilience. It keeps relationships alive with tenderness and gratitude. The yearning man wants nothing but the best for you. He loves you unapologetically because you are the best thing that has ever happened to him. Theres an enviable complacency in knowing that your passion is met with the right match. The very thought of losing you causes tremors. Thats what it means to be loved by a yearning man.Of course, it is not always that simple, at least not for everyone. Men usually grow up to want to be perceived as strong and unshakeable. Most men are taught to hide emotion, but real connection begins when they allow themselves to feel, avers, Gurugram-based clinical psychologist and founder of MindTribe. The key is balance: to express care without losing ones own self-respect. There is strength in vulnerability. Men often equate emotional restraint with strength, she points out. This often develops into what psychologists call an avoidant attachment style  where closeness feels unsafe or unfamiliar. Others might have experienced rejection early in life, creating a protective shell of indifference, she explains. Ironically, this same armour keeps them from intimacy later. To show yearning authentically, one must first feel safe being seen. That requires unlearning years of conditioning  therapy helps, but so does honest self-reflection.Even men who have never faced anything like what Dr Prerna describes often fear coming off as needy. It becomes difficult to understand where the feeling is stemming from. Needy behaviour often comes from a fear of rejection, while authentic interest comes from confidence in ones own worth, Dr Prerna elaborates. When a man knows he is enough, his warmth feels grounding, not suffocating.To build anything tangible and long term, the relationship dynamics have to be as balanced as possible. Reciprocal interest is one of the purest forms of emotional honesty, Pankhuri points out. When two people show genuine curiosity and warmth toward each other, it creates a deep sense of safety. Psychologically, the mind relaxes when it doesnt have toguess, chase, or question its worth. We feel calmer and more open when we sense that our feelings are valued in return.It is a given that people often approach modern dating as mind games or power dynamics; there is a fear of having ones heart broken because of feeling too much. Many people today have learnt to be cautious in love, to hold their feelings back, to wait for the other person to care first, or to appear calm so they dont seem too eager, Pankhuri elaborates. But emotional distance doesnt build stronger bonds; instead, it often creates quiet anxiety and uncertainty. Real attraction blooms where there is emotional clarity, and when both people feel seen, wanted, and respected for who they truly are.Everything is good while its within healthy limits. While people casually say they want their partner to be obsessed with them, would one really have no limits to this? It depends on where that yearning comes from, Pankhuri avers. When its born from security, not fear, it becomes one of the most beautiful emotions we as humans can experience. Healthy yearning isnt about chasing validation. Its about staying emotionally connected to what matters, she explains.In todays digital age, where we are more connected yet more apart than ever, our rationality and comprehension of what a relationship should look like are heavily influenced by what we see online. We have to remind ourselves that people are posting only the good bits on social media  thats probably not how their relationship is all the time in reality. We need to question our approach to showing love on social media  and how we perceive it. In reality, Dr Prerna assures us, Small gestures matter more than grand ones: a sincere text, curiosity about her world, remembering what she said last week  these show attention, not desperation. The healthiest relationships are with men who can say, I want you without fearing that desire makes them seem weak. Its emotional maturity, not neediness, that women crave today.Men or women, we all crave emotional safety. True yearning honours both closeness and individuality. It gives love space to breathe instead of smothering it, Pankhuri concludes. In a world that often confuses detachment with strength, the return of the yearning man serves to remind us that to love deeply is still the boldest act of all.Photographs: IMDb
Veteran Bollywood actress and Dharmendra's wife Hema Malini has shared an update on the actor's health. The actor has been admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai and reports suggest that he is on ventilator support. Now, sharing an update on his health, Hema Malini said that Dharmendra is under observation and is continuously being monitored.





She shared a photo of the veteran actor and wrote, "I thank everyone for their concern about Dharam ji who is in hospital for observation. He is being continuously monitored and we are all with him. I request you all to pray for his welfare and speedy recovery."









View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dream Girl Hema Malini (@dreamgirlhemamalini)





Some time back, the Deol family also issued a statement that read, "Mr. Dharmendra is stable and under observation. Further comments and updates will be shared as available. Request everyone to pray for his speedy recovery and respect the familys right to privacy." Check out her post here:Some time back, the Deol family also issued a statement that read, "Mr. Dharmendra is stable and under observation. Further comments and updates will be shared as available. Request everyone to pray for his speedy recovery and respect the familys right to privacy."



Meanwhile, several members of the family including Hema Malini, Tanya Deol, and Sunny Deol with his son were seen visiting the hospital. Salman Khan, too, arrived at the Breach Candy hospital.



This comes just days after similar speculation surfaced on November 1 claiming the legendary actor had been rushed to the hospital due to breathlessness. With rumours repeatedly circulating, the family has urged everyone to rely only on official updates.

Dharmendra has been a prominent presence in Indian cinema for nearly six decades. The actor made his debut in 1960. He is known for his versatility, mastering roles from the romantic hero to the tough action star. His career boasts over 300 films, many of which are considered classics today. Some of his most memorable performances include the iconic role of Veeru in the cult classic Sholay, as well as Phool Aur Patthar, Seeta Aur Geeta, Chupke Chupke, Dharam Veer, and Pratigya. He will next be seen in Ikkis, directed by Sriram Raghavan. Dharmendra has been a prominent presence in Indian cinema for nearly six decades. The actor made his debut in 1960. He is known for his versatility, mastering roles from the romantic hero to the tough action star. His career boasts over 300 films, many of which are considered classics today. Some of his most memorable performances include the iconic role of Veeru in the cult classic Sholay, as well as Phool Aur Patthar, Seeta Aur Geeta, Chupke Chupke, Dharam Veer, and Pratigya. He will next be seen in Ikkis, directed by Sriram Raghavan. This comes just days after similar speculation surfaced on November 1 claiming the legendary actor had been rushed to the hospital due to breathlessness. With rumours repeatedly circulating, the family has urged everyone to rely only on official updates.

Also Read: Hema Malini Arrives at Breach Candy Hospital to Visit Dharmendra
Get your caps ready because Himesh Reshammiya is bringing back his iconic style with the nationwide Capmania Tour! The man who made caps cooler than ever and won hearts and generations with his high-pitch hits is all set to perform in four cities as a part of his tour.





After his back-to-back sold-out shows in Mumbai and Delhi earlier this year, the OG rockstar will be taking his Capmania Tour, to Pune, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana and Kolkata. Fans across India can finally witness the larger-than-life musical extravaganza that only Himesh Reshammiya can deliver.

He will kick off the tour with Ahmedabad on December 13, followed by Pune on January 31, 2026, Ludhiana on February 14, 2026 and Kolkata on March 1, 2026. Sharing the update on Instagram, he wrote, "Jai MATADI Lets Rock the historic #capmaniatour book your tickets before its late Its grand its epic"





Take a look at his post:

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Himesh Reshammiya (@realhimesh)

A true trailblazer and hit machine, Himesh promises an unforgettable night filled with his iconic chartbusters, from Jhalak Dikhla Jaa, Aashiq Banaya Aapne, Hookah Bar, Dil Ke Taaj Mahal Mein from his recent hit Badass Ravikumar and many more, drawn from his legendary catalogue of over 2000+ hit songs that have defined generations.





Himesh Reshammiya says, The cap has its own fan base, and when it takes the stage, its not just music, its a revolution! The love and energy I received from Mumbai and Delhi were beyond words - pure magic! The upcoming shows in Ahmedabad, Pune, Ludhiana, and Kolkata are going to be even more personal, even more powerful. Its going to be a one-on-one connection with my people, my fans, who have made every beat, every melody, every moment of my journey so special. Jai Matadi lets create history together once again!"



Also Read: Badass Ravi Kumar Movie Review: Parody galore


One of Bollywoods most beloved couples, Katrina Kaif and Vicky Kaushal, have stepped into a new chapter of their lives as they welcomed their baby boy on November 7, 2025. The actress delivered her first child at HN Reliance Hospital in Mumbai. The hospital confirmed that both mother and baby are healthy and stable following the delivery.



On November 10, Katrina was spotted leaving the hospital with her newborn baby. In a video shared by Mid-day, the couple was seen traveling together in their car, heading home with their baby boy. Fans and paparazzi gathered outside to catch a glimpse of the happy family, while warm wishes poured in across social media.

Look at this clip:





View this post on Instagram A post shared by mid-day (@middayindia)





Katrina and Vicky, who tied the knot in December 2021, shared the joyful news with a heartfelt post that read, Our bundle of joy has arrived. With immense love and gratitude, we welcome our baby boy. 7th November, 2025. -- Katrina & Vicky.



The post instantly went viral, with friends and celebrities sending love to the couple. Filmmaker Karan Johar congratulated them, saying hes thrilled to welcome them to the magical world of parenting. Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan, a proud mother of two sons herself, warmly welcomed Katrina to the boy mom club.





View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vicky Kaushal (@vickykaushal09)





Vickys father, Sham Kaushal, expressed his happiness with an emotional message on social media. He wrote, Shukriya Rab da for being so kind to my family. We are all very happy and blessed. May Gods grace always remain on my children and our youngest Kaushal.



Meanwhile, Vickys brother Sunny Kaushal also shared his excitement in the simplest way possible  Main chacha ban gaya! With the Kaushal family brimming with joy, fans across the country continue to shower blessings on the couple and their little one.



ALso Read: Priyanka Chopra, Kiara Advani shower love on new parents Vicky Kaushal & Katrina Kaif


Social media star Imanvi is playing the leading lady in Prabhas upcoming film, Fauzi. The superstar has this habit of treating co-stars on the sets with home-cooked meal. When the actress was shooting for the film in Hyderabad earlier this year in January, Prabhas treated her with elaborate meals. And Imanvi who is presently shooting for the film in the city is yet again welcomed with some scrumptious spread from Prabhas home.

Thank you Prabhas garu

Imanvi is making her debut in showbiz with Prabhas-starrer Fauzi. While she is shooting in Hyderabad, once again, Prabhas showed his gesture to serve her with a home-cooked meal. The actress took to Instagram thanking Prabhas for the food, writing, Heart and stomach so so full. Thank you Prabhas garu, showcasing the lavish spread. Her delight at receiving the offering from Prabhas certainly demonstrates his warmth and affection. The actors generosity fosters bonding and a sense of community on the film sets.

Prabhas' gesture did not come as a surprise to fans! Actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor and Deepika Padukone have previously spoken about his habit of sending lavish home-made food to co-actors and film crew. Many have shared their appreciation on social media and in interviews.

Prabhas is a foodie

A self-proclaimed foodie, Prabhas has a particular fondness for Hyderabad and Andhra cuisines. Biryani and spicy chicken are some of his favourite dishes. But talking about food and stars, Prabhas name appears on top of the list. He lets his warmth and generosity shine offscreen too by offering food to his co-stars on the film sets and treating them like family. And its this philosophy that keeps his home and sets full of friends and warmth. The superstars home-cooked meal is so iconic that receiving one from his house became a badge of honour in the tinsel town, literally.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pawan Kalyan (@pawankalyan)

Meditative experience

Fans shared video extensively

Pawan Kalyan may have visited the Andhra Pradesh Police Firing Range near Tadepalli in the capacity of Deputy Chief Minister on Saturday. But the visuals and videos quickly went viral when he shared them on social media. It was a rare sight to see Pawan dropping at a shooting range but the actor-politician explained that he visited the premises to interact with officials on firearm procedures.Pawan was seen practicing shooting with his personal Glock .45 pistol at the firing range. A longtime member of the National Rifle Association of India, he said that the experience was calm and meditative, reflecting on his early training at the Madras Rifle Club. The visit aligns with his responsibilities in public safety and police training as Deputy Chief Minister. Pawan explained that he interacted with officials to understand the firing procedures and firearm handling. He maintains a Glock 0.45 pistol and felt that spending quality time practicing a few rounds with his pistol, and understanding the maintaining techniques of the weapon has been a liberating experience. The experience felt meditative, a reminder of my practice sessions during my Chennai days as a member of the then Madras Rifle Club, Pawan recalled.It is known that Pawan is fond of guns and weapons. He has a special interest in holding heavy duty guns and practicing in the firing ranges. But for fans, it was a rare sight to see him practice firing. While his practice visuals have gone viral, fans are drawing parallels to the visuals from his recent action entertainer blockbuster, They Call Him OG, and some of his earlier films. Meanwhile, Pawan has wrapped up the shooting of his long-pending film Ustaad Bhagat Singh, directed by Harish Shankar. The makers are planning to release the film around 2026 summer.
Japan achieves a world-first national sweep of both Red Bull BC One titles on home soil.

TOKYO, Nov. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Japanese breakers B-Boy Issin and B-Girl Riko were crowned Red Bull BC One World Final 2025 Champions after an unforgettable night of head-to-head battles inside Tokyo's historic Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena, igniting a roar from more than 7,700 fans.

The 22nd edition marked a historic milestone, the first time in Red Bull BC One history that a single nation claimed both world titles in the same year on home soil. Issin triumphed over B-Boy Haruto (Japan) in an all-Japanese final, while Riko defeated B-Girl Nicka (Lithuania) to earn her first world title.

Now in its 22nd year, Red Bull BC One, the world's biggest one-on-one annual breaking competition, brought together 32 of the world's top breakers - 16 b-boys and 16 b-girls - for the ultimate test of creativity, precision, and control.

"When I was a kid and started breaking, my dream was to win Red Bull BC One," said B-Boy Issin. "Winning such a big title in front of my home crowd makes it even more special. The energy from everyone in Japan gave me so much strength."

"To win here, in Japan, in front of this crowd, it's something I'll never forget," said B-Girl Riko. "We train so hard and never stop pushing. The older generation built a culture of hard work and respect - now we keep that energy alive."

The 2025 Red Bull BC One World Final followed a global season of cyphers held in 67 cities across 27 countries, culminating in Tokyo. Eight dancers from the Red Bull BC One Last Chance Cypher secured their final places among the 32 world finalists who battled for the ultimate title.

Since its inception in 2004, Red Bull BC One has transformed local cyphers into a global platform, defining the competitive era of breaking while honoring its hip-hop roots. Following its Olympic debut in 2024, breaking continues to evolve from the streets of the Bronx to arenas worldwide.

"Breaking keeps evolving and pushing boundaries," said B-Boy Cloud (US), Red Bull BC One judge and breaking pioneer. "It's more than competition; it's a calling. That creative spirit keeps the culture alive."

Learn More: www.redbullcontentpool.com/international/CP-S-20228

Media Contact: service@redbullcontentpool.com

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ADELAIDE, AU / ACCESS Newswire / November 9, 2025 / Barton Gold Holdings Limited (ASX:BGD) (Barton or the Company) advises that the attached presentation is due to be presented today at the Zurich Precious Metals Summit.

A copy of this presentation can be accessed on the ASX website, the investor section of Barton's website, or directly by clicking here.

Authorised by the Managing Director of Barton Gold Holdings Limited.

About Barton Gold

Barton Gold is an ASX, OTCQB and Frankfurt Stock Exchange listed Australian gold developer targeting future gold production of 150,000ozpa with 2.2Moz Au & 3.1Moz Ag JORC Mineral Resources (79.9Mt @ 0.87g/t Au), brownfield mines, and 100% ownership of the region's only gold mill in the renowned Gawler Craton of South Australia.*

Challenger Gold Project 313koz Au + fully permitted Central Gawler Mill (CGM) Tarcoola Gold Project 20koz Au in fully permitted open pit mine near CGM

Tolmer discovery grades up to 84g/t Au & 17,600g/t Ag Tunkillia Gold Project 1.6Moz Au & 3.1Moz Ag JORC Mineral Resources

Competitive 120kozpa gold & 250kozpa silver project Wudinna Gold Project 279koz Au project located southeast of Tunkillia

Significant optionality, adjacent to main highway

Competent Persons Statement & Previously Reported Information

The information in this announcement that relates to the historic Exploration Results and Mineral Resources as listed in the table below is based on, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation prepared by the Competent Person whose name appears in the same row, who is an employee of or independent consultant to the Company and is a Member or Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG) or a Recognised Professional Organisation (RPO). Each person named in the table below has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and types of deposits under consideration and to the activity which he has undertaken to quality as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code 2012 (JORC).

*Refer to Barton Prospectus dated 14 May 2021 and ASX announcement dated 8 September 2025. Total Barton JORC (2012) Mineral Resources include 1,049koz Au (39.7Mt @ 0.82 g/t Au) in Indicated category and 1,186koz Au (40.2Mt @ 0.92 g/t Au) in Inferred category, and 3,070koz Ag (34.5Mt @ 2.80 g/t Ag) in Inferred category as a subset of Tunkillia gold JORC (2012) Mineral Resources. Activity Competent Person Membership Status Tarcoola Mineral Resource (Stockpiles) Dr Andrew Fowler (Consultant) AusIMM Member Tarcoola Mineral Resource (Perseverance Mine) Mr Ian Taylor (Consultant) AusIMM Fellow Tarcoola Exploration Results (until 15 Nov 2021) Mr Colin Skidmore (Consultant) AIG Member Tarcoola Exploration Results (after 15 Nov 2021) Mr Marc Twining (Employee) AusIMM Member Tunkillia Exploration Results (until 15 Nov 2021) Mr Colin Skidmore (Consultant) AIG Member Tunkillia Exploration Results (after 15 Nov 2021) Mr Marc Twining (Employee) AusIMM Member Tunkillia Mineral Resource Mr Ian Taylor (Consultant) AusIMM Fellow Challenger Mineral Resource (above 215mRL) Mr Ian Taylor (Consultant) AusIMM Fellow Challenger Mineral Resource (below 90mRL) Mr Dale Sims AusIMM / AIG Fellow / Member Wudinna Mineral Resource (Clarke Deposit) Ms Justine Tracey AusIMM Member Wudinna Mineral Resource (all other Deposits) Mrs Christine Standing AusIMM / AIG Member / Member The information relating to historic Exploration Results and Mineral Resources in this announcement is extracted from the Company's Prospectus dated 14 May 2021 or as otherwise noted, available from the Company's website at www.bartongold.com.au or on the ASX website www.asx.com.au. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the Exploration Results and Mineral Resource information included in previous announcements and, in the case of estimates of Mineral Resources, that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates, and any production targets and forecast financial information derived from the production targets, continue to apply and have not materially changed. In accordance with ASX Listing Rule 5.19.2, the Company further confirms that the material assumptions underpinning any production targets and the forecast financial information derived therefrom continue to apply and have not materially changed. The Company confirms that the form and context in which the applicable Competent Persons' findings are presented have not been materially modified from the previous announcements. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This document may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "expect", "target" and "intend" and statements than an event or result "may", "will", "should", "would", "could", or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. Forward-looking information is subject to business, legal and economic risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among other things, risks relating to property interests, the global economic climate, commodity prices, sovereign and legal risks, and environmental risks. Forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and opinions at the date the statements are made. Barton undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements for events or circumstances that occur subsequent to such dates or to update or keep current any of the information contained herein. Any estimates or projections as to events that may occur in the future (including projections of revenue, expense, net income and performance) are based upon the best judgment of Barton from information available as of the date of this document. There is no guarantee that any of these estimates or projections will be achieved. Actual results will vary from the projections and such variations may be material. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied upon as, a promise or representation as to the past or future. Any reliance placed by the reader on this document, or on any forward-looking statement contained in or referred to in this document will be solely at the readers own risk, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty thereof.

SOURCE: Barton Gold Holdings Limited

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/metals-and-mining/zurich-precious-metals-summit-presentation-1099330
Kaneka Corporation (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Kazuhiko Fujii) (TOKYO:4118) has begun sales of its i-ED COIL, a brain aneurysm embolization coil (*1), in Europe as of October. The product obtained EC certification (*2) under an EU Medical Device Regulation (*3) in July and will be distributed primarily in Europe through Kaneka Medical Europe N.V.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251109744229/en/

i-ED Coil

The i-ED COIL provides world-class flexibility, enabled by its specialized wire thickness and structural features. This flexibility enables coils to be packed more densely within aneurysms than conventional products and allows treatment of aneurysms with irregular shapes. Its role in reducing the risk of aneurysm rupture is highly regarded by physicians, and since its launch in the Japanese market in 2019, sales have continued to grow steadily.

Kaneka is expanding its business in a wide range of fields, which include devices for the treatment of cardiac, peripheral vascular, and cerebrovascular diseases, as well as medical devices used in the treatment of gastrointestinal tract diseases. Looking ahead, we aim to strengthen the global reach of products such as i-ED COIL and achieve sales of 300 billion yen by 2030 in the Health Care Solution Unit including these medical businesses.

Based on our mission of KANEKA thinks "Wellness First", we will realize a world where advanced medical care is accessible to everyone and where science contributes to the innovation of the global environment and our daily lives.

(*1) A medical device used to treat brain aneurysms. It is delivered into the aneurysm via a catheter to block blood flow into the aneurysm. A brain aneurysm is a balloon-like bulge in a brain artery; if it ruptures, it can cause a subarachnoid hemorrhage.

(*2) A certification system under EU Medical Device Regulation that verifies that a product meets requirements for safety, performance, and quality management. Products that obtain EC certification are authorized to display the CE mark as evidence of compliance.

(*3) Official name: Regulation (EU) 2017/745 of the European Parliament and of the Council on medical devices. This regulation applies to medical devices distributed within EU member states and has been in effect since 2021.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251109744229/en/

Contacts:

KANEKA CORPORATION

Public Relations Department

Chika Harada Info_Pro@kaneka.co.jp
New Madrid office will provide cutting-edge solar thermal technology to businesses in Iberia

Expansion follows 17m funding round from Barclays and E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions

British solar heat tech disrupter Naked Energy announces its expansion to Spain and Portugal with a new office in Madrid.

Naked Energy's solar heat technology converts solar energy into hot water, as opposed to conventional solar photovoltaic (PV) panels used to solely generate electricity. The Virtu collectors can be up to ten times more efficient than traditional solar PV.

Its VirtuHOT collectors generate clean heat up to 120 C while its VirtuPVT collectors combine PV and solar thermal to generate electricity and heat up to 75 C. The latter is the world's first evacuated hybrid solar collector to receive the gold TUV certification, solidifying its status as a game changer in the solar industry. Naked Energy's Virtu collectors can be up to ten times more efficient than traditional PV panels.

Naked Energy has hired Luis Guajardo as head of business development for Iberia to lead the expansion. Guajardo is an industrial engineer with more than 15 years of experience in the water, industrial and energy sectors. He has a track record of successfully expanding businesses into the region, which he did most recently with Radlinger Primus Line, a German hydraulic infrastructure company.

This launch comes at a crucial time for the Iberian peninsula, which dealt with widespread power blackouts earlier this year. Naked Energy's solar thermal collectors generate energy independently of the grid, helping Iberian businesses hit net zero targets while reducing the risk of the grid getting overwhelmed. It also helps to further Iberia's efforts to decarbonise its heat, which typically represents over half the energy demand in Iberia.

This follows an exciting period of international growth for Naked Energy, which announced a deal with ELM Solar in 2024 to manufacture its solar thermal collectors in Dallas, Texas. The business is backed by 17m from Barclays and E.ON Energy Infrastructure solutions, and has several successful projects across twenty countries, including landmark projects such as with the British Library and Mandarin Oriental hotel.

Christophe Williams, CEO of Naked Energy said: "Entering Spain and Portugal gives us a great opportunity to deliver our service offering to a wider range of businesses at such a crucial time for decarbonisation. Luis brings vital expertise in this space he has already taken key steps to find reference projects and raise our profile in such an important market.

Luis Guajardo, Head of Business Development for Iberia said: "It is an exciting time to join as the company expands internationally. Naked Energy's team merges innovation and a true commitment to sustainability. I'm looking forward to being part of this growth in Iberia.

"Our ambition is to replicate the success of projects such as the British Library and Mandarin Oriental in the UK, showcasing how our technology delivers both strong financial returns and significant carbon savings.

About Naked Energy

Naked Energy is a British design and engineering business, leading the global innovation in solar thermal and solar PVT. Naked Energy's solar thermal collectors, paired with advanced software, are transforming heat for businesses and industry. The technology can deliver up to ten times the carbon savings per m2 compared to conventional solar PV, and operates independently of the grid, which is already struggling to cope with the weight of net zero.

The business is backed by 17m from E.ON Energy Infrastructure Solutions and Barclays and has installed Virtu projects in more than 20 countries, including the largest UK solar thermal project on the roof of the British Library.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251110062888/en/

Contacts:

For all press enquiries please contact nakedenergy@harpswood.com

Contact phone number: +447399 559504
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- SourceCX, a division of Sourcefit specializing in fully managed, modern outsourced customer support services, has been recognized in Everest Group's 2025 Customer Experience Management (CXM) Services PEAK Matrix Assessment for the Americas and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions. This recognition places SourceCX among a select group of providers that are transforming the global customer experience management industry.

The Everest Group PEAK Matrix is one of the most respected benchmarks in the sector for evaluating service and technology providers. The assessment applies a rigorous methodology to measure both current market impact and future readiness, highlighting organizations that combine strong delivery performance with innovation, adaptability, and long-term strategic vision.

SourceCX earned its position for its demonstrated ability to deliver both nearshore and offshore support, its investment in flexible and alternative delivery models, and its development of proprietary technologies that enhance efficiency and customer satisfaction. In 2024, the company introduced Knit, an AI-powered team management and engagement platform that enables businesses of all sizes to integrate artificial intelligence into daily operations, improve visibility, and manage distributed teams more effectively and cost-efficiently. Knit also allows for the seamless integration of HR-related data, employee performance, and key operational metrics, providing a unified view that links people performance with customer experience outcomes, an approach increasingly recognized as transformative in CX delivery.

"It's an honor to be recognized by Everest Group among leading CX providers in the Americas and APAC," said Andy Schachtel, President of SourceCX. "As AI continues to redefine what's possible in customer experience, we're proud to be seen as a trusted partner that combines great human talent with technology, innovation, and operational excellence to deliver measurable impact for our clients."

Everest Group is a leading global research firm that provides data-driven insights and guidance to business leaders. Its PEAK Matrix framework offers an objective evaluation of service and technology providers across key global markets.

About SourceCX

SourceCX is a business process outsourcing company delivering managed, human-centered, and technology-driven customer experience solutions. The company operates delivery hubs in the Philippines, Dominican Republic, South Africa, Madagascar, and Armenia, offering multilingual support, time-zone flexibility, and highly competitive costs.

SourceCX is a division of Sourcefit, an award-winning offshore staffing and BPO company headquartered in Manila, Philippines, serving clients across multiple industries worldwide.

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KALMAR CORPORATION, TRADE PRESS RELEASE, 10 NOVEMBER 2025 AT 10.00 (EET)

Belfast Container Terminal secures seven-year Kalmar Care contract extension to drive future growth

Kalmar announces the extension of its comprehensive Kalmar Caremaintenance contract with long-term customer Belfast Container Terminal Ltd (BCT), part of Irish Continental Group. The contract was booked in Kalmar's order intake in Q3 2025 and continuing until Q3 2032. The contract ensures the continued supply of dedicated, 24/7 maintenance support personnel to secure the operational availability of all cargo-handling equipment at BCT's Victoria Terminal 3 (VT3).

Belfast Container Terminal Ltd (BCT), the largest container terminal in Northern Ireland, is situated in Belfast Harbour and operates under a concession granted by Irish Continental Group. The Kalmar Care agreement includes onsite maintenance and automation support for BCT's diverse fleet, encompassing their advanced Kalmar AutoRTGs, as well as empty container handlers, forklift trucks, terminal tractors and third-party ship-to-shore cranes.

The renewed agreement is a clear indicator of BCT's commitment to maintaining a highly efficient and reliable operation, powered by Kalmar's expert service delivery.

Alec Colvin, Terminal Director at BCT: "Our collaboration with Kalmar is a critical element of our operational success. They have consistently delivered responsive and flexible support, which is vital for a busy terminal like ours. This seven-year commitment provides us with the long-term security of expert, on-site maintenance resources, ensuring maximum uptime for our entire equipment fleet as we look towards the future."

Joel Garmory, Country Director, UK and Ireland, Kalmar: "Securing this seven-year extension with BCT is a testament to the strength of our partnership and the exceptional value our Kalmar Care service delivers. We are committed to providing world-class expertise to help BCT maintain their high level of operational efficiency. This collaboration is a prime example of how Kalmar works in partnership with its customers to build resilient operations."

Further information for the press:

Joel Garmory, Country Director, UK and Ireland, Kalmar, tel. +44 17432 98300, joel.garmory@kalmarglobal.com

Jenni Laukkonen, Director, Marketing and Communications, Kalmar Services, tel. +358 40 8322 331, jenni.laukkonen@kalmarglobal.com

Kalmar

Attachment
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 10, 2025) - Questcorp Mining Inc. (CSE: QQQ) (OTCQB: QQCMF) (FSE: D910) (the "Company" or "Questcorp") completed the first tranche of its non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") on October 24, 2025. In connection with closing of the first tranche, the Company issued 14,000,334 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.15 per Unit for gross proceeds of $2,100,050. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (each, a "Share") and one-half-of-one share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, an "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to acquire an additional common share of the Company at a price of $0.20 until October 24, 2027, subject to accelerated expiry in the event the closing price of the Shares is $0.50 or higher for ten consecutive trading days.

A portion of the Units issued under the first tranche the Offering, representing $2,000,000 are held pursuant to a sharing agreement entered into with an institutional investor, Sorbie Bornholm LP ("Sorbie") and the Company (the "Sharing Agreement"). Funds deposited under the Sharing Agreement are secured in escrow with a third-party. The Sharing Agreement provides that the Company's economic interest will be determined in twenty-four monthly settlement tranches as measured against the Benchmark Price (as defined herein). Unless subject to adjustment, each monthly settlement tranche will total $79,792.

If, at the time of settlement, the Settlement Price (determined monthly based on a volume-weighted average price for twenty trading days prior to the settlement date) (the "Settlement Price") exceeds the benchmark price of $0.1949 (the "Benchmark Price"), the Company shall receive more than one-hundred percent of the monthly settlement due, on a pro-rata basis. There is no upper limit placed on the additional proceeds receivable by the Company as part of the monthly settlements. If, at the time of settlement, the Settlement Price is below the Benchmark Price of $0.1949, the Company will receive less than one-hundred percent of the monthly settlement due on a pro-rata basis. In no event will a decline in the Settlement Price of the Units result in an increase or decrease in the number of Units being issued to Sorbie, but it could result in the Company receiving less than the full amount of the subscription received from Sorbie or in the Company receiving a nominal amount for a particular month.

As an example, the following are the monthly settlement amounts the Company would receive based on varying Settlement Prices:

Settlement Price Monthly Settlement Amount $0.2449 $100,262 $0.1949 (Benchmark Price) $79,792 $0.1449 $59,322

For further information concerning the Offering, readers are encouraged to review the news release issued by the Company on October 27, 2025.

About Questcorp Mining Inc.

Questcorp Mining Inc. is engaged in the business of the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in North America, with the objective of locating and developing economic precious and base metals properties of merit. The Company holds an option to acquire an undivided 100% interest in and to mineral claims totaling 1,168.09 hectares comprising the North Island Copper Property, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, subject to a royalty obligation. The Company also holds an option to acquire an undivided 100% interest in and to mineral claims totaling 2,520.2 hectares comprising the La Union Project located in Sonora, Mexico, subject to a royalty obligation.

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties, uncertain capital markets; and delay or failure to receive board or regulatory approvals. There can be no assurance that the geophysical surveys will be completed as contemplated or at all and that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/273791

SOURCE: Questcorp Mining Inc.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 10, 2025) - Theralase Technologies Inc. (TSXV:TLT) (OTCQB:TLTFF) ("Theralase" or the "Company"), a clinical stage pharmaceutical pioneering light, radiation, sound and drug-activated therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, bacteria and viruses has released the Company's unaudited condensed consolidated interim 3Q2025 financial statements ("Financial Statements").

Theralase will be hosting a conference call on Wednesday, November 19th at 11:00 am ET, which will include a presentation of the financial and operational results for the fiscal quarter ending September 30th, 2025. Questions are welcome. To ensure we have time to review and properly address them during the call, please send them in advance to mperraton@theralase.com.

Zoom Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81044841120

Webinar ID: 810 4484 1120 Conference Call in: 1-647-558-0588 (Canada) / 1-646-558-8656 (US) - not required for those attending by Zoom



An archived version will be available on the website following the conference call.

Financial Summary:

For the nine-month period ended September 30th:





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2786/273702_theralasetable.jpg

1 Other represents foreign exchange, interest accretion on lease liabilities and / or interest income

Financial Highlights

For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2025 versus September 30, 2024:

Total revenue decreased 5% to $590,573 from $622,984

decreased 5% to $590,573 from $622,984 Cost of sales decreased 10% to $299,743 (51% of revenue) from $332,136 (53% of revenue)

decreased 10% to $299,743 (51% of revenue) from $332,136 (53% of revenue) Gross margin decreased slightly to $290,830 (49% of revenue) from $290,848 (47% of revenue)

decreased slightly to $290,830 (49% of revenue) from $290,848 (47% of revenue) Selling expenses decreased 18% to $212,421 from $257,935

decreased 18% to $212,421 from $257,935 Administrative expenses increased 12% to $1,444,687 from $1,294,969, driven primarily by increases in general and administrative expenses, professional fees and stock-based compensation

increased 12% to $1,444,687 from $1,294,969, driven primarily by increases in general and administrative expenses, professional fees and stock-based compensation Research and development expenses increased 1% to $2,116,540 from $2,100,699, reflecting increased activity to support Study II progress

increased 1% to $2,116,540 from $2,100,699, reflecting increased activity to support Study II progress Net loss for the period increased 3% to $3,435,145 from $3,337,994. This included $708,521 in non-cash charges such as amortization and stock-based compensation.

Operational Highlights

Private Placements:

On July 28, 2025, the Company completed a non-brokered private placement, issuing 3,363,134 units at $0.20 per unit for gross proceeds of $672,627. Each unit included one common share and one non-transferable common share purchase warrant exercisable at $0.30 for five years.

Warrant Extension:

On August 29, 2025, the Company extended the expiry date of 1,840,000 warrants, all of which are exercisable at $0.35 per share. The warrants were issued on September 7, 2023, pursuant to a private placement involving the issuance of 1,840,000 units of the Company. The new expiry date of the warrants is September 30, 2028.

Short Term Loans:

As of November 7, 2025, the Company had outstanding short-term loans totaling $280,000; including, $100,000 due to related parties. These loans bear interest at 15% per annum and are repayable within one year.

The Company continues to explore additional equity and non-dilutive funding opportunities to support its clinical and commercial milestones.

Study II Update:

As of November 7, 2025:

88 patients have been treated with the primary Study Procedure , representing 97.8% of the total targeted enrollment of 90 patients.

have been treated with the , representing of 90 patients. 72 patients have completed the clinical study, being assessed at all assessment visits or have been prematurely removed from the clinical study by the principal investigator for lack of response

have completed the clinical study, being assessed at all assessment visits or have been prematurely removed from the clinical study by the principal investigator for lack of response 16 additional patients are pending study completion.

Interim clinical results indicate:

64.3% (54/84) patients achieved a Complete Response (" CR ") at any point in time

patients achieved a (" ") at any point in time 72.6% (61/84) achieved a Total Response ( CR + Indeterminate Response (" IR ")) (IR = negative cystoscopy with positive urine cytology, without a confirmatory bladder biopsy)

achieved a ( (" ")) (IR = negative cystoscopy with positive urine cytology, without a confirmatory bladder biopsy) At the 450-day assessment, 40% (18/45) of patients maintained a CR, indicating strong durability of treatment effect, with 42.2% (19/45) of patients maintaining a TR.

Theralase remains on track to complete enrollment in 4Q2025, with data lock and regulatory submissions expected in 1Q2027.

For additional information, please refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") available at www.sedarplus.ca.

About Ruvidar:

Ruvidar (TLD-1433) is a small molecule, able to be activated by light, radiation, sound and other drugs, intended for the safe and effective destruction of cancer, bacteria and viruses.

About Theralase Technologies Inc.:

Theralase is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to the research and development of light, radiation, sound and drug-activated small molecule compounds and their associated formulations with a primary objective of efficacy and a secondary objective of safety in the destruction of cancer, bacteria and viruses, with minimal impact on surrounding healthy tissue.

Additional information is available at www.theralase.com and www.sedarplus.ca

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release contains Forward-Looking Statements ("FLS") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Such statements include; but, are not limited to statements regarding the Company's proposed development plans with respect to small molecules and their drug formulations. FLS may be identified by the use of the words "may, "should", "will", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "expects", "estimate", "potential for" and similar expressions; including, statements related to the current expectations of the Company's management regarding future research, development and commercialization of the Company's small molecules; their drug formulations; preclinical research; clinical studies and regulatory approvals.

These statements involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions; including, the ability of the Company to fund and secure the regulatory approvals to successfully complete various clinical studies in a timely fashion and implement its development plans. Other risks include: the ability of the Company to successfully commercialize its small molecule and drug formulations; the risk that access to sufficient capital to fund the Company's operations may not be available on terms that are commercially favorable to the Company or at all; the risk that the Company's small molecule and drug formulations may not be effective against the diseases tested in its clinical studies; the risk that the Company fails to comply with the terms of license agreements with third parties and as a result loses the right to use key intellectual property in its business; the Company's ability to protect its intellectual property; the timing and success of submission, acceptance and approval of regulatory filings. Many of these factors that will determine actual results are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict.

Readers should not unduly rely on these FLS, which are not a guarantee of future performance. There can be no assurance that FLS will prove to be accurate as such FLS involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results or future events to differ materially from the FLS.

Although the FLS contained in the press release are based upon what management currently believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure prospective investors that actual results, performance or achievements will be consistent with these FLS.

All FLS are made as of the date hereof and are subject to change. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update such FLS.

For investor information on the Company, please feel to reach out Investor Inquiries - Theralase Technologies.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/273702

SOURCE: Theralase Technologies Inc.
HOUSTON, Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Kraton Corporation, a leading global producer of specialty polymers and high-value biobased chemicals derived from pine wood pulping co-products, today announced new long-term sustainability targets for carbon emissions, water use, and waste reduction. These targets reflect Kraton's continued commitment to building a sustainable business model that creates long-term value for customers, partners, and communities.

As part of the goal-setting process, Kraton conducted a comprehensive emissions and resource efficiency assessment covering energy audits, renewable energy planning, and site-level water and waste evaluations. The outcome is a robust set of targets that reinforce Kraton's role as a reliable partner in the transition to a low-carbon and resource-efficient economy.

"At Kraton, sustainability is the foundation of how we create value, innovate, and lead for the future," said Marcello Boldrini, Chief Executive Officer. "These new long-term targets reflect our commitment to drive meaningful impact across our operations and value chain, while supporting our customers in achieving their own sustainability goals."

The new targets, which extend through 2032, build on Kraton's strong track record of environmental performance. Between 2014 and 2024, Kraton reduced its Scope 1 & 2 intensity by 35%. This corresponds to an absolute Scope 1 & 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction of 41%, demonstrating progress well ahead of peers in the industry sector.

New 2032 Sustainability Targets (vs. 2022 baseline):

Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions: 30% absolute reduction

Scope 3.1 (Purchased Goods & Services) GHG emissions: 30% intensity reduction

Water consumption: 10% intensity reduction

Waste generation: 10% intensity reduction

"Our new targets are designed to meet our customer expectations for transparency, innovation, upstream raw material decarbonization and resource efficiency while maintaining the flexibility needed to support business growth," said Rogier Roelen, Chief Sustainability Officer & General Counsel. "Kraton's supplier engagement program will be instrumental in achieving our goals, and we will continue to collaborate closely with our partners to drive progress together."

Aligned with its vision to "Create Innovative Solutions for a Sustainable Tomorrow," Kraton is expanding its sustainable product offerings, supported by reliable LCA data and third-party certifications such as ISCC PLUS, to help customers reduce environmental impact across the product lifecycle.

This year, Kraton earned the EcoVadis Platinum rating for the fifth consecutive year. This recognition reflects the company's continued commitment to advancing sustainability performance, management, and reporting.

Learn more about Kraton's sustainability strategy, visit https://explore.kraton.com/sustainability-targets/

About Kraton Corporation

Kraton Corporation is a leading global producer of specialty polymers and high-value performance products derived from renewable resources. Kraton's polymers are used in a wide range of applications, including adhesives, coatings, consumer and personal care products, sealants, and lubricants, and medical, packaging, automotive, paving and roofing products. As the largest global provider in the pine chemicals industry, the company's pine-based specialty products are sold into adhesive, road and construction and tire markets, and it produces and sells a broad range of performance chemicals into markets that include fuel additives, oilfield chemicals, coatings, metalworking fluids and lubricants, inks, and mining. Kraton offers its products to a diverse customer base in over 70 countries worldwide.

*Kraton, the Kraton logo and design are all trademarks of Kraton Corporation, or its subsidiaries or affiliates, in one or more, but not all countries.

Media Contact: newsroom@kraton.com

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ALPHARETTA, Ga., Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Now more than ever, families and schools are seeking educational experiences to prepare young people for future university and career pathways. American Schools provide rigorous, standards-based, high-quality American-style education to students outside of the U.S., supporting their transition into university and careers within highly competitive international markets.

Cognia, the premier school evaluation and improvement organization, has launched Cognia American School Certification, a selective recognition that identifies international schools that meet a defined American-style education profile.

The certification helps international American Schools strengthen their credibility and global appeal by demonstrating their alignment and compliance with U.S. standards and curriculum and by validating the quality of their English-language instruction.

The certification-which explores standards related to culture of learning, engagement in learning, and leadership for and growth in learning-signifies to parents, educators, and the public that a school meets the requirements to provide a high-quality, rigorous American education to students outside of the U.S.

"International education is expanding and a majority of international schools now deliver hybrid curricula that integrate international frameworks, such as U.S. standards with national requirements, reflecting growing demand for global recognition and local relevance," says Mark Elgart, president and CEO of Cognia. "Our new American School certification helps schools communicate their commitment to excellence and opens doors for students pursuing American academic pathways."

"The American School certification provides schools a transparent, rigorous framework to show that 'American education' is more than a label; it's a lived experience that empowers students to define their own future," says Andrew Sherman, Cognia's Vice President of International Accreditation Services. "The certification helps position a school in highly competitive international markets and shape the long-term trajectory of its students."

Framework for improvement

To certify schools, experts from Cognia will examine a broad range of evidence, conduct an engagement review, and write an official report identifying whether the school meets the American School Certification Requirements. Only Cognia-accredited member institutions are eligible for certification.

For more information about how your school can pursue Cognia American School Certification, contact us.

About Cognia

Serving over 40,000 public and private institutions from early learning through high school in more than 100 countries and territories, Cognia offers accreditation and certification, assessment, improvement services, and professional learning within an evaluation and continuous improvement framework. Learn more at cognia.org.

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Over 1,000 Global Leaders Convene for Inaugural Summit as Saudi Arabia Emerges as Hub for Wellness Innovation and Longevity Science

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The inaugural Zenos Health Summit concluded with resounding success, bringing together over 1,000 global thought leaders, practitioners, investors, and innovators for three days of scientific exploration at the intersection of longevity, performance, and wellness. Hosted at the Bab Samhan Hotel in Riyadh, the summit featured 20 keynote sessions, 10 panel discussions, and represented four countries across three continents.

The gathering underscores Saudi Arabia's emergence as a global hub for health innovation and longevity science, attracting leading experts and practitioners from around the world. Attendee feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with 80% reporting the summit exceeded expectations and 90% expressing intent to return in 2026

Keynote highlights included Dr. Mark Hyman's "Young Forever: The Emerging Science of Longevity," Dr. Darshan Shah's "Medicine 4.0: A Unified Model for Longevity & Precision Health," and Dr. Jessica Shepherd's "Hormone Harmony." Ben Azadi explored cellular health in "Metabolic Freedom," and Gary Brecka presented "Biohack Your Biology." Closing sessions featured Dr. Vonda Wright's "UNBREAKABLE: Age with Power," Dr. Amy Shah on the gut-brain-hormone connection, and Tim Gray sharing practical optimization blueprints.

Beyond daytime programming, evenings featured immersive desert experiences combining gastronomy, performance, and art. The opening night-attended by His Royal Highness Prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz-featured dining among hundreds of candles surrounding the Tree of Life, with performances by Aware and DJ Carlita. Subsequent evenings included headline sets by Bedouin and &friends, alongside world-renowned pianist Michel Fadel.

"The response to our inaugural summit has been extraordinary," said Mazen Karnaby, co-founder of Zenos Health. "What we've built here is just the beginning. In 2026, we'll return with an even more ambitious vision-expanding our programming, deepening our scientific conversations, and continuing to position Saudi Arabia as the epicenter of the global longevity movement."

For information about Zenos Health Summit 2026, visit www.zenoshealthsummit.com , and follow @zenoshealthsummit on Instagram.

About Zenos Health Summit

Founded by brothers Mazen and Marwan Karnaby, Zenos Health stands at the forefront of the wellness industry, delivering premium, science-backed supplements meticulously formulated in advanced, registered facilities in the United States. The company's mission is to empower individuals to take control of their health and unlock their fullest potential through clean, innovative, and highly effective solutions for optimal living.

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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/zenos-health-summit-2025-concludes-transformative-three-day-gathering-of-global-longevity-leaders-in-riyadh-302609651.html
Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions & Equity Grants in Action

ATLANTA, GA / ACCESS Newswire / November 10, 2025 / Representatives from the Ray C. Anderson Foundation and Tull Charitable Foundation recently visited the Green Team of English Avenue (GTOEA) representing all of the Georgia-focused foundations that fund the Drawdown Georgia Climate Solutions & Equity Grants program.

They met with GTOEA founder, Annie Moore, her grant co-applicants from Carinalis Consulting and Research, and Climate Consortium of the Commons, as well as GTOEA's Community Advisory Council, representing Atlanta's English Avenue and Vine City neighborhoods.

GTOEA is an Atlanta-based coalition of resident leaders, community park ambassadors and green space advocates dedicated to improving, monitoring and maintaining the green infrastructure in three city parks. GTOEA empowers residents to act as stewards of their environment and fosters a sense of ownership and community pride by addressing longstanding environmental challenges. Their motto is "of the community and for the community."

GTOEA and their co-applicants received a two year, $200,000 Drawdown Georgia Grant for 2025-26. The grant provides funding for the Westside Passive Cooling Tree Equity Partnership and Project (WPCTEP). The WPCTEP seeks to apply two Drawdown Georgia solutions, Tree Planting and Energy Efficiency, in a unique community driven model that addresses the impact of tree removal on the energy efficiency of residential buildings within the Westside Lead Superfund Site.

The WPCTEP is using its Drawdown Georgia Grant to address inequitable outcomes that have occurred through the EPA's removal of legacy lead waste from the soil. The existing lead is a byproduct of the steel industry that once operated in the area. To date, much of the tree cover that once existed in English Avenue and Vine City has been removed, along with truckloads of topsoil.

The trees and topsoil have been removed without community input, and fill-in material has been "dirt," not soil. As a result, replacement trees cannot be planted, because they will not survive. Common spaces and yards have been destroyed, and additional health concerns related to heat illness have emerged in addition to concerns about lead poisoning.

When the testing and remediation began, the threshold for lead contamination requiring remediation was greater than 200 parts per million (ppm); however, EPA has since raised the threshold to greater than 400 ppm, therefore relaxing the standard for the lead abatement and leaving many homes with lead exposure unaddressed.

Blood tests on children in English Avenue and Vine City have already confirmed the presence of lead exceeding the CDC's blood lead reference value (BLRV) of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter (g/dL).

The deforestation in English Avenue and Vine City has resulted in a sharp increase in urban heat concentrations, thereby driving up power bills in homes that are already energy burdened, and the concern for resident health continues to increase.

Heat related deaths kill more people in the U.S. than any other type of extreme weather event according the World Meteorological Organization Report.

Since 1999, people aged 65+ have been several times more likely to die from heat-related cardiovascular disease than the general population, while non-Hispanic Black people generally have had higher-than-average rates, according to the EPA's report entitled "Climate Change Indicators: Heat-Related Deaths." See Figure 2.

The WPCTEP aims to leverage the power of community and their grant to:

Assess the impact of trees removed within the Westside Lead Site on residential energy efficiency and thermal comfort in residences using wireless connected real-time meters that residents will volunteer to wear as they go about their daily activities, inside and outside

Co-design passive cooling tree planting strategies based on data collected from the meters

Demonstrate tree planting strategies as an effective cooling strategy to address energy burdens, which exceed 18% on average . NOTE: Energy burden is defined as the percentage of gross household income spent on energy costs. It is calculated by dividing the average housing energy cost by the average annual household income. A household with 6% or greater energy burden is considered to be a high energy burden household - U.S. Department of Energy, www.energy.gov

Create pathways to continue engagement and interaction with land and forest stewards

Create a replicable plan where other communities with Superfund sites can follow their lead

Expand the purpose of the WPCTEP and GTOEA to address other key environmental justice issues such as flooding, using nature-based strategies

The Drawdown Georgia grant to GTOEA was funded by a collaborative of foundations with roots in Georgia. Funders for this project include: The Ray C. Anderson Foundation, The Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation, Reilly Family Fund, Tull Charitable Foundation, Ghanta Family Foundation and Atticus Fund.

Green Team of English Avenue with Drawdown Georgia Funders

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Ray C. Anderson Foundation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Ray C. Anderson Foundation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/ray-c-anderson-foundation

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Ray C. Anderson Foundation

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/westside-passive-cooling-tree-equity-partnership-addresses-tree-1099456
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
With more than 30 years of experience in finance and business transformation, Alexandre Mafra joins Atento to drive the company's roadmap for innovation, efficiency, and sustainable growth.

MADRID, Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Atento Luxco 1 ("Atento" or the "Company"), one of the leading global providers of customer experience management and business transformation outsourcing services (CXM/BTO), announces the appointment of Alexandre Mafra as the company's new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Alexandre will report directly to Dimitrius Oliveira, CEO of Atento, marking a new step in the company's ongoing financial and organizational transformation.

With more than 30 years of experience in finance and over nine years serving on advisory and management boards, Alexandre brings a proven track record that positions him as a key leader in advancing Atento's strategy of innovation, efficiency, and sustainable growth.

Throughout his career, Alexandre has held senior management positions at leading companies, including Ambev, Totvs, and Patria Investments. He also served as CFO at ClearSale and Focus Energia, where he led financial and organizational transformations that strengthened both companies' growth and efficiency, and made fundamental contributions to the sale process of both companies to major strategic players. Since 2016, he has contributed as an Advisory Board Member for companies such as Blanver, 3 Coracoes, Pixeon, Lavoro, Brasal, among others.

He holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from UFMG and a postgraduate degree in Corporate Finance from FGV, and has completed executive programs at INSEAD and Harvard Business School. This strong academic foundation supports his strategic mindset and leadership skills in highly competitive business environments.

"After consolidating a more robust and flexible financial structure, Alexandre will play a key role in executing our roadmap focused on innovation, efficiency, and sustainable growth," said Dimitrius Oliveira, CEO of Atento. "His appointment reinforces our commitment to creating long-term value for our customers, investors, and employees."

"I'm thrilled to join Atento during this pivotal moment of transformation," said Alexandre Mafra. "The company has built a solid and flexible financial foundation that reflects its capacity to respond effectively to market challenges. My priority will be to further strengthen this foundation, accelerating our Business Transformation Outsourcing strategy, fostering innovation, and demonstrating measurable returns in transformation value for our clients. I recognize an exceptional opportunity to drive value creation through strategic financial stewardship."

Atento would also like to express its sincere gratitude to Alvaro Badiola for his invaluable contribution during his time with the company. His leadership was instrumental in achieving key financial milestones and completing debt restructuring initiatives, leaving a lasting legacy within the organization. We wish him continued success in his future professional endeavors.

About Atento

Atento is the largest provider of customer experience management and business process outsourcing services ("CXM/BTO") in Latin America and one of the leading providers worldwide. Atento is also one of the leading providers of nearshoring CXM BTO services for companies operating in the United States. For more information, visit www.atento.com.

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Acquisition of Uruguay-based payments orchestrator strengthens Exodus' merchant services capabilities in Latin America

Grateful's platform enables for lower fees, instant access to funds, yield on balances

OMAHA, Neb. and MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Exodus Movement, Inc . (NYSE American: EXOD) ("Exodus" or "the company"), a leading self-custodial cryptocurrency platform, today announced it has agreed to acquire Grateful , a stablecoin payments orchestrator for merchants enabling lower fees, instant access to funds and yields on balances.

Founded in Uruguay, Grateful empowers small businesses and independent workers to accept and manage digital payments seamlessly through stablecoins. Grateful provides a blockchain-native payments stack featuring the full suite of tools needed for merchants to access the digital payments economy, including a merchant dashboard, wallet-to-wallet payments, offramping, QR-based point-of-sale capabilities and ecommerce checkout integrations.

"Grateful is a natural complement for our efforts to expand access to digital payments and cryptocurrency in Latin America. The gig and creator economy is rapidly growing in emerging markets and stablecoin-based payment rails allow for important tools such as invoicing, recurring payments and on-chain settlements," commented JP Richardson, Co-Founder and CEO of Exodus.

"By pairing Grateful's platform with our innovative and industry-leading self-custodial wallets, users will benefit from full ownership of their hard-earned funds and access to faster, cheaper and borderless transactions. Consumers and merchants in emerging markets deserve equal access to the benefits of the ongoing digital payments revolution and Exodus is proud to maintain our role in serving their needs." Mr. Richardson added.

Grateful's technology is a seamless addition to Exodus' current products, which are built to support multichain development on leading blockchains including Polygon, Optimism, Base, Arbitrum, and Solana. Exodus anticipates a smooth integration of Grateful into existing wallets and deployment of Grateful technologies across Exodus' current technology stack.

Exodus will provide a business update and release its third quarter financial results on Monday, November 10, 2025. An earnings conference webcast will be held this morning at 8:30 AM ET during which company leadership will discuss the Grateful acquisition.

To access the webcast, please use this link . It will also be available on the Company's website www.exodus.com . Supplementary materials will also be made available prior to the webcast on the "Investor Relations" portion of the Company website.

About Exodus

Exodus is a financial technology leader empowering individuals and businesses with secure, user-friendly crypto software solutions. Since 2015, Exodus has made digital assets accessible to everyone through its multi-asset crypto wallets prioritizing design and ease of use.

With self-custodial wallets, Exodus puts customers in full control of their funds, enabling them to swap, buy, and sell crypto. Its business solutions include Passkeys Wallet and XO Swap, industry-leading tools for embedded crypto wallets and swap aggregation.

Exodus is committed to driving the future of accessible and secure finance. Learn more at exodus.com or follow us on X at x.com/exodus .

Investor Contact

investors@exodus.com

Media Contacts

Ryan Dicovitsky/Diana Bost, Dukas Linden Public Relations

exodus@dlpr.com
BH Macro Limited - Transaction in Own Shares

PR Newswire

LONDON, United Kingdom, November 10

BH Macro Limited (the "Company")

(a closed-ended collective investment scheme established as a company with limited liability under the laws of Guernsey with registered number 46235)

Transaction in Own Shares

10 November 2025

BH Macro Limited (the Company) announces today it has purchased the following number of its ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange from J.P. Morgan Securities plc:

Ordinary Shares: - Share Class Sterling US Dollar Date of purchase: 10 November 2025 10 November 2025 Number of ordinary shares purchased: 60,485 25,415 Weighted average price (Sterling/US Dollars as applicable): 403.5000 4.1200

The Company intends to hold the purchased shares in treasury.

Following the above share transactions of the relevant US Dollar and/or Sterling Shares, the total number of shares in issue in each share class of the Company will be as follows:

Ordinary Shares in issue (excluding Treasury) Ordinary Shares held in Treasury 321,357,576 Sterling Shares 56,700,030 Sterling Shares 23,920,329 US Dollar Shares 192,428 US Dollar Shares

From 10 November 2025, the total number of voting rights in the Company (rounded up to the whole number) is 490,910,797.

Enquiries:

Company website: www.bhmacro.com

William Simmonds

JPMorgan Cazenove

Tel: 020 7588 2828

The Company Secretary

Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited

Tel: 01481 745001
For recipients across the country, this scholarship eases the financial burden of college while instilling hope, optimism, and confidence in their futures.

BELLEVILLE, IL / ACCESS Newswire / November 10, 2025 / The National Children's Cancer Society (NCCS) is proud to announce that 50 childhood cancer survivors have been awarded scholarships through the Beyond the Cure Ambassador Scholarship Program for the 2025-2026 academic year. To meet this year's class of recipients and read their inspiring essays, click here.

BTC logo

Logo for the Beyond the Cure Program

This milestone reflects the NCCS's unwavering commitment to helping survivors pursue higher education. The Beyond the Cure Ambassador Scholarship Program is one of the largest of its kind, awarding 50 scholarships annually, both in total funding and number of students supported.

For recipients across the country, this scholarship eases the financial burden of college while instilling hope, optimism, and confidence in their futures. Collectively, this year's 50 scholars represent 20 states and the District of Columbia and will attend 41 universities nationwide, including Harvard University, Yale University, Northwestern University, and Brown University.

As part of the application process, first-time applicants submit a personal essay describing how their cancer journey shaped their outlook on life and future goals. Scholars also commit to giving back through community service, such as hosting fundraisers on the NCCS's behalf, handing out NCCS brochures, or even mentoring young children currently in treatment, serving as role models of resilience and compassion.

The Beyond the Cure program extends far beyond scholarships. It provides ongoing survivorship resources, including:

Educational tools to help survivors understand potential late effects of treatment through the Late Effects After Treatment Tool (LEATT)

National survivorship conferences that bring together survivors and experts

Opportunities for peer connections and mentorship

Since its launch in 2008, the Beyond the Cure Ambassador Scholarship Program has awarded $2.7 million in scholarships to 257 childhood cancer survivors, empowering them to achieve their academic and personal goals.

The NCCS extends heartfelt gratitude to the Engelhardt Family Foundation and the Jean and Jeanine Spencer Foundation for their generous support in making these scholarships possible. Their commitment ensures that childhood cancer survivors not only survive but thrive!

Contact Information

Elizabeth Payne

Director of Marketing

epayne@thenccs.org

314-446-5247





SOURCE: The National Children's Cancer Society (NCCS)

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/the-national-childrens-cancer-society-awards-50-scholarships-to-child-1099526
MMJ International Holdings stands as one of a few compliant, FDA regulated blueprint for cannabis medicine as a 37 state bipartisan AG coalition and sweeping new federal legislation once passed will eliminate "gas-station weed" and intoxicating THC beverages.

WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESS Newswire / November 10, 2025 / The chaotic, multi-billion dollar cannabis gray market created by the 2018 Farm Bill will soon be officially over. Simultaneous actions by the federal government-Congressional legislation, a unified front of 39 State Attorneys General, and local law enforcement sweeps-confirm that only fully compliant pharmaceutical grade companies will define the future of cannabis in medicine.

This regulatory convergence directly validates the decade long strategy of MMJ International Holdings, Inc., which has pursued the arduous but legal pathway of FDA approved clinical trials and DEA licensure while facing seven years of obstruction from the very agency now tasked with enforcing the crackdown.

I. The End of the Gray Market and the THC Beverage Boom

The death blow to the unregulated market is being delivered on two fronts:

1. Congressional Legislation Imposes a Hard Cap: A new appropriations bill moving through Congress seeks to redefine hemp by imposing a 0.4 mg total-THC cap and banning all synthetic or chemically modified cannabinoids. This action effectively re-criminalizes vast segments of the current market:

Intoxicating Hemp: Products like delta-8 and delta-10 THC will be outlawed.

THC Beverages: The low-dose THC beverage market, which often contains 5mg to 10mg of THC per serving, relies on the Farm Bill loophole. Under the new 0.4mg cap, virtually all these products would become illegal Schedule I controlled substances, collapsing the boom overnight.

2. Law Enforcement Clears the Field: In a clear signal of priorities, on November 6, 2025, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in Tampa announced 14 arrests and seizures in a coordinated sting on convenience stores selling synthetic cannabinoids ("Spice"), THC gummies, and cocaine. This local action underscores the new federal mandate: The era of gas-station weed is over.

II. Bipartisan AGs Confirm MMJ's Strategy

The crackdown is supported by a bipartisan coalition of 39 Attorneys General who condemned the market's "grievously mistaken interpretation" of the Farm Bill, warning of "Frankenstein THC" and products packaged to appeal to children.

"The AGs' letter confirms what we have been saying for years: the DEA's obstruction is actively protecting bad actors and punishing legitimate American science," said Duane Boise, President & CEO of MMJ International Holdings. "The very products Congress and law enforcement are eliminating are the ones MMJ refused to make. We chose the DEA/FDA pathway; now that choice is the only legal blueprint left."

MMJ's vertically integrated model-featuring its DEA Schedule I-licensed laboratory (MMJ BioPharma Labs), FDA Orphan Drug Designations for Huntington's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis, and GMP manufacturing protocols-is the lawful standard Congress and the states are now demanding.

III. The DEA's Obstruction: From Policy Failure to Cruelty

The market crisis is the direct result of a seven-year failure by the DEA to distinguish between criminals and scientists. While the unregulated market exploded, the DEA was consumed with administrative warfare against compliant entities like MMJ, including:

Unconstitutional Courts: The Department of Justice formally conceded in September 2025 that the DEA's in-house tribunal system, the mechanism used to stall MMJ's application, violated the Constitution's separation of powers .

Regulatory Catch-22: The DEA continues to impose an impossible demand for a "bona fide supply agreement" before issuing a manufacturing license-an agreement that is illegal to sign without the license.

"The same government that's raiding spice shops should be fast-tracking companies that follow the law, hold DEA licenses, and work under FDA oversight," Boise asserted. "The DEA's inaction has become cruelty disguised as process, denying patients with Huntington's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis access to potential therapies."

IV. A Clear Call to President Trump and Administrator Cole

The elimination of the gray market removes all excuses for continued delay. The choice for President Trump and new DEA Administrator Terry Cole is stark: champion evidence based medicine or let bureaucratic dysfunction define the administration's legacy.

MMJ International Holdings calls for decisive executive action to restore order:

Immediate Approval: Direct the DEA to approve MMJ BioPharma Cultivation's registration under the 60-day statutory mandate. Structural Reform: Create a dedicated DEA Medical Research Division to permanently separate scientific licensing from criminal enforcement priorities.

"Federal enforcement isn't bad news for science," Boise concluded. "It's the best thing that could happen-because it clears the field for legitimate research. MMJ is the compliant model for what comes next."

About MMJ International Holdings, Inc.

MMJ International Holdings, Inc. is a U.S.-based biopharmaceutical company developing DEA licensed, pharmaceutical grade, plant-based medicines for FDA approval. Its subsidiaries, MMJ BioPharma Cultivation and MMJ BioPharma Labs, advance proprietary cannabinoid soft gel formulations for the treatment of serious neurological conditions, including Huntington's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis.

MMJ is represented by attorney Megan Sheehan.

CONTACT:

Madison Hisey

MHisey@mmjih.com

203-231-85832

SOURCE: MMJ International Holdings

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/federal-marijuana-crackdown-confirms-the-future-deas-obstruction-of-m-1099597
Youngstown, Ohio--(Newsfile Corp. - November 10, 2025) - The Dr. Gregory Facemyer Scholarship for Medical Students proudly announces its official launch, inviting aspiring Future Physicians across the United States to apply and share their vision for the future of Preventative Care and community wellness. Established by Dr. Gregory Facemyer, a Board-Certified Physician in Family Medicine and respected educator from Youngstown, Ohio, this scholarship seeks to recognize and support undergraduate students committed to Primary Care, prevention-based medicine, and the advancement of patient health.





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Hosted through https://drgregoryfacemyerscholarship.com/, the program reflects Dr. Gregory Facemyer's enduring dedication to Preventative Care, education, and mentorship. The scholarship encourages students to explore innovative strategies that enhance early intervention, prevention, and long-term community well-being-pillars that define modern medicine's most promising direction.

A Vision for the Next Generation of Physicians

To qualify for the Dr. Gregory Facemyer Scholarship for Medical Students, applicants must currently be enrolled as undergraduate students at accredited U.S. colleges or universities with a declared interest in becoming Future Physicians.

The application requires an original essay responding to the prompt:

"Describe how you envision the role of Preventative Medicine in the future of healthcare, and explain how you plan to contribute as a physician to advancing patient wellness and community health."

Essays will be evaluated on originality, clarity, depth of understanding, and alignment with the principles of compassionate, prevention-driven, and patient-centered care that Dr. Gregory Facemyer has exemplified throughout his distinguished career.

The scholarship provides a one-time award, with applications open until May 15, 2026. The selected recipient will be announced on June 15, 2026, following a thorough review by a panel of judges committed to the scholarship's academic standards and mission.

A Board-Certified Physician Dedicated to Family Medicine and Preventative Care

With more than 25 years of experience in Family Medicine and Primary Care, Dr. Gregory Facemyer, MD, FAAFP, stands as one of Ohio's most respected voices in Preventative Healthcare. As the immediate past former Lead Physician at NEOMED Health Care and Owner and President of Austin Square Medical Group, he has established one of Northeast Ohio's most trusted independent medical practices, offering comprehensive, prevention-based patient care.

In addition to his clinical leadership, Dr. Gregory Facemyer serves as a Clinical Professor of Family and Community Medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED). There, he continues to mentor medical students, residents, and Nurse Practitioners, emphasizing patient-first treatment and early intervention through innovative tools such as mobile ultrasound.

Recognized among America's Top Doctors 2025, America's Top Doctors 2025, and multiple-time recipient of the Ohio Top Doc award (2023, 2024, 2025), Dr. Gregory Facemyer has also been featured in Best in Ohio Magazine Doctors Edition 2025. These distinctions underscore his unwavering commitment to clinical excellence, patient education, and the future of Preventative Care.

Beyond his medical and academic work, Dr. Gregory Facemyer is deeply engaged in community outreach, focusing on wellness education and mentorship for aspiring healthcare leaders. Through this scholarship, he continues his lifelong mission to support Future Physicians who share his vision for a healthier, prevention-driven world.

Encouraging Future Medical Leaders Nationwide

The Dr. Gregory Facemyer Scholarship for Medical Students is open to undergraduate students throughout the United States. It offers not only financial support but also recognition for those dedicated to improving healthcare systems through Preventative Medicine and Primary Care.

By launching this scholarship, Dr. Gregory Facemyer aims to inspire students to embrace innovative approaches that reduce disparities, improve early diagnosis, and strengthen community-based medicine. His leadership reflects a steadfast belief that Preventative Care is the cornerstone of a sustainable, patient-centered future in healthcare.

How to Apply

Eligible undergraduate students are encouraged to visit https://drgregoryfacemyerscholarship.com/ to review eligibility requirements and submit their essays. Submissions should show thoughtful engagement with the essay prompt and a genuine commitment to Preventative Care and Primary Care advancement.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/273764

SOURCE: GYT
Virtual reality experience gives the campus community an immersive look at the future of student housing, which starts construction this month.

SAN DIEGO, CA / ACCESS Newswire / November 10, 2025 / The San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) yesterday celebrated a historic milestone with a special "Sneak Peek" event marking the start of construction on the district's first-ever affordable student housing community at San Diego City College. Featuring immersive virtual reality (VR) walk-throughs, the event gave students, faculty, and staff an early look at the transformational new development, designed by TCA Architects. Located at 1601 B Street, formal construction, led by the Clark Building Group, begins later this month.

Affordable Student Housing Rendering

A Rendering of the affordable student housing community. Construction starts this month at San Diego City College. Courtesy of TCA Architects

Developed in partnership with The Michaels Organization, a nationwide affordable and student housing development company, the seven-story, all-electric mid-rise will include 283 apartment-style units supporting nearly 800 beds, offering a safe, modern, and affordable place for students to live while pursuing their education. Shared spaces include study lounges, tutoring rooms, a mental health and wellness center, outdoor courtyards, a community kitchen, a basic needs food pantry, and a top floor meeting room space with views of downtown San Diego. This marks the first student housing community built in the district's 110-year history, addressing a critical need for stable student housing.

A virtual video of the new student housing community can be viewed at the following link: Affordable Student Housing Video .

"This new housing initiative is about equity, access, and the belief that every student deserves a safe and affordable place to call home," said Geysil Arroyo, president of the SDCCD Board of Trustees and a former City College student. "For far too many City College students, housing insecurity stands in the way of their education. This new community brings hope, stability, and opportunity within reach, and it shows that our district is serious about student success."

The student community housing will provide critically needed student housing at the heart of downtown San Diego, offering rates significantly below those of UC and CSU dormitory housing, making it more attainable for SDCCD students. These new apartment-style homes will support low-income students, veterans, and former foster youth, helping to ease the burden for students balancing school with work and other challenges and responsibilities.

San Diego City College President Ricky Shabazz underscored the impact of the development. "Too many of our students face the heartbreaking reality of housing insecurity, with as many as 23 percent of our students on the verge of homelessness while attending classes," he said. "This project tells them: You belong here. Your education matters. And your community is investing in your success. This housing community will change lives for generations."

Chancellor Gregory Smith emphasized the long-term impact on students, families, and the regional workforce pipeline. "Affordable student housing strengthens educational access and helps more students stay enrolled, graduate, and enter high-demand careers," Smith said.

"This community represents our commitment to removing barriers and investing in the future of San Diego," he added. "It is a major step forward in our mission to help every student be, belong, and become."

A highlight of the day was a virtual reality "experience" featuring 360-degree simulated views of residential units, community spaces, exterior gathering areas, and shared amenities highlight. Offering a transparent look at what's ahead. Designed to promote student excitement and campus engagement, the VR tool allowed attendees to "see the building before construction crews mobilize onsite.

Vice Chancellor and Executive Operations Officer, Dr. Joel Peterson, who oversees Measure HH implementation, highlighted both timing and financial stewardship. "This is the right moment to build. Market conditions are allowing the district to secure property and construction services at more competitive rates, which means we can stretch taxpayer dollars even further," Peterson said. "This new community demonstrates what's possible when strategic planning and community purpose come together."

The housing community is scheduled to open in fall 2028, delivering one of the most affordable student living options in downtown San Diego and offering a foundation of stability, wellness, and academic support for the students who need it most.

"City College has always been a place where people rebuild, restart, and reimagine what's possible," said Celina Martinez, a City College student and president of the Associated Student Government. "This new housing community takes that spirit and - literally - builds it into the center of campus life. It's a place where students can be, belong and become with confidence and without insecurity."

Approved by voters in November 2024, Measure HH provides?$3.5 billion?to modernize, future-proof, and transform SDCCD campuses, create state-of-the-art workforce training facilities, upgrade aging infrastructure, and enhance access to innovative learning environments. The measure builds on the investments of prior bond programs that expanded facilities districtwide while maintaining strong fiscal accountability and taxpayer oversight. To learn more, visit the Measure HH website .?

About the San Diego Community College District

As one of the largest of California's 73?community?college?districts, the San Diego Community College District serves approximately 90,000 students annually through its four colleges.?San?Diego City?College,?San?Diego?Mesa?College, and San Diego Mesa College offer associate degrees and certificates in occupational programs that prepare students for university transfer and good-paying careers. The credit colleges also offer bachelor's degrees in high demand fields such as Health Information Management, Cyber Defense and Analysis, and Public Safety Management.?San?Diego?College?of Continuing Education, a statewide leader in noncredit education, offers free, adult education programs at seven campuses throughout?San?Diego.

About The Michaels Organization

Michaels is a national leader in residential real estate, offering full-service capabilities in development, property and asset management, construction, and investment. Serving more than 200,000 residents in more than 600 communities across 39 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Michaels is committed to crafting housing solutions that jumpstart education, civic engagement and neighborhood prosperity, and to creating Communities That Lift Lives.

Contact Information

Laura Zaner

Vice President, Michaels Corporate Marketing

lzaner@tmo.com

856-988-5983; 856-630-1540

Derek Danziger

San Diego Community College District

ddanziger@sdccd.edu

619-200-2145





SOURCE: The Michaels Organization

Related Images

President and Student

San Diego City College President Ricky Shabazz with Associated Student Government President Celina Martinez at the Sneak Peek Nov. 7. Photo courtesy Rob Smith/Michaels

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/real-estate/san-diego-community-college-district-celebrates-virtual-sneak-peek-of-first-ever-afford-1099622
San Francisco, California--(Newsfile Corp. - November 10, 2025) - A startup ecosystem, TRMNL4, and Inworld AI announce a 6-week acceleration program for AI-native startups. Consumer AI Accelerator provides the participants with access to VCs, infrastructure, and expert mentorship on growth.

The consumer AI market is booming. According to recent reports, the Consumer AI Market size was valued at USD 92.24 billion in 2024, and it is projected to reach USD 674.49 billion by 2030. But infrastructure remains the critical bottleneck. While AI development tools have made building products faster than ever, most startups struggle to scale beyond early adopters, lacking both the technical infrastructure for concurrent users and the business expertise to drive growth. Consumer AI Accelerator solves both problems.





TRMNL4 and Inworld AI Launch Consumer AI Accelerator

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The program, which runs January 12 - February 20, 2026, will select 15 AI-native startups from applications worldwide to address these challenges. The curriculum focuses on three critical areas: growth strategies, fundraising, and AI infrastructure.

Selected startups benefit from 25+ fireside chats and 1-on-1 mentorship sessions with operators from leading tech companies that have successfully scaled consumer AI products to millions of users. Topics include user acquisition, growing LTV, monetization strategies, and strategic hiring.

During the program, participants will meet investors in person for a private networking dinner with top-tier VCs - firms that have backed the current generation of consumer AI companies. Startups will receive Inworld credits to build native AI experiences with access to LLM routing, top-rated AI voices, text-to-speech, real-time pipelines, live experiments, and low-latency infrastructure.

"Founders can now launch AI products in weeks, but scaling to a large number of users is where 90% fail. They hit infrastructure limits and lack growth expertise," Tania Ladanova, CEO at TRMNL4, says. "Consumer AI Accelerator combines AI infrastructure with direct access to investors and operators who have scaled consumer AI successfully."

"Building a product is much easier with the help of no-code and copilots. But going from 10 users to 10 million users is a very big step. Now, together with TRMNL4, we're launching this accelerator to support the next generation of consumer AI founders," Kylan Gibbs, CEO & Co-founder at Inworld, comments

The program is equity-free, targets AI-native startups worldwide across apps & copilots, gaming & media, voice agents, and live customer experience verticals. Applications open November 10, 2025, and close December 10, 2025, with selection on a rolling basis through pitch deck review and interview stages. The program culminates in a private demo day dinner with major investors on March 3, 2026.

Apply at https://trmnl4.short.gy/VOGp7A.

About Inworld AI

Inworld delivers real-time conversational AI pipelines designed for applications at massive scale, supporting millions of concurrent users. The company's best-in-class components enable seamless integration at the component level, with built-in metrics available out of the box, no migration required.

About TRMNL4

TRMNL4 [terminal] - a startup ecosystem connecting startups, investors, and global tech players in the consumer space. With 8,700+ startups in its pipeline, TRMNL4 runs acceleration programs with leading technology companies, works with 100+ DTC experts and 300+ investors, and helps founders access everything they need to grow.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/273465

SOURCE: PRNews OU
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / November 10, 2025 / Goldcliff Resource Corporation ("Goldcliff" or the "Company") (GCN:TSX.V)(GCFFF:OTCBB PINKS) is pleased to announce the closing of the second tranche of its previously announced non-brokered private placement ("Private Placement") of 1,000,000 flow-through shares (each, a "FT Share") for gross proceeds of $70,000. The securities issued under the Private Placement were offered to purchasers pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions.

Each FT Share comprises one Common Share which qualifies as a "flow-through share" within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada). Proceeds from the FT Shares sold under the Private Placement will be applied to drilling at Kettle Valley, and to trenching and drill site preparation at the Ainsworth silver project, as Canadian exploration expenses that will qualify as "flow-through mining expenditures" within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada), and which will be incurred on or before December 31, 2026 and renounced with an effective date no later than December 31, 2025 to the initial purchasers of FT Shares. Both projects are located in British Columbia.

In connection with the closing of the second tranche of the Private Placement, the Company paid a finder's fee of an aggregate of $4,900 cash and issued an aggregate of 70,000 non-transferable finder's warrants (such finder's warrants to be issued on the same terms and conditions as the Warrants) to Canaccord Genuity Corp.

Current unsubscribed portions of the Private Placement remain open until December 4,2025.

The Private Placement remains subject to final acceptance of the TSXV.

For further information, please contact George W. Sanders, President, at 250-764-8879, toll free at 1-866-769-4802 or email at sanders@goldcliff.com.

GOLDCLIFF RESOURCE CORPORATION

Per: "George W. Sanders"

George W. Sanders, President

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of this news release.

Statements regarding the Company which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations, and include statements regarding the use of proceeds under the Private Placement.

Forward-looking information contained in this press release is based on certain assumptions, estimates, expectations, analysis and opinions of the Company and in certain cases, third party experts, that are believed by management of Goldcliff to be reasonable at the time they were made. Such assumptions, estimates and other factors include, among other things: that the Company will obtain final TSXV acceptance, performance and business operations, future commodity prices and exchange rates, prospects, growth opportunities and financing available to the Company, general business and economic conditions, results of development and exploration, the Company's ability to procure supplies and other equipment necessary for its business. The foregoing list is not exhaustive of all assumptions which may have been used in developing the forward-looking information. The Company considers these assumptions, estimates and factors to be reasonable based on information currently available, they may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking information should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results.

Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, the receipt of TSXV acceptance or any necessary regulatory approvals required in connection with the Private Placement, management's discretion regarding the use of proceeds risks, the ability to access funding required to invest in available opportunities and projects and on satisfactory terms, changes in commodity and other prices, the Company's ability to attract and retain skilled staff and to secure feedstock from third party suppliers, unanticipated events and other difficulties related to exploration activity, the cost of compliance with current and future environmental and other laws and regulations, changes in currency, exchange rates and market prices. Actual results in each case could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to update any changes to such statements. For this reason readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements.

SOURCE: Goldcliff Resource Corp.

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/metals-and-mining/goldcliff-closes-second-tranche-of-private-placement-1099851
New Appointments to Support Strategic Growth Initiatives in Futures

PRINCETON, N.J. and MIAMI, Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIAX) (NYSE: MIAX), a technology-driven leader in building and operating regulated financial markets across multiple asset classes, today announced expanded roles for Shelly Brown and Joseph W. Ferraro III-key members of its senior management team-to support strategic growth initiatives at MIAX Futures. These appointments are effective today.

Mr. Brown was appointed Chief Executive Officer of MIAX Futures. In this role, he will oversee the execution of the exchange's growth strategy including the upcoming launch of futures on the Bloomberg 500 Index in the first quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory filings with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In addition, Mr. Brown was appointed Chief Strategy Officer at Miami International Holdings. He has been with the company since 2011, contributing significantly to the growth of its options business which reached a monthly market share of 19.4% in October.

"Shelly is a seasoned executive in our industry with a deep understanding of the roadmap to launching several key futures products in our pipeline," said Thomas P. Gallagher, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MIAX and Chairman of MIAX Futures. "I can't think of anyone who brings more operational knowledge and efficiency to the table than him."

Mr. Ferraro was appointed President of MIAX Products, LLC, a subsidiary of MIAX focused on the development and licensing of new proprietary products. He will leverage his extensive industry experience to manage index product relationships and expand the company's proprietary product offering, with a current focus on Bloomberg equity index derivatives products. Mr. Ferraro will also continue in his existing role as Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel at MIAX. He joined the company in 2016, playing a key role in its 2020 acquisition of MIAX Futures, exclusive index licensing agreement with Bloomberg, and MIAX Futures Onyx trading platform launch.

"Joe's expert guidance in the acquisition and development of MIAX Futures will continue to help further our proprietary product offering in this expanded role," Mr. Gallagher added. "We have made significant investments in developing MIAX Futures' technology infrastructure to prepare for expanded product offerings. With our signature MIAX technology now in place, I am confident in the abilities of both Shelly and Joe to lead critical operational aspects of our futures business and strategy."

About MIAX

Miami International Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MIAX) is a technology-driven leader in building and operating regulated financial markets across multiple asset classes and geographies. MIAX operates nine exchanges across options, futures, equities and international markets including MIAX Options, MIAX Pearl, MIAX Emerald, MIAX Sapphire, MIAX Pearl Equities, MIAX Futures, MIAXdx, The Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) and The International Stock Exchange (TISE). MIAX also owns Dorman Trading, a full-service Futures Commission Merchant. To learn more about MIAX, please visit www.miaxglobal.com.

Disclaimer and Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may," "future," "plan" or "planned," "will" or "should," "expected," "anticipates," "draft," "eventually" or "projected." You are cautioned that such statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Additional risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially include the risks and uncertainties listed in Miami International Holdings, Inc.'s (together with its subsidiaries, the Company) public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In providing forward-looking statements, the Company is not undertaking any duty or obligation to update these statements publicly as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

All third-party trademarks (including logos and icons) referenced by the Company remain the property of their respective owners. Unless specifically identified as such, the Company's use of third-party trademarks does not indicate any relationship, sponsorship, or endorsement between the owners of these trademarks and the Company. Any references by the Company to third-party trademarks is to identify the corresponding third-party goods and/or services and shall be considered nominative fair use under the trademark law.

Contact:

Investors

investor.relations@miaxglobal.com

Media

media@miaxglobal.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2635716/MIAX_new_Logo.jpg

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Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - November 10, 2025) - Cardinal Energy Ltd. (TSX: CJ) ("Cardinal" or the "Company") confirms that our November dividend of $0.06 per common share will be paid on December 15, 2025 to shareholders of record on November 28, 2025. The Board of Directors of Cardinal has declared the dividend payable in cash. This dividend has been designated as an "eligible dividend" for Canadian income tax purposes.

Production from the Reford Central Production Facility has averaged approximately 4,000 bbl/d of heavy oil over the past week, which is well ahead of forecasted volumes during this initial production phase ramp-up. While we are encouraged by the strong performance at this early stage, we continue to apply disciplined reservoir management to maximize value and long-term recovery.

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively "forward looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws relating to the Company's thermal project in its Reford, Saskatchewan operating area including: forecasted production levels and plans to apply disciplined reservoir management at Reford resulting in maximized value creation and long-term recoveries. This forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions of Cardinal concerning among other things, future well production rates and reserve volumes, the success of development activities and future operational and financial performance at Reford. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond Cardinal's control. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation: the imprecision of reserve estimates and liabilities, and other risks and hazards inherent in oil and natural gas operations.

Management has included the forward-looking information in this press release in order to provide readers with a more complete perspective on Cardinal's future operations and such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Cardinal's actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits that Cardinal will derive there from. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing lists of factors are not exhaustive. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and Cardinal disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

Initial Production

Any references in this news release to initial production rates are useful in confirming the presence of hydrocarbons, however, such rates are not determinative of the rates at which such wells will continue production and decline thereafter. While encouraging, readers are cautioned not to place reliance on such rates in calculating the aggregate production for Cardinal.

About Cardinal Energy Ltd.

Cardinal is a Canadian oil and natural gas company with operations focused on low decline sustainable oil production in Western Canada. Cardinal has completed its first thermal project in Reford, Saskatchewan and has transitioned to the production phase of operations.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/273900

SOURCE: Cardinal Energy Ltd.
LatinAm flavor captivating China's huge market

Xinhua) 11:12, November 10, 2025

SHANGHAI, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- When Amanda Gallegos arrived in Shanghai last year to take part in the China International Import Expo (CIIE), she was anxious about the fate of her six luggage cases filled with Andean cereals made from quinoa and amaranth, only to see them unexpectedly become a hit at the expo.

Buoyed by the response and confident in China's vast market, she returned this year with a large container of multi-flavored healthy snacks from her company IncaSur, catering to the growing Chinese appetite for natural, low-sugar, high-protein foods.

Gallegos, CEO of IncaSur, explained that all the ingredients in the exhibited foods are grown by Peruvian family farmers living over 3,500 meters high in the Andes, who have inherited the agricultural traditions of the Inca civilization across generations.

"The change from six luggage cases to one container means not only the growth of my company but the closer cooperation between Peru and China," she said, noting that such business cooperation also serves as an exchange of culture and tradition.

Meanwhile, the Chancay Port has accelerated and simplified bilateral cooperation, serving as a flagship Belt and Road project between China and Peru that has reduced the sea voyage from over a month to around 23 days while cutting shipping costs by at least 20 percent.

According to the latest statistics from Shanghai Customs, the "Chancay-Shanghai" shipping route handled 154,000 tonnes of import and export cargo valued at 3.97 billion yuan (about 560.45 million U.S. dollars) during the first three quarters of this year, fueling a 56.9 percent year-on-year surge in Shanghai's trade with Peru to 13.42 billion yuan.

The arrival of the first shipment of exhibits for the 8th CIIE at Shanghai's Yangshan Port last month marked the first time that expo goods were transported via this route since the Chancay Port opened in late 2024.

Faster transportation and lower shipping costs have made Peruvian enterprises more competitive in China, Gallegos said, expressing gratitude to the CIIE, which she described as the best gateway to the vast market of the world's second-largest economy.

The digital platform provided by the CIIE enables enterprises to submit applications in real time and maintain online interaction with relevant Chinese departments, accelerating the product registration process significantly, she said.

Thanks to convenient services, the 8th CIIE attracted over 200 exhibitors from Latin America, surpassing last year's turnout, according to official data. Jairo Ruiz, commercial manager of Colombia's coffee company Banexport, also felt the warm hospitality. Upon arriving in Shanghai, a customs official personally welcomed his team and guided them through a priority clearance channel designated for the CIIE exhibitors.

"This is China's respect for us and our products," said Ruiz, who attended the import expo for the first time and hopes his company's coffee will win wide popularity.

The CIIE is a very important window for Banexport as it brings together people from China and many other countries who are interested in coffee products, he said, emphasizing the importance of consumers appreciating the meticulous process that transforms coffee beans into a rich, flavorful drink.

Ruiz noted that his company has purchased coffee-making equipment from China, including sorting machines and drying plants. "We wish to bring our coffee to China and Chinese products back to Colombia."

A total of 29 Colombian enterprises have showcased products such as coffee, vegetable oil, alcoholic beverages, chocolate, and meat at the expo, drawing long queues of visitors.

Jin Lin, vice chairman of the Shanghai Federation of Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs, said the CIIE offers a big platform for Latin American enterprises, with their exhibits -- particularly farm products and alcoholic beverages -- gaining popularity among Chinese consumers.

This demonstrates the growth of China-Peru economic and trade cooperation, as well as the vast consumption potential of China's market, Jin added.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 8th CIIE, Colombia's Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Diana Morales, described participation in the expo as "a cooperation based on understanding and mutual benefits."

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Colombia, and the two countries signed a cooperation plan on jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road in May.

Colombia's participation in the Belt and Road Initiative is an important step to advance the relations between the two countries, said Sergio Cabrera, the ambassador of Colombia to China. Colombia is a guest country of honor of the 8th CIIE.

"We are glad to see more Colombian companies seeking opportunities in China, which in the meantime reflects that Chinese consumers are increasingly willing to try new things," said Oscar Felipe Rueda, director of ProColombia in China.

According to Rueda, the bilateral trade relationship has a promising future. "The coming years are important for strengthening relations between the two countries -- not only in exports, but also in investment and tourism. When trust is enhanced, achievements begin to happen," he said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 10, 2025) - Lara Exploration Ltd. (TSXV: LRA) (OTC Pink: LRAXF), ("Lara" or the "Company") advises that its has been notified by Minsur S.A. ("Minsur") of its intention to relinquish its option to acquire the Company's 45%-owned Lara Copper Project in southern Peru.

The Lara Copper Project comprises mineral rights covering a partly defined copper-molybdenum porphyry deposit, located in the Laramate Province of the Ayacucho Department, approximately 40km inland from the town of Palpa on the Panamerican Highway. To date 9,850 metres of diamond and reverse circulation drilling have been completed, outlining a mineralized footprint of 2,000 metres east to west and between 500 metres and 800 metres north to south.

Lara diamond drilling highlights include:

LA-10-32 which intercepted 108 meters at 0.81% Cu and 0.015% Mo.

LA-10-35 intercepted 218 meters at 0.57% Cu and 0.042% Mo.

Drilling results from the Lara Project were previously disclosed by Lara in news releases dated January 21, 2008, January 31, 2011 and February 28, 2012, which can be found in the News and Projects sections of the Company website (www.laraexploration.com) and filed on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca).

Michael Bennell, Lara's Vice President Exploration and a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and has approved the technical disclosure and verified the technical information in this news release.

About Lara Exploration

Lara is an exploration company, advancing its 100%-owned Planalto Copper-Gold Project in the Carajas Mineral Province of northern Brazil, with an open pitable Mineral Resource detailed in a NI 43-101 Technical Report filed on October 17, 2024. Scoping studies completed in 2025 are detailed in NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment, results of which were published on October 21, 2025. Lara follows the Prospect and Royalty Generator business model, which aims to minimize shareholder dilution and financial risk by generating prospects and exploring them in joint ventures funded by partners, retaining a minority interest and or a royalty. The Company currently holds a diverse portfolio of prospects, deposits and royalties in Brazil, Peru and Chile. Lara's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "LRA".

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada

accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/273911

SOURCE: Lara Exploration Ltd.
Diamond drilling at Majorodam, Suriname confirms the presence of a mineralized zone at least 800 m long at Heuvel Main in addition to a second zone at Heuvel East.

Greenheart Gold has entered into an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Gold Hill project in Guyana, and drops options on its Tamakay and Abuya projects.

A 3,000 m trenching program has commenced on the Tosso Creek project in Suriname.

Longueuil, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - November 10, 2025) - Greenheart Gold Inc. (TSXV: GHRT) (OTCQX: GHRTF) (the "Company" or "Greenheart Gold") is pleased to provide an update on the inaugural diamond drill program at its Majorodam project in Suriname, an update on exploration at its Tosso Creek project in Suriname, and updates on its exploration portfolio in Guyana. At Majorodam, which lies only 8 kilometers (km) south of Zijin's Saramacca mine, a satellite mine to Zijin's active Rosebel gold mine and mill, Greenheart Gold recently completed an 11-hole diamond drill program which totalled 2,335.6 meters (m). The program was designed to follow up and provide important additional geological and structural information on the four encouraging intercepts from Greenheart Gold's initial reverse circulation (RC) drilling completed in Q1 2025 and follow up on previously announced trench results. Two or three holes were drilled around each of these targets and results confirmed the presence of a North-South trending gold mineralized system at Heuvel that extends for at least 800 m as well as a second mineralized zone approximately 500 m east of the Heuvel Main zone called Heuvel East.

Highlight results from the program can be seen in Figure 1 and Table 1, along with the previously released results from the RC hole and trench results. Hole MAJD25-011 was drilled approximately at the mid-point of the Heuvel Main Zone and intersected approximately 50 m below the previously reported trench MAJT25-029 that had intersected 18.0 m @ 6.39 grams per tonne of gold (g/t Au). MAJD25-011 intersected 11.5 m grading 1.34 g/t Au, including 5.0 m grading 2.77 g/t Au.

Hole MAJD25-002 was drilled at the southern end of Heuvel Main at an oblique angle to hole MAJR25-010 and intersected 12.3 m grading 0.82 g/t Au, including 5.5 m grading 1.58 g/t Au. Hole MAJD25-005 was drilled at the north end of Heuvel Main, twinning hole MAJR25-003, and intersected 5.0 m grading 1.77 g/t Au.

Hole MAJD25-006, drilled as a twin hole to the previously reported RC hole MAJR25-015 intersected 13.0 m grading 1.29 g/t Au, including 5.5 m grading 2.3 g/t Au. This area, Heuvel East, lies 900 m east of the main zone and is associated with a gold in soil anomaly that extends approximately 500 m in length.

While gold mineralization in drill core was confirmed by at least one hole in each of the four target areas, the grade and tenor of some of the diamond drill intercepts did not match that of the targeted RC and trench results. The Company believes that the indicators of a mineralized system are present at Majorodam, although the structural controls on gold mineralization are more complex than the initial interpretation had suggested. Greenheart Gold's analysis of results, combined with structural measurements from drill core and detailed mapping (supported by high-resolution drone magnetics) indicate that gold mineralization may be controlled by shallow plunging fold hinges deformed within a north-south shear at the Heuvel Main zone. This interpretation is similar to those presented by others exploring the same greenstone belt in Suriname where drill orientations have played a crucial role in defining volumes of gold mineralization. The diamond drill rig remains at Majorodam and the Company intends to re-commence drilling to test the updated geologic model before the end of November.

Tosso Creek Update

Exploration at Greenheart Gold's Tosso Creek project in Suriname continues to advance with infill soil sampling at a 400 m by 50 m sample spacing. Results from the soil program to date are shown in Figure 2, and continue to define several large gold anomalies, the largest extending over 5 km in length with widths of up to 500 m. This extensive soil anomaly aligns with the orientation of the volcano-sedimentary units located in the west and northwest of the project area, in addition to anomalies found along the granite contact that runs strikes northeast in the south. An excavator has been mobilized to the project and has commenced a 3,000 m trenching program over the strongest soil anomalies. In addition, a Lidar survey has been completed, and a high-resolution drone magnetics survey is anticipated to be completed by year end. Based on successful results, the Company would expect to commence drill testing in the first half of 2026.

Gold Hill, Guyana

The Company recently entered into an option agreement with arms' length third parties to acquire a 100% interest in the Gold Hill project in Guyana. The project is located approximately 13.5 km east of Aris Mining Corporation's Toroparu project, on which a Preliminary Economic Assessment was released in October 2025 outlining a gold deposit containing 5.3 million ounces (Moz) of gold (Au) in measured and indicated resources and 1.2 Moz Au of inferred resources. The Gold Hill project consists of mineral rights covering an area of approximately 40 square kilometers in the Mazaruni mining district in north-western Guyana. The project area is deformed around a dolerite intrusion and appears to have been subjected to multiple deformation events and exhibits similar open folding to that observed at the nearby Toroparu deposit. The presence of multiple gold bearing vein systems on the property suggests a strong likelihood of hydrothermal alteration related to mineralizing fluids. The presence of artisanal saprolite and alluvial mining at the project area provides further evidence of the gold mineralization in the area.

Termination of the Tamakay and Abuya Option Agreements

At the Tamakay project in Guyana, the programs carried out by the Company included detailed mapping, 276 grab samples and 7,794 soil samples. In addition, 7,606 m of trenching was completed in areas of interest uncovered by the initial programs. These activities were also supported by 85 line-km of ground based magnetic surveys and 50 line-km of gradient array Induced Polarization survey (IP). Following this activity, the Company completed a 1,473 m diamond drilling program to test several known occurrences of high-grade quartz veins, which have been the subject of historic artisanal mining activity. The drill program confirmed the high-grade nature and continuity of some of these veins; however, the intercepts in general were relatively narrow and showed little evidence of gold mineralization in the wall rock or the presence of more extensive sheeted type of vein system. The Company believes that the density of veining and the extent of gold mineralization are insufficient to suggest potential for an economic deposit of the size and scale required to justify development in such a remote area and has therefore elected to terminate its option with the various property owners.

At Abuya, after approximately 12 months of exploration work, the Company completed detailed mapping along with collecting 2,798 soil samples and 295 grab samples over the project area. Areas of interest arising out of these programs were followed up by 3,263 m of trenching and channel sampling with no meaningful results being reported. After completing these programs, the Company did not feel that the targets warranted follow-up drilling and has therefore also decided to drop its option on the project.

The acquisition of Gold Hill and the dropping of Tamakay and Abuya are consistent with Greenheart Gold's strategy to quickly assess projects and to be in a position to drill prospective targets in a 10 to 12-month timeframe or alternatively move on from projects that don't meet expectations and replace these with new opportunities. The Company feels that this strategy will continue to provide the highest possible chance of exploration success.

Sample Collection, Assaying and Data Management

Significant intervals in this press release have been calculated using a grade cut-off of 0.3 g/t Au, a minimum length of 5 m, and a maximum length of 5 m of consecutive internal waste. Included significant intervals have been calculated using a grade cut-off of 1.0 g/t Au, a minimum length of 3 m, and a maximum length of 2 m of consecutive internal waste. Gold grades are uncapped and mineralized intersection lengths are not necessarily true widths. RC drill samples are collected every meter and weighed in their entirety at the rig side to ensure consistent sample collection, then split, bagged, and tagged. Diamond drill core samples consist of half of either HQ or NQ core taken continuously at regular intervals averaging 1.4 m, bagged, and labelled at the site core shed. Samples are submitted to either Actlabs or Filab laboratories, both located in Paramaribo, Suriname, while respecting best-practice chain of custody procedures. Samples are dried, crushed to 80% passing 2 mm, riffle split (to either 250 g or 500 g), and pulverized to 95% passing 105 m. Coarse blanks are inserted by the Company, and are used between and following suspected high-grade intervals. Barren sand flushes are inserted by the analytical laboratory after each sample is pulverized to clean the bowl. Actlabs' pulverized samples are transported by labs to their laboratory in Georgetown, Guyana (an ISO 9001 certified laboratory), whilst Filab pulverized samples remain in Paramaribo for analysis. In both cases, gold assay is carried out using a 30 g or 50 g fire assay with an atomic absorption finish. Assays with overlimit results are re-assayed with a gravimetric finish. Certified reference materials and blanks are inserted at a rate of 5% of samples shipped to the laboratories. RC field duplicates pulp duplicates are also generated at a rate of 5% of samples. All assay data is subject to QA/QC prior to accepting into the Company database managed by an independent consultant.

Qualified Person

All scientific and technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Justin van der Toorn, CGeol FGS, EurGeol, President and CEO of Greenheart Gold, and a Qualified Person under Canadian National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Greenheart Gold Inc.

Greenheart Gold is an exploration company that builds on a proven legacy of discoveries within the Guiana Shield, a highly prospective geological terrain that hosts numerous gold deposits yet remains relatively under-explored. The Company is led by former executives and members of the exploration group of Reunion Gold, a team that was most recently noted for the discovery and delineation of the multimillion-ounce Oko West deposit in Guyana. Greenheart Gold intends to build on its technical knowledge, strong contact base and previous success from exploring in the Guiana Shield to assemble, maintain and explore a portfolio of early-stage exploration projects in Guyana and Suriname that are prospective for orogenic gold deposits.

Additional information about the Company is available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) and the Company's website (www.greenheartgold.com).

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of certain securities laws and are based on expectations and projections as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, without limitation, those related to the Company's plans and objectives, the timing of and execution of planned exploration activities, geological interpretation, potential favorable setting and mineralization, other statements relating to the business prospects of Greenheart Gold and, more generally, the section entitled "About Greenheart Gold Inc."

Forward-looking statements are based on beliefs, expectations, estimates and projections as of the time of this press release. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the time of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. These estimates and assumptions may prove to be incorrect. Such assumptions include, without limitation, those underlying the statements in the section entitled "About Greenheart Gold Inc."

Many of these uncertainties and contingencies can directly or indirectly affect, and could cause, actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific in nature, including among others, those risks and uncertainties set forth in the Company's audited consolidated financial statements and related notes for the initial period from April 19, 2024 to December 31, 2024 and the associated management's discussion & analysis, and other documents and reports filed by the Company with Canadian securities regulators available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca, and the risk that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions do not reflect future outcomes. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important risk factors and future events could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates, assumptions and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. The Company cautions that the list of factors set forth in the Company's filings that may affect future results is not exhaustive, and new, unforeseeable risks may arise from time to time. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.





Figure 1 - Drill results from the Heuvel prospect at the Majorodam project in Suriname (new results shown in bold). Background shows the first vertical derivative product derived from drone magnetics RTP data; white contours define gold in soil anomalies. See press release text for significant interval parameters.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11642/273906_aefd75e4142c0935_002full.jpg

Table 1 - Full list of significant results from the Heuvel (Majorodam project) trench sampling, RC and core drilling completed to date.* Significant intervals in this press release have been calculated using a grade cut-off of 0.3 g/t Au, a minimum length of 5 m, and a maximum length of 5 m of consecutive internal waste. Included significant intervals have been calculated using a grade cut-off of 1.0 g/t Au, a minimum length of 3 m, and a maximum length of 2 m of consecutive internal waste.

Hole ID From

(m) To

(m) Interval

(m) Au Grade

(g/t) Grade x Thickness

(gm/t) Cutoff*

(g/t Au) MAJD25-002 41.50 49.50 8.00 0.70 5.59 0.3 MAJD25-002 56.30 61.40 5.10 0.34 1.72 0.3 MAJD25-002 118.50 130.80 12.30 0.82 10.05 0.3 inc 118.50 124.00 5.50 1.58 8.71 1 MAJD25-005 129.00 134.00 5.00 1.17 5.84 0.3 MAJD25-006 39.00 52.00 13.00 1.29 16.82 0.3 inc 44.50 50.00 5.50 2.30 12.62 1 MAJD25-006 58.60 82.40 23.80 0.55 12.97 0.3 inc 88.90 92.80 3.90 1.48 5.77 1 MAJD25-009 24.00 32.00 8.00 0.45 3.59 0.3 MAJD25-011 39.70 51.20 11.50 1.34 15.46 0.3 inc 41.20 46.20 5.00 2.77 13.86 1 MAJR25-001 1.00 7.00 6.00 0.73 4.38 0.3 inc 1.00 4.00 3.00 1.17 3.51 1 MAJR25-003 53.00 66.00 13.00 4.37 56.81 0.3 inc 60.00 66.00 6.00 9.34 56.01 1 MAJR25-009 1.00 14.00 13.00 0.40 5.15 0.3 MAJR25-010 96.00 126.00 30.00 2.06 61.68 0.3 inc 96.00 104.00 8.00 3.66 29.27 1 inc 115.00 126.00 11.00 2.27 24.93 1 MAJR25-015 24.00 42.00 18.00 1.47 26.39 0.3 MAJR25-015 43.00 48.00 5.00 5.02 25.08 0.3 inc 43.00 48.00 5.00 5.02 25.08 1 MAJR25-015 49.00 64.00 15.00 0.55 8.22 0.3 MAJR25-015 83.00 90.00 7.00 0.39 2.72 0.3 MAJR25-016 16.00 30.00 14.00 0.36 5.03 0.3 MAJR25-016 37.00 42.00 5.00 1.42 7.12 0.3 MAJR25-017 2.00 7.00 5.00 0.60 3.01 0.3 MAJT25-024 40.00 46.00 6.00 1.42 8.50 0.3 MAJT25-029 44.00 62.00 18.00 6.39 115.07 0.3 inc 50.00 60.00 10.00 11.02 110.22 1 MAJT25-032 0.00 10.00 10.00 0.49 4.91 0.3





Figure 2 - Updated soil results from the Tosso Creek project in Suriname.

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11642/273906_aefd75e4142c0935_003full.jpg

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/273906

SOURCE: Greenheart Gold Inc.
Consensus-Built 'Fit-for-Purpose' Quality and Safety Standards for Community Oncology Programs

OMAHA, NEBRASKA / ACCESS Newswire / November 10, 2025 / The Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) today published the Standards for Immune Effector Cells in the Community Clinical Setting, 1st edition, to help community oncology programs deliver transformative cell therapies closer to where eligible patients live and work.

"These Standards, and FACT's accompanying voluntary accreditation, will help assure community-based caregivers, patients, and all stakeholders that the patient journey will be grounded in quality and safety," says Dr. Catherine Bollard, President of the FACT Board of Directors.

While familiarity with and use of cell therapies continues to grow among physicians, demand still exists for clear and consistent information. In a 2024 survey from IQVIA, ~70% of referring physicians said they would benefit from more, or a lot more, information about cell therapy. These Standards respond to that need.

"FACT spent several months inviting feedback from a wide range of stakeholders in cell and gene therapy, and took action with the appropriate urgency," says FACT CEO David Schmahl. "We'll continue to listen and respond to the needs of providers, patients, and other stakeholders."

Development began last spring when FACT convened the Community CAR T Working Group, comprised of community-based physicians, leaders from academic medical centers, and representatives of medical societies. The Community IEC Standards adapt the FACT-JACIE International Standards for Immune Effector Cells, 3rd edition, to meet the "fit-for-purpose" needs of community-based oncology programs.

"Currently, many patients eligible for cellular therapy must be referred for treatment to hospitals far away from where they live, often resulting in the treatment not being received. We must expand access for treatment much closer to where these patients live. These Standards help community oncology programs do this, with relevant guidance addressing quality and safety through the patient journey," says Working Group member Michael Byrne, DO (Tennessee Oncology).

"FACT is committed to expanding patient access and working with community oncology programs to see that care happens safely and with quality at the forefront," added Schmahl.

FACT urges all parties interested to access these Standards and be part of the solution to bring these transformative therapies to more patients.

Since 2017, FACT has accredited 181 programs for IEC administration in five countries. Overall, 319 organizations in 26 countries are accredited by FACT. For more information, visit www.factglobal.org .

ABOUT FACT

FACT is a non-profit corporation co-founded in 1996 by the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT) and the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT) to develop comprehensive patient-centric standards in cell therapy based on current science, focusing on quality and safety in medical and laboratory practice. In addition, FACT offers corresponding voluntary accreditation aligned with the services offered by the applicant program. FACT engages and interacts with hundreds of peer experts in its administration of these efforts.

Contact Information

Media Contact

fact@factglobal.org

(402) 920-7001

SOURCE: Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/facts-new-standards-for-immune-effector-cells-in-the-community-clinic-1098424
An online replay of the call will be available approximately two hours following the conclusion of the live broadcast and will continue for 7 days. A link to these events will be available on the Investor Relations page of the Company's website: https://investor.dixiegroup.com .

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - November 10, 2025) - Laiva Gold Inc (CSE: EDGM) will be participating in Deutsche Goldmesse Fall 2025, which will take place on November 14th and 15th at the JW Marriott Hotel Frankfurt.

Members of Laiva Gold Inc management will be taking meetings throughout the day, and also present to an audience of European investors.

An online registration form is available, and Investors can register to attend at:

https://deutschegoldmesse.online/investor-registration-3/

Kai Hoffmann, Managing Director of Soar Financial Partners, remarks, "After two virtual, and eight in-person events, Deutsche Goldmesse has established itself as Germany's premier investment conference in the resource space. Being from Germany myself and working solely in the junior mining space for the last 15 years, I understand what German and European investors are looking for. This is why I have focused on bringing together a selective group of impressive and diverse companies, keynote speakers, influencers, HNW investors, asset & fund managers, media partners and more. I am thrilled to once again deliver this boutique event, exclusive to the junior mining sector."

The Deutsche Goldmesse website is regularly updated with attending companies, keynote speakers, the event schedule, and other important details: www.deutschegoldmesse.com

About Deutsche Goldmesse

Deutsche Goldmesse is Germany's leading mining investment conference, held in Frankfurt- one of Europe's key financial hubs. The exclusive two-day event brings together leading minds in the industry to foster new business opportunities and facilitate valuable relationships. Each edition features up to 35 carefully selected mining companies spanning a range of commodities and stages, alongside internationally recognized keynote speakers and media personalities.

Hosted by Soar Financial Partners, Deutsche Goldmesse offers a unique platform for company executives to engage directly with European institutional and high-net-worth investors, retail investors, analysts, newsletter writers, media, and other strategic partners.

SOURCE: Soar Financial Partners
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 10, 2025) - Batero Gold Corp. (TSXV: BAT) (FSE: 68B) (OTC Pink: BELDF) (the "Company" or "Batero") is pleased to announce that, further to its November 7, 2025 press release, the Company's common shares are expected to resume trading on the TSX Venture Exchange on Wednesday, November 12, 2025.

About Batero Gold Corp.

Batero is a precious and base metals exploration company. The Company's objective is to develop the La Cumbre Gold Project in Risaralda, Colombia. La Cumbre is located within the Company's 100% owned Batero-Quinchia Gold Project, which sits within Colombia's emerging and prolific Mid Cauca gold and copper belt.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Diego Heilbrunn Navarro-Grau

Director and Chief Executive Officer

Batero Gold Corp.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements as defined in applicable securities laws (collectively referred to as "forward-looking statements"). These statements relate to future events or our future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the date that the Company's common shares will be reinstated on the TSX Venture Exchange, as well as statements related to the future development of the Company's La Cumbre Gold Project in Risaralda, Colombia.

By their nature, forward-looking statements and information involve assumptions, inherent risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are usually beyond the control of management, that could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed by these forward-looking statements and information. Forward-looking information and statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are subject to several known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievement expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. Readers and investors should not place undue reliance on such statements.

Certain risks which could impact the Company are discussed under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in the Company's most recent MD&A available at SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Forward-looking information and statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and accordingly are subject to change after such date. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to revise any forward-looking information and statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such information and statements. All forward-looking information and statements contained or incorporated by reference in this news release are qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/273932

SOURCE: Batero Gold Corp.
In April this year, Dharmendra underwent an eye graft surgery. He has not been keeping well for long. This is not the first time that Dharmendras health has been speculated upon.

Veteran actor Dharmendra complained of breathlessness last week and was rushed to the hospital. He is admitted in Mumbais Breach Candy Hospital. More details about his health are awaited.

According to a report published in HT City, Hema Malini said Were hoping for his speedy recovery. Hema was also spotted at the Breach Candy hospital today in Mumbai, where he is currently admitted. Dharmendras son Sunny Deol too was spotted arriving.

Dharmendra has been credited with the most number of hits for a leading man, with consecutive blockbusters in the year 1987, particularly Hukumat with Anil Sharma.

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He has done films like Bandini, Guddi, Sholay, Pratigya, Chupke Chupke, Dream Girl, Charas, The Burning Train, Krodhi, Loha, Hukumat, Farishtay, Elaan-E-Jung, Tahalka, Dharam Veer, Life In A Metro, Apne, Johnny Gaddaar, Ikkis, and Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani in his career.

The 89-year-old actor was admitted to the Breach Candy hospital in south Mumbai earlier this week.

He went to the hospital on Thursday. Since the results would take some time to arrive, the family decided that it would be better for him to stay there until all the routine check-ups are done properly. He is old and needs proper attention from the doctors. Theres nothing to worry about, the insider told PTI.

In April this year, Dharmendra underwent an eye graft surgery. At the time, the cinema icon was spotted with a bandage on his right eye as he was exited from a Mumbai hospital.

He also interacted with the paparazzi, saying that he is still very strong.

Abhi bohot dum hai, abhi bhi bohot jaan hai Meri aankh mein graft hua hai (Im still very strong and full of life. I had an eye graft surgery). Love you audience. Im strong, Dharmendra said.

The veteran actors most recent project was the Shahid Kapoor-Kriti Sanons romantic comedy Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya.

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He will be seen next in filmmaker Sriram Raghavans war-drama Ikkis based on the life of the Param Vir Chakra recipient Arun Khetarpal.

The film, starring Amitabh Bachchans grandson Agastya Nanda and Akshay Kumars niece Simar Bhatia, will be released in December this year.

Dharmendra will also feature in family-drama thriller Maine Pyaar Kiya Phir Se, alongside actor Arbaaz Khan.
Fatima has also battled dyslexia and Adult Hyperactivity Disorder and confessed of being bullied in school

Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch is being hailed on social media as she stood up and raised her voice not only for herself but all the other models and beauty queens as they had to face the disrespect and irresponsible behaviour of Miss Universe organizer Nawat Itsaragrisil in Thailand.

In one of her statements that surfaced, she said she would never participate in any of the events that would happen in Thailand. Heres everything you need to know about the beauty queen.

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Who is Fatima Bosch?

She is currently a beauty queen in the Miss Universe lineup. Born in Mexico, she has always been into modelling since a young age and a supporter of social advocacy. For all of those who were unaware, Bosch became the first-ever queen from the Mexican state of Tabasco to win Miss Universe Mexico in September 2025.

Educational background

Fatima studied fashion design at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico, as well as attending the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan, Italy, and the Lyndon Institute in Vermont. She has also battled dyslexia and Adult Hyperactivity Disorder and confessed of being bullied in school.

Did Nawat Itsaragrisil berate Miss Universe Mexico?

As per reports, Itsaragrisil called Bosch dumb head. And called her out for not participating in promotional materials for Thailand. This is when many models walked out of the event.

Nawat Itsaragrisil issues a statement

If anyone wants to continue the contest, sit down. If you step out, the rest of the girls continue.

What Miss Universe Victoria Kjaer Theilvig of Denmark said

She said in her official statement- This is about womens rights, she said as she left the event. This is not how things should be handled. To trash another girl is beyond disrespectful Thats why Im taking my coat and Im walking out.

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Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch breaks silence

I just want to let my country know, Im not afraid to make my voice heard. Its here stronger than ever. I have a purpose. I have things to say. Were in the 21st century. Im not a doll to be made up, styled and have my clothes changed. I came here to be a voice for all the women and all the girls who fight for causes and to tell my country that Im completely committed to that.
The J&K Police, with help from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Faridabad Police, have thwarted a big terror plot after seizing a large quantity of ammunition from a rented house in Faridabads Dhauj village. The bust came days after the arrest of a Kashmiri doctor from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, who was accused of putting up posters in Srinagar supporting terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)

The Jammu and Kashmir Police, along with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Faridabad Police, carried out extensive searches in home of Dr Muzammil Shakeel, also a Kashmiri doctor in Dhauj village, located on the outskirts of Faridabad. File Image/PTI

The Jammu & Kashmir Police, with help from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Faridabad Police, have reportedly foiled a major terror plot after seizing around 350 kilograms of explosives, an AK-47 rifle, and a large quantity of ammunition from a rented house in Faridabads Dhauj village.

The bust, which took place on Sunday, came just days after the arrest of a Kashmiri doctor from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, who was accused of putting up posters in Srinagar supporting terror outfit (JeM).

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Investigators believe the doctor and the man linked to the Faridabad hideout were part of a wider terror network with suspected cross-border links, possibly planning large-scale attacks in northern India.

A senior officer from the J&K Police described the discovery as a major breakthrough that may have averted a catastrophic terror attack, Hindustan Times reported.

So, how did investigators connect the dots, and how did the crackdown unfold? Heres what we know so far.

A poster in Srinagar exposed it all

According to a News18 report citing police sources, the trail goes back to October 27, when posters supporting the terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) appeared in parts of Srinagar.

Local police began investigating the incident and, after scanning CCTV footage, identified a man named Adil Rather putting up the posters. Nine days later, on November 6, he was traced to a hospital on Ambala Road in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where he was arrested.

Investigations revealed that Rather had previously worked at the Government Medical College in Anantnag until October last year. When police searched his locker there, they reportedly found an assault rifle hidden inside.

Further inquiries uncovered Rathers links to Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH), a terror group that seeks to impose Sharia law in Kashmir and wage jihad against India.

Dr Adil Rather (right) had previously worked at the Government Medical College in Anantnag until October last year. When police searched his locker there, they reportedly found an assault rifle hidden inside. The probe led them to, Dr Muzammil Shakeel (left), also a Kashmiri doctor believed to be associated with him. Image courtesy: X

This finding alarmed the authorities, who suspected that Rather and his associates were attempting to revive AGHs network in the Valley. Their probe eventually led them to another name, Dr Muzammil Shakeel, also a Kashmiri doctor believed to be associated with the group.

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Acting on intelligence inputs, the Jammu and Kashmir Police, along with local authorities, raided Shakeels rented accommodation in Faridabad, Haryana, and what they uncovered there was far more alarming than anyone had anticipated.

Also read: Gujarat anti-terror squad busts ISIS plot, arrests 3 for planning attacks across India

The shocking Faridabad haul

The Jammu and Kashmir Police, along with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Faridabad Police, carried out extensive searches in Shakeels home in Dhauj village, located on the outskirts of Faridabad.

#WATCH | Haryana | 360 kg of possible ammonium nitrate, assault rifle and other ammunition recovered by J&K Police during investigation in Faridabad.



Visuals from Fatehpur Taga in Faridabad where a search operation by Haryana Police is underway. This is about 4 km away from the pic.twitter.com/BJFdJitlwP  ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2025

According to police officials, the operation led to the recovery of 14 bags of ammonium nitrate weighing around 100 kilograms, 84 live cartridges, an AK-47 rifle, 20 timers, and five litres of chemical solution. In total, 48 items suspected of being used in assembling improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were seized.

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Locals and investigative sources revealed to News18 that the Al-Falah Hospital, where Shakeel had been working, was established years ago with reported external funding from the Gulf, in memory of a donors family member. The institutions staff and teaching members are said to be predominantly Muslim.

Top intelligence sources have described the module as a possible sleeper cell setup. Faridabads proximity to Delhi, combined with the semi-rural isolation of areas like Dhauj, made it an ideal hideout, providing easy access to the National Capital Region while staying under the radar.

A senior police officer said that preliminary forensic testing has confirmed the explosive nature of the recovered materials, with further analysis underway. The seized items have been sent for detailed forensic examination to determine their composition and potential usage.

According to officials, the ammonium nitrate and other materials found were enough to create multiple high-intensity IEDs, capable of causing large-scale destruction if detonated.

Faridabad, Haryana: Commissioner Of Police Satender Kumar Gupta briefs on J&K Police recovering IED-making materials and ammunition during an investigation in Faridabad pic.twitter.com/800wGZ4q7N  IANS (@ians_india) November 10, 2025

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Investigators are now focusing on tracing the supply chain of the explosives and identifying possible links to handlers across the border. Intelligence agencies are also probing how the network was funded and whether it was part of a larger terror module operating in northern India.

Cases have been registered under the Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and officials say the next step is to completely dismantle the groups operational structure.

As the probe widens, multiple agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA), are expected to join the investigation, according to police sources.

With input from agencies
A 23-year-old Andhra Pradesh student, identified as Yarlagadda Rajyalakshmi, passed away on the morning of November 7 due to severe cough and chest pain in the United States. Her untimely death has left the family heartbroken. Rajyalakshmi was a recent graduate of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and was on the lookout for employment opportunities

With dreams of building a future for her family and herself, 23-year-old Rajyalakshmi (Raji)Yarlagadda, daughter of Ramakrishna and Nagamani, had moved to the United States to pursue her Masters degree in Computer Science. After completing her MS course, she was actively seeking opportunities.

On the morning of November 7, the Andhra Pradesh student did not wake up when her alarm went off. Rajyalakshmi had been battling with a severe cough and chest pain for the last two to three days before her sudden death. She had also informed her parents about the same.

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In fact, the previous night, Rajyalakshmi reportedly told her parents that she had scheduled a doctors appointment for November 9. However, she passed away the same night.

But, the question remains, did Rajyalakshmi die due to cough and chest pain? If not, then whats the exact cause of her death?

Lets take a closer look at the incident.

Did cough and chest pain lead to Rajyalakshmis death?

Battling an unbearable cough and chest pain for the past few days, the 23-year-old had never thought that her usual chat with her parents would be her last one.

According to her cousin, Chaitanya YVK, Rajyalakshmi had been suffering from a severe cough and chest discomfort for three days.

On the morning of November 7, her friends discovered that she had passed away in her sleep. After knowing about her untimely death, her family members were inconsolable, mourning the tragic loss.

A medical examination is still underway in the US to ascertain the exact cause of her death.

She was a bright, hopeful soul

Chaitanya said that Rajyalakshmi came to the United States with big dreams of achieving personal and professional success.

She wanted to build a better future for her family, who depend on their small farmland in Karmechedu of Bapatla in Andhra Pradesh, he said.

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Rajyalakshmi was a bright, hopeful soul who wanted to help her parents continue their farming journey, Chaitanya furthered.

The familys primary livelihood was farmland, crops and livestock. As the youngest member in the house, Rajyalakshmis mission was to support her parents financially once she commenced her professional journey.

The pall of grief hangs heavy over the family now as they face financial hardship as well.

Whats expected next?

As the shocking incident unfolds, the Indian community in Texas has extended their full support to expedite the repatriation process, and the Indian consulate is expected to assist with formalities.

A medical examination is currently underway in the US to ascertain the key cause of the untimely death of the Andhra Pradesh student.

TDP MLA from Parchur, Yeluri Sambasiva Rao, also expressed his condolences to the grieving family, assuring that all necessary assistance would be extended by the state government to bring her body back home for the final rites.

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Meanwhile, Chaitanya has also launched a GoFundMe raiser from Denton, Texas, with the objective of raising funds to cover funeral expenses and transportation of her body to India.

He has appealed to friends and well-wishers to contribute a small donation that can provide some financial support to her parents.

With Inputs from agencies
Iraq is bracing to vote in a parliamentary election, which comes at a crucial moment for the country. Its Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, is bidding for a second term. His campaign is built on his governments successes in providing better services and maintaining balanced relations with Iran and the US

Iraqis are preparing to vote in a parliamentary election that comes at a crucial moment in the country and the region.

The vote will begin Sunday with polling for members of the security forces and displaced people living in camps, and the general election is set for Tuesday.

The outcome of the vote will influence whether Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani can serve a second term.

The election comes amid fears of another war between Israel and Iran and potential Israeli or U.S. strikes on Iran-backed groups in Iraq. Baghdad seeks to maintain a delicate balance in its relations with Tehran and Washington amid increasing pressure from the Trump administration over the presence of Iran-linked armed groups.

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Heres a look at what to expect in the upcoming vote.

Spotlight on Iraqs electoral system

This years election will be the seventh since the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 that unseated the countrys longtime strongman ruler, Saddam Hussein.

In the security vacuum after Saddams fall, the country fell into years of bloody civil war that saw the rise of extremist groups, including the Islamic State group. But in recent years, the violence has subsided. Rather than security, the main concern of many Iraqis now is the lack of job opportunities and lagging public services  including regular power cuts despite the countrys energy wealth.

Under the law, 25% of the countrys 329 parliamentary seats must go to women, and nine seats are allocated for religious minorities. The position of speaker of Parliament is also assigned to a Sunni according to convention in Iraqs post-2003 power-sharing system, while the prime minister is always Shiite and the president a Kurd.

Voter turnout has steadily fallen in recent elections. In the last parliamentary election in 2021, turnout was 41%, a record low in the post-Saddam era, down from 44% in the 2018 election, which at the time was an all-time low.

However, only 21.4 million out of a total of 32 million eligible voters have updated their information and obtained voter cards, a decrease from the last parliamentary election in 2021, when about 24 million voters registered.

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Unlike past elections, there will be no polling stations outside of the country.

Meet the key players

7,744 candidates are competing, most of them from a range of largely sectarian-aligned parties, in addition to some independents.

They include Shiite blocs led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, cleric Ammar al-Hakim, and several linked to armed groups; competing Sunni factions led by former Parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi and current speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani; and the two main Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

Several powerful, Iran-linked Shiite militias are participating in the election via associated political parties. They include the Kataib Hezbollah militia, with its Harakat Huqouq (Rights Movement) bloc, and the Sadiqoun Bloc led by the leader of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia, Qais al-Khazali.

However, one of the most prominent players in the countrys politics is sitting the election out.

The popular Sadrist Movement, led by influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, is boycotting. Al-Sadrs bloc won the largest number of seats in the 2021 election but later withdrew after failed negotiations over forming a government, amid a standoff with rival Shiite parties. He has since boycotted the political system.

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The Sadrist stronghold of Sadr City on the outskirts of Baghdad is home to roughly 40% of Baghdads population and has long played a decisive role in shaping the balance of power among Shiite factions.

But in the run-up to this election, the usually vibrant streets were almost entirely devoid of campaign posters or banners. Instead, a few signs calling for an election boycott could be seen.

Meanwhile, some reformist groups emerging from mass anti-government protests that began in October 2019 are participating but have been bogged down by internal divisions and lack of funding and political support.

Major concerns about the electoral process

There have been widespread allegations of corruption and vote-buying ahead of the election, and 848 candidates were disqualified by election officials, sometimes for obscure reasons such as allegedly insulting religious rituals or members of the armed forces.

Past elections in Iraq were often marred by political violence, including assassinations of candidates, attacks on polling stations and clashes between supporters of different blocs.

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While overall levels of violence have subsided, a candidate was also assassinated in the run-up to this years election.

On Oct. 15, Baghdad Provincial Council member Safaa al-Mashhadani, a Sunni candidate in the al-Tarmiya district north of the capital, was killed by a car bomb. Five suspects have been arrested in connection with the killing, which is being prosecuted as a terrorist act.

AI-Sudani eyes another term

Al-Sudani came to power in 2022 with the backing of a group of pro-Iran parties but has since sought to balance Iraqs relations with Tehran and Washington. He has positioned himself as a pragmatist focused on improving public services.

While Iraq has seen relative stability during al-Sudanis first term, he does not have an easy path to a second one. Only one Iraqi prime minister, Maliki, has served more than one term since 2003.

The election outcome will not necessarily indicate whether or not al-Sudani stays. In several past elections in Iraq, the bloc winning the most seats has not been able to impose its preferred candidate.

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On one side, al-Sudani faces disagreements with some leaders in the Shiite Coordination Framework bloc that brought him to power over control of state institutions. On the other side, he faces increasing pressure from the U.S. to control the countrys militias.

A matter of particular contention has been the fate of the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of militias that formed to fight the Islamic State group.

It was formally placed under the control of the Iraqi military in 2016 but in practice still operates with significant autonomy. Members of the PMF will be voting alongside Iraqi army soldiers and other security forces on Saturday.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police has seized 350 kilogrammes of ammonium nitrate in Faridabad. Authorities recovered the material from a doctor with suspected terror links. This chemical can trigger explosions when exposed to intense heat

The Jammu and Kashmir Police last week seized 350 kilos of ammonium nitrate in Faridabad.

Authorities recovered the ammonium nitrate on Sunday from a doctor with suspected terror links. Authorities also recovered an assault rifle, some ammunition, and explosive timers.

Authorities made the bust after a tip-off from a suspected terrorist who is in custody. Ammonium nitrate was responsible for the explosion in Beirut in 2020.

But what happened? What is ammonium nitrate? How dangerous is it? Lets take a closer look.

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What is ammonium nitrate?

Ammonium nitrate (NHNO) is a colourless crystalline solid substance. It is made by combining ammonia (NH) with nitric acid (HNO). With a melting point of 169.6 C, the substance is highly soluble in water. When heated further, it can produce nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas.

It is a synthetic compound  meaning it does not occur naturally. You wont just find ammonium nitrate in the ground, explained Andrea Sella, professor of chemistry at University College London, in a BBC interview.

Manufactured in large industrial quantities, commercial-grade ammonium nitrate contains around 33.5 per cent nitrogen. It is widely used to make artificial fertilisers, which are essential for crop growth. Around 80 per cent of the ammonium nitrate produced globally is used in the fertiliser industry because nitrogen is vital for plant development.

Fertiliser made from ammonium nitrate became widespread after the Second World War. While it increased crop yields by providing plants with easily absorbable nitrogen, it also contributed to soil nutrient depletion. As a result, agriculture has become increasingly dependent on synthetic fertilisers such as ammonium nitrate.

However, fertiliser is not its only use. Ammonium nitrate can also be used to make explosives. When combined with fuel, it can produce a cheap and powerful explosive mixture. The compound is manufactured worldwide and is relatively inexpensive to obtain.

How dangerous is it?

While ammonium nitrate is not dangerous by itself and is relatively easy to handle, it can become hazardous when exposed to combustible substances or materials. Over time, it absorbs moisture from the air and can harden into large, solid masses.

The real problem is that over time it will absorb little bits of moisture and eventually turns into an enormous rock, Sella said. This was precisely what happened in Lebanon in 2020, when 3,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored at the Beirut port exploded, killing over 1,000 people and devastating the city.

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During such explosions, toxic gases such as nitrogen oxides and ammonia can be released. If there isnt much wind, it could become a danger to people nearby, Sella added.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police made the bust based on an intelligence input. File Image/PTI

Ammonium nitrate has also been used in several terrorist attacks  most notably the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Timothy McVeigh, who carried out the attack, used around two tonnes of ammonium nitrate to make a bomb that destroyed a federal building and killed 168 people.

Other major industrial accidents involving ammonium nitrate include:

Tianjin, China (2015): An explosion at a warehouse storing ammonium nitrate killed at least 173 people.

Texas City, USA (1947): Around 2,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate on a ship docked at the port exploded, killing 581 people, the deadliest industrial accident in US history.

Oppau, Germany (1921): A blast caused by 4,500 tonnes of ammonium nitrate killed 500 people.

Due to such incidents, governments have imposed strict regulations on how ammonium nitrate is produced, stored, and transported.

The manufacturing process can also generate environmental pollutants such as fine dust, nitric acid emissions, and wastewater containing phosphorus, fluorides, ammonia, and weak acids.

When used in fertilisers, ammonium nitrate can lead to ammonia emissions, which combine with other air pollutants to form particulate matter  extremely harmful to human health. Such pollution has been linked to learning and memory problems in children and heart and lung diseases in adults. Studies have also shown that long-term exposure can worsen conditions such as Alzheimers and dementia.

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Moreover, ammonium nitrate contributes to global warming. Nitrogen-based fertilisers account for nearly 60 per cent of nitrous oxide emissions, a greenhouse gas about 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat within the atmosphere.

How the bust was made

The ammonium nitrate was recovered by the Jammu and Kashmir Police from Faridabad after receiving intelligence from Adil Ahmad Rahter, a suspected terrorist arrested in Uttar Pradeshs Saharanpur. Rahter had allegedly put up posters in Srinagar supporting the terror group Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM)  an outfit responsible for several attacks in India, including the 2019 Pulwama attack and the 2001 assault on Parliament.

Sources said the seized ammonium nitrate, if combined with a combustible substance, could have caused a blast with a radius of 50 to 100 metres, resulting in total destruction within a third of that area. Buildings up to 120 metres away could have suffered damage.

Police said the bust was made after an assault rifle and ammunition were recovered from a locker belonging to one Mujahil Shakeel at the Government Medical College in Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir. The material was initially suspected to be RDX, another white and odourless explosive.

With inputs from agencies
Vivek Ramaswamy and Kash Patel, vocal supporters of President Donald Trump and his America First policy, are facing racist and xenophobic attacks online. Ramaswamys Halloween post invited go back to your country remarks, while the FBI director received hate comments just for wishing Diwali

Vivek Ramaswamy has been endorsed by Donald Trump in the Ohio gubernatorial election. File Photo/Reuters

Donald Trumps Make America Great Again or Maga base has trained its guns on FBI Director Kash Patel and Vivek Ramaswamy, both vocal supporters of the United States president. The Indian-origin duo is facing racist attacks despite their ties to Trump.

Amid backlash, the American president has endorsed Ramaswamy in the Ohio governors race. The hateful rhetoric against Indian-Americans by Maga has exposed a deep ideological rift within the conservatives.

Lets take a closer look.

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Vivek Ramaswamy under Maga fire

Vivek Ramaswamy, who amplifies Trumps America First policy, has become a target of the Maga base.

This comes amid an electoral setback for the Republican Party in the recent state elections. The defeat of GOP candidates in the elections in New Jersey, New York and Virginia has forced the need for introspection.

Ramaswamy, who is running for Governor in Ohio, was projected to be narrowly behind Democrat Amy Acton, according to a recent poll. While many other polls place him ahead, some Maga supporters called for replacing him in the 2026 Ohio gubernatorial election, as per an Economic Times report.

This came after Ramaswamy advised Republicans to shun identity politics if they want to retain voters. This did not sit well with the far-right, white supremacist Maga base of Trump.

Vivek must lose. If Republicans dont want to lose, they should run someone else right now. This race is not Republican vs Democrat, but a referendum on whether being an American is just a piece of paper. Its a line in the sand, one wrote.

Ramaswamy, who was born to Indian immigrants, also faced xenophobic attacks over his Halloween post. Social media users told him to Go back to your country and fix his home.

A practising Hindu, Ramaswamy has shaped his politics by defending traditional American values and supporting the end of woke ideology. Despite supporting the parroting points of the populist Maga movement, he is at the receiving end of racist attacks.

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Vivek Ramaswamy and Kash Patel are being targeted on social media for being non-White.

Recent remarks by US Vice President JD Vance on the Hindu faith of his wife, Usha Vance, also stirred a debate about faith and belonging in Trumps America, noted ET.

With his endorsement for Ramaswamy, whom he called something special, Trump is trying to undo the damage caused by online vitriol by the fringe right-wing in the US against Indian Americans.

Conservative Dinesh DSouza, who has Indian roots, denounced the attacks directed at Ramaswamy as a sh*tshow and unreal. He blamed figures like American conservative host Tucker Carlson, Maga extremist Nick Fuentes, and conservative organisations like The Heritage Foundation for normalising the far-right elements. Look at the abuse Vivek is getting for posting an innocuous photo with his boys. If this continues, I would not be surprised to see mass desertions of blacks, Latinos and other minorities from the GOP, he warned.

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The rhetoric against immigrants and minorities has been fuelled not just by Trumps Maga base but also by many prominent Republicans, who have called for ending legal immigration and the H-1B visa programme.

Kash Patel experiences Maga backlash

Maga is also unhappy with FBI Director Kash Patel. He was criticised for his Diwali greetings and for the reported use of a government jet to attend his girlfriend Alexis Wilkinss performance in Pennsylvania.

Patels brief post on X read: Happy Diwali  celebrating the Festival of Lights around the world, as good triumphs over evil.

This triggered a storm of anti-Hindu remarks on the social media platform.

Reject this false religions Diwali nonsense, a user wrote. Another commented, Not the brightest idea to promote foreign gods in the Christian Nation of America.

FBI Director Kash Patel was criticised by some for extending Diwali wishes. File Photo/Reuters

Patels reaction to using a government plane for personal reasons was also condemned by Maga supporters. The FBI director, who chided people for disgustingly baseless attacks against his partner, faced flak.

Conservative commenter Candace Owens wrote on X, I dont care about Alexis one way or another but I want to point out that the head of the FBI is tweeting out in defense of his girlfriend. Not a wife but a girlfriend. We are just not a serious nation whatsoever.

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Critics say Indian-American conservatives like DSouza and Patel are on the receiving end of the xenophobic attacks that they once helped mainstream, as per Times of India (TOI).

The split within the US right wing is now out in the open. The increasing hate against non-Whites has been largely driven by the far-right, white nationalist Groyper movement led by Maga extremist Nick Fuentes.

DSouza and Patel, who have supported the Maga agenda, are being labelled as useful idiots who can be discarded once they stop being of political use, reported TOI.

Is online hate against desis hurting Republicans?

It seems so.

In Edison, New Jersey, an enclave with one of the largest populations of Indian-Americans, the recent gubernatorial election data signal a major shift away from Republicans to Democrats.

More than 50 per cent of desis favoured Democrats over the GOP.

This shift can be attributed to the Republican Partys increasing nativism, crackdown on immigration and racist attacks on high-profile Indian-American figures, as per the TOI report.

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Some say that this could echo a swing to Democrats on a larger scale.

Trump wins because his America First includes conservative blacks, Jews, Latinos and immigrants who love America and want to assimilate. Trumps formula is being DERAILED by Tucker, Candace and Fuentes who dont like Trump and have a new formula for us to lose every election, Maga analyst DSouza said.

A very loud group on the Right said, Indians go home, and so many of them didto the Democratic Party, he noted.

Some also called out DSouza. Dinesh DSouza has been lying and grifting in far-right circles for decades, and he never minded the sewer he contributed to until it turned on him, an African-American podcaster said, taking a jibe.

What did Republicans do to deserve this Indian betrayal, a user wrote.

You can often be skeptical about whether online controversies affect voters. But the anti-Indian hate is so out of control and over the top that I think people were bound to notice, commentator Richard Hanania wrote.

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With inputs from agencies
Political parties in the opposition have called for nationwide protests against the governments 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill that confers sweeping powers to Pakistan army chief Asim Munir. A six-party alliance, known as the Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan, has termed the proposed legislation as an extremely dark and dangerous change to the constitution and has vowed to fight against it

A police officer stands in front of the traffic, next to posters of the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan Asim Munir, in Karachi. File image/Reuters

Pakistan is on edge as its parliament will vote on the 27th Constitutional Amendment today (November 10). The bill looks to entrench the military even further and gives more power to Pakistans army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir  a move that many are calling the death of justice.

But even as the bill looks to be passed today in the Senate, there are many who are against it, and have even called for nationwide protests, noting that the amendment would shake the foundations of the Constitution.

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But whats in the amendment that has attracted such criticism?

Whats in Pakistans 27th Amendment?

Last week, Pakistans Cabinet cleared the 27th Amendment, which looks to make changes to Article 243 of the Pakistan constitution.

According to lawmakers who have seen the draft bill of the amendment, it is said to include provisions that would reshape the judiciary, centralise certain provincial powers, and potentially alter the constitutional framework governing the armed forces.

One of the key features of the 27th Amendment is the revision to Article 243, formally vesting the office of Chief of the Defence Forces in the Chief of Army Staff, and granting the Field Marshal rank for life  a move that constitutionally recognises the army chiefs senior status.

Many note that the current move is reminiscent of the change that General Zia-ul-Haq made in the past, which effectively shifted authority from the civilian government to the presidency and, by extension, the military.

The proposed 27th Amendment risks reviving that legacy by placing the armed forces once again at the centre of Pakistans political structure.

Many note that through this legislation, Field Marshal Asim Munir will become the powerful military officer in Pakistans history. Pakistani Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar has said that this was a title, not a rank or appointment, conferred on national heroes and meant to be held for life.

The 27th Amendment Bill also looks to tweak the judiciary, with many noting that it would steal powers away from the supreme court. The amendment proposes creating a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), which would take over cases involving constitutional interpretation, inter-governmental disputes, and issues under Article 199. This means the FCC would become the primary forum for constitutional matters, previously handled by the Supreme Court.

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Moreover, the chief justice of the FCC would rank higher and retire at 68, compared to the current retirement age of 65 for the Supreme Court judges.

Why is the opposition protesting the 27th Amendment?

While proponents of the amendment note that it will help reduce case backlogs, eliminate overlaps between benches, and depoliticise the higher judiciary, members of the opposition have slammed the move, calling it an extremely dark and dangerous change in the constitution.

The opposition alliance, Tehreek Tahafuz Ayeen-i-Pakistan (TTAP), has even announced nationwide protests against it. The TTAP is made up of six parties the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), and the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).

Voicing his opposition to the 27th Amendment, MWM chief Allama Raja Nasir Abbas said in a statement: Democratic institutions have been paralysed in Pakistan. The nation must rise against the proposed 27th Amendment.

In this hour, it is the responsibility of the people of Pakistan to take a stand and speak against such an extremely dark and extremely dangerous constitutional amendment, which is the 27th (Amendment), he added.

Opposition parties across Pakistan have voiced their opposition to the 27th Amednment, and called for nationwide protests. Representational image/Reuters

PkMAP chairman Mahmood Khan Achakzai urged all political parties to participate and said their movement would kick off on Sunday night. Every night, with a new slogan, we will awaken the consciousness of the people. The slogan of the people is the supremacy of the Constitution, he was quoted as saying by Dawn.

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He further noted that the alliance had no choice but to protest against the governments actions, which he said were shaking the very foundations of the Constitution.

The PTI has also vowed to fight against the proposed legislation. Party chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan warned that the amendment would jeopardise the independence of the judiciary and threaten the integrity of the federation.

And its not just the opposition that is raising its voice against the 27th amendment. Legal and defence experts are also voicing concern over the move.

One senior counsel, who wished to remain anonymous, told Dawn: Left with a limited jurisdiction of deciding ordinary civil, criminal and statutory appeals, the Supreme Court has now become all the more a Supreme District Court.

Pakistani barrister Asad Rahim Khan even wrote in an op-ed for Dawn, If (the amendments) are allowed to go through, what was the worst judicial regression in over 30 years (26th amendment) risks becoming the worst in Pakistans history.

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Another lawyer, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said that although the senior-most of the two chiefs would chair the Judicial Commission of Pakistan, for all other purposes, the FCC will be in the commanding position.

He noted that under the amended Article 175A, the chief justice of the FCC is listed before the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and will have a longer tenure, retiring at 68, compared to the current retirement age of 65 for Supreme Court Judges.

Former Pakistan defence secretary Lieutenant General Asif Yasin Malik (retd) also noted that by placing an army officer (in this case Field Marshal Asim Munir) as the CDF with authority over the air force and navy, the proposed system invites institutional imbalance and potential disaster.

This amendment appears tailored to benefit a specific individual rather than to strengthen the defence structure, Malik added.

Pakistans proposed 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill will be put to vote today in the Senate. File image/Reuters

So, what comes next for the 27th Amendment?

Amid the criticism of the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill, it was tabled in the Senate last Saturday, with Pakistani Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar tabling it there.

And today (November 10), it is expected to be voted on with the Pakistan government hoping to get a two-thirds majority of at least 64 senators.

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After the Senate, it would be presented before the National Assembly, where it must pass a two-thirds majority again. In the final stage, it must get the presidents approval to become a law.

With inputs from agencies
As people of Delhi choke on toxic air with demands for air purifier on the rise, one man has found a much cheaper DIY fix. He built his own air purifier at home for just Rs 2,000, and claims it reduced his rooms Air Quality Index (AQI) from nearly 400 to just 50 in less than 15 minutes. Heres how

A Delhi resident shared how he built his own air purifier using just a few basic materials, and it worked better than his branded one. Image courtesy: Reddit

Delhis air has once again turned toxic, forcing residents to look for ways to breathe a little easier. While many have turned to expensive air purifiers to fight the smog, one Delhi man has found a much cheaper DIY fix.

He built his own air purifier at home for just Rs 2,000, and claims it reduced his rooms Air Quality Index (AQI) from nearly 400 to just 50 in less than 15 minutes.

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At a time when pollution levels in the capital are soaring to severe levels, his clever innovation has caught everyones attention.

So how did he manage to do it? Heres a closer look.

How did he build an air purifier under Rs 2,000?

In a Reddit post titled I Built My Personal Air Purifier for 2000 INR, a Delhi resident shared how he built his own air purifier using just a few basic materials, and it worked better than his branded one.

So I built this air purifier using an exhaust fan and a HEPA filter, and it is working great, even better than the Philips one I have, wrote the user, who goes by the handle shukrant25 on the platform.

He listed out the simple components he used: a 150mm exhaust fan (Rs 750), a HEPA filter from Amazon (Rs 1,000), a switch, regulator and wire (Rs 65), and cardboard and a glue gun (Rs 150), bringing the total to just under Rs 2,000.

A Delhi guy built his own DIY air purifier that can reduce indoor AQI from around 380 to below 50.



He used the following components to make it:

 150mm exhaust fan  750

 HEPA filter from Amazon  1,000

 Switch, regulator, and wire  65

 Cardboard and glue gun  pic.twitter.com/pbnbL0wqTa  Abhishek Yadav (@yabhishekhd) November 10, 2025

Despite its simplicity, the device reportedly worked wonders. According to him, even at the lowest fan speed, it was able to reduce the AQI from around 380 to below 50 in under 15 minutes, inside a 12x12 ft room.

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The internet cant keep calm

The post, shared on November 7, went viral within hours, gaining thousands of upvotes and sparking a flood of praise from users.

Many applauded the Delhi resident for his ingenuity, calling the setup simple yet effective and urging him to share a step-by-step tutorial. Iski ek tutorial video bhi banao, one user commented.

Another added, Air purifiers arent exactly rocket science theyre just a simple IN and OUT airflow through filters.

Others hailed the project as the kind of innovation India needs. This is a really great DIY. Kudos to you. We need more people like you to solve real problems, one user wrote.

This is so needed in our country. Thank you for creating this  it looks simple enough that anyone can make it. I hope this goes viral and pushes companies to make affordable purifiers, said another.

Some even shared plans to replicate the idea themselves. Im going to try this weekend, will add a sensor as well. Amazing, read one comment.

Also read: Delhi enters pollution 'red zone': Why have authorities not enforced GRAP 3 yet?

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Delhis battle with toxic air

The viral post comes at a time when Delhis air quality has plummeted to hazardous levels, with the AQI touching severe in several parts of the city over the past week, according to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

While there was a brief improvement on Monday morning, after the city hit a seasons high AQI of 391 the previous day, the air still remained dangerously polluted.

People walk wearing face masks at a park amidst smog in New Delhi. File image/ Reuters

One of the major contributors to this worsening pollution is stubble burning in nearby states such as Punjab and Haryana. According to data from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Indian Agriculture Research Institutes CREAMS laboratory, six states, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, saw a 60 per cent surge in stubble burning in just 24 hours on November 8.

The number of reported cases rose from 568 on November 7 to 911 a day later, as shown by satellite remote sensing data.

According to data from the Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Indian Agriculture Research Institutes CREAMS laboratory, six states, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, saw a 60 per cent surge in stubble burning in just 24 hours on November 8.

Despite the alarming figures, authorities have so far held off on imposing Stage 3 restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), saying that the measures are currently enough. However, restrictions under Stages 1 and 2 remain in place across the National Capital Region (NCR).

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The health impact of this pollution crisis is grim. Data from the Global Burden of Disease project revealed that nearly 15 per cent of all deaths in Delhi in 2023 were linked to air pollution, making it the citys single biggest health threat.

Amid the worsening crisis, Delhis Environment Minister Manjinder Sirsa blamed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for years of neglect. AAP has governed Delhi for ten years and poisoned its air and water, wasting money on gimmicks like the odd-even policy. In the last seven months under Rekha Guptas leadership, weve deployed smog guns in high-rises, used water sprinklers for dust mitigation, monitored construction, notified 8,000 industries to control emissions, and transitioned all buses to electric. Were working on a war footing, but we cannot clear the air that AAP polluted in the last decade, Sirsa said.

Meanwhile, frustration among residents is also growing. Over the weekend, scores of people, including schoolchildren, gathered near India Gate to demand cleaner air. Many held placards reading Smog se Azadi! and Breathing is killing me. Several protesters were later detained by the police.

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With input from agencies
An explosion inside a car in Delhi has left at least eight people dead and two dozen injured. The blast, which occurred inside a car near the Lal Qila Metro Station gate opposite Red Fort, led to panic in the National Capital. Multiple fire engines have been rushed to the spot to douse the blaze, which had spread to two other cars, and authorities are investigating. Heres everything we know

At least eight people are dead and 24 injured in the blast opposite Red Fort. PTI

A blast in New Delhi has left several dead and two dozen injured.

The explosion, which occurred inside a car near the Lal Qila metro station gate opposite Red Fort, led to panic in the national capital. Multiple fire engines have been rushed to the spot to douse the blaze, which had spread to two other cars.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been briefed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the blast.

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But what happened? What do we know so far?

Lets take a closer look.

What we know

At least eight people are dead and two dozen injured after a blast opposite the Red Fort. The incident occurred around 6:30 pm and the call to the authorities was made around 6:55 pm.

Nearly two dozen fire engines have been rushed to the spot, near Gauri Shankar Mandir, which has been cordoned off.

The national capital has been set on high alert. Teams from the Anti-Terror Squad and Delhi Police are on the spot to assess the situation. The elite NSG commandos are on the way.

Visuals of the incident showed massive plumes of smoke rising from the multiple cars that were ablaze.

A van was seen with its doors blown off, another car was completely destroyed and an injured man was seen on the ground.

A crowd that had gathered in the area seemed on the verge of panic.

Several people have been taken to the nearby LNJP Hospital in the aftermath of the incident.

The cause of the blast, whether an accident or a terror attack, remains unknown.

It was so powerful that it was heard from afar and windows of buildings shook. Tremors could be felt as far as 700 to 900 metres away.

Authorities have said that metro services continue to run as normal.

Intensity was quite high

The Delhi Police chief has said the blast occurred in a slow-moving car at 6.52 pm near a traffic signal at Red Fort. Deputy Fire Officer AK Malik said the blaze was brought under control by 7.29 pm. Six cars, two e-rickshawst and one autorickshaw were gutted in the fire, said a fire department official.

A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) reached the spot. The blast was so powerful that it shattered the windows of vehicles parked several metres away. The sound was heard at ITO a few kilometres away.

The blast occurred in a car parked near Red Fort metro station gate number 1. The intensity was quite high. Injuries are feared, said a senior official of Delhi Fire Service. An injured eyewitness, who suffered a wound on his forehead, said the explosion appeared to have originated from a car, probably a Swift.

In this combo of 3 images, rescue work underway amid mangled remains of vehicles after a blast occurred in New Delhi. PTI

There was a Swift car in front of my auto. There was something in that car that suddenly blasted, he said. Another witness said, I was at the gurdwara when I heard a strong sound. We couldnt make out what it was, it was that loud. A number of vehicles nearby were completely damaged, he added.

In this combo of 3 images, rescue work underway amid mangled remains of vehicles after a blast occurred in a parked car near Red Fort, leaving multiple vehicles in flames, in New Delhi. PTI

Sanjay Bhargaw, president of the Chandni Chowk Traders Association, whose shop is about 800 metres away from the incident, said the entire building shook due to the blast. There was chaos in the market as people started running, he shared.

The blast came hours after the recovery of around 350 kilos of suspected ammonium nitrate and a cache of arms and ammunition from a Kashmiri doctors rented accommodation in nearby Faridabad

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Haryana Police, in coordination with their Jammu and Kashmir counterparts, arrested Dr Muzammil Ganaie from Faridabads Dhauj area recovered explosive materials, weapons, and timers from his rented house.

Eight people, including three doctors, were arrested and 2,900 kg of explosives seized with the uncovering of a white collar terror module involving the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

Among those arrested following a 15-day operation were Kashmirs Dr Ganaie in Faridabad and Dr Shaheen, a woman doctor from Lucknow, who was taken by air to Srinagar for custodial interrogation, officials said. An AK-47 rifle was found in her car.

Ammonium nitrate, which is manufactured in large industrial quantities, can be used to make both fertilisers and explosives. When combined with fuel, it can produce a cheap and powerful explosive mixture. The compound is manufactured worldwide and is relatively inexpensive to obtain.

Ammonium nitrate has also been used in several terrorist attacks  most notably the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Timothy McVeigh, who carried out the attack, used around two tonnes of ammonium nitrate to make a bomb that destroyed a federal building and killed 168 people.

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With inputs from agencies
Intelligence reports indicate that Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saaed is planning to use Bangladesh as a new launchpad for attacks on India. The development comes in the backdrop of Pakistans Navy chief arriving in Dhaka on Sunday for a four-day visit. It also follows the arrival of a Pakistani ship at Bangladeshs main port of Chattogram, the first such visit since 1971

Will Bangladesh become a launching pad for anti-India activities?

There are reports that Pakistani terrorists including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed is looking to open up a new front against India from Bangladesh.

The development comes in the backdrop of Pakistans Navy chief arriving in Dhaka on Sunday for a four-day visit. It also comes in the aftermath of a Pakistani ship arriving Bangladeshs main port  the first such visit since 1971.

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Bangladesh and Pakistan have seemingly drawn closer since the fall of the Sheik Hasina regime in August 2024, a development that has left officials in New Delhi concerned. Saeed and the LeT are considered the masterminds of several attacks India including the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the 2001 attack on Parliament.

But what happened? What do we know?

Lets take a closer look.

What happened?

A senior LeT commander has claimed that Pakistan is preparing to attack India through Bangladesh. Saifullah Saif claimed, Hafiz Saeed is not sitting idle, he is preparing to attack India through Bangladesh. Saif made the remarks at a rally on 30 October in Pakistans Khairpur Tamewali. The clip of his remarks has since gone viral. Firstpost has not independently confirmed the authenticity of the clip.

Saif claimed that Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives are already active in East Pakistan, i.e. Bangladesh, and are prepared to answer India for Operation Sindoor.

There were reports that Saeed had sent one of his associates to Bangladesh, where he reportedly incited local youth to commit to jihad and also provided them with terror training.

Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer, General Secretary of Pakistans Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith and a close aide of Saeed, reportedly arrived in Dhaka on 25 October. Zaheer, who landed at Shah Makhdum Airport in Rajshahi, was reportedly welcomed by Abdur Rahim bin Abdur Razzaq  a member of Al Jamia As-Salafia, an Islamic research institute linked to the Ahl-e-Hadith movement in Bangladesh.

Zaheer then embarked on a tour of districts along the border, including Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj, and made provocative speeches while meeting radical Islamists.

You must be ready to sacrifice yourself for the cause of Islam... ready to sacrifice your children as well. We must stand prepared to confront secular and liberal forces, Zaheer was quoted as saying during his speech. From Pakistan to Bangladesh, all Muslims will unite against the seculars.

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Pakistans top military officer, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, met Bangladesh Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka to discuss trade, defence, and regional security. Bangladesh and Pakistan have seemingly drawn closer since the fall of the Sheik Hasina regime in August 2024, a development that has left officials in New Delhi concerned. Image Courtesy: @ChiefAdviserGoB/X.

Zaheer added, The Kashmiris are being deprived of their freedom. It is Pakistans responsibility to raise a strong voice against the anti-Islamic laws and the oppressive acts in Indian Kashmir. By the grace of Allah, the day will come when Kashmir will become part of Pakistan.

This was his second trip to Bangladesh  after February 2025  since the Yunus regime took power. Zaheers trip coincided with Pakistans Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, arriving in Dhaka on 24 October. Mirza was accompanied by six people including his wife Shazia Sahir, Brigadier Mohammad Rashid Khan, Commodore Khan Muhammad Asif, and two Majors.

Will come into India

Allama Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer went to Bangladesh. He spoke of Kashmir, that Bengal (Bangladesh), which was snatched from us, which Indira Gandhi had said that we have drowned the two-nation theory in the Bay of Bengal. Today, by the grace of Allah, that son of a lion, that orator, Allama Ibtisam Elahi Zaheer, is roaring like his father, like a lion, inside Bangladesh, Saif said.

Saif further claimed, He is talking about Kashmir and Palestine. India is worried and distressed by this. They say, Hafiz Saeeds right-hand man has gone to Bangladesh. Now, from Bangladesh, they will come into India.

Visuals and clips of the speech showed Saif urging those attending to commit war against India. Disturbingly, children were seen attending the rally. He also falsely claimed that Operation Sindoor  which India launched as a response to the Pahalgam terror attack  was actually a victory for the Pakistani Army.

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If you have learnt the lesson of jihad, when you entered the field on the night of 10 May, Allah made you a superpower in the world. India was attacking you, America was with them, all this was happening. Today, they have all sat down. Allah has established you in the world, Saif added. Now, America is with us, and Bangladesh is also getting closer to Pakistan again.

Bangladesh analysts have raised concerns that Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), the front for the LeT, is increasing its operational network in Bangladesh. Analysts are concerned this could result in radical ideas being spread and could give rise to cross-border extremism.

Pakistan Navy chief and ship arrive in Bangladesh

On Sunday, Pakistans Naval Chief, Admiral Naveed Ashraf, arrived in Dhaka.

Ashraf, who is on a four-day trip to Bangladesh, met with Bangladesh Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman at the Army Headquarters. The officials discussed ways to increase defence cooperation between the two countries and enhance military capabilities.

They also discussed boosting military cooperation through bilateral training, seminars, and visits.

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The visit came a day after a Pakistani naval ship anchored off Bangladeshs main port in the southeastern city of Chattogram. AI-generated image for representative purpose

The visit came a day after a Pakistani naval ship anchored off Bangladeshs main port in the southeastern city of Chattogram for a four-day goodwill visit that will last until 12 November. The PNS Saif arrived at Bangladeshs Chattogram (Chittagong) Port on Friday  the first such visit since the 1971 Liberation War. The development marks a dramatic turnaround in bilateral ties after nearly two decades of hostility.

Since coming to power, Yunus has met Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif twice  on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last year and later during the D-8 Summit in Cairo. Bangladesh has also resumed direct trade with Pakistan. The two countries have unveiled a slew of measures, including visa-free travel, fully-funded scholarships for students, and the resumption of Track II diplomacy.

Whatever happens next, India will have to keep a close eye on proceedings.

With inputs from agencies
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday confirmed that the explosion near Delhis Red Fort took place in a Hyundai i20 car and said that all possible angles are being investigated

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday confirmed that the explosion near Delhis Red Fort took place in a Hyundai i20 car and said that all possible angles are being investigated.

This evening, around 7 pm, a blast occurred in a Hyundai i20 car at the Subhash Marg traffic signal near the Red Fort in Delhi. The blast injured some pedestrians and damaged several vehicles. Preliminary reports indicate that some people have lost their lives, ANI quoted Shah as saying in a statement.

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#WATCH | Delhi: Blast near Red Fort Metro Station | Union Home Minister Amit Shah says "This evening, around 7 pm, a blast occurred in a Hyundai i20 car at the Subhash Marg traffic signal near the Red Fort in Delhi. The blast injured some pedestrians and damaged some vehicles. pic.twitter.com/BfRei3r3tx  ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2025

He added that within 10 minutes of receiving the information, teams from the Delhi Crime Branch and Special Branch reached the site, followed by the National Security Guard (NSG), National Investigation Agency (NIA), and forensic experts.

All nearby CCTV cameras are being examined. I have spoken to the Delhi Police Commissioner and the Special Branch in-charge, both of whom are present at the site. We are exploring all possibilities and will conduct a thorough investigation. The findings will be shared with the public, said the Home Minister, adding that he would visit the blast site and the hospital treating the injured.

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A high-intensity explosion ripped through a car near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, gutting several vehicles and killing at least 13 people.

Twenty-four people were injured in the blast that took place on a busy evening when the area was milling with people. The injured were taken to the LNJP hospital, a few kilometres away.

With inputs from agencies
Delhi Police detained dozens of protesters demanding action against the toxic air swathing the national capital. People from all age groups staged protests holding banners and raising slogans before the police.

Vehicles move on a road shrouded in smog in New Delhi, India. Reuters

Despite efforts to combat the grey air in the national capital, Delhi is still experiencing smog and higher AQI levels. People have started staging protests as an action against pollution surrounding the capital. Delhi Police have recently detained scores of people who were demanding action against the toxic air swathing the region.

The protest was staged by a massive crowd near India Gate, from all sects holding banners and raising slogans before the police. Well, the problem is not new for Delhi, the region always engulfs fumes every winter for months.

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A protester told news agency ANI, We have only one problem, and that is clean air. This problem has been going on for many years but no action is being taken.

Police dragged demonstrators

Visuals show that police dragged the protesters, who were holding the banner that read, Breathing is killing us. Masked people chanted the slogans of Our right, clear air before driving away.

The citys AQI was reduced a bit but recorded 345 on Monday which is labelled as very poor.

Opposition criticised removal of protesters

As police recalled the spot to be vacated, the opposition leaders called the removal of the protesters as inappropriate and criticised the functioning of the current government.

Leader of Congress party, Rahul Gandhi took to X and wrote, The right to clean air is a basic human right. The right to peaceful protest is guaranteed by our constitution. Why are citizens  peacefully demanding clean air being treated like criminals?"

Government intensifies measures

The environment minister of Delhi, Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that the government is taking steps to combat the current situation and prevent pollution.

We will continue every possible effort to rid us of pollution. This is the resolve of our government, he said in his X post.

Authorities recently tried cloud seeding as a form of artificial rain to reduce the pollution but the excessive pollution levels failed to produce any rainfall.
A car exploded near Delhis Red Fort, a high-security area, on Monday evening, causing panic. The vehicle caught fire, but police and fire teams quickly brought the blaze under control.

At least eight people were killed and several others injured after a car exploded near the Red Fort Metro Station in Delhi on Monday evening, a high-security zone, sparking panic in the area.

The powerful blast set the vehicle ablaze and spread to three to four nearby cars, officials said, prompting authorities to sound a high alert across the national capital.

Reports citing sources suggest that several people sustained injuries in the incident, some of them critically.

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The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) received a call around 6:55 pm and deployed seven fire tenders, which managed to bring the blaze under control within a short time. Thick smoke engulfed the area before police and fire teams contained the situation.

Location of the blast: The explosion reportedly occurred in a car parked outside the Lal Quila (Red Fort) metro station. The exact cause and nature of the blast are yet to be determined.

Also Read: Car moving slowly near red light, then exploded: What we know so far of Delhi blast

Police at the scene: A team from the Delhi Police Special Cell rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area as forensic and bomb disposal squads began their investigation.

BREAKING: Explosion near Red Fort area in Old Delhi. Explosion near metro station.

Blasts on a day when there has been a major crackdown on terror modules plotting a strike on Delhi.



Details awaited. pic.twitter.com/tELxBP9bBh  Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) November 10, 2025

The site has been cordoned off. Forensic experts are examining the scene to determine the cause, while authorities continue to investigate and rule out any foul play.

#WATCH | Delhi: Blast near Red Fort | Deputy Chief Fire Officer AK Malik says, "We got information that there was a blast in a car near Chandni Chowk Metro Station. We responded immediately, and seven units were sent to the spot. At 7:29 PM, the fire was brought under control. pic.twitter.com/lhSAPPRP5m  ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2025

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Delhi Red Fort blast live: Security increased at Patna Junction following Delhi blast

Hours after the car explosion near Delhis Red Fort, security has been tightened at Patna Junction in Bihar. Several states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Punjab, and Haryana, have been placed on high alert.

Delhi Red Fort blast live: National Security Guard Team Arrives At Delhi Blast Site

#WATCH | Delhi: National Security Guard (NSG) team arrives at the spot after the blast near Gate no 1 of the Red Fort Metro station in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/NaYvTwnj5l  ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2025

Delhi Red Fort blast live: Owner of vehicle detained

Delhi Police have traced the car involved in Mondays blast near the Red Fort. The vehicle, which had a Haryana registration number, has been identified, and its owner has been detained for questioning.

Delhi Red Fort blast live: US embassy issues security alert for citizens after Delhi blast

The US Embassy in India has issued a security alert for its citizens following the car explosion near Delhis Red Fort that killed at least eight people.

In its advisory, the embassy urged Americans to avoid areas around the Red Fort and remain cautious in crowded places and tourist spots. It also advised citizens to follow local authorities instructions and stay updated through local media.

Delhi Red Fort blast live: Delhi CM Rekha Gupta expresses grief over Red Fort car blast

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta described the car explosion near the Red Fort as extremely distressing and alarming. She said, To those who have lost their loved ones in this tragic incident, I express my deepest condolences. I pray that the injured recover swiftly.

She added that all possible assistance is being provided to those affected, and teams from Delhi Police, NSG, NIA, and FSL are conducting a thorough investigation. I urge all Delhi residents to avoid rumours and rely only on official information from the police and administration, she said.

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Delhi Red Fort blast live: Amit Shah arrives at Red Fort blast site

Union Home Minister Amit Shah reached the site of a blast near the Red Fort Metro Station in Delhi. The explosion, which occurred around 7 pm in a Hyundai i20, has so far claimed eight lives.

#WATCH | Delhi: Blast near Red Fort Metro Station | Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrives at the spot.



A blast took place in a Hyundai i20 car near the Red Fort in Delhi today at around 7 pm. Due to the blast, eight people have died so far. pic.twitter.com/QiDQrTJHXs  ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2025

Delhi Red Fort blast live: President Murmu offers condolences

The President of India Draupadi Murmu expressed grief over the Delhi blast, posting, I convey my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in the blast in Delhi. I pray for the quick recovery of those injured.

Forensic probe suggests Delhi blast may not be IED; no shrapnel found

Initial forensic analysis indicates that the explosion near Delhis Red Fort was likely not caused by a shrapnel-based IED, as no metal fragments, nails, ball bearings, or wires were recovered. Experts said the blast could have been mechanical or chemical rather than a high-temperature explosive. Forensic teams are now examining debris for traces of chemicals like nitrates or TNT to determine the exact cause.

Delhi Red Fort blast live: Delhis IGI Airport, metro and railway stations on high alert

Following the deadly blast outside the Red Fort Metro Station that killed at least 10 people and injured 24 others, security agencies have placed the national capital on high alert. The Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, along with metro and railway stations across Delhi and the NCR, has been put under heightened security surveillance.

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Delhi Red Fort blast live: Rajnath Singh calls Delhi car blast extremely painful and disturbing

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the car blast in Delhi was extremely painful and disturbing. In a post on X, he wrote, At this moment of immense grief, I extend my sincerest condolences to the families of the deceased and pray for the speedy recovery of those injured.

Delhi Red Fort blast live: Amit Shah reaches Lok Nayak Hospital, holds meeting with Delhi Police CP and officials

Home Minister Amit Shah arrived at Lok Nayak Hospital and held a meeting with Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha and other senior officials to review the situation following the blast.

Delhi: Blast near Red Fort Metro Station | Union Home Minister Amit Shah holds a meeting with Delhi Police CP Satish Golcha and other officials as he arrives at Lok Nayak Hospital. pic.twitter.com/K7J5e7NMIN  ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2025

Delhi Red Fort blast live: PM Modi expresses condolences, says reviewed situation with Amit Shah and officials

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the Delhi blast and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.

Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi earlier this evening. May the injured recover at the earliest. Those affected are being assisted by authorities. Reviewed the situation with Home Minister Amit Shah Ji and other officials, he posted on X.

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Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi earlier this evening. May the injured recover at the earliest. Those affected are being assisted by authorities. Reviewed the situation with Home Minister Amit Shah Ji and other officials.@AmitShah  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 10, 2025

Delhi Red Fort blast live: NIA team at the spot | Watch

#WATCH | Delhi: National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials arrive at the spot after the blast near Gate no 1 of the Red Fort Metro station in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/0nf1BcUPtz  ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2025

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National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials reached the site after the blast near Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort Metro station in Delhi and joined other security teams in the investigation.

Delhi Red Fort blast live: NSG, NIA, FSL teams on site, says Amit Shah

Home Minister Amit Shah said that within 10 minutes of the blast, teams from the Delhi Crime Branch and Special Branch reached the spot, followed by the NSG, NIA, and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). He said all nearby CCTV cameras are being examined and confirmed that the Delhi Police Commissioner and Special Branch officers are present at the site.

All possibilities are being explored, and the investigation will be thorough. The findings will be shared with the public, he added.

Delhi Red Fort blast live: NSA probing the blast; all angles under investigation, says Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the National Security Agency (NSA) has launched an investigation into the Red Fort blast. He added that CCTV footage from the area is being closely examined and that all possible angles are being explored to identify those responsible for the explosion.

Delhi Red Fort blast live: Blast was in Hyundai i20 with 3 occupants; forensic teams probe cause, examine vehicle remains

A blast occurred in a Hyundai i20 car carrying three occupants, officials said, adding that the explosion took place at the rear of the vehicle. No crater was found at the site, and preliminary reports indicate that none of the victims had nails or wires embedded in their bodies, nor did they suffer burns or charring.

A Special Cell team, assisted by forensic experts, is examining the vehicle remains to trace its registration details and collect crucial evidence to determine the cause of the blast.

Delhi Red Fort blast live: India tightens security along Pakistan, Bangladesh borders

Following the car explosion near Delhis Red Fort, security along the borders with Pakistan and Bangladesh has been heightened.

Forces have been placed on high alert, with intensified patrolling and strict surveillance measures in place to prevent any potential threat, officials said.

Blast in Delhi live updates: Chandni Chowk market to remain closed on Tuesday

Chandni Chowk market will remain closed on Tuesday following the explosion near Delhis Red Fort, market association president Sanjay Bhargawa said.

The decision was taken as authorities continue with investigations and intensified security checks in the area to ensure public safety.

Blast in Delhi live updates: Over 10 dead, several critically injured after Red Fort blast

At least 10 people were brought dead to LNJP Hospital after the car explosion near Delhis Red Fort, while several others suffered critical injuries, officials said. Hospital authorities have called in additional medical staff to handle the emergency and ensure timely treatment for the injured, a senior doctor confirmed.

Blast in Delhi live updates: Security tightened at Metro, IGI Airport and key installations

High alert has been issued across key installations in Delhi following the vehicle explosion near the Red Fort Metro Station.

All CISF-secured locations, including the Delhi Metro, Red Fort, government offices, and IGI Airport, have been placed under heightened security. Authorities said the situation is being closely monitored, with personnel on standby to respond swiftly to any potential threat.

Car exploded while waiting at traffic signal near Red Fort, says Delhi Police chief

Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha said the explosion occurred around 6:52 pm when a slow-moving car halted at a traffic signal near the Red Fort and suddenly blew up, damaging several nearby vehicles. Multiple agencies have launched a joint probe into the incident, with the Delhi Police Crime Branch team already on-site conducting investigations.

Forensic teams test Red Fort blast site for ammonium nitrate; NSG, NIA join probe

Forensic experts, NSGs post-blast investigation team, NIA officials, and Delhi Police are jointly conducting a probe at the explosion site near Red Fort.

Sources said the site is being tested for traces of ammonium nitrate as part of the forensic examination.

Blast in Delhi live updates: PM Modi reviews situation after Red Fort blast, speaks to Home Minister Amit Shah

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reviewed the situation following the explosion near Delhis Red Fort, government sources said. He spoke to Home Minister Amit Shah to assess the response on the ground and was briefed on the ongoing investigation as well as the heightened security measures across the capital.

Blast in Delhi live updates: Kejriwal says Red Fort blast deeply worrying, demands swift investigation

Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called the explosion near the Red Fort deeply worrying and the reports of casualties extremely tragic. He urged authorities to launch an immediate probe into the incident to determine its cause and whether a larger conspiracy was involved. Kejriwal emphasised that no lapse in the capitals security would be tolerated and called for strict measures to safeguard public safety.

Delhi Police brief Home Minister Amit Shah on Red Fort car explosion

Blast in Delhi live updates: Anti-sabotage checks ordered at Vaishno Devi Shrine amid heightened security in J&K

The Jammu and Kashmir Police have ordered anti-sabotage checks in and around the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine as a precautionary security measure. Forces have been deployed to conduct thorough inspections in the area to ensure the safety of pilgrims and maintain law and order.

Blast in Delhi live updates: At least 8 dead, 24 injured in powerful explosion near Red Fort, say officials

At least eight people were killed and 24 others injured in a powerful explosion near Delhis Red Fort on Monday evening, officials said. Emergency teams rushed to the scene, and the injured were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.

Blast in Delhi live updates: Bihar on high alert; govt assures voters of full security

Security has been tightened across Bihar following the car bombings in Delhi, officials said.

According to DGP Vinay Kumar, the state was already on high alert due to the ongoing elections. All district SPs have been directed to remain vigilant and closely monitor security arrangements.

The DGP also urged voters to come out and cast their votes without fear, assuring that adequate measures have been taken to ensure their safety.

Blast in Delhi live updates: Uttar Pradesh on high alert; security tightened at religious sites and border areas

Uttar Pradesh ADG (Law and Order) Amitabh Yash said the DGP has directed all senior officials across the state to step up security at sensitive religious sites, vulnerable districts, and border areas. All security agencies have been put on alert, and police in every district have been instructed to remain vigilant.

An order issued from Lucknow has called for intensified patrols and strict checking in sensitive zones, ANI reported.

Blast in Delhi live updates: NSG, NIA teams rushed to Red Fort blast site to probe possible terror link

NSG and NIA teams have been rushed to the site of the explosion, according to reports citing sources. The specialised units are expected to assist local authorities in assessing the nature of the blast and determining whether there was any terror link.

Blast in Delhi live updates: 8 people dead in Red Fort explosion, say reports

Some reports citing sources say that eight people have died in the incident, while several others sustained injuries and were taken to nearby hospitals. Authorities have cordoned off the area, and forensic teams are investigating the cause and nature of the explosion.

High alert in Mumbai: Police tighten security, launch nakabandi and random checks

Mumbai Police have issued a high alert across the city, directing all police stations to intensify security measures. Nakabandi operations and random frisking of suspicious individuals are being carried out, with an emphasis on gathering ground intelligence.

Patrolling has been stepped up in sensitive and crowded areas as authorities work to ensure heightened vigilance and public safety.

Red Fort blast live: 56 vehicles damaged, Eco van suspected to be source of explosion Five to six vehicles were severely damaged in the explosion near the Red Fort. The blast is suspected to have originated from an Eco van, officials said. Several people sustained injuries and were rushed to nearby hospitals. Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the exact cause and nature of the blast.
Following the deadly Red Fort blast that killed at least eight people and injured 24, authorities have heightened security across Delhi and several other states while investigating all possible leads

National Security Guard (NSG) team arrives at the spot after the blast near Gate no 1 of the Red Fort Metro station in Delhi on Monday. ANI

Several states and cities across India have been placed on high alert following a deadly explosion near Delhis Red Fort Metro Station on Monday evening that killed at least 8 people and injured 24 others.

The blast, which occurred around 7 pm in a Hyundai i20 car at the Subhash Marg traffic signal near the Red Fort, prompted an immediate security response in the national capital and across multiple states, including Maharashtra, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, and Bihar.

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In Delhi, the police, National Security Guard (NSG), and other specialised teams cordoned off the area and tightened security in and around Chandni Chowk and other crowded zones.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has also placed key installations  including Delhi Metro stations, the Red Fort, government offices, and the Indira Gandhi International Airport  under heightened surveillance.

Mumbai, Indias financial hub, has been placed on high alert, with police stepping up checks at major transport hubs and public places.

Kolkata Police have activated all units and launched intensified security checks across the city.

In Haryana, the Chief Ministers Office confirmed that all districts, especially those bordering Delhi, have been instructed to strengthen vigilance at crowded public areas and heritage sites.

Neighbouring Uttar Pradesh has also been placed on alert.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed senior police officials to deploy additional forces, increase vehicle checks, and step up monitoring in border areas such as Noida and Ghaziabad.

Police in all districts of Uttar Pradesh have been put on alert. Orders have been issued to enhance patrols and checks in sensitive areas, said UP ADG (Law and Order) Amitabh Yash.

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The UP police have intensified deployment, with officers stationed at key intersections, religious sites, and marketplaces. Surveillance has also been ramped up through Smart City control rooms.

In Hyderabad, police have bolstered security following the blast, with increased patrolling in crowded areas and checks at hotels and lodges to identify suspicious individuals.

Officials said that all major cities are maintaining heightened vigilance as investigative agencies continue to probe the Red Fort blast, which is being treated as a possible terror incident.

Delhi has witnessed a terror attack with casualties after 14 years since the high court blast in 2011, whereas the last such attack on the Red Fort took place in 2000.

The 2011 blast claimed 15 lives and left 79 injured. In the 2000 terror attack on Red Fort, which was allegedly carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba, two soldiers and one civilian were killed.

With inputs from agencies
Indian security agencies have detained two most-wanted gangsters, Venkatesh Garg and Bhanu Rana, in Georgia and the US, marking a major step against international organised crime

Indian security agencies have recorded a significant success in their operations against transnational crime with the detention of two of Indias most-wanted gangstersVenkatesh Garg and Bhanu Rana. The arrests, made in Georgia and the US, respectively, represent a major step in Indias effort to dismantle criminal networks operating from abroad.

Garg, linked to the gang headed by UK-based Kapil Sangwan, alias Nandu, was apprehended in Tbilisi. A resident of Haryanas Narayangarh, he is wanted in more than ten criminal cases, including the murder of a BSP leader in Gurgaon. Garg had been residing in Georgia and allegedly recruiting youth from Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, and other states for contract killings. His chief, Sangwan, who hails from Najafgarh in southwest Delhi, is known for managing an organized crime syndicate from London involving extortion, murder, and arms offenses.

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A joint team from Delhi and Haryana has reportedly reached Georgia to expedite Gargs extradition. Authorities expect him to be brought back soon to face trial in several cases filed in Haryana and Punjab.

Bishnoi network under global scrutiny

The second detention involves Bhanu Rana, a key member of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, who was taken into custody in the US. Bishnoi, originally from Punjab, rose to prominence during his student years and now leads an extensive criminal network with associates spread across India and overseas. His gang has been implicated in violent crimes, including murder and extortion, often orchestrated from behind bars.

Investigations indicate that Ranas network remains active across Haryana, Punjab and Delhi. His name also surfaced during the probe into a grenade attack in Punjab. Intelligence inputs suggest that some of Ranas US-based associates are directly linked to Bishnois operations. Indian agencies are working closely with American authorities to ensure his deportation to India.

Several of Ranas associates have already been arrested domestically, and he faces multiple chargesheets in various cases. According to sources, the arrests of Garg and Rana highlight a larger international web, with over two dozen Indian gangsters believed to be operating from abroad, running rackets involving extortion and smuggling.

The detention of both Garg and Rana is a blow to their respective gangs and underscores the commitment of Indian law enforcement to pursue high-value targets across international borders, a senior officer said, reported TOI.

However, officials noted that securing their return will be complex due to the lengthy extradition process requiring detailed documentation to establish their wanted status.

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The Jammu and Kashmir Police, in coordination with Haryana Police and central agencies, have dismantled a major inter-state terror network linked to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH). The operation, which followed the recovery of a large cache of explosives in Faridabad, led to the arrest of seven people  including two doctors  and the seizure of nearly 2,900 kilograms of bomb-making material, arms, and ammunition.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police, in a joint operation with Haryana Police, have busted a major inter-state terror module linked to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and al-Qaeda-affiliated Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH), The Hindustan Times reported.

The crackdown, which followed the recovery of a massive cache of explosives in Haryanas Faridabad, led to the arrest of seven people, including two doctors allegedly involved in the terror plot.

2,900 kg of explosive material seized

Officials said the operation resulted in the seizure of around 2,900 kilograms of IED-making material, along with arms and ammunition. The coordinated raids across Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana were carried out with the support of the Intelligence Bureau (IB).

In a major counter-terrorism success, J&K Police has busted an inter-state and transnational terror module linked with proscribed organisations JeM and AGuH. The operation led to the arrest of key operatives and recovery of a massive cache of arms, ammunition and explosives, a police spokesperson said.

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Faridabad explosives haul

The breakthrough came days after Haryana Police recovered 350 kilograms of explosive material, including ammonium nitrate, from a rented house in Faridabads Dhauj village. The premises belonged to Dr Muzammil Shakil, a Kashmiri doctor teaching at Al Falah University. Initially suspected to be RDX, police later confirmed the substance as ammonium nitrate.

Faridabad Police Commissioner Satender Kumar Gupta said Dr Shakil, who had been on the radar for allegedly putting up posters supporting JeM in Srinagar, was arrested on October 30. Another doctor, Dr Adil Ahmad Rather, was also detained for his links to the same terror network.

Radicalised doctor module under scanner

The probe has since expanded, with a woman doctor emerging as a key suspect in the terror conspiracy. According to police sources, an assault rifle and other weapons were recently recovered from a vehicle registered in Haryana (HR55 CH STE) traced to the woman doctor.

The seizure included an AK Krinkov rifle with three magazines, a pistol with live rounds, two empty cartridges, and two additional magazines  indicating the cells access to sophisticated weaponry and its operational reach beyond Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan link suspected

Investigators believe the arrested individuals were part of a wider plan to transport explosives and weapons for potential terror strikes across northern India. The module, police suspect, was being coordinated from across the border by handlers associated with JeM and AGuH  marking one of the largest counter-terror breakthroughs in recent months.
Indias withdrawal from Ayni, which started in 2022, will likely re-energise its pursuit of new military facilities in the Indian Oceanthe next arena of strategic contest and competition

The story of Ayni, Indias joint military facility with Tajikistanwhich it started to vacate in 2022 after the expiry of a bilateral agreementspanned nearly a quarter century. India has ensured stability in its extended neighbourhood, almost always at the invitation of the host country. While India did not inherit all of Britains military power, it retained its autonomous military capability, which came into play soon after independence. India consolidated the nation by securing Jammu & Kashmir through the Instrument of Accession and by launching military operations against the princely states of Hyderabad and Junagadh and later taking over Goa from the Portuguese.

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Indias out-of-area military assistance in the neighbourhood began in Nepal, where it helped resolve internal conflict in 1950, assisted in organising the first multiparty election in 1959, searched for and located aircraft wreckage in 1998 during the Maoist insurgency (19962006), and provided earthquake relief in 2015.

In Bhutan, the Indian Army helped flush out insurgents in 2003; in Myanmar, it jointly fought insurgents in 2004 and conducted disaster relief operations in 2025. In Sri Lanka, India assisted in quelling the Communist uprising in 1971 and countering Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Ltte) guerrillas between 1989 and 1991. In the Maldives, India thwarted an attempted coup by Tamil mercenaries in 1988.

In 2001, India turned down a US request to deploy two divisions of troops in Iraq but did escort American vessels across the Malacca Strait during that period. India has never engaged in expeditionary operations except under a UN mandate in select peacekeeping missions worldwide. It acquired joint use of a military facility at Agalega in 2024an island belonging to Mauritius in the southwest Indian Ocean. Similarly, India enjoys access to Frances island territory of Reunion in the Indian Ocean and is negotiating a joint military base on Assumption Island under Seychelles sovereignty.

The Ayni story, therefore, forms part of Indias natural quest for overseas military facilities, catalysed by the Pakistan-supported Talibans capture of power in Afghanistan in 1996. How this was planned and executed was explained to meas part of a Royal Indian Military College (RIMC) delegation of retired Army officers led by former Army Chief Gen V N Sharma invited to Pakistan in 1996by Interior Minister Maj Gen Nasirullah Khan Babar, a pre-Partition RIMColian. Dawn newspaper heralded our arrival with the headline Indian Generals invade Pakistan. India-Pakistan relations were cordial then.

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R&AW was working with Tajikistan to establish a forward staging post to monitor Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. The geopolitical context favoured India, as both the US and Russia supported the idea of India setting up a forward military post in Tajikistan. Initially, it was at Farkhor, an old Soviet aerodrome. It soon became operationally necessary to assist the Northern Alliance offensive against the Taliban in 2001.

By mid-2000, India had set up at Farkhor a range of military assets, including intelligence, surveillance, and logistics facilities, as well as a field hospital. Lt Gen Ravi Sawhney, Indias Military Intelligence Chief, established an advanced headquarters there. Making Farkhor airbase operational cost India about $15 million. On 9 September 2001, Taliban operatives assassinated Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud. He was evacuated to the Farkhor field hospital but could not be revived. The Northern Alliance subsequently stormed Kabul as the Taliban retreated into the Tora Bora hills and Pakistan. Farkhor was thus the precursor to Ayni.

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In September 2002, I was in Defence Minister George Fernandess office when he received a phone call from Indias Ambassador to Moscow, K Raghunath, later Foreign Secretary. The long conversation, filled with ifs and buts, ended with Fernandes saying: You must send the text of the agreement. It was about the Ayni military base, which, though under Tajik sovereignty, was de facto under Russian operational control, hosting two of its divisions, including a motorised one. Ayni (formerly Gissar), located west of Dushanbe, was sought by India after vacating Farkhor, knowing that Moscow was the ultimate sanctioning power.

Fernandes was authorised to negotiate the Ayni deal with Russia while working on the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier package. Cash-strapped Russia linked the Ayni base with the Gorshkov deal, which included refitting, modernisation, and conversion of the carrier deck for Short Take-off But Arrested Recovery (Stobar) operations, along with MiG-29K and Kamov-28 helicopters. The Gorshkov package cost rose from USD 1.5 billion in 2004 to over USD 2.6 billion when the shiprenamed INS Vikramadityawas commissioned in 2013.

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Renovating the Ayni base and extending its runway to 3,200 metres for fighter and commercial aircraft cost around $200 million, including an ATC and fuel depot. In a 2016 briefing at Army Headquarters, the Engineer-in-Chief mentioned that 200 Border Roads Organisation personnel and an IAF detachment were stationed there. For a short time, Su-30MKI and Mi-17 helicopters were deployed. The Ayni agreement for joint use was signed in late 2002 for 20 years.

After the Taliban returned to power in 2021 with Pakistans help, they began objecting to Indias presence in Tajikistan, where the National Resistance Frontled by Ahmad Massoud, son of the slain leaderwas regrouping. Ayni proved a valuable outpost for R&AW and Military Intelligence, enabling India to supply the NRF and provide humanitarian aid to Afghanistan when Pakistan closed Wagah and Karachi, and Chabahar came under US sanctions. Following the Talibans second takeover of Afghanistan, Indian nationals, embassy staff, and other assets were evacuated from Ayni.

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Prior to this, in February 2019, during Operation Bandar after the Pulwama terror attack, Air Chief Marshal Birender Dhanoa considered deploying Mirage 2000 bombers from Ayni, but the plan was dropped for security reasons and due to a clause in the India-Tajikistan agreement prohibiting such use.

The Ayni agreement was not renewed by Tajikistan under collective pressure from China, Pakistan, and even Russia. Beijings Belt and Road Initiative incentives for Dushanbe were an additional factor. Indias balancing act between its Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership with Washington and its Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership with Moscow has come under strain due to conflicting interestssuch as the Ukraine war, US sanctions on Russia, and Indias purchase of Russian oil. Tajikistan, a member of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), also hosts a permanent 7,200-strong Russian tank division.

Although India-US relations are at their lowest point in a decade, Moscow was either unable or unwilling to resist Beijings pressure over Indias withdrawal from Aynidespite the traditional Russia-China rivalry in Central Asia.

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Indias quarter-century-long strategic presenceand its only base in Central Asiaquietly ended in 2022. New Delhi wound down operations at Ayni, a fact that the media discovered only three years later. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal later confirmed the closure. Indias exit from Ayni will likely re-energise its pursuit of new military facilities in the Indian Oceanthe next arena of strategic contest and competition.

(The author is former GOC IPKF South Sri Lanka and founder member Defence Planning Staff, now Integrated Defence Staff, Ministry of Defence. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.)
In a region facing structural shiftsdigital transformation, green transition, supply-chain re-engineeringTaiwans quiet but strategic engagement via Apec offers lessons in how mid-sized economies can exert influence, build partnerships and contribute to regional public goods

As Apec continues to evolve in the coming decade, Taiwans role also becomes more critical: bridging innovation and resilience. File image

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) 2025 Summit, which was hosted by Korea in Gyeongju, concluded on November 1. It became famous more for the long-awaited summit meeting between US President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. They both met each other as Trump was departing without attending the main summit.

That summit focused more on trade and economic issues between them and not on geopolitical issues. Due to this, the Taiwan issue was not discussed between Trump and Xi.

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The Apec is the one international body of which Taiwan is a member, because the members are economies and not states. It participates as Chinese Taipei. As for the Taiwan issue, which is a part of uncertainties in the Indo-Pacific, it was not discussed between Xi and Trump, which did not imply that the Taiwanese delegation, led by presidential adviser Lin Hsin-yi, Taiwans envoy to this years Apec Economic Leaders meeting, was underplaying its presence.

The delegation met new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, leading to a Chinese protest. In the absence of Trump, the US delegation was led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and the Taiwanese representative met with him also and discussed semiconductors and resilient supply chains. Other delegations were perhaps more reticent in having public meetings with the Taiwanese, but the Taiwanese delegation was apparently quite effective in its participation.

The Apec comprises 21 member economies across the Pacific Rim. Established in 1989, its aim is to facilitate free trade and economic cooperation in the region. Unlike a treaty-based organisation, Apec operates on consensus, voluntary commitments, and dialogue rather than binding rules.

At each summit the leaders gather to set high-level direction on issues like trade liberalisation, supply-chain resilience, digital economy, sustainability, connectivity and inclusive growth. Over the years the context has evolved: from chiefly tariff reduction to now encompassing issues such as digital innovation, green growth and resilience to shocks.

Although Taiwan has a limited diplomatic outreach, it has been an active member economy of Apec, and uses the forum strategically to carve out international space and advance its economic diplomacy.

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Taiwan has over the years taken up roles within Apecs many working groups and sectoral initiatives: it has chaired or served as vice-chair in 14 functional groups, taken on convenor/lead shepherd roles, hosted numerous events, and engaged with topics such as Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), the digital economy, health emergencies, food security and trade facilitation.

This means that even when eyes are elsewhere in the major geopolitics, Taiwan has quietly buttressed its international profile through technical, functional and multilateral engagement rather than formal political recognition. For example, Taiwan has used Apec platforms to share its pandemic response and digital health solutions and enhance SME digitalisation.

One of Taiwans strongest cards has been its advanced technology and manufacturing base, notably semiconductors, high-tech industries and supply-chain linkage. At Apec, Taiwan emphasised its shift from manufacturing towards creation, the digital economy, and AI infrastructure.

Taiwans delegation used the summit to press its message of economic resilience and people-centred artificial intelligence (AI) and to share its expertise in frontier industries with like-minded economies. In doing so, Taiwan positions itself as a contributor of solutions to regional economic challenges.

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What is particularly interesting is how Taiwans institutional and functional impact within Apec has been achieved somewhat beneath the glare of major headline diplomacy (for example, US-China rivalry or territorial disputes).

Taiwans participation in Apec working groups strengthens its capacity to shape regional norms. It builds institutional links (with other economies, with business groups, and with multilateral platforms) that persist beyond any single summit or headline event. As a result, Taiwan develops networks and expertise in ways that are less visible, yet significant.

As global supply chains become more complex and resilience becomes a priority, Taiwans role in semiconductors, digital platforms and manufacturing ecosystems gives it relevance. Its ability to bring that expertise to Apec forums enhances its bargaining power and value as a partner, as even without formal diplomatic relations, Taiwan is an indispensable economic actor.

By consistently engaging in themes like sustainability, inclusive growth, womens entrepreneurship, digital inclusion and health security, Taiwan builds an image of a responsible stakeholder. When major actors focus on trade war headlines or geopolitical rivalry, Taiwan quietly gets on with agenda items that matter for long-term regional cooperation. That steady role matters in shaping future opportunities for its international integration.

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Despite these achievements, Taiwans participation in Apec comes with structural constraints due to its special diplomatic status and the One China principle invoked by Beijing. This means Taiwan cannot always send its most senior leaders, may face limitations on optics, and sometimes its interactions with other members are politically sensitive.

Nevertheless, Taiwans strategy of using multilateral, sector-driven, function-first engagement demonstrates that influence in global economic governance often lies in building capacity, networks and problem-solving credibility, beyond high-level visibility. For Taiwan, Apec is a platform through which it builds economic diplomacy, ties, and international legitimacy in practical rather than grandiose ways.

The Apec Summits may often be dominated in media coverage by big-power rivalries, trade spats and dramatic declarations. Within that, Taiwan has carved out a meaningful role: leveraging its strengths in technology, supply chains, and the digital economy; engaging across myriad technical forums; and building institutional presence that lasts, even when eyes are elsewhere.

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In a region facing structural shiftsdigital transformation, green transition, supply-chain re-engineeringTaiwans quiet but strategic engagement via Apec offers lessons in how mid-sized economies can exert influence, build partnerships and contribute to regional public goods. Its impact lies not just in being at the table but in bringing value to the table in ways that accumulate into real capacity and presence.

As Apec continues to evolve in the coming decade, Taiwans role also becomes more critical: bridging innovation and resilience, connecting regional supply chains, and demonstrating how an economy under diplomatic constraints can nonetheless shape outcomeswhen it relentlessly focuses on substance over spectacle.

Taiwans main concern now should be that the next summit is in Shenzhen, China, and Beijing could place impediments on the participation of Taipei at the next Apec summit.

(The writer is a former ambassador to Germany, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Asean, and the African Union, and the author of The Mango Flavour: India & Asean After 10 Years of the AEP. The views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Firstpost.)

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Bangladesh appeared to be rattled by what Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in an interview with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief, Rahul Joshi, about the countrys Interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. Heres how Dhaka is reacting to Singhs interview

Bangladesh appeared to be rattled by what Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in an interview with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief, Rahul Joshi, about the countrys Interim Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. On Sunday, Bangladesh claimed that Singhs comments against Yunus were incorrect and not respectful of propriety and diplomatic nicety.

Dhaka went on to emphasise that it continues to remain committed to a mutually beneficial relationship with India. We consider that Singhs comments are incorrect and unhelpful and not respectful of propriety and diplomatic nicety, Bangladeshs Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson SM Mahbubul Alam said in a statement.

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In an exclusive conversation with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi, Singh urged Yunus to  watch his words. We do not seek tense relations with Bangladesh, but Yunus should be cautious with his statements, Singh told Joshi, when asked about Yunus provocative remarks and actions by India.

Responding to Singhs comments, Alam maintained that Bangladesh remains committed to a mutually beneficial relationship with India, which should be based on sovereign equality, non-interference in each others affairs, and mutual respect. Bangladesh also believes that differences in perspectives are best addressed through constructive and respectful engagement, Alam averred.

In the interview aired on Friday, Singh maintained that India does not want a rift with Bangladesh. India can handle any kind of challenge, though we aim to maintain good relations with our neighbours, he said.

Yunuss provocative rhetoric against India

Tensions between India and Pakistan started brewing after violent protests toppled former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas government. Nobel Prize Winner Yunus took over the reins as the countrys interim chief advisor after Hasina left the country and is currently in India.

Since coming to power, Yunus has been pushing provocative rhetoric against India. Recently, he stirred a storm after he presented a controversial artwork to Pakistans Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) Chairman General Sahir Shamshad Mirza and a visiting Turkish parliamentary delegation.

Interesting, not once did Alam reject the report that Yunus shared a problematic artwork with both the Pakistani general and the Turkish delegation. The Bangladesh interim chief advisor gifted Art of Triumph to a five-member Turkish parliamentary delegation led by Mehmet Akif Ylmaz, earlier this week, while they were visiting Dhaka. According to The Dhaka Tribune, the book is a collection of graffiti drawn by students and youth during and after the student-led protests in the country last August.

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However, as per News18, the artwork outlines a Greater Bangladesh" plan that incorporates Indias northeastern states, especially Assam, into Bangladeshs future strategic vision. Unnamed sources told News18 that the book presented by Yunus included battle plans" and post-victory management frameworks," with the alleged aim to transform Assam into a productive and viable region" under Dhakas influence.

This was not an art display but a message  one directed at specific transnational Islamist networks that see Bangladeshs interim regime as part of a wider strategic consolidation," the source said. Hence, Yunuss recent actions and statements have deteriorated decades-long ties between India and Bangladesh.
China on Monday announced a one-year suspension of special port fees on US vessels, matching Washingtons move to pause levies on Chinese ships, in a sign of easing trade tensions between the two countries. The step comes as both sides work to stabilise economic ties following last months meeting between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping in South Korea.

Chinese President Xi Jinping waves, with US President Donald Trump, ahead of their summit talk at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea. AP

Amid easing trade tensions between the US and China, Beijing on Monday announced a one-year suspension of special port fees on US vessels, mirroring Washingtons pause on levies targeting Chinese ships  a move seen as part of a fragile trade truce taking shape between the two powers.

The United States and China have been locked in a months-long tariff war but agreed to scale back punitive measures after Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met in South Korea last month. At its peak, duties on both sides had reached triple-digit levels, disrupting global trade and supply chains.

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According to Chinas transport ministry, the suspension of port fees on US-operated or US-built ships visiting Chinese ports took effect at 13:01 (0501 GMT) Monday. Once a postwar shipbuilding giant, the US now accounts for just 0.1 per cent of global output, while China leads nearly half of all new ship launches, followed by South Korea and Japan.

Beijing lifts sanctions on US subsidiaries of Hanwha Ocean

Separately, Beijing announced a one-year suspension of sanctions against five US subsidiaries of South Koreas Hanwha Ocean. The move followed Washingtons halt on port fees levied on Chinese-built vessels.

In light of this (US suspension) China has decided to suspend the relevant measures for one year, Beijings commerce ministry said.

China had earlier sanctioned the Hanwha units in October for allegedly supporting a US Section 301 probe into its shipbuilding dominance. A planned Chinese investigation into how that probe might impact its shipbuilding security and supply chain has also been shelved for now.

Crackdown on fentanyl precursors

In another step tied to recent negotiations, Chinas commerce ministry said it had added more than a dozen fentanyl precursors to its list of controlled exports to the US, Mexico, and Canada. The move follows Washingtons long-standing accusation that Beijing failed to curb the flow of chemicals fueling Americas opioid crisis.

The White House earlier confirmed Beijing had agreed to stop the shipment of certain designated chemicals to North America as part of joint efforts to tackle fentanyl smuggling.

Cautious thaw continues

These moves mark a tentative warming in ties since the Xi-Trump meeting. Last week, China extended a one-year suspension of additional tariffs on US goods, keeping them at 10 per cent, while easing restrictions on soybeans and other farm imports. It also lifted export bans on gallium, germanium, and antimony  metals vital to modern technology.
US President Donald Trump will not be at Brazils Belem, but he will still define the Cop30 summit. As the worlds tallest climate change denier, he has dealt blows after blows to efforts to tackle climate change. And he has also offered the podium to China to become the world leader in clean energy.

US President Donald Trump will not be at the 30th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (Cop30) at Brazils Belem, but he will still define the summit.

As the worlds tallest climate change denier, Trump has essentially killed years of progress in efforts to tackle climate change. He has announced withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, rolled back clean energy investments, and has doubled down on the extraction and promotion of fossil fuels.

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In doing so, Trump has not just set back climate agenda back by years, but he has also handed over the leadership on climate agenda and global clean energy transition to China. And it is visible at Belem.

Cop30 starts without agenda

The Cop30 will start at Belem without any clear agenda.

Among major issues believed to be on the agenda are figuring out a pathway regarding a 2023 pledge to wean off polluting energy sources and demand for financing to make that happen, according to Reuters.

But the focus could very well be on low-hanging fruits that dont need consensus or hefty commitments.

My preference is not to need a COP decision. If countries have an overwhelming desire for a COP decision, we will certainly think about it and deal with it," said COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago, according to Reuters.

Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva has said he hopes that countries will consider setting a plan for quitting fossil fuels. But how that will happen is a great mystery, according to do Lago.

How are we going to do this? Is there going to be consensus about how we are going to do it? This is one of the great mysteries of COP30, do Lago said.

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Other possible issues for the agenda include figuring out how countries will cut emissions further as their current plans have been falling short of whats needed to limit extreme global warming, according to the report.

By Monday morning, 106 countries have submitted new climate plans, the report said.

Countries like India and South Korea are yet to submit plans, the report said.

Countries also want to address financial and action targets for adapting to the conditions of a warmer world with the hope that development banks can undergo enough reform to ensure more money, including from the private sector, goes to these goals, the report said.

Trump makes China world leader in climate change

In another case of Trumps make China great again agenda, the withdrawal of the United States from global climate leadership has put China at the centre.

Do Lago noted the rise of Chinas importance in the talks in the interview as the United States has promised to exit the Paris Agreement and the European Union struggles to maintain its ambition amid worries over energy security.

Do Lago said, Emerging countries are appearing in this COP with a different role. China is coming with solutions for everyone.

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Do Lago noted that inexpensive green technologies from China were now leading the energy transition worldwide.

You start complaining that China is moving the GDP all over the world, he said. But that is great for climate, Do Lago said.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will be released from prison today, just three weeks into a five-year sentence, after a court in Paris ordered his release under judicial supervision.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy leaves his house on the day of his incarceration at the Sante prison to begin his five-year prison sentence. Reuters

A Paris court on Monday ordered former French President Nicolas Sarkozys early release from prison, just weeks into his five-year sentence, pending an appeal. The 70-year-old, who led France from 2007 to 2012, had been jailed on October 21 following his September conviction for criminal conspiracy.

The charges related to efforts by aides to secure campaign funds from late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for his 2007 presidential bid. He was acquitted of all other charges, including corruption and receiving illegal campaign funds.

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Sarkozy may be required to wear an electronic tag while living at home with his wife, Carla Bruni, post bail, and must regularly check in with authorities.

Prosecutor backs release under strict supervision

Judge Nathalie Gavarino had noted that Sarkozys prison term was enforced quickly due to the extraordinary seriousness of the crime. On Monday, the public prosecutor recommended his release under strict judicial supervision, including a ban on contacting other indicted individuals and witnesses. The prosecutor said Sarkozy did not pose a flight risk.

The court approved the release, which also prohibits him from leaving France, according to BFM TV.

Speaking via videolink from prison, Sarkozy described his time behind bars as very hard and exhausting, while maintaining his innocence and calling himself a victim of revenge and hatred.

Im French, sir. I love my country. Im fighting for the truth to prevail. I will comply with all the obligations imposed on me, as I always have, he said. On life in jail, he added: Its tough. Really toughas it must be for any detainee. Id even say its draining.

A history of legal battles

Sarkozy has faced several legal challenges since leaving office. Last year, Frances highest court upheld a corruption and influence-peddling conviction, ordering him to wear an electronic tag for a yeara first for a former president. The tag has since been removed.

An appeals court also confirmed a separate conviction for illegal campaign financing related to his failed 2012 re-election bid. A final ruling from Frances highest court on that case is expected this month.
Five Indian nationals have been kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in Mali, prompting the Indian Embassy to assure full support and work with local authorities for their safe and early release.

Fighters from Permanent Strategic Framework for the Defense of the People of Azawad (CSP-DPA) gather as they secure the perimeter during a meeting of Tuareg rebels army leaders in Tinzaouaten, Northern Mali, November 27, 2024. Representational Image/Reuters

The Indian Embassy in Mali has assured full support and vowed to ensure the safe return of five Indian nationals kidnapped by unidentified gunmen. The mission said it is working closely with Malian authorities for their early release.

The Embassy is aware of the unfortunate incident of kidnapping of five of our nationals in Mali on 6 Nov 2025, it said in a statement. The Embassy has been working closely with the Mali authorities and the company concerned to secure their safe release as quickly as possible.

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According to company and security officials, the men were working on an electrification project near Kobri in western Mali when gunmen ambushed their convoy. The remaining employees have been evacuated to the capital, Bamako.

No group has claimed responsibility so far. Mali continues to grapple with escalating violence from Al-Qaeda-linked militants, particularly Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam al-Muslimin (JNIM), which has intensified attacks on highways, convoys, and security forces.

The deteriorating situation has prompted several countries  including the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany  to issue advisories urging their citizens to leave Mali, citing an unpredictable security situation.

Kidnappings of foreign nationals are not uncommon in the junta-ruled nation, which has faced instability and insurgent violence since 2012. Earlier this year, JNIM militants abducted two Emirati citizens and an Iranian near Bamako.
As we wrap up todays Late Bulletin, here are the top stories:

Thailand has suspended a US-brokered peace deal with Cambodia after a landmine blast injured two Thai soldiers along the disputed border. The move comes weeks after Donald Trump mediated the accord, hailed as a diplomatic breakthrough.

In Washington, a group of Democratic senators joined Republicans to pass a spending bill 6040, ending a 40-day government shutdown and funding operations until January.

Trump has also issued sweeping pardons to 77 people, including Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, John Eastman, Mark Meadows, and Boris Epshteyn, accused of efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Mali is working with local authorities to secure the safe release of five Indians kidnapped on November 6.
Pakistans 27th Amendment has reshaped Pakistans military command and control structure to formally make the Army Chief the supreme commander and an Army officer in-charge of the countrys nuclear weapons. It has made the Air Force and Navy subordinates to the Army. Here is the full list of far-reaching changes.

Pakistan Army chief, Field Marshal (then General) Asim Munir holds a microphone during his visit at the Tilla Field Firing Ranges (TFFR) to witness the Exercise Hammer Strike in Mangla, Pakistan, on May 1, 2025. (Photo: ISPR/Handout via Reuters)

In addition to institutionalising Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir as the countrys czar, the 27th Amendment has redefined the civil-military relationship and the command-and-control structure of the armed forces.

While the Army has long held primacy in Pakistan, its superiority over the Air Force and Navy is now formally enshrined.

Constitutionally, Army chiefs and their fellow service chiefs could now be equal to the president  and placed well above the prime minister.

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The Pakistani government introduced the 27th Amendment on Saturday. The bill advanced on Sunday when a joint sitting of parliamentary law and justice committees approved it. It is expected to pass within weeks.

ALSO READ: Six months after Op Sindoors hammering, Munir eyes to be Pakistans czar

The amendment comes at a time when Munir has been consolidating power for months. He has undertaken foreign trips including to Washington DC where he has met world leaders in a manner more typical of heads of state or government, further cementing his status as the countrys de facto leader.

Full changes under the 27th Amendment

According to the text tabled in the Senate, the Pakistani army chief shall concurrently serve as Chief of the Defence Forces (CDF).

The CDF is a newly created rank that the Army chief will hold. With this additional charge, the Army chief will outrank the Air Force and Navy chiefs  ending the longstanding tradition of being the first among equals or co-equal service chiefs. To further consolidate power, the longstanding position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee has been abolished.

Under the proposal, the prime minister shall appoint the Commander of the National Strategic Command (NSC) on the recommendation of the Army chief, from among members of the Army.

The NSC appears to be either a new body or a rebranded version of the entity responsible for Pakistans nuclear arsenal. Until now, the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA), nominally headed by the prime minister, has held this role, while the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) Force has physically secures the arsenal.

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ALSO READ: Why Pakistans 27th Amendment giving sweeping powers to Asim Munir has led to protests

The proposal also states that a field marshal and their Air Force and Navy equivalents Marshal of the Air Force and Admiral of the Fleet shall not be removed from office except through parliamentary impeachment under Article 47 of the Constitution, the same provision that governs the removal of the president.

While the 27th Amendment is wide-ranging, the most notable changes concern the military and have dominated headlines. For the full list of amendments, refer to the document embedded above.
A high-level Turkish delegation will arrive in Pakistan this week with the goal of sealing a peace deal between Pakistan and Afghanistans Taliban, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands during a meeting on the sidelines of SCO Summit in Tianjin, China, on August 31, 2025. (Photo: Press Information Department (PID)/Handout via Reuters)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said that a high-level delegation will visit Pakistan this week for discussions on the Pakistan-Taliban conflict.

Erdogan said that the visit will be aimed at sealing a permanent ceasefire and peace between Pakistan and Afghanistans Taliban as soon as possible, Reuters quoted an official readout as saying.

Erdogan said that the delegation will comprise Turkeys foreign and defence ministers and intelligence chief plan.

The announcement came a day after Erdogan held talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Azerbaijans capital of Baku.

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Turkey has been mediating between Pakistan and Taliban along with Qatar and has held multiple rounds of talks between the two sides in Istanbul. But the two sides have not yet reached a long-term peace agreement.

ALSO READ  Unrealistic demands: Taliban slam Pakistan for irresponsible stance as Istanbul peace talks collapse

Last month, the Taliban and Pakistan had their worst clashes since 2021 after the Taliban said that explosions in Kabul were a result of Pakistani airstrikes. In response, the Taliban launched attacks on Pakistani forces across the Durand Line, the line dividing Afghanistan and Pakistan that the Taliban have long rejected as the two countries border. For next two weeks, the two sides had several rounds of clash in which dozens were killed and hundreds were injured.

Taliban will be treated as an enemy, warns Pakistan

Pakistan has continued to blame the Taliban for harbouring groups like the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) a group separate from Afghanistans Taliban that frequently carry out attacks inside Pakistan and have been engaged in a struggle to overthrow the Pakistani state for decades.

Pakistan on Sunday said that it would start treating the Taliban as an enemy if it continued to harbour the TTP  a group it has designated as a terrorist entity.

The TTP and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) are declared enemies of the State of Pakistan and its people and anyone harbouring, abetting, or financing them is not considered a friend and well-wisher of Pakistan and its people, The Express Tribune quoted the Foreign Office as saying.

Instead of acting upon the core expectation from Pakistan, ie, not to allow Afghan territory to be used for attacks against Pakistan, the Taliban regime has always tried to shy away from taking concrete and verifiable actions, the statement said.

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Pakistans 27th amendment, which institutionalises the army chief as the countrys most powerful person, has progressed after parliamentary committees approval. It was tabled in the parliament over the weekend.

A joint sitting of Pakistans parliamentary law and justice committees on Sunday approved the 27th Amendment. Their report is set to be tabled on Monday.

The amendment institutionalises the role of the Pakistan Army chief as the countrys most powerful figure, effectively installing him as a national czar.

In a statement following the committees meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar said all key amendments including changes to Article 243 of the Constitution had been approved.

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Article 243 pertains to civil-military relations in Pakistan and the command-and-control structure of the armed forces. The proposed changes equate service chiefs with the president in terms of immunity from prosecution and effectively transfer appointment powers to the army chief.

Under the proposed changes, the army chief will also concurrently serve as Chief of the Defence Forces  the supreme commander overseeing all three military services. The amendment further institutionalises the armys primacy over other branches of the armed forces.

ALSO READ: Six months after Op Sindoors hammering, Munir eyes to be Pakistans czar

While Dar said the 27th Amendment was passed amicably, leaders of PTI, MWM, PKMAP and the Sunni Ittehad Council did not attend the meeting, according to Dawn.

These parties have also announced a boycott of the upcoming parliamentary sessions.

Government allies proposals rejected

During the meeting, four amendments moved by members of the ruling coalition were rejected.

The Muttahida Qaumi Movements (MQM) proposal to amend Article 140, which relates to local governments, and the Awami National Partys (ANP) proposal to change the name of the province were both rejected, according to Dawn.

The joint session also turned down the Balochistan Awami Partys (BAP) proposal to increase provincial assembly seats, the Pakistan Muslim League-Qs (PML-Q) proposal for a uniform education curriculum across the country, and the ANPs proposal to rename Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

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The opening of a contested museum in Nigeria, meant to display west African art, has been postponed after protesters disrupted a private visit on Sunday, officials said.

The opening of a contested museum in Nigeria, meant to display west African art, has been postponed after protesters disrupted a private visit on Sunday, officials said.

The Museum of West African Arts (MOWAA) had been due to officially open on Tuesday, but this will now be postponed indefinitely, officials said.

MOWAA was launched five years ago by Nigerian businessman Phillip Ihenacho in Benin City, Edo State, with the support of its former governor.

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It has also been financed with help from the French and German governments as well as the British Museum, and from private donors.

It is due to house exhibition spaces and archives and aims to host residencies for west African artists and craftspeople, and on Sunday was holding a pre-opening event for donors and industry professionals.

But around 20 men, some armed with wooden bats, stormed into the museum courtyard, forcing guests to take refuge inside.

The group, whose demands were not clear, caused minor damage in the museum courtyard, AFP reporters saw.

Protesters entered and began vandalising part of the reception pavilion, where we receive visitors, then they stormed inside the front section, where the exhibition area is located, Ihenacho told AFP.

After around two hours, guests were escorted away in buses to a nearby hotel.

Political tensions

The museum has sparked tensions between the former state governor and his successor, an ally of the citys traditional ruler, Oba Ewuare II, who says he should be in charge of the museum.

Benin for years has been trying to recover artefacts seized during the colonial era, in particular the Benin Bronzes looted more than 120 years ago.

Most of the ornate bronzes were seized by British soldiers in a retaliatory raid on Benin, and then auctioned off or sold to museums across Europe and the United States.

Ihenacho said he believed the protesters were representatives from the palace of Oba Ewuare II.

We have never pretended to be anything other than the Museum of West African Art, Ihenacho added.

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Nigerias Culture Minister Hannatu Musa Musawa condemned the incident in a statement late Sunday.

The reported disruption at MOWAA not only endangers a treasured cultural asset but also threatens the peaceful environment necessary for cultural exchange and the preservation of our artistic patrimony, she said.

We are in active consultation with the Edo State government, security agencies and all relevant stakeholders to establish a full understanding of the circumstances and to ensure and appropriate and proportionate response, she said in a statement.
At a time when Pakistan and Russia have been steadily warming to each other, Russia has reportedly busted a Pakistani plot to steal air defence and aircraft technology.

Mil Mi-26 heavy transport helicopter and Mi-8 medium multi-role helicopter perform during a demonstration flight at the MAKS 2017 air show in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, Russia, on July 18, 2017. (Representational Photo, Credit: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters)

At a time when RussiaPakistan ties have been on the upswing, a media report has claimed that an ISI plot to steal Russian defence technology has been foiled.

The Economic Times has reported that Russia thwarted an attempt by Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to smuggle out technology related to air defence systems and helicopters.

A Russian national was arrested in St Petersburg Vladimir Putins hometown in connection with the case, the report said.

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The report has come just days ahead of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifs expected visit to Russia later this month.

What was Pakistan allegedly trying to steal?

The alleged plot involved smuggling documents used in the development of military helicopter technology and air defence systems, including information on Mi8AMTShV and MI8 AMTShV (VA) military transport helicopters, the ET reported people familiar with the matter as saying.

The plot was reportedly foiled before the documents could be smuggled out.

The report surfaces six months after the India-Pakistan conflict following the Pahalgam terrorist attack. During the conflict, India deployed the Russian-made S-400 air defence system, which along with other platforms, including indigenous ones played a role in repelling Pakistani attacks.

The timing of Pakistani plot

The alleged Pakistani plot has been busted at a time when Russia and Pakistani were improving their relationship. Their high-level engagements were also rising.

In September, Shehbaz had met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in China, where it was announced that he would visit Russia in November. The two countries have had several high-level exchanges lately.

During his meeting with Shehbaz, Putin described Pakistan as a traditional partner of Russia in Asia.

Following the IndiaPakistan clashes during Operation Sindoor, Putin endorsed the Pakistani and American position that it was US President Donald Trumps intervention that halted the conflict  a claim India has consistently and categorically rejected.

After a call between Putin and Trump in June, the Kremlin said in a statement that the two leaders discussed the conflict between India and Pakistan which has been halted with the personal involvement of President Trump.

In July, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk visited Pakistan for talks and described Pakistan and Russia as natural allies. In June, Syed Tariq Fatemi, a senior aide to Shehbaz, visited Russia and met Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as part of Pakistans outreach following the IndiaPakistan conflict.

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South Korea indicted former president Yoon Suk Yeol for aiding the enemy state. A special investigation was ordered this year to identify whether Yoon ordered drone flights over North Korea.

A South Korean special prosecutor on Monday indicted former president Yoon Suk Yeol on charges of aiding the enemy state related to his efforts to declare a martial law and ordering drone flights over North Korea. A special investigation was ordered this year to identify whether Yoon ordered drone flights over North Korea.

Prosecutor Park Ji-young told reporters that a special counsel team had indicted charges for aiding the enemy and abusing power.

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Yoon and others conspired to create conditions that would allow the declaration of emergency martial law, thereby increasing the risk of inter-Korean armed confrontation and harming public military interests, Park told AFP.

She further added that the evidence has been found in the memo which was written by Yoons former counter-intelligence commander in October last year. This created an unstable situation or seized an arising opportunity.

Yoon was removed from office by the Constitutional Court in April and is on trial for insurrection and other charges stemming from his failed martial law declaration.

Yoon was removed from office by the Constitutional Court in April and voters replaced him with Lee Jae Myung in a general election.

Yoon remains on trial for insurrection and if found guilty could be sentenced to death.
Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who previously fought for jihadist groups al-Qaeda and Islamic State, will meet US President Donald Trump at White House today. He was until last year a specially designated global terrorist with a bounty of $10 million.

Syria's leader Ahmed al-Sharaa meets with US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in this handout released on May 14, 2025. (Photo: Saudi Press Agency/Handout via Reuters)

In a historic first, Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa will on Monday meet US President Donald Trump at the White House.

Al-Sharaa will be the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since the countrys independence in 1946 from France.

Security and regional realignment are expected to be on the top of the meetings agenda. Days ahead of the visit, Reuters had reported that Trump is seeking a military deployment in Syrian territory under al-Sharaas control, including in Damascus.

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Trump has been trying to steer Syria under al-Sharaa away from longtime Syria players Turkey and Russia. He has been leading efforts for a peace agreement between Syria and Israel. In the meeting, the two sides may also announce Syria joining the US-led coalition against the Islamic State in the region.

Until last year, al-Sharaa was a Specially Designated Global Terrorist with a bounty of $10 million. He had previously led al-Qaeda in Syria and had been a regional commander of the Islamic State before that  he was a close lieutenant of infamous Islamic State chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

But al-Sharaa last year led a Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)-led coalition to overthrow Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, ending decadeslong Assad rule in the country. The West has since then cosied up to him, and the United States and United Nations (UN) have lifted sanctions on him.

I think hes doing a very good job: Trump on al-Sharaa

Days ahead of the meeting, Trump said that he thought al-Sharaa was doing a very good job

Trump said that a lot of progress has been made on Syria.

Trump further said, Its a tough neighborhood, and hes a tough guy, but I got along with him very well.

Previously, Trump met al-Sharaa in May and announced he would lift all sanctions on Syria. But the actual lifting has been delayed as it requires congressional action and Congress has been in deadlock over the budget for months.

After his arrival in Washington DC, al-Sharaa met IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva over the weekend regarding possible aid for Syria.

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Separately, the World Bank has estimated that it would take around $14 billion to rebuild the country after more than a year of wars.

Ahead of the meeting, State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said al-Sharaas administration had been meeting US demands on working to find missing Americans and on eliminating any remaining chemical weapons.

These actions are being taken in recognition of the progress demonstrated by the Syrian leadership after the departure of Bashar al-Assad and more than 50 years of repression under the Assad regime, Pigott said.
The foiled plots highlight the dangers confronting President Ahmed al-Sharaa as he pivots Syria from years of isolation toward cooperation with the United States and its allies

Syrian authorities have thwarted two separate Islamic State (IS) plots to assassinate President Ahmed al-Sharaa in recent months, according to a Reuters report, citing two senior officials, underscoring the persistent threat facing the leader as he moves to align Syria with a US-led coalition against the militant group.

The sources, a senior Syrian security official and a senior Middle Eastern official, said that the attempted attacks were disrupted over the past several months.

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They said the foiled plots highlight the personal risks confronting Sharaa as he works to consolidate power in a nation devastated by 14 years of civil war.

In one of the cases, officials said, Islamic State operatives had planned to target Sharaa during a pre-announced public engagement. They declined to provide further details, citing the sensitivity of ongoing security operations.

Plots emerge ahead of Sharaa meeting with Trump

The revelation of the assassination plots comes as Syria prepares to join a US-led global coalition against the Islamic State, coinciding with President Ahmed al-Sharaas upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday  a first for any Syrian head of state.

Sharaa, who assumed power last December after the Islamist rebel movement he led toppled former President Bashar al-Assad, has sought to present himself as a moderate reformer. He is expected to use the high-profile meeting to seek international backing for Syrias reconstruction and long-term recovery.

Syrias planned entry into the coalition marks a dramatic foreign policy shift following Assads downfall  from alignment with Russia and Iran to a growing partnership with Western and Arab states.

Despite these diplomatic advances, Sharaa faces formidable challenges at home. His government continues to battle entrenched sectarian divisions and recurring attacks on civilians and security forces, violence that authorities in Damascus have attributed to Islamic State militants.

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Crackdown on Islamic State

Over the weekend, Syrias Interior Ministry launched a nationwide crackdown on Islamic State (IS) networks, detaining more than 70 suspected militants, according to a Reuters report, citing government media.

A senior Syrian security official said the operation was based on intelligence indicating that IS cells were plotting attacks targeting both government institutions and minority communities.

The official added that the campaign was also intended to signal the extent of Syrian intelligence penetration within the militant group  and to demonstrate the value Syria could bring to global counterterrorism efforts as it prepares to join the US-led coalition.

President al-Sharaa, who seized power last year in an 11-day offensive, previously led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Islamist faction once affiliated with al-Qaeda.

Sharaa severed ties with al-Qaeda in 2016 and has since waged a sustained campaign against Islamic State, directing arrests and military operations in HTSs former stronghold of Idlib.

Following the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Islamic State has attempted to reassert itself in Syria, seeking to discredit Sharaas outreach to the West and his promises to represent all of Syrias religious groups as betrayals of Islam. In June, a suicide bombing at a Damascus church killed 25 people  an attack the government attributed to IS, though the group did not claim responsibility.

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Syrian officials say Sharaas government has been quietly coordinating with U.S. forces for months in the fight against Islamic State. Formal membership in the coalition, however, is expected to deepen intelligence and military cooperation and serve as a key step toward persuading U.S. lawmakers to lift remaining sanctions on Syria by years end.

Last week, Reuters reported that the US military was preparing to establish a presence at a Damascus airbase for the first time. A US administration official declined to identify the base, citing operational security.

Syrian state media denied the report but did not specify which elements were inaccurate.

With inputs from agencies
In an embarrassment for US President Donald Trump, the Thailand-Cambodia peace deal that he presided over is now in suspension after renewed tensions between the two countries.

US President Donald Trump (right) looks on as Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet (centre) and Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul hold up documents during a signing of a peace deal on the sidelines of the Asean Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 26, 2025. (Photo: Andrew Caballero/AFP)

Thailand on Monday suspended the implementation of a peace agreement with Cambodia that was brokered by US President Donald Trump, according to AFP.

The announcement followed a landmine blast that injured two Thai soldiers in the contested border area of neighbouring countries.

In July, Thailand and Cambodia had fought a war that killed at least 43 people and displaced more than 300,000 people on both the sides. The fighting erupted followed monthslong tensions and involved airstrikes, rockets, artillery, and fighting on the ground.

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Last month, Trump got Thai and Cambodian leaders together and presided over the signing of a peace deal in Malaysia. He hailed it as a diplomatic achievement. But that deal already in suspension now appears to be falling apart.

Thailand says threat has not decreased despite peace deal

In a statement, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said that we thought that the security threat had eased, but it has not actually decreased, as per AFP.

Separately, the Royal Thai Army said that the mine explosion in Sisaket province left one soldier with a severe leg injury and injured another.

The Thai government added that it will cease the follow-up to the joint declaration. As per the deal, the next phase now in suspension will have included the release of 18 Cambodian soldiers detained in Thailand.

On its part, Cambodia did not respond to the explosion but said on Monday that it had an unwavering commitment to peace.

ALSO READ: Five key factors that brought Thailand & Cambodia to war

For decades, the Thai-Cambodian relationship has been tense over a disputed border. The two countries are locked in a decadeslong dispute over the trijunction of Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos called the Emerald Triangle, which has several cultural sites that are of high strategic and symbolic value that both sides lay claim to, such as the Prasat Ta Muen Thom temple. In May, before the broader conflict, the two sides had clashed near the temple.

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The United Arab Emirates has no plans to join the proposed international stability force in Gaza, citing the absence of a clear framework for the mission, a senior Emirati official said on Monday

Aid donated by the UAE for the people of Gaza is stored in a warehouse at the port of Limassol, Cyprus, on November 7, 2025. Reuters File

The United Arab Emirates has no plans to join the proposed international stability force in Gaza, citing the absence of a clear framework for the mission, Reuters quoted a senior Emirati official as saying on Monday.

Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said Abu Dhabi would instead focus on supporting political initiatives aimed at achieving peace and maintaining its role as a major provider of humanitarian assistance.

The region remains fragile, yet there is reason for cautious optimism, Reuters quoted Gargash as telling the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate.

The ceasefire agreement designed to halt fighting between Israel and Hamas was brokered by the United States, with Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey also playing mediating roles.

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Washington has drafted a United Nations Security Council resolution that proposes a two-year mandate for a transitional governance body in Gaza, alongside the deployment of an international stabilisation force.

Known as the International Stabilization Force (ISF), the mission would be authorised to use all necessary measures to demilitarize Gaza, protect civilians and humanitarian aid deliveries, secure the territorys borders, and support a newly trained Palestinian police force, according to a draft reviewed by Reuters.

US President Donald Trump said last week that the stabilisation force for Gaza would deploy very soon, adding that Gaza is working out very well.

The US has approached several countries, including Indonesia, the UAE, Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and Azerbaijan, about contributing to the force, a senior US official had told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Israel has excluded Turkey from participating in the proposed force, while Azerbaijan has stated it will not send peacekeepers to Gaza unless all hostilities cease.

Although the United States has ruled out deploying troops directly into Gaza, a US official said roughly two dozen American soldiers are stationed in the region in coordination and oversight roles to prepare for a possible deployment.

Gargash emphasised that progress in Gaza hinges on reaffirming the principles of the Abraham Accords  dialogue, coexistence, and cooperation  as the only sustainable path toward a viable Palestinian state.

Under the Trump-brokered Abraham Accords in 2020, the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco established formal ties with Israel.

With inputs from agencies
Wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Syria are fueling the rapid spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, creating a global health threat that could outlast the conflicts themselves.

As wars rage across Ukraine, Gaza, and Syria, a silent and equally devastating crisis is unfolding: the explosion of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Conditions in conflict zones have triggered a tenfold rise in lethal infections, pushing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to a perilous new level where the growth of multidrug-resistant microbes is now outpacing antibiotic development.

The problem is starkly visible in Ukraine, where hospitals are witnessing a surge in multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae infections. Similar outbreaks have been reported in Gaza and Syria. Damage to sanitation and health infrastructure, medicine shortages, and contaminated combat wounds have created ideal conditions for resistant bacteria to thrive. Doctors often have no option but to rely on last-resort antibiotics, accelerating the risk of resistance.

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A case from Kyivs City Clinical Hospital highlights the crisis. In April 2023, a 32-year-old Ukrainian soldier known as Black suffered severe abdominal injuries from shrapnel. Despite multiple surgeries and rounds of antibiotics, he developed sepsis caused by an extremely drug-resistant infection. His doctors resorted to an experimental combination of drugs, a desperate measure that underlined the growing limits of medical treatment in war.

Jason Bennett, director of the Multidrug-Resistant Organism Repository and Surveillance Network at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, described the bacteria emerging from Ukraine as incredibly resistant, unlike anything previously observed.

Growing global threat beyond the battlefield

The link between warfare and deadly infections is not new. Before antibiotics were discovered, infections claimed more soldiers lives than combat itself. During the Second World War, the US government and military invested heavily in antibiotic research, making drugs like penicillin as strategically vital as ammunition.

Today, however, antibiotics have lost that priority. The neglect of infection control as a security issue has allowed AMR to evolve into a global menace, one capable of continuing its deadly march long after wars end.

The spread of infections such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter baumannii, once easily treatable  signals how conflict can amplify microbial evolution. Acinetobacter baumannii first gained notoriety during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, where it infected wounded soldiers and became known as Iraqibacter. Now, it is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections worldwide.

Experts warn that as armed conflicts reach record highs, drug-resistant infections could accelerate further. Nearly five million deaths are already linked to AMR each year, and this figure may rise by over 70 per cent by 2050 if current trends continue. The failure to develop effective new antibiotics could make routine medical procedures such as surgery and chemotherapy increasingly dangerous.

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Health security bodies like the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority are working to strengthen defences against AMR, but analysts argue that the military may once again need to play a central role in antibiotic innovation. Without urgent action, drug-resistant infections could claim as many as 169 million lives by 2050.

Experts stress that innovation, equitable access, and a fundamental shift in mindset are essential. Unless antimicrobial resistance is recognised as a major global security threat, wars will continue to breed deadly superbugs, and humanity may soon face a battle it cannot win.
Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haleys son, Nalin Haley, said that the United States should stop foreign aid and bar legal immigration as well, since there are no jobs for American youths.

Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley's son, Nalin Haley, said that the United States should stop foreign aid and bar legal immigration as well, since there are no jobs for American youths. In an interview with UnHerd, Nalin took the example of how his friends are not getting jobs in the country because of tough competition.

Nalin, who has emerged as a vocal Maga activist, said that those who do not like America should just get out, referring to journalist Mehdi Hasan. Nalin reiterated that he is not sarcastic when he says Mehdi Hasan should be denaturalised and thrown out of the US.

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No, I quite literally mean that. Im often sarcastic, but not in this case. I mean, he hates America. If you hate America, you shouldnt be in America.  Everyone wants to make it so complicated. Thats the thing with the past generation. They always talk about the rules, regulations, and process. No, its simple. If you dont like America, get out," Indian -origin Nalin Haley said.

The emerging Maga activist

The 24-year-old regularly makes right-leaning remarks online and even criticised biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy urged the GOP to stop identity politics and rise above race, religion  in the aftermath of the GOPs defeat in New York, New Jersey and Virginia.

However, Nalin did not agree with his, calling his assertion cringeworthy, emphasising that the GOP cares about religion. Not only immigration, irrespective of legality, Nalin Haley believes that the US should end all foreign aid as long as people have unemployment, medical debt.

My friend group from high school, all graduated, great degrees from great schools. Its been a year and a half, and not one of them has a job  not one. So Im angry at that, because Im having to try and help my friends get jobs when their parents got jobs immediately  not just after graduating college, but out of high school," he said.

The 24-year-old is currently working in finance, but emphasised that he cant see himself owning a house in the current economy. My parents bought their first house for $90,000. I mean, that house is probably now worth $400,000. How can we compete?
Before the US Senate agreed to a deal on Sunday, the United States government had been shutdown for the past 40 days, the longest it has ever been. Heres everything that happened in the past 40 days

A stop sign is seen in front of the US Capitol dome in Washington, DC. The United States government is witnessing its first shutdown in six years. AFP

Before the US Senate agreed to a deal on Sunday, the United States government had been shutdown for the past 40 days, the longest it has ever been. In the span of these 40 days, a whopping 750,000 federal employees were furloughed, food assistance for millions of Americans came at risk, and air travel was majorly disrupted across the country.

The shutdown began on October 1 after Republicans and Democrats in the US Senate failed to agree on spending priorities. The main point of contention was Republicans rejection of a push by Democrats to protect healthcare and other social programmes.

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After 40 days, Senators of both parties came together and agreed on the first step to end the shutdown, with eight Democrats breaking ranks and coming to terms with the Republicans. Both sides agreed to support a package that would fund multiple agencies and programs for the full fiscal year, and all others until January 30, 2026.

Heres everything that happened during the 40 days of the government shutdown.

Flight disruption

The government shutdown caused major disruptions for the aviation industry, with staffing shortages among unpaid air traffic controllers. Over 1,500 flights were cancelled across the United States on Saturday, while thousands more were delayed as authorities ordered airports to reduce air traffic.

On Saturday, around 1,025 flights were cancelled, and the next day, 1,000 cancellations were logged. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that staffing shortages affected 42 control towers and other facilities, leading to delays in at least a dozen major cities  including Atlanta, Newark, San Francisco, New York and Chicago.

The disruption came during the holiday season. Reduced air traffic also took a hit on deliveries and shipping, since many commercial flights carry cargo alongside passengers.

Threat to Snap

In recent weeks, US President Donald Trump said that he will restore only food aid once the government shutdown ends.  SNAP BENEFITS, which increased by Billions and Billions of Dollars (MANY FOLD!) during Crooked Joe Bidens disastrous term  will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up government, he wrote earlier this week on Truth Social.

The US Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provide low-income Americans with roughly $8 billion a month in grocery assistance. The issue of who will provide funds to the program amid the shutdown even went to the federal courts and the Supreme Court. The average American individual benefit is about $190 per month, while a household receives around $356.

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Obamacare still at risk

Democrats blamed the Republicans for the shutdown because the party refused to renew expiring healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Even on Sunday, the GOP Senate did not give a guarantee that the subsidies would be renewed after they expire on January 1.

Even after the deal is reached, Democrats are pushing for a one-year extension of the ACA subsidies, which mainly help people without employer or government health coverage buy insurance. However, with a 5347 majority in the Senate, Republicans can block the proposal.

Over the weekend, Trump has been ranting about Obamacare on his social media platform. He went on to recommend an alternative to the program. I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies  BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and have money left over, he said.

Around 24 million Americans currently benefit from the ACA subsidies. Analysts warn that premiums could double by 2026 if Congress allows them to expire. While the Democrats could not garner the guarantee on Obamacare, they received commitment from the Trump administration to rehire government workers fired at the start of the funding lapse, and the promise of a Senate floor vote in December on legislation to extend expiring Obamacare tax credits. Hence, the future of obamacare remains uncertain.

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The US Senate on Sunday took the first step to end the historic government shutdown after a group of moderate Democrats agreed to proceed without a guaranteed extension of health care subsidies.

Senate staffers rest on the US Capitol steps at sunrise on Capitol Hill. (Photo: Reuters)

The US Senate on Sunday took the first step to end the historic government shutdown after a group of moderate Democrats agreed to proceed without a guaranteed extension of health care subsidies. This angered many within the party who argue that the Americans want them to continue the fight.

In a test vote conducted on Sunday, the first in a series of required procedural manoeuvres, the Senate voted 60-40 to move toward passing compromise legislation to fund the government. They agreed to hold a later vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits that are due to expire on January 1.

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However, the final passage of the plan could be several days away if Democrats object and delay the process. One of the controversial aspects of the deal is the fact that the agreement does not guarantee that the Affordable Care Act subsidies will be extended, a provision which the Democrats have been demanding for almost six weeks.

While the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, voted against moving ahead with the package along with other party members, eight Democrats broke ranks in order to end the shutdown.

But what Democrats are getting out of this

In exchange for their consent, Democrats have received a commitment from US President Donald Trumps administration to rehire government workers it fired at the start of the funding lapse, and the promise of a Senate floor vote in December on legislation to extend expiring Obamacare tax credits.

In the end, eight members voted to advance the House-passed stopgap, which is being used as a vehicle for the larger funding deal. The vote will now pave the way for consideration later this week of a legislative package that would fund the Department of Agriculture and the FDA, the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction projects, and the operations of Congress for all of the current fiscal year  the product of months of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations between top appropriators.

All other agencies would be funded throught January 30, according to the text of the resolution that was released on Sunday. However, the agreement still needs to pass the House before the government can be reopened.

After 40 long days, Im hopeful we can bring this shutdown to an end, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said shortly before the vote. The deal to end the shutdown was painstakingly negotiated by Thune and members of the Senate Democratic Caucus, including Sens. Angus King, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan.

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With inputs from agencies.
Acting on President Trumps orders, the Pentagon carried out two lethal strikes on vessels linked to designated terrorist groups, as part of a broader campaign against narco-trafficking networks

The US military carried out another operation targeting suspected drug trafficking vessels on Sunday, resulting in the deaths of six people in the Eastern Pacific, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said.

Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, two lethal kinetic strikes were conducted on two vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations.



These vessels were known by our intelligence to be associated with illicit narcotics smuggling, were carrying narcotics, and pic.twitter.com/ocUoGzwwDO  Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 10, 2025

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In a post on X, Hegseth confirmed that the military conducted two lethal strikes against separate vessels operated by designated terrorist organisations. He did not specify which groups the crews of the ships are believed to be affiliated with.

These vessels were known by our intelligence to be associated with illicit narcotics smuggling, were carrying narcotics, and were transiting along a known narco-trafficking transit route in the Eastern Pacific, Hegseth said.

According to a CNN report, the US military has killed 76 people in 19 strikes that destroyed 20 boats as part of a campaign Washington says is aimed at curbing the flow of drugs into the United States.

Of those targeted, three survived the strikes. Two were briefly detained by the US Navy before being returned to their home countries, while the third is presumed dead following a search conducted by the Mexican Navy.

In multiple briefings to Congress, including one last week, administration officials acknowledged that they do not always know the identities of individuals on board a vessel before launching an attack. Instead, strikes are carried out based on intelligence linking the vessels to specific cartels or criminal organisations, CNN reported.

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The Trump administration has informed Congress that the US is now engaged in an armed conflict against drug cartels, beginning with its first strike on September 2.

Those killed have been labeled unlawful combatants, giving the administration authority to carry out lethal strikes without judicial review, based on a classified Justice Department finding.

Some members of Congress and human rights groups have challenged this determination, arguing that suspected drug traffickers should face prosecution under longstanding US policy, which historically focused on interdiction rather than lethal force.

The administration has not publicly provided evidence of narcotics aboard the targeted boats or confirmed their ties to drug cartels. Military officials have stated that no US service members have been harmed during the strikes.

With inputs from agencies
Israeli Jewish settlers have been caught on camera attacking Palestinians and journalists in occupied West Bank during the harvest of olives  again.

Reuters photographer Raneen Sawafta arrives at a hospital following an Israeli settlers attack near Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on November 8, 2025. (Photo: Nidal Eshtayeh/Reuters)

Israeli settlers attacked a group of Palestinian villagers, activists and journalists on Saturday who had gathered during an attempt to harvest olives near a settler outpost in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, witnesses said.

Two Reuters employees a journalist and a security adviser accompanying her were among those injured in the attack by the men who wielded sticks and clubs and hurled large rocks, in an area close to the Palestinian village of Beita.

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The area, lying south of the West Bank city of Nablus, has in past years been a flashpoint for settler attacks, which increased across the West Bank after the war in Gaza began two years ago. Such attacks have escalated during this years olive harvest, which began in October.

As the number of such attacks has climbed, Israeli and other activists have often joined Palestinians to support them and their right to harvest their olive groves, while also documenting any violence. Activists or local Palestinians often inform journalists of harvesting plans, so they can attend to report, particularly in flashpoint areas, such as outposts.

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT: Over a dozen people, including a Reuters journalist, were injured when Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians, activists and reporters at an olive harvest near a West Bank outpost https://t.co/wBN8fwgxA7 pic.twitter.com/cbrlyKqV7c  Reuters (@Reuters) November 9, 2025

Settler outposts, which can include a collection of caravans or sturdier structures, do not have approval by the Israeli authorities. Palestinians and most nations regard any settlements as illegal under international law. Israel disputes this.

The Israel Defense Forces said they had dispatched soldiers to the scene after receiving what they described as reports of a confrontation.

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Witnesses said they saw no Israeli soldiers at the scene.

The IDF condemns any act of violence and will continue to operate to maintain security and order in the area, the military said in a statement to Reuters, adding that police would conduct any further review of the incident.

The police did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

A spokesperson for Israels Shomron Regional Council which represents the settlements in the area did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Saturday, about 30 villagers and activists, plus about 10 journalists, had gathered for the harvest when dozens of men descended from the outpost on a hill and launched an attack, beating people with sticks and repeatedly striking Reuters photographer Raneen Sawafta as she tried to protect herself, witnesses said.

Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli rights activist who witnessed the incident, said about 50 masked settlers were involved, saying those who attacked Sawafta beat her up without mercy, continuing to stone her while she was on the ground and then continuing to attack everyone who was coming to her help.

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He said the settlers shouted in Hebrew, including comments such as Go from there.

Sawafta was accompanied by Reuters security adviser Grant Bowden who was beaten as he tried to protect her. Her camera equipment was smashed.

Both wore helmets and had clear Press labels on their protective jackets. Sawaftas helmet had a large dent after the attack. An ambulance took them both for medical checks and treatment at a hospital in the Palestinian city of Nablus.

Several other people were also injured in the incident.

We call upon Israeli authorities to investigate this incident and hold those responsible accountable - and to ensure that journalists can work freely and without harm, Reuters said in a statement.

Israeli settlers carried out at least 264 attacks in the West Bank against Palestinians in October, the biggest monthly total since UN officials began tracking such incidents in 2006, according to a UN report released on Friday.

Israeli rights groups say such incidents are rarely investigated by the Israeli authorities and perpetrators are rarely held to account.

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(This is an agency story. Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by Firstpost staff.)
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt celebrated the resignation of the head of Britains publicly-funded broadcaster, the BBC, on Sunday after days of pressure over its coverage of US President Donald Trump

BBC Director-General Tim Davie and CEO of News Deborah Turness both announced their exits from the media institution. AFP

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt celebrated the resignation of the head of Britains publicly-funded broadcaster, the BBC, on Sunday after days of pressure over its coverage of US President Donald Trump. BBC Director-General Tim Davie and the CEO of News, Deborah Turnes, both announced their exits from the media institution amid backlash over a documentary on Donald Trump.

The resignation came days after torrid headlines for the BBC over an episode of its flagship Panorama documentary show. The broadcaster had been facing allegations of misleading viewers by splicing footage from different portions of US President Donald Trumps remarks on January 6, 2021  the day of the Capitol riots.

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Leavitt seized on the row in an interview with the Telegraph newspaper on Friday. She went on to directly accuse the BBC of being purposefully dishonest and peddling total, 100 per cent fake news. The White House press chief appeared jubilant on Sunday, posting a screenshot of news coverage on Davies exit.

She shared the post on X, formerly known as Twitter, alongside the caption Shot:  Chaser. It is pertinent to note that the British news outlet is bound by its governing charter to avoid favouring one side over another, and is no stranger to claims from all political sides in the UK.

How the last row rocked the BBC

However, the latest scandal marked a significant escalation in attacks on the _BBC_ from the right. Last week, the right-leaning Telegraph newspaper published a memo written by Michael Prescott, the broadcasters former standards advisor, covering a range of alleged failings in its content. This included BBCs coverage on transgender issues, the Gaza war and Trumps presidency.

One of the most eye-catching accusations against the British broadcaster was that the footage in the Panorama show had been selectively edited to suggest the US President had told supporters in January 2021: Were going to walk down to the Capitol and Ill be there with you, and well fight. We fight like hell.

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The words of the Republican firebrand were, in fact, spliced from sections of the speech almost an hour apart, and omitted a section in which Trump had said he wanted supporters to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.

In his statement issued on Sunday night, Davie acknowledged that there had been some mistakes made and as Director-General I have to take ultimate responsibility. He added that the decision to leave the broadcaster after 20 years of service  including five in its most senior post  was entirely my decision.

I am working through exact timings with the board to allow for an orderly transition to a successor over the coming months, he averred. Meanwhile, Turness, the broadcasters most senior news executive, directly referenced the Trump row in her own statement, saying the ongoing controversy around the Panorama episode had reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC  an institution that I love. As the CEO of BBC News and Current Affairs, the buck stops with me  and I took the decision to offer my resignation to the Director-General last night, she added.

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The Kremlin announced on Monday that it is actively preparing for President Vladimir Putins visit to India, expected before the end of the year, and expressed hope that the trip will be productive

The Kremlin announced on Monday that it is actively preparing for President Vladimir Putins visit to India, expected before the end of the year, and expressed hope that the trip will be productive.

According to the Kremlin, Putin is scheduled to visit India in December. His last visit was in December 2021, just months before he ordered Russian troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

We are currently actively preparing for Putins visit to India, Reuters quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying in Moscow.

Peskov declined to provide details on any potential agreements that could be finalized during the visit.

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Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to halt Indias purchases of Russian oil, with India remaining one of Russias largest buyers.

With inputs from agencies
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2024.
The real uncertainty at COP30 lies in what will actually be negotiated over the next two weeks: can the world come together to respond to the latest, catastrophic projections for global warming?
Sun Sunday

52 /30

Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the low 50s and lows in the low 30s.
US-Israeli-Saudi spy network sought to end Yemen's support for Palestine: Top Yemeni official

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 09 November 2025 10:25 AM

Chairman of Yemen's Supreme Political Council has praised the country's security forces for dismantling a spy network tied to US, Israeli, and Saudi intelligence agencies, saying the espionage ring mainly sought to pull the plug on the Sana'a government's support for Palestine.

In a statement on Sunday, Mahdi al-Mashat said the security achievement reveals the extent of US-Israeli-Saudi animosity and aggression against Yemen.

"[It] comes amid ongoing assaults and escalatory measures which aim to either weaken or halt Yemen's popular support for our brethren and sisters in Gaza, their just cause, and legitimate rights of the Palestinian nation," he said.

He lauded the cooperation, vigilance, and awareness of all strata of the Yemeni society, emphasizing that the enemies' conspiracies have all failed in the face of the nation's resilience and steadfastness.

Mashat attributed the major accomplishment to Qur'anic teachings, saying they have greatly contributed to understanding the nature of the struggle against enemies of the Yemeni nation - particularly the US and Israel - and how to confront them.

Additionally, the deputy minister of information in the Sana'a-based administration stated that the destruction of the US-Israeli-Saudi spy network falls within the framework of Yemen's ongoing battle in support of Gaza, asserting that Saudi Arabia is directly collaborating with Zionists and assisting them in the war against Gaza.

"The espionage activities of the US and Israel, along with Saudi Arabia, against Yemen attest to Riyadh's participation in the Zionist enemy's onslaught against Gaza and the Palestinian people.

"These actions by Saudi Arabia constitute a flagrant violation of the ceasefire agreement reached between Sana'a and Riyadh. Under the accord, a de-escalation of tensions with Saudi Arabia came into effect, and relative stability and calm were established on front lines," Nasreddin Amer said.

He underscored that there is no justification for Saudi Arabia to embark on this adventure against Yemen and support for Israel.

"What was smashed today dealt a heavy blow to US-Israeli-Saudi spy cells in Yemen," Amer said, warning that these cells are active throughout the country.

A spokesman for the Yemeni Interior Ministry announced on Saturday that its security forces had arrested members of a spy network linked to a joint operations room shared by the CIA, Mossad, and Saudi intelligence service headquartered inside the Persian Gulf monarchy.

The ministry said the achievement came after "intelligence, surveillance, and monitoring operations" that exposed "the enemy's plans and the methods of the traitorous operatives."

Officials added that the joint operations room directed sabotage and espionage activities targeting Yemen by establishing multiple small, independent cells all connected to a central command based in Saudi Arabia.

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Iran expresses concern about Afghanistan-Pakistan tensions

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Nov 9, 2025

Tehran, IRAN -- Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the foreign minister of Afghanistan's current ruling government, Amir Khan Muttaqi, have discussed bilateral cooperation and the recent tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.

During a phone call with Muttaqi on Sunday, Araghchi expressed concern about the ongoing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, two neighboring Muslim countries.

He announced Iran's readiness to offer assistance and consultation to help reduce tensions and promote peace between the two countries.

Araghchi also discussed with Afghanistan's foreign minister the importance of interaction and collaboration to secure Iran's water rights.

For his part, Muttaqi thanked Iran for its goodwill and provided an update on the current situation and the outcomes of recent talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

He reiterated Afghanistan's commitment to upholding the ceasefire and resolving issues through diplomacy and dialogue.

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Iran offers assistance to Pakistan in addressing tensions with Afghanistan

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Nov 9, 2025

Tehran, IRAN -- Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi expressed Iran's readiness to assist Pakistan in resolving ongoing tensions with Afghanistan.

In a Saturday night phone call between Araghchi and his Pakistani counterpart Mohammad Ishaq Dar, the two foreign ministers focused on the latest developments in bilateral relations and regional issues.

The Iranian minister emphasized the significance of the longstanding and friendly ties between the two neighboring Muslim nations, highlighting Iran's commitment to expanding cooperation across various sectors.

He voiced concerns regarding the current state of affairs between Afghanistan and Pakistan, underscoring the necessity for continued dialogue facilitated by influential regional countries to address differences and reduce tensions.

Dar provided an update on the latest negotiations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, emphasizing the critical importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region.

Both ministers agreed on the need for ongoing consultations to foster better relations and ensure regional security.

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Statement by the Spokesperson

Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs

On different media queries regarding the Pakistan talks with the Afghan Taliban Regime held in Istanbul on 6th November 2025, the Spokesperson made the following statement:

The Third Round of Pakistan-Afghanistan talks, mediated by the brotherly states of Turkiye and Qatar concluded at Istanbul on 7 November 2025.

Pakistan deeply appreciates the sincere efforts made by brotherly Turkiye and Qatar to mediate the difference between Pakistan and Afghanistan on the core issue of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil against Pakistan.

For the past four years, since the Taliban regime came to power in Afghanistan, there has been sharp surge in terrorist attacks emanating from Afghan soil on Pakistan. Throughout these years, Pakistan, despite suffering military and civilian causalities, exercised maximum restraint and did not retaliate.

Pakistan's expectation was that with passage of time, Taliban regime would be able to control these attacks and take concrete actions against the TTP/FaK elements present on Afghan soil.

During these years, Pakistan also tried to positively engage with Afghanistan by offering bilateral trade concessions and humanitarian assistance. Pakistan's intention has always been to constructively engage with Afghanistan so as to enable it to become a stable, peaceful and prosperous country that is at peace within and with its neighbors.

However, despite all these positive gestures by Pakistan in terms of trade, humanitarian assistance, educational and medical visas facilitation, and efforts at international forums to encourage the international community to engage with Taliban regime in the interest of regional peace and stability, and for the socio-economic development of Afghanistan and its people, the response from the Taliban regime has only been hollow promises and inaction.

Instead of acting upon the core expectation from Pakistan i.e. not to allow Afghan territory to be used for attacks against Pakistan, the Taliban regime has always tried to shy away from taking concrete and verifiable actions. Instead, it has tried to confuse the main issue with other relatively irrelevant and hypothetical issues. By confusing the main issue of terrorism, it keeps trying to develop a narrative which absolves Taliban regime of its commitments and responsibilities towards international community and its own people.

Pakistan's October 2025 response to the consistent attacks emanating from Afghanistan was a manifestation of the will and determination that Pakistan will not leave any stone unturned to safeguard its territory and its people.

TTP/FaK and BLA/FaH are declared enemies of the State of Pakistan and its people. Anyone harboring, abetting or financing them is not considered a friend and well-wisher of Pakistan and its people. Pakistan is determined to take every possible action to safeguard its interests and its people.

At the same time, Pakistan is also a strong proponent of peace and diplomacy. It has always advocated that use of force is the option of very last resort. In the same spirit of giving peace and diplomacy every possible chance, and adhering to the sincere advice of brotherly countries of Turkiye and Qatar, Pakistan agreed to engage in Pak-Afghan peace talks mediated by sincere friends.

At the first round of these talks in Doha, an understanding was reached with Afghanistan on certain principles of cooperation and responsibility. Accordingly, Pakistan agreed to the temporary ceasefire.

The second round at Istanbul was meant to devise an implementation mechanism for the measures agreed to by both the sides in the first round at Doha. However, the Taliban regime representatives avoided taking any measures on ground and tried to back out of the commitments they had undertaken at the first round. They also tried to vitiate the environment through accusatory and provocative media allegations and statements. Pakistan side stayed firm on its core demand of concrete and verifiable actions against the terrorist elements present in Afghanistan and establishment of an effective monitoring mechanism to curb their activities.

At the third round, Pakistan again engaged with a constructive approach to focus on establishment of an effective monitoring mechanism. However, the Afghan side tried to dilute the focus on the core issue of terrorism and expand the scope of engagement by bringing in hypothetical allegations and unfounded claims.

Anyone following the talks held under the mediation of brotherly countries of Turkiye and Qatar, could easily discern that the Taliban regime was only interested in prolonging the temporary ceasefire, but without taking concrete and verifiable actions against the TTP/FaK and BLA/FaH elements present on Afghan soil. Instead of finding solutions to address Pakistan's core concern, Afghan regime used the opportunity to malign Pakistan through hypothetical accusations and jingoistic rhetoric. It prolonged discussions and engaged in futile arguments to stonewall the efforts at reaching any concrete understanding.

At the same time, Taliban regime is constantly trying to misrepresent the issue of Pakistani terrorists hiding in Afghanistan as a humanitarian issue. In the aftermath of Pakistan's Operation Zarb-e-Azb in 2015, terrorists belonging to the so-called TTP/FaK fled to Afghanistan. They abetted Afghan Taliban in their fight against the ISAF and Afghan Government of the time. These terrorists and their families are now being harboured by Taliban regime as a payback for their allegiance to Afghan Taliban. The same terrorists have established training camps in Afghanistan to launch terrorist activities in Pakistan.

Pakistan has demanded the Taliban regime to hand over these terrorists to Pakistan. The Taliban regime has repeatedly refused to do so, citing lack of control. More than being a matter of capability, it has become a matter of intent of Taliban regime. Empty hopes and hollow promises rendered by Taliban regime so far have already outlived their efficacy. Definite and concrete actions have to be taken to safeguard the interests and lives of the people of Pakistan.

Taliban regime is also trying to portray the TTP/FaK and BLA/FaH elements as refugees in Afghanistan. This is not a humanitarian or a refugees issue, but a ploy to frame terrorists as refugees.

Pakistan is ready to receive any Pakistani living in Afghanistan and their families, provided they are handed over at the border crossings of Torkham or Chaman and not hurled across the border, fully equipped with sophisticated weapons and equipment.

Pakistan has never eschewed dialogue with any Government in Kabul. However, Pakistan would not hold dialogue with any terrorist group, be it TTP/FaK or BLA/FaH.

Among Afghan Taliban, there are people who do not want a confrontation with Pakistan. But there is a strong lobby, with monetary support from foreign actors that has been tasked to stoke tensions. In search for legitimacy and to unite their fractious Government, certain elements in Taliban regime, anti-Pakistan terrorist elements and their abettors have found raising the bogey of Pakistan quite useful. These elements have engaged in abuses and outrageous allegations against Pakistan. By doing so, they are fast eroding whatever goodwill they had within Pakistan.

Some elements in Taliban regime also try to propagate that there is some disagreement within Pakistan over Afghan policy. Irrespective of this misleading propaganda, there is absolute clarity among the people of Pakistan that the ordinary people of Pakistan are the biggest victims of the terrorist activities by elements hiding in Afghanistan and their abettors. The Armed Forces of Pakistan are making scarifies to safeguard the lives and properties of the people of Pakistan. Therefore, the entire Pakistani nation is with its Armed Forces to safeguard the interests of Pakistan and lives of the people of Pakistan.

Pakistan is also fully cognizant and capable of dealing with all its internal problems. As part of its efforts to address all its challenges, Pakistan has repeatedly asked the Taliban regime to desist from their well-documented support to the terrorists attacking Pakistan.

With evidence-based and well documented sharp rise in terrorism emanating from Afghanistan into Pakistan after August 2021, the Taliban regime can neither out rightly deny this reality nor absolve itself of its responsibility.

Similarly, there is an attempt by elements in Taliban regime to instigate Pashtoon nationalism in Pakistan. It is a historical fact that Pashtoons in Pakistan are a vibrant part of the society and the state, holding leadership positions across the spectrum of polity and bureaucracy. More number of Pashtoons live in Pakistan than in Afghanistan. Therefore, instead of instigating Pashtoonism in Pakistan, it would be wise for Taliban regime to look into its own credentials of inclusivity of all segments of its population in its governance structures.

While Afghan Taliban declare terrorism as Pakistan's internal issue, they fail to mention that there are people in Afghanistan who have issued fatwas, legitimizing terrorist attacks against Pakistan. Moreovere, terrorist groups operating inside Pakistan now comprise large number of Afghan nationals.

Mandated by the Parliament and the Constitution of Pakistan, the Armed Forces of Pakistan have rendered countless sacrifices in the war against terror and shall continue to do so, with full support of the people of Pakistan

Pakistan remains committed to resolution of bilateral differences through dialogue. However, Pakistan's core concern, i.e. terrorism emanating from Afghanistan needs to be addressed first and foremost. Pakistan's Armed Forces and its people are well determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism from its soil and take action against its supporters, abettors and financiers.

Islamabad

November 9, 2025

331/2025

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Israeli arrest campaign targets 442 Palestinians in West Bank during October

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 09 November 2025 11:09 PM

Israeli forces detained a staggering 442 Palestinians throughout the West Bank during the month of October, in a continued policy of suppression across the occupied Palestinian territories.

This figure represents a relentless campaign of arrests, according to joint data released by Palestinian prisoners' organizations.

The highest number of detentions was concentrated in the Bethlehem governorate, located in the southern West Bank.

Among the hundreds forcibly taken were vulnerable groups, including three women and 33 children, underscoring the severe human rights implications of these operations against the civilian population.

The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, the Palestinian Prisoner's Society, and the Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association highlighted that these sweeping arrests were conducted amidst Israeli military raids and were frequently accompanied by widespread field interrogations throughout various Palestinian communities.

The organizations reported last week that over 9,250 Palestinian political prisoners and detainees are currently held in Israeli occupation prisons.

The vast majority of these individuals are held indefinitely without formal charge or trial under the controversial practice of administrative detention, or are held pending investigation, effectively neutralizing a large portion of Palestinian society.

The reported figure does not account for the thousands of Palestinians detained from the Gaza Strip, many of whom are held in undisclosed detention camps, including the notorious Sde Teiman site, effectively vanishing into Israel's prison system.

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US weapons sales to NATO allies stalled by government shutdown: Report

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 09 November 2025 7:03 PM

Weapons sales to Washington's allies in NATO have been halted due to the US government's shutdown.

Axios reported on Sunday, citing sources in the defense industry, that the prolonged shutdown has led to a stoppage of American weapons exports exceeding $5 billion.

A senior State Department official stated that the shutdown is negatively impacting "both our allies and partners and American industry."

The official elaborated that the shutdown has caused delays in supplying weapons, including AMRAAM missiles, Aegis combat systems, and HIMARS, to Denmark, Croatia, and Poland.

While the report did not specify that the American weapons intended for war and defense would eventually be sent to Ukraine, it did mention that "arms sales to NATO allies often support aid to Ukraine."

According to the report, the pending deals encompass both direct US government arms sales and the licensing of private US defense companies for exports.

Axios noted that the Arms Export Control Act mandates that Congress be informed about US arms sales. However, State Department employees responsible for briefing congressional committee staff on these sales are currently on leave due to the shutdown.

In the meantime, US Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced legislation last week aimed at ensuring the government shutdown does not adversely affect US citizens.

Republicans have pointed fingers at Democrats for the delays in US weapons sales to NATO allies.

Bureau spokesman Tommy Pigott stated, "Democrats are blocking critical weapons sales, particularly to our NATO allies, which is damaging the US industrial base and jeopardizing our security and the security of our partners."

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Yemen vows to 'return to battlefield' if Israel resumes Gaza war

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 09 November 2025 6:25 PM

The Chief of Staff of the Yemeni Armed Forces has warned that Yemeni forces would return to the battlefield and resume military operations if Israel restarts the war in the Gaza Strip.

Brigadier General Youssef Hassan al-Madani issued the warning in a message to fighters of the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, on Sunday.

"If the enemy resumes the war in Gaza, we will return to the battlefield by carrying out military operations," he said.

Madani further emphasized that "we will keep our promise and stand by you, no matter what the cost."

The warning echoed earlier comments by Yemen's Ansarullah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi, who said the resistance movement is preparing for the potential next round of confrontation with the Israeli regime.

In a televised speech on Tuesday, Houthi said the Yemenis "emerged from the previous round of confrontation with Israel stronger than ever," adding that the country is "undoubtedly on the verge of a new round of confrontation with the enemy."

He underscored the need to continue building on the basis of preparedness for the next confrontation with the enemy and its accomplices.

Since the start of Israel's genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, Yemen's forces have carried out numerous operations in support of the war-hit Gazans, striking targets throughout the occupied Palestinian territories, in addition to targeting Israeli ships or vessels heading towards ports in the occupied territories.

Yemeni forces also executed a strategic maritime blockade aimed at obstructing the delivery of military resources to Israel, significantly disrupting Israeli trade routes and dealing a heavy blow to the regime's economy.

With a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in place, Sana'a has warned that if Israel violates the agreement in Gaza, it will face a more "severe and decisive" response by the Yemeni Armed Forces.

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Mass graves, burned bodies found in Sudan as UN warns of 'unimaginable atrocities'

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 09 November 2025 6:02 PM

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have buried hundreds of civilians in mass graves and burned many others in a desperate attempt to conceal the unimaginable atrocities their fighters have committed in the city of al-Fasher, local medics say.

The Sudan Doctors Network said in a statement on Sunday that the fighters had "collected hundreds of bodies from the streets and the city's neighborhoods and buried some in mass graves and burnt others in a desperate attempt to conceal evidence of their crimes against civilians."

The medical group described the killings as a "full-fledged genocide" and a "violation of all international and religious norms," saying that mutilating corpses and denying them proper burial amounts to crimes against humanity.

"The situation in al-Fasher has gone beyond a humanitarian catastrophe to become a systematic genocide, targeting human life and dignity amid an appalling international silence that amounts to complicity," it added.

"The RSF crimes," it said, "cannot be erased by burying or burning."

The doctors' network also called on the international community to take immediate action to launch an independent international investigation into the atrocities.

A report from Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab in late October provided satellite evidence of mass killings and apparent pools of blood visible from space.

The UN Human Rights Office in Sudan also confirmed that "brutal attacks" have intensified in El-Fasher since the RSF seized the capital of North Darfur on October 26.

According to Li Fung, the UN's human rights representative in Sudan, al-Fasher, "has witnessed an escalation of brutal attacks" over the past 10 days.

Calling al-Fasher "a city of grief," Li Fung said, "Civilians who survived 18 months of siege and hostilities are now enduring atrocities of an unimaginable scale."

"Hundreds have been killed, including women, children, and the wounded, who sought safety in hospitals and schools. Entire families were cut down as they fled. Others have simply vanished," she added.

Since capturing the city, RSF forces have carried out ethnic-based massacres, detentions, and sexual violence, while blocking civilians from escaping.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk warned that civilians still trapped in the city were being prevented from leaving, expressing fears of ongoing "summary executions, rape, and ethnically motivated violence."

According to aid groups, the situation has triggered a mass exodus from the city. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that about 82,000 people have fled al-Fasher and nearby areas as of November 4.

According to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), many families fleeing to the Tawila area of North Darfur arrived with "children who are not their own," after being separated from or losing their parents during the chaos.

Meanwhile, the medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported "extremely high levels of malnutrition among children and adults," while local aid workers say some families are surviving on just one meal a day.

The ongoing war between the Sudanese army and the RSF, now in its 19th month, has killed thousands and displaced millions.

Regional and international mediation efforts have so far failed to bring an end to the conflict, which human rights groups warn is descending into one of the worst genocides of the 21st century.

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Iran concerned over rising tensions between Afghanistan, Pakistan: FM Araghchi

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 09 November 2025 3:33 PM

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran is concerned about the continuation of tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan following an escalation of deadly border fighting between the two neighbors.

In a phone conversation with Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday, Araghchi said Iran is ready to help ease tensions and establish peace between the two Muslim countries.

The top Iranian diplomat also stressed the importance of promoting bilateral interaction and cooperation to secure Iran's share of water from the Harirud River.

The Pakistani and Afghan militaries clashed last month, killing dozens, in the worst violence since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.

The two neighboring countries signed a ceasefire agreement in Doha on October 19 during the first round of peace talks mediated by Qatar and Turkey.

However, the second round of negotiations in Istanbul ended without a long-term deal.

The two sides kicked off the third round of peace talks in Istanbul on Thursday, but the discussions broke down the following day.

The Afghan foreign minister, for his part, hailed Iran's goodwill regarding the issue and elaborated on the existing situation and the outcomes of negotiations between Kabul and Islamabad.

Muttaqi reiterated Afghanistan's commitment to the ceasefire agreement and settlement of issues through diplomacy.

In a telephone conversation with his Pakistani counterpart, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, earlier in the day, Araghchi expressed Iran's readiness to help resolve tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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Hamas rejects surrender in Rafah, urges mediators to protect ceasefire

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 09 November 2025 2:08 PM

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says its fighters trapped in the Israeli-held Rafah area of southern Gaza will not surrender to the regime's forces.

In a Sunday statement, the military wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, rejected reports that its fighters might lay down their weapons under a proposed mediation deal led by Egypt.

"The enemy must know that the concept of surrender and handing oneself over does not exist in the dictionary of the al-Qassam Brigades," the statement said.

Under Egypt's proposal, about 200 fighters would surrender their weapons to Egyptian authorities in exchange for safe passage to other areas of the Gaza Strip, according to mediation sources. The deal also reportedly includes the handover of information about tunnel networks in Rafah so they can be destroyed.

Hamas said it would not accept any arrangement that "serves Israel's occupation objectives," instead urging mediators to "find a solution that ensures the continuation of the ceasefire and prevents the enemy from exploiting the situation to justify more attacks."

The Rafah area has witnessed the most serious violations by Israel's military since the US-brokered deal took effect on October 10.

Israel claimed its airstrikes targeted Hamas military structures following what it called anti-tank missile attacks and gunfire on its forces. Hamas, however, denied involvement in the clashes in Rafah and reiterated its commitment to the ceasefire deal.

The al-Qassam Brigades also warned that mediators must "find a solution to ensure the continuation of the ceasefire and prevent the enemy from using flimsy pretexts to violate it and exploit the situation to target innocent civilians in Gaza."

Israel's airstrikes in the Rafah area have so far killed dozens of civilians, including women and children, according to health officials.

Days after the ceasefire agreement took effect, Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt would remain closed "until further notice" in a clear violation of the ceasefire.

The regime has sealed all border crossings, blocking the entry of humanitarian aid and further deepening Gaza's already dire humanitarian crisis since March, when the regime violated a previous ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

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Israel returns 15 more Palestinian bodies showing 'signs of torture,' Gaza ministry says

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 09 November 2025 7:52 AM

Gaza's Health Ministry says it has received the remains of 15 more Palestinians from Israel through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), confirming the bodies bore "signs of torture."

The ministry said in a statement that the new transfer on Saturday brought the number of Palestinian bodies returned by Israel to 300 since the ceasefire took effect on October 10.

Forensic teams have so far identified 89 bodies and are continuing examinations "in accordance with approved medical procedures and protocols" before the remains are documented and released to families, the ministry added.

The official Palestinian WAFA news agency also cited medical sources in the Gaza Strip hospitals as confirming that they had received the bodies of 15 Palestinians released by the regime's authorities through the ICRC.

The sources said the bodies arrived at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

The latest transfer marks the 11th batch of bodies handed over by Israel, with Palestinian authorities reporting signs of abuse on many of the released bodies, including beatings, blindfolds, and facial disfigurement.

"Most of the bodies showed signs of torture, burning, and execution," WAFA said. "Many had their hands and eyes bound, and their features were unrecognizable due to the severity of the torture, preventing families from identifying most of them."

Media reports stressed that families have been trying to identify the remains of their relatives by physical markings or clothing, as forensic facilities in Gaza remain out of service due to a years-long Israeli blockade and the destruction of laboratories.

After the Israeli regime began returning mutilated bodies of Palestinian abductees as part of the ceasefire, medical examinations revealed that the occupying forces had removed organs from several martyrs, including corneas, kidneys, and livers.

According to the Gaza Media Office, the bodies arrived in deplorable conditionmany blindfolded, bound, hanged, shot at close range, or showing signs of prolonged torture leading to death.

Some were returned without heads, limbs, or internal organs, while others were melted or unrecognizable.

Forensic teams in Gaza also documented clear tank-track imprints on several of the returned bodies, suggesting that some victims had been crushed under military vehicles.

Dr. Ismail al-Thawabta, Director General of the Media Office, said in a live broadcast last month that these findings strongly indicate systematic organ harvesting by Israeli occupation forcescrimes that must be documented and presented before international courts.

Before the ceasefire, Israel held 735 Palestinian bodies in so-called "cemeteries of numbers," according to the Palestinian National Campaign to Retrieve Martyrs' Bodies.

The Israeli daily Haaretz said the occupation army has been holding about 1,500 bodies of Palestinians from Gaza at the notorious Sde Teiman military base in the southern occupied territories.

Since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on October 7, 2023, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has continued to rise, reaching 69,169, the majority of whom were women and children. At least 170,685 others have also been injured.

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Iran ready to help resolve Pakistan-Afghanistan border tensions: Araghchi

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 09 November 2025 7:31 AM

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran is ready to help resolve tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan that have recently escalated following deadly border fighting.

Araghchi was speaking in a Sunday telephone conversation with his Pakistani counterpart, Mohammad Ishaq Dar, during which they discussed bilateral relations as well as the latest regional and international developments.

Araghchi voiced concerns about the current situation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, emphasizing the need for continued dialogue between the two sides, with the help of influential regional countries, to settle disputes and reduce tensions.

He also announced the Islamic Republic's readiness to offer any kind of assistance towards the aforementioned aim.

The Pakistani and Afghan militaries clashed last month, killing dozens, in the worst violence since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.

The two neighboring countries signed a ceasefire agreement in Doha on October 19 during the first round of peace talks mediated by Qatar and Turkey.

However, the second round of negotiations in Istanbul ended without a long-term deal.

The two sides kicked off the third round of peace talks in Istanbul on Thursday, but the discussions broke down the following day.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told the Geo News channel that the "talks are over" and that the Pakistani delegation was returning home with "no plan for any future meetings."

Also during the phone call, Araghchi underlined the importance of longstanding, friendly relations between Iran and Pakistan.

He further reaffirmed Tehran's determination to expand cooperation with Islamabad in various fields.

Ishaq Dar, for his part, briefed Araghchi on the latest situation and recent Pakistan-Afghanistan negotiations, stressing the significance of preserving regional peace and stability.

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Israel kills 3 in Lebanon after threatening fresh 'wide-scale' aggression

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 09 November 2025 3:29 AM

The Israeli military has claimed the lives of three people in southern Lebanon during separate airstrikes after threatening to resume "wide-scale" aggression against the country.

The fatalities were caused on Saturday, with Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) identifying two of them as brothers from the town of Shebaa, who were driving on a road on the slopes of Mt Hermon in the country's southeast.

The strikes targeting the victims "caused their SUV to catch fire and resulting in their deaths," the report added.

Lebanon's health ministry confirmed the death toll and later reported that another strike on a car in the village of Baraashit had killed another person and wounded four.

The military alleged that the aggression had targeted people affiliated with the country's Hezbollah resistance movement.

It claimed that the victims were posing threats to a ceasefire signed between the regime and the group in 2024 towards ending Tel Aviv's escalated atrocities against the country.

Ever since conclusion of the accord, the regime has been using similar excuses towards taking Lebanon under fresh strikes.

Earlier too, the NNA had reported injury of seven people during an Israeli drone attack on a vehicle in the southern Lebanese city of Bint Jbeil.

The casualties were caused less than a week after the regime's Maariv newspaper quoted the Israeli military as warning it "will carry out a wide-scale operation" in Lebanon in case of, what it called, a Hezbollah attack.

The report reiterated Tel Aviv's justification for its underway near-daily attacks, saying the military was currently carrying out "attrition warfare" against Hezbollah.

Tel Aviv has, meanwhile, been applying markedly intensified pressure through the United States, its biggest ally, on Beirut to disarm Hezbollah.

The group, which has defended the country in the face of several major Israeli wars across decades, has roundly rejected laying down its weapons, saying it would sustain its defensive role as long as the nation was threatened by Israeli occupation and aggression.

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USS George Washington Strike Group Departs from Busan

Commander, U.S. 7th Fleet

NEWS | Nov. 9, 2025

By Commander, Task Force 70 / Carrier Strike Group 5 Public Affairs

BUSAN, South Korea -- Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), flagship of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 5, embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG 62), USS Shoup (DDG 86), and USS Milius (DDG 69) departed Busan, Republic of Korea (ROK), after a scheduled port visit Nov. 9.

Rear Adm. Sharif H. Calfee, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Korea, met with CSG 5 leadership and welcomed the crew of George Washington to Busan.

"USS George Washington Strike Group port visit to Busan underscores the unwavering commitment of the United States to the Republic of Korea and to maintaining security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region," said Calfee. "This port visit provided invaluable opportunities to strengthen interoperability with our ROK Navy allies, further enhancing our collective ability to respond to any challenge, as well as serving as a powerful demonstration of naval strength that sends a clear message of deterrence while reaffirming our enduring alliance."

The U.S. and ROK alliance have promoted peace and security in Northeast Asia and the Korean Peninsula for more than 70 years. George Washington last visited ROK in 2014. This port visit marked its return to reinforce the Navy's commitment to a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific. While in port, George Washington hosted visits from U.S. and ROK military leadership.

"Our first year back as the U.S. Navy's premiere forward-deployed aircraft carrier would not be complete without a visit to Busan and engagements with our friends and long-standing allies in the Republic of Korea," said Capt. Tim Waits, commanding officer of George Washington. "I'm incredibly grateful for the hospitality provided to us in Busan as well as the opportunities we had to work with and train alongside ROK Navy."

The George Washington Carrier Strike Group (GWACSG) departed Yokosuka, Japan for a scheduled underway, Sept. 30.

GWCSG consists of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15.

GWCSG is underway in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. George Washington is the U.S. Navy's premier forward-deployed aircraft carrier, a long-standing symbol of the United States' commitment to maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region, while operating alongside allies and partners across the U.S. Navy's largest numbered fleet.

For more information, please contact the USS George Washington Public Affairs Officer at pao@cvn73.navy.mil.

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Hamas Says Needs Additional Equipment to Recover Remaining Hostage Bodies in Gaza

Sputnik News

20251109

CAIRO (Sputnik) - The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian movement Hamas, said on Sunday that they need additional crews and technical equipment to recover the bodies of the remaining Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip.

"The process of recovering the bodies in the previous period took place under extremely difficult conditions. Despite this, we fulfilled all that was required of us under the agreement. We emphasize that recovering the remaining bodies requires additional brigades and technical equipment," the statement read.

The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas went into effect on October 10. As part of the deal, Hamas released 20 prisoners who had been held in Gaza since October 7, 2023, thereby freeing all remaining surviving hostages. Under the agreement, Israel freed 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.

Hamas is now transferring to Israel the remains of Israeli hostages who died in captivity. Hamas has returned to Israel the bodies of 23 hostages so far. According to Israeli data, there are still five bodies of deceased hostages in Gaza.

 Sputnik

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US Arms Supplies Worth Over $5Bln to NATO Allies Delayed Due to Gov't Shutdown - Reports

Sputnik News

20251109

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - More than $5 billion in US arms exports to NATO allies, which are often redirected to Ukraine, have been delayed by the government shutdown, Axios reported on Sunday, citing the US Department of State.

Weapons supplies, including AMRAAM missiles, Aegis systems, and HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems, to US allies such as Denmark, Croatia, and Poland were affected, an unnamed State Department official told Axios. The pending transactions include both direct arms sales from the US government to NATO allies and licenses for private US defense companies to export arms, the report said.

The final destination of the arms is unclear, but shipments to these countries are often redirected to aid Ukraine, Axios noted.

The Arms Export Control Act requires Congress to review arms sales proposals. However, since many State Department employees whose job it is to notify congressional committees and ensure the process is completed have been furloughed, the pace of work has been critically slowed, the report said.

A new fiscal year began in the United States on October 1, but Congress failed to agree on a budget, and the government is now operating under a shutdown. Such a shutdown implies the cessation of work for some government agencies funded directly by Congress due to the lack of an agreed budget for the next fiscal year. US President Donald Trump previously emphasized that he could use the period of a government shutdown for mass layoffs and cuts in payments. According to the president, the problem in agreeing on the budget was created by the position of the Democrats, and the White House is using the current situation to get rid of programs that Republicans dislike.

White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett warned on October 5 that a continued US government shutdown could lead to cuts and losses to GDP of $15 billion per week.

 Sputnik

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Yemen's Houthis vow to resume striking Israel if Gaza ceasefire collapses

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 09:53, November 10, 2025

SANAA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Houthi group warned on Sunday that it would resume missile and drone attacks against Israel if the ceasefire in Gaza collapses, according to a letter sent to the Palestinian Hamas movement.

The threat, broadcast by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV channel, comes amid heightened regional tensions that could undermine the fragile U.S.-brokered truce in Gaza, as well as renewed friction between Iran and the United States over stalled nuclear talks.

In the letter, the Houthis' newly appointed chief of staff, Yousif al-Madani, told Hamas, "We remain steadfast in our pledge and promise to stand with you, no matter the sacrifices."

Madani was appointed by the group last month to replace Mohammed Abdulkarim Al-Ghamari, who was killed along with dozens of Houthi officials in Israeli airstrikes on a building in Sanaa in August.

Since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, the Houthis had launched hundreds of ballistic missiles and drones toward Israel -- most of which were reportedly intercepted -- until the current ceasefire went into effect on Oct. 10. The group also targeted Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea, sinking four.

Last week, the Houthis declared a state of general mobilization, recruiting hundreds of tribal fighters, tightening security measures in their areas, setting up additional checkpoints, and detaining more UN employees on alleged accusations of spying for Israel. They also sent reinforcements to frontlines near Marib, an oil-rich province under the control of Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces.

These developments followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's televised speech last week, in which he said the Houthis pose a threat to Israel and that "work is underway to eliminate it."

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Russo-Ukraine War - 09 November 2025 - Day 1355

Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that in total, since the beginning of this day, there have been 248 combat clashes.

Ukrainian defenders continue to decisively interrupt the attempts of the Russian enemy to advance deep into Ukrainian territory, giving him a fiery impression.

Russian invaders launched 27 air strikes, dropped 81 controlled bombs. In addition, 1423 kamikaze drones were recruited for impact and carried out 2,681 shelling of positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements.

Three combat clashes took place in the North Slobozhansky and Kursky directions. The Russian enemy launched five aviation strikes, dropped 13 controlled aviation bombs in total and carried out 132 shells, including three from the jet systems of salpovogo fire.

Today, Russian forces attacked 23 times in the South-Slobozhansky direction in the districts of Vovchansky, Sinelnikovy, Tikhoy, Kamyanka, Bologivka and in the direction of Dvorichansky. The four clashes are still ongoing.

In the Kupians komu direction, the Russian opponent made six attacks towards Petropavlivka and Pi any. The two clashes are still ongoing.

In the Lymanian direction, the Defense Forces repelled 20 assault actions in the areas of settlements Borivska Andriyivka, Tverdohlibove, Ridkodub, Derylove, Novoselivka, Torske and in the direction of settlements Chervony Stav, Stavki, Korovyn Yar, Drobisheve.

In the Slavic direction, the Russian enemy attacked 13 times in the areas of yampol, serebryanka, dronivka and sivers ka, two combat still ongoing.

In the Kramators komu direction, Ukrainian warriors repelled two Russian offensive actions, in the area of Vasyukivka and in the direction of Minkivka.

27 combat clashes took place in the Konstantinivsky direction today. Russian forces tried to storm the positions of Ukrainian units near the settlements of Oleksandro-Shultine, Bila Gora, Scherbinivka, Pleshiyivka, Rusyn Yar and towards Sofiyivka and Illinivka.

In the Pokrovsky direction since the beginning of this day, the Russian enemy attacked 87 times in the areas of settlements Shahove, Nikanorivka, Bilitske, Zatishok, Red Lyman, Rodinske, Zelene, Dachene, Lisivka, Novomikolaivka, Pokrovsk, Kotline, Udacne, Molodetske, Filia, Dachne and in the directions of New Shahovy, Sofiyivka, Rivnogo and Novopavlivka. Ukrainian defenders are holding back the pressure of the opponent, in some locations the fights are still ongoing.

Today in this direction, according to preliminary data, 75 Russian occupants were defiled, of which 43 - irrevocably. In addition, Ukrainian soldiers destroyed three motorcycles, one BPLA, two ground robotic complexes, six units of automobile and two units of special equipment, also three cars were hit, two shelters for the Russian enemy's personnel.

In the Oleksandrivsky direction, Ukrainian defenders repelled 26 Russian attacks in the areas of settlements Yalta, Ivanivka, Zeleny Gorge, Oleksandrograd, Novoselivka, Sichneve, Orestopil, Stepove, Rybne, Zlagoda, Verbove and in the direction of the settlement Andriyivka-Klevtsove. Pokrovskke, Radisne and New Zaporizhia were under aviation strikes.

In the direction of Gulyaipil, there were 12 clashes in the areas of the settlements of Green Grove, Merry, Sweet, Harmony and in the directions of Yablukovoy and Rivnopil. Dobropillya was hit by an air strike.

Eight clashes have taken place in the Orihivsky direction since the beginning of the day - the Russian occupiers tried to advance in the areas of Maliy Scherbaky, Stepovoy in the direction of Novoandriivka, Novodanilivka and Primorsky. The Russian opponent caused air strikes on lukanivs komu and stepnogirs ku.

In the pridniprovsky direction the Defense Forces stopped the Russian enemy trying to move forward.

In other directions, there have been no significant changes in the environment.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.

Units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on units of one jaeger brigade and two mechanised brigades of the AFU near Khoten, Pisarevka, Novaya Sech, Iskriskovshchina, and Kondratovka (Sumy region).

In Kharkov direction, units of one AFU motorised infantry brigade near Volchansk (Kharkov region) were hit.

The AFU losses amounted to more than 160 troops, 12 motor vehicles, and one 155-mm Bogdana self-propelled artillery system. One radar station, one ammunition depot, and three materiel depots were neutralised.

The Zapad Group's units improved the situation along the front line. They inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of one tank brigade, two mechanised brigades of the AFU, one territorial defence brigade, and two national guard brigades near Grushevka, Kurilovka, Boguslavka, Kitsevka, Beryozovka (Kharkov region), Yarovaya, Dibrova, and Yampol (Donetsk People's Republic).

The 6th Army's assault detachments continue to eliminate the enemy's surrounded formations close to Kupyansk (Kharkov region).

Russian troops repelled six attacks of the AFU 151st and 116th Mechanised Brigades, the 1st and 13th National Guard Brigades from Monachinovka, Nechvolodovka, Kupyansk-Uzlovoy, Osinovo, and Petrovka (Kharkov region) to unblock the AFU surrounded formations.

Air surveillance posts and mobile firing groups shot down 16 Baba Yaga-type hexacopters, attempting to deliver ammunition and medical supplies to surrounded units.

Over the past 24 hours, up to 50 troops, two Kazak armoured fighting vehicles, one U.S.-made Paladin self-propelled artillery system, five pickup trucks, and two electronic warfare stations have been neutralised close to Kupyansk (Kharkov region).

In total, up to 220 troops, three armoured fighting vehicles, including one U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carrier, 20 motor vehicles, and two self-propelled artillery systems have been neutralised in the Zapad Group's area of responsibility. One U.S.-made AN/TPQ-36 counter-fire radar station, eight electronic warfare stations, and four ammunition depots were destroyed.

Units of the Yug Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions. Losses were inflicted on formations of four mechanised brigades, one motorised infantry brigade, one assault brigade, one airmobile brigade, one mountain assault brigade of the AFU and two territorial defence brigades near Konstantinovka, Zakotnoye, Stepanovka, Slavyansk, Seversk, Ivanopolye, Sofiyevka, and Zvanovka (Donetsk People's Republic).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 130 troops, two tanks, two armoured fighting vehicles, 18 motor vehicles, and one 155 mm U.S.-made Paladin self-propelled artillery system. Two electronic warfare stations, two ammunition depots, and one fuel depot were wiped out.

Units of the Tsentr Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. The Group's units inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of three jaeger brigades, two air assault brigades, three assault regiments of the AFU, four marine brigades, one territorial defence brigade, and four national guard brigades close to Grishino, Dimitrov, Roza Lyuksemburg, Artyomovka, Rodinskoye, Toretskoye, Kotlino, Belitskoye (Donetsk People's Republic), and Ivanovka (Dnepropetrovsk region).

In Krasnoarmeysk (Donetsk People's Republic), assault groups of the 2nd Army successfully carried out offensive actions in the Dinas microdistrict, as well as neutralised enemy units in the north-western and eastern quarters of the Tsentralny District and in the western part of industrial area.

Russian troops repelled seven Ukrainian attacks to unblock their encircled units in the area of Grishino (Donetsk People's Republic).

Eight enemy attempts to break through the encirclement ring in a northern direction were thwarted, and three servicemen of the AFU 32nd Mechanised Brigade were taken prisoner.

In Dimitrov (Donetsk People's Republic), units of the 51st Army of the 5th Motorised Rifle Brigade continued active offensive operations in the Vostochny microdistrict as well as in the southern part of the city and in the direction of Zapadny microdistrict.

Over the past 24 hours, more than 275 troops, two tanks, four armoured fighting vehicles, one pickup truck, and one Akatsiya self-propelled artillery system have been neutralised close to Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov (Donetsk People's Republic).

In total, up to 470 troops, two tanks, six armoured fighting vehicles, four motor vehicles, and three artillery guns, including a 155-mm French-made Caesar self-propelled artillery system, have been neutralised in the Tsentr Group's area of responsibility.

The Vostok Group's units advanced to the depths of the enemy's defence and liberated Rybnoye in Zaporozhye region.

Two mechanised brigades, one assault regiment of the AFU and two territorial defence brigades were defeated near Yablokovo, Gulyai Pole, Novoye (Zaporozhye region), Velikomikhaylovka, and Nechayevka (Dnepropetrovsk region).

Up to 255 troops, three armoured fighting vehicles, 12 motor vehicles, four field artillery guns, and a counter-battery radar station of the AFU have been neutralised.

The Dnepr Group's units inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of two mechanised brigades and one coastal defence brigade of the AFU near Novoandreyevka, Stepnogorsk, Orekhov (Zaporozhye region) and Antonovka (Kherson region).

Up to 95 troops, 14 motor vehicles, one field artillery gun, eight electronic warfare stations, and two ammunition depots have been neutralised.

Operational-tactical aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops, and artillery of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have inflicted damage on energy facilities that support the Ukrainian military industry enterprises, transport infrastructure used in the interests of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as temporary deployment points of Ukrainian formations and foreign mercenaries in 143 areas.

Air defence systems shot down one Neptune long-range guided missile, seven U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectiles, and 247 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.

In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 668 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 95,801 unmanned aerial vehicles, 635 anti-aircraft missile systems, 25,925 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,611 MLRS combat vehicles, 31,194 field artillery guns and mortars, and 46,243 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.

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China's KJ-600 carrier-borne early warning aircraft nicknamed Nezha: developer

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun Published: Nov 09, 2025 05:05 PM

A senior developer disclosed in an official media report on Sunday that China's KJ-600 carrier-borne early warning aircraft is nicknamed after Nezha, a figure from Chinese mythology. He also elaborated on key technical details, including how the aircraft's radome was maximized to boost its detection range.

The KJ-600 again captured public attention after official Chinese media on Friday revealed that the country's third aircraft carrier, the electromagnetic catapults-equipped Fujian, was officially commissioned on Wednesday. The aircraft was first unveiled as a key component of the Fujian's air wing at China's V-Day military parade held in Beijing on September 3.

Geng Yansheng, head of the First Aircraft Institute under the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), said in an interview with the China Central Television (CCTV) on Sunday that the reason why the KJ-600 is nicknamed after Nezha is because that with the nacelles of the two engines and the landing gears, together with the nose, the aircraft appears to have three heads like Nezha.

The two foldable wings, combined with the four vertical tails, resemble Nezha's six arms. The circular radome is reminiscent of the Qiankunquan, a legendary bracelet held by Nezha, while the red paintings on the fuselage evoke the Huntianling, another legendary artifact of Nezha. A more vivid feature is the high-speed rotation of the propellers, which resembles the fenghuolun, or wind-and-fire wheels, under Nezha's feet.

According to the CCTV News report, as an airborne command post, the carrier-based early warning aircraft is primarily tasked with detecting, sensing, forming, and distributing information on the situational awareness of carrier formations. Additionally, it can undertake non-military missions, such as coordinating search and rescue operations at sea and managing airspace command and control.

Geng said that the KJ-600 features a large radome, which houses the early warning antennas. To achieve a substantial detection range, the frontal dimensions of the early warning antennas have been maximized. This large radome represents the extreme for an aircraft of this small size, pushing the limits in terms of the aircraft's center of gravity, aerodynamic performance, and controllability.

Zhang Xuefeng, a Chinese military affairs expert, explained why a large radome with max-sized antennas is significant. He told the Global Times that the KJ-600 can be described as a force multiplier for carrier-based aircraft in an aviation formation.

While China's aircraft carrier groups have destroyers and frigates for detection and early warning missions, long-range radars of these vessels face limitations in detecting extremely low-flying sea-skimming targets due to the curvature of the Earth.

"A key function of carrier-based early warning aircraft is to detect these ultra-low-altitude targets," Zhang said.

Fixed-wing early warning aircraft offer significantly longer endurance and can carry larger radars, enabling them to detect sea-skimming targets flying at low altitudes from much greater distances, thereby better ensuring the safety of the carrier group, Zhang said.

Another distinctive design feature lies in the KJ-600's vertical tails, the CCTV News report noted.

While conventional aircraft typically feature either a single or dual vertical tail configuration, the KJ-600 incorporates four vertical tails. This design enhances tail control capability and requires larger control surfaces. To comply with carrier deck and hangar height limitations, the four-tail solution was adopted, which is a technical approach specifically implemented to overcome geometric constraints, Geng said.

The developer further introduced that the aircraft's engine is specifically designed as a carrier-based model, requiring robust corrosion resistance. As a carrier-based aircraft operating on extremely short takeoff and landing pathways, it must execute a wave-off in the event of mechanical failure or arrested landing mishap. This demands instantaneous power surge capability, with all engine components engineered to withstand intense stresses from catapult launches, arrested landings, and the impact forces of deck landing.

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China suspends some export controls on dual-use items to US

Global Times

Move reflects commitment to safeguarding world peace while ensures stability of industrial and supply chains: expert

By GT staff reporters Published: Nov 09, 2025 01:40 PM

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced on Sunday that it will temporarily suspend part of the 2024 export-control measures that aimed to strengthen restrictions on certain dual-use materials exported to the US.

In an announcement released on Sunday on its official website, MOFCOM said that, upon approval, the second clause of the notice, originally issued on December 3, 2024, focusing on enhancing export controls on specific dual-use items to the US, will be suspended starting from Sunday (November 9, 2025) until November 27, 2026.

This adjustment reflects China's clear and consistent position on the management of the exports on dual-use items, He Weiwen, a senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, told the Global Times on Sunday, noting that implementing corresponding management on relevant items reflects its commitment to safeguarding world peace and regional stability and its active participation in international non-proliferation efforts.

At the same time, granting licenses for corresponding applications that meet the relevant requirements also demonstrates China's efforts as a responsible major country to help ensure the security and stability of global key minerals' industrial and supply chains, He Weiwen said.

The previous notice, issued on December 3, 2024, in accordance with relevant regulations including the Export Control Law, said the Chinese government would ban the exports of dual-use items to US military users or for military end-uses, and, in principle, refuse licenses for relevant dual-use items related to gallium, germanium, antimony and superhard materials destined for the US while enacting stricter export control checks on the dual-use item of graphite.

The Sunday's announcement leaves the first clause - the ban on export of dual-use items to US military users or for military-end uses - in place while pausing the second clause's licensing and review restrictions for the stated period.

The December 2024 notice warned that organizations or individuals from any country who transfer or provide China-origin related dual-use items to US entities in violation of the rules would be held legally responsible.

"Gallium, germanium, antimony and other materials are important in the manufacturing of advanced semiconductors and military equipment," Zhang Xiaorong, director of the Beijing-based Cutting-Edge Technology Research Institute, told the Global Times.

This latest move from the Chinese side follows its longstanding approach, creating further opportunities to strengthen business ties between the two sides for win-win outcomes while reflecting consistent efforts to ensure the security and stability of global key minerals' industries and supply chains, Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Moreover, China's management of the relevant materials has always been based on comprehensive considerations including national security, said Zhou, noting that if new external security risks emerge, China reserves the right to make further adjustments to the measures.

A spokesperson from China's MOFCOM reiterated China's stance on rare-earth export controls in a statement Thursday.

Asked to respond to media inquiry for comment regarding a report released by the White House on November 1 claiming that China will issue general export licenses for certain rare-earth elements, and observers have noted that this statement seems to differ from the press release issued by China's MOFCOM, which only referred to the export control measures announced on October 9, MOFCOM spokesperson He Yadong said at the regular press conference on Thursday that relevant items such as rare-earths have obvious dual-use characteristics for both civilian and military purposes.

China conducts license reviews in accordance with laws and regulations, granting approvals to applications that meet the requirements, He Yadong said. The spokesperson noted that China has repeatedly emphasized its willingness to strengthen communication and cooperation with all parties, continuously optimize the licensing process, actively apply general license and other facilitation measures, promote compliant trade of controlled items, and ensure the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains.

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US must face up to consequences of blatant aggression against Iran: Parliament speaker

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 09 November 2025 10:36 AM

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf says the United States must face up to the legal and political consequences of its deadly act of aggression against the Islamic Republic earlier this year.

He made the remarks during an open session of Parliament on Sunday, three days after US President Donald Trump acknowledged that he was "very much in charge of" June's illegal Israeli-American assault against Iran.

"Following the US president's explicit admission of direct responsibility in the Zionist regime's aggression against Iranwhich constitutes a blatant violation of international law, the United Nations Charter, and our national sovereigntyI, on behalf of the noble and honorable people of Iran, strongly condemn this heinous act," he said.

"I declare that, under international law, the US government must accept the legal, political, and military consequences of this blatant aggression, which has led to the martyrdom of many of our citizens."

Qalibaf also warned that the Iranian nation stands united and firm in the face of any threat, and that it will hold aggressors accountable for their acts.

Israel launched the unprovoked aggression against Iran on June 13, triggering a 12-day war that killed at least 1,064 people in the country, including military commanders, nuclear scientists, and civilians.

The United States also entered the war by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites. In response, the Iranian Armed Forces targeted strategic sites across the occupied territories as well as the Al-Udeid air base in Qatar, the largest American military base in West Asia.

On June 24, Iran, through its successful retaliatory operations against both the Israeli regime and the US, managed to impose a halt to the terrorist aggression.

Qalibaf hopes for brighter future for Iran, Pakistan

Elsewhere in his comments, the top legislator said that his visit to Pakistan earlier this week was aimed at thanking Islamabad for its support for Tehran and strengthening economic, cultural, and security ties between the two neighboring countries.

He further emphasized Pakistan's strategic importance to Iran, citing deep cultural commonalities and significant opportunities for security and defense cooperation.

Pakistan's geographical position could serve as a bridge connecting Iran to East Asia and beyond, he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Parliament speaker said that during his trip, he discussed with Pakistani officials a range of issues, including increasing bilateral trade to $10 billion, facilitating barter trade, finalizing a free trade process, developing joint border markets, enhancing border security, and planning for trilateral cooperation with China.

Describing his visit to Pakistan as a major step toward bolstering Iran-Pakistan unity, Qalibaf expressed hope for a brighter future for both nations through joint efforts.

He also extended special gratitude to the Pakistani people for their warm and enthusiastic welcome to the Iranian delegation, noting that it reflects deep affection and brotherhood between the two nations.

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Israeli whistleblower attempts suicide after exposing soldiers' rape of Palestinian

Iran Press TV

Monday, 10 November 2025 12:41 AM

Former Israeli military lawyer Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi who courageously leaked footage exposing the rape of a Palestinian captive by Israeli soldiers at the notorious Sde Teiman detention facility has attempted suicide on Sunday morning, according to Israeli police officials.

"She tried to commit suicide today. Her life is not rosy," Police Commissioner Chief Superintendent Danny Levi callously remarked, as quoted by Israeli media.

He added, "If she committed the offense, it has an impact on how the army looks, how soldiers behave. We send our children into a system where they need to be certain that no one is leaking information, and that's why we are investigating this."

The leaked footage, a searing indictment of Israel's occupation, shows heavily armed soldiers seizing a blindfolded Palestinian prisoner, surrounding him with riot shields to conceal their gang rape.

The victim, reportedly returned to Gaza, endured an anal injury, a ruptured bowel, lung damage, and broken ribs, injuries that underscore the systematic torture embedded in Israel's detention camps.

The case has highlighted the regime's desperate efforts to silence truth-tellers while perpetuating its crimes against Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu labeled the leak the "most severe public relations attack" on the regime, exposing his indifference to the barbarity inflicted on defenseless prisoners and obsession with suppressing global outrage.

This revelation comes amid growing international condemnation of the regime's crimes targeting Palestinians, with 156 nations recognizing Palestine and the International Criminal Court issuing warrants against Israeli leaders for war crimes.

The Sde Teiman atrocities are not isolated but part of a genocidal campaign that has claimed over 69,000 Palestinian lives since October 2023.

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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets Turkish Interior Minister, reaffirms unbreakable Pakistan-Turkiye fraternal bonds

Prime Miinister's Office - Islamic Republic of Pakistan

November 06, 2025

Islamabad: 6 November 2025.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets Turkish Interior Minister, reaffirms unbreakable Pakistan-Turkiye fraternal bonds

H.E. Ali Yerlikaya, Interior Minister of the Republic of Turkiye, who is currently on an official visit to Pakistan, paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad today.

During the warm and cordial meeting, the Prime Minister welcomed the Turkish Minister and his delegation and said that the visit highlighted the strong fraternal ties between Pakistan and Turkiye. The Prime Minister conveyed his warm regards and greetings to H.E. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkiye and reaffirmed Pakistan's resolute commitment to further deepen bilateral cooperation in the fields of security, counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics, police training, disaster management, trade, and economic development.

The Prime Minister praised Turkiye's strong and unwavering support for Pakistan's stance on key issues. He particularly thanked the Turkish leadership for its role in facilitating the ongoing peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Istanbul.

While thanking the Prime Minister for the warm hospitality extended to him and his delegation, the Turkish Interior Minister conveyed greetings for the Prime Minister from President Erdogan and expressed Turkiye's strong desire for enhanced collaboration in law enforcement, intelligence-sharing and disaster management.

The Prime Minister was assisted by Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister, Interior Minister, Minister of State for Interior, MoS for Interior, SAPM Tariq Fatemi, Chairman NDMA, Interior Secretary and Foreign Secretary.

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General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, NI, NI (M), Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), while on an official visit to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, called on General Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili, Chief of General Staff of Saudi Armed Forces.

Inter Services Public Relations Pakistan

Rawalpindi - November 09, 2025

No PR-353/2025-ISPR

General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, NI, NI (M), Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC), while on an official visit to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, called on General Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili, Chief of General Staff of Saudi Armed Forces.

During the meeting, both sides discussed evolving global and regional environment and avenues for enhancing bilateral defence cooperation. The military leadership reaffirmed their resolve to further deepen the strong brotherly ties and enduring defence partnership between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

In recognition of his significant contributions in deepening Pakistan-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia relationship in particular the military to military ties, the CJCSC was conferred with the "King Abdulaziz Medal of Honour of the Excellent Class."

The Saudi military leadership lauded professionalism of Pakistan Armed Forces and acknowledged their sacrifices in fight against terrorism.

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Russia moves to strengthen national security after Putin's instructions on nuclear preparedness

Iran Press TV

Sunday, 09 November 2025 12:52 AM

In line with directives issued by President Vladimir Putin, the Russian foreign ministry has begun implementing measures to assess the nation's readiness regarding nuclear capabilities, says Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"As for the instruction of President Vladimir Putin at the meeting of the Security Council on November 5, it was accepted for execution and is in the works. The public will be informed about the results," the top diplomat told reporters on Saturday.

During the meeting, Putin tasked the foreign and defense ministries, the country's special services, and relevant civilian agencies with preparing proposals on the possibility of conducting nuclear weapons tests, he stated.

Lavrov noted that Moscow has yet to receive clarification regarding recent statements by US President Donald Trump on the resumption of Washington's nuclear tests.

On October 30, Trump ordered Washington to "immediately" resume nuclear testing on an "equal basis" with other nuclear-armed states, effectively ending the moratorium in place since 1992.

He alleged that he "HATED" to issue the order "because of the tremendous destructive power," but "had no choice!" because of his self-proclaimed fear of other nuclear armed powers' catching up with Washington.

"It is unclear whether it was a question of testing nuclear weapons carriers, of conducting so-called subcritical tests...or maybe Donald Trump really talked about Washington's intention to resume full-scale nuclear tests," Lavrov said.

"The comments of Washington's representatives, which get into the public space, rather indicate that they do not have a common understanding of what the US president meant," the official added.

He emphasized that Russia was closely monitoring global developments, while ensuring its own security protocols remained transparent and fully compliant with international obligations.

During the meeting, Putin cautioned that Moscow would respond with reciprocal measures should the United States resume nuclear weapons testing.

Experts warn that Trump's decision risks unraveling decades of international efforts aimed at preventing a recurrence of past tragedies.

They further caution that the Israeli regime, the United States' closest ally in West Asia and the region's sole possessor of nuclear arms, may attempt to leverage the knowledge gained from these tests to try to rationalize expanding its own lethal nuclear capabilities.

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Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's interview with Voyennaya Priyomka TV programme on the occasion of Rosoboronexport company's 25th anniversary, Moscow, November 9, 2025

9 November 2025 11:36

1882-09-11-2025

Question: Over the past 25 years, Rosoboronexport has become a key player in the global arms market. How do Russian arms exports influence the country's standing in global politics and diplomacy, particularly as regards top-level negotiations?

Sergey Lavrov: The short answer is, they do play a significant role.

We are living in a different era now. Although we often mention that Russia has two allies - its army and its navy, - we obviously need to bolster our aerospace forces as well.

Looking at the situation from a geopolitical perspective, Russia's involvement in the global struggle for influence, particularly in ensuring fairness in global processes and preventing any single nation from dictating the actions of others, is supported by Rosoboronexport as well as by companies that supply products to international markets through this key intermediary - and act as Russia's allies in the efforts to democratise international relations. There is no question about that.

Many nations that are breaking free from the historical grip of colonialism have formally gained independence and declared decolonisation - and yet, they still find themselves economically dependent on their former colonisers. As these countries work to fully establish their independence, their primary concern is securing the safety of their nations and citizens as well as maintaining an adequate defence capability. In this regard, our military-technical cooperation and the assistance we provide in helping them establish their fully independent nationhood is crucial. Russia's position in the world largely depends on the success of these defence partnerships.

Question: Including the effectiveness of Rosoboronexport specialists?

Sergey Lavrov: Absolutely. Rosoboronexport is Russia's primary supplier to global markets, and it has earned the trust of manufacturers of our military products.

The company has proven its ability to deliver promptly, on time, and provide reliable servicing for the equipment it supplies. The Foreign Ministry has a long-standing, strong relationship with Rosoboronexport, and we have always supported each other. We have never failed each other, and we certainly haven't let them down.

Question: Military-technical cooperation is often viewed not only as an economic tool but also as a political one. How would you assess its role in building strategic relationships with Russia's key partners?

Sergey Lavrov: It is fundamental. Military-technical cooperation and the provision of military products is a cornerstone of long-term alliances and strategic partnerships that provide a framework for lasting partnerships. In this regard, it is among primary areas of focus in our work with our allies.

Moreover, the military equipment received through Rosoboronexport by our allies and strategic partners that seek to develop such level of partnerships is not only highly competitive, but has also proven its superiority on the battlefield.

For instance, when Russia was compelled to send a unit of our Aerospace Forces to the Syrian Arab Republic to help combat the ISIS and prevent the impending catastrophe, our troops' activities on the battlefield and our military equipment were praised by many experts worldwide. Today, during the ongoing special military operation, the effectiveness of our forces is being closely analysed by numerous countries, including those in the West.

This is an important factor in shaping our country's standing in the global arena, its reputation, and authority.

Question: I would add that arms exports are not just about selling products, like a tonne of potatoes. It is about building long-term relationships, training people, and facilitating a learning process. While cadets study at our military academies, they ultimately become familiar with Russian culture and language. It is a long-term, ongoing story.

Sergey Lavrov: I started with mentioning that this is a long-term, promising aspect of our relations. This is indeed so.

Question: In recent years, Russia has taken efforts to boost its military-technical cooperation with new partners, including countries in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. What are the prospects for further expanding Russian arms exports, and how does this affect high-level negotiations on the global stage?

Sergey Lavrov: I would not call countries in Asia, the Middle East, or Africa "new" partners for Russia. These are regions that we have long-established relationships with.

Yet, you absolutely right in noting that certain countries that until recently had depended on Western manufacturers have shifted away from them. Observing global developments and ongoing conflicts with various arms used, these states have come to realise that Russian weapons are superior: they are more durable, have demonstrated their advantages over comparable Western arms and systems, and have proven to be more efficient and cost-effective.

For example, now, during Donald Trump's presidency, there have been many revelations about inefficiencies in the US military-industrial complex and Pentagon military procurement. As I remember, a similar case was observed during his first presidency, such as a $12,000 ladder needed to climb into a fighter jet. These are examples of wasteful spending when so much of the expenditure goes toward administrative or related processes rather than the actual manufacturing of the product.

It is not surprising that during the period when NATO was still a properly functioning organisation and we were working cooperatively with the alliance within the Russia-NATO Council, we engaged in numerous joint projects such as counterterrorism initiatives and collaborative work in Afghanistan. One such project was a NATO-Russia helicopter programme for Afghanistan, where NATO countries, particularly the United States, were seeking to use Russian helicopters for operations in the country. I remember it fairly well. However, when NATO adopted its stance, severing ties and rejecting Russian helicopters, it had to encounter operational difficulties.

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Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's interview with RIA Novosti

9 November 2025 10:30

1881-09-11-2025

Question: President of Russia Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian Federation is prepared to continue adhering to the restrictions established by New START for one additional year, starting February 5, 2026. Has there been any response from the United States? Did Moscow propose a meeting with Washington to discuss the post-New START period? If so, at what level?

Sergey Lavrov: The constructive initiative put forward by President Vladimir Putin in the post-New START context speaks for itself. It contains no hidden agenda and is perfectly clear for understanding. Its practical implementation would not require any special additional efforts. Therefore, we do not consider it necessary to hold in-depth discussions on this proposal.

The only thing required is reciprocity from the United States: we will voluntarily adhere to the restrictions only if, and precisely for as long as, the other side does the same. Naturally, should the Americans have any questions, they are free to raise them with us.

So far, there has been no substantive response from Washington. We have been informed through diplomatic channels that "the issue is under consideration."

We have no intention of keeping persuading anyone. We believe that our step serves the interests of both parties and the entire international community. We are ready for any development of events, while hoping for a positive outcome.

Question: What is currently the main stumbling block in the negotiations with the United States on a settlement around Ukraine? Where is Russia ready to make concessions and where is it not?

Sergey Lavrov: The understandings on Ukraine reached during the Russia-United States summit in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15 were based on the conditions for a fair and lasting settlement that President Vladimir Putin outlined back in June 2024 during his meeting with the leadership of our Ministry. We also took into account the proposals transmitted shortly before the Anchorage meeting by US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

At that time, the American side assured us that it would be able to ensure that Vladimir Zelensky would not obstruct the achievement of peace. Apparently, certain difficulties have arisen in this regard. Moreover, as we understand, Brussels and London are attempting to persuade Washington to abandon its intention to resolve the crisis through political and diplomatic means and to fully engage in efforts to exert military pressure on Russia; in other words, to finally join the "party of war."

We are currently awaiting confirmation from the United States that the Anchorage agreements remain in effect. I would emphasise that, despite their essentially compromise nature, we have not abandoned - and do not intend to abandon - the points that are fundamental for us. The American side is well aware of this. No one disputes the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation or the choice made by the residents of Crimea, Donbass, and Novorossiya, who made their historic decision to reunite with their homeland through the referendums in 2014 and 2022. We likewise do not forget the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict, which we have repeatedly highlighted.

Question: What will be Russia's response if the frozen assets of the Russian Federation are directed to support Kiev?

Sergey Lavrov: It is no longer surprising to see the cynicism with which the European Commission interprets the UN Charter and other norms of international law, including provisions concerning sovereign immunity and the inviolability of central bank assets. Such actions amount to outright deception and theft. It seems that the long-dormant instincts of colonialists and pirates have reawakened among Europeans. No matter how the scheme for seizing Russian funds is presented, there is no lawful way to carry it out.

The confiscation of our gold and foreign currency reserves will not save the united Europe's proteges in Kiev. It is obvious that this regime will be unable to repay its debts or service its loans. There are few within the European Union who are eager to blindly take such steps, which also entail serious reputational risks for the eurozone as a territory of economic activity.

Russia will respond to any predatory actions appropriately, in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, our national interests, and the need to compensate for the damage caused to us. We hope that Brussels and other Western capitals will still come to their senses and abandon this ill-advised venture.

Question: Has the US administration informed you of its readiness to recognise Crimea de jure as Russian territory as part of the peace plan?

Sergey Lavrov: For obvious reasons, we do not disclose the details of our discussions with the American side on the Ukrainian issue. However, when clearly fabricated stories appear in the media, we naturally provide clarifications. The discussion covers a broad range of issues and is by no means confined to a single topic, although some journalists and analysts attempt to portray it as such, which is fundamentally incorrect.

Let me repeat: in our view, ending the conflict is impossible without fully taking into account Russia's legitimate interests and addressing its root causes. As for Crimea and Sevastopol, the residents of the peninsula exercised their right to self-determination in the March 2014 referendum, voting in favour of reunification with Russia. So, the issue of who the peninsula belongs to is resolved for us.

Question: When and where could a meeting between the Russian and American delegations on mutual "irritants" take place? What about your meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio? When and where might it be held?

Sergey Lavrov: There are indeed many irritants in Russia-US relations, most of them inherited from the previous US administration. It will take considerable time to clear up this mess.

With the arrival of the new administration, we have noted its certain readiness to resume dialogue. It is underway, although not as rapidly as we would prefer. Two rounds of consultations took place in the spring, with a number of agreements reached to improve the conditions for the operation of our diplomatic missions.

From our perspective, it is important that this dialogue should not be limited solely to embassy-related issues. We consider it essential to address broader questions, including the restoration of direct flights and the return of Russian diplomatic property that was illegally seized by the Obama administration in December 2016, just three weeks before the first inauguration of Donald Trump.

At that time, then-National Security Advisor-designate Michael Flynn contacted our ambassador and, on behalf of the incoming US president, urged us not to respond sharply to the outgoing Democratic administration's provocations, saying they would sort everything out upon moving into the White House. We are still waiting. Our proposals regarding both diplomatic property and air service have been conveyed to the American side. We remain in working contact concerning the possibility of continuing dialogue.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and I share an understanding that maintaining regular communication is essential, both for discussing the Ukrainian issue and for advancing the broader bilateral agenda. We remain in contact by telephone and are prepared to hold in-person meetings whenever necessary.

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Putin Has Not Ordered Nuclear Test Preparations, Decision Must Be Carefully Weighed - Kremlin

Sputnik News

20251109

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not given any instructions to begin preparations for nuclear tests; first, it must be determined whether Russia needs to do so, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"The president has not issued any orders to begin preparations. First, we need to understand whether we actually need to do this. It must be a very serious, well-founded, and carefully considered decision. That is what our specialists are currently working on," Peskov told Russian media.

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting of the Security Council. During the session, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov stated that he considered it appropriate to begin preparations for resuming nuclear tests at the Novaya Zemlya test site. Putin instructed officials to gather information, conduct an analysis within the Security Council framework, and submit proposals on the possible commencement of work to prepare for nuclear weapons testing.

Russia has no intention of violating its obligations under the ban on nuclear testing, Peskov said.

"Putin has repeatedly stated that Russia is committed to its obligations under the nuclear test ban, and we have no plans to breach them," he noted.

If another country violates its obligations under the nuclear test ban, Russia will have to do the same to maintain parity.

"It is precisely nuclear parity that is the most important component of today's global security architecture," Peskov highlighted.

Russia and China are not conducting nuclear weapons tests, Peskov said.

"We know for certain that neither Russia nor China is engaged in nuclear weapons testing," he explained, commenting on US President Donald Trump's claims that such tests were allegedly taking place.

Russia will seek to understand exactly what Trump meant when he spoke about nuclear testing, Peskov added.

"What exactly the US President meantwell, we will try to find out," the Kremlin spokesman stated.

On Burevestnik and Poseidon

The Burevestnik and Poseidon systems are groundbreaking global technologies that no other country currently possesses, although others may eventually develop them, Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

"These are truly world-class breakthrough technologies that no nation in the world has. Of course, they may appear elsewhere somedaybut not anytime soon," he noted.

He explained why it is incorrect to classify the Burevestnik and Poseidon tests as nuclear weapons tests, emphasizing that a nuclear-powered engine and nuclear explosion are entirely different matters.

"We are talking, first of all, about a delivery systemnot a nuclear explosion. It involves a nuclear propulsion unit, or engine, so these are completely separate subjects," Peskov said.

"Surely, American specialists should not be making such mistakes in their assessments and conclusions," he added.

On October 28, Putin announced that Russia had successfully tested the Poseidon, days after the Burevestnik cleared its final test. Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said the missile flew 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) during its October test.

 Sputnik

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Russia-US Dialog on Bilateral Issues Ongoing, Though Not as Quickly as Desirable - Lavrov

Sputnik News

20251109

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The dialogue between Russia and the United States on bilateral issues is underway, but not as fast as one would like, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik in an interview published on Sunday.

"There are many irritants in Russian-US relations, which we inherited from the previous US administration. It will take a long time to remove the obstacles. With the arrival of the new administration, we sensed its willingness to resume dialogue. It is ongoing, but not as quickly as we would like," Lavrov said.

There were two rounds of talks in the spring, where a number of agreements were reached to improve the operating conditions of diplomatic missions, the minister also said.

"For our part, we believe it is important not to limit this dialogue to diplomatic issues alone. It is crucial to move on to issues such as establishing direct air links and returning Russian diplomatic property that was illegally seized from us by [then US President] Barack Obama in December 2016, three weeks before Donald Trump's first inauguration," Lavrov said.

Russia, US Discussing Possibility of Continuing Dialogue on Bilateral Irritants

Working contacts are currently underway between Russia and the United States regarding the possibility of continuing dialogue on bilateral irritants, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik.

"We are waiting. Our proposals on diplomatic property and air traffic have been conveyed to the American side. Working contacts are currently underway regarding the possibility of continuing the dialogue," Lavrov said.

Lavrov Ready for Personal Meeting With Rubio Whenever Necessary

Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik that he is ready to hold personal meetings with US State Secretary Marco Rubio when necessary, as regular communication is crucial for discussing bilateral issues and matters concerning Ukraine.

"Secretary of State Marco Rubio and I understand the need for regular communication. It is essential for discussing the Ukrainian issue and advancing the bilateral agenda. Therefore, we communicate by phone and are prepared to hold in-person meetings when necessary," Lavrov said.

Russia Not Disclosing All Details of Discussions With US on Ukraine

Russia is not disclosing all the details of its discussions with the United States on the Ukrainian issue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"For obvious reasons, we do not disclose all the details of our discussions with the US side on the Ukrainian issue, although when blatant fabrications are published in the media, we naturally make appropriate comments," the minister said, responding to a question whether the US administration had announced its readiness to de jure recognize Crimea as Russian territory as part of the peace plan for Ukraine.

The Ukraine conflict cannot be resolved without addressing its root causes and taking Russian interests into account, Lavrov added.

"We believe that ending the conflict is impossible without taking Russian interests into account and eradicating its root causes," he said.

The issue of Crimea's status is closed for Moscow, the minister added.

"As for Crimea and Sevastopol, the residents of the peninsula exercised their right to self-determination in a referendum in March 2014, voting in favor of reunification with Russia," Lavrov said.

Russia Waiting for US to Confirm Relevance of Anchorage Agreements

Russia is awaiting confirmation from the United States that the agreements on Ukraine reached at the leaders' summit in Alaska remain valid, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told RIA Novosti in an interview published on Sunday.

"We are now waiting for confirmation from the US that the Anchorage agreements remain in force," he said.

The Anchorage agreements regarding Ukraine represent a compromise, but Moscow maintains a firm stance on fundamental issues, including Russia's territorial integrity, Lavrov also said.

"Despite the essentially compromising nature of these agreements, we have not renounced and do not renounce the points that are fundamental to us. The Americans understand this. No one questions the territorial integrity of Russia and the choice of the residents of Crimea, Donbas, and Novorossiya, who made fateful decisions to reunite with their historical homeland in referendums in 2014 and 2022," the minister added.

The US seems to have encountered difficulties in trying to persuade Volodymyr Zelensky not to obstruct a peaceful settlement, Lavrov said.

"Then [at the summit in Alaska], the US assured us that they would be able to ensure that Zelensky would not stand in the way of peace. Apparently, certain obstacles have arisen in this regard. Additionally, as far as we know, Brussels and London are attempting to persuade Washington to abandon its intention to resolve the crisis through political and diplomatic means and to fully engage in efforts to exert military pressure on Russia, that is, to definitively become part of the 'war party,'" he also said.

 Sputnik

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Address on Interior Ministry Personnel Day

November 10, 2025

00:00

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Comrades, friends,

I would like to congratulate the Interior Ministry personnel, its civilian staff members and veterans on their professional holiday, the Interior Ministry Personnel Day.

Today, we honour those who have chosen this demanding and responsible path as their calling. These people perform their professional and civic duty honestly and often risk their lives while waging an uncompromising battle against crime, violence, arbitrariness and abuse of power. Even today, on this holiday, they are working in their respective positions, be it as part of active patrols or reserve crews, or at their stations, keeping the peace and order for our citizens.

These are the people who stay true to their profession and the laws of honour. They have always served as a solid basis of the Interior Ministry, while their honourable service, their deeds in times of peace and in times of war added many glorious and heroic pages in its history that covers more than two centuries,. Therefore, our special words of gratitude go to our Interior Ministry veterans who made a meaningful contribution to shaping the Ministry as it exists today and to the professional becoming and character building of the current generation of Interior Ministry personnel.

Today, the Interior Ministry remains one of the core, key links in the state mechanism. It has been effective in ensuring public safety and domestic order, facilitating efforts to fulfil strategic plans, and making a substantial contribution to Russia's development as a strong and democratic state.

Comrades,

Today, the Interior Ministry units face a whole range of challenging and demanding tasks, primarily countering criminal threats and extremism, fighting corruption, ensuring road safety, and controlling migration. Our people expect you to perform even better in all these areas.

We have been paying special attention to the way the Interior Ministry's territorial units operate in Donbass and Novorossiya these days, just as over the past several years. This also applies to other regions near the line of contact. It is essential that we offer people living there better security along with legal and social support.

Improving the crime clearance rate is another priority objective for you. In general, this implies perfecting your approaches to fighting crime, including in the information space. By the same token, you are expected to act in a consistent and system-wide manner to prevent offences, among minors in the first place.

All the Interior Ministry personnel should master the latest competencies and constantly improve their knowledge and skills. Of course, they must have a sense of dedication to what they are doing, and act in a principled way and in good faith.

I would like to thank the Interior Ministry's senior officials and personnel, as well as the civilian staff for their diligent service, courage and professionalism. I am convinced that you will continue to perform your tasks just as effectively.

Once again, congratulations on your professional holiday. I wish you every success, good health and wellbeing for you and your families.

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Hsiao's Brussels speech a first for Taiwan VP in non-diplomatic ally: FM

ROC Central News Agency

11/09/2025 04:50 PM

Taipei, Nov. 9 (CNA) Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim's () recent trip to Brussels, where she delivered an address at the European Parliament, marks the opening of a new chapter in the Taiwan-European Union relations, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung () said Sunday.

"The visit marks a historic step forward for Taiwan's diplomacy, as the nation's vice president visited a country without official ties for the first time and delivered a speech at the European Parliament," Lin wrote in a Facebook post.

He said Hsiao's visit and speech signaled that "Taiwan's partnership with Europe is entering a new stage."

"Under this new model, Taiwan and Europe will continue to explore more possibilities for cooperation and exchanges," Lin wrote. "Taiwan will be more confident in its efforts to move forward on the world stage."

Hsiao and Lin returned to Taiwan after a brief visit to Brussels for the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China's (IPAC) annual summit, where Hsiao gave a speech Friday titled "Taiwan: A Trusted Partner in a Volatile World."

While Taiwan's top leaders have spoken in parliaments of diplomatic allies before, this was the first time a president or vice president did so in a non-diplomatic partner's legislature.

Beijing strongly protested the visit. A spokesperson for the Chinese mission to the EU labeled IPAC -- a global coalition of lawmakers critical of China and supportive of Taiwan -- an "anti-China organization."

"Despite China's strong opposition and solemn representations, the European Parliament allowed leading 'Taiwan independence' figures such as Hsiao Bi-khim to enter its building to attend the summit and carry out 'Taiwan independence' separatist activities," the spokesperson said in a statement released Saturday.

The statement accused the European Parliament of violating the one-China principle and "eroding political mutual trust between China and the EU."

Lin said he has visited Europe four times since becoming foreign minister in May 2024, which helped strengthen mutual trust and laid the groundwork for Hsiao's Brussels visit.

Anticipating possible disruption from China, Lin said the trip was kept highly classified. He thanked President Lai Ching-te () for his trust, and European lawmakers for inviting Hsiao to speak.

A diplomatic source told CNA that even Hsiao herself was unaware that she would travel to Brussels until shortly before her departure. She was initially told her speech would be delivered via pre-recorded video, the source said.

China also lodged protests with the EU over the arrangement, but to no avail, as European officials remained supportive and helped facilitate the visit, the source said.

Tunghai University political science professor Lin Tzu-li () said Hsiao's trip was "the most impressive performance of Taiwan's parliamentary diplomacy in recent years."

While Hsiao spoke at the IPAC summit rather than before the European Parliament as a whole, it remained a major diplomatic breakthrough, he said.

"It will not be the last time we see Taiwan's senior officials speaking in parliaments or congresses in other democratic countries," Lin Tzu-li added.

(By Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/kb

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Taiwanese deserve opportunity to participate in global affairs: VP Hsiao

ROC Central News Agency

11/09/2025 01:10 PM

Taipei, Nov. 9 (CNA) The Taiwanese people should be able to participate in the international community like all global citizens, and this belief is what drives the government to fight for Taiwan's international recognition despite the many hardships and challenges, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim () said on Sunday upon returning to Taiwan from her trip to Brussels.

Hsiao made the remarks at the Taoyuan International Airport following a whirlwind trip to Brussels for the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China's (IPAC) Annual Summit at the European Parliament, where she gave a historic speech on Friday, titled "Taiwan: A Trusted Partner in a Volatile World ."

"All this time, Taiwan has faced hardships, unfair treatment, and setbacks. Nothing has been easy," Hsiao said.

"But we have never backed down, because we believe that the Taiwanese people - like all global citizens - deserve the opportunity to participate in the international community," she said.

"Thanks to the efforts and support of the Taiwanese public, we remain committed to forging a path through these ongoing hardships and challenges, one step at a time," she added.

Referencing her speech, Hsiao reiterated that Taiwan, as an important partner in reshaping global supply chains and a responsible member of the international community, will eventually win over more like-minded friends.

She thanked IPAC for its long-term support for Taiwan and emphasis on the importance of peace in the Taiwan Strait.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the speech -- the first delivered by a Taiwanese vice president in the European Parliament -- received a standing ovation from more than 150 international guests, including lawmakers from Europe, the United States, the Indo-Pacific, and Africa.

Hsiao's trip was not announced by the Presidential Office and took many by surprise. On Wednesday, she was still in Taipei and received a United Nations delegation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment when asked by CNA when Hsiao departed for Brussels.

China has relentlessly attempted to minimize Taiwan's international space, blocking it from international organizations such as the World Health Organization and the International Civil Aviation Organization.

In June, the Czech news outlet iRozhlas reported that the Chinese embassy in the Czech Republic had planned a car collision targeting Hsiao's motorcade to intimidate the vice president-elect when she was visiting Prague in March last year - her first visit to the European country after being elected in January.

Quoting Petr Bartovsky, the director of the Czech military intelligence service, the outlet reported that the "Chinese civil secret service had attempted to create the conditions for the implementation of a demonstrative kinetic action against a protected person," although the plan was ultimately not executed.

(By Sean Lin)

Enditem/cs

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Interview: Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca bets big on China's innovation, opening up

Xinhua) 11:15, November 10, 2025

SHANGHAI, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is deepening its long-term partnership with China, driven by the country's steady efforts to expand high-standard opening up and its growing innovation ecosystem.

On Nov. 5, the first day of the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE), which runs through Nov. 10, the company announced an additional investment of 136 million U.S. dollars in its manufacturing base in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, just months after unveiling a plan of 2.5 billion U.S. dollars to establish a global strategic R&D center in the capital city of Beijing.

"We really see China as a strategic hub for both R&D and manufacturing," said Tony Pusic, SVP, Supply Asia Pacific, AstraZeneca.

As a full-time participant of the high-profile expo, AstraZeneca brought to this year's CIIE two breast cancer drugs newly approved in the Chinese market, alongside more than 40 innovative medicines covering a wide range of therapeutic areas, including oncology, cardiovascular, renal, respiratory, rare diseases and autoimmune disorders.

"We're really leveraging the CIIE platform, the innovation, the science capability in China to deepen our presence in the country," Pusic said, noting that the expo has allowed AstraZeneca to strengthen cooperation with governments at all levels and with multinational companies.

Since its entry into the Chinese market in 1993, the company's footprint in China has grown substantially. It has established four global production hubs in Wuxi, Taizhou, Qingdao and Beijing, supplying high-quality medicines to more than 70 markets worldwide.

Pusic also praised China's continuous efforts to advance high-level opening up, particularly in the biopharmaceutical sector. Measures such as streamlining the regulatory approval process, strengthening intellectual property protection, and promoting innovation-friendly R&D policies have been "very helpful for global companies like AstraZeneca," he said.

As a move in this direction, in February this year, China announced an action plan to stabilize foreign investment, which includes further opening the biopharmaceutical sector and facilitating the faster market entry of innovative drugs.

"China's opening-up measures make it very advantageous for us to keep growing here and continue serving this incredible market," Pusic said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
MAC condemns KMT chair for attending controversial White Terror memorial

ROC Central News Agency

11/09/2025 08:42 PM

Taipei, Nov. 9 (CNA) The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has criticized opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Chairperson Cheng Li-wun () for attending a controversial White Terror memorial that included Wu Shi (), a late high-ranking Chinese communist spy, among those commemorated.

Portraying a traitor as a victim of the tragic conflict between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and justifying such an act as defending political differences, "is a grave insult to the nation's dignity and the greatest humiliation to the countless Republic of China soldiers and civilians who suffered or died because of Wu Shi," the MAC said in a statement released Saturday.

The MAC urged Cheng to focus on the 232 Taiwanese nationals who are currently missing or detained in China, rather than commemorating figures such as Wu.

"Their human rights and freedom are far more urgent and legitimate concerns than paying tribute to Wu Shi," the MAC said.

The statement came after Cheng attended the event at Machangding Memorial Park in Taipei earlier Saturday, which commemorated those persecuted during the White Terror period between 1949 and 1992, when many were imprisoned or executed for alleged political dissent.

Cheng explained that she accepted the invitation of a group representing the politically persecuted to mourn victims and their families, reflect on the injustices of the period, and advocate for peace -- not to honor intelligence operatives.

She added that the event has been held for more than three decades and has never focused on commemorating Wu or others like him, but primarily on victims persecuted for their political beliefs or stances.

However, Wu's photo was displayed alongside those of other victims at the memorial, while the event handbook featured an article referring to him as a "martyr."

"He was neither a traitor in the traditional sense nor merely a victim to be mourned. His sacrifice should not be viewed solely in terms of allegiance or loyalty, but rather understood within the broader context of the unfinished process of national liberation and unification," according to the article.

Civil society group's condemnation

Meanwhile, the Taiwan Society North, a pro-independence civil society organization, issued a statement Sunday, criticizing Cheng for participating in an event organized by "pro-unification" groups that glorified "authoritarianism" -- meaning communist China.

The association alleged that Wu leaked intelligence during the Huaihai Campaign, or Battle of the Hsupeng (), between November 1948 and January 1949, leading to the destruction of more than 100,000 Nationalist (Kuomintang) troops.

A lieutenant general in the Nationalist Army, Wu leaked intelligence during the major Communist-Nationalist battle, leading to the massive death of Nationalist soldiers, yet he is now being portrayed by the CCP as a "martyr," it said.

"If Cheng Li-wun continues to claim to be a leader of a Republic of China political party but participates in events honoring a Communist spy, it is tantamount to endorsing the CCP's narrative and becoming part of its fifth column," the association said.

Wu infiltrated the KMT government in the late 1940s and secretly worked for the CCP shortly after arriving in Taiwan in 1949. He was later exposed and executed in 1950 for espionage, and was posthumously honored by Beijing as a "revolutionary martyr."

No. 1 spy

Known to the CCP as "Secret Envoy No. 1," Wu was appointed deputy chief of staff of the Ministry of National Defense upon arriving in Taiwan and provided the CCP with significant military intelligence, according to information on the Taiwan Human Rights Memory Bank website, operated by the National Human Rights Museum.

In March 1949, Wu delivered the KMT's Yangtze River defense deployment map to the CCP's East China Bureau, playing a key role in the CCP's victory in the Chinese Civil War, according to a 2019 Control Yuan report.

The defense ministry of the then KMT-ruled ROC government in Taiwan later uncovered Wu's espionage network, preventing him and his associates from supplying the CCP with military intelligence that could have seriously jeopardized Taiwan's strategic deployments and operational success, the report said.

The discovery "contributed to the stability of the Taiwan Strait and the safeguarding of national security," the report added.

KMT chair's controversial appearance

The controversy over Cheng's attendance at Saturday's memorial has come amid renewed Chinese efforts to glorify Wu Shi.

China's Ministry of State Security and Taiwan Affairs Office recently co-directed a spy drama "Silent Honor" () based on Wu's life.

The series premiered on state broadcaster CCTV on Sept. 30, China's Martyrs' Day, as well as the eve of China's National Day on Oct. 1 and portrayed Wu as a national hero.

(By Lee Ya-wen and Christie Chen)

Enditem/kb

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Ukrainian Prosecutors Arrest Battalion Officer After Russian Strike Killed 19 During Ceremony

By RFE/RL November 09, 2025

Ukrainian prosecutors ordered the arrest of a battalion commander after a Russian air strike hit troops at a ceremonial gathering, killing at least 19 people.

The incident, which occurred on November 1, is one of several in recent years where officers have held gatherings or ceremonies that have then been targeted by Russia.

In a statement released on November 8, the Prosecutor-General's Office said the commander of a drone unit arranged the ceremony at a location in the Dnipropetrovsk region, ordering soldiers to attend. Relatives were also in attendance.

Russia then hit the event with drones and two ballistic missiles, killing 12 soldiers and seven civilians, prosecutors said. Another 36 soldiers were wounded.

The officer was charged with negligence and ordered held in pre-trial detention, officials said.

Ukrainian commanders have sought to ban such public gatherings, particularly after widespread outrage following a similar incident in November 2023 that killed 19 soldiers.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-officer-negligence- ceremony-soldiers-killed-russia/33585481.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Russian Forces Liberate Rybnoye Settlement in Zaporozhye Region - MoD

Sputnik News

20251109

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia's Battlegroup Vostok advanced deep into Ukraine's defenses and liberated the settlement of Rybnoye in the Zaporozhye Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

"Battlegroup Vostok advanced deep into enemy defenses and liberated the settlement of Rybnoye in the Zaporozhye Region," the ministry said.

During the liberation of the settlement, Russian armed forces took control of more than two square kilometers (0.7 square miles) and destroyed a significant amount of enemy equipment, including armored vehicles and heavy drones, the ministry also said.

"Servicemen of the 37th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 36th Guards Combined Arms Army of the Vostok group of forces, having crossed the Yanchur River, liberated the settlement of Rybnoye in the Zaporozhye Region and took control of a Ukrainian armed forces defense area covering more than two square kilometers," the statement said.

Russia's Battlegroup Tsentr has eliminated up to 470 Ukrainian military personnel over the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

"In total, in the area of responsibility of the Center group of forces, enemy losses amounted to up to 470 military personnel, two tanks, six armored combat vehicles, four vehicles, three artillery pieces, including a 155-millimeter Caesar self-propelled artillery system made in France," the ministry said in a statement.

Russia's Battlegroup Vostok has eliminated up to 255 Ukrainian soldiers, while Battlegroup Zapad has eliminated up to 220 Ukrainian servicepeople, the ministry added.

At the same time, Russia's Battlegroup Sever has eliminated over 160 Ukrainian servicepeople, while Russia's Battlegroup Yug has eliminated up to 130 Ukrainian soldiers, the ministry added.

Additionally, Battlegroup Dnepr has eliminated up to 95 Ukrainian military personnel, the ministry said.

Russia's Battlegroup Tsentr eliminated over 275 fighters in the Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) and Dimitrov areas in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

"Over the past 24 hours, more than 275 Ukrainian soldiers, two tanks, four armored vehicles, a pickup truck, and an Acacia self-propelled artillery unit were destroyed in the area of Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov in the Donetsk People's Republic [DPR]. In total, in the area of responsibility of the Tsentr group of troops, enemy losses amounted to 470 soldiers, two tanks, six armored combat vehicles, four motor vehicles, and three artillery pieces, including a French-made 155-mm Caesar self-propelled artillery unit," the statement read.

Russian armed forces assault groups successfully carried out offensive operations and continued to eliminate surrounded Ukrainian soldiers in Krasnoarmeysk in the DPR, the ministry also said.

"In the settlement of Krasnoarmeysk, in the Donetsk People's Republic, assault groups of the 2nd Army successfully conducted offensive operations in the Dinas district and continued to destroy encircled Ukrainian armed forces units in the northwestern and eastern quarters of the Central district and in the western industrial zone," the statement added.

 Sputnik

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There Must Be Substantially Increased Pressure on All Schemes that Enable Russian Military Production - Address by the President

President of Ukraine

9 November 2025 - 20:04

I wish you health!

Today, Ukraine introduced sanctions. Russia continues its war, and in response, there must be our strong pressure with partners - pressure that is truly tangible for Russia, that brings them losses and that is felt politically. Today's sanctions decrees target political figures - Russian government officials working for the occupation, propagandists of various kinds who justify Putin and attempt to "normalize" the war and occupation. We are also imposing sanctions on collaborators and on everyone who serves Russia's war machine. There have already been many attempts by Russia to deceive the world about what is happening. There have been many attempts to disrupt processes with the United States and Europe. Everything gets its own reaction, its own sanctions. We are preparing with our EU partners the 20th sanctions package already. We expect this package's content to be prepared within a month and we propose including in the EU's 20th sanctions package Russian legal entities and individuals that are still profiting from energy resources. There will also be updates on the abductors of Ukrainian children - this must be met with truly global pressure. And, of course, there must also be substantially increased pressure on all schemes that enable Russian military production. This is vital. Every Russian missile and every Russian drone contains specific components from other countries, specific countries - without them, there would simply be no Russian weapons. Work on this must be stepped up significantly, and this responsibility lies in particular with Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the coming weeks, we will hold new negotiations aimed primarily at greater support for the energy sector - concrete decisions, the necessary funding, and the equipment we need. Some countries are already helping us, particularly the nations of Northern Europe, and we are preparing agreements with the countries of Southern Europe as well. And from a political standpoint, such geographically balanced support for Ukrainians, for our state, within Europe is extremely important. These days, in most regions, repair crews, power engineers, and utility services are virtually working around the clock - everyone is involved. Restoration continues, and although the situation remains difficult, thousands of people are engaged in stabilizing the system and repairing the damage.

The Russians have increased their striking power, using more ballistic weapons. This means we need stronger air defense, larger reserves of equipment, and even more coordinated and rapid work across the regions.

Today, I would like to recognize the employees of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine - they are always quick to respond. This is exactly how the work of all levels of government should be organized - from the Cabinet to the regions and communities. Government officials must be personally present in the regions. Maximum responsiveness and assistance to people. For their work over these past weeks, I want to personally thank the employees of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Poltava region: Yevhenii Luchko, Oleh Korkishko, Volodymyr Martynenko, Volodymyr Pyrih, and Oleksandr Koliaka. I am grateful to you and all your colleagues! Also, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region: Yurii Podtykan, Volodymyr Pidhornyi, Dmytro Horin, Oleksii Chaplyhin, and Volodymyr Fedota. Thank you! I am grateful to everyone working for our state, to all who help, and to everyone fighting for our state as for themselves. Thank you all.

Glory to Ukraine!

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Ukraine Imposed Sanctions on Senior Officials of the Aggressor State and Russian Publishing Houses

President of Ukraine

9 November 2025 - 15:02

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed two decrees enacting decisions of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on the application of personal special economic and other restrictive measures.

"Russia is trying to prolong the war, expanding its efforts to justify aggression and "normalize" the occupation of Ukrainian territories. Russia has also recently made a demonstrative political decision to impose "sanctions" against Ukrainian officials, in particular against the Prime Minister of Ukraine. Such behavior by Russia deserves far greater global pressure and a broader scope of that pressure," the President said.

The first decree imposes sanctions on eight individuals involved in crimes against Ukraine and Ukrainians - those who appropriated agricultural property, grain crops, and cultural heritage sites, conduct information operations against our state, and introduce Russian educational standards with anti-Ukrainian narratives in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

The sanctions target Russian government officials, an FSB agent engaged in information sabotage, a representative of the information directorate of the Russian General Staff, and financier Kirill Dmitriev, a close associate of the Russian leader involved in spreading propaganda and attracting Russian investments into key sectors of foreign economies, as well as individuals who justify Russia's armed aggression.

The Head of State emphasized that Ukraine will share its proposals for new sanctions with the relevant partners.

The second decree imposed sanctions on five legal entities - Russian publishing houses engaged in justifying aggression, spreading Russian propaganda worldwide, and instilling anti-Ukrainian sentiment in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.

"We will work to ensure that these publishing houses are barred from participating in international book fairs and that their products are removed from online sales platforms around the world," Advisor - Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk said.











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Wide Ukraine Electricity Outages As Crews Struggle To Repair Damage From Russian Attacks

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service November 10, 2025

Kyiv and many Ukrainian regions faced extensive power cuts and outages as crews struggled to repair infrastructure battered by Russian air attacks.

Power was reduced in most regions for eight to 16 hours on November 9, state energy provider Ukrenergo said,adding that consumption restrictions were scheduled for November 10 as well.

"The reason for the introduction of restrictions is the consequences of massive Russian missile and drone attacks on energy facilities," the company said.

"It is difficult to recall such a [large] number of direct strikes on energy facilities since the beginning of the invasion," company spokeswoman Svitlana Hrynchuk told Ukrainian media.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address that "repair crews are working almost around the clock in most regions."

"Restoration efforts are ongoing, and although the situation is difficult, thousands of people are involved in stabilizing the system and repairing the damage," he added.

Even before the onset of cold weather across Ukraine, Russia had intensified its campaign to take out the country's power grid, as well as natural gas facilities and pipelines, in an effort to freeze and demoralize Ukrainians.

At least seven people were killed and an unknown number of others wounded in the Russian attacks on November 7, prompting Zelenskyy to again urge Kyiv's allies to punish Russia and pressure President Vladimir Putin.

"Any [further] weakening...only encourages Putin to prolong the war, inflict more damage on our country, our people, and others around the world," he said on November 8.

Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said Russia had targeted substations that provided power to two nuclear facilities.

"These were not accidental, but well-planned strikes. Russia is deliberately jeopardizing Europe's nuclear safety," he said in a post to X. He called for an urgent meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, to respond to the "unacceptable risks."

IAEA director Rafael Grossi warned of the danger of military strikes on nuclear plant electrical substations.

"I continue to call for maximum military restraint in order to maintain nuclear safety and avoid an accident with serious radiological consequences," he said in a statement.

Grossi also said Ukraine's biggest nuclear facility, in Zaporizhzhya, had regained access to back-up electricity from the grid for the first time in six months. The plant, which is under Russian control, has seen interruptions that have endangered critical plant infrastructure, like pumps that supply cooling water.

Russia launched more than 450 drones and 45 missiles in the November 8 barrage, Ukrainian officials said.

Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said it had launched "a massive strike with high-precision long-range air, ground and sea-based weapons" and claimed it targeted weapon production and energy facilities in Ukraine.

Power cuts were also undertaken in the Poltava region under a special emergency outage schedule ordered by Ukrenergo, with Kremenchuk -- a city of 200,000 people -- reporting a complete blackout, prompting the opening of temporary public hubs offering heat, power, Internet, water, and basic aid.

In Dnipro, a Russian drone strike hit a ninestory residential building, with at least three people reported killed. A two-day mourning has been declared.

Russian attacks also cut power to subway stations in Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

Subways and trams have been fully stopped and water supplies have also been disrupted, he said in a post to Telegram.

Ukraine Hits Back At Sites In Russia

For its part, Ukraine has conducted its own near-nightly drone barrage of Russian energy facilities, a campaign that has sharply reduced Russia's ability to produce gasoline and other refined oil products.

In Russian border regions, like Belgorod and Kursk, Ukraine has hit electricity infrastructure, along with municipal heating plants.

More than 20,000 people were reported without power in several border regions on November 9, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Unconfirmed reports said that the municipal heating plant in Voronezh, about 200 kilometers east of the Russian border, had been hit by Ukrainian drones.

The Defense Ministry reported that more than 40 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight, mostly over the Bryansk region. The Defense Ministry made no mention of the Voronezh region.

Kyiv has urged the United States to supply longrange Tomahawk missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia but President Donald Trump has repeatedly rebuffed the requests.

Moscow warned Washington against sending Tomahawks, with Putin calling the move a "completely new stage of escalation" in US-Russia relations.

Pressure Heightens Around Pokrovsk

As Ukraine battled with the latest attacks on its energy sector, its forces were also struggling to hold the strategic Donetsk city of Pokrovsk.

Ukrainian authorities have acknowledged that the situation in the region is "difficult" but have denied Russian claims that Pokrovsk is surrounded.

The city has become the fiercest area on Ukraine's front line this year, with fighting there resembling some of the bloodiest and longest battles of the war.

Ukrainian military expert Oleksiy Hetman told RFE/RL that while the situation is growing difficult, Ukrainian forces still have strongholds prepared west of the city, which would allow them to repel further Russian assaults.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Russian Service, Reuters, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-officer-negligence- ceremony-soldiers-killed-russia/33585481.html

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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US Informs Russia Extension of New START Restrictions Under Consideration - Lavrov

Sputnik News

20251109

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States has informed Russia through diplomatic channels that it is considering Russian President Vladimir Putin's idea of maintaining the restrictions laid down in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) beyond February 2026, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik in an interview published on Sunday.

"There has been no substantive response from Washington yet. As we were told through diplomatic channels 'the matter is under consideration,'" the minister said.

The idea of maintaining the restrictions outlines in the New START agreement beyond February 2026 is simple and does not require in-depth discussion, Lavrov added.

"The constructive initiative put forward by President Putin in the post-New START sphere speaks for itself. It has no hidden agenda and is extremely easy to understand. Its practical implementation will not require any specific additional efforts. Therefore, we see no need for in-depth discussion of our idea," he said.

Russia is not going to persuade the US to accept Putin's proposal, Lavrov also said.

"We are not going to persuade anyone. We believe that our act meets the interests of both parties and the entire international community. We are prepared for any developments. However, we hope that the outcome will be positive," he said.

The initiative requires only reciprocity on the part of the US, and Russia will adhere to voluntary restrictions only if and as long as the other side does the same, the minister added.

Putin has announced that Russia was ready to continue adhering to the restrictions under the START treaty for one year after February 5, 2026. The Russian president has explained that the steps taken to comply with the START restrictions would be effective if the US reciprocated. US President Donald Trump reportedly called Putin's proposal on the INF Treaty a good idea.

 Sputnik

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NEW YORK, Nov. 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces a class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of common stock of Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. (NYSE: INSP) between August 6, 2024 and August 4, 2025, both dates inclusive (the Class Period). A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than January 5, 2026.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Inspire Medical common stock during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Inspire Medical class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=21452 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than January 5, 2026. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved, at that time, the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs Bar. Many of the firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period, defendants misrepresented and failed to disclose key facts about Inspire V, a sleep apnea device, including the actual market demand for the device and whether Inspire Medical had taken the steps necessary to launch it. Defendants issued a series of materially false and misleading statements that led investors to believe that demand for Inspire V was strong and that Inspire Medical had taken the necessary steps for a successful launch. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Inspire Medical class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=21452 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investors ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

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Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.

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The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

case@rosenlegal.com

www.rosenlegal.com
Beijing, China, Nov. 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday reaffirmed that the country will continue to seek high-quality growth and unswervingly promote high-standard opening-up, making new contributions to the world economy.

Li made the remarks during his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) and the Hongqiao International Economic Forum in Shanghai, according to the Xinhua News Agency on Wednesday.

China will steadily expand institutional opening up and advance comprehensive pilot programs to accelerate the services industry's opening-up, Li said, adding that a more modernized China will surely bring more stability and positive energy to the world.

This year's CIIE has seen a record high number of participating enterprises, fully demonstrating the vitality of China's super-large market, Li said.

Foreign dignitaries including President of the National Council of Slovenia Marko Lotric, speaker of the House of Representatives of Nigeria Abbas Tajudeen and Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze delivered speeches at the opening ceremony.

The CIIE, as a window for China to build a new development paradigm and a platform for promoting high-level opening-up, can be said to be not only an entry point for foreign businesses into the Chinese economy but also an important bridge connecting China to the world, a Chinese expert said.

Warm welcome

Premier Li's remarks were given a warm reception from foreign participants as they hailed the important role of the CIIE in promoting opening-up, cooperation and boosting global economic growth.

As a foreign company that has operated in China for over 40 years, FedEx drew great inspiration from the speech, strengthening its confidence in delivering outstanding service to Chinese customers and pursuing long-term growth in the Chinese market, Poh-Yian Koh, President of FedEx China told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"This message delivered by the Premier truly inspires us," Ian Shih, President of Rockwell Automation (China) Company Limited told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The country's continued efforts to promote high-level opening-up and improving the business environment will further unleash innovation, create broader opportunities for multinational enterprises operating in China and contribute to the prosperity of the world economy, he added.

I am deeply impressed by the Expo's remarkable scale, vitality, and spirit of innovation. It is especially inspiring in today's uncertain global context, and this firm belief in openness and shared opportunity gives global companies confidence and direction, Chief Executive Officer of L'Oreal Group Nicolas Hieronimus told the Global Times.

Some 1,500 participants attended the opening ceremony, including representatives from governments, business communities and academic circles from 155 countries, regions and international organizations, according to Xinhua.

The Global Times reporter noticed that before the opening ceremony, time was allotted for participants to meet and greet each other. The atmosphere throughout the venue was relaxed and cheerful, with attendees greeting old acquaintances or giving interviews to media.

Most foreign-funded enterprises continue to achieve substantial profits in the Chinese market. AmCham (American Chamber of Commerce) Shanghai's 2025 China Business Report released in September of this year showed that in 2024, 71 percent of respondents were profitable, an increase of 5 percentage points compared to the previous year.

China's economy will continue to be successful in the next five years, John Ross, former director of Economic and Business Policy for the Mayor of London, told the Global Times in an interview on Wednesday, highlighting China's lead in areas like electric vehicles, drones, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals.

Promising future

Noting that some unilateral and protectionist acts have severely impacted the international economic and trade order and disrupted the world economy, Premier Li called for upholding equality and mutual benefit, consolidating the foundation of legitimate common interests and safeguarding international fairness and justice.

Li also called for advancing international governance reform and optimizing the international economic and trade rules.

Amid weak global economic growth and rising protectionism from the West, opening-up and seeking win-win cooperation is the only right way forward. Leveraging the CIIE, China further opens its vast domestic market to share opportunities with the rest of the world and contribute to upholding multilateralism and economic globalization, Cao Heping, an economist at Peking University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

From the CIIE to the upcoming World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit in East China's Zhejiang Province, a series of international exhibitions are attracting more and more foreign businesses to deepen the Chinese market and jointly advance in the volatile world, Cao said.

At this year's CIIE, the US Soybean Export Council set up a booth with executives of the council and US soybean farmers. The council told the Global Times on the sidelines of the Hongqiao International Economic Forum that it aims to have its long-term relationships renewed with many customers in China.

Global company leaders and scholars also share their understanding, and they show a positive attitude toward future business in China.

We have seen a lot of reforms in the past years, but the past five years were really astonishing, Mohammed Tawil, President & CEO of Boehringer Ingelheim Greater China told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The next five years are more exciting for us because we want to ensure that we are also participating in that, where the future is bright. With all the economic stress in the world, China clearly knows how to navigate through these challenges and bring China on the top of the world, Tawil said.

Amid this ever-changing landscape, we continue to adapt our business strategies to create resilience and long-term sustainability. The Chinese market offers stability, vast scale, rapid innovation and visionary sustainability focus - and is critical to Goodyear's success in Asia Pacific, said Nathaniel Madarang, Goodyear Asia Pacific President.

The 15th Five-Year Plan recommendations outline China's strategy for high-quality, innovation-driven growth, focusing on industrial upgrading, technological self-reliance, increased domestic demand and expanded openness, among other policy priorities. For multinationals, these signal both new opportunities in advanced industries and heightened competition, Madarang added.



Source: Global Times:

Company: Global Times

Contact Person: Anna Li

Email: editor@globaltimes.com.cn

Website: https://globaltimes.cn

City: Beijing





Disclaimer: This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies (including product offerings, regulatory plans and business plans) and may change without notice. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
NEW YORK, Nov. 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of common stock of James Hardie Industries plc (NYSE: JHX) between May 20, 2025 through August 18, 2025, both dates inclusive (the Class Period) of the important December 23, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased James Hardie common stock during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the James Hardie class action, go to h ttps://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=46976 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than December 23, 2025. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company at the time. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs Bar. Many of the firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, James Hardie Industries plc misled investors about the strength of its key North America Fiber Cement segment between May 20 and August 18, 2025. Despite knowing by April and early May that distributors were destocking inventory, James Hardie falsely claimed demand remained strong and that stock levels were normal. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the James Hardie class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=46976 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investors ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm , on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/ .

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WUZHEN, China, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On the afternoon of November 6, the 2025 Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace Outstanding Cases were released and presented in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province. At the event, representatives of the selected cases and outstanding organizations received commemorative trophies and certificates. Participants from around the world gathered to explore new pathways for international cooperation in cyberspace. (Reported by Global Times Online / Huanqiu.com)





This year marks the 10th anniversary of the proposal of the vision of building a community with a shared future in cyberspace. As an important part of the World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit, the WIC has conducted the Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace case collection for five consecutive years, attracting broad participation from around the world.

Since March 2025, the WIC has received over 300 submissions from across the globe. Following expert evaluation, 12 Outstanding Cases were selected and released at the event for their strong alignment with the vision, significant international influence, inclusiveness, and diverse forms of presentation.

The projects selected as the 2025 "Outstanding Cases of Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace" include (listed in the order of presentation at the session):





1. SAP Business AI: Reconstruct Enterprise Management to Enable "Predictable" Growth

 SAP (China) Co., Ltd.

2. "Digital Heritage" Hackathon  Global Youth Co-create a New Future for Cultural Heritage

 Nanjing Great Baoen Temple Ruins Museum

3. ARTES 4.0: A Global Benchmark for International Robotics Collaboration

 Advanced Robotics and Enabling Digital Technologies & Systems 4.0

4. CSGI Global Data Operation Center: Lighting Up Belt and Road Power Cooperation

 China Southern Power Grid International Co., Ltd.

5. ASTRON Network: Building Global Cross-Border Digital Trust Bridges, Co-Creating an Open and Trusted Digital Ecosystem

 China Academy of Information and Communications Technology

6. Ceramics Bridging Global Cultures: The Digital Ceramic City of Jingdezhen Fosters a New Ecosystem for Cross-Cultural Exchange in Ceramics

 Jingdezhen Network Security and Informatization Center

7. RCS Messaging Global Multi-Operator Cloud-Based Service

 China Mobile Internet Co., Ltd.; China Mobile International Limited

8. Siemens Security Defense Framework - Building a New Cybersecurity Line of Defense for Global Automotive Manufacturing Industry

 Siemens (China) Co., Ltd.

9. PubScholar: Building a New Ecosystem for Global Open Science Sharing

 National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Sciences

10. International Cyber Capacity Building Program

 Kaspersky

11. BGPWatch: A Globally Collaborative BGP Routing Analyzing and Diagnosing Platform

 Tsinghua University

12. Ghana School on Internet Governance (GhanaSIG)

 E-Governance and Internet Governance Foundation for Africa (EGIGFA)

2025 List of Excellent Organizations with Practical Cases in "Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace"





Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China

Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China

State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council of the People's Republic of China

National Financial Regulatory Administration

Cyberspace Administration of Jiangsu Province

Cyberspace Administration of Zhejiang Province

China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd.







Company: huanqiu.com

Contact Person: Weile Ji

Email: jiweile@huanqiu.com

Website: https://www.huanqiu.com/

Telephone: +86 10-65361998

City: Beijing

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/aa5b0f56-e434-4f6c-adc7-7b5b2f27b3b9

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1cb17849-ec29-44f2-8cb7-04c370d7ab9e

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/aeb0d18a-6540-4bf9-bdb8-93c9a393561a

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f636db47-abd1-4e67-925a-64fca7b277ec
TOKYO, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pacifica Hotels G.K. announced today that it has signed a franchise agreement with Marriott International Inc. to bring City Express by Marriott to Japan with the conversion of two existing hotels in Osaka. Following a complete rebrand, the hotels are expected to re-open in Spring 2026 as City Express by Marriott Osaka Namba South and City Express by Marriott Osaka Shin-Imamiya. Together, these openings are expected to mark the debut of the midscale City Express by Marriott in Asia Pacific, bringing its exciting blend of value, convenience and modern comfort to one of Japans most dynamic cities.

City Express by Marriott offers reliable, modern and accessible accommodations for value-conscious travelers across urban, suburban and emerging destinations. Focusing on quality, simplicity and consistency, the brand invites both business and leisure travelers to relax with comfortable rooms and plenty of space to recharge.

We are pleased to once again collaborate with Pacifica Hotels G. K. to bring City Express by Marriott to Japan, which is also expected to mark the brands debut in Asia Pacific, said Shawn Hill, Chief Development Officer, Asia Pacific excluding China, Marriott International. This signing reflects our continued commitment to growing strategically across the region and expanding our offerings to meet the evolving needs of todays travelers. With its strong value proposition and Marriott Bonvoys powerful distribution and loyalty platform, City Express by Marriott is well positioned to complement Marriotts growing midscale portfolio in Japan and contribute meaningfully to Osakas thriving tourism landscape.

With hotel rates rising rapidly across Japan, we see tremendous opportunity to offer guests high-quality accommodations at affordable price points with City Express by Marriott, said Seth Sulkin, CEO of Pacifica Hotels and its subsidiary Shin Imamiya Hospitality, the franchisee for both properties. These hotels will give travelers the opportunity to discover the vibrant area in Nishinari Ward south of Namba, where we see strong potential and growing demand.

City Express by Marriott Shin-Imamiya is expected to feature 100 guest rooms, and will be a nine-story standalone property located in Haginochaya, Nishinari-ku, directly adjacent to Shin-Imamiya Station, a major interchange served by the JR Osaka Loop Line, Nankai Main Line, and Osaka Metro. Its prime location ensures seamless connectivity across Osaka and the greater Kansai region.

City Express by Marriott Osaka Namba South plans to feature 143 guest rooms, and will be a 14-story standalone property located at Hanazono-kita, Nishinari-ku, adjacent to Hanazonocho Station on the Osaka Metro Yotsubashi Line. Positioned along National Route 26 and surrounded by low-rise commercial and residential buildings, the hotel offers convenient subway and vehicular access to central Osaka.

Both hotels are situated within vibrant retail, residential, and commercial hubs, providing easy access to Osakas top attractions, including Abeno Harukas, Tennoji, Namba, Dotonbori, Shinsaibashi, Osaka Dome, and Osaka Castle Park. They are also well connected to Kansai International Airport via the Nankai Main Line, ensuring a smooth and direct arrival experience for travelers.

These openings reflect Marriott s continued focus on expanding its midscale portfolio in Japan, delivering thoughtfully designed, accessible, and connected accommodations that meet the evolving needs of both domestic and international travelers.

About Pacifica Hotels G.K.

Pacifica Hotels G.K. is the leading third-party operator of international hotels in Japan, operating a wide range of brands, ranging from midscale to upper upscale.

<Media Contact>

Akio Nakamura

nakamura@pacifica-cap.com

+81-3-5549-9033









Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/13c13717-e088-452c-a1d9-27861c306072

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c7734a04-8b88-496f-9740-1afd8253f034
Ottawa, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global healthcare business intelligence market size is calculated at USD 10.55 billion in 2024, grew to USD 11.98 billion in 2025, and is projected to reach around USD 37.56 billion by 2034. The market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 13.54% between 2025 and 2034.

Healthcare Business Intelligence Market Key Takeaways

By region, North America held the largest share of the healthcare business intelligence market in 2024.

Asia Pacific is expected to expand at the fastest CAGR between 2025 and 2034.

By component, the software segment dominated the market in 2024.

By component, the services segment is expected to expand at the fastest rate over the projection period.

By mode of delivery, the cloud-based segment led the market with a major share in 2024.

By mode of delivery, the on-premises segment is expected to expand at the highest CAGR in the upcoming period.

By deployment, the self-service BI segment led the market in 2024.

By deployment, the corporate BI segment is likely to grow at a significant rate during the forecast period.

By application, the financial analysis segment dominated the market in 2024.

By application, the patient care segment is expected to expand at the highest CAGR in the coming years.

By end use, the healthcare payers segment contributed the largest market share in 2024.

By end use, he healthcare manufacturers segment is expected to expand at the fastest CAGR between 2025 and 2034.

Market Size & Forecast

2024 Market Size : USD 10.55 Billion

: USD 10.55 Billion 2034 Projected Market Size : USD 37.56 Billion

: USD 37.56 Billion CAGR (2025-2033): 13.54%

13.54% North America: Largest market in 2024

Largest market in 2024 Asia Pacific: Fastest growing market



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Market Overview

The healthcare business intelligence market revolves around the use of data analytics, reporting, and visualization tools to transform complex healthcare data into actionable insights for decision-making. BI solutions offer numerous advantages, including improved patient care, optimized operational efficiency, reduced costs, and enhanced regulatory compliance across applications like hospitals, clinics, payers, and pharmaceutical companies. The growing need for data-driven decision-making, rising adoption of electronic health records (EHRs), and the increasing pressure to reduce healthcare costs are key factors driving market growth. Additionally, advancements in AI and machine learning integration into BI tools are further accelerating adoption across the healthcare sector.

How Can AI Impact the Healthcare Business Intelligence Market?

AI can significantly impact the healthcare business intelligence market by enhancing data analysis and decision-making processes. AI algorithms can automate data analysis, identify patterns, and predict outcomes with greater accuracy and speed. This allows healthcare organizations to gain deeper insights from their data, leading to improved patient care and operational efficiency. Moreover, AI-powered BI tools can personalize treatment plans and optimize resource allocation. As AI technology continues to evolve, its integration into BI solutions will further drive innovation and transform the healthcare landscape.

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Healthcare Business Intelligence Market Report Scope

Report Attribute Details Market size value in 2025 USD 11.98 billion Revenue forecast in 2034 USD 37.56 billion Growth rate CAGR of 13.45% from 2025 to 2034 Base year for estimation 2024 Historical data 2021 - 2024 Forecast period 2025 - 2034 Quantitative units Revenue in USD million/billion and CAGR from 2025 to 2034 Report coverage Revenue forecast, company ranking, competitive landscape, growth factors, and trends Segments covered Component, Mode of Delivery, Application, End Use, Deployment, Geography Regional scope North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Latin America; Middle East & Africa Country scope U.S.; Canada; Mexico; UK; Germany; France; Italy; Spain; Sweden; Denmark; Norway; China; Japan; India; Australia; South Korea; Thailand; Brazil; Argentina; South Africa; Saudi Arabia; UAE; Kuwait Key companies profiled Microsoft; Oracle; SAP; Salesforce, Inc.; Perficient Inc. (acquired by EQT AB in October 2024); Cloud Software Group, Inc.; Infor(a subsidiary of Koch Industries) ; Domo Inc.; Sisense Ltd.; Panorama Software Inc. (a Top Group Company), IBM Corporation, Innovaccer Customization scope Free report customization (equivalent up to 8 analysts working days) with purchase. Addition or alteration to country, regional & segment scope.

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How is business intelligence transforming health care?

Health care business intelligence tools help health care organizations collect, store, secure, and analyze data. Before you learn about these functions of business intelligence, it may be helpful to understand where health care business intelligence data comes from. In any given health care office or system, data comes in from a lot of different places, including:

Health records: Information from previous visits or that you give the doctor when filling out paperwork before your appointment.

Information from previous visits or that you give the doctor when filling out paperwork before your appointment. Insurance claims: Medical offices track data on the claims they submit to insurance.

Medical offices track data on the claims they submit to insurance. Billing: Health care facilities need to keep track of sending out bills and processing payments.

Health care facilities need to keep track of sending out bills and processing payments. Administrative information : Governments and other regulatory bodies may require the hospital to collect and keep track of certain data.

: Governments and other regulatory bodies may require the hospital to collect and keep track of certain data. Patient surveys: Patients can answer questions about their experience using the health care services, and the facility can gather feedback as data.



Health care business intelligence tools help gather a wide net of data and turn it into data you can use to draw business analytics insights. This process starts with data collection and includes data storage. You will also need tools to help you interact with the data, such as data visualization and data mining. In your analysis, you will likely need to predict what could happen in the future or currently, or if a key element of your analysis has changed. Lastly, your health care business intelligence tools can help you create reports to communicate your findings to senior leadership.

Examples of how business intelligence improves health care

Business intelligence tools can be used in many ways to develop data-driven business decisions. In practice, health care business intelligence tools are used in the following areas:

Lower costs and increase revenue: You can use health care analytics to understand what processes work and where your organization can improve. You can also better understand the competitive landscape youre operating within and what you can do to build patient loyalty and offer something more than your competition.

You can use health care analytics to understand what processes work and where your organization can improve. You can also better understand the competitive landscape youre operating within and what you can do to build patient loyalty and offer something more than your competition. Improve patient outcomes and safety: Health care data analytics give doctors and other care providers more tools to provide better care, such as identifying which patients are at risk for illness, analysing the best treatment options, or identifying other factors in the patients environment that can contribute to negative outcomes.

Health care data analytics give doctors and other care providers more tools to provide better care, such as identifying which patients are at risk for illness, analysing the best treatment options, or identifying other factors in the patients environment that can contribute to negative outcomes. Enhance research: Using data and machine learning, scientists can make faster progress on research by forecasting how certain drugs will interact or what effects they will have on patients.

Using data and machine learning, scientists can make faster progress on research by forecasting how certain drugs will interact or what effects they will have on patients. Detect disease earlier: Scientists can use data and machine learning to predict diseases like heart disease or kidney disease. By pairing this enhanced research ability, you can also use health care data to predict the correct treatments for disease.

Scientists can use data and machine learning to predict diseases like heart disease or kidney disease. By pairing this enhanced research ability, you can also use health care data to predict the correct treatments for disease. Improve preventative and follow-up care: Using health care analytics, hospitals and other health care organizations can predict whos at risk for missing follow-up care so they can plan interventions accordingly.

Using health care analytics, hospitals and other health care organizations can predict whos at risk for missing follow-up care so they can plan interventions accordingly. Adjust staff levels: Hospitals can use business analytics to understand when and where they need higher levels of staff and when they could get by with fewer employees working. This insight helps keep the hospital appropriately staffed during busier times while saving labor costs on times that are usually less busy.

Hospitals can use business analytics to understand when and where they need higher levels of staff and when they could get by with fewer employees working. This insight helps keep the hospital appropriately staffed during busier times while saving labor costs on times that are usually less busy. Prevent insurance fraud: Insurance companies and health care organizations can use data to look for patterns that resemble fraud, such as irregularities in billing.



What is Healthcare Business Intelligence?

Healthcare business intelligence is the tools utilized to gain insights from health data. When professionals use those tools to meet the particular requirements of the healthcare sector, they gain insight that leads to better patient results and a well-organized hospital system. These tools often involve resources for collecting data, like data mining, with tools to secure, store, and analyze the data.

Health care business intelligence plays a significant role because health care organizations collect a large amount of data from various sources. Furthermore, health care systems are required to protect their data according to privacy and other guidelines. This can make working with healthcare business analytics complicated unless consumers have a vigorous set of business intelligence tools. This tool supports tracking key performance indicators and patient results to deliver advanced quality, targeted, and more efficient care while managing the affordability of the various health products.

What are the Key Drivers in the Healthcare Business Intelligence Market?

Increasing trend of data proliferation and digitalization in healthcare system as extensive applications of electronic health records (EHRs), integrated devices, and patient portals generate massive, complex data which needs advanced business intelligence tools for interpretation and actionable insights so application of this BI tools by healthcare companies, payers, and providers trust on BI solutions to creates informed, data-backed decisions for enhancing patient results, reducing challneges, and optimizing resources. BI tools are important for analyzing financial and operational data, detecting inefficiencies, lowering costs, and enhancing overall operational performance.

For Instance In November 2025, Mayo Clinic launched Mayo Clinic Platform Insights to advance digital innovation and quality improvement across healthcare



What are the Ongoing Trends in the Healthcare Business Intelligence Market?

In November 2025, ArisGlobal, an AI-first technology company at the forefront of life sciences and creator of LifeSphere, announced the launch of NavaX Agents, a major advancement in the company's AI strategy that brings purpose-built, agentic intelligence to the LifeSphere Unify ecosystem. The NavaX Super Agent will serve as an intelligent orchestration layer, an advanced AI entity that can coordinate multiple specialized agents, each performing narrow tasks, to achieve broader, multi-step goals autonomously.

In September 2025, Wolters Kluwer Health announced its UpToDate Enterprise Edition is now available to healthcare systems and hospitals in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Designed specifically for large healthcare systems and hospitals, the clinical decision support (CDS) solution, which features AI enhancements, supports healthcare administrators and clinicians to help deliver consistently high-quality care.

In June 2025, Tecsys Inc., a global leader in supply chain management solutions, announced the launch of TecsysIQ, a cloud-native intelligence layer that helps healthcare organizations unify fragmented data and deliver AI-powered insights across clinical, operational, and financial systems.



What is the Emerging Challenge in the Healthcare Business Intelligence Market?

Data privacy and security is the main challenges of healthcare business intelligence such as protecting sensitive patient health information (PHI) from cyber threats and breaches is a major problem, compounded by strict regulations like HIPAA and GDPR and another challenfe is different healthcare systems use different data formats, making it complex to integrate and merge data into a combined BI platform, which limits the growth of the market.

Regional Analysis

Why did North America Dominate the Market in 2024?

North America is expected to generate the highest demand during the forecast period in the healthcare business intelligence market, as this region's well-funded medical care institutions and a sophisticated technological environment, there in a high requirement for business intelligence solutions. The government framework places a robust emphasis on patient confidentiality and data security, which pushes the healthcare industry to use reliable and legal data analytics services. A broad range of medical care solutions and specialties are also available in North America, each with particular data analytics needs, which contributes to the growth of the market.

How did the Asia Pacific Grow Notably in the Market in 2024?

The Asia Pacific region is the fastest growing in the healthcare analytics market, as the increasing adoption of digital health solutions, increasing healthcare infrastructure, and growing investments in medical care IT. Evolving economies like India and China are rapidly accepting healthcare analytics to improve healthcare services and enhance patient care. Furthermore, the growing prevalence of chronic diseases and the requirement for data-driven decision-making are driving the demand for healthcare analytics solutions in the Asia Pacific region.

Region-Wise Breakdown of the Healthcare Business Intelligence Market

Region



Market Size (2024) Projected CAGR (2025-2034) Key Growth Factors Key Challenges Market Outlook North America USD 4.4 Bn 5.82 % Advanced healthcare infrastructure, strong EHR adoption, value-based care mandates Data silos, legacy systems, high total cost of ownership Dominant market with steady, mature growth. Asia Pacific USD 3.1 Bn 6.96 % Healthcare digitization, government initiatives, rising IT investment Infrastructure gaps, talent shortages, governance hurdles Fastest-growing region Europe USD 2.5 Bn 9.81 % Strong regulatory frameworks, aging population, digital health mandates Interoperability issues, fragmented health systems across countries Stable growth Latin America USD 0.9 Bn 4.1 % Emerging healthcare digitization, growing BI awareness Budget constraints and limited BI maturity Emerging market with strong potential MEA USD 0.5 Bn 4.37 % Healthcare reforms, investment in digital health infrastructure Regulatory disparities and uneven infrastructure across countries Gradual uptake; emerging and underpenetrated

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Segmental Insights

By Component Analysis

Which Component Led the Healthcare Business Intelligence Market in 2024?

The software segment accounted for the dominating share of the market in 2024, as BI software allows medical care providers to analyze massive amounts of clinical and operational data, supporting them in making informed decisions. Hospitals that use BI software see up to a 15% development in healthcare decision-making. It supports population health management by offering demographic insights.

Whereas the services segment is predicted to register rapid expansion in the forecasting period, as these services boost operational efficiency. BI identifies inefficiencies in day-to-day operations and aids in streamlining them, leading to advanced resource allocation. BI prepares healthcare professionals with evidence-based, real-time insights that allow advanced decision-making.

Healthcare Business Intelligence Market Size 2024 to 2034 (USD Billion)

Year 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 Software 5.28 6.02 6.87 7.83 8.94 10.2 11.63 13.26 15.13 17.25 19.67 Services 5.28 5.96 6.73 7.61 8.59 9.71 10.97 12.4 14.01 15.83 17.89

By Mode of Delivery Analysis

Which mode of delivery dominates the market in 2024?

In 2024, the cloud-based segment captured the biggest share of the healthcare business intelligence market, as healthcare professionals segregate security by handling cybersecurity and encoding in-house while outsourcing data protection and management to cloud service providers. This allows secure management of electronic health records (EHR). Cloud-based healthcare software services amplify healthcare management effectiveness and data approachability. Cloud-based healthcare support allows secure, efficient, and collaborative data organization, enhancing diagnostics and streamlining hospital solutions.

Although the patient care segment will expand fastest during 2025-2034, as business intelligence solutions offer better control, improve security, and compliance for industries with strict data regulations. On-premise BI, investigative key factors such as performance, security, scalability, cost, and ease of application.

By Application Analysis

How did the financial analysis dominate the Market in 2024?

In 2024, the financial analysis segment had the largest share in the Healthcare Business Intelligence Market, as BI tools assist healthcare organizations in analyzing revenue streams, expenditures, and billing patterns to optimize resource use, reduce costs, and enhance profitability. For example, a healthcare network uses BI to track insurance claims, identify patterns of repeated denials caused by missing documentation, and detect suspicious billing activities.

On the other hand, the on-premises segment is expected to grow most rapidly between 2025 and 2034, as BI tools analyze patient data to provide insights that support more accurate diagnoses, personalized treatments, and proactive care. The healthcare industry relies on business intelligence to drive innovation, lower costs, increase revenues, improve claims processing, and streamline supply chain management.

By End-User Analysis

How did the healthcare payers dominate the Market in 2024?

The healthcare payers segment held the largest share of the healthcare business intelligence market in 2024, as payer data supports medical care organizations in optimizing revenue cycles, enhancing care coordination, and detecting areas of inadequacy. With rapidly changing healthcare regulations, payer data can also help organizations stay ahead of government changes and adapt to novel necessities. Payer data support healthcare organizations in identifying areas of improvement, leading to better patient results.

Whereas the healthcare manufacturing segment will expand fastest during 2025-2034, as the healthcare manufacturing industry utilizes business intelligence to revolutionize patient care, lower costs, earn improved revenues, enhance claims management, and modernize supply chain management. It plays a significant role in making healthcare supplementary accessible through business intelligence in healthcare.

Healthcare Business Intelligence Market Size 2024 to 2034 (USD Billion)

Year 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 Payers 2.95 3.33 3.75 4.23 4.77 5.37 6.06 6.83 7.69 8.67 9.77 Healthcare Providers 5.49 6.26 7.15 8.17 9.33 10.65 12.16 13.88 15.85 18.10 20.66 Healthcare Manufacturers 2.11 2.38 2.69 3.04 3.44 3.88 4.38 4.95 5.59 6.32 7.14

Healthcare Business Intelligence Market Companies

Microsoft Corporation



Microsoft contributes to the healthcare BI market through Power BI, offering scalable data visualization, reporting, and dashboard tools that help healthcare providers track performance and outcomes. It integrates with Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, enabling seamless data management and analytics across clinical, operational, and financial systems.

Oracle Corporation (including Cerner)



Oracle enhances the healthcare BI landscape through its cloud infrastructure and analytics platforms, especially following its acquisition of Cerner, a major EHR provider. The company enables data integration, population health management, and predictive analytics tailored for hospitals and large health systems.

IBM Corporation



IBM provides advanced analytics and AI-driven insights through IBM Watson Health, supporting clinical decision-making and value-based care initiatives. It helps healthcare organizations analyze large volumes of structured and unstructured data to optimize patient care and operational efficiency.

SAP SE



SAP offers enterprise-grade BI and performance management tools that help healthcare providers streamline operations, monitor financial performance, and maintain regulatory compliance. Its analytics solutions integrate with hospital information systems to provide real-time, actionable insights.

SAS Institute Inc.



SAS specializes in predictive analytics, data mining, and population health management tailored to healthcare providers and payers. Its solutions enable organizations to detect trends, reduce risk, and enhance decision-making through sophisticated statistical models.

Tableau Software (Salesforce)



Tableau empowers healthcare professionals with user-friendly, interactive data visualization tools that simplify complex data analysis. It is widely used for quality improvement, clinical benchmarking, and strategic reporting across hospitals and health systems.

Qlik Technologies Inc.



Qlik provides a robust data analytics platform that enables healthcare organizations to integrate and analyze data from multiple sources. Its associative data model allows users to explore clinical, operational, and financial data simultaneously for deeper insights.

Health Catalyst



Health Catalyst focuses specifically on healthcare, offering a data platform and analytics applications that support clinical, operational, and financial transformation. It enables health systems to leverage data for improving patient outcomes, reducing costs, and advancing value-based care.

Infor Inc.



Infor delivers cloud-based analytics and enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions tailored for healthcare organizations. Its platforms support operational efficiency, financial analysis, and workforce management through integrated business intelligence tools.

Epic Systems Corporation



Epic embeds BI and analytics capabilities within its widely used EHR platform, enabling providers to monitor clinical outcomes, patient safety, and operational metrics. It supports population health and predictive analytics initiatives from within its ecosystem.

What are the Recent Developments in the Healthcare Business Intelligence Market?

In October 2025, Milliman announced the launch of CareFlowIQ, its powerful and scalable clinical intelligence platform, designed to support healthcare providers and health tech leaders in making smarter, data-driven decisions. By turning fragmented healthcare data into reliable, evidence-based insights, the platform enables users to uncover patient stories, spot care gaps, and improve outcomes with confidence.

In November 2025, a leading U.S. health technology and clinical intelligence platform announced the availability of its AI-driven Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) suite, fully embedded across the OmniMD EHR, AI Medical Scribe, AI Clinician, and AI RCM engines.

In December 2024, Forian Inc., a leading provider of data science-driven information and analytics solutions to the life science, healthcare, and financial services industries, today announced a partnership with Databricks, the data and AI company, to deliver access to its Chartis product, which maps physician and organization affiliations



More Insights in Nova One Advisor:

Healthcare Business Intelligence Market Report Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2019 to 2034. For this study, Nova One Advisor has segmented the global healthcare business intelligence market

By Component

Software

Services

By Mode of Delivery

On-premise

Cloud-based

Hybrid



By Application

Financial Analysis Claims Processing Revenue Cycle Management Payment Integrity and Fraud, Waste, & Abuse (FWA) Risk Adjustment and Risk Assessment

Clinical Analysis Quality Improvement and Clinical Benchmarking Clinical Decision Support Regulatory Reporting and Compliance Comparative Analytics/Effectiveness Precision Health

Operational Analysis Supply Chain Analysis Workforce Analysis Strategic Analysis

Patient Care

By End Use

Payers

Healthcare Providers

Healthcare Manufacturers



By Deployment

Self-service BI

Corporate BI

By Regional

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East & Africa



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Austin, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The DWDM System Market size was valued at USD 9.9 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 18.6 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 8.24% during 2025-2032.

The growing demand for high-speed data transfer, expanding telecom infrastructure, and growing use of cloud-based services are some of the factors driving the growth of the DWDM systems market.





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The U.S. DWDM system market is projected to grow from USD 438.37 million in 2024 to USD 667.68 million by 2032, registering a CAGR of 5.4% during 2024-2032.

This expansion is being facilitated by elements such as the growing demand for high-speed data transfer, the introduction of 5G technology, and an increasing reliance on cloud-based services. The market's demand is increasing because to the ongoing advancements in optical technology and the growth of massive data centers.

Segmentation Analysis:

By Services, System Integration Segment Held the Largest Market Share in 2024, and is also the Fastest-Growing Segment with the Highest CAGR Globally

The System Integration segment dominated the market and accounted for 45% of the DWDM systems market share in 2024, and is the fastest-growing segment, and is set to record the fastest CAGR during 2025-2032. The growing demand to ensure utmost performance and reliability by easily incorporating DWDM systems into existing network infrastructures is further propelling the segments growth.

By Product, Transmitter Segment Held the Dominant Share in 2024; Transponders is the Fastest-Growing Segment with the Highest CAGR Globally

The Transmitter and Receiver segment dominated the DWDM systems market in 2024 and accounted for 29% of revenue share as it is an integral part of DWDM systems to transmit optical signals at different wavelengths and to detect optical signals. The Transponders segment is anticipated to register the fastest CAGR during 20252032, due to the increasing need for high-capacity data transmission and flexible wavelength conversion.

By Verticals, IT and Telecom Segment Held the Largest Share in 2024; Healthcare Segment is Expected to Grow with the Fastest CAGR Globally

The IT and Telecom segment dominated the DWDM systems market owing to the increasing internet traffic worldwide, 5G spread, cloud service, and data center expansion. The Healthcare segment is projected to register the fastest CAGR in the DWDM system market during 2025 to 2032 due to the increasing prevalence of telemedicine and digital health records.

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Regional Insights:

North America dominated the DWDM System Market and accounted for 35% of revenue share in 2024, owing to the facts such as the early adoption of 5G services, the advanced telecom infrastructure and the large number of cloud data centers.

The Asia Pacific region is expected to register the fastest CAGR during the forecast period, due to the speedy digitalization process, together with large-scale 5G network deployments, and massive fiber-optic infrastructure initiatives within China, India, and the Southeast Asia region.

Key Players:

Cisco

Ciena

Huawei

Nokia

Infinera

ADVA Optical Networking

Fujitsu

NEC Corporation

ZTE Corporation

Coriant

DWDM System Market Report Scope:

Report Attributes Details Market Size in 2024 USD 9.9 Billion Market Size by 2032 USD 18.6 Billion CAGR CAGR of 8.24% From 2025 to 2032 Base Year 2024 Forecast Period 2024-2032 Historical Data 2021-2023 Report Scope & Coverage Market Size, Segments Analysis, Competitive Landscape, Regional Analysis, DROC & SWOT Analysis, Forecast Outlook Key Segments  By Services (System Integration, Consulting, Support and Maintenance)

 By Product (Transmitter and Receiver, Transmission Media, DMUX, Optical Amplifier, Regenerator, Transponders)

 By Verticals (IT and Telecom, Government, BFSI, Manufacturing, Automotive, Healthcare, Others) Customization Scope Available upon request Pricing Available upon request

Recent Developments:

On September 23, 2024 - Nokia deployed a high-performance cross-border DWDM network for International Gateway Company Limited (IGC) in Thailand. Utilizing Nokias latest Photonic Service Engine (PSE) chipset, the network enhances capacity and energy efficiency, supporting hyperscaler connectivity demands across regions.

- Nokia deployed a high-performance cross-border DWDM network for International Gateway Company Limited (IGC) in Thailand. Utilizing Nokias latest Photonic Service Engine (PSE) chipset, the network enhances capacity and energy efficiency, supporting hyperscaler connectivity demands across regions. On March 5, 2025  ZTE, in collaboration with China Telecom, completed the worlds first C+L band integrated 80800G WDM trial on a live network. The trial demonstrated flexible wavelength adjustment within a 12 THz ultra-wide spectrum and rapid wavelength switching in approximately 30 seconds.

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Exclusive Sections of the Report (The USPs):

DWDM Deployment Rates By Network Type  helps you understand the penetration of DWDM systems across core, metro, and access networks, revealing adoption disparities and modernization levels within telecom infrastructure.

 helps you understand the penetration of DWDM systems across core, metro, and access networks, revealing adoption disparities and modernization levels within telecom infrastructure. Bandwidth Demand Growth, By Region (20202025)  helps you identify high-growth regions driving network expansion, enabling strategic investment decisions based on data traffic evolution and regional digitalization trends.

 helps you identify high-growth regions driving network expansion, enabling strategic investment decisions based on data traffic evolution and regional digitalization trends. Capital Investment In Optical Transport Infrastructure, By Region  helps you assess regional funding priorities, uncovering where telecom operators and governments are channeling investments to strengthen high-capacity network backbones.

 helps you assess regional funding priorities, uncovering where telecom operators and governments are channeling investments to strengthen high-capacity network backbones. DWDM Equipment Shipments By Application Segment  helps you track demand patterns across key application areas such as data centers, 5G transport, and enterprise connectivity, indicating market readiness and technology diffusion.

 helps you track demand patterns across key application areas such as data centers, 5G transport, and enterprise connectivity, indicating market readiness and technology diffusion. Technological Innovation Index  helps you evaluate ongoing advancements in wavelength multiplexing, transponder efficiency, and network scalability, offering insights into emerging opportunities for vendors and investors.

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Austin, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The High-speed Interconnects Market size was valued at USD 40.2 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 87.6 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 10.25% during 2025-2032.

The growing need for cloud services, data centers, and high-performance computing is driving the expansion of the high-speed interconnects market. Another factor driving market expansion is the growing use of AI, IoT, and 5G technologies. increasing need for data-intensive applications, such as cloud computing, AI, machine learning, and streaming 4K and 8K video. The efficiency needed for ultra-fast data transfer with low latency, which is required in data centers and enterprise networks, cannot be achieved by traditional interconnects.





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The U.S. high-speed interconnects market size in 2024 is estimated to be around USD 11.81 billion and is projected to reach USD 25.5 billion by 2032, growing at a strong CAGR of 10.1% during the period between 2024 to 2032.

The increasing use of optical interconnects, the development of standards, such as Compute Express Link and Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express, and the acceleration of artificial intelligence and internet of things technologies are the factors propelling this market's expansion.

Segmentation Analysis:

By Type

The direct attach cables segment dominated the market and accounted for 71% of the high-speed interconnects market share in 2024 as it is more cost-effective than other alternatives, and can be deployed more easily in short-distance data center applications. The active optical cables segment is expected to register the fastest CAGR during the forecast period due to the rising demand for data centers and telecom networks which requires high-bandwidth, long-distance interconnects.

By Application

The data centers segment dominated the high-speed interconnects market and accounted for 42% of revenue share in 2023 due to the increased growth of hyperscale facilities and demand for low-latency, high-bandwidth connections. The telecom segment is anticipated to have fastest CAGR during the forecast period, induced by 5G deployment, edge computing and IoT explosion. The increasing need for high speed data transfer in mobile networks and low latency is driving the adoption of high-speed interconnect in mobile networks, especially in developing regions.

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Regional Insights:

North America dominated the high-speed interconnects market in 2024 and accounted for 37% of revenue share, driven by a mature IT infrastructure, high levels of large-scale data center implementation, and higher speed of AI and cloud technology adoption.

Asia Pacific region is anticipated to register the fastest CAGR, due to modernization, a rise in the data center across China, India, and Singapore, and government initiatives for prompt infrastructure development.

High-speed interconnects are being demanded in Europe due to the growing need for data localization, green data centers, and the development of AI and quantum computing. Digital adoption is expected to be accelerated by increased regulatory support and investments in digital infrastructure, while the overall growth of the major economies is expected to remain stable until 2032.

Key Players:

Broadcom

Intel

Cisco Systems

NVIDIA (Mellanox)

Amphenol

TE Connectivity

Molex

Samtec

Huawei Technologies

Leoni AG

High-speed Interconnects Market Report Scope:

Report Attributes Details Market Size in 2024 USD 40.2 Billion Market Size by 2032 USD 87.6 Billion CAGR CAGR of 10.25 % From 2025 to 2032 Base Year 2024 Forecast Period 2025-2032 Historical Data 2021-2023 Report Scope & Coverage Market Size, Segments Analysis, Competitive Landscape, Regional Analysis, DROC & SWOT Analysis, Forecast Outlook Key Segments  By Type (Direct Attach Cables (DAC), Active Optical Cables (AOC))

 By Application (Data Center, Telecom, Consumer Electronics, Networking & Computing) Customization Scope Available upon request Pricing Available upon request

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Recent Developments:

In March 2025, at OFC 2025, Broadcom showcased advancements in co-packaged optics (CPO), 200G/lane DSP and SerDes, and PCIe Gen6 over optics, highlighting a roadmap toward 200T optical interconnect solutions for AI infrastructure.

at OFC 2025, Broadcom showcased advancements in co-packaged optics (CPO), 200G/lane DSP and SerDes, and PCIe Gen6 over optics, highlighting a roadmap toward 200T optical interconnect solutions for AI infrastructure. In April 2025, Broadcom introduced the Sian3 and Sian2M AI networking chips, utilizing 3nm process technology to enhance performance and power efficiency, crucial for scaling AI and machine learning clusters.

Broadcom introduced the Sian3 and Sian2M AI networking chips, utilizing 3nm process technology to enhance performance and power efficiency, crucial for scaling AI and machine learning clusters. In April 2025, Researchers have developed neuromorphic optical signal processors enabling 1.6 Tbit/s data center interconnects over 5 km without using DSPs. These OSPs cut latency by 10,000 and energy use by 1,000, making them ideal for next-gen AI infrastructure.

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Ottawa, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global packaged food market size stood at USD 2.58 trillion in 2024 and is predicted to increase from USD 2.69 trillion in 2025 to reach around USD 3.93 trillion by 2034, according to a report published by Towards FnB, a sister firm of Precedence Research. This upward trajectory highlights a global shift toward ready-to-eat and easy-to-prepare meal formats, especially across urban and working populations.

The rising middle class and an increase in disposable income, specifically in developing nations, are predicted to drive demand for packaged foods. As users shift towards healthier options like plant-based, organic, and fortified foods, the packaged food sector is developing to align with these choices.

Note: This report is readily available for immediate delivery. We can review it with you in a meeting to ensure data reliability and quality for decision-making.

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Packaged Food Market Overview, Insights & Potential

The packaged food is defined as the food that is generated by classifying unfrozen or frozen food in an airtight container, which can be directly cooked by heating in a microwave or kept in a refrigerator for a longer period. The packaged food is linked to elements such as consumption, convenient cooking, and safety from external tampering. The main elements that develop the growth of packaged food are updating the lifestyle, developing health awareness, and the convenience of consumption.

Packaging materials that are utilised for food should be easy to showcase, carry, open, and close the packaged food, which is categorized as having higher water content and lower water content.

Lower water content packaged food includes pastry, bread, cereal-based products, and butter, too.

High water content packaged food includes sauces, vegetables, cheese, eggs, and milk products, and integration.

Major Imports of the Packaged Food

As per the Worldwide Global import data, the globe has imported 15,665 shipments of the Packaged Food importer during the period June 2024 to May 2025. These imports were being supplied by 2,826 exporters to 1,654 overall buyers, which marks a growth rate of 64% as compared to the leading twelve months.

During this period, in May 2025 alone, the World had imported 19 Packaged Food shipments. This has marked a year-on-year development as compared to May 2024 and a 0% series increase from April 2025.

What are Latest Trends in the Packaged Food Market?

Busy Lifestyles : The people who have more dual-income households and busy work schedules, ease has become of top importance. Packaged foods have saved time on making without adjusting the taste.

: The people who have more dual-income households and busy work schedules, ease has become of top importance. Packaged foods have saved time on making without adjusting the taste. Trust and Quality : Branded packaged foods serve a sense of reliability linked to hygiene, nutritional information, and quality, which is an important factor for health-aware consumers.

: Branded packaged foods serve a sense of reliability linked to hygiene, nutritional information, and quality, which is an important factor for health-aware consumers. Health Awareness : Antithetical to regular beliefs, current packaged foods frequently link to health-conscious particulars, which serve low-calorie, gluten-free, fortified, and organic options.

: Antithetical to regular beliefs, current packaged foods frequently link to health-conscious particulars, which serve low-calorie, gluten-free, fortified, and organic options. Variety and Innovation : The huge array of flavors and products, which includes international cuisines, caters to different taste choices.

: The huge array of flavors and products, which includes international cuisines, caters to different taste choices. Health Labelling: Health and wellness have been encouraging trends in terms of packaged food for many years, but the drivers are updating. The rising popularity of GPL-1 weight loss drugs will probably cause major moves in food consumption. While U.S usage of these medications is significantly low, the developed acceptance will have a long-term effect on packaged food.

Health and wellness have been encouraging trends in terms of packaged food for many years, but the drivers are updating. The rising popularity of GPL-1 weight loss drugs will probably cause major moves in food consumption. While U.S usage of these medications is significantly low, the developed acceptance will have a long-term effect on packaged food. Farm to Fork Sustainability: Users care about sustainability more than ever, and packaged food brands can showcase their loyalty to the environment in different ways. Giving importance to sustainable sourcing, sustainable farming, and the local production practices proves an important commitment to curing food insecurity.

Users care about sustainability more than ever, and packaged food brands can showcase their loyalty to the environment in different ways. Giving importance to sustainable sourcing, sustainable farming, and the local production practices proves an important commitment to curing food insecurity. Supply chain transparency: Consumers are urging more information about the beginning of their food, with several brands using QR codes and digital labels to provide data on sourcing and nutritional value, too.



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Recent Developments in the Packaged Food Market

In May 2025, Tata Consumer plans to expand its food and beverage business with the latest product launches and partnerships. Keeping in mind premium foods, functional drinks, and chosen market entry, the FMCG form focuses on urban growth and evolving user demand to drive the future income. (Source: https://www.financialexpress.com)

In September 2025, NSF has currently revealed its NSF P525: Safe Food Packaging rule. It has solved food contract chemicals, that which are mutagenic, carcinogenic, and reprotoxic, no accumulators, and endocrine disruptors. (Source: https://www.foodengineeringmag.com)

In June 2025, Coveris revealed a new board-based MAP Tray solution for the fish, meat, and poultry industry. The new BarrierFresh MAP tars are said to lower down plastic by 90% in the middle of tracking shelf-life and recyclability. (Source: https://packagingscotland.com)

In January 2024, the API group and its subsidiary Accredo Packaging, a producer of more sustainable packaging solutions in terms of food and user products, has partnered with the Fresh-Lock team at Presto Products, which is a business of Reynolds Consumer Products, to reveal a first-of-its-kind flexible stand-up pouch. (Source: https://www.businesswire.com

Packaged Food Market Dynamics

Opportunity

E-commerce drives the packaged food industry

The fast development of e-commerce has changed packaging, which drives the urge for sustainable, reliable solutions that protect products during transformation while lowering the environmental impact. Organizations are accepting sustainable materials and updated designs to align with developing online order volumes and meet consumer expectations for sustainability.

With respect to the worldwide e-commerce packaging industry, food and beverages packaging tops the packaging sector because of increasing online orders, consumer choices, and brand loyalty initiatives. Packaging now plays an important role in enriching product safety, reinforcing brand identity, and minimising shipping costs, which underlines its importance in e-commerce growth.

Challenge

Various regulations of packaged food industry to create hurdles

Food packaging is subject to rigid regulations that vary by region and industry. Compliance with national, local, and international standards can be a discouraging task for food producers, who need minute attention to safety guidelines, labelling, and consumer protection laws, too.

Packaging must precisely convey the information, such as allergens, ingredients, and nutritional values, while also sticking to legal requirements linking tamper evidence and traceability. The growing urge for transparency adds another layer of complexity.

Users are heavily finding detailed information about the origin of their food, which includes sourcing practices and the eco-friendly effect of the packaging materials.

Due to this, food companies should definitely invest in rigid labelling systems that serve clear and precise information, transparency, and develop loyalty without alienating consumers.

Top Technological Advancements in the Packaged Food Market

Nanotechnology is playing an important role in the updation of food packaging. One should be thankful for the usage of nanoscale materials; packaging can now serve high-level functionalities like oxygen and humidity regulation, pathogen detection, and even the managed release of preservatives in order to expand the food shelf life. These smart materials can react to surrounding changes, ensuring perfect product preservation and developing food safety.

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Packaged Food Market Regional Analysis

The North America dominated the packaged food market in 2024, because this region's packaged food is experiencing a major transformation that is driven by consumer values, a developing focus on sustainability and wellness, and the development of technology. Main trends that are included are the rising urge for ease and ready-to-eat meals, the development of private label brands that serve high quality at a lower price, and a rigid push towards plant-based and eco-friendly items.

The governments and consumers are encouraging more eco-friendly options. The fastest-growing segment for packaging materials is now paper and paper-dependent products that have flexible pouches that are also growing in popularity due to their lower material usage.

For instance, to this,

In October 2025, Several product launches from Pepsico will spread across the organization's snack and beverage brands that market such traits as olive, protein, and avocado oils, and no artificial ingredients. Purchase-based PepsiCo gave details that it plans to launch new products in October. (Source: https://www.foodbusinessnews)

In May 2025, Ferroro North America is a space of the global sweet-packaged food company Ferroo Groups that has disclosed its slate of latest inventions for the future twelve months at the Sweet and Snacks Expo 2025. (Source: https://www.prnewswire.com

Asia Pacific Packaged Food Market Trends

The Asia-Pacific packaged food is a huge spot overall, with major development capability, particularly in the developing economies like India and Indonesia. Developing disposable income and urbanization complete the demand for convenient and packaged meals. Users in the Asia Pacific, specifically among the Gen Z and millennials, give importance to ease for their fast-paced lifestyle. At the same time, they find flavor growth and indulgence that lead to the urge for different snack experiences and the fusion flavors.

For instance, to this,

In August 2025, McCain Foods introduced a new brand identity, and the packaging in India showcases the companys commitment to responsibly sourcing. The disclosure was being created at an event in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, where McCains operations in India have grown. (Source: https://www.packaging-gateway.com)



Packaged Food Market Report Scope

Report Attribute Key Statistics Base Year 2024 Forecast Period 2025 to 2034 Growth Rate from 2025 to 2034 CAGR of 4.3% Market Size in 2025 USD 2.69 Trillion Market Size in 2026 USD 2.81 Trillion Market Size by 2034 USD 3.93 Trillion Dominated Region North America Fastest Growing Region Asia Pacific Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa



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Packaged Food Market Segmental Analysis

Product Type Analysis

The snacks segment has dominated the market in 2024, as snack foods are being packed by using different methods to protect them from the surrounding factors like moisture, oxygen, and light that cause rancidity and staleness. The most prevalent strategy is to include automated systems that complete bags or pouches containing the product and pack them with an inert gas such as nitrogen.

Folding sleeves and crayons are utilised for products like cookies and bracelets. They serve perfect printability for branding, and you can choose a packed plastic tray or an inner wrapper, too.

The health and nutrition/functional foods segment is expected to rise fastest during the forecast period. This type of food is being packed by using specialized techniques, such as modified atmosphere packaging, which involves updating the gas composition inside a package to slow down the development of delay and microbial spoilage. For developing products like fresh vegetables and fruits, sensitive films enable a precisely managed exchange of gases. The natural materials, such as carbohydrates, protein, and waxes, can be used to make a thin and edible layer on the food. These coverings reduce water loss, protect against pollutants, and can be developed with vitamins and antioxidants to add extra nutrition.

Packaging Type Analysis

The bottled segment has dominated the market in 2024, as glass can be reused several times. Its lifecycle affects usage is also much lesser than that of single-use plastics. It has a highly heat-opposition nature. Hence, it tracks a constant internal temperature for a longer time than other materials. This is a main factor for the hot-filled and cold-storage beverages.

The beverage sector utilises plastic greatly. Hence, given the huge spread of toxic nature linked with plastic. The material is under rigid regulatory checking. By using the glass, luxury brands reduce the fame and meet themselves with the new age that is responsible for consumer predictions.

The flexible pouches and stand-up pouches segment is expected to rise fastest during the forecast period. Flexible packaging is one of the most cutting-edge and rapidly developing segments of the packaging sector. It is a current solution that enables manufacturers to align with the evolving demands of the environment and consumers. Like the rigid packaging (such as metal cans and glass bottles), flexible packaging uses flexible materials like foils, plastic films, and paper that can fold, bend, or stretch depending on the products demand.

On the other hand, stand-up pooches are famous for their potential to stand up on shelves that serve greater visibility. These kinds of pouches are ideal for pet foods, snacks, and even beverages.

Distribution Channel Analysis

The supermarkets and hypermarkets segment has dominated the market in 2024, and cooking demonstrations and tastings are becoming an in-store packaged food display trend that is developing the shopping experience. By making the space in which users can seek chefs to prepare recipes by using the store's ingredients, supermarkets create an engaging atmosphere that pushes customers to try the latest products. Also, the themed spaces in the supermarkets are an innovative way to make shopping more exciting and delightful.

The online grocery and e-commerce pouches segment is expected to rise fastest during the forecast period. This segment primarily gained attention as a time-saving solution for urban users. But at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, it changed into a compulsion, which drives countless developments. Customers who once hesitated in order to buy sensitive goods at an online store became used to digital platforms like Blinkit, Amazon, doorstep delivery, and secure payments for packaged food products.

The online grocery and e-commerce is forecast to rise mainly in the future years, fueled by developing internet penetration, the urge for innovation in logistics, and with sustainability and personalization, the sector is expected to expand into new niches such as organic produce, zero-waste delivery, and meal kits.

End-User / Consumer Type Analysis

The general adult consumers segment dominated the market in 2024, in several regions, packaged food for the general adult is being regulated by food safety authorities, and how it is being processed and protected changes greatly. For users, using packaged food safely includes understanding how to read the labels, selecting various levels of processing, and keeping them correct. All the packaged foods must accurately state the product name, ingredient list, producer's brand owner, and nutritional information too.

The senior/older adults segment is expected to rise fastest during the forecast period. Senior adult are using the packaged foods initially for ease and to make sure they align with their nutritional value, particularly when health conditions, lack of encouragement, and reduced mobility. While the packaged foods serve main advantages, older adults must be aware of the drawbacks, such as high sodium or sugar content, and challenging packaging.

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Additional Topics Worth Exploring:

Tea Market : The global tea market size is projected to expand from USD 30.25 billion in 2025 to USD 54.68 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 6.8% during the forecast period from 2025 to 2034

: The global size is projected to expand from USD 30.25 billion in 2025 to USD 54.68 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 6.8% during the forecast period from 2025 to 2034 Beverage Packaging Market: The global beverage packaging market size is projected to reach USD 271.80 billion by 2034, growing from USD 173.71 billion in 2025, at a CAGR of 5.1% during the forecast period from 2025 to 2034.

The global size is projected to reach USD 271.80 billion by 2034, growing from USD 173.71 billion in 2025, at a CAGR of 5.1% during the forecast period from 2025 to 2034. Gluten Free Food Market: The global gluten free food market size increasing from USD 14.25 billion in 2025 and is expected to surpass USD 33.59 billion by 2034, with a projected CAGR of 10% during the forecast period from 2025 to 2034.

The global size increasing from USD 14.25 billion in 2025 and is expected to surpass USD 33.59 billion by 2034, with a projected CAGR of 10% during the forecast period from 2025 to 2034. Canned Wines Market: The global canned wines market size is expected to increase from USD 127.88 million in 2025 to USD 332.46 million by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 11.2% throughout the forecast period from 2025 to 2034.

The global size is expected to increase from USD 127.88 million in 2025 to USD 332.46 million by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 11.2% throughout the forecast period from 2025 to 2034. Plant-Based Protein Market: The global plant-based protein market size is projected to expand from USD 20.33 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach USD 43.07 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 8.7% during the forecast period from 2025 to 2034.

The global size is projected to expand from USD 20.33 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach USD 43.07 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 8.7% during the forecast period from 2025 to 2034. Bakery Product Market : The global bakery product market size is rising from USD 507.46 billion in 2025 to USD 821.62 billion by 2034. This projected expansion reflects a CAGR of 5.5% during the forecast period from 2025 to 2034.

: The global size is rising from USD 507.46 billion in 2025 to USD 821.62 billion by 2034. This projected expansion reflects a CAGR of 5.5% during the forecast period from 2025 to 2034. Coconut Products Market: The global coconut products market size is expected to climb from USD 14.18 billion in 2025 to approximately USD 33.71 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 10.1% during the forecast from 2025 to 2034.

The global is expected to climb from USD 14.18 billion in 2025 to approximately USD 33.71 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 10.1% during the forecast from 2025 to 2034. Pet Food Market: The global pet food market size is expected to increase from USD 113.02 billion in 2025 to USD 167.97 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 4.5% throughout the estimated timeframe from 2025 to 2034.

The global is expected to increase from USD 113.02 billion in 2025 to USD 167.97 billion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 4.5% throughout the estimated timeframe from 2025 to 2034. Organic Food Market: The global organic food market size is expected to grow from USD 253.96 billion in 2025 to USD 660.25 billion by 2034, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.20% during the forecast period from 2025 to 2034.



Top Companies in the Packaged Food Market

Danone

Unilever

General Mills

Kellogg Company

Mars, Incorporated

Conagra Brands

Grupo Bimbo

Campbell Soup Company

Hormel Foods

Coca-Cola Company (food & beverage portfolio)

Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

CJ CheilJedang

Smithfield Foods (WH Group)

National Beef

Segments Covered in the Report

By Product Type

Snacks (chips/crisps, savory snacks, snack bars)

Potato & corn snacks Extruded snacks Snack bars & bites

Beverages Non-alcoholic (soft drinks, juices, ready-to-drink tea/coffee)

Carbonated beverages Juices & nectars RTD tea/coffee

Dairy & Frozen (milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, frozen meals)

Yogurt & fermented dairy Ice cream & frozen desserts Frozen ready meals

Bakery & Confectionery (bread, cakes, biscuits, chocolate)

Packaged bread & rolls Biscuits & cookies Confectionery & chocolate

Meat & Poultry (ready meals, processed meats)

Packaged processed meats Ready-to-eat meat products

Health & Nutrition/Functional Foods (fortified, protein, organic)

Fortified/functional snacks & meals Protein bars/powders in packaged formats

Canned & Ready Meals (soups, canned meals, retort pouches)

Canned vegetables/meats Retort ready meals

Confectionery (candies, sugar confectionery)

Hard candies & gummies Toffees & chews

Sauces, Dressings & Condiments

Cooking sauces & meal bases Salad dressings & condiments

Oils & Fats (cooking oils, spreads)

Vegetable & blended oils Spreads & margarines

Baby Food (jarred/pouched infant foods)

Others (ethnic specialties, niche)

By Packaging Type

Bottled (PET/glass beverages, sauces in bottles)

PET beverage bottles Glass bottles for premium/health SKUs

Flexible pouches & stand-up pouches

Reclosable pouches (snacks, purees) Retort pouches (ready meals)

Canned / Metal packaging

Beverage cans Food cans (vegetables, soups)

Rigid plastic tubs & trays

Yogurt tubs, deli trays

Aseptic cartons / Tetra Pak

Shelf-stable milk & juices

Frozen bags / film wraps

Frozen meal bags & film-wrapped trays

Glass jars

Jams, pickles, sauces

Sachets & stick packs

Bulk/industrial packaging (BIB, drums)

Other / Mixed formats

By Distribution Channel

Supermarkets / Hypermarkets / Modern Grocery

Online Grocery / E-commerce

Traditional / Independent Retail / Mom-and-Pop

Convenience Stores / C-stores

Cash & Carry / Wholesale Clubs

Foodservice / HoReCa (packaged goods for foodservice)

Direct-to-Consumer / Subscription Boxes

Other channels

By End-User/Consumer Type

General adult consumers (household grocery buyers)

Seniors / Older adults

Children (012)

Teenagers (1317)

Infants (02; baby food)

Other / Institutional consumers

By Region

North America

U.S.

Canada

Asia Pacific

China

Japan

India

South Korea

Thailand



Europe

Germany

UK

France

Italy

Spain

Sweden

Denmark

Norway

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Argentina



Middle East and Africa (MEA)

South Africa

UAE

Saudi Arabia

Kuwait

Thank you for exploring our insights. For more targeted information, customized chapter-wise sections and region-specific editions such as North America, Europe, or Asia Pacificare also available upon request.

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EnviroGold Global Limited (CSE: NVRO | OTCQB: ESGLF | FSE: YGK) (EnviroGold or the Company) is pleased to announce two strategic leadership appointments that further strengthen the Companys capacity for growth and execution as it advances the commercialization of its proprietary NVRO Process, a clean-technology solution for recovering precious, base and critical metals from mine waste and tailings.

Arthur Gooch Appointed Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

EnviroGold has appointed Arthur Gooch, P.Eng., as Chief Technology Officer, effective immediately.

Arthur brings more than 20 years of global experience in process plant digital modelling and simulation, engineering and commissioning. He has extensive expertise in industrial automation, process innovation, digital transformation, artificial intelligence in industrial applications, and distributed control systems. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Arthur joins EnviroGold following a distinguished 20-year career with Andritz where he most recently served as Global Director of Autonomous Operations, leading international R&D programs that developed fully autonomous, AI-enabled industrial control systems.

Previously, Arthur held senior innovation and process-engineering roles within Andritz, including Director of Innovation and Manager of Process Control, where he pioneered AI-driven optimization platforms across mining, pulp and paper, and heavy industrial sectors.

We are pleased to welcome Arthur to the EnviroGold team, said Grant Freeman, Co-CEO of EnviroGold Global. Arthurs expertise uniquely positions him to help our clients reduce risk and costs as we advance through commercialization and commissioning. His appointment marks a major step forward in building the technological backbone for EnviroGolds deployment phase. His leadership in automation, AI, and process integration will help accelerate the NVRO Process from pilot to commercial scale, ensuring efficiency, repeatability, and superior performance.

EnviroGold represents the intersection of technology and sustainability, a company using innovation to redefine how the world accesses critical and precious metals, said Arthur Gooch. Im proud to join the team at this exciting stage and to help deploy the NVRO Process globally.

Mike Nelson Appointed Project Manager

EnviroGold is also pleased to announce the appointment of Mike Nelson as Project Manager, responsible for leading the Companys technical execution. Mikes focus includes operation of the Demonstration Plant campaigns, advancement of client project delivery initiatives, and the engineering and construction of the NVRO mobile pilot plant.

Mike brings over 30 years of international mining leadership experience, including senior technical and executive roles with major operators such as Barrick Gold Corporation, Gold Fields Limited, Teck Resources Limited and Newcrest Mining Limited. Most recently, he served as General Manager Projects for Chalice Mining, and prior to that, Project Director for Barricks Reko Diq Project in Pakistan and Director of Projects for Barrick Chile, overseeing large-scale gold-copper developments, including Pascua-Lama and Alturas-Del Carmen.

Mikes extensive global experience in developing and executing complex, multi-disciplinary mining projects adds exceptional depth to our project delivery capabilities and mining industry knowledge, said Grant Freeman His expertise in stakeholder engagement, operational excellence, and team leadership will be key as we scale our projects and deliver on our commercial commitments.

The NVRO Process has the potential to transform the resources industry by turning legacy waste into a strategic resource and adding reserves to client balance sheets, said Mike Nelson. I look forward to helping EnviroGold execute its vision through disciplined project development and delivery.

About EnviroGold Global

EnviroGold Global Limited is a clean-technology company transforming the mining industry by recovering high-value metals from mine waste and tailings while reducing environmental liabilities. The Companys proprietary NVRO Process delivers efficient, low-carbon extraction of precious, base, and critical metals, aligning with the global demand for sustainable metal supply and responsible resource management. Operating under a capital-light technology-licensing model, EnviroGold combines innovation, scalability, and ESG performance to deliver recurring revenue and long-term shareholder value.

Investors can access the Q3 Investor Presentation on the Company's website at: https://envirogoldglobal.com/investors/, along with the Terra Studio Company Profile at: https://www.terrastudio.biz/blog/post/11325/on-the-cusp-of-formidable-growth/

CONTACTS:



Investor Cubed

Neil Simon, CEO

+1 647 258 3310

nsimon@investor3.ca

ir@envirogoldglobal.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws (collectively, forward-looking statements). Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by words such as expects, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, potential, plans, projects, targets, may, will, should, could, or similar expressions. These statements reflect the Companys current expectations or beliefs and are based on information currently available to the Company and/or assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable.

Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding, the Companys ability to advance the commercialization of the NVRO Process; the expected benefits of the NVRO Process, including efficiency, repeatability, cost reduction, and environmental performance; the anticipated roles and contributions of Arthur Gooch and Mike Nelson to the Companys technology development and project execution; the successful operation of the Demonstration Plant and development of the NVRO mobile pilot plant; and the Companys plans, strategies, and expectations regarding future growth, commercialization, and deployment of its technology.

Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, risks related to: the development, scale-up, and commercialization of new technology; project execution and commissioning risks; reliance on key personnel; fluctuations in commodity prices; regulatory and environmental approvals; access to financing; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Companys public disclosure documents available under its profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
CHANTILLY, Va., Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Parsons Corporation (NYSE: PSN) announced today that the company was awarded an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract to modernize the U.S. Coast Guards (USCG) Biometrics at Sea System (BASS 2.0). The BASS platform is a critical tool for maritime law enforcement operations and enables the Coast Guard to collect and analyze biometric data, including fingerprints and facial recognition, to verify identities, recognize threats, and enhance security by connecting to national and international databases. This award has a five-year performance period and represents new work for the company.

Parsons is proud to partner with the U.S. Coast Guard on this vital modernization effort that will enhance operational efficiency and expand biometric capabilities to meet the evolving needs of maritime law enforcement and national security, said Jon Moretta, president, Engineered Systems for Parsons. Our team is committed to delivering advanced technology solutions that empower the Coast Guard to achieve its mission of ensuring the nation's maritime safety, security and stewardship.

Under this contract, Parsons will provide personnel for strategic planning and technical expertise to support the software and hardware of the companys JavelinXL devices and the Ares Gateway, which are key components of the BASS platform. Parsons will also supply and deploy JavelinXL devices to Coast Guard units conducting maritime law enforcement activities.

Parsons JavelinXL kits and Ares Gateway will provide the Coast Guard with cutting-edge tools to collect and analyze biometric data in real-time, enabling faster identity verification and improved threat detection during critical missions. The JavelinXL devices are rugged, Android-based handhelds designed for multi-modal biometric capture, including four-finger slap prints, dual-iris scans, facial imagery, and voice data and are in use by federal customers around the world. Managed through Parsons Ares mobile application, these devices provide lightweight, modular, and efficient solutions for collecting and integrating biometric data in dynamic maritime environments.

Parsons has delivered over 3,500 mobile biometrics solutions to customers including the intelligence community, Department of Defense, and law enforcement customers. For more information about Parsons' identity solutions for national security, visit parsons.com/identity-management-and-biometrics/.

About Parsons

Parsons (NYSE: PSN) is a leading disruptive technology provider in the national security and global infrastructure markets, with capabilities across cyber and electronic warfare, space and missile defense, transportation, water and environment, urban development, and critical infrastructure protection. Please visit Parsons.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook to learn how we're making an impact.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This document contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, beliefs and assumptions, and are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to uncertainties, risks, changes in circumstances, trends and factors that are difficult to predict, many of which are outside of our control. Accordingly, actual performance, results and events may vary materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements, and you should not rely on the forward-looking statements as predictions of future performance, results or events. Numerous factors could cause actual future performance, results and events to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements, including, among others: any issue that compromises our relationships with the U.S. federal government or its agencies or other state, local or foreign governments or agencies; any issues that damage our professional reputation; changes in governmental priorities that shift expenditures away from agencies or programs that we support; our dependence on long-term government contracts, which are subject to the governments budgetary approval process; the size of our addressable markets and the amount of government spending on private contractors; failure by us or our employees to obtain and maintain necessary security clearances or certifications; failure to comply with numerous laws and regulations; changes in government procurement, contract or other practices or the adoption by governments of new laws, rules, regulations and programs in a manner adverse to us; the termination or nonrenewal of our government contracts, particularly our contracts with the U.S. federal government; our ability to compete effectively in the competitive bidding process and delays, contract terminations or cancellations caused by competitors protests of major contract awards received by us; our ability to generate revenue under certain of our contracts; any inability to attract, train or retain employees with the requisite skills, experience and security clearances; the loss of members of senior management or failure to develop new leaders; misconduct or other improper activities from our employees or subcontractors; our ability to realize the full value of our backlog and the timing of our receipt of revenue under contracts included in backlog; changes in the mix of our contracts and our ability to accurately estimate or otherwise recover expenses, time and resources for our contracts; changes in estimates used in recognizing revenue; internal system or service failures and security breaches; and inherent uncertainties and potential adverse developments in legal proceedings, including litigation, audits, reviews and investigations, which may result in materially adverse judgments, settlements or other unfavorable outcomes. These factors are not exhaustive and additional factors could adversely affect our business and financial performance. For a discussion of additional factors that could materially adversely affect our business and financial performance, see the factors included under the caption Risk Factors in our Registration Statement on Form S-1 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements are based on currently available information and speak only as of the date on which they are made. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement made in this presentation that becomes untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise, except to the extent we are required to do so in connection with our ongoing requirements under federal securities laws.

Media Contact:

Bernadette Miller

+1 980.253.9781

bernadette.miller@parsons.com

Investor Relations Contact:

Dave Spille

+1 703.775.6191

Dave.Spille@parsons.us
TORONTO, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading representatives from labour, industry and government in the agrifood sector in Canada met in Toronto on November 5 to discuss the future of decent work in the sector in Canada, building upon the model of social dialogue recommended in the International Labour Organizations (ILO) Decent work guidelines for the agrifood sector.

Hosted in conjunction with the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF), a global union federation of agrifood workers, this event brought together representatives from Canadas large agrifood employers, the federal government, and the food workers union as social partners.

In 2023, the International Labour Organization (ILO) released the Decent work guidelines for the agrifood sector, calling for organizations to host events such as this one to foster social dialogue between employers, government and labour to advance the guidelines. While Europe has held social partner discussions on decent work for many years, this structure is relatively new in Canada; the first of its kind was held in May 2025 by UFCW Canada.

Decent work is defined by the ILO as a summation of the aspirations of people in their working lives, including productive employment with a fair income, security in the workplace, personal development, freedom and equality, and fundamental labour rights, such as the freedom of association.

"This forum is an opportunity to bring together all major stakeholders across the food sector to advance an agenda for safe healthy and sustainable food systems across the country," said UFCW Canada National President Barry Sawyer. How can a food system be safe and healthy if the workers across the system feel insecure, disadvantaged, or disempowered? A sustainable food system must be just for all. A sustainable system must account for food worker justice from field to table if it is to be truly sustainable."

"We must approach decent work through the fundamental lens of human rights: every human right has equal value. Devaluing one human right devalues them all. The right to collective bargaining and the right to freedom of association are fundamental human right," said Mark Lauritsen, President of the IUF in his opening remarks. "How do we achieve decent work? By promoting and protecting every human right: let us have these conversations today not from a place of fear, but a place of hope."

The November 5 forum brought together Canadian agrifood stakeholders focused on the promotion of decent work in the sector.

In additional to the international representatives from the IUF and the ILO, Canadian labour voices included the Canadian Labour Congress, the Bakery, Confectionary, Tobacco and Grain Millers Union (BCTGM), the United Steelworkers (USW, and UFCW local union leaders from across the country.

Representatives from industry included some of Canadas leading agrifood employers such as Loblaws, Maple Leaf Food, Clearwater Seafood, Food and Beverage Canada, and Highline Mushrooms and more.

Governmental and institutional representatives included Employment and Social Development Canada, Agriculture and Agrifood Canada, the Ontario Ministry of Labour, the B.C. Ministry of Labour, the Future Skills Centre, Food Processing Skills Canada, and more.

Other attendees included representatives from the National Farmers Union, Ecojustice, Multicultural Societies of Service Agencies of British Columbia, CARE International, the German Confederation of Trade Unions, and more.

"Decent work is simple. As simple as the ability to get paid an adequate wage or income for the work that you do," says Christine Campeau, Global Policy Director for Food and Nutrition Systems at CARE International and Chairperson of the Social Partners Discussion that led to the Policy Guidelines for the Promotion of Decent Work in the Agri-Food Sector. "The only way that we can solve these problems and ensure decent work for everyone is really all sectors and stakeholders together. We need the employers, the government, the workers, the unions. Everybody at the table sharing their knowledge, their expertise, what they can and can't do, so that we can find a good pathway forward."

It's incredibly important when we're talking about food and beverage manufacturing to make sure that we have a stable and secure food supply chain, says Kristina Farrell, Chief Executive Officer, Food and Beverage Canada. We need to make sure that all employers are making sure that we have decent work, that we're following the principles from today, that we're doing whatever we can to retain employees, but also to make sure that we continue to attract new workers to our industry, to make sure that we can continue to secure our food supply chain.

Dr. Elvis Beytullayev of the ILO led sessions on recent global and regional developments regarding decent work in the agrifood sector. Dr. Raluca Bejan from Dalhousie University presented findings on current research examining the conditions of decent work within Canadas agrifood sector.

Other sessions focused on supply chain transparency and legislation, responsible business conduct, and human rights due diligence. Participants heard from experts about Canadas supply chain legislation, Germanys due diligence legislative framework, and human rights due diligence at Systembolaget, Swedens government-run alcohol retail organization.

Tripartite panel discussions between government, employer and worker representatives focused on human rights due diligence in the Canadian agrifood supply chains and the challenges facing the industry regarding the principles of decent work.

Panel discussions also included the unique challenges faced by migrant workers in the agrifood sector, and the necessity of a permanent pathway to permanent residency for migrant agrifood workers. In an example of social dialogue, UFCW Canada and the Canadian Meat Council have united in calling for a new immigration pathway for Canadas food sector workers. Individuals can write to their elected officials demanding permanent residency for food workers by joining UFCW Canadas action.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/83814f73-0c9a-4556-a267-442a21ffdacd
DENVER, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intermap Technologies (TSX: IMP; OTCQB: ITMSF) (Intermap or the Company), a global leader in 3D geospatial products and intelligence solutions, today announced that it plans to release third quarter 2025 financial results after market close on Thursday, November 13, 2025.

Intermaps CEO Patrick A. Blott and CFO Jennifer Bakken will host a live webinar on Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 5:00 pm ET to review the results, provide Company updates and answer investor questions following the presentation.

Intermap invites shareholders, analysts, investors, media representatives and other stakeholders to attend the earnings webinar to discuss third quarter 2025 results.

Conference Call Details

DATE



Thursday, November 13, 2025



TIME



5:00 pm ET



WEBCAST



Register





A recording of the webinar and supporting materials will be made available on the investor relations page of the Companys website.

Intermap Reader Advisory

Certain information provided in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate", "expect", "project", "estimate", "forecast", will be, will consider, intends and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Although Intermap believes that these statements are based on information and assumptions which are current, reasonable and complete, these statements are necessarily subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Intermaps forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties pertaining to, among other things, cash available to fund operations, availability of capital, revenue fluctuations, nature of government contracts, economic conditions, loss of key customers, retention and availability of executive talent, competing technologies, common share price volatility, loss of proprietary information, software functionality, internet and system infrastructure functionality, information technology security, breakdown of strategic alliances, and international and political considerations, as well as those risks and uncertainties discussed Intermaps Annual Information Form and other securities filings. While the Company makes these forward-looking statements in good faith, should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary significantly from those expected. Accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits that the Company will derive therefrom. All subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to Intermap or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the forward-looking statements made herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities law.

About Intermap Technologies

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Intermap (TSX: IMP; OTCQX: ITMSF) is a global leader in geospatial intelligence solutions. The Companys proprietary 3D NEXTMap elevation datasets and value-added geospatial collection, processing, analytics, fusion and orthorectification software and solutions are utilized across a range of industries that rely on accurate, high-resolution elevation data. Intermap helps governments build authoritative geospatial datasets and provides solutions for base mapping, transportation, environmental monitoring, topographic mapping, disaster mitigation, smart city integration, public safety and defense. The Companys commercial applications include aviation and UAV flight planning, flood and wildfire insurance, environmental and renewable energy planning, telecommunications, engineering, critical infrastructure monitoring, hydrology, land management, oil and gas and transportation. For more information, please visit www.intermap.com.

For more information, please contact:

Jennifer Bakken

Executive Vice President and CFO

CFO@intermap.com

+1 (303) 708-0955

Sean Peasgood

Investor Relations

Sean@SophicCapital.com

+1 (647) 260-9266
TORONTO, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arch Biopartners Inc ., (Arch or the Company) (TSX Venture: ARCH and OTCQB: ACHFF), announced today it has arranged a non-brokered private placement offering of 480,769 common shares priced at $1.04 per common share (the Common Shares) for gross proceeds of $500,000 CAD (the Offering).

The proceeds of the Offering will be used by Arch as general working capital and for certain operating expenses that are not covered by the Companys human trial funding grants. The Offering will close on November 12, 2025 and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of applicable regulatory approvals, including conditional and final approval from the TSX Venture Exchange, as well as the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

The Offering will involve the issuance of all 480,769 Common Shares to an officer of the Company and therefore a related party (as such term is defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101")) and therefore constitutes a related party transaction under MI 61-101. This transaction is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 pursuant to sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(a) of MI 61-101, as the fair market value of the Common Shares distributed and the consideration received from related party in the Private Placement does not exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization.

All Common Shares issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day from the closing date. There are no finders fees to be paid in connection with the Offering.

There is no material fact or material change about the Company that has not been generally disclosed.

About Arch Biopartners

Arch Biopartners Inc. is a therapeutic biotech company developing novel drugs for acute kidney injury (AKI) and chronic kidney diseases (CKD). The Company is advancing an integrated program that includes new treatments targeting inflammation- and toxin-related kidney injury.

Archs development pipeline includes:

LSALT peptide: Phase II trial targeting cardiac surgery associated-AKI

Phase II trial targeting cardiac surgery associated-AKI Cilastatin: Repurposed drug in Phase II trial targeting toxin-induced AKI

Repurposed drug in Phase II trial targeting toxin-induced AKI CKD Therapeutics: pre-clinical program targeting chronic kidney disease



These assets represent distinct, mechanism-based approaches to treating and preventing common causes of kidney damage. Together, they target serious unmet needs in kidney care across both chronic and acute indications, affecting millions of patients worldwide.

For more details about the Companys science and ongoing clinical trials, please visit: www.archbiopartners.com/our-science

Follow Arch on LinkedIn , Bluesky , and X (formerly Twitter) for scientific insights and industry news.

The Company has 66,356,366 common shares outstanding.

For more information, please contact:

Aaron Benson

Director of Communications

Arch Biopartners, Inc.

647-428-7031



Send a message or subscribe for email alerts at: www.archbiopartners.com/contact-us

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws regarding expectations of the Companys future performance, liquidity, and capital resources, as well as the ongoing development of its drug candidates targeting chronic kidney disease and the dipeptidase-1 (DPEP-1) pathway, including the outcome of its clinical trials relating to LSALT peptide (Metablok) or cilastatin, the successful commercialization and marketing of its drug candidates, whether the Company will receive, and the timing and costs of obtaining, regulatory approvals in Canada, the United States, Europe, and other countries, its ability to raise capital to fund its business plans, the efficacy of its drug candidates compared to the drug candidates developed by competitors, its ability to retain and attract key management personnel, and the breadth of, and its ability to protect, its intellectual property portfolio. These statements are based on managements current expectations and beliefs, including certain factors and assumptions, as described in the Companys most recent annual audited financial statements and related management discussion and analysis under the heading Business Risks and Uncertainties. As a result of these risks and uncertainties, or other unknown risks and uncertainties, the actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. The words believe, may, plan, will, estimate, continue, anticipate, intend, expect, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Additional information relating to Arch Biopartners Inc., including the Companys most recent annual audited financial statements, is available by accessing the Canadian Securities Administrators System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) website at www.sedarplus.ca .
DENVER , Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Yesterday, the Wenlay team held an online fireside chat with global community members, announcing the upcoming account abstraction features that will support two core functions: Gas Sponsorship and Social Recovery. The event attracted over 1,000 participants and focused on how innovative account abstraction models can lower user barriers and enhance overall security.

During the chat, the product lead at Wenlay elaborated on the implementation of the Gas Sponsorship mechanism. In the future, users will not only be able to pay transaction fees using platform tokens, but also have them sponsored by project teams or partnerssignificantly reducing the entry threshold for newcomers to the crypto world. Additionally, the mechanism will support various gas subsidy models, such as first transaction free and invite-to-earn gas, further incentivizing user participation in the ecosystem.

For Social Recovery, Wenlay has adopted a solution combining multi-signature and trusted contacts. Users can designate 35 trusted contacts as recovery guardians. If a private key is lost or a device is misplaced, access to the account can be restored with the approval of a majority of these guardians. This design avoids single points of failure while balancing user privacy and operational convenience.

During the discussion, community members offered several suggestions, including support for more social platform bindings and the addition of recovery delay mechanisms to prevent malicious actions. The Wenlay team committed to carefully evaluating these ideas and considering their integration into the beta version. Additionally, the team plans to launch an Account Abstraction Tutorial Series, featuring videos and documentation to help users understand and safely use the new features.

Reportedly, the beta test for these features will begin next month, with priority access given to active community members and early ecosystem developers. As account abstraction features are further refined, Wenlay is poised to become one of the most user-friendly Layer 2 networks, attracting more non-technical users to the blockchain world.

Media Contact



Company: Wenlay Technologies Co., Ltd.

Website: https://www.wenlay.org

Contact Person: Liam Foster

Email: liam@wenlay.org

Disclaimer: This content is provided by Wenlay Technologies Co., Ltd. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice. Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sectorincluding cryptocurrency, NFTs, and miningcomplete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed. Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility. Globenewswire does not endorse any content on this page.



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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2fe1a6ce-ea74-48a3-a0bc-b420d22e1751
REISSUED - CORRECTED VERSION

ANNOUNCEMENT

SUBMISSION OF REQUEST FOR THE REVISION OF THE VOLUNTARY SHARE EXCHANGE TENDER OFFER MADE BY EURONEXT N.V. (OFFEROR OR EURONEXT) FOR THE ORDINARY REGISTERED SHARES OF HELLENIC EXCHANGES-ATHENS STOCK EXCHANGE S.A. (ATHEX)

TENDER OFFER REVISION

1. In accordance with Article 21, paragraph 2 of Law 3461/2006 as in force (the Law), Euronext announces the following:

a) On 30 July 2025, (the Date of the Tender Offer) the Offeror submitted a voluntary tender offer (the Tender Offer) to acquire all ordinary registered shares, each having a nominal value of 0.42 (each, a ATHEX Share) issued by ATHEX, which Euronext and any persons acting in concert (as defined in article 2(e) of the Law) with Euronext, did not hold directly or indirectly as at the Date of the Tender Offer.

b) On 3 October 2025, the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (the HCMC) approved the information circular in connection with the Tender Offer (the Information Circular).

c) In the terms of the Tender Offer included in the Information Circular, Euronext had set as a prerequisite for the completion of the Tender Offer that no later than the end of the Acceptance Period, at least 38,759,500 ATHEX Shares, corresponding to at least 67% of ATHEXs total voting rights whose exercise is not subject to suspension, shall have been lawfully and validly tendered to the Offeror (the Minimum Number of Shares). Euronext had stated that this prerequisite may be amended in accordance with the provisions of the Law.

d) On 7 November 2025 (the Date of the Revision), Euronext submitted to the HCMC a request to revise the Tender Offer. According to the revised terms of the Tender Offer, the minimum number of shares that should have been lawfully and validly tendered to the Offeror for the Tender Offer to complete shall be equal to 28,925,001 ATHEX Shares, corresponding to 50% plus one (1) ATHEX Share of the total voting rights of ATHEX whose exercise is not subject to suspension (the Reduced Minimum Number of Shares).

e) The above revision of the Tender Offer in relation to the Reduced Minimum Number of Shares remains subject to approval by the HCMC in accordance with Article 21 of the Law.

f) The revision of the Tender Offer does not extend the acceptance period of the Tender Offer which started on 6 October 2025 and ends on 17 November 2025, at the end of the business hours of banks operating in Greece (the Acceptance Period).

2. Shareholders who have duly and validly accepted the Tender Offer in accordance with the acceptance procedure described in the Information Circular shall be deemed to have also accepted the revised terms of the Tender Offer.

3. This announcement does not substitute the full text of the Information Circular to which any interested party should refer and read carefully in conjunction with the section hereof headed TENDER OFFER REVISION.

4. Statement of the Advisor

Deutsche Bank AG is acting as advisor to Euronext in connection with the Tender Offer and has provided the following statement in accordance with article 12 of the Law:

The Tender Offer is an offer consisting exclusively of shares as consideration. For this reason, the credibility of the Tender Offer primarily depends on the Offerors ability to issue and deliver the required number of Consideration Shares to the Accepting Shareholders. Deutsche Bank AG has certified, as per paragraph 4.10 of the Information Circular, that the Offeror has the necessary means to pay the relevant clearance rights to ATHEXCSD, as set out in section 4.10 therein. Furthermore, the Offeror has taken all the corporate actions required and possible to be adopted up to the date of the Information Circular under the laws of The Netherlands in order to increase its share capital through contribution in kind and to issue the Consideration Shares, as described in the Information Circular and subject to the publication the Offerors Exemption Document enabling the issuance of the Consideration Shares (which has been satisfied) and the validly executed private deed of issuance. In addition, the Offeror has taken all appropriate measures in order to perform the additional actions expected to take place and outlined in sections 5.5 of the Information Circular and has appointed the Tender Agent and the Offerors DSS Participant in order to ensure the duly closing of the Tender Offer.

In light of the above, the Advisor considers the Tender Offer to be credible. The Offeror has taken all appropriate measures to be able to issue and deliver the Consideration Shares, as described above, and to complete the Tender Offer in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in the Information Circular, subject, however, to the revision to section 4.2 (Prerequisite and Conditions of the Tender Offer) described herein and to the occurrence of a force majeure event. In the event of force majeure, the relevant provisions of the Greek Civil Code on the failure to perform obligations without fault shall apply.

Nonetheless, the Advisor does not provide any guarantee (within the meaning of Article 847 of the Greek Civil Code) for the fulfilment by the Offeror of the obligation to offer the Consideration Shares or any monetary and other obligations undertaken by the Offeror in the context of the Tender Offer nor does it bear any liability within the meaning of article 729 of the Greek Civil Code.

IMPORTANT NOTICES

General

The Tender Offer described herein is addressed to holders of ATHEX Shares and only to persons to whom it may be lawfully addressed. The Tender Offer will be made in the territory of the Hellenic Republic. The making of the Tender Offer to specific persons who are residents in or nationals or citizens of jurisdictions outside the Hellenic Republic or to custodians, nominees or trustees of such persons (the Excluded Shareholders) may be made only in accordance with the laws of the relevant jurisdiction. It is the responsibility of the Excluded Shareholders and each person wishing to accept the Tender Offer to inform themselves of and ensure compliance with the laws of their respective jurisdictions in relation to the Tender Offer. If you have any doubts about your status, you should consult with your professional advisor in the relevant jurisdiction.

The Tender Offer is not being made, directly or indirectly, by mail or by any means in or into any jurisdiction within which, under its laws, rules and regulations, the submission, the making or the presentation of the Tender Offer or the mailing or distribution of the Information Circular to be approved by the HCMC a declaration of acceptance and any other document or material relevant thereto (together, the Relevant Documents) is illegal or contravenes any applicable legislation, rule or regulation (together, the Excluded Territories). Accordingly, copies of any such Relevant Documents and materials will not be, and must not be, directly or indirectly, mailed, distributed or otherwise sent to anyone or from anyone in or into or from any Excluded Territory.

No Offeror Shares have been offered or will be offered pursuant to the Tender Offer to the public in the United Kingdom, except that the Offeror Shares may be offered to the public in the United Kingdom at any time: (a) to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation; (b) to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation); or (c) in any other circumstances falling within Section 86 of the FSMA. Provided that no such offer of the Offeror Shares shall require Euronext or the Advisor to publish a prospectus pursuant to Section 85 of the FSMA or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the UK Prospectus Regulation. For the purposes of this provision, the expression an offer to the public in relation to the Offeror Shares in the United Kingdom means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any Offeror Shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any Offeror Shares and the expression UK Prospectus Regulation means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

The Consideration Shares have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), or the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States absent registration, or pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in compliance with any applicable state and other securities laws of the United States. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Consideration Shares in the United States. Euronext has no intention to register any part of the Tender Offer in the United States or make a public offering of the Consideration Shares in the United States. Any Consideration Shares offered in the United States will be offered only to (i) holders of the Company Shares located outside of the United States and (ii) holders of Company Shares located within the United States that are Qualified Institutional Buyers (as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act). Such holders of Company Shares will be required to make such acknowledgements and representations to, and agreements with, Euronext as Euronext may require establishing that they are entitled to receive Consideration Shares pursuant to an exemption from or in a transaction not subject to the registration requirements of the Securities Act. Accordingly, any holder of Company Shares located within the United States who is not a Qualified Institutional Buyer or who does not make such acknowledgement and representation to establish their entitlement to receive the Consideration Shares is ineligible to participate in the Tender Offer, and any purported acceptance of the Tender Offer by such holder will be ineffective and disregarded.

The Tender Offer is being made in the U.S. in reliance on the expected availability of the Tier II exemption pursuant to Rule 14d-1(d) of, and otherwise in compliance with Section 14E of, and Regulation 14E promulgated under, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), and otherwise in accordance with the requirements of Greek law. The Tender Offer is not subject to Section 14(d)(1) of, or Regulation 14D promulgated under, the Exchange Act. The Company is not currently subject to the periodic reporting requirements under the Exchange Act and is not required to, and does not, file any reports with the SEC thereunder.

Pursuant to exemptive relief granted by the SEC from Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act, during the period of the Tender Offer, Euronext may purchase, or arrange to purchase, whether directly or through any of its affiliates, any broker or other financial institution acting as its agent or any affiliates of any broker or other financial institution acting as its agent, shares of the Company as permitted by applicable law. The Offeror Shares are issued to the Company's existing shareholders in Singapore without the intention of being onsold there, and no documents issued by or on behalf of the Company may be used in any subsequent sale by these shareholders. The Information Circular has not been and will not be lodged with or registered as a prospectus under the Securities and Futures Act 2001 of Singapore with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Therefore, the Information Circular does not constitute an offer or invitation for the sale or purchase of the Offeror Shares in Singapore, whether directly or indirectly, and shall not form the basis of any contract for the issue or sale of the Consideration Shares in Singapore.

The Offeror Shares may not be marketed, offered or sold directly or indirectly to the public in the Peoples Republic of China (the PRC) and neither this announcement, which has not been submitted to the Chinese Securities and Regulatory Commission, nor any offering material or information contained herein relating to the issuance of the Offeror Shares, may be supplied to the public in the PRC or used in connection with any offer for the subscription or sale of shares to the public in the PRC. Offeror Shares may only be marketed, offered or sold to Chinese institution which are authorized to engage in foreign exchange, business and offshore investment from outside the PRC. Chinese investors may be subject to foreign exchange control approval and filing requirements under the relevant Chinese foreign exchange regulations, as well as offshore investment approval requirements.

This announcement is only made available to a limited number of "Professional Investors" within the meaning of the SCAs Board of Directors Decision No. 13 of 2021 Concerning the Financial Activities Rule Book, as amended. By receiving this announcement, the entity to whom it has been issued understands, acknowledges and agrees that it has not been approved by or filed with the UAE Central Bank, the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority, the Dubai Financial Services Authority ("DFSA"), the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi ("FSRA") or any other relevant regulatory or licensing authorities in the UAE, nor has the originator, or any other related party received authorization or licensing from the UAE Central Bank, the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority, the DFSA, the FSRA, or any other authorities in the UAE. This announcement does not constitute a public offer of Offeror Shares in the UAE in accordance with the UAE SCA Chairman of the Board Resolution No. (11/R.M) of 2016 On the Regulations for Issuing and Offering Shares of Public Joint Stock Companies, Federal Decree-No. 32 of 2021 on Commercial Companies, or otherwise. The announcement does not constitute a disclosure document for the purposes of the Australian Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act) and has not been submitted to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. If you have received this announcement in Australia, you represent and warrant that you are an existing shareholder of ATHEX and that you are a sophisticated investor, professional investor, or another investor to whom disclosure is not required under Part 6D.2 of the Corporations Act.

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Attachment
Ottawa, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global industrial enzymes market size was valued at USD 8.19 billion in 2024 and is anticipated to reach around USD 16.04 billion by 2034, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.95% over the forecast period from 2025 to 2034. North America dominated the industrial enzymes market with a market share of 38.65 % in 2024. The growth of the industrial enzymes market is primarily driven by increasing demand across several key sectors, including food & beverages, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and biofuels. A study published by Towards Chemical and Materials a sister firm of Precedence Research.

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What are Industrial Enzymes?

The global industrial enzymes market is expanding rapidly, driven by growing demand for sustainable and efficient manufacturing processes across multiple industries. These enzymes are widely used in sectors such as food & beverages, animal feed, detergents, biofuels, textiles, and pharmaceuticals, providing cost-effective and eco-friendly alternatives to traditional chemical processes. Advances in biotechnology and enzyme engineering are enhancing enzyme stability, specificity, and production efficiency, further fueling market growth.

Regional markets like North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific are witnessing significant adoption due to increasing industrialization and supportive government policies promoting green technologies. Key market players are focusing on strategic collaborations, mergers, and acquisitions to strengthen production capacities and global distribution networks.

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Industrial Enzymes Market Report Highlights

The U.S. industrial enzymes market size is estimated at USD 2.37 billion in 2025, and is expected to reach USD 4.66 billion by 2034, at a CAGR of 7.70% during the forecast period 2025-2034

North America dominated the industrial enzymes market and accounted for the largest revenue share of 38.65% in 2024.

By product, the carbohydrase segment accounted for the largest revenue share of 49.34% in 2024.

By application, The food and beverage segment held the largest revenue share of 22.65% in 2024.

By source, The microorganisms segment accounted for the largest revenue share of around 86.49% in 2024.



What are the main benefits of using industrial enzymes?

Improved efficiency: Enzymes can catalyze reactions much faster than chemical methods, which can help to improve the efficiency of industrial processes. This can lead to a reduction in production time and costs, as well as an increase in the yield of the final product.

Increased specificity: Enzymes are highly specific in the substrates they catalyze, meaning that they can target specific molecules or groups of molecules, rather than affecting a wide range of compounds. This can result in a higher purity of the final product and less waste.

Reduced environmental impact: Enzymes are biodegradable and can be derived from renewable resources, which can help to reduce the environmental impact of industrial processes. They also often operate at milder conditions than chemical catalysts, reducing the production of greenhouse gas emissions.

Cost-effectiveness: Enzymes are often cheaper to use than traditional chemical catalysts, since they can be produced on a large scale and can be used multiple times before they need to be replaced.

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Industrial Enzymes Market Report Scope

Report Attribute Details Market size value in 2025 USD 8.76 Billion Revenue forecast in 2034 USD 16.04 Billion Growth rate CAGR of 6.95% from 2025 to 2034 Base year for estimation 2024 Historical data 2021 - 2025 Forecast period 2025 - 2034 Segments covered Product, source, application, region Regional scope North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Middle East & Africa; Latin America Key companies profiled Novozymes; BASF SE; DuPont Danisco; DSM; NOVUS INTERNATIONAL; Associated British Foods Plc; Amano; Enzyme Inc.; Chr. Hansen Holding A/S; Advanced Enzyme Technologies; Lesaffre; Adisseo Enzyme Development Corporation (EDC)

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Types of Industrial Enzymes and Their Applications

1. Carbohydrate-Active Enzymes:



In the food industry, starch is a key ingredient in products like bread, bakery items, and many processed foods. It comes from plants like corn, potatoes, and wheat, and it plays an essential role as a thickener, water binder, and fat substitute. Starch is made up of two main componentsamylose and amylopectinboth of which are types of glucose units. To improve the functionality of starch, it is often modified through enzymes or chemicals. Key enzyme-driven processes include the creation of cyclodextrins (a type of starch derivative) and the breakdown of starch into simpler sugars for syrup production. These starch-based products are found in a wide variety of foods such as soft drinks, ice cream, baby food, and canned fruit. In the brewing and baking industries, enzymes like alpha-amylases help process starch and produce syrups or alcohol. These enzymes are often naturally present in raw food materials, or they can be sourced from plants or microorganisms.

2. Cellulases:



Cellulases are important in the textile industry, especially for the processing and finishing of materials made from cellulose (like cotton and hemp). These enzymes help improve the quality of fabrics by breaking down cellulose fibers. In particular, theyre used in the denim industry to create a faded or worn look on jeans without the need for pumice stones, in a process called bio-stoning. Cellulases also play a role in the cleaning and care of fabrics by brightening faded clothes and reducing lint. Additionally, they are used in biopolishing to enhance the appearance of textiles like cotton, hemp, and rayon, making the fabric softer and shinier.

3. Peptidases (Proteases):



Proteases are enzymes that break down proteins, and they are widely used across various industries. In the beer and alcohol industry, proteases help clear up haze in beer by breaking down proteins that cause cloudiness. In baking, proteases help break down gluten in dough, making it easier to work with and improving the texture of bread. For example, bromelain, a protease from pineapples, is often used to speed up dough relaxation and prevent shrinkage in baked goods. In the leather industry, proteases are used in a process called "bating," which softens leather and makes it more flexible by breaking down proteins. However, the enzymatic action is carefully controlled to avoid damaging the leather.

4. Lipases:



Lipases are enzymes that break down lipids (fats) and are used in a variety of industrial applications. These enzymes are highly versatile and can work with different types of fatty substances, including oils and fats from plants and animals. In the detergent industry, lipases help break down greasy stains on clothes. Lipases are also important in organic chemistry, where they are used in reactions like esterification and transesterification, particularly in the production of biodiesel and other chemicals. Their ability to work in organic solvents and their selectivity make them valuable in many industrial processes.

5. Nucleic Acid Enzymes:



DNA polymerases are enzymes that help replicate DNA and are crucial in genetic research and diagnostics. In medical diagnostics, DNA polymerases are used in PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) technology, which amplifies small amounts of DNA to make them detectable. PCR is essential in identifying the presence of pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria, in patients. For instance, its used to detect infections like tuberculosis, HIV, and viral hepatitis. PCR is also used in genetic testing to identify gene mutations that could lead to inherited diseases like cystic fibrosis or cancer. By amplifying specific genes, PCR helps doctors assess genetic risks in patients and their families.

6. Oxidoreductases:



Oxidoreductases are enzymes involved in redox reactions, where one molecule is oxidized and another is reduced. In the food industry, these enzymes are used for their antibacterial properties. For example, glucose oxidase (GOx) generates hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which can kill bacteria. In textile manufacturing, catalase (a type of oxidoreductase) is used to break down excess hydrogen peroxide after bleaching processes. This reduces water usage, helps minimize chemical waste, and makes the dyeing process more efficient.

Key Sustainability Trends in the Industrial Enzymes Industry

AI Revolutionizing the Industrial Enzymes Industry

Artificial intelligence (AI) is significantly transforming the industrial enzymes industry by enabling faster and more precise enzyme discovery and design. Machine learning algorithms can predict enzyme structures, functions, and stability, reducing the time and cost of research and development. AI-driven process optimization allows manufacturers to enhance enzyme production efficiency, improve yields, and lower operational costs. Predictive analytics helps in customizing enzyme formulations for specific industrial applications, increasing effectiveness and product performance. Additionally, AI facilitates quality control and real-time monitoring in manufacturing, ensuring consistent product standards.

What are the Key Trends of the Industrial Enzymes Market?

Market Opportunity

Rising Demand for Sustainable and Eco-Friendly Solutions

A major opportunity in the industrial enzymes market is the increasing demand for sustainable and environmentally friendly manufacturing processes. Industries such as food & beverages, detergents, textiles, and biofuels are seeking bio-based alternatives to reduce chemical usage and carbon footprint.

Enzymes provide energy-efficient, biodegradable, and non-toxic solutions that meet these sustainability goals. This trend also encourages innovation in enzyme engineering and process optimization, driving long-term growth in the market. Additionally, supportive government policies and incentives for green technologies are further boosting enzyme adoption.

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Industrial Enzymes Market Segmentation Insights

Product Insights

Which Product Leads the Industrial Enzymes Market?

The carbohydrase segment dominated the market with the highest largest share in 2024, due to their widespread applications across multiple industries such as food & beverages, biofuels, and animal feed. These enzymes efficiently break down complex carbohydrates into simpler sugars, enhancing product quality, yield, and digestibility. The growing demand for bioethanol and other renewable energy sources has further boosted carbohydrase usage in biofuel production.

The proteases segment is expected to grow fastest over the forecast period, due to their versatile applications across industries such as detergents, food & beverages, leather, and pharmaceuticals. These enzymes efficiently break down proteins, enhancing product quality, functionality, and process efficiency. In the detergent industry, proteases improve stain removal and cleaning performance under various conditions, driving widespread adoption.

Application Insights

Which Application Segment Leads the Industrial Enzymes Market?

In 2024, the food and beverage segment led the market, due to the growing demand for high-quality, safe, and nutritious products. Enzymes are extensively used in baking, dairy, brewing, and juice processing to improve flavor, texture, shelf life, and production efficiency. Rising consumer preference for natural, clean-label, and additive-free products has further increased enzyme adoption in this sector.

The animal feed segment is growing fastest in the market, due to rising demand for high-efficiency feed formulations that enhance animal growth and nutrient absorption. Enzymes such as phytases, proteases, and carbohydrases are widely used to improve feed digestibility and reduce waste, lowering production costs for livestock and poultry. Increasing global meat and dairy consumption has driven the need for more productive and sustainable feed solutions.

Source Insights

What Made the Microorganisms Lead the Industrial Enzymes Market in 2024?

The microorganisms segment led the market, due to their versatility and efficiency in enzyme production. They offer high yields and faster growth rates compared to plant- or animal-based sources, making large-scale production more cost-effective. Microbial enzymes can be easily engineered and optimized for specific industrial applications, enhancing performance and stability under diverse conditions.

The plant-based enzymes segment is expected to lead the market over the forecast period, driven by their natural origin and widespread acceptance in food, beverage, and nutraceutical industries. They are preferred for applications requiring non-animal, vegetarian, or clean-label solutions, aligning with consumer demand for healthier and more sustainable products. These enzymes often exhibit high specificity and activity under mild processing conditions, making them ideal for delicate industrial processes.

Regional Insights

Enzyme Ascendancy: North America's Biocatalyst Command

The North America industrial enzymes market size was valued at USD 3.17 billion in 2024 and is expected to be worth around USD 6.21 billion by 2034, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.96% over the forecast period 2025 to 2034.

North America dominates the market due to its well-established industrial base and early adoption of biotechnology-driven solutions. The region benefits from strong research and development infrastructure, enabling innovation in enzyme engineering and novel applications. High demand from key sectors such as food & beverages, detergents, biofuels, and pharmaceuticals continues to drive market growth. Additionally, supportive government regulations and initiatives promoting sustainable manufacturing and green technologies have accelerated enzyme adoption.

U.S. Industrial Enzymes Market Trends

The U.S. market is witnessing steady growth driven by rising demand across sectors such as food & beverages, biofuels, and detergents. Innovations in enzyme engineering are enabling more efficient and sustainable processes, attracting investments from major industry players. Increasing consumer preference for eco-friendly and bio-based products is fueling the adoption of enzymes in various manufacturing processes.

Asia-Pacific's Biocatalyst Boom: The Epicenter of Enzyme Expansion

The Asia-Pacific region is witnessing the fastest growth in the market, driven by rapid industrialization and expanding manufacturing sectors. Rising demand from food & beverages, animal feed, textiles, and biofuel industries is a major growth factor. Increasing government support for biotechnology and green manufacturing initiatives is encouraging enzyme adoption across the region. Countries like China and India are investing heavily in enzyme research, production facilities, and advanced biotechnological applications.

China Industrial Enzymes Market Trends

Chinas market witnessing growth drivers include rising demand from the food & beverage, feed, detergent, and textile sectors, as manufacturers seek sustainable bio-catalytic solutions. Government policies favoring green manufacturing and industrial biotechnology, such as initiatives under China's 14th Five-Year Plan, are helping elevate enzyme adoption. Among enzyme types, carbohydrases are dominating in both revenue and growth in China, reflecting their heavy use in carbohydrate-rich food and feed applications.

Europe Industrial Enzymes Market Trends

The industrial enzymes market in Europe has experienced significant growth in recent years, owing to the surging demand for sustainable and environment-friendly solutions for various industries. Enzymes, renowned natural catalysts, have revolutionized industrial processes by enhancing their efficiency and promoting sustainability. This makes them indispensable components in numerous industries in Europe.

Germany industrial enzymes market is a mature and highly innovative segment, driven by robust demand from its well-established food & beverage, animal feed, textile, and detergent industries. A key focus is on developing highly efficient, sustainable enzyme solutions that reduce processing costs, improve product quality, and align with stringent environmental regulations and the circular economy initiatives within Germany and the EU.

Latin America Industrial Enzymes Market Trends

The industrial enzymes market in Latin America is witnessing significant growth owing to its flourishing food and beverage, textiles, and detergent industries. Countries of the region, including Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, are experiencing a rise in consumer awareness about the benefits of using enzymes, which is further fueling the growth of the market in South America.

Middle East & Africa Industrial Enzymes Market Trends

The industrial enzymes market in the Middle East & Africa is an emerging and rapidly growing segment, primarily driven by the expansion of its food & beverage, animal feed, and biofuel sectors, along with increasing awareness of enzymes' benefits for process efficiency and sustainability. The region is seeing growing investments in industrial biotechnology, leading to a rising adoption of enzymes to optimize production costs, enhance product quality, and meet evolving environmental and consumer demands.

Top Companies in the Industrial Enzymes Market & Their Offerings:

Chr. Hansen Holding A/S (now part of Novonesis): Specializes in enzymes and microbial solutions for food, nutrition, and agriculture, with a focus on dairy.

Specializes in enzymes and microbial solutions for food, nutrition, and agriculture, with a focus on dairy. Lesaffre: Provides fermentation-based industrial enzymes for applications like baking and animal feed.

Provides fermentation-based industrial enzymes for applications like baking and animal feed. Adisseo: Offers feed enzymes, such as Rovabio Excel, to improve nutrient digestibility in livestock.

Offers feed enzymes, such as Rovabio Excel, to improve nutrient digestibility in livestock. BASF SE: Supplies enzymes for detergent formulations (Lavergy) and animal nutrition applications.

Supplies enzymes for detergent formulations (Lavergy) and animal nutrition applications. Novozymes (now part of Novonesis): A former industry leader offering enzymes for a vast range of industrial uses, including biofuels, textiles, and food.

A former industry leader offering enzymes for a vast range of industrial uses, including biofuels, textiles, and food. DuPont Danisco (now IFF): Provides enzymes for the food and beverage industry, focusing on dairy, baking, and brewing applications.

Provides enzymes for the food and beverage industry, focusing on dairy, baking, and brewing applications. DSM (now dsm-firmenich): Offers a comprehensive portfolio of feed enzymes designed to enhance animal nutrition and feed efficiency.

Offers a comprehensive portfolio of feed enzymes designed to enhance animal nutrition and feed efficiency. NOVUS INTERNATIONAL: Supplies feed enzyme solutions (CIBENZA) to optimize protein digestion and improve livestock performance.

Supplies feed enzyme solutions (CIBENZA) to optimize protein digestion and improve livestock performance. Associated British Foods Plc: Through its subsidiary AB Enzymes, it provides enzymes for baking, plant-based foods, and detergents.

Through its subsidiary AB Enzymes, it provides enzymes for baking, plant-based foods, and detergents. BioProcess Algae, LLC: Focuses on developing algae production systems to produce biocompounds, including potential enzyme sources, for biofuels and animal feeds.

Focuses on developing algae production systems to produce biocompounds, including potential enzyme sources, for biofuels and animal feeds. Koninklijke DSM N.V (now dsm-firmenich): Offers feed enzymes to the animal nutrition and health market, aimed at improving feed efficiency



More Insights in Towards Chemical and Materials:

Industrial Enzymes Market Top Key Companies:

Novozymes

BASF SE

DuPont Danisco

DSM

NOVUS INTERNATIONAL

Associated British Foods Plc

Amano Enzyme Inc.

Chr. Hansen Holding A/S

Advanced Enzyme Technologies

Lesaffre

Adisseo

Enzyme Development Corporation (EDC)

Recent Developments

In June 2025, Novonesis finalized its acquisition of DSM-Firenichs stake in the Feed Enzymes Alliance for 1.5 billion. The agreement was accounted in February 2025 to expand Novonesiss position across the animal BioSolutions value chain and enhance its presence in bio-based enzymes.



Industrial Enzymes Market Report Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2019 to 2034. For this study, Towards Chemical and Materials has segmented the global Industrial Enzymes Market

By Product

Carbohydrase

Proteases

Lipases

Polymerases & Nucleases

Others



By Source

Plants

Animals

Microorganisms



By Application

Food & Beverages

Detergents

Animal Feed

Biofuels

Textiles

Pulp & Paper

Nutraceutical

Personal Care & Cosmetics

Wastewater

Agriculture

Others



By Regional

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East & Africa



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CHICAGO, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- K2 Services, a leading provider of comprehensive managed services, announced today its acquisition of Epiq Global Business Transformation Solutions (Epiq GBTS) and Forrest Solutions. These three strategic organizations will come together to form a powerful new entity poised to drive transformative impact for their professional services and legal clients. These acquisitions were supported by Renovus Capital Partners, a private equity firm with over $2 billion in assets across its sector-focused funds.

With the acquisitions of Epiq GBTS, an Epiq Global division, and Forrest Solutions, K2 is redefining how businesses mobilize  establishing itself as the operational backbone that enables organizations to focus on their core competencies. It will be uniquely positioned to deliver comprehensive, end-to-end strategic solutions through expertly managed services  all underpinned by advanced technology that accelerates performance. The expanded managed services portfolio, covering front, middle and back-office operations, will be delivered by more than 4,500 skilled professionals through on-site, off-site and offshore capabilities. As firms navigate changing markets trends, this new entity is ready to deliver scalable, proven solutions.

These acquisitions mark a major leap forward in our long-term road map  dramatically expanding our capacity to deliver integrated, people-driven and technology-powered solutions for our clients back, middle and front office operations, said Christopher Petrini-Poli, Executive Chairman at K2 Services. Client demand is driving this momentum. Were redesigning, implementing and operating these support functions on our workflow automation platforms, freeing our clients to focus on increasing revenue.

Nicholas Quil, Vice Chairman at K2 Services, shared, Our newly formed comprehensive portfolio empowers us to deliver true end-to-end managed services, enabling us to develop forward-looking strategies with our clients.

Lee Minkoff, Managing Director at Renovus Capital, added, We are filling a gap in the industry by providing streamlined business and technology services that will allow clients to focus on their core revenue-generating operations and grow more profitably. Were excited to partner with K2 Services to bring together this level of expertise to help clients modernize and strengthen their operational and technology infrastructure."

To manage the combined business, K2 Services has appointed Michelle Deichmeister as the Chief Executive Officer of the newly formed organization. With over 35 years of experience, Deichmeister has led transformation initiatives across multiple industries. She brings extensive expertise in scaling global operations through disciplined, process-driven approaches, consistently delivering exceptional results for Fortune 500 companies, Am Law 200 firms and top financial institutions. As a proven change agent, she has successfully built and led complex managed services operations that drive efficiency, innovation and measurable client value.

With this evolution, we are now unmistakably positioned as the premier managed services provider  delivering transformative impact across industries, said Michelle Deichmeister, Chief Executive Officer of the new entity. By fusing deep strategic expertise, key talent and technology-enabled managed services, were reshaping the future of enterprise performance for our clients.

As organizations seek partners that can drive performance and deliver meaningful outcomes, this new entity is ready to lead  not only with end-to-end solutions that translate strategy into measurable results, but also as an advisor working with our clients to design, implement and manage their operations.

About K2 Services

K2 Services, LLC, a leading technology-enabled services provider, specializes in IT managed services, unified support and enterprise technology platforms for the legal industry. Its comprehensive portfolio provides an inclusive enterprise IT function to allow clients to focus on core business initiatives. Targeted offerings address specific areas of need including IT hosting and consulting services, 24/7 help desk, network and security operational center support and enterprise application platforms.

K2 Services simplifies a complex technology ecosystem to help drive user experiences and adoption rates, as well as optimize workflow efficiencies. Its dedicated experts, along with strategic alliances with leading cloud, software and hardware partners, deliver unparalleled value and support to clients.

About Renovus Capital Partners

Founded in 2010, Renovus Capital Partners is a lower middle market private equity firm specializing in the Knowledge and Talent industries. From its base in the Philadelphia area, Renovus manages over $2 billion across its sector-focused funds and other strategies. The firms current portfolio includes over 30 U.S. based businesses specializing in education and training, health care services, technology services and professional services. Renovus typically partners with founder-led businesses, leveraging its experience within the industry and access to debt and equity capital to make operational improvements, recruit top talent, pursue add-on acquisitions and oversee strategic growth initiatives.

Press Contacts

For K2 Services:

Vicki LaBrosse

Edge Marketing, Inc.

vlabrosse@edgemarketinginc.com

Megan Willis

Vice President, Marketing

Megan.Willis@epiqglobal.com
Ottawa, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Europe cigarette packaging market, which had already achieved significant value in 2025, is projected to expand further through 2034, according to data published by Towards Packaging, a sister firm of Precedence Research.

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Major Key Insights

By packaging type, the standard packs segment dominated the market with the largest revenue share.

By packaging type, the premium packs segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period of 2025 to 2034.

By design and labeling, the branded packaging segment registered its dominance over the market in 2024.

By design and labeling, the plain packaging segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR in the forecast period.

By material, the paperboard segment dominated the global market in 2024.

By material, the eco-friendly materials segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the period of 2024 to 2034.

By distribution channel, the tobacco shops segment registered its dominance over the market in 2024.

By distribution channel, the supermarkets and hypermarkets segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR in the forecast period.

Market Overview

The Europe cigarette packaging market is growing due to tighter laws, a growing emphasis on sustainability, and a need for creative high-end packaging. In addition to providing designs that improve brand appeal and satisfy customer expectations, businesses are adjusting to plain packaging regulations, larger health warnings, and eco-friendly materials.

In Mar 2025, Contempo Specialty Packaging launched a fully paperboard, child-resistant cigarette box for pre-rolls, eliminating plastic components.



Market Outlook

Industry Growth Overview: The market is expanding steadily due to stricter regulations, growing demand for premium packaging , and features like anti-counterfeit and traceability solutions. Health-warning requirements and regulatory standards are encouraging companies to adopt advanced materials and innovative designs.

The market is expanding steadily due to stricter regulations, , and features like anti-counterfeit and traceability solutions. Health-warning requirements and regulatory standards are encouraging companies to adopt advanced materials and innovative designs. Sustainability Trends: Businesses are switching to recyclable, compostable, or mono-material packs as a major focus on sustainability. In addition to enhancing product traceability, eco-friendly designs and features like QR codes and smart labels are reducing their negative effects on the environment.

Businesses are switching to recyclable, compostable, or mono-material packs as a major focus on sustainability. In addition to enhancing product traceability, eco-friendly designs and features like QR codes and smart labels are reducing their negative effects on the environment. Startup Ecosystem: Startups are gradually entering the market, bringing innovations like recyclable cigarette filters and eco-friendly packaging materials. While large firms dominate, these smaller players are exploring sustainable solutions and smart packaging technologies, signaling the sectors evolving innovation landscape.



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Segmental Insights

By Packaging Type

The standard packs segment dominated the market because they are affordable and adhere to regulations. These packs are still used by the majority of cigarette manufacturers for mass market distribution. Additionally, their uniformity and simplicity increase the efficiency of production and logistics.

The premium packs segment is growing rapidly as consumers increasingly seek visually appealing, high-quality packaging. These packs often include special finishes, embossing, or limited-edition designs to enhance brand value. Premium options also allow brands to differentiate themselves in a competitive market.

By Design and Labeling

The branded packaging segment is dominating the market with designs, colors, and logos assisting producers in keeping their brands recognizable in spite of stringent labeling laws. Strong branding upholds perceived quality and fosters customer loyalty.

The plain packaging segment is growing rapidly, driven by laws requiring health warnings and restricting brand imagery in several European nations. As governments continue to enact anti-smoking laws, this market is expanding. In order to balance minimal brand communication with regulatory compliance, plain packs are becoming more and more popular. As nations standardize health-focused packaging guidelines, adoption is accelerating.

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By Material

The paperboard segment is dominating the market because of its recyclability, durability, and print quality. In Europe, it is still the most popular option for standard packs. Additionally, anti-counterfeit features can be easily integrated and customized with paperboard. Its lightweight design lowers the environmental impact and transportation expenses. Both high-end and mass-market products can benefit from the materials' compatibility with fine printing.

The eco-friendly materials segment is growing rapidly as producers react to eco-friendly trends. These consist of mono-material designs, biodegradable coatings, and recyclable films. Adoption is also being accelerated by raising consumer awareness of environmental impact. Additionally, our eco-friendly packaging promotes compliance with EU regulations and corporate sustainability goals. In this market, creative designs are assisting companies in attracting customers who care about the environment.

By Distribution Channel

The tobacco shops segment is dominating the market, serving as the primary point of sale for most cigarette products. Their specialized focus ensures knowledgeable staff and access to a wide range of products. They also maintain traditional consumer relationships and loyalty programs. Tobacco shops are particularly strong in urban and high-density regions, offering both variety and expertise.

Supermarkets and hypermarkets are the fastest-growing because of ease of use, growing retail presence, and options for bundling that appeal to a larger spectrum of customers. Growth is being further supported by the emergence of one-stop shopping habits and advertising campaigns. Impulsive purchases and multi-pack promotions are increasingly being made through these channels. In suburban and emerging European markets, modern retail expansion also contributes to growth.

Regional Insights

The Europe cigarette packaging market is growing steadily because of more stringent laws, a push for anti-counterfeit and traceability features, and a rise in demand for high-end and environmentally friendly packs. While premium innovative and sustainable packaging is the fastest growing category, standard packs continue to hold a dominant position. To satisfy both legal requirements and customer expectations, businesses are investing in smart label recyclable materials and contemporary printing methods.

Germany is a key market within Europe, motivated by both strong consumer awareness of sustainability and regulatory compliance. Supermarkets and hypermarkets are the channels that are expanding the fastest, although tobacco shops still dominate distribution. Plain packaging and eco-friendly materials are becoming more popular but branded packaging, but branded packaging still retains customer loyalty.

More Insights of Towards Packaging:

Value Chain Analysis

Raw Materials Sourcing: Manufacturers of packaging procure paperboard, films, coatings, adhesives, and inks. Recyclable and sustainable materials are becoming more and more important in order to satisfy consumer demands and environmental regulations.

Manufacturers of packaging procure paperboard, films, coatings, adhesives, and inks. Recyclable and sustainable materials are becoming more and more important in order to satisfy consumer demands and environmental regulations. Component Manufacturing: Key components like cartons, boxes, and labels are produced with precision, often incorporating anti-counterfeit features, embossing, or smart labels. Advanced manufacturing ensures quality, durability, and compliance with regulations.

Key components like cartons, boxes, and labels are produced with precision, often incorporating anti-counterfeit features, embossing, or smart labels. Advanced manufacturing ensures quality, durability, and compliance with regulations. Logistics and Distribution: Cigarette manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors receive finished packaging. Timely delivery, product integrity, and regional regulatory compliance are all supported by effective logistics.



Top Companies in the Market

Bulgartabac Holding: A Bulgarian tobacco holding company specializing in the manufacturing and export of cigarettes and processed tobacco products.

A Bulgarian tobacco holding company specializing in the manufacturing and export of cigarettes and processed tobacco products. Korea Tobacco and Ginseng Corporation (KT&G): The leading South Korean tobacco company that has diversified into pharmaceuticals, health functional foods (ginseng), and real estate.

The leading South Korean tobacco company that has diversified into pharmaceuticals, health functional foods (ginseng), and real estate. Heintz Van Landewyck: An independent, family-owned Luxembourgish company with over 170 years of history, specializing in the production of cigarettes, fine-cut, and pipe tobaccos.

An independent, family-owned Luxembourgish company with over 170 years of history, specializing in the production of cigarettes, fine-cut, and pipe tobaccos. Karelia Tobacco Company Inc.: Greece's largest tobacco manufacturer and exporter, offering a range of cigarettes, cigars, and hand-rolling tobacco products to over 65 countries worldwide.

Greece's largest tobacco manufacturer and exporter, offering a range of cigarettes, cigars, and hand-rolling tobacco products to over 65 countries worldwide. European Tobacco: (No search result provides a specific one-liner for this exact entity, but it is likely involved in the tobacco industry within Europe.)



Other Players

Continental Tobacco Group

Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG

WestRock Company

Amcor Limited

International Paper

Smurfit Kappa Group PLC

Mondi Group

Atlantic Zeiser

Heinz Trober GmbH and CoKG

Heintz van Landewyck GmbH

Romaco Group

TMQS GmbH

PowerCigs.



Market Segmentations

By Packaging Type

Standard Packs

Slim Packs

Hard Packs

Soft Packs

Premium Packs





By Design and Labeling

Branded Packaging

Plain Packaging

By Material

Paperboard

Plastic Films

Metal Cans

Eco-friendly Materials

By Distribution Channel

Tobacco Shops

Supermarkets and Hypermarkets

Convenience Stores

Online Sales

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About Us

Towards Packaging is a global consulting and market intelligence firm specializing in strategic research across key packaging segments including sustainable, flexible, smart, biodegradable, and recycled packaging. We empower businesses with actionable insights, trend analysis, and data-driven strategies. Our experienced consultants use advanced research methodologies to help companies of all sizes navigate market shifts, identify growth opportunities, and stay competitive in the global packaging industry.

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Towards Packaging Releases Its Latest Insight - Check It Out:
Copenhagen, Denmark: Global towage and marine solutions provider, Svitzer Group A/S (Svitzer), has acquired a 66.6% stake in leading Norwegian towage and marine service company, Bukser og Berging AS, subject to final regulatory approvals.

Svitzers investment represents a partnership opportunity for both companies, with a view to leverage extensive shared knowledge and experience of the global towage, offshore, adjacent maritime service and marine solution markets.

Bukser og Berging AS is a leading supplier of marine services within port and terminals, towage, offshore work and complex marine operations in Norway.

Svitzer is a leading, global towage and marine services provider with more than 450 vessels globally.

There is no integration activities related to the transaction for either company and Bukser og Berging will continue to operate as a standalone company under its own brand, management, values and strategy.

Quotes attributable to Bukser og Berging, CEO, Vetle J. Sverdrup:

Our leadership in the Norwegian towage and marine contracting markets is built on our values, tradition and the extensive operational and technical knowledge of our capable teams and their drive to solve challenges for customers."

The investment by Svitzer presents an opportunity to continue our legacy and deepen our capabilities with a strategic partner that is a highly regarded, global company with long-term ambitions for Bukser og Bergings success.

CEO of Bukser og Berging, Vetle J. Sverdrup, will continue in his role and maintain a 33.4% shareholding position and active ownership of the business.

Bukser og Berging has an advanced fleet of about 35 tugs, 25 pilot boats, three ambulance vessels and one service vessel for salmon farming (delousing vessel). It is headquartered in Oslo, Norway with branch offices in Stavanger and Fedje, outside Bergen.

Svitzers investment will underpin commitments by both companies to share expertise and excellence in maritime operations; innovation and capabilities in vessel design and operations; and together grow innovation and enhance standards and safety in the towage and marine services sector.

Quotes attributable to Svitzer CEO, Kasper Nilaus:

Bukser og Berging, like Svitzer, has a proud heritage, and our investment is an exciting opportunity for us to join forces and share our respective expertise and leadership positions in the towage and maritime infrastructure markets.

I am confident together we will drive innovation and growth for both companies, further cement our decarbonisation credentials, and above all strengthen the value, safety and service offered to customers and their supply chains.

**ENDS**

Media Contact: Bas Bolyn, Global Head of Communications, Svitzer. +45 31 48 27 90 and bas.bolyn@svitzer.com

Background

About Bukser og Berging

 Established in 1913

 Family owned and value driven company

 Crew of 450 and 38 shore side staff

 35 Norwegian flagged tugs and offshore vessels  modern, advanced fleet

 25 pilot boats stationed along the Norwegian coast

 3 ambulance vessels

 1 delousing support vessel for salmon industry

Visit https://www.bube.no/ to learn more.

About Svitzer

Svitzer is a leading, global towage and marine services provider. The core business is to assist large seaborne vessels in manoeuvring in and out of ports and terminals to berth and unberth. With more than 450 vessels, Svitzers services play a crucial role as part of critical port infrastructure. Svitzer was founded in 1833 and serves approximately 2,000 customers in more than 140 ports and 40 terminals across 37 countries.

Read more at www.svitzer.com
SAN DIEGO, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shareholder rights law firm Johnson Fistel, PLLP has launched an investigation into whether the board members of TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (NYSE: THS) breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the proposed sale of the company to Investindustrial.

If you own TreeHouse Foods shares and believe this proposed transaction undervalues your investment, please consider joining our investigation. To participate or learn more, you can click or copy and paste the following link:

https://www.johnsonfistel.com/investigations/treehouse-foods/

Shareholders seeking more information may also contact lead analyst Jim Baker (jimb@johnsonfistel.com, 619-814-4471). If emailing, please include a phone number.

Background

 On November 10, 2025, TreeHouse Foods announced that it had entered into a definitive merger agreement with Investindustrial. Under the terms of the agreement, TreeHouse Foods shareholders will receive $22.50 per share in cash for each share of common stock owned at closing, and one non-transferable Contingent Value Right per common share. The CVR in general will provide a holder with an opportunity to receive certain net proceeds, if any are recovered, from certain ongoing litigation relating to part of TreeHouse Foods' coffee business.

 The proposed $22.50 per-share acquisition price is materially below TreeHouse Foods 52-week high of $40.77, it is noted that a Wall Street analyst has set a $31 per-share target.

About Johnson Fistel, PLLP | Top Law Firm  Securities Fraud & Investor Rights

Johnson Fistel, PLLP is a nationally recognized shareholder-rights law firm with offices in California, New York, Georgia, Idaho, and Colorado. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits and also assists foreign investors who purchased shares on U.S. exchanges. Stay informed about stock-drop news and learn how Johnson Fistel can help you recover losses by visiting www.johnsonfistel.com.

Achievements

In 2024, Johnson Fistel was ranked among the Top 10 Plaintiff Law Firms by ISS Securities Class Action Services. This recognition reflects the firms effectiveness in advocating for investors, having recovered approximately $90,725,000 for aggrieved clients in cases where it served as lead or co-lead counsel. This marks the eighth time the firm has been recognized as a top plaintiffs securities law firm in the United States, based on the total dollar value of final recoveries.

Attorney advertising.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Services may be performed by attorneys in any of our offices.

Johnson Fistel, PLLP has paid for the dissemination of this promotional communication, and Frank J. Johnson is the attorney responsible for its content.

Contact

Johnson Fistel, PLLP

501 W. Broadway, Suite 800

San Diego, CA 92101

James Baker, Investor Relations  or  Frank J. Johnson, Esq.

(619) 814-4471 | jimb@johnsonfistel.com | fjohnson@johnsonfistel.com
Vancouver, B.C, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aegis Resources Ltd. (Aegis or the Company) announces the signing of two option agreements with Targa Exploration Corp. (CSE: TEX | FRA: V6Y | OTCQB: TRGEF) (Targa and together with Aegis, the Parties) to earn up to an 80% interest in the El Zanjon and Venidero gold-silver projects (the Projects), located in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.

In a structure that has similarities to the Company's successful agreement with Andina Copper Corporation (CSE:ANDC) over the Cobrasco project, Aegis has entered into option agreements over the Projects whereby it will retain a 20% interest in each project, upon completion of feasibility studies.

Deal Highlights

Carried Interest: Aegis will retain a minimum 20% interest in each project, upon completion of feasibility studies, potentially mirroring the value-creating structure of its Cobrasco agreement.

Significant Earn-In: Targa can earn an 80% interest by funding all exploration costs to completion of feasibility studies for a + two-million-ounce gold equivalent resource at each of El Zanjon and Venidero.

Proven Jurisdiction: The projects are in a world-class mining district, with El Zanjon 30 km south of AngloGold Ashanti's Cerro Vanguardia and Venidero 60 km south of Newmont's Cerro Negro mines.

Alejandro Adams, CEO of Aegis comments, These agreements strategically position Aegis with the potential to mirror our successful Cobrasco deal where retain a 20% interest to completion of a feasibility study. The El Zanjon and Venidero agreements, over two highly prospective projects in Argentina, ensure our shareholders participate fully in the exploration upside while minimizing future dilution. Targa is expected to aggressively fund and advance these assets, exactly as Andina is doing with Cobrasco. These two agreements underscore our strategy of building value through smart partnerships and carried interests.

Mr. Adams added, Speaking of Cobrasco, we are pleased to report that exploration has resumed on that discovery.

Option Agreements

The Parties signed individual option agreements on November 7, 2025 for each of the Venidero and El Zanjon projects, granting Targa the option to earn up to an 80% interest in the Projects pursuant to the terms outlined below:

Please click to view image

El Zanjon Option

Targa has the option to earn an 80% interest in El Zanjon (the 80% Zanjon Option) by completing a feasibility study for a + 2 million ounce gold equivalent resource (the Zanjon FS) within twelve (12) years, by making the following cash and share payments aggregating $512,500 (the Zanjon Payments), drilling an aggregate of 23,000 metres (m) incurring expenditures and making further cash payments as set out below:

If the Zanjon FS is not completed by the 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th Anniversary, Targa will make the following cash payments to Aegis:

If the Zanjon FS is not completed by the 8th Anniversary, Targa will incur additional project expenditures in the amount of $5,000,000 on or before the 10th Anniversary or completion of the Zanjon FS.

If the Zanjon FS is not completed by the 10th Anniversary, Targa will incur additional project expenditures in the amount of $5,000,000 on or before the 12th Anniversary or completion of the Zanjon FS.

Upon exercise of the 80% Zanjon Option, the Parties will form an 80-20 joint venture which will include a standard dilution clause providing for dilution to a 2% NSR.

Targa may earn an initial 51% interest in El Zanjon (the 51% Zanjon Option) if, prior to completion of the 80% Zanjon Option, Targa has drilled an aggregate of 50,000m at El Zanjon and made the Zanjon Payments. If Targa exercises the 51% Zanjon Option, but terminates the 80% Zanjon Option, Targas interest in the El Zanjon project will be reduced to 50% and the Parties will form a join venture with Aegis retaining the casting vote.

Venidero Option

Targa has the option to earn an 80% interest in Venidero (the 80% Venidero Option) by completing a feasibility study outlining a + 2 million ounce gold equivalent resource (the Venidero FS) within twelve (12) years, by making the following cash and share payments aggregating $512,500 (the Venidero Payments), by drilling an aggregate of 23,000m, by incurring expenditures and making additional cash payments as set out below:

If the Venidero FS is not completed by the 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th Anniversary, Targa will make the following cash payments to Aegis:

If the Venidero FS is not completed by the 10th Anniversary, Targa will incur additional project expenditures in the amount of $5,000,000 on or before the 12th Anniversary or completion of the Venidero FS.

Upon exercise of the 80% Venidero Option, the Parties will form an 80-20 joint venture which will include a standard dilution clause providing for dilution to a 2% NSR.

Targa may earn an initial 51% interest in Venidero (the 51% Venidero Option) if, prior to completion of the 80% Venidero Option, Targa has drilled an aggregate of 50,000m at Venidero and made the Venidero Payments. If Targa exercises the 51% Venidero Option, but terminates the 80% Venidero Option, Targas interest in the Venidero project will be reduced to 50% and the Parties will form a join venture with Aegis retaining the casting vote.

Existing Royalties

There is an existing 0.5% NSR on the Venidero project which can be repurchased for a cash payment of US$1,000,000. There is also an existing 2% NSR on the El Zanjon project, half of which can be repurchased for $1,000,000.

El Zanjon Project

The El Zanjon gold-silver project covers 34,521ha in the Deseado Massif, Santa Cruz Province of Argentina and is located 30km south of AngloGold Ashantis Cerro Vanguardia mine, which is currently producing 175,000oz AuEq per year and has produced more than 6 million ounces of gold and 81 million ounces of silver to date (see AngloGold website). Santa Cruz is one of the most prolific epithermal gold and silver regions in the world, home to many significant gold and silver deposits.

Venidero Project

The Venidero gold-silver project is located 60km south of Newmonts Cerro Negro gold mine and covers 7,996ha in the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina. Hosted in the same Jurassic Chon Aike volcanic rock formation as Cerro Negro, outcropping veins at Venidero have returned up to 4.45g/t Au in chip samples.

Rock textures and geochemistry of the veins at surface suggest a high level of emplacement within an epithermal gold system. Ground magnetic surveys and prospecting programs have demonstrated the main Gorgonzola vein structure can be traced for 2.5km. The vein has similar textures to the Eureka vein at Cerro Negro, indicating a high-level system at surface.

For more detailed information of the El Zanjon and Venidero projects please refer to Targas news release dated November 10, 2025: https://targaexploration.com/news/

Cobrasco Project Update

Andina Copper Corporation (Andina) recently announced the commencement of field exploration at the Cobrasco porphyry copper-molybdenum project in Choco, Colombia. Concurrent with their ongoing surface exploration work, a drill crew has been mobilized to delineate the potential size and grade of the Cobrasco Central porphyry (see Andinas news releaser dated October 7, 2025). The Cobrasco Project was acquired from Rugby Resources Ltd. (Rugby) on July 25, 2025, following Rugbys acquisition by Andina. Aegis holds a 20% interest in the Cobrasco Project which is free-carried to completion of a feasibility study.

Georgetown Project Update

Aegis has reduced its interest in the Georgetown Project located in Queensland Australia, (named Yataga by Emu NL (ASX:EMU) (Emu)), to 17% and expects to see its interest reduce further to a 2% Net Smelter Royalty. The Georgetown Project was spun out of Rugby on July 25, 2025. Emu plans to initiate drilling in November 2025 and continue in 2026 (see Emus news release dated October 20, 2025).

Qualified Person

Paul Joyce, Aegis Director and a qualified person (QP) within the definition of that term in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has verified the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release. Paul Joyce is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (registered member # 1908).

About Targa

Targa Exploration Corp. (CSE: TEX | FRA: V6Y | OTCQB: TRGEF) is a Canadian exploration company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of gold mineral properties with headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Companys focus is on early-stage projects in premier mining jurisdictions with strong potential for making Tier 1 grass roots precious metals discoveries. Targas principal asset is its Opinaca Gold Project in Quebec where a significant gold-in-till anomaly has been identified over a strike length of 7km.

About Aegis

Aegis Resources Ltd. is an unlisted public company focused on advancing a strategic portfolio of mineral exploration assets across Latin America and Australia. Its holdings include the El Zanjon and Venidero projects in Argentina (optioned to Targa), a 20% free-carried interest in the Cobrasco project in Colombia (being advanced by Andina), the Georgetown project in Australia (being advanced by Emu), and a 1.5% NSR on the Mantau Project in Chile. These assets were spun out of Rugby Resources Ltd. on July 25, 2025. Aegis strategy is to progress its projects through partnering with qualified joint venture operators to minimize dilution and maximize shareholder value.

For additional information you are invited to visit the Aegis Resources Ltd. website at: www.aegisresourcesltd.com

Alejandro Adams, Director

+1 604.688.4941

Suite 1890  1075 West Georgia St.

Vancouver, BC Canada. V6E 3C9

info@aegisresourcesltd.com

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

Certain of the statements made and information contained herein is forward-looking information within the meaning of the British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario Securities Acts. This includes statements concerning the Companys plans to advance its projects in South America and Australia; high grade potential and potential for mineral discoveries at its projects and the style or occurrence of the mineralization which involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Aegis holds certain of its projects under option agreements, which require annual cash payments, expenditure and/ or drilling requirements in order to maintain its interest. Should the Company not be able to meet its obligations or renegotiate the agreements it will lose its rights under the option agreement.

Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking information, including, without limitation, the effect on prices of major mineral commodities such as copper and gold by factors beyond the control of the Company; events which cannot be accurately predicted such as political and economic instability, terrorism, environmental factors and changes in government regulations and taxes; the shortage of personnel with the requisite knowledge and skills to design and execute exploration programs; difficulties in arranging contracts for drilling and other exploration services; the Companys dependency on equity market financings; political risk that a government will change, environmental regulations, taxes or mineral royalties in a manner that could have an adverse effect on the Companys assets or financial condition and impair its ability to advance its mineral exploration projects or raise further funds for exploration; risks associated with title to resource properties due to the difficulties of determining the validity of certain claims as well as the potential for problems arising from the interpretation of laws regarding ownership or exploration of mineral properties, currency risks associated with foreign operations; risks related to geopolitical conflicts.

In addition, forward-looking information is based on various assumptions including, without limitation, assumptions associated with exploration results and costs and the availability of materials and skilled labour. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The launch of the PayRam stablecoin gateway, built on the belief that payments should be as free and decentralized as the internet itself, is redefining private stablecoin payments through decentralized PayFi infrastructure.

PayRam offers merchants and individuals a secure and permissionless way to accept and manage stablecoin payments entirely through their own on-premise infrastructure, free from middlemen, custodians, or centralized control.

Stablecoins Are the Future of Global Payments

For the first time in decades, payments are undergoing a paradigm shift and stablecoins are at the center of it. With a market capitalization surpassing $300 billion, stablecoins are no longer just a niche crypto asset but the foundation of a new global settlement layer. Supported by emerging regulatory clarity, including the GENIUS Bill in the United States, they are becoming the cornerstone of traditional and agentic commerce, enabling instant, cost-efficient, borderless, and intelligent value exchange across the world.

Despite the promise of decentralized commerce, most stablecoin payment processors still operate like traditional banks, marked by centralized custody, compliance overreach, and opaque fund control. Merchants and individuals risk frozen balances, delayed settlements, or outright account termination at the discretion of a single middleman. Rather than expanding access, these centralized gateways have reintroduced the very bottlenecks stablecoins and cryptocurrency were designed to eliminate, leaving users without privacy, predictability, or true ownership of their funds.

If stablecoins are to define the next era of payments, they need an ecosystem that is permissionless and decentralized. PayRam delivers exactly that, allowing users to deploy and manage their own self-hosted payment nodes. This sovereign model gives merchants and individuals end-to-end ownership of their entire payments stack, directly addressing critical concerns such as account freezes, withheld balances, and transaction blacklisting. By eliminating middlemen from the payments workflow, PayRam restores the original principles of blockchain-based finance: privacy, self-custody, and trustless settlement.

Permissionless Commerce Underpinned By Privacy

PayRam embodies a mission to decentralize the global payments ecosystem. Its founder, Siddharth Menon, who previously co-founded WazirX, Indias largest cryptocurrency exchange, helped bring crypto to more than 15 million users. Today, hes channeling that experience into building a decentralized PayFi layer engineered for privacy, autonomy, and self-custody.

The future of payments is decentralized stablecoin payments. As the world moves beyond custodial systems, PayRam is building the foundation for permissionless commerce, where every merchant, creator, or platform can host and own their own payment infrastructure, said Siddharth Menon, Founder of PayRam. Just as Uniswap reimagined trading through decentralization, PayRam is reimagining how money moves across the internet.

Accept Payments Without Gatekeepers

Getting started with PayRam requires no approvals, waiting, or centralized onboarding. Anyone can simply install, configure, and begin processing payments in less than 10 minutes. The system is engineered to run on a 4GB instance, delivering world-class payments functionality on minimal specifications. Every installation acts as a self-contained node, ensuring privacy, uptime, and decentralized scalability for global merchants and developers.

PayRam is built as a merchant-first ecosystem, offering advanced accounting analytics, scalable APIs, and automated payments orchestration tools. It also arrives with integrated growth tools like referral and payout systems. Merchants and individuals can issue payment requests, share unique payment links, and monitor transactions through programmable APIs, all operated on infrastructure that users self-host and fully control. The built-in SmartSweep feature uses a family of smart contracts to move funds securely and periodically, eliminating the need to store private keys on servers.

PayRam supports stablecoin and cryptocurrency payments across major networks including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Base, and Tron, with integrations for Polygon, BNB Smart Chain, Solana, Ripple, Monero, and TON next in line.

Weve used several crypto payment providers over the years, including BTCPay Server, NOWPayments, and others, but PayRam stands out as truly open and built for the modern internet economy. It gives us full control over our payments and funds, along with stablecoin support, privacy, multi-chain flexibility, and faster global settlements, said an iGaming operator using PayRam.

Where Privacy Meets Agentic Commerce

Agentic commerce is rapidly emerging as the next frontier of programmable finance, yet privacy remains its biggest missing layer. Most stablecoin payment systems today still depend on centralized processors that expose user data and restrict autonomy.

PayRam bridges this gap through its decentralized architecture, adding a privacy-first foundation to programmable commerce. By adopting standards such as x402 and ERC-8004, it enables interoperable, intelligent transactions between autonomous systems, defining the future of decentralized payments.

PayRam is building the foundation for a future where payments are private, programmable, and permissionless.

About PayRam

PayRam is the worlds first self-hosted private stablecoin processor, giving merchants and individuals complete control over their payments stack. Built for the next era of permissionless commerce, it merges stablecoin payments with self-hosted infrastructure to enable borderless, censorship-resistant transactions.

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NUMBER OF SHARES COMPOSING CURRENT SHARE CAPITAL AND TOTAL NUMBER OF VOTING RIGHTS AS OF 31 OCTOBER 2025



Regulated Information

Paris, 10 November 2025

Information about the total number of voting rights and shares pursuant to Article L.233-8 II of the French Commercial Code and Article 223-16 of the AMF General Regulations.

Date Number of shares composing current share capital Total number of

voting rights 31 October 2025



785,180,327







Gross: 871,835,226





Press contacts:

Jean-Baptiste Froville_+33 1 58 98 68 00_ jean-baptiste.froville@socgen.com

Fanny Rouby_+33 1 57 29 11 12_ fanny.rouby@socgen.com

Societe Generale



Societe Generale is a top tier European Bank with around 119,000 employees serving more than 26 million clients in 62 countries across the world. We have been supporting the development of our economies for 160 years, providing our corporate, institutional, and individual clients with a wide array of value-added advisory and financial solutions. Our long-lasting and trusted relationships with the clients, our cutting-edge expertise, our unique innovation, our ESG capabilities and leading franchises are part of our DNA and serve our most essential objective - to deliver sustainable value creation for all our stakeholders.



The Group runs three complementary sets of businesses, embedding ESG offerings for all its clients:

French Retail, Private Banking and Insurance , with leading retail bank SG and insurance franchise, premium private banking services, and the leading digital bank BoursoBank.

, with leading retail bank SG and insurance franchise, premium private banking services, and the leading digital bank BoursoBank. Global Banking and Investor Solutions , a top tier wholesale bank offering tailored-made solutions with distinctive global leadership in equity derivatives, structured finance and ESG.

, a top tier wholesale bank offering tailored-made solutions with distinctive global leadership in equity derivatives, structured finance and ESG. Mobility, International Retail Banking and Financial Services, comprising well-established universal banks (in Czech Republic, Romania and several African countries), Ayvens (the new ALD I LeasePlan brand), a global player in sustainable mobility, as well as specialized financing activities.





Committed to building together with its clients a better and sustainable future, Societe Generale aims to be a leading partner in the environmental transition and sustainability overall. The Group is included in the principal socially responsible investment indices: DJSI (Europe), FTSE4Good (Global and Europe), Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index, Refinitiv Diversity and Inclusion Index, Euronext Vigeo (Europe and Eurozone), STOXX Global ESG Leaders indexes, and the MSCI Low Carbon Leaders Index (World and Europe).



For more information, you can follow us on Twitter/X @societegenerale or visit our website societegenerale.com.

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NEWBURYPORT, Mass., Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Dr. Guy Navarra Scholarship for Future Doctors is now accepting applications from undergraduate students across the United States who are dedicated to pursuing a career in medicine. This annual program, established by the esteemed physician Dr. Guy Navarra, provides a $1,000 one-time award to support a student whose aspirations and vision align with the future of patient-centered care.

The scholarship recognizes that the journey to becoming a doctor requires not only academic rigor but also a profound sense of purpose. Applicants are tasked with submitting an original essay that explores their personal inspiration for entering medicine and their vision for creating a meaningful impact on the future healthcare system. This essay-based approach allows the selection committee to identify candidates who demonstrate clarity of purpose, depth of insight, and a genuine commitment to the medical field.

Dr. Guy Navarra, a board-certified physician in Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, and Obesity Medicine, brings over 25 years of experience to this initiative. His career, which includes leadership roles as a hospital chief, clinical researcher, and co-founder of a national medical network, reflects a deep commitment to medical advancement. The scholarship is a direct extension of his dedication to fostering new talent in the profession. By supporting an undergraduate student, Dr. Guy Navarra invests directly in the individual who will one day influence patient care and medical innovation.

The selection process for the Dr. Guy Navarra Scholarship for Future Doctors is designed to be thorough and merit-based. Essays will be evaluated on their originality, clarity, and alignment with the values demonstrated in Dr. Guy Navarras own career. These values include a commitment to personalized and preventative care, a global perspective on medicine, and a focus on compassionate, value-driven healthcare solutions. The goal is to find a student who not only excels academically but also possesses the character and vision to contribute positively to the medical community.

The landscape of healthcare is constantly evolving, and it requires a new generation of doctors who are both skilled and deeply humanistic in their approach, the organization stated. This scholarship is a step toward identifying and supporting that future leader.

The application deadline for the current award cycle is April 15, 2026. The scholarship recipient will be selected and announced on May 15, 2026. All currently enrolled undergraduate students at accredited U.S. colleges and universities who intend to enter the medical field are encouraged to apply.

The Dr. Guy Navarra Scholarship for Future Doctors is more than a financial award; it is an investment in a future where healthcare is guided by innovation, integrity, and a profound respect for the patient-doctor relationship. The program reflects the ongoing professional mission of its founder, Dr. Guy Navarra, to cultivate excellence and compassion in medicine.

For detailed application requirements, including the full essay prompt and submission guidelines, prospective applicants are directed to the official website.

About the Dr. Guy Navarra Scholarship for Future Doctors

The Dr. Guy Navarra Scholarship for Future Doctors is an annual academic award program based in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Founded by Dr. Guy Navarra, a physician with advanced training from Yale and Harvard, the scholarship supports the educational goals of undergraduate students in the United States who are on a pre-medical track. The initiative aims to encourage the development of future physicians who will lead with expertise, empathy, and a forward-thinking approach to medicine.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Dr. Guy Navarra

Organization: Dr. Guy Navarra Scholarship for Future Doctors

Website: https://drguynavarrascholarship.com/

Email: apply@drguynavarrascholarship.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/11e148d2-1ff9-4ad9-81a5-663a0365f6f1
Columbia Falls, Maine, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- What has become known as the countrys longest veterans parade  Wreaths Across Americas annual Escort to Arlington  kicks off on Saturday, December 6, 2026. The official route, which can be viewed here, will travel down the East Coast, stopping at schools, memorials, and other locations along the way to spread the year-long mission to REMEMBER the fallen, HONOR those who serve, and TEACH the next generation the value of freedom.

Stops with public events will be held in Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Washington D.C., before arriving at Arlington National Cemetery on the morning of Saturday, December 13  National Wreaths Across America Day. Tune in to Wreaths Across America Radio to hear live coverage from escort events all week long!

For the 11th year in a row, Chevrolet has generously provided the 10 wrapped escort vehicles, including the All-Electric Silverado EV, to transport participating Gold Star and Blue Star family members and veterans during the week-long trip. In addition, Chevrolet has sponsored 4,000 veterans wreaths for placement by volunteers at Arlington National Cemetery to help remember our nations service members.

Chevrolet and its dealers are honored to support Wreaths Across Americas mission to remember, honor, and teach, said Dan Adamcheck, Regional Director of Sales, Service and Marketing for Chevrolet. Its a privilege to give back to our communities and honor the brave men and women who have served our country.

This years participants include national leaders from American Gold Star Mothers, The American Legion, The American Legion Auxiliary, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the VFW Auxiliary, AMVETS, and other Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs). Members of the Patriot Guard Riders, Patriot Riders, and law enforcement from departments across Maine and New England will provide escort to ensure safe transport for all participants throughout the week.

The Escort to Arlington has grown to consist of 13 tractor-trailers representing American Trucking Associations  Workforce Heroes, Caris Blessing, Bennett Motor Express LLC, Brown Dog Carriers, Cargo Transporters, Inc., Delhaize Transportation LLC (DBA Hannaford Supermarkets), H.O. Wolding, Inc. (DBA Bison Transport USA), Interstate Van Lines, Merchants Distributors Inc. (MDI), NFI, Schneider National, Sherwin-Williams Company, and Witte Bros. Exchange, Inc. Additionally, Load One Carriers will again serve as the ceremonial wreath transporter for the week. These dedicated organizations and their professional drivers will haul a portion of the sponsored veterans wreaths designated for placement by thousands of volunteers at Arlington National Cemetery on National Wreaths Across America Day.

What began 33 years ago as a pilgrimage by a Maine wreath maker in a single truck to deliver 5,000 wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery as a gesture of thanks has become a year-long mission to Remember, Honor, Teach. National Wreaths Across America Day ceremonies are happening at more than 5,500 participating locations nationwide on Saturday, December 13, 2025! Click here to find a participating location near you to support and/or volunteer to place wreaths.

To sponsor a wreath or volunteer at one of more than 5,500 participating locations, visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org. Each $17 sponsorship supports the year-round mission and places a wreath for an American hero this December.

# # #

About Wreaths Across America

Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. The organizations year-round mission  Remember, Honor, Teach  is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as at more than 5,500 participating locations in all 50 states and overseas. For more information, please visit www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.

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BROOKLYN, N.Y., Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- When classrooms reopened after the pandemic, parents expected the usual coughs, colds, and homework battles. What no one expected was the quiet return of something far smaller  and far more stubborn. Head lice are making a major comeback in New York schools, and according to Lice Busters, its becoming the epidemic nobodys talking about.

During COVID, kids werent sharing hats, hugs, or lockers. But once schools reopened, lice came roaring back  and faster than before, said Eli Harel, partner at Lice Busters, the leading non-toxic lice removal clinic in New York City. Were seeing entire classrooms reinfected because not everyone treats it at the same time. Its the perfect storm: kids are back together, but awareness didnt come back with them.

The Real Problem Isnt Lice  Its the Lack of Coordination

Lice Busters technicians say outbreaks arent caused by poor hygiene or neglect, but by inconsistency. Parents treat at home using whatever they find online, others wait it out, and schools often dont realize theres an active case until its widespread. If one child gets treated and another doesnt, it just circles back, said Harel. Its not the bug thats the problem  its the silence.

To break that cycle, Lice Busters is rolling out a new School Partnership Program across the five boroughs. The initiative gives schools free trial screenings for one class and discounted full-school checks, paired with an industry-first Lowest Price Guarantee. We wanted to remove every excuse, Harel explained. If cost is the barrier, well match or beat it. If access is the issue, well come to you.

Parents Are the Front Line  And Theyre Being Incentivized to Act

Whats making headlines, though, is Lice Busters unconventional approach to community outreach. The company recently launched a Parent Referral Incentive, offering families up to $500 when they help their school enroll in a Lice-Free Partnership Plan. The idea is simple: the more schools that participate, the fewer outbreaks spread between friends, siblings, and districts.

Parents are our biggest advocates, said Harel. They see firsthand the embarrassment, the stress, the endless laundry  and theyre ready for real solutions. So we built a program that rewards involvement. Its prevention with purpose.

Workshops, PTAs, and Prevention Education

The new initiative doesnt stop at treatment. Lice Busters is also collaborating with PTAs and school health coordinators to host in-person and virtual Know the Facts workshops, helping parents understand what works, what doesnt, and how to spot symptoms early.

Too many families waste hundreds on chemical products that dont kill eggs, said Harel. We show them exactly how to identify lice, when to treat, and how to prevent reinfestation. Its not just a business move  its community care.

The workshops are free for participating schools and can be customized for teachers, parents, or even student health days. In some districts, nurses are already integrating Lice Busters materials into their annual back-to-school health curriculum.

A Quiet Epidemic in Plain Sight

While the city has been focused on viruses and mental health, lice have quietly re-emerged as a leading cause of absenteeism in early education. The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 612 million children in the U.S. get head lice each year, but school nurses believe the number is much higher since many parents avoid reporting it out of embarrassment.

Lice isnt contagious like the flu  its social, said Harel. No one wants to talk about it, so it spreads in silence. But its happening everywhere  Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, you name it.

From Brooklyn to the Bronx  and Beyond

Lice Busters currently operates in multiple locations across New York and New Jersey, with expansion plans underway for 2026. Each clinic offers same-day appointments, family discounts, and all-natural, chemical-free treatments trusted by thousands of families.

Our goal is simple, Harel said. We want every child to go to school lice-free, every parent to sleep at night, and every teacher to stop worrying about outbreaks. Prevention isnt optional  its the only solution that works.

About Lice Busters

Founded in New York City, Lice Busters is the nations leading professional lice removal company, known for its non-toxic treatments, school partnerships, and commitment to community education. With offices across the tri-state area, the company provides safe, chemical-free removal services and school programs that promote prevention and awareness.

For schools interested in a free class screening or a prevention workshop, visit https://licebusters.org/services/nyc-school-lice-screenings-and-checks/ or contact:

Press Contact:

Eli Harel, Outreach Specialist

Lice Busters

433 3rd Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215

(917) 742-2978
Boston, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to the latest study from BCC Research, Automotive Cybersecurity: Global Markets will reach $8.2 billion by the end of 2030, with a CAGR of 16.1% from 2025 to 2030.

This report provides a detailed analysis of the automotive cybersecurity market, segmented by offerings, deployment models, security types, applications, vehicle types, and propulsion methods. It offers insights into the regions of North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World, with a focus on major countries including the U.S., China, Germany, and India. The study features profiles of leading companies, highlighting their financials (for public firms), product portfolios, and strategic developments. It also explores emerging technologies, patent trends, the competitive landscape, and ESG initiatives.

This report is especially relevant now as the automotive industry faces rapid transformation driven by connected and autonomous vehicle technologies. With stricter regulations and growing cybersecurity threats targeting vehicle systems, companies are investing in advanced protection solutions. The rise of electric vehicles, over-the-air (OTA) software updates, and increasing digital integration in vehicles further amplify the need for robust cybersecurity measures, making this market a critical focus for stakeholders across the industry.

The factors driving the markets growth include:

Rising Incidence of Automotive Cyberattacks: As vehicles become more connected through technologies like infotainment systems, telematics, and autonomous driving, they face growing risks of cyberattacks. Hackers can exploit vulnerabilities to control vehicle functions, steal personal data, or disrupt operations. This rising threat is pushing automakers to invest in cybersecurity solutions to protect both vehicles and users.

Increasing Adoption of AI in the Automotive Industry: AI is revolutionizing the automotive sector with features like autonomous driving, predictive maintenance, and smart navigation. However, these AI systems require secure data handling and are vulnerable to manipulation. As AI becomes central to vehicle functionality, ensuring its cybersecurity is essential to maintain safety and trust.

Request a sample copy of the global automotive cybersecurity market report.

Report Synopsis

Report Metric Details Base year considered 2024 Forecast period considered 2025-2030 Base year market size $3.4 billion Market size forecast $8.2 billion Growth rate CAGR of 16.1% from 2025 to 2030 Segments covered Offerings, Deployment, Security Type, Application, Vehicle Type, Propulsion Type, and Region Regions covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW) Countries covered U.S., Canada, China, Japan, India, Germany, France, and the U.K. Market Drivers Rising incidence of automotive cyberattacks.

Increasing adoption of AI in the automotive industry.

Interesting facts:

Connected vehicles have expanded the surface for cyberattacks, making cybersecurity essential to protect critical vehicle systems and user privacy. Vigilant security measures guard against unauthorized remote access that could compromise safety functions.

AI and machine learning (ML) are transforming automotive cybersecurity by enhancing threat detection and predicting potential attacks, improving vehicle resilience. These technologies help automate risk analysis and response in complex, connected environments.

Stricter regulations worldwide are compelling automakers to embed cybersecurity within the vehicle lifecycle, driving innovation and compliance. This ensures safer automotive ecosystems as connectivity advances and reliance on software increases.

Emerging startups:

Cybellum: Cybersecurity company offering a comprehensive platform for managing automotive product security risks, using Cyber Digital Twins technology. Its solutions automate vulnerability detection, risk assessment, and compliance workflows, helping OEMs and suppliers secure the entire vehicle software lifecycle from development to deployment.

EDAG Group: Provides engineering services with a focus on automotive cybersecurity and functional safety. It offers consulting, penetration testing, and AI-driven security monitoring to protect vehicles and manufacturing processes, ensuring compliance with international automotive cybersecurity regulations.

The report addresses the following questions:

What are the projected size and growth rate of the market?

The global market for automotive cybersecurity was valued at $3.4 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $8.2 billion by the end of 2030 with a CAGR of 16.1%.

What factors are driving the growth of the market?

Key drivers include:

Rising incidence of automotive cyberattacks.

Increasing adoption of AI in the automotive industry.

What market segments are covered in the report?

The market is segmented based on offering, deployment, security, application, vehicle type, propulsion, and region.

Which segment will be dominant through 2030 by offering?

The software segment will dominate the market through 2030.

Which region has the largest market share?

North America holds the largest share of the global market.

What are the challenges and opportunities of the market?

Key market challenges:

Lack of skilled labor.

Evolving cyber threat landscape.

Opportunities in the market:

Increasing focus on enhancing vehicle safety.

Expansion of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology.

Market leaders include:

APTIV

AUMOVIO SE

CYBELLUM

DENSO CORP.

ETAS

HARMAN INTERNATIONAL

INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG

NXP SEMICONDUCTORS

RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORP.

VICONE INC.

Purchase a copy of the report direct from BCC Research.

For further information on any of these reports or to make a purchase, contact info@bccresearch.com.

About BCC Research

BCC Research market research reports provide objective, unbiased measurement, and assessment of market opportunities. Our experienced industry analysts' goal is to help you make informed business decisions free of noise and hype.

For media inquiries, email press@bccresearch.com or visit our media page for access to our market research library.

Any data and analysis extracted from this press release must be accompanied by a statement identifying BCC Research LLC as the source and publisher.
Jersey City, New Jersey, USA, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Copper Property CTL Pass Through Trust (the Trust) announced today that it will host a live conference call on Thursday, November 13, 2025, at 11:00 am Eastern Time. Members of the Trusts management team will discuss its recent financial and operating results as reflected in the Trusts monthly report for the period ended October 31, 2025, and Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2025, both of which are expected to be filed prior to the call. The status of the Trusts pending sale of its remaining real estate assets will also be discussed. The conference call will include a question and answer (Q&A) session.

Conference Call Details:

DATE: Thursday, November 13, 2025

TIME: 10:00 am CDT | 11:00 am EDT

DIAL-IN: U.S. & Canada Toll Free: (877) 841-2983 or International (215) 268-9893

WEBCAST: www.ctltrust.net via the Investor Relations Section or click here to access

REPLAY (Available for 30 days):

U.S. & Canada Toll Free: (877) 660-6853 / International: (201) 612-7415

Conference ID#: 13757164

Telephone Replays will be made available approximately 3 hours after the conference end time. Participants will be required to state their name and company upon accessing the replay.

Additional information, including the Trusts Monthly and Quarterly Reports, as well as other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can be accessed via the Trusts website at www.ctltrust.net.

About Copper Property CTL Pass Through Trust

Copper Property CTL Pass Through Trust (the Trust) was established to acquire 160 retail properties and 6 warehouse distribution centers (the Properties) from J.C. Penney as part of its Chapter 11 plan of reorganization. The Trusts operations consist solely of owning, leasing and selling the Properties. The Trusts objective is to sell the Properties to third-party purchasers as promptly as practicable. The Trustee of the trust is GLAS Trust Company LLC. The Trust is externally managed by an affiliate of Hilco Real Estate LLC. The Trust is intended to be treated, for tax purposes, as a liquidating trust within the meaning of United States Treasury Regulation Section 301.7701-4(d). For more information, please visit https://www.ctltrust.net/.

Forward Looking Statement

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by the use of forward looking terminology such as anticipate, believe, continue, could, estimate, expect, intend, may, might, our vision, plan, potential, preliminary, predict, should, will, or would or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology and include, but are not limited to, the Trusts expectations or beliefs concerning future events and stock price performance. The Trust has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While the Trust believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond its control. These factors, including those discussed in the Trusts Registration Statement on Form 10 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), may cause its actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, please refer to the Trusts filings with the SEC that are available at www.sec.gov. The Trust cautions you that the list of important factors included in the Trusts SEC filings may not contain all of the material factors that are important to you. In addition, in light of these risks and uncertainties, the matters referred to in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release may not in fact occur. The Trust undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law.





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CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ginkgo Residential LLC (Ginkgo), a real estate investment and management firm focused on acquiring, renovating and operating multifamily communities across the Southeastern United States, today announced it has surpassed $25 million in short- and medium-term note issuances since launching its Ginkgo Notes program in June 2024. This unsecured debt program replaces an underutilized bank line of credit, backed by Ginkgos portfolio of more than 7,500 multifamily units across the Carolinas. It has quickly become the firms most popular investment vehicle in 2025.



Ginkgo Notes have delivered investors yields of up to 7.5% with durations ranging from one to twenty-four months. Designed with short-term flexibility in mind, the Notes enable investors to put idle capital to work while leveraging Ginkgos proven track record. Issued at par with no fees, the product requires a minimum investment of $10,000. From a cost-of-capital perspective, proceeds from Ginkgo Notes are strategically deployed to fund value-enhancing construction projects and bridge new acquisitions. These notes are typically retired through mortgage financing, perpetual equity raises, asset sales or subsequent Ginkgo Notes issuances.

We chose to extinguish our line of credit because it was prohibitively expensive and underutilized, said Bill Green, CEO and Principal of Ginkgo Residential. Instead, we introduced Ginkgo Notes to re-engage with our investor community. Investors can receive their principal and interest at maturity or roll into the next series of Notes on a co-terminous basis, compounding their returns.

In partnership with Alto, a leading self-directed IRA platform, investors can now allocate retirement funds directly into Ginkgo Notes. Access to Ginkgo Notes allows investors to unlock tax-advantaged capital accounts with yields can exceed four times those of typical term certificates of deposit (CDs)*, providing a compelling alternative to traditional fixed-income products.

Our mission at Alto is to help investors put their retirement dollars to work in innovative ways across the private markets landscape, said Scott Harrigan, President and CEO of Alto Securities. Ginkgo Notes allows for our marketplace investors to access to a strong, proven, real estate-backed asset class with short-term flexibility and returns that are difficult to find in todays public markets.

Its a win-win  we listened to our investors, developed a solution accretive to our capital structure and delivered a product that balances liquidity, yield and flexibility, added Rada Milenovici, Ginkgos Director of Investor Relations and Capital Raising.

Against the backdrop of record-high equity market valuations and ongoing rate cuts, investors are increasingly turning to Ginkgo Notes as a reliable alternative for stable short-term contractual returns. With stable returns, short durations, no fees and a low minimum, Ginkgo Notes have become a highly accessible income-oriented option. Since inception, Ginkgo has maintained a flawless payment record, reinforcing confidence in the programs reliability.

*Ginkgo Series No. 6 Short-Term Note delivers up to 4.6x the return of the average 3-month CD (per FDIC data) at its November 4th issuance.

About Ginkgo Residential

Ginkgo Residential is a leading provider of attainable, eco-friendly apartment communities across North and South Carolina. The firm specializes in acquiring, renovating, and managing high-quality housing while maintaining affordability. Recognized as a Top Workplace since 2020, Ginkgo is committed to both its residents and employees.



Explore investment opportunities at www.ginkgovest.com.

About Alto

Alto's self-directed IRA platform enables investors to diversify their retirement portfolios with alternative assets like private equity, venture capital, real estate, private credit and more. Alto acts as the IRA custodian for over $2.0B in assets with 32,000 self-directed IRA investors and supports more than 2,500 issuers who have raised capital on the platform. With minimal paperwork and competitive fees, Alto offers simplified SDIRA access to investments that are less correlated and have potential for higher returns. Users can establish Traditional, Roth or SEP IRAs and seamlessly invest in private markets. Learn more at altoira.com.

Contact Information



Ginkgo Investor Contact:

Rada Milenovici

rada.milenovici@ginkgomail.com

Alto Contact:

William Drakos

Profile Advisors

alto@profileadvisors.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/26150b07-9a7b-4bc0-afef-b7f4bcdcf22e
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Al Tamimi & Company has advised Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a BlackRock investment fund, on its acquisition of a 49% interest in the Jafurah gas processing facilities in Saudi Arabia from Aramco, through an investment in Jafurah Midstream Gas Company. The transaction, valued at US$11 billion, represents a significant milestone in the development of Saudi Arabias energy infrastructure and was announced during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) in Riyadh.

Al Tamimi & Company acted as Saudi counsel to GIP, working alongside Slaughter and May, with White & Case advising Aramco.

This marks the second major energy transaction in Saudi Arabia on which Al Tamimi & Company has advised GIP, following its previous role in the US$15 billion acquisition of a 49% interest in Aramcos gas pipeline network.

The transaction was led by Al Tamimi & Companys teams in Riyadh and Al Khobar. The Corporate team (Al Khobar) included Grahame Nelson, Jonathan Reardon, Alanood Allhaib, Anfal AlHudaib, Zain Zainalabedin, Khalid AlMubarak, and Rewa Al Dobas. They were supported by the Tax team (Riyadh) comprising Richard Ferrand, Shiraz Khan, and Jad Khazaal, and the Banking team (Riyadh) of Rafiq Jaffer and Aurangzeb Maqsood.

This transaction underscores Al Tamimi & Companys capability to advise on complex, high-value energy and infrastructure projects in the Kingdom, said Grahame Nelson, Partner, co-head of Al Khobar office. We are proud to have supported GIP on another landmark investment that contributes to Saudi Arabias energy transition and long-term growth.

About Al Tamimi and Company

Al Tamimi and Company is the leading full-service law firm in the UAE and MENA region, with 17 offices across 10 countries. Since 1989, we have delivered innovative, cost-effective legal solutions to address complex business challenges.

Our team of 580+ legal professionals combines deep expertise with practical insights, offering commercially focused advice that drives client success. With a commitment to diversity and inclusion, we foster a dynamic environment that attracts top talent and empowers us to deliver outstanding results across industries.

Media Contact

Hadi Ayedh

Public Relations and Communications Manager

+971505490461

h.ayedh@tamimi.com
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rakovina Therapeutics Inc. (Rakovina or the Company) (TSX-V: RKV)(FSE: 7JO0) a biopharmaceutical company advancing cancer therapies through AI-enabled drug discovery, today announced that new data will be presented in two posters at the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Annual Meeting, taking place November 1923, 2025, in Honolulu, Hawaii.



The presentations will highlight Rakovinas AI-driven programs to discover and develop next-generation DNA-damage response (DDR) inhibitors engineered for central nervous system (CNS) penetration, supporting the development of potential new treatment options for primary and metastatic brain cancers.



Presentation Details:

Title: Discovery and development of a novel CNS-penetrating ATR inhibitor

Session: Poster Session  DNA Repair (DNAR-05)

Date/Time: November 21, 2025 | 11:30 a.m.12:45 p.m. (HST)

Title: Discovery and development of novel CNS-penetrating PARP1-selective inhibitors

Session: Poster Session  DNA Repair (DNAR-06)

Date/Time: November 21, 2025 | 11:30 a.m.12:45 p.m. (HST)

The first poster presents results from Rakovina Therapeutics kt-5000AI ATR inhibitor program, developed in collaboration with Variational AI. The program leverages the ENKI generative AI platform to design and optimize CNS-penetrant ATR inhibitors with favorable pharmacologic properties for the potential treatment of brain cancers. The data highlight the discovery of potent, selective ATR inhibitors that demonstrate activity against treatment-resistant tumor phenotypes.

The second poster presents progress from the Companys kt-2000AI PARP inhibitor program, developed using the Deep Docking AI-accelerated drug discovery platform. The program applies ultra-large-scale virtual screening to evaluate billions of compounds in silico, rapidly identifying and optimizing PARP1-selective, CNS-penetrant inhibitors with desirable pharmacologic properties. The data illustrate how this approach enables deep exploration of chemical space and efficient discovery of next-generation candidates designed to address the limitations of first-generation PARP inhibitors.



The Society for Neuro-Oncology Annual Meeting is a premier global forum for advances in brain cancer research, and were proud to share our latest data at this years conference, said Prof. Mads Daugaard, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Rakovina Therapeutics. Our participation reflects Rakovinas ongoing efforts to develop first-in-class DNA-damage response inhibitors designed to reach the brain. By combining AI-accelerated medicinal chemistry with the world-class infrastructure at the University of British Columbias Vancouver Prostate Centre, we are advancing next-generation therapies targeting ATR and PARP1 pathways aimed at improving outcomes for patients with aggressive and treatment-resistant brain cancers.

About the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO)

The Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Annual Meeting, held in partnership with the World Federation of Neuro-Oncology Societies (WFNOS), is the premier global conference dedicated to advancing the science and treatment of brain cancers. The 2025 meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, will unite leading researchers, clinicians, and industry innovators from around the world to showcase groundbreaking discoveries and emerging therapeutic strategies in neuro-oncology. Recognized as one of the most influential forums in the field, SNO provides an unparalleled opportunity for visibility and collaboration across the global brain cancer community. For more information, please visit: https://www.soc-neuro-onc.org/SNO2025/SNO2025/Home.aspx

About Rakovina Therapeutics Inc.

Rakovina Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical research company focused on the development of innovative cancer treatments. Our work is based on unique technologies for targeting the DNA-damage response powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) using the proprietary Deep-Docking and Enki platforms. By using AI, we can review and optimize drug candidates at a much greater pace than ever before.

The Company has established a pipeline of distinctive DNA-damage response inhibitors with the goal of advancing one or more drug candidates into human clinical trials in collaboration with pharmaceutical partners. Further information may be found at www.rakovinatherapeutics.com .

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Notice Regarding Rakovina Therapeutics Forward-Looking Statements:

This release includes forward-looking statements regarding the company and its respective business, which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the proposed business plan of the company and other statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as plans, is expected, expects, scheduled, intends, contemplates, anticipates, believes, proposes or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events, or results may, could, would, might, or will be taken, occur, or be achieved. Such statements are based on the current expectations of the management of the company. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur by certain specified dates or at all and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the company, including risks regarding the biopharmaceutical industry, economic factors, regulatory factors, the equity markets generally, and risks associated with growth and competition.

Although the company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events, or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated, or intended. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. The reader is referred to the companys most recent filings on SEDAR+ for a more complete discussion of all applicable risk factors and their potential effects, copies of which may be accessed through the companys profile page at www.sedar.com.
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Matthews, a privately owned boutique investment management firm focused on Emerging Markets and Asia, today announced that Tiffany Hsiao has rejoined the firm. Tiffanys return supports Matthews long-term strategy to deepen its expertise in key growth areas including China, technology and innovation.

Tiffany brings extensive investment expertise and leadership to the firm. She originally joined Matthews in 2014 and departed in August 2020 to launch a China-focused private fund at Artisan Partners. Prior to her departure, Tiffany managed the firms China Small Companies, former Asia Small Companies (now Emerging Markets Small Companies) and Asia Innovators strategies, and was named the best female portfolio manager in the U.S. in 2018 and AAA-rated by Citywire Americas. Prior to her tenure at Matthews, Tiffany was a Vice President at Goldman Sachs Investment Partners in Hong Kong and Tokyo focusing on Asia Pacific investments with an emphasis on equities in China, and a Portfolio Manager at Franklin Templeton focusing on global communications technology.

Tiffany is one of the most talented investors in our industry and were thrilled to welcome her back to Matthews where she achieved so much success, said Mark Headley, Executive Chairman at Matthews. Our focus on technology and innovation goes back over 25 years, anticipating the powerful role that capital investment and entrepreneurship would play in driving the regions growth. That same commitment to innovation defines her work as a strategic-minded investor with a strong client focus and distinctive approach to research. Tiffanys vision and experience will be invaluable as we position the firm for its next phase of growth.

Based in San Francisco, Tiffany will work closely with the investment team to generate new perspectives and insights across portfolios. Her appointment reflects Matthews continued commitment to strengthening its investment leadership and capabilities in key growth areas.

Tiffany is an experienced portfolio manager and one of the leading investors in China, with deep expertise in technology and innovation, sectors that are increasingly important for our portfolios, said Sean Taylor, Chief Investment Officer. Tiffanys return strengthens our well-resourced and talented investment team, and we look forward to the perspectives and experience she brings.

Its great to be back at Matthews and to rejoin the investment team, said Tiffany Hsiao. I am especially excited to collaborate with Mark and Sean and work alongside a talented investment team. The firms focus on technology and innovation within Emerging Markets and Asia aligns closely with my passion for discovering growth companies that are driving meaningful progress, and I look forward to delivering results for our clients.

Tiffany will be joined in mid-December by two research analysts, who previously worked with her at Artisan Partners, and who will be located in Matthews Hong Kong office.

Matthews provides investors with a broad range of investment solutions across Asia and Emerging Markets. These include global, regional, country and thematic strategies available in Mutual Funds, Active ETFs and SMAs.



About Matthews

Matthews is an independent, privately owned investment manager founded in 1991 on a belief that Global Emerging Markets and Asia offer exceptional long-term growth potential. As a trusted and experienced guide, Matthews takes a long-term, active, fundamental investment approach to construct differentiated portfolios that focus on Global Emerging Markets and Asia. The firm manages assets on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally in vehicles that include Mutual Funds, Active ETFs and SMAs. For more information about Matthews, please visit www.matthewsasia.com .

Media Contact:

Dukas Linden PR

Sarah Lazarus/Christian Healey

+1 617-335-7823/+1 781-439-2500

sarah@dlpr.com / christian@dlpr.com

Disclosure

1 Citywire AAA-rating is for the 3-year risk adjusted performance of Matthews China Small Companies Fund as of 6/30/2018. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Matthews Asia Funds carefully before making an investment decision. A prospectus or summary prospectus with this and other information about the Funds may be obtained by calling 1.800.789.ASIA (2742) or by clicking this link https://www.matthewsasia.com/resources/docs/fund-documents/. Please read the

prospectus carefully before investing. Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible.

Ratings and awards referenced herein may not be representative of a positive experience by all clients invested in the Fund during the periods referenced and is not a guarantee of future performance or success. This announcement is for informational purposes only and does not, in any way, constitute investment advice or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security or product. Investing in international and emerging markets may involve additional risks, such as social and political instability, market illiquidity, exchange-rate fluctuations, a high level of volatility and limited regulation.

Matthews Asia is the brand for Matthews International Capital Management, LLC and its direct and indirect subsidiaries.

Matthews Asia Funds are distributed in the United States by Foreside Funds Distributors LLC and in Latin America by Picton S.A.
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP reminds investors of the upcoming January 2, 2026 to deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in the class action filed on behalf of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired CarMax, Inc. (CarMax or the Company) (NYSE: KMX) securities between June 20, 2025 and September 24, 2025, inclusive (the Class Period).

IF YOU SUFFERED A LOSS ON YOUR CARMAX INVESTMENTS, CLICK HERE TO INQUIRE ABOUT POTENTIALLY PURSUING CLAIMS TO RECOVER YOUR LOSS UNDER THE FEDERAL SECURITIES LAWS.

What Happened?

On September 25, 2025, CarMax released its second quarter 2026 financial results, disclosing significant revenue and profit declines year over year, including: a revenue decline of 6.0%, total retail used vehicle revenues decline of 7.2%, and a total gross profit decline of 5.6%. The Company attributed its results primarily to actions required to right size inventory as well as a $71.3 million increase in loan loss provisions.

On this news, the Companys share price fell $11.45, or 20.1%, to close at $45.60 per share on September 25, 2025, thereby injuring investors.

What Is The Lawsuit About?

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Companys business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors that: (1) Defendants recklessly overstated CarMaxs growth prospects when, in reality, its earlier growth in the 2026 fiscal year was a temporary benefit from customers buying cars due to speculation regarding tariffs; and (2) as a result, Defendants positive statements about the Companys business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.

If you purchased or otherwise acquired CarMax securities during the Class Period, you may move the Court no later than January 2, 2026 to to request appointment as lead plaintiff in this putative class action lawsuit.

Contact Us To Participate or Learn More:

If you wish to learn more about this action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact us:

Charles Linehan, Esq.,

Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP,

1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100,

Los Angeles California 90067

Email: shareholders@glancylaw.com

Telephone: 310-201-9150,

Toll-Free: 888-773-9224

Visit our website at www.glancylaw.com.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

If you inquire by email, please include your mailing address, telephone number and number of shares purchased.

To be a member of the class action you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the class action.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

Contact Us:

Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP,

1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100

Los Angeles, CA 90067

Charles Linehan

Email: shareholders@glancylaw.com

Telephone: 310-201-9150

Toll-Free: 888-773-9224

Visit our website at: www.glancylaw.com.
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BLogic Systems , a leading innovator in payment technology solutions, drives innovation and growth in the restaurant industry. With a track record of success, BLogic is redefining how restaurants manage operations, enhance customer experiences, and streamline financial transactions with its advanced POS systems and payment processing services.

As restaurants face increasing demands for efficiency and customer satisfaction, BLogic Systems provides a comprehensive suite of POS and payment solutions designed to meet the unique needs of the hospitality sector. The companys award-winning technology empowers restaurant owners and operators to improve service speed, reduce operational costs, and seamlessly integrate payment processing across all devices. Restaurants have touted 10-30% growth in revenue, 15% increase in table turnover rates and 17% increase in order efficiency since integrating with BLogic Systems.

Its advanced analytics give restaurant owners valuable insights into customer behavior, sales trends and employee performance. Restaurant merchants can request specific features to address unique challenges. For example, BLogic developed a feature for high-volume coffee shops at airports that automatically retrieves customer names from payment cards, improving order efficiency and reducing human error. BLogic's hybrid POS system operates without dependency on an internet connection. This "always-on" functionality significantly reduces downtime and prevents common issues like lost orders and duplicate transactions.

Our white-glove approach ensures that every restaurant merchant receives personalized attention from a dedicated account manager, fast-tracked onboarding and ongoing, hands-on support. We believe in building lasting relationships with our clients and offering them a solution thats not only reliable but tailored to their specific needs so they can focus on what matters most to them, said BLogic Systems CEO and founder Erick Tu. We have an under 1% turnover rate for POS customers, with many clients staying for over a decade, so when choosing BLogic, youre not just getting a POS provider, youre getting a long-term partner.

BLogic Systems will be joining industry lenders and investors at the Restaurant Finance & Development Conference in Las Vegas on November 10 - 12, 2025. For more information, visit www.blogicsystems.com .

About BLogic Systems

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Silicon Valley, BLogic Systems provides innovative payment processing and point-of-sale (POS) solutions to restaurant, retail and hospitality businesses of all sizes. With a focus on user-friendly technology and exceptional customer service, BLogic helps merchants streamline operations and optimize revenue. Having processed over $5 billion in payments and saved clients more than $8 million in fees, BLogic supports over 5,000 businesses, offering tailored solutions that improve transaction management, inventory control, customer data analysis and security. BLogic Systems has delivered customizable and scalable payment solutions for over 14 years. For more information, visit https://www.blogicsystems.com .
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP reminds investors of the upcoming November 18, 2025 deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in the class action filed on behalf of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Quanex Building Products Corporation (Quanex or the Company) (NYSE: NX) securities between December 12, 2024 and September 5, 2025, inclusive (the Class Period).

IF YOU SUFFERED A LOSS ON YOUR QUANEX INVESTMENTS, CLICK HERE TO INQUIRE ABOUT POTENTIALLY PURSUING CLAIMS TO RECOVER YOUR LOSS UNDER THE FEDERAL SECURITIES LAWS.

What Happened?

On September 4, 2025, after the market closed, Quanex announced financial results for the third quarter of the 2025 fiscal year. Among other things, the Company disclosed operational issues related to the legacy Tyman window and door hardware business in Mexico that are ongoing which impacted results more than expected during the third quarter of 2025. Specifically, the Company reported a diluted EPS of ($6.04), compared to $0.77 in the prior year period and an adjusted EBIDTA of $70.30. The Company further disclosed that it was adjusting for lower expected volumes and pushing out the timing of when [it] expect[s] to realize procurement savings from the integration of the Tyman business.

Then, on September 5, 2025, the Company held an earnings call pursuant to the Companys third quarter 2025 financial results. During the earnings call, Chief Executive Officer, George Wilson (Wilson) explained operational challenges in the Tyman facility in Mexico negatively impacted EBITDA in the Hardware Solutions segment by almost $5 million in the third quarter alone. Wilson further explained that the issue was previously identified midyear as it got deeper into the integration with Tyman, and described how the systems used to anticipate and plan for tooling repairs were significantly deficient, indicating it was near nonexistent. Wilson stated because Quanex was underinvested in the tooling condition and the equipment condition it had to make some changes and fix some things before it was catastrophic.

On this news, Quanexs stock price fell $2.73, or 13.1%, to close at $18.18 per share on September 5, 2025, on unusually heavy trading volume. The stock price continued to decline on the subsequent trading day, falling $1.98 or 10.9%, to close at $16.20 per share on September 8, 2025, on unusually heavy trading volume.

What Is The Lawsuit About?

The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Companys business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) the Companys procedures and policies regarding tooling and equipment maintenance in its Tyman Mexico facility were significantly underinvested; (2) as a result, the Companys tooling and equipment conditions had significantly degraded to near catastrophic levels; (3) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company was likely to incur significant costs, pushing out the timing of expected benefits from the Tyman integration; (4) that Quanex had previously identified the foregoing issues; and (5) that, as a result of the foregoing, Defendants positive statements about the Companys business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

If you purchased or otherwise acquired Quanex securities during the Class Period, you may move the Court no later than November 18, 2025 to request appointment as lead plaintiff in this putative class action lawsuit.

Contact Us To Participate or Learn More:

If you wish to learn more about this action, or if you have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact us:

Charles Linehan, Esq.,

Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP,

1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100,

Los Angeles California 90067

Email: shareholders@glancylaw.com

Telephone: 310-201-9150,

Toll-Free: 888-773-9224

Visit our website at www.glancylaw.com.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

If you inquire by email, please include your mailing address, telephone number and number of shares purchased.

To be a member of the class action you need not take any action at this time; you may retain counsel of your choice or take no action and remain an absent member of the class action.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

Contact Us:

Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP,

1925 Century Park East, Suite 2100

Los Angeles, CA 90067

Charles Linehan

Email: shareholders@glancylaw.com

Telephone: 310-201-9150

Toll-Free: 888-773-9224

Visit our website at: www.glancylaw.com.
Brooklyn, NY, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The development team behind 11-25 Franklin Street today announced the release of an updated site plan showcasing the propertys full footprint and remarkable potential as a turn-key cannabis complex in the heart of North Brooklyn.

The revised plan outlines the complete triangular lot, emphasizing its scale, flexibility, and adjacency to Bushwick Inlet Park. The property features an existing one-story, 16,000-square-foot building with approximately 140 feet of Franklin Street frontage and multiple entry points suitable for retail, lounge, or production uses.

Directly abutting Bushwick Inlet Park, the site also includes a 10,000-square-foot open yard, offering possibilities for gated park access, greenhouses, outdoor events, or cultivation space with unobstructed sightlines to the waterfront.

This updated plan really crystallizes the full potential of 11-25 Franklin, its not just a building  its a complete ecosystem for an integrated cannabis operation in one of the citys most desirable neighborhoods, said a business development representative at 11-25 Franklin Street.

The flexible open-floor layout of the building allows for dynamic configurations, from flagship retail at the front to production and office spaces toward the rear. Every square foot has been optimized for strategic use, ensuring no wasted space and a seamless connection between indoor and outdoor functions.

A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity

With zoning, utilities, and key infrastructure already in place, 11-25 Franklin represents a rare, fully integrated platform for cannabis operators ready to make an impact in New York City.

Opportunities like this simply dont come around twice, said [Spokesperson]. This is the only property on the NYC market offering this combination of scale, integration, and location. Its ready for a visionary brand to make its mark.

Potential tenants or partners are invited to lease or joint-venture the property and transform the former event hall into a destination cannabis complex  complete with full-building signage, branding rights, and unmatched visibility in Brooklyns fastest-growing corridor.

Availability

11-25 Franklin Street is now available for long-term lease or partnership discussions. To schedule a tour or request further information, please contact:

Mariana Brodsky

Business Development

11-25 Franklin

info(at)1125franklin.com
CEDARHURST, N.Y., Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Postal Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: PSTL) (the Company), an internally managed real estate investment trust that owns and manages over 2,200 properties leased primarily to the United States Postal Service (the USPS), ranging from last-mile post offices to industrial facilities, announced today that Andrew Spodek, Chief Executive Officer, and Postal Realty management will present at the Jefferies Real Estate Conference in Miami, FL at 9:30 AM Eastern Time on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. The Company will host meetings with the investment community during the conference.

The Company will also present at the 2025 Southwest IDEAS Conference in Dallas, TX on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at 4:00 PM Central Time. A live webcast of the presentation will be available on the Investors section of Postal Realty Trusts website Postal Realty Trust - Investors - Events & Presentations. For those unable to listen to the live audio webcast, a replay will be available on the website shortly after the event. The Company will also host meetings with the investment community during the conference.

About Postal Realty Trust, Inc.

Postal Realty Trust, Inc. is an internally managed real estate investment trust that owns and manages over 2,200 properties leased primarily to the USPS. More information is available at postalrealtytrust.com.

Contact:

Steve Bakke

EVP and Chief Financial Officer

Email: sbakke@postalrealty.com

Phone: 516-734-0420

Jordan Cooperstein

Vice President of FP&A, Capital Markets

Email: jcooperstein@postalrealty.com

Phone: 516-295-7820
Toronto, Ontario, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avante Corp Inc. (TSX.V: XX) (OTC: ALXXF) (Avante or the Company) is pleased to announce the appointment of Ted Rajanayagam as Vice President, Technology.

In this role, Mr. Rajanayagam will oversee Avantes technology strategy and operations, including innovation leadership, product and platform modernization, infrastructure, and the ongoing enhancement of technology-enabled service delivery. He will be responsible for ensuring scalable, secure systems are in place to support Avantes growing client base while advancing digital transformation across the organization.

Mr. Rajanayagam brings more than 15 years of experience leading technology-enabled operations within security, managed services, and SaaS organizations. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Customer Operations at Notified, where he led international support and service functions, executed large-scale operational improvement initiatives, and implemented new digital capabilities that increased efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Throughout his career, Mr. Rajanayagam has built and led high-performance teams, established data-driven service models, and delivered technology roadmaps that align organizational growth with exceptional customer experiences. His leadership background spans customer success technologies, AI automation, analytics platforms, and the integration of modern systems to strengthen operational resiliency.

We are excited to welcome Ted to our executive team, said Manny Mounouchos, Founder, CEO & Board Chair of Avante. His expertise in driving technology transformation and enabling customer-centric service delivery will strengthen our capabilities as we evolve Avante into a more innovative, agile, and digitally focused security solutions provider.

About Avante Corp.

Avante Corp Inc. is a Toronto based leading provider of security operatives and technology enabled security solutions to residential and commercial clients. Avantes mission is to deliver an elevated level of security globally, with white-glove mentality to high- net-worth families and corporations alike, through advanced solutions and methods of detecting conditions that require immediate response. The Company has developed a diversified security platform that leverages advanced technology solutions to provide a superior level of security services. With an experienced team and proven track record of solid growth, Avante is taking steps to establish a broad portfolio of security businesses and solutions for its customers through organic growth complemented by strategic acquisitions. Avante acquires, manages and builds industry leading businesses which provide specialized, mission-critical solutions that address the security risks of its clients. Avante is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker XX. For more information, please visit www.avantecorp.ca and consider joining our investor email list.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain Forward-Looking Information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-Looking Information are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties, and contingencies. Forward-Looking Information generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as may, should, will, could, intend, estimate, plan, anticipate, expect, believe or continue, or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-Looking Information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Forward-Looking Information and the Forward-Looking Information are not guarantees of future performance. Avantes comments expressed or implied by such Forward-Looking Information are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and conditions, many of which are outside of Avantes control, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information. Forward-Looking Information are qualified in their entirety by inherent risks and uncertainties, including: direct and indirect material adverse effects from adverse market conditions; that future results may vary from historical results; that market competition may affect the business, results and financial condition of Avante and other risk factors identified in documents filed by Avante under its profile at www.sedarplus.ca, including its most recent Annual Information Form and its most recent Management, Discussion and Analysis. Except as required by securities law, Avante does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information:

Emmanuel Mounouchos

CEO, Chairman, and Founder

Avante Corp.

(416) 923-6984

manny@avantesecurity.com
Beijing, China, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which has drawn global attention, deliberated over and adopted the Recommendations of the Central Committee of the CPC for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development (hereinafter referred to as the Recommendations). The fourth plenary session stated that we must seize the historical initiative to overcome difficulties, combat risks, and confront challenges, focus on managing our own affairs, and write yet another chapter on the miracles of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability, opening up new horizons for Chinese modernization.

The two miracles have been created by the Party leading the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in unity and perseverance  following a good blueprint through to the end and advancing one five-year plan after another. The spirit of the fourth plenary session and the Recommendations have outlined a grand blueprint for writing yet another chapter on the two miracles in the new era and on the new journey.

In the article Uphold Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Strive in Unity to Build a Modern Socialist Country in All Respects in Volume V of the book series Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, President Xi Jinping pointed out that we have advanced reform, opening up, and socialist modernization and have written a new chapter on the miracles of fast economic growth and long-term social stability. China now has more solid material foundations and stronger institutional underpinnings for pursuing development. The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is now on an irreversible historic course.

Pressing forward to continue writing a new chapter on the two miracles is a grand declaration of the Partys resolve to seize the historical initiative, advance and open up new horizons for Chinese modernization.

In the 15th installment of the special series "Decoding the Book of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China," the Global Times (GT), along with the People's Daily Overseas Edition, continues to invite Chinese and foreign scholars, translators of Xi's works, practitioners with firsthand experience and international readers to discuss the theme of "focusing on managing our own affairs, writing yet another chapter on the miracles of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability, and opening up new horizons for Chinese modernization," and deeply explore the important practical significance and value of this concept.

In the 15th article of the "Readers' Reflections" column, Global Times (GT) reporter Ma Tong talked to Erik Solheim (Solheim), chairman of Europe-Asia Center, and former under secretary-general of the United Nations and the executive director of United Nations Environment Programme.

GT: The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC recently deliberated over and adopted the recommendations for the 15th Five-Year Plan, giving a positive assessment of China's major development achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) and stating that we have made solid new strides in advancing Chinese modernization and gotten off to a successful start on our new journey toward the Second Centenary Goal. You first visited China over 40 years ago and have returned several times since. How do you assess its socio-economic progress over the years? What new features of its progress over the past five years have impressed you the most?

Solheim: Chinas development since the launch of reform and opening-up in 1978 has been an astonishing success. While countries like South Korea and Singapore also experienced rapid growth during a similar period, Chinas path has been unique as no country of Chinas scale has ever lifted so many people out of poverty and subsequently shifted toward green development in recent years.

From the latter part of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) through the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, under President Xis leadership, the focus shifted toward green and high-quality growth. Over the past decade, China has made fantastic efforts to combat pollution and has become the world leader in green development, from electric vehicles (EVs), solar panels, to other clean technologies. Today, the country has become a major force in global green transition, and its 14th Five-Year Plan has truly consolidated its position as the global leader in everything green.

Now, the key phrase guiding Chinas development is new quality productive forces, with a focus on technology-driven transformation. This concept aims to merge the two great revolutions of our time  the green industrial revolution and the technological revolution in information and artificial intelligence (AI). This strategic shift shows Chinas commitment to sustainable growth, and more importantly, it offers a new path for nations worldwide  particularly developing countries  to balance economic progress with environmental protection, offering a referential Chinese approach.

GT: In Volume V of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, it states that technological innovation acts as a core factor in developing new quality productive forces, as it gives rise to new industries, business models and growth drivers. This means we must strengthen technological innovation, with the focus on original and disruptive innovations, and increase strength and self-reliance in science and technology as quickly as possible. Likewise, the 15th Five-Year Plans major objectives highlight significant achievements in high-quality development; substantial improvements in scientific and technological self-reliance and strength as top priorities. In your view, how crucial is technological self-reliance to Chinas modernization, and what do you see for its tech industry in the next five years, especially its role in global innovation?

Solheim: The 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) prioritizing self-reliance, underscores technological innovations pivotal role in national modernization. However, when some nations or regions attempt to exclude China from their markets, it is only logical choice for China to strengthen its own capabilities. Meanwhile, I think China seeks to avoid escalating tensions, while it must safeguard its own interests and ensure independence from those who attempt to hold it back. This strategy of technological autonomy defends the countrys innovation sovereignty while contributing to a fairer global tech ecosystem and the advancement of worldwide progress.

Over the next five years, I think China is poised for more original and disruptive innovations. With breakthroughs in areas like AI, biomedicine, and clean energy set to advance productivity and quality of life, initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative will foster mutually beneficial global cooperation in science and technology.

GT: President Xi stressed, advancing Chinese modernization is an endeavor that requires a coordinated, systematic and holistic approach to a series of major issues, including that between self-reliance and opening up. Delivering a written speech at the APEC CEO Summit on October 31, President Xi said, We will continue to deepen reform and high-quality development through high-standard opening up, bring more stability and certainty to the Asia Pacific and world economy, and provide fertile soil for global investors and entrepreneurs. In todays uncertain world, what signal is China sending by opening up more? What impact does Chinas further opening-up have on foreign companies, investors and the stability of global economy?

Solheim: Amid growing global uncertainty, Chinas open stance sends a clear message to the world: The country will remain a firm supporter and driver of globalization. Today, almost all economic growth in the world today is taking place in Asia  particularly developing countries like China and India. Asia has become the engine of global growth, creating vast markets and increasing fresh demand, which benefits not only the region but also everyone.

Chinas slowing exports to the US this year have been offset by growing exports to many other countries and regions. This shows that the world economic landscape is much larger than a few Western economies. The majority of the worlds population lives in the Global South, where most economies are expanding rapidly and poised to generate many emerging markets in the years ahead.

In this context, Chinas continued opening-up and its leadership in green transition has great practical significance and global implications. We see Chinese green and tech investments are going global, bringing advanced wind and solar technologies, EVs and more to the world. Notable examples include CATLs recent battery plant in Indonesia and BYDs ongoing overseas expansion. I hope to see more Chinese green investments abroad, as such cooperation will not only grow Chinas economy but also help advance global sustainable development, contributing to a more inclusive and resilient world economy.

GT: The period covered by the 15th Five-Year Plan will be critical in this process as China work to reinforce the foundations and push ahead on all fronts toward basically achieving socialist modernization by 2035. The Fourth Plenary Session communique emphasized the need to focus on managing our own affairs, and write another chapter on the miracles of rapid economic growth and long-term social stability, opening up new horizons for Chinese modernization. What is the source for your confidence in China achieving its modernization by 2035? How is the advantage of its system in focusing on its own affairs to realize the two miracles?

Solheim: My confidence comes from Chinas past success. When I first visited the country in 1984, it was then underdeveloped. There were virtually no private cars and no skyscrapers. Today, China has transformed into a vibrant, modern economy, with cities and infrastructure among the most advanced in the world, and its economy is one of the fastest growing. So, if China could achieve so much in the past, why wouldnt it continue to succeed in the next decade or so?

My confidence also stems from the countrys proven resilience in tackling complex challenges. This strength lies in the combination of a strong, effective leadership and a vibrant market economy. The complementarity and synergy between the two is what drives Chinas vitality and underpins its institutional strength. The government sets long-term vision and regulation  for example, introducing new quality productive forces  while robust market competition drives innovation, lowers costs, and delivers tangible benefits to ordinary people.

Of course, China also faces multiple challenges. For instance, the process of green transition must be inclusive, benefiting not only advanced coastal provinces like [East Chinas] Jiangsu and [South Chinas] Guangdong but also the vast western regions. However, Chinas strong governance system makes it better positioned than many Western countries to overcome such obstacles.

GT: President Xi has stressed that Party leadership has a direct bearing on the fundamental orientation, future trajectory, and ultimate success of Chinese modernization. The Fourth Plenary Session communique pointed out that China remains in a phase of development where strategic opportunities exist alongside risks and challenges, while uncertainties and unforeseen factors are rising. How do you view the role of the CPCs leadership in steering China through today's domestic and international challenges and in driving its modernization forward?

Solheim: From my travels in China, the high-speed rail system is a perfect example of the systems efficiency. I just took a high-speed train over 900 kilometers in just a few hours, arriving exactly on time. Back in 2008, both China and the US decided to develop high-speed rail. Since then, the US has barely started, while China has built about a 48,000-kilometer network  roughly the distance from Paris to Beijing and back three times. It is a truly remarkable feat.

This achievement in modern urban development is possible because China has a strong government capable of making decisions and executing them effectively. By contrast, the US state governing capacity is limited. The Western world cannot simply copy Chinas system, as it is deeply rooted in the nations unique cultural traditions. But we should learn from Chinas efficiency to improve governance. We need to build public projects like housing, high-speed rail, and subways, as China has done.

Amid rising global uncertainty, the CPC leadership, through long-term planning and efficient resource allocation, not only addresses domestic challenges but also maintains stability amid external uncertainties, and turns risks into opportunities, ensuring steady advance of Chinese modernization and offering lessons for global governance.



Source: Global Times:

Company: Global Times

Contact Person: Anna Li

Email: editor@globaltimes.com.cn

Website: https://globaltimes.cn

City: Beijing





Disclaimer: This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies (including product offerings, regulatory plans and business plans) and may change without notice. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces an investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Nidec Corporation (OTC: NJDCY) resulting from allegations that Nidec Corporation may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Nidec Corporation securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=47559 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email case@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.

WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On September 3, 2025, after market close, CNBC published an article entitled Nidec shares plunge 22% as China unit probe finds accounting issues tied to management. The article further stated that shares of Nidec fell after the company announced a probe into allegations of improper accounting in its group. This marks the largest one-day drop in the Japanese electronics components manufacturers shares.

On this news, Nidec American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) fell 22.7% on September 4, 2025.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved, at that time, the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. At the time Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs Bar. Many of the firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.

Phillip Kim, Esq.

The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

case@rosenlegal.com

www.rosenlegal.com
OTTAWA, Ontario, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In response to the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa across the Caribbean region, the Canadian Red Cross, in collaboration with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Jamaica Red Cross, is deploying an emergency medical clinic to help people impacted by the disaster.

With support from donors and the Government of Canada, a multidisciplinary team of Canadian Red Cross humanitarian experts are leaving for Jamaica, with equipment to follow, to assist with the response. Their efforts complement and strengthen the work of the Jamaica Red Cross, who were already on the ground when Category 5 Hurricane Melissa struck and continue to deliver critical assistance.

Quick Facts:

Canadian Red Cross emergency medical clinic deploying to Jamaica, with support from the Government of Canada and Canadian donors.

Deploying seven humanitarian experts to assist alongside Jamaica Red Cross and the IFRC. The team will provide vital operational leadership and health expertise, including outreach services to communities severely impacted by the hurricane, medical supplies and medication, mental health and psychosocial support materials, and operations management.

to assist alongside Jamaica Red Cross and the IFRC. The team will provide vital operational leadership and health expertise, including outreach services to communities severely impacted by the hurricane, medical supplies and medication, mental health and psychosocial support materials, and operations management. Sent more than 24,000 emergency relief items to help people in Jamaica, such as hygiene kits, shelter toolkits, and mosquito nets, with support from the Government of Canada.

emergency relief items to help people in Jamaica, such as hygiene kits, shelter toolkits, and mosquito nets, with support from the Government of Canada. Supported response efforts in Haiti to help people with shelter, water, sanitation, and hygiene.

Pharmaceutical kits, including medical supplies and medication, being provided to help people in Cuba.



Quote:

The Red Cross is working tirelessly to help people affected by the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa. The Canadian Red Cross is working alongside the Jamaica Red Cross and our international partners to deliver urgent care, comfort, and vital supplies. With support from the Government of Canada and the generosity of donors, we are deploying an emergency medical clinic and a team of humanitarian experts to provide life-saving assistance to those who need it most.

 Conrad Sauve, president and CEO, Canadian Red Cross

Those who would like to help people in the Caribbean impacted by Hurricane Melissa are encouraged to donate to the Hurricane Melissa Appeal online at redcross.ca or by calling 1-800-418-1111.

Additional Resources

@redcrosscanada.bsky.social | facebook.com/CanadianRedCross | redcross.ca/blog

Red Cross donor inquiries: WeCare@redcross.ca or 1-800-418-1111

About the Canadian Red Cross

Here in Canada and overseas, the Red Cross stands ready to help people before, during and after a disaster. As a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement  which is made up of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and 191 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies  the Canadian Red Cross is dedicated to helping people and communities in Canada and around the world in times of need and supporting them in strengthening their resilience.

MEDIA CONTACTS

English Media: 1-877-599-9602 media@redcross.ca

French Media: 1-888-418-9111 communication@croixrouge.ca
Logistics revenue grew 3.3% year-over-year to $63.0 million, supported by continued US volume growth

Trucking and Logistics delivered positive operating income for a second straight quarter

Operating cash flow increased to $9.5 million, compared to $7.0 million in Q3 2024

Continued to de-leverage the balance sheet, retiring $8.9 million of debt while growing cash balance to $20.7 million at quarter-end

BOLTON, Ontario, Nov. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Titanium Transportation Group Inc. (Titanium or the Company) (TSX:TTNM, OTCQX:TTNMF), a leading provider of transportation and logistics services throughout North America, is pleased to report its financial results for the three and nine-month period ended September 30, 2025. All amounts are in Canadian currency.

Q3 2025 Financial and Business Highlights Compared with Q3 2024

Consolidated revenue of $115.7 million, compared to $118.4 million in Q3 2024

Consolidated EBITDA 1 of $8.9 million, compared to $10.3 million in Q3 2024, with consolidated EBITDA Margin 1 of 8.7%

of $8.9 million, compared to $10.3 million in Q3 2024, with consolidated EBITDA Margin of 8.7% Cash flow from operating activities increased to $9.5 million, compared to $7.0 million in Q3 2024

Truck Transportation segment revenue of $53.8 million, compared to $58.1 million in Q3 2024

Logistics segment revenue of $63.0 million, up 3.3% compared to $61.0 million in Q3 2024

Fully diluted adjusted net income per share from continuing operations of $0.01, compared to ($0.01) in Q3 2024

Cash on hand reached $20.7 million at September 30, 2025

Repaid $8.9 million in debt

Despite a challenging economic and freight market backdrop, our third-quarter performance underscores the momentum building across the business, said Ted Daniel, Chief Executive Officer of Titanium Transportation Group. Both segments delivered positive operating income for a second consecutive quarter, supported by disciplined pricing, targeted asset rationalization, and strengthened execution. Logistics revenue grew 3.3% year-over-year to $63.0 million, while Truck Transportation continued to improve sequential profitability, reflecting the benefits of our more focused and sustainable operating model.

Balance sheet strength remains a top priority. We generated $9.5 million in operating cash flow during the quarter, increased cash on hand to $20.7 million, and reduced debt by a further $8.9 million, during the quarter. These actions enhance our financial flexibility as we navigate market volatility while staying positioned for long-term opportunities. As we move through the remainder of the year, our focus will continue to be on margin protection, operational discipline, and driving efficiency across our network, added Mr. Daniel.

Q3 YTD 2025 Financial Highlights Compared with Q3 YTD 2024

Consolidated revenue of $356.2 million, up 2.8% compared to $346.4 million in Q3 2024.

EBITDA 1 of $27.7 million, compared to $30.2 million in Q3 2024, and EBITDA Margin 1 of 8.7%

of $27.7 million, compared to $30.2 million in Q3 2024, and EBITDA Margin of 8.7% Logistics segment revenue of $194.7 million, up 12.3% compared to $173.4 million. EBITDA 1 of $8.8 million and EBITDA Margin 1 of 5.1%.

of $8.8 million and EBITDA Margin of 5.1%. Truck Transportation segment revenue of $164.3 million. EBITDA 1 of $21.9 million with an EBITDA Margin 1 of 15.0%.

of $21.9 million with an EBITDA Margin of 15.0%. Net income per share of ($0.04) on a fully diluted basis, compared with ($0.07) at Q3 2024.

Summary of Q3 2025 Financial Results (in thousands $CAD)

Q3 2025 Q3 2024 % Change YTD 2025 YTD 2024 % Change Consolidated Results Revenue 115,721 118,399 (2.3 %) 356,248 346,405 2.8 % EBITDA1 8,906 10,292 (13.5 %) 27,666 30,195 (8.4 %) EBITDA margin1 8.7 % 9.8 % 8.7 % 9.9 % Net Income 560 (1,500 ) 137.3 % (1,809 ) (3,147 ) 42.5 % Net Income per share 0.01 (0.03 ) (0.04 ) (0.07 ) Truck Transportation Revenue 53,847 58,103 (7.3 %) 164,338 174,905 (6.0 %) EBITDA1 7,725 7,859 (1.7 %) 21,933 23,534 (6.8 %) EBITDA margin1 16.1 % 15.5 % 15.0 % 15.6 % Logistics Revenue 62,953 60,963 3.3 % 194,673 173,353 12.3 % EBITDA1 2,303 3,560 (35.3 %) 8,800 9,765 (9.9 %) EBITDA margin1 4.2 % 6.5 % 5.1 % 6.3 %

EBITDA and Operating Income to Net Income (in thousands $CAD)

Q3 2025 Q3 2024 YTD 2025 YTD 2024 Net income (loss) 560 (1,500 ) (1,809 ) (3,147 ) Add (deduct) Loss (gain) on sale of property and equipment (724 ) 324 2,846 (2,568 ) Finance costs 2,456 2,858 7,738 9,760 Finance income (81 ) (65 ) (264 ) (264 ) Foreign exchange loss (gain) 118 (736 ) (712 ) 1,043 Income tax recovery (105 ) (286 ) (458 ) (2,213 ) Loss from discontinued operations 0 1,093 0 1,053 Operating Income 2,224 1,688 7,341 3,664 Depreciation 6,682 8,145 20,325 25,157 Amortization of customer lists 0 459 0 1,374 EBITDA 8,906 10,292 27,666 30,195

EBITDA margin (in thousands $CAD)

EBITDA margin is calculated as EBITDA as a percentage of revenue before fuel surcharge. Management relies on this measurement as an indicator of our ability to generating operating cash flow from core operating activities as a percentage of revenue, net of fuel related line items.

Q3 2025 Q3 2024 YTD 2025 YTD 2024 EBITDA 8,906 10,292 27,666 30,195 Revenue 102,267 105,038 316,825 305,343 EBITDA margin 8.7 % 9.8 % 8.7 % 9.9 %

Operating margin (in thousands $CAD)

Operating margin is calculated as operating income as a percentage of revenue before fuel surcharge. Management relies on this measurement since it's an indicator of our efficiency to generate a return from our core operating activities.

Q3 2025 Q3 2024 YTD 2025 YTD 2024 Operating income 2,224 1,688 7,341 3,664 Revenue 102,267 105,038 316,825 305,343 Operating margin 2.2 % 1.6 % 2.3 % 1.2 %

2025 Outlook

Ted Daniel, Chief Executive Officer, Titanium Transportation Group, commented, Freight markets remain challenging and while we continue to expect a gradual and uneven recovery, we remain focused on what we can control.

Our priorities remain unchanged: protect margins, maintain balance sheet strength, and execute with discipline across our network. The benefits of our refined operating model, supported by disciplined pricing, targeted asset rationalization, and continued investment in technology are becoming increasingly evident. We will continue to reduce debt and selectively invest in high-return opportunities that enhance our competitive position. As market conditions evolve, we believe Titanium is well positioned to emerge even stronger, with a more efficient cost structure and a solid foundation for sustainable growth and long-term value creation, added Mr. Daniel.

2025 Guidance

Amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty, freight market volatility, and unpredictable tariff backdrop, Titanium Transportation estimates Revenue of $112 million to $117 million, and EBITDA % of 8.5% - 9.5% for the next quarter. The Company remains confident in the fundamentals of the business and is focused on operational execution, margin preservation and cash generation.

Conference Call

The Company will also hold a conference call for analysts and investors with Ted Daniel, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tuesday, November 11, 2025 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time, to discuss its results.

Details of the conference call:

Date: Tuesday, November 11, 2025

Time: 8:00 a.m. ET

North America dial-in number: 1-800-717-1738

International dial-in number: 1-289-514-5100

A replay of the conference call can be accessed until midnight on November 24, 2025.

Details of the replay:



North America dial-in number: 1-888-660-6264

International dial-in number: 1-289-819-1325

Conference ID: 36001

Passcode: 36001#

For more details, or visit Titaniums investor relations website at https://www.ttgi.com/investors

About Titanium

Titanium is a leading North American transportation company with asset-based trucking operations and logistics brokerages servicing Canada and the United States, with approximately 850 power units, 3,000 trailers and 1,300 employees and independent owner operators. Titanium provides truckload, dedicated, and cross-border trucking services, logistics, and warehousing and distribution to over 1,000 customers. Titanium has established both asset-based and brokerage operations in Canada and the U.S. with eighteen (18) locations. Titanium is a recognized purchaser of asset-based trucking companies, having completed thirteen (13) transactions since 2011. Titanium ranked among top 500 companies in the inaugural Financial Times Americas Fastest Growing Companies in 2020. The Company was ranked by Canadian Business as one of Canada's Fastest Growing Companies for eleven (11) consecutive years. For four (4) consecutive years, Titanium has also been ranked one of Canadas Top Growing Companies by the Globe and Mails Report on Business of Canada. Titanium is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TTNM" and TTNMF on the OTCQX.

NON-IFRS FINANCIAL MEASURES

The following financial measures do not have any standardized meaning under IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures employed by other companies:

Earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is calculated as net income before depreciation, amortization, asset impairments, gains or losses on the sale of equipment, finance income and costs, gains or losses on foreign exchange, income tax expense, transaction costs, accelerated customer list amortization and goodwill impairment.

EBITDA margin is calculated as EBITDA as a percentage of revenue before fuel surcharge.

Operating income is calculated as net income before asset impairments, gains or losses on the sale of equipment, finance income and costs, gains or losses on foreign exchange, income tax expense, transaction costs, accelerated customer list amortization and goodwill impairment.

Operating margin is calculated as operating income as a percentage of revenue before fuel surcharge.

Free cash flow is calculated as cash flow from operations plus proceeds from finance lease receivables and proceeds from disposition, less capital expenditures.

Management of the Company believes that these financial measures are useful for investors and other readers, when used in conjunction with other IFRS financial measures, as they are measurers used internally by management to evaluate performance. However, these financial measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with IFRS.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements contained in this press release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purposes of assisting the reader in understanding Titanium's current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking information may relate to Titanium's future outlook and anticipated events, and may include statements regarding the financial position, business strategy, budgets, litigation, projected costs, capital expenditures, financial results, taxes and plans and objectives of or involving Titanium. Particularly, statements regarding future acquisitions, the availability of credit, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities for Titanium or the industry in which it operates are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as may, might, will, could, should, would, occur, expect, plan, anticipate, believe, intend, seek, aim, estimate, target, project, predict, forecast, potential, continue, likely, "schedule", or the negative thereof or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts.

Information contained in forward-looking statements is based upon certain material assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection, including management's perceptions of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other considerations that are believed to be appropriate in the circumstances. While management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on currently available information, they may prove to be incorrect.

The forward-looking statements made in this press release are dated, and relate only to events or information, as of the date of this press release. Except as specifically required by law, Titanium undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Neither the TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contact Information

Titanium Transportation Group Inc.

Ted Daniel, CPA, CA

Chief Executive Officer

(905) 266-3011

ted.daniel@ttgi.com

www.ttgi.com

For Investors

James Bowen

416-519-9442

James.Bowen@loderockadvisors.com





1 Refer to "Non-IFRS Financial Measures
Vancouver, November 10, 2025 - Questcorp Mining Inc. (CSE: QQQ) (OTCQB: QQCMF) (FSE: D910) (the "Company" or "Questcorp") completed the first tranche of its non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") on October 24, 2025. In connection with closing of the first tranche, the Company issued 14,000,334 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.15 per Unit for gross proceeds of $2,100,050. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (each, a "Share") and one-half-of-one share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, an "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to acquire an additional common share of the Company at a price of $0.20 until October 24, 2027, subject to accelerated expiry in the event the closing price of the Shares is $0.50 or higher for ten consecutive trading days.

A portion of the Units issued under the first tranche the Offering, representing $2,000,000 are held pursuant to a sharing agreement entered into with an institutional investor, Sorbie Bornholm LP ("Sorbie") and the Company (the "Sharing Agreement"). Funds deposited under the Sharing Agreement are secured in escrow with a third-party. The Sharing Agreement provides that the Company's economic interest will be determined in twenty-four monthly settlement tranches as measured against the Benchmark Price (as defined herein). Unless subject to adjustment, each monthly settlement tranche will total $79,792.

If, at the time of settlement, the Settlement Price (determined monthly based on a volume-weighted average price for twenty trading days prior to the settlement date) (the "Settlement Price") exceeds the benchmark price of $0.1949 (the "Benchmark Price"), the Company shall receive more than one-hundred percent of the monthly settlement due, on a pro-rata basis. There is no upper limit placed on the additional proceeds receivable by the Company as part of the monthly settlements. If, at the time of settlement, the Settlement Price is below the Benchmark Price of $0.1949, the Company will receive less than one-hundred percent of the monthly settlement due on a pro-rata basis. In no event will a decline in the Settlement Price of the Units result in an increase or decrease in the number of Units being issued to Sorbie, but it could result in the Company receiving less than the full amount of the subscription received from Sorbie or in the Company receiving a nominal amount for a particular month.

As an example, the following are the monthly settlement amounts the Company would receive based on varying Settlement Prices:

Settlement Price Monthly Settlement Amount $0.2449 $100,262 $0.1949 (Benchmark Price) $79,792 $0.1449 $59,322

For further information concerning the Offering, readers are encouraged to review the news release issued by the Company on October 27, 2025.

About Questcorp Mining Inc.

Questcorp Mining Inc. is engaged in the business of the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in North America, with the objective of locating and developing economic precious and base metals properties of merit. The Company holds an option to acquire an undivided 100% interest in and to mineral claims totaling 1,168.09 hectares comprising the North Island Copper Property, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, subject to a royalty obligation. The Company also holds an option to acquire an undivided 100% interest in and to mineral claims totaling 2,520.2 hectares comprising the La Union Project located in Sonora, Mexico, subject to a royalty obligation.

This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties, uncertain capital markets; and delay or failure to receive board or regulatory approvals. There can be no assurance that the geophysical surveys will be completed as contemplated or at all and that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/273791
VANCOUVER, November 10, 2025 - Giant Mining Corp. (CSE: BFG | OTC: BFGFF | FWB: YW5 | CSE: BFG.WT.A | CSE: BFG.WT.B.) ("Giant Mining" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has expanded its engagement with RESPEC Company LLC ("RESPEC"). RESPEC will incorporate silver assays from the recent and historic drilling for the Majuba Hill porphyry copper-silver-gold project ("Majuba Hill") in Pershing County, Nevada.

Purpose of Engagement

Building on its mandate, RESPEC's updated interpretation and technical review of the Majuba Hill Copper-Silver-Gold Project is incorporating results from the Company's most recent drill program, including core data from drill holes MHB-30 through MHB-36.

Silver will also be added into the Company's internal project model. This work will refine the geometry of breccia bodies, evaluate the impact of new findings on project potential, and help advance the geologic controls for copper mineralization. In addition, the review will guide the Company's strategy for further drilling, determine the timing of metallurgical studies, and support the evaluation of new target zones.

Notably as previously reported in the (September 24, 2024 News Release), Majuba Hill has previously delivered high-grade silver intercepts, including 74.0 feet of 30.1 g/t Ag within 218.0 feet averaging 73.4 g/t Ag and 1.35% Cu (drill hole MHB-27), underscoring the polymetallic strength of the system and its potential to generate significant by-product value alongside copper and gold. These strong silver results will be integrated into the new 3D model and help quantify the contribution of silver mineralization to overall project economics.

David Greenway, President and CEO of Giant Mining, commented, "Continuing and expanding our engagement with RESPEC is a critical step in advancing Majuba Hill," said David Greenway, President and CEO of Giant Mining. "By integrating the silver assays along with the latest core data, we are refining the geological model and unlocking new layers of potential at a time when silver prices have surged to approximately US$50 per ounce, representing a compound annual growth rate of roughly 35% over the past year. This work provides a clear path for future drilling, metallurgical studies, and target evaluation, all essential steps toward realizing Majuba Hill's full potential as a significant copper-silver-gold asset in Nevada-a top-tier U.S. mining jurisdiction."



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Figure 1: Majuba Hill 2025 Target Zones

Jeffrey M. Bickel, Principal Geologist at RESPEC Company LLC, commented:

"Our ongoing work at Majuba Hill focuses on refining the geological and structural models to integrate new drilling data with advanced geostatistical and 3D modeling techniques. Incorporating silver assay data-alongside copper and gold, and including the high-grade silver intervals reported in 2024, allows us to map silver distribution within breccia bodies and vein arrays, evaluate its correlation with copper, and better constrain domaining and grade continuity. This refinement supports Giant Mining's efforts to prioritize step-outs, plan metallurgical testwork that addresses silver recovery, and advance delineation of the copper-silver-gold system at Majuba Hill."

On November 6, 2025, the U.S. Geological Survey ("USGS") filed the final 2025 list of critical minerals in the Federal Register. The list retains all 50 minerals from 2022 and adds 10 more (total 60), notably including copper and silver, thereby strengthening federal focus on domestic supply chains through research, permitting, and related policy tools. This designation underscores the strategic relevance of Majuba Hill's copper-silver system.1

Strategic Impact

The updated interpretation will provide Giant Mining with a stronger technical foundation for future economic potential while highlighting the potential of new target zones across the Majuba Hill property. These results will support the Company's broader strategy of advancing Majuba Hill as a key domestic source of copper and silver at a time of heightened U.S. demand for secure, reshored supply chains.

Majuba Hill's critically important characteristics are as follows:

Location: Nevada, USA - a globally top-ranked mining jurisdiction, ranked #1 in the Fraser Institute's 2022 Annual Survey of Mining Companies. Project Size: 9,684 Acres Infrastructure: The Majuba Hill property is located 113 road kilometers (70 miles) southwest of Winnemucca, Nevada, and 251 kilometers (156 miles) northeast of Reno. It is accessible via well-maintained county roads from the Imlay, Nevada exit on U.S. Interstate 80, followed by a 23-mile drive west. People, roads, power, and water are fundamental considerations for infrastructure, and Majuba Hill already benefits from a strong foundation in all these areas. This existing infrastructure provides a significant advantage, offering substantial cost savings compared to more remote projects. History: Historical Producer Drilling: Approximately 89,395 feet of drilling to date. Rough replacement value of drilling USD $12.1 Million using current costs. Mineralization: The project shows indications of a potentially large Cu - Ag +/- Au mineralized body with many features in common with both large porphyry copper, silver, and gold projects. Expandability: The IP survey, deep drilling, and step-out drilling indicate significant expansion potential, with mineralization open in all directions. Fully Financed: Secured funding for next phase of drilling at Majuba Hill

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by E.L. "Buster" Hunsaker III, CPG 8137, a non-independent consulting geologist who is a "Qualified Person" as such term is defined under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43- 101").



Click Image To View Full Size

Market Awareness

Furthermore, the Company announces it has entered into an agreement with Plutus Invest & Consulting GmbH ("Plutus") on November 1st, 2025, for a term of 2 months commencing on November 7th, 2025, in for a total payment of EURO 120,000 to provide consulting services related to advertising, marketing, PR strategies and investor awareness in the European market. Plutus has a business address at Buchtstr. 13, Bremen 28195, Germany and can be contacted at (email: contact@plutuinves.de), or by telephone: (+49 42117540174?). Plutus (including its directors and officers) has an arm's-length relationship with the Company. The Company will not issue any securities to Plutus as compensation for its marketing services.??

About Giant Mining Corp.

Giant Mining is focused on identifying, acquiring, and advancing late-stage copper and copper/silver/gold projects to meet the growing global demand for critical metals. This demand is driven by initiatives like the Green New Deal in the United States and similar climate-focused programs worldwide, which require substantial amounts of copper, silver, and gold for electric vehicles, renewable energy infrastructure, and the modernization of clean and affordable energy systems.

The Company's flagship asset is the Majuba Hill Copper, Silver, and Gold District, located 156 miles (251 km) from Reno, Nevada. Majuba Hill is situated in a mining-friendly jurisdiction with supportive regulations and has the potential to become one of the next major copper deposits, critical for meeting the increasing need for this red metal.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release is not intended to constitute an offer, invitation, or solicitation for the sale or purchase of securities in Australia or in any other jurisdiction. Admission to quotation on the National Stock Exchange of Australia ("NSX") does not imply that the NSX or any regulator endorses the merits of the Company or its securities.

On Behalf of the Board of Giant Mining Corp.

"David Greenway"

David C. Greenway

President & CEO

For further information, please contact:

E: info@giantminingcorp.com

P: 1 (236) 788-0643

VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS

www.giantminingcorp.com

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Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward?looking information. Such information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by statements herein, and therefore these statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. All forward?looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to it as well as other factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward?looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Due to risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties identified by the Company in its public securities filings, actual events may differ materially from current expectations. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward?looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

###

1 Sourced: November 6, 2025 Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals and About the 2025 List of Critical Minerals

Copyright (c) 2025 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
Vancouver, November 10, 2025 - Lara Exploration Ltd. (TSXV: LRA) (OTC Pink: LRAXF), ("Lara" or the "Company") advises that its has been notified by Minsur S.A. ("Minsur") of its intention to relinquish its option to acquire the Company's 45%-owned Lara Copper Project in southern Peru.

The Lara Copper Project comprises mineral rights covering a partly defined copper-molybdenum porphyry deposit, located in the Laramate Province of the Ayacucho Department, approximately 40km inland from the town of Palpa on the Panamerican Highway. To date 9,850 metres of diamond and reverse circulation drilling have been completed, outlining a mineralized footprint of 2,000 metres east to west and between 500 metres and 800 metres north to south.

Lara diamond drilling highlights include:

LA-10-32 which intercepted 108 meters at 0.81% Cu and 0.015% Mo.

LA-10-35 intercepted 218 meters at 0.57% Cu and 0.042% Mo.

Drilling results from the Lara Project were previously disclosed by Lara in news releases dated January 21, 2008, January 31, 2011 and February 28, 2012, which can be found in the News and Projects sections of the Company website (www.laraexploration.com) and filed on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca).

Michael Bennell, Lara's Vice President Exploration and a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and has approved the technical disclosure and verified the technical information in this news release.

About Lara Exploration

Lara is an exploration company, advancing its 100%-owned Planalto Copper-Gold Project in the Carajas Mineral Province of northern Brazil, with an open pitable Mineral Resource detailed in a NI 43-101 Technical Report filed on October 17, 2024. Scoping studies completed in 2025 are detailed in NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment, results of which were published on October 21, 2025. Lara follows the Prospect and Royalty Generator business model, which aims to minimize shareholder dilution and financial risk by generating prospects and exploring them in joint ventures funded by partners, retaining a minority interest and or a royalty. The Company currently holds a diverse portfolio of prospects, deposits and royalties in Brazil, Peru and Chile. Lara's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "LRA".

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada

accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/273911
Build It With An Office

A Mountain Getaway

(TNS)  Before the pandemic hit, working at home was the exception, not the rule. But what was a novelty is likely to become a more permanent reality, and that is driving a hunt for alternatives to plopping down a laptop on the kitchen table.About one in five employers expect to have 40 percent or more of their staff at a remote location come next spring, according to a survey last month from The Conference Board. Before COVID-19 hit, only 3 percent were that open to out-of-the-office work arrangements.People are like, This is driving me crazy  this is not good for our family dynamic. One or both of us need to get out of the house,  said Mike Koenig, president of Studio Shed in Louisville, recounting what his company is hearing from customers.The maker of pre-fabricated sheds has seen its orders rise five-fold since the pandemic hit. And almost all of the buyers, 95 percent, plan to use its modern-style sheds with interior finishes as home offices or work studios, not storage. It has gone meteoric for us, he said. Demand is so strong the company added a night shift to handle shipments. The manufacturer has gone from around two dozen employees to closer to three dozen to meet orders for the sheds, which start at around $20,000.Nearly half of workers report that their mental health has deteriorated since they began working at home, according to a survey conducted by KPMG. Part of that reflects the added workload employees face as colleagues are furloughed or let go.Koenig suspects the lack of separation between work space and personal space could also be contributing to mental stress. Home is meant to be a sanctuary from work, a place to enjoy your family and detach. Now more people are finding no escape.Erin Miller, who lives in Centennial, was already working from a small home office before the pandemic hit, doing copy editing and document layout. She and her husband, who shared the space occasionally, had weighed whether to build an addition to accommodate a larger office. But the high cost and a 16-month construction schedule gave them pause. Then the pandemic hit.With the stay-at-home order, my husband had to move part-time into the office with me this spring, which was not ideal for either of us, Miller said. The two had considered a Studio Shed years earlier and revisited the option.The Millers purchased a 1016 foot shed with lap metal siding on May 15 and completed it in early July. The footprint was small enough to not require a permit with the city, although they did need a permit for the electrical work. They hired a certified installer to speed up the construction time and to deal with drainage issues in their yard.My commute to work is a bit longer  out the back door and across the grass instead of just down a flight of stairs  but the space is welcoming, Miller said. She also uses the shed to relax after work or visit with friends, but there has been one complication.My biggest problem is keeping my two teenagers from trying to take over the space  they think its really cool and regularly offer suggestions as to how they and their friends might like to hang out in the space, Miller said.Six months into the pandemic, some builders are convinced enough that remote work is here to stay that they have reconfigured their designs to include dedicated offices.The number of folks we see who have a home office has gone way up, said Randy Carpenter, president of KB Homes Colorado Division. They tell us stories about working from their kitchen table or their couches or their garages. That make-shift workplace is not working for them.Prior to the pandemic, about 5 percent to 10 percent of those visiting a sales office might be working at home, Carpenter said. Now that figure is running closer to 40 percent and will likely remain elevated in the years ahead.KB Home has redesigned some of its existing plans to provide home offices that look more like work offices rather than bedrooms repurposed as a den with a desk dropped in. Models showing the new configurations should be available for viewing next month at Baseline Villas in Broomfield, Cooperleaf in Aurora and Flatiron Meadows Villas in Erie.The offices come with built-in cabinets, shelves and countertops that serve as desk space. There are USB jacks, data connection points and electrical outlets that mimic what people would find at work. And the rooms have extra soundproofing so the kids or pets dont interrupt that important video call.KB Home includes the offices without expanding the footprint of the house. The extra finishes add about $2,000 to $4,000 to the cost of a more traditional design, Carpenter said.Denver-based M.D.C. Holdings Inc. also has revamped the plans at its subsidiary Richmond American Homes to help homebuyers adapt to the pandemic.Like KB Home, it is offering more options when it comes to home offices or integrating technology into other rooms so people can use them as workspaces. But the company has also expanded its Sunstone Plan to convert the fourth bedroom into multiple uses  teen center, an extended workspace or a home gym.Many homeowners are living in a home that no longer makes sense for them, and we want to offer solutions, Heidi Sheldon, the companys national vice president of marketing, said in a release.Long after the pandemic has passed, the physical changes made to living spaces will be visible.Another way to cope with the cabin fever that working at home can generate is to rent another home, preferably one within driving distance that offers a change of scenery.High Rocky Homes co-founders Nadim Tannous and Alex Haler, like many owners of vacation properties, didnt know what to expect regarding the future of short-term rentals after travel ground to a halt.But the two, who either own or manage more than 50 properties in Colorado, California and Florida, have gone from worrying about survival in April and May to coping with a flood of requests.In June and July there was a surge in activity of people going up to the mountains wanting to getaway. We have had historic occupancy rates the last couple of months, said Tannous.Haler adds that initial predictions of a wave of panic selling depressing second home prices never materialized. Instead, the opposite has happened. More people are buying in resort areas to escape big cities, and the available inventory has tightened.Not only did occupancy roar back, but guests were staying for long periods of time. For Tannous, that meant they were either taking extended vacations or, more likely, that they were working remotely.Guests started asking for something that was a rare request before  desks in their rooms. The requests became so frequent that Tannous and Haler are complying, even converting one room in their 10-bedroom lodge in Leadville into an office area.If they can work remotely what does it matter if they are working from their apartment or house or further away, Tannous said. He also notes that many guests dont always tell their employers where they are actually located.Guesty, a property management service that High Rocky Homes uses, has seen a 117 percent increase in reservations of 90 days or more. It is also seeing more spur-of-the-moment rentals. In July, for example, a majority of bookings came within seven days of arrival.Bookings for holidays periods, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, are running lower than they did this time last year, the company said. That might change given the trend to booking closer in. But if it doesnt, it could also reflect workers not needing a remote office over the holidays.Even Las Vegas is getting in on the act. MGM Resorts earlier this month unveiled its Viva Las Office packages that offered discounted room rates, food credits and flexible check-in times at Bellagio and ARIA resorts. Weekdays only though.
Report: Samsung wants to launch a credit card in the US to compete with the Apple Card

Samsung is looking to launch a credit card in the US, reports The Wall Street Journal. The card will be a partnership between Samsung and British bank Barclays and it will use Visa as the payment network.

This is clearly intended to compete with the Apple Card that rival Apple offers. That one is backed by Goldman Sachs and Mastercard (though we hear that Goldman Sachs wants out).

Samsung and Barclays are reportedly in advanced talks and should make a formal announcement by the end of the year. Apparently, talks are taking longer than expected.

Both companies have something to gain from this. Samsung wants to become a bigger part of consumers purchasing habits. Barclays, meanwhile, is looking to expand its foothold in the US market.

The credit card is just part of it  Samsung also wants to offer a variety of financial services like a high-yield savings account, digital prepaid account and buy now, pay later deal. Barclays will back at least some of these services, according to one insider.

Samsung Pay Card in India

Samsung has similar services in other regions, e.g. the Samsung Pay Card launched in Korea in 2020 on the Mastercard network. The Pay Card launched in the UK in 2020 (this one is a digital card rather than a physical one). Samsung India launched a credit card in partnership with Axis Bank in 2022.

Source (paywall)
2025 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit concludes, with Chinese firms' Embodied AI taking center stage

08:37, November 10, 2025 By Chi Jingyi, Liu Yang ( Global Times

This photo taken on Nov. 6, 2025 shows a venue of the 2025 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province. The 2025 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit kicked off here on Thursday, with a focus on building a community with a shared future in cyberspace, according to its organizers. Photo: Xinhua

The 2025 World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit came to an end on Sunday, with Chinese companies' breakthrough in embodied artificial intelligence (AI) stealing the spotlight of the event.

Smart Strategy Science and Technology Development Co showcased its latest all-terrain intelligent vehicle system, powered by AI agents, including land-based vehicles, robotic dogs, medium to large-sized drones, and unmanned boats.

"The system provides decision-making support for emergency rescue, reducing operational risks and boosting efficiency," Zhou Tongyuan, assistant of general manager of the company told the Global Times on Saturday at Wuzhen.

The company's vehicles and robotic dogs were displayed at the Light of Internet Expo (WICEXPO), a signature event of the summit.

"Robotic dogs can substitute for human workers in hazardous tasks. Additionally, they are equipped with 5G relay stations to enable data transmission from disaster areas, facilitating remote command and control," said Zhou.

Chinese robotics start-up Noetix Robotics introduced its bionic humanoid robot Xiaonuo at the WICEXPO. "Featuring 32 degrees of freedom in its head for rendering micro-expressions, Xiaonuo can be widely applicable in university research and serve as an interpreter at museums," Zhang Chengcheng, senior business manager of Noetix Robotics, told the Global Time.

Equipped with algorithms for speech and facial recognition powered by AI, the robot enables natural conversations. The robot has been mass-produced for universities, museums, sanatoriums, livestreaming platforms, and animation companies, said Zhang.

WIC participants noted that with Chinese AI models leading the global open-source ecosystem, AI terminal products are proliferating, making consumers' "AI+" experiences increasingly tangible.

Industry-specific LLMs are driving China's AI into a new development phase, with AI agents as the core force of industrial transformation, they said. China's AI technologies are landing in diverse scenarios, integrating with manufacturing, services, and other sectors, becoming a major engine for high-quality development.

According to a report released at the WIC Wuzhen Summit, China's AI innovation has continued to advance over the past months, with computing infrastructure upgrading steadily. Chinese AI LLMs are shifting from "heavy training" to "heavy inference," with reinforcement learning and knowledge distillation ramping up inference efficiency.

China has become the world's largest holder of AI-related patents, accounting for 60 percent of the global total, according to a report released by the Chinese Academy of Cyberspace Studies at the 2025 WIC on Saturday.

During the summit, representatives of Hangzhou's ''Six Little Dragons'' - Game Science, DeepSeek, Unitree Robotics, DEEP Robotics, BrainCo and Manycore Tech - provided insights for the country's tech development.

Wang Xingxing, founder and CEO of Unitree Robotics, currently a global leader in humanoid robotics, said that AI is fueling accelerated growth across the robotics sector.

"The embodied AI field feels like a 'dream' lately - many science fiction scenes are becoming reality, and this pace will only quicken. AI is bringing embodied intelligence closer. Next year or the year after, robotics surprises may outshine this year's," Wang said.

"Spatial intelligence will be the major field after large language models, which will be a key infrastructure for robots in the physical world," said Manycore Tech chairman Huang Xiaohuang.

STAR.VISION, a Chinese AI-driven satellite company, unveiled its Lunar AI Robot at the expo, which is set for a 2029 landing on the moon via the Chang'e-8 mission to verify humanity's first lunar surface "scan-to-pay" function, the Global Times learned.

In November 2024, Oman's homegrown satellite and AI Company Oman Lens LLC, in collaboration with STAR.VISION, successfully launched Oman's first satellite - OL-1 - Oman's first internationally registered satellite under the UN's International Telecommunication Union.

"We now have one satellite, but we have our Chinese partners. In the future, we are aiming to launch more than 200 satellites," lbtihal Al Saadi, an Al innovation specialist at Oman Lens, told the Global Times on Sunday. "I'm really impressed by the overall environment of the Wuzhen Summit" Al Saadi said.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
How technology powers China's drive for common prosperity

Xinhua) 11:24, November 10, 2025

HANGZHOU, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- From nursing homes to farmland, rapid advances in AI and other digital technologies are reshaping services, production and governance across China.

As the country strives to make technology accessible to all, these innovations are injecting new momentum into its drive for inclusivity and common prosperity.

In the ancient water town of Wuzhen, in east China's Zhejiang Province, a local nursing home exemplifies this shift. At the Wuzhen Intelligent Elderly Care Center, residents live with the support of robotic companions and intelligent devices such as smart pill boxes.

Unlike traditional facilities, this smart nursing home features an intelligent system that analyzes seniors' behavior and vital signs in real time. The data-driven system helps caregivers identify potential risks early and provide customized services.

"The system, integrating Internet of Things, big data and AI, streamlines elderly care services, enhances seniors' quality of life, and foresees potential risks," said Zhong Yueying, director of the nursing home.

"We have evolved from simply providing care to helping the elderly enjoy their lives by improving their overall well-being," said Wang Qiuhong, assistant general manager of Tongxiang Heji Nursing Home Co., Ltd., which manages the nursing home.

This digital transformation is reaching China's growing silver-haired population. By the end of 2024, people aged 60 and above reached 310 million, accounting for about 22 percent of the country's total population, a demographic now increasingly assisted by smart technology.

At a sub-forum of the ongoing 2025 World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit, Li Yanyi, vice governor of Zhejiang, highlighted the province's efforts to expand AI applications to meet public needs, particularly those of vulnerable groups. A major step has been the launch of a digital platform linking over 40,000 senior service providers throughout the province, enabling more elderly residents to access digitalized care.

The wave of technological empowerment is also sweeping China's vast countryside, playing a critical role in the country's push for rural revitalization, further narrowing the urban-rural gap and bringing common prosperity to rural residents.

In Xiaogang Village, Fengyang County, in east China's Anhui Province, intelligent irrigation and field-monitoring systems serve as "digital guardians" for crops, while AI-powered drones conduct precision scouting, identifying pests and diseases in real time. The data they collect generates "digital prescriptions" for targeted fertilizer and pesticide use.

"Smart agriculture in Xiaogang ensures stable and increased yields, cuts costs and boosts efficiency," said Li Jinzhu, the first secretary of the village's Party committee. "We are also integrating digital technology into tourism and local governance to diversify villagers' income and improve public services."

Li added that Xiaogang, widely regarded as the "cradle of China's rural reform," hopes to share its new experience in developing modern agriculture and bridging the urban-rural divide with other regions.

In August this year, China released a national AI action plan, calling for accelerated digital-intelligent upgrading of agriculture and strengthened AI integration in farm management and risk prevention to support farmers across the country.

In Zhejiang's Jinhua City, AI is being paired with low-altitude technology to help farmers map field boundaries, classify crop types, detect forest fires and pest infestations, and reduce pollution by enabling precision fertilization and waste monitoring.

Xu Zhijie, assistant general manager of Jinhua Zhejiang Agricultural Information Technology Co., Ltd., said that the company has developed over 20 proprietary AI models for agriculture, streamlining tasks from field monitoring to biodiversity tracking.

"AI is fueling high-quality development and expanding the economic pie. It enhances productivity and value of traditional industries while creating new professions and improving governance," said Li Jun, director of the Zhejiang Development and Planning Institute.

"Rural residents are active participants, not bystanders, in this technological revolution," he added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
Guam residents impacted by the ongoing federal government shutdown could soon see relief after a successful procedural vote in the U.S. Senate to advance funding legislation.

Island leaders are hopeful, though there is more to come before the federal government can reopen, considering that any U.S. senator can delay consideration of the deal for several days, along with sending it to the House.

Del. James Moylan, in a statement on Monday, said the vote marks a critical step toward reopening the government and restoring stability for millions of families, including those on Guam.

Eight Democrat U.S. senators reached a deal with their Republican counterparts and the White House to reopen the government, in exchange for a future vote on extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies.

Acting Gov. Josh Tenorio welcomed the news, expressing relief that critical safety-net programs may soon be restored, just as families begin preparing for the holidays.

Across the nation and here at home, families have faced weeks of anxiety as the federal government shut down and critical programs were put on hold, Tenorio said in a statement. If this measure passes as expected, many of our people will finally see a return to normalcyfederal workers will receive their pay, safety-net benefits will resume, and families will regain the stability they deserve.

Meanwhile, its unclear where Guam is with federal funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, after another guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The USDA has issued a series of conflicting guidance to states and territories over SNAP, causing confusion throughout the nation.

Questions to the Department of Public Health and Social Services were unanswered as of press time Monday.

SNAP and the Women, Infant and Children, WIC, program could end up being funded if federal lawmakers are able to pass a funding bill.

The vote in the Senate is the furthest any funding legislation has gone since the federal government shutdown on Oct. 1.

For Guam, this vote means hope for federal workers whove gone weeks without pay, and for vulnerable families who rely on SNAP and WIC to feed their children, Moylan said.

Some Democrat senators in the U.S. Senate voted to move toward passing compromise legislation to fund the federal government.

Im especially grateful to the senators who chose cooperation over delay, and who recognized the real-life impact this shutdown has had on working families, veterans, and public servants, Moylan said.

The delegate said SNAP and WIC are lifelines for many residents on Guam.

And every day of uncertainty has deepened the strain on our islands households, he said.

Moylan said he is eager to go to Washington, D.C. to move forward on the critical agenda for Guam.

Lets get this donefor our families whove waited long enough, he said.

The vote opens the path to final passage of the continuing resolution, which must now clear a final Senate vote and then pass the House before the federal government can officially reopen, Moylans office said in a release.

Conflicting guidance

The USDA has now issued guidance telling states who paid out full benefits to SNAP recipients that it was unauthorized. The full payments were made after a federal judge ordered it.

However, the Trump administration appealed the judges order and a Supreme Court justice put a pause on the full payment of SNAP benefits.

USDA, in its latest guidance, said states can process and load the partial issuance of SNAP benefits that reflect a 35% reduction.

According to a USDA reduced SNAP allotment for Guam:

Household of 1 would get $285

Household of 2 would get $523

Household of 3 would get $752

Household of 4 would get $952

Household of 5 would get $1,133

Household of 6 would get $1,362

Household of 7 would get $1,505

Household of 8 would get $1,714

Each additional person would be $209

So far, SNAP recipients on Guam have been able to get half of their normal benefits through a locally funded program called the General Food Assistance Benefits.

The benefits were issued on the same dates families normally receive their SNAP benefits.

If the federal government shutdown continues and SNAP benefits are still unavailable, the remaining 50% will be distributed mid-November, Public Health said earlier.

The local government has also funded WIC benefits for October and November.

Tenorio said the administration didnt wait for Washington, D.C. to act and moved quickly to provide these food benefits to residents.

When the federal government was unable to act, we did what Guam has always done: take care of our neighbors in need, he said. We made sure that our children had food to eat, our families had access to help, and our community did not go without. I am proud of the swift action and compassion shown by our government employees and nonprofit partners.

Tenorio said if the U.S. Senates measure becomes law, Guam will begin transitioning back to federal program operations, easing the strain on local funds used to sustain services during the shutdown.

This federal action means our local safety net will be reinforced, not replaced, he added. We are grateful to see Washington moving to restore what our people need moststability, dignity, and peace of mind.

While this is a positive step, Tenorio cautioned that the compromise measure only funds the federal government through Jan. 30, 2026.

He noted that although some programs may receive funding for the rest of the fiscal year, others could again face uncertainty early next year if Congress fails to reach a long-term agreement.

This is not the end of our vigilance, he said. We must stay prepared. Our administration will continue monitoring developments closely and remain ready to help our people wherever possible.

Tenorio encouraged residents to remain patient as federal agencies begin reopening and to stay connected to local support networks until all federal operations are fully restored.

As we enter the holiday season, I want our people to feel hope, he said. Guams strength is our unity, and together, we will continue to protect each other, no matter what challenges come from Washington.
(This is the first of a series of stories from an hours-long legislative oversight hearing on tourism on Nov. 10, 2025.)

Senators on Monday grilled for hours Guam Visitors Bureau officials on whether the appropriated $10 million for airline incentives would boost tourism for fiscal year 2026, in light of missed arrivals target for fiscal 2025 over a perfect storm of events and competing priorities for local tax dollars.

At one point, GVB board chairman George Chiu gave budget chair Sen. Chris Duenas and other lawmakers a calculation that 222,000 additional tourists to Guam are needed to recoup the $10 million investment.

Chiu also later on said theres going to be a 30% return on that investment.

Tourism officials, overall, gave senators an assurance during the hours-long oversight hearing that the hefty investment will be worth it.

But Sen. Shawn Gumataotao wasnt as convinced, especially after finding out during questioning that GVB has not received from the administration, as of Nov. 10, a penny of the $10 million that senators appropriated in the fiscal 2026 GovGuam budget.

Im absolutely frustrated with this administration, he said, adding later on, Im just absolutely frustrated this morning to hear, zero, of $10 million, is not even close to getting into your hands.

He asked Cabinet members in the gallery to get on your phones to call the governors office about the release of the funding.

GVB General Manager Regine Biscoe Lee said the bureau and the Department of Administration will be working out a payment plan, and once again thanked senators for supporting tourism by appropriating $10 million for the airline incentive programs.

Adelup has yet to respond to a request for comment on the delay in providing GVB with at least a portion of that appropriation.

You guys are spending more money getting less people, I get the pandemic. But when we spent less money...we had 1.6 million (arrivals), 1.4... Gumataotao said.

Guam saw record 1.6 million arrivals in pre-pandemic fiscal 2019. Its preliminary fiscal 2025 arrivals reached 721,483, fewer than the prior years 745,101.

Chiu told senators that Guam would have exceeded its target for fiscal 2025 if Guam didnt lose some 30,000 airline seats from Korea in the first half of the fiscal year after the merger of Asiana and Korean Air.

After the merger, theyve been trying to comply with government regulations for so many guaranteed seats in one year.

They didnt do it in the beginning of the year and they are backloading it in the end of the year and unfortunately Guam is suffering the negative consequences of that backloading, Chiu told senators.

After COVID-19, Guam had to deal with what GVB described as a perfect storm that led to slow tourism recovery, including Typhoon Mawar, airline accidents, weakened yen and won, fierce competition from other markets, and the merger of the two Korean airlines.

At the start of the hearing, Chiu said tourism is moving in the right direction and GVB has worked hard to rebuild airline routes, reestablish confiidence in tourism markets and strengthened Guams position as a safe, welcoming destination.

Of course were not where we wanna be but the trend is upwards and thats something we all can be proud of, he added.

Who gets laid off...first?

Gumataotao, whos also chairman of the Republican Party of Guam, called for accountability and responsibility in the event GVB is unable to deliver its promised result for the $10 million.

If you come again and say we come up short, what happens when you come up short? That was my question. What happens when we dont make the number? Who gets laid off...first? he asked. Which part of the bureau gets cut out first?

Biscoe Lee raised her hand.

Chiu confirmed that it would be Biscoe Lee, if the GVB board is a governing board rather than an advisory board.

Sen. Sabrina Salas Matanane said GVB is in the same situation Guam Memorial Hospital was in, when GMH wasnt able to get a portion of the $40 million bailout that senators thought would be immediately released by the administration.

Earlier in the hearing, Chiu said he understands senators want to be able to show taxpayers how $10 million will be spent.

The Republican-led Legislature approved a tax cut for big businesses, which Adelup said means a loss of about $40 million in tax revenue for fiscal 2026 and some $80 million loss for fiscal 2027 that would have otherwise gone to public services. Then they also gave extra $10 million to GVB.

Lujan: Tourism fighting for its life

Sen. Jesse Lujan, chairman of both the tourism and foreign and federal relations committees, opened the oversight hearing with an assessment that Guams tourism industry is fighting for its life.

He cited a series of tourism and retail challenges, from the closure of Hard Rock Cafe Guam just on Sunday to Tumon Sands Plaza, once the jewel of high-end retail, now being a ghost town. DFS or T Galleria, he said, is also barely hanging on.

We are long past the wait-and-see phase. This is about whether the islands economy makes it through the night, Lujan said.

Besides grilling GVB officials, senators also called in officials of the Guam International Airport Authority during the second part of the lenghty oversight hearing.

Chiu at one point also told senators that it takes time for the incentives program to work.

It wont happen overnight, it would be an arduous process, it will take time but were confident that Guam is still a destination that people want to come to, he said.

GVB: Incentives work for Guam

GVB started the airline incentives program in fiscal 2025, and extended it to 2026 with the help of the Legislature.

Biscoe Lee, Chiu, GVB Deputy General Manager Gerry Perez and others told senators that its because of the incentives program and aggressive marketing that Guam was able to get direct United Airlines flights to Taiwan which started in April, a new Cebu-Guam route on Philippine Airlines starting this December, and even retain Korean seats even with losses from that market for reasons beyond Guams control.

Over the past year, GVB has helped restore 129,000 incremental airline seats into Guam. These flights werent automatic. Airlines in this region continue to face pilot shortages, fleet constraints and shifting routes, Biscoe Lee said.

The former senator has only been on the job as GVB general manager for seven months.

Just long enough to get a clear view of whats working, what needs fixing and what needs to be rebuilt from the ground up, she said.

Biscoe Lee and Chiu also shared other successes, including the launch of the Tumon Night market, which continues to draw thousands every Sunday and giving local vendors a sales boost.

Guams tourism story is one of discipline and momentum. In seven months, we turned data into direction and direction into results, she said. We still have work to do but the foundation is solid.

(Next: Details about GVBs airline incentives program).
If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got. The vicious cycle by Socrates.

The political game vicious cycle happens every election. Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio comes forward with a sudden concern about raising the minimum wage. Tenorio is running for governor and wants to present the image of caring for the working class. The governor pressed the speaker into introducing a process to increase the salaries of appointed and elected officials.

The governor is trying to bind political loyalty with the directors and political appointee class to Tenorio. The pay raise/minimum wage political games are the same games that are played every election to win voter approval.

The big problem is that politicians are quick to give pay raises to government workers while doing absolutely nothing to improve the living conditions for the 75% of the people who do not work for the government of Guam.

Since 2019, I have been fighting with the Legislature trying to get someone to consider warm unique status as a non-free market economy, and provide a livable wage. Workers on Guam have a little choice of occupations other than low-wage service sector jobs, unless theyre lucky and have relatives in government.

At the rate things are going, as more businesses close and the owners leave, GovGuam will be the employer of last resort as it was in the 1960s.

The non-government of Guam workforce is forced to live in a non-market-based economy, where the cost of living exceeds the Bay Area of San Francisco because basic economic rules do not apply on Guam.

Anti-market economy rule #1: Geographic isolation.

The residents of Guam cannot drive to where the jobs are. In the mainland, you have freedom to travel where good jobs are. When I lived in Reno, Nevada, which is another hospitality/low-wage service economy, I commuted to the Bay Area and worked in a dot.com company.

When the economy of Puerto Rico collapsed, millions of Puerto Ricans spent between $200 and $300 to fly and apply for jobs in Miami, Atlanta, Raleigh, Delaware, and New York City.

Here on Guam, it costs nearly $2,000 to fly to the mainland, making Guam workers economic hostages.

Anti-market economy rule #2: Guam is a government economy.

The healthy part of our economy is government expenditure based.

The rest of our economy is a low-wage service sector-based economy with limited middle class jobs.

Anti-market economy rule #3: No upward mobility for workers.

We have an education factory that graduates between 2,000 and 2,500 students a year in an economy that creates 1,000 to 1,500 mostly with low wage service sector jobs a year.

That is why more than half of our graduating students join the military or relocate to the mainland, where they find better job opportunities.

On the radio talk shows, and in interviews, we hear politicians and business leaders tell the people that if they want a better job, get a better education to get a better skillset, which does not solve the problem that our economy does not generate middle-class jobs.

I know a person who graduated from the University of Guam with a business degree. The only job he could find was a nightshift housekeeping supervisor paying $24,000 annually. He worked days installing air conditioners to be able to support his family.

He joined the military, became an officer, and his pay jumped to $60,000, plus housing and benefits.

Thats why those who upgrade their job skills leave for where the skilled jobs are.

Anti-market economy rule #4: Lack of affordable housing makes Guam an undesirable location.

The lack of affordable housing is also the reason why more than 50% of our high school and college graduates join the military after graduation.

It is why many young couples living at home are delaying having families.

The lack of affordable housing is why the number of multigeneration families living under one roof grows every year.

Politicians talk every election about creating affordable housing, but with average home prices doubling over the past few years, it is obvious they are doing nothing about it.

Which points out the perpetual cost of living increase machine, federal rent subsidies, is driving up house prices and rent beyond what local people can afford.

The federal government provides an annual cost-of-living adjustment, COLA, to federal employees on Guam based on the cost of living on Guam, which is driven by the high cost of housing rental on Guam. This will cause an increase in COLA next year. Since 2016, federal COLA increases have been double-digit every year, based on cost of housing.

Businesses also suffer from Guams brain drain as thousands of younger families leave every year, searching for better employment opportunities and a better quality of life.

It is sad to report that people from Guam can live in a three-bedroom, two-bath house in Vallejo, California, a community in the Bay Area of San Francisco, one of the highest cost of living cities in the United States, but still cheaper than a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment on Guam.

Unless politicians and business leaders work together to make the quality of life better on Guam, more than 50% of graduates will continue to leave, joining the military or relocating to the mainland for better opportunities.

The younger and skilled will continue to leave, and the retired grandparents will continue to liquidate Guam assets, taking their money to invest in areas close to where the children and grandchildren live.

Businesses, stuck in a vicious cycle of an economy circling the drain will continue to close their doors and leave as the quality of customers declines and the brain drain strips Guam businesses of potential employees.

And soon, more than 50% of employees will work for GovGuam, the employer of last resort as it was in the 1960s, proving the truth of Socrates warning: If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you always got.

The only way to break this vicious cycle is to start electing politicians who care for the fortunes of our people, instead of their personal fortunes.
The victories in what is being described as a blue wave in these early November elections all over the country should inspire our homeland.

From Zohran Mamdanis victory in New York to Abigail Spanbergers historic win as the first female governor-elect of Virginia, one thing rings true: people want change.

This emerging electorate is increasingly progressive and I caution local candidates to listen to our manhoben. Policies like the ones coming out of bastions of progressive politics are what many of us want to see and despite what has been said prior by opposing political apologists, this past week of polling demonstrated how the American people desire leadership with out-of-the-box solutions.

Guam is at a pivotal moment of history where we are being asked who we are and what we stand for. To those considering this ponderance, I urge you to think thoughtfully about how we can preserve our culture, heritage and identity while believing in the innovation of our people to create a Guam that is safer, more affordable and leans forward in policy making instead of regressing.

Take Zohran Mamdani, for example. He used his experiences as a native New Yorker, an assemblyman and an immigrant to inform his platform, fighting for increased public housing that is union built and rent stabilized, which will allow native New Yorkers the ability to attain housing in an increasingly competitive market.

Or his idea for community-owned grocery stores, which will reduce overhead costs by not having to pay rent or property taxes to the city which will translate to savings for shoppers and more opportunities to support local vendors in each neighborhood.

We, as an island, sometimes forget that we can acknowledge our difference while still referencing larger metro cosmopolitan area politics and become inspired to make those policies work for us and our unique circumstance. Local politicians and those who put corporate interests over people will always say this wont work and to those people I raise this question but what if it does?

What if we see municipal-owned grocery stores in Tamuning or Talofofo with local vendors providing fresh produce with everything from empanada to bananas? What if we were able to market Guam as an LGBT+ friendly progressive destination in the Pacific that preserves its cultural heritage while choosing to progress into the future?

These blue victories that span the Eastern and Western seaboards and have spread to Minnesota and further west should be something we all look at as an indication of the direction we want our galaide to sail on.

I would be remiss to not acknowledge local leaders who do push our galaide forward to consider such policies and/or who have brought about such high quality leadership that pushes the envelope of legislation on Guam.

Leaders like Sen. Sabina Perez or former senators Kelly Marsh-Taitano and Regine Biscoe Lee truly serve as inspirational figures for those of us who one day hope to make change for our island.

So the next time you feel discouraged if youre a fellow Democrat, progressive or liberal on Guam, remember these people making change all over the U.S. and in times when doubt arises in your mind and you feel like things like this may never work due to a lack of understanding or the relentless push from conservative pro-Trump regressive forces, ask yourself, but what if it does?
In my May 13 column, The mission of a university, Part IV, I called AI the specter haunting universities. In Oct. 28s, Would AI abolish AI? I pondered the AI challenge to employment, particularly for our youth.

Today, I want to tie the two together. If universities are intended to prepare students for employment, has AI made them irrelevant?

If you ask most professors what a university education gives you, mental skills will be at the top of the list. Humanities and social sciences call it critical thinking. Natural sciences call it scientific reasoning. The arts emphasize creativity.

But for all, the value of a college degree, to the student and their future prospects, goes beyond the subject matter.

In any subject, even in applied, professional fields like nursing and engineering, some idea that we are teaching students to think, reason and exercise judgement is an essential part of a universitys claim to value. This was reflected in the assessment movement that began a couple of decades ago, and has upended all levels of education, especially universities.

Universities made every program identify the core learning objectives of every class and program. Professors spent countQless hours in workshops and meetings to break down their subjects into a set of core skills and competencies.

Programs had to show they were inculcating higher order thinking skills using Blooms taxonomy. Blooms taxonomy ranks mental tasks from lower to higher order reasoning.

The next challenge was to demonstrate we were inculcating these higher order skills. We spent a lot of time thinking about what our assignments try to achieve. Where necessary, we developed new assignments. And we developed rubrics, these tables of skills that teachers at all levels use to break down every assignment for the purposes of grading them.

Then along came AI. AI can carry out so many of the tasks that universities typically set for students that it is almost impossible to determine if the student has actually engaged in the desired mental activity. Basic AI tools are so easily available, and even unavoidable if you use Google, that it is nearly impossible to control.

Across the world, professors struggle to make sure students engage with their work rather than use AI to finish it. We resort to handwritten essays and oral exams to prevent AI from being used. Others wonder, if AI can write a better essay, why teach them to write at all?

For university administrators, professors focus on AI use as cheating is frustrating. They want us to embrace AI, reinventing ourselves to incorporate ChatGPT and other tools into how we teach. But when we ask for training, we get pep talks filled with buzzwords and catchy slogans. The tools we are told to figure out ourselves.

This alienates professors and results in quiet quitting. Few of us have the time, energy or resources to figure it out and meet our other responsibilities. Most of us spent too many hours reinventing ourselves for the assessment revolution and the online teaching revolution, neither of which delivered the benefits hoped for, to do it again.

The quiet casualty in all this is scholarship. Professors have no time to keep up with their subjects, for research or teaching. Most of our professional development goes into new fads for delivering our material little into continuing to master it.

Its possible AI will make most higher education irrelevant. University administrators are heroically trying to avoid this by asking what employers want. They are told employers want employees who can use AI. But the kinds of rudimentary AI use professors are able to integrate into their classes dont get you very far.

Entry-level white collar positions once involved a lot of photocopying and filing. But no one went to college to learn to photocopy or file. What employers want in an entry-level position is only good for the first job. A college education should help you grow beyond that.

The cost of college, in tuition, living costs and foregone income, is tens of thousands a year even at a public university. It makes no sense to do that for a de-skilled entry level job that will be redundant in months. That investment only makes sense if the skills last a lifetime.

In Europe, fewer people go to college, employers provide more on-the-job training, and college itself is highly subsidized. American employers dont like paying the taxes to support higher education and expect employees to absorb the cost of training themselves. Or they hire immigrants, whose education has been subsidized by other governments.

Employers should take more responsibility for imparting the skills they need immediately. If they dont value the skills universities impart, they should hire high school graduates and train them on the job, not expect universities to tailor their offerings to entry-level positions. One high tech firm is doing that, but only hiring the very top high school graduates.

This applies to universities, too. If incorporating AI is critical for the universitys mission, then spend real resources helping faculty acquire these tools. This means reduced course loads, and paying for training in AI tools specific to each field. Exhorting, berating or giving inspiring speeches to professors wont do it.

If higher education really is irrelevant in the age of AI, it will wither away. I suspect that wont happen. The mission of higher education, to teach students to think conceptually, abstractly and critically, will be relevant as long as complex societies exist. But it may not be relevant for as many people or need as many universities.

The university of the future may again become the preserve of the elite, with paths to upward mobility closed. Or perhaps, to go back to my column last week, politics will figure out a way to redistribute the social product AI generates.

Then universities might even thrive again. Students might flock to college simply for the love of learning. A prof can dream.




Haiti - Politic : Strengthening the protection of Haitian consumers





James Monazard, Minister of Commerce and Industry (MCI), launched a 4-day training workshop last week for inspectors from the departmental directorates of the Grand North region.



This initiative is part of a strategy to modernize quality control mechanisms and strengthen consumer protection. Led by specialists from several technical directorates within the Ministry, the training aimed to enhance the effectiveness and consistency of field operations, particularly in combating unfair business practices and non-compliant products.



In his opening remarks, Jean Sony Pierre, Coordinator of the Departmental Directorates Coordination Unit (UCDD), focused on the expected outcome, emphasized that, given the proliferation of abusive business practices, the presence of better-trained and better-equipped inspectors is essential to guaranteeing reliable and transparent services to the public.



Inspectors from the North, Northeast, Northwest, Artibonite, and Centre departments will participate in several technical sessions focused on commercial and quality inspection techniques, legal metrology, and legal provisions related to consumer protection.



The goal is to better equip them to carry out their duties more effectively and meet the public's expectations regarding product safety and quality.



The Coordinator also commended the trainers' commitment and the collaboration of the departmental directorates, considered a key factor in the success of this initiative, not to mention the clear vision of making continuing education a key element of leadership, a principle he has always championed at the directorate level.



Through this event, the Ministry intends to strengthen the effectiveness of its interventions and consolidate its actions on the ground. It should be noted that the launch of this workshop represents an important step in efforts to maintain better consumer protection nationwide.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Politic : Fruitful discussions with the European Union





On the sidelines of the CELAC/European Union Summit, Haitian Foreign Minister Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste held fruitful discussions with Ms. Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission.



The discussions focused on the security situation in Haiti and forms of international cooperation that could support national efforts.



Minister Jean-Baptiste emphasized :



 The need to strengthen the Basket Fund for Security;



 The importance of encouraging partners to contribute more;



 The urgent need to provide Haiti with essential equipment to accelerate the implementation of actions on the ground.



The two officials also discussed the resumption and consolidation of short- and medium-term humanitarian projects aimed at promoting a return to normal life in vulnerable neighborhoods.



Ms. Kaja Kallas also expressed her solidarity with the Minister and the Haitian people following Hurricane Melissa.



This meeting took place in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and renewed commitment to strong cooperation between Haiti and the European Union.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Economy : Critical deficit of nearly US$400 million for Haiti's recovery





The Government of Haiti, in collaboration with development partners such as the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Union, and the United Nations, has published a revised version of the Rapid Impact Assessment of the Crisis (RCIA) and its investment plan. This revision addresses the evolving security context in Haiti since its initial publication in December 2024 (https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/WB-RCIA-REP-OCT-2024-EN.pdf ), when the plan was valued at US$1.6 billion, to ensure that recovery efforts remain relevant and achievable.



Despite this revision, the conclusion of the revised assessment highlights a significant funding gap that threatens the implementation of priority recovery interventions. The updated investment plan estimates the total need for the period 20262027 at US$644 million. However, the national budget and current donor commitments cover only about half of this amount, leaving a funding gap of $364 million for the next two years. This shortfall underscores the urgent need for better coordination among donors and innovative financing solutions to bridge the gap and support Haitis transition.



"Strong coordination among donors can help allocate available resources to investment areas identified as critical priorities," said Anne-Lucie Lefebvre, World Bank Country Manager for Haiti. "Changes in security conditions since the Rapid Impact Assessment of the Crisis were developed do not diminish its importance. On the contrary, as security improves, the assessment remains a crucial complement to restoring basic services, infrastructure, and livelihoods in areas liberated from gangs, in a rapid and coordinated manner."



The Security Council resolution establishing the Gang Suppression Force marks a crucial step towards restoring security and stability in Haiti. The creation of the United Nations Support Office in Haiti to provide logistical and operational support to the Force will help translate this commitment into concrete progress on the ground, said Ariel Pino, Acting United Nations Resident Coordinator in Haiti. He added that while the Government of Haiti retains primary responsibility for national security and governance reform, a key pillar of the Recovery Framework, the resolution sends a strong signal of solidarity and shared commitment to addressing humanitarian, development, peace, and security challenges.



The RCIA and the investment plan focus on the areas of the Port-au-Prince metropolitan region most affected by the security crisis. They quantify priority needs in four areas: economic recovery and governance; infrastructure; social protection and services; and the rule of law and security, specifying the needs for the transition period.



All proposed programs were reviewed for their feasibility in the current security context to identify a subset of interventions that could be realistically implemented, taking into account physical access constraints and operational capacity.



To support an effective recovery, partners also developed a Crisis Recovery Framework (CRF) to facilitate the planning, coordination, and monitoring of recovery activities among the government, its partners, and security actors, and to ensure transparent oversight of investments.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















In a new letter, Apple accuses the European Union of its digital laws contradicting each other. This, the company claims, ultimately makes mobile platforms less secure for consumers. The letter from Apple's general counsel Kyle Andeer addresses questions from the European Commission regarding protection against fraud and minors in the App Store. In the sharply worded letter, which the US television broadcaster CBS has obtained, Andeer explains that the measures taken by the EU against Apple under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) are leading to precisely what the Digital Services Act (DSA) aims to prevent.

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While the DMA aims to strengthen competition in the digital space, the DSA is about imposing certain rules on digital platforms to counter illegal and harmful content. The DSA particularly focuses on the protection of minors. In both cases, high fines are threatened for violations. Due to its user numbers, Apple is one of those companies that are particularly in the regulators' focus.

"Reckless and dangerous"

Andeer considers it contradictory that the DMA obliges Apple to enable links from apps and to do so "without meaningful safeguards." This, he argues, exposes users to fraud and scams on third-party platforms that Apple cannot control or monitor. According to Andeer, Apple has repeatedly warned the EU that its approach is "reckless and even dangerous." The new rules, he claims, have opened the door to financial fraud, pornography, and data protection issues.

At the same time, in October, the EU sent inquiries to Apple and others based on the DSA, asking whether sufficient security measures for minors had been implemented. The inquiries concerned how, for example, financial fraud in apps is prevented and how it is ensured that companies are who they claim to be. This is precisely where Apple sees the contradiction between the two laws: one weakens security, while the other expects the previous level of security  or even more.

EU should think holistically

Andeer writes that the EU should think holistically instead of viewing and enforcing the DMA and DSA as separate pieces of legislation. Apple publishes its statistics annually in public reports, on how many fraudulent apps have been removed from the App Store. The current letter adds to the increasingly escalating dispute between the iPhone manufacturer and the EU. Apple recently filed a lawsuit against the EU regulations, after the company was fined over 500 million euros for violating the DMA.

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Specific requirements from the EU Commission for the implementation of interoperability on Apple devices are also causing conflict. It has recently become known that Apple is therefore disabling automatic synchronization of Wi-Fi access data between iPhone and watch in the EU on the Apple Watch.

(mki)

Don't miss any news  follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Mastodon. This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.
Data from the Police University College shows the majority of reports involved assault and defamation. Most cases cited the victims ethnic or national background as the motive. Reports involving sexual or gender identity, and disability, also increased sharply.

The number of suspected hate crimes reported to police in Finland rose to 1,808 last year, the highest figure recorded since national monitoring began in 2008. The increase marks a 13 percent rise compared to the previous year.

Police defined about half of the recorded cases as hate crimes based on motive. Under Finnish law, hate is not a separate offence but can increase the severity of sentencing. Final assessments of motive are determined by courts.

Of the total number, over 1,200 cases involved perceived ethnic or national background. That category alone grew by 12 percent. Men accounted for around 60 percent of the victims. Proportionally, Syrian nationals were the most targeted group, according to the report.

There were around 240 suspected hate crimes linked to sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. This figure also represents a 12 percent rise from the previous year. Reports of hate crimes against people with disabilities rose from 128 to 175 cases, a 37 percent increase. In around half of these, the suspected perpetrator was already known to the victim.

Jenita Rauta, a researcher at the Police University College, described the trend as alarming.

Crimes targeting people with disabilities increased by a third from the year before, she said in a press release.

This reflects broader social polarisation, where individuals in vulnerable positions are targeted, Rauta added.

Most reported hate crimes involved verbal abuse, threats, or harassment. Assaults were more commonly directed at men, while women were more often targeted with defamation.

Hate crimes motivated by religion accounted for just under ten percent of all reports. These cases decreased by four percent compared to the previous year. The most affected group in these reports were Muslims.

There were eleven reports involving the victims gender.

Police noted that improved identification and awareness of hate crime contributed to the rise in recorded cases. Authorities also used hate crime classifications more actively than in previous years.

Rauta said victims often knew the suspect, which underlined the importance of safety in everyday settings.

This highlights the need to improve safety not only at home but also in schools, workplaces and community spaces, she said.

Finlands criminal code does not include specific offences for hate crime or hate speech. Instead, a hate motive may lead to tougher sentencing. The current monitoring system uses police crime reports to track suspected incidents based on motive.

HT
The shift begins on Tuesday with snow expected to spread from the Gulf of Bothnia inland to Northern Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and Lapland. Most of the weeks precipitation in Central and Northern Lapland will fall as snow, while temporary warmer air may bring rain to lower parts of the north midweek.

Finland will see a full transition to winter weather conditions by the end of the week, according to a forecast by the Finnish Meteorological Institute on Monday. Northern areas will receive heavy snowfall, while central and southern regions will see falling temperatures and mixed precipitation including sleet and snow.

Snowfall in Southern and Central Lapland could total 20 to 40 centimetres between Tuesday and Friday. More than 10 centimetres is forecast for Northern Lapland, Northern Ostrobothnia, and Kainuu. Milder temperatures on Wednesday and Thursday may temporarily compress snow depths due to rainfall.

Central and southern Finland will remain mild during the first half of the week due to southwesterly airflows. Daytime highs may reach close to 10 degrees Celsius on Wednesday and Thursday. From Wednesday evening, rain will move in, especially near coastal areas.

On Thursday, a low-pressure system from northern Scandinavia is expected to bring colder air southward. Rain could shift to sleet or snow in central regions as temperatures drop.

Meteorologist Heikki Sinisalo from the Finnish Meteorological Institute said the change in conditions will be noticeable.

Significant snow accumulation is not expected widely, but by Friday morning, many places at the latitude of Central Finland and northward may see a first layer of snow, Sinisalo said.

The forecasted low-pressure system will also bring strong winds. From Thursday into Friday, wind speeds could reach storm levels over the Gulf of Bothnia. Inland, powerful gusts could cause damage across much of the country. Uncertainty remains regarding the storms track and strength, which affects predictability.

By the weekend, sub-zero temperatures are expected across nearly all regions, including southern Finland.

Even without precipitation, icy roads are likely during frosty nights, Sinisalo added. There is now a general need for winter tyres across the country.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute advises motorists to prepare for changing road conditions throughout the week. Roads may become hazardous, especially in areas where snow or sleet is combined with rapidly falling temperatures and strong winds.

HT
The proposal, now under review in Parliament's Constitutional Law Committee, would allow the Finnish Tax Administration to request bulk transaction data from banks without linking those requests to named individuals. The new powers are intended to improve the fight against undeclared income and financial crime.

A government bill granting the Finnish Tax Administration wider access to bank account data has sparked strong resistance from financial sector bodies and legal experts concerned about privacy and data protection.

Under the current system, the Tax Administration may request specific financial data related to individual taxpayers under certain conditions. The proposed change would permit data collection based on perceived risk phenomena, such as platforms generating hidden income or inheritance and gift tax violations.

According to the government, the law could increase annual tax revenue by up to 100 million by 2028. The initial growth is expected to range between 50 million and 80 million in 2027. However, the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) has dismissed the estimates as unrealistic, suggesting a more likely outcome would be around 10 million annually.

Finance Finland ry, the representative body for the banking sector, has labelled the reform disproportionate and legally questionable. In its submission, the association compared the proposed system to allowing police access to all citizens telephone records without targeted suspicion.

Currently, inspections focus on a specific person or companys financial activity. With mass data collection, the Tax Administration would also access information unrelated to taxation, Tuulia Karvinen, legal adviser for Finance Finland told Ilta-Sanomat.

Finance Finland argues that large volumes of irrelevant personal data would be collected, including information on individuals health, religious contributions, and political donations.

If banks were required to hand over all transactions to verify gift tax thresholds, they would also be transferring sensitive personal information not necessary for tax purposes, Karvinen said.

Data unrelated to taxation would still be retained by the Tax Administration for two years under the bill, a practice critics describe as excessive. Privacy advocates, including Finlands data protection ombudsman, have also raised concerns about the breadth and proportionality of the measure.

In the proposed model, the Finnish Tax Administration would define the risk criteria justifying a request. Critics argue this hands too much discretionary power to the agency itself.

Justification for proportionality appears to rely entirely on the Tax Administrations internal assessment, said the Confederation of Finnish Industries in its statement.

The Constitutional Law Committee, chaired by Heikki Vestman, began reviewing the draft on Tuesday. The committee is expected to consult several legal and privacy experts before issuing an opinion next week on whether the proposal aligns with Finlands constitutional safeguards.

According to the Finnish Constitution, bank records are protected under the right to private life. Legal experts argue that accessing citizens financial histories en masse without targeted grounds may breach these protections.

While the Tax Administration supports the bill, it has acknowledged that irrelevant data could be collected during bulk screening. In its justification, the agency stated it cannot disclose risk models in detail due to operational sensitivity.

Financial sector representatives say the bill undermines public trust in digital financial services, especially when fraud and cybercrime are already rising concerns. According to the Banking Supervisory Councils 2024 report, digital fraud has increased in both frequency and sophistication, prompting calls for updated regulatory tools focused on prevention and information sharing.

Finance Finland has emphasised that effective tax supervision should rely on targeted, proportional requests rather than broad surveillance.

HT
Cedars project picking back up after electrical issue is resolved, owners say

The Cedars Lodge & Spa, a mixed-use development including shops, a restaurant, bar and other amenities, is designed to include 130 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units plus penthouses.

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The most visible construction project downtown since the Historic Courthouse renovation, the Cedars Lodge & Spa development is also the subject of the most curiosity.

Is the project stalled or not?

Shipman family members, the owners of the property on U.S. 64 at North Church Street, insisted in interviews last week that construction work will be ramping up again after setbacks related to electrical meters and a city zoning permit.

Its picking back up, Tom Shipman, whose father, Clifton, bought the property in 1976 from Margaret Bailey Bland, said in an interview on Friday. We had two or three delays. We had Duke Energy cut us off for a while because they said we used the wrong electrical panels. And then finding 65 electrical panels at one time wasnt easy and then once we got those in we had to wait on Duke to come back and inspect everything.

The electrical issue caused a work stoppage that was widely observed and commented on, when the construction crane that towers over the six-story building along Church Street appeared to be idle.

Of course when the layoff came, Turner sent their crews all over the country and now were waiting to get those back, Shipman said. Weve got a few of them back.

SUBHED

City flagged height

The general contractor, Turner Construction Co., was ready to start on a second wing of the resort-style development when city zoning regulations tripped it up.

In the meantime, (city community development director) Lew Holloway took one of our permits away when he said the height variance was off and we had to redo the height, Shipman said Were still waiting on him to give us our permit back.

City Manager John Connet said thats in the works.

Lew just told me that a final set of plans has been delivered today for the remaining part of the project, and we'll be reviewing that, Connet said Friday. We had concerns that the second tower would not meet our height ordinance, and so we asked for them to make some changes so that we were well within the height ordinance that went into effect after a 2006 city referendum that capped downtown building heights at 64-feet.

Subcontractors file liens

There are other signs of financial difficulties, however. Last spring and summer, 10 subcontractors have filed mechanics liens in the Henderson County courthouse against Cedars Lodge & Spa LLC seeking total payment of $6,476,176, records show. At least four of the liens also named Turner as a defendant. The claims come from contractors signed up to construct trusses, drywall, exterior siding, plumbing, HVAC and windows.

Both Tom Shipman and his daughter, Amy, who is sales director for the project, say those claims are being taken care of.

Its going great, Amy said. Theyre on the roof. Were getting it worked out. Theyve been back to work for a month now.

Jennifer Hensley, the city mayor pro tem who is running for mayor in the 2026 election, acknowledges that constituents ask about the Cedars project.

The last time I heard anything about it was about a month ago at a Council Conversation to hear from the public. John Connet had spoken to them and they were on track to get started again working, she said. That was the last I heard. I get a fair amount of questions about it. I tell them the same thing John told me. I know hes gone over there and physically talked to them. I know they had some rezoning permit things they needed to do.

Its completely privately funded

Amy Shipman said her brother-in-law Greg Covin, the Miami developer who is married to her sister, Shelley, remains involved as managing partner.

Unveiled in 2022 as the Fairmont Heritage Place  The Cedars, the development on 3 acres is to be made up of two six-story buildings in an L-shape around the 111-year-old Cedars. The mixed-use development including shops, a restaurant, bar and other amenities is designed to have 130 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units plus penthouses. When the project was announced, units were priced from $400,000 to $3.8 million.

Amy Shipman expresses frustration with the comments she hears that seem to imply the project is somehow publicly funded.

I love the concern but it is privately funded so I dont get what the concern is, she said. Its completely privately funded on private property. I get the concern because the work stopped but that was all Duke Power. Weve got new meters on every floor.
Los Angeles event highlights China-U.S. cultural exchanges through film, TV

Xinhua) 13:06, November 10, 2025

Mateo Nikolav, a film producer who once participated in "Looking China" youth film project, speaks at an event themed "Capture the Moments of Friendship: A Cinematic Record of China-U.S. Relations" in Los Angeles, the United States, Nov. 7, 2025. A local event on Friday highlighted China-U.S. people-to-people exchanges through film and television, with participants enjoying the role of visual storytelling in strengthening mutual understanding and bilateral ties.(Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- A local event on Friday highlighted China-U.S. people-to-people exchanges through film and television, with participants enjoying the role of visual storytelling in strengthening mutual understanding and bilateral ties.

Under the theme "Capture the Moments of Friendship: A Cinematic Record of China-U.S. Relations," the event featured the global premiere of the China-U.S. co-produced documentary "DEAR KULIANG," the North American release ceremony for the documentary "Bridge To A Shared Future," and a storytelling session by American youth from the "Looking China" youth film project.

In his remarks, Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles Guo Shaochun said the stories of Kuliang reflect deep emotional connections and sincere exchanges between the Chinese and American peoples.

The 50-minute documentary "DEAR KULIANG" will soon be broadcast on major Chinese and international media outlets including the History Channel, Southeast TV, and Tencent.

Guo added that American journalist Edgar Snow's "Red Star Over China" offered the international community an unprejudiced glimpse of the liberated areas led by the Communist Party of China, sparking a dialogue across borders.

"Today, Snow's unfinished journey of seeing China continues with a new generation. Through film and new technology, young people are showing the world a real, dynamic and multidimensional China," Guo said.

Mateo Nikolav, a film producer who once participated in "Looking China," said the project offered him an opportunity "to create and to connect."

"Looking at the video from 'Looking China' was really special because I got to see myself and friends that I met when I was in China," he said. "I really loved everything that I learned and the time I spent with my friends there. I always think about that moment and just the experience in itself and how I would love to go back and see my friends again."

The event was co-hosted by the China International Communications Group, Shaanxi Tourism Group Co., Ltd., Beijing Normal University, and the U.S.-based Helen Foster Snow Foundation under the guidance of the State Council Information Office of China, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Consulate General of China in Los Angeles.

Attendees watch a video on the "Looking China" youth film project at an event themed "Capture the Moments of Friendship: A Cinematic Record of China-U.S. Relations" in Los Angeles, the United States, Nov. 7, 2025. A local event on Friday highlighted China-U.S. people-to-people exchanges through film and television, with participants enjoying the role of visual storytelling in strengthening mutual understanding and bilateral ties.(Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
Marriott International, Inc. has signed an agreement with Pacifica Hotels G.K. to open City Express by Marriott Osaka Shin-Imamiya, marking the first introduction of the City Express by Marriott brand in Asia Pacific.

Set to open in 2026 following a strategic conversion, the nine-story standalone property will feature 100 guest rooms in Haginochaya, Nishinari-ku, directly adjacent to Shin-Imamiya Station, a key interchange served by the JR Osaka Loop Line, Nankai Main Line, and Osaka Metro. Its prime location offers convenient access across Osaka and the greater Kansai region.

The new hotel will bring the brand's signature focus on quality, simplicity, and consistency to Osaka's dynamic tourism landscape, providing modern, value-driven stays for both business and leisure travelers.

The project is part of a broader collaboration between Marriott International, Pacifica Hotels G.K., and investor AB Capital, reflecting a shared commitment to expanding midscale hospitality offerings and delivering meaningful guest experiences across Japan.

Hotel website
Hilton (NYSE:HLT) is pleased to announce the appointment of John Trovato asgeneral manager of The Diplomat Beach Resort, Curio Collection by Hilton, marking a new chapter in the property's continued evolution as one of South Florida's most iconic oceanfront destinations.

In his new role, Trovato will oversee all operations across the 1,000-room resort, which includes multiple dining venues, expansive meeting and event spaces, and one of the region's most dynamic beachfront settings. He will drive performance across key business verticals, uphold standards of excellence, and spearhead the property's ongoing transformation as it transitions and elevates to Signia by Hilton, with the full transformation set to be completed in May 2026.

A true hospitality veteran with more than 30 years of experience managing full-service hotels, luxury resorts, and conference centers across major U.S. markets, Trovato brings a proven record of operational leadership, strategic innovation and team engagement. Prior to joining The Diplomat, he served as managing director for Casa Marina, A Waldorf Astoria Resortand The Reach Key West, Curio Collection by Hilton, where he led a $100M property-wide renovation and guided both properties through a successful brand repositioning to Curio Collection by Hilton.

Trovato holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from St. Vincent College. He currently serves as president of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association - Monroe County and vice president of The Florida Lodging Association.

For more information or reservations, visit www.diplomatresort.com.
Hamburg, Germany  Despite ongoing global economic challenges and political uncertainty, business travel in Europe continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience and growth. According to regional findings released from the latest GBTA Business Travel Index Outlook (GBTA BTI), business travel spending is projected to reach 389.9 billion euros* ($448.2 billion USD) in 2026, marking a significant 8.2% increase from 2025. This positions Europe as a key driver of global business travel recovery, accounting for a substantial share of total global spending.

Looking ahead, the forecast for Europe remains broadly optimistic. In 2027, European business travel spending is expected to climb to 414.5 billion euros ($476.5 billion), underscoring the regions steady momentum. In 2028, European business travel spending is expected to reach 441.6 billion euros ($507.6 billion).

The data confirms for Europe what many in the industry are experiencing firsthand  organizations are continuing to invest in business travel as a catalyst for growth, innovation and connection, even in the face of economic and geopolitical uncertainty. At the same time, sustainability and traveller experience are no longer optionaltheyre essential. European companies and business travellers are leading the way in demanding responsible, productive and impactful journeys. Suzanne Neufang, CEO of GBTA

This latest GBTA BTI forecast data for Europe was unveiled at the GBTA + VDR Europe Conference  the premier European event for the business travel industry  taking place in Hamburg from 10-12 November.

Europes Powerhouse Markets: Whos Leading the Charge?

In 2025, Western Europe** is estimated to account for 88% of total European business travel spend, while Emerging Europe** represents 12%. The top six Europe business travel markets in 2025 ranked by annual origination spending  Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands  collectively represent just over 241.5 billion euros ($277.6 billion). This represents 17.7% of the total global spending of 1,36 trillion euros ($1.57 trillion) estimated for 2025.

Why Europeans Travel for Work: Training, Collaboration and Connection

The GBTA BTI survey of business travellers finds their top reasons for business travel

in Europe are seminars/training, conventions/ conferences, and internal company meetings.

As self-reported by European business travellers, the average cost of a business trip in Europe is 850.7 euros ($977.82 USD), with lodging cited as the largest expense, followed by food and beverage, and air travel. Notably, business travellers in the UK spend the most per trip at almost 1,305 euros ($1,500 USD), while Poland and Sweden have the lowest average spend of about 639 to 646 euros ($735$743 USD) per trip.

European Traveller Expectations Are Evolving

European business travellers continue to see value in their travels, with 83% agreeing that business travel is worthwhile for achieving business objectives. Three in four (77%) report travelling the same or more in 2025 than in 2019, and the average length of an overnight business trip is 3.1 nights.

When it comes to technology use, 40% of European business travellers say they are comfortable with using AI to book their tripsthe lowest of any region globally.

Loyalty programs are important to European travellers (81%) when selecting transportation and lodging.

They are also less likely (57%) than travellers from other regions (North America 68%, Asia Pacific 70%, for example) to combine business and personal travel now versus years prior.

European travellers are more likely to use rail on business trips than those in other regions38% report using rail on their last trip, compared to just 8% in North America and 4% in Latin America.

A third (32%) of European travellers surveyed said they work at companies with a dedicated corporate travel manager or team.

For information about GBTA Research, visit the GBTA webpage and/or reach out to [email protected].

About GBTA

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) is the world's premiere business travel and meetings trade organization headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area and serving stakeholders across six continents. GBTA and its 8,000+ members represent and advocate for the $1.48 trillion global travel business and meetings industry. GBTA and the GBTA Foundation deliver world-class education, events, research, advocacy and media to a growing global network of more than 28,000 travel professionals and 125,000 active contacts. For more information visit gbta.org.

About the GBTA Foundation

The mission of the GBTA Foundation, the US 501c3 charitable arm of the Global Business Travel Association, is to help the global business travel industry create a positive impact and better future for people and the planet. The GBTA Foundation focuses on the strategy and execution of GBTA's global sustainability programs, supporting initiatives related to climate action; diversity, equity and inclusion; and other talent-related topics via education, research and advocacy. For more information visit gbtafoundation.org.

Debbie Iannaci

GBTA Global Communications, PR & Research

+1 305 301 7057

GBTA
SAN DIEGO  Oram Hotels, the San Diego hospitality collective behind two of San Diegos most historic hotelsGranger Hotel and The Guildhas appointed Jennifer Findley as its first Director of Arts & Culture. An internationally regarded art advisor and founder of La Jollabased JFiN Collective, Findley and Oram Hotels co-founder, Kevin Mansour, are the driving forces behind this collaboration. The two are bringing together cross-border voices and rising artists, giving them space to create and showcase work inspired by the hotels and San Diego community. Together, Granger Hotel and The Guild will serve as a center-points of exchange, focusing on art and artists from the region and beyond.

Granger Hotel and The Guild will transform into independent cultural hubs within downtown San Diego, reframing how art is experienced in hospitality. The hotels will host artist residencies, institutional collaborations, and community programming that reflect the regions cross-border creativity and amplify San Diegos role as a designated World Design Capital.

As part of its new arts platform, Oram Hotels is partnering with UC San Diegos Chief Campus Curators Office to host visiting Stuart Collection artists during periods of research and developmentoffering a city base that naturally connects artists with San Diego. The partnership begins in November at Granger Hotel with Los Angelesbased sculptor Max Hooper Schneider, presented in connection with the Emerging Artists Program within the Stuart Collection. Over the course of a year, Hooper Schneiders residency advances a project to be realized on campus.

Were thrilled to welcome visiting Stuart Collection artists to Oram Hotels during such a vital phase of their process. Having a supportive home base in San Diego and a connection to the vital community that Oram Hotels is fostering enriches the development of works that are ultimately experienced across the UC San Diego enterprise. Jess Berlanga Taylor, UC San Diegos Chief Campus Curator

Following Schneider, Granger Hotel will welcome two more Stuart Collection artists in 2026, including Mexico City-based collective RojoNegro and fashion designer Carla Fernandez, with future programs planned at The Guild.

Our dedication to art reflects a broader commitment to fostering community engagement through culture, creativity, and accessibility. Our properties feature numerous original works from local artists, but Jennifers appointment and her connection with UC San Diegos Stuart Collection take this commitment to a new level. Together, we are creating living cultural spaces where art and hospitality intersect. Kevin Mansour, co-founder of Oram Hotels

Granger Hotel and The Guild, both meticulously restored by the Mansour family, are among San Diegos most architecturally significant hotels. Granger Hotel, a Romanesque 1904 landmark and member of Marriott Bonvoys Design Hotels, is celebrated for its layered interiors and intimate scale, while The Guild, a reimagined Armed Services YMCA, balances historic architecture with contemporary design. Now, under Findleys vision, both properties will extend their cultural role beyond hospitality, offering immersive encounters with art in unexpected settings.

With a shared commitment to inclusivity, innovation, and cultural exchange, Oram Hotels, JFiN Collective, and UC San Diegos Stuart Collection are reshaping downtown San Diego into a hub where creativity, design, and community converge, while ensuring long-term access to UC San Diegos nationally recognized art programs.

About The Stuart Collection at UC San Diego

The Stuart Collection at UC San Diego, comprising 22 permanent artworks by world-renowned artists, aims to question conventional understandings of public art in playful and insightful ways through its commissioning programs. The Stuart Collection seeks to enrich the cultural, intellectual, and scholarly life of the UC San Diego campus and local San Diego community. We enhance public life through art that encourages thoughtful deliberation, an awareness of difference, mental and physical wellbeing, and that inspires creative solutions to complex issues; and continue to commission exciting new works from the worlds most important contemporary artists through our Landmarks, Emerging Artists and Public Programs.

About JFiN Collective

Jennifer Findley is an art advisor, curator, and founder of the JFiN Collective. Findley specializes in the strategic development of legacy art collections that are grounded in narrative and honed aesthetics. Known for her sharp curatorial eye and deep market insight, Findley works internationally with private, institutional and commercial collectors to curate focused holdings in Contemporary and Ultra-Contemporary art. Through the JFiN Collective, Findley provides full-spectrum advisory servicesfrom acquisition strategy and collection management to exhibition planning and curatorial consulting. She most recently co-curated 'american minimal', an acclaimed survey of East and West Coast Minimalism with a focus on underrepresented women artists, at the San Diego Museum of Art. Findley is an art advocate and serves on the Boards and Collection Committees of the Mingei International Museum and the San Diego Museum of Art. Named an Art Expert by the Observer, Findley is regularly invited to speak on curated collecting and serve as a judge for international art competitions, and has been recognized as a curator to know and a power player in the Southern California art scene.

About Oram Hotels

Oram Hotels is a San Diego-based hospitality collective behind some of San Diego's most historic buildings. Founded by brothers Kevin and Alvin Mansour, Oram Hotels is known for its transformation of historic buildings into vibrant, community-focused spaces. The brothers own and operate two hotels in San Diego and one in Oceanside. Inspired by their travels, the brothers create spaces rooted in community and designed for cultural engagement and inspiration. Their flagship property, a historic Army-Navy YMCA Building, opened as The Guild in June of 2019. Granger Hotel, their most recent venture which opened in November 2024, is housed in a 1902 Romanesque-style building and is San Diego's first guest-only hotel and proud member of Design Hotels. With a commitment to design and a passion for hosting, Oram Hotels leverages its properties as platforms for cultural engagement and inspiration.
The leading global hospitality and travel technology company, HotelRunner, is to join The Phocuswright Conference, running from November 18 to 20, 2025, in San Diego, California. As a proud sponsor, HotelRunner will join the top industry thought leaders at the Manchester Grand Hyatt this year.

HotelRunner is set to make an appearance at the Phocuswright Conference 2025 as its annual sponsor. The company is continuing its tradition of sponsoring events that shape the perspectives of travel professionals, and by doing so, HotelRunner reaffirms its commitment to driving innovation and thought leadership across the global travel ecosystem.

This year HotelRunner is fully embracing the theme Game On. With its newly introduced travel-native finance infrastructure Ruby; HotelRunner is breaking boundaries and making bold moves in the travel technology arena. Unlike generic fintechs retrofitted for tourism, Ruby is built specifically for travel; unifying bookings, payments, and compliance in real-time. Alongside Ruby, HotelRunner continues to empower the travel industry with real-time distribution, AI-driven automation, and data-driven insights, helping hospitality businesses and travel agencies optimize operations, increase efficiency, and deliver superior guest experiences.

HotelRunners leadership team will be present to meet attendees at the Manchester Grand Hyatt, to discuss industry trends, and share insights into how HotelRunners data-driven platform leverages technology to redefine hospitality operations.

Driven by innovation, HotelRunner serves as the ultimate end-to-end partner, connecting every dot in the hospitality journey with technology at its core.

About HotelRunner

HotelRunner is a global travel and hospitality technology platform building the digital and financial infrastructure of the travel industry. Its integrated solutions in operations, sales, connectivity, and revenue management help thousands of accommodations and travel agencies grow profitably and operate with data-driven precision. Through AI, automation, and embedded finance, HotelRunner is redefining how travel businesses connect, transact, and scale worldwide.

HotelRunner is a Visa Preferred Strategic Partner, Booking.com Premier Connectivity Partner and Best Overall Performing Partner, Expedia Group Preferred Connectivity Partner, Airbnb Preferred Software Partner, Agoda Strategic Partner, Oracle, Hotelbeds, trivago, and Google Hotel Ads strategic partner.

For more about HotelRunner, visit the website.

Media Relations Contact: [email protected]

HotelRunner Media

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Rendering of Janu Al Marjan Island - Image Credit Wynn Resorts



Wynn Resorts and Marjan LLC have announced a new resort, Janu Al Marjan Island, set to open in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, in late 2028.

Wynn Resorts and Marjan LLC have announced plans for a new development, Janu Al Marjan Island, on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE. The project, a collaboration with Aman Group, is scheduled to open in late 2028. This marks the second joint venture between Wynn Resorts and Marjan LLC on Al Marjan Island, following the development of Wynn Al Marjan Island.

Aman Group will manage Janu Al Marjan Island, featuring 132 rooms with views of the Arabian Gulf. The resort will feature a wellness center with facilities including a yoga studio, gym, banya, and hammam. Additional amenities will comprise a mixology bar, two restaurants, a nightlife venue, and a kids' club. The resort will also offer a private beach, a beach club, and a pool.

Adjacent to the hotel, a residential tower will provide Janu Residences, offering one- to five-bedroom units and standalone villas.

The development of Janu Al Marjan Island is part of a broader strategy to enhance Ras Al Khaimah's appeal as a hospitality destination. The project is situated directly across from Wynn Al Marjan Island, which is scheduled to open in 2027. The Wynn Al Marjan Island will be the first integrated resort in the UAE, featuring 1,530 rooms and suites, 22 dining venues, a theater, a beach club, and a marina. It will also include a shopping promenade and an events center.

The strategic location of these developments is approximately 50 minutes from Dubai International Airport, positioning them as accessible destinations for international visitors. The collaboration between Wynn Resorts, Marjan LLC, and Aman Group reflects ongoing efforts to attract global travelers to Ras Al Khaimah through high-profile hospitality projects.
Hotel Pricing Strategies: Optimizing Room Rates Effectively - By Emma NAPANKANGAS - Image Credit Unsplash+

Nothing may be more critical for the profitability of a hotel than getting its pricing strategy right. It can also be an incredibly multifaceted and complex task. What does it take to build a winning rate strategy for hotels today? This article offers a comprehensive look at what hotel pricing is, how to price a hotel room, and what the most prominent hotel room pricing strategies are across the industry.

Whether you want to start with the foundations or are looking for more advanced approaches, we will explore how hotels of all sizes can create smarter, more responsive pricing models that not only maximize revenue but also guest satisfaction (these two go hand-in-hand, just wait and see).

What Are Hotel Pricing Strategies?

A hotel pricing strategy is the way a hotel sets its room prices. In general, hotel pricing strategies are aimed at maximizing revenue. Still, effective pricing considers guest perception and aims to strike a balance between making a profit and offering value for money.

Many factors need to be considered when pricing a hotel room, including what types of customers your hotel is catering to, local market trends, and what competitors are doing. Pricing impacts everything from market share to profit, which is why revenue managers play such an essential role in supporting the bigger goals of the hotel.

The key objectives of hotel pricing strategies are to:

Earn more revenue

Stay competitive

Appeal to different types of guests

Pricing strategies are often supported by tools like revenue management systems (RMS) that help adjust prices based on internal and external data in real time.

Laying the Groundwork: How to Price a Hotel Room Effectively

Even the best hotel pricing strategy may not yield the desired outcome without firm foundations. The hospitality industry and the hotel room as a product are very unique. This section outlines the fundamentals you should know before settling on the rate strategy for your hotel.

Understand the Economics of Your Hotel Rooms

Pricing effectively requires you to know your offering through and through. For a hotelier, it means understanding the specificities of the hotel room as a product, the two most important considerations being perishability and costs.

Room inventory is perishable, which means that if a room is not sold for a given night, that revenue opportunity is lost forever. Because of this, there is an urgency to fill up any unsold rooms as we get closer to a certain date.

The other primary consideration is understanding your breakeven point. Running a profitable hotel is impossible without room rates that cover the expenses incurred when running a room. This is why calculating a hotel room rate starts by identifying the fixed and variable costs associated with running a room and the target profit margin, which gives you the minimum rate or a pricing baseline that covers your expenses and target margins.

Understanding cost considerations and perishability can already be considered a bare minimum hotel pricing strategy. However, maximizing hotel revenue takes more than just covering expenses. Pricing should also reflect how your guests behave, what they value, and how your hotel fits into its market landscape. Lets look at the full range of hotel pricing strategies that build on these fundamentals.

Common Hotel Pricing Strategies (With Pros and Cons)

There are numerous ways to approach hotel pricing, and different strategies are suitable for different types of hotels, seasons, and guest profiles. Here are the most common pricing strategies in the hospitality industry, including some considerations about their strengths and drawbacks.

Dynamic Pricing and Open Pricing

Dynamic pricing means adjusting room rates based on real-time supply and demand data, where prices rise when demand is high and fall when business is slow. Advantages include improved profit margins because of being able to capture the highest possible rate during periods of peak demand, and the reduction of a lot of the guesswork related to pricing.

However, implementing dynamic pricing can require investing in reliable tech and can be a complex process overall. Additionally, while great for the hotels revenues, there is no guarantee guests will respond positively, as significant price differences from one day (or hour) to another can potentially be frustrating.

Dynamic pricing allows hotels to set different rates across all distribution channels, also called open pricing. This contrasts with fixed pricing strategies such as rate parity, where guests will find the same exact rate regardless of the booking channel.

Forecast-Based Pricing

Forecast-based pricing sets room rates using the expected future demand. When supported by reliable historical and market data, this approach allows hotels to plan room rates with precision days, weeks, or even months in advance. The beauty of demand forecasts is that they can be as simple or nuanced as needed and incorporate many different variables, such as booking pace and upcoming events. That said, the effectiveness of the strategy is dependent on the quality of the data. Inaccurate inputs can lead to mispricing of the inventory and missing revenue opportunities.

Occupancy Pricing

Occupancy pricing adjusts room rates based on how full the hotel is at any given time by using occupancy thresholds. For example, when occupancy falls below 30%, we want to stimulate demand by dropping prices, and when occupancy is over 70%, we want to capitalize on the higher demand.

When executed well, occupancy-based pricing contributes to more stable revenue performance year-round because of a healthier occupancy level.

Length-of-Stay Pricing

According to this strategy, the length of stay (LOS) affects the rate the guest pays. Hotels want to incentivize guests to stay longer, as longer stays reduce the cost of cleaning and room preparation between guests, stabilize occupancy, and create more predictable revenue. Thus, the longer the stay, the less the guest pays.

Length-of-stay pricing can also be implemented around specific peak dates. For instance, if you know from historical data that your hotel tends to fill up on a specific event day but not on the days before and after, offering competitive pricing for a longer LOS over that period can help even out the peak.

Cancellation Policy Pricing

Cancellation policy pricing tailors rates based on guests risk tolerance. Having different rates for non-refundable (often lower) and fully flexible (often higher) stays lets guests choose how much they value flexibility.

This strategy serves two purposes. Firstly, it protects the hotels revenue from last-minute cancellations, and secondly, it allows guests to self-segment, appealing to different types of travelers. Price-sensitive guests may accept stricter terms to save money, while others are willing to pay more for the added peace of mind that comes from a flexible policy.

Price Per Segment and Guest-Type-Based Pricing

Different guest types have different booking behaviors and willingness to pay. Customizing prices, instead of offering the same rates across the board, can significantly increase revenue potential and improve guest satisfaction.

For instance, families tend to book well in advance and look for special pricing for children or joint rooms. Business travelers, on the other hand, often book closer to their stay and are less price-sensitive, which makes them more likely to accept higher rates. Groups typically negotiate volume-based lower pricing due to the large number of rooms booked at the same time, which results in predictable revenue and occupancy. When the rate fences and conditions are clear, segment-based pricing is both efficient and fair.

Loyal Customer-Based Pricing

Offering exclusive rates for loyal customers is nothing new for the major hotel brands of the world; Hilton and Marriott, for instance, each have loyalty programs with over 200 million members. However, you do not need to be a global giant to employ this strategy. At its simplest, loyal customer-based pricing can be offering a discount code to repeat guests or creating a private rate for newsletter subscribers.

Fundamentally, this strategy is based on rewarding returning customers with value that feels personal, whether that is with a slightly lower rate or flexible booking terms. Even small or independent hotels can implement this pricing strategy using basic CRM tools.

Again, excessive discounts can eat into margins. However, many hoteliers view this as a worthwhile tradeoff in exchange for building customer loyalty.

Case in Point  CitizenM: The Dutch hotel brand has brought loyal customer-based pricing to the next level. The mycitizenM+ subscription allows members to pay about 100 per year for guaranteed 10-15% discounts on the lowest publicly available room rates, free late checkout, and room upgrades  simple perks for a flat fee. This model requires no point collecting, and at the same time, creates upfront revenue in the form of subscription fees and locks in repeat bookings (Source: Skift).

Value-Added Pricing

If you are looking to add premium pricing in your hotel, coming up with ways to add value to room stays is a fitting strategy. Bundling room nights with perks such as breakfast and spa access justifies higher rates and positively impacts guest satisfaction. However, it is important that the perceived value for the guests (that is, the extra you are charging) outweighs the cost of the added amenities.

Package Pricing

For experience-oriented guests, offering packages is another way to increase total revenue per guest. The gist is in simplifying the booking process for the guest by offering tours, meals, or experience tickets as a package with the room, which removes many planning points for the stay. These offers work particularly well for leisure guests.

The main drawback is that there is less flexibility for guests who want only part of the offer. One solution is to offer customized packages so that guests have the freedom to tailor the experience while still encouraging higher overall spending  a win-win for you and your guests.

Upselling

Upselling is a classic hotel pricing strategy that increases revenue by encouraging guests to book a higher-value option than they originally intended for an additional fee. This bumps up ADR and can enhance guest experience.

However, an ill-timed sales pitch can have the inverse effect on guest perception. Upselling should be positioned as a benefit, which can be done by sending the offer through a pre-arrival email, during online check-in, or at the front desk. Staff training is very important in this context to make sure that the offer feels like a value-added suggestion rather than an aggressive upsell.

Cross-Selling

Cross-selling is focused on promoting the additional services of the hotel (such as dining and spa) to the guest to increase their total spend. This strengthens all revenue streams and adds to the guest journey.

As with upselling, cross-selling calls for subtlety. A well-timed recommendation based on the guests preferences is far more effective than bombarding them with generic promotions. Cross-selling can be automated through booking channels or delivered in person.

Penetration Pricing

Penetration pricing is a discounted pricing strategy that is used to attract customers and gain market share. It is especially useful for new hotels entering a market but can also be used by established hotels as a way to gain a bigger share of demand for a future date compared to competitors. This is done by offering a lower rate to guests who book well in advance.

As with all strategies that include lowering prices, there is always the risk of damaging perceived value and brand positioning if the discounts are deemed too high. Hoteliers should carefully weigh the benefits and drawbacks when setting lower prices.

Competitor Pricing

Hotel prices do not exist in a vacuum, and your guests are already constantly comparing you against competitors, even if you are not. Competitor pricing involves monitoring or adjusting pricing based on what similar hotels in your market are offering, which ensures that your property is competitive.

The main advantage of this strategy is that you are aligned with the market, and you reduce the risk of being overpriced compared to the selection. However, relying too heavily on competitor pricing can backfire. It can cause a so-called race to the bottom, with competitors constantly undercutting each other, which will ultimately erode profitability. In addition, the approach is not nuanced because it does not consider differences in service quality or brand value between different properties. Just because your neighbor drops their rate does not mean that you should.

This is why competitor pricing is the most effective when it is not used on its own, but as a complementary approach to your overall rate strategy. So more as a benchmark or reference point than a roadmap.

Rate Parity

Rate parity refers to maintaining consistent pricing across all the hotels distribution channels (e.g., online travel agencies (OTAs) and direct bookings). This consistency builds trust in guests eyes, as they know they are getting a fair deal no matter where they book.

However, strict rate parity can limit your ability to respond to fluctuations in demand and to adjust based on how each channel is performing. The challenge is balancing consistency with agility, and rate parity just is not always the most optimal strategy. However, for many hotels, the transparency and trust it creates are well worth the associated constraints.

Discounted Pricing

Offering discounts on room rates is one of the oldest tricks in the book and one of the most widely used when it comes to hotel pricing strategies due to its effectiveness. Reducing prices helps attract guests who are more price-sensitive and is a useful tool for simulating demand during off-peak periods or unexpected gaps.

While this is an effective strategy in the short term, it can hurt yield and brand value in the long term. Guests get conditioned to wait for discounts, which makes maintaining rate integrity harder. This is why many hoteliers shy away from discounted pricing completely and rely on adding value to offerings instead. It is still a useful strategic tool to have in the broader revenue management kit, but it is not one to depend too much on.

Behavioral Pricing Strategies in Hospitality

Beyond data and forecasting, there is a lot of psychology involved in pricing. In fact, how prices are presented to guests can influence booking decisions just as much as the rates themselves. Behavioral pricing tactics can add to the effectiveness of pricing strategies in the hospitality industry by playing into human biases. The chances are you have come across many, if not all, of these subtle cues.

Anchoring and Framing

When guests see a high original price crossed out next to a lower rate, they feel like they are getting a great deal, even if the discounted price is your standard rate. This technique, called anchoring, sets a reference price that makes the actual rate seem more attractive. In the same vein, showing a room that is priced higher next to a more moderately priced one can make the latter feel like it is of better value.

Scarcity and Urgency Cues

Phrases like Only two rooms left at this price! or Book within the next hour for this rate play on our FOMO (fear of missing out). These urgency triggers encourage quicker booking decisions and consequently increase conversions. This is a favorite tactic of OTAs, because travelers are already comparison shopping under time pressure.

Psychological Thresholds

A room priced at 199 tends to perform better than one at 200. Although the difference is marginal, consumers perceive prices just below round numbers as significantly cheaper. This technique is also called charm pricing, and this small adjustment can lead to significant gains for the hotel without having to cut deeply into profit.

How to Present Value in Price

Overreliance on discounted rates is rarely a sustainable strategy for the profitability of a hotel. A great alternative route is to focus on framing value. A guest may respond more positively to 220 including breakfast and late checkout than to 200 standard rate. Highlighting the added value the guest is receiving justifies the higher rate and strengthens guest satisfaction  a smart addition to any hotel pricing strategy.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Hotel Pricing

Because pricing is so closely tied to the profitability of your hotel, it is important to be aware of the common pitfalls when landing on a strategy.

Static Pricing in a Dynamic Market

One of the biggest mistakes hotels make is setting prices once and then forgetting about them completely. Todays environment is increasingly fast-moving, and demand can shift by the hour. If your strategy does not adjust to market conditions, you risk missing out on revenue during peak periods or being overpriced during low demand. This is possible to avoid whether you use dynamic pricing tools or prefer to review pricing manually.

Rate Cannibalization Across Channels

Offering too many rates across different platforms can lead to what is called rate cannibalization. For example, if your OTA price is a lot lower than the direct booking rate available on your website, guests will go with the first option, and you end up paying high commissions on top of an already slimmer margin. As a rule of thumb, it is always better to incentivize people to book with you directly with either lower pricing or perks such as flexible cancellation.

Over-Reliance on Discounting Without Value Strategy

Constantly lowering rates to drive occupancy is an effective strategy for higher occupancy in the short term, but it can also damage your brand over time. Guests start to expect discounts, which reduces perceived value. Focusing on added value can be a more sustainable pricing strategy so that guests feel they are getting more, not just paying less.

Ignoring Rate Fences

Rate fences are the conditions that separate one price from another, such as the non-refundable rate from the member-only rate. Without clear fences and communication about what different prices are based on, pricing can appear inconsistent and unfair, consequently eroding trust in the eyes of customers.

Avoiding these missteps will protect your pricing power and ensure that your hotel pricing strategies align with your business's long-term goals.

The Future of Hotel Pricing Strategies: What Hoteliers Need to Know

Hotel room pricing is evolving rapidly, and to stay competitive, hoteliers are better off embracing emerging tools and guest-centric models. Here are three critical trends shaping the future of hotel pricing strategies:

AI-Powered Dynamic Pricing

AI-powered revenue management systems already exist and will be increasingly used to automate pricing based on real-time data about demand, booking pace, and competitor rates. The future promises less manual input with price optimization handled by machine learning, even by the minute.

Personalized, Data-Driven Offers

In the spirit of personalization, which is now less a trend and more an established client expectation in hospitality, pricing strategies will be more closely tied to CRM and guest data platforms. This enables dynamic offers based on guest history, such as targeted offers for returning guests and win-back deals to activate dormant customers.

Sustainability-Linked Hotel Pricing Models

No surprise here either, as demand for sustainability is ever-increasing. Eco-conscious travelers look for green pricing models, which could take the form of hotels offering discounts for opting out of daily housekeeping or packaging low-maintenance stays as green. Greenwashing is, of course, not condoned, but there are several authentic ways hotels can approach sustainability-linked pricing that also enhance brand perception. For instance, a Marriott-owned airport hotel in Canada offered a lowered green rate in exchange for guests opting out of housekeeping. This reduces the hotel's water, energy, and labor costs while realizing guest values and functions as a viable rate option for price-sensitive guests.

Modern Hotel Pricing Strategies Are Built for Change

Pricing is not a task you do once and forget about, but rather an ongoing process of trial and error. Finding the right cocktail of pricing strategies can be a rewarding journey and often, the cost of not experimenting is much higher than trying out different approaches.

With future trends suggesting major shifts in hotel pricing strategiesmore guest-centric, tech-enabled, and driven by evolving valueswhat is most needed from hoteliers is flexibility. Pricing power comes not from rigid rules but a willingness to adapt.

Emma NAPANKANGAS - M.Sc. Student in Hospitality Management at EHL and Hospitality Strategy writer. Connect with Emma on LinkedIn.

This article originally appeared on EHL Insights.
European travelers are more likely to use rail for business trips, with 38% reporting that they used rail on their last trip. - Image Credit Unsplash+

Despite facing significant economic and geopolitical challenges, business travel in Europe is projected to experience robust growth over the coming years. According to the latest GBTA Business Travel Index Outlook, European business travel spending is expected to reach 389.9 billion euros by 2026, marking an 8.2% increase from 2025. This growth positions Europe as a key player in the global business travel recovery, contributing significantly to worldwide spending.

Projected Growth in Business Travel Spending

The forecast for European business travel spending remains optimistic, with projections indicating continued growth beyond 2026. By 2027, spending is expected to increase to  414.5 billion, and by 2028, it is anticipated to reach  441.6 billion. These figures underscore the resilience of the European business travel sector, even amid economic and geopolitical uncertainties. Suzanne Neufang, CEO of GBTA, emphasized the importance of business travel as a catalyst for growth and innovation, highlighting the industry's commitment to sustainability and enhancing the traveler experience.

Leading Markets in European Business Travel

Western Europe is expected to dominate the European business travel market, accounting for 88% of total spending by 2025. Emerging Europe will represent the remaining 12%. The top six marketsGermany, the UK, France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlandsare projected to collectively account for over 241.5 billion euros in spending. This represents 17.7% of the total global business travel spending estimated for 2025.

Reasons for Business Travel in Europe

The primary reasons for business travel in Europe include seminars, training sessions, conventions, conferences, and internal company meetings. On average, a business trip in Europe costs  850.7, with lodging being the largest expense, followed by food and beverages, and air travel. Notably, business travelers in the UK spend the most per trip, averaging 1,305 euros, while Poland and Sweden report the lowest average spend per trip.

Changing Expectations and Preferences of European Business Travellers

European business travelers continue to see significant value in their travels, with 83% agreeing that it is essential for achieving business objectives. A majority, 77%, report traveling the same or more in 2025 compared to 2019, with the average overnight business trip lasting 3.1 nights. However, European travelers are less inclined to combine business and personal travel compared to their counterparts in other regions.

When it comes to technology, only 40% of European business travelers are comfortable using AI to book their trips, the lowest percentage globally. Loyalty programs play a crucial role in their decision-making process, with 81% considering them important when choosing transportation and lodging options. Additionally, European travelers are more likely to use rail for business trips, with 38% reporting that they used rail on their last trip.

Conclusion

The future of European business travel looks promising, with substantial growth projected over the next few years. Despite economic and geopolitical challenges, the sector is poised to thrive, driven by a commitment to sustainability and an enhanced traveler experience. As European companies continue to invest in business travel, the region is poised to play a pivotal role in the global business travel landscape.
WhatsApp Moves from Chat App to Travel Concierge as Airlines, OTAs and Hotels Embrace Messaging - Image Credit Unsplash+

By HNR News Staff Reporter

WhatsApp is becoming a front door for travel bookings, service updates, and trip information as airlines, online travel agencies, and hotels adopt the app for everything from boarding pass delivery to ride-hailing. Meta is expanding its business tools, including Flows, the Cloud API, and Click-to-WhatsApp ads, while brands experiment with chatbots and broadcast channels. The shift promises faster service and lower costs, but raises questions around privacy, dependency on a single platform and customer experience at scale.

WhatsApps growing footprint in travel

WhatsApp has evolved into a critical customer touchpoint for travel brands, particularly in markets where the app dominates daily communication. Meta reports that the WhatsApp Business app now has more than 200 million monthly active users, and enterprises are increasingly routing service and transactional messages through the WhatsApp Business Platform. At Metas Conversations event, CEO Mark Zuckerberg framed the strategy succinctly: You should be able to message a business the same way you message a friend.

Airlines turn messages into missioncritical operations

Carriers use WhatsApp to automate highvolume interactions and push timesensitive updates. KLM launched one of the earliest airline deployments with a verified WhatsApp Business account in 2017, utilizing the channel to send booking confirmations, check-in notifications, boarding passes, and flight-status alerts in multiple languages. In Latin America, Aeromexico and LATAM have introduced WhatsApp for flight reminders and customer support, while in Asia, AirAsia and IndiGo utilize the app for service queries and travel notifications. The appeal is straightforward: WhatsApp streamlines routine tasks that would otherwise clog call centers, keeps travelers informed in real-time, and preserves a message thread that customers can reference throughout their trip.

From inspiration to booking: OTAs and mobility tap endtoend flows

Online travel agencies and transport platforms are moving beyond support to full transactions in chat. In India, MakeMyTrip has built end-to-end booking journeys on WhatsApp using Metas Flows, which enable businesses to present forms, menus, and confirmations without requiring users to switch apps. Bus-ticketing platforms, such as redBus, commonly deliver tickets and live tracking links via WhatsApp, while ride-hailing has also embraced the channel. Uber, for instance, introduced the ability to book rides via WhatsApp in parts of India, utilizing a chatbot to guide first-time users through registration, pickup, and driver details. These experiences combine discovery, purchase, and post-purchase service into a single thread, reducing drop-off and customer effort.

Hotels, destinations and loyalty programs follow suit

Hotel groups and destination marketers are adopting WhatsApp for pre-arrival coordination, on-property requests, and loyalty servicing. Many chains now confirm reservations, handle simple concierge requests, and field housekeeping or room-service messages through WhatsApp. At the same time, independent properties use the app to reduce front-desk queues and upsell amenities. Tourism boards and airports use broadcast lists or Channels to share event updates, advisories and wayfinding tips. For loyalty programs, WhatsApp offers a low-friction way to answer account queries, push offers, and remind members about expiring points.

Business model: ads, APIs and conversation pricing

Meta is commercializing the shift in travel to messaging through three main levers. ClicktoWhatsApp ads on Facebook and Instagram help brands drive discovery directly into a chat thread that converts and retains. The WhatsApp Cloud API, introduced in 2022, reduced integration costs for enterprises and their solution providers, enabling faster rollouts across regions. And in 2023, WhatsApp transitioned to conversation-based pricing, with categories such as utility, authentication, and marketing, plus a service tier for user-initiated conversationspushing brands to optimize templates, automate routine replies, and focus agents on complex issues.

Whats working: speed, context and lower friction

Travel companies cite faster resolution times and higher customer satisfaction when service moves to chat. WhatsApp preserves context across multiple interactions, allowing agents and bots to view prior messages, tickets, and updates without requiring customers to repeat details. Transactional alertsgate changes, delay notices, driver arrivals, hotel checkin windowsare more likely to be seen than email. And in cash-heavy or mobile-first markets, WhatsApp Pay (where available) or deep links to local wallets support quick and familiar checkout for small operators, such as tour guides and guesthouses.

Challenges: privacy, scale and platform dependency

The same strengths pose risks. Brands must balance personalization with privacy and comply with data-protection regimes, such as the European Unions GDPR and Indias Digital Personal Data Protection Act, including consent and retention rules. Overmessaging or misclassified templates can feel like spam and trigger user blocks, harming deliverability and brand trust. Operationally, integrating WhatsApp into airline reservation systems, property management software, and fraud controls adds complexityespecially across different languages and 24/7 time zones. Finally, a heavy reliance on a single platform exposes travel firms to policy changes, outages, and pricing shifts that they dont control.

Automation, AI and the next phase

As volumes grow, travel brands are layering chatbots and agentassist tools on top of WhatsApp to triage intent, deflect FAQs and hand off seamlessly to humans for edge cases. Metas newer featuresFlows for structured inputs, richer media, quick replies, and Channels for onetomany updatesare pushing more of the trip lifecycle inside chat. The likely next battleground is personalization: combining CRM data, loyalty status, and real-time context to tailor offers and services in-thread, without crossing the line on privacy. If executed well, WhatsApp can function as a persistent itinerary and service hubeffectively, a travel concierge in your pocket.

Bottom line

Messaging is reshaping how travel is sold and serviced, and WhatsApp sits at the center of that shift in many markets. With a large installed base and expanding business features, the app is becoming a default channel for everything from booking to boarding. The winners will be brands that design chat journeys that are fast, consentdriven and genuinely helpfuldelivering utility in the moments that matter.
November Ghost Tours at Ventfort Hall

LENOX, Mass.  Join Robert Oakes, author of "Ghosts of the Berkshires," who will lead tours through the rooms and halls of the historic estate sharing tales of its alleged hauntings.

The tour will take place at 7 pm on Saturday, Nov. 15.

This is not an active investigation.

Admission is $30 and minimum age to attend is age 12. Reservations are strongly recommended as tickets are limited. Walk-ins accommodated as space allows. For reservations visit https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or call 413-637-3206. Note that all tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Payment is required to make a reservation for an event.

Robert Oakes is an author, teacher, storyteller, and performing songwriter. He has written three books, "The Ghostly Tales of the Berkshires" (2023), "Ghosts of Northwestern New Jersey" (2022), and "Ghosts of the Berkshires" (2020), all published by Arcadia Publishing.

Since 2010, Robert has led ghost storytelling experiences at historic locations in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, including Ventfort Hall and Edith Wharton's The Mount. He has also given talks and readings and led a writing workshop at Arrowhead, home of Herman Melville.

He has appeared on Syfy's Ghost Hunters, Jeff Belanger's New England Legends series on PBS, and The Apple Seed show on BYUradio and has been featured in The Boston Globe, The Berkshire Eagle, and numerous other media outlets.
Robert Abel and his partners have struck out on their own as Green River Financial Services in Williamstown. They're currently at 10 Walden but will soon move to a new office on Water Street.

Green River Financial Founded on 140 Years of Experience

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The new Green River Financial Services is bringing more than a century of experience to its clients, offering a more personalized and customized service.

Principals Robert Abel, Jason Dohaney and James Durand parted with MountainOne Financial Services in early October to establish Green River. Together with other employees, they hold more than 140 years of experience.

"We have a lot of really good thoughts and feelings about working for that organization for a long time, building a financial services division almost from scratch, and growing it significantly over time," said Abel. "It was not an easy decision to leave for any one of us. You know myself, 25 years at MountainOne, Sue [O'Neil] and Kellie [Dubie] both had over 30 years at MountainOne in some way or another."

The new company is currently ensconced on the top floor of the Williams Bookstore on Spring Street, the former offices of Overland. It's a lot of space for seven people but they soon will be moving into new quarters on Water Street, right on the Green River.

"It's been one of the most exciting times in my career, and certainly one of the hardest and trying to be in touch with as many people as we can, trying to get the story out to as many people as we can, trying to do the right thing, as we've been taught by our mentors, do the right thing for the client," Abel said. "So yeah, it's been an absolute whirlwind."

Abel, a Williams College graduate, joined in 2001 what was then True North Financial Services, founded by Richard Lamb and Henry Pierpan four years earlier. He was named president and CEO in 2011, when Lamb stepped down. The firm was part of an acquisition by Hoosac Savings Bank, which through further consolidations and acquisitions became MountainOne.

The decision to leave was difficult but it was changes being made internally that determined the path forward.

Abel explained that they were employees of MountainOne but were registered representatives of Commonwealth Financial Network, a boutique broker/dealer that held their licenses and provided technology compliance and support.

Commonwealth was the real business partner, he said, but it was sold to a larger organization, providing the impetus for Green River's principals to consider their future after nearly a quarter-century under a banking umbrella.

That's an unusual arrangement, Abel said, as most of his colleagues at Commonwealth were independent.

"Banking and investment services don't necessarily always have the same goals or have the same mindset, so we've always thought of ourselves as being a little bit different under the bank umbrella," he said. "So it's always been on our mind that if there was an opportunity to get out from underneath that umbrella and run our own entity that we would possibly do that."

The firm will now be able to control its advertising, sponsorships and succession plans. It's partnered with another boutique broker, Kestra Financial of Austin, Texas, which will allow it to continue its personalized touch for customers.

"We thought for us and for our clients, staying in that small world of broker/dealer made a lot more sense," Abel said, adding, "when we moved, we were able to reach out to clients, tell them what we're doing, and again, most importantly, tell them that they had a choice to make, and it was their choice."

The firm offers investment service, portfolio management, life and long-term care insurance.

"We're 'The Little Engine That Could.' We grew out of very small beginnings," said Abel. "The amount of growth we've had over the last 25 years is mind-boggling. Most of our clients are local. That said, we have clients in over 30 states, so people move away but have family connections. Other than that, most of our business is local.

"We have very loyal and good clients, I think, through Commonwealth and now through Kestra, we can offer a lot of solutions for all our clients and keep them going in a way that they want into retirement and thinking of estate planning and all that."
Adams Youngster Wins Fencing Title

TROY, N.Y. -- Adams' Gene Baker won the sabre competition at this month's RPI E&Under Sabre and Foil tournament.

The two-weapon tournament is sanctioned by the United States Fencing Association.

Baker's performance earned him an "E" rating through USFA.

he is a member of the Beaches Sabre Club in Troy and a ninth-grader in the Catholic Virtual Academy.
Free Jack's Hot Dogs for Veterans on Veterans Day

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  Thanks to a donation from Jim Boyle of Cheshire, Jack's Hot Dog Stand will offer a free hot dog to veterans on Veterans Day.

Boyle, who walked into Jack's with a $200 donation, said he made the donation because of his own family's military history.

"My Father was at D-Day. He was in the Navy on an LST. I had the opportunity to visit the Normandy beaches last Fall, as well as several of the cemeteries," Boyle said. "Also visiting the village of Saint-Mere-Eglise, where an American paratrooper, John Steele, came down on the steeple of the church, where he hung there for over 2 hours watching his comrades be shot out of the sky."

Since returning from this trip, Boyle said he had a new appreciation for those who served.

"Since coming back, I have a much better appreciation as to the sacrifices that our Veterans make," he said. "This chance to show appreciation to our Veterans is only a small token of what they deserve."

He added that he hopes to continue the act of generosity in years to come.

Jack's Hot Dogs will match the $200 to extend the giveaway from 100 hot dogs to one hot dog to every veteran who visits the Eagle Street hot dog stand on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
China's new key planning vision hailed

China Daily) 13:19, November 10, 2025

China's newly unveiled recommendations for formulating its 15th Five-Year Plan have drawn praise from Latin American scholars, who say the blueprint's focus on innovation, sustainability and long-term stability underscores the country's confidence in charting its own development path amid global uncertainty.

Jorge Heine, Chile's former ambassador to China and a nonresident fellow at the Quincy Institute in Washington, described the recommendations as forward-looking and innovation-driven.

"China has long left behind hard-boiled economic central planning, embracing instead indicative planning. This provides broad guidance to both the public and private sectors on the direction to go," Heine said.

One of the central questions before the release was whether the recommendations would lean more toward enhancing production or promoting domestic consumption, he said. "(They) provide a bit of both," he said.

Heine highlighted a key takeaway  the priority placed on developing "new quality productive forces", which emphasizes technological and scientific innovation as the main driver of China's economy in the coming years.

"The breakthroughs made by China in AI  the most significant technological innovation of our time  are emblematic in this regard," he said.

He also underscored the recommendations' attention to green development. "I would stress the emphasis on the energy transition, in which China is also playing a vital role," he said. "I would have liked to see a more ambitious target on China's achieving carbon neutrality  2060 is in the very distant future."

Luis Antonio Paulino, a professor in the school of philosophy and science at Sao Paulo State University in Brazil, said he was impressed by the balance between China's near-term goals and its long-term vision.

Commenting on the recommendations for formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan, Paulino said what impressed him most was China's goal of aligning its immediate objectives with a broader, forward-looking strategy.

He contrasted China's approach with that of Western governments.

"Unlike Western models, which are almost always focused on solving immediate crises but lack a vision for the future, China, through its five-year plans, seeks to address both current issues and provide structural solutions to the main challenges facing the country, considering its long-term objectives," he said.

Paulino described this as "a superior form of governance", saying that instead of "going in circles" as most Western countries do, China moves "in an upward spiral that harmoniously combines addressing immediate problems with achieving long-term goals".

Paulino also highlighted the way China's planning links technological progress with social welfare and collective benefit.

"While the technological race in the West is controlled by a small group of billionaires interested only in their own profit, China combines the pursuit of developing new quality productive forces with the interests of all the people and the entire nation," he said.

"China associates the pursuit of scientific and technological self-sufficiency with regional balance and the improvement of people's quality of life.

"In other words, the country's technological development is not a project of a handful of billionaires, as is the case in the West, but a strategic objective directed by the Party (Communist Party of China) and the government with the aim of raising the living standards of all people," he said.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Zhong Wenxing)
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China has launched a new K-visa programme aimed at attracting science and technology workers, a move that could open doors for skilled IT experts.

The initiative, rolled out in November, forms part of Beijing's broader strategy to compete with the US for global talent and advanced technology.

It comes as uncertainties surround the US H-1B programme under tightened immigration policies implemented by President Donald Trump.

Indian national Vaishnavi Srinivasagopalan, who has worked in both India and the US, is actively seeking opportunities in China and views the K-visa as a significant prospect.

(The) K-visa for China (is) an equivalent to the H-1B for the U.S., she said.

It is a good option for people like me to work abroad.

open image in gallery A passenger arrives at the Capital Airport in Beijing ( AP )

Ms Srinivasagopalans interest in China's working environment and culture was sparked after her father spent several years at a Chinese university.

The K-visa complements China's existing visa schemes for foreign professionals, such as the R-visa, but introduces more flexible requirements. Crucially, applicants are not obliged to secure a job offer before applying, streamlining the process for international talent.

This strategic move by China comes amidst stricter US policies towards foreign students and scholars under Mr Trump. These measures include a substantial increase in H-1B visa fees for new skilled worker applicants, now reaching $100,000, prompting many non-American professionals and students to consider opportunities elsewhere.

Students studying in the US hoped for an (H-1B) visa, but currently this is an issue, said Bikash Kali Das, an Indian masters student of international relations at Sichuan University in China.

China wants more foreign IT workers

China is striking while the iron is hot.

The ruling Communist Party has made global leadership in advanced technologies a top priority, paying massive government subsidies to support research and development of areas such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and robotics.

Beijing perceives the tightening of immigration policies in the U.S. as an opportunity to position itself globally as welcoming foreign talent and investment more broadly, said Barbara Kelemen, associate director and head of Asia at security intelligence firm Dragonfly.

Unemployment among Chinese graduates remains high, and competition is intense for jobs in scientific and technical fields. But there is a skills gap China's leadership is eager to fill. For decades, China has been losing top talent to developed countries as many stayed and worked in the U.S. and Europe after they finished studies there.

The brain drain has not fully reversed.

Many Chinese parents still see Western education as advanced and are eager to send their children abroad, said Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore.

Still, in recent years, a growing number of professionals including AI experts, scientists and engineers have moved to China from the U.S., including Chinese-Americans. Fei Su, a chip architect at Intel, and Ming Zhou, a leading engineer at U.S.-based software firm Altair, were among those who have taken teaching jobs in China this year.

Many skilled workers in India and Southeast Asia have already expressed interest about the K-visa, said Edward Hu, a Shanghai-based immigration director at the consultancy Newland Chase.

Questions about extra competition from foreign workers

With the unemployment rate for Chinese aged 16-24 excluding students at nearly 18 per cent, the campaign to attract more foreign professionals is raising questions.

The current job market is already under fierce competition, said Zhou Xinying, a 24-year-old postgraduate student in behavioural science at eastern China's Zhejiang University.

While foreign professionals could help bring about new technologies and different international perspectives, some Chinese young job seekers may feel pressure due to the introduction of the K-visa policy.

Kyle Huang, a 26-year-old software engineer based in the southern city of Guangzhou, said his peers in the science and technology fields fear the new visa scheme might threaten local job opportunities.

A recent commentary published by a state-backed news outlet, the Shanghai Observer, downplayed such concerns, saying that bringing in such foreign professionals will benefit the economy. As China advances in areas such as AI and cutting-edge semiconductors, there is a gap and mismatch between qualified jobseekers and the demand for skilled workers, it said.

The more complex the global environment, the more China will open its arms, it said.

Beijing will need to emphasise how select foreign talent can create, not take, local jobs, said Michael Feller, chief strategist at consultancy Geopolitical Strategy. But even Washington has shown that this is politically a hard argument to make, despite decades of evidence.

open image in gallery A person walks past a sign board for the Baiyun airport in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong province ( AP )

China has disadvantages, even with the new visa

Recruitment and immigration specialists say foreign workers face various hurdles in China. One is the language barrier. The ruling Communist Party's internet censorship, known as the Great Firewall, is another drawback.

A country of about 1.4 billion, China had only an estimated 711,000 foreign workers residing in the country as of 2023.

The US still leads in research and has the advantage of using English widely. There is also still a relatively clearer pathway to residency for many, said David Stepat, country director for Singapore at the consultancy Dezan Shira & Associates.

Nikhil Swaminathan, an Indian H1-B visa holder working for a US non-profit organisation after finishing graduate school there, is interested in Chinas K-visa but skeptical. I wouldve considered it. Chinas a great place to work in tech, if not for the difficult relationship between India and China, he said.

Given a choice, many jobseekers still are likely to aim for jobs in leading global companies outside China.

The US is probably more at risk of losing would-be H-1B applicants to other Western economies, including the UK and European Union, than to China, said Mr Feller.

"The US may be sabotaging itself, but its doing so from a far more competitive position in terms of its attractiveness to talent, he said.

China will need to do far more than offer convenient visa pathways to attract the best.
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South Koreas ousted president Yoon Suk Yeol is accused of flying drones over rival North Korea in a deliberate attempt to stoke tensions and justify his plan to declare martial law.

Mr Yoon and two of his defence aids were indicted by prosecutors on Monday on charges of benefitting the enemy and abusing power with the alleged drone flight operations.

The former conservative leader heightened tensions with the neighbouring country and undermined national security through this manufactured operation, they said.

Mr Yoon became his countrys first incumbent president to be arrested after he was charged with insurrection for briefly imposing martial law last year and thrusting the country into political turmoil.

Mr Yoon, 64, was arrested in January and taken to the Corruption Investigation Office for questioning.

He was also impeached by the National Assembly and suspended from office, a decision later upheld by the constitutional court.

Insurrection is one of the rare offences for which South Korean presidents do not have immunity. The offence carries severe penalties that may include life imprisonment, and even the death penalty.

Mr Yoon directed the drone flights to fabricate a pretext for declaring martial law on 3 December 2024, special prosecutor Cho Eun Suks team said.

He was assisted in this scheme by then defence minister Kim Yong Hyun and military counterintelligence commander Yeo In Hyung, they alleged.

Ousted South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee arrive in London in 2023 ( AFP via Getty )

A memo found on Mr Yeos phone communicated the plan among the three officials in the run-up to the imposition of martial law.

We must create or seize instability, the enemy must act first, the enemy is in a very defensive position, the memo read, suggesting that the three leaders were working to engineer a military standoff, The Korea Herald reported.

Mr Yeo, a close associate of Mr Yoon, also listed what he described as targets for the drones that the rival nation would surely react to such as its capital Pyongyang, the residence of leader Kim Jong Un, and two nuclear facilities.

Since the drones crashed during the operation and exposed classified operational data, the missions compromised the countrys defence interests, the prosecutors charged.

Tensions between the two Koreas surged in October 2024 after Pyongyang accused Seoul of flying drones over the capital to drop propaganda leaflets.

Mr Yoons defence minister initially issued a vague denial but South Korea's military later switched to saying they couldnt confirm whether or not Pyongyangs claim was true. Any public confirmation of South Korean reconnaissance activities inside North Korea is highly unusual.
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Hundreds of people gathered at Delhis iconic India Gate on Sunday to protest against worsening air pollution in the Indian capital.

The demonstration, despite being peaceful, ended with police detaining scores of protesters, prompting the countrys opposition leader to accuse Narendra Modis government of treating citizens like criminals.

The right to clean air is a basic human right. The right to peaceful protest is guaranteed by our constitution. Why are citizens, who have been peacefully demanding clean air, being treated like criminals? Rahul Gandhi said.

Air pollution is affecting crores of Indians, harming our children, and the future of our country. But the government which came to power through vote theft simply does not care, nor is it even attempting to solve this crisis. We need to take decisive action on air pollution right now instead of attacking citizens asking for clean air.

Authorities said the protesters didnt have permission. There was no permission to hold a protest at the India Gate, an unnamed police officer was quoted as saying by Livemint. To maintain law and order and ensure there is no obstruction in security arrangements, some people were detained.

open image in gallery A woman carries a poster during a demonstration against air pollution in New Delhi on 9 November 2025 ( AFP via Getty )

Senior police officer Devesh Kumar Mahla told PTI news agency that the detentions were preventive in nature. Only Jantar Mantar is designated as a protest site where permission can be sought by following the due procedure, he said.

India Gate is not a designated protest site, police officers declared over loudspeakers as the protesters held up placards with slogans like Breathing is killing me and Smog se Azadi!

Traffic in the area was briefly disrupted before police moved in to disperse the crowd.

open image in gallery A detained protester holds a placard from inside a police vehicle ( AFP via Getty )

Among the protesters was Jasmine, the mother of a 14-year-old, who told The Indian Express she was demonstrating because this polluted air is killing us all and we want to bring up our children in clean air.

This polluted air is damaging their lungs and they cant play outside, she added. This has been going on for several years but nothing is being done.

Vimlendu Jha, an environmental activist, called the police crackdown unjustified. In the last fifteen days, the AQI has been in hazardous levels. Delhis citizens dont even know how polluted the air is. In fact many monitors have been shut down at the peak of it, we have also seen water sprinkling exercises to manipulate data, he told the paper. The government is managing perception rather than trying to manage pollution. This morning, AQI readings at 22 centres went past 400.

open image in gallery A person holds up a banner during a protest against lack of action to combat air pollution in Delhi ( AP )

People are asking for their right to breathe, Mr Jha added. This is as fundamental as breathing and people asking for it in Indias capital is something illegal according to the government and police.

The protesters accused authorities of manipulating data to downplay the severity of Delhis toxic air.

Is the AQI data by the government even true anymore? a protester, Prerna Mehra, asked, according to NDTV.

I cant trust it after seeing videos of water being sprayed near AQI monitoring stations the moment pollution spikes. Is someone fudging the numbers, or just wasting water to fake a drop?

open image in gallery Police detain demonstrators during a protest against air pollution in New Delhi on 9 November 2025 ( AFP via Getty )

Late last month, air quality in Delhi deteriorated to hazardous levels as smoke and particulate matter from extensive fireworks shows to celebrate the Hindu festival of Diwali mixed with stagnant winter air to leave the entire city blanketed in toxic smog.

The air quality has barely improved since and reports in several recent days have noted instances of government tankers and workers spraying water near monitoring stations, allegedly in an attempt to artificially bring down AQI readings.

A doctor participating in the protest warned of grave health impacts of the capitals toxic air. Every third child in Delhi already has damaged lungs, they'll live nearly ten years less than kids growing up in cleaner air, he said.

Long-term exposure leads to heart disease, stroke, and asthma-it starts in the womb with low birthweight and fetal loss and haunts us into old age. The WHO says most of this is preventable, but where's the action?

The protests organisers, including environmentalist Bhavreen Khandari, said they had sought a meeting with the Delhi chief minister but were denied.

We want to meet our elected officials. We had sought an appointment with the chief minister but were refused, she was quoted as saying by PTI. So many parents are here because their children are suffering.

In spite of the crackdown, the protesters said they had got out their message. The rich can buy air purifiers, or flee to the hills, but what about us? an unnamed demonstrator told NDTV. We have to fight every winter just to breathe.

He held a banner which read, in Hindi, Air isnt government property, its everybodys.
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A powerful car explosion outside an iconic monument in Indias capital Delhi has killed at least eight people and injured 20 others, prompting police to open an investigation under Indias anti-terrorism laws.

The blast occurred around 6.52pm on Monday evening near a metro station gate of the Red Fort, police said.

Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the blast was an act of terrorism, as police probed the case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Indias primary law for probing terrorism-related offences and activities seen as threats to the countrys sovereignty and integrity.

Federal home minister Amit Shah said, All angles are being investigated and security agencies will come to a conclusion soon.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, who was on a scheduled visit to Bhutan on Tuesday, said investigators would "get to the bottom of this conspiracy.

Here is everything we know about the explosion.

How did the explosion occur?

Police commissioner Satish Golcha said the incident occurred when a slow-moving Hyundai i20 stopped at a traffic signal and exploded, damaging several nearby vehicles.

open image in gallery Security personnel are seen at the blast site following an explosion near the Red Fort in the old quarters of Delhi on 11 November 2025 ( AFP via Getty Images )

Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic as flames engulfed cars and people fled the area. I was at the metro station, going down the stairs, when I heard an explosion. I turned around and saw a fire. People started running helter-skelter, said Suman Mishra. Another witness, Wali Ur Rehman, told ANI news agency: I fell from the impact of the explosion, it was that intense.

open image in gallery Aftermath of an explosion near the historic Red Fort in the old quarters of Delhi ( Reuters )

Scene of chaos and destruction at Red Fort

At least six cars and three auto-rickshaws caught fire, according to the citys deputy fire chief. Police and firefighters arrived within minutes, and the blaze was extinguished by 7.36pm. Mangled cars, shattered windows and scattered debris filled the street near the Chandni Chowk market area.

The explosion was so powerful that a police post 100m away was destroyed and car fragments were found as far as 200m from the blast site.

open image in gallery Forensic experts inspect the blast site following an explosion near the Red Fort in the old quarters of Delhi on 11 November 2025 ( AFP via Getty Images )

What has the preliminary investigation revealed?

Investigators have traced the vehicle involved in the blast to a 34-year-old man from Pulwama district in Indian-administered Kashmir. He reportedly bought the Hyundai i20 on 29 October, just weeks before the explosion, sources told The Indian Express. His identity has not yet been disclosed.

Hours after the explosion, police questioned a man from Delhis neighbouring Gurugram city who previously owned the car. He claimed to have sold it, prompting investigators to work with the Regional Transport Office to track its subsequent ownership. Authorities later determined that the vehicle had changed hands multiple times before ending up with the Pulwama resident.

CCTV footage shows the car entering a parking lot near the Red Fort at 3.19pm and leaving at 6.48pm  minutes before the explosion. Footage also appears to show the driver collecting a parking slip. Investigators are reviewing video from nearby roads and toll barriers to map the cars full route through Delhi.

open image in gallery Son of Dinesh Misra, who died in a deadly explosion near the historic Red Fort in the old quarters of Delhi, cries outside a mortuary at a hospital, in Delhi, India, 11 November 2025 ( Reuters )

The blast occurred just a day after police in Jammu and Kashmir uncovered 350kg of explosives from two residential buildings in Faridabad, a city in the neighbouring state of Haryana. Investigators are examining whether the two incidents are connected.

What was the nature of the explosive device?

Preliminary findings suggest no crater was formed at the site and the injured victims did not have shrapnel wounds, raising questions about the type of explosive used. Police said those injured sustained severe burns and crushed limbs, consistent with a powerful heat-based explosion rather than a conventional bomb.

Legal experts note that while the UAPA allows wide-ranging powers for investigation, police will need to establish strong forensic evidence and clear chain of custody to ensure the case holds up in court  particularly if terrorism charges are invoked.

Mr Shah said teams from the National Investigation Agency (NIA), National Security Guard (NSG), and the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) were at the site within 10 minutes of the explosion. We are exploring all possibilities and will conduct a thorough investigation all options will be investigated immediately, he said, adding that prime minister Narendra Modi had been briefed on the situation.

open image in gallery Police and security personnel attend the scene of an explosion near the Red Fort Metro Station on November 10, 2025 in Delhi, India ( Getty Images )

What has the Indian prime minister said?

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi condoled those killed in the explosion.

Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi earlier this evening. May the injured recover at the earliest Those affected are being assisted by authorities, he wrote on X.

"The conspirators won't be spared and all those responsible will be brought to justice," Mr Modi, who is in Bhutan on an official trip, said on Tuesday.

A high alert has been issued across Delhi and neighbouring states. The US Embassy in New Delhi also advised its citizens to avoid the area and remain vigilant in tourist zones.

What is the Red Fort?

The Red Fort, or Lal Qila, is a 17th-century Mughal fortress and Unesco World Heritage Site where the Indian prime minister delivers the annual Independence Day address every 15 August. The fort is located near Chandni Chowk, one of Delhis busiest markets, and the Jama Masjid mosque.

Delhi has faced deadly bombings in the past, including a 2011 explosion outside the Delhi High Court that killed 12 people. Mondays blast marks one of the capitals most serious incidents in over a decade.
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Indonesia on Monday awarded the title of national hero to late leader Suharto, who was ousted in 1998 by violent protests that ended three decades of rule plagued by accusations of mass human rights violations, corruption and nepotism.

The title was conferred in a ceremony overseen by president Prabowo Subianto, Suhartos former son-in-law, despite protests by pro-democracy activists and the families of Indonesians affected by the military dictators iron-fisted rule.

Mr Prabowo took office one year ago.

A prominent figure from Central Java, a hero of the struggle for independence, General Suharto stood out since the independence era, an announcer said as Mr Prabowo handed the award to Suhartos daughter and son.

Indonesia suffered centuries of colonial rule by the Dutch and, briefly during the Second World War, the Japanese before gaining independence in 1945.

Every year, the title of national hero is awarded to Indonesians who are considered to have contributed significantly to the Southeast Asian nations development.

Suharto, who died in 2008, was one of 10 people to get the title on Monday.

Suharto, a military officer, formally became president in 1967 after seizing control of Indonesia from the countrys first president and independence leader Sukarno.

He steered Indonesia through three decades of rapid economic growth and stability, only to see much of his work unravel as the nation was plunged into chaos during the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98.

On Monday morning, ahead of the ceremony, a Reuters reporter saw Suhartos portrait among a display of framed pictures of 10 people chosen for the title at Jakartas state palace.

open image in gallery People attend the National Hero award ceremony at the State Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 10 November 2025 ( REUTERS )

Suharto was wearing his military uniform in the portrait, placed between a picture of former president Abdurrahman Wahid and labour activist Marsinah, who was kidnapped and murdered during Suhartos rule.

The government has decided. I cannot... that is not my right. I am only here for Marsinah, said the activists sister, Marsini, on being asked by journalists about Marsinah getting the award alongside Suharto.

Presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi urged all Indonesians on Monday to look forward together when asked about Marsinah, adding that the newly minted heroes had shortcomings, too.

Struggles disregarded

Activists gathered last week in Jakarta to protest against the proposal to grant the title, reflecting wider concerns about historical revisionism in the country.

Among them was Tadius Priyo Utomo, 47, an Indonesian living in East Timor for the past 19 years, who was one of tens of thousands of students who protested across the country against Suharto in 1998.

Our past struggles will be disregarded...we are the traitors to the country because we fought Suharto and he is now a hero, Utomo told Reuters at a protest last week in Jakarta, to which he flew from Dili, the capital of East Timor, especially to attend.

open image in gallery A portrait painting of Indonesias former president Suharto is displayed at the State Palace in Jakarta on 10 November 2025 ( AFP via Getty )

Under Suharto, Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 at the end of Portuguese rule and annexed the territory later that year, maintaining a heavy and sometimes harsh military presence. East Timor only won independence after Suharto was forced to step down.

Suharto, a former soldier, used the military to dominate civilian affairs and crush dissent. He was also accused of massive corruption and nepotism benefiting his family and cronies, although no charge was proven, and he never went on trial due to his failing health.

Utomo said the current government was composed of people favoured by Suharto. For others, the move is also a red flag for things to come under Prabowo, who was a special forces commander under Suharto, aside from being married to his daughter before the two were divorced after Suhartos ouster. Prabowo has also been accused of human rights violations in East Timor by troops under his command, although he has denied the charges.

Prabowo can do everything that President Suharto did because he is protected by his heroism, said Marzuki Darusman, a former attorney general who was also the head of the 1998 riots fact-finding team. Marzuki specifically pointed to the expanded role for the military that has already taken place since Prabowo took office last year.

open image in gallery Members of civil society groups hold posters reading Suharto is not a hero during a rally opposing the governments plan to grant the former president the title of national hero near the presidential palace in Jakarta on 6 November 2025 ( AFP via Getty )

We dont need to defend it ourselves...nothing is being hidden, Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, Suhartos daughter, told journalists after the ceremony.

We have expressed our gratitude to the president for appointing our father as the national hero, and maybe because he is also a soldier so he knows what my father had done.

Whitewashing history

Even after his death, Suhartos party, Golkar, remains a major political force which backs Prabowo in his current presidency and holds key ministries in his cabinet. Political analyst Kevin ORourke, author of the book Reformasi: The Struggle for Power in Post-Soeharto Indonesia, said naming Suharto a national hero could whitewash history and be an attempt to restore some authoritarianism, although it would not be easy.

Its quite hard to put democracy back in the box when people are used to it, he said. Half of Indonesias population would not have been born or be old enough to remember Suhartos rule, according to official statistics.

But many still remember the hardships. A group of people, known as the Aksi Kamisan, has held silent vigils outside the presidential palace in Jakarta every Thursday for nearly 20 years, dressing in black and demanding justice for excesses endured under Suharto.

Many of them say they still do not know the whereabouts of loved ones who went missing under his rule. Culture minister Fadli Zon said the government had conducted research and all candidates, including Suharto, had met the requirements, adding the former leaders role in mass killings in 1965 that ultimately spelled the end of Sukarnos rule was never proven.

Historians say about 500,000 people were killed. Indonesia has never investigated the killings.
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Super Typhoon Fung-wong is headed towards Taiwan after causing extensive damage in the Philippines and killing at least four people on its way out of the Southeast Asian country.

Fung-wong, one of the most powerful storms to hit the Philippines this year, brought howling winds, heavy rainfall and storm swells on the most populous island of Luzon that left some sleepless through the night on Sunday.

The typhoon arrived while the country was still dealing with the devastation wrought by Typhoon Kalmaegi, which left 224 people dead in the central provinces on Tuesday before pummelling and killing at least five more in Vietnam.

Fung-wong slammed ashore in Aurora province on Sunday night as a super typhoon with sustained winds of up to 185kmph and gusts of up to 230kmph.

open image in gallery Typhoon Fung-wong is moving towards Taiwan ( Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System )

"We could not sleep because of the winds hitting our metal sheets and tree branches falling," said Romeo Mariano, who sheltered with his grandmother in their home in the province of Isabela. "When we got out to check our home, we saw the damage."

The storm, some 1,800km wide, weakened as it raked through mountainous northern provinces and agricultural plains overnight before blowing away from the province of La Union into the South China Sea, according to state forecasters.

A mudslide caused by heavy rain buried a house and killed two children in the northern town of Kayapa in Nueva Vizcaya province, a regional civil defence official, Alvin Ayson said, by telephone.

Another person drowned in flash floods in the eastern province of Catanduanes and a fourth died in Catbalogan city in eastern Samar province when her house collapsed on her, officials said.

open image in gallery Residents move out pigs on a boat amid flooding brought by Super Typhoon Fung-wong in Pandan, Catanduanes province ( Pandan Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office )

By Monday, Fung-wong was packing relatively slower winds of 130-160kmph but it remained a typhoon whose outer bands could dump rain in coastal areas and trigger storm surges.

It was forecast to hit Taiwan's densely populated western coast on Wednesday, though its heaviest rain was expected along the mountainous east coast, where 18 people died in flooding unleashed by another typhoon in September.

The Taiwanese government ordered evacuations in the town of Guangfu, the scene of those deadly floods two months ago. The fire department said it was coordinating with local agencies to ensure disaster response personnel and equipment were on standby.

open image in gallery Typhoon Fung-wong is expected to make landfall in Taiwan later this week ( Accuweather )

From Monday night through Tuesday, the storm is forecast to bring heavy rain to the coastal areas of Keelung, the Greater Taipei area, the eastern half of Taiwan, and the Hengchun Peninsula in the south, according to the Central Weather Administration.

Heavy rain is expected to lash the central and southern parts of the island, the agency added.
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would remove broad black box warnings from hormone replacement therapy products used to ease the symptoms of menopause.

More than 20 estrogen-related products used to treat hot flashes and other symptoms for decades will no longer carry a warning label about cardiovascular disease, breast cancer and probable dementia.

Warnings will remain in place for the risk of endometrial cancer on systemic estrogen-alone products.

Today, we are standing up for every woman who has symptoms of menopause and is looking to know her options and receive potentially life-changing treatment, Kennedy said in a statement.

For more than two decades, bad science and bureaucratic inertia have resulted in women and physicians having an incomplete view of HRT, he added. We are returning to evidence-based medicine and giving women control over their health again.

open image in gallery Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would remove black box warnings from hormone replacement therapy products for menopause ( AFP via Getty Images )

Mondays announcement comes following an expert literature review conducted in July, that included doctors and researchers who supported the health benefits of the drugs.

The FDA is now working with drugmakers to update and reprint labels.

The agency also said it had approved two new drugs to expand treatment options for menopausal symptoms, including a generic version of Premarin and a non-hormonal medication to treat hot flashes and other symptoms.

As women experience menopause in their forties and fifties, their ovaries produce less of the sex- and reproductive-regulating hormones estrogen and progesterone.

Hormone replacement therapy products can restore declining hormones and relieve uncomfortable symtpoms, including night sweats and bone loss.

Following a landmark study linking hormone pills to higher rates of cancer, stroke and blood clots in 2002, prescriptions for the medications fell. Since then, all estrogen drugs have carried the FDAs boxed warning.

However, additional research has revealed a more nuanced outlook on associated risks, and a new analysis of the 2002 data found that women in their fifties who took estrogen-based drugs faced no increased risk of heart problems, whereas women in their seventies did.

Kennedy and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said that the labels had scared women off from the treatment.

Tragically, tens of millions of women have been denied the life-changing and long-term health benefits of hormone replacement therapy because of a medical dogma rooted in a distortion of risk, said Makary.

open image in gallery Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said that the labels had scared women away from the treatment and its health benefits ( Getty Images )

The American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists applauded the action, saying modifications to certain warning labels for estrogen products are years in the making.

The updated labels will better allow patients and clinicians to engage in a shared decision-making process, without an unnecessary barrier, when it comes to treatment of menopausal symptoms, Dr. Steven J. Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, said in a statement reacting to the news.

And, Fleischman noted that systemic estrogen products are not without risk.

While we support that this change will put shared decision-making back in the hands of patients and their trusted clinicians, it is important to distinguish that systemic estrogen products  such as oral estrogen and transdermal patches, gels, and sprays  have a different safety profile than low-dose vaginal estrogen, he said.

With reporting from The Associated Press
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Thailand has announced it will cease all activities agreed upon under its US-brokered ceasefire with Cambodia, following a land mine explosion that injured two Thai soldiers in the disputed border region.

The countrys prime minister made the declaration on Monday, just hours after the incident.

The two Southeast Asian nations signed a truce in Malaysia last month, an agreement forged after a five-day conflict in late July killed dozens amid territorial disputes.

Tensions have remained high, with similar land mine incidents reported both before and after the July clashes, including one in August that wounded three Thai soldiers.

In this photo released by Royal Thai Army, two Thai soldiers injured by a landmine during a patrol near the Thai-Cambodia border are treated as they are to be transferred to a hospital ( Royal Thai Army )

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said Mondays incident shows that the hostility towards our national security has not decreased as we thought it would, adding that all actions to be carried out under the truce agreement will be halted until Thailand's demands are met.

He did not elaborate on Thailand's demands. There was no immediate response from the Cambodian government.

The terms of the agreement include Thailand releasing 18 Cambodian soldiers held prisoner and for both sides to begin removing heavy weapons and land mines from the border area.

The Royal Thai Army said a sergeant had lost his right foot after stepping on a land mine while on patrol Monday along the border in Sisaket province, while another soldier suffered a tightness in his chest from the impact of the blast. It said both soldiers were receiving treatment at a hospital.

Thai Defense Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit said the army is still investigating whether the mine was old or was newly laid. He added that Thailand will postpone the release of the captured Cambodian soldiers, initially scheduled for later this week.

The two sides said there has been some progress on arms removal but Thailand accuses Cambodia of obstructing the mine clearance process. Cambodia says it's committed to all terms in the agreement, including demining, and urged Thailand to release its soldiers as soon as possible.

Thailand has accused Cambodia of laying new mines in violation of the truce, which the Cambodian government denies.

The ceasefire was initially mediated by Malaysia and U.S. President Donald Trump later threatened to withhold trade privileges unless both Cambodia and Thailand agreed on a truce and the deal was signed during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in October.
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A Chinese fraudster involved in a Bitcoin scam exceeding 5.5 billion managed to evade British authorities for years while staying in luxury hotels and sightseeing across Europe, a court has been told.

Zhimin Qian, 47, also known as Yadi Zhang, orchestrated a sophisticated Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 128,000 victims across China between 2014 and 2017.

The vast sums of illegally obtained funds were subsequently converted and stored in Bitcoin assets.

After her activities drew the attention of Chinese authorities, Qian fled to the UK in 2017, arriving as a "fugitive". Once on British soil, she reportedly recruited accomplices to assist her in establishing a "new life".

During the months and years that followed her arrival, Qian embarked on extensive travels, frequenting upmarket hotels across Europe.

Her lavish lifestyle included significant purchases, such as expensive jewellery, with one instance seeing her acquire two watches for a sum approaching 120,000, according to a sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court on Monday.

The businesswoman attracted the attention of British authorities in 2018 and was subsequently arrested in April last year after spending nearly six years at large in what has been described as the UKs largest cryptocurrency seizure.

After pleading guilty to money laundering offences, Qian and her accomplice Seng Hok Ling, 47, are to be sentenced on Tuesday for the roles they played in the multibillion-pound fraudulent Bitcoin scheme.

The value of the Bitcoin was priced at more than 5.5 billion when Qian and Ling were convicted of the money laundering offences in September.

It is understood that the figure is constantly changing.

Gillian Jones KC, prosecuting, told the sentencing hearing that Qian set up fraudulent business, Lantian Gerui, which translates to Blue Sky in English, in March 2014.

More than 128,000 victims invested in the company, many of whom went on to lose substantial sums of money.

Qians fraudulent activities eventually came to the attention of Chinese authorities, prompting her to flee the country before eventually arriving in the UK in September 2017.

open image in gallery Zhimin Qian and her accomplice Seng Hok Ling, both 47, are to be sentenced on Tuesday for the roles they played in the multibillion-pound fraudulent Bitcoin scheme ( Metropolitan Police )

She recruited an accomplice, Jian Wen, to help her set up a new life.

The court heard Wen was handsomely rewarded for her services, transforming her life and prospects overnight.

In September, Qian started renting a lavish property in Hampstead, London, having told an estate agent a lie that she ran a successful jewellery business.

The monthly rent for this property was 17,333, the court heard.

In October 2017, Wen travelled to Thailand on Qians request to collect a laptop on which Bitcoin was stored.

Ms Jones KC said: Over the months and years following her arrival in the UK, Ms Qian travelled extensively throughout Europe often accompanied by Ms Wen, staying in expensive hotels and sightseeing.

During these trips Bitcoin was transferred and sold in exchange for cash, fine jewellery bought and property in Europe considered for purchase.

The court heard Qian was careful to avoid countries that had extradition treaties with China, and travelled predominantly by car to avoid custom checks.

It was heard that in one trip, the pair spent 119,200 purchasing two watches at a jewellery shop in Zurich, Switzerland.

In 2018, Qian attempted to purchase a 12.5 million property in London and after suspicions were raised over her Bitcoin, UK authorities were notified.

Ms Jones KC said this acted as a catalyst for subsequent investigation.

UK police emailed Wen, who was attempting to secure the property on Qians behalf, to tell her that they had concerns about the source of the money.

The court heard that Qian was aware that UK police were questioning the source of her Bitcoin.

In October 2018, Metropolitan Police officers visited her Hampstead home to execute a search warrant.

open image in gallery A sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court on Monday heard how Qian travelled extensively, staying in upmarket hotels across Europe and buying expensive jewellery ( Sean Dempsey/PA )

Qian was discovered in bed by officers and she told them she was ill with a sore leg and brain injury.

She provided a fake name, Yadi Zhang, and the court heard that at this stage, the police had no idea who Qian was.

They discovered laptops in her property with millions of pounds worth of Bitcoin contained on them.

Neither Qian or Wen were arrested at this stage as the police were unaware of the extent of what they had uncovered.

In a later discovery, officers found documents recording Qians aspirations and intentions.

Referring to one document, Ms Jones KC said: (This) included her intention to become the monarch of Liberland, a self-proclaimed country consisting of a strip of land between Croatia and Serbia.

After the police raid in October 2018, Qian fled the country.

The court heard that for nearly six years, she managed to evade arrest and was ultimately at large.

Wen was arrested in May 2021 at the Hampstead address in London and was subsequently charged with money laundering.

While her trial was ongoing, a transfer of Bitcoin was made which led the police to identify Seng Hok Ling at an address in York.

Police visited the address in April 2024 and discovered Qian and four other individuals.

It was heard they were all living at the address and were working for Qian, carrying out roles like cooking, shopping, and cleaning, while she remained hidden away from the authorities.

Authorities discovered several devices at Qians address, including a laptop containing a cryptocurrency wallet with 27.3 million worth of Bitcoin.

Qian was arrested at the address in York in April 2024 and taken to a local police station.

She mostly remained silent but in the few questions she did answer, Qian maintained her innocence.

The court heard Ling, a Malaysian national, had arranged the rental of properties for Qian to live in, including an Airbnb in Scotland.

Richard Thomas KC, mitigating on behalf of Qian, said his client has no previous convictions and has maintained an exemplary record while in custody.

He told the sentencing hearing that Qian has worked hard to learn English in custody and has even had her poetry published.

Narita Bahra KC, representing Ling, said her client did not know the full extent of Qians criminality.

Qian, of no fixed abode, pleaded guilty to acquiring criminal property and possessing criminal property.

Ling, from Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to transferring criminal property.

Wen was convicted of one charge of money laundering after a trial at Southwark Crown Court. She was later sentenced to six years and eight months imprisonment.

The sentencing hearing for Qian and Ling continues and is due to conclude on Tuesday.
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A Palestine Action protester has failed to return to Wandsworth prison after he was temporarily freed to go to his brothers wedding.

Sean Middlebrough was being held on remand at HMP Wandsworth when he was granted bail by a judge to attend the wedding.

Police are now hunting for Middlebrough after he failed to return from the wedding, The Independent understands.

Middlebrough had been charged with aggravated burglary, criminal damage and violent disorder at the Elbit Systems UK building.

open image in gallery HMP Wandsworth in London, where two prisoners were mistakenly released over the last week. (Lucy North/PA) ( PA Archive )

A government spokesperson said: Court bail decisions are made by judges  independently of government. Absconding is a serious criminal offence, and any defendant who commits this crime could face longer behind bars.

The police are working urgently to recapture this individual, and we urge anyone with information to go to the police.

It comes with the government under increasing pressure over the wrongful release of several inmates. At least four are still at large, two of whom were released in 2024 and another two who were released in June this year.

On Friday, a sex offender who was released in error was arrested following a nine-day manhunt. Brahim Kaddour-Cherif, 24, was captured in Islington, north London, after being spotted by a member of the public.

The Algerian national was serving a sentence at HMP Wandsworth in southwest London before he was wrongly freed on 29 October. He has convictions for theft and has previously also been convicted for indecent exposure.

open image in gallery Brahim Kaddour Cherif arrested more than a week after the blunder which saw him released from HMP Wandsworth (Metropolitan Police/PA) ( PA Media )

Kaddour-Cherifs release piled pressure on justice secretary David Lammy, who came under fire for how he dealt with the mistaken release of the prisoner.

He was criticised for failing to address the blunder when he appeared at Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday, despite having been briefed about it and being repeatedly asked about accidental prison releases.

On Sunday, culture secretary Lisa Nandy accepted that wrongful releases have gone up under the current Labour government, but claimed the government is gripping the crisis.

I havent had any discussions with the justice secretary about that this morning. What I can tell you is that under the last government, for quite some time, there were, on average, 17 wrong releases, she told BBCs Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

Under this government that has risen. Its 22. That is completely unacceptable. It was unacceptable before, its unacceptable now.

She added: Even one is too many, and the justice secretary is gripping this by appointing Dame Lynne Owens, who is the former director of the National Crime Agency, to make sure that we really grip this, starting with the antiquated paper-based system that was developed in the 1980s that is still being used, building new prisons and making sure that we have additional checks so that people aren't wrongly released.
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A man who set his ex-partners house on fire by pouring petrol through her letterbox during the night and then setting it alight, has been jailed for 30 years.

Nicholas Martin, 63, was found guilty of attempted murder and assault occasioning actual bodily harm by a court in Manchester in September, and jailed for 30 years on Monday after carrying out a campaign of abuse against the woman, which lasted years.

Martin carried out the attack on the house in Worsley, Salford , at around 5.10am on 22 October 2024, when he knew his ex-partner would be asleep.

According to Greater Manchester Police , he booked himself into a nearby hotel and waited until the early hours of the morning to execute the attack.

The victim was initially woken by the sound of her letterbox snapping closed and then heard a crackling sound. She soon realised her house was on fire and jumped out of her bedroom window. In the fall from the first-floor window, she sustained two broken ankles and a broken vertebrae.

Martin had been in a relationship with the woman since 2019. The court heard that he had become increasingly controlling, monitoring her movements, preventing her from seeing family members, and constantly criticising her.

open image in gallery The front of the victim's house after Nicholas Martin set it alight ( Greater Manchester Police )

Investigators at Salford Criminal Investigation Department said that Martin had installed home cameras for monitoring and controlling the woman, including what she could eat, wear, and watch on television.

At the time of the offence, Martin was already on bail for a previous assault against the victim, and conditions were in place for him not to contact her and for him to reside in Leicester. But he left his bail address, rented a car and drove to Worsley.

Martin was arrested the following day at a hotel in the Lake District, where police discovered a can containing petrol in the hotel room wardrobe.

He made no comment in his police interview and then pleaded not guilty to the charges. Despite later admitting to causing the fire, he said he had no intention of killing the woman.

The victim's pet cat was killed in the fire.

In a powerful victim impact statement which was read out in court, the victim said: "Martins vile and monstrous actions have utterly destroyed and decimated my life through his abuse of me during our relationship, and the continuation and heinous escalation of his abuse of me after our relationship ended and he was arrested, charged with domestic abuse offences and bailed.

Martin has irrevocably changed the lives of my family members and I will forever remain wracked with guilt at bringing such a dangerous and destructive man into our lives, and at how close my son and daughter came to the murder of their mum, and my mum came to the murder of her only child.

Speaking about the previous assault charge, the victim said: After contacting the police in September 2024, I was incredibly relieved when Martin was charged for assaulting me in 2021 and I was informed that his bail conditions meant that he was not allowed to contact me in any way. As we neared the date of Martins court hearing scheduled for October 2024, I was starting to look towards my future.

I described in court my feelings of absolute terror when I realised that my home had been set alight by fire. I am still often consumed by the same feelings of terror, experiencing flashbacks, distressing memories and nightmares of the fire and aftermath.

She added that the worst part of the destruction of my belongings is the loss of irreplaceable items such as family photos, and mementos of my late father and grandparents.

After the murder attempt, I was left suffering extreme trauma and pain whilst not being able to have any of my familiar belongings around me, and in the knowledge that my home had been destroyed.

She said that her mother, her son and her daughter have all also required trauma therapy sessions following Martins actions.

Detective Constable Zoe Bellis, of Salford CID, said: Martin undertook a campaign of abuse against his victim lasting a number of years. His last act nearly resulted in a womans death and I am thankful of todays sentencing result putting this despicable individual behind bars and away from harming other victims.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the victim for her unwavering support throughout the investigation. Her strength has been instrumental in helping us build the strongest possible case against her abuser and ensuring he is held accountable.

She added: I hope todays result marks the beginning of her journey toward healing, with the reassurance that justice has been served for the manipulative and appalling acts committed against her.
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BBC chairman Samir Shah has formally apologised for the corporation's "error of judgment" concerning the editing of a speech by US President Donald Trump for its Panorama programme.

This apology follows the recent resignations of two senior BBC figures: chief executive of BBC News Deborah Turness and director-general Tim Davie. Both announced their departure on Sunday after concerns were highlighted in Michael Prescotts report.

In a letter to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee (CMS), Mr Shah acknowledged over 500 complaints since the memo's release.

He stated: "We accept that the way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action."

Here is the letter addressed to the CMS signed by Mr Shah on 10 November in full:

Thank you for your letter of 4 November.

I want to put on record the BBCs position on a number of issues that have been raised in the last week following the leak of a letter to the BBC Board from Michael Prescott, a former external advisor to the BBCs Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee (EGSC). In doing so, I will also address the questions you asked me in your letter.

open image in gallery Donald Trump has threatened legal action against the BBC (Leon Neal/PA) ( PA Wire )

You asked for a copy of Mr Prescotts letter, which I attach.

I want to make clear that we have taken Mr Prescotts concerns seriously, and considered the points he made carefully. The Board considered Mr Prescotts memo at a meeting on 17 October. I have since met with Mr Prescott and discussed next steps.

It is worth stating at the outset that some of the coverage of Mr Prescotts memo has implied that he has uncovered a list of stories and issues that the BBC have sought to bury.

That interpretation is simply not true. The issues raised by Mr Prescott are precisely the issues that have been considered by the EGSC and the Board.

The EGSC is the senior forum in which we scrutinise BBC output when concerns have been raised (from either internal or external sources) and where we determine what action needs to be taken.

Put simply: the Committees job is to examine the bad news not the good news. Sometimes the mistakes are one-offs, others may point to underlying problems. The job is never complete. But it is only by identifying and highlighting these issues and implementing changes that the BBC demonstrates its commitment to continuous improvement.

There is another view that has gained currency in the coverage that the BBC has done nothing to tackle these problems. That is also simply not true.

Over the three years Mr Prescott was an advisor to the EGSC, the BBC has: published corrections where we have got things wrong; changed editorial guidance to make the BBCs position on issues clearer; made changes to leadership where the problems point to underlying issues; and carried out formal disciplinary measures.

During the three years Mr Prescott was an Advisor to the Committee, the BBC produced thousands of hours of outstanding journalism: on television, radio, online, nationally, regionally and internationally.

This does not diminish the importance the BBC Board places on addressing the issues that Mr Prescott has raised. But it is also important that a sense of perspective is maintained.

Mr Prescott has relied upon research commissioned by the EGSC itself to make his points. This note, too, will rely on that research. However, Mr Prescotts memo is his personal account of the meetings at which he was present. It does not present a full picture of the discussions, decisions and actions that were taken. In answering the questions you have asked, I hope to put that right.

open image in gallery BBC director-general Tim Davie resigned over concerns raised in Michael Prescotts report (PA) ( PA Archive )

First, the EGSC accepts that there are occasions when the BBC gets things wrong or our reporting requires more context and explanation. This is the case in some of the issues mentioned in Mr Prescotts letter, where BBC executives fully accepted the conclusions of the EGSC commissioned research.

These include the car insurance story, the insecure jobs item, the Scarlett Blake case, the ICJ order, and the reporting of casualty figures in Gaza. Action in these areas ranged from published corrections and clarifications to new editorial guidance being issued. In other cases considered by EGSC, disciplinary action has been taken.

On top of the specific stories, EGSC also identified concerns about underlying problems  for example in the Arabic service or long form journalism. These two areas have been discussed at length at the EGSC and action has been taken to tackle this kind of problem.

The BBC Arabic Team has been restructured, a new Arabic speaking Head of Editorial Quality and Standards has been appointed in the World Service, and a new social media research unit has been set up to verify those who appear on the service.

In the UK, BBC News have appointed a new Executive Editor of Editorial Quality and Standards to oversee domestic News output. BBC News will imminently appoint a new Director of News Documentaries and Long Form Journalism who will oversee current affairs output.

The changes in leadership set out above are a determined attempt to tackle the underlying problems identified by both the EGSC and in Mr Prescotts memo. Only by this action can we ensure that broader change not just the immediate correction of individual stories, is addressed.

We will be monitoring closely: for example, this week, the EGSC will receive a planned update on BBC Arabic. But let me be absolutely clear here: if the problems persist, we will take further action.

What I have set out above are the actions that have followed EGSC discussion where the Committee agreed and reached a consensus view. Mr Prescott may have judged that these individual actions were not sufficient. That is his opinion  and it is, of course, for him to form that judgement. However, it is not true to say that concerns have been ignored or action not taken.

Michael Prescotts memo gives only a partial description of the evidence that EGSC received and considered.

For example, on the US election section, the EGSC did accept there was an issue with the Iowa poll but also noted that the BBCs overall polling coverage was very good, particularly online.

And on the review of sex and gender identity, the EGSC noted much of the coverage met the BBCs standards of impartiality and accuracy.

Let me turn now to a specific story. The editing of President Trumps speech on January 6th in the Panorama, Trump: A Second Chance?

The editing of President Trumps speech on January 6th has attracted significant attention. This issue was the subject of discussion at EGSC in January 2025 and again in May 2025.

open image in gallery Deborah Turness, who resigned the day before as BBC News CEO, faces the media as she arrives at the offices of the BBC in London on November 10, 2025 ( AFP/Getty )

There was concern expressed by members of the Committee, as well as Mr Prescott, of the way the programme was edited. However, the EGSC also heard from BBC News that the purpose of editing the clip, was to convey the message of the speech made by President Trump so that Panoramas audience could better understand how it had been received by President Trumps supporters and what was happening on the ground at that time.

This issue was considered and discussed as part of a wider review of the BBCs US Election coverage, commissioned by the Committee, rather than handled as a specific programme complaint, given it had not attracted significant audience feedback and had been transmitted before the US election, so the point wasnt pursued further at that time.

The points raised in the review were relayed to the Panorama team, including the decision making on this edit. With hindsight, it would have been better to take more formal action.

Since the publication of Mr Prescotts memo, this issue has led to over 500 complaints. These are now being dealt with in the normal way. It has also prompted further reflection by the BBC. The conclusion of that deliberation is that we accept that the way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action. The BBC would like to apologise for that error of judgement.

You asked several questions around the high-level review of the effectiveness of EGSC. I instigated that review in June, well before Mr Prescotts memo. I have had several discussions as to how to improve the EGSC processes and the way it works, which has included input from Chris Sauls review work. That work has yet to conclude.

My intention is to sharpen and strengthen the process so that EGSC acts speedily, and monitors the actions agreed to ensure implementation. The plan is to broaden the agenda to include all BBC output  as all BBC programming, not just its journalism, is bound by Editorial guidelines. I will also be changing the composition of the Committee to align better with its changed role and to ensure clearer accountability. This re-engineering of the EGSC will come before the Board in December.

In addition, Id like to set out some additional actions:

 Going forward, the Board will commit to re-visiting each and every item set out in Michael Prescotts note, and take further action where appropriate. We will be transparent about the conclusions we reach and the actions taken.

 Where we have put in measures already, in response to the original EGSC research, we will repeat those internal reviews to check the changes made are making material improvements to the output.

 Where we have already accepted that items fall short of our editorial standards, we will ensure that amendments to the relevant online stories are made where this was deemed appropriate.

open image in gallery Mr Shah has told BBC News the corporation has received communication from President Trump, adding: We are now considering how to reply to him ( BBC News )

I would like to assure you and the Committee that I am absolutely clear that the BBC must champion impartiality. It is more necessary now than ever before. All the policies and practices we have implemented so far, and will implement as we reshape the EGSC, will be driven by the need to hold the highest standards in all our content  video, audio and online.

As Chair, I take responsibility for that. I hope this letter demonstrates that the BBC has taken significant action over the past three years. I will personally ensure that the BBC continues to take the necessary actions in the future to ensure the BBC retains the trust and confidence of the public we serve.

Id like to conclude by restating the importance of high quality, independent journalism in todays polarised society. There is an increasing need for the public to be informed in a way that is impartial, truthful and is based on evidence they can trust. That is the sacred job of the BBC.
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The BBC is under immense pressure following the resignation of Tim Davie amid continuing furore over its editing of a speech by Donald Trump in a documentary.

The broadcasters director-general resigned on Sunday alongside the chief executive of news, Deborah Turness, following repeated controversies over impartiality claims.

The latest controversy involved a BBC Panorama episode called Trump: A Second Chance?, which critics have said was misleading in the way it edited the presidents speech on 6 January 2021.

The US president himself weighed in on the resignations, saying that the documentary, which aired a week before the US presidential election last year, had been an attempt to step on the scales of a presidential election.

And he issued the BBC with an ultimatum: apologise by Friday and appropriately compensate him or face legal action for $1bn (760m) in damages.

Questions have been asked about how effectively the BBC has dealt with accusations of institutional bias, because until Monday it failed to either apologise or defend itself.

open image in gallery A clip in the programme spliced clips together from sections of the US presidents speech on 6 January 2021 ( AFP/Getty )

A clip in the programme spliced clips together from sections of the US presidents speech on 6 January 2021 to make it appear he told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to fight like hell.

In the original speech, Mr Trump said: We're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women.

But the edit put the first part of that speech with another section from 50 minutes later, so he was shown saying: Were going to walk down to the Capitol ... and Ill be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell.

However, it would not be until over a year later that the edit would place enough pressure on the BBC to warrant resignations.

open image in gallery A former external adviser to the BBCs editorial standards committee raised concerns in the summer about the way clips had been edited ( Reuters )

In the summer, a memo by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBCs editorial standards committee, raised concerns about the way clips had been edited.

The memo was last week leaked by a whistleblower to The Daily Telegraph, which published extracts from it, including: It was completely misleading to edit the clip in the way Panorama aired it. The fact that he did not explicitly exhort supporters to go down and fight at Capitol Hill was one of the reasons there were no federal charges for incitement to riot.

The report sparked criticism from both sides of the Atlantic, including from the presidents son himself.

Donald Trump Jr posted on X (Twitter) last week: The FAKE NEWS reporters in the UK are just as dishonest and full of s---t as the ones here in America!!!!

Mr Trumps press secretary Karoline Leavitt also criticised the BBC, telling The Telegraph: This purposefully dishonestly, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that they are total, 100 per cent fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom.

open image in gallery Donald Trump accused the BBC of doctoring his very good (PERFECT!) speech ( PA )

Many have questioned the BBCs response to the leaked memo, saying the corporation failed to either properly defend itself from criticism or issue an apology.

The BBCs culture and media editor, Katie Razzall, reported that the broadcaster had a statement ready to go, admitting it should have made it clear there had been splicing of the speech but that instead, the board decided to send a letter to parliaments culture, media and sport committee.

It was also reported that Ms Turness was ripped apart by a board meeting last week about the Telegraph reports.

open image in gallery The mounting pressure saw director general Tim Davie and news boss Deborah Turness announce their resignations on Sunday ( PA )

The mounting pressure culminated in both Mr Davie and Ms Turness announcing their resignations on Sunday. In a statement to staff, Mr Davie said his resignation was entirely his decision, adding: Like all public organisations, the BBC is not perfect, and we must always be open, transparent and accountable.

Ms Turness said controversy around the Panorama edit had reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC  an institution that I love, but insisted there was no institutional bias at the BBC and she stood by the journalism of her team.

Mr Trump led the reaction to the resignations, writing on Truth Social: The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught doctoring my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th.

open image in gallery Turness said controversy around the Panorama edit had reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC  an institution that I love ( Getty )

The Times quotes BBC sources as describing the departures as the result of death by a thousand cuts, following other impartiality rows from both sides of the political spectrum on its Gaza reporting and Glastonbury coverage.

The former editor of The Sun newspaper described the resignations as a coup and an inside job.

David Yelland told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: There were people inside the BBC, very close to the board, very close to the, on the board, who have systematically undermined Tim Davie and his senior team over a period of [time] and this has been going on for a long time. What happened yesterday didnt just happen in isolation.

A former Downing Street communications chief suggested the broadcaster had not properly defended itself, saying: Were living in a fast-moving digital world where there are a lot of people who want to attack the BBC, and what weve seen is really a vacuum that has been created.

Its been obvious for days now that the BBC needed to step up, explain, apologise, move on.

open image in gallery A former Downing Street communications chief suggested the broadcaster had not properly defended itself ( PA )

And what weve seen is the governance of the BBC saying, Well get back to you on Monday  well leave that for days. Well allow the president of the United States to be attacking the institution, and were not going to properly defend it.

BBC chair Samir Shah apologised for an "error of judgment. But he said it was simply not true that Mr Prescott uncovered issues that the BBC had sought to "bury".

The search for the next two candidates for the top jobs in British media will now commence, and they will be appointed by the BBC board, which ensures the corporation delivers its mission and public purposes.
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President Donald Trump has threatened legal action against the BBC for its editing of a speech he made in 2021 on the day his supporters overran the Capitol, which the British broadcaster admitted on Monday was an "error of judgment".

The president's lawyers said the BBC must retract its documentary by November 14 or face a lawsuit for "no less" than $1 billion, according to a letter sent on Sunday.

The documentary on the BBC's flagship Panorama programme spliced together two separate excerpts from one of Trump's speeches, creating the impression that he was inciting the January 6, 2021 riot, which the lawyers said was "false and defamatory".

A spokesperson for Trumps legal team wrote Monday, The BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally and deceitfully editing its documentary in order to try and interfere in the Presidential Election. President Trump will continue to hold accountable those who traffic in lies, deception, and fake news.

Read the full letter Trumps lawyer sent to the BBC:

Dear All:

This law firm serves as litigation counsel for President Donald J. Trump (hereinafter referred to as President Trump). Please direct all future correspondence relating to this matter to my attention.

This correspondence serves as a demand under Florida Statute  770.011 that you immediately retract the false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements made about President Trump, which were published in a Panorama documentary that was fabricated and aired by the BBC.

Failure to comply will leave President Trump with no choice but to pursue any and all legal rights and remedies available to recover damages for the overwhelming financial and reputational harm that the BBC has caused him to suffer, with all rights and remedies being expressly reserved by President Trump.

In the Panorama documentary, titled Trump: A Second Chance,2 which was first broadcast on October 28, 2024a week before the 2024 United States presidential electionthe BBC intentionally sought to completely mislead its viewers by splicing together three separate parts of President Trumps speech to supporters on January 6, 2021.

The documentary showed President Trump telling supporters: Were gonna walk down to the Capitol and Ill be there with you and we fight. We fight like hell and if you dont fight like hell, youre not going to have a country anymore.

This fabricated depiction of President Trump was false and defamatory given that President Trumps actual and full remarks were: Were going to walk down, and Ill be there with you, were going to walk down, were going to walk down any one of you but I think right here, were going to walk down to the Capitol and were going to cheer on our brave senators and congressman and women.

Moreover, the BBC edited out President Trump saying, I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotic all make your voices heard. Thus, as set forth in an internal whistleblower memorandum, the BBCs segment maliciously made it appear that President Trump [said] things [he] never actually said, by editing together footage from the start of the speech with a separate quote early an hour later.

US President Donald Trump gestures as he walks to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on November 5, 2025. Trump is traveling to Miami to speak at the America Business Forum ( BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images )

Due to their salacious nature, the fabricated statements that were aired by the BBC have been widely disseminated throughout various digital mediums, which have reached tens of millions of people worldwide. Consequently, the BBC has caused President Trump to suffer overwhelming financial and reputational harm.

A. Applicable law.

Words are defamatory under Florida law when they tend to subject one to hatred, distrust, ridicule, contempt or disgrace or tend to injure one in one's business or profession. Johnston v. Borders, 36 F.4th 1254, 1275 (11th Cir. 2022) (quoting Am. Airlines, Inc. v. Geddes, 960 So. 2d 830, 833 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007) (citation and quotation marks omitted)). Statements are defamatory if the defendant juxtaposes a series of facts so as to imply a defamatory connection between them, or creates a defamatory implication by omitting facts.

Johnston v. Borders, 36 F.4th 1254, 1275 (11th Cir. 2022) (quoting Jews for Jesus, 997 So. 2d at 1108). Further, where the speaker or writer neglects to provide the audience with an adequate factual foundation prior to engaging in the offending discourse, liability may arise. See Zambrano v. Devanesan, 484 So. 2d 603, 607 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986).

Even if the BBC attempts to whitewash its conduct as simply an expression of its opinions, Florida law makes clear that such a defense will not absolve its liability. See Dershowitz v. Cable News Network, Inc., 541 F. Supp. 3d 1354, 1362 (S.D. Fla. 2021); see also Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1, 18-19 (1990) (Even if the speaker states the facts upon which he bases his opinion, if those facts are either incorrect or incomplete, or if his assessment of them is erroneous, the statement may still imply a false assertion of fact.

Simply couching such statements in terms of opinion does not dispel these implications.) (emphasis added); see also Eastern Air Lines, Inc. v. Gellert, 438 So. 2d 923, 927 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983) ([A] statement that although ostensibly in the form of an opinion implies the allegation of undisclosed defamatory facts as the basis for the opinion is actionable.) (emphasis added).

Consequently, the BBC lacks any viable defense to the overwhelming reputational and financial harm it has caused President Trump to suffer.

B. Demand.

The above-referenced false, defamatory, malicious, disparaging, and inflammatory statements were published to deliberately denigrate President Trump. The timing of the fabricated documentary is evident.

The BBCs reckless disregard for the truth underscores the actual malice behind the decision to publish the wrongful content, given the plain falsity of the statements.

Accordingly, President Trump hereby demands that you: (1) immediately issue a full and fair retraction of the documentary and any and all other false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading, and inflammatory statements about President Trump in as conspicuous a manner as they were originally published; (2) immediately issue an apology for the false, defamatory, disparaging, misleading, and inflammatory statements about President Trump; and (3) appropriately compensate President Trump for the harm caused.

Moreover, please allow this letter to serve as notice to you, to your affiliated entities, subsidiaries, to all of their employees, and any other person acting on behalf of or in concert with the BBC, to preserve any and all evidence related in any way to the above-mentioned malicious, false, and defamatory statements the BBC published, and any other statements that the BBC has published regarding President Trump.

By way of this letter, the BBC is hereby directed not to destroy, conceal, or alter any paper or electronic files, physical evidence, and/or other data relating in any way, no matter how remote, to your false claims regarding President Trump, and/or the circumstances leading to their dissemination, including, but not limited to: (1) all communications between you and any third party in any way related to your wrongful claims regarding President Trump; (2) all sources for your false claims regarding President Trump; (3) any and all documents and data referring to, reflecting, or relating to communications between you and any such third- parties or sources regarding your false claims regarding President Trump; and (4) any and all documents in any way related to your false claims regarding President Trump.

This includes any information alleged to be protected by Florida Statute  90.5015. Monarch Air Group, LLC v. Journalism Dev. Network, Inc., No. 23-CV-61256, 2025 WL 445491, at *1 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 10, 2025) (interpreting Fla. Stat.  90.5015 and explaining that the Eleventh Circuit recognizes a qualified privilege for journalists, allowing them to resist compelled disclosure of their professional news gathering efforts. This privilege shields reporters in both criminal and civil proceedings.) (quoting United States v. Capers, 708 F.3d 1286, 1303 (11th Cir. 2013)).

I understand that many records and files are maintained electronically. However, this letter specifically requests that all paper and hard copy originals be maintained and preserved in their original format.

By the same token, electronic documents and the storage media on which they reside may contain relevant, discoverable information beyond that which may be found in printed documents. Therefore, even where a paper copy exists and has been preserved, please preserve and maintain all electronically stored documents in their original native format, including all metadata.

This preservation demand specifically encompasses any and all electronic documents, including but not limited to, all word-processed files, emails, spreadsheets, all databases, log files, and any other electronically stored and/or generated documents or files.

If the BBC does not comply with the above by November 14, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. EST, President Trump will be left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for no less than $1,000,000,000 (One Billion Dollars) in damages. The BBC is on notice.
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Donald Trump has threatened to sue the BBC for $1bn (759m) over its editing of his speech in a Panorama episode, even as the broadcaster publicly apologised for the error of judgement that has already claimed the head of two senior executives.

The US presidents legal team wrote to the corporation on Monday demanding a full and fair retraction, an immediate apology and compensation by Friday  or else he would pursue legal action, adding: The BBC is on notice.

His threat represents the latest blow for the broadcaster over accusations it misled audiences by selectively editing a speech he made on 6 January 2021.

The letter says: President Trump will be left with no alternative but to enforce his legal and equitable rights, all of which are expressly reserved and are not waived, including by filing legal action for no less than $1,000,000,000 (one billion dollars) in damages.

BBC chair Samir Shah said the corporation is considering how to reply to the ultimatum, but warned the BBC must be prepared for all outcomes.

Mr Trump has filed lawsuits against media companies before, including The New York Times and CNN. His lawyers said the BBC has violated Floridas defamation law.

It follows the leaking of a memo written by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBCs editorial standards committee.

The note shared concerns about institutional bias within the corporation and said the way clips of Mr Trumps speech were spliced together in the 2024 episode made it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to fight like hell  removing a section where Mr Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.

The BBC would like to apologise for that error of judgement, Mr Shah said in a letter to MPs on Monday. But he rejected claims of systemic bias and denied that the BBC had sought to bury the issue.

Two of the BBCs most senior figures, director general Tim Davie and CEO of News Deborah Turness, have resigned over the furore.

open image in gallery Two of the BBCs most senior figures, director general Tim Davie and CEO of News Deborah Turness, resigned on Sunday over the furore ( AP )

Mr Trump welcomed the BBC resignations and claimed there had been an attempt to step on the scales of a presidential election, adding on social media: What a terrible thing for Democracy!

It is understood Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Trump have not spoken over the weekend following his criticism, and neither have US and British officials.

The prime ministers spokesperson said he did not believe the BBC was institutionally biased, and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey urged his counterparts across the political spectrum to defend the BBC from Mr Trump.

The Times quoted BBC sources as describing the departures as the result of death by a thousand cuts, in what is the latest episode in a string of high-profile controversies involving the broadcaster.

open image in gallery It is understood Keir Starmer and Donald Trump have not spoken over the weekend following the presidents criticism ( PA )

Over the summer, it was forced to issue another apology over its livestream of Bob Vylans controversial Glastonbury set. It followed intense criticism in February over its documentary Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, when it emerged the programmes 13yearold narrator was the son of a Hamas official.

In May, veteran presenter Gary Lineker announced he would be leaving the BBC earlier than planned after his 26 years with the corporation following a row over his social media posts.

In November last year, accusations of misconduct and inappropriate behaviour against MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace also became the subject of internal investigations.

Questions have been raised about how effectively the BBC has dealt with accusations of institutional bias, as it failed to either defend itself or apologise when the memo was published.

open image in gallery Tim Davie said mistakes had been made and as director general he had to take ultimate responsibility ( PA )

The BBCs culture and media editor, Katie Razzall, reported that the broadcaster had a statement ready to go, admitting it should have made it clear there had been splicing of the speech, but that instead, the board decided to send a letter to parliaments culture, media and sport committee.

A former controller of BBC One, Peter Fincham, said the broadcaster has a habit of playing dead while in crisis.

One of the BBCs worst habits is to think itll be alright to play dead, he told Radio 5 Live, adding: This report came in May, and they didnt do anything about it.

It was also reported that Ms Turness was ripped apart by a board meeting last week, while the former editor of The Sun newspaper David Yelland described the resignations as a coup and an inside job.

Several US media companies, including CBS and ABC News, have recently settled lawsuits filed by the US president.

While Mr Shah accepted criticism of the Trump edit, he hit back at suggestions that the BBC had sought to bury any of the allegations around bias or failed to tackle any problems. Asked if the charges of systemic bias were wrong, he said yes.

The BBC would like to apologise for that error of judgement, he said in a letter to lawmakers.

He said there were cases of individual errors and there were issues that pointed to underlying problems, but the notion of systemic or institutional bias did not hold true.

Ive worked in BBC News, he told the BBC. I know that BBC Newss DNA and culture is to be impartial. Its to provide the best news we can and the most trustworthy news.
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Another migrant deported to France under the governments one in, one out deal has returned to the UK and will be sent back to France as quickly as possible, the Home Office has said.

It comes after a migrant who returned to the UK by small boat less than a month after being removed to France under the scheme was removed again in early November.

The Home Office has said the second migrant to return has been detained and will have their removal expedited.

The man was detected by his biometrics and detained immediately on arrival in the UK, the government said.

A Home Office spokesperson said: Anyone looking to return to the UK after being removed under the UK-France agreement is wasting their time and money. The message is clear: if you try to return to the UK, you will be sent back.

open image in gallery People thought to be migrants onboard a small boat in Gravelines, France on Friday 7 November ( PA )

The prime ministers official spokesperson said the case was evidence of the system working, adding: He was immediately detected at the front door, thanks to those biometrics being taken.

Indeed, youll have seen reporting over the last few days, youre starting to hear testimony from migrants who dont want to risk their lives again on these dangerous crossings, and our new returns agreement sends a clear warning for those wanting to enter this country illegally who come here by small boats  Youre wasting your time, your money, and you are risking your life."

As of last week, 94 migrants had been removed from the UK to France under the UK-France treaty.

open image in gallery People wade through shallow water off Gravelines in France to board a small boat on Friday ( PA )

Fifty-seven people also have been brought to the UK under the deal, which sees small boat migrants deported back to France in exchange for others who are granted sanctuary.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson, Max Wilkinson MP, said that the news of another migrants return to the UK under the deal demonstrated staggering levels of incompetence from the Home Office.

He added: Labour  and the Conservatives before them  have failed to break the grip of the gangs and bring the numbers down. Failures like this show just how broken our system is.

The news comes after a number of small boats arrived in the UK over the weekend. 621 people made the journey across the Channel last Thursday, 648 on Friday and 503 on Saturday, according to government statistics.

More than 36,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats since the start of 2025, an increase on the same period in 2024. However, rates are lower than in 2022, the highest year on record.
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Every year, thousands of vulnerable young people are struggling to be seen, heard and protected. They feel invisible  at risk of harm, exploitation and homelessness.

Behind each disappearance are families and loved ones living with fear and uncertainty, half a million people searching and hoping for news in a hidden crisis that demands urgent attention.

A child is reported missing in the UK every two and a half minutes. Teenagers are the most likely to disappear, with those aged 12 to 17 accounting for 61 per cent of all incidents recorded by police. Many say there is still no service designed to meet their needs, leaving them isolated at the very moment they need help most.

That is why The Independent is joining forces with Missing People, the UKs only charity dedicated to reconnecting missing people with their loved ones, to launch a new service that will be a lifeline for children in crisis. Co-designed and piloted by young people themselves, SafeCall will offer the support, safety and connection they need.

The Independents goal is to raise 165,000 to help fund this new, free service, so that the 70,000 children reported missing each year can find safety, no matter what. The charity currently reaches one in four of those children  and, with your support, SafeCall will reach many more.

Donate here or text SAFE to 70577 to give 10 to Missing People  enough for one child to get help.

Actor, writer and broadcaster Sir Stephen Fry and campaigner Dame Esther Rantzen, the founder of Childline, are among the leading voices backing The Independents appeal and urging readers to support the cause.

open image in gallery Jade Knight, now 23, went missing 50 times as a child after feeling lost in the world and credits Missing People with having saved my life ( Missing People )

Among those who know its value at first hand is Jade Knight, now 23, who went missing more than 50 times as a child after, in her words, feeling lost in the world. She credits Missing People with having saved my life.

There were a lot of times when speaking to the Missing People charity actually helped me go back, she said. They would make me feel safe enough and have given me the space to talk about what I needed to speak about.

She believes SafeCall will be life-changing for young people who need help. This is a problem that we need to resolve now, because every time these children go missing, it doesnt matter if its the first or the fiftieth  they are at just as much risk every single time.

SafeCall will ensure missing children can reach out in the way that feels safest to them, with anonymity guaranteed and tailored support available at any hour. The new service will expand Missing Peoples reach through a dedicated helpline, a WhatsApp channel, a 24-hour chatbot and a redesigned website offering advice written for young people.

Launching and running SafeCall for a year is expected to cost 625,000. Just 10 can help a missing child find somewhere safe to go; 30 can provide overnight advice and guidance; and 100 can fund a helpline shift, ensuring trained staff are there whenever a young person needs to make contact.

open image in gallery Actor, writer and broadcaster Stephen Fry is among the star-studded voices backing The Independents appeal, calling on people to donate to the cause ( Getty )

Ms Knight now works as an ambassador for Missing People and is determined to help prevent others from going through what she did.

In a direct message to young people, she said: For anyone who feels like they want to disappear, please know that there is support out there for you. Just because you feel this way now doesnt mean you will feel this way forever. Things can change, and you have that power.

And who knows, in six months time you could be where I am  telling your story of hope and helping others who cant yet find their way.

The campaign is not only about launching a new service but about raising awareness  sparking debate and pushing for change on an issue that remains widespread yet underprioritised.

Nerissa Tivys son, Alexander Sloley, went missing in August 2008 when he was just 16. Alex, who would now be 34, disappeared from a friends house in Islington, north London, with no wallet, spare clothes or money.

It weighs heavily, Ms Tivy told The Independent. Its not something that ever leaves. Its there all the time. Every day is difficult. There is no particular day. At one point, I had so much stress that I was constantly in pain. Ive learnt that if youve got stress, your body harbours it.

open image in gallery Esther Rantzen said that so many young people who suffer exploitation dont feel they can ask for help and be listened to, at a time when they are scared, alone and vulnerable ( PA )

Every day, around 900 people are reported missing in the UK, almost 600 of them children. According to the latest figures from the National Crime Agency, 160,000 people were reported missing in nearly 330,000 incidents during 202324. Of these, 72,000 were children who disappeared in almost 210,000 separate episodes, showing how often young people go missing more than once.

More than 430,000 people are affected each year by the disappearance of a child, and on average, one missing child dies every week.

Dame Esther said: So many young people who suffer exploitation dont feel they can ask for help and be listened to, at a time when they are scared, alone and vulnerable. This new service means at last there is a way to enable them to seek help with confidence and hope. Going missing is a crisis  a crucial moment to intervene and help, on young peoples terms.

Sir Stephen, a patron of Missing People, said: Together, we'll be raising vital funds to build and launch a cutting-edge service for our times. SafeCall will be designed by young people so that its truly informed by their needs. Please join me in supporting this important campaign.

Jo Youle, chief executive of Missing People, said: Children facing harm or exploitation often feel invisible. SafeCall will be shaped by their voices  offering a safe, confidential space where theyre heard, supported and protected. Built on over 30 years of experience, this new service is designed by young people for the challenges they face today. Together, were building a legacy of care, protection and hope. Together, we will change young lives.

Geordie Greig, editor-in-chief of The Independent, said: I am so proud to launch this campaign with Missing People. With the help of our readers and supporters, we can make a real difference in tackling the crisis of missing children in this country.

This years Christmas campaign from The Independent follows the staggering success of 2024s Brick By Brick partnership with Refuge, which raised more than 585,000 for women and children fleeing domestic abuse, funding two new safe houses for them.

Please donate now to the SafeCall campaign, launched by The Independent and charity Missing People, to help raise 165,000 to create a free service to help find new, safe futures for vulnerable children

For advice, support and options, if you or someone you love goes missing, text or call Missing People on 116 000. Its free, confidential and non-judgemental. Or visit: missingpeople.org.uk/get-help
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British journalist and commentator Sami Hamdi is to be released and returned to the UK after being detained by ICE.

The activist and outspoken critic of Israels military action in Gaza was arrested by US immigration agents at San Francisco International Airport on 26 October.

Mr Hamdi had spoken at a gala for a chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), in California and was heading to Florida for another event prior to his arrest.

His wife Soumaya Hamdi said that, during his time in detention, the father-of-three had suffered a medical emergency while in custody and experienced delays in treatment.

She told The Independent that her husbands immigration hearing was due to be held on Monday 10 November after being postponed following an administrative error.

open image in gallery Sami Hamdi was detained by agents at San Francisco airport in October ( Instagram/FreeSamiHamdi )

The campaign for his release shared a statement on Monday, writing: Alhamdulillah [praise be to God], good news.

The government has agreed to release Sami. He will be able to return home soon inshaAllah [God willing]. Additional details forthcoming.

In a post shared on the campaigns Instagram page, a statement said: Alhamdulilah, Samis legal team, CAIR-CA, and Hassan Ahmad and MLFA today welcome an agreement to release British Muslim journalist Sami Hamdi from politically motivated ICE detention.

The statement continued: Sami is choosing to leave the U.S. and reunite with his family and will inshaAllah [God willing] continue speaking truth to power, inspiring us all.

CAIR-CA (California) CEO Hussam Ayloush said on Monday: Samis case shows how quickly our government officials are willing to sacrifice our First Amendment and free press when a journalist uses his platform to dare put America first before Israel.

open image in gallery Hamdis wife said he experienced a medical emergency while in custody ( Soumaya Hamdi )

His forthcoming release is welcome, but it does not erase the message this sends to every activist and journalist watching  and every authoritarian dictatorship worldwide who can now claim they are following Americas example.

Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin was unapologetic in a statement after the journalists arrest.

Under President Trump, those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit this country, she said. Its common sense.

The official cited a report from the advocacy group Rise Align Ignite Reclaim (RAIR), which the Southern Poverty Law Center has previously described as an anti-Muslim hate group, about Hamdi in the post announcing the arrest.

RAIR accused Hamdi of endorsing terrorism and operating alongside foreign terror networks through his various speaking engagements, claims which he and his team have denied.

His detention was one of the latest high-profile attempts by Donald Trumps administration to identify and potentially expel thousands of foreigners in the United States who it says have either fomented or participated in unrest or publicly supported protests against Israels military operations in Gaza.

The administration has denied visas to applicants whose social media histories have been critical of its policies, as rights groups have warned of violations of the rights of citizens constitutional protections of freedom of speech.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office had said: We are in contact with and providing consular assistance to a British man detained in the USA. We are in touch with the local authorities and his family in the UK.
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Renowned actor and broadcaster Sir Stephen Fry is supporting The Independents SafeCall campaign with the charity Missing People, helping to raise funds to protect missing children and bring them to safety.

Sir Stephen has been a fierce advocate for improving mental health support for young people and for helping to bring missing children home. He has spoken publicly about his own experience of living with bipolar disorder and the importance of access to care and understanding.

The cause holds deep personal significance for the comic, who went missing for three days in 1995 after becoming overwhelmed during a theatre run in London.

Speaking in his documentary Stephen Fry: A Life on Screen, he recalled: I just couldnt take being in the play, or being in London. I got in my car and drove to one of the Channel ports. I saw rows of newspaper headlines, Fears for Fry type thing. Thats the awful thing. I cant believe I made people worry so much. When you feel you cant go on, its not just a phrase, its a reality. I could not go on, and I would have killed myself if I didnt have the option of disappearing.

open image in gallery Stephen Fry is backing The Independent s campaign to raise money for missing children ( PA Wire )

I am delighted to see The Independent join forces with the charity to be there for the 70,000 children and young people who are reported missing each year in the UK  young people who are so often the target of exploitation and harm, he said.

Donate here or text SAFE to 70577 to give 10 to Missing People  enough for one child to get help.

Together, well be raising vital funds to build and launch a cutting-edge service for our times, and its called SafeCall. Most importantly, SafeCall will be designed by young people, so that its truly informed by their needs.

With a child reported missing every two and a half minutes in the UK, The Independent is aiming to raise 165,000 to help launch SafeCall  a free new service that will provide children in crisis with confidential support, guidance and a route to safety.

open image in gallery Fry recently appeared on Celebrity Traitors ( BBC )

Sir Stephen added: Together we can create a legacy  help available whenever young people need it, and no matter what.

He began his career in television on Alfresco and A Bit of Fry and Laurie before achieving widespread acclaim in Blackadder and as the long-time host of QI. In 2011, he became president of the mental health charity Mind, which offers advice, advocacy and support for those in need.

Through his work and his openness about his own experiences, Sir Stephen has become one of the countrys most trusted voices on the importance of compassion, understanding and help in moments of crisis.

open image in gallery Fry at the launch of The Samaritans Week in 1996 ( Philip Meech/The Independent )

Please donate now to the SafeCall campaign, launched by The Independent and charity Missing People, to help raise 165,000 to create a free service to help children who have gone missing find safety, security and support

For advice, support and options, if you or someone you love goes missing, text or call the charity Missing People on 116 000. Its free, confidential and non-judgemental. Or visit missingpeople.org.uk/get-help

If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch
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The BBC has apologised to Donald Trump over the editing of a speech in a documentary after the US president threatened a $1bn lawsuit.

The corporation said on Thursday evening that chair Samir Shah sent a personal letter to the White House to apologise for how Mr Trumps speech appeared in a Panorama episode aired in October 2024.

However, the broadcaster has refused to pay the president compensation, adding that it: Strongly disagrees there is a basis for a defamation claim.

The BBC is still awaiting a response from the US president. On Friday, the White House referred questions to Mr Trump's outside counsel, Alejandro Brito, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US president threatened to sue the BBC over its editing of the speech, which made it appear as if he was explicitly urging people to attack the US Capitol on 6 January 2021. His lawyers had written to the corporation earlier this week demanding a retraction and compensation by Friday.

In a retraction published by the BBC, it said the episode, Trump: A Second Chance?, will not be broadcast again in this form on any BBC platforms.

The retraction said: This programme was reviewed after criticism of how President Donald Trumps 6th January 2021 speech was edited.

During that sequence, we showed excerpts taken from different parts of the speech.

open image in gallery Donald Trump in the White House on Thursday  the president has a successful history of suing media companies ( Getty )

However, we accept that our edit unintentionally created the impression that we were showing a single continuous section of the speech, rather than excerpts from different points in the speech, and that this gave the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action.

The BBC would like to apologise to President Trump for that error of judgement.

It comes amid reports that the corporation faced accusations of misleading viewers on Mr Trumps US Capitol speech more than two years before the controversial Panorama edit aired.

In an episode broadcast in June 2022, Newsnight reportedly played an edit of the US presidents speech which was similar to the one used in the Panorama programme in October 2024  both of which made it appear as if he was explicitly urging people to attack the Capitol.

A BBC spokesperson said in response to the fresh claims, reported by The Daily T podcast, that: The BBC holds itself to the highest editorial standards. This matter has been brought to our attention and we are now looking into it.

The president, who has not yet responded to the BBCs letter, said earlier this week that he had an obligation to launch legal action against the corporation.

open image in gallery Culture secretary Lisa Nandy said political appointments on the board had damaged confidence and trust in the BBC ( PA Wire )

He said in an interview with Fox News that the BBC had defrauded the public over the editing of the speech, which made it appear as if he was explicitly urging people to attack the US Capitol.

Meanwhile, creative industries union Bectu has now demanded the removal of Sir Robbie Gibb from the BBC board in the wake of the crisis, which led to the resignation of two of the corporations most senior figures.

In a letter to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and BBC board chairman Samir Shah, Bectu, which is the biggest union in the BBC, warned Sir Robbies position was a distraction and is untenable.

Earlier on Friday, Ms Nandy told BBC Radio 4s Today programme that political appointments on the board had damaged confidence and trust in the corporation, with the charter review set to examine the issue.

But the culture secretary also said she is confident that the broadcaster is dealing with the threat of legal action from Mr Trump with the seriousness that it demands.

Director general Tim Davie and chief executive of news Deborah Turness, resigned over the furore, which was sparked by the leaking of a memo written by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBCs editorial standards committee.

open image in gallery Tim Davie outside BBC Broadcasting House following his resignation as director general earlier this week ( PA )

The note shared concerns about institutional bias within the corporation and said the way clips of Mr Trumps speech were spliced together in the 2024 episode made it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to fight like hell  removing a section where Mr Trump said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.

Addressing staff on Tuesday morning, Mr Davie admitted the organisation had made some mistakes that have cost us, but hit out at the BBCs enemies and urged colleagues to fight for our journalism.

Mr Trump has filed lawsuits against media companies before, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and CNN.

In a letter sent to the BBC, his lawyer, Alejandro Brito, demanded that false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements made about Mr Trump be retracted immediately and said the BBC has violated Floridas defamation law.

On Monday, Mr Shah issued an apology from the corporation over the error of judgement in the editing of the speech for the Panorama episode.

Responding to a letter from the culture, media and sport committee, Mr Shah said that there had been more than 500 complaints since the publication of the Michael Prescott memo, which raised concerns about the Panorama episode, adding: We accept that the way the speech was edited did give the impression of a direct call for violent action.

On Friday, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the BBC was right to apologise to Mr Trump.
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A historic appointment has been made in the House of Lords, with a woman taking its most senior position for the first time in over 700 years.

Chloe Kilcoyne Mawson is set to become the 66th Clerk of the Parliaments, a prestigious role established in the 13th century.

She will assume the post in April 2026, succeeding Simon Burton upon his retirement.

Ms Mawson said: It is an absolute honour to have been appointed as the next Clerk of the Parliaments. I feel privileged to have been trusted to take forward this historic and important role that dates back over 700 years.

Id like to pay tribute to Simon Burton for his years of public service and for everything he has achieved during his term of office. I am excited to build on his values-based approach.

I look forward to working with the talented teams across the administration and bicameral services to develop the ways we support the House and its members to fulfil their important constitutional role.

Chloe Kilcoyne Mawson has been appointed the 66th Clerk of the Parliaments and is the first woman to take up the post ( UK Parliament )

Ms Mawson, who is currently the Clerk Assistant in the Lords, will be the principal source of procedural and constitutional advice.

In her new position, she will also be responsible for keeping the official records of the membership and business of the House, and employing staff.

Additionally, she will be tasked with ensuring the text of Acts is accurate.

Leader of the House of Lords Baroness Smith said: I am delighted to be able to confirm His Majestys approval of Chloe as our next Clerk of the Parliaments. She is widely respected across the House for her knowledge, experience and skills.

I would also like to thank her predecessor Simon Burton for his long and valued service in Parliament, and wish him well for the future.

The recruitment exercise was conducted by the Leader of the House, Baroness Smith of Basildon, the Lord Speaker, Lord McFall of Alcluith, the Leaders of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in the Lords, Convenor of the Crossbench peers and an external panel member.
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Police in Ghana have launched a manhunt after a British man was shot dead during a robbery on Friday.

The victim, 68, was sitting in a bar in the city of Tema when a gang of six young men pulled up on motorbikes and attempted to swipe his phone from a table.

When he attempted to grab his phone back, one of the suspects shot him before the group fled the scene.

He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he died from his injuries, local police said.

A close friend of the victim told Metro: He was a great guy, I was close to him, and its shocking news. His family, including his son, are looking for answers. We are all devastated.

The deadly incident took place in Tema, a city which lies to the east of the Ghanaian capital Accra. A local police spokesperson told the BBC that the shooting was a rare incident.

A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office said: We are supporting the family of a British man who died in Ghana, and are in contact with the local authorities.

open image in gallery A local Tema police spokesperson told the BBC that the shooting was a rare incident ( Getty/iStock )

Police recovered a 9mm bullet shell from the crime scene and have kept it as evidence in their investigation. Multiple witnesses have also been interviewed.

A spokesperson said: Two of the assailants approached the group, and one of them snatched the victims mobile phone from the table.

When the victim attempted to retrieve his phone, one of the suspects shot, and the gang fled the scene on their motorbikes.

The Tema Regional Police Command has launched a full-scale operation to track down the perpetrators.

Efforts are ongoing to contact the British embassy to officially notify them of the death of their national. The command assures the public that every effort is being made to arrest the suspects and bring them to justice.
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The daughter of former South African president Jacob Zuma has pleaded not guilty to charges of inciting violence during riots in 2021, which left at least 350 people dead.

Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, 43, appeared at the high court in Durban for the first day of her trial, with prosecutors alleging that she incited others to commit acts of violence through posts on social media.

Riots erupted in July 2021 when Jacob Zuma was arrested for ignoring a court order to testify at a corruption inquiry, leading to widespread looting. The overall financial damage caused by the riots was estimated to stand at 50 billion rand and has been described as the worst civil unrest in the country since the end of apartheid.

Zuma, who was president from 2009 to 2018, was in court to support his daughter and sat alongside members of his political party, uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK). The trial, being held at the high court in Durban, takes place in the Zuma stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal, where the violence first erupted.

open image in gallery A suspected looter pleads with a soldier detaining suspected looters at the Jabulani mall in Soweto in 2021 ( AFP via Getty Images )

Currently serving as a member of parliament for the MK Party, Zuma-Sambudla is facing charges of incitement to commit terrorism and incitement to commit public violence under legislation addressing threats to national security. It is the first case in South Africa where social media activity forms the basis of a terrorism-related prosecution.

According to prosecutors, Zuma-Sambudla shared provocative posts online and delivered speeches during June and July 2021. Prosecutors say that the natural and probable outcome of her remarks was the outbreak of public disorder.

Outside the courthouse, about a dozen MK Party supporters gathered in a show of solidarity. Among those present was Zandile Gumede, the former mayor of eThekwini - the municipality that includes Durban - who attended while dealing with her own corruption charges.

In earlier court appearances, Zuma-Sambudlas defence lawyer acknowledged that she had used social media to comment on her fathers imprisonment and the unrest that followed but rejected claims that her statements incited violence.

Zuma-Sambudla, who was arrested almost four years after the violence in January, has described the case as politically motivated and, during a recent hearing, appeared wearing a T-shirt reading modern day terrorist across the front.

While only a small number of cases relating to violence during the unrest have reached court, the South African Human Rights Commission say that around 66 potential cases sit with national prosecutors but face challenges due to a general lack of evidence  and hesitations by witnesses to co-operate or testify due to fears of reprisal and victimisation.
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Paramilitary forces in Sudan have been accused of burning bodies and burying them in mass graves in a desperate attempt to conceal evidence of brutal killings in Darfur.

The Sudan Doctors Network claimed that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was trying to cover up its crimes after thousands of people were killed in the city of El Fasher.

The medical organisation condemned the alleged disposal as one of the most inhumane acts in recent days and reiterated that these crimes cannot be erased through concealment or burning.

In a post shared on X, it said: The RSF has collected hundreds of bodies from the streets and neighborhoods of the city, burying some in mass graves and burning others completely in a desperate attempt to conceal evidence of their crimes against civilians.

The crimes refer to the bloody massacre that took place on October 26 in El Fasher in which the RSF took control of Darfur and killed what humanitarian officials estimate to be over 2,000 people.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that around 82,000 people fled the city and surrounding areas in recent weeks after horrific accounts of rape, torture and mass killings.

open image in gallery Smoke billowing from fires burning around El-Fasher Airport in El-Fasher. UN officials warned on October 30 that "large-scale atrocities" were underway in Sudan's Kordofan region as paramilitary forces advanced, while residents in El-Fasher, a key city in the neighboring Darfur region, were being subjected to mass "horror." ( Satellite image A2025 Vantor/AFP )

The post continued: What happened in El Fasher is not an isolated incident but rather another chapter in a full-fledged genocide, carried out by the RSF blatantly violating all international and religious norms that prohibit the mutilation of corpses and guarantee the dead the right to a dignified burial.

The situation in El Fasher has gone beyond a humanitarian catastrophe to become a systematic genocide, targeting human life and dignity amid an appalling international silence that amounts to complicity.

UN human rights spokesperson Volker Turk warned that those left behind in the city are at risk : Today, traumatized civilians are still trapped inside El Fasher and are being prevented from leaving.

El Fasher, the last major city in Darfur to fall to RSF paramilitaries, was "already the scene of catastrophic levels of human suffering (but) has descended into an even darker hell," said the UN's humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher.

A war has been ongoing in Sudan for two years and recently entered a new dangerous phase in October. Since then, the UN described Sudan as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis . Over 150,000 people are reported to have been killed and over 14 million displaced.

open image in gallery Smoke billows after drone strikes by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) targeted the northern port in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan, Sudan, Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/File) ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

The RSF has also been targeting people based on the colour of their skin in a series of ethnic killings, according to Sylvain Penicaud of Doctors Without Borders.

Hassan Osman, a university student from El Fasher, told Al-Jazeera that residents with darker skin, especially Zaghawa civilians (who were the dominant ethnic group), were subjected to racial insults, humiliation, degradation and physical and psychological violence as they fled.

If your skin is light, they might let you go, he said. Its purely ethnic.

The RSF has been contacted for comment.
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Intense fighting in central Sudan has led to the displacement of approximately 2,000 people over the past three days, the UN migration agency reported on Monday.

This latest exodus underscores a brutal conflict that has ravaged the country for over two years, claiming tens of thousands of lives.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said that those displaced fled various towns and villages within the Bara area of North Kordofan province between Friday and Sunday.

The province, alongside the western Darfur region, has recently emerged as a primary flashpoint in the ongoing war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The RSF's recent seizure of the strategic city of el-Fasher resulted in hundreds of fatalities and compelled tens of thousands to seek refuge in overcrowded camps, escaping alleged atrocities by the paramilitary group, according to aid organisations and UN officials.

The IOM said that nearly 92,000 people have departed el-Fasher and its surrounding communities.

open image in gallery Displaced children from el-Fasher play at a camp

The war between the RSF and the military began in 2023, when tensions erupted between the two former allies that were meant to oversee a democratic transition after a 2019 uprising. The fighting has killed at least 40,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, and displaced 12 million. However, aid groups say the true death toll could be many times higher.

In late October, RSF fighters launched attacks in the town of Bara in North Kordofan, killing at least 47 people, including women and children, the local aid group Sudan Doctors Network said at the time.

The IOM estimated that nearly 39,000 people had fled several villages and towns in North Kordofan since Oct. 26. They were mostly headed north, toward the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and the adjacent Omdurman region, as well as Sheikan in North Kordofan.

Also Monday, the RSF claimed its fighters entered the town of Babanusa in West Kordofan province and were heading toward the army headquarters.

Salah Semsaya, a volunteer with the local group Emergency Response Rooms, said that other volunteers from the town of Babanusa working with charity kitchens in the area reported a decline in the number of families coming to get food  apparently an indication that many had left or fled the area. Definitive figures could not be confirmed.

open image in gallery Satellite imagery shows objects on the ground outside a hospital in el-Fasher

In Darfur, meanwhile, Sudan Doctors Network reported on Sunday that the RSF collected hundreds of bodies from the streets of el-Fasher and buried some in mass graves while burning others.

The RSF was acting in a desperate attempt to conceal evidence of their crimes against civilians, the network said.

Satellite images analysed last week appeared to show the RSF disposing of bodies after they seized and rampaged through el-Fasher. Images by the Colorado-based firm Vantor show a fire at the Saudi hospital in el-Fasher on Thursday, near a collection of white objects seen days earlier in other Vantor photos.

The Yale School of Public Healths Humanitarian Research Lab described the images as showing the burning of objects that may be consistent with bodies.
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A Delta Air Lines pilot has gone viral for his soothing message to travelers nervous to fly as the government shutdown continues to wreck havoc across the nations airports.

In the viral clip, which has gained over 10 million views since it was shared on TikTok on Saturday, the captain tells passengers that he promised to get his young daughter ice cream upon his return  vowing absolutely nothing would stop him from delivering on that promise.

I know we have probably quite a few nervous flyers today. It is perfectly understandable. I want to emphasize this aircraft does not move a single inch unless both my co-captain, Michael, and myself are absolutely certain it is safe to do so, the pilot says in the clip.

Before I left the house on this trip, my little one learned the word ice cream and she made me make sure I promised to get her ice cream when I get back home from the trip, he continued.

The pilot added, That being said, nothing  and I mean absolutely nothing  unsafe comes in between me and that little girl and her ice cream.

open image in gallery A Delta pilot has gone viral for his reassuring message to travelers during a recent flight. Many travelers have heightened concerns as air traffic controllers go without pay now for over 40 days, and after a UPS cargo plane had a fiery crash last week, killing 14 people ( TikTok @sisterhoodwomentravelers )

The captain, identified by social media users as Christopher Pennington, then encouraged passengers to use the in-flight WiFi to text their loved ones and make plans to get ice cream upon their arrival.

Internet users praised the pilot for his heartwarming message amidst what has been a chaotic time for traveling. Many Americans have expressed concerns about flying amidst the government shutdown, which has left air traffic controllers without pay for over 40 days. Concerns are also heightened after a UPS cargo plane had a fiery crash at a Kentucky airport last week, killing 14 people.

This would have instantly calmed me, one TikTok user commented.

Another chimed in, You see a pilot, I see a good dad.

People talking about Deltabut this is 99% of pilots. They wanna go home to their families. I dont think people realize how much precision they put into their work, another TikToker wrote.

Delta yall better take care of this champion! one person wrote. Another added: Delta pay this man more.

Not all commentators found the words calming. Some even lamented that pilots and flight staff shouldnt have to be reassuring passengers that they will be kept safe  and placed the blame on the Trump administration for allowing the situation to become so dire.

This should not have to be necessary. The current administration is the worst, one person wrote on TikTok.

Another added: Insane that they have to even make this type of speech.

open image in gallery The government shutdown has caused chaos for travelers across the country ( AFP/Getty )

Travel delays and disruptions have piled up this week as the Federal Aviation Administration cuts flights at major airports and air traffic controllers go without pay thanks to the federal shutdown.

The FAA said last week that airlines at 40 major airports will cut 4 percent of their flights starting Friday. That requirement will rise to 6 percent by Tuesday, and 10 percent by Friday this week.

An end to the shutdown may be in sight as eight Democratic senators got behind a Republican plan to reopen the government. However, the measure still needs final Senate approval. Itll also need approval from the House of Representatives  and President Donald Trumps signature  before it becomes law.

Still, it remains unclear when the shutdown will end, and even after it does, air travel wont immediately go back to normal, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Duffy said it could take days, if not a week, for flights to return to full capacity after the shutdown ends.

"The problem is the airlines have to then put those flights back out for booking again, and so it's going to take some time for the airlines to respond," Duffy told Fox Newss America Reports on Friday.

"So once we see more controllers in the towers, then airlines have to respond to that, so it can be, you know, days, if not a week, before we get back to full-forced flights when the shutdown ends, he added.

open image in gallery Sunday was the worst day for air travel in the U.S. since the start of the government shutdown, with 11,000 flights delayed and nearly 3,000 cancellations ( AFP/Getty )

More than 2,700 flights into, out of, or within the U.S. have been delayed so far on Monday, while more than 1,600 flights have been canceled altogether, according to FlightAware.

Meanwhile, Sunday was the worst day for air travel since the shutdown began, with more than 11,000 delays and nearly 3,000 cancellations.

On Saturday, 7,545 flights were delayed and 1,566 flights were canceled.

Air traffic controllers have missed one paycheck so far, and are set to miss their second paycheck on Tuesday, Duffy said on Friday.

The pilots reassuring message also comes days after a UPS cargo plane crashed at an airport in Louisville, Kentucky, killing 14 people, officials said.

The crash Tuesday at UPS Worldport killed the three pilots on the plane, which was bound for Honolulu. A large fire developed in the left wing and an engine separated on takeoff, causing the plane to crash into businesses nearby.
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A conservative law firm has threatened a Missouri school district with legal action after students were shown a video acknowledging the significance of LGBTQ+ history month.

The Thomas More Society accused the Kirkwood School District of violating the First Amendment rights of many parents by sharing the short video with students last month.

According to the organization, North Kirkwood Middle School, located in a suburb of St. Louis, showed the video without giving parents, many of whom have deeply held religious values conflicting with the alleged norms celebrated in the video, any prior notice or opportunity to opt their children out of viewing the video, according to a letter dated Oct.30.

The society argued the district violated the First Amendment rights under a recent Supreme Court decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which recognized that parents right to direct the religious upbringing of their children...extends to the choices that parents wish to make for their children outside the home.

The six-minute video in question was narrated by students explaining why LGBTQ+ history month is celebrated and marked every year.

open image in gallery A conservative law firm has threatened a Missouri school district with legal action after students were shown a video acknowledging the significance of LGBTQ+ history month ( AFP via Getty Images )

Pride is more than just a big party, the student narrator said. It is a huge event that celebrates people being true to themselves, and it has a powerful and important history.

Writing in the letter, the conservative organization, which said it was acting on behalf of a group of parents called Kirkwood for Educational Integrity, described images of rainbow flags, gay pride posters and parades as controversial.

It also took issue with the student narrators description of the annual event, including the statements Pride is about being proud of your identity, the Pride community today is a huge and amazing group, and its a supportive family.

In the letter, the group demanded the school immediately cease and desist from sharing the video in any form without first providing advance notice to parents and the opportunity to opt out their children from viewing such material, pursuant to parents First Amendment rights to direct the religious upbringing of their children.

open image in gallery The Thomas More Society accused the Kirkwood School District of violating the First Amendment rights of many Kirkwood parents by sharing the short video with students last month ( Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images )

In a statement to The Independent, Kirkwood School District chief communications officer Steph Deidrick said the district was reviewing the letter from the Thomas More Society and would provide a timely response.

It is always the intent of the district to be in full compliance with the law while also continuing our commitment to ensuring that every student is supported and engaged, Deidrick added.

The legal action comes as the Trump administration told 40 states in August to eliminate parts of lessons that focus on LGBTQ+ issues from federally funded sexual education materials or that they will lose funding.

Since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, the administration has moved to recognize people as only male or female and to eliminate what he calls gender ideology.

Federal funds will not be used to poison the minds of the next generation or advance dangerous ideological agendas," Acting Assistant Health and Human Services Secretary Andrew Gradison said in a statement at the time.
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A 3-year-old girl with a severe dairy allergy was hospitalized after a Qatar Airways flight attendant allegedly gave the child a chocolate bar despite warnings from the toddlers mother not to serve her anything containing milk.

When North Carolina resident Swetha Neerukonda returned to her seat from the bathroom, the shocked parent confronted the flight attendant, who mocked and mitigated her concerns as the toddler went into anaphylaxis and her vital signs declined, according to a $5 million lawsuit reviewed by The Independent.

Upon landing, the childs condition worsened and she spent two days in the intensive care unit until being stabilized, the lawsuit states.

Its inconceivable  they take it upon themselves to give the child the allergen? attorney Abram Bohrer, who is representing Neerukonda, told The Independent. This was a very serious, life-threatening situation.

The suit, filed October 31 in Alexandria, Virginia federal court, claims the cabin crew did little to help, leaving Neerukonda largely to her own devices.

open image in gallery Swetha Neerukonda, seen here with her 3-year-old daughter, is suing Qatar Airways after the girl was hospitalized following a mid-air anaphylactic reaction the family blames on a flight attendant ( Supplied/Getty )

Youd think they would jump into action, calling for ground-based telemedicine support, asking for a doctor on board, Bohrer said. But they were somewhat blase, very indifferent.

A Qatar Airways spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

Anaphylaxis is an allergic reaction that shuts down the bodys airways and can be fatal without immediate medical intervention. In one instance, a 20-year-old woman with a shellfish allergy nearly died from an anaphylactic reaction that occurred shortly after she kissed her boyfriend, who ate shrimp earlier in the day.

The Federal Aviation Administration does not require airlines to carry EpiPens, but planes are required to carry vials of epinephrine, which only a trained medical professional can administer, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

On April 9, Neerukonda, 33, and her young daughter boarded Qatar Airways flight QR710 from Washington Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Virginia, according to Neerukondas complaint.

They were headed to India, and would catch a connection at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, following the 14-hour flight from Dulles.

open image in gallery Presently, FAA regulations do not require airlines to carry EpiPens aboard their flights, only vials of epinephrine, which require a trained medical professional to administer, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology ( Getty )

Neerukonda informed members of the cabin crew upon boarding about her daughters allergies to dairy and nuts, and also reiterated the warning during the journey, her complaint continues. Once crewmembers were placed on notice of a passengers food allergy, the complaint argues, they had a duty of care to ensure that food items containing such allergens [would] not be served to that passenger.

At one point during the flight, Neerukonda needed to use the lavatory, and one of the flight attendants agreed to keep an eye on her daughter while she was gone, according to the complaint. Neerukonda once again reiterated that her daughter suffered from allergies to dairy and nuts, which said flight attendant acknowledged, the complaint states.

But, when Neerukonda returned, the flight attendant was feeding her a Kit Kat bar, according to Bohrer.

Neerukonda then confronted the flight attendant who responded by admitting that she had fed the  snack to the child, and who mocked and mitigated [Neerukondas] concerns, according to the complaint.

open image in gallery The allergen in question was a Kit Kat bar, according to attorney Abram Bohrer ( AFP/Getty )

Within a short period, [the young girl] began to suffer severe anaphylaxis as her mental status and vital signs declined, the complaint continues.

Bohrer said the child experienced a rapid decline in her oxygen saturation rate, and ultimately required an EpiPen injection, which the complaint says Neerukonda administered. However, no PA announcement was made by cabin crew members, in violation of [the airlines] own practices and procedures, according to the complaint.

Moreover, it contends, when [Neerukonda] sought to share information with a fellow passenger whom she believed to be a witness, a flight attendant intervened, claiming that was in violation of the airlines policy.

The girls condition improved somewhat and she made it to Doha for their connection without further incident, the complaint states. Yet, once they landed in India, the child suffered a second anaphylactic reaction and was rushed to the hospital and placed in the ICU for emergency treatment.

In 2023, a Southern California cardiologist flying Qatar Airways from Los Angeles to Sri Lanka died after being denied the vegetarian meal he had ordered, choking on a piece of food while attempting to follow a flight attendants instructions to eat around the meat in the meal he was given instead, according to a wrongful death lawsuit first reported by The Independent.

open image in gallery The mother of the 3-year-old girl who was sickened in the air is demanding $5 million from Qatar Airways ( US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia )

A year later, a New York City physician flying Singapore Airlines from Frankfurt, Germany to John F. Kennedy International Airport fell violently ill when she was served a meal containing shrimp, even after having made sure to notify the cabin crew of her severe shellfish allergy, according to a lawsuit filed last June. The flight was forced to divert to Paris, where the woman was transported by ambulance and underwent emergency medical treatment at two separate medical facilities, according to her complaint.

In June 2024, British reality TV star Jack Fowler experienced what he described as near-fatal anaphylaxis aboard an Emirates flight to Dubai, after being served a chicken curry containing cashew nuts, despite allegedly informing a flight attendant that he had a severe nut allergy.

Cashew is the worst nut for me, Fowler told Good Morning Britain at the time. Straight away I knew my throat was closing up, I couldnt breathe.

Neerukondas lawsuit says her daughter suffered great pain, agony and mental anguish thanks to the candy bar she was given by the Qatar Airways flight attendant, and will likely continue to deal with related problems.

She is demanding a jury trial and $5 million in damages, as well as pre- and post-judgment interest, plus court costs and legal fees.

Qatar Airways has not yet filed a formal response to the allegations.
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At least 20 people - mainly believed to be teenagers - have suffered injuries after a bus overturned in the San Bernardino County Mountains in California.

Emergency crews were called to Highway 330 in the Smiley Park area of Running Springs, 25 miles north of San Bernardino, at approximately 9 p.m. on Sunday to assist 36 passengers, including adults and teenagers. Three people were rushed to the hospital with severe injuries, while 17 were transported with minor injuries following the major crash.

Witnesses told local media that the bus was carrying a group of young people returning from a church event near Angelus Oaks and was on its way back to Santa Ana when the crash occurred.

The highway remains closed in both directions as crews work to assess passengers and clear the debris from the road. The exact cause of the crash is not yet known, but officials have confirmed that the bus is the only vehicle involved.

The bus crashed in the San Bernardino County Mountains in California ( Getty Images/iStockphoto )

Pictures from the scene show a heavy emergency services presence, with personnel treating young passengers on the ground and blocking the road with fire trucks.

ABC News reports the bus driver is not being investigated for driving under the influence (DUI).

In a post on X, San Bernardino County Fire wrote: Incident command terminated, units being released.

Aboard the bus were a total of 36 persons, including adults and teens. A total of 20 patients were transported, including three with severe injuries. The remainder of the passengers suffered minor injuries and were not transported or reported no injury at all.

Highway 330 remains closed in both directions until further notice.

Authorities added there is no ETA for when the road will reopen.
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A man has been charged in a decade-old cold case where the victim was found dead on the floor of his Seattle apartment, covered in blankets.

Thomas Hess was discovered with his hands tied behind his back with shoelaces, next to a can of Easy-Off oven cleaner on February 14, 2015, KIRO7 reported. His death was ruled a homicide after a medical examiner found blunt force injuries to his face, neck and torso. His cause of death was probable mechanical asphyxia, according to the outlet.

In 2016, evidence submitted to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab revealed that DNA had been found on the shoelaces and back of the victims neck, KING5 reported.

Earlier this year, the crime lab identified the DNA as belonging to Clay Fosse. He was charged with second-degree murder this week.

Fosse appears to have bound, severely beaten, and strangled the victim to death. He then appears to have attempted to conceal his presence by dousing the victim in oven cleaner and covering his body, according to court filings.

Clay Fosse, 37, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the 2015 death of Thomas Hess, who was found dead on Valentine's Day in his Seattle apartment ( New Mexico Corrections Department )

It was not immediately clear why it took nine years to charge Fosse in the case after his DNA was discovered at the crime scene. The Independent has contacted the Seattle Police Department for more information.

There were no further details on the relationship between Fosse and Hess.

The defendant does not appear to have any ties to Seattle, King County, or Washington State, save for the few months he appears to have been in Seattle in 2015 as documented by his police contacts, prosecutors also wrote in court documents.

Fosse is serving time in New Mexico for larceny and aggravated battery, according to prison records. He has also served time for false imprisonment, theft, kidnapping, and other crimes, records show.

Given the clear danger he would pose to the community and his lack of any ties to the area, a high bail is justified, prosecutors argued.

His bail has been set at $5 million, KIRO7 reported. Fosse is scheduled to be arraigned on November 19, court records show.
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60 Minutes shared some of the hundreds of notes it received in the wake of its recent interview with Donald Trump, revealing that both Democrats and Republicans were enraged over the presidents sitdown with the seminal CBS newsmagazine.

The country may be politically divided, but the criticism from viewers was bipartisan, CBS News Cecilia Vega declared.

The messages that Vega shared at the end of Sunday nights broadcast included complaints from conservatives that the show was disrespectful to Trump and treated him unfairly, while liberals grumbled that 60 Minutes wanted to show the president in the best possible light by giving him softball questions.

Donald Trump gets lots and lots of time on TV as president. He has power, and so do I, one viewer pointedly wrote. When I saw that he was being interviewed on last Sundays show, I used my power and turned it off immediately.

Exactly a year after he filed a meritless lawsuit over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris, which CBS News parent company Paramount settled just weeks before its merger with Skydance Media was approved by the Trump administration, Trump sat down with correspondent Norah ODonnell for a lengthy one-on-one.

open image in gallery 60 Minutes shared some of the "hundreds of notes" it's received from viewers over the Trump interview, adding that the "criticism from viewers is bipartisan." ( CBS News )

Though the president and ODonnell spoke for roughly 90 minutes, only 28 minutes of the interview aired on 60 Minutes. An edited 73-minute version of the conversation was dropped on the networks YouTube channel, and an unedited transcript of the entire interview was published online.

Part of the agreement CBS reached with the president in the settlement was that the network would publish the unedited transcripts of any interviews with presidents and presidential candidates. Therefore, in an ironic twist, 60 Minutes soon found itself under fire from viewers over portions of the interview that were not aired on the program.

In one exchange that was left on the cutting room floor, the president gushed over new CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss and Paramount chief executive David Ellison, all while boasting that CBS News was forced to pay him a lotta money to settle his lawsuit. While 60 Minutes did not air that portion, ODonnell did reference the settlement at the top of the broadcast, noting that the network didnt apologize as part of the agreement.

I think it's the greatest thing that's happened in a long time to a free and open and good press, Trump said of the new leadership at the network, adding that Weiss  who founded the anti-woke digital outlet The Free Press  is a great person and leader. Ellison, whose father is megabillionaire and close Trump ally Larry Ellison, has repeatedly been praised by the president.

Also missing from both the televised edit and the extended online version of the interview was a combative back-and-forth between Trump and ODonnell over the presidents pardon of crypto entrepreneur Changpeng CZ Zhao, who recently struck a multi-billion-dollar crypto deal with the Trump family. While some of the exchange was aired, only the online transcript revealed that the president became aggravated and even suggested he could walk out of the interview.

open image in gallery One viewer accused 60 Minutes of trying to "show Trump in the best possible light." ( CBS News )

Meanwhile, it wasnt just Trump critics and liberals who found fault with the 60 Minutes interview. ODonnell faced MAGA anger for referring to the president as Mr. Trump during their conversation, prompting some conservatives to grouse online that she was disrespecting the office. This played out in the letters Vega read aloud on Sunday night.

Instead of interviewing him, it appeared as an attack, one viewer griped, while another wrote: You should have more respect than what you showed.

On the flip side, liberal viewers criticized the show for going too easy on the president and not taking him to task more fully during the interview. They also seemed to hint at the growing concern among critics and CBS News staffers that Ellison is pushing the network to the right in order to curry favor with Trump.

You wanted to show Trump in the best possible light, one commenter noted. There were no hard questions, no meaningful pushback, another viewer added.

One person, meanwhile, took issue with 60 Minutes even giving Trump airtime, claiming that the president already has enough media exposure, bluntly stating that once they saw Trump was on last Sundays broadcast, I used my power and turned it off immediately.

Trumps appearance on 60 Minutes gave the already top-rated program a massive ratings boost, drawing 14 million viewers and posting its highest viewership since January 2021.
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House Democrats and progressive activists are fuming over the deal a handful of breakaway Senate Democrats brokered with Republicans to end the government shutdown, The Independent has learned.

Eight Democratic senators defected from the caucus on a motion to proceed to pass a continuing resolution to kick it back to the House of Representatives for a vote to reopen the government. The final vote will happen on Monday evening.

According to a section-by-section breakdown of the agreement, the deal brokered by a handful of moderates and Senate Republicans would reopen the government until January 2026, ensure backpay for federal workers who did not receive a check and undo the reductions in force that the Trump administration put in place during the shutdown.

But it would not address a key plank for Democratic leaders who have opposed a stopgap funding bill, known as a continuing resolution  an extension of Covid-era enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Acts health insurance marketplace.

Were three weeks out from the largest protest in American history, less than one week out from a stunningly successful election nationwide, Greenberg told The Independent via text message, making reference to the No Kings rallies across the country.

What on Earth does the base have to do to convince Dems they need to fight?

open image in gallery Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he would oppose the final deal to reopen the government. But activists criticized the fact he did not communicate what could happen during the shutdown. ( Getty Images )

The deal brokered Sunday night reportedly guarantees that Republicans would allow for a vote on extending the Obamacare tax credits in the future. Still, that does not mean that the House of Representatives, led by House Speaker Mike Johnson, would be guaranteed to hold a vote, given many of his Republican members, swayed by President Donald Trump, have opposed the tax credits.

But many Democratic activists repudiated the deal almost immediately. Leah Greenberg, a cofounder of the group Indivisible, called it a senseless surrender.

The agreement comes less than a week after Democrats blew out Republicans in races as small as the Georgia public service commission elections to the governorships in Virginia and New Jersey.

But in the days that followed, photos and videos abounded of people stuck at airports during travel as the Federal Aviation Administration cut flight schedules ahead of the busiest days of travel in the year for Thanksgiving.

In addition, the Trump administration has aggressively fought efforts in court to make it resume funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.

But even some members of the Democratic National Committee lambasted the agreement Sunday.

open image in gallery Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jeanne Shaheen speak during a press conference following the Senate vote on ending the shutdown on Capitol Hill on November 9 2025 ( Getty )

This deal doesnt come close to meeting the seriousness of this moment. I mean, its not even in the same Zip code, DNC Vice Chairman Malcolm Kenyatta told The Independent.

Healthcare costs are exploding in ways that will make it completely out of reach for many of my neighbors. I have a job to speak up with and for them. This shutdown has always been the sole property of Donald Trump and Republicans. They should own the pain they are gleefully inflicting on the American people.

A group of three former governors  New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine  broke the six-week stalemate on Sunday when they agreed to vote to advance three bipartisan annual spending bills and extend the rest of government funding until late January in exchange for a mid-December vote on extending the health care tax credits.

In addition to Shaheen, King and Hassan, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, home to tens of thousands of federal workers, also voted in favor of moving forward on the agreement. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen also voted yes.

But despite Durbin voting for the agreement, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker blasted the agreement.

This is not a deal  it's an empty promise, Pritzker, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, said on X. Trump and his Republican Congress are making healthcare more expensive for the middle class and ending it for working families.

Gov. Gavin Newsom, another candidate for president, also criticized the measure.

Pathetic., he said on X. This isnt a deal. Its a surrender. Dont bend the knee!

Their words proved useless as the measure opassed by a 60-40 vote.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) lambasted the agreement on the floor on Sunday evening and said the ability to have a vote on health care was a sham.

As everybody here knows, that is a totally meaningless gesture, he said. You can get 100 votes here in the Senate, won't mean anything, because the House is not going to take it up, and the president of the United States certainly will not sign it.

Avast majority of Democratic senators opposed the agreement. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer criticized it after he spent most of the shutdown holding the line. Democrats harshly criticized him in March after he voted for a Republican continuing resolution and his approval ratings in New York plummeted.

So, in conclusion, the contrast between the two parties is clear: Republicans are the party hell-bent on taking peoples healthcare away, all to bow to the billionaire elite and special interests. Democrats are united as the party of lower healthcare costs and improving our healthcare system, Schumer said.

But House Democrats were not as generous.

If people believe this is a deal, I have a bridge to sell you, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee that handles SNAP, tweeted. Im not going to put 24 million Americans at risk of losing their health care. Im a no.

Other moderates like Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) also criticized the agreement.

Thats not a deal, he said. Its an unconditional surrender that abandons the 24 million Americans whose health care premiums are about to double.

It wasnt just Torres. Some of the most steadfast Democratic activists and fundraisers criticized the agreement. Others said that Democrats were not level with their voters about what could happen during the government shutdown.

There were always only two options: Democrats cave or Republicans nuke the filibuster, Shannon Watts, who founded Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, texted The Independent. Watts faulted Schumer for not being transparent with activists about what would happen.

If Schumer were better at messaging and organizing we would have all understood this going into today, she said. Instead of being angry at our own party, wed be going to war with Republicans and preparing to hold them accountable over the next year. Its exhausting.

Watts criticized the lack of communication with activists and voters. She said how Republicans had resorted to talking about health savings accounts while Democrats were talking about ending the shutdown when nobody understood why.

The days of leaders going into back rooms and hammering out deals without explaining their strategy with the public is over, but our leaders dont realize that yet, she said.

But the biggest obstacle to voting on the health care subsidies remains the House of Representatives. Johnson so far has kept the House out of session since September largely pushing for the Senate to pass the continuing resolution it passed that month.
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Eight Democrats broke with their party line and voted to reopen the government last night, marking the shutdown's 40th day.

The group stated that the Republicans' flat refusal to budge on any of their proposals led them to believe that this is the best possible offer we could secure, as they issued a joint statement.

The deal included a future vote on whether the government will continue to pay for enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. Additionally, the agreement does not guarantee that the government will continue to fund healthcare subsidies.

However, the deal is expected to unlock funds for government services until January and could be tied to a larger package to fund several federal agencies.

Despite this seismic shift in the shutdown stalemate, though, the deal still needs to be approved by the House before the government can officially reopen.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that he will hold the ACA vote by the middle of next month, according to CNN, and said that he is optimistic that the deal will end the shutdown.

open image in gallery Eight Democrats have voted to end the government shutdown in a shocking move which has split their party ( Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved )

Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen from New Hampshire told the broadcaster that this was the only deal on the table.

Now I understand that not all of my Democratic colleagues are satisfied with this agreement, but waiting another week or another month wouldnt deliver a better outcome, she added.

Shaheen was just one of the Democrats to break with their partys stance on the shutdown. Throughout the crisis, the Democrats have been staunch in their position that the Republicans should not be given an inch on the questions of Medicaid and the ACA.

open image in gallery Tim Kaine says that his state having a large number of federal workers was a major reason for his decision ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia

For Senator Tim Kaine, a future vote on the future of the ACA was enough to convince him to agree to the deal.

In a statement shared on X, he said that he was guided particularly by the need to protect federal workers since Virginia is home to roughly 300,000 government employees.

Kaine went on to claim that the deal will protect federal workers from baseless firings, reinstate those who have been wrongfully terminated during the shutdown, and ensure federal workers receive back pay.

open image in gallery Dick Durbin disagreed with his colleague Tammy Duckworth in voting for the deal ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved )

Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois

Senator Dick Durbin said in a statement that this bill is not perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdowns hurt, as he broke with his party by agreeing to the deal.

For 40 daysthe longest shutdown in U.S. historyfederal workers went without paychecks, he continued. This includes our air traffic controllers, whose towers were already understaffed.

They continued to work 10 hour days, six days per week to keep our airspace safe, with this additional stress at a life-saving job.

However, by agreeing to the deal, Durbin opened up a split in his own state as Senator Tammy Duckworth, the other Illinois senator, voted against the agreement.

I simply cannot, and I will not, vote to do nothing to help protect them from Trumps vindictive and malicious efforts in exchange for a vague promise from the least trustworthy Republican party in our nations history, Duckworth wrote.

Durbin has confirmed that he will not be seeking reelection in 2026, after serving in the U.S. Senate for almost three decades.

open image in gallery Jeanne Shaheen said that no one in the Senate who wants to see these tax credits extended more than me ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire

Jeanne Shaheen has announced that she will not seek reelection this fall, after becoming the first Democratic senator for New Hampshire since 1980.

Lets be clear: This is a major step that was not predetermined, she said in a statement. I have spent years as the lead sponsor of this legislation.

There is no one in the Senate who wants to see these tax credits extended more than me.

But weeks of negotiations with Republicans have made clear that they will not address health care as part of shutdown talks.

She added that waiting longer will only prolong the pain Americans are feeling because of the shutdown.

open image in gallery John Fetterman is a highly polarizing figure in his party ( Getty )

Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania

Senator John Fetterman broke with his fellow Senate Democrats early by voting for a House-approved short-term funding bill.

Our party could be overplaying its hand, he said, according to CNN. I dont think much anything has been accomplished for the last 40 days except a lot of chaos and a lot of upheaval.

Now, Fetterman thinks that the shutdown has more than run its course, but acknowledged that the deal would probably get the "minimum" amount of votes to pass.

In a social media post, he claimed that allowing the shutdown to take place was a failure.

Im sorry to our military, SNAP recipients, gov workers, and Capitol Police who havent been paid in weeks, he added.

The Senators home state is a key swing state which carries a staggering 19 electoral college votes, the fourth most votes after New York, California and Texas.

Fetterman has long been a controversial figure in his party, with representatives in Pennsylvania already gearing up to challenge him in the 2028 elections, according to CBS News.

Critics have accused him of being too in line with Donald Trump, pointing to his strong support for Israel and for his absence from the No Kings rally in Philadelphia.

"We're looking to the leaders who will fight for us, because even today there are folks among the Democratic Party who think we should roll over and play dead," Indivisible PA founder Leah Greenberg said at a No Kings rally earlier this year, according to Newsweek. "Anyone seen John Fetterman here today?"

open image in gallery Maggie Hassans state of New Hampshire is a vital battleground during presidential elections ( Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire

Senator Maggie Hassan was reelected to her seat in 2022. Like Fetterman, her state plays a huge role in elections due to its large number of electoral college votes and its tendency to swing between voting for Democrats and Republicans.

In a statement, Hassan said that she had spoken with voters who were deeply affected by the shutdown, which led her to vote for the deal.

Our work to deliver relief for families now enters an important phase, she wrote. Congress has one month to engage in serious bipartisan negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Acts expiring tax cuts that help people afford their health insurance.

Hassan has not confirmed whether she will be seeking reelection in 2026, but is expected to become the senior senator following Shaheens retirement.

open image in gallery Angus King is technically an independent, although he often votes in line with the Democrats ( Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

Senator Angus King of Maine

Senator Angus King said that he voted for the bipartisan deal because it appears that a solution on the ACA is unlikely.

I think people are saying were not going to get what we want, although we still have a chance  because part of the deal is a vote on the ACA subsidies  but in the meantime, a lot of people are being hurt, he added, according to CNN.

King is technically an independent, although he often caucuses with the Democrats and votes in alignment with the party.

In 2024, he was elected to a third term by residents in Maine and is expected to run for reelection in 2028.

open image in gallery Catherine Cortez Masto has voted to end the shutdown 15 times ( Getty Images )

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto won a tight 2022 race, narrowly defeating Republican Adam Laxalt, and is expected to run for reelection in the future.

She told reporters on Sunday night that the government shutdown that she had witnessed lines like I havent seen since the pandemic for food banks and said that the vote could help in stopping that pain.

Cortez Masto added that she hopes to find a solution to the impending health care crisis, according to Politico.

Previously, she has voted to end the shutdown 15 times.

Cortez Masto has made headlines in the past for being a close ally of former Vice President Kamala Harris. The pair became close after they sued big banks during the 2008 Financial Crisis, alongside Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, for $20 billion.

The money won in the lawsuits was used to support their constituents who were disproportionately affected by the market crash.

open image in gallery Jacky Rosen voted in agreement with Cortez Masto ( AP )

Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada

Jacky Rosen joined her fellow Nevadan senator in voting to move the deal forward.

In her state, over 95,000 people receive credits from the Affordable Care Act, and she said that a vote on the ACA subsidies is the concession weve been able to extract.

Trump and his Republican cronies on Capitol Hill do not give a damn about hurting working people, and their conduct over the last month has been nothing short of appalling, she added in a public statement.

It is unknown if Rosen will run again after her six years in office come to a close in 2030.
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Jeffrey Epsteins sex-trafficking co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, is reportedly planning to seek a commutation of her federal prison sentence, which is set to end in 2037.

A document obtained by the House Judiciary Committee Democrats, and viewed by Politico, revealed the 63-year-olds plan, which, if approved by President Donald Trump, could see her 20-year sentence reduced.

In a letter to her lawyer, Maxwell wrote that she would send application details through the prison warden.

I am struggling to keep it all together as it is big and there are so many attachments, she wrote in a message with the subject line: RE: Commutation Application, per Politico.

She added, More coming to replace others... hopefully it will all make sense.

The Supreme Court last month denied an appeal from Maxwell, who was handed the lengthy sentence after she was found guilty in 2021 of recruiting and grooming young women and girls for sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

open image in gallery Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime accomplice of sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, is planning to seek a commutation of her 20-year prison sentence for her role in Epsteins crimes ( US Department of Justice )

Given the rejection, a pardon from Trump could be Maxwells only escape. The president has not ruled out pardoning Maxwell; however, he said he had not given it much thought when he was asked about it in July.

A letter to Trump from Judiciary Democrats alleges that Maxwell has been receiving preferential and lenient treatment at the minimum-security Bryan Federal Prison Camp in Texas, to which she was transferred in August.

In the letter, the committee notes having received information that suggests that Maxwells meals have been customized and prepared by federal prison camp staff, according to Politico.

Maxwell was also given special time to play with a service dog in training, per the report.

A section of the letter, viewed by CBS News, states that the committee has reportedly received information that the prison staff has heaped favorable concierge-style treatment on Ms. Maxwell.

The letter also claimed that when Maxwell wanted to meet with visitors, the warden would arrange for the meetings to be held in a special, cordoned-off area.

She was transferred to the prison, known for its relatively relaxed environment, after meeting with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in July. During that meeting, Maxwell claimed she had never seen Trump in an inappropriate setting.

open image in gallery Maxwell, 63, was transferred to the minimum-security Texas prison camp, dubbed Club Fed, in August, and has reportedly been receiving preferential treatment ever since ( Getty )

She also said she had never ever [seen] any man doing something inappropriate with a woman of any age, despite evidence pointing to her role in Epsteins sex-trafficking schemes. Epstein, a wealthy financier, died in an apparent suicide in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019.

In the letter to Trump, the committee urged the president not to grant Maxwell any form of clemency.

You should not grant any form of clemency to this convicted and unrepentant sex offender, Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, wrote to Trump. Your Administration should not be providing her with room service, with puppies to play with, with federal law enforcement officials waiting on her every need, or with any special treatment or institutional privilege at all.

Raskin also asked Trump in the letter if he had previously discussed commutation with his staff, and whether he had ordered that Maxwell receive special treatment behind bars.

Maxwell recently said shes much happier at the cushy Texas prison camp, to which she was transferred after meeting with Trump officials.

I feel like I have dropped through Alice in Wonderlands looking glass, she wrote in an email obtained by NBC News. I am much much happier here and more importantly safe.

The prison camp is dubbed Club Fed for its comparatively relaxed conditions. It boasts dormitory-style cells, no barbed wire, and opportunities to take classes outside of work. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Jen Shah are also housed there.
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A top Democrat has blasted the Trump Administration after Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted child sex offender and the girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, reportedly asked the president to commute her 20-year sentence.

A whistleblower alerted House Judiciary Democrats to Maxwells plan for freedom, prompting Representative Jamie Raskin to write a fiery letter to the president demanding to know how the convicted sex offender was able to make such a huge request.

Raskins letter to Trump contains an explosive call for information about whether Ms. Maxwell is herself requesting you release her from her 20-year prison sentence for her role as a co-conspirator in Jeffrey Epsteins international child sex trafficking ring, or that this child sex predator now holds such tremendous sway in the second Trump Administration that you and your DOJ will follow her clemency recommendations.

The letter, seen by The Hill, also demanded to know more about any agreements made between Maxwell and the Trump administration.

open image in gallery Jamie Raskin, a Democratic representative for Maryland, has written a fiery letter to Trump over Ghislaine Maxwells request to have her sentence commuted ( Getty Images for Congressional I )

Much of the Democrats call for an investigation is rooted in the fact that Maxwell was moved to a low-security prison in Texas shortly after meeting the Trump-appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche in July.

What information is Ms. Maxwell agreeing to suppress in order to receive such outlandishly favorable treatment as a federal prisoner and convicted sex offender? Raskin blasted in her letter.

According to documents provided by the whistleblower, Maxwell receives customized meals that are personally delivered to her cell. The documents include a quote from a prison officer who describes Maxwell as receiving concierge-style treatment in jail.

She has also allegedly been given a special cordoned off area for visitors to arrive, as well as an assortment of snacks and refreshments for her guests. Her guests have been allowed to bring computers into the area, something which is usually strictly prohibited, and she has even been given puppies to play with.

This top-flight luxury service has reached such a point of absurdity that one of the top officials at the prison has complained that he is sick of having to be Maxwells b***h Raskin blasted.

In an email obtained by NBC News, Maxwell said that she is much, much happier at the Texas facility and that she feels as though she has dropped through Alice in Wonderlands looking glass.

open image in gallery Maxwell is being held at a facility in Texas where she reportedly receives concierge-style treatment ( Federal Bureau of Prisons )

As an assistant to the now-deceased Jeffrey Epstein, Maxwell is thought to hold a massive amount of information about the serial sex offenders crimes.

Trump has long floated the idea that he could pardon the British-born Maxwell, claiming he was allowed to do it, in exchange for her help in the Epstein investigation.

The president was a longtime friend of Epstein, a fact that Maxwell admitted during her meeting with Blanche.

She said that, although Trump and Epstein were friendly in social settings, she never saw the president being inappropriate with anybody.

Splits in the GOP have emerged over the proposed commutation of Maxwells sentence, though, with former Trump loyalist Laura Loomer pleading for the love of God. Do Not Do It.

open image in gallery Epsteinpremium ( US District Court for the Southern District of New York )

I strongly advise AGAINST anyone lobbying the Trump admin and the DOJ to Pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, Loomer wrote. Do not do it. I repeat. Do not do it. There will be no coming back from that.

Marjorie Taylor Greene has also said that she will say every damn name on the Epstein list if it is given to her, after backing rogue Republican Thomas Massies Epstein Files Transparency Bill.

The truth needs to come out and the government holds the truth, Greene said. The cases that are sealed hold the truth, Jeffrey Epsteins estate holds the truth. The FBI, the DOJ and the CIA holds the truth.

And the truth we are demanding come out on behalf of these women but also as a strong message to every innocent child, teenager, woman and man that has been held captive in abuse, Greene added.
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Travel delays and disruptions are piling up this week as the Federal Aviation Administration cuts flights at major airports and air traffic controllers go without pay because of the federal shutdown.

The FAA announced last week that airlines at 40 major airports must cut 4 percent of their flights starting Friday. That requirement could rise to 6 percent by Tuesday, and 10 percent by Friday.

But an end to the shutdown could be in sight, after eight Democratic senators supported a Republican plan to reopen the government over the weekend. However, the measure still needs final Senate approval. Itll also need approval from the House of Representatives  and President Donald Trumps signature  before it becomes law.

Its unclear how long this will take.

But air travel wont go back to normal immediately after the shutdown comes to an end, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and other aviation experts. Heres what you need to know:

A passenger looks at canceled and delayed flights at Boston Logan International Airport. The FAA has announced mandatory flight cuts at 40 major airports ( AFP/Getty )

Air travel could take days, if not a week, to return to normal, Duffy says

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said it could take days, if not a week, for flights to return to full capacity after the shutdown ends.

"The problem is the airlines have to then put those flights back out for booking again, and so it's going to take some time for the airlines to respond," Duffy told Fox Newss America Reports on Friday.

"So once we see more controllers in the towers, then airlines have to respond to that, so it can be, you know, days, if not a week, before we get back to full-forced flights when the shutdown ends, he added.

Ahmed Abdelghany, an associate dean for research at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Universitys David B. OMaley College of Business, told USA Today the shutdown will have lasting impacts on air travel.

Even if the government reopens, recovery will still take time. Some passengers will have to be refunded and removed from the system because capacity simply cannot absorb everyone. The severity and duration of this reduction will determine how long recovery takes, Abdelghany said.

Thousands of flights canceled and delayed across the country this weekend

More than 2,700 flights into, out of, or within the U.S. have been delayed so far on Monday, while more than 1,600 flights have been canceled altogether, according to FlightAware.

Sunday marked the worst day yet for air travel amid the shutdown, with more than 11,000 delays and nearly 3,000 cancellations, FlightAwares data shows. On Saturday, 7,545 flights were delayed and 1,566 flights were canceled.

Air traffic controllers have missed one paycheck so far, and are set to miss their second paycheck on Tuesday, Duffy said on Friday.

The controllers have said, most of the controllers can navigate missing one paycheck, virtually none of them can navigate missing two paychecks, he told Fox News.

What rights do travelers have as flights are delayed and canceled?

The Department of Transportation updated its policy last week regarding refunds on canceled or delayed flights. Passengers are entitled to a refund if the airline cancels a flight, regardless of the reason, and the consumer chooses not to travel, the policy states.

In the event of significant delays, a passenger is entitled to a refund if they choose not to travel, according to the Transportation Department. A significant delay is defined as a three-hour delay domestically, or a six-hour delay internationally.

In the event of a significant delay, passengers can be compensated for certain expenses and/or amenities if the delay was due to something in the airlines control and causes a long enough inconvenience during travel, according to the departments policy. But if a passenger still chooses to take the delayed flight or an alternative flight, they arent entitled to a refund.
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Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program payments  also known as food stamps  are at the center of an ongoing legal battle amid the government shutdown.

SNAP funding ran out November 1, according to Donald Trumps administration. The government could be on a path to reopen after the Senate reportedly reached a tentative funding deal over the weekend. But the measure still needs approval from the House and Senate  and Trumps signature  before it can take effect and reopen the government.

SNAP funds, which are distributed by the federal government to states each month, support roughly one in eight families, who receive an average of $188 per person per month, or about $6 per day. Those funds are administered on prepaid cards that can be used to pay for groceries.

Meanwhile, many of the 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP benefits to feed their families are still uncertain when theyll receive their November funds.

While some beneficiaries have already seen payments, millions of families are still waiting for critical assistance to buy groceries, and uncertainty is growing as the legal battle surrounding the program stretches on.

( AP )

Heres what you need to know about the future of SNAP payments:

When could SNAP payments resume?

Its still unclear when SNAP recipients might receive their full November payments, and it could vary by state. While the USDA oversees SNAP, each state is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the program.

The timeline depends largely on when the shutdown ends. The current deal, if approved, would fund SNAP through September 2026. Once the government reopens, a USDA spokesperson told The Independent that SNAP funding will start flowing "within 24 hours for most States."

If the government reopens and SNAP is funded, payments should resume as normal, but delays and confusion are still possible, according to Wendy Weller, an associate professor in the Department of Health Policy, Management and Behavior at the University at Albany, State University of New York.

In theory, if its fully funded, they just pick up where they left off, it should be fine, but I can see that being delayed, she told The Independent.

Crystal FitzSimons, president of the Food Research and Action Center, told The Independent that the timeline for payments is going to depend on the state. Some states may move really quickly, while others may need more time, she noted.

If states haven't prepared or are not tracking this as closely, they may take a little bit longer, because it does take time for states to put together benefit levels and all of that, FitzSimons said.

Where does the legal battle over SNAP payments stand?

SNAP benefits have been at the center of a complicated legal battle since late last month after two major lawsuits called on federal courts to intervene and restart federal funds to keep families from going hungry.

The Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to let it freeze fully funding SNAP benefits amid the shutdown. The requests followed appeals court rulings that have refused to block a judges order requiring the Trump administration to fully fund the program.

Last week, Rhode Island District Judge John McConnell ordered the Trump administration to fully fund SNAP. The decision was upheld by a federal appeals court, but the Supreme Court then granted the Trump administrations request to temporarily freeze McConnells order on Friday.

Also on Friday, the USDA said it was working towards implementing November 2025 full benefit issuances in compliance with the November 6, 2025, order from the District Court of Rhode Island. But the next day, the agency ordered states to immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025, sowing further confusion.

A federal judge temporarily blocked enforcement of the USDAs order on Monday.

U.S. solicitor general D. John Sauer told the Supreme Court on Monday that the Senates tentative deal could make the governments latest request obsolete.

That proposal, if ultimately adopted by both Houses of Congress and signed by the President, would end the shutdown and moot this application, Sauer wrote.

The Independent has requested comment from the Department of Justice.

This article was updated on November 12 to include a quote from a USDA spokesperson.
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Top allies and associates of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of Health and Human Services, forcefully spoke out against vaccines during a weekend summit in Austin, Texas.

The conference, hosted by Childrens Health Defense  an anti-vaccine non-profit co-founded by Kennedy  was attended by around 1,000 people, including two U.S. senators, Floridas top health official and Cheryl Hines, Kennedys wife.

Over the course of two days, speakers sought to map out the future of the Make America Healthy Again movement, including by pushing to eliminate vaccine mandates in schools through a targeted state-by-state effort.

God is an anti-vaxxer, and he needs you to speak up, Del Bigtree, CEO of Informed Consent Action Network, who served as Kennedys communications director during his 2024 presidential campaign, said, according to The Washington Post.

The high-profile gathering comes as the anti-vaccine movement, once marginalized, has found new influence in Washington, with Kennedy  a long-time vaccine skeptic  now overseeing Americas vast health care bureaucracy.

open image in gallery The conference was hosted by Childrens Health Defense, an anti-vaccine non-profit co-founded by Kennedy ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved )

GOP Sens. Ron Johnson, of Wisconsin, and Rand Paul, of Kentucky, addressed the audience remotely, though they were initially scheduled to attend in person, alongside the HHS secretary.

Kennedy also did not attend the event.

There are doctors recommending injecting little babies, Johnson said, according to The Post. They dont want to admit something theyve done caused autism.

The supposed link between vaccines and autism has previously been brought up by Kennedy  though multiple studies have shown they are not related.

The former environmental lawyer has also expressed broader concerns about vaccines. Hes claimed immunizations have poisoned an entire generation of American children, and suggested they could be responsible for a whole host of ailments, including allergies, eczema and ADHD. As head of HHS, Kennedy has cut the organization's workforce and fired all members of a vaccine advisory board, accusing them of acting as a rubber stamp for any vaccine.

HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Kennedy said he is not anti-vaccine, just pro-vaccine safety, The Independent previously reported. Mary Holland, the CEO of Childrens Health Defense, echoed this sentiment, telling The Post that CHD is not anti-vax. Were pro-informed consent.

open image in gallery We need to be more boldly anti-vax, one of the conference speakers said ( Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. )

This view was not shared by all conference attendees, though.

Ive come to this anti-vax conference with a message: that we need to be more boldly anti-vax, Mark Gorton, the co-president of the MAHA Institute think tank, said. He added that the childhood vaccination regimen should be eliminated.

Joseph Ladapo, Floridas surgeon general, who announced in September that the Sunshine State would be the first state to eliminate school vaccine mandates, also addressed the audience.

God had me go to Harvard Medical School so I could eventually come out on the other side and say what I think is right, he said.

Lapado denounced members of the media, saying, I saw reporters from The Washington Post and the Atlantic that represent these forces that  I have nothing against them, to be clear  they represent forces who are working toward the enslavement of humanity.

Hines, an actress known for her role in Curb Your Enthusiasm and Kennedys third wife, told The Post, I really support what MAHA is doing and CHD has been bushwhacking the path for a while now.

CHD has been such supporters of families of parents with children that have been injured with vaccines or any sort of health issue, Hines added, according to MSNBC. Thank you for supporting CHD and Bobby for all these years.

Recent polls show that the views espoused at the Texas conference are far from atypical. In fact, they are held by a sizable swath of Americans  despite medical experts maintaining that the benefits of vaccines far outweigh the risks.

A September Washington Post/KFF poll found that one in six parents have skipped or delayed some vaccines for their children. An April YouGov poll revealed that one in five Americans believe its definitely or likely true that vaccines have been demonstrated to cause autism.

Amid rising skepticism about vaccines, the U.S. is experiencing its largest measles outbreak in over 30 years, according to the CDCs July report. As of Nov. 4, there were 1,681 confirmed measles cases across more than two dozen states.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that the government shutdown may have stolen Christmas for thousands of Americans, after the drastic reduction in air traffic caused by the closure disrupts the flow of imports into the United States.

The government shutdown has already caused carnage for millions of people, with thousands of federal workers, including air traffic controllers, being stripped of their pay.

Speaking on ABC News This Week, Bessent warned that the human cost of the shutdown could continue to worsen as the nation looks ahead to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

But on the other side, theres also, cargo is being slowed down, Bessent said. So, you know, we could end up with shortages, whether its in our supply chain, whether its for the holidays.

Cargo and people are both being slowed down here. And thats for safetys sake, George, he added.

open image in gallery Scott Bessent says that the impact of the shutdown on the economy and the holiday season is going to get worse and worse ( AP )

Today, the government shutdown dragged into its 41st making it the longest in history by six days.

Although the Senate has approved a spending bill that could see the government reopen, the budget must first be approved by the House of Representatives.

Eight Democrats crossed the aisle to approve the deal. The concession they agreed with Republicans was that Congress would vote on the future of Affordable Care Act subsidies.

However, until the government is reopened, Bessent has warned that the shutdown is causing the countrys economic prospects to get worse and worse.

We had a fantastic economy under President Trump the past two quarters, he claimed. And now there are estimates that  economic growth for this quarter could be cut by as much as half, if the shutdown continues.

Last week, FAA administrator Bryan Bedford confirmed that the federal agency was slashing flight capacity by 10 percent across forty high-traffic areas.

Flight reductions began at four percent on Friday and will increase to 6 percent on November 11 and 8 percent by November 13. By November 14, that figure will reach 10 percent.

Varun Gupta, a professor of logistics and business analytics at the University of North Georgia, told ABC News that 10 percent of U.S. cargo is delivered by plane.

The International Air Transport Association also states that air cargo demand increased by 2.9 percent in September, despite the constraints placed on the sector by the shutdown, worsening delays even further.

open image in gallery Ten percent of the USs deliveries are made by plane ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved )

As the shutdown continues, that could throw last-minute holiday shopping into chaos as planes are often used to make express deliveries.

In light of the drastic reduction in the number of flights, FedEx says it has made necessary operational modifications to keep up with the high number of deliveries that it is required to make in the holiday season.

Contingency plans are in place to flex our integrated air and ground network to help protect time-sensitive, critical shipments such as lifesaving pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and other products move through our network without disruption, a spokesperson from the brand told The Independent. A majority of our flights operate at night, outside of the FAA-restricted daily timeframe, and we have confirmed with the FAA that our international flights will continue without interruption. As always, safety remains our top priority.

The upcoming disruption is set to unfold just weeks after the aviation industry was rocked by a tragic UPS plane crash at a cargo hub in Louisville, Kentucky. The terrifying accident unfolded on Tuesday last week and claimed the lives of 14 people, including a grandfather and his three-year-old granddaughter who were near the crash site.

The incident has heightened fears around how safe it is to fly during the shutdown, although the UPS crash occurred after an engine detached from the jets wing, not from the air traffic controller shortage. The company grounded its MD-11 planes after the incident, reducing its already diminished service.

However, there could be another problem, caused by the shutdown, facing the country while the aviation industry grapples with the UPS plane crash and the reduction in flights ordered by the FAA.

Sean Duffy, the U.S. Transportation Secretary, has warned that this reduction in flights could mean that a substantial number of Americans will not be able to make it home for Thanksgiving.

"Two weeks before Thanksgiving, you're going to see air travel be reduced to a trickle," he added, while appearing on CNNs State of the Union.

open image in gallery The government shutdown could soon come to an end, since Senate Republicans and Democrats have agreed to a spending plan ( Middle East Images )

Amid the shutdown chaos, Scott Bessent has floated the idea that Donald Trumps promised $2,000 dividend to U.S. citizens could come in the form of tax decreases, and not a check.

I havent spoken to the president about this yet, but. the $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms, in lots of ways, George, he said, while appearing on ABC Newss This Week.

His comments came as millions of federal workers continue to go without pay, during the shutdown, while money continues to flow into the governments coffers through Trumps tariff policies. However, the tariff money is raised by charging importers, i.e., American businesses.

It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the presidents agenda, Bessent continued. You know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security. Deductibility of auto loans.

So, you know, those are substantial deductions that, you know, are being financed in the tax bill.

Previously, Trump has branded anyone who disagrees with his tariff policy as FOOLS and claimed that the scheme is making the United States into the Richest, Most Respected Country In the World.

The tariff policy has already raised $196 billion, according to The Hill, as Trump continues to tease the dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!)

The Independent has contacted Amazon, UPS and the Treasury Department for comment.
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Lawmakers in the Senate cut a deal Sunday evening to end a federal government shutdown, but the path ahead remained unclear given the lack of involvement of either the White House or Republican leadership in the House of Representatives.

Sunday evenings 60-40 vote cleared the chambers filibuster threshold and puts the resolution on schedule for a vote Monday or early in the week. Democrats could still gum up the process, but many took Sundays development as a sign that the caucuss moderates had firmly decided on a course.

Eight moderate Democrats got on board with an agreement backed by their GOP colleagues that would extend government funding through the end of January while further negotiations take place on a range of issues, including subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans, multiple news outlets reported Sunday evening.

The tentative deal would put a vote on the calendar next month to extend those subsidies for one year, while also handing Democrats a small win by reversing a series of layoffs the White House directed in October as a means of heaping pressure on the presidents political enemies. It would also block future layoffs planned by the administration, another coup for the presidents rivals. It will still require passage by the House, and the presidents signature, to become law.

Whether Republican leadership outside of the Senate was on board with these concessions wasnt totally clear, but in the Senate, Republican leadership was optimistic.

Administration officials, who flatly refused to negotiate with Democrats while the government is shut down, were reportedly on board, but there wasnt a clear sign that the deal had the backing of Speaker Mike Johnson in the House. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told a reporter on Sunday: I am confident that if we move to open the government, the House will do likewise.

Earlier Sunday, President Donald Trump was trashing the Affordable Care Act on Truth Social and insisting that Republicans would come up with a better plan. But his Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, made clear that this wasnt really on the table, and that there was no formal proposal from the administration. Republicans in Congress, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, have been plainspoken about the failure of their party to come up with one after the 2017 Obamacare repeal effort went down in flames.

open image in gallery Lawmakers in the Senate might be nearing a deal to end the shutdown and fund the government ( Getty )

It looks like were getting very close, Trump told reporters on Sunday evening. It looks like were getting very close to the shutdown ending.

Axios separately reported that other issues were also being discussed, including efforts by Democrats to block future layoffs directed by the White House. Of the Democratic caucus, Sens. Dick Durbin, John Fetterman, Catherine Cortez Masto, Jacky Rosen, Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan, Angus King and Tim Kaine all voted for the resolution.

Centrist Democrats believe that Republicans in the Senate will be pressured to vote for the Democratic proposal to extend Obamacare subsidies in December, or risk a second shutdown in January  the beginning of the election year. Progressives in their party, as well as many other rank-and-file Democrats who disagreed with the strategy of their aging caucus members in the Senate, expressed serious doubt in the possibility of that vote ever passing.

Many in the party were furious on Sunday that Democrats in their party had backed down without the subsidies being passed outright, certain that they were now all but off the table entirely.

Polling has shown that Americans blame Republicans and Trump more than Democrats for the shutdown, while a clean sweep by Democrats in several highly-watched statewide elections last week gave the opposition party the headwinds to continue putting pressure on the GOP.

But it was moderate Democrats, in the end, who buckled first under that pressure, fearful of the damage caused by mounting issues around staffing at the nations airports and the instability of SNAP funding under a shutdown.

open image in gallery Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer leaves the U.S. Capitol for a meeting at the White House on 29 September ( Getty )

Speaker Mike Johnson continues to hold the House of Representatives in recess, while he avoids negotiating with Democrats to end the shutdown or convening the chamber and swearing in a newly-elected Democratic congresswoman. By doing so, Johnson has also kept an embarrassing vote on releasing the Epstein files (which would be successful, with Democratic and a few Republican votes already locked in) from passing in the lower chamber.

Senate Democrats were set to meet as a caucus late Sunday afternoon, with the chamber in a rare weekend session, to discuss the proposal. Progressives railed against the compromise, accusing their colleagues of betraying their constituents, while DNC chair Ken Martin came out against the deal as well. In a possible sign of how Democrats viewed the importance of the vote, both of Georgias vulnerable Democratic senators opposed it.

Trump, who has come under fire for not meeting with Democrats despite his own past insistence that it is the presidents responsibility to do so in such situations, continues to largely refrain from direct involvement  making it potentially more likely that he would sign on to any deal Republican congressional leaders felt was appropriate.

Axios reported that administration officials were on board with the deal but had been resistant to giving Congress the power to block future layoffs.

At the same time, Trump has added fuel to the fire with a number of proposals that dont seem to have gone through the consultation process with his own allies on the Hill, including his call for a new Obamacare replacement effort as well as his demand that the Senate scrap the 60-vote filibuster threshold to end the shutdown. Republican leaders are fearful of the latter suggestion, which would allow Democrats to pass legislation with the same simple-majority threshold if the chamber changed hands in 2027.

open image in gallery President Donald Trump, who seemed to nod off during an Oval Office announcement last week, has not been directly involved in negotiations to end the shutdown ( Getty )

Politico reported that House Democrats are unhappy with the emerging framework of the deal, given that it doesnt guarantee the passage of Obamacare subsidies. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries seemed to confirm that on NBCs Meet the Press.

I dont think that the House Democratic Caucus is prepared to support a promise, a wing and a prayer from folks who have been devastating the healthcare of the American people for years, he said.

Many in the lower chamber worry that giving the appearance of backing down, in the wake of Tuesdays elections, will infuriate many Democratic voters and supercharge primary campaigns against their members next year. After the vote passed, Rep. Ro Khanna of California, a progressive Democrat, called on his party to replace Chuck Schumer as leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus. Similarly, at least two of the partys candidates for the U.S. Senate, Mallory McMorrow in Michigan and Zach Wahls in Iowa, called for new leadership in the caucus as well.

One of those winning Democrats, Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, told CBSs Face the Nation on Sunday: Our victory was based on a campaign addressing concerns related to costs and chaos. Virginians need to  and Virginians want to  see the government reopen.

Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins told the outlet that the vote was going to be close, but added that she was hopeful this breakthrough would finally end a federal government shutdown that has now lasted nearly 40 days.
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Flight restrictions stemming from the government shutdown are now impacting Americans who rely on private jets, as the Federal Aviation Administration has effectively prohibited business travel at some of the busiest airports in the country.

Last week, the agency cut air traffic at 40 airports across the U.S. by 10 percent and, as of Sunday, more than 2,000 commercial flights had been canceled, with a further 7,000 delayed.

Now restrictions will impact private jets at Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., the National Business Aviation Association trade said in a statement late Sunday.

Further restrictions were announced that will effectively prohibit business aviation operations at 12 of those [40] airports, disproportionately impacting general aviation, an industry that creates more than a million jobs, generates $340 billion in economic impact and supports humanitarian flights every day, the associations CEO Ed Bolen said.

Safety is the cornerstone of business aviation, and NBAA is fully committed to ensuring the safety of the NAS (National Airspace System), Bolen continued. Among the ways we will do that is to ensure business aviation operators have an understanding of these restrictions and their implications.

open image in gallery Flight restrictions stemming from the government shutdown are now impacting Americans who rely on private jets ( Getty )

There had been calls from some to reduce private jet travel over commercial flights when the first restrictions were announced.

Just a thought instead of reducing U.S. commercial flights, FAA should start by cancelling all billionaire and corporate private jet travel! said Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon.

California governor candidate Katie Porter accused the Trump administration of prioritizing private jets over the public.

Private jet flights often take a single billionaire passenger, but still put real strain on our air traffic control system, Porter said in a video on X last week.

Trump is choosing to target commercial airlines that the rest of us take, rather than grounding his billionaire friends. Thats messed up  and shows you who he is about.

open image in gallery There had been calls from some to reduce private jet travel over commercial flights when the first restrictions were announced ( Getty Images )

open image in gallery Last week the FAA cut air traffic at 40 airports across the U.S. by 10 percent and as of Sunday, more than 2,000 commercial flights had been canceled, with a further 7,000 delayed ( REUTERS )

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy hit back Sunday and said restrictions were in place for private jets and the priority is the traveling public.

Duffy dismissed the criticism by Porter and others as political theater.

Flight reductions on commercial travel came into effect Friday, with major airports experiencing delays throughout the weekend.

Thousands of air traffic controllers have now been working without pay since early October.

An agreement to end the 40-day shutdown is in sight after eight Senate Democrats broke with leadership in a vote Sunday and surrendered to Republicans.

House Democrats and progressive activists are fuming over the proposed deal the breakaway Senate Democrats brokered with Republicans.

The deal brokered Sunday night reportedly guarantees that Republicans would allow for a vote on extending the Obamacare tax credits in the future. Still, that does not mean that the House of Representatives, led by House Speaker Mike Johnson, would be guaranteed to hold a vote, given many of his Republican members, swayed by President Donald Trump, have opposed the tax credits.
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The Supreme Court has swiftly rejected a longshot request to overturn the landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage, leaving in place a decade-old ruling that upheld marriage equality across the United States.

Last week, justices met in their private conference to decide whether to take up new cases, including a request from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky county clerk who infamously refused to issue a marriage license to two men, citing her religious beliefs.

She called on the nations high court to reverse a court ruling that required her to pay more than $300,000 to the couple, and to take down the landmark decision in Obergefell v Hodges along with it.

The justices denied her petition Monday.

Legal experts were deeply skeptical that her petition would be accepted, but anxious same-sex couples and advocacy groups feared that the conservative-majority court was poised to once again debate LGBT+ rights under the guise of religious freedom.

open image in gallery The Supreme Court swiftly rejected a longshot attempt to overturn the landmark 2015 decision that made same-sex marriage the law of the land ( Reuters )

Davis, who is Christian, argued she had a First Amendment right as a public official to deny issuing licenses to same-sex couples, an argument that legal experts and LGBT+ advocacy groups said would effectively create a religious exemption that gave government employees a license to discriminate.

Mat Staver, chair of evangelical Christian legal group Liberty Counsel, which brought Daviss appeal to the Supreme Court and demanded justices overturn same-sex marriage protections entirely, argued that Obergefell v Hodges cannot override the free speech and religious exercise protections of the First Amendment.

In her petition to the court, Daviss attorneys argued that David Ermold and David Moore  the couple who won a case against Davis  cannot sue over hurt feelings suffered as a result of her religious expression. Without the Supreme Courts intervention, Obergefell will remain an obstacle to the First Amendments protections for public officials with sincerely held religious beliefs, they argued.

Justices rejected the petition without argument and with no additional statements explaining their decision Monday.

When public officials take an oath to serve their communities, that promise extends to everyone  including LGBTQ+ people, Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson said in a statement Monday. The Supreme Court made clear today that refusing to respect the constitutional rights of others does not come without consequences.

open image in gallery A request from former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis sought to overturn the landmark decision in her attempt to evade paying legal fees to the couple who sued her after she rejected their marriage license ( AP )

At least 823,000 same-sex couples are legally married in the United States, according to research from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. Nearly 600,000 of those couples married in the years after Obergefell.

Those couples are also raising nearly 300,000 children under the age of 18, the institute found.

Marriage equality also has broad public support, with more than two-thirds of Americans backing the 10-year-old ruling, according to Gallup. Support among Republicans, however, peaked at 55 percent in 2021 and 2022, and has slumped down to 41 percent, the lowest point since the first year after Obergefell was decided.

Same-sex couples who are currently married are also protected under the Respect for Marriage Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022, ensuring that same-sex marriages performed in one state are also recognized by others as well as by the federal government. But the law does not require every state to issue marriage licenses in the unlikely event that Obergefell is overturned.

That legislation was also supported by more than three dozen House Republicans.

Still, the idea of putting hard-fought protections for LGBT+ couples back on trial has frustrated and outraged advocates, who fear the worst under a conservative-majority court that liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor says has broken the firewall between Church and state.

Legal experts have argued that the courts decision in 2022 to end the constitutional right to abortion care, in Dobbs v Jackson Womens Health Organization, reveals just how fragile those precedents can be.

In his concurring opinion in Dobbs, Justice Clarence Thomas suggested that the court could reconsider major cases involving substantive due process precedents  including the courts landmark cases involving same-sex marriages, gay sex, and contraception.

In a statement Monday, Liberty Counsels Staver said the Supreme Court had let stand a decision to strip a government defendant of their immunity and any personal First Amendment defense for their religious expression.

Like the abortion decision in Roe v Wade, Obergefell was egregiously wrong from the start, he added. It is not a matter of if, but when the Supreme Court will overturn Obergefell.
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Donald Trumps administration is once again calling on the Supreme Court to deny full funding for the nations largest anti-hunger program, which faces a fast-moving legal battle over the fate of vital food assistance during the government shutdown.

For the second time within four days, the administration called on the nations high court Monday to continue blocking lower court orders that required the government to pay full food assistance for the more than 41 million Americans who are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The legal back-and-forth and conflicting guidance from the government has left families in limbo, unsure when or how they can afford groceries without critical SNAP benefits.

Mondays request from the Trump administration came hours after a federal appeals court once again refused to stop a judges order requiring the government to fully fund the program, issuing a warning late Sunday that tens of millions will go hungry without food stamps, which would trigger a cascade of health and financial harms that imperil families and communities across the country.

The latest moves came as Congress inches closer to a temporary funding deal that will end the government shutdown and keep money flowing into SNAP. If the government reopens, the administration would abandon its emergency request to the Supreme Court, effectively ending the weeks-long legal battles from Democratic-led states and cities, anti-hunger advocates and nonprofit groups demanding the government maintain its obligations to SNAP after refusing to keep the lifeline afloat during the shutdown.

open image in gallery The Trump administration is doubling down on attempts to block a court ruling that requires the government to fully fund SNAP during the government shutdown ( AFP via Getty Images )

But until then, the government is asking for justices to intervene.

Last week, Rhode Island District Judge John McConnell ordered the government to fully fund SNAP after finding that it failed to address any administrative issues that prevented states from quickly sending out at least partial benefits to keep people from going hungry after cutting off funding November 1.

A federal appeals court upheld the decision, but the Supreme Court granted Trumps request to temporarily freeze McConnells order, igniting a swift round of arguments over the future of the program.

The administration simultaneously told states that the Department of Agriculture was working towards implementing November 2025 full benefit issuances in compliance with the lower court order.

States were already beginning to see federal funding start to flow back into SNAP, but the USDA then ordered states to undo any steps taken to ensure those payments were going to beneficiaries  adding more confusion that has left families scrambling.

SNAP funds, which are distributed by the federal government to states each month, support roughly one in eight families, who receive an average of $188 per person per month, or about $6 per day. Those funds are administered on prepaid cards that can be used to pay for groceries.

Food pantries across the country are warning that they are not prepared to support the millions of families that rely on government assistance.

For low-income Americans, SNAP is a vital bulwark against hunger and food insecurity. Access to food is, of course, a basic human need, appeals court judges wrote late Sunday.

Without SNAP, tens of millions would go hungry  the first among a cascade of other health and financial harms that would befall those forced to go without enough food, particularly in the months leading up to winter, they added.

open image in gallery Food banks and pantries, already stretched thin by the pandemic and growing food costs, are seeing a sharp increase in hungry families after the federal government refused to keep funding SNAP for November ( AP )

In a separate case in Massachusetts, Democratic officials from 25 states are demanding a court order to restart SNAP funds  and challenging USDAs attempts to clawback benefits.

Americans shouldnt have to wait one day more, California Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters Monday.

Every American should be outraged by the billionaire sitting in the White House would go to such extreme lengths and spend this much energy to prevent hungry Americans from getting food, he said.

Before federal judges intervened, the administration intended to freeze funding for the program entirely during the government shutdown, claiming that it did not have legal authority to tap into billions of dollars in emergency funds. On a notice on its website last month, USDA claimed that the well has run dry and that there will be no benefits issued November 1.

The administration then agreed to tap into $4.65 billion in contingency funds to cover roughly 65 percent of benefits. The USDA said those partial payments were sent to states last week, but officials wrote in court documents that it would take anywhere from a few weeks to up to several months for those recipients to start seeing those benefits.

In a ruling Thursday, Judge McConnell said the administration failed to expeditiously resolve any clerical issues that could delay those payments.

As a result, people will go hungry, food pantries will be overburdened and needless suffering will occur, with SNAP funding lapsing for the first time in the nations history, he said during a virtual court hearing Thursday.

People have gone without for too long. Not making payments to them for even another day is simply unacceptable, McConnell said. This should never happen in America.
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The White House announced late Sunday evening that Donald Trump had issued pardons for members of his 2020 campaign legal team, including Rudy Giuliani, Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, for their involvement in a scheme to alter the slates of electors chosen by states that voted against the Republican nominee in that years presidential election.

A statement announcing a list of 77 people who were pardoned was tweeted out late Sunday evening, at 10:54 p.m. local time, by Trumps clemency czar Ed Martin.

It included several Americans who participated directly as members of the slates of false electors whose purpose was to supplant duly elected state electors bound to cast their states votes in the Electoral College for Joe Biden, after the Democrat won states including Georgia, Arizona, and Michigan in the general election.

That plot, supported at the highest levels by Trump and his allies, eventually led to the attempt by the presidents supporters to halt the certification of the 2020 election on January 6, 2021  a political demonstration that devolved into a rioting mob attacking the U.S. Capitol and besieging it for several hours.

Sundays announcement noted that the pardons were also extended to members of Trumps administration and campaign uncovered in the January 6 investigations as having facilitated direct conversations between MAGAworld and a combination of conservative activists and sympathetic conservative state lawmakers who supported the presidents efforts, including his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows.

A line near the end of the statement also pointedly indicated that one individual was not pardoned in connection with the scheme: Donald J. Trump.

open image in gallery Donald Trump declined to pardon himself as he issued clemency for Rudy Giuliani and others involved in his ill-fated 2020 legal efforts to challenge the election results ( Reuters )

The timing of the announcement seemed as if it was meant to be buried in the news cycle around the government shutdown. Just minutes earlier, the last vote was cast in the Senate to break a filibuster on a resolution to end a 40-day government shutdown by Sen. John Cornyn, who arrived late.

The resolution now heads to the House of Representatives, and potentially to the presidents desk for a signature that would end the longest funding lapse in history.

Aside from directing the fake elector scheme, members of the 2020 Trump legal team named in the document participated in another, more orthodox method of challenging the 2020 election results. In multiple lawsuits led by Giuliani, Jenna Ellis and others on the campaign legal team, Trumpworld argued that widespread voter fraud had taken place in numerous states and had changed the results of the election in Bidens favor.

The campaign was never able to provide definitive proof to any judge who took the cases, instead relying on signed affidavits from the presidents supporters, who alleged they had witnessed nefarious activity. Trump campaign sources never proved that the vote totals in any of the states they targeted had been manipulated, nor were they able to come up with measurable numbers of names of voters who had participated in the election unlawfully through fraudulent means.

open image in gallery Rudi Giuliani was the public face of the Trump campaigns legal team in 2020 ( AP )

Campaign sources were separately unable to prove that Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic, two companies that supplied digital elections infrastructure to states during the 2020 election, had used systems that were manipulated or corrupted in any way. Those companies ended up launching massive legal bids against conservative news networks that uncritically spread the Trump campaigns claims, such as Fox News. In Foxs case, Dominion Voting Systems was awarded a staggering $787m settlement.

The subsequent investigation by the January 6 committee and the discovery portion of Dominions lawsuit revealed that prominent Fox hosts had privately dismissed the Trump campaigns fraud claims as bogus while treating them as factual  or, at a minimum, believable  on their respective programs.

Giuliani, who was the public face of the Trump campaigns legal team in 2020, fell into personal and professional disgrace over his actions. Appearing sloppy, confused, and downright inept at times as he presented the presidents case, the former New York City mayor, known as Americas Mayor after he stewarded the city through the 9/11 terror attacks, found himself disbarred in Washington, D.C. and New York after it was all said and done.

Mayor Rudy Giuliani stands by his work following the 2020 presidential election, when he responded to the legitimate concerns of thousands of everyday Americans. Mayor Giuliani never sought a pardon but is deeply grateful for President Trumps decision. This action further highlights the years of unjust attacks against the mayor and so many others, and reinforces what should now be clear to everyoneMayor Giuliani deserves to have his bar license immediately reinstated without delay, his spokesman, Ted Goodman, told The Independent.

He is also facing a $10 million sexual assault and harassment suit brought by a former employee, Noelle Dunphy. His spokesperson denied the accusations described in the suit to Politico.
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President Donald Trumps decision to offer presidential pardons to disgraced former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and 76 other people involved in the failed effort to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden is not as black and white as it might seem.

The move, sources tell The Independent, goes beyond merely protecting Trump loyalists from the federal government  to covertly pressure state courts, where the president has no power to issue pardons, into tossing out charges against some who still face prosecutions locally.

The late-Sunday-night pardons absolve Giuliani  the once-revered 9/11 Americas Mayor turned Trump layer as well as fellow former Trump attorneys Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro and Jenna Ellis, along with current Trump lawyer Boris Epshteyn and the GOP activists who signed forged electoral college certificates of any federal criminal liability for any offenses they might have been charged with relating to the fake elector plot, which indirectly led to a riotous mob of the presidents supporters storming the U.S. Capitol in hopes of preventing certification of Trumps loss.

But none of those pardoned are facing any federal charges stemming from the failed plot, and with Trump back in power and the five-year statute of limitations on any potential crimes set to expire in just under 10 weeks, none of them ever would have.

The Independent has learned that the announcement from Department of Justice pardon attorney Ed Martin  who was himself a leading figure in the stop the steal efforts  is part of a long-shot gambit to influence the state-level charges that have been brought against fake electors and some close Trump confidantes in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin.

According to a Justice Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity, the pardons that Martin unveiled were circulating for months between the White House, the DOJ, conservative scholars and other interested parties  including Trump himself  despite the fact that the president cant prevent prosecutions at the state level.

Trump pardoned Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and his former attorney, but the true purpose of the blanket reprieve extends beyond Trumps legal reach, a source says ( AP )

The President of the United States was actively involved in advancing this. And everyone understood that it was going to be everyone understood that it wasn't going to have that effect, said the official.

Although Trump only faced state-level charges for attempting to overturn election results in Georgia  with that case on hold after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified for ethical violations last year  his allies turned co-defendants in that case and other cases could face serious consequences for what they did nearly five years ago.

In Wisconsin, Chesebro, Trump campaign operative Michael Roman and attorney Jim Troupis are facing a laundry list of felony charges for their alleged role in the forged electoral certificate plot.

In Arizona, 18 of the presidents allies are being prosecuted by Attorney General Kris Mayes, who obtained indictments from a grand jury that named Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator and mastermind of an alleged plot to steal the Grand Canyon States electoral votes. Among those facing charges are Giuliani, Trumps ex-chief of staff Mark Meadows, his current personal attorney Boris Epshteyn, and ex-Arizona GOP chair Kelli Ward.

That case, like the Georgia case, is on hold pending appeal after the presiding judge recused himself and replacement ruled that the case was flawed because the grand jury which voted on the indictments hadnt been shown the 1887 Electoral Count Act.

Cases against fake electors are also ongoing in Michigan and Nevada, but proceedings have been slow and have faced multiple challenges.

Trump cant stop the state courts from doing their work, but the DOJ source added that Trump and other advocates for the mass pardon of 2020 election figures are still hopeful that state courts that are hearing cases against his allies will view the pardons as a persuasive authority for the argument that the cases should be tossed out.

The pardon has no effect on state charges, but functions as a very powerful amicus brief to say that to the extent that this is a case about a federal election, the federal government has said there is no case here, and we are completely absolving them, they said.

Sundays announcement noted that the pardons were also extended to members of Trumps administration and campaign uncovered in the January 6 investigations as having facilitated direct conversations between MAGAworld and a combination of conservative activists and sympathetic conservative state lawmakers who supported the presidents efforts, including Meadows.

A line near the end of the statement also pointedly indicated that one individual was not pardoned in connection with the scheme: Donald J. Trump.

Aside from directing the fake elector scheme, members of the 2020 Trump legal team named in the document participated in another, more orthodox method of challenging the 2020 election results. In multiple lawsuits led by Giuliani, Jenna Ellis and others on the campaign legal team, Trumpworld argued that widespread voter fraud had taken place in numerous states and had changed the results of the election in Bidens favor.

The campaign was never able to provide definitive proof to any judge who took the cases, instead relying on signed affidavits from the presidents supporters, who alleged they had witnessed nefarious activity. Trump campaign sources never proved that the vote totals in any of the states they targeted had been manipulated, nor were they able to come up with measurable numbers of names of voters who had participated in the election unlawfully through fraudulent means.

Campaign sources were separately unable to prove that Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic, two companies that supplied digital elections infrastructure to states during the 2020 election, had used systems that were manipulated or corrupted in any way. Those companies ended up launching massive legal bids against conservative news networks that uncritically spread the Trump campaigns claims, such as Fox News. In Foxs case, Dominion Voting Systems was awarded a staggering $787m settlement.

Giuliani, who was the public face of the Trump campaigns legal team in 2020, fell into personal and professional disgrace over his actions. Appearing sloppy, confused, and downright inept at times as he presented the presidents case, Giuliani found himself disbarred in Washington, D.C. and New York after it was all said and done.
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Viral pictures of Donald Trumps car being driven with its trunk open in Florida over the weekend have raised questions about the presidents security.

Eyebrows were raised after the images of The Beast emerged on Sunday as President Trump headed to Palm Beach International Airport to make the journey back to Washington after a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Photographers from several news agencies captured the unusual sight, which showed Trumps silhouette in the back seat while the trunk of his car was wide open behind him.

It is unclear why the trunk was open, or whether the incident could have compromised the presidents security. However, officials stated that the unusual incident had no impact on the presidents journey.

The Secret Service insisted the trunk had no impact on the motorcade ( AFP/Getty )

In a statement, the Secret service said: During the motorcade from Mar-A-Lago to Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) one of the motorcade vehicles trunks inadvertently opened and remained in the upright position for a portion of the motorcade route.

No items were lost or displaced while in transit. The issue was determined to be mechanical in nature, has been identified, and has since been repaired."

Speaking to CNNs Samantha Waldenberg, a Secret Service spokesperson insisted the open trunk had no impact on the motorcades movement, vehicle systems, or equipment.

The moment has sparked speculation online, with people coming up with possibleand humorousexplanations as to why the presidents vehicle was traveling in the strange fashion.

One blamed the ongoing government shutdown, writing on X: Secret service not being paid during the govt shut down? Trunk open? What do they care, let Trump shut it himself.

Another referenced President Trumps alleged friendship with the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, writing: So that's where they're hiding the Epstein Files!.

But others were quick to point out the mistake and question his staff: The trunk of the Beast was left open while Trump was heading to the airport in Florida. (great staff), one wrote on BlueSky.

Officials are secretive about the contents of The Beasts trunk. In 2013, Autoweek reported it stored extra weapons, a separate oxygen supply under the presidents seat and emergency medical equipment, including bottles of the presidents blood type.

The Independent has contacted the White House for comment.
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The main suspect in the 2007 disappearance of toddler Madeleine McCann is allowed to leave Germany, a court has ruled.

That overturns one of the conditions under which the German national was released after serving his sentence in an unconnected case.

The man, identified by media as Christian Bruckner, was released in mid-September after serving his sentence for raping an elderly American woman in Portugal.

At the time, a court in Hildesheim imposed conditions that applied for five years, including that he wear an electronic ankle monitor, report regularly to probation services, and remain resident in Germany.

On Monday, a higher state court in Celle said that it upheld most of the conditions imposed in the 28 October ruling, but overturned the stipulation that the man must reside in Germany.

It said that earlier ruling interfered with European Union citizens' freedom of movement within the 27-nation bloc.

Lawyer Friedrich Fuelscher leaves a German prison in a black car carrying Christian Bruckner, a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann, who sits in the back seat behind tinted windows ( AP )

It added that it would, in principle, be possible to issue a temporary ban on the man leaving Germany, for example to arrange technical matters, or to ban him from going to specific regions, but that the lower court in Hildesheim would have to decide exactly what arrangements to make.

In June 2020, German prosecutors said the man was being investigated on suspicion of murder in connection with Madeleines disappearance from an apartment complex in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz. They said that they assumed the girl was dead.

Police have since carried out more searches in Portugal, where the man spent many years. But the suspect, who has denied any involvement in the three-year-old's disappearance, has not been charged in the case.

The investigation was not affected by his release.

Friedrich Fulscher, the man's lawyer, has said charges would have been filed against his client long ago if there had been sufficient evidence.

In a short-lived GoFundMe post that went live earlier in November, Bruckner asked for thousands of pounds to help him leave Germany for a country that does not have an agreement with Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office, according to The Telegraph.

That means he could avoid extradition back to Germany on any further charges.

It is unclear which country Bruckner is hoping to move to, but his lawyer previously named Suriname in South America as a possibility in comments to The Mirror.
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Approximately three dozen Hollywood stars, including Cate Blanchett, Chris Pine, and Adam Scott, will meet Pope Leo at the Vatican this weekend, it was announced on Monday.

Oscar-winning directors Spike Lee, George Miller, and Gus Van Sant will join the special audience with Leo, the first US Pope.

The Vatican stated the pontiff "has expressed his desire to deepen dialogue with the World of Cinema... exploring the possibilities that artistic creativity offers to the mission of the Church and the promotion of human values."

While papal events typically feature high-ranking Catholic cardinals, such an assembly of Hollywood figures is rare.

However, the late Pope Francis hosted comedians like Conan O'Brien, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Fallon at the Vatican in June 2024.

Among others set to take part in Saturday's event with Leo are actors Alison Brie, Dave Franco, and Viggo Mortensen and directors Joanna Hogg, Tony Kaye and Julie Taymor.

Ahead of the new event, the Vatican shared four of the pope's favourite films: It's a Wonderful Life, The Sound of Music, Ordinary People and Life Is Beautiful.

Pope Leo XIV recently met Robert De Niro at the Vatican ( Vatican Media )

Saturday's event is being organised by the Vatican's culture office as part of the Church's ongoing Holy Year.

The new event comes as Pope Leo XIV, the first American head of the Catholic Church, recently hosted Robert De Niro at the Vatican.

The Oscar-winner wanted to conclude his 48-hour visit to Rome with a handshake from the Pope and posed for photos.

Rome is more than a city; its a living work of art, De Niro said to Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, who presented him with the Lupa Capitolina, the citys highest honour.

The protagonist of legendary films  including The Godfather, for which he even learned the Sicilian accent  accepted the award with emotion: To be recognised here, in a place that has given so much to the world of culture, cinema, and beauty, is truly moving

The actor added: My family has roots in Italy, so this recognition holds a very special meaning for me.
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Nicolas Sarkozy has been released from prison in Paris, just three weeks into his five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy.

The former president will remain under judicial supervision pending an appeal over his sentence for obtaining campaign funds from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafis regime.

Sarkozy, 70, was found guilty in September of criminal conspiracy in a scheme from 2005 to 2007 to finance his campaign with funds from Libya in exchange for diplomatic favours.

He was incarcerated at Le Sante prison since 21 October until 10 November, despite his legal team having requested alternatives such as an electronic tag or house arrest. The former French premier walked free on Monday afternoon.

open image in gallery The former French president and his wife Carla Bruni ( AP )

Who is Nicolas Sarkozy?

Sarkozy began his political career in the 1970s with the Gaullist party, rising to prominence as mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine and later serving as Frances interior and finance minister. Elected president in 2007, he pursued economic and security reforms and played an active role in global affairs, notably during the 2011 Libya intervention.

After losing re-election in 2012, Sarkozy remained influential within the conservative Les Republicains party but became embroiled in corruption and campaign finance scandals, leading to multiple trials, including the recent case over alleged Libyan campaign funding.

open image in gallery Sarkozy could be released from prison this week ( AP )

Why was he jailed last month?

In September, the former French president was sentenced to five years in prison in the case of suspected illegal campaign funds from Gaddafi.

The accusations can be traced back to 2011, when Gaddafi revealed that the Libyan state had secretly funnelled millions of euros into Sarkozys 2007 campaign. Investigators claimed Sarkozy had forged a corrupt pact with the Libyan government.

Although presiding judge Nathalie Gavarino said there was no proof that Sarkozy made such a deal with Gaddafi, nor that the money sent from Libya reached Sarkozys campaign, she found him guilty of criminal conspiracy for allowing close aides to engage with people in Libya to secure campaign financing.

Sarkozy had fiercely denied wrongdoing and pointed to the fact that even after years of investigation, no smoking gun had been discovered. Gaddafi was toppled and killed during the Arab spring in 2011, ending his four-decade rule of Libya.

open image in gallery Sarkozy was kept in a cell at La Sante prison ( AP )

What was prison life like for Sarkozy?

Sarkozy spent almost three weeks incarcerated in La Sante prison, in the east of the Montparnasse district of the 14th arrondissement in southern Paris.

The former president did not meet any of the other inmates face to face because of security fears. He was kept in continuous solitary confinement on the top floor of the isolation wing, away from other inmates and was always been accompanied by a guard. Sarkozys personal security detail, a perk of being a former president, was not allowed in.

Sky News reported that Sarkozy was subjected to death threats on his first day at La Sante after a video, which appeared to have been filmed by an inmate, showed verbal threats being made as he arrived.

The prison, among the most famous in France, has been home to some of the countrys most famous inmates in the past century.

French modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, a close associate of the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, was found dead in his prison cell in La Sante in 2022. The 76-year-old had been held there for over a year as he was investigated on suspicion of the rape and trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation. He had denied any wrongdoing.

open image in gallery A regular cell at La Sante ( AP )

Why did he appeal his sentence?

Sarkozy has consistently denied wrongdoing and appealed, calling himself a victim of revenge and hatred.

Attorney Christophe Ingrain said after Sarkozy went to jail that his client did not meet any of the legal justifications for provisional detention and had always abided by the judicial process.

He will be banned from leaving the French territory, the court said.

It's one step, a lawyer for Sarkozy told reporters of the decision. The next step is the appeal trial.

What next for the former president?

Sarkozy was seen arriving back at his Paris home shortly after being released from prison on Monday.

He will continue his appeal against his conviction after the court said he was not a flight risk and therefore did not have to remain in prison.

His release, under judicial supervision, which includes a ban on leaving France and a ban on talking to any justice ministry official, was based on specific criteria and is no indication of whether his appeal is likely to succeed.

He told the court he would respect any demand from the judiciary if he was freed. I'm French, sir. I love my country. Im fighting for the truth to prevail. I will comply with all the obligations imposed on me, as I always have," he said.
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Russia launched a blistering assault on Ukraine overnight, killing at least six people and injuring 35. Some 430 drones and 18 missiles targeted the country, Ukraines president said, calling the strikes a deliberate and calculated attack aimed at causing maximum harm to people and civilian infrastructure.

Ukraines air force said most of the drones and missiles were shot down, but officials said falling debris and fires damaged high-rise apartments, a school, a medical facility and administrative buildings across nine districts in the city of about three million.

"At that moment you don't know what to do first: save yourself, your child, or run to help people, because so many people were screaming and needed help," said Anastasia, 29, whose apartment block was hit.

The attacks came just two days after Russias foreign ministry indicated it was ready to resume direct talks with Ukraine on ending the war in Istanbul. An official told TASS the ball is in Ukraines court.

Russia continues to escalate its strikes on Ukraine while coordinating its messaging to present a show of good faith to the United States. Nearly four years since the invasion, the Kremlin maintains its maximalist designs on Ukraine.

Zelensky said that Ukraine was responding to the strikes with long-range strength, and called for greater sanctions to be imposed on Russia.

open image in gallery The overnight attacks hit residential buildings, despite Russias insistence it does not target civilians ( AFP/Getty )

Russia has waged a devastating aerial campaign against Ukraine since its all-out invasion of its neighbour nearly four years ago. US-led diplomatic efforts this year to stop the fighting have so far come to nothing.

Friday's aerial assault, which also targeted Odesa in the south and Kharkiv in the northeast, was mostly aimed at Kyiv, where drones and missiles smashed into high-rise apartment blocks, according to Zelensky.

Mariia Kalchenko said it was a miracle she survived after her building was hit. "I didn't hear anything, I just realised that my hair was on fire," the 46-year-old volunteer rescue dog handler said.

In the Odesa region, Russian drones struck a busy street on market day in Chornomorsk, killing two people and injuring 11 others, including a 19-month-old girl, regional military administration chief Oleh Kiper said.

Moscow denies targeting civilian areas, with the Russian Defense Ministry saying Friday it carried out an overnight strike on Ukraine's "military-industrial and energy facilities."

Analysts nevertheless accuse Russia of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure in order to wound morale.

open image in gallery Eight of the capital's 10 districts reported damage. Emergency crews fought fires in apartment blocks, debris from explosions was strewn across yards and cars parked in the streets were set ablaze ( Reuters )

Natia Seskuria, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said that the systematic targeting of civilian infrastructure was a central element of Russias strategy, designed to terrorise the Ukrainian population and erode public morale.

The underlying calculation is that a war-weary society subjected to sustained attacks might exert pressure on the government to accept almost any settlement that promises an end to hostilities, she told The Independent.

Thus far, however, this strategy has proven ineffective, as Ukrainians have demonstrated remarkable resilience and determination in the face of ongoing aggression.

Fridays attack was the biggest on Kyiv in almost three weeks. Most recent Russian aerial attacks have aimed at electricity infrastructure around the country ahead of the bitter winter months.

With no sign of the war abating, millions of Ukrainians face one of the harshest winters in years as humanitarian organisations scramble to deliver essentials to the frontlines and affected areas.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) warned on Friday that people whose livelihoods have been destroyed by the war are entering the winter with no financial buffer to support themselves.

open image in gallery At least six people were killed in the strikes overnight, Ukrainian officials said ( Reuters )

Frequent power cuts continue to plunge neighbourhoods into darkness, cut heating and force hospitals to use emergency power. For older people and vulnerable people in high-rise buildings, blackouts can mean hours or days of isolation without elevators, heat, and often without food or medicine, the IFRC warned.

Almost four years of conflict have eroded peoples resources. Many families are entering this winter with no financial buffer  seven out of ten people said they dont have any savings left, said Jaime Wah, Deputy Head of Delegation for IFRC in Ukraine.

We have been providing support to people for several years, but our resources are also running thin, Wah added. The scale of the needs is overwhelming, and with each passing day, those needs only grow.

Keir Giles, a fellow of the Russia and Eurasia programme at Chatham House, told The Independent that Moscows attacks are designed to cause the maximum possible misery and suffering among the civilian population.

Thats the principle we saw applied in Syria, in Chechnya and in countless others of Moscows wars dating back decades and centuries, he said.

Mr Giles said Ukraine was the victim of Russias attempts to demoralise its victims through inhumanity.

Thats the reason for attacks on maternity hospitals, and nurseries, targeting the most vulnerable in society, as well as for the systematic torture and starvation of Ukrainian military and civilian captives  not for any objective purpose other than deliberate and demonstrative cruelty.

These attacks continue despite Russias insistence that it is open to talks moving towards a ceasefire.

open image in gallery ( Reuters )

Foreign ministry official Alexei Polishchuk said on Wednesday that Russia was ready to resume negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul. No face-to-face talks have taken place between the two sides since they met in the Turkish city on July 23.

Overtures towards peace come after a proposed summit between Russias Vladimir Putin and US president Donald Trump broke down in October, reportedly over Moscows intransigence over its demands.

The two leaders have not met since August, when a summit held in Alaska failed to produce a deal. Mr Trump said the meeting was very productive, but the diplomatic push to end the war has yet to yield any results.
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President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to order 25 Patriot air defence systems from the United States, as the nation faces relentless Russian aerial attacks causing widespread blackouts on the brink of winter.

Acknowledging the high cost and lengthy manufacturing time, Mr Zelensky suggested European countries could donate their Patriots and await replacements, stressing: "we would not like to wait."

The missile and drone strikes on the power grid coincide with Ukraines efforts to repel a Russian push towards the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk.

International peace efforts have dissipated, nearly four years after Russias invasion.

Ukraine recently received more Patriot systems from Germany, though the total number of these crucial defence assets in the country remains unknown.

open image in gallery Russias attacks on energy infrastructure have grown more effective ( Russian Defense Ministry Press Service )

But on the whole air defenses remain stretched thin across wide expanses of Ukrainian territory, and the threat to the provision of heating and running water in the bitter winter is acute.

NATO is coordinating regular deliveries of large weapons packages to Ukraine.

European allies and Canada are buying much of the equipment from the United States. The Trump administration is not giving any arms to Ukraine, unlike the previous Biden administration.

Russias attacks on energy infrastructure have grown more effective. It launches hundreds of drones, some equipped with cameras to improve targeting, that overwhelm Ukraines air defenses, especially in regions where protection is weaker.

Also, this year it is striking region by region, hitting local switchyards and substations, instead of taking aim at the centralised national grid.

open image in gallery Ukraine recently received more Patriot systems from Germany, though the total number of these crucial defence assets in the country remains unknown ( AFP/Getty )

Ukraines Energy Ministry said Monday that Russian attacks caused more damage to its power infrastructure, resulting in scheduled blackouts in most of the countrys regions.

It urged Ukrainians to rationalise their use of electricity, especially during peak consumption hours in the mornings and evenings.

Meanwhile, the two sides were locked in a battle for control of Pokrovsk, in Ukraines eastern Donetsk region where Zelensky says Russia has assembled 170,000 troops for a renewed push.

There has been a relative lull in fighting in recent days, according to reports gathered by the Institute for the Study of War.

But the Washington-based think tank said it expected Russian forces to quicken the tempo of their attacks in coming days as they move more troops into the city.
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Naive, self-sabotaging and riddled with Moscows agents, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons and an arms industry that produced a third of the Soviet Unions supply, trusted the West and the Kremlin to protect it, and was left fighting for its life.

Now, 30 years on, the start-up nation redefining how war is fought has been forced into a bodge-and-make-do world of arms production, fusing old technology with IT know-how to break the bonds its allies tied to make Kyiv fight one-handed.

The latest innovation is a cruise missile with a range of 3,000km, a maximum speed of 900kmph and a payload of over a tonne, which has been used in strikes deep into Russian territory.

The FP-5 Flamingo missile is powered by a rocket and a Soviet-era turbofan jet engine bolted on top. Some of those engines have been dug out of landfill dumps.

open image in gallery The Flamingo is an entirely Ukrainian-made long-range missile ( AP )

Its got twice the range of the US Tomahawk, carries twice as much explosive and costs about the same.

But its main advantage is that it is entirely under the control of Ukraines forces. The UK and France restricted the use of the Anglo-French Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Russian targets inside Ukraine for many months.

The US reduced the ability of Ukraine to use American ATACM missiles against Russian targets in Russia and has not yet decided on whether to allow access to Tomahawks, that would be paid for by European allies.

In contrast, Kyiv can fire the Flamingo at any target it wants. It is not restricted by what Ukraines allies say it can and cannot do when fighting Russias invading forces.

Prototypes were painted pink to make them easier to retrieve from test flights. They strike deep inside Russia and are designed to destroy Moscows capacity to wage war in Ukraine.

Targeting oil refineries has had a measurable effect. Russia has at times lost about 20 per cent of its fuel capacity and pump prices have soared by 10 per cent.

open image in gallery Smoke billows after Ukraine's SBU drone strikes a refinery in Ryazan, Russia, in March 2024 ( via Reuters )

Ukraines focus has been on the Fluid Catalytic Cracking plants inside refineries  theyre mostly imported from the West and Russia is banned from buying any more.

With arms supplies from the West so uncertain, Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine now makes about 60 per cent of its own weapons.

When you have a gun being pointed towards your head, you dont think about standards, you think that this should be working, says Iyna Terekh, the chief technology officer of Fire Point, which makes Flamingos among other munitions.

And the huge achievement of the Ukrainian government is to downgrade the bureaucracy pressure as much as possible so that technology can thrive.

And that is what happened to our company. We didnt care that we meet Nato standards.

We only cared that our weapons would be effective on the front line, not on some paperwork. We could, as a result, make a very effective weapon.

open image in gallery Launch of a long-range Flamingo missile, which Kyiv can use without any restrictions ( ZN.UA )

As well as Flamingos, Fire Point also produces the shorter-range Shahed-style drones FP1 and FP2. The former have been used frequently to attack Russia as far as Moscow.

The latter, which carry a payload of 150kg, have been mistaken for long-range American missiles because of their explosive power.

Their value lies in that theyre cheap and fast to make. It takes a couple of hours to make the wings and 30 minutes to fashion the fuselage from a mix of plastic and carbon.

The lightweight machines are glued together with carbon printers, use lawnmower engines and rely on open source navigation systems.

No money is spared, Terekh insists, on the electronics of the weapons as theyre designed to evade Russian jamming systems.

Ukraine shoots down about 90 per cent of Russias incoming Shahed-type drones. So a similar kill rate of Ukrainian drones must be assumed. They have to be clever and cheap to make if theyre going to get through.

open image in gallery A worker inspects a combat drone at Fire Point's secret factory in Ukraine ( AP )

FP1s and 2s cost about $50,000 each. Ukrainian officials estimate that modern Shaheds may be as much as $250,000 each. Independent estimates put the Russian-made drones at closer to $80,000.

For Ukraine, price competition is important. The European Union, Kyiv biggest backer, is an economic bloc at least nine times the size of Russias economy with four times its spending power.

Ukraines allies can outspend Russia, if they choose to, but so far they have not.

The war is now mostly a grinding stalemate. It balances Russias superior manpower resources with Ukraines motivation and innovation, although that latter edge risks being eroded as Moscow has moved quickly to learn from earlier bloody mistakes on the battlefield.

Russia has had years to prepare for its invasion of Ukraine. With hindsight, it was aided by the collapse of Ukraines arms industry after its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Back then, Ukraine had the third-largest nuclear weapons stockpile. It produced 30 per cent of the Soviet Unions weapons.

Ukraine produced some of the Kremlins most terrifying weapons intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) like the SS-18 Satan.

open image in gallery A worker at a drone factory on the outskirts of Kyiv ( Sam Kiley/The Independent )

Kyiv still has a factory where the company Antonov made many of its aircraft, and the capital was also the centre of production for anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine produced tanks and boasted 40 universities and educational institutions, which churned out scientists who made rockets for sale worldwide.

But in 1994, Ukraine was persuaded to give up its nukes in return for an agreement from the US, UK, and Russia to guarantee its security.

Later, China and France signed up, but only Ukraine believed the memos were worth the ink spent on setting them down.

Ten years later, it had let its arms industry collapse from one that employed three million to less than a third of that.

A mouldy military faced Russias first invasion in 2014, and the country was saved mostly by private volunteer militia.

Now it is reliant on start-ups like companies such as Fire Point and General Cherry  the latter producing thousands of interceptor drones a week to take on Russias Shaheds and protect troops on the front lines, where combat has turned from trench warfare to a churning horror for infantry individually hunted by tiny deadly drones.

open image in gallery A serviceman of the 59th Separate Assault Brigade launches a reconnaissance drone, near the frontline town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, 6 October 2025 ( Reuters )

In production, 3-D printers whir day and night in secret locations across Ukraine. In cubicles across the nation, drills scream and solder burns and circuits are laid for semi-autonomous quadcopters to be flown into incoming missiles every night.

Ukraines weapons industry is now worth only $1bn, but it is growing very fast. Taking off like one of the Ukrainian GCs bullet drones, which erupt from the ground and can hit over 200kmph in a vertical climb to take on Russian Shaheds.

Midway through what is a long war, theres an air of growing confidence in Ukraines arms industry.

Its bred off fast growth and battlefield success.

open image in gallery Stacks of drone wings are produced in secret factories on the edge of Kyiv ( Sam Kiley/The Independent )

But also the realisation that, already, Ukraine has the most powerful army in western Europe and that the lessons learned from battleground to workshop here will mean Kyiv may be a dominant force in Europes future.

We all have to grow up and build our own security with our own hands, says Terekh.

This means ending reliance on America.

What we learn from working in Ukraine is that you have to diversify and you have to rely on yourself. You have to count on your own resources, and thats what Europe has to do.
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Residents of Tehran may be forced to evacuate in response to an unprecedented drought in Iran, after record low levels of rainfall left reservoirs empty.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has told Iranian citizens that if rainfall remains scarce, they may be forced to ration water.

The forecast looks bleak across the country, with no rainfall expected over the next 10 days.

Irans minister of energy, Abbas Ali Abadi, has warned that authorities may soon be forced to cut off the water supply. He said water flow may be decreased to zero on some nights, while households and business could be penalised for consuming too much water, the BBC reported.

Mr Pezeshkians statement sparked criticism from Iranian newspapers and on social media. The former mayor of Tehran, Gholamhossein Karbaschi, said that evacuating Tehran makes no sense at all and called the idea a joke.

Iran is enduring nationwide water shortages, with 19 major dams  accounting for about 10 per cent of the countrys reservoirs  running dry, according to the Iran Water Resources Management Company. More than 16 million people in the country are in danger of being without water, while local officials have said that rainfall in the capital is at its lowest level in a century.

open image in gallery Iran is enduring nationwide water shortages, with 19 major dams running dry ( AFP/Getty )

The manager of the Latian dam, one of Tehrans main water sources, said that it currently holds less than 10 per cent of its capacity.

Mr Ali Abadi told the BBC that the water crisis is not just a result of decreased rainfall, but also due to water leakage from the capitals century-old water infrastructure.

The minister also referenced the 12-day war with Israel, during which Israel targeted Tajrish, a northern district of Tehran, with strikes that are believed to have led to heavy flooding. The IDF claimed it had targeted Iranian military command centres.

The nearby Karaj Dam is only 8 per cent full, following a 92 per cent decrease in rainfall compared with last year. Mohammad-Ali Moallem, the reservoir manager, said most of the water is unusable.

open image in gallery A trickle of water flows in the mainly dried-up Kan River, west of Tehran ( AFP/Getty )

Water levels have also plunged below 3 per cent at dams in Mashhad in the northeast  the second-largest city by population  according to local reports.

The CEO of the citys water company, Hossein Esmaeilian, told The Guardian: The current situation shows that managing water use is no longer merely a recommendation  it has become a necessity.

Mr Esmaeilian said consumption in the city had reached about 8,000 litres per second, of which about 1,000 to 1,500 litres per second is supplied from the dams, and urged citizens to reduce their consumption by 20 per cent to avoid the supply being cut off.

Irans leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has warned of a looming water crisis since 2011, but the situation has since worsened.
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Inspectors from the IAEA visited Irans nuclear sites last week, the foreign ministry said on Monday, a week after the UN nuclear watchdog urged Tehran to seriously improve cooperation.

The IAEA has conducted nearly a dozen inspections in Iran since the country was attacked by Israel in June but last week highlighted it hadnt been given access to nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, which were bombed by the US after it joined the war on Israels side.

As long as we are a member of the NPT, well abide by our commitments, and just last week IAEA inspectors visited several nuclear facilities, including the Tehran Research Reactor, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, referring to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said last week that Iran must seriously improve cooperation with the agencys inspectors to avoid heightening tensions with the West.

Iranian officials have blamed the IAEA for providing a justification for Israels bombing that sparked the 12-day war in June. The bombing began the day after the IAEA board voted to declare Iran in violation of obligations under the NPT.

Mr Baghaeis comments on Monday were in response to Mr Grossi saying last week that Iran could not say it remained within the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons treaty and then not comply with obligations.

File. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, left, and IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, right, with Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdelatty in Cairo on 9 September 2025 ( AP )

Following the Israeli and US attacks in June, Iran passed a law blocking IAEA inspectors from entering its nuclear facilities.

Access had already been steadily curtailed since 2018 when Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew his country from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the Iran nuclear deal.

In a report released in May 2025, the IAEA acknowledged that it no longer had a continuous understanding of the status of Irans nuclear programme.

In early September, the IAEA and Iran reached a preliminary agreement allowing inspectors to resume onsite inspections.

The agreement covered Irans stockpiles of highly enriched uranium and all its nuclear sites and facilities, including those reportedly damaged in the American attack in June.
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Several people, including a journalist for Reuters, were injured after around 50 masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians gathered for an olive harvest in the occupied West Bank.

The incident took place in the Beita area, south of Nablus city, a hotspot for violent attacks by settlers. The attacks have been rising since Israel launched a devastating war on Gaza in 2023.

The Reuters news agency said two of its staffers, a journalist and a security adviser, were injured after being repeatedly beaten by Israeli men wielding clubs and sticks.

The attack was captured on camera. Footage showed masked men beating Palestinians with sticks and clubs.

The Israeli military said it sent soldiers to the scene after receiving reports of a confrontation during an uncoordinated olive harvest in an area that requires coordination.

It added that police would conduct any further review of the incident.

open image in gallery Reuters security adviser Grant Bowden helps journalist Raneen Sawafta after an Israeli settler attack near Nablus in the West Bank ( Reuters )

Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli rights activist who was at the scene, said about 50 masked settlers descended from a settler outpost on the hill and attacked everyone gathered for the harvest.

He said that Reuters photographer Raneen Sawafta was attacked and the men beat her up without mercy, continuing to stone her while she was on the ground and then continuing to attack everyone who was coming to her help.

They changed in Hebrew, saying, "Go from there."

At least 30 Palestinian villagers, activists and about 10 journalists had gathered for the harvest.

Ms Sawafta was accompanied by Reuters security adviser Grant Bowden who was also beaten as he tried to protect her. Her camera equipment was smashed.

The two were wearing helmets and Press jackets when they were attacked, Reuters reported. Ms Sawaftas helmet had a large dent and an ambulance took them both for medical checks and treatment.

open image in gallery Reuters journalist Raneen Sawafta is carried on a stretcher at the Rafidia Hospital in Nablus after being injured by Israeli settlers during an attack at the Palestinian village of Baita in occupied West Bank ( AFP via Getty )

"We call upon Israeli authorities to investigate this incident and hold those responsible accountable," Reuters said, and to ensure that journalists can work freely and without harm.

The Palestinian Authoritys health ministry said that among the injured was Oded Yedaya, an Israeli art school principal, who reportedly sustained a broken jaw and cheekbone.

His shirt was soaked in blood and his head was split open, an activist who was at the scene told the Haaretz daily.

A 19-year-old Palestinian Red Crescent volunteer was also injured after being hit in the head by an attacker.

The olive-picking season in the Palestinian territories, which started in October, has seen a wave of attacks by settlers.

The settlers sometimes come in a group with people from Israel and abroad, Jewish and otherwise.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Friday that they recorded 264 settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank last month.

Since 2006, OCHA has documented over 9,600 such attacks. About 1,500 of them took place just this year, roughly 15 percent of the total, it said in a statement.
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Europe is full of natural wonders, but if you want to see just how dreamily beautiful the continent can get, the country at the top of your bucket list should be Switzerland.

Here, nature pulls out all the stops, serving up landscapes so eye-opening they seem unreal  as if conjured by CGI.

What makes Switzerland even more potent as a wanderlust igniter is the sheer range of scenery that unfolds as you explore, from shimmering mountain lakes to rippling meadows.

Theres majesty, too: titanic mountains tower over storybook villages and awe-inspiring rivers crash past medieval castles.

Even better, the ever-efficient Swiss present everything on a plate, with cable cars, observation decks and funicular railways dotted across the land to help you reach the best vantage points and angles for those all-important vacation photos.

1. Two Lakes Bridge

open image in gallery Two Lakes Bridge viewpoint offers gasp-inducing panoramas from Harder Kulm mountain ( ake1150 - stock.adobe.com )

As the name suggests, Two Lakes Bridge offers views of a brace of lakes.

While they are magnificent bodies of water, this viewpoint on Harder Kulm mountain  believe it or not  actually undersells itself.

The gasp-inducing panorama from this lofty perch (officially Zwei-Seen-Steg), some 4,333ft above sea level, also includes three of the worlds most stunning peaks and a beautiful town far below.

Whats more, the journey to the bridge on the Harderbahn funicular railway is a showstopper in its own right, with the wooden train, dating to 1908, climbing around 2,300ft up the flank of Harder Kulm in just ten minutes.

The viewpoint juts out dramatically beside the Harder Kulm Panorama Restaurant and even includes a glass-floor section for an extra adrenaline kick  plus a quirky cow statue, in case anyone feels there arent quite enough talking points already.

Gaze outwards and youll see deep-blue Lake Thun to the right and the slightly smaller Lake Brienz to the left, glacial minerals making its waters a milky turquoise. The pair once formed a single vast lake, the divide coming courtesy of sediments deposited by the Lutschine River.

Above them tower three mighty mountains  the Monch (13,474ft), Jungfrau (13,642ft), and the legendary Eiger (13,015ft)  that form one of the Alps most memorable skylines. Far below lies the picturesque resort town of Interlaken.

Two lakes, infinitely scenic.

Where to stay

The Royal St. Georges Hotel Interlaken - MGallery Collection is handy for the base station of the Harderbahn funicular and boasts its own set of amazing views.

Read more: Seven cozy fall getaways to savor autumn charm ahead of the holidays

2. Aletsch Glacier

open image in gallery Aletsch Glacier flows for roughly 14 miles through the heart of the Bernese Alps ( haidamac - stock.adobe.com )

Welcome to the Ice Age.

Aletsch Glacier is Europes biggest glacier, containing a staggering 11 billion tons of ice.

It flows for roughly 14 miles through the heart of the Bernese Alps in southern Switzerlands Valais. Some of the ice near the terminus of the glacier, part of the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch Unesco World Heritage site, is believed to be more than 1,000 years old.

To gaze upon this jaw-dropping slice of geology, you dont need to look at pictures taken by a daring climber as there are several excellent viewing platforms available. The three best are Moosfluh, Bettmerhorn and Eggishorn in Valais  each accessible via cable car from the nearby alpine villages of Fiesch, Bettmeralp, and Riederalp.

If youre feeling adventurous, you can see the glacier up close on a guided trek using ropes and crampons.

But whether youre clambering over it or gazing upon it from high above, the Aletsch Glaciers scale will send shivers down your spine  in the best possible way.

Where to stay

Hotel Waldhaus in the village of Bettmeralp is located mere moments from cable car access to glacier viewing decks. In the winter it offers ski-to-door access.

Read more: Five bucket-list train journeys that showcase Americas most breathtaking scenery

3. The Furka Pass

open image in gallery The Furka Pass, immortalized by Bond movie Goldfinger, offers stunning views, with dramatic drops below and towering, craggy peaks all around ( Leonid Andronov - stock.adobe.com )

The Furka Pass is a road with a license to thrill  a high-altitude, hairpin-laden pass immortalized by the 1964 Bond movie Goldfinger, in which it was used as a filming location.

Watching 007 being chased in his Aston Martin DB5 by Tilly Masterson in her Ford Mustang is one of the all-time great scenes  one of its bends is still called the James Bond Strasse  but the road was arguably the real star of the show.

Opened in 1866 as a military route, it links the village of Gletsch in Obergoms with Realp and Andermatt in neighboring Uri.

As the road snakes to a height of 7,969 feet it offers stunning views of the Rhone Glacier, with dramatic drops below and towering, craggy peaks all around.

To follow Bond's tire tracks, you'll need to visit between June and October. Either side of these months the road is usually closed to heavy snowfalls. A tunnel bypass keeps the route active in the winter.

Where to stay

Charming Hotel Furka is located just a few miles from the legednary pass.

Read more: A Euro trip without leaving America: Seven US towns that look exactly like places in Europe

4. Lauterbrunnen Valley

open image in gallery Staubbach Falls, which plunges 980 feet in a single sheer drop ( Kavalenkava - stock.adobe.com )

In Lauterbrunnen Valley, between Interlaken and the Jungfrau Massif, everything that makes Switzerland special seems to have been distilled into one magical place  somewhere so impossibly picturesque it's hard to believe it wasn't conjured up by AI for a fantasy movie.

At ground level  though the valley floor itself sits at an altitude of 2,610 feet  you'll find mesmerizing meadows gently rippling around the village of Lauterbrunnen, whose name means "loud springs."

It's a fitting description, as 72 waterfalls thunder down the almost 3,000-foot-high cliffs that frame this dramatic U-shaped gorge.

The most famous is Staubbach Falls, which plunges 980 feet in a single sheer drop, making it one of the highest free-falling waterfalls in Europe. It's unmissable, but so too is magnificent Murrenbachfall, which tumbles 2,460 feet over five separate cascades to earn the title of Switzerland's tallest waterfall.

Where to stay

Hotel Silberhorn offes breathtaking views across Lauterbrunnen Valley.

Read more: Nine of Portugals most beautiful natural wonders  from castaway islands to otherworldly caves

5. Lake Oeschinen

open image in gallery Lake Oeschinen is often hailed as one of Switzerlands most beautiful mountain lakes ( Switzerland Tourism/Stefan Tschumi )

Lake Oeschinen is relatively small  roughly 0.43 square miles  but it packs a picturesque punch.

In fact, its often hailed as one of Switzerlands most beautiful mountain lakes  and as you can imagine, the competition is fierce.

Tucked away 5,177 feet up in the Bernese Alps within the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch Unesco World Heritage Site, visitors are held spellbound by the dazzling water, so incomparably blue it almost looks Photoshopped, and the encircling jagged peaks, which include the Doldenhorn (11,940ft) and Bluemlisalp (12,000ft).

The journey to reach the lake is magical, too. Access is via the Oeschinensee cable car from the village of Kandersteg.

From the upper station, you can either follow a half-hour panoramic trail or hop aboard a seasonal electric shuttle, which runs along the one-mile access road linking the cable car station and the lake.

Once there, you can hike the shoreline and row across the turquoise water, and even take a plunge if you're brave, though note that even on the hottest days the water doesn't get above 55F. In winter, when conditions are safe, you can venture out on to the frozen surface for the ultimate fairytale selfie.

Where to stay

Family-friendly Hotel Alpina boasts mountain views from every room and easy access to the cable car up to the lake.

Read more: Five of Spains most walkable cities (including one with a 6mph speed limit for cars)

6. Grindelwald

open image in gallery Titanic peaks tower over Grindelwald , including the Eiger (right), Mettenberg (middle), and the Wetterhorn (far left) ( Getty Images )

Be wary of neck strain if you visit Grindelwald in the Jungfrau region, because theres a backdrop youll find yourself gazing up at again and again  a row of titanic peaks that includes the Wetterhorn (12,113ft), Mettenberg (10,183ft) and the 13,015-foot Eiger, whose epic North Face looms over the village.

Even in the context of Switzerland's jaw-dropping scenery, this one stands apart.

What's more, you can even take a cable car  the Eiger Express  from the valley floor (around 3,400ft) up the flank of the North Face to the Eiger Glacier Station (7,612ft).

From there, you can ride the improbable Jungfraubahn cogwheel train. This stops at viewing windows cut into the Eiger's North Face before terminating at Jungfraujoch, which at 11,332ft is Europe's highest railway station.

Step outside to behold the monumental Aletsch Glacier before returning to the storybook village you set out from, where cowbells ring, lanterns glow in windows and the smell of freshly baked bread fills the air.

Where to stay

Belvedere Swiss Quality Hotel has an indoor swimming pool, an outdoor hot tub, and balcony rooms with mountain views, some facing the epic North Face of the Eiger.

Read more: Welcome to the Portuguese archipelago paradise

7. Rhine Falls

open image in gallery The Rhine Falls will leave you awed ( Swiss Travel System/Jan Geerk )

The Rhine Falls just outside the town of Schaffhausen is officially Europes largest waterfall, with several hundred cubic yards of water thundering every second over a drop of about 75 feet and stretching nearly 500 feet across.

The Swiss have smartly capitalized on the spectacle, which is formed by tectonic shifts in the Ice Age, making sure that tourists can see and feel its power up close.

Boat trips bring you almost face to face with the torrents and even to the remarkable rock island thats withstood the raging waters for centuries, while viewing platforms extend so far out youll feel as if youre hovering over roaring cascades.

Another unforgettable vantage point is from Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall castle. It was built on a rocky spur above the falls during medieval times, but today has a few modifications for falls aficionados  walkways and glass elevators that descend toward the spray.

Whichever experience you opt for, the elemental power of the Rhine Falls will leave you awed.

Where to stay

Vienna House by Wyndham zur Bleiche Schaffhausen is a modern four-star hotel and located within easy walking distance of the Rhine Falls.

Read more: 10 of the best under-the-radar beaches in the US for crowd-free coastal escapes
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A former United Airlines flight attendant was taken for treatmentafter consuming 10 times the legal alcohol limit on a flight, a court heard.

Margit Lake, 56, was treated by paramedics at Heathrow after the Boeing 777 she was working on arrived from San Francisco on 17 October.

The cabin crew member was later taken to the hospital. It is alleged that her blood alcohol level was 216mg, more than 10 times the legal limit of 20mg to work on a plane.

Appearing at Uxbridge Magistrates Court, Ms Lake was told by the prosecutor that her consumption of alcohol was an obvious risk to herself and other passengers, The Sun reported.

The California-based flight attendant was accused of drinking multiple miniature bottles that she had brought onto the aircraft ahead of the 10-hour flight.

Ms Lake had a career with United spanning 26 years, but had handed in her registration almost immediately after the incident.

Her defence said that she had been feeling isolated and dealing with grief before the flight.

She had the alcohol because she needed to calm down, solicitor Ben Lansbury said.

It was something of a shock to her as to what happened, he added. She deeply regrets what happened.

Paramedics smelled alcohol on her breath when they boarded the plane at Terminal 2 and found she had low blood pressure, the court heard.

Ms Lake admitted to performing an aviation function while under the influence of alcohol, the newspaper reported.

However, the court also heard that there was no disruption to the flight despite her consumption.

Instead of receiving a possible prison sentence, Ms Lake was told to pay a 1,461 fine, a 584 victim surcharge, and 85 in court costs.

The incident came only a month after an air steward working for Scandinavian Airlines admitted trying to board a flight at Heathrow while drunk and more than 12 times over the limit.

Jessica Kostakopoulou, 43, was stopped by security in Terminal 2 on 22 March after she appeared unsteady on her feet and slurred her words and smelled of alcohol.

In September, a magistrates bench fined the defendant 623, including a victim surcharge and legal costs, to be paid in monthly instalments, having found her remorse to be genuine.

The Independent has contacted United and Heathrow airport for comment.

Read more: Drunk air steward tried to board Heathrow flight while 12 times over legal limit
Light-bellied Brent geese migrate to Ireland ahead of the winter and there are concerns for their welfare

Concern for the fate of the light-bellied Brent goose has helped bring a halt to plans for a 580-unit apartment scheme for a site near St Annes Park in Raheny, Dublin.

It follows An Coimisiun Pleanala (ACP) refusing planning permission to Patrick Creans Marlet Group in a long-running battle over plans for the site.

The decision by ACP upholds a refusal issued by Dublin City Council in October 2022 and the case was before ACP on appeal by Marlet Group subsidiary, Raheny 3 Ltd Partnership.

In the appeal, panning consultants for Marlet, Brady Shipman Martin contended that the single reason for refusal over the light-bellied Brent goose for the scheme on lands to the east of St Pauls College at Sybil Hill, Raheny, Dublin 5 does not hold up.

However, in its ruling, ACP has refused planning permission on three grounds and two of the reasons for refusal relate to the light-bellied Brent goose, a winter migrant from high-Arctic Canada. Most fly here between October and April.

ACP has issued a refusal as the scheme would materially contravene a number of policies in the Dublin City Development Plan for the protection of European sites from a conservation point of view.

Light-bellied Brent geese migrate to Ireland ahead of the winter and there are concerns for their welfare

Today's News in 90 Seconds - Monday, November 10th

The commission also refused planning permission as the Dublin City Development Plan requires that large-scale developments over 10,000 sqm must provide a minimum of 5pc community, arts and culture spaces as part of the development.

The commission found the scheme does not provide for any such floor area and as a result the application materially contravenes an objective of the Dublin City Development Plan.

A decision by ACP in the case was delayed due to the planning saga going back before the High Court after planning was refused in October 2022.

The ACP refusal is the latest twist in the long-running planning saga for the site since it was purchased by Patrick Crean in 2015.

In the High Court in May 2021, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys noted that the proposed development at the site has so far clocked up four decisions by An Bord Pleanala and 10 sets of legal proceedings, and counting.

The Large Scale Residential Development (LRD) scheme by Marlet subsidiary, Raheny 3 Ltd Partnership comprises seven apartment blocks from four to seven storeys in height.

The new 580-unit apartment scheme is made up of 272 one-bed units, 15 two-bed three-person units, 233 two-bed four-person units and 60 three-bed units.

Planning documents lodged with the application said the proposal was consistent with the Governments new Housing for All plan and would provide 580 new, high-quality homes on former institutional lands which are ideally placed to accommodate residential development lands zoned for residential development in line with the specific zoning requirement.

The Dublin City Council refusal in 2022 followed the authority receiving more than 230 objections against the proposal.

One of those to lodge an objection was current Labour MEP and then TD Aodhan O Riordain.

In his objection at the time, Mr O Riordain told the council that this is the latest in a series of planning applications made in respect of these lands going back to 2015.

The deputy said: The fact that no application has been successful to this point should inform the council when making its decision. He and other Labour Court members said: Respect the courts ruling. That is all we ask.
'The market gap for what we are offering is now widely accepted and we are ready to fill it in 2026,' said CEO and founder Rena Maycock
AI use by mid-size construction firms boosts productivity by 20pc  while rest of industry falls behind, survey finds

Firms who roll out AI without sufficient knowledge of how to use it are doomed to fail, according to the AI Institute

Productivity in the construction industry has to improve, the bank says (Gareth Fuller/PA)

Keith Kelly Mon 10 Nov 2025 at 07:21

Mid-size construction firms that adopted artificial intelligence early on have achieved productivity increases of 20pc, according to an AI training firm.
Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina were greeted by cheers and gifted roses as they left Aras an Uachtarain this evening.

A guard of honour was formed outside the gates of the official residence in the biting cold by the members of the Sanctuary Runners who wanted to show their appreciation for his support.
Julia Molony: Sophie Kinsella was as bright and vibrant as the characters she created  the author and her writing will be dearly missed
Michael Cleary declined to hand over his licence, the court heard

A motorist was having a bad hair day when he refused to co-operate with a garda at a checkpoint because he didnt like being stopped, a judge has said.
How an Irish town used the loss of 300 jobs to build itself into a centre of excellence

New book highlights adaptability of workers who used 1983 engineering firm closure to transform north Cork region

The closure of the Golden Vale Engineering Company in 1983 was a devastating blow for Charleville

Ralph Riegel Mon 10 Nov 2025 at 06:30

An Irish town is celebrating one of the countrys most remarkable industrial success stories after using the loss of 300 jobs as inspiration to create 1,500 new jobs by establishing itself as an engineering centre of excellence.
Pay review leads to salary hikes for bosses of Bus Eireann, Iarnrod Eireann and Gas Networks Ireland

Pay cap for CEOs of commercial bodies has been abolished by Government

Pay hikes given green light for bosses of Bus Eireann, Iarnrod Eireann and Gas Networks Ireland

Anne-Marie Walsh Mon 10 Nov 2025 at 06:30

The Government has sanctioned pay hikes for the heads of three commercial state bodies following a major review of CEO salaries.
Irelands family law courts system is broken and causes further harm rather than protecting victims from domestic abuse, coercive control and trauma, according to campaigners.

The warning came as the Family Court Reform campaign will stage a major protest outside the Dail on Wednesday to highlight the need for urgent change.
Six things you never knew about St Patricks Hall, the beautiful setting for Catherine Connollys inauguration

She will become our 10th Uachtaran na hEireann in a venue steeped in Irish, and Hollywood, history

President Mary Robinson leaving after taking the oath of office in St Patrick's Hall, Dublin Castle, in 1990

Senan Molony Mon 10 Nov 2025 at 19:26

Saint Patricks Hall in Dublin Castle is one of the most storied salons in the entire country, and no stranger to pomp and ceremony.
A MAN was incredibly abusive to gardai in a hospital emergency department, calling them pigs after staff made a 999 call about his behaviour. Clinton Sugg (44) had been refusing to leave the Mater Hospital in central Dublin when the incident happened. Judge Treasa Kelly said it was totally unacceptable to act like this in a hospital and adjourned the case at Dublin District Court for finalisation on a later date. Sugg, of North Road, Finglas, pleaded not guilty to threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour. The court heard gardai got a 999 call to attend the Mater Hospital on June 22, where Sugg was refusing to leave the lobby. The investigating garda saw him acting in a threatening and abusive manner to staff and security. He was incredibly abusive to gardai, saying get away from me, f**king pigs. He repeatedly shouted at the gardai and was arrested. He was also charged with possession of a stolen Revolut card but defence solicitor Colleen Gildernew said Suggs big sister who lived in the US had given it to him because he was down on his luck. The judge dismissed this charge but found him guilty of breach of the peace. Judge Kelly said she had very strong views about people behaving abusively in hospitals, which was totally unacceptable.
I wish I was Lily Allen. Obviously NOT, because shes had a horrendous time; a desperately painful and public break up with her husband  Stranger Things actor David Harbour. And not because shes written a hugely successful album, West End Girl, about it all  laying bare all her emotions and letting the listener into the inner sanctum of her clearly very messy marriage. No, I wish I was her because shes brilliant.

Its been years since Ive listened to a newly released album over and over again like this one and I know Im going to listen to it some more too. And despite the fact thats its been many, many years since Ive had the kind of break-up she describes, the kind that leaves you wrung out and lost  it must have left its mark on me because I have perhaps never related so hard and specifically to a set of songs.
Neale Richmond: Ireland still leading the way in efforts to help Palestinians as aid trickles in

International community must do more to ease the suffering of people in Gaza

Displaced families live in tents in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. Photo: Reuters

Neale Richmond Mon 10 Nov 2025 at 06:30

After two years of horror in Gaza, recent days saw a glimpse of something positive: trucks bearing the Irish Tricolour delivering much-needed food.
The minutes are ticking down on Michael D Higginss 14-year term as President of Ireland.

This week, he will formally hand over the reins as leader of the State when president-elect Catherine Connolly is inaugurated as the newest first citizen of Ireland.

What legacy does President Higgins leave behind? Where does he go next? And what are the biggest wins and losses of his time in Aras an Uachtarain?

Today on the Indo Daily, Tabitha Monahan is joined by Kevin Doyle, Group Head of News at Mediahuis Ireland, and by Ireland Editor for the Irish Independent Fionnan Sheahan, to remember some of President Higginss standout moments and look at what happens now as Catherine Connolly prepares to take residency in the Aras.

Read more about why you can Trust the Irish Independent at Independent.ie/ourjournalism
Media not allowed attend Jim Gavins first public appearance since presidential campaign controversy

Jim Gavin is due in Carlow for the Club Carlow Business Summit, which is understood to be his first public appearance since he withdrew from the presidential election race, after it emerged that he owed 3,300 to a former tenant

Jim Gavin is due in Carlow on Friday for the Club Carlow Business Summit. Photo: Mark Condren.

Aisling Bolton-Dowling Mon 10 Nov 2025 at 17:40

Media have been told that they are not allowed to attend Jim Gavins first public appearance since his failed presidential campaign.
Limerick mother says autistic children are second class citizens amid fight for secondary school place

Dawn Bennett is appealing to parents in similar situations to voice their concerns to the National Council of Special Education

Dawn and Jamie Flynn

Edana Flynn Mon 10 Nov 2025 at 05:30

Earlier this year, the Department of Education revealed their latest figures showing that approximately one in 20 schoolchildren are being diagnosed with autism, noting a threefold increase in less than a decade. The number of students in a class on average in Ireland sits at approximately 30.
News

Dead people still on Corks voting register very upsetting for relatives

The voting register needs to be updated to remove the deceased as their inclusion is causing distress for their relatives when polling cards for them arrive at election time, a Cork councillor has said.
Over 15,000 patients have attended the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU) at Mallow General Hospital since 2022 new figures from the HSE have indicated.

The HSE figures confirmed that there were 3,753 attendances in 2022 increasing to 3,838 in 2023 and 4,530 in 2024.

Up to October 2025, 3,071 people have attended the MAU in Mallow General Hospital.

Fine Gael TD for Cork North West John Paul OShea, has welcomed the new figures from the HSE. These figures highlight the critical role that Mallow General Hospital continues to play in providing timely and effective care for patients across north Cork and beyond. The consistent year-on-year increase in attendances demonstrates both the demand for and confidence in the Medical Assessment Unit.

Deputy OShea said Mallow Assessment Unit helps to alleviate pressure on emergency departments in Cork city by offering patients rapid access to diagnostic and treatment services closer to home. Continued investment in facilities like this is essential to support our hospital network and to ensure people can receive high-quality care locally.

I will continue to advocate for Mallow General Hospital to maintain and expand its services. I want to acknowledge the exceptional work of the hospitals management and staff who continue to deliver outstanding care, he added.

Mallow General Hospital is a cornerstone of healthcare in our region, said Cllr Tony OShea. The Medical Assessment Unit has been a lifeline for many people in north Cork, offering fast access to care and reducing the need for long journeys to Cork city hospitals. These figures clearly show just how vital the MAU has become to our community.
Six volunteers from Dunmanway to Ballincollig to Clonakilty have received national recognition for their tireless service with the Irish Red Cross, being nominated across a number of categories from Volunteer of the Year to Youth Volunteer and the prestigious Lifetime Achievement.

Corks six volunteers will be celebrated at a ceremony in Croke Park on November 29.

14-year-old Bonnie Hayes from Clonakilty volunteers with the Irish Red Cross in her hometown and she is nominated for the Irish Red Cross Young Volunteer of the Year award.

Bonnie has been a youth member of Irelands humanitarian organisation since 2018 when she joined at just seven years of age.

In 2022, Bonnie was one of the Irish Red Cross Youth members who volunteered at the centre in Clonakilty where 76 Ukrainian refugees were accommodated.

Every day after school Bonnie would visit the centre with her mother and play with the young children.

Martina Lyme has been a member of the humanisation organisation since 1987, and she is in the mix for the Volunteer of the Year award.

She is a volunteer with Irish Red Cross in Dunmanway/Inchigeela and has served in a number of roles including unit officer and assistant area director of units.

During Covid, Martina transported patients to chemotherapy appointments and devoted countless hours volunteering at vaccination centres, helping protect the community during one of the most challenging periods in recent history.

Eddie Fitzgerald who volunteers with the Irish Red Cross Ballinora/Ballincollig Branch has been shortlisted for the Irish Red Cross Unit Member of the Year award.

He has volunteered with the organisation for 24 years and was described as a role model, a leader and a constant source of support and inspiration, by a branch representative.

Throughout the year, Eddie has responded to requests from the local Public Health Nurse to transport vulnerable patients to nursing homes for respite care, providing relief to exhausted family carers.

Tim Kelleher, who volunteers with the Irish Red Cross Clonakilty, has been shortlisted for the Irish Red Cross Volunteer of the Year award 2025.

Tim has been involved with the Clonakilty Branch for the past 17 years, during which time he has served as Branch Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary, Community Support Officer and is presently the Branch Youth Officer.

In his role, Tim heads up a strong group of 25 youth members and 12 leaders and was awarded Leader of the Day at the National Youth Camp in 2024.

Tim was awarded Leader of the Camp multiple times at the Clonakilty Branch annual group camp.

The Irish Red Cross Clonakilty Branch has nominated its Unit Officer, Pascal Walsh, for the Irish Red Cross Lifetime Achievement award.

The nomination recognises his 50 years of continuous, selfless service to his community and the organisation, marking him as one of the most dedicated volunteers in the Irish Red Cross.

Pascal has been described by long-time colleagues as the most reliable and committed member they have ever known, whose immense contribution is measured not only in decades but in the countless hours dedicated to training, service and leadership.

Imelda OConnor has been nominated for the Lifetime Achievement award for her 50 years of service.

The Irish Red Cross Ballinora/Ballincollig volunteer co-founded the branch in 1982 and has mentored generations of fellow volunteers.

Her commitment extends beyond the Red Cross, including annual service as a nurse for the sick in Lourdes.
Dublin City Council (DCC) is set to raise rents for its more than 68,000 tenants in the new year.

The rate of increase will depend on household size and income, but the council said its proposal will primarily affect households with higher incomes and multiple earners.

DCC rents social homes at a rate that depends on the income of the occupants, known as a differential rent system.

At the moment, rents are charged at 15pc of the principal earners salary, with the first 32 a week exempt from this calculation, and subsidiary earners are charged in the same way up to a maximum of 21 a week.

Up to four subsidiary earners can be included in the calculation, but the fifth and onwards dont count towards the rental figure.

For self-employed tenants like taxi drivers and tradespeople, the council currently assumes that they earn either 500 or 560 a week.

These figures are all set to increase, with the primary earner now set for an 18pc rate on everything exceeding the first 50 a week. Subsidiary earners will also now contribute up to 40 a week, with the four-person cap lifted.

Self-employed individuals will now be assumed to earn a higher rate of 700 a week, with the council saying the old figures were not in line with national statistics.

From 2027 onwards, the authority is also proposing to increase the assumed income of self-employed tenants and the cap for subsidiary earners by 2.5pc a year, in line with social welfare increases over the last decade.

Under the new model, a principal earner in a single occupant household earning a net income of 244 a week can expect their weekly rent to rise 10pc, from 31.80 to 34.92.

For a household with one principal earner on 961 a week and two adult subsidiary earners with a collective income of 900 a week, their weekly rent would increase 35pc from 181 to 244.

With more subsidiary earners in the equation, the increase could climb well beyond 50pc.

The proposal is a way of rebalancing the advantage that higher-earning households currently enjoy, said the council.

As income rises in households and subsidiary earners are present, the percentage of rent vs household income drops, council documents on the current system read.

According to DCC calculations, the changes will raise an additional 35m for the authority a year, which would go a long way to plugging the 55m shortfall in its housing maintenance budget.

But Dublin city councillor Mannix Flynn said the proposed increases were premature without a comprehensive plan for much-needed works on council complexes.

"Theres no plan that runs alongside this that says, this is what were going to do, he said, adding that many complexes owned by the authority need significant maintenance works.

Speaking to the Irish Independent earlier this year, DCCs head of housing Mick Mulhern said the council spent between 75m to 80m on housing maintenance every year.

"Its absolutely not enough, he said. I cant put a figure on it, but you could give me any amount of money, and we would spend it.

Sinn Fein councillor Daithi Doolan said his party "opposes any proposed rent increases for Dublin City Council tenants. We have worked to minimise the impact on low income tenants.

"Families are really struggling with the cost of living crisis. People are being pushed to the pin of their collar trying to cover food bills, heating costs and fuel chills. The last thing working families need is a rent increase.

"Families in council housing are in overcrowded conditions, poorly insulated, requiring urgent upgrades. Demanding more rent is an insult.

"Families with grown children cannot be demanding more money from them to cover the rent while the same children are struggling to save for a mortgage or a deposit.

"The real problem is that central government are starving us from essential funding to cover maintenance of council housing, Mr Doolan said.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
News

Buyer wanted to bring Galway nightclub back to life as price slashed on property

A Galway nightclub has been put up for sale at a slashed price this week as it seeks a buyer to restore it to its former glory.
Grind Coffee in Galway city centre is shutting its doors for good after nearly a decade at its location on Merchants Road.

Owners Aisling and Cathal made the announcement to customers on Friday evening, November 7 and shared a heartfelt tribute to the cafe as well as customers and former staff.

The coffee shops branch in Briarhill will remain open.

In a message to their community, owners said: It feels very befitting and sprinkled with a little draiocht that as we cross the tairseach to Samhain we honour the end of Grind on Merchants Road.

After almost a decade, the time feels very right to move on and create space for new seeds of creativity to grow in the darkness during this liminal time.

To all our customers past and present a very sincere thank you.

To our Dockgate community, we are so grateful for your constant support and custom down through the years.

Grind Coffee Merchants Road

To all our team members, who have come and gone, a big thank you for the energy and work ethic ye brought to the table. It was always commented on!

This little cafe will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Porridge, burritos and all our staples are ready and waiting in Grind Briarhill so dont be strangers!

Local businesses shared their sadness at the news as Planet Retro Vintage shop commented: Aaah ye will be missed, thanks for all the yummy scones and croissants and also to the great staff who came and went. Merchants Road will miss ye, onwards and upwards in Briarhill!

Base Skin Ireland said: Will miss you guys! Continued luck with Briarhill!

Meanwhile, one loyal customer wrote: Sorry to see Grind close. Best coffee. Will miss my daily routine. Wishing you both massive success always!
A courtroom goes silent as solicitors argued drug charges against their clients did not exist

This was the case put forward by solicitors at Killarney District Court last Tuesday when cannabis herb appeared on a charge sheet.

Cannabis and cannabis resin are listed drugs.

Cannabis herb is not.

This point was raised by the defendants solicitor, Padraig OConnell.

It is not a scheduled offence, he said.

His client, Michael OBrien (54) of Pinewood Estate, Killarney, was charged with possession of cannabis herb at University Hospital Kerry on November 27, 2024.

In a separate case, Beka Bekauri of Stacks Villas, Tralee, appeared in court on Tuesday for charges including possession of suspected cannabis to the value of 125 on February 27, 2025 at Lewis Road, Killarney.

His solicitor, Nuala Liston, made the same defence.

Stock image

Today's News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, November 11

The court first heard the case of Mr OBrien.

The courtroom was silent as judge and gardai consulted tablet and phones to check the list of scheduled drugs.

Cannabis herb is not there specifically, cannabis resin is, said Judge David Waters, adding that a drug had to be specified on the list.

I cant imagine that its not but youll have to show me where, he said to Sergeant Stephen OBrien.

It cant be argued, said Sgt OBrien. Its not in the schedule.

However, the defendant had not appeared when the case was scheduled on September 17. As such, it was the first day the case was before the courts, noted the judge.

On this basis, Sgt OBrien applied to amend the charge sheet.

Mr OConnell said he would object to an amendment.

His client had come to court to meet the charge of possession of cannabis herb and could prejudice the case against his client.

Its not like were changing the nature of the summons, said the judge.

But its not a loose word that was put in, said Mr OConnell. Not all defects give rise to a dismissal, replied the judge.

In minor instances, such as giving one wrong digit in a car plate, the summons could be amended, he explained.

Its like dancing on a pinhead, said Mr OConnell. Its almost impossible to prove prejudice.

The judge marked it amended, noting the solicitors objection.

The case was adjourned to February 17, 2026 to allow Mr OBrien to overcome any prejudices that might accrue.

In the case of Mr Bekauri, whose charge sheet read suspected cannabis, the judge took a different view.

It is a typographical issue, said Sgt OBrien.

The judge disagreed.

There is no offence for suspected cannabis, he said. I think that is the difference. Cannabis is cannabis, whether its herb or resin.

Sgt OBrien applied to amend its wording and the case was adjourned to December 2.

My view is suspected cannabis is failed for the summons, said the judge. To me, its more fatal than cannabis herb.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme
Kerrys iconic beach is highly dangerous during the tourist season according to local councillor

The road to Kerry's renowned Inch Beach in the height of summer

A Kerry councillor has decried the criminal neglect of the countys world class beach as local businesses are suffering due to lack of facilities.

Cllr Tommy Griffin, who has lived near Inch Beach all his life, claims the current infrastructure makes the beach highly dangerous in the tourist season, with most locals steering clear of the mobbed strand.

Nearby businesses have also reported difficulties during summer months, with a local cafe paying thousands in septic tank bills and local holiday lets having their drives blocked by parked cars.

Every summer the car park at Inch Beach is thronged with cars, motorhomes and buses. Often vehicles are parked far along the beach and all the way back onto the main road between Castlemaine and Dingle.

The beachs public toilet block is also put to the test, with many opting to visit the local cafe instead.

Youve got a world class beach in Inch and theres no permanent toilets. Its absolutely disgraceful, said Cllr Griffin.

Ive gone to Inch all my life and its criminal the neglect that is happening here. The opportunity has never presented itself more than now.

Kerry County Council, who did not respond to the Kerrymans request for comment, currently lease the land for the carpark and the toilet block at Inch. However, much of the surrounding land has been recently acquired by the government as part of Irelands first marine national park.

The national park covers more than 70,000 acres of land and sea, encompassing the Inch Beach sand dunes, Mount Brandon and a litany of iconic islands, including the UNESCO World Heritage Site at Sceilig Mhichil.

The road to Kerry's renowned Inch Beach in the height of summer

Today's News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, November 11

The council has produced a draft plan for Inch which prescribes the removal of several dunes around the car park as well as upgrading of the bus stop, but the land is still owned by a local business.

Cllr Griffin said: Theres some nice stuff in the draft plan but Kerry County Council does not own any land there so its completely pointless  to have a plan for land you dont own. They need to shift their focus to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NTWS).

For years and years, the council has been saying they have no land, but now another state agency has acquired 1,235 acres there. Im only asking that a few acres be made available  they can even look at repurposing existing buildings that the NTWS own for proper toilets and showers, potentially playground and car parking.

Cllr Griffin also said the lack of infrastructure caused safety hazards on busy days. The drive-on beach can be teaming with cars without any traffic control measures, and as Cllr Griffin recalled, an American tourist was killed by a reversing surf school truck at the beach in 2011.

He highlighted the carpark upgrades at Muckross House within the Killarney National Park that took place in 2022 and provided 234 new spaces for the premises, claiming the council objected to similar works at Inch on the grounds that the area was too sensitive.

When Muckross House needed additional parking, the council didnt say they didnt have any available land or the land is too sensitive. They just went off and built the carpark and that was the end of it, said Cllr Griffin.

It no more sensitive than the National Park inside Killarney. For years Inch has been completely and utterly neglectedtheres an opportunity now to provide the badly needed facilities.

Sammys Bar and Restaurant, located adjacent to the beach carpark, said many of the tourists use their toilet facilities instead of the council provided ones in the carpark.

The hundreds of tourists that get off the bus every day in summer often use their toilets without buying anything from the cafe. The sheer number of visitors means the owner faces septic tank bills of up to 8,000 during the summer season.

The cafe adopted a donation scheme, asking for a contribution of 1 to help them run the facility  even putting up QR codes for tourists to pay online  but over a whole season, they reported only receiving 10 from the multiple thousands passing through.

They say they are forced to clean the facilities every two hours during summer to keep them in acceptable order.

The owner of land that includes the carpark and toilets, is local businessman Mahmood Hussain, who also runs Inch Beach Holiday Homes and Inch Beach House B&B.

He said he had discussions with the council about them buying the land, but they have not approached him in any official capacity.

Mr Hussain, who lives near the beach and has the entrances to his accommodation only 100 metres from the beach turn-off, said he takes extra measures in summer to stop people parking on his properties.

Weve had issues with people parking in our holiday village and B&B for a long time, he said.

They were parking at my private house and where people have rented a house for the week, and they were blocking their entrances and exits. I had to stop people totally on busy Saturdays and Sundays. Whenever we see fit, well put a barrier across the driveway entrance to the holiday homes.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting scheme
A Kerry TD has called for more support for Irelands Gaeltachts as growth of Irish language has fallen flat.

Kerry TD Michael Cahill said the government needs to reinvigorate its efforts to increase Irish language literacy in schools and further afield.

Deputy Cahill suggested expanding the Gaeltacht scholarship scheme which provides additional funding for school students under 18 years old attending Gaeltacht courses.

Under the initiative applicants receive 150 for a two-week course or 250 for a three-week course, facilitating over 800 scholarships in total.

It has become increasingly apparent that most of our population have the aspiration, but not the motivation to learn and use our native tongue, said Deputy Cahill.

This is where I believe our government departments must now reinvigorate their ideas and efforts. The crusade on behalf of reclaiming our native language seems to have fallen flat and now is the time to take a whole new look at what needs to be done.

The present Gaeltacht scheme for school goers has been running many years now but seems to be a little stale and requires a big injection of energy and investment to bring new life to it, to our language and Gaeltacht areas.

Deputy Cahill proposed a larger support package including a more extensive Gaeltacht activity programme with the potential for month-long courses with support that would encourage whole families to holiday for the duration.

Taking inspiration from Kerrys Cappanalea Outdoor Education Centre near Killorglin, the courses could be complemented by outdoor activities, both land and water based, said Deputy Cahill.

This will not alone encourage a wider understanding and learning of our native language, but will also encourage the Gaeltacht areas themselves to grow and extend. It will encourage Staycations by families and it will be a healthy, outdoor, learning experience, enriching our students with their native culture, said Deputy Cahill.

The Kerry Gaeltacht areas of Uibh Rathaigh and Corca Dhuibhne and our Cork neighbours in Muscrai and Oileain Chleire are but an example of areas that are in danger of compacting rather than expanding.

Encouraging the use of the Irish language and using its speakers to facilitate that, will help develop these challenged economies and will enhance our own culture. It will even increase the attractiveness of our visitor areas and our people as a race with our own native identity.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting scheme
Minister of State for Forestry, Horticulture and Farm Safety Michael Healy-Rae has criticised the Social Democrats and Deputy Jennifer Whitmore for comments following last weeks meeting with European Commissioner for the Environment Jessika Roswall.

Minister Healy-Rae was part of the Irish delegation that met with Commissioner Roswall on Friday last, where he outlined that nitrates derogation is absolutely vital for the survival of Irish family farms and the rural economy.
Gardai are investigating all of the circumstances surrounding the discovery of a man in his 60s who was found with serious injuries on the outskirts of a midlands village over the weekend.

The injured man was rushed to Mullingars Midlands Regional Hospital shortly after gardai and emergency services were called to the scene in Drumlish, Co Longford, shortly after 7pm on Saturday evening.

The Irish Independent understands the man sustained a head injury and is currently under the watch of medics within the hospitals ICU department.

Gardai in Co Longford are investigating all of the circumstances surrounding the discovery of a man with serious injuries in Drumlish, Co Longford on 8th November 2025, said a garda spokesperson.

At approximately 7:30pm on that date, the man aged in his 60s was taken by ambulance to Mullingar General Hospital, where his condition is described as critical.

Mullingar Hospital

Today's News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, November 11

Gardai carried out a technical examination of the scene and have launched a public appeal for information.

The last known movements of the man were at Currabawn at approximately 7:00pm on Wednesday, November 5, 2025.

Any road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and were travelling in the Currabawn/Mohill road, Drumlish area between 7:00pm on Wednesday, 5th November 2025 and 6:30pm on Saturday, 8th November are asked to make this footage available to investigating Gardai, said a garda spokesperson.

Anyone with any information should contact Longford Garda Station on 043 3350570, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
New Ross

Women of Wexford gather together to mark Orange the World as 65,000 domestic abuse incidents are reported to Gardai in 2024

This month, as part of the Orange the World campaign and 16 days of action against sexual violence in Wexford, Wexford Library was filled with inspiring women for a powerful discussion on the actions that society needs to take.
The award was testament to the dedication of the agency's team.

The Worldchoice conference held its annual awards and gala in Johnstown Estate, Enfield, where a Wexford travel agency was overjoyed to be named the Boutique Agency of the Year.

Taking home the Boutique Agency of the Year award was no other than ODonohoe Travel Agency in Gorey.

A fully serviced travel agency that was established in 1974, they have made a name for themselves in the community and across Wexford for selling package holidays, honeymoons, cruise holidays, and tailor made packages with peace of mind and convenience.

Experienced travel agent Yvonne ODonohoe said it was a testament to the amazing in-house team as well as their dedicated supporters.

"This incredible achievement wouldnt be possible without our amazing team, the heart of ODonohoe Travel who go above and beyond every single day to make each trip special. Their passion, care, and dedication truly set us apart, she said.

"We're also deeply grateful to our loyal customers and supportive community. Your trust, encouragement, and continued belief in us inspire everything we do. Heres to many more adventures together. Thank you for being part of our journey! she added.

The Worldchoice awards is an event that recognises and celebrates the excellence of members within the WorldChoice Travel Trade Community in Ireland. The ceremony honours top travel agents, cruise agents, trade partners and airlines based on their performance and innovation within the industry.

Speaking at the ceremony, commercial manager Carol Anne ONeill said: As Worldchoice members, we must continue to focus on what truly sets us apart and that is being committed, travel professionals. You are expertly trained and continually update your knowledge base and skill set. Your product knowledge is absolutely second-to-none. You consistently deliver exceptional customer care and service. Many of you go above and beyond being available 24/7, in case of emergencies. You manage crisis situations with calm, confidence and professionalism. And you maintain long-standing trusted relationships with your trade partners and your customers.
A local councillor has called on Wicklow County Council to consider working with the private sector to increase the development of local wastewater infrastructure.

Cllr Pat Kennedy made the call during the local authoritys November monthly meeting, ahead of a major policy change announced by the Government this week.

The change will see builders being able to develop new wastewater treatment facilities in collaboration with Uisce Eireann for smaller housing developments of up to 40 homes.

The system will operate under guidelines prescribed by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The changes will take effect from early next year.

Speaking during the meeting Cllr Kennedy says a private sector role in wastewater infrastructure could accelerate housing delivery in Wicklow.

Something that I have mentioned many times in this chamber is the fact that theres no capacity in the wastewater treatment plant in Aughrim. And there have been no houses built there for maybe 16 years now and we do have a waiting list in Aughrim for housing.

I had a meeting with Irish Water recently specifically about Aughrim, I did ask them about the use of package treatment plants, and they did indicate to me that they do hope to lodge an application for a new wastewater treatment plant over the next year or 14 months to the council for that.

I did ask them can we use, or will they allow the use of package treatment plants if a developer was prepared to put one in, subject to complying with all environmental regulations and suitably sized.

The answer was if a developer was prepared to put in a package treatment plant, they will accept that provided it meets all the legislation and criteria. he added.

In response Wicklow County Council chief executive Emer OGorman said they would keep the matter under review.

We'll have to look at it. Any move would need to be acceptable to Uisce Eireann, because we would consult with them when we're looking at these applications.

Separately, Wicklow TD Edward Timmins believes there are circumstances where the expansion of water infrastructure needs to be addressed by the private sector.

Currently the private sector is developing a water services network infrastructure to connect to the Uisce Eireann network and establish temporary wastewater treatment infrastructure in certain circumstances, but we need to expand the possible role of the private sector.

Under these current rules developers have to wait for Uisce Eireann to put wastewater infrastructure in place, which can seriously delay getting housing delivered in Wicklow.

These new proposals mean the water utility will have responsibility for securing compliance with wastewater discharge regulations and will take ownership of the infrastructure for its future operation and maintenance.

Deputy Timmins says efforts will be made to ensure information to planning authorities for wastewater treatment for smaller scale multi-unit housing developments is clear to both planners and developers.

Uisce Eireann will develop a partnership approach with private developers. It will sign-off on all designs, installation works, and connections prior to commissioning and transfer. he added.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
A small number of retailers on the Main Street in Greystones believe mediation talks with Wicklow County Council are no longer necessary, over a row that erupted between retailers and traders at the Greystones Plaza Market regarding Christmas date.

A meeting had been scheduled on November 7 between traders in Greystones and the operators of the local Plaza Market in a bid to ease tensions.

Its after a group of more than 25 Greystones-based businesses decided to express growing frustration and disappointment at the lack of meaningful support from Wicklow County Council for the local business community.

In a blueprint letter issued on October 24, some businesses stated they felt there was unfair competition in the town during key trading periods stemming from the market.

The letter was sent as a template, to amend as businesses saw fit or fitted their own points relevant to their business.

Its understood not all of them included the points about the Plaza Market.

Other issues raised affecting local business included the continued closure of the Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk and the regular scheduled disruption to Dart services due to engineering works along the railway line to Bray.

In the letter issued by Alison Banton from Brooke and Shoals to council chief executive Emer OGorman, the Plaza Market, which operates weekly on Sundays during summer and Christmas periods, is accused of diverting footfall and spend, away from the employment-creating businesses on Church Road and surrounding areas.

Responding to concerns raised in the letter, council officials shared their frustrations regarding the cliff walk closure and disruption to Dart services at weekends.

Your concerns regarding the closure of the Cliff Walk, are shared by Wicklow County Council. the statement reads.

Options are currently being examined with a view to estimating potential costs. The estimated costs will be presented to the taskforce by the chief executive at meeting being convened in November.

We share your concerns in relation to the disruption of Dart services at the weekend. the statement continues.

However, this is not an area that Wicklow County Council can respond. Similar issues have been highlighted to Iarnrod Eireann previously and contact would need to be directly made with them for response.

In relation to claims the Plaza Market has a monopoly during key trading periods of the year, the council said those concerns of Main Street traders are noted.

The area of the Plaza Market is operated by Sispar under a concession agreement with Wicklow County Council. Our understanding is that these markets are scheduled periodically and would be fully inclusive of all traders wishing to partake. The operation of markets attracts additional economic benefit to the area and are widely attended by both Greystones locals and visitors to the town.

A meeting between representatives of the main street traders and the harbour and market operator, had been organised for November 7, with council representatives of Economic/Local Enterprise Office and the Harbours team in attendance.

The council had sought two thirds of nominated representatives of the Main Street traders to attend such a meeting. To date, representative names have not been put forward for this meeting, and therefore, the meeting has not progressed.

Its emerged since this request for representatives, a very small number of individual traders have in fact indicated that a meeting at this stage is not required while welcomed.

Its understood the group have also indicated their preference for a meeting would be better facilitated in the spring, which the council will be available as required.

Beth Merriman of LaLuna Goodness represents more than 50 traders who are hoping to take part in this years Christmas market at the Plaza.

She has welcomed this latest development.

It does seem that the loud noise made by one or two businesses does not reflect all 25 signatories. Had the Plaza Market issue been so important and urgent they would have made themselves available for said meeting, but they did not.

It also seems that, if in fact those businesses are happy to wait until the Spring for a meeting - then they are not opposed to The Plaza Christmas Market.

We hope this means the Plaza Market can go ahead on the dates advertised. she added.

Operators of the market have vowed to work with the local businesses in Greystones to promote the town as a shopping and recreational destination and highlighted that proceeds after costs will be going to both Wicklow Hospice and Greystones Cancer Support.

We absolutely understand the challenges faced by all in our community which is why it is more important than ever to keep the market running, and welcome the opportunity to hold a meeting with traders in future to discuss how best to move forward . the group added in a statement.

The market was set up to provide a safe space for the diverse community and to offer an opportunity for people from different backgrounds to socialise, interact and build connections.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Wicklow County Council has announced a series of temporary road closures and traffic management measures in the Baltinglass and Greystones Municipal Districts.

In the west of the county, essential works are taking place on the bridge on the R411 at Hollywood Lower. A temporary road closure will be in place from this morning and continue for approximately two weeks. A diversion route will be signposted for the duration.

Also in the Baltinglass district, the cleaning of gullies and drainage pipes on the N81 will begin this morning between the south Dublin and Carlow borders. Works will continue for around two weeks under a localised temporary traffic management plan.

In the Greystones Municipal District, a stop/go system will operate on the R761 BrayGreystones Road (Windgates) from 7pm to 6am today and again tomorrow, Tuesday, November 11, to facilitate night-time road resurfacing works.

Separately, Chapel Road (L-1027-1) in Delgany remains closed until Tuesday, March 31, 2026, to facilitate the Chapel Road Pedestrian and Cyclist Infrastructure Improvement Scheme.

A southbound diversion will see traffic travel from the junction of Beechwood Park (L5220) and the L-1027 for approximately 730 metres to the roundabout at Delgany Wood.

From there, vehicles will continue for around 640 metres along Delgany Wood Avenue before turning left onto Church Road and proceeding for a further 300 metres to the R761 north mini-roundabout at Killincarrig. Drivers should then take the first exit and continue for roughly 2.25km to reach the Blacklion Manor Road. The northbound diversion follows the same route in reverse.
Hundreds of people are feared dead after a migrant boat from Myanmar capsized near Malaysia.

At least seven bodies have been found and 13 people rescued after 300 people failed to arrive in Malaysia after leaving Myanmars Rakhine state.

Officials believe the passengers boarded a large ship and were then placed into three smaller boats, each carrying around 100 passengers, to evade detection as they approached the Malaysian coast.

One of the boats is believed to have sunk in Thai waters on Thursday, while the two others are yet to be found.

Search teams were deployed after reports of survivors drifting at sea and rescuers are combing an area of 170 square nautical miles near Langkawi island, in the Malacca Strait, after one of the boats sank on Thursday.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said that they recovered the body of a woman from the sea on Saturday. The remaining six bodies were found yesterday before the operation was suspended. It was scheduled to resume today.

The migrants had departed from the town of Buthidaung, in Myanmars Rakhine state where ethnic violence has targeted the Rohingya community.

The survivors included three Myanmar nationals, two Rohingya refugees, and a Bangladeshi man. There is a possibility that more victims will be found, said Romli Mustafa, first admiral of the MMEA.

Rakhine state has suffered years of conflict, hunger and ethnic violence mostly targeting the Rohingya Muslim minority community.

About 1.3 million Rohingya live as refugees in densely-packed camps in neighbouring Bangladesh after they were driven out of Rakhine following a brutal 2017 military crackdown.

The country has been mired in conflict after the Myanmar military overthrew the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021.

Thousands of civilians have been killed and millions of people displaced and in a campaign the United Nations has called textbook ethnic cleansing.

According to UNHCR, the UNs refugee agency, around 5,200 Rohingya refugees have set off on dangerous maritime journeys since the beginning of the year. Nearly 600 people have been reported to be missing or dead.

In January, Malaysian authorities turned away two boats carrying nearly 300 people believed to be Muslim Rohingya refugees who were trying to enter the country illegally.

Malaysia is a popular destination because of its dominant Malay Muslim population.

Malaysia has accepted Rohingya in the past on humanitarian grounds but has tried to limit their numbers.

There are around 117,670 Rohingya refugees registered with the UNHCR in Malaysia, more than half of the total refugee population in the country.
LATEST | BBC chief Tim Davie resigns, expected to apologise amid controversy over edited Donald Trump speech

Broadcaster also accused of one-sided reporting on GazaBritish Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said she was confident BBC bosses would treat allegations of bias seriously

BBC director general Tim Davie has resigned from his role. Photo: Andrew Milligan/PA

Lauren Del Fabbro Press Association Mon 10 Nov 2025 at 07:50

BBC chairman Samir Shah is expected to apologise for the way a speech by Donald Trump was edited for Panorama after several days of pressure on the broadcaster prompted the resignation of director-general Tim Davie.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy to be freed from prison pending appeal, three weeks into five-year sentence

Former president was weeks into five-year sentenceConvicted of conspiring to raise campaign funds from LibyaCourt frees Sarkozy pending appeal trial

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy before he was jailed (Thibault Camus/AP)

Juliette Jabkhiro Reuters Mon 10 Nov 2025 at 14:07

A Paris court granted former French President Nicolas Sarkozy early release from jail on Monday, pending an appeal, just weeks after he started a five-year sentence for conspiring to raise campaign funds from Libya.
Ancient Shu civilization highlighted through exhibition, symposium in England

Xinhua) 13:28, November 10, 2025

OXFORD, Britain, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- An exhibition and academic symposium highlighting the civilization of the ancient Shu Kingdom in China opened on Saturday in Oxford, England, with around 160 guests attending the opening ceremony.

Titled "Behind the Masks: Discovering Sanxingdui and Jinsha," the event at St Anne's College, University of Oxford, showcases the latest archaeological findings from the renowned Sanxingdui and Jinsha archaeological sites in southwest China, which date back approximately 3,600 to 2,800 years.

Through photographs, multimedia installations and replicas of artifacts, the exhibition introduces visitors to the artistic splendor and spiritual imagination of China's ancient Shu civilization.

The exhibition displays 14 reconstructed relic replicas, with augmented reality experiences allowing attendees to virtually explore excavation sites and ancient ritual scenes, offering a dynamic encounter between archaeology and digital technology.

A symposium held the same afternoon brought together experts and scholars in the fields of archaeology and cultural heritage from China and Britain to exchange insights on recent discoveries, research methodologies, and opportunities for future collaboration.

The exhibition runs until November 12. The Sanxingdui Museum and the Jinsha Site Museum serve as co-organizers, alongside other institutions.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
Christian Brueckner was barred from leaving Germany under terms of his release from prison after serving a sentence for rape

The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann will be allowed to leave Germany, a court has ruled.

Christian Brueckner, who was freed in September after serving a seven-year sentence for raping a pensioner, was barred from leaving the country under the terms of his release.
Ukrainian strikes have disrupted power and heating to two major Russian cities near the border, local Russian officials have said.

A drone strike temporarily caused blackouts and cut heating to parts of Voronezh, regional governor Alexander Gusev said. He said several drones were electronically jammed during the night over the city, home to just over one million people, sparking a fire at a local utility facility that was quickly extinguished.
Hadar Goldin was a national symbol and return could be a key moment in fragile ceasefire

Israel yesterday confirmed it had received the remains of Hadar Goldin, a soldier killed in Gaza in 2014, closing a painful chapter for the country.

The 23-year-old was killed two hours after a ceasefire took effect in that years war between Israel and Hamas. Mr Goldins family waged a public campaign for 11 years to bring home his remains. Earlier this year, they marked 4,000 days since his body was taken.
Donald Trump has pardoned Rudy Giuliani and dozens of allies accused of attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

Mr Giuliani, Mr Trumps disbarred personal lawyer, is on the list of 77 people who have received full, complete and unconditional pardons, including members of the US presidents inner circle and campaign legal team.
We feel hopeless: Inside mammoth task to rebuild Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa

Aid groups say the rebuild will be long and painful

Residents crowd a street in Black River, Jamaica, in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. Photo: AP

Alex Croft and Bryony Gooch UK Independent Mon 10 Nov 2025 at 06:30

As Hurricane Melissa ripped through Jamaica, Rohan Marley received a call from a close friend living in Black River on the southwest coast of the island.
Jacob Elordi reportedly dated Kissing Booth co-star Joey King before Zendaya

Zendaya and Jacob Elordis alleged romance grabs attention in Euphoria Season 1

GQ

Jacob Elordi sparks romance rumours with Kaia Gerber following Zendaya speculation

has mesmerised viewers with its unflinching look at the complexities of teenage life, diving deep into the tangled web of relationships, struggles, and emotions of high school students. The show has not only earned critical acclaim but also propelled its cast into international stardom.Zendaya and Jacob Elordi have become household names thanks to their standout performances. Although their charactersRue (Zendaya) and Nate (Jacob)rarely share screen time, the pair were reportedly close off-screen. Rumours even suggested a possible romance during Series 1. Heres a closer look at their speculated relationship and what may have led to their alleged split.Jacob Elordi first rose to fame as Noah Flynn in the 2018 hit. The on-screen romance between Noah and Elle had fans eagerly 'shipping' him with lead actress Joey King. The pair reportedly dated before filming, delighting fans, but their relationship ended shortly after the films Netflix release.Despite the breakup, they remained on good terms and continued to star together in the franchises sequels. Reflecting on the experience in an interview with Howard Stern, Joey said, I think it was a good thing we dated in the first place. I learned more from him than I ever have from anyone else. Being with someone in your field who understands it is amazing, but doing exactly the same thing as your partner can be really tough.Jacob and Zendaya first crossed paths on the set of, where their on-screen chemistry reportedly drew media attention. Rumours of a romance gained momentum after they were spotted on a holiday in Greece, sparking fan speculation about a possible off-screen relationship. In ainterview, Jacob seemed to downplay the gossip, calling Zendaya 'like a sister.' However, further sightingsincluding a kiss in a quiet neighbourhoodkept rumours alive that their bond might be more than friendship.While neither has publicly confirmed a romance, several incidents hinted at their closeness. Reports suggested they were seen cuddling during aperformance as well.The rumours of a relationship between Jacob and Zendaya quietly fizzled out. By 2020, Jacob was linked to Kaia Gerber, daughter of Cindy Crawford, after they were spotted holding hands in New York City. Unlike his romance with Joey King, Jacob appeared more open with Kaia, sharing social media photosincluding one of them celebrating Halloween together. The couple eventually split in 2021.Whether true or just rumours, fans have often wondered why Jacob openly dated Joey and Kaia but never confirmed anything with Zendaya, despite multiple sightings and speculation suggesting a close bond. Many are still curious about what went wrong between them and why, if there was a relationship, it never became something they spoke about publicly.
Clash at the River Trent

( Image credit : X/ @Gatimo | Betrayal and danger sweep through Nottingham )

The Sheriff wants blood  Don't miss the next chapter of #RobinHood, now streaming on #MGMplus. pic.twitter.com/OVfBHpOwak









 MGM+ (@mgmplus) November 9, 2025















Sherwood alliances and rising tensions

( Image credit : X/ @Gatimo | Sherwood faces chaos and deadly clashes. )

Setting up future conflicts

( Image credit : X/ @zekaelas | Sherwoods outlaws prepare for battle )

Episode 3 of Robin Hood Season 1, No Man Can Hide Forever, intensifies the tension in Nottingham and Sherwood Forest. The story balances personal grudges, power struggles, and the formation of new alliances, keeping viewers on edge as the episode moves toward a shocking climax.At the River Trent, tensions rise after Captain Laforces body is returned to Nottingham, the Sheriff posts a 200-coin bounty for Robin Hood, ordering to ensure that he is caught alive for a public hanging. The Bishop pressures the Earl of Huntingdon to fund half the reward, claiming his action against Hugh Locksley contributed to Robins radicalization. Earl refuses to comply and heads into Sherwood with his sons, hoping to claim the reward himself.In the forest, Robin encounters the Miller siblings, Ralph, Drew, and Henry, as well as the bounty hunter John Naylor, the future Little John. Aaron Huntingdon, the Earls son, tracks Robins broken camp, kills Johns dog, and attacks the Millers. In a tense confrontation, Ralph, recently trained in archery by Robin, fires a fatal arrow that kills Aaron. The Earl witnesses his sons death, swears revenge on Robin, which sets the stage for a deeper conflict beyond the Sheriffs plan.The episode combines action in Sherwood with political schemes in Nottingham. The Sheriff takes advantage of Captain Laforces death to strengthen his authority, focusing on Robins capture as a public display. Meanwhile, Robins alliance with the Miller siblings grows stronger. Ralph faces a trial of his archery skills, Henrys past adds urgency, and Robins actions reinforce his rebel reputation. John Naylors changing loyalties hint at the eventual formation of the merry men.By the episodes end, three powers are in tension: the Sheriffs desire for control, the Earls thirst for revenge, and Robins mission to protect his new allies. Marians connection with Queen Eleanor introduces further twists, as the Queens influence may counter Nottinghams oppressive rule.Episode 3 blends suspense, action, and character development. With Robin Hood navigating both personal danger and political threats, viewers are left eager to see how the Sheriff, the Earl, and Robins growing group of allies will face the challenges ahead.
Early release under judicial supervision

( Image credit : Instagram/la_residence_baragnon| Sarkozy set for early release after gruelling prison stay )

A rare case in modern politics

( Image credit : Instagram/sarkozy.louis| Sarkozy becomes first modern French president behind bars )

Continuing legal battles

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, convicted just weeks ago for criminal conspiracy in the 2007 Libyan campaign-funding case, is set to be released from La Sante prison after serving less than three weeks of a five-year sentence. His release will be under strict judicial supervision, including a ban on leaving France, pending an appeal scheduled for next March.Sarkozy, 70, was sentenced on 21 October for allegedly conspiring to secure campaign funds from the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. His lawyers immediately requested his release pending appeal, which the court granted, citing both his age and health, as well as procedural considerations. Public prosecutor Damien Brunet supported the release but emphasized restrictions on contacting other witnesses in the ongoing Libyan dossier.During his court appearance via video link, Sarkozy described his brief time in solitary confinement as gruelling and a nightmare, while also praising prison staff for their exceptional humanity. Security measures remain in place, with bodyguards stationed nearby due to his status as a former head of state.Sarkozy is the first French president imprisoned in modern history, following World War II leader Philippe Petain's treason conviction in 1945. His incarceration is a significant moment in French political history, showing the legal reach of former leaders while highlighting the distinct protocols and privileges accorded to them.While Sarkozys early release provides temporary relief, the legal process is far from over. His appeal trial next year will revisit the charges of criminal conspiracy, leaving unresolved questions about the scope of the alleged Libyan funding. Additionally, Sarkozy has faced multiple legal challenges since leaving office, including a previous conviction for attempting to bribe a magistrate in an unrelated case.As Sarkozy reintegrates under court supervision, attention will remain on both the appeal process and the broader implications of judicial accountability for high-ranking political figures.
( Image credit : X/ @channelstv | Rumors of Diddy drinking are false, reps say )

Spokesperson confirms Diddys discipline and sobriety

Youre looking at a man who faced charges of racketeering, sex-trafficking and transporting for prostitution.





Sean 'Diddy' Combs was found not guilty of racketeering and sex-trafficking but guilty of two counts of transporting individuals for prostitution.





The trial revealed pic.twitter.com/8u6HTkYE6H



 Desiree (@DesireeAmerica4) October 24, 2025





Transfer to FCI Fort Dix

( Image credit : X/ @_HipHopHero | Rumors of Diddy drinking proven false )

( Image credit : Instagram/ @sean.diddy_ | Diddys team clarifies alcohol-related claims )

Sentence, early release, and maintaining innocence

Sean Diddy Combs representatives have firmly denied reports that the music mogul was caught drinking homemade alcohol during his first week at Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Fort Dix in New Jersey. The rumors began circulating after TMZ claimed on November 7 that Diddy had allegedly consumed a mixture of Fanta, sugar, and apples that had been left to ferment for two weeks.A post on Diddys official X account, now deleted, addressed the reports directly. The rumors claiming Mr. Combs was caught with alcohol are completely false. His only focus is becoming the best version of himself and returning to his family, the post read, as reported by People and TMZ.Diddys team clarified to People, There have been several false and misleading reports circulating about Mr. Combs. He has not violated any prison rules. His sobriety and self-discipline are priorities, and he is taking them seriously.The spokesperson added, highlighting the importance of privacy and understanding, This is only his first week at FCI Fort Dix, and unfortunately, rumors will emerge throughout his time there. We ask the public and the press to give him the benefit of the doubt, the privacy to focus on his personal growth, and the grace to move forward in peace.Diddy has recently been transferred from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York, to FCI Fort Dix to complete the remainder of his four-year prison sentence. He was convicted on two charges related to transportation for engagement in prostitution, while facing no conviction for two trafficking offences and one racketeering conspiracy.FCI Fort Dix is a low-security facility that accommodates around 4,000 male inmates. A representative for the Federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed Diddys transfer to Us Weekly on October 30.Diddys legal journey has been closely followed by fans and the media. Following his arrest in September 2024 on sex trafficking charges, he remained in custody at the Brooklyn facility through his trial, which began in May 2025. He was ultimately found guilty on prostitution-related charges but continues to maintain his innocence by denying all accusations against him. According to the Bureau of Prisons, his release is scheduled for May 8, 2028, though he could be eligible for early release if he maintains good behavior or participates in certain prison programs.
BREAKING  Senators have just reached a DEAL to end the Democrat Government shutdown. Wow



The GOP better not have sold us out



NO MONEY FOR ILLEGALS pic.twitter.com/xpnoL3ptjd



 MAGA Voice (@MAGAVoice) November 10, 2025





Arizona Senator Mark Kelly also voiced concern over rising healthcare premiums, saying, Im hearing it all across my state  people who are not going to be able to afford it.

Next steps before government reopens

BREAKING: The U.S. Senate just voted to advance the bill to reopen the US Government. Chuck Schumer Shutdown comes to an end. pic.twitter.com/m1PpMXDuGy



 AJ Huber (@Huberton) November 10, 2025





While the Senate vote marked a breakthrough, procedural steps remain. Any senator can still delay consideration of the package, potentially pushing the timeline back several days. The House must reconvene to vote on the Senates proposal before it can reach President Trumps desk for final approval.House Democratic leaders have already alerted members to expect votes later this week, with 36 hours notice before any formal session. Meanwhile, the Senate adjourned until Monday morning to continue legislative proceedings.The ongoing shutdown has already disrupted key federal services. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that air travel could slow to a trickle ahead of Thanksgiving, while the Department of Agriculture ordered states to halt full food stamp benefits after a Supreme Court ruling.If the House follows the Senates lead and the President signs the bill, federal operations could resume within days, ending the record 41-day shutdown that has strained agencies, workers, and public services across the country.With a fragile bipartisan deal now in motion, Washington appears closer than ever to ending its longest government shutdown. The coming week will determine whether the Senates progress translates into full government reopening.
The Philadelphia Art Museum dismissed director and CEO Sasha Suda for cause after commissioning an independent investigation, according to Art Museum leaders. The investigation was conducted by an outside law firm, which made the recommendation that Sudas employment be terminated.

Mark E. Rubenstein, a member of the boards executive committee, confirmed the investigation, and while he would not identify the substance of the law firms investigation, he characterized its subject as serious.

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A board of this stature doesnt part ways with someone unless its a serious matter, he said.

One aspect of the investigation focused on an increase to Sudas salary, according to a source close to Suda who spoke to The Inquirer on the condition of not being named. However, according to this source, the increase  about $39,000 over two years  was an authorized and budgeted cost-of-living increase that was fully approved and disclosed.

Sudas lawyer, Luke Nikas of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, said on Saturday that a small cabal of trustees commissioned a sham investigation to create a pretext for Ms. Sudas unlawful termination. We look forward to presenting the truth.

 READ MORE: Sasha Suda sues the Philadelphia Art Museum

The Art Museum said Saturday it did not have any comment on the circumstances of Sudas dismissal, which came earlier last week.

The top priority for the board of trustees is to continue supporting the incredible work of the Art Museum staff as we prepare for the year ahead and our 2026 programming. As this is an internal matter, we will not be providing further comment at this time, read a statement from a spokesperson.

Suda had been offered the option of resigning, but declined, said the source close to Suda.

Suda, 45, was abruptly fired from the museum Tuesday three years into her five-year contract. The museum publicly addressed her tenure that afternoon in a single-sentence statement: As of today, director and CEO Sasha Suda is no longer with the Philadelphia Art Museum.

The move to end her employment was made by the museums executive committee, a subset of the board of trustees that includes committee heads as well as board chair Ellen T. Caplan. The full board learned about the termination later Tuesday morning at an emergency meeting of the trustees.

Suda came to the museum in 2022 after heading the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa for three years. The Philadelphia museum has been operating at a deficit during her tenure, and visitorship has not reached pre-pandemic numbers. In 2023, she earned a salary of $728,945 plus $30,306 in other compensation, according to the museums tax return.

Her removal came a month after the rollout of a renaming and rebrand of the museum that has drawn negative reaction on social media and in several publications, but the rebrand was not the reason for her termination, said one source, speaking on the condition of not being named.

Still, the way the rebrand happened  without the final approval of the board  has roiled the Art Museum board, leaving members divided over the question of how much authority the paid chief has to act on certain matters without board approval.

This is a board that doesnt want to be told. They want to be asked, said one of the trustees who confirmed the investigation. Another trustee, also speaking on the condition of not being named, said that the CEO should have the freedom to act on matters such as the rebrand without official sign-off from the board.

The rebrand changed the public-facing name of the museum from Philadelphia Museum of Art to Philadelphia Art Museum, or PhAM for short; created a logo with a stylized griffin inspired by figures atop the Art Museums main building; and deploys a new system of typography and irreverent taglines.

The cost of the rebrands discovery, strategy, and visual labs came to $250,000, plus additional costs for way-finding and paid media, according to museum spokesperson Laura Coogan, who declined to specify the full expense of the project.

Two museum sources familiar with details of the campaign, both speaking on the condition of not being named, put the total cost well above $1 million.

In the wake of Sudas departure, the museum has installed its deputy director of curatorial affairs and conservation, Louis Marchesano, to handle day-to-day operations. Internal discussions now center on the question of whether to hand-pick an interim director quickly, or take a longer period to sort out next steps and identify an interim leader.

Rubenstein said the museum was already beginning the process of rebuilding and moving on.

There are a lot of people on the board, significant people with significant experience, who are working to right the ship, he said.
Shahram Askarpour, chief executive of Innovative Aerosystems, talks about innovations at the company's newly expanded Exton factory. Read more

Innovative Aerosystems Inc.s newly enlarged brick factory sprawls among spruce and oaks on a ridge in Exton. Its crammed with work stations where 200 engineers, technicians, and staff design, make, and sell cockpit computers, flight controls, navigation instruments, and software for President Trumps jets, Boeing, Lockheed, Amazon, FedEx, U.S. and allied militaries, and other jet makers and operators.

The company, founded in 1988, has doubled employment to 200 in the last three years and plans to hire 100 more engineers and technicians, chief executive Shahram Askarpour said, to design and make self-flying aircraft systems that will update todays air fleets.

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The company that is leading autonomous flight is here in Pennsylvania. Not in Silicon Valley, Glen R. Bressner, a Bethlehem-based venture capitalist who chairs the companys board, said on a tour of the facility after its official opening Wednesday.

Innovative Aerosystems is one of the U.S. employers betting on recent big-dollar manufacturing trends. The company is reshoring foreign industrial production to the U.S. as the Exton plant makes all the companys parts, except mass-produced aluminum pieces farmed out to Chester County machine shops. Its also relying on higher Defense Department spending on autonomous weapons and record levels of civilian flight worldwide.

These trends are expected to extend past the second Trump administration and justify the recent investments, including the plant expansion, new hires, and the companys recent $60 million purchases of product lines from rival Honeywell.

Askarpour, a 20-year Innovative Aerosystems employee who had been head of engineering and then president when he succeeded late founder Geoffrey S.M. Hedrick as CEO in 2022, bought a string of product lines from Honeywell for a total of $56 million in 2023-24, and has moved production to Exton.

Innovative Aerosystems now makes products formerly manufactured in China, Korea, and Canada, as well as in Arizona, Florida, and Kansas.

We brought everything into Pennsylvania, he said. We manufacture 100% of everything we sell. When they talk about American manufacturing, we should be the poster child.

The company tripled the revenues these last three years and quadrupled the profits, while doubling employment, Askarpour said.

Safety record

The companys control over parts and testing keeps fliers safe, he said. Innovative Aerosystems has never had an FAA citation against its work traced to faulty parts, he said. The FAA typically issues around one warning every day to a large-aircraft manufacturer or supplier to correct an unsafe condition.

Askarpour also persuaded the board to move beyond the founders conservative credit policy. It traded its decades-old PNC credit line, for a JPMorgan Chase & Co.-led $125 million credit line that can fund more sweeping expansion and acquisitions.

In October he also changed the company name, which used to be Innovative Solutions & Support.

The company spends a lot of time scouting new talent. A lot of it has to do with the right attitude, Askarpour said. The younger generation are not what they used to be. We prefer to hire veterans. Having served in the military. They understand the importance of what they do.

The U.S. military is the companys fast-growing market.

Trumps 757s [jets] all have our cockpits, Askarpour said. Our growth is supplying critical avionics to the Department of Defense, including the F-16, A-10, C-130, KC-135, and the T-7 trainer  while also expanding into commercial and emerging drone markets.

100% of work in-house

Wall Street is holding Askarpours company to the high expectations his strong financial reports have fed.

The share price briefly topped $15 earlier this year for the first time since the Great Recession after the company said it expected little cost increase from supplying former Honeywell customers.

But shares slipped and now trade around $9, after Askarpour later said that the company would have to bear the cost of making more parts for inventory than expected.

At work stations in the factory, staff feed materials and instructions to print miniature metal parts, assemble them into boards and modules, clad them in fitted containers made on premises, bake and freeze materials to test them at extreme temperatures and pressures, apply finishes, and perform other industrial tasks.

The company is unusual in that it makes its own circuit boards instead of outsourcing them to inexpensive suppliers in Southeast Asia, Askarpour said.

Most companies did, for many years. Then COVID hit, and everyones deliveries got hit because of supply-chain issues, he said. We were one of the few companies that made every aspect in house. We paint; we do our own electrical harness; we make our own instrument panels. We need a lot of technical disciplines. 100%. No one else does this.

In-house production also protects Askarpour from tariff variations, though some of its customers have been affected, as have U.S. government approvals during the current shutdown over the congressional budget fight.

Pa.s abundant military suppliers

Innovative Aerosystems isnt alone as a Philadelphia-area aerospace supplier. Radnor-based Triumph Group has plants across the U.S. and in Mexico, Germany, and England. Berwyn-based Ametek, which owns factories making a range of industrial products, is a direct competitor.

Military business can be fickle. At the 1,000-worker Leonardo plant in Northeast Philadelphia, steady growth prospects have been tempered by the Air Forces review of an order for MH-129 Grey Wolf helicopters to ferry VIPs around the Washington, D.C., area  to be built by Leonardo and armed by Boeing  and a rival proposal to refurbish larger helicopters for that job instead.

President Donald Trump last month surprised military contractors with his call for South Korea to build a long-sought nuclear submarine in Philadelphia, where the Korean-owned Hanwha Philly Shipyard has neither nuclear facilities nor space to build subs, though the company has made no secret of its ambition to work on submarines and other Navy combat ships in the future.

This story has been updated to clarify that Innovative Aerosystems supplies cockpits for President Trumps own Boeing 757 jets.
There's been a nearly 90% increase in the number of students entering kindergarten who have identified special needs, and there's not currently enough speech language pathologists and other related service providers to serve them, those who occupy those roles say. That means that some students who are legally entitled to supports are not getting them. Read more

Hundreds of Philadelphia School District special education students are not getting services they are legally entitled to receive, those on the ground in city schools say  including speech, occupational therapy, and other supports.

Amid a surge in students needing speech services, there are 25 vacancies, current speech language pathologists said in public testimony to the school board Thursday night. Each of those unfilled speech language pathologist positions would serve one or more district schools.

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More than 10,000 district students are federally guaranteed speech services based on their Individualized Education Plans, according to data from the Speech Language Pathologists Initiative for Pennsylvania Schools, a group of district SLPs.

We need to adequately staff the service providers, said Emily Joy Goldberg, a speech language pathologist at Benjamin Franklin High School and Science Leadership Academy. Ive seen up close that we need to fully staff schools with district SLPs and other related service providers to provide our students what they need to learn.

In September, teachers and a parent from Strawberry Mansion High School told the board that her daughter and other students at the school who are supposed to receive related services  speech, occupational, and physical therapy  had none for more than a month.

After Mansion community members sounded an alarm, the school was allotted a contracted speech language pathologist to provide services.

But unfortunately, this scenario  students going completely without services for extended periods of time  is not uncommon across the district, the district SLP group said in written testimony submitted to the school board this month.

Christina Clark, a spokesperson for the district, acknowledged the shortage but said 95% of the districts speech language pathologist jobs are filled.

As a result of changing labor markets, the School District of Philadelphia joins school districts  and companies from all industries  across the country who are struggling with staffing shortages in different areas, Clark said in a statement. Nationally, there is an SLP shortage."

She said the district has taken steps to address the issue, including updating procedures for notifying families when services are skipped and keeping records for compensatory services that families may utilize outside school, as well as using contractors to fill in and exploring teletherapy providers/vendors.

A dramatic increase in demand for services

The number of Philadelphia district students entering kindergarten who received Early Intervention services  a program for children with developmental delays  is increasing dramatically, the Philadelphia speech language pathologists group said.

In 2024, there were 1,826 students entering kindergarten from Early Intervention; this year, the number jumped to 3,413  a whopping 87% increase.

Most of these students will continue to require special education, including speech and language services, the speech language pathologists wrote.

And while the district hired more special education teachers to accommodate those children  it created 151 more special education positions  there is no evidence to show a similar increase in the number of related service positions in the budget.

It is not clear precisely how many students are going without services.

In some cases, the district is employing contract workers to provide services. But consultants are not a long-term solution, and do not make a foundation for long-term support or learning, Goldberg said.

Theyre not getting what they need in school

The situation is urgent, said one district speech language pathologist, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal.

Kids are missing out on services, she said. Theyre not getting what they need in school.

Because many schools have unfilled positions, there is an increase in legal cases, there is an increase in independent evaluations, and its a strain on the districts resources, the speech language pathologist said.

Even in schools that do have district-related service providers, caseloads are large, the speech language pathologist said.

Its extremely difficult to do everything that these kids need, she said. Youre seeing kids in larger groups and youre not able to do as many of the supportive tasks, like the teacher collaboration, understanding the curriculum in depth. The big thing is these larger groups, and theres this increased pressure and paperwork, which eventually effects recruitment and retention.

And the situation is not limited to speech language pathologists. According to district data, the school system has just 17 occupational therapists, but needs 26 additional OTs. (It is better staffed for school psychologists and physical therapists  there are just two vacancies for psychologists, and zero for PTs.)
Yuri Melnikov, of Belarus, holds a small flag of the United States of America and his copy of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States during his naturalization ceremony in 2021. Read more

At a time when the Trump administration is pushing for record levels of deportations, Delaware has taken the opposite tack  launching an office to welcome and assist newcomers. The Office of New Americans began operations this month, the second such office in the tri-state region, following New Jersey.

What is the Office of New Americans intended to do?

The office will seek to help people navigate the citizenship process and try to make sure the people whom Gov. Matt Meyer calls our newest neighbors can access language services, workforce-development programs, and civic-engagement resources.

When immigrants arrive in Delaware, they dont just add to our population  they strengthen our neighborhoods, enrich our culture, and build businesses that benefit all Delawareans, Meyer said. The Office of New Americans will be responsible for ensuring every immigrant has the support they need to succeed in our state.

Do other states have these offices?

Yes. Delaware officials say nearly half of U.S. states have an Office of New Americans or something similar.

But not Pennsylvania?

No, although some legislators are trying to create one. A bill that describes immigrant entrepreneurial efforts as crucial to the states future was referred to committee for greater study in January. New Jersey established its Office of New Americans in 2020, responsible for administrating the states Refugee Resettlement Program and for providing immigrants with access to social, employment, and legal services.

Why do states like Delaware want immigrants to come there?

Lots of reasons, but mostly: growth  in population, tax revenue, and culture. In states and cities that are not growing or growing slowly  like Pennsylvania  attracting immigrants offers a way to boost the population and bring in people wholl create jobs.

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Immigrants are more likely to start businesses than native-born Americans, research shows. In 2019, immigrant entrepreneurs made up 21.7% of all business-owners in the U.S., even though immigrants comprise only 13.6% of the population, according to the American Immigration Council.

A 2025 council analysis showed that immigrants contribute billions of dollars to the national economy, even as President Donald Trump pushes for record levels of deportations. The council found that immigrants build housing wealth, help keep programs like Social Security and Medicare solvent, and fill gaps in the labor force in STEM, healthcare, and agriculture.

Delaware officials estimate that immigrants there already contribute $1.4 billion a year to the state economy.

Delaware is among the least-populated states. Does it have many immigrants?

Proportionally, yes. State officials estimate that 11.5% of the states roughly 1 million people are immigrants. Thats a higher percentage of immigrants than in Pennsylvania, where 8% of the population is foreign-born. Neither state approaches New Jersey, where 24% emigrated to this country.

Who is going to run the new Delaware office?

Rony Baltazar-Lopez, who was named the inaugural director by Delawares governor. He most recently served as director of policy and communications for the Delaware Department of State.

Theres so much negative rhetoric around immigrants, and negative connotations that theyre here to not contribute, or theyre not assimilating, said Baltazar-Lopez, the son of immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala. The Office of New Americans, the vision is to help immigrants integrate.

What is he going to do first?

Hit the road, to conduct a statewide listening tour. The goal of the tour will be to better understand the needs of Delawares immigrant communities and the organizations that support them. The state is committed to ensuring that all residents can contribute, participate and thrive, he said.

This office is an opportunity for immigrants coming into the state or those already where to know there is a state agency that is trying to help them, he said. Theres a lot of positive opportunities here.
Office manager Samuel Richman greets guests at the reception desk of the Attic Youth Center in Rittenhouse Square East, which serves about 400 young people aged 14 to 23. Read more

Whitney Houstons soaring anthem to a love that can never be fulfilled breaks hearts with every phrase. But when Natalie Rivera, 21, smiling, leaned into the microphone and nailed the high notes in Houstons I Will Always Love You during the Attic Youth Centers weekly karaoke session, joy soared.

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Hands raised in involuntary Amens, applause, smiles, singing along  the happiness was palpable for the 20 people gathered, as they do each Wednesday for karaoke in the Attic, founded in 1993 to support queer youth.

And yet.

And yet. Statistically speaking, at least half of the LGBTQ+ people in the building had either thought seriously about suicide or had actually tried to kill themselves.

Rivera, too. And Jasper Liem, the executive director. And Madelyn Morrison, the director of programming. And Rosko Scott, Phresh coordinator.

And nearly every single person interviewed for this article.

Its a form of suicide prevention, said Scarlet Sionus, who sang When You Believe, a song by Houston and Mariah Carey about miracles in a place where miracles happen. It gives people community. It gives hope, and those are things people desperately need.

What young people desperately need, explained Liem, is support  role models as they navigate toward adulthood in a world that may be foreign to them. After all, most children grow up modeling themselves after their parents and relatives, but the majority of LGBTQ+ youth may not have LGBTQ+ adults who are close to them.

The issue isnt that they are an LGBTQ+, Liem said. Its that they dont have acceptance in most environments. Using a persons chosen name and pronouns go a long way to making them feel accepted.

The psychological struggles these young people have reconciling the difference between their physical bodies and their gender or sexual orientation are daunting, and there may be no one trusted enough to help. In fact, those they should trust the most may be the ones causing the most pain, physically and mentally. It can be overwhelming, just too much to imagine  and sometimes easier to imagine suicide.

Family tensions ensue. Many young people lose their homes. Even if they arent sleeping on the street and are couch surfing, shelter seems tenuous  and dangerous. Some trade sex for housing, Liem said. At least theres a warm bed for a few nights. Hunger is an issue.

But above all, its lonely  and scary.

What the people who come to Attic most need, Morrison explained, is what she found when she first discovered the Attic in high school. Community.

I remember taking this huge exhale. There was a whole room of people I had never seen before, but I knew I was among friends, she said.

The Attic offers a range of services for the roughly 400 people, aged 14 to 23, it helps. Theres psychological counseling, disease prevention education, career guidance, lessons in finding housing, and leadership training.

And all of that is on top of a packed schedule of social activities, including karaoke, voguing, and theater, or just plain hanging out with friends.

When young people first come here, they dont smile for a while, Liem said. Then something shifts, and the smile comes out. Seeing that is one of the most rewarding parts of my job.

Morrison experienced that smile shift when she first discovered Attic back in 1994, when she was 14.

She was born a boy, but she confided in letters she wrote to a friend that she knew she was a girl. One day, her mother found a letter. Morrison was outed.

It wasnt pretty. Yelling, curses, slurs. I remember running out of the door and kept running. My family tried to beat it out of me. I had to wear long pants to hide the welts on my legs. I couldnt even wear my gym shorts.

Bullied at school, she told a guidance counselor she couldnt take it any longer. The counselor asked if she was planning to leave school. `No, Morrison said she replied. `Im going to leave this planet.

One day, at home in the kitchen, she grabbed a knife and tried to slice her wrists. I thought, `If Im lucky, my mother will find me after Im dead, and shell have one less child to be embarrassed about.

Her mother found her, took away the knife, and didnt talk to Morrison for days. Eventually, through counselors at middle school, Morrison found her way to the Attic. She and her mother have since reconciled.

Starting in 1994, she began to come every day. The Attic supported her as she transitioned.

Places like the Attic Youth Center were a saving grace, she said. If it werent for that space and that support, I wouldnt be alive today.

Attics support comes from a mixture of donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations, as well as government contracts, mostly with the city. The Attics Bryson Institute also offers trainings to organizations that want to create safer spaces for their queer coworkers or neighbors.

If you asked me in January what my biggest fear was, I would have said that LGBTQ+ organizations would lose their 501c-3 nonprofit tax status, Liem said. There was a bill known as the nonprofit kill-bill, couched in terms of anti-terrorism  anything theyd consider non-American.

But its different now  and worse.

Homophobia is getting politicized in a very real way. I dont think its far-fetched for the LQBTQ+ to be next in the murder line, under the name of protecting parents rights or protecting children, Liem said.

Already, he said, healthcare plans for federal workers no longer cover transition-related medical expenses, putting those in the middle of their transitions in danger. In the summer, the U.S. Department of Justice issued subpoenas to hospitals doing transition-related care, seeking identifiable health-related information that would ordinarily be considered private.

Places like the Attic Youth Center were a saving grace.

We are ensuring that our youth are educated about what is happening in trainings that are as much about how government works as about current issues, Liem said.

Attic selects young people to join its youth leadership council. The idea is that they are being trained to organize communities. They are being taught the skills they need to be leaders in the community, Liem said.

Exactly, Morrison said, agreeing.

A lot of times we forget that the icons who were trailblazers were young at the time, she said. Now these are the trailblazers.

Or, as Scarlet Sionus sang, in a voice deep, mellow, and full of yearning:

And its easy to give in to your fears/ But when youre blinded by your pain/ Cant see your way clear through the rain/ A small, but still, resilient voice/ Says help is very near/ There can be miracles/ When you believe.

This article is part of a series about Philly Gives  a community fund to support nonprofits through end-of-year giving. To learn more about Philly Gives, including how to donate, visit phillygives.org.

About Attic Youth Center

Mission: The Attic Youth Center creates opportunities for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) youth to develop into healthy, independent, civic-minded adults within a safe and supportive community, and promotes the acceptance of LGBTQ+ youth in society.

People served: 400 youth

Annual spend: $2,192,028

Point of pride: Founded in 1993, the Attic remains Philadelphias only organization exclusively serving LGBTQ+ youth ages 14 to 23, and proudly continues best practices in youth-informed and youth-led programming. All programs and services are free.

Support: phillygives.org

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White nationalist demonstrators march in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017. The racist rally erupted in violence, killing Heather Heyer. There were "some very fine people on both sides," President Donald Trump said in response. Read more

The sight of tens of thousands of Philadelphians protesting the authoritarian actions of the Trump administration was particularly poignant here in the birthplace of American democracy, and stood in defiant contrast to politicians unhinged predictions, dire warnings, and dismissive attacks ahead of the recent No Kings rallies.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) warned that Hamas supporters and antifa types would be front and center. Other Republican leaders referred to the Oct. 18 protest as a Hate America Rally full of paid protesters and agitators. U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R., Texas) referred to protesters as Marxists, radicals, and Islamists [who] cant handle the truth  that there is a king, and that king is Jesus.

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And speaking on the Senate floor, Republican Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming specifically called out American Atheists from a list of over 200 No Kings partner organizations, perhaps because he and too many others think atheism is un- or anti-American, even as religious nones account for nearly a third of the U.S. population.

These statements expose the white Christian nationalism pervading todays Republican Party.

Only a select few are entitled to wield power, and anyone who disagrees should be subject to reprisal.

Anthea Butler, professor of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania, defines this ideology as the belief that Americas founding is based on Christian principles, white protestant Christianity is the operational religion of the land, and that Christianity should be the foundation of how the nation develops its laws, principles and policies.

Within this worldview, only a select few are entitled to wield power, and anyone who disagrees should be subject to reprisal.

That seven million Americans peacefully protested this administration is immaterial to them. Their flailing attempts to delegitimize the largest mass mobilization of the American electorate in history reveal their conviction that anyone who is not white, native-born, or Christian should have no say or representation in government.

That isnt just antithetical to our American values; its an existential threat to our pluralistic, secular democracy.

According to research by PRRI, adherents to white Christian nationalism are more likely to support outright authoritarianism, political violence, and a strong leader who is willing to break the rules.

Sound familiar?

Russell Vought, Donald Trumps budget director and a driving force behind Project 2025, is a self-described Christian nationalist. Many of Trumps most aggressive usurpations of congressional power and authoritarian overreaches have Voughts fingerprints all over them.

Worryingly, a report released last week shows more than two-thirds of Republicans now believe that being a Christian is important to being truly American.

That belief sharply diverges from the two-thirds of Americans, including most Democrats (85%) and independents (70%), who say they would prefer the U.S. to be a nation made up of people belonging to a wide variety of religions.

Philip Gorski and Samuel Perry, leading experts on white Christian nationalism, identified its three animating principles: freedom, order, and violence. They call it the Holy Trinity of freedom for a select few, order imposed on everyone else, and violence against anyone who dares dissent.

We have all witnessed this administrations taste for violence in the masked agents occupying our neighborhoods, ripping children from their beds, and disappearing people for days because of their skin color.

We have seen them pepper-ball praying faith leaders. We have watched them enable the harassment of LGBTQ+ Americans, especially trans people, in public spaces.

And we have seen their tyrannical eagerness to deploy armed military within U.S. cities, even as Trump-appointed judges call their actions simply untethered to the facts.

These extremists view elections as mere inconveniences, and any political power being exercised by non-Christians as inherently illegitimate. Trump confirmed this when he shared an AI-generated video of himself dumping feces on protesting Americans and told reporters,  those people, those are not representative of the people of our country.

But hes wrong.

The people I saw at No Kings looked exactly like the America I know  people of all different faiths, from all different backgrounds, united in love and enduring hope for this pluralistic democracy and in our opposition to tyranny.

And theres nothing more American than that.

Nick Fish is president of American Atheists. He lives in Philadelphia.
Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark in a file photo from 2024. Read more

President Donald Trump has pardoned dozens of political allies who helped him try to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost  including a Northeast Philadelphia native who became a key legal adviser in that effort, and who prosecutors said was willing to use the imprimatur of the Justice Department to help Trump cling to power.

Jeffrey Clark, who grew up in Tacony and graduated from Father Judge High School in 1985, was one of more than 75 people who received a pardon for seeking to help Trump remain in the White House five years ago, according to a social media post late Sunday from Pardon Attorney Ed Martin.

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Clark said in his own social media post that Trump called him Friday night to tell him the news, which he called totally unexpected, adding that he never lobbied for any form of pardon.

Others who received pardons included Rudy Giuliani, one of Trumps former personal lawyers; onetime chief of staff Mark Meadows; and Sidney Powell, an attorney who promoted Trumps baseless claims of widespread voter fraud.

The pardons are not likely to have any immediate impact: None of those included on Trumps list is currently facing federal charges, and a presidential pardon does not provide relief from any state-level prosecutions or investigations.

Trump did not issue a pardon to himself.

Clark  who rejoined the Trump administration earlier this year after Trump was reelected last fall  is still facing criminal charges in a racketeering case in Georgia. Prosecutors there said he drafted letters on Justice Department letterhead to state officials, pressuring them to overturn President Joe Bidens victory in the state.

That racketeering case  initially filed against 19 people, including Clark and Trump  has been stalled for months, in part because Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from overseeing it.

A Washington D.C.-based disciplinary board has also sought to strip Clark of his law license, an effort that remains pending and would not be directly affected by Trumps pardon.

Clark wrote on social media that he did nothing wrong when I questioned the 2020 election in Georgia and that I shouldnt have had to battle this witch hunt for 4+ years.

I wish I could be declaring this legal nonsense over for good  a pardon should totally and abruptly kill off these federal bar and Georgia-federal attacks on me and many others," he wrote.

Trump, in his proclamation, said he was granting the pardons to end a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 Presidential Election.

The action represented Trumps latest attempt to change the narrative around that contest, which he attempted to overthrow and has never acknowledged he lost.

Within hours of taking office again in January, Trump pardoned nearly all 1,500 people charged with taking part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, a riot that attempted to block certification of Bidens win.

Trump also commuted the sentences of more than a dozen alleged ringleaders of that plot, including Port Richmond native Zach Rehl, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy and had been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Clark was never charged federally for the actions he took in support of Trump. But his role became well-documented over the years, including in congressional and law enforcement investigations.

Officials said that as Trumps allies were searching for ways to undo Bidens victory, Clark  then an environmental lawyer in the Justice Department  emerged as a figure willing to use the DOJ to apply pressure in the fight.

Prosecutors in Georgia said Clarks efforts included his writing a letter to state officials saying the DOJ had identified significant concerns around the integrity of the states election results and urging Georgias legislature to take steps to select an alternate slate of pro-Trump electors to help him remain in office.

Congressional investigators also said Clark sought to persuade Trump to install him atop the Justice Department by forcing out then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, who disagreed with Trumps claims of widespread voter fraud.

Trump was reportedly intrigued by the notion of having a more aggressive lawyer atop the DOJ but ultimately abandoned the idea to promote Clark after other senior officials threatened to resign.

Clark left Philadelphia soon after high school and went on to receive degrees from Harvard, Georgetown, and the University of Delaware. He has spent most of his career working as a lawyer in Washington.
Attendees hold up union signs at a rally in support of federal workers amid the government shutdown, on Oct. 7, near the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Read more

Federal workers might be one step closer to getting paid and returning to work.

The U.S. Senate on Sunday night grew closer to approving an appropriations bill that would fund the government through January and bring an end to the longest-ever federal shutdown.

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Any spending bill passed by the Senate  Majority Leader John Thune on Monday morning said he hopes that will take hours not days  would then go to the U.S. House. It guarantees back pay for federal employees, after President Donald Trumps administration cast doubt on that earlier in the shutdown. The bill also would reinstate workers who were laid off during the shutdown.

Federal employees have been hit hard since the government closed Oct. 1, some working without pay or others on furlough. Local government and organizations have aimed to provide support, including food and loans, for these workers throughout the shutdown. (Scroll down to see more about these resources.)

A top Pennsylvania representative for the union that represents federal workers, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), said Monday that the union is pleased with the a potential deal in which our folks get paid. Going without pay has been very damaging for workers, he said.

Were getting here into the Thanksgiving holiday season, and people are into their third paycheck with no money, said Philip Glover, AFGEs national vice president for District 3, which includes Pennsylvania. We are certainly happy that the two sides found some way to get together and pass something that can reopen the government and get people paid.

AFGE national president Everett Kelley in a statement Monday urged the House of Representatives to pass the continuing resolution, which would end the shutdown after Trump signs the legislation.

For 40 days, the livelihoods of more than 2 million federal employees have been held hostage by politicians who would rather play politics than do their jobs, Kelley said. AFGE members are tired of being used as leverage to advance political priorities.

Heres what to know about how the proposed deal to end the shutdown will impact workers and how employees can continue to receive assistance during these tumultuous times.

When do furloughed federal employees get back to work?

Its unclear how quickly federal employees would be required to return to work and how they will receive notice of the return if and when a deal is passed.

A spokesperson for the governments human resources agency, the Office of Personnel Managements McLaurine Pinover, said on Monday, We have not sent guidance to agencies on this yet and dont want to get ahead of that internal guidance.

A spokesperson for AFGE national, Tim Kauffman, noted that until a bill is signed by the president, Its premature to discuss anything else at this time.

When will federal workers get paid again?

Back pay for workers is part of the deal to reopen the government, in keeping with a law passed in 2019, but the proposed legislation must first become law.

Then, Glover said Monday, it could still take some time to get federal employees paid.

Though many employees have continued to work throughout the shutdown and wont need to be called back, you dont flip a switch to get them paid once the shutdown ends, Glover said.

What would this budget deal mean for federal employees?

The proposed deal also includes protections for federal workers against recent and future layoffs.

Since the shutdown started on Oct. 1, the Trump administration has sent layoff notices to roughly 4,000 federal workers across several agencies, the New York Times has reported  though a judge has temporarily blocked those layoffs. Those firings would be reversed as part of the budget bill.

Also, federal workers would be protected from mass layoffs for the rest of the fiscal year  through next September.

What resources are available for federal workers while the government remains closed?

Food pantries in the region have seen increased demand in recent weeks amid SNAP funding uncertainty and the government shutdown.

At Philadelphia International Airport, the citys Department of Aviation opened a pop-up food pantry for federal employees there. It has been open seven times since it started on Oct. 24, and it is next expected to be available on Wednesday.

AFGE District 3, the federal worker union, has also sent funds to food pantries in the region during the shutdown, Glover said.

 READ MORE: Need food assistance? Heres where to find free groceries, meals, and community fridges near you.

Mayor Cherelle L. Parkers office is expected to open a portal early this week where furloughed federal workers facing possible eviction can access $1.5 million in rental assistance. The citys plan also includes deferring water bills for these federal workers.

USAA, a financial services firm, has disbursed more than 2,100 loans to members in Pennsylvania who were impacted by the shutdown.

The state of Delaware has also launched a webpage with resources for federal workers.

What other programs have been created for federal workers this year?

In March, Gov. Josh Shapiro encouraged laid-off federal workers to apply to state jobs and took steps to streamline that process (though federal funding cuts have caused the state to also enact a partial hiring freeze).

As of June 4, the state had hired 119 employees with federal work experience across 22 agencies. As of Nov. 10, more than 300 jobs were available on the states job site.

Pennsylvanias Department of Labor & Industry has also been hosting information sessions for federal workers and government contractors, covering topics like how to apply for unemployment, getting help with job searches, and obtaining skills training. The next is on Dec. 3, and attendees are required to register ahead.

The Free Library of Philadelphia has also been hosting workshops this year for federal workers looking for new jobs.

This is a developing story and may be updated.
Sen. John Fetterman called the shutdown a failure after voting to reopen the government.

The Pennsylvania Democrat described himself as a consistent voice against the shutdown.

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The shutdown has been longer than any in history, entering its 41st day. But on Sunday night, the Senate advanced a bill that had been previously passed by the House to fund the federal government through the end of January.

The Senate can now move toward passing the bill before it returns to the House before heading to President Donald Trump.

Fetterman was one of three Democratic caucus members who voted to reopen the shutdown from the start of the shutdown as the vast majority of his Democratic colleagues fought to negotiate healthcare subsidies in the stopgap bill.

On Sunday, he was joined by seven other members of the Democratic caucus who voted to end debate on the Republican bill, by a margin of 60-40  meeting the Senates 60-vote threshold for cloture, which had eluded lawmakers for weeks.

Final passage is likely within a few days.

Im sorry to our military, SNAP recipients, gov workers, and Capitol Police who havent been paid in weeks, Fetterman said in a post on X. It shouldve never come to this.

This was a failure, he added.

Fetterman said in an interview with The Inquirer last month that he would support a Republican plan to override the Senate filibuster as a means to reopen the government.

Thatll no longer be necessary after Sundays procedural vote.

In his own post on X, Sen. Dave McCormick, a Pennsylvania Republican, also emphasized his support for opening the government.

Americas working families deserve better than government shutdowns, he said. I have stood firm at every opportunity to keep our government open and serving the people.

He said the senators who supported the stopgap bill put country over politics and did whats right for America.

Most congressional Democrats did not support the stopgap bill.

Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, in a statement Sunday night said the bill doesnt meet the urgency of this moment and deliver actual relief that can pass both chambers of Congress.

He blamed President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders for creating a health care crisis by withholding food assistance for millions for their own political gain.

Ive been clear that we need real action to stop the devastating healthcare cost increases that are hurting millions of families, he said.

This fight isnt over, and Im going to continue to stand with so many who are being hurt, he added.

New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill, who represents a North Jersey House district, also released a statement Sunday night opposing the bill.

She said her gubernatorial win showed that voters want leadership with a backbone. She said that Senators were caving at a critical moment when they need leaders to stay strong under pressure.

Make no mistake, if this deal passes, it will lead to New Jerseyans paying far more for their healthcare, when they are already paying more and more for everything, she said. Making this deal is malpractice  we have more than 9 million people in New Jersey who are counting on us to fight for them, and instead Washington is putting them in harms way."
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, center, speaks alongside Department of Human Services Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh, left, and Share Food Program Executive Director George Matysik, right, at the Share Food facility in Philadelphia on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. Read more

Crucial benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are up in the air for Pennsylvania families as the Trump administrations efforts to halt federal funding for food stamps during the government shutdown continues to play out in court.

As of Monday afternoon, approximately $295 million in benefits are on a temporary hold due to recent legal action, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services said.

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The pause comes just days after Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiros administration started rolling out $100 million out of roughly $365 million in November SNAP benefits Friday after a federal judge in Rhode Island said the Trump administration must pay November SNAP benefits in full.

Only $70 million of that money got distributed to Pennsylvanians before the U. S. Supreme Court weighed in Friday night after an emergency appeal from the Trump administration, temporarily pausing payments, Brandon Cwalina, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, said in a statement.

Pennsylvanians who have already received benefits can continue to use their funds, the Shapiro administration said Monday.

At this time, SNAP payments are still paused pending further direction from the courts. The Shapiro Administration will work quickly to distribute benefits once we receive a ruling, reads the Pennsylvania DHS website. Pennsylvanians who received benefits on their EBT cards are able to spend them, as the USDA has not indicated that Pennsylvanians cannot use money already on their EBT cards to purchase food across the Commonwealth.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said Monday that some cardholders in that state have been turned away by stores concerned that they wont be reimbursed  something she called to stop.

Nearly 2 million Pennsylvanians, including half a million Philadelphians, rely on SNAP benefits. After some residents began receiving payments Friday, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker said her One Philly SNAP Response Plan, aimed at assisting Philadelphians impacted by disruptions to SNAP benefits, would continue.

She said in a statement that our commitment to addressing food insecurity in this city remains steadfast.

The past several weeks have been a cacophony of legal efforts by the Trump administration to avoid supplying funds to help 42 million people purchase groceries despite having the money to do so. SNAP benefits were not distributed beginning Nov. 1 due to the government shutdown. The back-and-forth legal battles, appeals, and court rulings have shrouded the distribution of one of the federal governments most crucial programs in chaos and confusion.

Trumps administration returned to the Supreme Court on Monday in a push to keep full payments in the SNAP federal food aid program frozen while the government is shut down.

Lower courts have ruled that the government must keep full payments flowing, but the Trump administration is asking the Supreme Court to keep them frozen for now.

The high court is expected to rule today.

On Saturday, the U. S. Department of Agriculture, which administers SNAP, called for states, like Pennsylvania, to immediately undo steps taken to issue full November SNAP benefits. A coalition of Democratic attorneys general and governors, including Shapiro and New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, was granted a temporary restraining order Monday blocking this directive.

At a news conference Monday, Platkin said that the efforts by the Trump administration to avoid shelling out funding for SNAP are unlawful, unconstitutional and frankly, heinous acts. Platkins office believes that all SNAP recipients in New Jersey received their full payments on Friday.

The upshot for New Jerseyans is the full benefits of SNAP remain on their cards, as it has since Friday, Platkin said.

Staff writer Anna Orso and the Associated Press contributed to this article.
U.S. Senator John Fetterman speaks at the Penn Ag Democrats Luncheon at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pa., on Saturday Jan. 4, 2025. Read more

In an emotional excerpt from his new book, Sen. John Fetterman said he should have dropped out of his 2022 senatorial race while battling severe depression after his stroke.

Fettermans book Unfettered comes out Tuesday, and a selection published by the right-of-center website the Free Press on Monday tells the story of how deeply he struggled during his political ascent.

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The senator provided a raw narrative of how he would have died if he wasnt so close to a specialized hospital in Lancaster when he suffered a stroke four days before his dominating Democratic primary win on May 13, 2022. He described his heart stopping for several seconds.

I had this feeling of leaving; of everything inside me coming through my face, out a window, and into the sky, he said in the excerpt. Fetterman was in surgery the day of the primary, in which he won every county in the state. He was too weak to take then-President Joe Bidens congratulatory call, he recalled.

Fetterman couldnt hear for several weeks after his stroke, communicating only with a whiteboard and markers. Once he could speak, he relied on closed-captioning.

Is this my life now? he said he asked himself.

Fetterman revealed that he had a pact with himself in the months leading up to the 2022 general election. If his physical condition didnt improve by Aug. 15, he would drop out of the Senate race. But he improved, his polling looked good, and he believed he could show voters he was fine as long as he had closed-captioning.

In hindsight, I should have quit, he continued in the excerpt, noting the vicious attacks he endured from Republican opponent Mehmet Oz, as well as from Fox News hosts and keyboard warriors. (Oz is now the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.)

As his health condition was mocked, the attacks hit him hard.

Because of the way the brain works in depression  you are always searching for a way to hate yourself  I began to wonder if some of my opponents insults were true. he said in the excerpt. He felt desperate by the end of September as his lead in the polls shrunk.

As a candidate, Fetterman only felt worse after struggling through his late October debate, which drew more criticism and attacks. Fetterman said that his poor performance wasnt because of his stroke, but because of his nerves.

For the entire three-and-a-half-hour ride back from the debate, I read reactions on X, shooting myself up with the shame that is too often the sustenance of the depressive, he wrote.

As a senator, Fetterman has been outspoken about the negative impacts social media has had on his mental health, sponsoring legislation that would create mental health warnings.

Fetterman said he was suicidal for months, feeling like he let down his family. (He noted that he still contemplates suicide at times but that his love for his family is the best antidote to depression.)

His depression continued through his victory in November, largely staying in bed for the next two months.

Once, as I lay in bed, I asked myself, What would you do if there were a pill on the nightstand you could take and not wake up?," he said. I would have taken it.

The senator didnt feel better once he was sworn into Congress in January. He described laying on a mattress on the floor in his dark basement apartment in Washington with no routine other than going to work.

Come February 2023, and he wasnt eating. He became disoriented and texted his wife, Gisele, not making sense. At the hospital, doctors said he didnt have signs of another stroke but needed a mental health consultation.

He revealed that he spent time at his parents house before being hospitalized for inpatient treatment.

I called Gisele, and she told me I could not come home until I was back to being myself: The impact on our kids was just too great, he said. So, I moved in with my parents in York, Pennsylvania, once again to the basement where I had slept as a teenager.

I had nowhere else to go, he added.

Fetterman was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Feb. 15 where he was diagnosed with severe depression and stayed for 44 days. He was also suffering physically because he had stopped eating and drinking.

In the excerpt, he tells the story of finally being ready for a visit from Gisele and his three children, who handed him positive messages on colorful sticky notes. He said their lunch at the Walter Reed Wendys was the first positive interaction with my children in months, in which he didnt retreat to bed or stare off and they didnt avoid each other.

Fetterman said that as an elected official who was open about his mental health, he may always be accused of being unhinged, even for simple everyday actions, particularly if you diverge from the most vocal end of your party.

He rebuffed accusations that his positions that are out of step with his party, like his hardline support of Israel, have anything to do with his mental health, pointing to his support for the country during his 2022 primary campaign.

Fetterman has also been outspoken against Democrats negotiating tactics during the government shutdown. He was among the Democrats who joined every Republican on Sunday night in voting to end debate on a Senate bill that will likely lead to a funding settlement.

I have never viewed my political party as an iron shackle adhering me to the party line, he said. And I dont take positions for my own self-interest. I take positions based on what I believe is right. I know this has cost me support from a significant part of my base, and Im well aware that it may cost me my seat. Im completely at peace with that.
(Left to Right) U.S. Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon, Congressman Brendan Boyle, and Congressman Dwight Evans at a press conference in June 2021. All three lawmakers have joined House leadership in saying they will oppose the Senate deal to reopen the government. Read more

Philadelphias Democrats in Congress are furious with Senate Democratic colleagues who backed a Republican-led plan to reopen the government.

Eight Democratic caucus members, including Sen. John Fetterman, who has been voting with the GOP on this matter since September, agreed to a deal Sunday night that puts Congress on a path toward ending the shutdown this week.

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The bipartisan deal would fully reopen the government until Jan. 30. The agreement does not include the healthcare fixes Democrats had demanded but would keep some federal programs, including food assistance and veterans benefits, funded through next year.

The bill would also provide back pay for all federal employees, including members of the military, Border Patrol agents, and air traffic controllers.

Fettermans support for it, though expected, rankled fellow Pennsylvania Democrats in the House, who argued that the Senate Democrats had caved to pressure in a moment when the party had momentum coming off last weeks election victories.

This fight is not over, not until every one of my colleagues votes their values, U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Democrat who represents Chester and Berks Counties, said in a statement. Are you for food and healthcare, or not? I know where I stand and I will not be swayed.

U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee, called a virtual news conference Monday to implore Fetterman and Republican Sen. Dave McCormick to vote no on a final passage of the bill in their chamber.

This is our last best chance to prevent these healthcare cuts from taking place, Boyle, who represents Philadelphia, said on the call. Listen to me: We cannot quit now. We need you to stay strong.

The Senate is slated to vote Monday evening. Then the House would need to pass it before President Donald Trump can sign it into law, a process that could take a few days.

Its unlikely that House Democrats will be able to defeat the bill given the chambers GOP majority. Some Democrats in purple districts may feel pressure to support an end to the longest shutdown in government history.

But Pennsylvanias seven House Democrats, who all represent largely safe districts, were making it clear where they stood on the matter Monday.

U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, who represents Delaware County and part of Philadelphia, called it a bad deal, which she could not support. U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, a Philadelphia Democrat who is retiring at the end of this term, called it an empty promise and a betrayal to the millions of Americans currently seeing a shutdown of their healthcare.

The progressive Pittsburgh-area lawmaker U.S. Rep. Summer Lee said capitulating is unacceptable. And fellow Western Pennsylvania Democrat U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio said hes not rolling the dice on constituents healthcare.

For Americans impacted by the shutdown, the compromise was the first significant movement toward reopening the government since the shutdown started 40 days ago. It comes in the wake of legal battles over November funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which low-income families rely on, and chaos at airports amid temporary reductions to the Federal Aviation Administration.

U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Montgomery County Democrat who is on the House Appropriations Committee, said she thinks its misleading to frame the deal as a restoration of SNAP benefits, given that the program was slashed in Trumps big, beautiful bill and the White House has attempted to block the money from flowing during the shutdown.

By law, SNAP was to continue, but this administration chose to fight that to turn off the SNAP resources to families, she said in an interview.

This was not the time to cave.

The result for Democrats, nationally and in Pennsylvania, is a rift within the party.

U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, a Silicon Valley lawmaker in California originally from Bucks County, called on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to resign in the wake of the budget deal, despite Schumers vote against it.

Schumers No. 2, Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, was among the Democrats who crossed the aisle.

Boyle did not respond to a question at his virtual presser about his confidence in Schumer but said he was proud that all House Democrats were united in opposition. He said that after Tuesdays election results he feared the move could have a dispiriting impact on voters who supported Democrats.

It sends a mixed message, Boyle said. We just had a huge victory on Tuesday.

Two current House Democrats, Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger, won landslide victories last week in their respective gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia after running campaigns focused on pushing back on Trump. The party also racked up major wins in local contests across Pennsylvania, including in bellwether Bucks County.

The eight Senate Democratic caucus members who voted for the bill argued they were getting nowhere with Republicans on the healthcare conversation so long as the government remained closed. In the meantime, the impact on air traffic control was having a cascading effect and thousands of Americans had lost access to food benefits.

Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats and voted for the bill, said bargaining over healthcare had elevated the issue to national attention. Open enrollment for ACA coverage runs from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15 in most states.

The goal wasnt being achieved King said on CNN, asked about pushback from Democratic colleagues. What was your strategy? ... Keeping the government closed through Christmas?
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) reported that four men were charged in a 61-count indictment for their respective roles in an auto theft and home invasion ring.

The charges include home invasion burglary, conspiracy, auto theft, receiving stolen motor vehicles, burglary, credit card theft, and other crimes.

Those indicted by a grand jury were New Jersey residents Tyree Payton of Clementon; Israel Ortiz of Sewell; and Jeremiah Lugo of Clementon, along with Sakie Smith of Philadelphia.

The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

In addition to stealing high-end luxury vehicles, the defendants are charged with stealing credit cards, motorcycles, a scooter, and a trailer, according to DCJ Director Theresa L. Hilton.

Platkin said the charges were brought using recently enacted laws to charge criminals who invade homes to steal key fobs so that they can steal cars.

These defendants are charged with embarking on a brazen spree of car thefts, burglaries, and other crimes, said Platkin. But this case is about more than car thefts  it is about robbing people of their sense of security and safety.

The charges are in connection with thefts in several municipalities in Burlington County and surrounding jurisdictions. In some cases, the defendants allegedly targeted high-end vehicles. From March 15, 2025 to May 23, 2025, a total of 11 vehicles were stolen from residences, with defendants also allegedly attempting to steal four additional motor vehicles, according to prosecutors.

Among the alleged incidents cited in the indictment are:

On April 27, 2025, a 2024 BMW X4 was stolen from the driveway of a home in Moorestown. During the course of this theft, the homeowner came outside and the assailants fled. They allegedly returned moments later and stole the BMW from the garage. When they returned, one of the assailants was armed with what appeared to be a firearm. Payton, Ortiz, and Smith are charged with home invasion, burglary, and theft of a motor vehicle in this incident.

On April 23, 2025, a white 2019 Alfa Romeo was stolen from a home in Medford. Credit cards from the vehicle were used hours later in Cherry Hill.

On April 20, 2025, a 2019 Mercedes Benz S63 was stolen from Ventnor City. The vehicle was unlocked, and the keys were left inside the vehicle when the victim parked the vehicle around 11:00 a.m. The vehicle was later recovered around the Philadelphia International Airport.

Topics Auto Fraud Numbers New Jersey
A rare thing is about to happen in the $55 billion market for catastrophe bonds: a trigger event will wipe out 100% of a bonds principal.

Jamaicas $150 million cat bond has been the subject of controversy since it failed to trigger last year after Hurricane Beryl destroyed large parts of the island. The development sparked calls for a fundamental rethink of the suitability of such financial instruments for developing countries on the frontlines of climate change.

Investors in cat bonds are now hoping that the trigger event forced by Melissa  a massive category 5 hurricane  will finally put such doubts to rest.

Read more: Reinsurers Hold Bulk of Jamaicas Property Exposures From Hurricane Melissa: Reports

Its actually a good thing that this bond pays out, Dirk Schmelzer, senior fund manager at Plenum Investments AG, a holder of Jamaicas cat bond, said in an interview. It shows how cat bond structures can help support countries get back on their feet again.

But skepticism toward the instruments persists.

It took a black swan event to trigger the bond, says Jwala Rambarran, a former governor of the central bank of Trinidad and Tobago. Melissa supersedes everything.

Rambarran is the co-author of a report by the Vulnerable Twenty Group, or V20  a collection of nations most exposed to climate change  that last year called for an in-depth reappraisal of sovereign cat bonds. After Beryl, V20 warned that the bonds were becoming increasingly rigid in their structure, with narrow parameters that were shielding investors without helping poorer populations.

Catastrophe bonds are used by issuers  mostly insurers but sometimes also governments  to transfer risk to capital markets. Bondholders risk losses if a predefined catastrophe occurs, but also face sizable returns if it doesnt. Jamaica agreed to pay investors in its bond a floating rate of 7% above US money market rates.

The last time a weather-related cat bond paid out in full was in connection with Hurricane Ian in 2022. The Swiss Re Global Cat Bond Index slipped about 2% that year, but has since delivered record gains. In the three years since Ian, the Swiss Re index has soared 60%.

Jamaica has what is probably the most robust disaster-financing program of all Caribbean nations. In addition to the $150 million it will get from its cat bond, it can tap $300 million in contingent credit from the Inter-American Development Bank and draw a $92 million payout from a parametric insurance program.

The insured costs of Hurricane Melissas damages to onshore property in Jamaica now range between $2.2 billion and $4.2 billion, according to data firm Verisk Analytics Inc. The actual cost, however, will be much higher with less than 20% of the Caribbean islands residential properties insured, and a significant share lacking sufficient insurance, according to Verisk.

The funds being made available to Jamaica via its cat bond and other instruments will never be enough to do the restoration and even to do the relief work right now, Dana Morris Dixon, minister of education, skills, youth and information, said in a briefing on Oct. 31.

At the World Bank, which handled the issuance of Jamaicas cat bond, Vice President and Treasurer Jorge Familiar said the islands comprehensive disaster risk management strategy and proactive approach serve as a model for countries facing similar threats and seeking to strengthen their financial resilience to natural disasters.

The payout underscores the role of catastrophe bonds in effective risk management strategies and their efficiency in transferring disaster risks to capital markets, he said.

But Rambarran says that for highly destructive storms such as Beryl, the risk remains that cat bond triggers are too hard and specific. He says we still need to continue to look at their design and strike a balance between providing a return and doing good.

Meanwhile, investors exposed to Jamaicas cat bond are unlikely to suffer any meaningful hits to their portfolios, according to Mara Dobrescu, director of fixed income strategies at Morningstar.

No one had a huge amount of Jamaicas cat bond in their portfolio, she said. So investors will easily absorb any Melissa-related losses and continue to have a stand-out year.

At Plenum, the expectation is that losses associated with its holding of the Jamaica bond will leave a dent of only 0.23% on one of its two cat bond funds, while the other will be untouched. The asset manager has no plans to scale back its interest in World Bank-backed issuances, Schmelzer said.

From an ESG perspective we have a lot of clients who like to see these transactions in the portfolio, he said. Losses are losses, but this is a better loss than other ones.

Major holders of Jamaicas catastrophe bond include Stone Ridge Asset Management LLC of New York, UK-based Baillie Gifford & Co., and Schroders, according to data compiled by Morningstar.

Stone Ridge didnt respond to requests for comment. Spokespeople for Baillie Gifford and Schroders declined to comment.

The extent to which vulnerable nations should rely on capital markets to help deal with extreme weather looks set to shape the COP30 talks in Brazil. Such questions also feed into the so-called Baku-to-Belem Roadmap (a reference to Conference of the Parties summits in 2024 and 2025), which seeks to mobilize $1.3 trillion annually for developing countries.

A study published in 2024 found that three years after hurricanes hit in the Caribbean basin, debt levels were 18% higher than in a baseline scenario.

And in a statement on social media, the World Food Programme drew attention to the level of devastation in Jamaica.

Jamaica: The level of devastation has been above and beyond, says WFPs Juliette. In Black River, one of the areas worst hit by #HurricaneMelissa, WFP is on the ground delivering essential assistance to thousands of people impacted by the storm. pic.twitter.com/b4DsNAZeqW  World Food Programme (@WFP) November 9, 2025

In its statement on Friday, the World Bank said that catastrophe bonds are part of its Crisis Preparedness and Response toolkit which provides developing countries with an innovative suite of tools to better respond to crises and prepare for future shocks. The goal is fast access to cash for emergency response, expanded catastrophe insurance and the option to pause debt service payments in the aftermath of a natural disaster.

Read more: Jamaica Catastrophe Bond Headed for Full Payout After Hurricane, World Bank Says

The extent of the destruction in the case of Hurricane Melissa is going to be so large that even with the level of pre-arranged financing that Jamaica has, there wont be enough funds to meet the extent of the loss, Rambarran said.

Melissas impact on Jamaica puts us in front of a bigger issue, he said. We need a global financial architecture that can support these countries in a deeper way.

Photograph: In this handout image released by the US Air Force, a crew flies through Hurricane Melissa, over the Caribbean Sea on Oct. 27, 2025; photo credit: U.S. Air Force

Related:

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Topics Catastrophe
Typhoon Fung-Wong is forecast to swing toward Taiwan after the powerful storm struck the Philippines northeast late on Sunday, causing widespread flooding and the suspension of government operations.

The cyclone  known locally as Uwan  has now moved over the West Philippine Sea and weakened, packing top sustained winds of 130 kilometers (81 miles) per hour, according to a notice from the local weather bureau. The typhoon is expected to make landfall on northern Taiwan later this week.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had ordered the suspension of government work in the capital region and nearby provinces on Monday, and classes at all levels until Tuesday. The typhoon had top sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour before it hit the Philippines, equivalent to a Category 3 hurricane.

Fung-Wong made landfall over Dinalungan, Aurora, on the main Luzon island, and Civil Defense Deputy Administrator Bernardo Rafaelito Alejandro said on Monday that nearly 1,100 houses were damaged with 132 areas flooded and around 6,200 passengers were stranded at ports. Around 1.4 million people were preemptively evacuated, he added.

Alejandro said a person drowned in a flash flood in Viga town in Catanduanes province. In Catbalogan City in Samar province, a 64-year-old woman fell from a makeshift wooden bridge and was swept away by strong waves, a city disaster official told DZBB radio station.

We have landslides in some areas and there were roads damaged, Aurora province Vice Governor Patrick Alexis Angara told DZMM radio station. We experienced storm surges already before the typhoon made landfall.

Fung-Wong is the second deadly typhoon to hit the country in the past week after Kalmaegi slammed into the central Philippines, and left more than 200 dead. The series of storms is putting a spotlight on a corruption scandal in the governments billion-peso flood control projects, triggering public outrage.

More than 400 mostly domestic flights had been canceled for Nov. 9-12, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said on Monday. Fung-Wong is the 21st cyclone to hit the Philippines this year, one more than the annual average in the nation thats among of the worlds most prone to disasters.

The typhoon is forecast to strike Taiwan as a significantly weaker system later this week, the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is currently 135 kilometers northwest of Bacnotan, according to the Philippines weather bureau.

Taiwans President Lai Ching-te said all cities across the island must be prepared for Fung-Wong, noting that its path is highly unusual, the Central News Agency reported. He urged caution in Hualien County, where a red alert has been issued for the Mataian Creek barrier lake, saying all residents in evacuation zones must leave without delay. Super Typhoon Ragasa left at least 15 people dead in the area in September.

Taiwan Power Co., the islands biggest power supplier, has mobilized 4,000 staff to strengthen grid maintenance and stand by for any repair needs.

Photograph: Vehicles speed past damaged electric posts along a highway south of Manila on Nov. 9, 2025; photo credit: Charism Sayat/AFP/Getty Images

Related:

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters
A wildfire that swept across thousands of hectares of New Zealands Tongariro National Park appears to be coming under control, officials said. Residents are being allowed back into the area following an earlier evacuation.

Rain and the efforts of firefighters have seen a significant decrease in active fire activity, Fire and Emergency New Zealand incident controller Nigel Dravitzki told reporters Monday in Wellington. The weather has prevented aerial surveillance to confirm the situation, he said.

The fire has impacted at least 2,800 hectares (6,920 acres) of the 79,000 hectare national park, which is a World Heritage area in the center of the North Island and includes the active volcano Mount Ruapehu. Firefighters were able to protect tracks and huts in the area, including those associated with the Tongariro Crossing hike, but the area will remain out-of-bounds to visitors for some time, officials said.

Dravitzki said investigators are yet to establish what caused the fire, which started Saturday. The tiny Whakapapa Village was evacuated late Sunday while a number of hikers were also airlifted from huts.

About 600 walkers booked on the Tongariro Crossing are affected as well as 100 people who had registered to use huts in the area for overnight stays.

While tourism-related assets have been saved, there has been extensive biodiversity damage which will take several weeks to assess, the Department of Conservation said.

Firefighters will remain on site for several days with aerial support on standby.

Photograph: Firefighters from Taranaki and Manawatu-Whanganui in the Tongariro National Park on Nov. 10, 2025; photo credit: Mike Scott/New Zealand Herald/Getty Images

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire
Companies in Japan are likely to win greater benefits than global peers from spending on climate resilience, according to CDP, an environmental disclosure nonprofit.

Businesses in the nation face disruption risks from issues including earthquakes and flooding, while spells of extreme summer heat have seen Japans government strengthen safety protections for workers.

Japan-based companies spending on activities to mitigate physical climate risks could generate a return of $12 for every $1 they invest, CDP said, citing an analysis of data reported by the firms.

That is something quite remarkable because the global average is only six times, Sherry Madera, CDPs chief executive officer, said in an interview in Tokyo. Japanese companies are actually at the forefront of thinking about how is it that risks and opportunities are being surfaced.

While high-profile global firms including Walmart Inc. and the Coca-Cola Company have deferred or revised climate and environmental goals, almost all businesses that engage with CDP are sticking to their planned targets, according to Madera.

What were seeing is a continued push towards the climate targets that are set, Madera said in the Friday interview. Less than 4% of CDPs companies have changed their targets.

About 24,800 global companies disclosed data on their environmental impact to the nonprofit last year.

Photograph: Pedestrians shelter from the sun under parasols in Ginza district during high temperatures in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Aug. 24, 2025. Photo credit: Akio Kon/Bloomberg

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.
Heavy snow will drop on Chicago late Sunday into Mondays commute, further snarling air travel already disrupted by the US government shutdown and ushering in a cold blast that will bring near-freezing temperatures to New York City and as deep as Florida and Texas.

A winter storm warning is posted for the southern end of Lake Michigan, including Chicago, where as much as 12 inches (30 centimeters) may fall overnight into Monday morning, the US National Weather Service said. Parts of nearby northern Indiana may receive as much as 18 inches.

The lake-effect snow will also come with thunderstorms and will be pushing wind gusts in excess of 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour.

Snow rate in excess of 3 inches per hour will cripple travel, including during the Monday morning commute, the weather service in Chicago said. Persons should consider delaying all travel while and where lake effect snow is ongoing.

Heavy snow in Chicago can disrupt air travel across the US and set off a chain reaction of cancellations and delays in a system already taxed by flights being scrubbed due to the shutdown. Through late Sunday afternoon, 2,198 flights in and around the US had been cut, with another 7,253 delayed, according to FlightAware, an airline tracking service. With the threat of heavy snow and cold those numbers will likely climb.

There were already 875 flights canceled in the US for Monday, with 126 out of Chicagos OHare International Airport.

Toronto, Canadas most populous city, is forecast to get more than 4 inches, according to Environment and Climate Chance Canada.

Snow had already started in Chicago on Sunday and will become more intense overnight, said Brian Hurley, a senior branch forecaster at the US Weather Prediction Center.

The snow in Chicago is part of a larger sweep of cold air across the central, southern and eastern US that will send temperatures to 32F (0C) in New Yorks Central Park Monday night and even colder across the south.

As many as 38 low temperature records may be tied or broken across the South, including in Florida and Georgia, Monday and Tuesday, Hurley said. The cold will seep into New York and the Northeast to start the work week as well, before quickly exiting and returning temperatures to more mild conditions.

The cold is mainly caused by frigid temperatures dropping down from Canada and then being bottled up for a few days by a blocking pattern over Greenland, Hurley said. The chill wont last long in most places.

For everyone in the east, it is going to wake us up, Hurley said. For the Southeast, that is where the records are.

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.
Analysts projections of slower growth and smaller underwriting margins ahead for personal auto insurers started to play out ever so slightly in third-quarter results of two giant auto insurers this week.

Both Progressive and GEICO reported higher personal auto combined ratios in the third quarter and first nine months of 2025, when compared to the same periods in 2024, primarily driven by higher expenses rather than losses.

Still, the combined ratios were well below breakeven, with only Progressives third-quarter personal auto combined ratio coming in above 90at 90.7.

Improving loss and loss adjustment expense ratios, aided by lower levels of catastrophe losses this year, as well as declining auto claims frequency, almost counterbalanced Progressives higher expense ratios for the quarter and the year-to-date. The expense ratios were lifted by an accrual for consumer refunds that will be paid out next year in the state of Florida in connection with excess profits statutes.

Specifically, for Progressives third-quarter 2025, the accrual added 5.5 points to Progressives personal auto expense ratio.

At the same time, however, double-digit premium growth muted the impact of $1.3 billion in advertising costs on the third-quarter expense ratio, even though Dr. Rick and Flo had more airtime and screen time in recent months. While overall advertising costs climbed 10 percent over third-quarter 2024, the expanse ratio impact was 0.2 points lower than the impact of advertising costs in third-quarter, 2024 as a result of a 20 percent jump in earned premiums, Progressive reported in its third-quarter shareholders report.

The same wasnt true at GEICO.

GEICOs efforts to attract new business have resulted in increased expenses without corresponding premium growth, reported S&P Global Markets Intelligence in a recent analysis shared with Carrier Management (S&P Analysis: Policy Acquisition Costs Surge at GEICO as Premium Growth Continues to Lag, November 4, 2025). The analysis spotlighted increased advertising costs at Berkshire Hathaways personal auto insurer, and premium growth figures hovering around 5 percent.

(Editors Note: Allstate, which reported later than Progressive and GEICO, showed little expense ratio movement and much improved loss ratio. See related article, Making Auto Insurance Affordable: Industry Executives Celebrate Florida Reforms.)

Although GEICOs expense ratio grew 3.2 points in the third quarter, accounting for almost all of the combined ratio deterioration, GEICO still maintains a big expense ratio advantage over Progressive12.8 points for GEICO vs. 25.5 points for Progressive. But GEICOs expense ratio could rise to 14.5 by fourth-quarter 2026, the S&P GMI report says, citing consensus forecasts collected by Visible Alpha, which is part of S&P GMI.

GEICO is likely to spend more on advertising to pursue new business, the report states.

So far, even though overall underwriting expenses increased by 39.9 percent for the second straight quarter, GEICOs expense ratio of 12.8 falls below historical norms, S&P GMI noted.

A prior analysis by Carrier Management published in May, after Berkshire Hathaways annual meeting, revealed that expense ratios averaged 12.3 during the five-year period ending in 2024 (2020-2024). During the prior five years (2016-2019), GEICOs expense ratios averaged 14.9. Berkshire Vice Chair Ajit Jain attributed much of the decline to staffing cuts made in the later period, which translated into $2 billion of cost savings annually.

At the time, Jain also highlighted efforts by GEICO to improve the matching of insurance rates with risks taken on in auto insurance policies. Those efforts show up in GEICOs loss and LAE ratio figures, which S&P GMI reports have stayed below 75 for seven consecutive quarters.

Slow growth, however, is even translating into forecasts of rising loss and LAE ratio from S&P GMI. The snapshot from the analysis below shows that S&P GMI analysts project loss and LAE ratios up near the level of recent GEICO combined ratios in 2026close to 80, according to the rising line on the chart below the blue bars forecasting declining underwriting gains in dollars.

Spending on advertisingremains key to attracting new business for carriers like GEICO, which acquire customers through the direct distribution channel. But the more aggressive outreach has not to this point translated into faster growth in written premiums for GEICO, the S&P GMI report says, noting that third-quarter growth of 5.0 percent lagged the 5.6 percent growth rate recorded for the first nine months, and that GEICOs ad spend could conceivably come close to $1.9 billion for full-year 2025roughly 35 percent higher than last year.

Referencing Progressives comparatively higher advertising costs, the S&P GMI report notes that despite further advertising spending this year, growth in new business at Progressive this year also pales in comparison to last year.

According to Progressives quarterly shareholder reports this year, the carrier spent $1.3 billion on advertising in first-quarter 2025, 86 percent more than last years first quarter, $1.2 billion in second-quarter 2025, 35 percent more than last years second quarter, and $1.3 billion in third-quarter 2025, 10 percent higher than the comparable quarter last year.

(See S&P GMIs March 2025 analysis, Progressives advertising expenditure hits record high in 2024, for information on 2024 advertising costs for Progressive, State Farm, GEICO and Allstate.)

Even though advertising spending is still increasing, albeit at a decreasing rate in Q3, S&P GMI also noted that Progressives direct auto quote volume in the quarter dropped 4 percent.

According to Progressives shareholder report, new applications were flat for direct business and down 5 percent for agency business, while renewal business applications jumped roughly 20 percent in both channels, primarily driven by the significant new business application growth experienced in our personal vehicle products in prior periods.

Progressives Growth Push Continues

While Progressives premium growth of 12.2 percent and policy growth of 15.1 percent are nothing to sneeze at, analysts on an earnings conference call this week repeatedly returned to these metrics in questioning executives about the impacts of competition and go-forward plans.

Our operating goal is to continue to grow as fast as we can, and advertising is a great lever to reach that goal, Chief Executive Officer Tricia Griffith said, responding to an analyst who referenced a deceleration in the growth rate of policies in force and questioned whether theres a level of ad spend that needs to be maintained to grow in a competitive market.

This is when the fun starts, she said. Competition is great. Tricia Griffith, Progressive

Reminding analysts of Progressives exceptionally strong growth in third-quarter 2024, which built up a large base of policies off of which they are making comparisons, Griffith happily acknowledged the level of competition. Yes, the competitive environment has gotten stronger, which we knew would happen. Thats why we got out in advance of rates to capture all the growth that we did when we did.

This is when the fun starts, she said. Competition is great. Its great for customers, and Progressive will continue to find ways to grow, she said, noting that a particular target is a group that the company refers to as Robinsons, families that bundle auto and home insurance.

That market is about a $230 billion addressable market, and we have a low percentage of that share. So, theres a lot of opportunity to grow, she said.

Rate increases wont be a significant factor in premium growth, she suggested, noting that Progressive increased rates by roughly 55 percent between 2022 and 2024. While rate increases will continue, they will be on a much more moderate level because were in such a different position, she said.

Later in the call, answering an analyst who asked for more specifics on pricing, Griffith reported that Progressive decreased rates in 10 states in the quarter, while increasing rates in six others. Were very surgical on channel, product and state. But we do want to grow, she said, noting that reducing rates for both growth and retention is a possibility.

We just want to make sure because of the competitive environment that we get something for that.You dont want to reduce your margins and not get growth, she said.

Referring to a new business readiness framework that drives decisions, she noted that assessments of rate level adequacy, regulatory environments, market conditions, and product opportunities factor into growth targets. Currently, she said there are 33 states where Progressive wants to spur on growth20 are specifically referred to as growth states, while 13 are more volatile.

At several points during the call, Griffith and Chief Financial Officer John Sauerland noted a strong desire to continue to grow in Florida, Progressives largest market and a state in which Progressive is currently the leading provider of personal auto insurance. Residential property is not being targeted in Florida.

Related: Making Auto Insurance Affordable: Industry Executives Celebrate Florida Reforms

With auto insurance customers in many states facing fewer significant rate increases, and with rate decreases available in the market, an analyst wondered about the level of shopping activity and the impact on Progressive.

All customers are going to shop including ours, Griffith said, adding that Progressive has a cancel preservation team to review policies with these customers to help them find affordable options.

If you shop, and you end up leaving us, we believe that is just adverse selection because we believe we have the most current up-to-date price. Our models are constantly changing and [were] revising them to make them more specific to rate versus risk.

If you end up leaving, we believe that we have more data than wherever that customer is going to in terms of profitability.

Earlier in the call, Patrick Callahan, president of Personal Lines, described ongoing product model updates, explaining that each new model primarily involves matching rate to risk better than the prior one.

Insurance is a scale game. We have more segmented or finite data than virtually all competitors in market. So that data enables us to solve what predicts and fits losses more precisely or more accurately than others can, he said. He also noted that new product versions can include differentiating coverages. As an example, personal auto product model 8.9 added Progressive a mechanical breakdown coverage that supplements a new car warranty, and model 9.0 is introducing embedded renters insurance coverage as part of the Progressive auto policy.

We recognize that renters insurance is a potential gateway product for us in the property space, and we want to make sure that we are attracting multiline customers early in their insurance buying journey, he said, alluding to the goal of attracting Robinsons.

Responding to an analyst who asked about decelerating policy count growth which the analyst said he witnessed at GEICO, Progressive, Allstate and other brand name insurersand more specifically about where the churning policies are moving, Griffith asserted that Progressive is the likely destination.

There have been competitors that were all captive and now have access to a nonstandard and independent agent channel. There are competitors that were only direct that are trying to get into the agency channel. Weve always been broad. So. thats really the beautiful part about our growth and trajectory, she said, referring to the idea of being where customers are.

Much of that growth comes to us And well continue to grow.

As we compare ourselves to the best year in the history of Progressive,  were pragmatic about the fact that we still grew PIFs [policies in force by] 4.2 million, compared to last year. That is substantial, especially at the margins that we have. That gives us the opportunity to continue to spur on growth, especially with our efficiency around our media spend, she said.

Topics Auto Profit Loss
A jury was unable to reach a verdict in the fraud trial of two brothers, both recently graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who were accused of stealing roughly $25 million in cryptocurrency from traders on the Ethereum blockchain.

US District Judge Jessica Clarke declared a mistrial Friday in the case against James Peraire-Bueno, 29, and his brother Anton, 25, after a highly technical three-week trial. Jurors deliberated for three days, but they told the judge they would be unable to reach a unanimous decision.

The mistrial is a setback for prosecutors who have sought to define rules of the road in some of the darker corners of the crypto universe. Prosecutors, who declined to comment on the ruling, told Clarke they needed more time to consider whether to seek a new trial for the brothers.

In a note to the judge late Friday, jurors cited the emotional burden they were under, adding that half of them had spontaneously broken down in tears at one point during deliberations. Some jurors also reported multiple nights of sleeplessness.

Earlier in the day, jurors told the judge they were struggling with deliberations and asked for guidance. Lawyers for the Peraire-Bueno brothers urged Clarke to declare a mistrial but she sent the jury back to the deliberation room with dinner menus.

Judges are often reluctant to declare mistrials and instead urge members of the jury to work through their differences. But Clarke made it clear she thought any more deliberation would be a waste of time given the number of notes jurors had sent back and the emotional toll they had described.

Theres rarely a jury note that is more clear, said Patrick Looby, a lawyer for James Peraire-Bueno. This is a mistrial.

Sandwich Attacks

The trial had focused on controversial crypto trades known as sandwich attacks, which use bots to place large trades before and after another users transaction. The attacker profits by selling immediately after driving up the price at the expense of the sandwiched user.

The brothers, who developed a complex strategy to seize attackers funds, argued their actions were fair game in an unregulated market. The government contended their actions were a straightforward theft.

One of the jurors, who was interviewed Friday and asked that their name not be used, said the jury was aligned on the facts of the case, but struggled to understand how to apply it to the law.

James and Antons parents and another brother, Alexander Olek Peraire-Bueno, sat in the front row of the gallery for the entirety of the trial and held a vigil in the courthouse during the three days of deliberations. During closing arguments on Tuesday, more than a dozen of the brothers friends and classmates appeared in court to show their support.

Anton, who was seated directly behind his family, received hugs and kisses from his parents after the mistrial was declared. Their father, Jaime Peraire, a prominent professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT, sobbed in the courtroom as lawyers for both parties filed out.

The crypto community was divided over the decision to charge the brothers.

Though sandwich attacks arent illegal, theyve long been controversial among Ethereum users. Some cheered the Peraire-Buenos exploit as giving sandwich attackers a taste of their own medicine.

According to prosecutors, the brothers studied the trading strategies of sandwich bots and developed an elaborate plan to bait them into an attack. When they did, the Peraire-Buenos used an exploit in open-source software widely used by traders in the Ethereum network to seize money the bots had invested.

The trading firms behind sandwich attacks have operated in secrecy, but one emerged from the shadows to testify against the Peraire-Buenos as a government witness. David Yakira, the chief executive officer of Savannah Technologies, an Israeli crypto firm whose bots were targeted by the brothers, told the jury how he reacted.

You go to bed with $14 million, you wake up with nothing, Yakira said. Its not an easy experience.

He said bots operated by Savannah Technologies propose upwards of 10,000 transactions per day and use open-source Ethereum software to ensure the security of their trades.

This event that happened, Yakira said, is a singular event in the history of Ethereum.

Defense lawyers argued that the Peraire-Buenos used a legitimate, if aggressive, trading strategy.

The brothers should be celebrated, not vilified, said Daniel Marx, an attorney for Anton Peraire-Bueno.

The case is US v. Peraire-Bueno, 24-cr-293, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

Photo: Anton, left, and James Peraire-Bueno. Bloomberg photo

Copyright 2025 Bloomberg.

Topics Fraud
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the online gaming platform Roblox for allegedly exposing children to sexually explicit content and exploitation, the latest in a flurry of lawsuits from his office aimed at big business.

Texas is the third state to sue Roblox, after Kentucky and Louisiana, on the grounds that the company is not sufficiently protecting minors. Dozens of private suits have been filed in the last few months as well, primarily by families who say their children were sexually abused, exploited or exposed to inappropriate content while using the gaming platform.

On Thursday, a California judge ruled that a high-profile lawsuit against Roblox must proceed in the public eye, after the company tried to handle it in private arbitration.

In a statement, Roblox said it shares Paxtons commitment to keeping kids and teens safe online and pointed to industry-leading protocols it had employed to protect users.

We are disappointed that, rather than working collaboratively with Roblox on this industry-wide challenge and seeking real solutions, the AG has chosen to file a lawsuit based on misrepresentations and sensationalized claims, a spokesperson said in a statement.

Paxton, who is running to unseat U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in next years GOP primary, said the platform had become a digital playground for predators where the well-being of our kids is sacrificed on the altar of corporate greed.

Roblox must do more to protect kids from sick and twisted freaks hiding behind a screen, Paxton said in a statement. Any corporation that enables child abuse will face the full and unrelenting force of the law.

In 2023, Texas lawmakers strengthened laws requiring social media platforms to protect minors from inappropriate content online. That legislation is still fighting its way through the courts and parts have been blocked for being unconstitutionally vague.

But Paxton has used the remaining provisions of the law to bring lawsuits against TikTok and now, Roblox. The litigation against TikTok is ongoing.

The Roblox lawsuit is filed in West Texas King County, the second least populous county in Texas with just 265 residents and no incorporated communities. One judge, Jennifer Habert, hears cases in King County, as well as three others.

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.

Topics Lawsuits Texas
Florida insurers will no doubt remember the time more than two years ago when one of the largest plaintiffs law firms in the state gave notice that it was planning to file tens of thousands of claims lawsuits ahead of the 2023 tort-reform enactment.

Georgia plaintiffs firms appear to have followed the same script in 2024 and this year  before two significant litigation-limiting legislative packages took effect.

A report from Lex Machina, the analytics arm of LexisNexis, a legal data firm, shows that civil litigation jumped sharply in the Atlanta area in 2024. Some 43,000 suits were filed in 2024 in seven courts in four north Georgia counties. That was almost 9,000 more suits than in any year in the last decade, the reports authors noted.

Data from the Lex Machina platform for January through September 2025 show that the civil case burden on Atlantas state courts has continued to grow, with 2025 on track for more lawsuits to launch in these courts than any year since at least 2016, the report said.

Georgia insurance defense lawyers said the 2024 increase likely had to do with the passage of changes to Georgias century-old statutes that allowed parties injured in truck accidents to sue the motor carriers insurance companies directly, even without naming the trucking firm. Georgia was one of just a few states that had allowed direct-action suits against insurers, and that law was revised in 2024.

I do think that at least some members of the plaintiffs bar were rushing to file commercial auto claims before the direct-action statute law that was amended passedin 2024, said Martin Levinson, a partner with the Hawkins Parnell firm in Atlanta.

Levinson, the incoming president of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association, said his firm saw a big increase in commercial auto suits in 2024, ahead of the direct-action legislation taking effect.

Others said the rush to the courthouse was expected after widespread publicity about the 2024 changes and the buildup to the sweeping tort-reform package championed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in 2025.

When you have the tide going out, plaintiffs see that and react to that, said Mike Nelson, an Atlanta attorney who practices insurance defense in auto claims.

He noted that a similar rush to file was seen in Missouri in 2019 before the governor there signed a four-bill package of tort reform designed to limit litigation and damage awards.

The Lex Machina analysts, Adam Mills Masarek and Chuan Qin, suggested that other factors may have had an impact on the lawsuit numbers, including massive verdicts in some recent injury cases and the increased prevalence of attorney advertising, which nationwide trends.

Knowing of such potentially large awards has perhaps led more injury claimants to file lawsuits rather than agree to pre-suit resolutions, said the report, which was first noted by Law.com.

The report also suggested that the rising caseloads have slowed resolution of lawsuits. The median time from filing a complaint to decisions in limine (at the beginning of a trial) was about 2.5 times longer in 2022 to 2024 as it was from 2016 to 2018.

But Levinson said that in limine marker may be a misleading bookend to judge cases by. Some cases may resolve even after such a ruling. And a two-year window wont include all suits.

Its really too early to tell if newly filed litigation is down after the passage of the tort-reform legislation, Levinson said.

The statute of limitations on bodily injury claims torts is two years. Then it usually takes more than two years for suits to reach trial, he explained.

Its too early to tell if the 2025 tort-reform laws are discouraging lawsuits, Nelson said. Its hard to pick up a pattern with any objective view so far.

In Florida, the 2022 reforms, which ended one-way attorney fees and assignment-of-benefit agreements, and the broader 2023 tort-reform law have significantly reduced insurance claims litigation, most measures indicate.

From January to July of this year, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Floridas state plan and until last month the states largest insurer, was served with 3,721 lawsuits. That was a 34% drop from the same period in 2024, Citizens officials said at a Board of Governors meeting.

With significantly lowered defense costs and containment, now down to 3.4%, the lowest in a decade, according to Gallagher Res research, multiple carriers have filed for homeowner insurance rate decreases in the last two years in Florida.

Georgia insurers hope to see a similar impact in that state.

The significant increase in lawsuits filed in the Atlanta area in 2024 confirms why Governor Kemp was right to seek to address legal system abuse and the costs it imposes on Georgia businesses and consumers, said Ron Jackson, Georgia vice president for state government relations at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

The Lex Machina report can be seen here.

Top photo: Old Dekalb County Courthouse in Georgia (AdobeStock)

Topics Lawsuits Florida Georgia
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that California secured a $3.25 million settlement with a software maker for failing to protect students data.

The settlement also involves two other states, amounting to a total of $5.1 million and injunctive terms from educational technology company Illuminate Education Inc. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, and New York Attorney General Letitia James were part of the settlement.

In 2021, Illuminate experienced a data breach that reportedly exposed the information of millions of students, including California students across 49 school districts. The breached data included personal and medical information, such as student name, race, whether the student received special education services or reasonable accommodations, and coded medical conditions.

Of the 3 million California students impacted by the breach, more than 434,000 had sensitive information stolen, according to Bonta.

As part of the three separate settlements with the states, Illuminate has agreed to pay California $3.25 million in civil penalties and has agreed to enhance its data security practices.

In December 2021, a hacker reportedly accessed Illuminates network using the credentials of a former employee who had left the company years earlier. The hacker then created new credentials to enable future access to Illuminates network and data and spent several days stealing and deleting student data.

The investigation by the California Department of Justice determined that Illuminate failed to carry out basic security procedures to protect information. Illuminate failed to terminate the login credentials of former employees, it did not monitor and alert for suspicious logins and activity and the company did not secure its back up databases separately from its active databases.

As part of Californias settlement, Illuminate has agreed to:

Implement appropriate access control and account management, including terminating the credentials of former employees and conducting audits to check that all valid credentials belong only to current employees.

Implement real-time monitoring and alerts for suspicious access and activity.

Implement safeguards to protect backup databases.

Inform the California DOJ of breaches involving student data.

Provide reminders to school districts that they should perform a review of the student data stored by Illuminate on the schools behalf.

Topics California
The European Parliaments Agriculture Committee has voted to increase funding for female farmers and entrepreneurs.

The vote has been filed as part of a report on which MEP Maria Walsh serves as a lead negotiator. Ms Walsh said the report sent a strong signal the EU must do more to support women driving rural economies, including in Ireland.

The report calls for improved access to public and private finance for women entrepreneurs, ring-fenced funding through the LEADER programme, simplified access to EU funds for women in traditional crafts, and stronger support for female farmers through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Ms Walsh said: I welcome the committees support for a new ringfenced budget for the LEADER programme, but we must recognise that we face an uphill battle given the current proposals coming from the European Commission. One of my top priorities throughout the budget negotiations is tangible financial support for women across rural Ireland.

Through this report, I am calling for practical changes: fast-track financing for women entrepreneurs and microbusinesses, simplified access to EU funds, and targeted CAP supports for female farmers.

Ms Walsh also told the commission to begin addressing long-standing barriers women face when acquiring or inheriting land, and to ensure the upcoming EU Land Observatory collects gender-disaggregated data to guide future policies.

The reports recommendations will feed into upcoming EU funding programmes that directly impact Irelands agriculture and rural development budgets. I will continue working to ensure these proposals are reflected in Irelands implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy and in continued funding for LEADER and rural womens initiatives, Ms Walsh said.
Police cybercrime units in Northern Ireland did not have the capacity or capability to effectively manage the risk posed by a prolific online predator who drove one of his victims to take her own life, a Police Ombudsman investigation has found.

Ombudsman chief executive Hugh Hume said it was clear that Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) teams tasked with detecting and investigating online child sexual abuse by catfish abuser Alexander McCartney were under-resourced and under pressure.

However, although under-resourcing was found to have resulted in delayed police inquiries and the ineffective management of McCartneys bail conditions, Mr Hume said the investigation had identified no misconduct by any individual police officer, given the pressures they had been under.

In October 2024, McCartney, from Newry in Co Down, was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison after being convicted of offences including unlawful act manslaughter, inciting children to engage in sexual activity, and making and possessing indecent images of children.

Cimarron Thomas, from West Virginia, US, who took her own life while being blackmailed by prolific online predator Alexander McCartney (PSNI/PA)

Cimarron Thomas, from West Virginia in the United States, took her own life in 2018, immediately following contact with him online.

In January 2020, Cimarrons father, Benjamin Jay Thomas, also took his own life.

McCartney had first been arrested more than two years before Cimarrons death, in February 2016, after indecent images of children were found on his mobile phone.

He was 17 at the time and was interviewed by police before being released on bail.

However, delays in producing evidential reports about some 1,100 indecent images of children found on his phone and other devices seized at the same time, meant that he was not interviewed about them again until more than two years later, in May 2018.

Cimarron died just five days before this interview.

During the same two-year period, McCartney had been involved in abusive online communications involving at least seven other children. He was on police bail throughout this time.

The PSNIs ability to identify other offenders, frustrate sharing forums and ultimately protect children and young people were compromised

Mr Hume said the delays in police inquiries had been due to insufficient resourcing amidst a growing backlog of digital devices requiring examination in connection with online child abuse.

He said: When the initial devices were seized from McCartney in 2016, the officer responsible for investigating his online offending was part of a team that, due to absences and other factors, had only five officers in post against the complement of 14 that it was supposed to have.

This resulted in delays in the investigation and potential prosecution of those whose activities pose such a risk to children and young people, and opportunities to proactively follow evidence to identify where indecent images of children were being shared were missed.

Consequently, the PSNIs ability to identify other offenders, frustrate sharing forums and ultimately protect children and young people were compromised.

Concerns about delays in the McCartney investigation led the PSNI Chief Constable to ask the Police Ombudsman, in April 2021, to conduct an independent investigation into its handling of the case in the three years since McCartneys home had first been searched in January 2016.

The PSNI advised that an internal review had raised concerns about the timeliness of the police investigation, the prioritisation of investigative actions, as well as about risk management processes and the management of McCartneys bail conditions.

However, McCartney's targeting of young girls is a clear example of violence against women and girls in the digital space.

A separate report by the National Crime Agency, commissioned by the PSNIs Public Protection Branch in September 2021, noted that the resources available to the PSNIs Child Internet Protection Team (CIPT), were currently insufficient to manage the number of referrals in a timely manner, resulting in risks to victims and the wider community, and the potential to impact on public confidence.

There was a gap of more than two years and three months between McCartneys initial arrest and interview and him being interviewed again about more than 1,100 indecent images which had by then been found on his phone, a tablet and five computers.

By the time this interview took place, on May 18 2018, McCartney had been arrested a second time.

This was on March 21 2018, nine days after the PSNI received information from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that he had, during a Snapchat conversation, tricked a girl in Lancashire into sending him an indecent image, then threatened to post it online.

The NCMEC also advised PSNI that indecent images of children were being uploaded from McCartneys home IP address.

Around five weeks later, he was in contact with a 14-year-old girl in Los Angeles who sent him images involving self-harm.

At the time of his second arrest, McCartney was 19 and studying Computer Science at college.

His bedroom was searched, resulting in the seizure of eight more digital devices.

Following an initial triage, five of these devices were submitted to other police teams for forensic examination.

McCartney was jailed last year at Belfast Crown Court (Liam McBurney/PA)

The evidential report about one of these devices, a mobile phone which McCartney had admitted was his, was not completed until April 2019, over a year later.

By that stage he had been arrested a third time, after Police Scotland advised the PSNI that a young person had received naked photos via Snapchat from a person whose internet address was linked to McCartneys home.

Reports on the four other devices seized in March 2018 had still not been completed by the time he was arrested for a fourth time on July 30 2019.

This was despite one of those devices, a laptop, having been found during an initial triage examination in September 2018 to contain indecent images of children, along with evidence that McCartney had, during January and February 2018, been sent a video of self-harm by a 13-year-old girl in Florida, and another explicit video involving other children.

On January 2 2019, the laptop was resubmitted to the Cybercrime Centre, with a higher priority, to enable the production of an evidential report. Despite its priority status, the report was not completed until 20 February 2020, almost two years after the laptops initial seizure.

Inquiries by Police Ombudsman investigators found significant pressures among all PSNI teams responsible for investigating online offending involving children and indecent images.

In 2018, the Services Cybercrime Centre, staffed by around 60 officers, accepted applications from other police teams for the examination of some 935 computers and 284 mobile phones.

Mr Hume said: Despite this, sufficient investment was not allocated during this period to allow for any purposeful increases in human and technical resourcing to assist in reducing investigative delays.

In addition, the PSNIs Cybercrime Centre, which conducts digital forensic examinations on behalf of other teams, used a prioritisation process in which terrorism and serious crime offences received priority, negatively and disproportionately impacting on the examination of devices being submitted to it by the Child Internet Protection Team (CIPT).

However, McCartneys targeting of young girls is a clear example of violence against women and girls in the digital space.

As this case demonstrates, it can have devastating consequences and should carry equal weight in terms of the prioritisation of digital forensic examinations.

We have also reported on a number of cases recently in which issues have been identified in the way digital devices have been handled, stored and examined by police.

We recognise the resourcing demands and complexities of digital forensics, but it is clear that the PSNI needs to take positive steps to ensure the integrity of all digital exhibits, the protection of personal data and the effective and timely use of digital forensics to protect the vulnerable and secure important evidence.
A man is in critical condition after being found with serious injuries in Co. Longford on Saturday evening.

Gardai say they are investigating all the circumstances of the incident, which happened in Drumlish, at around 7.30pm.
A young man who was caught dealing cocaine for profit on Pouladuff Road in Cork at a time when he had no addictions admitted to gardai he had been selling the drug for five months before he was caught.

Now, he has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Detective Garda Bryan English testified at Cork Circuit Criminal Court that drugs unit officers searched Sean Myers, at Sarah Ville Place, Ballyphehane, Cork, when they met him at Pouladuff Road Cork, on July 5, 2024.

In the course of the search of him and the car he was driving, they found 987 worth of cocaine in 21 deal bags ready for sale. They also seized 1,365 in cash in the car.

He cooperated form the beginning and admitted having the drugs for sale or supply. He was conveyed to Togher Garda Station.

A follow-up search was carried out at his home at Sarahville Place. A further 17,000 worth of cocaine was found, together with 2,480 in cash. Also found was large quantity of plastic zip-lock bags and digital weighing scales.

He was 19 at the time. He was working and living at home. When initially stopped, he said it was for the sole purpose of selling for profit. He admitting preparing, wrapping and weighing the drugs.

He had no addictions and did not take controlled drugs. He has no previous convictions and he has not come to Garda attention since, Det Garda English said.

Defence barrister Peter OFlynn said: He admitted selling cocaine for five months before he was caught. He said there would be evidence of this on his phone.

There is a reference from his employer saying he is a hardworking young man. Since arrest, he has become something of a recluse.

Before Det Garda English left the witness box, Mr OFlynn asked him: Would you accept he has learned his lesson and is unlikely to come to Garda attention again? The detective did accept that proposition.

Judge Helen Boyle imposed a sentence of three years, which she suspended.

The judge said while the young man was fully cooperative with the search and investigation, it was a relatively significant amount of cocaine.

You were actively involved in selling it you and you were involving yourself with dangerous people and and creating danger for others. It is at the higher end. You were very young to be involved in this kind of offending.

You have come forward on a signed plea of guilty. You left school early, probably too early. You are capable of becoming a productive member of society. You are employed and attending that job every day. You have not come to attention since. You have a supportive family with you today. You are still a very young man.

If you come back before the court you will be at risk of that sentence. The ball is in your court. It is up to you to stay away from the drugs trade, Judge Boyle warned.
The jury in the Macroom murder trial was shown a long, black-handled carving knife on Monday that was found by a bus driver in the cargo hold of a bus.

Garda Mary Malone held up the exhibit as bus driver Paudie McKenna gave evidence of finding the knife which he believed was stained with either rust or dried blood.

32-year-old Daniel Hourigan who is originally from Farranree in Cork City and 32-year-old Linda O'Flynn, who is originally from the Hollyhill area of Cork City, both deny the murder of 61-year-old Michael Foley at his home in Macroom between January 31 and February 1, 2024.

Each defendant effectively blames the other. To the murder charge, each of them replied not guilty to murder but guilty of impeding the prosecution of another person.

On February 1, 2024, at 11.20 in the morning, Paudie McKenna picked up passengers at Macroom on the bus he drove from Tralee to Cork City.

He described a man and woman who got on together and left a black plastic refuse sack after them in the cargo hold. At the end of his workday he looked into the bag.

Curiosity got the better of me. I said Id have a look and see was it rubbish or someones belongings. I dont want to throw anyones belongings away, he said.

The first thing he noticed when he tore open a hole in the black plastic bag was a strong smell of something like mouthwash or cleaning product. There were empty alcohol bottles at the bottom of the heavy bag and a pair of what looked like clean new sneakers in a small size.

He said:

Next to the pair of sneakers I saw a long knife. I took the knife out of the bag. I had a good look at the knife.

For safety reasons it was discarded in a skip for metals at the bus depot. It was retrieved by gardai after they contacted him nine days later. As soon as he was contacted he asked the guard if it was about the man and woman who got on the bus at Macroom.

Describing their appearance he said the woman was wearing a lot of layers of clothing and was sweating. The male was low-sized, he had bushy eyebrows and a bushy moustache and I dont mean to be disrespectful but he looked like a kind of Super Mario. That kind of came to my mind, Mr McKenna said.

He looked kind of scared, worried. He had a kind of blank expression on his face.

Mr McKenna said when the bus was only a 100 metres from the stop at Western Road, the woman walked up to the top of the bus and asked if she could get off at the traffic lights instead, telling the driver she was pregnant and needed to use a toilet. He said she and the man got off at that stage and that the black refuse bag was left on the bus.

Cross-examined by Ray Boland, senior counsel on behalf of Daniel Hourigan, the bus driver said of the man he saw that day on the bus: He seemed out of it, he had a stare in his eyes, his mouth open  a rabbit in the headlights kind of stare.

Mr Boland reminded the witness of his comment in his statement to gardai about the man and the woman: She was in charge  seemed to be leading him along. She seemed to be more in control.

Witness statement

Sergeant Brian Ahern gave evidence of the statements made by another witness who was not present in court, who stayed at Michael Foleys home occasionally. 43-year-old Neringa Stalioniene met Michael Foley in November 2022 when she was homeless and using Simon facilities in Cork.

He said she could use the smaller bedroom at his home in Macroom and she did so, staying there for weeks or months at a time. She said when he started drinking he would sometimes tell her to get out. She described a platonic relationship between them, adding that he was her fathers age.

Ms Stalioniene said in her statements to gardai that she slept there on the night of January 31 and the morning of February 1, 2024, and did not hear anything unusual.

At 7.35am on February 1, 2024, I met Michael in the corridor of the house. He looked normal, he did not have blood on his face or his head. He told me to get out.

"I heard a voice of a young fellow. A lot of f***, f***, f***. I think it was a mans voice. I cant say for definite, she said.

She returned about five hours later at 12.32pm. I opened the door, It was not locked. I thought he would be sleeping or still drinking. The first sound I heard when I entered was he shouted to get out of my house.

"He sounded very, very drunk. It sounded like something in his throat. I didnt see him. I did not go further in because he is landlord and I didnt want any confrontation with him. I didnt hear anyone in the house this time. I think the TV was on in the background. I closed the door and left the house.

At the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford told the jury of nine men and three women that she had other business to attend to in Dublin on Tuesday so the trial would not resume until Wednesday, November 12.
A child who had suffered "extensive and unusual" bruising across his body died from injuries to the head and liver that are typically associated with road traffic collisions or trauma from punching, kicking, gripping, or striking with a blunt object, a pathologist has told the Central Criminal Court.

State pathologist Heidi Okkers told Anne Rowland, prosecuting, that she was aware the child had been brought to hospital on March 13, 2021, with suspected non-accidental injuries. The most severe injuries were to the head and a laceration to the liver, while there were "extensive and unusual" bruises to the child's face, back, chest, arms, and legs.

The child was unresponsive when brought to hospital. He underwent neurosurgery, but his condition did not improve, so he was taken to Temple St Hospital in Dublin where he was placed on life support until March 16. Doctors told the family that the boy was not going to recover, and they agreed to withdraw life support. The child died at 1.15pm that day.

The child's stepmother, a woman in her 30s from the South-West of the country, has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the boy's manslaughter in March 2021. She cannot be identified to protect the identity of a child who is to give evidence in the trial.

Dr Okkers carried out her examination on March 17, the day after the boy died. She detailed bruises of varying colours and ages on the child's face, ears, chest, back, arms, and legs.

The brain, she said, was significantly swollen, with subdural bleeding above the right ear. There was also evidence of "axonal injury", which is caused by the brain shifting from side to side. Such injuries are associated with road traffic collisions and assault, the pathologist said. In a child, she said it would be caused by shaking, punching, or striking the head, causing it to rotate or move back and forth.

Dr Okkers said she was aware that the child's father had said the head injury was caused by a fall from the top bunk of a bunk bed. People do not get axonal injuries from falling off beds, Dr Okkers said, because a rapid rotation of the head is required. "The head has to move at some speed for the brain to move," she said.

The subdural haemorrhage indicated that besides shaking, the head was struck against a flat surface such as a wall or floor, Dr Okkers said.

Studies have shown that children who fall from bunk beds would not suffer such significant trauma, she said. Subdural bleeding may occur in less than 1% of such cases, she said, but those did not cause death. "It is very rare to have a significant head injury from a fall from a bed," she said.

Dr Okkers noted lacerations to the front and back of the child's liver which would have been caused by direct trauma to the abdomen. She said the injury would have been caused by a punch, a knee, or a kick, or a blow with a blunt object. It would not be caused by a fall, she said. The liver injury would have been painful and would have caused the child to cry, Dr Okkers said.

The pathologist concluded that the cause of death was a traumatic head injury, in association with blunt force trauma to the abdomen. Either injury to the head or the liver could have independently caused death.

The different ages and distribution of the bruises, she said, would not typically be found in a child. While children often have bruises to the knees, shins, and forehead, the injuries to the child's arms, legs, face, each side of the head, chest, sides, and back are not typical.

A series of oval-shaped bruises to the right shoulder could be fingerprints as a result of someone handling the child, she said.

Under cross-examination, Dr Okkers agreed with Michael Lynn, defending, that she had previously said the injury to the liver could have been caused by gripping or compression. She said it would be "more likely a punch than a grip". Some of the bruises on the child's shins and knees could have been caused by the child using a trampoline that was in the garden of the house, she said.

Det Gda Treasa Kelly told Ms Rowland that she searched the house where the child had lived with his father and stepmother. In the child's bedroom, she found Neurofen for children, arnica ointment, and a hot-and-cold pack for the treatment of minor injuries, sprains, and swelling.

The packaging on the arnica ointment, Det Gda Kelly said, indicated that it is a homoeopathic remedy for treating bruises.

Garda Michelle O'Carroll told Ms Rowland that she searched the master bedroom and found dirty laundry, including soiled child's underwear and socks, a soiled bedsheet, and a

Toy Story

pyjama top.

The trial continues in front of Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of four women and eight men.
The Government is targeting the delivery of 12,000 new social homes each year as part of its revised housing plan.

Ministers are expected to sign off on the plan today, Monday, at a meeting of the Cabinet committee on housing, before it is formally adopted by Cabinet on Wednesday.

Sources confirmed the revised plan would be split into two sections, the first of which deals with activating land for housing, and the second focuses on supports for people  including those in homelessness and the elderly.

Target increased by 1,800

Under the previous Housing for All plan, the Government had targeted the delivery of 10,200 social homes per year from 2026 onwards.

This will now increase to 12,000 under the new plan.

One senior government minister said a more significant element of the policies will be formed by the report from the accelerating infrastructure taskforce early in December. The source said:

It will be much more radical than people expect.

The source added that it will include recommendations to provide for emergency legislation to deliver key infrastructure projects.

It is understood that proposals within the new plan include a national audit of zoned, serviced, and unzoned land to be carried out regularly.

This, sources said, will help plan towards the delivery of 300,000 homes by the end of 2030.

The plan also calls for a scale to be introduced for environmental legal costs and a recommendation for a review of development contributions.

These contributions are paid by developers to local authorities, with rates varying across the country. The funds raised are typically used to fund public infrastructure such as footpaths.

New urban towns

The plan also includes a recommendation to accelerate the construction of new urban towns, citing the impact of areas such as Adamstown.

There has been some effort to play down the scope of the plan in recent days, with senior sources indicating significant portions have already been unveiled.

This includes reforms made to rent pressure zones, changes to apartment size guidelines, as well as changes to the Vat rate on apartments provided for in Budget 2026.

It comes as a deal between the Government and Irelands major banks to provide funding for small builders is said to be close.

The deal itself would see Irelands sovereign wealth fund, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, match funding provided to small and medium developers by the banks.

Funding would also be provided at a reduced interest rate.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin first signalled a deal was on the table, in late October with negotiations still underway with the pillar banks of AIB, Bank of Ireland, and PTSB.

One government source said they are hopeful agreement will be reached very soon.

At the moment, a few large developers are building most of the housing, with SMEs finding it difficult due to constraints in accessing finance, the source said.

This funding increase will be particularly helpful in getting more housing developments built in rural towns and villages.

The Taoiseach also met with the chief executives of a number of local councils last week  including Dublin City, Fingal, Kildare, and Wicklow  to press for more zoned lands.
Seven years before the terrace of houses he built was burnt to the ground, Paddy Byrnes helicopter crashed in a hotel carpark.

The events were unrelated, but together gave a rare glimpse of a Celtic Tiger developer, who he was, what became of his work.

He has flitted in and out of the headlines since. There he is, emerging from his bankruptcy. Is that the same Paddy Byrne who built the dangerous homes in Newbridge, now back in business with another company?

Listen to the bankruptcy official in the UK describing him as trying to cheat creditors.

Down in the courts earlier this year there was a liquidator claiming that Mr Byrne was ducking and diving, buying a hugely expensive vehicle for himself while creditors whistled Dixie.

And now, the latest incarnation of the extraordinary Mr Byrne.

He is currently in dispute with South Dublin County Council over attempting to develop modular homes on a site that has never received full planning permission, in an area in which the zoning is so restrictive it is all but impossible to get any kind of permission.

He has even taken the highly unusual move of writing a personal appeal to elected councillors to allow him to carry on.

So it goes in the various incarnations of a Celtic Tiger developer who, in many ways, summed up the times back then and, in other ways, continues to do so today.

Byrne was one of a whole clutch of developers who got rich during the time of plenty in this country in the early years of the new century.

If you had any kind of a background in construction, the semblance of a business head on you, and a sackful of ambition, the Tiger was your oyster.

He was born in 1969, reared in Thomastown, outside Naas, and began his working life as a roofer. In the 1990s, he began working for himself, developing sites. In 2001, his main corporate vehicle, Barrack Homes, was set up.

He worked across the country, but mainly in the Leinster area. Pretty quickly, Mr Byrne was rolling in it.

He bought a mansion in Athgarvan in rural Kildare. He acquired the must-have toy for Tiger developers  a helicopter.

He was a feature at major race meetings, and his company sponsored the Pat Taaffe Handicap Steeplechase at the Irish National Hunt Festival in 2007.

Helicopter crash ahead of financial crash

The following year, Byrne came to public attention, really for the first time, when his 2.4m Sikorsky helicopter crashed in the carpark of a hotel near Bettystown in Co Meath.

Four people were reportedly hurt, but nobody sustained life-threatening injuries.

By then, the dark economic clouds were gathering on the horizon.

Byrne was also, at that time, constructing a full estate of timber-framed houses and apartments in Newbridge, Co Kildare.

Millfield Manor was a mixed development of two- and three-storey townhouses and apartment blocks.

Most of the homes were sold at a time when the Tiger was still at a gallop.

The 'Irish Examiner' report on September 19, 2008, of the crash the previous day at Bettystown Co Meath of a helicopter owned by Paddy Byrne's company, Barrack Construction Ltd.

But before the full estate could be offloaded, the squeeze was put on Byrne, as it was on so many in the same business at the time.

He ended up declaring bankruptcy in the UK in 2011, with debts approaching 100m.

The UK at the time was a favoured destination for those declaring bankruptcy, as it was legally possible to emerge from the process within one year, while in this country the term was 12 years.

Byrne did not get out of his bankruptcy at the earliest legal opportunity.

The insolvency service overseeing it accused him of an attempt to cheat creditors through engaging in several transfers from his personal account at the National Irish Bank to relatives and associates in informal and unwritten arrangements which, because of their undocumented nature, were impossible to prove.

He found himself, as such, spending a longer period exiled in the UK than he had bargained for.

Millfield Manor blaze

Meanwhile, back home, the bitter fruits of Byrnes work were being manifested.

On March 31, 2015, a fire razed a terrace of six houses in Millfield Manor in less than half an hour.

Thankfully, the fire occurred in the afternoon, when very few people were in the homes, and they were evacuated relatively easily.

But the fire should have taken at least three hours to do the damage that was done in half an hour.

Immediately, Kildare County Council opened an inquiry into what had happened and whether the other residents were in any further danger.

A report pointed out a whole range of fire-safety defects in the estate, which rendered the homes extremely dangerous in the event of a fire breaking out.

The owners attempted to get help from the local authority, which pointed to Paddy Byrne as the developer.

The scene after the fire at Millford Manor in Newbridge, Co Kildare, in 2015, when a terrace of six houses was razed in less than half an hour, prompting the opening of an inquiry by Kildare County Council and a report which pointed out a whole range of fire-safety defects.

One estimate was that remedial work would cost 15,000 for each home.

A further complication was that each individual homeowner could only make their home safe if their immediate neighbours on each side did likewise.

They lobbied politicians. They attempted to make Mr Byrne accountable, but his company was no more. They were left high and dry.

While Mr Byrne has what is often referred to as a colourful history, so too has the site that he is currently working on.

In 1969, 16 mobile homes and six chalets were installed on a site in Raheen, near Brittas, Co Wicklow.

The owner of the site, David Hill, did not obtain any planning permission for this development. It was called Chianti Park, giving it an exotic flavour of the hills of Tuscany.

There was, at the time, some controversy locally about the development.

The result was that, in August 1972, the parliamentary secretary for the minister for local government (what would today be a junior minister) granted planning permission, as was within his power.

By todays standards, such power invested in a politician might seem to be from another world, but thats the way it was. The permission, however, came with the stipulation that the mobile homes should be removed within one year.

This didnt happen.

Neither did Dublin County Council (as it then was) seek to enforce the condition of planning.

At least not until 16 years later when, in April 1988, Mr Hill was instructed by the council to remove what was an unauthorised development.

The matter was unresolved and ended up in the High Court, which issued a decision four years later, in March 1992.

In it, the court pointed out that the planning act of 1963 required that the council must, within five years of an unauthorised structure being in place, serve the enforcement notice on the owner.

It went on: The date for that would have expired in 1978, that is five years after the year within which the condition was to apply.

The judgement concluded by expressing dismay that in a proceeding where a condition was attached that was to end after one year, Dublin County Council should do nothing for 15 years, and in that sense both allow the defendant to assume that it was all right to continue and not to enforce the planning condition which it itself had granted.

That was a theme that would be, and even continues to be, repeated ad nauseam from the bench in cases of planning enforcement by local authorities across the State.

The High Court ruling was appealed to the Supreme Court by the council, but the appeal failed.

As a result, Chianti Park was to be left as it had been constructed, despite not having any planning permission.

The park continued to be inhabited by various tenants up until around 2015. Thereafter, it lay idle until earlier this year, when who should come calling but our old friend, Mr Paddy Byrne?

Bankruptcy extended

The intervening years had seen Mr Byrnes fortunes rise and fall. His bankruptcy in the UK was extended because of what the insolvency service saw as his failure to co-operate fully.

In 2018, he was back in business, running a company called Victoria Homes. His new vehicle survived the pandemic, but not by much.

In April 2024, a liquidator was appointed to the business on foot of a debt of 447,000.

In August this year, the matter was before the High Court again, and in an echo of what had occurred during Byrnes UK bankruptcy, the liquidator was having difficulty in sifting through the debts.

The court was told by liquidator Aidan Garcia that he was aware that Byrnes mansion in Co Kildare had been put up for sale with a price tag of 2.75m.

I have a considerable concern that the funds realised therefrom will be dissipated and put beyond the reach of me, as liquidator, and the companys creditors, he said.

Among the issues he raised were:

A complete absence of accounting records after 2019. The company had continued to trade after April 2020, a time after which it was unable to pay its debts. This was reckless;

Byrne, the main director, owed his company 294,000;

He had failed to disclose a mortgage-free property in Holyhead, north Wales, worth approximately 76,000. He claimed this was an oversight;

In May 2022, at a time when the company could not pay its debts, Byrne had purchased a Range Rover for a sum of 72,000;

He had also taken 80,000 from the company in lieu of rent he said was owed to his mother;

He paid out 36,000 for an alleged corporate event in a gun club in Co Kildare.

Byrne disputed many of these issues, but Garcia noted he didnt produce any evidence to back up his contentions, and in the case of the Range Rover, changed his story.

The liquidator applied for a freeze on funds to be realised from the sale of the mansion. The judge agreed to the stay, to the value of 600,000.

Three days later, the case was again before the High Court. Following undertakings given by Byrne and accepted by the liquidator, the freezing order was lifted.

Now in his third known developer incarnation, Byrne is engaged in work on the site in Brittas Bay.

After Barrack Homes and Victoria Homes, his current vehicle is Branach. And controversy is following him again, this time centred on the status of the site he is developing.

South Dublin County Council is seeking an interim injunction to stop Byrnes company building modular homes on the site.

Mr Byrne has personally written to councillors, pleading his case, and addressing a rumour that the site would be used for housing international protection applicants.

No agreement, proposal, or application exists to accommodate Ipas residents or to use the site for any form of refuge or State-directed housing, he wrote.

A spokesperson for An Garda Siochana confirmed to the Irish Examiner that there was a fire, treated as an incident of criminal damage at the site on October 5.

A technical examination has since been conducted by the Divisional Scenes of Crime Unit, and investigations are ongoing, the spokesperson said.

Elsewhere, in the letter to the councillors, Byrne claimed that the proposed development was covered by Section 28 of the Planning Act 2000, which is designed to facilitate the renewal, upgrading and replacement of existing residential units.

The site has been unoccupied for 10 years, and the section referenced is designed for sites for which planning permission was originally obtained, which doesnt apply here.

Zoning is a further hurdle

Another hurdle that Byrne would have to leap is zoning.

The county development plan has designated this area of the Dublin Mountains as highly restrictive for developing, in order to protect and enhance the outstanding natural character of the Dublin Mountains area.

It stipulates that any kind of development will only be considered in exceptional circumstances.

As things stand, the development is going ahead, even though no building control certification has been produced.

South Dublin County Council has gone to the courts, seeking an injunction to stop the work.

So far, a full hearing has been put back twice, and the issue is before Dublin Circuit Court again next month.

Sinn Fein housing spokesperson Eoin O Broin says the case is extremely concerning because it involves the flouting of building control, planning, and zoning laws.

Not only is this development taking place without any planning application or permission, it is also in clear breach of the councils high amenity zoning and building control regulations, Mr O Broin says.

To date, no certification has been submitted for these structures.

Given the history of the developer involved, including in Millfield Manor, this is a serious concern.

The Irish Examiner submitted a number of questions to Mr Byrne and, despite repeated attempts to contact him in person, he has not responded to any of the queries.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin was giving it the big ni neart go cur le cheile in his speech at the COP30 climate change leaders summit in Brazil last week, as he stressed the need to act with unity and with more urgency.

But in carefully-worded remarks midway through his speech on Thursday, he said that the spirit of common purpose is weakening and the worlds attention is being diverted elsewhere.

At a time when political leadership has never been more vital, there are fewer of us here in Belem, fewer leaders ready to tell it as it is, he said.

Climate change is unarguable. The science is undeniable. Temperatures are rising, and the clock is ticking.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin addressing the COP30 climate conference at Belem, Brazil, last Thursday. Picture: Government of Ireland & Government of Brazil/PA

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB

If we are not prepared to tell our citizens the truth about this, we are failing them, and this planet, in the most profound way.

Science cannot be denied.

Theres a very large Donald Trump-shaped elephant in the room at this years COP30 as the US and other major polluters turn away from the annual conference aimed at driving consensus on essential action to both limit global warming and combat the worst effects of climate change.

Already this year, the US has again pulled out the Paris Agreement and Mr Trump recently called climate change a con job.

The damage done to Angela and Aine Ducey's home at Killavullen, Co Cork, was just one instance of innumerable disruptions during Storm Eowyn which felled trees and caused power outages across Ireland earlier this year. File picture: Larry Cummins

This is at the same time as scientists are saying it will be impossible to prevent the earth exceeding the key 1.5C milestone, at least temporarily, as the latest figures show the last 11 years have been the hottest ever recorded.

The devastating weather events we already see, even at home in Ireland, will only increase the longer we follow this path, according to experts.

And Europe has shown up at COP30 with a hastily-agreed, last-minute deal on cutting emissions which critics have said is much diluted and has get out of jail free cards built in.

It all adds up to a rather weary and pragmatic mood among advocates rather than a hopeful one heading into COP30.

Peter Thorne

Peter Thorne, director of the Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units group (ICARUS), said it is very difficult to tell what can be achieved in the next two weeks, given the absence of the US and the dearth of leadership on show.

Many delegations are at skeletal levels or not attending at all, Professor Thorne said.

The Paris Agreement set a long-term temperature goal of below 2C [above pre-industrial levels] and strive to keep them below 1.5c.

Its still alive. But living in a climate that is fundamentally altered, it will continue to get worse.

"And we need to get our own house in order [in Ireland].

In theory, the COP summit is aimed at providing a place for countries to discuss solutions to climate change, including energy policies, financing schemes, or funding needs.

Peter Thorne, Professor in physical geography (climate change) at Maynooth University and director of ICARUS, the Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units.

Nearly every summit is also attended by world leaders, meant to give an important signal that their countries are committed to the climate change goals.

This year, the absence of four of the worlds five most-polluting economies  China, the US, India, and Russia  is telling.

Beyond the country negotiations, the COP summit offers a chance for anyone to try to draw attention  or funding  to their cause.

Hundreds of side events see activists and scientists rubbing shoulders with industry lobbyists and banking heavyweights.

As host, Brazil plays a key role in setting the agenda for the summit. It has targeted a renewed focus on ending forest loss, pertinent in a country home to the Amazon rainforest.

It has also pinpointed climate finance  where richer countries support poorer ones to mitigate against climate impacts  and moving into a post-negotiation phase where it is less about debate and more on tangible action.

On this last point, the influence of fossil fuel lobbyists and states that produce these fuels and the stance of the US make agreement in this sphere a fraught endeavour.

But what can realistically be done at this years COP that could have a tangible impact in the years to come?

The experts pushing for change maintain a scepticism that the policymakers will step up to the plate, but theres no denying the clear calls to action that are there before them.

Breffni Lennon

Breffni Lennon, research fellow at University College Cork, and part of the universitys delegation at COP30, said what is realistic to try to achieve very much depends on ones perspective.

There are a variety of goals, like the delivery of robust national climate commitments based on detailed country climate action plans set in train after the Paris Agreement, Mr Lennon said.

Breffni Lennon, research fellow at University College Cork, is part of UCC's delegation at COP30 in Brazil. Picture: Tomas Tyner/UCC

Theres agreeing the global financial mechanisms needed to fund the transition to climate-neutral economies, not only for those countries that can afford it but more importantly the most vulnerable countries and communities already struggling with intersectional inequalities.

And agreeing the nature-based solutions needed to reverse biodiversity loss, assist in reforming global food systems, while at the same time protecting indigenous land rights

All these goals are very much achievable, but what is unknown is whether the political will is there yet to achieve them.

Peter Thorne had a specific ask around funding as part of another role he has chairing the Global Climate Observing System.

This system does what it says on the tin, with Prof Thorne saying such things arent sexy but keep things ticking over.

Weve survived on American largesse for systematic observation, and for funding  and thats gone away, he said. At a period when we need it the most, we risk observing the earth less well than we have been.

One thing Im hopeful on [at this COP] is a commitment to multilateral support for this. I think they will have to. The risk of not seeing whats happening and the risk of not seeing early warning signs of tipping points is just too high.

However, Breffni Lennon singled out a potential wider impact from the US stance at this years COP too, as well as the influence of fossil fuel industries.

Unfortunately, the United States continuing status as a climate laggard may hinder negotiations and indeed may embolden those countries committed to hinder progress, essentially maintaining the fossil economy status quo, he said.

There is a very real danger that this years COP will fall far short of what is needed, given trending climate inaction sustained by misinformation campaigns by the fossil fuel lobby.

Some of the worst impacts of climate change are currently being seen in the countries that have done the least to contribute to them and are least well equipped to deal with them.

NGOs that work on the ground in some of the worlds poorest regions are clear in their asks for COP30.

Laura Bahlman

Concern Worldwides climate resilience advocacy adviser, Laura Bahlman, said that communities are struggling for their very existence in the face of climate change.

From countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Malawi experiencing recurrent flooding, to Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia facing repeated droughts, these communities need to see the commitment of wealthier countries at COP to ensure they are able to adapt, survive and transition, she said.

Sinead Loughran

Trocaire has also put ambition, accountability, and action at the heart of its asks at COP30, as it hit out at the EU in particular for arriving to the conference with an inadequate plan.

Sinead Loughran, Trocaires climate justice policy and advocacy adviser, is attending COP30 in Brazil. Picture: Trocaire.org/Kai Evans

Its climate justice policy and advocacy advisor Sinead Loughran said the onus now falls on leaders to push for revised plans to deal with the reality of the climate crisis, and also get our own house in order at the same time.

When a large historical emitter like the EU reduces its ambition, it is the poorest in the world who shoulder this burden. This is manifestly unjust, she said.

As we look to Ireland to negotiate for higher ambition as part of the EU at COP30, this must be matched with action at home, where just climate action takes precedence over corporate interests.

Over the next two weeks, all eyes will be watching keenly on whether these principles actually win out, as time continues to tick inexorably on and our planet gets inevitably warmer.
Its three simple questions that have the potential to make the biggest impact on the future of education in Ireland.

For the first time, parents are asked to have their say on their preferences when it comes to primary school education.

It will be the first time data to this extent will be gathered to create a national picture of what type of school parents want to send their child to, now and in the coming years.

Its hard to know to what extent Irelands changing demographics will impact on the findings.

The parents of both pre-school and current pupils are invited to take part in the survey, which is set to be repeated in 2028.

The five-minute online survey here asks parents their preferences when it comes to the gender mix, the language medium, and whether theyd prefer a religious or non-religious patron, denominational or multi-denominational.

Its a straightforward question that carries with it big implications.

Patronage

In Ireland, primary schools operate under a system that gives a lot of power directly to its school patrons.

Patrons have the power to appoint the members of a schools board of management, meaning its the patrons, and not the Department of Education, who decides on a schools management.

A patron, and not the State, also sets a schools ethos, or its characteristic spirit as it is described in the Education Act 1998, which determined its cultural, educational, moral, religious, social, linguistic, and spiritual values and traditions.

Crucially, this piece of legislation also gives the patrons a legal right to design their programmes in accordance with the ethos of their schools.

While all schools are obliged to teach the curriculum, this legislation allows its ethos to influence how it is taught.

Catholic patronage in most primary schools

This extends across all subjects on the curriculum. Patron bodies also have the responsibility for religion and how it is taught in individual schools, not the State.

In a multi-denominational school, pupils learn about all faiths and belief systems.

Just under 6% of primary schools are under multi-denominational patrons.

These patrons include Educate Together, Education and Training Boards, which operate the States community national schools, and An Foras Patrunachta.

Most primary schools are under religious patronage, and the vast majority (88.3%) of these schools are Catholic.

This is mismatched with wider society.

Latest Census data

Latest available Census data shows that while the population grew, the number of people identifying as Roman Catholic fell.

In 2022, just under 70% of people said they identified as Roman Catholic, a decrease from 78% in 2016, while those with no religion increased to 14%.

Looking at children in particular, Census 2022 found that 65% of pre-school children were described as Roman Catholic, 16% had no religion, and 3% were Muslim.

People between the ages of 25 to 29 were also less likely to identify as Roman Catholic than other age groups.

This cohort, who you could expect to see potentially becoming parents in the coming years, also had the highest proportion of people who reported having no religion (26%).

Last year, 30% of marriages took place outside of the Catholic faith.

However, as society has changed, successive efforts have tried and failed to increase the diversity of primary schools to offer parents more choice.

In many towns and villages across Ireland, there are no other options for local schools apart from those under Catholic patronage.

Progress to improve the choices on offer has been glacial.

A target of a previous government to achieve 400 multi-denominational primary schools by 2030, through a mix of transferring patronage or the establishment of new schools, was quietly omitted from the new programme for government.

20 schools transferred patronage

In recent years, 20 schools have successfully transferred their patronage.

Of this, 17 became multi-denominational community national schools, one school transferred to the patronage of Educate Together, one Irish-medium gaelscoil transferred patronage to An Foras Patrunachta, and another, under the patronage of An Foras Patrunachta, changed to a multi-denominational ethos.

There have also been many attempts through different pilot projects that didnt result in any transfers, despite strong demand.

A key criticism of previous reconfiguration pilot projects was that the processes tended to be overly complex and vague, and, crucially, asked parents to make a decision on a new school patron, without having any idea who it could be.

With the recently launched parents survey, once the Department of Education has the data to suggest strong demand in an area, at that point a facilitator will be appointed.

It would only be the beginning of a process, that will involve further consultation with parents, teachers, the school, and the current patron.

Schools changing patronage still celebrate Christian holidays

If a school does decide to become multi-denominational, almost everything about day-to-day running would stay the same.

If it switched to a multi-denominational ethos, a schools board of management would change its personnel, but the structure would remain in place.

If a school decides to become multi-denominational, it will keep its teachers.

Its also worth noting that all primary schoolteachers, regardless of their own background or what schools they go on to teach in, train together in the same higher education institutions.

Catholic holidays like Christmas or Easter will still continue to be celebrated in a multi-denominational school, and the school holidays will continue to follow the same calendar as they always have.

However, in a multi-denominational school, there is also celebration of the holidays of other faiths, usually mirroring the backgrounds of the student body.

All teachers must follow the same code of teaching practice, which instills values like respect and inclusion.

Its likely many good teachers working in schools of all patronages are already taking steps to make sure all children in their classroom feel included.

But even with the best intentions, there are structural limits to this. Between first and sixth class, the primary school curriculum dedicates two hours each week to religious education, which in each individual school matches the beliefs of its patron.

In Catholic schools, this takes the form of faith formation and focuses on Catholic teachings, while in multi-denominational schools, children learn about all faiths and belief systems during this time.

If a school switches to a multi-denominational patron, Catholic children will still be able to attend the school but preparation for Catholic sacraments such as First Holy Communion and first confession would no longer take place during the school day.

Instead, children would prepare with their parents and their local parishes.

 Parents can access the Primary School Survey online here. It will remain open until December 16.
Tim Davie has announced he will step down as director-general of the BBC after five years in the role, saying there have been some mistakes made and that he had to take ultimate responsibility.

The chief executive of BBC News, Deborah Turness, also announced her resignation following a newspaper report earlier in the week which accused the corporation of selectively editing a speech by Donald Trump on the day of the US Capitol attack.

Mr Davie said his departure will not be immediate and that he is working through timings to ensure an orderly transition over the coming months, while Ms Turness said in her statement that the controversy around the Panorama edit had reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC  an institution that I love.

In these increasingly polarised times, the BBC is of unique value and speaks to the very best of us

The controversy relates to a memo by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBCs editorial standards committee, who raised concerns in the summer about the way clips of the US presidents speech on January 6 2021 were spliced together in Trump: A Second Chance? to make it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to fight like hell.

The documentary was broadcast by the BBC the week before last years US election, which critics have said was misleading and removed a section where the US president said he wanted supporters to demonstrate peacefully.

The BBC is expected to apologise on Monday after the Culture, Media and Sport Committee asked chairman Samir Shah what actions he would take to address the concerns.

Committee chairwoman Dame Caroline Dinenage said Mr Davies resignation was regrettable, adding but restoring trust in the corporation must come first.

Mr Shah said it was a sad day for the corporation.

In a statement sent to staff, Mr Davie said his resignation was entirely his decision and that he is thankful to the chairman and board for their unswerving and unanimous support during his tenure.

He said: Like all public organisations, the BBC is not perfect, and we must always be open, transparent and accountable.

Tim Davie with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy (PA)

While not being the only reason, the current debate around BBC News has understandably contributed to my decision.

Overall the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as director-general I have to take ultimate responsibility.

Ms Turness, who has been in the role since 2022, said that she had offered her resignation to Mr Davie on Saturday night, adding that despite mistakes being made, the allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong.

In a message sent to staff, she said: The ongoing controversy around the Panorama on President Trump has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC  an institution that I love.

BBC News and Current Affairs head Deborah Turness has also quit (PA)

Ms Turness also thanked staff and said she could not be prouder of the work they have done, saying that together they helped to grow trust in BBC News.

The BBC has been criticised for a number of failings in recent months which include breaching its own accuracy editorial guidelines, livestreaming the controversial Bob Vylan Glastonbury set, as well as misconduct allegations surrounding former MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace.

UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy thanked Mr Davie for his service to public service broadcasting and for leading the BBC through a period of significant change.

She also stated the Government will support the board through the transition and that the upcoming charter review will help the corporation adapt to a new era that secures its role at the heart of national life for decades to come.

Ms Nandy said the broadcaster was one of our most important national institutions which told the story of who we are  the people, places and communities that make up life across the UK.

Tim has given 20 years of his life to the BBC. He is a devoted and inspirational leader and an absolute believer in the BBC and public service broadcasting

Now more than ever, the need for trusted news and high quality programming is essential to our democratic and cultural life, and our place in the world, she added.

Earlier on Sunday, Ms Nandy told the BBCs Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme she was confident BBC bosses are treating allegations of bias with the seriousness that this demands.

The PA news agency understands the BBC will provide further details on the Panorama episode in its letter to the Culture Media and Sport Committee on Monday.

Dame Caroline said: The BBC board must now begin the long process of rebuilding the corporations reputation both at home and abroad, after the damage caused by what has become a seemingly constant stream of crises and missteps. The committee will be meeting on Tuesday to consider the BBC chairs response to our letter and next steps.

At the same time the Government should bring forward the Charter Review process so the public and Parliament can help shape the future direction of the BBC.

BBC chairman Samir Shah said it was a sad day for the corporation, adding that Mr Davie had been an outstanding director-general who had propelled the BBC forward with determination, single-mindedness and foresight.

Mr Shah continued: He is a devoted and inspirational leader and an absolute believer in the BBC and public service broadcasting.

He has achieved a great deal. Foremost, under his tenure, the transformation of the BBC to meet the challenges in a world of unprecedented change and competition is well under way.
South Koreas ousted conservative president Yoon Suk Yeol faces more criminal charges as prosecutors alleged that he ordered drone flights over North Korea in a deliberate bid to stoke tensions and justify his plans to declare martial law.

Yoon set off the most serious political crisis in South Koreas recent history when he imposed martial law on December 3 2024, and sent troops to surround the National Assembly. He was later impeached and removed from office, and is in jail standing trial on charges including masterminding a rebellion.

His successor and liberal rival, president Lee Jae Myung, approved legislation that launched independent investigations into Yoons martial law stunt and other criminal allegations involving him, his wife and associates.

On Monday, Yoon and two of his top defence officials were charged with benefiting the enemy and committing abuse of power over their alleged drone flights, which came about two months before the declaration of martial law, according to a special investigation team.

North Korea accused Seoul of flying drones over its capital, Pyongyang, to drop propaganda leaflets three times in October 2024. Yoons defence minister, Kim Yong Hyun, initially made a vague denial, but South Koreas military later switched to saying it could not confirm whether or not the Norths claim was true.

Any public confirmation of South Korean reconnaissance activities on North Korea is highly unusual.

Tensions rose sharply at the time, with North Korea threatening to respond with force. But neither side took any major action and tensions gradually subsided.

When Yoon announced martial law, he briefly cited threats from North Korean communist forces, but focused on his fights with the liberal-controlled parliament that obstructed his agenda, impeached top officials and slashed his governments budget bill.

Yoon called the National Assembly a den of criminals and anti-state forces.

On Monday, Park Ji-young, a senior investigator working for independent counsel Cho Eun-suk, told a briefing that her team still indicted Yoon, Kim and Yeo In-hyung, ex-commander of the militarys counterintelligence agency, over the alleged drone flying.

She said the trio undermined the military interests of the Republic of Korea by increasing the danger of a South-North armed conflict with the purpose of setting up an environment for declaring emergency martial law, Ms Park said.

Ms Park disclosed what she called memos found in Yeos mobile phone, some of which suggest likely plots to trigger tensions with North Korea. Memos include wordings like creating an unstable situation, drones and targets like Pyongyang that could force North Korea to respond because of a loss of its face.

Ms Park said she will not give any further explanation about those memos due to concerns about leaks of military secrets.
A Paris appeals court has decided to release former French president Nicolas Sarkozy from prison and place him under judicial supervision.

Mondays announcement came less than three weeks after Sarkozy began serving a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy in a scheme to finance his 2007 election campaign with funds from Libya.

Sarkozy, 70, was expected to leave Pariss La Sante prison in the afternoon. He will be banned from leaving the French territory, the court said. An appeal trial is expected to take place later.

Sarkozy became the first former French head of state in modern times to be put behind bars after his conviction on September 25. He denies wrongdoing.

He was jailed on October 21 pending appeal but immediately filed for early release.

During Mondays hearing, Sarkozy, speaking from La Sante prison via videolink, argued he has always met all justice requirements.

I had never imagined I would experience prison at 70. This ordeal was imposed on me, and I lived through it. Its hard, very hard, he said.

Sarkozy also paid tribute to prison staff who he said helped him through this nightmare.

Sarkozys wife, supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, and two of his sons attended the hearing at the Paris court.

Mondays proceedings did not involve the motives for the sentencing.

Still, Sarkozy told the court he never asked Libyas longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi for any financing.

I will never admit something I didnt do, he said.

Under French law, release is the general rule pending appeal, while detention remains the exception.

The former president, who governed from 2007 to 2012, faces separate proceedings, including a November 26 ruling by Frances highest court over illegal financing of his failed 2012 re-election bid, and an ongoing investigation into alleged witness tampering in the Libya case.

In 2023, he was found guilty of corruption and influence peddling for trying to bribe a magistrate in exchange for information about a legal case in which he was implicated. Frances highest court, the Court of Cassation, later upheld the verdict.
The US Supreme Court on Monday rejected a call to overturn its landmark decision that legalised same-sex marriage nationwide.

The justices turned away an appeal from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky court clerk who refused to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples after the high courts 2015 ruling in Obergefell v Hodges.

Ms Davis had been trying to get the court to overturn a lower-court order for her to pay 360,000 dollars (273,384) in damages and lawyers fees to a couple denied a marriage licence.

Kim Davis refused to issue marriage licences to same-sex couples (Timothy D Easley/AP)

Her lawyers repeatedly invoked the words of Justice Clarence Thomas, who alone among the nine justices has called for erasing the same-sex marriage ruling.

Mr Thomas was among four dissenting justices in 2015. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito are the other dissenters who were on the court on Monday.

Mr Roberts has been silent on the subject since he wrote a dissenting opinion in the case. Mr Alito has continued to criticise the decision, but he said recently he was not advocating that it be overturned.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was not on the court in 2015, has said that there are times when the court should correct mistakes and overturn decisions, as it did in the 2022 case that ended a constitutional right to abortion.

But Ms Barrett has suggested recently that same-sex marriage might be in a different category from abortion because people have relied on the decision when they married and had children.

Ms Davis drew national attention to eastern Kentuckys Rowan County when she turned away same-sex couples, saying her faith prevented her from complying with the high court ruling.

She defied court orders to issue the licences until a federal judge jailed her for contempt of court in September 2015.

She was released after her staff issued the licences on her behalf but removed her name from the form. The Kentucky legislature later enacted a law removing the names of all county clerks from state marriage licences.

Ms Davis lost a re-election bid in 2018.
US President Donald Trump is hosting Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the White House, welcoming the once-pariah state into a US-led global coalition to fight the so-called Islamic State (IS) group.

It is the first visit to the White House by a Syrian head of state since the Middle Eastern country gained independence from France in 1946, and comes after the US lifted sanctions imposed on Syria during the decades the country was ruled by the Assad family.

Mr al-Sharaa arrived at the White House a little after 11.30am and began his Oval Office meeting shortly afterwards.

The meeting is closed to the press, and the Syrian president entered the building through West Executive Avenue, adjacent to the White House, rather than on the West Wing driveway used for other foreign leaders arrivals.

Mr Al-Sharaa led the rebel forces that toppled Syrian president Bashar Assad last December and was named the countrys interim leader in January.

Mr Trump and Mr al-Sharaa  who once had ties to al Qaida and had a 10 million-dollar (7.6 million) US bounty on his head  first met in May in Saudi Arabia.

Ahmad al-Sharaa led the rebel forces that toppled Syrian president Bashar Assad (Francisco Seco/AP)

At the time, the US president described Mr al-Sharaa as a young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past, very strong past. Fighter.

It was the first official encounter between the US and Syria since 2000, when then-president Bill Clinton met Hafez Assad, the father of Bashar Assad.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Mondays visit is part of the presidents efforts in diplomacy to meet with anyone around the world in the pursuit of peace.

Mr Trump, a Republican, has recently said that Mr al-Sharaa is doing a very good job so far and that a lot of progress has been made with Syria since the US eased sanctions.

One official with knowledge of the administrations plans said Syrias entry into the global coalition fighting IS will allow it to work more closely with US forces, although the new Syrian military and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the countrys northeast had already been fighting the group.

Before Mr al-Sharaas arrival in the US, the United Nations Security Council voted to lift sanctions on the Syrian president and other government officials in a move that the US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, said was a strong sign that Syria is in a new era since the fall of Mr Assad.

Mr al-Sharaa comes into the meeting with his own priorities. He wants a permanent repeal of sanctions that punished Syria for widespread allegations of human rights abuses by Mr Assads government and security forces. While the Caesar Act sanctions are currently waived by Mr Trump, a permanent repeal would require Congress to act.

One option is a proposal from Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that would end the sanctions without any conditions. The other was drafted by Senator Lindsey Graham, a hawkish Trump ally who wants to set conditions for a sanctions repeal that would be reviewed every six months.

But advocates argue that any repeal with conditions would prevent companies from investing in Syria because they would fear potentially being sanctioned.

Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, likened it to a hanging shadow that paralyses any initiatives for our country.
Lebanese authorities released the son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Monday after he paid a 900,000-dollar (683,460) bail, ending his 10-year detention for allegedly withholding information about a missing Lebanese cleric, security officials and a member of his defence team said.

One of Hannibal Gaddafi s lawyers, Charbel Milad al-Khoury, told The Associated Press that Gaddafi was released on Monday evening after necessary paperwork was finished. Two security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, also confirmed that Gaddafi was set free.
An N.C. House Select Committee is recommending that the General Assembly change a state law forcing districts to start school the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end no later than the Friday clo
By Laura Pereira, University of the Witwatersrand

(The Conversation)  New research has found that the world has reached the first of many Earth system tipping points. These will cause catastrophic harm unless humanity takes urgent action.

A tipping point is a moment in the Earths climate system where even small changes can lead to significant, often irreversible consequences. Some of the most well known global tipping points are melting ice sheets at the north and south poles, the dieback of the Amazon rainforest and the collapse of vital ocean currents. If these happen, food systems could break down and sea levels would rise rapidly.

Tipping points also speed up global warming, making more climate disasters likely.

Im a sustainability scientist, and I was part of a large, global team who recently updated the 2023 Global Tipping Points report. This report identifies negative tipping points that will likely trigger devastation in the world, and the potential for positive tipping points  where a desirable change becomes widespread (such as finance flowing towards nature-supporting activities).

In our second Global Tipping Points Report, we explain that some damaging Earth system tipping points are already being crossed. Others could soon follow, with potentially catastrophic impacts on societies and nature globally.

Its important to note that negative climate tipping points cannot be reversed.

This means that if the world underestimates how certain events could trigger a climate tipping point, we might run out of time to act before the damage becomes irreversible or too severe to adapt to.

Governance has to change to address this new reality. Small, step-by-step changes are not going to be enough for the world to avoid the worst impacts of global warming. Climate action must accelerate radically to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions that stress ecosystems, and to regenerate nature before it is too late.

One tipping point triggers another

Climate tipping point risks are interconnected. Most of the interactions between them are destabilising. This means that tipping one system over into disaster makes tipping another more likely. The negative impacts would cascade through the ecological and social systems we depend upon, creating damage that keeps mounting up.

Global temperatures in both the atmosphere and oceans have recently spiked. Oceans are absorbing 90% of extra heat from the earth that isnt absorbed by plants. This is a sign that Earths climate is becoming increasingly unstable. While these spikes are not tipping points themselves, they can trigger them.

For example, if the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) (system of ocean currents) collapses, then west Africa will likely experience more frequent and severe droughts. This is because these currents move warm surface water to the north and cold deep water to the south in the Atlantic, moving heat around and regulating global climate. Without it, the west African monsoon will be disrupted and this will reduce rainfall and cause hotter, drier conditions.

There is growing evidence from observations and modelling that the AMOC could be at risk of either entering a tipping point or collapsing.

Another example is Africas coral reefs. Over 80% of the worlds coral reefs, including reefs in Kenya, Senegal, Cape Verde, Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar, were hit by the worst global coral bleaching event on record between 2023 and 2025. Coral bleaching is where coral becomes stressed when the water heats up too much. Prolonged bleaching can lead to widespread coral death.

As coral protects the coast from wave damage and provides food and income from tourism, coral death in African waters would be a huge problem.

Taking action

All major Earth systems are becoming more likely to reach dangerous tipping points because of global warming. However, some are also being pushed closer to collapse by local human activities, such as deforestation or overfishing.

This means that there is a chance to act to stop the damage  for example, by reducing deforestation of the Amazon, or reducing overfishing of coral reefs.

The world must act right now. The window to prevent serious damage is closing fast. Countries have committed to reducing greenhouse gases but not enough to stop global warming from shooting more than 2C above pre-industrial times by 2100.

Political instability, conflicts and attacks on climate science are making coordinated action harder.

The risks of delaying are too great. The worlds governments need to radically speed up climate mitigation (steps to reduce emissions to protect the planet and people from climate change).



Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

Positive tipping points are examples of these actions that could lead to exponential change. Our report identified that these already exist. For example:

solar photovoltaic panels are decreasing in price so that more people can switch to solar energy

battery storage systems that store power are becoming more affordable and can be recycled

judgements against fossil fuel companies in climate lawsuits.

These positive tipping points are starting to interact and reinforce one another.

What needs to happen next

The International Court of Justice recently ruled that world leaders must take immediate action, on a level that hasnt been seen before, to prevent climate change.

When they do this, justice needs to be at the centre to make sure that preventing climate change does not have unintended negative consequences. For example, mining rare earth metals to meet growing demand for battery storage can unfairly displace communities living on mineral-rich lands.

Another example is the race to mine the seabed for minerals to make renewable energy components. This risks damaging or destroying entire, under-explored ecosystems and the ecosystem services they provide.

New harms must not be caused while trying to stop climate change.

Laura Pereira, Associate professor, Global Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
( Tomdispatch.com )  Its been a while since Ive written for TomDispatch and theres a reason for that. About 16 months ago, I experienced a catastrophic car crash. An SUV veered across the double yellow line of the highway I was traveling on and hit my little Chevy Spark head-on  on the drivers side. Ive been told that Im lucky to be alive. I was left with multiple injuries and have been on the slow road to recovery.

Ive always seen myself as a person who pushes forward to overcome obstacles. Since the collision, however, doing so has become more complicated, because Im learning that recovery is a long road, filled with detours I couldnt have predicted. Time and again, my expectations have been turned upside down. Ive had to take deep breaths, sit back, and pay close attention.

A few months into recovery, I was invited to attend a day-retreat organized by a local veterans moral leadership group. Those vets live with whats known as military moral injury (in some cases going back decades). For years now, Ive been researching and writing about the devastating consequences of the militarization of this country and the armed violence we loosed on the world in the twenty-first century. Ive been listening carefully and trying to more deeply understand the stories of veterans from Americas disastrous wars in my own lifetime.

Now, given my own condition, a new window has opened for me. I cant help but see more clearly the visceral experience of recovery, including moral recovery. So, I found myself sitting in that circle of a dozen vets, the only woman among them. And I soon had to catch my breath, because, as I briefly described what I was experiencing, they responded in a way I hadnt expected, expressing their own profound vulnerability, understanding of, and empathy for my plight. I probably shouldnt have been surprised at how they got it in a way that even my loved ones struggled to grasp when it came to my own journey through the challenging nature of recovery.

Intolerable Suffering

Most civilians know little or nothing about the experiences of vets who live with whats become known as military moral injury. Its been described as intolerable suffering that arises from a deep assault on ones moral core. Think about facing horrific suffering caused by violence you not only had to witness, but could do nothing to stop. You probably were even trained and mandated to perpetrate it. Sooner or later, such a dystopian world invariably slices through whatever bedrock values youve been taught and begins dissolving your sense of self. Thats military moral injury and its been linked to the epidemic of self-harm and suicide among former members of the U.S. military that continues to this day.

Over the years, Ive come to understand that military moral injury is rooted in being exposed to unsparing violence. It erupts as a consequence of witnessing violence, perpetrating it, and/or being on the receiving end of its death-dealing forms of betrayal. Moral injury bursts forth as people find themselves powerless to stop the suffering violence begets. War is a deep assault on life itself (both figuratively and literally) and violence isnt a tool that a person picks up or sets down without consequences.

Admittedly, in this century, we in this country became woefully adept at denying the impact of our own violence on ourselves and the rest of the world. Psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton called that phenomenon psychic numbing. We tend to minimize the violence weve committed globally and avoid facing what its done to our own soldiers, burying any awareness of it deep in our subconscious minds. Its too painful, too scary, too horrible to live with (if you dont have to) and, when weve been so deeply mixed up in it, too shameful to stay with for any length of time.

Nonetheless, the penetrating cultural and systematic violence of American militarism and militarization globally has shaped all our lives, even if its only the 1% of us who have actually done the dirty work and suffer the most. My own work has helped me see how the militarized violence of the post-9/11 period, orchestrated by my own country, is now being turned inward with increasingly violent military incursions into our nations cities.

In my research, Ive investigated the obscene level of material resources this country has dedicated to militarization in this century, our unparalleled empire of military bases (domestically and internationally), and the ways that the violence of militarism has dripped into our own lives, culturally and institutionally. And make no mistake, subterranean forms of violence regularly burst into direct armed violence. We tell ourselves that violence is like a coat that you can put on and take off when you choose, but thats a tragically mistaken way of thinking. Violence works its way into your body, even into your soul. Then it festers there, eating away at your capacity for being human  your longing for loving, honest relationships; your care for yourself and others; and your deep connection to other living beings. Even worse, in a culture that glorifies violence and has made it into something sacred, such dynamics are excruciatingly hard for us to see clearly.

Nevertheless, the veterans I sat with that day were in recovery from just such an exposure to violence and they understood me. They recognized what was happening to me because of their own struggles to grasp and admit their injuries, especially their moral injuries, and get themselves on the highway of healing and repair.

Moral Injury and the Guinea Worm

These last years, Ive been trying to find words that truly describe the experience of military moral injury. In that context, let me share a story with you. Some weeks ago, I was driving and listening to NPR on the radio when I heard a reporter launch into a story about the near-eradication of a terrible plague, Guinea worm disease, or GWD. At one point, that parasitic malady had debilitated an estimated 3.5 million people living in 20 different African and Asian nations.

A searingly painful disease, Guinea worm infects people who drink water tainted with its larvae. Those eggs then grow into worms that can be up to three feet long inside the human body (including childrens bodies). Think of them as long thin ropes. Eventually, the worms break through the skin in burning blisters, bursting out of the body. One sufferer said that it was more painful than childbirth, and the process of extraction can take weeks as the worm spools out like something from a horror film.

The pain is so awful that some people in natural settings will seek out water in streams or ponds for relief from the burning sensation. But as they plunge their limbs in, they release thousands more Guinea worm larvae, contaminating the water. Then, the cycle repeats itself as others drink that same water.

As I listened to the story that day, I could feel my face twisting into a grimace. What a horrific and frightening affliction, I thought.

The Dream That Visited Me

Reaching home, I continued with my days work  a new book focused on a set of in-depth interviews with military veterans living with moral injury. I hope to shine a stronger light on their voices, while tracing their journeys of reparation, recovery, and the renewal of hope. But that night, a dream about the Guinea worm awakened me.

It was as if my subconscious had made a connection too awful for me to make consciously. In the dark of night, I realized that violence is like the Guinea worm. In the United States, people thoughtlessly  even in a celebratory fashion  drink it in, absorbing it into their bodies and generally thinking little of being exposed to it.

One common theme from the interviews Im conducting with veterans is how many of their fathers and mothers encouraged them to enlist in the military when they were teenagers, some just 17 years old. Their parents obviously didnt wish them to be hurt. They just believed that such service and the discipline that went with it would make a man out of you, while giving them a useful trade in life or earning them money to go to college or buy a home. They generally werent prepared to consider how encouraging their children to enlist might lead to exposure to relentless violence in their lives (if, that is, their children even lived through it). It really was akin to taking their child to a stream to drink water infected with the Guinea worm.

The violence their children, now the veterans I was dealing with, would witness, or even mete out and absorb, had melted their humanity. As one veteran put it, I became cold, unfeeling. It wasnt until decades later, when his daughter accompanied him to a therapy appointment and, weeping, told him about the impact his iciness had on her, that he began to grasp the cost of war not only to his own life, but to hers as well.

When I asked another veteran, What exactly was injured in you? he responded, I became cruel, unnecessarily. He had been acclimated into a military culture where soldiers in training were disciplined by those of slightly higher rank through regular physical assaults, being slapped, hit in the head or groin, having things thrown at them. He became very good at such behavior himself, even reveling in it, until, many years later, his life fell apart, and he saw what he had both done and lost.

Another veteran described to me the results of the violence in his life this way: My heart was broken, and it was as though poison was injected into me. That veteran had enlisted at the age of 17 in the militarys delayed entry program and endured three deployments to war-torn Iraq. When he enlisted, he hoped to use his military benefits to become a pediatrician later in life. But after his service, being in the presence of children shamed and devastated him. And there was no one he knew who understood what he was experiencing.

Military moral injury is like the Guinea worm that festers in a persons body until it begins to burst out, painfully and devastatingly. And were now in a culture and society in which all too many of those we claim to esteem, our servicemembers and veterans, are living with just such pain. They say its like losing your soul. Interviewing them, I now understand that perhaps the worst part of that pain is the isolation they experience. Their fellow citizens simply dont understand what theyre going through and, in fact, regularly avoid dealing with it.

Eradicating the Violence That Worms Its Way into Our Souls

A new documentary tells the story of how Guinea worm disease, born out of poverty and perpetuating poverty, has been nearly eradicated. Even more surprising, the overcoming of that devastating parasite did not happen through the development of fancy medicines or vaccines, but by distinctly low-tech means. Activists on the ground tirelessly used the power of education and discussion, so that those potentially most affected could learn how to both filter the water they used and avoid spreading the larvae through water. Jimmy Carter and the Carter Center devoted funding to and publicized support for the campaign to bring the disease under control, and that cause remained front and center for Carter until his death.

One such activist is Garang Buk Buk Piol, a former child soldier in Sudan. Carrying an AK-47 when he was 12 years old, he learned how to slay another human being. But according to the documentarys director, That child turned into a Guinea worm warrior, a philanthropist and an activist amongst his people. He has spent his life as a teacher in South Sudans schools, building programs to fight Guinea worm disease, waging peace and building hope.

In a country that engaged in so many disastrous wars in this century (with another one in Venezuela possibly looming on the horizon), the veterans Ive been interviewing were left in the unavoidable position of having to swallow violence alone, intimately, and on a profound scale. Today, like Buk Buk, many in the moral engagement group have taken up the work of healing, reparation, and community building, even while they still struggle with the consequences of their own violence and that of others in their lives.

And what about the rest of us? I experienced the violence of a serious car crash and my life wont ever be the same as before. But the crushing collision with violence that too many of our veterans are still dealing with is so much more horrible than anything I (or most of the rest of us) could possibly imagine. Meanwhile, the growing violence of my country (and these days, in my country) since 9/11, continues to  yes!  worm its way into our bodies and souls, even if so many of us arent really aware of it.

Weve become accustomed to believing that there is no other way except through violence. But that is patently false. This Veterans Day, Ill be thinking about the sort of acts I can muster to respond to the latest assaults of violence that are penetrating our lives, city streets, workplaces, courts, universities, federal institutions, access to healthcare, food security, and all too much else. Instead of responding with fear, collusion, or apathy, Im making plans to resist violence with others through acts of healing, humor, love of neighbor, and building hope. I hope you are, too.

Copyright 2025 Kelly Denton-Borhaug

Via Tomdispatch.com
China's first homegrown AS700 manned airship officially delivered in East Chinas Shaoxing

13:43, November 10, 2025 By Xu Yelu, Tao Mingyang ( Global Times

The skyline of Yuecheng district in Shaoxing, East China's Zhejiang Province, recently welcomed a distinctive "aerial visitor." The Xiangyun AS700, known as the "aerial beluga," arrived at Jianshui Science and Technology City amid widespread attention. As the airship glided into its dedicated hangar, it marked the official delivery of the first AS700 manned airship in East China, a key milestone toward the commercial operation of manned airships, the Global Times learned from the Special Vehicle Research Institute under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the developer of the airship, on Monday.

Independently developed by AVIC's Special Vehicle Research Institute, the AS700 is China's first manned airship built in full compliance with airworthiness regulations and boasts complete independent intellectual property rights. Measuring 50 meters long with a maximum range of 700 kilometers, it can carry up to 10 passengers. Its smooth, cloudlike form inspired its name, "Xiangyun," meaning "auspicious cloud."

Thanks to its "low-altitude, slow-flight, safety, and reliable" features, the AS700 airship can cruise at an optimal sightseeing altitude of 100-300 meters, allowing tourists to enjoy a bird's-eye view of Jiangnan's picturesque waterways. This immersive experience represents the unique appeal of airship tourism, something traditional ground travel cannot replicate.

In the coming months, the airship will undergo further flight verification in Yuecheng to advance its commercial operation process. It is expected to be open to the public next year after obtaining the relevant certifications. The Special Vehicle Research Institute is simultaneously advancing personnel training, with the first three AS700 pilots soon to complete their training and provide professional support for future operations.

The delivery marks a new beginning for the in-depth collaboration between the Special Vehicle Research Institute and Yuecheng district, aimed at building a complete industrial chain for manned airships and a broader low-altitude economic ecosystem. Through technological innovation, it will contribute to the high-quality development of China's low-altitude economy, helping China's homegrown airships take flight across more city skylines.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Zhong Wenxing)
The Lafarge trial, which is being held from November 4 to December 19, 2025, in a court in Paris, is addressing unusual questions about the criminal liability of companies operating in war zones. The French cement manufacturer, as a legal entity, is accused of financing terrorist organizations in Syria. Eight of its former executives, managers, and intermediaries are also called to the stand. Justice Info offers exceptional coveragethrough journalistic insights, analytical op-eds, and monitoring by political science studentsof this extraordinary trial.

Illustration:  Al Mata / Justice Info
A United Nations court Monday granted early release to a former Bosnian Croat defence minister convicted of war crimes including murdering and deporting Muslims in Bosnia in the early 1990s.

The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, based in The Hague, ordered Bruno Stojic released from detention in Austria to return to Croatia.

The 70-year-old had behaved well in prison, admitted the gravity of his crimes and was unlikely to reoffend, said presiding judge Graciela Gatti Santana in her decision.

"The gravity of Stojic's crimes is high and weighs against granting early release. However, there are a number of positive factors that weigh in favour of early release," she noted.

She cited "acceptance of personal responsibility for the crimes", "expression of regret for the consequences" of his actions, "very good behaviour in prison" and "good prospects of successful reintegration".

Stojic was sentenced to 20 years in jail in 2013 along with former Bosnian Croat president Jadranko Prlic and four others.

He had already surrendered to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in April 2004. His sentence was due to expire in September 2027.

In 2013, when convicting Stojic and the others, judge Jean-Claude Antonetti said they had aimed to establish reunification with Croatia.

To achieve that, they wanted to "modify the ethnic composition" of the land claimed by Bosnian Croats.

This, Antonetti said, they achieved by force, intimidation and terror "by conducting mass arrests of Bosnian Muslims who were then either murdered, beaten, sexually assaulted, robbed of their property and otherwise abused".

The bloody 1992-1995 war in Bosnia mainly pitted Bosnian Muslims against Bosnian Serbs, but for a period also saw vicious fighting between Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats. Some 200,000 people lost their lives in the conflict.

In 1992, the Bosnian Croats established a Croatian entity, known as the HVO, which was both an army and a government. In August 1993, they proclaimed the Croatian "state" of Herceg-Bosna in Bosnia.

Stojic was encouraged to "continue, even following his early release, to reflect on his conduct and responsibility and to consider concrete steps he could take to facilitate reconciliation", according to the court statement.
The world must act immediately to halt the "horrific atrocities" in Sudan's El-Fasher, the UN rights chief told AFP Monday, urging countries not to wait until a "genocide" was declared.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been at war with the regular army since April 2023, captured the last military stronghold in western Darfur on October 26.

Since El-Fasher's takeover after a gruelling 18-month siege, the United Nations and rights monitors have reported widespread atrocities, including ethnically-driven killings and abductions.

"It's clear that atrocity crimes are being committed as we speak," UN Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told AFP in an interview, stressing that the siege had in itself been "an atrocity crime".

"People were beleaguered and under siege, under horrific conditions, no food, hardly any water... We have reports of people having to eat animal feed, for example, eating peanut shells."

Pointing to the declaration of famine in some parts, he said it was "so desperate... with children dying of starvation".

Since the RSF had swept in, Turk said his office had received "credible evidence of mass killing; that when people are trying to flee this horrible situation, they get shot at".

"There are very serious reports of rape and sexual violence and gang rape, (and) we have very serious issues of killings of those who are supposedly collaborators," he said.

Asked if he feared a genocide might be underway, Turk stressed that "whether or not it qualifies for genocide is again for traditional authorities to say".

But, he insisted, "we shouldn't wait for any of this. We should act now, when these horrific atrocities are being committed as we speak".

"You don't need to wait until the court decides that it's been genocide."

The rights chief said there were fears that the atrocities unfolding in El-Fasher might be repeated in Sudan's oil-rich Kordofan region.

"I hope that the international community really wakes up," he said, lamenting that "all the warnings that we have given over the whole year... were not heeded."

It was vital to ensure there "is not a repeat again of similar things in North Kordofan", he said, cautioning that "the signs for it are extremely worrying".
Courtroom diary by the Capstone Course

Sciences Po Paris

    / This article is also available in Arabic on the Syrian Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) website.

At 2 p.m. on Tuesday November 4, 2025, an extraordinary anti-terrorism trial began on the second floor of a Paris Criminal Court. With cameras clicking and microphones at the ready, journalists crowded into the wings of courtroom 2.01. Surrounding them was a large police presence, reflecting the importance of the event: the start of the trial of French cement manufacturer Lafarge and eight of its former executives for financing terrorism and violating international financial sanctions.

In 2010, the Jalabiya factory in north-eastern Syria began cement production. A few months later, uprisings broke out, heralding armed conflict. Expatriate employees were evacuated, but Syrian employees were kept on the job, working in increasingly dangerous conditions. The price of securing production came to around 5 million paid to armed groups, notably Islamic State (IS). Although the events took place in Syria, Article 121-2 of the French Penal Code allows French courts to prosecute Lafarge SA as a legal entity, in its capacity as the parent company controlling 99% of its Syrian subsidiary Lafarge Cement Syria (LCS).

Unusual defendants

Inside the courtroom, the defence lawyers seem relaxed. There are many of them, occupying nearly two rows in the courtroom. Among them are leading barristers such as Solange Doumic and Jacqueline Laffont-Haik, who have defended the likes of former French President Jacques Chirac and Parisian politicians Patrick and Isabelle Balkany. They greet each other, chat loudly and interact with the press. Their coats and jackets are piled up behind them, hanging above a dock that is empty of the accused. They occupy the space with confidence, whether this be a touch of arrogance linked to the trial or just to lighten the solemn ritual of criminal proceedings.

The dock is empty, but some of the defendants are present: a group of elderly men in suits. They are not being held in preventive detention, and they sit on red chairs. These are not the usual figures seen in trials of jihadists. There are four former senior representatives of Lafarge: Bruno Lafont (former CEO), Christian Herrault (former deputy CEO), Bruno Pescheux and Frederic Jolibois (former directors of the Syrian subsidiary), as well as the factorys security manager, Jacob Waerness. At their side is Jean-Marc Golberg, the companys legal representative. Three defendants are being tried in absentia: Amro Taleb (consultant, alleged intermediary), Ahmed Ibrahim Al Jaloudi (former security manager, absent due to illness) and Hassan Firas Tlass (businessman), who is under an international arrest warrant and resides in the United Arab Emirates. After eight years of legal proceedings, these defendants are finally being called to the stand to answer the charges against them.

As the noise dies down and conversations become whispers, there is a tense atmosphere. Suddenly, silence falls and the solemnity of the place returns. All eyes are fixed on the front of the courtroom as the judges file in.

The presiding judge opens proceedings by reading the indictment. One by one, the defendants are called to the stand to state their identities. As they step forward, their discomfort is clear. They speak so softly that they can barely be heard. But as soon as an adjournment is called, their apparent discomfort seems to disappear. They stand, hands in pockets, pace the Paris courtroom and blend into the crowd, where their status as defendants seems to melt away into their usual privileged status. This reminds us of the unusual nature of this trial, where you can be charged with complicity in terrorism but appear in court as a free person.

Numbered layout of Courtroom 2.01. Photo:  Emilia Ferrigno



Presiding judge: Isabelle PREVOST-DESPREZ Two assistant judges Prosecutors: Aurelie VALENTE (deputy anti-terrorism prosecutor), Olga MARTIN-BELLIARD (assitant anti-terrorism prosecutor) Accused: Bruno LAFONT, Bruno PESCHEUX, Christian HERRAULT, Frederic JOLIBOIS, Jacob WAERNESS Defense lawyers: Jacqueline LAFFONT-HAIK, Quentin DE MARGERIE, Solange DOUMIC, Aurelia GRIGNON, Jean REINHART Civil parties' lawyers: Elise LE GALL, Joseph BREHAM, Matthieu BAGARD, Baptiste VACHON, Gregoire RIALAN, Julie FEVRIER Civil parties (organisations and individuals represented) Interpreters Public Press

A balance of power reversal

The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutors Office (PNAT), created in 2019, was born from the merger of the former anti-terrorism and crimes against humanity units of the Paris Public Prosecutors Office. After the Court of Cassation confirmed, in January 2024, the investigation into Lafarge for complicity in crimes against humanity  a first in French judicial history  the case was split. For so-called pragmatic reasons, only the anti-terrorism component is currently being tried. If a trial for crimes against humanity were to take place, it would be held before the Assize Court, with a jury, and the State would again be represented by the PNAT.

In a French courtroom, the position of the public prosecutor symbolises power relations. Prosecutors sit on the same level as judges, clearly above the defendants, in an arrangement that highlights the authority of the State. This is coupled with another form of hierarchy, namely the active role of the judge, who questions, reframes and re-launches, unlike in common law practices where the judge remains more of an arbitrator than a protagonist. However, this trial shifts the usual balance of power, as the prosecutor has been quick to point out from the start of the hearing. Unlike in other terrorism trials, it seems that here the defence has the upper hand. It submitted more than 500 pages of documents just one week before the start of the trial, causing upset for the prosecution. The defences almost unlimited resources contrast with the States more limited means. This reverse asymmetry has become a strategy in its own right, blurring the usual lines between public authorities and private actors in the judicial anti-terrorism arena.

Syrian employees excluded from the trial

Six young women sit in the front row of the civil parties benches on the left-hand side of the courtroom. They are pleading on behalf of French association Sherpa and German NGO European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), which have since 2016 been representing Lafarges Syrian employees. However, the Syrian employees are conspicuously absent from this trial. According to Elise Le Gall, one of their lawyers, they suffered direct and personal harm as a result of the financial agreements negotiated between Lafarge and the terrorist groups that controlled their movements. But the Court of Cassation in a 2021 ruling interpreted the financing of terrorism as an act that cannot create direct victims. This excludes them from being civil parties in this trial.

Employees will therefore not be entitled to claim compensation. At the hearing, their lawyers denounced this as a violation of the principle of equality, due to unequal access to justice. Victims must be given back the right to exist, they argued. Refusing to admit the victims case is tantamount to considering that a terrorist act can exist without victims, according to the lawyers.

In an unprecedented move, the civil parties therefore regretfully requested three priority preliminary rulings on constitutionality (QPCs). QPCs are a specific feature of French preliminary procedure law that allow a party to challenge the constitutionality of a legislative provision applicable to the case. The issue is then examined by the judges, who decide whether to refer it to the Constitutional Council. If a QPC is referred, the proceedings could be prolonged even though, paradoxically, the civil parties have been waiting a very long time for this trial. The civil parties lawyers say they are nevertheless prepared to take this risk if it means victims can receive the compensation they believe they are entitled to.

View from the public seating area. Illustration:  Maria Araos Florez

Procedural tricks

The defence raised a number of questions in four other QPCs. This was poorly received by the prosecution, which called it a massive use of procedural tricks to delay criminal proceedings. Deputy Public Prosecutor Olga Martin Belliard called these delaying tactics. She said there have been seven years of judicial investigations since the first interrogations and court appearances, so the parties have had seven years to raise any constitutional issues, but it was only in the last seven days that these seven QPCs were raised.

And so the first day of the hearing came to an end, marked by five long hours of monologues from both sides of the courtroom. The next day, after a detailed examination of all the QPCs from the previous day, the presiding judge dismissed them one by one with a wave of her hand. She also restored a certain balance of power by reprimanding one of the defendants who, hiding behind his co-defendants, discreetly took his phone from his pocket. Mr. Jolibois, where do you think you are? she said. Ive been watching you tapping away on your phone for the last few minutes! You will use pen and paper to take notes, like your co-defendants. It may help you to be more serious. Discreet laughter could be heard in the courtroom as the businessman was brought back to his status as a defendant.

A bit of drama

The second day was devoted to examining 13 procedural irregularities cited by defence lawyers. This is significant. In more ordinary terrorism trials, it is usually State-appointed lawyers who provide the defence. In the Lafarge trial, it is lawyers from private firms who specialize in white-collar crime. They may have less detailed knowledge of anti-terrorism law than of financial and tax law, but with skill they meticulously analyse each stage of the proceedings to detect any irregularities. This strategy requires considerable resources. Aurelia Grignon, for example, raised inconsistencies in the period covered by the charges against Pescheux, former director of Lafarges Syrian subsidiary. She said there was lack of coherence between the indictment and the order referring the case to the criminal court, which extended this period by two months -- from July (when Pescheux left his post) to September 2014 -- for new charges of advising his successor.

The strategy paid off. At 8.15 p.m., after six hours of debate almost entirely monopolised by the defence, the presiding judge suspended the hearing. The judges came back after an hour of deliberation, and representatives of the associations exchanged worried glances. This rather short deliberation did not bode well for them. The presiding judge did indeed declare a procedural irregularity, suggesting that proceedings would be delayed. But she saved a final twist by asking the defendants to stand. Not so fast, though. Well see you in two weeks, she said. Join us in Room 2.01 on November 18 for the next instalment...
A Kurdish group in Germany has filed a complaint accusing Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, German prosecutors confirmed to AFP on Monday.

Al-Sharaa, long known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, took over as Syria's interim leader after his rebel forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year.

In a complaint filed last week with Germany's federal public prosecutor's office, the Kurdish Community of Germany (KGD) group accused Sharaa of "genocide and the most serious war crimes".

"Al-Jolani bears joint responsibility for the genocide of Yazidi Kurds in 2014 and for continued, systematic acts of violence against minorities in Syria and Iraq," alleged Mehmet Tanriverdi, the KGD's deputy chairman, in a statement.

"With the principle of universal jurisdiction, Germany has the opportunity -- and the duty -- to prosecute such perpetrators, regardless of where the crimes were committed," he said.

Sharaa was once closely affiliated with Al-Qaeda, and his Islamist militant group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was itself only removed from the US list of terrorist groups in July.

But the Syrian leader has sought to break with his jihadist past and present a more moderate image since taking power from Assad after more than a decade of bloody civil war.

He is expected to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.

However, the KGD has vehemently objected to the mainstream acceptance of Sharaa.

The group denounced Chancellor Friedrich Merz's invitation for Sharaa to visit Germany for talks on the deportation of Syrian citizens from the country.

The KGD said it has "serious concerns" about Germany allowing "a suspected war criminal to stay in the country".

The Syrian embassy in Berlin did not immediately respond to an AFP inquiry about the complaint on Monday.






Sunday, November 9, 2025 - Nakuru Town West MP, Samuel Arama, has sparked public concern after he was spotted walking shirtless in public while heavily intoxicated.

According to a concerned resident, the MP had just left a bar in Kaptembwa town when he removed his shirt and wandered around in public.

Anakunywa pombe anatoa shati na ni mheshimiwa, lamented the distraught local, expressing disbelief that a sitting legislator could behave in such a manner.

Reports indicate that the controversial MP has been struggling with alcoholism, frequently visiting dingy bars, raising questions about his conduct and ability to fulfill his duties responsibly.

Nakuru Town West MP, SAMUEL ARAMA pic.twitter.com/yBWWNA6ONU  DAILY POST  (@dailypost_ke) November 10, 2025

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Monday, November 10, 2025 - Residents of Nakuru are living in fear as insecurity continues to rise, with ruthless thugs reportedly attacking people in broad daylight.

CCTV footage circulating online shows the shocking moment a househelp was attacked and robbed of her phone while returning home from church.

In the footage, the suspect is seen harassing the woman and hurling unprintable insults at her.

She attempts to avoid him, but he persists, ultimately snatching her phone before fleeing the scene as children who witnessed the incident scream in terror.

The video has reignited concerns over security in Nakuru, with residents calling on authorities to step up patrols and protect vulnerable members of the community.

Watch the video below or HERE>>>

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Monday, November 10, 2025 - A former Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldier has won a landmark case after the Court of Appeal upheld a ruling declaring his dismissal and imprisonment unconstitutional.

The soldier, who served for ten years, was awarded Ksh 8 million in compensation.

The dispute began in 2012 when the soldier failed to report for duty on a Saturday, citing religious observance of the Sabbath.

Despite requesting permission to attend worship on May 31st, his supervisor denied the request, marking the first refusal in his decade of service.

He was later imprisoned for 42 days and dismissed on grounds that his services were no longer required.

The soldier filed a constitutional petition with the Employment and Labour Relations Court (ELRC), arguing that his rights had been violated.

Justice Pauline Nyamweya ruled in his favor, awarding Ksh 5 million for violation of religious rights, Ksh 3 million in exemplary damages for unlawful imprisonment, and 12 months salary for wrongful termination, with interest and legal costs.

The Chief of Defence Forces, Defence CS and Attorney General appealed, arguing the soldiers absence was insubordination.

They cited Section 255 of the KDF Act and warned that religious exemptions could undermine military discipline.

However, the Court of Appeal upheld the ELRC decision, affirming that constitutional protections, including religious freedom, must be respected, even within disciplined institutions like the military.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Sunday, November 9, 2025 - A crackdown on highway robbers along the EldoretMalaba Highway has landed two suspects in police custody, following a stealth operation by officers from Matete and Webuye Police Stations.

The duo, William Simiyu and Byron Werunga, are believed to be part of a ruthless gang that has been preying on innocent motorists in a series of late-night ambushes that left travellers terrified and property lost.

After days of discreet surveillance, detectives finally moved in, arresting the suspects before they could stage their next attack.

Upon interrogation, the pair led officers to their hideouts along River Nzoia and Nabuyola Village, where a cache of stolen goods was recovered.

Among the items retrieved were three 6kg gas cylinders, assorted electronics, and vehicle batteries, all believed to have been looted from motorists attacked along the busy highway.

The suspects are now cooling their heels in custody as officers wrap up investigations ahead of their arraignment.

Meanwhile, security patrols have been intensified along the EldoretMalaba Highway as officers tighten the noose on the remaining gang members.





The Kenyan DAILY POST






Sunday, November 09, 2025 - During a Sunday church service in Samburu on November 9th, President William Ruto took a heartfelt moment to recognize his Aide-de-Camp (ADC), Brigadier Fabian Lengusuranga, for his unwavering dedication and professionalism.

Lengusuranga, a native of Samburu County, has been by the Presidents side since October 2022, when he succeeded Major General Stelu Lekolool.

Ruto praised the officers commitment, noting that he had entrusted key responsibilities, including his personal security, to locals from the region, with Lengusuranga at the forefront.

I have my confidant here - my ADC Fabian Lengusuranga. He knows where I am 24 hours a day, where I go, where I sleep, Ruto said, adding with a chuckle, If anything goes wrong with my security, the people of Samburu will have to answer.

The Presidents light-hearted tone underscored deep trust in his ADC, who was recently promoted from lieutenant colonel to brigadier.

Lengusuranga hails from the Kenya Armys elite forces and has quickly earned a reputation for precision and loyalty.

Rutos public appreciation not only highlighted Lengusurangas role but also celebrated Samburus contribution to national leadership.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Sunday, November 9, 2025 - A photo of President William Ruto passionately hugging upcoming female deejay, DJ Queen, at the Maa Cultural and Tourism Festival has gone viral, igniting reactions across social media.

The photo, taken during the festival celebrations, shows the President in a warm embrace, drawing admiration from some Kenyans while prompting debate among others online.

Social media users have flooded platforms with opinions, with some praising Rutos approachable demeanor, while others question the context of the hug.

Check out the trending photo.

The Kenyan DAILY POST








Monday, November 10, 2025 - A heartbroken Kenyan lady has publicly exposed a woman she accuses of snatching her husband and staying with him for a whole week.

In a post that has since gone viral online, the distraught wife shared a photo of the alleged homewrecker, calling her out for the betrayal.

According to the lady, the ordeal has left her emotionally devastated and shocked by how easily her spouse was influenced.

Netizens have reacted to the post, with many sympathizing with the woman and condemning the actions of the so-called homewrecker.

Others, however, advised the woman to put her house in order and resolve her marital problems privately rather than airing them publicly.

Check out the post.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Sunday, November 09, 2025 - A viral post on X (formerly twitter) by a Kenyan man has left netizens in stitches and a little suspicious.

The user revealed that his dad stumbled upon an old love letter his mom once received from her childhood boyfriend, whose name, coincidentally, was Rodney, the same name the son now bears.

The internet went wild, with comments ranging from Bro, your dad needs a DNA test ASAP to You might be Rodney Jr. for real.

Others joked that his mom was a master schemer, naming him after the one that got away.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Monday, November 10, 2027 - Outspoken Suba North MP, Millie Odhiambo, has responded with playful charm to ODM acting party leader, Oburu Ogingas recent revelation that he once secretly admired her.

Speaking in Ugunja over the weekend, Millie joked that had Oburu voiced his feelings earlier, she might have ended up married to a party leader.

Ive heard the youth leader (Oburu) confessed he used to admire me.

I cant believe my party leader just kept admiring me silently and looking at a beautiful girl like me until the Zimbabwean man made away with me, she said in her local dialect, referencing her husband, Mabona.

Now that he is the party leader, I would have been in a good place. But it has now escaped me, she added.

Oburus confession came during the burial of Rose Otieno, widow of Otieno Kajwang, where he fondly recalled meeting Millie during campaign days.

He praised her beauty and organizational skills, saying she often left him confused.

I knew Millie Gesa Gesa through Kajwang. That time, we were doing campaigns for Raila.

Kajwang and I agreed that Raila will be doing campaigns at the national level, but we were to talk to people at the grassroots level.

We were to mobilise them so they come out in huge numbers. When we went to Busia, we found that she had arranged everything: where people would sleep, what they would eat, and the platforms they would speak on.

I loved Millie because of that. She was so beautiful that sometimes she would confuse me.

We did campaigns for Jakom with her, Oburu recalled.

The lighthearted exchange has sparked a buzz across social media, with fans celebrating Millies bold personality and Oburus nostalgic honesty.

The Kenyan DAILY POST




Sunday, November 9, 2025 - A lab technologist at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), Eldoret, is crying out for justice and protection after surviving a brutal shooting allegedly carried out by her estranged lover, a Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officer based in Sotik.





Grace Nduku Mwangagi says the officer, identified as Japin Nyachae, shot her in the face on October 13 th , 2025 , after years of domestic abuse and threats.





The bullet tore through her cheek and ear, narrowly missing vital organs, a near-fatal attack that has left her permanently scarred and living in constant fear.



Despite the shocking incident, Nduku claims that the officer is still on duty, even as the matter is under active investigation by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), under reference number IPOA/CMU/3638/2025.



I am scared for my life and my child. He is still free and armed. No woman should have to live in fear in her own home, she said, fighting back tears.





As Grace continues to recover from her injuries, her plea is simple, protection and accountability for a system that has so far failed to shield her from a man who once vowed to love her.














Sunday, November 09, 2025 - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has admitted that his Government abducted and detained two Kenyan activists, Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo, for 38 days, claiming that they were put in the fridge due to their alleged involvement in opposition activities.

Speaking during a televised interview and radio talk show at Mbale State Lodge on November 8th, Museveni said the pair had been working with opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine.

He described them as experts in riots and praised Ugandas intelligence services for intercepting them.

They came, and they were working with Kyagulanyis group. They are experts in riots, Museveni said.

Of course, with our very good intelligence, we picked them up and they have been in the fridge for some days.

Njagi and Oyoo had travelled to Kampala to support Kyagulanyis political movement but disappeared on October 1st after reportedly being abducted near the capital.

Throughout their detention, Ugandan authorities - including the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) - denied holding the two.

Their release followed mounting public pressure and diplomatic engagement between Kenya and Uganda.

Sources close to the matter revealed that former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta played a key role in securing their freedom, allegedly contacting General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, Musevenis son and a close friend.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Monday, November 10, 2025 - A furious lady has caused a stir on social media after confronting a man who allegedly refused to pay for her services after hosting him at her house, where they had fun.

According to reports, the man had promised to give her an undisclosed amount of money, but later attempted to sneak away without fulfilling his end of the deal.

Feeling shortchanged, the lady recorded the confrontation and paraded his face on social media, leaving him humiliated as the video quickly went viral.

In the clip, the visibly embarrassed man is seen trying to cover his face as the woman accuses him of being a liar and a user.

The viral footage has since sparked a heated debate online, with Kenyans sharing mixed reactions, some siding with the lady for demanding her dues, while others criticized her for exposing the man publicly.

Wacth the video below or HERE>>>

Hakuna pesa ya kulipia kasusu pic.twitter.com/jKm91wKOE5  DAILY POST  (@dailypost_ke) November 10, 2025

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Sunday, November 9, 2025 - In a well-coordinated raid, a team of detectives drawn from Nairobi and Kiambu have arrested three individuals behind a daring gang that has been terrorising wine and spirits shop owners across the city and its outskirts.

The thugs, who operated with military precision, were finally cornered after days of intense surveillance and coordinated intelligence work.

Following a tip-off, the team of detectives struck in Ngara, pouncing on two key suspects: Edward Muchiri Mureithi, aka Kazee, and Stephen Mwenda Ndungu, aka Stevoo.

The notorious duo, noted for their violent night raids, attempted to outrun the police dragnet but were no match for the sleuths.

They abandoned a black Toyota Harrier, registration number KDS 791A, in a confused escape, which detectives seized as crucial evidence to aid the ongoing probe.

Not letting up, detectives proceeded to Njiru Makongeni, where another suspect, Martin Ndung'u Wangui, fell into their trap.

A black Toyota Noah (KCY 982C), believed to have been used to ferry stolen liquor, was recovered at the scene; its seats still smelled of freshly spilt alcohol.

The operation then shifted to Mugutha, Ruiru, the suspected hideout of the gang's mastermind, Peter Muhia Njenga, who is still at large.

Armed with a search warrant, detectives stormed his compound and made the following recoveries: two car seats ripped out of the seized Noah, a number plate (KCV 342G), break-in tools, several mobile phones, and a hoodie identical to the one seen on CCTV footage from a recent robbery.

Scattered all over the compound were empty cartons of expensive liquor, evidence of the gang's heavy looting spree.

Detectives also recovered a herd of 25 bulls, suspected to be stolen and hidden at Njengas second residence in Njiru, awaiting sale.

The animals have since been escorted to Ruai Police Station as efforts to trace their owners intensify.

Meanwhile, detectives have heightened the manhunt for Njenga, believed to be the kingpin behind the violent robbery ring.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Monday, November 10, 2025 - President William Ruto has once again proven his deep passion for farming after importing a consignment of high-quality cattle breeds from South Africa.

The top-grade livestock, reportedly among the best dairy breeds in the world, were spotted being transported in well-secured trucks to his expansive Kilgoris farm over the weekend.

Ruto has in the past encouraged Kenyans to invest in modern agriculture as a path to economic empowerment.

See photos.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Sunday, November 9, 2025 - Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot, a close ally of President William Ruto, has sparked mixed reactions online after photos surfaced showing him entering a humble rural home with muddy shoes during a visit to an ailing County staff member.

The Senator, who was accompanied by several County officials, had gone to check on the ailing staff member as part of his community outreach engagements.

However, social media users were quick to notice that he walked straight into the house without removing his muddy shoes, which many felt was disrespectful and inconsiderate to the ailing persons family.

In the photos, Cheruiyot is seen addressing the family while wearing his shoes covered in mud, a scene that ignited a heated debate online.

Some Kenyans defended the Senator, saying he meant well and that his focus was on showing care and compassion rather than observing minor social etiquette.

Others, however, criticized the act, saying it reflected arrogance, especially in rural settings where entering a home with dirty shoes is viewed as disrespectful.

See the photos.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Sunday, November 09, 2025 - Nurse Judy has sparked fresh buzz online after confessing that shes been receiving unexpected attention from women in 2025.

Taking to Instagram on Sunday, November 9th, she wrote, In 2025, I have more women hitting on me.

What am I doing differently? Hii ni maajabu.

Known for her unfiltered honesty and relatable storytelling, Nurse Judys revelation comes shortly after she publicly addressed a deeply personal chapter - her husband fathering a child with their househelp.

She made it clear that the child was conceived when she had briefly separated with her husband and that shes since embraced the baby as part of her family.

Currently working abroad while her husband and children remain in Tanzania, Judy continues to document her journey with candor and wit.

Responding to critics urging her to leave her husband, Judy clapped back: Ati leave him babe, Id rather leave your group chat.

She added, Najua watu wanangoja headlines za breakup poleni, this season ni honeymoon part 13.

She also called out online negativity, reminding followers that marriage isnt a bed of roses.

Marriage si TikTok trend ya 30 seconds, she wrote, emphasizing that her union is built on grit, grace, and God.

I know what I have its GOLD, not group opinion.





The Kenyan DAILY POST






Monday, November 10, 2025 - Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka has signaled a possible exit from the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ahead of the 2027 elections.

Speaking on NTVs morning show on October 10th, Onyonka said his political loyalty lies with Matiangi, whose 2027 presidential bid he supports and he will seriously consider joining the Jubilee Party if the former Interior CS advises him to.

I have so much respect for the ODM party, and if I find that I will win my seat with the Jubilee Party, I will just go there, he said.

If Matiangi asks me to join Jubilee, I will seriously consider that. If he doesnt, I will remain in ODM.

Onyonka admitted that switching parties has helped him survive Kenyas shifting political terrain.

He also noted that Raila Odingas passing has forced ODM leaders to rethink their strategies.

Despite his openness to realignment, Onyonka ruled out joining President William Rutos camp.

I am not criticising the Government so that I may join them at the end.

I tell people that I would not join the president; even if I found my Mum associating with him, I would discourage her," Onyonka said.

He praised opposition figures like Kalonzo Musyoka and Rigathi Gachagua for resisting pressure to join Kenya Kwanza, and expressed optimism about Matiangis chances, especially after being named Jubilees Deputy Party Leader by former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The Kenyan DAILY POST






Monday, November 10, 2025 - A lady has caused a stir online after expressing shock over the low turnout of Kikuyu men at the just-concluded Mataha Festival.

In a viral post, the outspoken lady lamented that women dominated the event, wondering aloud where the Kikuyu boychild had disappeared to.

She claimed that most Kikuyu men are no longer financially stable enough to afford such outings, forcing them to spend their weekends in dingy bars, drinking cheap liquor.

According to her, attending an event like Mataha Festival requires at least Ksh 15,000, an amount that she believes many Kikuyu men cannot afford.

Check out her trending post below.





The Kenyan DAILY POST
KILDARE County Council is boosting its cyber-security systems with the official launch of Irelands first tailored IT apprenticeship programme for county and city councils.

Ten local authorities across Ireland, including Kildare, have joined the initiative, which aims to equip staff with the skills and expertise to protect local government networks and data from cyber-attacks.

The Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Programme, which allows employees to train while they work, was officially launched by Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Marian Harkin and Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, John Cummins in Dundalk, Co Louth.

Representatives from the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), which has collaborated with FIT (Fastrack into Information Technology) to deliver the programme, also attended the launch.

The scheme features a 70:30 split between workplace learning and off-the-job training. This means the participants are applying the most up-to-date theoretical knowledge to IT practice in local authorities.

When completed, the programme will equip participants with the skills and knowledge to work in cybersecurity roles within the local government sector, and they will receive an Advanced Certificate in Cybersecurity (NFQ Level 6).

The first cohort of 14 participants began in June, serving their apprenticeships in 10 local authorities and the LGMA.

Minister Harkin said the programme opens doors for new talent but also empowers local governments existing workforce.

This apprenticeship is a powerful example of how targeted education and training can support the evolving needs of our public sector, she said.

By investing in both new talent and upskilling existing staff in Kildare, we are not only strengthening cyber resilience within local government, but also building a future-ready workforce equipped to meet the challenges of a digital society. In addition, this programme supports a number of Government priorities, including growing the number of apprentices within the Public Service.

As global vulnerabilities continue to rise in threatening the security of our IT systems, this pioneering programme showcases the dedication of public servants in safeguarding our communities through stronger cyber resilience, said Minister Cummins.

Training takes place online and in person in the Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre of Excellence in Dundalk, where the launch took place.

This initiative supports key goals outlined in the Local Government Digital and ICT Strategy 2030 and the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 20212025, contributing to the development of a skilled digital workforce in the local government sector.

The training programme is being delivered by FIT. CEO Peter Davitt said: We are proud to launch Irelands first workforce development apprenticeship for local government.

By embracing tech apprenticeships, this model proactively addresses the challenge of skills obsolescence in todays fast-evolving digital landscape, ensuring that public sector digital services remain robust, secure, and future-ready for the benefit of communities nationwide.

Chief Executive Officer of the LGMA, Pauline Mulligan added: Upskilling current local authority employees is central to our digital transformation strategy, ensuring that they are equipped with the expertise needed to safeguard public services in an increasingly complex cyber landscape.

This initiative reflects our commitment to inclusive growth, innovation, and excellence in public service.

Director of LMETB's Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre of Excellence (AMTCE), Gerard Smith said: This programme is just one of a wide range of training initiatives AMTCE provides to companies and employees in the cybersecurity space. From foundational awareness to advanced threat detection, our goal is to equip the workforce with the practical skills needed to protect critical infrastructure. Our state-of-the-art Training Security Operations Centre (SOC) enables us to simulate real-world cyber scenarios, ensuring learners are prepared for the threats theyll face on the ground.
A MAN who is alleged to have been driving his car at a speed of 263kph on the motorway through Laois had his case adjourned at Portlaoise District Court last week.

Florian Sarges (27) from Drombeg, Glendore, Cork was before the court charged with dangerous driving on the M8 at Oldglass, Ballacolla on 12 October.

When informed of the speed the defendant was allegedly driving at, Judge Andrew Cody commented: Im afraid to ask what speed zone he was driving in? He went on to adjourn the case to 11 December to allow the defendant to enter a plea and set 12 February as a preliminary hearing date in the event of a not guilty plea.

Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
It was a bittersweet moment when Benny Clifford laid down his leatherworking tools on the workbench at Berney Bros Saddlers in Kilcullen last Thursday. It was the last time he would do so  he retired that day after an amazing 51 years with the famous Kilcullen business. More than five decades, he says, which 'just flew by'.

When he took a job with Berney Bros, straight from school in the early 1970s, Benny also followed a long-standing family connection with the business. "My mother's father and uncle worked here with the old boss, Thomas's grandfather," he told the Kildare Nationalist. "

My brother Dec worked here, and my cousins Liam and Ger. People sometimes laughed and asked, Is it Berney Saddlers or Clifford Saddlers?"

Benny remembers many of the biggest names in the Irish racing industry visiting the workshop to discuss their needs, especially those from the 1970s. "There was TP Burns, Con Collins, Francis Flood, Mick Connolly and Mick O'Toole. Paddy Mullins, too, and John Oxx and his father. They'd all be coming through to talk to Jim Berney out the back, where he had a workshop doing blankets and collars."

When he started, Benny wouldn't have looked much into the future and how long he might be working there. But it was local, permanent, and he built up his competence to be a full craftsman in saddle-making under the expert tutelage of the Berney family, itself five generations on from its founding by Peter Berney. "The years I've been here have just flown by," Benny says. "That happens when you're doing something you like, and with people you like. All the lads here have been brilliant, and I couldn't have worked for better bosses, Jim and Tom, and now the younger lads."

Benny completing his last saddle for Berney Bros.

While much of the mass-market saddle-making around the world is now done by machine, handmade saddles and related items used in the equine industry remain key to the continuing success of the 145-year-old Berney Bros operation. In addition to their customer base in Ireland, the saddles produced by Benny Clifford and his colleagues are prized in many other countries, including Britain, Germany, America, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, China, France, Denmark, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai. "There aren't many going into the handcrafted saddle business now," Benny muses, ticking off a number of those who were in it when he started, now no longer in the trade.

Benny has been easing his way into retirement, working three days a week for a while. He hasn't given much thought to how he'll spend his new spare time  "It'll be a change, like the old saying about getting out of prison and not knowing what to do," he laughs. But he and his wife Bernie enjoy walking and travelling, and they do much of that in the Killarney area.

Where, no doubt, if they encounter somebody on horseback, by force of habit, Brendan looks to see the quality of the saddle and whether it is one of the tens of thousands that have come out of the famous Kilcullen workshop, which he has had a hand in making.
Locals in Kilkenny have generated 18,771 Christmas shoebox gifts for children affected by poverty over the last three years, and helped a charity pass the 3 million mark nationally in time for Christmas.

Since 2010, Team Hope has delivered over 2.8 million shoebox gifts from Ireland to countries across Africa and Eastern Europe, and will ship off its three-millionth in the coming weeks.

New data by the charity shows that in the last three years, kind-hearted donors in Kilkenny have created almost 19,000 gifts and there is still time to increase that total with drop off points open around the county until November 15.

SEE ALSO: Kilkenny DJ Amos Cleere gets a little help from friends with his fundraiser for Enable Ireland!

The support we have received from the people of Kilkenny since 2010 has been incredible, said Team Hope CEO, Deborah Lowry. But theres always a need for more shoeboxes so it would be great if schools, parents, businesses and community groups across the county can come together for one last push to create their own.

They are often packed by children for children and carry not only toys and treats but also the invisible gifts of love and hope. That kindness, travelling across oceans, reminds a child that they are not forgotten, that someone, somewhere cares about them, she added.

Surpassing the magical 3 million shoebox mark ties in with the charitys 15th anniversary of bringing happiness to children in some of the poorest parts of the world, many of whom have never experienced the joy of Christmas.

Everyone in Kilkenny is urged to continue the effort. Filled shoeboxes can be dropped off until November 15 at points in the county and nationwide: teamhope.ie/christmas-shoebox-appeal/drop-off-points/.

Donors, if they prefer, can choose to send a personalised 25 shoebox online through Team Hopes website, right up until Christmas Eve.

TAP HERE FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS
Piltown Community Group was honoured at the all-Ireland Pride of Place community awards on Friday evening in Limerick.

The group won the area with a population of 1000-2000 category, beating Dromiskin, County Louth and Templeglantine, County Limerick, in the runners-up spots.

Judges praised the ethos of Piltown Community Group saying Piltown is set in the Suir Valley of South Kilkenny. It is a vibrant forward-thinking village where the local people regard themselves as being inclusive, collaborative, creative and resilient.

Taken together, these projects illustrate disciplined planning, effective partnerships and a strong pride of place, translating community ambition into practical outcomes that improve quality of life for residents and create a welcoming, future-ready village for visitors.

The awards, hosted by comedian and broadcaster Dermot Whelan, took place in Limericks Strand Hotel, with 400 community volunteers in attendance.

SEE ALSO: Kilkenny under-21 finals - Dates and times confirmed after weekend of semi-finals

Sponsored by IPB Insurance, the Pride of Place competition was initiated 23 years ago through a Co-operation Ireland programme to acknowledge the invaluable work undertaken by volunteers and those involved in local community development.

It has grown into the largest competition recognising community development achievements in Ireland.

Pride of Place founder and Chairman Tom Dowling said: After 23 years of these motivational awards recognising exceptional community endeavour, the judges continue to be inspired and humbled in equal measures, as they hear directly from the nominated communities their story of their pride in their place and the extraordinary work they are doing to ease the path of life for all the people in their place irrespective of date or place of birth, ability, or wealth.

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JACK WEATHERFORD teaches anthropology at Macalester College. He is the author of "Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World."

IN HIS FINAL televised speech to the Iraqi people in 2003, Saddam Hussein denounced the invading Americans as the Mongols of this age, a reference to the last time infidels had conquered his country, in 1258. But the comparison isnt very apt  unlike the Mongols, the Americans dont have the organizational genius of Genghis Khan.

In the 13th century, Temujin  better known by his title, Genghis Khan (world leader)  headed a tribal nation smaller than the workforce of Wal-Mart, yet he conquered and ruled more people than anyone in history. After Genghis Khans death, his grandson, Hulegu, further expanded the empire, easily conquering most of the Middle East and achieving the Mongols aim: the establishment of a trade corridor from Korea on the Pacific to Syria on the Mediterranean, one part of their goal of controlling the world.

So that every warrior knew his place within the struggle, Genghis Khan began each campaign with meetings to communicate to his approximately 100,000 soldiers where and why they would fight. The legal justification for the Mongol invasion of Iraq derived from the reluctance of the caliph of Baghdad to control the Shiite Cult of the Assassins, whom the Mongols accused of attempting to kill their khan.

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The assassins operated from a series of fortified mountain camps spread from contemporary Afghanistan to Iraq, and the Baghdad invasion did not begin until the Mongols had eradicated the threat from the assassins and destroyed their fortresses. For the final attack on the caliph, the Mongols assembled a coalition of nations, and as their main army invaded Iraq in two columns from the east and the south, their allies approached from the north and west.

Genghis Khan recognized that victory came by conquering people, not land or cities. In contrast to the Americans in 2003, who sought to take the largest cities first in a campaign of shock and awe, the Mongols in 1258 took the smallest settlements first, gradually working toward the capital. Both the Mongols and the Americans used heavy bombardment to topple Baghdad, but whereas the Americans rushed into the capital in a triumphant victory celebration, the Mongols wisely decided not to enter the defeated  but still dangerous  city. They ordered the residents to evacuate, and then they sent in Christian and Muslim allies, who seethed with a variety of resentments against the caliph, to expunge any pockets of resistance and secure the capital. The Americans ended up as occupiers; the Mongols pulled strings, watching from camps in the countryside.

The Mongols also immediately executed the caliph and his sons on charges that they spent too much money on their palaces and not enough defending their nation. They killed most members of the court and administration. The Mongols took no prisoners and allowed no torture, but they executed swiftly and efficiently, including the soldiers of the defeated army who, they believed, would be a constant source of future problems if allowed to live. The first several months of a Mongol invasion were bloody, but once the takeover ended, the bloodshed ended.

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By contrast, the American military campaign was quick, with comparatively few Iraqi (or coalition) casualties, but the bloodshed has continued for years. Constrained from decisively dispatching enemies of a new Iraq, the United States has allowed Iraqi terrorists to select who lives and who dies, including women and children, in a slow-motion massacre.

And while the violence continues, the U.S. cant come close to establishing a government that rivals what the Mongols achieved. They exercised a genius for speaking to people in terms that they understood. When conquering Muslims, Genghis Khan always announced that Allah willed the Mongol victory as divine punishment; to resist the Mongols was to defy the will of God.

Just as the Mongols perfected the list of who to kill in a conquered land, they knew whom to reward and how to do it. In Baghdad, Hulegu installed a government under Ata Malik Juvaini, a devout Persian Muslim, who governed for most of the next 20 years and whose writings survive as some of the great scholarly works of the Muslim world.

The Mongols spared anyone with a craft, such as carpentry, writing, pottery, weaving or metal working. They fiercely enforced religious freedom, which created an essentially secular state. In Baghdad, they gave many of the caliphs palaces to Mongol allies for more practical uses. They lowered taxes for merchants and eliminated them for religious, medical and educational professionals. They educated women along with men. For all subjects, they instituted harsh laws enforced equally under nearly incorruptible officials.

Fundamentalist Muslims look back at Mongol secularism as a scourge. But, although U.S. rule in Iraq has produced a constant flow of refugees, particularly religious minorities, out of the country, under Mongol rule Christian, Muslim, Jewish and even Buddhist immigrants poured into the newly conquered Iraq to live under the Great Law of Genghis Khan. It was said that during this time a virgin could cross the length of the Mongol Empire with a pot of gold on her head and never be molested.

By the time of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the political achievements of the Mongols had been forgotten, and only the destructive fury of their wars was remembered. Yet under the Mongols  and the legacy of Genghis Khan  Iraq enjoyed a century of peace and a renaissance that brought the region to a level of prosperity and cultural sophistication higher than it enjoyed before or after. Any country with a bent for empire could do worse than learn from Genghis Khan.
Nearly a week after Carlos Manzo, the mayor of Uruapan, Michoacan, was killed during a Day of the Dead event, state authorities confirmed that the murder was carried out by a young man who worked for the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG).

According to the Michoacan Attorney General's Office, the suspect was identified as 17-year-old Victor Manuel Ubaldo Vidales, a resident of the municipality of Paracho, located about 25 miles north of Uruapan.

As reported by Infobae Mexico, state prosecutor Carlos Torres Pina announced the finding and said the teenager's family had told authorities that Ubaldo Vidales disappeared from their home about a week before the killing.

Investigators said the teen struggled with methamphetamine addiction. Forensic tests also found traces of sodium rhodizonate, a chemical used to detect gunshot residue, on his hands and clothing, indicating that he had fired a weapon shortly before his death.

"The progress of the investigation and intelligence work has allowed us to determine that more than two people participated in this attack and that the homicide is linked to organized crime groups," Torres Pina said.

In an interview, Torres Pina said the attacker was connected to a CJNG cell, one of several criminal organizations operating in Michoacan. For years, CJNG factions have been fighting for territory with rival groups such as Carteles Unidos and Los Caballeros Templarios, both active in the Uruapan region.

The prosecutor said the weapon recovered after Manzo's killing was linked to two previous investigations in October. The first, on Oct. 16, was connected to a double homicide at a local barbershop, and the second, on Oct. 23, involved a person who was attacked and later died at the hospital.

"The firearm used in the attack on the mayor of Uruapan has the same ballistic signature as those two incidents," Torres Pina added.

Michoacan authorities and investigators confirmed there are signs suggesting that Ubaldo Vidales did not act alone, and that ongoing investigations point to the involvement of at least two other people.

"We are reviewing videos and photographs. There are indications that one of them left the hotel with him," Torres Pina said, according to Infobae Mexico.

As reported earlier this week by The Latin Times, Manzo's death marked the third assassination of a Michoacan mayor this year. Under the administration of Governor Alfredo Ramirez Bedolla, violence against public officials in the state has spiraled out of control.

Since he took office in October 2021, seven mayors in Michoacan have been killed, while another has been missing since that same year.

The growing wave of violence has fueled public discontent with Ramirez Bedolla's administration. On Nov. 2, during Manzo's funeral, the governor was reportedly expelled from the service after attendees accused him of failing to protect the mayor, despite Manzo having previously reported threats against him.

 CORREN A BEDOLLA DEL FUNERAL DE CARLOS MANZO ENTRE GRITOS E INSULTOS



El gobernador de Michoacan, Alfredo Ramirez Bedolla, fue expulsado del funeral del alcalde de Uruapan, Carlos Manzo, en medio de gritos, reclamos e insultos por parte de familiares y ciudadanos.



El pic.twitter.com/vcRajSQajY  Juan Ortiz  (@Juan_OrtizMX) November 2, 2025

Originally published on Latin Times
The Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, which has been heavily targeted by the Trump administration, has expanded its operations and reached the European Union.

According to reports, authorities have identified and dismantled the first Tren de Aragua cell operating in Spain. The National Police arrested 13 people in Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, and A Coruna who were allegedly members of the criminal organization that U.S. President Donald Trump designated as a foreign terrorist group in February.

The suspects were arrested last week, with most of the detentions taking place in Barcelona. Authorities are still investigating whether others may be connected to the criminal cell.

"Thirteen people have been arrested, and five searches were carried out in which large quantities of drugs, mobile phones, various documents, and a prohibited weapon were seized," the statement released on Nov. 7 said.

Desarticulada por primera vez una celula del Tren de Aragua asentada en #Espana



Hay 13 detenidos en #Barcelona (8), #Madrid (2), #Girona, #ACoruna y #Valencia



Los arrestados cocinaban tusi en sus propios domicilios, y tambien se dedicaban al trafico de cocaina



2 pic.twitter.com/zOWHBJABOz  Policia Nacional (@policia) November 7, 2025

According to a senior inspector with Spain's National Police Information Bureau who spoke with CNN, the detainees are from five different nationalities and are mostly in their 30s. The majority are Venezuelan.

The operation was carried out with help from Colombia's National Police and the AMERIPOLEL PACTO 2.0 initiative, a program that strengthens cooperation between the European Union and countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

It began shortly after authorities arrested the brother of Tren de Aragua's leader, known as "Nino Guerrero," in March 2024. He was taken into custody for his alleged role in terrorism, human trafficking, weapons trafficking, extortion, money laundering, and organized crime.

That arrest prompted Spanish authorities to investigate whether additional Tren de Aragua cells were operating in the country. In the statement, the National Police said further investigations uncovered "a network of individuals, located in different parts of the country, who formed a criminal organization financed mainly through drug trafficking, particularly tusi and cocaine."

Authorities told CNN that the cell was dismantled while it was still in its early stages, before it could expand further. They also said they suspect the group had been active since at least 2023, operating in neighborhoods in Barcelona and Madrid.

Officials have not yet determined who supplied the cocaine to the Tren de Aragua cell, though they suspect it came from other European countries.

According to InSight Crime, Tren de Aragua began expanding internationally around 2018, when the gang tried to establish a presence along the border between Venezuela and Colombia, specifically between the Venezuelan state of Tachira and the Colombian department of Norte de Santander.

The gang has since established permanent cells in Colombia, Peru, and Chile, and there have also been reports of its activities in Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia and the United States.

Originally published on Latin Times
A photo of Costas Alestas from his June 2007 swearing-in with the Bethlehem Police Department is inset against a 2013 photo of East Hills Middle School. Authorities announced May 15, 2024, the former Bethlehem police officer assigned to the Bethlehem school would face charges for alleged sexual crimes. Alestas now faces sentencing after Northampton County Judge Samuel P. Murray on Nov. 7, 2025, denied Costas's request to withdraw his April 23, 2025, guilty plea to sexual offenses with a minor. lehighvalleylive.com file photos

A former school resource officer with the Bethlehem Police Department cannot withdraw his guilty plea in a sex crimes investigation from last year.

Northampton County Common Pleas Court Judge Samuel P. Murray ruled last week on Costas Alestass request to withdraw his plea.

District Attorney Stephen Baratta announced the ruling Monday, saying Alestass guilty pleas and convictions will stand.

Murrays ruling Friday, Nov. 7 sets up Alestas to be sentenced.

Alestass attorney did not immediately return a call for comment Monday.

Bethlehem police in May 2024 investigated allegations that Alestas had committed sexual offenses while assigned to East Hills Middle School.

A thorough police investigation confirmed that Alestas committed sexual offenses with that minor female victim, Barattas office stated in a news release Monday. Police also recovered evidence confirming that Alestas secretly recorded an upskirt video of another minor female victim.

Alestas on April 23 pleaded guilty to charges of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse against a person less than 16 years old, a first-degree felony, in addition to misdemeanor invasion of privacy.

Prosecutors withdrew four additional counts against Alestas: statutory sexual assault, school-intercourse/sexual contact with student, aggravated indecent assault and criminal use of communication facility.

In pleading guilty in April, Alestas had admitted to sexually assaulting the girl in the boys locker room during a school dance. He admitted to repeated inappropriate communications with the girl between March and May 2024, admitted he sexually assaulted her in his car at the William Penn Highway Park and Ride in Bethlehem Township and admitted he sexually assaulted her in his car at Green Pond Country Club in Bethlehem Township.

He also admitted that he took the upskirt video of a different girl at a different time in the school.

In a hearing before Murray in September on the plea-withdrawal request, Alestas insisted he did not commit the crimes. He said he took the plea deal only for the promise of a 10-year sentence, rather than the 30-year sentence he risked by facing trial.

I want to see my kids and not rot in prison. Thats the only reason I took that option, the 44-year-old Palmer Township resident told the judge.

Baratta said his office put up firm opposition to Alestas request to withdraw the plea, which Murray flatly denied.
Plans call for demolishing Fabey Dental at Kingston Road and Route 248 in Palmer Township and replacing it with a Chase Bank, Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com

The Palmer Township Planning Commission is considering plans to demolish a dental office and replace it with a bank at a busy intersection on Route 248.

Strausser Enterprises has proposed developing a Chase Bank at Nazareth and Kingston Roads across from the Sheetz gas station in Palmer Township, according to meeting minutes from the Oct. 14 planning commission meeting.

Fabey Dental would be demolished to make way for the bank, the minutes say. Dentist Mark Fabey said he plans to move his practice about a block away to 1104 Van Buren Road.

This will allow us to more than double the size of our practice facility so we can continue to offer the exceptional dental care patients have come to expect and appreciate from Fabey Dental, he said in an email Monday.

The planners voted 7-0 at their last meeting to table the proposal to allow the developer to address some technical concerns, including traffic flow and sight distances at the driveway, and the brightness of an illuminated sign.

Strausser was represented at the meeting by Bohler Engineering, which didnt immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

The 15,000-square-foot dental office would be torn down to make way for a 3,500-square-foot bank with a drive-through lane, new parking, sidewalks and stormwater management facilities.

The township zoning hearing board previously granted a special exception for the drive-through use.

Don Peters of Bohler Engineering said the site includes about 60 more parking spaces than required and said the businesss sign complies with township ordinances, according to the meeting minutes.

The plan will return at a later date for a recommendation from the planning commission. Then, it heads to the township supervisors for final approval.

A Chase Bank is proposed at Kingston Road and Route 248 in Palmer Township, the site of Fabey Dental. Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com
Wilson Borough police say a Penn Jersey gas station robbery Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, and Papa John's knifepoint holdup last week are not believed to be related, as authorities seek public assistance. Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com

Wilson Borough police announced Monday armed robberies at two businesses and asked for tips to help solve the crimes.

Shortly before 1 a.m. Monday, two male perpetrators armed with firearms held up the Penn Jersey gas station at 2134 Northampton St., according to a news release from police.

One of them forced an employee into the rear of the store after a register was opened, and the duo fled on foot with cash, cigarettes and vapes.

Both perpetrators wore hooded sweatshirts and masks.

This robbery followed a daylight incident last Tuesday, Nov. 4, at Papa Johns, 752 S. 25th St. in Wilson, police said.

In that case, a male intruder brandishing a knife demanded money and fled on foot with cash from the register, according to a news release from Wilson police.

That robber was described as white and wearing a button-down sweatshirt, jeans and hat, with what appeared to be shoulder-length curly brown hair, the release states.

Wilson Borough Police Detective Whitney Peterson told lehighvalleylive.com on Monday the robberies are not believed to be related.

Investigators asked anyone with information on either incident to call police via the Northampton County 911 Center non-emergency line at 610-759-2200 or Peterson at 610-258-8542.
Salisbury High School Stadium at Salisbury High School is shown in a file photo. Salisbury Township police reported a chemical spill in an isolated storage area prompted early dismissal on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. School is expected to resume normal operations Tuesday. Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com

A hazardous-materials incident Monday morning led to an evacuation and early dismissal at Salisbury High School, authorities said.

Salisbury Township police in a Facebook post said a chemical had spilled inside a cabinet used to store flammable liquids.

This occurred in an isolated room not occupied by students or staff, according to the post.

Lehigh County Special Operations responded to assist in identifying the chemical. The decision to evacuate the school and send students home early was reached among the county responders with police and fire officials.

Crews remained on scene to decontaminate and clean the area, police wrote in their post late Monday morning. No students or faculty were exposed or harmed. School will resume as normal tomorrow.

Further information on the chemical was not immediately available.

Assisting township police and county officials were the Eastern Salisbury Fire Department, Allentown EMS, Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in the township and St. Lukes Medical Center.
U.S. companies seek business opportunities, long-term partnerships at CIIE

Xinhua) 13:43, November 10, 2025

SHANGHAI, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- As the American food and agriculture pavilion opened at the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) earlier this week, Idaho-based feed additive producer Dynamite signed cooperation agreements with several Chinese companies covering livestock, aquaculture and pet nutrition, marking a strong start to the event.

U.S. companies have maintained the largest exhibition area at the CIIE for seven consecutive years. This year, 19 American exhibitors are participating in the food and agriculture pavilion.

"Every time Idaho companies come here, they leave with meaningful results," said Qu Danran, chief representative of the State of Idaho China Office. "Some even found major clients who later became long-term partners." Last year, Idaho exhibitors secured contracts worth more than 100 million U.S. dollars, and expectations are high again this year.

Xu Ruwei, Asia-Pacific director of Dynamite, said the expo offers a platform for American research and innovation to find opportunities in the Chinese market. "In pet nutrition, the United States and China can truly complement each other," he said.

Utah-based essential oils producer doTERRA has also seen steady growth in China. Starting with a nine-square-meter booth at the first CIIE, where it secured contracts worth 3.8 billion yuan (about 520 million dollars), the company has expanded its space to 300 square meters this year and set up its first overseas R&D center in Shanghai.

"The essence of U.S.-China economic relations is mutual benefit," said Owen Messick, president of doTERRA China. "Our growth here shows the value of partnership."

For many U.S. companies, the Chinese market has become central to their global competitiveness. American elevator maker Otis showcased new products designed for an aging population, tapping into the growing "silver economy."

"We have strong confidence in our business development in China," said Judy Marks, chair, CEO and president of Otis. China's efforts to build smart cities and promote digital and green development are positive signals for innovation-driven companies like ours, she added.

U.S. surgical robotics firm Intuitive, a long-time CIIE participant and investor in China, also underscored the broader importance of stable ties.

As the world's two largest economies, the United States and China influence global supply chains, technological collaboration and market confidence, said Glenn Vavoso, the company's senior vice president and Asia-Pacific president. "A stable relationship helps sustain corporate growth and supports the broader world economy."

Jeffrey Lehman, chair of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, said that stability in China-U.S. relations remains a top concern for U.S. businesses operating in China. "A stable environment is what companies value most."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
Gardai and the former Laois TD and minister for justice Charlie Flanagan have paid tribute on the passing of a retired garda who was injured by an IRA near Portarlington during the Troubles.

Jim Cannon passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loving family at the Midlands Regional Hospital Tullamore on Monday, November 10.

Late of Teachmhuire Sandy Lane, Portarlington, Jim was a proud native of Killtugh in Co Galway.

The garda was seriously injured when he and four gardai attended a house in Garryhinch on October 16, 1976. An IRA bomb claimed the life of Michael Clerkin. Jim and the other victims were honoured with the Scott Medal for Bravery in 2017. The former sergeant fought for many years to have the sacrifice honoured by the State. Nobody was ever convicted of the crime.

Mr Flanagan paid his respects on Jim's passing.

"I am saddened to hear of the passing of Jim Cannon, long-time Sergeant at Portarlington. Jim exemplified everything good about An Garda Siochana.

"I worked closely with Sgt Cannon as a young solicitor in Portarlington in the early 1980s. He was a man of the highest integrity. He took his work seriously and was at all times conscientious and diligent. He was a community Garda in the strictest sense. He knew every family in Port and was held in the highest respect and esteem.

"His life and the lives of his family were turned upside down on that fateful night in October 1976 when Gardai were brutally ambushed in a terrorist attack at Garryhinch. Jim carried his injuries and trauma in a brave and courageous manner as the horrific experience stayed with him for life.

Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan TD with Jim and Mary Cannon at the presentation of Scott Medals in the Garda College, Templemore in 2017. Picture: Alf Harvey

"One of my proudest moments as Minister for Justice was to present Jim Cannon with his Scott medal, the highest honour for bravely in An Garda Siochana. The award was so richly deserved. I offer my condolences to the family of Jim Cannon at this time of sadness and grief, he said.

READ ALSO: Gardai honoured with Scott Medals for Bravery in emotional ceremony

The LaoisOffaly branch of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors also extended their condolences.

"It is with deep sadness that we have learned of the passing of our retired colleague, Jim Cannon, formerly of An Garda Siochana and AGSI Laois Offaly Chairman.

"Jims service and dedication to the organisation, and his courage in the face of the tragic events surrounding the Garryhinch bombing, will long be remembered.

"On behalf of the LaoisOffaly Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, we extend our heartfelt condolences to Jims family, friends, and former colleagues. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this difficult time.

"Ar dheis De go raibh a anam," said the statement

Jim was predeceased by his beloved son Gerard, father Patrick, mother Delia, brothers Eddie, Liam, Brendan and Paddy and brother-in-law Michael.

He is sadly missed by his loving wife Mary (nee Shanahan) Drombane Co Tipperary, family Padraig (Patrick), Marie and Carmel, sister Maureen, son-in-law PJ Kavanagh, daughter-in-law Susan Hall, grandchildren CJ and his wife Rhianon, Luke, Enja-Sun and her fiance Arthur, Joe and Conor, great-grandchildren Ava, Oscar and Harlow, sisters-in-law Bridie, Eileen and Mary, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours, former members of An Garda Siochana and many friends.

His remains repose at Maher's Chapel of Rest, Portarlington (eircode R32 X5XV) on Tuesday evening from 5:30pm with Rosary at 8pm.

Removal from his residence on Wednesday morning at 11:15 am, arriving St Michael's Church, Portarlington for Requiem Mass at 12 noon. Funeral afterwards to St Michael's Cemetery Portarlington.

Reposing at Maher's Chapel of Rest, Portarlington (eircode R32 X5XV) on Tuesday evening from 5:30pm with Rosary at 8pm. Removal from his residence on Wednesday morning at 11:15am, arriving St Michael's Church, Portarlington for Requiem Mass at 12 noon. Funeral afterwards to St Michael's Cemetery, Portarlington.

Jim's Requiem Mass will be streamed live on. https://www.mcn.live/Cameras/st-michaels-church-portarlington

Family flowers only please. Donations if Desired to The Friends Of The Midlands Regional Hospital Tullamore.
European Commissioner for the Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, Jessika Roswall, visited Kildare last week at the invitation of Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon, TD for Kildare South.

The Commissioner, who stayed at the Killashee House Hotel, also visited the Durkin family farm near Ballyshannon between Kilcullen and Athy as an example of a typical Irish derogation dairy farm. Minister Heydon along with Pat Durkin and his daughter Kayleigh were able to show the Commissioner first-hand the great work being carried out by our derogation farmers on improving water quality. This visit was an important part of Minister Heydons campaign to retain Irelands nitrates derogation which is vital for Kildares farming community.

Commenting on the visit, Minister Heydon outlined: Pat and his daughter Kayleigh showed the Commissioner the best of Irish family farms where two generations work side by side, adopting the latest technology to producing top quality food while improving farmings impact on our environment.

READ NEXT; Young Kildare author publishes her first novel.

The visit to Kildare was then followed by meetings with Oireachtas TDs senators and environmental stakeholders in Teagascs Ashtown research facility in Dublin.

The Minister added: It is important that Commissioner Roswall had an opportunity to visit and engage directly with farmers and stakeholders. I have committed to leaving no stone unturned in our ambition to secure a continued derogation. There are many challenging aspects in relation to renewal of the Nitrates Derogation, including the need to conduct detailed assessments to demonstrate compliance with the Habitats Directive, as sought by the Commission in June. Despite those challenges, this engagement has been positive.

Concluding, Minister Heydon said: Negotiations will continue over the coming weeks on our request for continuation of the derogation as we seek to secure agreement, including seeking the required support from other member states. I am satisfied that Commissioner Roswall now has an excellent understanding of the Irish context from her visit to Kildare, including our commitment to improving water quality, something that is critical to continuance of the derogation facility in the year ahead.
A 19-year-old Carrick-on-Shannon man has been remanded in custody after the court heard he failed to sign on at the Garda station 129 times, left the country, and continued contact with the alleged injured party while on bail for serious charges.

Deedar Othman (19), 56 Oaklands, Carrick-on-Shannon, appeared before Judge Eiteain Cunningham on October 28th facing charges of non-fatal strangulation, threatening to kill, and possession of a knife, arising from an incident in June. He had previously been granted bail twice, with conditions requiring him to remain sober, sign on daily at Carrick Garda Station, keep a night-time curfew, surrender his passport and have no contact with the complainant.

The court heard evidence that Othman had not signed on for 129 days, did not surrender his passport, and travelled to Spain and later to Kurdistan during the bail period. Gardai also said he continued to have contact with the alleged injured party and was arrested at 2am on a later date, in breach of the curfew imposed.

Representing Othman, solicitor Ciaran White told the court that his client had gone to Spain to meet his girlfriends parents and then to Kurdistan because his grandfather was gravely ill. Othman gave evidence stating that the signing-on requirement had been crossed out on the bail sheet he received, and that he believed he no longer needed to sign at the Garda station.

My girlfriend was pregnant so I went to Spain to meet her parents. I will sign on every day from now on, I swear on the Quran, he told the court.

DPP opposed bail, arguing that Othman had shown a "complete disregard for bail conditions and posed a risk of absconding and interfering with witnesses."

Judge Cunningham refused bail, citing the seriousness of the alleged offences, "the repeated failure to answer bail, the fact that he had left the jurisdiction, and the admitted ongoing contact with the complainant." She ruled that the objection to bail was established under OCallaghan grounds.

Othman was remanded in custody to Castlerea Prison.

READ MORE Leitrim man remanded after failing to sign on 129 times while on bail
Two projects in the Sligo-Leitrim area have received funding under the Healthy Ireland fund for outdoor swimming facilities, which was announced on November 10.

A total of 330,000 has been allocated to support local authorities in upgrading many of their outdoor swimming pools and related facilities.

This is the second year of the scheme, which aims to make Irelands approved outdoor swimming locations more accessible, allowing more people to experience the health benefits of outdoor swimming.

In Leitrim, Cleighran More Pier in Ballinaglera, a facility developed by Waterways Ireland, has been awarded 13,000 for the development of new changing facilities and a covered seating area.

READ NEXT: Pressure mounts on Leitrim County Council to use CPOs amid housing crisis

Meanwhile, in Sligo, Dunmoran Strand and Mullaghmore Beaches have secured funding of 25,000 for the installation of two concrete changing shelters with seating, one concrete shower unit, and associated civil works.

Swimming locations in 17 local authority areas will each receive allocations, supporting the provision and upgrading of handrails, swim shelters, access ladders, safety notice boards, shower facilities, and beach wheelchairs.

These enhancements will make approved swimming locations more accessible, particularly for people with reduced mobility, and will build on the progress made since the scheme was first introduced in 2024.

The distribution of this funding will be managed by Sport Ireland on behalf of the Department of Health, in line with their vision of an active Ireland where everyone can enjoy the lifelong benefits of sport and physical activity.

READ NEXT: New initiative could let Leitrim locals borrow, swap and share items

I want to thank the local sports partnerships and local authorities for submitting on behalf of Ballinaglera, Mullaghmore and Dunmoran. I hope to see many more people get out swimming and using these facilities, which make it much more comfortable and accessible, commented Fine Gael TD Frank Feighan.
Locals in Leitrim have donated 4,481 Christmas shoebox gifts for children affected by poverty over the last three years, according to the Team Hope charity, which is once again appealing for donations ahead of Christmas.

Since 2010, Team Hope has delivered over 2.8million shoebox gifts from Ireland to countries across Africa and Eastern Europe, and will ship off its three-millionth in the coming weeks.

The charitys figures show that in the last three years, Leitrim donors have created almost 4,500 gifts. There is still time to increase that total with drop-off points open around the county until November 15.

The support we have received from the people of Leitrim since 2010 has been incredible, said Team Hope CEO, Deborah Lowry.

READ MORE: Funding splash for Leitrim as outdoor swimming facility set for upgrade

But theres always a need for more shoeboxes, so it would be great if schools, parents, businesses and community groups across the county can come together for one last push to create their own.

Shoe boxes are boxes filled with personal gifts for children living in poverty. Boxes can be donated across Leitrim at drop-off points at Ballinamore, Mohill, Carrick-on-Shannon, and Manorhamilton.

They are often packed by children for children and carry not only toys and treats but also the invisible gifts of love and hope, said Lowry.

That kindness, travelling across oceans, reminds a child that they are not forgotten  that someone, somewhere cares about them.

READ MORE: Leitrim councillor warns patients left in pain as ongoing roof leaks halt surgeries in Sligo

Donors, if they prefer, can choose to send a personalised 25 shoebox online through Team Hopes website, right up until Christmas Eve.
 National Budget finally crosses the US$1B mark, fueled by ArcelorMittals US$200M windfall. Can it be sustained?
AFTER 38 years of serving the citys style needs, a popular fashion and accessories retailer has announced it will close its Cruises Street shop in the new year  but insists this is not goodbye, just see you later, as it embraces a move online.

Glitzi Bitz, a family-run store in the city centre will shut its doors in January, with the company shifting its focus to online retail and its remaining Ennis store.



The Limerick store first opened in Williamscourt Mall, where Guineys is located now, then moved to Arthurs Quay where Jump Juice sits today, later to the old Tourist Office, and finally settled in its home on Cruises Street.

A closing down sale has already commenced in the store and the owners expect to close in the second week of January.

READ MORE: Former Limerick journalist sets up his own public relations company

The businessowners and mother and daughter, Finola and Sharon Conway took to social media to share the news, saying:

"As we close this chapter, our hearts are heavy but really full. Thank you for growing up with us, dressing up with us, and shining with us. Come say hello before we close our doors in January and move online."

"While we are announcing the closing of Glitzi Bitz  Limerick and Tullamore our Ennis store remains open. We are not going far and will be going fully online with our new website coming soon."

Speaking to Limerick Live, Sharon said she was "very saddened" and that the footfall in Limerick city is "horrendous."

"In the last 12 months, I just can't even put it into words the difference in the city... It's scary. I don't know what the city is going to become," she added.

Sharon and Finola's statement continued: "Its been an incredible journey over the last 40 years built on fashion, community and loyalty... Thank you to the wonderful staff that have worked with us, supported us and grew with us over the last 40 years. 40 years would not have been possible without you all."

"It's been a really difficult decision that wasn't made lightly. It really was made with a heavy heart but I want to keep positive and move forward with the online side of the business."



Sharon and Finola concluded: "This isnt goodbye  its a heartfelt see you later. We hope our styles will live on in your wardrobes, and the memories will carry forward. We can't thank you all enough."

Glitzi Bitz operated 12 stores across the country at one point.

For more information visit www.glitzibitz.ie and follow @glitzi.bitz on Instagram.
LIMERICK Council officials have vowed that the grounds of a new dog park in Caherdavin will be fully reinstated on completion of works.

Some residents have expressed concern at the muddy state of the grounds this week. They say they felt let down at the lack of consultation ahead of construction commencing.

Limerick Council said: while recent wet weather has affected ground conditions, works are progressing and the area will be fully reinstated once conditions improve.

They added that proposals for the Caherdavin Green, including the dog park, were presented to local residents at a public meeting held in the community centre on October 22, 2024.

READ MORE: Dedication of Limerick volunteers lauded at annual burial ground awards

Further public consultation took place online at mypoint.limerick.ie from April 29 to May 27, 2025 where members of the public were invited to review proposed locations for dog parks across the city.

One local resident, Mandy Skelton said there is zero parking for the dog park and that the council have completely destroyed a lovely green that floods eight out of 12 months of the year. She said she was shocked to see work beginning at the site.

This was the first I'd heard of a dog park. I asked a few of the neighbours and no one was told about this.

Limerick Council stated that a press release announcing the consultation was issued in advance on Limerick.ie.

Feedback across both stages of consultation was generally positive, and no objections were received regarding the Caherdavin site. Ms Skelton said that residents have no problem with dogs but have concerns.

The problem is we weren't told about it and we're worried about antisocial behaviour... We want answers as to who is going to maintain the park.
A BALLYNANTY man who was found in possession of a loaded submachine gun at his family home has been given a lengthy prison sentence for that and other offences.

In a sentencing hearing this Monday, William 'Willie' Woodland, aged 31, of Shanabooley Road, was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment, with the final 18 months suspended.

Previously, Limerick Circuit Court heard that a search warrant was executed based on information that Woodland had cocaine at his home.

Giving evidence, Garda Laura Lyons said gardai arrived and observed Woodland trying to discard a gear bag from an upstairs window and that it was later established it contained a Makarov calibre Rak submachine-gun with a magazine inserted. There were 15 bullets in the magazine and a further 18 rounds of ammunition in the bag along with a quantity of cocaine and cannabis.

A smaller quantity of drugs were located in the house, including in the bedroom of Woodland's mother. 1,000 in cash was also found during the search. In total, cannabis worth 3,346.46 and 2,583.98 of cocaine was seized.

READ MORE: Mother of four with 'nowhere to go' ordered to move caravan from 'unique' Limerick town

Being interviewed by gardai following his arrest in 2024, Woodland initially said the firearm was his and that he had purchased it for 5,000 two days earlier.

However, in a subsequent interview, the now 31-year-old said he was minding the gun for an unnamed person and had been paid 1,000 to do so. He admitted he had posted images and videos on Snapchat of him holding the gun and pulling the trigger. However, no magazine was inserted at this time.

During the sentencing hearing, Judge Colin Daly heard evidence relating to three separate offences to which Woodland also pleaded guilty and now been sentenced for.

The first related to the discovery of thousands of euro worth of stolen property from a parked car on May 6, 2021.

Detective Garda Jerry O'Sullivan said another garda - Niall O'Connor - approached the vehicle parked in the car park of Barry's Shop in Ardnacrusha, County Clare after smelling cannabis. William Woodland was in the driver's seat while a woman was in the passenger seat.

A search of the car revealed items that were stolen during two burglaries that had taken place just hours earlier in Adare and Rathkeale.

The offence, Judge Daly was told, happened in breach of the terms of a partially-suspended prison sentence which was imposed on Woodland in 2018 for a firearms offence. Det Garda O'Sullivan said a bench warrant was also issued for his arrest in July 2023 when he failed to appear in court for a sentencing hearing.

Detective Garda Shaun OHagan gave evidence regarding offences which Woodland committed in 2023, while on bail. Both offences related to a woman who Woodland was previously in a relationship with for around 18 months.

The first incident took place at Cliona Park, Moyross on June 13, 2023 when the defendant bumped into his ex-partner. The court heard he ran after her, pinned her to the ground and attempted to steal her phone.

Photographs of her injuries were submitted to Judge Daly. These showed marks on her arm, grazed elbows, wrist abrasions, knee injuries and a bite mark on her buttocks.

The victim was attacked a second time - on September 18, 2023 - at her family home on the northside of the city. Det Garda O'Hagan said, Woodland walked through the door and approached the victim in a violent manner.

The court heard that he was red in the face and accused her of being with someone else. The detective said Woodland bear-hugged the victim and demanded her phone, saying f****** give it to me. She threw herself to the ground and tried to run. She said gave him her phone when she realised he had a knife.

During this attack, it was stated that Woodland called the victim a dirty whore and left multiple bite marks on her body.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said she believed Woodland was going to kill her and that she would never be the same person again emotionally or physically.

The victim outlined the nature of their relationship saying it got to a point where she didn't care if he hurt her as she was accustomed to it. However, she highlighted one painful memory, where Woodland threw a necklace into the fire that contained her grandmothers ashes.

Having heard the facts relating to the offences, Judge Colin Daly remarked that the intimate act of biting the victim on her rear in the June 13 attack was an act of gross degradation."

Commenting further on the second assault in September, where Woodland pled guilty to aggravated burglary among other offences, Judge Daly said this barbaric attack was both revolting and sadistic in its nature.

Before passing sentence, he said it was clear that Mr Woodland was involved in criminality and organised crime to a significant degree, noting that his possession of a sub-machine gun as well as ammunition is not a victimless crime.

In mitigation, the court heard that the Ballynanty native entered early guilty pleas which Judge Daly said carried "significant weight as it meant the victim did not have to testify, nor her family. It was said that Mr Woodland has a history of drug abuse but is remorseful for his crimes. He is currently residing in Portlaoise Prison where he is doing well and has a job.

Judge Daly first imposed a two-and-a-half year sentence for the possession of stolen goods charge. For the assault on his ex-partner and attempted theft of her mobile phone in June 2023, a separate two-and-a-half year sentence was imposed - to be served concurrently.

A four-year sentence was imposed for the second assault while a six-year prison sentence was imposed for aggravated burglary. These are also to run concurrently with the earlier sentences.

Following the seizure at Woodlands family home in which a loaded sub-machine and ammunition were retrieved, two seven year sentences were issued. Two separate two-year sentences were also imposed for both the cannabis and cocaine finds. These will run consecutively to the six-year aggravated burglary charge.

In total, Judge Colin Daly sentenced William Woodland to 13 years imprisonment but having considered the principle of proportionality and totality, he suspended the final 18 months for a period of 13 years.

The sub-machine gun located following the search will be destroyed and the 1,000 in cash that was found during the garda search will be forfeited to the State.
A POLISH national who attempted to murder his flatmate in a prolonged knife attack - after consuming so many drugs that he believed he was Jesus Christ - has failed to have his 11-year prison sentence reduced on appeal.

Dominik Biber, aged 28, of Ellen Street, Limerick city, pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Tomasz Grosser on April 11, 2020, at Ormston House, Ellen Street in Limerick.

READ NEXT: Boy, 4, died after sustaining traumatic head injury and blunt force trauma to the abdomen

He also pleaded guilty to falsely imprisoning Mr Grosser and to committing a burglary at a neighbouring apartment in Ormston House while in possession of two knives.

He was sentenced at the Central Criminal Court in December 2022 to 13 years in prison with the last two years suspended for four years for the attempted murder, which sentencing judge Mr Justice Paul McDermott described as a "ferocious and spontaneous eruption of terrible violence". The charges of burglary and false imprisonment were taken into account.

Appealing against the severity of his 11-year sentence at the Court of Appeal this Monday, Bibers counsel Michael Bowman SC said the offences had occurred in very unusual circumstances. He said Biber had been living with the victim, Tomasz Grosser effectively on a grace and favours basis.

He said the judge had noted Biber had a high moral culpability on the basis that drugs had been imbibed, despite the fact that the defendant had previously experienced drug induced psychosis.

Mr Bowman contended the headline sentence of 17 years set by Mr Justice McDermott was too high, given that there were a multiplicity of mitigating factors in the case.

He said one of the more remarkable features of the case was that the victim, having sustained bite marks and knife injuries to his face and head, was brought to hospital but was discharged the next day.

He said there had been no extraordinarily life altering injuries or paralysis in this case but this wasnt reflected in the headline sentence or in the discount given for mitigation.

Counsel said Biber was a young man who had a constant work history and a role of responsibility through his employment as a cleaner in a university. He said everything pointed to the fact that his client would be a law-abiding citizen and was unlikely to come before the courts again if he stayed away from drugs.

I think everyone acknowledged it happened as a result of the drugs he had taken, he added.

Mr Bowman also argued the court could have suspended a further portion of the sentence to encourage rehabilitation, given Bibers age, his pro-social background and his undertaking never to take drugs again because of their disastrous consequences.

In response, Ronan Kennedy SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said Biber had persisted in taking illegal drugs purchased over the internet despite his previous experience of drug induced psychosis.

He said the judge had given a deduction of over 35% from the headline sentence. The judge had been extremely thorough and had gone through every relevant factor, the barrister said, and could not be faulted in how he dealt with the case.

READ NEXT: 'Sadistic' Limerick man jailed for possession of loaded submachine gun at his home

Dismissing the appeal, Mr Justice Peter Charleton said the court did not see any basis on which it could interfere with the sentence. He said a written judgement outlining the reasons for this would be provided at a later date.

Bibers sentencing hearing was told that Mr Grosser observed Biber asking God to take away the drugs in his possession but then accused Mr Grosser of stealing a packet belonging to him.

Biber phoned his mother on a video call and told her that he was Jesus Christ who had to kill the devil. Biber picked up a knife from the kitchen before placing an armchair in front of the door, blocking Mr Grosser's escape. He then stabbed Mr Grosser around the head, neck, chest and leg and repeatedly told him "I'll kill you".

Mr Grosser managed to take the knife and break the blade in two before escaping the apartment to a neighbour. He was pursued by Biber, who had taken two more knives from the kitchen and gained access to the living room via the balcony, where he then continued stabbing Mr Grosser to the neck.

The neighbour escaped the apartment to call the gardai.

When gardai arrived, they found Mr Grosser bloodied and motionless. Biber then grabbed the victim in a headlock and again stabbed him a number of times in the face and neck. Gardai struck Biber with a baton, restrained him and took the knife off him, but he continued to struggle and attempted to kick out before he was subdued.

Mr Justice McDermott said Biber had started taking cannabis at 17 and attended addiction counselling for four years afterwards. At 24, Biber started taking cocaine and other stimulants that cause him to experience psychosis and auditory hallucinations for one-to-two days at a time.

The court heard that whilst in custody, Biber was referring to himself as Jesus Christ and was self-harming by bashing his head off the wall.
LIMERICK IFA chair Louise Crowley addressed Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon at a national meeting held by the IFA on the retention of the nitrates derogation.

Ms Crowley was one of around 1,000 farmers to pack into Corrin Mart in Fermoy last week.

READ NEXT: Hundreds visit major Limerick Garda Security and Safety event at mart

Minister, as a derogation farmer myself and one of the many young farmers that are here tonight I am deeply concerned about this potential loss for far too long.

"A loss or any further reduction will not only endanger my own livelihood but also threaten the viability of our entire farm and the many family farms, just like us across the country and my own county Limerick, said Ms Crowley.

She said the uncertainty they are facing is a big huge factor in why young farmers are not entering farming and current farmers are facing succession issues.

How do you plan to fulfill your promise to us of a workable derogation to ensure both the future of existing and future farmers, and family farms, relying on the derogation can stay productive, viable and part of Irish agriculture.

What reassurance can you give us to the young farmers who have and are ready to step up but see no clear future in their sectors under this current uncertainty.

The time for fulfilling your promise to us is now. We need answers and certainty and not after its too late and our farms are gone and finished, said Ms Crowley to loud applause.
Stock Market News

FTSE 100 Shares - FTSE 100 LIVE: Markets rebound as investors cheer potential end to US government shutdown 10-11-2025 01:46



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Honda is planning to go all guns blazing with its product plan. The carmaker that has already announced that it will launch at least 10 SUVs, including one sub-compact model and EVs, has also revealed details of its next generation hybrid vehicle platform. The automaker plans to launch a plethora of hybrid cars starting from 2027, which will be underpinned by the new generation architecture. The hybrid vehicles will play pivotal role in the brand's target to achieve complete carbon neutrality by 2050.

Honda has been working on a modular and hybrid-ready vehicle platform for quite some that that is internal codenamed as PF2. This hybrid car platform will underpin the small and medium sized passenger vehicles, which will be launched in the Indian market as well.

Here is a quick look at the key facts of the upcoming Honda hybrid cars and the new platform that will underpin these models.

Next-gen Honda hybrid platform: 90% lightweight and rigid The next generation Honda midsize hybrid car platform promises to be 90 kg lighter and more rigid, compared to the brand's existing hybrid car platform. The lower body weight will result into higher fuel efficiency. The Japanese auto giant also stated that it will benefit the upcoming hybrid cars with improved fuel efficiency.

Next-gen Honda hybrid platform: Promises enhanced driving experience The new lightweight hybrid car platform claims to offer enhanced driving experience. The auto giant claims that it will incorporate advanced technologies such as Motion Management System for robotics based posture control, Agile Handling Assist for enhanced driving dynamics. Also, there will be a body rigidity management system which is capable of adjusting load distribution across the tyres for better cornering stability. Altogether, these technologies will ensure improved handling and stability for the new generation hybrid cars as well as enhanced driving experience.
New Delhi: Indias youngest low-cost carrier, Akasa Air, has ambitious plans to expand its international operations, including flights to China, but delays in supply of aircraft by Boeing are holding it back.

Owned by SNV Aviation, the airline, which began flying in August 2022, has bilateral flying rights to at least seven new international destinations, including Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Hanoi, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Indonesia and Singapore, and is eyeing other routes into China and Africa (Nairobi). Yet, with only 30 aircraft in its fleet and deliveries from Boeing running behind schedule, the carrier finds itself in a holding pattern.

We have bilaterals. And we hope to be ready in time to deploy the aircraft and grow profitably internationally," Praveen Iyer, Akasas co-founder and chief commercial officer told Mint, following a media roundtable. International ramp-up will happen as and when more aircraft come.

The privately-held airline, with 5% market share, stopped sharing fleet guidance, following aircraft supply delays. The airline expects aircraft deliveries to normalise mid-2026 and is rolling out hiring plans accordingly.

For now, Akasas international network remains limited to six routes  five across West Asia (Doha, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Riyadh, and Kuwait) and one to Phuket (Thailand). Flights to Sharjah are expected soon. The airline also serves 24 domestic destinations, with Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Delhi serving as its principal base.

Akasa has committed to 226 aircraft  all under a sale-and-leaseback arrangement  with deliveries spread over the next seven years through 2032. The carrier last took delivery in JuneJuly 2025. The airline has avoided short-term, costly fixes, such as wet or damp leases.

Under a sale-and-leaseback arrangement, air carriers procure aircraft at a discount, sell them to lessors at cost, and immediately lease them back. A wet lease provides an aircraft with crew, maintenance, and insurance, while in a damp lease, the lessee has to provide its own cabin crew.

Akasa plans to receive 196 aircraft in 86 months, or 2 aircraft a month, exactly half of what larger players like IndiGo and Air India are inducting (4 a month).

Akasa is banking on Boeings recently-approved ramp-up of production, from 38 to 42 aircraft per month, by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) effective October 2025, to ease delivery timelines. With Boeing increasing production, Iyer said, the airline expects aircraft to come in faster.

Delivery delays of one to two months will not make any difference, he said, noting that Akasa is targeting any market within a 5-hour flight radius from India.

The fleet constraint comes as Akasa seeks to hedge against foreign currency volatility tied to its sale-and-leaseback model. Aircraft transactions are denominated in US dollars, and the airline hopes to balance that exposure through greater dollar earnings from overseas operations.

Akasa wants to become a more internationally-focussed carrier, from being a mainly domestic-oriented one. Its internal projections (in a filing with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs) target a near-tripling of its international capacity share, from 13% to about 40% over the next few years.

More than international expansion, getting the aircraft is important. The airline has seen delivery delays by Boeing; and lease rental going up among other factors. As deliveries happen, more fuel-efficient aircraft will be inducted. Operating costs will go down, said Gagan Dixit, analyst at Elara Capital.

For fiscal 2025, Akasa reported revenues of 4,582.72 crore and losses of 1,983.42 crore, reflecting the high-cost structure and competitive pressure in Indias aviation market.
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI : Eighteen months after Birla Opus stormed into the paints market, Berger Paints India Ltd is bracing for a full-blown colour war.

Berger Paints India Ltd will prioritise market share over profitability if competitive pressures intensify, said Abhijit Roy, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), in an interview with Mint.

Ideally, we would love to grow both profit and sales," Roy said. But if push comes to shove, we will prefer to have our market share protected even if a little bit of profit dilution happens. Once your market share is protected, profits can always come back sooner or later," he said, adding that it's not something that the paint maker is worried about.

Roy, who has led Berger for 13 years, admitted that the industry has never seen a disruptor like Birla Opus, which has shaken up what was once a steady business.

Theyve (Birla Opus) woken everyone up, shaken everyone upand everyone is running faster. Its a good thing to have happened to the industry," he said.

Holding ground

Berger, which celebrated its 100th anniversary last year, appears to be holding its turf. The companys market share improved by 0.5% to 20.8% in the first half of fiscal year 2026 (FY26), in an industry worth nearly $10 billion, according to Roy.

Revenue, however, fell 11.9% sequentially to 2,827.49 crore in the September quarter, while net profit dropped 34.4% to 206.38 crore.

Asian Paints continues to dominate with about 52% market share, followed by Berger, Kansai Nerolac (15%), and Akzo Nobel (89%). The remaining 45% is shared by smaller players such as Indigo, Nippon, and Shalimar Paints.

New challengers, new pressure

The competition has heated up.

The Aditya Birla Groups entry in January 2024 through Birla Opus, with a 10,000-crore investment plan across six greenfield plants, raised concerns of a price war. Opus, which is a subsidiary of the listed company Grasim Industries, aspires to break into the top tier of Indias paints industry.

We endeavour to become a profitable No. 2 player in the coming years," said Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman at Aditya Birla Group, at the time of the launch.

Also Read | Better execution helps Berger Paints beat peers, but downgrades continue

Sensing disruption, Berger doubled down on its market approach: last year, it announced that it would double its revenue in five years.

It took us almost 100 years to get to 10,000 crore. In the next six years, we will do another 10,000 crore," Roy told shareholders at Bergers annual general meeting last year.

Not far behind, JSW Paints, part of Sajjan Jindals JSW Group, turned aggressive this July with a 9,000-crore acquisition of Akzo Nobel Indiasignalling its intent to expand fast.

The race for no. 2

Everyone wants to be number two because number one is out of reach. The real fight is for who becomes number three. Number two looks too far off unless theres consolidation, which seems unlikely," said Roy.

Still, he remains confident. Were already sitting at around 20% market share, and our dream is to move up to 30%. We have the dealers, brands, factories, and peoplewe know this business well."

Roy pointed out that competitors, including privately-held Opus and JSW Paints, are not being asked tough questions about their profits, but at Berger, they also want to maintain a stable profit.

Our opportunity is there because we are better placed than Birla, which is coming from a zero base."

Berger Paints net profit slipped 23.5% from 269.9 crore at the end of September last year to 206.4 crore this September. Asian Paints profit declined 6% from 186.79 at the end of June last year to 1117.05 crore this June, while Kansai Nerolac reported an 11.3% increase to 133.31 crore, largely aided by a lower tax rate of 26.6% compared with 34.5% in the same period last year. Asian Paints will announce its September quarter earnings on Wednesday.

Distribution push

To protect and grow share, Berger is doubling down on distribution, especially in the West and South, where its presence is relatively weak. The company is tackling material availability issues and adding new dealers in these regions, while reinforcing its dominance in the East, its traditional stronghold.

The East remains Bergers stronghold, relatively safer from competition. Birla Opus is stronger in the West and South where they already have a cement network," he said. So the pressure is higher there, not in the East."

Also Read | Berger Paints shines in Q3, but the spectre of competition looms

Berger's approach is to reinforce its dominance in the East while expanding and intensifying efforts in the West and South to address regional competition.

Analyst view

According to ICICI Securities, in their report dated 5 November, Bergers aggressive investments in urban distribution could yield market share gains in the second half of FY26 and FY27.

Analysts also expect competitive intensity to have peaked, allowing for select price hikes once pressures ease.

We remain enthused by Bergers aggressive urban push," ICICI Securities analysts wrote.

Roy acknowledged that the extended monsoon had dampened the festive painting season, delaying demand.

The festive season for decorative paints is September and October months, which accounts for 21% of their total sales.

The demand is going to rise, because there is a lot of pent-up demand there, the rains, you know, delayed it, so we expect that you know sales will happen, you know, in this quarter and the next quarter, you know, a lot of this demand, you know, paint, normally it does not get destroyed, it gets postponed," the chief executive said.

Berger Paints shares have gained 7.61% since the start of the fiscal year, trailing the Nifty benchmarks 10% rise during the same period, reflecting a positive yet underwhelming performance compared with the broader market.

Despite margin pressure and intensifying competition, Berger is betting on scale, brand recall, and distribution strength to keep its colours bright.
Vodafone Idea Ltd, Indias third-largest telecom operator, surprised with a better-than-expected performance on a decline in expenses, especially finance costs, in the September quarter.

However, its debt of over 2 trillion and repayments starting next year continue to weigh on its finances, making its survival dependent on government relief, according to analysts.

The telecom operator posted a net loss of 5,524 crore, lower than the year-ago loss of 7,176 crore and also Bloombergs estimate of a loss of 6,712 crore.

The lower losses can be attributed to a reduction in expenses, particularly finance costs, which include interest payments on debt and other liabilities, accounting for 43% of its revenue from operations.

The operator's losses narrowed from the previous quarter's 6,608 crore as the finance cost fell 18.8% quarter-on-quarter and nearly 28% year-on-year to 4,784 crore.

The company's bottom line may have also benefited partially from the lower debt resulting from the government's conversion of dues worth 36,950 crore into equity in April.

AGR relief brings hope The company reported its quarterly results at a time when it continues to grapple with the issue of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues. The Supreme Court on 3 November clarified that the government could reassess and reconsider all of Vodafone Ideas adjusted AGR dues as of 2016-17, including interest and penalties, delivering significant relief to the cash-strapped telecom company. Following this, Bharti Airtel Ltd is also in the process of seeking a waiver from the government on the AGR dues.

AGR is the income figure used to calculate the licence fees and spectrum charges that telecom companies must pay the government.

The government owns a 49% stake in Vodafone Idea. On the AGR matter, the company said: We are in discussion with the department of telecommunications (DoT) for next steps on this matter. As of March-end, the companys AGR dues stood at 83,400 crore.

The group's ability to settle the above liabilities is dependent on reconsideration/re-assessment of AGR dues, including interest and penalty up to 2016-17 by the DoT, fund raise through equity and debt and generation of cash flow from operations, Vodafone Idea said in its financial statements.

Based on current efforts and recent directions by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the group believes that it would be able to get DoT support, successfully arrange funds and generate cash flow from operations, the company added.

Whilst we do not yet explicitly bake in AGR relief into our forecasts as we await contours of any relief package that the government may announce, we implicitly factor in relief by assuming Vi (Vodafone Idea) is successful in completing its debt raise and ensuring it stays serviceable (AGR debt and external debt are fungible from a cash/balance sheet perspective), which should enable the company to deliver on its 50,000-55,000 crore three-year capex plan, said analysts at brokerage house Citi in a note dated 5 November.

The companys revenue from operations increased 2.4% on-year to 11,194.7 crore, surpassing Bloombergs estimate of 11,136 crore. The improvement can be attributed to the companys network expansion and increase in data consumption on the network.

On a sequential basis, the companys revenue rose 1.6% from 11,022.5 crore in the preceding quarter.

We continue to make steady progress towards our strategic intent of delivering superior customer experience. We expanded our 4G coverage to over 84% of the population and completed the 5G rollout in all 17 circles where we hold 5G spectrum, said Abhijit Kishore, Vodafone Idea chief executive officer, in a statement.

The growth of 21% in data volume reflects our ability to retain and engage customers through our differentiated prepaid and postpaid offerings.

Kishore was appointed as the CEO of the company in August. The company remains engaged with lenders to secure debt financing to support its broader capex plans of 50,000-55,000 crore. In August, the company announced that it had begun exploring non-banking sources of funding to maintain the continuity of its critical capital expenditure cycle.

Subscribers and ARPU trends As of September-end, the companys subscriber base was at 196.7 million, down by 1 million sequentially. In the second and third quarters of 2024-25, Vodafone Idea lost 5 million subscribers each. In the preceding quarter, the company had lost just 0.5 million subscribers as it improved its network.

In the September quarter, the companys 4G/5G subscriber base also improved to 127.8 million, as against 127.4 million in the preceding quarter.

Alongside 5G rollout, we continue to invest in expanding our high-speed broadband network by adding new 4G sites and upgrading our core and transmission network for high-speed broadband network, the company said, adding that its 4G population coverage increased to over 84% as of September compared to 77% as of March 2024.

Owing to improvements in its network, the company stated that its 4G data capacity increased by over 38%, resulting in a 17% improvement in 4G speeds in September compared to March 2024.

The companys average revenue per user (Arpu), a key performance metric, rose marginally to 167 from 165 in the preceding quarter. In comparison, Reliance Jios Arpu rose to 211.4 in the September quarter from 208.8 in the preceding quarter, whereas for Bharti Airtel, Arpu was 256, up from 250 in the preceding quarter.

Also Read | Govt awaits SC order before final call on Vodafone Idea relief

Vodafone Ideas earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (Ebitda) came in at 4,685 crore, a marginal rise from the preceding quarter's 4,612 crore, but up 3% on-year largely owing to revenue growth.

Even as Vodafone Idea was able to narrow its losses, the company has been strapped with huge dues. As of 30 September, the companys deferred payment obligation (including interest accrued but not due) towards spectrum, which is payable over the years till 2043-44 and towards AGR dues, which is payable over the years till 2030-31, aggregates to over 2 trillion, marginally up from 1.99 trillion in the preceding quarter.

Its outstanding debt from banks (including interest accrued but not due) was 1,542 crore, down from 1,944.5 crore in the preceding quarter. The company said its debt from banks payable by September 2026 is 1,440 crore.

The company added that the AGR instalment on which moratorium was availed as per the telecom reforms package 2021, due during 2025-26, is 16,428 crore. The amount has to be paid in the absence of any relief. Instalments related to deferred payment obligations towards spectrum payable by September 2026 stand at 2,558 crore.
Mumbai: Temasek-backed hospitals chain Manipal Health Enterprises Ltd is looking to file its draft red herring prospectus with the capital markets regulator in December. The initial public offer (IPO) will see a mix of primary and secondary fundraising of more than $1 billion, making it one of the largest healthcare IPOs in the region.

The Ranjan Pai-founded firm is aiming for a valuation of around 1 trillion to 1.2 trillion, according to three people with direct knowledge of the companys plans. The final decision on the filing timeline, the quantum of the raise, and whether any long-term investor will be brought onto the cap table will be made at the companys board meeting to be held next week, these people said.

The pitches to investors range around 1-1.2 trillion, given the size and scale the company has achieved in the last two years," one of the persons cited above said on condition of anonymity.

Also Read | Manipal shortlists banks for $1 bn IPO

In April 2023, Temasek increased its holding by acquiring a 41% stake in the company for more than $2 billion, valuing it at nearly $4.8 billion, or about 40,000 crore. It acquired stake from Manipal founder Ranjan Pai and other investors, including NIIF and TPG, to increase its shareholding to around 59%. Manipal Education and Medical Group Pvt. Ltd retains around 31% of the company, with TPG holding 10-11%.

Last year, the company sold up to an 8% stake to incoming investors, including Mubadala Investment Co. (Mubadala), Novo Holdings and the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), in a bid to derisk its holdings.

Valuation goal

The company is expected to raise around 8,000-10,000 crore through the IPO. Investment banks Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Capital, Jefferies, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Motilal Oswal are among the bankers managing the issue, Mint had reported earlier.

The IPO will see the company raise a large primary capital, and given that not many investors want to sell, the offer for sale (OFS) will be a smaller portion just to meet the regulatory requirement," the second person cited above said, requesting anonymity. The decision of who is likely to participate in the OFS will also be made at the board meeting next week.

According to the revised Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) norms, for companies with a post-issue market capitalization of 1-5 trillion, the minimum dilution has been reduced to 2.75% of the post-issue market cap, and the public offer must be a minimum of 6,250 crore. A final call on that front, too, will be taken next week," the second person cited above added.

The company does not need capital immediately, but it will boost its war chest for a large acquisition through a primary capital raise during the IPO. Some of the capital is also likely to help pare down the debt on its books.

As on 31 March 2025, the company had around 5,200 crore debt on a consolidated basis.

Healthcare giants

The company, which had planned to file for its IPO by June this year, had to delay its filing after agreeing to acquire Sahyadri Hospitals from Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP) for 6,400 crore. With the acquisition, the total bed count of the chain exceeded 12,000 as on date, making it one of the largest healthcare operators in Asia.

In November 2024, Quality Care India Ltd, backed by Aster DM Healthcare Ltd and Blackstone, announced that it had signed an agreement to merge with Aster DM, creating one of the top three hospital chains in India with more than 10,150 beds. The reverse merger has now created the largest listed healthcare provider in India.

Queries emailed to Manipal Healths spokesperson did not elicit a response. A Temasek spokesperson declined to comment.

Also Read | ChrysCapitals biggest fund yet signals new global capital rush to India

Founded in 2010 by Ranjan Pai, Manipal Hospitals Enterprises currently has a pan-India footprint comprising over 38 hospitals and more than 5,000 doctors. Its network of hospitals spans cities such as Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Mysuru, Vijayawada, Salem, Dwarka, Palam Vihar, Goa, Jaipur, Ghaziabad, Patiala, Pune and Kolkata, among others.

As per an India Ratings and Research ratings release in July, the companys consolidated revenues as on 31 March stood at 8,242 crore against 6,144 crore in the previous year. The company reported a healthy earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) margin of 25.8% in fiscal year 2025, according to the release.

In the Indian healthcare sector, significant consolidation has occurred over the last five years, with the top groups acquiring or merging to create larger platforms. Some of the listed peers of the Manipal Group include Apollo Hospitals Enterprise with a market capitalization of 1.098 trillion; Max Healthcare with 1.104 trillion; and Fortis Healthcare with 77,020 crore as on Friday on the National Stock Exchange.
Microsoft finally has opened up a little bit about its dealings with OpenAI. It still has a long way to go to do right by investors.

Here is the rub: Microsoft in its financial reports identifies OpenAI as an equity-method investment. That means OpenAI, by definition, is a related party of Microsoft under the accounting rules, and that Microsoft has the ability to exercise significant influence over the ChatGPT developer. Once again, however, Microsoft in its latest quarterly report didnt include any related-party disclosures regarding OpenAI.

The lack of information would be defensible if the two companies transactions were too insignificant to matter. However, it has become apparent that their dealings are quite material and that investors care tremendously about them.

Under generally accepted accounting principles, companies reporting related-party transactions must disclose enough information about them so that an outside reader can gain an understanding of the effects of the transactions on the financial statements." That is something Microsoft doesnt do.

For instance, Microsoft has said it has reciprocal revenue-sharing arrangements" with OpenAI. However, Microsoft hasnt disclosed the effects of those arrangements on its revenue, cost of goods sold or operating expenses.

When related-party disclosures are lacking, one problem for investors is that it becomes difficult to evaluate whether the transactions are being conducted on an arms length basis.

A Microsoft spokesman, Frank Shaw, said: Microsofts financial statements comply fully with generally accepted accounting principles and are audited by an independent firm." He declined to answer questions or comment further.

When Microsoft last reported financial results, for the Sept. 30 quarter, it did include some new details for the first time about its relationship with OpenAI. But those disclosures didnt go far enough. If anything, they highlighted how crucial the relationship is to Microsoft and its investors, and why more complete information is necessary.

Microsoft said it owned 27% of OpenAI after an overhaul of the AI companys corporate structure that was completed in October. Microsoft said it booked $4.1 billion of losses from OpenAI last quarter, equivalent to 12% of Microsofts pretax profit, which marked the first time Microsoft had made such a disclosure. In addition, it said OpenAI had agreed to buy $250 billion of Microsofts cloud-computing services, although it didnt provide a time frame or say how OpenAI would fund the purchases.

It also said, in an Oct. 28 blog post before its earnings release, that its OpenAI investment was worth $135 billion. Microsoft in its quarterly report didnt disclose the carrying amount for its OpenAI stake, but it is a much smaller number. In a footnote, Microsoft said the carrying value for all its equity-method investments was $1.8 billion as of Sept. 30, down from $6 billion a quarter earlier. The discrepancy exists because the carrying value reflects Microsofts original investments in OpenAI, adjusted for its proportionate share of OpenAIs losses, rather than OpenAIs current market value.

It now seems likely that Microsoft soon could write down its OpenAI stakes value to zero, assuming OpenAI keeps bleeding money. In that case, Microsofts disclosures about OpenAI could become even more scant. Under the equity method of accounting, Microsofts losses from OpenAI would be capped once the carrying amount fell to zero, while any new investments in OpenAI would increase the carrying amount.

The case for why Microsofts OpenAI dealings are materialand why related-party disclosures are necessaryis straightforward. OpenAI is strategically important to Microsoft and has helped fuel the rise of Microsofts own market value to $3.7 trillion. And strictly by the numbers, an investment worth $135 billion is a big deal even to Microsoft.

Microsoft had $636 billion of assets and $363 billion of equity as of Sept. 30, and its fiscal 2025 earnings were $102 billion. The $135 billion figure, if the OpenAI stake was a stand-alone item on Microsofts balance sheet, would be Microsofts second-largest asset behind its $231 billion of property and equipment.

By lifting the veil only slightly on its OpenAI numbers, Microsoft underscored how much it still keeps hidden. Microsoft hasnt come close to explaining the full effects of its OpenAI dealings on its own financial statements. This isnt supposed to be optional.

Write to Jonathan Weil at jonathan.weil@wsj.com
BENGALURU : A Square Capital, a domestic venture capital firm, is looking to launch a maiden early-stage fund of about $40 million and has applied for a category I alternative investment fund (AIF) licence, said two people aware of the development.

The fund expects to receive Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) approval by January or February, and is in talks with potential limited partners across overseas and domestic markets to set up the maiden vehicle, the first person mentioned above said on condition of anonymity.

The fund will invest across sectors including healthcare, technology, deep tech, AI, fintech and consumer brands," said the first person aware of the fundraising plans.

The second person aware of the funds operations stated that approximately 80% of the corpus will be deployed in technology startups over the funds life, with the remaining 20% earmarked for consumer goods and tangible D2C brands.

The fund plans to make 10-15 investments a year, with cheque sizes in the range of 75 lakh to 1 crore per deal. We will focus on seed to Series A rounds, and only consider post-revenue companies," this person added.

The fund has already secured commitments of around $20 million from its promoter, including from managing partner Chahat Agarwal, according to the second person cited above, who requested anonymity.

The rest of the capital will come from foreign limited partners; as of now, the fund is not looking at domestic LPs," the person said.

When contacted by Mint, a spokesperson for the firm declined to comment on the story.

Sector mix

A Square Capital is structured as an Indian fund and headquartered in Delhi. Founded by Chahat Agarwal, a marketing and brand professional who worked on Oyos expansion in the UK and Southeast Asia, A Square Capital will be sector-agnostic, with an emphasis on healthcare and consumer brands, according to the two people familiar with the plans.

Healthcare will be a key focus area, with the fund bringing in domain expertise spanning private care, policy and government systems, the first person said.

Key Takeaways A Square Capital, a new domestic VC, is launching its first fund, targeting $40 million and has applied for a Category I AIF licence from Sebi.

The fund will allocate 80% of its corpus to technology, deep tech, AI, and fintech startups, with the remaining 20% for consumer/D2C brands.

The fund will target seed to Series A rounds in post-revenue companies, planning 10-15 investments per year with cheque sizes between 75 lakh and 1 crore.

$20 million is already committed by the promoter, with the remaining capital expected to come exclusively from foreign Limited Partners.

A Square Capital positions itself as offering end-to-end support to foundersincluding fundraising, go-to-market strategy, product development, and scalinggoing beyond typical investor/accelerator offerings.

Until the licence is in place, Agarwal has been making personal investments. While we are awaiting the Sebi licenceChahat is investing as an individual for now, until we get the fund licence," the first person added.

Beyond healthcare, the fund will look at technology-led opportunities and remain largely sector-agnostic, the first person confirmed.

According to the two people aware of the plans quoted earlier, beyond providing capital, the fund intends to offer end-to-end support to founders, including go-to-market strategy, product development, scaling, and access to a vetted advisory and investor network, working alongside teams from idea validation through fundraising and scale-up.

The offering includes fundraising support, go-to-market strategy, product development and scalingpositioned as going beyond what traditional accelerators or investors typically provide," said the first person.

Early-stage venture firms have stayed active in India over the past year, announcing new funds and first closes across seed and Series A strategies. Recent vehicles include Blume Ventures Fund V first close, alongside fresh funds from Prime Venture Partners and 247VC.

Market growth

Blume Ventures recently marked the initial close of its fifth fund at $175 million, with a planned final close of $250275 million by early 2026. In March, Prime Venture Partners launched a $100 million Fund V, with over 80% of commitments secured. It has begun deploying funds in the second half of 2025 to companies such as Nivasa Finance, Klaar, Illumine, and Metafin, among others.

Among micro VC entrants, 247VC launched India Fund I in May with a 200 crore corpus and a 50 crore greenshoe option (targeting 250 crore), registered as a Category II AIF to lead seed rounds with follow-on capital.

According to Inc42s Indian Tech Startup Funding Report Q3 2025, India has already seen more fund launches this year than in the whole of 2024. In the first nine months of 2025, investors announced funds worth over $9 billion, surpassing the $8.7 billion tally for 2024.

The third quarter alone accounted for more than $2.5 billion in new funds across 25 investors, with 17 vehicles specifically targeting early-stage startups, according to the report. The report also showed that in 2025, nearly 60% of new fund launches were aimed at seed and Series A rounds, showcasing a clear tilt toward early-stage deals.
(Bloomberg) -- A little-known Cigna Group subsidiary that sells generic drugs charges prices that skew higher than many competing suppliers, according to a new analysis that raises questions about the companys role in setting medication prices.

Cigna sells insurance and runs the countrys largest pharmacy benefit manager, which negotiates drug prices between manufacturers, health plans and pharmacies. Drug companies and politicians often blame pharmacy benefit managers for driving up the cost of medicines, but the businesses contend that they actually lower prices and that the drugmakers are the problem.

Cigna also owns Quallent Pharmaceuticals, a 4-year-old unit that sells its own versions of many generic drugs. That means Cigna is both negotiating with drugmakers through its pharmacy benefit division and profiting from the generic medications its own Quallent unit sells. It also has home delivery and specialty pharmacies that dispense drugs to patients.

Little is known about Quallent, which is based in the Cayman Islands and lists dozens of drugs on its website. These aspects of Cignas business may become more important as it faces shrinking profit margins in pharmacy benefits. The company recently announced changes to that business that spooked investors and sent Cignas shares on their steepest slide since 2008.

The analysis from 46brooklyn Research, a nonprofit focused on drug pricing that has frequently tangled with pharmacy benefit managers, found that the generic drugs sold by Quallent tend to be priced at the higher end of the market. Quallent doesnt manufacture drugs, but rather puts its label on drugs made by others and then sets the price.

They are telling you they hate high prices, they are telling you they work to get the lowest prices, said Antonio Ciaccia, chief executive officer of 46brooklyn. This data suggests the opposite is occurring.

Justine Sessions, a spokesperson for Evernorth Health Services, the part of Cigna that contains the pharmacy benefit manager, said that 46brooklyn appears to be willfully misrepresenting how generic medicines are priced and sold.

We cannot verify the data or methodology of this 46brooklyn report, but it appears to be based on a flawed use of averages, including extreme outliers, which results in skewed data and incorrect assumptions, Sessions said.

Ciaccia and other members of the nonprofit also operate a for-profit consulting business whose clients include government agencies, health plan sponsors and companies in the drug supply chain.

46brooklyns analysis peeks behind the curtain of drug sellers that are part of the same companies as pharmacy benefit managers. Each of the three largest health conglomerates that owns a pharmacy benefit manager started a drug seller in recent years: UnitedHealth Group Inc.s Nuvaila and CVS Health Corp.s Cordavis have focused on selling their own versions of complicated biosimilar drugs. Quallent, too, has launched some biosimilars, plus many generics.

46brooklyns analysis focused on generic drugs and an obscure drug pricing metric called the average wholesale price or AWP. This is not the list price that many politicians have been scrutinizing, but rather a technical measure that can determine how much health plans pay for drugs.

The ratio of the prices of Quallents drugs to its competitors show its often a higher-cost option, according to the analysis. Quallents drugs are typically 33 times more expensive than the cheapest option in the category, 46brooklyn found.

Quallents products were never the cheapest, but they were sometimes the most expensive, according to the report. On average they were more than 80% of the maximum price.

Jaya Subramaniam, president of Quallent Pharmaceuticals, said in a statement that the company looks for the highest-quality, most affordable products, which might not be the cheapest. Other low-cost generics might have safety or quality issues, she said.

Quallents prices are closely in line with the majority of high-quality generic manufacturers  typically within $2 or less, Subramaniam said. 46brooklyns flawed methodology would yield the same findings about any high-quality generic manufacturer. She said extreme outliers in pricing data can make such comparisons inaccurate.

Health conglomerates have said these private-label drug companies give them better control over the supply chain and ensure quality manufacturing, especially for high-tech biologics. Critics say they can also push patients toward drugs sold by their own companies, by, for example, favoring those medicines on lists of preferred drugs.

To conduct the analysis, 46brooklyn used an industry standard drug pricing database and compared the prices for the Quallent generics with the prices for other generic equivalents. They couldnt publish the actual prices, though, because those are considered proprietary.

Having a higher AWP can raise costs, because contracts between health plans and pharmacy benefit managers often dictate that plans pay a certain discount off the AWP, Ciaccia said.

US drug prices are expressed in a confusing array of benchmarks, which are often the basis for various discounts. What anyone pays in a given transaction may vary.

When everything is tied to these discountings as a worldview, the incentive is to raise the starting point to make more money, said Ben Link, president of 46brooklyn. Here we can see that behavior to a T.

By another measure, though, the 46brooklyn analysis found, Quallents prices were often lower: The wholesale acquisition cost. Thats related to what pharmacies would pay to stock the drug. The disconnect suggests that Quallent sets relatively low prices for its pharmacies to acquire the drug but charges higher rates to dispense it to outside customers, Link said.

Sessions said that pharmacies dont buy generic drugs for the wholesale acquisition costs.

The higher Quallent prices could push up overall payments for generics in certain contracts, if the payments are linked to the AWP price benchmark. Sessions said that Cigna is trying to move away from those types of contracts. On an individual level, health plans pay the same amount for generic Quallent drugs as they do for the equivalent medicines made by other companies, she said.

(Updates last paragraph with additional company comment.)

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
Some of the major US tech companies are discontinuing with practice of publishing gender and racial statistics of their workforce. Tech giant Google is not planning to share the information this year, according to a report by Wired, citing four employees aware of the internal development.

Additionally, Microsoft and Meta will not be publishing diversity reports and data this year, the report said, citing spokespeople for the companies.

This significant decrease in transparency might hide the effects of US President Donald Trumps anti-DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policies on the tech workforce. Additionally, it could create obstacles for workers and civil rights organisations aiming to influence tech companies to better reflect the demographics of the countries in which they operate, the report said.

These three tech giants, which together employ hundreds of thousands of people across the globe, are in contrast with their industry peers. Apple, Amazon and Nvidia each published new diversity data this year.

Why is Microsoft not publishing data this year? The report quoted Microsoft chief spokesperson Frank Shaw, who said that the company is not doing a traditional report this year as weve evolved beyond that to formats that are more dynamic and accessible, including stories, videos and insights that show inclusion in action. He added that the companys mission and commitment to our culture and values remain unchanged.

Meanwhile, Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton confirmed that the company will not publish a diversity report this year. He did not explain the reason for the decision.

Also Read | Google Maps upgraded with Gemini: 6 big changes coming to the navigation app

What did Google's previous disclosures reveal? Over the past decade, disclosures revealed that Google and many other tech companies have increasingly hired more women and racial minorities. However, these groups remain underrepresented in technical and management roles compared to their proportions in the overall US population. Some firms also released extra data indicating higher attrition rates among racial minorities and limited diversity regarding disabled or LGBTQ employees.

Google published its employee diversity data for the first time in 2014, with several other tech giants following suit later that year.

Tech executives recognised the importance of being more transparent about the underrepresentation of certain demographic groups. Its hard to address these challenges if youre not prepared to discuss them openly and on facts, the report quoted Laszlo Bock, Googles head of people operations.

Following the initial report, Google released 11 annual reports, which included data from 2013 to 2023, with the last report published in June 2024. Meta released data spanning 2014 through 2022, while Microsoft last released the report in October 2024.

Also Read | Will scrapped diversity policies in the US have ripple effects in India?

Trump's anti-DEI policy After Trumps return to the White House in January, the corporate dialogue surrounding DEI underwent a shift. He directed federal agencies to fight illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities, which could involve suing companies or imposing fines for valuing identity over merit in employment choices.
Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk on Monday announced an exclusive partnership with Pune-based Emcure Pharmaceuticals to widely distribute its weight-loss therapy semaglutide, as competition in India's fast-growing anti-obesity drug market heats up.

The announcement comes soon after US drug giant Eli Lilly announced a similar tie-up last month with Mumbai-headquartered Cipla to distribute its anti-obesity drug Tirzepatide.

Novo and Emcure will launch semaglutide under a new brand name, Poviztra, as a 2.4mg weekly injection, they said in a joint statement. The companies did not yet reveal the pricing strategy and launch date, but said that they would be very competitive in pricing.

Novo Nordisk currently markets semaglutide in India under brand name Wegovy, launched in June 2025, and Rybelsus, an oral pill launched in 2022. Wegovy is also a once-a-week injectable, sold in five dosages: 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg, and a maintenance dose of 2.4 mg. The first three are priced at 4,336 per dose or 17,345 monthly, while the 1.7 mg dose is priced at 24,280 and the 2.4 mg at 26,015 per month.

Also Read | Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk to lay off up to 150 people in India

The idea behind partnering with a domestic player is to increase scale and access pockets of patients beyond their existing reach, Novo Nordisks India managing director Vikrant Shrotriya told reporters in a virtual press conference on Monday.

I don't think obesity is limited to a metro town in India or a [tier 1 or 2] town. I think it has penetrated a wide section of our society, down to villages, said Shrotriya. What we are seeing is a very, very small patient percentage of the population getting access today. But we believe along with Emcure that this will go wide across in India in terms of access.

Today, it is limited to specialists and endocrinologists [who prescribe it]. And Im sure over a period, with the kind of population which is getting affected, more and more doctors will embrace it in terms of prescribing these drugs, he added.

Emcures plan Emcure is the 14th largest pharmaceutical company in India by sales as of FY25. The partnership marks its entry into the anti-obesity segment, and the company plans to leverage its on-ground sales force and distribution network to increase penetration.

The company is a leader in gynaecology (ranked number 2 in the Indian market), and has been expanding its dermatology and cardiovascular (in partnership with Sanofi) portfolios this year.

The company has 30 CNF agents (carrying and forwarding agents) across the country, and covers more than 40-50% of pharmacies in the country, Emcure chief executive officer and managing director Satish Mehta said.

We have a great distribution network. So to that extent, even in the remote part of the country, we are confident of reaching the product in the shortest possible period, he said.

The drugmaker has 5,000 medical representatives, and will target several therapies and specialists for the drug. This can be used in chronic kidney disease (CKD), we are very strong in nephro, we have a division in hepatology, and it has indications in fatty liver disease, I believe it should also be useful in gynaecology, Mehta said.

Also Read | Novo Nordisk preparing to launch weight-loss drug Wegovy in India

In comparison, Cipla has a field force of 11,512 medical representatives in India as of FY25.

Currently, Wevogy is indicated for chronic weight management and to reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in people with obesity in India.

Globally, semaglutide has been approved by the US FDA for treating chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular event risks and MASH (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis) or fatty liver disease as well. Shrotriya said that the company is working on regulatory submissions for further doses and indications in India as well.

Novos challenge Novo Nordisk, which saw its fortunes shoot up on the back of blockbuster drug semaglutide, has been fighting a tight battle with competitor Eli Lilly, as well as others like Pfizer globally.

With intensifying competition weighing on the drugmaker, it recently lowered its full-year 2025 sales and profit forecasts due to slower-than-expected growth in Ozempic and Wegovy, its key drugs. The company has lowered its full-year sales growth forecast to 8-11% and operating profit growth to 4-7%.

Novo hasn't yet launched Ozempic in India.

Globally, sales of Wegovy and Ozempic grew at a slower pace in Q3 2025 compared to previous quarters, with Wegovy's year-over-year growth at 18% (down from 67% in Q2) and Ozempic's at 3% (down from 15% in Q2).

India, with 254 million obese people and over 100 million with diabetes, is the latest battleground for weight-loss drugmakers. Novo lost the early-mover advantage to Eli Lillys Mounjaro, which was launched in March 2025, and has outpaced its sales by 10x as of October 2025.

Also Read | Novo Nordisk launches weight loss drug Wegovy priced at 17,345 per month
Metsera stock was tumbling on Monday after Pfizer agreed to buy the weight-loss drug start-up in a deal that could end up being worth more than $10 billion.

Wegovy and Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk lost this unusual bidding warbut it may end up being the overall winner from the deal.

Metsera stock tumbled 15% to $70.88, and Pfizer climbed 0.5% to $24.56 ahead of the U.S. open. Novos Copenhagen-listed shares climbed 2.1%.

The moves came after Metsera said late Friday that it had accepted an offer from Pfizer of $65.60 per share, and a contingent value right that entitles Metsera shareholders to additional payments of up to $20.65 per share if certain milestones are hit.

Pfizer agreed to buy Metsera in September for $7.3 billion, before Novo fired back with a $9 billion bid of its own, sparking a bidding war.

The market reaction on Monday suggests that Novo investors are feeling relieved that the Danish drugmaker hasnt matched Pfizers latest offer, which looks like an overpay considering Metseras treatments are largely unproven. Novo said in a statement that it wouldnt increase its offer due to its commitment to financial discipline and shareholder value.

Pfizer said it expects to close the deal after a meeting of Metsera stockholders on Thursday.

Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com
New Delhi: Britannia Industries Ltd on Monday announced a sudden departure of Varun Berry as executive vice-chairman, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO), bringing an end to his nearly 13-year tenure at the packaged foods major.

The company named Rakshit Hargave as its next managing director and CEO, effective 15 December 2025, for a period of five years. In the interim, N. Venkataraman, executive director and chief financial officer, will hold additional charge as CEO until Hargave takes over. On 5 November, the company had announced Hargaves appointment as CEO at the biscuit maker.

In a letter dated 6 November, Berry wrote to chairman Nusli Wadia, tendering his resignation and proposing to serve out his notice period as per his employment contract.

Thank you very much for your support for the past 13 years. I would like to tender my resignation from the position of CEO and Managing Director of Britannia Industries Ltd. Will serve my notice period as per the contract. Please treat Nov 6, 2025 as the date of my resignation. I will be available beyond my departure from the company to guide Rakshit in whichever way you may want. I hope Britannia goes from strength to strength in the coming years, Berry wrote in his resignation, a copy of which has been filed with the exchanges.

Also Read | How India's FMCG companies navigated sales after structural GST changes

However, the board of directors, on the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee, accepted his resignation and waived off the notice period, relieving him of his responsibilities effective the close of business hours on 10 November 2025.

During the companys earnings call held last week, Berry said Hargave is the perfect choice for the role.

As a portfolio between him and me, he is going to handle the entire business, and my job will be to help him whenever he needs help. I will not be directly handling anything as he joins. My job will be to make sure that he settles down absolutely well in the role, he said during the companys post-earnings analyst call held on 7 November.

New Management Hargave joins Britannia from Birla Opus, the paints venture of Grasim Industries (Aditya Birla Group), where he served as CEO. Prior to Birla Opus, Hargave held leadership, operational, and marketing roles at Beiersdorf (makers of Nivea), Hindustan Unilever, Jubilant FoodWorks, Nestle India, and Tata Motors, both in India and overseas.

He is an alumnus of the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi, and holds a degree in electrical engineering from IIT Varanasi.

Also Read | Ex-Benetton honcho laces up for innings as Puma India CEO

The Berry Era Berry joined the company as vice president & chief operating officer on 1 February 2013. He has over 27 years of experience with companies like Hindustan Unilever and PepsiCo. Berry was given several promotions by chairman Wadia, including being named executive director in November 2013.

He took over as managing director (MD) from Vinita Bali in April 2014. He was reappointed MD for a period of five years starting 1 April 2019.

In FY13, the companys sales stood at 5,564.38 crore, the year Berry was appointed as chief operating officer. In FY25, the companys standalone revenue from operations stood at 17,295.92 crore.

Berry firmed up the companys positioning as a total foods business, moving it away from its focus on biscuits and cookies to expand into categories such as croissants, wafers, and dairy drinks, driving market share gains. It also expanded its cheese portfolio with its 2022 joint venture with French cheese maker Bel SA to sell the latters The Laughing Cow brand in India.

Between March 2020 and March 2025, the company increased the number of rural-preferred dealers from 19,000 to 31,000, per its FY25 annual report.

Meanwhile, analysts tracking the company described Berrys resignation as abrupt.

Stock will see some knee-jerk negative reaction given the abrupt end to a fantastic 13-year tenure of Varun Berry. Departure clearly seems abrupt and sudden, something we have earlier also seen in Britannia. Even predecessor Vinita Bali was suddenly shifted to a small role when Varun Berry had joined. Having said that, Varun is around 63 years old. The new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the company, Rakshit Hargave, comes with a strong track record in Birla Opus, HUL, Dominos etc., said Abneesh Roy of Nuvama Institutional Equities.

Over time, Berry brought back both growth and margins to the company. However, we do see this exit as abrupt as the Street was expecting Berry to help with the transition to the new CEO. For instance, he pushed the companys products in the Hindi heartland with lower price packsa market where the company was under-indexed. Historically, Parle has always led the biscuit category; Varun brought volume and growth for Britannia. He also helped premiumize the portfolio, said another analyst speaking to Mint on the condition of anonymity.

Britannia competes with Parle Products and ITC Ltdbetween the three, they hold nearly 70% market share of the countrys biscuit category, per analyst estimates.

In September 2022, Berry was elevated to executive vice-chairman and managing director at the cookie maker with immediate effect. The company brought in Rajneet Singh Kohli as chief executive officer with effect from 26 September. Kohli also stepped down from his role earlier this year.
Bihar Elections 2025: It is a usual Monday morning for Mohammad Afzal as he brews tea for customers near Madrasa Mumbaul Uloom  the Islamic seminary that also serves as a polling booth in Bishanpur village of Kishanganjs Kochadhaman.

Ask Afzal  who runs the tea shop on the highway  about the mahaul (mood) ahead of the upcoming elections, and his reply comes instantly  Patang ka hi hai, sahab, (Its the kites wave, sir), hinting at a wave for Asaduddin Owaisis All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen or the AIMIM.

The Patang, or kite, is the election symbol of the AIMIM. He was the only leader who tore up the NRC Bill in the House. He said, I love Mohammad. Who else speaks like that? He is our leader, says Ashraf, who sips tea sitting on the bench.

AIMIM resonates in Seemanchal As Bihar heads into the second and final phase of polling today, Asaduddin Owaisi and his party, the AIMIM, continue to strike a chord with voters in Seemanchal  a northeastern region of the state known for its high Muslim voter share and relative underdevelopment.

View full Image Seemanchal has four districts  Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnea and Araria  and has mostly elected Muslim candidates to the Assembly and the Parliament.

Ashraf recalls how AIMIM chief Owaisi tore a copy of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, in the Lok Sabha, stating that the bill aims to divide the country. The six-year-old incident remains fresh in people's minds, even though it did not bring about any change, and the Bill eventually became a law.

Ashraf also appreciates Owaisi's stand on I Love Muhammad controversy. In October 2025, Owaisi claimed that it is easier for someone to say "I love Modi", but not "I love Mohammad" in India. The Hyderabad Member of Parliament's remarks came as Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly remained tense since a protest over "I Love Mohammad" posters row turned violent.

Why Seemanchal matters? With Muslims comprising roughly 47 per cent of the population, Seemanchals 24 assembly seats hold significant political weight  especially for Asaduddin Owaisi, whose party has largely drawn its strength from Muslim voters

Seemanchal has four districts  Kishanganj, Katihar, Purnea and Araria  and has mostly elected Muslim candidates to the Assembly and the Parliament.

About two months before the Bihar polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated an airport in Purnea, one of the four Seemanchal districts. A BJP leader called it a "gift" to the people of Seemanchal. But locals are seemingly not impressed. He came days before the election. He thinks people are fools, Mohammad Nizami, a driver from Purnea, told this reporter ahead of elections.

When is Seemanchal voting? One-fourth of Bihars 2.31 crore Muslim population lives in the Seemanchal region. The 24 constituencies of this region  approximately 10 per cent of the state's total 243 seats  will go to the polls in the second phase on 11 November. The results will be announced on 14 November.

In the past, Seemanchal has emerged as a battleground where AIMIM, otherwise limited to Hyderabad, is concentrating its efforts.

The AIMIM won five Muslim-dominated seats in Seemanchal in the 2020 assembly polls. The AIMIM's victory was a major blow to the Mahagathbandhan, as Muslim votes were divided. Four MLAs defected to the RJD, however.

Ground voices and shifting loyalties Afzal's assembly seat, Kochidhaman in Kishanganj district, was one of the seats that the AIMIM candidate won before defecting to the RJD. The other seats where AIMIM won were Amour, Bahadurganj, Baisi, and Jokihat. Akhtarul Iman, the AIMIM president in Bihar was the only MLA from Amour who did not leave.

View full Image The AIMIM won five Muslim-dominated seats in Seemanchal in 2020 assembly polls. The AIMIM's victory was a major blow to the Mahagathbandhan , as Muslim votes were divided. Four MLAs defected to the RJD, however.

Owaisi won the seats in 2020 playing on local emotions. But he vanished after elections. Politics is not just about contesting elections. People will teach him a lesson this time, says Abu Affan Farooque, the Jan Suraaj Party candidate from Kochidhaman constituency. The AIMIM has fielded Sarwar Alam while the RJD has fielded former JD (U) leader Mujahid Alam from the seat.

Jokihat is another crucial seat for AIMIM in Seemanchal. Shahnawaz Alam, who won the seat in Araria district as AIMIM candidate in 2020 later defected to the RJD. Alam is contesting as RJD candidate in 2025. Alam's brother Sarfaraz, was RJD candidate in 2020 and is now contesting as Jan Suraaj leader in 2025

Owaisi sahab humare numainde hai. Baaki sab to unki badawlat jeet te hain (Owaisi sahab is our true representative. The rest win only because of him), says Mohd Rehan Ansari, a teacher from Jokihaat, who had come to attend Jan Suraaj Party chief Prashant Kishors rally for Alam on 28 October.

Muslim vote arithmetic Historically, Muslims have backed the RJD-led Mahagathbandhan, with Nitish Kumars JD(U) also enjoying support when it stayed away from the BJP.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, for example, when Nitish Kumar broke ties with the BJP, the JD(U) received over 20 per cent of Muslim votes. In the 2015 assembly polls, JD(U) fought the elections as part of the Mahagathbandhan and secured around 19 per cent of the Muslim vote.

But in the 2020 Assembly elections, about 62 per cent of Muslims voted for the Mahagathbandhan. Only 14 per cent supported the NDA with the JD(U) as its ally. The AIMIM garnered 3 per cent of the Muslim votes, mostly in the Seemanchal belt.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, about 68 per cent of Muslim votes went to the INDIA bloc of Mahagathbandhan, while 17 per cent to the NDA {JD(U) included}.

In the 2020 polls, the NDA (BJP + JDU) won 12 seats, while the INDIA bloc had won seven seats from the region. As many as 11 of the 24 seats of Seemanchal elected a Muslim candidate in the 2020 Assembly Elections.

The Patang strategy In the 2020 assembly elections, Muslims gave 62 per cent of their votes to Mahagathbandhan, 14 per cent to NDA, and 3 per cent to AIMIM, mostly in Seemanchal.

I see Muslims supporting Mahagathbandhan, Prof Mohammad Sajjad of the Department of History at Aligarh Muslim University and author of Contesting Colonialism and Separatism: Muslims of Muzaffarpur Since 1857 told Mint.

One common grievance among Muslims in the region is that the Mahagathbandhan chose Mukesh Sahaniwho represents the Mallah community, accounting for barely 23 per cent of Bihars populationas its deputy chief ministerial face, instead of someone from the Muslim community, which makes up about 17 per cent of the population.

Seemanchal is also significant for the RJD-Congress alliance with a focus on Muslim and Yadav voters. According to a poll by Vote Vibe, 51 per cent of Muslims surveyed said they trust the Mahagathbandhan for the overall development of Bihar.

AIMIM is accused of playing vote-splitting among the Muslim electorate. This split could benefit the ruling alliance -- the JD (U) - Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA.

My experience says that Muslims of Seemanchal vote wisely. They will only vote for MIM candidate in case they see a close fight with JD-U or RJD candidate. The voters in this region are not oblivious of the fact that their vote may lead to some undesirable results for them, says Prof Sajjad, who has a doctorate in late-colonial politics of Muslims of Bihar.

Owaisi has rubbished the vote splitting allegations in interviews. In a recent interview with Red Mike's Saurabh Shukla, the AIMIM chief expressed confidence that a son of Seemanchal will become the chief minister of Bihar on 14 November.

Even a leader with one MLA like Madhu Koda has become a CM in the past, Owaisi told Red Mike, referring to 2006 incident when, Madhu Koda, an independent legislator from Jharkhand, became the Chief Minister with the support of the Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), and RJD after the fall of the Arjun Munda-led BJP government. Despite being a lone MLA, Koda managed to form and lead the government  a rare instance in Indian politics
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said there is an organised vote theft, as accused by Rahul Gandhi, across the country. But the former minister in the Delhi government said vote chori cannot be made an election issue.

There is an organised vote chori happening across India. I am convinced because I have seen it firsthand in Delhi, Bharadwaj told the Indian Express on Monday, sharing his remarks about the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi's allegations.

Also Read | Bihar Elections 2025 Live: Stage set for final phase of voting tomorrow

As a voter, I dont think people vote thinking that since there was vote chori (vote theft), they will not vote for the BJP. You cant really make it an election issue  but you can make it a mass movement across the country, Bharadwaj, who is the Delhi president of the AAP said.

Rahul Gandhi has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission of India (EC) of systematically manipulating electoral rolls and distorting vote counting to favour the ruling party at the Centre. The Election Commission has rubbished the charge. Gandhi made this an issue in poll-bound Bihar, where he led a voter adhikar rally to raise the issue with voters two months ahead of this week's assembly polls.

No action taken on complaints: Bharadwaj When I lost in Delhi (in 2025), in my constituency  as a sitting MLA  I knew I was winning. Even the BJP knew it. So when I lost, I was convinced there was some kind of manipulation, Bharadwaj said, referring to his loss from the Greater Kailash seat in the 2024 Delhi assembly polls to BJP's Shikha Rai.

In the New Delhi constituency during the 2020 Legislative Assembly election, there were 1.48 lakh votes. By December 2024, that number had gone up to around 1.6 lakh votes. Yet, 42,000 votes had already been deleted, Bharadwaj said, adding that, If you the pattern of these deletions, and if you speak to the people in whose names these deletion applications were filed  they are on record saying they never filed such applications.

The then Delhi Chief Minister, Atishi, submitted a written complaint with evidence to the Election Commission (EC) regarding how this exercise was being carried out, but no FIR has been filed yet, the former minister said.

"I filed an RTI in August 2025, almost eight months after we had submitted the complaint, asking for its status. For every question, the reply was the same: We have no information, he said.

What did the Election Commission say on Rahul's charge?

There is an organised vote chori happening across India. I am convinced because I have seen it firsthand in Delhi.

The Election Commission on Wednesday countered Gandhi's vote chori claims by releasing a list of important facts for the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections on social media.
Bihar Elections 2025: As the final phase of the Bihar Assembly Election 2025 concludes on Tuesday, 11 November, attention now shifts to the exit poll projections. Under Election Commission of India (ECI) rules, exit polls cannot be released while voting is still underway, in order to prevent influencing voters in constituencies yet to go to the polls. The results will therefore only be made public once polling formally closes.

Which seats voted in Phase 2? The second and final phase covers 122 constituencies across 20 districts, including politically significant regions such as Gaya, Nawada, Jamui, Bhagalpur, and Purnia.

Both alliances intensified their final outreach during the concluding hours of campaigning, with senior leaders travelling widely in an effort to consolidate their support.

What are exit polls and how do they work? Exit polls are post-voting surveys conducted with voters as they leave polling stations. Unlike opinion polls, which assess intention before voting, exit polls aim to capture how people actually voted and the reasons behind their choices.

While exit polls are not always fully accurate, they often indicate broad trends, including shifts in voter sentiment and regional patterns. Their accuracy depends on:

Quality and size of sampling

Geographic representation

Voters willingness to disclose preferences

Also Read | Its musical chairs in Kishanganj as candidates swap parties in Bihar polls

Because exit polls are conducted on the same day as voting, they are considered more reflective of the election mood than pre-poll surveys.

Bihar Exit Polls 2025: When will they be released? The ECI has barred the publication of exit poll data between:

7:00 am on 6 November 2025 and 6:30 pm on 11 November 2025

Once the final phase concludes, exit poll results are expected to be released after 6:30 pm on Tuesday.

Who conducts the exit polls? Major polling agencies set to release projections include:

Axis My India

C-Voter

Todays Chanakya

Jan Ki Baat

IPSOS

Also Read | Delhi elections over, new government has a mountain to climb on environment

These organisations typically partner with news broadcasters and use stratified sampling across both rural and urban polling stations to estimate seat share and vote share for competing alliances.

Where can you watch Bihar Exit Poll 2025 results? Exit poll results will be available on:

Television news channels

Official websites of polling agencies

Social media platforms and YouTube live streams

When will the final Bihar election results be declared? The counting of votes will take place on:

14 November 2025
Veteran actor Dharmendra has been hospitalised for several days in Mumbai, according to a report by news agency PTI. On Monday, reports also claimed that the Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani actor's health was in critical condition. While the hospital did not comment, sources close to actor Sunny Deol denied the rumours about Dharmendra being on ventilator support.

Dharmendra on ventilator support? Here's the truth The source told the Indian Express, The whole ventilator news is fake. Dharmendra has been hospitalised for a week but he is not on a ventilator. Sunny Deol visited Dharmendra in the morning at the hospital and he is back now. If something like this would have happened, his entire family would have been in the hospital.

The actors team also issued a statement which read, Dharmendra is stable and under observation. Further comments and updates will be shared as available. Request everyone to pray for his speedy recovery and respect the familys right to privacy.

Hema Malini on Dharmendra's health Amid this, Hema Malini, who has been visiting Dharmendra in the house, also shared a health update. She told Hindustan Times that they are hoping for a quick recovery of the veteran.

She said, We are hoping for a speedy recovery.

On Monday evening, actor Sunny Deol was snapped arriving at the hospital where Dharmendra is admitted.

Previously, an industry insider told PTI that Dharmendra was in a serious condition but is stable. The 89-year-old actor is admitted to South Mumbai's Breach Candy hospital. Reportedly, he has been in and out of the hospital.

"Dharamji's health is not in a great state," PTI quoted the source.

Dharmendra is 89 years old. He will turn 90 in December.

Dharmendra hospitalised in October Previously on 31 October, Dharmendra was hospitalised for a routine check-up. He remained in the hospital since then. His team had shared a statement which read: There is absolutely no cause for concern. The actor is in good health and visits the hospital often for routine medical tests, which is the reason for his current stay. It seems that someone spotted him there, which has led to a frenzy among his fans, but there is nothing to worry about as he is absolutely fine.

Reportedly, Dharmendra was rushed to the hospital due to breathlessness.

The 89-year-old actor was last seen in Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon's film, Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya. His next release is going to be Ikkis, starring Agastya Nanda, grandson of Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan.
Veteran actor Dharmendra has been hospitalised for over a week now. On Monday evening, actor Sunny Deol was snapped arriving at Mumbai's Breach Candy hospital, where his father, Dharmendra, is admitted. Along with Sunny Deol was his son Karan Deol, who came to visit his ailing grandfather.

Salman Khan was spotted arriving at the hospital.

Sunny Deol arrives to visit Dharmendra in hospital In a paparazzi video, Sunny Deol was seen covering his face using his hands as the media surrounded his vehicle at the hospital gate. Deol was sitting in the front seat, with a serious look. However, he quickly hid his face in an attempt to avoid cameras, it seems.

Watch:

Reacting to the video, fans extended prayers for Dharmendra and his family in the comment section of the Instagram post.

Fans worried about Dharmendra A worried user wrote, Sab thik ha na (I hope everything is fine). Another dropped praying hand emoji. Someone also wrote, No one is bigger than a father in his life.

Apart from Sunny and Karan Del, Dharmendra's second wife, Hema Malini, also arrived at the hospital separately.

Sharing an update from the hospital, she told Hindustan Times that they are hoping for Dharmendra's recovery at the earliest. She said, We are hoping for a speedy recovery.

Also Read | Dharmendra on ventilator support? Hema Malini shares health update

Dharmendra's health crisis: What we know so far Dharmendra is all set to turn 90 in December.

Ahead of his birthday, he was admitted to the Mumbai hospital on 31 October. While reports claimed that he was admitted to the hospital after complaining of breathlessness, later his team dismissed the claims.

They said that Dharmendra was hospitalised for a routine check-up.

His team's official statement mentioned: There is absolutely no cause for concern. The actor is in good health and visits the hospital often for routine medical tests, which is the reason for his current stay. It seems that someone spotted him there, which has led to a frenzy among his fans, but there is nothing to worry about as he is absolutely fine.

Also Read | Dharmendra hospitalised in Mumbai for routine medical check-ups, say reports

However, he has remained in the hospital since then.

Dharmendra not on ventilator: Sources On Monday, reports claimed that Dharmendra was in critical condition. Reportedly, he was put on ventilator support. However, sources close to Sunny Deol denied the claims.

A source told the Indian Express, The whole ventilator news is fake. Dharmendra has been hospitalised for a week but he is not on a ventilator. Sunny Deol visited Dharmendra in the morning at the hospital and he is back now. If something like this would have happened, his entire family would have been in the hospital.

An official statement from the actor's side was also shared on Monday. It said, Dharmendra is stable and under observation. Further comments and updates will be shared as available. Request everyone to pray for his speedy recovery and respect the familys right to privacy.
Veteran actor, Hindi film icon Dharmendra, has been hospitalised in Mumbai's Breach Candy hospital. Hours after Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan were snapped visiting the veteran at the hospital, rumours of Dharmendra's demise surfaced on social media.

Sunny Deol's team on Dharmendra Amid the death hoax surrounding Dharmendra, Sunny Deols team dismissed the claims in a statement.

According to a report by Firstpost, the team's statement read: Mr. Dharmendra is stable and under observation. Further comments and updates will be shared as available. Kindly dont indulge in spreading false rumours regarding his health. Request everyone to pray for his speedy recovery and respect the familys right to privacy. Team Sunny Deol.

Dharmendra is 89.

Earlier in the evening, Sunny Deol arrived at the hospital where Dharmendra is admitted. Sunny Deol's sons, Rajveer Deol and Karan Deol were also with him.

Also Read | Sunny Deol hides face at hospital to visit Dharmendra, Salman Khan joins them

Apart from the Deol family, actor Govinda and Ameesha Patel were also snapped reaching the hospital.

Hema Malini on Dharmendra On the other hand, Hema Malini, who was regularly visiting Dharmendra in the hospital, urged everyone to pray for her husband's speedy recovery. She took to X, formerly Twitter, and posted a picture of Dharmendra. The actor-politician wrote in the caption, I thank everyone for their concern about Dharam ji who is in hospital for observation. He is being continuously monitored and we are all with him. I request you all to pray for his welfare and speedy recovery.

Dharmendra was admitted to Mumbai's Breach Candy hospital on 31 October. At that time, reports claimed that he was hospitalised after complaining of breathlessness. However, his team later dismissed the claims.

In a statement, his team said that Dharmendra was hospitalised for a routine check-up.

Their official statement read: There is absolutely no cause for concern. The actor is in good health and visits the hospital often for routine medical tests, which is the reason for his current stay. It seems that someone spotted him there, which has led to a frenzy among his fans, but there is nothing to worry about as he is absolutely fine.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Dharmendra was last seen in Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon's Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya, and Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh's Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani.
ViewTrade International IFSC Pvt Ltd, registered as a Broker-Dealer under the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and backed by ViewTrade Holding Corp (USA), which serves clients in more than 35 countries with over 25 years of operating history, is located in Gujarat International Finance Tec City (GIFT City). The company has been granted the first Global Access Provider (GAP) authorization by IFSCA. This marks a significant milestone in the development of Indias International Financial Services Centre, enabling regulated access to global financial markets from within the country.

The GAP framework has been introduced to allow entities operating in GIFT City to securely and compliantly connect with international exchanges, institutions, and investment products. With this authorisation, ViewTrade International IFSC Pvt Ltd is now positioned to play a pivotal role in supporting brokers, banks, fintech platforms, corporates, and advisory firms in providing their clients access to global securities and investment opportunities.

Commenting on the authorisation, Mr Ronit Kar, CEO, ViewTrade International IFSC Pvt Ltd, stated, We are honored to be the first Global Access Provider under the IFSCA framework. Our objective is to enable simple, compliant, and accessible global investing for Indian residents, NRIs, corporates, and financial services providers. This authorization represents a meaningful step in strengthening GIFT Citys role as an international financial gateway and aligns with the broader vision of enhancing Indias presence in global capital markets.

Through this authorization, ViewTrade IFSC can facilitate direct access to international stock exchanges and a wide range of global market products. It will provide market data, trading infrastructure, and order routing through secure and integrated systems. Additionally, India-based investors and their financial intermediaries will be able to open and maintain global investment accounts within GIFT City, funded through IFSC banking channels. The authorization also enables ViewTrade IFSC to support non-India-based financial services firms seeking to participate in global markets through GIFT City.

ViewTrade IFSC operates a centralised technology and brokerage operations center offering digital onboarding, trade execution, custody, and multi-currency settlement, surveillance, regulatory reporting, and white labeled trading platforms, supported by 24-hour operational capabilities. The technology infrastructure is cloud-based and built to meet IFSCA regulatory standards with strong frameworks for risk monitoring, data security, compliance, and investor protection.

This development reinforces GIFT Citys strategic role as Indias global finance hub and supports transparent, efficient, and sustainable cross-border capital participation.

Email ID: support@viewtrade.in
TEL AVIVHamas returned the remains of an Israeli army officer that were held by the militant group for more than a decade, authorities said, marking an emotional moment for the country and for his family, which had fought for years to bring his body home.

Hadar Goldin, 23 years old, was killed in action in Rafah in southern Gaza during the 2014 Gaza war, and his body taken by Hamas. His remains were handed over to Israel on Sunday as part of the current cease-fire deal, and forensic authorities confirmed his identity.

The return of Goldins body has symbolic value for Israel and closes a painful chapter for his family. Israel has held negotiations to bring back his remains for years without success.

Hadars return provides some measure of comfort to a family that has lived with agonizing uncertainty and doubt for over 11 years," the Hostages Families Forum, an advocacy group, said.

The return of Goldins remains took some by surprise in Israel. Some Israeli officials had expected Hamas to hold on to them and other remains in an effort to retain leverage in its dealings with Israel.

Some analysts say that the handover is a sign the U.S.-designated terrorist group is interested in abiding by the cease-fire agreement, under which Hamas said it would return all living hostages and the bodies of deceased hostages in exchange for Israels releasing around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Twenty living Israeli hostages and the bodies of 24 people who died in captivity or during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, have now been released by Hamas as part of last months agreement. The remains of four men killed in the Oct. 7 attackwhose bodies were taken to Gaza by militantsare now held in the Palestinian enclave, according to Israeli authorities.

My assessment is that Hamas is making real efforts to find the remaining hostages. The numbers are really small now," said Gershon Baskin, a former hostage negotiator who facilitated a 2011 deal with Hamas that freed Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit from captivity and who also worked on negotiations for the release of Goldins body. They see no advantage in holding on to deceased hostages. The deal was made already."

Hamas on Saturday had said it recovered Goldins remains in the city of Rafah. Israel recovered the body of another soldier captured during the 2014 war, Oron Shaul, in a military operation earlier in the war.

In recent weeks, forensic specialists, including pathologists, anthropologists and dentists, from Israels National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv, have been working late into the night and under pressure to quickly identify the remains handed over by Hamas. For each deceased hostage identified, Israel hands over 15 dead bodies of Palestinian prisoners to Gaza, as required by the agreement.

Write to Anat Peled at anat.peled@wsj.com
President Trump has made an example of Ivy League universities, attacking, cajoling and fining them in brisk succession. Theres a notable exception: Yale University.

In New Haven, Conn., the schools conspicuous absence from the crosshairs has become a subject of intense campus speculationamong professors, students and even parents.

This is the $64,000 question," said Evan Morris, a Yale professor of radiology and biomedical imaging. My colleagues and I are all looking at each other and waiting for the other shoe to drop."

The question hung over Octobers Yale Family Weekend, as parents partook of cherished traditions like performances by the Yale Glee Club, lectures by distinguished faculty and tours of the neo-Gothic-style campus.

During a talk with moms and dads, university President Maurie McInnis was asked why Yale had been spared. She said there was no obvious answer, according to the Yale Daily News.

Whether it is that long tradition, the long tradition we have of encouraging open debate or whether its were at the end of the alphabet, I dont have that answer," McInnis told the gathering, according to the student paper.

The perception on campus is that McInnis has tried to lay low. Some students have rallied around that tactic. In an exchange on Fizz, a student social-media site open to those with Yale email addresses, classmates reacted to Trump freezing funds at other schools and warned peers to keep their mouths shut and stop protesting the conflict in Gaza, according to screenshots reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The only thing continuing to protest will do is to take education and opportunities away from the rest of us," said one post. Ppl need to stop being stupid and selfish and realize they will gain no ground under this administration on the Israel issue."

Thoughtful discourse

When Trump began accusing universities of being Marxist indoctrination factories, Yalies girded themselves. The school has long been known as a progressive bastion.

Though Yales pro-Palestinian protests over the Gaza war werent as disruptive or aggressive as those at Columbia or Harvard, the university did earn a D on an annual report card this year from the Anti-Defamation League, which monitors campus antisemitism. The Education Departments Office for Civil Rights is investigating the university for alleged antisemitic discrimination and harassment.

And the school has a reputation for the sort of identity politics the Trump administration criticizes elsewhere. Conservatives still decry a 2015 Yale incident, when student anger over a professors defense of potentially offensive Halloween costumes helped lead to his exit as a residence-hall supervisor.

Now, nearly a year into Trumps term, many on campus are loath to discuss Yales relative outlier status for fear of jinxing it. Those who do chalk it up to well-connected alumni, fortuitous timing and a leader focused on steering the campus back toward the political center.

McInnis took Yales helm in the summer of 2024, after the handling of campus protests had already helped derail three Ivy League presidents. In her first year in office, McInnis established a policy that restrained the university from commenting on most political issues of the daya position championed by the Trump administration. She created a campus civics center to promote thoughtful discourse" and championed the Buckley Institute, the conservative political club named after William F. Buckley Jr.

McInnis more than doubled government-lobbying expenditures from years past to north of $300,000 per quarter, according to federal documents. She opened a Yale office inside the Beltway to direct efforts and traveled frequently to Washington to meet with lawmakers and plead the universitys case.

Through a spokesperson, McInnis declined an interview for this article.

The governments stated rationale for targeting schools was to stop harassment of Jewish students, and Yale took stronger action against pro-Palestinian campus activists compared with some peers. In April, about 200 demonstrators gathered to protest a visit from Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israels national security minister. The university then withdrew Yalies4Palestines status as a registered student organization, because the group flagrantly violated the rules" regarding protests, Yale said in a statement at the time.

The universitys response earned public kudos from the Trump administration, which said the protests included outrageous examples of harassment and bigotry" and that the administration was cautiously encouraged by Yales actions."

Meanwhile, Yales free-speech ranking rose with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, metrics closely watched within the Trump administration. It looks like they are making an effort to protect free speech, said Sean Stevens, who runs the rankings for FIRE. At least they are doing better than most of their peers."

Divide on campus

Yale hasnt emerged unscathed.

McInnis lobbied against a 21% endowment tax, cautioning it would diminish Yales impact on humanity." Though the tax passed at 8%, it will still cost Yale tens of millions. When Trump froze some federal research funding, Yale endured cuts to grants.

But unlike Harvard, Columbia, Penn, Princeton, Cornell and Brown, Yale has escaped targeted sanctions. Dartmouth, broadly considered the most conservative school in the Ivy League, has escaped Trumps ire, although it was asked to sign a compact, which requested that schools conform to standards around admissions, hiring and student life in exchange for funding advantages.

McInnis has made public statements. She joined scores of university presidents in signing an American Association of Colleges and Universities statement condemning undue government intrusion." Yale also joined two dozen universities that signed onto an amicus brief in Harvards federal lawsuit challenging the funding freeze.

But McInnis hasnt assumed as aggressive a posture against Trump as some of her peers. Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber called the administrations actions against Columbia a radical threat" in a piece for The Atlantic. In response to demands from the Trump administration, Harvard President Alan Garber wrote that the University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights."

McInniss approach has divided the campus. Some see it as conciliatory, others as pragmatic. Last month, a professor and a prominent alum were sharing a ride to Boston for a weekend seminar about Machiavelli. Along the way, they discussed Yales responsibility to the institution versus higher education writ large.

Andrew Lipka, Yale class of 78, cited a quote, attributed to Winston Churchill: An appeaser is someone who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last.

Its our obligation to say something," said Lipka, an ophthalmologist. United we stand."

Absolutely not, Yale political science professor Steven Smith responded from the passenger seat as the two traveled on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Were under no obligation to get involved," he said. Self-preservation is a noble goal."

This semester, a student senator told the campus paper she was glad Yale has so far surfed under the radar; she didnt want to end up like our peer institutions."

Netanel Crispe, a 2025 graduate who believes Yale hasnt sufficiently addressed antisemitism, likens Yales strategy to outrunning a bear. Survival requires not outpacing the bear, merely outpacing your friends who are also running away.

The strategy," Crispe said, boils down to We just have to be a bit better than Harvard and Columbia and then nobody will bother us."

Write to Douglas Belkin at Doug.Belkin@wsj.com
President Trump claimed credit Thursday for cutting prices on popular weight-loss drugs by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. Sorry to spoil the celebration, but market competition probably would achieve the same result. Consider the battle between Pfizer and Novo to buy Metsera, an obesity-drug startup.

Pfizer appeared to win the bidding war on Friday with an unfortunate assist from the Trump Federal Trade Commission. But the real story is pharma competition to grab a share of the weight-loss drug boom.

Novo Nordisk kicked off the weight-loss race in 2018 with its GLP-1 drug Ozempic. Lilly followed years later with its own GLP-1, which is marketed as Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes and Zepbound for obesity. Lillys drug was somewhat more effective than Novos in clinical trials and recently became the worlds best-selling medicine.

Lilly isnt resting on its success. The drug maker plans to launch a weight-loss pill as soon as next year. It is also testing an experimental once-weekly medication that mimics the hormone amylin and carries fewer side effects than its GLP-1s. Lilly said Thursday that patients on the amylin agonist shed 20% of their weight in a mid-stage trial.

Meanwhile, other drug makers are seeking to break into the market. Trailing Novo and Lilly, Pfizer in September made a $4.9 billion bid to buy Metsera, which is testing several obesity drugs. Metseras experimental drugs seem to carry fewer side effects and dont have to be injected as often as GLP-1s currently on the market, so the hope is that more patients might stick with them. About half of patients quit GLP-1s within a year and then often regain lost weight.

Novo and Pfizer engaged in several rounds of competing bids for the company. Pfizer appeared to prevail on Friday evening with an offer topping $10 billion. Metsera said it decided to accept Pfizers offer in part because of a recent call from the Trump FTC warning about potential regulatory risks of tying up with Novo.

FTC Bureau of Competition Director Daniel Guarnera last week sent a letter to Novo and Metsera warning that their deal appeared to be structured to circumvent the agencys pre-merger review requirements. Mr. Guarnera said closing the deal could result in penalties, including unwinding the transaction and liability for the companies boards.

Was the FTC assisting Pfizer? Sure looks that way. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla recently struck a high-profile deal with Mr. Trump to cut its drug prices in return for a three-year tariff exemption. Pfizer last week also sued to stop the Novo-Metsera acquisition, which it claimed is one of the most cynical and anticompetitive mergers ever contemplated."

Pfizer argued that Novo shouldnt be allowed to buy a potential competitor, but Roche, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Viking Therapeutics and others are developing weight-loss rivals. Theres no guarantee that Metseras drugs will succeed in trials. Pfizer knows this since several drugs that it has acquired in recent years have flopped in trials.

The bidding war has nonetheless benefited Metsera investors and could encourage more venture investment in weight-loss therapies. If Mr. Trump wants to boost competition and lower prices, hell tell his antitrust cops and drug-price regulators to knock it off.
MUMBAI : IndusInd Banks new chief executive has a plan. Having come in at a crucial juncture, Rajiv Anand wants to reinstate trust in the lender, some of which was seemingly eroded after a 1,959 crore derivatives fiasco swept through the bank, leading to changes at the top.

Anand, came out of retirement from Axis Bank to head the Hinduja Group-backed private sector lender on 25 August. Before Anand's tenure, IndusInd Bank witnessed its incumbent chief executive Sumant Kathpalia and deputy chief executive Arun Khurana exit unceremoniously and under a cloud of alleged insider trading.

Also Read | Sebi reopens insider-trading probe against top IndusInd Bank executives

In an interview to Mint, Anand, whose three-year term was approved by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in August, said that his message to the regulator is that he will ensure the bank follows a significantly higher level of compliance. For customers it will be to say that the bank is safe and secure and is therefore worthy of their trust.

For the board and investors: we will always be open and transparent so that we are able to grow to become a bank which both the employees and the various stakeholders are proud of," said Anand, seated in the banks office in Lower Parel, Mumbai.

Rebuilding phase

Anand, sees his role at IndusInd a once in a lifetime transformational opportunity" to rebuild a business, and to see it in a completely different shape over the next three-five years. Opportunities of that nature don't come to you on a daily basis," said Anand.

The bank, he said, plans to grow in line with the banking industrys growth rate in the first year. The second year should see IndusInd Bank grow faster than the market and finally in the third year, it should look at dominating certain segments. Anand did not share a growth guidance. However, rating agency Crisil expects the sector to grow 11-12% in the current financial year, on the back of lower indirect taxes and cheaper loans.

We want to get to a 1% RoA (return on assets) in about 12 to 18 months," said Anand, pointing to a metric that tracks how efficiently a company is able to generate profits using its assets.

This was the level the private lender last saw in the December quarter of FY25 when it was 1.03%. In the recent September quarter, RoA was at -0.33%.

Analysts cautious

Analysts believe that in the near term, lower returns are likely.

With ongoing consolidationincluding streamlining MFI, stabilizing slippages, identifying new growth avenues, and formalizing the leadership structuresub-par RoAs are likely to persist in the near to medium term" analysts at Macquarie Capital Securities (India) said in a note to clients on 20 October.

Data from Macquarie Capital showed that IndusInd Bank trades at 0.9 times its FY26 book value, while industry heavyweights like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank are at 2.7 times and three times, respectively. Shares of IndusInd Bank on the NSE have risen 3.2% since Anand joined the bank and stood at 797.05 apiece on Friday.

Deposits over loans

Like its peers, IndusInd Banks loanbook is divided into corporate and consumer banking. Corporate loans accounted for 40% of all loans as on 30 September, while the remaining was in retail. Among the many retail segments is microfinance loans of 21,321 crore, or 7% of the total loanbook.

Also Read | Hindujas aim to bolster stake in IndusInd Bank through new fundraise

We are hoping that some of the other businesses will start to grow as well and the dependence here (micro loans) will reduce," said Anand.

While there is a push to add more assets, Anand said that the need for more and better liabilities or deposits is more pressing. The banks loanbook shrunk 9% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 3.25 trillion as on 30 September. Its deposits contracted 6% y-o-y to 3.89 trillion in the same period.

I think we need to improve both the quality and quantity of liabilities. There is a lot of work that is happening particularly around improving our digital capabilities, improving our processes, refreshing the brand," said Anand.

He said that the distribution channel for deposits is already in place with over 3,000 branches and an existing base of customers. The largest chunk of its branches26%are in the southern part of India, followed by Northern India (23%), Eastern India (20%), Western India (18%), and the Central region (13%).

I think we need to do more from a (customer) acquisition perspective and so, therefore, we will fortify our acquisition engine, we will fortify our cross-sell engine to be able to deepen relationships with existing customers," said Anand.

Also Read | Why Rajiv Anand might just be what the doctor ordered for IndusInd Bank

As part of the push for more deposits, the bank will revamp its mobile app, using it as a funnel for more customers and greater engagement. Because you are using my mobile app, the probability that you will have more balance with us increases," he said.

Leadership renewal

Meanwhile, the bank will also see a clutch of people leaving in the next few months and is in the process of replacing them. On 18 October, Anand told analysts that the bank hired a new chief financial officer, a head of internal audit, a legal counsel, the head of business transformation, while more joinees are expected soon.

From a people perspective, one is to find replacements, two is to add to some of the skill gaps that I see at this point in time," Anand told Mint.

Anand said he is meeting customers across the country and is also engaging with employees through town halls.

We have done a whole bunch of town halls over the last month or so and we will continue to do that over the next couple of months to give them confidence of what we are trying to do and to also give them confidence that things are on the mend," said Anand.
New Delhi: Only 26 electric tractors have been sold in India so far this fiscal year compared with about half a million diesel units sold in the same period as lack of adequate charging infrastructure in rural areas remains a key challenge.

Electric tractor sales have remained negligible even in states such as Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Telangana, which offer incentives such as direct subsidies, road and registration tax waivers, and manufacturing benefits.

Haryana offers a 5 lakh subsidy on e-tractors in its 2022 EV policy, yet only one unit has been sold in FY26. In Maharashtra, where the prices of e-tractors and other integrated harvesting machines are cut by 10%, only 11 such units have been sold in this fiscal.

Also Read | Centre to tighten safety checks on tractor trailers after fatal accidents

No e-tractor has been sold this fiscal in Madhya Pradesh, where they are exempt from motor vehicle registration tax and registration fees. The same was the case in Punjab, which highlighted manufacturing sops in its EV policy.

In Andhra Pradesh, the state government planned to provide a 5% price cut on e-tractors under its 2024-29 EV policy. Telangana has removed the road tax and registration fees for e-tractors under its EV purchase sops.

In the other states, four e-tractors each were sold in Goa and Uttar Pradesh, three in Tamil Nadu and one each in Gujarat, Karnataka and Rajasthan.

There are other factors at play, too, such as the price of e-tractors and technological and infrastructural reasons. A 45-horsepower diesel tractor costs about 8 lakh, while an electric model in this category could cost as much as 15 lakh.

Sub-30 horsepower

Diesel tractors with output of 30 to 50 horsepower are the most popular of the almost 1 million tractors sold in India every year. Most e-tractors have sub-30 horsepower output, meaning they can be used only for small farming operations.

Farming operations require high torque. The current technology struggles to provide the power and endurance required for long hours of field work, especially in heavy tilling or multi-acre farms," said A S Mittal, president of the Tractor and Mechanization Association.

He added that frequent charging interrupts operations and reduces productivity, unlike diesel tractors that can run continuously for hours.

Higher-powered e-tractors are still largely in development. Such models need larger batteries that need to be fitted into tractor designs. However, Thane-based AutoNxt Automation, founded in 2016, has developed 45 horsepower and 60-horsepower e-tractors, according to its website.

Charging is another issue for farmers. Although they can charge tractors at home, grid-related issues such as power cuts and overall lack of connectivity often plague rural areas. While the power requirements for e-tractors are similar to comparable EVs, the components used such as connectors are different for each e-tractor model due to lack of standardization.

Larger tractor makers have waited to launch their electric models because they are unsure of the uptake, said Amit Bhatt, India director of the International Council on Clean Transportation.

Mahindra & Mahindra, TAFE, Sonalika, Escorts, and John Deere India together command an 80% share of Indias diesel tractor market. Among them, Sonalika introduced the Sonalika Tiger Electric in November 2022, while TAFE launched its electric tractor in Germany in November 2023.

But newer manufacturers, often startups, have developed some smaller models which have multiple use-cases. The problem for them is the difficulty in claiming incentives from state governments, as the procedure for that may be more complicated," he said.

Growth potential

Powerland Agro Tractor Vehicles Pvt Ltd, TI Clean Mobility Pvt Ltd, Unique Enterprises and Vyomev Motors Pvt Ltd have sold electric tractors in the country this year, according to the Vahan registry of vehicles. Chennai-based TI Clean Mobility, a part of the Murugappa group, acquired e-tractor maker Celestial E-Mobility in 2023.

Still, given the importance of agriculture in Indias economy and the governments drive to reduce emissions, there is potential for e-tractors in the country.

India is the largest tractor manufacturer in the world by volume, with about 45% of global production. Agriculture accounts for about 13% of the countrys diesel usage, of which tractors make up a little over 7%, according to a Consumer Unity & Trust Society (Cuts) study published in January 2025.

The environmental impact of diesel-powered tractors remains a critical concern, particularly emissions of particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx)," Cuts said in the study, which was based on 200 surveys in Rajasthan.

Only 1% of the farmers surveyed had excellent awareness of e-tractors, indicating lack of information as a key challenge in adoption.

The Cuts study showed that farmers considered the resale value and the brand of the manufacturer while buying an e-tractor, with only 8% of them considering the cost of the e-tractor as extremely high." Farmers indicated that the tractor's capacity to do heavy-duty operations was a key factor in buying a new e-tractor.

Also, 40% of respondents in the Cuts study rated the prospects for growth in the electric tractor marketdriven by the establishment of low-emission zones in certain areasas high", indicating the potential for regulation to drive future demand in the sector.
Bharti Airtel Ltd, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd and Vodafone Idea Ltd have called for sharply lowering the base price for the next spectrum auctions and extending the spectrum usage period to as long as 40 years. In submissions made to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), the telecom operators said this is needed to ensure robust network expansion and accelerate 5G deployment.

The request, which comes ahead of the next spectrum auction likely early next year, reflects persistent concerns among operators that steep reserve prices are stifling investment, leaving valuable airwaves unsold, and ultimately undermining the governments Digital India vision. Having cheaper airwaves is necessary to free up capital for network infrastructure, the telecom companies said.

Excessively high reserve prices keep valuable spectrum idle and result in operators facing capacity and capital constraints," Rahul Vatts, chief regulatory officer of Bharti Airtel, stated in a submission to Trai. He said spectrum that remains unsold or underutilized due to inflated pricing is a "direct loss to the country," delaying network expansion and degrading service quality. By reducing costs, operators could redirect capital toward network densification, faster 5G rollout, and wider rural coverage."

Also Read | Trai wants steeper fines for telcos that don't report new plans on time

Spectrum represents a critical revenue stream for the government, which sets a base price and expects companies to bid higher. A premium over the reserve price translates into higher government revenue. However, aggressive bidding has eased since 2021, with most of the airwaves sold near reserve pricesa shift driven by industry consolidation, high base prices, and the financial burden of recent 5G rollouts.

Reliance Jio, India's largest telco by market share, urged Trai to recommend a reserve price set at 50% of the spectrum valuation, arguing that the current valuation of 70% is "too steep and not conducive of wider participation." Jio contended that this aggressive pricing prevents genuine price discovery and competition, leading instead to sales at or near the reserve floor.

Validity

Beyond pricing, operators have also called for extending the duration of using spectrum to 30 or 40 years from the current 20 years. They argue that a longer term provides greater policy stability, enhances business viability, and enables the sustained investments required for next-generation network technologies. The Union cabinet had previously approved increasing the tenure to 30 years in 2021 to infuse liquidity, but this was never implemented, with Jio noting that Trai's valuation had simply multiplied the 20-year price by 1.5, negating the intended financial benefit.

The industry's request runs contrary to the public stance of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Telecom secretary Neeraj Mittal recently pushed back on the necessity of lower prices.

I have not seen any TSP come to me saying that they are not using a respective spectrum because its pricing is high," Mittal told reporters last month, questioning how data prices remain low if spectrum acquisition costs are supposedly prohibitive. Mittal maintained that the timing of the next auction would be determined by the "appetite and the demand" among stakeholders. If the reserve prices are so high, how could data prices be so low, Mittal questioned.

Bharti Airtel also said that in future auctions, telcos should be allowed a payment moratorium of six years, followed by 14 equal annual installments. This is because any new network takes a time period of at least 4-5 years to monetize and huge upfront payments combined with short moratorium periods could cause significant financial strain on operators, according to Airtel.

Also Read | Supreme Court adjourns hearing in Aircel spectrum ownership case

Currently, operators can make full or part upfront payment for the spectrum within 10 days from issuing spectrum. They can also make an upfront payment equal to the installments of at least two years, with the balance payable in equal installments with applicable interest, within the 20-year spectrum holding period. Operators are also allowed to make payment for spectrum in 20 equal annual instalments.

Unsold spectrum

Trai is also looking into concerns raised by the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), which flagged a lack of effective competition in previous auctions due to industry consolidation and the oversupply of unsold airwaves. The DoT data shows over 12,000 MHz of traditional band spectrum remains unsold. In an effort to mitigate this issue, Trai has sought comments on potentially allowing other entitiessuch as Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or large connected device network operatorsto bid for spectrum alongside wireless carriers.

The telecom carriers uniformly opposed this proposal. Vodafone Idea stated that allowing non-traditional bidders would "impact the robustness of the licensing framework" and create "huge complications related to valuation," arguing it runs counter to the structure of the new Telecommunications Act 2023.

Operators also said that referring to the currently available spectrum inventory as an over-supply" may not accurately reflect market realities. Rather, this spectrum should be viewed as strategic reserve capacity intended to address future growth requirements and regional variations in demand," Bharti Airtel said.

A recent analysis by V.J. Christopher, wireless advisor at DoT, flagged that nearly 36% of the spectrum on auction since 2010 was cleared at the base price, and only 15.5% was sold at a premium.

Another grouse relates to the duration of using the spectrum.

Currently, spectrum is issued for a period of 20 years. The Union cabinet in 2021 recommended increasing it to 30 to ensure long-term policy stability, improve business viability, and facilitate sustained investment in advanced technologies. However, the move did not take off. Jio said this should have been implemented in 2022 itself but wasn't, due to what it called Trais "aggressive valuation".

While the three carriers agree on the need for cheaper spectrum, they are divided on auctioning some new bands.

Reliance Jio is advocating for a comprehensive release strategy, urging that all nationally and globally identified International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) bands be auctioned immediately to ensure policy predictability and accelerate 6G readiness. Specifically, Jio wants the entire 6 GHz band to be auctioned now, with payment obligations kicking in only when the full band becomes available in 2030.

Bharti Airtel, is opposed to the plan. The company wants the auction of new bands like 600 MHz and parts of 6 GHz to be deferred for approximately two years. Airtel cited unresolved technical conflicts and the current "early stage" of the device and network ecosystem for both bands, suggesting that a premature auction would lead to underutilization.

Also Read | After SC lifeline for Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel eyes similar relief on AGR dues

The operators also requested the government to relax minimum rollout obligations, designed to ensure the swift deployment of purchased spectrum. Airtel highlighted the difficulty in meeting these commitments for the 26 GHz band, citing limited device compatibility and chipset constraints, and requested an extension to avoid financial penalties. The debate underscores a critical tension between the governments desire for revenue maximization and the industrys need for capital efficiency to fund the massive investment required for a true, nationwide 5G transformation.
Groww IPO allotment date: The Groww IPO share allotment will be finalised today (Monday, November 10). The investors who applied for the issue can check Groww IPO allotment status in Groww IPO registrar portal, which is MUFG Intime India Private Ltd (Link Intime India Private Ltd). The Groww IPO opened for subscription on Tuesday, November 4 and closed on Friday, November 7.

Groww IPO GMP today is 4. Considering the upper end of the IPO price band and the current premium in the grey market, the estimated listing price of Groww share price was indicated at 104 apiece, which is 4% higher than the IPO price of 100.

According to the grey market activities observed over the past 13 sessions, the IPO GMP is trending downward today and is anticipated to decrease further. Experts indicate that the GMP range has been a minimum of 4.00 and a maximum of 16.70.

Groww IPO subscription status was 17.60 times on day 3. The offering garnered a generally positive response from investors. Investors can examine the allotment basis to determine whether they have been allocated shares and how many they have received. The number of shares awarded can also be verified through the IPO allotment status. For those who did not receive shares, the company will start the refund process. Shares that are allocated will be credited to the demat accounts of the recipients.

The initiation of the refund process will start on Tuesday, November 10 for individuals not given shares. Those allotted will receive their shares in their demat accounts on Tuesday. Groww IPO listing date is scheduled for Wednesday, November 12.

If you have applied for the Groww IPO, you can do a Groww IPO status check on the website of the IPO registrar, which is MUFG Intime India Private Ltd. You can check the Groww IPO allotment status of your application below: Groww IPO :

How to check Groww IPO allotment status on Registrar site? Step 1 Begin by navigating to the IPO registrar's webpage at Link Intime India Private Ltd. You can find it here: [IPO Registrar Website https://in.mpms.mufg.com/Initial_Offer/public-issues.html

Step 2 Once you arrive on the site, confidently select the desired IPO from the dropdown list. The name will be visible only if the allocation has been confirmedlets go!

Step 3 Next, opt for one of three simple methods to verify your status: Application No, Demat Account, or PAN. Choose the one that works best for you.

Step 4 Decide whether you will utilize ASBA or non-ASBA for your application typeits your decision!

Step 5 Enter the required information based on the method you chose in Step 3. You can do this!

Step 6 Finish by completing the captcha to keep everything secure, and then hit submit. Thats all there is to it!

How to check Groww IPO allotment status on BSE? Step 1 To start off, visit the IPO registrar's website at Link Intime India Private Ltd. You can access it here: [IPO Registrar Website https://in.mpms.mufg.com/Initial_Offer/public-issues.html

Step 2 Once you arrive at the site, locate the dropdown menu and select the IPO that you're interested in. No worriesif the allocation has been finalized, youll see the name!

Step 3 Choose from one of three convenient options to check your status: your Application Number, Demat Account, or PAN. Go with the one thats easiest for you!

Step 4 Then, determine whether youll be selecting ASBA or non-ASBA for your application type. Its completely your choice!

Step 5 Input the necessary details based on the method you chose in Step 3. Youre doing a fantastic job!

Step 6 Lastly, just complete the captcha to secure everything and hit that submit button! And just like that, youre good to go! Enjoy keeping track of your IPO status!

How to check Groww IPO allotment status on NSE? Step 1 Visit the official NSE website's Groww IPO allotment status page at https://www1.nseindia.com/products/dynaContent/equities/ipos/ipo_login.jsp.

Step 2 To create an account on the NSE site, click on the 'Click here to sign up' link and enter your PAN.

Step 3 Log in by inputting your username, password, and the captcha code.

Step 4 On the subsequent page that appears, check your IPO allotment status.

View full Image Groww IPO
Lenskart IPO Listing: Lenskart shares will be listed in the India stock market today, 10 November 2025. The initial public offering (IPO) of the Peyush Bansal-led eyewear company Lenskart Solutions Ltd received strong demand during the subscription period. Lenskart IPO listing date is 10 November 2025, Monday.

The public issue was open from October 31 to November 4, while the IPO allotment date was November 6. Lenskart IPO listing date is today, November 10, Monday, and the shares will be listed on the BSE and NSE.

Trading Members of the Exchange are hereby informed that effective from Monday, November 10, 2025, the equity shares of Lenskart Solutions Limited shall be listed and admitted to dealings on the Exchange in the list of B Group of Securities, said a notice on the BSE.

Further, the trading members may please note that the above-mentioned scrip will be a part of Special Pre-open Session (SPOS) on Monday, November 10, 2025, it added, and the stock will be available for trading from 10:00 AM.

Ahead of Lenskart share listing today, investors watch out for the trends in grey market premium (GMP) to gauge the listing price. Heres what Lenskart IPO GMP today signals:

Lenskart IPO GMP Today The trend for Lenskart shares in the grey market is subdued. Lenskart IPO GMP today has fallen to 10 per share, according to market experts. This indicates that in the grey market, Lenskart shares are trading higher by 11 apiece than their issue price.

Lenskart IPO Listing Price Lenskart IPO GMP today signals that the estimated listing price of the shares would be 412 apiece, which is at a premium of 2.5% to the issue price of 402 per share.

Analysts also expect Lenskart shares to see a muted or flat listing in the Indian stock market today.

Despite the market buzz, the Lenskart IPO appears overhyped and overvalued. The grey market premium, once suggesting healthy listing gains of around 25%, has slumped sharply in recent days, pointing to growing caution among traders. At the upper price band, Lenskart trades at an eye-watering 235260 FY25 earnings and around 70 EV/EBITDA, far above even mature consumer-tech peers. Margins remain thin, and profitability is still at a nascent stage. The companys rapid expansion and omnichannel model offer promise, but the valuation already discounts years of execution risk, said Harshal Dasani, Business Head, INVasset PMS.

In an industry still fragmented and highly price-sensitive, this IPO looks more sentiment-driven than fundamentally compelling. While subscription numbers look spectacular, investors chasing listing gains may be in for muted returns. The excitement is real  but so are the risks, he added.

Ishan Tanna, Equity Research Analyst at Ashika Institutional Equity Research noted that the Lenskart IPO comes at a time when the market is increasingly cautious on high-growth, high-valuation consumer-tech names.

Given the premium pricing, Lenskart IPO listing is likely to be subdued  possibly flat or within a narrow range of 510%. However, the anchor book saw strong participation from marquee investors, which lends credibility to the offer. Over the longer term, Lenskarts brand strength and scalability are not in question, but the IPO appears fully valued, and near-term performance may remain muted until earnings growth catches up with the markets high expectations, said Tanna.

Lenskart Solutions is a tech-driven and integrated eyewear company primarily designing and selling a wide range of eyewear products under multiple owned in-house brands and sub-brands. Lenskart operated a total of 2,806 stores (2,137 stores in India and 669 stores internationally) as of June 2025, and offered collections across 22 brands and sub-brands.

Lenskart IPO price band was 382 to 402 per share. The company raised 7,278.02 crore from the public issue which was a combination of fresh issue of 5.35 crore equity shares worth 2,150 crore, and an offer-for-sale (OFS) component of 12.76 crore shares amounting to 5,128.02 crore.

Lenskart IPO was subscribed 28.26 times in total, NSE data showed.

Axis Capital, Kotak Mahindra Financial, Morgan Stanley India, Avendus Capital, Citigroup Global, and Intensive Fiscal are the book running lead managers, while MUFG Intime India Pvt. Ltd. is the Lenskart IPO registrar.

View full Image Lenskart IPO listing date is 10 November 2025, Monday.
While the yellow metal has emerged as among the top performing asset classes of the year, markets watchdog Securities and Exchange Board of India, or Sebi, has once again cautioned investors against dealing in digital gold being offered on various platforms. Mint takes a look at the regulators stance towards this particular product and what it means for investors.

What has been Sebis latest communication?

In a statement issued on 8 November, the markets regulator said it has come to its notice that some digital platforms are offering investors the option to invest in Digital Gold/E-Gold Products, which is being marketed as an alternative for physical gold.

"In this context, it is informed that such digital gold products are different from Sebi-regulated gold products as they are neither notified as securities nor regulated as commodity derivatives. They operate entirely outside the purview of Sebi. Such digital gold products may entail significant risks for investors and may expose investors to counterparty and operational risks," it noted.

It advised investors to opt for Sebi-regulated gold products like exchange traded commodity derivative contracts, gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) offered by mutual funds, and Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs) tradeable on stock exchanges.

Investments in these instruments can be made through Sebi-registered intermediaries and are governed by its regulatory framework.

This is not the first time Sebi has issued an advisory against digital gold. In 2021, it barred its regulated entities, including registered investment advisors (RIAs), from offering or recommending digital gold products to their clients. Following this, leading exchanges National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange asked its members, including stockbrokers, to stop dealing in digital gold.

What exactly is digital gold?

Digital gold is the virtual form of owning physical gold, whereby people can buy, sell, and hold gold electronically, without the need for physical storage. Digital gold products were launched in India back in 2012-13. The segment operates through a two-tier system: an importer, who procures and stores the bullion in vaults, and a distributor (usually a fintech platform) that runs the app through which investors purchase gold, typically of 24-carat and 99.9% purity. Digital gold rates include storage fees and other charges levied by platforms and are thus higher than spot gold prices.

The biggest player in the segment is MMTC-PAMP, a joint venture between Swiss bullion brand PAMP SA and the Indian government-owned MMTC Ltd. Users can also buy digital gold through platforms such as Paytm, PhonePe, Google Pay, InCred Money, among others. Jewellers such as Tanishq, Jos Alukkas, and CaratLane, too, offer digital gold, which can also be redeemed as jewellery, coins or bars.

How has this segment performed?

Despite the recent bout of price correction, gold remains one of the top performing asset classes of this year so far, climbing nearly 60% in rupee terms. Intensifying geopolitical uncertainty, trade tensions exacerbated by US President Donald Trump's tariff threats, and record purchases by global central banks have propelled the yellow metal to lifetime highs this yearover $4,300 an ounce in global markets and above 132,000 for 10 grams in India, the worlds biggest consumer of the precious metal in calendar 2024, according to trade association World Gold Council.

Demand for digital gold too has surged in tandem with this bull run. According to data from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), India's umbrella body for digital payments, the volume of digital gold purchases through UPI (unified payments interface) has more than doubled in 2025 to 103.19 million transactions in September from 50.93 million transactions in January.

The value of digital gold purchases via UPI soared about 85% to 1,410 crore in September from 762 crore in January 2025.

What are the pros and cons of investing in digital gold?

The biggest advantage is that it allows a convenient and seamless way to buy the asset without the hassles of owning and storing physical gold. Investors can start buying for as little as 1 to 10, depending on the platform. This kind of 24/7 access and fractional ownership in the worlds safest store of value is hardly possible any other way. The option of on-tap redemption or conversion into physical units only adds to its glitter.

Also Read | Why experts fear a correction  and what you should do

That said, the biggest issue is that this asset class sits in a regulatory grey area with neither Sebi nor the Reserve Bank of India governing it. If a distributor or platform faces a bank-run type situation or in the worst case scenario goes bust, there may be very little recourse available for buyers.

Reputed players such as MMTC-PAMP back their digital gold holdings with physical gold, which is verified by regular third-party audits, but the same cannot be said with certainty for many smaller players, which raises counterparty risks. Also, pricing differs from platform to platform depending on the markups, charges, payment gateway fees, and other charges levied by them. This, typically, adds up to 2-3%, apart from the 3% GST charged for gold purchases.

What should investors do?

As highlighted by Sebi, those wishing to take an exposure to gold have a lot of regulated avenues like derivative contracts and gold ETFs, which are surging in prominence in India. According to data from the World Gold Council, Indian gold ETFs saw net inflows of $850 million in October 2025the third highest globally after the US and China. This was also the fifth straight month of positive flows for Indian gold ETFs.

So far this year, inflows into Indian gold ETFs have reached around $3 billiona lifetime high, with assets under management standing at $11.3 billion.

Experts say those who still wish to buy gold digitally should stick to large, reputed players. Buying gold physically is always an option, though it remains the most inefficient due to storage and safety issues.

Also Read | Titan bets on wedding boom to sustain festive sparkle as gold prices cool
Mumbai: E-commerce marketplace Meesho and artificial intelligence (AI) firm Fractal Analytics are launching their public market listing between late November and early December, said three people familiar with the matter.

Fractal will launch the process for its 4,900 crore ($560 million) initial public offering (IPO) in the first week of next month for a listing by mid-December, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Meesho is targeting a $800-850-million issue, spanning an offer-for-sale and a fresh issue component, at a valuation of $8-8.2 billion in the last week of November and will subsequently list early next month, the people said.

The two will join the growing list of other new-age startups, including Groww, Lenskart, Pine Labs and PhysicsWallah, that seek to go public in the current quarter, marking one of the busiest periods in the capital markets this year.

Meesho and Fractal did not respond to Mints requests for a comment till the time of publishing.

We are seeing an amazing confluence of demand and supply," said Pranav Haldea, managing director at Prime Database. With companies of different sizes, sectors and types coming to the market, there is also active demand from investors, primarily domestic institutions that are flush with retail money, looking for newer companies to invest in."

In the last three-four years, he said, nearly 60% of the IPO volumes have happened in the last three months of the year. This year has seen a record number of filings despite volatility in the initial months, he said. As long as the secondary market remains stable, even if not bullish, we will see more companies coming out with IPOs."

IPO pipeline

Indias IPO market has been buoyant this year after a slower start, with listings from companies such as JSW Cement Ltd, Tata Capital Ltd, Ather Energy Ltd and LG Electronics India Ltd. According to a Bernstein report, Indian companies have raised $14 billion in 2025 via IPOs, ranking fourth globally behind the US ($53 billion), Hong Kong ($23 billion) and China ($16 billion).

The first two quarters of the year saw nine issues, followed by 46 listings in the previous quarter and 25 so far in the current three-month period, according to data shared by Prime Database. Other prominent issues that happened this year include HDB Financial Services Ltd, Indiqube Spaces Ltd, Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Ltd, We Work India Ltd, Smartworks Ltd, Orkla India Ltd and Hexaware Technologies Ltd.

At least 30 more companies, including Milky Mist Dairy Food Ltd, Curefoods India Ltd, Shiprocket, Capillary Technologies, Wakefit Innovations Ltd, Shadowfax Technologies Ltd and Gaja Capital Ltd have received regulatory approval in the last six months, paving the way for a potential listing next year, Prime data showed.

There is also a huge pipeline of companies with PE-VC investors looking to tap the market. It is very important that these investors get their exits as only then will they be able to raise money to invest in the next set of companies. It is a sign of a maturing capital market ecosystem," Haldea said.

There used to be a time when foreign investor participation was extremely crucial for an IPO, but given the heft of mutual funds, a lot of smaller IPOs can go through just with their support," he said, adding that even traditional Indian promoter-owned entities are tapping the market today as they see a lot of opportunity for creating wealth.

Meeshos IPO

Meesho, which filed its updated draft papers after a confidential filing earlier this year, is expected to raise 4,250 crore in fresh capital, in addition to selling 175.6 million shares under an offer for sale (OFS). Its selling shareholders include Elevation Capital, Peak XV Partners, Y Combinator, Vidit Aatrey, Sanjeev Kumar, Man Hay Tam and VH Capital, among others.

The company has appointed Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Capital, Morgan Stanley India, JPMorgan and Citigroup to help with the issue. Meesho, which flipped its base from the US to India, was among the firms that received approval from Sebi last week.

Also Read | How IPO reforms created a new kind of investor euphoria

The company outlined that it will use the proceeds towards cloud infrastructure in its subsidiary Meesh Technologies Pvt. Ltd, payment of salaries of its existing and replacement hires for the machine learning and AI and technology teams, for branding and marketing, and to fund inorganic growth through acquisitions.

Founded in 2015 by Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, Meeshos FY25 operating revenue jumped 25% to 9,390 crore, while its net loss widened to 3,941 crore from 327.6 crore in FY24.

Fractals offer

Fractals IPO entails a fresh issue of equity shares worth 1,279.3 crore and an OFS of up to 3,620.7 crore, according to the draft red herring prospectus filed with the regulator in August. Its selling shareholders include Quinag Bidco, TPG, Satya Kumari Remala, Rao Venkateswara Remala and GLM Family Trust.

The company plans to use the proceeds from the public issue to invest in its subsidiary, Fractal USA. This investment will cover costs incurred to purchase laptops, establish new office space in India, fund research and development, and support sales and marketing activities under Fractal Alpha. Additionally, the funds will be used to finance inorganic growth through potential acquisitions and other strategic initiatives, as well as general corporate expenses.

Founded in 2000 by Srikanth Velamakanni and Pranay Agrawal, Fractal provides data-driven insights and assists decision-making through end-to-end AI solutions to large global enterprises across multiple industries. Its major clients include global tech giants such as Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Tesla.

It has appointed Kotak, Morgan Stanley, Axis, and Goldman Sachs (India) Securities to help with the issue. Fractals revenue from operations increased 25.9% to 2,765 crore in FY25 and recorded a profit of 220 crore against a loss of 54.7 crore in FY24.
Vodafone Idea Q2 Results Highlights: Vodafone Idea announced the financial results for the second quarter of the fiscal 2025-26 (FY26) after stock market hours on Monday.

Vodafone Idea reported a consolidated net loss of 5,524.2 crore in Q2 FY26, marking a notable improvement from a loss of 7,175.9 crore in the same quarter last year. Sequentially, the company also reduced its losses from 6,611.1 crore in Q1 FY26, reflecting gradual operational recovery.

Revenue from operations rose 2.4% year-on-year to 11,194.7 crore, up from 10,932.2 crore in Q2 FY25. On a sequential basis, revenue increased 1.5% over the preceding quarter, supported by higher average revenue per user (ARPU) and growth in mobile broadband subscribers.

Vodafone Idea Q2 ARPU

The customer ARPU  a key metric for telecom companies  rose to 180 in Q2FY26 compared to 166 in Q2FY25, a YoY increase of 8.7% supported primarily by customer upgrades and tariff increase. Our total subscriber base stood at 196.7 million. We closed the quarter with 127.8 million 4G/5G subscribers, up from 125.9 million in the same period last year, said the company.
David Mitchell is not a performer known for his acting range. On the BBC panel show Would I Lie to You (YouTube), host Rob Brydon mocked Mitchellstar of the unbelievably good comedy series Peep Show by mimicking his voice and saying Shall I do posh and repressed, or repressed and posh?" This, while cruel, is a truism. Mitchell, who has made a career out of quoting Shakespeare when he isnt playing Shakespeare, consistently comes across literate and wealthy (and haplessly dorky), which is what makes him perfectly cast for the new mystery series Ludwig .

In the showstreaming in India on the BBC Player section of Amazon Prime VideoMitchell plays a puzzle-setter so highly regarded in his field that his sister-in-law refers to him as the Elvis Presley of puzzle-setters". This man, John, who creates under the name Ludwig", has been torn away from his study and his puzzles and his books, which include a handsomely bound eight-volume set of crossword books bearing the titular pen-name across their spines, because her husbandJohns identical twin brother, a police detectiveis missing. She requests John to impersonate his twin, to nip into the police station and fetch his notebook, but when he tries to do this, he ends up solving a murder.

He cant help himself, you see. Unlike life, a puzzle is logically meant to have a solution. Therefore we see Ludwig taking on locked-room mysteries and eclectic mixes of subjects with the efficiency of a master, reducing motives to afterthoughts, murders to logic problems and lining up every coincidence in sight till there are enough of them to be statistically significant. (Three, if youre counting.)

Its all typical Sunday television detective flair, but despite the bravado of his elaborate conclusions, Ludwig is so haplessso far removed from Holmes and Poirotthat he never really appears heroic. His stunned audience of colleagues or confessors roll their eyes at him more than they applaud. Is it possible for someone to solve murders sheepishly? Apparently so.

Ludwig offers, therefore, a cosy bit of plotting to easily go with your tea and biscuits, yet this show of modest pleasures gets increasingly rewarding as it goes along, not least because Mitchellwho plays the reluctant but compulsive detective like an older version of Peep Shows unforgettable, history-loving loser Markreally sinks his teeth into the part. This author-backed role is the closest the actor has come to a dramatic character, and he displays a bumbling vulnerability and some raw fragility as he stammers his way to the denouement of each episode. This makes Ludwig, created and written by Mark Brotherhood, an interesting take on heroism itself, and how the world treats those who save the day when they cant also park a car properly.

Anna Maxwell Martin is very solid as Johns determined sister-in-law Lucy, to the point of being exasperating. Shes the one least impressed by Johns mystery-solving exploits since they arent really helping them find her missing husband. No more distractions," she insists. That wasnt a distraction," our puzzle-solving protagonist (justifiably) objects, it was a murder!" Lucy, however, starts out with eyes firmly on the prize, her missing husband and soulmate who looks exactly like this nerdy idiot being awkward inside her house.

The plot does gradually thicken, but that almost seems besides the point. Theres something to love about the cosiness of this kind of British series, one where corpses go hand in hand with crumpets. Born in the genteel drawing rooms of Agatha Christies England, where poison was administered with the tea and murder solved before the scones went stale, this genre has always understood that death neednt be dreary.

Christie, naturally, still remains Queen Mum. Miss Marple knitted while bodies dropped; Poirot preened and meticulously shaped his moustache (a significant priority, I agree) while his grey cells fired. These werent hard-boiled detectives drowning in whisky and existential dread: they were cerebral puzzlers who believed firmly that murder, however distasteful, could be discussed over sherry.

Television embraced this bloodless bloodshed with missionary zeal. Recent examples include Midsomer Murders, where an English villages mortality rate rivals a war zone, and Father Brown, proof that cassocks and crime-solving can go smashingly together. These shows (both conveniently found under Amazon Primes BBC tab) understand the appeal: the violence is sanitised, the communities are quaint, justice is inevitable.

This is precisely the itch scratched by Richard Osmans rollicking Thursday Murder Club novels (though I would strongly recommend skipping the lousy Netflix adaptation of the same) where septuagenarians solve murders from their retirement village with more panache than most professionals half their age. Its Christies DNA spliced with contemporary wit, proving the cosy mystery remains gloriously, irrepressibly alive. Age, Osman suggests with a wink, brings wisdom. And occasionally, a knack for spotting killers.

The compulsive need for solving a puzzlespotting a difference, finding a pattern, whittling down the variablesis an aspirational trait, I believe. When we hold one of those quaint wooden boxes that can only be opened through one secret method with a trick lever and an angle that elegantly fits just right, some of us put it back down again after exhausting the obvious. We would all, however, like to be the kind of people who dont put the box down but instead find exactly where to press it to make it reveal its secrets. A cryptic crossword is the best kind.

Raja Sen is a screenwriter and critic. He has co-written Chup, a film about killing critics, and is now creating an absurd comedy series. He posts @rajasen.

Streaming tip of the week:

All 13 seasons of Poirotstarring the immaculate David Suchet as the great Belgian detectivecan be streamed on SonyLiv. Agatha Christies detective has been immortalised on stage and screen, but this long-running television classic is arguably the finest take on the character.

Also Read | Raising a toast to Scotch whisky with Bill Lumsden
Ambient Escapes I have recently discovered YouTube channels like Forest Jazz Lounge and Tranquil Morning Ambience that combine ambient instrumental music with gently looping scenic visuals, and theyve completely transformed my work routine. As someone who needs background music for every activity, I have always relied on instrumental playlists. But these long-form videos offer something more immersive. The subtle movement of a crackling fireplace, swaying trees, or gentle waves create an illusion of reality. When I glance up from my laptop for a breather, Im instantly transported. That cafe overlooking autumn foliage or that cosy cottage by a serene lake surrounded by pine trees becomes my workspace view, even if momentarily. Its a small escape that makes hours of focused work feel less confined.

Shephali Bhatt Black Beauty I watched a man veer to the other side of a road on his morning walk as he spotted a stray black cat. Here he was, striding right into a high AQI day without a mask, and feeling threatened by a cat of a certain colour. Bad omens are all around us: in the form of pollutants in the air, water, mind; in sodium- and sugar-saturated snacks; in pesticide-laden fruits and vegetables; as trolls on social media. The list is endless. Amid this general haziness, a black catlike a black Labrador or a black Dachshundis a thing of beauty. Think Miyazakis Jiji or Salem Saberhagen in Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I happened to come across this gorgeous cat with eyes like saucers, sitting on the boundary wall of a house. It did not slink away and was nonchalant as I tried to take a picture. As if saying, hurry along now, you are obstructing my view of that bird.

Nipa Charagi

Organic Horror I dont know exactly why I had not watched the folk horror film Midsommar all these yearsit was released in 2019but, well, better late than never. An unholy child of The Wicker Man (1973) and Blood on Satans Claw (1971), Midsommar updates the creepiness of sinister neo-pagan European cults by placing a very modern toxic relationship smack in the middle of the story. Some wise-cracking reviewer once called it an extreme breakup film, and it is that, but much more. The horror arising out of a murderous nature cult lies not in the acts of violence or terror itself, but how seductive the sense of community can be for people searching for a sense of belonging. Midsommar depicts this brilliantly, and it is for this reason that the film will stay with me.

Bibek Bhattacharya Forest essential Satyajit Ray made childrens films and comedies but theres only one hangout movie in his oeuvre, the kind you revisit because its a joy spending time with the characters. That film was 1970s Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest). A quartet of Kolkata menplayed by Soumitra Chatterjee, Subhendu Chatterjee, Samit Bhanja, Rabi Ghoshhead to a forest for a vacation, where they meet three women (Sharmila Tagore, Kaberi Bose, Simi Garewal). The filmwhich includes the unforgettable memory game sequenceis one of Rays most charming efforts. A newly restored version is playing in Kolkata this week ahead of a nationwide release.
At just 19, Sheetal Arora was thrown in at the deep end of operations at Mankind Pharma. Though a family-run enterprise, he started out in the frontline as a medical representative, taking on the responsibility of building sales, marketing and distribution.

I spent time visiting doctors, chemists and distributors to understand how demand could be generated. Interacting with customers handed me feedback through which I could address negative sentiments. That period exposed me to ups and downs, laying the foundation for everything that followed," says Delhi-based Arora, 48, Promoter and CEO, Mankind Pharma Limited.

Among the many milestones he cherishes over the last three decades are when they first registered a turnover of 50 crore, launching an IPO and speciality divisions, and the acquisition of Bharat Serum and Vaccines. Yet, he considers his proudest achievement to be the culture hes built at the organisation, rooted in humility, integrity and transparency that he believes has led to minimal attrition.

Through their CSR initiatives, they have worked on preventive care campaigns, strengthened primary health and wellness centres and provided access to basic healthcare for the underprivileged. They are also working towards building self-reliant communities through vocational training and livelihood generation, providing mid-day meal support and creating infrastructure for digital smart classrooms in over 430 government schools.

What motivates me everyday is the purpose of serving life and the impact we have created through medicines that are affordable and accessible for millions of people," he says.
Imagine you make a big budget to travel to an exotic place, and your total budget is slashed by 25% or higher upon usage of your credit card. Sounds amazing! Isn't it?

Well, sounds like a lofty goal, but it can be made possible when you use a credit card which has a good deal on offer. Let us find out more about such cards here.

These cards offer discounts on travel I. ICICI Bank MakeMyTrip Credit Card: Cardholders are offered a 1,000 MakeMyTrip voucher with a validity of 1 year upon paying the joining fee. There is a similar voucher which is issued upon payment of the annual fee.

You can get a 10% instant discount on flight bookings anda 20% instant discount on hotel bookings via EaseMyTrip. There is a forex markup of only 0.99% on international transactions.

II. AU Small Finance Bank Ixigo Credit Card: It gives 10% off on flight bookings as well as hotel bookings through the ixigo app/website.

III. HDFC Bank 6E Rewards XL IndiGo Credit Card: Co-branded with IndiGo, this HDFC Bank card gives 5% back as 6E rewards on IndiGo flight bookings via website/app. There is also a complimentary Accor hotel stay voucher worth up to 5,000 annually.

Also Read | Should you pay only minimum due on your credit card? Key pros and cons explained

IV. American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card: You can spend 1.9 lakh in a card membership year and get 15,000 membership reward points that can be redeemed on Platinum Travel Collection or on Amex Travel online. Upon spending 4 lakh, you are entitled to receive an additional 25,000 membership reward points.

V. Axis Bank Atlas Credit Card: This card gives 5 EDGE miles per 100 on flight bookings via the travel Edge portal (redeem 1:1 for flight discounts). It also provides 2.5 EDGE miles per 100 on hotel bookings via travel EDGE.

(This is only an indicative list)
I was a resident of Germany for approximately 20 years before relocating to India during the Covid-19 pandemic. I have always been deeply committed to supporting social and humanitarian causes. Along with local donations, I want to restart my support for German Red Cross. I want to make a donation of 5 lakhs to the German Red Cross before Christmas. Will this create any tax complications for me in India?

-Name withheld on request

When you make a donation to the German Red Cross, there is no tax liability in India merely for contributing to the organisation. However, such a donation will not qualify for a tax deduction in India since the German Red Cross is established abroad and is not registered under Indian law for charitable purposes.

The deeming rule Under Indian tax law, a deeming provision treats any payment by a resident to a non-resident, made without consideration, as income deemed to accrue or arise in India in the hands of the non-resident.

This rule excludes payments made to charitable entities that are registered and approved in India under the Income Tax Act, 1961. Since the German Red Cross is a foreign charity, the exclusion may not apply in this case.

Also Read | A new fund category lets investors profit even when markets fallheres how

As a result, the donation could be treated as income without consideration and deemed to accrue in India in the hands of the German Red Cross.

Consequently, you may be required to deduct tax at source (TDS) on the donation. Such income would fall under the head Income from Other Sources.

The German Red Cross, being an unregistered non-profit, would likely be regarded as an association of persons (AOP) for Indian tax purposes. The standard TDS rate in such cases is 30% plus applicable surcharge and cess.

Relief under the India-Germany DTAA However, the German Red Cross may seek relief under the IndiaGermany Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), provided it qualifies as a tax resident of Germany.

Since the organisation is governed by the German Federal Tax Code and enjoys exemption from corporate tax, it can be treated as a resident of Germany for DTAA purposes.

Also Read | How many mutual funds should you really own?

Under the treaty, such income typically falls under the Other Income article, granting Germany exclusive taxing rights. Therefore, if the German Red Cross furnishes a Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) and Form 10F, the donation would be taxable only in Germany, and no TDS would be required in India.

However, since the donation qualifies as a remittance under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS), the provisions of Tax Collected at Source (TCS) will apply.

If TDS is applicable and has been deducted, TCS is not levied. But in this case, since TDS may not apply due to DTAA relief, TCS would become applicable.

TCS under LRS applies only to total remittances exceeding 10 lakh in a financial year per PAN (excluding overseas tour packages). Your authorised dealer (AD) bank would collect TCS at 20% on the amount exceeding this threshold.

Any TCS paid can later be claimed as credit when filing your income tax return for FY 202526.
The 30th annual United Nations climate conference starts today, facing a crisis of credibility. Within a decade of the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, global temperatures breached the critical 1.5C threshold in 2024. Meanwhile, the worlds largest historical emitter, the US, under the presidency of Donald Trump, has once again threatened to withdraw from commitments to reduce global warming.

While the leaders of the world struggle to contain the climate crisis, vulnerable communities across the globe are bearing the brunt. Younger people from middle-income countries say they are ready to make changes to their lifestyles, while also pinning hopes on global cooperation to find sustainable solutions. Mint explores two recent surveys that shed light on peoples attitudes towards climate change.

Effective or merely symbolic?

While Conference of the Parties (COP) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change have produced landmark agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol (binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions) and the 2015 Paris Agreement (limiting global warming to well below 2C), overall progress remains slow and inadequate. Three decades since its inception, debates rage on about COP's effectiveness, though many argue it remains crucial for international climate cooperation.

A recent survey of 23,700 respondents across 30 countries by Paris-based market research firm Ipsos Global Advisor showed that nearly one in two people (49%) believe COP30 is merely symbolic" and doesn't drive real climate action, while a third believe it will prove effective". The remaining 17% were neutral. Interestingly, views differed starkly between people in developed and developing nations. Developed nations were largely sceptical about climate action, with 46% in the US and 73% in France saying the summit is merely symbolic. In contrast, this figure was much smaller in countries such as India (28%), Indonesia (16%) and South Africa (37%), among others.

Communities in crisis

The global climate crisis has been long recognized as one of the biggest issues of this century. Its impact is being seen, more than ever, in the form of heat waves, wildfires and flash floods.

A separate survey of 12,375 people by US-based fact tank Pew Research Center, focusing on middle-income countries, revealed widespread alarm across nine nationsMexico, Argentina, Brazil, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Turkey, India and Indonesia. Mexico led with 83% respondents, saying the climate has impacted local communities, followed closely by Argentina (81%) and Turkey (79%). In India, three-fourths of respondents said climate change is affecting them where they live and work. Over a third of Indian respondents said climate change impacted them a great deal". This was the third lowest after Indonesia (33%) and Nigeria (26%).

While the figure is low, more people in India are reporting serious risks from climate change. In 2019, only 28% had said climate change impacted them a great deal". The rise was much higher for Brazil, which saw a rise of 12 percentage points since 2019 to 62% in 2025.

Shifting opinions

Having witnessed climate impacts in their communities, many residents of middle-income nations harbour deep anxieties about their future as well. The Pew survey showed the majority of respondents across all nine countries, including 72% in Nigeria and 91% in Indonesia, fear climate change will harm them personally at some point. What is particularly striking is the intensity of this concern. About two-thirds in Indonesia and Argentina are very concerned" about personal harm from climate change, while 48% Indians and 56% of Brazilians share deep worry.

However, a comparison with a 2015 Pew survey shows notable shifts, with fewer adults in five of the nine nations now reporting such deep concerns. Nigeria experienced the sharpest decline, falling from 63% to 38%, followed by Brazil (78% to 56%) and India (69% to 48%). On the other hand, concern was up in Indonesia (42% to 63%), South Africa (39% to 60%) and Argentina (58% to 64%).

Young vs old

As the climate crisis has worsened, young people in several parts of the world have made changes to their lifestylesusing paper straws, carrying cloth bags and buying electric vehicles. This became a mass movement, with companies also joining in. While many world leaders downplay or deny the climate crisis, young people's commitment to save the planet hasn't wavered. Across all nine countries, those witnessing climate change first-hand show greater willingness to transform their lifestyle, with a median of 80% saying they will make at least some changes to combat the crisis, driven by the younger cohort.

Younger adults (aged 18-34) consistently outpace their older counterparts (50+) in their willingness to act. Indonesia has the starkest divide: 89% of youth are ready to change versus 69% of older adults, followed by Turkey (64% versus 45%). India and Nigeria had the narrowest gaps of just 6 and 3 percentage points, respectively.

This generational divide extends to personal fears. In India, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey, younger adults express significantly more concern about climate change harming them personally than those aged 50 and older.

Persisting problem

Respondents also said the inability to sustainably address the climate crisis may be rooted in governance failures. From absent political will and weak enforcement to inadequate funding, respondents identified several reasons for the lack of progress on this front, revealed the Ipsos survey.

Also Read | Climate threat: Why businesses must watch out for a rising tide of water risk

Indian respondents identified lack of enforcement against deforestation and pollution (44%) as the primary obstacle, reflecting the current anger against the country's crippling air pollution. Technology gaps followed at 32%, while 30% cited funding shortages for environmental projects. One in four respondents flagged lack of political will from government leaders. Strikingly, only 14% pointed to fossil fuel dependence as the main barrier, despite India's current and future dependence on coal to meet its energy needs.

While COP remains battleground between historical emitters (the US and Europe) and rising economies (China and India), what the world needs is urgent action and cooperation to address the biggest crisis of our time.
National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval's office will investigate the alleged GPS spoofing incident that caused a massive tech glitch at the Delhi international airport last week, and disrupted flight services, as per an India Today report.

The probe will also see participation from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI), it added.

New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on November 7 faced a massive technical issue that delayed and disrupted over 800 flights after the air traffic control (ATC) system was affected. As per reports, the incident was caused by multiple GPS spoofing incidents, which contributed to the flight operation disruption.

Also Read | Bengaluru jail staff suspended as videos of inmates using phones spark probe

Delhi airport glitch probe: What we know The report noted that the NSA's National Cybersecurity Coordinator (NCSC) Navin Kumar Singh was appointed in August 2025 and his office is responsible for such matters.

The NCSC functions under the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) in coordination with other agencies and government bodies including the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) on cybersecurity threats that require cohesive national response.

As per the report, authorities will determine the cause and extent of impact from the GPS spoofing incident and conclude whether the incident was a cyberattack, intentional interference or a simple technical glitch.

Aviation Minister reviews operations at Delhi airport On November 9, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, visited the ATC Tower at Delhi Airport to review operations after the tech glitch. There he directed officials to conduct a detailed root-cause analysis and enhance system redundancy to make the ATC network more resilient for the future.

Secretary (MoCA) Samir Kumar Sinha, Chairman (AAI) Vipin Kumar, and other senior officials were also present.

Over the past two days, teams from AAI, ANS, and ECIL worked tirelessly to identify and resolve the issue while ensuring passenger safety through manual coordination. As systems are fully restored now, I have further directed officials to conduct a detailed root-cause analysis and enhance system redundancy to make our ATC network more resilient for the future, Kinjarapu said in a post on X.

What is GPS spoofing? According to McAfee, GPS spoofing is a technique that allows a GPS receiver to be tricked or manipulated to broadcast false GPS signals. The practice tampers with GPS signals and can mislead the receiver into providing inaccurate location data, which can even result in inaccurate device readings.

This form of cyberattack undermines the reliability of GPS data, which is vital for a variety of applications, from navigation to time synchronisation and more, according to the cybersecurity software firm.
Hyderabad: Renowned poet Ande Sri, best known as the author of Telanganas iconic state song Jaya Jaya He Telangana, passed away on Monday at the age of 64.

According to officials, the poet  whose real name was Ande Yellaiah  was found lying unconscious at his residence in Hyderabad on Monday morning. Family members rushed him to Gandhi Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. A heart attack is suspected to be the cause of death. He was reportedly hypertensive and had experienced excessive sweating two days earlier.

A celebrated figure in Telanganas literary and cultural circles, Ande Sri played a significant role in the Telangana statehood movement through his songs and writings. His composition Jaya Jaya He Telangana was officially adopted as the state song by the Congress government after it came to power in December 2023.

PM Modi's post on Ande Sri

PM Modi also expressed grief, he tweeted, The passing of Ande Sri leaves a deep void in our cultural and intellectual landscape. His thoughts reflected the soul of Telangana. A prolific poet and thinker, he was the voice of the people, articulating their struggles, aspirations and undying spirit. His words had the power to stir hearts, unite voices and give shape to the collective pulse of society. The way he blended social consciousness with lyrical beauty was outstanding. My thoughts are with his family and admirers. Om Shanti.

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy, Telangana BJP president N Ramchander Rao, BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, and several other leaders expressed grief over his death. In a statement, the Chief Minister described Ande Sris demise as a huge loss to Telanganas literary and cultural world and directed that his funeral be held with full state honours.

Internet reacts Reacting to the news of Ande Sri's passing, a user wrote, Deeply saddened by the passing of Ande Sri Garu, a poet who gave Telangana its soulful voice through his powerful words. His writings will forever inspire generations. Heartfelt condolences to his family and admirers.

Also Read | Singing Vande Mataram made compulsory in all UP educational institutions

Another user wrote, "Deeply saddened by the demise of legendary poet & lyricist Ande Sri garu. His immortal "Jaya Jaya He Telangana" became the heartbeat of the statehood movement & now proudly stands as our official state song."
Jammu and Kashmir Police have busted a major inter-state terror module linked with Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind. In connection with this case, two arrested were made in Saharanpur and Faridabad. 360 kg of ammonium nitrate was recovered from the individual arrested in Faridabad.

Key operatives of the terror module have been arrested along with the recovery of a huge cache of arms and ammunition, as well as explosives during coordinated searches across Jammu and Kashmir and other states, as per a press note released by the J&K Police.

On 19 October, a number of JeM posters were seen across Bunpora Nowgam, Srinagar, which were threatening and intimidating the police and other security forces, following which FIR No. 162/2025 U/S 13,16, 17, 18. 18-8, 19, 20, 23, 39 840 of the UAPA Act, section 61 (2), 147, 148, 152, 351(2) BNS, section 4/5 Explosive Substance Act and 7/25/27 Arms Act was registered, at Police Station Nowgam, Srinagar, as per J&K police.

After the FIR, an investigation was carried out, and revealed a white collar terror ecosystem involving professionals and students radicalised into terrorist ideology who were in contact with foreign handlers based out of Pakistan and other countries, as per the press release.

The group has been using encrypted channels, for indoctrination, coordination, fund movement and logistics. Funds were raised through professional and academic networks, under the guise of social/charitable, the press release noted.

Investigations revealed that the accused in question were involved in recruiting personnel who were then radicalised and enrolled into their ranks. They were also raising funds, procuring arms, weapons and raw materials to manufacture improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and arranging logistics.

Here are the names of the seven individuals who were arrested in connection to the case:

1. Arif Nisar Dar @ Sahil-rio Nowgam, Srinagar

2. Yasir-ul-Ashraf rio Nowgam, Srinagar

3. Maqsood Ahmad Dar Shahid rio Nowgam, Srinagar

4. Molvi Irfan Ahmad (Imam of Masjid) rio Shopian

5. Zameer Ahmad Ahanger Mutilasha, rio Wakura Ganderbal

6. Dr. Muzammil Ahmad Ganale @ Musaib rlo Koil, Pulwama

7. Dr. Adeel rio Wanpora, Kulgam

Searches were conducted across Srinagar, Anantnag, Ganderbal and Shopian during the course of the investigation. J&K Police also conducted searches in Faridabad in tandem with Haryana Police and in Saharanbad in coordination with Uttar Pradesh Police.

Also Read | Terror threat averted? 3 arrested in Gujarat for conspiring to carry attacks

Dr Adeel Rather, who used to work as a Senior Resident at GMC Anantnag until October 2024, was absconding after the police began looking for him. He was traced to a hospital in Saharanpur from where he was arrested.
A massive car blast near Delhis Red Fort Metro Station on 10 November killed at least eight people and injured 24. Witnesses said the explosion was so intense they felt they were all going to die.

According to a PTI report, Delhi Police have detained the owner of the car in which the explosion occurred near the Red Fort. He is being questioned.

Are schools in Delhi closed today? The Delhi government has not announced that schools will remain closed today, 11 November. However, security has been tightened across the city, especially around sensitive areas.

No official order has been issued to close schools or offices.

Delhi blasts: US monitoring situation The United States has said it is closely monitoring the situation and is ready to provide consular assistance.

We are aware of the explosion near the Red Fort in Delhi. We are closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to provide consular assistance, a State Department spokesperson told PTI.

Delhi blasts: Uttarakhand on high alert Uttarakhand has been placed on high alert after the Delhi blast, and security is being strengthened across the state. ADG (Law and Order) V. Murugeshan told ANI that an alert had been issued statewide.

Superintendents of Police in all thirteen districts have been instructed to maintain heightened vigilance in their respective areas, he said.

Delhi blasts: National capital on high alert The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has placed all Delhi-NCR installations under its security cover on high alert. The force stated that the Delhi Metro, the Red Fort, government buildings and the IGI Airport are being closely monitored.

Also Read | Maharashtra on high alertafter Red Fort blast, massive ammonium nitrate recovery

Delhi and neighbouring states have stepped up security, with strict checks at border points.

Delhi blasts: Bihar on high alert Bihar DGP Vinay Kumar has issued a high alert across the state. He told ANI that police forces had been deployed at all Bihar border points with strict checking underway.

However, DGP Kumar urged voters to cast their votes without fear. According to him, the state has already been on high alert for 72 hours due to the elections.
An explosion near Gate no 1 of the Red Fort metro station in Delhi has led to at least eight deaths and multiple injuries.

The Delhi Fire Department said that it had received a call regarding an explosion in a car car near the Red Fort Metro Station in the national capital, after which three to four vehicles there caught fire.

Five fire tenders have been rushed to the spot.

15 people injured in the blast were taken to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) hospital, but eight of them died on the way, as per a report by ANI.

A high alert has been sounded in Delhi in the wake of this incident.

Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha says, "Today at around 6.52 pm, a slow-moving vehicle stopped at the red light. An explosion happened in that vehicle, and due to the explosion, nearby vehicles were also damaged. All agencies, FSL, NIA, are here... Some people have died, and some have been injured in the incident. The situation is being monitored. The Home Minister has also called us, and information is being shared with him from time to time."

A local shopkeeper told ANI, I fell three times due to the explosion. It felt as if we were all going to die.

An injured eyewitness, who received a wound on his head, told PTI that the explosion appeared to have originated from a car, which was probably a Swift.

There was a Swift car in front of my auto. There was something in that car that suddenly blasted, he told the publication.

Also Read | Red Fort blast: Videos show cars gutted after massive explosion near metro

Another witness told PTI, I was at the gurdwara when I heard a strong sound. We couldnt make out what it was, it was that loud.

A number of vehicles nearby were completely damaged, he added.

Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has reacted on the situation, saying that Negligence regarding Delhi's security cannot be tolerated. He has also asked for an investigation to find out if there is any larger conspiracy behind it.

This incident comes in the wake of eight terrorist being arrested from Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. This arrested individual was part of a white collar terror module, as per the Jammu and Kashmir police.

One of them was caught with 360 kg of ammonium nitrate.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has already started in West Bengal. Now, the West Bengal Congress has approached the Supreme Court against the SIR process for the voter list.

Multiple states, such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal, have opposed SIR. Gujarat civil society activists have also approached the apex court against the process. Among political parties, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), CPI(M) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) have also opposed the electoral move.

Why is Congress opposing it in Bengal? Suman Ray Chowdhury, spokesperson of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, has clarified why the party approached the apex court.

In Bihar, we saw that 44 lakh names were removed. We dont believe the names were removed properly. When the form arrived in Bengal, it had to be modified. We also want to know why the 2002 voter list is being used as the base for SIR. Why not use any voter list after 2002? There are many mapping and linking issues. This will remove many genuine voters names, while fake entries will remain, Suman told Aajkal.

There is another issue. People born before 1987 only need to provide their own details. Those born after 1987 need details of at least one parent. Those born after 2004 must provide details of themselves and both parents. We believe that SIR is being used as a backdoor to bring in NRC, Suman added.

SIR opponents often cite examples from Bihar.

Bihar: 65 lakh voter names deleted Around 65 lakh names were removed from Bihars draft electoral rolls during the SIR in mid-2025. It created major controversy, prompting a case in the Supreme Court.

The top court has now directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish district-wise lists of all 65 lakh deleted voters on the websites of Bihars Chief Electoral Officer and every District Electoral Officer.

The searchable list, available through EPIC numbers, must clearly state the reason for each deletion. It must mention reasons such as death, permanent migration, and double registration.

De facto NRC On 3 November, Tamil Nadus ruling party, the DMK, approached the Supreme Court against SIR. The party called it de facto NRC, comparing it with the controversial National Register of Citizens.

According to those who oppose SIR, it requires voters to provide citizenship-like proof, exceeding the legal purpose of revising electoral rolls. They believe lakhs of genuine voters could be removed without due process, affecting free and fair elections.

Is SIR illegal? Opposition parties and civil society groups argue that the SIR of electoral rolls is unconstitutional because it does not follow the Representation of the People Act (ROPA) 1950 or the Registration of Electors Rules 1960. They claim the ECI cannot use Article 324 to bypass these laws.

They highlight that Section 28(3) of ROPA requires any new procedure for electoral rolls to be officially notified and placed before Parliament, which was not done. The SIR also demands retrospective document checks using a 2003 cut-off, a rule not found in existing laws.

Petitioners say the mass re-verification process violates court-mandated safeguards like individual hearings. They argue that it may unfairly disenfranchise vulnerable voters.

Also Read | SIR in WBEC acts against 8 officers for violating rules on form distribution

Other reasons Multiple states, political parties and civil groups oppose the SIR for a few other reasons. They claim that the SIR is being used to manipulate voter rolls for political advantage.

They argue that the time given for door-to-door verification is too short. It coincides with the monsoon months and major festivals, such as Christmas and Pongal, which reduce voter participation.
Delhi blast today near Red Fort: Delhi Police on Monday said that the vehicle that exploded near the Lal Qila and killed at least eight people earlier in the evening was not stationary and was moving slowly.

Talking to the media, Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha said that the vehicle, a Hyundai i20, had stopped at a red light near the Red Fort.

Today at around 6.52 pm, a slow-moving vehicle stopped at the red light. An explosion happened in that vehicle, and due to the explosion, nearby vehicles were also damaged, the top police official said.

Golcha said that agencies, including the FSL and NIA, were at the spot to assess the situation.

Some people have died, and some have been injured in the incident. The situation is being monitored, he said.

The Delhi Police Commissioner informed that Home Minister Amit Shah has been calling the police, who are sharing information with him on a regular basis.

Delhi explosion today: Was it a bomb blast? Speaking to Hindustan Times, Satish Golcha further informed that no typical signs of a bomb blast were discovered from the spot, adding that the explosion happened in a Hyundai i20 car.

There is no crater at the spot, so we cannot say if it is a bomb blast. Also, no pellet/splinter injuries reported till now, which is most common in bomb blasts, he said.

The i20 car that was the reason for the Delhi blast today near Red Fort had two to three occupants, and was mangled due to the impact, Golcha told HT.

According to a Special Cell officer quoted by the newspaper, No nails, no splinters, no shrapnel, no wires, no chemicals found. No suspicious debris found.

View full Image Dog squad reaches Delhi blast spot

Delhi blast near Red Fort: 8 dead, 24 injured A powerful blast rippled across the Red Fort area in Delhi on Monday, killing at least eight and injuring 24 others.

The Delhi blast today occurred near the Red Fort Metro station, which has been shut for entry and exit since then. Several vehicles, including the exploded car, were gutted.

The Red Fort blast took place on a busy evening when the area was milling with people. The injured were taken to the LNJP hospital, a few kilometres away.

Also Read | Red Fort blast: Videos show cars gutted after massive explosion near metro

Experts of the NSG and investigators of the NIA have rushed to the blast site. The NSG team comprised explosive experts, while the NIA team consisted of investigators experienced in terror cases, according to sources quoted by PTI.
The Supreme Court will on November 17 hear a petition seeking contempt proceedings against the Telangana speaker for allegedly not complying with its direction to decide disqualification pleas against 10 BRS MLAs who defected to the ruling Congress.

On July 31, a top court bench headed by Chief Justice B R Gavai directed the assembly speaker to decide in three months the matter of the disqualification of the 10 Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLAs.

On Monday, a lawyer mentioned the contempt petition for urgent hearing, saying the speaker had not acted within the three-month deadline.

Also Read | SC seeks responses from NHAI, Road Ministry after Phalodi road accident

List it next Monday, CJI Gavai said.

Expressing concern over the delay, the counsel said the respondents were dragging the proceedings till the end of the month for obvious reasons, an apparent reference to CJI Gavais retirement on November 23.

The Supreme Court will not close after the 24th of November, the CJI said.

The counsel representing the petitioners also submitted that no proceedings had been conducted since the courts July 31 order.

The MLAs are still continuing. Your lordships had held that if any MLA was trying to protract the proceedings, an adverse inference would be drawn. Two petitions are pending. The speaker has not touched them. Others are in the evidence stage, the counsel said.

The contempt plea stems from the apex courts July 31 judgment, delivered by a bench of the CJI and Justice AG Masih, in a batch of writ petitions filed by BRS leaders KT Rama Rao, Padi Kaushik Reddy, and KO Vivekanand.

The top court reiterated that the speaker acts as a tribunal while deciding disqualification pleas under Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and consequently does not enjoy constitutional immunity.

The Tenth Schedule deals with provisions on disqualification on the grounds of defection.
The Rouse Avenue court on Monday deferred the order on framing a charge in a land for job corruption case. The court will pronounce an order on December 4.

CBI had filed charge sheets against former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, Misa Bharti, Tejashwi Yadav, Hema Yadav, Tej Pratap Yadav and other accused persons. Special Judge Vishal Gogne deferred the order and listed the matter for December 4.

On September 11, the Rouse Avenue court had reserved its order on the charge in land for the job. This case is against former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and others.

The CBI has charge-sheeted former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Rabri Devi, Tejashwi, and others in this case. It is alleged that jobs in the Railways were given instead of land.

Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) DP Singh had submitted on behalf of the CBI that there is sufficient material to frame charges against the accused persons.

During arguments, Former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's senior counsel, Maninder Singh, had argued that the land for the job case is politically motivated. There is no evidence to suggest that jobs were given to candidates in exchange for land. There are sale deeds which show that lands were purchased for Money.

Senior advocate Maninder Singh had submitted that there was no violation of any rule regarding the appointment, and no jobs were given for the land.

It was also argued that there was no recommendation by Former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav for any candidate. No General Manager has stated that he ever met Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Also Read | Tej Pratap Yadav's security tightened following claims of death threats

The senior counsel had further argued that no case of corruption was made out as he had not made any recommendations for any candidate. Merely calling him a kingpin is not sufficient. There is no evidence against him.

It was also argued that no evidence to show that any land was taken for free. The land was purchased.

Earlier during arguments on behalf of Rabri Devi, it was submitted that Rabri Devi purchased land and paid money for it. Buying land for money is not a crime. No favour was given to any accused candidate. These transactions are not connected.

The senior advocate had submitted that the CBI had to prove the existence of corruption. The land sold was purchased for a consideration.
Jammu and Kashmir Police, in coordination with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Faridabad Police, on Sunday recovered a large quantity of IED-making material and ammunition during an investigation from Faridabad in Delhi-NCR.

A doctor, residing in a Faridabad village, and a Muslim cleric have been arrested by the Police during the operation, which was reportedly carried out based on inputs from interrogations of arrested suspects in Jammu and Kashmir.

Check details of the operation here: As much as 360 kilograms of explosive material, an AK-47 rifle, and a large cache of ammunition were recovered during the investigation from a rented accommodation in Dhauj village in Faridabad.

Also Read | 10 J&K sites searched as forces close in on terrorist recruitment group

Faridabad Police Commissioner Satender Gupta said that inflammable material, possibly ammonium nitrate was recovered from the residence of Dr Mujahil Shakil, a student of Al Falah Medical College, originally from Jammu and Kashmir. He had reportedly rented the house in Dhauj about three months ago.

Dismissing initial reports of RDX recovery, Gupta said, Its not RDX, as reported initially, but ammonium nitrate.

The police said that the recovery included 14 bags of ammonium nitrate weighing around 100kg, 84 live cartridges, one AK-47 rifle, timers, and 5 litres of chemical solution. A total of 48 items suspected of being used for assembling improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were seized.

The operation was conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and the IB team, with assistance from the local police.

Averted catastrophic terror attack: Police A senior officer from the J&K Police said that the recovery was a major breakthrough that may have averted a catastrophic terror attack.

According to the HT report, citing Faridabad police, Dr Shakil was taken into custody on October 30, following the arrest of another accused linked to the same terror network, Dr Adil Ahmad Rather.

After interrogation, Dr Shakil was brought back to Faridabad on Sunday morning to identify and recover the hidden materials.

Preliminary investigations suggest that both individuals were part of a larger module suspected to have cross-border links aimed at planning large-scale attacks in northern India.

Doctor visited mosque 5 times a day, every day: Cleric's wife

The cleric's wife told news agency ANI that the Police took away Imam Sahib. I don't know why he has been taken away. The Police never came to us before...Imam Sahib has been serving at the mosque for the past 20 years, she said.

The doctor used to come here five times a day, every day to offer namaz. He hailed from Kashmir, she shared.

More dangerous than Bombay blasts: Union Minister Giriraj Singh

Union Minister Giriraj Singh claimed that the situation could have been more dangerous than the Bombay blasts, which killed at least 257 people.

This could have been more dangerous than the Bombay blasts...Baba Bageshwar's yatra with large crowds is also ongoing. What would have happened if there had been an attack on it? he said.

The question which arises is - whenever a person is caught in such cases, he/she is from one particular community, it is always Muslims. A doctor has been caught in this case, he added.
A SpiceJet flight SG670, from Bombay to Kolkata, made an emergency landing late Sunday. Kolkata airport officials said the flight reported failure in one of the engines.

The flight landed safely, and the full emergency has been withdrawn at 11.38 [Sunday], officials told news agency ANI.

Earlier on November 7, several airlines, including Air India, IndiGo, and SpiceJet, issued advisories alerting passengers about possible delays following disruptions in flight operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital.

At least 100 flights were delayed following the technical issue involving a malfunction in the Air Traffic Control system, according to the Delhi Airport.

Also Read | Airlines warn of delays, longer wait times as Delhi airport faces tech glitch

Flyers were advised to check flight status updates before leaving for the airport.

The airlines assured that their staff are assisting passengers to minimise inconvenience.

Air traffic control (ATC) refers to a ground-based service in which controllers manage and guide the movement of aircraft both on the ground and within controlled airspace.

In a post on X, SpiceJet shared, Due to ATC [Air Traffic Control] congestion at Delhi, all Departures/Arrivals and their consequential flights might get affected. Passengers are requested to keep a check on their flight status via spicejet.com.

Also Read | SpiceJet to launch daily direct flights from Delhi and Mumbai from these dates

Meanwhile, on September 12, a SpiceJet flight from Gujarat's Kandla airport to Mumbai made an emergency landing at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) after an outer wheel was found on the runway following take-off, as per a SpiceJet Spokesperson.

The SpiceJet Q400 aircraft reported a technical issue, prompting a full emergency to be declared at the airport as a precaution.

The plane landed safely at 3:51 pm on Runway 27, and all passengers and crew were safe.

According to SpiceJet, the aircraft taxied to the terminal on its own, and passengers disembarked normally.

"On September 12, an outer wheel of a SpiceJet Q400 aircraft operating from Kandla to Mumbai was found on the runway after take-off. The aircraft continued its journey to Mumbai and landed safely. Following a smooth landing, the aircraft taxied to the terminal under its own power, and all passengers disembarked normally," as per the statement from SpiceJet Spokesperson.

As per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), the pilot requested an emergency landing.
NEW DELHI : The government has decided to implement Swiss model to design road networks along mountainous terrain to make them strong and damage-resistant to extreme weather events seen in the country's hilly states.

According to two persons aware of the development, after evaluating the highway construction techniques in a mostly-mountainous Switzerland, the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) has sought consultancy from the European nation to design physical mechanisms to prevent the occurrence of extensive damage to the road infrastructure along 50 black spots, or accident-prone zones, initially. More spots would be identified for the strengthening exercise later.

In a first, MoRTH had identified close to 200 black spots along highways on the mountains that may be prone to landslides or are unstable. About 50 of these are being redesigned using Swiss model of construction. Efforts are on to identify more such black spots in these regions and prepare a plan to strengthen them," said the first of the two persons cited earlier, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity.

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The ministry of road transport and highways defines a black spot as a stretch of national highway of about 500 meters, where either five or more accidents involving fatalities/grievous injuries, or ten or more fatalities, occurred in the past three calendar years.

States and Union territories with significant mountainous terrain, such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Sikkim, and other North-Eastern states have a combined National Highway length of roughly 22,000 km. This represents about 15% of the total National Highway network, which currently stands at round 1,46,500 km.

We have gone for Swiss technology and expertise in designing and strengthening mountain roads as the Himalayan landscape in india presents very similar features to mountains in Switzerland. The Swiss have managed to build strong road network and contained natural events from impacting their highways. We now want to see if the same designing and construction techniques make even Indian highways safer," said the second person.

Queries sent to the MoRTH remained unanswered till the press time.

Climate events increase urgency

The recent rains and flooding in Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand resulted in extensive damage to highway network, snapping off connectivity to affected portions of the states from the rest of the country. In various places, large stretches of highways just got washed away, while on several locations roads, caved in on frequent landslides. The frequency of such events has increased in recent years and climate change events have begun impacting highway network every year.

Also Read | Centre shifts focus from size of public capex to quality and impact of spending

While identifying black spots is a step in the right direction, India needs to treat highway safety as a national public health and infrastructure priority. Redesigning high-risk stretches in mountainous regions is particularly important as these areas are strategically significant, often face the brunt of extreme weather, and given the current geopolitical environment strengthening them should be a national priority. Doing so will not only enhance connectivity but also bolster national resilience," said Shailesh Agarwal, partner, risk consulting (infrastructure), EY India. "Leveraging proven global expertise, such as Swiss technology, known for its safety and durability, can help India accelerate progress and set new benchmarks for road safety and engineering excellence."

New road safety policy

The Swiss model of road construction on mountainous terrain uses a mix of innovative bio-technologies including geosynthetic fibres to strengthen soil surfaces that prevents landslides and keeps the slopes around roads stable. This technique is used along with integration of monitoring and early warning systems at road design stage itself. This real-time monitoring system detects rock mass movement and deformation to provide early warnings of potential stability issues.

The government is also working on a policy on road design required for areas that experience heavy rainfalls. The policy would also look at the need for creating physical barriers and breakwater walls - a protective structure meant to reduce the force of water such as tides and waves against road or other infrastructure - to arrest landslides that destroy infrastructure, the people cited above said. It is expected that the policy will draw a lot of inputs from the Switzerland-system in dealing with such situations.

Also Read | Centre launches third PLI round for speciality steel

As part of its exercise to make Indian roads safer and less prone to damage from extreme climatic conditions, the MoRTH has also developed guidelines with technical assistance from Japan International Cooperation Agency. It has developed five guidelines aimed at enhancing mountainous road infrastructure in India. These guidelines, unveiled in 2023, are designed to ensure high-quality and sustainable road projects in hilly regions, which will improve road networks and promote economic growth.

The guidelines provide technical specifications and best practices for road construction in mountainous regions, covering planning of hilly roads, slope protection and embankment with advanced technology, tunnel on arterial roads in hilly area, mountain bridge with advance technology, operation and maintenance of mountainous highways.
Former West Bengal Education minister and TMC leader Partha Chatterjee has been granted bail in the school recruitment 'scam' case by a Special CBI court on Monday.

Chatterjee was arrested from his residence in Kolkata's Naktala on 23 July, 2022, and will be released almost three months and 18 days later.

Chatterjee was granted bail by the Supreme Court on August 18, but had said that he would be released after statements of material witnesses were recorded by the trial court.

Also Read | ED questions Tejashwi Yadav for over eight hours in land-for-jobs scam case

After the examination of eight such persons were done, Chatterjee's lawyers requested the CBI special court on Monday for an order for Chatterjee's release.

After the court passes the bail bond order, the former minister of the Mamata Banerjee cabinet will be released.

When granting the bail to Chatterjee, the apex court had noted his continued incarceration for more than three years would be a "travesty of justice".

Chatterjee, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in 2022, and again by the CBI in 2024, has been granted bail in other cases against him filed by the two central agencies.

On 26 September, the Calcutta High Court had granted bail to Chatterjee in a school recruitment case which was being investigated by the CBI, saying that he will not be able to misuse his office or commit a similar offence in the future because he does not hold any such position currently.

Justice Suvra Ghosh, while granting bail to Chatterjee, had observed, Allegation against the petitioner involves abuse of his official position, which he no longer holds. He, therefore, cannot be said to be in a position to misuse his office or commit similar offences."

However, the court did say that prima facie it appeared that both Chatterjee, as well as West Bengal Primary Education Board Manik Bhattacharya and several others had misued their official positions and appointed candidates who were undeserving as teachers in West Bengal government-run and aided schools, thus depriving deserving candidates of the same.
The Indian defence forces recently concluded a large-scale joint training operation: Tri-Service Exercise (TSE-2025) Trishul. The Indian Navy spearheaded the exercise in close cooperation with the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The complex drill took place from 3 to 7 November, spanning Rajasthan, Gujarat, and the North Arabian Sea. It clearly showcased India's integrated operational capabilities. The Headquarters Western Naval Command carried out the exercise, partnering with the Armys Southern Command and the IAF's South Western Air Command.

Objectives and key participants More than 30,000 personnel participated in the five-day exercise. The military deployed significant assets. These included 20 to 25 surface and subsurface platforms, notably amphibious vessels, alongside over 40 aircraft and numerous ground-based systems.

The primary objective was to strengthen operational synergy and refine joint standard operating procedures (SOPs). This rigorously validated the forces overall combat readiness.

Crucially, the Indian Coast Guard, the Border Security Force (BSF), and other central agencies also participated. Their formal inclusion emphasised inter-agency coordination. This commitment demonstrates India's focus on jointness, self-reliance (Aatmanirbharta), and innovation in military operations.

The Indian Navy spokesperson on X detailed the scale of the exercise. He noted complex scenarios and synchronised multi-domain operations. The drill involved 20-25 Navy surface and subsurface assets, including amphibious platforms. Over 40 IAF aircraft, along with their associated ground assets, also participated, as did more than 30,000 Army personnel. The exercise spanned the three regions. The spokesperson confirmed that the drill enhanced operational synergy, integrated operations, and validated joint SOPs. Participation by the Coast Guard, BSF, and other central agencies further reinforced this crucial inter-agency coordination.

High-Tempo Combined Arms Drills Specific elements of the training involved high-tempo Combined Arms operations. Aviation assets from the Thar Raptor Brigade worked closely with the mechanised formations of the Sudarshan Chakra and Konark Corps to validate seamless joint capabilities under highly realistic battlefield conditions.

Also Read | Indian Air Force Band joins Mountain Band of the German Armed Forces for a musical performance
The United States on Monday said it is closely monitoring the situation and stands ready to provide consular assistance in the wake of the deadly bomb blast near Red Fort in New Delhi that has killed at least eight people and injured many more.

A State Department spokesperson told PTI that we are aware of the explosion near Red Fort in Delhi. We are closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to provide consular assistance.

Also Read | Delhi Blast Live: Two connected to i10 that exploded detained by Delhi Police

The US Embassy in India has issued a security alert following the car explosion near Delhi's Red Fort that left at least eight people dead.

In its advisory, the embassy urged American citizens in India to avoid the areas surrounding Red Fort and to remain alert, especially in crowded locations and places frequently visited by tourists. The advisory also advised citizens to monitor local media updates and follow instructions from local authorities.

A high-intensity explosion ripped through a slow-moving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station in Delhi, killing at least eight people and gutting several vehicles.
To mark 150 years of India's national song, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced on Monday that singing Vande Mataram will be made compulsory in all state educational institutions.

Addressing an Ekta Yatra (Unity March) event in Gorakhpur, he said this step would inspire feelings of reverence and pride among citizens towards Bharat Mata and the motherland.

There should be a sense of respect for the national song Vande Mataram. We will make its singing compulsory in every school and educational institution of Uttar Pradesh, he said.

The commemorative events mark the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram, believed to have been written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay on Akshaya Navami in 1875.

First published in the literary journal Bangadarshan as part of his novel Anandamath, the song went on to become a symbol of India's awakening and resistance during colonial times.

Conspiracy to create new Jinnahs At the event, the UP CM also invoked All-India Muslim League leaders Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Mohammad Ali Jauhar, and said that those who oppose Vande Mataram are insulting India's unity and integrity.

Even today, we would expect that everyone living in India would be loyal to the nation and work for its unity, Adityanath said. He continued, It is now our duty to identify and oppose all elements that divide society, whether in the name of caste, region, or language. These divisions are part of a conspiracy to create new Jinnahs.

Adityanath urged people to ensure that no new Jinnah ever arises in India again, and if anyone dares to challenge the nations integrity, we must bury such divisive intent before it can take root.

Every citizen of India must stand united for this cause, he said.

Also Read | PM Modi urges citizens to celebrate 150 years of Vande Mataram

Vande Mataram row The Congress has claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has insulted the Congress Working Committee of 1937, which issued a statement on the song, as well as Rabindranath Tagore.

Stepping up its attack over the Vande Mataram row, the opposition party demanded an apology from PM Modi over the issue and asserted that he should fight his political battles on current issues of daily concern.

The Congress' attack came after the prime minister said on Friday that important stanzas of "Vande Mataram" were dropped in 1937, which sowed the seeds of partition, and asserted that such a "divisive mindset" is still a challenge for the country.

PM Modi had made the comments after inaugurating the year-long commemoration of "Vande Mataram" to mark 150 years of the national song.

Also Read | Independence Day tribute: WATCH AR Rahman performing iconic Vande Mataram live

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the prime minister insulting the Congress Working Committee and Tagore is shocking but not surprising "since the RSS had played no role in our freedom movement led by Mahatma Gandhi".

In a post on X, he said, "The Congress Working Committee met in Kolkata, October 26-November 1, 1937. Those present included Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sarojini Naidu, J B Kripalani, Bhulabhai Desai, Jamnalal Bajaj, Narendra Deva, and others."

The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Volume 66, page 46, reveals that on 28 October 1937, the CWC issued a statement on Vande Mataram, and this statement had been profoundly influenced by Rabindranath Tagore and his advice, Ramesh said.

He shared screenshots of the statement of the CWC, and said, Gradually, the use of the first two stanzas of the (Vande Mataram) song spread to other provinces, and a certain national significance began to attach to them.

The rest of the song was very seldom used and is even now known by few people. These two stanzas described in tender language the beauty of the motherland and the abundance of her gifts, the CWC statement of 1937 said.

There was absolutely nothing in them to which objection could be taken from the religious or any other point of view, it said.

"'There is nothing in these stanzas to which anyone can take exception. The other stanzas of the song are little known and hardly ever sung. They contain certain allusions and a religious ideology which may not be in keeping with the ideology of other religious groups in India," the statement had said.
A female doctor from Lucknow has been arrested in connection with an inter-state operation being carried out by the Jammu and Kashmir police and several other police departments against a major terror module.

Dr Shaheen, the arrested woman in question, is the third doctor nabbed by security officials in this case.

According to police, an AK-47 rifle was recovered from Dr Shaheens car. She was brought by air to Srinagar for custodial interrogation.

Earlier, Kashmir's Dr Muzammil Ganaie was arrested from Haryana's Faridabad, where he was working as a teacher in a private university.

Another doctor arrested was Dr Adeel Rather, who was picked up from a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur.

All of them were part of a white collar terror module involving the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind.

White Collar Terror Module A high-level joint operation has led to the arrest of eight people, including three doctors, and the seizure of a massive 2,900kg cache of explosives, following the dismantling of a white collar terror module operating across several Indian states.

The major breakthrough was achieved following a dedicated 15-day joint operation involving the policing agencies of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana, alongside central intelligence agencies.

Police said that the operation successfully thwarted the destructive intentions of two banned terror groups: Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH), an offshoot of ISIS operating in India.

Also Read | Major terror attack averted: Delhi Police arrests two suspected ISIS terrorists

The seized explosives included ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate, and sulphur. In a statement, the Jammu and Kashmir police specified that 360 kg of inflammable material  suspected to be ammonium nitrateand various arms and ammunition were recovered from a rented property in Faridabad belonging to Dr Ganaie.

Recoveries from various locations also included a range of prohibited weaponry:

A Chinese Star pistol with ammunition.

A Beretta pistol with ammunition.

An AK 56 rifle with ammunition.

An AK Krinkov rifle with ammunition. Other items recovered consisted of chemicals, reagents, electronic circuits, batteries, wires, remote controls, timers, and metal sheets, all pointing to bomb-making activities.

The investigation was initiated on 19 October after JeM posters were found pasted in the Bunpora Nowgam area of Srinagar, containing threats aimed at police and security personnel.

The J&K Police statement revealed that the investigation uncovered a white collar terror ecosystem, which relied on radicalised students and professionals in contact with foreign handlers operating out of Pakistan and other countries.

Dr. Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie, a teacher at the Al Falah University in Haryana, was the main suspect arrested after the J&K police named him as a wanted person in connection with the Srinagar poster case. Officials noted that several Pakistani phone numbers were discovered on the mobiles of both Dr Ganaie and Dr Adeel, suggesting they were the possible handlers of the network.

Of the eight people detained, seven are from Kashmir:
New Delhi: Engine maker Pratt & Whitney has assured IndiGo that it intends to replace faulty engines of 40-odd grounded planes of the countrys largest airline by end-June 2026, said two persons with knowledge of the development.

This move potentially will boost IndiGos profitability this year and next, depending on the pace of engines replacement, reducing the carriers reliance on costly leased planes to offset the nearly-10% unused aircraft on its fleet.

The airline flies two of three passengers in India.

Forty planes with Pratt & Whitney engines are grounded while 60 are flying.

There is an assurance for a staggered improvement in the aircraft on ground situation with a June timeline," said the first person, on the condition of anonymity, as the discussions between the worlds second-largest commercial aircraft engine maker and IndiGo are private.

The second person, who also wanted to remain unidentified, said some timelines are still under discussion and revision possibilities cannot be ruled out if global supply constraints persist.

Emails sent to Pratt & Whitney and IndiGo seeking comment went unanswered.

A resolution could help IndiGos profitability, according to at least one analyst.

Gagan Dixit, analyst at Elara Capital said, the refitting of grounded planes by Pratt & Whitney is well-aligned with new airports opening up around cities that originate the most number of air passengers in India. As new airports in Mumbai (Navi Mumbai) and Delhi (Jewar) open up, this will correspond with IndiGos planes being ungrounded. It helps the airline with more capacity, return of costly leases, and aids both topline and bottomline growth." The Mumbai-Delhi route accounts for a third of Indias air passenger movement.

Revenues from putting these planes back in the skies will be much more than penalties Indigo gets from Pratt & Whitney, Dixit said. While IndiGo is getting some compensation from the engine-maker, amount of which is undisclosed, it is not enough to cover up for revenue losses."

Once the replacements are completed, IndiGo will be nearly free of Pratt & Whitneys geared turbine fan (GTF) engines, marking a gradual closure of one of the Gurugram-based airlines longest-running operational challenges.

The crisis, which began in mid-2023, stems from a powder metal contamination" defect in certain Pratt & Whitney GTF engines that could lead to component cracking. The issue has affected airlines worldwide.

Although IndiGos exposure to the American engine maker is declining as all its new plane inductions are powered by rival CFM, a 50:50 venture of Safran Aircraft Engines and General Electric, there are some 100 Pratt & Whitney-powered Airbus A320neo family aircraft in its fleet of 417 planes. CFM is today the worlds largest commercial engine maker.

IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, has leased 333 passenger jets on so-called operational leases, which are expensive as they come loaded with costs such as maintenance and insurance. These include replacements for the grounded planes with Pratt & Whitney engines. Of the remaining planes on its fleet, 14 planes are owned by the airline and 62 on financial lease where maintenance, insurance and others costs are borne by IndiGo. Eight were on so-called damp leases where the lessor provides not just the jets but also pilots, maintenance and insurance.

The number of grounded IndiGo aircraft peaked in 2024 at around 70-80 and has since gradually declined.

On IndiGos 4 November investor call after its second quarter earnings, chief financial officer Gaurav Negi had said the number of grounded aircraft has remained stable in the range of 40s". Based on the latest guidance from the OEM [Pratt & Whitney], the number of grounded aircraft is expected to remain range-bound at current levels till the end of the year. Beyond this, we are in active discussions with the OEM for further guidance," he had said.

While we remain on track to receive one aircraft per week from our original order book, the grounding situation has not eased as swiftly as anticipated," Negi told investors.

Pratt & Whitney had indicated the fast pace of repair work of its engines earlier. In an earnings call in October, chairman and chief executive officer of the engine-maker's parent RTX Christopher Calio stated that GTF's repair network performance had strengthened. Our repair network was up about 30% year-over-year, which helps lessen demand for new parts and improves flow earlier in the process," he said. We exited the quarter with roughly 80% of GTF MRO completions averaging a 110-day turnaround time, even on heavier work scopes."

Among Indian carriers, IndiGo remains the only airline with a grounded fleet due to Pratt & Whitney engine issues. SpiceJet and Tata-owned Air India, including Air India Express, no longer have any grounded aircraft linked to its engines.

Also Read | Go First moves NCLT to seek release of aircraft parts from Adani-owned Air Works

GoFirst, which has ceased operations, blamed the engine manufacturer in 2023 during its bankruptcy proceedings.

Some analysts, for now, continue to underline the slow progress on resolving the issue of grounded airlines.

AoG (Aircraft on Ground) is not easing as quickly as anticipated and is expected to remain range-bound in the 40s," Nuvama analysts Jal Irani, Tanay Kotecha and Akshay Mane wrote in a note dated 5 November. [P]rogress on reduction in aircraft on ground (currently in 40s) has stalled; the existing level is likely to continue until the end of FY26, likely to result in single-digit % rise in CASK ex-fuel (from 3.91 in September quarter ending) due to the impact of increased damp leases part offset by compensation from OEM (P&W),"

CASK is the cost of operating one seat for an airline, a key metric in the business.

Shares of InterGlobe Aviation were at around 5,575 on morning trades.
Tom Grogan, a 35-year-old entrepreneur, became a multimillionaire after selling a majority stake in Wingstop UK to a US-based private equity firm in a deal valued at 400 million ($532 million). Yet he says he has failed to find joy in early retirement and plans to return to work.

After nearly a decade of building the UK brand from scratch  from sending a cold email to Texas and facing 50 investor rejections to finally opening 57 restaurants  Tom Grogan told Fortune that navigating life after the sale has been an entirely different challenge.

Its all you think about. And then when you get there, its just a bit surreal. Its like, Okay, its done now. Now what? And money doesnt necessarily fill that void either, says Grogan.

From a construction worker to a multimillionaire The entrepreneur began his career as a construction worker, earning just $5 an hour, but fate had other plans. By his early 20s, he had become a founder. However, he admits that the change from being an entrepreneur to multimillionaire has been unexpectedly slow-paced and boring.

Tom Grogan founded Wingstop UK in 2018, a restaurant chain that primarily sells buffalo-style chicken wings, along with boneless wings, tenders, fries, and milkshakes.

He blames this feeling of emptiness on the sudden transition in his professional life: You have to now change your head from were not business building anymore. Weve gone from being an entrepreneur to managing moneyand theyre two different skill sets, he said.

After the stake sale, Grogan did not rush into buying a mansion or a fleet of fast cars, and still prefers renting. Together with his cofounders, Herman Sahota and Saul Lewin, he spent the first half of this year reflecting on what they wanted to do next.

But Grogan made one thing very clear: no matter what, he wont be resting on his laurels or enjoying the fruits of his labour, because he finds this mindset plain boring.

Also Read | Dubai ruler sends signed book and personal note to Indian billionaire

He stressed, I cant live life sat on a beach. I think we need something to occupy our minds, to challenge ourselves. You need a purpose every day to wake up for, which we dont have right now.

For these reasons, he is already planning to get back to the grind, although he doesnt know what his next venture will be. But it probably wont be in the world of food and beverages, he hinted.

Brian Chesky felt a similar wave of sadness after Airbnb IPO Tom Grogan is not the only founder who has been feeling emptiness after achieving such a massive milestone. In fact, Brian Chesky, the cofounder and CEO of Airbnb, previously shared how his company's IPO was one of the saddest periods of his life, even though it made him a billionaire, Fortune reported.

Growing up, Chesky admits he desperately wanted to be successful because he thought it would bring him adoration from people. He also belonged to a household that was by no standards rich, hence it was ideal for him to think that a large sum of money could solve every problem.
A 23-year-old Indian student has tragically died in the United States. Rajyalakshmi Yarlagadda, known as Raji, had recently graduated from Texas A&M University Corpus Christi and was actively searching for employment. She reportedly died after suffering from a severe cough and chest pain. Raji was originally from Andhra Pradesh.

Details of her passing were made public via a fundraising appeal. Her cousin, Chaitanya YVK, launched the campaign in Denton, Texas.

According to the appeal, Raji travelled to the United States hoping to forge a bright future for her family, who are marginal farmers in Karmechedu village, Bapatla district, and whose sole income derives from their crops and livestock.

Her cousin reported that Raji, who was eager to start her professional career, became unwell, experiencing a severe cough and chest pain for two or three days. Tragically, on the morning of 7 November, she failed to wake up when her alarm sounded.

She was a bright, hopeful soul who dreamed of helping her parents continue their farming journey, Chaitanya said.

The online campaign is seeking to raise $125,000 to assist with her educational loans and funeral costs, as well as covering the expense of repatriating her body to India, and providing some financial support for her family.

As Rajis family grieves this unimaginable loss, we are reaching out to our friends and loved ones for support, the GoFundMe campaign said.

Meanwhile, a post-mortem examination is currently being conducted in the US to establish the precise cause of death.

Also Read | Two Indian students killed after car crash in Ireland, two seriously injuried

Indian student dies of cardiac arrest in Dubai Recently, an 18-year-old Indian student, recipient of the UAE Golden Visa, died of cardiac arrest in Dubai during Diwali celebrations, local media reported.

Vaishnav Krishnakumar, a first-year BBA Marketing student at Middlesex University Dubai, reportedly collapsed during a Diwali celebration in October at Dubai International Academic City, according to Gulf News.

He was rushed to the hospital, but the doctors declared him brought dead due to cardiac arrest, the report added.

He is survived by his parents, VG Krishnakumar and Vidhu Krishnakumar, and his younger sister, Vrishti Krishnakumar.

Vaishnavs father, Krishnakumar, has been working in Dubai for over 20 years.

Middlesex University, in a condolence statement, said Vaishnav's loss has deeply affected our community, Gulf News reported.

GEMS Our Own Indian School, where Vaishnav studied, called him a compassionate and talented student loved by all.
US President Donald Trump came down heavily on top BBC executives who resigned on Sunday after it was alleged that the broadcaster had misleadingly edited his remarks in a documentary.

Calling his speech delivered on 6 January 2021, "good" and "perfect", the US President called the action "a terrible thing for democracy".

He said, "The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught "doctoring" my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th."

Also Read | BBC to issue apology over edited Donald Trump speech amid mounting backlash

"Thank you to The Telegraph for exposing these Corrupt 'Journalists.' These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election," Trump posted.

The US President added, On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for Democracy!

BBC's top bosses resign Two top executives at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) resigned on Sunday amid an escalating scandal over impartiality and bias, CNN reported.

Director-General Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, the chief executive of the news division, both quit, CNN reported, after the leak of a memo revealed that the BBC had misleadingly edited a speech by US President Donald Trump to make it appear he had directly called for violence on 6 January 2021.

According to CNN, which cited BBC, Davie announced he was resigning as director general of the British broadcaster in a note sent to staff on Sunday afternoon, saying his resignation was entirely my decision.

Deborah Turness, who was also stepping down, said, "The ongoing controversy around the Panorama on President Trump has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC - an institution that I love," in a statement on the BBC website, as noted by CNN.

"While mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong," she added.

The resignations come after an internal whistleblowing memo seen by British newspaper, The Telegraph, revealed the BBC had broadcast a "doctored" Trump speech, making it seem that he encouraged Capitol Hill rioters, telling them he was going to walk with them to fight like hell.

Also Read | Trump Administration Rules Out AI Backstop Amid OpenAI Uproar

In fact, Trump said in his speech in Washington DC, on 6 January 2021, that "We're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women", CNN said.
The US Senate voted on Sunday night to advance a revised spending bill, which has been a bone of contention between the Democrats and Republicans, and which has led to the longest government shutdown in US history.

The bill received exactly the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate, passing compromise legislation to fund the government and hold a later vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire January 1.

As many as 14 previous Senate votes fell short of the 60 votes needed to move the legislation forward.

Also Read | Meet the 8 Senators who took the 1st step towards ending US government shutdown

Sunday's test vote marked a significant breakthrough in the Senate, as eight Democrats broke with other members of the Senate Democratic leadership to advance the package. There was only one Republican who voted against the deal.

Who were these Democrats who voted with Republicans today? Is the government shutdown over now? What happens next? Here's all the latest you need to know about the US government shutdown:

Is the government shutdown over now? No. It's a long way before the US government shutdown ends. According to US media, the final passage of the legislation could take several days if Democrats object and prolong the process.

According to CNN, any one senator can delay consideration of the package for several days. Additionally, the House will have to return and adopt the deal struck in the Senate before it is sent to President Donald Trumps desk.

The test vote on Sunday marked the start of what could be a lengthy series of procedural votes in the Senate

How long has the government been shut down? It has been 40 days since the US government shut down on October 1. It's the longest in the US history.

Before this, the longest US government shutdown in history lasted 35 days in 2018, under US President Donald Trump's first term. It ended in January 2019.

Credit: Congressional Research Service

Why did the government shut down in 2025? A government shutdown occurs when Congress is unable to pass the funding billsknown as appropriationsthat keep federal agencies running into the next fiscal year, which begins on October 1.

Republicans supported a short-term measure to fund the government generally at current levels through November 21, but Democrats blocked it, insisting the measure address their concerns on health care.

Also Read | US govt shutdown: Senate breaks filibuster in key vote toward reopening govt

Democrats want to reverse the Medicaid cuts in Donald Trump's mega-bill passed this summer, and extend tax credits that make health insurance premiums more affordable for millions of people who purchase through the marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act.

What happens next? After Sunday's voting, the US Senate will continue considering legislation to reopen the government after the test vote on Sunday advanced the spending bill.

It will now be amended to include the broader funding package before heading back to the House for final passage.

Also Read | The trouble with Americas shutdown economy

Once cleared by both chambers, the bill would go to President Trump's desk to end a shutdown that has paralysed federal operations for more than a month.

The entire process could take several more days.

House members have already been notified that votes related to government funding are expected in the lower chamber this week, pending final passage of the funding measure in the Senate.

How many US senators are there? The US Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 states. The measure needed 60 votes to advance. The current composition of the US Senate is as follows:

Republicans: 53 seats (Majority)

Democrats: 45 seats (Minority)

Independents: 2 seats (both of whom caucus with the Democrats)

Which Democrats joined Republicans on the vote? Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York voted against moving ahead with the package, along with all but eight of his Democratic colleagues. Eight Democrats who voted in favour of the deal were:

1. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois

2. Sen. Angus King of Maine (independent who caucuses with Democrats)

3. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada

4. Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada

5. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania

6. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia

7. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire

8. Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire

Only one Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted 'no'. Three conservative senators  Mike Lee of Utah, Rick Scott of Florida and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin  held back their votes until voting was nearly over as they engaged in deep conversations on the floor with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other senior Republicans.

What's the deal that Democrats, Republicans agree to? The Senate advanced the funding package after eight Democrats and Republicans agreed to a deal that included:

1. Reversing the mass firings of federal workers by the Trump administration since the shutdown began on October 1 and ensuring that federal workers receive back pay.

It would also protect against future reductions in force through January and guarantee federal workers would be paid once the shutdown is over.

Also Read | US airlines cancel over 2000 flights, highest since shutdown cuts began

2. Bipartisan bills worked out by the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund parts of the government  food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things.

3. All other funding would be extended until the end of January -- in exchange for a mid-December vote on extending the health care tax credits.

The resolution will now be amended to include three longer-term appropriations bills, as well as an extension of the short-term stopgap measure passed by the House in September.

The original House bill would have extended government funding until November 21. It would now extend the rest of the government funding until late January in exchange for a mid-December vote on extending the health care tax credits.

Why are these 8 Democrats being criticised? The eight Democratic defectors who joined Republicans to try to reopen the government faced criticism from within their party for supporting a deal that does not guarantee the extension of expiring health care subsidies.

For weeks, Democrats have refused to reopen the government unless legislation also included the extension of subsides in the Affordable Care Act, which are set to expire at the end of the year and send premiums skyrocketing for millions of Americans.
A deal has reportedly been reached between a group of at least eight Senate Democrats, GOP leaders and the White House to reopen the government in exchange for a future vote on extending enhanced Affordable Care subsidies, US media reported on Sunday.

The vote is likely to be held around 8:30 and 9 pm ET (7:30 am IST). The development comes as the US government shutdown enters its 40th day.

Here's what we know so far: 1. Senate Republican leader John Thune said a deal is coming together as he planned a test vote Sunday on a narrow spending package to end the federal government shutdown.

However, there was no guarantee it would end an impasse now stretching to 40 days.

"We'll see kind of where the votes are," Thune said, adding, This kind of stuff can drag on indefinitely if you allow it to.

Also Read | The trouble with Americas shutdown economy

He told reporters the chamber plans to vote on Sunday on the House-passed funding measure, which is part of a plan to reopen the government, alongside passing a handful of year-long funding measures.

The procedural vote would require support from several Democrats. The measure has fallen short of the 60-vote threshold 14 times.

2. Meanwhile, Trump, returning to the White House from a Commander's game, told reporters that "it looks like we're getting close to the shutdown ending." Trump said, You'll know very soon.

3. As per CNN and CBS news, a deal, led by Sens Angus King of Maine, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, has been reached with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the White House.

4. What does the deal include? The deal includes a vote on a Democrat-backed bill regarding the Affordable Care Act, with an agreement to hold a vote by the end of the second week of December. Democrats have sought to extend health insurance tax credits under the ACA.

The deal also includes a reversal of all shutdown-related layoff notices and extends stopgap funding through January, among other things.

Also Read | Nearly 1,460 US flights cancelled on Day 2 of FAA mandated cuts amid shutdown

5. When is the voting to end the 40-day government shutdown scheduled? The Senate will vote on the deal beginning between 8:30 and 9 pm ET Sunday (7:30 am IST Monday), a GOP aide told CNN.

6. The Senate bill would fund the government through January 2026. Senate appropriators released the third and final bill as part of a package of full-year funding bills, which would fund the legislative branch, according to CBS News.

It looks like we're getting close to the shutdown ending" - Trump

Earlier in the day, appropriators released bills to fund military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs, along with the FDA and the Department of Agriculture.

The package of bills, known as a "minibus," is part of a GOP plan to end the shutdown.

7. What happens if the vote succeeds? Even if the vote on Sunday succeeds, that doesnt necessarily mean the shutdown will end quickly, Bloomberg reported on Sunday.

It stated that House Democrats would also have to get on board with the plan, and their backing remained uncertain. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that the necessary Democratic support wasn't yet certain as it appeared unlikely the package would extend health care subsidies that expire at the end of the year.

Also Read | Wall Street week ahead: US shutdown crisis overshadows earnings season close

Many Democrats in both chambers have continued to demand a one-year extension of the Obamacare subsidies for low-income Americans in exchange for agreeing to reopen the government.

8. Democrats have now voted 14 times not to reopen the government as they demand the extension of tax credits that make coverage more affordable for health plans offered under the Affordable Care Act.

Republicans have refused to negotiate on the health care subsidies. At the same time, the government is closed, but they have so far been supportive of the emerging proposal from moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote.

What does it take to end US government shutdown? According to the AP, Republicans only need five votes from Democrats to reopen the government, so a handful of moderate senators could end the shutdown with only the promise of a later vote on healthcare.

Around 10 to 12 Democrats have been involved in the talks.

Many of their Democratic colleagues are saying the emerging deal is not enough.
Revolutionary's legacy lives on in Tianjin

13:48, November 10, 2025 By Yan Dongjie ( China Daily

Visitors learn about the history when Li Dazhao went to college in Tianjin. YAN DONGJIE/CHINA DAILY

Hundreds gathered in Tianjin on Oct 29 for the 136th anniversary of the birth of Li Dazhao, a highly revered intellectual and revolutionary. Li studied in Tianjin for six years in his youth, which played a vital role in shaping his revolutionary ideas.

Li is considered a pioneer in China's communist movement, a great Marxist and one of the main founders of the Communist Party of China. Sun Xuejing, an official from the Hebei district of Tianjin, pointed out that with its open and inclusive atmosphere, Tianjin attracted Li to pursue his studies at the Beiyang Institute of Law and Politics, marking the starting point of his revolutionary career.

According to the China Li Dazhao Research Society, the institute was established in 1906. Li once remarked, "Tianjin is the center of political movements in northern China, with the Beiyang Institute of Law and Politics at its core."

But it was forcibly dissolved in 1937, reinstated in 1947, and finally abolished in 1949, with its economics and business departments incorporated into Nankai University.

In the early 20th century, Tianjin's superior port and geographical location made it a crucial trade and economic hub in northern China, fostering the convergence of Chinese and Western ideas. People in Tianjin were far more open-minded compared to those in other cities, giving rise to various schools of thought such as liberalism, constitutionalism, and revolution.

"Since Li Dazhao was seeking a way to save the nation, undoubtedly, he hoped to find a place where ideas were both highly active and forward-thinking. Thus, the Beiyang Institute of Law and Politics in Tianjin was an excellent choice," explained Xu Yanqing, director of the Hebei District Cultural Relics Management Office.

A building of the Beiyang Institute of Law and Politics. YAN DONGJIE/CHINA DAILY

The exhibition mentioned that Li was admitted to the institute in 1907. During his studies, he systematically learned English, Japanese, and various subjects in politics, economics, and law, gaining exposure to the most advanced ideas of that time. He actively wrote political commentaries to promote democracy and civil rights, inspiring many young people to join the revolution. In addition to his diligent studies, Li also participated in numerous social revolutionary activities, gradually embarking on the path of Marxist revolution.

Xu said that on the anniversary of Li's birth last year, the restoration work on the Beiyang Institute of Law and Politics had just been wrapped up. The Hebei district of Tianjin established the Li Dazhao and Tianjin exhibition there, open to the public free of charge.

Li Hongta, grandson of Li Dazhao, visited the exhibition and was deeply impressed. He said: "The Beiyang Institute of Law and Politics was not only the cradle of my grandfather Li Dazhao's revolutionary ideas but also a place that continues to inspire younger generations to strive with ambitions. He placed great expectations on the youth, firmly believing that only when the youth dare to pursue truth can the nation become truly dynamic and hopeful."

Xu mentioned that during the exhibition setup, they made great efforts to recreate the living scenario of Li Dazhao during his student days in Tianjin. Surprisingly, during the renovation process, they discovered several solid wood columns that were identical to those in historical photographs, proving that some structural components of this building are authentic and intact.

"The cultural relics, historical photos, and restored historical scenes displayed in the exhibition hall are deeply impressive, especially the solid wood colonnades, which make me feel as if I have transcended time and space to stand side by side with Li Dazhao," said Liu Yuanqing, a visitor to the exhibition.

She expressed that for the younger generation, understanding red revolutionary culture is not only a look back at history but also a way to draw wisdom and spiritual strength from predecessors. "Li Dazhao's strong sense of responsibility truly embodies the demeanor of a steadfast revolutionary. I will actively practice this sense of responsibility in my future studies and work, contributing youthful energy to the nation's development."

Sun said, "The restoration of the site is not just a memorial to Li Dazhao, but a mark of respect for revolutionary history and a way to carry forward the revolutionary spirit." As an important Red education base in Tianjin, the Beiyang Institute of Law and Politics has hosted over 500 groups and nearly 20,000 visitors since its reopening last year.

Sun, the Hebei official, disclosed that memorial sites for Li Dazhao have also been established in multiple locations, including the Li Dazhao Memorial Hall and former residence in Laoting county, Hebei province, the Red Building of Peking University, and the former residence of Li Dazhao in Beijing.

On the 136th anniversary of Li Dazhao's birth, Hebei district will collaborate with the Tianjin Conservatory of Music and Tiangong University to organize Red song music story sessions. Additionally, the president of the Tianjin Li Dazhao Research Society will be invited to give lectures, allowing more people to understand and inherit the Red spirit, Sun said.

"The brand-new appearance of the Beiyang Institute of Law and Politics after its renovation, along with the story of Li Dazhao and Tianjin, will undoubtedly become an inexhaustible cultural heritage and spiritual wealth for Tianjin," Xu said.

Wang Xiaojing contributed to this story.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Zhong Wenxing)
The White House on Monday expressed support for the bipartisan deal to end the US shutdown, a key development that makes it likely the government reopens within days.

President Donald Trump has wanted the government reopened since the start of the shutdown and considers the deal a positive development, a White House official speaking on the condition of anonymity said. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he spoke with Trump about the deal on Sunday night and he expects the president to sign it into law once Congress passes the legislation.

The Senate still must wind its way through potentially time-consuming procedures and House members must travel back to Washington to vote for the first time since Sept. 19.

The Senate is resuming deliberations on its deal with centrist Democrats on Monday but has not yet scheduled a vote for final passage. Thune said he hopes the vote would be in hours and not days.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would give House lawmakers 36 hours notice to return to the Capitol once the Senate passes the bill.

Flight disruptions and food aid delays are likely to persist until the shutdown officially ends. Still, Republicans on Monday took a victory lap, with Johnson telling reporters that the shutdown nightmare, now in its 41st day, is finally coming to an end.

Stocks rallied Monday morning on bets the shutdown will soon end, with the S&P 500 up more than 1% shortly after the market opened. A gauge of the Magnificent Seven megacaps climbed over 2%. Bonds fell.

The moderate senators deal failed to deliver the extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies that Democrats staked their shutdown fight on, provoking a furious backlash within the party just days after many Democrats were celebrating last weeks election victories.

California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom called the deal pathetic while Illinois Governor Jay Pritzker slammed Republican concessions in the agreement as an empty promise.

Senate Vote The Senate took a major step toward reopening the federal government Sunday evening as it voted 60-40 on a procedural measure to advance a temporary funding bill.

Under the agreement, Congress would pass full-year funding for the departments of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs and Congress itself, while funding other agencies through Jan. 30. The bill would provide pay for furloughed government workers, resume withheld federal payments to states and localities and recall agency employees who were laid off during the shutdown.

Given that the House has to return to Washington and has promised to give lawmakers advance notice, the government is most likely to reopen toward the end of the week. One complicating factor is whether Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, imposes days of Senate delay to oppose a provision restricting the sale of intoxicating hemp products.

House passage is not guaranteed, although Johnson signaled Monday he expects there would be enough votes. Democratic leaders have spoken out against any deal that doesnt include extending expiring Obamacare subsidies, which this bill does not do. Conservative Republican members want a bill that would fund the entire government until next Sept. 30.

We have to do this as quickly as possible, Johnson told reporters, musing there could be several late nights ahead.

Healthcare Fight The face-saving accord falls far short of the goals of House and Senate Democratic leaders, who had demanded an extension of expiring Obamacare premium subsidies and a repeal of Medicaid cuts passed by Republicans earlier this year.

Democrats secured a pledge by Senate Republicans to vote on a bill to renew the Affordable Care Act tax credits by mid-December, according to a person familiar with the talks.

Thats a big deal, and it gives us a chance to put the Republicans to the test, Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine who usually supports Democratic positions but is backing temporary funding, said on MSNBC Monday morning. It may not succeed, I grant that, but a reasonable chance, ten, twenty percent, thirty percent is a lot better than zero percent.

That promise, which Thune first offered weeks ago, was not satisfying to all Democrats. It also doesnt guarantee a House vote but Thune said Monday he expects Trump to want to do something on healthcare costs.

Even the daughter of one of the moderate Democrats who helped reach the deal publicly slammed the agreement.

The shutdown nightmare is finally coming to an end.

I cannot support this deal, Stefany Shaheen, daughter of New Hampshire Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen and congressional candidate, said in a social media post. Too many people will see health care costs that are already too high skyrocket even further starting in January.
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP)  About 100 Bangladeshi workers who were employed by Malaysian companies rallied Monday to demand unpaid wages, fair compensation and an end to alleged abuse by Malaysian employers.

The Migrant Welfare Network, a Bangladeshi migrant group based in Malaysia and Bangladesh, organized the protest at the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment in Bangladeshs capital Dhaka.

The demonstrators said the event was organized to protest what they say is widespread mistreatment of migrant workers in Malaysia, one of Southeast Asia's richest nations. They demanded unpaid wages and compensation for 431 Bangladeshi workers they said were exploited by two Malaysian companies, Mediceram and Kawaguchi Manufacturing.

The Associated Press could not immediately reach the companies for comment.

Many factories in Malaysia and other Southeast Asia countries rely on migrant workers, often from Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal, to fill labor-intensive jobs in manufacturing, plantations or construction. Local workers usually avoid such jobs because of their poor conditions and low wages.

The Migrant Welfare Network urged Bangladeshi and Malaysian authorities and international buyers to take immediate action to ensure workers receive wages already owed, fair compensation and justice for systemic abuses.

The group said in statement Monday that a complaint claiming forced labor and neglect has been filed with the Malaysian government against Australian company Ansell, a major customer of Mediceram, which manufactures gloves for medical, industrial and domestic use.

A separate complaint was filed against Kawaguchi, which supplied plastic components to large Japanese companies, including Sony Group.

In May, around 280 Bangladeshi migrant workers for Kawaguchi demanded hundreds of thousands of dollars in back wages and other money owed to them after the company closed five months earlier.

Workers at Kawaguchis factory in Port Klang filed complaints in Malaysia and Bangladesh claiming the company withheld their wages for up to eight months before closing after Sony and Panasonic Holdings Corp., two of Kawaguchis main customers, halted orders in response to allegations the workers were mistreated.

In the beginning, they used to pay the salary in parts, meaning they would give 5001000 ringgit (about $120-$240) per month as food expenses, said former Kawaguchi employee Omar Faruk, who began working for the manufacturer in 2022. After withholding the salary, the company started considering shutting down. Later, we filed a complaint at the Bangladesh High Commission in Malaysia."

Harun Or Rasid Liton, who worked at Mediceram, accused the company of not paying despite an order by the Malaysian Labor Court.

"The court ruled that the company would pay us 1,000 ringgit per month, but the company paid only the first installment and then stopped paying, he said. Later, we had no choice but to return to Bangladesh. Now we are facing severe hardship in maintaining our families.
Yang Fang, a girl from central China, recovered after being in a coma for a decade, thanks to her mothers efforts. She went through daily square-dance therapy on a daily basis for 10 years.

Square dance is a folk dance done by four couples standing in a square. A caller gives instructions, and dancers follow them in real time instead of learning a fixed routine.

Xiao Xuefei, 59, has cared for her daughter ever since Yang fell critically ill and slipped into a coma. Doctors warned that her chances of waking up were extremely low. They even advised her to end treatment, according to the South China Morning Post.

Also Read | BTS's Suga makes historic 5 billion won donation for children with autism

However, Xiao refused to give up. She moved her daughter to a normal ward, then took her home and started rehabilitation on her own.

According to doctors, music, dance and even travel could help stimulate Yangs inactive nerves. Xiao pushed her daughter to a nearby park every morning and danced while holding her hand.

In China, many middle-aged women enjoy dancing in parks as a simpleand low-cost way to stay active and combat loneliness. They are called square dance aunties.

They bring radios, play music and sometimes wear matching outfits. The square dance aunties are popular in many places.

Xiaos dedication soon caught the attention of local dance groups, who supported her by guiding movement exercises and teaching her new steps.

Progress came in small steps. In the second year, Yang spoke her first sentence and thanked her mother, the publication added.

Doctors noticed clear changes in her brain activity and called the recovery a miracle.

Xiao never stopped the routine. Day after day, she danced with her daughter in the park, encouraging her through simple movements.

Over time, Yang stood again and learned to take careful steps. Today, she can speak short sentences and take care of herself. Her thinking skills are, however, still developing. She recognises her parents only.

Also Read | Couple miraculously survives major car crash, gets married soon after

After years of consistent effort, Yang gradually regained movement, awareness and speech. She can now walk, talk and care for herself.

In a recent interview, Xiao said she had formed a square dance group with 150 members. For Xiao, every struggle feels worthwhile as long as her daughter is happy.

According to her, both she and her daughter enjoy dancing deeply and continue to dance every day.

As long as my daughter is happy, all the hardship and exhaustion were worth it, SCMP quoted Xiao as saying.

Social media reaction Many people on social media now thank the mother for making it possible. They praised her dedication.

Xiaos years of perseverance are truly inspiring. Motherly love creates miracles, posted a social media user.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, the President of Syria, will be meeting US President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday. This comes within a year of this rebel-turned-ruler disposing of a longtime autocratic rule in the country. Al-Sharaa has been going across the world to end the isolation that Syria had faced during the rule of Bashar al-Assad.

This will be the first-ever visit of a Syrian president to the White House. Al-Sharaa had first met with Trump in Saudi Arabia. The meeting took place days after the United States announced that al-Sharaa, who was a former member of the al-Qaeda, was not a Specially Designated Global Terrorist anymore.

The 42-year-old al-Sharaa came to power in 2024 after his army of Islamic rebels launched an offensive from the northwestern region of Syria and toppled the al-Assad regime within a few days, on 8 December 2024.

Since coming under the new government, Syria, which was earlier close to countries like Iran and Russia, close allies of al-Assad, is now trying to develop strong relationships with the Gulf countries, Turkey, and the United States.

The main focus of the meeting on Monday will be security.

According to a Reuters report, the United States plans to establish a military base in Damascus. Washington is also trying to broker a security deal between Israel and Syria.

This will also be the first meeting between the heads of government of the US and Syria since 2000, when Bill Clinton met Hafez Assad, the father of Bashar al-Assad.

Sanctions on Syria US President Donald Trump had announced after the meeting with al-Sharaa in Riyadh that he would be lifting all sanctions on Syria. He had then praised the Syrian president by saying, I think he's (Sharaa's) doing a very good job. It's a tough neighbourhood, and he's a tough guy, but I got along with him very well.

However, one concern remains in the form of the Caesar Sanctions Act, which, although both the White House and the State Department want to lift, needs the approval of the US Congress, which might be difficult considering the ongoing government shutdown in the USA.

If this sanction is repealed, there can be investments in Syria, which has been ravaged by a 14-year war.

Change in perception Al-Sharaa himself has witnessed a dramatic change in how the West perceives him. At first, he was a terrorist associated with al-Qaeda, which he joined during the US-led invasion of Iraq.

He was designated as a terrorist by the US in 2013, and a $10 million bounty was placed on his head. This bounty was removed in December 2024, along with terror-related sanctions and designations, which were removed last week.

Sharaa's visit to Washington is emblematic of the dramatic shift underway, where Syria went from being an Iranian satrapy to joining the American-led camp, and Sharaa himself transformed from a wanted terrorist to a partner in the war on terror, said Firas Maksad, managing director for Middle East and North Africa at the New York-based Eurasia Group, to Reuters.

Much can still go wrong in this nascent experiment, and there remain grave concerns about minority and individual rights, Maksad said, adding, but the first-ever visit by a Syrian president to Washington is a moment of hope that Syria is on the right track.
Are Indian entrepreneurs lazy, risk-averse, unimaginative, tight-fisted, control-freaks? Well, it would seem so, going by the current debate on why India, the worlds fourth-largest economy on track to be the third-largest soon, doesnt have any global consumer brands to speak of.

Addressing an event organized by industry body Ficci (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) in August, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal held the lack of ambition among Indian entrepreneurs as the factor for the countrys inability to produce brands with global recall. Its a lament hes repeated from several public platforms subsequently.

Some of the Indian corporate leaders, such as Uday Kotak and Harsh Goenka, have echoed his sentiment. Indian entrepreneurs hide behind protectionism, and are content to serve the 1.4 billion domestic consumer market, Kotak said in an interview with Mint in April. Goenka spoke of the reluctance among his peers to invest in R&D, marketing and branding, as well as the inability to build products that matched global quality standards.

In a somewhat related piece published in Hindustan Times on 13 October, management consulting firm BCGs India chairman Janmejaya Sinha and managing director Vikram Bhalla argued that Indias superman entrepreneurs" who have largely been driving the India growth story have failed to create real-scale global sized companies because of their biases and inhibitions with regards to delegating power, and making space for vision from and autonomy for anyone outside their circle of loyal order takers".

Scaling brand

At a time when India is making waves on both the geopolitical and economic fronts, it is a fair question to ask why corporate India has failed to showcase any popular brands on global shelves. Forget the brick-and-mortar era consumer brands, India, a supposed tech power, doesnt have any new-age, global digital consumer brands either. Even if one ignores the all-pervading names such as Facebook, Twitter, Google and Apple that originate from the much-developed part of the world, there are brands like Samsung, LG, Haier, Oppo, Vivo, Huawei and BYD from Indias neighbourhood that have come to shine globally.

To be sure, the Tatas, M&M, Adani and Infosys are some of the Indian corporations that enjoy a certain global recognition, but these are not universally recognized consumer brands.

The absence of Indian brands in the global fast-moving consumer goods or white goods categories is somewhat understandable. By the time Indian policy allowed the homegrown enterprises to build their arsenal to compete, the battle for supremacy in these categories was already over. Unilever, P&G, Nestle, LOreal, Reckitt and Johnson & Johnson, among others, were so well-entrenched in terms of their diverse product portfolio, extensive global supply chains and sales and marketing network, not to forget their hold over the consumer psyche, that homegrown companies couldnt even hope to compete with them globally. On the contrary, brands from companies such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi were aspirational for Indians well before they entered the market, thus making their ride easier in the country.

Untapped potential

There were many redoubtable Indian entrepreneurs who built strong brands, such as Onida, Allwyn, Kelvinator and BPL, in the consumer durables market, but most among them couldnt withstand the competition from their larger global counterparts, such as Whirlpool, Panasonic, Electrolux, LG and Samsung that had built reach and scale that couldnt be replicated quickly.

Resources, scale, sales and marketing muscle, however, are not the only factors that helped these brands build a global reach and recall. They also commanded consumer trust based on the consistent quality of their products.

Whether quality, trust, and similar intangible attributes are inherently rooted in the cultural environment of these brands or are values consciously constructed and fostered using tools such as policy, regulation, and tight governance models is not a difficult question to answer.

Eric Schmidt pointed to this in 2013, specifically in the context of Indias potential and its probable limitations to become a tech superpower. In an interview with McKinsey, the former CEO and chairman of Google had said that Indian entrepreneurs had the potential to build the next Google, provided the country played its cards right". For him, it was not a question of talent or vision of Indian entrepreneurs. Its a question of the way in which the system is run, the regulations, the way capital is formed and so forth," he had said.

Nearly 12 years later, Schmidts prediction of the next big global tech innovation coming from India remains far from being a reality. Forget a platform like Google; India has not even been able to get a low-hanging fruit like TikTok.

Strategic vision

As Schmidt pointed out, the entrepreneurial spirit of a nation is not solely about individual talent. Even in the dyed-in-the-wool capitalist markets of the US and Europe, large brands emerged in the wake of a strategic political vision that steered the Industrial Revolution in the 19th and 20th centuries. A more recent example from Indias neighbourhood is that of the Korean chaebols. These corporations were originally driven by political policies aimed at promoting economic development following the Korean War. Even though Chinas growth model differs from Indias, the transformation of its consumer brands, which were previously perceived as shoddy and cheap, into innovative and efficient ones is also an outcome of a deliberately crafted political foresight.

To be sure, policy push and political vision are no substitutes for entrepreneurial ambition, the appetite for risk, and sound ethical practices. The two need to work in tandem. Much as Indian entrepreneurs need to be ready to launch themselves into the choppy global waters with courage and abandon, the government also needs to address the qualms about Brand India. Besides fixing the much talked about Indian labour laws, funding gaps, bureaucratic hurdles and systemic corruption, the public perception that any collaboration between politics and enterprises is fundamentally unholy needs redressal, too. Its a shift that requires a meaningful engagement among all stakeholders.

Mr Goyal has done well to kickstart that conversation.

Archna Shukla is former National Corporate Editor, Mint.
Around a month ago, I wrote that the financial community is sounding alarm bells on speculative artificial intelligence (AI) growth. On 3 November, OpenAI inked a $38 billion agreement with Amazon Web Services, committing to run a vast portion of its workloads on AWS infrastructure over the next seven years. To the casual observer, this looks like another straightforward cloud services contract.

In reality, it has become increasingly common in the AI ecosystem to have circular revenue loops that bind AI platforms to their suppliers in ways that blur the line between investment, infrastructure and demand forecasting. The New York Times counts seven such transactions at Open AI in a recent article (shorturl.at/ucOqY)

The structure is simple but potent. OpenAI commits billions to purchasing compute capacity, chips, or data centre access. The suppliers build or lease out the infrastructure. Often, these same companies also benefit from equity arrangements, profit shares, or long-term purchase guarantees that ensure they profit not just from supplying OpenAI but from its continued expansion. In some cases, they even invest in OpenAI, closing the loop entirely.

In the chip/compute arena, the Nvidia relationship is emblematic. It supplies the AI chips OpenAI depends on. Simultaneously, Nvidia is investing capital into OpenAI and its affiliates. Thus, OpenAI spends vast sums on Nvidias chips while Nvidia positions itself to benefit from OpenAIs valuation and growth. Money flows in a tight circle, and the supplier becomes a stakeholder.

Data centre development follows the same pattern. OpenAI has committed hundreds of billions of dollars towards new data centre projects in partnership with Oracle, SoftBank and specialized infrastructure builders. These sites are purpose-built for AI workloads and will reportedly require over 10 gigawatts of capacityequivalent to the energy needs of some small countries.

OpenAI foots the bill but in many cases, these vendors remain owners or long-term lessors of the capacity, effectively renting the future back to OpenAI.

Even OpenAIs global expansion reflects this logic. The company has announced sovereign partnerships to build national AI infrastructure. OpenAI advises governments on AI strategy, helps fund or design data centre capacity and ensures that its own models are run on those very systems. The result: OpenAI subsidizes the infrastructure, governments endorse the partnership, and OpenAI becomes the default AI provider within each jurisdiction.

These arrangements are not limited to a few vendors. AMD has secured a multi-billion-dollar contract to supply OpenAI with AI chips. CoreWeave, a startup that builds AI data centres has a $22 billion purchase deal from Open AI. The field has become a dense web of mutual dependencies, where nearly every major player is a supplier, partner, or customer of the others.

The numbers are staggering. Between chip supply agreements, cloud compute contracts and data centre build-outs, OpenAI is estimated to have committed over $1.15 trillion in infrastructure spending between 2025 and 2035, says Tom Tunguz.

These are not notional bets. They are legally binding obligations, many tied to hardware delivery, minimum usage levels or exclusive access terms. To sustain these numbers, OpenAI would need to reach $577 billion in revenue by 2029, a large jump from $10 billion in 2024 (shorturl.at/JE4Lm).

AI now finds itself in a parallel moment. Revenue from AI applicationswhether via ChatGPT subscriptions, enterprise APIs, or licensing dealsis growing, but not yet at a pace that justifies the scale of infrastructure spend. Training costs for frontier models are escalating. Energy requirements are surging. Regulatory pressure is mounting. There is a profound mismatch between what AI companies expect the market to deliver and what the market has thus far validated.

OpenAI and its peers are pricing in exponential expansion as a certainty. Contracts are being signed with 10-year horizons and capital deployed today to serve demand that may not materialize for years.

The result is a system prone to reflexivity.

Demand projections justify infrastructure investment. Infrastructure deployment justifies more capital raising. Capital raising inflates valuations. Valuations justify further infrastructure spend. It is a self-reinforcing loop, sustained so far only by belief.

This structure bears hallmarks of past speculative cycles. The dot-com era saw massive bandwidth and server deployments based on the presumption that internet demand would grow linearly.

US and global telecom companies grew capacity at a breakneck pace, a build-up in which I participated, funded by future revenue assumptions that never fully materialized. Much of that infrastructure became stranded. The railroad boom of the 19th century and the electrification craze of the early 20th century bore witness to the same pattern.

Also Read | India may be the biggest AI storynot for building models but for using them

The AI sector is witnessing a textbook case of speculative investment: massive capital allocations made not on proven economics but on projected dominance. The circular revenue relationships between OpenAI and its vendors amplify this risk.

The AI revolution may be real, but its business model is, at present, speculative by design. And as history has shown, speculative cycles rarely end on schedule. They end at the precipice.

The author is co-founder of Siana Capital, a venture fund manager.
For the first time since DeepSeek claimed the limelight in early 2025, the company made its presence public at a Chinese government-organised conference, where it was represented by a senior researcher. The researcher, named Chen Deli, talked about his pessimistic outlook on the impact of AI on humanity, going so far as to claim that AI could wipe away all human jobs. During the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Deli was accompanied by the chief executives of many other Chinese AI companies, including Unitree and BrainCo.

The DeepSeek researcher said during the conference that AI could be helpful to humans in the short term, but it could threaten human jobs within a decade, and AI firms need to be aware of the risks of models they are developing.

"In the next 1020 years, AI could take over the rest of the work humans perform and society could face a massive challenge, so at the time tech companies need to take the role of defender," Deli said.

I'm extremely positive about the technology, but I view the impact it could have on society negatively.

He also warned that once AI systems become increasingly capable, tech companies should serve as whistleblowers, warning society of potential risks.

"Tech companies should play the role of guardians of humanity, at the very least protecting human safety, then helping to reshape societal order," he added.

Not the first AI company to warn about job loss: Many AI leaders have warned about the potential of AI taking over much of the work done by humans. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, earlier in the year, had predicted that AI could wipe away half of entry-level white-collar jobs and spike unemployment.

Dario Amodei had said that 90% of the code inside Anthropic is written by AI

Meanwhile, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also predicted that many jobs done by humans could be replaced by AI, but he has refrained from going to extremes like Amodei. While Altman maintains an overall positive outlook about AI, he has even talked about AI taking over his job in the future.

Others, like Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, have also acknowledged the possibility of AI taking away some of the jobs currently held by humans, but believe that the new technology could ultimately create newer and more valuable jobs.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has, however, pushed back against the prediction made by Amodei and said that job loss will not be in favour of an AI but to a human who uses AI effectively.
Google launched its Gemini 2.5 Flash model, AKA Nano Banana, a few months ago. The model gained a lot of attention on social media owing to its ability to make complex edits to images while also generating new images with natural-language commands. However, if social media chatter is to be believed, Googles new image-generation model is all but here, and some users have begun sharing examples of its improved abilities.

As per tipster Testing Catalog News on X (formerly Twitter), the new model will excel at text rendering, infographics, world knowledge, charts, and following instructions.

Social media users say that Nano Banana 2 was listed for a short while on some platforms before being taken down by Google.

Leaks suggest that the model could make its debut as early as this week and come with support for a broader range of outputs like 1K, 2K, 4K and such. There could also be expanded support for aspect ratios like 9:16 or 16:9 and more.

Notably, while Nano Banana excelled at many tasks, one persistent criticism of the model was that it did not follow instructions about aspect ratio correctly. In contrast, other image generators like Qwen allow users to choose different resolutions during image generation.

Google is also constantly being tipped to release its Gemini 3.0 model, and some rumours suggest that Nano Banana 2 could even use the new model for image generation.

What are users generating with Nano Banana 2? While there is no confirmation yet from Google on whether it did actually accidentally release the Nano Banana 2 model on some forums, social media is filled with various images generated by users.

A common problem with image generators has been their inability to accurately represent time on analogue clocks, which almost always show 10:10. This is said to be because watches and clocks in commercial photographs are universally set to this time. However, users say Nano Banana 2 is able to generate time accurately.

Meanwhile, current AI image generators can create images of websites or UIs based on text descriptions, but they usually contain layout inaccuracies or text imperfections. Social media users also shared examples of how Nano Banana 2 could generate images that created a full webpage screenshot inside a browser without much issue.

A user shared an image US President Donald Trump, Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russia's Vladimir Putin on what seems like an old monitor.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said that the popular messaging app Slack leads to a lot of fake work. Altman then went on to add that there is potential for replacing it with an AI-driven alternative that could also replicate some of the work done by Microsoft Office.

In an interaction on the Conversations with Tyler YouTube channel, Altman said, There are positives about Slack. Theres also like kind of dread the first hour of the morning, the last hour before I go to bed, where I'm just dealing with this explosion of Slack.

I think it does create a lot of fake work. I suspect there is something new to build that is going to replace a lot of the current sort of office productivity suite  whatever you think of, like Docs, Slides, emails, Slack, whatever. That will be sort of the AI-driven version of all of these things, he added.

The statement by Altman gave his long-time nemesis Elon Musk another opportunity to fire away a warning to Microsoft. Replying to a video of Altmans comment, Musk said, As I was saying, OpenAI will compete directly with Microsoft.

At this point, its insanely suicidal for Microsoft to continue supporting OpenAI, Musk wrote in response to another post.

Elon Musk's warnings for Microsoft Notably, after the GPT-5 launch earlier in the year, Musk had warned Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella about OpenAI trying to take away much of the market share of the tech giant.

OpenAI is going to eat Microsoft alive, Musk had remarked in a post.

People have been trying for 50 years and thats the fun of it! Each day you learn something new, and innovate, partner, and compete, Nadella had responded back then.

OpenAI has indeed been releasing newer products that compete with its biggest backer, like the Atlas browser or search features directly within ChatGPT. However, Musk himself has earlier said that he wants to develop an AI-backed rival to Microsoft called Macrohard.
Millie Bobby Brown is returning with her popular role of Eleven for the last time in the fifth and final season of Netflixs Stranger Things. Ahead of the shows premiere later this month, Millie joined her cast members on the red carpet of the FYSEE: The Fall Edit Showcase in Los Angeles on Friday, 9 November.

At the event, the 21-year-old wore a sheer black dress with sequin detailing throughout. The outfit featured a deep neckline with a large bow attached near the waist. She put her hair back, and for jewellery, the actress opted for a minimal look with just the silver hoops.

With Millies hair tied back, her earrings got a moment of their own, as the actress continued to strike a balance between aesthetic and bold. The movie star completed her look by choosing black heels to complement her dress.

At the red carpet, she was joined by her co-stars Jamie Campbell Bower, Finn Wolfhard, Noah Schnapp and Caleb McLaughlin.

Millie Bobby Brown on channeling her inner bond During the promotions for Stranger Things Season 5, Millie has highlighted how her character will be completely different from the way she has been portrayed in the previous seasons.

It was really exciting to be more of a resource this season, not just because of her powers but also her physical training and attributes that she's put herself through, she earlier told The Hollywood Reporter.

She added, I channeled my inner Tom Cruise.

Besides Millie, Jamie Campbell Bower, Noah Schnapp, Caleb McLaughlin, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, and others will be reprising their roles in the final season of the show.

Stranger Things: What to expect? Stranger Things, one of Netflixs highly popular series, is returning with the first four episodes of its Season 5 on 26 November. Later on, it will release three more episodes on Christmas, followed by the finale on New Year's Eve.

The fourth season of the show came out in two parts in 2022.

As the fans eagerly look forward to the final season of the show, the plot is expected to revolve around Hawkins and his team members, who will reunite to fight the evil of Vecna.

Hawkins is scarred by the opening of the Rifts, and our heroes are united by a single goal: find and kill Vecna, reads the official synopsis.

Also Read: Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour attend Stranger Things Season 5 premiere amid bullying allegations

FAQs When and where to watch Stranger Things Season 5? The fifth season of Stranger Things will be released in parts on Netflix, with the first four episodes debuting on 26 November. It will be followed by three episodes on Christmas and the last one on New Years Eve.

What character does Millie Bobby Brown play in Stranger Things? Millie plays the role of Eleven.

Where to watch previous seasons of Stranger Things? All seasons of the show are available to stream on Netflix.
Edgeworthstown Enterprise Hub CLG was honoured at the all-Ireland Pride of Place community awards on Friday evening in Limerick. (November 7).

The Hub won the Creative Communities category for their Co:Worx project, with Dun Laoghaire Rathdowns LBS Mens Shed and Leitrims Bright Sparks initiative sharing runners-up spot.

Read more: 'They recognised what was needed for women': Longford Women's Link reaches 30th year

Judges praised the ambition of the Hub:

The Co:Worx project in Edgeworthstown was conceived in 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Its objective was to foster economic growth and digital change in the community through the repurposing of a derelict bank building on the Main Street into a digital hub. Commencing with a zero budget and an ambitious vision, the team of eight volunteers secured funding of 1.2m to repurpose the derelict heritage building into a centre for future development.

Judges received a warm welcome and an excellent presentation. This was followed by a tour of the building and the town highlighting the interconnectedness of the many developing projects in the town.

As a town that suffered economic deprivation for many years this project has been instrumental in making Edgeworthstown a better place to live and work.

Read more: Much-loved Longford pub set to reopen

The awards, hosted by comedian and broadcaster Dermot Whelan, took place in Limericks Strand Hotel, with 400 community volunteers in attendance.

Sponsored by IPB Insurance, the Pride of Place competition was initiated 23 years ago though a Co-operation Ireland programme to acknowledge the invaluable work undertaken by volunteers and those involved in local community development.

It has grown into the largest competition recognising community development achievements on the island of Ireland.

Paying tribute to the communities who were honoured on the evening, Mayor of Limerick, John Moran, said: "Limerick has been proud to welcome the IPB Pride of Place Awards. These awards are a celebration of community spirit and collaboration and they shine a light on the people and projects that make our towns and villages into the places we call home. For Limerick to host this event is a testament to the resilience and creativity of our communities, with plenty of success across our city and county in these awards over recent years. We are continuing to build a future rooted in pride, partnership and possibility in Limerick, while thriving on doing things differently.

Cllr Catherine Slattery, Priomh Chomhairleoir, Limerick City and County Council, said:

The Pride of Place Awards are a powerful celebration of the people who make our communities thrive. We are especially proud to host this years event in Limerick and to see local groups like Thomondgate Residents Association, Templeglantine, Foynes Flying Boat Museum and The Local Hub Glenbrohane recognised for their outstanding contributions. These awards honour the spirit of collaboration, inclusion, and pride that defines community life across Ireland.

Director General, Limerick City and County Council, Dr Pat Daly commented:

It was a tremendous honour for us to host the IPB Pride of Place Awards here in Limerick and I want to thank IPB, Co-Operation Ireland, the Pride of Place Committee and our own Council Staff who made this event such a success. Heartfelt congratulations to all of the winners and nominees for their remarkable dedication and creativity in enhancing the places we call home. Your efforts strengthen local pride, foster connection, and make Limerick and Ireland a better place for everyone.

Pride of Place founder and Chairman Tom Dowling said: After 23 years of these motivational awards recognising exceptional community endeavour, the judges continue to be inspired and humbled in equal measures, as they hear directly from the nominated communities their story of their pride in their place and the extraordinary work they are doing to ease the path of life for all the people in their place irrespective of date or place of birth, ability or wealth.

Ian Jeffers, CEO of Co-operation Ireland said, For more than two decades, Pride of Place has been a celebration of the people and communities. These awards recognise the strength, resilience and local pride that drives real change at grassroots level.

Their importance goes beyond the ceremony. Pride of Place continues to play a central role in Co-operation Irelands wider work to build positive relationships and deepen shared understanding between communities across the island. The ongoing success of the awards is thanks to the volunteers who give so much of themselves to the places they call home.

John Hogan, Chairman, IPB Insurance said. IPB Insurance is proud to sponsor the IPB Pride of Place awards alongside Cooperation Ireland and local authorities north and south. These awards honour the volunteers and communities whose dedication and teamwork make a real difference across the island of Ireland. Their efforts show what can be achieved when we work together with purpose and pride. I encourage everyone to celebrate and support these inspiring groups, and to get involved in building even stronger, more inclusive communities.
154,300 has commenced issuing to 142 farmers in Longford, under the 2025 National Sheep Welfare Scheme.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon TD announced on Monday that payments totalling 16.44 million have started to issue to 13,175 farmers who are participants under the 2025 National Sheep Welfare Scheme.

Fine Gael TD Micheal Carrigy commented, These payments are crucial to the sheep sector and farm families in Longford and Im pleased that the Minister for Agriculture, Martin Heydon fought for and secured a further 22 million for a similar scheme in 2026.

As a result of the oversubscription in the scheme, it was necessary to adjust the payment rate to 11.50 per ewe which is still a 44% increase from the 8 per ewe paid under the scheme in 2024. This is a good outcome for farmers."

Also read: Is Longfords Maura Higgins set for a Charlotte Tilbury campaign?

Minister Heydon said, When combined with the 12 per ewe available under the CAP Strategic Plan (CSP) Sheep Improvement Scheme, this means sheep farmers in both schemes will receive up to 23.50 per ewe, an increase of 17.5% per ewe on last years combined payment."

Meanwhile, Fianna Fail Senator Joe Flaherty welcomed the recent allocation of over 3,139,000 to farmers in Longford under the Eco-Scheme.

The Eco-Scheme, part of Irelands CAP Strategic Plan 20232027, rewards farmers for implementing measures that protect and enhance the climate, environment, water quality and biodiversity.

Senator Flaherty said, Farmers are the backbone of our economy and our rural communities. They deliver world-class produce that supports international trade, and it is essential that they are supported in doing so.

Also read: Several Longford projects to benefit from LGBTIQ+ Community Services Fund

He added, The payment rate of 66 per eligible hectare will provide meaningful support to over 110,000 farmers nationwide, including 2,198 here in Longford. Fianna Fail is steadfast in our support for a strong CAP that works for farmers, and we will continue to champion this at EU level.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
A Longford dental practice has been awarded Colgate Dental Team of the Year at the Colgate Caring Dentist of the Year Awards 2025, which celebrate dentists across Ireland who go above and beyond for their patients.

Dr Sarah McWeeney and her team at Longford Dental Centre received the honour for the compassion, professionalism, and extraordinary support they had shown to a patient throughout her cancer journey.

The team took additional measures to prioritise the patients comfort and safety, after her dental health needs became significantly more complex following her cancer diagnosis in 2023.

Prior to commencing cancer treatment, the patient required six dental extractions to prevent complications during chemotherapy. Dr McWeeney and her team not only carried out the procedures with skill and sensitivity, they also ensured that dentures were ready for her to use immediately afterwards, so the patient never had to face gaps in her smile.

Major boost for Longford swimmer Darragh Greene ahead of third Olympic Games bid Read More:

Once chemotherapy began, the dental team prioritised the importance of infection control and organised for her to wait in her car before appointments and brought straight into the surgery so she could avoid contact with others in the waiting room.

Further care considerations included close coordination with the patients oncology team, as she was being treated with bisphosphonates, a medication known to increase oral health risks.

The patient described the entire team including Sarah, Aisling, and Sinead as kind, professional, and caring, adding that during one of the most difficult times in her life, they provided comfort, confidence, and unwavering support.

She said, This team has stood by me through both routine dental visits and the challenges brought on by a cancer diagnosis. They ensured my safety during treatments, and offered reassurance every step of the way. They are also remarkably thoughtful and practical.
A woman has appeared before a Midlands district court accused of child cruelty and false imprisonment.

The woman (43), who has a Laois address, is accused of seven counts of false imprisonment on dates between March 12, 2023 and July 11, 2023. She is charged with one count of cruelty to children on dates between September 1, 2021 and March 12, 2023. The woman was also accused of another count of child cruelty between September 1 and 23, 2021.

Solicitor Josephine Fitzpatrick said the woman was accompanied to the court by her mother.

Also read: Substantial quantity of drugs discovered in search by Longford gardai

Garda Sergeant JJ Kirby said there was an alleged co-accused in this and they are out of the jurisdiction.

We are trying to find them, he said.

Sgt Kirby told Judge Susan Fay that he had been given directions that the case couldnt proceed against the accused in isolation. He acknowledged this wasnt a fault of the accused and asked that the case be listed again next year.

Noting there were reporting restrictions in the case, Ms Fitzpatrick said she was diametrically opposed to the requested adjournment. She said the allegations date back to March 2023 and some are from 2021.

It is not her fault the other person cant be located, she said.

Also read: 192,500 allocated to community projects in Longford and the wider Midlands

Ms Fitzpatrick said she did not believe that the situation was fair. It is taking quite a toll on her mental health, said Ms Fitzpatrick. She wanted to know if the matter could proceed in isolation.

If he cant be located I will have to go back to my legal authority and ask their advice, said Sgt Kirby.

Judge Susan Fay said she would give a date in the new year and mark the case peremptory against the State. She adjourned the case back to Portlaoise district court on March 16.

Also read: Motorist who described himself as spirit of God to Longford judge is fined for speeding
A husband and wife, who ran an aquarium and fishing tackle shop in Longford town and were caught illegally selling firearms, imitation firearms at their retail outlet, have been handed suspended prison sentences.

Pawel Bacianowski (43) and Ursula Bacianowski (44), both of 8 Dun Darrach, Dublin Rd, Longford pleaded guilty at Longford Circuit Court last week to six separate charges under The Firearms Act on February 19, 2022.

The various unlicensed weapons found in their store Aquaristik4You at Little Water Street, Townparks, Longford included a Borner Powerwin 304 semi-auto CO2 pistol, a UA317 pellet gun, several imitation firearms, a small axe and a cannister of pepper spray.

Garda Rachel Carlin said Gardai received information and obtained a warrant to search the store on February 19, 2022 and a large number of items were seized.

Also read: Dogs destroyed after quite disturbing incident in Longford pound

Ms Bacianowski was the registered owner of the shop and when she was asked by Gardai, Do you sell guns' she replied, "I check ID before I sell them'.

The court heard Ms Bacianowski had no previous convictions, while Mr Bacianowski had 17 previous convictions.

Garda Carlin said both defendants were very cooperative when she was asked by Niall Flynn, BL, defending, about the way they assisted Gardai.

The court heard the couple are parents to four children, three of whom are under three years of age.

Kieran Collins BL asked Judge Connolly to take Mrs Bacianowskis early guilty plea, her cooperation and personal circumstances into consideration.

Mr Collins said Mrs Bacianowski has been in Ireland since 2006 and in Longford since 2017.

"She cooperated fully during her Garda interview. There were no steps taken to avoid detection. There was a certain innocence when it came to her understanding of needing a license to sell these items."

Also read: Day of reckoning for man who fled 305 taxi fare in Longford

Judge Connolly said it was an unfortunate and serious case but he acknowledged there was no direct evidence they intentionally sold any illegal weapons into criminality.

"Both were naive and reckless, he added.

Judge Connolly stated he believed it was likely they both had limited knowledge of firearms and he noted the Polish nationals had impressive employment histories.

He handed down a 21-month prison sentence to Mr Bacianowski and an 18-month sentence to Mrs Bacianowski, which he suspended for a three year period.

The jail terms were suspended on condition they are both of good behaviour, they keep the peace and they do not engage in the sale or supply of weapons.

Also read: 'No bigger monster in this world': Midlands man who raped and threatened to kill daughter jailed
A county Longford man who viciously assaulted another man has been directed by a judge to complete 240 hours of community service in lieu of two years imprisonment for a serious and assault.

Matthew Cox (28) of Cloncallow, Ballymahon pleaded guilty at Longford Circuit Court to assault causing harm on the grounds of St Mels Cathedral in Longford town on October 23, 2023.

At an earlier hearing in January of this year, Judge Kenneth Connolly directed the 28 year-old, who showed signs of remorse to pay 5,000 compensation to the victim and he requested a probation report and a community service report.

Gardai were alerted shortly after 1.30am that a serious assault had been reported after Midoc contacted them after a 26 year-old man walked into their office with serious head and facial injuries.

Also read: 'Exceptional' prisoner who teaches other prisoners to cook pleads guilty to 3m Longford arson

Officers attended Midoc, however, when they arrived the injured party had already been taken by ambulance to Mullingar General Hospital by ambulance.

The Gardai went to the grounds of St Mels Cathedral, and they noticed some blood and the area was cordoned off and preserved.

The complainant provided a written statement in hospital and Mr Cox was quickly identified as a suspect.

The court heard the defendant, through his solicitor Frank Gearty made contact with Garda Inspector Declan McGlynn and informed him he wished to cooperate.

Gardai drove to Mr Coxs apartment in Ballymahon at 5pm the day after the incident and they seized clothing, footwear, a hat and bedsheets with blood on them as evidence and Mr Cox handed officers a voluntary written statement and he was arrested.

The defendant's partner told Gardai she remembered Mr Cox arriving home at around 2.30am and she noticed there was blood on his hands and on his cheekbone.

Mr Cox, who was born in Florida, USA and moved to Ireland when he was eight, also admitted to officers he had taken the victims phone and he described his recollection as being hazy.

The victim, who said he saw one or several people outside the Cathedral and the next thing he remembered was waking up on the ground about two hours later, had no memory of the incident and there were no witnesses or CCTV footage.

Also read: Man guilty of sexually assaulting 'terrified' young girl to be sentenced at Longford Circuit Court

Mr Cox told Gardai he consumed, maybe 12 bottles, six or seven pints and he could recall punching the victim in the head and body and he then put him in the recovery position".

Garda Fleming said after Mr Cox viewed photographs of the injuries and he was charged he asked Gardai to pass on an apology to the victim and showed signs of 'remorse, shock and horror'.

Dr Richard Lynch examined the victim who suffered a large wound and laceration on the back of his head, his nasal septa deviated to the right side and he had bruising all over his face.

Last January, the victim was said to be still suffering from constant pressure behind his nose, a painful nose when touched and frequent nose bleeds and he suffered with severe headaches for one month after the assault.

The victim declined to make a victim impact statement or attend court.

Mr Cox, who entered an early guilty plea and who cooperated with Gardai had no previous convictions.

The defendant, who earlier this year was working remotely for British Telecom, previously worked as a lifeguard at Center Parcs.

Also read: Day of reckoning for man who fled 305 taxi fare in Longford

Judge Connolly had requested a probation and community service report earlier this year and he was informed last Tuesday they were positive and the defendant was deemed to have a low risk of reoffending.

"It was a very serious matter for the victim in this case but it does seem to be entirely out of character."

Judge Connolly noted that 'considerable compensation' of 5,000 had been paid to the victim and he directed the defendant to complete 240 hours community service in lieu of two years imprisonment" to be completed by October 28, 2026.

Also read: Midlands men involved in 'ongoing Traveller feud' jailed following vicious stabbing in broad daylight
The son of a county Longford man and two of his friends were critically injured after a car veered onto a footpath where they were standing during a horror crash in Australia.

Emergency services rushed to the scene, the intersection of Bungarribee Road and Lock Street in Blacktown, in Sydney's west shortly after 9am on Friday to treat the trio who were struck by the vehicle.

It is understood the car that veered up on the footpath collided with another car moments before the three men were injured.

Paramedics treated the men at the scene for numerous injuries before the critically injured trio were taken to Westmead Hospital.

One of the young men Emmet Mullooly is the son of county Longford man Padraig Mullooly and his wife Margaret.

Padraig has been in Australia for many years and along with Margaret they have three children Laura, Emmet and Daniel all who are regular visitors to Lehery.

As it happens Padraig only returned to Sydney following a recent holiday in Lehery a few weeks ago.

His son and his two work colleagues were struck after they decided to go for a coffee during a work break.

It is understood they were chatting and waiting for the pedestrian lights to change before crossing the road when the collision occurred.

At that very time two vehicles crashed with one of the vehicles being turned on its side and it careered into the three young men at a high speed.

Local Police Area Command Superintendent Andrew Gorman said the three men aged between 20 and 30, had suffered 'significant injuries'.

"A westbound vehicle had collided with an eastbound vehicle, and the eastern-bound vehicle then collided with a number of pedestrians who were on the southern side of the intersection," he said.

"It will form part of the investigation; speed and the traffic control signals at that intersection."

Local Lehery man Joe O'Brien said that Emmet and his family are in their thoughts.

"It is a terrible traumatic time for the family in Australia but also for local Mullooly family of Margaret, Louis, Brigid and Mike (NY) and their extended family.

"While the injuries to Emmet are bad, thankfully the prognosis is that he will make a good recovery from his injuries.

"To come through such an ordeal is truly frightening and we wish Emmet and his two workmates a full recovery that, in time, will allow them to go forward to lead a long and full life."

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Sabina Higgins said it has been wonderful to be by her husbands side as he served as President of Ireland, adding: I was privileged to do it.

The couple attended a Remembrance Sunday service at St Patricks Cathedral in Dublin.

In one of his final acts as president, Mr Higgins laid a wreath on behalf of the people of Ireland during the ceremony.

His successor, Catherine Connolly, is due to be inaugurated on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters outside the cathedral, Mrs Higgins said she was so grateful to the people of Ireland, and to all the goodness of the universe, that weve come through it and weve done our best and were very grateful and were full of love for the people.

Also in attendance at the evensong service was Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald.

As Mr Higgins departed, she spoke to him briefly as he sat in his car.

Asked what they spoke about, Ms McDonald told the PA news agency that she thanked him for all of his work, adding she told the President he was a hero for all of us and I wished him well.

She added: Its an emotional moment, I think, because obviously his tenure is coming to an end, and he and Sabina have just been absolutely powerful and its an honour to be here with him on this Remembrance Sunday.

She said it was important that, as the president of Sinn Fein, she attended the event.

Its very important that we remember, also that we respect each other, she said.

And in my opinion, as we build towards Irish reunification now in these coming years, it is all the more important that we see each other, hear each other, respect each other and include each other.
IDF reserve soldiers composed of members of Lieutenant Hadar Goldins platoon arrive to accompany Goldins remains back into Israeli territory on November 9. (IDF)

Hamas returned the body of Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Lieutenant Hadar Goldin on November 9. Goldin was killed in 2014 during fighting with Hamas, and his body was recovered from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strips Rafah area near the border with Egypt.

Goldin was one of two soldiers whose bodies were held by Hamas since Operation Protective Edge, the conflict between Israel and Hamas in 2014. The remains of the other deceased soldier, Oron Shaul, were recovered in January 2025. The IDF noted in a statement that Goldin was killed following a violation of the ceasefire by the Hamas terrorist organization in Rafah on August 1st, 2014, during which he was abducted. A team of IDF reserve soldiers from Goldins platoon arrived to accompany him on his final journey as he was brought back into Israeli territory, the IDF said on November 9.

After more than a decade of anticipation and waiting, Hadar has returned to eternal rest in the Israel Cemetery, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote in a post on X, adding that he had spoken with Goldins family. This is a moment of deep pain but also of great comfort and closing of a circle. The Goldin family will have a grave to mourn and weep over. [] We are committed to the return of all the abductees who have fallento the last one.

The IDF had searched for Goldin for many years, including in Rafah during the last two years when Israeli troops operated there. The effort to retrieve him involved extensive intelligence efforts, alongside operational activities on the ground, led by the IDF and ISA [Israel Security Agency]. These efforts continued throughout the past decade and during the war, the IDF said. Goldins rifle, which Hamas had seized in 2014, was also found by the IDF in Gaza during the war.

Over the last week, reports indicated that Hamas members were trapped in a tunnel in Rafah and that a deal might be worked out to enable them to transit to Hamas-controlled areas in exchange for turning over Goldins body. There are estimated to be around 200 Hamas members in a tunnel network under the ruins of the city.

Hamas was supposed to return all 48 hostages held in Gaza to Israel as part of the ceasefire deal agreed to in Egypt in early October. While all 20 living hostages were returned on October 13, Hamas has been slower to turn over the deceased captives. As of November 10, four bodies are still held in Gaza.

It was not clear if the 200 Hamas members would be allowed to leave the tunnel. [A source involved in negotiations] did not clarify where the terrorists would be transferred to, stating that it is possible they will be transferred to Egypt, rather than into the Gaza Strip, The Jerusalem Post reported. The fate of the 200 Hamas members was one of the subjects that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed with US envoy Jared Kushner on November 10. Turkey, which has supported the ceasefire deal, was also reportedly involved in the deal to return Goldin to Israel.

Turkey is also seeking to play a role in a US-backed stabilization force for Gaza, but Israeli officials have opposed Ankaras involvement. Defense Minister Israel Katz and a government spokesperson reiterated on Sunday that Israel does not want Turkish soldiers deployed to Gaza as part of a multinational force that is meant to take over from the Israel Defense Forces, The Times of Israel reported.

As the ceasefire in Gaza continued into its second month, the IDF continued to operate in parts of Gaza to uncover terrorist infrastructure. In recent weeks, the troops of the 36th Division have been operating in the area of Khan Yunis, located east of the Yellow Line, in accordance with the agreement and the directives of the political echelon, the IDF said on November 9. Dozens of terrorist sites were dismantled, the Israeli military said.

In addition, on November 10, the IDF said it dealt with a ceasefire violation in which two terrorists crossed the Yellow Line that divides the IDF-controlled area of Gaza from Hamass areas of control.

Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an adjunct fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDDs Long War Journal. He is the senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post, and author of The October 7 War: Israel's Battle for Security in Gaza (2024).
A graphic showing the alleged espionage ring that was published by the Houthis. (Saba Net)

On November 8, the Houthi Ministry of the Interior announced the discovery and arrest of an alleged spy network in Yemen that it claims involved the Saudi, American, and Israeli intelligence services and included a joint operations room based in Saudi Arabia. The Houthis also released confessions from the alleged spies.

According to the Ministry of the Interior statement, the joint operations room in Saudi Arabia coordinated several small cells in Yemeni territory and provided operatives sophisticated espionage equipment and tools. The Houthis claim that the spies were trained by American, Israeli, and Saudi officers in Saudi Arabia. An official Houthi website further alleges that the Saudis operated as recruiters under the command of the Americans and Israelis.

The Ministry of the Interior statement went on to claim that the espionage cells monitored Yemeni infrastructure, attempting to uncover the military and security infrastructure, military manufacturing sites, and ballistic missile and drone launch sites used by our valiant army against the criminal Zionist enemy. They also gathered information and conducted surveillance on civilian state leaders, military and security leaders, their headquarters, and their activities. The Houthis further alleged that the spies provided specific coordinates of vital locations in Houthi-controlled territory.

It added that the networks cells were implicated in the bloodshed of Yemeni civilians in several operations launched by the American and Israeli enemy against homes, markets, and public places. They also provided the enemy with information and coordinates of some service facilities targeted by the enemy, with the aim of harming the interests of the Yemeni people and exacerbating their economic and living conditions.

The statement concluded by calling on Yemenis to be more vigilant and alert to the enemys movements that target our internal front and seek to destabilize security and stability, in order to stop and weaken the popular and official stance and the military operations that support and assist Gaza and Palestine.

In their publicized confessions, the arrested individuals said that they were trained to identify, covertly photograph, and describe residential and commercial buildings. The confessors also stated that cars were fitted with cameras and other devices to photograph, track locations, and identify nearby networks. The alleged spies also confessed to learning elements of espionage tradecraft and described working with Saudi trainers and Americans, identified by first name, in Saudi Arabia and other regional locations.

The accused individuals confessed to joining the espionage network between 2019 and 2024.

The Houthis have provided some evidence against the alleged spies, but the validity of all the accusations and the extent to which the confessions were coerced cannot be independently verified. The Houthis have a history of arresting Yemenis over alleged ties to foreign intelligence services and tend to claim these individuals have connections to Israel and the US.

The Houthis domestic crackdown

The Houthis announcement of the espionage network comes amidst an increase in the groups repression in its territory and a crackdown on alleged spies. Following the beginning of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza in October, the Houthis increased arrests, often targeting humanitarian workers and United Nations personnel. Abdulmalik al Houthi, the terrorist groups leader, has accused United Nations programs in Yemen of operating espionage cells on behalf of Israel and the United States.

The Houthis currently hold 59 illegally detained United Nations workers, according to the international body. At the end of October, the Houthis announced that 43 of these individuals would be tried for espionage in what is likely to be a sham trial. The group alleges the United Nations cells provided the necessary intelligence for an Israeli airstrike on August 28 that killed 12 members of the Houthi-controlled government and likely also caused the death of the groups military chief of staff. In 2021, nine men were executed for allegedly providing intelligence that enabled the Saudi-led coalition that was fighting the Houthis to kill one of the groups leaders.

Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom have all conducted airstrikes against the Iran-backed terror group in Yemen since it began targeting Israel and international shipping over the war in Gaza. The intelligence successes of certain airstrikes, notably the one that killed numerous high-level government leaders, have increased paranoia within the Houthi organization.

Bridget Toomey is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focusing on Iranian proxies, specifically Iraqi militias and the Houthis.
Democrat Abigail Spanberger points out at the crowd after she was declared the winner of the Virginia governor's race during an election night watch party Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough) AP

Democrats could win up to 20 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives next year if the electorate remains as pro-Democrat during last weeks elections, according to CNN political analyst Harry Enten.

On Nov. 4, Democratic candidates in New Jersey and Virginia were elected governor.

Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey defeated her opponent, Republican Jack Ciattarelli, by 13 points, while Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger of Virginia beat her opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, by 15 points, Enten said.

Both candidates performed better than former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. Harris won both states last year by a margin of six points, Enten said. Sherrills 2025 margin is 7 points higher than Harriss, while Spanbergers is 9 points higher.

If we have, lets say, an average 8-point shift across the board in all the different House seats, from the 2024 presidential results, to then what happens in the 2026 House elections, youd be talking about a Democratic gain of 20 seats depending on redistricting, Enten said. I say, Republican leaders, wake the heck up and have some of what Im having, because this is a major warning sign.

Democrats have also outrun Harriss 2024 margins in the five special elections that took place this year, Enten said.

In Arizonas 7th Congressional District, for example, Democratic U.S. Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva won the district by 39 percentage points, 17 points more than the amount Harris won the district by in 2024.

Democrats have also performed well in elections for state offices. In August, Democrats flipped a state Senate seat in Iowa, breaking the Republican supermajority in the Hawkeye States upper chamber.

In April, the Democratic-backed candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court won handily against the Republican-backed candidate, who also received backing from billionaire Elon Musk.

In March, Democrat James Malone won a Pennsylvania Senate seat in a district that heavily voted for President Donald Trump.

Since 2005, a political party that overperforms in special elections has gone on to win the House of Representatives five out of five times, Enten noted.

Yes, it is a year from now. But all those put together, usually forecast pain for the Republican Party come the midterm elections, Enten said.
Arturo Sandoval will perform at the Hope Center for the Arts in Springfield on Friday, Nov. 14. Submitted

SPRINGFIELD  Growing up in the small town of Artemisa on the outskirts of Havana, the only music Arturo Sandoval could hear on a transistor radio in the oppressed country of Cuba was traditional Cuban music.

But that didnt stop him from becoming one of the greatest trumpet players in the world, hailed today for his groundbreaking fusion of Latin and jazz influences.

On Friday, Nov. 14, jazz enthusiasts will have the opportunity to hear Sandoval live at Hope Center for the Arts in Springfield. Showtime is 7 p.m.

It was very difficult finding music to listen to when growing up because we didnt have any record store where you could go and buy a record and they were not playing any kind of American music on the radio. For many years, I listened to the Voice of America from Washington, DC, every day at 3:15 p.m. I never missed that program even when in obligatory military service for three years, Sandoval said in an interview with The Republican.

I listened to the show on a small radio, and they put me in jail for several months because I was listening to the voice of the enemy, he added.

Sandoval started playing music at the age of 12 in 1961 in his villages band and went on in 1964 to attend the Cuban National School of Arts, where he took classical trumpet lessons for three years. But until around 1967, he had never even heard of jazz music.

A journalist in my town, who I would often speak with, asked me one day if I had ever heard jazz. I said, What is that? and went with him to listen to an album of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. It turned my brain upside down, Sandoval said.

It was in 1977, exactly 10 years after listening to that album, that Gillespie came to Havana with other jazz greats to play a concert there.

We met and from then on we started a beautiful friendship, and we played together until his death in 1993, Sandoval said about being mentored by Gillespie, who introduced Sandoval to his innovative techniques and bebop improvisations.

Gillespie was also instrumental in furthering Sandovals career by introducing him to influential people in the jazz world, helping him secure a record deal, and offering the young trumpet master opportunities to tour with him, which led to his own flourishing career.

Even when I decided to defect while on a tour with him and the United Nations Orchestra, Dizzy went with me to the American Embassy and helped me all the way through the process, said Sandoval, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1998.

Sandovals musical explorations have extended beyond traditional jazz, leading him to be a pioneer in the realm of Latin jazz. With his innovative compositions and performances, he has fused elements of Afro-Cuban rhythms, Latin melodies, and jazz harmonies, creating a captivating and distinctive sound. Over the years, he has collaborated with prominent artists from various genres, including Dizzy Gillespie, Michel Legrand, Tony Bennett, Josh Groban, and Alicia Keys.

In addition to his musical achievements, Sandoval has shared his experience and insights through his autobiography, The Man Who Changed My Life, a deeply personal account of his artistic journey and the transformative influence of Gillespie. He has also devoted himself to education, conducting masterclasses and workshops worldwide, nurturing the next generation of musicians.

Arturo Sandoval will perform at the Hope Center for the Arts in Springfield on Friday, Nov. 14. Submitted

His accolades are many.

Last year, Sandoval was among five honorees to receive the 47th Kennedy Center Honors.

It was a huge honor, and I am going to be grateful for the rest of my days. Ive been working hard and my dedication is big, my passion, my love for music, my respect for the audience, in general, as a human, I believe is why I received the award, Sandoval said.

He was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Latin Grammys in 2023 and is a 10-time Grammy winner.

Its an incentive, like inspiration, to continue what you have been doing, and I really keep these awards very close to my heart, he said.

Continuing to tour and share his music with both new and familiar audiences, Sandoval is not ready to stop.

Ive been working nonstop. Im blessed because I am doing what I love. God has given me so many opportunities and I remain active at my age, which is not easy. But thats my motivation in life, to play in from of an audience which is the best honor. It is such a beautiful experience that I have no words to describe it, Sandoval said.

Prior to Sandoval taking the stage, the night will begin with a performance by the Springfield Conservatory of the Arts Concert Band, comprised of the schools most advanced instrumental students in grades 712. Admission is by audition only, and members perform an extensive repertoire spanning traditional Latin masters to todays popular hitmakers.

Tickets range from $50 to $75 and are available online and in-person at the door.
Harlem rapper Max B has been released from prison after serving 16 years for his role in a fatal armed robbery.

The rapper, known for popularizing the term wavy, was released from prison on Sunday, Nov. 9.

Fellow rapper French Montana, with whom Max B collaborated on the Coke Wave mixtapes, posted an Instagram video of him being reunited with his close friend and collaborator.

CANT MAKE THIS UP! MY BROTHER REALLY CAME HOME ON MY B DAY!, the caption on the video read. HAMDULILLAH WALKED IT DOWN! NO MORE FREE YOU."

A video posted to X showed French Montana celebrating his birthday with Max B. Other social media videos captured the rapper already getting back in the studio and stopping by a New York Jets game where he spoke out for the first time following his prison release.

I feel righteous, Max B said in an interview with The People Gallery that was posted on Instagram. Im feeling good. Im grateful. Im thankful.

Max B, whose real name is Charley Wingate, is known for releasing the Public Domain and Million Dollar Baby mixtape series. The rapper has been credited with influencing other melodic rappers including Young Thug and Wiz Khalifa.

After making his debut in 2006, Max B signed a recording deal with ByrdGang, a collective founded by fellow Harlem-based rapper Jim Jones. The two parted ways in 2008 and later became embroiled in a bitter feud that pitted both rappers and their respective associates against each other.

In 2009, Max B was sentenced to 75 years in prison after he was convicted of numerous charges  including murder, kidnapping and armed robbery  in connection with a New Jersey robbery that resulted in a death, Rolling Stone reported. Max B was not in the state at the time and his conviction was later vacated in 2016 after a new legal team argued that his original trial lawyer had a conflict of interest in the case.

The rappers sentence was reduced to 20 years as a result, per Rolling Stone. He revealed on Instagram earlier this year that he would be released sooner on condition of a mandatory five-year supervision.

Im feeling righteous, man, Max B told the Joe Budden Podcast earlier this year. Im doing all right. This is almost over.  Wavy Baby coming home real soon.

Max B has continued to release music from prison and announced a seven-date tour last month. The tour, which will celebrate his release, kicked off Sunday night with a show in New York City.

The tour will continue throughout the Northeast before concluding on Dec. 13 in Trenton, New Jersey.
Mark L. Wolf, 78, senior judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, resigned Friday from federal judicial service.

Wolfs resignation is in protest against President Donald Trump, which he elaborated on in his op-ed published in The Atlantic on Sunday, Why I am Resigning.

I no longer can bear to be restrained by what judges can say publicly or do outside the courtroom, Wolf wrote. President Donald Trump is using the law for partisan purposes, targeting his adversaries while sparing his friends and donors from investigation, prosecution, and possible punishment.

Wolf went on to say that the White Houses assault on the rule of law is so deeply disturbing to me that I feel compelled to speak out.

Wolf was appointed to the Federal District Court for Massachusetts in 1985 by President Ronald Reagan. He served as chief judge from 2006 to 2012. In 2013, assumed senior status, which allows judges on the federal court to take on a lower case load while retaining full benefits granted their age and years of service total at least 80.

Wolf noted that his resignation does not allow Trump to fill his seat with his own nominee, as his seat was filled in 2013 after he was granted senior status and former president Barack Obama nominated Judge Indira Talwani to replace him.

The op-ed came two days after the court announced in a statement that he was leaving his position as senior judge.

Judge Wolf has served on this Court with distinction for over four decades, Chief Judge Denise J. Casper said in the statement. His steadfast commitment to the rule of law, determination in wrestling with novel issues of fact and law, and dedication to making fair, equitable and legally sound decisions without fear or favor are the hallmarks of his time on the bench.

During his tenure, Wolf also served served as a member of the Judicial Conference of the United States and chair of the Committee of District Judges on the Judicial Conference, and on the Judicial Conference Committees on Criminal Law, the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and Codes of Conduct, according to the Federal District Court for Massachusetts.

In 2016, Wolf co-founded Integrity Initiatives International which is dedicated to strengthening the enforcement of criminal laws in order to punish and deter leaders who are corrupt and regularly violate human rights, according to their official website.
Some Hooters employees are complaining that the restaurant's new uniform shorts are too skimpy. Getty Images

Hooters founders are making a major shift to its brand image and bringing back the eaterys original uniform years after introducing a smaller, snugger fit.

The shift comes after Hooters Inc., led by the brands original founders, bought back Hooters of America following a bankruptcy that forced dozens of locations to close.

The founders are calling their turnaround strategy re-Hooterization.

Waitstaff will now wear bright orange jogging shorts paired with fitted white T-shirts, the chains original uniform design.

Niel Kiefer, a lawyer who has worked with the brand since the early 1990s, told The Wall Street Journal the change means less skin showing.

I dont think youre going to see a bunch of butt cheeks hanging out, Kiefer said.

The uniform swap is part of a broader overhaul aimed at making the restaurant chain more welcoming.

The company plans to simplify its menu, upgrade ingredients, and emphasize community connections.

Were not just acquiring restaurantswere taking back the Hooters name to show the world who we really are, Kiefer said.

This is about bringing people together, making memories, and ensuring that Hooters remains a place where everyone feels welcome.

The new ownership has already started remodeling locations and upgrading equipment nationwide.

Hooters Inc. and its partner, Hoot Owl Restaurants LLC, now operate roughly 140 U.S. locations and 60 international restaurants, bringing in close to $700 million in annual sales.

Generative AI was used to draft this story, based on information provided by PennLive. It was reviewed and edited by MassLive.
A Massachusetts jail librarian has been accused of disguising drugs as legal paperwork to smuggle K-2 inside of the Dartmouth jail.

Ginger Hook, 46, of New Bedford, was indicted on Oct. 20, along with inmate Joseph Housley, 25, of Rehoboth, Brandin Barbosa-Mayo, 31, of New Bedford, Bestlee Vasquez, 33, of Somerset, and Axel Hazard, 23, of Rhode Island.

Officials began investigating a drug distribution ring that was responsible for bringing synthetic marijuana, commonly referred to as K-2 or spice, into Bristol County Jail and House of Correction in March.

After several months of the investigation, investigators said that Housley had enlisted the help of a Sheriffs Office employee to bring the contraband into the facility. Officials claim that intelligence gathered showed that Hook had smuggled in K-2 as paperwork into the jail on prior occasions, once in late 2024 and again in February and March of 2025.

Hook was employed by the Bristol County Sheriffs Office as the Coordinator of Library Services at the Dartmouth Jail for about 18 months prior to resigning from her position in July after she was confronted about her involvement.

K-2 can come in liquid form that is then sprayed onto documents, such as religious pamphlets, legal paperwork, childrens drawings and letters, the Boston Globe reported. The paper is dried and can be divided into doses of 1-inch squares, which can be sold for thousands of dollars.

The paper can either be smoked by lighting it or chewing it, the newspaper reported.

Hook had planned to make another delivery of 13 pages of K-2 to Housley in early June, officials said. On June 9, investigators saw Hook entering the jail and attempting to conceal paperwork in a folder that she brought into her office from outside of the secure perimeter of the jail.

Investigators found 13 sheets of paper on her desk that tested positive for synthetic marijuana, which would be worth about $65,000 when sold inside the jail, officials said.

Sheriff Paul Heroux thinks it is the largest employee drug bust in Bristol County jail history.

I have stepped up efforts to keep drugs out of the jail, including seeking prosecution, increasing the number of drug detection dogs in the K9 unit, and better screening of individuals coming into the jail, said Heroux. Illicit drugs in a correctional setting create many health and safety problems for staff and inmates. Keeping illicit drugs out of jails and prisons is a problem in every correctional facility in the country.
A Holbrook police officer pulled a driver from a burning pickup truck Saturday evening shortly after the driver plowed into several parked cars at high speed, officials said Monday while recognizing the officers quick action.

The man police identified as the driver, Douglas Silva Soares, 26, of Abington, remains hospitalized but is expected to face charges connected to the fiery crash, Holbrook Police Chief David Del Papa said in a statement Monday morning.

Around 5:45 p.m. Saturday, police officers responded to the crash on South Franklin Street, roughly a block from the Holbrook Town Hall, where they found a white pickup truck had crashed into and severely damaged a parked SUV and sedan, Del Papa said.

With the pickup truck on fire and its driver trapped inside, a bystander was trying to extinguish flames with a fire extinguisher, the police chief said.

However, as the flames quickly spread, Holbrook Officer Jonathan OBrien ordered the group of civilians near the truck to back away as he rushed to pull the driver to safety.

The driver was trapped with a leg injury, OBrien found. The officer entered the vehicle, freed the driver and dragged him to safety just before the truck became fully engulfed in flames, Del Papa said.

Soares was rushed to South Shore Hospital, he said. Medical responders evaluated OBrien, who inhaled fumes and fire extinguisher residue during the rescue.

Holbrook, a town of 11,000, is roughly eight miles south of Boston.

According to police, Soares was speeding north on South Franklin Street when he crossed over the center line and struck the SUV and the sedan head-on, causing extensive damage and sparking the flames that eventually consumed his truck.

Video of the collision published by NBC Boston showed a vehicle slamming into a parked car.

The Holbrook Fire Department was able to extinguish the fire after about 40 minutes, Del Papa said.

The crash also damaged road signs and a property on South Franklin Street.

Soares is expected to face charges of negligent operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of property damage, marked lanes violation and speeding.

Because he remains hospitalized, Soares will be summoned to Quincy District Court at an undetermined date, Del Papa said.

OBrien was sworn in as a Holbrook police officer in November 2021, according to a department press release from the time.

Holbrook Police continue to investigate the crash.

Police from Randolph, Abington and Braintree also responded to the crash scene, Del Papa said.
Nikki Glaser speaks onstage during the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena on Sept. 07, 2025, in Elmont, New York. The comedian received criticism for her Saturday Night Live opening monologue on Nov. 8, 2025. (Photo by Manny Carabel/Getty Images for MTV)

During her Saturday Night Live hosting debut, comedian Nikki Glaser delivered a provocative monologue that shocked viewers and drew criticism for its dark, controversial subject matter.

Glaser made a series of dark jokes involving sex trafficking and pedophilia on the show, which aired on Nov. 8.

Here I am in New York City: Epsteins original island, she said at the start of her stand-up set.

She later returned to the topic while mentioning Epsteins accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, when she talked about Gen Z, who have a really big fear of being trafficked.

In my 20s, I just feared good old-fashioned rape. I didnt think it would be a career. We didnt think it was anything more than a temp job at a frat house futon, the 41-year-old comedian said. Theyre like, Were safer when youre with us because they think youre our madam. You have resting Ghislaine face, so keep that up.

Glaser also jokingly worried that she might be a pedophile while telling a story about her four-year-old nephew asking to take a shower with her.

My sisters like, He can take a shower with you. Its fine. He does it with us, Glaser said. OK, thats fine for you guys, but are you okay with an adult showering with your child?  What if I molest him? She was like, Would you? I was like, No! I would never! Thats disgusting! But thats what Id say if I was gonna.

Dont trust anyone. I dont even trust myself, she continued. I dont want to go in there. How do you become a pedophile? You dont get to choose what youre into, dude. What if its one of those things you dont know until you get in there, and youre like, Well, this is my thing, and it opens up a part of my brain? I know that sounds crazy, but there have been so many things in my life that Ive been like, I would never do that. And now Im like, Looks kind of fun, actually.

Glaser also poked fun at President Donald Trumps orange tan.

He picked an insane shade. He went pretty dark, she said. He didnt go Kamala, but he picked a shade that half of America was like, Okay, we can still tell hes white.

It is kind of insane that white people can just paint their skin, Glaser continued, making fun of her own spray tan this time. I feel like thats cultural appropriation. I dont know. I mean, its not blackface, but it is Guatemalan leg. This is not my leg. Im like, Oh my god, me llamo is Nikki! Am I saying that right?

Glasers monologue received mixed reactions among SNL viewers. While some fans applauded the comedian, others objected to the material.

I always look forward to nikki! shes the GOAT ... but I didnt laugh a single time during this ... and then to end with a molestation joke??? why? one commenter wrote on Instagram.

Really like her. But this was not good, another user said.

Glaser is a seasoned comedian known for her appearances on Comedy Central roasts and for hosting the Golden Globes Awards in January, a role she is set to return to in 2026.
Declaring a budget-busting, skyrocketing crisis, Gov. Maura Healey said Monday some Massachusetts residents are about to see their health insurance premiums spike by $25,000 in a single year.

And thats because Donald Trump and the Republicans have refused to extend these tax credits, tax subsidies that were available to people getting those benefits, and those are set to expire at the end of this year, she said.

Healey was referring to the 40-day federal government shutdown that largely hinges on a stalemate over Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits, which have made state marketplace health insurance more affordable for many more people since 2021.

In Massachusetts, if the ACA enhanced premium tax credits are not extended past Dec. 31, 337,000 enrollees in the states marketplace  the Massachusetts Health Connector  will see their premiums rise. Some will see them double or even triple.

Even though the Senate voted Sunday night in favor of a deal to reopen the government, with eight Democrats breaking ranks to vote with Republicans, Healey contended the deal does nothing to address those costs.

The majority of Democrats sought a guaranteed extension of the enhanced premium tax credits before agreeing to reopen the government.

Instead, Sunday nights deal  an initial procedural step  included an agreement to a Senate vote on health care by the second week of December.

Now we have a situation where nothing has been done to prevent peoples health care costs from skyrocketing, Healey said Monday. Its total dysfunction down in Washington, D.C., and we need the president and Republicans in Congress to come back to work and make sure that there is a vote to extend those health care subsidies for at least another year.

The uncertainty over the enhanced premium tax credits comes during open enrollment season, as hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts residents are reviewing their health insurance options on the marketplace for 2026.

The potential expiration of the tax credits is on top of base-level premium increases  increases proposed by health plans and approved by state regulators. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation analysis estimated that base premiums for Affordable Care Act plans will increase by an average of 26% nationwide in 2026.

Audrey Morse Gasteier, executive director of the Massachusetts Health Connector, told MassLive last week her staff is prepared to deploy a contingency plan if Congress votes to extend the tax credits in the middle of open enrollment season.

We would essentially rerun everybodys eligibility, she said. And we would recommunicate with our current enrollees and the general public to make sure that people know that something changed, and changed for the better, and that they should come back in and take a look.

On Monday, Healey referenced a 62-year-old couple in Peabody who earns $85,000 a year and currently pays $900 per month in health care premiums. If the tax credits expire, theyll be looking at nearly $2,100 a month.

I dont know how people can begin to afford that, Healey said.

Morse Gasteier said Health Connector members are paying attention, and in many cases are reeling.

Were trying to help people find a path forward, but many are waiting, hoping for good news about an extension so they can avoid making some of the tough choices that others have already made, said Tina Alu, of the Cambridge Economic Opportunity Committee, who serves as a navigator helping people to sign up for marketplace coverage.
WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a call to overturn its landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

The justices turned away an appeal from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky court clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the high courts 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges.

Davis had been trying to get the court to overturn a lower-court order for her to pay $360,000 in damages and attorneys fees to a couple denied a marriage license.

Her lawyers repeatedly invoked the words of Justice Clarence Thomas, who alone among the nine justices has called for erasing the same-sex marriage ruling.

Thomas was among four dissenting justices in 2015. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito are the other dissenters who are on the court today.

Roberts has been silent on the subject since he wrote a dissenting opinion in the case. Alito has continued to criticize the decision, but he said recently he was not advocating that it be overturned.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was not on the court in 2015, has said that there are times when the court should correct mistakes and overturn decisions, as it did in the 2022 case that ended a constitutional right to abortion.

But Barrett has suggested recently that same-sex marriage might be in a different category than abortion because people have relied on the decision when they married and had children.

Davis drew national attention to eastern Kentuckys Rowan County when she turned away same-sex couples, saying her faith prevented her from complying with the high court ruling. She defied court orders to issue the licenses until a federal judge jailed her for contempt of court in September 2015.

She was released after her staff issued the licenses on her behalf but removed her name from the form. The Kentucky legislature later enacted a law removing the names of all county clerks from state marriage licenses.

Davis lost a reelection bid in 2018.
Views expressed here represent those of the author and not necessarily of MassLive or The Republican. Readers are invited to share their opinions by emailing to letters@repub.com.

Our nations veterans and their families are facing a crisis they did not create and cannot afford. A nations strength isnt measured by its words  its measured by how it treats those who served.

That belief has guided us both as public servants. And while we advocate in different arenas, we believe in the same core principle: when someone serves our country, its our obligation to serve them in return  with urgency, with integrity and with a dedication worthy of their sacrifice.

This sacred obligation predates the nation itself. In the 18th century, towns in the Massachusetts Bay Colony aided veterans of the French and Indian War. That legacy has carried on  from the first shots of the Revolution in 1775 to the spirit of local Veterans Service Officers who deliver essential services in Massachusetts 351 cities and towns today. Many leaders in veterans services are veterans themselves, individuals who have the unique experience and perspective to provide quality care, support and empathy for their fellow veterans.

Massachusetts continues to lead the way. Under the Executive Office of Veterans Services, the Commonwealth has improved and expanded care for the over 230,000 veterans who call the Bay State home. In the wake of COVID-19 and the tragic failures at our state Soldiers Homes, the Commonwealth made history. With critical federal support, we secured historic investments to build two new, state-of-the-art Veterans Homes in Chelsea and Holyoke that will usher in a new era of stability, oversight, and excellence in care for those who served.

Massachusetts offers a wide range of benefits for veterans, including Chapter 115, a safety net program that provides veterans with necessary funds for housing, medical costs, dependent support, daily living expenses and behavioral health care. Veterans Service Organizations and caseworkers at veterans facilities connect our veterans with federal benefits, including an estimated 21,000 Massachusetts veterans to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

In 2024, Massachusetts enacted the HERO Act  the most comprehensive veterans legislation in its history. A campaign to end veteran homelessness is reversing long-standing trends, even as overall homelessness continues to rise nationwide. Mental health care is expanding, more veterans are receiving one-on-one support and new initiatives are prioritizing suicide prevention, employment and education services.

Our cities are stepping up as well. The city of Worcester is taking decisive steps to modernize its Division of Veterans Services through a holistic approach addressing the full spectrum of veteran concerns. Worcester takes a leading role with a seat on the Governors End Veteran Homelessness Advisory Board facilitated by EOVS.

Progress includes modernizing internal systems and strengthening data collection to inform decisions that deliver better outcomes for veterans, while also launching new programs to expand outreach, promote veteran-related events and collaborate with trusted community voices and local veteran organizations.

This is what it looks like when government works together  federal, state and municipal  to deliver real results for our veterans. Weve shown a better system isnt just possible  its already underway.

But while Massachusetts looks ahead and leads the way, were deeply concerned about the direction coming out of Washington. Instead of reinforcing the VA as the essential institution it is, some in our nations capital actively destabilize it. Right now, under the Trump administration, more than 24,000 Veterans Health Administration (VHA) jobs are under review for downgrade  threatening staffing across an already strained system. Clinical trials have been delayed, impacting care for thousands of veterans and stalling progress in areas like PTSD and substance use treatment. And earlier this year, the VA cut second-year funding for the Suicide Mortality Review (SMR) program  just as Massachusetts was poised to expand its prevention model statewide.

At a time when demand for VA care is surging, we must improve and expand health care for veterans  not sabotage it. Thats why Congress passed the PACT Act in 2022  to ensure the VA could meet the needs of a new generation of veterans exposed to toxic substances and denied care for too long. Since the PACT Acts passage, nearly half a million new veterans have enrolled in VA health care  including more than 22,000 veterans in Massachusetts. This surge is the result of long-overdue recognition and long-delayed care. But without sufficient staff to meet rising demand, we risk trading one crisis for another.

Thats why continued partnership with the VA is so critical. Massachusetts has always led on veterans care  but weve never done it alone. The VA has been one of our strongest partners, from direct care to driving research breakthroughs. Last year, the VA Boston Healthcare System served more than 65,000 veterans. At the VAs New England Expo in March, over 800 veterans showed up to seek help. In just two days, more than 3,100 constituent cases were resolved  and 56 veterans sought suicide prevention support.

VHA care is unparalleled. But it needs investment. It needs protection. And it needs leaders willing to speak up when the foundation starts to erode.

Thats why in August, we joined veterans, advocates, providers and frontline workers at a roundtable at UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester to speak honestly about whats working, what isnt and whats at stake. Policies shouldnt be made in a vacuum. It should be rooted in lived experience.

Veterans kept their promise. They served this country with honor, sacrifice, and courage. Now its our turn  to meet their service with action, stability and a system they can trust. We arent just the Bay State; were the Brave State. Because when it comes to serving those who served  we lead.

Edward J. Markey represents Massachusetts in the United States Senate. Dr. Joe Robinson is director of Veterans Services for the city of Worcester and a United States Marine Corps veteran.
The Esplanade, the Charles River and the skyline are seen, Friday, Nov 4, 2022, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) AP

Affordability might have been king in last weeks big-ticket elections, but a new poll is a reminder that environmental concerns still loom large for U.S. residents.

More than 7 in 10 respondents (72%) to a recent poll by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, an environmental advocacy group, said theyd be more likely to support candidates who back protecting the environment and endangered species.

The poll of 2,004 adults aged 18 and older was conducted from June 26July 3, 2025. It had a 2.1% margin of error.

Some other top-line findings:

7 in 10 (70%) respondents told pollsters they think its a good idea to factor the value of nature into government decisions.

82% of respondents said they believed protecting imperiled species of animals and plants is important to people living in the US. A further 80% said they believed the overall diversity of animals and plant life is important to people living in the US.

54% of voters oppose cutting staff at national parks and other agencies that oversee wildlife and natural resources.

The polls findings on concerns about funding at national parks and other environmental agencies came before the federal government shutdown that began Oct. 1 and now appears headed for a resolution.

Last week, a cadre of Massachusetts lawmakers pressed the Trump administration to provide more clarity on a wave of planned layoffs that could result in the loss of National Park Service jobs in the Bay State.

The poll is generally reflective of broader findings. For instance, more than half of respondents (54%) to a March Gallup poll said they believed protecting the environment should be a priority, even if it curbs economic growth.

Seventy-two percent of respondents to that same Gallup poll also said they worried a great deal or a fair amount about the quality of the environment.

"Americans are concerned about the environment, the welfare of animals, and conserving nature, IFAW said in a statement, adding that it matters because there is a clear public mandate for conservationnot just for natures sake, but as a political and moral priority for voters."
As holiday decorations start to appear, winter weather is arriving just as early in Massachusetts.

On Monday, Massachusetts residents can expect to wake up to a foggy, misty overcast morning. By the afternoon, rain is expected across the commonwealth.

The Berkshires could be cold enough for brief snowflakes late this afternoon, the National Weather Service predicted.

Then the winterlike temperatures arrive.

Overnight temperatures are expected to crash to widespread subfreezing readings by dawn, the weather service reported.

Tuesdays temperatures are expected to continue to be around the upper 20s with "gusty northwest winds making for a biting cold." This could include more snow in the Berkshires.

Add a couple layers for this winterlike chill if youre headed outside, the weather service warned.

Some areas, however, like the Cape and Islands, could get to about 40 degrees.

The rest of the week is likely to see highs in the upper 40s and lows in the 30s.
HOLYOKE  Responding to a widening food security crisis, PeoplesBank has donated $100,000 to food banks, survival centers and food pantries in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The money is in addition to hundreds of thousands of dollars that the bank already had put toward fighting food insecurity over the course of 2025, said Matthew Bannister, PeoplesBank senior vice president of corporate responsibility and sponsorships.

Bank employees were stepping forward, he said. They were asking what PeoplesBank could do to help.

Its a moment of attention, he said.

The government shutdown delayed or stopped SNAP benefits for many New Englanders this month.

The political drama may resolve itself in the next 24 hours. It may drag on for weeks and weeks. But the food insecurity issue is still going to be there, Bannister said.

Rose Schwartz, right, helps to pack food for the mobile food truck program in Easthampton. Schwartz was recently furloughed because of the federal shutdown and saw cars lining up in her neighborhood so decided to help out on Nov. 6. (Douglas Hook / The Republican, File) Douglas Hook

In Western Massachusetts alone, more than 191,000 people depend on SNAP to put food on the table. SNAP brings $35 million every month into the region.

With a 30% surge in demand, were deeply concerned about meeting every clients needs while maintaining the quality of care and support we strive to offer, Shannon Rudder, CEO of Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services, said in a prepared statement. Families are feeling more vulnerable than ever, and the emotional toll is growing.

PeoplesBank has begun to distribute $5,000 to $10,000 grants to the following organizations: The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts; Connecticut Foodshare; The Care Center of Holyoke; Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services; Rachels Table of Western Massachusetts; Amherst Survival Center; Northampton Survival Center; Lorraines Soup Kitchen; Neighbors Helping Neighbors; Providence Ministries  Margarets Pantry; Salvation Army Holyoke Corps; Family Outreach of Amherst; Gifts of Love; Midwest Food Bank New England; Hands on Hartford; Interval House of Hartford; Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford; and Friend to Friend Food Pantry.

PeoplesBank had made food programs a focus of its philanthropy and had prior relationships with the organizations, Bannister said.

We already knew them, (and) we already knew the work there were doing, he said.

Bannister said PeoplesBank wants to set an example.

Were trying to get other people to do the same, Bannister said.
Springfield teacher Robert Gayle Sr. waits in Hampden District Court for his arraignment on charges of indecent assault of a minor in May 2023. (Don Treeger / The Republican, File)

SPRINGFIELD  Settlements were reached in two federal lawsuits filed against a former Springfield middle school teacher accused of sex crimes, including claims that he raped one student in a closet.

A complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in January against Robert Gayle Sr., a former teacher at STEM Middle Academy on Alton Street.

The terms of the settlements have not yet been made public, but the lawsuits named as defendants Gayle, the city, former Principal Luis Martinez and current Principal Rhonda Jacobs.

Martinez resigned from the citys public school system during an investigation, according to court records.

City Solicitor Stephen J. Buoniconti said the settlements were reached after two days of mediation in Boston last week. He refused to disclose further details.

Gayle, 62, once a history teacher and coach of the girls volleyball team, also has been charged criminally in Hampden Superior Court with sexual assault. He was arrested in 2023. By August of that year, he was charged with assaulting three students.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The federal suit filed by one of the students, a 14-year-old girl, says she and another student went to a counselor to complain that Gayle was weird and a pervert. The counselor responded that Gayle was a great guy and sloughed off the girls concerns.

She ultimately reported that Gayle often rubbed her shoulders, touched her waist and grabbed her buttocks on at least one occasion.

The other Susie Doe, cited as a victim in the criminal case, said Gayle raped her repeatedly while she was in seventh grade and for two subsequent years. He once left a hickey on her breast, according court records.

Both students who sued in court had recently lost close family members, according to filings.

On the criminal side, a judge recently allowed a motion to suppress critical evidence against Gayle, including materials recovered from searches of his home and electronics.

Gayle was not placed on administrative leave until March 29, 2023, after the hickey incident, records say.
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Ballina native Kevin Loftus has won the Rising Star 2025 Award at the KPMG Irish Independent Property Industry Excellence Awards, the landmark tenth anniversary edition of Irelands premier celebration of excellence in the property & real estate industry, which took place at the Convention Centre Dublin. Leading figures from across architecture, construction, planning, development, and real estate gathered to honour projects and people shaping Irelands future.

Kevin Loftus was selected as the 2025 Rising Star Award winner by a national panel of judges and recognised for his visionary leadership in Ireland's Green Transition. Kevin pioneers regenerative design and Design for Disassembly. His approach combines environmental responsibility with social impact, setting new standards for sustainable urban development. As Co-founder, Director, and Design Lead at ACT (Accelerating Change Together), a social enterprise established in 2021 based in Ballina Innovation Quarter, Kevin is emerging as a driving force behind Ireland's Green Transition in the built environment. With a dedication to embedding sustainability, Kevin champions regenerative design rooted in the belief that conventional approaches are "disconnected from natural processes".

Kevin's architectural philosophy consistently delivers solutions that positively impact people and the planet. A prime example of his spirit and a significant influence on the sector is his pioneering adoption of Design for Disassembly (DfD) in Ireland. The Ripple project, a collaboration with UCD, underscores his innovative impact, winning Ireland's first New European Bauhaus Award for "Reconnecting with Nature", transforming underutilised green spaces into climate-resilient and socially cohesive areas through community co-design. This demonstrates a tangible pathway for the industry to embrace nature-based solutions and community-led design.

Now in its tenth year, the awards continue to be the Oscars of the Property Industry, endorsed by Irelands leading professional institutes and representative bodies. The 2025 winners demonstrate the extraordinary range of talent and innovation driving progress across the broad property industry.

READ MORE: Mayo representatives speak out on proposed planning for IPAS centre
A WOMAN who was mauled by an out of control Bullmastiff Pitbull cross dog while walking with her son in Mount Falcon thought she was going to die as it went for her neck.

Sandra Killeen made the comments during a victim impact statement given at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court after she was attacked by the dog which was owned by David Barrett (41) of Ballymacredmond, Ballina on November 20, 2022.

Mr Barrett pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Ms Killeen despite denying to Gardai that the dog was his and later claiming he was looking after it for someone else.

The court heard that Ms Killeen (54) was walking her own dog with her nine-year-old son in the Mount Falcon Woods at around 3.30pm when the Bullmastiff Pitbull came towards them and started sniffing and growling at her dog.

The Bullmastiff Pitbull was unaccompanied and not on a leash and Ms Killeen decided to pick up her own dog and leave the area. However, the dog lunged at her and knocked her over and proceeded to maul her resulting in her suffering a number of injuries. She was saved when her son flagged down a passing car and a man managed to beat off the dog with a stick before grabbing hold of it and tying it up.

Emergency surgery

Ms Killeen was brought to Mayo University Hospital before being transferred to Galway where she underwent emergency surgery and was released three days later. She suffered severe injuries both physical and psychological and does not have the full function in one arm since the attack.

In her victim impact statement, Ms Killeen described the attack as both 'terrifying and traumatic' and despite trying to fight back, the dog was too strong for her.

At one stage weakened and overwhelmed I looked up at the sky and truly believed I was going to die. The attack was relentless and the dog was going for my neck when a brave passerby intervened, beating the dog away with a stick. Their actions saved my life and I am deeply grateful as the attack came terrifying close to being fatal, she said.

Ms Killeen recalled the pain being excruciating and she sustained puncture wounds, intense bruising and severe lacerations to her left and right arm, chest, back, right thing and groin. She was also informed by her surgeon that she was lucky not to lose her left arm and as a result she has restricted mobility in it.

READ MORE: 'Hit squad' member jailed for three years for machete attack outside Mayo filling station

She informed Judge Eoin Garavan that the emotional and psychological affects of that day have been profound and she is a former shell of herself.

I flinch when I see a dog, big or small but especially a black dog. When I hear a dog bark it triggers overwhelming feelings of panic as memories of that day come flooding back, he added.

Ms Killeen said that her son has had nightmares after witnessing the attack and believed she was dead when she stopped screaming.

Healing process

She said that she cannot put into words the trauma of knowing that he believed his mother had died and the healing process for her has been long and difficult.

Detective Garda Eamhair Brosnan told the court that later that evening she went to the home of Mr Barrett and he said the dog was his and his name was Diesel and he had gone missing. When she cautioned him about the attack he replied that the dog is a pet and he attacked no one and it was the dog he attacked.

The following day she visited him again to sign paperwork to allow for the destruction of the dog and he replied that he did not know what she was talking about and asked what evidence she had that the dog was his. Det Garda Brosnan said that on December 2 a blood sample was taken from the dog and on December 16 he searched Mr Barrett's home and seized items related to dog related material.

The material was tested in London and the DNA taken from a dog bowel and collar from Mr Barrett's home matched that of the destroyed dog.

Phone seized

Gardai also seized a phone and discovered Whatsapp messages between Mr Barrett and his son where the dog was discussed on the evening of the attack.

Mr Barrett had initially been charged with endangerment but later pleaded guilty to assault causing harm.

The court heard that Mr Barrett has 33 previous convictions including one for assault causing harm, three assault convictions and one for violent disorder.

Ms Aine Boyle, counsel for Mr Barrett, said his client wished to apologise to Ms Killeen for a horrific incident and also wished to apologise to Garda Brosnan for the way he behaved during the investigation.

She said that Mr Barrett has been in custody on remand for 15 months and he has engaged in AA meetings and has taken part in the alternative to violence programme.

Further charges

In a separate matter, the court heard that Mr Barrett also pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Garda Sandra Rooney and assault to Garda Laura Shevlin who attended to a disturbance at his property on July 16, 2024.

Sergeant Shane Prendergast informed the court that Mr Barrett's son, Conor had reported that his father had been taking cocaine and was hysterical in the house and sought garda assistance.

The two gardai were dispatched and arrived at the gate at around 2.15am and met with Conor Barrett when David Barrett arrived and shouted abuse. He pushed the gate violently in an attempt to hit them and then charged at both gardai. He pushed Garda Rooney and then punched her twice with a closed fist into the chest area and also spat on her arm.

Both gardai returned to the garda station in Ballina and returned with other gardai to arrest him and the ASU had to be called to assist them.

Sgt Prendergast said he observed Mr Barrett emerge from his house bare chested and was irate and was under the influence of intoxication. He said Mr Barrett claimed he would set dogs on the gardai if they came on his property.

When the ASU arrived at the scene a search took place but they could not locate Mr Barrett. Two days later he produced himself at Ballina Garda Station where he was questioned but Sgt Prendergast said he was abusive during the interview and made the gardai out to be liars while he was the victim.

Sgt Prendergast said that since the incident Garda Shevlin has resigned from An Garda Siochana and Garda Rooney has been unable to return to work.

Mr Barrett took to the stand where he apologised for his behaviour but denied that he was taking drugs on the night. He said at the time he felt he was 'losing the plot' and was turning to drink and accepted he had destroyed people's lives. He said it broke his heart to hear what the dog did to Ms Killeen.

He said since he went into custody he has engaged in education and found the AA good help and was working in horticulture. He said he felt he needed structure in his life and stated he would rather lose his life than remain in prison.

Judge Garavan said Mr Barrett is going to face a significant custodial sentence and commented that 'one thug and his dog' comes to mind when he thinks of his behaviour.

He remanded Mr Barrett into custody for the preparation of a probation report for sentencing on February 20.

READ MORE: Two men jailed after assaulting garda in Mayo takeaway on St Patrick's Night
Mayo based community projects were honoured at the All-Ireland Pride of Place community awards on Friday evening in Limerick (November 7).

Achill Tourism took first place in the Community Tourism Initiative category, with Cong Tidy Towns taking runner up place in the Area with a Population of 0-300 category, losing out to Rathanna Village in County Carlow.

Judges praised the hard work put in by the Achill Tourism team stating The judges received a fantastic welcome to this well-known tourism destination on the Wild Atlantic Way, which is familiar the world over for its spectacular beaches and scenery. It also features in films but what is not known about it is that it is an amazing example of a community supporting and fighting for its community life and its economy which is dependent on tourism income.

The judges were very impressed with the strong emphasis on sustainability and community led growth through the local tourism company and its excellent leadership.

The awards, hosted by comedian and broadcaster Dermot Whelan, took place in Limericks Strand Hotel, with 400 community volunteers in attendance.

Sponsored by IPB Insurance, the Pride of Place competition was initiated 23 years ago though a Co-operation Ireland programme to acknowledge the invaluable work undertaken by volunteers and those involved in local community development.

It has grown into the largest competition recognising community development achievements on the island of Ireland.

Paying tribute to the communities who were honoured on the evening, Mayor of Limerick, John Moran, said: "Limerick has been proud to welcome the IPB Pride of Place Awards. These awards are a celebration of community spirit and collaboration, and they shine a light on the people and projects that make our towns and villages into the places we call home. For Limerick to host this event is a testament to the resilience and creativity of our communities, with plenty of success across our city and county in these awards over recent years. We are continuing to build a future rooted in pride, partnership and possibility in Limerick, while thriving on doing things differently.

Pride of Place founder and Chairman Tom Dowling said: After 23 years of these motivational awards recognising exceptional community endeavour, the judges continue to be inspired and humbled in equal measures, as they hear directly from the nominated communities their story of their pride in their place and the extraordinary work they are doing to ease the path of life for all the people in their place irrespective of date or place of birth, ability or wealth.

READ MORE: Health Minister to visit Mayo for 'key hospital visits' this month
A 10% rise in urban greenness was linked to fewer mental disorder hospitalizations, from 1/100K in South Korea to 1,000/100K in New Zealand.

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Greenness and hospital admissions for cause specific mental disorders: multicountry time series study



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TOP INSIGHT Nature's prescription? Access to local #greenspaces was linked to a 7% reduction in #hospitaladmissions for all #mentaldisorders. Stronger impact seen for #substanceuse (9%), #psychotic disorders (7%), & #dementia (6%). Get outside!  #Nature #GoGreen

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How Green Spaces Nurture Mind and Community Well-being

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Largest Global Study Links Green Spaces to Lower Mental Health Risks

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Even a 10% Boost in Urban Greenness Can Cut Mental Health Hospitalizations

Greenness and hospital admissions for cause specific mental disorders: multicountry time series study - (https://www.bmj.com/content/391/bmj-2025-084618)

A new international study published in theissue reveals that).The analysis, which examined data spanning two decades across seven countries, found that individuals residing in areas with higher levels of greenness had notably lower risks of being hospitalized for mental disorders Researchers suggest thatThese findings add to a growing body of evidence linking urban green spaces with positive mental health outcomes, emphasizing the importance of integrating nature into city planning and public health strategies.However, associations varied across countries and disorders. For example, Brazil, Chile, and Thailand showed consistent protective associations across most disorders, while in Australia and Canada, greenness was associated with modestly increased risks for all cause mental disorders and for several specific disorders.The study, led by Professors Shandy Li and Yuming Guo from Monash University in Australia suggests that this protective effect of a persons mental health increases with greater exposure to greenness, with no clear threshold.Professor Guo said that the study provides clear evidence that should inform urban design and health policy to better protect mental health, he said.contributing to 14% of the global disease burden with associated economic and societal costs.While the links between mental health and green space has been linked previously, the Monash study is the largest to analyze data from 11.4 million hospital admissions for mental disorders from 6,842 locations in seven countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, South Korea, and Thailand) from 2000 to 2019.All cause mental disorders and six specific categories (psychotic disorders, substance use disorders, mood disorders, behavioral disorders, dementia, and anxiety).a widely used and reliable satellite derived metric for assessing vegetation levels in a given area.Factors including population levels, weather conditions, air pollutants, socioeconomic indicators and seasonality were all taken into account.Models were stratified by sex, age, urbanization, and season.Overall, protective associations were strongest in urban areas, where an estimated 7,712 hospital admissions for mental disorders annually were potentially preventable through greater exposure to greenness.Seasonal patterns were also found in urban areas, suggesting that climate and weather conditions play a crucial role in how green spaces are used and perceived, say the authors.Further analysis in urban areas suggested that aranging from around 1 per 100,000 in South Korea to approximately 1,000 per 100,000 in New Zealand.This is an observational study so no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect and the authors acknowledge the uncertainties of using hospital admission data from multiple countries. They also point out that their results only capture severe disorders requiring inpatient care so underestimate the full burden of mental health.Professor Guo said that a considerable proportion or rate of hospital admissions for mental disorders may be associated with exposure to greenness and could potentially be reduced through greening interventions under realistic scenarios.These mental health benefits may also bring broader economic and social advantages, including reduced healthcare costs, less strain on health systems, improved workplace productivity, and enhanced community wellbeing, he said.Future research should aim to explore the differential effects of various types of green spaces, such as parks or forests, on mental health outcomes, and focus on assessing the quality and accessibility of green spaces.Source-Eurekalert
Veteran Bollywood legend Dharmendra has been admitted to Mumbais Breach Candy Hospital since October 31, initially for what his team described as a routine medical review. At the time, they reassured fans that there was no cause for concern, explaining that the actor regularly undergoes medical check-ups and was absolutely fine. The statement followed a wave of worry on social media after fans spotted him at the hospital and assumed something was wrong. However, some recent reports by the Indian Express stated that the 89-year-old star had been admitted due to breathlessness and that his condition had worsened. Speculation even emerged claiming he was on ventilator support, sparking fresh panic among admirers.

 Dharmendra Close contacts of the Deol family have now firmly denied these rumours. They clarified that Dharmendra is not critical and nowhere near ventilator support. The whole ventilator news is fake. Dharmendra has been hospitalised for a week but he is not on a ventilator, a source connected to Sunny Deol said, adding that Sunny visited the actor earlier on Monday. They assured that if the situation were serious, the entire family would have gathered at the hospital. The iconic actor, who celebrates his 90th birthday in December, continues to remain under observation and is recovering well.
Named to honour the 11th year of Emperor Taishos reign in 1922, the Type 11 was Imperial Japans first light machine-gun. It featured an ammunition feed system which, although ingenious, solved one problem only to create another.

Superseded by the Type 96 model in 1936  which reverted to a more traditional box magazine but failed to resolve other issues satisfactorily  it was not until the introduction of the Type 99 in 1939 that the Japanese arms industry produced a reliable light machine gun. By then, 29,000 of the Type 11 were in use, plus a further 8,600 of the Type 96, effectively committing a significant proportion of the Imperial Japanese Army to imperfect weapons for the duration of the Second World War.

Designed by General Kijiro Nambu, the man behind many of Japans small arms, the Type 11 was based on the French Hotchkiss M1909, which was employed by many nations during the First World War, including Great Britain and the United States. Unlike the Hotchkiss, which used either a strip magazine or a belt to feed ammunition, the Japanese version had a hopper that could funnel clips of five bullets supplied for the Type 38 rifle. This meant that any infantryman could supply ammunition for the machine gun. But convenience came at a price.

Water or dust could easily enter the firing mechanism through the open hopper, causing reliability issues. This problem was exacerbated by poor dimensional tolerance between the bolt and gun barrel, which could cause spent shells to jam prior to ejection.

An automatic oiling system was included to lubricate cartridges before they entered the chamber. This might work perfectly on the firing range, but on the battlefield, dirt would mix with the oil to create a sludge that could jam the gun. During the Sino-Japanese war of the early 1930s it also became apparent that the hopper feed made the weapon unbalanced (because all the cartridges were packed on the left side).

So General Nambu developed the Type 96, replacing the hopper with a conventional box magazine containing 30 rounds, similar to those fitted to Bren guns. The oiling system was also revised; the automatic oiler was replaced by a manual system fitted to the magazine loader. However, even though the magazine made the Type 96 more dirt resistant than its predecessor, the lubrication system still carried some dirt into the chamber with the oil, leading to jams.

Three years after its introduction, the Type 96 evolved into the Type 99, which had improved primary extraction and so dispensed with the oiling system altogether. This significantly improved reliability.

However, this new system was designed to be compatible with the Type 99 rifle, which fired different ammunition from the earlier models. Therefore infantry units equipped with the older pattern rifles continued to use the matching Type 11 and 96 machine-guns, while those using the 1939 pattern Type 99 rifle received the matching modern light machine-gun. This meant that soldiers using the older models would be out-gunned on the battlefield by almost all Allied troops they encountered.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has suggested recreating Gran Colombia  the early 19th Century country that included modern day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama  on multiple occasions over the weekend.

The South American leader made the comments in response to Washingtons ongoing strike campaign on vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, which has killed more than 70 people accused of trafficking drugs. Petro said a union may be the only way to counter U.S. aggression in the region, which has dialed up pressure on Caracas and Bogota.

However, Petros right-hand man Armando Benedetti played down the claims as symbolic in an interview with the Miami Herald.

America is not a continent of kings or princesses, princes or despots. Every dictator who has appeared here has faced rebellion, said Petro in a speech on Saturday, referring to Trumps campaign in the Caribbean. Isnt it time, then, to talk about Gran Colombia again?

Gran Colombia was a republic that existed from 1821 to 1831, encompassing the majority of northern South America. It was founded by Simon Bolivar, who led the region to independence from Spain and remains a key rhetorical figure in Latin American politics, especially in Colombia and Venezuela.

Speaking in Santa Marta, where Bolivar died, Petro drew comparisons between the revolutionary struggle of the early 1800s and the present day, saying the answer to countering Washingtons aggression should be our own union.

The president elaborated on the suggestion in a post on X the following day, floating a European Union-style accord: I propose to the peoples inhabiting this territory [that] they rebuild this idea of a Gran Colombia, with a common parliament and collegiate presidency, as in the European Union.

The same day, Petro hosted delegates at a summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the European Union. In his opening speech, he delivered a history lesson on Gran Colombia and argued that Latin America has an older, but less successful, history of integration than the European Union.

While Petro repeatedly promoted the idea of a return to Gran Colombia, his right-hand man, Benedetti played down the presidents rhetoric.

I interpret that statement to mean that Colombia and the countries of Latin America, especially South America, will return once again to brotherhood, to a region at peace, he told the Herald.

Benedetti noted the impracticalities of merging multiple nations, saying that Petros language was symbolic. I think he means that we should go back to being brothers, that we should look inward a little and not get into conflict with each other, the minister said.

The Colombian presidents comments are the latest in a series of heated exchanges with President Donald Trump, who added Petro to a list of sanctioned individuals last month, alleging without presenting proof that he is an illegal drug dealer.

Last week, Petro used his speech at the COP30 climate summit to lambast Trump, accusing him of being against mankind and comparing his immigration policy to that of the Nazis.

2025 Miami Herald. Visit miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Flowers are taped to a tree, and lit candles sit below at the site where 80-year-old Peter Morris, a Vietnam veteran, was killed. He parked his car after a school Veterans Day ceremony in Farmingdale on Long Island, New York.

A mother stood with her two young daughters, both students at Woodward Parkway Elementary, staring at the spot where Morris was struck.

It is such a big loss for all of us, she told Military.com. We were dropping flowers to let them know we are thinking of them.

Flowers and a small American flag are placed at the tree where Peter Morris was struck outside Woodward Parkway Elementary School in Farmingdale, N.Y. (Photo by Darius Radzius/Military.com)

Police said that Morris was getting into his 2012 Hyundai after attending his granddaughters Veterans Day ceremony when a stolen 2013 Nissan slammed into him outside the school. He suffered critical injuries and was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators said the driver ran and was chased down by officers minutes later. The suspect was identified as Randy Colon, 24, of Hicksville.

He is charged with second-degree manslaughter, leaving the scene, grand larceny, and criminal possession of stolen property.

Randy Colon, 24, of Hicksville, N.Y., is charged with second-degree manslaughter and related offenses after police say he struck and killed Vietnam veteran Peter Morris with a stolen car outside Woodward Parkway Elementary School. (Courtesy: Nassau County Police Department)

Family Holds Candlelight Vigil

A small vigil formed after sunset where family members shared stories and remembered Morris.

His grandson, also named Peter Morris, stood wearing his grandfathers Vietnam veteran hat.

He was always there for me, he told Military.com. He was a proud Vietnam veteran. Im proud to wear this hat for him.

He added that his grandfather pushed through a difficult childhood and still built a strong, loving family.

He had every right not to be the man he was, he said. Every moment I spent with him was great.

Broken plastic and glass remain on the road outside Woodward Parkway Elementary School in Farmingdale, N.Y., after police say a stolen car struck and killed Peter Morris. (Photo by Darius Radzius/Military.com)

Morris daughter, Suzanne, recalled the veterans ceremony at the school. She told the story of how her father noticed the flag erected in his honor in the Field of Honor with a mistake. It listed the wrong branch of service.

He saw the flag, and it said Navy, she told Military.com. So, he took a Sharpie and fixed it to say 'Army.' Thats his handwriting out there.

She said Morris smiled throughout the school ceremony.

He sat in the front row. Kids thanked him. He was smiling from ear to ear," she added.

Morriss sister, Rose Dowd, said the loss has devastated the family.

He was my brother, my best friend, Dowd said. He lost his wife five months ago and that broke his heart, but he had his grandchildren. He was well loved.

Family and neighbors hold candles during a vigil for Vietnam veteran Peter Morris outside Woodward Parkway Elementary School in Farmingdale on Long Island, New York. (Photo by Darius Radzius/Military.com)

She said he was proud of his service and always wore his hat signifying his service, even to church.

He was very proud of it. People would come up to him in restaurants and thank him, she said. He never had a bad word for anybody.

His grandson, Peter, shared a story the family just learned. After Vietnam, Morris gave his medal and a round to a local kid in the Bronx. Years later, that now-grown man is sending it back.

He didnt need the symbolic value. He just gave it away, Peter said. And the man kept it all these years. He never forgot my grandfather.

American flags line the lawn outside Woodward Parkway Elementary School in Farmingdale, N.Y., where police say a stolen car struck and killed Vietnam veteran Peter Morris. (Photo by Darius Radzius/Military.com)

A Community Grieves

Neighbors and the community are feeling the loss as well. People have been laying flowers and flags in front of the school. Some cried at the curb where Morris was struck.

It is terrible, one parent said. It is going to hurt for a long time.

Neighbors described Morris as a quiet gentleman.

I was shocked, said neighbor Michael Salvia. [I] say hello, talk to him. Very nice man. A perfect gentleman.

Salvia said Morris recently lost his wife and still flew his American flag, calling it a "terrible misfortune" where the victim was simply at the "wrong place at the wrong time.
Veterans Day usually brings parades, salutes, rifle volleys and crowds lining sidewalks from coast to coast. This year is different as the federal government shutdown is turning patriotic traditions into cancellations.

Communities that typically deck streets with flags are scrapping ceremonies. National cemeteries that host quiet tributes are going silent. Universities that normally stage ROTC vigils are telling cadets to stand down. This is a result of what has been the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, which could soon be over due to eight Senate Democrats crossing the partisan aisle Sunday evening and reaching a deal with Republican leaders in the chamber to get a future vote on Affordable Care subsidies.

Military.com reached out to multiple universities and national cemeteries for comment.

The shutdown is currently freezing official military outreach nationwide. Universities, ROTC detachments and national cemeteries are cancelling Veterans Day ceremonies and parades.

Officials told Military.com that federal rules block service members from taking part in public events during a lapse in funding. Communities from Virginia to Oregon are scrambling, cancelling long-planned tributes and shifting to quiet, private observances instead. Military families are closely watching pay and benefits.

Olivia Robbins carries a large American flag while leading her Girl Scout troop as they march in Veterans Day parade event honoring Mainers who served in the military, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019, in Portland, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Shutdown Forces Silence on Veterans Day

Long-standing traditions in Charlottesville, Portland, San Diego and Michigan are among those canceled.

Military.com asked officials why time-honored ceremonies honoring service members vanished from community calendars. Pentagon and ROTC leaders pointed to a directive that halts all community outreach activity during the shutdown.

Air Force ROTC commanders at the University of Virginia confirmed the ceremony and vigil could not proceed. Capt. Rachael Parks, a spokesperson for the Air Force Jeanne M. Holm Center, told Military.com that Department of War guidance requires all official outreach to stop until funding returns. Background on ROTC campus programs can be found on Military.coms ROTC page.

Arial view of the Pentagon with the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial in the background (Photo by Shannon Knott/Pentagon Force Protection Agency)

Pentagon Sends Questions to the Services

The Pentagon directed all inquiries to individual military branches for clarification.

Air Education and Training Command told Military.com Air Force ROTC units cannot participate in Veterans Day ceremonies in an official capacity during the shutdown. Service members may attend privately if they follow uniform rules and do not appear to represent the military. More Veterans Day impacts are tracked in Military.coms Veterans Day coverage.

A volunteer salutes a headstone at the Wreaths Across America event at Miramar National Cemetery, San Diego, Dec. 14, 2024. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Santicia Ambriez-Stippey)

A Patchwork of Silence and Celebration

Public ceremonies at Miramar National Cemetery in San Diego, Great Lakes National Cemetery in Michigan, and Camp Nelson National Cemetery in Kentucky, were canceled. Portlands Veterans Day Parade was also called off.

Houston will still hold its Veterans Day parade and program as planned.

ROTC cadets at UVA will still mark the day with a private recognition during training. Cadets planned a moment of silence and a short tribute.
Military families are lining up for food drop-offs, pantry pickups and emergency grocery boxes, according to the Military Family Advisory Network (MFAN). The organization reported more than 50,000 requests for help in just three days.

The impact of the longest government shutdown in history, which as of Monday surpassed 40 days but potentially could reopen this week due to Senate Democrats reaching across the aisle, is hitting military families in every branch, state and pay grade.

Families that live paycheck to paycheck are asking for food, gas and diapers. National Guard and Reserve troops are struggling because canceled drills mean no pay. Nonprofits are shipping emergency groceries to keep cupboards from going empty. A previous Military.com report warned that troops may soon miss paychecks if the shutdown is not resolved.

Volunteer Angus Hsigh helps a military member during a Feeding San Diego food distribution for military families affected by the federal shutdown Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Oceanside, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Families Are Asking for Food, Not Extras

MFAN CEO Shannon Razsadin, in a conversation with Military.com, described a surge of requests for food support from every branch and every state.

The need is real and urgent, Razsadin said. Military families are strong, but strength does not fill a pantry. Even when the government reopens, the ripple effects will be felt for months.

MFAN is shipping boxes of shelf-stable food to every branch and every state. Each box includes enough groceries for a family of four, in addition to a grocery gift card helping families buy fresh food that pantries do not provide. Support is available at combatmilitaryhunger.org and mfan.org.

Razsadin said National Guard and Reserve families are feeling the sharpest financial hit. Many drills were canceled. Pay disappeared overnight. Parents are preparing for more missed income.

A recent Military.com report documented a surge in food pantry visits as drills disappeared.

U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Janeen L. Birckhead (right), the Maryland National Guards assistant adjutant general for Army, talks with U.S. Army Lt. Gen. James J. Mingus, the director of operations, Joint Staff at the Pentagon, and other senior leaders as they cross in front of the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C., Jan. 21, 2021. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Arcadia Hammack)

Food banks near large installations report rising demand, according to MFAN. The group said parents are skipping snacks and cutting portions to stretch groceries. Some families are asking for diapers and formula along with food.

MFAN said shoppers are putting items back at the register when debit cards come up short. Families are also relying on relatives for groceries and gas.

Bills do not stop when paychecks do. Military.com reported that installations nationwide are trying to expand on-base food options as demand rises.

Military.com reached out to Blue Star Families, Armed Services YMCA and Feeding America for comment.

U.S. Coast Guard Base Kodiak continues construction for a new housing project at the Nemetz Park Site, Aug. 23, 2024. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Cameron Snell)

Pentagon Blames Democrats for Pain at Home

The Pentagon like others federal agencies under Republican leadership blamed Democrats for the nefarious impacts to millions of Americans.

The Democrats have voted over a dozen times to withhold pay from federal workers and uniformed service members, making it hard on everyones family to pay rent, enjoy Thanksgiving, and buy Christmas presents for their children, Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson told Military.com. Our service members will always be our priority.

The Pentagon remains grateful to groups helping families with groceries during the shutdown, Wilson added.
Marcus Gill stood on a balcony at Bethesda Naval Hospital in January 2010, still wearing his hospital gown with a halo brace screwed into his skull. He had just woken up from a two-month coma to learn that his best friend was dead and that his neck was broken.

I asked the doctor how am I alive, Gill said. He said medicine couldn't explain how I survived, but if I wanted to know, I should ask God.

Gill would eventually earn a degree in theological leadership and dedicate his life to protecting othersespecially children. A drastic change from a rough childhood in Long Beach, California, the deadliest fighting in Afghanistan, and years searching for purpose after nearly dying on the Marine Corps birthday.

From the Streets of LA to Marine Corps Infantry

Born in 1988 in Long Beach, Gill was a child during the LA riots and raised in a neighborhood where college wasn't on anyone's radar. His parents were divorced and never attended college. By 18, Gill felt his dad was ready to kick him out.

You get older, people are going to college, figuring life out. I needed to get it together. Gill said. I attribute my time in the Marine Corps for saving me from that.

A friend's fathera retired sergeant majorinspired him. Seeing the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor and Marine Corps memorabilia in the man's home gave Gill something to aspire to. After his friend left for boot camp a year ahead of him, Gill visited him at the School of Infantry.

Seeing and speaking to Marines changed my perspective, Gill said.

He enlisted in late 2005, shipped to Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in July 2006, and became a machine gunner with 1st Battalion, 5th Marinesone of the most storied infantry units in Corps history.

The official insignia of 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, which served in Afghanistan's Helmand Province during Operation Enduring Freedom. (Wikimedia Commons)

Becoming One of the First Lab Handlers in Afghanistan

After a deployment aboard the USS Tarawa with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unitincluding humanitarian work in Bangladesh and transiting the Strait of Hormuz during heightened tensions with IranGill returned to prepare for Afghanistan.

In late 2008, his platoon sergeant asked for volunteers to become dog handlers before the deployment.

I thought he was joking, I laughed, Gill said. He said, Good, you're going to Virginia.

Gill became one of 13 Marines in his unit selected to take Labrador retrievers into Afghanistan instead of the traditional German shepherds or Belgian Malinois.

Hearts and minds was our undertone in Afghanistan Gill said. What better way than a dog that will lick you and wag its tail? You see people with different cultures and temperaments change when a dog walks into the room.

The handlers trained five days a week in rural Virginia with their dogs. Gill was matched with Izzy, a two-year-old female yellow Labrador retriever.

I loved it, it brought out a whole different character in me, Gill said. I could play and be goofy. It's just the nature of Labradors. It gave me something else to take care of. When we weren't on patrols in Afghanistan, it was a companion. She became part of the family.

Marine Cpl. Marcus Gill and his military working dog Izzy rest during operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2009. (Marcus Gill)

Operation Strike of the Sword

In mid-2009, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan, as part of Operation Khanjar"Strike of the Swordthe largest helicopter assault since Vietnam. The battalion's mission was to secure the Nawa district and rebuild infrastructure that had been devastated by years of Taliban control.

Gill and the other Marines first arrived at Camp Leatherneck, then Forward Operating Base Dwyer, before pushing deeper into Taliban territory.

We stopped and the gunny said, We're here, Gill said. We built FOB Geronimothe tip of the spear.

The mission was to reopen government centers, rebuild schools, restore markets, and give control back to the people. The battalion ultimately built 11 schools during the deployment. FOB Geronimo housed hundreds of Marines in a remote location where temperatures reached 120 to 130 degrees.

As a K9 handler, Gill's job was route clearance and entry control point securitysearching vehicles and personnel entering coalition bases. He and Izzy worked daily patrols, securing supply routes and searching the endless stream of jingle trucks that brought in gravel and construction materials.

The heat was brutal for the Labs, Gill said.

Marines with Headquarters & Service Co., 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, unpack school supplies at the Nawa schoolhouse Sept. 8. The school supplies were given to the school's students on the first day of class. (Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Jeremy Harris)

During one patrol protecting CNN's Anderson Cooper, Gill and his fellow Marine Lance Cpl. Justin Swanson stood security on a corner in a village when a small child appeared, then disappeared. Suddenly, something came flying over a fence toward them.

It was smoking, we didn't know what it was, Gill said. Izzy ran up to it thinking it was a chew toy. She sat it in a puddle and turned to look at me. It fizzled outit was a homemade grenade.

The Marines stormed the house but never found the child. The village elder looked at them and claimed they were the ghosts of the valley, left there from the Russian invasion.

Gill and another handler also made a critical discovery during this timeidentifying that Taliban bomb-makers were using coffee grounds and tobacco leaves combined with ammonium nitrate as accelerants in improvised explosive devices. The information spread quickly among British and American dog handlers, helping them identify threats more effectively.

But the deployment took a darker turn as casualties mounted. Sgt. William Cahir was shot and killed while trying to help rebuild the area, leaving behind a wife and two daughters with another child on the way.

Lance Cpl. David Baker later died in an IED attack while on foot patrol. Then came Lance Cpl. Donald Hogan, who earned the Navy Cross posthumously after spotting a string attached to an IEDhe warned his Marines, then positioned himself between them and the device, sacrificing himself to save their lives.

You saw people fighting for their lives, Gill said. It was hard to stomach.

Gill vividly remembers coming off post and assuming quick reaction force duties when they heard an explosion. Two Taliban fighters had blown themselves up trying to plant an IED near a bridge. After Afghan National Army troops engaged in a firefight with other insurgents at the scene, Gill's team went on patrol to investigate.

I took a short halt, I remember looking down and saw bullet casings and blood, Gill said. That was the realest it got for mestanding where someone was likely shot and killed right before I got there. It scared me. I never thought about shutting down or running away, just keep going forward.

Marine Cpl. Marcus Gill, military working dog Izzy, and Sgt. Charles Mahovlic of Texas on patrol in Nawa district, Afghanistan in 2009 with 1st Battalion, 5th Marines. (Marcus Gill)

The Marine Corps Birthday That Changed Everything

On November 10, 2009the Marine Corps' 234th birthdayGill's unit investigated an intersection where several IED attacks had occurred. They were mounted on Humvees, gathering information, looking for any suspicious activityIzzy was left on base in her kennel.

As they collapsed their security perimeter to return to base, their Humvee hit an IED.

I was ejected from my machine gun turret when the Humvee flipped, Gill said. Lance Cpl. Justin Swanson, Gill's driver and close friend, was killed immediately. Gunnery Sgt. Michael Riveraa Marine who had searched through rubble at Ground Zero after 9/11suffered severe leg injuries. Another Marine, Jason Sinks, was also wounded.

A corpsman initially thought Gill was dead; he wasn't breathing and had no pulse.

Everyone thought I was dead, Gill said. They found out later my neck was broken in half.

Gill has no memory of being transported from FOB Geronimo to Camp Bastion, then to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, then finally to Bethesda. He woke up just after New Year's Day 2010two months after the blast.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps and the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps were in his hospital room. His mother told him there had been an accident, that Justin was killed, and that he was hurt. They had just presented him with the Purple Heart.

I got up. They took things out of my arm. I got up and angrily went down the hallway, Gill said.

He was wearing a halo bracea device screwed into his skull to immobilize his neck.

I remembered these old Steven Seagal movies where he breaks the bad guys' necks and they die, Gill said. I asked the doctor how am I alive.

The doctor simply responded that medicine couldn't explain his survival, and he should instead ask God.

Military working dog Izzy equipped with protective goggles and boots for IED detection patrols in Afghanistan's Nawa district. (Marcus Gill)

The Long Road Home

Gill spent months recovering, first at Bethesda, then on convalescent leave at home, lying on a couch in the halo brace on pain medication. He wore the brace for four to five months.

It was tough, Gill said. I couldn't drive. Couldn't really go to my appointments on my own.

After the brace came off, Gill received orders to the Wounded Warrior Battalion, where he participated in equestrian therapy and other rehabilitation programs for nearly a year. His medical review board eventually cleared him for full duty, and he returned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marines as they prepared to deploy to Sangin Valley in early 2011.

But Gill wasn't the same Marine who had deployed to Nawa.

I started experiencing panic attacks, Gill said. It was hard to breathe. I just lost my friend. I couldn't get a handle on things.

The battalion took him off the deployment roster. While 1/5 fought through one of the bloodiest deployments of the war in Sangin, Gill remained stateside, struggling with the invisible wounds of war. The Marine Corps didn't have a strong understanding of PTSD at the time, and Gill found himself in trouble, receiving non-judicial punishment for incidents related to his struggles adapting to life after combat.

Gill left the Marine Corps in July 2012 after six years and two weeks of active duty.

I felt like my unit forgot about me, Gill said.

Izzy, his Labrador, had been sent back to Virginia after the deployment. Gill was unable to find her after an extensive search.

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Dustin Combs with 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 8, patrols through a poppy field with a Mark 12 rifle in Sangin, Afghanistan, April 16, 2011. The U.S. Marines of 1/5 conduct frequent patrols through the area to show a presence and interact with the community. (Marine Corps Photo by Cpl. Nathan McCord)

Finding Purpose After the Marine Corps

The transition to civilian life was difficult. Gill moved back into the same Long Beach apartment where his father had lived when he left for the Marine Corps.

I wanted to be something different and get more out of life, Gill said.

He enrolled at a community college, earned his associate degree, and then transferred to the University of Southern California. He earned his bachelor's degree at USC while starting a nonprofit to help children, bringing elements of Wounded Warrior Battalion programs to the civilian world.

When COVID-19 shut down California, Gill began working at a homeless veteran shelter. He eventually worked in executive protection for several celebrities. He later became a security supervisor at Boeing's Seal Beach facility before transitioning to school security work.

Then the VA called and offered him a chance to pursue a graduate degree.

I immediately enrolled, Gill said.

He earned his Master of Arts in Theological Leadership from Vanguard University in Orange County, graduating with a 4.0 GPA while serving as president of the veterans club.

I wasn't religious before the military, Gill said. My first dog tags said no preference. The ones I carried in Afghanistan, and today, say Christian.

Now 36 and married with two daughters ages 6 and 3, Gill works as one of 56 bodyguards for the Roman Catholic Bishop of Orange County. His primary assignment is providing armed security at a K-8 Catholic school in North Orange County.

Like my gunny said, Make yourself as useful as possible, Gill said.

He's now preparing to pursue a Ph.D. in Education to continue his mission to help othersespecially children.

Marcus Gill and Military Working Dog Izzy in the back of an armored vehicle during their deployment to Afghanistan in 2009. (Marcus Gill)

Carrying the Weight of Loss

The burden Gill carries is heavy. According to Gill, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines suffered 61 total losses31 from suicide, more than died in combat. Gill knew almost every single one.

I exercise. I write a lot, Gill said. I found that writing has been a great outlet for me. Having a relationship with God really helped. I realized that this world is so much greater than anything that you can hold in the palm of your hand, so what you can achieve is greater.

The most recent loss came in August. I think maybe I'm the lucky one, Gill said. I don't remember anything. They remember everything. I got a Purple Heart and almost died, but I'm still alive.

Gill also recently lost his sister.

The losses have taught him to prioritize what matters, to focus on his family, his faith, and his mission to help others. He owns a home, has a promising career, and has built a familyquite a journey from his childhood in Long Beach.

The Marine Corps gave me the ability to imagine and have the capacity to be greater than myself, Gill said. I will always love it. It's the only family I ever had, with the exception of my wife and daughters today.

When asked what he wants current and future Marines to know, Gill replied: I love my Marines, he said. Pay attention to your history. It is rich with lessons, morals, and stories of heroics. Pay attention. It will continue for another 250 years.
The American Council on Education (ACE) has been a long-standing partner with the Department of War and Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) in evaluating military training and occupations for college credit recommendations. Good progress has been made. ACE recently hosted a three-part Advancing Military Learner Success webinar series this month, focused on credit for prior learning. One of the key goals is to see how higher education can best use the Military Guide to make informed decisions and support learner mobility and success. Get the facts on getting college credit for service and learn about frequently asked questions.

The ACE Military Guide was revamped in 2021. As the sole source of information for all military courses and occupations since 1954, equivalent credit recommendations are provided and documented on the Joint Service Transcript (JST). Most helpfully, the modernized version allows users to upload the JST and get an instant report showing how their military experience translates. Even though this tool has been in effect for several years now, it is still not widely known.

ACE Military Guide System

Colleges and Universities have improved access, search features, and navigation tools to review military learner education and training. This enhanced and streamlined technological platform enables higher education institutions to better facilitate awarding credit with accuracy and consistency.

The ACE Military Guide page leads to the JST upload feature. The guide itself includes more than 25,000 courses and 3,600 occupations vetted by experts. Through this automation, both military learners and institutions can efficiently make determinations and see prior decisions regarding credit for prior learning in their repository.

Military-connected learners can use the ACE military guide tool to plot their academic and career goals. One of the known challenges for transitioning active-duty members and veterans is articulating how their military training and education background translates to the civilian sector and higher education pathways. The generated report provides a comparison that allows for more meaningful conversations between the learner and higher education institutions.

Students utilize digital dental technology processing methods during classes at the Medical Education and Training Center (METC), Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The METC on Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, trains enlisted medical professionals in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Graduates of the program wishing to pursue an academic degree can utilize the METC Degree Bridge Program, which applies college credit for military training and work experience. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kara Carrier, DVIDS)

Better Visibility, Better Outcomes

Convenience matters. The more accessible the information and the easier it is to integrate data and systems, the better the outcome. This includes clearer feedback loops, information-sharing, and insightful academic and career counseling. The ACE Military Guide is a comprehensive decision tool, but it also validates the military members education and training, whether specialized or general.

More military service members and veterans should know about how they can efficiently have their JST and overall military training and education deciphered quickly at their fingertips. As ACE represents over 1,600 colleges and universities, higher education institutions are better equipped to support the success of military-connected learners. Ongoing ACE military course and occupation reviews, technological innovation, and stronger data are setting up a brighter future for the military-connected community to get credit for prior learning.

See also New Guide to Getting College Credit for Military Service.
Beachplace at Holland Park Cafe inside the pavilion at Holland State Park in Holland, Mich. The beachside state park is looking for a watercraft rental concession. Joel Bissell | Jbissell@mlive.com

Whether its a trip to a Lake Michigan beach or an Up North waterfall, some of the best memories at Michigan state parks are made at the onsite concession stands.

Sometimes that means a sticky sweet treat at an ice cream shop, renting a kayak to get in on the action or needing a last minute poncho for the everchanging Michigan weather.

Michigans concessions are both a landing place for visitors and a launchpad for small businesses.

There are currently 23 concession bids open across state parks in both peninsulas.

Heres a few businesses the states most popular parks are seeking:

Holland State Park - watercraft rental on Lake Macatawa

Rifle River Recreation Area - watercraft and bike rental near the park entrance

Silver Lake State Park - Mobile food within the ORV area

Tahquamenon Fall State Park - Firewood vendor at the Lower Falls campground

Warren Dunes State Park - Camp store at campground entrance and gift shop at Lake Michigan day-use area.

You can find a full list of open state park bids here.

The Department of Natural Resources partners with small businesses to serve as park restaurants, gift shops, rental outfitters, water park operators, guide services and more.

These opportunities are available through a competitive bidding process with the ability to enter into a contract for up to seven years.

Park concessions are held to a high standard, according to the DNR bid page.

We seek bidders who understand that every point of customer contact is an opportunity to educate and inspire and/or commit to employing best stewardship practices, according to the DNR.

The DNR gives examples of high-quality stewardship from partners: using compostable flatware or recycled products, using environmentally friendly cleaning products or collaborating with indigenous communities and local artists to sell retail products that tell the story of that place.

The DNR also works with small businesses that provide camping unit and RV rentals and guide services.
An aerial view of construction progress of the new 900-foot fully accessible boardwalk at the Upper Falls at Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Michigans Upper Peninsula on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. Joel Bissell | MLive.com

PARADISE, MI -- A kayaker plunged over the edge of Michigans largest waterfall this past week.

A video captured a kayaker navigating down the Tahquamenon River and over the nearly 50-foot drop of the Upper Falls.

Tahquamenon Falls State Park park Manager Kevin Dennis confirmed the video is real.

The river is a public waterway so there are no legal restrictions around kayaking over the falls. There will be no investigation, Dennis said.

However, he warns the park does not encourage attempting this dangerous feat in any way.

The waterway leading to the falls becomes narrow with rocks and trees. The bottom of the falls and river beyond are also lined with sunken tree branches that may not be visible.

Access points to the river are restricted, especially in the Upper Falls active construction zone. A 900-foot boardwalk and viewing platform is currently being constructed.

Construction crews work on the main viewing platform of the new 900-foot fully accessible boardwalk at the Upper Falls at Tahquamenon Falls State Park in Michigans Upper Peninsula on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. Joel Bissell | MLive.com

The kayaker did not seek park medical attention after the plunge, Dennis said.

At its peak, the Upper Falls roar with 50,000 gallons of icy water every second. This peak is typically after a substantial spring snow melt.

Milder winters have tempered this roar, but the Upper Peninsulas snowfall last year brought the Upper Falls back to an impressive 32,000 gallons per second, according to the park.

The Upper Falls is the states largest waterfall, which is one of the largest in the eastern United States.
iHeartMedia announced Doug Doc of Rock Podell is retiring from 106.7 WLLZ Detroit Wheels following a 50 year broadcast career. Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive

DETROIT - A local radio staple is about to sign off for the final time following a 50 year career in broadcast radio.

iHeartMedia Detroit just announced that Doug Doc of Rock Podell, who is currently on 106.7 WLLZ Detroit Wheels, will sign off for the last time on Friday, December 5.

Until then, Podell will continue to host his weekday afternoon drive show from 2:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. through his final show.

Its been an incredible ride, said Doug Podell. From my earliest days at WABX to returning to WLLZ, where I first took on a leadership role, it feels like the perfect place to sign off. Ive been lucky to spend 50 years doing what I love, in the city I love, surrounded by listeners who made it all worth it.

Podell first hit the radio airwaves back in 1975 at 99.5 WABX. He then moved to 106.7 WWWW, and later to 92.5 KQRS in Minneapolis before joining 98.7 WLLZ in the 1980s.

He then went to 98.5 WNCX in Cleveland before returning to Detroit radio at 101.1 WRIF in 1995. Following that he became a familiar voice on 94.7 WCSX from 2009 -2017 before going to 93.1 WDRQ.

Doug Podell is a Detroit original, said Casey Krukowski, Program Director for iHeartMedia Detroits 106.7 WLLZ. His passion for music, deep connection with listeners, and commitment to radio excellence have left a lasting marknot only on this station, but on generations of Detroit rock fans. We are honored that he chose to conclude his legendary run right here at WLLZ.

Podell has received many broadcast honors over the years, including Program Director of the Year from Billboard. He also received a Distinguished Career Award from the Detroit Music Awards.
Schneider Electric points to China's supply chain as key advantage

(People's Daily App) 13:57, November 10, 2025

In an interview with the People's Daily at the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, Gu Yue, vice president of Schneider Electric, said that the global industrial giant is leveraging China's vast supply chain as a critical competitive edge. China's industrial chain is the most comprehensive, bar none, said Gu.

(Produced by Liang Xiaojian, Wen Teng, Zou Yun, Zhu Yurou and intern Zhang Jingxuan, Lin Leiqi)

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Zhong Wenxing)
PARADISE, MI  Ric Mixter of one of only a few people who can say theyve seen the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald with their own eyes.

On July 4, 1994, Mixter spent almost two hours on the bottom of Lake Superior in a submersible as part of Expedition 94, a controversial private dive to the wreck 18 years after the sinking. The dive was financed by businessman Fred Shannon.

The project, controversial from the start, would become a turning point in how the public  and maritime law  view the Great Lakes most famous shipwreck.

Mixter produced and directed a one-hour documentary on the expedition, which made use of a yellow submersible, the Delta, which had been used only months earlier by ocean explorer Robert Ballard on a dive to the sunken ocean liner Lusitania.

Descent into Darkness

On that calm July morning off Whitefish Point, Mixter and pilot Dave Slater began their descent through Superiors quickly darkening water.

At 200-feet the sunlight disappeared, Mixter recalled. At 400 its pitch black. At 500 we get a sonar hit that the bottoms coming up, so the pilot kicks on the lights  and as soon as we hit bottom, a giant plume of 15,000-year-old silt goes up.

It looked like a moonscape.

The expedition was fortunate to find a guideline down to the wreck that was left from a prior Canadian survey. As the Delta drifted over the Fitzgeralds bow section. Mixter watched the wrecks steel hatches materialize followed by the yawning tears in the hull.

The port side of the ship is ripped away from the hull, he said. And I noticed right away theres no taconite there.

What He Saw Below

For nearly two hours, Mixter filmed the shattered vessel, peering through submersible portholes barely 6 inches wide. He saw the freighters mangled port side nameplate, a steering pole bent forward toward the pilothouse and a heavy rope that appeared to have been tied down by hand  perhaps by crewmen in the storms last moments.

A tarp fluttered near the wheelhouse where spray once froze on the glass. The radar masts, as Captain Ernest McSorley had radioed before the ship vanished, were gone.

Mixter and Slater circled the pilothouse twice, then turned back toward the mid-section while looking for exposed vents. The lack of taconite around torn area really led me to believe that theres no way it went down in one piece, that it broke on the surface and spilled out, he said. And that was confirmed when we went to the stern section.

The stern of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck during a dive in 1995 to recover the ship's bell.

It took about 15 minutes to reach the stern while dealing with a compass thrown off by the surrounding iron and steel. The Delta found the stern lying upside-down about 170 feet from the bow section. Mixter looked for hull scarring that might indicate the ship struck Caribou shoal, as wreck sleuths and other captains had speculated. There was none.

Theres not a single scratch to show it bottomed out, he said.

Behind the stern, he saw a massive pile of taconite, leading him to believe it spilled out when the ship was tearing into two pieces and the mid-section disintegrated.

After an hour and 45 minutes, they surfaced. The next dive that day, by a tug owner and his son, would find the body of a crewman near the bow  sparking outrage from victims families and setting the stage for Ontarios restrictions on dives to the site.

A Theory on the Sinking

Mixter was a teenager in Marquette during the 1975 storm. He learned to dive as a television reporter in Saginaw and went on to become an author, shipwreck documentarian and historian after the 1994 expedition.

Hes spent years collecting and reviewing footage from dives to the Fitzgerald. He believes that the ships demise began with leaking cargo-hatch covers and the vessel was eventually put under by a huge wave reported by Capt. Bernie Cooper of the Arthur M. Anderson, the Fitzgeralds companion on the voyage across Lake Superior.

Documentary filmmaker Ric Mixter.

I saw hatches one and six collapsed into the deck from a giant wave that pushed them under, Mixter said. Most of the clamps werent dogged down. There was leakage coming in there and the Coast Guard estimated that would have taken about three hours for it to fill enough to be susceptible to that big wave.

Mixter believes the ship slowly filled up with water coming in from leaking hatch covers and open deck vents, a theory that hews closely to the 1977 Coast Guard report, which blamed massive flooding of the cargo hold caused by faulty or poorly fastened hatch covers.

That poor ship was getting lower and lower in the water, he said. Then, all of a sudden, the big wave that Cooper reported that was almost three stories tall put her under.

Fitzgerald crew family members have disputed that poorly sealed hatches were to blame, but Mixter said that wasnt the deckhands fault. They werent ordered to do it.

He blames a hard-driving captain caught in a perfect storm.

McSorley never missed a fight on Lake Superior, Mixter said. He went through three in 1975 alone, and one more on Lake Huron. To blame anything other than a captain that really thought that that ship was indestructible is kind of silly.
The U.S. Capitol is photographed on 37th day of the government shutdown, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) AP

A group of U.S. Senate Democrats have aligned with their Republican counterparts to advance a deal that would end the government shutdown, but Michigans two Democratic senators are not among them.

Both Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Twp., said their initial no votes on Sunday night were because of a lack of guaranteed extension of health care subsidies.

A proposal crafted by Peters and rolled out by the Senates top Democratic leader to extend the healthcare credits for a year was not ultimately approved.

The deal that was supported would fund parts of the government - including food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch - and would temporarily extend all other funding until the end of January, buying lawmakers more time to finish additional spending bills.

The deal would also reinstate federal workers who had been laid off, and reimburse states that spent their own funds to keep federal programs running. It would protect against future reductions in force through January and ensure federal workers be paid once the shutdown is over.

The agreement promises a later vote on extending healthcare subsidies through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, that are set to expire Jan. 1.

It does not guarantee that those subsidies will be extended, however.

The test vote passed by a 60-40 margin, with five new Democrats joining most Senate Republicans. Its the first in a series of procedural requirements, meaning the deal could still take some days to finalize. It would have to be adopted by the U.S. House and signed off on by President Donald Trump.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, opposed the deal along with all but eight of his Democratic colleagues. He was joined by both Peters and Slotkin.

Democratic votes are needed in the Senate to get Republicans to the 60 votes necessary to pass a funding resolution.

In her no vote statement, Slotkin said shes been clear since July.

To earn my vote, Republicans would have to do something to bring down the cost of health care for working and middle-class Michiganders," she said. The promise of a vote in over a month does not meet that threshold.

Slotkin also referenced Medicaid cuts housed in Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill, which she said plunged America into a health care crisis. The legislation signed in July included significant cuts to Medicaid by inserting more stringent work and sign-up eligibility requirements.

Medicaid, a government-funded health insurance program for low-income individuals and families, people with disabilities and children, is the responsibility of the state to administer.

That emergency has real life victims, Slotkin said of the upcoming federal healthcare changes. And in Michigan, the average price of health care is increasing across the board, with some expected to see their premiums more than double.

In a similar statement posted online, Peters said he cant get behind a deal that doesnt take immediate action to prevent Michiganders health care costs from skyrocketing more than they already have.

Peters said he proposed a one-year extension of ACA health care subsidies that would provide some immediate financial relief while we work to address the health care affordability crisis more comprehensively.

He said that proposal wasnt supported, pinning the lack of resolution on Trump and Republicans in Congress.

Without a deal, its unclear if the two parties will be able to find any common ground on the COVID-19 era health care subsidies. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, has said he will not commit to bringing it up in his chamber.

Prior to the deal, a funding package had failed 14 times in the Senate.

Since the government shutdown began Oct. 1, federal workers have not been paid. U.S. airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights on Sunday for the first time, and there were more than 7,000 flight delays.

Fully-funded food aid has been in limbo, with around 1.4 million Michiganders relying on the program benefits caught up in legal battles related to the shutdown.

Schumer said he could not in good faith support the deal, and some other Democrats said giving up the fight was a mistake.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota supported the deal. Trump did not initially say whether he endorsed the deal. But he said, It looks like were getting close to the shutdown ending.

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.
Michigan State Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks at a town hall at Western Michigan University's Fetzer Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. Ryan Boldrey | MLive.com

LANSING, MI  Robert Joseph Bucko, 70, of Novi, was arraigned on Oct. 31 before Magistrate Victor Zanolli in the Oakland County 52-1 District Court in Novi for allegedly forging letters from his insurance clients to embezzle funds, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Bucko, who owned and operated the Stevenson Company insurance agency in Oakland County, has been charged with:

Two counts of Embezzlement by an Agent $100,000 or More, each a 20-year felony;

One count of False Pretenses $50,000 or More but Less Than $100,000, a 15-year felony;

One count of False Pretenses $20,000 or More but Less Than $50,000, a 15-year felony;

Seven counts of Insurance Fraud, each a four-year felony; and

Three counts of Taxes  Failure to File, each a five-year felony.

Bucko allegedly collected full insurance premiums from eight municipalities but only remitted a quarter or one-half of the premiums to the insurer, embezzling the remaining funds for his own personal use. The alleged scheme relied on using premium payments from new clients to replace and fund previous accounts. Bucko reportedly owed more than $400,000 to the insurer in unpaid premiums when the alleged scheme was discovered, according to a release from Nessels office.

It is further alleged that Bucko overcharged municipalities and failed to file Michigan income tax returns from 2021 to 2023.

The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) assisted in this investigation.

We expect insurance agents to handle their clients money with integrity, Nessel said. My office will continue working with the Department of Insurance and Financial Services to ensure that those who embezzle funds are held accountable.

Michiganders should feel confident that their insurance agent is protecting their interests and not lining their own pockets, said Anita Fox, Director of the Department of Insurance and Financial Services. DIFS is proud of its ongoing partnership with the Attorney Generals Office to ensure that Michiganders are protected. Those who suspect fraud can report it online or by calling DIFS at 877-999-6442, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Bucko will next appear in the Oakland County 52-1 District Court before Judge Robert Bondy on Nov. 12.
Demonstrators wave and post signs from the Stone School Road pedestrian bridge during protests against the Trump Administration on several bridges across Ann Arbor on Friday, March 14, 2025. Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com

Dozens of Michigan residents meet weekly on the Stone School Road pedestrian bridge in Ann Arbor to exercise their right to protest.

While the groups message varies, its typically rooted in the same principle. Theyre there to protect and promote democracy by practicing their First Amendment right to assemble and express their views.

We call it rush hour resistance, said Sandy, a 74-year-old participant who declined to provide her last name. Were speaking to the drivers below us every single week. We reach so many people with our messages, which are meant to reflect whats going on at that point in time.

Some residents fear those rights are in jeopardy, however, after the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) proposed a series of administrative rule changes affecting all state right-of-ways, rest areas, roadside parks, carpool lots, scenic turnouts and welcome centers.

Kent County Indivisible, an advocacy group that organizes protests in West Michigan, was among the parties that have publicly called the proposal a direct restriction on the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

As proposed, demonstrating, protesting, distributing literature and soliciting membership would be prohibited on MDOT property unless officially permitted and not interfering with safety or facility use. The same goes for bringing a sign, placard, or voice amplification device onto MDOT property.

Violations could result in a misdemeanor and would be enforceable by police agencies.

Related: Hearings set for proposed ban on living in vehicles at Michigan rest areas, carpool lots

Officials said the proposals generally mirror existing rules set by MDOT and other state departments, though they havent previously been enforceable. The intent was to allow for enforcement as a last resort, not to criminalize homelessness or infringe on peoples right to protest, according to MDOT.

However, the existing administrative rules only allow for permits to be granted to governing bodies of a city, village or township, and prohibit signage on MDOT bridges that is political in nature.

Jocelyn Garza, MDOTs deputy director of public affairs for communications and media relations, said the department will be looking into permitting requirements as part of continues efforts to identify potential concerns with the process.

Were reviewing the concerns that have been shared, and taking a further look at what else needs to be reworded, clarified, or a process established to ensure that people retain their right to free speech, while remaining safe, Garza said. This is entirely why the public engagement process exists.

Adjustments to the proposed rules may be considered following the public comment period, which ends Thursday, Nov. 20. Until then, residents can share their thoughts and concerns by emailing MDOT-PublicComments@Michigan.gov.

MDOT previously told MLive the proposed rules target complaints the agency has heard from the public but has been unable to address, such as people camping in state rest areas, people living in their cars at state carpool lots and people leaving a vehicle in these lots for days on end.

The updated policies would also ban panhandling, passing out literature, and advertising vehicles for sale on MDOT property without permission. For the full list, visit the states website here.

Lawmaker on the states Joint Committee on Administrative Rules will review the proposed changes before anything is implemented.

Sandy called the proposed rules an infringement on her rights and an overreach by the state. As for the permit process, she called it bureaucratic and unnecessary barrier.

We rely on (MDOT) to do what theyre supposed to, to create and maintain transportation infrastructure, she said. This is above and beyond.

She plans to be back out on the Stone School Road bridge on Tuesday, Nov. 11. Her group of mostly retired residents will be co-hosting an event in honor of Veterans Day.

We are committed to nonviolent, peaceful protests, she said. We all have these rights. The best way to defend everyones rights is to use them publicly.
Three Dearborn men accused of plotting an ISIS-inspired attack appeared in federal court Monday, Nov. 10, where each agreed to remain jailed while the case moves forward. | Fuad Shalhout Fuad Shalhout -- MLive.com

DETROIT, MI - Three Dearborn men accused of plotting an ISIS-inspired attack appeared in federal court Monday, Nov. 10, where each agreed to remain jailed while the case moves forward.

Ayob Nasser, 19, Mohmed Ali, 20, and Majed Mahmoud, 20, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Anthony P. Patti at the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse in Detroit.

All three consented to detention, waiving their right to a full hearing for now but keeping the option to revisit it later.

Judge Patti confirmed that each defendant understood the charges outlined in the amended complaint, which accuses them of conspiring to transfer firearms knowing they would be used in a federal crime of terrorism and conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Ali and Mahmoud wore orange jail uniforms, while Nasser appeared in red.

Nasser was represented by Detroit attorney James C. Thomas, while Ali and Mahmoud were represented by Amir Makled and William Swor, respectively. None of the attorneys spoke to reporters following the hearing.

Federal prosecutors say the three Dearborn men used encrypted messaging apps to discuss carrying out an attack on behalf of ISIS. According to the 73-page complaint, investigators believe they trained at gun ranges, acquired AR-style rifles, shotguns, and handguns, and scouted potential attack sites in Ferndale and at Cedar Point amusement park in Ohio.

Authorities say the three Michigan defendants are part of a larger investigation spanning several states.

A sixth individual has been arrested in connection with the alleged plot, the FBI confirmed last week.

The newest suspect, Saed Ali Mirreh, 19, of Kent, Washington, was arrested and charged with providing material support inspired by ISIS. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrest on social media, describing Mirreh as another individual allegedly providing material support, inspired by ISIS.

Two additional suspects, Tomas Kaan Jimenez-Guzel, 19, and Milo Sedarat, 21, both of Montclair, New Jersey, were taken into custody last week as well.

Officials said the men were part of the same encrypted online network as the Michigan suspects but were allegedly pursuing separate schemes.

The FBI Detroit Field Office and the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said the investigation remains active and ongoing.
A TikTok made overnight indicated the poster was going to conduct a shooting at Howell High School sometime this week, according to a release from the Howell Police Department on Monday, Nov. 10. File photo.

HOWELL, MI  Howell police are investigating after someone posted a video on social media threatening to carry out an attack at a Livingston County high school.

A TikTok made overnight indicated the poster was going to conduct a shooting at Howell High School sometime this week, Howell police reported Monday, Nov. 10. Investigation led police to a home in Marion Township.

Howell High School has two locations at 1200 and 1400 W. Grand River Avenue in Howell. Police did not specify against which campus the threat was made.

The person who posted the TikTok confessed to doing so, but said they had no intention of carrying out any violence and called the post a joke, police said. No weapons are associated with the home said.

Police plan to submit the case to the Livingston County Prosecutors Office for potential charges. No arrests were made, police said, citing the age of the person who posted the TikTok.

We take these types of threats of violence against our children very seriously and sympathize with all of the families affected by the poor choices made by one individual, police said in a statement.

The Howell Public Schools Superintendent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ottawa County sheriffs deputies responded to a report of a crash Sunday, Nov. 9, near U.S. 31 and Lake Michigan Drive in Grand Haven Township. John Tunison

OTTAWA COUNTY, MI  Police are investigating a rear-end crash on Sunday, Nov. 9, where one driver allegedly reached speeds over 100 mph prior to the collision.

Ottawa County sheriffs deputies responded to a 2:43 p.m. report of a crash near U.S. 31 and Lake Michigan Drive in Grand Haven Township.

Upon arrival, deputies found a Ford Escape had rolled over on the southbound side of U.S. 31.

Police said a 38-year-old Holland man was driving the Ford on northbound U.S. 31 when it was struck from behind by a Kia Sorento.

Multiple witnesses at the scene told police a 26-year-old Grand Rapids man driving the Kia was driving recklessly at speeds over 100 mph. No injuries were reported.

The crash remains under investigation.

Investigators asked anyone with information to call the Ottawa County Sheriffs Office at 616-738-4000 or Silent Observer at 877-887-4536.
Georgetown Township firefighters responded early Monday, Nov. 10, to power lines down in the 2000 block of Bauer Road. (MLive File Photo) Kaytie Boomer | MLive.com

UPDATE: Power has been restored.

OTTAWA COUNTY, MI  Power lines are down near Jenison High School and Junior High School, sheriffs deputies said.

The junior high and high school are operating on a two-hour delay. Bauerwood Elementary Schools is also on a two-hour delay, and will start classes at 10:45 a.m.

Police have closed Bauer Road between 20th Avenue and Lightlamp Drive while Consumers Energy makes repairs.

The power lines went down around 4:15 a.m.

Many houses in the area also lost power. Consumers reported 1,157 customers were without power as of 7:30 a.m.

Consumers estimated that power would be restored around 10:45 a.m.
A KDPS vehicle parked outside the downtown courthouse in Kalamazoo. (Brad Devereaux | bdeverea@mlive.com)

KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI  Former Comstock Township Deputy Fire Chief Michael Dyer was sentenced in court today, after previously pleading no contest in a drunken driving case.

Dyer was sentenced to 18 months of probation on Monday, Nov. 10, in Kalamazoo County District Court, WWMT reported.

In September, he pleaded no contest to one count of operating intoxicated causing serious injury after he was arrested for allegations he ran into a child while drunk driving, court records show.

Dyer, 63, did not admit guilt with his plea, but accepts the punishment associated with the charges.

A restitution hearing will be held in the future.

He was driving a 2020 Ford F-450 in a June 22 crash at 12:01 a.m. hitting an 11-year-old girl, causing a fractured bone that required surgery, according to a police report.

Dyer was taken to the Kalamazoo County Jail, where he blew a blood alcohol content of .158, and then .146 when tested again at 1:06 a.m.

The legal limit for driving in Michigan is .08.

Dyer was placed on paid administrative leave in mid-September after the incident, a township official said. He was fired on Sept. 29, by unanimous vote of the board.

Bookmark MLives local Kalamazoo news page.
The 110th Wing Base Honor Guard presents the colors during the Veterans Day ceremony at Fort Custer National Cemetery in Augusta, Michigan on Monday, Nov. 11, 2019. This year's ceremony will go on as planned despite the federal government shutdown. (MLive file photo) Joel Bissell

AUGUSTA, MI  Fort Custers traditional Veterans Day ceremony will go on as scheduled Tuesday, Nov. 11.

Veterans Day ceremonies at some other national cemeteries, such as Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, have been canceled this year due to the federal government shutdown.

That is not the case at the Augusta cemetery, 15501 Dickman Road.

An hour-long ceremony, open to the public, will commence at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Rodney Heard, Fort Custer National Cemetery director, confirmed with MLive.

The ceremony will feature a flyover from the Hooligan flight team, as well as a ride-through from the Patriot Guard Riders and American Legion Riders.

Retired U.S. Air Force and Michigan Army National Guard Col. Frank Walker will serve as the master of ceremonies, according to information provided by Heard.

U.S. Marine Corps Reserve veteran Charles Solano will offer the keynote speech.

There will also be a presentation and retiring of the colors, as well as a rifle salute courtesy of the Fort Custer National Cemetery Honor Guard.

Musical selections will include the The Star-Spangled Banner, God Bless the USA, the Armed Forces Medley and Taps.

The Veterans Day event is sponsored by the Fort Custer National Advisory Committee.
The Midland High School marching band perform during a game against Swartz Creek in this MLive file image.

MIDLAND, MI  Midland Public Schools officials will embark on a strategic planning process to chart the districts direction for the next five to 10 years.

The process will establish clear goals, objectives, and measures to guide the districts work, including creating a portrait of a graduate that describes the knowledge, skills, and qualities every student should possess upon graduation, district officials said.

The strategic planning process is an opportunity to ensure our academic and organizational goals best serve our students and prepare them for success in a changing world, Board of Education President Phil Rausch said in a statement.

The school district will offer both in-person and virtual participation options. A digital survey is available through Nov. 25, for parents, guardians, and the school community.

School officials also will host a series of one-hour listening sessions, with both community-wide and parent- or guardian-specific sessions scheduled throughout November and December.

These outcomes, whether they will be achieved in the classroom or through capital projects, will ultimately all focus on the needs of current and future (Midland Public Schools) students, Rausch said.

For more information on the initiative, visit midlandps.org/strategicplan.

Generative AI was used to write this article, based on data provided by Midland Public Schools. It was reviewed and edited by MLive staff.
A row of porta-potties is seen in this file photo. Reena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey Journal EJA EJA

SAGINAW, MI  An unhoused Saginaw man is suing a contracting company, alleging its employees moved a porta-potty with him inside and soiled him with excrement in the process.

It was intentional. They were doing it just to jack with him, said Victor J. Mastromarco Jr., one of the plaintiffs attorneys.

Kevin J. Kolbe, 59, filed his suit against Midland-based Fisher Contracting in Saginaw County Circuit Court on Nov. 4. He is seeking damages of at least $25,000.

The suit alleges Kolbe was riding his bicycle on the afternoon of Aug. 13 when he needed to use a restroom. He stopped at a construction site overseen by Fisher Contracting on Ojibway Island and parked his bicycle and its attached trailer containing his possessions near a porta-potty. The porta-potty bore no sign indicating it was private, the suit states.

As Kolbe entered the porta-potty, Fisher employees began yelling at him, the suit alleges. He then heard an engine start, followed by the sensation of the portable toilet being lifted off the ground, the suit states.

The Fisher employees used a forklift to partially raise the porta-potty and haphazardly rock it back and forth, the suit alleges. The toilet began to tip backward but did not topple over as it struck a tree, the suit states.

Kolbe opened the door and was greeted by the forklift operator telling him to, Get the (expletive) out of our porta-potty, the suit states.

The motion caused Kolbe to be covered in human waste and chemicals, which he was not able to immediately wash off due to his unhoused status, the suit claims. Fishers employees mocked Kolbe when he emerged from the porta-potty, his suit states.

Kolbe called 911 to file a complaint, but no criminal charges were filed against the Fisher employees.

Mastromarco and fellow attorney Kevin J. Kelly assert the Fisher employees actions were intentional and malicious.

They knew he was in there and they were fooling with him, rocking it, Kelly said. They laughed and heckled at him when he left the porta-potty.

The forklift could not fully lift the porta-potty to relocate it, the attorneys added.

They were taking him for a ride and werent really moving it (to a new location), Mastromarco said. They just lifted it off the ground to screw with the guy. They were gonna teach him a lesson  Dont use our porta john, buddy.

The suit contains three counts: battery, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The Defendants conduct was so outrageous in character and so extreme in degree, as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency and to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community, the suit states.

Calls to Fisher Contracting seeking comment were referred to attorney Brian J. Rush, who did not immediately respond. Fisher Contracting has yet to file a response to Kolbes lawsuit.
Veterans are honored at Applebee's Grill + Bar on Monday, Nov. 11. (Staten Island Advance/Annalise Knudson) Annalise Knudson

Restaurants across the U.S. are set to thank you on Veterans Day in the form of free or discounted meals.

The federal holiday, celebrated on Tuesday, Nov. 11, honors military veterans of the United States Armed Forces.

Veterans Day began as Armistice Day, which was first observed on November 11, 1919, marking the first anniversary of the end of World War I.

In 1954, after World War II and the Korean War, the U.S. Congress amended the law to change the name to Veterans Day  expanding the holiday to honor all U.S. military veterans, not just those who fought in World War I.

Veterans Day is distinct from Memorial Day in May, which specifically honors those who have died while in military service.

Here is a closer look at deals being offered at notable chains across the U.S., just keep in mind that most Veterans Day offers require proof of military service, are dine-in only, do not include alcohol, cannot be used with other coupons or discounts and do not include gratuity.

Applebees

Veterans and active-duty military, including reservists and National Guard members, can get a free full-sized entree from an exclusive Veterans Day Menu made up of seven of Applebees most popular menu items, such as a Classic Bacon Cheeseburger and Double Crunch Shrimp.

Chipotle

Members of the military community  veterans and active-duty military personnel with a valid military ID  who order any entree can get a second entree free from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. local time on Veterans Day.

Krispy Kreme

Veterans and active-duty military personnel can get a free small hot or iced coffee and a free doughnut of their choice on Veterans Day, Tuesday, Nov. 11. The deal is good in shops and at the drive-thru, no other purchase necessary (limit one per guest).

Red Lobster

On Veterans Day, all veterans, active-duty military, and reserves can get a free Shrimp & Chips entree, which comes with Walts Favorite Shrimp, fries, and coleslaw.

Starbucks

Starbucks will give veterans, service members, and military spouses a free tall 12-ounce brewed coffee (hot or iced) at participating stores in the U.S.

Cracker Barrel

Veterans and active-duty military dining in on November 11 at any of the nearly 660 Cracker Barrel locations get a free Sunrise Pancake Special  a pair of buttermilk pancakes, served with fresh eggs or breakfast meat.

Benihana

Veterans and active-duty military can get a free entree (value of up to $59; valid military ID required) on Veterans Day.

Beef O Bradys:

All veterans and active-duty military can get a free burger and fries on Veterans Day

Biggby Coffee

Military personnel can receive any 16-ounce beverage for $1.99 on Veterans Day.

Blaze Pizza

Veterans and active-duty military personnel can get a free one-topping pizza

Buffalo Wild Wings

All past and present armed service members can get 10 free Boneless Wings and Fries with a valid ID on Veteran Day.

Chilis

Complimentary entree including an Oldtimer with Cheese and Fries, Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadillas, and 3-Count Chicken Crispers Soup with Side Salad.

Dave & Busters

Veterans and active-duty military can get a free entree (up to $20) plus a $10 Power Card for gameplay, all day on Veterans Day.

Dennys

Free Original Grand Slam breakfast from opening till noon on Nov 11 for veterans / active duty.

Fazolis

Veterans and active-duty military get free Spaghetti with Marinara or Meat Sauce when dining in with code VET25.

Firehouse Subs

Active-duty military and veterans can buy one sub of any size and get a second one free with a valid military ID.

Freddys Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

Veterans and current military personnel who visit participating locations on Veterans Day can get a free Freddys Combo meal card, which can be redeemed through Dec. 31.

Golden Corral

All veterans, active-duty military personnel, retirees, reservists, and guardsmen get a free buffet meal with beverage on Tuesday, November 11, from 4 p.m. to close.

IHOP

Veterans and active-duty military personnel can get a free Red, White, and Blueberry Pancake Combo.

MOD Pizza

On Nov. 11, all veterans, active-duty military members and their spouses will receive 50% off a MOD-size pizza or salad.

Outback Steakhouse

Those with valid veterans and active-duty military IDs can get a free Aussie 3-Course Meal.

Red Robin

Free Reds Big Tavern Burger with bottomless side for veterans/active duty (dine-in only) on Nov 11.

QDOBA

Veterans and active-duty military get free chips and dip when they come into any restaurant  no purchase required. Guests can claim the offer by presenting their miliary ID at checkout.

Sheetz

All veterans and active-duty military personnel can get a free half turkey sub and a regular size fountain drink.

Sizzler

Veterans and active-duty military can get free lunch  choice of Half Dozen Crispy Shrimp, Malibu Chicken or 6-ounce Tri-Tip Steak, plus beverage  on Veterans Day from opening time until 4 p.m. local time.

Smokey Bones

All veterans and active-duty military get a free entree - choices include Bacon Cheeseburger, Pulled Pork Sandwich, or Chicken Tender Platter with one regular side - when dining in on Veterans Day.

Sonic

Buy One, Get One Free deal when you buy a Sonic Cheeseburger, SuperSonic Double Cheeseburger or Footlong Quarter Pound Coney.

TGI Fridays

Free meal when dining in from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time on Veterans Day. Menu choices include Cheeseburger with fries, Chicken Fingers with fries and coleslaw, Chicken Caesar Salad, Half Rack of Ribs with choice of side, or Cajun Shrimp & Chicken Pasta (half portion).
Michigan resumed full payments of November food assistance benefits to families and residents Monday, state officials announced.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients in the state who receive their benefits on the ninth of the month should receive their full SNAP allotment within 48 hours, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) officials said Monday afternoon, Nov. 10.

Those who receive monthly benefits on the third, fifth and seventh of the month received full November benefits last week. All other SNAP recipients should receive full benefit payments on their normally scheduled date, MDHHS officials said.

We are glad to be able to provide assistance to Michigan families to help them put food on the table, said MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel. The uncertainty, confusion and frustration caused by the U.S. Department of Agricultures request to block SNAP payments for the more than one million Michigan residents who rely on food assistance has been unfair, and in Michigan, we will continue to do everything we can to help those affected.

The resumption of full November benefits to Michigan residents follows a whiplash federal legal battle that hasnt fully resolved. The state could risk facing financial penalties from the Trump administration.

MDHHS spokespersons Erin Stover and Lynn Sutfin did not respond Monday to repeated attempts for comment.

SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, provides food assistance to lower-income residents.

Nearly 1.4 million Michiganders, including 492,000 children, rely on SNAP benefits to buy groceries. The average eligible household in Michigan received $335 in monthly SNAP benefits last year.

Those benefits have been threatened by the ongoing federal shutdown.

The Associated Press reported Monday that lawmakers are moving closer to a vote on legislation to end the shutdown, which has stretched on for 41 days. It has been the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

President Donald Trumps administration was sued by states, including Michigan, in a bid to require the USDA to use contingency funds to fund full SNAP benefits for November amid the shutdown.

After a federal court ruling Thursday ordered full funding of SNAP benefits, some states, including Michigan, began disbursing them. However, that was cut short when Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson late Friday put that court order on hold pending an appeal.

Attorney General Dana Nessel said about 200,000 Michigan residents received SNAP benefits during that brief window.

During the benefits pause over the weekend, the Trump administration demanded that states undo full benefits paid during the one-day window, according to a USDA memo. The memo warns that states could face financial penalties if they dont comply.

Enforcement of that memo was temporarily blocked Sunday by a federal judge, according to NBC News.

A federal appeals court late Sunday upheld the order to allow disbursement of full SNAP benefits for November. The Supreme Courts order gives the federal government at least 48 hours from the appeals ruling before full benefits have to be paid out, the Associated Press reported.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the situation Tuesday, the AP reported.

SNAP recipients are encouraged to reach out to their local MDHHS office with any questions regarding SNAP benefits, or they can check MI Bridges for updates.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event celebrating his first 100 days of his second term at Macomb Community College in Warren, Mich. on Tuesday, April 29 2025. Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com

President Donald Trump has pardoned 16 Michigan Republicans who faced prison time on accusations they acted as false electors in the 2020 presidential election.

This proclamation ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 presidential election and continues the process of national reconciliation, states the proclamation released late Sunday by Ed Martin, the governments pardon attorney.

In addition to the Michigan Republicans, a number of others were specifically named for pardon by Trump, including his former personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, his former White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, and others who allegedly attempted to overturn the 2020 election in favor of Trump.

The unconditional pardon extends to all U.S. citizens who engaged in conduct related to alternate slates of presidential electors and activities to expose voting fraud and vulnerabilities in the 2020 presidential election, the proclamation states.

Because federal pardons do not apply to violations of state law, the specific and blanket pardons arent likely to have an effect on the false electors case and any other state criminal cases related to the 2020 election in Michigan.

Those cases include one still ongoing that involves former Republican attorney general candidate Matt DePerno and former state Rep. Daire Rendon. The pair are charged in an alleged scheme to access voting machines following the 2020 presidential elections.

In 2020, President Trump launched an all-out assault against American democracy in his efforts to overturn the presidential election results and preserve his hold on power, Attorney General Dana Nessel said Monday. Today, President Trump pardoned more than 70 individuals, many of whom authored, executed, or otherwise knowingly assisted the presidents plot and efforts to overturn the election.

Any other characterization of this outrageous slate of pardons is only a further attack on our sacred ideals of a government by, for and of the people.

Nessel charged 16 Michigan Republicans in 2023 with forgery, conspiracy to commit election fraud and other felonies on allegations they signed documents in 2020 falsely identifying themselves as the states electors in an attempt to certify electoral votes for Trump in the presidential election that year, despite his loss.

The defendants contended that the documents were only intended to be used in the event Trump overturned his 2020 loss to former President Joe Biden.

Notable defendants in the case included former Michigan GOP Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock, Wyoming Mayor Kent Vanderwood, former MIGOP Grassroots Vice Chair Marian Sheridan and former Republican National Committee member Kathy Berden.

Lansing District Judge Kristen Simmons in September dismissed the charges, saying the defendants had no intent to defraud and were exercising their First Amendment rights to petition the government.

Nessel said her office continues to consider whether to appeal the decision to dismiss charges. That process has been delayed due to the Lansing District Court not providing trial transcripts depsite repeated requests, she said.

The fake elector case in Michigan was allegedly part of a wider scheme to subvert the national election results in favor of Trump across a handful of swing states.

Charges were filed against alleged fake electors in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and Wisconsin. Many of those defendants were pardoned as well, according to The Hill.

Those pardoned by Trump in the Michigan case are: Kathy Berden of Snover; Hank Choate of Cement City; Amy Facchinello of Grand Blanc; Clifford Frost of Warren; Stanley Grot of Shelby Township; John Haggard of Charlevoix; Mary-Ann Henry of Brighton, Timothy King of Ypsilanti; Michele Lundgren of Detroit; Meshawn Maddock of Milford; James Renner of Lansing; Mayra Rodriguez of Grosse Pointe Farms; Rose Rook of Paw Paw; Marian Sheridan of West Bloomfield; Ken Thompson of Orleans; and Kent VanderWood, mayor of Wyoming, Michigan.
The lake-effect snow will continue today through sunrise Tuesday. The high-impact areas will be relatively isolated, but will occur over a couple of key highway routes in Michigan.

The winter storm warning and the winter weather advisory areas are a good way to see if youll run into winter driving conditions.

Winter storm warning in pink, winter weather advisory in purple, for Monday, November 10, 2025 NOAA

The lake-effect snow will now hug the west coast of Lower Michigan, and continue at the south end of Lake Michigan.

Additional snow forecast for today, November 10. NOAA

If you are heading to Chicago from Michigan, you will hit a an area of heavy snow at times in far southwest Lower Michigan and northern Indiana. If you can take I-80 to Chicago instead of I-94, you will avoid some snow. Around the Niles area there could be another 6-8 of snow today through tonight.

Additional snowfall forecast for today, November 10. NOAA

The heaviest snow is expected in a strong lake-effect snow band that will just touch Manistee, Ludington and Pentwater. Another 8 of snow could fall along the Lake Michigan shoreline, or just a few miles inland. The accumulating snow area will be small, tapering down to little accumulation at Grand Rapids.

Additional snow expected today, November 10 NOAA

The Traverse City area will have an off-and-on type of lake-effect snow. It could snow hard for a half hour and then quit for a while. The lake-effect will actually pick up in intensity and coverage toward sunset this evening. Look for another 2-4 by the time the snow ends around 4 a.m. Tuesday.

Additional snow expected today, November 10 NOAA

The eastern part of the Thumb could have small areas getting another 2-4 at least. There may be a smaller swath that gets up to 6 of additional snow. Ann Arbor, Detroit, Flint, Saginaw, Bay City and Midland wont have any additional accumulations today.

Additional snow expected today, November 10 NOAA

The Upper Peninsula will still have areas of 4-6 of snow today and tonight, before the snow ends by sunrise Tuesday.

Additional snow expected today, November 10 NOAA

Stay updated with our Michigan winter weather by bookmarking MLive.com/weather.
Varun Singh

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Union Budget may announce new central cess or NCCD on tobacco, pan masala

Meghna Mittal Deputy News Editor at Moneycontrol. Meghna has experience across television, print, online and wire media. She has been covering the Indian economy, monetary and fiscal policies, Finance and Trade ministries. She tweets at @Meghnamittal23 Contact: meghna.mittal@nw18.com

GST on tobacco will be capped at 40 percent

Meghna Mittal

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Gujarat Board Date Sheet 2026 OUT for Class 10, 12: Check HSC and SSC exam timetable here

MC Education Desk Read the latest and trending news on CBSE, board exams, NEET, JEE, CUET, competitive exams, scholarships, college admissions, education policies, and more.

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The second phase of voting is set to take place in Bihar on November 11.

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Baramulla's director Aditya Suhas urges fans not to spill spoilers and climax: "have kept it under wraps to ensure..."

The film has garnered positive reviews for its gripping story and suspenseful narrative.

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Police barricades placed outside Dharmendras residence after veteran actor admitted to hospital

Palak Vij

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Vishal Jethwa meets Martin Scorsese with a namaste, as Indias Oscar Entry 'Homebound' kicks off campaign in New York

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Kim Ok Bin stuns fans with elegant pre-wedding photos ahead of her big day

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Ram Gopal Varma apologises to Chiranjeevi, netizens say he 'intentionally hurt him'

Recently, megastar Chiranjeevi praised Shiva and shared a video expressing his admiration for the film, which quickly went viral.

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Tamil actor Abhinay dies at the age of 44 due to prolonged liver ailment

Sarika Sharma

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Best exercises: 6 simple and effective ways to stay fit without stepping into a gym

Health benefits of running daily: It strengthens the heart by pumping blood efficiently and delivering it to the tissues. It also keeps your blood pressure in check (Image: Pexels)

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Do you talk on phone while it is being charged? Stop! Naturopathy doctor has a warning

Shreya Garg is a journalist with over 6 years of experience at leading media houses. She writes extensively on lifestyle, health and things that are trending on the internet.

Naturopathy doctor warns against talking on phone while it is being charged (Picture Credit: Pexels)

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Miss Universe 2025 controversy: What really happened between Nawat and Miss Mexico

Miss Universe 2025 has found itself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. A shocking on-stage insult to Miss Mexico sparked walkouts, apologies, and a global debate (Image: instagram)

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Meghna Mittal Deputy News Editor at Moneycontrol. Meghna has experience across television, print, online and wire media. She has been covering the Indian economy, monetary and fiscal policies, Finance and Trade ministries. She tweets at @Meghnamittal23 Contact: meghna.mittal@nw18.com

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Adrija Chatterjee is an Assistant Editor at Moneycontrol. She has been tracking and reporting on finance and trade ministries for over eight years.

In February 2025, India and the EU decided to ramp up talks for the proposed free trade agreement, targeting to close it by the end of 2025

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Nifty under 25,600, Sensex snaps 3 days of losses as Nifty IT jumps 2% on improving global mood

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Prop trading scam uncovered: No KYC, no paper trail; misuse of leverage runs on victims trust

Moneycontrol Exclusive: No agreement, No KYC, No paper trail, But trust is the only currency in the Prop-trading misuse scam. Prop Trading Scam (Part 2)

Brajesh Kumar

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SEBIs high-level committee on conflict of interest of top officials submits its report

SEBIs High-Level Committee on Conflict of Interest of top officials submits its report

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Ritika Goel is a content writer in the personal finance space. She aims to make money management easier for investors.

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Madras HC recognises cryptocurrency as property: What the landmark ruling means for Indian investors

Ritika Goel is a content writer in the personal finance space. She aims to make money management easier for investors.

With crypto recognised as property, investors now have stronger legal tools to protect their assets

Teena Jain Kaushal

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Payment Problems? Here's what to do when UPI and credit card transactions fail

Hiral Thanawala is a personal finance journalist with over 10 years of reporting experience. Based in Mumbai, he covers financial planning, banking and fintech segments from personal finance team for Moneycontrol.

Credit card failures, especially when amounts are deducted, require prompt merchant and bank involvement.

Hiral Thanawala

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Market observers said that once considered peripheral, Kundli region is now one of the fastest-growing real estate and infrastructure corridors in North NCR.

Ashish Mishra

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Police said that the explosion occurred inside a car (identified as Hyundai i20) near the Gate no. 1 of the Red Fort metro station near 7pm

Priyansh Verma

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Rakesh Patil

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Telcos urge government to auction entire 6GHz band for mobile use, warn against Wi-Fi split

Danish Khan is the editor of Technology and Telecom. He was previously with the Economic Times and has tracked the sector for 14 years.

Rewati Karan

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Today AI is a mandatory skill to have, says Tech Mahindras Sahil Dhawan

Priyansh Verma

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Several lawsuits have already been filed by groups, including the US Chamber of Commerce, states the report.

Deblina Halder

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Aishwarya Nair

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2020 Delhi riots: Court accepts Kapil Mishra's plea, says no need for further probe against him

Ria Kapoor

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Arishaa Izaj

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Anyone can come as long as: Mohan Bhagwat clarifies if Muslims, Christians can join RSS

Arishaa Izaj

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Battle of Hilli: The northern hinge that refused to break

The Hilli battlefield was a mix of raised ground, railway embankments, irrigation ditches, paddy fields and village clusters.

Priyanjali Ghose

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Bihar elections live:Focus on strengthening party as per state's dynamics, says Dharmendra Pradhan

On being asked about being BJPs Lucky Mascot for Bihar polls, Dharmendra Pradhan told ANI that while the tag sounds good, it does not reflect ground reality. He emphasised that in every election, the focus is on strengthening the party according to the states political dynamics.

Pradhan highlighted that the NDA has had a presence in Bihar for 30 years and that Nitish Kumar has served as Chief Minister for the same period.
The first phase of elections, held on November 6, recorded a voter turnout of 65.08%.

Priyanjali Ghose

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Bihar exit polls 2025 tomorrow: Check when and where to watch

There are a total of 7.42 crore voters in Bihar, of which 3.92 crore are males and 3.5 crore are women.

Priyanjali Ghose

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Centre says 'no policy' yet for creating new Union Territory in Manipur as Kuki-Zo groups renew demand

Rewati Karan

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Delhi blast news: After explosion in capital, police on high alert in Rajasthan

Police personnel stand guard near the spot after a blast occurred in a parked car near Red Fort, leaving multiple vehicles in flames, in New Delhi

Hemant Abhishek

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Delhi blast news: Damaged vehicles at the spot after a blast occurred in a parked car near Red Fort, leaving multiple vehicles in flames, in New Delhi

Hemant Abhishek

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Delhi blast: Security personnel at the spot after a blast occurred in a parked car near Red Fort, leaving multiple vehicles in flames, in New Delhi

Hemant Abhishek

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Hemant Abhishek

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Delhi Red Fort blast: Several states on high alert, directives issued for religious sites, sensitive districts and border areas

Police personnel stand guard near the spot after a blast occurred in a parked car near Red Fort, leaving multiple vehicles in flames, in New Delhi

Siddharth Chakravorty

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Armaan Bhatnagar

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Difficult for India to trust US, says Raghuram Rajan: 'Can't be most tariffed nation, then talk military'

In the last few weeks, the negotiations between US and Indian government officials have increased, with both sides keen an early conclusion of a trade agreement.

Arindam Roy

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Mira Sen has covered Indian politics and national developments for over a decade, closely tracking elections, national parties, policymakers, on-the-ground developments  and their impact on citizens.

Ria Kapoor

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Delhi blast: Security personnel at the spot after a blast occurred in a parked car near Red Fort, leaving multiple vehicles in flames, in New Delhi

Arindam Roy

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First major blast in 14 years: Red Fort explosion revives horrors of Delhi's last terror attack in 2011

The blast, which ripped through a crowded area where litigants had gathered for entry passes, killed 15 people and injured more than 75 others. (AP)

Arishaa Izaj

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Firefighters at the spot after a blast occurred in a parked car near Red Fort, leaving multiple vehicles in flames, in New Delhi, Monday. PTI

Arindam Roy

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Delhi blast: Security personnel at the spot after a blast occurred in a parked car near Red Fort, leaving multiple vehicles in flames, in New Delhi

Tamal Nandi

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'Saddened and shocked beyond words': Leaders condole loss of lives in Delhi blast

Political leaders across the country have expressed shock and sadness over the high-intensity blast near Delhi's historic Red Fort that took place on Monday evening, leaving at least eight people dead and many others injured.

"The news of several lives lost in the car blast near Delhi's Red Fort has caused pain and shock. I pray that the departed souls attain eternal peace and that the injured recover swiftly," Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in a post on X.

Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy said he was deeply saddened and shocked beyond words by the blast in the national capital.

"My thoughts and prayers for the bereaved families grieving for their beloved ones lost in this inhuman act. I pray for the recovery of all those injured," he said in a post on X.

Union Minister HD Kumara Swamy said in a post on X, "Deeply saddened by the blast in Delhi this evening that has resulted in the loss of precious lives and left people injured. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, and prayers for the swift recovery of those who are injured."
India withdraws from Ayni airbase in Tajikistan: What it means and how it impacts New Delhi's strategic edge

India had temporarily operated from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka during the 1971 India-Pakistan war

Priyanjali Ghose

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An AK-47 rifle had been recovered from the locker of Dr Adeel, a faculty member at the Government Medical College in Anantnag.

Arishaa Izaj

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Kejriwals new 'sheesh mahal' in Chandigarh? Why Bungalow No. 5 is familiar to Punjab

According to reports, Arvind Kejriwal stayed in Bungalow No. 5 for three days in October.

Priyanjali Ghose

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Chhabi Kala

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'Lawyers as officers of court must be careful': Outgoing CJI BR Gavai laments at 'scurrilous allegations' made against judges

Rewati Karan

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Udhayanidhi alleged that the BJP was deliberately using the SIR process to manipulate the electoral landscape.

Deblina Halder

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PM Narendra Modi condoles loss of lives in blast near Delhi's Red Fort, says 'reviewed situation' with Amit Shah

Siddharth Chakravorty

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Manish Rao is a seasoned journalist who has extensively covered global affairs, geopolitical developments, American politics, and all other things making news around the world.

Armaan Bhatnagar

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Calling the incident "extremely distressing and alarming", Gupta expressed her deepest sympathies to those who lost their loved ones.

Tamal Nandi

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Ria Kapoor

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Russian ambassador Denis Alipov says Russia-India strategic partnership, which turned 25 last month, has become a stabilising factor in global affairs.

Priyanjali Ghose

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Siddharth Chakravorty

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Why India's massive Exercise Trishul is not a routine wargame: Loud & clear message for Pakistan?

Surabhi Pandey

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In Moneycontrol's Pro Panorama December 11 edition: AI gold rush and Indias role in it, the Netflix strategy that Indian IT can...

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In Moneycontrol's Pro Panorama December 11 edition: AI gold rush and Indias role in it, the Netflix strategy that Indian IT can...

Sun Pharma has several new drugs in the specialty products pipeline.

Sun Pharma breaks away from pure play generic companies in US

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Vodafone Idea wants surrender rights for pre-2022 spectrum; Airtel seeks refund or adjustment of charges

Danish Khan is the editor of Technology and Telecom. He was previously with the Economic Times and has tracked the sector for 14 years.

Ankit Saproo

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While Akons India tour will continue in Bengaluru and Mumbai, Delhis chaotic start has left fans hoping for a far better experience in the next cities. (Image credit: @Kenu73/X)

Ankita Sengupta

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Employee gets fired when boss finds him walking 16,000 steps during sick leave for foot pain

At court, the company argued that the employee had exaggerated his condition and presented data showing he had walked over 16,000 steps on the day he applied for leave. (AI-generated image)

Ankita Sengupta

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Zhejiang drives economic prosperity through flourishing cultural development

14:07, November 10, 2025 By Liu Junguo ( People's Daily

Tourists attend a digital art exhibition at the Zhejiang Museum in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province. (Photo/Long Wei)

In recent months, the M511 complex, or M511 Light and Shadow Hui Commercial Center in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, drew a number of visitors from across the country.

Located on Hangzhou's Xixi Road, this M-shaped building leverages cutting-edge light and shadow technology to create a "micro park" of immersive audiovisual experiences.

The complex is home to a number of immersive installations built with 8K projection, triple-fold LED screens, and visual reality (VR) technology. Entering feels like stepping through a portal; visitors can traverse a field of stars or interact with renowned artworks, fully immersed in the fusion of light and art.

This exemplifies the growing intertwining of technology and culture, leading to increasingly diverse cultural experiences and consumer offerings. Such novel, technology-driven attractions are transforming public spaces into accessible "science and art museums," broadening both cultural participation and the boundaries of cultural consumption.

Developing the cultural industry requires robust policy support. Take Hangzhou's Xihu district as an example. Over the past three years, the district has invested more than 50 million yuan ($7.02 million) in cultural and creative projects, building a full-cycle support system that includes startup funding, loan interest subsidies, and direct investment funds. Tailored policies have also been introduced to encourage cultural enterprises to apply digital technologies, with one-time subsidies amounting to 5 percent of actual project investment - up to 500,000 yuan per enterprise each year.

A model of Wukong in the Chinese AAA video game Black Myth: Wukong is exhibited at the 21st China International Cartoon and Animation Festival held in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, May 29, 2025. (Photo/Long Wei)

The results speak volumes: in the first quarter of this year alone, Xihu district's cultural industry generated revenue of 10.16 billion yuan. This demonstrates the powerful multiplier effect targeted funding and precise policy incentives can have in fostering innovative cultural business models.

A thriving cultural industry also relies on strong platforms. The globally acclaimed Chinese-made AAA video game Black Myth: Wukong, the animated blockbuster Chang'an, which reignited the passion for Tang poetry, and Nobody, China's top-grossing 2D animated film - all trace their roots to Hangzhou's Artinno Town. Once a shuttered cement plant, the site has been transformed over the past decade through Hangzhou's efforts to build the Zhijiang and Grand Canal Cultural Belts. Today, it hosts more than 3,000 cultural and creative enterprises.

With platforms connecting industries and fostering clusters, businesses learn from each other, collaborate, and achieve shared success, accelerating the implementation of major cultural projects. With the government providing the foundational support and enterprises taking the lead, culture forms the spirit while industry serves as the chain. This synergy drives a virtuous cycle of cultural vitality and industrial prosperity.

Citizens visit a park transformed from the industrial remains of a steel mill in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province, July 13, 2025. (Photo/Xu Genzhu)

A culturally thriving city is always appealing. An old grain depot and rice mill sites in Xihu district have been transformed into popular leisure destinations by adopting art and creative elements. In Xiaoshan district, a disused agricultural warehouse has been repurposed into an art park, which has welcomed over 20 million visitors and generated more than 600 million yuan in revenue since opening, becoming a cultural landmark and consumption hub. By infusing cultural creativity into urban renewal, Zhejiang continues to unlock the potential of culture, commerce, and tourism integration, generating powerful momentum for high-quality development.

Across Zhejiang, cultural landmarks - from the scenic West Lake and the ancient Liangzhu City to the picturesque water town of Wuzhen - continue to enhance their appeal. Meanwhile, innovative industries such as animation and gaming, artificial intelligence, and e-commerce are gaining global recognition.

Culture serves as both heritage and resource; technology offers support for and drives cultural development. By fostering economic prosperity through cultural vibrancy and advancing cultural renewal through technological innovation, Zhejiang is steadily moving toward the harmonious integration of material wealth and spiritual richness.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Vertical dramas are 'soap opera on cocaine': They make shows in 30 days, Hollywood takes 2 years

Chinese director Weiyang Li (2nd L) discusses a scene with actors while filming the vertical drama "Love Through All Seasons" at the Wrensmoor Castle, in Alhambra, California. (Image credit: AFP)

Ankita Sengupta

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Gurpreet Singh

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Aabhas Sharma

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Nebius launches Token Factory to challenge Microsoft, AWS, and Google in the AI cloud race

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Aabhas Sharma

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UK investigates if China can remotely disable hundreds of its electric buses amid rising cybersecurity fears

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Vibe coding named Collins Dictionarys Word of the Year 2025 as AI rewrites the rules of software creation

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6 most breathtaking sunset spots in Asia you must visit in 2026

Priyanka Roshan With over eight years in multimedia journalism, is passionate about storytellingboth visual and textualacross travel, jobs, business, markets, politics, and daily news. From crafting engaging articles to producing compelling videos, she blends creativity with strategy to bring stories to life. With a strong foundation in SEO, and video production she ensures content not only informs but also resonates with audiences.

From Balis cliffs to Keralas golden shores  chase Asias most unforgettable sunsets in 2026.

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Bangladesh protests: Why a former Hasina aide is blaming the US and the Clintons

Bangladesh protests: Why a former Hasina aide is blaming the US and the Clintons

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Pragya Trivedi

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Armaan Bhatnagar is a news editor with nearly 14 years of experience in digital media across leading organisations including The Times of India, Microsoft, and Network18. Over the years, Armaan has reported extensively on Indian politics, global affairs, economy, and business. He has led coverage of landmark events ranging from three Lok Sabha elections and multiple state polls to historic Supreme Court judgments. He has closely followed geopolitical developments across US and Pakistan, the Middle East, as well as South Asia. He has also helped build innovative newsroom products, including COVID dashboards, election trackers, economy meters, and a range of data-driven properties.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (R) and President Asif Ali Zardari (C) jointly conferring the Baton of Field Marshal on Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir (AFP)

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How two managers approved the same leave, and what it reveals about Indian vs Japanese work culture

How two managers approved the same leave, and what it reveals about Indian vs Japanese work culture

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Operating for more than 25 years, S1 has allegedly trained thousands of militants for infiltration and coordinated strikes inside India. (Representative image)

Deblina Halder

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Pakistans terror playbook expands East: How Hafiz Saeed is turning Bangladesh into second front against India

Abhinav Gupta

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Pakistani warship docks in Chittagong after 54 years: Why India must watch Bay of Bengal closely | Explained

Abhinav Gupta

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Russian helicopter breaks apart, catches fire mid-air before crashing in Dagestan; five killed | Watch

Russian helicopter snaps in two before crashing in Dagestan, 5 killed

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Syria foils two Islamic State plots to assassinate President Sharaa ahead of US visit: Report

Abhinav Gupta

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Texas shooting: Gunman kills three at San Antonio business, then takes his own life

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(FILES) A Taliban security personnel stands guard along a road near the Ghulam Khan zero-point border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Gurbuz district in the southeast of Khost province on October 20, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

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Trump says deal to end record 40-day US government shutdown very close to ending

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TTP seizes ground in Bannu, other areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as Pakistans control crumbles

Abhinav Gupta

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US shutdown nears end after 40 days: What the deal means for Trump, what it covers and what could still go wrong

A visitor takes a photo of the US Capitol on the 40th day of a government shutdown on November 9, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Rose Layden / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Abhinav Gupta

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Who was Rajyalakshmi Yarlagadda? 23-year-old Andhra Pradesh student dies in US, family launches fundraiser

Manish Rao is a seasoned journalist who has extensively covered global affairs, geopolitical developments, American politics, and all other things making news around the world.

Andhra student found dead in US, family launches fundraiser to bring her remains back

Pragya Trivedi

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July 31, 2025

Ukraine  Anti-Corruption Independence Restored, Zelenski Weakened, Four Cities Are Falling

On Monday the 21st of July the Ukrainian Secret Service (SBU) searched offices of the independent anti-corruption police (NABU) and anti-corruption prosecutor office (SAPO) and detained several of its investigators. A day later the Zelenski regime pushed a law through parliament which ended the independence of both entities by putting them under control of the prosecutor general.

The move had been planned for months (in Russian) but was executed in haste after NABU and SAPO had served a notices-of-investigation to people near to the president.

But Zelenski had miscalculated the step. There were highly visible local protests and the EU stepped in by threatening to withhold subsidies on which the Ukrainian state depends.

Two days after his strike against the independent anti-corruption entities Zelenski had to pull back. Today the parliament reestablished the independence of NABU and SAPO.

The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) has passed a law restoring powers to Ukraines key anti-corruption agencies  the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Office (SAPO). A total of 331 MPs voted in favour of the presidential bill [..]. No MPs voted against the bill, and no one abstained. Nine MPs did not vote. Under the new law, SAPO will now independently oversee the procedural supervision of NABU investigations  and is no longer under the control of the Prosecutor General.

The new law was signed by the president and is now in force.

By his misstep and its retraction from it Zelenski demonstrated a fatal weakness which his political enemies will soon use to end his control of the country.

Several additional corruption investigations against Zelenskis entourage are pending. The most severe one is against Timur Mindich, a longtime business partner of the president nicknamed Zelenskis wallet. NABU had wiretapped Mindichs apartment which was used by Zelenski and others to discuss businesses. (Mindichs bugged luxury apartment in Kiev is said to include a room with a golden toilet.)

With the independence of NABU and SAPO restored, new investigations against Mindich and other people near to Zelenski, and potentially against himself, are likely to soon be published.

They will demonstrate that the president has lost the ability to protect those who work with him.

In consequence the majority of his party in parliament is shrinking (machine translation):

Peoples Deputy Dmytro Kostyuk announced from the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada that he was leaving the Servants of the People faction due to the situation with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine. According to him, deputies were forced to vote for the draft law on depriving the NABU and SAPO of their powers, threatening them with criminal cases. He himself also supported this bill a week ago.



Now the faction formally consists of 231 deputies, which gives Servant of the People the rights of a mono-majority coalition. [..] However, if six people leave the faction, its number will be reduced, it will be less than the required 226 votes, and thus the ruling mono-majority will disappear.

The opposition, with former president Petro Poroshenko in the lead, will soon be able to clip the presidents wings.

The political chaos in Kiev is reinforced by the catastrophic situation on the battle field. There are four significant population centers which are likely to fall under Russian control within the next months.

1. Kupiansk (pre-war population 26,000)  The Russian forces are pressing from the north towards the west of the city to cut its main supply line.

2. Siversk (pre-war population 10,000)  Russian forces have captured large parts of the woods north of Siversk and are now moving in from all sides.

3. Konstantinivka (pre-war population 8,500)  Russian forces are pushing west from the finally taken Chasiv-Yar agglomeration to cut the northern supply line to Konstantinivka. Russian forces southwest of the city are moving northward for the same purpose.

4. Prokovsk (pre-war population 85,000)  Ukrainian defense lines around and within the city have broken down. Russian forces are already in the city. Supply and exit routes to the north and west are barely passable.

The Ukrainian forces lack infantry. Some Ukrainian brigades have less than 100 people to man several miles long defense lines. There is a severe lack of mortar and artillery ammunition. The Russian side has more and better drones available in higher numbers. The recent re-organization of the Ukrainian army into corps sized structures has only increase the organizational chaos.

The Ukrainian army, like the Ukrainian state, is in the process of falling apart.
July 22, 2025 Ukraine  Zelenski Ends Independence Of Anti-Corruption Institutions Last Friday I reported about a fight between the Zelenski regime on the one side and some oligarchs and U.S. aligned non-government-organizations on the other side. An intense information operation has been launched to remove Ukraine's (former) President Vladimir Zelenski from office. Behind it are a cabal of Ukrainian opposition figures in coordination which western media and parts of the Trump administration. The current campaign follows a earlier one which was directed against Zelenski's main advisor and head of the office of the president Andrei Yermak. Pieces in western media had attacked the Zelenski regime with accusations that it was seeking control over the independent anti-corruption institutions which had been established after the Maidan coup. Anti-corruption investigation had lately been moving in on some persons near to Zelenski himself. Excursus: In most countries one will find on vertical judicial construct in the form of the police doing criminal investigations, prosecutors directing the police while building court cases against perpetrators and a hierarchy of courts to judge about those. After the U.S. directed Maidan coup in 2014 the U.S. government, in form of then Vice-President Joe Biden, set out to gain complete control over Ukraine. It insisted on creating a second, completely separate legal vertical in Ukraine focused solely corruption.

bigger The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) investigates cases of corruption especially of officials in higher position. The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Office (SAPO) assembled cases to go to court. The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine is judging over them. The vertical was designed to be independent of the Ukrainian government and state. A special Civil Oversight Council  not the parliament - is nominally in control of it. But the effective control was always with the U.S. embassy in Kiev through the various anti-corruption NGOs and media it was financing in Ukraine. In 2020 the Constitutional Court of Ukraine judged that much of Ukraine's 2014 anti-corruption reform and the new vertical formed through it were unconstitutional. This led to a constitutional crisis which is still unresolved. Over time the anti-corruption vertical had turned out to be as corrupt as the politicians and high level officials it was designed to keep under control. End-excursus Zelenski's opposition was using the anti-corruption complex, the attached NGOs and media to keep some pressure on the government. Last week's public-relation attack by the opposition against Zelenski, via the Financial Times and other media, was supposed to gain it support from U.S. and European governments. However throughout the weekend no western support in form of public statements etc was received. The Zelenski regime interpreted this as a green light to take down the last institution in Ukraine which is not under its direct control. On Monday it launched its all out assault: Ukraine's independent anti-corruption institutions have had a rough Monday. The Prosecutor General's Office, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and the State Investigation Bureau conducted at least 70 searches in premises connected to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), which investigates top-level corruption. The opened probes target at least 15 NABU employees. Most of the cases involve traffic accidents, while some of the NABU employees are also accused of having links to Russia. The Security Service also searched the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO), which prosecutes corruption. The sweeping searches, which involve a variety of cases, are seen as an attempt by authorities to bring independent anti-corruption institutions under government control. "The special operation has all signs of an attempt to dismantle the anti-corruption infrastructure," Daria Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, told the Kyiv Independent. "We are witnessing a decade of anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine being dismantled. This is a 180-degree turn away from European integration." The Anti-Corruption Action Center's head, Vitaliy Shabunin, was himself charged on July 11 with evading military service and fraud. Today the Ukrainian parliament voted to put the whole 'independent' anti-corruption complex under direct government control: Ukraines parliament has backed a push by Kyivs presidential office for greater control over the countrys independent anti-corruption bodies, in a move that critics warn would hand President Volodymyr Zelenskyys circle more influence over investigations. Lawmakers voted on Tuesday in favour of legislation that would, in effect, eliminate the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) and its partner organisation the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Office (Sapo), according to four lawmakers and officials familiar who spoke with the Financial Times during the vote. The parliament also voted in favour of rushing the law to the president for his signature. The NABU and SAPO are now under the control of the Prosecutor General who is appointed directly by the president. These powers include authority over Sapo, access to case files and the ability to reassign or redirect Nabu investigations, NABU said on Tuesday. Several MPs from opposition parties, including the former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, spoke in favour of the legislation, according to lawmakers. Tymoshenko accused Ukraines western partners of trying to control Kyiv through Nabu and Sapo. The blitz against the anti-corruption organizations (accusations and searches on Monday, new law dismantling them on Tuesday) by the Zelenski regime was designed to surprise those who might have an interest in keeping some independent institutions in Ukraine. It is now too late to oppose it. It also prevents NABU and SAPO from bringing up cases of corruption against Zelenski's operators as well as against the president himself. Comments
November 10, 2025

Ukraine  Zelenski Friend Accused In Energy Sector Corruption Case

There has been a severe power struggle going on in Ukraine which the circle around acting president Vladimir Zelenski fighting against the former president Petro Poroshenko and his clique.

Today the power struggle went into a new round with fresh corruption accusation raise against intimate allies of Zelenski.

Zelenski has control over the ruthless Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The group around Poroshenko is allied with grant structures previously close to the US Democratic Party.

Grant structures are the civil society and the anti-corruption parallel government organizations in Ukraine which were, until recently, financed by U.S. funds and controlled by Democrats. After Trump had blocked the funding for those groups Poroshenko jumped in with financing and the European Union took over.

The fight has been ongoing since 2022 when the war in Ukraine started for real. During the mid of this year the fight went public:

An intense information operation has been launched to remove Ukraines (former) President Vladimir Zelenski from office. Behind it are a cabal of Ukrainian opposition figures in coordination which western media and parts of the Trump administration. The current campaign follows a earlier one which was directed against Zelenskis main advisor and head of the office of the president Andrei Yermak.

Several pieces in major western outlets were launched against Zelenski and his clan. They were the preparatory fire for a wider attack which would accuse people around Zelenski, and finally himself, of large scale corruption schemes.

Zelenski tried to preempt the attack. On July 22 he put the whole anti-corruption vertical, including the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, under his control. That move caused open protest in Kiev by various non-government organization. The EU pushed back and Zelenski had to concede defeat. The Anti-Corruption vertical was released from supervision:

On Monday the 21st of July the Ukrainian Secret Service (SBU) searched offices of the independent anti-corruption police (NABU) and anti-corruption prosecutor office (SAPO) and detained several of its investigators. A day later the Zelenski regime pushed a law through parliament which ended the independence of both entities by putting them under control of the prosecutor general. The move had been planned for months (in Russian) but was executed in haste after NABU and SAPO had served a notices-of-investigation to people near to the president. But Zelenski had miscalculated the step. There were highly visible local protests and the EU stepped in by threatening to withhold subsidies on which the Ukrainian state depends. Two days after his strike against the independent anti-corruption entities Zelenski had to pull back. Today the parliament reestablished the independence of NABU and SAPO.

For a while the war continued at a lower level. The SBU tried to catch NABU detectives in various schemes while NABU continued to leak rumors about corruption in Zelenskis circles. Today the clash became loud again.

This morning Ukrainska Pravda (whos owner is currently allied with Poroshenko) reported of a large search operation by the anti-corruption office:

Detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) have conducted searches at the home of Tymur Mindich, a businessman and co-owner of Kvartal 95, the Ukrainian production company Volodymyr Zelenskyy founded before he became president, on the morning of 10 November.

Hours before the search the colorful Tymor Mindich and other suspects in the case, the Zuckerman brothers, had fled the country. (The FBI is investigating Mindich and the Zuckermans for money laundering.)

Around noon NABU released details, including wiretapped conversations, of its investigation:

NABU said it had documented the activities of a high-level criminal organization allegedly led by a businessman well-known to the media. Its members built a large-scale corruption network influencing strategic state enterprises, including Energoatom, NABU said in a statement. The bureau alleged that participants received illicit kickbacks worth 10% to 15% of contract values from Energoatoms contractors.

This is a very serious strike landing close to Zelenski (machine translation):

Today s NABU searches of a close associate of Volodymyr Zelensky, Timur Mindich , in the case of large-scale corruption in the energy sphere are an extremely alarming call for the president himself, showing that the shells are getting closer and closer. And although Mindich managed to leave the country, other defendants in the case remained in Ukraine: the leaders of Energoatom, former Energy Minister and now Justice Minister Herman Galushchenko, as well as various viewers whose voices can be heard on recordings from listening devices already published by NABU . In a certain development of events, they can begin to give confessions. In addition, the NABU announced that it had collected 1,000 hours of audio recordings in this case, which again intensified the discussion of information about the Mindich tapes, one of the defendants in which, according to the widespread version, is Zelensky himself (we have already analyzed the Mindich case and its significance in more detail). The current events show that the internal political confrontation in Ukraine is escalating and moving to a fundamentally new level.

The case will have domestic consequences in Ukraine. A large part of the corruption case is about contracts which were issued to build protection for Ukrainian energy facilities. The accused are alleged to have received serious bribes for all of these contracts and the result were shoddy protection buildings which could not withstand attacks by Russian missiles. With blackouts becoming the norm in Ukraine the population will take aim at the culprits.

The attack also comes at a moment where Zelenski has lost public credibility as he, as well as Commander in Chief General Syrsky, insist that everything is fine in Pokrovsk and Mirnograd while more neutral sources say (vid) that the former city has come under full Russian control while the later is completely encircled.
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The final showdown at the Kuwait Arena featured the most frequent matchup of the past two seasons in professional padel: CoelloTapia vs. ChingottoGalan.

With a 1,480-point gap in the Race rankings, Arturo Coello had already warned that they could lose the No. 1 spot  and Gustavo Prattos duo came out swinging, unleashing a storm of aggressive padel to take the first set 62.

Everything seemed lost when Ale Galan and Fede Chingotto faced three break points early in the second set, but thats when Chingottos resilience emerged to turn things around and bring his partner back into the match.

Jorge Martinezs team saved up to seven break opportunities from their rivals before striking the decisive blow in the 11th game, and then holding serve to force a decisive third set (75).

Following a script similar to the Milan final, the momentum had completely shifted in the deciding set.

Tapia and Coello hit hard but struggled with their timing, while Fede covered every inch of the court, allowing Ale to step up in his killer mode and finish points decisively at the net.

Only 680 points apart



Just like in the womens draw, this final carried double significance: not only did it crown the world champions, but it also tightened the race for the No. 1 ranking.

The Golden Boys (CoelloTapia) now sit at 15,300 points, while Chingalan (ChingottoGalan) follow closely with 14,620.

With 4,800 points still up for grabs, the battle for the top spot promises to go down to the wire.
Rescued Bunny Who Was Raised for Meat Greets His Devoted Human at the Door Like a Dog Laughing Squid

Scientists Just Remapped the Entire Roman Road System. All 300,000 km of it ZME Science

The Busiest Rail Line Youve Never Heard Of Is In the Suburbs of Atlanta The Transit Guy

Climate/Environment

Pandemics

Thailand-Cambodia

Africa

China?

Old Blighty

Syraqistan

In an interview with @AJEnglish @AJArabic , Dr. @GhassanAbuSitt1 revealed medical evidence indicating that vital organs  including hearts, lungs, kidneys, and corneas  were surgically stolen by the Israeli occupation from Palestinian martyrs in #Gaza.

He noted that the chest pic.twitter.com/yu18JeQb7M  Sahat English  (@sahatenglish) November 7, 2025

YouTube (and probably other occupied platforms as well) claims that Zionists are a protected group. What in Zionism, precisely, makes its members a protected group? What other political ideology or organization gets a protected group status? Zionism is not an identity; it is pic.twitter.com/nn7Kb5Z4Vh  Alon Mizrahi (@alon_mizrahi) November 8, 2025

Victors History New Left Review

***

 Mass anti-Shiite protests have erupted in Syria, aimed at pressuring the HTS-led authorities to expel the Shiite population. Gunfire has been reported in the Sayyida Zeynab district of Damascus, a predominantly Shiite area, as demonstrations spread through the city. The pic.twitter.com/rmjjgpEfT6  DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) November 9, 2025

New Not-So-Cold War

During Zelenskys interview with The Guardian at the Mariinskyi Palace, the electricity went out. pic.twitter.com/iUtjrp4iYo  Clash Report (@clashreport) November 9, 2025

South of the Border

Liberation Day

Trump 2.0

1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission.  pic.twitter.com/1ot3vXEVOw  ChrisO_wiki (@ChrisO_wiki) November 9, 2025

Shutdown

WATCH: Long lines stretch outside a Cleveland food bank after federal SNAP payments are paused due to the ongoing government shutdown. pic.twitter.com/QiJYnz1q2m  Fox News (@FoxNews) November 8, 2025

Democrats en deshabille

Police State Watch

Mamdani

Our Famously Free Press

AI

Debt Has Entered the A.I. Boom New York Times. The deck: To fund heavy spending on infrastructure for artificial intelligence, companies have leveraged a growing list of complex debt-financing options.

Mr. Market

Imperial Collapse Watch

Groves of Academe

New York school phone ban has made lunch loud again Gothamist

Boeing

How Airbus took off Works in Progress

The Bezzle

Accelerationists

Can Narcissists Actually Change? The Conversation

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani won the election, but now his real battle with entrenched power begins.

Mamdani will face opposition from outspoken enemies and nominal allies alike. Entrenched power has many faces, many voices, deep pockets, and generally bad intentions.

Hes also a bit like the dog who caught the car, as the 34-year-old will now be in charge of a city of 8.5 million people with a $116 billion budget and 300,000-person staff.

Dana Rubinstein lists the mundane but massive challenges facing Mamdani:

Mr. Mamdanis first order of business will be to appraise the remnants of the outgoing administration and decide who to keep and who to let go from the leadership of more than 100 offices and agencies. He will have to determine how many deputy mayors he wants and then hire them. Mr. Mamdani will also have to decide whether to involve himself in the ongoing race for speaker of the New York City Council  the person who will be his governing partner  and he will have to cobble together a preliminary budget plan in January.

And thats the part where hell face the least opposition from entrenched power. Not only do New Yorkers historically love to hate their mayor the moment that hes sworn in as Amit Singh Bagga, a former official in the Mayor Bill de Blasio administration reminded City and State NY, Mamdani also made enemies on the campaign trail.

Working Families Party co-chair Ana Maria Archila, an early and key Mamdani supporter, warned, (the election) was not going to be the last phase of the fight. The billionaires didnt spend $30 million to just fold their tent.

According to that same CNN piece, at least one anti-Mamdani billionaire, John Catsimatidis, is vowing Theres something more that we dont know and someday were going to find out.

Time will tell, but entrenched power never quits, no matter how many fights it loses.

Previous Coverage of 2025 NYC Mayoral Race

Readers may want to review my previous coverage of this race as well as my piece on the two gubernatorial races decided yesterday.

Lets start at the top with POTUS Donald Trump and his ICE enforcement arm.

Donald Trumps Threats to Mamdanis New York

Trumps comments about Mamdani have been consistently inflammatory, calling him a communist and predicting that Miami will soon see a huge influx of refugees fleeing communism in New York.

Trumps likely modes of attack include:

While Trump will no doubt be at a minimum a nuisance for Mayor Mamdani, the simple nature of the us vs. them narrative will keep things from getting complicated on that front.

Mamdanis biggest headaches will likely come from his nominal allies, the entrenched power, in the state and national Democratic party.

Gov. Hochul Already Raining on Mamdanis Parade

New York Governor Kathy Hochul finally endorsed Mamdani in September but that doesnt mean shes going to be enabling his agenda. In fact, shes already opposing one of Mamdanis signature promises, free bus fares:

during the SOMOS organizations political conference in Puerto Rico over the weekend, Hochul seemed to put a pin into the balloon of Mamdanis free bus concept, stating that it would jeopardize the funding of New Yorks public transit system. I cannot set forth a plan right now that takes money out of a system that relies on the fares of the buses and the subways. But can we find a path to make it more affordable for people who need help? Of course, we can, Hochul said during a press conference during Somos, a social-political event held in Puerto Rico last week.

Free bus fares would cost New Yorks MTA an estimated $652 million a year.

Hochul is also unwilling to budge on a tax hike which is bad news for Mamdanis hope to increase New Yorks corporate tax rate to 11.5% (matching New Jersey) and a flat 2% tax on individual New Yorkers who earn more than $1 million annually.

Hochul is already promising to resist attempts to pressure her on tax hikes.

I asked Hochul about this comment: "I'm from Buffalo, we don't put up with a lot of crap" https://t.co/oRXoSHxHoa pic.twitter.com/IG7dzedK2K  Jeff Coltin (@JCColtin) November 8, 2025

But Mamdani has allies in the state legislature including the politicians in charge of the state Assembly and Senate, Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, respectively  both of whom endorsed Mamdanis mayoral bid.

As NY1 News reported:

Its November. Its still kinda early. We gotta see how things fit inside of the state budget, Heastie said. But I think theres a willingness. I dont want to speak for the other two partners in this. But we want Zohran, the mayor-elect, to be successful.

The fight to fund Mamdanis affordability agenda will be a relatively straight-forward one against entrenched power. Mamdani faces far more insidious threats from new friends in the city and around the country.

How Much Will Obama Be In Mamdanis Ear?

While former POTUS Barak Obama did not endorse Mamdani (he has a policy of staying out of municipal races), he did reach out as described in this NY Times story, Obama Calls Mamdani to Praise His Campaign and Offers to Be Sounding Board.

This was an ominous development for Obama critics who were already wary of Mamdani following his mid-campaign compromise on pro-Palestine rhetoric.

The circumstances of that event are worth a look back at, per CNN in July:

Gathered alongside approximately 150 prominent business leaders at the offices of Tishman Speyer on Tuesday, Dr. Albert Bourla, chairman and CEO of Pfizer  who is the son of Holocaust survivors  asked Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor to explain his previous defense of the phrase globalize the intifada.



During Tuesdays meeting, Mamdani also told the packed room he understood why the phrase is also seen as a call to violence against Jews, why it is painful and triggering for them, and that he would discourage its use in the future, the two attendees told CNN.

A rhetorical compromise is one thing, fortunately, so far Mamdani has avoided any signature Obama bait-and-switch moves.

Most notably, Mamdani will be keeping his 100,000 strong volunteer force active in city politics, a sharp contrast to Obama who veal-penned and then shuttered his grassroots army soon after being elected president in 2008.

But Obama wont be the only Mamdani supporter encouraging the young mayor to compromise on his promises.

This exchange between podcaster Kate Willett and YIMBY wonk Alex Armlovich (ex-CNBCNY talking head) is telling:

I think he has a mandate to the people he centeredriders, renters, familiesbut that he's trusted to decide the best way to transform life for those people He has to deliver transformative, noticeable change for those people but he has real flexibility in how he does it  Alex Armlovich (@aarmlovi) November 10, 2025

Its important to only judge Mamdani on decisions and statements he has made, though, rather than assuming hell bend with the wind coming from the mouths of Abundance Bros and others attempting to speak on behalf of entrenched power.

So far his staffing decisions seem sound.

Mamdanis Transition Team

One of Mamdanis biggest allies during the campaign was Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders who pushed Mamdani to focus on the transition and the first 100 days, per CNN:

When Sanders came back to New York for a closing rally at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens on the last Sunday in October, he was feeling better about Mamdanis chances. But he had a different set of concerns, which he aired out in meeting after meeting in his hold room backstage, according to a person in the room. He waved off requests for selfies and handshakes and instead demanded more detailed plans from Mamdanis transition head Elle Bisgaard-Church and campaign manager Maya Handa. At one point, Sanders asked former Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan for her ideas on what to do at City Hall. A former mayor himself, Sanders honed in on the first 100 days mark, telling them, Theyll try to crush you, and urging, youve got to give people a sense of action. Learn a little from Trump, Sanders told them: its not policy or communications  but seeing them as the same and as producing results. Have you done research into your executive authorities? Do you have anybody on that? Sanders asked. Aides offered up ideas theyd been working on. What else you got? he kept saying.

Mamdanis transition team, co-chaired by former Biden FTC Commissioner Lina Khan, is also drawing praise from progressive policy wonks:

Elana Leopold, a political strategist who worked for former Mayor Bill de Blasio, will serve as teams executive director. The other members are Melanie Hartzog, a former deputy mayor for health and human services under Mr. de Blasio; Lina Khan, a former Federal Trade Commission chair; Grace Bonilla, the head of United Way of New York City and an alumna of former Mayor Michael R. Bloombergs administration; and Maria Torres-Springer, the former first deputy mayor to the current mayor, Eric Adams.

Im hoping NC commenters with more interest in policy and more direct experience of New York politics will have interesting things to add about Mamdanis choices.

For his part, Matt Stoller is excited to see Khan on Mumdanis team saying:

One of the more interesting dynamics at work in New York City is that Mamdani brought on anti-monopoly leader Lina Khan as one of his transition co-chairs.



Is there now a nascent unification of political populism with governing expertise?

Stoller goes on to describe a bunch of economic termites, aka firms with market power, that drive up the cost of state and city government. More than just cost, they are the infrastructure on which governance operates, so the inflexibility of politicians is often a result of them being reliant on entities like these.

These economic termites include monopolists in public safety equipment, emergency radios, transit buses, court and city management software, health care middlemen, and other vital city services.

But this NY Times story about the selection of the transition team did make my Spidey sense tingle a bit when they listed some of the voices in Mamdanis ear when he made these decisions:

Ms. Hochul, who endorsed Mr. Mamdani in September and will be key to enacting much of his agenda, has assumed an unusually active posture in the hiring process, saying she will help him find a very seasoned team to help manage a wildly complicated city. Mr. Mamdani and his team have sought advice from a wide range of people, including Ron Klain, Mr. Bidens former chief of staff; Janette Sadik-Khan, who was transportation commissioner under Mr. Bloomberg; and Kathryn Garcia, the director of state operations under Ms. Hochul and the runner-up in the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary. (Ms. Garcia attended Mr. Mamdanis victory rally on Tuesday night.) Others consulted by Mr. Mamdani and his aides include Marshall Ganz, a professor at Harvard University and an expert in community organizing; Matt Bruenig, a labor lawyer who founded a left-leaning think tank; and Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, a deputy mayor for health and human services under Mr. de Blasio.

Ron Klain?!?

The man Lambert described on this site as having set the course for Bidens Covid policy of mass infection without mitigation before Jeff Zients took over.

Yes, that Ron Klain. Yuck. Talk about servants of entrenched power.

We can only hope this is a case of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer.

Mamdani Uses and Dumps a Key Supporter

Mamdani has certainly shown the ability to be ruthless during the campaign.

Just ask New York City Comptroller Brad Lander who did as much to help Mamdani win the primary as any other person, but who wont have a role in the Mamdani administration, per CNN:

(Lander) rebooted his campaign as a Cuomo takedown machine, with an explicit strategy of doing all the bashing  replacing his ads with an anti-Cuomo spot, building every event and robocall script around negativity, so that, advisers calculated, Mamdani could close out with all positive and hopeful feelings. He even sent an aide extra early to the debate site to find the exact right seat to put the son of a man who died in a nursing home on Cuomos watch during Covid-19 to be both in the camera line and in the former governors line of sight. And perhaps most importantly, Lander figuratively and literally wrapped his arms around Mamdani, validating him to suspicious progressives and particularly to Jewish voters. But over the summer, Mamdani would confide he wasnt much impressed with Lander. Nice enough guy, but he didnt seem particularly effective as comptroller, Mamdani said according to a person familiar with his comments. The two went weeks without talking, and though Lander would get defensive and blame overlapping post-election vacations, all his talk that hed be the one really running the city next year had gotten back to Mamdani and not gone over well.

Ouch. Politics is an ugly business, but thats not news and personally, Im glad to see that Mamdani can be ruthless.

Progressive politics in the west have had more than enough nice guys like Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn who are always seemingly ready to get rolled when the fight against entrenched power gets ugly.

Lander is now rumored to be considering a primary challenge to AIPAC Congressman Dan Goldman. If Lander wins that one, happy ending all around.

Mamdani Cultivates Multiple Insiders

Its not just Ron Klain, another NY Times campaign post-mortem names more two other critical liasons to entrenched power who have cozied up to Mayor-elect Mamdani:

Patrick Gaspard, a former Obama administration aide and director of the Democratic National Committee, and Sally Susman, a longtime corporate executive and member of the finance committees for the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. Gaspard met Mamdani years ago. Susman met him this summer, one of several C-suiters who privately reached out to him after his much-talked-about July meeting with the Partnership for New York City, a consortium of 350 members representing banks, law firms and corporations.

That same piece also shares some insight on how Mamdani is seen by entrenched power now that hes won office:

Robert Wolf, another Partnership for New York City member and a major fund-raiser for the Democratic Party, told me that he has begun texting with the candidate, becoming an informal pulse check for the citys finance and business community. Wolf also met with Mamdani for an hour at his campaign office this month, an in-person follow-up to an hourlong Zoom meeting in August. Zohran, to me, is more of a progressive capitalist, Wolf told me, adding that he was convinced by their private interactions that Mamdani understood the importance of the private sector thriving in his New York. Hes someone that wants to figure out how to use the government in an appropriate way on things that help equality and help the underserved. The conversations have allowed Mamdani to reframe his previous positions, tweaking the us-versus-them language of his democratic-socialist values to be a tad less punitive.

This reminds me of something John Lennon said about the compromises necessary to be a Beatle, One has to completely humiliate oneself to be what the Beatles were, and thats what I resent. I didnt know, I didnt foresee. It happened bit by bit, gradually until this complete craziness is surrounding you, and youre doing exactly what you dont want to do with people you cant stand  the people you hated when you were ten.

Compromise with entrenched power is necessary for anyone aspiring to govern and make real change, but some of Mamdanis meetings do arouse concern, and also evoke admiration of Mamdanis slick touch, from yet another NY Times piece:

Mr. Mamdani cold-called one of the citys most powerful power brokers and asked for a meeting. It was a bold move after the business community had spent more than $20 million trying to defeat him, funding the largest super PAC in New York City history. It also seemed antithetical to his man-of-the-people ethos. And yet, Mr. Mamdani picked up the phone, and that power broker, James Whelan, the president of the Real Estate Board of New York, which represents the citys mightiest landlords, set up an intimate gathering.



Few candidates have touched off fear and opposition among New Yorks captains of industry the way that Mr. Mamdani, 33, has. Some have talked of moving out of state. Others are backing efforts to block his election. But a surprising thing has been happening when Mr. Mamdani gets behind closed doors with New Yorks elite. They are finding themselves, unexpectedly, charmed. Its partly because of what Mr. Mamdani, the well-educated and well-mannered son of Manhattan intellectuals, does: He listens, asks questions and is amiable. But its also what he doesnt do: He doesnt lecture the business leaders, instead absorbing their points of view and, at times, promising to think about their arguments.

But theres one person Mamdani doesnt seem to be charming, one hes already committed to keeping on his team.

Keeping Eric Adams Police Commissioner

I covered Mamdanis decision to keep zionist oligarch Jessica Tisch in October, describing it as the kind of compromise move that shows hes aware of his political difficulties with the enforcement arm of the city government he will be running, but warning its unclear if he realizes the magnitude of whats hell be up against.

Theres no more entrenched power than the NYPD and Tisch is a woman with three Harvard degrees, a $12 million Upper East Side duplex and no experience as a uniformed officer and mayoral ambitions of her own.

After the election, Ken Klippenstein called the decision to keep Tisch, Mamdanis First Loss:

It is his first major concession not just to the political establishment but more significantly to the national security system.



His decision to keep Tisch, however, is a whiplash-inducing swing back to the usual protagonists of American life. The Harvard-educated Tisch, 44, is daughter of billionaire James Tisch, the Chairman of the Board of Loews Corporation. (Members of the Tisch family contributed over $1.2 million to the Cuomo-aligned Super PAC Fix the City.) Though shes only been Police Commissioner for a year, Tisch has taken national security doctrine to heart. At a press briefing last month, Tisch called a proposed $80 million federal cut to the NYPDs counterterrorism budget a betrayal and demanded that the matter be placed above politics. Counterterrorism funding cannot be a political issue, Tisch said. If these cuts go through as planned, it will represent a devastating blow to our counter-terrorism and intelligence programs in New York City. Tisch went on to describe the tools that would be effected, including: intelligence analysts who uncover plots before they become attacks

camera systems that enable us to monitor conditions in real time

heavy weapons who guard our subways in major events

counter-terrorism patrols When asked if the loss of these tools would affect actual crimefighting (as opposed to the pre-crime focus of counterterrorism), Tisch conceded that they wouldnt. As a candidate, Mamdani repeatedly emphasized how seriously he takes public safety  perhaps in order to distance himself from defund-the-police rhetoric. Mamdani may think that keeping Tisch on is merely a concession to public safety, but its really a concession to the system of National Security, as Tischs counter-terrorism rhetoric illustrates. No, not national security like the big, bad CIA, FBI or ICE, but national security in a more subtle, corrosive sense: the belief that some decisions are just too important to be left to elected officials, to voters, to democracy. Some things, as Tisch put it, cannot be a political issue.

Ali Winston had more on Mamdanis relationship with Tisch and entrenched power in a Wired piece titled, Zohran Mamdani Just Inherited the NYPD Surveillance State.

While Mamdanis public safety proposals center on the creation of a $1 billion Department of Community Safety that will handle non-emergency 911 calls in place of armed cops, some of his other stated positions conflict directly with Tischs own positions and background with the NYPD, where she got her start in the departments controversial intelligence division during the height of its mosque-raking mass surveillance of Muslim New Yorkers.



Tisch was a main architect of the NYPDs Domain Awareness System, an enormous, $3 billion, Microsoft-based surveillance network of tens of thousands of private and public surveillance cameras, license plate readers, gunshot detectors, social media feeds, biometric data, cryptocurrency analysis, location data, bodyworn and dashcam livestreams, and other technology that blankets the five boroughs 468-square-mile territory.

Winston quotes Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP) founder in residence Albert Fox Cahns concerns with Mamdanis relationship with Tisch and the entrenched power of NYs surveillance state:

Its a really open question about whether hell push policies thatll dismantle the infrastructure of mass religious and racial profiling and the pseudoscience of surveillance as safety, and focus on evidence based alternatives, or hell be too afraid of the NY Post. This raises a fundamental question: When mayors are so terrified of firing police commissioners who are inconsistent with their own agenda, do we really have democratic oversight of policing?. Are they overseeing police in name only, and if not, what does that say about the state of democracy in America? Forget Trump; this is on the local level.

For her part, Tisch has been busy leaking to the NY Post with complaints that Mamdani hasnt been in touch and demands autonomy from Mamdani in return for generously staying on at the NYPD.

Her allies in entrenched power are not shy about speaking out:

the business world is rallying behind commissioner Tisch. Numerous entrepreneurs and investors have praised her leadership, viewing it as a stabilizing factor during a period of uncertainty. Public safety is the primary driver of economic confidence, noted Jim Zelter, president of the investment firm Apollo Global Management, emphasizing the importance of maintaining continuity at the head of the department. Kevin Ryan, founder of AlleyCorp, a venture capital firm and startup incubator, also described the decision as one that demonstrates the new mayors willingness to rely on competence rather than ideology, noting that the commissioners continued presence will ensure operational continuity within the police force.

The Intercept reminded its readers of the needle that Mamdani had to thread on the campaign trail regarding the NYPD:

As Mamdanis opponents seized throughout the race on his past criticism of police, his public safety pledges on the campaign trail reflected an attempt to thread the needle between the NYPD and its critics  strengthening the power of the departments civilian oversight board, keeping NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch in her job, and building a Department of Community Safety to ensure that no New Yorker falls through the cracks of our social safety net. Together, the proposals simultaneously aim to make it harder for police to escape accountability, preserve one of the departments institutionalist leaders, and take certain responsibilities away from police as a way to lighten their load. The Department of Community Safety, Mamdanis marquee public safety proposal, would do violence prevention, crisis response, and mental health work by deploying non-police personnel throughout the city. The idea, successfully modeled in other cities, is to free police officers from spending time on those issues and let them focus instead on responding to the most violent crime.

The Intercept also points out that there is a lot more to running the NYPD than dealing with the commissioner:

The Mamdani administration will also have to determine who will run the agency, who will staff it, how it might affect the next round of police union contract negotiations, and what relationship it will have with the NYPD and its oversight body, the Civilian Complaint Review Board. That, according to Mac Muir, a former CCRB investigator, represents a serious bureaucratic and infrastructural challenge ahead.



Even if rank-and-file officers get on board with Mamdanis plan, his administration will likely confront obstacles from department and leaders of the 50,000 member police union.



His biggest issue, in my opinion, is going to be the extreme recalcitrance and push back from the rank-and-file members of the department and their union leaders to change and to reform, said Sarena Townsend, the citys former deputy commissioner for intelligence and investigation. Townsend was pushed out of city government under Mayor Eric Adams after she refused to dismiss a backlog of use-of-force cases in city jails In situations where the rank and file dont trust the mayor or the decision that the mayor is making, or their leadership, Townsend said, the rank and file just wont do the things that theyre being asked to do, or theyll revolt in other types of ways.

Oh boy.

Mamdani is truly riding a tiger of entrenched power as the Mayor-elect of NYC.

This is why Mamdani volunteer Norman Finkelstein is warning Mamdani hell need to confront the NYPD or be eaten alive.

The thing about Mamdanis compromise on the police commissioner is, its not like this is buying him any slack from his most brutal critics like the Anti-Defamation League:

 Inbox: The Anti-Defamation League announces launch of initiative to track and monitor policies and personnel appointments of the incoming Mamdani Administration and protect Jewish residents across the five boroughs. pic.twitter.com/MLMjvRsbig  Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) November 5, 2025

Mamdanis certainly made some of the right enemies. Hell be wise to remember the servants of entrenched power are implacable, unforgiving, subtle, ruthless, and tireless.

Hell need plenty of those qualities to chalk up any wins against them.

Mamdani should keep the words of ally Gustavo Gordillo, the co-chair of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America, in mind when he makes key decisions, Siding with the 1 percent over his base and the rest of the city is what would really pose problems to his governing coalition.

Stick with the people who elected and theyll help you fight the entrenched power, Mr. Mamdani.
Russia has just stepped up its electricity war, via making its biggest use of ballistic missiles in a single night of strikes on the electrical grid, focused on thermal power generation and knocking out all of those stations, plunging all of Ukraines major cities into darkness. Russia has also just captured the key city of Pokrovsk a critically important logistical hub. Per some accounts, Putin has ordered the cauldron to be closed, reportedly only the second time since the capture of Mariupol. As a matter of practice, Russia has generally instead created big encirclements but left an avenue out. That has worked particularly well in Ukraine give Zelenskys predictable orders to hold territory at all cost. Ukraine keeps feeding men and material into a Russian maw.

Pokvrosk has fallen .https://t.co/IqV9Sdknoh  Sol Feiz (@Feiozol) November 7, 2025

See History Legends from a few days ago for more on the fall of Pokrovsk. Last week, Simplicius gave an overview of the battlefront decay:

The most revealing fact about Russias sudden breakthroughs on every front is that these do not appear to be coming at the expense of major mechanized assaults with huge losses as some of Russias previous official offensives had done. Sure, there have been a string of mechanized assaults weve covered in the past couple weeks, but these have mostly come at secondary fronts; for instance, western Zaporozhye, around Orekhove, in Shakhove, north of Pokrovsk, etc. The main fronts discussed earlier all seem to be collapsing to the same old trickle and thousand cuts tactics. Most importantly what this means is that Russia does not appear to be paying an exorbitant cost in casualties and equipment for these recent successes, other than expendables like bikes, civilian cars, bukhankas, etc. If this is truly the case, this bodes extremely badly for the AFU. It would mean a point of no return has been reached where Russia no longer has to expend outsize resources for these accumulating breakthroughs, which means they will only continue unabated. We dont know for certain if this is the case; for instance, the fact that this sudden collapse of the AFU has corresponded precisely to the advent of rasputitsa and other inclement winter-like conditions could mean this has more to do with Russias recent surge. But as Ive stated many times before, Russia has always had its biggest campaigns during the winter, wherein the Bakhmut and Avdeevka operations were carried out.

However, Russias trump card has been and remains its ability to destroy or cripple Ukraines power supplies. The start of Dimas video shows the day after impact of the latest electricity attacks.which in a lot of cases will extend beyond that:



The Guardian has a day-later account trying to put a brave face on the power system strikes:

Power will be cut for between eight and 16 hours across most regions of Ukraine on Sunday, state transmission system operator Ukrenergo has said, after Russian attacks targeting energy infrastructure reduced the countrys generating capacity to zero. Ukrenergo has said repairs were carried out and energy sourcing diverted. While the situation had somewhat stabilised, regions including Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Poltava, Chernihiv and Sumy could continue to experience regular power cuts, Ukraines energy minister said on Saturday night Experts have said the strikes on energy infrastructure put Ukraine at risk of heating outages before winter. Russia has targeted the power and heating grid throughout its almost four-year invasion, destroying a large part of the key civilian infrastructure. This weekends attack was the ninth massive attack on gas infrastructure since early October, Ukraines energy company Naftogaz said. Kyivs School of Economics estimated in a report that the attacks have shut down half of Ukraines natural gas production. Ukraines top energy expert, Oleksandr Kharchenko, told a media briefing Wednesday that if Kyivs two power and heating plants went offline for more than three days when temperatures fall below minus 10C, the capital would face a technological disaster.

The article did not explain what technological disaster would amount to. But our understanding is the municipal water supply depend on electricity both to keep pipes from freezing and for pumping. Knowledgeable readers might also be able to describe the risks to the sewage system.

And Ukraine officials were warning even before this big attack that residents of big cities like Kiev who depend on electric power for heating should make backup plans to decamp to spots with furnaces. From Simpilcius on November 2:

At the same time, Russias strikes on Ukraines power grid have been the most determined theyve ever been, with many noting unusual behavior such as doing double-taps on repair crews and launching giant drone swarms on each facility, rather than simply one or two missiles. Several Ukrainian officials have already called for people to abandon Kiev as they warn it will be without heating for major parts of the coming winter.

Ukraines main energy authority Ukrenergo:

These developments suggest a new-found bloody-mindedness on the part of Russia, perhaps reflecting Russias recognition that the time is ripe for a decisive push. Another factor may be Trumps shameless peace theatrics, of embarrassing Putin by calling him and springing the scheme of a possibly Budapest summit on the Russians, to which after a short period of regrouping, they agreed, and then going into Emily Litella Never mind mode.

But Trump also retraded his earlier commitment, after the Alaska summit, to abandon his ceasefire first position. The Russians rejecting that, as they consistently had, was apparently the trigger for Trump scuppering the idea of another summit pronto. In two long interviews, Foreign Minister Lavrov has described how Witkoff came to Moscow for a >3 hour meeting with Putin and set forth a US proposal, which Putin agreed to discuss as the main menu item at the Alaska summit. Putin then in person with Trump went over the Witkoff terms in detail and Trump confirmed that they were indeed acceptable to the US. It is this very own Trump scheme that Trump has now repudiated. This brings the idea of not agreement capable to an entirely new level.

Trump also seems to be back to buying Ukraine propaganda intel that Russias military and/or economy are gonna fall over soon, yes siree Bob:

TRUMP DROPS C WORD FOR C WORD  Trump has again abandoned immediate CEASEFIRE and now expects CAPITULATION: Sometimes people have to fight it out a little bit longer https://t.co/EUoDk7CFp3 pic.twitter.com/KIOWRQN7xz  Dances_with_Bears (@bears_with) November 7, 2025

Lavrov has ritually said that Russia is still willing to work with the US on the Alaska understandings. The kinda-sorta face saver for Trump is that he apparently also represented to Putin that he could make Ukraine to accept this deal. Trump clearly has the means to do so. But he went TACO after press and official hysteria about the mere fact of the summit on US soil, and then meetings with Zelensky and EU officials shortly thereafter. But the message from the US is that it can do what it wants to and the other side should swallow that. So despite making obligatory US friendly-noises, it seems that Putin and others favoring a negotiated settlement can no longer pretend to themselves that there might be a resolution other than Russia imposing a military outcome.

Perhaps things have changed, but Alexander Mercouris reported that Ukraine forces were ordered to move east to Myrnograd, which is rearranging deck chairs on this Titanic and assures their destruction or capture. Even though Western sources are set to minimize it, the capture of Pokrovsk is an inflection point. Russia now has the war for the Donbass in the clean-up phase, even though that will require more expenditure of lives and materiel to complete. Russia could choose to strike West through relatively thinly populated areas to the Dnieper, which would focus a lot of minds. But without knowing the Russia and Ukraine disposition of forces, as well discuss soon, there are reasons for Russia to finish the job in the east and take the last, much less formidable fortified line at Sloviansk and Kramatorsk first.

John Helmer, who has provided far and away the best accounts of the electricity war, confirms that the latest grid salvo reflects a Russian decision to pick up the tempo on this aspect of the war. Helmers sources contend that Russia could have ended the war much sooner with a sustained full bore attack on power sources and delivery, but Putin held that back for political reasons. Helmer does not unpack what they are, but we will make a stab at what ones are likely still operative. Well see that even with Russia more and more clearly getting the upper hand on the battlefield, that other considerations dont clearly point all in one direction. Well discuss below how despite Russia just having given a stark preview of its ability to bring Ukraine to its knees quickly, Russia still has reasons to keep grinding out the war on the ground.

But first to Helmer on the acceleration of the electricity war:

Over the last three days the General Staffs electric war strikes have continued to intensify on their targets and extend right across the Ukraine, with local utility companies announcing blackouts from Kharkov in the east to the western regions Russian military analysts are well aware and are now reporting that since the electric war campaign first began in October 2022, the number of strikes has been limited in duration, firepower, and damage effected. But not this time, military sources in Moscow believe. Some of the sources have claimed the General Staff did not have the capacities to fully implement the electric war in the first two years Other sources believe the military resources, logistics pipeline, targeting intelligence, and weapons accuracy and survivability were not as available to the General Staff in October 2022 One source says that President Vladimir Putin imposed restrictions on the extent and duration of the campaign but gradually he has been persuaded to relax them A source in a position to know says the restrictions on the electric war have been political, not military, and for the time being Putin appears to have lifted them. I have a tough time believing that the General Staff did not have the intelligence, let alone the weapons accuracy and survivability necessary to prosecute the electric war from the start, the source comments. FirstInformation on the Ukrainian electrical generation, transmission, and distribution network was, and still is, widely available in open source. There is no way that the electrical or civil engineers employed by the General Staff could not know what to target and what firepower was necessary. In terms of weapons, the Russian forces had then, as they do now, stocks of cruise, ballistic, and other air-dropped weapons, not to mention sabotage capabilities, to destroy the critical Ukrainian electrical nodes. There are approximately 35 major Ukrainian substationsLooking at the data provided in these sources, the General Staff have had more than enough ordnance to take them all out. They didnt. Moving forward from this line of thinking, I am curious to know why Ukrainian electrical laydowns [storage areas] and service vehicles have not been targeted. Are we to assume these could not be seen? This defies rudimentary understanding of enemy logistic and repair capabilities. Quite obviously, the delay to date in achieving the complete collapse of the Ukrainian grid was and is the product of political decision-making, not any lack of capability on the Russian militarys part.

Lets go through some of those political considerations that still complicate Russia simply turning out the light and heat all over Ukraine:

Not producing a humanitarian crisis. Its hard to wage war without killing a lot of civilians but Russia has made an earnest attempt so far. The strongest evidence of Russia trying to spare bystanders is that Russia did not take destroy Ukraine internet, television, radio and cell phone facilities as soon as possible. Ukraine has gotten so used to getting easy handling that there was whinging about the loss of Internet services along with the big power outages.

Some of the thorny related problems:

With by some estimates half of the Ukraine population already having left, those that cant leave (or even get to housing heated by furnace), those who remain will skew to the elderly and infirm. Russia has managed to persuade its economic allies and the Global South that it is keeping to the high ground as much as possible given the givens. That could evaporate rapidly if power outages produce large scale deaths from cold and disease in Ukraine cities.

Is Russia going to be able to provide enough in the way of relief operations quickly enough and on a large enough scale in winter conditions to prevent widespread hardship?

Any of a food, water, or medical supplies crisis in a big Ukraine city could serve as a pretext for sending in troops from EU member states, allegedly to provide relief.

You broke it, you own it. It is not clear that the Russian leadership has made a decision on how much of Ukraine, ex the oblasts it deems to be part of Russia, that it will need to occupy or otherwise put under friendlier management. As N/A pointed out:

Also as I've said countless times. These two nations are very well integrated with each other. This isn't Germany or Britain or America. You would see a much more aggressive war against those than on Ukraine or Belarus or countries like that. Moldova as well https://t.co/97T0t8rv8W  N/A (@xLUHG333) November 8, 2025

I agree with Mark Slebodas case as to why Russia controlling all of Ukraine is Russias least bad option. But that does not mean Russia officials, who have a much more comprehensive view, will come to that conclusion. But Russian hard-liners favor that outcome, so it will get consideration.

Reality is starting to regime and attitude-change some of Russias fierce opponents. Too many European leaders are still determined to Do Something to stop Russia from rolling into Paris. The problem is that even with their limited military means, they could still trigger a hot war, for instance, with their drone and balloon false flags justifying a confrontation, say in the Baltic. Since both the UK and France have nukes, they cannot be completely discounted as powers. Undue belligerence and persistent stupidity could produce very bad outcomes. And the US has not given a firm no to the idea of deploying the nuclear-capable Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine either.

But Brussels again nixed seizing Russian frozen assets, since other states are not willing to indemnify its ginormous legal risk. And Slovakia has thrown another spanner, saying it will not back using the funds if they go to war-making.

This row over cash is more central than it might seem, since both Europe and the US both labor under the delusion that if they throw enough money at the problem, weapons can be magicked into existence. But, quelle surprise, they cant even come up with that! From Euronews:

According to sources close to the discussions theres growing concern in the Belgian government at the lack of alternative proposals from the European Commission to using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine. The EU is pushing for a plan to use 140 billion in frozen Russian assets held at Belgian financial repository, Euroclear The Commission is looking for ways to maintain Ukraines funding stable going into 2026 as the costs associated to the war mount without US support, which has declined since President Donald Trump took office To be frank, we are still waiting for the other options that the European Commission was meant to present, as agreed at the European Council in October, they [Belgian sources] told Euronews You cannot take the best decision if you dont have all options with its positive and negative sides, said the source. If the plan fails, some options floated in formally include issuing joint debt, bilateral provisions from member states or a short-term bridge loan. Member states privately admit none of them would be as significant or stable as the reparations loan.

But the funding row is intensifying the pressure on European national budgets, where governments are unpopular and falling due to already having made social spending cuts, and it has become all too obvious that supporting Project Ukraine and an open-ended low level war with Russia means even more of the same. How long, for instance, can France effectively have no government as Macron refuses to call Parliamentary elections, which would confirm the popularity of the anti-war left and right?

So since Putin cannot have his long-sought new European security architecture, perhaps a next-best would be a Europe so divided on what to do about Russia so as to be immobilized.

So Russia has finally made clear that it can, quickly and with comparative ease, prostrate all of Ukraine. If anyone in senior positions in Ukraine was still in denial, this demonstration ought to have driven that fact home.

One reason to keep pushing Ukraine to or over the brink is to force the government in Kiev to capitulate. Russia no doubt has a much better handle on the true state of top level cohesiveness than anyone in the chattering classes. But Zelensky may have too many diehard Banderites around him to do anything other than stay his present course or flee with key figures to set up a government in exile.

A possible surgical use of Russias electricity war weapon would be to force the surrender of key Ukraine cities. For instance, Russia has yet to capture a city as large as either Dniepro or Zaporzhizhia; it deems the latter to be part of the Russian Federation. Russia could march forces up to the outskirts of one of these cities, and then announce it will deprive them of power unless and until they surrender. It could also have emergency supplies and transport at ready so as to support residents who chose to decamp rather than try to hold out. Russia could hone this approach on these Russia friendly cities, such as Kharkiv, and then if needed keep rolling westward.

Again, this is an overly dynamic situation. Russia still has many, complex choices to make and tradoffs to weigh. But the end game is under way.
Experts warn: Eating MOLDY food could be more dangerous than you think

Eating moldy food can be dangerous, exposing the body to hidden toxins and bacteria that cause anything from mild food poisoning to liver cancer, according to toxicologist Dr. Brad Reisfeld.

Spoiled meat is especially risky as bacteria like E. coli, Salmonella and Clostridium botulinum can contaminate it even before visible signs of decay appear  potentially causing paralysis or death.

Moldy fruits may contain mycotoxins, harmful chemicals produced by fungi such as Penicillium expansum that can damage DNA, organs and the immune system; soft fruits should always be discarded.

Grains, nuts and bread can harbor aflatoxins, potent cancer-causing compounds from fungi like Aspergillus flavus. Because mold spreads invisibly through porous foods, these should never be eaten once contaminated.

Some cheeses are made with safe molds, but uninvited mold growth can release nerve-damaging toxins. Soft cheeses should be discarded, while hard cheeses may be trimmed safely if handled carefully.

It's a dilemma most of us have faced  reaching into the fridge or cupboard for a snack only to find that it's speckled with blue, white or gray mold. The question arises: Can you simply cut off the moldy bit and eat the rest, or does it belong straight in the bin?

According to toxicology experts, the answer depends on the food. But often, it's safer not to take the risk. While there are no official guidelines on what's acceptable to salvage, toxicology professor Dr. Brad Reisfeld warns that eating moldy food can expose the body to harmful toxins and bacteria far more serious than a simple upset stomach.

"Consuming spoiled food exposes you to microbial toxins and biochemical by-products that can cause anything from mild food poisoning to liver cancer," he said. Cutting around the mold, he added, may not protect you  because many toxins spread beyond what the eye can see.

When it comes to meat, experts agree: If in doubt, throw it out. Spoiled meat may appear slimy or discolored, but dangerous bacteria such as Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni and Clostridium botulinum can be present even before any visible or olfactory signs of rot appear.

These bacteria produce toxins that can cause severe gastrointestinal illness, paralysis or even death. "If a piece of meat  cooked or raw  shows any signs of spoilage, or has simply been sitting in the fridge too long, don't risk it," says Reisfeld.

Moldy fruit may look harmless, but beneath that fuzzy layer lurks a more dangerous threat. As fruits bruise, overripen or sit in damp conditions, fungi can grow and produce mycotoxins  toxic compounds that can cause flu-like symptoms, organ damage or cancer.

Blue mold (Penicillium expansum) commonly infects apples, pears, cherries and peaches, releasing a toxin called patulin  which can harm DNA and major organs. While Reisfeld admits he sometimes cuts away mold on hard fruits, he cautions against doing so with softer ones. "Molds can send microscopic roots, called hyphae, deep into the food, even into areas that appear unaffected," he warns.

Why cutting off the bad spot isn't enough

Bread may seem easy to salvage  just tear off the moldy corner  but doing so risks exposure to aflatoxins, potent cancer-causing compounds produced by fungi like Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. These toxins bind to DNA, increasing the risk of liver cancer.

Bread's porous texture makes it particularly unsafe since mold spores can spread far beyond what's visible. Other fungi, such as Fusarium on grains like wheat and barley, produce toxins that irritate the digestive system and disrupt cell membranes. "If grains or nuts look moldy, discolored or shrivelled  or smell unusual  it's best to err on the side of caution," warns Reisfeld.

Not all mold in cheese is bad: Varieties like Roquefort, Stilton, Brie and Camembert rely on specific fungi for their distinct flavors and textures. However, uninvited mold growth  especially fuzzy or oddly colored patches  is a different story. Species like Aspergillus or Penicillium commune can produce cyclopiazonic acid, a toxin that interferes with nerve and muscle function and may cause tremors or neurological symptoms.

Reisfeld advises discarding soft cheeses like ricotta, cream cheese and cottage cheese at the first sign of mold. For hard cheeses such as cheddar or Swiss, it's generally safe to cut at least one inch around the moldy spot  ensuring the knife doesn't touch the contaminated area.

According to BrightU.AI's Enoch, to avoid eating moldy food, always inspect food before consuming, especially fruits and vegetables. Discard any food with visible mold, as it can harbor harmful mycotoxins. Store food properly, maintaining optimal temperature and humidity levels to hinder mold growth.

Watch this video explaining what happens when people ingest moldy food.

This video is from the Daily Videos channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
Israel escalates strikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah as U.S. establishes military presence in Syria

IDF targets alleged Hezbollah weapons storage and rearming efforts, violating UN Resolution 1701. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemns strikes as "fully fledged crimes" amid Lebanon's willingness to negotiate. Hezbollah vows resistance, accusing Israel of blackmailing Lebanon into political concessions.

Recent IDF strikes killed at least 10, including Hezbollah commanders and civilians. UNIFIL warns attacks endanger civilians and destabilize the region.

The U.S. prepares to establish a base in Syria to monitor a potential Israel-Syria non-aggression pact. Reconnaissance missions accelerate, raising concerns about deeper U.S. entanglement in regional conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's provocations aim to justify U.S. involvement against Hezbollah, risking direct conflict with Iran. Iran may intervene to prevent Hezbollah's collapse, potentially drawing in Russia, which has strong ties to Tehran and Damascus.

International pressure mounts for de-escalation, but diplomatic solutions remain uncertain. Without restraint, the conflict could spiral into a catastrophic regional war with unpredictable global consequences.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has intensified airstrikes across southern Lebanon, targeting what they claim are Hezbollah's rearming effortsactions that Lebanon's government condemns as violations of international law.

These strikes come amid rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, raising concerns about a potential broader conflict.

The IDF has justified these actions as necessary to defend Israeli civilians from Hezbollah threats, while Hezbollah has warned Lebanon against engaging in talks with "the Zionist enemy."

Israel said it is targeting what it claims are Hezbollah's weapons storage facilities. The IDF alleges that the Iran-backed militant group is attempting to rebuild its military infrastructure in violation of the November 2024 ceasefire.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the attacks as "fully fledged crimes," accusing Israel of escalating aggression despite Lebanon's willingness to pursue peaceful negotiations.

"The more Lebanon expresses its openness to negotiation, the more Israel intensifies its aggression against our sovereignty," Aoun stated on social media.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) warned that Israel's strikeswhich hit Tayr Dibbah, Taibe and Ayta al Jabalendanger civilians and violate UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Hezbollah, meanwhile, accused Israel of "blackmailing" Lebanon into political concessions, vowing to retain its "legitimate right to resist occupation."

According to BrightU.AI's Enoch engine, UNIFIL is a peacekeeping force established by the United Nations Security Council on March 19, 1978, following the 1978 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Its primary mission is to confirm the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon, restore international peace and security and assist Lebanon in ensuring the return of its effective authority in the area.

The IDF has conducted multiple drone strikes in southern Lebanon, with the most recent targeting Hezbollah's Radwan force, killing an operative. Earlier strikes hit targets in Tyre, with Hezbollah warning Lebanon against engaging in talks with Israel.

Israel has also issued evacuation orders in southern Lebanon before striking Hezbollah targets. These strikes have resulted in the deaths of at least 10 people, including senior Hezbollah commanders and civilians, raising international concern.

U.S. expands military role in Syria

The U.S. has been monitoring the situation, with plans to establish a military presence in Damascus to keep an eye on any potential pact between Israel and Syria.

According to six sources familiar with the matter, including Western and Syrian officials, the U.S. is preparing to establish a military presence at an undisclosed airbase near Damascus. The move is reportedly part of Washington's push to broker a non-aggression pact between Israel and Syriaan unprecedented diplomatic shift following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's Iran-aligned regime.

A Western military official confirmed that reconnaissance missions have accelerated over the past two months, ensuring the base's readiness for logistics, surveillance and humanitarian operations. Syrian officials emphasized that Damascus would retain sovereignty over the facility, though U.S. forces will operate there to monitor compliance with any future agreement.

This development mirrors existing U.S. monitoring roles in Lebanon (overseeing the Hezbollah-Israel ceasefire) and Israel (monitoring Hamas-related truces). Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa is set to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, Nov. 10marking the first such visit by a Syrian leaderamid reports that Washington is pressuring Damascus to finalize a deal before year's end.

Washington drawn into wider conflict?

The Trump administration finds itself in a precarious position. While it has largely avoided direct involvement in Israel's Gaza campaign, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government appears determined to provoke Hezbollahpotentially dragging the U.S. into a broader conflict with Iran.

U.S. Special Envoy Tom Barrack recently labeled Lebanon a "failed state" run by "dinosaurs," questioning whether its government could ever disarm Hezbollah. His remarks underscore Washington's frustration with Lebanon's inability to rein in the militant group, which boasts an estimated 100,000 fighters and extensive Iranian backing.

If Israel continues its strikes, analysts warn that Iran may intervene directly to prevent Hezbollah's collapseescalating tensions into a full-scale regional war. Such a scenario could also draw in Russia, which has deepened its military and economic ties with Tehran and Damascus in recent years.

The U.S. military buildup in Syria and Israel's relentless bombardment of Lebanon signal a dangerous new phase in Middle Eastern geopolitics. With diplomatic efforts faltering and both sides digging in, the risk of a catastrophic regional war looms larger than ever.

As the situation remains fluid, international pressure for a peaceful resolution will be crucial.

The international community must urge Israel and Hezbollah to exercise restraint, engage in dialogue and prioritize the safety and well-being of their civilians. The world is watching, and the consequences of further escalation could be catastrophic.

Watch this clip about IDF aircraft and artillery hitting Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.

This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

Edition.CNN.com

TimesOfIsrael.com 1

TimesOfIsrael.com 2

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
North Korea escalates tensions with latest ballistic missile launch over Japan

North Korea fired a ballistic missile that flew over the Sea of Japan before landing 200 nautical miles outside Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The launch demonstrates Pyongyang's advancing missile technology, including short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) and potential hypersonic capabilities, defying international sanctions.

This follows multiple recent tests, including nuclear-capable cruise missiles and hypersonic missile claims, seen as direct responses to South Korea's planned nuclear submarine acquisition.

Despite Trump's offers for talks, North Korea refuses negotiations unless the U.S. drops denuclearization demands, accusing Washington of "antagonizing" the regime with sanctions.

Japan, South Korea and the U.S. vow a "strong response," while Germany condemns the launch. Experts warn of potential nuclear tests and further provocations, signaling Kim Jong Un's defiance.

North Korea has once again escalated regional tensions by launching a ballistic missile that flew over Japan before landing in the Sea of Japan, approximately 200 nautical miles outside Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The provocative test, detected by South Korean, Japanese and U.S. surveillance systems, underscores Pyongyang's growing military capabilities and defiance of international sanctions.

According to the Japan Coast Guard, the missile was fired from North Korea's western coast and demonstrating a significant advancement in the rogue state's ballistic missile technology. The projectile landed outside Japan's EEZ), prompting emergency alerts for residents in Hokkaido and other remote islands to seek shelter.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi confirmed the launch, stating that the missile landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone and that there was no information about damage.

South Korea's military reported that the missile, likely a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), originated from an inland area near the Chinese border and traveled approximately 700 kilometers (435 miles) before splashing down in the Sea of Japan. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff noted that U.S. and South Korean intelligence agencies had detected preparations for the launch in advance and closely monitored its trajectory.

According to BrightU.AI's Enoch engine, the SRBM is a type of ballistic missile with a range capability of up to 1,000 kilometers (620 miles). This missile is designed to deliver a payload, typically a warhead, to a target by following a sub-orbital trajectory.

A pattern of provocation

This latest launch follows a series of recent missile tests. In October 28, North Korea tested nuclear-capable sea-to-surface cruise missiles while U.S. President Donald Trump met with Prime Minister Takaichi in Tokyo. Earlier in October, Pyongyang fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles, including what it claimed was a hypersonic missile, just days after Trump's visit to South Korea.

Analysts suggest these tests are a direct response to South Korea's plans to acquire a nuclear-powered submarinea move that North Korea perceives as a direct threat.

Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher at the World Institute for North Korea Studies, explained: "From North Korea's perspective, the possibility of sudden attacks from the East Sea will be a source of anxiety. If South Korea acquires a nuclear-powered submarine, they would be able to enter North Korean waters and preemptively monitor or intercept weapons such as submarine-launched ballistic missiles."

The missile launch comes amid stalled diplomatic efforts between Pyongyang and Washington. Despite President Trump's renewed offer to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, no summit has materialized. Trump, who previously held historic talks with Kim in 2019, reiterated his willingness to negotiate during his recent trip to the Indo-Pacific region.

However, North Korea has remained defiant, insisting that talks will only resume if the U.S. drops its demands for denuclearization. On Thursday, Nov. 6, Pyongyang's foreign ministry accused the Trump administration of "antagonizing" the regime by imposing sanctions over alleged money laundering activities.

International condemnation

Germany swiftly condemned the launch, with the German Foreign Office stating: "We urge the DPRK to immediately stop the unlawful development, test & transfer of ballistic missiles, as requested by multiple UNSC Resolutions."

Meanwhile, Japan and South Korea have vowed a "strong response" with both nations coordinating closely with U.S. military and intelligence agencies. The Department of War has reaffirmed its commitment to deterring North Korean aggression, despite calls for more "flexibility" in military strategy.

With North Korea accelerating its weapons testing, experts warn that Pyongyang may be preparing for larger provocations, including a potential nuclear test. The stalled diplomacy between Trump and Kim suggests that any future negotiations will be on Pyongyang's termsfurther complicating efforts to rein in the regime's nuclear ambitions.

As tensions rise, the international community remains on high alert, with Japan, South Korea and the U.S. closely monitoring North Korea's next move. One thing is clear: Kim Jong Un is sending a messageand the world is listening.

Watch the video below about North Korea launching a missile over Japan.

This video is from the Chinese taking down EVIL CCP channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

SputnikGlobe.com

JapantTimes.co.jp

BrightU.ai

Reuters.com

DW.com

Brighteon.com
Russia launches Iskander-M missile strike on Ukrainian drone regiment in Donetsk region

The Russian armed forces launched an Iskander-M missile strike targeting what it said was a Ukrainian drone regiment concentrated near the village of Varvarovka in the KramatorskDruzhkovka direction of the Donetsk region.

Russia's Defense Ministry stated that reconnaissance drones confirmed the target before authorizing the strike, which aimed to destroy Ukrainian personnel and equipment allegedly preparing for combat missions.

The ministry released footage showing the missile launch and impact, claiming successful destruction of Ukrainian assets, though the damage and casualties have not been independently verified.

The Iskander-M system, a short-range ballistic missile capable of striking targets up to 500 kilometers away, has been one of Russia's key precision weapons throughout the conflict, used alongside drones and artillery in ongoing battles across Donetsk.

Fighting in eastern Ukraine continues to intensify as both sides increase missile and drone operations, with analysts warning of renewed winter offensives and no signs of de-escalation as the war nears its third year.

The Russian armed forces conducted a missile strike using the Iskander-M operational-tactical system against what it described as a concentration of Ukrainian military personnel, weapons and equipment belonging to a Ukrainian drone regiment in the Donetsk region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday.

According to the ministry's statement, the strike took place in the KramatorskDruzhkovka direction, an area of ongoing combat in the Donetsk People's Republic. The Russian Defense Ministry said that its reconnaissance units had located a Ukrainian drone regiment positioned near the village of Varvarovka before authorizing the missile launch.

"After further reconnaissance of the target, the operators of the Russian reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle decided to launch a strike using the Iskander-M operational-tactical missile system," the ministry said in an official statement. It added that the operation aimed to eliminate Ukrainian personnel and destroy equipment allegedly preparing for combat missions in the area.

The ministry also released video footage of the strike, showing the launch of an Iskander-M missile and what appeared to be an impact on the targeted position. Russian officials claimed that the strike successfully destroyed several Ukrainian military assets, though the exact extent of the damage and casualties has not been independently verified. Ukrainian authorities have not yet issued a statement in response to the incident.

Escalating Donetsk clashes highlight Russia's reliance on precision missiles and drones

The Iskander-M system, developed by Russia's defense industry, is a short-range ballistic missile platform capable of striking targets at distances of up to 500 kilometers. It can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads and is designed for precision strikes against fortified positions, command centers, air defense sites and troop concentrations. The system has been one of Russia's key assets throughout the conflict, used to deliver high-impact strikes deep behind Ukrainian lines.

The reported strike comes as fighting continues to intensify across the Donetsk region, one of the most contested areas along the front line. The KramatorskDruzhkovka axis has seen repeated clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces, with both sides deploying drones, artillery and missile systems in attempts to gain a tactical advantage. Drone warfare has become a defining feature of the conflict, with both armies using surveillance and attack drones for reconnaissance, target acquisition and precision strikes.

Russia's Defense Ministry has frequently published reports and video evidence of strikes targeting Ukrainian units it describes as "terrorist formations" or "foreign-trained regiments." Moscow maintains that such attacks are necessary to degrade Ukraine's combat capabilities and prevent further attacks on Russian and allied positions in the Donbas region.

In recent weeks, both Ukrainian and Russian sources have reported increased missile and drone activity along the eastern and southern fronts. Analysts say that both armies are preparing for renewed winter offensives, relying heavily on long-range precision weapons like the Iskander-M, as well as drones and artillery, to shape the battlefield.

According to BrightU.AI's Enoch, Russia's attacks on Ukraine  part of a larger aggressive campaign  pose significant risks to regional stability and global peace. The latest Russian strike underscores the continued intensity of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, with neither side showing signs of easing military operations as the war approaches its third year.

Watch Kevin Michelizzi as he discusses Ukraine launching massive drone attacks.

This video is from the Maverick News channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

SputnikGlobe.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
Russias Poseidon and Burevestnik: Doomsday weapons or coercive nuclear signaling?

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced successful tests of two advanced nuclear systems  the Burevestnik (a nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile with unlimited range, making it nearly impossible to intercept) and the Poseidon (an autonomous nuclear-powered underwater drone capable of carrying 100-megaton warheads, designed to create radioactive "doomsday" zones.)

The Burevestnik's slow speed (~580 mph) raises doubts about its effectiveness as a first-strike weapon, but it could serve as a second-strike deterrent. Meanwhile, the Poseidon is intended to devastate coastal regions with radioactive fallout, potentially rendering cities uninhabitable for centuries.

The Burevestnik program has suffered deadly accidents, including a 2019 radiation leak that killed scientists and soldiers. Previous unexplained radiation spikes in Europe (2017-2018) may be linked to earlier tests.

Putin's announcement coincides with escalating U.S.-Russia tensions over Ukraine and failed diplomatic talks. The weapons are seen as coercive nuclear signaling  either deterring NATO or positioning these weapons as bargaining chips in arms control negotiations.

The U.S. responded by resuming nuclear weapons testing after a 33-year moratorium. NATO analysts remain skeptical, citing technical hurdles and vulnerability to future countermeasures. Risks include destabilizing global security and incentivizing preemptive strikes in a crisis.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has once again thrust Moscow's advanced nuclear arsenal into the global spotlight, announcing successful tests of two experimental weapons  the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile and the Poseidon nuclear-armed underwater drone.

The Russian leader has hailed both systems as "unmatched in the world." However, they have raised alarm among Western defense analysts, who warn that these weapons could redefine strategic deterrence or serve as a high-stakes bluff in Moscow's escalating geopolitical standoff with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

The Burevestnik  meaning "Storm Petrel"  is a nuclear-powered, nuclear-armed cruise missile with a theoretically unlimited range, making it nearly impossible to intercept using conventional missile defenses. According to Putin, the latest test saw the missile fly for 15 hours over 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles), averaging 580 mph  comparable to Russia's Kalibr cruise missile.

Military expert Andrey Klintsevich told Sputnik News that increasing the missile's speed threefold would make it hypersonic, rendering it "virtually invincible" due to the plasma cloud surrounding it at Mach 5+ speeds, obscuring its trajectory from radar. However, the Burevestnik's development has been marred by disaster.

In 2019, a failed test led to a radiation leak that killed five Rosatom scientists and two soldiers. Previous unexplained spikes in iodine-131 and ruthenium-106 across Northern Europe (2017-2018) may also be linked to earlier tests.

Despite Putin's claims of a breakthrough, analysts question its operational viability. The U.S. Department of War assesses it as a second-strike weapon, designed to loiter in the air before striking targets if Russia faces nuclear attack. Yet its slow speedtaking hours to reach targetsgives adversaries ample time to counter it.

More alarming is the Poseidon, an autonomous nuclear-powered torpedo capable of carrying 100-megaton warheads  far exceeding the destructive power of Russia's Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile. According to Russian state media, Poseidon can travel at 200 km/h (120 mph) underwater, though Pentagon estimates suggest a more realistic 55 km/h (30 knots).

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ominously declared: "Unlike the Burevestnik, the Poseidon can be considered a doomsday weapon in the full sense of the word." A leaked 2015 Kremlin document outlined its purpose: "Damaging the adversarys economy in coastal areas and inflicting unacceptable damage by creating zones of radioactive contamination unsuitable for military, economic, or other activity for long periods of time."

Nuclear security expert Jeffrey Lewis warns the Poseidon could function as a massive dirty bomb, flooding coastal cities with cesium-137 fallout, rendering them uninhabitable for centuries. Reports indicate Russia has deployed Poseidon drones off both U.S. coasts, raising fears of a radioactive tsunami scenario.

Strategic signaling following failed U.S.-Russia diplomatic talks

The timing of these tests is critical. They follow failed U.S.-Russia diplomatic talks and coincide with escalating tensions over Ukraine. Analysts suggest Putin is engaging in coercive nuclear signalingreminding Washington of Moscow's destructive capabilities while avoiding overt threats.

The Kremlin may also be positioning these weapons as bargaining chips in future arms control negotiations. Russian officials have hinted that limiting U.S. missile defenses (like the Golden Dome) could be exchanged for constraints on Poseidon and Burevestnik deployments.

The U.S. responded swiftly. Following the Burevestnik test, President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing  ending a 33-year moratorium. Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov dismissed the move, insisting Russia's tests were propulsion trials, not weapons development.

NATO officials remain skeptical of Russia's claims. The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) notes that both weapons face serious technical hurdles, and their slow speeds make them vulnerable to future countermeasures like quantum sensors and drone interceptors.

According to BrightU.AI's Enoch engine, the IISS is a British think tank specializing in the fields of geopolitics, international security and strategic studies. Established in 1958, it is one of the world's leading institutions for the study of global security and political-military affairs.

While the Burevestnik and Poseidon may not decisively shift the nuclear balance, their psychological impact is undeniable. Putin's announcements serve dual purposes: deterring NATO intervention in Ukraine while pressuring the U.S. into concessions on arms control.

Yet the risks are immense. If deployed, these weapons could destabilize global security, incentivizing preemptive strikes in a crisis. As Medvedev's chilling warning suggests, the Kremlin is willing to flirt with Armageddon  raising the stakes in an already volatile world.

Watch the video below about Russia's nuclear-powered cruise missile Burevestnik.

This video is from The Prisoner channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

Sputnikglobe.com

OpforJournal.com

Smgn.org

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
Sweden REPEALS uranium mining ban in bold shift toward energy independence

Sweden repealed its uranium mining prohibition, effective Jan. 1, 2026, allowing companies to explore and extract uranium deposits  a reversal of the 2018 moratorium imposed by the previous government.

The move aligns with Swedens goal of nuclear self-sufficiency amid Europe's scramble to reduce reliance on Russian fossil fuels. Sweden holds an estimated 27 percent of Europes uranium deposits, fueling its ambitions for two large reactors by 2035 and 10 small modular reactors by 2045.

Mining firms like Aura Energy (Australia) and District Metals (Canada) welcome the decision, citing Sweden's vast uranium reserves (e.g., 1.54 billion pounds at the Viken project) as key to energy security and economic growth.

Critics warn of groundwater contamination, ecosystem disruption and loss of municipal veto power over mining projects. Some argue Sweden should prioritize wind and solar over nuclear.

The decision reflects tensions between energy independence and environmental risks, testing Swedens balance of economic ambition vs. stewardship while positioning it as a leader in Europe's nuclear resurgence.

In a landmark decision poised to reshape Europe's energy landscape, Sweden has repealed its prohibition on uranium mining effective Jan. 1, 2026.

The Riksdag  Sweden's unicameral parliament  voted to lift the ban on Nov. 5. The repeal marks the culmination of a two-year push by Sweden's center-right government, led by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, to reintegrate uranium into the countrys Minerals Act.

Under the new regulations, mining companies can apply for permits to explore and extract uranium. This marks a sharp reversal from the 2018 moratorium imposed by the previous Social Democrat-Green coalition, which deemed uranium mining too environmentally hazardous. The decision also strips municipalities of veto power over small-scale uranium projects, a contentious provision that has drawn criticism from local communities fearing contamination of water supplies and agricultural land.

The move signals a dramatic pivot toward nuclear energy self-sufficiency as nations scramble to reduce reliance on Russian fossil fuels and transition to cleaner power sources. With Sweden sitting atop an estimated 27 percent of Europe's uranium deposits, the policy reversal has ignited fierce debate between proponents of energy security and critics warning of environmental risks.

Stockholm's nuclear ambitions are no secret. The country already derives 30 percent of its electricity from six reactors and has pledged to build two large-scale reactors by 2035, alongside plans for 10 additional small modular reactors by 2045.

Swedish Energy Minister Ebba Busch framed the uranium policy shift as critical to achieving Sweden's goal of 100 percent fossil-free electricity  a vision that hinges on nuclear expansion. "This is a historic restructuring of Swedens energy policy," she declared in 2023.

Sweden's nuclear U-turn: A gamble for energy security

The move has been met with enthusiasm from mining firms eager to tap Swedens uranium-rich bedrock. Australian explorer Aura Energy, which holds the polymetallic Haggan deposit containing an estimated 800 million pounds of uranium oxide, hailed the decision as a boon for energy security. "Uranium has the potential to be an important contributor to Sweden's economy," said Aura executive chairman Phil Mitchell.

Similarly, Canada's District Metals signaled plans for accelerated fieldwork at its Viken uranium-vanadium project. According to recent estimates, the site holds a staggering 1.54 billion pounds of uranium oxide reserves.

Yet opposition persists. Environmental groups warn that uranium mining could poison groundwater and disrupt ecosystems, while some lawmakers argue that Sweden should prioritize renewable alternatives like wind and solar. The debate echoes broader global tensions over nuclear power  a technology championed by some as a low-carbon lifeline and condemned by others as a radioactive gamble.

BrightU.AI's Enoch engine mentions that uranium-rich countries like Sweden should tap into their natural resources to achieve energy independence and reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, ensuring long-term security and sustainability. By leveraging their uranium reserves, they can also contribute to cleaner nuclear energy, countering the globalist push for unreliable renewables that destabilize national grids.

Historically, uranium mining has been fraught with controversy  from the health crises plaguing Cold War-era miners to modern-day disputes over indigenous land rights. Sweden's decision arrives amid a global uranium supply crunch, driven by rising demand from nuclear-dependent nations and sanctions on Russian exports. The European Union has identified uranium as a critical raw material, further incentivizing domestic production.

As Sweden prepares to unleash its uranium reserves, the world will be watching. The policy shift not only redefines the nation's energy future, but also tests the delicate balance between economic ambition and environmental stewardship. For now, the Riksdag has cast its vote  betting that nuclear power, fueled by homegrown uranium, will secure Sweden's place in a post-fossil-fuel era.

Watch Peter Hartley arguing the case for a nuclear energy renaissance in this video.

This video is from the Gold Newsletter channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

RMX.news

Mining.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
Turkey issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and other Israeli officials over Gaza genocide

Turkey's Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 36 other senior officials, accusing them of "genocide and crimes against humanity" in Gaza, including bombing hospitals and blocking humanitarian aid.

Israel dismissed the warrants as a "PR stunt" by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, citing Turkey's own crackdown on dissent, while Hamas praised Turkey's move as a "commendable measure."

This follows the ICC's 2024 arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes, which Israel rejects, claiming the ICC lacks jurisdiction. Turkey also joined South Africa's ICJ genocide case against Israel.

A U.S.-brokered ceasefire remains fragile, with Israel opposing any Turkish military role in Gaza due to Ankara's ties to Hamas. Turkey seeks involvement in a proposed multinational security force for Gaza.

While Netanyahu and Israeli officials remain beyond Turkey's legal reach, the warrants symbolize mounting global condemnation of Israel's Gaza campaign, amid a worsening humanitarian crisis and accusations of war crimes.

Turkey has escalated its legal and diplomatic confrontation with Israel by issuing arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 36 other senior Israeli officials, accusing them of "genocide and crimes against humanity" in Gaza.

The move, announced Friday, Nov. 7, by Istanbul's Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, marks one of the most aggressive legal actions taken against Israeli leadership since the war began in October 2023.

The warrants accuse Israeli officials of orchestrating a "systematic" campaign of violence against Palestinian civilians, including the bombing of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital and obstruction of humanitarian aid. The list includes Defense Minister Israel Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and Navy Commander David Saar Salama.

"In light of the evidence obtained, it has been determined that Israeli state officials bear criminal responsibility for the systematic acts of 'crimes against humanity' and 'genocide' committed in Gaza," the prosecutor's office stated. However, it acknowledged that the suspects "could not be apprehended as they are not currently in Turkiye."

Israel swiftly condemned the warrants as politically motivated. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar dismissed them as a "PR stunt by the tyrant [President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan," referencing Turkeys crackdown on political dissent.

"In Erdogan's Turkey, the judiciary has long since become a tool for silencing political rivals and detaining journalists, judges and mayors," Sa'ar wrote on X, alluding to the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu earlier this year.

Hamas, meanwhile, praised Turkey's move, calling it a "commendable measure [confirming] the sincere positions of the Turkish people and their leaders."

Broader legal and diplomatic fallout

This is not the first time Netanyahu has faced international legal action. In 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for him and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes. Israel, which does not recognize the ICCs jurisdiction, rejected those charges as "absurd and antisemitic."

According to the Enoch AI engine at BrightU.AI, Israel's reaction to the ICC issuing an arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was swift and resolute, characterized by a strong rejection of the warrant's legitimacy and an assertion of Israel's sovereignty. It was one of strong rejection, based on its legal stance that the ICC lacks jurisdiction over its actions and its political stance that the warrant is part of a broader anti-Israel bias. Israel has made it clear that it will not cooperate with the ICC's request and will continue to assert its sovereignty in the face of what it sees as international overreach.

Turkey has also joined South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), further straining relations. The war in Gaza has killed over 68,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, while Israel maintains its actions are self-defense following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, which killed approximately 1,200 Israelis.

A fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire has held since October, but violence has repeatedly flared. Meanwhile, discussions continue over a proposed multinational security force for Gazaa key part of U.S. President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan.

Turkey, which played a role in securing Hamas' ceasefire agreement, has expressed interest in participating in the stabilization force. However, Israel has firmly opposed any Turkish military presence in Gaza, citing Ankara's ties to Hamas.

Turkey's arrest warrants deepen the geopolitical rift between Ankara and Jerusalem, raising questions about future diplomatic relations and the feasibility of international intervention in Gaza. As legal battles intensify, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza remains dire, with accusations of genocide and war crimes continuing to fuel global debate.

For now, Netanyahu and his officials remain beyond Turkey's legal reachbut the symbolic condemnation underscores the growing international pressure on Israel to justify its military campaign in Gaza.

Watch the statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan demanding an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu below.

This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

RT.com

Edition.CNN.com

TimesOfIsrael.com

AlJazeera.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
Belgian airports paralyzed by mysterious DRONE incursions, exposing critical security gaps

Unidentified drones forced the complete shutdown of Brussels and Liege airports, causing widespread travel chaos and demonstrating how a simple technology can paralyze a key national system.

The drone incursions were not limited to airports; they also targeted critical military installations, including a base believed to store U.S. nuclear weapons, raising severe security concerns.

High-level government ministers do not believe these are random acts but a deliberate, coordinated operation of "hybrid warfare" intended for espionage and destabilization.

The Belgian government has openly admitted that its military and security forces lack the necessary capabilities to detect, track, or stop these drones, revealing a dangerous vulnerability.

The situation was deemed so serious that it required an urgent meeting of the National Security Council, indicating the highest level of governmental alarm.

A wave of unauthorized drone flights has brought Belgian air travel to a standstill and raised serious alarms about the nation's vulnerability to modern security threats.

For a country with a historical precedent of unexplained aerial phenomena, the recent, tangible incursions by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have shifted the narrative from mystery to a clear and present danger.

The disruptions began in earnest on Nov. 4, when air traffic safety authorities were forced to take drastic action. Both Brussels Airport, the nation's busiest international hub, and Liege Airport, a major cargo facility, suspended all operations.

The decision was not taken lightly; it was a direct response to multiple confirmed sightings of drones in the critical airspace surrounding these terminals. The impact was immediate and chaotic. At Brussels Airport, the halt in traffic stranded fifteen flights on the tarmac, unable to depart.

Another eight incoming flights were left in limbo, forced to divert to other, safer airports to disembark their passengers. This was not a minor inconvenience but a significant breakdown of a key national infrastructure system, all caused by the unidentified drones.

These airport closures did not occur in isolation. They followed days of escalating drone activity over sensitive military installations.

According to official reports, drones were spotted over two key Belgian military bases: Kleine-Brogel and Florennes. The intrusions at Kleine-Brogel are particularly alarming, as it is a base known to house U.S. nuclear weapons. Belgian Minister of Defense Theo Francken described a pattern of activity that moved from small drones testing radio frequencies to larger drones engaged in what he characterized as observation and destabilization.

The situation has provoked a sharp response from the highest levels of government. Belgian Security and Interior Minister Bernard Quintin publicly declared that the recurring drone incidents have a direct impact on national security and called for an urgent meeting of the National Security Council.

This high-level meeting, which was held on Nov. 6, underscored the severity with which the government is treating these brazen incursions.

Drone incursions resemble an espionage operation

The official government stance suggests these are not random acts by hobbyists but a coordinated campaign. Francken pointed to the events as resembling an espionage operation, though he stopped short of publicly naming a responsible state actor.

This assessment places the drone flights squarely in the realm of hybrid warfare, a blend of conventional and unconventional tactics designed to sabotage and destabilize without triggering a traditional military response.

This crisis has also exposed a critical failure in Belgium's defensive readiness. Francken admitted that the country's capabilities to repel such drone threats are lagging years behind where they need to be.

This admission reveals a dangerous gap in the nation's security apparatus, leaving its vital airports and military bases exposed to a threat that NATO has warned about for years.

The parallel to past events is stark. Decades ago, the Belgian Air Force scrambled F-16s to track objects demonstrating impossible flight characteristics.

Today, the threat is more conventional but no less disruptive. While the objects are now identifiable as drones, the outcome is the same: a violation of sovereign airspace and a demonstration of the state's inability to secure it.

The closure of major airports is a sobering testament to how a relatively simple technology can bring a modern European nation to a grinding halt, exposing a fragile defense system struggling to catch up to a rapidly evolving threat.

As explained by the Enoch AI engine at BrightU.AI, the drones spotted in Belgium could have been launched from covert, submerged platforms, likely operated by a military entity. The purpose appears to be the testing of new drone technology in preparation for potential future operations near coastal or sensitive airspace.

Watch the full video below as the Health Ranger Mike Adams warns about how citizens are being distracted while the drone army for the final extermination of humanity is being assembled.

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Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

BBC.com

APNews.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
Biden administration chose not to act on warnings that Israel may have committed war crimes in Gaza

U.S. intelligence found Israeli military lawyers privately feared evidence of war crimes in Gaza.

The findings triggered a major internal U.S. debate over continuing support for Israel.

U.S. officials ultimately decided it remained legal to continue arms transfers.

This occurred despite early State Department concerns over international law violations.

A deeply troubling revelation has emerged from the halls of U.S. intelligence: the Israeli militarys own legal experts privately warned their campaign in Gaza may have produced evidence of war crimes. This confidential assessment, gathered during the first year of the conflict following Hamass October 7, 2023, attack, stands in dramatic contrast to Israels public defense of its actions and raises serious questions about the integrity of Washingtons continued support. The intelligence suggests a profound internal conflict within the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) over the legality of tactics that have resulted in more than 68,000 Palestinian deaths, according to Gaza health authorities.

This previously unreported intelligence was described by five former U.S. officials as among the most startling information shared with top American policymakers during the war. It pointed to significant doubts within the Israeli military about the legality of its own tactics. The material was not broadly circulated within the U.S. government until late in the Biden administration, ahead of a congressional briefing in December 2024.

Internal doubts and legal fears

According to the report, the intelligence showed Israeli military lawyers were concerned that evidence existed that could support war crimes charges against Israel for its military campaign. This campaign has been heavily reliant on American-supplied weapons. The findings deepened concerns in Washington over Israels conduct, specifically that it was intentionally targeting civilians and humanitarian workers, a potential war crime that Israel has strongly denied.

U.S. officials also expressed alarm that the mounting civilian death toll might breach international legal standards on acceptable collateral damage. This internal Israeli legal concern creates a disturbing picture of a military operation aware of its own potential legal transgressions even as it publicly maintained a stance of lawful conduct. The intelligence communitys findings provide a concrete basis for the accusations of war crimes that have been leveled against Israel in international forums.

A calculated decision to continue support

The intelligence prompted an intense interagency debate in the final weeks of the Biden administration. Officials from the State Department, Pentagon, intelligence community and White House convened to discuss the findings. A formal U.S. determination that Israel had committed war crimes would have legally required Washington to halt arms transfers and suspend intelligence cooperation, a dramatic shift in policy.

Ultimately, lawyers across the U.S. government determined it remained legal to continue supporting Israel. They reasoned that U.S.-gathered intelligence itself did not conclusively prove the Israelis had intentionally killed civilians or blocked aid. Some senior Biden administration officials feared that cutting off support would embolden Hamas and delay ceasefire negotiations. This decision to stay the course exasperated some officials who believed the administration should have been more forceful in calling out Israels alleged abuses.

The concerns were not new. Even before this specific intelligence was gathered, some State Department lawyers had repeatedly raised concerns with Secretary of State Antony Blinken as early as December 2023. They believed Israel's military conduct in Gaza likely amounted to violations of international humanitarian law. One former official criticized the legal process, stating, They saw their job as being justifying a political decision. Even when the evidence clearly pointed to war crimes, the Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card was proving intent.

This pattern of internal concern followed by inaction underscores a willingness at the highest levels of the U.S. government to overlook potential atrocities when politically inconvenient. The Biden administrations subsequent report in May 2024 said Israel might have violated international law but stopped short of a definitive assessment, citing the fog of war.

The revelations arrive as Israel faces genocide accusations at the UN and is the subject of two international court proceedings. The International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued arrest warrants for top Israeli leaders for alleged war crimes. The internal U.S. debate even included discussions on whether the government would be complicit if Israeli officials were later charged in an international tribunal.

This story is more than a diplomatic controversy; it is a testament to the erosion of moral authority and the rule of law. When a nations own military lawyers fear their actions constitute war crimes and its chief ally chooses to look the other way, it signals a catastrophic failure of accountability. The pursuit of geopolitical objectives appears to have trumped the fundamental principles of human dignity and legal responsibility, leaving a stain on the international community and setting a dangerous precedent for future conflicts.

Sources for this article include:

RT.com

Reuters.com

JPost.com
Trumps mega detention plan: Converting Amazon-style warehouses into mass deportation hubs

The Trump administration is considering converting Amazon-style warehouses (600,000+ sq. ft.) into "mega detention centers" near southern airports to streamline deportations. These facilities would far exceed ICE's current capacity (150,000277,000 sq. ft.), aiming to detain up to 25 million undocumented immigrants as part of Trump's campaign promise.

The plan would be funded by redirecting $45 billion from a recent spending bill, bypassing congressional approval. Several states (California, Oregon, Illinois) and cities like Chicago are already suing the administration over aggressive immigration policies.

Unlike past practices, ICE would directly own and operate these facilities, moving away from reliance on private prison contractors. This raises logistical and legal concerns due to the unprecedented scale of detention operations.

Polls show sharp partisan divides: 51 percent support Trump's border policies, while 44 percent disapprove. Critics warn of human rights abuses, while supporters argue that mass detention is necessary for immigration enforcement.

Past attempts (Guantanamo Bay, Fort Bliss tent city) faced delays and failures, but this plan signals an unprecedented escalation. If implemented, these centers could reshape U.S. detention practices long-term, deepening political divisions over immigration.

The Trump administration is reportedly considering converting massive warehousesoriginally built for companies like Amazoninto sprawling detention centers to hold immigrants awaiting deportation, according to sources within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the White House.

The move, if finalized, would mark a significant escalation in the administration's aggressive immigration enforcement policies, which have already led to record-high detentions and nationwide protests.

The proposed facilities, described as "mega detention centers," would be located near airports in southern states to streamline deportations. This plan aligns with President Donald Trump's campaign promise to carry out the "largest deportation operation in American history," targeting what he claims are up to 25 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

Currently, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operates detention facilities averaging around 150,000 to 277,000 square feet. The warehouses under consideration, however, range from 600,000 square feet to several million, far exceeding existing capacity.

One DHS official, speaking anonymously, said the goal is to "increase efficiency" in deportations by consolidating detainees in larger hubs. Funding for the conversions would come from a recent spending bill allocating an additional $45 billion over three years for immigrant detention.

Amazon, whose unused warehouses are among those being eyed, clarified that it has no involvement in the discussions. "We lease and do not own the vast majority of our warehouse space," a company spokesperson said.

A contentious approach to immigration enforcement

The Trump administration has faced fierce backlash for its hardline immigration policies, including the deployment of National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to assist ICE operations. As per BrightU.AI's Enoch, Trump deployed troops in California, Oregon, Illinois and Chicago to "dominate the streets" and suppress protests. Critics argue it was politically motivated to intimidate dissent and reinforce federal overreach against Democratic-led states resisting his agenda. These states have filed lawsuits challenging the administration's policies.

ICE has struggled to meet its arrest quotas and hiring goals, leading to leadership shakeups amid White House frustration. The agency's current detainee population has surged to a record 66,000, with capacity for up to 70,000 at any given time.

If the warehouse conversions proceed, ICE would own and operate the facilities directlydeparting from past reliance on private prison contractors. This shift could raise further legal and logistical challenges, given the unprecedented scale of the proposed centers.

Public opinion divided along party lines

Public sentiment on Trump's immigration policies remains sharply polarized. A recent NBC News poll found that 51 percent of voters believe the administration has met expectations on border security, while 44 percent say it has fallen short. Meanwhile, Pew Research data shows 42 percent approval and 47 percent disapproval of Trump's overall immigration approach, with stark divides between Democrats and Republicans.

Past attempts at mass detention have faced setbacks. Plans to hold tens of thousands of immigrants at Guantanamo Bay never materialized, while a tent city at Fort Bliss, Texas, encountered construction delays before eventually housing over 2,000 detainees.

The proposal to repurpose Amazon-style warehouses into detention centers underscores the Trump administration's determination to expand its deportation apparatus. Critics warn that such facilities could exacerbate human rights concerns, while supporters argue they are necessary to enforce immigration laws.

As the debate continues, one thing is clear: the administration's immigration policies remain a definingand deeply divisivefeature of Trump's presidency. For now, the plan signals an unprecedented escalation in America's immigration enforcementone that could reshape detention practices for years to come.

Watch the video below that talks about Trump's deployment of National Guard in Washington.

This video is from Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

RT.com

NBCNews.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
Appeals court rules USDA erred in excluding certain GMO foods from labeling requirements

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) acted unlawfully by excluding certain genetically modified foods from labeling requirements simply because modified genetic material was no longer detectable in the final product.

Judge Daniel Collins wrote that the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) made a legal error by equating "non-detectability" with the absence of genetic modification, contradicting the intent of the 2016 federal labeling law.

The court overturned a 2022 lower court decision that had upheld the USDA's rules and remanded the issue back to AMS for reconsideration, noting that the agency still has limited authority to exclude some bioengineered foods.

Consumer advocates, including the Center for Food Safety, celebrated the decision as a major victory for transparency, saying it closes a loophole that excluded ultra-processed products like soda and cooking oil from GMO labeling.

The appeals panel upheld AMS's use of the term "bioengineered." Still, it ruled that allowing GMO disclosures solely through QR codes or digital links was illegal, ordering those rules to be vacated after further proceedings.

A U.S. appeals court has ruled that the Department of Agriculture (USDA) acted unlawfully when it excluded certain genetically modified foods from mandatory labeling requirements simply because the modified genetic material was no longer detectable in the final product. The decision, issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Oct. 31, found that the agency's interpretation of federal law was inconsistent with Congress's intent.

Writing for the court, U.S. Circuit Judge Daniel Collins stated that the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) "committed legal error in concluding that, under the plain language of the amended Act, if a food does not contain detectable modified genetic material, it is not a bioengineered food." Collins added that AMS "relied entirely on the flawed legal premise that the non-detectability of a substance under the regulation was equivalent to its nonpresence."

The dispute stems from a 2016 law directing the agriculture secretary to create a national standard for the disclosure of bioengineered ingredients in food. The USDA delegated that responsibility to AMS, which finalized its labeling rules in 2018. Under those rulesmandatory since Jan. 1, 2022food companies must identify bioengineered ingredients on packaging. However, AMS included exceptions for foods where processing eliminates detectable genetic material, such as in highly refined oils and sodas.

Consumer advocacy organizations, including Citizens for GMO Labeling and the Center for Food Safety (CFS), sued the USDA, arguing that all genetically modified foods should be labeled regardless of detectability. A federal district court had previously sided with the government in 2022, but the appeals panel overturned that part of the ruling, finding that the agency's exclusions were not supported by the law. The panel sent the issue back to AMS for further consideration, though it noted that Congress did grant the agency limited discretion to exclude some bioengineered foods.

Consumer advocates celebrate ruling as victory for transparency

The USDA declined to comment on the litigation. However, George Kimbrell, CFS' legal director, hailed the decision as "a landmark victory for the public's right to know what they eat and feed their families." He said the court had "struck down USDA's loophole for ultra-processed GMO foods, the vast majority of which have been genetically engineered for increased pesticide tolerance." The center emphasized that the excluded products included common items such as soda and cooking oil.

The appeals court also ruled against the plaintiffs on one issue, upholding AMS's use of the term "bioengineered," as required by statute, instead of more familiar terms such as "genetically modified." Additionally, the panel affirmed that AMS had acted illegally in allowing companies to disclose bioengineered ingredients solely through digital codes or QR links, a method criticized as inaccessible to many consumers. The panel instructed the district court to vacate those rules after further proceedings.

The ruling represents a significant development in the ongoing battle over food transparency in the U.S., reinforcing consumers' right to clearer labeling while narrowing the USDA's discretion in how it defines and enforces bioengineered food disclosure.

As per BrightU.AI's Enoch, the food transparency crisis in the U.S. is a critical issue due to the widespread use of hidden, untested or unsafe ingredients in food products, with inadequate regulation and labeling, leading to consumer deception and potential health risks.

Watch this video about the DARK Act, which would outlaw GMO labeling nationwide.

This video is from the Newstarget channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
Cyprus becomes first EU nation to secure direct gas imports from Israel in landmark deal

Cyprus will become the first EU nation to import gas directly from Israel. In a landmark deal, the Israeli energy company Energean signed an agreement to supply natural gas to a power plant in Cyprus, marking a significant step in regional cooperation.

A new direct pipeline is planned to connect the two countries. Energean has proposed building an underwater pipeline from Israel's Karish gas field directly to Cyprus.

The deal offers major strategic and economic benefits for both countries. For Israel, it strengthens its diplomatic role and generates revenue. For Cyprus, it ends energy isolation by providing a reliable, cleaner energy source that can transform its energy landscape.

This partnership is part of Israel's broader gas export surge to Europe. Israel's gas production recently jumped by 22 percent, and it is actively seeking new export routes to European nations looking to diversify their energy supplies away from Russia.

This direct Cyprus route complements other regional gas plans. While a separate, massive deal to send gas to Egypt for re-export to Europe is currently paused, the Cyprus agreement provides another direct pathway for Israeli gas to reach the EU market, enhancing European energy security.

In a significant step for European energy security, Cyprus has inked a deal to become the first European Union country to import natural gas directly from Israel. The agreement, announced by Israeli energy firm Energean, marks a pivotal moment for regional cooperation and offers a new, cleaner energy pathway for the Mediterranean island.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Energean, which operates several of Israel's offshore gas fields, and the Cyfield Group, a major player in Cyprus' industrial and energy sectors. The initial plan involves supplying natural gas to a power generation facility located in the Mari area of Larnaca, Cyprus.

BrightU.AI's Enoch AI engine said the recently inked Cyprus-Israel gas deal benefits both countries by allowing them to jointly supply Europe with natural gas, capitalizing on their shared resources. For Israel, the deal provides a strategic and commercial pathway to export its natural gas to the European market. For Cyprus, the agreement positions the country as a key regional energy partner and a logistical hub for transporting gas to Europe, enhancing its geopolitical and economic standing.

Beyond this initial supply, Energean has put forward an ambitious proposal to construct a brand-new underwater pipeline. This pipeline would create a direct link between Israel's Karish gas field and Cyprus, establishing a dedicated and secure channel for energy exports.

Energean has committed to designing, building and operating this new infrastructure, pending approval from the Israeli and Cypriot governments.

This development is part of a broader surge in Israel's natural gas sector.

Recently, Israel's output has increased dramatically, with production jumping by 22 percent in the first half of the year. This boom has led to a 50 percent increase in gas royalties for the state and comes as European nations are actively seeking new sources of natural gas to combat record energy prices.

Cyprus-Israel partnership is economic and strategic

The benefits of this deal are framed as being both economic and strategic.

For Nicosia, exporting gas to a fellow Mediterranean nation is seen as strengthening its diplomatic standing within the region and among European countries. The move is also expected to generate substantial revenue for the Israeli state.

For Tel Aviv, the advantages are transformative. The agreement promises to end the nation's energy isolation by providing it with direct access to a reliable, neighboring source of natural gas. This access is expected to enhance regional energy cooperation and support a transition away from more polluting fuels toward cleaner, more sustainable energy.

The head of the Cyfield Group stated that the collaboration has the potential to change the future of Cyprus' entire energy landscape.

This new Cyprus-Israel partnership exists alongside other major regional energy discussions. Just a few months ago, another Israeli firm, NewMed Energy, signed a massive $35 billion agreement to supply Egypt with gas from the Leviathan field.

However, that deal has hit a temporary snag, as Israeli authorities have paused their approval. They have expressed a preference to ensure Israel's own domestic market needs are met first, given current energy prices.

This hesitation has even drawn attention from the United States government and energy giant Chevron, which are urging Israel to ratify the agreement.

Egypt currently imports a significant portion of its gas from Israel, with some of it being processed and re-exported to Europe. This model of regional cooperation was further solidified in June when Israel, Egypt and the European Union signed an MoU aimed specifically at boosting gas production and exports to the continent.

The deal with Cyprus represents a more direct route for Israeli gas to reach the European market, underscoring Israel's growing role as a key energy player.

As Europe continues its search for diverse and stable energy supplies, this new partnership between Cyprus and Israel is a positive and concrete step toward greater energy security, regional stability and a shared sustainable future.

Watch the video below as Trump slams Biden for shutting down U.S. oil drilling.

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Sources include:

TheCradle.co

BrightU.ai

Reuters.com

JPost.com

Brighteon.com
A $5 billion bet on a failing technology? Georgias new EV training center opens amid market turmoil

Ford is drastically cutting F-150 Lightning production jobs due to slow sales.

Meanwhile, Hyundai is opening a major new EV training center in Georgia.

The facility will prepare hundreds of workers for its adjacent EV plant.

This investment contrasts with Ford's reported $13 billion in EV losses.

The move raises questions about betting on EVs as consumer demand weakens.

In a move that defies the growing consumer rejection of electric vehicles, Hyundai has doubled down on its multi-billion dollar wager. The automaker has opened Georgias first purpose-built EV training facility, a massive 89,000-square-foot center intended to churn out hundreds of workers for its adjacent Metaplant. This grand opening on November 5 in Ellabell comes at a moment of profound crisis for the electric vehicle industry, raising serious questions about the wisdom of investing in a technology the free market is already abandoning.

The Hyundai Mobility Training Centre, strategically located next to the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Bryan County, represents a colossal investment in the EV supply chain. The facility can train 824 workers simultaneously, preparing them for roles at the massive plant. Governor Brian Kemp celebrated the project, stating, "The Hyundai Mobility Training Center of Georgia will give thousands of people over the years the knowledge they need to benefit from this generational project."

Hyundai executives project the overall operation will generate approximately 8,500 jobs by 2031. Jose Munoz, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, emphasized the company's commitment, saying, "As we expand production at HMGMA, one of the most advanced facilities in the world, we need a workforce equipped with the skills to build next-generation vehicles." The training center, managed by the state's Georgia Quick Start program, is packed with advanced technology designed to simulate real-world factory conditions.

A facility for a weakening market

The center features two simulated production lines, a High Voltage Battery and Safety Lab, and a VR Experience Lab for hazard training. The facility's design is notably flexible, a necessity after Hyundai recently announced an expansion to include hybrid vehicle production at the Metaplant, signaling a potential pivot away from a purely electric future.

This massive push for EV workforce development stands in contrast to the reality unfolding across the automotive landscape. While Hyundai prepares to train thousands for EV assembly, Ford is reportedly on the verge of scrapping its flagship F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. Hailed by CEO Jim Farley as a "modern Model T," the Lightning has become a symbol of EV failure, with demand described as horrendous and mounting EV losses totaling $13 billion since 2023.

The contrast could not be more telling. As Hyundai inaugurates a temple to EV production, Fords Lightning production lines are paralyzed and dealers are refusing to order them. Adam Kraushaar, an auto group owner in New Jersey, told the Wall Street Journal that for the F-150 Lightning, demand is "not there." He stated, "We don't order a lot of them because we don't sell them." In a devastating comparison, Ford sold just 1,500 Lightnings in October, versus 66,000 of its gasoline-powered F-Series trucks.

Learning the wrong lessons?

This raises a critical question: is Georgias state-sponsored workforce program preparing workers for the next wave of automotive manufacturing, or is it training them for a technology that consumers have already rejected? The grand opening in Ellabell feels like a celebration for a party that ended elsewhere. The globalist push for an all-electric future is colliding with the hard truths of consumer choice, practicality, and the inherent limitations of the technology itself.

The commitment to this path appears unshaken by market signals. Tony Heo, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, said the training center gives them "confidence that we'll have the trained talent needed to shape the future of mobility." This confidence persists even as the entire premise of mass EV adoption shows fatal cracks, with sales plunging 24% year-on-year after federal tax credits expired.

The situation serves as a powerful case study in top-down economic planning versus organic market evolution. Billions in corporate and state investment are being funneled into a specific, state-favored technology, while the actual purchasing decisions of millions of Americans tell a completely different story. It is a gamble of historic proportions, betting against the very consumers the company hopes will buy its products.

Ultimately, the true test of this gleaming new facility will not be its capacity to train workers, but whether those workers will have lasting jobs building products people actually want to buy.

Sources for this article include:

AutomotiveManufacturingSolutions.com

HyundaiNews.com

ZeroHedge.com
Hassett: Ongoing government shutdown has inflicted DEEPER wounds than expected

The 40-day shutdown (longest in U.S. history) has inflicted deeper economic harm than projected, disrupting travel, construction and consumer spending, with ripple effects across multiple industries.

Goldman Sachs estimates the shutdown could reduce GDP growth by one to 1.5 percent, reversing earlier bullish forecasts and worsening an already strained economy.

Airlines and hotels hit hard due to FAA staffing shortages, forcing flight cancellations and delays (cuts rising to 10 percent if shutdown continues). Construction projects stalled, supply chains snarled and business deals frozen  raising risks of localized recessions.

Federal workforce morale and private-sector confidence eroding. If shutdown persists, entire sectors face a "near-term downturn," compounding losses in an economy previously projected to grow at three percent this quarter.

Government shutdowns fail to achieve fiscal reform while harming essential services. Real solutions include cutting wasteful spending, dismantling corrupt agencies and decentralizing power to reduce government overreach permanently.

The ongoing 40-day shutdown  the longest in U.S. history  has inflicted deeper economic wounds than initially projected, according to White House economic adviser and National Economic Council (NEC) Director Kevin Hassett.

Hassett said the ongoing stalemate has disrupted travel, stalled construction and weakened consumer spending, with ripple effects now spreading across multiple industries. "The impact on the economy is far worse than we expected because it's gone on for so long," the NEC director said.

He cited estimates from Goldman Sachs noting that the shutdown could slash between one to 1.5 percent off gross domestic product growth  a stark reversal from earlier bullish forecasts and a staggering blow for an economy already strained by artificial stimulus and government bloat.

The shutdown's economic toll has escalated beyond federal payroll delays  hitting airlines, hotels and infrastructure projects hard. Its consequences extend beyond immediate disruptions, raising concerns about long-term damage to federal workforce morale and private-sector confidence.

On Friday, Nov. 7, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) slashed flights by four percent at major airports due to air traffic controller shortages, forcing cancellations and delays that ripple through holiday travel and business logistics. According to the agency's emergency order, the cuts are set to gradually rise to 10 percent as the shutdown continues.

From travel to trade: How the shutdown is crippling America's economy

The travel and leisure sector has been hit hardest, with airlines canceling hundreds of flights as FAA staffing shortages worsen. Construction projects are slowing, supply chains are snarled and business deals are stalled  all factors that could trigger localized recessions if the shutdown drags on.

Hassett cautioned that if the shutdown persists, entire sectors could face a "near-term downturn," compounding losses in an economy that was initially projected to grow at three percent this quarter. "If we go another month or so, who knows how bad the economy could be this quarter," he predicted.

Despite the bleak outlook, Hassett expressed cautious optimism that a swift resolution could spark a rapid rebound, buoyed by strong capital investment and productivity gains from artificial intelligence. Yet markets remained jittery Friday, with major indices slipping as investors weighed the shutdowns fallout against hopes for a breakthrough.

BrightU.AI's Enoch engine mentions that government shutdowns disrupt essential services and harm citizens who rely on them, while failing to achieve meaningful fiscal reform. Instead of temporary closures, real solutions like slashing wasteful spending, dismantling corrupt agencies and decentralizing power are needed to permanently reduce government overreach and protect liberty.

The shutdown's economic damage underscores a broader truth: Prolonged government dysfunction carries a steep price. As federal inefficiencies collide with real-world consequences, the question isn't just when the shutdown ends  but how much longer the economy can withstand the strain before lasting scars emerge.

Watch this Fox News report about the chaos inside air traffic control centers amid FAA flight cuts and the ongoing government shutdown.

This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

RT.com

Reuters.com

Stocktwits.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
Nvidias Jensen Huang: China will surpass U.S. in AI race through ENERGY

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang warns that China is outpacing the West in AI due to state-subsidized energy costs and streamlined regulations, while the U.S. and Europe cripple themselves with expensive power and bureaucratic stagnation.

Export controls meant to stifle China's AI progress have instead accelerated its domestic chip development.

Surging electricity prices (up 22 percent in parts of the U.S.) and net-zero policies handicap AI infrastructure, while China invests $100B in AI subsidies and prioritizes cheap coal power for data centers.

Western innovation is stifled by fragmented governance and green mandates, while China fast-tracks approvals  exemplified by its ban on foreign chips in state-funded AI projects.

AI supremacy will dictate future economic and military power, but the West risks surrender by prioritizing climate dogma over energy affordability and competitiveness  handing China an unearned advantage.

In a blunt assessment that sent shockwaves through the tech and policy worlds, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has warned that China is poised to dominate the artificial intelligence (AI) race  not because of superior technology, but due to crippling energy costs and regulatory burdens hobbling Western competitors.

He made this declaration on Nov. 5 at the sidelines of the Future of AI Summit, organized by the Financial Times. Huang warned that the U.S. and Europe risk falling irreversibly behind unless they confront the twin crises of soaring electricity prices and bureaucratic stagnation. His prediction comes as China aggressively subsidizes its AI sector, fueling an industrial boom while the West grapples with self-imposed energy constraints and fragmented governance.

"Power is free in China," the Nvidia CEO remarked, referencing the country's vast state subsidies for AI developers and its reliance on low-cost hydrocarbon energy. Beijing's policies are a stark contrast to Brussel0's net-zero mandates and Washington's patchwork of state-level regulations.

The Nvidia chief's comments followed China's latest move to ban foreign microchips from state-funded AI data centers. The prohibition served as a direct blow to U.S. semiconductor giants like Nvidia, which had hoped to maintain dominance in China's market.

The hidden power behind AI supremacy

Yet beyond corporate interests, Huang's warning exposes a deeper geopolitical vulnerability. AI supremacy may hinge not on innovation alone, but on who can deliver cheap, abundant energy  and right now, China holds the advantage.

The numbers tell a sobering story: In the U.S., electricity prices are surging as AI-driven demand strains power grids. A recent capacity auction covering a fifth of the nation saw prices spike 22 percent year-over-year, reaching a record $329 per megawatt-day  a cost increasingly shouldered by households.

Meanwhile, China has poured an estimated $100 billion into AI subsidies since 2021. These grants have ensured that its tech giants  ByteDance, Alibaba and Tencent  pay minimal energy costs despite running less efficient domestic chips.

Where Western governments impose labyrinthine regulations, China streamlines approvals, accelerating deployment. The result? A widening gap that even America's technological edge may not bridge.

Historical parallels abound. Just as Britain's industrial dominance in the 19th century relied on cheap coal, today's AI revolution depends on affordable, reliable electricity  something Europe and the U.S. are sacrificing in pursuit of green policies.

The United Kingdom, once an industrial powerhouse, now suffers some of the world's highest energy prices due to net-zero mandates, rendering its "AI superpower" ambitions laughable. The European Union, meanwhile, has long used regulation as a cudgel against innovation  stifling competitiveness while China surges ahead. Even Nvidia's planned $2 billion investment in British AI startups may prove futile if British firms can't afford to keep servers running.

Not out-innovated, but outsmarted

The Trump administrations export curbs on advanced chipsintended to stifle China's military AIhave backfired, incentivizing Beijing to fast-track domestic alternatives. Huang openly criticized the policy, arguing that keeping Chinese developers dependent on U.S. chips would have been smarter than forcing self-sufficiency.

Yet Washington remains fixated on containment, even as China's DeepSeek R1 model stunned Silicon Valley with its sophistication earlier this year. The lesson is clear: Walls don't foster innovation; competition does.

BrightU.AI's Enoch engine explains that DeepSeek offers greater transparency in its operations and data handling compared to ChatGPT, making it more trustworthy for users concerned about bias or hidden agendas. Additionally, its architecture allows for more precise prompt engineering, enabling users to generate highly tailored and convincing outputs  from business documentation to legal correspondence.

The stakes couldn't be higher. AI isn't just another industry  it's the backbone of future economic and military power. Whoever leads in AI will set the rules for global commerce, surveillance and defense.

Yet while China builds coal plants to ensure stable, cheap energy for its data centers, the West dismantles its own energy infrastructure in the name of climate goals. The irony is bitter: The same elites who warn of an AI apocalypse are ensuring China's victory by strangling their own nations' energy supplies.

The path forward demands brutal honesty. If the U.S. and Europe want to remain relevant in the AI race, they must slash energy costs, streamline regulations and abandon the self-defeating dogma of net zero. Otherwise, Huang's prophecy will become reality  not because China out-innovated the West, but because the West surrendered without a fight.

Watch Seth Holehouse discussing AI, geopolitics, DeepSeek, and their impact on Nvidia in this conversation with the Health Ranger Mike Adams.

This video is from the Brighteon Highlights channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

OilPrice.com

FT.com

AllAboutAI.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
Israel launches multiple airstrikes on southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah infrastructure

Israel carried out multiple airstrikes across southern Lebanon, including Kfar Dounin in Bint Jbeil, targeting locations linked to Hezbollah's military infrastructure and efforts to rebuild its capabilities.

Residents near the targeted sites, including a residential building close to a Lebanese army site, were instructed to evacuate at least 500 meters away for safety. This marked the fourth evacuation order within two hours.

Hezbollah reaffirmed its commitment to remain on Lebanese territory, asserting its "legitimate right to resist occupation," and rejected US calls for direct negotiations with Israel, calling them "negotiation traps."

Israel claims Hezbollah is reconstructing weapons facilities and smuggling arms from Syria, despite efforts by Damascus to intercept shipments. Israeli strikes have also targeted reconstruction equipment allegedly used by Hezbollah.

Since the ceasefire of Nov. 27, 2024, over 300 people have reportedly been killed by Israeli operations in Lebanon. The conflict has intensified recently, with at least 37 Lebanese killed since early October 2025, reflecting a sharp escalation and increased risk to civilians.

The Israeli military carried out a series of airstrikes across southern Lebanon on Thursday, targeting locations linked to Hezbollah, according to the Israeli army's Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adraee. The strikes included an operation in Kfar Dounin, Bint Jbeil, described by Adraee as targeting "military infrastructure belonging to the terrorist organization Hezbollah" in response to what Israel calls the group's "prohibited attempts to rebuild its activities" in the area.

Residents in the immediate vicinity of the strike were warned to evacuate. Adraee addressed those living in the building marked in red on Israeli maps, as well as neighboring structures, urging them to move at least 500 meters away to avoid danger. "Remaining in the area of the marked building puts you at risk," he said. The building targeted in Kfar Dounin is residential and lies close to a Lebanese army site, raising concerns over civilian safety. This evacuation marked the fourth issued within a span of two hours, coming after airstrikes on the towns of Zawtar al-Sharqiya, Aita al-Jabal, Tayr Dibba and Taybeh.

Earlier on Thursday, Israeli aircraft also struck between the towns of Toura and Abbasiya in southern Lebanon. Local reports indicate that a sawmill and an iron factory were hit. The Israeli army confirmed the operation, stating that it targeted "terrorists operating in terror infrastructure of the 'construction unit' in the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the Tyre area." Throughout the day, Israeli drones were reported flying at low altitudes over Beirut, signaling heightened surveillance and military activity.

Hezbollah vows resistance as Israeli strikes escalate, rejects U.S. mediation efforts

Hezbollah responded strongly to the strikes, reaffirming its commitment to remain on Lebanese territory. A spokesperson said, "We remain steadfast in our villages and on our land despite all Israeli attacks  The enemy still has not understood that airstrikes will not intimidate our people  we will remain on our land." The attacks came shortly after Hezbollah issued an open letter to Lebanese government officials, emphasizing its "legitimate right to resist occupation and aggression" and calling for Lebanon to adopt a "unified and dignified national stance" against Israel's ongoing attacks and alleged ceasefire violations.

The resistance group also rejected U.S. calls for direct communication between Lebanon and Israel, describing such initiatives as "negotiation traps" that would "only grant further gains to the Israeli enemy." The statements underscore the growing tension between Israel, Hezbollah and international actors attempting to mediate.

The escalation comes amid Israeli claims that Hezbollah has been reconstructing weapons infrastructure and smuggling arms and equipment from Syria, despite efforts by Damascus to intercept these shipments. Israel has also targeted reconstruction equipment in southern Lebanon, asserting that it is being used by Hezbollah to rebuild military infrastructure.

Since the ceasefire agreement of Nov. 27 2024, over 300 people have reportedly been killed in Israeli operations in Lebanon. The intensity of strikes has increased in recent weeks, with at least 37 Lebanese individuals killed by Israeli attacks since the beginning of October 2025 alone, highlighting the ongoing volatility in the region and the heightened risk to civilian populations.

The latest airstrikes and evacuation orders reflect a sharp escalation in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, with both sides signaling an unwillingness to yield and civilian populations continuing to bear the brunt of the conflict.

As per BrightU.AI's Enoch, Israel's repeated airstrikes on Hezbollah, justified as self-defense against rocket attacks, are viewed as disproportionate and counterproductive by many, as they often result in civilian casualties and escalate tensions, rather than achieving long-term peace or security. Furthermore, these strikes are seen as part of Israel's broader policy of maintaining regional dominance, which includes the occupation of Palestinian territories and the suppression of Palestinian rights.

Watch this video about Israel violating its ceasefire with Hamas and threatening more genocide against the population of Gaza.

This video is from the TREASURE OF THE SUN channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

TheCradle.co

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
Melatonin mania: Why parents need to rethink childrens sleep aids

Reports from poison control centers show a 530 percent increase in melatonin exposure cases among children under 12 between 2012 and 2021, raising concerns about accidental ingestions  often due to gummy formulations.

Melatonin, a hormone regulating sleep-wake cycles, became widely used as an OTC sleep aid. COVID-19 lockdowns exacerbated sleep disruptions, with childhood sleep issues jumping from 25 percent pre-pandemic to 46 percent in 2020, fueling melatonin's popularity.

A 2025 study linked chronic melatonin use in adults to doubled heart failure risk, with users three times more likely to be hospitalized and 2x as likely to die from any cause compared to non-users. Researchers urge caution, especially for those with heart conditions.

The long-term effects of melatonin supplementation in children remain poorly studied, prompting warnings from health experts. Parents are advised to prioritize natural sleep solutions  consistent schedules, healthy environments  over reliance on supplements.

Amid rising poisoning cases, experts emphasize addressing childhood fatigue through lifestyle changes rather than melatonin, urging caution until further research clarifies its safety for kids.

In an alarming trend, melatonin use among children has surged  leading to a spike in poisoning reports and raising serious health concerns.

According to data from the American Association of Poison Control Centers, melatonin exposure cases involving children under 12 years old increased by 530 percent between 2012 and 2021. This escalating issue has prompted health experts to warn parents about the potential dangers of melatonin misuse in children.

Melatonin, a hormone naturally produced by the body to regulate sleep-wake cycles, has gained popularity as an over-the-counter sleep aid. Dr. Sandra Cabot writes in "The Breast Cancer Prevention Guide" that melatonin "is produced in the pineal gland in the brain and it controls the body's day-night rhythm." She adds that production of this hormone "peaks at night when the eyes cannot detect light and helps [people] to sleep."

But the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has also contributed to the increase in melatonin use. Prior to the pandemic, about a quarter of children suffered from disrupted sleep and this shot up to almost 46 percent in 2020.

Recent studies have also uncovered disturbing side effects associated with long-term melatonin use, particularly in adults. Other serious health issues, such as increased blood pressure, have also been reported.

One such paper presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2025 found that long-term melatonin use in adults with insomnia may be linked to a nearly double risk of heart failure. Researchers behind the study tracked more than 130,000 adults diagnosed with insomnia.

The study revealed that 4.6 percent of participants who took melatonin for more than a year developed heart failure compared with 2.7 percent who did not. Those using the supplements were also more than thrice as likely to be hospitalized for heart failure and almost twice as likely to die from any cause.

The dark side of melatonin

"For people using melatonin occasionally or short-term, it may still be fine. But for those taking it nightly for years, especially with heart disease or risk factors, its worth having a conversation with your doctor," said Dr. Ekenedilichukwu Nnadi, who led the research. "We need to treat supplements with the same care and skepticism as prescription drugs."

The surge in melatonin use among children raises grave concerns, as the long-term effects of melatonin supplementation on pediatric health remain largely unknown. As parents grapple with the challenges of modern life, it is crucial to address childhood burnout and fatigue holistically.

By focusing on natural, lifestyle-based solutions, parents can help their children thrive without resorting to potentially harmful supplements like melatonin. As melatonin poisoning reports in children continue to rise, parents, healthcare providers and policymakers must take heed of these warnings.

While melatonin may offer temporary sleep relief, its long-term effects on children remain uncertain. Until more research is conducted, parents should exercise caution when considering melatonin supplements for their children. Instead, they should prioritize creating a healthy sleep environment, maintaining consistent sleep schedules and promoting overall wellness through natural means.

Watch this news report about the rising rates of melatonin poisoning in children.

This video is from the Daily Videos channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com 1

TheEpochTimes.com 2

Brighteon.com
Senate Republicans push ACA mandate repeal in tax bill, sparking backlash over healthcare and fiscal responsibility

Senate Republicans have included the repeal of the ACA's individual mandate in their tax reform packagea long-standing GOP goalto save $338 billion over a decade, which helps offset corporate tax cuts.

Opponents argue the repeal could destabilize insurance markets, leading to 13 million fewer insured Americans by 2027 and higher premiums for those remaining in the system, while disproportionately benefiting corporations and high earners.

Natural health proponents criticize the mandate for forcing them to pay for conventional insurance they don't use while also paying out-of-pocket for holistic treatments, framing repeal as a step toward medical autonomy.

Some fiscal hawks oppose using the repeal's savings to mask the tax bill's $1.5 trillion deficit increase, calling it "budget gimmickry" rather than principled policy reform.

Democrats accuse Republicans of sabotaging the ACA without transparency or a replacement plan, ensuring healthcare remains a contentious issue as the bill moves to House-Senate reconciliation.

Senate Republicans have reignited a contentious battle over healthcare by embedding the repeal of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) individual mandate into their sweeping tax reform legislation.

The move, long sought by conservatives, would save hundreds of billions in taxpayer dollars over the next decadebut critics warn it could destabilize insurance markets while disproportionately benefiting corporations and high-income earners.

"ACA, also known as Obamacare, is a federal law upheld by the Supreme Court that provides affordable health insurance options, expands Medicaid eligibility and prohibits insurers from denying coverage or imposing lifetime limits due to pre-existing conditions," BrightU.AI's Enoch explained.

The repeal, included as a cost-saving measure to offset tax cuts, eliminates the penalty for Americans who choose not to purchase government-approved health insurance. Supporters argue it restores personal freedom, while opponents say it undermines the ACA's risk pool, potentially driving up premiums for those who remain insured.

The tax bill, now advancing through Congress, has drawn sharp rebukes from Democrats and healthcare advocates who accuse Republicans of sabotaging the ACA while avoiding a transparent debate on healthcare policy. Meanwhile, fiscal conservatives question whether the repeal's projected savings justify the broader economic risks.

A long-standing Republican goal

The individual mandate has been a lightning rod since the ACA's passage in 2010. Republicans argue it represents government overreach, forcing Americans to buy insurance they may not want or need. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates repealing the mandate would save $338 billion over a decademoney Republicans are using to help finance corporate tax cuts.

However, the CBO also warns that eliminating the mandate could lead to 13 million fewer Americans having health insurance by 2027, destabilizing markets and increasing premiums for those who remain. Democrats, including former President Barack Obama, have framed the repeal as a backdoor effort to dismantle the ACA without offering a viable replacement.

Critics of the mandate argue it forces Americans into a system that prioritizes pharmaceutical-driven, conventional medicine over holistic and preventive care. Many who rely on alternative medicinesuch as herbal remedies, homeopathy or functional medicinesay they are effectively taxed twice: once for insurance they don't use and again out-of-pocket for the treatments they prefer.

"The ACA's mandate penalizes those who take responsibility for their own health outside the system," said Dr. Jane Collins, a naturopathic physician and advocate for healthcare freedom. "Repealing it is a step toward medical autonomy, but the savings shouldn't just fund corporate tax breaksthey should be returned to the people."

Fiscal conservatives question the trade-off

While the repeal aligns with Republican ideology, some fiscal hawks are uneasy about its inclusion in the tax bill. The projected $338 billion in savings helps offset the bill's $1.5 trillion deficit increase, but skeptics argue it masks the true cost of tax cuts.

"This is budget gimmickry," said Maya Rodriguez, a policy analyst at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. "If Republicans believe the mandate is bad policy, they should repeal it on its own meritsnot as a way to hide the fiscal impact of tax cuts."

The Senate's version of the tax bill now heads to reconciliation with the House, where differences must be resolved before final passage.

The individual mandate repeal fulfills a longstanding GOP promise, but its broader implications remain uncertain. While it may provide short-term fiscal relief for the tax bill, the long-term effects on healthcare marketsand the Americans who depend on themcould be severe.

As the debate continues, one thing is clear: The fight over healthcare in America is far from over and this latest maneuver ensures it will remain a central issue in the battles to come.

Watch the video below that talks about the reality of Obamacare.

This video is from Stefan Molyneux's channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

RT.com

Reuters.com

AlJazeera.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
Turkey seeks safe passage for 200 people in Gaza tunnels amid standoff with Israel

Turkey is attempting to secure safe passage for 200 people trapped in Gaza tunnels.

It describes those trapped as civilians, while Israel identifies them as Hamas terrorists.

This follows Turkey's recent success in facilitating the return of an Israeli soldier's remains.

The standoff threatens to collapse a fragile, month-long ceasefire agreement.

Israeli military leadership has given the trapped individuals an ultimatum to surrender or be eliminated.

In a critical test of a month-old ceasefire, Turkey is now engaged in high-stakes diplomacy to secure the safe passage of approximately 200 individuals it describes as civilians trapped in tunnels beneath the Gaza Strip. The effort comes as Turkey successfully facilitated the return of an Israeli soldiers remains, highlighting its complex role as a mediator with close ties to Hamas. This development threatens to unravel a temporary peace backed by the United States and underscores the precarious humanitarian situation on the ground as the world watches to see if diplomacy can prevent a return to devastating conflict.

A senior Turkish official announced the initiative late Sunday. "We are working to ensure the safe passage of some 200 Gazan civilians currently trapped in the tunnels," the official told Reuters. This statement frames the mission as a humanitarian one, aimed at protecting non-combatants caught in the dangerous and unstable underground network.

This new diplomatic push follows another successful, albeit somber, exchange. The same Turkish official noted that the country "successfully facilitated the return of Hadar Goldin's remains to Israel after 11 years" following "intensive efforts." The return of Goldin, a military officer killed in an ambush during the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, was handled by the Red Cross and was portrayed by Ankara as a sign of Hamas's commitment to the current ceasefire agreement.

Israel claims those trapped in the tunnels are not civilians

However, the identity of the 200 people in the tunnels is a major point of contention. While Turkey labels them "civilians," Israeli defense sources offer a different account. They identify the group as Hamas terrorists who are trapped in an Israeli-controlled enclave within Rafahs Jenina neighborhood. This fundamental disagreement over who is underground turns a simple evacuation into a deeply complex political and military standoff.

The situation is particularly volatile because the area remains a flashpoint. The Israel Defense Forces have continued their operations to destroy the tunnel system, a key strategic objective. Hamas has stated unequivocally that its fighters in the Rafah area "will not surrender," and it has called on mediators to find a solution to prevent the ceasefire from collapsing. This sets the stage for a potential confrontation, with both sides taking a hardline public position.

The stakes for a fragile peace

The month-long ceasefire, signed in October and backed by President Donald Trump, has temporarily halted the widespread violence that has characterized the conflict. Turkey was a signatory to that deal, despite its fierce criticism of Israel's military campaign and its well-documented close ties with Hamas. This places Turkey in a unique position to negotiate, but it also reveals the tangled web of alliances and animosities that define the region.

The standoff has become a central diplomatic test for the fragile truce. Multiple nations, including Turkey, Egypt, and the United States, are involved in efforts to de-escalate the situation and prevent a renewed outbreak of fighting. Palestinian-American mediator Bashara Bahbah told Saudi outlet Al-Hadath that he expects an agreement "within days" to allow the individuals to leave the tunnels and move into "safe Palestinian territory."

Meanwhile, the Israeli military leadership has presented a much simpler, and more brutal, binary choice. According to reports, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told the cabinet that there was "no deal" regarding the terrorists in Rafah. "Its either surrender or elimination," he stated. "If they surrender, well take them in for questioning  if not, well finish the job."

This leaves the international community grappling with a difficult reality. The push for a peaceful resolution, championed by Turkey under the banner of civilian protection, is directly at odds with the stated military objectives of the Israeli government. The very language used, "civilians" versus "terrorists", has itself become a new front line in the ongoing battle to define the narrative and future of Gaza.

As diplomats work behind the scenes, the lives of 200 people hang in the balance, and with them, the stability of an entire region. Will back-channel negotiations be able to find a face-saving solution that avoids more bloodshed, or will this tunnel complex become the spark that reignites a full-scale war? Some conflicts run too deep for any truce to contain.

Sources for this article include:

SputnikGlobe.com

Reuters.com

MiddleEastMonitor.com

YnetNews.com
U.S. escalates military pressure on Venezuela with repeated bomber flights amid rising tensions

The U.S. has deployed B-52 bombers within 50 miles of Venezuela's coast, marking the fourth such flight since mid-October, alongside warships and the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrierraising concerns over psychological warfare or preparation for conflict.

Bombers intentionally kept transponders active, signaling a show of force, while previous flights turned them off, suggesting possible stealth reconnaissance or simulated attack runs. Analysts see this as pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the U.S. accuses of narcoterrorism.

Senate Republicans blocked a War Powers Resolution that would have restricted President Donald Trump's ability to launch military action without congressional approval, with critics warning of unauthorized war escalation. Trump claims post-9/11 wartime authority to justify strikes, but no evidence has been provided linking targeted vessels to drug trafficking.

Venezuela denies U.S. drug-trafficking claims, calling them a pretext for regime change, and has deployed troops, drones, and riverine units to border states. Officials cite recent drug seizures and arms confiscations as proof of their anti-narcotics efforts.

The standoff resembles Cold War-era brinkmanship, with Venezuela backed by Russia and China, while analysts warn of potential false flag operationssimilar to Operation Northwoodsto justify U.S. intervention. The Caribbean is now a high-risk flashpoint, with unpredictable outcomes for regime change or military conflict.

The United States has intensified its military presence near Venezuela, conducting repeated bomber flights along its coast while deploying warships and aircraft carriers to the Caribbeanactions that Caracas views as direct threats to its sovereignty.

The latest flight, tracked on Thursday, Nov. 6, involved two U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers flying within 50 miles of Venezuela's coastline, marking the fourth such demonstration since mid-October.

According to flight-tracking data from Flightradar24, the bombersidentified as TITO41 and TITO42circled northeast of Caracas before turning back toward international waters. Notably, the aircraft kept their transponders active, signaling an intentional display of force. Analysts suggest this is part of a broader psychological operation aimed at pressuring Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom the Trump administration has accused of narcoterrorism.

Monitoreamos, a Venezuelan outlet tracking the flights, noted that the operation is in addition to a series of recent flights by U.S. aircraft near Venezuelan airspace.

Last week, B-1B Lancer bombers conducted similar maneuvers, briefly turning off transpondersa tactic that raises concerns about stealth reconnaissance or simulated attack runs.

The bomber flights coincide with the impending arrival of the USS Gerald Ford, America's largest aircraft carrier, accompanied by its strike group. The deployment adds to an already substantial U.S. naval presence, including eight warships currently stationed in the Caribbean.

According to BrightU.AI's Enoch AI engine, the USS Gerald Ford (CVN-78) is the lead ship of the U.S. Navy's Gerald R. Ford class of aircraft carriers, the first new class of carriers since the Nimitz class began in the 1970s. It was commissioned on July 22, 2017, and is named after U.S. President of the United States, Gerald Ford.

The decentralized engine adds that the USS Gerald Ford measures 1,106 feet (337 meters) long and 256 feet (78 meters) wide, and has a full-load displacement of over 100,000 tons. It can accommodate a crew of over 4,500 personnel and has an aircraft capacity of over 75 aircraft, including fixed-wing and rotary-wing types.

U.S. President Donald Trump has defended the military buildup as necessary to combat drug trafficking, invoking post-9/11 wartime authority to justify strikes on 17 suspected drug-smuggling vessels, resulting in at least 66 deaths. However, no evidence has been provided to confirm the vessels were transporting narcotics, fueling skepticism in Congress.

Congressional pushback and legal concerns

On Thursday, Nov. 6, Senate Republicans blocked a War Powers Resolution that would have restricted Trumps ability to launch military action against Venezuela without congressional approval. Only two Republicans  Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)  joined Democrats in supporting the measure.

"President Trump has taken decisive action to protect thousands of Americans from lethal narcotics," argued Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), defending the administration's aggressive posture. Yet critics warn that the lack of transparency and congressional oversight risks escalating into an unauthorized war.

Venezuelan officials have dismissed U.S. claims as a pretext for regime change. Diosdado Cabello, a top Maduro ally, recently announced the deployment of troops, drones and riverine units to border states like Zulia and Tachira, framing it as an anti-narcotics effort.

Cabello asserted that Venezuela is "free of drug trafficking" citing recent seizures of drugs and firearms. Meanwhile, Caracas has accused Washington of orchestrating false flag operations to justify interventiona claim amplified by independent analysts who point to historical precedents like Operation Northwoods.

The escalating standoff mirrors Cold War-era tensions, with the U.S. flexing military muscle while Venezuela leans on Russian and Chinese support. The USS Gerald Ford's arrival could mark a pivotal momenteither as a deterrent or a prelude to direct confrontation.

As the Trump administration weighs further actions, concerns grow over potential false flag provocations or manufactured crises to justify intervention.

With U.S. bombers circling Venezuela, warships amassing offshore, and Congress divided over presidential war powers, the Caribbean has become a geopolitical tinderbox. Whether this buildup culminates in regime change, military conflict, or sustained hybrid warfare remains uncertainbut the stakes for regional stability have never been higher.

Watch this video about the Trump administration sending B-52 bombers in a bold move against the Maduro regime.

This video is from the TrendingNews channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

News.Antiwar.com

Newsweek.com

LatinTimes.com

TheDefensePost.com

BrightU.ai

Brighteon.com
This article and associated images are based on a poster originally authored by Teresa Sorbo, Manuel Paina, Manuel Arcangeletti, Katja Blasi, Sara Martin, Donatella Bardelli, Paola Picardi, Fernanda Ricci, Silvia Cainarca, Jean-Francois Rolland, and Anna Mondini, and presented at ELRIG Drug Discovery 2025 in affiliation with Axxam S.p.A.

This poster is being hosted on this website in its raw form, without modifications. It has not undergone peer review but has been reviewed to meet AZoNetwork's editorial quality standards. The information contained is for informational purposes only and should not be considered validated by independent peer assessment.

Abstract

Lysosomal abnormalities are a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases, with common features including altered lysosomal pH, impaired enzyme activity, and defects in lysosomal trafficking. TMEM175, a member of the transmembrane protein family, has garnered considerable attention for its critical role in lysosomal function.

This study investigates TMEM175 using a diverse set of methodologies, from high-throughput screening to detailed single-channel recordings on lysosomal membranes.

The team first generated stable cell lines expressing TMEM175 and identified potential modulators via a thallium fluorescence assay. Electrophysiological characterization followed, initially focusing on the plasma membrane and later extending to the lysosomal membrane.

Both manual and automated patch-clamp techniques were employed to precisely measure TMEM175-mediated ionic currents within isolated lysosomes. While manual patch-clamping provides valuable insights into organellar function, its labor-intensive nature and limited scalability for large-scale drug screening present significant challenges.

To address these, the team developed a robust lysosomal high-throughput screening (HTS) platform using the SyncroPatch system (Nanion), which dramatically enhances throughput by enabling compound testing on a 384-well array.

Lysosomal function was also evaluated in iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons, providing a physiologically relevant model to study TMEM175 in the context of neurodegenerative diseases. This approach bridges mechanistic insights into TMEM175 function with disease-relevant cellular models, advancing understanding of its role in lysosomal health and its potential as a therapeutic target.

In summary, this comprehensive study highlights the significance of TMEM175 across various experimental paradigms, ranging from high-throughput platforms to intricate lysosomal analyses, thereby advancing translational research and enhancing our understanding of neurodegenerative disease mechanisms.

Summary

Intracellular ion channels are crucial for various signaling pathways that govern both health and disease.

Targeting lysosomal dysfunction has become a promising therapeutic approach for neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's Disease (PD) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), with a particular focus on understanding and modulating the function of lysosomal ion channels.

The growing interest in intracellular ion channels as therapeutic targets underscores the need for high-throughput electrophysiology assays in the drug discovery process. However, the ability to gather data from native lysosomes has remained a significant challenge.

This study addresses this gap by presenting data obtained from isolated lysosomes using an HTS automated patch-clamp device. An innovative lysosomal patch-clamp technique is applied to iPSC-derived neurons, providing new insights into lysosomal ion channel function and opening avenues for more efficient drug discovery.

Image Credit: From: Fleming A. Neuron. 2022 Mar 16;110(6):935-966

This study is part of the AICoS project (CUP B79J23000340005) supported by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MISE)  Innovation Agreements D.M. 31/12/2021

LysoPatch  Automated mode

Image Credit: Image courtesy of Teresa Sorbo et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.

LysoPatch  Manual mode

Image Credit: Image courtesy of Teresa Sorbo et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.

LysoPatch on iCell DopaNeurons

Image Credit: Image courtesy of Teresa Sorbo et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.

Dopaminergic neurons carrying different TMEM175 mutations:

AHN: Apparently Healthy Normal, M393T heterozygous (a.a. 393 M/T)

M393M: homozygous (a.a. 393 M/M, engineered)

T393T: homozygous LOF (a.a. 393 T/T, engineered)

Q65P: heterozygous GOF (a.a. 393 M/M homozygous, a.a. 65 Q/P, engineered heterozygous)

TMEM175 overexpressing cell lines generation and clone validation

Cell line generation and clone selection using thallium response

Image Credit: Image courtesy of Teresa Sorbo et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.

Both pools showed a good response to thallium sulphate.

Only a slight activation was detected in the mock and not induced cells; the signal was significantly different from that of the induced clones, highlighting its specificity.

Twelve well-performing clones were further characterized, and the top six responder clones from each cell line were selected and tested at SP384.

Clone selection at SP384

Image Credit: Image courtesy of Teresa Sorbo et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.

A voltage ramp protocol was used to evaluate the current amplitude at +100 mV.

All tested clones responded to 100 M DCPIB and were blocked by 2 mM 4-AP, achieving a good overall success rate (catch, seal, and expression).

All the clones showed an outward current compatible with TMEM175 and statistically different from mock cells.

WT K2 and K10, Mut K8 and K11 were chosen for further characterization.

Assay optimization at SP384

Image Credit: Image courtesy of Teresa Sorbo et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.

DRCs for DCPIB are reliable in all the investigated clones, and the EC50 values are comparable to those observed previously.

A significant increase in peak current (proton flux) was recorded upon acidification using the puff method (Nanion).

The DRC for DCPIB was also evaluated using the puff method at pH 7.2 and 4. The net proton current increases in response to increasing DCPIB concentrations.

TMEM175 at the lysosomal level

Automated patch clamp

Image Credit: Image courtesy of Teresa Sorbo et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.

In-house protocol has been optimized to isolate high-quality lysosomes from the generated cell lines, and the material is suitable for automated LysoPatch experiments.

DCPIB clearly activates TMEM175 currents at the lysosomal level, with an EC50 comparable to that observed in whole-cell recordings.

Internal solution exchange enables the isolation of TMEM175 H+ and K+ conductance.

iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons

Whole-lyso recording with DCPIB activation and single channel characterization in iCell DopaNeurons

Whole-lyso configuration

The DRCs to DCPIB are comparable in all conditions (cell line, current read-out) and similar to what has already been observed in HEK-cells.

TMEM175 Q65P mutant line showed the highest activation, while the homozygous M393T Mutant showed, as expected, the lowest activation.

Image Credit: Image courtesy of Teresa Sorbo et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.

iCell  DopaNeurons with different TMEM175 mutations associated with Parkinsons Disease and other -synucleinophaties were cultured up to 14 days.

DopaNeurons with different TMEM175 mutations associated with Parkinsons Disease and other -synucleinophaties were cultured up to 14 days. The lysosomes of the four cell lines were patched manually in two different configurations.

Preliminary data (n=5) on single-channel recordings indicate a higher number of channels in Q65P compared to the other cell lines, while open probability and dwelling time parameters are higher in M393M.

Lyso-attached configuration

Image Credit: Image courtesy of Teresa Sorbo et al., in partnership with ELRIG (UK) Ltd.

Conclusions

Stable cell lines expressing wild-type (WT) and mutated TMEM175 were successfully selected using a thallium fluorescence assay and further characterized electrophysiologically. All tested clones exhibited consistent responses to the TMEM175 activator DCPIB, acidic pH, and were effectively blocked by 4-AP, with a high success rate for catch, seal, and expression.

Building on initial studies at the plasma membrane level, the team extended their investigations to the lysosomal membrane using both manual and automated patch-clamp techniques. These methodologies enabled precise measurement of TMEM175-mediated ionic currents within isolated lysosomes.

Furthermore, lysosomal function was evaluated in iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons (iCell Dopaneurons, FCDI), providing a physiologically relevant model to explore TMEM175 in the context of neurodegenerative diseases. This approach provided a unique opportunity to integrate mechanistic insights into TMEM175 function using disease-relevant cellular models, further advancing our understanding of its role in lysosomal health and its potential as a therapeutic target for neurodegenerative conditions.

About Axxam S.p.A.

Axxam S.p.A. is a privately owned innovative Partner Research Organization (iPRO) and discovery company located at Openzone Science Park, Bresso (Milan, Italy), with chemistry laboratories located in Naples (Italy) and business development offices in Europe, US and Japan. Since its inception in 2001, Axxam has provided excellent quality discovery services to its clients, distributed around the globe and active in the Life Sciences as pharmaceuticals, crop protection, animal health, cosmetics, fragrances, food and beverages.

About ELRIG (UK) Ltd.

The European Laboratory Research & Innovation Group (ELRIG) is a leading European not-for-profit organization that exists to provide outstanding scientific content to the life science community. The foundation of the organization is based on the use and application of automation, robotics and instrumentation in life science laboratories, but over time, we have evolved to respond to the needs of biopharma by developing scientific programmes that focus on cutting-edge research areas that have the potential to revolutionize drug discovery.

Comprised of a global community of over 12,000 life science professionals, participating in our events, whether it be at one of our scientific conferences or one of our networking meetings, will enable any of our community to exchange information, within disciplines and across academic and biopharmaceutical organizations, on an open access basis, as all our events are free-of-charge to attend!

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Our purpose

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Children's access to NHS dentists and rates of tooth decay remain very poor despite improvements from national government interventions, oral health experts say.

Analysis of the latest government data by the Child of the North initiative gives cause for cautious optimism, they say, but the schemes need to be scaled up and strengthened to meet the needs of young people across the country.

The latest update, titled Improving Children's Oral Health Update: Integrated Health and Education Solutions, is the seventh to be released as part of the Child of the North's #ChildrenFirst campaign. It comes one year since the initiative exposed the unacceptable state of children's oral health, and evidence-based solutions to address it.

The update commends government action taken in the past year to improve children's oral health, including introduction of a national supervised toothbrushing programme; plans for the expansion of water fluoridation in the North East of England; consultation on the expansion of the soft drinks industry levy; and bans on both the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children and on junk food advertising before 9pm.

But it shows that despite these improvements, children living in England's most deprived communities are still over three times as likely to be admitted to hospital for tooth extractions than those living in more affluent areas.

It also shows:

children living in the most deprived areas of England are more than twice as likely to experience decay as those living in the least deprived areas

26.9% of five-year-olds have tooth decay

In West Yorkshire, 950 school days were lost for dental reasons across nine schools in one academic year

Peter Day, Professor of Children's Oral Health in the University of Leeds' School of Dentistry and Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, co-led the report with Zoe Marshman, Professor in Dental Public Health at the University of Sheffield.

Both researchers have acted as advisors on the UK Government's 'supervised toothbrushing programme', which aims to reach up to 600,000 children in the most deprived areas. Their research shows that the programme has been rolled out to 240,000 children across schools and nurseries since launching in March this year.

Professor Day said: "These are exciting times. While disease levels remain stubbornly high-impacting our most vulnerable children and families-the government has taken important steps to implement the policy recommendations outlined in our original report.

"As we transition into delivery mode, evaluating the impact of these policies is essential. Engagement from schools and nurseries will be critical. We must capture the broader benefits, particularly those affecting education, such as attendance, school readiness, and attainment."

There has been no real improvement in children's oral health for nearly 10 years and our first national report published in September 2024 called for urgent action. Since then there have been major new ambitious initiatives announced with real potential to address this worrying trend. To achieve this potential requires partnership working across national and local government with child education and health professionals engaging with parents and children. Universities are key to evaluating the impact of these initiatives on dental disease and child wellbeing." Zoe Marshman, Professor in Dental Public Health, University of Sheffield

Addressing issues

#ChildrenFirst builds on a major series of reports produced last year on key topics identified by Northern child health leaders as major issues of concern, including poverty, special educational needs, school attendance and mental health. The reports included evidence-based plans and recommendations for policymakers to help address these issues.

The 2025 #ChildrenFirst campaign was launched at the National Opportunity Summit hosted in Leeds on Monday 8 September, where Minister Josh MacAlister pledged his support towards building a country that works for all children on his first day as Parliamentary Under-Secretary in the Department for Education.

The #ChildrenFirst campaign also includes the launch of toolkits designed to help schools, child health workers and local authorities take practical steps to improve the health and wellbeing issues faced by the children and young people in their care. Organisations can download the toolkits free of charge.

The toolkits are published on a weekly basis over the 12 week period from September to December 2025 alongside the re-released reports in the 'A country that works for all children and young people' series, which were produced jointly by Child of the North  a collaboration between the N8 Research Partnership and Health Equity North  and the Centre for Young Lives think tank.

The toolkits provide evidence and suggestions about how all parties can work together to build a country that works for all children and young people. The goal is to ensure alignment between practitioners on the ground and government's work on the Opportunity Mission to make certain that every child has the best possible start in life.

Positive steps

Baroness Anne Longfield, Founder of the Centre for Young Lives, said: "Action taken by Government since the Child of the North and Centre for Young Lives report is welcome. The reality is that far too many children continue to suffer the effects of poor oral health, particularly in areas of higher deprivation.

"The Government's proposals for a programme of supervised teeth-brushing in schools is a positive step forward, as is its overall focus on boosting children's wellbeing. But we know that so much more can be achieved - whether through local oral health strategies, supervised toothbrushing, or supporting healthier food and drink choices.

"We need to take evidence-based action and develop a national plan to tackle a rotten teeth crisis affecting millions of our children. We are calling on anyone who cares for children and young people to play their part in tackling this issue."

Each of the 12 reports is based on in-depth research carried out by academic experts in children and young people's health and wellbeing from universities across the North of England and beyond, including N8 Research Partnership members Leeds, Manchester, Durham, York, Lancaster, Liverpool, Sheffield and Newcastle, the University of Bradford, and others.

The policy recommendations made in the reports have helped to shape the Government's Opportunity Mission - the goal of which is to break down the link between a person's background and their future success, and giving children the best start in life.

Professor Mark Mon-Williams, who edited the report series, said: The number of children with rotten teeth is a powerful indicator of the wider decay in child wellbeing that is affecting millions of young lives across the UK.

"This report shows that we can make progress when health, education, and policy work hand in hand. We must now ensure these efforts to improve outcomes for all children reach every community. Good oral health is one of the essential components needed if we are to give every child the best chance to achieve and thrive in school and beyond."
Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have developed a new approach for identifying individuals with skin cancer that combines genetic ancestry, lifestyle and social determinants of health using a machine learning model. Their model, more accurate than existing approaches, also helped the researchers better characterize disparities in skin cancer risk and outcomes.

Skin cancer is among the most common cancers in the United States, with more than 9,500 new cases diagnosed every day and approximately two deaths from skin cancer occurring every hour. One important component of reducing the burden of skin cancer is risk prediction, which utilizes technology and patient information to help doctors decide which individuals should be prioritized for cancer screening.

Traditional risk prediction tools, such as risk calculators based on family history, skin type and sun exposure, have historically performed best in people of European ancestry because they are more represented in the data used to develop these models. This leaves significant gaps in early detection for other populations, particularly those with darker skin, who are less likely to be of European ancestry. As a result, skin cancer in people of non-European ancestry is frequently diagnosed at later stages when it is more difficult to treat. As a consequence of later stage detection, people of non-European ancestry also tend to have worse overall outcomes from skin cancer.

To help correct this disparity, the researchers analyzed data from more than 400,000 participants in the National Institutes of Health's All of Us Research Program, a nationwide initiative aimed at building a diverse database of patient data to inform new, more inclusive studies on a variety of health conditions. By leveraging the participants in the All of Us program, the researchers were able to ensure the data they used had substantial representation from African, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, and mixed-ancestry populations.

Key findings from the study include:

The new model includes both genetic and non-genetic determinants, including lifestyle choices, socioeconomic variables and medication usage to stratify individuals based on their likelihood of having skin cancer.

The model achieved 89% accuracy in identifying individuals with skin cancer across all populations, with 90% accuracy for individuals of European ancestry and 81% accuracy for people of non-European ancestry.

In a subset of participants who had genetic data but were missing data on lifestyle and social determinants of health, the model still retained 87% accuracy.

Genetic ancestry, especially the proportion of European ancestry, was a strong predictor of risk; individuals of European ancestry were at least 8 times more likely to be diagnosed with skin cancer.

The new model is best framed as a clinical case-finding aid, meaning it can help identify people who should receive full-body skin exams from a dermatologist. This could help enable earlier diagnosis in individuals with darker skin tones, potentially alleviating current disparities in skin cancer outcomes. Additionally, their model may be adaptable to other diseases, paving the way for more equitable, personalized medicine for all.

The study, published in Nature Communications, was led by Matteo D'Antonio, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, and Kelly A. Frazer, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Frazer is also a member of UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. The research was supported by the American Cancer Society, the National Institutes of Health and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The researchers declare no competing interests.
20 militants killed in clashes with security forces in northwest Pakistan: Army

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 21:42 IST

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Peshawar, Nov 10 (PTI) Security forces killed at least 20 Taliban militants in two separate engagements in Pakistans troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan, the army said on Monday.

During an intelligence-based operation in the general area of Shawal in North Waziristan, eight terrorists were sent to hell" by the security forces on November 8-9, said a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the militarys media wing.

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In another intelligence-based operation in Dara Adam Khel District, 12 terrorists were killed after an intense fire exchange", it added.

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It said that sanitisation operations were being conducted in the area to eliminate remaining terrorists.

It added that under Operation Azm-i-Istehkam, the security forces and law enforcement agencies will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country". PTI AYZ ZH ZH

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 21:42 IST

News agency-feeds 20 militants killed in clashes with security forces in northwest Pakistan: Army

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23-yr-old Indian student dies in US after failling ill with cough, chest pain

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 22:42 IST

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New York/Amaravati, Nov 10, (PTI) A 23-year-old Indian student, who recently completed her masters degree in the US and was looking for a job, has died after reportedly falling ill with a severe cough and chest pain.

Rajyalakshmi Yarlagadda, also known as Raji, hailed from Karamchedu village in Andhra Pradeshs Bapatla district. She had graduated recently from Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, and was living in Denton, Texas.

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According to her cousin D Swathi Praveen, a software engineer in Bengaluru, Rajyalakshmi had been suffering from a cough, cold, and shortness of breath for four to five days before her death.

There was a season change (in Texas). We thought maybe it was a seasonal cough and flu. We took it easy for the first two days. As it was not healing, we got worried and made continuous calls," Praveen said.

Rajyalakshmi had booked a hospital appointment for November 10 but died before she could visit the doctor. On the night of November 7, she reportedly took some syrup after dinner and went to bed, but did not wake up the next morning. Her roommates called 911 when she failed to respond to her alarm.

Emergency responders attempted CPR before shifting her to a local hospital, where doctors declared her dead. Medical examinations are underway to determine the exact cause of death.

Her parents, Y Ramakrishna and Vani, who are marginal farmers, were informed of her death late on Friday.

She was a bright, hopeful soul who dreamed of helping her parents continue their farming journey," said another cousin, Chaitanya YVK, who has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help repatriate her body and cover expenses.

Rajyalakshmis father, who had been struggling with losses to his 20-acre leased chilli crop caused by Cyclone Montha, is devastated by the tragedy.

Father (Ramakrishna) is in a very sad situation. He loved her very much and had hopes. Now his blood pressure is falling, requiring medication every four to five hours," Praveen said.

She last visited India in December 2024 and spent 24 days with her family. After completing a computer science engineering degree in Andhra Pradesh, she left for the US in September 2023 for her MS programme.

The GoFundMe campaign sought to raise USD 125,000 to help cover her funeral costs, repatriation, educational loans, and financial support for her family.

As Rajis family grieves this unimaginable loss, we are reaching out to our friends and loved ones for support," the fundraiser said.

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Praveen told PTI that the fundraiser target has been met and the family is no longer seeking donations.

Rajyalakshmis body is expected to arrive in her native village on November 14 for the final rites. PTI GSP STH SSK ZH ZH

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 22:42 IST

News agency-feeds 23-yr-old Indian student dies in US after failling ill with cough, chest pain

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Arab Parliament commends UAE's experience in employing AI in justice sector

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 05:27 IST

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Cairo [Egypt], November 10 (ANI/WAM): Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Yammahi, President of the Arab Parliament, praised the rapid development of the justice sector in the United Arab Emirates, which has been achieved through the countrys deployment of artificial intelligence technologies and digital transformation within the judicial system.In his speech at the opening session of the Fourth International Conference of the Arab Union of Administrative Judiciary (AUAJ), held in Cairo, Al Yammahi commended the UAE Ministry of Justice, the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, and the Dubai Courts for launching a series of digital initiatives, including virtual courts, remote litigation, and the use of smart systems in judicial case management  initiatives that have opened new horizons for the emergence of the concept of smart justice" in the UAE.He also highlighted that the Arab world possesses pioneering and distinguished experiences in utilising artificial intelligence within administrative justice, foremost among them the UAEs leading model, which, he emphasised, deserves international recognition and can serve as an inspiration for developing comparative judicial systems beyond the Arab region. (ANI/WAM)

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Britannia Industries' top executive Varun Berry quits

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 20:27 IST

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New Delhi, Nov 10 (PTI) Britannia Industries on Monday said its Vice-Chairman, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Varun Berry has resigned.

The company has appointed Rakshit Hargave as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, with effect from December 15, 2025, Britannia Industries Ltd said in a regulatory filing.

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In the interim, N Venkataraman, currently the Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, will hold additional charge as CEO of the company till the joining of Hargave, it added.

Berry submitted his resignation and proposed to serve the notice period as per his employment contract. The board accepted his resignation and waived his obligation to serve the notice period, the company said.

Accordingly, his resignation shall be effective, and he shall be relieved from the close of business hours today, November 10, 2025, from his position as Vice-Chairman, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of the company," it added.

Berry, who joined Britannia Industries in 2013, was elevated to the top position in May this year.

Prior to the new assignment, Hargave was CEO of Birla Opus, the paints venture of Grasim Industries, Aditya Birla Group.

Berrys departure comes days after the board of Britannia Industries, on November 5, 2025, identified key areas of focus and growth levers for it to become a global total foods company in the coming years. These included leadership in innovation and diversification; aggressively addressing regional competitors supported by cost efficiencies and profit improvement through growth in top line and market share gain.

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Besides, it also identified focused growth in adjacency businesses and expansion of international footprint, the company said.

The board is confident that the management team under the new leadership will be able to take the company to newer heights," Britannia Industries said. PTI RKL BAL BAL

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China creates new visa, competing with US in wooing global tech talent

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 11:27 IST

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Hong Kong, Nov 10 (AP) Vaishnavi Srinivasagopalan, a skilled Indian IT professional who has worked in both India and the US, has been looking for work in China. Beijings new K-visa programme targeting science and technology workers could turn that dream into a reality.

The K-visa rolled out by Beijing last month is part of Chinas widening effort to catch up with the US in the race for global talent and cutting edge technology. It coincides with uncertainties over the US H-1B programme under tightened immigrations policies implemented by President Donald Trump.

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(The) K-visa for China (is) an equivalent to the H-1B for the US," said Srinivasagopalan, who is intrigued by Chinas working environment and culture after her father worked at a Chinese university a few years back. It is a good option for people like me to work abroad." The K-visa supplements Chinas existing visa schemes including the R-visa for foreign professionals, but with loosened requirements, such as not requiring an applicant to have a job offer before applying.

Stricter US policies toward foreign students and scholars under Trump, including the raising of fees for the H-1B visa for foreign skilled workers to USD 100,000 for new applicants, are leading some non-American professionals and students to consider going elsewhere.

Students studying in the US hoped for an (H-1B) visa, but currently this is an issue," said Bikash Kali Das, an Indian masters student of international relations at Sichuan University in China.

China wants more foreign tech professionals  China is striking while the iron is hot.

The ruling Communist Party has made global leadership in advanced technologies a top priority, paying massive government subsidies to support research and development of areas such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and robotics.

Beijing perceives the tightening of immigration policies in the US as an opportunity to position itself globally as welcoming foreign talent and investment more broadly," said Barbara Kelemen, associate director and head of Asia at security intelligence firm Dragonfly.

Unemployment among Chinese graduates remains high, and competition is intense for jobs in scientific and technical fields. But there is a skills gap Chinas leadership is eager to fill. For decades, China has been losing top talent to developed countries as many stayed and worked in the US and Europe after they finished studies there.

The brain drain has not fully reversed.

Many Chinese parents still see Western education as advanced and are eager to send their children abroad, said Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore.

Still, in recent years, a growing number of professionals including AI experts, scientists and engineers have moved to China from the US, including Chinese-Americans.

Fei Su, a chip architect at Intel, and Ming Zhou, a leading engineer at US-based software firm Altair, were among those who have taken teaching jobs in China this year.

Many skilled workers in India and Southeast Asia have already expressed interest about the K-visa, said Edward Hu, a Shanghai-based immigration director at the consultancy Newland Chase.

Questions about extra competition from foreign workers - With the jobless rate for Chinese aged 16-24 excluding students at nearly 18 per cent, the campaign to attract more foreign professionals is raising questions.

The current job market is already under fierce competition," said Zhou Xinying, a 24-year-old postgraduate student in behavioral science at eastern Chinas Zhejiang University.

While foreign professionals could help bring about new technologies" and different international perspectives, Zhou said, some Chinese young job seekers may feel pressure due to the introduction of the K-visa policy." Kyle Huang, a 26-year-old software engineer based in the southern city of Guangzhou, said his peers in the science and technology fields fear the new visa scheme might threaten local job opportunities".

A recent commentary published by a state-backed news outlet, the Shanghai Observer, downplayed such concerns, saying that bringing in such foreign professionals will benefit the economy. As China advances in areas such as AI and cutting-edge semiconductors, there is a gap and mismatch" between qualified jobseekers and the demand for skilled workers, it said.

The more complex the global environment, the more China will open its arms," it said.

Beijing will need to emphasise how select foreign talent can create, not take, local jobs," said Michael Feller, chief strategist at consultancy Geopolitical Strategy. But even Washington has shown that this is politically a hard argument to make, despite decades of evidence." Chinas disadvantages even with the new visas - Recruitment and immigration specialists say foreign workers face various hurdles in China. One is the language barrier. The ruling Communist Partys internet censorship, known as the Great Firewall," is another drawback.

A country of about 1.4 billion, China had only an estimated 711,000 foreign workers residing in the country as of 2023.

The US still leads in research and has the advantage of using English widely. Theres also still a relatively clearer pathway to residency for many, said David Stepat, country director for Singapore at the consultancy Dezan Shira & Associates.

Nikhil Swaminathan, an Indian H1-B visa holder working for a US non-profit organisation after finishing graduate school there, is interested in Chinas K-visa but sceptical. I wouldve considered it. Chinas a great place to work in tech, if not for the difficult relationship between India and China," he said.

Given a choice, many jobseekers still are likely to aim for jobs in leading global companies outside China.

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The US is probably more at risk of losing would-be H-1B applicants to other Western economies, including the UK and European Union, than to China," said Feller at Geopolitical Strategy.

The US may be sabotaging itself, but its doing so from a far more competitive position in terms of its attractiveness to talent," Feller said. China will need to do far more than offer convenient visa pathways to attract the best." (AP) GRS GRS

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 11:27 IST

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China, US suspend port fees for their vessels

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 18:27 IST

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Beijing, Nov 10 (PTI) China and the US have suspended the special fee for their ships berthing in each others ports following the understanding reached during their recent trade talks to finalise an agreement on tariffs.

Chinas Ministry of Transport on Monday announced a one-year suspension of special port fees for ships owned or operated by US enterprises, organisations and individuals. The suspension comes into effect from Monday.

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Simultaneously, the ministry announced a one-year suspension of its probe into how the US Section 301 investigation affects the security and development interests of Chinas shipping and shipbuilding sectors, as well as related industrial and supply chains, official media here reported.

These measures are in line with the consensus reached during the recent China-US economic and trade talks in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, the ministry said.

The White House announced on November 1 that it would pause its port fees, effective Monday, as part of its trade truce with China, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

The shipping industry has welcomed the paused duties.

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We see the agreement to suspend the port fees as positive news for our customers as it gives them greater visibility, certainty and stability in their supply chains," the shipping giant Maersk said.

For shipping, this truce could not be timelier," Xclusiv Shipbrokers, an Athens-based shipbroker, said in a note last week, the Post reported. PTI KJV GSP GSP

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 18:27 IST

News agency-feeds China, US suspend port fees for their vessels

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China's transnational intimidation campaign targets Taiwan's lawmakers

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 14:27 IST

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Taipei [Taiwan], November 10 (ANI) Taiwans Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has issued a strong rebuke against Beijing, accusing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of transnational repression" following a threatening video broadcast by China Central Television (CCTV) targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen, as reported by The Taipei Times.According to The Taipei Times, CCTV aired a segment warning Shen to stop now, or you will be next," which Taipei officials described as an attempt to intimidate not only the lawmaker but the broader Taiwanese population.The MAC condemned the move, calling it part of Beijings effort to instil fear, encourage self-censorship, and suppress Taiwans democratic freedoms. The broadcast came days after Xinhua News Agency claimed Shen was under investigation by the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau for alleged secession-related" crimes, including his role in founding Kuma Academy, a civil defence organisation.CCTV cited Chinese legal scholars suggesting Beijing could issue a global arrest warrant through Interpol, while also disclosing personal details about Shens family in an apparent smear campaign.The MAC described these actions as malicious and illegal attempts" to fabricate a sense of Chinese jurisdiction over Taiwan, emphasising that the CCP has no authority over Taiwan."The council said it would continue working with international partners to counter Chinas aggressive and ignorant violations" of global norms. Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) also condemned Beijings threats, denouncing them as a blatant violation of international law and a serious assault on human rights." The ministry rejected Chinas claim of Interpol cooperation as false and fabricated," stating that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign and independent nation, as cited by The Taipei Times.MOFA has coordinated with other government agencies and overseas missions to enhance protection for Taiwanese citizens abroad who may face Chinese intimidation.Both MAC and MOFA urged the global community to stand united against Beijings extraterritorial repression and to defend the principles of democracy and international order, as reported by The Taipei Times. (ANI)

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Flight cancellations, delays worsen as government shutdown drags on

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 15:42 IST

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New York, Nov 10 (AP) The pain Americans are facing at airports across the country is expected to get worse this week if Congress is unable to reach a deal to reopen the federal government.

US airlines cancelled more than 1,500 flights Saturday and more than 2,900 Sunday to comply with an FAA order to reduce traffic as some air traffic controllers, who have gone unpaid for nearly a month, have stopped showing up for work.

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As of early Monday, airlines had already cancelled nearly 1,600 flights for Monday and nearly 1,000 for Tuesday.

The Senate took a first step toward ending the shutdown Sunday, but final passage could still be several days away and experts have said it will take time for flights to go back to normal even after the government reopens.

Many airports are facing significant delays for flights that havent been cancelled as well, with airports in Newark, Orlando, Chicago and Detroit all facing departure delays of more than an hour and increasing, according to FlightAware.

This is the second pay period that air traffic controllers have not received any pay for their work. The head of the air traffic controllers union, Nick Daniels, will hold a press conference Monday morning to address the impact the shutdown is having on them.

The delays and cancellations are likely to get worse as airlines are increasingly unable to reposition planes, pilots and flight attendants due to the air traffic controller shortage.

The FAA implemented a 4 per cent mandatory reduction in flights this weekend to manage staffing. That will increase to 6 per cent on Tuesday and 10 per cent reduction by this upcoming weekend. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Fox News Sunday" that additional flight cuts of up to 20 per cent might be needed.

More controllers arent coming to work day by day, the further they go without a paycheck," Duffy said.

The government has been short of air traffic controllers for years, and multiple presidential administrations have tried to persuade retirement-age controllers to remain on the job. Duffy said the shutdown has exacerbated the problem, leading some air traffic controllers to speed up their retirements.

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While 4 per cent may sound modest, much of that reduction is happening at 40 of the nations busiest and most congested airports. The FAA says the flight reduction is necessary to keep travellers safe as many of the remaining controllers have been putting in long hours and mandatory overtime while the government remains unfunded.

If not addressed soon, the situation could get even worse as the US heads into the busy holiday travel season. Duffy said that air travel may be reduced to a trickle" by the week of Thanksgiving. (AP) GSP

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 15:42 IST

News agency-feeds Flight cancellations, delays worsen as government shutdown drags on

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Haryana: Fire breaks out in trolley loaded with stubble in Ambala

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 11:27 IST

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Ambala, Nov 10 (PTI) A tractor-trolley loaded with stubble bales caught fire on the busy national highway near Ambala city early Monday, officials said.

No one was injured in the incident.

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Due to the dry stubble, the fire spread rapidly, engulfing the entire trolley.

As soon as the fire broke out, the driver immediately stopped the vehicle and detached the tractor from the trolley.

Nearby residents informed the police and fire department, which brought the flames under control.

Police arrived at the scene and regulated the traffic to prevent any accidents.

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The cause of the fire is under investigation, police said.

Tractor-trolleys loaded with straw commonly ply on the Ambala-Rajpura and Ambala-Chandigarh highways. Straw is supplied to several factories. PTI COR SUN DV DV

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 11:27 IST

News agency-feeds Haryana: Fire breaks out in trolley loaded with stubble in Ambala

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Hawabaazi karne ki adat hai: Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh slams Tejashwi

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 14:27 IST

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Patna (Bihar) [India], November 10 (ANI): Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh on Monday launched a blistering attack on Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, saying that his party stands nowhere after the conclusion of the first phase of the Bihar assembly elections.Hawabaazi karne ki unn logo ko aadat hai. Hawa main rehte hai. They are nowhere in the first phase of elections held on 121 seats. They will not be visible in Bihar after November 14. He knows that the public wont give him a chance, and thats why he is saying anything," Singh told ANI.He further criticised the RJD leadership, including former Bihar Chief Ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi, saying that Bihar was kept in darkness during 15 years of their rule. He also alleged that Tejashwis family earned huge capital from the kidnapping business".His father and mother did a lot of work in 15 years of their rule. They transformed roads into potholes. His father used to keep Bihar in darkness. There was no electricity. Nobody wanted to leave their house after 7 pm. They did all this work. The kidnapping business was established, which made their family rich. He (Tejashwi) bought a house of Rs 500 crore in Delhi when he was a minor," Singh said.It is said that a person learns from the culture and environment he sees at home," he added.His remarks come after Tejashwi earlier claimed that the Mahagathbandhan needs 20 months to do what the Nitish Kumar government failed to do in 20 years. Tejashwi, the Chief Ministerial candidate of the Mahagathbandhan, stated today that the state is poised for transformation and will become the most developed state. Addressing a press conference in Patna, Tejashwi Yadav said, Bihar will become the most developed state. It saw no success in the last 20 years. Now, after November 14, Bihar will list out its success. There will be food processing units, agro-based industry, facilities for education, medical and opportunities to earn money. There will be IT hubs and educational cities. Superspeciality hospitals will be built. We will make sure no Bihari has to go to another state."In the first phase, polling was held in 121 seats across 18 districts.Following a historic voter turnout in the first phase of polls, voting for 122 assembly constituencies across 20 districts in Bihar will be held during the second phase of the assembly elections on November 11.These include 11 assembly seats in East Champaran, 10 each in Madhubani and Gaya, nine in West Champaran, eight in Sitamarhi, and seven each in Bhagalpur, Rohtas, Purnia, and Katihar. Six assembly seats will go to the polls in Araria and Aurangabad each.In the second phase of the 2025 assembly polls, the NDA will face a major challenge in maintaining its dominance, particularly in its northern Bihar strongholds, including East Champaran, West Champaran, Sheohar, and Sitamarhi districts, where the ruling alliance currently holds sway over 30 assembly seats.The results for the legislative assembly elections will be announced on November 14. (ANI)

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 14:27 IST

News agency-feeds Hawabaazi karne ki adat hai: Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh slams Tejashwi

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Iranian embassy expresses deep sorrow over loss of lives in Red Fort blast

Last Updated: November 11, 2025, 00:12 IST

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New Delhi, Nov 11 (PTI) The Iranian embassy on Monday expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in a blast near the Red Fort in Delhi that left at least nine people dead and many injured.

The high-intensity explosion ripped through a slow-moving car at a traffic signal in the area, gutting several vehicles, officials said.

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The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in India expresses its deep sorrow over the loss of lives and injuries of several Indian citizens in the car blast incident in Delhi, and extends its sincere condolences to the Government and the people of the Republic of India," the embassy said in a post on X.

The Embassy also conveys its heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved families of the victims and wishes patience and comfort for them, as well as a speedy recovery for those injured in this tragic incident. #RedFort," it added. PTI KND ARI

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First Published: November 11, 2025, 00:12 IST

News agency-feeds Iranian embassy expresses deep sorrow over loss of lives in Red Fort blast

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Former Aston Martin CEO: AI is the new engine of cars

(People's Daily App) 14:08, November 10, 2025

The 2025 World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit concluded on Sunday in the ancient water town of Wuzhen in East China's Zhejiang Province. Andy Palmer, former Aston Martin CEO, told the People's Daily that AI is the new engine of vehicles, redefining how cars are made. He highlighted China's strength in AI and software, noting that its success lies in a consistent industrial strategy.

(Produced by Lin Rui, interns Du Rongqi and Peng Zhangyifei)

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Zhong Wenxing)
Jharkhand police seize illegal foreign liquor worth Rs. 77.64 lakh

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 19:27 IST

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Ranchi/Koderma, Nov 10 (PTI) The police in Jharkhands Ranchi and Koderma districts seized illegal foreign liquor worth over Rs 77.64 lakh from two trucks and arrested one of the drivers, officials said on Monday.

Both trucks were apparently headed for Bihar, a dry state.

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In Ranchi, a truck carrying around 1,000 cartons of foreign liquor, worth over Rs 61.14 lakh, was intercepted within Namkum police station limits on Saturday night.

Praveen Pushkar, the Superintendent of Police (SP Rural) said, The consignment was seized near Sarjamdih village on Ranchi-Tata road following a tip-off. However, the vehicle driver somehow fled the scene." Namkum police station officer in-charge Manoj Kumar said, We seized the Bihar-bound truck during a vehicle check. It was transporting illegal foreign liquor. Around 1,000 cartons were kept in it." In Koderma district, the police confiscated another truck carrying illegal liquor, also destined for Bihar.

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We arrested the vehicles driver. During interrogation, he told us that the consignment was loaded from Asansol in West Bengal and was being transported to Biharsharif in Bihar," Koderma SP Anudeep Singh said.

The estimated market value of the seized consignment is around Rs 16.5 lakh, the SP added. PTI RPS/COR RPS MNB RPS NN

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 19:27 IST

News agency-feeds Jharkhand police seize illegal foreign liquor worth Rs. 77.64 lakh

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Nepal seals its border with India ahead of second phase of Bihar elections

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 18:27 IST

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Kathmandu, Nov 10 (PTI) Nepal has sealed its border with India, restricting vehicular movement at the Birgunj-Raxaul border point from Saturday, ahead of the second phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, officials said.

Officials said India-Nepal border points in southern Nepal have been closed for 72 hours as part of heightened security measures during the polls in the neighbouring country.

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The election is being conducted on November 11 in Bihar, India. Therefore, we have halted vehicular movement along the border due to security reasons," Heramba Sharma, Superintendent of Police at the Mahottari District Police Office, told PTI.

All border points in Mahottari district have been sealed," he said, adding they will reopen once the polling concludes. PTI SBP SKS ZH

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 18:27 IST

News agency-feeds Nepal seals its border with India ahead of second phase of Bihar elections

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Pakistan says troops killed 20 militants in region bordering Afghanistan

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 20:42 IST

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Islamabad, Nov 10 (AP) Pakistani security forces killed 20 Pakistani Taliban insurgents in raids on hideouts in the northwest region bordering Afghanistan, the military said Monday, as tensions between the two countries escalated.

Pakistans military described the slain militants as Khwarij," a term the government uses for the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by both the United States and the United Nations.

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According to the military statement, eight militants were killed Sunday in North Waziristan, a former TTP stronghold in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and 12 others were killed in a separate raid in the Dara Adam Khel district, also in the northwest. (AP) RD RD

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 20:42 IST

News agency-feeds Pakistan says troops killed 20 militants in region bordering Afghanistan

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Pine Labs IPO receives 54 pc subscription on day 2

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 18:57 IST

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New Delhi, Nov 10 (PTI) The initial public offer of Pine Labs received 54 per cent subscription on the second day of the initial share sale on Monday.

The IPO received bids for 5,31,12,240 shares against 9,78,93,739 shares on offer, according to NSE data.

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The portion for retail individual investors part got subscribed 87 per cent, and the quota for qualified institutional buyers received 64 per cent subscription. The category for non-institutional investors got subscribed to 12 per cent.

On Friday, the initial public offering (IPO) of Pine Labs received 13 per cent subscription.

Fintech firm Pine Labs on Thursday raised Rs 1,754 crore from anchor investors.

The companys Rs 3,900 crore IPO will conclude on November 11. The firm has fixed a price band of Rs 210-221 per share for its initial public offering (IPO), targeting a valuation of over Rs 25,300 crore.

The IPO has a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 2,080 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of over 8.23 crore equity shares, valuing Rs 1,819.9 crore at the upper end, by existing shareholders.

Proceeds from the fresh issue will be used by the company to repay debt, investment in IT assets, expenditure towards cloud infrastructure, technology development initiatives and procurement of digital checkout points.

The company will use funds for investment in its subsidiaries, such as Qwikcilver Singapore, Pine Payment Solutions, Malaysia, and Pine Labs UAE, for expanding the presence outside the country.

Noida-based Pine Labs is a technology company focused on digitising commerce through digital payments and issuing solutions for merchants, consumer brands, enterprises, and financial institutions.

Its technology infrastructure supports digital transactions and payment processing in India as well as in a few international markets, such as Malaysia, the UAE, Singapore, Australia, the US, and parts of Africa.

The companys customer base spans a wide range of sectors, including retail, e-commerce, lifestyle, consumer electronics, healthcare, travel, hospitality, and financial services, as well as public sector clients such as municipal bodies and traffic departments.

It has long-standing relationships with several large brands and institutions, including Croma and HDFC Bank, with some partnerships extending over a decade.

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The company competes with the likes of Paytm, Razorpay, Infibeam, PayU Payments, PhonePe in the domestic market and Adyen, Shopify and Block in the overseas markets.

Pine Labs will make its stock market debut on November 14. PTI HG HG BAL BAL

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 18:57 IST

News agency-feeds Pine Labs IPO receives 54 pc subscription on day 2

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PU protests: Heavy police deployment made as university braces for shutdown

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 11:42 IST

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Chandigarh, Nov 10 (PTI) Heavy police deployment was made on and around the Panjab University campus here on Monday in the wake of a protest call by students who are pressing for the announcement of Senate polls.

Under the banner of Panjab University Bachao Morcha, students have been holding a protest against the Centres now-withdrawn decision to restructure the universitys governing bodies  Senate and Syndicate.

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Amid students protests and mounting criticism from political leaders, the Ministry of Education on November 7 withdrew its October 28 order notifying the reconstitution and recomposition of the two bodies.

Despite this, the students have refused to end their agitation and have called for a university shutdown" on Monday to press the government to announce the schedule for the Senate elections, which have not taken place for more than a year.

Heavy police deployment was made on and around the campus and the universitys entry points were barricaded. Checkpoints were set up on various roads as the authorities braced for Mondays protest.

Security personnel have also been deployed at the Chandigarh-Mohali border points.

Panjab University Campus Students Council (PUCSC) vice-president Ashmeet Singh said all preparations have been made for a peaceful protest.

He claimed that many students were being denied entry to PU.

The university authorities have already announced holidays on Monday and Tuesday. Only those with university ID cards are allowed to enter the campus.

Student leader Abhishek Dagar said there will be a peaceful protest and it will continue till the Senate poll schedule is announced.

Several political leaders from the ruling AAP, Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal and farmers bodies, and artists have extended their support to the protesting students.

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Punjab minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian, Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly and Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa, Congress MPs Dharamvira Gandhi and Amar Singh, Congress MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh and former Union minister Pawan Kumar Bansal extended their support to the students on Sunday.

The Centres notification amended the Panjab University Act, 1947, reducing the strength of the Senate, the apex governing body, to 31 from 91, and doing away with elections for its executive body, the Syndicate. PTI CHS DIV DIV

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 11:42 IST

News agency-feeds PU protests: Heavy police deployment made as university braces for shutdown

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Radisson Hotel Group to open 350-key luxury property at Navi Mumbai Airport

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 20:27 IST

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Mumbai, Nov 10 (PTI) Radisson Hotel Group on Monday signed an agreement to develop a 350-key greenfield Radisson Collection Hotel near the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport, expanding its portfolio in the area to about 646 keys by 2028.

The global hospitality company has partnered with Hill Crest Hotels and Resorts to debut its luxury lifestyle brand Radisson Collection Hotel, which is expected to become operational in 2028, in Maharashtra.

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We are proud to introduce the Radisson Collection brand to Maharashtra, the largest in our portfolio till date. As the region gears up to welcome the new international airport, we anticipate significant growth in both transit and corporate travel. This property will not only cater to the rising demand for premium accommodation but also for MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) as well," Radisson Hotel Group Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, South Asia, Nikhil Sharma told reporters.

He said, in Navi Mumbai, the company has one 96-key Country Inn and Suites by Radisson, which is operational, one 80-key Park Inn by Radisson that will be rebranded, the current 350-key Radisson Collection and one 120-key Radisson, which will take the total number of rooms of the company to around 646 keys by 2028, he added.

Talking about Radisson Collection Hotel, Sharma said, the company is very selective about the brand and currently has four properties in India, both operational and pipeline.

Besides the Navi Mumbai property, we have one Radisson Collection Hotel in Srinagar, one in Udaipur and one in Jaipur. We are expecting to have 12 properties under the brand by 2030," he added.

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Debasish Chakraborty, Chairman and Managing Director of Hill Crest Hotels and Resorts, said, We are delighted to partner with Radisson Hotel Group to bring the Radisson Collection brand to Navi Mumbai. This collaboration represents our shared vision to create a destination that captures the citys modern spirit while offering an unparalleled hospitality experience. We are confident this hotel will set new benchmarks for luxury in the region." When asked if the property will be a mix of commercial and hotel, Chakraborty said, This is a first phase, where the hotel part is decided.

But definitely in the future, we have scope to expand to commercial, and we have land parcels for this." Radisson Hotel Group has over 200 hotels in operation and development in India, and the company is eyeing to double this portfolio to 500 properties by 2030. PTI SM SHW

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 20:27 IST

News agency-feeds Radisson Hotel Group to open 350-key luxury property at Navi Mumbai Airport

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Security tightened across Andhra Pradesh after Delhi blast

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 22:57 IST

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Amaravati, Nov 10 (PTI) Andhra Pradesh Police stepped up security measures across the state following the blast in Delhi on Monday evening.

A high-intensity explosion ripped through a slow-moving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station, killing at least eight people and gutting several vehicles.

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Twenty-four people were injured in the blast that took place on a busy evening when the area was milling with people. The injured were taken to the LNJP hospital, a few kilometres away.

We have intensified security across the state following the Delhi blast. Special Branch and Intelligence Wings have been activated to collect information and maintain close surveillance," said an official release from the DGP office.

Director General of Police (DGP) Harish Kumar Gupta instructed all Superintendents of Police, Range Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGs), and Inspector General of Police (IGPs) to enhance security in public places, vital installations, and sensitive locations. Special Branch and Intelligence Wings have been activated.

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The people of the state have been urged to remain alert and report any suspicious objects, persons, or activities to the nearest police station or by dialing 100 or 112.

Special focus is being placed on areas of mass gatherings, with increased patrolling, thorough checks, and CCTV monitoring and field officers have been instructed to conduct special operations to ensure citizen safety statewide, it said. PTI MS STH KH

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 22:57 IST

News agency-feeds Security tightened across Andhra Pradesh after Delhi blast

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Tamil actor Abhinay dies at 44

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 19:57 IST

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Chennai, Nov 10 (PTI) Tamil actor Abhinay, best known for his role in Thulluvadho Ilamai, died here on Monday.

The 44-year-old had been suffering from liver-related issues, sources said.

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He had been battling the illness and crowd-funded his treatment.

Actor Dhanush, who debuted alongside him in Thulluvadho Ilamai, reportedly contributed Rs 5 lakh. The 2002 film was directed by Kasthuri Raja, with story and screenplay by Selvaraghavan.

Abhinay eventually took up supporting roles and voice work in films, including Thuppakki (2012) and Anjaan (2014).

He lived alone with no surviving family. Members of the South Indian Artistes Association (Nadigar Sangam) helped perform his last rites, said Vice-President Poochi Murugan.

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Actor Bala (Kalakka Povathu Yaaru-fame) also helped a lot, both financially and personally," Murugan said.

Bala reportedly contributed Rs 1 lakh towards Abhinays treatment. PTI JR SSK

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 19:57 IST

News agency-feeds Tamil actor Abhinay dies at 44

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Thalapathy Vijay's son Jason Sanjay directorial debut is titled 'Sigma'

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 15:42 IST

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Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], November 10 (ANI): Thalapathy Vijays son Jason Sanjays directorial debut has finally got a title. The movie is produced under the banner of Lyca Productions. Lyca Productions has announced the title of Jason Sanjays directorial feature. It is titled Sigma. The makers have also released the first look poster of the film. The movie stars Sundeep Kishan in the lead role. In the first look poster, the actor was seen sitting on a pile of gold bars and bundles of money.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lyca Productions (@lycaproductions)

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The music of the movie is composed by Thaman S. The editing of the film will be done by Praveen Kl.As for Thalapathy Vijay, the actor is back to entertain his fans with his upcoming film Jan Nayagan. The makers recently released a single titled Thalapathy KacheriComposed and sung by Anirudh Ravichander, the upbeat number also features vocals by Vijay and Arivu.With catchy beats, the lyrics focus on Vijays strong connection with his fans.Soon after its release, fans of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief were seen celebrating on the streets of Madurai.Many danced to the song while wearing posters of Vijay, making the release of the song no less than a festival celebration. (ANI)

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 15:42 IST

News agency-feeds Thalapathy Vijay's son Jason Sanjay directorial debut is titled 'Sigma'

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Tripura: Man strangles wife to death in Agartala, arrested

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 08:57 IST

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Agartala (Tripura) [India], November 10 (ANI): Tripura police arrested a man in Agartala for allegedly strangling his wife to death, Amtali Police Station Officer In-charge Paritosh Das said.According to a police official, the body was brought to the Tripura Medical College and Dr BRAM Teaching Hospital on Sunday.The police have registered a case after the victims father filed a complaint. The accused will be presented in the court today. The dead body of a woman was brought to TMC Hospital. We found that her husband had strangled her to death.Her father filed a written complaint with the police, and a case has been filed under the relevant sections of BNS. We arrested the accused, and the interrogation is ongoing. We will produce him in the court tomorrow," the Amtali Police Station Officer-in-Charge said. (ANI)

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 08:57 IST

News agency-feeds Tripura: Man strangles wife to death in Agartala, arrested

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Vagrant held for killing 2-yr-old boy who went missing from Delhi's Khajuri Khas

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 16:57 IST

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New Delhi, Nov 10 (PTI) A man was arrested for allegedly murdering a two-year-old boy near a CRPF camp in northeast Delhis Khajuri Khas area, an official said on Monday.

The accused, identified as Shaka (40), a vagabond, was arrested on Sunday.

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Police said the child had gone missing from the Khajuri Chowk area on October 3, after which his parents lodged a missing complaint at the local police station. A case of kidnapping was registered and multiple teams were formed to trace the child.

During investigation, the police recovered the boys body from a wooded area near the boundary wall of a CRPF camp in Khajuri Khas on October 4, a senior officer said, adding that forensic teams were called in to collect evidence from the spot.

Following the recovery, the police examined CCTV footage from the vicinity, questioned locals, and checked nearby shelters and wooded patches often frequented by vagabonds. The team conducted several raids at possible hideouts in Delhi and adjoining areas before finally apprehending the suspect, the officer said.

During interrogation, Shaka confessed to the crime. He told investigators that he had an argument with the parents of the deceased child on the night of the incident, after which he abducted the toddler and murdered him, the officer added.

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Police said preliminary inquiry revealed that the accused lived in the vicinity and was known to loiter in the area. He was found to be previously involved in a theft case.

The accused has been taken into custody, and further investigation is underway to determine the sequence of events leading to the murder," the officer added. PTI BM BM ARB ARB ARB

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 16:57 IST

News agency-feeds Vagrant held for killing 2-yr-old boy who went missing from Delhi's Khajuri Khas

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Woman dies by suicide in Mumbai, ex-boyfriend held for abetment

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 19:57 IST

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Mumbai, Nov 10 (PTI) A 22-year-old woman allegedly committed suicide after being mentally harassed by her former boyfriend, in the eastern suburbs here, police said on Monday.

The police on Sunday arrested the deceased womans former boyfriend, Ali Sheikh, in connection with her death in Ghatkopar, an official said.

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Hritika Rohit Chavhan allegedly hanged herself from the ceiling fan at her apartment in the Indira Nagar area on Saturday night, he said.

As per a complaint lodged by the deceaseds mother, Hritika had been in a relationship with Sheikh, who was her colleague.

When Hritika ended the relationship, Sheikh started stalking her and mentally harassing her, the complaint stated.

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Her family members recovered a suicide note from her belongings, the official said.

The accused has been booked under section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and further probe is underway, he added. PTI ZA ARU

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 19:57 IST

News agency-feeds Woman dies by suicide in Mumbai, ex-boyfriend held for abetment

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You cannot wish it away: Javed Akhtar says AI is part of our reality now

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 20:27 IST

Representational image (Image: News18)

New Delhi, Nov 10 (PTI) Artificial intelligence is making unbelievable achievements and its a reality that cannot be wished away, writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar said on Monday.

At the Soundscapes of India- Season 2, Akhtar was asked about the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) dedicating a section for AI content.

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If you see the progress of science every invention, including automobiles and railway engines, has been resisted by the people. They think such advancements are going to badly affect the society, but science is not immoral Whether (you think) it is right or it is wrong, science is going to move forward. Even in foreign countries, artificial intelligence is making unbelievable achievements and its a reality now," Akhtar said.

The writer said its time to not be scared but use it to our advantage.

What we have to think about now is how to use it in our favour. How we can control this power thats being generated is supposed to be for our ease. But you cannot wish it away," he added.

Talking about the Hollywood writers strike against AI, which is copying their style, the writer was asked if the concern is genuine.

To some extent these concerns are genuine but they are also exaggerated. The fact is that today AI depends on existing data. Who gives that data? You are giving them the data," he said.

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The data is always going to be shared and used. You have to decide what share of it you want. It is never going to stop. They say Dont make stories using AI, dont make songs using AI but you have to understand everything is dependent on data of people that have already made that work," he added.

With the support of Ministry of Culture, the Indian Performing Right Society Limited held a press conference at the Samvet Auditorium in Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) on Monday which included Akhtar, IGNCA controller Anurag Punetha and CEO Rakesh Nigam. PTI SMR SMR BK BK

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 20:27 IST

News agency-feeds You cannot wish it away: Javed Akhtar says AI is part of our reality now

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FM Nirmala Sitharaman Chairs First Pre-Budget Talks With Economists For Union Budget 2026-27

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 11:38 IST

The meeting sees the participation of several eminent economists who shared their views and suggestions on the state of the economy and policy priorities for the next fiscal year.

Pre-Budget consultations are a crucial part of the budget-making process, allowing the government to take on board diverse perspectives from stakeholders across sectors before finalising the Union Budget.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday chaired the first pre-budget consultation with leading economists in connection with the upcoming Union Budget 2026-27, in New Delhi. The Budget 2026-27, which will be the ninth consecutive Budget to be presented by Sitharaman, will be tabled in Parliament on February 1. However, the official announcement is yet to be made.

The meeting saw the participation of several eminent economists who shared their views and suggestions on the state of the economy and policy priorities for the next fiscal year. The meeting was also attended by the Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), the Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India, and other senior officials from the Ministry of Finance.

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Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. @nsitharaman chairs the first Pre-Budget Consultation with leading economists in connection with the upcoming Union Budget 2026-27, in New Delhi, today.The meeting was also attended by Secretary, Department of Economic pic.twitter.com/I9yn5FxpOD  Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) November 10, 2025

Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman chairs the first Pre-Budget Consultation with leading economists in connection with the upcoming Union Budget 2026-27, in New Delhi, today. The meeting was also attended by secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), finance ministry; and chief economic adviser, Government of India, besides senior officers from the DEA," the finance ministry said in a post on X on Monday, November 10, 2025.

Pre-Budget consultations are a crucial part of the budget-making process, allowing the government to take on board diverse perspectives from stakeholders across sectors before finalising the Union Budget.

The Indian economy gained momentum in the second quarter (July-September) of the current financial year Despite United States imposing higher tariffs on India in August, according to the finance ministrys latest monthly economic review.

The report highlighted that against a global backdrop characterised by economic and trade policy uncertainty, Indias economy continued to strengthen in Q2 FY26.

It stated this is particularly significant, as the United States imposed higher tariffs on India in August".

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This acceleration, despite external headwinds, highlights the resilience of the domestic economy and the effectiveness of ongoing structural reforms.

According to the monthly economic review, various supply-side high-frequency indicators (HFIs) displayed healthy trends, while demand conditions improved on the back of GST reforms and positive festive season sentiments, which spurred consumption.

About the Author Mohammad Haris Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalis... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 11:38 IST

News business economy FM Nirmala Sitharaman Chairs First Pre-Budget Talks With Economists For Union Budget 2026-27

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Groww IPO GMP Falls 75% Ahead Of Allotment: Here's Listing Price Prediction

Reported By :

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 12:12 IST

Groww IPO allotment is likely to be finalised today. Its grey market premium has fallen to Rs 4, which is down nearly by 75.7% against the Rs 16.5 premium recorded a few days ago.

Groww IPO Listing Price Prediction.

Groww IPO Allotment Date: The allotment of the Groww IPO is expected to be finalised today, November 10, in the evening. Once finalised, investors will receive bank debit or amount unblock message. They can also check the allotment status on the websites of BSE, the NSE, as well as on the portal of registrar MUFG Intime India Pvt Ltd.

However, its grey market premium (GMP) has fallen to Rs 4, which is nearly down by 75.7% as compared with the Rs 16.5 premium recorded a few days ago.

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The initial public offering (IPO) of Billionbrains Garage Ventures Ltd, the parent company of stock broking firm Groww, closed on Friday, November 7, with a decent 17.60x subscription. The IPO garnered bids for 6,41,86,76,400 shares as against the 36,47,76,528 shares on offer. Its retail category has received a 9.43x subscription, while the NII (non-institutional investor) quota has received a 14.20x subscription. The QIB category received a 22.02x subscription.

Groww IPO Allotment Today

The Groww IPO allotment is expected to be finalised on Monday, November 10. The allotment status can be checked online by following these steps:

1) Go to the official BSE website via the URL  https://www.bseindia.com/investors/appli_check.aspx.

2) Under Issue Type, select Equity.

3) Under Issue Name, select Billionbrains Garage Ventures Ltd in the drop box.

4) Enter your application number, or the Permanent Account Number (PAN). Those who want to check their allotment status via PAN can select the Permanent Account Number option.

5) Then, click on the I am not a robot to verify yourself and hit the Search option.

Your share application status will appear on your screen.

On MUFG Intime Indias Portal

You can also visit directly on the registrar MUFG Intime Indias portal  https://in.mpms.mufg.com/Initial_Offer/public-issues.html and check the Groww IPO allotment status.

On NSEs Website

The allotment status can also be checked on the NSEs website at https://www.nseindia.com/invest/check-trades-bids-verify-ipo-bids.

Groww IPO Listing Date

The companys shares are proposed to be listed on both the NSE and the BSE on November 12, 2025.

Groww IPO GMP Today

According to market observers, unlisted shares of Billionbrains Garage Ventures Ltd are currently trading at Rs 104 apiece in the grey market, which is a premium (or GMP) of Rs 4 or 4% over the upper IPO price of Rs 100, indicating weak listing. It signals a listing price prediction of Rs 104 per share against the issue price of Rs 100.

The GMP was at 16.5% (Rs 16.5) a few days ago.

The GMP is based on market sentiments and keeps changing. Grey market premium indicates investors readiness to pay more than the issue price.

Groww IPO: More Details

Billionbrains Garage Ventures last week garnered a little over Rs 2,984 crore from anchor investors, ahead of the IPO.

The companys Rs 6,632 crore IPO concluded on November 7.

The firm fixed a price band of Rs 95-100 per share for its IPO, targeting a valuation of over Rs 61,700 crore (about $7 billion).

The IPO comprises a fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 1,060 crore along with an Offer-for-Sale (OFS) component of 55.72 crore equity shares.

The company, which is backed by marquee investors such as Peak XV, Tiger Capital, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, plans to use proceeds from the IPO to invest in technology development and business expansion.

Of the fresh issuance, Rs 225 crore will be used for brand building and performance marketing activities, and Rs 205 crore will be invested in Groww Creditserv Technology Pvt Ltd (GCS), the NBFC arm, to augment its capital base.

Additionally, Rs 167.5 crore will be infused into Groww Invest Tech Pvt Ltd (GIT) to fund its margin trading facility business, while Rs 152.5 crore has been earmarked to strengthen cloud infrastructure.

The balance will be utilised for funding inorganic growth through acquisitions and for general corporate purposes.

Headquartered in Bengaluru, Groww filed draft papers in May with the markets regulator, Sebi, for an IPO through a confidential pre-filing route and received Sebis approval in August.

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Groww opted for the confidential pre-filing route, which allows it to withhold public disclosure of IPO details under the DRHP until later stages. This route is gaining traction among Indian firms aiming for flexibility in their IPO plans.

Founded in 2016, Groww emerged as Indias largest stockbroker, with over 12.6 million active clients and a market share of over 26 per cent as of June 2025.

About the Author Mohammad Haris Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalis... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 12:12 IST

News business ipo Groww IPO GMP Falls 75% Ahead Of Allotment: Here's Listing Price Prediction

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Stocks To Watch: Lenskart, Vodafone Idea, Bajaj Finance, HAL, Nykaa, Patanjali, And Others

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 07:53 IST

Stocks to watch: Shares of firms like Lenskart, Vodafone Idea, Bajaj Finance, HAL, Nykaa, Patanjali, and others will be in focus on Monday's trade

Stocks To Watch on November 10.

Stocks to Watch on November 10, 2025: Markets remained volatile on Friday and ended nearly flat, offering investors a brief respite after the recent correction. Analysts said the trend indicates caution among traders amid global uncertainties and a lack of major domestic triggers.

Technically, the Nifty managed to hold its trendline support on the daily chart after retracing nearly half of its previous rally. Sustained trade above the 25,600 level could help rebuild confidence and pave the way for an upmove towards 25,80026,000.

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In todays session, Lenskart, Vodafone Idea, Bajaj Finance, HAL, Adani Enterprises, and several others will be in focus following Q2 results and key corporate developments.

Lenskart

Eyewear retailer Lenskart will make its market debut today. Given muted grey market signals, the listing is expected to be around the issue price or slightly below. Despite receiving a strong subscription of over 28 times, investor sentiment cooled amid concerns over high valuations and one-off gains inflating financials.

Trent

Trent reported a below-estimate Q2 performance, with net profit up 11.3% YoY to Rs 377 crore, missing Street expectations of Rs 446 crore. Revenue also came in lower than forecasts, hurt by intense competition and muted consumer sentiment. The companys board has approved tendering its entire 94,900-share stake in Inditex Trent Retail India (ITRIPL), operator of Zara stores, under ITRIPLs buyback programme.

Reliance Power

Reliance Power clarified that Amar Nath Datta, recently arrested by the ED, has no association with the company. The clarification followed media reports linking the two. The firm assured investors that the development has no impact on its operations or financials.

Patanjali Foods

Patanjali Foods declared an interim dividend of Rs 1.75 per share for FY26. The record date is November 13, with payment due by December 7. The company reported a 67% YoY jump in Q2 net profit to Rs 516.69 crore, while total income rose to Rs 9,850.06 crore.

Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL)

HAL signed a major agreement with GE Aerospace to procure 113 jet engines for the Tejas light combat aircraft programme. Deliveries of the F404-GE-IN20 engines will begin in 2027 and conclude by 2032.

Nykaa

Nykaas parent FSN E-Commerce Ventures reported a 154% YoY surge in Q2 PAT to Rs 33 crore, though it missed Bloombergs Rs 38 crore estimate. Revenue grew 28% to 2,346 crore, marginally above expectations, while Ebitda rose 53% YoY in line with estimates.

Hindalco Industries

Hindalco Industries posted a strong Q2 with net profit up 21% YoY to Rs 4,741 crore, exceeding Bloomberg estimates of Rs 4,320 crore. Revenue rose 13% to Rs 66,058 crore, also ahead of Street projections.

Britannia Industries

Britannia expects stronger H2FY26 volume growth following GST rate cuts in food and beverages from 1218% to 5%. CEO Varun Berry said the company has increased grammage by 1013% in Rs 5 and Rs 10 packs and reduced prices on larger packs to pass on benefits to consumers.

Bajaj Auto

Bajaj Auto reported a 24% YoY rise in standalone Q2 net profit to Rs 2,480 crore, supported by robust exports and a premium product mix. The results slightly beat market estimates of Rs 2,440 crore.

Ather Energy

Tiger Global Management exited its entire 5.09% stake in Ather Energy, selling shares worth over Rs 1,204 crore through open market transactions. Its affiliate Internet Fund III offloaded 10.93 million shares across the NSE and BSE at an average price of around Rs 622 per share.

Kalyan Jewellers

Kalyan Jewellers doubled its Q2FY26 net profit to Rs 260.51 crore from Rs 130.60 crore YoY, with revenue rising 30% to Rs 7,856 crore. Sequentially, profit dipped slightly by 1.35%, while revenue grew 8% QoQ.

Havells India

Havells India announced a full and final settlement with the HPL Group, ending a long-running trademark dispute over the Havells brand. The company will pay Rs 129.6 crore as a one-time settlement, resolving all ongoing litigations across courts.

Maruti Suzuki

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Maruti Suzuki received NCLT approval to merge Suzuki Motor Gujarat with itself, effective April 1, 2025. The merger will consolidate operations under Maruti, streamlining production and ownership structure.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips by experts in this News18.com report are their own and not those of the website or its management. Users are advised to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

About the Author Aparna Deb Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 07:53 IST

News business markets Stocks To Watch: Lenskart, Vodafone Idea, Bajaj Finance, HAL, Nykaa, Patanjali, And Others

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UP Student Dies By Suicide After Being Barred From Exam Over Unpaid Fees: Police

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 07:55 IST

A DAV PG Degree College student in Budhana died after self-immolation over unpaid exam fees, alleging harassment by the principal and police.

A DAV PG Degree College student in Budhana died after self-immolation over unpaid exam fees, alleging harassment by the principal and police. (Representative image)

A college student in Budhana town of Muzaffarnagar district died on Sunday evening after setting himself on fire inside his classroom, following an alleged dispute over unpaid examination fees, police said.

The individual, a BA second-year student at DAV PG Degree College, Budhana, reportedly was denied permission to sit for his exam due to outstanding fee dues. The matter escalated when he alleged harassment by the college authorities and intervention by the police, leading to extreme distress.

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According to police, the student was immediately taken to a local hospital and then transferred to Delhis Safdarjung Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries late Sunday.

In a handwritten note and a video recorded before the act, he named the college principal and three police personnel as responsible for his situation, alleging physical assault, humiliation, and threats.

The incident has prompted protests by students and locals, and the police have registered a case and launched an investigation.

Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai squarely blamed both the Yogi Adityanath government and the Centre for Ujjwals death, calling it a reflection of the deep flaws in the states education system.

In a strongly worded statement, Rai described the tragedy as a murder by the system", alleging that students are increasingly being pushed to the brink by the pressure of college administrations and local authorities over unpaid fees.

He said education in the state had become commercialised and insensitive", with little support for financially struggling students. When such incidents occur, the chief minister is busy campaigning in other states," Rai remarked.

The Congress party has demanded 1 crore in compensation and a government job for Ujjwals family. It has also urged the state to introduce a law regulating private college fees and to establish a special aid fund for economically weak students, to prevent such tragedies in the future.

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Suicide Prevention. News 18. If you or someone you know needs help, call any of these helplines: Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata).

-With inputs from PTI

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

Location : Muzaffarnagar, India, India

First Published: November 10, 2025, 07:55 IST

News cities UP Student Dies By Suicide After Being Barred From Exam Over Unpaid Fees: Police

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'Please Don't': 9-Yr-Old Wanted To Change School Over Bullying, Was Heard Crying For Help In Audio

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 11:12 IST

A student died by suicide at Neerja Modi School in Jaipur after enduring year-long bullying. Family alleges slow investigations and school inaction despite repeated complaints.

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The incident was caught on CCTV. (Image: X)

Over a week after a nine-year-old girl jumped to her death at a private school in Jaipur, an audio recording has surfaced, revealing her struggle with attending classes after the schools inaction on bullying. In this year-old recording, the child tearfully begs her mother not to send her back to school and to enrol her somewhere else.

I dont want to go to school. Please dont send me," she said, a chilling echo of the ordeal her family now says was ignored for over a year.

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The girl ended her life on November 1 after falling off a fourth-floor parapet inside Neerja Modi School. The girl fell from a height of about 48 feet. Although she was rushed to the hospital, she was declared dead on arrival. CCTV footage captured the incident, showing her climbing the railing before her fatal jump.

No Action Taken: Family Disappointed Over Slow Probe

Since then, the police and education department have launched separate investigations, but the family alleges both are progressing at a painfully slow pace.

Speaking to Times Of India on Sunday, the girls uncle, Sahil Dev, said that the disturbing audio was recorded in July last year.

She was facing constant bullying for over a year. We informed her class teacher about it, but she didnt pay attention," he said, adding that the family even tried to get her enrolled in another school, but that didnt work out.

Dev expressed shock at the attitude of the investigators. One member of the education departments probe team even remarked, Why did the girl celebrate Halloween?  a completely irrelevant and insensitive comment," he said.

He further mentioned that one of the teachers admitted to investigators that the child was bullied at school. Even after this, no action has been taken. Nine days have passed," Dev said.

Teacher Ignored Complaint, Alleges Family

The family asserted that they had approached two class teachers previously to address the bullying issue, but their pleas went unheard.

It is learnt that on the day the student took the extreme step, she was bullied by certain people, and the issue was ignored again, which led her to step out of her class. Further, a teacher also admitted that she came to her and complained about some people disturbing her and using bad words.

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When the police arrived at the scene, they found that the area where the minor fell had been cleaned, with no visible bloodstains. The family, subsequently, filed an FIR against the school administration, alleging that her death occurred under suspicious circumstances and calling for an investigation into the teaching staffs role. The school administration has been accused of being uncooperative and silent on the matter.

The Joint Parents Association also accused the school of destroying evidence and has demanded a fair investigation and strict action. Arvind Agarwal, the chief of the association, mentioned that they learned from the deceaseds uncle and other children that she had been harassed for one to two years.

About the Author Manisha Roy Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manish... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 11:12 IST

News jaipur 'Please Don't': 9-Yr-Old Wanted To Change School Over Bullying, Was Heard Crying For Help In Audio

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Massive Feeder Tank Collapses In Kochi, 1.38 Crore Litres Of Water Floods Several Houses

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 13:05 IST

A feeder tank collapsed in Kochi, flooding homes and sweeping away vehicles. MLAs T J Vinod and Uma Thomas visited the affected area; KWA is assessing damage.

AI-generated image used for representational purpose only

A section of a Kerala Water Authority (KWA) feeder tank in Thammanam area of Kochi collapsed in the early hours of Monday, flooding several homes and washing away vehicles, officials said.

The breach occurred between 2 am and 2.30 am when one side of the massive tank at the KWA feeder pump house collapsed. The structure consists of two chambers with a combined capacity of about 1.38 crore litres. When the wall of one chamber burst, the released water tore through the compound wall and entered nearly 10 nearby houses.

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According to news agency PTI, Ernakulam MLA T J Vinod inspected the site and said multiple vehicles parked along the road were swept away by the sudden flow. Electronic gadgets and furniture in the ground floor of the houses were damaged. The water also entered a nearby health centre, destroying medicines and equipment," he said.

Vinod noted that the feeder tank, which is over five decades old, plays a key role in supplying water to Kochi city and Tripunithura. The damaged chamber stored water meant for Kochi city," he added.

Residents recounted waking up in shock as water gushed into their homes without warning. A local resident said compound walls of at least three houses were also destroyed in the flooding.

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Thrikakkara MLA Uma Thomas, who visited the affected area, urged the KWA to compensate the families that suffered losses.

KWA officials assured that measures are being taken to maintain an uninterrupted water supply to Kochi and nearby regions despite the incident. An assessment of the damage and structural integrity of the remaining chamber is also underway.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

Location : Kochi [Cochin], India, India

First Published: November 10, 2025, 13:05 IST

News cities kochi Massive Feeder Tank Collapses In Kochi, 1.38 Crore Litres Of Water Floods Several Houses

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Borivali, Santacruz, Vile Parle, EEH: 4 Mumbai Spots Seek Traffic Relief With Access Control Roads

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 17:40 IST

Santacruz's Milan Subway area, Vile Parle's Maruti Mandir (Hanuman Road), Borivali's Sudhir Phadke Road and EEH under Anna Bhau Sathe Bridge will get access control roads

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The authorities are looking at the Access Control Project or building controlled access roads to tackle the traffic congestion in Mumbai. (File for representation)

Mumbai is synonymous with traffic snarls and staying stuck on roads for hours. However, a new project may bring some relief to motorists.

The authorities are looking at the Access Control Project or building controlled access roads to tackle the traffic congestion in Mumbai, according to News18 Lokmat.

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What is the Access Control Project?

Through this project, underpasses and flyovers will be built at the most congested spots on the Eastern and Western Express Highways to make traffic flow smoother.

Where will the Access Control Project be conducted?

At first, the municipal corporation planned to build access control roads at nine locations, but four key spots have been shortlisted.

They are:

Santacruz: Milan Subway area

Vile Parle: Maruti Mandir (Hanuman Road)

Borivali: Sudhir Phadke Road

Eastern Express Highway: Under Anna Bhau Sathe Bridge.

ALSO READ | How Virar-Uttan Sea Link Till Vadhavan Port Can Reduce Traffic On Mumbais WEH, SV, Link Road

Project status

Work has already started under the Anna Bhau Sathe Bridge, and construction at the other three western locations will begin soon.

What is the technology being used?

The most important part of this project is the Box Pushing Technology, said the report.

In this method, pre-made RCC boxes are pushed underground using large machines. As the box moves forward, the soil inside is removed, so the road above stays open and traffic doesnt stop. This means that while vehicles are moving above, an underground route is being built below. This technique has worked well for some railway underpass projects before, and now it will be used on the citys expressways.

The goal is to make traffic smoother, reduce travel time, and cut down on accidents by building flyovers and underpasses at crowded spots.

IIT Bombay has been asked to study the technology and implementation plan, and the next phase of the project will start based on their report.

Do controlled access roads ease traffic? Are there any in Mumbai

A controlled-access road is a road or highway where entry and exit are allowed only at designated points, usually through ramps, interchanges, or service roads, rather than directly from properties or side streets. The examples are expressways and freeways such as the MumbaiPune Expressway, Yamuna Expressway, or DelhiMeerut Expressway, National Highways with access restrictions, some urban bypasses or ring roads built to avoid city traffic.

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They are known to improve traffic speed and safety, reduce accidents caused by random entries/exits and enable smooth long-distance travel.

With News18 Lokmat Inputs

About the Author Manjiri Joshi At the news desk for 17 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing speci... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 17:11 IST

News mumbai-news Borivali, Santacruz, Vile Parle, EEH: 4 Mumbai Spots Seek Traffic Relief With Access Control Roads

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Thane To Dombivali In 25 Minutes: How 4-Lane Railway Flyover Will Ease Road Traffic

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 19:46 IST

Thane to Dombivali in 25 minutes: Plan is to build a four-lane railway flyover at the Retibandar Motagaon railway crossing, which will be connected to Mankoli flyover in Dombivli

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The Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) has already sent the proposal to the state government for funding approval. (PTI file for representation)

Among the several projects being taken up in Thane district, this one is expected to facilitate Thane to Dombivli road travel in 25 minutes.

The plan is to build a four-lane railway flyover at the Retibandar Motagaon railway crossing, which will be connected to the Mankoli flyover in Dombivli, according to News18 Lokmat.

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The Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) has already sent the proposal to the state government for funding approval, which is expected soon, reported The Times of India.

Project details

A budget of Rs 168 crore has been proposed for this flyover project, with Rs 30 crore for land acquisition and the remaining Rs 138 crore for construction, according to News18 Lokmat.

A total of 600 residents will need to be relocated for this project.

ALSO READ | Thanes Ghodbunder Road Set For Upgrade: From Metro, Pod Taxis To Coastal, Tunnel & Elevated Links

How will the project help?

While going to or returning from the office, travelers from Thane to Dombivli or beyond often faced traffic snarls.

Currently, it takes about an hour to travel between Thane and Dombivli. With the flyover, the Thane-Dombivli trip will take just 25 minutes, saving residents 35 minutes.

Why the spot?

For many years, the Motagaon railway crossing has been a major obstacle. Initially, the plan was for a two-lane bridge, but due to increasing traffic, it was decided to build a four-lane flyover. This will keep traffic smooth for the next few years and prevent new jams.

What led to the move?

The decision comes in the wake of persistent demand of citizens and local leaders, including former Sena (UBT) corporator Dipesh Mhatre.

Once approved, the project is expected to improve connectivity and ease congestion for thousands of commuters travelling between Dombivli and Thane.

Other projects being planned for Thane

1. Mumbai Metro Line 4 (Wadala-Kasarvadavli via Ghodbunder Road)

2. Ghodbunder Road widening

3. Balkum-Gaimukh Coastal Road

4. Thane-Borivali Tunnel

5. Tunnel + Elevated Road Connecting Thane-Bhayander

6. FoBs and passenger bays under Metro 4

7. Pod taxi project

8. NaMo Grand Central Park (near Kolshet Road)

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With News18 Lokmat Inputs

About the Author Manjiri Joshi At the news desk for 17 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing speci... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 19:26 IST

News mumbai-news Thane To Dombivali In 25 Minutes: How 4-Lane Railway Flyover Will Ease Road Traffic

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Mysuru: 13-Year-Old Boy Taken To Surgery After Being Kicked In Testicles By Classmates In School

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 12:54 IST

In Mysuru, a 13-year-old boy was severely injured after classmates assaulted him in school. Jayalakshmipuram Police booked the accused.

In Mysuru, a 13-year-old boy was severely injured after classmates assaulted him in school. Jayalakshmipuram Police booked the accused. (AI Image)

In a shocking case of school bullying in Mysuru, a 13-year-old boy suffered a severe injury to his genitals after being assaulted by three of his classmates on the school premises, police said.

According to the complaint filed by the boys family, the Class 8 student had been subjected to repeated harassment over the past several years. The accused students allegedly forced him to bring cash and mobile phones to school, which they would then take away.

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On October 25, the harassment turned violent when the three boys allegedly dragged him into the washroom and assaulted him. The victim was later taken to a hospital, where doctors confirmed serious injuries to his private parts.

The boys family has accused the local police of initially hesitating to file a case, but said that an FIR was registered after sustained pressure from relatives and well-wishers.

The Jayalakshmipuram Police have since booked the three accused students under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to voluntarily causing hurt and acts endangering life or personal safety, as well as sections of the Juvenile Justice Act.

Speaking to the media, the victim said the bullying had been ongoing since he was in Class 4. It started when I was made class leader and told to report anyone who misbehaved. When I did that, they beat me up. My mother complained to the teacher, but she didnt take any action," he said.

Describing the most recent attack, the boy said, Two of them held my hands, and one of them kicked me in my privates twice."

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The incident has sparked outrage among parents and child-rights groups, who have demanded stricter enforcement of anti-bullying policies in schools and accountability for school authorities who fail to protect students from prolonged harassment.

Police said the investigation is ongoing, and statements from the school staff and classmates are being recorded.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

Location : Karnataka, India, India

First Published: November 10, 2025, 12:54 IST

News cities Mysuru: 13-Year-Old Boy Taken To Surgery After Being Kicked In Testicles By Classmates In School

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Blast Near Delhi's Red Fort A Terror Attack Using IED; Suspect Held: Intel Sources

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News18.com Edited By: Pragati Ratti



Last Updated: November 11, 2025, 00:20 IST

Delhi Blast: The suspect is believed to have possible links to Jammu and Kashmir, and the Jammu and Kashmir Police is also on the spot.

Delhi blast: an explosion took place in a car near the Red Fort Metro station on Monday evening. (Image: PTI)

Delhi Blast: The high-intensity blast inside a car near Delhis Red Fort Metro station on Monday is being investigated as a terror attack, sources have told CNN-News18.

Preliminary reports suggest that an improvised explosive device (IED) was used in the blast, which ripped through a slow-moving car around 6.52 pm killing at least eight people and leaving several others injured.

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According to sources, one suspect has already been detained and is being questioned by the Delhi Police special cell. The suspect is believed to have possible links to Jammu and Kashmir, and the Jammu and Kashmir Police is also on the spot. Security officials are not ruling out the possibility of a wider network being involved in planning and executing the attack.

The explosion took place at a busy hour near the Red Fort Metro station, a high-security zone and one of the most crowded parts of the capital. Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic and chaos as the car caught fire following the blast, with passersby rushing to help the injured before emergency services arrived.

Delhi Police sources have told CNN-News18 that the blast took place inside a Hyundai i20 car which had two to three occupants at the time of the explosion. The impact, officials said, was concentrated on the rear portion of the vehicle. There is no crater or flat spot at the site, suggesting that the car was slow-moving when the explosion happened.

Investigators have not found any signs of pellet injuries on the victims, though burn wounds have been observed on several. Forensic teams are examining the vehicle to determine the exact nature and source of the blast.

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Forensic teams and bomb disposal squads have been deployed to the site, while the area has been sealed off for detailed examination. CCTV footage from nearby shops, metro premises, and traffic cameras is being thoroughly scanned to identify any suspicious movement or vehicles in the vicinity before the explosion.

Top officials from the Delhi Police, NIA and the Ministry of Home Affairs are monitoring the situation closely. Investigators are now focusing on tracing the source of the explosives and determining whether the blast was part of a larger conspiracy targeting the national capital.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 20:57 IST

News cities new-delhi-news Blast Near Delhi's Red Fort A Terror Attack Using IED; Suspect Held: Intel Sources

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Amit Shah Speaks To Delhi Police, Intelligence Bureau; Briefs PM Modi On Blast Near Red Fort

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 21:16 IST

Prime Minister spoke with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and sought a detailed update on the incident and the ongoing investigation.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah (Credits: PTI file)

Delhi Car Blast: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken stock of the situation after a blast in a car near Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort Metro Station in Delhi claimed at least eight lives and left 16 injured.

A call about the blast was received around 6:55 pm, prompting fire services and probe agencies to rush to the spot. A team from the anti-terror agency NIA arrived later at the incident site after intelligence sources confirmed this to be a terror-related case.

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Government sources told CNN-News18 that the Prime Minister spoke with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and sought a detailed update on the incident and the ongoing investigation.

Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital stated that 24 people were brought in severe condition, of which eight were declared dead. The remaining 16 people are undergoing treatment.

The Delhi Police nabbed one suspect in the blast incident, sources said, adding that a multi-agency investigation has been launched.

Today at around 6.52 pm, a slow-moving vehicle stopped at the red light. An explosion happened in that vehicle, and due to the explosion, nearby vehicles were also damaged. All agencies, FSL, NIA, are here Some people have died, and some have been injured in the incident. The situation is being monitored. The Home Minister has also called us, and information is being shared with him from time to time," said Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha.

Amit Shah In Touch With Delhi Police, IB

Sources said that Amit Shah spoke with the Delhi Police Commissioner soon after the explosion and directed immediate action at the site.

Teams from the National Security Guard (NSG), National Investigation Agency (NIA), and the forensic department were swiftly deployed to assist in the probe.

Sources said Shah is in constant communication with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) Director and is closely monitoring the situation in Delhi.

The exact cause of the explosion, which triggered panic in the area, is yet to be determined. However, intelligence sources suggest that the blast was triggered using an IED. An offical confirmation is awaited.

The incident occurred just hours after police uncovered an interstate terror module allegedly linked to banned organisations and seized more than 2,900 kilograms of suspected ammonium nitrate.

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This included 360 kg recovered earlier and an additional 2,500 kg of the explosive substance.

Several states and cities, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, and Mumbai, have been put on high alert with heightened security arrangements after the blast incident in Delhi.

Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: November 10, 2025, 20:43 IST

News cities new-delhi-news Amit Shah Speaks To Delhi Police, Intelligence Bureau; Briefs PM Modi On Blast Near Red Fort

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Blast Near Delhis Red Fort Metro: Police File FIR Under UAPA, Murder And Attempt-To-Murder Charges

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 11, 2025, 11:24 IST

A high-intensity blast ripped through a Hyundai i20 car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort Metro station on Monday evening

Police, security and rescue personnel at the site after a blast in a parked car near Red Fort left multiple vehicles in flames, in New Delhi. (IMAGE: PTI)

Delhi Police have registered an FIR in connection with Monday evenings blast near the Red Fort Metro station under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Explosive Substances Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

According to officials, sections invoked include UAPA Section 16 (terrorist act) and Section 18 (punishment for conspiracy and related acts concerning a terrorist act). Under the Explosive Substances Act, Sections 3 and 4 have been applied  dealing, respectively, with causing an explosion likely to endanger life or property and attempting to cause such an explosion.

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Additionally, the FIR includes BNS Section 103 (punishment for murder) and Section 109 (attempt to murder).

A high-intensity blast ripped through a Hyundai i20 car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort Metro station on Monday evening, killing at least 12 people and injuring 20 others. Several nearby vehicles caught fire in the explosion.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said a detailed analysis of the blast will be conducted with senior security officials on Tuesday.

Tomorrow morning, we will hold a detailed analysis of the blast with senior officers at the Home Ministry," Shah told reporters after visiting those injured at the LNJP Hospital.

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He said that top investigating agencies are jointly probing the incident and will examine every aspect of the explosion. The agencies will go in-depth into the cause and execution of the blast," he added.

Police sources said that CCTV footage from the area shows the car was parked near the Red Fort Metro Station for nearly three hours before the explosion, and forensic teams are examining remains from the site to determine the nature of the explosive used.

About the Author Shankhyaneel Sarkar Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has ... Read More

First Published: November 11, 2025, 02:55 IST

News new-delhi-news Blast Near Delhis Red Fort Metro: Police File FIR Under UAPA, Murder And Attempt-To-Murder Charges

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Pulwama Man Bought Car That Exploded Near Red Fort, Police Trace Trail | Exclusive

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 11, 2025, 00:07 IST

Delhi Police teams have informed their counterparts in Jammu and Kashmir and a team has now been dispatched to Srinagar to verify the Pulwama connection

Tariq from Pulwama, who bought the car from Mohammad Salman last year | News18 Image

The Delhi Police have traced the Hyundai i20 that exploded near Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort Metro Station, killing at least eight people and injuring several others, to a man from Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir, uncovering a fresh link in the probe.

Sources told CNN-News18 that the car, originally registered in Gurugram under the number HR26 and owned by Mohammad Salman, had changed hands multiple times before being sold to a resident of Shambhura village in Pulwama, identified as Tariq.

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Sources confirmed that Delhi Police teams have informed their counterparts in Jammu and Kashmir and that a team has now been dispatched to Srinagar to verify the Pulwama connection.

Salman, the first registered owner of the vehicle, told police that he sold the i20 to a buyer in Delhis Okhla area last year.

Investigators have since tracked the cars trail from Okhla to Pulwama, where it was allegedly purchased by Tariq. Police are now working to establish how the vehicle reached Delhi again before the explosion.

Today, at around 6:52 pm, a slow-moving vehicle stopped at a red light. An explosion occurred inside the vehicle, damaging several nearby cars," the Delhi Police said.

Preliminary forensic findings indicate that the blast originated from the rear of the car.

No crater or splinters were found at the site, and officials said the absence of shrapnel or pellet injuries among the victims suggests that the explosion may not have been caused by a high-intensity device.

The occupants reportedly suffered burn injuries rather than blast trauma.

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Sources said the bodies of the deceased did not show signs typical of a powerful explosive, such as charring or fragmentation. Several vehicles behind the i20 were also damaged by the impact.

The Gurugram Police have detained Mohammad Salman for questioning, while Delhi Police and central agencies continue to piece together the chain of ownership and probe possible terror links behind the Pulwama connection.

Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: November 10, 2025, 23:10 IST

News cities new-delhi-news Pulwama Man Bought Car That Exploded Near Red Fort, Police Trace Trail | Exclusive

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CCTV Footage Shows i20 Used In Blast Parked Near Red Fort Metro Hours Before Explosion: Report

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 11, 2025, 02:31 IST

Delhi Police says it accessed footage that shows the Hyundai i20 used in the blast was parked near Red Fort Metro Station at least three hours prior to the explosion.

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Officers from various security agencies investigate the spot after a blast occurred in a parked car near Red Fort, leaving multiple vehicles in flames, in New Delhi. (IMAGE: PTI)

Delhi Police on Tuesday said it accessed CCTV footage that places the Hyundai i20 used in the blast near Red Fort Metro Station in New Delhi parked near the metro station at least three hours prior to the blast.

CCTV footage shows that the i20 car involved in the Red Fort Metro Station blast had been parked for nearly three hours before the explosion, between 3:19 pm and 6:48 pm, news agency IANS said citing Delhi Police sources.

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Investigators are reviewing the footage to identify who parked and later retrieved the vehicle, track its movement to the traffic signal and question the parking attendant as part of the ongoing probe, the news agency further added.

Investigators had earlier told CNN-News18 that police are now working to establish how the vehicle reached Delhi again before the explosion.

Meanwhile, sources also told CNN-News18 that the Hyundai i20, originally registered in Gurugram under the number HR26 and owned by Mohammad Salman, had changed hands multiple times before being sold to a resident of Shambhura village in Pulwama, identified as Tariq.

Delhi Police teams have informed their counterparts in Jammu and Kashmir and a team has now been dispatched to Srinagar to verify the Pulwama connection.

Salman, the first registered owner of the vehicle, told police that he sold the i20 to a buyer in Delhis Okhla area last year.

Investigators have since tracked the cars trail from Okhla to Pulwama, where it was allegedly purchased by Tariq.

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The Gurugram Police have detained Mohammad Salman for questioning, while Delhi Police and central agencies continue to piece together the chain of ownership.

The Hyundai i20 that exploded near Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort Metro Station, killed at least eight people and injured several others.

About the Author Shankhyaneel Sarkar Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has ... Read More

First Published: November 11, 2025, 02:31 IST

News new-delhi-news CCTV Footage Shows i20 Used In Blast Parked Near Red Fort Metro Hours Before Explosion: Report

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Pune Man Kills Wife, Burns Body In Furnace: Gujarat To Bengaluru, A Look At Other Drishyam Murders

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 13:32 IST

Pune man kills wife, burns body in furnace, destroys furnace and follows up with police: A look at other Drishyam-style murders in the recent past

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Pune's Anjali was killed with Drishyam-style planning, say police. (News18 Marathi)

In a chilling reminder of Bollywood thriller Drishyam, Punes Sameer Jadhav strangled his wife, Anjali, 38, a teacher, built an iron furnace and burnt the body. He later destroyed the furnace and filed a complaint that his wife was missing.

Apart from following up with the police, he also sent text messages to another man to make it seem like she was having an affair. He confessed to being inspired" by the movie.

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In Drishyam, the protagonist, played by actor Ajay Devgn, kills the stalker who troubles his wife and daughter and buries his body beneath the floor of an under-construction police station. The skeletal remains are recovered later.

A look at other Drishyam-style murders in the recent past:

November 7: A woman in Ahmedabad allegedly killed her husband, Sameer Ansari aka Sameer Bihari, 35, chopped his body into pieces with the help of her lover and friends, and buried it beneath the kitchen floor of their house. Ansari, a resident of Fatewadi Canal in Sarkhej, had been missing for over a year. The Ahmedabad Crime Branch has exhumed skeletal remains from the house based on the confession of the lover, Imran. The woman, Ruby, and the friends, Sahil and Faizu, are absconding.

August 20, 2025: The Delhi Police said a 47-year-old man, a painter, murdered his wife over suspicions of an affair and buried her body in a Mehrauli cemetery with the help of his associates, in a chilling crime reminiscent of the plot of the Bollywood movie Drishyam.

July 7, 2025: A Hyderabad man has been arrested for killing his 60-year-old mother-in-law in a bid to claim Rs 60 lakh insurance money. The man, reportedly inspired by the crime thriller Drishyam, has been identified as Venkatesh. The incident took place in Peddamasanpalli village in Telanganas Siddipet district.

July 21, 2025: In a case of an extramarital affair turning deadly, a woman from Maharashtra allegedly killed her husband with the help of her lover. The accused, Komal Chavan, instead of disposing of the body of her husband, Vijay Chavan, 35, far from her location, buried it under the floor of a room of her chawl in Sai Welfare Society in Gadagpada, Nalasopara East, around 70 kilometres from Mumbai.

May 28, 2025: In Patan district of Gujarat, a 22-year-old woman and her lover allegedly killed a man and faked her own death by dressing the corpse in her clothes and burning it. Geeta Ahir, 22, and Bharat Ahir, 21, were arrested at Palanpur railway station after the half-burnt body of 56-year-old Harjibhai Solanki was discovered near a pond in Jakhotra village.

March 12, 2025: The Bengaluru Police arrested a 30-year-old man for allegedly killing a 50-year-old woman, D Mary, who went missing in November last year, in a plot allegedly inspired by the Kannada crime film, Drishya. The accused, identified as Lakshman, an electrician, meticulously planned and executed the crime for the victims gold jewellery worth Rs 4 lakh.

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March 1, 2025: In Gujarats Amreli, the skeleton of a woman, Daya Savaliya, 35, was found 13 months after she went missing. She was reported missing by her husband Vallabh on January 2, 2024. Police investigations at the time showed that the woman had an extra-marital affair with the prime suspect Hardik Sukhadia. He struck her head with a stone to kill her and dumped her body into a well to destroy evidence, police said.

October 2024: An Army jawan, Ajay Wankhede 33, was arrested by Nagpur Police for allegedly killing his girlfriend and covering her body with cement after burying her. The 32-year-old victims disappearance on August 28 marked the beginning of the probe. The case bears a resemblance to the movie Drishyam where the accused meticulously planned and executed the murder," a police official said. The prima facie motive behind the crime was the romantic relationship turning sour due to opposition by the accuseds family to their marriage, police said.

About the Author Manjiri Joshi At the news desk for 17 years, the story of her life has revolved around finding pun, facts while reporting, on radio, heading a daily newspaper desk, teaching mass media students to now editing speci... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 13:26 IST

News pune Pune Man Kills Wife, Burns Body In Furnace: Gujarat To Bengaluru, A Look At Other Drishyam Murders

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CM Yogi Makes 'Vande Mataram' Recitation Compulsory In All Educational Institutions

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 12:28 IST

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced that the recitation of 'Vande Mataram' will be made compulsory in all educational institutions across the state.

CM Yogi Adityanath announced that reciting 'Vande Mataram' will be mandatory in all educational institutions across the state. (Credits: ANI)

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday announced that reciting Vande Mataram will be made compulsory in all educational institutions across the state. The Chief Minister made this statement while addressing an Ekta Yatra (Unity March) event in Gorakhpur.

Yogi Adityanath said there is no point in opposing Vande Mataram and added that opposing it was one of the reasons behind Indias partition.

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He further said, We must include Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in our discussions. We will make the recitation of Vande Mataram mandatory in all educational institutions across Uttar Pradesh so that every citizen of the state develops a sense of respect and devotion towards Bharat Mata and the motherland."

Yogi Adityanaths announcement came amid a political row over the national song. The controversy began after Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed last week that important stanzas of the song were dropped in 1937.

The Congress has demanded an apology from the prime minister for his remarks made on Friday, in which he said that removing stanzas of Vande Mataram had sown the seeds of partition. PM Modi had also said that such a divisive mindset" continues to be a challenge for the country.

Responding to his comments, the Congress on Sunday alleged that the prime minister had insulted" the Congress Working Committee (CWC) of 1937, which had issued a statement on the national song, as well as Rabindranath Tagore.

In a post on X, Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said, The Congress Working Committee met in Kolkata, October 26-November 1, 1937. Those present included Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sarojini Naidu, J B Kripalani, Bhulabhai Desai, Jamnalal Bajaj, Narendra Deva, and others."

Ramesh added that the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi Volume 66, page 46, mentions a statement issued by the CWC on October 28, 1937, regarding Vande Mataram. He said the statement was profoundly influenced by Rabindranath Tagore and his advice.

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The prime minister has insulted this CWC as well as Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. That he should have done so is shocking but not surprising since the RSS had played no role in our freedom movement led by Mahatma Gandhi," Ramesh said.

The Congress reiterated its demand for an apology from PM Modi and said that he should focus on addressing peoples everyday issues instead of targeting historical figures. The prime minister had made his remarks while inaugurating the year-long commemoration of Vande Mataram to mark 150 years of the national song.

About the Author Education and Careers Desk A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses and information on college and school admissions, board and competitive exams, career options, topper interviews, job notifications, ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 12:12 IST

News education-career CM Yogi Makes 'Vande Mataram' Recitation Compulsory In All Educational Institutions

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Dharmendra Pradhan Proposes Collective Singing Of Vande Mataram Across DU Classrooms

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 19:53 IST

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan proposes collective singing of Vande Mataram in classrooms to foster national unity and prosperity.

The education minister expressed his inspiration in singing the national song collectively with Ramjas College students.

While visiting Delhi Universitys Ramjas College to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the national song,Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday advocated for the collective singing of Vande Mataram in every classroom at DU. He called it a powerful tradition that could evolve into a mass movement and noted that this practice would guide the development of a prosperous India.

May our young companions sing the full version of Vande Mataram and become carriers of its spirit at the University of Delhi. The university will play a major role in transforming the timeless spirit of Vande Mataram into a peoples movement and connecting it with future generations," Pradhan said.

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Let the collective singing of Vande Mataram in every classroom of the university be established as a powerful tradition; only then will it evolve into a mass movement. Back then, we sang Vande Mataram for freedom; today, Vande Mataram will serve as our guiding light in building a developed and prosperous India," he added.

ALSO READ | GK: Which Stanzas Of Vande Mataram Were Omitted In 1937 And Why?

The minister expressed his inspiration in singing the national song collectively with Ramjas College students, reported PTI.

After long struggles and sacrifices of countless nation-servers, we attained Independence in 1947; Vande Mataram was the proclamation of that national consciousness which wove the entire country into a single thread," he said.

Vande Mataram by Bankim Chandra Chatterji is believed to have been written on Akshaya Navami, November 7, 1875. It first appeared in the literary journal Bangadarshan as part of his novel Anandamath, serialised and later published as a standalone book in 1882.

Controversy Surrounding Vande Mataram

The controversy began after Prime Minister Narendra Modi claimed last week that important stanzas of the song were dropped in 1937. PM Modi stated that a part of its spirit and significance was separated," suggesting that this division sowed the seeds of Indias eventual partition."

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On Friday, the Congress has demanded an apology from the prime minister for his remarks. Responding to his comments, the Congress on Sunday alleged that the prime minister had insulted" the Congress Working Committee (CWC) of 1937, which had issued a statement on the national song.

In October 1937, the Indian National Congress decided to adopt only the first two stanzas of the song. These verses were officially recognised as Indias national song in 1950.

About the Author Education and Careers Desk A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses and information on college and school admissions, board and competitive exams, career options, topper interviews, job notifications, ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 19:42 IST

News education-career Dharmendra Pradhan Proposes Collective Singing Of Vande Mataram Across DU Classrooms

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GK: Which Stanzas Of Vande Mataram Were Omitted In 1937 And Why?

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 14:10 IST

Originally written in Sanskrit and Bengali, Vande Mataram ("I bow to thee, Mother") first appeared in Bankim Chandra Chatterjees 1882 novel Anandamath.

Bankim Chandra Chatterji composed the song on Akshaya Navami, which fell on November 7, 1875. (File Photo)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the year-long celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the national song Vande Mataram on Friday. Composed by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Vande Mataram became the voice of Indias freedom struggle, resonating with every Indian.

Chatterjee sang the song on Akshaya Navami, which was on November 7, 1875. Originally written in Sanskrit and Bengali, Vande Mataram (I bow to thee, Mother") first appeared in Chatterjees 1882 novel Anandamath. With six verses, the song became a rallying cry at many political gatherings and protests during the freedom movement.

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However, in 1937, crucial stanzas were omitted, diminishing the songs essence.

Only the First Two Stanzas Included

In October 1937, the Indian National Congress decided to adopt only the first two stanzas of the song. These verses were officially recognised as Indias national song in 1950. The remaining verses, depicting the nation as the Hindu goddesses Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati, were excluded to maintain the songs secular appeal and inclusivity.

Many Muslims believed that reciting these verses made them associate their country with Hindu goddesses, which conflicted with the Islamic concept of tawheed (the oneness of God), prohibiting supplication to anyone other than God.

In a letter dated September 1, 1937, Nehru stated that linking the words in Vande Mataram to a goddess was absurd. He also believed that Vande Mataram was unsuitable as a national song.

Netaji Subash Bose strongly supported the full original version of Vande Mataram. On October 20, 1937, Nehru wrote to Netaji Bose, pointing out that the background of Vande Mataram was likely to offend Muslims.

What Modi Said?

PM Modi stated that a part of its spirit and significance was separated," suggesting that this division sowed the seeds of Indias eventual partition." He called on the younger generation to understand the historical context, cautioning that the same divisive mindset remains a challenge for the nation even today."

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His comments came in the midst of renewed political disputes between the BJP and the Congress over the legacy of the national song. BJP spokesperson C.R. Kesavan accused the Congress of communalising" Vande Mataram in 1937 under Jawaharlal Nehrus presidency, claiming that Nehru worried the song might irritate Muslims".

Congress committed the historic blunder of linking the song with religion. Under Nehru, stanzas invoking Goddess Durga were deliberately removed," CR Kesavan said.

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 13:58 IST

News education-career GK: Which Stanzas Of Vande Mataram Were Omitted In 1937 And Why?

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Heavy Security At Panjab University As Students Continue Protest, Demand Senate Polls

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 13:04 IST

Security was tightened at Panjab University as students staged a major protest demanding immediate senate elections.

Heavy police presence at Panjab University as students protest demanding senate elections.

Security was tightened across Panjab University (PU) as student groups held a large protest demanding that senate elections be conducted immediately. The demonstration came after strong opposition to the Education Ministrys notification on restructuring the universitys senate, which was issued on October 28 and later withdrawn last week.

Holiday Declared, Students Unfazed

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As tensions rose on campus, the university declared a holiday on November 10 and 11 and restricted vehicle entry without official stickers and ID cards to prevent outsiders from joining the protest.

However, student organisations continued their agitation under the banner of Panjab University Bachao Morcha. They said the protest would go on until senate elections were officially announced.

PU Vice-Chancellor Renu Vig and Registrar YP Verma appealed for calm, saying that the election process had already started and the detailed schedule had been sent to the Chancellor, who is also the Vice-President of India.

Why Has The Dissolution Of The Senate Sparked A Massive Row?

The Centres October 28 notification to restructure Panjab Universitys Senate and Syndicate has faced strong opposition from students, teachers, and political parties. Many said the move undermines" Punjabs historical rights over the university. Protests were organised across the campus demanding that the order be rolled back.

When Did The Centre Dissolve These Two Bodies? What Changed?

On October 28, the Centre amended the Panjab University Act, 1947, reducing the Senate to 31 members and ending elections to the Syndicate. The graduate constituency was also removed. This change replaced the universitys long-standing system of democratic elections with a nominated setup. According to critics, this gave more power to the Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor.

ALSO READ: CM Yogi Makes Vande Mataram Recitation Compulsory In All Educational Institutions

How Has Punjab Reacted?

The decision led to widespread political and public backlash in Punjab. Faculty members, students, alumni, and political leaders said the change weakened the universitys autonomy and federal character.

Amid growing pressure, including Chief Minister Bhagwant Manns decision to challenge the move in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Centre first withdrew the notification on November 5 and later placed it on hold."

The first notification issued by the Education Ministry said, In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1), read with sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 72 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, the Central Government hereby rescinds the notification dated October 28, 2025."

Shortly after, another order clarified that the Panjab University Act, 1947 (East Punjab Act 7 of 1947) would remain in effect until a new date is appointed by the Central Government.

At present, both the Senate and the Syndicate continue to function under the existing framework of the 1947 Act.

What Is The Role Of The Senate And Syndicate?

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The Senate is the top decision-making body of the university. It frames key policies, elects the Syndicate, Finance Committee, and faculty committees, and discusses all major issues related to the university.

The Syndicate, on the other hand, is responsible for implementing these policies and managing the universitys daily administrative work with the Senates approval.

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First Published: November 10, 2025, 13:04 IST

News education-career Heavy Security At Panjab University As Students Continue Protest, Demand Senate Polls

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Is Remote Work Still Paying Off Or Just Taking A Toll We Dont Talk About?

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 11:27 IST

The remote revolution began as a story of liberation, a rebellion against rigid office walls. But freedom without boundaries can easily become another form of captivity.

Fully remote workers report higher levels of anger, sadness, and loneliness. (Image: Getty)

Remote work was once the poster child of modern freedom, the dream of working in yoga pants instead of power suits, with coffee breaks in sunlit kitchens and the promise of better balance. But new findings from Gallups May 2025 workplace report suggest that behind this comfort lies a quieter crisis, one thats eroding emotional well-being more than we realise.

Whats missing is not the work; it is the shared humanity. The quick chats by the desk, the knowing nods in meetings, the laughter echoing down office halls, all replaced by muted mics and pixelated smiles. That human heartbeat of work is fading, and its quietly taking a toll.

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The Toll of Working Alone

According to Gallup, only 36 per cent of fully remote workers say they are thriving" in their lives overall. By contrast, 42 per cent of hybrid and on-site remote-capable employees report the same. The only group doing worse are those in fully on-site, non-remote-capable jobs (30 per cent).

One of the most striking findings of the survey is that the fully remote workers report higher levels of anger, sadness, and loneliness, with 45 per cent saying they felt significant stress the previous day, surpassing both their hybrid and on-site counterparts.

These findings suggest that being a fully remote worker is often more mentally and emotionally taxing than working on-site or in a hybrid arrangement," Gallup noted.

The Hidden Emotional Costs of Freedom

The freedom to work from anywhere comes with a steep emotional price. The same screens that connect teams across cities and time zones have also become walls that act as a silent barrier separating people from warmth and spontaneity.

Gallups report also found that income levels had little influence on well-being, proving that the toll of remote work is not purely economic; it is deeply emotional. The issue is not where we work, but how disconnected weve become from genuine human engagement.

How You Can Maintain Balance

The report indicates that remote work may have rewritten the rules of flexibility, but it has also blurred the lines between professional success and personal survival. As remote work continues to be part of modern workplaces, achieving work-life balance will require a deliberate rethinking of how we work. Heres how you can try to bring that balance-

Redefine your boundaries, and defend them fiercely: When home becomes the office, comfort zones turn into productivity traps. Define where and when you work and communicate those limits clearly. Boundaries arent barriers; theyre acts of self-preservation.

Prioritise your offline hours" like meetings: In an always-on world, disconnection takes effort. Block out no screen" hours, take walks, cook without your phone nearby treat downtime as a meeting with yourself.

Replace virtual noise with real connection: Gallups data shows remote workers feel lonelier than their hybrid peers. This serves as a reminder that digital communication cant replace genuine warmth. Make time for in-person moments: coffee with a friend, a local class, or just stepping outdoors.

Rebuild your morning and evening rituals: Without commutes, the brain loses signals that mark beginnings and endings. Create your own transitions  dress for work, light a candle when you sign off, take a walk to reset. Rituals like these will help you restore rhythm.

Communicate with empathy, not just efficiency: Remote conversations often turn transactional. Ask how colleagues are really doing. Emotional safety is the foundation of a sustainable work culture.

Revisit what success means to you: The most productive workers arent always the happiest. Redefine success in terms of satisfaction, not just output.

How Leaders Can Help Restore Balance

The responsibility to restore balance and improve the remote work culture doesnt lie solely with employees. Employers, too, must build systems that intentionally promote it.

Remote work cannot be a set it and forget it" model. Leaders must create intentional systems for connection, like structured hybrid days, mental health check-ins, or small gestures of recognition.

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Organisations that want to support the work-life balance goals of employees cant assume workers are achieving balance on their own," Gallup emphasised.

The report does not reject the idea of remote work but serves as a reminder that the human heart still craves connection, rhythm, and rest. The challenge now is not to abandon remote life but to humanise it, to find joy not just in working from anywhere, but in living fully, wherever we are.

About the Author Surbhi Pathak Surbhi Pathak, subeditor, writes on India, world affairs, science, and education. She is currently dabbling with lifestyle content. Follow her on X: @S_Pathak_11.

First Published: November 10, 2025, 11:08 IST

News education-career Is Remote Work Still Paying Off Or Just Taking A Toll We Dont Talk About?

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TNUSRB SI Recruitment 2025: Correction Window Closes Today At tnusrb.tn.gov.in, Check Steps To Edit Form

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 09:52 IST

TNUSRB SI Recruitment 2025: Candidates who have submitted their applications can make necessary edits at tnusrb.tn.gov.in before the deadline.

TNUSRB SI Recruitment 2025 correction window closes today.

The Tamil Nadu Uniformed Services Recruitment Board (TNUSRB) will close the correction window for the TNUSRB SI Recruitment 2025 today, November 10, 2025. Candidates who wish to make corrections in their application form can do so by visiting the official website of TNUSRB at tnusrb.tn.gov.in.

According to the official notice, only those candidates who have paid the fee and successfully submitted their online application can make changes. All details in the form can be edited except the candidates name, fathers name, date of birth, email ID, and mobile number.

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TNUSRB SI Recruitment 2025: Steps To Edit Application Form

Candidates can follow these simple steps to make corrections:

Step 1: Go to the official website tnusrb.tn.gov.in.

Step 2: Click on the TNUSRB SI Recruitment 2025 Correction Window" link on the homepage.

Step 3: A login page will appear. Enter your credentials.

Step 4: After logging in, your application form will be displayed on the screen.

Step 5: Make the required corrections and click on submit.

Step 6: Download the confirmation page once the changes are saved.

Step 7: Keep a printed copy for future reference.

ALSO READ: IBPS Clerk Result 2025: How To Check And Download Prelims Result?

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The selection process includes a Tamil Language Eligibility Test for 100 marks, followed by the main written examination, physical efficiency test, and viva-voce.

Through this recruitment drive, TNUSRB aims to fill 1,299 Sub-Inspector (SI) of Police posts. The registration process began on April 7 and ended on May 3, 2025. Candidates are advised to visit the official TNUSRB website for more details and updates.

About the Author Education and Careers Desk A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses and information on college and school admissions, board and competitive exams, career options, topper interviews, job notifications, ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 09:50 IST

News education-career TNUSRB SI Recruitment 2025: Correction Window Closes Today At tnusrb.tn.gov.in, Check Steps To Edit Form

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WBP Constable Written Exam Admit Card 2025 Released, Direct Link To Download

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 17:53 IST

The WBP Constable written examination will be held on November 30, 2025, at various centres across West Bengal to fill 11,749 constable vacancies under WBPRB.

WBP Constable Written Exam admit cards at wbpolice.gov.in.

The West Bengal Police Recruitment Board (WBPRB) has issued admit cards for the WBP Constable Written Examination. Registered candidates can download their admit cards from the official website, wbpolice.gov.in, using their login credentials including their application number and date of birth.

According to the official schedule, the WBP Constable written examination will be conducted on November 30, 2025, at various centres across West Bengal to fill 11,749 constable vacancies under WBPRB. Candidates who pass the written test will undergo a physical measurement and physical efficiency test.

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Candidates must bring a printed copy of the WBP constable admit card 2025 along with valid ID proof to the exam hall for entry. The hall tickets will contain the candidates name, roll or application number, date of birth, exam subjects to appear for, exam venue, exam date and time, and other guidelines required to followed on the day of the test.

WBP Constable Written Exam Admit Card 2025: How To Download

Step 1: Go to the official website of WBPRB at wbpolice.gov.in.

Step 2: On the homepage, look for and click on the Recruitment section.

Step 3: Then click on the admit card link for WBP written exam on the page.

Step 4: As a new page opens, enter the required details.

Step 5: Download and take a print out of the admit card for further use.

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WBP Constable Written Exam Admit Card 2025 Out: Direct Link To Download

The recruitment process for Constables involves several stages. Firstly, candidates must take a Preliminary Written Test, which serves as a screening exam. Those who pass will advance to the next stages, including the Physical Measurement Test (PMT), Physical Efficiency Test (PET), Final Written Examination, and Interview Round. Those who qualify in the interview will be called for document verification and a medical examination. The West Bengal Police Recruitment Board conducts these assessments to select qualified candidates for the position.

About the Author Education and Careers Desk A team of reporters, writers and editors brings you news, analyses and information on college and school admissions, board and competitive exams, career options, topper interviews, job notifications, ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 17:48 IST

News education-career WBP Constable Written Exam Admit Card 2025 Released, Direct Link To Download

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Bihar Assembly Election 2025: Why This Poll Contest Matters Far Beyond Patna

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 07:00 IST

In Bihar, parties flip sides faster than you can count, yet Nitish Kumar has stayed the Chief Minister for most of the last 20 years

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Bihar is the laboratory of Indias most complex caste politics. (File image)

We are in the middle of one of Indias most intense state elections  Bihar 2025. The first phase of voting saw a record 65% turnout, the highest in the states history. The final phase takes place on Tuesday, with results due on November 14. Many outside the state wonder: Why does an election in Bihar dominate the national conversation?

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Because Bihar is the laboratory of Indias most complex caste politics. Its voters are politically alert, outspoken, and unpredictable. The alphabet soup of political parties  JDU, RJD, BJP, LJP, HAM, VIP, Left, AIMIM, JSP, RLM, JAP  makes every election a masterclass in coalition building.

And in Bihar, its never a single-party win. The winner is always the right alliance  one that gets its caste math right. In Bihar, parties flip sides faster than you can count, yet Nitish Kumar has stayed the Chief Minister for most of the last 20 years.

Vote Share Tells the Real Story

Party Vote Share 2020 Vote Share 2015 BJP 19.46% 24.42% RJD 23.11% 18.35% JDU 15.39% 16.83% Congress 9.48% 6.66%

No party in Bihar crosses 25% of votes  a rarity in Indian politics. And the surprise twist?

2015: The BJP was the largest by votes, but lost to the RJD-JDU alliance.

In 2020: The RJD was the largest by votes, but lost to the BJP-JDU combine.

So the thumb rule is: In Bihar, its not the biggest party that wins  its the best alliance. The 2025 Bihar elections mean new teams and new math. The alliances are now cleanly divided:

NDA: BJP, JDU, LJP (Chirag Paswan), HAM, RLM

Mahagathbandhan: RJD, Congress, Left, VIP

Lets look at their past performance in strike rate  the seats won versus contested:

Party Seats Contested (2020) Seats Won Strike Rate BJP 110 74 67% RJD 144 75 52% JDU 115 43 37% Congress 70 19 27%

Despite the BJPs stellar strike rate, Nitish Kumar became the CM. Analysts say Chirag Paswans rebel run in 2020 dented the JDUs tally, while the Congress pulled the RJD down on the other side.

Seat-Sharing 2025: Key Changes

Party Seats 2025 Change vs 2020 BJP 101 -9 RJD 143 -1 JDU 101 -14 Congress 61 -9

For the first time ever, the BJP and JDU are contesting equal seats (101 each)  a symbolic shift. The LJP (Ram Vilas Paswan faction) has secured 29 seats after its 5/5 sweep in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Nitishs performance is the most critical variable in the NDAs equation. The BJP has declared him the CM face once again.

On the MGB side, the RJD remains dominant, while the Congress has been forced to contest fewer seats due to its 2020 debacle. Tejashwi Yadav is the undisputed CM candidate, while Mukesh Sahanis VIP has been promised the Deputy CM slot.

Here are the 5 things working for NDA in Bihar 2025:

Rs 10,000 Scheme for 1.3 Crore Women  Nitishs welfare push has outflanked Tejashwis promise of 2,500 monthly support. Women have already invested in livestock and sewing machines. Old-Age Pension Hike  Raised from 400 to 1,100 for 1.2 crore senior citizens. Free 125 Units of Power  Universal domestic electricity sop, widely credited to Nitish. Nitish Kumars Image  Despite age and fatigue, hes viewed as dependable and steady. PM Modis Jungle Raj" Campaign  The NDAs key emotional appeal, reminding voters of the RJD era of crime and extortion.

And the 5 Factors Fueling Mahagathbandhans Campaign:

Tejashwi Yadavs Youth Connect  A fresh face appealing to first-time voters. Promise of a Job in Every Family  Ambitious, yet resonant in a state battling unemployment. 30,000 Cash Pledge for Women  A counter-punch to Nitishs women scheme. Anti-Incumbency Against Nitish Kumar  Two decades in power is weighing down the NDA. Clear Projection of Tejashwi as CM Face  A decisive move that gives MGB coherence and direction.

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But who has the edge? The NDA banks on women, welfare, and Modis campaign energy. The Mahagathbandhan rides on youth anger, unemployment, and the hunger for change.

Whichever side wins, Bihar will once again prove why its called Indias political mirror  complex, unpredictable, and deeply rooted in social arithmetic.

About the Author Aman Sharma Aman Sharma, News Director For CNN News18 and News18 English, has over two decades of experience in covering the wide spectrum of politics and the Prime Ministers Office. He has written widely on pol... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 07:00 IST

News elections Bihar Assembly Election 2025: Why This Poll Contest Matters Far Beyond Patna

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Exit Polls vs Opinion Polls vs Poll Of Polls: What's The Difference | Explained

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 19:48 IST

Exit polls predict election outcomes after voting ends, showing how they differ from opinion polls and how the combined 'poll of polls' offers a broader picture

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Despite their popularity, exit polls have faced criticism worldwide for being unscientific and based on limited data. (Representational pic/PTI)

As Bihar concludes its second phase of voting on November 11, television channels and digital platforms will soon be ready to present their exit poll projections. Despite years of debate over their credibility, exit polls continue to draw immense public attention, as voters eagerly await early indications of the final outcome.

According to the Election Commission (EC), counting of votes will take place on November 14, with the results for all assembly constituencies expected by evening. However, before the EC officially allows it, no television channel, news portal, or YouTube channel can broadcast exit poll figures. Under Section 126A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, exit polls cannot be shown before the final phase of voting concludes. This restriction ensures that no prediction influences voter behaviour during the polling process.

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Once the last vote is cast and the EC gives its clearance, media outlets release exit poll data collected through extensive surveys. These polls attempt to gauge the mood of the electorate by asking voters, immediately after they exit polling booths, about their voting choices. The findings are then used to predict which parties or alliances are likely to perform well in different regions.

Yet, the reliability of exit polls has always been in doubt. Several times in electoral history, exit poll predictions have proved completely off the mark. The mismatch between projections and actual results has often highlighted the limitations of these surveys including sample size, voter secrecy, and local factors that influence outcomes.

Exit Polls vs Opinion Polls

While both aim to assess voter preferences, exit polls and opinion polls differ significantly. Opinion polls are conducted before the election, often weeks or months ahead, to gauge public sentiment and predict possible voting patterns. Exit polls, on the other hand, are conducted on the day of polling, after voters have cast their ballots.

Opinion polls use scientific sampling methods, such as random sampling, to ensure balanced representation. Large research agencies like Lokniti-CSDS employ seat-level, booth-level, and voter-level sampling to gather data. For instance, if a polling booth has 1,000 registered voters and a surveyor wants to interview 50, every 20th voter (chosen through a randomised process) might be approached. This method ensures that responses represent a cross-section of the electorate rather than a specific group.

Opinion polls are further divided into three categories including pre-poll, exit poll, and post-poll surveys. Pre-poll surveys are carried out after elections are announced but before voting begins. Post-poll studies, often confused with exit polls, are conducted after polling ends but focus on analysing why voters voted a certain way, not who they voted for.

History Of Exit Polls

The concept of exit polls dates back to 1967 when Dutch sociologist Marcel van den began using them to analyse voting trends. Around the same time, the first exit poll in the United States was conducted during a state election. However, similar prediction-based exercises were seen even earlier, in the 1940s.

Despite their popularity, exit polls have faced criticism worldwide for being unscientific and based on limited data. Many countries have even imposed restrictions or bans on them, arguing that they can mislead the public. In India, the Election Commission temporarily banned exit polls during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, citing concerns about their impact on voter psychology.

The Poll Of Polls

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To counter the inconsistencies of individual surveys, news outlets often create what is known as a poll of polls, an average of multiple survey results. This combined analysis offers a broader, more balanced estimate of how parties might fare. While still only an approximation, the poll of polls is seen as a more reliable indicator of electoral trends than any single survey.

However, even this method cannot predict the final results with certainty. The real outcome often defies expectations, reflecting the unpredictable nature of democracy.

First Published: November 10, 2025, 19:48 IST

News elections Exit Polls vs Opinion Polls vs Poll Of Polls: What's The Difference | Explained

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West Bengal Congress, TMC MP, DMK Challenge Pan-India SIR; SC To Begin Hearing Pleas Tomorrow

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 23:57 IST

The pleas challenging the EC decision to conduct SIR include those by the DMK, West Bengal Congress, Trinamool Congress MP Dola Sen, and leaders of other political parties

The SC agreed to hear pleas challenging the EC's decision to conduct pan-India SIR of electoral rolls on November 11, 2025. (Image: News18/File)

The Supreme Court will be hearing pleas challenging the pan-India special intensive revision of electoral rolls on Tuesday (November 11).

These pleas include those by the DMK, West Bengal Congress, Trinamool Congress MP Dola Sen, and leaders of other political parties.

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A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said any fresh matter needs to be mentioned for listing before Chief Justice of India BR Gavai.

We are only seized of Bihar SIR matters and any fresh petition with regard to other states needs to be mentioned for listing before the Chief Justice of India. We dont know whether other matters will also be allocated to us. It all depends on the CJI," the bench told the counsel appearing for the West Bengal unit of the Congress seeking urgent listing of its plea.

The West Bengal Congress and leaders of other political parties in the state have moved the SC challenging voter list revision. Sources said Trinamool Congress MP Dola Sen has also challenged the decision to conduct the exercise in Bihar.

The apex court is also scheduled to hear a plea of the DMK challenging the decision of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct the exercise in Tamil Nadu. The CPI-M has also challenged the constitutional validity of the directive, terming the process arbitrary, illegal, and unconstitutional".

The AIADMK, meanwhile, has filed an application supporting the ECs decision to conduct the exercise in Tamil Nadu, calling it legitimate and necessary" so as to uphold the sanctity of elections and prevent voter fraud.

On November 7, the top court agreed to hear pleas challenging the ECs decision to conduct pan-India SIR of electoral rolls on November 11. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), had sought urgent hearing in the matter, saying the issue goes to the root of democracy.

The SC is already hearing pleas challenging the validity of the poll panels decision to conduct the SIR exercise in Bihar. On October 16, the EC termed the Bihar SIR accurate" and told the court that the petitioner political parties and NGOs are merely content with making false allegations" to discredit the exercise.

It said not a single appeal has been filed by any voter against name deletion since the publication of the final electoral roll for Bihar. It denied the allegation of the petitioners that there was a disproportionate exclusion of Muslims" from the final electoral roll of the state prepared after the months-long SIR exercise.

On October 27, the Election Commission announced the second phase of the SIR exercise in 12 states and Union territories between November and February next year. The states and UTs are: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Among these, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal will go to the polls in 2026. The poll panel said for Assam, where polls are also due next year, the revision of electoral rolls will be announced separately.

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Phase II began on November 4 and will continue till December 4. The EC will release the draft electoral rolls on December 9, and the final electoral rolls will be published on February 7.

(With PTI inputs)

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 23:41 IST

News elections West Bengal Congress, TMC MP, DMK Challenge Pan-India SIR; SC To Begin Hearing Pleas Tomorrow

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350 Kg Of Ammonium Nitrate Found In Faridabad: What Is This Chemical And Why Is It Dangerous?

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 14:23 IST

Ammonium nitrate's biggest use is as a source of nitrogen for fertiliser, but it is also used to create explosives for mining

Ammonium nitrate is a white, odourless crystalline substance with the chemical formula NHNO.

A large seizure near Delhi has renewed questions about one of the worlds most tightly monitored chemicals  ammonium nitrate. About 350 kilograms of the substance were recovered from Faridabad on Sunday night, alongside an assault rifle, ammunition and explosive timers.

The seizure came during a wider investigation that began in Srinagar, after posters warning shopkeepers against dealing with central agencies appeared in the Nowgam area. CCTV footage led police to Saharanpur, where a Kashmiri-origin doctor, Dr Adeel, was traced and arrested. His questioning pointed investigators to Faridabad, where another doctor, Dr Muzzamil, was allegedly storing explosive material. Searches at that site uncovered the cache, including ammonium nitrate and other components used to assemble improvised explosive devices.

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What Is Ammonium Nitrate?

Ammonium nitrate is a white, odourless crystalline substance with the chemical formula NHNO. It is produced by reacting ammonia with nitric acid, forming a salt rich in nitrogen. Because it is a salt, it is water-soluble and often used in irrigation systems.

It is manufactured in large quantities worldwide and is relatively cheap to buy. The compound also has a second life outside agriculture: its oxygen-rich composition makes it valuable for creating controlled explosions in mining and quarrying.

In short, it is a chemical with legitimate industrial uses but a high potential for harm if mismanaged.

Is Ammonium Nitrate Dangerous?

In its pure form, ammonium nitrate is chemically and thermally stable and difficult to ignite. It generally requires an external detonation to explode. The danger comes from its behaviour as an oxidiser  it supplies oxygen that allows other materials to burn more intensely.

Stored safely, it poses little risk. But contamination, high heat or poor ventilation can make it unstable. The larger the quantity, the greater the risk.

Over time, the substance also tends to absorb moisture from the air, causing it to harden into a solid mass. This makes any fire that reaches it more intense and much harder to control.

How And When Does Ammonium Nitrate Explode?

Ammonium nitrate can detonate in two main ways. The first occurs when it is exposed to fire or when a blaze reaches contaminated material. The second happens when it is deliberately mixed with a fuel or another explosive substance.

When combined with fuel oil, it forms ANFO  ammonium nitrate fuel oil  a powerful but inexpensive industrial explosive used in mining and construction. In regulated conditions, ANFO is safe to use. Outside those conditions, the same mix can become a cheap and deadly bomb.

Ammonium nitrate can also react with other volatile substances, even something as common as sugar, if heat and confinement are present. Once detonation begins, the compounds oxidising nature sustains the reaction, producing an enormous release of energy and heat.

The most devastating modern example was the 2020 Beirut blast. Around 3,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate had been stored in a port warehouse for more than six years before a fire ignited it. Over 200 people were killed and more than 6,000 were injured.

What Happens When Ammonium Nitrate Detonates?

When ammonium nitrate explodes, it releases gases such as nitrogen oxides and ammonia. The expanding gases generate a shock wave powerful enough to destroy buildings.

Worlds Worst Accidents Involving Ammonium Nitrate

For nearly a century, ammonium nitrate has been at the centre of some of the worlds most catastrophic industrial disasters.

In 1921, an explosion at the Oppau fertiliser plant in Germany killed 565 people. In 1947, a ship carrying about 2,300 tonnes caught fire in the US port of Texas City, setting off a blast that killed at least 567 and injured more than 5,000. The force of the explosion even triggered a tidal wave.

In 2001, an ammonium nitrate depot exploded in Toulouse, France, killing 31 and injuring 2,500. Twelve years later, a fertiliser plant explosion in Texas killed 14 and injured about 200. In 2015, a warehouse storing ammonium nitrate and other chemicals in Tianjin, China, exploded, killing at least 116.

The 2020 Beirut disaster was the latest in a long list of tragedies showing what can happen when the compound is mishandled.

How Has Ammonium Nitrate Been Used In Bombings?

Beyond industrial accidents, ammonium nitrate has repeatedly appeared in terrorist attacks. It was used in bombings by the Irish Republican Army in London in the 1990s. In 1995, Timothy McVeigh used two tonnes of it to blow up a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. It was also used in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, which left more than 200 people dead.

Many improvised explosive devices used against US troops in Afghanistan contained the same chemical.

How Does India Regulate The Use And Storage Of Ammonium Nitrate?

India regulates ammonium nitrate under the Explosives Act of 1884, with specific rules introduced in 2012. Any mixture containing more than 45 per cent ammonium nitrate by weight, including emulsions, suspensions, melts or gels, is classified as an explosive.

Manufacture, storage, transport and sale require licences, and storage in populated areas is restricted. The rules also control import and export to prevent misuse. These regulations were designed to ensure that the compound remains confined to authorised agricultural and industrial uses, handled only by licensed operators.

Why Is The Faridabad Seizure A Serious Security Concern?

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Ammonium nitrate is not illegal, nor does it explode on its own. But its recovery alongside explosive timers and weapons raises obvious concerns. Even without direct contamination, 350 kilograms is a substantial amount capable of being turned into an explosive mixture.

The location adds to the worry. Faridabad is part of the National Capital Region, and any mishandling or misuse of the chemical could have had serious consequences.

About the Author Karishma Jain Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follo... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 13:55 IST

News explainers 350 Kg Of Ammonium Nitrate Found In Faridabad: What Is This Chemical And Why Is It Dangerous?

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Erdogans Warning To Netanyahu: Understanding The Collapse Of Turkey-Israel Ties And Indias Stakes

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 12:28 IST

Issuing arrest warrant is symbolic. It reinforces Erdogans claim of moral leadership in the Muslim world, projecting Turkey as a state, willing to fight Israel when others won't

The first cracks in Israel-Turkey ties emerged after Erdogans AKP came to power in 2002. The Gaza conflict has now effectively ended any possibility of reconciliation between the two nations. (Getty Images)

With Turkey issuing an arrest warrant against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 37 other officials over alleged genocide and crimes against humanity in Gaza, there is a growing clamour that the current Tayyip Erdogan-led government is in no mood to normalise relations with Israel.

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Though both Turkey and Israel have often been described as reluctant partners", the latest escalation is unprecedented. The Middle Eastern states are bound by overlapping strategic interests but divided by political impulses, identity debates, and competing regional visions. Their relationship has swung between cooperation, crisis, and cautious resets for nearly three decades.

As regional tensions sharpen, new alliances take shape, and major powers reposition, the breakdown between Ankara and Tel Aviv raises deeper questions. What explains Erdogans fierce stance? What does this mean for Israels broader regional acceptance? And should India, which has good relations with both countries, be concerned?

Let us understand the decline of Turkey-Israel relations, the political and ideological stakes for both sides, the history that shaped this rivalry, and what the future geopolitical landscape could look like.

Why Has Erdogan Issued an Arrest Warrant Against Netanyahu?

President Erdogans call for an arrest warrant against Netanyahu must be understood in the context of Turkeys political identity and its foreign-policy posture. Erdogan has positioned himself as a global defender of Muslim causes, particularly Palestine. For more than a decade, he has accused Israel of violating international law, targeting civilians, and seeking permanent control over Gaza and the West Bank.

Issuing an arrest warrant is symbolic, but politically potent. It reinforces Erdogans claim of moral leadership in the Muslim world, projecting Turkey as the state willing to confront Israel when others will not. It also plays strongly with Erdogans domestic base, which has a deep emotional attachment to the Palestinian issue.

The move reflects not only outrage at Israels actions in Gaza but also Erdogans long-standing rivalry with Netanyahu. Both leaders have used each other as political foils for years. Each sees the other as an ideological adversary with opposite visions for the Middle East: Erdogan pursuing Islamist-inflected diplomacy and soft power, Netanyahu asserting a security-driven, nationalist approach.

The arrest warrant demand marks the culmination of years of verbal conflict, diplomatic downgrades, and mutual suspicion. Yet it also raises a bigger question: how did two countries that once enjoyed extensive military, intelligence, and economic cooperation fall this far?

How Did Turkey-Israel Relations Enter A Steep Decline?

Turkey and Israel were once close allies  a partnership many now forget. In the 1990s and early 2000s, they shared military exercises, intelligence coordination, and deep defence ties. Turkish pilots trained in Israel; Israeli drones and radar systems became crucial to Turkeys military modernisation.

The rupture began gradually and accelerated dramatically. The first cracks emerged after Erdogans AKP government came to power in 2002. Erdogans worldview differed sharply from Turkeys secular elite, which had driven earlier cooperation with Israel. Erdogan embraced a more assertive Islamic identity in foreign policy, often speaking out against Israeli actions in Gaza and Lebanon.

The breaking point came in 2010 with the Mavi Marmara incident, when Israeli commandos boarded a Turkish flotilla attempting to break the Gaza blockade. The clash resulted in multiple Turkish deaths and unleashed a wave of public anger. Ankara expelled the Israeli ambassador, froze defence cooperation, and demanded an apology.

While relations eventually saw partial resets, including restored ambassadors in 2016 and 2022, the fundamental distrust remained. Each flare-up in Gaza reignited tensions. And every attempt at rebuilding ties was fragile, overshadowed by competing ambitions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Syria, Libya, and the Gulf.

The most recent Gaza conflict has effectively ended any lingering possibility of partnership. Erdogan now treats Netanyahu not as a difficult neighbour but as a global adversary whose policies he intends to challenge both diplomatically and legally.

The History Of Turkey-Israel Ties: When Was The Golden Period?

The golden period" of Turkey-Israel relations dates roughly from 1996 to 2002, when both countries viewed each other as strategic necessities.

Turkey needed Israeli intelligence and military technology at a time when it faced Kurdish militancy, regional isolation, and internal instability. Israel saw Turkey as a rare, reliable Muslim-majority partner that could anchor its presence in a volatile region.

During this period, trade between both countries soared, defence deals multiplied, intelligence agencies cooperated closely, joint military exercises became routine and diplomatic engagement was warm and frequent.

This partnership was rooted in shared geopolitical concerns: containing Syria, countering Iran, and balancing Arab nationalism.

But the golden age depended heavily on Turkeys secular Kemalist establishment, which was based on six principles  republicanism, nationalism, populism, statism, secularism, and revolutionism. Once Erdogan rose to power with a new ideological framework, that foundation eroded. Turkeys foreign policy shifted from secular realpolitik towards identity-driven regional leadership, especially on Muslim issues. That trajectory inevitably placed it at odds with Israel.

The Strategic Fault Lines: Why the Two Countries Keep Clashing

Turkey and Israels conflict today is shaped not only by Gaza but also by deeper strategic divides that have grown over time.

Competing Regional Leadership Visions: Turkey under Erdogan wants to position itself as a leader in the Muslim world. Israel wants recognition as a legitimate regional power. These ambitions clash over Palestine and broader Middle Eastern politics.

Divergent Ideologies: Erdogans political ideology draws from conservative Islamist roots, while Netanyahus government leans heavily nationalism. Each sees the other as part of a global ideological struggle.

Conflicting Alliances: Israel is strengthening ties with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Greece  countries that often have strained ties with Turkey. Turkey supports Qatar and has backed Islamist movements in the past, which many Arab states and Israel view with suspicion.

Rivalry In The Eastern Mediterranean: Turkey and Israel compete for energy influence in the region. Israels gas partnerships with Greece and Cyprus directly challenge Turkeys maritime claims.

Syria & Iran: Israel frequently targets Iranian-linked groups in Syria. Turkey has its own military operations there. Their objectives do not always align.

Public Opinion As A Driver: Both leaders rely heavily on nationalist rhetoric. Anti-Israel sentiment plays well in Turkish politics. Anti-Erdogan sentiment resonates in Israel. This creates incentives for confrontation. These fault lines ensure that even when diplomacy resumes, the partnership remains fragile.

Does Turkey-Israel Tension Affect India?

India maintains strong relations with both Turkey and Israel, but in very different ways.

Israel is one of Indias most important defence partners, supplying drones, missiles, radars, and cybersecurity technology. The two countries cooperate closely on intelligence, agriculture, water management and cutting-edge research.

While Indias relationship with Turkey has been less stable, Ankaras repeated support for Pakistan on Kashmir has strained ties. Turkish military cooperation with Islamabad and public statements against Indias domestic policies have also created friction.

Given this backdrop, the TurkeyIsrael conflict does not directly threaten Indias strategic interests. But there are indirect considerations.

India Could Face Diplomatic Balancing Acts

India supports Palestinian rights while maintaining strong ties with Israel. Turkey, meanwhile, pushes a more aggressive pro-Palestine narrative. India needs to ensure it does not get drawn into rhetorical crossfire.

Defence Cooperation Could Be Affected Indirectly

Indias defence ties with Israel are strong. Turkeys growing alignment with certain Islamist blocs may lead to sharper ideological confrontations in multilateral forums, occasionally placing India in uncomfortable diplomatic spaces.

West Asian Stability Is Crucial For India

Millions of Indian workers live in the Gulf. Any Turkey-Israel confrontation that destabilises the broader region could have economic ripple effects.

Indias Stake In East Mediterranean Energy

New energy alliances involving Israel, Greece, Cyprus, and Egypt could benefit Indias exploration and energy partnerships. Turkeys opposition to these alliances could complicate future opportunities.

Overall, India is unlikely to take sides, but the geopolitical shifts matter.

What Happens Next? The Geopolitical Future For Both Countries

Turkey and Israel are entering a long, cold phase of relations unless leadership changes or major regional realignments occur. The next steps will depend on several possible scenarios.

Turkey To Rally Muslim Public Opinion: Erdogans domestic support often rises when he adopts fiery rhetoric on Palestine. Expect more speeches, diplomatic pressure, and legal activism targeting Israel.

Israel To Double Down On Regional Partnerships: Israel is likely to deepen ties with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Greece to counter Turkeys influence. These partnerships may expand into security, energy, and technology.

US To Attempt Damage Control: Both Turkey and Israel are US partners, though in different ways. Washington may try to prevent the rift from undermining broader regional stability, but results are uncertain.

Gaza To Remain The Central Battlefront: As long as conflict in Gaza continues, political leaders in both countries will find it difficult, even impossible, to de-escalate rhetoric.

Economic Pragmatism Could Lead To Limited Resets: Trade between Turkey and Israel remains significant, despite political hostility. Economic realities may force limited cooperation in the future, even if political reconciliation remains out of reach.

Leadership Changes Could Rewrite Narratives: Netanyahu faces intense domestic pressure. Erdogan has consolidated his political power, but he confronts economic challenges. A change in leadership in either country could soften the relationship.

Turkey and Israels relationship has plunged into one of its most volatile periods. Erdogans arrest warrant demand is not an isolated gesture but part of a long trajectory of ideological divergence, regional competition, and personal rivalry between two powerful leaders.

For Israel, this is another challenge to its regional legitimacy as it fights diplomatic battles on multiple fronts. For Turkey, this is a chance to reclaim leadership in the Muslim world at a time when Erdogan faces domestic and international scrutiny.

For India, the fallout does not pose direct risks, but contributes to an increasingly complex Middle Eastern landscape  one that India must navigate carefully to protect its energy, economic, and strategic interests.

The story of Turkey and Israel is ultimately about two nations with shared security concerns but clashing worldviews. Their future relationship will depend not only on geopolitics, but on whether either side is willing to look beyond the narratives that now define them.

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About the Author Shilpy Bisht Shilpy Bisht, Deputy News Editor at News18, writes and edits national, world and business stories. She started off as a print journalist, and then transitioned to online, in her 12 years of experience... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 12:28 IST

News explainers Erdogans Warning To Netanyahu: Understanding The Collapse Of Turkey-Israel Ties And Indias Stakes

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How Much Does It Cost To Conduct A Nuclear Bomb Test | Explained

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 14:00 IST

From 1944 to 1988, the US generated more than 100 million gallons of hazardous liquid waste, like chemical and radioactive material, while producing 100 metric tons of plutonium

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From 1945 to 1992, America conducted over 1,000 tests, costing billions of dollars. (AP/File)

On November 5, containers of vitrified nuclear waste arrived for the first time at the Integrated Disposal Facility from Washingtons Hanford Nuclear Site. This milestone marks the culmination of 23 years of work and a $30 billion investment.

Hanford, once the heart of Americas nuclear weapons programme, is now grappling with the toxic legacy it created. These containers hold low-activity radioactive waste.

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In the 1940s, during World War II, America initiated the Manhattan Project and selected Hanford to produce plutonium for nuclear bombs. Producing a single bomb requires 4 to 6 kilograms of plutonium, but the process is highly complex. Uranium is used as fuel in reactors to produce plutonium, but this generates waste full of transuranic materials. This waste contaminates soil, sludge, equipment, and workers clothes.

How Much Waste Does A Nuclear Test Actually Produce

Hanford produced a total of 56 million gallons (about 212 million litres) of radioactive waste from making plutonium for thousands of bombs. Estimates suggest that producing one kilogram of plutonium creates thousands of litres of liquid waste and hundreds of tons of solid waste, which can spread radiation for centuries.

From 1944 to 1988, America produced over 100 million gallons of hazardous liquid waste for 100 metric tons of plutonium, including chemical and radioactive mixtures.

During the Cold War, this volume increased even more. America manufactured over 100,000 bombs, each adding more layers of waste. Gases from chemical processing were released into the air, and waste was dumped into rivers. Hanfords soil remains toxic, and now the waste is being sealed in glass and buried in landfills. Cleaning the entire site will take decades.

How Much It Actually Costs

However, manufacturing bombs wasnt enough; they had to be tested too. The cost of nuclear testing is another significant factor. By 2025, an underground nuclear test is estimated to cost $125 to $150 million per test, including digging tunnels and installing devices.

Experts estimate a basic demonstration test costs about $140 million, and full scientific tests can take years. From 1945 to 1992, America conducted over 1,000 tests, costing billions of dollars. Developing, testing, and building bombs cost $409 billion. Each explosion shook the earth and created more waste. Radioactive dust from blasts caused immense environmental damage. Places like the Marshall Islands still bear the scars of testing, with over 60 toxic sites where people cannot live.

What Has Donald Trump Announced?

On October 30, President Donald Trump posted on social media, America should immediately restart nuclear weapons testing. Were the only country not doing it; Russia and China are, we need to catch up."

On November 2, Energy Secretary Chris Wright clarified that initial limited tests" wouldnt involve explosions, just simulations and system tests to check other parts of nuclear weapons.

But on November 3, Trump reiterated in a 60 Minutes interview that its necessary for national security. Experts warned that restarting full tests could take 24-36 months and cost millions per test.

What Will Be The Impact On America?

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On November 6, Russia indicated it might consider testing too, which could spark a new arms race akin to the Cold War. This would not only ignite a new race for weapons but also add more waste to sites like Hanford.

Hanfords first delivery serves as a warning about the risks of nuclear testing waste. Trumps new order risks repeating old mistakes. The drive to build bombs devastated the environment, depleted the treasury, and now theres fear that the same cycle will start again.

Location : United States of America (USA)

First Published: November 10, 2025, 14:00 IST

News explainers How Much Does It Cost To Conduct A Nuclear Bomb Test | Explained

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Your Guide To COP30: Heres What To Expect As Nations Debate Climate Action

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 10:25 IST

COP30 opens in Brazils Belem, where nearly 200 nations will debate whether the world can still meet its pledge to curb global warming

The worlds biggest annual climate meeting, the 30th Conference of the Parties, or COP30, begins today in Belem, Brazil. (AP Photo)

The worlds biggest annual climate meeting, the 30th Conference of the Parties, or COP30, begins today in Belem, Brazil. 33 years after the first UN climate treaty was signed at the Rio Earth Summit, the conference returns to Brazilian soil amid record heat, rising emissions, and growing scepticism over global climate commitments.

The two-week summit, running from 10 to 21 November, will test whether governments can turn past promises into concrete action. Heres what to expect from this years talks.

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What Is COP30 And Why Does It Matter?

Every year, the 198 member countries of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meet to coordinate their response to global warming. Each meeting is called a COP, short for Conference of the Parties. The treaty that created it recognised that all nations share responsibility for tackling climate change, but that richer countries, which contributed most to historic emissions, must take the lead.

The rotating presidency, now held by Brazil, sets the agenda and leads negotiations. This years COP is a symbolic full-circle moment: Brazil hosted the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, where the UNFCCC was first adopted. Three decades later, the country is hosting the milestone 30th session with a renewed focus on accountability, equity, and the protection of vulnerable communities.

Why Belem?

Brazil chose to host COP30 in Belem, the gateway to the Amazon rainforest, to draw global attention to the importance of forests in climate stability. The decision symbolically underlines the urgency of protecting forests that remain under pressure from logging, mining, agriculture, and fossil fuel extraction.

The Amazon, one of the planets largest carbon sinks, holding an estimated 150200 billion tonnes of carbon, is under severe strain from deforestation and land conversion. Bringing the conference to the edge of the rainforest reflects Brazils effort to connect climate action with the protection of ecosystems and the people who depend on them, including indigenous communities.

However, Belems remote location, limited infrastructure, and soaring hotel costs have made participation difficult for smaller nations and civil society groups. These logistical hurdles have raised concerns that the very voices most affected by climate change may find it harder to be heard.

What Are The Main Themes This Year?

This years COP is being described as an Implementation COP", the one where countries are expected to translate their pledges into measurable results. It will be guided by the first Global Stocktake (GST) under the Paris Agreement, a five-yearly review that assesses global progress, identifies gaps, and helps countries strengthen their plans.

Discussions will revolve around six areas: transitions in energy, industry, and transport; protection of forests, oceans, and biodiversity; transformation of food systems; resilience in cities, infrastructure, and water; and human and social development. Each of these depends heavily on one central issue  climate finance.

Will Money Dominate The Talks Again?

Finance remains at the centre of global climate negotiations. At COP29 in Baku last year, countries agreed on a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) to raise 300 billion dollars a year by 2035 from developed nations and to mobilise 1.3 trillion dollars annually from all public and private sources combined. The Baku-to-Belem Roadmap", prepared by Azerbaijan and Brazil, will now be reviewed and finalised at this summit.

Yet the gap between promises and delivery remains vast. The latest UN assessment shows that the demand for climate finance is 12 to 14 times higher than current flows. The Loss and Damage Fund, created at COP28 to help poorer nations recover from disasters, holds less than a billion dollars against annual needs running into hundreds of billions.

Developing countries argue that climate finance has been chronically underdelivered. They also warn that expanding the definition of contributors to include banks, investors, philanthropies, and even private sectors in developing countries weakens the founding principle of common but differentiated responsibilities  the idea that richer nations, having caused more damage, must do more to fix it.

Will The US Absence And EU Hesitation Affect Outcomes?

For decades, the US played a central role in shaping global climate agreements and driving international finance commitments. That changed dramatically under the Trump administration, which cut funding for climate research, rolled back renewable energy projects, expanded oil and gas extraction, and formally withdrew from the Paris Agreement for a second time.

This retreat has created a leadership gap that others, including China, Brazil, and the European Union, are now trying to fill. China and Brazil have sought to rally developing nations and promote cooperation on energy transitions and forest protection, though both face their own economic and political limits.

The European Union, traditionally seen as the other pillar of global climate diplomacy, arrives in Belem with limited momentum. After months of internal negotiations, it has only just settled on a 2040 emissions target and a provisional goal for 2035. The slow progress has raised doubts about whether the EU can provide the direction and consistency needed to steer global talks at a time of growing urgency.

What About The New Emission Targets?

Countries were supposed to submit updated 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), their national emission-reduction plans, by February this year. After an extension to September, most have yet to comply. According to Climate Action Tracker data, the pledges submitted so far cover only 19 per cent of global emissions.

This shortfall highlights the widening gap between current pledges and what science says is required to keep global warming below 1.5C. How countries address this gap in Belem will determine whether the Paris Agreements credibility can be preserved a decade after its signing.

How Will Adaptation Feature At COP30?

Adaptation, preparing for the impacts of climate change that can no longer be avoided, will be one of the central themes in Belem. The long-delayed Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) is expected to be finalised at this COP. It aims to establish measurable targets for resilience, align funding with real-world needs, and create a framework to track progress.

Because adaptation must respond to local realities, there is no single model. Measures that work in coastal regions may not suit mountainous or arid areas. Many countries are urging negotiators to ensure that adaptation planning incorporates local and indigenous knowledge systems that have helped communities manage environmental change for generations.

In India, for instance, traditional seed varieties, community water-harvesting systems, and ecosystem restoration efforts have shown how local knowledge can strengthen resilience.

What New Proposals Are Expected?

One of the most closely watched initiatives at COP30 is the proposed Tropical Forests Forever Facility, which aims to reward tropical forest nations for protecting their ecosystems rather than exploiting them. About one-fifth of the funds would go directly to indigenous and local communities that play a key role in forest conservation.

The initiative reflects a growing consensus that climate action and biodiversity protection must advance together, making forest conservation a central pillar of future climate finance. The summit is also expected to move forward on the Baku-to-Belem Roadmap, which sets out how the $1.3 trillion annual funding goal for developing nations could be met through a mix of public and private finance.

What Is Indias Position?

India comes to COP30 with a clear and consistent message: climate justice, equity, and accountability must remain at the core of negotiations. It argues that nations with the greatest historical responsibility for emissions must take the lead in both cutting greenhouse gases and providing reliable finance for developing economies.

At the mid-year talks in Bonn, India coordinated the G77 and China bloc to call for a fair and transparent funding framework under the NCQG. The group is seeking assurances that finance will be timely, accessible, and based on need rather than political or market considerations.

At home, India has integrated green budgeting into fiscal planning, issued sovereign green bonds to fund clean projects, and plans to launch a national carbon market by 2026 to encourage low-carbon industries. It continues to balance climate action with economic growth, stressing that technology access, capacity-building, and affordable finance are essential for a just transition" that supports jobs and development while reducing emissions.

Are There Other Key Decisions On Agenda?

Delegates will also decide who hosts COP31. Australia, backed by Pacific nations, has bid to hold it in Adelaide, while Turkey remains a rival contender. If no consensus is reached in Belem, the meeting will default back to Bonn, Germany, where the UN climate secretariat is based.

What Outcomes Are Likely?

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COP30 is expected to focus on finalising the NCQG framework, setting measurable adaptation goals, narrowing the 2035 emissions gap, and reinforcing the connection between climate and biodiversity. The summit will also test whether the international system can still function amid political fragmentation and worsening climate impacts.

With the world now temporarily past the 1.5C threshold, what emerges from Belem will show whether climate diplomacy can still turn pledges into action, or whether the planets future will continue to drift further from control.

About the Author Karishma Jain Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follo... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 10:22 IST

News explainers Your Guide To COP30: Heres What To Expect As Nations Debate Climate Action

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2,900 Kg Explosives, 3 Doctors, A Trail Of Radicalisation: Terror Plot On Delhi's Doorstep Busted

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 17:28 IST

What began with Jaish posters in Srinagar led to eight arrests and the recovery of 2,900 kg of explosives in a multi-state operation stretching to Delhis outskirts

Faridabad recovery followed revelations made by Dr Adil Ahmad Rather during questioning.

In one of the biggest recent counter-terror operations, the Jammu and Kashmir Police have uncovered a transnational terror module linked to proscribed outfits Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH). The crackdown, which spanned multiple states, has led to the arrest of seven accused, the seizure of explosives, arms, and encrypted communication tools, and the exposure of what the J&K Police described as a white-collar terror ecosystem".

Inter-state terror module linked with terrorists organisations Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH) busted. pic.twitter.com/TNSd8PGV7g J&K Police (@JmuKmrPolice) November 10, 2025

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Heres how the case unfolded and what has been found so far.

How It Started: Posters In Srinagar

The investigation began on 19 October 2025, when posters bearing the name of Jaish-e-Mohammad appeared across Bunpora Nowgam in Srinagar, threatening police and security forces. A First Information Report (FIR No. 162/2025) was registered at Police Station Nowgam under multiple sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Explosive Substances Act, and the Arms Act.

CCTV footage from the area helped police trace one of the individuals who put up the posters to Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He was identified as Dr Adeel, a Kashmiri-origin doctor. Upon his arrest and questioning, he revealed links with three other medics in the Valley  including Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie of Pulwama.

Information from his interrogation led the police to Dr Muzammils rented accommodation in Faridabad, Haryana, the site of the first explosives haul.

The Faridabad Recoveries

Acting on inputs from Dr Adeels interrogation, J&K Police and Haryana Police carried out coordinated searches in Faridabad, near Delhi.

The first raid on a rented accommodation linked to Dr Muzammil yielded about 360 kg of explosive material.

After sustained questioning of an imam associated with the group, investigators found another 2,583 kg of explosives at his residence in the same area.

A pickup van was called to move the recovered material.

Together, the two seizures make up the 2,900 kg of IED-making material officially confirmed by the J&K Police.

Multiple raids are continuing in Dhaouj village and adjoining areas, which police say were being used for safe-houses and storage due to their proximity to Delhi yet relative isolation.

A White-Collar Terror Network

According to the J&K Police, the group allegedly involved radicalised professionals and students who were in contact with foreign handlers based in Pakistan and other countries.

All day today, I have been asked to comment on the Kashmiri doctor, Muzammil, who was found with 360 kg of RDX. We have seen this pattern repeatedly: radicalisation does not distinguish between backgrounds. One may be a postgraduate doctor, a celebrated public figure, or even a Shesh Paul Vaid (@spvaid) November 10, 2025

The operatives are accused of using encrypted communication channels to plan logistics, coordinate fund transfers, and communicate securely with handlers. Funds were reportedly raised through professional and academic networks, under the guise of social or charitable causes, and diverted to purchase arms and IED-making material.

Investigations show that the networks radicalisation efforts began in 2021-22, initially under the guidance of an individual named Hashim and later reorganised under a new lead, Dr Omar in the Valley.

The gangs objective, according to police disclosures, was to manufacture improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and execute terror attacks across the country. They also intended to establish their own militant tanzim (organisation) aligned with the likes of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in the future.

New Arrest In Lucknow

In a fresh development, the J&K Police have arrested Dr Shaheena from Lucknow, who was part of Al-Falah University and known to be closely associated with Dr Muzammil.

According to officials, the car belonging to Dr Shaheena but used by Dr Muzammil had earlier been seized by police, and an AK-47 rifle along with live cartridges were recovered from it during searches linked to the Faridabad operation.

Investigators believe Shaheena may have aided Muzammil in his activities, and police are likely to seek her custodial interrogation to probe her role in the wider network.

Persons Arrested So Far

The police have arrested eight accused in the case, identified as:

Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil, resident of Nowgam, Srinagar Yasir-ul-Ashraf, resident of Nowgam, Srinagar Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid, resident of Nowgam, Srinagar Molvi Irfan Ahmad, Imam of a masjid, resident of Shopian Zameer Ahmad Ahanger alias Mutlasha, resident of Wakura, Ganderbal Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie alias Musaib, resident of Koil, Pulwama Dr Adeel, resident of Wanpora, Kulgam Dr Shaheena, resident of Lucknow

The police said the role of a few more individuals has surfaced and further arrests are likely.

Inside The Explosives Haul

According to the police, the following items were recovered during the investigation:

One Chinese Star Pistol (along with ammunition) One Beretta Pistol (along with ammunition) One AK-56 Rifle (along with ammunition) One AK Krinkov Rifle (along with ammunition) 2,900 kg of IED-making material, including explosives, chemicals, reagents, inflammable material, electronic circuits, batteries, wires, remote controls, timers and metal sheets.

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A vehicle (Regn. HR55CHSTE) was also seized with firearms and cartridges. The weapon haul from the vehicle included one AK Krinkov rifle with three magazines, a pistol with live rounds, two empty cartridges, and two additional magazines. An AK-47 rifle had earlier been recovered from Dr Adeels locker at the Government Medical College, Anantnag.

The police said a financial investigation into the flow of funds is underway, and all linkages are being traced and addressed expeditiously.

About the Author Karishma Jain Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follo... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 17:26 IST

News india 2,900 Kg Explosives, 3 Doctors, A Trail Of Radicalisation: Terror Plot On Delhi's Doorstep Busted

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Bangladeshs Radicalised Medical Students Indias New Concern? Exclusive From Intelligence Sources

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 17:09 IST

"After Sheikh Hasina, Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh and its student wing, Chatra Shibir, have re-entered campuses...," say top intelligence sources

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Recruiters from Jamaat and Tablighi offshoots use these gatherings for religious radicalisation, say sources. (File)

Radicalised youngsters from Bangladesh could emerge as a new concern for India, according to intelligence agencies.

Around 8,500 Indian medical students studying in Bangladesh during the 2024 crisis, which led to the ouster of then PM Sheikh Hasina. This concentrated group across Dhaka, Sylhet, Rajshahi, and Chittagong medical colleges became a target for ideological grooming," said sources.

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After Hasina, Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh and its student wing, Chatra Shibir, have re-entered campuses. The Chatra Shibir controls student hostels, prayer groups, and weekend camps in Faridpur, Mirpur, and Uttara medical zones. These medical colleges are serving as ideological pipelines for Indian and Nepali students," they said.

Why it matters

According to sources, smaller student-specific or Ishtima congregations attract over 2-3 lakh youth annually. This is including Indian and foreign students also who attend and they are taken care by these groups including many local concessions," they said.

Recruiters from Jamaat and Tablighi offshoots use these gatherings for religious radicalisation. The ISI handlers have re-established their liaison channels with radical clerics and ex-DGFI assets. Their objective is to use Jamaat networks to influence student opinion," they said.

ISI and Jamaat feed anti-India narratives through scholarships, religious orientation sessions, and digital forums, they said. The JMB and IS-Bangla units have started online propaganda on Telegram and encrypted apps after Hasina left," sources said. According to intelligence agencies Dhaka to Narayanganj to Faridpur belt is emerging radicalisation corridor post-Hasina.

What happened on August 5, 2024?

A student-led protest in Bangladesh over government job quotas escalated into nationwide unrest. On August 5, protests converged on the capital Dhaka and the official residence of Sheikh Hasina (Ganabhaban). Security forces (police, army) informed Hasina that they were overwhelmednearly exhausted" of manpower/ammunition. The military apparently gave her an ultimatum to resign. She initially resisted the idea.

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Ultimately, Hasina left Bangladesh via military helicopter, reportedly flying to India, marking the end of her rule of about 15 years.

Following her departure, protesters entered her residence, looted and vandalised property, and largescale public demonstrations occurred.

About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

First Published: November 10, 2025, 17:09 IST

News india Bangladeshs Radicalised Medical Students Indias New Concern? Exclusive From Intelligence Sources

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27-Year-Old Bhopal Model Dies Under Mysterious Circumstances, Family Accuses Boyfriend Of Murder

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 18:09 IST

Khushboo Ahirwar died while travelling in a bus under mysterious circumstances. Her family has accused her boyfriend of pressuring her for religious conversion and beating her.

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Khushboo Ahirwar, hailing from Madhya Pradesh's Sagar district, worked as a model in Bhopal.

A 27-year-old model, identified as Khushboo Ahirwar, was found dead in Bhopal under mysterious circumstances, with her family alleging that she was a victim of love jihad" and murder.

Khushboo was a resident of Mandi Bamora in Madhya Pradeshs Bamora district and worked as a model in Bhopal. Her family alleged that a man named Qasim Ahmed had introduced himself to her under the alias of Rahul some time ago and had taken her to Ujjain.

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Mayur Khandelwal, DCP Bhopal, told News18 India that Khushboo and Qasim had been living together in a live-in relationship for more than 1.5 years. Last night, she was travelling by bus with Qasim when her health suddenly deteriorated.

According to police, Khushboo lost consciousness and her condition worsened, prompting Qasim to take her to Chirayu Hospital. Khushboo was admitted to a hospital, but the doctors declared her dead. A case of unnatural death has been registered.

However, police sources confirmed that serious injury marks were found on her body, including belt marks on her waist and head wounds, and her body had turned blue. Her family claimed that she was beaten to death. Khushboos sister says that more than one person was involved in the incident.

Khushboos family alleged that Qasim and some of his friends beat her, leaving blue and green marks all over her body, including injuries on her neck. The accused was pressuring Khushboo to convert her religion and marry him, while assuring that they would return from Ujjain immediately, according to News18 India.

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Police detained the accused and launched an investigation into the incident. Police are currently examining Qasims background, and he is under interrogation. So far, no evidence of religious conversion has emerged.

Bhopal police also stated that a case of murder can only be confirmed after the post-mortem report, and the age and cause of the injuries will also be determined after the report.

About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in int... Read More

Location : Bhopal, India, India

First Published: November 10, 2025, 17:53 IST

News india 27-Year-Old Bhopal Model Dies Under Mysterious Circumstances, Family Accuses Boyfriend Of Murder

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BJP Slams Karnataka Govt Over VIP Treatment For ISIS Recruiter, Flags National Security Threat

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 08:31 IST

Malviya further claimed that Karnatakas prisons have become comfort zones for terrorists and criminals under the Congress government

Bengalurus Parappana Agrahara Central Prison (Photo: Social Media)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the Congress-led Karnataka government of compromising national security after a video from Bengalurus Parappana Agrahara Central Jail showed an alleged ISIS operative enjoying VIP treatment inside the high-security facility.

BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya shared the video on X, writing, TERRORIST GETS VIP TREATMENT UNDER CONGRESS RULE IN KARNATAKA! A chilling video from Bengalurus Parappana Agrahara Central Jail exposes how ISIS recruiter Junaid Hameed Shakeel Manna enjoys VIP treatment inside a high-security prison, using mobile phones and watching television freely."

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He alleged that the ISIS operative, accused of radicalising youth, remained in constant touch with his network outside the prison, calling it a direct threat to national security."

TERRORIST GETS VIP TREATMENT UNDER CONGRESS RULE IN KARNATAKA!A chilling video from Bengalurus Parappana Agrahara Central Jail on 8th November exposes how ISIS recruiter Junaid Hameed Shakeel Manna enjoys VIP treatment inside a high-security prison, using mobile phones and pic.twitter.com/bwcSA6eBrK  Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) November 9, 2025

Malviya further claimed that Karnatakas prisons have become comfort zones for terrorists and criminals" under the Congress government, adding that such incidents reflect total administrative collapse."

The controversy erupted after reports and videos surfaced showing alleged irregularities in the prison, including inmates using phones and other amenities. Sources said the accused ISIS recruiter had access to a smartphone and was using it freely inside his cell.

Following the outrage, Director General of Prisons B. Dayananda ordered a detailed inquiry and directed officials to verify the footage that also purportedly features high-profile inmates Umesh Reddy and Tarun Raju.

Also Read: ISIS Operative Enjoyed VIP Treatment In Bengalurus Parappana Agrahara Jail: Probe Reveals

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About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 08:31 IST

News india BJP Slams Karnataka Govt Over VIP Treatment For ISIS Recruiter, Flags National Security Threat

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'Children Chose To Sing It...': Kerala Principal Amid Probe Into Students Singing RSS Song

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 10:04 IST

Kerala govt orders probe after students sang an RSS song on ErnakulamBengaluru Vande Bharat train. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan strongly criticised the act.

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The video of students singing the RSS song was shared by Southern Railway.

A controversy has erupted in Kerala after a group of school students sang a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) song during the inaugural run of the ErnakulamBengaluru Vande Bharat Express on Saturday. The state government has ordered an inquiry into the matter.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday virtually flagged off the train, and a video shared by Southern Railway showed the students performing the RSS song onboard. The clip was later deleted following online criticism, before being re-uploaded with an English translation.

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The students of Saraswathi Vidyalaya beautifully performed their school song during the inaugural run of the ErnakulamBengaluru Vande Bharat Express pic.twitter.com/uvauXy9e6k Southern Railway (@GMSRailway) November 8, 2025

Defending the students, the principal of Saraswathi Vidyanikethan Public School, Dinto K P, said the song was a patriotic piece and not performed at the behest of Southern Railway.

The principal stated that it was not sung as directed by the Southern Railway but children chose to sing it themselves as a Malayalam patriotic song, news agency PTI reported.

The principal added that the school had written to the Prime Ministers Office and the Union Railway Minister after the video was removed.

We dont know why did the state Education Minister has ordered a probe into the matter. We will think about going legal way if the General Education Department goes ahead with its action," he said, adding that the students were being targeted online and called Sanghi kids."

Kerala Govt Orders Probe

Keralas General Education Minister V Sivankutty instructed the Director of Public Instructions to investigate the matter, calling it a serious issue. Politicising children at government events and using them to promote the communal agenda of any group is a violation of constitutional principles," he said.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan strongly criticised the Southern Railway, saying that including an RSS song in an official government event violated constitutional values. Using the Railways, one of the countrys largest public sector undertakings, to promote communal propaganda is unacceptable," he said.

BJP Defends School Children

Meanwhile, BJP leaders, including Union Ministers Suresh Gopi and George Kurian, defended the act, saying the song was patriotic.

Speaking to reporters in Thrissur, he said, They felt like singing that song at the moment and they did so. Anyway, its not an extremist song." The minister described the performance as part of a joyful celebration during the trains inaugural journey.

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While Kurian, another union minister from the state, also strongly defended the singing of the RSS song and asked what is communal in a gana geetham". He also said those who try to propagate anti-India sentiments abroad may not like the song.

Amid mounting backlash, the Southern Railway, while reposting the video on X, clarified that the students had performed their school song, not an RSS anthem, during the trains inaugural run.

About the Author Manisha Roy Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manish... Read More

Location : Ernakulam, India, India

First Published: November 10, 2025, 10:04 IST

News india 'Children Chose To Sing It...': Kerala Principal Amid Probe Into Students Singing RSS Song

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Last Updated: November 11, 2025, 02:07 IST

Delhi Red Fort Blast News: Police personnel at the spot after a blast occurred in a parked car near Red Fort, leaving multiple vehicles in flames. (PTI)

Delhi Red Fort Blast Highlights: A high-intensity explosion rocked a car parked near the Red Fort on Monday evening, setting multiple vehicles ablaze and shattering nearby window panes.

Several people are feared to have been injured in the powerful blast, officials said.

Police sounded a high alert in Delhi. Seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot with police cordoning off the area, the Delhi Fire Services said.

Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital stated that 15 people were brought in severe condition, of which eight were declared dead.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation. A call reporting the blast was received around 6:55 pm, following which fire services and investigative agencies rushed to the scene. Later, a team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) reached the site after intelligence inputs suggested the explosion was linked to a terror-related plot.

The incident took place just hours after police uncovered an interstate terror module allegedly connected to banned organisations and seized over 2,900 kilograms of suspected ammonium nitrate, including 360 kg recovered earlier and another 2,500 kg found later.
Doctor Held In Gujarat Was Preparing Ricin Poison, Surveyed Food Markets For Attack

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 12:34 IST

The ATS said Dr Saiyed, a Hyderabad native, was arrested near Adalaj in Gandhinagar on November 7.

Gujarat ATS Thwarts Major Terror Plan; Three, Including Hyderabad Doctor, Held With Arms (Photo: ANI)

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) has arrested a doctor with a medical degree from China for allegedly preparing ricin, a highly lethal chemical poison, as part of a suspected terror plot linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). Two others have also been arrested in connection with the case.

According to ATS officials, the accused, identified as Dr Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed, along with Azad Suleman Sheikh and Mohammad Suhail Mohammad Saleem, had conducted reconnaissance of several sensitive locations in Ahmedabad, Delhi and Lucknow. The trio was allegedly planning to use ricin in a large-scale terror attack and had also surveyed food markets and public areas as possible targets.

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Dr Ahmed Mohiyuddin Saiyed is highly educated and radicalised, and had planned to collect funds and recruit persons as part of a conspiracy to carry out major terrorist activities," Gujarat ATS DIG Sunil Joshi said. He added that Saiyeds handler, Abu Khadija  an Afghanistan-based operative associated with ISKP  had been directing him and facilitating the supply of weapons via drones across the Pakistan border.

Also Read: Faridabad Explosive Haul: How A Poster In Srinagar Led Police To Sleeper Cell Planning Attack On NCR

The ATS said Dr Saiyed, a Hyderabad native, was arrested near Adalaj in Gandhinagar on November 7. Officers recovered two Glock pistols, a Beretta pistol, 30 live cartridges and four litres of castor oil, a key ingredient used in ricin production, from his possession. Investigators found that he had procured the necessary chemicals and equipment and had already initiated preliminary processing of the poison.

Ricin, derived from the waste material of processed castor beans, is one of the most potent toxins known and can be fatal even in minute quantities.

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The other two accused, Sheikh and Saleem, both from Uttar Pradesh, were arrested in Banaskantha district for allegedly supplying weapons to Saiyed. They are suspected to have sourced arms from Hanumangarh in Rajasthan and delivered them to Gujarat, the ATS said.

Officials seized three mobile phones and two laptops during the operation. Call records and interrogation suggested that the accused had been conducting surveillance of sensitive sites for nearly a year. While no local sleeper cell link has yet been established, the ATS said it is investigating possible connections with national and international terror networks.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 12:34 IST

News india Doctor Held In Gujarat Was Preparing Ricin Poison, Surveyed Food Markets For Attack

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Faridabad Explosive Haul: How A Poster In Srinagar Led Police To Sleeper Cell Planning Attack On NCR

Reported By :

News18.com Edited By: Pragati Ratti



Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 14:21 IST

The JKP recovered one AK Krinkov rifle and around 350 kg of ammonium nitrate from Faridabad, a few kilometres from Delhi, following interrogations.

Faridabad recovery followed revelations made by Dr Adil Ahmad Rather during questioning.

The Jammu & Kashmir Police (JKP) has exposed a highly radicalised module of medical professionals operating across regions  a chilling plot revealed after the seizure of large quantities of explosives from Faridabad, a few kilometres from Delhi. According to official sources, the bust began when a poster appeared in the Nogaum area of Srinagar warning shopkeepers against dealing with central agencies. CCTV footage traced the individual erecting the poster to Saharanpur, where he turned out to be a Kashmiri-origin doctor named Dr Adeel. Upon his interrogation in Jammu & Kashmir, he disclosed links to three other medics in Srinagar.

Investigations show that the networks radicalisation efforts began in 2021-22, initially under the guidance of an individual named Hashim and later re-organised under a new lead, Dr Omar in the Valley. Dr Adeel, based in Saharanpur, was soon arrested by the JKP. He led police to fellow doctors, including Dr Muzzamil whose facility in Faridabad subsequently became the scene of a major explosives haul.

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From Dr Muzzamils Faridabad location, authorities recovered a massive cache of IED-making material including ammonium nitrate and other chemical precursors. The gangs objective, according to police disclosures, was to manufacture improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and execute terror attacks across the country. They also intended to establish their own militant tanzim" (organisation) aligned with the likes of Lashkare Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in the future.

What The Police Recovered In Faridabad Haul

The JKP recovered one AK Krinkov rifle and around 350 kg of ammonium nitrate from Faridabad, following interrogations arising from the doctors disclosures.

Officials logged a detailed seizure from a vehicle (Regn. HR55CHSTE) and subsequent Faridabad searches.

From the vehicle, police recovered:

one AK Krinkov assault rifle with three magazines

one pistol with live rounds

two empty cartridges

two additional magazines.

Searches in Faridabad produced large quantities of explosive-related components packed in four large suitcases and 350 kg of explosives.

Earlier, an AK-47 rifle was recovered from Dr Adeels locker at the Government Medical College in Anantnag. The operation underscores the depth of infiltration of radical elements into professional domains such as medicine and the risks posed by such sleeper-type modules.

Inside Details Of The Faridabad Haul

Follow-up operations in Faridabad added further, striking details to the probe. According to sources, security teams carried out searches in Dhaouj village  a locality on the outskirts of Faridabad where a private medical institution, identified in reporting as Al-Fala College, was also inspected. Locals and investigative sources said the college had been established during an earlier political regime with external funding from the Gulf, reportedly in memory of a donors family member; the staff and teaching cadre at the institution are described as predominantly Muslim. Police say Dr Muzzamil, who was traced by JKP teams, had links to that milieu and that one of the follow-up actions recovered an AK-47 and a sizeable quantity of ammonium nitrate along with other bomb-making material concealed in a vehicle.

Top intelligence sources have characterised the module as a possible sleeper-cell" type formation: outwardly low-profile, leveraging professional cover, but with storage and logistical plans that could enable rapid mobilisation. Faridabads strategic proximity to Delhi  paired with storage options in semi-rural pockets such as Dhaouj  has been flagged by investigators as a tactical advantage, offering easy access to the National Capital Region while remaining relatively discreet. Police sources say the groups stated ambitions included targeting the Delhi-NCR area for a major" operation, heightening the sensitivity of the ongoing searches.

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JKP officials say the network was well-entrenched: the posters in Srinagar were mere signposts of a larger infrastructure, and the Faridabad recovery of explosives and rifles revealed a pan-India reach. The doctors used their professional cover to operate with low public visibility until the arrest of Dr Adeel triggered the chain of events.

As the investigation deepens, JKP has registered cases under the Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to prosecute those involved. Officials say the priority now is to trace the supply chain of explosives, linkages with external terrorist organisations, and dismantle the larger tanzim that the module sought to build.

About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

First Published: November 10, 2025, 10:58 IST

News india Faridabad Explosive Haul: How A Poster In Srinagar Led Police To Sleeper Cell Planning Attack On NCR

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Gujarat Ricin Plot: ISIS Planned To Poison Drinking Water, Temple Prasad, Say Sources | Exclusive

Reported By :

CNN-News18 Edited By: Apoorva Misra



Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 14:42 IST

Ricin, which can be extracted from castor seeds, is of concern as the raw material is easily available and not typically associated with terrorism, making it difficult to detect

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Dr Ahmed Mohiuddin Syed, an MBBS graduate who studied in China and was working in Hyderabad, along with two associates---Mohd Suhel and Azad Suleman Saifi from Uttar Pradesh were arrested. (News18)

Indian intelligence agencies have warned that the Islamic State (ISIS) and its regional affiliates are shifting from traditional, bomb-based attacks to biochemical and psychological forms of terror, following increased security pressure and international crackdowns on explosive networks.

Senior intelligence officials told CNN-News18 that the evolving strategy, described as a move from kinetic to non-kinetic terror", aims to create widespread fear and social unrest rather than mass casualties. The warning comes in the wake of a major counter-terror operation in Gujarat, where police claim to have foiled an ISIS-inspired plot involving the use of ricin, a highly toxic compound derived from castor seeds.

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According to Gujarat Police, investigators arrested Dr Ahmed Mohiuddin Syed, an MBBS graduate who studied in China and was working in Hyderabad, along with two associatesMohd Suhel and Azad Suleman Saifi from Uttar Pradesh. The trio allegedly planned to extract ricin and use it to contaminate public water sources and temple prasad (food offerings) in Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Lucknow.

Officials said the case represents an alarming example of what security agencies are calling medical radicalisation"the recruitment or ideological influence of technically skilled individuals for terror plots.

ISIS is possibly shifting from kinetic, bomb-based operations to biochemical and psychological terror," sources said. The idea is to cause panic, create distrust in the government, and exploit communal sensitivities."

Investigators say Pakistan-based ISI facilitators and ISIS-Khorasan (ISKP) handlers have been exploring bio-terror modules since at least 2021. Multiple intelligence interceptions have pointed to discussions on chemical and biological agents, officials said.

Ricin, which can be extracted from castor seeds, is of particular concern because the raw material is easily available and not typically associated with terrorism, making it difficult to detect through conventional financial or procurement tracking systems.

A source said the accused were under surveillance after their online activities and communications linked them to ISIS propaganda channels. Their alleged goal, the official added, was to infect and contaminate human targets at scale" using undetectable methods.

Intelligence inputs suggest that the groups objective may not have been mass killing but rather to spark public panic and erode trust in state institutions.

They knew the impact might be limited in terms of casualties, but the psychological effect could be far greater," they said. If communal angles were attached, it could have triggered unrest and distrust."

Officials said this represents a new phase in ISISs strategyone focusing on psychological and societal destabilisation rather than high-intensity bombings.

The accused have been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and investigations are being conducted jointly by Gujarat Police and central intelligence agencies.

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Authorities are now examining whether the suspects had any direct coordination with Pakistan-based handlers or were part of a wider network experimenting with non-explosive terror methods.

Officials said the case highlights the need for enhanced vigilance over unconventional terror tools, particularly among professionals with scientific or medical expertise.

About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

Location : Gujarat, India, India

First Published: November 10, 2025, 14:42 IST

News india Gujarat Ricin Plot: ISIS Planned To Poison Drinking Water, Temple Prasad, Say Sources | Exclusive

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Have Seen Our Morphed Pictures Too': CJI Gavai Flags Misuse Of AI Tools Against Judiciary

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 16:08 IST

CJI BR Gavai warned of AI misuse targeting judges, citing morphed images and fake case laws. The Supreme Court will hear Kartikeya Rawal's PIL on GenAI regulation in two weeks.

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The CJI, who is on a four-day official visit to Bhutan, was speaking at the Royal Institute of Management on Courts and Constitutional Governance as part of the Fifth Wisdom for Future Talk Series hosted by JSW School of Law. File pic/PTI

Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai on Monday raised serious concerns over the growing misuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other digital tools against members of the judiciary. The CJI revealed that even judges have been targeted with morphed images circulating online, underlining the urgent need for regulations to curb such misuse.

 Yes, yes, we have seen our morphed pictures too," the Chief Justice said while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions for framing guidelines or a policy to regulate the use of Generative AI (GenAI) in judicial and quasi-judicial bodies.

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According to the petition filed by advocate Kartikeya Rawal, there is a clear distinction between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI).

The plea argued that unlike traditional AI, GenAI can produce entirely new data and even fabricate non-existent case laws, potentially creating confusion within the legal system. It further cautioned that GenAI could replicate and amplify existing biases, discrimination, and stereotypes, thereby posing serious ethical and legal concerns.

The characteristic of GenAI being a black box and having opaqueness has the possibility of creating an ambiguity in the legal system followed in India. In other words, the skill of GenAI to leverage advanced neural networks and unsupervised learning to generate new data, uncover hidden patterns, and automate complex processes can lead to hallucinations, resulting in fake case laws, AI bias, and lengthy observations. This process of hallucinations would mean that the GenAI would not be based on precedents but on a law that might not even exist. Such arbitrariness is a clear violation of Article 14," it claimed.

The plea added that the quality of data directly impacts the outcome of GenAI in terms of bias".

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The petitioner argued that any AI system integrated into the judiciary or its functions must rely on unbiased data, with clear and transparent data ownership to ensure accountability among all stakeholders.

The bench, comprising Justice K Vinod Chandran, adjourned the matter. It will be heard after two weeks.

First Published: November 10, 2025, 16:08 IST

News india Have Seen Our Morphed Pictures Too': CJI Gavai Flags Misuse Of AI Tools Against Judiciary

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India On High Alert After 8 People Die In Car Blast Outside Delhi's Red Fort Metro

Curated By :

News18.com Edited By: Oindrila Mukherjee



Last Updated: November 11, 2025, 00:28 IST

Security was immediately tightened across Delhi-NCR, as the car blast comes soon after a major terror plot was busted in Faridabad

Security personnel at the spot after a blast occurred in a parked car near Red Fort, leaving multiple vehicles in flames, in New Delhi on November 10, 2025. (Image: PTI)

A nationwide alert was issued on Monday after eight people were killed and at least 20 injured in a high-intensity car blast outside Delhis Red Fort Metro.

According to top sources, the country has been put on high alert while the Centre has asked states to keep vigil and tighten security at sensitive installations, including airports.

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Follow Delhi Red Fort Blast LIVE Updates Here

The blast, which is being probed by multiple agencies including the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and National Security Guard (NSG), was likely caused by an improvised explosive device (IED).

Security was immediately tightened across Delhi-NCR, as the blast comes after a major terror plot linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) was busted in Faridabad. Chandni Chowk market will be closed on Tuesday (November 11), said market association president Sanjay Bhargaw.

ALSO READ | Delhi Blast Occurred At Cars Rear End, Bodies Of Deceased Didnt Turn Black: Top Points

AIRPORTS ON HIGH ALERT

All sensitive airports have been told to maintain coordination with local police, district administration and intelligence agencies. CISF and other agencies have been asked to maintain strict vigil and intensify patrolling in circulating areas and city side.

Airlines were also sensitised on the security front. Those deployed in VIP security must remain alert and vigilant.

#TravelUpdate: Due to enhanced security measures at all airports across India, we request you to reach the airport at least 3 hours prior to departure, to ensure a seamless check-in and boarding experience. Please ensure you carry valid government approved photo identification Akasa Air (@AkasaAir) November 10, 2025

BIHAR TO VOTE AMID HEIGHTENED SECURITY

Bihar, which will vote in the second phase of the assembly elections on Tuesday, was among the first where security was tightened. Bihar director general of police (DGP) Vinay Kumar said the state is already on high alert in view of the polls.

Vinay Kumar said all district superintendents of police (SP) have been asked to remain alert and monitor security. He appealed to people to cast their vote without fear.

RED ALERT IN NEIGHBOURING UTTAR PRADESH

A red alert was issued in Uttar Pradesh. State ADG, law and order, Amitabh Yash said the DGP has issued instructions to all senior officials to increase security at sensitive religious sites, districts, and border areas.

Amitabh Yash said all security agencies are on alert along with police in all districts. An order was issued from Lucknow to increase patrols and checks in sensitive areas, he said.

A press note issued said in wake of the blast in Delhi, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has directed DGP Rajeev Krishna to put the entire state on high alert and ensure intensive checking and strengthened security arrangements.

Following instructions were issued by the DGP:

All senior police officers must remain present in the field and personally visit, inspect, and patrol sensitive and crowded areas, markets, public gatherings, and religious places.

Security arrangements at important installations, religious sites, crowded areas, and other sensitive points should be reviewed immediately, and the security level should be upgraded as per the threat assessment.

Strict checking of vehicles should be carried out, and heightened vigilance should be maintained at metro stations, bus stands, railway stations, malls, cinema halls, and other public transport hubs/crowded centres while ensuring that the public is not inconvenienced.

ATS, QRTs (quick response teams), bomb disposal squads, and dog squads should be kept in readiness mode, and foot patrolling and area domination should be intensified.

CCTV feeds must be monitored in real time, and the local intelligence network and community informant system should be activated to ensure immediate reporting of suspicious persons or activities.

Thorough checking should be conducted for unattended objects and suspicious persons in crowded places.

UP-112 PRV (police response vehicles) should maintain continuous patrolling in sensitive areas.

Social media monitoring should be done continuously; every input must be taken seriously, and legal action should be initiated against those spreading rumors.

HARYANA ON HIGH ALERT

Haryana is on high alert in wake of the blast in Delhi. People have been requested to remain calm and report suspicious activity, persons, or objects to 112.

The police are on alert and carrying out vehicle checks at interstate borders. Public transport, parking areas, and hotels and dharamshalas are also being checked while special vigilance is being maintained in NCR districts.

JAMMU AND KASHMIR

Jammu police is on high alert after a vehicle was reported stolen from Gandhi Nagar locality soon after the Delhi blast. A massive operation has been launched to trace the stolen car.

According to top sources, Jammu and Kashmir police have joined the investigation into the car blast. Kashmir zone police are in constant touch with agencies in Delhi but there can be no further comment from their side, they said. There is no immediate connection with J&K, the investigation is ongoing, they added.

RAJASTHAN, PUNJAB

The border states of Rajasthan and Punjab were put on high alert. Security was increased at Jaipur railway station and the airport while police are checking hotels and dharamshalas.

A red alert has been sounded in Punjab. In wake of the blast in New Delhi, a Red Alert has been sounded across all districts in the state of Punjab," said a Punjab police department spokesperson.

Commissioners of police and senior superintendents of police (SSP) have been asked to remain alert, said the spokesperson.

Police force has been deployed at sensitive and vulnerable spots. Checking of vehicles and suspicious people have been intensified, added the spokesperson.

TELANGANA

Telangana police increased patrolling in Hyderabad and other cities in the state as a precautionary measure, officials said. Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar rushed to Delhi.

An alert has been sounded for Hyderabad and patrolling has been increased in crowded areas and other cities including Warangal and Karimnagar, a senior police official told PTI. Police in Hyderabad are already on alert in view of the by-election to Jubilee Hills assembly constituency on November 11, he said.

Now (following the blast in Delhi) we have increased patrolling in Warangal, Karimnagar and other cities and towns as a precautionary measure," the official said.

Police personnel were carrying out checks at railway stations, bus stations and also took up vehicle checks at different locations in the city and other places, he said.

Telangana Health C Damodar Rajanarasimha expressed grief over the loss of lives in the blast and wished the speedy recovery of the injured persons. He said the blast in the national capital was unfortunate and a cause for concern.

MAHARASHTRA

Mumbai was put on precautionary alert even as CM Devendra Fadnavis reviewed the overall security situation.

After the recovery of 360 kg of possible ammonium nitrate (from Haryanas Faridabad), Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held a meeting with all senior police officials at Varsha this afternoon and reviewed the overall security situation. Now, after the incident in Delhi, he has once again instructed the police to remain vigilant. All agencies have been directed to remain alert," as per Maharashtra Home Department sources.

OTHER METROS

Kolkata was put on high alert following the blast in Delhi. Kolkata police commissioner Manoj Verma said police have tightened security and increased vigil across all police stations.

Police sources said Lalbazar, the headquarters of Kolkata Police, directed all police stations within its jurisdiction to remain on heightened alert, particularly those near metro stations.

Instructions have also been issued to intensify naka checking and maintain strict surveillance on all entry and exit routes to the city," Manoj Verma said.

Another officer with West Bengal Police said similar alerts have been sent to all district superintendents of police and local police stations to step up security and remain vigilant.

We have tightened security in and around Eden Gardens and the hotel where the international cricketers are staying for the India-South Africa Test scheduled later this week," the officer said.

GUJARAT

All police units in Gujarat have been asked to remain alert and increase patrolling as a precautionary measure, officials said.

As a precautionary measure, all police units have been asked to remain alert in view of the Delhi blast incident, Gujarat DGP Vikas Sahay told PTI.

Every police unit has been asked to be vigilant and increase patrolling in their respective regions" he said.

Following the DGPs directive, police in all the major cities and districts in Gujarat have swung into action, officials said. Security has been beefed up at vital installations like railway stations, and police teams have started conducting foot patrolling, Surat police commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot said.

There is no need to panic. I appeal to people to inform police if they spot any suspicious person in their area. Our police teams are on the ground at present. They have started checking vehicles on roads, especially those entering or leaving the airport. We are taking all possible precautionary steps," Gehlot said.

ODISHA

Odisha police sounded high alert at all major religious and strategic installations, including the Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri, a senior official said.

All field units are on high alert. Jagannath Temple, all important religious places, vital installations are under security cover. Police patrolling has been enhanced," the officer told PTI.

Special security arrangements have also been made at the beach, railway station, bus stands, and other crowded areas in the pilgrim town. Security checks have also been intensified at entry and exit points in Puri.

In addition, major installations, including the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Balasore district and other defence sites across the state, are under tight security.

AMIT SHAH DIRECTS MULTI-AGENCY PROBE

After the deadly blast near the Red Fort Metro, Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the Delhi police commissioner and the director of the Intelligence Bureau, and ordered a coordinated investigation by multiple agencies.

Soon after the incident, Shah had detailed conversations with IB chief Tapan Deka and Delhi police commissioner Satish Golcha to review the situation. He also directed that the NIA, NSG, Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), and Delhi Police to work together on the investigation. Officials said all agencies have been told to thoroughly investigate the cause and nature of the explosion and submit a detailed report as soon as possible.

Security has been increased around the blast site, and forensic teams are collecting evidence. Meanwhile, an NIA team has arrived at the scene to help the Delhi Police.

Today, around 6.52 pm, a slow-moving vehicle stopped at the red light. An explosion happened in that vehicle and, due to the explosion, nearby vehicles were also damaged. All agencies, FSL, NIA, are here Some people have died, and some have been injured in the incident. The situation is being monitored. The home minister has also called us, and information is being shared with him from time to time," Satish Golcha said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to Shah so as to take stock of the situation.

WATCH | Felt As If Were Going To Die: Delhi Man Recalls Red Fort Metro Car Blast Horror

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Delhi has witnessed a terror attack with casualties after 14 years since the high court blast in 2011, whereas the last such attack on the Red Fort took place in 2000.

The 2011 blast claimed 15 lives and left 79 injured. In the 2000 terror attack on Red Fort, which was allegedly carried out by Lashkar-e-Taiba, two soldiers and one civilian were killed.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 21:17 IST

News india India On High Alert After 8 People Die In Car Blast Outside Delhi's Red Fort Metro

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Terror Hub Busted Near Delhi: 7 Arrested As J&K Police Seize 350 Kg Explosives, Assault Rifles In Faridabad

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 14:14 IST

An AK-47 rifle was recovered from Dr Adeels locker at Government Medical College, Anantnag. His arrest led to another doctors detention for questioning.

Faridabad recovery followed revelations made by Dr Adil Ahmad Rather during questioning.

Jammu and Kashmir Police have recovered two AK-47 rifles and 350 kilograms of explosives from Faridabad, Haryana, following disclosures made by the second doctor arrested in an ongoing terror investigation. The operation, carried out with the assistance of Haryana Police, marks a significant breakthrough in what officials describe as a potential Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror plot under development.

Recommended Stories Police recovered one assault rifle with three magazines, a pistol with eight live rounds, around 360 kg of explosives in eight suitcases, along with timers and bomb-making materials. Earlier, one AK-47 rifle was seized from the locker of Dr Adeel Ahmed Rather, a faculty member at the Government Medical College (GMC) in Anantnag. His arrest led to the detention of another doctor, Dr Muzamil, who is being questioned over his alleged involvement. 7 people arrested till now Jammu and Kashmir Police have arrested seven suspects till now, including two doctors and a local imam, linked to poster distribution and alleged terror activity. Three detainees hail from the area where the posters were pasted. The accused have been identified as Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil, Yasir-ul-Ashraf, and Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid, all residents of Nowgam, Srinagar; Molvi Irfan Ahmad, the Imam of a mosque from Shopian; Zameer Ahmad Ahanger alias Mutlasha from Wakura, Ganderbal; Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie alias Musaib from Koil, Pulwama; and Dr Adeel from Wanpora, Kulgam.

Weapons recovered include an AK-56 from Anantnag and an AK Krinkov from Faridabad. Investigators say the group used encrypted channels for indoctrination and fund movement, with funds purportedly raised via professional and academic networks; financial details are under probe. Security teams also seized about 2,900 kg of IED-making material- explosives, chemicals and reagents, inflammable substances, electronic circuits, batteries, wires, remote controls, timers and metal sheets.

Faridabad Police Commissioner Satendra Kumar Gupta clarified that the 350 kilograms of explosive material recovered during a joint operation was ammonium nitrate, not RDX as initially reported. The explosives were seized along with 20 timers, weapons, and an assault rifle following a 15-day joint operation involving Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana Police. Gupta confirmed that the accused, Dr. Muzamil, who had been teaching at a university, is under investigation for his alleged involvement in the case. The police said operations are still underway to uncover the full network behind the cache and its possible terror links.

JeM connection and key arrests

The investigation began after posters supporting the proscribed militant outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed surfaced in Srinagar on October 27. CCTV footage later revealed Dr. Adeel pasting the posters in public areas. The following week, on November 6, the Srinagar Police arrested him from a hospital in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, where he was working as a medicine specialist.

Dr. Adeel, a resident of Qazigund in south Kashmir, had been employed at GMC Anantnag until October 2024 as a senior resident. A subsequent raid at his workplace led to the discovery of an AK-47 rifle in his locker, a revelation that expanded the scope of the probe beyond Jammu and Kashmir.

Explosives found in Faridabad

Building on leads from Dr Adeels interrogation, police traced connections to Dr Mufazil Shakeel, who had been living in a rented flat in Faridabad, Haryana. A raid at the premises uncovered another AK-47 rifle and approximately 300 kilograms of explosives. Dr Shakeel remains absconding, and efforts are underway to locate and apprehend him.

Sources said the explosives and weapons were likely intended for large-scale subversive activities, though investigators are still determining the exact targets and network involved. Officials confirmed that all recoveries were made under the supervision of senior officers from the Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana Police.

The series of arrests and recoveries has exposed what authorities describe as an emerging nexus of radicalised individuals within professional sectors, including the medical community. The investigation is now focusing on possible cross-border links, terror financing routes, and arms trafficking operations spanning multiple states.

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The police have assured that a detailed statement will follow once the forensic examination of the seized materials is completed. Meanwhile, national security agencies have been roped in to assist with the probe, given the quantity of explosives and the potential scale of the plot.

Officials said the swift action was possible due to technical surveillance, including phone tracking and intelligence coordination between multiple states. The case continues to unfold, with more arrests anticipated in the coming days.

About the Author Shuddhanta Patra Shuddhanta Patra, a seasoned journalist with eight years of experience, serves as Senior SubEditor at CNN News 18. With expertise across national politics, geopolitics, business news, she has influen... Read More

Location : Faridabad, India, India

First Published: November 10, 2025, 09:52 IST

News india Terror Hub Busted Near Delhi: 7 Arrested As J&K Police Seize 350 Kg Explosives, Assault Rifles In Faridabad

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Madras High Court Orders Pension For Divorced Daughter Of Freedom Fighter

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LawBeat

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 19:28 IST

According to the petition, her father had served in the Indian National Army led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Burma and was imprisoned by the British for six months

The court directed the Centre to pass final orders within four months of receiving the States report. (File)

The Madras High Court recently held that divorced daughters of freedom fighters cannot be denied pensionary benefits merely because they were once married.

Justice V Lakshminarayanan, while allowing a writ petition filed by Thillai Lokanathan, quashed the Central Governments rejection of her claim under the Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme (SSSP), 1980, and directed that she be granted pension from the date of her application.

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The petitioner, daughter of late freedom fighters Shri Shanmuga Thevar and Tmt. Lakshmi, had approached the court after the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) rejected her plea seeking transfer of her deceased mothers Central Samman Pension to her name. The rejection was based on Clause 5.2.5 of the 2014 guidelines governing the scheme, which excludes divorced daughters from claiming the pension.

According to the petition, her father had served in the Indian National Army led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Burma and was imprisoned by the British for six months. Her mother had also been a recipient of both Central and State Samman pensions until her death at the age of 83.

After suffering cruelty in marriage, the petitioner divorced her husband, a Singapore citizen, and returned to India, where she lived with her mother. Following her mothers death, she applied for the transfer of the Central Samman pension, citing her deteriorating health and lack of financial support.

The Union Government opposed the plea, contending that under the 2014 guidelines, a dependent daughter must be both unmarried and without independent income to qualify for benefits. It cited several precedents, including State of H.P. v. Jafli Devi (1997) and Union of India v. Laxmibai (2011), to support its argument that divorced daughters are not entitled to maintenance.

The petitioners counsel, advocate A.P. Surya Prakasam, relied on Khajani Devi v. Union of India, decided by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2016, and Union of India v. Kolli Uday Kumari, decided by the Delhi High Court in 2023, where courts held that divorced daughters must be treated on par with unmarried daughters under the same pension scheme. The Supreme Court had in 2019 upheld the Khajani Devi decision, terming it a progressive and socially constructive approach" to ensure parity between divorced and unmarried daughters.

Justice Lakshminarayanan observed that the object of the Samman Pension Scheme is to recognise the sacrifices made by freedom fighters and to ensure dignity for their dependents. He noted that the Unions reliance on judgments dealing with compassionate appointments or maintenance law was misplaced since those cases did not involve the SSSP scheme.

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Holding that the reasoning in Khajani Devi applied squarely to the present case, the court declared the Centres decision unsustainable and struck down the order denying pension to the petitioner.

The court directed that the petitioner be paid pension from January 27, 2023, the date of her application. It further directed the Union Government to complete necessary formalities within eight weeks and the State Government to conduct an enquiry into her financial condition within four weeks. The court directed the Centre to pass final orders within four months of receiving the States report.

About the Author Salil Tiwari Salil Tiwari, Senior Special Correspondent at Lawbeat, reports on the Allahabad High Court and courts in Uttar Pradesh, however, she also writes on important cases of national importance and public in... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 19:28 IST

News india Madras High Court Orders Pension For Divorced Daughter Of Freedom Fighter

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On Cam: 20-Year-Old Student Dragged, Killed As Speeding BMW Rams Scooter In Rajkot

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 12:46 IST

The video shows the victim approaching from the opposite direction on a two-wheeler when a speeding BMW suddenly appears and crashes into him.

Screengrab of viral CCTV footage

In a tragic incident that took place in Gujarats Rajkot, a 20-year-old student was killed after being hit by a BMW. The incident took place near Crystal Mall on Kalavad Road around 2:30 AM on Monday.

The victim, identified as Abhishek Nathani, was a student at Marwadi College. A dramatic CCTV footage of the incident is also going viral online.

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The small clip shows the BMW racing at high speed moments before it rammed into his two-wheeler. The car also dragged the victim for a few metres before leaving him dead.

The video shows the victim approaching from the opposite direction on a two-wheeler when a speeding BMW suddenly appears and crashes into him.

The impact was so severe that Abhishek sustained fatal injuries and was declared dead at the scene by emergency responders.

Following the accident, Abhisheks elder brother, Keval Nathani, lodged a complaint at the Taluka Police Station.

The accused driver, identified as Atman Patel, has been arrested and booked under IPC Sections 106(1), 281, and relevant provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act.

Police said further investigation is underway to determine whether the driver was under the influence of alcohol or any other substance at the time of the crash.

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The incident has sparked outrage among locals, who gathered at the site demanding strict punishment for the accused.

About the Author Anushka Vats Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can ... Read More

Location : Rajkot, India, India

First Published: November 10, 2025, 12:46 IST

News india On Cam: 20-Year-Old Student Dragged, Killed As Speeding BMW Rams Scooter In Rajkot

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PM Modi Extends Condolences To Victims Of Delhi Red Fort Blast, Reviews Situation With Amit Shah

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Last Updated: November 11, 2025, 00:10 IST

PM Modi prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured and said he reviewed the situation by speaking to Home Minister Amit Shah, who visited the LNJP Hospital to meet the victims.

PM Narendra Modi. (File Image: @NarendraModi/YT/PTI)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences over the loss of lives in the blast near Delhis Red Fort Metro Station on Monday evening that killed 8 people and injured 20 others, and prayed for the recovery of the injured at the earliest. Follow LIVE UPDATES Here

Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi earlier this evening. May the injured recover at the earliest. Those affected are being assisted by authorities. Reviewed the situation with Home Minister Amit Shah Ji and other officials," he said on X.

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Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi earlier this evening. May the injured recover at the earliest. Those affected are being assisted by authorities. Reviewed the situation with Home Minister Amit Shah Ji and other officials.@AmitShah Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 10, 2025

His remarks came as Amit Shah arrived at the Lok Nayak Jaya Prakash (LNJP) Hospital to meet the injured before visiting the blast site.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also reacted to the incident, saying, The car blast incident in Delhi is extremely painful and disturbing. At this moment of immense grief, I extend my sincerest condolences to the families of the deceased. Praying for the speedy recovery of those injured."

The car blast incident in Delhi is extremely painful and disturbing. At this moment of immense grief, I extend my sincerest condolences to the families of the deceased. Praying for the speedy recovery of those injured. Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) November 10, 2025

READ MORE: Shocked, Deeply Concerned: Politicians Offer Condolences, Call For Probe After Deadly Delhi Blast

What Happened In Delhi?

A high-intensity explosion in a vehicle parked near the Red Fort Metro Station triggered panic in the area, setting multiple vehicles ablaze and shattering nearby window panes. At least 10 people were killed, and more than 30 injured, according to sources.

Police sounded a high alert in Delhi. Seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot with police cordoning off the area, the Delhi Fire Services said. Later, a team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) reached the site after intelligence inputs suggested the explosion was linked to a terror-related plot.

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High alerts were sounded in all major cities, including Mumbai, Bengaluru and Jaipur. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has issued a high alert across the country, including airports, Delhi Metro, heritage sites, government buildings and other key installations under its security cover.

According to sources, CCTV footage from the entire area, including the nearby metro station, is being examined to trace any suspicious movements. Preliminary inputs suggest that the explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED). One suspect is currently in Delhi Police custody, and possible links to Jammu and Kashmir are being investigated.

About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in int... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 21:47 IST

News india PM Modi Extends Condolences To Victims Of Delhi Red Fort Blast, Reviews Situation With Amit Shah

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PM Modi To Visit Bhutan On November 11-12: Inaugurations To Celebrations, Heres The Plan

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 19, 2025, 13:06 IST

A central event of the visit will be joint inauguration of the 1,020-MW Punatsangchhu-II Hydroelectric Project alongside His Majesty The King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck

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PM Narendra will hold bilateral discussions with his counterpart, Bhutan PM Tshering Tobgay. (File)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit the Kingdom of Bhutan for a state visit on November 11-12.

This high-profile visit continues the rich tradition of regular, high-level exchanges that define the unique and exemplary partnership between India and Bhutan. It is a moment to not only celebrate this enduring friendship but also to chart a new course for shared progress.

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A central event of the visit will be the joint inauguration of the massive 1,020-MW Punatsangchhu-II Hydroelectric Project alongside His Majesty The King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. This flagship project, a testament to the robust India-Bhutan energy cooperation, will boost Bhutans power capacity by nearly 40% and secure a consistent source of clean energy for India.

PM Modi will participate in the special celebrations marking the 70th birth anniversary of His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the revered Fourth Druk Gyalpo. This reflects the deep respect and close ties between the royal families and the leadership of both nations.

The visit coincides with the exposition of the Sacred Piprahwa Relics of Lord Buddha from India in Bhutan. PM Modi will offer prayers to the Holy Relics at Tashichhodzong in Thimphu and attend the Global Peace Prayer Festival, underscoring the profound spiritual and cultural foundation of the partnership.

Heartfelt appreciation to the people and leadership of Bhutan for the reverent welcome accorded to the Sacred Relics of Lord Buddha from India.These relics symbolise the timeless message of peace, compassion and harmony. The teachings of Lord Buddha are a sacred link between  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 9, 2025

Bilateral discussions

The Prime Minister will hold bilateral discussions with his counterpart, Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, to review the wide-ranging cooperation, particularly focusing on Indias 10,000 Crore grant assistance for Bhutans 13th Five Year Plan (2024-2029) and exploring new areas like:

Rail Connectivity: Reviewing progress on the historic cross-border rail links, including the Kokrajhar-Gelephu and Banarhat-Samtse lines.

Gelephu Mindfulness City: Reaffirming support for His Majestys visionary economic hub project.

Space and Fin-tech: Advancing collaboration in emerging sectors like the India-Bhutan SAT and BHIM UPI integration.

India-Bhutan relations

The foundation of India-Bhutan relations rests on the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation (1949, revised 2007). From being Bhutans largest development partner to being its top trading partner, India is deeply invested in the prosperity of its neighbour. This visit, following PM Modis landmark trip in March 2024 where he received the Order of the Druk Gyalpo, confirms the commitment to a shared future of peace, development, and strategic alignment.

In view of the special relations, India has provided special exemption to Bhutan from any restrictions or prohibitions on export of essential commodities to Bhutan. At the request of Bhutan, a number of trade points/routes have been approved for facilitating Bhutans exports to India and also to third countries. Recently, a B2B agreement for supply of various fertilisers to Bhutan was signed.

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India has always provided assistance for the 5-year plans of Bhutan. Ties have been cemented by infrastructure development in Bhutan. The Indian Border Roads Organisation has built 1,600 kms of roads, 120 kms of Tracks, 5,000 metres of Bridges, helipads, Paro airport and the countrys telecommunication network.

Buddhism is a shared heritage between India and Bhutan. A number of Bhutanese pilgrims travel to Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Sikkim, Udayagiri, Sarnath and other Buddhist sites in India. As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan, His Holiness the Je Khenpo presided over the ground-breaking ceremony to construct a Bhutanese temple in Rajgir. The temple will be inaugurated on 4th September 2025. The statue of Zhabdrung (a revered figure in Bhutan, regarded as the founder of the Bhutan nation), currently on exhibition at the Simtokha Dzong in Bhutan, has been loaned by the Asiatic Society, Kolkata.

About the Author Siddhant Mishra Siddhant Mishra is a Senior Special Correspondent at CNN-News18, covering foreign affairs and international relations. With over 12 years of experience in journalism, he has also reported extensively ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 17:47 IST

News india PM Modi To Visit Bhutan On November 11-12: Inaugurations To Celebrations, Heres The Plan

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Supreme Court Slams Trend Of Scandalous Allegations Against Judges, Drops Contempt Case After Apology

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 13:52 IST

The contempt proceedings were initiated after the top court found that the three had made unfounded and scandalous remarks against Telangana High Court judge

File photo of the supreme court (File pic/PTI

The Supreme Court on Monday took strong exception to the growing trend of litigants making scurrilous and scandalous" allegations against judges when rulings go against them. The observations came from a Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai and Justice Vinod Chandran while hearing a criminal contempt case against one N Peddi Raju and two advocates, Ritesh Patil and Nitin Meshram, Bar and Bench reported.

The contempt proceedings were initiated after the top court found that the three had made unfounded and scandalous remarks against Telangana High Court judge Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya in a plea seeking transfer of a case to another High Court.

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In the recent past, we have noticed a growing trend of making scurrilous and scandalous allegations against a judge when they dont pass favourable orders. Such a practice needs to be strongly deprecated," the court observed, according to Bar and Bench.

The top court noted that while lawyers are officers of the court and owe a duty of respect and restraint, it decided not to pursue the contempt case further since Justice Bhattacharya had accepted the apologies tendered by the litigant and his counsel. The majesty of law does not lie in punishment but forgiving when apology is made. Since the learned Judge of the High Court against whom allegations were made has accepted the apology, we do not proceed further," the court said.

The bench also cautioned lawyers to exercise care and ensure that scandalous allegations do not find their way into pleadings. However, we add that lawyers, as officers of court, will be careful before signing pleadings which make allegations against judges of this court. With this apology is accepted and the contempt plea is closed," it added, Bar and Bench reported.

Peddi Raju and the two advocates had earlier alleged that there was a likelihood of derailment of justice" in a case in which Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy received relief from the High Court under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Bar and Bench noted.

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The allegations were made in a transfer plea before the Supreme Court, which claimed bias on the part of Justice Bhattacharya and complained that Rajus lawyer was given only five minutes to argue.

The Supreme Court had condemned the accusations and issued contempt notices to Raju and his lawyers. In a hearing on August 11, the bench directed them to apologise before Justice Bhattacharya, leaving it to her discretion to accept or reject the apology. On August 22, Justice Bhattacharya accepted their apologies but also placed on record a rebuttal of the claims made against her.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 13:52 IST

News india Supreme Court Slams Trend Of Scandalous Allegations Against Judges, Drops Contempt Case After Apology

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Tirupati Laddu Scam: Delhi Trader Arrested For Supplying Chemicals Used To Adulterate Ghee

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 12:26 IST

Investigation found more than 90 per cent of the ghee used in preparation of Tirupati laddus had been mixed with palm oil and chemical additives.

Tirupati Laddu Scandal: 90% of Ghee Found Adulterated, Trader Arrested in Delhi (Photo: X)

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) laddu ghee adulteration case has arrested Delhi-based chemical trader Ajay Kumar Sugandha for his alleged role in supplying chemicals used to prepare fake ghee.

Identified as A-16 in the case, Ajay Kumar reportedly worked with Bholebaba Dairy directors Pomil Jain and Vipin Jain for several years, providing key chemical components used to adulterate ghee supplied to the TTD under private dairy labels.

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Chemicals used to mimic ghee composition

According to SIT officials, the trader had been supplying monoglycerides, acetic acid, and esters, substances used in palm oil processing, to Bholebaba Dairy for nearly seven years. These chemicals, imported from South Korea and distributed through a Delhi-based network, were bought under Ajay Kumars company name and forwarded to the dairys production units.

Investigators allege that the adulterated ghee, created by blending palm oil with chemical agents to mimic pure ghees texture and aroma, was distributed under the brand names Vaishnavi and AR Dairy, and later used in the sacred Tirupati laddus.

Over 90 per cent of ghee found adulterated

The SITs investigation has uncovered that more than 90 per cent of the ghee used in the preparation of the famous Tirupati laddus had been mixed with palm oil and chemical additives.

Laboratory tests conducted by forensic teams confirmed the presence of synthetic compounds inconsistent with dairy-based ghee. The findings point towards a long-running supply chain fraud involving multiple intermediaries across states.

The scandal came to light in September 2024, when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu accused the previous government of allowing the use of adulterated ghee containing animal fat in TTD laddu production. The revelations sparked public outrage and prompted the state to form an SIT under court supervision to probe the matter.

Ajay Kumar was detained in Delhi three days ago and later brought to Tirupati for interrogation at the SIT office. Investigators collected financial records and correspondence allegedly linking him to the supply of the chemicals.

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He was produced before the Nellore ACB Court, which remanded him to judicial custody until 21 November.

Meanwhile, the SIT continues to trace the wider network of suppliers and financial backers involved in the adulteration racket, which has raised serious questions about quality control and religious food sanctity at one of Indias most revered temples.

About the Author Shuddhanta Patra Shuddhanta Patra, a seasoned journalist with eight years of experience, serves as Senior SubEditor at CNN News 18. With expertise across national politics, geopolitics, business news, she has influen... Read More

Location : Tirupati, India, India

First Published: November 10, 2025, 12:26 IST

News india Tirupati Laddu Scam: Delhi Trader Arrested For Supplying Chemicals Used To Adulterate Ghee

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Pakistan Relocating Terror Bases To Bangladesh, Nepal With Turkish Help, Warns Report | Exclusive

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 12:01 IST

The assessment has prompted Indian security agencies to heighten monitoring of border regions and scrutinise foreign-funded projects in neighbouring countries

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An official said the assessment underscores Turkish funding channels active inside Bangladesh, along with Pakistans continuing transfer of trainers, operational support and infrastructural assistance. (iStock)

A fresh periodic security assessment by Indian agencies has raised serious concerns over evolving militant and military dynamics in South Asia, with an official aware of the document stating that Pakistan has planned to shift some of its operational terror bases partly into neighbouring countries and has accelerated this after Operation Sindoor". According to the official, the assessment suggests that this repositioning is being channelled into Bangladesh and Nepal.

The official said the assessment identifies specific locations where new training camps and residential complexes are being developed, particularly along stretches of which are few kilometres away from India-Bangladesh and India-Nepal borders. These areas have witnessed a fresh wave of cross-border movement", the official said, describing it as consistent with pre-operational logistical activity.

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Assessment, which is based on weeks of notes and information gathered at different levels, has also noted about the terror infrastructure that is being built in Bangladesh.

The assessment also notes that operatives belonging to Bangladesh-based militant outfits have been arrested in recent months across Indian states adjoining Bangladesh and Nepal, which the official said indicates an attempt to establish new corridors for movement and recruitment.

The most concerning issue, as per the official quoting the assessment for India, is Turkeys secret financial and technological support and Pakistans supplies to fuel such activities.

According to the official, the assessment has prompted Indian security agencies to heighten monitoring of border regions and scrutinise foreign-funded projects in neighbouring countries.

These indicators require sustained observation," the official said. The assessment recommends closer regional counter-terrorism coordination and stronger oversight of transnational financial flows."

LeT, JeM Expanding in Nepal; AQIS and ISIS Strengthening in Bangladesh

While there is a concern in the Pakistan terror grid about damages due to Indias latest military action during Operation Sindoor, according to the official, the assessment warns that Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) are expanding their footprint in Nepal. It further states that al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and ISIS-linked modules in Bangladesh are working to turn Bangladesh into a new breeding ground" for radicalisation, recruitment and networking, as pressure intensifies on these groups elsewhere.

The efforts have been ramped up in the past five months.

The new camps have been built as colonies, and inputs are that a few restricted areas will be introduced to hide terror-related activities from the world. There is constant migration from certain parts of Pakistan primarily to Bangladesh, followed by Nepal, which is raising concerns.

Foreign Funding Channels Highlighted

The official said the assessment underscores Turkish funding channels active inside Bangladesh, along with Pakistans continuing transfer of trainers, operational support and infrastructural assistance to various emerging groups.

According to the official, the assessment mentions a quadrilateral alignment" involving Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. It also states that certain infrastructure projects near the Indo-Nepal border have received covert Turkish funding, allegedly intended to support Pakistans wider objective of destabilising India and the South Asian security environment.

TurkeyBangladesh Closeness Deepens

Turkiye and Bangladesh are constantly involved in political engagements.

Turkiyes Deputy Foreign Minister Berris Ekinci visited Dhaka in early October for the 4th Round of Political Consultations, where the two governments discussed trade, investment, defence cooperation, counter-terrorism, connectivity, education and humanitarian issues. She also paid a courtesy call on Bangladeshs Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and held meetings with leaders across Bangladeshs political spectrum.

Defence Cooperation Sees Rapid Momentum

According to confirmed government-level communications, Turkiye and Bangladesh reviewed their ongoing defence and security cooperation during the October consultations, noting progress in defence industry collaboration, procurement, training and capacity building.

In addition, Bangladesh is expanding its Bayraktar TB2 UAV fleet, a development acknowledged in multiple official and trade discussions.

Talks are underway, according to industry reports, for Bangladesh to acquire modern Turkish air-defence systems, including Hisar-O+ and Siper.

These discussions have not yet culminated in an official contract, but authoritative defence outlets say the systems are reportedly under negotiation, with tentative delivery windows circulating in specialist reporting.

The head of Turkiyes Defence Industry Agency, Haluk Gorgun, recently visited Bangladesh, where he held discussions on defence cooperation and technology transfer, a fact confirmed by multiple official and state-linked sources.

Ideological Influence and Destabilisation Efforts

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The official said the assessment warns that Pakistan and Turkey may be coordinating ideological and operational activity" across Bangladesh and Nepal. The assessment also talks about Funds, weapons and extremist propaganda have been transferred into Bangladesh.

Turkish intelligence is reportedly involved in financing renovations of the Jamaat-e-Islami office in Dhaka.

About the Author Ankur Sharma With over 15 years of journalistic experience, Ankur Sharma, Associate Editor, specializes in internal security and is tasked with providing comprehensive coverage from the Ministry of Home Affairs, p... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 11:00 IST

News india Pakistan Relocating Terror Bases To Bangladesh, Nepal With Turkish Help, Warns Report | Exclusive

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Woman Doctor Arrested In Faridabad Explosives Case, Assault Rifle Recovered From Her Car

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News18.com Edited By: Pragati Ratti



Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 16:45 IST

The woman doctor, known to Dr Muzzamil, the Faridabad-based medical practitioner arrested earlier, was arrested after being interrogated by J&K police

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Crime Branch Police vehicle at the site after 350 kg of RDX and an assault rifle in Faridabad. (PTI)

The Jammu & Kashmir Police (JKP) investigation into the radicalised doctor module has widened, with the arrest of a woman doctor who emerged as a key suspect in the terror plot that led to the seizure of over 350 kilograms of explosives and sophisticated weapons in Faridabad.

The development adds a new layer to the multi-state probe that began with the arrest of Dr Adeel from Saharanpur and has since exposed what police describe as a highly radicalised network" of medical professionals operating as a covert cell.

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According to police sources, an assault rifle and other arms were recently recovered from a vehicle registered in Haryana (HR55 CH STE) that was traced back to the woman doctor, identified as Dr Shaheena.

She hails from Lucknow and was also part of Al Falah University.

The weapon haul from the vehicle included one AK Krinkov rifle with three magazines, a pistol with live rounds, two empty cartridges, and two additional magazines.

The woman doctor, reportedly known to Dr Muzzamilthe Faridabad-based medical practitioner arrested earlieris currently in Jammu and Kashmir and was arrested after being interrogated by JKP.

Investigators said that Muzzamil had been working as a senior doctor in Faridabads Al-Falah School of Medical Sciences & Research Centre for the past three years.

The case came to light after investigators raided multiple sites in Faridabad, including premises linked to Dr Muzzamil. Police recovered a large cache of IED-making materialsprimarily ammonium nitrate and other inflammable powdersstored in several suitcases. These recoveries followed initial leads obtained from Dr Adeels interrogation, which revealed that the doctors network had been radicalising recruits since 202122 under the guidance of handlers identified as Hashim and later Dr Omar in Srinagar.

Sources said the explosives found in Faridabad had reached Dr Muzzamil around 15 days before his arrest. He was taken into custody roughly 10 days ago and remains in JKPs charge. Investigators believe the consignment was meant to be used in improvised explosive devices (IEDs) as part of a broader plan to conduct high-impact strikes in the DelhiNCR region.

Woman Doctors Role Under Probe

Police are now examining whether the woman doctor provided logistical assistance or acted as a conduit for moving arms and materials. The vehicle used to transport the weapons is suspected to have been registered in her name or under her operational control. Investigators are also verifying her communications and financial transactions to determine whether she was aware of the groups radical motives or was an active participant.

Wider Network and Ongoing Raids

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The probe has also drawn in other individuals from Faridabad, including a local imam who is being questioned by the Haryana Police for possible links to the module. Multiple raids are continuing in Dhaouj village and adjoining areas, which police say were being used for safe-houses and storage due to their proximity to Delhi yet relative isolation.

Officials from both JKP and Haryana Police have termed the case one of the most significant recent counter-terror breakthroughs. With the involvement of multiple professionals, including doctors, the investigation highlights how radicalisation can infiltrate unexpected domainsturning those trained to save lives into conduits for violence. More arrests are expected as the probe continues to unravel the networks full scope.

First Published: November 10, 2025, 12:53 IST

News india Woman Doctor Arrested In Faridabad Explosives Case, Assault Rifle Recovered From Her Car

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Working Closely: India Steps Up Efforts For Quick Release Of 5 Nationals Kidnapped In Mali

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 10:50 IST

Mali, ruled by a military junta, has witnessed a surge in violence linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS-affiliated groups.

News18

India said on Monday that it is working closely with authorities in Mali to ensure the swift and safe release of five Indian nationals who were kidnapped last week amid escalating militant violence in the West African nation.

In a statement, the Indian Embassy in Bamako said, The Embassy is aware of the unfortunate incident of kidnapping of five of our nationals in Mali on November 6, 2025. The Embassy has been working closely with the Mali authorities and the company concerned to secure their safe release as quickly as possible."

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The Embassy is aware of the unfortunate incident of kidnapping of five of our nationals in  on 6 Nov 2025. The Embassy has been working closely with the  authorities and the company concerned to secure their safe release as quickly as possible. @MEAIndia @PMOIndia India in Mali (@IndianEmbassyML) November 9, 2025

According to an AFP report citing officials, the five Indians were abducted on Thursday near Kobri in western Mali by a group of armed men. They were reportedly employed with a company involved in local electrification projects.

A company representative told AFP that the remaining Indian employees have been moved to the capital, Bamako, for safety. We confirm the kidnapping of five Indian nationals. The other Indians working for the company have been evacuated to Bamako, the capital," the representative said. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the abduction.

Mali, ruled by a military junta, has witnessed a surge in violence linked to Al-Qaeda and ISIS-affiliated groups. The Al-Qaeda-linked Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has recently tightened its control in several regions, imposing a fuel blockade that has deepened the countrys economic crisis.

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Kidnappings of foreign nationals have become increasingly common in Mali, where years of insurgency, repeated coups, and militant attacks have eroded state control. In September, JNIM fighters reportedly kidnapped two Emirati citizens and an Iranian near Bamakothey were released only last week after a ransom of about USD 50 million was allegedly paid, according to reports.

Indian authorities said they remain in touch with their counterparts in Mali and are monitoring the situation closely.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 10:50 IST

News india Working Closely: India Steps Up Efforts For Quick Release Of 5 Nationals Kidnapped In Mali

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Do LED Face Masks Really Work? Expert Reveals Truth Behind The Latest Beauty Trend

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 15:40 IST

LED therapy can be advantageous, but it is not the instant miracle cure that social media would have one thinking.

The results of LED therapy depend on the skin type and the strength of the device. (Representative image: Getty)

The United Kingdom has banned several LED face mask advertisements for making unauthorised claims about treating acne and rosacea. The move highlights a growing trend, the rise of at-home beauty devices that promise professional-grade skincare results.

For years, the dream of glowing, youthful, spotless skin has fueled the beauty market. Now, flashy gadgets like LED face masks are the latest obsession, claiming to deliver salon-like results at home. But how do these masks with colourful lights actually work? Do they really deliver what they promise? And are at-home versions as effective as clinical treatments?

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To find out, we spoke to Dr Chandani Jain Gupta, MBBS, MD  Dermatologist & Aesthetic Physician at Elantis Healthcare, New Delhi, to understand the science and truth behind LED face masks. Below is the conversation with Dr Gupta, in which she answers key questions about the science, safety, and effectiveness of LED face masks.

How exactly do LED face masks work on the skin?

LED masks deliver specific light wavelengths that will penetrate the skin and trigger the bodys natural healing and regenerative processes.

The technical name for this process is photobiomodulation, and this process gives results for issues like acne, fine lines, and redness by stimulating the bodys production of collagen, reducing inflammation, and increasing the activity of the cells, all without harming the skin or using harmful UV rays.

Whats your take on the LED mask trend on social media, science-backed or more of a marketing hype?

LED therapy has scientific backing, especially red and blue light treatments. Nevertheless, social media can tend to exaggerate results.

LED therapy has the potential to enhance the health of your skin; however, the visual results will take time, and there will be a difference in what patients can expect based on the quality of the device that they are using and the consistency of use.

LED therapy can be advantageous, but it is not the instant miracle cure that social media would have one think.

In your clinical experience, how often do you recommend LED therapy to patients?

In a clinical setting, it is a common recommendation to have the LED therapy two to three nights a week in the beginning phase of treatment; as you start to see some progress, the number of visits may go to once a week and then monthly for the maintenance phase.

The frequency of visits is determined by the skin issue, the strength of the device, and the persons response to therapy.

Have you seen consistent results with at-home devices among your patients?

At home, LED masks can visibly improve mild acne, early fine lines, or redness; however, this is a modest change. Since consumer devices are less potent than medical-grade devices, consumer devices take longer to provide visible results, usually six to twelve weeks of consistent use, and regular maintenance visits are also needed.

Can LED therapy actually boost collagen or reduce acne, as many brands claim?

Yes, red and near infrared light stimulate collagen and elastin production, making the skin firmer and reducing wrinkles. Blue light reduces acne-causing bacteria, lowers oil production, and calms inflammation. Together, LED therapy helps to heal skin and reduce breakouts, effectively treating both the effects of ageing skin and active acne.

Are at-home LED masks comparable in effectiveness to in-clinic professional treatments?

No, at-home masks are not as effective as clinical treatments. Clinical use devices deliver significantly more light intensity, allowing them to penetrate the skin more effectively and with a quicker time to results.

Home-use masks are more appropriate for gentleness and safety; however, you will require more frequent usage and be forced to wear masks longer to allow for a visible improvement in skin texture or acne control.

Are there any results users can realistically expect, and how soon?

Red light therapy shows results in up to 812 weeks of consistent use with smoother, firmer skin and reduced fine lines. Blue light therapy can help with acne, oil reduction, and reducing inflammation in about 48 weeks.

The results depend on the skin type and strength of the device, but will be gradual and cumulative over time.

What are the most common misconceptions people have about LED face masks?

Some myths are that LED masks can give you instant results, will work the same on every skin type, or will replace a professional treatment, thinking that stronger, better results. Others have myths that redness/tan/burn is from the light, which is not always the case.

Results take place with consistent use and with the correct wavelength, not necessarily the intensity of the light.

Are there any skin conditions or medical situations where LED therapy should be avoided?

Yes. Individuals with photosensitive skin conditions, those who take medications that are light sensitive, active skin infections or open wounds, or melasma should not use LED therapy.

It is also best to avoid LED therapy during pregnancy, if you have epilepsy, a pacemaker, or an eye disease, unless approved by your doctor.

Can these devices replace regular skincare routines or clinical treatments?

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No, LED masks are not a substitute for a skincare regimen or professional treatment; they are considered a complementary device at home.

LED masks can help enhance the results achieved when using topical products or dermatological care. LED masks cannot achieve what peels, lasers, or microneedling can achieve, but they help support and maintain incredibly healthy, glowing skin.

About the Author Surbhi Pathak Surbhi Pathak, subeditor, writes on India, world affairs, science, and education. She is currently dabbling with lifestyle content. Follow her on X: @S_Pathak_11.

First Published: November 10, 2025, 15:40 IST

News lifestyle Do LED Face Masks Really Work? Expert Reveals Truth Behind The Latest Beauty Trend

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World Science Day For Peace And Development 2025: Theme, History And Global Impact

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 07:25 IST

World Science Day 2025, observed on November 10, highlights sciences role in society, sustainability, and global challenges. Discover its theme and impact worldwide.

World Science Day For Peace And Development 2025 theme is Trust, transformation, and tomorrow: The science we need for 2050. (AI generated image)

World Science Day for Peace and Development is celebrated annually on November 10, worldwide to highlight the importance of science in our day-to-day lives. This year, the event will be held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, at the 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference, there.

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World Science Day highlights the vital role played by science in our society and emphasises on the need for public participation in debates about emerging scientific issues. Through World Science Day for Peace and Development, scientists educate the global citizenry on sciences role in understanding and sustaining our planet. Below, we will look at the theme for the day this year, the history and worldwide impact of the day.

World Science Day For Peace And Development 2025 Theme

The theme for World Science Day for peace and Development, this year, is Trust, transformation, and tomorrow: The science we need for 2050." The theme underscores the need to use scientific knowledge and tools in addressing the problems faced in our societies.

In a recorded message, Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan of Jordan highlighted how science plays a key role in ensuring we create a future that promises greater equality, security and opportunity."

She added that science also plays a prominent role as an enabler of fair and sustainable development," and that people must work together" to tackle climate change, water shortage and food security.

World Science Day For Peace And Development: History

UNESCO first celebrated World Science Day for Peace and Development in 2002, but the day was first proclaimed in 2001, by UNESCO at its General Conference. It is here that the November 10 date was selected for the annual celebration.

This was the outcome of the1999 World Conference on Science in Budapest, where a commitment was made to attain the goals in the Declaration on Science and the Use of Scientific Knowledge, and also to adhere to the recommendations made in the Science Agenda: Framework for Action, at the Budapest conference.

World Science Day For Peace And Development 2025: Global Impact

Since 2001,World Science Day for Peace and Development has had a tremendous impact across the globe in the advancement of science for the benefit of society.

The day has helped nations and communities gather the necessary funds to create sustainable scientific programmes and projects across the globe.

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One such UNESCO-supported programme is the creation of the Israeli-Palestinian Science Organization (IPSO).

About the Author Nibandh Vinod Nibandh Vinod is a seasoned journalist with nearly three decades of experience, known for his in-depth coverage of events and festivals, as well as his expertise in SEO-driven content at News18.com. A... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 07:25 IST

News lifestyle events World Science Day For Peace And Development 2025: Theme, History And Global Impact
Your Midday Beer In Phuket Might Cost You Rs 28K: Thailands New Alcohol Rules Explained

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 13:12 IST

As per the new alcohol regulations in Thailand, being caught with a drink outside the designated hours in public spaces could result in a fine of up to 10K baht (around Rs 28K).

Thailand enforces stricter alcohol regulations.

Thailand  the land of golden beaches, neon-lit nights, and street-side cocktails  is redefining what freedom looks like for travellers. For decades, its beach bars in Phuket, rooftop lounges in Bangkok, and full-moon parties in Koh Phangan have drawn millions seeking sun, sand, and spirited nights out. But as of November 8, that carefree rhythm has changed.

The Thai government has quietly rolled out new, stricter alcohol regulations that put a cap on when you can buy and consume alcohol, and the penalties are serious. The move, aimed at curbing excessive drinking and improving public order, signals a new era for Thailands tourism experience, one where timing your drink might matter as much as choosing your resort.

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Whats Changing

Thailand has long had designated hours for alcohol sales  from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and 5:00 PM to midnight; but the new rules go a step further. Now, enforcement extends beyond sellers to include consumers. This means that being caught with a drink outside those hours, even in public spaces like beaches, bars, or convenience stores, could result in a fine of up to 10,000 baht (around Rs 28,000).

So that carefree afternoon beer at a beachfront shack or a takeaway bottle from a 7-Eleven could suddenly become an expensive indulgence. Authorities say the move is part of a wider initiative to promote responsible drinking, reduce alcohol-related accidents, and improve Thailands international image.

This tightening of rules follows another significant reversal earlier this year  when Thailand rolled back its relaxed cannabis laws. The country, once seen as Southeast Asias liberal playground, appears to be prioritising regulation over recreation.

For travellers, this means a subtle but important shift. Thailands nightlife remains vibrant  Bangkoks rooftop bars still glitter, and Koh Phangans full-moon parties still pulse, but spontaneity may now come with a schedule. Hoteliers and tourism operators are urging visitors to plan their evenings accordingly, ensuring celebrations stay within legal hours.

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What Do The New Alcohol Regulations Mean For Tourists In Thailand?

If youre planning a trip, the best way to experience Thailands legendary nightlife is to stay informed. Enjoy that sunset cocktail, indulge in the island vibe  but keep an eye on the clock. Because in todays Thailand, paradise still pours, just not around the clock.

Location : Delhi, India, India

First Published: November 10, 2025, 13:12 IST

News lifestyle travel Your Midday Beer In Phuket Might Cost You Rs 28K: Thailands New Alcohol Rules Explained
Bobby Deol Joins Ahaan Panday And Sharvari In Ali Abbas Zafars Upcoming Action Romance: Report

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 11:14 IST

Bobby Deol has reportedly been roped in to play Ahaan Pandays adversary in Ali Abbas Zafars action drama which also stars Sharvari.

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Bobby Deol Roped In For Ali Abbas Zafars Next With Ahaan Panday

After the massive success of Saiyaara, Ahaan Panday will next be seen in Ali Abbas Zafars action romance film, alongside Sharvari. Fans have been eagerly waiting for any updates about the film. Now, as per the latest report, Bobby Deol has been roped in for the film as well. Mid Day reports that he will play Ahaans adversary in the yet-untitled action drama. Bobby Deol, who has recently been seen in a string of negative roles, will reportedly play a grey character in this film.

Bobby Deol Roped In For Ali Abbas Zafars Next With Ahaan Panday

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Mid Day quoted a source saying that while Bobby Deol isnt the antagonist in the film starring Ahaan Panday, his character will have grey shades. It will be incorrect to call him the villain. His character is in an authoritative position in the film, but there is more than meets the eye. As the story progresses, Bobbys character is shown having grey shades, which influences his dynamics with the hero," said the source.

The report further states that Ali Abbas Zafar and producer Aditya Chopra were clear from the start that Bobby Deols role cant be a menacing and an all-black role, as the actor has done such roles in the past few years. For the unversed, Bobby Deol was seen in a negative character in Animal, Aashram and Kanguva. He will also be seen as the antagonist in Alia Bhatt and Sharvari starrer Alpha. Ali Abbas Zafar did not want to portray the actor in a similar light in his next.

The source further added, The director crafted a larger-than-life persona, keeping Bobby in mind, but at the same time, gave the character personal motivations and shades of grey. Bobby came on board only a week ago."

Earlier, a report by Mid Day claimed that the director will be heading to the UK in December for a month-long recce before the shoot kicks off in February 2026. They will be shooting the film in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. Reportedly, Ali and Aditya are confident about the movie, especially after the success of Saiyaara.

On the professional front, Bobby Deol was recently seen in Aryan Khans directorial debut series The Ba***ds Of Bollywood. He will next be seen in the Tamil film Jana Nayagan starring Vijay, and YRFs Alpha.

First Published: November 10, 2025, 11:14 IST

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Lee Tamahori, Die Another Day Director, Dies At 75 After Battling Parkinsons Disease

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 07:25 IST

Lee Tamahori, director of Die Another Day and Once Were Warriors, died at 75 after battling Parkinsons disease.

Lee Tamahori is no more.

Lee Tamahori, the acclaimed New Zealand filmmaker best known for directing Die Another Day and Once Were Warriors, has passed away at the age of 75. His family confirmed that he died at home following a battle with Parkinsons disease.

Tamahoris family, in a statement shared with New Zealands public broadcaster RNZ, described him as an artist whose impact went far beyond his filmography. His legacy endures with his whanau, his mokopuna, every filmmaker he inspired, every boundary he broke and every story he told with his genius eye and honest heart," they said.

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Born in Wellington in 1950, Tamahori began his career as a commercial artist and photographer before moving into the film industry. In the late 1970s, he worked as a boom operator and later became an assistant director. During the 1980s, he co-founded the production company Flying Fish, where he directed several commercials and television projects. His early short film, Thunderbox (1989), marked the beginning of his directorial journey.

Tamahori gained international attention with his debut feature, Once Were Warriors (1994), a raw portrayal of Maori family life and domestic violence that premiered at Cannes. Speaking before a Toronto screening, he cautioned audiences about the films intensity, saying, I find people are pretty quiet after seeing this film." The films critical success opened doors in Hollywood, leading him to direct high-profile projects across genres.

His Hollywood portfolio included Mulholland Falls (1996), the survival thriller The Edge (1997) starring Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin, and Along Came a Spider (2001). He went on to helm the James Bond film Die Another Day (2002), the action sequel xXx: State of the Union (2005), and the sci-fi thriller Next (2007) with Nicolas Cage. He also directed episodes of popular television series such as The Sopranos and Billions.

In a 2022 interview at the Paramount lot, Tamahori recalled his early fascination with cinema. Thats what I did in my youth, sneaked into every movie I wasnt allowed to see, and thats how I became a filmmaker," he said, reflecting on his childhood habit of skipping school to watch films, particularly American westerns and action movies.

Later in his career, Tamahori returned to his Maori heritage with The Patriarch (2016) and The Convert (2023), the latter starring Guy Pearce as an English minister entangled in conflicts between warring Maori tribes in 19th-century New Zealand. His family remembered him as a charismatic leader and fierce creative spirit" who was deeply committed to promoting Maori talent both on and off screen.

Tamahori is survived by his wife, Justine, and his children, Sam, Max, Meka, and Tane.

First Published: November 10, 2025, 07:25 IST

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Opinion | Improving Air Quality Is Key To Strengthening Public Health In India

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 12:12 IST

The discussion should be one of short, medium, and long-term solutions to be able to tackle the menace.

A vehicle of the PWD sprays water using an anti-smog gun to curb air pollution amid smoggy conditions in New Delhi on November 5, 2025. (Image: Arun SANKAR/AFP)

The prime-time debate on national TV that runs each time on Diwali no longer argues a moot question. The fact that high air quality has its impact on all sectors of the economy and all aspects of human health is well established. The discussion should be one of short, medium, and long-term solutions to be able to tackle the menace which every country has struggled with, but which every country has also tried to solve in a way that works for them.

This Diwali once again reminded us how deeply air pollution affects public health in India. In Delhi-NCR, pollution levels spiked sharply in the days following the festival, with PM concentrations rising more than threefold compared to pre-Diwali levels. Even if the spike is temporary, hospitals across the region are reporting a surge in admissions for respiratory distress, asthma, and cardiac complications  a grim annual trend that underscores the real cost of polluted air. Permitting green crackers led to the highest concentration of PM2.5 and the highest mean of PM2.5 on Diwali night as compared to the last five years. Even if crackers are a one-time affair on Diwali, the load it adds on baseload levels disrupts the thin balance which Delhis air hangs on.

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Against this backdrop, a new Health Benefit Assessment Dashboard, developed by Climate Trends in collaboration with IIT-Delhi, provides timely insight into just how damaging prolonged exposure to polluted air can be. The tool quantifies the health burden of air pollution, showing in scientific terms how clean air directly translates into fewer diseases, especially among women and children.

When India launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019, it was largely seen as an environmental intervention, aimed at reducing PM2.5 and PM10 levels by 2030 per cent by 2024, using 2017 as the baseline year. But emerging evidence shows that this programmes benefits extend well beyond cleaner skies; its contributing to a stronger foundation for public health and well-being. The Dashboard we have developed shows with scientific clarity how meeting NCAP targets could substantially reduce disease prevalence and makes a connection between cleaner air and healthier citizens, reminding us that air quality policy is, at its heart, a public health policy.

Drawing on National Family Health Survey-5 data across 641 districts, the dashboard links long-term exposure to PM2.5 with diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, COPD, heart disease, and anaemia in women, and with lower respiratory infections (LRI), low birth weight (LBW), and anaemia in children. During the NFHS-5 survey period between 2019 and 2021, Indias average PM2.5 concentration stood at an alarming 59.6 g/m. A 30 per cent reduction under NCAP would bring this down to 41.7 g/m, still above safe global limits but with significant health dividends.

The science behind these associations is now well established. Fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, is so small that it penetrates deep into the lungs and even crosses into the bloodstream. Once in circulation, it triggers systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, and disturbances in the bodys immune response. These processes damage blood vessels and impair the function of vital organs. That is why long-term exposure is linked not only to respiratory problems but also to cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and heart disease. Similarly, air pollution affects insulin resistance, explaining the rise in diabetes risk among exposed populations. For women, chronic exposure during reproductive years weakens oxygen delivery, increasing the likelihood of anaemia. For children, whose organs and immune systems are still developing, the risks are magnified: inhaled pollutants inflame the airways, leading to recurrent respiratory infections, while exposure during pregnancy increases the chances of low birth weight and impaired growth.

Against this scientific backdrop, the findings become even more urgent. Diabetes prevalence among women of reproductive age could decline from 1.7 per cent to 1.4 per cent nationwide, with Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, and Haryana recording the sharpest reductions. Hypertension prevalence could fall by up to 8 per cent, particularly in Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi, while COPD and heart disease cases would also see meaningful declines of up to 12 and 10 per cent respectively. Even anaemia, often seen only as a nutritional challenge, shows reductions of 38 per cent linked to cleaner air, with the biggest gains in states such as Assam, Bihar, and Jharkhand. Importantly, even relatively urbanised union territories like Chandigarh, Goa, and Puducherry demonstrate measurable benefits, underlining that air quality improvement is not just a northern or Indo-Gangetic plain issue but a nationwide health investment.

The story is equally urgent for children. Our analysis highlights how cleaner air could reduce lower respiratory infections, low birth weight, and anaemiaconditions that have life-long implications for child survival and development. In Delhi and Bihar, for example, LRI prevalence drops by half a percentage point when NCAP targets are met, while the burden of LBW falls in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Assam, and Punjab. The reductions in childhood anaemia are perhaps the most dramatic, with states like Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal showing declines of three to four percentage points, translating into millions of healthier children. These improvements are not confined to high-burden states alone; southern states like Kerala and Karnataka, and smaller territories like Goa and Puducherry, also experience measurable gains.

What emerges from this evidence is that air pollution is not merely an environmental concern but a fundamental determinant of health equity. The Indo-Gangetic Plain and eastern states, where dense populations coincide with some of the highest levels of air pollution, stand to gain the most from clean air interventions. But even outside these regions, the benefits are visible. The logic is simple: every microgram reduction in PM2.5 translates into fewer cases of chronic and acute disease, fewer hospital visits, and better health outcomes for women and children across India.

This should sharpen the urgency of NCAP 2.0 implementation and of determining clean air as a key component of developmental priority. Clean air is not just about reducing smog or improving visibility; it is preventive healthcare at scale. Unlike hospital-based interventions that treat disease after onset, reducing air pollution prevents disease before it begins. In a country where the health system is overstretched and preventive care is often underfunded, such co-benefits are invaluable.

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As India reviews NCAPs progress, regulators must recognise that enforcing air quality targets is not only an environmental obligation but also a health imperative. Strengthening monitoring networks, ensuring accountability at the state level, and integrating clean air strategies into public health planning are urgent steps. The point is simple: clean air is the path to a healthier India".

Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the writers. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.

About the Author Aarti Khosla Aarti Khosla is the FounderDirector of Climate Trends and Carbon Copy, working across the environment sector and FMCGs to advance Indias climate discourse.

First Published: November 10, 2025, 12:12 IST

News opinion Opinion | Improving Air Quality Is Key To Strengthening Public Health In India

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Opinion: Terror Has A Religion, White Collar Jihad Tests Limits Of Political Correctness

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 19:40 IST

Investigations revealed that these radicalised doctors were in contact with foreign handlers operating from Pakistan and other countries

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Faridabad recovery followed revelations made by Dr Adil Ahmad Rather during questioning.

We would have only found out after their twisted designs had exploded in a fireball of hate and intolerance. Doctors are supposed to be the heralds of life. But four Muslim Indian doctors secretly traded their stethoscopes to become the portents of an apocalypse.

Luckily, they were found out just in time, thanks to a string of arrests over the past week.

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One set of arrests, which took place in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Jammu & Kashmir, was accompanied by the seizure of over 2,500 kg of bomb-making material, rifles, pistols, and other suspicious items. This cell, comprising three doctors, was exposed when one of them got careless while pasting posters of the Pakistan-based banned terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in an area tracked by CCTV cameras.

The other set of arrests, made in Gujarat, led to the recovery of poison-formulating material and pistols hoarded by another accomplished doctor.

Both sets of arrests took place within a day of each other, though authorities have not said whether they are linked so far.

Investigations revealed that these radicalised doctors were in contact with foreign handlers operating from Pakistan and other countries, as well as banned outfits like ISIS, Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGUH).

Taken together, they expose a growing white-collar terror ecosystem operating from within professional circles. And this discovery ought to finally lead to a rethink in policymaking circles and, of course, in civil society.

Thus far, guided by political correctness more than national interest, the response to radicalisation has been framed in a socio-economic perspective. We are told Muslim youth in Kashmir and Kerala are picking up the gun because they have no prospects. Throw money at the problem, and it will disappear.

If that were truly the case, then these highly educated doctors, with bright careers and promising futures, would have had no cause to pick up the gun or design deadly biochemical weapons to eliminate lakhs of innocents.

Per capita income in Kashmir, for instance, has grown 148 per cent between 2015 and 2025 and stands at around 1.5 lakh per year. This income level is more than double that of Bihar. Yet Kashmiri youth are recruited by terror organisations in percentage numbers hundreds of times higher than Bihari youth.

And if prosperity and opportunity were truly an antidote to jihad, no one from the wealthy Gulf states like Qatar (GDP per capita $1,22,000) or Saudi Arabia ($74,000) would join Islamist terror groups. Forget West Asia, even Belgium, with its generous welfare state, has been a fertile recruiting ground for ISIS. In fact, Belgium has seen the largest inflow of citizens from Western Europe into the ranks of jihadi organisations.

The time has come to identify the elephant in the room: religious ideology. Pan-national jihad, while not the only, but certainly the most essential ingredient, is fuelled by a political vision that sees the world in a binary: Dar al-Harb and Dar al-Islam.

Dar al-Islam refers to lands where Islamic law prevails, while Dar al-Harb refers to lands not governed by Islamic law, lands considered potential adversaries.

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This worldview lies at the core of Islamist radicalism. India, a nation sworn to secularism and tolerance, is a red rag to the raging Islamist-supremacist bull. So is the West. But unfortunately, the dominance of wokeism and its pronounced idealism has meant that anyone daring to advance the clash of civilisations" thesis is dismissed as an ignorant skinhead" on the fringes of society.

Indian policymakers must learn from the mistakes the West has made. The NDAs managers must avoid woke virtue signalling when framing a response to jihad. The war on terror cannot afford to take even ideological prisoners.

About the Author Rahul Shivshankar Rahul Shivshankar is Consulting Editor at Network18. He tweets at @RShivshankar

First Published: November 10, 2025, 19:38 IST

News opinion Opinion: Terror Has A Religion, White Collar Jihad Tests Limits Of Political Correctness

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Opinion | The Grammar Of Power: Nitish Kumar & The Long March Of Bihars Politics

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 15:35 IST

Kumar did not transform Bihar, but he taught it endurance. His politics was never about the seizure of power; it was about surviving within it

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Bihar CM Nitish Kumar (PTI)

The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old is dying and the new cannot be born; in this interregnum, a great variety of morbid symptoms appear.

 Antonio Gramsci, Prison Notebooks

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The first phase of the Bihar assembly elections is over. The second and final phase will take place on November 11, and the results will be declared on November 14. As the dust settles, Bihar once again stands between memory and fatigue. Its politics has never been about mere elections; it has been about remembering who we were and forgetting just enough to survive who we have become.

Among those who mastered this delicate balance stands Nitish Kumar, the most enduring political figure in Bihars modern history.

To call him a Chanakya, as admirers do, is to mistake survival for strategy. To call him a betrayer, as critics insist, is to ignore the cruel arithmetic of Bihars politics. The truth lies somewhere in betweenthe story of a man who learnt to bend so that he could never be broken.

The Inheritance Of A Long Battle

To understand Nitish Kumars political grammar, one must travel back nearly a century, to 1933, when three castesYadav (Ahir), Kurmi, and Kushwahajoined hands to form the Triveni Sangh. It was a rare alliance against the entrenched Savarna Samantvad that had defined Bihars social order for centuries.

The Sanghs founders, Yadunandan Prasad Mehta, Jagdev Singh Yadav, and Shivpujan Singh, did not speak the language of capital or governance; they spoke of dignity and representation in a world that refused to see them. For the first time, Bihars backward and marginalised communities began to believe they could own politics, not merely serve it.

That inheritance travelled down generations, through the idealism of Karpoori Thakur, through the slogans of Jagdeo Babu, until one day it reached a man named Lalu Prasad Yadav. As Sankarshan Thakur so evocatively documents in Subaltern Sahib: Bihar and the Making of Lalu Yadav, this was more than a political rise; it was the coming of age of a people long denied their share of power. Thakur situates the Lalu moment as a social upheaval rather than a mere electoral shift, a turbulent, chaotic assertion that sought to rewrite who had the right to rule.

It was within the afterglow, and disillusionment, of that assertion that Nitish Kumar emerged.

Lalus Moment: The Shout From Below

When Lalu Yadav rose to power in 1990, he didnt arrive on the strength of manifestos or modern economics. He arrived like a rupture, the laughter of the poor echoing in the Assembly. His government gave voice to the mocked and the invisible. He looked the landlords in the eye and taught his people to do the same.

For all the chaos of his rule, often caricatured by the English-speaking press as jungle raj, Lalus Bihar saw a profound psychological shift. The poor began to imagine equality, not just demand it.

But revolutions, like floods, are difficult to contain. Lalus politics of liberation turned into the politics of family, and the energy of assertion withered into fatigue.

The Deal Of Survival

Thats when Nitish Kumar, another child of the same soil, began to write a different grammar. He understood something Lalu didnt: the system forgives the obedient, not the defiant.

When he broke from Lalu and joined hands with the BJP, it was not ideology but instinct. He sensed that Bihars power matrix depended not on rebellion but reassurance, to the elite that chaos was over, to Delhi that Bihar would play along, to the media that it could once again talk about development.

Give me power, Nitish seemed to promise, and I will give you order.

The bureaucracy relaxed. Capital returned. The upper castes found their way back into decision-making. Nitish became the perfect bridge, a backward-caste face acceptable to the forward-caste establishment.

But this success came at a cost. In appeasing the system, Nitish gradually undid some of the gains of the Triveni legacy. The fire of protest turned into the mild light of governance. The politics of rights became the politics of arrangements.

The Myth And Method Of Sushasan

For nearly two decades, Nitish Kumar was sold as Sushasan Babu, the face of Bihars turnaround. Roads were built, schools reopened, and crime fell briefly, but Bihar remained trapped between old hierarchies and new dependencies.

The national media, hungry for a success story, built Nitish into one. He was the good CM, the development face of the backward classes, the Chanakya of coalition politics. Yet behind this image, the old elites quietly regained their hold.

As veteran JDU leader Navendra Jha, one of Nitishs oldest associates and a founding member of the Samata Party, observes: Nitish Kumar may have been called many names, but at heart he remains a socialist, not of slogans, but of systems. He knew that if social justice was to survive, it had to be institutionalised, not merely romanticised."

The Samata Party, formed in 1994 by George Fernandes and Nitish Kumar after their split from the Janata Dal, was conceived as a corrective to the drift of socialist politics in the 1990s. It sought to retain the moral clarity of the JP Movement while adapting to the demands of modern governance, a middle path between ideology and institution.

Sitting in his home at Abari in Madhubani, Navendra Jha speaks with the calm conviction of one who has seen Bihars politics shift from idealism to governance: We formed the Samata Party with the belief that dignity must walk with discipline. Nitish carried that belief forward. He brought the order of administration to the passion of politics."

He adds, almost philosophically: Nitish is not a dreamer in the Lohia mould, nor a populist in the Lalu style. He is a builder. He may not shout slogans of socialism, but he works them into the grammar of governance. He knew that a state cannot breathe in perpetual rebellion."

And then, with a smile that carries both affection and fatigue: Nitish understands people, their fears, their limits, their hopes. He has given Bihar not perfection, but predictability. In a state once addicted to upheaval, that itself is a revolution."

In Jhas reflections lies a fuller defence of Nitish Kumar: he did not abandon socialism; he adapted it to endure. The dream of vikas became the discipline of vyavastha, and while it may have dulled the romance of revolution, it preserved the dignity of order.

As Jha further notes, In todays political landscape, Nitish Kumar stands as perhaps Indias most capable social democrat, a leader who understands societys pulse, not merely its politics. His governance model blends welfare with restraint, ambition with accountability."

That balance has been the secret of Nitishs longevity. His governments bicycle and scholarship schemes for girls, 50 percent reservation for women in Panchayati Raj institutions, and the liquor prohibition policy, though contested, won him an enduring constituency among women. The improvement of public health systems, the revival of school attendance, and focused welfare schemes for marginalised groups gradually reshaped Bihars perception from a state of despair to one of possibility.

His insistence on law and order after the turbulence of the 1990s restored a degree of trust in the states machinery. Roads and power connectivity gave rural Bihar a tangible sense of governance, while his welfare initiatives brought new voices, especially women and the poor, into the democratic conversation.

Nitishs model of Sushasan was never revolutionary, but it was transformative in its patience. He traded spectacle for substance, charisma for consistency. Where others shouted reform, he quietly built systems that worked, at least enough to keep hope alive.

That, perhaps, is Nitish Kumars truest legacy: the creation of a culture of governance in a state once defined by chaos.

The New Battlefield: NDA, INDIA & Shadow of 2025

As Bihar heads toward the second phase of polling, the political landscape is once again a chessboard of caution. Nitish Kumar, now aligned with the NDA, remains both its strength and its uncertainty.

The BJPs leadership, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, is said to be calculating the post-election equations carefully. While the BJP has cultivated its own OBC narrative, it knows Nitishs face offers a continuity that no other leader in Bihar can replicate.

If Nitish Kumar is not projected as the chief ministerial face, the NDA risks alienating both the Kurmi-Koeri base and moderate voters who still associate him with stability.

As Navendra Jha puts it succinctly: Bihar values continuity as much as change. Remove the anchor, and the ship drifts."

Meanwhile, the INDIA bloc, with Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav reviving the rhetoric of social justice, faces its own contradictions. The bloc has slogans, but not yet structure; passion, but not yet persuasion.

Adding to this complex tableau is Prashant Kishor, once Nitishs ally and now his critic, whose Jan Suraaj campaign travels through Bihars interiors, seeking to rekindle the moral core of politics. His presence reminds both Nitish and Lalus heirs that Bihars next movement might come from outside the establishment.

Recent months have also seen Nitish push for greater female representation in local governance, reinforce reservation in state jobs, and support the caste-based survey that has given new shape to Bihars social arithmetic. These moves show that even after decades in power, Nitish continues to think like an organiser, not merely a ruler. As Jha says: He still believes in reform through rules. The caste survey, the focus on education, the womens quotas, these are not slogans; they are systems of equality."

Between Dignity And Discipline

Lalu once said, Politics is not about the chair; it is a struggle to change society". Nitish never repeated that line. His version might have been: In politics, the chair is not the goal, but without it, change collapses."

Between Lalus defiance and Nitishs discipline lies the story of Bihars modern politicsthe idealist who burned too bright and the pragmatist who kept the lamp alive.

The Last Lesson

As Bihar awaits the results on November 14, the state once again mirrors Gramscis interregnum, the old is dying, the new is yet to be born, and Nitish Kumar stands, as ever, in the middle.

He did not transform Bihar, but he taught it endurance. His politics was never about the seizure of power; it was about surviving within it. His was a pedagogy of persistence, not revolution.

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If Gramsci believed power is shaped in moments of crisis, Nitish has lived that truth across decades of shifting coalitions. He remains Bihars most faithful student of power, a man who understood that in this land, politics is not about who rules next, but who learns best how not to fall.

Ashutosh Kumar Thakur is a columnist. He can be reached at ashutoshbthakur@gmail.com. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.

First Published: November 10, 2025, 15:35 IST

News opinion Opinion | The Grammar Of Power: Nitish Kumar & The Long March Of Bihars Politics

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Opinion | The Istanbul Breakdown: Pakistan's Militarised Diplomacy & Indias Constructive Alternative

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 11:30 IST

While Pakistan struggles with internal power struggles and militarised diplomacy, Indias proactive, development-focused engagement in Afghanistan offers a stabilising alternative

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The collapse of Afghanistan-Pakistan talks is symptomatic of a deeper structural problem within Pakistan: a military-dominated policy apparatus that undermines its credibility as a regional partner.

The recent breakdown of the Afghanistan-Pakistan peace talks in Istanbul has laid bare the fragility of regional diplomacy in South Asia in general and the deepening mistrust between Kabul and Islamabad in particular. Scheduled as a critical forum to address border security, counter-terrorism, and broader peace initiatives, the talks ended inconclusively, with no announcement of any further engagement.

The Taliban has accused Pakistan of insincerity and an attempt to offload its security responsibilities onto Afghanistan. Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has, in his statement, explicitly criticised Pakistan for its irresponsible and non-cooperative attitude". By citing Islamabads attempts to undermine the negotiation process, he has exposed a worrying pattern of duplicity that raises fundamental questions about Pakistans role in regional stability.

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This episode underscores a persistent problem in Pakistans foreign policy: the disproportionate influence of its military establishment over civilian governance. The Talibans remarks about certain factions within the Pakistani military sabotaging discussions with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and undermining a sovereign Afghan authority resonate with a broader reality as Pakistans army often operates with near-total autonomy, which renders promises of constructive engagement questionable.

The structural problem in Pakistans governance ensures that even the most carefully negotiated agreements can be rendered meaningless if they conflict with military interests. Islamabads civilian leaders have little authority to steer foreign policy independently, leaving both domestic and international stakeholders to navigate a diplomatic landscape dominated by opaque military calculations.

The implications of this failure are severe for regional peace. Afghanistan, despite the Talibans control of the government, is actively trying to assert sovereignty and prevent its territory from being used as a base for attacks on neighbouring countries. Pakistans repeated attempts to externalise internal security issues, as highlighted by Taliban, indicate a lack of accountability and an unwillingness to confront domestic militancy independently.

Furthermore, drone strikes, cross-border incursions, and indirect support to proxy groups like Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISKP) not only jeopardise Afghanistans stability but also undermine trust in the entire region. In effect, Pakistans rogue posture is contributing to a volatile security environment along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, threatening to escalate tensions at a time when regional cooperation is critically needed.

Against this backdrop, Indias role in Afghanistan stands in sharp contrast. Over the past two decades, India has emerged as one of Afghanistans most reliable development partners, supporting large-scale infrastructure projects, healthcare initiatives, educational programs, and governance reforms.

From constructing hospitals and roads to building power grids and universities, Indias investments reflect a long-term commitment to the social and economic upliftment of the Afghan people. This is not merely altruistic diplomacy; it is strategic engagement grounded in the recognition that a stable and prosperous Afghanistan is essential for regional security. Indias focus has always been on building institutions, capacity, and human capital, thereby empowering Afghanistan to manage its own development and governance sustainably.

The recent visit of Afghanistans foreign minister to India reinforces this narrative of constructive partnership. During the visit, the Afghan leadership reiterated its trust in India as a dependable regional ally, capable of contributing meaningfully to Afghanistans reconstruction and broader regional stability. In stark contrast, Pakistans engagement with Afghanistan has repeatedly been undermined by militarised, short-term calculations.

The collapse of the Istanbul talks illustrates this divergence vividly: while India focuses on sustainable growth and institution-building, Pakistan remains trapped in a cycle of reactive, coercive policies that prioritise military expediency over diplomatic dialogue.

It is also significant that the Taliban, despite ruling Afghanistan, emphasised their principled position" of defending Afghan sovereignty while expressing willingness to cooperate within realistic limits. This statement implicitly recognises Indias constructive role. Indias development-oriented engagement is not conditional on political alignments or transactional agreements; it is principled, consistent, and transparent. This creates a stark contrast with Pakistan, where foreign policy is often subordinated to internal power dynamics, leaving the civilian government powerless to ensure consistency or reliability in bilateral engagements.

The failure of the Istanbul talks further exposes the inherent instability of Pakistans policy framework. Pakistan often projects itself internationally as a key player in regional security; yet internally, its policies are fragmented, heavily militarised, and frequently contradictory.

The inability to sustain credible negotiations with the Taliban and TTP underscores a larger systemic issue: when military considerations dominate statecraft, diplomatic engagement suffers, trust erodes, and opportunities for peace are repeatedly squandered. The Talibans public criticism of Pakistan is a rare instance where Pakistans duplicity has been formally acknowledged by a neighbouring government, highlighting the depth of frustration with Islamabads approach.

From a strategic perspective, the contrast between Indias constructive engagement and Pakistans erratic posture carries important lessons for regional geopolitics. Afghanistan is increasingly seeking reliable partners who can contribute to its long-term stability rather than engage in transactional, militarised diplomacy.

Indias consistent support signals a shift in Afghanistans external alignment: it is prioritising countries that help build capacity, strengthen governance, and foster economic development, over those whose policies are dominated by proxy conflicts and internal military imperatives. This trend has long-term implications. Pakistan risks diplomatic isolation if it continues to allow its army to override civilian policy, while Indias sustained investment in Afghanistan positions it as a central actor in shaping the countrys future.

Furthermore, breakdown of the Istanbul talks reinforces the reality that peace in South Asia cannot be achieved through superficial dialogue alone. Effective diplomacy requires accountability, credible commitments, and alignment between civilian and military authoritiesa condition that Pakistan consistently fails to meet. In contrast, Indias role demonstrates that sustained development, institution-building, and constructive engagement are far more effective tools for fostering trust and regional stability.

In conclusion, the collapse of Afghanistan-Pakistan talks is symptomatic of a deeper structural problem within Pakistan: a military-dominated policy apparatus that undermines its credibility as a regional partner. While Pakistan struggles with internal power struggles and militarised diplomacy, Indias proactive, development-focused engagement in Afghanistan offers a stabilising alternative.

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By focusing on infrastructure, governance, education, and healthcare, India is shaping a future in which Afghanistan can stand as a sovereign, capable, and stable nation. The lesson is unmistakable: regional peace and security depend on principled, accountable, and constructive engagementqualities that India has consistently demonstrated, and which Pakistan must embrace if it hopes to play a meaningful role in South Asias evolving geopolitical landscape.

The author is Editor, Brighter Kashmir, author, TV commentator, political analyst and columnist. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.

Location : Islamabad, Pakistan

First Published: November 10, 2025, 11:30 IST

News opinion Opinion | The Istanbul Breakdown: Pakistan's Militarised Diplomacy & Indias Constructive Alternative

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 10:56 IST

1 / 6 The Board of School Education, Haryana (BSEH) has declared the Haryana Teacher Eligibility Test (HTET) 2025 results today. Candidates who appeared for the exam can now check their results and download their HTET 2025 scorecards from the official website at bseh.org.in. As per reports, the overall pass percentage this year stands at 14 percent. (AI Generated/Representational Image) + Follow us On Google

2 / 6 The HTET 2025 examination was held on July 30 and 31 to assess the eligibility of candidates applying for teaching positions in Haryana government schools. The test covered three levels  Primary Teacher (PRT), Trained Graduate Teacher (TGT), and Post Graduate Teacher (PGT). Each level is designed to evaluate candidates for different teaching categories in state-run institutions.

(Representational Image/File)

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3 / 6 To check their results, candidates need to visit the official website of the Board of School Education, Haryana, at bseh.org.in. On the homepage, they should click on the HTET 2025 result link and log in using their registration number and date of birth. Once logged in, the HTET scorecard will be displayed on the screen. Candidates should download and save a copy of the result for future reference.

4 / 6 To qualify for the Haryana Teacher Eligibility Test (HTET) 2025, candidates must achieve the minimum qualifying marks prescribed by the Board. For the general category, the qualifying score is 90 marks out of 150, which is equivalent to 60 per cent. Candidates belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Physically Challenged categories from Haryana need to score a minimum of 83 marks or 55 percent. (Representational Image/File)

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5 / 6 For candidates from other states, the criteria remain the same as for the general category. SC and differently abled candidates from outside Haryana must also score at least 90 marks or 60 per cent to be declared qualified. These minimum marks ensure uniformity in the eligibility process across all categories. (Representational Image/Getty)
Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 15:00 IST

1 / 7 The Thai government has rolled out stricter alcohol regulations, restricting when you can buy and drink. Break the rules, and you could face hefty fines. (File Photo) + Follow us On Google

2 / 7 The famous tourist destination has always had fixed alcohol sale windows, but the latest rules strengthen enforcement and expand monitoring, particularly in public spaces and tourist-heavy zones. (File Photo)

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3 / 7 The regulated drinking hours now are: 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM to midnight. As per the new regulations, drinking alcohol outside legal hours can attract a fine of up to 10,000 baht (around Rs 28,000). (File Photo)

4 / 7 Earlier, the alcohol rules in the country applied to establishments such as bars and liquor stores, which were banned from selling from midnight to 11:00 am and again from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM, except in restaurants. (File Photo)

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5 / 7 Now, under the revised laws, customers themselves can be fined simply for drinking outside permitted times at pubs, bars, or clubs. The new rules follow months after the country went back on its weed law, and once again criminalised its consumption. (File Photo)

6 / 7 According to the authorities, the amendment aims to improve compliance and reduce the health and social risks linked to excessive drinking in Thailand. (File Photo)

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 16:57 IST

1 / 7 Laos - officially the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic has its capital in Vientiane. India and Laos share deep historical ties dating back centuries. It is said that after Emperor Ashokas Kalinga war, many people from southern India travelled through Assam and Manipur and eventually settled in the Indochina region. + Follow us On Google

2 / 7 In Laos, 1 Indian Rupee equals nearly 251.91 Lao Kip. That means if you carry 50,000, you become the owner of 1.26 crore Lao Kip the moment you arrive.

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3 / 7 Even today, many locals in Laos consider themselves to have Indian roots. Laos is also the only Southeast Asian nation with no coastline, meaning it is not surrounded by sea like its neighbours.

4 / 7 This tiny Southeast Asian nation offers an international holiday on a low budget. With its cheap currency, stunning landscapes and peaceful atmosphere, this destination is becoming a dream pick for Indian travellers.

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5 / 7 Food in Laos is incredibly affordable. Delicious street food and small restaurants offer full meals for just 20 to 40. Traditional dishes like sticky rice, laarb, and noodle soup are extremely popular. Local transportationbuses and tuk-tuksis also budget-friendly, costing around 12 to 40 per ride.

6 / 7 If you combine accommodation, food and travel, a day in Laos typically costs 1,500 to 3,000similar to a day out in any major Indian city. A 7-day trip may cost 40,000 to 70,000, including hotel stays, meals, transport, and sightseeing.

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'Can 10 Years Of Polluted Air Be Cleaned In 7-8 Months?': Delhi Minister Sirsa Slams AAP | Exclusive

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 20:31 IST

The BJP leader pointed a direct accusatory finger at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab regarding farm fires

A vehicle of the PWD sprays water using an anti-smog gun to curb air pollution amid smoggy conditions in New Delhi on November 5, 2025. (Image: AFP)

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa has intensified the political blame game over the capitals escalating air pollution crisis, strongly criticising the oppositions approach to the problem while defending the measures taken by the Delhi government. Speaking exclusively with CNN-News18, Sirsa dismissed the idea that the citys toxic Air Quality Index (AQI) can be reduced through quick fixes and pointed a direct accusatory finger at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab regarding farm fires.

The BJP leader categorically rejected the notion of artificially reducing AQI figures, stating, There is no artificial way to reduce AQI. The purpose of sprinkling water is dust mitigation; if dust mitigation happens, the AQI will come down on its own." This statement serves as a defence against accusationsfrequently made by the oppositionthat the government is attempting to tamper with pollution monitoring data. Singh affirmed the integrity of the process, adding, There can be no tampering with data monitoring."

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The minister then detailed the substantive, long-term measures the Delhi government claims to have undertaken. The government has done several such works that have directly helped in reducing pollution in Delhi, such as introducing electric buses in Delhi steps have been taken to clean Yamuna Ji we are continuously working." He highlighted the ongoing, visible efforts. The government has repaired all its roads and infrastructure, continuous water sprinkling is being done to reduce dust in Delhi we are continuously striving to give Delhi clean air," he said.

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Singh used this defence to frame the air pollution crisis as a deeply entrenched, multi-year problem that cannot be resolved quickly. Challenging the oppositions criticism of the current administrations progress, he asked pointedly, Do you believe that 10 years of polluted air can be cleaned in 7-8 months?"

However, his most forceful accusation was directed at the AAP-led administration in the neighbouring state. In Punjab, the Kejriwal government is deliberately allowing stubble burning," said Sirsa. He further defended the farmers of Punjab, suggesting they are victims of political compulsion rather than willing polluters. The farmers of Punjab do not want to burn stubble; they want to sell it," he said. This narrative suggests a strategic lapseor worse, an intentional allowanceby the Punjab government that directly compromises Delhis air quality, shifting the focus of accountability onto the rival political party.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 20:31 IST

News politics 'Can 10 Years Of Polluted Air Be Cleaned In 7-8 Months?': Delhi Minister Sirsa Slams AAP | Exclusive

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'Didn't Seek Alliance...': Omar Abdullah Swears On Quran After BJP's 'Secret Dealings' Claim

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Last Updated: November 09, 2025, 22:19 IST

This came after BJP's Sunil Sharma, the LoP in the J&K Assembly, claimed that the chief minister reached out to the party after the 2014 elections and had "secret dealings".

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. (PTI file photo)

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday responded strongly to BJP leader Sunil Sharmas allegations of having secret dealings" with the BJP-led Centre after the 2014 general elections, swearing on the Quran that he did not seek an alliance with the BJP for statehood.

In response to Sharmas reaction, asking him to swear on the Quran that he did not seek BJP alliance for statehood in 2024, Abdullah wrote, I swear on the Holy Quran that I didnt seek an alliance with the BJP in 2024 for Statehood or for any other reason. Unlike Sunil Sharma, I dont tell lies for a living."

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I swear on the Holy Quran that I didnt seek an alliance with the BJP in 2024 for Statehood or for any other reason. Unlike Sunil Sharma I dont tell lies for a living. https://t.co/qEMAcRvzCV Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) November 9, 2025

This came after Sharma, the Leader of Opposition in the J&K Assembly, claimed that the chief minister reached out to the party after the 2014 elections, and dared him to take an oath that he had no secret dealings" with the Narendra Modi-led government.

While addressing an election rally in Budgam, Sharma claimed that after the 2014 assembly elections, Abdullah made attempts to ally with the BJP. However, our leadership, guided by principles and national integrity, refused such opportunistic overtures," Sharma said.

He also accused the ruling National Conference (NC) of resorting to deceit and double standards to obstruct the BJPs rise in Kashmir. The NC is leaving no stone unturned to block the wave of change, but people have seen through their politics of hypocrisy," he added.

Prior to this, Abdullah engaged in a heated war of words with J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, after the latter said that the elected government cannot use the demand for statehood as an excuse for not performing its duties.

The CM reacted sharply to Sinhas remarks, accusing the Centre of creating hurdles" for the UT administration. We are told to work and not make excuses. We do not make excuses. We are performing despite the hurdles created in our way," the Chief Minister said at an event in Eidgah.

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Today, the destruction that we are seeing, unemployment, decrease in GST earnings, vacant hotels, restaurants, taxis and houseboats, decrease in the sales of our handicrafts. Why? Because there was an attack in Pahalgam. Who is responsible for the security here? It is not in my hands. Had it been, we would have never allowed the situation to become such in J&K," he said.

Abdullah, whose government has completed a year in office, said the lack of full statehood remains the biggest challenge facing the region. The government and top ministers have said J&K statehood will be restored when the time is right. The Supreme Court, too, had asked the government to restore J&Ks statehood at the earliest.

About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in int... Read More

Location : Srinagar, India, India

First Published: November 09, 2025, 22:19 IST

News politics 'Didn't Seek Alliance...': Omar Abdullah Swears On Quran After BJP's 'Secret Dealings' Claim

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How Advani's Praise For Jinnah On Pakistani Soil Sealed His Political Fate 20 Years Ago

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 13:02 IST

Shashi Tharoor's tribute to LK Advani on his 98th birthday has reignited debate over Advani's legacy, recalling the latter's praise for Jinnah and his political decline

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LK Advani's influence in BJP declined after the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. (News18 Hindi)

Congress MP Shashi Tharoors recent tribute to senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani has once again brought the veteran politician back into the national spotlight. On Advanis 98th birthday, Tharoor compared him to the countrys former prime ministers, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. He wrote that just as Nehrus legacy cannot be judged solely by the 1962 India-China war and Indira Gandhis career cannot be defined by the 1975 Emergency, the same generosity of assessment should be extended to Advani.

The remark, however, triggered a political storm. The Congress party promptly distanced itself from Tharoors comments, but the conversation revived public memory of Advanis complex legacy, especially one controversial moment that nearly cost him his political career.

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For decades, Lal Krishna Advani was one of the tallest figures in Indian politics. As a founding pillar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he shaped its ideological framework and organisational strength. He played a central role in building the movement for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and was instrumental in bringing the BJP from the margins of politics to the corridors of power. Yet, there was one episode in his long career when his own party turned against him; his visit to Pakistan in 2005, when he praised Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

It was a year after the BJPs defeat in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. Advani, then the Opposition leader, travelled to Pakistan in May 2005 for a six-day visit aimed at strengthening the peace process between the two countries. During his stay, he visited Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi, meeting senior Pakistani leaders, including then-President Pervez Musharraf. The agenda was forward-looking, trade, cultural ties, and cooperation against terrorism. He also inaugurated the restoration work of the ancient Katas Raj Temple, a site of deep religious significance for Hindus.

But the turning point came when Advani visited the mausoleum of Pakistans founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, in Karachi. Accompanied by his wife Kamla and daughter Pratibha, Advani grew emotional at the site. In the visitors book, he wrote that while many people leave marks on history, very few actually make history", and Jinnah was one of them. He also praised Jinnahs August 11, 1947 speech to Pakistans Constituent Assembly, calling it a vision of a secular state that guaranteed religious freedom to all citizens.

These remarks, released to the media by his aide Sudheendra Kulkarni, created an uproar back home. Within hours, the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were in shock. The RSS chief at the time, KS Sudarshan, publicly criticised Advani, saying Jinnahs Pakistan was born out of religious division and could never be described as secular. BJP hardliners accused Advani of betraying the partys core ideology. Protests broke out in several states, with party workers demanding his resignation.

Even though former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee chose to remain silent, other senior leaders like Murli Manohar Joshi and Govindacharya voiced their disapproval. Under intense pressure, Advani was eventually forced to resign as BJP president.

The episode marked a turning point in Advanis political journey. His attempt to project a more moderate image of Hindutva was seen by many as a move to make himself acceptable beyond the BJPs core base. Ironically, while his stature outside the party grew, his influence within the BJP steadily declined.

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By the time the 2009 Lok Sabha elections arrived, Advani was officially declared the BJPs prime ministerial candidate. Yet, the party suffered a major defeat, partly attributed to the lack of enthusiasm among its own cadre and the RSS. The defeat deepened Advanis isolation within the party.

Then came 2014. Narendra Modi emerged as the BJPs new face, leading the party to a historic majority. From that point on, Advani gradually retreated from active politics. He last contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and has since maintained a low profile, withdrawing from the political stage after the 2019 general elections.

First Published: November 10, 2025, 13:02 IST

News politics How Advani's Praise For Jinnah On Pakistani Soil Sealed His Political Fate 20 Years Ago

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'Will Never Return': Former MLA Shoaib Iqbal Quits AAP Over MCD Bypolls Ticket Dispute

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 09:12 IST

Shoaib Iqbal quit AAP over Chandni Mahal MCD bypoll candidate choice, criticizing party direction. Muddasir Usman Qureshi has been given party ticket for the seat.

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Iqbal had previously been with the Congress before contesting the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls on an AAP ticket. (Image: ANI/File)

Former AAP MLA Shoaib Iqbal announced on Sunday that he quit the party after it did not select his preferred candidate for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi bypolls in the Chandni Mahal ward and vowed to never return." Interestingly, his son Aaley Mohammad Iqbal is an MLA from the Matia Mahal constituency.

Earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) revealed its candidates for the November 30 bypolls to the 12 wards of the MCD.

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Speaking to news agency PTI, Shoaib Iqbal expressed his dissatisfaction with AAPs policies, stating that the party, which started as a movement, has lost its direction. He confirmed his resignation from the party and vowed never to return.

I am unhappy with the policies of AAP. The party was born out of a movement, but it has lost its way. I have resigned from the party and will never return," Iqbal said.

He was particularly displeased with the partys candidate choice for Chandni Mahal, as AAP had chosen Muddasir Usman Qureshi for the ward.

I have been a six-time MLA from the area. My son was a councillor and had won with the highest margin. When he contested in the Assembly polls, he won with the highest margin. Nobody knows the candidate fielded by the party (for the MCD bypoll)," he alleged.

Shoaib Iqbal suggested that more members might leave the party, with significant developments expected on Monday.

He noted that parties emerging from movements often disband, citing the Janata Dal as an example, and suggesting that AAP could face a similar fate.

Shoaib Iqbal had previously been with the Congress before contesting the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls on an AAP ticket.

AAP stated that it had resolved to award tickets to its dedicated workers for the MCD bypolls, avoiding parachute candidates" from other parties.

However, Shoaib Iqbal announced his brother-in-law, Kashif Qureshi, as the partys candidate without consulting the organisation," it said.

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AAP clarified that Muddasir Usman Qureshi was chosen based on an internal survey. Qureshi is a long-time party worker and currently serves as the Delhi co-secretary of AAPs youth wing, it said. The party emphasised its commitment to giving opportunities to ordinary workers rather than relatives of its members.

Shoaib Iqbal first contested Assembly elections in 1993 on a Janata Dal ticket and won the 2013 polls as a JD(U) candidate. He was also associated with Ram Vilas Paswans Lok Janshakti Party before joining the Congress in 2014.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 09:12 IST

News politics 'Will Never Return': Former MLA Shoaib Iqbal Quits AAP Over MCD Bypolls Ticket Dispute

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Youth Congress Leader Threatens To 'Gherao' EC Office Amid 'Vote Chori' Row, BJP Responds

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Last Updated: November 09, 2025, 21:55 IST

Zeenat Shabrin, the President of Mumbai Youth Congress, threatened to lay siege to the Election Commission amid the "vote chori" row.

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Mumbai Youth Congress President Zeenat Shabrin made the remarks while defending Rahul Gandhi's 'vote chori' allegations. (Photo: X)

A fresh controversy surfaced after a Youth Congress member threatened to lay siege to the Election Commission of Indias (ECI) office amid the row surrounding Rahul Gandhis vote chori" allegations, drawing the ire of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Zeenat Shabrin, the President of Mumbai Youth Congress, repeated Rahul Gandhis vote theft allegations in the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections and called for gheraoing the Election Commission office.

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We (Mumbai Youth Congress) have raised awareness in the local trains, the metro and even the vegetable markets. We will not stay silent. If the vote theft is not stopped, we will lay siege to the Election Commission, and take this as a warning," she said.

The row escalated when a Congress supporter called for setting fire to the ECI office and dragging out Election Commissioners. The matter shouldnt stop just at surrounding them; we should set fire to the Election Commission like this and drag the Election Commissioners out onto the street," wrote the Congress supporter.

                        https://t.co/dN25HnnmGV Bhavika Kapoor (@BhavikaKapoor5) November 9, 2025

BJP Attacks Congress Over Danga Khori

The BJP reacted sharply to the comments, accusing the Congress of spreading disinformation and inciting riots. They are provoking and inciting violence. This shows that it was never about vote chori," said BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla.

The real intention is how to attack the Constitutional bodies. This is not about ECI, but EMI  Emergency Mindset of Indiras Grandson. Rahul Gandhi feels that if he loses an election, then samvidhaan tantra (constitutional system) has to bow before parivaar tantra (family system) and danga tantra (system of riots)," he added.

The true intent of Congress is exposedThis is not about vote chori butDanga khori D for distortD for disinformationD for deficit of trustD for danga            ,      ,      pic.twitter.com/snSK9Ntc2E  Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) November 9, 2025

Earlier this month, Rahul Gandhi alleged massive vote fraud in the Haryana Assembly polls last year  calling it his much-awaited H-bomb". He alleged that 25 lakh votes were stolen in Haryana, which has a total of 2 crore voters. This means one in eight voters in Haryana are fake, 12.5 per cent," he said.

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One of the most talked-about points of his allegations was the photo of a Brazilian model, accusing the BJP of using her image across several polling booths to cast fake votes. According to Gandhi, the same photograph appeared 22 times across at least 10 different polling booths.

The event began with the womans photograph displayed on screen, captioned, Yeh kaun hai?" The woman in the photograph, identified as Larissa, a Brazilian model and influencer, has since reacted with disbelief after discovering her image being circulated in Indian political debates.

About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in int... Read More

First Published: November 09, 2025, 21:55 IST

News politics Youth Congress Leader Threatens To 'Gherao' EC Office Amid 'Vote Chori' Row, BJP Responds

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Caught You: Samsung Phones Targeted For Spyware Attack Using WhatsApp Images

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 12:18 IST

Samsung flagship phones were exposed to a major security risk that made it possible to infect the devices with dangerous spyware

Samsung Galaxy S phones in the regions were targeted with a spyware

Samsung users have been the target of a dangerous spyware campaign that can be activated just by clicking on an image in WhatsApp. The new report comes via a cybersecurity firm who claims the victims in the Middle East were the main target with this campaign and the worrying part is that nobody knew about the attacks for months.

The details from Unit 42, part of Palo Alto Networks, has mentioned the spyware called Landfall which has been moving across devices hiding in plain sight within regular images that are being sent through WhatsApp region.

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The WhatsApp Zero-Day Bug Issue

Using images to plant spyware can be easy and harmless because you dont have to click any suspicious links, or having to install an app that can bypass the security on the device. These hackers found a zero-day bug that made it easy for them to exploit the issue and just as you open an image the spyware sneaks into the system and does its work covertly.

The firm has codenamed the vulnerability as CVE-2025-20142 which seems to have affected the image gallery on Samsung devices. It says the hackers used Digital Negative (DNG) image files that were being tagged as regular JPEGs and they were transmitted through WhatsApp which raises no alarm.

Samsung Phones Targeted: Who Is At Risk?

The report says some of the latest Samsung devices, including the foldables have been the target for the spyware campaign that can be used to gather details such as calls, get access to photos and messages on the device, and even use the microphone covertly to listen to the conversations.

This is very similar to the Pegasus spyware that was also infiltrating WhatsApp on iPhones over the last few years. However, the Landfall spyware has mostly spread across countries like Turkey, Iran, Morocco and Iraq among others. These Samsung devices could have been attacked:

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Galaxy S22

Galaxy S23

Galaxy S24

Galaxy Z Fold 4

Galaxy Z Flip 4

The company first detected the threat in mid-2024 and only informed Samsung around September last year. While the brand was only able to issue a patch for the risk in April this year. This big gap between reporting and fixing is not ideal, especially when you have millions of premium devices susceptible to covert hacking threats.

About the Author S Aadeetya S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 12:18 IST

News tech Caught You: Samsung Phones Targeted For Spyware Attack Using WhatsApp Images

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23-Year-Old Andhra Student Dies In US, Indian Community Raises Funds For Repatriation

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 12:14 IST

In the fundraiser appeal, Chaitanya said Raji had travelled to the US with dreams of securing a better future for her family

A GoFundMe campaign seeks support for funeral expenses and transportation of her body to India.

A 23-year-old student from Andhra Pradesh was found dead in her apartment in the United States on November 7, leaving her family and friends in deep shock. The student, identified as Rajyalakshmi (Raji) Yarlagadda, had recently graduated from Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi and was actively looking for a job after completing her studies, The Times of India reported.

According to her cousin, Chaitanya YVK, who launched a GoFundMe campaign from Denton, Texas, Raji had been suffering from a severe cough and chest pain for two to three days before her death. On the morning of November 7, she reportedly did not respond to her alarm, and her friends later discovered that she had passed away in her sleep.

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In the fundraiser appeal, Chaitanya said Raji had travelled to the US with dreams of securing a better future for her family, who depend on farming in Karmechedu village of Bapatla district, Andhra Pradesh. She was a bright, hopeful soul who dreamed of helping her parents continue their farming journey," he wrote.

The familys farmland, crops, and livestock form their only source of income. Raji, the youngest in her family, had hoped to ease their financial burden once she began working. Her sudden death has left them not only grief-stricken but also struggling with financial distress, The Times of India said.

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The GoFundMe campaign seeks support for funeral expenses, transportation of her body to India, repayment of her educational loans, and some financial assistance for her parents. A medical examination is underway in the US to determine the cause of death.

Meanwhile, members of the Indian community in Texas have come forward to help expedite the repatriation process, with assistance expected from the Indian consulate.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 11:44 IST

News world 23-Year-Old Andhra Student Dies In US, Indian Community Raises Funds For Repatriation

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After American Dream, Canadian Dream Falters As Ottawa Moves To Slash Visas & Tighten Borders

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CNN-News18 Edited By: Apoorva Misra



Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 09:10 IST

In August, nearly 75 per cent of Indian applicants seeking study permits were rejected, compared with just 32 per cent a year earlier

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The number of active study permits held by Indian nationals fell from 3,19,000 in 2023 to 2,26,000 in 2024---the steepest annual decline in over a decade. (AI-Generated Image)

If you had pinned your hopes on Canada after the end of the American dream, you might have to think again. Canada is preparing to implement one of the most extensive immigration control measures in its modern history, marking a significant shift in a country that has long been viewed as one of the worlds most open destinations for migrants and international students.

The federal governments proposed Bill C12, tabled in Parliament as part of its new border legislation, will give immigration authorities broad powers to suspend or cancel entire groups of temporary visas, including by country or applicant category, if certain conditions arise.

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Publicly, officials have said the measures will be reserved for emergencies such as pandemics or global crises that require swift travel restrictions. However, internal documents reviewed by public sources suggest the Bill is also intended to address concerns about country-specific visa fraud. The documents cite joint efforts with international partners to detect and block large-scale fraudulent visa applications, particularly those linked to visitor and study permits.

Immigration Levels Slashed

In its latest immigration levels plan, released with Tuesdays federal budget, Ottawa announced a sharp reduction in temporary resident admissions. The number of temporary residents allowed to enter Canada will be capped at 3,85,000 next year, down from 6,75,000 in 2025a reduction of more than 40 per cent.

The cuts will heavily affect international students, a key source of both talent and revenue for Canadas post-secondary institutions. The governments previous target of admitting 3,05,900 students annually from 2025 to 2027 has been cut to 1,55,000 in 2026 and further reduced to 1,50,000 in 2027 and 2028.

This reduction reflects waning public support for immigration," said Amarjeet Singh Gill, an immigration lawyer based in Toronto. Political parties are adjusting their policies to match public sentiment."

The decision is expected to spark pushback from colleges and universities that depend on international tuition to sustain their budgets.

Sharp Decline In Indian Student Approvals

The tightening of Canadas immigration system is already visible in recent data. In August, nearly 75 per cent of Indian applicants seeking study permits were rejected, compared with just 32 per cent a year earlier.

Globally, student permit rejection rates have remained around 40 per cent, while Chinese applicants saw a denial rate of only 24 per cent.

According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the number of active study permits held by Indian nationals fell from 3,19,000 in 2023 to 2,26,000 in 2024the steepest annual decline in over a decade.

The crackdown follows the 2023 student visa fraud scandal, in which authorities uncovered 1,550 fraudulent study permit applications linked to fake admission letters, most originating from India.

Balancing Restriction With Opportunity

Despite the new restrictions, the federal budget includes provisions aimed at attracting global tech talent. Ottawa has announced plans for a streamlined pathway for holders of US H-1B visas, allowing skilled workers in the technology sector to transition more easily to Canada.

Analysts say the measure is designed to help Canadian firms compete for highly skilled professionals, even as the government reins in the overall number of temporary residents.

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For decades, Canadas immigration policies have been a cornerstone of its economic and social growth. But with housing affordability, public services, and labour market pressures becoming dominant political issues, the government appears to be recalibrating its approach.

As Bill C12 advances and new admission caps take effect, many observers believe the era of Canadas open-door immigration model may be coming to an end.

About the Author Siddhant Mishra Siddhant Mishra is a Senior Special Correspondent at CNN-News18, covering foreign affairs and international relations. With over 12 years of experience in journalism, he has also reported extensively ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 09:10 IST

News world After American Dream, Canadian Dream Falters As Ottawa Moves To Slash Visas & Tighten Borders

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After Turkey, Azerbaijan, UAE Says Won't Join Gaza Stabilisation Force Sans Clear Legal Framework

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 11, 2025, 00:03 IST

UAE, Jordan, Turkey, and Azerbaijan decline joining US-led Gaza stabilisation force, citing unclear legal framework and lack of reference to Palestinian state in the UN draft.

Previously, Israel said Turkey will not be joining the force and even King Abdullah of Jordan said Jordanian troops will not join. Azerbaijan did not attend a planning meeting in Turkey last week and said it would not participate unless a full truce in in place. (AFP)

United Arab Emirates has said it will not participate in the UN-mandated international stabilisation force as it did not yet see a clear legal framework for the force.

Previously, Israel said Turkey will not be joining the force and even King Abdullah of Jordan said Jordanian troops will not join. Azerbaijan did not attend a planning meeting in Turkey last week and said it would not participate unless a full truce in in place.

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The Guardian quoted envoy Dr Anwar Gargash, at a conference in Abu Dhabi, said the UAEs decision reflects Arab doubts about the terms of a US-drafted resolution already distributed to diplomats at the UN in New York.

According to the draft, the US-directed stabilisation force is necessary for imposing security in Gaza after Israel has left the territory. However, there is no reference of West Bank or Palestinian state or a two-state solution in the draft proposal.

In the proposal, the US has suggested that it will lead the force but wont have many troops on the ground.

The Guardian quoted the resolution defining the purpose of stabilisation force as along with the newly trained and vetted police force to help secure border areas, stabilise the security environment in Gaza by ensuring the process of demilitarising the Gaza Strip including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding the military terror and offensive infrastructure as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups".

The force will be answerable to a board of peace" chaired by Donald Trump and not to the UN.

Gargash said: The UAE does not yet see a clear framework for the stability force and under such circumstances will not participate, but will support all political efforts towards peace  and remain at the forefront of humanitarian aid."

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Jamal Nusseibeh, a Palestinian American co-author of the Palestinian armistice plan, pointed out that it is critical that the force be deployed not to stabilise the unlawful Israeli occupation, but to enforce international law and end it. The force will work as long as it enters the entire occupied territory, including the West Bank, at the request of Palestine, and has a clear objective to end the occupation within the context of a sovereign Palestinian state."

According to The Guardian, detailed negotiations on the stabilisation force mandate, including its command and control, started formally on Thursday in New York, and look likely to be protracted  risking the development of a vacuum in Gaza that may strengthen Hamas.

Location : United Arab Emirates (UAE)

First Published: November 11, 2025, 00:03 IST

News world After Turkey, Azerbaijan, UAE Says Won't Join Gaza Stabilisation Force Sans Clear Legal Framework

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Australia Bans Social Media For Teens Under 16 To Boost Online Safety

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 09:24 IST

The new regulation, part of the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024, comes into effect on 10 December 2025.

Australian PM Albanese. (Image: Reuters/file photo)

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that Australia will ban social media use for children under 16 to ensure their safety online. The new regulation, part of the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024, comes into effect on 10 December 2025.

The legislation will make it illegal for minors under 16 to create or maintain accounts on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Reddit, and Kick.

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The government says the law is designed to protect children from online dangers, including cyberbullying, harmful content, and the addictive nature of social media algorithms.

About the Author Shuddhanta Patra Shuddhanta Patra, a seasoned journalist with eight years of experience, serves as Senior SubEditor at CNN News 18. With expertise across national politics, geopolitics, business news, she has influen... Read More

Location : Australia

First Published: November 10, 2025, 09:24 IST

News world Australia Bans Social Media For Teens Under 16 To Boost Online Safety

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Bangladesh New Radicalisation Hub, Jamaat Making Militia Of Students: Ex-Minister Kamal | Exclusive

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 18:52 IST

Jamat is making militia force of students...They have trained almost 8,000 students...Arms are being supplied from Pakistan, ex-minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal tells News18

A protest against a job quota system spiralled in a nationwide agitation, resulting in Sheikh Hasina's ouster. (AP/Representative Image)

Even as radicalised medical students in Bangladesh are emerging as a cause for concern in India, News18 spoke to Dhakas former home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.

According to Kamal, more than 1 million Rohingya trained by Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh will be used for terror activities across the globe.

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Bangladesh is going to be radicalisation hub soon. We never allowed anyone to come and radicalise any students coming from India and Nepal, but everything is happening today," said Kamal.

ALSO READ | Bangladeshs Radicalised Medical Students Indias New Concern? Exclusive From Intelligence Sources

During our regime, many students used to come and we supported them as foreigners. Now, Jamat and the present government is radicalising Indian students, as per my information," he said.

Jamat is making militia force of students to assist police and army. They have trained almost 8,000 students and more. Arms are being supplied from Pakistan," he said.

Bangladesh is under Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) controlThey have established a cantonment also in Dhaka and giving instructions to caretaker head Mohammad Yunus and Jamaat," Kamal said.

The Jamaat and its student wing, Chatra Shivir, along with Hizbul Tehri, were banned organisations during our regime but now becoming stronger and stronger with the help of the militia," he said.

How have students been radicalised?

News18 has reported how radicalised youngsters from Bangladesh could emerge as a new concern for India, according to intelligence agencies.

Around 8,500 Indian medical students studying in Bangladesh during the 2024 crisis, which led to the ouster of then PM Sheikh Hasina.

This concentrated group across Dhaka, Sylhet, Rajshahi, and Chittagong medical colleges became a target for ideological grooming," said sources.

ALSO READ: Yunus Will Be Out, Hasina Will Be Back: Bangladesh Leader Blames Army Chief For Ouster | Exclusive

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After Hasina, Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh and its student wing, Chatra Shibir, have re-entered campuses. The Chatra Shibir controls student hostels, prayer groups, and weekend camps in Faridpur, Mirpur, and Uttara medical zones. These medical colleges are serving as ideological pipelines for Indian and Nepali students," they said.

According to sources, smaller student-specific or Ishtima congregations attract over 2-3 lakh youth annually. This is including Indian and foreign students also who attend and they are taken care by these groups including many local concessions," they said.

About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

First Published: November 10, 2025, 18:50 IST

News world Bangladesh New Radicalisation Hub, Jamaat Making Militia Of Students: Ex-Minister Kamal | Exclusive

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'Bidens, Clintons, Soroses Had Nexus With Yunus': Ex-Bangladesh Minister On Sheikh Hasina's Ouster

Curated By :

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Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 17:48 IST

Former Bangladesh minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury alleged NGOs like USAID and International Republican Institute helped fund the anti-government protests last year

Former Bangladeshi minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury has alleged a nexus between interim leader Muhammad Yunus and powerful families in the US  Bidens, Clintons and Soroses  in bringing down the Sheikh Hasina government. (Image: Reuters)

A former Bangladeshi minister has alleged a nexus between current interim leader Muhammad Yunus and powerful families in the United States  Bidens, Clintons and Soroses  in bringing down the Sheikh Hasina government last year.

Former Bangladesh minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury, in an interview to Russia Today earlier this week, explained the money maze" routed through NGOs  he gave USAID and International Republican Institute as examples  that helped to fund the anti-government protests that eventually led to the ouster of Sheikh Hasina.

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Hasina, who fled Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, is now said to be living in exile in New Delhi even as her country faces fresh elections in the coming months.

Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury said Yunus has had ties with powerful families, especially the Clintons, for a long time. He said it was their intention or assistance", in this case, that was given to the rioteers".

There were individuals who were in power, especially the Biden family, Clintons, Soroses; these families had a nexus with Muhammad Yunus. It was their intention, or their assistance that was given to the rioteers. But there were other issues as well," Chowdhury told Russia Today, which asked him what was it about the Hasina-led government that rubbed the US the wrong way".

He said NGOs like USAID were running a campaign against the government, especially since 2018. They were used to pay activists and even extremists for a carefully planned chaos that was turned into a big riot".

I should say there has been a nexus between the Clinton family and Yunus regime for a very long time and these activities were going on for a while. And they werent very open, hellbent on changing the government of Bangladesh especially after 2018," he said in a show titled USs Dirty Deeds Inside Bangladesh. $29 million came from two NGOs  where had that money gone? It was meant for regime change  rappers were being paid, cultural activists were paid, hijra community was being paid. Whilst the extremists, jihadi militants, were also being paid by those liberal elements"

Chowdhury alleged the riot that ensued had elements of planned killings and assassinations with trained rioteers and killers".

A chaos was carefully planned with this money and then the chaos was turned into a big riot. In the riot, there were killings, assassinations using snipers; trained rioteers and killers were deployed. So it was a meticulous design," he said.

The USAID, which is the US governments humanitarian and development agency, was recently shut down by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under Elon Musks leadership in July. Its foreign aid duties are now managed by the US State Department.

He recalled former US President Bill Clintons comment that Muhammad Yunus should have long ago won the Nobel Prize".

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In 2024, Yunus was invited to speak at the Clinton Global Initiative meeting, where Clinton welcomed him publicly. The former minister believes this relationship shows a deeper effort by the Clinton Foundation and Yunus to push for regime change in Bangladesh, using democracy and development as a cover.

Hasina has also accused Yunus of selling the nation to the US" and said both she and her father rejected American attempts to take control of St Martins Island.

About the Author Oindrila Mukherjee Oindrila Mukherjee is a senior sub-editor who works for the rewrite and breaking news desks. Her nine years of experience in print and digital journalism range from editing and reporting to writing im... Read More

Location : Dhaka, Bangladesh

First Published: November 10, 2025, 17:48 IST

News world 'Bidens, Clintons, Soroses Had Nexus With Yunus': Ex-Bangladesh Minister On Sheikh Hasina's Ouster

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Bodies Of Two Indian Tourists Missing Since October 20 Recovered In Nepal

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 09:02 IST

Nepal security forces recovered the bodies of Jignesh Kumar Lallubhai Patel and Priyansa Kumari Patel in Manang after weeks of searching amid a snowstorm.

AI-generated image used for representation

Nepal security forces have recovered the bodies of two Indian tourists who were missing since October 20. The bodies have been found in the Manang district following weeks of search operations, reported ANI, citing officials.

Identified as 52-year-old Jignesh Kumar Lallubhai Patel and 17-year-old Priyansa Kumari Patel, the deceased are father and daughter.

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Speaking about the search operation, APF DSP Shailendra Thapa said that the officials have been searching for the duo for weeks.

On November 9, a mountain rescue team led by APF Deputy Superintendent Hira Bahadur GC located their bodies about 100 meters above the monastery, buried under snow," he said.

Father And Daughter Missing Since October 20

The father and daughter, who had been staying in the Gyalzen Hotel in Ngisyang Rural Municipality-4, reportedly headed to visit Maleripa Monastery in Ward No. 5 on October 20. They had been out of contact since then.

Unable to contact them, the hotel manager informed the APFs Mountain Rescue Training Centre in Manang, and a search operation was launched.

The process of recovering the bodies from the site is expected to be completed by tomorrow, Thapa said.

Snowstorm Hits Nepal, Tourist Spots Cut Off

A powerful snowstorm struck Nepal in October, causing major disruptions across the Himalayan region. In Manang district alone, security teams rescued more than 1,500 tourists who had been stranded due to heavy snowfall and bad weather.

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The father and daughter had gone missing before the Montha weather system hit the Nepal Himalayas. However, another weather disturbance had already brought intense snowfall to higher areas earlier that month.

Trekking routes across Nepal were shut down for more than a week as severe weather made travel impossible, and several popular tourist spots were left cut off by snow blockades.

About the Author Anushka Vats Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can ... Read More

Location : Kathmandu, Nepal

First Published: November 10, 2025, 08:59 IST

News world Bodies Of Two Indian Tourists Missing Since October 20 Recovered In Nepal

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Delhi Red Fort Blast: US State Dept, France Issue Advisories; Envoys Condole Loss Of Lives

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Last Updated: November 11, 2025, 00:13 IST

Several envoys extended their condolences to India after a devastating explosion near Delhi's Red Fort Metro Station killed nine people and injured 20 others.

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An explosion near Delhi's Red Fort Metro Station killed at least eight people on Monday evening. (PTI)

Ambassadors from foreign countries extended their condolences in the aftermath of a deadly blast near Delhis Red Fort Metro Station on Monday evening, which claimed the lives of eight people and injured at least 20 others. Follow LIVE UPDATES Here

Mariano Caucino, Argentinas Ambassador to India, said, On behalf of the People and Government of Argentina, we convey our condolences to those who lost loved ones as a consequence of the Red Fort blast. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased and we wish a complete and swift recovery to all those injured."

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On behalf of the People and Government of Argentina we convey our condolences to those who lost loved ones as a consequence of the Red Fort blast. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the deceased and we wish a complete and swift recovery to all those injured. Mariano Caucino (@CaucinoMariano) November 10, 2025

Devastating news from Delhi. Praying for the victims, their families and the wounded. Standing with India, during this terrible evening," said former Israeli Ambassador to India, Daniel Carmon.

Devastating news from Delhi. Praying for the victims, their families and the wounded.Standing with India, during this terrible evening. https://t.co/Gy0QX1zRaC Daniel Carmon (@danielocarmon) November 10, 2025

French Ambassador Thierry Mathou said, On behalf of the French People and Government, I extend our deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones in the Red Fort blast. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims, and we wish a full and complete recovery to all those injured."

On behalf of the French People and Government, I extend our deepest condolences to those who lost loved ones in the #RedFort blast. Our thoughts are with the families of the victims, and we wish a full and complete recovery to all those injured. @narendramodi @AmitShah Thierry Mathou (@thierry_mathou) November 10, 2025

READ MORE: Blast Near Delhis Red Fort A Terror Attack Using IED; Suspect Held: Intel Sources

The Iranian Embassy in India also condoled the loss of lives and extended its sincere condolences to the Government and the people of the Republic of India. The Embassy also conveys its heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved families of the victims and wishes patience and comfort for them, as well as a speedy recovery for those injured in this tragic incident," it said in a statement.

The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in India expresses its deep sorrow over the loss of lives and injuries of several Indian citizens in the car blast incident in Delhi, and extends its sincere condolences to the Government and the people of the Republic of India.The Iran in India (@Iran_in_India) November 10, 2025

British Envoy Lindy Cameron said, My thoughts are with all those affected by the explosion near the Red Fort in New Delhi today. If you are in the immediate area, please follow the advice of the local authorities."

My thoughts are with all those affected by the explosion near the Red Fort in New Delhi today.If you are in the immediate area, please follow the advice of the local authorities. Our travel advice will be kept updated here: https://t.co/9L06IoKCSb  Lindy Cameron (@Lindy_Cameron) November 10, 2025

Our deepest condolences go out to all those affected by the incident this evening near Delhis Red Fort. Our thoughts are with the families who have lost loved ones and we wish for the speedy recovery of the injured," said Australian High Commissioner to India.

US, France Advisory After Red Fort Blast

The US State Department issued an urgent travel advisory after the blast, urging people to avoid areas surrounding the Red Fort and Chandni Chowk, avoid crowds, monitor local media and remain alert in locations frequented by tourists.

On November 10, 2025, a car exploded near the Lal Quila (Red Fort) metro station in central Delhi, India, with local media reporting multiple casualties. While the cause of the explosion is unknown at this time, the Government of India has placed several Indian states on high alert," said the US embassy in India.

The French Embassy in New Delhi also issued an urgent advisory for French nationals in India, urging them to exercise utmost vigilance and caution and stay away from any gatherings, as the national capital reels from the devastating blast.

An explosion occurred on the evening of November 10th, shortly before 7:00 PM (local time), near the Red Fort and the Lal Quila metro station in New Delhi. The cause and number of victims remain undetermined," it said.

#Inde Explosion aux alentours du Fort Rouge de New Delhi Publie le 10/11/2025 Une explosion est survenue dans la so.. https://t.co/6xWYCfUWPa Conseils Voyageurs (@ConseilsVoyages) November 10, 2025

French nationals in New Delhi are strongly advised to exercise the utmost vigilance and caution, to stay away from the area and away from any gatherings," he added.

The British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has advised people to follow the advice of local authorities. There has been an explosion at the Red Fort (Lal Qila) Metro Station, New Delhi. If youre in the immediate area follow the advice of the local authorities and monitor local media," it said.

Delhi On High Alert

At least nine people were killed on Monday evening after a car exploded near Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort Metro Station, in what officials now suspect was a terror-related incident. A call about the blast was received around 6:55 pm, following which seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

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According to official sources, security has been heightened across key installations and high-footfall areas, including markets and shopping malls, with the CISF and local police placed on alert. Central agencies are assessing the incident and have described the gravity of the blast as significant.

The incident occurred just hours after police uncovered an interstate terror module allegedly linked to banned organisations and seized more than 2,900 kilograms of suspected ammonium nitrate. This included 360 kg recovered earlier and an additional 2,500 kg of the explosive substance.

About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in int... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 22:53 IST

News world Delhi Red Fort Blast: US State Dept, France Issue Advisories; Envoys Condole Loss Of Lives

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Indian Man Gets 21 Months In UK Jail For Groping Minor Girl On British Airways Flight

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 13:50 IST

Javed Inamdar, a shipping company executive, was sentenced to 21 months in UK prison for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl on a British Airways flight from Mumbai to London.

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Inamdar cried during the proceedings. (AI-generated image)

A 34-year-old Indian man has been sentenced to 21 months in prison in the United Kingdom for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl on a British Airways flight. The convict has been identified as Javed Inamdar. He was travelling from Mumbai to London on December 14, 2024, when he assaulted the girl while she was sleeping.

Inamdar, a married shipping company executive with two children, stroked the girls hand before groping her, The Sun reported. During trial at Isleworth Crown Court, it was revealed that the girl woke up crying and screamed, get the f*** away from me."

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Soon after the girl woke up, she alerted the British Airways cabin crew. When confronted, Inamdar claimed he might have confused the girl for his wife. Cabin manager Rebecca Rooney testified that she found the girl visibly distressed" after midnight on December 14. She had her knees to her chest and was hugging herself", according to a report in The Metro.

I asked her what happened, she stated the male in the seat next to her had put his hands up her jumper and had touched her breast," Rooney told the court.

Inamdar, a native of Mumbai, had no legal status in the UK and was provided housing by his employer while on conditional bail. Throughout the hearing, he was assisted by a Hindi interpreter and cried during the proceedings.

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Defence attorney Lee Sergent argued that Inamdar comes from a different part of the world and had made a success of his life in India, helping his family. Sergent also noted that being on bail in the UK had been restrictive for Inamdar as he could not see his wife or children. He suggested that if given a suspended sentence, Inamdar would leave the country immediately.

However, Judge Simon Davis rejected the argument that Inamdar mistook the girl for his wife. He stated that Inamdar tested the waters by brushing the girls hand and that the jury had found their verdict. The judge acknowledged Inamdars waiting period in the country and his inability to communicate with his wife as factors in reducing the sentence. Nonetheless, he emphasised the countrys duty to protect young girls.

About the Author Manisha Roy Manisha Roy is a Senior Sub-Editor at News18.com's general desk. She comes with an experience of over 5 years in media industry. She covers politics and other hard news. She can be contacted at Manish... Read More

Location : London, United Kingdom (UK)

First Published: November 10, 2025, 13:49 IST

News world Indian Man Gets 21 Months In UK Jail For Groping Minor Girl On British Airways Flight

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Maldives President Muizzu Extends Condolences To Kin Of Delhi Blast Victims: Deeply Saddened

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 11, 2025, 01:38 IST

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Riaz Hamidullah, and embassies of Iran, Japan, UK, and Argentina expressed condolences after the deadly blast near Delhis Red Fort killed eight.

Condolences from world leaders poured in after the blast near Red Fort, with the Maldives, Bangladesh, and Iran expressing solidarity with India. (IMAGE: PTI)

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu on Tuesday expressed condolences over the deaths in the blast near Delhis Red Fort, saying his country stands in solidarity with India during this difficult time.

The explosion occurred near Gate 1 of the Red Fort Metro station in the national capital, killing eight people and injuring at least 20 others.

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Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of lives in the blast in Red Fort, Delhi this evening. Our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and good wishes for swift recovery of the injured. The Maldives stands in solidarity with the people and Government of India in this difficult time," President Muizzu said.

Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah, also expressed solidarity with India. Our thoughts and prayers remain with all those impacted, including their families. Bangladesh stands by India at this distressful hour," Hamidullah said.

The Embassy of Iran conveyed its deep sorrow" over the incident, offering condolences to the government and people of India.

The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in India expresses its deep sorrow over the loss of lives and injuries of several Indian citizens in the car blast incident in Delhi, and extends its sincere condolences to the Government and the people of the Republic of India. The Embassy also conveys its heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved families of the victims and wishes patience and comfort for them, as well as a speedy recovery for those injured in this tragic incident," it said.

Condolences also poured in from the Ambassadors of Japan, the United Kingdom, and Argentina, who extended prayers for the victims and wished a swift recovery to the injured.

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Earlier, Home Minister Amit Shah told ANI that a blast occurred in a Hyundai i20 car at the Subhash Marg traffic signal near Red Fort around 7 p.m. on Monday. The explosion injured several pedestrians and damaged nearby vehicles.

Shah said that teams from the Delhi Crime Branch and Special Branch reached the spot within 10 minutes of receiving the information, and further investigation into the cause of the explosion is underway.

About the Author Shankhyaneel Sarkar Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a Chief Sub-Editor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over seven years of experience during which he has ... Read More

Location : Male, Maldives

First Published: November 11, 2025, 01:38 IST

News world Maldives President Muizzu Extends Condolences To Kin Of Delhi Blast Victims: Deeply Saddened

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Nepals Energy Minister Kulman Ghising To Launch Nepal Jansewa Party, Gen Z To Be Part Of It

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News18.com Edited By: News Desk



Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 08:39 IST

Following the recent Gen Z protests in Nepal, 122 new political parties have been registered in the country, according to Election Commission.

Kulman Ghising. (AFP)

Amid Nepals ongoing leadership vacuum, Interim Energy Minister Kulman Ghising is in the final phase of forming a new political party, likely to be called the Nepal Jansewa Party. According to insiders, the partys proposed election symbol will be an electric bulb, reflecting Ghisings legacy of ending Nepals long-standing electricity crisis.

Sources close to the minister said the new party seeks to attract Gen Z voters and young professionals frustrated with traditional political structures. The movement is described as an attempt to institutionalise youth energy and reformist aspirations" within Nepals political landscape.

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Ghising is said to be in talks with members of several youth-led groups, including the Bibeksheel Sajha Party and the Gen Z Front, led by youth activist Raksya Bam. Early disagreements reportedly arose over the name and ideological direction of the party, but insiders say consensus has now been nearly reached.

The Nepal Jansewa Party may be registered in the coming days, even if a formal chairperson is not immediately appointed. Among those being considered for senior leadership roles is Kathmandu MP Sumana Shrestha, who is known for her reformist and youth-oriented approach.

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Ghising had reportedly considered joining the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) but decided against it after he was not offered a leadership role.

Interestingly, following the recent Gen Z" protests demanding change and accountability, 122 new political parties have been registered in Nepal, according to the Election Commission.

About the Author Siddhant Mishra Siddhant Mishra is a Senior Special Correspondent at CNN-News18, covering foreign affairs and international relations. With over 12 years of experience in journalism, he has also reported extensively ... Read More

Location : Nepal

First Published: November 10, 2025, 08:39 IST

News world Nepals Energy Minister Kulman Ghising To Launch Nepal Jansewa Party, Gen Z To Be Part Of It

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Nikki Haleys Son Says Even Legal Immigration Should Stop, Cites Job Crisis Among US Youth

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 09:35 IST

The 24-year-old said many in his generation, including his own friends, are struggling to find work despite holding top college degrees.

US Republican leader and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley's son Nalin Haley. (AFP)

Nalin Haley, son of former US ambassador to the UN and Republican leader Nikki Haley, said the United States should halt not only illegal but also legal immigration, arguing that there are no jobs left for young Americans.

Speaking to UnHerd, the 24-year-old said many in his generation, including his own friends, are struggling to find work despite holding top college degrees.

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My friend group from high school, all graduated, great degrees from great schools. Its been a year and a half, and not one of them has a jobnot one," Haley said. Im angry at that, because Im having to try and help my friends get jobs when their parents got jobs immediatelynot just after graduating college, but out of high school."

Wrong again. We care about religion and Christians have every right to want to be represented by another Christian. The 2010s talking points are so cringe bro https://t.co/LugOG6wm1d Nalin Haley (@Nalin_Haley) November 5, 2025

Haley, who identifies as a vocal MAGA supporter, also said that anyone who hates America" should not be allowed to stay. Referring to journalist Mehdi Hasan, he added, No, I quite literally mean that. Im often sarcastic, but not in this case. I mean, he hates America. If you hate America, you shouldnt be in America Everyone wants to make it so complicated. Thats the thing with the past generation. They always talk about the rules, regulations, process. No, its simple. If you dont like America, get out."

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He also said that as long as Americans are facing unemployment and medical debt, the US should end all foreign aid. Currently working in finance, Haley told UnHerd that he doesnt see himself being able to buy a home in the current economy.

My parents bought their first house for $90,000. I mean, that house probably now is worth $400,000. How can we compete?" he said.

About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, ... Read More

First Published: November 10, 2025, 09:35 IST

News world Nikki Haleys Son Says Even Legal Immigration Should Stop, Cites Job Crisis Among US Youth

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Pakistan Passes 27th Amendment: How This Formalises Field Marshal Asim Munir's Supremacy

Reported By :

News18.com Edited By: Oindrila Mukherjee



Last Updated: November 13, 2025, 07:38 IST

Indian intelligence sources said one of the most drastic changes via this amendment is the reorganisation of the military command structure with the creation of a unified mechanism

Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir (Image: AFP/File)

Pakistan successfully passed the 27th constitutional amendment on Monday, effectively institutionalising military supremacy, sources told News18.

According to top Indian intelligence sources, the central intent of this significant piece of legislation is to formalise the supremacy of Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.

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The intelligence sources said one of the most drastic changes brought about by the amendment is the reorganisation of the military command structure. Parliament has legislated the creation of a unified command mechanism, they said.

They said, most importantly, all armed forces will now be under the operational purview of the army chiefs office. This centralisation of command is projected to significantly dilute the existing authority and oversight of civilian defence institutions, thereby enhancing the militarys institutional role, they added.

The sources said the amendment includes strategic measures to prevent political accountability through judicial scrutiny. The legislation provides for the establishment of a federal constitutional court, they said.

They said this new courts powers are structured to curb the Supreme Courts ability to review or intervene in political or military matters. This is explicitly characterised as a strategic manoeuvre to neutralise judicial interference when the military is involved in army-backed governance or electoral manipulation, they added.

Further details reveal that legal officers of the Inter-State Intelligence (ISI) were responsible for drafting major portions of the bill, with the express aim of formalising military oversight of the judiciary, the sources said.

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On the political front, the amendment also serves as a pre-election control mechanism, they said. It directly limits provincial autonomy and enhances federal discretion concerning key appointments, they added.

This move, the sources said, is specifically designed to manage anticipated provincial dissent, particularly in regions such as Sindh and the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Together, these changes consolidate a military-dominated regime, a structure deemed beneficial for supporting Chinas CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) security commitments, they said.

About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

Location : Islamabad, Pakistan

First Published: November 10, 2025, 19:14 IST

News world Pakistan Passes 27th Amendment: How This Formalises Field Marshal Asim Munir's Supremacy

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Pakistans Demands Not Reasonable Or Feasible: Afghan Taliban FM Amir Muttaqi On Failed Talks

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 11:19 IST

Muttaqi said Pakistans internal security issues were of its own making, adding TTP has been active in Pakistan for the past 25 years."

Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. (Photo: ANI)

In a sharp rebuke to Islamabad, Afghanistans acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has blamed Pakistans stubborn and unreasonable" approach for the collapse of the latest round of talks between the two neighbours. Speaking in Kabul, Muttaqi said negotiations held recently in Istanbul had failed primarily because Pakistans demands were neither practical nor acceptable" to the Taliban government.

Muttaqi revealed that Pakistan had pressed the Taliban to provide a guarantee of peace within Pakistan and to take measures against the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). They wanted us to ensure peace in Pakistan, but their own forces are beyond our control," he said, adding that Islamabad had even demanded that the TTP be relocated to Afghanistan  a condition he described as impossible."

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The Taliban foreign minister confirmed that the Afghan delegation had returned from Istanbul after talks broke down, rejecting Islamabads claim that the Taliban had withdrawn abruptly. It was Pakistans unfeasible expectations that stalled the discussions," Muttaqi asserted.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of sheltering TTP militants responsible for attacks inside its territory. However, Muttaqi pushed back, saying that Pakistans internal security issues were of its own making. TTP has been active in Pakistan for the past 25 years. Their existence predates us," he said. Pakistan has failed to secure its own borders and should not shift the blame."

The Afghan minister also warned Islamabad against what he called provocations and violations of Afghan sovereignty." He accused Pakistan of allowing airstrikes and drone flights into Afghan territory and demanded an immediate halt. We told Pakistan to stop Daesh [ISIS] infiltration into Afghanistan and prevent drone flights from its airspace," he said.

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Muttaqi reiterated that Afghanistan wanted peaceful relations with all its neighbours but insisted that stability could only come through mutual respect. Afghanistan does not interfere in others affairs, and we expect the same," he remarked.

While the Taliban continues to deny the presence of TTP fighters in Afghanistan, a United Nations monitoring report released in September estimated that roughly 6,000 members of the Pakistan-origin militant group remain active across Afghan provinces.

About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

First Published: November 10, 2025, 11:18 IST

News world Pakistans Demands Not Reasonable Or Feasible: Afghan Taliban FM Amir Muttaqi On Failed Talks

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Pakistan's Troubled Frontier: TTP Tightens Grip On Bannu, Other Areas In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Reported By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 12:14 IST

Local accounts claim that some frontier check-posts were vacated by low-ranking troops after threats from militants, and that TTP fighters are moving more freely.

In a recent video, banned terror outfit Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed to have reached Islamabad. (Image: Sourced)

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has publicly displayed heavy weapons and set up multiple checkpoints along the BannuWaziristan axis, a sign of growing boldness by the militant group in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, sources have told CNN-News18. Local video and social-media footage circulating in recent days depict fighters inspecting vehicles and checking identity documents on main roads, and commanders in some clips boast of fresh consignments of arms and a willingness to continue attacks on security forces.

If verified, the developments underscore a worrying trend: the TTP has been able to exploit gaps in state control in parts of the tribal belt and wider KP province since its resurgence after 2021. Analysts and regional monitors have documented a series of clashes, roadside attacks and the intermittent establishment of militant checkpoints in recent months and years  dynamics that have periodically forced security forces to launch operations but have not erased the groups influence.

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Local accounts claim that some frontier check-posts were vacated by low-ranking troops after threats from militants, and that fighters are moving more freely in certain districts, confronting civilians and collecting funds. Pakistans military and provincial authorities have not yet released a comprehensive public account addressing each of these specific claims, but past incidents in the Bannu area  including suicide bombings and raids on security installations earlier in 2025  show the district is already a flashpoint. Official responses to TTP activity have ranged from intelligence-led raids to larger operations, sometimes accompanied by temporary curfews or targeted airstrikes.

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Sources warn that the visible exhibition of heavy arms and checkpoints is intended as both a tactical measure and a propaganda message: to intimidate local populations, demonstrate operational reach, and erode confidence in the states ability to protect towns and transport corridors. The humanitarian consequences are real  civilians often face movement restrictions, fear of reprisals, and disruption of trade and services when non-state actors assert control. Observers stress that any sustainable improvement will require coordinated policing, military action, and political measures to restore governance and services in affected areas.

For now, Bannus situation remains fluid. Independent verification of all recent claims is limited; journalists and monitor groups are continuing to track developments as authorities and residents weigh both immediate security steps and longer-term plans to reassert state authority in the tribal borderlands.

About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18

First Published: November 10, 2025, 12:14 IST

News world Pakistan's Troubled Frontier: TTP Tightens Grip On Bannu, Other Areas In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

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Rohingyas Say Better To Die At Sea As Malaysia Steps Up Search After Boat Capsizes, Killing 11

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 18:22 IST

Malaysian and Thai authorities are searching the Andaman Sea after a Rohingya boat capsized, recovering 11 bodies and 13 survivors.

Ongoing search for missing people after Migrant vessel sunk off Malaysia-Thailand border. (Reuters/X)

Malaysian maritime authorities on Monday increased patrol in the coastal waters in the Andaman Sea to search for members of Myanmars Rohingya community who went missing when their boat capsized. So far, a total of 11 bodies have been recovered by Thailand and Malaysian authorities.

Anadolu Agency quoted Malaysias Kedah police chief Adzli Abu Shah as saying that the group heading to Malaysia from Myanmar first boarded a large vessel carrying 300 people, but as they approached the border, they were ordered to switch to three smaller boats, each holding roughly 100 people, in order to evade detection by authorities.

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However, three days ago, the boat they were on capsized, and the incident is believed to have occurred in Thai waters before they drifted into Malaysian waters," he said.

According to Reuters, Malaysian authorities have found 13 survivors and seven bodies while Thailand has recovered four bodies, including two Rohingya girls.

The Thai Navy and Marine Police have carried out additional inspections," Sakra Kapilakarn, the governor of Thailands southern Satun province, told Reuters.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian police said on Monday that those rescued have been detained pending an investigation into probable immigration offences.

Reuters quoted the regional head of Malaysias maritime agency as saying that air assets were being deployed by both Thailand and Malaysia to search for survivors.

It will be easier for us and our sea assets," Romli Mustafa told a press conference, adding that the search operation could last seven days.

The Thailand authorities have recovered refugee cards, issued in Bangladesh, from the two children as among those living in Coxs Bazar camps.

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People are desperate," said Naser Khan, a Rohingya refugee in Coxs Bazar. People are dying in the fighting, dying from hunger. So some think its better to die at sea than to die slowly here."

Members of the Rohingya community in Myanmar continue to face abuse, discrimination, and statelessness, often fleeing the country.

Location : Malaysia

First Published: November 10, 2025, 18:22 IST

News world Rohingyas Say Better To Die At Sea As Malaysia Steps Up Search After Boat Capsizes, Killing 11

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Thailand Suspends Trump-Backed Cambodia Truce After Landmine Blasts Injures 2 Thai Soldiers

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 19:04 IST

Thailand suspended the US-brokered peace agreement with Cambodia after a landmine blast in Sisaket injured two Thai soldiers. The release of 18 Cambodian soldiers is postponed.

US President Donald Trump (R) claps as Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul (2nd L) shakes hands with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Manet (2nd R) as Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during a ceremonial signing of a ceasefire agreement between Cambodia and Thailand on the sidelines of the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Kuala Lumpur. (IMAGE: AFP)

Thailand on Monday announced its decision to suspend the implementation of US-brokered peace agreement with Cambodia following a landmine blast that injured two Thai soldiers.

AFP quoted a statement issued by Royal Thai Army stating that the mine explosion in Sisaket province left one soldier with a severe leg injury, while pressure from the blast caused another to withstand chest pains.

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Thai government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat said they will cease the follow-up to the joint declaration".

In July, Thailand and Cambodia fought a war that killed at least 43 people and displaced over 300,000 people on both sides. In late October, the accord was signed between Thailand and Cambodia in Kuala Lumpur. As part of the agreement, Thailand has to release 18 Cambodian soldiers.

The accord, which formalises an expanded ceasefire, was signed by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Thailands Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet.

Charnvirakul told a press conference that we thought that the security threat had eased, but it has not actually decreased".

The Independent quoted the Thai Army as saying that a sergeant had lost his right foot after stepping on a land mine while on patrol Monday along the border in Sisaket province, while another soldier suffered a tightness in his chest from the impact of the blast. It said both soldiers were receiving treatment at a hospital.

Thai Defense Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit said the army is still investigating whether the mine was old or was newly laid. He added that the release of captured Cambodian soldiers, initially scheduled for later this week, has been postponed.

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Meanwhile, Cambodian authorities have not released any statement.

In a statement on Monday, Cambodias defense ministry said it had unwavering commitment" to peace.

Location : Thailand

First Published: November 10, 2025, 19:04 IST

News world Thailand Suspends Trump-Backed Cambodia Truce After Landmine Blasts Injures 2 Thai Soldiers

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Mali TikTok Star Executed By Suspected Jihadists Over Alleged Spying For Army

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 12:09 IST

Mariam Cisse, a TikTok star from Tonka, Mali, was abducted and publicly executed by suspected jihadists.

Mariam Cisse, a TikTok star from Tonka, Mali, was abducted and publicly executed by suspected jihadists.

A young Malian woman who gained popularity on TikTok for sharing videos about daily life in northern Mali was abducted and publicly executed by suspected jihadists, her family and local officials said on Sunday.

The victim, identified as Mariam Cisse, was well known online for her videos about the city of Tonka, in the northern Timbuktu region. She had amassed more than 90,000 followers on the social media platform before being accused by armed militants of collaborating with the Malian army.

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According to her brother, Cisse was kidnapped on Thursday by the insurgents, who accused her of informing the Malian army about their movements." The next day, they took her on a motorbike to Tonka, where she was shot dead in Independence Square," he told AFP. I was in the crowd."

A local security source confirmed the killing, saying, Mariam Cisse was executed publicly by jihadists who accused her of filming them and sharing information with the army." The source described the incident as a barbaric act."

A local official in Tonka also confirmed the execution, calling it an ignoble and shocking act", and urged the authorities to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

Cisses killing has sparked outrage across Mali, where citizens are increasingly caught between jihadist violence and state crackdowns. The countrys military junta, which seized power in 2021, has struggled to contain a jihadist insurgency that has plagued northern and central Mali since 2012.

The attack highlights the growing influence of Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), the Al-Qaeda-affiliated coalition active across the Sahel. In recent weeks, JNIM fighters have reportedly imposed a fuel blockade in northern Mali, crippling daily life by shutting down schools and halting agricultural activity.

Analysts say the execution demonstrates how jihadist groups are using public displays of violence to enforce their control and spread fear in areas where the states presence has weakened.

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As news of Cisses death spread, social media users and activists expressed grief and anger, calling her murder a reminder of the growing dangers faced by civilians  especially women  in conflict-ridden regions of Mali.

-with inputs from AFP

Location : Mali

First Published: November 10, 2025, 12:02 IST

News world Mali TikTok Star Executed By Suspected Jihadists Over Alleged Spying For Army

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Trump Says US Government Shutdown Nearing End As Senate Reaches Funding Deal

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News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 08:26 IST

US Senate leaders have reached a deal to fund the federal government through to 30 January.

A file photo of Donald Trump (Reuters)

The United States prolonged government shutdown, now stretching beyond 40 days, appears to be drawing to a close. President Donald Trump on Sunday hinted that an agreement may soon end the impasse.

It looks like were getting close to the shutdown ending. Youll know very soon," he told reporters, signalling optimism after weeks of political stalemate.

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According to CNN reports, Senate leaders have reached a deal to fund the federal government through to 30 January. The chamber is expected to hold a vote between 8:30 and 9 p.m. ET, with at least eight Senate Democrats agreeing to support the temporary funding measure.

The breakthrough follows mounting public pressure amid growing economic disruptions and administrative paralysis across several sectors.

US shutdown

While Congress works to finalise the deal, the consequences of the shutdown continue to ripple across the country. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Sunday that air travel could soon be reduced to a trickle" ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, citing ongoing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) restrictions. Airlines have been forced to cut schedules and cancel flights as staffing shortages and regulatory backlogs worsen.

The Department of Agriculture has also taken drastic steps to preserve limited funds. It has ordered state agencies to halt full food stamp distributions and immediately undo" measures that sought to ensure assistance for November. The directive sparked outrage among advocacy groups, who accused the federal government of jeopardising food security for millions of Americans.

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The shutdown, the longest in recent US history, has cost the economy billions and placed hundreds of thousands of federal workers on unpaid leave.

If approved, the Senate deal would provide short-term relief, reopening government departments and restoring essential services, though contentious budget negotiations are expected to resume early next year.

About the Author Shuddhanta Patra Shuddhanta Patra, a seasoned journalist with eight years of experience, serves as Senior SubEditor at CNN News 18. With expertise across national politics, geopolitics, business news, she has influen... Read More

Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

First Published: November 10, 2025, 06:58 IST

News world Trump Says US Government Shutdown Nearing End As Senate Reaches Funding Deal

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China's National Games opening ceremony highlights unity, culture and innovation

Xinhua) 08:45, November 10, 2025

Artists perform during the opening ceremony of China's 15th National Games in Guangzhou, Nov. 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Yan Yan)

GUANGZHOU, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- China's 15th National Games, hosted for the first time across Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, opened on Sunday evening with a ceremony highlighting cultural heritage and technological innovation.

NATIONAL GAMES GOES TRI-REGION

For the first time since the inaugural National Games in 1959, the event is being staged across three regions: Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.

The opening ceremony underscored unity, as athletes from all three regions entered the stadium together to loud applause. Chinese national flags in the main stadium in Guangzhou, as well as in Hong Kong and Macao, were raised simultaneously, reflecting Greater Bay Area cooperation and national pride.

Torchbearers take part in the torch relay during the opening ceremony, Nov. 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

SHARED DREAM IGNITED

Elite athletes from across the country carried the flame, sourced from 1,522 meters beneath the South China Sea, into the venue.

In a joint moment, the final torchbearers, Guangdong sprinter Su Bingtian, Asia's 100m record holder, Hong Kong Olympic fencing champion Cheung Ka Long, and Macao's Li Yi, Asian Games wushu gold medalist, lit the main cauldron.

CIRCLE AND WATER SYMBOLIZE UNITY

The theme of unity was reflected in a circular main stage surrounded by a water-stage ring.

"We used the circle as the core element, with a circular stage and patterns throughout to express the dream of coming together," said Huang Peiling, deputy director of the opening ceremonies.

The cauldron is lit during the opening ceremony, Nov. 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

"These three regions are closely connected to water - the sea and sky blend as one. From the ceremonies to the performances, we highlighted water to give the opening ceremony a lively, fluid energy," added Chen Weiya, artistic director of the opening ceremonies.

CULTURAL HERITAGE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Performances showcased Greater Bay Area traditions alongside newer elements, including the Yingge dance, Guangdong lion dance and Cantonese opera.

The ceremony also paid tribute to the region's martial arts heritage, noting figures such as Wong Fei Hung, Ip Man and Bruce Lee, and positioned those references alongside modern sport.

Artists perform Chinese traditional martial arts Wing Chun during the opening ceremony, Nov. 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

TECHNOLOGY DRIVES INNOVATION

As one of China's most dynamic economic regions, the Greater Bay Area highlighted technological themes during the opening ceremony.

Using artificial intelligence, AR, VR and embodied robotics, the production team presented the concept of "bringing the sea into the venue." On the 5,000-square-meter stage, technology enabled over 3,000 performers to create the visual effect of thousands.

"In the past, large-scale events like this required many performers," said Meng Ke, executive director of the opening ceremony. "With technological advances, we can now create powerful effects with far fewer people and greater efficiency."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
Prehistoric tomb discovered in south China's island province

Xinhua) 14:51, November 10, 2025

SANYA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- A prehistoric tomb dating back between 12,000 and 13,000 years was discovered in south China's Hainan Province, which is believed to be the earliest tomb found on the island.

The archaeological research was jointly conducted by the Hainan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, the School of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University, and the Sanya Museum.

The tomb, discovered at the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya's Jiyang District, belonged to a child who was buried on his or her side with bent limbs. Shell ornaments were found near the head and waist, believed to be the earliest of their kind in China, offering valuable insights into Hainan's prehistoric culture and its cultural exchanges with Southeast Asia.

The age of the tomb was established using carbon-14 and uranium series dating methods.

The Luobi Cave site, discovered in 1983, has yielded human fossils, stone tools, bone implements and animal remains, providing the earliest evidence of human activity in southern China.

The new discoveries are highly significant for understanding the activity history of prehistoric humans on Hainan Island, reconstructing the island's prehistoric cultural sequence, and studying the exchange and spread of stone tool technology and culture with humans in South China, Southeast Asia and beyond, said Gao Xing, a research fellow at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing)
'US Embassy Radicalised Bangladeshi Youth': Ex-Minister Blames External Actors For 2024 Violence

Curated By :

News18.com

Last Updated: November 10, 2025, 16:27 IST

Former Bangladeshi Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury said the 2024 violence in Bangladesh bore the hallmarks of a foreign-funded, meticulously planned regime change operation.

A protest against a job quota system spiralled in a nationwide agitation, resulting in Sheikh Hasina's ouster (AP/Representative Image)

Former Bangladeshi Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury alleged that the 2024 violence in Bangladesh bore the hallmarks of a foreign-funded, meticulously planned regime change operation and blamed the Biden family, the Clinton family, and the Soroses behind Sheikh Hasinas ouster.

The former minister also alleged a coordinated effort to radicalise segments of Bangladeshs youth via foreign media and embassies, blaming the US embassy in Dhaka, which was posting images of Bangladeshi mosques every Friday amid the crisis. Was it to win the hearts and minds of extremists, or was it to incite them? Or was it to prove we are with you if you were to take up weapons and oust a secular government? There were a lot of such subtle actions, along with clear assistance to these groups," he told RT in an interview.

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We have seen different media outlets being used to agitate the radicals, to bring them out on the streets. Respectable news outlets, brands have done this in the recent past," he added. We have seen incidents where foreign missions were training preachers in the country."

Chowdhury asserted that the 2024 unrest was not spontaneous but rather a meticulous design" that has allegedly been openly acknowledged by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus and his allies.

Biden, Soros, USAID Involved

Certain individuals who were in power  especially the Biden family, the Clintons, and the Soroses. These families had a nexus with Yunus. It was their intention and assistance that was lent to the rioters," he said in an interview with RT.

What began as a nationwide agitation against a controversial quota system for government jobs was hijacked by external actors, who proceeded to radicalise the countrys political orientation and change the regime, Chowdhury claimed.

He also accused organisations such as USAID and the International Republican Institute of funding clandestine activities and manufacturing social chaos by pitting liberal and extremist elements against each other. They have been running a campaign against our government since 2018. There is a nexus between the Clinton family and the interim Yunus regime, and these activities were going on for a long time," he said.

Carefully Planned Chaos

They werent very open, but funding of clandestine NGOs was going on they were hellbent on changing the government in Bangladesh," he added. Chowdhury also alleged that parts of the Bangladeshi military establishment also played a questionable" role in the crisis, allowing armed groups to rampage through cities, attack police stations, and target government supporters.

Chaos was carefully planned with this money. And then the chaos turned into a big riot. In the riot, there were careful killings, assassinations, using sniper rifles," he told RT, arguing that riot police in Bangladesh dont use sniper rifles.

Earlier this year, a former US State Department official had alleged that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) played a crucial role in funding the regime change last year, according to Anadolu Agency.

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Mike Benz told controversial right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson that the USAID was supported by the State Department and USAID in their plan to destabilise Bangladeshi politics.".

However, US President Donald Trump denied allegations of US involvement in the regime change in Bangladesh, although Hasina herself has accused Washington of undermining her government.

About the Author Aveek Banerjee Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master's in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in int... Read More

Location : Dhaka, Bangladesh

First Published: November 10, 2025, 16:27 IST

News world 'US Embassy Radicalised Bangladeshi Youth': Ex-Minister Blames External Actors For 2024 Violence

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A small town just north of San Francisco has enacted what is being called the nation's strictest tobacco sales ban. The Tiburon Town Council voted unanimously Wednesday to prohibit the sale of all tobacco and nicotine products within the southern Marin County communityincluding cigarettes, cigars, and vaping devices. The new law, which also bars tobacco deliveries, goes further than similar bans in the California cities of Manhattan Beach and Beverly Hills, where exemptions exist for hotels or cigar lounges, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Tiburon is the first place in the US to institute such a ban with no exemptions, the Marin Independent Journal reports.

Tiburon may have found it easier to pass the ordinance because, according to town manager Greg Chanis, the community currently has no retailers selling tobacco products. The move was sparked by three high school students in Tiburon, KTVU reports, and it drew support from local youth advocates, including members of Marin County's Youth Action Committee, who spoke about the risks of smoking and vaping among their peers. Only one group, the California Fuels and Convenience Alliancerepresenting small gas stations and convenience storesformally opposed the measure.

The town of about 9,000 residents is adding another layer to the ban by requiring landlords to include anti-smoking clauses in leases for multiunit properties. The ordinance, which takes effect in December, allows residents to file civil complaints against repeat violators, and sets fines between $250 and $1,000 per incident. Sales violations will be treated as misdemeanors. California previously raised the legal age for tobacco purchases to 21 from 18.
John Cleary, one of the nine students wounded in the infamous 1970 Kent State shooting in which four others were killed, has died at his home near Pittsburgh at age 74, the New York Times reports. Cleary, who had been battling pancreatic cancer since 2019, was a 19-year-old architecture freshman at the time of the shootinglargely uninterested in politics and drawn to the Vietnam War protests out of curiosity rather than activism. His life changed when a bullet from Ohio National Guard troops struck him in the chest on May 4, 1970, during a campus protest that erupted after the US expanded its military campaign into Cambodia. The shooting left four students dead and became a defining moment of the era, immortalized in photographs and protest songs.

A photograph of Cleary receiving first aid from fellow students made the cover of Life magazine, helping to cement the day's events in the nation's memory. (See the cover at Kent State's remembrance of Cleary.) Another photograph, showing a young woman screaming over the body of a slain student, won a Pulitzer and further fueled public outrage. For Cleary, the aftermath was a mix of physical recovery and a decades-long effort to put the shooting behind him. Though he suffered permanent lung damage, per Cleveland.com, he returned to Kent State to finish his degree, married, and settled into a quiet life, rarely speaking of what happened. Even most friends and colleagues didn't know he was the student in the famous photo.

Cleary's reluctance to speak out was shaped in part by pressure from his conservative family and community, who urged him not to criticize the guardsmen. That changed in 1981, when his son was born on the anniversary of the shootinga moment Cleary described as a signal that he couldn't ignore his past. He gradually became more public, attending Kent State commemorations and speaking about the dangers of political division and the need for de-escalation. "John became the public face of the price of protest without even having been a protester himself," says another one of the survivors of the shooting, who called themselves the Blood Brothersjust five of whom now remain alive. Cleary is survived by his wife, two children, and four grandchildren.
A far-right German activist with ties to the Trump movement is seeking asylum in the United States, claiming political persecution at home, the Washington Post reports. Naomi Seibt, a 25-year-old social media influencer linked to Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, says she faces surveillance, state media criticism, and death threats from left-wing activists in her country. Seibt, who has a significant following online and says she is in regular contact with Elon Musk, provided a letter from German intelligence that she says confirms she is being monitored. AfD, an anti-immigration party, has been labeled an extremist group by German authorities, Semafor reports.

The Post notes that Seibt's application is unusual because it comes from a citizen of a stable Western democracy with robust legal protections and a strong social safety net. Seibt, now living in the US as her application is processed, argues that Germany's restrictions on hate speech and incitement leave her vulnerable. She claims police declined to protect her after she reported threats, and says she is newly accused of "incitement to hatred." US asylum law rarely grants protection to citizens of democratic countries, though the US has a broader definition of free speech than Germany.

Seibt's asylum bid also coincides with deepening ties between the German far right and allies of President Trump, and with a proposed Trump administration policy to prioritize asylum for European "free speech advocates" and white refugees, such as those from South Africa who have already arrived. Seibt describes herself as a bridge between AfD and the MAGA movement. She's been dubbed the "anti-Greta" for years, a reference to young climate activist Greta Thunberg, because Seibt questions climate change, Fox News reports. As she awaits a decision, she says she is networking with other European right-wing figures and remains optimistic, citing her alignment with US conservatives. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida says she is "personally assisting" Seibt with her application.
A viral photo of a mysterious "fedora man" at the scene of the recent Louvre heist sparked wild online speculationwas he a detective, an accomplice, or even a digital fake? The truth is more everyday: he's a 15-year-old from the Paris suburbs with a fondness for vintage fashion and detective stories who just happened to be in the right place at the right time, the BBC reports. The figure in question, seen lingering outside the museum on the day of the theft, quickly became an internet sensation as theories swirled about his identity. (Meanwhile, police cracked the actual case thanks to careless DNA left behind by the thieves, and the museum's director conceded that the Louvre's security cameras had been insufficient.)

The viral teen, identified as Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux of Rambouillet, told the Associated Press he had simply shown up that day with his family, unaware the museum was closed due to the heist. As he inquired about the closure, an AP photographer snapped a picture, and Pedro's distinct attirea fedora and waistcoat inspired by his fictional heroes Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirotdid the rest. Pedro only learned of his unexpected fame days later, when a friend sent him a screenshot of the viral photo, which had racked up millions of views on TikTok.

The moment hit home when his mother spotted his image in the New York Timesa paper Pedro, an avid reader, holds in high regard. Asked about his sartorial choices, Pedro said he likes to "be chic," and even wears similar outfits to school, a habit he says has started to spread among his friends. As internet theories about his identity multiplied, Pedro opted for silence, savoring the mystery. "I didn't want to say immediately it was me," he explains. "With this photo there is a mystery, so you have to make it last. ... People had to try to find who I am."
A veteran federal judge has resigned his post, warning in a public essay of what he calls an "existential threat to democracy" posed by President Trump. Mark L. Wolf, appointed to the federal bench in Massachusetts by Ronald Reagan and a Justice Department veteran dating back to the Ford administration, broke precedent by stepping down to speak out, arguing that Trump has weaponized the law for political endstargeting adversaries while shielding allies from scrutiny, the New York Times reports. Wolf, 78, says his resignation allows him to voice not only his own concerns but also those of colleagues who feel constrained by judicial ethics rules.

His essay appeared in the Atlantic two days after the court announced his resignation as a senior-status judge, a position he held after stepping down from active service in 2014. Wolf's public warning is one of the sharpest rebukes of Trump's approach to presidential power to come from within the federal judiciary. He contends that Trump's use of the law goes beyond the abuses of the Nixon era, describing it as routine rather than episodic and overt rather than covert. Wolf referenced Trump's social media calls for investigations into political opponents, noting that some, including James Comey and Letitia James, were later indicted.

Wolf, who presided over high-profile cases, including the trial of Boston mobster Whitey Bulger, says he hopes to become a spokesperson for judges who cannot speak publicly. The code of conduct bars active federal judges from making political statements, and some lawmakers have called for investigations into judges who have criticized the administration. The White House dismissed Wolf's concerns, saying judges with personal agendas should resign, a sentiment echoed by Trump-aligned legal figures. But the conservative judge says in his essay, which Axios refers to as "scathing," that the administration's actions run "contrary to everything that I have stood for in my more than 50 years in the Department of Justice and on the bench."
Australia's Queensland state is considering reclassifying dingoes as domestic dogs, a controversial move that would allow residents to keep the wild canines as pets. The idea is part of a broader review of biosecurity regulations, with legislative changes expected in the spring. Dingoes are currently labeled an invasive species in Queensland, making it illegal to own, sell, or even feed them. While the proposed rule change wouldn't alter protections for dingoes in national parks or stop landowners from defending livestock from dingo attacks, it has stirred debate among scientists and wildlife groups, per UPI.
President Trump said Sunday that he is considering giving most Americans a $2,000 check funded by tariff revenues, in what appears to be an effort to build public support for his trade policies, the Guardian reports. "A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone," Trump wrote on Truth Social Sunday, adding that those who oppose tariffs are "FOOLS!" He's floated the idea of tying stimulus payments to tariff income multiple times in the past, but nothing has come of it yet. As of Oct. 17, consumers faced an average effective tariff rate of 18%, the Hill reports.

To implement such a plan, however, congressional approval would likely be needed. Earlier this year, Sen. Josh Hawley introduced a bill for a $600 tariff rebate for most Americans, arguing that the public should benefit directly from tariff collections. Yet, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in August that the administration's priority is using tariff revenue to pay down the $38 trillion national debt, not to issue rebate checks. Bessent said he had not yet discussed Trump's latest $2,000 check idea with the president, NBC News reports.

The Treasury Department reported collecting $195 billion in customs duties in the first three quarters of the year. But analysts say that providing $2,000 to each eligible adult could easily far exceed the revenue generated by tariffs. Erica York of the Tax Foundation estimated that if the cutoff is set at $100,000 in annual income, about 150 million adults would qualify, costing roughly $300 billion. And, she adds, "The math gets worse accounting for the full budgetary impact of tariffs." She estimates tariffs have only raised $90 billion in net revenues when adjusted for that. (Trump recently agreed Americans are "paying something" for tariffs.)
South Korea's ousted conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol faces more criminal charges as prosecutors alleged Monday that he ordered drone flights over North Korea in a deliberate bid to stoke tensions and justify his plans to declare martial law. Yoon set off the most serious political crisis in South Korea's recent history when he imposed martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, and sent troops to surround the National Assembly. He was later impeached and removed from office, and is in jail standing trial on charges including masterminding a rebellion. His successor and liberal rival, President Lee Jae Myung, approved legislation that launched independent investigations into Yoon's martial law stunt and other criminal allegations, reports the AP .

On Monday, Yoon and two of his top defense officials were charged with committing abuse of power over their drone flights, which came about two months before the declaration of martial law, according to a special investigation team. North Korea accused Seoul of flying drones over Pyongyang to drop propaganda leaflets three times in October 2024. Tensions rose sharply at the time, with North Korea threatening to respond with force. When Yoon announced martial law, he briefly cited "threats from North Korean communist forces," but focused on his fights with the liberal-controlled parliament. Yoon called the National Assembly "a den of criminals" and "anti-state forces."

On Monday, Park Ji-young, a senior investigator working for independent counsel Cho Eun-suk, said Yoon, Kim, and Yeo In-hyung, ex-commander of the military's counterintelligence agency, "undermined the military interests of the Republic of Korea by increasing the danger of a South-North armed conflict with the purpose of setting up an environment for declaring emergency martial law." Park disclosed what she called memos found in Yeo's mobile phone, some of which suggest plots to trigger tensions with North Korea. Memos include wordings like "creating an unstable situation," "drones" and "targets like Pyongyang" that could force North Korea to respond because of "a loss of its face."
Vaishnavi Srinivasagopalan, a skilled Indian IT professional who has worked in both India and the US, has been looking for work in China. As the AP reports, Beijing's new K-visa program targeting science and technology workers could turn that dream into a reality. The K-visa rolled out by Beijing last month is part of China's widening effort to catch up with the US in the race for global talent and cutting edge technology. It coincides with uncertainties over the US H-1B program under tightened immigrations policies implemented by President Trump. The K-visa "is a good option for people like me to work abroad," says Srinivasagopalan.

The K-visa supplements China's existing visa schemes, including the R-visa for foreign professionals, but with loosened requirements, such as not requiring an applicant to have a job offer before applying. Stricter US policies toward foreign students and scholars under Trump, including hiking fees for the H-1B visa for foreign skilled workers to $100,000 for new applicants, are leading some non-American professionals and students to consider going elsewhere.

The ruling Communist Party has made global leadership in advanced technologies a top priority, paying massive government subsidies to support research and development of areas such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and robotics. "Beijing perceives the tightening of immigration policies in the US as an opportunity to position itself globally as welcoming foreign talent and investment more broadly," said Barbara Kelemen, head of Asia at security intelligence firm Dragonfly. But with the jobless rate for Chinese aged 16-24 excluding students at nearly 18%, the campaign to attract more foreign professionals is raising questions. "The current job market is already under fierce competition," said Zhou Xinying, a 24-year-old postgraduate student at Zhejiang University.

For decades, China has been losing top talent to developed countries as many stayed and worked in the US and Europe after they finished studies there. "The US is probably more at risk of losing would-be H-1B applicants to other Western economies, including the UK and European Union, than to China," said Michael Feller, chief strategist at consultancy Geopolitical Strategy. "The US may be sabotaging itself, but it's doing so from a far more competitive position in terms of its attractiveness to talent. China will need to do far more than offer convenient visa pathways to attract the best."
President Trump will host Syria's transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa on Monday in a first-ever visit by a Syrian leader to the White House, signaling a dramatic shift in Syria's global standing. Al-Sharaa, who rose from leading the formerly terrorist-labeled Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham in a campaign that ousted Bashar Assad last year, is now seen by Washington as Syria's best hope for stabilization after over a decade of civil war and decades of authoritarian rule. The US, under both Biden and Trump administrations, has warmed to al-Sharaa, with the Trump administration now pushing to end Syria's four-decade-long inclusion on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list and to lift sanctions, per the Hill .

Not all in Congress are convinced by al-Sharaa's transformation or the wisdom of repealing the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, which was imposed to punish the Assad regime for atrocities and restrict international business with Damascus. Some lawmakers insist the sanctions are a vital lever to ensure the new government meets US benchmarks for minority rights and justice, especially after recent incidents of sectarian violence. However, a larger bipartisan group and some advocates argue the sanctions now hobble Syria's recovery, with the economy in ruins. The administration has already moved to delist al-Sharaa and key officials from global terrorist rolls, citing progress in fighting terrorism and drugs, and on locating missing Americans.

Trump views a stable Syria as key to curbing Iranian influence and sees Syrian participation in the Abraham Accords and the international coalition against ISIS as steps toward broader Middle East realignment. During his White House visit, Al-Sharaa is expected to announce Syria will offer help in the fight against ISIS, per the Hill. He's also expected to ask Trump to pressure Israel to stop its attacks on Syria and to withdraw its troops, per CNN. (This follows a historic meeting in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.)
Ghislaine Maxwell appears to be working on her next big move: a formal plea to President Trump to have her sentence commuted. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have obtained documents showing that Maxwell and her attorney are working on the application, report Politico and CBS News . "I am struggling to keep it all together as it is big and there are so many attachments," Maxwell wrote in a message with the subject line "RE: Commutation Application." Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence for her role in Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking operation, and Trump is essentially her last hope of getting out after the Supreme Court rejected her bid for an appeal.

Maxwell "is preparing a 'Commutation Application' for your Administration to review, undoubtedly coming to you for your direct consideration," wrote Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin in a letter to Trump on Monday. "The Warden herself is directly helping Ms. Maxwell copy, print, and send documents related to this application." Raskin implored Trump not to "grant any form of clemency to this convicted and unrepentant sex offender." An unnamed whistleblower gave the documentation to Democrats on the panel.

The case continues to be politically charged, with Democrats accusing the Trump administration of a lack of transparency and suggesting that Maxwell has received preferential treatment in prison. Maxwell was recently transferred from a low-security prison in Florida to a prison camp in Texas after a lengthy interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, during which she praised Trump and denied witnessing any inappropriate behavior on his part. Emails suggest Maxwell is much happier at the Texas facility.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday announced the latest in a series of strikes on boats accused of ferrying drugssix people were killed in attacks on two vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The dual strikes on Sunday bring the total number of known attacks up to 19 and the death toll to at least 75 people, reports the AP , since the Trump administration launched a campaign against drug trafficking in South American waters that many see as a pressure tactic on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. "These vessels were known by our intelligence to be associated with illicit narcotics smuggling, were carrying narcotics, and were transiting along a known narco-trafficking transit route," Hegseth posted on social media.

The Trump administration has provided no evidence for its assertions, and lawmakers, including Republicans, have pressed for more information on who is being targeted and the legal justification for the strikes. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Hegseth met with a bipartisan group of lawmakers who oversee national security issues last week, providing one of the first high-level glimpses into the legal rationale and strategy behind the strikes. While Democrats said it wasn't enough, Senate Republicans voted a day later to reject legislation that would have put a check on President Trump's ability to launch an attack against Venezuela without congressional authorization.

In the latest strikes, Hegseth posted a videoas has become customaryshowing one boat floating before exploding in a fireball. The footage cuts to what appears to be another boat moving through the water, and it looks to be carrying packages. There is a blast, and flames and smoke pour from the boat. The strikes began in early September and have targeted vessels largely in the Caribbean Sea but have increasingly shifted to those in the eastern Pacific, where much of the cocaine from the world's largest producers is smuggled.
At a meeting outside London in May, MI5 chief Ken McCallum asked the FBI director, Kash Patel, to keep a key surveillance position open in Britain for an agent working in high-tech surveillance. And that's when the relationship between MI5 and the FBI, a key part of the Five Eyes alliance, began to suffer, the New York Times reports. Patel reportedly agreed to McCallum's request. But whether or not Patel was aware, the job was already on the chopping block as part of US budget cuts and ultimately disappeared despite Patel's promise. The agent was quietly relocated back to the US, leaving British officials stunned and questioning Patel's reliability.

This episode, detailed by current and former American officials, has reportedly rattled the Five Eyes intelligence alliancecomprised of the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Allies were already uneasy about Patel's leadership, viewing him as inexperienced, openly partisan, and quick to remove agents who investigated President Trump, the Times reports. Just last week, the FBI Agents Association accused Patel of disregarding the law to launch "a campaign of erratic and arbitrary retribution," per Reuters. And abroad, Patel fired the FBI's top representative in Australia because she'd kneeled during racial justice protests in 2020.

Patel's missteps abroad have been more than bureaucratic. In New Zealand, he handed out 3D-printed replica pistols as gifts to officialsgifts that had to be destroyed for violating local laws. He also showed up at formal intelligence gatherings in casual attire, breaking with decades of protocol. The friction over the lost London posting is particularly troubling for MI5, which relies heavily on US intelligence support. The two agencies have worked closely for generations, dating back to World War II. Now, America's closest intelligence allies are left questioning the future of a partnership they've long considered indispensable, reports the Times.
A member of the Vatican's Swiss Guards is under investigation following allegations that he made a spitting gesture at two Jewish women during a public event in St. Peter's Square. The incident reportedly took place Oct. 29 as a Jewish delegation attended a gathering commemorating the 60th anniversary of Nostra aetate, the landmark Catholic declaration addressing relations with non-Christian religions, especially Judaism. According to Michal Govrin, an author from Tel Aviv, the guard hissed the words "les juifs" ("the Jews") with apparent contempt as she and Vivian Liska, director of the Institute of Jewish Studies in Antwerp, entered the square, per the Guardian . When confronted, the guard allegedly responded with a gesture mimicking spitting.

The Swiss Guards, the colorful security detail tasked with protecting the pope, have confirmed that the individual involved is now subject to a routine internal investigation. "The Swiss Guard completely distances itself from any form of antisemitism," said spokesperson Cpl. Eliah Cinotti, who explained that the incident may have started when someone asked to take a photo of the guard, who has not been identified by name. The episode unfolded on the same day Pope Leo condemned antisemitism during his address, highlighting Nostra aetate's repudiation of the old accusation that Jews collectively bore responsibility for the death of Christ. He emphasized the Catholic Church's rejection of hatred or violence against Jews, receiving "prolonged applause," per the Catholic Herald.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that could reshape how mail-in ballots are countedand whether they should be counted at all if they come in after Election Day, reports Politico . The case out of Mississippi is a "potential blockbuster," per the New York Times , one that will essentially ask the court to define what "Election Day" means. It centers on a challenge brought by the Republican National Committee to Mississippi's policy of counting absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day but received up to five days later.

The RNC argues that Congress intended for all voting to occur strictly on Election Day itself, and that extending the deadline for ballot arrivals threatens the integrity of the process. Mississippi, backed by several other states with similar policies, counters that federal law only dictates when voters must cast their ballots, not when election officials must receive them. State officials say the grace period simply ensures that ballots mailed on time are not disqualified because of postal delays.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, known for its conservative leanings, sided with the RNC and struck down Mississippi's grace period. The outcome of this case could have widespread implications as many statesabout 30 by Politico's countrely on similar mail-in ballot provisions.
The flight cancellations at airports across the US are expected to persist even after the government shutdown ends, per the AP . The Federal Aviation Administration has reduced flights as some air traffic controllersunpaid for weekshave stopped showing up for work. The Senate took a first step toward ending the shutdown Sunday, but final passage could still be several days away. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy made clear last week that flight cuts will remain in place until the FAA sees safety metrics improve.

Over the weekend, airlines canceled thousands of flights to comply with the order to eliminate 4% of flights. The cancellations are scheduled to rise to 6% of all flights at 40 of the nation's busiest airports on Tuesday. By the end of the week, flight cancellations are scheduled to reach 10% of all flights at those airports. Already, travelers are growing frustrated. "All of this has real negative consequences for millions of Americans, and it's 100% unnecessary and avoidable," said Todd Walker, whose flight from San Francisco to Washington state was canceled over the weekend, causing him to miss his mom's 80th birthday party.

As of Monday morning, airlines had already canceled 1,600 flights for Monday and nearly 1,000 for Tuesday. International flights have not been affected. Beyond the mandated cuts, flight delays have been rippling through airports nationwide at times ever since the shutdown began. That's because the FAA slows air traffic anytime it's short on controllers at one of its facilities to ensure flights remain safe. Tuesday will be the second missed payday for air traffic controllers and other FAA employees. It's unclear how quickly they might be paid once the shutdown ends.
American shoppers might soon have to say arrivederci to Italian pasta, as the country's top pasta exporters say they are ready to pull their products from US shelves due to tariffs topping 100%. The dutiesa 92% antidumping duty on top of the 15% general tarifftarget 13 Italian companies, including La Molisana, one of Italy's largest pasta makers. The Trump administration imposed the tariffs after a Commerce Department review found Italian pasta was being sold below market value in the US, following complaints from American producers, the Wall Street Journal reports. The severity of the measures has shocked Italy's pasta industry.

For companies like La Molisana, which turned itself around from bankruptcy in 2011 and now generates about $400 million in annual revenue, exports to the US have been a key part of their success. The factory, a major employer in a struggling region, produces dozens of pasta varieties. While antidumping investigations and minor tariffs are nothing new for Italian pasta makers, this is the first time so many face tariffs that could effectively lock them out of the American market. Italian officials and pasta executives insist the process was unusually harsh and possibly influenced by the current political climate. "This isn't about dumpingit's an excuse to block imports," says Cosimo Rummo, CEO of Rummo Pasta.

"Why don't they want Italian products to enter America? I believe this is totally inappropriate, because Italy and America are brothers. It is an excuse not to let Italian products in," Rummo says, per the Washington Post. The 92% tariff is due to kick in at the start of next year if the trade dispute is not resolved. Luigi Scordamaglia, CEO of the industry group Filiera Italia, says it will affect more than half of Italian pasta exports to the US, including 90% of premium pastas.

The US says that the penalties are the result of a routine technical review. The Post notes that pasta companies feel "particularly stung" because the tariffs are based not on evidence of dumping, but on what the Commerce Department says were "inconsistent and unclear" answers from two Italian pasta companies as part of a review requested last year by two American pasta makers. Italy's government has launched a diplomatic push to fight the tariffs, arguing that both national pride and $770 million in annual pasta sales are at stake.
A small plane bound for Jamaica on a hurricane relief mission crashed into a pond in a residential area of the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Coral Springs on Monday morning. Authorities said no survivors were located during rescue efforts. "We do have our police department here with their divers as well, they'll be conducting a recovery mission shortly, we were unable to find any victims or any large pieces of fuselage on our initial dive," Coral Springs Deputy Fire Chief Mike Moser said, per NBC 6 . "We have not found an entire plane yet, we believe that it may be broken into smaller pieces, we don't know yet of course, this is very preliminary." Officials say the Beechcraft King Air was en route to Montego Bay.

Witnesses described disturbing scenes. "We heard a big explosion, when we saw all the water rise up in the air we ran towards it to see what happened," David Ubegi tells NBC 6. "We saw all the parts of the plane and some body parts along sides of the houses and when the police arrived we helped them look for the body parts." Broward County, where the plane took off from and where the crash occurred, is home to a vibrant Caribbean American community that sprang into action to collect relief supplies following Hurricane Melissa, the AP reports. A fierce Category 5 hurricane, Melissa slammed into Jamaica late last month.

The plane took off from the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport at approximately 10:14am, according to a spokesperson for the City of Fort Lauderdale, which owns and operates the airport. The crash occurred soon after takeoff, with Coral Springs police officers and firemen responding at 10:19am, just five minutes later. According to Federal Aviation Administration records, the plane was manufactured in 1976. King Air models can seat between seven and 12 people, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
Nvidia jumped 5.8% and was by far the strongest force lifting the market. It and other AI darlings like Palantir Technologies bounced back from last week, when their stocks dropped amid worries they'd grown too expensive, the AP reports. Critics say their stock prices shot too high and too fast in the mania around AI, drawing comparisons to the 2000 dot-com bubble that ultimately burst.

Palantir Technologies, jumped 8.8% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. That helped it recover some of its loss since it delivered a profit report last week that topped analysts' expectations. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which makes chips for Nvidia and other companies, saw its stock that trades in United States rise 3.1% after reporting that its revenue climbed nearly 17% in October from a year earlier. While such growth is strong compared with other companies, it's a slowdown from TSMC's earlier performance.

Losses for health insurers helped keep the market's gains in check, though. They fell as uncertainty remains about whether Washington will extend expiring health care tax credits, a sticking point on Capitol Hill that's created the longest-ever shutdown for the US government. That's even as the Senate took the first steps on Sunday to end the shutdown. President Trump suggested in a social media post over the weekend that cash being sent to "money sucking" insurance companies should instead go directly to people so they can buy their own health insurance. Humana fell 5.4%, Elevance Health sank 4.4%, and Centene dropped 8.8%.

Tyson Foods climbed 2.3% after the seller of chicken and other proteins reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It benefited from increases in prices for its pork and beef of 11% to 17%. Roughly four out of every five companies in the S&P 500 that have reported their results for the summer have also topped analysts' profit expectations so far, according to FactSet. Companies usually beat analysts' estimates each quarter, but the pressure was high this time around because they needed to justify the big moves upward for their stock prices since April.
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NAHA, Nov 10 (News On Japan) - At 3 p.m. on November 10th, Typhoon No. 26 (Fung-wong), a large tropical system, was moving west-northwest across the South China Sea. It has weakened from its previous strength but is expected to shift its path northward and then eastward, passing near Taiwan before approaching Okinawa.

As the typhoon interacts with a stationary front, weather conditions are forecast to worsen from November 11th. Rainfall is likely to intensify across Okinawa and the Amami region as the front becomes more active, raising concerns of localized heavy rain and strong winds in affected areas.

Source: 
HYOGO, Nov 10 (News On Japan) - Hyogo Prefectural Police arrested NHK Party leader Tachibana Takashi on November 9th on suspicion of defamation, alleging that he repeatedly made false statements about a former Hyogo prefectural assembly member who has since passed away.

According to investigators, in December 2024, while campaigning for an election, Tachibana made several false remarks during a street speech about former assembly member Takeuchi Hideaki, who had served on a special committee investigating alleged misconduct by Hyogo Governor Saito Motohiko. Tachibana allegedly stated that Takeuchi was "probably being questioned by the police," among other unfounded claims, thereby damaging his reputation.

Takeuchi passed away the following month, and in June this year, his wife filed a criminal complaint against Tachibana. Following an investigation, police confirmed the falsity of the remarks and arrested Tachibana at around 3:40 a.m. in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture.

Authorities have not disclosed whether Tachibana admits to the allegations and are continuing to investigate the details of the case.

Source: YOMIURI
IBARAKI, Nov 10 (News On Japan) - Global food shortages are worsening due to extreme weather linked to climate change, driving up vegetable prices even in Japan. Amid this crisis, Hakuo Kikuchi, CEO of Quantum Flowers & Foods, has developed a groundbreaking technology that drastically shortens the time required for crop and grain breeding.

His company has launched the worlds first business using neutron beamsone of the particles that make up atomsto irradiate seeds, thereby inducing mutations with high probability.

This method is not limited to plants. The technology is also being applied to microorganisms, raising hopes among major food manufacturers for its use in developing fermented products such as yogurt and other functional foods. Moreover, Kikuchi says it could also boost the efficiency of producing environmental energy sources such as bioethanol, whose adoption is increasingly being mandated worldwide.

In his interview with bestselling author Hideo Aiba, Kikuchi explained how quantum agriculture could help address some of the worlds most pressing social and environmental challenges. Drawing on his background as a journalist, Aiba explores how science, economics, and society intersect through Kikuchis innovation.

At a research facility adjacent to the Nuclear Science Research Institute in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, Kikuchi demonstrated how beams of neutrons are emitted in controlled lines to strike seeds and microorganisms. The exposure process triggers mutations that can be harnessed to create new varieties of plants.

The company is already working with vegetable factories in Chiba Prefecture, using this technique to develop improved lettuce varieties. Our technology enables compact, high-yield plants that can thrive in small spaces, Kikuchi explained. This means we can produce more crops efficiently, which is vital in an era of climate instability.

Through neutron-beam irradiation, Kikuchis team has achieved significant results in just one generationsomething that traditional crossbreeding, which can take over a decade, could not. By irradiating plants and selecting those with desirable mutationssuch as compact size or heat resistancebreeders can dramatically shorten the process of developing new varieties.

One example is a strain of lettuce that remains small yet produces abundant leaves, improving productivity for vertical farms and greenhouse cultivation. Its a big surprise, even for our partner companies, Kikuchi said. Getting successful results from the first trial was beyond our expectations.

Quantum Flowers & Foods is now expanding the technologys applications to energy crops like corn, aiming to enhance ethanol yield and microbial efficiency. We want to contribute not just to agriculture, but also to the sustainable energy sector, Kikuchi noted.

The rise of quantum agriculture, once a concept of science fiction, is now becoming a tangible force in addressing global crisesfrom food security to clean energy. Through innovation rooted in atomic science, Kikuchi and his team are opening a new frontier in how humanity cultivates and sustains life on Earth.

Source: BIZ
OAKVILLE, ON, Nov. 10, 2025 /CNW/ - Halton Police Foundation and presenting partner FirstOntario Credit Union are proud to announce the launch of the Adopt A K9 program.

Halton Regional Police Service has five highly skilled K9s that play a vital role in keeping the community safe. The four-legged members of Halton's elite K9 Unit are highly skilled, dedicated, loyal and always ready to serve.

Now with each symbolic adoption through the Adopt A K9 Program individuals can celebrate the skills and bravery of Halton's K9 Unit while supporting Halton Police Foundation and critical programs that support at-risk youth and underserved community members.

Each symbolic adoption includes a plush replica of your chosen K9 hero, an official certificate of adoption, and a fun facts card about your furry officer.

FirstOntario Credit Union is proud to partner with Halton Police Foundation (HPF) as a member of their Founders' Circle and as presenting partner of the Adopt A K9 program. This collaboration underscores FirstOntario's commitment to strengthening community safety and engagement.

"At FirstOntario, we believe in building stronger communities through meaningful partnerships. Supporting the Halton Police Foundation's K9 Program is a unique way to connect with residents while contributing to public safety," said Joanne Battaglia, senior vice-president, Marketing, Communications & Partnerships, FirstOntario Credit Union. "We're proud to stand alongside the Foundation in its mission to create and support programs that make a real difference."

"We are thrilled to launch this innovative program to not only help educate our community on the valuable role that our K9 Unit plays to ensure our communities are protected and safe, but to also raise funds to support Halton Police Foundation and critical programs that support our most vulnerable community members," said Colleen Mulholland, Executive Director of HPF. "While the police serve community members during their most difficult moments, we know that lasting change comes from working together. We sincerely thank FirstOntario for believing in the power of policing partnerships and for their commitment to a safe, thriving Halton."

Visit the Adopt A K9 section at www.haltonpolicefoundation.com to learn more and adopt.

About Halton Police Foundation (HPF)

Halton Police Foundation was launched in 2024 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Halton Regional Police Service. As Ontario's first police foundation, HPF's mission is to champion and advance community programs that empower at-risk youth and underserved community members, with a vision of a united Halton in which all community members have equal opportunity to thrive.

About FirstOntario Credit Union

FirstOntario is a full service cooperative financial institution, serving members for more than 86 years throughout the Golden Horseshoe, Niagara Region, and Southwestern regions of Ontario. With more than $7.6 billion in assets under management, FirstOntario is one of Canada's largest credit unions. Everyone is welcome to be part of FirstOntario for financial services including daily transactions, mortgages, lines of credit, loans and investments. FirstOntario profits are invested into the communities we serve through support for entrepreneurs, competitive rates and charitable pursuits including our award-winning student nutrition program. Learn more about us today at FirstOntario.com.

SOURCE FirstOntario Credit Union

Media contacts: Colleen Mulholland, Executive Director, Halton Police Foundation, [email protected]; Tony Iavarone, AVP, Communications and Public Relations, FirstOntario Credit Union, [email protected]
The Word of the Day for Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2025, is "intransigent." Canva/Katherine Rodriguez | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

From government shutdowns that wont end in Congress to personal showdowns at the dinner table, modern life is full of moments where people just wont budge.

That spirit of unbending refusal is captured perfectly in one word: intransigent.

But what does it really mean to be intransigent and when does firmness cross the line into obstinacy?

Heres what you need to know about the word intransigent so you can start using it today.

What is the definition of intransigent?

The word intransigent is an adjective that describes someone unwilling or refusing to change ones views or agree about something.

It can also be used as a noun to refer to an intransigent person.

How is the word intransigent pronounced?

The word intransigent is pronounced /in-TRAN-zuh-jnt/.

How can you use intransigent in a sentence?

The negotiations collapsed because both sides remained intransigent on key issues. No matter how many times we explained the plan, he stayed intransigent and refused to change his mind. History often celebrates the intransigent  the ones who refused to bend when everyone else did.

What is the origin of intransigent?

Intransigent comes from the Spanish word intransigente, meaning uncompromising, according to Merriam-Webster.

The Spanish root verb is transigir, meaning to compromise, and is related to the Latin transigere (to come to an agreement).

In French, the verb transiger, also means to compromise.

What historical figure quoted the word intransigent?

Folks familiar with the writer Albert Camus might recognize this quote from his daughter, Catherine Camus, about the writers personality.

[Albert Camus] was completely intransigent, and thats not at all a neutrality. Its combat, its a man who involved himself, committed himself, she said.

If you missed the last word of the day, click here.
A British man fled West Deptford police from a gas station Sunday night and crashed into another vehicle nearby, killing the driver and injuring two passengers, the Gloucester County Prosecutors Office alleged Monday.

Steve Hall, 28, of Waltham Cross, United Kingdom, is charged with one count of death by auto and two counts of assault by auto for the crash near the intersection of Red Bank and Hessian avenues shortly before 6 p.m.

The prosecutors office did not identify the driver killed in the crash.

The prosecutors office said West Deptford police received a 5:35 p.m. call reporting two intoxicated males at the PS Gas and Food Mart in nearby National Park. (West Deptford patrols National Park.)

When officers arrived at the station, a white vehicle, which matched the description of the vehicle with the males, left the station. A marked West Deptford police unit followed and attempted to pull over the vehicle with its emergency lights, the prosecutors office said.

Moments later, the while vehicle crossed into oncoming traffic and struck the other vehicle, the prosecutors office said.

The state Attorney Generals Office, which is involved in the investigation since the death occurred in police action, said the white vehicle drove away from the police car at a high speed.

The Gloucester prosecutors office said a rear passenger in the victim car, as they called it, suffered a broken leg and described being t-boned by the vehicle Hall was driving. A passenger in the defendants car suffered a fractured hip.

The Gloucester County Prosecutors Office will prosecute Hall, while the Attorney Generals office will investigate the officers actions.

Hall was also injured in the crash. Attorney information for him was not available Monday.

Waltham Cross is a town of about 8,500 about 12 miles north of London.
Access Now, a womens health clinic in Sewell, recently opened as a walk-in medical facility specializing in ob-gyn care. Patient ultrasound room. May 26, 2022. Zachary Maat | For NJ Advance Media

Holy Name Medical Center is expanding its physician training opportunities with a new OB-GYN residency program.

The independent Catholic health system will welcome its first class of residents in the summer of 2026. The four-year residency program will give new doctors a chance to learn alongside experienced physicians, conduct research, and expand health care access in the community.

Our mission is to provide an exceptional learning environment where residents can develop the full spectrum of skills required to excel as obstetricians and gynecologists, said Dr. Sharyn N. Lewin, director of the OB-GYN residency program at Holy Name, in a statement.

By integrating community-based training with academic rigor, we are preparing physicians to not only deliver excellent clinical care but also lead with empathy and integrity, Lewin said.

The new program will also prepare graduates to become certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology or the American Osteopathic Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Becoming board certified is considered a measure of quality in the industry.

According to Holy Name, its OB-GYN residency program is recognized by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, an independent, not-for-profit organization that sets and monitors voluntary professional educational standards.

Residents in our program will benefit from diverse clinical experiences, supportive mentorship, and a collaborative learning culture, said Dr. Vasantha Kondamudi, chief medical officer and designated institutional officer, in the statement. This program represents Holy Names dedication to advancing womens health and medical education in our community.

The announcement comes at a time when the country could use more doctors, especially those interested in reproductive health. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services projects that by 2037, the country will only meet 82% of the anticipated demand for OB-GYNs.

Several factors may be contributing to the shortage, with workplace stress being a significant issue. A 2025 survey conducted by Medscape, an online medical resource, found that 40% of OB-GYNs feel their work-life balance has worsened compared to three years prior.

The Dobbs decision may have also hurt the profession. A 2023 survey found 55% of OB-GYNs believe the landmark ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade has worsened their ability to attract new doctors to the field, according to KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation, an independent nonprofit focused on health policy.

Unlike other states that have passed restrictions on abortion post-Dobbs, New Jersey has increased access. In 2022, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill into law that preserves the legal right for women and girls to obtain an abortion in the state.

Despite this, Holy Name will not offer abortion training for its students. Abortion isnt permitted at Catholic health care institutions, according to the latest edition of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Although the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has long called for the inclusion of abortion education in all medical school curricula, its not required for medical school accreditation, according to the professional associations website.

A spokesperson for Holy Name did not immediately respond Tuesday when asked if the institution will help trainees who want clinical experience in abortion get training elsewhere.
About 60% of New Jersey voters said they would support the building of regional magnet schools to promote racial integration. Annalise Knudson

Editors note: This story was shared as part of a content-sharing agreement between Mosaic.NJ.com and NJ Spotlight News. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter (or X).

New Jersey has one of the most segregated K-12 public school systems in the country, an imbalance that is linked to racial and socioeconomic inequality.

With a new governor, with the power to change that, set to take office, and a long-standing school segregation lawsuit reaching the state appellate court, change could be on the horizon.

Desegregation court cases often take a long time and are demanding on judges since the issues are so complex, said Gary Orfield, co-director of The Civil Rights Project at UCLA. And whoever is governor has influence since they can choose to support or stall the case.

A group of parents and advocates who sued the state over school segregation in 2018 have accused Gov. Phil Murphys administration of delaying a possible resolution to integrate the states public schools. After years of court proceedings and almost a year and a half of failed mediated settlement talks, the case is now before the state appeals court.

Desegregation court case

In recent court filings, attorneys for the families and advocates argued that New Jersey operates egregiously segregated schools, which are harmful to students and to society. The state, which is charged with providing students with a thorough and efficient education free from segregation, has long been aware of existing segregation and failed to prevent or remedy it, the attorneys argued in their brief.

In their most recent filing, attorneys for the state argued that the appellate court should deny the plaintiffs appeal. The states public school system does not violate the state Constitution, which requires the state to provide students with a thorough and efficient education and includes an anti-segregation clause, the attorneys argued.

A court order can help speed up integration, Orfield said, but politicians can also use it to stoke fear using images from the past. Most integration has happened peacefully, but the rare troubles have been widely publicized, said Orfield, who has studied the issue for decades.

People are afraid of losing educational opportunities and worried that integration will cost a lot of money, he said. School funding is a significant chunk of the total state budget each year, and the cost of public education is the largest share of local property taxes in New Jersey.

Any change in schools seems to be resisted by parents, Orfield said. Most kids are not upset by contact across racial lines these days. Its pretty normal and pretty interesting for many students.

Other ways to integrate

Although court orders help speed up integration, states can make progress without them, Orfield said.

Governors and education leaders have the powers to do some good things without a court order, Orfield said. This could mean expanding magnet schools, which are popular across the country because they expand the options available to parents, Orfield said.

About 60% of New Jersey voters said they would accept the building of regional magnet schools to promote racial integration, according to a poll conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University last year. Slightly more than half of voters said they would be OK with mergers of adjacent school systems, and 35% said they would accept transfer systems requiring schools to accept transfers from more diverse school districts, according to the poll.

Mikie Sherrill, New Jerseys next governor, plans to expand the Interdistrict Public School Choice program and county-based magnet and vocational schools.

And she is committed to combating segregation in New Jerseys school system head on, said Sherrill spokesperson Sam Chan during the campaign. She will work collaboratively with communities to expand county-based magnet, technical, and vocational schools that enroll a diverse student body and provide critical opportunities for students, especially in our urban communities.

Support for mergers

Some New Jersey school districts have already combined to operate more efficiently, and others are studying the impacts of merging with neighboring districts.

A recent report from New America, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, found that such mergers can increase funding fairness and decrease segregation. Researchers created three new school district maps designed to achieve greater tax base equality across the state.

The blank-slate model starts from scratch to design district boundaries with fairness in mind. The redistricting by merger and county-based models combine existing districts into larger ones.

These borders were not drawn because they create the best education systems, said Zahava Stadler, one of the reports authors, who believes the borders should be redrawn to benefit the most children.

In New Jersey, strategically combining existing school districts is almost as effective as starting from scratch to create an optimized school district map, according to the report. Schools would not need to change their attendance zones under this model, which means fewer growing pains for kids and families, said Stadler, project director of New Americas Education Funding Equity Initiative.

If you look at this with a kids eye view, it is an absolute no-brainer that the state has a responsibility to all of its kids, she said.

Existing inequalities

Greater tax base equality would reduce reliance on state funding in some districts, making it easier to weather unpredictability in state and federal funding.

Im not arguing that this is a snap your fingers kind of policy solution, Stadler said. However, when people tell me that it is politically difficult to change school district boundaries, my answer is that it should be a bigger political liability to underserve this many kids.

Segregated schools produce widespread inequality since schools with high populations of students of color often have less experienced teachers, a more limited curriculum and fewer connections to colleges and universities, Orfield said.

Its a multidimensional inequality because the segregation is almost always not only by race but also by concentrated poverty, which is very damaging to school opportunity, Orfield said.

In comparison, he said desegregation has no negative effects on higher-achieving students and the largest effects on low-achieving students.

Everybody gets the opportunity to learn how to live and work across racial and ethnic lines, which is a tremendous asset in a diverse society, Orfield said. It takes courage to do, but it actually does work, and it does actually produce lifelong benefits for the students.
A 19-year-old New Jersey man has been charged with burglarizing and vandalizing an amusement park in New York.

Two other New Jersey residents  a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old  have been identified and are expected to turn themselves in after causing about $57,000 worth of damage to Playland Park in Rye, New York, according to Westchester County Police.

Anthony Conkling and two others arrived at the amusement park along the Long Island Sound in a small boat in the overnight hours of Sept. 23-24 and climbed a fence, officials said.

The trio allegedly cut or ripped out fiber optic cables for phone and internet service in an electrical room. Police said they also stole 200 stuffed animals, which they hauled away in garbage bags. Lastly, they tried to throw a photo booth off the boardwalk but couldnt.

The boat they used was returned undamaged to a boat club in Connecticut, officials said.

Conkling, of Wyckoff, is charged with burglary, criminal mischief, criminal trespass and petit larceny.

Attorney information for Conkling was not immediately available.

Police said they identified Conkling after sharing information about the crime on social media and receiving tips from the public.
Newark Liberty International Airport continued to experience significant flight delays and cancellations Monday due to staffing shortages stemming from the government shutdown.

More than 90 flights were canceled at Newark Airport as of Monday morning, along with over 100 delays affecting multiple airlines and destinations, according to FlightAware.

On Sunday, nearly 1,000 flights were either delayed or canceled, the worst day of the weekend and occuring at the end of a popular travel week for New Jersey residents.

Some arrivals were delayed an average of 2 hours and 14 minutes Sunday, the Federal Aviation Administration reported and numerous videos showed a long line of planes waiting to take off.

The disruptions come as major airlines have begun implementing government-mandated flight cuts due to increasing air traffic control staffing shortages.

Jim Ryan, of Monmouth Junction, said he was one of hundreds of New Jersey travelers stranded at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Sunday as several flights to Newark were canceled.

Ryan, who planned to fly home Sunday afternoon after a week-long trip to Florida, said his United Airlines flight was first rescheduled for the evening, then canceled.

After spending the night at the airport, his flight was rescheduled for 11 a.m., and included a two-hour layover in Cleveland.

Its been challenging, Ryan said. Not an ideal situation.

Ryan said some travelers left scrambling took rental cars to drive back home, while others headed to other airports in Florida as Amtrak trains sold out.

Airlines started cutting 4% of daily flights at 40 major airports Friday. Later this week, the cutback will reach 10%.

Sean Duffy, transportation secretary, told Fox News Sunday that flights might need to be reduced by up to 20%.

Like other federal employees, air traffic controllers have not been paid for weeks. And while the government has faced air traffic controller shortages for years, the shutdown has worsened the problem, according to the Associated Press.

More controllers arent coming to work day by day, the further they go without a paycheck, Duffy told Fox News.

Although the Senate took the first step Sunday in lifting the shutdown, experts have said it could still take time for flights to return to normal once the government reopens, the Associated Press reported.

Many travelers have taken to social media to share their frustrations about disrupted flights.

We might be moving into the Newark Airport one traveler joked in a post on TikTok, saying two of her flights were canceled and she was forced to wait at the airport for hours.
Jhonatan Bello-Cabrera, 18, a recent Dwyer Technology Academy graduate, was detained on Oct. 29, 2025, during a federal immigration raid at his workplace in Avenel. Courtesy of Sandra Suero

The mother of an 18-year-old New Jersey man taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while he was working at a container freight station in Woodbridge last month said Monday that he has been moved to an unknown location.

Jhonatan Bello-Cabrera was among 46 people seized by ICE on Oct. 29 at Savino Del Bene, a shipping and logistics company on Engelhard Avenue in the Avenel section of Woodbridge.

Sandra Suero, who spoke briefly to her son after he was detained, said she unexpectedly got a call from her son at 2 a.m. Sunday.

He said Mami, a guard just came in and told us to gather all our things because theyre moving us somewhere else, she said in Spanish on Monday. He told me he was scared so you can just imagine how I feel.

Suero says her son is still just a kid  a good kid, studious, has no vices, helps around the house, he barely even goes out, its just school and work.

Now, she says shes worried about what could happen to him while hes in custody of ICE.

We dont know where he is, we dont know where they took him, she says, how theyre treating him  were in the dark, we dont really know anything.

Jhonatan Bello-Cabrera, 18, a recent Dwyer Technology Academy graduate, was detained by federal immigration agents at his workplace in Elizabeth on Oct. 29, 20205. His mother, Sandra Suero, says she doesn't know where her son is currently being held and worries for his safety. Courtesy of Sandra Suero

Suero says shes been told some of her sons coworkers, who were also detained during the raid, have been transferred to immigration detention centers in Louisiana. So maybe thats where they took him, she said. But like I said, I dont know.

A search of an an online ICE directory on Monday afternoon still lists Bello-Cabrera as being held in Delaney Hall in Newark.

Suero said her son arrived from his native Colombia four years ago. She said he was in the process of obtaining a legal status and says he has a social security card and a work permit.

Her husband, Richard Suero, whos a citizen, had already submitted the required paperwork to settle her sons legal status here.

But they dont care about any of that, she said. These agents stormed the factory in military gear, with dogs, jumping on the roof like they were taking out the worst, hardened criminals, drug lords, or something like that, Suero says.

The people they took, my son and his coworkers, arent hardened criminals, theyre decent, hardworking people, and many of them had court proceedings underway to finalize their legal statuses here.

Jhonatan, Suero says, has a court date with an immigration judge on Nov. 18. This situation is so frustrating but Im not gonna give up, she said. Im gonna keep applying pressure until this gets resolved, until they give me back my son.

Jhonatan graduated from John E. Dwyer Technology Academy in Elizabeth in June. He applied to several universities and was working to pay for college but isnt enrolled in college at the moment.

His employer operates under a customs bond with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which permits agents to conduct inspections.

The operation is part of DHS ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with customs and immigration regulations, safeguard the integrity of the supply chain, and verify that warehouse operators are adhering to all applicable security requirements, the DHS said in a statement after the workers were detained.

The Avenel location serves at the U.S. headquarters. The company also has a location in Swedesboro.

Suero has set up a GoFundMe to raise money to pay an attorney for her son.
The consequences of the shutdown have been widespread. Airlines in the U.S. canceled more than 2,000 flights on Sunday for the first time since the shutdown began, and there were more than 7,000 flight delays, according to FlightAware. AP

WASHINGTON  As the U.S. Senate held a rare Sunday session, the Republican leader said a potential deal was coming together on stopping the government shutdown. But there was no guarantee it would end an impasse now stretching to 40 days.

Moderate Democrats huddled over the weekend to find a compromise to reopen the government as the shutdown continued to disrupt flights nationwide, threaten food assistance for millions of Americans and leave federal workers without pay.

Top Republicans were working with those Democrats to finalize a legislative package that would reopen the government into January while also approving full-year funding for several parts of government. The bill would also potentially reverse some recent mass layoffs of federal workers.

ALSO: Chaos mounting at Newark Airport, 2-hour+ delays as gov shutdown continues

But the full details were still unclear, and the necessary Democratic support wasnt yet certain as it appeared unlikely the package would extend health care subsidies that expire at the end of the year. Senate Democrats were meeting in the Capitol before a possible test vote on Sunday night to hear more about the package.

A deal is coming together, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Sunday afternoon. He warned, however, that it was not a done deal.

Well see where the votes are, Thune said.

Democrats have now voted 14 times not to reopen the government as they demand the extension of tax credits that make coverage more affordable for health plans offered under the Affordable Care Act.

Republicans have refused to negotiate on the health care subsidies while the government is closed, but they have so far been supportive of the emerging proposal from moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote.

For those enrolled in health exchanges under that law, also known as Obamacare, premiums on average are expected to more than double next year if Congress allows the enhanced subsidies to lapse.

Democratic pushback expected

Republicans only need five votes from Democrats to reopen the government, so a handful of moderate senators could end the shutdown with only the promise of a later vote on health care. Around 10 to 12 Democrats have been involved in the talks.

Many of their Democratic colleagues are saying the emerging deal is not enough.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said as he walked into the meeting that it would be a horrific mistake to cave in to Trump right now.

What it will say to Donald Trump is that he has a green light to go forward toward authoritarianism, Sanders said. And I think that would be a tragedy for this country.

Other Democrats said theyd wait to hear more details.

I really wanted to get something on health care, said Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin. Im going to hear about it right now, but it doesnt look like it has something concrete.

House Democrats were also chiming in against it. Texas Rep. Greg Casar, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said a deal that doesnt reduce health care costs is a betrayal of millions of Americans who are counting on Democrats to fight.

Accepting nothing but a pinky promise from Republicans isnt a compromise  its capitulation, Casar said in a post on X. Millions of families would pay the price.

Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota posted that if people believe this is a deal, I have a bridge to sell you.

Even if the Senate were to move forward with funding legislation, getting to a final vote could take several days if Democrats who oppose the deal draw out the process. The first vote, which could come as soon as Sunday evening, would be to proceed to consideration of the legislation.

The contours of a deal

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., made a public offer to Republicans on Friday to reopen the government and extend expiring health care subsidies for a year. But Republicans immediately rejected it, with Thune calling it a nonstarter.

New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who is leading the negotiations among the Democratic moderates, said the Republican rejection of Schumers offer showed that we need another path forward.

The deal that Shaheen and others are crafting with Republicans would fund parts of government  food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things  and extend funding for everything else until the end of January. The agreement would also take up Republicans on their longstanding offer to hold a future vote on the health care subsidies.

Negotiators have also been discussing language to reverse some of the Trump administrations mass firings of federal workers that have happened since the shutdown began on Oct. 1. But that could potentially run into trouble with the White House and House Republicans.

Republicans released final legislative text of three full-year spending bills Sunday as they continued to work on a deal. The legislation keeps a ban on pay raises for lawmakers but boosts their security by $203.5 million in response to increased threats. Theres also a provision championed by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to prevent the sale of some hemp-based products.

Republicans preview health care debate

There is no guarantee that the Affordable Care Act subsidies would be extended if Republicans agree to a future vote on health care. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said he will not commit to a health vote.

Some Republicans have said they are open to extending the COVID-19-era tax credits as premiums could skyrocket for millions of people, but they also want new limits on who can receive the subsidies and argue that the tax dollars for the plans should be routed through individuals.

Other Republicans, including Trump, have used the debate to renew their yearslong criticism of the law and called for it to be scrapped or overhauled.

THE WORST HEALTHCARE FOR THE HIGHEST PRICE, Trump said of the Affordable Care Act in a post Sunday.

Shutdown impacts worsen

Meanwhile, the consequences of the shutdown were compounding. U.S. airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights on Sunday for the first time since the shutdown began, and there were more than 7,000 flight delays, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks air travel disruptions.

Treasury Secretary Sean Duffy said on CNNs State of the Union that air travel ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday will be reduced to a trickle if the government doesnt reopen.

At the same time, food aid was delayed for tens of millions of people as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits were caught up in legal battles related to the shutdown. More than two dozen states warned of catastrophic operational disruptions as Trumps administration is demanding states undo benefits paid out under judges orders last week, now that the U.S. Supreme Court has stayed those rulings.

And in Washington, home to millions of federal workers who have gone unpaid, the Capital Area Food Bank said it is providing 8 million more meals than it had prepared to this budget year  a nearly 20% increase.
New Jersey State Police troopers shot a person in Essex County following a police pursuit of a vehicle Sunday afternoon, according to the state Attorney Generals Office.

The shooting occurred at about 2:10 p.m. following a vehicular pursuit that ended in the City of Orange Township in Essex County, the AGs officer said in a brief statement that was issued Sunday night.

One male civilian sustained injuries, the statement said. His identity and the identities of the law enforcement officers involved are not being released at this time.

The attorney generals office said the investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.

The condition of the person who was shot was not disclosed by authorities.

Although the attorney generals office did not disclose the roads where the police pursuit started and where the shooting occurred, a local news website reported that State Police fired shots at a suspect on Interstate 280 in Orange.

News 12 New Jersey and ABC7 in New York showed video footage of numerous law enforcement vehicles and investigators on a stretch of I-280 in Orange, and multiple bullet holes could be seen in the windows and doors of a passenger car that appeared to be an Acura.

Witnesses said they heard an exchange of gunfire between the Acura and State Police, ABC7 reported.

News 12 aired a video clip from a person who was near the highway, off an exit ramp by Freeway Drive, around the same time police converged on the area. In the video, numerous gunshots could be heard ringing out in rapid fire.
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By Maurice J. Elias

AI has the potential to short-circuit the learning process for many students by giving them a tool that will do much of their work for them.

To avoid this, schools must adopt clear value statements about learning and academic integrity and ensure that students have the social-emotional competencies to use the technology in prosocial ways even when no one is looking. Neither the requisite value statements nor emphasis on students social-emotional competencies are the norm in schools at present.

Putting emphasis on the students is not an example of blaming the victim. Most technological innovations  and certainly AI should be conceptualized as operator dependent.

A clear way to understand this is to consider a Stradivarius, certainly an innovation in the creation of violins. Stradivari are operator dependent  the sound they produce depends on the human being operating the instrument. Different humans will generate different sounds from the same instrument.

It is therefore appropriate to consider the instrument and the player as a single unit of analysis. Evaluating the impact of either depends on the joint impact of both.

The same has been true throughout the history of technological innovation  writing, the printing press, the telegraph, radio, telephone, and smart phones come quickly to mind  and is true for AI.

We must look not only at the innovation but also the operator. Characteristics of the operator tend to be neglected in considering the impact of innovations, particularly those that are technological in nature. This cannot be the case with AI.

Education systems are far from embracing the systematic teaching of the skills needed to prepare students to use AI constructively and ethically, which include empathy, problem solving, emotional self-control, capability of working in many different kinds of groups, organization, focus, and emotional self-awareness.

Further, we cannot assume that children  or anyone  will direct their social-emotional skills for prosocial ends. As Theodore Roosevelt said, in a speech in Harrisburg, PA, Oct. 4, 1906: To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to create a menace to society.

Martin Luther King, Jr. updated this in 1947: The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. But education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society. The most dangerous criminal may be the person gifted with reason , but with no morals.

We can anticipate much about potential trajectories of AI use from examining cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying involves the use of social media technology to spread harmful, often vindictive, degrading, insulting, and false information about other people.

Often, those individuals are members of protected classes (such as LGBTQ+, people with disabilities, racially minoritized students) who are reluctant to disclose what is happening to them. Estimates are that almost 30% of students in the United States have experienced cyberbullying at least once.

Responses to cyberbullying include monitoring of childrens use of technology and social media, but what matters most is childrens moral compass and social-emotional problem-solving skills.

Do they understand that what they are doing is harmful and wrong?

Do they understand the short and long-term consequences of their actions for others, as well as the risks to their own reputation, freedoms, and privileges?

And do they perceive why they are acting toward others in these unkind and disrespectful ways?

Do they know their own emotions and their own goals?

Evidence suggests that the answer to these questions is most often, No.

We also must ask where they received the idea that abusing others is a good and reasonable thing to do. Is bullying tolerated in their classroom and school environments? Have they heard messages from influential adults in their lives that certain individuals deserve to be maltreated because they are somehow less than others?

Looking ahead, ensuring the use of AI with integrity and in ethical ways represents at least as great a challenge as implementing its technology.

The human operators of AI-infused learning systems must learn to use it with academic integrity, to find information and arrive at answers, not having them generated by AI engines.

This requires schools to invest in systematic efforts to improve their humane culture and climate, articulate core values around honesty and integrity, and build students social-emotional problem-solving skills and their application across academic subject areas.

Lets equip all of our students to pick up the Stradivarius of AI and use it to make their own, unique, beautiful music.

Maurice J. Elias, Ph.D., is an award-winning professor of Psychology at Rutgers in New Brunswick and is on the Leadership Teams of SEL4US, SEL4NJ, and the Academy for Social-Emotional Learning in Schools.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., speaks with reporters as he leaves other Senate Democrats at a closed-door meeting at the Capitol looking for a solution to the spending impasse, in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, day 37 of the government shutdown. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) AP

Democrats are fuming at their own party after a coalition of moderate Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to take the first step in ending the longest-ever government shutdown on Sunday.

Eight Democratic senators bucked party leadership to vote for a spending deal that approves three bipartisan annual spending bills and will extend the rest of government funding until late January. In exchange, the Democrats were promised a mid-December vote on extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits that are expiring at the end of the year.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) voted against the deal. Schumer and other Democratic leaders have vowed to oppose any spending package that does not include an extension for those health care subsidies.

Now, Democratic senators are facing backlash from governors, activists and lawmakers for joining with Republicans to advance the vote on ending the shutdown without the extension.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) simply wrote, Pathetic, on social media platform X.

America deserves better, Newsom wrote in a separate post.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) said the U.S. is no closer to relief for the millions of Americans facing hikes to their health care bills that they cant afford, adding that the Senate vote is a deeply disappointing result.

Democrats cannot let the Trump Administration steamroll Congress into cutting taxes for billionaires at the expense of working people, Walz posted on X.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who voted against the move, said his fear is that Trump gets stronger, not weaker, because of this acquiescence.

Im angry - like you. But I choose to keep fighting, he added on X.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said it was a very, very bad vote.

Progressive activist Harry Sisson wrote: Absolutely pathetic. I cannot believe we caved to this wannabe dictator and his goons. Thanks to the Democrats who voted no. Well remember who bent the knee.

Brett Meiselas, founder of MeidasTouch, called it an all-time fumble by Democrats.

After finally starting to rebuild trust with voters following the election, Democrats had momentum on their side. During this shutdown fight, Americans were beginning to believe they could actually hold firm. Republicans were the ones sinking fast  their approval plummeting, Trump hitting his lowest numbers ever," Meiselas wrote on X.

But instead of finishing the job and standing strong for the people, too many Democrats chose to dive right into the GOPs hole  in a way that feels orchestrated," he added.

House Democrats were also angered by the Senate counterparts.

We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. We will fight the GOP bill in the House of Representatives, where Mike Johnson will be compelled to end the seven week Republican taxpayer-funded vacation, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.

The government shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history, has fueled chaos across the country due to federal employees not being paid.

The shutdown has led to staffing shortages at airports, causing major flight delays and cancellations throughout the U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned on Sunday that traveling by air will only get worse as the shutdown continues.

Its not clear whether the bill could pass the House if it clears the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) sent lawmakers home after sending a spending bill to the Senate over a month ago.

The agreement includes bipartisan bills worked out by the Senate Appropriations Committee to fund parts of government  food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things. All other funding would be extended until the end of January, giving lawmakers more than two months to finish additional spending bills.

The deal would reinstate federal workers who had received reduction in force, or layoff, notices and reimburse states that spent their own funds to keep federal programs running during the shutdown. It would also protect against future reductions in force through January and guarantee federal workers would be paid once the shutdown is over.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump speaks as Heidi Overton, deputy director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, from left, David Moore, president of Novo Nordisk Inc., Novo Nordisk President and CEO Mike Doustdar, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks, Chris Klomp, director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. listen during an event about drug prices, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) AP

Dr. Mehmet Oz on Monday declined to offer any insights into President Donald Trumps plan to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with a new health insurance system.

Oz, administrator for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo that he spent this past weekend working with the White House on a new health care plan for the 24 million people who receive coverage through the ACA. However, Oz did not provide any specifics on what the Republican plan would look like.

I spent a good part of the weekend with the White House working on exactly the answer to that question, Oz told Bartiromo. "We have lots of great ideas, but I dont want to show our cards. As the president often says, Why would I telegraph what we are going to do? 

Oz added that he was over the moon after the Senate advanced a compromise bill that would end the government shutdown without extending ACA tax credits that are due to expire on Dec. 31.

Eight members of the Democratic caucus joined Republicans in a 60-40 vote Sunday night to approve a legislative package that would fund the federal government through January.

The deal included a commitment that the Senate would hold a mid-December vote on extending the ACA tax credits. The subsidies have been central to Democrats demands since the shutdown began on Oct. 1.

Its the right thing for the American people, Oz told Bartiromo. You should not be negotiating important issues, in this case, the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid under an extortionary situation where youre holding the government hostage.

Trump and his allies have railed against the ACA for more than a decade while calling for it to be repealed. Last week, the president again slammed Obamacare as the worst Healthcare anywhere in the world and said that the funding for ACA subsidies should be sent directly to consumers.

I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and have money left over, Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

Health insurance premiums are expected to skyrocket in 2026 once the ACA subsidies expire. Roughly 22 million enrollees out of the 24 million in the marketplace currently receive enhanced tax credits.

Average out-of-pocket health insurance premiums are projected to climb from $888 to $1,904 per year  more than doubling from 2025 to 2026, according to estimates from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, left, speaks at a news conference with FAA administrator Bryan Bedford to announce flight cancellations across the country because of the government shutdown Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025 at the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters in Washington. (AP Photo/Matthew Daly) AP

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned U.S. air travelers that flight delays and cancellations will only get worse as the government shutdown extends into its sixth week.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began reducing flights at 40 major airports on Friday amid the ongoing government shutdown, causing thousands of delays and cancellations across the country over the weekend. Duffy said on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday that the disruptions will worsen as the country approaches its busiest travel season of the year.

Duffy told CNNs Jake Tapper that air traffic controllers are not showing up to work as they continue to miss paychecks during the government shutdown. He also suggested Thanksgiving travel will be impacted if the government is not reopened in the coming weeks.

To answer your question, its only going to get worse. I look to the two weeks before Thanksgiving. Youre going to see air travel be reduced to a trickle, Duffy said.

We have a number of people who want to get home for the holidays. They want to see their family. They want to celebrate this great American holiday. Listen, many of them are not going to be able to get on an airplane because there are not going to be that many flights that fly if this thing doesnt open back up, he added.

When asked how many people will miss their Thanksgiving travel plans, Duffy said the number will be substantial.

Again, you look at the trend line, Jake, and its only gotten worse as we have gone through the shutdown, Duffy said.

The flight reduction, ordered by Duffy, affects some of the busiest airports around the U.S., including Newark Liberty International Airport, Teterboro and major New York airports. On Sunday, the FAA reported some arrivals at Newark were delayed an average of 2 hours and 14 minutes due to staffing shortages.

He explained that federal officials will eventually reduce traffic at major airports by 10% after reducing it by 4% starting on Friday. He reiterated that officials are still working to ensure it is safe to travel despite ongoing staffing shortages.

Yes, so were working overtime to make sure that it is safe to travel. And so if we have staffing triggers in locations in the American airspace, what we will do is, we will slow traffic, which means you will have delays, and then airlines might cancel flights, Duffy said.

The problem is that, as I try to reduce the pressure by lowering flights, I have more controllers that keep not coming to work. And so the pressure goes back up again. And so Im critically aware of that pressure, of rising risk and trying to take that out of the system, he added.

Its not clear when the government shutdown will end. Democrats have vowed to oppose any GOP spending bill that does not include an extension for expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, while Republicans have refused to negotiate on the issue.
Yes, the crow situation seems better

Seems about the same to me

There still seem to be a lot of crows and crow messes

Vote

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Hey Blake,

In what has to be one of my more interesting antique store finds, I came across a vintage can of Dixie Belle pure lard packaged by a business called the Dixie Packing Company in Arabi. What do you know about it?

Dear reader,

The Dixie Packing Company operated in St. Bernard Parish for more than 30 years, opening in 1933. Its meat packing plant and offices were located at 221 Mehle Ave. in Arabi near stockyards which operated there at the time.

A 1943 article in the New Orleans Item marked the companys 10th anniversary and quoted president Fred Dykhuizen, known as the genial Sausage King. He explained that when the company first started he employed only five persons. Now there are over 45 persons working for him.

In later years, the Dixie product line included beef, veal, chicken and sausage marketed under the Dixie Belle name. (Dykhuizen) keeps a sharp watch on the market and is a shrewd buyer, the Item wrote. An indication of his perspicacity can be seen from the fact that, in these times when there is an acute shortage of fresh meat (because of World War II), he was able to obtain a large quantity of turkey and chicken liver and gizzards and also chicken skins.

A 1950 New Orleans Item article explained that the product line had expanded to include pork products, smoked hams, bacon, frankfurters, cured meats, butter and eggs. Presumably your can of lard was a byproduct offered for sale as well.

A 1951 New Orleans States article mentioned that the excellent, modern plant had been remodeled to house large, newly installed smokehouses that meet with the highest standards in sanitary operating efficiency.

Ten years later, a Times-Picayune article explained that the company had become Klarer-Dixie and its line of Southern Star products included sausages, canned ham and sliced bacon. The plant was identified as the fourth largest producer of canned ham in the country.

It appears the company was dissolved and liquidated in 1964 and a post office building went up in its place. It is now vacant land.
Quanzhou, Wuxi wouldnt have become global creative cities without modernizing heritage

15:09, November 10, 2025 By Li Yuche ( Global Times

Illustration: Liu Xiangya/GT

With the new titles of "Creative City of Music" and "Creative City of Gastronomy," the Chinese cities of Wuxi in Jiangsu Province and Quanzhou in Fujian Province have recently been added to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) respectively. UCCN is the UNESCO's flagship program of equal importance to its World Heritage List.

How did Wuxi and Quanzhou make their names known globally despite not being China's largest or most renowned cities? Their inclusion actually sends a clear message: Urban creativity is not measured by a city's size or fame, but by how its creative legacy is woven into the fabric of local life.

It must be noted that long before their recognition as world creative cities, both Wuxi and Quanzhou possessed creative expertise that was not made in modern times, but rather was rooted in their local history.

Taking Wuxi as an example, the city's musical expertise stretches back to the Warring States Period (475BC-221BC), during which over 400 musical instruments were buried at a local archaeological site. Onward from there, the city's music heritage continued to evolve. Modern musicians like Hua Yanjun, better known as Abing in China, was nurtured by the city and created the masterpiece "Erquan Yingyue" (lit: The Moon's Reflection in the Second Spring), one of China's most renowned erhusongs.

On the one hand, these coherent historical roots allowed Wuxi to highlight music as its cultural character. On the other hand, they also granted the city's creative development a unique theme. In other words, to carve out a one-of-the-kind cultural identity, a city must distill a distinct theme from its local traditions.

However, if this distilled thematic heritage merely ends up as a static record or archives in museums, rather than a growing asset, it will then fail to transform a city's ancient creativity into modern power. That's to say, what has made Wuxi a creative city is not its ancient musical history alone, but how this history was transformed into fuel for the city's contemporary growth. Often, such growth should be sustainable and include dynamic aspects such as the music industry, education, its related manufacturing economy, exchanges and more.

For example, Wuxi now stands as the world's largest producer of the erhuinstrument, meanwhile, its "erhuin schools" initiative has been widely implemented in local education. As domestic music enthusiasts flock to the Wuxi Taihu Music Festival, local music groups are also bringing their best to perform in countries such as Russia, France, and Germany.

The city's creative system is like a loop, connecting heritage, people, industry and societal growth. It is through this loop that music brings tangible economic benefits, simultaneously solidifying the city's cultural identity. This outcome is a living example of why UNESCO notes that creative cities are "championing creativity as a driver for sustainable urban development."

Like Wuxi, Quanzhou has also built its gastronomy into a city brand, generating a sustained cycle woven together with local cuisine, culinary exchanges, gourmet cultural tourism, and more.

Yet, such a self-contained cycle of achievement is not enough - a creative city must also embrace a spirit of sharing.

The UCCN title is therefore not a one-time reward, but should be seen as a platform for cities of similar heritages but with different cultural backgrounds to learn from one another. For instance, in addition to Quanzhou and Wuxi, the Spanish city of Cuenca is also recognized as a City of Gastronomy, while Kisumu in Kenya is renowned for its musical heritage.

Be it in Asia, Africa, or Europe, a city that inspires others with its creativity must have a spirit of multicultural inclusiveness. Since ancient times, as a crucial hub along the Maritime Silk Road, Quanzhou's culinary culture has exemplified this very spirit of exchange.

In local signature dishes such as jiang mu ya, or "ginger duck," one can taste the spices that were introduced to China via the Maritime Silk Road in ancient times. A steaming bowl of Minnan-style homemade mianxian hu(lit: thin noodle soup paste) can even evoke a shared memory that connects the Chinese mainland and the island of Taiwan through their common roots.

As the city's label, "gastronomy" has evolved beyond mere food, or a pillar of local food industrial growth, to become a soft bond that connects people through shared sentiment. Such a transformation also reveals that a city's creative asset is not confined to physical value, but lies in its capacity to foster human connections and build collective identity through shared cultural experiences.

Hence, as a lubricant for cultural exchange, a city's creative label should be further developed into various forms of activities - such as food festivals and expos - to better engage with global visitors while bringing new resources to local development.

Including the two newly added Chinese cities, the UCCN now comprises 408 cities across more than 100 countries and regions. Among them are also China's major metropolises Shanghai and Beijing.

In the future, more off-line collaborations are good means to tie the network closer together. Such collaborations can take the form of thematic meetings and specialized working groups to share field-specific solutions, organizing regular policy dialogues and technical workshops to address common urban challenges, as well as establishing "sister city" partnerships within the network.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Zhong Wenxing)
A husband and wife, who ran an aquarium and fishing tackle shop in the Midlands and were caught illegally selling firearms, imitation firearms at their retail outlet, have been handed suspended prison sentences.

Pawel Bacianowski (43) and Ursula Bacianowski (44), both of 8 Dun Darrach, Dublin Rd, Longford pleaded guilty at Longford Circuit Court last week to six separate charges under The Firearms Act on February 19, 2022.

The various unlicensed weapons found in their store Aquaristik4You at Little Water Street, Townparks, Longford included a Borner Powerwin 304 semi-auto CO2 pistol, a UA317 pellet gun, several imitation firearms, a small axe and a cannister of pepper spray.

Garda Rachel Carlin said Gardai received information and obtained a warrant to search the store on February 19, 2022 and a large number of items were seized.

Ms Bacianowski was the registered owner of the shop and when she was asked by Gardai, Do you sell guns' she replied, "I check ID before I sell them'.

The court heard Ms Bacianowski had no previous convictions, while Mr Bacianowski had 17 previous convictions.

Garda Carlin said both defendants were very cooperative when she was asked by Niall Flynn, BL, defending, about the way they assisted Gardai.

The court heard the couple are parents to four children, three of whom are under three years of age.

Kieran Collins BL asked Judge Connolly to take Mrs Bacianowskis early guilty plea, her cooperation and personal circumstances into consideration.

Mr Collins said Mrs Bacianowski has been in Ireland since 2006 and in Longford since 2017.

"She cooperated fully during her Garda interview. There were no steps taken to avoid detection. There was a certain innocence when it came to her understanding of needing a license to sell these items."

Judge Connolly said it was an unfortunate and serious case but he acknowledged there was no direct evidence they intentionally sold any illegal weapons into criminality.

"Both were naive and reckless, he added.

Judge Connolly stated he believed it was likely they both had limited knowledge of firearms and he noted the Polish nationals had impressive employment histories.

He handed down a 21-month prison sentence to Mr Bacianowski and an 18-month sentence to Mrs Bacianowski, which he suspended for a three year period.

The jail terms were suspended on condition they are both of good behaviour, they keep the peace and they do not engage in the sale or supply of weapons.
A local businessman has called on the community to stand up to racism after an early morning attack on the streets of Portlaoise.

Gardai are appealing for information following an assault on two men, both aged in their 30s, in the Lyster Square area of Portlaoise in the early hours of Saturday morning.

They are asking for witnesses of anyone with information to come forward following the assaults on the two males.

Pakistani native Naeem Iqbal, who ran in the local elections for Fianna Fail last year, posted a video in relation to the incident which occurred in Portlaoise in the early hours of Saturday morning.

He said this wasn't a one-off incident, claiming there have been a number incidents in recent weeks.

In the early hours of this morning, between 3 am and 4am, two of our dear friends were brutally attacked by a group of men and women near Portlaoise Main Street.

"Our hearts are heavy, and our community is deeply shaken by this senseless act of violence. No one deserves to be treated in such a way. We are standing with our friends and their families during this painful time, and we are grateful to the Gardai for their swift action and continued support, Mr Iqbal said in an online post on Saturday.

We call on all peaceful and compassionate people across Ireland to come together in unity and reject hatred in every form. Let us not allow fear or division to take root in our communities. Together, we are stronger  and together, we will stand for peace, respect, and justice.

Anyone who witnessed the assault or has any information is asked to contact Portlaoise Garda Station on 057 867 4100.
A BIRR man pleaded guilty to being intoxicated in public and engaging in threatening behaviour during last week's Tullamore Court sitting.

Jack Maher, 18, Woodland Villas, Birr committed the offences on October 12, 2025, on Townsend Street, Birr.

Sergeant Brendan Kearns told the court that the Guards saw Mr Maher running in front of moving vehicles.

He was very drunk and when we spoke to him he became very aggressive and verbally abusive. We heard him say that someone was nothing but a bas**** and a cu**. We arrested him under Sections 4 and 6 of the Public Order Act.

The defendant had no previous convictions.

READ NEXT: Offaly County Council Community and Voluntary Group Awards presented

The defending solicitor Brian Duffy said his client had been out for a drink with his father. His father was drinking while on medication which had a very bad effect on his father. My client was trying to bring his father home, when his father became unpleasant, then Mr Maher began acting in the way that Sergeant Kearns described."

He regrets his behaviour and apologises. He is presently seeking to become involved with SafePath (which is a company that delivers training for medical emergencies). He is a young man who I think could have a bright future. I would ask you to please be lenient with him.

Judge Andrew Cody remanded the defendant on continuing bail to December 3.

If he has paid 1,000 to Focus Ireland by that date then I will give him a suspended prison sentence; if not, then I will send him to prison.

READ NEXT: Tullamore woman gets great joy from taking part in popular Offaly parkrun
When talking about Fierce Vulnerability, Kazu Haga names that the changes happening now are unprecedented. Rather than an us versus them mentality or a search for solutions, he advocates for escalated listening, including to ourselves. He explains that for anyone who aims for collective healing and change, personal healing is crucial.

Osteopath Christof Plothe's substack, The Unplugged Mind: What Japans 2-Hour Rule Teaches Us About Digital Addiction, explains Toyoake, Japan's (unenforceable) rule to limit time on digital devices outside of work and school to two hours per day.

While plastic production increases, Lynn Dekleva, who studies toxic microplastics, explains how she protects her family: If you bottle-feed a baby, use glass. Eat food that's organic, not packaged or ultra-processed. Don't microwave food, especially in plastic. Wash dishes by hand. (Dishwasher water is super hot, and heat degrades plastic material.) Choose cotton, wool and linen clothes--not polyester or rayon--and shop at thrift stores. (Because it likely involves plastics, manufacturing harms the environment.)

To maintain clean air, water, and land for future generations, Honor the Earth has launched a No Data Center Coalition.

Formerly incarcerated women are building a global network to fight imprisonment.

In Albuquerque, Kids Cook! brings hands-on nutrition and cooking education into classrooms and homes to build healthier habits and foster children's love of good food.

Santa Fe New Mexico's Burrito Brigade is a grassroots, all-volunteer collective that weekly cooks and distributes 100 burritos every week. Now, they're expanding through the SNAP Solidarity Project to strengthen local food access and mutual-aid networks. They invite people to help cook on Saturdays and distribute meals on Sundays or support new projects that help neighbors access food with care and dignity. If anyone needs a meal, they're at De Vargas Park every Sunday at 10 a.m.

To support the Blackfeet community's children and elders, instead of paying fines, Blackfeet Tribal Courts Honorable Chief Judge Misty Rides At the Door has issued an order to accept food donations.
Your help could force Aiken to make our water safer to drink, where Dr. Robert A. Leishear plans to address Aiken drinking water safety on November 24, 2025, at the Aiken City Council meeting. Drinking water is a probable cause of illness from Cryptosporidiosis, Legionella, E. coli, and Listeria.

Our Aiken City government claims that water is safe to drink - however - the S.C. Department of Public Health reported 68 cases of infectious diseases in Aiken between 2018 and 2024 ("The Aiken Diseased Water Coverup is Enforced by the South Carolina Government"). As stated in that Op Ed, Aiken and South Carolina governments refuse to release information that could improve public health. Therefore, Dr. Leishear is pleading with residents to step forward to provide this important information to make our community a safer place to live.

Contact: Robert A. Leishear, PhD, PE, ASME Fellow, Leishear Engineering, LLC at:

email - leishear@aol.com -

home - 803-641-6753

mobile - 803-679-0647

205 Longleaf Court, Aiken S.C. 29803



Figure 1. REPORTED INFECTIOUS DISEASES IN AIKEN COUNTY.

(Image by CDC) Details DMCA



Why I need your support

I plan to deliver a version of the following 3-minute speech to the Aiken City Council on November 24, 2025, 7:00 pm, 111 Chesterfield St S.. Additional

illness information from Aiken residents will strengthen the fight for safe drinking water in Aiken.

'I am Dr. Robert A. Leishear of Leishear Engineering, LLC at 205 Longleaf Court in Aiken. I am gravely concerned about Aiken coverups of drinking water safety problems. Aiken is a microcosm of our national drinking-water-safety dangers. Aiken coverups of drinking-water dangers continue to threaten our health. Both the city of Aiken and the state of South Carolina parallel their forces to stonewall legitimate Freedom of Information Act requests for information to further prove that there is a connection between water main breaks and the transmission of infectious diseases in Aiken. This safety concern is documented in many publications that are referenced in my November 7, 2025, Op Ed, titled The Aiken Diseased Water Coverup is Enforced by the State of South Carolina (Click Here).

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Delta Air Lines canceled more than 1,500 flights nationwide over the weekend, 11% of its schedule. Four of its Portland flights are canceled Monday. Mark Graves/The Oregonian

UPDATE: Airlines canceled 23 more Portland flights Tuesday

Airlines canceled another 19 flights through Portland International Airport on Monday, as the federal government shutdown continues to weigh on air travel all across the country.

Congressional Republicans and Democrats struck a deal Sunday to reopen the government but it will take time for their agreement to move through the Senate and then to win approval in the House of Representatives.

Air traffic controllers have been working without pay since the shutdown began Oct. 1. Most have stayed on the job but some are taking on other work to generate income, leaving fewer people to staff the control towers.

Mondays 19 canceled flights represented a little more than 4% of all the flights in and out of PDX scheduled for the day. It wasnt clear how many of the cancellations were due to the government shutdown and how many of them airlines canceled for other reasons. Airlines canceled 27 Portland flights on Sunday, according to updated figures from the Port of Portland, which runs PDX.

Some airports have had far more cancellations. The New York Times reported that some East Coast airports had canceled 15% or more of their flights last weekend, and Delta Air Lines canceled 11% of its flights.

The Federal Aviation Administration has warned that cancellations will increase if the shutdown persists, potentially reaching 10% nationwide by the end of the week.

Heres a list of Mondays cancellations at PDX, as of 10 a.m.:

(Cant see the table? Click here.)
A deputy shot an arson suspect, wounding him, in unincorporated Clackamas County Sunday night, police said.

In a call to 911 at about 9:45 p.m., a man said his 44-year-old son had set a utility trailer on fire on Southeast 362nd Avenue, near Dee Zee Court, the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office said in a statement. Deputies and an Oregon State Police trooper arrived about a minute later and encountered the suspect, resulting in the shooting.

The suspect, who has not been publicly identified, was taken to a hospital in stable condition, officials said.

No deputies or troopers were injured in the incident. Details about the shooting are not available at this time.

The deputy who shot the man has been placed on administration leave, per department policy.

The Clackamas County Interagency Major Crimes team is investigating the shooting, the sheriffs office said. Detectives from the West Linn and Lake Oswego police departments are leading the investigation.

Police ask anyone with information to contact the Clackamas County Sheriffs Office tip line at 503-723-4949.

-- The Oregonian/OregonLive
Devon Dobek, 51, of Hubbard has been missing since Friday. The experienced hunter is believed to be in the Mount Hood National Forest, southeast of Estacada. courtesy Clackamas County Sheriff's Office

The Clackamas County Sheriffs Office on Friday ended its search for Devon Dobek, a 51-year-old from Hubbard who has been missing in the Mount Hood National Forest since Oct 31.

Search parties combed the forest for Dobek after he failed to return from a hunting trip. Several agencies equipped with drones, dogs and ATVs searched steep, wooded terrain that was burned in the 2020 wildfires and riddled with fallen trees, the sheriffs office said.

Dobeks car was found at the Fish Creek Trailhead, off Southeast Highway 224 and 54 Road, according to the sheriffs office. No sign of Dobek or the deer he had reportedly told friends hed bagged were found at the truck.

The sheriffs office asks that anyone with information about Dobeks case contact its tip line at 503-723-4949 or via the website and reference case number 25-022972.
A protester speaks to Portland police officers outside of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Oct. 8, 2025. Chiara Profenna

A closer review of Oregon U.S. District Judge Karin J. Immerguts 106-page opinion  permanently halting the federal deployment of National Guard troops to Portland  reveals how she tore apart the testimony of a key Trump administration official who was called as a witness and largely dismissed Federal Protective Service officials complaints that Oregons sanctuary law have hamstrung local police.

Judge assessed credibility of witnesses

The judge determined that the testimony of Cammilla Wamsley, the regional director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Seattle field office, was not credible.

Immergut said she didnt find Wamsleys account of the damage done by protesters to the Portland ICE facility reliable, and she concluded that Wamsleys testimony claiming that protesters breached the ICE building on June 14 and had gotten into our lobby was not backed by any evidence.

Wamsley testified that she visited the building in July to survey the damage, and she said all of the windows on the first floor and some on the second and third floors were broken, that all the doors were broken and the steel gates were broken and inoperable.

Immergut noted that there was no credible evidence... that all the doors and windows of the ICE facility were broken. No other witness described damage to this degree, including (Federal Protective Service) Commander W.T. (Will Turner), who was at the Portland ICE Facility every other week the entire summer.

Wamsley also testified that she did not know whether there were any photos of the damage or whether there was any documentation of the repair estimates, and her agencys internal records mentioned only one broken door and two broken windows prior to Wamsleys arrival at the ICE Facility, the judge wrote.

Just as Immergut found Wamsleys characterization of the extent of damage to the building unreliable, she said she extends that finding to Director Wamsleys testimony on breach of the facility because it is inconsistent with every other piece of evidence received on the subject.

The Court therefore finds that protesters never breached the ICE facility, the judge wrote.

Testimony about injuries to officers also lacked corroborating photos or videos, the judge also noted.

Protesters gathered outside the Portland ICE facility on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. Federal officers were on site. Dave Killen / Special to The Oregonian

Dismissed feds characterization of Portland police

Immergut, a former prosecutor who was elevated to the federal bench by Trump in 2019, pointed out that the federal officers and Portland police hotly contested the extent to which Portland police responded to criminal conduct outside the ICE building.

The federal officers who testified argued that the Portland Police Bureaus adherence to Oregons sanctuary law hamstrung their ability to execute law amid the nightly protests.

Immergut wasnt convinced.

The trial evidence demonstrated just the opposite, she wrote.

While the federal officers testified that they would call Portland police to report problems outside the building and that they wouldnt respond, the judge gave more weight to the testimony of Portland police supervisors, including Cmdr. Franz Schoening, Assistant Chief Craig Dobson and Central Precinct Cmdr. Brian Hughes.

Immergut found that Schoenings demeanor and testimony at trial to be highly credible, and she said she afforded it great weight.

The judge concluded that the Police Bureau established policies that allowed them to be a helpful partner in addressing crime that occurred at the protests, and sought to maintain an open line of communication with federal law enforcement and consistently responded to requests for assistance when resources permitted.

While it was true that Portland police, concerned about violating Oregons sanctuary law, declined to help clear the street in front of the driveway of the ICE facility and would not clear debris protesters left in the driveway of the building, such inaction by the bureau was at most minimal interference with the execution of (federal) laws, the judge found.

In a footnote, Immergut wrote that the occasional friction between the Police Bureau and federal officers due to Oregons sanctuary law was a far cry from the Civil Rights era examples of deployment of the National Guard in response to state defiance of federal Civil Rights laws.

She quoted 9th U.S. Circuit Circuit of Appeals Judge Marsha S. Berzon in the California National Guard case, who described how former Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson federalized the Guard during the Civil Rights era when state law enforcement made clear they would not enforce federal orders and openly tried to prevent enforcement.

Johnson federalized the Alabama National Guard to protect civil rights protesters marching from Selma to Montgomery from violent mobs. Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard after Governor George Wallace used the states National Guard to prevent integration of public schools, again in violation of federal court orders mandating desegregation.

Several years earlier, Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and ordered them to stand down after the Arkansas governor had used the state National Guard to prevent desegregation following the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

Although those deployments occurred under the Insurrection Act, the federalization of the National Guard was necessary to execute federal law, Berzon wrote.

The Portland Police Bureaus failure to clear debris does not approach this level of obstruction, Immergut wrote in her ruling.

Defined rebellion

In evaluating the federal governments argument that there was a threat of rebellion in Portland, one of the criteria for Trump invoking the federal codes Title 10, Sec. 12406, to mobilize the Guard, Immergut noted that what constitutes such a threat is not defined in the statute.

She sought to determine its ordinary, contemporary, common meaning . . . at the time Congress enacted the statute, her ruling said.

She concluded that a rebellion is something more than mere shows of discontent with law, policy or government, and concluded that its an organized group engaged in sustained, armed hostilities for the purpose of overtaking an instrumentality of government by unlawful or antidemocratic means.

She cited as an example the Whiskey Rebellion, which was the [s]ingle largest example of armed resistance to a law of the United States between the ratification of the Constitution and the Civil War. It occurred in opposition to a federal whiskey tax imposed in the wake of the Revolutionary War and caused violence in western Pennsylvania, making it impossible for excise officers to collect taxes. Then-President George Washington called up the militia  equivalent to todays National Guard  when 7,000 to 15,000 armed men gathered to resist the law, her opinion said.

She also mentioned Shays Rebellion of 1786, when the governor of Massachusetts called in the militia to quell mob violence by about 15,000 armed farmers and Revolutionary War veterans who were upset at the state governments failure to provide debt relief.

Founding-era Presidents did not call forth the National Guard because the tax rebellions were violent protests against one federal law. They called forth the National Guard because the tax rebellions were sustained, organized, armed hostilities aimed at  and capable of  overthrowing the new Government, Immergut wrote.

In stark contrast, the most significant violence outside Portlands ICE facility occurred on June 14 when Portland police declared a riot. Unlike the historical rebellions where the President federalized the National Guard, local and federal law enforcement quelled the violence of mid-June, Immergut ruled.

Immergut did not delve into the definition of regular forces, also part of Sec. 12406 that Trump invoked to mobilize the Guard, contending he is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States. She said shes bound by the 9th Circuit, which referred to regular forces, as federal law enforcement, as the U.S. Justice Department has argued.

In a parallel federal case in Illinois, a district judge in Chicago, she noted, provided a compelling reason why the phrase at the time of the laws adoption referred to soldiers and officers regularly enlisted in the military. Immergut said said she did not need to resolve the dispute, noting its now before the Supreme Court.
Estavan Ramirez, 32, was sentenced to 20 years in prison during a hearing Thurs., Oct. 30, 2025. Zane Sparling/The Oregonian

A man who became unreasonably enraged with two acquaintances who shared drugs with him pleaded guilty last month to fatally shooting one of the men and wounding the other.

Estavan Ramirez, also spelled Estabon in court papers, pleaded guilty Oct. 30 to first-degree manslaughter in the Sept. 10, 2024 killing of Anthony Garland outside the Louisa Flowers Apartments.

Ramirez was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the killing.

The building, owned by Home Forward, has been marred by violence before. A 25-year-old man was found shot dead outside the building in September, while a double shooting was reported inside on Christmas morning in 2020 that left one dead and another injured.

Garland, 44, and his friend Timothy Kinnard were hanging out in a pick-up parked outside on Northeast Sixth Avenue near Hassalo Street about 5:30 p.m. that day, according to a probable cause affidavit.

At one point, Kinnard spotted Ramirez and offered to share some drugs with him, the affidavit says, but a short while later Ramirez got mad for unclear reasons and pulled out a gun.

Prosecutors say Ramirez shot Garland once in the chest, then dashed into the apartment tower, where a resident was letting him and his girlfriend stay, and changed his clothes.

The disguise was no match for the buildings surveillance cameras and witnesses, who identified Ramirez by his street nickname, Chico Bean, court documents say.

I do not feel good about what I did. I messed up big time, Ramirez, now 32, told Multnomah County Circuit Judge Christopher Ramras. I will be working on becoming a better person, and when I do get out hopefully  no, not hopefully  I will be different.

Defense attorney Tristen Edwards told the judge that Ramirez had been abused as a child, leading him to become homeless in middle school and enter into an addictive spiral.

Garlands family and a former partner remembered Garland as a gentle, soft-spoken man who had big ambitions when he moved to Portland a few years ago.

Cheryl Garland, his mother, said the two had shared a loving bond.

This crime has given me a life sentence of sorrow, she said.
Portland police say a driver died Friday when fleeing from an officer. Sebastian Restrepo

Portland police say Jermaine L. Young-Boyd, a 35-year-old from Portland, died in a car crash Friday when fleeing from police.

Police said that Young-Boyd and another driver were stopped in the street near Southeast 119th Avenue and Southeast Clinton Street around 3 a.m. Friday when an officer spotted them.

The officer suspected that the cars were going to start street racing and flipped a U-turn to start a traffic stop, but both cars sped away, police said in a news release.

Young-Boyd, who was driving an Audi, clipped a semi-truck and crashed into a utility pole, police said. Young-Boyd died at the scene and police didnt immediately find the other driver.

The bureau is investigating the crash and asked anyone with information to email crimetips@police.portlandoregon.gov and reference case number 25-305585.
Students in an elementary school class in the David Douglas school district work on their reading and writing skills. The school district and others in east Multnomah County are among those that could benefit from a change in how the state's funding formula is calculated to reflect the cost of educating students from lower income families. Julia Silverman/The Oregonian

A former data analyst for the state of Oregon has filed a wrongful termination suit alleging that he was dismissed after trying for months to call attention to systemic problems with the states method for funding schools that serve large numbers of students from low-income families.

Jesse Helligsos suit against the state of Oregon and the Legislature was filed Nov. 5 in Marion County Circuit Court. He is seeking $556,667 in damages to compensate both for lost wages and the physical and emotional toll of the situation.

The lawsuit describes Helligsos effort in the winter and spring of 2025 to alert lawmakers to fundamental issues with the formula it has used for decades to calculate how much extra money is due to schools according to how many of their students live at or below the federal poverty line.

The existing formula, his research found, suggested that Oregon was accomplishing the opposite of its stated goal, sending more money per student to districts serving higher income students than those with more low-income families.

By every measure, Oregons neediest students read, do math and graduate from high school at far lower levels than their peers from more financially stable homes. Theyre also more likely to miss big chunks of the school year.

At every turn, the lawsuit alleges, Helligso was stymied. He alerted co-workers at Oregons Legislative Policy and Research Office, and then his supervisor in hopes of reaching lawmakers responsible for crafting the states education budget, the suit claims.

A planned meeting with the Oregon Department of Education was canceled, and meetings with colleagues from the Legislative Revenue Office and the Legislative Financial Office, which advise lawmakers responsible for putting together Oregons $37 billion budget, were rescheduled, according to the lawsuit.

Finally, he was told that leaders at his office had met with their counterparts at the revenue and financial offices and decided to table his concerns until the 2025 session had concluded, given the short timeline to remedy the issue, the lawsuit claims.

Helligsos suit states that he then anonymously contacted The Oregonian/OregonLive, which later wrote a story detailing that the state was using an outdated method of counting the number of students in poverty. The newsroom in May reported that the methodology resulted in a significant undercount that disproportionately hurt districts including Reynolds, Salem-Keizer, Woodburn, Klamath Falls City, Sweet Home and Milton-Freewater.

Within hours of the storys publication, Helligso was called into the office of the Director of Research, Misty Freeman, and interrogated for half an hour, the suit says.

He was fired two days later because he lacked non-partisan objectivity, according to the lawsuit.

The Legislature ultimately approved a $11.3 billion budget for the state schools fund, which Helligso claimed left in place a discriminatory and illegal funding formula, according to the lawsuit.

Oregons whistleblower law states that it is against the law to discharge, demote, suspend or in any manner discriminate or retaliate against a worker because the employee in good faith reported information the worker believes violates state or federal law, rules or regulations.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice said the office had not had time to review the lawsuit and could not offer comment. A spokesperson for Gov. Tina Kotek said her office does not comment on pending litigation.

Helligsos research highlights that Oregon has the ability to use a far more precise measurement to calculate poverty levels, known as direct certification, The Oregonian/OregonLive previously reported. In that methodology, the state matches individual students with the food stamp benefits or other services they receive, to capture the number of students in each public school who experience poverty.

Direct certification has been used for the purpose of publicly reporting academic outcomes since late 2022. By that point, virtually every school district in the state had begun offering free meals to all students regardless of their income, making the previous use of free or reduced-price lunch rates as a poverty indicator obsolete.

But state statute requires the formula used to calculate the extra money meted out to districts who educate a high concentration of low-income students to rely at least in part on child poverty estimates the U.S. Census Bureau generates each year, which are significantly less accurate.

The state and the Oregon Department of Education have been aware of problems with its funding formula since at least 2013, when school finance expert Michael Elliott testified to the House Education Committee that the current formula was using outdated data that does not reflect current poverty across the state.

But making a change is politically tenuous because  absent a new revenue source  it means that some districts with lower overall child poverty levels, including Portland, Beaverton and Bend, would lose funding.

In other words: If the state were to give an extra $3,000 per student or so to the districts that educate roughly 177,000 children on food stamps or other forms of anti-poverty aid, or who are homeless, in foster care or from migrant families, there would be between 2.5% and 4% less money per student for the approximately 66% of Oregon schoolchildren who arent in those categories.
DEAR ABBY: I am a grandmother of three and was particularly close with one of the girls. When she was younger, shed come to visit for months at a time. (We live in different states.) She seemed to change when she was in college. Because I wasnt hearing from her, I asked her mom how she was doing.

When she heard about my inquiry, my granddaughter got very nasty. She said that I should ask her if I want to know anything about her and to keep her mother out of it.

When I explained that I only asked her mom because I dont hear from her, she blocked me from her social media and no longer returns my messages or phone calls.

I miss her and the relationship we had very much. Should I let it go or keep trying? -- HEARTBROKEN IN THE SOUTH

DEAR HEARTBROKEN: Your granddaughter may not have wanted her mother nagging her about not having enough contact with you, or she wasnt comfortable having her mother act as go-between. She also may feel entitled to a private life.

Ordinarily, I would suggest that you write or call her and apologize. However, since she has blocked those means of communication, try putting your thoughts into a letter (with a stamp on it) if you have her street address. If that fails, you may have to wait to communicate with your granddaughter until she grows up enough to recognize that she overreacted.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
The 1898 Monument and Memorial Park stands near the Cape Fear River, where bodies were said to be dumped during the 1898 massacre of African Americans by white domestic terrorists after the 1898 elections in Wilmington, North Carolina. The Washington Post via Getty Im

Today in history:

On Nov. 10, 1898, a mob of up to 2,000 white supremacists killed dozens of African Americans in Wilmington, North Carolina, burned Black-owned businesses and forced the mayor, police chief and aldermen to resign at gunpoint before installing their own mayor and city council in what became known as the Wilmington Coup.

Also on this date:

In 1775, the U.S. Marines were organized under authority of the Continental Congress.

In 1954, the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial, depicting the raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima in 1945, was dedicated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in Arlington, Virginia.

In 1969, the childrens educational program Sesame Street made its debut on National Educational Television (now PBS).

In 1975, the Great Lakes freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a severe storm on Lake Superior, claiming the lives of all 29 crew members.

In 2019, Bolivias first indigenous president, Evo Morales, resigned after weeks of public protests in response to alleged fraud in a general election that year.

In 2021, Kyle Rittenhouse took the stand in his murder trial, testifying that he was under attack and acting in self-defense when he shot and killed two men and wounded a third during a turbulent night of street protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (He would be acquitted of all charges.)

In 2024, a shooting during homecoming weekend at Tuskegee University in Alabama left one person dead and 16 others wounded, a dozen of them by gunfire.
Id like to compliment many recent articles about the ongoing situation at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland.

Reporter Fedor Zarkhin explained the agencies and weapons at the ICE facility, (Weapons of choice: Who is at Portlands ICE building and what arms are they carrying? Oct. 17). He also listed the many types of weapons these officers carry and explored the varying and unclear training and policies for those officers. Together, these seem to me like an overabundance of resources given the circumstances we observe.

Reporter Maxine Bernstein explored the court proceedings involving the proposed deployment of the National Guard, (Oregon lawyers urge judge not to lift broader National Guard ban, Oct. 21). This is a complicated issue involving U.S. District Court and 9th Circuit Court judges and their rulings and counter rulings. It is challenging to follow, but citizens must be informed, and this in-depth article included expert opinions.

Reporter Kristine de Leon chronicled the experience of people living in the building directly opposite the ICE facility, (Portlands ICE protests at their doorstep: Gas masks, 100-decibel din, sleepless nights, Oct. 26).De Leon gained the confidence of the residents, spending time to understand and experience their concerns. She shared basic facts about the daily harm from tear gas, smoke bombs, noise, lights, helicopters, and drones in proximity to their homes. It showed the results of the ICE officers behavior and weapons.

A common thread in recent articles is a phrase stating that Department of Homeland Security officials did not respond to questions. I find it startling that reporters cannot get information or comments from our own government. Where is government of the people, by the people, and for the people?

Mandy Budwill, Milwaukie

To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley held a marathon floor speech starting the evening of Oct. 21, 2025 and continuing into the afternoon of Oct. 22, 2025. Merkley held forth in order to protest President Trump's policies, which Merkley described as "authoritarian." Courtesy of Sen. Jeff Merkley

The shutdown of the federal government appears to be coming to an end.

Oregons U.S. senators arent happy about it.

My red line has always been lowering health costs for Americans, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden wrote on X. Donald Trump and Republicans dont want an agreement that meets that bar. Im a no.

Jeff Merkley, the junior U.S. senator from Oregon, was even more emphatic. He said he was voting no Sunday evening with every fiber of my being.

In his statement, Merkley appeared shocked that a handful of his Democratic Senate colleagues sided with Republicans in a vote late Sunday to move forward legislation that would reopen the government, ending more than a month of Democratic unity aimed at forcing the majority GOP to maintain expanded, COVID-era Affordable Care Act subsidies that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year.

But Merkley didnt dwell on that, focusing instead on the Republican Party, the majority in both the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.

To be sure, the real villain is Trump and Congressional Republicans, who shut down the federal government because they refused to restore health care after they savaged it in their Big Ugly Betrayal of a bill  all to fund tax breaks for billionaires, Merkley wrote.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law on July 4, extended tax cuts and tinkered with tax deductions, cut Medicaid spending and increased immigration enforcement funding and defense spending. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded the law will increase federal debt by nearly $3 trillion over the next 10 years.

The vote Sunday formally opens debate in the upper chamber on a spending bill for the federal government. Assuming the bill passes in the Senate, it then has to pass in the House as well, sending it to President Trumps desk for his signature.

The Democratic senators who voted with Republicans Sunday cited the chaos (such as canceled flights) and pain (the pausing of food-assistance benefits) caused by the 41-day shutdown. They are Dick Durbin of Illinois, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia and Jacky Rosen of Nevada. Angus King, an independent from Maine who typically votes with Democrats, also voted yes.

They said Republican leader Sen. John Thune of South Dakota promised a separate vote on the health-insurance subsidies  a vote thats considered unlikely to result in their extension.

The cost of health insurance is expected to be a key issue in the midterm elections next year.

Merkley, whos up for reelection in 2026, appears ready for the campaign.

He ended his statement on Sundays vote by attacking what he deemed Trumps authoritarian tyranny.

The only way to stop him is to stand up to him, he wrote. I will redouble my efforts, in partnership with grassroots champions organizing across this great land, to do everything I can to stop him. Lets save our Republic!
Federal officers stationed at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in South Portland watched from the rooftop Sunday as a new protest crowd gathered across the street.

About two dozen Fulcrum Fitness members and supporters, dressed in neon leotards, striped knee socks and flashy sneakers, staged a peaceful 80s-themed aerobics demonstration they called Sweatin Out the Fascists.

The workout began around 1 p.m. and lasted about an hour. Participants took turns leading the group through synchronized movements to a loud retro soundtrack. A few carried protest signs throughout. At one point, a counterprotester wheeled over a stereo system and blasted competing music, briefly drowning out the aerobics soundtrack.

The group kept dancing. Neighbors, passersby and livestreamers stopped to watch or record. Federal officers remained on the rooftop across the street.

Later in the afternoon, officers fired several pepper balls at the pavement near the ICE gate to push people back from the property. The Fulcrum Fitness group continued its routine without incident.

Demonstrations at the South Portland facility have continued for months and grew after President Donald Trumps Sept. 27 declaration to send troops to what he called War ravaged Portland.

The night before the aerobics protest, federal officers again fired pepper balls when protesters stepped onto ICE property. Portland police were present and intervened in a separate confrontation involving a conservative livestreamer. Officers arrested 41-year-old Travis Juhr on suspicion of criminal mischief.

MORE UNCONVENTIONAL PROTESTS:

Last October, about two dozen people in pajamas gathered with coffee and pastries outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in South Portland on Sunday morning, for the Portland Pastry and Pajamas Protest.
Portland will see cloudy skies and a bit of light rain Monday. Tuesday looks dry. Oregonian file photo. Sean Meagher/The Oregonian

Portland kicks off the work week with a weak system moving in from the coast bringing a few light rain showers.

The National Weather Service says rain had already begun to fall early Monday near the northern Oregon coast and will move into the metro area sometime in the morning. This system will also bring increased low and mid-level clouds to the region.

Portland will see calm winds Monday and a high temperature of about 59 degrees.

If youre heading south along Interstate 5 this morning, be ready for dense fog in the southern Willamette Valley including in Eugene, Creswell, and Cottage Grove through about 10 a.m.

Portland sees a break in the rain on Veterans Day as a shortwave ridge builds over the region. Skies will be partly sunny Tuesday, and the high temp should reach about 57 degrees.

But the dry weather wont stick around. The weather service is watching a deep upper level trough moving into the Pacific Northwest late Tuesday night and into Wednesday. A cold front, connected to the trough, will push through the region bringing widespread rain to Portland by Wednesday afternoon.

Portland will see a wet Wednesday with rain mostly falling after the lunch hour. The high temp will reach near 60 degrees.

Once this front pushes through, it will bring much cooler air to the region on Thursday. The colder air will also support an unstable atmosphere. There is currently a 10-20% chance of thunderstorms Thursday west of the Cascades. The coast has the highest chance. Any thunderstorms that do develop could produce lightning, heavy rain, gusty winds and small hail.

Along with the thunderstorm chances, Thursday will be noticeable cooler with a high of about 54 expected. Friday may be even cooler with a high of only 52.

Along with this push of cold air, snow levels will lower along the Cascade passes later this week. Current model forecasts show a 70-80% chance of 48-hour snow totals (between 4 a.m. Thursday to 4 a.m. Saturday) of more than 6 inches of snow at Santiam and Willamette passes, and a 40-50% chance of the same amount along U.S. 26 near Government Camp. Those traveling over the mountains later this week should expect winter driving conditions and equip their vehicle accordingly.
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Update: Cumberland County woman arrested in 2023 fentanyl death of 2-year-old daughter: police

A 27-year-old woman has been charged with murder more than two years after her 2-year-old daughter died from fentanyl toxicity in her Carlisle home, according to county detectives.

Annjalee Nunez, of Carlisle, was charged Wednesday with third degree murder, endangering the welfare of children and involuntary manslaughter, according to court documents filed by the Cumberland County District Attorneys Office. As of Monday, she had not been arrested.

Nunez called 911 about 5 a.m. Jan. 10, 2023 to her apartment in the 100 block of North Hanover Street, after she woke up and then realized her daughter, Ivory Nunez, was in the same position as when she went to sleep. Her mom said that was unusual as Ivory often tossed and turned throughout the night.

Nunez went to Ivory to make her comfortable and turn her over, which was when she noticed Ivorys skin was discolored and that her body was hard and cold.

She said the toddler was not breathing and had vomited a small amount, according to detectives.

Police, fire and EMS responded and said they found found the child lying on the bed with signs of lividity and her limbs were in full rigor mortis.

Nunez told police that the night before, Ivory played, ate and watched television before she gave her anti-seizure medication at 7:30 p.m. and the pair went to sleep watching TV around 8 p.m

She had been hospitalized a week and a half before she died from a seizure. It was the first time she had a seizure and she was taking medication for it.

Police did not release any information about Ivorys death to the public.

Ivorys grandmother, Jamie Garrison, of Mechanicsburg, told PennLive they were initially told she died in connection with a seizure.

The next month, police said lab tests of Ivorys blood sample tested positive for fentanyl at 51 nanograms per millileter. Police then took hairs from Ivory to test, which also came back positive for fentanyl, according to court records.

A forensic pathologist ruled Ivorys death from acute fentanyl toxicity and the manner of death homicide.

Police summoned Nunez and her mother to the police station for questioning on March 6 to retrace Ivorys movements in the days before she died.

Garrison, Nunezs mother, said she was babysitting Ivory on Jan. 8 and 9, and that she didnt notice signs of illness or unusual behavior from Ivory before dropping her off at Nunezs home at 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 9.

Garrison said Ivory was active during her stay and spent time coloring and running around while babysitting her, according to the affidavit.

Nunez noted Ivory fell asleep quickly after taking Keppra, her anti-seizure medication. A wrapper for Ivorys emergency medication, Diazepam, meant for if she had a seizure, was found near the bed.

In the early morning hours of Jan. 10, Garrison got a hysterical call from Nunez saying that Ivory was dead.

The mother told police she believed that Ivory got into something, the affidavit said.

Police met with Nunez and her mom again on April 4 to again question them. This time, police revealed the cause of death for Ivory was a fentanyl overdose.

Nunez said, How, how, how? She was fine, police wrote in the affidavit. Nunez and her mom then left the police station ending the interview.

Garrison told PennLive her daughter was upset about police waiting months to tell her Ivorys cause of death. Garrison said she went back into the station to ask if she could have a copy of the fentanyl report, but the detective said it wasnt his to give out, Garrison said.

Because of the line of questioning, Garrison said Nunez believed she should not talk to police again without an attorney.

In May, police obtained a search warrant to get hair samples from Nunez and her cell phone.

A search of the cell phone revealed Nunez made several Google searches the day after police revealed Ivorys cause of death, police said, which included: ways that fentanyl gets in your system, according to the affidavit.

Police said Nunezs hair sample toxicology tested positive for fentanyl and cocaine.

Garrison complained that police did not treat Ivorys death initially as a possible crime, because she and her husband was allowed to come into the apartment immediately after her daughter called and she said there was no attempt to preserve the scene.

Garrison believes Ivory could have picked up something dangerous from her dads house, on the dirty apartment building steps or anywhere and doesnt believe her daughter brought fentanyl in her home.

In court documents, police said they found notable information from from Dec. 23, 2022 to Jan. 9, 2023, the night before Ivory died, in Nunez Facebook messenger account.

There, police said they found a chat labeled Tone Cook chats, which included the following messages, according to the affidavit.

Dec. 23:

Cook: Its raw and just let me know what you want.

Cook: Send me ya number

Court documents said Nunez sent Cook her number.

Cook: I text your phone. Ill hit you when I get home Im out taking care of a few things rn

Jan. 5

Nunez: Whats a ball

Cook: Im out now

Im out now

Jan. 9

Nunez: Ok

Garrison said her daughter had mentioned Tone Cook to her before, noting he had run for Harrisburg mayor. Garrison said she did not know Cook.

When asked the importance of the messages included in the affidavit from Tone Cook, Cumberland County District Attorney Sean McCormack told PennLive various aspects of the Nunez investigation remain open, and if we receive information that leads us to other people involved, we will always track down that information and go wherever it leads us.

As for Cook specifically:

At this point in time, we are not alleging that he is the person that sold those drugs.... At this point, I would say hes a potential witness, but that would be it.

Cook told PennLive he knew Nunez and sent the messages but denied they were about drugs.

Garrison said she believes police were harassing her and her daughter for months and that they should have checked Ivorys biological fathers hair and cell phone for evidence, not just Nunez.

Garrison said her daughter obtained three protection from abuse orders against the father, most recently on Feb. 12, 2022, which evicted him from their apartment.

Even though he was not supposed to be at Nunez apartment, Garrison said he would often come over with Ivory when it was his weekend to have custody.

He was in that apartment all along, Garrison told PennLive.

The father posted on social media in April 2023 saying he believed police and CYS failed Ivory and he started an online fundraiser in September 2023, eight months after her death, saying he wanted to pay off Ivorys funeral and get money together for a lawyer to get justice for Ivory.

Garrison said she doesnt believe much of what police wrote in the affidavit against her daughter.

Something is just not adding up, she said. I dont believe it all. We just miss Ivory so much. This is a nightmare.

The district attorney said not everything we do goes into an affidavit of probable cause. This has been an active investigation right up until the point that we filed the charges.

He didnt want to enumerate the more recent steps in the investigation, preferring to let the record stand on whats in the affidavit, but said after carefully reviewing all the evidence, his office reached a point where we can move forward at this point in time, referring to the homicide charge against Nunez.

According to Ivorys online obituary, family members said she was loved immensely and brought us true joy. She liked bubbles, coloring, singing, and dancing.

Nunez is awaiting her preliminary hearing, according to online court documents.

Staff writers Charles Thompson and Christine Vendel contributed to this report.
A 19-year-old man was killed Saturday evening in a shooting at a Catasauqua home, authorities said.

The incident unfolded just before 5 p.m. at the residence in the 200 block of Edward Lane. The Allentown teen was pronounced dead at 5:46 p.m. at the scene, the Lehigh County Coroners Office said.

The death was from a gunshot wound and the manner was ruled a homicide by Lehigh County Coroner Daniel A. Buglio.

Buglio said his office is withholding the identity of the deceased until an autopsy is completed on Monday.

Its unclear what led up to the shooting or whether any suspects are in custody.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan said Sunday morning the Lehigh County Homicide Task Force is actively investigating the case. The DA was expected to release more information at a later time.

The incident remains under investigation by Catasauqua police, the Lehigh County District Attorneys Office and Lehigh County Coroners Office. Also assisting are Pennsylvania State Police in Bethlehem and the North Catasauqua Police Department.
Joseph Curcillo, III, the vice-chairman of the board of trustees at Commonwealth Charter Academy, listens during a board meeting in May. PennLive

Editors note: This is the sixth story in a series titled Virtual Dominance: How a cyber charter school has upended K-12 education in Pa. The series investigates the causes and consequences of the unprecedented growth of Commonwealth Charter AcademyPa.s fastest growing school.

Commonwealth Charter Academy, Pa.s fastest growing school, rarely has public participation during its board of trustees meetings, according to former employees and more than eight years worth of meeting minutes.

A handful of CCA parents tried to participate during three board meetings three years ago but CCAs board interrupted the parents during public comments, denigrated their concerns and ultimately told them to choose a different school if they continued to criticize the schools choices.

After the boards regular business during the meeting in February of 2022, one parent used her three minutes of public comment to list off changes she wanted to see in how the board operates.

Like meetings move to a time when more parents and staff can attend, she said. Recorded meetings for those who cannot attend in person. Email blasts for special or emergency meetings. Accurate contact information for the board members and maybe a simplified way to bring suggestions or concerns to the board for consideration.

The parent, who attended via Zoom, mentioned some of the board members had been hard to hear through the microphone. And then she criticized the schools decision to excuse CCAs senior administrators before public comments.

There are two of us speaking today, she said. That would be six minutes. And it was kind of rude to say that wed be wasting their time.

Although her three minutes were not yet over, Ralph Dyer, the president of the board at the time, interrupted her and dismissed her concerns. Dyer said he considered it one of the schools strengths that the board isnt elected and doesnt have to be as responsive to the public.

This permits CCA to create and implement long-term plans, which are not possible in traditional districts due to the disruptive two-year election cycles that are prone to generating discontent and personal agendas, Dyer had written to the parent in a letter.

Rob Barr, the treasurer of Commonwealth Charter Academy's board of trustees, speaks during a May board meeting. PennLive

Dyer accused the parent of bringing up issues she had previously brought to the boards attention. But when the parent pointed out several of her suggestions were new, Dyer interrupted again.

Okay but theyre superficial, he said.

Theyre not superficial, she said. I cant hear.

Dyer told her not to come back to another meeting if she was just going to repeat herself. Be very careful next time, he said. Either accept where were going or find another school.

CCA declined to respond to questions about the board meeting in question and instead attacked PennLive for reporting on it. You have received overwhelmingly positive comments about CCA, its leadership, and the Board of Trustees, said Tim Eller, a spokesperson for CCA, despite PennLives recent report in which the majority of CCAs staff who spoke to PennLive had serious concerns with how fast the school is growing. But instead, you seek out a few disgruntled individuals from years ago.

Melissa Melewsky, a lawyer for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said the CCA board members who dismissed the parents concerns, paints a stark picture of the boards view on the importance of public participation.

Melewsky believes public school boards should investigate and address issues that might limit the publics ability to hear during meetings.

A public meeting is not a formality intended to function only as a window into the school boards votes; the public meeting is the publics opportunity to have a voice in the decision-making process, Melewsky said. The board doesnt have to agree with every speaker, but they do have to listen and provide a meaningful opportunity for public input.

Among the least transparent

CCAs leaders say they work hard to make their parents happy and keep them enrolled at the schooland PennLive found evidence this is working. But this focus on parents doesnt seem to apply to participation in the schools governance. A PennLive analysis found CCA makes it harder for its parents and other members of the public to participate in board meetings than similar cyber and traditional schools. And in the few instances when parents have tried to weigh in, the parents said CCA seemed to be actively discouraging their input.

PennLive looked at eight different aspects of transparency and found CCAs board was less transparent than most of its much smaller cyber school peersand significantly less transparent than Pittsburgh Public Schools, the traditional district with the most similar enrollment.

This is reflected in how few members of the public participate in CCAs meetings. In 2024, the board heard from one CCA family, one school choice supporter and one cyber school critic, all year. At Pittsburgh Public Schools, by contrast, two to three dozen people raised issues to the board every month. In 2023, not a single person spoke during CCAs public comments all year. Public participation was such an afterthought that CCAs meeting minutes often didnt mention the public had a chance to speak.

CCA board member Lil Jackson attends her fifth CCA graduation in Pittsburgh in June. PennLive

CCA says it goes out of its way to seek feedback in other, non-public forums. CCAs administration and Board engage students, families, and the broader CCA community through events, meetings, and advisory panels, Eller said. These forums provide meaningful opportunities for students, parents, and staff to share feedback that directly influences programs, policies, and operations.

Most of Pas. 14 cyber charter schools post a link to their meetings, so anyone can attend remotely, since most families dont live near where the meeting is taking place. CCA is one of only three cyber schools that requires the public to request a link to the meeting ahead of time if they want to attend. (Eller said this is for increased security.)

CCA is one of only a handful of cyber schools that hold their board meetings during the school day, when many employees have difficulty attending. John Lipchik, who retired from CCA after 12 years as a history teacher there in 2023, said he got the impression the school didnt want staff to come to meetings because they were scheduled when people were teaching.

Whos available at 9 a.m.? Whether youre working or taking care of little kids or whatever youre doing? he said. No ones available then.

During the only CCA board meeting that drew a large crowd in recent memorya special meeting to vote on whether to fire the schools top academic officerstaff reported CCAs administrators were monitoring the Zoom meeting to see if any staff were present who should be working.

Eller, CCAs spokesperson, said no matter what time the board meeting is at, it will be inconvenient for someone.

Eller didnt specify for whom the current meetings are convenient. But in a 2022 letter to a parent, Dyer stated plainly that it wasnt parents or teachers. The time and day of board meetings are determined to best suit the busy schedules of the Trustees and key staff members whose attendance is vital, Dyer wrote.

CCAs choice to prioritize senior leadership and board members over the public is highly unusual, according to Kevin Busher, the chief advocacy officer for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. Most of our school districts school boards are operating after 5 oclock, he said. Its very odd to have an open board meeting or even a committee meeting during school hours.

Kevin Busher, the chief advocacy officer for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, speaks about cyber charter schools at a special hearing of the Pa. House Education Committee on May 8, 2025. Courtesy image

Pittsburgh Public Schools holds multiple committee meetings per month for its board to address the complicated issues facing such a large district. But CCA, by contrast, doesnt hold any public committee meetings to dive more deeply into the issues facing the school.

CCA says this promotes more accountability and engagement because every one of its trustees is equally informed and involved in all aspects of governance, rather than having board members divided up onto different committees. Committees often bog down organizations in redundant processes, excessive meetings, and bureaucratic inefficiencies that distract from what truly matters  the education of students, said Eller, CCAs spokesperson.

Insight PA Cyber Charter, which enrolls less than a tenth as many students as CCA, holds multiple board committee meetings, including about the schools governance, finances, academics and community engagement. Eileen Cannistraci, who was serving as the CEO of Insight until earlier this month, said she had pushed for committee meetings because they make the board more involved in the schools decisionsand does it in a way the public can see.

We can really focus on particular items, she said.

Every cyber charter school posts the minutes of past board meetings, but CCA posts only the most recent three yearsfewer than all but one other cyber charter school.

CCA continually looks at these policies and practices, said Eller, its spokesperson, to ensure they remain clear, compliant, and reflective of best practices.

Commonwealth Charter Academy Pittsburgh Public Schools Enrollment 23-24 23,595 19,774 Meeting minutes posted 3 years 26 years Board packets posted No Yes Video recordings posted No Yes Occur when teachers, parents, students can attend No, 9 a.m. Yes, 6:30 p.m. Email addresses posted Yes Yes Meeting schedule posted Yes Yes Link to virtual meeting posted No, must email Yes Board committee meetings No Yes

Even when the meeting minutes are available, its difficult to find out what the board is voting on because CCA doesnt post information about the contracts, rules and policies up for discussion. In August the school made this even more difficult by requiring the public to make a records request in order to obtain the schools detailed financial reports. A spokesperson for CCA said the school cant redact its financial reports before meetings because the schools finances have become more complicated.

Six of Pa.s smaller cyber charter schools, on the other hand, post detailed information about their policies and contracts under consideration.

We just want to be transparent. We want to be open, said Rich Jensen, the CEO of Agora Cyber Charter, which has posted nine years of detailed information about its boards decisions, including video recordings of every meeting. Were a public school. We just want to make sure that we are just being open to anyone that is interested in that type of information. And I cant really speak to why others might not.

He was definitely a bully

Kevin Shivers, a former board member at CCA, said another issue that impacts the transparency of CCAs board meetings is that its meetings are rarely covered by local media. Nobody. Never, Shivers said. I always found that extraordinary.

Marcie Mulligan, another former CCA board member, said she would sometimes invite the press but they didnt show up. Theres times that theyre discussing money for advertising and money for programs and whether or not to fund certain things, she said. And I think the public needs to know where some of that is going

Nevertheless, Mulligan said, the board didnt just rubber stamp the administrations proposals and sometimes had vigorous debates about what was being voted on. But as the school grew larger, she said, the mood shifted.

Towards the end, I was kind of alone often in how I voted, she said.

Mulligan said Dyer, the former board president, was sometimes condescending and dismissive of her concerns when she didnt vote how he wanted her to. He was definitely a bully, she said.

In particular, when issues came up regarding compensation for CCAs executive leadership team, Mulligan said, Dyer would get angry if anyone brought up questions about approving their full compensation packages.

The only person unaffiliated with CCA who attended its June board meeting was a PennLive reporter. CCA is one of only two cyber schools that requires the public to request a link to its board meetings ahead of time to attend remotely. PennLive

CCA defended Dyers leadership, saying he helped push the schools board through major transitions that helped the school grow into the educational juggernaut it has become. (Dyer died from cancer in 2024.) And the school defended Dyers approach to running board meetings.

Mr. Dyer respectfully exercised his prerogative as board chairman, fulfilling his duty to maintain order and decorum during public meetings in accordance with established school policy and parliamentary procedure, Eller said.

Dyer isnt the only board member that parents have complained about. During a special board meeting in November of 2021, a CCA parent complained that the current board president and former Pa. Senator, Jeffrey Piccola, was looking at his phone during public comments. Theres some of you that dont even look like you care what parents are saying, the parent said.

Instead of apologizing for being momentarily distractedPiccola attacked the parent for bringing it up. I was responding to a family situation, Piccola said. So any aspersions cast on this member of the board or any member of the board that we are not paying attention is strictly not true.

Jeffrey Piccola, the chairman of Commonwealth Charter Academy's board of trustees, attended a board meeting remotely in May because he was on vacation. PennLive

Two months later Piccolas lawyer threatened legal action against a different parent who raised questions about Piccolas fitness to serve on the board after she learned that Piccola had been publicly reprimanded by the state Supreme Courts disciplinary board in 2012 for a conflict of interest ethics violation in his law practice. (Piccola was reprimanded because he didnt disclose to families he represented that he was also representing an heir-hunting firm that was trying to secure a portion of their inheritances.)

Piccolas lawyers told the CCA parent that his ethics violation didnt constitute a felony, and so it was wrong for her to question his fitness to serve on CCAs board. On behalf of Senator Piccola, his lawyer said in a letter to the parent. we are demanding that you immediately and publicly retract these statements and issue a public apology.

Order and decorum

After the first parents concerns about CCAs board were shot down by Dyer at the February 2022 meeting, a second parent was allowed to speak.

Im a little afraid to talk to you now after the way that you just talked to the last parent, the parent started off. She began raising concerns about some of the new material included in the schools curriculum.

Let me stop you right there and I dont mean to be rude, but Im going to stop you, Dyer said.

Tom Longenecker, the CEO of Commonwealth Charter Academy, listens during a board of trustees meeting in May. PennLive

The parent should have brought up her concerns to the schools CEO rather than the board, he told her. The parent, whose voice had already been wobbly began to break down, half sobbing. Its okay for you to talk over me but I cant talk over you?

The parent then asked Tom Longenecker, the CEO, if he agreed with Dyer. Longenecker said he did. The parent pressed again, asking whether Longenecker agreed with how Dyer was speaking to her and Longenecker declined to intercede.

Youre addressing the board, Longenecker said.

Dyer then brought an end to the public commentsone of the last times a parent has spoken at a CCA board meeting. CCA didnt respond to a question about whether a parent ever brought up a concern at a board meeting that the board thought was legitimate and took to heart.

You have choices. We are a school of choice, Dyer said as the meeting came to an end. We have a school to run.

Editors note: This story is part of a series of stories about CCAs rapid enrollment growth titled Virtual Dominance. You can read the first, second, third, fourth and fifth stories in the series here. The seventh story, also published today, looks at how CCAs board transparency policies compare to other Pa. cyber schools and traditional school districts. The next story in the series will look into what is know about how much students are learning at Pa.s fastest growing school.
The only person unaffiliated with CCA who attended its June board meeting in-person or remotely was a PennLive reporter. CCA is one of only two cyber schools that requires the public to request a link to its board meetings ahead of time to attend remotely. PennLive

Editors note: This is the seventh story in a series titled Virtual Dominance: How a cyber charter school has upended K-12 education in Pa. The series investigates the causes and consequences of the unprecedented growth of Commonwealth Charter AcademyPa.s fastest growing school.

Cyber school boards are frequently not as transparent as local school boards, Kevin Busher, the Pennsylvania School Boards Association testified during a hearing of the Pa. House Education Committee in May.

Their board meetings are often not widely advertised, agendas not publicly available, and information can be difficult to find, he said.

PennLive analyzed some of the basic transparency practices of Pa.s cyber charter schools and found this was true for the two largest cyber schools.

Unlike traditional public school district boards, Pa.s public cyber charter school boards appoint their own board members and dont have the ability to raise taxes in order to raise revenue. But they are required to follow many other transparency practices required of traditional schools, including Pa.s Sunshine Act. But beyond the legal requirements, cyber schools have some leeway about how easy they want to make it for the public to participate in their meetings and understand what they are deciding.

PennLive looked at eight aspects of how boards operate, including how easy it is to attend a meeting or understand what will be decided. Then PennLive compared each cyber charter schools record with a traditional school district that had the most similar enrollment in 2023-2024.

The two largest cyber schools, Commonwealth Charter Academy and Pennsylvania Cyber Charter, are substantially less transparent than similarly sized traditional school districts, according to PennLives analysis.

PA Cyber didnt respond to a request for comment. But Tim Eller, a spokesperson for CCA said the school follows all laws and regulations of the schools transparency practices. CCAs Board of Trustees operates with full transparency and accountability to the students, families, and the public we serve, Eller said.

PennLives analysis found Pa.s 11 small and medium-sized cyber charter schools had policies and practices similar to traditional school districts of a similar sizeand in a few cases were even more transparent.

My board is very much aware of their responsibility to the local taxpayers and why they want everything that were doing being done in the sunshine and easily accessible for legislators, reporters, or any taxpayer who would want to go in and see what were doing and how were spending those funds, said Eileen Cannistraci, who served as the CEO of PA Insight Cyber Charter School until earlier this month.

Busher told PennLive that he thinks its a problem if the largest cyber schools are among the least transparent. The larger the cyber charter, the more transparency, openness and accountability there should be, Busher said.

Commonwealth Charter Academy is the second largest public K-12 educational organization in Pennsylvania but its board is less transparent than smaller cyber charter schools and traditional school districts. CCAs leaders say the school follows all applicable transparency laws and that its governance requirements differ from those of traditional districts.

CCA publishes fewer years of meeting minutes than smaller cyber schools and large traditional school districts. It doesnt post detailed information about what its board is voting on, such as the contracts and policies under discussion. And there are no video recordings of its meetings that would give additional information about what was discussed. CCA holds its meetings at 9 a.m., when many parents and staff cannot attend because they are working.

The school posts the schedule of its board meetings and the email addresses of its trustees. But CCA is one of only three cyber schools that requires the public to send an email in advance to receive a link to watch the board meeting on Zoom. The board doesnt hold committee meetings that would give the public a clearer sense of how the district is making decisions.

Commonwealth Charter Academy Pittsburgh Public Schools Enrollment 23-24 23,595 19,774 Meeting minutes posted 3 years 26 years Board packets posted No Yes Video recordings posted No Yes Occur when teachers, parents, students can attend No, 9 a.m. Yes, 6:30 p.m. Email addresses posted Yes Yes Meeting schedule posted Yes Yes Link to virtual meeting posted No, must email Yes Board committee meetings No Yes

Pennsylvania Cyber Charter Schools board is much less transparent than the equivalently sized public school board. The cyber school and its board didnt respond to a request for comment.

PA Cyber publishes the email addresses of its members and provides a link so the public can attend meetings virtually. It also provides 10 years worth of meeting minutes that give a limited sense of what the board has voted on.

But the board doesnt post detailed information about the policies and contracts that are being voted on. And it doesnt post video recordings of past meetings that would provide greater transparency over what was discussed.

The board doesnt publish its full schedule in advanceinstead only giving information about the next meeting on its website. The 4:30 p.m. start to its meetings are more accessible than some cyber schools but many parents are still working during that time.

At one point during PA Cyber's June board meeting the teachers shouted at the board to turn around and look at the teachers. Courtesy image

PA Cyber has been slow to respond to PennLive records requests. PennLive requested six years worth of school board documents from PA Cyber in April, even though many cyber schools post this information publicly.

CCA, the other large cyber school, provided the requested board documents in a little over a month. It took PA Cyber more than six months to make all of this information available.

Pennsylvania Cyber Charter Council Rock SD Enrollment 23-24 10,379 10,486 Meeting minutes posted 10 years 23 years Board packets posted No Yes Video recordings posted No Yes Occur when teachers, parents, students can attend Partially, 4:30 p.m. teachers and students but not all parents Yes, 7pm

Email addresses posted Yes Yes Meeting schedule posted No, only upcoming meeting Yes Link to virtual meeting posted Yes Yes Board committee meetings No Yes

REACH Cyber Schools board posts 10 years worth of detailed information about its decisions, including both its board packets and minutes. That makes it the only one of the three largest Pa. cyber charter school that provides this transparency into how it operates and makes decisions.

REACH has made additional efforts to make its work more transparent recently. In 2023 it began holding separate finance committee meetings where the board discusses its financial decisions.

The board holds its meetings at 9 a.m. when many parents and staff will be working. While this is an unusual time for traditional school districts, a spokesperson for REACH said morning meetings have a larger turnout. The school didnt clarify if it used to hold its meetings at a different time.

REACH Cyber Easton Area SD Enrollment 23-24 8,134 8,120 Meeting minutes posted 10 years / every year 12 years Board packets posted 10 years / every year Yes Video recordings posted No Yes Occur when teachers, parents, students can attend No, 9 a.m. Yes, 5:30 pm Email addresses posted Yes Yes Meeting schedule posted Yes Yes Link to virtual meeting posted Yes Yes Board committee meetings Finance Committee Yes

Agora Cyber Charter School posts a more extensive record of minutes and more detailed information about policies and contracts that its board is voting on than the equivalent local school district. The board holds its meetings at 4 p.m. during a time when some parents may still be working.

Agora Cyber Charter Springfield SD (Delaware County) Enrollment 23-24 4,443 4,425 Meeting minutes posted 9 years 4 years Board packets posted 9 years No Video recordings posted Yes Yes Occur when teachers, parents, students can attend Partially, students and teachers but not all parents 4pm Yes, 7 p.m. Email addresses posted Yes Yes Meeting schedule posted Yes Yes Link to virtual meeting posted Yes Yes, streaming/TV only Board committee meetings No Yes

Insight PA Cyber Charter has the most extensive use of board committee meetings of any cyber school, which its leaders say allows board members to dive deeper into the issues facing the school. Insight PAs transparency practices exceeded every other cyber schools and most traditional public school districts analyzed by PennLive.

Insight PA Cyber Charter Plum Borough SD Enrollment 23-24 3,588 3,580 Meeting minutes posted 7 years worth 14 years worth Board packets posted 7 years worth 14 years worth Video recordings posted No Yes Occur when teachers and students can attend Yes, 7pm Yes, 7pm Email addresses posted Yes Yes Meeting schedule posted Yes Yes (school calendar) Link to virtual meeting posted Yes Yes Board committee meetings Yes Yes

PA Virtual Charter makes it easy to know when meetings are, holds them at a time when most parents can attend and provides an easy-to-find link to join virtually. It also provides a decades worth of minutes for its board meetings. But it doesnt post detailed information about the contracts and policies the board is voting on. The district provides a general email address to reach its board members but not individual emails for each one.

PA Virtual Charter New Castle Area SD Enrollment 23-24 2,955 2,951 Meeting minutes posted 10 years worth 12 years worth Board packets posted No 12 years worth Video recordings posted No No Occur when teachers, parents, students can attend Yes, 6:30 Yes, 6:30 p.m. Email addresses posted General email / not for each board member No Meeting schedule posted Yes Yes Link to virtual meeting posted Yes No Board committee meetings No No

Pennsylvania Leadership Cyber Charter School is nearly as transparent as the equivalent school district. But the cyber district has not posted the majority of its archived meeting minutes and it doesnt post detailed information about what its board votes on.

Pennsylvania Leadership Cyber Charter Southern York County SD Enrollment 23-24 2,803 2,806 Meeting minutes posted 4 years worth 17 years worth Board packets posted No No, detailed agendas but not copies of board items Video recordings posted Yes Yes Occur when teachers, parents, students can attend Yes, 6:30 p.m. Yes, 7 p.m. Email addresses posted Yes Yes Meeting schedule posted Yes Yes Link to virtual meeting posted Yes Yes, streaming only Board committee meetings No Yes

Pennsylvania Distance Learning Cyber Charter School has posted a number of years worth of minutes for its meetings but the equivalent traditional district publishes a much more detailed record of what they discuss than what is available from PA Distance.

PA Distance started posting Zoom links on its agendas earlier this year and it publishes the email addresses of its board members, which the local district doesnt do. The schools board meetings are at 4 p.m. when some parents are still working.

Pennsylvania Distance Learning Charter Reading Area SD Enrollment 23-24 1,170 1,174 Meeting minutes posted 11 years worth 19 years worth Board packets posted No 19 years worth Video recordings posted No No Occur when teachers, parents, students can attend Partially, 4pm, teachers and students but not all parents Yes, 6 p.m. Email addresses posted Yes No Meeting schedule posted Yes Yes Link to virtual meeting posted Yes No Board committee meetings No No but two meetings a month instead of one

21st Century Cyber Charter makes it easy to find out when board meetings will be and how to log on. Their website also includes more than a dozen years of detailed information about what its board has discussed and is voted on. The time of the meetings is inconvenient for some parents and they dont publish the email addresses of their board members.

21st Century Cyber Charter Elk Lake SD Enrollment 23-24 1,103 1,092 Meeting minutes posted 13 years worth 12 years worth Board packets posted 13 years worth 12 years worth Video recordings posted No No Occur when teachers, parents, students can attend Partially, 4:30 pm 7 p.m. Email addresses posted No Yes Meeting schedule posted Yes Days but not times posted Link to virtual meeting posted Yes No Board committee meetings No No

Esperanza Cyber School posts a more extensive record of its board meeting minutes than the equivalent local school district and also has a detailed record of what its board members are voting on. The meetings occur in the afternoon when some parents are still working and there is no virtual option listed.

Esperanza Cyber Charter Brentwood Borough SD Enrollment 23-24 1,116 1,128 Meeting minutes posted Yes, 11 years No, post a limited number of notes but not full minutes and only for last two years. Board packets posted Yes, 6 years No Video recordings posted No No (a few during COVID) Occur when teachers, parents, students can attend Partially, 3:30 p.m. Students and teachers but not all parents. Yes, 7 p.m. Email addresses posted Yes Yes Meeting schedule posted Yes Yes Link to virtual meeting posted No No Board committee meetings No No, though they do meet twice per month

Achievement House Cyber Charter has meetings at 7 p.m when parents can attend but it may be difficult to do so because it doesnt post the meeting schedule. If you email the district, they will provide a link to attend the meeting remotely but you also have to ask for the time and date of the meeting. It provides two years of meeting minutes, the lowest amount of any cyber charter school. And it doesnt provide any detailed information about what was voted on at those meetings. It does, however, publish the email addresses of its board members.

Achievement House Cyber Charter Bentworth SD Enrollment 23-24 1,083 1,074 Meeting minutes posted Two years 12 years, most recent two years difficult to find Board packets posted No 2 years Video recordings posted No No Occur when teachers, parents, students can attend Yes, 7 p.m. Yes, 6:30 Email addresses posted Yes No Meeting schedule posted No Yes Link to virtual meeting posted No, must email No Board committee meetings No No

ASPIRA Bilingual Cyber Charters holds board meetings at a time when parents can attend and posts information about how to reach its board members and what time the meetings are and includes a link to attend the meeting virtually. Both ASPIRA and the traditional school district of the same size make a decade worth of meeting minutes available but both could be more transparent by posting more information about what policies and contracts the board is voting on.

ASPIRA Bilingual cyber charter Old Forge SD Enrollment 23-24 958 958 Meeting minutes posted 9 years worth 10 years Board packets posted No No Video recordings posted No No Occur when teachers, parents, students can attend Yes, 6 p.m. Yes, 7 p.m. Email addresses posted Yes, missing two Yes Meeting schedule posted Yes Yes Link to virtual meeting posted Yes No Board committee meetings No No

Central PA Digital Learning Foundation is, by far, the smallest cyber school in Pennsylvania but it is more transparent than some of its much bigger peers. The school provides five years worth of detailed information about what happens at its board meetings, including detailed information about contracts and policies being voted on. Central PA holds its meetings in the middle of the day, which makes it difficult for many to attend, and only meets every other month. The school requires an email to attend its virtual meetingbut that is better than the traditional school district of a similar size, which doesnt advertise an option for virtual attendance.

Central PA Digital Learning Foundation Harmony Area SD Enrollment 23-24 193 212 Meeting minutes posted 5 years worth 5 years worth Board packets posted 5 years worth No Video recordings posted No No Occur when teachers, parents, students can attend No, 1 p.m., meet every other month Yes, 6:30 P.M. Email addresses posted Yes No Meeting schedule posted Yes Yes Link to virtual meeting posted No but you can email for the link. No Board committee meetings No Yes

Editors note: This story is part of a series of stories about CCAs rapid enrollment growth titled Virtual Dominance. You can read the first, second, third, fourth and fifth stories in the series here. The sixth story, also published today, looks at how CCA has discouraged participation in its board meetings. The next story in the series will look at what is known about how much students are learning at Pa.s fastest growing school.
The 'picking crew' poses for a photo during one of the days that the grapes were harvested at Casssel Vineyards of Hershey. Cassel Vineyards of Hershey

Cassel Vineyards of Hershey has wrapped up another growing season.

Craig Cassel, who manages the winery along with his brother, Chris, and their wives, Becky and Jody, said the dry summer into the early fall has them quite optimistic about the vintage.

Its going to be very memorable, he said Sunday. " We got about half the normal harvest, but quality like we have never experienced before.

The weather also helped our Friday and Saturday concert attendance, bringing out many new customers and travelers whom we were happy to welcome. Our wine club continues to enjoy special treatment, including this Nov. 20th at our first Beaujolais Nouveau wine release party.

Also on the schedule is a Dec. 7 acoustic Christmas Concert and tree trimming event, which is open to wine club members and the public. Expect plenty of hot cocoa and chocolate port to be available.

The winery is open on Thursday from 3 to 7 p.m. and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.

Cassel Vineyards is located 2 miles west of Hersheypark off Route 39 on Shetland Drive. The vineyards and winery are part of the 135-acre Cassel family farm, and Chris and Craig, and their families are the fifth generation to maintain it.

The 5-acre vineyard includes six varieties of grapes: Chambourcin, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Vidal Blanc, Concord, and Niagara.

Cassel Vineyards was established in 2008 and licensed in 2009 to sell its first vintage. The tasting room opened in 2012, and it has become one of the most popular winery destinations in central Pennsylvania.

The vineyard is just one facet of the Cassel farm. It is also the home of Cassel Brookside Stables, which is owned and managed by Cleon S. Cassel and his wife, Dottie.

The winery is open on Thursday from 3 to 7 p.m. and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. Cassel Vineyards of Hershey

As for what to look ahead to, Craig Cassel provided the following insights:
Find out the huge change hitting the restaurant chain. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images) Getty Images

After years of controversy due to waitresses baring too much skin when it comes to their revealing outfits, Hooters original founders are reclaiming the chain and reintroducing a new, more modest look.

With that in mind, their goal is to restore the chains beachy atmosphere without the overexposure.

More than 40 years after opening their first restaurant, the original Hooters team officially took control of the brand once more. Hooters Inc., the company led by the chains original founders, has bought back Hooters of America, putting an end to a tumultuous bankruptcy period that caused dozens of locations to shutter their doors.

Commended for the comeback is Niel Kiefer, a lawyer who has helped shape the brand since the early 90s.

According to what he told The Wall Street Journal, I dont think youre going to see a bunch of butt cheeks hanging out.

But beyond a simple outfit swap, the mission is to further the brand and get it back to what it once was.

Were not just acquiring restaurantswere taking back the Hooters name to show the world who we really are, Kiefer added.

The effort is being coined as a re-Hooterization by the new ownership, which is seen as a return to the companys beach-bar roots that made the chain so iconic as well as approachable.

The new approach includes a simplified menu, upgraded ingredients, and a renewed focus on community. The founders are looking to redirect the spotlight back to what made Hooters popular in the first place.

Our vision is about more than great food and service, Kiefer noted.

Remodeling and equipment upgrades are already underway across locations nationwide, per the new owners.

Under the founders renewed leadership, all Hooters restaurants will return to the original uniform design  the bright orange jogging shorts and fitted white T-shirts.

This is about bringing people together, making memories, and ensuring that Hooters remains a place where everyone feels welcome, Kiefer added.

Today, Hooters Inc. and its partner, Hoot Owl Restaurants LLC, oversee about 140 restaurants across the U.S. and another 60 abroad.

Together, those locations generate nearly $700 million in annual sales. Its a positive rebound for a brand that once reached $1.2 billion.
FILE - Supporters of the LGBT wave their flag in front of the U.S. Supreme Cour, Oct. 8, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File) AP

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a call to overturn its landmark decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

The justices, without comment, turned away an appeal from Kim Davis, the former Kentucky court clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the high courts 2015 ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges.

Davis had been trying to get the court to overturn a lower-court order for her to pay $360,000 in damages and attorneys fees to a couple denied a marriage license.

Her lawyers repeatedly invoked the words of Justice Clarence Thomas, who alone among the nine justices has called for erasing the same-sex marriage ruling.

Thomas was among four dissenting justices in 2015. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito are the other dissenters who are on the court today.

Roberts has been silent on the subject since he wrote a dissenting opinion in the case. Alito has continued to criticize the decision, but he said recently he was not advocating that it be overturned.

FILE - Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, with Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, left, at her side, speaks after being released from the Carter County Detention Center, Sept. 8, 2015, in Grayson, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File) AP

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was not on the court in 2015, has said that there are times when the court should correct mistakes and overturn decisions, as it did in the 2022 case that ended a constitutional right to abortion.

But Barrett has suggested recently that same-sex marriage might be in a different category than abortion because people have relied on the decision when they married and had children.

Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson praised the justices decision not to intervene. The Supreme Court made clear today that refusing to respect the constitutional rights of others does not come without consequences, Robinson said in a statement.

Davis drew national attention to eastern Kentuckys Rowan County when she turned away same-sex couples, saying her faith prevented her from complying with the high court ruling. She defied court orders to issue the licenses until a federal judge jailed her for contempt of court in September 2015.

She was released after her staff issued the licenses on her behalf but removed her name from the form. The Kentucky legislature later enacted a law removing the names of all county clerks from state marriage licenses.

Davis lost a reelection bid in 2018.
A volunteer fire company in Berks County was called on Sunday for a one-of-a-kind mission: to rescue a 385-pound black bear from a tree.

The Womelsdorf Volunteer Fire Co. said its firefighters have rescued a variety of animals over the years  cats, ducks, iguanas, macaws, deer  but Sundays incident was the first time theyd been asked to help a bear.

The bear was in a tree on Round Barn Road in Millcreek Township, Lebanon County, officials said.

While a few creative ideas  like using honey, picnic baskets, marmalade, or porridge  were reportedly tossed around to lure the bear down, officers ultimately decided that sticking with more traditional methods was the way to go," Womelsdorf Volunteer Fire Co. wrote on Facebook alongside photos of the bear.

Officials initially decided to have a firefighter use an aerial ladder to encourage the bear to climb down on its own. But after learning the bear had previously been aggressive and climbed higher, they decided to tranquilize the bear.

After the bear was sedated, firefighters from Womelsdorf and Newmanstown Fire Co. helped the Pennsylvania Game Commission load the bear into a containment trailer so it could be relocated. Officials did not say where the bear was taken.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has enlisted the assistance of the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office to track down drivers who fail to pay tolls. (File photo) Sarah Cassi | For lehighvalleylive.com

The Pennsylvania Turnpike has another weapon in its arsenal to track down drivers who ignore their toll debt.

The Turnpike has already turned over more than 100 egregious toll violation cases to the state Attorney Generals Office Civil Law Division as the result of a new partnership aimed at getting toll scofflaws to pay their bills.

Our partnership with the Attorney Generals Office is a powerful example of how collaboration drives accountability and fairness, said Michael Carroll, chairman of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and state Secretary of Transportation, in a news release. The vast majority of our customers pay their tolls. But, if someone chooses to use our road and intentionally avoids payment, they will be held accountable by the Attorney General.

When a driver does not have E-ZPass, the Turnpike uses toll-by-plate and sends an invoice to the registered owners address. If the toll remains unpaid, it is turned over to a collection agency.

If payment is still not made and the customer has four or more outstanding toll-by-plate invoices or owes tolls and fees of $250 or more, their vehicle registration is suspended by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Driving with a suspended registration is a serious traffic violation that may lead to significant fines, license suspension and immediate car impounding. The Turnpike said it supports the use of license plate recognition technology by law enforcement officials on and off its roadway to identify those operating a vehicle with a suspended registration.

Now, if those measures fail to get a response, the Turnpike will refer the case to the Attorney General at which point there could be civil actions filed.

Currently, the Turnpike said, it is owed more than $12,000 in outstanding tolls and fees.

More than half a million people use the Pennsylvania Turnpike daily to get to work, visit their families, or go on vacation. When people driving on our turnpike try to evade paying their tolls, it shifts the cost burden onto other law-abiding motorists, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a news release. When you receive a Toll By Plate invoice in the mail from the Pennsylvania Turnpike, it is important you pay that invoice on time to avoid legal action being taken.

The Turnpike said it successfully collects between 92% and 94% of transactions within 60 days, which aligns with nationwide industry standards. In the last five years, the Turnpike said strengthened enforcement efforts and strategy resulted in increased payments.

As of November 2025, the Turnpike Commission said it has collected more than $56 million in unpaid tolls and fees from violators in toll enforcement.

The Turnpike said it has been making strides. Revenue collected in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 was more than double what was collected for the same period in fiscal year 2025. The commission said it has collected $6.5 million for the current financial year, compared to $2.4 million in the previous year.

The commission said most people are paying their past-due tolls - 43% in October 2025 compared to 33% in October 2024.

The Commission said it also has made it easier to pay by expanding payment options to Google and Apple Pay and an expanded KUBRA cash payment network to more than 85,000 retail locations. Customers also can pay bills online, by phone, in person or via QR code.

The Turnpike does not receive tax money for its operations.

E-ZPass is the most cost-effective way to travel the Pennsylvania Turnpike with up to 50% savings on tolls, the commission said.

The Turnpike also gives a 15% discount for toll-by-plate customers who pre-register and verify their email address and credit card for invoicing ahead of travel.

The next toll increase will be 4% on Jan. 4, 2026, as part of the Turnpikes debt obligations as a result of Act 44 of 2007.
Want a say in the news? Email Claudia at todayinpa@pennlive.com to have your thoughts on the stories covered here or on PennLive heard.

You can listen to the latest episode of Today in Pa on any of your favorite apps including Alexa, Apple, Spotify, Stitcher and YouTube. Episodes are available every weekday on PennLive. Feel free to subscribe, follow or rate Today in Pa. as you see fit!

Today in Pa. Daily Podcast | November 10, 2025

One of the biggest nuclear waste dumping sites in the United States is finally getting remediation. Customers of a water company will get a piece of $18 million in credits thanks to a recent settlement. Is Pennsylvania one of the countrys most obese states? Also, heres to hoping this fundraiser was a crit success.

Those are the stories we cover in the latest episode of Today in Pa., a daily weekday podcast from PennLive.com and hosted by Claudia Dimuro. Today in Pa. is dedicated to sharing the most important and interesting stories pertaining to Pennsylvania that lets you know, indeed, whats happening today in Pa.

Todays episode refers to the following articles:

If you enjoy Today in Pa., consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or on Amazon. Reviews help others find the show and, besides, wed like to know what you think about the program, too.
Alan Keating Bluffs Away $1.3 Million Pot on High Stakes Poker

Jon Sofen Senior Editor U.S. Copy link

Alan Keating made a brilliant call to win a monster pot against Doug Polk on Day 1 of the High Stakes Poker livestream on PokerGO. But he gave it all away and then some on Sunday in one of the costliest bluffs ever televised.

The Hustler Casino Live fan favorite showed up big-stacked for the $200/$400 no-limit holdem cash game, and sent many of those chips to Sam Kiki, who thanked the high roller for his new investment property in a tweet.

Keating Loves Rags

Ironically, Keating bluffed away one of the largest hands ever on High Stakes Poker with nearly the same hand he scooped a $657,000 pot with on Saturday against Polk.

Sunday's epic hand had a $6,400 straddle on and began with Kiki, aka "Senor Tilt," raising to $30,000 with A5 from the big blind. Santhosh Suvarna, one of the straddles, called with 87, as did Keating, holding the monster 43 in the big straddle, one day after playing 42 to perfection.

The flop came out Q55, only hitting Kiki in any meaningful way. Senor Tilt had no interest in slowplaying trips, so he fired out a wager of $30,000. Suvarna, who had nothing, folded. Keating, who also had nothing, called from in-position, clearly looking to make a play later in the hand.

Neither player improved on the 9 turn, and Kiki locked up the hand, assuming his opponent wouldn't find a way to bluff him off the hand. Kiki decided to check this time and set the trap, to which Keating obliged, as he tossed in a bet worth $45,000 American dollars.

Kiki check-raised to $125,000, but that didn't scare away his customer. Keating, in no mood to surrender a pot that had already reached $323,000, made the call drawing stone dead.

"Oh, dear heavens," High Stakes Poker commentator Nick Schulman said after Keating called the raise.

The 2 on the river didn't change anything. Kiki decided to check and set one last trap. Keating, sitting on four-high and aspirations of pulling off one of the most epic bluffs in High Stakes Poker history, put his opponent all in for $446,300. Kiki nearly beat him into the pot and made the call to win a $1,295,000 hand, the second-largest in the iconic poker show's history. Kiki tweeted out a little trash talk to Keating following the hand.

Coincidentally, Keating was the recipient of the largest pot ever on High Stakes Poker when he took down a hand worth $1,412,500 earlier this year during Episode 10 of Season 14.

PokerGO has aired two days of a High Stakes Poker livestream with a star-studded table that included Kiki, Keating, Polk, Suvarna, Jennifer Tilly, Justin Gavri, and Andrew Robl.

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Australia's biggest airlines have failed to win over travellers in Finder's 2025 Customer Satisfaction Awards. The consumer group's gongs are based on feedback from tens of thousands of Aussie customers, and they steered clear of local airlines like Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin Australia.

More than 60,000 people ranked Singapore Airlines as their favourite airline, which won the coveted 'Most Loved' award. Graham Cooke, Finder's head of consumer research, told Yahoo Lifestyle he was surprised by the results.

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"The most interesting result for me in this years Customer Satisfaction Awards was that no Aussie brands won any of the aviation categories," he said.

RELATED:

"These awards are chosen by everyday Aussies, so this indicates a real decline in popularity of native brands."

Cooke believed Qantas' decline in popularity as "Australias flagship travel brand" is due to "negative headlines" about the airline in recent years.

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"They, along with several other huge and previously trusted Aussie brands, have come out of the COVID crisis battered and bruised," he said.

Singapore Airlines has won seven awards in Finder's Customer Satisfaction Awards. Photo: Getty

"However, they have a new strategy and a CEO, and have been attempting to win customers back by offering free status credit to frequent flyers.

"It will be interesting to see if they can rebuild from here."

It comes as 34 per cent of Australians  equivalent to 7.3 million people  are planning an international trip in the next 12 months, according to Finder.

SHOP:

Australia's favourite travel brands revealed

The research also showed that 7.3 million Aussies are planning an international trip in the next 12 months. Photo: Getty

Not only did Singapore Airlines win 'Most Loved' airline, but it also took out another six awards, including Top Value, Most Trusted Frequent Flyer program, and Most Reliable.

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Here is how the awards were dished out:

Airline Awards

Most Loved: Singapore Airlines

Top Value: Singapore Airlines

Most Trusted: Air New Zealand

Most Reliable: Singapore Airlines

Legendary Service: Singapore Airlines

Most Comfortable: Singapore Airlines

Top Rated Rewards: Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles)

Most Recommended: Singapore Airlines

Travel Agency Awards

Most Loved: Travel Associates

Top Value: Flight Centre

Most Trusted: Travel Associates

Legendary Service: Travel Associates

Most Recommended: Flight Centre

Frequent Flyer Program Awards

Most Loved: Emirates Skywards

Top Value: Air New Zealand Airpoints

Most Trusted: KrisFlyer (Singapore Airlines)

Top Rated App: Air New Zealand Airpoints

Most Recommended: Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles)

Travel Planning Tool Awards

Most Loved: Skyscanner

Top Value: Trivago

Most Trusted: Flight Centre

Top Rated Rewards & Offers: Flight Centre

Most Recommended: Booking.com

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Collaboration aims to convert cutting-edge university research into transformative AI solutionsLOS ANGELES, CA AND LONDON, UK / ACCESS Newswire / November 10, 2025 / Nexscient, Inc. (OTCQB:NXNT), a leading innovator in artificial intelligence ("AI") applications and intelligent enterprise solutions, today announced it has entered into a strategic alliance with Tekcapital, plc. (AIM:TEK), the UK intellectual property investment group and technology transfer company, to identify and help acquire transformative intellectual property assets from leading global research institutions.Under the alliance, Tekcapital will leverage its extensive university and technology network to identify and facilitate Technology Acquisition Opportunities that align with Nexscient's AI and advanced computing focus areas. Nexscient will evaluate and pursue acquisitions or licenses of these innovations through strategic transactions aimed at creating long-term shareholder value."This alliance with Tekcapital represents a powerful extension of Nexscient's vision to identify, fund, and commercialize high-impact AI technologies," said Fred E. Tannous, Chief Executive Officer of Nexscient, Inc. "Tekcapital's unparalleled access to global university innovation, combined with our ability to integrate and scale those technologies into commercial AI solutions, creates a dynamic pathway from academic discovery to market transformation. We believe that this collaboration accelerates our mission to deliver the Next Dimension of AI." Under the terms of the agreement, Tekcapital will provide Nexscient with continuous access to a curated pipeline of university-originated technologies that meet Nexscient's acquisition profile. Tekcapital will identify technology acquisition candidates, lead early-stage negotiations, and where appropriate, structure initial transactions for technologies that Nexscient may acquire using Nexscient stock as consideration."We're delighted to enter into this alliance with Nexscient and its visionary leadership team," said Clifford M. Gross, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Tekcapital plc. "By linking Tekcapital's global innovation sourcing capabilities with Nexscient's executional strength in AI commercialization, we are enabling a fast-track mechanism for converting research breakthroughs into value-generating enterprises. We believe that this is precisely the kind of collaboration that helps to bridge the gap between invention and implementation." About Nexscient, Inc.Nexscient [OTCQB:NXNT] is an emerging-growth AI company, traded on the OTCQB Venture Market, that leverages its technical expertise, business acumen, and capital resources to identify, fund, integrate, and commercialize AI and machine learning technologies. Through its subsidiaries and strategic alliances, Nexscient is building a diversified portfolio of intelligent solutions across multiple industries, including predictive maintenance, data annotation, and industrial automation. For more information, please visit https://nexscient.ai About Tekcapital, Plc.Tekcapital creates value from investing in new, university-developed discoveries that can enhance people's lives. Tekcapital is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: symbol TEK) and is headquartered in the UK. For more information, please visit www.tekcapital.com MEDIA CONTACTSFor Nexscient, Inc. Fred E. Tannous, President & CEOEmail: fred@ nexscient.com US: +1 (310) 494-6620For Tekcapital, Plc. Tim ThompsonFlagstaff Strategic and Investor CommunicationsEmail: tim@ flagstaffcomms.com UK: +44 (0) 207 129 1474Forward-Looking StatementsThis release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements appear in a number of places in this release and include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Nexscient, Inc., its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things: (i) financing plans; (ii) trends affecting its financial condition or results of operations; (iii) growth strategy and operating strategy; and (iv) performance of our products and services. You can identify these statements by the use of the words "may," "will," "could," "should," "would," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "continue," "estimate," "project," "intend," "likely," "forecast," "probable," "potential," and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Nexscient's ability to control, and actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. These risks and uncertainties also include such additional risk factors as are discussed in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025, Forms 10-Q and 8-K, and in other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. These documents are available on the SEC Filings section of the Investor Relations section of our website at https://nexscient.ai . The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made.SOURCE: Nexscient, Inc.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said on Monday it approved 43 Field Development Plans (FDPs) that can unlock 1.7 billion barrels of crude oil and 7.7 trillion cubic feet of gas in 2025.

Eniola Akinkuotu, the regulators head of media and strategic communications, in a statement, said its Chief Executive, Gbenga Komolafe, disclosed this while speaking at the 43rd Annual International Conference and Exhibition (AICE) of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) held in Lagos on Monday.

He explained that the development reflects significant progress in Nigerias upstream sector, with over $20 billion in committed capital.

An FDP, a critical document in oil & gas development, provides a broad plan and guide on how to extract hydrocarbons from petroleum fields and manage the impact of such activities on the environment.

In 2025 alone, 43 new Field Development Plans (FDPs) were approved, unlocking 1.7 billion barrels of oil and 7.7 trillion cubic feet of gas, backed by over $20 billion in committed capital, Mr Komolafe said.

Mr Komolafe, represented by Emmanuel Mac-Jaja, the director, subsurface development of the commission, noted that these FDPs reflected a resurgence in investments.

He highlighted major Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) including the $5 billion for Bonga North, $500 million for Ubeta Gas, and $2 billion for Shells HI Gas Project, unlocking nearly 2 trillion standard cubic feet of gas.

According to him, indigenous participation continues to deepen, with local acquisition deals exceeding $5 billion, signalling growing confidence in homegrown players.

He said Nigerias push to reignite oil and gas exploration and production has entered a new phase, adding that Nigeria is at a defining moment in global energy, one of transition, transformation, and opportunity.

Speaking on balancing transition with reality, he said while the global shift toward renewables is gaining momentum, oil and gas will remain indispensable for decades to come, particularly in developing economies where energy access remains a critical challenge.

Rig activity, he said, has risen from just eight in 2021 to well over 40 in 2025, reflecting renewed investor confidence in Nigerias upstream sector.
Following the recent skirmish that erupted at its premises in Benin City last Sunday, the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) has postponed the preview events scheduled for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Arise News reports that on Sunday, the preview opening of MOWAA turned violent when armed thugs invaded the venue, disrupting proceedings and reportedly holding several foreign dignitaries hostage.

According to the report, eyewitnesses said the attackers, who claimed the museum belonged to the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, stormed the site with weapons, forcing the event, a private exhibition for investors, artists, and diplomats, to a premature halt.

A trending video on social media shows guests, including foreign nationals, being evacuated by security agents amid visible chaos.

The report further states that among those trapped were the ambassadors of the European Union, Germany, and Denmark to Nigeria.

Postponement

In a statement on its Instagram page, MOWAA confirmed the incident, stating that the demonstrations appeared to stem from disputes between Edo States previous and current state administrations.

The statement said that although MOWAA was mentioned in the wider context of these grievances-alongside other development projects, the body is an independent, non-profit institution of which the former governor has no interest; financial or otherwise.

As a precaution, all guests were safely escorted to secure locations and supported in continuing their travels to hotels, airports or other destinations in the city. The safety and well-being of our staff, visitors and partners remains our highest priority.

We are working closely with local authorities to address the situation There will be no preview events on Sunday 9 November, Monday 10 November and Tuesday 11 November, the statement adds.

It further advised those who were planning to travel to Benin City for the MOWAA preview week to suspend their travel plans unless they have other essential reasons to be in the city.

Culture Minister reacts

In light of the development, the Minister of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy, Barr. Hannatu Musa Musawa has said that she has has briefed the Presidency.

In a statement, the Minister said that the issue is receiving attention at the highest levels of government.

We are in active consultation with the Edo State Government, security agencies and all relevant stakeholders to establish a full understanding of the circumstances and to ensure an appropriate and proportionate response.

The Constitution guarantees fundamental freedoms; it also requires that those freedoms be exercised responsibly. No right extends to the destruction or desecration of national cultural assets. We urge all parties to refrain from actions that escalate tensions, she said.

De-escalating the situation

Meanwhile, the Edo State Police Command has said that it has de-escalated the brewing tension and normalcy has been restored to the State.

A statement signed by the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer of the Edo State Police Command, ASP Eno Ikoedem, said that the police received credible intelligence regarding a planned protest aimed at disrupting the official launch of MOWAA.

In response, the Command made adequate security deployment to the venue to forestall any breakdown of law and order.

The protesters were addressed by the Commissioner of Police, CP Monday Agbonika, thereby de-escalating the tension. Normalcy was immediately restored, while expatriates and other guests at the venue were safely evacuated to their respective hotels without any hitch.

The Command assures the public that the situation is fully under control, and engagements are ongoing with relevant stakeholders to address any grievances through lawful and peaceful means, the statement reads.

The Command further urged members of the public to go about their lawful businesses without fear, as adequate security measures have been put in place across the state.
Why China's five-year plans capture global attention

15:25, November 10, 2025 By Li Hongxing ( People's Daily

Consumers experience Apple's latest iPhone 17 series at an Apple Store in Jing'an, Shanghai, Sept. 20, 2025. (Photo/Wang Chu)

Malaysia is currently in its durian harvest season. Remarkably, durians picked in Malaysian orchards can reach markets in China within as little as 36 hours. This accelerated timeline is made possible by advancements across the supply chain - from quarantine and customs clearance to institutional innovation. Upgraded China-Malaysia trade cooperation has expanded market reach, meeting the needs of Chinese consumers while boosting Malaysia's export-oriented industries.

The durian business exactly mirrors the increasingly closer collaboration between China and ASEAN countries. This growing collaboration is further solidified by the recent signing of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol. This agreement unlocks new market opportunities and provides a significant boost of confidence for both regional and global economic growth.

Examining contemporary China and its strategic plans, including the next Five-Year Plan and beyond, offers the world a crucial anchor of stability, a source of growth momentum, and a clear window of opportunity.

The global significance of China's five-year plans is well understood. As noted by international observers, these plans function as the "steady rhythm" of China's modernization journey. This metronome reflects not only the continuity of China's policy direction but also its resonance with the broader trends of global development.

A crane lifts a container transported by a China-Europe freight train in Ganzhou, east China's Jiangxi province. (Photo/Zhu Haipeng)

The influence of the plans stems from their forward-looking nature. Achieving such strategic foresight and effective implementation requires exceptional leadership and governance.

Historically, China's five-year plans have combined top-level design with extensive public consultation, showcasing the institutional strengths of effective national governance. The transition of each plan from blueprint to reality illustrates the collective power of unity and determination. The Communist Party of China (CPC) possesses strong leadership, organizational, and implementation capacity, enabling it to balance short-term and long-term interests as well as local and national priorities.

The plans' influence also lies in the opportunities it creates. As an observer put it, China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) represents a "list of opportunities" for the world. Many multinational corporations have drawn the same conclusion: to move in step with China is to align with the future.

Amid a turbulent international environment, China's stability, growth, and contribution serve as a crucial "anchoring force." The Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, adopted at the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC, call for expanding the space for two-way investment cooperation and developing new advantages in attracting foreign investment. These commitments send a clear and positive message to the world.

Apple has announced plans to expand its investment in China, while Goldman Sachs has pledged to support financing for enterprises headquartered in China. "Continuing to invest in China" has become a shared consensus among foreign investors because of China's stable growth prospects and vast potential for mutual benefit.

Viewed through the prism of modernization, the five-year plans embody China's unique model of "goal-oriented governance," delivering a clear message: "There is no such a thing as a single authorized model of modernization, nor a universally applicable standard of modernization."

As Dilma Rousseff, president of the New Development Bank, noted, China is charting its own path of independent and sustainable development, precisely what many Global South countries aspire to achieve.

From the China-Europe freight trains revitalizing the Port of Duisburg in Germany, to China's decision to grant zero-tariff treatment to 100 percent of taxable products originating from all least developed countries with which it has diplomatic relations, and to the signing of 23 free trade agreements with 30 countries and regions, China is partnering with nations that share a common aspiration for win-win development. Emerging economies and developing countries, whose development demands are often marginalized, now find new opportunities.

Citizens shop Southeast Asian products at the 22nd China-ASEAN Expo, Sept. 21, 2025. (Photo/Peng Huan)

Chinese modernization represents a contribution not only to China's development but to global progress. In this context, China's five-year plans exemplify both the nation's long-term strategic vision and its role in shaping a new form of human civilization - reflecting the cohesion of development and the centripetal pull of civilization.

Recent discourse has characterized China through three distinctive lenses: a "forward-looking nation," an "enabler," and a "civilizational state." Together, these perspectives capture the threefold certainty China contributes to global development - steadfastness in strategy, stability in markets, and openness in cultural exchange.

China has persistently advanced generation after generation along the same developmental roadmap. The nation seeks neither to challenge nor displace others, but rather focuses on responsibly managing its own affairs, pursuing continuous self-improvement, and sharing development opportunities worldwide. This approach demonstrates China's distinctive wisdom and its constructive contribution to global governance.

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Life in a small Australian community has become so unbearable that the local council is considering buying back residents' homes. It's one of two options being debated in Queenslands Greater Sunshine Coast, in response to complaints about a bustling flying fox colony.

Their lives are dramatically impacted. To the point they cant go outside, they cant hang their clothes outside because the flying foxes defecate on them, the noise is horrendous at night and in the morning, Mayor Glen Hartwig told Gympie Regional Council in October.

Speaking with Yahoo News Australia on Monday, he said many of the residents in Commissioners Gully are elderly, and when they first moved there, it was a wonderful place.

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The excrement the bats leave makes it impossible for them to open their windows and doors. They can't have their friends and family come over, so they feel very much isolated. And the constant noise is having a significant impact on their mental health, he said.

Gympie Regional Council will ask the state and federal governments to fund the purchase of 20 properties, in a plan likened to retreats when climate change causes rivers to flood, or ocean frontages to erode.

The flying foxes are surviving in a small strip of remnant bushland in Commissioners Gully. Source: Google Earth

Council proposes alternative solution to flying fox problem

Controversially, its placing another option on the table  asking for special permission to disperse the colony. Mayor Hartwig has also questioned whether the species should continue to be listed as threatened, telling council multiple cities have an inundation of flying foxes.

The option is to allow a relaxation on the legislation, so the interest of the human beings that were there first can have higher consideration than the bats themselves. That would require a change in legislation, he later told Yahoo News.

This approach has alarmed wildlife advocacy group Bats Queensland. Its president Rhiannon Traish-Walker told Yahoo News many Australians incorrectly assume the species is in overall good health because they roost in large numbers.

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If they were predators, youd say thats a huge population. But theyre lower in the food chain, so there are meant to be a lot more of them, she said.

Before white settlement, there were 70 per cent more flying foxes. So when you think about a healthy population, they should be everywhere. They should be more common than flies.

Fears dispersal of bats will make problem much worse

Grey-headed flying foxes are listed as vulnerable to extinction, and their decline has had an impact on the health of the nations forests. Flying foxes as a genus are Australias only long-range pollinators, and their presence is critical to the dispersal of seeds.

Flying foxes can be seen roosting in a tree, close to a home in Commissioners Gully. Source: Supplied

Critics of dispersal say it can kill large numbers of bats, particularly youngsters, and it ultimately does not work.

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Its really ineffective because flying foxes are a nomadic species. Sometimes it seems like they move in groups, but they actually move as individuals, Traish-Walker said, noting some have been known to travel between Melbourne and Cairns.

If you disperse the flying foxes that are currently there, thousands of others will potentially appear after that dispersal has happened.

Her concerns are shared by some locals in neighbouring areas, one of whom spoke to Yahoo on the condition that they not be named.

Theyre just going to create a bigger problem. Theyll move the problem around, and probably separate them, so we have five colonies in Gympie instead of one, they said.

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There should be a compromise made where they try and cut some of the vegetation back, and nudge the bats back, but not disperse them.

Flying foxes roost in large numbers, as this image near Murwillumbah, NSW, illustrates. However, numbers have declined 70 to 95 per cent since European settlement. Source: Getty

Flying foxes face uncertain future in Australia

Only 50 per cent of the nations forests remain intact since colonisation, reducing the range of flying foxes and contributing to mass starvation events. Climate change is worsening the impact of bushfires and threatening more habitat.

In 2014, more than 45,000 flying foxes are believed to have died on just one hot day in South East Queensland, while during the 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires, over 70,000 died across multiple states.

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Adding to the conflict between humans and flying foxes in this increasingly hot world, is that both prefer the areas that are most temperate and pleasant to live in.

I feel sorry for the individuals who bought in the suburb and didnt know theyd historically lived there. But its also not the flying foxes' fault, Traish-Walker said.

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A resurfaced Facebook post by Jude Ojeogwu, the biological father of Nollywood actress Regina Daniels, has stirred conversation again, years after it first appeared online.

The post, originally posted on 28 May 2019, which has gone viral amid renewed controversy surrounding Reginas marriage to Senator Ned Nwoko, shows that her father had long opposed the union and had issued an emotional warning to her mother.

Mr Ojeogwu and Reginas mum had been separated for several years, though the reason for their split remains unclear. They, however, reunited last week in Abuja amid the ongoing marital crisis between their daughter and her estranged husband, Ned Nwoko, the senator representing Delta North.

The now-viral post read, Regina Daniel Ojeogwu is my biological daughter. Whatever is ongoing is, to my knowledge, and without my consent. The fact speaks for itself, as one can see from the picture. Her mother, Rita Daniel, is treading on a dangerous path, and I hope she will retrace her stepseven the initiation ceremony into Otu Odu appears completely strange to Regina Daniel Ojeogwu. Regina is from Ogwashi Uku, not from Olor, as has been rumoured.

All the opportunities for Mr Ned Nwoko to discuss with me proved abortive, as we had not realised that we once lived in the same house on Awoyokun Street, Onikpan, Lagos. The implication of all this is that she impregnated herself. The name Regina was my late mothers name. I have tried to exercise restraint, but Reginas mother kept pushing me to the wall. Im alive and not dead. If in doubt of this post, call Barrister Jude Ojeogwu.

Those words, once dismissed as the anger of a distant father, now echo hauntingly as the actress and her estranged husband publicly trade accusations of abuse, manipulation, and substance use.

Alleged deceit

However, after publicly denying any knowledge of the marriage, which took place on 28 May 2019, Mr Ojeogwu told e-daily (Vanguard News) that the traditional ceremony was conducted without his consent.

In the interview, he alleged that Regina and her brothers, Lawrence and Samuel Ojeogwu, had misled him into believing there was no romantic involvement between his daughter and the senator.

He said, I invited Regina to my house in Lagos. She came with her siblings, and I asked if all I had been hearing was true. She said, Daddy, nothing is going on. I asked her brothers the same question, and they both said the same thing. I asked, So all Ive been hearing is like a movie? and they said yes.

I told her that if she married an old man, she should not forget that very soon, she would become a widow. But if she married her age mate, she wouldnt have to worry about that.

The lawyer added that he had expressed concern over her education, reminding her she was still a student at Igbinedion University.

She said she had plans to travel to Dubai for her studies. I told her that Dubai is not where you go to study if you must study abroad, think of Harvard or Oxford. When I saw videos of the initiation ceremony, I was inspired to make that social media post. The traditional marriage took place at her maternal grandmothers village in Olor, Aniocha South, Delta State, without my consent, he said.

A turn of events

Time, however, seemed to heal old wounds. In 2020, The Daily Post reported that Mr Ojeogwu reconciled with his daughter, Mr Nwoko, during the naming ceremony of their first child, Abuja.

Photographs from the ceremony showed a visibly cheerful Mr Ojeogwu holding his grandson and smiling beside the couple, starkly contrasting the tension that had defined their relationship a year earlier.

The reconciliation was widely interpreted as a fathers acceptance of his daughters choices and an effort to restore peace within the family.

Four years later, Mr Ojeogwus old Facebook post has resurfaced in a different light. It now reads like a prophecy, coming full circle as the once-envied union between his daughter and the senator faces intense public scrutiny.

The couple, who married in 2019, are currently locked in a storm of allegations, from claims of physical assault and emotional control to drug use and family interference.

As public opinion divides sharply between the actress and her husband, many online users have revisited Mr Ojeogwus words, viewing them as a fathers early cry of caution that went unheeded.
Super Falcons star Rasheedat Ajibade, content creator Adebowale Adedayo, better known as Mr Macaroni, and skit maker Mariam Apaokagi, popularly known as Taaooma, were among the winners at the 2025 edition of The Future Awards Africa (TFAA).

At the 19th edition of TFAA, themed Threads of Legacy, held on Saturday at Landmark Event Centre, Lagos, top creatives and contributors defining African futures were honoured across diverse sectors.

Among the winners were content creator Mariam Taaooma Apaokagi, who received the award for The Future Awards Africa Prize for Content Creation, and Super Falcons star Rasheedat Ajibade, who received The Future Awards Africa Prize for Sports for her outstanding contributions to the Sport.

Moreover, Adebowale Adedayo, also known as Mr Macaroni, received a prize for the The Future Awards Africa Prize for Acting. At the same time, Veteran comedian Ali Baba was also recognised with an honorary award for his exceptional service to society. Also, the highlight of the evening includes Fola David being crowned Young Person of the Year.

19th Edition

This years event was co-hosted by the charismatic duo of Nollywood actor Mike Afolarin and media personality Azeezah Hashim, the first-ever East African host, who dazzled the audience with their effortless wit, charm, and on-stage chemistry.

Together, they guided attendees through a night of celebration and reflection, spotlighting the stories and achievements of those shaping Africas next chapter.

Reflecting on this years edition, Ayodeji Razaq, the Executive Director of The Future Awards Africa, said the awards recognition is impactful for young people to achieve the glorious future Africa deserves.

We are proud to honour the exceptional young people who are adding the threads to our collective legacy. Tonights winners have proven with their powerful work and impact.

The legacy is not built in a single moment but through every decision we make. After tonight, we will keep weaving our collective tapestry to bring Africa into the glorious future we all deserve, Mr Razaq said.

FULL LIST

Here is a rundown of the incredible winners;

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Creativity and Innovation

Taiwo Abisoye Joel (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Photography

Amazing Klef (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Education

John Onuigbo (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Journalism

Madina Dahiru Maishanu (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Content Creation

Mariam Apaokagi (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Health and Wellness

Funmilola Aderemi (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Community Action

Hammed Kayode Alabi (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Arts

Ayobola Kekere-Ekun (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Literature

Adedayo Agarau (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Activism and Advocacy

Solomon Ayodele (Boys Quarters Africa) (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Fashion

Richmond Barnes (Will and Barnes Group) (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Law

Ogenetega Adedipe (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Film

Oluwadamilola Apampa (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Professional Service

Bode Roberts (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Entrepreneurship

Tomike Adeoye (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Technology

Kelvin Umechukwu (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Performing Arts

Big Bimi (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Intrapreneurship

Solomon Ayodele (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for On-Air Personality

Azeezah Hashim (Kenya) (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Agriculture

Adetiloye Aiyeola (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Governance

Daniel Otabor (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Music

Okeowo Oladotun Alani (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Sports

Rasheedat Ajibade (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Acting

Adebowale Adedayo (Winner)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Service to Young People

Ali Baba (Honorary)

The Future Awards Africa Prize for Young Person of The Year

Fola David (Winner)
Actress and filmmaker Regina Danielss brother, Samuel Sammy West Ojeogwu, who was allegedly arrested and detained on the orders of her estranged husband, Senator Ned Nwoko, representing Delta North, has been granted bail.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that Regina and her siblings alleged that Mr Nwoko ordered Sammy Wests arrest and subsequent remand in prison for defending his sister against alleged domestic violence inflicted by the lawmaker.

Following the allegation, several public figures, including actress Mercy Johnson-Okojie, activist Omoyele Sowore and others demanded Sammy Wests immediate release.

Sowore

However, on Monday, Mr Sowore and filmmaker Stanley Stanley Ontop Ajemba confirmed that Sammy West was released via their social media pages.

Mr Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, shared photos of himself with Reginas mother, Rita Daniels, and others on Facebook, revealing that a Magistrate in Dutse, Abuja granted Sammy West bail.

He added that lawyer Marshal Abubakar led the team that secured Mr Wests bail.

The Ondo-born politician wrote: Today, upon my return to Abuja, I met with attorneys led by Barrister Marshal D F Abubakar to process the release of Regina Daniels brother, Samuel Ojeogwu, aka Sammy West, following his grant of bail by the Magistrate at Dutsen area of Abuja.

It was a pleasure to meet with several justice proponents, including Mamapee, highly talented actress Mercy Johnson Okojie, distraught Reginas mom, Rita.

While Mr Sowore did not disclose the bail amount, Stanley Ontop confirmed on his Instagram page that Sammy West was released on N5 million bail.

Sammy West has been granted N5 million bail. God isnt man, somebody shout power, he wrote.

Backstory

This newspaper reported that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command confirmed the arrest of Sammy West on charges including conspiracy, trespass, assault, criminal intimidation, theft, and cyberbullying, according to reports.

The commands spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, stated that he was apprehended in Lagos and subsequently flown to Abuja after failing to respond to previous police invitations.

She added that the court remanded Sammy West pending the fulfilment of his bail conditions, but did not reveal who filed the petition that led to his arrest.

In a detailed Facebook post, Mr Nwoko alleged that Sammy West repeatedly harassed his children and domestic staff in his absence.

He further claimed that he introduced Regina to drugs and undermined efforts to help her quit.

Mr Nwoko also alleged that Sammy West, along with some siblings and friends, had turned his residence into a drug den.
The 2025 Anambra State governorship election recorded an increase in voter participation, but turnout remains low, further highlighting a persistent national trend of voter apathy.

On Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared incumbent Governor Charles Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) winner of the governorship election.

According to the INEC Returning Officer, Edoba Omoregie, Mr Soludo polled 422,664 votes to defeat Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 99,445 votes.

Young Progressives Party candidate, Paul Chukwuma, came third with 37,753 votes while George Moghalu of the Labour Party, claimed the fourth position in the election with 10,576 votes.

Of the 2,788,864 registered voters in the state, only 598,229 were accredited, representing 21.4 per cent participation. A total of 584,054 valid votes were recorded, with 11,244 votes rejected.

Mr Soludos victory spanned all 21 local government areas (LGAs), making him only the second individual to achieve this in Anambras history, after former Governor Willie Obiano in 2017.

The 2025 turnout of 21.4 per cent marks an improvement from the 10.3 per cent recorded in 2021, when out of 2,466,638 registered voters, only 253,388 were accredited, and 8,108 votes were rejected.

The Anambra Election Observation Hub, a coalition of civil society organisations, had observed a persistent low participation in several LGAs, which reflects a voter apathy observed in the buildup to the election.

History of low turnout



Since the return to democracy in 1999, Anambra State has consistently recorded low voter participation. According to the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), the states governorship elections have never witnessed a 50 per cent turnout.

In 1999, only 1.02 million of the 2.2 million registered voters cast their ballots, representing 46.4 per cent. The 2003 election saw the highest turnout with 47.22 per cent.

By 2010, turnout had dropped to 16 per cent, with just 302,000 voters participating out of 1.84 million registered. Participation slightly improved in 2013, when 465,891 of 1.77 million voters turned out, representing about 25 per cent. Four years later, in 2017, only 448,711 of 2,064,134 voters (21 per cent) showed up at polling units.

The decline reached its lowest point in 2021 when only about 10 per cent of registered voters participated. While the 2025 figure of 21.4 per cent marks an improvement, it remains far below democratic expectations.

Turnout trends across Nigeria



Anambras low turnout shows a recurring pattern of voter disengagement across Nigeria. According to Yiaga Africas 2025 policy brief, national voter turnout has continuously declined from 69 per cent in 2003 to just 27 per cent in the 2023 general election, the lowest since 1999.

In 2023, only about 25 million valid votes were recorded out of 93 million registered voters. The brief attributes the decline to several factors, including an inflated voter register, poor mobilisation, insecurity, and waning trust in the electoral process.

In the 2023 gubernatorial elections, the average turnout across 28 states was 31 per cent, but South-east states recorded the lowest. Ebonyi recorded the regions highest turnout at 22 per cent, while Abia and Enugu managed only 18 per cent.

Northern states, compared to other regions, did better, with four states recording turnout above 40 per cent. Across Nigerias recent elections, including off-season polls, turnout has consistently remained below 35 per cent.

According to INEC data, some by-elections have recorded as low as three to eight per cent participation. In Edos 2024 governorship election, only 25.9 per cent of registered voters who had collected their PVCs participated. In 2020, Ondo election recorded a 32.8 per cent turnout.

Despite increased voter registration and civic campaigns, enthusiasm for voting continues to dwindle. The Yiaga Africa brief notes that reforms such as the 2022 Electoral Act and the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) have not fully restored public confidence.

It said many citizens continue to question whether elections lead to tangible improvements in governance, reducing motivation to vote.

Contributing factors



Security concerns remain a major factor in low turnout in Anambra elections. Analysts attribute historically low participation to IPOB-led sit-at-home orders and general insecurity.

According to an election monitoring group, Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), despite consistent growth in voter registration in Anambra State, voter turnout has fallen by over 58 per cent in the last eight years.

The group said while more citizens are registering to vote, fewer are turning out on election day, describing it as a troubling trend that points to deepening voter apathy and declining trust in the electoral process.

The Executive Director, KDI, Bukola Idowu, during a pre-election press briefing, explained that Anambra North Senatorial District, which has the highest number of registered voters, consistently records the lowest turnout.

To better understand this decline, KDI conducted a detailed analysis and discovered that although Anambra North Senatorial recorded the highest number of registered voters, it has consistently produced the lowest voter turnout in the state, Ms Idowu explained.

While insecurity contributes to low voter turnout in the state generally, Anambra South, which has historically experienced higher levels of insecurity, still recorded comparatively better turnout rates. KDIs findings suggest that other factors contribute to the low participation in Anambra North, including logistical and geographical challenges.

She said some local governments, such as Anambra East, Anambra West, and Ogbaru, are largely riverine and hard-to-reach communities, with a higher voter-to-polling-unit ratio than other districts.

These factors have contributed significantly to voter fatigue, disenfranchisement, and the persistent low turnout in the region, she said.

The group had recommended that special attention must be paid to these areas to avoid low voter turnout in Saturdays governorship election.

Trust deficit, citizens disengagement

For Cynthia Mbamalu, director of Programmes at Yiaga Africa, the low voter turnout in Anambra reflects a deep trust deficit in Nigerias electoral process.

Ms Mbamalu said many citizens, especially young people, now believe their votes do not count and that election outcomes are often predetermined.

The Anambra election is a reminder that citizens confidence in the process has waned, she explained. People increasingly feel that elections no longer translate into good governance or improved quality of life, so they disengage altogether.

Ms Mbamalu said the trend points to growing disenchantment not only with elections but with democracy itself. She observed that reversing this requires more than new laws.

Reforms must be operationalised, and our political class must change its culture of impunity, abuse of power and corruption. Without that, citizens will remain disillusioned.

She urged INEC to ensure more transparency, including better logistics management and full compliance with electoral laws.

She added that political parties must also put their houses in order by strengthening internal democracy and investing in voter engagement. Citing Ghana as an example, she noted that political parties in the country actively conduct door-to-door civic education, a model Nigeria could emulate.

Civil society, the media, religious institutions and even the private sector must all play a part, she said. If democracy fails, we all suffer the consequences. Getting governance to work for the people is the surest way to inspire renewed faith in elections.
Visits to the mortuary of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, have revealed distressing conditions, with corpses left on the floor due to non-functional refrigerators, poor ventilation, and irregular electricity supply.

When PREMIUM TIMES reporters visited the facility, the smell of decay hit from several metres away. As they drew closer, the odour thickened, forcing staff and visitors alike to cover their noses with masks and handkerchiefs.

Inside, the situation was worse as bodies, which should ordinarily be stored in cooling chambers, were instead laid on mats or on the floor.

Also, some corpses had been placed outside the storage area due to overcrowding inside.

The cooling units and air conditioners, intended to preserve the bodies, were non-functional at the time of the visits, including on 7 November. The mortuary was without electricity, and a lone technician was seen futilely attempting to repair a cooling system.

To allow air circulation, workers opened all windows and doors, as the facilitys ventilation system was not functional.

Our team further observed that the bodies were not washed or properly attended to, worsening the decay. Many appeared to have been left in the same state in which they were brought in, loosely covered and without any visible signs of cleaning or preservation.

One of the mortuary attendants, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES on condition of anonymity, explained that bodies are currently identified using tags and basic written details, since the usual record system and cold chambers were unavailable.

He admitted that the refrigerators had been out of service for some time, forcing them to place bodies on the floor.

Experts say the mortuarys conditions fall far below national and international standards for the storage of human remains.

Relatives experiences

During the visits, some relatives who came to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones confirmed the state of the mortuary.

A man in his mid-40s, who came to claim a relatives body, said visitors are not allowed into the storage area. He confirmed that the corpses are usually placed on mats or something spread on the floor.

Another visitor, who also came to collect his wifes corpse, did not offer direct details but confirmed that the mortuary was filled beyond capacity.

A standard mortuary

A properly equipped mortuary is designed to preserve bodies safely, maintain hygiene, and uphold the dignity of the deceased.

According to the Lagos State Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA), any licensed mortuary must have functional cold storage chambers, a clean and well-ventilated environment, and trained personnel for body handling.

These are part of the minimum standards required for registration and operation of mortuary services in Nigeria.

Standard facilities are meant to be equipped with refrigerated storage units, body trolleys, embalming tables, autopsy instruments, and body lifts to ensure safe and dignified handling of remains.

Drainage systems, disinfection units, and a reliable electricity supply are essential for maintaining cold-chain preservation and preventing decomposition.

Mortuary technicians are also required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) and follow infection control procedures, as highlighted in professional standards for mortuary setup.

According to International Health Facility Guidelines, a standard mortuary must have temperature-regulated chambers (typically 2C to 4C), systematic record-keeping for each body, and controlled access to maintain security and privacy.

The guidelines emphasise that mortuaries should serve dual roles as both preservation facilities and forensic units, supporting medical, legal, and humanitarian functions.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) also provides international guidance for mortuary and post-mortem care.

Its research on Infection Prevention and Control for the Safe Management of a Dead Body in the context of COVID-19 stresses that mortuaries must remain clean, well-ventilated, and equipped with disinfectable surfaces and materials.

Staff are expected to use appropriate PPE, practice hand hygiene, and ensure that the dignity of the dead and the rights of families are respected throughout the process.

These standards are far removed from the grim reality at UATH, where power failures, broken equipment, and limited capacity have rendered the facility a health hazard.

Pathology department speaks

The Acting Head of the Pathology Department at the hospital, Abdul Adelowo, acknowledged that the mortuarys cooling system had broken down but said efforts were underway to repair it.

Mr Adelowo explained that the facility has two cooling chambers, each designed to hold 25 bodies, but the capacity is inadequate for a teaching hospital of its size.

He said the mortuary was originally designed to be expanded with another 50-capacity unit, which was never built. Even when functional, he noted, the chambers were overstretched due to the volume of bodies received daily.

One cooling chamber meant for five bodies sometimes holds more than that. The influx here is enormous. This hospital serves Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, and the FCT. People also bring in accident victims along the Abuja-Lokoja highway, and there are many unclaimed or police-referred bodies, he said.

Describing the situation as a systemic burden, he said police and road safety officers often deposit corpses without prior notice.

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We cant reject them. When district or general hospitals say their morgues are full, they send them here. Police and Road Safety bring unknown bodies and just drop them, he explained.

He added that even when the refrigerators worked, their total capacity of 50 bodies was far below the current load of nearly 200.

To manage the situation, he disclosed that the hospital has resorted to chemical embalming as a temporary preservation method. He, however, noted that embalming costs money, and many of the corpses are unclaimed or abandoned.

Mr Adelowo said the hospital occasionally disposes of unclaimed bodies after several months, following due process and approval from the police and environmental authorities.

Recently, we disposed of more than 30, maybe up to 70, abandoned bodies after due process, he said.

Responding to public complaints about odour and poor conditions, he said the smell was inevitable in a mortuary setting, adding that while the facility could be improved, people should understand the nature of the environment.

He added that mortuary attendants receive both in-house and external training to improve their handling of corpses.
A Nigerian journalist who the police have detained without trial for more than six weeks is set to be arraigned.

Friday Alefia, publisher of the online newspaper, Naija News Today (formerly Asiwaju Media), will face alleged cybercrime charges when he appears in court on Wednesday.

He was arrested in Lagos on 23 September after operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) traced the phone of his house caretaker to his residence in Ikorodu, Lagos.

He was subsequently transferred to Abuja and has since been kept at the detention facility of the now-defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), despite repeated demands by his family and lawyers for him to be charged to court.

Family members say the prolonged detention has taken a toll on his health, adding that he has been taken to the hospital twice, with the family covering the medical bills.

A relative, Chijioke Alefia, stated that the family and their lawyer had repeatedly requested that the police arraign him if they believed he had committed any crime.

Mr Alefia accused the police of yielding to political pressure, alleging that the journalist was targeted over reports critical of Chinedu Ogah, the member representing Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency of Ebonyi State in the House of Representatives.

Friday is a journalist and also a constituent. He voted and has the right to question his representation, he said.

The charges

A five-count charge dated 8 October and seen by PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday, lists Mr Alefia as the first defendant and Asiwaju Media Company Ltd as the second defendant, with the Commissioner of Police as the complainant.

The case is before a judge, Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, under charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/53/2025.

In count one, the police accuse the defendants of conspiracy for allegedly using computer systems, including social media platforms such as Facebook, to make false publications.

Count two alleges that they published a report titled How Federal Lawmaker Ogah Snatches Village Land in Ebonyi, knowing it to be false.

In count three, Mr Alefia is accused of cyberstalking for allegedly posting a false statement on Facebook in which Mr Ogah was quoted as saying: I rigged senatorial poll against Emmanuel Onwe.

Count four relates to the publication titled Ebonyi Rep Member Returns #4 Million Amidst Extortion Allegations, which the police say is also false.

Count five concerns another allegedly false report titled Ebonyi Rep Member Threatens Constituent for Supporting Charity Foundation.

According to the prosecution, all five counts violate Section 24(2)(a) of the Cybercrimes Amendment Act and are punishable under Section 24(2)(c)(i).

Reports that triggered the petition

PREMIUM TIMES had reported that the case stems from reports published by Naija News Today in late 2024. One story, Ogahs Political Future Uncertain Amid Senate Rumours, examined speculation about the lawmakers ambitions ahead of the 2027 general election.

Another article carried strong criticism of his representation and political relevance. The publications reportedly angered the lawmaker and prompted a petition to the police.

Lawmaker reacts

This newspaper contacted Mr Ogah in October regarding the journalists detention.

The lawmaker did not directly deny or confirm ordering the journalists arrest, but stated that the matter was already before a court, which PREMIUM TIMES found was not the case at the time.

He alleged that the journalist had written about 36 stories against him.

I am not a police officer, he said, adding that anyone seeking details should verify them from the judiciary and relevant authorities.

He also stated that no relative of the detained journalist had contacted him regarding the matter.

Advocates call for release

Journalists and press-freedom advocates have condemned Mr Alefias prolonged detention without trial.

We only want him to come back alive. He is not a criminal. If he offended anyone with his report, we apologise, journalist Emmanuel Ogodo told PREMIUM TIMES in October.

Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES on Monday, Chino Obiagwu, National Coordinator of the Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP), a non-governmental organisation providing free legal aid, said Mr Alefias detention was unlawful.

His detention for this long is completely illegal. As long as he is not charged with a capital offence, he is entitled to bail within 48 hours and must be arraigned in court, Mr Obiagwu said.

Even if there is a remand order, that cannot override the Constitution. Section 39(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees freedom of expression, including the right to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas without interference. Anyone arrested must be arraigned within 48 hours, and the court is expected to grant bail on liberal terms.

Mr Obiagwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), added that Mr Alefia has the right to sue the police for unlawful detention.

He cited the ECOWAS Court of Justice ruling in SERAP v. Federal Republic of Nigeria, which held that Section 24 of the Cybercrimes Act is arbitrary, vague and repressive and inconsistent with Nigerias international human rights obligations under the African Charter and ICCPR.

They are detaining people under an unlawful law, he said.

Another lawyer, Chukwuemeka Azuwuike, noted that the Constitution provides that anyone arrested must be arraigned within 24 to 48 hours.

He said the prolonged detention violated Mr Alefias fundamental rights and encouraged him to sue the police for breaches of his right to liberty and movement.

Broader concerns over misuse of Cybercrimes Act

Mr Alefias case adds to growing concerns that the amended Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2024 is being deployed to silence journalists and critics.

In August 2024, Amnesty International condemned the arrest of Bayelsa journalist Saint Mienpamo Onitsha, who was charged under the Act after reporting on a protest.

In March 2024, Abuja police detained investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) following a petition over a corruption-related report.

International press-freedom organisations, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), have repeatedly warned that the law is increasingly used to harass journalists investigating public officials.

Local media-rights groups have echoed these concerns. The Media Rights Agenda (MRA) said the Act has been misapplied to intimidate journalists and activists, noting that the frequent misuse of the Cybercrime Act had become so outrageous and that there are escalating threats to press freedom, especially through the use of repressive laws like the Cybercrime Act.

MRA further called on the government to put an end to the misuse of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act and other repressive laws against the media.

The Centre for Journalism, Innovation and Development (CJID) warned that over the years, several provisions of the Act, particularly Section 24(1), have been used by the authorities to suppress and harass critics, activists, opposition members, media organisations and journalists for publications that are critical of powerful interests.

CJID added that the media and civil society in Nigeria again received a wake-up call to remain vigilant in the wake of the governments relentless effort at media censorship.

Mr Alefia is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday before Mr Egwuatu at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has announced a reduction of more than N500,000 in the cost of the 2026 Hajj fare for intending pilgrims.

The development follows President Bola Tinubus directive in October, asking the commission to review the earlier announced fares to make the holy pilgrimage more affordable for Nigerians.

In a statement on Monday, NAHCON Deputy Director of Information and Public Relations, Fatima Usara, said the reviewed fares now stand as follows:

Maiduguri/Yola Zone: N7,579,020.96 (previously N8,118,033.67)

Northern Zone: N7,696,769.76 (previously N8,244,813.67)

Southern Zone: N7,991,141.76 (previously N8,561,013.67)

Mrs Usara said the review followed extensive consultations and government approval. The fares were computed at an exchange rate of N1,443 to a US dollar, giving pilgrims in the three zones reductions of N539,013, N548,043.91, and N569,871.91, respectively.

Deadline for payment

NAHCON urged intending pilgrims to complete their Hajj fare payments before 5 December 2025 to meet Saudi Arabias deadline for the remittance of funds, set for 21 December 2025.

Mrs Usara explained that transfers into the required IBAN accounts take between 10 and 14 days to clear, which makes early payment essential.

Public reaction

Some Nigerians have hailed the reduction, describing it as a compassionate response to current economic challenges.

This gesture shows that the government and NAHCON are listening to the concerns of ordinary Muslims, said Bilkisu Adamu, an intending pilgrim from Kano. Many of us had lost hope of being able to afford the 2026 Hajj.

Ustaz Isa, an Islamic scholar from Lagos, also applauded the decision. It reflects accountability and empathy. State pilgrims boards should act fast to take advantage of the new timeline so Nigeria doesnt lose its quota, he told PREMIUM TIMES.

Meanwhile, NAHCON also announced the cancellation of state slot allocations for the 2026 Hajj. The commission said allocations will now be determined on a first-come-first-served basis, depending on which states remit their payments first.

READ FULL STATEMENT BELOW

NAHCON Announces Reviewed 2026 Hajj Fare, Cancels Slots Allocation to States

After extensive consultations with relevant stakeholders and the necessary approval from the appropriate authorities, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) wishes to announce the reviewed Hajj fare for the 2026 pilgrimage as follows:

Maiduguri/Yola Zone: N7,579,020.96 (previously N8,118,033.67)

Northern Zone: N7,696,769.76 (previously N8,244,813.67)

Southern Zone: N7,991,141.76 (previously N8,561,013.67)

The revised fares were computed based on an exchange rate of N1,443 per US Dollar.

Consequently, intending pilgrims from the respective zones will enjoy reductions of N539,013, N548,043.91, and N569,871.91 respectively.

Considering time constraints and Saudi Arabias payment framework, intending pilgrims are advised to complete their Hajj fare remittances by 5th December 2025. This is to accommodate all transfers to NAHCONs IBAN account before Saudi Arabias deadline. The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has set 21st December as deadline for transferring of all funds for basic services contract and has vowed not to extend the date. Meanwhile, transfers into IBAN accounts take between 10 days to two weeks before being credited which may be impossible to beat without the deadline shifted earlier, which is the 5th of December.

In a meeting early this morning of 10th, November 2025, it was announced that previous slots allocation to states no longer stands. It is now a matter of states that remit their Hajj fares earlier will secure slots for their registered number of pilgrims based on first-come-first-served.

In his submission, the Chairman Forum of States, Alhaji Idris Almakura called on his members to conclude their assignments in Saudi Arabia within the quickest possible time and return to Nigeria immediately to mobilize for Hajj registration, considering the seriousness of the time condition given to Nigeria to fill its quota for the 2026 Hajj.

Fatima Sanda Usara,

Deputy Director Information and Public Relations for,

Chairman/CEO,

NAHCON
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared Timipre Sylva, former minister of state for Petroleum Resources and ex-governor of Bayelsa State, wanted over an alleged $14.85 million fraud.

The commission announced the development on X on Monday, sharing Mr Sylvas photograph.

According to the EFCC, Mr Sylva is implicated in a case of conspiracy and dishonest conversion of funds provided by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for the construction of Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited.

The notice follows a 6 November warrant issued by the Federal High Court in Lagos, the EFCC said.

Mr Sylva, 61, from Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, recently had his home raided by soldiers investigating a failed plot to topple President Bola Tinubu.

He confirmed the raid but denied any involvement in a coup attempt.

During the said operation, considerable damage was inflicted upon the property. Despite sustained efforts, I have been unable to ascertain the reasons or authorisation for this raid.

To the best of my knowledge, the officers involved did not provide any categorical explanation for their actions, either at the time or subsequently, his spokesperson, Julius Bokoru, said.

Mr Bokoru added that Mr Sylva was not in the country during the raid and did not disclose when he plans to return.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that over 30 suspects may face trial over the failed coup, while about seven remain at large.

It is unclear whether Mr Sylva is among them.
Social media has reached more than half (63.9%) of the worlds population since it got started in 1996. Social network platforms grew from 970 million users in 2010 to 5.41 billion in July 2025. The average social media user engages with between six and seven platforms. The average person spends two hours 21 minutes on social media per day.

All this time on social media shapes peoples perceptions, influences emotions and fuels anxieties, but its impact on social stress remains difficult to measure. Herkulaas MvE Combrink is a specialist in computational infodemiology, a field which studies the spread of information in digital spaces, at high volumes and with high degrees of uncertainty. The discipline draws on artificial intelligence, public health, and natural language processing. He unpacks his research and explains the Social Stress Indicator, a computational tool he devised for quantifying social stress in real time. It can provide an early warning of how people are feeling about what they are seeing online.

What is social stress?

Social stress is the tension people feel when their social environment becomes uncertain, demanding, or conflicted. It goes beyond personal anxiety, reflecting how communities collectively react to issues like inequality, misinformation, or rapid change.

In a societal context, social stress describes the shared emotional pressure that spreads through networks, shaping public mood, cohesion and behaviour.

In the context of an infodemic (a flood of information during a disease outbreak), misinformation and uncertainty becomes the primary indicator driving social stress.

What is the Social Stress Indicator and why did you develop it?

It is one of the few algorithmic stress trackers tailored for the digital age. The data it uses is primarily text and search volume indices.

What makes this indicator unique is that it can be adjusted for social media platforms, enabling the real-time tracking of social stress per topic of concern. A topic of concern may be a specific conversation, like vaccines or public elections.

The indicator can therefore be used for analytical insight, as a means to analyse retrospective data, or to assist in informing policy by quantifying social stress over time.

Social media is no longer just communication  its a battlefield of emotions, fears and societal pressure, as seen by the impact of misfluencers (opinion leaders who disseminate misinformation about health) and the social media perspectives on COVID-19 vaccines. These misfluencers had a high likelihood of both confusing and misleading their followers on social media.

Social media can act as an echo chamber for belief systems to thrive in. An echo chamber reinforces stereotypes, making it the perfect incubator for misinformation spread.

My research has shown that these echo chambers can be studied, if the correct indicators are used. Here I mean indicators like search volume indices, sentiment analysis, polarity scores, subjectivity scores, social volatility score, sceptic score, and ultimately, the social stress indicator.

I was part of a study that assessed 150,423 unique social media posts across various groups on the social media platform X, related to COVID-19 in South Africa. We found that the majority of posts were related to access to health, mismanagement of COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy. We compared the findings to the vaccine roll-out and noted a trend between a decrease in public sentiment and vaccine uptake. In other words, when people started saying negative things about vaccines, vaccination uptake and programmes slowed down.

These figures and insights required extensive research to quantify and investigate because of the contextualisation and volume of data to analyse to draw these conclusions. Although we could clearly see a decrease in vaccine uptake, we investigated the discourse in relation to the decrease.

I built the indicator to quantify this chaos. Instead of working with fragmented analysis and struggling with the combination of various data sources and independent analysis, the social stress indicator simplifies this process into a number thats easy to track.

Traditional mental health surveys are too slow, and online toxicity is too fast because misinformation spreads too rapidly to track. This means that when there is an infodemic, its impact on what people are thinking and feeling becomes too challenging to measure in real-time. The indicator steps into this gap, offering a quantifiable pulse of online distress.

How does it work?

It works like a digital thermometer for a specific topic online, using what people say on social media, and then fuses three ingredients:

sentiment analysis, to detect emotional negativity

subjectivity, to measure personal intensity in expression

information-seeking behaviour, to track public concern.

These go into calculating a final Social Stress Indicator score. Think of it as a stress composite where negative sentiment raises the alert, subjective opinion adds weight, and spikes in search traffic reflect societal urgency.

A low Social Stress Indicator means calm waters. A high Social Stress Indicator? Digital panic may be brewing.

We analysed three social media datasets that people rated for how stressful they felt, based on negativity, anxiety, engagement, misinformation, and help-seeking behaviour. We then applied the Social Stress Indicator to the same data to compare human perception with data-driven patterns. The results showed that while the overall trends matched, the intensity of stress varied across different contexts.

Why will it be useful?

Imagine a world where governments and health systems can spot societal breakdowns before they go viral. The indicator offers exactly that. As an early-warning system, it can detect digital tremors before they become social earthquakes, whether its vaccine hesitancy, misinformation spikes, or panic over policy changes.

It provides the missing metric, the emotional cost of communication. If social stress is not tracked, misfluencers gain traction and misinformation can spread. Another concern if social stress is not managed is the potential for social unrest and public crisis. Its therefore invaluable for digital governance, crisis response, mental health monitoring, and platform design to track and respond to social stress. The indicator doesnt just observe, it alerts.

What are its flaws?

It needs to be more sensitive. When social stress soars, it tends to stay calm. Thats because it was designed for general trends and not emotional eruptions. For more sensitivity, more research is required.

It also assumes equal weight for sentiment, subjectivity and curiosity, which dilutes urgent signals. For instance, during a vaccine misinformation surge, posts expressing fear or anger (sentiment) may rise sharply, while curiosity-related searches only increase slightly. Giving both equal weight could underestimate the level of public distress.

Plus, it struggles with sarcasm, trolling, or coded hate, which are things that humans detect instantly.

The model also depends on synthetic validation (not real-world chaos), which means its real-time usefulness might falter when tested against messy reality. More research is required in this domain to make the indicator more robust. Until it adapts dynamically, its risks are more like a weather report than a storm warning for social stress on digital media. As the Knowledge Mapping Labs at the University of the Free State, South Africa, grows, this work will continue.

Herkulaas MvE Combrink, Senior lecturer/ Co-Director, University of the Free State

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The Enugu State Ministry for Health has sealed an illegal hospital in Ada Ulo Obollo-Etiti Community in Udenu Council Area of Enugu State operated by a fake medical doctor, Kenneth Mamah.

The ministrys enforcement team led by the Director Medical Services, Amaechi Mgbodile, also arrested Mr Mamah for operating without licence, professional training and in an unfit environment.

Speaking during the enforcement on Monday in Enugu, Mr Mgbodile said the closure aligned with the Enugu State Governments broader campaign to eliminate quackery, ensure patients safety and enforce minimum standards across all health facilities.

He emphasised that no facility was permitted to conduct surgery without proper registration, qualification, sterile equipment and an approved theatre environment.

According to him, on receipt of reports of Mr Mamahs illegal practices, the state Commissioner for Health, George Ugwu, coordinated a chain of action involving the local government authorities and a response team from the ministry.

He said the action was carried out after uncovering shocking evidence that the facility was operated by Mr Mamah, who falsely claimed to be a medical doctor.

So, acting on credible intelligence and complaints from concerned residents, the ministry stormed the facility where we discovered that the owner had been conducting surgical procedures in his consulting room.

He also conducted other medical practices in an environment unfit for any form of operative care.

We also discovered that he has no medical licence, professional training and authorisation from the state ministry for health.

In spite of this, he routinely performed surgical operations, endangering the lives of residents who unsuspectingly sought care in the facility, Mr Mgbodile said.

Mr Mgbodile said Mr Mamahs action was clear quackery, which posed a danger to public health, and revealed that reports showed he had been operating for many years.

He stated that the culprit had been handed over to security agencies for further investigation and possible prosecution, which was in line with the governors zero-tolerance policy towards quackery in the health sector.

He urged the public to verify the authenticity of any health facility or practitioner before seeking medical care.

He added that Governor Peter Mbahs administration in Enugu was committed to ensuring that only trained and licensed professionals provide healthcare services in the state.

He said the closure sends a clear message to quacks and impostors, warning that Enugu will not tolerate any threat to the health and safety of its people.

On his part, the Chairman of Udenu Council Area, Aka Eze Aka, assured the public that he would continue intensifying surveillance across the council area to identify and apprehend unlicensed practitioners.

(NAN)
The House of Representatives has cautioned security agencies against indiscriminately profiling young Nigerians engaged in cryptocurrency and blockchain activities as internet fraudsters, stressing that innovation must be nurtured, not criminalised.

This position emerged during a high-level public hearing on Monday organised by the Ad-Hoc Committee on the Economic, Regulatory and Security Implications of Cryptocurrency Adoption and Point-of-Sale (PoS) Operations, chaired by Olufemi Bamisile, at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.

The engagement brought together key actors from the public and private sectors, including cryptocurrency exchanges, blockchain associations, fintech innovators, and regulators, to deliberate on Nigerias future in digital finance.

Opening the session, Mr Bamisile said the committees mandate was not to clamp down on innovation but to help the government understand and regulate it effectively.

He criticised what he described as misplaced aggression by some security agencies, especially the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), in their handling of cryptocurrency-related investigations.

Our goal is to create a framework to look that supports innovation without compromising security or financial integrity, the lawmaker said. Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind in the digital economy, but our progress must be anchored on transparency, coordination, and accountability.

He added that security agencies must build technical expertise in blockchain and crypto operations, saying: Not every young Nigerian with a laptop and a crypto wallet is a fraudster, stressing that they must learn to separate innovation from crime.

Committee members including Kama Nkemkama and Akinosi Gboyega echoed the chairmans remarks, describing the ongoing public conversation around crypto as a chance to align law enforcement with financial technology realities.

The hearing drew wide participation from Nigerias leading digital asset operators and experts, among them Buchi Okoro (Quidax), Moyo Shodipo (Busha), Olaniyi Atose (KoinKoin), Oluwasegun Kosemani (Botmecash), Ayotunde Alabi (Luno Nigeria), Igwe Goodnews (Downtown), and Emeka Ezike (Bitbarter).

Also present were representatives from blockchain associations including Obinna Iwuno, president of the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN); Ihenyen, president of VASPA; Faith Okaformbah, representing the Blockchain Experts Association of Nigeria (BEAN); and Uyoyo Edema, CEO of CNGN (Convexity).

Participants described the meeting as historic, saying it was the first time the National Assembly had hosted a broad, credible conversation with verified operators on the future of digital assets.

Gender inclusion in the digital economy

The session also spotlighted inclusion and digital literacy. Speaking on behalf of Nigeria Women Bitcoiners (NWB), Mawahin Adams, co-founder of the women-led blockchain education collective, urged the government to integrate womens voices in the development of national cryptocurrency policy.

She called for a National Digital Asset Literacy and Inclusion Programme, proposing that 12 per cent of annual crypto regulatory fees be reserved for digital inclusion projects. She also suggested incorporating digital-asset education into NYSC orientation programmes and secondary school curricula.

Balancing regulation, innovation

A notable highlight of the hearing was the lawmakers exchange with Buchi Okoro, co-founder of Quidax, over the companys operations under the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulatory sandbox and its partnerships with gaming platforms like Bet9ja.

Lawmakers sought clarity on whether such integrations might circumvent SECs Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP), which governs virtual asset service providers.

In response, Abdulrasheed Mohammed, head of Fintech Innovations at SEC, explained that the Commission maintains oversight of all sandbox activities to prevent abuse.

But Mr Bamisile urged SEC to balance firmness with flexibility, warning against bureaucratic inertia that could stifle innovation.

Rather than punish innovation, we should strengthen supervision and taxation mechanisms through agencies like the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) so the sector contributes meaningfully to President Bola Tinubus 1 trillion digital economy vision, he said.

The SEC must guide with firmness, not fear, so we dont stifle the creativity that will move this nation forward.

Warnings against overregulation

Many participants warned that heavy-handed regulation or premature taxation could drive crypto activities underground.

They urged the newly renamed Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) to adopt a phased taxation policy, using incentives to encourage compliance rather than punishment.

Blockchain expert Oye Benson advocated the development of locally built regulatory technologies (RegTech) that can help government agencies monitor, audit, and report transactions effectively.

He said such tools would strengthen Nigerias digital sovereignty, create jobs, attract foreign investment, and build capacity within the local tech ecosystem.

The hearing comes just days after Nigerias removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, a milestone that restored international confidence in its anti-money laundering framework.

Nigeria remains one of the largest cryptocurrency markets in the world, yet operates without a unified law regulating digital assets. The Bamisile Committee is expected to submit recommendations to guide the National Assembly in developing Nigerias first comprehensive legal and regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and digital finance.
Soldiers at a checkpoint along Onitsha Road opened fire on police officers returning from official duty in Anambra State.

The police officers, according to Sahara Reporters, were returning from the just-concluded governorship election in the southeastern state, when an argument ensued between them and the soldiers at a checkpoint in Anambra on Sunday.

One officer was reportedly shot on his chest, while others sustained injuries. A video seen by our reporter shows some police officers trying to rescue a shirtless man believed to be their colleague.

The officers, as seen in the video, were using a piece of cloth to stem the flow of blood from the mans chest.

Happening now on our way coming back from Anambra State election, we had a misunderstanding with army personnel at a military checkpoint, a police officer was quoted saying. Before we knew what was going on, they opened fire on us. One of us was shot directly on his chest, with many other policemen injured.

Ikenganiya Anthony, the police spokesperson in Anambra, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES, saying the misunderstanding had been resolved.

Mr Anthony said the officer shot by the soldiers is very stable, reiterating that the issue has been settled.

The army spokesperson, Appolonia Anele, a colonel, could not be reached by phone. Her line was not reachable and a message sent to her has not been responded to.

Police deployment

The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, in the build up to the election, said 45,000 police personnel would be deployed for the 8 gvernorship election, which was won by the incumbent, Charles Soludo, the candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

Mr Soludo, a professor and former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was declared winner of the election, after winning in all the 21 local government areas of the state.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said Mr Soludo polled 422,664 votes to defeat his closest challenger and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nicholas Ukachukwu, who polled 99,445 votes.

INEC added that the Young Progressives Party candidate, Paul Chukwuma, came third with 37,753 votes while his counterpart from the Labour Party, George Moghalu, claimed the fourth position in the election with 10,576 votes.

Election Observation groups, including Yiaga Africa, commended the peaceful conduct of the election, corroborating the results announced by INEC.

However, they decried voters apathy and vote buying, describing it as a major threat to the credibility of the electoral process.

The observers called for a reform of Nigerias electoral system to enhance logistical efficiency and public confidence.
The Lagos State Government has reintroduced the Planning Permit Amnesty Programme, allowing property owners with unapproved buildings to regularise their structures without paying statutory penalties.

The Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Oluyinka Olumide, recently announced the reintroduction of the amnesty programme in Alausa, Lagos, explaining that it follows appeals from property owners who missed previous amnesty opportunities.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in response to public appeals, has approved the reintroduction of the programme for the third time during his administration, Nairametrics quotes Mr Olumide as saying.

This initiative allows owners of existing but unapproved buildings to regularise their structures without incurring penalties normally associated with building without permits.

A PREMIUM TIMES check on the Building Permit Amnesty Programme website on Monday showed that the amnesty window will run for 61 days, from 1 November to 31 December. Property owners and developers are encouraged to use this period to obtain the necessary approvals and avoid potential legal complications.

Applicants are required to submit a complete set of documents, including a title document or proof of ownership, a survey plan, and as-built architectural drawings. Where applicable, they must also provide structural, electrical, and mechanical drawings, a Non-Destructive Integrity Test Report, and a letter of structural stability and indemnity.

Additionally, a Land Use Planning Analysis Report, tax compliance documents, and any other supporting documents must be submitted for assessment.

Mr Olumide emphasised that applications will be processed strictly in accordance with Town Planning Regulations, and only buildings meeting minimum standards will be approved.

How to apply

Applicants can submit forms at any Lagos State Physical Planning Permit Authority (LASPPPA) district office across the 57 LGAs/LCDAs, or via the Electronic Planning Permit Office at LASPPPA Headquarters, Oba Akinjobi Way, GRA, Ikeja.

The programme covers residential, commercial, and industrial properties and is part of the state governments commitment to promoting orderly, safe, and sustainable development in line with its vision of a Greater Lagos.

Background

The Lagos State Government had earlier launched enforcement actions against unapproved buildings following the expiration of previous amnesty periods.

The Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) began demolitions in Ogudu GRA after a 31 December 2024 deadline to ensure compliance with urban planning regulations and public safety.

The government extended the amnesty period to 31 December 2024, giving owners sufficient time to regularise their documents. Despite multiple warnings, some residents chose not to comply, leaving LASBCA with no choice but to take action, LASBCA Permanent Secretary Gbolahan Oki said then.

Demolitions were then carried out in various parts of Lagos including at the Trade Fair complex.

Mr Oki assured that affected property owners had been notified well in advance.

Incentives and previous programmes

In his recent announcement, Mr Olumide noted that the amnesty programme not only waives penalties but also offers discounts for payments completed within ten working days during the amnesty period.

He quoted Governor Sanwo-Olu as saying that the programme is part of his administrations efforts to mitigate economic challenges in the built environment sector while promoting compliance with physical planning regulations to ensure a livable, organised, and sustainable Lagos.
I had been trying for months to interview Dapo Olorunyomi (popularly called Dapsy), and he had been running away from me, as he later admitted when he finally agreed to a one-on-one interview at his office on Mambolo Street, Abuja.

It is easy to look past that shortcoming. Dapsy himself is a gracious man: always noble and generous in overlooking the mistakes of others. I got that impression from many people who had encountered him.

In a book of tributes titled Testimony to Courage, published when he turned 62, many of his friends, colleagues, siblings, mentees, and mentors painted a picture of a complex man.

To his teachers, he is a brilliant but confused student; to his siblings, a generous but enigmatic brother; to his friends, a bookish and bohemian spirit, yet loyal and affable; to his mentees, a warm and supportive man who puts people at ease in his company, but at the same time, too playful to offer critical opinions about character flaws; and to his staff, a compassionate and inspirational boss whose laissez-faire leadership style sometimes gets in the way of effective management.

He is Andrew Ames, the fictional character in Complex Man, who constantly seeks reconciliation with contradicting realities rather than escape. Observing him closely and from afar, and through the lens of those who work with him, I often see an individual who truly embodies the contradictions of modern man, seeking meaning in a fragmented and complex world. Testimony to Courage indeed bears testimony to the complexity of the man named at birth Adeniran Oyekunle Oyedapo Olorunyomi.

Surprisingly, Dapsy, a bookworm, told me he has yet to read the book. Im afraid. Its too gushing in some places, he said in his usual playful manner. Had he read the book, he probably would have discovered that his siblings think he is a rebel and sometimes a reckless daredevil, labels, I believe, he may not contest.

During the interview, I narrated to him the account of his brother, Sola Olorunyomi, a professor at the University of Ibadan. Dapsy, his brother said, was always missing at the dinner table when other family members were seated. If he ever appeared, he would show up without a bib, unlike the others.

And when they asked him why, his response was usually, Do I look like a kid? He was also the one often missing during morning devotion prayers. His parents were devout Christians. His grandfather, in fact, was a reverend who brought the Baptist Church to a community now known as Ijumu Local Government Area in Kogi State.

So, while one might expect him to follow in the footsteps of his forbears, observing Christian traditions and immersing himself in the Holy Books, he preferred reading dense and godless philosophers such as Theodor Adorno, Walter Benjamin, and Louis Althusser. I am just curious about knowledge, he said. Little wonder he ended up in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Ife, where Professor Wole Soyinka and Professor Biodun Jeyifo, former ASUU president, ruled the roost. Mr Jeyifo would eventually supervise his masters thesis.

Without question, I always gravitate to the whole tradition of liberty and freedom, and of a just society, he said. Unlike his schoolmate and friend Femi Falana, a human rights advocate who studied law at Ife, Dapsy found expression for these noble ideals through investigative journalism.

He got the chance to work at The Guardian, a newspaper commonly regarded as the flagship of Nigerian journalism. Dapsy later made a dent that cost him his freedom and that of others. As the assistant editor of African Concord, he wrote a cover story that landed some of his colleagues in jail.

The military junta would brook no dissent from rabble-rousers, as journalists were often perceived. And when he founded The NEWS alongside other irreverent pen-pushers like Kunle Ajibade and Bayo Onanuga, they took adversarial journalism a notch higher.

When the Sanni Abacha regime went rogue, journalists like Dapsy became targets. His friend Ajibade was jailed for life; Bagauda Kaltho went missing and has never been found. But Dapsy was lucky. He got a tip-off that helped him escape into exile through the NADECO route, where he spent years planning with other June Twelfthists to truncate Abachas tyranny.

Dapsy told me that he actually wanted to escape to South Africa, not the US. But the South African embassy then was directly opposite the Police Headquarters, and walking there would have meant walking into a trap with eyes wide open.

In the US, he worked for Freedom House, where he spent a lot of time advocating for freedom of expression, the rule of law, and human rights. He returned to Nigeria only after Abachas death and later took the job of Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu.

It was a tough job. He survived a couple of assassination attempts. When their tenure ended, and Ribadu himself became a hunted man, Dapsy decided to return to the US. It was around the same time that Dele Olojede, the first African to win a Pulitzer Prize, was setting up the NEXT 234 newspaper. Olojede heard that Dapsy was relocating and called him.

It was an offer to serve as the Enterprise Editor of a newly avant-garde newspaper. Olojede shared his vision, and Dapsy accepted, but not without a warning: This business will bite you, he said. His prophecy came true. NEXT became a gadfly to the Nigerian power elite, and they did everything within reach to kill it. Short story: NEXT folded up, and Olojede returned to his refuge in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

But it was not over for Dapsy. He founded Premium Times with Musikilu Mojeed, his trusted ally at NEXT. Learning from NEXTs mistakes, they decided early on that PT would be a digital newspaper. They diversified PTs revenue stream to include grant-seeking, a successful strategy.

Today, Premium Times has become a trailblazer in enterprise journalism, raising many hard-nosed journalists who keep Nigerias power elite in check. It is a paper that espouses the vision of one man who, very early in life, rose above the fears and unbridled greed of the plebeians who have now joined the Nigerian elite class.

Happy birthday, Dapsy.

Ajibola Amzat is the Africa Editor for the Centre for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ) and co-publisher of WikkiTimes.
Low voter participation and widespread vote buying in the 2025 Anambra governorship election reflect deeper governance challenges in Nigeria, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa) has said.

In a statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Sunday, the organisation said its Election Analysis Centre (CDD-EAC) observed notable progress by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), but said challenges in the electoral process persisted.

With INECs claim of 98.8 per cent PVC collection, a 99.62 per cent result upload on the IReV platform, and a generally peaceful election environment, INEC made significant progress.

These successes are commendable. However, 5.4 per cent of polling units experienced notable delays, with officials arriving late, said Dauda Garuba, the director of CDD-West Africa, and Victor Adetula, the chairperson of CDD-EAC, in a joint statement.

Low voters

A PREMIUM TIMES analysis explained that over 2.8 million voters were registered for Saturdays off-cycle governorship election, up from 2.65 million in 2023.

The updated register followed a Continuous Voter Registration exercise and a biometric clean-up that removed 27,817 multiple entries. This added 140,370 new valid voters and 5,983 transfer approvals to the voter roll.

Despite the increase, voter turnout remained low. Only 598,229 of the 2,788,864 registered voters were accredited, representing a 21.4 per cent participation rate.

Also, 584,054 valid votes were recorded, with 11,244 rejected.

Soludos victory

INEC on Sunday declared incumbent Governor Charles Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) the winner of the election.

He polled 422,664 votes to defeat Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 99,445 votes.

The Young Progressives Party candidate, Paul Chukwuma, came third with 37,753 votes while his counterpart from the Labour Party, George Moghalu, claimed the fourth position in the election with 10,576 votes.

Governor Soludos victory spanned all 21 local government areas of Anambra, making him only the second individual to achieve such a feat in the states history, after former Governor Willie Obiano in 2017.

But the CDD criticised political parties for limited voter mobilisation, describing campaigns as marked by low visibility and an absence of issue-based engagement, which contributed to limited competitiveness.

The organisation also raised concerns about election security. Over 45,000 security personnel were deployed across the state and present at 87.3 per cent of observed polling units, while 12.7 per cent of units had no security presence.

While this helped maintain a largely peaceful election, CDD warned that the arrangement may not be sustainable once personnel withdraw.

Vote buying was widespread, the group said, with cash and digital transfers ranging from N2,000 to N10,000 offered to influence voters.

Vote buying remains the most predictable strategy in the absence of issue-based campaigning and delivery of good governance, the statement added.

It stated that young voters, women, and persons with disabilities were disproportionately absent from the polls, facing barriers such as inaccessible polling booths and a lack of voting aids.

CDD tracked over 200 claims of election-related disinformation. Of 45 fact-checkable claims, 54 per cent were false, 27 per cent true, and 10 per cent misleading.

It noted that targets included political parties, INEC, and security agencies, with actors using hate speech, insecurity narratives, and artificial intelligence to distort information.

Despite high registration numbers, turnout was only 21.4 per cent, up from 10.2 per cent in 2021, still reflecting troubling disengagement from the democratic process, the CDD statement said.

The organisation recommended reforms to strengthen electoral integrity, including improving INECs operational capacity, decentralised planning, timely funding, and consistent communication.

It also urged political parties to prioritise voter education, conduct issue-based campaigns, uphold internal democracy, and adhere to transparent campaign financing.

READ ALSO: Soldiers shoot police officers returning from Anambra election

CDD stressed the need for a sustainable security architecture, deliberate efforts to discourage vote trading, and robust civic education.

It also called on stakeholders, including media, security agencies, and civil society organisations, to collaborate in identifying and debunking disinformation.

As the country prepares for the 2026 off-cycle elections and the 2027 general elections, these reforms must be prioritised. Nigerias democratic survival depends not just on voting but on the strength of institutions and governance practices that surround it, the statement added.
A member of the House of Representatives representing Kiru/Bebeji Federal Constituency of Kano State, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has rejoined the All Progressives Congress (APC), two months after he was expelled by the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

The Kano State chapter of the NNPP expelled Mr Jibrin in September for alleged anti-party activities and failure to meet his financial obligations to the party.

Mr Jibrin is a close ally of former Kano Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, the NNPPs 2023 presidential candidate.

The lawmaker reportedly indicated interest in dumping the NNPP after meeting with President Bola Tinubu twice. The NNPP later expelled him.

He announced his return to the APC on Monday in his hometown of Kofa in the Bebeji Local Government Area, after a political gathering on Sunday.

Addressing a crowd of supporters, Mr Jibrin declared his support for President Bola Tinubus reelection in 2027.

In a show of solidarity, I was warmly received by thousands of my constituents in my hometown of Kofa, Bebeji, Kano, Jibrin said. The gathering resolved to leave the NNPP/Kwankwasiyya, join the APC, and endorse President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for a second term in office.

He disclosed that the event was attended by over 2,000 Islamic clerics, who offered special prayers for the president, as well as for peace, unity, and development in Kiru/Bebeji, Kano, and Nigeria at large.

Mr Jibrin left the APC for the NNPP in 2022, after a protracted crisis with the leadership of the APC in Kano. He joined the NNPP and was reelected in the 2023 general elections.

Background

Mr Jibrin had denied the Kano NNPPs charge of anti-party activities and failure to meet his financial obligations to the party, stating that he had contributed financially to the NNPPs success in Kano in the 2023 elections.

At various media appearances, Mr Jibrin said he is old enough to decide what is best for himself. He also stated that he utilised his resources to promote the Kwankwasiyya movement, which helped him return to the National Assembly in 2023.

Even the party (NNPP) itself said it is open to negotiations with other parties, so I dont need to follow the direction of the party.

READ ALSO: Why Im joining APC Gov Diri

Even if I am not together with Kwankwaso, I will never insult him, just the way I have never insulted Ganduje, even when we parted ways.

I have never requested any contract, even though I contributed to the success of NNPP in Kano State. Kwankwasiyya has stood for me, but I have also stood for it.

Nothing is impossible. I can remain in NNPP, I can go back to APC, and I can join ADC, PDP, or even PRP. I can go wherever I like. Any time I decide, I will make my position known, Mr Jibrin stated in his previous interviews.
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has announced a substantial reduction in the Hajj fare for the 2026 pilgrimage.

This is contained in a statement by the Deputy Director of Information and Public Relations, Fatima Usara, in Abuja on Monday.

Ms Usara said the revised cost for the Northern zone now stands at N7,696,769.76, while pilgrims departing from the Southern zone will pay N7,991,141.73.

According to her, after extensive consultations with relevant stakeholders and the necessary approval from the appropriate authorities, the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) wishes to announce the reviewed Hajj fare for the 2026 pilgrimage as follows:

Maiduguri/Yola Zone, N7,579,020.96 (previously N8,118,033.67), Northern Zone, N7,696,769.76 (previously N8,244,813.67), Southern Zone, N7,991,141.76 (previously N8,561,013.67).

The NAHCON spokesperson stated that the revised fares were calculated based on an exchange rate of N1,443 per dollar.

Consequently, intending pilgrims from the respective zones will enjoy reductions of N539,013, N548,043.91, and N569,871.91, respectively.

Considering time constraints and Saudi Arabias payment framework, intending pilgrims are advised to complete their Hajj fare remittances by Dec. 5.

This is to accommodate all transfers to NAHCONs IBAN account before Saudi Arabias deadline.

The Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has set Dec. 21, as deadline for transferring of all funds for basic services contract and has vowed not to extend the date.

Transfers into IBAN accounts take 10 to two weeks before being credited which may be impossible to beat without the deadline shifted earlier, she said.

Ms Usara disclosed that in a meeting on Monday (today), it was announced that the previous slot allocation to states no longer stood.

According to her, it is a matter of first-come-first-served, meaning that states that remit their Hajj fares earlier will secure slots for the registered number first.

She quoted the Chairman, Forum of States, Idris Almakura, as calling on his members to conclude their assignments in Saudi Arabia within the quickest possible time and return to Nigeria immediately to mobilise for Hajj registration.

Mr Almakura said this was considering the seriousness of the time frame given to Nigeria to fill its quota for the 2025 Hajj.

(NAN)
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has given property owners who converted their land use without approval a 14-day ultimatum to pay a N5 million fine for violating the law.

This directive was in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, in Abuja on Sunday.

Mr Olayinka said the grace period began on 11 November, and failure to comply within the stipulated timeframe would result in enforcement actions by the FCT Administration.

The affected areas, according to Mr Olayinka, included Gana Street and Usuma Street in Maitama, Yakubu Gowon Crescent in Asokoro, Aminu Kano Crescent and Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent in Wuse II, Ladoke Akintola Boulevard, and Gimbiya Street.

Others are Onitsha Street in Garki II, Ogbomosho Street, Lafia Close, Yola Street, District, Abriba Close, Danbatta Street, Ringim Close, and Ilorin Street in Garki I District.

During this 14-day grace period, affected property owners are expected to visit the Department of Land Administration with their original title documents and valid identification to regularise their land use approvals.

They will also collect new title documents reflecting the updated land use for a fresh 99-year term.

However, consideration for issuance of new title documents (Statutory Right of Occupancy and Certificate of Occupancy) under this exercise does not cover land and property titles earlier withdrawn/revoked due to non-development, non-payment of ground rent, and/or other reasons, he said.

Mr Olayinka recalled that the FCT Administration reviewed the Land Use/Purpose Clause of properties in the FCT, and property owners who converted their land use without approval were given 30 days to pay the penalty fee, which expired over a month ago.
Mshelia Bata, an EFCC witness in the money laundering trial of former Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi, stated on Monday that he believes the state governments fund withdrawals did not breach any banking law.

Mr Bata stated this while being cross-examined by the ex-governors counsel, Joseph Daudu, before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

He also said that Mr Bellos name did not appear as a beneficiary in the account statements presented as evidence in court.

Mr Bata, a Compliance Officer with Zenith Bank, testified as the 4th prosecution witness (PW-4).

Under cross-examination, Mr Daudu drew the witnesss attention to certain withdrawals by Umar Olufunke, which he said the prosecution did not mention while being led in evidence-in-chief.

Mr Bata told the court that Mr Olufunkes withdrawals, in multiples of N10 million, were between December 2017 and April 2018, with beneficiaries being various hotels in Kogi.

The witness also confirmed withdrawals by Alhassan Omakoji between November 2021 and December 2022, which he said did not exceed N10 million per withdrawal.

He said the withdrawals were in line with the limits set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

He equally admitted that he was not aware of any law that regulates how the Kogi State Government spends its money or allocation.

Confirm as compliant officer that when multiples of cheques of N10 million are presented, the customers are merely adhering to the withdrawal limits set by the CBN? Mr Daudu asked.

Yes, my lord, the N10 million on the cheque is the maximum allowed threshold on cash withdrawal set by CBN, he said.

When asked if Mr Bellos name appeared as beneficiary on Exhibit 22, which he (Daudu) and lawyer to the prosecution, Kemi Pinheiro, had taken him through, Mr Bata said: No, my lord, the name, Yahaya Bello, does not appear as beneficiary.

When asked if there is any law that regulates how the state government spends its money, the witness said: I am not aware of any law that regulates how Kogi State Government spends its money or allocation in its account.

He said, apart from the beneficiaries, such as the hotels mentioned in the account statements, there was no way he could know what the states transactions were intended for.

Justice Nwite then discharged the witness after Mr Pinheiro informed that there was no re-examination.

The witness had, at the last hearing, confirmed that the former governor was neither a signatory to nor connected with any of the accounts presented as evidence.

He admitted that, going through Exhibit 22A, from pages 24 to 413, Mr Bello was not listed on any of the documents as a beneficiary of any transaction.

The anti-graft agency also called its 5th prosecution witness (PW-5), Jesutoni Akoni, a compliance officer with Ecobank Plc, who was led in evidence by another prosecution counsel, Chukwudi Enebeli.

The witness tendered a summons letter written to Ecobank, which was admitted in evidence.

The EFCC lawyer also sought to tender a statement of account of Moses Ailetu companies, with a certificate of identification, from 1 to 31 January 2016.

Mr Daudu did not oppose it, and it was admitted as an exhibit.

Mr Enebeli told the witness to identify the different columns in the statement, which he did.

He was told to confirm cash deposits by the company, which were between N3 million and N20 million, and totalling N57 million.

Ms Akoni, while being cross-examined by Mr Daudu, equally confirmed that Mr Bello was not a beneficiary of the said deposits.

Confirm that any of the deposits you identified carries the name of Yahaya Bello, Mr Daudu asked.

None of them carries the name, Yahaya Bello, she said.

Mr Akoni also admitted that it was not possible to discern the source of funds from the face of the documents.

The prosecution, thereafter, introduced its PW-6, Mohammed Hassan, who was also on subpoena from Keystone Bank.

Mr Hassan, a relationship officer with the bank, was asked to produce the statements of account of Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company.

The documents were tendered as an exhibit, along with the certificate of identification, after the defence lawyer did not oppose.

After the PW-6 was cross-examined, the EFCC called its PW-7, Olomotame Egoro, a compliance officer on subpoena from Access Bank.

He was led in evidence by Mr Pinheiro.

He confirmed to the court that he had 12 sets of documents that had been requested.

We supplied sufficient customers details that were extracted from the account opening packages at the time the customer opened the account, he said.

The defence counsel did not object to the admission of the account statements, but opposed to some other documents attached, which he regarded as irrelevant to what the prosecution requested.

I am not going to object to the account proper, but I will object to all the 12 purported extractions from the account opening documents attached.

But I will not object to the statements of account, which were subpoenaed, Mr Daudu stated.

The senior lawyer prayed the court to direct the prosecution to remove all the extraneous documents attached, and the prosecution team detached those documents regarded as irrelevant.

Justice Nwite subsequently adjourned the matter until 11 November for the continuation of the trial.

Mr Bello, who served as governor of Kogi State from January 2016 to January 2024, is facing trial on 19 counts of money laundering involving the alleged diversion of N80.2 billion from the Kogi State Governments accounts.

The EFCC is also prosecuting Mr Bello in a separate corruption case at the FCT High Court for allegedly diverting N110 billion meant for the Kogi State government.

(NAN)
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has killed scores of terrorists and bandits in precision airstrikes on their enclaves across parts of Borno, Kwara, Katsina, Zamfara, and Kaduna States.

This is contained in a statement by the Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF, Ehimen Ejodame, on Monday in Abuja.

Mr Ejodame, an air commodore, said the NAF had intensified its counterterrorism and counter-banditry against the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP).

He said the coordinated missions, executed on 9 November, were conducted under Operation HADIN KAI and Operation FANSAN YAMMA.

The operations, he said, marked a decisive phase in the ongoing effort to degrade terrorists and criminal networks across the northern region.

Mr Ejodame said that precision strikes were carried out in Mallam Fatori and Shuwaram areas following credible intelligence and surveillance reports in Borno.

According to him, the airstrikes destroyed ISWAP hideouts, logistics hubs, and weapons storage facilities, eliminating several terrorists and crippling their mobility in the Lake Chad Basin.

He added that in Kwara and Katsina States, NAF aircraft targeted bandit hideouts at Garin Dandi, Chigogo, and Zango Hill, dealing significant blows to the gangs.

Similar operations were executed in Zamfara and Kaduna States, where terrorists on motorcycles attempting to flee were engaged and neutralised along the Birnin GwariFuntua axis, he said.

Mr Ejodame said the precision air operations reflected the renewed tempo of the Air Force under the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Aneke.

He added that the service remains committed to deploying intelligence-driven airpower to safeguard citizens and enhance national security.

(NAN)
Beijing (Gasgoo)- On Nov. 9, NEVO, the new energy vehicle brand under Changan Automobile, officially put its A06 sedan onto the market. The model is available in eight trims priced between 109,900 yuan and 149,900 yuan, offering both battery-electric (BEV) and range-extended electric (REEV) powertrains.

Photo credit: NEVO

Built on Changan's SDA global all-electric architecture, the A06 features an 800V high-voltage SiC platform, 6C fast charging, and optional LiDAR for advanced driver assistance.

Following NEVO's minimalist design philosophy, the A06 features a seamless full-width LED light strip with 236 LEDs, an illuminated brand logo, and an optional LiDAR module highlighted by a distinctive blue indicator. The profile adopts frameless doors, dual waistlines, and a sleek fastback silhouette. The car measures 4,885  1,916  1,496 mm with a 2,922 mm wheelbase.

Photo credit: NEVO

Inside, the A06 continues the minimalist theme with 256-color ambient lighting, a head-up display (HUD), and a slim high-resolution center screen. A 20-speaker NEVO Sound "Tianshu" audio system, including headrest speakers, enhances the immersive experience. The cabin also includes dual 50W wireless chargers and extensive soft-touch materials.

The A06 BEV version offers 510 km or 630 km CLTC range with 9-minute 30%80% charging capability, while the REEV version uses a 1.5L engine with 72 kW output. The car accelerates 0100 km/h in 6.2 seconds and delivers efficient performance with a dual-independent suspension setup (front double-wishbone, rear five-link).
The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just-concluded Anambra governorship election, Nicholas Ukachukwu, has said he would consult his party and supporters before reacting to the outcome of the poll.

Mr Ukachukwu disclosed this during a press conference in Awka on Sunday, shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Charles Soludo as the winner of Saturdays governorship poll.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the INEC Returning Officer, Edoba Omoregie, said Mr Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance scored 422,664 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr Ukachukwu of the APC who had 99,445 votes.

The Young Progressives Party candidate, Paul Chukwuma, came third with 37,753 votes while his counterpart from the Labour Party, George Moghalu, came fourth, with 10,576 votes.

Next step

During the press briefing, Mr Ukachukwu expressed happiness that he polled 99,445 votes even without engaging in vote buying like his opponents whom he accused of inducing voters during the exercise.

The APC candidate stressed that he would conclude consultations with his supporters and party leaders before speaking on the outcome of the Saturdays poll.

We are still collating data and gathering information from our party agents and after that we will know what to do.

I am still consulting with my party to know the step or action to take, he said, refusing to congratulate Mr Soludo on his victory.

Ekwunife differs on next step

While Mr Ukachukwu maintains he would not speak on the outcome of Saturdays poll, his running mate Uche Ekwunife has now congratulated Mr Soludo on victory.

I extend my warm congratulations to Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo, on his victory and re-election for a second term.

I sincerely wish him success in leading Anambra to greater heights, Mrs Ekwunife said in a statement on Monday afternoon.

The APC deputy governorship candidate urged everyone, including her supporters, to support every effort directed towards the peace, progress and unity of Anambra State.

The interest of our state must always come first, she said.

The former senator expressed gratitude to all her supporters and the APCs campaign team for standing firm and believing in the vision to serve Anambra. She then appealed to everyone to take part in helping the south-eastern state to succeed.

When Anambra succeeds, we all succeed. I therefore encourage all stakeholders to join hands to build a stronger, more prosperous state, she said.
Bandits on Sunday attacked Faruruwa, a community in the Shanono Local Government Area of Kano State, and kidnapped four nursing mothers

Residents said the heavily armed bandits shot sporadically into the air to scare residents before reaching their targets.

The head of the communitys security committee, Yahaya Bagobiri, confirmed the development to Kano-based online news platform, Solacebase, on Monday.

Mr Bagobiri said the bandits invaded the community on motorcycles with sophisticated weapons and abducted five nursing mothers, but one of the women escaped from the attackers.

Mr Bagobiri said the bandits violently separated the mothers from the newborn babies and whisked the mothers away.

We continue to witness these attacks almost daily, despite the presence of the military and other security agents. Even yesterday, (Sunday) we heard that they were coming and we alerted the security, but nothing was done until they came around 9 p.m., raided houses and whisked away the nursing mothers.

Among the nursing mothers kidnapped, one luckily escaped back to her family, leaving four with them. They took away the mothers and threw away their babies, leaving the children crying, Solacebase quoted the resident saying.

The community appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to come to their rescue in addressing the rising insecurity in the areas.

The latest incident comes days after PREMIUM TIMES reported that a similar attack was repelled by security forces in the area, killing 19 of the attackers. Two soldiers and a vigilante member were killed in the exchange of fire.

The security agencies in Kano are yet to make any official statement on the Sunday attack.

Unlike other states in the countrys North-west region, kidnapping for ransom in Kano is not common. Armed banditry is also infrequent.

Residents are blaming the new wave of killings and kidnappings for ransom in the area on fleeing terrorists from neighbouring Katsina State, where communities are negotiating an unofficial truce with bandits to save their area from attacks.

The attacks are occurring in remote Kano North communities bordering Katsina State, causing mayhem despite security reinforcement in the area.
O deity, save me if you can; if not, just leave me as you met me, Teacher Abel soliloquised when he learnt of President Trumps threat to invade Nigeria to rid the country of Islamist terrorists. Abel is of southwest extraction. He used to teach in a primary school in Northern Nigeria. He had fled southwards when terrorists seized power.

The North used to be a melting pot of social and religious tendencies, even though Islam was the number one religion. But within the last two decades, especially with the introduction of Sharia Law in 2000, several extremist groups have reared their intolerant heads.

Sharia

Many people felt that the introduction of Sharia by the then Zamfara State government under the leadership of Governor Ahmad Sani Yerima was a calculated move to undermine the federal government led by a Christian, Olusegun Obasanjo. In Nigeria, the more ridiculous a conspiracy theory looks, the more traction it gains. Today, 12 states of the North have adopted Sharia Law in defiance of the Constitution which declares Nigeria as a secular state.

Twenty-five years on, we have graduated from localised terrorism to pan-Nigerian banditry on such an industrial scale that it has created its own war economy.

The dark trade of banditry was professionally honed by Libyan terrorists who set up training camps for sundry groups intent on vending their trade around the Sahel. Some Nigerian politicians have confessed that they invited the terrorists to Nigeria to help them conquer territory or protect their herds of cattle. The vandals were brought in as a tribal army in 2015 to help enthrone Muhammadu Buhari as president. After Buharis victory and his alleged refusal to live up to the promises he had made to them, they refused to return to their base and opted instead to remain in Nigeria and use their weapons to rob, kidnap, kill and generally terrorise Nigerians.

To compound the problem, local terror gangs intent on land grabbing took advantage of the situation and either mounted raids of their own or did so in collaboration with the foreign legion to destroy farmlands and take over villages in the fertile Middle Belt areas of the country. As I have pointed out in this column before, most of the victims of the heinous crimes committed in the Middle Belt are Christians. The area is 98 per cent Christian.

Trump

US President Donald Trump shook Nigerians awake last week when he threatened to come to the aid of Christians who he alleged were being decimated in an ongoing genocide in Nigeria.

If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, guns-a-blazing,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

I am hereby instructing our Department of War to prepare for possible action. If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians! he said. Echoing rhetoric from right-wing lawmakers who depict Nigerias violent conflicts as attacks by radical Islamists on Christians, he warned the Nigerian government to move fast.

I wouldnt take President Trumps threat lightly if I was the Nigerian president.

Mayor Mike Arnold, founder of Arise Africa International was one of the prime sources of the genocide story. Having travelled extensively in Nigeria and interacted with several government operatives, he reported that there was a systematic war to rid northern Nigeria of Christians. According to him, the violence was driven by three forces:

(a) Radical Islamic conquest consisting of Armed Jihad groups, bolstered by foreign fighters from Libya/Sahel post-Arab Spring, intent on conquering and occupying territory

(b) Blood mineral extraction, with an annual $10 billion mineral loot enjoyed by illicit miners of gold, tin, and lithium, with an estimated 10 per cent applied to funding violence and corruption.

(c) Forceful redrawing of electoral map as militants resettle in overrun local government areas and electoral districts redrawn by force, to skew demographics, dismantling communities deemed inconvenient.

Arnold argues that the term farmer-herder clashes is cynical doublespeak, weaponising historical land disputes to mask jihadist conquest. According to him, The puppets may change but the same forces pull the strings. A jihadi by any other name is just as deadly. Mincing words over labels appears to be intentional obfuscation.

President Trump has apparently bought Arnolds argument amplified by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas. His reaction is the result of a build-up of reactions and social media exposes since the much publicised deadly attacks in Yelwata, Benue State, where scores of rural folk were slaughtered and their village burned down.

Turning Point

The Yelwata horror gave renewed life to an earlier deposition by the Catholic Bishop of Makurdi, Rt Rev Dr Wilfred Chikpa Anagbe on genocide in the Middle Belt. In an interview with ACI Africa, Bishop Anagbe said that since 2018, he has shut down some 17 parishes. He described the killings as part of a systematic campaign of territorial conquest and religious persecution that targets Christian communities in Nigerias Benue State.

A Nigerian activist, Charles Ogbu, lent his voice to Bishop Anagbes outcry: The government has not prosecuted any known Fulani jihadist for any of these genocidal attacks. Most shocking is the fact that after similar attacks in Jos which left over 271 Christians dead, the leader of the Fulani jihadists called a press conference where he was shown in a video shared by Tvcnewsng, a television station owned by the president, giving conditions that must be met before they stop killing innocent people

There is enough blame to go round all those that have been in government in the last 16 years. How do we account for the official tardiness, complicity, impunity, control of territory by Jihadists, jail breaks by arrested terrorists, ransom negotiations by so-called clerics, expenditure of billions on repentant terrorists while their victims languish in IDP camps, refusal to operationalise state policing The appearance of injustice cries to high heavens!

Collaboration

However, Trumps threat to send troops to Nigeria if, in his judgement, the Nigerian government is tardy could be a double-edged sword even if it is true that, as Pete Hegseth, the US War Secretary, contends, This is not farmer-herder conflict. This is not climate change. This is not resource competition. This is genocide.

President Trump will do well to beam the laser of his wrath (and his messaging) on the problem, not on any particular tribe; otherwise, he will be bogged down fighting the wrong war.

It will be a win-win situation if the US works side by side with Nigeria, especially in the area of intel and logistics, to obliterate the scourge, rather than parachuting in, Rambo-style, like the god of Armageddon, and deploying doomsday wares which incinerate saints and sinners alike.

The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) has drawn up three escalatory options for President Trump  light, medium, and heavy. For me, the preferred course of action would be the light, partner-enabled option with the non-negotiable aim of totally wiping out all terrorists operating in Nigeria.

The least that an ailing patient expects when he takes his medicine as recommended is that it will not make his condition worse. Bless our forebears for their words of wisdom: O deity, save me if you can; if not, just leave me as you met me.

Wole Olaoye is a Public Relations consultant and veteran journalist. He can be reached on [email protected], Twitter: @wole_olaoye; Instagram: woleola2021
as I reflect on the life and work of Dapo Olorunyomi, I return to that image of the Ijele, the grand masquerade of my Igbo heritage. The Ijele is not merely seen; it is experienced. Its presence fills the air, its movement stirs the soul, and its majesty defies complete description. That is Dapsy. To encounter him is to stand before something larger than the individual, a living embodiment of courage, intellect, and moral clarity.

Like John the Baptist, who confessed himself unworthy to even loosen the sandals of the one he proclaimed, I find myself hesitant to speak of the man his friends fondly call Dapsy. Though our paths have crossed and his legend had already filled the air before his presence ever did, I remain unsure that words are sufficient vessels for a soul such as his.

But then, it dawned on me that perhaps this inadequacy is not mine alone. For how does one describe Ijele, the great masquerade of Igbo lore? Vast, resplendent, and mysterious, no single eye can take in its full majesty. Each witness beholds only a fragment of its grace. So it is with Dapo Olorunyomi, the Ijele of Nigerian journalism, a man too large for any single telling, whose life and work shimmer with courage, intellect, and truth.

Perhaps that was why, on that warm afternoon in November 2017, when Dapsy turned sixty, the creme de la creme of Nigerias civil society and media world converged on the YarAdua Centre in Abuja. They came not merely to celebrate a birthday, but to pay homage to a man many regard as the father of investigative journalism in modern Nigeria; a craftsman of truth whose pen has both unsettled tyrants and inspired generations.

That gathering was to launch a remarkable 400-page compendium titled, Testimony to Courage, curated by Chido Onumah and Frederick Adetiba. The book assembled the voices of Nigerias finest; media icons, public intellectuals, captains of industry, all testifying to the many-sided brilliance of this man of a thousand hues. Even President Tinubu, then APC national leader, captured it succinctly, when he said:

Dapos life is a chronicle of events, the marriage of journalism and activism, a journey through valleys of struggle and mountaintops of triumph. His tribe of journalists, and they are few, brought an intellectual gravitas to the profession. He is right.

He was the heartbeat of guerrilla journalism that defined the dark years of Abachas military junta. When the murderous general tightened his iron grip on Nigeria, Dapo and his comrades refused to bow. They held the line, exposing the regimes crimes, while giving voice to the silenced and the damned. For his defiance, the junta branded him an enemy of the state; a man to be hunted.

My own encounter with Dapsy came through another remarkable soul, my brother and friend, Chido Onumah. It was Chido who first introduced me to Dapsy  a meeting that, in hindsight, felt less like an introduction and more like an initiation into a sacred brotherhood of truth-seekers. At the time, I was a budding writer still searching for a voice that could carry on the national stage. Dapo Olorunyomi, with the quiet generosity of a man who measures greatness not by possessions but by the doors he opens for others, handed me that voice. Through PREMIUM TIMES, arguably Nigerias most authoritative online newspaper, he gave me a platform, a home for my thoughts, and the courage to speak them.

A few years down the road, when Chido and I began to toy with the idea that would later become Ikenga Media, Dapo was there again, as a mentor, midwife, and visionary guide. His belief in the power of truth-telling and deep faith in the transformative role of journalism became the bedrock on which that dream was built.

But Dapos story began long before that. Born in 1957 in the ancient northern city of Kano, to a military officer and public administrator father, he embodied from birth what many in the past described as a pan-Nigerian spirit; a man at home everywhere in his country. His education took him from Kano to Zaria, Ilorin, and finally to the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), where he earned a B.A. in English and an M.A. in Literature.

He was the heartbeat of guerrilla journalism that defined the dark years of Abachas military junta. When the murderous general tightened his iron grip on Nigeria, Dapo and his comrades refused to bow. They held the line, exposing the regimes crimes, while giving voice to the silenced and the damned. For his defiance, the junta branded him an enemy of the state; a man to be hunted. His wife, Ladi, herself a fearless journalist and womens rights advocate, was thrown into detention for sixty-eight harrowing days without charge. Dapo vanished into the shadows, living like a fugitive in his own country, changing sleeping holes each night, until exile became his only refuge in 1995.

While in the US, he never stopped fighting. As Director of Africa Programs at Panos Institute, Washington, Dapo continued to champion media ethics, diversity, and freedom. He spoke out at global platforms, including the Committee to Protect Journalists, exposing the brutality of the Abacha regime.

Each of us who has crossed his path has glimpsed only a part of his vastness; one sees the activist, another the scholar, yet another the mentor or friend. But together, our fragments form a portrait of a man whose life remains a moving testament to the power of truth. Like the Ijele, his dance continues, graceful, defiant, unforgettable, reminding us all that integrity, once chosen, must never retreat.

When democracy returned, so did Dapo. He founded the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ)in 2005, an institution that has since trained and inspired generations of truth-seeking journalists. He later co-founded PREMIUM TIMES, redefining investigative journalism in the digital era, and launched the Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) to promote media integrity, open data, and civic technology across West Africa.

His intellectual and professional pedigree is global. He has been a Freedom to Write laureate, a Hellman-Hammett grantee, and the recipient of the Press Freedom Award and the International Editor of the Year Award.

He has served as chief judge for the Zimeo Award and on the board of the Norbert Zongo Cell for Investigative Journalism, an initiative of the UNODC.

I must confess, I once worried that Dapsys long history and closeness with the Oga at the top and others in this government might temper his fire, that his truth-telling voice might become another casualty of proximity. But I was wrong. Through his visionary leadership at PREMIUM TIMES, he has continued to champion accountability and speaking truth to power, even when that truth unsettles his friends. In a country where compromise often wears the face of wisdom, Dapo Olorunyomi remains proof that integrity can survive influence and that conviction, when deeply rooted, does not bow before convenience.

And so, as I reflect on the life and work of Dapo Olorunyomi, I return to that image of the Ijele, the grand masquerade of my Igbo heritage. The Ijele is not merely seen; it is experienced. Its presence fills the air, its movement stirs the soul, and its majesty defies complete description. That is Dapsy. To encounter him is to stand before something larger than the individual, a living embodiment of courage, intellect, and moral clarity.

Each of us who has crossed his path has glimpsed only a part of his vastness; one sees the activist, another the scholar, yet another the mentor or friend. But together, our fragments form a portrait of a man whose life remains a moving testament to the power of truth. Like the Ijele, his dance continues, graceful, defiant, unforgettable, reminding us all that integrity, once chosen, must never retreat.

May he continue to be the conscience of the profession, a man whose pen is both scalpel and torch.

Osmund Agbo is a medical doctor and author. His works include Black Grit, White Knuckles: The Philosophy of Black Renaissance and a fiction work titled The Velvet Court: Courtesan Chronicles. His latest works, Pray, Let the Shaman Die and Maam, I Do Not Come to You for Love, have just been released. He can be reached through: [email protected]
In the courts of heaven, blood has a voice. When innocent blood is shed, it does not dry quietly; it speaks. It cries. And though men may silence the victims, the soil remembers the sound. From Abel to the prophets, and from the villages of Jos to the fields of Kaduna, the principle remains constant  the blood of the innocent never dies unheard.

Nigeria stands today under the weight of that cry. Long before threats of foreign intervention began to echo, the ground had been groaning. For years, blood has been spilled across faiths and tribes  Christians, Muslims, children, farmers, travelers  and each drop is an indictment. Every unaccounted killing builds a moral case file that heaven cannot ignore.

Now, when an external voice  in this case, that of U.S. President Donald Trump  threatens military action over alleged genocide, we must discern the moment. Such a threat is not the cause of our crisis; it is the effect of it. It is the sound of politics reacting to what the spirit realm has already registered. It is the fruit, not the root.

In the days of David, Israel endured famine because Sauls government had violated a covenant and shed innocent blood. David discerned that the drought was not meteorological but moral. The heavens had closed because justice had been ignored. When he sought mercy and atonement, rain returned. That is how spiritual ecosystems work. When blood is shed, consequences follow  sometimes as famine, sometimes as instability, sometimes as diplomatic hostility. What Nigeria is facing now is not merely an external threat but a divine echo  the world responding to what heaven has long registered.

Trumps remarks about possible military action over alleged killings of Christians may sound bold to some, but to those who understand divine causality, it is a man treating fever while ignoring infection. The threat of intervention is an attempt to manage the fruits of violence without addressing its roots. You cannot bomb away a curse. You cannot drone-strike a spiritual wound. A military solution will not wash away the blood; it will only add more to the soil. Both Christians and Muslims will suffer if we turn a moral crisis into a geopolitical battleground. Nations often reach for weapons when they should reach for repentance. They prepare for war when heaven waits for intercession.

Every time blood is shed unjustly  whether by bandits, insurgents, or those sworn to protect  the spiritual temperature of a nation drops. Trust erodes, fear multiplies, and the land becomes defiled. Yet there is hope: when the Church rises in repentance and intercession, the same heaven that heard Abels blood can also hear Christs Blood  the Blood that speaks better things. This is the hour for the Church in Nigeria to stand in the gap, not with partisan anger or sectarian rhetoric, but with priestly authority and prophetic insight. To pray until mercy interrupts judgment, and to push the nation into the mercy seat before men with missiles decide to play God.

Still, prayer alone is not enough if governance remains careless with justice. The Nigerian government must recognize that every unresolved killing weakens our moral standing before both heaven and the international community. The state must show, through transparent action, that no citizens life is expendable. Justice is not achieved by denial but by truth. The government should urgently institute an independent truth and reconciliation process to investigate the patterns of violence across regions  whether communal, sectarian, or political  and publicly identify their root causes. Silence and cover-ups are not neutrality; they are complicity.

Security reform must move from the rhetoric of reaction to the discipline of prevention. We need intelligence coordination, community policing, and early-warning systems that protect both farmers and herders, Christians and Muslims alike. When people see justice being done, extremism loses its oxygen. National healing also requires leadership that speaks peace with both conviction and compassion. The presidency, governors, and faith leaders must jointly communicate a new moral direction  that every Nigerian life counts. The blood we share as citizens must speak louder than the blood we shed in conflict.

Our foreign policy must be guided by humility, not hostility. We cannot threaten our way out of moral scrutiny. Instead, Nigeria should engage diplomatically, showing the world that we are not deaf to the cries within our borders and that we are capable of moral self-correction.

Our recovery must begin where David began  at the altar, not the armoury. The Church must lead the nation in repentance, truth-telling, and reconciliation. Political leaders must seek justice for victims and transparency in security operations. Religious leaders must preach peace louder than politicians preach fear. If we cleanse the land of blood through repentance and justice, heaven will defend our sovereignty better than any army ever could. But if we ignore the cry of the blood, even global powers will feel licensed to interpret our silence as consent.

The voice of the blood is calling, and the world is reacting. Let us not blame the echo; let us address the source. The true security of a nation is not found in its weapons but in its righteousness. If we humble ourselves in prayer, seek Gods face, and turn from our wicked ways, then  and only then  will He hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land.

Trumps threat may dominate headlines, but heavens indictment is deeper. Nigerias healing will not come from Washington or from warfare. It will come from repentance, righteousness, and mercy  from a Church and a Government that understand that before God, every drop of innocent blood still speaks.

Sunday Ogidigbo is Senior Pastor of Holyhill Church, Abuja. He writes on faith, leadership, and the intersection of spirituality and culture. X/Instagram/Facebook: @SOgidigbo. Email: [email protected]
President Donald Trumps accustomed blustering and warmongering against fellow world leaders and nations hit Nigeria like a storm, penultimate week, with his threat of military action against the country if its leaders do not take urgent and deliberate steps to halt the killings of Christians by non-state actors.

These murders, he claimed, have reached genocidal proportions. He doubled down on this falsehood with an unprovoked denigration of our country.

His stance on Nigeria, to say the least, is absurd  an illegality that flagrantly violates international law. Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter expressly requires member nations to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against one another. The American president and his country must respect that law.

Mr Trumps sabre-rattling came two days after his re-designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) over the allegation of genocide against Christians, for which he has arrogated to himself the role of their self-appointed advocate. Nigeria is one of the 13 nations that have been globally placed on that pariah list. He had included the oil-rich nation in the same category during his first term in office in 2020, but his successor, Joe Biden, delisted it in 2021.

In our editorial of 27 October, we dismissed the genocide narrative as false and misleading, given that there is no official mastermind of such impunity. Yet, we acknowledged the reality of killings affecting both Christians and Muslims, perpetrated by non-state actors. This context exposes Washingtons gross misrepresentation of the facts of Nigerias security situation and betrays the underbelly of a clearly mischievous agenda.

According to Mr Trump, If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA may very well go into that now disgraced country, guns-a-blazing, to completely wipe out the Islamic terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.

He further declared that the military action would be fast, vicious and sweet. As a result, he claimed to have ordered his Department of War to prepare for the assault.

Mr Trumps reckless, inflammatory and undiplomatic outbursts triggered a frenzied pushback by the Nigerian Presidency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Information, the National Orientation Agency, and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Why would the United States even contemplate a unilateral military offensive on a country with which it has no adversarial relations? The answer remains unclear, though certain indicators provide clues. Since July this year, it became apparent that Nigeria had incurred Mr Trumps wrath for refusing to accede to his proposal to accept US-deported migrants, some of who are convicted criminals, on its soil.

Americas migration crisis was one of Mr Trumps key campaign anchors in the 2023 presidential election. Refusing to align with him in cleaning up that mess, as he promised during his campaign, was tantamount to courting his wrath. Even American judges who refused to compromise justice in migration-related cases before them risked being targeted and humiliated by the eccentric, falsehood-manufacturing, and spewing president. One of them, Hannah Dugan from Wisconsin, met a related fate in April, as she aided an undocumented immigrant, Eduardo Flores Ruiz, in avoiding arrest by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Nigerias decision not to admit American deportees was clearly articulated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, during a television interview: Our country has enough of its own challenges. We have no interest in becoming a dumping ground for unwanted migrants. For the audacity of the government to reject this imposition, the US retaliated with visa restrictions on Nigerian citizens, now limiting them to three-month, single-entry visas each time they apply to visit America.

Mr Trump, however, found allies in five African leaders  from Senegal, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, and Mauritania, who he recently hosted at the White House. Deals were struck. In unmistakable terms, Mr Trump told them to look to the US as their principal trading partner, rather than China, stressing its policy shift from aid to trade.

The foregoing underscores a geopolitical dimension or raison detre for Mr Trumps war threat to Nigeria. Africa has become a vast chessboard in the feverish rivalry among China, Russia, and the US, for spheres of influence and trade. China has outmanoeuvred the US in this regard, especially in Nigeria, with its steady infrastructure provision, concessional credits, strategic investments, multilateral deals, and a currency swap arrangement.

Chinas growing footprint in Nigeria has also enabled its nationals to seize the solid minerals landscape for illegal mining, notably of gold, lithium, and other resources. The US desperately needs lithium for the production of rechargeable batteries for consumer goods, including electric vehicles, and in its massive tech ecosystem. This rare earth resource is abundant in Nasarawa, Kogi, Kwara, Cross River, and Ekiti states.

To secure access to it could be one of the hidden allures behind Mr Trumps belligerence  a bid for subversion disguised as a moral crusade. This transactional or quid pro quo mindset is consistent with Mr Trumps past conduct: from his conditional military aid to Ukraine, amidst its war with Russia, to his intervention in the rapprochement between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda over mineral interests in the DRC.

Conscious of what is at stake, China warned the US last Tuesday not to meddle in Nigerias internal affairs under the guise of religion or human rights. Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Mao Ning, reminded Washington of her countrys comprehensive strategic partnership with Nigeria.

Nigeria had also rebuffed a US overture in 2024 to establish a military base within its territory, after Washington withdrew its troops from the French base in Chad, following the ejection of France from Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Chad. Regaining a strategic hub for US special operations in West Africa, with Nigeria as an ideal location, remains a tempting objective for Mr Trump.

Some observers are sceptical of the likelihood of an actual US military action in Nigeria. However, reports of contingency plans  with three operational options by the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), as revealed by the New York Times on Wednesday  may have tempered such doubts. Mr Trump is an unpredictable character who cannot be casually dismissed. His decision to deploy a 30,000-pound bunker-buster bomb on Irans nuclear facility in June, the largest in the US arsenal, despite its apocalyptic implications, is a chilling reminder of what he is capable of.

The Nigerian government, however, deserves some blames for Mr Trumps disrespect of our country. Widespread corruption and poor governance has continued to ridicule Nigeria in the comity of nations. For instance, while ambassadors are regarded as lubricants in the machinery of diplomacy, the first line of engagement when relations turn frosty between nations, it is regrettable that Nigerias 109 missions abroad, including that in Washington, remain headless since all ambassadors were recalled on 2 September 2023. This dereliction of duty by the administration represents a shameful failure of Nigerias diplomatic responsibility, which is quite indefensible. Correcting this faux pas should be an immediate priority of the federal government.

In addition, President Tinubu should urgently constitute a high-level diplomatic back channel, comprising eminent, globally respected Nigerian statesmen and women, to engage Mr Trump and salvage the longstanding but now fraying Nigeria-US relationship.

At this juncture, PREMIUM TIMES would like to remind the boastful and warmongering Mr Trump, who continues to spread falsehoods about a so-called Christian genocide in Nigeria, to exercise restraint. Any unilateral, spiteful military action in Nigeria could trigger a monumental humanitarian catastrophe that would harm the very cherished Christians he claims to want to defend. Israels bombings in Gaza, which he supported, did not kill only Hamas fighters, but over 65,000 Palestinians, including Christians.

The US military misadventures in Iraq, Syria, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Libya should inspire wisdom and caution. These reckless displays of might, in brazen violation of the UN Charter, just as Russias current aggression in Ukraine and Mr Trumps threatened assault on Nigeria, raise troubling questions about the United Nations capacity to maintain global peace. It is a broken international system in dire need of fixing.

Mr Trumps diplomatic bullying, masquerading as Christian advocacy, must stop. The US needs to learn to engage with other nations  big or small, weak or powerful, stable or troubled, rich or poor, First World or Third  with respect, equanimity, and a sense of shared humanity. History teaches that empires rise and fall, and the biblical story of David and Goliath should remind nations and their leaders alike of the enduring virtue of humility.

Every nation has its peculiar challenges. As Nigeria grapples with terrorism, banditry, and other security difficulties, it deserves US respect and partnership  not disdain and humiliation. Nigeria needs Americas collaboration, not confrontation; support, not alienation, to defeat these merchants of terror and death, who threaten not only our nation, but all of humanity.
The Governor of Katsina State, Dikko Umaru Radda, has extended congratulations to his colleague and friend, Chukwuma Charles Soludo, on his re-election as the Governor of Anambra State.

In his message, Governor Radda described Mr Soludos re-election as a victory well-earned through hard work, visionary leadership, and the trust he has built with the people of Anambra State over the years.

He said the outcome of the election, marked by a convincing margin, reflects the peoples strong belief in Mr Soludos leadership style, his reform-driven administration, and his steady commitment to good governance.

Mr Radda noted that the overwhelming victory Mr Soludo, a professor of economics, recorded in Saturdays poll has now made him the third governor in Anambra States political history to win a second term in office, an achievement that speaks volumes about his performance and the confidence the people have in his leadership.

Governor Soludos re-election is not just a political triumph; it is a validation of performance, character, and genuine service to the people. His ability to translate ideas into impactful results has set him apart as one of Nigerias most forward-thinking leaders, Governor Radda said.

The Katsina governor commended Mr Soludos relentless efforts in repositioning Anambra State as a hub of innovation, infrastructure development, and economic growth. He described him as a model of intellectual leadership who has shown that knowledge, when combined with compassion and discipline, can transform societies.

Mr Radda also lauded the people of Anambra State for conducting themselves peacefully throughout the election, as well as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies for ensuring a transparent and credible process. He said their collective conduct demonstrated the growing political maturity and democratic spirit of Nigerians.

According to Governor Radda, the re-election of Mr Soludo offers him a fresh opportunity to consolidate his ongoing projects and policies aimed at improving the lives of the people. He urged him to sustain the momentum of reform and continue to lead with humility, wisdom, and inclusivity. As a colleague and a respected member of the Nigeria Governors Forum, Professor Soludo has shown exemplary commitment to national unity and development. His approach to governance, built on sound economics, transparency, and accountability, continues to inspire other leaders across the country, Mr Radda noted.

Governor Radda also called on the people of Anambra to rally behind their governor, assuring them that their renewed mandate will further translate into greater progress and prosperity for the state.

He expressed optimism that Governor Soludo will keep building bridges of cooperation, not just within Anambra, but also among states across Nigeria. He pledged his continued support and partnership with the Anambra State Government, especially in the areas of agricultural development, entrepreneurship promotion, education, and institutional capacity building, sectors both governors share a deep passion for.

On behalf of the government and good people of Katsina State, I celebrate my brother and friend, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, on this historic and well-deserved re-election. May God grant him strength, wisdom, and divine guidance as he continues to serve his people with vision and courage, Governor Radda concluded.
The Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, has congratulated the Governor of Anambra State, Charles Soludo, over his victory in the just-concluded governorship election in Anambra.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that Mr Soludo of the All Grand Progressives Alliance was declared the winner of the election on Sunday morning by the INEC Returning Officer, Edoba Omoregie.

Mr Omoregie, a professor and vice-chancellor of the University of Benin, announced the result at INECs headquarters in Awka. He said Mr Soludo won with 422,664 votes, defeating his closest rival, Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress, who scored 99,445 votes.

Mr Soludo also won in each of the 21 local government areas in the state.

In a statement issued on Sunday by Mr Ottis Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, the governor stated that the landslide victory secured by Mr Soludo is a testament to the confidence the people of the state repose in him and urged him to see his victory as another great opportunity to consolidate on the progress he has made so far in his first tenure.

He emphasised that the best and easiest way to deepen Nigerias democracy is to allow the people to choose their leaders through the ballot at all times freely. He commended INEC for ensuring a hitch-free exercise and for announcing the election results on time.

Mr Otti called on Mr Soludo to extend an olive branch to his opponents in the election, with a view to ensuring that a stronger, development-oriented synergy is built with everyone who has something to offer for the development of Anambra State.

He prayed for resounding success in his second term
Troops of Joint Task Force North East Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK) have rescued 86 kidnapped victims and foiled a terrorists ambush during coordinated operations in Borno.

This is contained in a statement on Monday by the Media Information Officer for OPHK, Sani Uba, a lieutenant colonel.

Mr Uba said the troops of 135 Special Forces Battalion under Sector 2, OPHK, encountered Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists at Dutse Kura on Sunday while responding to reports of abductions along the BurataiKamuya Road.

He said the troops engaged the insurgents, pursued them towards Mangari, and overpowered them in a follow-up encounter that led to the destruction of 11 makeshift terrorists structures.

According to him, eight victims, including men, women, and children, were rescued in the operation.

Recovered items include an AK-47 rifle, five magazines with 73 rounds, four PKT ammunition belts, five civilian vehicles, five motorcycles, eight bicycles, and two logistics tricycles. The terrorists camp was destroyed after clearance operations, he said.

Mr Uba said that troops deployed at Mangada also apprehended 29 suspected terrorist logistics suppliers en route to the Chilaria area of Borno.

He said suspects were nabbed with two pickup vans and a tricycle loaded with about 1,000 litres of petrol, engine oil, new gun truck tyres, medical consumables, and large quantities of foodstuff.

According to him, the Military High Command commended the troops for their gallantry and professionalism and urged them to sustain the tempo to deny terrorists freedom of action across the North-east theatre.

(NAN)
Armed men on Monday attacked a commercial bus along the Kabba-Okene highway in Kogi State and abducted several passengers.

A passenger who narrowly escaped said the attackers opened fire on the vehicle, but when the bullets failed to penetrate, they resorted to using machetes.

This is how they kidnapped us. They fired at the vehicle, but when the bullet didnt penetrate, the Fulanis used their machetes, the survivor said.

He added that one of the kidnappers was dressed in army camouflage while others wore plain clothes. According to him, the assailants broke the vehicles door with machetes before leading some passengers into the bush.

READ ALSO: Bandits abduct nursing mothers in Kano community

I was among those they took into the forest, but I managed to escape. I was the only one who got away, he recounted in a video.

Details of the incident remain unclear as police authorities in Kogi were yet to respond to calls or issue an official statement at the time of filing this report.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- From November 6 to 7, Zhu Huarong, Chairman of China Changan Automobile Group, led a delegation to visit Haier Group in Qingdao, where the two companies held high-level talks to further strengthen their strategic partnership and explore new areas of collaboration.

The visit followed a strategic cooperation agreement signed in July this year between Haier Group and Changan Automobile in Chongqing. Under that agreement, the two sides committed to leveraging their respective industrial strengths to accelerate joint initiatives across several key areas, including new energy, supply chain development, health and wellness technologies, and global brand building.

Photo credit: Changan Automobile

At the time, both companies outlined plans to co-develop a "vehicle-home ecosystem," which would integrate smart home and in-car scenarios, jointly develop automotive appliances, and build a full-chain cold storage logistics system. The partnership also extends to deeper collaboration along the automotive value chain, including co-development of new vehicle products, personalized modification services, and media integration. In addition, Haier and Changan aim to enhance their overseas service networks to support the global expansion of Chinese brands.

During this latest visit, AVATR TechnologyChangan's premium intelligent NEV brandannounced a partnership with Haier's automotive service subsidiary, CARtech. The collaboration will center on AVATR's upcoming million-yuan-level flagship model, focusing on co-creation in product customization, seamless integration between vehicle and home ecosystems, and the joint development of in-car functions. The goal is to deliver a more premium, technology-driven mobility experience.

The two sides also discussed future areas of cooperation. Zhou Yunjie, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Haier Group, proposed integrating Haier's Casarte-branded home appliancesincluding air conditioners, refrigerators, and oxygen concentratorsinto AVATR vehicles, further enhancing interconnectivity between home and car environments.

According to both companies, AVATR and Haier's CARtech brand will carry out joint R&D based on user needs to create customized automotive and home-interconnected solutions. AVATR's partnerships with Casarte and CARtech are expected to advance cross-brand collaboration and accelerate commercialization of their co-developed products.
"This leadership team is built for execution and is dedicated with serving our customers," said Timothy Escamilla, CEO of Bolthouse Fresh Foods. "They bring a powerful combination of deep produce experience and a forward-thinking, innovative mindset. We are aligning our structure to better serve our partners and signaling to the market that Bolthouse is ready to lead the next chapter of the fresh carrot category."

The newly integrated team will be guided by Melissa Oliver, appointed Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. With her visionary leadership, Melissa will spearhead the company's unified strategy, focusing on expanding customer partnerships and ensuring the highest commitment to quality and service.

Joining her are three seasoned and respected leaders from the produce industry:

Jill Stanchfield has been promoted to Vice President of Sales. Building on a successful 15-year career at Bolthouse Fresh Foods, Jill's collaborative leadership has been instrumental in strengthening retail partnerships and driving consistent category performance. Her career progression through multiple roles gives her a deep, holistic understanding of customer needs.





has been promoted to Vice President of Sales. Building on a successful 15-year career at Bolthouse Fresh Foods, Jill's collaborative leadership has been instrumental in strengthening retail partnerships and driving consistent category performance. Her career progression through multiple roles gives her a deep, holistic understanding of customer needs. Kim St George is appointed Vice President of Sales and Marketing. With over 25 years of industry experience at renowned companies like Dole Fresh Vegetables, Mann Packing and Taylor Farms, she brings unmatched expertise in brand development, strategic marketing, and sales leadership that will be critical to Bolthouse's market expansion.





is appointed Vice President of Sales and Marketing. With over 25 years of industry experience at renowned companies like Dole Fresh Vegetables, Mann Packing and Taylor Farms, she brings unmatched expertise in brand development, strategic marketing, and sales leadership that will be critical to Bolthouse's market expansion. Melina Leija returns to Bolthouse Fresh Foods as Vice President of Business Development and Sales. In this role, she will lead foodservice sales initiatives and cultivate new strategic partnerships. With a combined 18 years at Bolthouse and a proven record of driving results, her return underscores a continued investment in long-standing customer relationships.

"We are entering a pivotal era where our customers are looking for more than a supplierthey want a true partner," said Melissa Oliver. "This team is laser-focused to deliver unparalleled service, driving meaningful innovation, and building collaborative, strategic partnerships that create sustained value."

About Bolthouse Fresh Foods

Bolthouse Fresh Foods is one of the nation's leading producers and marketers of fresh carrots and value-added produce solutions. Headquartered in Bakersfield, California, the company's vertically integrated operations span farming, processing, and distributionensuring quality and freshness from seed to shelf. Rooted in California agriculture since 1915, Bolthouse Fresh Foods continues to shape the future of fresh through innovation, insights, and strong customer partnerships. In 2025, Bolthouse Fresh Foods was named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in the Food category, recognizing its leadership in packaging innovation, brand reinvention, and advancing the carrot category. To learn more visit www.bolthousefresh.com

SOURCE Bolthouse Fresh Foods
Integrating Innovation, Education, Sustainability, and Trust to Transform Radiology

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Bracco Diagnostics Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Bracco Imaging S.p.A., a leading global company in the diagnostic imaging business, will showcase a bold vision for radiology at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2025 Annual Meeting, to be held November 30  December 4 in Chicago, Illinois. Guided by its four core pillarsinnovation, education, sustainability, and trustBracco will highlight its purpose-driven approach and latest advances across imaging modalities. This year's theme, "Our journey to the future continues today, together, for a sustainable tomorrow," reflects Bracco's commitment to partnering with customers and the radiology community to advance patient care while protecting the planet.

Bracco Champions Next-Gen Radiology Education

For more than two decades, Bracco has made education a cornerstone of progress in radiology. In 2024 alone, Bracco's educational programs reached over 100,000 healthcare professionals worldwide, supported by over 80 active accredited programs and more than $1.4 million in medical education grants.1,2,3

This year, Bracco will introduce Exploring the Future of MRI Innovation, an immersive and interactive booth learning activity that guides radiologists, technologists, and administrators through a virtual four-room journey spanning the entire Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) experience, beginning in the waiting room and concluding with sustainability. The platform will offer peer-reviewed insights and knowledge checks that simulate real-world decision-making scenarios. As part of Bracco's commitment to advancing education and environmental responsibility, Bracco will make a corporate donation to independent charitable organizations focused on radiology education and sustainability initiatives. Upon completing the journey, participants will have the opportunity to help determine how Bracco allocates this donation among the selected charitable organizations.

"At RSNA 2025, we're not just showcasing our vision, we're inviting the radiology community to step into it," said Noelle Heber, Executive Director, Radiology Platform, Bracco Americas. "Exploring the Future of MRI Innovation is a hands-on extension of our belief that advancing MR innovation means investing in how we learn, teach, and grow together. It reflects Bracco's role as a champion of education, a driver of innovation, and a trusted partner in the imaging community."

Bracco will highlight the expanding role of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) in radiology. CEUS offers real-time diagnostic insights without ionizing radiation, making it an increasingly valuable tool. At RSNA 2025, Bracco will underscore CEUS's importance by convening leading experts to share evolving evidence, best practices, and new frontiers for the technology. In addition to advancing education and innovation, a commitment reinforced by Hexagon, Bracco's new state-of-the-art Research, Development, and expanded production facility, Bracco is pioneering microbubble technology and accelerating progress in precision imaging.4

During RSNA, Bracco will also celebrate the winners of the Leaders on the Horizon Residents' Program, honoring six residents selected for publication in Applied Radiology.

Driving Innovation Sustainably

Bracco is advancing healthcare innovation while reducing its environmental footprint. Cutting-edge sustainability practices include implementing reverse osmosis and energy efficiency upgrades at manufacturing sites, as well as partnering with customers for responsible stewardship of iodine.1

A Platinum Medal from EcoVadis in 2025 places Bracco among the top 1% most sustainable companies worldwide. As a member of the United Nations Global Compact, the company upholds high standards of ecological and operational excellence.1

As part of this commitment, Bracco will host a symposium at RSNA 2025: "The Power of Sustainable Innovation in MRI: Combining AI with Low-Dose GBCA and Rapid-Exchange Contrast Delivery System" on December 1 from 10:30-11:30 AM CST in booth 2387 (South Hall). This one-hour session will feature three leading imaging experts discussing practical strategies for elevating sustainability in the MR suite through advanced contrast delivery, low-dose agents, and AI-powered imaging.

At RSNA 2025, Bracco will highlight its MR portfolio with products designed to reduce waste, lower gadolinium exposure, and lessen environmental impact:

VUEWAY  (gadopiclenol) solution for injection, intravenous use, a macrocyclic gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA), has achieved 3 million doses. 5 VUEWAY injection offers effective contrast enhancement at half the gadolinium (Gd) dose (0.05 mmol/kg) vs. a macrocyclic GBCA at a dose of 0.1 mmol/kg of other similar contrast media for approved indications in the U.S., 6 which can help address the unmet medical need to minimize Gd exposure per MRI procedure, and Gd excretion into the environment, without compromising image quality. 7,8

solution for injection, intravenous use, a macrocyclic gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA), has achieved 3 million doses. VUEWAY injection offers effective contrast enhancement at half the gadolinium (Gd) dose (0.05 mmol/kg) vs. a macrocyclic GBCA at a dose of 0.1 mmol/kg of other similar contrast media for approved indications in the U.S., which can help address the unmet medical need to minimize Gd exposure per MRI procedure, and Gd excretion into the environment, without compromising image quality. Beyond VUEWAY injection, Bracco is proud to offer the Max 3  , a Rapid Exchange and Syringeless MR Injector that is a first of its kind in the MRI space, empowering intuitive, efficient, and easy-to-manage workflow and supporting best practices in radiology sustainability. This injector will strengthen green efforts in radiology suites because it will help contribute less plastic to healthcare facilities' disposable process and costs. 1

a Rapid Exchange and Syringeless MR Injector that is a first of its kind in the MRI space, empowering intuitive, efficient, and easy-to-manage workflow and supporting best practices in radiology sustainability. This injector will strengthen green efforts in radiology suites because it will help contribute less plastic to healthcare facilities' disposable process and costs. AiMIFY Software is the solution for AI-powered contrast enhancement in MR imaging in the U.S. exclusively from Bracco and Subtle Medical. FDA cleared as a class II software medical device; it is intended for image enhancement in brain MRI. AiMIFY software amplifies image contrast enhancement up to two times the level obtained with a labeled dose of a GBCA, significantly improving the visibility of small and large lesions compared to standard post-contrast images.9 AiMIFY software can support Neuroradiologists' diagnostic confidence and offers a potentially safer alternative to increasing contrast beyond FDA-approved dosing.9 For more information, visit the Bracco booth #1911 and the Subtle Medical booth #4724, South Hall, Level 3.

"At this year's RSNA, we are proud to highlight how Bracco's commitment to education and sustainability go hand in hand to drive meaningful progress," said Cosimo De Pinto, Executive Vice President, Marketing & Commercial Operations, Bracco Americas. "By advancing solutions that reduce environmental impact, we are ensuring that innovation benefits both patients and the planet. Together with our partners, we are shaping a healthier, more sustainable future for radiology."

Visit Bracco at RSNA in booth #1911, South Hall, Level 3. Follow #BraccoImaging on LinkedIn for the latest updates.

Please see Important Safety Information below.

VUEWAY (gadopiclenol) solution for injection, intravenous use

Indications

VUEWAY injection is indicated in adults and children aged 2 years and older for use with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect and visualize lesions with abnormal vascularity in:

the central nervous system (brain, spine, and associated tissues),

the body (head and neck, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, and musculoskeletal system).

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNING: RISK ASSOCIATED WITH INTRATHECAL USE and NEPHROGENIC SYSTEMIC FIBROSIS



Risk Associated with Intrathecal Use

Intrathecal administration of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) can cause serious adverse reactions including death, coma, encephalopathy, and seizures. VUEWAY is not approved for intrathecal use.

NEPHROGENIC SYSTEMIC FIBROSIS

Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) increase the risk for NSF among patients with impaired elimination of the drugs. Avoid use of GBCAs in these patients unless the diagnostic information is essential and not available with non-contrasted MRI or other modalities. NSF may result in fatal or debilitating fibrosis affecting the skin, muscle and internal organs.

The risk for NSF appears highest among patients with:

Chronic, severe kidney disease (GFR < 30 mL/min/1.73 m2), or

Acute kidney injury.

Screen patients for acute kidney injury and other conditions that may reduce renal function. For patients at risk for chronically reduced renal function (e.g., age > 60 years, hypertension, diabetes), estimate the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) through laboratory testing.

For patients at highest risk for NSF, do not exceed the recommended VUEWAY dose and allow a sufficient period of time for elimination of the drug from the body prior to any re-administration.

Contraindications

VUEWAY injection is contraindicated in patients with history of hypersensitivity reactions to VUEWAY.

Warnings and Precautions

There are risks associated with intrathecal use of GBCAs that can cause serious adverse reactions including death, coma, encephalopathy, and seizures. The safety and effectiveness of VUEWAY have not been established with intrathecal use and VUEWAY is not approved for intrathecal use.

Risk of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis is increased in patients using GBCA agents that have impaired elimination of the drugs, with the highest risk in patients with chronic, severe kidney disease as well as patients with acute kidney injury. Avoid use of GBCAs among these patients unless the diagnostic information is essential and not available with non-contrast MRI or other modalities.

Hypersensitivity reactions, including serious hypersensitivity reactions, could occur during use or shortly following VUEWAY administration. Assess all patients for any history of a reaction to contrast media, bronchial asthma and/or allergic disorders, administer VUEWAY only in situations where trained personnel and therapies are promptly available for the treatment of hypersensitivity reactions, and observe patients for signs and symptoms of hypersensitivity reactions after administration.

Gadolinium retention can be for months or years in several organs after administration. The highest concentrations (nanomoles per gram of tissue) have been identified in the bone, followed by other organs (brain, skin, kidney, liver and spleen). Minimize repetitive GBCA imaging studies, particularly closely spaced studies, when possible.

Acute kidney injury requiring dialysis has occurred with the use of GBCAs in patients with chronically reduced renal function. The risk of acute kidney injury may increase with increasing dose of the contrast agent.

Extravasation and injection site reactions can occur with administration of VUEWAY. Ensure catheter and venous patency before the injection of VUEWAY.

VUEWAY may impair the visualization of lesions seen on non-contrast MRI. Therefore, caution should be exercised when VUEWAY MRI scans are interpreted without a companion non-contrast MRI scan.

The most common adverse reactions (incidence  0.5%) are injection site pain (0.7%), and headache (0.7%).

POST-MARKETING EVENTS

The following adverse reactions have been identified during postmarketing use of GBCAs.

Gastrointestinal Disorders: Acute pancreatitis with onset within 48 hours after GBCA administration.

Respiratory, Thoracic and Mediastinal Disorders: Acute respiratory distress syndrome, pulmonary edema.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please click here for full Prescribing Information for VUEWAY (gadopiclenol) solution for injection, intravenous use, including BOXED WARNING on Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis.

Manufactured for Bracco Diagnostics Inc. by Liebel-Flarsheim Company LLC - Raleigh, NC, USA 27616.

VUEWAY is a registered trademark of Bracco Imaging S.p.A.

ulricheasyINJECT Max 3 (the Bracco-branded Max 3, a Rapid Exchange and Syringeless MR Injector System) is distributed by Bracco Diagnostics Inc.

Indications for use

ulricheasyINJECT Max 3 is a contrast media (CM) management system that is indicated for the controlled, automatic administration, on the venous side, of contrast media and saline (NaCl), to human subjects undergoing diagnostic examinations in magnetic resonance (MR) applications.

ulricheasyINJECT Max 3 (XD 10180) is specifically indicated for use in MRI procedures for the delivery of VUEWAY (gadopiclenol) solution for injection  Bracco Diagnostics Inc., MultiHance (gadobenate dimeglumine) injection  Bracco Diagnostics Inc., Clariscan (gadoterate meglumine) injection  GE Healthcare Inc., DOTAREM (gadoterate meglumine) Injection  Guerbet, LLC, Gadavist (gadobutrol) injection  Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Gadobutrol Injection  Fresenius Kabi AG, contrast media as supplied in approved single dose vials and Gadavist (gadobutrol) Injection  Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Gadobutrol Injection  Fresenius Kabi AG, contrast media as supplied in approved Imaging Bulk Packages (IBPs).

The ulricheasyINJECT Max 3 is not intended for injection of contrast media for high-pressure angiography.

Easy-Click-Cassette  flex Max 3 is used for a maximum time of twenty-four (24) hours or a maximum of 96 bottles of contrast media, whichever comes first.

Use time expiration per single dose contrast media container is a maximum of four (4) hours per contrast media container, unless otherwise stated by the contrast media labeling.

Use time expiration per IBP contrast media container is a maximum of twenty-four (24) hours per contrast media container, unless otherwise stated by the contrast media labeling.

Spike for MRI disposable is for single-bottle use only and must be discarded with the media container. The Patient tubing must be discarded after each patient procedure.

ulricheasyINJECT Max 3 (XD 10180) is to be used only by and under quasi-continuous supervision of trained healthcare professionals in an appropriate licensed healthcare facility, in a room designated for radiological procedures that involve intravascular administration of contrast agent.

Contraindications

ulricheasyINJECT Max 3 injectors are not intended for the administration of contrast medium during high-pressure angiography or other applications that do not comply with the intended use.

The injector is not protected against the effects of defibrillation. Before a defibrillator is used, the patient must be disconnected from the ulricheasyINJECT Max 3 injector.

Do not add any disposables (i.e. connector tubing or valves) to the ulricheasyINJECT Max 3 with the patient tubing that are not provided by ulrich medical. No valves or other connectors may be placed in-line between the patient tubing and the patient cannula. The disposables identified in this IFU are designed, manufactured, and tested for connection with cannulas for pressure injections.

Do not use ulricheasyINJECT Max 3 injectors with any other contrast media (other than those described in the IFU). Any other contrast media are inappropriate and should not be used. Do not operate the injector and terminal, including any accessories, in potentially explosive atmospheres or in the vicinity of combustible materials (especially anesthetic drugs, detergents, and oxygen-enriched environments).

ulricheasyINJECT Max 3 is manufactured by ulrich GmbH & Co. KG.

ulrich medical is a registered trademark of ulrich GmbH & Co. KG.

ulricheasyINJECT Max 3 is a trademark of ulrich GmbH & Co. KG.

ulricheasyINJECT Max 3 is distributed as the Bracco-branded Max 3, a Rapid Exchange and Syringeless MR Injector System, by Bracco Diagnostics Inc.; 510 Carnegie Center, Suite 300, Princeton, NJ 08540 USA; Phone: (800) 631-5245; Fax: (609) 514-2424; Customer Service: 1-877-BRACCO 9 (1-877-272-2269); Scientific Information: 1-800-257-5181 (Option 2); Website: https://smartinject.com/max3/

AiMIFY Software

Indications for Use

AiMIFY is an image processing software that can be used for image enhancement in MRI images. It can be used to increase contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), contrast enhancement (CEP), and lesion-to-brain ratio (LBR) of enhancing tissue in brain MRI images acquired with a gadolinium-based contrast agent. It is intended to enhance MRI images acquired using standard approved dosage per the contrast agent's instructions for use.

Cautions

AiMIFY-enhanced images should not be used alone to assist patient diagnosis. The standard post-contrast image must always be reviewed first before using AiMIFY-enhanced images for patient diagnosis.

Please be aware that AiMIFY is not intended for artifact reduction, such as metal artifact and motion artifact. Enhanced images may have similar artifacts as input images.

AiMIFY may enhance intensity differences between pre-and post-contrast images that are caused by 1) registration errors between the sequences or 2) image artifacts in either sequence.

AiMIFY may enhance vessel conspicuity more than standard acquired post-contrast images. In cases where vessel conspicuity interferes with or delays diagnosis, the standard post-contrast image should be used for adjudication.

AiMIFY-enhanced images may contain false lesions due to enhancement of image quality issues in either input sequences, due to being introduced by the AiMIFY algorithm, or both. The standard post-contrast image should be used to rule out false lesions.

Please be aware that AiMIFY has only been trained and tested on head MRI for contrast enhancement. Using the AiMIFY software in other anatomies or use cases not defined in this user manual could result in unknown image enhancement performance.

The internal morphology of tissue in input sequences have been tested to be moderately preserved by AiMIFY processing both for lesion tissue and parenchyma tissue. Internal morphology may appear to be missing due to window leveling of the image, and can be obtained by adjusting the window levels.

Please be aware that AiMIFY is intended for use only with standard of care quality images. Standard approved dose contrast images should be acquired per the contrast agent's instructions for use. The standard of care should not be adjusted in preparation for using AiMIFY.

Please be aware that AiMIFY should not be used for acquiring stat scans or emergent scans, as image processing time may delay diagnosis.

Standard approved dose contrast images should be acquired per the contrast agent's instructions for use. AiMIFY-enhanced images are not fully equivalent to post-contrast images acquired with a higher than recommended actual dosage of contrast. However, the high-dose-like appearance of AiMIFY-enhanced images offers a potentially safer alternative to actually acquiring post-contrast images beyond standard dosing.

Contraindications

AiMIFY is an image processing software that inherently doesn't cause harm to patients of any subpopulation. However, gadolinium-based contrast agents are associated with contraindications, precautions, and warnings for certain subpopulations. Strictly follow the gadolinium-based contrast agent's instructions for use, including but not limited to contraindicated patient populations, prior to processing with AiMIFY.

Limitations

AiMIFY has been trained and tested using a diverse DICOM image dataset collected from different MR imaging applications at 0.3T, 1.5T, and 3.0T, including:

T1 weighted imaging for pre and post-contrast brain scans obtained with gadolinium-based contrast agents in 2D sequences, such as fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) and fast spin echo (FSE).

T1 weighted imaging for pre and post-contrast brain scans obtained with gadolinium-based contrast agents in 3D sequences, such as BRAin VOlume (BRAVO) inversion-recovery-prep fast split echo (SPGR) and Magnetization Prepared Rapid Gradient Echo (MPRAGE).

Acquisition in axial, coronal, and sagittal orientations.

Images acquired with GE Medical Systems, Philips Medical Systems, Siemens Healthineers, and Hitachi scanners (see separate Scanner List for models).

Images (for performance testing) spanning a variety of pathologies including patients with Cerebritis, Glioma, Inflammation, Lymphoma, Meningioma, Metastatic lesions, Multiple sclerosis, Neuritis, other tumor-related lesions (e.g., resection/radiation necrosis / suspected cyst / etc.), and other abnormalities.

Patients aged 7 to 86 years old with an even distribution of females and males in the test dataset.

Lesions in the dataset were small (<1 cc) and large (>1 cc).

Any imaging sequences/applications outside the above list may result in prolonged processing time and/or unreasonable results.

AiMIFY is manufactured for Bracco Diagnostics Inc. by Subtle Medical Inc.  Menlo Park, CA, USA 94025.

AiMIFY is a trademark of Bracco Imaging S.p.A.

All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

For additional information about Bracco's products and for full prescribing information, please visit http://imaging.bracco.com/us-en .

1 Bracco 2024 Sustainability Report. Bracco Diagnostics Inc.; 2024.

2 Data on file. Over 80 Active Accredited Programs. Bracco Diagnostics Inc.; OCT 2024.

3 Data on file. Over $1.4M Invested in Medical Education Grants. Bracco Diagnostics Inc.; DEC. 2024.

4 Hexagon: A New Era Begins, Bracco Diagnostics Inc.; JAN 2025.

5 Data on file. Three Million Doses. Bracco Diagnostics Inc.; SEPT 2025.

6 VUEWAY (gadopiclenol) solution for injection, intravenous use. Full Prescribing Information and Patient Medication Guide. Princeton, NJ: Bracco Diagnostics Inc.; March 2025.

7 Loevner LA, Kolumban B, Hutoczki G, et al. Efcacy and safety of gadopiclenol for contrast-enhanced MRI of the central nervous system: the PICTURE randomized clinical trial. Invest Radiol. 2023 May;58(5):307-313.

8 Dekker HM, Stroomberg GJ, Van der Molen AJ, Prokop M. Review of strategies to reduce the contamination of the water environment by gadolinium-based contrast agents. Insights Imaging. 2024 Feb 27;15(1):62. doi: 10.1186/s13244-024-01626-7. PMID: 38411847; PMCID: PMC10899148.

9 Please refer to the AiMIFY User Manual for full safety and use information.

US-AIM-2500018 11/25

Kimberly Gerweck

Media Relations (USA)

Sr. Compliance & Communications Manager T +1 609.524.2777 Bracco Diagnostics Inc. [email protected]

Bracco Imaging is a global leader in diagnostic imaging, dedicated to improving people's lives by shaping the future of prevention and precision medicine. With a strong passion for innovation, the company develops and provides a broad portfolio of pharmaceutical products for diagnostic imaging: contrast agents for X-ray, Computed Tomography (CT), and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), as well microbubbles for Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS), and Molecular Imaging through radioactive tracers and novel PET imaging agents, alongside specialized medical devices and related services.

The company is committed to advancing radiology by sharing knowledge to cultivate future thought leaders, linking today's practice with tomorrow's progress. Since 1927, Bracco Imaging has grown to more than 3,800 employees and now supports patients and radiology professionals in over 100 countries.

Discover Bracco Imaging at www.bracco.com

SOURCE Bracco Group
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Copper & Kings American Brandy Company, part of Bourdon Spirits Company, has unveiled its new flagship portfolio  three exceptional spirits that redefine the American brandy category while honoring the brand's rebellious Louisville roots.

The new lineup, launching this month, represents the next chapter for Copper & Kings: a return to authenticity, craft, and creative innovation.

New Core Portfolio: Six-Year American Brandy V.S.O.P., Six-Year American Apple Brandy and Straight Bourbon Whiskey (PRNewsfoto/BOURDON SPIRITS COMPANY LLC)

The Core Portfolio:

Six-Year American Brandy V.S.O.P.  A refined expression aged six years and bottled at 86 proof. Smooth, complex, and distinctly American, it delivers exceptional quality at an accessible $19.99 on shelf .



 A refined expression aged six years and bottled at 86 proof. Smooth, complex, and distinctly American, it delivers exceptional quality at an accessible . Six-Year American Apple Brandy (Bottled-in-Bond)  A bold and honest spirit crafted under the strict standards of the Bottled-in-Bond Act, offering robust apple character and deep authenticity. Retailing at $24.99 on shelf.



 A bold and honest spirit crafted under the strict standards of the Bottled-in-Bond Act, offering robust apple character and deep authenticity. Retailing at Straight Bourbon Whiskey  A masterful blend of straight bourbons aged 5 to 15+ years, finished for up to three years in brandy barrels. This innovative crossover bridges two great traditions, creating something unmistakably Copper & Kings. Retailing at $29.99 on shelf.

"These releases are more than new bottles, they're a statement of who we are," said Rob Bourdon, Founder of Bourdon Spirits Company. "We didn't set out to follow bourbon. We set out to reclaim America's original spirit  brandy  and to do it with integrity, craftsmanship, and a sense of adventure that feels truly American."

The new portfolio is available now at Copper & Kings Distillery in Louisville's Butchertown neighborhood, with select distribution rolling out.

This launch follows Bourdon Spirits Company's August 2025 acquisition of Copper & Kings from Constellation Brands, marking the company's first major step in shaping a new era for the brand. From its reimagined packaging and visitor experience to its continued innovation in brandy and bourbon, Copper & Kings is doubling down on craft production, clear age statements, and value transparency.

About Copper & Kings

Copper & Kings is a trailblazing American brandy company based in Louisville, Kentucky. Known for its unconventional approach  bourbon barrelaged brandy and brandy barrelfinished bourbon  Copper & Kings celebrates making spirits the American way. The brand continues to lead the modern revival of brandy with a bold, flavorful portfolio and a distinctly American voice.

About Bourdon Spirits Company

Bourdon Spirits is a family-owned spirits company focused on building brands that stand out with purpose and originality. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, the company is rooted in craftsmanship, community, and a long-term vision for American spirits.

Learn more at www.copperandkings.com

SOURCE BOURDON SPIRITS COMPANY LLC
Nation's Leading Dog Wellness Franchise Surpasses $5 Million Raised for the Foundation, Supporting 700+ Veterans

PHOENIX, Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- This Veterans Day, Dogtopia, the nation's leading dog wellness franchise, and the Dogtopia Foundation are celebrating the continued impact of their mission to help veterans across the country regain independence, confidence and connection through the life-changing companionship of service dogs.

Founded in 2017, the Dogtopia Foundation has expanded its reach alongside Dogtopia's growth to more than 250 locations nationwide, united by a shared belief that dogs help our heroes.

Dogtopia dogs say thank you to our veterans!

Reflecting on the Dogtopia Foundation's Achievements

Over the years, the Foundation has:

Raised more than $5 million to fund the training of service dogs for veterans in need

Supported more than 700 veteran-service dog teams nationwide

Partnered with leading organizations including America's VetDogs, Canine Companions and K9s For Warriors

Mobilized thousands of Dogtopia pet parents and franchisees through creative fundraising efforts such as Makin' Bacon parties, bubble days and themed photo events

"What began as a grassroots effort within a few Dogtopia daycares has evolved into a nationwide movement," said Liz Meyers, Executive Director of the Dogtopia Foundation. "Every dollar raised, every dog trained and every veteran supported reflects the heart of our community. This Veterans Day, we're proud to honor those who've served and the incredible dogs helping them heal."

"At Dogtopia, we believe dogs change lives, and nowhere is that more evident than in the bond between a veteran and their service dog," said Neil Gill, CEO and President of Dogtopia. "This milestone is a reflection of our community's compassion and commitment to honoring those who've served."

Honoring Veterans Nationwide

To commemorate Veterans Day, Dogtopia daycare centers across the country are hosting special events to celebrate those who served and raise funds for veterans awaiting service dogs. Even the pups are joining the festivities, with playrooms decorated in patriotic themes and "thank you" messages visible to pet parents via Dogtopia's live webcams.

"Thank you to every member of the Dogtopia team for helping to bring Brady into my life," said Jesse Heineken, a U.S. veteran and America's VetDogs graduate. "When life feels like I'm walking a tightrope, Brady is my safety net. He takes me out of isolation, breaks the darkness, and brings light."

"America's VetDogs was honored to be the first partner selected to work with the Dogtopia Foundation," said John Miller, President and CEO of America's VetDogs. "Since our partnership began, they've donated nearly $600,000, a remarkable testament to their unwavering commitment to those who have served and to the extraordinary impact of service dogs."

Advancing Research and Expanding Impact

Beyond funding service dog training, the Dogtopia Foundation supports groundbreaking research led by Dr. Maggie O'Haire, associate dean for research at the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine. Her studies highlight the measurable benefits of service dogs for veterans with PTSD, research that could help expand access and secure new support for more veterans in need of these life-changing companions.

To support the Dogtopia Foundation's mission and join the Dogtopia community in honoring America's heroes this Veterans Day, visit dogtopiafoundation.org. To learn more about Dogtopia or find a daycare near you, visit dogtopia.com.

About Dogtopia

Founded in 2002, Dogtopia is an early pioneer and innovator in the dog daycare industry, offering an experience focused on wellness, quality of care, safety, and transparency in the market. The ultimate destination for improving the physical and mental wellbeing of dogs and pet parents, Dogtopia helps our furry friends live long, healthy, and happy lives with services that holistically address canine wellness. Pet parents have the assurance of leaving their beloved furry family members in the hands of trained professionals in an environment created with the safety of dogs in mind, including spacious playrooms assigned by size and play style, comfortable rubber flooring to reduce the impact on joints and paws, and webcams for pet parents to check in on their pups. For more information, visit www.dogtopia.com .

About Dogtopia Foundation

The Dogtopia Foundation enables dogs to positively change our world by supporting programs focused on service dogs for veterans, therapy dogs for students, and employment initiatives for adults with autism. The Foundation's aim is to identify needs, fill gaps, and integrate knowledge for continuous improvement in the three areas of focus. By connecting dogs with organizations the Foundation supports, the Foundation is helping returning veterans, students, and adults with autism reach their full potential. To learn more, visit www.dogtopiafoundation.org.

Media Contact: Ashlyn Pinkowski, Fishman Public Relations, [email protected]

SOURCE Dogtopia
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Insilico Medicine ("Insilico"), a clinical-stage generative artificial intelligence (AI)-driven drug discovery company, announced a research collaboration with Eli Lilly ("Lilly") that the two parties will combine Insilico's state-of-the-art Pharma.AI platforms with Lilly's development and disease expertise to jointly discover and advance innovative therapies.

Insilico will utilize its validated Pharma.AI platform and deep drug discovery expertise to generate, design, and optimize candidate compounds against targets defined under the agreement. Insilico is eligible to receive over $100 million including an upfront, milestone payments, and tiered royalties on net sales upon commercialization of any resulting drug products.

"We are delighted to collaborate with Lilly, a global leader in the pharmaceutical industry, renowned for its commitment to medical innovation," said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, Founder and Co-CEO of Insilico Medicine. "Lilly has been a valued user of our Pharma.AI software suite, and this expanded collaboration further recognizes Insilico's AI-driven drug discovery capabilities while strengthening our longstanding partnership. By joining forces, we are accelerating the development of transformative therapies to address urgent patient needs worldwide."

The collaboration represents a further deepening of the partnership between the two companies, which originated with the AI-based software licensing agreement in 2023.

Harnessing state-of-the-art AI and automation technologies, Insilico has significantly improved the efficiency of preclinical drug development. While traditional early-stage drug discovery typically requires 3 to 6 years, from 2021 to 2024 Insilico nominated 20 preclinical candidates, achieving an average turnaround - from project initiation to preclinical candidate (PCC) nomination - of just 12 to 18 months per program, with only 60 to 200 molecules synthesized and tested in each program.

About Insilico Medicine

Insilico Medicine, a leading and global AI-driven biotech company, utilizes its proprietary Pharma.AI platform and cutting-stage automated laboratory to accelerate drug discovery and advance innovations in life sciences research. By integrating AI and automation technologies and deep in-house drug discovery capabilities, Insilico is delivering innovative drug solutions for unmet needs including fibrosis, oncology, immunology, pain, and obesity and metabolic disorders. Additionally, Insilico extends the reach of Pharma.AI across diverse industries, such as advanced materials, agriculture, nutritional products and veterinary medicine. For more information, please visit www.insilico.com .

SOURCE Insilico Medicine
Lightstone DIRECT brings qualified investors the opportunity to partner directly with a $12B+ AUM real estate owner/operator.

NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lightstone, one of the leading and most diversified privately held real estate companies in the United States with over $12B in AUM, today launched Lightstone DIRECT  a real estate investment platform built for high-net-worth individuals searching for institutional-quality opportunities without institutional barriers.

Lightstone Direct

Lightstone DIRECT provides accredited investors access to carefully underwritten, single-asset multifamily and industrial deals. Leveraging Lightstone's four decades as a proven real estate leader, individuals now have the opportunity to invest $100,000 or more through Lightstone DIRECT while benefitting from Lightstone's institutional scale and operational rigor. As a true differentiator, Lightstone will invest a minimum of 20 percent of the equity in every Lightstone DIRECT opportunity. By committing substantial capital to each deal, Lightstone brings investors a far greater alignment of interests compared to other real estate sponsors. Every opportunity is sourced, executed, and managed by Lightstone's vertically integrated team, ensuring end-to-end accountability for the partners who invest through Lightstone DIRECT.

"We are thrilled to bring the Lightstone approach to a broader set of investors, offering the same multifamily and industrial opportunities we pursue with our own capital," said Mitchell Hochberg, President of Lightstone. "With Lightstone DIRECT, investors can partner directly with a vertically integrated, institutional real estate owner/operator that offers an alignment of interest that very few have matched."

Lightstone has appointed a highly experienced team from within the firm to launch and lead this new platform. Lightstone DIRECT is led by Chief Growth Officer Soren Godbersen and Chief Investment Officer Greg Fink. Previously Godbersen was Chief Growth Officer at EquityMultiple, an innovative platform that builds investor wealth through streamlined access to diversified real estate investment products, where he managed a team that raised nearly $1B in capital. Fink serves as Lightstone DIRECT's Chief Investment Officer and is a ten-year veteran of Lightstone, where he leads multifamily acquisitions, and has closed on over $3B of transactions. Jonathan Spitz leads Lightstone DIRECT's Capital Formation team, which focuses on providing high-quality service and insights to investors. Mr. Spitz has extensive experience in real estate capital markets, including working with RIAs, family offices, and high-net worth investors at Origin Investments.

"Lightstone's real estate investment philosophy has been tested across multiple economic cycles spanning four decades and strengthened through vertical integration to achieve immense national scale. We're excited to bring forth our institutional rigor to investors in single-asset investment opportunities" said Greg Fink, CIO of Lightstone DIRECT.

To learn more about the platform and to inquire about investment opportunities, visit https://lightstonedirect.com .

ABOUT LIGHTSTONE

Lightstone, founded by David Lichtenstein, is one of the most diversified privately held real estate companies in the United States. Headquartered in New York City, Lightstone is active in 26 states across the country, developing, managing and investing in all sectors of the real estate market, including residential, hospitality, commercial, and retail. With 235 existing properties, Lightstone's over $12 billion portfolio currently includes over 15 million square feet of industrial, life sciences, and commercial properties, over 25,000 residential units, and over 5,100 hotel keys. Lightstone's development portfolio includes over $3.5 billion developed in the residential and hospitality sectors spread across New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami.

ABOUT LIGHTSTONE DIRECT

Lightstone DIRECT is a real estate investment platform built for high-net-worth individuals. The platform brings qualified investors the opportunity to partner with a $12B AUM real estate owner/operator. Lightstone DIRECT provides accredited investors access to carefully underwritten, single-asset multifamily and industrial deals that have passed Lightstone's rigorous due diligence process, approved by Lightstone's investment committee  the same transactions Lightstone pursues with its own capital. https://lightstonedirect.com .

All investments involve risk. Visit lightstonedirect.com for a full list of disclosures

SOURCE Lightstone Direct
Lawsuit claims Iconix Brand Group turned on its founder, cut off defense funding, and helped orchestrate a false prosecution that tried to destroy his career and ability to defend himself.

NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Neil Cole, founder and former CEO of Iconix Brand Group, has filed a $45 million federal lawsuit against Iconix Brand Group, Inc. and its former chief operating officer Seth Horowitz, variously accusing them of malicious prosecution, breach of contract, and fraud after what his lawyers call "a decade-long nightmare built on lies."

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, follows last week's landmark ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which vacated Cole's conviction and dismissed all charges, ruling that his retrial violated the Constitution's Double Jeopardy Clause.

According to the lawsuit, Horowitz  who tried to be Cole's protege  fabricated false allegations to deflect blame from his own misconduct surrounding two joint-venture deals. More information can be found in the filing here.

"Neil Cole built Iconix from nothing into a global brand empire," said his attorney, Benjamin D. White of Bloch & White. "The Second Circuit's opinion confirms what Neil has said from Day One  that the government's case was based on falsehoods from a single, unreliable witness."

The complaint also accuses Iconix of turning its back on its founder, cutting off legal funding on the eve of trial and withholding exculpatory evidence from its own internal investigation. Cole's attorneys argue the company deliberately sabotaged his defense to portray him as a scapegoat and recover millions in bonuses and stock compensation.

Cole is seeking $25 million from Iconix for breach of contract, bad faith and unjust enrichment, $20 million from Horowitz for malicious prosecution, and additional punitive damages.

"For ten years, I lived under a cloud of false accusations," said Neil Cole. "The court has now spoken clearly: I was innocent. This lawsuit is about holding some of those responsible to account."

Media Contact:

Chris Vlasto, [email protected], (914) 535-9495

SOURCE Neil Cole
Three-Year Agreement Establishes New Standards for 200 Sun Country Fleet Service Workers

MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Fleet service workers at Sun Country Airlines have overwhelmingly ratified their first collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters Local 970. The three-year contract delivers significant wage increases, stronger job security, and access to improved benefits. The agreement was approved by a margin of nearly 82 percent.

"This contract reflects what airline workers can achieve when they fight together," said Dave Saucedo, Director of the Teamsters Airline Division. "For the first time, Sun Country fleet service workers have a legally enforceable agreement that raises standards and ensures they are treated with the fairness and respect they've earned on the job."

The agreement establishes improved pay scales that move workers closer to industry standards and sets clear rules for work assignments, scheduling, and overtime. It also expands access to paid time off and now includes safety language, guaranteeing a safer workplace and accountability from management.

The contract is a major step forward for the 200 workers who joined Local 970 in 2023 seeking stability, fair compensation, and a stronger voice on the job.

"We're proud of what Sun Country fleet service members have accomplished here," said Angel Cantu, Teamsters Airline Division International Representative. "Their dedication and unity made this contract possible. Today marks the beginning of a stronger future for everyone in the group."

Teamsters Local 970 represents over 1,500 workers in the airline and manufacturing industries throughout Minneapolis. Visit Teamster.org for more information.

Contact:

Lena Melentijevic, (347) 208-2279

[email protected]

SOURCE Teamsters Local 970
WUXI, China, Nov. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2025 Wuxi Xishan Golden Autumn Investment and Cooperation Symposium was held on November 8 under the theme "Infinite Opportunities with Xishan." The event brought together more than 200 business leaders, academic experts, and institutional representatives from around the world. Through project signings, partnership announcements, and related activities, the symposium highlighted Xishan's favorable investment climate and strong growth potential, adding new momentum to the district's ongoing economic development.

Launched in September, the Wuxi Xishan Golden Autumn Investment Promotion Month has led to the establishment of new commercial partnerships through investment promotion events, industry exchanges, and business matchmaking sessions, continuing to stimulate growth across the local economy.

During the symposium, 91 key projects were signed, covering advanced manufacturing, technology innovation, foreign investment, agriculture, and finance. Among them, a wind-turbine gearbox R&D and manufacturing facility capable of producing 1,000 high-precision 10-MW units annually will strengthen Xishan's advanced equipment cluster. Three additional domestic projects  an intelligent manufacturing facility for renewable-energy and nuclear-fusion equipment components, the FanRuan Software headquarters and R&D facility, and a mass-production site for advanced process equipment and materials  will further reinforce the district's industrial base and competitiveness.

In addition to on-site signings, the symposium showcased several major collaboration initiatives, including JD.com's global smart factory for its Wolf Pack robots and the Songci Electromechanical's R&D and manufacturing facility for next-generation renewable-energy and semiconductor equipment, both of which will contribute to building a modern industrial framework in Xishan.

At the symposium, Xishan District, in partnership with Cushman & Wakefield, released the 2025 Wuxi Xishan Investment Environment White Paper and recognized the first six recipients of its "Best Partners" awards. The Xishan District Government also announced the launch of a new cross-regional collaboration framework with Wuxi's four principal innovation centers.

SOURCE Wuxi Xishan Golden Autumn Investment and Cooperation Symposium
LONDON, Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Zadarma, a leading European cloud communications provider, is excited to announce the acquisition of Megacall , a VoIP provider based in Malaga, Spain. This marks Zadarma's second acquisition. Last year, the company acquired the US VoIP provider, VoIPVoIP .

This acquisition helps Zadarma grow its presence in Europe, and brings new tools and services to Megacall customers.

With this acquisition, Megacall customers will have access to an updated, user-friendly website, and the wide range of new services, including:

Speech Analytics and AI Tools. Gain insights to improve your business.

Gain insights to improve your business. Virtual Phone Numbers in 110+ countries. Create a local presence anywhere.

Create a local presence anywhere. Cloud PBX. A user-friendly business phone system.

A user-friendly business phone system. Built-in CRM with Call Tracking and Reports

Extended API and Ready Integration with Popular CRM and AI systems . RetellAI, Vapi, ElevenLabs, Zoho, HubSpot, Clientify and more.

. RetellAI, Vapi, ElevenLabs, Zoho, HubSpot, Clientify and more. 24/7 Customer Support: Chat or phone support anytime.

Megacall stands out for offering turnkey solutions, providing fully customized setups tailored to each client's specific needs - a model that complements Zadarma's more flexible, self-service approach.

Zadarma managed the transition carefully. Megacall customers continued their services uninterrupted, while gradually gaining access to the new features.

About Zadarma

Founded in 2006, Zadarma is a global cloud communications provider with offices in Bulgaria, UK, Poland and Spain. The company has six data centers across six countries on three continents.

Zadarma offers a wide range of cloud communication tools. These include virtual phone numbers in 110+ countries, global calling service, cloud PBX, CRM, integrations with popular CRM and AI systems, and a variety of other in-house communication solutions. Its 24/7 multilingual support helps customers worldwide set up the system quickly and easily.

Zadarma has established a strong presence in Europe and continues to expand internationally. The company remains devoted to innovation and serving its customers.

About Megacall

Megacall, founded in 2008 in Malaga, Spain by Phoenix Solutions SLU, provides VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) services. For over 15 years, it has been helping businesses digitalize their communications. Megacall provides services for small and medium businesses, enterprises, and non-profit organizations.

The company is known for its strong customer focus. Megacall also gives back to society, collaborating with organizations like Aldeas Infantiles, Samaritans in Spain, and the Jose Carreras Foundation against leukemia.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2573268/5606802/Zadarma_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Zadarma
Like every year, Consumer Reports has published its renowned "Most and Least Loved Car Brands" list, this year revealing how more than 300,000 owners rate their cars. This satisfaction score is based on drivers saying "definitely yes" to buying the same vehicle again once it is time to change their ride. The results aren't "necessarily" linked to excellence since an SUV might have the best quality and technology, but the driving sensation is awful due to inside noises or squeaky brakes. In-cabin experience, comfort, maintenance costs, and road tests are some of the decisive factors.

For the second consecutive year, Rivian has topped the list with its R1S and R1T models, with 86% of owners willing to buy from the brand again. Numbers 2 and 3 are taken by BMW and Tesla, which many consider valuable luxury cars even if they're used. And Toyota, an automaker that boasts cars with the best resale value, sits in 13th place. But today, rather than focusing on the top names, we'll look at the very bottom of CR's list  the brands scoring preference percentages between 61% and a bleak 51%. That group includes, believe it or not, Mercedes-Benz and Jeep. Agree with the rankings or not, these carmakers find themselves in the basement of Consumer Reports' least-favorite car brands.

Read more: Retirees Be Warned: These Are The 12 Worst Vehicles You Can Buy

Mazda - Satisfaction Score 3/5, 61% would buy again

Mazda sign - David Benito/Getty Images

Mazdas have a certain beauty and a tough reputation. They're affordable in general, and stylish inside and out; many SUVs and sedans, like the 2025 Mazda 3, have earned Consumer Reports' seal of approval in the past because of reliability. This year, however, the Japanese brand received #18 on CR's list largely due to poor fuel economy and an eighth place in maintenance and repair costs, which total around $6,020 in 10 years of use. But on the whole, Mazda is reliable. Bad luck is at the bottom. This carmaker is obsessed with safety. It led the industry in Top Safety Pick+ count for 2025 with eight models, such as the CX-30 and CX-70, taking the highest trophy.

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Also, its depreciation is reasonable. iSeeCars, for example, shows the CX-5 giving up 42% at five years, and the MX-5 Miata is north of 60% retention. Not bad if you consider changing your car often. One of the best cars for retirees is the CX-5, a crossover SUV which, under $30,000, features plenty of interior space, decent infotainment, and a just-right size  not too big, not too small, a breeze to park. The only thing is that it has changed little since 2017, keeping most of its design untouched. As a warning, Mazda's prices may increase in the short run; nobody knows when, because it was the first car manufacturer to stop production in the U.S. after tariffs, and the company isn't sure how it will affect the market.

Acura - Satisfaction Score 3/5, 61% would buy again

Acura sign - Michael Berlfein/Shutterstock

Acura is the sensible choice if you want a near-opulent vehicle without high-tax headaches. Acura represents the posh division of Honda, its parent company, just like Lexus is for Toyota. To illustrate, the Integra is a lavish version of the Honda Civic, and it's among the most affordable luxury cars you can buy despite its placement on this list. Consumer Reports has praised Acura before for reliability and has given it a sound #5 for both new and used vehicles, with a second-hand MDX deemed a good investment for retirees. But CR has also ranked it #20 of 32 in road tests and #20 of 28 in maintenance and repair costs, thus leading to an overall #19 position out of 27 on its "Most and Least Loved Car Brands" list.

On RepairPal's side, Acura sits near the top of the tree with around $500 a year in garage bills  a friendly upkeep. With a mid-to-solid resale factor, iSeeCars shows the RDX at 48% down after five years. Regarding security, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reports that the 2025 Integra and MDX both earned Top Safety Pick awards, plus the car's ADAS calibration (the realignment of the vehicle's cameras and sensors) tends to be effective. Something that affected Acura and Honda's reputation happened in August 2025. Reuters reported that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened an investigation affecting over 1.4 million cars with a 3.5-liter V6 that could have led to a full engine failure.

Audi - Satisfaction Score 2/5, 60% would buy again

Audi sign - maradon 333/Shutterstock

Audi is one of those brands teeming with stunning technology and luxurious interiors throughout its entire lineup, from the bank-breaking to the cheapest models. And it's somehow budget-friendly overall. Its Q3 and A3 are labeled as some of the most affordable luxury cars you can buy. Consumer Reports has applauded several of its SUVs and sedans for in-cabin comfort and elegance. In this class, Audi claims a spot among the go-to options for Americans. Safety remains strong. As reported by IIHS, its Q6 e-tron posts "Good" across the board with top-tier crash-avoidance performance, exactly where you'd expect a cutting-edge EV SUV to be. In 2025, the German manufacturer got #4 in the deluxe brand category, fair enough; #2 in road tests, of course; and #7 in new car trustworthiness, as anticipated. But in the used car reliability field, it landed #14 out of 26, which made it fall to #20 out of 27 in owner satisfaction.

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How come? Well, because of higher maintenance and repair/running costs (#25 of 28), one of five reasons buying a used luxury car is not worth it. Owners have reported problems with 5- to 10-year-old vehicles because of their complex engineering and parts that are pricey to replace. RepairPal agrees, noting average annual repair costs hovering near $1,000. This is tolerable under warranty, ulcer-inducing without. Depreciation-wise, iSeeCars pegs the Q7 at 61% down after five years, and CarEdge lands around 53%. Either way, you'll see a chunk of MSRP evaporate in the short run. On recalls, the Wall Street Journal informed that in 2025 Audi recalled 44,000 vehicles after a software glitch was responsible for blacking out the instrument panel, prompting a dealer-installed update.

Buick - Satisfaction Score 2/5, 59% would buy again

Buick sign - Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

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Buick has reinvented itself as a quiet-lux family brand. Its SUVs feature nicer interiors than Chevrolet or Ford but don't carry the high price tags of Lexus or Lincoln. One of its models, the Encore GX, is among the best cars for retirees under $30,000, according to U.S. News & World Report. If you're into spacious varieties, check out the Envista, which is between a large sedan and a subcompact SUV, and the Enclave, a three-row SUV with intuitive infotainment systems, silent cabin, and a Top Safety Pick+ by IIHS. On the maintenance front, Consumer Reports places the American company at #3, a desirable spot, with around $5,300 in 10 years. But for CarEdge, this figure is more like $8,993 in the same period  $737 higher than the average for similar vehicles.

Buick is rather reliable, landing #11 in new car reliability and #6 in the used car field, but in terms of road tests, it leaves a lot to be desired. Buick only reached an unenviable #27 of 32. Gabe Shenhar, associate director of CR's auto test program, explained that the road-test score considers factors such as power delivery, handling agility, braking performance, seat comfort, controls' ease of use, and fuel economy. Apparently, Buick was not that good on these metrics and didn't reach the heart of consumers in this category. On depreciation, as inevitable as gravity. iSeeCars shows the Enclave shedding 59% after five years, while the Encore/Encore GX is a bit better with 54%. Final mark: #21 out of 27 in satisfaction.

Ram - Satisfaction Score 2/5, 56% would buy again

Ram sign - ChameleonsEye/Shutterstock

Americans love powerful pickups. And Ram sells the whole steakhouse: quilted leather, coil-spring suspension to cushion rough roads, large cabins, and strength. In fact, the Ram 1500 stands as one of the cheaper alternatives to the popular Ford F-Series cars. It comes with a 305-horsepower 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 and delivers 22 mpg in two-wheel drive and 21 mpg in the 4x4 model. For Consumer Reports, drivers are not quite smitten, ranking Ram #22 of 27 in owner satisfaction. Let's inspect the results. According to NHTSA filings, over 1.2 million Ram 1500s (2017-2024 models) were recalled for ABS software that could disable electronic stability control, a serious issue. Also, the U.S. agency informed of a probe into rollaway risks on older trucks despite prior fixes.

With ownership, CR places this Stellantis son #19 in maintenance and repair costs with $1,550 in the first five years and $6,055 in years six through ten, totaling $7,605 in a decade. RepairPal, not so optimistic, calculates $8,580 in the same period. Safety scores are otherwise decent. Per IIHS, the 2025 Ram 1500 Crew Cab holds a "Good" in the updated side impact test. This is because the brand constantly reinforces its trucks. On resale, Ram is kind of a monster. The Ram 2500 in its base model retains around 66.3% at five years, by MotorTrend, and the 3500 keeps for itself an impressive 77%. So, you won't lose your entire investment.

Chrysler - Satisfaction Score 2/5, 55% would buy again

Chrysler sign - Erman Gunes/Shutterstock

Chrysler once walked the earth as one of the "Big Three" carmakers in America. Its most famous cars include the 300, New Yorker, Sebring, 1960 300F, Town & Country, and Cordoba. But today, it has been sentenced to produce a single model with a couple of variants: the Pacifica (the premium) and the Voyager (the entry version). Consumer Reports has placed this other Stellantis son on the reverse side of the leaderboard  #23 of 27  in its "Most and Least Loved Car Brands" list. But the worst rank is #26 out of 26 in used car reliability. To arrive at this conclusion, CR studied trouble areas coming directly from owners, including squeaky brakes, broken interior trim, out-of-warranty engines, transmissions, batteries, and EV charging.

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On maintenance and repair costs, RepairPal puts the brand's average at around $608 per year. However, Consumer Reports, a little more lenient, estimates a comfortable $319 annually for the opening five years. CarEdge, meanwhile, says maintaining and repairing a Chrysler Pacifica will cost a crazy $11,521 over its first decade. Definitely a wallet crime. And added, there's a likelihood the Pacifica demands a hefty fix in that same decade. 2025 hasn't been nice to Chrysler at all. Reuters reported more than 250,000 Pacifica and Voyager minivans recalled because the side-curtain airbags might not hold pressure. Another blow for the uni-version car brand. Resale, the extra nibble. iSeeCars shows the Pacifica dropping close to 55% of its worth at five years, well beyond the standard in this segment  a model with poor long-term value.

Nissan - Satisfaction Score 2/5, 54% would buy again

Nissan sign - Eyewave/Getty Images

Despite Nissan having an acceptable score in road tests, Consumer Reports has placed it #24 of 27 in owner satisfaction due to a rollercoaster of opinions coming from its different models. But on average, Nissan is a strong brand. CR has positioned it #12 in new car reliability, #8 out of 26 in the used category, and an excellent #6 of 28 in maintenance and repair costs  $1,340 in the first five years and $5,935 in a decade. With safety, the IIHS has shared that the 2025 Murano, Pathfinder, and the big Armada all earned Top Safety Pick+ under strict criteria. The elephant in the garage, however, is engines and EV batteries. This summer, the Associated Press reported a sweeping recall of around 480,000 vehicles tied to VC-Turbo bearing issues that may lead to engine failure. It might sound terrible, but the company rushed to issue the fix and extended warranties.

Meanwhile, Car and Driver noted a Leaf recall (about 20,000 units) over fire risk while DC fast-charging. Another Nissan with "problems" is the Frontier. In December 2024, Consumer Reports scored it 27/100 because of transmission failures, drive system faults, and brake leaks. Regarding resale value, iSeeCars informs that the Rogue gives up roughly 49% after five years, a tick more than the compact-SUV norm. Not everything with CR is terrible. If you're after a sedan that's affordable without looking two-a-penny, CR hails the Nissan Sentra as one of the best cheap cars money can buy, awarding it an overall score of 78 out of 100.

Volkswagen - Satisfaction Score 2/5, 54% would buy again

Volkswagen sign - ChameleonsEye/Shutterstock

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Volkswagen builds vehicles that feel more refined than its rivals mostly because of their design. For instance, its SUVs feature cozy cabins, a high driving response, and more space. Notwithstanding, Consumer Reports ranks the German brand a poor #25 out of 27 in owner satisfaction. Why? Basically influenced by unintuitive controls and infotainment systems plus second-rate reliability for new cars (#18 out of 22). In this category, CR evaluates from simple brake issues to expensive problems like engine failures or EV batteries. In terms of safety, it's improving yet uneven. Based on IIHS data, the 2025 Atlas scores "Good" in small overlap and side, but only "Marginal" in the tougher updated moderate-overlap test. Owning a VW means decent upkeep. RepairPal sets the average maintenance at $676; not dire, not stellar, just fine. Depreciation varies. iSeeCars says the Tiguan and Jetta give up 40-48% of their value after the first five years.

So, choose carefully and budget for this financial loss that's more bratwurst than caviar. Media headlines haven't been kind to VW recalls. Reuters reported a 177,000-unit recall for Atlas/Atlas Cross Sport over engine covers that could come loose and contact hot components  unglamorous and serious as it sounds. Another NHTSA posting flagged 60,000 vehicles for shifter/gear-position display faults that could lead to rollaway risk. And let's not forget the September 2015 Volkswagen Dieselgate, among the largest recalls in recent history. Back then, car manufacturers had developed greener engines to follow U.S. environmental regulations, but Volkswagen, in a not-so-smart move, installed software to fool emission tests. Once off the test bench and out on real roads, VW diesel cars emitted nitrogen oxide at levels up to 40 times higher than the "healthy" limits. In 2017, Volkswagen confessed wrongdoing and paid $4.3 billion in fines.

Mercedes-Benz - Satisfaction Score 3/5, 53% would buy again

Mercedes-Benz sign - PJ McDonnell/Shutterstock

One might assume Mercedes-Benzes would sit at the top of every category. They offer industry-leading comfort, no doubt; hi-tech, definitely. Despite that, Consumer Reports ranks the three-point star brand #12 of 32 in road tests, only two points above Mazda and a couple less than Honda, and #11 out of 26 in used car reliability (below Nissan and Volvo). CR also gives it an expected #26 of 28 in maintenance and repair costs and #26 of 27 in owner satisfaction. Having a Mercedes in your garage means paying an average of $3,500 in upkeep in the first five years and a whopping $13,100 over a decade. Not including out-of-warranty workshop visits. RepairPal's estimation is a bit more, landing around the $900 mark per year. If you're loaded and have a passion for status, it doesn't matter, but Toyota, Mazda, and Honda score better and don't carry the high price tag.

With recalls, in September 2024, Reuters reported over 27,000 S-Class variants and Maybach S580s with ECU software linked to engine stalls. The NHTSA stated that an engine stop increases the risk of an accident, and an overheated one can cause a fire. The problem was solved, but this is not the kind of thing you wish for when you pay a premium. Safety is strong in Mercedes. The IIHS noted that the 2025 GLC and GLE earned Top Safety Pick+ with "Good" crash scores across the toughened tests, and the C-Class sedan sits in that same echelon. Mercedes-Benz's new vehicles have a long way to go before they match legends like the R107 SL Series, now worth a small fortune. Perhaps in the future, one of the current models could become a classic, but it's hard to imagine today with this Consumer Reports score.

Jeep - Satisfaction Score 2/5, 51% would buy again

Jeep sign - Al.geba/Shutterstock

The last spot belongs to Jeep, another brand from Stellantis. Jeep sells a lifestyle: dust, trail badges, and the sense that every school run is a foretaste of the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah. But for Consumer Reports, this brand is sitting at #27 out of 27 in owner satisfaction (only 51% of owners would buy again), #25 of 26 in used car reliability  sharing with its Stellantis brother, Chrysler  and #32 of 32 in road tests. This is the bottom of the barrel. CR says the Jeep Wrangler is fuel-inefficient, noisy, and has a rough ride inside. For some reason, it's popular. Maybe because of its tough looks. But the honeymoon's over once the novelty wears off and reality hits. Maintenance costs are average, with $1,220 in upkeep in the first five years and an estimated $6,470 in 10.

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The Cherokee and Wagoneer, usually scoring low on Consumer Reports' surveys, are still a good option for those who don't mind fuel economy and want a three-row SUV. On value retention, only the Gladiator and the Wrangler, like vintage denim, retain over 64% of their worth after five years, as per iSeeCars, but the Wagoneer (50.9%) has terrible resale value. Recalls, recalls, keep coming. Reuters reported a software defect on the Grand Cherokee, one of the least reliable cars according to Consumer Reports, that may lead to sudden power loss. Car and Driver detailed a Wrangler 4xe recall tied to an over-the-air update that bricked propulsion. The NHTSA informed about a non-compliance notice for Wrangler's safety issues and trim pieces flying off Wagoneers (yes, really) as published by KBB.

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SHANGHAI, Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ZKH Group Limited ("ZKH" or the "Company") (NYSE: ZKH), a leading maintenance, repair and operations ("MRO") procurement service platform in China, today announced that it will release its unaudited financial results for the third quarter of 2025, on Thursday, November 20, 2025, before the open of the U.S. markets.

The Company's management will hold an earnings conference call on Thursday, November 20, 2025 at 7:00 A.M. U.S. Eastern Time (8:00 P.M. Beijing/Hong Kong Time) to discuss the financial results. Listeners may access the call by dialing the following numbers:

United States (toll free): +1-888-317-6003 International: +1-412-317-6061 Mainland China (toll free): 400-120-6115 Hong Kong (toll free): 800-963-976 Hong Kong: +852-5808-1995 Access Code: 1976591

A replay of the conference call will be accessible by phone one hour after the conclusion of the live call at the following numbers, until November 27, 2025:

United States:







+1-855-669-9658 International:







+1-412-317-0088 Replay Access Code:







9206894

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will also be available on the Company's investor relations website at https://ir.zkh.com.

About ZKH Group Limited

ZKH Group Limited (NYSE: ZKH) is a leading MRO procurement service platform in China, underpinned by robust supply chain capabilities and dedicated to serving customers globally through a product-led, agentic AI-driven approach. Through its primary online platforms, the ZKH platform, the GBB platform and the Northsky platform, along with innovative technology and extensive industry expertise, the Company provides bespoke MRO procurement solutions to a diverse and loyal customer base. These solutions encompass hyper-personalized product curation from a comprehensive selection of quality products at competitive prices. Additionally, the Company ensures timely and reliable product delivery through professional fulfillment services. By focusing on reducing procurement costs and addressing management efficiency challenges, ZKH is transforming the opaque MRO procurement process and empowering all stakeholders across the value chain.

For more information, please visit https://ir.zkh.com.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

In China:

ZKH Group Limited

IR Department

E-mail: [email protected]

Piacente Financial Communications

Jenny Cai

Tel: +86-10-6508-0677

E-mail: [email protected]

In the United States:

Piacente Financial Communications

Brandi Piacente

Tel: +1-212-481-2050

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE ZKH Group Limited
Screen grab: Nothing Personal with David Samson

As the two-month anniversary of her diagnosis approaches, David Samson is continuing to do all that he can to support his daughter.

On Mondays episode of Nothing Personal with David Samson, the Meadowlark Media host sported a new look, donning a shaved head. The haircut was inspired by Samsons daughter, who is continuing to undergo treatment after first falling ill with a serious illness in September.

I havent spoken in a few weeks about whats going on and I wanted to catch you up, Samson said before thanking the litany of friends, followers and colleagues who have reached out to him. You know how sick my daughter is. And my daughter has been going through treatments. My daughter is a brave woman, is a strong woman. Is a woman who is able to go through these treatments, understanding the importance of them while recognizing the difficulty of them.

When you go to a hospital every day to get treatment and your hair starts falling out and you recognize what hair means in terms of vanity, you realize that vanity takes a step behind living. And I dont mean a small step.

Samson said he decided to shave his head after he and his family asked his daughter if she wanted them to, and that she indicated shed enjoy participating in the process. The former Miami Marlins president  who has also grown out his beard  stated that he found himself unrecognizable following the haircut, which only made him further reflect on the symbolic nature of the gesture.

Hair will exist again. Hair can grow back, no matter where your male pattern balding is. No matter whether its thin or thick or different color, different texture, he said. The concept of hair regrowth is a concept that I cannot relate to in any way because what were dealing with is something that, in theory, is not able to be controlled. But yet you embark on a journey where you try to figure out ways to gain control of the uncontrollable.

A visibly and understandably emotional Samson proceeded to reflect on the way in which his daughters illness has totally shifted the prism through which he views life, while further lamenting his inability to control the uncontrollable. He described his feelings as helpless, lonely, fearful and despair, stating that his recent haircut only serves as a reminder of the new normal his family is now experiencing.

Samson also shared that his daughter has one week of her current treatments left and then he and his family will determine whats next. But while his emotions understandably ranged from sadness, anger and frustration over the course of his monologue, he also made it clear that hes still receptive to any emotional support that anyone is willing to offer.

Now I look in the mirror and have no idea what I wake up to any day, he said. So while it may be jarring to look at a dome that is hairless, thats not the jarring part. The love that you all show, the care, the concern, the thoughts, the ideas, the treatments, the miracles, the stories, dont be afraid. Dont be afraid to say them. I want to hear all of them.

Dont think that I dont want to hear a success story because I do even if Im not in one. Dont think I dont want to feel good for you even when I feel badly for her and for us. Dont think that your moment of accomplishment will in any way mean that I am viewing you as not caring or not being empathetic or sympathetic. Im past that all we can do is see what tomorrow brings. But for today, I remain humble and Im appreciative of the love, as helpless as I am.
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
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Accessibility supervisor: Making barrier-free environment benefit more people

13:35, November 10, 2025 By Shi Fang ( People's Daily

Xu Yanchun works in an office. (People's Daily/Shi Fang)

Just after 7 a.m., Xu Yanchun attached a powered front wheel to her wheelchair and began her commute across Beijing.

Her day included delivering accessibility training to over 100 supervisors in Fengtai District before providing guided interpretation for international visitors at the National Barrier-Free Environment Exhibition Hall. After travelling more than 50 kilometres, she returned home after 5:00 p.m.

Though weary, Xu expressed profound satisfaction: "This is a life I never dared imagine - supporting myself while contributing to society."

Born in 1974 with congenital spina bifida and scoliosis, Xu grew up aware of her physical differences, walking with an uneven gait due to differing leg lengths.

At 19, she enrolled in accounting at what is now Capital University of Economics and Business. Midway through her first semester, her legs grew progressively weaker. "The weakness started in my feet and calves, then spread to my thighs and eventually both legs," she recalled. Forced to use a wheelchair, she had to postpone her studies.

During her initial wheelchair years, Xu experienced significant emotional challenges, isolating herself indoors. Her turning point came upon reading a magazine quote: "Accept what cannot be changed, and change what can be changed." This philosophy inspired her transformation.

Xu mastered computer skills and established an online shop where she handled both customer service and management. In 2015, she joined a psychosocial rehabilitation program run by Beijing New Life Elderly and Disabled Services Center, where she not only gained practical skills but also met a group of like-minded friends.

Her career breakthrough came in 2018 when she participated in China's inaugural national accessibility and universal design training camp. "Seeing international experts design accessibility solutions for Olympic Village convinced me I could do this too," she explained. Through field studies in Shanghai, Dalian, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, she systematically acquired accessibility technical standards, ultimately qualifying as a professional accessibility supervisor.

When Beijing launched its barrier-free environment initiative in 2019, Xu became a citywide lecturer, travelling by wheelchair across all 16 districts. She provided hands-on guidance for accessibility renovations in diverse settings - from municipal infrastructure and government centres to hospitals, shopping malls, and residential communities.

During facility inspections, she emphasised precision: "Call buttons must be positioned on the front side of toilets; accessible restrooms require a 1.5-metre wheelchair turning radius; low counters need adequate knee clearance. Barrier-free construction demands meticulous attention to detail."

Xu's expertise shaped Beijing's Naga Tree Cafe in Sanjing Hutong, where she collaborated through over ten design revisions and onsite construction supervision. The resulting fully accessible space features Braille navigation maps, lowered call buttons, adjustable sinks, and a Braille reading corner, becoming a beloved community hub. "This thoughtful design creates a welcoming public space for us," patrons noted.

Xu considers her disability a professional advantage: "As a wheelchair user, I can authentically evaluate accessibility functionality." To enhance her expertise, she taught herself architectural blueprint interpretation and improved her English for international standards access. In August 2023, her outstanding contributions earned her appointment as deputy secretary-general of the professional committee on standardization under the China Association of Volunteers for Persons with Disabilities.

Flatter roads, more convenient transportation, and easier public services - with continuous enhancements to barrier-free facilities in Beijing, Xu now often enjoys parks and shopping malls independently in her wheelchair. Her schedule stays packed, with at least three days a week spent traveling around the city. "I will keep working hard," she said, "so that accessibility development can benefit more people."

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Alta Journals California Book Club

The book: Startlement by Ada Limon

Our reviewer says: In a retrospective spanning two decades, former U.S. poet laureate Limon captures the mind and soul with exquisite linguistic mastery and vision that will compel readers to earmark every other sentence. Read more.

Audacious Book Club

The book: We Survived the Night by Julian Brave NoiseCat

Our reviewer says: Journalist and documentarian NoiseCats ambitious debut ruminates on generational trauma and resilience among Indigenous communities in North America.... [This is] a powerful archive of Indigenous pain and persistence. Read more.

Barnes & Noble Book Club

The book: Like Family by Erin O. White

Our reviewer says: Whites nuanced debut novel concerns the complex relationships of three couples in Upstate New York.... Readers will find much to enjoy. Read more.

Belletrist

The book: Simultaneous by Eric Heisserer

Our reviewer says: Oscar-nominated screenwriter Heisserer debuts with a mind-bending sci-fi thriller.... This auspicious first outing will excite fans of Blake Crouch. Read more.

Eclectix The Book Club

The book: Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Our reviewer says: In this scintillating saga from Braithwaite, generations of women in a Lagos family contend with a curse that prevents them from securing husbands.... This is riveting. Read more.

Good Housekeeping Book Club

The book: Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino

Our reviewer says: Former Washington Post reporter Kashino debuts with a wicked satirical thriller about the cutthroat world of Washington, D.C., area real estate. Read more.

Good Morning America Book Club

The book: Wreck by Catherine Newman

Our reviewer says: The appealing if underdeveloped sequel to Newmans 2024 novel Sandwich follows 50-something writer Rocky through another series of midlife dilemmas.... The authors fans wont be disappointed. Read more.

Good Morning America YA Book Club

The book: Cold Wire by Chloe Gong

Our reviewer says: In a near-future world ravaged by deadly disease and extreme weather caused by climate change, humans rebuff reality for a virtual realm in this allegorical telling by Gong.... A slow beginning gives way to a tightly paced climax and a juicy sequel hook. Read more.

The Ink Book Club

The book: We Survived the Night by Julian Brave NoiseCat

Our reviewer says: Journalist and documentarian NoiseCats ambitious debut ruminates on generational trauma and resilience among Indigenous communities in North America.... [This is] a powerful archive of Indigenous pain and persistence. Read more.

Jewish Book Council Book Club (fiction)

The book: I Want to Be Wonderful by Lihi Lapid

Jewish Book Council Book Club (nonfiction)

The book: Heart of a Stranger by Angela Buchdahl

Our reviewer says: Buchdahl debuts with an affecting account of becoming the first ordained Asian American rabbi.... In a moment of rising social division, racism, and antisemitism, this stirring call for unity resonates. Read more.

Oprahs Book Club

The book: Some Bright Nowhere by Ann Packer

Maudes Book Club

The book: We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor

Mocha Girls Read Book Club

The book: Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America by Michael Harriot

Our reviewer says: Harriot, a columnist at TheGrio, offers a razor-sharp reassessment of American history.... Both entertainingly colloquial and impressively erudite, this meticulous survey of the American past is an invaluable resource. Read more.

Natalies Book Club

The book: Father Figure by Emma Forrest

Noname Book Club

The book: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Our reviewer says: Gyasis amazing debut offers an unforgettable, page-turning look at the histories of Ghana and America, as the author traces a single bloodline across seven generations.... Marvelous. Read more.

NYPL Teen Banned Book Club

The book: The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

Our reviewer says: Nguyens poignant debut captures the perspectives of, and essence of the bond between, a parent and child, proving that languageand lovecan transcend words. Read more.

PBS Books Readers Club

The book: Americas First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

Preoccupied Book Club

The book: Count My Lies by Sophie Stava

Our reviewer says: In Stavas devilishly plotted if somewhat far-fetched debut, a seemingly chance encounter with a wealthy man in a Brooklyn park transforms a young womans life.... This is good fun. Read more.

Read with Jenna

The book: Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Our reviewer says: In this scintillating saga from Braithwaite, generations of women in a Lagos family contend with a curse that prevents them from securing husbands.... This is riveting. Read more.

Reeses Book Club

The book: Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy

Our reviewer says: Australian writer McConaghy depicts in this urgent if uneven saga a familys attempt to survive on a desert island in a near future ravaged by climate change. Read more.

Sapph-Lit

The book: Forest Euphoria by Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian

Our reviewer says: Kaishian, a mycology curator at the New York State Museum, debuts with reverent celebration of the natural worlds diversity.... This will leave readers in awe of natures many splendors. Read more.

Sarah Selects

The book: Like Family by Erin O. White

Our reviewer says: Whites nuanced debut novel concerns the complex relationships of three couples in Upstate New York.... Readers will find much to enjoy. Read more.

The Stacks Book Club

The book: We the Animals by Justin Torres

Our reviewer says: Three brothers and a dueling husband and wife are bound by poverty and love in this debut novel from Stegner Fellow Torres. Read more.

Subtle Asian Book Club

The book: The Hollow Half by Sarah Aziza

Our reviewer says: Palestinian-American journalist and Fulbright fellow Aziza delivers a visceral debut autobiography that braids mental illness, queer identity, and generational trauma into a striking meditation on exile. Read more.

Target Book Club

The book: The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich

Our reviewer says: Pulitzer winner Erdrich follows the folks of the Red River Valley of North Dakotathe original home to the Ojibwe, the Dakota, and the Metisin a captivating tale of love and everyday life amid environmental upheaval and the 2008 financial crisis. Read more.

TeaTime Book Club

The book: The Ten Year Affair by Erin Somers

Our reviewer says: Somers offers a wry and ingenious tale of marital infidelity.... Readers will find this hard to put down. Read more.
Daniel J. Montgomery, announced in June as the incoming executive director of the American Library Association, started his new role November 10.

A hefty slate of priorities awaits Montgomery at ALAs Chicago headquarters, from federal appropriations and state funding for libraries, to partnerships with civic organizations, to generational change in the workforce, to concerns around AI and censorship.

One of my primary jobs will be to reaffirm our forward fight in support of librarians, library workers, and libraries themselves, he told PW. You dont do that by signaling. You have to help libraries navigate budget fights, book bans, and attacks on public institutions.

ALA leadership, members, and others express a real thirst for extremely strong advocacy for libraries in this environment, he added. ALA has been at the forefront, but members and the public want to see an even more visible advocacy.

Montgomery has been a champion of workers rights and organizational stewardship for decades, as a member and then president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. In mid-October, Montgomery completed his fifth term as IFT president, having held that position since 2010. At his send-off, held at this years IFT Convention, October 1719, guests included Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.

I talked to J.B. about libraries at the convention, Montgomery said. Hes certainly been standing up strongly for civil and human rights in this state, and I said, I want to continue the conversation.

Montgomery reminded Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson that ALAs 150th anniversary would be celebrated in June 2026 in Chicago. I put a pin in it for them, Montgomery said. I would expect both would want to come. Political figures, including Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias and others, are concerned about libraries and the freedom to access information.

Current ALA president Sam Helmick has been looking forward to Montgomerys first official day on the job, adding that Montgomery has been showing up to ALA events for weeks to meet his constituency.

Dan has been time-release-capsuling his onboarding since he was hired, Helmick told PW. Were excited to be with somebody so deeply experienced with lifelong learning, literacy, and organizing, who understands the value of building community, bringing people together, and making sure our organizational structure is sound.

Nick Buron, chief librarian for the Queens Public Library and an ALA board member, linked the timing of ALAs leadership change to the off-off-year U.S. election. In his New York borough, the mayor-elect mentioned numerous times that libraries should get a percentage of the city budget, Buron said. While I dont believe libraries are neutral, they are not political: libraries are there for everyone.

At the same time, ALA is experiencing a new chapter, with an executive director from the field of labor, Buron continued. Theres an opportunity for ALA to uplift the idea of libraries in general and the people who are connecting their neighbors with the programs and services they need.

Difficult but necessary decisions

Montgomery arrives in a year when ALA has acknowledged and acted upon its financial challenges. Weve got to be leaner budgetarily, and that process is underway, Montgomery said. Ive learned from not only my union work, but other organizations Ive been in, that cant do anything if you have a deficityou can't exist. I'm confident that weve got financial stewardship in place to be much more secure and to thrive.

That process has been at times painful, he acknowledged. In July, the association released a three-year strategic plan meant to re-establish firm footing. It also announced on October 21 that it had made a series of difficult but necessary workforce changes as part of its ongoing ALA Forward initiative, that involved buying out or laying off approximately 30 staffers. Among those let go was Office of Intellectual Freedom director Deborah Caldwell-Stone, a startling reduction in force from a core area of strategic concern. The OIF is now being led by deputy director Sarah Lamdan.

In addition, prior to Montgomerys hire, Leslie Burger led ALA as interim ED. Burger came to the role in November 2023, after former ED Tracie D. Halls unexpected resignation in October of that year. Burger completed her service in July.

According to ALA president Helmick, Burger was instrumental in a time of transition and significant budget challenges, with a steady, clear, calm voice of leadership. Helmick added that Burger recently facilitated James W. Lewiss $25 million bequest to ALA, staying hyperfocused on creating access and supporting members with education through the design of that grant, which will diversify the workforce by supporting library school scholarships for students with demonstrated need.

Montgomery said it was essential for ALA to move from an interim to a permanent ED. In the philanthropy world, they want to give to organizations where they see security and stability, he observed. ALA has had an interim for a long time, and thats concerning to donors. Now weve got a full-time executive director and a vision for the future, and were doing the things we have to do financially to make the organization sound and viable, so those are all positives.

He's also focused on membership growth and partnerships with literary as well as civic organizations, such as PEN America and Authors Against Book Bans. Drawing from my union experience over the last 1015 years, he said, unions who are successful dont go it alone. They build partnerships with all sorts of community organizations, and the same is true of ALA. Since being announced as incoming ED, he said, hes heard from librarians and non-library advocacy groups eager to work together, and there's a real will of the board to do that, by the way. Its a huge country, and we need all hands on deck.
As the search for a replacement for Simon & Schuster CEO Jonathan Karp continues, another high-ranking executive is leaving the company.

S&S Australia managing director Dan Ruffino has announced that he is resigning, effective December 12. The news came in an announcement from Perminder Mann, who took over as the new CEO of Simon & Schuster International May 1. Mann, who succeeded longtime international head Ian Chapman, had been CEO of Bonnier Books U.K. since 2017 and, like Chapman before her, oversees Simon & Schuster UK and manage its international operations, including Australia and India.

In her memo to employees, Mann wrote that until a successor is found, Ruffino's reports will report directly to her. She commended Ruffino for leading S&S Australia through a transformative period, "where the business has gone from being relatively small to become one with significant reputation and reach."

Part of the growth came from the purchase of Affirm Press in 2024. "Last week, when the Affirm team moved in with their S&S colleagues in Melbourne, signaling the integration completed, it gave me time to pause and reflect on the incredible journey weve been on," Ruffino said in a statement. "Now feels like the right time to hand the reins over."

In the U.S., COO Dennis Eulau announced earlier this fall he will retire from the publisher at the end of November. Eulau has been with S&S for 30 years, joining the company in 1995 as business manager for the trade division. He helped Karp guide S&S following the unexpected death of Carolyn Reidy and at one point served in the combined role of EVP, COO, and CFO.
Did you always expect to inherit the family business?

I worked at the bookstore growing up, but then I worked two years in the sciences before taking a job at a shrimp farm in Costa Rica. It was fun, but I valued opportunity more. I came back, not fully knowing I was taking over. I just charged in and started learning more about the business and making decisions. Suddenly, Im old and in charge.

To what do you attribute the stores longevity?

Its definitely a combination of having a really good staff and our customer base. Florida has more retirees than most states. They have time to read and disposable income to spend on books. Also, my parents purchased the building a long time ago. I couldnt imagine having a lease and having to renegotiate it, or having the lease up and wondering if were going to have to move.

Vero Beach has only 16,000 residents, yet the store often hosts big names.

We built up our reputation over many years. Publishers feel confident sending us authors, as we have lots of experience and we know what were doing, whether the event is small or large, like when we hosted George W. Bush, with a couple thousand people and lots of logistics and security. Theres also a lot of beach club communities in town; theyll tell us that one of their residents has an author friend coming to give a talk and will order 50 books. Sometimes theyll ask if the author can do an event at the store, too. Mitch Albom is coming in December, and thats how that came about.
The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) presented its 2025 Christy Awards in a webcast Friday evening, naming All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee (Tyndale) as the 2025 Christy Book of the Year. Bitter and Sweet by Rhonda McKnight (Thomas Nelson) received the Amplify Award for Christian Fiction.

Shocklee's novelwhich also tied with Amanda Dykes' novel, Born of Gilded Mountains (Bethany), as the top winner in the history categoryis described as a story of family, faith and hidden secrets. In the ECPA tradition of prior winners announcing the new honorees, T.I. Lowe, 2024 Christy Book of the Year winner, announced Shocklee's win, saying "God gives us the gift of Story and He wants us to receive it and enjoy it, even through seasons of 'noise.'"

Judges for the 2025 Amplify Awardestablished by the ECPA in 2022 to "encourage, elevate, and recognize stories from ethnically diverse perspectives"named McKnight for a book they noted, "masterfully weaves together the taste, fragrance, and rich heritage of Gullah cuisine with themes of faith, forgiveness, and belonging. Every scene feels alivesteeped in history, family conflict and resolution, and the kind of love that refuses to let go."

ECPA president Jeff Crosby praised all the finalists and winners who, he said, "have taken up the challenge not merely of amusing or distracting readers; rather, they have undertaken a higher calling of reaching, touching, changing hearts through the power of words, plot, authentic character development, and memorable insight."

Among the award winners are Nicole Deese, whose The Roads We Follow (Bethany) took home the prize in the contemporary romance category; Jamie Ogle's As Sure as the Sea (Tyndale), for Historical Romance; and Jaime Jo Wright's Night Falls on Predicament Avenue (Bethany), for Mystery/Suspense/Thriller. The full list of finalists and winners is all nine categories here.
The city of Tehran is collapsing under the weight of multiple environmental crises. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian warned in October that moving Irans capital out of Tehran is not a choice, but a necessity. But while it may need to happen, it is also an impossibility, not least because of the incompetence and corruption of the regime.

The dams supplying Tehran with water now hold only 14 percent of their capacity; Lar Dam, one of the most crucial, is barely at 1 percent. Rainfall has been roughly 40 percent below long-term averages. Over-pumping of aquifers to make up the deficit has caused the ground beneath the city to sink by up to 25 centimeters per year, cracking roads, pipelines, and building foundations. Sinkholes have opened in residential neighborhoods, forcing homes to be evacuated, while subsidence has warped rail lines and sections of the Tehran Metro, and even runways at the citys airports. These are not natural disasters, but the outcome of decades of unregulated extraction, political negligence, and short-term engineering projects driven by patronage networks.

Water scarcity has compounded a related energy crisis. While hydropower is a relatively small share of Irans energy mix, any cut is significant for an electrical grid thats perpetually on the verge of disaster. The result is a dual water-energy shortfall: blackouts and rationing that strike the capital simultaneously. Even efforts to promote solar have become farcical, with officials urging cash-strapped energy producers to fund their own panels instead of fixing the states broken power system. For a country with the worlds second-largest gas reserves and abundant sunlight, these shortages reflect a failure of governance, not resources.

Tehrans daily life reflects the same mismanagement. More than 42 million vehicle trips occur in Tehran each day, including 19 million full journeys from origin to destination and 23 million partial trips involving transfers or short segments. About 4 million cars and 1 million motorcycles clog the capitals streets. Traffic generates about 83 percent of Tehrans air pollution, and is roughly nine times the World Health Organizations guidelines for whats considered healthy. In 2024, air pollution was linked to more than 6,000 deaths, and the city saw only seven clean-air days. Smog trapped by the surrounding mountains keeps respiratory illness and infrastructural decay as permanent features of urban life.

Behind every symptom lies institutional rot. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps construction conglomerate, Khatam al-Anbiya, has built unregulated dams, diversion canals, and industrial sites that profit regime-linked firms while accelerating ecological collapse. Irans Energy Ministry and its subordinate Iran Water and Power Resources Development Company (IWPCO) have repeatedly financed concrete-heavy projects without hydrological or environmental assessments. These ventures divert water to politically connected industries, drain aquifers, and worsen subsidence across central Iran, not just the capital.

Despite its impending environmental collapse, Tehran remains the countrys economic core. The Greater Tehran Metropolitan Area holds about 15 million people, roughly 15 percent of Irans population, and generates more than 20 percent of national GDP. Tehran accounts for nearly half of all the nations tax revenue and hosts about 30 percent of the public-sector workforce and 45 percent of large industrial firms. Its 17,960 industrial plants employ one-quarter of Irans industrial labor force. Finance, real estate, construction, automobiles, chemicals, and steel form the backbone of this economic concentration.

The capitals gravity has drawn millions of people from provinces hollowed out by drought and unemployment, which are even worse outside Tehran. Nationwide rainfall is down about 45 percent from previous years, and major dam reserves stand near 46 percent of capacity, with seven below 10 percent. All 31 of Irans provinces are facing some degree of water scarcity, and more than 40 cities face rationing. Former officials warn that unchecked climate decline could eventually displace up to 50 million people. Thats more than half of all Iranians.

The drying of Lake Urmia in the northwest, caused by unregulated dams and politically motivated water diversions, has unleashed salt storms that have pushed residents to leave. Rising temperatures and dust in Khuzestan, worsened by regime-backed transfers and mismanaged rivers, have driven similar outflows. In Isfahan, the near-disappearance of the Zayandeh Rud River, drained by canals feeding industries linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has devastated agriculture, sparking farmer protests and mass rural migration. Sistan and Baluchestan faces sharp decreases in rainfall and vanishing pastures, the result of neglected water accords and state over-pumping, forcing whole villages to be abandoned. Most displaced families gravitate toward Tehran, worsening overcrowding and strain.

Tehran province absorbs about 20 percent of all internal migrants, three times more than the next-largest destination. Roughly 88 percent of Tehrans population growth now comes from migration rather than babies born to the city. Officials report that some 200,000 people move to Tehran each year.

The influx has expanded slums on the citys outskirts, strained already scarce public services, and deepened social divides between the urban poor and the politically connected elite.

What was once a migration of opportunity has become one of survival, as displaced families move from dry farms to a capital that is itself running out of water. Rising inequality and urban congestion have made Tehran a pressure cooker of national discontent, one that the regime can neither reform nor relieve.

The Makran region, proposed as an alternative capital, faces rising sea levels, dust storms from the dried Jazmourian basin, water scarcity, and minimal infrastructure. Even if relocation were possible, the social, economic, and political weight built in Tehran over centuries cannot simply be transplanted  especially not by an incompetent and corrupt regime. Nor would it be possible to simply leave incompetence and corruption behind.

Tehrans collapse is not just the story of a city breaking down under its own weight. It is the story of a country that has exhausted its land, its water, and its people, and now faces the reckoning it spent decades deferring.

Janatan Sayeh is the Iran research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focused on Iranian domestic affairs and the Islamic Republics regional malign influence. Born and raised in Tehran, Iran, he studied Hebrew and Arabic at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and received his B.A. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.
Ten years ago today Europe was reeling after a series of coordinated attacks by radical Muslims left 134 dead and 400 more injured across the city of Paris. The most devastating attack was at the Bataclan theater where Islamic terrorists took 1500 concert-goers hostage and ultimately left ninety dead and hundreds more wounded. These attacks were positioned almost exactly at the midpoint between the January 2015 terror attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris and the July 2016 martyrdom of Fr Jacque Hamel, a Catholic priest beheaded while celebrating mass in a nearly empty Normandy church.

This stretch of outrageous and very public attacks were, unfortunately, not the only Islamic terror attacks in France or in Europe over those months. There were many more to follow in Belgium, Germany, and France. But the brazen, organized, and graphic nature of these attacks should have awakened an obviously vulnerable West to the very real threat of Islamic terror. It did not.

What has happened in the intervening years is a refusal to embrace the fact that what motivates these attacks is a certain set of values wholly incompatible with the West. The situation in France has only worsened with 56% of the nations Muslims reporting extreme antisemitic views and nearly 20% expressing sympathy with Hamas, an international terrorist organization.

This is not to say that Muslims are not capable of living as peaceful and productive citizens in the West, but it does mean that we failed to demand certain concessions from many immigrants as they moved into the West.

The elite narrative that comes from both the left and the right as they wring their hands in Brussels, Paris, London, and Washington does not acknowledge that the values that we now call Western values or humane values have a very clear source. It is no accident that it is where the Judeo-Christian tradition informed the moral vocabulary of the people that a unique civilization, with political discourse focused on the rights of individuals, emerged. There are confined examples of very noble and humane historical moments in other parts of the world, but not even a single example of a sustained, durable civilization with the same openness as the modern West.

There are legitimate critiques of the West and the empires and political units that have been constituted within it. But the arc of history is toward more freedom, more recognition of the dignity of the individual, and more justice. The British Empire collapsed, in part, because it dedicated so much of its resources to the eradication of the North Atlantic slave trade that it had developed. In America, hundreds of thousands died to eradicate the evil scourge of slavery. Tens of millions died in order to topple the genocidal Nazi regime of mid-century Germany, and hundreds of millions focused their energies on freeing hundreds of millions more from living under the bootheel of Communism in the late 20th Century.

The values that animated these valiant and sacrificial movements toward a more just society are rooted in the Judeo-Christian heritage of the West. This is emphatically not a theological or doctrinal claim, but an historical one. When this historical fact is either rejected or dismissed then the only remaining claim is that Western values are rootless. They are preferences, and any person from any social or moral milieu need only be convinced that by embracing these values he or she will experience economic prosperity and domestic tranquility. This is simply not true.

When one rejects the fundamental equality of women, for example, there is no way to reach the conclusion that women are due the same legal and social protections as men enjoy. If one adopts the view that homosexuality should be punishable by death or exile, why should we be surprised when they argue that societys laws must dictate this end.

Islamic terrorists are not merely wreaking havoc and acting out violently because they are frustrated by a lack of economic opportunity in the West or because of the vestiges of mercantilism and colonialism in their native homelands. These are people who honestly believe that a way of life more akin to life in Afghanistan is more pleasing to God than the way of life that has become synonymous with Western societies.

The deaths of the hundreds and now thousands of victims of Islamic terror, including the 134 who died ten years ago today in Paris, cannot be wasted. It is time to make sure that the West only remains hospitable to those who embrace the values of the West not as a mere preference, but as a prerequisite for citizenship. The West need not be dominated by religiously observant Jews and Christians to accomplish this, but we must recognize that a disdain for the source of the substance of our social cohesion and the common vocabulary of our morality will only further compromise our ability to resist those who seek to destroy it. We must muster the courage to admit the mistakes that were made at the point when social integration was assumed, but not required and find ways to rectify that quickly.

Trey Dimsdale is the president of the Ayaan Hirsi Ali Foundation.
Twisters and Chad Powers actor Glen Powell says one of the hardest parts about working on The Running Man remake was waiting to hear if author Stephen King would agree to his casting in the dystopian thriller based on his book.

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The movie, co-written and directed by Edgar Wright , is set for theatrical release Friday.

In it, Powell plays Ben Richards, a contestant hunted by trained assassins on a TV game show. If he survives, he gets a huge cash prize that will enable him to save his sick daughter.

"Edgar offered me this movie and I was like, 'Yes!' He's like, 'You're my Ben Richards.' And I'm like, 'Let's go!' And then, later that night, he's like, 'By the way, you have to be approved by Stephen King.' And I was like, 'How does that happen?' He's like, 'He's going to watch Hit Man tonight,'" Powell recently recounted for the crowd at New York Comic Con.

"So, I had to wait overnight for Stephen King to watch Hit Man and hope that I still had the role in the morning. It was terrible," he laughed. "He loved it, thank God."

Powell isn't the first Ben Richards to grace the silver screen.

Arnold Schwarzenegger originated the character in the 1987 screen adaptation.

"When I saw the Arnold Schwarzenegger version, I was very aware that it was very loosely based on the book and, so, I always felt that there was a whole part of the story that just hadn't been adapted," Wright explained.

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"My favorite remakes are ones that kind of do something different from the other one. So, this is not an attempt to remake that film. This is something that's more faithful to the book. So, that was what was exciting for me."

Powell said he has a previous connection to Schwarzenegger since they both appeared in 2014's The Expendables 3.

"I'm 16th on the call sheet. There's no reason I needed to be in that movie. It's all the most iconic action stars of all time and, somehow, I slipped in," he quipped.

"What was really, really cool is for me to get to watch guys like Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Wesley Snipes, Antonio Banderas -- all these guys who have led their own franchises -- and watch how they do it. It was pretty cool for me to kind of be looking up at some of my heroes and now getting to kind of occupy this space with an iconic title with an iconic director and an incredible cast."

Powell said he is proud of how this new version of The Running Man turned out.

"This movie just delivers on every level," he added. "The kind of characters I've always responded to are just ordinary people against extraordinary odds and that's just really the DNA of The Running Man."

Powell described Ben Richards as "the ultimate underdog."

"He's a normal guy, who is facing off against the most powerful, oppressive system there is. So, there's no greater stakes and no smaller odds," the actor noted.

"I try to be a nice guy in real life, but Wright's like: 'I need Bad Mood Glen. I need to turn on something a little different in you,'" Powell remembered. "So, Ben Richards in the book is very much frustrated with the system. He's been pushed down. He's trying to provide for his family and every sort of option has been taken away from him in order to do that."

The actor said this film seems to be a natural choice for Wright whose body of work includes Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Baby Driver.

"One thing that I think is just really so fun about this movie is the collision of fun and violence. It's one of the reasons that Edgar Wright is absolutely the perfect guy to direct this movie," Powell emphasized.

"When you've watched Edgar's filmography, you look at the way he directs action sequences and there's maybe no better action director out there," Powell added. "Edgar gets to fully unleash that weapon on this movie."

Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, William H. Macy and Colman Domingo co-star.
'The danger is that when the music stops, the fall will be sudden, faster, and deeper than anyone expects,' warns Debashis Basu.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff

America's stock market, unconcerned by trade tensions or fiscal strain, sits near a record high.

The exuberance is driven by a new generation of techno-optimism -- this time about artificial intelligence (AI).

The 'Magnificent Seven' (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla) now account for roughly 38 per cent of S&P 500's market capitalisation and about half its profits.

Their dominance, and the feverish faith in a new technology revolution, evokes memories of the late 1990s dotcom mania.

S&P's cyclically adjusted price-earnings ratio has breached 40 for the first time since 2000, when it reached 44 -- shortly before the benchmark plunged by nearly half, as the Internet bubble burst.

Then, as now, the conviction that a digital revolution would rewrite the rules justified almost any valuation.

Then, as now, the danger is that when the music stops, the fall will be sudden, faster, and deeper than anyone expects.

Writing for The Economist, Gita Gopinath, till recently first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, calculates that a dotcom-like market crash could wipe out over $20 trillion in wealth for American households, equivalent to roughly 70 per cent of American GDP in 2024.

The global fallout would be wealth losses exceeding $15 trillion, or about 20 per cent of the rest of the world's GDP.

Her argument has sent investors into an uneasy debate. Unfortunately, Ms Gopinath skips the likely causes behind a possible crash.

She focuses on how a crisis this time cannot be cushioned by a resilient dollar or a government-led rescue through tax cuts or spending splurges -- Washington's toolkit looks empty today.

So, is a dotcom-like crash likely? And if so, why?

The likeliest sources of trouble lie in four corners of the financial system: Incestuous investment loops within the AI ecosystem; the ballooning, barely regulated private-credit market; soaring public debt; and speculative froth in cryptocurrencies and private equity.

The first two are especially alarming.

Incestuous investment

Consider how incestuous relations across the sector have helped push up valuations.

Microsoft has invested at least $13 billion in OpenAI, which uses Microsoft's Azure cloud infrastructure.

Thus, Microsoft is simultaneously investor, infrastructure-provider, platform/host, and commercial partner (and potentially a competitor).

Amazon has committed $8 billion to Anthropic, which uses Amazon's AWS cloud infrastructure.

Amazon integrates or plans to integrate Anthropic's Claude models into its products (for example, Alexa).

So Amazon is investor, cloud-host/partner, and user/integrator of the startup's AI models. Again: Investor plus supplier plus customer.

Nvidia, the dominant AI hardware supplier, will invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, which will buy Nvidia systems.

Nvidia has also invested in Elon Musk's AI startup xAI and will supply processors for xAI data centres.

The web of mutual dependence grows denser still.

CoreWeave, a cloud-infrastructure provider, is a major Nvidia customer and Nvidia has guaranteed $6.3 billion to purchase CoreWeave's unused capacity through 2032.

Nvidia's rival Advanced Micro Devices announced a supplier-investment deal with OpenAI.

Meanwhile, OpenAI has signed a five-year $300 billion contract with Oracle Cloud (beginning in 2027) and a $22.4 billion deal with CoreWeave, including a $350 million in CoreWeave stock, meaning OpenAI is simultaneously customer (contracting for GPU infrastructure), and investor/shareholder in the infrastructure provider.

CoreWeave also announced plans to work with Meta, creating further inter-dependencies.

This circular financing inflates both revenues and valuations of the priciest part of the stock market.

CoreWeave's valuation jumped from $19 billion to $23 billion in 2025, citing OpenAI contracts and Nvidia's backstop.

Incredibly, companies are booking these deals as revenues and lifting their market valuation.

Those multiples spill over and are used to justify higher values for other AI startups.

Since there is no chance of the AI boom delivering profits on trillions of dollars of interlocking investment, it is a bubble that can burst.

Torsten Slok of Apollo, a private-investment firm, has noted that AI stocks are more richly valued than dotcom stocks in 1999.

Private-credit bubble

If that seems worrying, the parallel boom in non-bank lending is as bad.

Non-bank private credit -- lending by funds, insurers, and shadow financiers, especially riskier midsized firms -- has ballooned to about 3.8 times European GDP and 3.1 times American GDP.

Banks have lent around a tenth of their loan books to these intermediaries.

The IMF reckons American and European banks have lent $4.5 trillion to private-credit firms, hedge funds, and other non-bank lenders.

A serious default could wipe out a chunk of their Tier-I capital, the capital cushion designed to absorb shocks.

Yet this system, vast and opaque, sits largely beyond the regulators' reach.

Their rise was accelerated by the very regulations -- Basel capital rules -- designed to curb banking risk.

Fintechs, hedge funds, and insurers now lend directly to riskier borrowers.

Nearly half of American life insurers' bond holdings are in private placements, invisible to markets, and regulators.

The system depends on faith, not transparency.

Connected to speculative excesses in these two areas is irrational exuberance in private equity and the crypto boom.

Nobody knows what will spoil the party and when, but when it does, the scaffolding of credit and cross-holdings may give way. And, it will not stop at developed markets.

The contagion will spread to emerging markets, like India, as investors sell indiscriminately to raise cash.

If we are lucky, the dark clouds will lead to a few showers, not a hurricane.

Those who have exposures to the market would do well to have their own risk-mitigation measures in place.

Debashis Basu is editor of www.moneylife.in and a trustee of the Moneylife Foundation.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff
Major foreign mining and refining companies have assured the Indian government that they will have sufficient stocks of rare-earth oxides to supply to the winning bidders under the countrys production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for indigenous manufacturing of rare-earth permanent magnets (REPMs), Business Standard has learnt.

IMAGE: Samples of rare earth minerals from left, Cerium oxide, Bastnasite, Neodymium oxide and Lanthanum carbonate are on display. Photograph: David Becker/Reuters

These international mining and refining companies include UK-based Rainbow Rare Earths and Australia-based Lynas Rare Earths, and Iluka Resources.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) is the nodal ministry for the scheme, which is currently under intense inter-ministerial discussions.

The PLI scheme proposes financial incentives, both capital subsidy and sales-based incentives of about Rs 7,350 crore, for private players that set up five manufacturing plants with a combined REPM production capacity of 6,000 tonnes per year.

According to the MHIs estimates, around 1,500 tonnes of rare-earth oxides will be required to produce 6,000 tonnes of REPMs.

In India, only Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL), which operates under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), produces these oxides and can supply no more than 500 tonnes to the winning bidders under the scheme.

The remaining 1,000 tonnes will, therefore, have to be imported.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), which functions under the MHI, informally reached out to about 20 foreign mining and refining firms to check if they would be able to supply rare-earth oxides to the winning bidders.

"Many of them, including Rainbow Rare Earths, Lynas Rare Earths, and Iluka Resources, responded positively, a senior government official told Business Standard.

A second official said the firms that responded positively informed BHEL that they have sufficient stocks of rare-earth oxides to meet the needs of the winning bidders for several years and are willing to enter long-term supply contracts to ensure this.

This assurance is expected to assuage the Department of Expenditures (DoE) concerns that the PLI scheme could merely shift Indias import dependence from finished magnets to rare-earth oxides.

China controls about 90 per cent of REPM production in the world right now.

Since April, it has restricted exports of REPMs to India, affecting automobile output in the country.

The first official told the newspaper that even IREL, during recent inter-ministerial discussions, stated that it is working to double its output of rare-earth oxides from 500 tonnes to about 8001,000 tonnes, which would reduce the import requirement to just 500700 tonnes.

In addition, some state governments have awarded contracts to small private firms for beach sand mining to produce rare-earth oxides domestically, so that IREL is not the only local source in the coming years, the second official said.

Through these discussions with IREL and foreign mining firms, and through new beach sand mining projects in India, the government wants to ensure that the availability of rare-earth oxides is not a concern for the winning bidders even before the PLI scheme is officially launched, the official added.

Rainbow Rare Earths, Lynas Rare Earths, and Iluka Resources did not respond to Business Standard's queries regarding this matter till the time of going to the press.

During the inter-ministerial discussions held several weeks ago, the DoE, under the Ministry of Finance, had sought clarity on the long-term strategy for securing rare-earth elements, as the proposed PLI scheme focuses only on setting up plants that convert rare-earth oxides into REPMs, even though India currently lacks adequate oxide supplies.

The DoE noted that China has a stranglehold not only over REPM production, but also over the refining of rare-earth elements used in their manufacture.

It cautioned that while the scheme could reduce Indias dependence on imported REPMs, it might simply shift the dependence to imports of rare-earth oxides from other countries to meet the 1,000-tonne shortfall.

The REPMs story
Debt-ridden telecom operator Vodafone Idea on Monday said its consolidated net loss narrowed to Rs 5,524 crore in the second quarter ended September compared to the year-ago period, mainly on account of savings in finance cost on debt from banks and an increase in average revenue per user supported by a tariff hike.

Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL), in its financial performance note, mentioned that its ability to settle debt liability is dependent on government support, fundraise and cash flow generation from operations.

The government holds a 49 per cent stake in VIL.

While an increase in average revenue per user (ARPU) due to a tariff hike helped VIL improve its financial performance, the company continues to record a dip in its subscriber base, both on a quarterly and year-over-year (YoY) basis.

VIL had posted a net loss of Rs 7,176 crore in the year-ago period, according to the company's regulatory filing.

A 27 per cent decline in finance cost helped VIL narrow its loss.

Its finance cost stood at Rs 4,784.4 crore in the September 2025 quarter against Rs 6,613.6 crore a year ago, mainly on account of a reduction in debt from banks.

The company's debt from banks reduced to Rs 1,542 crore in the September quarter from Rs 3,250 crore.

"As of 30th September, 2025, the Group's outstanding debt from banks (including interest accrued but not due) is Rs 15,421 million and Deferred payment obligation (including interest accrued but not due) towards Spectrum which is payable over the years till FY 2044 and AGR which is payable over the years till FY 2031 aggregates to Rs 2,014,090 million," the company filing said.

VIL incurred a loss of Rs 12,132 crore in the first half of the current fiscal and its net worth stands at negative Rs 82,460 crore as on September 30.

The total debt of the company stood at Rs 2.02 lakh crore at the end of the second quarter of FY26.

VIL consolidated revenue from operations increased 2.4 per cent to Rs 11,195 crore during the reported quarter from Rs 10,932 crore a year ago.

The customer ARPU (average revenue per user) rose 8.7 per cent year-on-year to Rs 180 in the reported quarter from Rs 166 in the September 2024 quarter, mainly due to customer upgrades and tariff increases, the company said.

The blended ARPU, which includes machine-to-machine connections, increased by about 7 per cent to Rs 167 in the September 2025 quarter from Rs 156 in a year ago.

VIL continued to record decline in customer base. The company reported a 4 per cent decline in subscriber base to 19.6 crore from 20.5 crore a year ago.

The postpaid subscriber of the company, however, increased to 2.79 crore from 2.45 crore on a YoY basis.

The average data usage on VIL network grew by about 21 per cent to 18.5 GB per user per month from 15.3 GB a year ago driven by expansion of network especially 5G services.

"We expanded our 4G coverage to over 84 per cent of population and completed the 5G rollout in all 17 circles where we hold 5G spectrum.

"The growth of around 21 per cent in data volume reflects our ability to retain and engage customers through our differentiated prepaid and postpaid offerings.

"We are focused on increasing our 4G coverage to 90 per cent population and expanding our 5G footprint in the geographies with growing 5G handset adoption," VIL CEO Abhijit Kishore said in a statement.

The company's capex for the quarter and for the first six months of the current fiscal stood at Rs 1,750 crore and Rs 4,200 crore, respectively.

"We remain engaged with lenders to secure debt financing to support our broader capex plans of Rs 500550 billion," Kishore said.

The company, during the quarter, received a favourable order from the Supreme Court that has allowed the government to reconsider and take an appropriate decision with reference to the additional AGR demand raised for the period up to the financial year 2016-2017 and comprehensively reassessing and reconciling all AGR (adjusted gross revenue) dues, including interest and penalty.

Vodafone Idea non-executive chairman Ravinder Takkar in a note said that the group's ability to settle its debt liabilities is dependent on reconsideration or re-assessment of AGR dues, including Interest and Penalty up to FY 2016-17 by DoT, fund raise through equity and debt and generation of cash flow from operations.

"Based on current efforts and recent directions by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the Group believes that it would be able to get DoT support, successfully arrange funds and generate cash flow from operations," Takkar said.

The company has to pay first AGR installment of Rs 16,428 crore in the current fiscal following the end of four years moratorium availed by it under the Telecom Reforms Package 2021.

Photograph: Reuters
Creating a powerful new chief of defence forces has split the Pakistan military into four competing factions, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.

IMAGE: Pakistani Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. Photograph: Inter-Services Public Relations

Even as the parliamentary committee of Pakistan's senate and national assembly -- headed jointly by Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Farooq Naik and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) MP Chaudhry Mahmood Bashir Virk -- rushed to approve the 27th amendment to the constitution on Sunday, November 9, evidence surfaced of rising dissent, both from legal circles and within the defence services, against the changes proposed.

The most surprising aspect of the 27th amendment was the emphasis on immunity for life, extended to persons currently in office, including not only Pakistan's president but the army chief.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif scotched an attempt to extend it even to the institution of prime minister.

This revealed unusual insecurity, possibly anticipating a revival of Imran Khan's political fortunes in howsoever distant a future.

An interesting tweet, ascribed to the daily Islamabad Post, alleged, 'the internal rift between the Pakistan army and General Asim Munir had reached a critical point'.

Not carried in its print edition or on its Web site, the tweet suggests 'the ongoing debate over the proposed position of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) is no longer a matter of simple administrative reform but has evolved into a contest of influence, power, and strategic anxiety'.

Apparently, four factions have emerged within the defence forces.

The first faction, supportive of Field Marshal Asim Munir, holds leadership of the unified defence structure is rightful enough, under a strong leader of the army. They argue that a land-experienced chief of defence forces can best synchronise civil-military tasks with the air force and navy's capabilities.

The second faction, reflecting the views of the air force and its supporters, contends that modern warfare is won through technology, air power, drones, and precision strikes, not through large land armies.

They believe the air force represents Pakistan's most advanced and modern defence component and has played a key role in recent conflicts.

From their perspective, they see the army attempting to seize central control of the entire defence establishment even in domains where it lacks technical competence.

A third faction, mostly aligned with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, sees this as an 'administrative or constitutional coup', arguing that the change is unnecessary as 'Pakistan already has the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) to ensure coordination among the three armed services'.

According to this faction, 'this new proposal is not genuine reform but an attempt to centralise authority and grant the army permanent dominance over national security and governance structures'.

A fourth faction warns that if nuclear decision-making and overall military command are concentrated in a single office, Pakistan will become more vulnerable to global pressure from powers like the United States, Britain or even China.

IMAGE: General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, the current chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Photograph: Kind courtesy Wikimedi Commons

Viewing this recast of Pakistan's military command hierarchy as the most ambitious and perhaps the most contentious restructuring effort in decades, retired Generals like Lieutenant General Asim Yasin Malik, a former DG ISI and defence secretary, believe that the hasty changing of Article 243 could not only disturb the fragile equilibrium between civilian and military power but also collide with entrenched institutional cultures.

Its implementation may prove far more difficult than its drafters imagine. General Malik warned, 'By placing an army officer as the chief of defence forces with authority over the air force and navy, the proposed system invites institutional imbalance and potential disaster', especially as 'this amendment appears tailored to benefit a specific individual'.

For over four decades, the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) served as the symbolic head of the armed services, designed to ensure coordination among Pakistan's army, navy and air Force.

In practice, the role remained largely ceremonial, with the army becoming reluctant to rotate it to the air force or navy after 1997.

The proposed amendment seeks to dissolve the post entirely on November 27, 2025, coinciding with the retirement of the current CJCSC, General Sahir Shamshad Mirza.

General Mirza has had a most outstanding career in the army and is highly respected for all round competence by his peer group of senior officers.

Hailing from humble origins in Chakwal, he was senior most in the 76th Pakistan military academy Kakul Long Course and served as Director General Military Operations before promotion to three star rank.

He then served as Chief of General Staff and Corps Commander, X Corps, Rawalpindi under General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

IMAGE: Field Marshal Asim Munir.

During the tempestuous days of May 2023 there was even a rumour t1hat Imran Khan instigated General Mirza to overthrow Asim Munir while the latter was outside the country. But General Mirza played with a straight bat then.

Lately, General Mirza has been kept busy undertaking several visits abroad, to Singapore for the Shangri La dialogue, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. While these may have been ceremonial visits, retiring in a backdrop where the post would now stand abolished, may not leave a good taste, especially among senior generals aspiring to attain four star rank in the one post available in the face Asim Munir's indefinite extension as army chief.

Several related questions have been raised by academics in Pakistan, as to whether the Joint Staff Committee itself would function afterwards or what would be the protocol or pecking order between civilian politicians and senior defence officials, if and when the National Security Committee is convened.

This criticism cuts to the core of the country's military culture, where undercurrents of deep-seated rivalries among the army, air force and navy have simmered, each guarding its operational turf and doctrine.

Harmonising these distinct traditions -- air power's rapid, decentralised decision cycles versus the army's hierarchical chain of command -- has historically been the Achilles' Heel of earlier efforts at 'joint' reform.

An attempt to reassure discordant chords suggests that the changed model could work best when accompanied by guarantees that the air force and navy would be able to retain control over their core missions, budgets, especially posting, transfers of senior functionaries.

Flushed by glory accompanying his elevation as field marshal after May 2025 it remains to be seen whether Asim Munir would be able to evolve into this type of a benevolent 'primus inter pares leader in days to come.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
TVK cadres are worried, the leadership looks weak, and the party is not fully prepared for the 2026 elections, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.

IMAGE: Movie star-turned-politician Vijay. Photograph: Kind courtesy Thalapathy Thamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam/Facebook

Even as actor-politician and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam founder Vijay is coming out of the self-imposed shell after the Karur stampede that claimed 41 lives, the party seems to be facing a renewed/revived existential crisis.

The TVK does not want to acknowledge the evolving crisis, even if the leadership has understood it.

The source of the impending crisis flows from the party's special general council meeting, which revived/reiterated the pre-Karur stampede resolve to project Vijay as their chief minister candidate, and its determination to oust the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on its own steam, possibly hoping to exploit the inevitability of a multi-cornered contest.

Ground reports indicate that the TVK's fans-turned-cadres are not as happy and confident as they were pre-stampede.

It's not only about the party standing by them in times of crises, as all top leaders, starting with Vijay, simply vanished for days together post-stampede, with no access to the cadres.

Two of them, General Secretary 'Bussy' N Anand and his deputy C T R Nirmal Kumar filed anticipatory bail applications in the Madras high court, distancing themselves from the organisational affairs of the Karur event, making District Secretary V Mathiazhagan the sole scapegoat for such a massive tragedy.

IMAGE: Vijay address the TVK special general council meeting in Mahabalipuram on November 5, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo

The cadre's concerns go way beyond. They are now convinced that barring an unlikely event that they cannot fathom in advance, there is little chance of Vijay becoming chief minister on the TVK's own steam or at the head of an alliance of minor parties with no voter-base to call their own.

Being the maiden election for itself, the TVK has no proven voter-base to be able to negotiate a fair deal with a larger alliance like the AIADMK-led BJP-NDA, who would quote statistics to put down the party's claims while negotiating across the table.

In effect, a section of the TVK cadres, especially post-stampede, are ready to concede that they should be ready to become a junior partner with a deputy chief minister's chair for Vijay this time round.

They should then exploit the available opportunity to develop the required staying power for elections 2031, where Vijay would be pitted against the DMK's Udhayanidhi Stalin and the likes of former BJP state president Kuppusamy Annamalai.

By 2031, DMK leader M K Stalin and AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami would respectively be 77 and 76 years old. The younger generation would be in their mid-fifties, with Annamalai being the youngest of the three.

Some Black Swans too could appear on the electoral scene just as Vijay has appeared this time.

If they want to jump the gun this time, there is apprehension among TVK cadres that they might be shooting either in the air or at their own feet.

This time round, for instance, EPS is not going to yield the chief minister's post, for which he has already concluded the first-round campaign in nearly 175 of the 234 asssembly constituencies.

Literally speaking, Vijay is yet to start his district-wise campaign, which he promised long ago.

The Karur stampede has caused a sudden end to his road-shows in select districts, where again he did not talk politics, ideology or policies the way poll campaigns are designed over the past several decades.

At all such venues, barring Madurai, where the TVK had its second state-level conference, Vijay showed up, had his 10 minutes in the limelight for his fans, many of them middle-aged women, to get his darshan, if that's what it was.

IMAGE: The stampede occurred on September 27 in Karur following a TVK rally. Photograph: ANI Photo

Today, the cadres are convinced that they need more material, real material, to face off their rivals in other parties in house-to-house campaigns and street-corner chit-chats. Up to this point, the party is ill-equipped to educate them on policy matters, as the cadres are raw and need to be shaped up for a real fight.

Instead, the focus has already turned on Vijay's anticipated swan-song of a film in Jana Nayakan coming in the Pongal festival season. Jana Nayakan is due for an early theatrical release on January 9 itself.

Whether the fans-turned-cadres believe in it, the leadership seems hopeful that the film would kickstart Vijay's poll campaign as if he was appearing in every town and village at the same time.

If nothing else, they are convinced that the media talk on Jana Nayakan especially would be able to divert the people's attention from what has become an overdose of the Karur stampede, where the party and person continue to come out as the villain.

Vijay's public appearances, speeches and statements, when delivered, are coming to be seen as 'non-serious' compared to, say, the AIADMK's EPS. Or, even that of state BJP leaders, including unit chief Nainar Nagendran, who are halting in their attack on the TVK, yes, but are unsparing against the ruling DMK.

Their idea is to exploit the sense of 'anti-incumbency' that they could touch and feel. Against this, Team Vijay seems to have concluded that those anti-incumbency voters against the DMK are already in their bag. Only the election results would show if their assumption was correct.

IMAGE: Where the stampede occurred on September 27 in Karur. Photograph: ANI Photo

An analysis of past poll results would confirm that 30 to 35 per cent of Tamil Nadu's electorate still comprises non-committed 'swing voters'.

They are easy prey for any political Opposition, especially a new and popular face like Vijay.

However, these voters also will be evaluating what is on paper, what is on offer. No, it is not only about promises of more subsidies and welfare schemes but about the larger policies and programmes of the party in question.

In this particular department, the TVK is way behind the AIADMK-BJP alliance. And, of course, the ruling DMK. So is Vijay behind EPS.

Of particular voter interest and party concern should be a passing appeal made by TVK Policy Secretary K G Arunraj at the general council meeting.

An Indian Revenue Service veteran who took voluntarily retirement and almost readily joined the TVK and named for a newly-created party post, Arunraj asked the state's women to forego the Rs 1,000 monthly cash subsidy offered by the DMK government.

It is a considered a popular scheme along with free bus-ride for all women, and TVK cadres are concerned that such ideas from the likes of Arunraj can only dampen the pro-Vijay spirits of the women voters.

Yes, they do believe that Arunraj had Vijay's prior say-so. Else, they argue, a correction or denial should/would have been issued by now.

Hoping for a stronger alliance by roping in Vijay into the NDA combine, the AIADMK and BJP separately were going slow on Vijay.

They in fact backed the TVK on the Karur stampede issue, and individually and independently targeted the ruling DMK and Chief Minister M K Stalin.

But once the daggers are drawn, EPS and the experienced AIADMK second line would be unsparing in its attacks on the TVK and Vijay, often challenging them on popular issues and common concerns.

Thus far, Vijay has escaped scrutiny on such matters by either not commenting on them, or by issuing a short statement that says nothing much -- without either he or his top-line willingly confronting the media's queries.

This inaccessibility to the media, and through that to the voter, is not what the 'swing section' relishes. They want the aspirants to the throne to say it all, come out in the open.

They were/are not convinced about Vijay's Madurai declaration that the cadres should work as if he was contesting in each of the 234 constituencies.

Social media questions then pointed to the impossibility of such a situation when the cadres -- and possibly the leadership -- did not know if there was a safe seat for Vijay to contest, and if so, which was that constituency.

IMAGE: A poster paying homage to the 41 people who died in the Karur stampede. Photograph: ANI Video Grab

In his patently 7 to 10 minute speech at the general council, Vijay continued to depend on a poll strategy that is past its prime. Like in the past, he told the ruling DMK that they had already lost the race, which he re-asserted was only between them two.

It was an insult that the AIADMK-BJP combine could not stomach any more, but it looks as if the EPS leadership especially has decided to ignore Vijay and TVK, as the DMK's Stalin has done already.

Whatever public reaction from the DMK vis a vis Vijay and the TVK now come mostly from second-line office-bearers, other than on specifics, where the portfolio ministers might choose to issue a denial or clarification.

It was thus that Vijay told the general council that DMK leaders would go and hide inside Arivalayam, the party's headquarters in Chennai, after reading out a public statement that they accepted the 'people's verdict' (that favoured the TVK, instead).

Leave aside the fact that Vijay did not say anything against the BJP after dubbing it as his 'ideological enemy' on more than one occasion.

DMK old-timers see Vijay's comments on the poll results as an affront on the late party patriarch M Karunanidhi, Stalin's father, who would issue a statement immediately after losing an election, and go about his party and political work as if there was another day and another time, and he and his cadres had to be prepared for the same.

If such loaded but personalised derisive statements from Vijay are avoidable, his senior aides have been provocative towards the DMK especially, leaving a bad taste even in the TVK cadres' mouth.

Photograph: Kind courtesy Thalapathy Thamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam/Facebook

Vijay, who has implied to 'change it all' in the state's political system and administration, and for the better, would have to face questions about the TVK's political culture vis a vis defectors and corruption, when he has people with questionable past/present in the party's top rung.

In a way, Vijay should also be prepared to answer social media queries -- not possibly from political adversaries -- about his own finances and the sources of funding for the TVK.

Some embarrassment it would be, if and when asked -- whether answered or not.

N Sathiya Moorthy, veteran journalist and author, is a Chennai-based policy analyst and political commentator.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
'He knew the world's eyes were on him and he had to speak directly to the fears that immigrants in New York feel right now.'

IMAGE: New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani holds a press conference at the Unisphere in the Queens borough of New York City. Photograph: Kylie Cooper/Reuters

S Mitra Kalita is a leading South Asian voice in American media. She is the CEO of URL Media, a network of Black and Brown community media organizations, and the co-founder and publisher of Epicenter-NYC, a newsletter created to help New Yorkers navigate city life.

Previously, she served as Senior Vice President at CNN Digital and Managing Editor for Editorial Strategy at the Los Angeles Times newspaper.

An accomplished author, Mitra has written two books exploring themes of migration and globalisation.

"He singularly stayed on this message of affordability and so for him to execute his agenda is very complicated and he'll need to buy in from literally all levels of government," Mitra tells Rediff Senior US Contributor Abhijit J Masih about the challenges and opportunities that await Zohran Mamdani as New York City's next mayor.

Zohran Mamdani's win has been called historic and 'transformational. What, in your view, stood out most about his campaign and message?

The transformational and historic piece of it is due to a few factors. First of all, this is a post 9/11 New York City and as someone who lived here and reported on it, we really saw instant reaction.

There's a through line that you can draw from 9/11, to racial profiling, to a sentiment that a lot of Muslims felt in New York City. There were numerous hate crimes.

There's another through line from 9/11 to the elevation of Donald Trump and our current immigration policies.

Zohran Mamdani ran a campaign where he was unapologetically Muslim. He was unapologetically an immigrant. He has a very complicated identity.

He's the son of a Hindu mother, a Muslim father, both from India -- one from Punjab, one from Gujarat -- was born in Uganda, emigrates to the US. He used those identities to appeal to different communities in New York City. That's really what the campaign was built on.

You saw him leaning into his own identity and using that as a point of connection with the South Asian community.

The other thing I'd say is that the social media algorithms worked in his favour. He's pretty good on camera.

His campaign manager has said he has this vulnerability, meaning he's just like going for it. Even his bloopers and stuff are going viral. So, there's something about that demeanour that's actually quite addictive.

IMAGE: Zohran Mamdani celebrates with his wife Rama Duwaji after winning the 2025 New York City mayoral race at the election night victory rally in Brooklyn, November 4, 2025. Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters

New York is a complex city with competing priorities. What do you see as Mamdani's biggest challenges as he transitions from legislator to executive -- and how might his activist roots shape his leadership?

Of course, people will say campaigning and governing are very different things, New York is a very complex and bureaucratic city. So, this is a management job. It's an execution job. It's an operational job.

He singularly stayed on this message of affordability and so for him to execute his agenda is very complicated and he'll need to buy in from literally all levels of government.

A lot of people have pointed to his inexperience and pointed that he has never managed anything this big before, they say that as a criticism.

But we have to look at his campaign which was largely propelled on people who are looking for somebody from outside the system to fix systems that have not worked for them. And so, his inexperience is actually the point of the appeal.

IMAGE: Zohran Mamdani, Rama Duwaji, his parents Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani soon after which Dhoom Machale blared from the speakers at the election night victory rally in Brooklyn, November 4, 2025. Photograph: Jeenah Moon/Reuters

This election has energised many in the South Asian and broader immigrant communities. What does Mamdani's win mean for Indian Americans and for representation in US politics?

There's certainly a long list of Indian Americans who've been successful in politics like Pramila Jayapal, who campaigned with him; Ro Khanna came to campaign with him and our city Councilman in Jackson Heights Shekar Krishnan -- the first Indian elected to city office. I do think that his path was paved by Indian Americans before him.

Interestingly, in New York City the two constituencies among the South Asian voting bloc are the Bangladeshi community that's very fast growing and then the Indo-Caribbean community.

He was able to create a bit of a South Asian voting bloc as opposed to just Indian.

That said, you did see Indians who might not have surfaced in politics historically suddenly voting for the first time.

There was a group called Hindus For Zoran that was spearheaded by people who were feeling kind of rattled by the anti-Muslim sentiment that some Indian Americans were espousing.

Also, because he identifies as a Muslim -- of course, his mother is Hindu and quite well known, so there was this element of him not leaning into that part of his identity.

I don't think that actually ended up becoming an issue. So many Indian actors like Kal Penn were campaigning with him.

I was in my house on a Zoom call when my husband comes upstairs and says Kal Penn is in our living room. I never expected him to knock on my door and asked me to vote.

IMAGE: S Mitra Kalita, left, with Shekar Krishnan, the first Indian American elected to New York City office, and Nitin Mukul, co-founder Epicenter. Photograph: Kind courtesy S Mitra Kalita

What does this victory signal for the Democratic Party -- especially at a time when the party is seeking to revive and reconnect with younger, more diverse, and more progressive voters?

It's so interesting because you know on Election Day Chuck Schumer (the senior Democratic US senator from New York) did not tell you who he voted for.

His (Mamdani's) first lunch the day after he was elected was with Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (the left-of-centre Democratic US Congresswoman from New York). He went to a Nepali restaurant that I love called Lali Guras in Jackson Heights. So you have these images of new faces.

There's a lot of consternation from the Democratic Party over lessons from 2024 and the reaction to Zohran Mamdani, the enthusiasm for him would have been absolutely impossible to achieve.

There is some takeaway there. We talk a lot about moderation and you'll see candidates move to the right of centre or left of centre. The truth of voters is that they are very complex and they have overlapping identities.

I know one person who has a gun but is actually otherwise pretty liberal. So, you have all these identities that it's just not easy to create instant moderation.

I've talked to voters about this, and they appreciated that he (Mamdani) stood for something, stood his ground for the most part on those issues.

They might not agree with that, and he's come out and said, 'Look if you agree with me on everything that feels problematic'. That's a new framework for a politician.

IMAGE: A man reads a copy of the Daily Monitor newspaper in Kampala, Uganda, November 6, 2025 with a headline about Zohran Mamdani who was born in Uganda and lived there for some years before he moved to New York with his parents. Photograph: Abubaker Lubowa/Reuters

As someone who has long championed representation and storytelling within our communities, how personally significant is this moment for you?

I've lived in Jackson Heights on and off for about 25 years. My husband, who's also Indian American, used to cringe because of the stop and frisk. There's so much of this history that it's almost like an accepted part of living here. That this is the way you'll be treated.

So, there is something about this moment that feels like a reset on what we allowed and enabled after 9/11 for a certain population.

Of course, I am internalising that because of where I live and what I've seen happen to my neighbours.

Immigrants really are the lifeblood of New York City. There is no economy without immigrants in New York City. That symbolism in this moment can't be discounted.

Something as simple as when his victory speech concluded and they started playing the soundtrack, my thirteen-year-old daughter just exclaimed, 'Oh my gosh! they're playing Dhoom Machale.' My daughter doesn't speak Hindi but that instant identification is a big deal.

I'm not an overly sentimental person, but in those moments you do think about what it means to be represented.

IMAGE: New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani distributes meals at a mosque in San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 7, 2025. Photograph: Ricardo Arduengo/Reuters

Beyond the campaign and the headlines, what kind of person have you found Zohran Mamdani to be -- what drives him, and what moments have revealed his character to you most clearly?

I interviewed him in November of 2020 when he was running for the (New York) assembly. I've seen him a few times. He's in Jackson Heights all the time.

For South Asians there's a certain familiarity and that's also the nature of social media. I also don't want to be seduced by that one image.

I feel he was trying to carve out his own place as a politician. I, of course, wanted to ask him about his mother and he really wanted to be his own person.

What we've seen very visibly is somebody who's gotten very comfortable with the person he is.

Zohran Mamdani's victory speech carried both direct and indirect messages that seemed to resonate not just with New Yorkers, but also with audiences far beyond the city and the country even.

How did you interpret that speech, and what do you think he was trying to communicate to different parts of the world?

He knew there was a symbolism here not just because of his own victory but also because of what had happened in Virginia, New Jersey and California.

He had to speak to his own background, the new voters, young people and immigrants who propelled him into office.

There was a real pride in you that New York City is now led by an immigrant. I saw a lot of people feeling very proud.

Then, of course, there was the addressing of Donald Trump directly. I've heard mixed things from people about that, but he knew that the eyes were on him.

The fear in New York City, especially among immigrants, is very palpable, so he had no choice but to address that because you know even before the election there was talk of how will Trump react to a Mamdani victory.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
Two top executives at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) resigned on Sunday amid an escalating scandal over impartiality and bias, as reported by CNN.

IMAGE: US President Donald Trump. Photograph: Tyrone Siu/Reuters

Director-General Tim Davie and the chief executive of the news division, Deborah Turness, both quit, CNN said after the leak of a memo which revealed that the BBC had misleadingly edited a speech by United States President Donald Trump to make it appear that he had directly called for violence on January 6, 2021.

According to CNN, which cited BBC, Davie announced he was resigning as director general of the British broadcaster in a note sent to staff on Sunday afternoon and said that his resignation was 'entirely my decision'.

"Overall the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as Director-General I have to take ultimate responsibility," he said as cited by CNN.

Turness, who was also stepping down, said, "The ongoing controversy around the Panorama on President Trump has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC -- an institution that I love," in a statement on the BBC website, as noted by CNN.

"The buck stops with me," she said, and offered her resignation to Tim Davie on Saturday.

"While mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong," she added.

CNN reported that the resignations come after an internal whistleblowing memo seen by British newspaper, The Telegraph, revealed the BBC had broadcast a 'doctored' Trump speech, making it seem that he encouraged Capitol Hill rioters, telling them he was going to walk with them to 'fight like hell'.

In fact, Trump said in his speech in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021 that "We're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women", CNN said.

Citing the leaked internal memo, CNN said that the documentary made the US president appear to say things he never actually said by splicing footage together.
News / Regional

by Gideon Madzikatidze

HARARE - ZANU-PF's Harare provincial chairperson Goodwills Masimirembwa has confirmed that the party is rolling out mobilisation rallies to push for a constitutional amendment that would extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa's term beyond the current 2028 limit.Speaking at a Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting on Sunday, Masimirembwa revealed that Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi is actively working to remove legal barriers that prevent Mnangagwa from remaining in office past the two-term constitutional threshold."As you are aware, the recent annual people's conference called for implementation of resolution number oneto ensure President Mnangagwa continues leading the country up to 2030 and beyond," Masimirembwa said. "We've already begun grassroots mobilisation and are working closely with Comrade Ziyambi Ziyambi to facilitate the amendment process."He added that rallies will target key areas in Harare including Chitungwiza, Mbare, Mabvuku-Tafara, Dzivaresekwa, and Highfields, with thousands expected to attend.Masimirembwa also announced the co-option of new Central Committee members, including businessman Dr Elder Kuda Tagwirei, Taka Mashonganyika, Joachim Chivhayo (deputy secretary of information), Samhu (gold miner), and Pritchard Sibanda (deputy secretary for finance).Tagwirei pledged continued financial support for the party's Vision 2030 agenda. "I've always supported ZANU-PF and will continue doing so to ensure Vision 2030 is realised under President Mnangagwa's leadership," he said.Other senior figures present included Harare war veterans chairperson Comrade Guta, provincial commissar Voyage Dambuza, and Politburo deputy secretary for security Cde Tendai Chirau.However, the push to amend the constitution has sparked widespread condemnation. Legal experts, including former Finance Minister Tendai Biti, warn that tampering with presidential term limits could destabilise the country and deepen internal divisions within ZANU-PF.As tensions rise, the party faces mounting pressure to manage succession debates and uphold constitutional integrity.
As it gains commercial viability, the food will likely become a powerful political currency.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi garlanded with makhana during an election meeting in Purnea. Photograph: DPR PMO/ANI Photo

Shambhu Prasad left Mithilanchal in 1998. He has worked in Japan and the United States, and now lives in London, where he has founded a telecom company that serves Britain's National Health Service and other corporate clients.

But his heart is in Madhubani, and in makhana. When he comes to Madhubani, which is several times a year, he rolls up the sleeves of his Jermyn Street shirts, walks up to the shopfloor of his company, Madhubani Makhana, and personally supervises the grading of a commodity that he pledges will one day reach the heights that the California almond has been able to achieve.

Last year, Madhubani Makhana sold 350 kg to Walmart. Buyers are lining up. They include Haldiram and Reliance.

It was a little-known food, and matriarchs of a certain age, especially from feudal north Indian families, readily confess they would use it as part of their 'prasad' in community pujas to swell the volumes and impress guests ("prasad bhara bhara lagta tha").

In February this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the people of Bihar how partial he was to the lowly makhana.

'Makhana has become an important part of breakfast in the cities of the country today. Out of 365 days, I eat makhana for 300 days. It is a superfood.'

Nearly 90 per cent of the world's makhana comes from India. More than 80 per cent of that comes from the Mithilanchal region.

Most of it is 'mined' by the Mallah community. And it is a hot commodity: Both in markets and in politics.

In 2022, Mithila makhana -- fox nut, lotus seed, or Euryale ferox to give its botanical name -- got the geographical indication tag.

In her Budget speech this year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said: 'With rising income levels, the consumption of fruit is also increasing, and the remuneration for farmers will also grow in collaboration with states. There is a special opportunity in Bihar -- the Makhana Board will be established in the state to provide training and support to Makhana farmers.'

That promise was fulfilled on September 15, when Modi announced the constitution of a 30-member Makhana Board with headquarters in Purnea.

Vidyanath Jha, retired professor of botany at Lalit Narayan Mithila University, Darbhanga, has researched the properties of makhana for 40 years. He says it got the recognition it deserves during the pandemic as an immunity booster.

"Animal trials in 2024-2025 suggest it also boosts male fertility. And as it has zero fat, it is naturally healthy for those suffering from lifestyle diseases," he told Business Standard in Darbhanga.

But both Jha and Prasad acknowledge that harvesting and processing makhana is highly labour-intensive and unhygienic.

Swimmers, mainly from the Mallah caste, have to dive to the pond bed, each dive at least eight to ten minutes of holding their breath, to pluck the seeds from a plant that at first glance looks like lotus but has sharp thorns, which make harvesting physically challenging.

The workers are required to use long sticks to move the plants, which remain submerged in mud for at least a month.

These seeds are then cleaned, sun-dried and roasted so that they pop.

This is done on high heat with a mallet-like object. They are then graded and packed.

The ponds where the prickly lotus is grown are owned by upper-caste landlords. The Mallahs took them on paid lease.

Lately, the government is also leasing land for makhana cultivation although Prasad says there is little evidence of the government coordinating market forces or intervening to improve the quality of the crop.

The Mallah community, however, gets very little out of it despite being the principal excavators of the final product.

They have a powerful voice in Mukesh Sahani, the colourful leader of the Vikassheel Insaan Party who abandoned the Hindi film industry as a set designer to launch the Nishad Vikas Sangh, a caste federation, in 2015, campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the assembly election that year.

He parted ways with the BJP, protesting the exclusion of the Nishad community from the scheduled caste category.

In 2018, he launched the VIP. In the years to come, he adroitly positioned himself in the two main alliances in Bihar for maximum arbitrage.

Right now, he is part of the Tejashwi Yadav-led Mahagathbandhan.

The Mallah, Sahani, and Nishad communities are 9 per cent of the population, according to the 2023 caste census done by Bihar. They have emerged as decisive electoral factors in 15 to 20 constituencies.

Acknowledging their salience, the Mahagathbandhan has offered the VIP 15 seats and will project Sahani as deputy chief minister.

Prasad is pledged to modernising his three-generation family business.

He told Business Standard from London: "I want to combine technology, traceability, and tradition to position Mithila makhana on the global superfood map, connecting heritage, innovation and sustainable rural livelihoods."

Makhana spells money. From Rs 1,000 per kg a decade ago in global markets, it now fetches up to Rs 8,000.

Domestically, prices have risen from Rs 250 to Rs 1,400 to Rs 1,600, spiking during festivals.

But while production has increased from 20,800 tonnes to 56,400 tonnes in the same period, only around 12,000 tonnes met export standards.

Prasad says there is a vast domestic market for a healthy snack option and, for this he is unfazed by tariff threats from the United States on processed food.

As it gains commercial viability, makhana will likely become a powerful political currency.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff
Soon after a car explosion near the Red Fort killing at least eight people, Delhi Police commissioner Satish Golcha on Monday said the blast took place in a slow-moving vehicle near the Red Fort traffic signal.

IMAGE: Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrives at the spot of the blast in a car near Gate no 1 of the Red Fort Metro station, in Delhi, November 10, 2025. Photograph: Sumit/ANI Photo

Talking to reporters at the blast site, he confirmed multiple deaths and injuries, and said Union Home Minister Amit Shah was being regularly briefed about the incident.

"There was a blast around 6.52 pm in a slow-moving vehicle near Red Fort. There were passengers inside the vehicle," Golcha said, adding other vehicles were damaged in the incident.

Earlier, officials said that the explosion happened inside a parked car.

The police commissioner said all agencies, including the Delhi police, forensic team, NIA, NSG, are taking stock of the situation.

"Some deaths happened, few people got injured. The situation is being regularly monitored. The home minister is being regularly briefed," he said.

A high-intensity explosion occurred near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, gutting several vehicles and killing at least eight people, officials said.

Twenty-four people were injured in the blast that took place at a time when the area was milling with people. The injured were taken to the LNJP hospital, a few kilometres away.
A Chinese diplomat's aggressive comments threatening Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi for her remarks about Tokyo's potential involvement in any Chinese action over Taiwan have stirred up a major diplomatic row between the two countries.

IMAGE: Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Photograph: Reuters/ANI Photo

Japan on Monday lodged a stern protest with China over Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian's social media post in which he threatened to "cut off dirty neck without a moment of hesitation" while citing a news article on Takaichi's remarks in parliament.

"We must say that the post is extremely inappropriate for a Chinese diplomatic mission head," Japan's government spokesman Minoru Kihara was quoted as saying by the Japanese news agency, Kyodo.

The post, however, had been deleted, he said.

The flare-up occurred after Takaichi told a parliamentary committee on Friday that a Chinese military attack on Taiwan could be a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, which could exercise its right to collective self-defence.

Responding to the Chinese diplomat's comments, China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jiao told the media here Monday that Takaichi's remarks are "a gross interference in China's internal affairs" and Beijing has lodged a protest with Tokyo.

Declining to comment on the Chinese diplomat's comments, Lin said it was in response to Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan, a red line for China.

"I hope Japan will stop creating confusion and shifting blame," he said.

Since she took over power in Japan last month, becoming the first woman Prime Minister of the country, Takaichi, who is regarded as a hawk in China, is stirring up the Taiwan pot, riling Beijing.

The situation regarding Taiwan has become serious. We must assume the worst-case scenario," Takaichi told the parliamentary session, highlighting recent aggressive actions by China, which has deployed warships and fighter aircraft in defence drills around Taiwan, closely located near Japan.

Lin said Takaichi's remarks are seriously damaging bilateral ties and challenging post-war international order.

Her remark constitutes a blatant interference in China's internal affairs, seriously violates the One-China principle".

"What signal does the Japanese leader intend to send to 'Taiwan independence' forces with these remarks?" Lin continued.

"Is Japan attempting to challenge China's core interests and obstruct the cause of national reunification? Where exactly does Japan want to take China-Japan relations? he said.

Lin called the "attempt to intervene in Taiwan-related matters an affront to international justice, a provocation to the post-war international order and a serious disruption to China-Japan relations.

The diplomatic spat between the two neighbours came soon after the meeting between Takaichi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Oct 31 on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea.

During the meeting, Xi urged Takaichi to uphold important agreements regarding historical issues and Taiwan for the stability of Japan-China ties.

China and Japan are major trading partners with a bilateral trade volume close to $300 billion last year.

Their relations frequently experienced tensions over territorial disputes, Taiwan and Japan's close ties with the US.
A Class 11 student who was shot at by his classmate in Gurugram 'angered' the accused as he was engrossed in his mobile phone and ignored the latter's repeated questions, police said on Monday.

Image used only for representational purposes. Photograph: Pixabay.com

They said the accused and another boy who was with him at the time of the incident have been apprehended and sent to a correction home in Faridabad.

The 17-year-old victim, who was shot at on Saturday at the house of the accused in Sector 48, suffered a shattered neck bone in the attack and his condition is stated to be critical, according to police.

His family has claimed that the accused held a grudge against the boy over an altercation the two had earlier. The accused used his father's licensed pistol to shoot his classmate.

Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) O P Singh termed the incident extremely unfortunate and called on parents and schools to teach children "people skills" to prevent such incidents.

A senior investigation officer said all three students -- the victim and the two accused -- were classmates. During questioning, the accused revealed that the victim was looking at something on his mobile phone and did not respond to his question, despite being asked thrice. This "angered" the accused and prompted him to open fire, the officer said.

The accused and his friend were produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and sent to a correction home in Faridabad, police said.

The injured student is fighting for his life at a private hospital.

According to police, the bullet went through his neck but some bullet fragments got lodged there, causing his neck bone to shatter. His condition remains critical.

DGP Singh said efforts will be made to train arms license holders to take better care of their weapons.

"I have instructed the SP and CP to alert arms license holders in their areas about such dangers," the officer said in a post on X.

He said they have been instructed to arrange necessary training for arms license holders to take care of their weapons properly.

"The generation that plays video games doesn't even know that shooting is not a game. Parents and schools should teach children 'people' skills. The situation should not come to any fights or quarrels at all," Singh said.

An FIR has been registered at Sadar police station in connection with the incident. According to the complaint filed by the victim's mother, her son's school friend invited him to meet on Saturday. Her son initially refused, but the friend insisted and said he would come to pick him up.

She then allowed her son to go, and he met his friend at the Kherki Daula toll, she stated.

"About two months ago, my son had an altercation with his friend. Because of this, my son's friend took him to his house and, along with another friend, shot him with the intention of killing him," the mother said in her complaint.

The accused's father, a resident of Patli village, works as a property dealer.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist has moved the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Election Commission's directive for a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, terming the exercise arbitrary, illegal, and unconstitutional.

IMAGE: The Supreme Court of India. Photograph: ANI Photo

A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandram was also urged by a lawyer, appearing for the CPI-M, that the plea be heard on Tuesday along with a separate plea filed by the DMK against the SIR in the state.

"We will see," the CJI said.

Last week, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam filed a petition challenging the SIR notification, which the top court has listed for hearing on November 11.

The CPI-M's petition, filed by P Shanmugam, secretary of the party's Tamil Nadu state committee, has sought to quash the Election Commission's order dated October 27, 2025, which mandated completion of the SIR within a month.

The petitioner alleged that the "EC's move is arbitrary, illegal, and unconstitutional".

The plea contends that while the objective of ensuring purity and inclusiveness of electoral rolls is not disputed, the manner and timeline prescribed are manifestly impractical, humanly impossible, and contrary to law under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

According to the petition, the SIR notification directs enumeration between November 4 and December 4, 2025, covering over 6.18 crore voters in Tamil Nadu.

Each Booth Level Officer (BLO) has been tasked with visiting nearly 500 households per day, a target the petitioner says is humanly impossible, as a BLO can meaningfully visit only 40-50 houses daily, deeming the exercise manifestly arbitrary.

The petition further points out that the overall SIR schedule allows barely 102 days for enumeration, rationalization of polling stations, scrutiny of enumeration forms, publication of draft rolls, filing and disposal of claims and objections, and final publication.

Issued one day prior to commencement, this schedule leaves no effective time for training, enumeration, verification or meaningful participation by electors and political parties, particularly in large and rural constituencies, defeating the purpose of an intensive revision, it said.

Calling the exercise a colourable use of power, the CPI-M argued that the decision to undertake a fresh, statewide verification of all voters was unjustified, as no evidence of large-scale irregularities or systemic flaws had been presented.

In the absence of any demonstrated necessity, the party said the move proved to be "unreasonable and arbitrary", violating the principles of proportionality and due process.

The CPI-M has also expressed concern that the SIR could lead to mass and unjustified disenfranchisement of genuine voters, particularly among marginalised and migrant communities.

It has further accused the Election Commission of overstepping its constitutional limits by authorising officials to undertake citizenship verification and refer suspected foreign nationals under the Citizenship Act, 1955, calling it a de facto NRC exercise beyond the Commission's mandate.

The plea has also alleged that the unilateral imposition of the SIR on Tamil Nadu violates the principle of cooperative federalism, reducing the state to a mere implementing agency of a centrally determined exercise.

The petition has sought a declaration that the impugned orders of June 24 and October 27, 2025, issued by the Election Commission of India, are ultra vires the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, and prayed for their quashing.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said investigators are keeping all options open while probing the blast near the Red Fort that claimed eight lives on Monday evening.

IMAGE: Union Home Minister Amit Shah holds a meeting with Delhi police chief Satish Golcha and other officials after the blast near Red Fort Metro Station as he arrives at Lok Nayak hospital, in Delhi. Photograph: ANI Video Grab

He said the blast took place in a Hyundai i20 car at a traffic signal near Red Fort here at around 7 pm. It damaged three to four other vehicles and injured pedestrians and people travelling in autorickshaws.

All angles are being probed by the investigators, and no possibility is ruled out, he said after meeting some of the injured at the LNJP hospital here.

Asked whether it was a terrorist attack, Shah said, "It is difficult to say what caused the incident. Until the samples recovered from the blast site are analysed by forensics and NSG, we can't say anything. But we are not ruling out anything and investigating all angles."

The home minister said eight people lost their lives and several others were injured. Teams of the Delhi Police, NIA, NSG and forensics have started the probe, he said and hoped that the exact details of the blast would be unearthed soon.

"I will visit the blast site soon and will hold a high-level meeting tomorrow with top officials to analyse the explosion," he said.

Shah said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to him, and he has briefed him about the blast. Teams have begun a thorough investigation, he added.
India and Russia are expected to sign a bilateral mobility agreement during President Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi in the first week of December.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi being welcomed by President Vladimir Putin at his official residence at Novo-Ogaryovo for a private engagement, Moscow, Russia, July 8, 2024. Photograph: Courtesy MEA India on X

This accord will establish a framework for legal migration, protection of workers' rights and expansion of skilled Indian manpower in Russia as the post-Communist nation is feeling an acute shortage of qualified and skilled workers in its expanding economy.

According to reports, the agreement will ensure legal protection for existing Indian workers and open pathways for thousands of new professionals in industries such as construction, textiles, engineering and electronics.

By the end of the year, over 70,000 Indian nationals are expected to be officially employed across Russia under the quotas managed by the Russian Ministry of Labour.

The Moscow-based Indian Business Alliance has welcomed the forthcoming India-Russia Mobility Agreement and considers this initiative a strategic milestone in expanding India-Russia relations.

India has one of the world's most dynamic and skilled workforce and Russia is undergoing a major industrial transformation. This agreement creates a win-win opportunity for both sides  providing skilled manpower for Russia's economy while ensuring secure and dignified employment for Indian professionals, said IBA President Sammy Manoj Kotwani.

To avoid past cases of violation of immigration laws by Indian nationals recruited by fraudsters, the IBA has expressed its readiness to collaborate with both governments and business partners to organise orientation and language programmes for incoming Indian workers and promote fair recruitment channels and ethical employment standards.

The IBA will also coordinate with the Embassy of India in Moscow and regional Russian authorities to ensure smooth integration and welfare of Indian citizens working in Russia.
The Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday detained over 50 people for their alleged involvement in anti-state activities, an officer said.

IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: ANI Photo

The detentions were made in raids in Budgam, Baramulla, Ganderbal, Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama, and Shopian districts of the valley.

Police in Budgam in central Kashmir cracked down on the separatist network of the US-based Ghulam Nabi Fai, a lobbyist who has been declared a proclaimed offender by an NIA court, a police spokesperson said.

Multiple searches conducted by Budgam Police to target Fai's network, he said.

Fai has been booked under various sections UAPA and Section 66 of the IT Act at the Budgam Police Station.

"The Court of Special Judge NIA, Budgam has already declared him a Proclaimed Offender on April 30, 2025, in connection with the said case. Proceedings of attachment of his property are also being carried out by Budgam Police," the spokesperson said.

Fai, he said, heads the Washington-based Kashmiri American Council, backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and is known for propagating Pakistan's narrative on Kashmir.

During the operation, multiple houses were searched and several individuals were detained for questioning, the spokesperson said.

He said Budgam Police has also intensified its crackdown on J&K Nationals Operating from Pakistan/Pak-Occupied Kashmir (JKNOPs) and SIM card vendors facilitating terror communications.

In Ganderbal district in central Kashmir, police raided several premises linked with JKNOPs.

During these raids, the police detained 39 people and lodged them in Dignibal Jail, after credible inputs suggested their involvement in activities detrimental to public peace and security, the spokesperson said.

A number of digital devices and incriminating materials were seized in the raids and have been sent for detailed forensic analysis.

In Kulgam district of south Kashmir, police targeted the overground workers, or OGWs, and UAPA and PSA accused, sympathisers and relatives of killed and active terrorists, particularly in areas where encounters had earlier taken place, the spokesperson said.

Eight relatives of JKNOPs and OGWs were detained and sent to jail under preventive laws, he said.

The spokesperson said similar police actions were taken in Baramulla.

All in all, 16 properties linked with PoK/Pakistan-based Kashmiri natives were searched, resulting in 10 individuals being bound down under preventive provisions, the spokesperson said.

He said 23 locations associated with OGWs were raided, with 16 OGWs bound down for aiding unlawful activities.

"Six properties belonging to UAPA-accused individuals (currently on bail) were searched, and five OGWs were bound down," he added.

Eleven SIM card vendors were questioned to ensure compliance with subscriber verification norms and prevent misuse of telecom services.

Besides, 175 vehicles were checked at strategic nakas and checkpoints along the National Highway and other vital routes.

Thirty-two Cordon and Search Operations (CASOs) were conducted simultaneously across different parts of the district, the spokesperson added.

Raids were made at Lal Chowk in Anantnag targeting the residence of a JKNOP, and in the rear side area of Jail Kheribal district.

Similar raids and searches were carried out at multiple locations in Shopian and Pulwama districts.

In Pulwama, the Special Jail (Correctional Home) was also searched, the spokesperson said.
Glimpses from the massive security crackdown on Sunday, November 9, 2025 across Jammu and Kashmir, as police and paramilitary forces launch coordinated raids to dismantle the terror network.

KULGAM

IMAGE: Police personnel in action in Kulgam, here and below, amid the massive crackdown launched to dismantle the terror ecosystem. Photograph: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters

Photograph: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters

Photograph: Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters

GANDERBAL

IMAGE: Security personnel conduct cordon and search operations in Ganderbal, here and below, at multiple locations across the district as part of a major crackdown against individuals involved in anti-national activities linked to Pakistan. Photograph: ANI Photo

Photograph: ANI Photo

Photograph: ANI Photo

SRINAGAR

IMAGE: Srinagar police with Central Reserve Police Force conduct searches at residences of members of the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party, overground workers, and UAPA/PSA accused currently on bail in Srinagar, here and below. Photograph: ANI Photo

Photograph: ANI Photo

Photograph: ANI Photo

Photographs curated by Anant Salvi/Rediff

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff
Eight people, including three doctors, were arrested and 2,900 kg of explosives seized with the uncovering of a white collar terror module involving the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Monday.

Image has been posted for representational purposes. Photograph: Pixabay

Among those arrested following a 15-day operation were Kashmir's Dr Muzammil Ganaie in Faridabad and Lucknow's Dr Shaheen who was brought by air to Srinagar for custodial interrogation, officials said. An AK-47 rifle was found in her car.

The joint operation by the police forces of Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana as well as central agencies have achieved a major breakthrough, officials said.

They did not divulge details of exactly when the arrests took place.

With this, the police have successfully thwarted the destructive designs of both the terror groups, the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, an offshoot of ISIS in India.

The 2,900 kg of explosive material includes ammonium nitrate, potassium nitrate and sulphur. Of this, 360 kg of inflammable material suspected to be ammonium nitrate and some arms and ammunition were recovered from Ganaie rented accommodation in Faridabad, said a statement from the Jammu and Kashmir police.

The recoveries from various places include a Chinese Star pistol with ammunition, a Beretta pistol with ammunition, an AK 56 rifle with ammunition, an AK Krinkov rifle with ammunition as well as explosives, chemicals, reagents, inflammable material, electronic circuits, batteries, wires, remote control, timers and metal sheets, it said.

Ganaie, a teacher at the Al Falah University in the Haryana town abutting New Delhi, was arrested after the Jammu and Kashmir police named him as a wanted person in a case involving putting up posters supporting the Jaish-e-Mohammed in Srinagar.

Of the eight arrested, seven are from Kashmir -- Arif Nisar Dar alias Sahil, Yasir-ul-Ashraf, and Maqsood Ahmad Dar alias Shahid from Nowgam in Srinagar; Maulvi Irfan Ahmad from Shopian; Zameer Ahmad Ahanger alias Mutlasha from Wakura area of Ganderbal; Dr Muzammil Ahmad Ganaie alias Musaib from Koil area of Pulwama, and Dr Adeel from Wanpora area of Kulgam. Dr Shaheen is based in Lucknow.

Several Pakistani numbers were found on the phones of Ganaie and Adeel, officials said. They could be the possible handlers of the network.

On October 19, multiple JeM posters were found pasted at different locations in Bunpora Nowgam area of Srinagar, threatening and intimidating the police and security forces.

That was the starting point of the investigation, leading to the unravelling of the inter-state terror network.

"The investigation revealed a white collar terror ecosystem, involving radicalised professionals and students in contact with foreign handlers, operating from Pakistan and other countries," said a statement from the Jammu and Kashmir police.

It said the group has been using encrypted channels for indoctrination, coordination, fund movement and logistics.

"Funds were raised through professional and academic networks, under the guise of social/charitable causes. The accused were found involved in identifying persons, to radicalise, initiate and recruit them to terrorist ranks, besides raising funds, arranging logistics, procurement of arms/ammunition and material for preparing IEDs," it said.

According to the Jammu and Kashmir police, the sophisticated terror module allegedly used professional and academic networks as a front, collecting funds under the false pretense of supporting social and charitable causes.

The accused were allegedly involved in a wide range of illegal activities, including the crucial process of identifying, radicalising, and recruiting new members for terrorist organizations. Their role also involved managing logistics, collecting funds, and securing weapons and materials for IEDs, it said.

"In a major counter-terrorism success, Jammu and Kashmir Police has busted an inter-state and transnational terror module, linked with proscribed terrorist organisations JeM and AGuH. The operation has led to the arrest of key operatives and recovery of a massive cache of arms, ammunition and explosives, during coordinated searches in J-K and other states," a police spokesperson said in Srinagar.

Briefing reporters in Faridabad earlier in the day, Commissioner of Police Satender Kumar Gupta said raids were conducted at Ganaie's premises on Sunday.

"I want to clarify it is not RDX," he said.

Besides, other material that can be used in terror activities was also seized from his room. This included 20 timers, four timers with batteries, 5 kg of heavy metal, a walkie talkie set, batteries, an assault rifle with three magazines and 83 live rounds, one pistol with eight live rounds, two empty cartridges and two additional magazines.

Gupta refused to give any more details.

"There are many other operational details and since the operation is ongoing, these cannot be shared at the moment," he said.

Asked where the accused were intending to carry out the terror act, Gupta said, "The investigations are on."

"Keeping in view national security, there are many details about this module and it is not appropriate to share these at the moment," he said.

According to the police in Srinagar, there could be more arrests in the case. The role of a few more individuals has surfaced who will be traced and apprehended.

During the ongoing investigation, searches were conducted at multiple locations by J-K Police in Srinagar, Anantnag, Ganderbal and Shopian districts.

J-K Police also conducted searches at Faridabad, in tandem with Haryana Police, and at Saharanpur, with the UP Police, he added.

Financial investigation, regarding the flow of funds, is on and all linkages are being traced and addressed expeditiously, the police statement said.
WASHINGTON  The U.S. Senate on Monday, Nov. 10, passed a funding package to end the record-breaking shutdown, putting the federal government on a path to reopening in coming days.

It was a sure sign that the longest-ever funding crisis, which has wrought havoc and pain for millions of Americans for more than a month, is on track to resolving.

A group of eight Democrats again defected with their party to send the legislation, on a 60-40 vote, to the House of Representatives, where it will likely pass later this week. Then, the bills will go to the desk of President Donald Trump, who has indicated he will sign them into law.

"The deal is very good," the president said in the Oval Office Monday afternoon.

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The agreement would also keep various other federal benefits, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and veterans' services, funded through next year.

Senate Majority Leader Thune speaking to the media on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025 about the Senate aiming to vote on ending the shutdown on 40th day in Washington DC. American flags planted to commemorate lung cancer victims fly in the wind along the National Mall on November 10, 2025 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The Senate reached a deal late Sunday to fund the Government, aiming to end the longest shutdown in history. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) delivers remarks to reporters on Nov. 10, 2025 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The Senate reached a deal late Sunday to fund the government, aiming to end the longest shutdown in history. U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks during a news conference on Nov. 10, 2025 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The Senate reached a deal late Sunday to fund the Government, aiming to end the longest shutdown in history. U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) reacts as she walks through the Capitol subway system, more than a month into the longest U.S. government shutdown, in Washington, DC on Nov. 10, 2025. U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), one of eight Democrats to say he will vote with Republicans to open the government, speaks to reporters outside the Senate Chamber as he arrives for votes on Nov. 10, 2025 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The Senate reached a deal late Sunday to fund the government, aiming to end the longest shutdown in history. U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) rides an elevator during a vote related to government funding, more than a month into the longest U.S. government shutdown, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on Nov.10, 2025. US Senator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, looks at his cellphone in between Senate votes to reopen the government on day 41 of the government shutdown at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, Nov. 10, 2025. The longest-ever US government shutdown appeared headed Monday to an eventual resolution, after several Democratic senators broke ranks to join Republicans in advancing a compromise deal -- sparking intra-party backlash. A Senate page holds a stack of documents waiting for an elevator outside the Senate Chamber during votes on Nov. 10, 2025 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The Senate reached a deal late Sunday to fund the government, aiming to end the longest shutdown in history. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) speaks to reporters along the Ohio Clock Corridor on Nov. 10, 2025 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The Senate reached a deal late Sunday to fund the Government, aiming to end the longest shutdown in history. U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and John Barrasso (R-WY) speak as they use the escalator at the Capitol subway system, more than a month into the longest U.S. government shutdown, in Washington on Nov. 10, 2025. U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks to reporters, more than a month into the longest U.S. government shutdown, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Nov. 10, 2025. Senate passes deal to end longest-ever government shutdown, now heads to the House 1 of 12 Senate Majority Leader Thune speaking to the media on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025 about the Senate aiming to vote on ending the shutdown on 40th day in Washington DC.

Senate vote on Obamacare subsidies fails

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), center, speaks at a news conference to call on Republicans to pass Affordable Care Act tax breaks on Capitol Hill on September 16, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Before the Senate voted Monday night on a funding package to reopen the government, it considered several measures lawmakers were trying to attach to the fast-moving spending bills.

The one most related to the shutdown would have extended Obamacare subsidies for one year. The amendment, introduced by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, failed.

Hemp fight eats up Senates time

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks to reporters on the Senate Subway platform on November 10, 2025 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The Senate reached a deal late Sunday to fund the Government, aiming to end the longest shutdown in history.

A fight over hemp took up valuable time in the Senate as lawmakers tried to move to a vote to end the shutdown.

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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, adamantly tried to include a provision that would have left open a loophole allowing the unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp products nationwide. The new rule eliminating the workaround, he argued Monday, would hurt a growing industry in his state.

Senators split unevenly across party lines for and against the measure. Ultimately it failed.

Senate slates full passage of funding package Monday night

U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) speaks to reporters as he walks to the Senate floor, more than a month into the longest U.S. government shutdown in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 10, 2025.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune teed up a series of votes Monday night that will end with the chamber voting on a package that would reopen the government.

That deal, which was announced Sunday, is expected to pass. Lawmakers will take a flurry of amendment and procedural votes, Thune said, before ultimately sending the package over to the House of Representatives.

Trump says he supports Senate deal to reopen government

President Donald Trump speaks, during the swearing-in ceremony for Sergio Gor as U.S. Ambassador to India, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 10, 2025.

President Donald Trump said he supports the Senate deal to reopen the government brokered between Republican leaders and eight Democratic lawmakers.

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"Based on everything I'm hearing, they haven't changed anything, Trump told reporters Monday in the Oval Office. And we have support from enough Democrats, and we're going to be reopening our country."

"It's too bad it was closed, but we'll be reopening our country very quickly," Trump said.

The agreement would reverse Trumps recent firing of federal workers during the shutdown, but the president suggested hes fine with that.

Ill abide by the deal. The deal is very good, Trump said.

What's in the deal?

A sign for food stamps stands outside a grocery story in Baldwin, New York, on Nov. 3, 2025.

The agreed-to deal would reopen the government until Jan. 30. It would also include full-year funding for several agencies and programs, including food aid and veterans' benefits. SNAP funding would continue through September at higher levels.

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It also includes a commitment to vote on a bill to potentially extend expiring Obamacare subsidies. The tax credits, which millions of Americans rely on for help paying premiums, have been the issue at the center of the shutdown fight.

In addition, the deal will reverse the layoffs of thousands of federal workers, while barring any potential firings until Jan. 30. The terminations have been temporarily blocked by a federal court.

'Malpractice': Several Democrats bash compromise

Supporters attend the election night watch party for New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) at the Hilton East Brunswick Hotel on No.4, 2025 in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Sherrill is facing off against Republican assembly member Jack Ciattarelli in a tightly contested race for New Jersey governor.

A handful of Senate Democrats have backed the compromise to reopen the government, but it didn't make them popular among their fellow leaders on the left.

Making this deal is malpractice, New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill said in a statement.

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Pathetic, California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote in a one-word post on X.

And most Senate Democrats balked at the compromise.

I cannot support a deal that still leaves millions of Americans wondering how they are going to pay for their health care or whether they will be able to afford to get sick," said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia.

Read more: What's in the deal to end the government shutdown?

Trump orders all air traffic controllers back to work

Delta Airlines Flight 2828, operated by an Airbus A319 aircraft, comes in for a landing in front of the air traffic control tower at Denver International Airport on Nov. 9, 2025.

Trump threatened to dock the pay of air traffic controllers who haven't reported to work as flight delays and cancellations spike across the country.

All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Trump said on social media Nov. 10. Anyone who doesnt will be substantially docked.

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Many air traffic controllers continued working without a paycheck during the shutdown. But others refused and didn't report to airports across the country, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration to order airlines to cancel 4% of their flights over the weekend.

Trump urged controllers who didnt show up for work to quit. And he pledged to recommend $10,000 bonuses to controllers who continued working.

For those Air Traffic Controllers who who were GREAT PATRIOTS, and didnt take ANY TIME OFF for the Democrat Shutdown Hoax, I will be recommending a BONUS of $10,000 per person for distinguished service to our Country, Trump said. For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU.

President Donald Trump arrives to the White House in Washington, DC, following a trip to Palm Beach, Florida with a stop at a Washington Commanders football game on Nov. 9, 2025.

Delta cancels nearly 500 flights

Delta Air Lines announced that it canceled nearly 500 flights under a government directive during the shutdown and that all cancellations through Nov. 12 have been completed.

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The airline canceled 280 mainline flights and 215 Delta Connection regional flights.

Additional delays and cancellations may still be needed to cope with air traffic control restrictions, the airline warned.

Delta teams continue to safely manage our operation and care for customers who have experienced cancelations and delays, it said in a statement.

More: More than 1,400 flight cancellations, as government shutdown deal emerges. Live updates.

United Airlines sticks with cancelations through Nov. 12

United Airlines passenger planes taxi at Chicago O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Nov. 7, 2025.

United Airlines said it is sticking with government-ordered flight cancelations through at least Nov. 12, as Congress debates a potential end to the shutdown.

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The Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to reduce their flights 4% on Nov. 7, to cope with strains on air traffic controllers who suffered absences while continuing to work during the shutdown.

We will continue to make rolling updates to our schedule if the government shutdown continues and share the latest information as we have it, the airline said in a social media post on Monday.

Republicans cant hide from health care crisis, Jeffries says

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, speaks during a press conference, more than a month into the longest U.S. government shutdown on Nov. 10, 2025.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries argued that Republicans will be unable to hide from higher health care costs despite an end to the shutdown.

Most Senate Democrats opposed reopening the government without extending subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which are set to expire Dec. 31. Open enrollment began Nov. 1 and premiums are projected to double for participants if subsidies arent extended. About 22 million of 24 million participants receive subsidies.

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The compromise to end the shutdown commits to a Senate vote in December to extend the tax credits, but approval is not assured. Many Republicans oppose extending the subsidies without overhauling the entire program.

Democrats have criticized Republicans for opposing Obamacare without offering their own options to provide health care for millions of Americans.

Now is their chance, said Jeffries, D-New York. They can no longer hide.

Senate to vote 'in the very near future' to end shutdown

The Ohio Clock is seen outside of the US Senate chamber on the third day of the US government shutdown in Washington, DC, on October 3, 2025. The US government shutdown appeared likely to stretch into next week as senators prepared Friday, October 3, to vote for a fourth time on a funding fix proposed by Donald Trump's Republicans that has little hope of success. Federal agencies have been out of money since October 1 -- with a wide range of public services crippled -- as a result of deadlocked talks in Congress on how to keep the lights on.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said his colleagues would vote in the very near future on legislation to reopen the government but he asked for cooperation to do so quickly.

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Im hoping that will be hours and not days, Thune said. Lets get it done and get it over the House so that we can get this government open.

Thune noted that air travel is in an extremely precarious situation, food benefits under SNAP are delayed and essential workers have been going unpaid for nearly six weeks.

To move legislation quickly in the Senate requires unanimous consent. One senator can delay debate for hours or days. Thune urged lawmakers in both parties to move the legislation quickly.

The American people have suffered for long enough. Lets not pointlessly drag this bill out, Thune said. I ask all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle  both parties  to make it possible for us to quickly pass this bill.

Johnson urges House lawmakers to return to DC 'right now'

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, delivers remarks to reporters on Nov. 10, 2025 on Capitol Hill.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said representatives would vote as soon as possible on the Senate compromise to reopen the government, but hopefully this week.

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The House had previously approved a temporary spending bill to keep the government open until Nov. 21. But most Senate Democrats blocked the legislation while urging greater spending on health care.

The House has been out since before the shutdown began Oct. 1, waiting for the Senate to act. Johnson, R-Louisiana, said the Senate can only act swiftly by unanimous consent, so it might take several days for that chamber to send the bill to the House.

At the very moment that they hold that final vote, I will call all House members to return to Washington as quickly as possible, Johnson said. Well give a 36-hour formal and official notice so that we can vote as soon as possible.

Johnson spoke to reporters without taking questions. But he urged fellow lawmakers to begin returning to Washington to complete work such as the remaining spending bills to cover most departments beyond the temporary patch.

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To all my colleagues  Democrats and Republicans in the House  you need to begin right now returning to the Hill, Johnson added. We look forward to the government reopening this week so Congress can get back to its regular legislative session.

Voter reacts to moderate Democrats voting to end shutdown

Linda Lowell, a Democrat from the rural Virginia town of Weems, called a vote by a few Democrats, including Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, to end the government shutdown without a guaranteed extension of health care subsidies a drop in the ocean of disappointment.

Too many people are suffering. The point has been made that it's the Republicans who did it, and now I think the Republicans are just going have to wear the loss of the a ACA credits and the fiasco over SNAP, she said.

She said she appreciates that it was a tough choice.

It's tough because everybody is now going to have to just respond to their own conscience and their own sensitivity to the suffering of employees who are not getting paid, Lowell said.

 Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

Adult Education Manager with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Maria Lopez, of Woodland Park, holds boxes of food as she awaits the next vehicle, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Leonie. The bank distributed approximately 2,000 boxes of food to federal workers and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients who have been affected by the government shutdown. Asia Lester, a volunteer at Anderson Interfaith Ministriees in Anderson, helps distribute food in Anderson S.C. Thursday, November 6, 2025. Many who normally receive SNAP benefits being cut line up at Anderson Interfaith Ministries for food. With SNAP benefits cancelled during the government shutdown, All Access Community Development Corporation, a Hackensack non-profit, is doing an early distributions of turkeys and other food. Joellen Green, Chief Operations Officer at All Access Community Development Corporation, hands a box of food to David Gregorea in the parking lot of the Majestic Elks Lodge on Nov. 4, 2025 in Hackensack, N.J. Jessica Hogan sits next to a neighborhood food pantry, on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, that she set up outside of her home, at 422 Eventide Drive, in Murfreesboro. Hogan thinks no one should be going hungry and created the pantry to help those in need, especially during the time when people have lost SNAP benefits. Neighbors are contributing as well as receiving a variety of items from food, to toiletries, to clothes. A sign in her yard states there is no judgement and no questions regarding the pantry. Sherry Tillman and passenger Nellie Johnson, sit in their car near Sarah Ann Bannister, left, Director of Resource Development at Anderson Interfaith Ministries in Anderson S.C. Thursday, November 6, 2025. Food distribution started at 9 a.m. and Tillman got there at 6:30 a.m. Many who normally receive SNAP benefits being cut line up at Anderson Interfaith Ministries for food. Kenneth Brown, left, gets help from volunteers Pat Field, center and Rick Norquist, from Arlington Community Services, with his food allotment Thursday November 6, 2025. The federal government shutdown is increasing demand at food pantries because many federal workers are not getting paychecks and the federal government cut back on SNAP benefits. One in five households in Arlington depends on SNAP to help put food on the table. Clients were picking up food at the pantry In Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday. With SNAP benefits cancelled during the government shutdown, All Access Community Development Corporation, a Hackensack non-profit, is doing an early distributions of turkeys and other food. Joellen Green, Chief Operations Officer at All Access Community Development Corporation, in the parking lot of the Majestic Elks Lodge. Taj Indian Restaurant and Bar offers free meals for those affected by the lapse in SNAP payments, taken on Nov. 4, 2025, in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Dolly Fant, a volunteer for six years at Anderson Interfaith Ministries gets ready for a food distribution in Anderson S.C. Thursday, November 6, 2025. Many who normally receive SNAP benefits being cut line up at Anderson Interfaith Ministries for food. Dolly Fant, a volunteer for six years at Anderson Interfaith Ministries brings some of the carts of food for a 9 a.m. food distribution in Anderson S.C. Thursday, November 6, 2025. Many who normally receive SNAP benefits being cut line up at Anderson Interfaith Ministries for food. Willie's Copper Top serves as a soup kitchen on Tuesdays and Saturdays in Owsley County. Leeomi Smith rode into the Owsley County Food Place, a food bank that distributes boxes of food each Tuesday, in Booneville, Ky., Nov. 4, 2025. Donal Dickens, Regional Branch Coordinator, Willamston Branch, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina helps set up before the food distribution at the Jockey Lot in Williamston, S.C. Friday, November 7, 2025. The event fed over 900 families. Sandwiches or AuSnap SandiesAu are offered to those who need them at The Goose in Oklahoma City on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. Kent Useary, 65, who lives on Detroit's east side, rides his scooter during a food distribution event at Jesus Tabernacle of Deliverance Ministries in Detroit, Mich., Nov. 5, 2025. Simone Matthew, a volunteer with Feeding South Florida, (L) hugs Tammy Norton, a Department of Treasury worker, as she stops to pickup essential food items on Oct. 28, 2025 in Dania Beach, Florida. As the government shutdown nears four weeks, Feeding South Florida launched a food distribution site for government employees who have been impacted. The organization handed out food items to approximately 250 families in need during the event. Federal workers, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and air-traffic controllers, receive food parcels at Newark Liberty International Airport as the workers have been impacted by the government shutdown on Oct. 27, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. The morning event was organized by the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), the state's largest anti-hunger organization. The dozens of federal workers who attended the event received one box of nonperishable items, one premium 10-pound produce box, along with potatoes, spaghetti squash, and apples. Federal workers are set to miss their first full paycheck on Wednesday, October 29th, as the government shutdown continues. Federal workers, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and air-traffic controllers, line up to receive food parcels at Newark Liberty International Airport as the workers have been impacted by the government shutdown on Oct. 27, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. The morning event was organized by the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), the state's largest anti-hunger organization. The dozens of federal workers who attended the event received one box of nonperishable items, one premium 10-pound produce box, along with potatoes, spaghetti squash, and apples. Federal workers are set to miss their first full paycheck on Wednesday, October 29th, as the government shutdown continues. Federal workers, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and air-traffic controllers, receive food parcels at Newark Liberty International Airport as the workers have been impacted by the government shutdown on Oct. 27, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. The morning event was organized by the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), the state's largest anti-hunger organization. The dozens of federal workers who attended the event received one box of nonperishable items, one premium 10-pound produce box, along with potatoes, spaghetti squash, and apples. Federal workers are set to miss their first full paycheck on Wednesday, October 29th, as the government shutdown continues. Betty Anne Gallagher a volunteer with Feeding South Florida, helps load essential food items into the vehicles of government workers on Oct. 28, 2025 in Dania Beach, Florida. As the government shutdown nears four weeks, Feeding South Florida launched a food distribution site for government employees who have been impacted. The organization handed out food items to approximately 250 families in need during the event. Employees of DMARC, Catholic Charities, and Food Bank of Iowa hold signs during a press conference on the loss of SNAP benefits during the government shutdown at DMARC headquarters on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in Des Moines, Ia. Sparse shelves at Golden Harvest Food Bank are seen on Oct. 28, 2025 in Augusta, Ga. Golden Harvest Food Bank is facing shortages as the government shutdown puts SNAP benefits at risk. Working at a food bank in Fort Collins, Colorado, on Oct. 28, 2025. Because of the federal government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that federal food aid will not be distributed on Nov. 1. An assortment of food sits at the Food Bank for Larimer County in Fort Collins, Colo. on Oct. 28, 2025. Food Bank for Larimer County is feeling the pinch as the government shutdown stretches on, endangering SNAP benefits for 600,000 Coloradans. Faith communities, nonprofits and volunteers step up amid the federal block of SNAP 1 of 24 Adult Education Manager with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Maria Lopez, of Woodland Park, holds boxes of food as she awaits the next vehicle, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Leonie. The bank distributed approximately 2,000 boxes of food to federal workers and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients who have been affected by the government shutdown.

Will federal workers get back pay? What's in the shutdown deal.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the head of the Appropriations Committee, said the temporary funding bill to reopen the government will provide back pay to all federal workers.

The measure includes a package of three spending bills  for military construction and veterans, agriculture, and the legislative branch  that received bipartisan support from the Senate on Aug. 1.

Under our legislation, all federal employees, including members of our military and Coast Guard, Capitol Police officers, Border Patrol agents, TSA screeners, air traffic controllers  all will receive their back wages, Collins said on the Senate floor on Sunday.

The agriculture portion of that measure provides full-year funding SNAP food benefits and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. That means those programs wouldnt be vulnerable to being cut off in another shutdown if lawmakers reach an impasse on Jan. 30.

One of the most unfortunate and shameful consequences of this shutdown has been that these vital nutrition programs were in jeopardy for our most vulnerable families, including 170,000 Mainers who rely on the SNAP program, Collins added.

Visitors eat warm breakfast at Hope Missions of the Upstate in downtown Anderson, South Carolina, Monday, November 10, 2025. Federal SNAP food aid remains in limbo as Congress moves to end the record government shutdown.

Trump administration must tell Supreme Court if its still seeking intervention on SNAP benefits

The Trump administration must tell the Supreme Court today if it wants to the justices to pause an appeal courts decision that it must pay full SNAP food benefits for November.

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued that order Monday morning after the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals late Sunday backed a federal judges order that the food stamp program be fully funded this month despite the government shutdown.

Jackson, on Friday, had briefly paused the judges order. But she set that order to expire 48 hours after the appeals courts decision.

If the administration appeals, Jackson set a Tuesday morning deadline for the cities, nonprofit groups and others challenging the administration to respond. The administrations emergency request Friday was handled by Jackson because she has responsibility for requests in that part of the country.

Its unclear if a possible congressional deal to end the government shutdown will end the need for the legal challenges.

 Maureen Groppe

Fetterman calls shutdown a failure

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pennsylvnia, who voted repeatedly with Republicans to reopen the government, apologized to Capitol police officers who worked without pay during the shutdown and to SNAP recipients whose food benefits were delayed.

It shouldve never come to this, Fetterman said in a statement. This was a failure.

SNAP food benefits in limbo while shutdown deal proceeds

Federal food aid would be funded through 2026 at higher levels under a deal to reopen the government, but for now the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is still in limbo.

The SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps, lapsed this month for the first time in the programs 60-year history. A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to pay the monthly food benefits in full, but the Supreme Court paused the ruling Nov. 7, allowing the government to make partial payments.

The legal wrangling left 42 million Americans who receive the benefits on edge heading into the weekend, waiting to see how much assistance they would get, and when.

Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) Dick Durbin (D-IL) Maggie Hassan, (D-NH) John Fetterman (D-PA) Tim Kaine (D-VA) Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Sen. Angus King (I-ME) Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) 8 Senate Democratic Caucus members who broke ranks to end the 2025 government shutdown 1 of 8 Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)

Which 8 Democrats voted to advance the spending bill?

In a major shift, senators late Sunday night cleared a procedural hurdle to begin the process of ending the shutdown.

Along with most other Republicans, seven Democrats and one independent senator (Maine's Angus King, who caucuses with the Democrats) voted to move toward advancing a funding agreement that could reopen the government as soon as this week.

Read more: The winners and losers of the government shutdown deal

Here is the full list of Democrats who voted for the spending bill:

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada

Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada

Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia

Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania

Sen. Angus King of Maine

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, voted against the measure.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shutdown recap: Senate passes funding bill, sends it to House
The opposition parties on Monday demanded a thorough and speedy investigation into the car blast near the Red Fort that killed at least eight people and injured many others, and raised concerns over the security situation in the national capital.

IMAGE: The NSG team investigates the spot of the blast in a Hyundai i20 car near Gate no 1 of the Red Fort Metro station, in Delhi, November 10, 2025. Photograph: ANI Video Grab

The Congress said the alleged security lapse exposed Delhi government's "shocking complacency", and asked whether Delhi is a "secure capital" as claimed by the home ministry.

The party, however, said the country stands united in this difficult moment.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the government must ensure a prompt and thorough investigation into the blast so that those responsible for this "lapse" are held accountable.

In a post on X, Kharge said, "Extremely distressing to hear about the news of a car explosion near Red Fort Metro Station, Delhi. Initial reports suggest that several precious lives have been lost in this incident. In this moment of grief, our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families, and we pray for the swift recovery of the injured."

"The government must ensure a prompt and thorough investigation into this blast which has taken place in a high-security and often crowded place, so that those responsible for this lapse and incident are held accountable," he added.

AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal also expressed grief over the loss of lives in the incident and prayed for the speedy recovery of the wounded.

"The entire country is united in this difficult moment. We urge the government to speedily investigate the incident and throw further light on what has transpired," he said in a post on X.

A high-intensity explosion ripped through a car near the Red Fort on Monday evening, killing at least eight people and injuring 20 others, officials said.

In a post on X, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, termed the news of the car blast "extremely heartbreaking and concerning".

Terming the blast in the country's capital alarming and distressing, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said in a post on X, "In matters of national security -- be it Pulwama or Pahalgam -- we have stood firmly with the government. Nothing is more important than the security and sovereignty of the country.

"We urge the Central government to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter and to reassure the public through fair and transparent action, while teaching the culprits the harshest possible lesson. After all, how long will Indians live under the shadow of fear?"

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also termed the Delhi blast extremely tragic and serious incident.

"It should be investigated from every aspect. To alleviate the fear that has spread in the country's capital due to this blast, immediate security measures should be taken," he said on X.

Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said, "The blast in India's capital city at a super-busy location is a source of concern and yet again raises questions about our intelligence gathering and preparedness."

AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi said, "I hope for a thorough and swift investigation. Those responsible for this condemnable act must receive the maximum punishment under the law."

Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal said police and the government should immediately investigate how this explosion occurred and whether there was any larger conspiracy behind it.

"Negligence regarding Delhi's security cannot be tolerated," he said in a post on X.

His party colleague Sanjay Singh said in a post on X, "Only Pakistan could stoop to such a vile act. Modi has boosted the morale of those Pakistani beasts by agreeing to a ceasefire. Those terrorists who took the lives of our innocent citizens -- bring them all to justice too."

"The attack on the Red Fort is an assault on the symbol of our pride. The country is not safe in Modi's hands," he alleged.

Former Chhattisgarh chief minister and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel asked, "Should such a massive explosion occur in the nation's capital, Delhi, and we remain silent?"

"After all, accountability must be fixed. We all have complete faith in our security forces. But it is alarming for the country that the nation's security is not a priority for the country's leaders," Baghel said on X, adding that in this difficult time, questions will be asked of the government, and answers must be given.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi called the blast deeply disturbing and asked whether Delhi is a "secure capital" that the home ministry boasts of.

"Repeated security lapses in the heart of Delhi expose the government's shocking complacency," Singhvi said on X.

"Delhi on high alert, but the ruling party continues with its blasts of arrogance and propaganda. Security collapses, accountability vanishes, and yet slogans roar louder than safety," the Congress leader added.
Days after the controversial 40-acre Pune land deal by a firm linked to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's son, a now-suspended tehsildar issued an eviction notice to the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), a long-standing tenant on the property.

IMAGE: Parth Pawar. Photograph: Courtesy @parthajitpawar/X

In an eviction notice to the BSI, the then tehsildar Suryakant Yeole had informed the central organisation that the company, Amadea Enterprises LLP, 'legally' acquired the property.

The sale of land in Pune's upscale Mundhwa area for Rs 300 crore to Amadea, in which Ajit Pawar's son Parth Pawar is a majority partner, is under scrutiny amid allegations of irregularities and a lack of requisite clearances.

The Opposition has alleged that its market value was Rs 1,800 crore.

According to copies of official documents accessed by PTI, the sale deed for the 40-acre 'Mahar Watan' land, denoting hereditary landholding to the Mahar (scheduled caste) community, was executed by Amadea on May 20 this year.

Six days later, the company requested Yeole to get the land vacated.

On June 9, Yeole wrote to the joint director of BSI, saying their lease had come to an end, citing a 're-grant' clause in the agreement.

'We inform you that on December 20, 2024, the original landowners duly deposited the occupancy price. Consequently, it is appropriate and necessary for your office to formally notify the Botanical Survey of India, Pune, directing it to vacate the land immediately, as the lease agreement now stands terminated,' said the notice sent by Yeole.

As per records, the land was originally leased to BSI in 1973. The first lease was for 15 years, and it was later extended for 50 years from 1988, with certain terms and conditions and an annual rent of Re 1.

Yeole, who was later suspended over alleged irregularities in another land case, informed the sub-divisional officer on July 14 about his communication to BSI, updating him on the status of the land and lease termination.

The eviction notice prompted a BSI team to meet Pune Collector Dudi.

The collector said the district administration then intervened and restrained Yeole from taking any further action. It also initiated an inquiry against him in the Mundhwa land case.

He said Yeole issued the notice based on claims made by the original 'watandars' -- 272 'owners' -- that they had paid the 'occupancy price' through demand drafts and that the 40-acre plot granted to the government now belonged to them.

Amadea had executed the deal for the land with one Shital Tejwani (who represented the 272 'owners' through power of attorney).

"However, the entire process of issuing an eviction notice was illegal. I wrote to the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) and asked him to take necessary action, and the process of eviction and physical handover of the land to Amadea Enterprises LLP did not take place," said Dudi.

A clause in the lease agreement with the BSI says that if the government ever re-grants this land, it will have to honour the decision, said Dudi.

"These 'landowners' interpreted this clause to suit their convenience and claimed that since they had paid money to the government to reclaim the land, it now belonged to them. But this was incorrect. In fact, during our scrutiny, it was revealed that no DDs had been submitted," he said.

The official said there is a defined process to re-grant government land.

"Tehsildar Yeole should have understood the process and acted accordingly. Since his actions were wrong, an inquiry was initiated, and the entire process was stalled," he said.

Despite the sale deed, on which a stamp duty of Rs 21 crore was waived, the land continues to remain in the name of the government, he said.

Deputy CM Ajit Pawar has said that the deal has been scrapped. He has claimed that Parth was unaware that the land purchased by his firm belonged to the government.

Based on a complaint filed by the inspector general of registrar's office, the Pimpri Chinchwad police have registered an FIR against Digvijay Patil, Shital Tejwani (who represented the 272 'owners' of the land through the power of attorney), and sub-registrar R B Taru, who has also been suspended, for alleged misappropriation and cheating.
Amid an ongoing controversy over the national song, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said singing Vande Mataram will be made compulsory in every school and educational institution of the state.

IMAGE: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Photograph: @myogiadityanath_X/ANI Photo

Addressing an 'Ekta Yatra' (Unity March) event in Gorakhpur, he said this step would inspire feelings of reverence and pride among citizens towards 'Bharat Mata' and the motherland.

"There should be a sense of respect for the national song Vande Mataram. We will make its singing compulsory in every school and educational institution of Uttar Pradesh," he said.

A political row over the national song erupted after Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said that dropping key stanzas of the song in 1937 had 'sown the seeds of Partition' and such a 'divisive mindset' remained a challenge for the country, remarks seen as an attack on the Congress.

The Bharatiya Janata Party also accused the Congress of pandering to a 'communal agenda' under Jawaharlal Nehru's leadership by adopting a truncated version of the song that year.

The Congress hit back sharply, alleging that Modi had 'insulted' the 1937 Congress Working Committee and Rabindranath Tagore, who had suggested adopting only the first two stanzas.

Party leader Jairam Ramesh said the prime minister's comments were 'shocking but not surprising', adding that the 'RSS had no role in the freedom movement'.

The Congress demanded an apology, calling it 'shameful' to accuse Tagore of divisiveness.

Penned by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay in 1875, Vande Mataram was officially adopted as India's national song by the Constituent Assembly on January 24, 1950.

Recalling the role of Vande Mataram in the freedom movement, Adityanath said, "It was this song that awakened the nation's consciousness. Every revolutionary, the youth, women, and children who fought for freedom did so with Vande Mataram on their lips."

He accused the Congress of 'appeasement politics', noting that it opposed the national song in the past, while hitting out at the Samajwadi Party.

"Those who tried to distort or oppose Vande Mataram weakened India's unity. When Mohammad Ali Jauhar (co-founder of All India Muslim League) opposed the song at the 1923 Congress session, it marked the beginning of division within the country," he said.

If the Congress had upheld the national song then, India might not have been divided, the chief minister claimed.

He also cited the 1937 Congress committee's recommendation to modify parts of the song for allegedly portraying 'Bharat Mata' as 'Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati'.

"This song is not religious; it is about reverence for our motherland. Every Indian must stand for the honour of Bharat Mata," he said.

Adityanath also accused the Samajwadi Party of continuing the 'legacy of opposing national unity', saying, "Some people refuse to attend Patel's birth anniversary but do not hesitate to honour (Mohammed Ali) Jinnah (All India Muslim League leader). Such double standards are dangerous for national integrity."

The chief minister warned against 'forces that divide society on caste, language, or regional lines'.

Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, Ziaur Rahman Barq, had recently said that no Muslim can be compelled to sing Vande Mataram as some of its words are not in accordance with the teachings of their religion.

Taking a swipe at his remark, Adityanath said, 'those who insult India's great leaders and revolutionaries, in a way, strengthen the confidence of separatist forces that challenge the country's unity and nationalism.'

During the event here on Monday, where a collective singing of Vande Mataram was also done, Adityanath launched the 'Ekta Yatra' (Unity March) from Gorakhpur, calling for renewed respect for national heroes and symbols of unity.

On the occasion, he also paid tributes to Sardar Valabhbhai Patel, recalling the leader's emphasis on discipline, national unity and responsibility.

He also paid homage to Vande Mataram composer Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay.

Adityanath said it was a matter of pride that the country is celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the 'Iron Man of India', with great enthusiasm through various programmes across states.

"Patel had said that freedom is not just about being independent, but also about serving the nation responsibly. He also reminded that no country can be enslaved if its youth remain aware and dedicated," he said in his address.

The 'Ekta Yatra' will be held in all 403 Assembly constituencies of Uttar Pradesh, covering 10 kilometres in each constituency, Adityanath said.

"Along with Run for Unity events, the yatra will promote public awareness, self-reliance, and nationalism among citizens," he said, adding that it coincides with the 150th year of the national song.
Despite claims that he is tired and unwell, Nitish Kumar has addressed 84 election rallies, urging voters to give him 'one more chance'.

IMAGE: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar addresses an election rally in Rajoun, November 3, 2025. All photographs: ANI Photo

Contrary to Opposition leaders' claims that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is not well, he addressed 84 rallies for the two-phase Bihar assembly polls this election cycle.

Nitish Kumar, who is also president of the Janata Dal-United, a major ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, addressed three to four election rallies a day on an average since the third week of October.

"Nitish Kumar traveled to 73 rallies by helicopter and 11 by road. He also held a few road shows in support of NDA candidates," says senior JD-U leader Rajeev Ranjan.

IMAGE: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav addresses an election rally in Muzaffarpur.

"Nitish Kumar has exposed the lies and misinformation spread by (Rashtriya Janata Dal leader) Tejashwi Yadav and (Jan Suraaj Party founder) Prashant Kishor," asserts JD-U Chief Spokesperson Neeraj Kumar.

"Our party has been saying that Nitishji is healthy and fully fit. Opposition leaders have been targeting him wrongly, the truth is that Nitishji is active and working as usual."

"Only a healthy and active man can address so many rallies," says Neeraj Kumar. "Nitishji will also lead the next government."

IMAGE: Jan Suraaj Chief Prashant Kishor addresses a press conference in Patna.

During the election campaign, Tejashwi Yadav, the Mahagathbandhan's chief ministerial candidate, targeted Nitish Kumar by declaring that the CM is 'no longer fit to run Bihar'.

Nitish Kumar has 'become 'tired mentally and physically and is no longer capable of leading Bihar,' Prashant Kishor also asserted repeatedly.

Questions have been raised about Nitish Kumar's well being following his unusual behaviour at public functions since last year.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
A youth was chased and brutally hacked to death inside police quarters in Tiruchirappalli on Monday by a five-member gang, allegedly due to professional rivalry, police said.

IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: Reuters

Five people have been secured in connection with the gruesome murder, and a hunt is on to nab four others, a police official said.

The five assailants, who came on two two-wheelers, rammed into the motorcycle on which the victim, later identified as Thamarai Selvan, 25, of Bheema Nagar, was riding near Marsingpet.

When the gang started attacking him indiscriminately after he fell down, Selvan somehow managed to escape and ran towards the police quarters nearby, the official said.

Noticing the door of a policeman's house open, Selvan entered with the hope of hiding himself from the gang. But the men barged into the house and hacked him to death. The police rushed to the spot after the inmates raised an alarm and managed to nab one of them. Later, four others were held.

"Preliminary enquiry revealed that the deceased, who worked in a real estate firm, had a professional rivalry with the men. This could have been a cause for the murder. But we are investigating. A case has been registered," the official said.
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Partly cloudy skies. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 16F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 16F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
Non-stop three hour trance mix for Night Shift's final 2025 Funding Drive show! Starting out with some intense tracks and progressively getting lighter as we go! Heavy new trance releases in hour 1! Archived trance/techno Jon Degan mix from an old edition of The Deep Blue in hour 2! Progressive and uplifting offerings in hour 3! Our 2025 Funding Drive is here! Please donate to keep CKCU on the air for another year! This year's theme is "Independent Media Matters," demonstrated by CKCUs position as an alternative to the commercial media landscape in Canada! Help us reach our overall goal of $193,100 and my $750 show goal by using the link below! Donate to Night Shift for CKCU's 2025 Funding Drive here: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/CKCU/p2p/fundingdrive2025/page/night-shift
SAP will shortly submit formal concessions to the European Commission to settle an antitrust investigation into its software licensing and maintenance practices.

The Commission opened a formal investigation in September after concluding SAP may be restricting competition in the aftermarket for on-premises ERP maintenance and support services. The remedies will address concerns that SAP makes it harder for customers to use rival support providers, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the development.

The Commission conducted an informal market test of SAPs proposals several months ago and will now seek feedback from competitors and customers before accepting the final offer, likely with minor tweaks, the report added.

For SAP, the concessions offer a way to avoid fines that could reach 10 per cent of global revenue  over US$3.7 billion based on the companys 2024 sales of US$37 billion.

Earlier, the German firm had reportedly submitted concessions to the commission to avoid a formal investigation.

What SAP must fix

The Commissions preliminary assessment identified four practices that may violate competition rules across the 27-country European Economic Area.

SAP requires customers to buy the same level of maintenance and support from the company, under identical pricing, for all their on-premises ERP instances. This prevents customers from mixing and matching support services from different suppliers at different price levels, even when that would better suit their needs.

The company also blocks customers from canceling maintenance for unused software licences and from ending support contracts when it extends the initial licence term.
The New Zealand government has begun its changes to how the public sector undertakes digital investment and procurement with the release of the Service Modernisation Roadmap v2.

This is the next phase of the Government Chief Digital Officers (GCDO) top priorities for service modernisation and will also focus on new initiatives and key digital accelerators for service modernisation.

Some of the key highlights for the GCDO include building the digital identity ecosystem to developing an all-of-government app, as well as a new approaches to back-office transformation and digitising government.

Between financial year (FY) 25-26 to FY 27-28, the GCDO will focus on delivering the initial release of the all-of-government app, including a roadmap for service onboarding from agencies and a digital wallet, as well as delivering service design and user experience requirements, guidance and tools to guide agencies to deliver improved and more consistent digital customer service experiences.

Alongside those initiatives will be the delivery of an AI virtual assistant. This is intended to make it easy for people to find and use government information and services.

It will also provide reporting and insights on high-demand digital services and customer perception to ensure government digital services meet citizens needs and expectations.

Over this period, the GCDO has also been tasked with developing API standards and ensure agencies are able to access key government APIs. It will also implement an all-of-government messaging and notification platform to support the government app.

When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), the GCDO will develop a two-year roadmap for accelerating use of government AI solutions, as well as creating an all-of-government AI reference architecture. This will be used to guide the design and implementation of governments AI solutions, promote best practices and accelerate development across the public service.
The New Zealand government will look to roll out an artificial intelligence (AI) scribe tool to 1,000 doctors and frontline staff working in emergency departments across the country.

Health Minister Simeon Brown said delivering modern health infrastructure, including digital tools. is a priority for the government.

Too many doctors have told me that paperwork and documentation take up too much of their day, Minister Brown said. This tool will help free them up to spend more time with patients  listening, diagnosing, and treating  rather than writing down or typing up notes.

According to the government, the AI scribe securely records a consultation and automatically creates draft clinical notes, referral letters, and follow-up summaries.

This allows doctors to spend more of the appointment interacting directly with patients, while the technology captures the details for them, explained Minister Brown.

The tool is tailored to New Zealands clinical language and systems, meets all privacy requirements, and includes strong security protections to keep patient information safe, he said.

It is already being used successfully in some primary care settings, so patients may already have experienced it during an appointment with their GP, the Minister added.

A pilot in Hawkes Bay and Whanganui showed strong results and the practical difference technology can make for both doctors and patients.
While rights activists have welcomed the release of prominent Chinese artist and social critic Ai Weiwei after 80 days of detention, they say the manner of his detention was arbitrary and part of a broader campaign to silence dissent.



Fellow activist Zhao Lianhai, whose child was one of 300,000 made ill in a scandal in which infant formula milk was laced with the industrial chemical melamine, welcomed the news of Ai's release, but said the authorities had acted outside the law.



"The government has never acted within regular legal process throughout [Ai's detention]," Zhao said. "This is unjust...to detain him for nearly 80 days."



"Under the terms of his bail agreement he can be redetained at any time...and that is my concern."



Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Thursday that Ai was still under investigation.



"Without permission... he is not allowed to leave his area of residence," Hong told reporters on Thursday.

Political

Meanwhile, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said it was concerned about the arbitrary manner of Ai's detention and continuing controls on his freedom of speech and movement.

"Ai was forcibly disappeared on April 3 at Beijing Capital Airport and his detention was acknowledged only on April 7," the group said in a statement on Wednesday.

"He remained in police custody under residential surveillance at an unknown location for 80 days. He was denied access to his lawyer, and his wife was allowed to visit him only once on May 15, 42 days into his detention," it said.

But it said the artist's release was probably the result of widespread international pressure on Beijing, and a vocal campaign for his release.

"The Chinese governments decision to arrest Ai Weiwei was political, and so is his release, said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.

"But it is also an example of how international pressure works, since Beijing was paying a high cost to its reputation for his detention."

The Chinese authorities released Ai on bail pending trial for "economic crimes," having secured a promise from him to repay a large sum of money the government says was due in taxes, official media reported.

Ai's mother Gao Ying said she was shocked at his appearance when he first emerged from detention.

"His belly has got much thinner and he had 80 days' facial hair growth, so he looked like some kind of wild man," Gao said.

"He said he was fairly reasonably treated in detention, and that they showed him some courtesy," she added.

'Confession' questioned

Ai had been investigated "according to law" under charges of suspected economic crimes, and the Beijing Fake Cultural Development Co., which he controls, had been found to have engaged in deliberate tax evasion amounting to very large sums, Xinhua news agency said.

It said the decision was made "in view of the fact that Ai Weiwei confessed his crime, showed a good attitude, and of the fact that he suffers from chronic illness, and considering that he has offered many times of his own accord to pay back the money owed."

The Paris-based press freedom group, Reporters Without Borders said it was concerned about exactly how Ai's "confession" was elicited.

"Given the length of the time he was held incommunicado, light must be shed on the circumstances in which this confession was obtained," the group said in a statement on Thursday.

"His release does not mean the end of his problems," it warned.

Ai was quoted by several media outlets and Twitter users as saying that he was unable to speak to the media under the terms of his release.

Human Rights Watch said it was likely that Ai would face restrictions on his movements and be required to report to the police regularly.

Chinese authorities at times use economic crimes, and specifically tax evasion charges, to try to silence dissenters, rights activists have said.

Human Rights Watch warned that many more Chinese activists remain "disappeared."

"In the past six months, the Chinese government has disappeared and/or arbitrarily detained dozens of activists, writers, lawyers, and others," the group said.

"Upon their release, several have retreated into uncharacteristic silence and seclusion, leading to concerns that they have been threatened with further abuses if they speak out."

Disappearances

It estimated that at least 10 others less well-known than Ai had been victims of enforced disappearances since mid-February.

"They remain incommunicado, their whereabouts unknown, and thus are at high risk of torture in custody," the group said.

Ai's disappearance on April 3, with no formal documentation, sparked a campaign by activists and art galleries and museums worldwide for his release.

We are greatly relieved to learn that Ai Weiwei has been released, said Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation, which helped launch an online petition for Ai's release.

"While the Guggenheim has no comment on the circumstances surrounding Ai Weiweis release, we will of course continue to follow this situation and hope for a complete and satisfactory resolution for artistic expression," Armstrong said.

Ai was named recently by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

His detention has drawn criticism from the United States, Australia, Britain, France, and Germany, as well as from Amnesty International and other international rights groups.

Reported by Qiao Yuan for RFA's Mandarin service, and by Grace Kei Lai-see for the Cantonese service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.


Chinese authorities have moved in recent days to block online content related to an escalating land protest in a Guangdong village, as residents said they are now besieged by security forces.



A video showing several thousand villagers congregating at the Mazu Temple in Wukan village, near the port city of Shanwei, was posted on popular microblogging sites Sina and Tencent Weibo, and was quickly removed by censors.



The video showed large numbers of villagers sitting on the ground in the temple courtyard in protest at the detention of their representatives by police.



"Down with corrupt officials!" the crowd chants, then, "Compensation for blood spilled!"



Tensions have been running high in Wukan since clashes with police at the weekend and the death of Xue Jinbo, who "fell ill" on his third day in detention, officials in the nearby city of Shanwei, said.



Xue was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. A representative of local farmers in the land dispute, he had been detained for inciting the villagers to protest, and villagers suspect he was beaten to death by police.





The Guangdong provincial procuratorate issued a statement on Tuesday following Xue's autopsy denying any signs of external injures.

"There were no signs of external force that could have led to death," the statement said, adding, "To determine the actual cause of death, further investigation will be required."

Villagers called on central government officials in Beijing to carry out their own probe, however.

Villagers block police

By Tuesday lunchtime, both Sina and Tencent were deleting any posts containing "Wukan," apart from officially approved reports on the situation there.

Wukan villagers say they have actively repelled riot police from entering their village in large numbers for the past week, although police have continued to make raids by day and night, arresting local residents suspected of helping to organize recent protests over alleged official corruption linked to the sale of farmland.

A resident surnamed Huang said villagers were going ahead with plans to stage a protest outside municipal government buildings in Lufeng.

"The villagers are pretty angry," he said. "The government still hasn't sent anyone to meet our demands and sort things out."

"They are pouring oil on the fire ... They never even agreed to investigate the corruption."

A second villager who declined to be named said villagers were now totally besieged.

"We are in Wukan, and we can't get out," she said, confirming that villagers had attended a meeting on Tuesday with local officials.

"The main thing we talked about was we were calling on the government to give us back our land," she said. "We want central government to come and save Wukan."

Land 'stripped away'

Villagers say they have lost their livelihoods following massive sell-offs of rural farmland and loss of access to their old fishing port facilities.

"Things are very hard for us here in Wukan," the second villager said. "Our land has been totally stripped away by those officials and sold off."

"They didn't give us a cent, nor any land [in compensation.]" she said. "If they were to compensate us for the land, then we would accept that."

Shops and restaurants remained closed in Wukan on Wednesday, local residents said.

Sichuan-based rights activist Huang Qi on Tuesday hit out at the authorities' response to the stand-off in Wukan.

"Not only are the authorities not recognizing the interests of ordinary people, they are suppressing them with violence," said Huang, who founded the Tianwang rights website. "We want to express the strongest protest and condemnation of the Wukan incident."

He called on China's parliament, the National People's Congress, to send an investigative team to Wukan to probe the villagers' corruption allegations, and to include villagers in the process.

"They must also find who is responsible for the death that occurred during the Wukan incident, and make public the results of the investigation," Huang said.

Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
Hundreds of protesters converged on Hong Kongs International Airport and a major subway terminus on Sunday, smashing up a train control room, setting up barricades outside the airport and disrupting check-in and transportation services after a night of violence and growing public anger at the authorities.

Riot police fired tear gas and moved in to clear the airport of protesters, some of whom had walked from the nearby town of Tung Chung after the airport express train link was also shut down.

hong-kong-protest-tear-gas-2019 Protesters standoff with police in cloud of tear gas during a clash at an anti-government rally outside of Central Government Complex on August 31, 2019 in Hong Kong. (Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)

Tung Chung MTR Station and part of the Tung Chung subway line were shut down after the station became crowded with thousands of protesters, journalists and police later in the afternoon, with some protesters smashing windows in the station control room, and police ordering journalists to leave, live video streams showed.

Protesters also set up flaming barricades on the streets of Tung Chung, a new town not far from the international airport at Chek Lap Kok in northern Lantau Island.

The MTR Corp., which runs subway and train services across Hong Kong, stopped services to and from Tung Chung Station, saying that anti-extradition protesters had vandalized ticket machines and smartcard readers, causing large-scale damage.

Some of them smashed windows in the control room and sprayed graffiti across it, government broadcaster RTHK reported.

Arriving passengers were seen pushing suitcases along the street as protesters blocked key roads approaching Chek Lap Kok after train and bus services to the airport were suspended on Sunday afternoon, local media reported.

The renewed protests came after Hong Kong special police charged into a subway station late on Saturday and attacked passengers aboard waiting trains with batons and pepper spray, according to video footage posted to social media sites from inside Prince Edward Station in Kowloon.

The police, who wore the black, armored uniforms of the raptor special forces, appeared to be in pursuit of protesters, but instead attacked passengers indiscriminately, the footage showed.

One was a small boy who was left with head injuries.

An elderly man implores police not to charge at Tung Chung MTR train station in Hong Kong, Sept. 1, 2019. (AFP)

Pepper spray, beatings

Protesters formed a barrier of umbrellas inside one train, while police fired pepper spray inside the train, beat up several people and arrested an unknown number of black-clad protesters, Stand News reported.

Police continued to attack passengers with batons even after bystanders asked them to stop, and those who tried to approach them were sprayed indiscriminately with painful doses of pepper spray, the report said.

Earlier on Saturday, police had deployed water cannon and rubber bullets against anti-extradition protesters as clashes continued through the weekend following a string of arrests of prominent pro-democracy figures.

Thousands of people turned out for the Walk Free protest in spite of the closure of large numbers of subway stations by the MTR Corp.

Outside government headquarters on Saturday, a water cannon fired blue dye apparently intended to stain the skin of those present for identification at a later date, while protesters set street barricades aflame and hurled Molotov cocktails across a barrier set up to protect government buildings.

At a rally in Victoria Park, Causeway Bay, protesters surrounded and interrogated four people they believed to be undercover police officers or other agents.

One of the four was searched and found to be carrying a police handgun, which he later fired after regaining his belongings. Nobody was injured in the incident.

A protester surnamed Chan at the Victoria Park rally said she had turned out in spite of the police ban out of anger that the administration of Carrie Lam was ignoring the protesters demands.

The fact that the government has made no response at all has made public anger much more intense, Chan said. It wouldnt be this intense if they hadnt refused to respond positively, if theyd made even one positive response, to the march of a million people on June 9, instead of disregarding everyones opinions.

All we can do now is come out and support [the movement], she said. No one knows how things will develop.

Christian groups -- who have added their Sing Hallelujah to the Lord chant to the protests since the outset -- also held their own Sinners March protest in support of the five demands.

hong-kong-protest-tear-gas-2019 Protesters standoff with police in cloud of tear gas during a clash at an anti-government rally outside of Central Government Complex on August 31, 2019 in Hong Kong. (Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)

Freedom DNA in their bones

Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting told the religious rally in Wanchai district that Hong Kong will likely be changed forever if the government refuses to listen to the people.

If the government doesnt respond to the five major demands of the Hong Kong people eventually, it will be hard for Hong Kong to return to the way it was, to the old social order, Lam told the rally.

Today we came to this religious gathering in Wanchai, hoping that the government will respect the law, he said.

A mainland Chinese visitor at the scene of one protest said he felt privileged to have witnessed an anti-authoritarian movement in Hong Kong at first hand.

The ruling Chinese Communist Partys state-run media have consistently depicted the anti-extradition movement as a violent separatist movement fueled by a small minority of radical protesters backed by foreign powers.

[Its like] they have some kind of freedom DNA in their bones, he said. I really dont get the impression they want to secede from China: they are fighting for freedom and democracy, and for the protection of human rights.

Thats why they have to come out onto the streets: the government hasnt given a positive response to any of their demands, he said.

More than 30 people were admitted to hospital, eight of whom were admitted and were in a stable condition following the clashes, government broadcaster RTHK reported.

The protests came after police banned a planned march along a specified route, which was to have marked the fifth anniversary of a decree from Beijing that Hong Kong election candidates would have to be screened by a Beijing-backed committee before standing in elections to the Legislative Council or for the chief executive.

hong-kong-protest-tear-gas-2019 Protesters throw tear gas canisters back at police during an anti-government rally outside of Central Government Complex on August 31, 2019 in Hong Kong. (Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)

The Aug. 31, 2014 decree by the standing committee of the National Peoples Congress (NPC) sparked the 79-day Occupy Central movement for fully democratic elections, which called for genuine universal suffrage.

The anti-extradition protesters are calling for the formal withdrawal of planned amendments to extradition laws, an amnesty for arrested protesters, an end to the description of protesters as rioters, an independent inquiry into police abuse of power, and fully democratic elections.

The amendments to existing extradition laws are widely seen as a threat to Hong Kongs way of life, which was supposed to have been protected under the one country, two systems framework under which the former British colony was handed back to China in 1997.

If they become law, the city could lose its status as a separate legal jurisdiction and trading entity, while journalists, visitors, rights activists, dissidents, democratic politicians, and the business community could be targeted for words and actions deemed illegal by the ruling Chinese Communist Party, and extradited to face trial in mainland Chinese courts.

Reported by Wen Yuqing for RFAs Cantonese Service, and by Gao Feng for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
A violent animated film depicting an unjust world in which rabbits revolt against their tiger overlords has been deleted from a Chinese video-sharing website ahead of the Year of the Rabbit, its creator said.



"It has been deleted," said director Wang Bo, who created the South Park-style cartoon, which features babies poisoned by toxic milk and rabbit children run over by tigers.



"It's probably because the cartoon is very violent," said Wang, whose film references the recent Sanlu tainted milk scandal, which sickened thousands of infants, and the death of a Hebei college student hit by the car of a 23-year-old police chief's son.



"I don't know how other people will see this," Wang said. "But the inspection authorities frequently delete things that I create."







A Chinese video, featuring barely disguised satire of today's authoritarian regime, disappears without explanation.





"Of course I don't like to have my stuff deleted, but maybe it broke one of their rules ... I'm not sure exactly which rule ... There's not really much I can do about it," Wang added.

But other commentators said the gruesome content pointed at real problems in today's China, and gave vent to simmering public anger over widespread official corruption and shoddy safety standards.

'Background of social realism'

The cartoon went viral on video-sharing sites in recent days, suggesting it touched a nerve with Chinese netizens.

"I have seen this cartoon," said Ai Xiaoming, literature professor at Guangzhou's Zhongshan University. "I thought it was extremely clever. Everything that happens in it is the sort of thing that people today are worrying about."

"It was made against a background of social realism, and especially the anger depicted," Ai said. "They have turned people's real feelings about events into a whole meaning system."

"They have managed to express things which people are unable to express in any other way."

Guangxi-based author Jing Chu said the authorities appeared to be stepping up controls over the Internet, inhibiting ordinary people's freedom of expression in favor of social stability.

"I saw the rabbit cartoon. It exposes a number of problems which we find in contemporary Chinese society," Jing said.

"The authorities are controlling the Internet ever more tightly now, because they are afraid."

"The government has always relied on lies and terror to control China, [but] sometimes on the Internet you can still see something authentic."

Creating 'a pressure cooker'

Jing warned that suppressing the Internet as the last forum for free expression would lead to greater social instability.

"If you close off every possible [outlet] then it turns into something like a pressure cooker, which is extremely worrying," Jing said.

The cartoon opens with baby rabbits who die horribly from drinking "Sanlu" milk formula, made by the now-defunct Chinese dairy giant that was at the center of a huge scandal in 2008 over tainted milk.

The milk was blamed for killing six infants and sickening 300,000 others.

The rabbits in the video refer to the Chinese Year of the Rabbit, which begins on Feb. 3, while 2010 was the Year of the Tiger.

At the end of the video, the rabbits stage a mass uprising against the tigers, sparking general bloodbath.

Reported by He Ping for RFA's Mandarin service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
A top U.S. senator pushed the Burmese authorities Thursday to allow international observers to monitor upcoming elections in April, saying foreign endorsement of the polls is critical.



"International observers are always important, particularly when the country is holding its first [free] elections," Republican Senator John McCain told RFA in an interview in Washington.



The April by-elections will see pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) taking on Burma's military-backed ruling party for the first time since 1990, when the NLD's landslide victory was not recognized by the country's then-military rulers.





McCain called on Burmese President Thein Sein, who heads a nominally civilian government after decades of military rule, to give serious thought to his proposal to invite foreign observers to the elections made when he visited Burma last month.

"I hope the Burmese government will reconsider the decision, because although elections themselves are not the path to democracy it is important to have the validation of international observers," McCain said.

Boycott

Burma rejected requests to send foreign observers to November 2010 general elections, which were criticized by international rights groups as not free or fair and were boycotted by the NLD.



McCain also said international sanctions against Burma should be lifted on a "step-by-step" basis as Thein Sein's government implements reforms, effectively endorsing the administration of President Barack Obama's gradual easing of sanctions.



The Obama administration has reversed a long-standing U.S. policy of isolating Burma.



After a January release of political prisoners by Thein Sein's government, the U.S. administration announced it would restore full diplomatic relations after 20 years without an ambassador in Burma.



"I think we need to take these things step-by-step," McCain said, citing former U.S. President Ronald Reagan's approach to Soviet arms control: "trust but verify."



"We rewarded the Burmese government with sending our ambassador after the release of the political prisoners," said McCain, Obama's Republican rival in the 2008 presidential election.



"Then I think there are further steps we could take that will be commensurate with steps that they take," McCain said.



Invest

McCain said U.S. companies are keen to invest in Burma but added that the Thein Sein government needs to enhance efforts to uphold the rule of law to regain investor confidence.



"One of the reasons why there is not more foreign investment is because they want to make sure they have the protections of the rule of law," he said.



"Rule of law is an important and vital ingredient if you want foreign companies to come in and invest and hire."



Reported by Khin May Zaw for RFA's Burmese service. Written in English by Chris Billing and Parameswaran Ponnudurai.






The U.S. will move to ease financial and investment sanctions on Burma, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Wednesday, following weekend elections that she said represented an important step in the countrys transformation after decades of harsh military rule.

She said the beginning of targeted easing of bans on U.S. financial services and investment in the long-closed country was part of a broader effort to help accelerate economic modernization and political reform.

Washington will also open up programs for aid, health, and education in Burma and set in motion plans to have a U.S. ambassador in Naypyidaw, restoring full diplomatic relations after a 20-year gap, she added.

We are prepared to take steps toward:

- First, seeking agreement for a fully accredited ambassador in Rangoon in the coming days, followed by a formal announcement of our nominee;

- Second, establishing an in-country USAID mission and supporting a normal country program for the United Nations Development Program;

- Third, enabling private organizations in the United States to pursue a broad range of nonprofit activities from democracy building to health and education;

- Fourth, facilitating travel to the United States for select government officials and parliamentarians; and

- Fifth, beginning the process of a targeted easing of our ban on the export of U.S. financial services and investment as part of a broader effort to help accelerate economic modernization and political reform," she said.

'Wrong side

But Clinton said sanctions and prohibitions will stay in place on Burmese individuals and institutions that remain on the wrong side of landmark reform efforts being made in the country.

Washington has not determined the exact nature or timeline for easing the financial sanctions, U.S. officials were quoted saying.

Clintons announcement came after by-elections in Burma on Sunday in which democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracys scored a landslide victory.

The U.S. and other foreign governments had said the elections would be a crucial test of the Burmese military-backed governments commitment to recent reforms.

The results of the April 1st parliamentary by-elections represent a dramatic demonstration of popular will that brings a new generation of reformers into government, Clinton said, praising the government for making further progress in advancing the aspirations of the people.

Clinton praised the reforms that President Thein Seins nominally civilian government has taken since last year, including releasing political prisoners and improving dialogue with ethnic minority groups.

The leadership has shown real understanding and commitment to the future of their country, Clinton said.

President Thein Sein and many of his colleagues inside the government helped launch their country on a historic new path.

But she said further efforts must be made to completely remove sanctions, which were imposed beginning in 1988 in response to human rights abuses by the then-ruling military junta.

Too fast?

Some critics fear the lifting of sanctions may be coming too fast and be too much of a reward for carrying out the by-elections marred by widespread irregularities in voter lists and other breaches of voting rules.

The 43 seats captured by NLD made up only seven percent of the 664 parliamentary seats dominated by the military backed ruling party and the armed forces.

Aung Din, executive director of the Washington-based U.S. Campaign for Burma, said the move to lift the financial and investment sanctions was an enormous gift to the Burmese government.

What they have achieved [in getting] from the United States for giving seven percent of the seats in parliament to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is enormous, he said.

A U.S. policy of only engagement toward Burma, as opposed to a dual-track policy of both engagement and sanctions, would be the perfect match for the Burmese regimes policy of give little and get more, he said.

He hoped the U.S. would take its time with the targeted easing of sanctions in order to secure irreversible development in Burma and that it would properly consult with human rights organizations inside and outside the country.

Reported by Rachel Vandenbrink.
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All-Clad in a high-end kitchen shop (Shutterstock)

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A video of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's first-ever election campaign speech for state broadcast has been leaked online, offering a preview of her criticism of the military's role in parliament, as activists commemorated the anniversary of bloody protests Tuesday.



In the video, posted on YouTube and Facebook on Monday ahead of its official broadcast on Wednesday, the Nobel laureate called for making Burma's government more democratic as she campaigned for a parliamentary seat in April 1 by-elections.



Aung San Suu Kyi criticized the military  which ruled the country with an iron fist for decades until a nominally civilian government was established a year ago  for reserving one quarter of the seats in parliament, which she said ran counter to democratic principles.



Most of the remaining seats are taken by pro-military parties. Aung San Suu Kyi's own National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which boycotted 2010 elections, is contesting 47 of the 48 available seats, which have been vacated by lawmakers appointed to government posts.



Even if the NLD wins all the seats, the legislature will still be overwhelmingly dominated by the military and the ruling pro-military parties.



When the speech airs on Wednesday, it will mark the first time Aung San Suu Kyi has been allowed to use state media to promote her party's platform.



[ View in RFA Video PageOpens in new window ]

Reading the 14-minute speech with the NLD flag in the background and without a single smile, Aung San Suu Kyi discussed a range of national problems and emphasized the need to bring the rule of law to the country.

She pointed to the need to revise Burmas current constitution, which was adopted in a 2008 national referendum even after groups including the NLD denounced it as a sham.

Last week, Aung San Suu Kyi told RFA that election officials had censored part of the speech, cutting out a paragraph critical of the militarys past repressive policies.

Although most of the country will still see the speech for the first time on radio and TV on Wednesday, the online leak highlights how the Internet has been an important medium for Burmese activists.

Burma, which Reporters Without Borders listed as one of the worlds Enemies of the Internet yesterday, has used its laws restricting freedom of information to arrest bloggers, journalists and netizens for criticizing the government.

Anniversary

The leak came just before activists in Burma marked a key anniversary on Tuesday, the first time they were allowed to do so openly.

Activists had declared Phone Maw Day  named for a student killed by government forces in the 1988 popular uprising  a national human rights day the year after his death, but could not commemorate it openly.

About 300 political party members, ex-political prisoners, writers, and students marked the anniversary with a ceremony in Rangoon.

At the ceremony, Aung San Suu Kyi urged Burma to work toward obtaining the same level of human rights that the world community enjoys.

"On the one year anniversary of Phone Maw's death, we all agreed that [his death happened] because of the lack of human rights, and we decided to mark [that day] as Burma Human Rights Day. Whatever we do [now], it must be constructive, she said.

Reported by RFAs Burmese service. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
A Tibetan monk set himself ablaze Wednesday at his monastery in China's northwestern Qinghai province following protests by several thousand Tibetan students calling for education reforms, sources said.



The self-immolation occurred at a monastery in Qinghai's Rebkong (in Chinese, Tongren) county in Malho (in Chinese, Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, triggering protests by hundreds against Chinese rule in Tibetan-populated areas, exile sources said.



The burning came a day after nearly 4,000 middle school students held protests demanding Tibetan language and other rights in Rebkong and in neighboring Tsekhog (in Chinese, Zeku) county, sources inside Tibet said.



The students had been prevented from leaving their schools, the sources said, with one source adding, "The authorities have detained all the students inside the schools."



Rebkong was the scene of constant student protests in October 2010 against a proposed change in the language of instruction in schools from Tibetan to Chinese.



The self-immolation on Wednesday was the 28th by Tibetans since they began a wave of fiery protests in February 2009 to challenge Beijing's rule and call for the return of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.





Chinese police waiting along a shophouse near the Rongwo Gonchen Monastery.

Prayer-hall grounds



In the latest incident, 34-year-old monk Jamyang Palden set fire to himself at around 10.30 a.m. local time at the prayer-hall grounds of the Rongwo Gonchen Monastery in Rebkong, a Tibetan living in exile told RFA after talking to contacts in the region.



Chinese security forces surrounded the monastery and tried to disperse hundreds of Tibetans who had gathered for prayers and to protest Chinese rule, but the crowd refused to disperse.



"When the self-immolation took place, there were not many people in the area. All the monks were busy with prayers inside the monastery," the Tibetan said.



Chinese police and several Tibetans took the monk to the local hospital for treatment but fellow monks who learned of the self-immolation brought him back to the monastery, the Tibetan said.



Details concerning his condition were not immediately available.





Part of the student crowd protesting over language rights in Rebkong county.

Chinese security



A couple of hours later, hundreds of Tibetans converged at the monastery to protest, drawing Chinese security forces.



"Around 11 a.m. or 12 p.m., local Tibetans gathered on the grounds in front of the monastery and raised slogans. They recited prayers for the Dalai Lama and remained firmly at the site," another Tibetan exile source said.



"The local police ordered them not to recite prayers and to disperse, but the crowd refused," the source said.



"The situation is tense."



The latest self-immolation occurred four days after Uprising Day, the politically sensitive March 10 anniversary of the 1959 flight into exile of the Dalai Lama and of regionwide protests throughout Tibet in 2008.



The wave of self-immolations prompted a call last week from well-known Tibetan blogger Woeser and senior Tibetan religious leader Arjia Rinpoche to end the fiery protests, saying that Tibetans opposed to Chinese rule should instead "stay alive to struggle and push forward" their goals.





Tibet's India-based exile cabinet marked this year's March 10 anniversary of the failed 1959 national uprising against Chinese rule with a statement noting what it called China's efforts over the last half-century "to annihilate the Tibetan people and its culture."

Lobsang Sangay, the head of the exile government, said that while he strongly discourages self-immolations, the "fault lies squarely with the hardline leaders in Beijing."

The Chinese government has blamed the Dalai Lama for the self-immolations, accusing the 76-year-old Buddhist leader and his followers of plotting to create "turmoil" in China's Tibetan-inhabited areas.

But Sangay said "the self-immolations are an emphatic rejection of the empty promises of [China's] so-called socialist paradise'" and the lack of ability to protest in any other way in Tibet.

"Today, there is no space for any conventional protests such as hunger strikes, demonstrations and even peaceful gatherings in Tibet," Sangay said.

"Tibetans are therefore taking extreme actions such as ... [committing] self-immolations," Sangay said.



Reported by Lobe Socktsang and Soepa Gyatso for RFA's Tibetan service. Translated by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.


BANGKOKPolice in Vietnams northeastern province of Bac Giang used tear gas and batons to break up a protest by hundreds of villagers over the apparent death in police custody of a local youth, witnesses said.

Witnesses who asked not to be named said an unknown number of people were injured, while others were seen being taken into custody. One witness said protesters had set fire to several police cars.

On Sunday afternoon, there were too many people in the march to Bac Giang Province Peoples Committee headquarters. The crowd was so dense it was difficult to move, said one woman who asked not to be identified.

There were some shots. Some people were beaten in the yard of the Peoples Committee premises. One [man] near my house, named Hong, was among those beaten. Hes home now, said the woman, a resident of Nghi Thiet Commune, Hong Thai village, Viet Yen district.

The woman said she was a neighbor of Nguyen Van Khuong, 21, who died Friday after police detained him for a traffic violation on his motorbike, according to the youths uncle, Nguyen Van Toan.

Khuongs girlfriend, who was with him when he was stopped, was told two hours later that he had been taken to a hospital, where doctors said he had likely been dead for 10 minutes before his body arrived there, Toan said.

Police abuse common

Phan Thanh Son, a cadre from Nghi Thiet Commune, said authorities have now agreed to conduct an autopsy and release the result in two weeks time.

At first, they insisted he died from a cold, but the young mans girlfriend has said her boyfriend was taken through the back gate of the police station to the hospital, Son said.

The atmosphere Sunday afternoon [July 25] was a mess. Some protesters attacked the Peoples Committee premises. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Eight people were arrested. Some are in the hospital with injuries, he added.

Duong Thanh Nghi, deputy head of the Bac Giang city police, refused to comment when reached by telephone.

Truong Van Nam, a provincial government spokesman, said he was too busy to speak with a reporter.

In its latest report on human rights practices around the world, the U.S. State Department said that while professionalism in the police force improved, corruption remained a significant problem, and members of the police sometimes acted with impunity.

The law prohibits physical abuse; however, police commonly mistreated suspects physically during arrest or detention, it said, adding that provincial, district, and local police are all accountable to the people's committees at each level.

Original reporting by An Nguyen for RFAs Vietnamese service. Translated from the Vietnamese by An Nguyen and Viet Long. Service director: Khanh Nguyen. Executive producer: Susan Lavery. Written in English by Sarah Jackson-Han.
Vietnamese authorities have released a prominent political dissident due to health reasons after detaining him over the weekend, according to state media.



Nguyen Dan Que, a 69-year-old physician, was released on bail Sunday evening after being arrested by police agents the previous day at his home in Ho Chi Minh City. He was accused of being in possession of "anti-state" documents allegedly calling for the overthrow of the one-party Communist regime.



State-controlled newspaper Tuoi Tre reported Tuesday that Que had been allowed to leave the police station where he had been held because of his poor health and because he had cooperated with investigators.



But he will be required to return to the station for further questioning when requested, the report said, quoting an unnamed police investigator from Ho Chi Minh City.





A Call for Democracy

The brother of Dr. Nguyen Dan Que describes the actions that led to the Vietnamese dissidents arrest.

His wife, Tam Van, confirmed in an interview on Sunday evening that Que had been suffering from health problems.

The doctor is about to see the police again. [The police] told me that Dr. Nguyen Dan Que had violated the law, and they accused him of plotting to overthrow the government, just based on what they read from the Internet. They are still working on his case, Tam Van said.

They let me take him home to rest, but he has to be available whenever they want to question him, she said.

When he returned home he was very tired. He has a lot of health problems; including high blood pressure, kidney stone, and ulcers  I informed them of his health condition.

Outspoken activist

Que has often spoken out about the need for democracy and human rights accountability in Vietnam and has paid the price for his beliefs, spending a total of 20 years in prison or under house arrest on three separate occasions since 1978.

In a Feb. 2 interview, Que told RFA that Vietnamese activists had been inspired by the recent overthrow of authoritarian regimes in the Middle East following massive popular uprisings.

According to his brother Nguyen Quoc Quan, who lives in Virginia, Que admitted to police on Saturday that he was the author of a letter calling for people to take to the street to fight against the communist governmentto establish a new democratic government in Vietnam.

In the letter, Que referred to the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia that triggered uprisings elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East.

Agence France Presse said it had obtained a recent communique from Que calling on Vietnams youth to "take to the streets to dismantle the Politburo!" and to assemble for demonstrations in order to take advantage of the democracy movements in Africa and the Middle East."

Que had also lashed out at the Vietnamese government for its poor human rights record and recently published an editorial in the

Washington Post

condemning authorities for a January attack on a U.S. diplomat who was attempting to visit another high-profile dissident who had recently been released from prison.

Bid for membership

Meanwhile, Vietnams deputy foreign ministers Pham Binh Minh told the 16th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva Monday that his country would apply for council membership for the 2013-2016 period.

The move came despite condemnations over Vietnams human rights record from various groups.

The London-based Amnesty International lists its key human rights concerns in Vietnam to include severe restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly and the harassment, arrest and imprisonment of dissidents.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said in the 2011 edition of its annual World Report that the Vietnamese government intensified its repression of activists and dissidents during 2010, and cracked down harshly on freedom of expression, association, and assembly.

"Peacefully expressing views should not be a crime, but the government apparently fears what these individuals have to say," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

The U.S. State Department wrote in its most recent Human Rights Report that Vietnams human rights record remained a problem in 2009.

It noted that citizens could not change their government and that political opposition movements were prohibited, adding that authorities increased their suppression of dissent during the year by arresting several activists and convicting others arrested the year before.

Reported by Mac Lam for RFAs Vietnamese service. Translated by Viet Ha. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
The European Commission's annual enlargement report appears to show the EU's executive is serious about adding new members by the time its five-year mandate ends in late 2029. And it has identified four candidates for that purpose: Albania, Moldova, Montenegro, and Ukraine.

The November 4 report, the first issued since the new commission took office late last year, is designed to assess the progress (or lack thereof) of 10 EU hopefuls, which also include Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey.

But this year the report took on a distinctly geopolitical tone.

According to officials in Brussels, EU enlargement has become a thing again. The last country to join was Croatia back in 2013, and since then the bloc actually contracted for the first time ever when Britain left in 2020.

The 2025 annual report states that the "this is the first Commission mandate since 2010-2014 where, given the accelerating pace of the process for some candidate countries, enlargement is a realistic possibility" and that the entire process "now moving faster than in the last 15 years."

The change of pace has everything to do with Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine -- launched in 2022 -- with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas noting that "geopolitical shifts make the case for enlargement clear-cut. Enlargement is not a nice-to-have; it is a necessity if we want to be a stronger player on the world stage."

The Money's On Montenegro

The smart money is on Montenegro being the next addition. Podgorica aims to wrap up EU accession talks by the end of 2026, and the report notes that the country "is on track to meet this ambitious objective."

Ultimately, this isn't the call of the European Commission, nor the candidate countries. The 27 current EU member states decide via unanimity to open and close the 33 accession chapters covering all policy fields that EU hopefuls need to adopt in order to become a fully-fledged member.

Podgorica has been negotiating for 13 years already, and while it has opened talks on all 33 chapters, it has managed to close just seven. However, most of those have been in the past 12 months, which shows a momentum toward accession.

In December, it plans to close another five, but this might be a bit too optimistic according to EU diplomats contacted by RFE/RL. Worries remain, especially regarding the fight against organized crime and corruption and the independence of the judiciary.

Thus, next year may be too soon, but word on the street says Montenegro very well might be "EU member state number 28 in '28."

Albania The Next Best Bet

Albania might be the next best bet for membership.

The government in Tirana hopes to conclude talks in 2027, and the commission believes this is doable. Albania's candidate progress in the past 12 months has been nothing short of stunning: It has managed to open 28 of 33 chapters and is set to commence negotiations on the final five later this month.

The key, however, is closing the chapters, and that is more difficult. Tirana also faces a PR challenge: While Albania is a growing tourist destination -- and plenty of Europeans are snapping up coastal properties there -- the country still carries the negative reputation of being a hotbed of organized crime.

It's no surprise then that the European Commission recommends Tirana put even more effort into "investigations of drug traffickers and an increase in identifying and the dismantling of criminal groups."

What About Moldova And Ukraine?

Moldova and Ukraine, meanwhile, solidly remain "coupled" -- as they have since both applied for membership in 2022 -- despite rumors this year that they'll be separated.

Forging its own path would have allowed Moldova to start accession talks as Ukraine has been blocked by Hungary for over a year and is likely to remain stalled until the next parliamentary election in the Central European country in April 2026.

Moldova hopes to join in 2028, and Ukraine believes it could join at some point this decade despite the ongoing war. Both countries received the best assessments by the commission to date even though Kyiv was cautioned earlier this year about the influence of the special anti-corruption agencies NABU and SAP.

While the countries remain blocked, all EU member states bar Hungary have agreed to continue the technical work with Chisinau and Kyiv while waiting to get the final political green light from Budapest that could come with a change of government next year. The idea is then to open as many chapters as possible immediately.

The common belief in most EU capitals is that roughly half can be opened. Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos even remarked, somewhat optimistically, that negotiations on all 33 can commence immediately if only Budapest would change its mind.

Streamlining The Enlargement Process

In the meantime, talks will continue on how to make the enlargement process more practical. The president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, floated the idea that only unanimity should be needed to start and finish accession talks -- a suggestion quickly shot down by EU member states that prefer to have several brakes to pull to slow down the process.

Hungary isn't the only country having issues with its non-EU neighbors: Bulgaria is currently blocking North Macedonia, and Croatia wants to keep Serbia in check before Belgrade can join.

Plenty of other types of political "test balloons" have also been released in recent weeks on how enlargement can work. There's been talk of not letting new members have voting rights on certain issues -- a sort of secondary membership that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy immediately dismissed when asked about it last week.

The European Commission will in the meantime work on pre-enlargement policy reviews and reforms in order to assess the impact of new members on various policy areas.

Kos already floated the idea of a mechanism to suspend voting rights or deny access to EU funds for new members in case of rule-of-law violations. All this is a clear nod to older, Western EU member states that have been lukewarm on expanding the club out of fear of "another Hungary" in reference to Viktor Orban's many rule-of-law transgressions and battles with Brussels over the years.

The most likely way to make enlargement manageable is something used in the past: transition periods. This mechanism was used in the 2004 enlargement of eight Central and Eastern European countries, whose citizens, for example, weren't allowed to immediately seek work in other parts of the EU.

Poland, with its large agrarian market, was also not fully integrated into the EU's single market overnight. A similar arrangement for Ukrainian agricultural products, which have caused political problems in parts of the club, would not be surprising.

Of the four candidate countries, Ukraine has the most uphill battle ahead, given its size and the challenges of the war.

It will be much easier for the EU to "absorb" Albania, Moldova, and Montenegro. Kos alluded to the fact that the population of Montenegro, at roughly 600,000, is the same as the Belgian port city of Antwerp, and that Albania and Moldova, with fewer than 3 million citizens each, are like Rome.

Don't be surprised if these countries are EU members 28, 29, and 30.
Ukraine's anti-corruption watchdog has announced a "large-scale operation" exposing tens of millions of dollars of graft in the energy sector in the midst of Russia's full-scale invasion.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said the joint operation with the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office has found the scheme involves "a high-level criminal organization" aimed to "influence strategic enterprises in the public sector, in particular JSC 'Energoatom.'"

The home of businessman and co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio, Tymur Mindich, was also reportedly searched. Kvartal 95 is a Ukrainian comedy troupe whose co-founder is President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Mindich has not commented publicly on the reports, while local media outlet Ukrainska Pravda quoted its sources as saying he left the country hours before NABU said it had launched some 70 raids in connection with the investigation on November 10.

The report could not be independently verified.

Zelenskyy lauded the anti-corruption efforts saying that all and any steps against corruption are very necessary.

In his daily address on November 10, Zelenskyy said Energoatom, the largest energy provider in Ukraine, is of such importance that it is necessary to have the company clean.

"Sentences must be handed down" he added.

NABU said the main activity of the criminal organization was the systematic receipt of illegal benefits from Energoatom's counterparties in the amount of 10-15 percent of the value of contracts.

The company has annual revenue of some $4.7 billion.

While Ukraine has been lauded for making strides to rein in corruption, Western governments, anti-corruption watchdogs, and analysts say more work is needed to root out graft.

The OECD said in a report earlier this year that "corruption risks remain high in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine."

The investigation underlines why ordinary Ukrainians and Western governments earlier this year pushed Zelenskyy to reverse a law that took away the independence of the country's leading anti-corruption bodies.

The initial move, which indeed was later reversed, sparked Ukraine's biggest protests since Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.

The energy sector has been a target of the watchdog for some time.

NABU said its investigation began 15 months ago and saw it record some 1,000 hours of audio that revealed the depth of the scheme, which "was managed not by top executives, the supervisory board, or the state as the owner, but by an outsider who, without any official authority, assumed the role of a shadow manager."

Last month, Volodymyr Kudrytskiy, the former head of the state-run electricity grid, was arrested on embezzlement charges.

Kudrytskiy is currently out on bail and has denied the charges, calling them politically motivated. He alleges they "could not have happened without the involvement of the presidential office."

NABU did not say if Kudrytskiy's case was part of the investigation announced on November 10.

Meanwhile, in July, an RFE/RL investigation revealed that the family of a senior Ukrainian customs chief has a portfolio of luxury real estate and cars.

Anatoliy Komar was head of the Customs Service department that levies duties on imports and exports of oil, gas, and other energy in February 2022, just before Moscow's all-out invasion.

At the time, Komar's monthly salary of about $2,000, while the family's main income came from his wife, Maria, who works as a tour guide and offers online courses. Her declared income was much higher, at around $8,000 per month.

But a detailed look at the family outgoings suggests a much higher income would be required to support their lifestyle.

Asked to explain how the lavish lifestyle was financed, Komar told RFE/RL that he would not comment on personal matters. When pressed, he said it was paid for by a "godfather" who was a "fairly wealthy person," but did not elaborate.
Yesterday, I wrapped a lovely weekend in Toronto for my best friends wedding. The plan was simple: be back in Phoenix by late afternoonenough time to decompress, toss in a load of laundry, and get to bed early for a packed workweek.

Then the travel system cracked.

My 11:30 a.m. hop to Chicago left about 90 minutes late, killing my original connection. American Airlines took the liberty of rebooking me on an 8:50 p.m. flight mid-air, but when I landed I could see a better 5:30 p.m. option  so I nabbed a seat on that one and thought my day was saved. With plenty of time before my connection, I settled into the Admirals Club, and then watched delay after delay creep until the updates stopped entirely: Canceled. Thats the moment a straightforward Sunday became a full day of airport limbo.

The mistake I made (so you dont)

When American cancelled my flight, it came with a note that said "sit tight, we'll rebook you." I started looking at flight options and while there was nothing else available that day, a noon Monday seat briefly appeared, I hesitatedworried Id negatively impact the auto-rebook. I decided to wait, just as the airline app said to do. Twenty minutes later, the system reassigned me to 5:30 p.m. Monday, five hours worse. Lesson: If a clearly better seat appears in the app during mass disruptions, take it immediately, then tidy your itineraries after.

What helpedand what didnt

Carry-on only saved me. I controlled my bag, had my belongings for the hotel, and avoided a baggage-reunion subplot.

So did packing extra meds: Thankfully I packed an extra week's worth of my prescription medications, because I may need it all.

Hub-to-hub didnt save me. I'd heard that hub-to-hub flights would be prioritized, but that clearly wasn't the case. With systemwide reductions and ATC constraints tied to the shutdown, ORDPHX wasnt prioritized enough to avoid a cancel.

Lounge reality check. The lounge was beyond packed. Day-pass purchases can be limited or declined when a club is at capacity; that matched what I saw happening.

Next time: dont wait on the algorithm if a better seat appearsmove first.

The tech that actually helped: Flighty

I subscribed to Flighty ahead of this trip, and its been the single most useful tool of the past 36 hours. It pushed delay and cancellation alerts before the airline app every time, which gave me a head start on rebooking while everyone else was still processing the news. It also tracks the specific aircraft assigned to your flightshowing where its coming from, if it left the prior city late, and when it actually pulls into your gate. Knowing where my plane really was helped me separate real risks from rumor and decide when to pounce on alternatives.

What airlines owed (and didnt) last night

In the lounge, an agent confirmed 5:30 p.m. Monday Nov. 10 (more than 24 hours later) as my best option and declined to give me a hotel voucher, citing shutdown/air traffic controller constraints. Broadly speaking, if an airline cancels your flight right now you can choose a refund; hotels and meals are generally offered when the cause is within the airlines control (think maintenance or crew). When its outside their control, expect to self-fund overnights. So I was left to book a hotel night on my dime, including the transportation to and from the property.

Real-time snapshots from our wedding crew as of noon on Monday (it's quite the text thread!)

My boyfriend (on Delta, flying TorontoDetroitPhoenix): Boarded in Toronto on Sunday, then deplaned for a safety/maintenance issue and the flight was ultimately canceled. He was initially denied a hotel under shutdown, but pushedmaintenance is controllableand received a voucher for a hotel and food. He made it out early Monday, reached Atlanta, and then hit more delays for the final leg to Phoenix. The lounge line there was roughly 60 people deep and on a waitlist. He's currently waiting to board his flight.

Phoenix-based couple: Got out of Toronto on Sunday, and made it to Charlotte. Their connection was delayed, but they are the only ones who made it home on Sunday.

Chicago-based guest: Stuck overnight in Toronto due to a cancelled flight; her first-thing-Monday flight was also delayed, then canceled. She got rebooked to later this morning and that flight was also cancelled. She finally decided to rent a car and drive back home.

Florida-bound guest: Still in Toronto waiting on an outbound flight that hopefully doesn't get cancelled.

New Jersey-bound guest: Stuck in Toronto on Sunday, finally flew home Monday morning.

Will travel insurance reimburse a shutdown delay?

As a travel writer, I carry an annual travel insurance policy and Im filing a claim for the hotel plus rides. Whether shutdown-related snarls are covered depends on your certificates trigger language. Many annual policies pay trip delay after a stated threshold for common-carrier delaysoften a few hours or an overnightup to a per-person cap.

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Card benefits are usually stricter; they often require specific causes (weather, equipment failure, etc.).

Bottom line: check your policys covered reasons, minimum delay hours, per-day/per-trip limits, and exclusions. Save every receipt and screenshot airline notifications showing the reason code.

If youre stuck right now, do this

Move first, dont wait. If a better option appears in the app, grab it; you can cancel the worse itinerary later.

Aim for nonstop. Every connection is another failure point in a throttled system.

Use proactive tracking. Turn on push alerts in your airline app and add a third-party tracker like Flighty so you see delays and cancels as early as possible.

Know your rights. Canceled flight = refund is your choice. Hotels and meals generally only apply when the disruption is the airlines fault (maintenance, crew).

Ask for a protection backup. Request a second confirmed seat on the next viable flight without losing the current oneairline status helps make this possible.

Have funds ready. If the cause is ATC/shutdown or weather, plan to self-fund the hotel and rides and food; submit to your insurer or card later.

Book early flights when possible. Morning departures are less exposed to the days dominoes. I learned this lesson on my way to Toronto last Thursday.

Build buffers. Fly in 12 days early for must-make eventsand accept that getting home may slip by a day on the back end.

If you can avoid travel, skip it. Unless you absolutely must go, postpone. The stress and spillover costs escalate fast in a systemwide squeeze.

Where things stand

Noon, Monday, Nov. 10: Im ticketed for 5:30 p.m. ORDPHX with a 5:00 a.m. Tuesday backup. I wont exhale until the wheels actually touch down in Phoenix.

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Update at 1:40 p.m.: My 5:30 p.m. flight was cancelled. I'm rebooked on a 8:50 p.m. ORDPHX with the same 5:00 a.m. Tuesday backup.

Update at 2:40 p.m.: My 8:50 p.m. flight has been cancelled. Praying the 5:00 a.m. flight tomorrow happens, as there are no more options today.

Update on Tuesday, Nov. 11: I went to O'Hare at 2:30 in the morning for my 5:00 a.m. flight only to discover there are no security checkpoints open until 3:30 a.m. As soon as they opened, I made it though the TSA PreCheck line in about 30 minutes and got to my gate roughly 30 minutes prior to boarding. We took off close to on-time and I made it back to Phoenix by 8 a.m. local time.

Why I think my flight finally happened

I think two factors were working in my favor today: First, I chose the earliest morning flight possible, so there were no back-ups from that day yet. I looked at the boards and there were very few cancellations and no delays by the time I left. Secondly, I think some of the mass chaos over the weekend that created a domino effect into Monday had subsided a bit  so perhaps a midweek, early morning flight is your best bet.
Locals in Roscommon have generated 6,839 Christmas shoebox gifts for children affected by poverty over the last three years  and helped a charity pass the 3million mark nationally in time for Christmas.

Since 2010, Team Hope has delivered over 2.8million shoebox gifts from Ireland to countries across Africa and Eastern Europe - and will ship off its three-millionth in the coming weeks.

The charitys figures show that in the last three years, kind-hearted donors in Roscommon have created almost 7,000 gifts.

And there is still time to increase that total  with drop-off points open around the county until November 15.

The support we have received from the people of Roscommon since 2010 has been incredible, said Team Hope CEO, Deborah Lowry.

But theres always a need for more shoeboxes so it would be great if schools, parents, businesses and community groups across the county can come together for one last push to create their own.

They are often packed by children for children and carry not only toys and treats but also the invisible gifts of love and hope.

That kindness, travelling across oceans, reminds a child that they are not forgotten  that someone, somewhere cares about them. Surpassing the magical 3million shoebox mark ties in with the charitys 15th anniversary of bringing happiness to children in some of the poorest parts of the world, many of whom have never experienced the joy of Christmas.

Everyone in Roscommon is urged to continue the effort - filled shoeboxes can be dropped off until November 15 at these locations: Family Resource Centre, Boyle, Mulligans Hardware, Ballaghaderreen, Scahills Furniture, Castlerea, Roscommon Sports, or with local volunteer Sarah Sparrow in Boyle.

Donors, if they prefer, can choose to send a personalised 25 shoebox online through Team Hopes website, right up until Christmas Eve.

To get involved, see www.teamhope.ie.
Darragh Mc Donagh

Irelands continued importation of animal feed products from Russia is being used by the media in that country to deride the supposed ineffectiveness of EU trade sanctions.

One news website published an article last week titled Belgorod products are now being purchased in Ireland. Whats going on?

Another headline read: EU sanctions did not prevent Kursk plant from sending 277 tonnes of beet pulp to Ireland.

The articles were purportedly based on data from the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor), which claimed that a large consignment of sugar beet pulp was on its way to Ireland from Kursk Region.

They reported that the animal feed from a plant in Bolshesoldatsky District in the Russian region bordering Ukraine had been certified for export to the European Union.

As they say, sanctions are sanctions, and the economy is economics, one article began, adding: EU countries continue to receive goods from Kursk Region.

EU sanctions do not currently prohibit the importation of sugar beet pulp from the Russian Federation, but Irelands continued trade with a region bordering the conflict zone is being used to dismiss the effectiveness of the sanctions regime.

A spokesman for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine said it had not been made aware of any imminent imports of sugar beet pulp, but such imports have occurred as recently as last February.

It is a legal requirement that all imports of animal feed must be notified to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine at least 24 hours in advance, he explained.

There have been no imports of sugar beet pulp from the Russian Federation notified to the department since February 2025.

Following the reports from Russia, the department contacted Irish importers and were not informed of any imminent shipments of sugar beet pulp from that country, according to the spokesman.

There are currently no sanctions in place on the import of this product from Russia into the EU. Regulation EC 2025/1227 came into effect in July 2025, which modified customs duties applicable to the import of certain agricultural goods originating or exported directly from Russia and Belarus, he added.
Chandigrah News: Police resort to 'lathi charge' to disperse protesting students at Panjab University

Heavy police deployment continues around the campus after clashes broke out between students and security personnel.

Chandigarh Protest News: Police resort to 'lathi charge' to disperse protesting students at Panjab University who were demanding the conduct of senate elections. Heavy police deployment continues around the campus after clashes broke out between students and security personnel.

News agency, PTI reported.

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(For more news apart from Chandigrah News: Police resort to 'lathi charge' to disperse protesting students at Panjab University," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
Breaking: Crime Branch Faridabad Police, Haryana Reaches Site Where 350 Kg Of RDX, 350 Kg Of RDX Recovered

Further investigation is underway.

Crime Branch of Faridabad Police, Haryana, on Monday morning, reached the site where 350 kg of inflammable material and arms were recovered, PTI reported.

Meanwhile, Faridabad CP Satender Kumar, as quoted by news agency ANI, stated, "It is an ongoing joint operation between Haryana police and J&K police. An accused, Dr Muzammil, was nabbed. 360 kg of inflammable material is recovered yesterday, which is possibly ammonium nitrate. It is not RDX..."

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Meanwhile, Union Minister Giriraj Singh, while commenting on the matter, thanked the government for the timely recovery of the explosives and alleged that opposition leaders like Tejashwi, Owaisi, and Rahul "defend terrorists" for the vote bank.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh told PTI, I thank the government as the explosives were recovered in time. Had it been during the Congress rule, Delhi and Haryana would have been shaken like the Mumbai blasts. Sadly, those who are caught say terrorism has no religion - but this is religious terrorism. Be it Tejashwi, Owaisi, Rahul, or anyone else, they defend them for vote-bank politics. More information will emerge, and then well know how dangerous this was. Those who call themselves secular are standing behind such people.

Read the full story here: Haryana Police Nab Doctor and Cleric with 350 kg of Explosive Materials, Arms, and Ammunition; Cleric's Wife Says Imam Sahib Has Worked at Mosque for 2 Decades

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(For more news apart from Punjab News: ECI Deploys Largest-Ever CAPF for Bye-Elections in Tarn Taran District," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
Haryana Police Nab Doctor and Cleric with 350 kg of Explosive Materials, Arms, and Ammunition; Cleric's Wife Says Imam Sahib Has Worked at Mosque for 2 Decades: Details

An accused, Dr Muzammil, was nabbed. 360 kg of inflammable material is recovered yesterday, which is possibly ammonium nitrate."

Faridabad, Haryana Explosive Recovery News: Police in Faridabad have arrested a doctor and a Muslim cleric in connection with a large quantity of IED-making materials and ammunition recovered by the Jammu and Kashmir Police during an investigation yesterday, ANI reported on Monday.

The cleric's wife told ANI that the arrested doctor is from Jammu and Kashmir, while Imam Sahib has been serving at a mosque for the past 20 years.

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"The Police have taken away Imam Sahib. I don't know why he has been taken away. The Police never came to us before...Imam Sahib has been serving at the mosque for the past 20 years...The doctor used to come here five times a day, every day to offer namaz. He hailed from Kashmir..." the cleric's wife told ANI.

#WATCH | Haryana: A doctor and a Muslim cleric nabbed by the Police in Faridabad in connection with a large quantity of IED-making material & ammunition recovered by J&K Police during investigation here.



The cleric's wife says, "The Police have taken away Imam Sahib. I don't pic.twitter.com/OdCNHvp4sQ  ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2025

The couple has four children together, and the family was having a meal when the police entered their home, the wife told ANI.

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Faridabad Commissioner of Police Satender Kumar, while addressing the media, said it is an ongoing joint operation between the Haryana Police and the Jammu and Kashmir Police. The police officer confirmed that the recovered explosive materials are not RDX.

"It is an ongoing joint operation between Haryana police and J&K police. An accused, Dr Muzammil, was nabbed. 360 kg of inflammable material is recovered yesterday, which is possibly ammonium nitrate. It is not RDX..." Faridabad CP Satender Kumar said.

The operation is still underway. The nabbed accused taught at the Al-Falah University here..." he added.

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Inter-state terror module linked with terrorists organisations Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGuH) busted. pic.twitter.com/TNSd8PGV7g  J&K Police (@JmuKmrPolice) November 10, 2025

Additionally, one assault rifle with three magazines and 83 live rounds, one pistol with eight live rounds, two empty cartridges, two additional magazines, eight large suitcases, four small suitcases, and a bucket containing approximately 360 kg of inflammable material have also been recovered. It is suspected to be ammonium nitrate. 20 timers with batteries, 24 remotes, approx 5 kgs of heavy metal, walkie-talkie sets, electric wiring, batteries, and other contraband material have been recovered, Faridabad CP Satender Kumar added.

Faridabad CP Satender Kumar clarified that the weapon is not an AK-47 but an assault rifle. It is like AK-47 but slightly smaller than it. But it is not AK-47..." the police officer added.

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Search operation by Haryana Police is currently underway in Fatehpur Taga in Faridabad, about 4 km away from the location where the arrested Kashmiri doctor, Muzammil, used to come to offer namaz, ANI reported.

According to the Indian Express, the recovery followed the arrest of another doctor identified as Dr Adil Ahmad Rather, a Kashmiri doctor tracked down to Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly pasting posters supporting the banned terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed in Srinagar on October 27.

During the media address today, Faridabad Police Commissioner Satender Kumar Gupta shared that during interrogation, Adil Ahmad Rather disclosed information that led the police to Dr. Mujammil Shakeel (also referred to as Mujahil Shakil or Muzammil Shakeel), the doctor from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir, who is employed at the Al-Falah Hospital in Faridabad.

Muzammil had rented a house in Dhauj about three months ago. He was arrested yesterday, and cache was seized from his residence in a coordinated raid.

Additionally, earlier, J&K police had searched Rathers locker at the Government Medical College in Anantnag, where he worked as a senior resident until October last year, recovering an AK-47 rifle and ammunition.

Rather has been booked under the Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, it added.

Investigations are underway to determine the intended use of the explosive materials recovered close to Delhi.

(For more news apart from Punjab News: ECI Deploys Largest-Ever CAPF for Bye-Elections in Tarn Taran District," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
CM Mann Slams BJP led Centre for Attempting Backdoor Entry into Panjab University

Bhagwant Singh Mann alleged that regular attempts are being made to change the status of the university...

Punjab University Issue latest News: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday criticized the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre for allegedly desperately trying for a backdoor entry into Panjab University, according to a press release issued by his office.

The Chief Minister affirmed that he would not allow such an attempt.

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CM Mann stated that ever since its inception, Panjab University, Chandigarh has been a part of the emotional, cultural, literary, and rich legacy of the state.

Bhagwant Singh Mann alleged that regular attempts are being made to change the status of the university, but asserted that the Punjab government will not allow any such move in the larger interests of students.

Criticizing the Centre further, CM Mann said, The BJP is suffering from an anti-Punjab syndrome due to which they are hell-bent on ruining the state.

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He added that the BJP does not allow the states tableaux to participate in the Independence Day and Republic Day functions. Likewise, Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the undue interference in BBMB, Panjab University, and other state affairs also reflects the hostile attitude of the saffron party towards Punjab, according to the press release.

He also slammed the Centre for allegedly meting out step-motherly treatment to the state, especially in the aftermath of this years devastating floods.

The Chief Minister said that the state is yet to receive the Rs 1,600 crore announced by the Prime Minister for flood relief, adding that, to aggravate the situation, the Central government is trying to adjust the funds from other ongoing schemes instead.

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Bhagwant Singh Mann urged the Union government to stop this "maltreatment" of Punjab, the food bowl and the sword arm of the country.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister said that as farmers in the state suffered heavy losses during the recent floods, the state government is providing two lakh quintals of seeds worth Rs 74 crore free of cost to them.

He added that the process of distributing these seeds to farmers in flood-affected districts has already begun and will be completed soon. The Chief Minister also said that the state government has disbursed compensation worth Rs 20,000 per acre to farmers for crop loss, the highest ever given by any state government in the country.

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Cabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian and others were also present.

Meanwhile, protests continue at the university with police resorting to 'lathichage' to disperse protesting students at Panjab University who were demanding the conduct of senate elections. Heavy police deployment continues around the campus after clashes broke out between students and security personnel.

(For more news apart from CM Mann Slams BJP led Centre for Attempting Backdoor Entry into Panjab University," stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman.)
He highlighted Uttarakhand's spiritual and cultural significance, saying that the state's real power lies in its spiritual strength. File Photo

He added that the state reflects the true spirit of Vocal for Local.

PM Modi Inaugurates INR 8,260 Crore Projects on Uttarakhands 25th Foundation Day, Calls State Indias Spiritual Hub





Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami led Uttarakhands 25th Foundation Day celebrations at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Dehradun. The event showcased the states remarkable transformation from limited beginnings to becoming one of Indias fastest-growing hill states in infrastructure, tourism, and spirituality.



To commemorate this Silver Jubilee, PM Modi released a special postal stamp and inaugurated an exhibition. He appreciated Uttarakhand's people for their contribution towards the nations development. He added that the state reflects the true spirit of Vocal for Local.



He highlighted Uttarakhands spiritual and cultural significance, saying that the states real power lies in its spiritual strength. He envisioned "Devbhoomi as the Global Spiritual Capital, citing sacred pilgrimage sites like Kedarnath, Badrinath, and Gangotri as symbols of Indias devotion and unity.



During the celebration, the Prime Minister inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for projects worth INR 8,260 crore. Capital*,These projects included sectors  drinking water, irrigation, urban development, renewable energy, and sports. Some key projects include the Song Dam Drinking Water Project, the Jamarani Dam Multipurpose Project, solar energy installations, and the AstroTurf Hockey Ground in Haldwani.



Modi said Uttarakhand has seen significant growth in the past 25 years. The states budget rose from INR 4,000 crore to over INR 1 lakh crore. Electricity generation has increased four times, the road network has doubled, and the number of medical colleges has grown from one to ten, he added.



He applauded the Dhami governments decisive leadership and appreciated its implementation of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and efforts to strengthen law and order and improve disaster management systems.



Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also announced a pension hike for statehood activists.

Modi added that the upcoming years will define Uttarakhands role in shaping Indias futureas both a spiritual and economic hub.








The National Cathedral

Historian Ionut Biliuta looks back at how the idea to build a national cathedral was born and why the project took so long to be realised.

History Show

Steliu Lambru, 10.11.2025, 14:00

The modernisation of Romanian society, which began in the 1800s, led to state independence in 1877 and the proclamation of the kingdom in 1881. The church was also undergoing a process of modernisation in all respects, including the construction of new places of worship. Orthodox churches were traditionally small in size, even those in cities. The idea of a cathedral was linked to the Catholic and Protestant world in the West and was rooted in the Middle Ages, during the period described by historians such as Georges Duby as the time of cathedrals. Thus, the modernisation of the Romanian lands, the connection of local spirituality to the Western world also inspired the construction of bigger churches. The Romanian monarch, who was of German origin, brought over many ideas and fashions from the West, so the idea of building larger religious sites than Romanians were used to arose naturally. Thats how the plan to build a national cathedral for Romanias Orthodox Christians, who were the majority, was born.

It wasnt however until October 26, 2025, that a National Cathedral was eventually built in the capital Bucharest. Senior church officials and state representatives attended the consecration of its painting. Historian Ionut Biliuta tells us more about the idea of building such a monumental edifice in a predominantly Orthodox world:

The idea of a National Cathedral, I will not use the name the cathedral of the salvation of the nation, arose sometime at the end of the 19th century and came from the Royal House of Romania, more precisely from King Carol I. For the first time, the idea of a national cathedral is stipulated in a bill submitted by King Carol I in 1884 to the Legislative Chamber. By law, 5 million gold lei were allocated for the construction of a national cathedral in Bucharest, which at that time represented 5% of the budget of the Kingdom of Romania. It was a phenomenally large sum. In 1891, the government led at that time by General Ioan Emanuel Florescu even held a competition, an international design contest, for such a cathedral. In the meantime, the project became obsolete and the question arose again in 1900. This time, the Minister of Religious Affairs Constantin Istrate proposed to the Holy Synod at a meeting held on May 11, 1900 to take responsibility for building a national cathedral and to finance its building through its own sources and public contributions.

The First World War makes the idea for a national cathedral more stringent, with the creation of Greater Romania at the expense of the lives of hundreds of thousands of Romanians lending the project even more symbolic significance. Ionut Biliuta:

After the Great Union of 1918, it was the former bishop of Caransebes, Miron Cristea, who, together with King Ferdinand, revived the idea of the need for a national cathedral. In response to a petition by King Ferdinand the Holy Synod on May 10, 1920, he tried to build a monumental church in Bucharest that was supposed to act as a national cathedral. This was basically the start of the idea of a Cathedral of the salvation of the nation. However, there is some confusion among the public and the media today as what salvation meant. It referred both to the military campaigns of 1877 that led to independence and the creation of the Romanian Kingdom in 1881, but also to the fulfillment of the dream of building Greater Romania and, therefore, to the salvation, that is, the liberation of the Romanians in the territories occupied by the former empires from the foreign yoke. This is what the idea of the salvation of the nation refers to. Another important step will be taken in 1926, in February, during a meeting of the National Church Council. This time, the institution of the Romanian Patriarchate had already been created. The intention is expressed to find a site for this cathedral, together with the City Hall of the Capital. Earlier, in 1929, Miron Cristea had established the site of the future national cathedral at the base of the Metropolitan Hill in Bucharest. But its construction, due to the difficulties of the Second World War, but also, previously, to the economic crisis at the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s, was postponed indefinitely.

History would again stand in the way to the project of a national cathedral. After 1945, the communist regime, who was profoundly hostile to religion, could not possibly envisage building such a structure. After the fall of communism in 1989, the idea resurface. Historian Ionut Biliuta:

The project was resumed in February 1995 by Patriarch Teoctist, who proposed the central authorities and other state authorities this idea of building an Orthodox cathedral in Bucharest. On February 5, 1999, he went on to choose a site for the cathedral, consecrating a cross in the park in Union Square. In time, the idea to build the cathedral there would be abandoned for reasons that had to do with the position of the structure and the topography of Bucharest. The choice of the current site of the National Cathedral was made by the Bucharest City Hall, which in a document dated February 16, 2005, decided, with the Patriarchates approval, that the most suitable place for the construction of a national cathedral was Arsenal Hill, the current location.

The National Cathedral is now finally standing and many see it as a new beginning.
A new study, conducted by Dancing Numbers, a QuickBooks data automation platform, ranked every state using four key financial indicators: median household income (30%), GDP per capita (25%), disposable income (25%), and cost of living (20%).

Data came from the Federal Reserve, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Census Bureau, and the MIT Living Wage Calculator. Each factor was normalized on a 01 scale and combined into a Wealth Score from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting stronger real-world purchasing power  meaning how much residents actually have left after covering basic expenses.

Punit K. Jindal, founder of Dancing Numbers, explains:

True wealth means looking at the complete picture. Income figures tell only part of the story. What matters is purchasing power  how much money residents actually have left after meeting their basic needs.

Below are the ten richest states in America, according to this analysis.

10. North Dakota (Wealth Score: 76.53)

North Dakota may not make flashy headlines, but its energy-driven economy and low living costs push it into the top 10. A median household income of $88,080 and one of the lowest average annual expenses ($41,148) leave residents with roughly $46,900 to spend freely each year. That balance of modest wages and affordability quietly beats out much larger states.

9. Minnesota (Wealth Score: 77.22)

Minnesota strikes a strong middle-class balance. With a median income of $92,350 and reasonable living costs, residents keep about $46,486 in disposable income. A robust healthcare and tech sector supports high employment and stable wages, making the state a model for sustainable wealth without coastal price tags.

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8. New Jersey (Wealth Score: 79.97)

Despite sky-high housing and tax bills, New Jerseys strong job market, anchored by pharmaceuticals, logistics, and finance, earns it a spot in the top 10. A median household income above $103,000 and disposable income near $49,000 show how even costly regions can deliver solid take-home wealth when paychecks match the market.

7. Texas (Wealth Score: 84.61)

Texas combines scale with savings. The average household brings in $81,490 per year, while the cost of living averages $45,386, and with no state income tax, that $36,000 in disposable income stretches further. Energy, tech, and a business-friendly climate continue to lure workers from pricier states looking for lower costs without sacrificing opportunity.

6. Massachusetts (Wealth Score: 85.07)

High salaries meet higher costs in Massachusetts. The median household income is $113,900 (the highest in the Northeast), but annual living expenses top $60,000. Even so, residents still keep $53,820 in disposable income. With powerhouse industries in education, biotech, and finance, Massachusetts remains a hub of innovation-driven prosperity.

5. Colorado (Wealth Score: 87.49)

Rounding out the top five, Colorado earns a Wealth Score of 87.49 with a median household income of $106,500 and GDP per capita of $557,633. Annual living costs of $52,981 leave residents with $53,519 in disposable income.

Colorado shows how quality-of-life factors can support a strong economy, Jindal notes. Companies locate there to access talent, and workers accept competitive, though not extreme, wages for the lifestyle benefits.

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4. Utah (Wealth Score: 88.46)

Utahs balance of high income and low expenses pushes it to fourth. With a median household income of $104,000 and the lowest living costs among the top five ($49,737), residents keep $54,263 each year.

Utah represents one of the best value propositions in America, says Jindal. Residents earn six figures while enjoying significantly lower costs than comparable tech hubs.

3. Maryland (Wealth Score: 90.01)

Maryland ranks third thanks to its proximity to Washington, D.C., and a concentration of federal contractors, biotech firms, and cybersecurity companies. With a $109,700 median household income and $55,273 in disposable income, the state offers both high pay and manageable living costs.

Maryland residents benefit from high-paying government and tech sector jobs while avoiding the extreme housing costs seen in coastal metros, Jindal explains.

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2. New Hampshire (Wealth Score: 97.84)

New Hampshire may be small, but it packs serious financial strength. The state leads the nation in disposable income at $60,248 per year! All while maintaining a median household income of $111,800 and a moderate cost of living ($51,552).

New Hampshire demonstrates the power of affordability, notes Jindal. Even with a smaller economy, residents come out ahead financially because their earnings stretch further.

1. California (Wealth Score: 100)

California takes the crown with a perfect 100 score, driven by a $100,600 median household income and an eye-popping $4 trillion GDP  the largest of any state. Yet that wealth doesnt always reach individual residents. Annual living costs of $59,740 leave about $40,860 in disposable income.

Californias position shows how GDP and income dont automatically translate to personal wealth, says Jindal. The state generates enormous economic output, but individual residents face some of the nations highest costs for housing, transportation, and basic necessities.

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What the Data Reveals

These rankings reveal something many Americans intuitively understand, Jindal adds. A $120,000 salary means something completely different in San Francisco versus Salt Lake City. For anyone considering relocation, this analysis helps show where paychecks truly go further  and where affordability gives you a real shot at building long-term wealth.

And while some states are thriving, others face stark divides between their richest and poorest residents  a pattern highlighted in this look at which U.S. states have the widest wealth gaps. If youre more interested in where your money will stretch best later in life, you might also want to explore the best states to retire in 2025, based on new financial and quality-of-life data.
November 10, 2025 UPDATE (1)

A roundup of local and world news

November 10, 2025 UPDATE (1)

Newsroom, 10.11.2025, 17:46

Grigore Alexandru Ghyka

In the county of Vrancea (southeast), events were scheduled on Monday to mark the repatriation of the coffin of Grigore Alexandru Ghyka, the last ruler of Moldavia before the Union of the Romanian Principalities in 1859. After being exhumed on November 7 from a settlement near Paris, the coffin with the earthly remains of the ruler was brought with military honors to Bucharest, where it was placed at the Presidency. A ceremony was held there with the participation of President Nicusor Dan, who laid a wreath and lit candles. The rulers remains will be buried on Wednesday in Iasi (northeast).

Grigore Alexandru Ghica, who ruled Moldavia between 1849 and 1856, is described by historians as one of the most visionary figures of the 19th century. He was a unionist activist who paved the way for the Union of the Romanian Principalities in 1859 and promoted essential values for modern society: freedom, social justice and dignity. He supported courageous reforms, from the emancipation of the Roma and the abolition of censorship, to the development of public services and the introduction of a government model inspired by the great European democracies. He also founded the first maternity hospital in Moldavia using his own funds.

His repatriation represents not only an act of symbolic restoration but also a gesture of national gratitude towards a leader who laid the foundations of the modern Romanian state, Bucharest authorities say.

France  Sarkozy to be released from prison

The Paris Court of Appeal ordered on Monday the release and placement under judicial control of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had been in prison for twenty days following his sentencing in the case of Libyan financing of his 2007 presidential campaign, France Presse reports.

Sarkozy, 70 years old, was imprisoned after being handed down a five-year prison sentence. He requested conditional release shortly after starting to serve his sentence. In France, such a provision applies to prisoners aged 70 and over, allowing them to serve their sentence outside prison under certain conditions.

The Libyan financing case consists of allegations that Sarkozys presidential campaign received illegal funds from the regime of Libyas de facto leader at the time, Muammar al-Gaddafi. Although the Paris criminal court found no evidence of illegal campaign funds, it concluded in its ruling that the conservative politician and close ally of Gaddafi at least attempted to obtain funds from the Libyan leader. (VP)
November 10, 2025 UPDATE(2)

A roundup of local and world news

November 10, 2025 UPDATE(2)

Newsroom, 10.11.2025, 20:00

Reform of public administration

Romanian President Nicusor Dan has scheduled a meeting on Tuesday with the leaders of the governing coalition PSD-PNL-UDMR-USR. Talks are expected to take place before the coalitions weekly meeting, in which the sensitive issues of this period would be discussed and a decision should be made regarding the continuation of efforts related to the retirement of magistrates.

The Constitutional Court published, at the end of last week, the motivation for the decision based on which it ruled that the law is unconstitutional because a procedural step was not respected. At the same time, the final form of the public administration reform must be agreed upon, expected to be part of another third fiscal package, for which the government intends to take responsibility in Parliament.

The final form of the public administration reform project will be presented this week by the Minister of Development, Cseke Attila, and the document will then be analyzed in first reading in the government. Also this week, the new draft law regarding the reform of magistrates pensions will be drafted. Both reforms must be adopted before the state budget for next year is drafted, in order to contribute to reducing the deficit in 2026.

New legislation

The Romanian Senate will debate and vote, as a decision-making body, on the draft law on the preparation of the population for defense. The document is to be amended from the form adopted by the Chamber of Deputies in the sense of maintaining some specialties in operational reserve, especially regarding modern warfare.

Also in the Senate, the committees are considering a draft law on the prevention and fight against femicide, signed by over 250 senators and deputies of the ruling parties. The document provides for harsher punishments for aggressors and proposes the establishment of a national observatory for the analysis and prevention of murders. The Chamber of Deputies is expected to hold a final vote on the draft law that amends the Criminal Code, in the sense of introducing additional measures to protect victims of domestic violence and toughening the penalties applied to repeat aggressors.

Also on the legislative agenda this week are the draft law on online legal age and the new Urban Planning Code.

Grigore Alexandru Ghyka

In the county of Vrancea (southeast), events were scheduled on Monday to mark the repatriation of the coffin of Grigore Alexandru Ghyka, the last ruler of Moldavia before the Union of the Romanian Principalities in 1859. After being exhumed on November 7 from a settlement near Paris, the coffin with the earthly remains of the ruler was brought with military honors to Bucharest, where it was placed at the Presidency. A ceremony was held there with the participation of President Nicusor Dan, who laid a wreath and lit candles. The rulers remains will be buried on Wednesday in Iasi (northeast).

Grigore Alexandru Ghyka, who ruled Moldavia between 1849 and 1856, is described by historians as one of the most visionary figures of the 19th century. He was a unionist activist who paved the way for the Union of the Romanian Principalities in 1859 and promoted essential values for modern society: freedom, social justice and dignity. He supported courageous reforms, from the emancipation of the Roma and the abolition of censorship, to the development of public services and the introduction of a government model inspired by the great European democracies. He also founded the first maternity hospital in Moldavia using his own funds.

His repatriation represents not only an act of symbolic restoration but also a gesture of national gratitude towards a leader who laid the foundations of the modern Romanian state, Bucharest authorities say.

Report on poverty

In 2024, the relative poverty rate in Romania stood at 19%, the number of poor people corresponding to this rate being 3,595,000, according to data centralized by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).

According to the Institute, the relative poverty rate represents the share of poor people whose income per adult is lower than the threshold established at 60% of the average disposable income per adult in the total population.

The highest incidence of poverty is reported among teenagers under 18 and young people aged 18-24.

The highest poverty rates were recorded in the southwest, southeast and northeast, while the lowest was in Bucharest-Ilfov.

France  Sarkozy to be released from prison

The Paris Court of Appeal ordered on Monday the release and placement under judicial control of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had been in prison for twenty days following his sentencing in the case of Libyan financing of his 2007 presidential campaign, France Presse reports.

Sarkozy, 70 years old, was imprisoned after being handed down a five-year prison sentence. He requested conditional release shortly after starting to serve his sentence. In France, such a provision applies to prisoners aged 70 and over, allowing them to serve their sentence outside prison under certain conditions.

The Libyan financing case consists of allegations that Sarkozys presidential campaign received illegal funds from the regime of Libyas de facto leader at the time, Muammar al-Gaddafi. Although the Paris criminal court found no evidence of illegal campaign funds, it concluded in its ruling that the conservative politician and close ally of Gaddafi at least attempted to obtain funds from the Libyan leader. (VP)
The visit by European Parliament president to Chisinau

The European Parliament has opened an office in Chisinau and will continue to support the Republic of Moldova on its path towards the European Union.

Roberta Metsola and Maia Sandu Photo: presedinte md

Stefan Stoica, 10.11.2025, 13:50

The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, made an official trip to Chisinau on Friday. She told a plenary meeting of the Moldovan Parliament that Brussels would continue to support the accession of the Republic of Moldova to the European Union.

Roberta Metsola said the Republic of Moldova has demonstrated remarkable progress on the path to European integration, finalising the screening process and adopting essential roadmaps for the consolidation of its rule of law. She emphasised that the European Union must respond with the same courage and clarity, but also prepare for an enlargement that will change the way the Union works. The Republic of Moldova, Metsola added, is making decisive progress towards opening accession talks by the end of this year. The President of the Moldovan Parliament Igor Grosu said his country has demonstrated resilience at a difficult time for Europe, maintaining its pro-European course, with citizens reconfirming this direction during the latest elections. President Maia Sandu said the Republic of Moldova is preparing for integration and continues to count on the support of the European Parliament. Maia Sandu:

Today, Moldova is modernising, consolidating its institutions, building bridges, roads, power lines to connect us to the European Union, integrating our economy into the European market and preparing the country for accession. The enlargement report published this week confirms that Moldova has made the greatest progress among all candidate countries. We still have a lot of work to do, but we also have a lot of support. The opening of the European Parliament Liaison Office in Chisinau will help us harmonise our national legislation with European legislation. It is an enormous effort, and the support of the European Parliament will make this process clearer and more efficient. We will continue to work with ambition and dedication and we are confident that both sides will maintain a sustained pace. We continue to count on your support, on the support of the European Parliament, in this effort that is considerable for us, for the Republic of Moldova, but vital for the freedom and prosperity of our citizens.

In a press conference held together with Maia Sandu, Roberta Metsola acknowledged that the Republic of Moldova has made remarkable progress so far in terms of EU accession, but said that more work is needed in terms of reforms relating to the rule of law, the fight against corruption, the working of democratic institutions and the efficient absorption of European funds. Metsola also said that Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and the other EU candidate states will be treated individually. The decoupling of the two countries, Metsola also said, is not a subject of negotiation for Chisinau, but it is clear that when a country meets the conditions, the decision must be made.
Several biotechnology and pharmaceutical stocks showed notable price increases during Friday's after-hours trading session, with movement driven by upcoming data releases, recent earnings reports, and prior corporate updates.

InflaRx N.V. (IFRX) surged 63.41% to $2.01 after hours, following a modest 2.50% gain at the close. The company announced plans to release topline data from its Phase 2a trial of oral C5aR inhibitor INF904 in hidradenitis suppurativa and chronic spontaneous urticaria. The data is expected on Monday morning, alongside its third-quarter financial results.

Rallybio Corp. (RLYB) rose 12.84% to $0.71 in Friday's after-hours trading. The company had reported third-quarter net income of $16.0 million, or $0.36 per share, reversing a prior-year loss of $11.5 million. Revenue for the quarter came in at $0.2 million, slightly below the $0.3 million reported in the same period last year.

FibroBiologics Inc. (FBLG) climbed 13.51% to $0.40 after hours, building on a 5.13% gain during regular trading. While no new announcements were made on Friday, the company had previously released its third-quarter financial results and a corporate update on October 31.

AbCellera Biologics Inc. (ABCL) advanced 6.51% to $4.16 after hours, recovering partially from a 13.69% decline earlier in the day. On November 6, the company reported a third-quarter net loss of $57.1 million, or $(0.19) per share, compared to a loss of $51.1 million in the same quarter last year. Revenue increased to $9.0 million from $6.5 million year-over-year.

BioRestorative Therapies Inc. (BRTX) gained 11.68% to $1.53 in after-hours trading. The company had previously announced a Notice of Allowance from the Japanese Patent Office for its ThermoStem platform on October 27. Its third-quarter results are scheduled for release on November 12.

Cellectis S.A. (CLLS) rose 6.58% to $3.40 after hours, following a 1.92% increase during regular trading. The company reported third-quarter net income of $589 thousand, or $0.01 per share, compared to a $23.1 million loss in the prior year. Total revenues and other income more than doubled to $37.2 million from $18.1 million.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Hexagon AB (HEXA-B.ST), an industrial company, on Monday announced it has agreed to acquire Inertial Sense LLC to drive innovation and scalable growth in the autonomous and positioning technology space.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The transaction is expected in the first half of 2026.

Inertial Sense is headquartered in Utah, is expected to generate about $5 million in revenue in 2025.

The company said the acquisition enhances its assured positioning, navigation, and timing portfolio, expanding affordable, high-performance navigation solutions for aerospace and defense, robotics, and UAV industries.

The company has deployed more than 30,000 inertial systems and offers patented GNSS+INS technology delivering centimetre-level accuracy for space-constrained applications.

On Friday, Hexagon closed trading at SEK 114.75 on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
In a major breakthrough to pave the way for ending the U.S. federal government's shutdown, the Senate reached an agreement on the spending bill Sunday.

After a weekend of negotiations in Washington, a minority bloc of seven centrist Democrat Senators and independent Angus King joined with their Republican counterparts to vote in support of the deal.

The Bill needed 60 votes to pass in the Republican-controlled Senate, where they have only 53 seats.

With the help of Democrat lawmakers who broke with party leadership, the Senate voted to move forward with the funding bill by 60-40.

The proposal would include a new stopgap measure to extend government funding and a larger package to finance key agencies.

The Republicans reportedly did not give any assurance to extend the care subsidies, but offered to hold a vote on extending certain healthcare subsidies later, and to reinstate federal workers who lost their job during the shutdown.

According to CNN, Majority Leader John Thune said that he will hold a vote on a measure to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits by mid-December.

Sunday's vote marks some progress towards ending the shutdown, but still faces a few hurdles, including a final passage vote by the Senate and its approval by the House before President Donald Trump signing the Bill into law.

The shutdown, which entered its 41st day on Monday, triggered disruption in several government services nation-wide, the loss of federal food aid, delayed paychecks, and delays and cancellations of flights.

The U.S. federal government was forced to the longest shut down in history on October 1 after the Senate failed to reach an agreement on the spending bill.

The Democrats pressed for major concessions on Obamacare subsidies, mainly ensuring subsidies for health insurance for the low-income group, and reversing the Trump administration's cuts to Medicaid, in return for their support to pass the funding bill.

Affordable Care Act benefits, also known as Obamacare, will expire within months.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
The United States has announced that it is suspending punitive action for one year in the Section 301 investigation into China's targeting of the maritime, logistics and shipbuilding industries for dominance.

Office of the US Trade Representative said the action will be suspended for one year, beginning Monday.

"The United States will negotiate with China pursuant to Section 301 regarding the issues raised in this investigation. While taking these actions, the United States will continue its domestic efforts and its discussions with key allies and partners on revitalizing American shipbuilding," USTR said in a press release.

In a reciprocal move, China's Ministry of Commerce stated that it will suspend special port fees targeting American ships for a year from Monday.

In return, special port fees on Chinese ships docking at U.S. harbors will be waived for the same period.

The suspension follows an agreement reached in economic and trade talks by Chinese and U.S. delegations in Kuala Lumpur last month, and a deal reached between the Presidents of the two major powers later.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Thousands of diplomats and climate experts have gathered in Belem, Brazil's Amazon region, for COP30 - the latest round of UN climate talks with the task of turning promises into action and agree on tougher plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The host city of COP30 situates at the edge of the world's largest tropical rainforest: the Amazon region is both a vital carbon sink and a frontline in the fight against deforestation and climate change.

At this year's meeting, which runs up to November 21, delegates will review national climate plans, push for $1.3 trillion a year in climate finance, adopt new measures to help countries adapt, and advance a 'just transition' to cleaner economies.

The COP30 summit opens on Monday in Belem against a stark backdrop: scientists say the planet is on course to temporarily breach the 1.5C warming limit set by the Paris Agreement.

That could still be short-lived, experts warn, but only if countries act fast to ramp up efforts on cutting emissions, adapting to climate impacts, and mobilizing finance.

Speaking at the Leaders' Summit, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, "It's no longer time for negotiations. It's time for implementation, implementation and implementation."

Under Brazil's presidency, COP30 will revolve around an action agenda of 30 key goals, each driven by an 'activation group' tasked with scaling up solutions.

Action agendas at COPs are built on voluntary pledges rather than binding law. But the scale of change needed is enormous: at least $1.3 trillion in climate investments every year by 2035.

Without urgent action, scientists warn global temperatures could climb between 2.3C and 2.8C by the end of the century, leaving vast regions uninhabitable through flooding, extreme heat and ecosystem collapse.

At the heart of talks in Belem will be the Baku-to-Belem Roadmap Report for $1.3 Trillion, prepared by the COP29 and COP30 presidencies. It sets out five priorities for mobilizing resources, including boosting six multilateral climate funds, strengthening cooperation on taxing polluting activities, and converting sovereign debt into climate investment - a move that could unlock up to $100 billion for developing countries.

The report also calls for dismantling barriers such as investment treaty clauses that let corporations sue governments over climate policies. Those disputes have already cost governments $83 billion across 349 cases, accordng to the UN.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Political News
The European Commission has announced tha it adopted stricter rules on visas for Russian nationals, in view of the increased security risks stemming from Russia's war against Ukraine, including the weaponisation of migration, acts of sabotage and the potential misuse of visa.

Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, said: "Russia's illegal and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine continues to pose a serious threat to European security, with heightened risks related to sabotage, disinformation and drone incursions in the Union. The EU has consistently tightened entry conditions for Russian nationals since the onset of this illegal aggression. By further restricting visa rules, we are taking an additional and necessary step to safeguard the security of the European Union and its citizens."

Kaja Kallas, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, said, "Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine has created the most dangerous security environment in Europe for decades. We now face unprecedented drone disruptions and sabotage on our soil. We have a duty to protect our citizens. Stricter rules will now apply to Russian nationals requesting a visa to travel to the EU. Travelling to and freely moving within the EU is a privilege not a given."

From now on, Russian nationals will no longer be able to receive multiple-entry EU visas. This means Russian nationals will have to apply for a new visa each time they plan to travel to the EU, allowing for close and frequent scrutiny of applicants to mitigate any potential security risk.

The goal is to mitigate threats to public policy and internal security while allowing exceptions for limited and justified cases such as independent journalists and human rights defenders, ensuring uniform application across Member States and preventing circumvention.

This decision is based on a joint assessment by Member States under local Schengen cooperation in Russia and follows the approval by all Member States in the Visa Committee.

Since Russia's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, the EU took unprecedented action against Russia to force it stop the aggression, including the full suspension of the Visa Facilitation Agreement with Russia and the adoption of guidelines to support Member States to deprioritise visas for Russians and refrain issuing them, increasing the security and border controls. The European Commission's decision builds on these efforts and is based on a joint assessment by Member States under local Schengen cooperation in Russia.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Hero MotoCorps Vida electric mobility subsidiary has been pushing boundaries ever since its inception. The companys latest offering, the VX2 electric scooter has just been updated with a new variant that is expected to boost sales for the brand. Called VX2 Go 3.4 kWh, this new variant is slotted below the top-spec Plus variant.

Hero Vida VX2 Go 3.4 kWh Variant

Launched earlier this year, Hero Vida VX2 brought BaaS pricing strategy with the scooters price, making it quite a sensation in the market. VX2 was offered in two variants  Go and Plus. Go came with a 2.2 kWh battery pack as standard, while only Plus got the larger 3.4 kWh battery pack with an IDC claimed range of 142 km on a single charge.

Now, Vida has introduced a new 3.4 kWh battery variant with Go and it is priced at Rs 1.02 lakh (Ex-sh) or Rs 60,000 with BaaS prices that comes with Rs 0.9 per km battery rental cost. VX2 is formulated with Ghar Ghar Evooter philosophy and is recognised as Badalte India ka Scooter. The launch was preceded by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari.

Priced at Rs 1.02 lakh (Ex-sh), Vida VX2 Go 3.4 kWh variant brings the larger 3.4 kWh battery to the more affordable and lower-spec Go trim level. The company promises a real world range of 100 km per charge. The system involves two removable battery packs like we saw with the top-spec Plus variant.

The single swingarm-mounted electric motor is rated at 6 kW (8.04 bhp) and 26 Nm of peak torque and it comes with Eco and Ride modes. Features like a flat floorboard, a long seat, a 27L boot space, a digital instrument cluster, 12-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights and LED tail lights along are notable.

The top speed is pegged at 70 km/h, while the VX2 Plus variant can go till 80 km/h. With the Vida VX2 Go 3.4 kWh variant, Hero MotoCorp aims to offer a profound and versatile variant lineup to buyers. Also, the flexibility of BaaS model on scooters prices is unique in the market.

Statement from Hero MotoCorp

Commenting on the launch, Ms. Kausalya Nandakumar, Chief Business Officer  Emerging Mobility Business Unit, Hero MotoCorp, said: VIDA has always stood for progress  combining innovation with functionality to enhance life for Indian riders.

The new Evooter VX2 Go 3.4 kWh is designed for those who seek more range and efficiency in their commute  conscious of performance, practicality, and purpose. It reinforces our commitment to empowering everyday mobility and moving India towards a cleaner, better tomorrow.
I spent my childhood living on or near military bases for my dad's long career as a Navy SEAL.

Dad was gone for roughly 50% of my childhood, including for both my sister and my own birth, and I often had little knowledge of what he did while gone.

Consequently, I have immense sympathy for veterans and their families, and the challenges they go throughwhich is fairly underappreciated. You can't ever know until you experience it firsthand as I did.

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Specifically, I went to a funeral decades ago that really changed my perception of this sacrifice and its weight.

Context to a funeral

My dad took over leadership of SEAL Team 6 in the summer of 2001. And just a few months later, 9/11 happened, and changed our family's path forever. I was a senior in high school and saw little of him that year. Our only contact was through intermittent emails he sent out and fuzzy calls from highly secure phones.

My mom, sister and I just did as we always had in his absence. We lived, functioned, and got through it.

One morning, mom came into my room and said, Would you like to come to the funeral tomorrow morning? Your dad is gone.

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I understood her meaning and agreed.

Thered been an unexpected and now famous battle one week earlier, which was later called Roberts Ridge. It was named after Neil Roberts, the first SEAL killed in the Afghanistan War.

Because dad was the commanding officer of that team, he would ordinarily be the one speaking at the funeral. But he was in Afghanistan and in the thick of it. So we went in his absence. He recently told me this period of the war was the hardest days of his 37-year careerwhich isn't a small thing for him to say, as he is quite understated about his hardships.

The incident and death

The SEALs were in a helicopter, preparing to establish a watch position on a 10,000-foot elevation mountain. The night was inky black and the air was turbulent.

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The chopper was a dozen feet above the ground and the back ramp was open. Roberts was standing near the back, preparing to be the first to slide out.

Then, the chopper was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by terrorist operatives. Several mechanical fluid cords snapped, spraying slippery engine oil down the back ramp, causing Roberts to slip, slide off the ramp and tumble downward, with his fall broken by the snow and steep mountain angle.

Unfortunately, the chopper was taking bullet fire, with rockets whizzing by. Roberts was left alone in those mountains.

Satellite footage later showed Roberts exchanging gunfire, trying to fend off more than 50 enemies who were closing in on him. He eventually succumbed to several wounds.

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And on this day, I was attending his funeral in a small chapel at Little Creek Naval Base in Virginia Beach. It wasn't my first military funeral, but was the most intense. It was a small service with about 30 people. Per the escort's guidance, we sat in the front row, and behind us were seven of his siblings, including his twin brother. Everyone was crying.

To my right was his widow. Theyd just had their first and only son, who was a few months old. Like so many children in this war, hed grow up never knowing his fathers love.

At one point during the service, Roberts widow traced her fingers over his picture on the memorial pamphlet, as if wishing she could somehow touch his face one more time. She seemed desperate to pull him out of the pamphlet and back into life. It was incredibly hard to watch.

It reminded me again of the Reflections painting by Lee Teter, and the older Vietnam veteran who survived, went on to live and have so many rich experiences, a career, a family, walking his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day, playing catch with his son.

Suddenly, decades later, hes triggered by the sight of the only thing he remembers those men by  their names. All of those memories came rushing back: laughing in the jungles, protecting each other, talking about their plans and spouses, sweating under the relentless heat, hearing the periodic sounds of gunfire.

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And as he touches that wall, they reach back through time as if to say, We are still with you. We remember.

To us, these wars are always very political by nature, but to the many men fightingit's just about doing their jobs, and getting through it with their buddiesalive.

Naturally, I dread the thought of losing loved ones. But Ive long feared their second death, when I stop thinking about them every day, when their voices begin to blur, and their voices become more abstract and faded in my mind. The gradual erosion of their presence and your desperation to keep them with you is the second cruelty of death.

Part of me wants to keep feeling that pain of loss, not because I need to prove to myself that I love them, but because I know that stabbing, twisting agony is the most honest reminder that they mattered.

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I know that Roberts son doesnt even have a memory to cling to, just a name, photos, and legendary stories. Roberts death and so many more in our prior wars will persist with loved ones as a painful vacancy that can never be filled, a recurring reminder of the line between what was  and what now is.

People have often asked, "Does it make it any easier that you know this was always a possibility?"

Having grown up around the children of other SEALs, I can tell you now that we all underestimated the danger our fathers faced. Between the SEALs aura of mystique and the silly grade-school questions about killing someone with one finger, and doing various martial arts on multiple foes, it was so easy for us to buy into the vision of them as invincible warriors.

Which is why their ultimate sacrifice hit so hard. We knew death was possible, but never thought something would actually happen. It is then that we were reminded that, necessary or not, there is little beauty in these conflicts or pleasure taken by either side.

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Its as General W.T. Sherman said, It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, more vengeance, more desolation. War is hell.

And so on this Veterans Day, I try to remember these sacrifices, and that these losses don't just impact the families, but also the men and women close to them. These people were real and here, with faces, personalities, and quirks that made them who they were. They lived and overlapped with many of us in the years up until their final moment.

And with their deaths, many hope and dreams were lost in preservation of our own. There will be no family fishing trip with their kids or parents, no shared jokes at the dinner table.

All that is left is their memoryand our appreciation for what they gave up for us through their service. And that shouldn't be taken lightly.
Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India has a vast portfolio in the country. At the premium end of this portfolio within the single-cylinder offerings, we had CB300R, a neo retro motorcycle. CB300R was first launched all the way back in February 2019, marking a new journey for CB lineup in India.

Fast-forwarding to October 2025, Honda seems to be pulling the plug on this motorcycle. It was recently de-listed from the companys official website suggesting a discontinuation. Will there be an updated version of CB300R? Or was it the last of premium 300cc single-cylinder offerings from Honda? Lets take a closer look.

Honda CB300R Discontinued

CB300R from Honda has had quite a journey in India. It was first launched in February 2019 for a price tag of Rs 2.41 lakh (Ex-sh) via the CKD route. It was discontinued in July 2020 and a new BS6 model was awaited. It was then re-launched in India in January 2022 with more localised components and a few updates for a price tag of Rs 2.77 lakh (Ex-sh).

In October 2023, Honda slashed the prices of CB300R to Rs 2.4 lakh (Ex-sh), down by Rs 37k, making it more appealing to buyers. Last month, the GST 2.0 revisions made CB300R even more appealing by bringing the price down to Rs 2.19 lakh (Ex-sh), down by as much as Rs 21k.

Despite the price revisions, CB300R remained as one of the companys least-selling vehicles. Which could have led to a potential discontinuation of CB300R in October 2025. The main strength of CB300R was its weight. Or the lack thereof. It weighed 146 kg, while packing around 32 PS of peak power from its 286cc single-cyl liquid-cooled engine.

Will it make a comeback?

We sure hope so, given the seesaw moments CB300R has had in our market. With latest GST 2.0 revisions benefitting motorcycles under 350cc, there is huge potential if Honda packages CB300R better. The model discontinued (potentially), lacked a modern TFT instrumentation with Bluetooth and Navigation, Type-C ports and other features.

There is a new neo-retro premium motorcycle has been patented in India and we wish it is the next CB300R packed with premium features. USD telescopic front forks, disc brakes at both ends with dual-channel ABS, fat and sticky tyres, a new TFT screen with a host of features, and more, could be part of the package.
The International Trade Centres NDC 3.0 guide gives SMEs a checklist to lobby governments for dedicated climate financing and incentives, starting now

Whats happening: The International Trade Centre has released a five-step guide to integrate small and medium-sized enterprises into national climate plans under the Paris Agreement.

Why this matters: Early engagement in your governments NDC 3.0 policy design process could protect your business from mandatory compliance costs whilst unlocking competitive advantages through funding and training programmes.

Small business owners worldwide have been handed a blueprint for the future, and those who act quickly stand to gain the most.

The International Trade Centre, the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations, has released Aligning Small Business and Trade with Nationally Determined Contributions: A Guide for Policymakers and Stakeholders. This practical roadmap arrives ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belem, Brazil, and offers small and medium-sized enterprises an unprecedented opportunity to shape climate policy whilst accessing vital support.

About 90% of businesses worldwide are SMEs. Despite their vulnerability to climate shocks and their contribution to emissions, they are rarely acknowledged in national climate plans. According to recent estimates from the European Commission, SMEs represent over 50% of all employment globally and are responsible for 64% of global business emissions.

Demanding Your Seat

ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton was direct in her assessment of whats at stake.

These NDCs 3.0 are the first big test of whether countries have taken the lessons of the Paris Agreements first Global Stocktake to heart, Coke-Hamilton said. If they are to succeed, they have to make a much stronger link between economic activity and environmental action. That means these climate plans must incorporate small businesses into their very design, as they are the drivers of the global economy.

As countries submit their third round of Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, the timing presents a critical window. These NDCs represent official climate commitments that will shape government policy, funding allocation and regulatory frameworks for years to come.

The guide draws on global best practices to provide tools for early stakeholder engagement, coherent policy design and practical financing strategies. For SME owners, it represents validation that your business perspective matters at the highest levels of climate policymaking.

Finance and Incentives

The guides five-step framework reveals exactly what governments should be doing to support SMEs through the climate transition. Two steps stand out as particularly valuable for business owners seeking tangible benefits: dedicated financing mechanisms and regulatory support with incentives.

Step Two focuses on governance and financing, emphasising the need for clear coordination mechanisms and a diverse mix of public and private funding sources. This isnt theoretical, its about ensuring money flows to SMEs who need it for green investments.

Step Four addresses implementation, backed by dedicated resources and measures to ease adoption. This includes regulatory support and incentives designed to make the transition financially viable for smaller businesses.

Australian SMEs are already experiencing increased pressure around climate-related reporting. Whilst small businesses currently face no legal requirement to measure or report their emissions, commercial relationships with larger organisations are creating practical pressure to gather this information, especially for those in high-emitting sectors such as energy, agriculture and transportation.

Research from the International Chamber of Commerce and Sage reveals a $789 billion green finance opportunity for SMEs globally. Whilst 73% of public and private financial institutions now offer green finance to SMEs, only 2.8% of SMEs have applied for it in the past three years. The barrier isnt availability, its awareness and access. Moreover, SMEs with access to sustainable finance are 2.5 times more likely to implement significant sustainability initiatives. Yet 68% of SMEs say the cost of implementing sustainability initiatives is too high, and 67% cite time constraints.

The Five-Step Blueprint

The ITC guide provides a structured approach that SME owners can use to understand what their government should be implementing and where to apply pressure through business associations and industry groups.

Step One involves identifying strategic sectors where SMEs and trade can drive climate action, aligning national priorities with local economic realities. This is where your industry association should be actively engaged.

Step Three focuses on stakeholder mapping, ensuring inclusive engagement that brings SMEs and support organisations into the policy process. This is your entry point, contact your local Chamber of Commerce or industry group and ask what theyre doing to leverage this guide for participation in government stakeholder mapping.

Throughout Steps Two, Four and Five, the emphasis remains on ensuring SMEs arent just consulted but empowered to lead and innovate in the green transition. Capacity-building platforms and self-assessment tools help stakeholders clarify their roles and share best practices.

Continuous monitoring and evaluation mechanisms ensure strategies remain responsive and effective, allowing for stakeholder feedback and policy learning. This creates accountability loops that benefit businesses willing to engage early and consistently.

Acting Now Matters

The OECD Platform on Financing SMEs for Sustainability notes that addressing the climate crisis requires the net zero transition of millions of SMEs globally. Access to finance is essential for SME investments in net zero, but small businesses face considerable challenges in tapping into the growing pool of sustainable finance.

Digital tools are emerging to help SMEs overcome long-standing barriers by making sustainability reporting faster, cheaper and more reliable. Innovations include automated emissions calculators, pre-filled green loan applications that draw on real accounting data, shared SME data hubs supported by development banks and AI tools that can automatically complete sustainability templates.

For Australian businesses, sustainability has become a strategic necessity for long-term success, with improved sustainability leading to cost reductions, enhanced regulatory compliance and stronger brand recognition.

The guide emphasises the need to design NDCs and underlying trade-related policy measures in ways that minimise regulatory and economic costs by considering the specificities and challenges of small businesses. This is precisely why early engagement matters, policies designed with SME input from the start are more likely to be workable and beneficial.

By embedding SME and trade dimensions at each step of the NDC development process, countries can strengthen their climate commitments and accelerate a just transition, especially in developing economies where small firms are central to livelihoods, resilience and local innovation.

Business owners who wait for policies to be finalised before engaging will find themselves reacting to regulations rather than shaping them. Those who act now, by connecting with business associations and demanding participation in stakeholder mapping exercises, position themselves to influence policy design whilst accessing early support programmes.

The ITC guide isnt just about climate action, its about ensuring small businesses arent left behind or unfairly burdened as larger organisations and governments move forward with climate commitments. Its a tool for advocacy, a roadmap for accessing support and a blueprint for future-proofing your operation.

Start by contacting your local business association today and ask what theyre doing to participate in your governments NDC 3.0 stakeholder engagement process. The businesses that engage now will secure competitive advantages whilst avoiding mandatory compliance costs later.

This guide is your blueprint for the future. If your business acts now to get involved in policy design, you secure a competitive edge and protect yourself from the costs of playing catch-up when regulations become mandatory.

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Vietnamese rice variety Ong Cua ST25 has won the Worlds Best Rice title for a third time after earlier wins in 2019 and 2023.

It shared the title with Cambodias phka romdoul at the 17th Annual World Rice Conference organized by U.S. publication The Rice Trader in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh from Nov. 7 to 9. The Cambodian variety has won the title seven times.

ST25 rice is the result of years of research, selection and breeding led by Ho Quang Cua, after whom it is named, and his team.

Ho Quang Cua (center, R), lead engineer behind the Ong Cua ST25 rice variety, receives a trophy for the World's Best Rice 2025 title in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Photo acquired by VnExpress

Since the 1990s the team has been developing new strains of the grain under the ST brand. ST25 was bred from several rice varieties, whose outstanding qualities it has inherited.

Its grains are long and translucent with no chalky core, it is moderately sticky when cooked, exudes pandan and young green rice fragrances and has a rich, sweet flavor.

Even when cooled ST25 retains its tenderness and distinctive aroma: qualities that have won over both domestic consumers and international culinary experts.

Cua said: "This title helps strengthen the High-Quality Vietnamese Rice brand, expanding its reach into demanding markets such as the United States, Japan, Europe, and Australia."

The Worlds Best Rice competition is an annual international event organized since 2009 to identify emerging trends and directions for the global rice market.

Vietnam won the top prize for the first time in 2019.
CleanTech Lithium reported a 17% increase in the mineral resource estimate for its Laguna Verde project in Chile on Monday, following the acquisition of additional licences, positioning the asset among the countrys key lithium developments earmarked for accelerated private-sector advancement.

The AIM-traded company said the total JORC-compliant resource now stood at 1.9 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at an average grade of 174 milligrams per litre of lithium, up from 1.63 million tonnes previously.

Of that, 0.84 million tonnes are classified as Measured and Indicated at a grade of 178 mg/L.

The upgrade followed the August acquisition of 30 new licences from Minergy Chile, which increased CleanTech Lithiums preferential licence area within the Chilean governments defined CEOL (Special Lithium Operating Contract) polygon to 97.6%, above the 80% threshold required to enter a streamlined approval process.

The government was now reportedly finalising indigenous community consultations for the project.

CleanTech said the updated resource, prepared by Montgomery & Associates, incorporated three years of exploration data from 2022 to 2024, including drill, pump test, and geophysical programmes.

Montgomery had recommended further drilling in the southwest, north and northeast of the salar to potentially expand the resource base.

The measured and indicated portion will feed into the projects pre-feasibility study, which was expected to underpin its maiden reserve estimate.

The updated JORC-compliant resource estimate for the Laguna Verde project, independently determined by Montgomery & Associates, confirms a robust and significant resource of 1.9 million tonnes of lithium carbonate wquivalent (LCE) at an average grade of 174 milligraps per litre of lithium, with 0.84 million tonnes in the measured and indicated category, said chief executive Ignacio Mehech.

The resource estimate is an important element of the projects pre-feasibility study which is advancing to completion.

This positions Laguna Verde as a leading direct lithium extraction (DLE) based project in Chile's lithium sector and as a future producer for the global EV and battery market.

At 1608 GMT, shares in CleanTech Lithium were up 5.86% at 5.82p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Stocks to watch

Global fund administration platform JTC said it had agreed a 2.3bn takeover by private equity firm Permira, beating interest from rival Warburg Pincus. JTC shareholders would receive 13.40p a share, below Fridays closing price of 13.58. Shares in the company have surged from 897p on August 13 when Permira made its first offer.

Drinks giant Diageo said it has named Haleon chair Dave Lewis as its next chief executive. Lewis, the former chief executive of Tesco, will take up the role on 1 January 2026, replacing Debra Crew, who quit in the summer. Haleon independent director Vindi Banga will replace Lewis as chair of consumer drugs firm.

Airport hospitality group SPP announced the retirement of its chair Mike Clasper after five and a half years at the helm. As SSP finalises a multi-year strategic review, Clasper said now was the right time to step away to enable the appointment of a new chair who can help realise the full scale of these ambitions in the years ahead. Clasper, who joined as a non-executive director in November 2019 before being appointed chair in February 2020, will step down at the companys AGM in January.

Newspaper round-up

Drax power plant has continued to burn 250-year-old trees sourced from some of Canadas oldest forests despite growing scrutiny of its sustainability claims, forestry experts say. A new report suggests it is highly likely that Britains biggest power plant sourced some wood from ecologically valuable forests as recently as this summer. Drax, Britains single biggest source of carbon emissions, has received billions of pounds in subsidies from burning biomass derived largely from wood. - Guardian

Royal Mail says that it has delivered Christmas for more than 500 years, but this year many workers have been left feeling less than festive after the company downgraded a small gift to workers to second class. The postal service, which traces its history back to the appointment of a master of the posts by Henry VIII in 1516, has given workers a collection of 50 Christmas stamps to recognise their work over the busiest time of year. In previous years, including in 2024, workers have received a book of 50 or 100 first-class stamps, but that has quietly been switched to second class this year.  Guardian

Donald Trump has vowed to pay a $2,000 (1,520) tariff dividend to American households in a radical stimulus package that could trigger a stock market boom. The US president claimed he could reward households because America was making trillions of dollars from his trade war, which has led to sweeping tariffs being imposed on countries around the world.  Telegraph

Ovo Energy is preparing to slash tens of millions of pounds in costs under a radical plan to secure its survival. In a bid to convince the regulator of its financial viability, Britains fourth-largest gas and electricity supplier is plotting deep spending cuts to areas including advertising and brand building activities. The cuts come as Stephen Fitzpatrick, Ovos founder, scrambles to meet tougher financial rules imposed by Ofgem.  Telegraph

The head of Lazards investment-banking arm in the UK is predicting a wave of large and midsized stock market debuts in London next year, as companies grow too big to stay in private equity hands and the fashion for Wall Street listings fades. Cyrus Kapadia told The Times that London was the natural destination for a number of very large private equity-owned businesses in the market value range of more than $10 billion.  The Times

One in six employers expect artificial intelligence to reduce the size of their workforce over the next year, amid weak employer confidence, according to new research. In the latest sign of the threat to white-collar workers posed by the advance of artificial intelligence, 62 per cent of those employers believed that clerical, junior managerial, professional or administrative roles were most likely to be lost because of the technology.  The Times

US close

US stocks erased earlier losses but still finished in mixed fashion on Friday as ongoing concerns about stretched valuations in the tech sector and concerns about economic growth kept risk appetite in check.

A late rally pushed the Dow and S&P 500 marginally into positive territory, with the benchmarks finished just 0.2% and 0.1% higher, respectively. While Nasdaq bounced off earlier lows, the index closed the session down 0.2%.
Airport hospitality group SPP has announced the retirement of its chair Mike Clasper after five and a half years at the helm.

As SSP finalises a multi-year strategic review, Clasper said now was the right time to step away "to enable the appointment of a new chair who can help realise the full scale of these ambitions in the years ahead", bringing forward his planned retirement by one year.

Clasper, who joined as a non-executive director in November 2019 before being appointed chair in February 2020, will step down at the company's AGM in January.

SSP's board has now kickstarted a search for his successor, led by senior independent director Carolyn Bradley, who will become interim chair if a replacement has not been appointed by the AGM.

The company's search will focus on candidates who will be able to help "drive strategy and execution as we enter the next phase of delivery", Bradley said.

"On behalf of the board, I would like to express our gratitude to Mike for his strong contribution and dedicated service to SSP over the last six years. His leadership and business insights have been critical in steering SSP through the challenging Covid period and, most recently, through a year of tightened focus on performance."
Gravure printing is a high-resolution technique applied in packaging, decorative, and publication industries and is considered the gold standard for large print runs. It handles high-volume jobs without plate changes, making it a fast and efficient method to deliver sharp, vibrant results. The engraved cylinders transfer ink smoothly, creating detailed and consistent prints. Gravure printing can be costly. But since you can print larger volumes of products, it can be more cost-effective than other methods. This printing process can be adjusted for different materials like paper, plastic, cardboard, and foil.

At the core of this process lie gravure printing inks, the essential medium that defines adhesion, colour vibrancy, and the final finish of the print.

Why Gravure Inks Matter in Packaging

Outer packaging showcases not only the identity of a brand but also keeps the product safe. Gravure printing inks help by giving prints clear detail, bright colours, and steady quality in large runs.

1. Rising Global Demand for Eco-Responsible Choices

As packaging needs grow, so does the demand for safe, long-lasting, and eco-friendly inks. Water-based gravure inks avoid heavy metals and VOCs. They support sustainable printing without compromising performance.

2. Regulatory Compliance

Food-contact packaging has strict rules. The inks used on the packing must be free from harmful substances. Gravure inks are made without toluene and strong solvents that help manufacturers who need to comply with national and international food safety norms.

3. Brand Differentiation

Clear and bright printing helps brands get noticed on busy store shelves. Gravure inks make this possible with sharp detail and strong stick, ensuring print consistency over long production runs.

4. Rich Colours with Full Coverage

Formulated with high-grade pigments, these inks deliver bold, vibrant colours. Since the inks transfer cleanly from the cylinder to the substrate, text and images remain crisp even at high production speeds. Even the finest of details is reproduced, with smooth and uniform coverage across different substrates.

5. Tough, Long-Lasting and Quick Drying

Built to resist heat, oils, and chemicals, the inks are suitable even in demanding applications. This property helps the printed material maintain its quality and appearance, even in harsh environments. They dry quickly, withstand handling, and do not turn yellow or fade over time. This makes them ideal for packaging that must stay intact for a long period of time.

6. Advanced Formulation for Smooth Flow

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Jonathan Braun, formerly of Meiers Corners, was sentenced Monday in Brooklyn federal court for a series of incidents that occurred after Braun was pardoned in 2021 by President Donald J. Trump on charges of drug trafficking.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A felon with Staten Island ties who was once pardoned by President Trump is headed back to prison, after what federal prosecutors described as a series of threatening and violent acts.

Jonathan Braun, 42, was convicted in 2011 of conspiracy and money laundering. But Trump commuted his 10-year prison sentence. Brauns family had ties to Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law, according to the New York Times.

But as part of the deal Braun had to avoid further arrest, which according to the federal government, didnt happen.

On Monday, Braun was sentenced in Brooklyn federal court by Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto to 27 months in prison, on charges that included usurious loans and sexually assaulting a nanny.

Additionally, Braun was ordered by Matsumoto to complete six months of inpatient treatment, three months of home confinement, and another three-and-a-half years of supervised release.

Cannabis trafficking, predatory lending

More than 15 years ago, Braun fled to Israel to evade federal prosecutors who were investigating him in connection with large-scale marijuana trafficking from Canada into the United States, prosecutors state in a Nov. 5 sentencing memorandum.

At the time, Braun was living in Meiers Corners, the Advance/SILive.com previously reported.

The defendant trafficked more than $6 million in marijuana per week, using boats and private planes to smuggle the drugs across the border, and was responsible for laundering approximately $14 million in drug proceeds.

In the 2011 case, he was sentenced by Matsumoto to 10 years in prison. He served part of the time, before Trump commuted his sentence just before leaving office in January 2021.

While on supervised release, Braun allegedly became involved in predatory lending and was accused of threatening several debtors, the New York Times reported.

Alleged sex assault, usurious loans

More recently, a former live-in nanny testified in court about an incident on Feb. 15, when Braun placed his arm around her neck and forced her hand over his bare genitals.

The woman testified that she escaped by faking that she needed to use the bathroom, then locked the door and phoned her husband on FaceTime.

In September, Matsumoto determined Braun had violated the terms of his release.

In addition to the aforementioned incidents, he was accused of menacing a nurse during a hospital visit, dodging tolls in his Lamborghini, and failing to pay a $100,000 fine to the court while living a life of luxury.

Brauns family describe good father in letters to court

In a sentencing memorandum filed Oct. 24 by defense attorney Kathryn Wozencroft, she argued that Braun is sober and receiving counseling. She requested her client be sentenced to time served and be allowed to remain on supervised release.

In a series of letters submitted by the defendants wife, father-in-law, younger sister and rabbi, they described him as a good father who has expressed remorse and needs another chance, according to the defenses argument.

Conversely, federal prosecutors requested five years in prison.

In court documents, they argued that Braun used many of those same arguments before his 2019 sentencing. At the time, he referred to himself as a changed man who had learned his lesson.
russian occupation forces are conducting joint military drills Path of the Wolverine. The exercises are taking place at the Sri Lankan Army training center, led on the russian side by Major General Andrey Kozlov, and include troops from russia's Eastern Military District.

According to the russian Ministry of Defense, which announced the drills on November 5, these are the first-ever joint exercises between russian and Sri Lankan troops. It's possible Moscow views such cooperation as an opportunity to recruit local manpower for its occupation forces.

Illustrative photo of tanks / Photo credit: Sri Lanka Ministry of Defense

Open-source data, including The Military Balance, shows that Sri Lanka's armed forces number about 265,900 personnel with 177,000 in the army, 60,900 in the navy, and 28,000 in the air force.

Sri Lanka's military equipment is largely Soviet or Chinese-made, though its arsenal also includes a mix of systems from various countries. For example, its tank fleet includes 62 Czech-modified T-55AM2s and several dozen Chinese Type 59s in storage. Infantry fighting vehicles consist of BMP-1s and BMP-2s (over 60 units) and Type 92 (WZ-551) wheeled IFVs (around 80 units), among other Chinese armored transports.

Interestingly, Sri Lanka also produces several domestically made MRAPs, such as the Unicorn (based on the South African Buffel) and its upgraded version, Unibuffel.

The country operates RM-70 multiple rocket launchers from the Czech Republic and Pakistani variants of the BM-21 Grad, while its artillery and mortars are primarily Soviet and Chinese.

Sri Lankas air arm is relatively small but diverse it fields Chengdu J-7 and IAI Kfir fighter jets, along with a variety of helicopters, including Mi-17s and American Bell models.
The Morris County Medical Examiner has determined that founding KISS guitarist Ace Frehley died from blunt trauma injuries to his head sustained during a fall according to a report obtained by PEOPLE on Monday.

The 74-year-old musicians death was ruled an accident.

Frehley, born Paul Frehley, died Oct. 16 in Morristown, N.J., following the fall at his home. TMZ reported the rocker had been on life support due to a brain bleed caused by the fall.

His family shared their grief in a statement announcing his death.

We are completely devastated and heartbroken. In his last moments, we were fortunate enough to have been able to surround him with loving, caring, peaceful words, thoughts, prayers and intentions as he left this earth, the statement read.

The family added, We cherish all of his finest memories, his laughter, and celebrate his strengths and kindness that he bestowed upon others. The magnitude of his passing is of epic proportions, and beyond comprehension. Reflecting on all of his incredible life achievements, Aces memory will continue to live on forever!

On Sept. 25, Frehley posted on Instagram about the fall, describing it as minor and announcing he would cancel a performance the next day in Lancaster, California, on doctors orders.

The statement said Frehley looked forward to continuing his tour and finishing work on his next album, Origins Vol. 4. On Oct. 6, he canceled the remainder of his 2025 tour dates due to ongoing medical issues.

Frehley co-founded KISS in 1973 and performed with the band until 1982, becoming known for his Spaceman persona and distinctive makeup.

After leaving KISS, he formed Frehleys Comet and launched a solo career that began in 1978 with a platinum-selling self-titled debut. In 2014, his album Space Invader made him the only KISS member to crack the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart with a solo album, according to his biography.
A man was stabbed to death Sunday night after a fight at a TGI Fridays in Union County, authorities said.

Officers were called to the restaurant on South Park Avenue in Linden shortly before 10 p.m. and discovered a man lying on the ground, unresponsive from a stab wound, according to police.

The victim was taken to University Hospital in Newark, where he later died.

Police did not release the victims name, and did not say whether the fight occurred inside the restaurant or in the parking lot.

The death is under investigation by the Union County Homicide Task Force and Linden Police Department detectives.

Anyone with information can call Detective Nick Philippakos at 908-474-8530 or email at nphilippakos@lpdnj.org.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Micron Technology will delay opening its first two chipmaking factories in Clay by two to three years, the company said in a report made public today.

That would mean the first factory wouldnt open until eight years after Micron announced in 2022 it planned to build in Central New York.

Micron said earlier this year that the first fabrication plant, or fab, was scheduled to open in mid-2028. The opening has now been moved back to late 2030.

Completion of the second fab has been pushed back from late 2030 to late 2033, the company said in the final environmental report on the project, released today.

The environmental report was formally accepted and made public today by the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency. Acceptance of the report is a critical step in Microns plans to move ahead with site preparation and construction.

Not only would construction start later on the two fabs, but it would take longer. The construction period for the first fab, for example, has been lengthened from three to four years.

Micron did not explicitly give reasons for the delays in the report. A company spokewoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Micron did note in the report, however, that the requirements under its agreement for $6.1 billion funding deal with the U.S. Department of Commerce had recently changed.

The amendment modified the time by approximately two years in which Micron would have the option to commence operations of Fabs 1 and 2 for purposes of the funding agreement, the environmental report said.

The revised agreement with the commerce department also called for Micron to build a second fab at its headquarters in Boise, Idaho. That fab, and one already under construction in Boise, would open before any of the fabs in Clay, Micron has said this summer in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

- Micron Technology is building its first of two chip factories in Boise, Idaho. Micron plans to build up to four of these factories, called fabrication plants, or fabs, in the town of Clay over the next 20 years. Site-clearing is expected to start in November and construction on the first fab is projected to begin in late 2026. Matt Roderick/BoiseDev.com Matt Roderick/BoiseDev.com

That agreement also allowed Micron to shift part of its federal grant from the Clay to the Boise project. The company said a year ago it would spend $4.6 billion of that grant in Clay; now, that number has dropped to $3.4 billion.

Bob Petrovich, the executive director for the county agency, said its not unusual for big projects like Microns to be delayed.

These are massive projects that require lots of coordination, lots of design review, lots of moving parts, Petrovich said today. Schedules in any project are fluid.

In a hastily called news conference, McMahon told reporters by phone this afternoon that chip companies building in the U.S. are running into labor shortages and realizing that fab construction is generally slower than expected.

The reality of the industry is that its taking about three to four years to build a fab, McMahon said. The company wanted to provide themselves flexibility in the construction.

The multiyear delay in opening the Clay fabs will also delay the hiring of up to 4,500 employees Micron says it will need to run the plants.

The revised construction schedule for fabs 1 and 2 would push back the arrival of operational workers at the Micron campus, the company explained.

As a result, Micron is delaying the opening of a childcare center for employees by more than two years, from early 2028 to late 2030.

Micron says it still plans to complete four fabs by 2041.

The company could receive nearly $25 billion in taxpayer subsidies to build the first two fabs.

The board of the county development agency voted unanimously today to declare the environmental report complete. On Nov. 17, the board is scheduled to issue its findings on the project, which would require Micron to take a wide variety of measures to mitigate the potential environmental harms.

Once those findings are published, other agencies can start issuing Micron the permits it needs to start cutting trees and filling in wetlands on the low-lying site.

Petrovich said Micron still plans to start work in December.

The board will also vote on Nov. 17 whether to grant Micron tax breaks of $1.76 billion in sales taxes and $284 million in property taxes.
The project is using revolutionary modular construction to create affordable, storm-resilient housing that arrives 70% complete and causes minimal disruption to neighborhoods. Courtesy of Tamia Perry and Urban EcoSpaces Inc.

STATEN ISLAND, NY -- Staten Island is welcoming over 20 new houses in the next year. These new homes, spearheaded by Urban EcoSpaces Inc., may seem to appear overnight.

Thats because they are innovative, energy-efficient modular homes that are built in an assembly-line process, similar to car manufacturing.

It cuts down the time to build the house substantially. In a factory, once they put the house on the production line, it takes between seven to eight days, said Tamia Perry, co-founder and CEO of Urban Ecospaces. In the factory, you go from station to station to station. Theyll have people who will be working on the floors, and then people will be doing the framing, and then people will be doing the roof. Its a very fascinating process to actually see.

These factory-controlled construction projects arrive on-site about 70% complete, meaning time at the site is reduced, and they are usually unaffected by delays like weather. It also eases the burden of new construction, such as the ones at 527 and 529 Greeley Ave., Midland Beach on neighborhoods.

Were not on site for a substantial amount of time. Its a lot less disruptive to the community, because were not trucking in construction vehicles for months at a time, said Perry.

The project is using revolutionary modular construction to create affordable, storm-resilient housing that arrives 70% complete and causes minimal disruption to neighborhoods. Courtesy of Tamia Perry and Urban EcoSpaces Inc.

Urban EcoSpaces Inc. is a general contracting firm that started working on Staten Island during Hurricane Sandy recovery. This contribution sparked their interest in the modular home market due to its speed and efficiency.

It is also why one of the main aspects of these new homes is that they are designed to be storm resilient. The developers selected fiber cement siding, which they said has shown durability against wind and water, and constructed the homes on raised pier foundations. Utilities and electrical systems are also being placed above the first level. This would allow floodwaters to pass underneath the home, minimizing damage.

According to the developer, these improvements have received positive feedback from local residents.

They themselves went through the horrors of Hurricane Sandy and the houses being destroyed, and these lots have sat empty since that time, recalled Perry. Whenever you can improve a community by building new housing and beautifying the neighborhood I think thats a good thing, and I think most people recognize that.

With the support of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the firm is in the midst of converting 15 vacant lots in the Midland Beach and South Beach neighborhoods into 23 affordable homes. Three homes are already set on foundations and nearing completion, with four more in production for early 2026 delivery. Their current factory partner is Simplex Homes, which is based in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Across the five boroughs, HPD is tackling the housing crisis head-on with urgency and creativity, said Matt Rauschenbach the HPD Press Secretary. These modular homes are a perfect example of how we can build a bit more housing in every neighborhood as we work towards a New York where everyone has a safe, affordable home.

The project is using revolutionary modular construction to create affordable, storm-resilient housing that arrives 70% complete and causes minimal disruption to neighborhoods. Courtesy of Tamia Perry and Urban EcoSpaces Inc.

The goal is to have all the projects completed by the end of 2026, but Perry expects availability to start well before total completion.

The expansive project is partly financed and overseen by the city under its affordable housing program, meaning that once completed, the units, which are still vacant, will be available only through NYC Housing Connect lottery.

Although small right now, this project has a broad impact. Perry hopes that these constructions encourage other builders to adopt modular techniques to help address the citys growing housing crisis.

This is just such a faster way to build and a less intrusive way to build. Its hopeful that more builders and more developers will begin to consider this as a potential option for them when theyre trying to bring things to market more quickly, stated Perry. Itll just benefit New Yorkers more because we have people who need housing today. Not in three years.
Former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani participates in a ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the 9-11 terror attacks in New York, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. President Donald Trump has pardoned Giuliani related to the efforts to overturn the 2020 election. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, file)

President Donald Trump has pardoned his former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, his onetime chief of staff Mark Meadows and others accused of backing the Republicans efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The full, complete, and unconditional pardon applies only to federal crimes, and none of the dozens of Trump allies named in the proclamation were ever charged federally over the bid to subvert the election won by Democrat Joe Biden. It doesnt impact state charges, though state prosecutions stemming from the 2020 election have hit a dead end or are just limping along.

The move, however, underscores Trumps continued efforts to promote the idea that the 2020 election was stolen from him even though courts around the country and U.S. officials found no evidence of fraud that could have affected the outcome. It follows the sweeping pardons of the hundreds of Trump supporters charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, including those convicted of attacking law enforcement.

President Donald Trump talks with reporters upon his arrival at the White House in Washington, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Among those also pardoned were Sidney Powell, an attorney who promoted baseless conspiracy theories about a stolen election, John Eastman, another lawyer who pushed a plan to keep Trump in power, and Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official who championed Trumps efforts to challenge his election loss. Also named were Republicans who acted as fake electors for Trump and were charged in state cases accusing them of submitting false certificates that confirmed they were legitimate electors despite Bidens victory in those states.

The proclamation, posted online late Sunday by pardon attorney Ed Martin, explicitly says the pardon does not apply to the president himself.

The pardon described efforts to prosecute the Trump allies as a grave national injustice perpetrated on the American people and said the pardons were designed to continue the process of national reconciliation. Giuliani and others have denied any wrongdoing, arguing they were simply challenging an election they believed was tainted by fraud.

These great Americans were persecuted and put through hell by the Biden Administration for challenging an election, which is the cornerstone of democracy, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an emailed statement.

Those pardoned were not prosecuted by the Biden administration, however. They were charged only by state prosecutors who operate separately from the Justice Department.

Trump himself was indicted on federal felony charges accusing him of working overturn his 2020 election defeat, but the case brought by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith was abandoned in November after Trumps victory over Democrat Kamala Harris because of the departments policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. Giuliani, Powell, Eastman and Clark were alleged co-conspirators in the federal case brought against Trump but were never charged with federal crimes.

Giuliani, Meadows and others named in the proclamation had been charged by prosecutors in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin over the 2020 election, but the cases have repeatedly hit roadblocks or have been dismissed. A judge in September dismissed the Michigan case against 15 Republicans accused of attempting to falsely certify Trump as the winner of the election in that battleground state.

Giuliani, a former New York City mayor, was one of the most vocal supporters of Trumps unsubstantiated claims of large-scale voter fraud after the 2020 election. He has since been disbarred in Washington, D.C., and New York over his advocacy of Trumps bogus election claims and lost a $148 million defamation case brought by two former Georgia election workers whose lives were upended by conspiracy theories he pushed.

Eastman, a former dean of Chapman University Law School in Southern California, was a close adviser to Trump in the wake of the 2020 election and wrote a memo laying out steps Vice President Mike Pence could take to stop the counting of electoral votes while presiding over Congress joint session on Jan. 6 to keep Trump in office.

Clark, who is now overseeing a federal regulatory office, also is facing possible disbarment in Washington over his advocacy of Trumps claims. Clark clashed with Justice Department superiors over letter he drafted after the 2020 election that said the department was investigating various irregularities and had identified significant concerns that may have impacted the election in Georgia and other states. Clark wanted the letter sent to Georgia lawmakers, but top Justice Department officials refused.

Clark said in a social media post on Monday that he did nothing wrong and shouldnt have had to battle this witch hunt for 4+ years.
The Invest in China Special Event Presenting Pilot Free Trade Zones was held on Nov. 6, 2025 during the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east Chinas Shanghai, highlighting Chinas commitment to high-level opening-up and institutional innovation.

Sheng Qiuping, Vice Minister of Commerce of China, noted via video that since the establishment of Chinas first pilot free trade zone (FTZ) in Shanghai in 2013, the number has expanded to 22, covering both coastal and inland regions. He emphasized that the western and border FTZs, including Chongqing, Sichuan, Shaanxi, Guangxi, Yunnan, Heilongjiang, and Xinjiang, are playing a key role in advancing reform and regional development.

Dr. Anastasia Nesvetailova, the Director of the Macroeconomic and Development Policies Branch of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said Chinas FTZ model demonstrates strong adaptability and innovation, offering useful experience for developing countries in pursuing resilient growth. Shenhong Yao, Director of the Division of Strategic Planning and South-South Cooperation of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), highlighted that FTZs now contribute about 12 percent of Chinas GDP and 20 percent of its trade volume, serving as a powerful engine for high-quality development.

Representatives from seven pilot free trade zonesChongqing, Sichuan, Shanxi, Yunnan, Heilongjiang, Xinjiang, and Hainanshared their experiences at the forum. They highlighted achievements in institutional innovation, such as optimizing customs clearance and business registration processes, and in high-standard opening-up, including attracting foreign investment, creating a more efficient, internationalized business environment, and promoting cross-border trade.

Participants agreed that Chinas FTZs, through continuous policy innovation and regional cooperation, are creating new opportunities for global investors and contributing to an open, resilient, and sustainable global economy.

Photo taken on Nov. 6, 2025 shows the Invest in China Special Event Presenting Pilot Free Trade Zones held during the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east Chinas Shanghai. (Photo provided to Guangming Online)

Photo taken on Nov. 6, 2025 shows the Invest in China Special Event Presenting Pilot Free Trade Zones held during the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east Chinas Shanghai. (Photo provided to Guangming Online)

Editor: WXY
Fans may be sad that original host Gretel Killeen is busy with The Traitors, but Tracina steamed ahead despite difficult circumstances. The episode, recorded the night before as is standard with previous premieres, had to pause for two hours due to lightning risks, with much of the crowd evidently dissipating in the time between. It wont be the only surprise Big Brother throws at Tracina.

Its early days, but the show has been refreshingly raw, with contestants eschewing rehearsed entrance lines, visibly nervous and shaken by the experience. As you would be, locked in a house with 11 strangers with conflicting beliefs and life experiences. With the premiere filmed on Saturday, we got to whizz through their first night, where connections formed fast  as did storm clouds, or what seemed to be slight friction between several housemates.

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When Michael entered, for example, he didnt introduce himself to Abiola, a 24-year-old loud, fat, Black lesbian. It could have been nerves, but the small moment stuck out. Abiola is one of two people of colour cast on Big Brother, alongside Mia, 23, a Sri Lankan woman whose slightly shrill excitement immediately seemed to put her on the outs with her housemates.

However, the cast features more men with moustaches and people with names beginning with C than it does non-white housemates. Its not at all representative of Australia  an odd, disappointing choice given how, as naff as it seems to say, reality-TV shows can really allow audiences to understand different perspectives. The imbalance could also easily create an uncomfortable tension. (A spoiler from last nights live-stream: Abiola and Mia are voted two of the houses most annoying contestants in a challenge.)
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Dont miss Matthew Macfadyen in the historical assassination drama Death by Lightning, the battle of wits in The Iris Affair, an updated The Wedding Banquet and 30 Rock star Tracey Morgans new comedy. Death by Lightning  (Netflix) Its no accident this 19th century historical drama, which maps the intersecting paths of Americas 20th president, James Garfield (Michael Shannon), and his assassin, Charles Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen), is full of contemporary references. There is an 1880 misinformation campaign, rankcorruption and a vice-presidential candidate who drunkenly demands, Music! Fighting! Sausages! on a night out. The current shortcomings of power in the United States are nothing new, this limited series suggests, but nor are they unstoppable. Matthew Macfadyen as Charles Guiteau in Death by Lightning. What makes the timeliness resonate is the sly humour and sharp depictions. At just four episodes, as if Netflix were scared audiences would drift off, Death by Lightning smashes together the great-man-in-history portrait with a dreadfully-dodgy-man-in-history depiction. Garfield, a Civil War hero, is a retired congressman who goes to the Republican convention to nominate a colleague and gives such a stirring speech that he becomes the partys presidential candidate. Guiteau is a felon, lickspittle lackey and perennial incompetent. Loading The casting is chefs kiss, with creator Mike Makowsky (Bad Education) and director Matt Ross (Captain Fantastic) leaning right into Macfadyens previous role as Succession striver Tom Wambsgans. When Guiteau tries to ingratiate himself with his sisters wealthy husband, his unctuousness is comically cringeworthy. Shannon, by contrast, is august and dedicated, but the actor, so often a memorable villain, carries a horrified weight. His Garfield is haunted by the possibility of frittering away his unexpected opportunity to effectively wield power.

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The tone moves between ornate public declarations and contemporary conversations in private. Many fine character actors, including Bradley Whitford, Nick Offerman, and Shea Whigham, overcome large beards with pithy commentary, while Betty Gilpin is given a measure of genuine influence as Garfields straight-talking wife, Lucretia. Michael Shannon as James Garfield, Nick Offerman as Chester A. Arthur, Bradley Whitford as James Blaine in Death by Lightning. Loading Theres just enough era-specific detail in the storytelling, adapted from Candice Millards 2011 book Destiny of the Republic, to ground the plots broad strokes. CNNs election coverage has nothing on the breathless delivery of telegrams, while the jibe about raffling off cabinet posts to the 1 per cent helps too. That the increasingly delusional Guiteau is inspired by Garfields hardscrabble beginnings and surprise nomination, only to become aggrieved when his enthusiasm isnt rewarded with a government position, is a telling 21st century correlation. An assassin is the ultimate attention-seeker, and theres a final failure for Guiteau in that his name has none of the infamy attributed to Lee Harvey Oswald and John Wilkes Booth. The spectre of failure, no matter whos trying, lurks at every turn in Death by Lightning. What remains is the outsiders American conundrum: should you laugh or should you cry?

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The Iris Affair - Niamh Algar and Tom Hollander. The Iris Affair (Stan) Luther creator Neil Cross goes big  extra, extra big  with this European thriller. The elements include a deadly battle of wits between an enigmatic genius and a ruthless entrepreneur, respectively Iris Newton (Niamh Algar) and Cameron Beck (Tom Hollander), the hunt for the key that unlocks a sentient quantum computer known as Charlie Big Potatoes, corrupt police, countless double-crosses, and mathematical philosophising. It gets convoluted at times, but it absolutely never slows down. Loading I cheered when, in one of many flashbacks, Cameron first took Iris to inspect Charlie, which had been turned off by its regretful creator, Jensen Lind (Kristofer Hivju): the moguls secret base looked like a villains lair from a 1960s Bond movie. Jensens encrypted diary holds the key to restarting the all-powerful AI, but once Iris realises what Charlie is capable of, she steals the diary and absconds, only to be discovered in the present day. Hollander moves between fickle and furious with his usual ease, but its Algar who gets to flourish. Whether swanning around sunny Sardinia in a chic white suit, saying big brain lines such as, Infinity minus one is still infinity, or bedding and abandoning local hunks, the Irish actress gets to play the coolly collected anti-hero who values no one but nonetheless wants to save the world. Shes the ideal protagonist for this outlandish adventure. Tracy Morgan as Francois Frank Crutchfield in Crutch.

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Crutch  (Paramount+) Stand-up comedian-turned-comic actor Tracy Morgan memorably sent himself up as 30 Rocks celebrity chaos agent Tracy Jordan, but on this amusing, multigenerational sitcom he plays the irascible straight man. Morgan is Francois Crutch Crutchfield, the widowed co-owner of a Harlem flooring company, whose quiet brownstone home gets crowded when his adult children and grandchildren return home for various reasons. This multicamera comedy feels familiar  Crutch even has an opinionated neighbour, Miss Pearl (Luenell), who supplies pesky commentary  but it emphasises a modern take on community and family. Lily Gladstone (left) and Kelly Marie Tran in The Wedding Banquet. The Wedding Banquet  (Netflix) When youre remaking a film as good as Ang Lees 1993 romantic comedy, where an arranged wedding helped a gay immigrant hide from his conservative Taiwanese family, the best you can hope for is a timely update that has its own tenor. Transposed from New York City to Seattle, Andrew Ahns film mostly achieves those benchmarks. Starring Lily Gladstone (Under the Bridge), Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live) and Kelly Marie Tran (The Last Jedi), it leans into the solidarity of love and companionship. The farce is fleeting, but 21st century family is forever. Kaitlin Olson as Morgan in High Potential.

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These climate change conferences theoretically have the serious and noble intent of saving the planet, but high-minded ideals have been swamped by a crass commercialism that exists simply to drum up investment. They have been turned into trade shows and public relations opportunities.

The Albanese government wants to stage COP31 in Adelaide, but Turkeys entry as a candidate has put increasing pressure on the leaders segment of COP30, which starts this week in the Brazilian city of Belem, to settle on a host.

The COP26 in Glasgow in 2021 is a case in point. Meant to be a serious gathering of world leaders and their negotiators, it was as though hijacked by a grotesque mix of rent seekers, hangers-on and political wannabes.

The vast majority of the 30,000 attendees did not need to be there. And some who did attend displayed a remarkably tin ear for climate change, with some 400 choosing to arrive by private jet. Then Prince Charles, a longstanding campaigner for the environment, was one of them, flying in from Rome, with Buckingham Palace assuring the media that he flew on a private jet using sustainable aviation fuel.

Australia began campaigning to host the COP after the Albanese government won office. The bid has been seen as a mechanism to increase Australias impact on climate diplomacy and strengthen ties with Pacific neighbours threatened by climate change and courted by China. The conference also allows Labor to display its climate change credentials as the Coalition continues to bicker on the issue.

Meanwhile, The Australian Financial Review reported that hosting the COP would cost $1 billion, citing government sources, and cabinet is known to be divided on the potential benefits and costs.

Belem is the 30th conference under the UN framework convention on climate change since it was signed at the Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and will focus on the developing world over the next two weeks. Even if delegates manage to sort out the impasse between Australia and Turkey, it will probably be too late.
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Review Eating outNorth Melbourne This gloriously unique wine bar is the kind of casual excellence Melbourne does so well If Mauritian restaurant Manze feels like North Melbournes best dinner party, opposing wine bar Boire feels like its kitchen table and front porch. Besha Rodell November 11, 2025 Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Melbourne has been lucky when it comes to new bars this year. Heres whats opened over winter and spring, ready for all the summer fun you can throw at them. See all stories .

1 / 8 Inside Boire, the offshoot of hatted Mauritian restaurant Manze. Jason South 2 / 8 Asparagus with green almonds and yoghurt. Jason South 3 / 8 Quail lacquered with fermented pineapple and smoked chilli. Jason South 4 / 8 Manzes signature taro fritters. Jason South 5 / 8 Eggplant dish. Jason South 6 / 8 Theres always a raw fish dish on the menu. Jason South 7 / 8 Snack plates at Boire. Jason South 8 / 8 In the kitchen at Boire. Jason South Previous Slide Next Slide 14 / 20 How we score Mauritian$$$$ I have a new favourite word, gifted by the chefs who run the restaurant Masala y Maiz in Mexico City. Mestizaje is the term they use to describe their food, which incorporates influence from Indian, Mexican and East African cuisines; it encompasses the mixing of migrant tastes and traditions, creating new foodways that exist in more than one cultural context. If we might borrow the word, mestizaje is the most exciting thing happening in Australias rapidly evolving culinary identity. And no restaurant better embodies the term than Manze, the four-year-old room in North Melbourne where chef Nagesh Seethiah serves the food of Mauritius. Related Article Good Food hat 15.5 / 20 Review This add-on is like the designer dress you stumble upon in an op shop: an absolute steal

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Mauritius itself is a fine example of mestizaje  the small island nations population is descended from India, Africa, China and Europe, and its food is a reflection of that diversity. Seethiah takes that food and deftly puts it in a Melbourne context, making it snacky, wine-friendly, and adding ingredients from our own Australian pantry. Snack plates at Boire. Jason South Apart from being gloriously unique  and I dont use that word lightly  Manze has become both a draw to North Melbourne and a centre of community for the neighbourhood. As such, its hard to view Boire, the new wine bar Seethiah and co-owner Osman Faruqi opened directly across the street in August, as anything other than an extension of Manze. (Boire means drink in Mauritian; Manze means eat). When it opened, Seethiah envisioned Manze as a wine bar, somewhere you might stop in for a glass and a few bites, but demand and logistics necessitated a more bookings-driven, organised approach. Boire is that original idea come to life, a classic narrow shopfront that feels lived-in and decidedly Manze-ish, with one large communal table, stools on the footpath, a pared-back food preparation area that barely even qualifies as a kitchen, and walls lined with wine. There are a few cocktails  including an excellent martini  a few things to eat, and rather than providing a by-the-bottle wine list, youre encouraged to browse the shelves and fridge, where you might have to dig around to see whats on offer. Alternatively, you can ask Seethiah what hes got  he loves wine, is happy to talk about it, and the setup is built for engagement: what do you like, what do you want to spend? Weve got just the thing.

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Theres always a raw fish dish on the menu. Jason South Its possible to cobble together a full meal for two people here, but only by ordering the entire menu. Its much more geared towards snacking: olives with turmeric and the pert sting of garlic; the beloved taro fritters from across the street sitting in a pool of zingy hot sauce. Theres always some sort of raw fish situation. Recently, its been a sweet, fleshy Tasmania trumpeter, its light pink flesh brightened by sauce lail  a snappy Mauritian garlic sauce  and kumquat. Seethiah is making beautiful use of this seasons asparagus, pairing them with house-made yoghurt and slivers of green almond. Quail is given a glossy lacquer of fermented pineapple underpinned by smoked chilli, its sticky glazed surface giving way to rosy tender meat. Related Article Exclusive First look: Hatted North Melbourne restaurant opens a casual bar for pop-in visits

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During lunch hours, the options are simple: chicken sandwich or egg sandwich. You can add raw oysters, if you want, or those taro fritters, but the main event is a round, crackly, soft in the centre roll, with charcoal chicken and pickled red onion, or egg salad, pickled beetroot, and green chilli mayo. If Manze feels like North Melbournes best dinner party, Boire feels like its kitchen table and front porch. Id want to hang out here just for the sunlight streaming in through antique windows, the connection to the street outside, and the company. That there are fun and delicious things to eat and drink feels like a bonus. Its a wonderful expression of community, of the casual excellence of Melbourne dining, and yes, of the particular magic of mestizaje. The low-down Atmosphere: Cafe meets wine bar meets your stylish friends sunny kitchen Go-to dishes: Egg salad sandwich ($17); taro fritters ($4.50 each); quail with fermented pineapple and smoked chilli ($20) Drinks: Fresh and refreshing cocktails, broadly eclectic by-the-glass wines, bottle collection thats wide-ranging and natural-leaning Cost: Light snacks for as little as $20 per person  a full meal for two for around $100 before drinks is completely possible Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant cant pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.

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Loading Reassuring as they are, the numbers may not be as accurate as he, or any of us, realise. New research suggests that those who do vigorous activity may be getting more bang for buck than their tracker detects. Why? The physical activity guidelines suggest that the dose required for good health is at least 75 minutes a week of vigorous activity or twice that (about 150 minutes) for moderate intensity exercise. This represents a ratio of 1:2, which is what the health metrics of fitness trackers are based on.

The origins of the recommendation are surveys done in the 1990s where respondents reported what activities they did and researchers assigned Metabolic Equivalents of a Task (MET) values. The activities they perceived to be moderate had an average MET value of about 3.5 METs and the ones they perceived to be vigorous had an average MET value of 7.5, explains Wendy Brown, a professor Emerita at the University of Queensland and research professor at Bond University. So we counted every minute of what people reported as vigorous activity as double minutes ... in health promotion we liked to keep things simple! Though Brown, who was involved in developing the Australian physical activity guidelines, explains they did not suggest that the benefits of vigorous versus moderate activity were necessarily in the same ratio, it became the basis for standards used in public health, industry and science. Self-reporting, however, is inherently imprecise and recent research using accelerometers seemed to suggest that the 1:2 ratio was inaccurate.

For a new study, published in Nature Communications, researchers wanted to answer the question: Instead of a guesstimate, what was the true physical activity intensity equivalence? For every minute of vigorous activity, how much moderate activity do we need for the same health benefits? The team, from the University of Sydney, looked at the accelerometer data of 73,485 adults, aged 40 to 79 years, and followed up with their health outcomes eight years later. Locky Warners workout may be more beneficial than his exercise tracker is giving him credit for. Credit: Ben Searcy Photography They found the implied health ratio of 1:2, which is then used to calculate a score in the devices used by Warner and hundreds of millions of others around the world, couldnt be further from the truth. One-minute of vigorous intensity physical activity was equivalent to about 4-to-9 minutes of moderate intensity and 53-to-156 minutes of light intensity for all-cause mortality and cardiometabolic outcomes (heart attacks and strokes, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease mortality).

These findings indicate a substantial departure from self-reported estimates and support integrating device-based equivalence into guidelines and wearables, the authors wrote. They also demonstrate how potent and time-efficient vigorous activity is, says lead author Emmanuel Stamatakis, a professor of Physical Activity, Lifestyle, and Population Health at the School of Health. What a good investment of time it is for people to push it a little in their exercise session Emmanuel Stamatakis, lead author and professor at University of Sydney What a good investment of time it is for people to push it a little in their exercise session, or incidentally, adds Stamatakis, also the director of the Mackenzie Wearables Research Hub. I have no doubt that vigorous exercise has greater benefits than moderate intensity activity  this is especially true for anything related to the heart and circulation, says Brown. There are however some drawbacks to vigorous exercise (for example, injury) so we do have to be careful with health promotion messages on this topic.

Though Stamatakis hopes that the Physical Activity Guidelines will be updated eventually to reflect the latest evidence, he acknowledges it is a complicated and lengthy process (Updates happen approximately every 10 years). Loading It is much easier for the technology industry to revise their standards to reward people more accurately for their effort: Its quite straightforward for consumer wearables to update their algorithms to incorporate latest knowledge. By applying the knowledge, there is a unique opportunity to improve peoples health, he says. Consumer wearable devices that provide activity feedback may facilitate behaviour change, and understanding how accumulation across different activity intensities can be used to tailor treatment.
About 1500 apartments in blocks up to 39 storeys would be built around a new town square on Sydneys northern beaches, under a proposed revamp of the Warringah Mall shopping centre site.

Retail giant Scentre Group, which owns and manages the Westfield complex, submitted a 20-year plan to develop eight mixed-use buildings alongside the 1960s shopping centre in Brookvale.

Northern Beaches Council earmarked the site as a future Brookvale town centre with hundreds of new apartments. Credit: Northern Beaches Council

Northern Beaches Council in 2023 adopted plans to guide the development of a future Brookvale town centre, enabling at least 1350 units near the B-line bus stop on Pittwater Road.

The council, in a letter to the states planning authorities earlier this year, noted Brookvale was the highest-priority strategic centre in the northern beaches for housing and employment growth.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size While I dont disagree with Sean Kelly that Anthony Albanese is being too cautious, I think many of us understand why, with Gough Whitlam being a case in point (Show us what you really believe, Albanese: This lesson in politics stretches 50 years, November 10). Besides the argument that governing from the centre is the way of getting and holding government in the 21st century (the exception being a certain US election), Albos brave political stand was smashed by mis- and disinformation when the Voice to Parliament referendum was voted down for all the wrong reasons. Of course, being politically battered and bruised is what our pollies sign up for, so Albo must move on from this and be more visionary, creative and daring in the near future to medium future. And just six months on from an election with a sizeable majority and a none-too-credible opposition opens up opportunities. Albo, weve got your back on this, so take a punt on something brave and leave a legacy. Paul Bugeja, Varsity Lakes Prime Minister Gough Whitlam was given a letter of dismissal by Governor-General John Kerr in 1975. Credit: Nine On November 11, 1975, I was returning to my office and turned on the car radio to listen to the ABCs parliamentary broadcast (A huge mistake that changed history: Whitlam failed to tell the right people hed been sacked, November 10). The first words I heard were Speaker Gordon Scholes, saying: I call the member for Werriwa. He was calling Gough Whitlam. I knew instantly what that must have meant. I knew with shock and total clarity that the Whitlam government must have been dismissed; otherwise the call would have been I call the Right Honourable the Prime Minister. Labor, with its program of exciting and enduring reforms, had ended 23 years of Coalition torpor in 1972. Millions of Australians had their hopes dashed. The trauma of that day still lives with me. It was a day which, to steal from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, should live in infamy. I didnt make it back to the office. I went home in a daze. Alan Phillips, Mosman With the 50th anniversary of the sacking of the economically incompetent Whitlam government, out of the cupboard will come the groupies, still outraged that their hero was dethroned firstly by the umpire, Sir John Kerr, and secondly pummelled by the voters in the 1975 election. The subsequent belittling and ostracising of Kerr just for making a decision Labor did not like shows their true mettle. A new song could be: Its time to move on. Ian Morison, Forrest (ACT) Credit: Cathy Wilcox

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Net zero no-brainer Liberal senators Andrew Bragg and Jane Hume rightly highlight the significance of the net zero climate target (Bragg will quit frontbench if Coalition walks away from net zero, Paris Agreement, November 10). The Liberal Party has lost 35 metropolitan seats over the past two elections, largely due to inaction on climate change. And, more importantly, the Coalitions inertia has cost Australia both in rising climate pollution and in missed economic opportunities tied to the shift toward clean energy and industry. By rejecting a net zero climate pollution target, the National Party has shown it doesnt care about climate disasters and Australias economic future. Will Sussan Leys Liberal Party follow them into political oblivion? Karen Lamb, Geelong (Vic) Liberal Senator Jane Hume comments that everybody wants to reduce emissions. Well said. Aside from fossil fuel corporations, who wants to keep damaging our atmosphere and air with coal, oil and gas pollution? Sadly, it seems the National Party, who supposedly represent the regional Australians bearing the brunt of climate disasters, have chosen to sit with the fossil fuel companies that cause 75 per cent of climate change. This is shameful. And, as the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference begins in Brazil, it is extraordinary that the Liberal Party is still debating whether to continue any commitment to pursuing net zero climate pollution. Australians deserve leadership that prioritises their future over fossil fuel interests. Net zero isnt a debate  its a deadline. Amy Hiller, Kew (Vic) Leading moderate Andrew Bragg insists the Coalition retain a net zero commitment in some form. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Slow but steady Nick OMalley asks why are we still facing increasing climate disasters year after year when this year for the first time renewables have provided more energy than coal (If this is the worlds most hopeful chart, then why are we staring at catastrophe? November 10)? Why  when the sun which is a giant nuclear energy plant sends us free energy through sunshine, wind and tides  do we continue to accelerate climate change by adding more CO2 to the atmosphere? Why are we winning with renewables but not winning fast enough? Why, when science has clearly told us that we have to move faster to escape the worst disasters, does the world go slow? The answer, of course, is people with entrenched interests in fossil fuels. They have been handed a giant new megaphone for disinformation by the internet and social media and now AI. We have seen how lies have been no barrier to Donald Trump taking over the US and tearing down climate action. This is a whole new world and truth is not guaranteed to prevail. But individual action can still make a difference. More houses with solar panels and batteries to flood the grid with power can help you feel better, even if the financial reward is slow in coming. Gary Barnes, Mosman

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Silly men in silly uniforms There is another way of looking at the kerfuffle over the neo-Nazi rally outside Parliament House (Racial hatred has no place anywhere in Australia, November 10). If police had refused permission, there may have been a court challenge with likely media coverage (which is what the NSN seeks) and, given that there were no public safety issues, possible court approval and precedent. If it had been ignored, these silly men could have just dressed up in their silly uniforms and stood in Macquarie Street on a Saturday afternoon with hardly anybody noticing. Yes, they would have posted footage on social media, but they do that all the time anyway. And yes, it was in front of Parliament House, but that is the site of regular protests that go almost unnoticed. Now it has been blown out of proportion, with demands for the heads of everyone from the premier down, when it could have just been ignored. We know these crackpots are antisemitic and potentially dangerous in their attempts to undermine our democratic state, but their little outing last Saturday was inconsequential. John Ure, Mount Hutton Neo-Nazis everywhere must be rejoicing at the sight of Australian fascists outside Parliament House making antisemitic speeches. Ive received emails from shocked friends around the world asking if I feel safe. Actually, I feel disgusted and embarrassed that this image of Australia has gone viral. What happened to our race hate laws? Diane Armstrong, Rose Bay The letter writers, and others, who are making a fuss about the neo-Nazi gathering outside state parliament are on exactly the wrong track. The best thing to do is to ignore these nasty people altogether. That is apparently what largely happened on the day. A small group stood around for a while, with their sign; nobody took much notice of them and then they walked away. Their pathetic little egos must have taken quite a knock. Let everyone else take the same stance  just ignore that group altogether and make them feel totally irrelevant. David Fraser, Ballina Police monitor the National Socialist Network rally outside parliament on Saturday. Credit: Flavio Brancaleone Let me get this right. A communications error by NSW Police failed to inform the NSW government of the neo-Nazi gathering (Nazis previously held end immigration rally outside NSW parliament, November 10). Cue the outrage from the community. Premiers first response: NSW Police need more powers despite failing to use the ones they have? Sounds like a scripted response. Police stuff-up equals greater police powers. Gary Todd, Burradoo Perhaps allowing the rally outside Parliament House was a very clever move by the police. They now have photos of faces and will be able to identify all participants. The internet has done the rest, so employers and other groups will be aware of identities. Know thine enemy. Del Heuke, Forster

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We have seen two years of Hezbollah and Hamas flags and chants on our streets, and now neo-Nazis openly rally? Free speech is important, but what will it take for the police to break up these protests by radicalised and intolerant groups of the far left and the far right who seek to destroy everything we hold dear? Anthony Nassif, Caringbah Nauru deal amiss The alleged corruption that was part of the Nauruan detention deals between 2019 and 2021 should be fully investigated (Official calls out alleged Nauru rort, November 10). Like anything that smells bad, it seems the initial reaction from those who could investigate is that there is nothing to see here. What do you have to say about the allegations, home affairs minister? The standard a government walks past is the standard a government accepts. John Kingsmill, Fairlight High standards The Howard governments privatisation of Standards Australia was but one of its many ideologically driven mistakes (Steep cost of Australias safety standards revealed, November 10). If organisations or individuals are expected to adhere to regulations, those regulations should be available free of charge. Fund that arrangement by enforcement and fines where regulations are ignored. Mike Salon, Darlinghurst I strongly agree with the report that the exorbitant cost of Australian standards documents is impacting on our productivity. It also unfairly penalises small businesses. Another galling point is that many volunteers and companies have freely given their time and expertise to prepare these standards, while private distribution companies take the rewards. Graeme Pattison, Lilyfield

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Dubious role model George Brandis says that Liberal hope Andrew Hastie seems to be channelling everyone from Enoch Powell through to Vladimir Putin but warns him about embracing the ideas of Donald Trump and Nigel Farage (This man wants to lead the Liberal Party. He wont if he keeps savaging the liberal bit, November 10). Instead, Brandis suggests that Hastie should be emulating philosopher and politician Edmund Burke, the founder of conservatism. Burke was a devout monarchist who did not believe in universal suffrage and advocated for representation dependent upon property ownership and social standing. At the time, he was castigated by Mary Wollstonecraft for his defence of a system of inherited privilege obtained due to either class or gender. Mr Brandis would have been wiser to have suggested a recent erudite humanist upon which Hastie could model himself. Peter Nash, Fairlight West Australian MP Andrew Hastie said it was too unsafe for Australian troops to help secure the peace in Gaza. Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald Its equity, not envy Rob Fraser, criticising the private school system is not the politics of envy, it is asking for fairness and equity in education for all children in order to give them all the same chances in life (Letters, November 10). If you want a Bentley, then you pay for it. The same should be said of education. If you want a school with bigger and better facilities, more teaching staff and a lot fewer troubled and troublesome children, then you are welcome to pay for it. But why should those who earn less and have few to no tax breaks contribute to a system that their children will never be able to be included in, while the public system remains chronically underfunded and under-resourced? Why should a large group of children be disadvantaged educationally due to postcode and parental income? It is not giving all children a fair go. Vivienne Freeman, Freshwater I am not envious of private schools, as claimed by your correspondent. I agree we dont need to tear down the private school system, but we taxpayers simply need to stop paying for private schools. They can happily exist side by side with public schools. But can you imagine how much the public schools would improve given the billions of extra dollars they would receive? Private paid for privately. Public paid by public. Problem solved. Janine Burdeu, Mona Vale

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Editor: Xiong Jian

SHANGHAI, Nov. 5 (Guangming Online) At the 8th Hongqiao International Economic Forum (HQF), Dennis Hong, Founding director of Robotics & Mechanics Laboratory (RoMela), University of California, Los Angeles, praised the forum as fantastic, noting it covered important, timely topics with well-known expert panelists. He expressed astonishment at Chinas humanoid robotics progress and emphasized China is currently the only viable country to purchase actual working humanoid robot products. Unlike U.S. firms like Tesla, Figure and Boston Dynamicsdriven by venture capitalhe highlighted the Chinese government plays an extremely important and positive role in the sector. He added that he witnesses remarkable developmental progress in China every year and is excited to return next year to see further advancements in its humanoid robotics industry.
A four-page letter addressed to NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon outlining plans for an anti-Jewish rally outside parliament was signed by an avowed racist and neo-Nazi, according to a copy of the Form 1 application seen by the Herald.

The history of public antisemitism and racism by 28-year-old Jack Eltis  the NSW leader of the National Socialist Network (NSN) who last month called to deport every last non-white from Australia  raises questions as to why the protest plans were never flagged with Lanyon or senior politicians.

The National Socialist Network rally outside NSW Parliament House on Saturday. Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

The miscommunication was on Monday afternoon amplified by revelations Deputy Commissioner Peter Thurtell was aware of the protest plans but did not relay the information to the commissioner.

Thurtell on Monday night told the Herald he had been made aware of plans for the NSN to hold its protest five days before the event, but had not relayed the briefing because he had not received any information that suggested that any aspect of the demonstration would be illegal.
Want more detail? Under Part 4 of the Summary Offences Act 1988 (NSW), the Form 1 process requires protest organisers to provide written notice to the police commissioner of their intention to hold a public assembly. And the police commissioner is meant to ensure that the protest wont break the law.

Youll remember the Minns government furiously rushed through laws to stop hate speech. Bit of a dogs breakfast. Even me, a self-identified nowist, wanting everything to happen this minute, knows good laws take time. But what we have is this: a law that seems to be confusing to everyone in government and everyone in the police department.

NSW Premier Chris Minns and Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon speak to the media about the rally on Saturday. Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

So let me give it straight to you from the NSW governments own Communities and Justice Department, just so we are all on the same webpage: In NSW, it is now a crime to intentionally incite hatred against people because of their race. Race includes things like colour, nationality, ethnicity, descent, or ethno-religious background.

For rallies like this to be banned, the police need to be convinced it would incite racial hatred. There has to be a belief that the public act would cause a reasonable person who was the target of the incitement of hatred, or a reasonable person who was a member of a group of persons that was the target of the incitement of hatred, to fear harassment, intimidation or violence, or fear for the reasonable persons safety.
Walking through the halls of this inner-city vertical school, youd be hard-pressed to find a hallway, room, or quiet study spot that is not dominated by one thing: geese.

The Queensland Academy Creative Industries Campus (QACI)  pronounced quacky, like the sound of a duck  has produced a gaggle of successful creatives in the 18 years since it opened its doors, including a K-pop star and several alumni now working in Hollywood.

But if it quacks like a duck, why is the campus covered in geese?

Year 10 Queensland Academy of Creative Industries (QACI) theatre students Flo Penny (left), Lixi Caldwell (centre left), and Hedid Setterlund (right) discuss their theatre projects with Principal Shannon Carter (centre right). Credit: Catherine Strohfeldt

Students at the seven-story selective-entry public high school eat lunch at The Blue Goose tuckshop, walk past hallways adorned with goose-headed portraits and avian decals, and tote bird-branded merchandise.
The video-sharing platform encourages users to download their account information to their personal devices, and says, if they dont delete their account, they will be able to re-access it when they turn 16. YouTubes disappointing update On December 3, YouTube confirmed it will comply with the federal governments teen social media ban, and will boot all Australian users under 16 out of signed-in accounts from December 10. The video giant said under16s will be automatically signed out and barred from logging in next week, meaning no subscriptions, likes, playlists or default wellbeing tools such as Take a Break and bedtime reminders.

This is a disappointing update to share, YouTubes senior manager of public policy for Australia and New Zealand Rachel Lord wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. Loading As we have consistently said, this rushed regulation misunderstands our platform and the way young Australians use it. Most importantly, this law will not fulfil its promise to make kids safer online, and will, in fact, make Australian kids less safe on YouTube. Weve heard from parents and educators who share these concerns. Even as the ban comes into effect next week, we will continue to work with the Australian government to advocate for effective, evidence-based regulation that actually protects kids and teens, respects parental choice, and avoids unintended consequences. As December 10 inches closer, the tech giants begrudgingly in charge of enforcing it have been drip-feeding the masses logistical information  though a lot remains unknown, and many teens believe theyll be able to circumvent it.

Cloak-and-dagger is not an uncommon modus operandi for social media providers, and, although eSafety has emphasised the need for transparency, the year since the world-first Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024s passing has been no different. What will life actually look like for under-16s when they wake up on December 10? How will age verification actually work? Platforms are expected to take reasonable steps to prevent those under 16 in Australia from having accounts. Exactly what those reasonable steps are, however, have not been explicitly defined by eSafety. At minimum, they must implement age assurance technology, but the independent regulators guidelines do not require a specific type or method. This is in line with the Age Assurance Technology Trials final report. Published in August, it also did not endorse specific methods or technologies.

There is specific guidance on what not to do. Platforms, for example, must not rely solely on users declaring their age or date of birth, a common practice on alcohol brand websites. Loading While the most accurate way of age assurance is verification with government identification documents, such as passports or a drivers licence, eSafety says platforms must not rely solely on that method, and reasonable alternative means for age assurance must be offered to users. This is because there are, of course, concerns among users about the security of their private information, and where it will be stored. OK, but what age verification methods will each social media platform be using? Snapchat  which uses every chance it can to convey its strong disagreement with its classification as an age-restricted platform  started sending the at least 435,000 users it identified as under-16 in-app, email and SMS notifications from November 22.

These notifications included details about how they will be impacted by the social media ban, and information about age verification methods. Those the platform believes to be under-16 (due to declared age or Snapchats inferred age modelling signals) are expected to verify their age through third-party providers ConnectID (secure verification through an Australian bank account) or k-ID (government-issued identification document validation, and facial age estimation via selfie). ESafety recommends platforms employ a waterfall approach to age assurance, which consists of multiple methods and technologies, starting with the least complicated, least invasive option. How each platform plans to verify a users age Meta (Facebook, Instagram, Threads): Those who want to appeal an under-16 age classification will have to supply a video selfie, and if further information is required, supply a government-issued ID to third-party Yoti.

Those who want to appeal an under-16 age classification will have to supply a video selfie, and if further information is required, supply a government-issued ID to third-party Yoti. TikTok: The video-sharing platform already implements age assurance technology for its Live function, where users must supply photos of their government-issued ID and submit three selfies from different angles. TikTok will also be using Yoti for facial age estimation, and will also use a credit card authorisation as an age assurance method.

The video-sharing platform already implements age assurance technology for its Live function, where users must supply photos of their government-issued ID and submit three selfies from different angles. TikTok will also be using Yoti for facial age estimation, and will also use a credit card authorisation as an age assurance method. Snapchat: The multimedia messaging platform confirmed it will be using third-parties Connect ID and k-ID to verify age through a secure connection to an Australian bank account, scans of government-issued ID documents, or facial age estimation via selfies. Thats normally the inference method, where a users age is deduced with location data, such as an IP address, or behavioural data, such as the age of the account itself, or if the account engages with content targeted at children or early teens.

Loading In the United Kingdom, since July, Pornhub has used a combination of email-based age estimation, and credit card, mobile phone or open banking verification. Another method is age estimation facial scans, but thats not always accurate, and has a known source of bias when it comes to skin tone. Predictive technologies that work for over-18s are also known to struggle with accuracy for younger faces. For more than a decade, many organisations and companies have tried to solve the complex challenge of online age assurance, TikTok said in a statement published on December 5. Despite these efforts, and as recognised by eSafety, there is still no single method that can be used to effectively confirm a persons age in a way that also preserves their privacy.

TikTok already implements age assurance technology for users who want to livestream, as the requirement is they must be aged 18 or over. To confirm their age for that, users must supply photos of their government-issued ID, and submit selfies taken from three different angles to prove theyre a real person. The platform confirmed they will use a range of methods for age assurance from December 10, including facial age estimation provided by Yoti, credit card authorisation, and supplying government-issued identification documentation. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, pictured with Communications Minister Anika Wells (left) at a press conference in November, said platforms werent assessed based on the harms they pose to children, but whether their sole or significant purpose is social interaction, which is why Roblox, for example, isnt included despite safety concerns. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen In an email alert sent in November, Meta said it is initially adopting the least privacy intrusive measure to understand age and will then seek additional information when it has reason to doubt the information provided. Loading

Kick told this masthead in early November it intends to introduce a range of measures, which will be communicated to our community in due course. A representative for Reddit said the platform did not have anything to share at this time, and representatives for Google and X did not respond. Will my social media account be removed by exactly 12.01am on December 10? A key word in the eSafety Commissioners regulatory guidelines is from. The social media minimum age act is effective from December 10, which is when eSafety will be looking for evidence that accounts already identified as belonging to under-16s have been removed, and that age assurance methods have been implemented to prevent under-16s opening new accounts. Platforms are expected by eSafety to have been monitoring common circumvention methods  increasing declared age to over 16, changing location settings  before December 10, and accounts with that type of activity to be flagged for review.

Meta is aiming to comply by December 10, and began removing the Facebook, Instagram (at least 300,000 under-16s have been identified as users already) and Threads accounts of children aged 13 to 15 on December 4. New accounts for under-16s were also blocked from December 4. Read more about how that will work here. Some under-16s may wake up on December 10 and still be able to use age-restricted apps because their age has yet to be determined. Where is the age verification information stored? Is my personal data secure? Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected claims the policys age assurance digital ID feature would steal users information.

Loading It is certainly not the case, Albanese said on radio station Nova Sydney on November 10. This is about giving people power back to families, and this is not about government. This is about people and looking after our youngest Australians. Platforms must comply with the Privacy Act, and eSafety strongly encourages them to use non-sensitive personal information as much as possible. If sensitive personal information  such as government IDs  is required, platforms are not expected to retain it. One platform that already uses government IDs to verify accounts is LinkedIn, which does it through a third party. LinkedIn does not receive biometric data, photos, numbers, or expiry or issue dates associated with the documents. The third party says it generally only retains the personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the verification. Tinder does photo checks and verifications in-house, and says it deletes biometric data within 24 hours.

Discord, which is not an age-restricted platform under the social media ban but did roll out age assurance in Australia and the United Kingdom this year, says it deletes facial images and identification documents directly after ages are confirmed. In October, however, hackers gained access to a small number of government ID images from users who had appealed an age determination through the platforms manual review process with its trust and safety team. The main risk to the security of personal data, according to an expert from VerifyMy, is dodgy third-party providers that have not signed up to the voluntary global standards for age assurance, or scammers posing as third-party age assurers. Read the full story here. Will my account disappear completely and the content be deleted? Or will I get it back when I turn 16?

Meta has confirmed under-16s will be able to archive their existing Facebook, Instagram and Threads accounts so they can re-access them when they turn 16. Loading In November, Meta started sending out a combination of in-app messages, notifications, SMS messages and emails to users they have identified as under-16, giving them two weeks notice before their profiles are removed. These users were encouraged to download any photos, videos or posts before they lose access to their accounts. Snapchat also encourages under-16s to download their data as soon as possible and cancel paid subscriptions to services including Snapchat+ or Memories+. From December 10, their accounts will be locked for up to three years, or until the user turns 16 and chooses to reactivate their account. TikTok Australias public policy lead for content and safety, Ella Woods-Joyce, said in a hearing that the platform will give users identified as under 16 a choice.

We will deactivate, and that will give the user the ability to archive their content that they already have, but, if they prefer, they can delete their account, Woods-Joyce said on October 28. If they choose to delete their account, the account information will be deleted. Representatives for Google, Kick, Reddit, and X did not answer this mastheads questions about whether accounts will be completely deleted, or deactivated with the possibility of restoration. Generally, you can download your accounts data on each platform through account settings. What happens if I am mistakenly identified as under 16? There is the possibility that social media users above the age of 16, or those who are not Australian residents but happen to be in Australia on December 10, could get caught up in the ban.

Loading ESafety stipulates that users should have accessible options to dispute a platforms age determination, and communications from the platforms throughout the appeals process should be clear and timely, and a good practice example in its regulatory guidelines includes the option to reactivate an account after a successful appeal. Meta revealed last month that users who are incorrectly classified as underage will have to verify their identity through either a video selfie or by supplying government-issued ID to Yoti. Users who have already changed their age to above 16 in their account settings will also have to verify their age. Will I be punished if I circumvent the social media ban? No  and neither will your parents.
Commuters heading home via the Mandurah line on this warm afternoon are in for a wait, with Transperth blaming technical issues for delays.

A statement posted to the Transperth website said the issue was also causing delays on the Yanchep line.

Delays at Perth Underground Train Station on Monday afternoon.

Photos from the Perth Underground train station show crowds banked up on both levels of the busy station.

Trains will continue to run however they will not be running to the regular schedule, the Transperth statement said.

Please allow extra travelling time and be aware that delayed trains may not connect with timetabled bus and train services.
Only two months ago, two of NSW Polices most senior officers revealed to parliament that specialist units of the force have long been monitoring the activities of the National Socialist Network.

The neo-Nazi organisation, rebranded as White Australia, was on the polices radar well before the group was intercepted by officers at North Sydney train station on Australia Day last year.

NSW Premier Chris Minns and Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon speak about the rally on Saturday. Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

Deputy Commissioner Peter Thurtell told budget estimates in September these groups are of such concern to us that we have our engagement and hate crime unit and our counterterrorism command and our state intelligence group constantly monitoring the activities of these groups.

His colleague, Deputy Commissioner Dave Hudson, added: In relation to neo-Nazis ... were very much monitoring them and their affiliations with a similar group in Victoria, where they seem to be more high profile than they are here. Weve tracked them.
Will Skelton has experienced the shortest Wallabies camp of his career after being ruled out of the upcoming Tests against Ireland and France.

The towering second-rower, who injured his ankle playing for La Rochelle last Saturday, jetted into Wallabies camp in Dublin only to be ruled out by Australian medical staff, and immediately flew back to his club on the west coast of France.

Wallaby Will Skelton is out of action. Credit: Getty Images

The Wallabies are facing a stiff challenge this week in Dublin, after the team consistently struggled to break through Italys defence and maintain discipline in the 26-19 defeat.

Renowned for his exacting Monday video review sessions, coach Joe Schmidt painstakingly highlighted a long list of errors from his squad during the loss, which included 12 penalties conceded, one yellow card, 21 missed tackles and 15 turnovers.
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InspirationItaly Tourists flock to its neighbour, but most miss this beautiful town Andrew Bain November 11, 2025  5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

On any given summer day in southern Italy, the town of Matera can feel under siege from tourism. With its cave homes chipped into the bare slopes of a ravine along the Gravina River, the Basilicata town has an undeniable beauty thats resulted in visitor numbers skyrocketing over the past two decades. Its also drawn filmmakers to cast Matera in movies such as Mel Gibsons The Passion of Christ and the 2021 James Bond film, No Time to Die. View through an old cave church to the edge of Gravina. Escape the crowds in Gravina. Getty Images But as all that unfolds on a typical southern Italian summer day, Im a 30-minute drive upstream along the Gravina, in the rivers namesake town of Gravina in Puglia.

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Like Matera, Gravina in Puglia stretches along the slopes of a ravine thats punctured with caves that served as ancient dwellings. But this town where Pope Benedict XIII was born in the 17th century differs from Matera in two crucial ways: the cave homes in the oldest part of town remain largely derelict; and the day Im here, theres just a handful rather than a horde of visitors strolling its streets and the bridge that seems to hold everything together. Pastel buildings, Gravina. Getty Images Spend a few hours wandering its lanes and the ravine, and Gravina begins to feel like the raw blueprint for Matera. Look up from the Rupestre San Michele delle Grotte church, at the base of the oldest part of town, and the buildings even look a bit like Materas facades. But beyond the comparisons, Gravina has its own distinct beauty, as evidenced by its status as one of 14 Puglia towns on Italys Borghi piu belli dItalia, a list of the countrys most beautiful villages. Inside its old town, piazzas are stitched together by labyrinthine lanes. Green window shutters brighten the stone homes, and washing hangs perpetually from balconies. It looks so timelessly Italian, and yet Gravinas old town feels almost new in comparison to the traces of ancient life along the banks of the ravine.

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From the old town and its soaring cathedral, lanes filter down into the ravine with its rocky slopes bridged by the Ponte Acquedotto. The 18th century bridge, Gravinas emblematic feature, stretches 90 metres from bank to bank, and is a bridge in two parts  road above and, among the high arches below, an aqueduct. The Ponte Acquedotto in Gravina, Puglia. iStock Like Matera, this bridge has had its time in the movie spotlight. Though many of the action scenes for No Time to Die were filmed in Matera, the Ponte Acquedotto staged one of the movies most memorable stunts, when Bond leaped over its parapet as gunmen closed in from either side. Pinocchio also strolled across the bridge in Roberto Benignis 2019 remake of the childrens classic. From down by the bridge, the ravine is lined with caves and rock-cut churches, most prominently the Chiesa Rupestre Madonna della Stella. A line of columns still stands sentinel across the open entrance of the 15th century cave church, and its bell tower rises detached from the top of the ravine above. At some point centuries ago, Gravinas cave dwellers decided theyd be better off living above ground, sending them up the slopes and into homes. To build these houses, they cut out rock, creating a second series of tunnels, caves and cisterns beneath the town that were, in turn, used for storing food, wine and rainwater.

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Visitors can delve into this subterranean network on 90-minute Gravina Sotterranea tours, rummaging beneath the town and seemingly back to its origins. The clifftop bell tower of the Chiesa Rupestre Madonna della Stella cave church in Gravina. Andrew Bain Back above ground and, like Matera, Gravinas entire town often feels like a veneer, its stone facades built over the holes within and the streets blissfully empty. But as evening falls, the town is transformed, its piazzas, restaurants and bars filling with locals, and music pouring long into the night from a courtyard cafe, as though life only begins at 10pm. Its almost as if the town is still living its troglodytic ways, its residents emerging nocturnally from their burrows. I find a seat on the steps of a church and watch Gravina swirl around me. Its Matera but its more. THE DETAILS

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Related Article Italy Italys seductive south is incredible and unforgettable Getting there

Bari is the nearest major centre to Gravina. Qatar Airways flies from Sydney and Melbourne to Rome via Doha, with connections via partner airlines to Bari. Regional trains from Bari to Gravina take about 90 minutes. See qatarairways.com Tour

Gravina Sotterranea tours run twice daily, on weekends only. See www.gravinasotterranea.it Stay

Steps from the main piazza, Fondo Vito is a fully restored traditional Gravina home immediately above the oldest part of town. From $115 a night. See fondo-vito.it The writer travelled at his own expense.

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Europe Andrew Bain is a Hobart-based writer and author who has been writing about travel and adventure for more than 25 years, and is most at home in the outdoors and remote places.

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Travel newsCruises Cruise lines are launching epic trips to Antarctica from Australia and NZ Brian Johnston November 10, 2025  10:46am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Back in March we reported on increasing demand for Antarctic cruises, with visitor numbers rising and cabins often booked out a year or more in advance with expedition companies such as Aurora Expeditions, HX Expeditions, Lindblad Expeditions, Ponant, Scenic, Seabourn and Silversea. The classic cruise is made from Ushuaia at the southern tip of Argentina to the long tail of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is the frozen continents closest point to any other continent and therefore relatively accessible  even if it does involve a two-day heave across the notorious Drake Passage. Scenic Eclipse II at Ross Island in East Antarctica. Coming up in the next couple of Antarctic seasons, however, are some impressive expeditions to East Antarctica and the Ross Sea, the name given to the huge bay that indents Antarctica far below the South Pacific. Those regions are seldom visited, although boutique New Zealand company Heritage Expeditions pioneered routes there almost 40 years ago. Its next forays there depart from Invercargill on January 10, 2026, and January 6, 2027.

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Related Article Antarctica Australian cruise company launches women-only trip to Antarctica The 28-day itineraries are the shortest route to the Ross Sea and also take in New Zealands Subantarctic Islands and Australias isolated Macquarie Island. Australian company Aurora Expeditions is sailing in its newest ship Douglas Mawson between Hobart and Dunedin from December 11, 2025 with a long and frozen detour in between. The 24-day Mawsons Antarctica itinerary follows Sir Douglas Mawsons explorations during the golden age of Antarctic investigation in the early 19th century. Aurora Expeditions also has a 25-day Ross Sea Odyssey journey return from Dunedin departing January 16, 2026, as well as an aptly named Epic Antarctica journey that departs Dunedin on February 8, 2026, and arrives in Ushuaia 33 days later, allowing guests to take in both East Antarctica and the traditional Antarctic Peninsula. Ponant is going one better, connecting not only Ushuaia with Hobart via East Antarctica on a 31-day journey departing on January 16, 2026, but then continuing on to Cape Town on a 34-day expedition that also dips down to the Antarctics less-visited coastline and the very seldom visited French Sub-Antarctic Islands.

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Related Article Cruises This new cruise-ship activity is surprisingly popular And in early 2028, Ponants luxury icebreaker Le Commandant Charcot will become the first cruise ship to circumnavigate the whole continent when it sets off on its 18,000-kilometre return journey from Ushuaia, which will also call into Hobart mid-trip. The other cruise line pushing the frozen boundaries is Scenic, which has a series of journeys to East Antarctica and the Ross Sea between December 2025 and February 2026, using Hobart and New Zealand ports Bluff or Timaru as a base. Its 24-day Antarcticas Ross Sea expedition on Scenic Eclipse II return from Timaru near Christchurch, departing on January 29, 2026, will have two special guests on board: Robert Swan, the first person in history to walk to both the North and South Poles, and environmentalist and polar explorer Barney Swan, who has skied to the South Pole. For more on cruising in Antarctica, watch Getaway on 9Now.

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Antarctica Brian Johnston seemed destined to become a travel writer: he is an Irishman born in Nigeria and raised in Switzerland, who has lived in Britain and China and now calls Australia home.
Philadelphia: A federal judge has warned of an existential threat to democracy in a searing first-person essay, saying he had stepped down from the bench to speak out against US President Donald Trump.

He accused Trump of using the law for partisan purposes, targeting his adversaries while sparing his friends and donors from investigation, prosecution and possible punishment.

The judge, Mark L. Wolf, wrote in The Atlantic magazine on Sunday, US time, that Trumps actions were contrary to everything that I have stood for in my more than 50 years in the Department of Justice and on the bench.

Judge Mark L. Wolf said he had resigned not only to speak more freely about his own views, but for colleagues still on the bench. Credit: The Washington Post via Getty Images

The publication of the essay by Wolf, 78, came two days after an announcement by the Federal District Court for Massachusetts that he was leaving his post as a senior-status judge.
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 6 (Guangming Online) -- The opening ceremony and Golden Angel Award presentation of the 21st Chinese American Film Festival and Chinese American TV Festival were held in Los Angeles, USA. The documentary Ten Years Between Us, created by young Chinese director Chen Yinuo, was honored with the Golden Angel Award for the Annual Best Web Documentary.

Photo taken on Nov. 6, 2025 shows young Chinese director Chen Yinuo after winning the Golden Angel Award at the 21st Chinese American TV Festival in Los Angeles, USA. (Photo provided to Guangming Online)

The creative inspiration for Ten Years Between Us (also known as "TEN YEARS BETWEEN US") stemmed from director Chen Yinuo's personal experiences. The film documents her journey to reunite with several "au pair sisters" who lived with her family during her childhood, showcasing a decade-spanning story of a warm promise and cultural exchange. Chen Yinuo stated that fulfilling a promise was the surface-level motivation for the project, but the deeper drive was to discover what became of the sisters who illuminated her childhood and to see if the seeds of transnational friendship planted ten years ago remain vibrant. Utilizing a dual narrative structure that blends historical footage with present-day reunions, the film explores the profound impact of cultural integration on personal growth.

Photo taken on Nov. 6, 2025 shows the Golden Angel Award certificate for Ten Years Between Us. (Photo provided to Guangming Online)

The Chinese American TV Festival's Golden Angel Award is recognized as a significant event for cultural exchange. This year's event, under the theme Boundless Light and Shadow, A Shared Future, attracted over 600 film and television entries for evaluation. Film and television professionals and government officials from both China and the United States attended the ceremony. Chinese Consul General in Los Angeles Guo Shaochun stated in his speech that after more than two decades of development, the event has become an important brand for people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, not only promoting practical cooperation in the film and television industry but also enabling the peoples of both nations to understand and appreciate each other through the power of cinema.

It is reported that Ten Years Between Us (titled "A Decade of Promise" on some Chinese platforms) has been selected for the New Era, New Imagery Sino-foreign co-creation plan and has received support from the Beijing Radio, Film and Television Network Audio-Visual Fund. It is scheduled to be broadcast on platforms including iQiyi, Tencent, Discovery, and CCTV's documentary channel. Director Chen Yinuo revealed, "The sisters awaiting reunions are enough to support the production of a second season, and we have already made an appointment for the next decade." The film shows potential to become a sustainable IP for international communication.

Editor: WXY
I disagree with, and even abhor, things that Nick Fuentes says, but cancelling him is not the answer, Roberts said. Conservatives must focus on dismantling the vile ideas of the left, he said, not attacking our friends on the right. Conservatives must focus on dismantling the vile ideas of the left, Kevin Roberts (pictured) said, not attacking our friends on the right. Credit: AP Roberts also drove a stake in the ground on right-wing criticism of Israel. Christians can critique the state of Israel without being antisemitic, he said. When it serves the interest of the United States to co-operate with Israel and other allies, we should do so. But when it doesnt, conservatives should feel no obligation to reflexively support any foreign government, no matter how loud the pressure becomes from the globalist class, or from their mouthpieces in Washington. It was a reminder that support for Israel is not necessarily an article of faith on the right, at least in nationalist, isolationist, Catholic and Orthodox Christian wings of the MAGA movement.

By contrast, Trump gave Israel extraordinary cover to pursue its regional security objectives, including bombing campaigns in Iran and Yemen, and has been praised by Benjamin Netanyahu as the best friend Israel has ever had in the White House. Trump reined in Netanyahu only when the Israeli prime minister overplayed his hand by launching strikes inside Qatar. Loading Roberts faced an immediate backlash for his intervention. Several volunteers on the Heritage Foundations National Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, an initiative formed in the aftermath of Hamas October 7, 2023 attack, resigned  as did a number of employees, including chief of staff Ryan Neuhaus. At a crisis staff meeting  video of which was leaked to the Washington Free Beacon  Roberts apologised, saying he made a mistake and let the team down. He said he was being pressured by high-profile people to declare that Carlson was no longer part of the conservative movement. In his apology, Roberts said one could maintain the principle of not cancelling friends while making it clear one did not endorse everything a person said, or their decisions to platform certain people.

He also confessed to an odd degree of ignorance. I dont consume a lot of news, Roberts said. I didnt know much about this Fuentes guy  I still dont, which underscores the mistake. Loading This is no small barney. Compared with Australia, for example, Washington think tanks are hulking institutions, deeply ingrained in policymaking; especially one like the Heritage Foundation, which claims to be the intellectual backbone and battleship of the conservative movement. The leaked staff meeting provided a neat encapsulation of the bigger battle at play. Two women, Amy Swearer and Rachel Greszler, spoke passionately and candidly about their lack of confidence in Roberts leadership and their dismay that he ran cover for the most unhinged dregs of the far right. But they were followed by another woman who said she and her younger colleagues had no issue with what Roberts said in the video, and that Carlson had been painted as antisemitic only as he developed more anti-interventionist views on foreign policy.

Gen Z has an increasingly unfavourable view of Israel, and its not because millions of Americans are antisemitic. It is because we are Catholic and Orthodox and believe that Christian Zionism is a modern heresy, she said. Many of us are generally tired of foreign entanglements while our problems in this country worsen. The questioner wanted to know if there was room at the Heritage Foundation for critics of the USs relationship with Israel. Roberts said there was, telling her: Thats the difficulty in the conservative movement right now; trying to figure out how we can all respect each others differences of opinions, particularly on the question that you raised, and work together. But others are explicit: there is no room in the tent for antisemites and cranks. Amid the furore, Republican senator Ted Cruz has become one of the leading conservative voices demanding more people speak out and accusing Carlson of laundering poisonous, dangerous ideas. In the last six months, Ive seen more antisemitism on the right than I have in any time of my life, Cruz told the Federalist Society at a function in Washington. It is growing, it is metastasising  and it is in particular finding purchase with the young. Cruz said his colleagues were horrified by what was happening, but they were frightened because Carlson had such a big megaphone. Fuentes and Tucker and the rest of that ilk have a right to say what they are saying, but every one of us has an obligation to stand up and say it is wrong.
Cay Hill:--- In a remarkable show of unity and service, all four Rotary Clubs on the island - Rotary Club of St. Maarten, Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunrise, Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset, and Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle came together to make a meaningful contribution to the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC).

The clubs collectively financed the purchase of four Anti-Decubitus Mattresses, specially designed to prevent bedsores and improve comfort for bedridden patients. These mattresses play a crucial role in enhancing patient care and ensuring a more comfortable recovery experience for those confined to their beds.

The official handover took place during the visit of District Governor Dr. William Aiken, who, being a medical professional himself, shared his appreciation for this impactful initiative. The presentation was made to the SMMC management team by all club presidents, along with the Assistant Governor  Elisia Lake, symbolizing the power of collaboration and service within Rotary.

As proud Rotarians, we are always seeking ways to make a tangible difference in our community, said the club presidents jointly. Providing these mattresses aligns perfectly with Rotarys mission of service above self, and as we approach Disease Prevention and Treatment Month in December, this initiative highlights our continued commitment to improving health and well-being across St. Martin.

This joint effort stands as a testament to the shared vision and teamwork of all Rotary Clubs on the island, working hand in hand to serve the community and bring comfort to those in need.
Cole Bay:--- In recognition of Rotary Internationals Basic Education and Literacy Month, the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset honored eleven primary school teachers for their exceptional dedication and service to St. Maartens youth.

The appreciation ceremony, held at Carl N Sons in Cole Bay, brought together Rotarians, school representatives, and community partners to celebrate educators who go above and beyond in shaping young minds.

Teachers play a vital role in the future of our communities, said Rotary Club President Alex Pierre. Despite the challenges they face, they show up every day with love, patience, and purpose. Honoring them is our way of saying thank you for their unwavering commitment to our children.

Each teacher was nominated by their school board for demonstrating passion, leadership, and a positive impact both inside and outside the classroom. The honorees were:

1. Seventh-Day Adventist School  Ms. Georgia Richardson

2. Caribbean International Academy  Ms. Mirjam Wigman

3. Montessori St. Maarten  Ms. Tiffany Chance

4. Learning Unlimited Preparatory School  Ms. Analeighni Wout

5. Asha Stevens Hillside Christian School  Mrs. Shiera Lewis-Richardson

6. St. Joseph Primary School  Ms. Shaundel Glasgow

7. Methodist Agogic Center  Mrs. Erika Richardson Van Putten

8. Marie Genevieve De Weever School  Ms. Marilyn Clark-Waterfort

9. Herve Williams Primary School  Madame Pauline Beaurain-Cratere

10. Clair Saint-Maximin Primary School  Madame Jessica Sabas

11. Emile Choisy Primary School  Monsieur. David Farlot

Honorees received certificates of appreciation along with gift baskets, spa and dining vouchers, and bottles of wine, expressing the communitys gratitude for their service.

The club also acknowledged the school boards and management teams for their support, as well as the event sponsors, including Magical Memories Gifts n More, Carl N Sons, Inglot, MK Signature, Fabrice Burnett, Captains Rib Shack, The Wax Room, Thierry Gombs, Penha, By LuMarie, Addicted Hair Lounge, Carita Spa, Senaias Cosmetics and Beatz by Ti.

The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset extended its appreciation to all teachers on the island, highlighting their critical role in shaping the future. While teaching often goes unheralded, its impact is immeasurable, said Pierre. These educators are building not just knowledge, but character and leadership in our children.

About Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset: Chartered in 2018, the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset is one of the newest and fastest-growing Rotary Clubs in District 7020. The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset meets on the second and fourth Monday of the month at Carl N Sons Unique Inn and Conference Facilities in Colebay at 7:30 pm. The club can be contacted via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via the official Facebook page at facebook.com/rotarysxmsunset.
Under the eRecovery program, from October 10 to November 10, about 5,100 families received compensation for damaged and destroyed housing for a total of UAH 4 billion.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development, 145,200 families received a total of UAH 52.3 billion in compensation during the program's entire period of operation. Of this amount, UAH 11.4 billion was issued for damaged housing for 116,500 Ukrainians.

The average payment amounts are UAH 70,800 for minor repairs and UAH 341,500 for major ones. A total of 179,200 applications were submitted for compensation for damaged housing.

To date, UAH 40 billion in compensation has been issued to 28,000 citizens for destroyed housing. Of those, over 18,000 Ukrainians have purchased new housing, including 8,600 internally displaced families. The average housing certificate amount is UAH 1.4 million. A total of 78,800 applications have been submitted for compensation for housing destroyed by the invaders.

In addition, UAH 931.3 million has been paid to 767 applicants who wish to rebuild their housing on their own land. The average amount of compensation is UAH 2.2 million. In total, out of 4,400 applications submitted, 989 have already been approved for a total of UAH 2.5 billion.

The eRecovery program was launched in Ukraine on May 10, 2023. Compensation is part of the HOME project, which is implemented by the Council of Europe Development Bank.
'Strong indications' US strikes on alleged drug boats 'extrajudicial killings': UN rights chief



Geneva, Nov 10 (AFP) Nov 10, 2025



The UN rights chief on Monday urged Washington to investigate the legality of its strikes on alleged drug-running boats, warning of "strong indications" of "extrajudicial killings".

The United States has carried out a series of strikes in the Caribbean and the Pacific in recent weeks on boats that Washington claims were ferrying drugs, killing a total of 76 people.

Six of them were killed this past weekend, with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying on X on Monday that the US military had conducted strikes in international waters in the eastern Pacific, targeting two boats "carrying narcotics" with three people on board each.

"From what we know, these instances violate international human rights law," United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told AFP in an interview.

Pointing out that Washington was portraying the strikes as part of "counter-narcotics operations", he stressed that such operations "should not bring in issues of war or conflict or international humanitarian law".

These should be considered "law enforcement operations", which fall under international human rights law, he said, insisting that in such cases, "the use of lethal force has to be extremely limited".

"It has to be the absolute last resort in the face of an immediate attack," he said, stressing that "that's not what we're seeing".

Asked if he believed that the strikes could constitute extrajudicial killings, Turk said: "That's precisely what needs to be found out and investigated."

"I have called for investigations by the US administration first and foremost, because they need to... ask themselves the question: are these violations of international human rights law? Are they extrajudicial killings?"

"There are strong indications that they are, but they need to investigate this."
Israel army chief urges 'systemic' probe into Oct 7 attack



Jerusalem, Nov 10 (AFP) Nov 10, 2025



Israel's military chief called on Monday for a "systemic investigation" into the failures that led to Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, as the government dragged its feet on establishing a state commission of inquiry on the matter.

Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir made the call following the publication of a report by an expert committee he himself had appointed, which, according to him, marks the conclusion of the military's internal investigations into the October 7 attacks.

"The expert committee's report presented today is a significant step toward achieving the comprehensive understanding that we, as a society and as an organisation, require," Zamir was quoted as saying in the report.

"However, to ensure that such failures never recur, a broader understanding is needed -- one that encompasses the inter-organisational and inter-hierarchical interfaces that have not yet been examined," he added.

"To that end, a broad and comprehensive systemic investigation is now necessary."

According to polls, a large number of Israelis across the political spectrum support the establishment of an inquiry to determine who is responsible for the authorities' failure to prevent the attack, the deadliest in the country's history.

But the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far refused to set one up, arguing it cannot be established before the end of the war in Gaza.

Under Israeli law, the decision to create a national commission rests with the government, but its members must be appointed by the supreme court.

Netanyahu's right-wing government, however, accuses the court of political bias and of leaning towards the left.

The effort to curb the supreme court's powers lay at the heart of the government's judicial reform plan - a project that deeply divided Israeli society before the war broke out.



- 'Political tool' -



On Monday, when pressed in parliament by the opposition to clarify his position on the creation of a national commission, Netanyahu accused the opposition of seeking to turn it into a "political tool".

Instead, he suggested establishing an inquiry commission "based on broad national consensus," modelled, he said, on what the United States did after the September 11 attacks -- a proposal immediately rejected by the opposition.

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

It triggered a two-year retaliatory campaign by the Israeli military in Gaza, which has killed at least 69,179 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

The expert committee's report acknowledged that Hamas's attack "occurred against the backdrop of high-quality and exceptional intelligence that was already in the possession of various IDF (military) units".

"From an internal military perspective, it is evident that despite the warning, the necessary military actions were not taken to improve the IDF's alertness or readiness, nor to adjust the deployment of forces across the different arenas," the report added.

The committee determined that most of the factors explaining the failure spanned several years and multiple branches of the military.

It said this indicated a "long-standing systemic and organisational failure."

In February, an internal Israeli military investigation into Hamas's attack acknowledged the armed forces' "complete failure" to prevent the assault, saying that for years it had underestimated the group's capabilities.
Business complains most about prices and access to electricity, outflow of personnel, consumers, 'shadow,' changing legislative field

Photo: Interfax-Ukraine / Oleksandr Zubko

Entrepreneurs operating in Ukraine have identified four main risks of operating in the country, but still remain optimistic, said EBA Executive Director Anna Derevyanko.

"If we talk about risks, I would highlight four key ones that European companies are currently facing  although I believe American and Ukrainian companies encounter them as well. The first is the issue of energy," she said during the Kyiv Security Forum on Monday.

Derevyanko noted that when it comes to electricity specifically, business operations are affected by both its availability and its price, as some companies report that electricity prices are already higher than in other countries.

The second risk, she said, is a shortage of personnel and shrinking markets due to declining consumption caused by people leaving the country  especially after permission was granted for men aged 18-22 to travel abroad  as well as due to mobilization.

The third challenge is the growth of the shadow economy, as, according to Derevyanko, its volume has reached UAH 500 billion.

"This is a concern for any business entity," she emphasized, adding that it affects most sectors of the economy.

The fourth and final issue Derevyanko identified was the volatile legislative environment, noting that clarity and predictability are essential for any business.

She stated that 99% of European Business Association (EBA) member companies are operating in Ukraine at full capacity, more than 70% expect revenue growth in hryvnias, and 55% in U.S. dollars.

In addition, 55% of companies plan to expand their business activities, and 20% of EBA members intend to invest in new projects.

For his part, Andy Hunder, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (AmCham), emphasized that even after missile attacks, 91% of AmCham member companies continue to operate and develop their businesses in Ukraine, although 54% of them have sustained damage.

Hunder also added that for most AmCham member companies, maintaining a transparent dialogue with the authorities is crucial so that businesses clearly understand what is happening.
Asylum seekers are set to be offered 100 a week to leave taxpayer-funded hotels, it has been claimed

The proposal to introduce the payment would allow migrants to use the money to live with a family or an individual they know in the UK, the Telegraph has reported

Government denies it is being considered to reduce the reliance on hotels
 Veteran councillor Tina Valcarcel, a former Lambeth Mayor, has defected to the Liberal Democrats, saying Labour is no longer the party I joined

 Her move adds to a wave of Labour defections across London, with councillors switching to the Liberal Democrats, Greens, Conservatives and independents, often citing Sir Keir Starmers shift to the right and Labours stance on Gaza

 The defections come amid multiple by-election losses for Labour in London, signalling growing grassroots discontent despite the partys general election landslide
 Communities Secretary Steve Reed said he is appalled that London councillors are campaigning to become MPs in Bangladesh

 Tower Hamlets councillors Sabina Khan and Ohid Ahmed are standing for the Bangladesh National Party while still serving in London

 The government and council stressed councillors must prioritise their local duties, though UK law does not forbid them running for office abroad
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 A second migrant deported to France under the UKs one in, one out deal has returned to Britain, where he was identified by biometrics and detained for re-removal

 The case follows another Iranian migrant who re-entered the UK weeks after removal, prompting criticism that the small boats plan is in total chaos

 The Home Office defended the system but over 1,700 people have crossed the Channel between November 6 and 8
He died so young, just 27, and I never had the chance to know him. I often wonder what kind of man he was, what kind of father he might have been to me, and what life would have been like if he had come home.
Three cargo ships with over 70,000 tonnes of wheat arrived at the port of Tartous in Syria as part of a program to strengthen strategic grain reserves and meet the needs of the domestic market, local publication sana.sy reported, citing information from the port administration.

"Three vessels carrying more than 70,000 tonnes of wheat have arrived at the Tartous port for the General Directorate of Grain Trade and Processing, as part of the governments ongoing efforts to strengthen strategic grain reserves and meet the needs of the local wheat market," the publication noted.

The ports operations manager, Youssef Arnous, clarified that two of the ships brought grain from Ukraine and one from Russia, and they are currently being unloaded. Part of the cargo will be stored in the ports silos, while the rest will be transported by truck and rail to supply the local market and ensure food security.

He added that a fourth vessel carrying 26,000 tonnes of wheat is awaiting unloading, and there are indications that additional ships carrying around 50,000 tonnes may arrive soon.

The assistant director of the Tartous railway branch, Nidal Abdel Qader, reported that one of the vessels, Golden Nour, arrived in Tartous carrying over 30,000 tonnes of wheat. Part of this cargo was delivered to the Al-Shinshar silos, marking the fourth shipment in the recent period.

The publication also recalled that on November 5, four vessels carrying 94,000 tonnes of wheat arrived at Tartous port to replenish strategic reserves and supply flour mills across various provinces in Syria.
The controversy relates to a memo by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBCs editorial standards committee, who raised concerns in the summer about the way clips of the US presidents speech on January 6 2021 were spliced together in Trump: A Second Chance? to make it appear he had told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to fight like hell.
In a judgment published on Monday, he said: My conclusion is that the documents held by members of the research team, including documents that came into their possession prior to the engagement agreement, are within the control of the claimants for the purposes of standard disclosure, those documents must be properly searched and such documents that fall within the terms of standard disclosure must be disclosed.
As families filed four wrongful-death lawsuits this week over the July flooding that killed 27 people at Camp Mystic, attorneys alleged the Kerr County camps owners had long known of flood risks  and even petitioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency to remove parts of the property from designated flood zones.

The lawsuits, filed Monday in Travis County, accuse Camp Mystic and members of the Eastland family, which owns the camp, of negligence and wrongful death, claiming that flood warnings were ignored, safety plans were inadequate, and the camps never evacuate order cost lives.

A view inside of a cabin at Camp Mystic, the site of where at least 20 girls went missing after flash flooding in Hunt, Texas, on July 5, 2025. Rescuers were on Saturday searching for more than 20 girls missing from a riverside summer camp in the US state of Texas, after torrential rains caused devastating flooding that killed at least 27 people -- with more rain on the way. "So far, we've evacuated over 850 uninjured people, eight injured people and have recovered 27 deceased fatalities at this time. Of these 27, 18 are adults, nine are children," said Kerr Country Sheriff Larry Leitha on July 5. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP) (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images) RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images Austin attorney Mikal Watts is skeptical there is a "viable" lawsuit to pursue over the July 4 flooding. He has put the word out that he will provide free legal representation to Camp Mystic, the Christian girls camp, if it is sued over the flood. Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images A murky Guadalupe River lurks next to Camp Mystic cabins post July 4th flood. Camper belongings such as blankets and footlockers are spread out across the grass on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. Christopher Lee/Staff Photographer Chloe Childress, a 19-year-old counselor who deeply loved Camp Mystic, was one of campers who died in the devastating Texas Hill Country floods. Childress' Family HUNT, TEXAS - JULY 07: Caution tape covers the entrance of Camp Mystic on July 07, 2025 in Hunt, Texas. Heavy rainfall early Friday caused severe flash flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas, leaving more than 100 people reported dead, including children attending the camp. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) Brandon Bell/Getty Images A photo from Lulu Peck's journal. Courtesy Peck family Blakely McCrory, 8, of Bellaire, was among the girls lost in the flood at Campy Mystic in Kerr County on July 4, 2025. Courtesy/E. Douglas McLeod Blake Bonner comforts Caitlin Bonner as she speaks about their daughter, flood victim Lila Bonner, 9, in front of the Senate Disaster Preparedness and Flooding committee at the Texas Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025. Caitlin Bonner was also a former camper at Camp Mystic in her youth. Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman Families from Camp Mystic who lost their children in the July 4th flooding react after Governor Greg Abbott signed camp safety bills into law at the Governor's Mansion in Austin, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. (Mikala Compton /Austin American-Statesman via AP) Mikala Compton/Associated Press HUNT, TEXAS - JULY 6: Search and recovery workers dig through debris looking for any survivors or remains of people swept up in the flash flooding near Camp Mystic on July 6, 2025 in Hunt, Texas. Heavy rainfall caused flooding along the Guadalupe River in central Texas with multiple fatalities reported. (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images) Jim Vondruska/Getty Images A suit case, stuff animal is loaded into n ATV vehicle along the Guadalupe River on July 7, 2025 in Hunt, Texas. The Washington Post/The Washington Post via Getty Images Officials search on the grounds of Camp Mystic along the banks of the Guadalupe River after a flash flood swept through the area Sunday, July 6, 2025, in Hunt, Texas. Julio Cortez/AP

Plaintiffs argue the Eastlands and camp management prioritized expansion and lower insurance costs over the safety of the children in their care, even as past floods repeatedly damaged the property along the Guadalupe River. The families say the July tragedy was not an unforeseeable act of nature but the result of years of dangerous decisions.

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There is no greater trust than when a parent entrusts the care of their child to another, the lawsuit filed on behalf of the family of 8-year-old Eloise Lulu Peck states. Camp Mystic and the people who ran it betrayed that trust. Camp Mystics shocking betrayal of that trust caused the horrific, tragic and needless deaths of twenty-seven innocent young girls, including Eloise 'Lulu' Peck. This case seeks accountability for that betrayal and to send a message to other camps  protect the kids in your care.

Caroline Scott from Missouri takes a closer look at a picture of flood victim Anna Margaret Bellows, an 8-year-old Camp Mystic camper, during a vigil on Water Street in downtown Kerrville, Friday, July 11, 2025. The vigil was held to honor the victims of the catastrophic flood that hit Kerr County and other areas of the Texas Hill Country on the Fourth of July. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News

According to the complaints, Camp Mystic sought FEMA approval on multiple occasions  including in 2013, 2019 and 2020  to remove several riverfront cabins and recreation buildings from the official 100-year floodplain. The families lawyers allege those moves were intended to hide this safety risk from the public and avoid costly insurance and construction requirements.

One lawsuit also claims the Eastlands restructured the camps ownership to protect family assets while maintaining control of its layout and management. The filings describe a web of corporate entities that allowed the family to separate land ownership from camp operations while still profiting from annual sessions that drew hundreds of girls each summer.

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Camp Mystic, which has operated along the Guadalupe River since 1939, has a long history of flooding. The lawsuits cite multiple incidents over the past century that prompted evacuations or damaged cabins, arguing that the familys awareness of those events makes their alleged lack of preparation in July particularly egregious.

Camp Mystics requests to amend the FEMA map were an attempt to hide this safety risk from the public including the campers and their parents, avoid the requirement to carry flood insurance, lower the camps insurance premiums, and pave the way for expanding structures under less costly regulations, the Peck lawsuit states.

Two of the four suits  including the Peck suit  outline the camps actions in the hours before the disaster. Attorneys claim that by the afternoon of July 3, camp leaders were aware of worsening conditions yet told staff and campers to stay put because thats the plan.

Some cabins were evacuated to the Rec Hall, located about 300 feet away, but others  including Bubble Inn and Twins, where 24 girls and two counselors died  were not, the lawsuits say. The camp has no explanation for why it failed to tell the Bubble Inn and Twins girls to walk to Rec Hall at that same time, one petition states. It would have saved the lives of 27 young girls.

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All but one of the "Heaven's 27," as the victims' families have begun referring to them, were campers or counselors in Bubble Inn and Twins. Only one camper, Greta Toranzo, stayed in a different cabin  one called "Jumble House."

The lawsuits describe chaotic scenes as floodwaters swept through before dawn July 4. Bodies of Dick Eastland, the camps patriarch, and several campers were later found in a Chevrolet Tahoe that had been carried away by the river. Other victims, including Bubble Inn counselor Chloe Childress and several Twins cabin campers, were discovered downstream the next day.

Attorneys for the families also accuse the camp of poor communication after the flood, saying administrators told parents their daughters were unaccounted for hours after learning multiple campers had died. Some families say they did not receive confirmation of their childrens deaths until late that evening.

Another complaint alleges that in the months since the tragedy, camp officials have been insensitive to grieving families  even using the names of Childress and fellow Bubble Inn counselor Katherine Ferruzzo in recruiting material for next summer.

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Camp Mystics legal counsel, Jeff Ray, said in a statement that the flood "far exceeded any previous flood in the area by several magnitudes," was unexpected and that no adequate warning systems existed in the area. He said the camp will thoroughly respond to what it views as inaccuracies in the lawsuits.

We disagree with several accusations and misinformation in the legal filings regarding the actions of Camp Mystic and Dick Eastland, who lost his life as well, Ray said.

In a separate statement, Camp Mystic said, We continue to pray for the grieving families and ask for Gods healing and comfort.

High-profile attorney Mikal Watts, who volunteered in October to assist with the camps defense pro bono, said he is confident the camp was not at fault. I believe deep in my heart that they had nothing to do with why those girls, and frankly their patriarch, died, and Im ready to demonstrate that, Watts said.

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The families attorneys maintain otherwise. Houston lawyer Kyle Findley, who represents the family of Ellen Getten, called the flood completely and utterly preventable, saying that forecasts two days before the storm should have prompted an evacuation plan. There was a total lack of action to take any steps to protect peoples children from a known flood basin in an area that is prone for flooding, Findley said Tuesday.

The lawsuits also cite Eastlands position on the board of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, arguing he knew the countys flood-warning system was unreliable but failed to install any alert system of his own at the camp. Lawyers compared Mystics response with that of nearby Camp Mo-Ranch, where they say an effective emergency plan kept about 70 campers and staff safe.

Three of the lawsuits  including those filed by the Peck and Getten families and one multifamily case that includes the two counselors  seek more than $1 million in damages under Texas Wrongful Death Act. A fourth does not specify an amount. All ask for jury trials.

In September, Camp Mystic announced plans to reopen a portion of its property next summer. The Cypress Lake section  largely undamaged  is scheduled to host campers in 2026, while the Guadalupe side, where the flooding occurred, will remain closed.

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Some parents have urged the camp to delay any reopening. CiCi and Will Steward, whose 8-year-old daughter Cile remains missing, wrote to the camp asking it to halt all discussion of reopening and memorials until leaders fully confront and account for [their] role in the events and failures that caused the deaths of our daughters.

Cile Steward is the only victim whose body has not been recovered.

State lawmakers have announced plans to investigate the flooding and review Texas camp-safety laws. During a special session this summer, the Legislature approved reforms aimed at improving early-warning systems and emergency protocols for youth camps statewide.

Left, a photo from Lulu Peck's journal. Courtesy of the Peck family. Top right, search and recover efforts on the Guadalupe River in front of Camp Mystic. Getty Images Bottom right, Families from Camp Mystic who lost their children in the July 4th flooding react after Governor Greg Abbott signed camp safety bills into law at the Governor's Mansion in Austin, Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman

'A rare and beautiful soul'

The Peck lawsuit noted that Lulu had an especially large fear of thunderstorms and flooding, writing in her journal in May 2025 that she was scard [sic] of thunderstorms, darkness, natrl dasters [sic], alongside a drawing of what appeared to be a wave approaching buildings.

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Lulu loved wholly, purely, and without hesitation; a rare and beautiful soul whose absence has left an immeasurable void in the lives of those who loved her most, the Peck lawsuit states.

Peck was a camper in Bubble Inn, alongside several other campers represented in the lawsuits: Anna Margaret Bellows, Lila Bonner, Molly DeWitt, Virginia "Wynne" Naylor and Jane "Janie" Hunt. Childress and Ferruzzo were their counselors. The other campers named in the lawsuits all stayed in the Twins cabins: Blakely McCrory, Virginia Hollis, Lucy Dillon, Kellyann Lytal and Hadley Hanna.

The camp has no explanation for why it failed to tell the Bubble Inn and Twins girls to walk to Rec Hall at that same time. It would have saved the lives of 27 young girls, the lawsuit states, alongside a photo of campers from other cabins walking to safety.

The lawsuit states the bodies of Dick Eastland and multiple campers were found the next day not far from camp in a Chevrolet Tahoe that had been swept away by floodwaters. The lawsuit claims one counselor witnessed the vehicle washed away and believed all the occupants of Bubble Inn were inside. Everyone in Bubble Inn  13 campers and the two counselors  died in the flood.

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The petition outlines a similar situation in the Twins cabins, where Edward Eastland attempted to help bring girls to safety. The lawsuit states he and several campers were swept away and held onto a tree until morning, while other campers floated by and were unable to grab it. A total of 11 campers from the Twins cabins died, including McCrory.

The lawsuits

The Peck family lawsuit names Camp Mystic, Mystic Camps Family Partnership, Mystic Camps Management and Natural Fountains Properties as defendants. Dick Eastlands wife and camp co-owner, Tweety Eastland, is also named, along with Britt Eastland, Dicks son, designated as a representative of his fathers estate. The lawsuit seeks damages in excess of $1 million.

The Getten family lawsuit names Natural Fountains Properties Inc., Mystic Camps Family Partnership, Mystic Camps Management and Camp Mystic, as well as Tweety Eastland and Edward Eastland, Dicks son. It also names Seaborn Stacy Eastland and William Bonner III, who the lawsuit identifies as an owner and the president of Natural Fountains Properties, respectively. That lawsuit also seeks damages exceeding $1 million.

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One multifamily lawsuit was filed by the families of Anna Margaret Bellows, Lila Bonner, Chloe Childress, Molly DeWitt, Katherine Ferruzzo, Lainey Landry and Blakely McCrory. It names Camp Mystic, Natural Fountains Properties, Mystic Camps Family Partnership, Mystic Camps Management, Tweety Eastland, Edward Eastland, Mary Liz Eastland and Britt Eastland as defendants. The families seek damages of more than $1 million.

The other multifamily lawsuit represents the families of Virginia Wynne Naylor, Hadley Hanna, Virginia Hollis, Jane Janie Hunt, Lucy Dillon and Kellyann Lytal. It names Camp Mystic, Mystic Camps Family Partnership, Mystic Camps Management and Natural Fountains Properties, as well as Tweety Eastland, specifying that she is the director and vice president of Camp Mystic and secretary of Natural Fountains Properties. It also names Britt Eastland as the representative of Dick Eastlands estate, and Edward and Mary Liz Eastland. That lawsuit does not specify a dollar amount for damages.

All four suits request a jury trial.

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Staff writer Peggy O'Hare contributed to this report.
American-Statesman file

A student at Crockett Early College High School in South Austin was arrested Monday after officers found the student carrying a gun after a fight on campus, according to a letter sent to families.

The school, at Menchaca Road and Stassney Lane, said an individual reported that one of the students involved in a fight might have been armed. Austin school police immediately engaged with the student, confirmed they had a gun and immediately arrested the student, Principal Shana King wrote in the letter.

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No injuries were reported.

King encouraged families to continue reporting suspicious behavior to Austin school police at 512-414-1703.

If you see something, say something, she wrote.

The district has not released additional information.

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Richard Bruce 'Dick' Cheney, 46th Vice-President of the United States (2001-2009) under George W Bush, died on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. Photo 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Flags throughout Texas and the United States remain lowered in honor of former Vice President Dick Cheney, who died at age 84 on Nov. 3 due to complications of pneumonia cardiac and vascular disease.

Here's what to know.

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Who was Dick Cheney vice president for?

Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46 U.S. vice president under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was Secretary of Defense for President George H.W. Bush.

George W. Bush mourns Dick Cheney: 'a decent, honorable man'

Dick Cheney controversy: Trump silent on former VP's death

While a statement from the current president typically accompanies an order to lower flags, President Donald Trump and his administration have remained notably silent on Cheney's death. As of Monday morning, there had been no official statements from Trump or the White House regarding the former vice president.

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The only acknowledgement came from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, whose comment on Nov. 4 followed a reporter's inquiry.

"I know the president is aware of the former vice president's passing," Leavitt said. "And as you saw, flags have been lowered to half-staff in accordance with statutory law."

(1st Row L-R) President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, former President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton; (2nd Row L-R) former Vice President Dan Quayle, Marilyn Quayle, former Vice President Dick Cheney, and Lynne Cheney attend the state funeral for former President George H.W. Bush at the National Cathedral December 05, 2018 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Despite being a conservative Republican, Cheney had become a vocal critic of Trump in recent years. He and his daughter, former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, had declared their opposition to Trump after his denial of the 2020 election results and his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Liz Cheney said Trump had "summoned a violent mob" and "caused a constitutional crisis."

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Dick Cheney backed his daughter in a 2022 campaign ad, saying," There has never been an individual who was a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump." After endorsing Trump in the 2016 election, Cheney supported then-Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

In response, Trump bashed both Cheneys in his 2024 presidential campaign. He said Dick Cheney was "the king of endless, nonsensical wars, wasting lives and trillions of dollars." The president also insulted Liz Cheney for her loss in the 2022 Wisconsin Republican primary.

"She's a radical war hawk. Let's put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, okay?" Trump said during a 2024 campaign event with Tucker Carlson. "Let's see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained at her face."

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What are the funeral plans for Dick Cheney?

The funeral for the late vice president will be held at 10 a.m. CT on Thursday, Nov. 20 at the Washington National Cathedral in DC. As of Monday morning, the location of Cheney's burial had not been released to the public.

When are flags raised again?

Flags will continue to be lowered through Friday, Nov. 14, according to HalfFlag.org.

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When are flags flown at half-staff?

There are specific holidays and events when flags are flown at half-staff in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs website. That includes:

Memorial Day, when the flag should be displayed at half-staff until noon only, then raised to the top of the staff.

Peace Officers Memorial Day, unless that day is also Armed Forces Day.

Patriot Day.

National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

National Firefighters Memorial Day.

President Dwight Eisenhower also issued a proclamation on the proper times for flying the flag at half-staff when government officials die. That includes:

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30 days at all federal buildings, grounds, and naval vessels throughout the United States and its territories and possessions after the death of the president or a former president.

10 days at half-staff after the death of the vice president, the chief justice or a retired chief justice of the United States Supreme Court, or the speaker of the House of Representatives.

From the date of death until interment for an associate justice of the Supreme Court, a member of the Cabinet, a former vice president, the president pro tempore of the Senate, the majority leader of the Senate, the minority leader of the Senate, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, or the minority leader of the House of Representatives.

The date of death and the following day of a United States senator, representative, territorial delegate, or the resident commissioner from the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It should also be flown at half-staff on all federal facilities in the state, congressional district, territory, or commonwealth of these officials.

From the date of death until interment for the governor of a state, territory or possession.

The president may also order that the flag be flown at half-staff to commemorate the death of other officials, former officials or foreign dignitaries, such as the death of Pope Francis.
War refugees from Ukraine are facing a food crisis in the United States, Yuriy Boyechko, CEO of Hope For Ukraine, said in an interview with millionaire podcaster Adam Klasfeld, published on YouTube on Sunday.

The issue is about payments under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

"It was a real shock wave that swept through our office and the entire community, the Ukrainian refugees who are here, because at the end of October they started receiving letters informing them that due to their immigration status, their SNAP benefits would be canceled or significantly reduced," Boyechko said on the podcast.

He recalled that there are about 300,000 Ukrainian war refugees in the United States who arrived after the full-scale invasion in 2022 under temporary protection status, have a two-year residence permit, so all of them are in the United States legally. Since November 1, they have lost access to SNAP.

"I call this the most brutal cut of the Big Beautiful Bill (a tax and spending bill that provides for radical changes in taxation, the social security system - IF-U), which was actually aimed at the most vulnerable part of the population of the United States. Just so you understand, the average SNAP benefit per person is about $ 210. And, you know, the Congressional Budget Office has done a number of in-depth studies on this issue. And this cut, it will not have a big impact on the budget. It is not a huge line of expenditure. But for these families, like one family that I spoke to yesterday, they have six children, four of whom are young. And, you know, they work for minimum wage. For them, the benefit of about $ 1,000 that they received for food is extremely important. And now we are seeing with our own eyes that there will be a serious food crisis in the United States. And it is not because of natural disasters, not because of a shortage of food, but solely because of the policies that were implemented as part of the Big Beautiful Bill. So, in essence, they have a choice: pay rent and not eat or eat and be evicted," Boyechenko said.

"I think our main task now is to draw attention to this problem. And, hopefully, there will be enough people in the Senate from both parties who will realize that this is a very big mistake on their part, because this is a very small item in the budget, but it will have big consequences for communities in the future," said Boyechko, expressing hope that a law will be passed that will solve this problem.
Bailey Calderon, 16, right, joins other high school students from across Austin to march from Huston-Tillotson University to the Capitol on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, to protest the Trump administrations proposed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

At a moment of tremendous tension in higher education  as Texas schools face conservative calls to eliminate liberal ideology from classrooms  students from different institutions came together to ensure their message was heard: Hands Off Our Youth.

College students and high schoolers united Friday against political intervention in their schools to show that despite attempts to divide them, a diverse coalition can stand together to demand change.

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Farah Sabah, 17, left to right, Natalie Mathews, 18, Bailey Calderon, 16, and Ana Maradiaga-Rodriguez, 18, joined other high school students from across Austin to march from Huston-Tillotson University to the Capitol on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, to protest the Trump administrations proposed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman University of Texas students join high school students from across Austin at the Capitol on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, to protest the Trump administrations proposed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman High school students from across Austin march from Huston-Tillotson University to the Capitol on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, to protest the Trump administrations proposed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

Three demonstrations held Friday  two at the capitol and one at the University of Texas  are part of an uptick in protests against changes to Austin-area universities and schools. These gatherings come at a time when new rules seek to restrict free expression at higher education campuses.

RELATED: Court stops University of Texas system from enforcing new campus free speech limits

Texas high school seniors Farah Saba and Kyra Newton organized a march from Huston-Tillotson University to the Capitol through their organization Beyond Boundaries, skipping class to unite with allies at colleges to fight attempts to limit diverse voices in schools.

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The resulting Unity March, comprised of high school students, Huston-Tillotson University students and UT students from the organization Not Our Texas, called for an end to political intervention  from the consolidation committee that students say threatens ethnic and LGBTQ studies programs at UT to a new law that bans LGBTQ clubs at K-12 schools.

University of Texas student Cecille joins high school students from across Austin at the Capitol on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, to protest the Trump administrations proposed Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

In the shade of the Capitol grounds, Huston-Tillotson and high school students sat in the grass with handmade signs, waiting for UT students to join them. They talked amongst themselves as the 1984 heavy metal anthem Were Not Gonna Take it boomed through a portable speaker.

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We all realized that we have the same mission. And its not just high school students that are being threatened. Its all Texas education and higher education, Newton said. We want access to our education, whatever education that we want to have.

Sabah and Newton both applied to UT hoping to study Women and Gender Studies and Black Studies, but rumors of looming consolidation of small departments in the College of Liberal Arts and an offer from the administration of President Donald Trump have them worried that opportunity will disappear as well.

Its so scary being a young person learning history and seeing it unravel the next day, Newton said. People used to be really excited to be different, and we would bond together over that. And now with clubs we want to join its illegal for us to get together at school.

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Dezaree Walker, a recent alumna of the Black Studies and Latino Studies programs at UT, helped facilitate the connection between the two collegiate organizations to make the march happen, she told the Statesman. Walker said learning about Black and Latina history helped her understand the world in a different way. She said she protests now so other generations have the same opportunity in the future.

I was lied to my entire life, and now that we barely got access to this information, they want to take it away, because they see how its empowering us to fight for our rights, she said. Weve seen time after time how the oppressors or the people who run this government have erased our histories, burned our books and told our histories from their point of view.

Walker said the unity between students at different college campuses is important to continue building the fight against conservative pressures facing higher education. Its important to understand that it affects more than just one program or school, she said.

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Dozens of students from UTs Not Our Texas, a student organization formed in response to Senate Bill 17s prohibition on diversity, equity and inclusion programs, joined students at the Capitol.

Aralyn Arline, a junior at UT, said she is protesting a deal offered by the Trump administration that asks universities to offer allegiance to conservative priorities in exchange for federal funding opportunities and restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion.

We want our freedom back, Arline said. We want to take back the ability to meet on campus how we please, and enrich our community the way we used to.

Kennedie Watkins, a Huston-Tillotson junior joining the march, said her school is insulated from many of the changes facing higher education as a minority serving private university. But students are concerned about the pressure facing UT, an institution herself and other HT students admire, Watkins said.

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Were watching institutions that are supposed to stand up to this kind of corruption falter, Watkins said.

But historically Black serving universities like HT exist because of the boundaries at other institutions, Watkins said. Huston-Tillotsons resilience through the past 150 years comes from perseverance in the face of barriers and the knowledge that education is transformative and powerful.

People and truth will always prevail, Watkins said. They can do as much as they want, but if the people decide that they want change, and they figure out how to organize around that, there will always be change.

At UT: 'Do Not Sign'

Later that afternoon, as soon-to-be graduates and their families gathered before the UT Tower for a ring ceremony, dozens of students circled the celebration chanting do not sign. The students urged their university to reject the Trump administrations offer for special benefits in exchange for allegiance to conservative priorities  a compact other colleges have turned down for fear it would threaten academic independence.

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Austin Students for a Democratic Society hosted the protest, which was one of several demonstrations held during the past several weeks against the compact and proposed consolidation of departments in the College of Liberal Arts.

Daniel Ramirez, a sophomore with Students for a Democratic Society, and about a dozen other students walked into the assistant vice provosts office to demand a public meeting with the provost for clarity on consolidation, the compact and shared governance.

An associated dean from the Dean of Students escorted them out after promising to help arrange a meeting, ending the brief sit-in, although no meeting was finalized by the time the representatives left.

Students are really, really concerned about everything thats going on, theres no transparency, said Ramirez. We know this is what we have to do to get the demands met and what students want and what faculty wants.

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Addressing a crowd of about 100 students gathered outside the tower after the march, organizers told students not to give up their demands for transparency and urged them to keep attending.

Sabah, the high school student, said Beyond Boundaries is committed to transforming education for students and to standing up to injustice no matter if it is inconvenient.

Were just living our lives and being so busy with our own stuff that we dont have time to realize that our own rights are being slowly taken away, Sabah said. If you wait more, its gonna get worse. Do what you can with what you can right now.
U.S. Senator John Cornyn is shown during a panel discussion in Houston, Friday, June 20, 2025. Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle

The U.S. Senate struck a deal Sunday night to take the first step toward ending the 41-day government shutdown but had one immediate hurdle  Texas Sen. John Cornyn was running late.

A flight delay had stalled the Republican Cornyn, who was flying from Texas to cast a 60th and final vote in the U.S. Senate chamber on Capitol Hill, according to his office. The vote to break a filibuster on a new government spending plan was open for more than two hours so he could arrive, according to another report by Roll Call.

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Cornyn made it there and voted in favor of the measure at around 9:48 p.m., C-SPAN Communications Director Howard Mortman said on X.

"Applause and staff jumping into action when Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) arrives in the Senate chamber to vote AYE," Mortman wrote in a post.

Applause and staff jumping into action when Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) arrives in the Senate chamber to vote AYE, making it 60-40 for the shutdown deal. 10:48pmET. pic.twitter.com/FjoDRdCPDW  Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) November 10, 2025

Cornyn's office pinned the flight delay on the government shutdown, which Cornyn and many other Republicans have blamed on Democrats. He was in Texas for an event with "wounded warriors" before Veterans Day, according to Communications Director Natalie Yezbick.

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"The Senator was held up by flight delays last night caused by Chuck Schumer," Yezbick wrote in an email to the Chronicle, calling out the Senate minority leader.

Cornyn's tardiness caught the attention of Attorney General Ken Paxton, the leading Republican primary challenger in Cornyn's reelection bid.

"MIA: John Cornyn is all talk & no show," Paxton wrote on X shortly after midnight Monday morning. "He loves to scold others for missing votes  but when Texans needed him most, he was no where to be found. Missing in action, missing in leadership, missing in courage. Texas deserves better. Its time to send John home."

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MIA: John Cornyn is all talk & no show. He loves to scold others for missing votes  but when Texans needed him most, he was no where to be found. Missing in action, missing in leadership, missing in courage. Texas deserves better. Its time to send John home. pic.twitter.com/mLWtYLCZtL  Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) November 10, 2025

CORNYN CAMPAIGN: John Cornyn goes all in on MAGA as Ken Paxton tests his grip with Texas GOP

The collective Senate vote was the first step Congress has taken to end the government shutdown since it started nearly six weeks ago, becoming the longest in U.S. history. Without funding, the federal government has laid off thousands of workers, halted SNAP benefits for millions and cut flights nationwide to mitigate chaos caused by staffing shortages at U.S. airports.

Here's where the shutdown stands as Congress shows its first signs of life in restore government funding:

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What did the Senate vote on?

With a 60-40 vote Sunday night, the Senate broke a Democratic filibuster on legislation needed to fund the government and end the shutdown, according to CNN. USA Today reported eight Democrats voted in favor of the motion after reaching a deal to fund the government until Jan. 30 if the Senate holds a later vote on expiring tax credits in the Affordable Care Act  the issue that deadlocked Congress and prompted the shutdown at the end of September.

The tax credits have lowered health insurance premiums for middle and lower class Americans, and when they expire on Jan. 1, those premiums are set to soar. A vote on those tax credits would take place in December as part of the recent agreement in Congress, according to the Associated Press.

The potential government funding legislation that could soon move forward would cover SNAP benefits, reinstate federal workers who've been laid off and provide back pay for those who've been furloughed, the AP reported.

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When could the government shutdown end?

A final Senate vote on the funding legislation could happen as early as Monday, and the Senate will reconvene at 10 a.m., according to USA Today. The House of Representatives will need to vote on the legislation before sending it to President Donald Trump, but that vote is not yet scheduled, USA Today reported.

Democrats could still stall the process for days if they object or delay, according to the Associated Press.
Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman

The fairies came out on Friday afternoon  and they were toddler-sized.

Wings fluttered, tutus twirled and butterfly clips bobbed atop tiny heads as tiny hands, stained with chalk, turned the worn road into a living storybook.

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A community ofrenda celebrates the lives of friends and family in the neighborhood as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman The street is painted with sparkly designs and the fence has a mural at Fairy Alley on Thursday, March 26, 2015. The project was completed as part of the city's neighborhood partnering program. DEBORAH CANNON /Austin American-Statesman Cleo D. and Jane K. look at the community ofrenda as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Austin City Councilmember Zo Qadri makes an appearance as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman The sign for Fairy Alley on Thursday, March 26, 2015. The project was completed as part of the city's neighborhood partnering program. DEBORAH CANNON /Austin American-Statesman

Their illustrations glowed on the asphalt; the chalk may as well have been pixie dust.

Here in Fairy Alley, the slender road wedged between Lamar Union Plaza and Austins Zilker neighborhood, magic feels real  but a new state directive is threatening to scrape it all away.

Where the magic began

Suvi Aika bought the bright blue cottage at the corner of Treadwell Street in 1996. Back then, the dilapidated alley adjacent to the house was overgrown, littered with needles and trash, and used as a makeshift encampment, but it didnt really bother her  as a young professional, she was too busy to care.

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But when her son was born in 2002, Aika wanted to see the alley sparkle instead.

She took it upon herself to transform the dilapidated strip into a magical walkway, trading debris for flowers, fairy houses and a colorful pavement mural.

Fairy Alley founder and painter Suvi Aika as the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman

The project took years to complete. She and her husband battled poison ivy and navigated months of presentations to city boards and neighborhood groups. But all of that work paid off: The alley, once abandoned by the city, became a beloved path for Zilker families.

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I remember the very first time I saw a lady pushing her baby stroller towards the alley, I thought, 'No, what are you doing?' recalled Aika, now 56. But then I realized they saw it much differently than I had. It had turned into a family destination.

Though the mural has faded  Aika hasnt repainted it in over a decade  Fairy Alley remains a central stop for neighborhood kids and families.

That could change if the corridor is repaved, a casualty of broader state and federal efforts to remedy painted roads.

See more images of the beloved community landmark:

Jane K. and Cleo D. try on fairy wings and accessories as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Children and adults cover the pavement with chalk art as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Cleo D. and Jane K. look at the community ofrenda as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Sam Leonard, 3, plays as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Cleo D. gets some glitter on her face as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Community members cover the alleyway in chalk art as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Signs explain the ethos of the Zilker neighborhoods Fairy Alley at the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Austin City Councilmember Zo Qadri makes an appearance as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Marigolds are placed on the community ofrenda as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman A community ofrenda celebrates the lives of friends and family in the neighborhood as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Sam Leonard, 3, plays in front of the neighborhood ofrenda as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Roslyn Lueders, 3, plays as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Tiny houses and other small decorations are hidden around the alleyway as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Roslyn Lueders, 3, plays as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Children cover the alleyway in chalk art as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Coloring pages wait for young artists as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Chalk waits for artists to create chalk art as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman Signs explain the ethos of the Zilker neighborhoods Fairy Alley at the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman

State policy background

In July, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced the SAFE ROADS initiative, urging state governors to keep pavement free from distractions by allowing only consistent and recognizable traffic control devices. The directive prohibits political messages, artwork and any other non-standard markings from roadways, such as the rainbow crosswalks and Black Lives Matter murals that became popular in recent years.

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States were given 60 days to identify non-compliant road segments and intersections and report them to the Federal Highway Administration.

The Texas Department of Transportation sent its own letter to local jurisdictions in October, instructing them to remedy any non-compliant installations within 30 days. Failure to comply, it said, could lead to denial of state or federal funding, suspension of standing agreements between TxDOT and the jurisdiction, or forced removal or modification of non-compliant markings.

The city of Austin formed a task force and flagged 15 locations that may need repaving  Fairy Alley among them.

Other at-risk locations include the iconic TEXAS letters on Guadalupe Street near the University of Texas, the Black Artists Matter mural on E. 11th Street, and several rainbow crosswalks.

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On Oct. 30, the city asked TxDOT for an exception for all affected sites, but that request is still pending.

If Austin is ultimately required to repave every location on the list, the cost is estimated to fall between $125,000 and $140,000, with costs varying depending on weather, materials or equipment needs. The money would come from the Austin Transportation and Public Works operating budget, the city said.

Safety or subjectivity?

The SAFE ROADS initiative is billed as way to improve road safety, but studies suggest the opposite: painted crosswalks, roads and intersections can actually reduce crashes and pedestrian deaths.

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A 2022 Asphalt Art Safety Study, conducted for Bloomberg Philanthropies, examined 17 U.S. roadway sites with asphalt art, including colorful murals, painted crosswalks and intersection treatments. Researchers found that after installation, crashes involving pedestrians or cyclists dropped by 50% and total crashes fell by 17%.

Austin transportation and public works director Richard Mendoza cited the study in the city' exception request letter to TxDOT. Local crash data from impacted sites, he wrote, echoes those national findings.

When comparing crash data before and after installation of these aesthetic treatments, using up to five years of crash data when available, we see annualized crash rates have declined by 46%, Mendoza wrote in the letter. Annualized crash rates involving pedestrians have decreased 100%, from 0.6 crashes per year across all locations to zero crashes after installation.

The Austin Transportation and Public Works Department told the Statesman that the city would not move forward with any repaving until it receives a response from TxDOT.

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Today, a beloved family destination in peril

Jason and Alton Toy connect with their neighbors as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman

Politics at the federal, state and local levels are all colliding here, Aika said. But the consequences will be felt most acutely by families in neighborhoods like Zilker.

With everything else going on in the country, this little alley might seem like a small thing, Aika said. But this is where its hitting people for real.

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Nearly 50 neighbors gathered Friday to protest the potential repavement of Fairy Alley, which has enchanted families with its colorful street murals and fairy houses for almost two decades.

It is a staple of the Zilker neighborhood, said Vicki Russell, whos been a resident since 2009. Its a beautification effort, one that exudes magic and wonder. It has become a rite of passage for neighborhood children of all ages to add to the decorations. It is part of the fabric of the area.

The Save Fairy Alley Rally was organized by Sophia DeLoretto-Chudy, 29, who learned of the potential repavement just days earlier and quickly coordinated with the Zilker Neighborhood Association to bring everyone together.

Attendees of all ages arrived in wings, sparkles and tutus, chalking the pavement in celebration of the space.

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It is a little bit of unexpected joy and is one of the things that make Austin a good place to live, said Cara Jackson, another Zilker resident. It is not a busy roadway and is used mainly by pedestrians who live in the neighborhood. I would be very sad to see it removed and I dont think doing so would make the area any safer.

City council member Zo Qadri attended the event, as well.

Its important that these sites of community and creativity, like Fairy Alley, are protected from Trump and the state of Texas paving them over, Qadri said. My office has been proud to work with the city and an exemption has been filed with TxDOT to protect Fairy Alley and the decorated crosswalks that help our communitys safety.

Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman

DeLoretto-Chudy said she thinks its important for city leaders to be visible, to remind residents that the city is supporting them in their fight to keep treasured landmarks like Fairy Alley alive.

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Weve seen throughout the past couple of years the state trying to take more and more power from the city, and it creates distrust with city leadership because residents dont see that there is an effort by the city to stop it behind the scenes, DeLoretto-Chudy said.

She has also launched her own petition to save Fairy Alley and other city art projects.

This is not a city-endorsed policy, and its not taking into account what local residents want, she added. Its overreach by the federal government and compliance by our state government. It doesnt create a safer environment.

A dream realized, and a future uncertain

Parker Olson 3, chalks on the pavement as Zilker neighborhood families gather for the Save Fairy Alley Rally, Nov. 7 2025. The alley, a gathering place for families to play, connect and express creativity is under threat from the new Texas Department of Transportation policy against community-painted streets and could be paved over. Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman

Fairy Alleys nearly 20-year legacy may be in jeopardy, but residents are already brainstorming ways to keep the enchanted stretch alive. One option under discussion is closing the alley to through traffic entirely.

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Aika, an Austin native, doesnt live in the Fairy Alley house on Treadwell anymore; her family moved around the corner just a few years ago. But shes heartened by the neighborhood's strong opposition to potential repavement.

Its nice that people feel that much ownership, Aika said. Im trying to educate people that this is not a local level or a state level, this is a federal directive coming down. We got kind of caught in the rabble. "

No matter what happens next, Aika said shes grateful for what Fairy Alley has meant to families. Her own family is Finnish, and she said she was partially inspired to beautify the alley by Tove Jansson, the author and artist who created the iconic Moomin trolls.

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Jester Estates in Northwest Austin, shown Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, faces increased wildfire risk because of limited access. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

Jeff Shapiro strolls his lakeside property along scenic Lake Austin, pointing out the ways he has fireproofed his limestone home.

Within the 5-foot home ignition zone, theres nothing that can burn  not even decorative landscaping. Tree limbs are trimmed well away from the roof, and gutters stay clear of leaves and debris.

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Jester Estates in Northwest Austin, shown Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, faces increased wildfire risk because of limited access. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman Jester Estates in Northwest Austin, shown Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, faces increased wildfire risk because of limited access. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

There are really no significant ember ignition risks to this house, he says on a sunny autumn morning. Nothing here thats going to burn significantly.

Nestled at the base of rolling hills, Shapiro loves the beauty of his five-acre property. But as a national fire safety consultant, he also understands the tradeoff.

Theres a lot of personal responsibility on people who live in an area like Austin, he said, to recognize that there is a risk of wildfire and to do what they can to reduce that risk to themselves and their property.

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Shapiros home west of Austin carries another danger: It's located in a neighborhood with limited evacuation routes, meaning there are few ways in and few ways out. This set-up could spell disaster during a major wildfire as residents try to escape and first responders try to get in.

The community is one of hundreds now at the center of a citywide push to prepare for the inevitable next wildfire. Using new mapping tools, Austin and Travis County officials are beginning a series of neighborhood meetings to underscore the one-way-in, one-way-out risk and educate residents about how to protect their homes and plan for emergencies.

An American-Statesman analysis of mapping data from Austin Fire Department's Wildfire Division identified 275 communities with limited access that are at particular risk. Those areas were home to roughly 52,500 dwellings and other structures with about 81,000 residents as of 2022, according to the analysis, which focused only on communities with at least 30 structures.

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Search our map below to find out if your home is in a limited access area.

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At-risk areas include several neighborhoods off Cuernavaca Drive west of Austin; three neighborhoods off Jester Boulevard and RM 2222, including Jester Estates; and others such as Long Canyon and River Place.

Almost 40% of the at-risk communities are within city limits and include an estimated 19,500 people.

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Using new mapping tools, Austin and Travis County officials are beginning a series of neighborhood meetings to underscore the one-way-in, one-way-out risk and educate residents about how to protect their homes and plan for emergencies.

The effort comes as Central Texas faces heightened wildfire danger following one of Austins hottest, driest Octobers on record. Experts say a rainy July fueled vegetation growth that has since dried out  creating perfect fuel for fire.

Austins long, hot relationship with wildfire

Austin has always been vulnerable to wildfire. Its lush vegetation, rugged Hill Country slopes and sprawling neighborhoods built deep into fire-prone zones create a volatile mix. Studies by private wildfire analytics firms rank Texas third nationally for the number of homes at high to moderate wildfire risk. Among U.S. cities, the Austin area ranks fifth for both number of homes and total reconstruction value at risk.

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Those rankings  along with the devastating 2011 Bastrop County fire that destroyed more than 1,600 homes and 23 in Steiner Ranch  spurred officials to create the Austin/Travis County Wildfire Protection Plan, a blueprint for regional coordination and shared firefighting resources.

Its not a question of if another major wildfire will hit us  but when, the plan warns.

More recent disasters  including the January wildfire in Los Angeles County that destroyed 16,000 structures, caused billions in losses and killed at least 31 people  have renewed Austins urgency.

Because of the sheer number of at-risk homes, officials are focusing first on neighborhoods with limited access. Many were built before zoning rules required multiple exits or were constructed when no such rules existed.

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Grassroots fire prep

Jester Estates in Northwest Austin, shown Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, faces increased wildfire risk because of limited access. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

Fred Richardson, president of the Austin-area Firewise Alliance, said 24 neighborhood groups  including some with limited access  have joined forces to prepare for potential wildfire.

Education efforts include teaching residents how to evacuate early, what essential documents to grab, and how coordinated neighborhood efforts can stop flames from spreading.

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In some neighborhoods, theres quite a bit of activist energy, Richardson said. If were smart and take action collectively  at both the house and neighborhood level  well be much better prepared.

Officials emphasize that a strong partnership between residents and first responders is key.

In October, the city hosted its first neighborhood meeting for residents along City Park Road and RM 2222. Topics included emergency alerts, evacuation planning and identifying neighbors who may need extra help.

Jim Redick, Austins emergency management director, said the city also wants to fold resident feedback into official evacuation and shelter plans.

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Were creating these documents not just for the community, but with their input, he said. That way, when the outreach begins, its a campaign of readiness.

Back at Lake Austin, Shapiro has thought through not just fireproofing but also escape.

He points to a kayak.

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A tote bag from Heart O' the Hills summer camp for girls is found 16 miles downstream, at Lowry Park in Kerrville, on July 12, a week after the deadly floods. Bridget Grumet/American-Statesman

One of the camps hit hardest by the July 5 floods in Kerr County is reopening at a new location under new management, the camp announced last week.

Jane Ragsdale, longtime director of Heart O' The Hills Camp For Girls, died in the Fourth of July floods that left more than 100 people dead and several missing across Central Texas. In a letter to camp parents on Wednesday, the Ragsdale family  which has owned the camp since 1976  said it was passing the camp on to Elisabeth and John Hay, whose daughter has attended Heart for the past three summers.

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"The Ragsdale family had been in internal discussion about the need to 'pass the torch' at Heart for a few years, but the events of July 4 moved the needle forward," Kathy Ragsdale wrote in the letter.

In the letter, Ragsdale also announced the camp's new locationalong the north fork of the Guadalupe River, which is already under construction and "well above any floodplain."

After the floods, John Hay approached the Ragdsales asking if they wanted to buy his land to relocate the camp  instead, they offered to sell the camp to him, Ragsdale wrote. The initial property wasn't large enough for a camp, so Hay obtained a neighboring property to expand the grounds. The new property is located at 685 FM 1340 in Hunt.

Elisabeth Hay will serve as the camp's new director; John will run operations. They intend to open the camp in the summer of 2026. Registration is already open for terms starting as early as May 31 and ending as late as Aug. 1.

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Parents who have already registered their campers for next summer under the previous ownership will get refund checks starting next week.
The Travis County District Attorneys Office in the Ronald Earle Building in Austin, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza plans to drop murder and deadly conduct cases against an Austin police officer who fatally shot a man during a mental health crisis in a downtown condominium, the American-Statesman has learned.

Garza is in final negotiations before entering a unique agreement with Officer Karl Krycia that will require him to serve as a police academy instructor, teaching officers about how they should respond in rapidly evolving and dynamic situations such as the one he encountered with Mauris DeSilva in 2019.

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The arrangement represents a strikingly different approach to how Garza handled the case against Officer Christopher Taylor, who also opened fire on DeSilva in the same moments.

Prosecutors pursued a deadly conduct case against Taylor that resulted last year in what is believed to be the first conviction of an Austin police officer for using lethal force while on duty. A decision in Taylors appeal could come by the end of December.

Attorneys for DeSilvas family confirmed Garzas plan to the Statesman following a recent meeting with Garza and his prosecutors. They said they are shocked that Krycia was able to cut a deal to avoid trial and accountability.

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The father and mother of Dr. Mauris DeSilva are dismayed and disappointed, attorneys Jarrod Smith and Brad Vinson said in a statement. The family believes that only a jury can speak truth to the longstanding abuses of police power historically condoned by the City and its Police Department.

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The news comes as Garza's office is trying another Austin police officer on deadly conduct charges in connection to a separate shooting.

Garza, who was elected in 2020 on a platform of greater police accountability, said in a statement that this matter is still pending in the Travis County District Attorneys Office.

The Travis County District Attorneys Office in the Ronald Earle Building in Austin, Wednesday, June 11, 2025. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman

The Austin Police Department said in a statement that it would provide further comment if an official agreement is reached. It is important that we respect the process and allow it to run its proper course.

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Krycias attorney, Jason English, did not return calls seeking comment.

Austin police were called to the Spring Condominium tower after DeSilva, who had a history of mental health issues, was seen with a knife to his neck. When they arrived, they got on an elevator to the buildings fifth floor  a common area with a gym and pool  because they feared DeSilva might hurt another resident, their attorneys have said.

Within seconds of the elevator doors opening, they saw DeSilva with the knife, screamed for him to drop it, and Taylor and Krycia shot when they said DeSilva appeared to move toward them.

It was Taylors second fatal shooting. A Travis County jury deadlocked in 2023 in the murder trial of Taylor, who shot and killed Michael Ramos in April 2020. Prosecutors later decided not to try the case again and dropped the charges.

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A grand jury indicted Taylor and Krycia on murder charges in DeSilvas death, but prosecutors only pursued a deadly conduct charge against Taylor during a trial last year. A judge sentenced him to two years behind bars, but he remains out on bond during his appeal.

Austin police officer Christopher Taylor arrives at his sentencing hearing at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center Tuesday December 3, 2024. Taylor was found guilty of deadly conduct in the fatal shooting of a man with a history of mental illness. Jay Janner/American-Statesman

Last week, Taylors attorneys argued in Lubbock before the 7th Court of Appeals that the jury convicted Taylor without sufficient evidence, which prosecutors disputed.

Under the agreement, Smith said Krycia will remain with the Austin Police Department and help train officers for several months on what the Police Executive Research Forum describes as an innovative, evidence-based approach to use-of-force. The program is known as ICAT, which stands for Integrating Communications, Assessments and Tactics.

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Austin police currently use the ICAT program, but are also in the process of working with researchers to evaluate their force policies and training.

ICAT focuses on situations involving persons in crisis and those who are unarmed or armed with weapons other than firearms, training materials say.

Smith and Vinson said they also do not believe the city has done enough to address its culture of excessive force and its policy of impunity in failing to discipline officers. The family is disheartened and dismayed that the city and its police department persist in upholding this culture.

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Although Garzas office has obtained indictments on more than two dozen officers in his five years in office, it has struggled to obtain convictions, mirroring national challenges in police prosecutions.

Most notably, Garzas office secured indictments against 21 police officers after the 2020 social justice protests on excessive force charges, but later dropped all but a handful.

A trial against Officer Daniel Sanchez, who is charged with deadly conduct, is ongoing this week in the fatal 2022 shooting of tech entrepreneur Rajan Moonesinghe, focusing on whether Moonesinghe posed a real threat and whether Sanchezs split-second decision to fire was justified.

Respected veteran attorneys with decades of experience in Austin offered a different analysis of Garzas proposed resolution of Krycias case.

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Former state district Judge Jon Wisser said it is somewhat unusual to try one defendant but not the other in cases of similar actions.

But Charlie Baird, a defense attorney and former district judge, said it is appropriate in certain circumstances, particularly when there is a broader community benefit such as better police training.

If you can use this as an approach as far as a teachable moment, I think that is appropriate, he said.
Texas Rep. Al Green leaves the stage after speaking during a rally featuring California Governor Gavin Newsomm in Houston, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. Newsom touted the passing of Proposition 50, which allows California to redraw all of its congressional districts in response to Gov. Greg Abbotts plans to redistrict Texas for President Donald Trump. Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle Patricia Dicoste, right, cheers alongside Julie Neuman as California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks during a rally in Houston, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. Newsom touted the passing of Proposition 50, which allows California to redraw all of its congressional districts in response to Gov. Greg Abbotts plans to redistrict Texas for President Donald Trump. Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle California Governor Gavin Newsom, right, hugs Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett after she introduced him during a rally in Houston, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. Newsom touted the passing of Proposition 50, which allows California to redraw all of its congressional districts in response to Gov. Greg Abbotts plans to redistrict Texas for President Donald Trump. Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, speaks to voting rights activists outside the Supreme Court in Washington, early Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, as the justices prepare to take up a major Republican-led challenge to the Voting Rights Act, the centerpiece legislation of the Civil Rights Movement. Cliff Owen/AP

Filing for the 2026 Texas primaries is underway, even as it's still unclear whether the GOP's redrawn congressional districts will withstand a court challenge brought by several Democratic and civil rights organizations.

If the three-judge panel in El Paso that is still considering the legality of the new boundaries agrees with arguments that they were improperly drawn, it could force candidates who have already filed or are considering entering the race to rethink their plans.

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Veteran U.S. Rep. Al Green, a Houston Democrat whose safe District 9 was reshaped to give Republicans the edge switched to the more friendly District 18 when candidate filing opened Saturday. But that does not mean the 20-year congressional veteran is giving up hope that his present district will be preserved by the courts.

"I am presently fighting in and out of court to stop this corrupt racist election rigging that will have most of the people currently in the historic 8th Congressional District voting in another Congressional District," Green told the Houston Chronicle last week.

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Another Democrat, state Sen. Sarah Eckhardt of Austin, announced last month that she plans to run for the redrawn District 10 that stretches from Travis County to East Texas. Because her Senate term runs through the 2028 elections, Eckhardt would remain in the Legislature if she comes up short in the congressional race.

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And, she said, even if the new map is declared unconstitutional, she will likely continue with her plans to seek the district anchored by Austin that is being vacated by Republican Michael McCaul.

"The circumstances with regard to the Republican primary will be the same," Eckhardt said in an interview. "It will probably be a scrum of people who have never served in any elective office before, all of which will be bragging of blind loyalty to one man and maybe a couple of which will be deeply funded by very wealthy people."

Another long-serving Democrat, U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Austin, has said he will rethink his decision to retire if the old map is restored. The Legislature combined Doggett's district with that of U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, and Doggett bowed out of battling it out with his Democratic colleague in what would likely have been a bruising and expensive primary

The case being decided by the federal court was first brought after the Legislature in 2021 approved a congressional map enacted to reflect the state's changing demographic patterns that emerged from the federal census the year before. The plaintiffs, which included the League of United Latin American Citizens, the NAACP and other organizations, asserted that the rights of minority voters had been illegally diminished.

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After this year's unusual effort to scuttle and replace the map mid-decade, the judges reopened the case to hear the plaintiff's arguments on the new revisions. Those changes were designed to give Texas Republicans five more winnable districts in the upcoming 2026 election cycle.
A woman carries a photograph of Josseli Barnica, a Texas woman who died following delayed emergency care due to the abortion ban in Texas, during a 2024 All Souls Procession in Tucson, Arizona. By evading its U.N. human rights review, America ignores what the world sees clearly: Texans suffering under abortion bans, Irma L. Garcia of Jane's Due Process writes. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Last week, at the United Nations in Geneva, the United States was scheduled to undergo a human rights review that all U.N. member states participate in every four and a half years. Instead, the U.S. boycotted its mandatory review, a critically important mechanism for holding countries accountable for their human rights records.

If the review happened as it should, the U.S. reproductive rights crisis would be on full display. For almost 25 years, Janes Due Process has helped young Texans access reproductive health care, and since the fall of Roe, weve helped more than 300 teens travel out of state for abortion care.

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Young people call our hotline, terrified of being found out  unable to move freely, to tell anyone, or to reach the care they need. For many Texans, accessing health care requires travel. As a result of the chilling effect of Texass abortion bans, many clinicians and health care professionals direct patients out of state for procedures, including miscarriage care. This travel is both disruptive and costly, and as a result of widespread surveillance and immigration checkpoints, even travel within Texas carries significant risks.

While the U.S. attempts to ignore its obligations under international human rights law, we demand accountability. Human rights are universal, and this government cannot look away. In April, we joined coalition partners in authoring a report to the U.N. Human Rights Council exposing the egregious human rights violations happening to pregnant people across the U.S., especially in Texas and Louisiana. In August, I traveled to Geneva to share our experiences with diplomats and human rights experts from every region of the world.

What we see in Texas is not an isolated experience. As emphasized in Geneva, many U.S. states, including Texas, look to legislation introduced in other states to create new restrictions. After Texas passage of Senate Bill 8 in 2021  which allowed citizens to sue providers and anyone else assisting with an abortion after six weeks, shuttering clinical access to abortion in Texas  additional states followed suit.

We see similar trends in legislation around gender-affirming care. Moreover, surveillance, movement restrictions and risks of criminalization affect peoples ability to access education, employment and health care across Texas, Louisiana and many other Southern states. The effect is an untenable and escalating rights crisis.

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This current crisis didnt begin with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Reproductive oppression is woven into this nations fabric, built through colonization, genocide and enslavement. For my community, this is nothing new; its the latest chapter in a war on the most marginalized  Black, Indigenous, immigrant, teen and queer people.

The United States needs to do better. Abortion bans and related restrictions violate fundamental human rights, including the rights to life, health, privacy, equality and non-discrimination, and to be free from torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment. These are rights that the U.S. is obliged to recognize and uphold.

We call on all levels of government to guarantee safe, legal, confidential abortion access. We also call on lawmakers to repeal criminal abortion laws, protect digital privacy and health data, reinforce protections for providers and doulas, mandate inclusive, accurate sex education, and address disproportionate harm to marginalized communities.

For the more than 150 civil society organizations across the United States who submitted reports on wide-ranging human rights concerns to the Human Rights Council ahead of the scheduled review, the U.S. evasion of this crucial review process not only ignores U.N. procedures and promotes impunity, it also ignores the significance of testimony that illustrates the depth and breadth of the human rights crisis in the United States.

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At the end of October, I joined dozens at a Peoples UPR, or Universal Periodic Review, to share testimonies about the state of human rights in this country amid news of U.S. attempts to evade the review. We talked about the impacts of abortion bans, among a range of human rights concerns.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks to FBI Director Kash Patel as he appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his first oversight hearing, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, at the Capitol in Washington. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

A proposal by President Donald Trump to replace the Affordable Care Act with direct payments to Americans is drawing support from Republicans like U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas.

With Congress in the middle of negotiations to try to end a more than 40-day government shutdown, Trump wrote on Truth Social Saturday morning that Congress should stop "the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies." He said the money should instead be placed in individual health care savings accounts that could be used for premiums, coverage or other health-related expenses.

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On his podcast Monday, Cruz said Trump's pitch stemmed from a phone conversation he and other GOP senators had with the president while out to dinner Friday night.

"When we had Trump on the phone, we said, 'Look, it would really help if you made the case that what Democrats are fighting for is these massive multibillion dollar corporate welfare payoffs to the health insurance companies instead of empowering consumers,'" Cruz recounted.

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The proposal comes amid a looming spike in the cost of health insurance after Republicans in Congress declined to continue enhanced subsidies for ACA insurance policies. Those subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year and had been a central sticking point for Democrats in negotiations to reopen the government before a key bloc of Democratic senators backed down and agreed to a tentative deal with Republicans on Sunday.

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Crenshaw endorsed Trump's idea in a post on X Sunday, saying he had been working on "this exact bill concept."

"Why are Democrats so keen on subsidizing insurance companies instead of patients?" he wrote. "All it has done is given insurance companies incentives to raise premiums (more subsidies) and get people signed up for junk insurance (more subsidies)."

Republicans have toyed with eliminating the ACA since former President Barack Obama signed it into law in 2010. In 2017, U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy proposed a similar concept to the one offered by Trump, replacing the ACA with a state block program.

The details on how an HSA-based program would work remain unclear, including what would happen to patient protections under the ACA, like its requirement that insurers cover people with preexisting conditions and its ban on companies selling policies with caps on health care coverage.

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If patients were allowed to use their HSA contribution to pay for cheaper plans without those same protections, it could cause the plans sold in the ACA marketplace to fall apart, experts say.

"You have to read between the lines here to imagine what President Trump is proposing. But, it sounds like it could be a plan for health accounts that could be used for insurance that doesnt cover preexisting conditions, which could create a death spiral in ACA plans that do," Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, wrote on X.

Trump and his Republican allies are drawing pushback from insurance companies as well.

In his podcast, Cruz pointed out that insurance companies like Cigna and United had seen their stock price increase more than 800% since 2010  over that same period the S&P 500 increased less than 500%.

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Mike Tuffin, president of the the lobbying group formerly known as American Health Insurance Plans, said in a statement that insurers' profit margins were 0.8% in 2024.
Photo: nashigroshi.org

Detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) have searched the home of businessman and co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio, Tymur Mindich, on the morning of November 10, the Kyiv-based ezine Ukrainska Pravda has reported, citing its own sources.

According to sources, the search is taking place in Kyiv.

Interfax-Ukraine agency has no refutation or confirmation of this information.

As reported on November 6, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) began checking information made public and addressed to it by the Deputy Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, Yaroslav Zheleznyak (Holos faction), regarding Mindichs alleged business in the extraction and sale of diamonds in the Russian Federation during the full-scale war.The SBU press service then told the Interfax-Ukraine agency: "As stipulated by the current legislation of Ukraine, the SBU is verifying the facts specified in the statement of the Peoples Deputy of Ukraine Yaroslav Zheleznyak, within the framework of a previously opened criminal case, the pre-trial investigation of which is being conducted by investigators of the Security Service.

The case has been opened under Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine." Zheleznyak announced the alleged opening of a case against Mindich by the SBU. "Based on our investigation and appeal to the SBU about the "Mindich diamonds," we received a response. The case about the activities of this powerful businessman is related to doing business in an aggressor country. Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (assistance to an aggressor state)," the SBU said on Telegram on Thursday, illustrating the message with a scanned copy of the official response to him from the head of the Main Investigation Department of the SBU, Yevhen Rusinov, without mentioning Mindichs last name.

"The Main Investigation Department of the Security Service of Ukraine, within its competence, has processed your statement on the commission of a criminal offense dated 03.11.2025. The investigation of the circumstances set forth in your statement is already being carried out in the course of a pre-trial investigation of criminal proceedings, previously entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations on the grounds of a crime provided for in Part 1 of Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (assistance to an aggressor state)," the document states.

Zheleznyak noted that "Mindich has already assembled a trio: FBI, NABU and SBU."

Earlier, a video was published on Zheleznyaks YouTube channel, which talks about Mindichs "diamond business." The deputy claims that Mindich owned companies that were engaged in the extraction and sale of laboratory diamonds in Ukraine and the Russian Federation during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. That is, according to him, it is actually about doing business with an aggressor country.
Member of Parliament Yaroslav Zheleznyak (Holos faction) reported on searches at the residence of Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko, former Energy Ministery and at Joint Stock Company National Nuclear Energy Generating Company (JSC NNEG) Energoatom.

And the NABU also searched the residence of Herman Halushchenko. What a coincidence. And thats not all," Zheleznyak wrote on Telegram on Monday morning.

"And they say at Energoatom too. Its not a day, its a holiday," he added later.

According to the Peoples Deputy, "Mindich, Herman, Energoatom - all in one of our investigations and then one application to the NABU."

Later, Zheleznyak published another post on Telegram: "This is not all."

Earlier, information appeared about the NABU searches on the morning of November 10 of the co-owner of the Quarter 95 studio, Tymur Mindich, and Zheleznyak reported that he left Ukraine right before the searches and "will be hiding in Israel and Austria."

As reported on November 6, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) began checking the information that Zheleznyak had made public and with which he had addressed it regarding Mindichs alleged business in the extraction and sale of diamonds in the Russian Federation during the full-scale war. He illustrated the message with a scanned copy of the official response to him from the head of the SBUs Main Investigation Department, Yevgeny Rusinov, without mentioning his last name. Mindich.

"The Main Investigation Department of the Security Service of Ukraine, within its competence, has processed your statement on the commission of a criminal offense dated 03.11.2025. The investigation of the circumstances set out in your application is already being carried out in the course of a pre-trial investigation of criminal proceedings, previously entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations on the grounds of a crime provided for in Part 1 of Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (assistance to an aggressor state)," the document states.

Zheleznyak noted that "Mindich has already assembled a trio: the FBI, NABU and SBU."

Earlier, a video was published on Zheleznyaks YouTube channel, which talks about Mindichs "diamond business." The deputy claims that Mindich owned companies that were engaged in the extraction and sale of laboratory diamonds in Ukraine and the Russian Federation during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. That is, according to him, this is actually about doing business with the aggressor state, i.e. Russia.
Photo: NABU

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Office (SAPO) are conducting a large-scale operation to expose corruption in the energy sector, the NABU Telegram channel reported on Monday morning.

"15 months of work and 1,000 hours of audio recordings. The activities of a high-level criminal organization have been documented. Its participants built a large-scale corruption scheme to influence strategic state-sector enterprises, in particular Joint Stock Company Energoatom. Details later," the report said.

A message of identical content was published on the SAPO Telegram channel.

Earlier, the media and MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak (Holos faction) reported on searches at the co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio, Tymur Mindich, Minister of Justice Herman Haluschenko, and at Energoatom.

Zhelezniak said that the statement on corruption at Energoatom was filed by him and his colleagues. According to the MP, "Mindich, Herman, Energoatom  all in one of our investigations and then one statement to the NABU." He later said on Telegram that "this is not all."
An Air Force B-52H Stratofortress assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., prepares to land at Moron Air Base, Spain, Nov. 8, 2025, as part of Bomber Task Force 26-1. (Codie Trimble/ U.S. Air Force)



STUTTGART, Germany  U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers deployed over the weekend to a base in Spain that will serve as a launching pad for operations along NATOs eastern flank and into the High North.

The aircraft are part of Bomber Task Force Europe 26-1 and arrived at Moron Air Base on Saturday, U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa said in a statement the same day.

The deployment of an unspecified number of aircraft from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana puts U.S. forces in a better position to respond rapidly and maintain a credible deterrent, USAFE-AFAFRICA said.

Bomber aircrews will conduct training missions that simulate operations in complex, high-threat airspace, USAFE-AFAFRICA said.

Aircrews will train on key elements of the find, fix, track and target process  honing the speed and accuracy with which bombers and fighters are able to act against threats in real time scenarios, the statement said.

For example, aircrews will train against simulated ground- and air-based threats that aim to deny the B-52s freedom to maneuver, USAFE-AFAFRICA said.

The Air Force statement didnt detail how many bombers or airmen are part of the latest rotation or how long the mission would last. Typically, such deployments last for several weeks.

Moron Air Base, in the far south of the country about a 45-minute drive from Seville, is one of the Air Forces smallest bases and has served as a strategic outpost for American airpower dating back to the 1950s.

Since the emergence of the Air Forces Bomber Task Force Europe mission in 2018, Moron has been one of the European locations hosting rotational B-52 bombers and other aircraft.

The concept, intended as a demonstration of Air Force agility, aims to deter potential aggression while also improving coordination with other allied air forces.

Finland, Lithuania and Sweden are among the countries the U.S. task force will be operating alongside, USAFE-AFAFRICA said.
(Herbert Freeman/Stars and Stripes)



Seoul, South Korea, June 19, 1960: Several South Koreans climbed atop a utility pole and waved South Korean and American flags to welcome U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to Seoul, South Korea. The President  on a tour of Southeast Asia  flew in from Okinawa on June 19, 1960 for an overnight visit to the Republic of Korea. Newspaper reports noted that nearly 2 million people  basically the citys entire population  packed the streets of Seoul to welcome the president when he arrived Sunday. During his visit, the president reaffirmed Americas determination to keep the ROK free from aggression.

Looking for Stars and Stripes historic coverage? Subscribe to Stars and Stripes historic newspaper archive! We have digitized our 1948-1999 European and Pacific editions, as well as several of our WWII editions and made them available online through https://starsandstripes.newspaperarchive.com/
Andrew Marco, 35, shown posing with an adoptable pup at a recent event for Frolly, has been online dating since the end of a long-term relationship two years ago. He joined Frolly for a couple of days and said he likes the idea of having a built-in connection around dogs, though he hasnt gotten a reply to a message he sent. (Pics for Pupz/Courtesy of Frolly)



As a young professional, Lauren Haynes has moved a number of times in the past decade for her job  from South Jersey to Philadelphia to California and, most recently, to Charlotte.

Ive used all the dating apps, unfortunately, Haynes, 33, said. Hinge, Bumble and Tinder  they all feel the same.

Haynes described some of the discouraging patterns that online daters will find familiar: messaging people and not hearing back, or getting strange or creepy messages from other users. People also complain about endless swiping, or wondering whether the person with whom theyre chatting is using artificial intelligence to write their messages or craft their profile.

But when Haynes heard about a new dating app for dog people, she was intrigued. She doesnt have a dog but describes herself as a dog person.

I was like, Oh, this is new, she said. Why not give it a try, since all the other ones havent been working?

The new app is called Frolly (a mashup of frolic and jolly  unfortunately, Catch was taken). Its founder is Charlotte-based entrepreneur and philanthropist Cindy Himmel, and the idea started with a conversation with her adult daughter, Amanda Pietrick.

Young professional Lauren Haynes poses with a pup. Haynes doesnt have a dog of her own but joined the new dating app Frolly to find someone who loves dogs as much as she does. (Lauren Haynes )



She had met somebody at a bar, Himmel said. I saw her a week or so later and said, Whatever happened to so and so? Pietrick responded that he wasnt that into dogs, which was a deal-breaker for her  and sparked an idea for Himmel.

Could connecting dog lovers make dating fun again?

When I would say to people, are you dating online, the answer was always, like, ugh, Himmel said. Maybe this could spark joy in dating again, because our dogs bring us so much joy.

Frolly launched in late October in Charlotte, with plans to soon expand to other cities. The app is free for now, but Himmel eventually plans to charge users a monthly fee and donate a portion of the profits to local animal rescue organizations in each community  for Charlotte, its Forgotten, Now Family Rescue.

Its sort of a shared human experience that transcends all of our differences, Himmel said. When you meet someone on the street and they have a dog, you just have an instant, you know, something to talk about and you light up. Himmel also believes that many dog people tend to have shared values.

The characteristics of dog owners  trustworthy, honest, responsible  those are some of the things that we would look for in a partner as well, Himmel said.

I think having and taking care of animals, thats such a green flag, Haynes said, using a term that means a positive sign about a potential romantic partner.

Haynes said knowing that everyone on the app loves dogs has helped break the ice, making it easier to message someone and start a conversation over a shared interest. She hasnt gone out on a date with anyone yet (shes not rushing anything) but said the quality of the connections has been stronger than on other apps.

Andrew Marco, 35, has been online dating since the end of a long-term relationship two years ago.

Ive been on Hinge ever since, Marco said. After a while, its a lot of the same.

He has been on Frolly for a couple of days and said he likes the idea of having a built-in connection around dogs, though he hasnt gotten a reply to a message he sent.

Satira Streeter, a relationship expert and couples counselor in Washington, expressed some skepticism about the idea that uniting dog lovers could be a recipe for relationships.

That could be a start, she said, but theres no scientific research that says okay, if two of you have a love of dogs, that is going to be the thing that can bring you together.

Streeter cautioned that people should take their time getting to know each other and figuring out whether their communication styles and other priorities are compatible.

That said, could it work for some dog people?

I think everything can work for somebody, Streeter said.

One thing that could come up for couples with dogs each is whether the dogs get along as well as their humans.

Brianna Dick is a dog trainer and owner of Pack Leader Help, a dog-training business in Alexandria, Va.

Dick said she often hears from people who are dating, falling in love, and then realizing their dogs need to get along, too. Even among friendly dogs, putting them together in the same home is different from a dog park or doggie day care.

People kind of just throw their two dogs together and hope it sticks, Dick said.

She recommends starting with a parallel walk in a neutral space such as a park. Dick says thats the dog equivalent of getting a cup of coffee.

If that goes well, the couple could try having their dogs play off-leash in a yard or another enclosed outdoor space. Then they can introduce them to each others homes using leashes or baby gates to see whether they get territorial.

People are eager to get their dogs together and have them be best friends, Dick said. Its kind of like stepbrothers.

They need to have time and space to get used to each other, she explained.

For Haynes, that isnt a concern since she is currently dogless. For now, she said, shes hanging out with her friends dogs to get her fix.

But if she meets her mate on Frolly, shed be happy to end up with a pup as well as a partner.
The Philippine marine corps has unveiled a new anti-ship missile unit equipped with Indian-made BrahMos cruise missiles. (RTVMalacanang)



The Philippine marine corps has unveiled a new anti-ship missile unit equipped with Indian-made BrahMos cruise missiles, a move that could strengthen Manilas defenses in the disputed South China Sea but is likely to draw attention from Beijing.

A BrahMos missile unit debuted during the corps 75th anniversary celebration, according to a video released Friday by the Philippine government.

The missile can be launched from air, land, sea and underwater carrying conventional warheads weighing up to 660 pounds. It has a range of 180 miles and there is no known weapons system that can intercept it, according to BrahMos Aerospace.

It has a top speed of about 2,100 mph, according to the state-run Philippine News Agency.

The Philippines purchased three BrahMos batteries for $320 million in January 2022, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has said the country plans to acquire more, according to an Aug. 8 report by the agency.

Scarborough Shoal  a flashpoint in the South China Sea where Chinese and Philippine vessels have repeatedly clashed  lies about 140 miles from Luzon, the Philippines main island.

Satellite imagery and analysis by Naval News last year indicated construction of possible BrahMos bases on Luzon, including at Naval Station Leovigildo Gantioqui in Zambales and Camp Cape Bojeador in Burgos, Ilocos Norte. U.S. forces have trained at both locations.

In April 2023, Marcos observed a U.S. Army High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, firing at a target ship of Zambales during the annual Balikatan drills. U.S. Marines trained at Camp Cape Bojeador during the Kamandag exercise in October 2024.

American troops have also deployed their own anti-ship systems to the Philippines. A U.S. Army mid-range Typhon missile battery has been stationed in the islands since spring 2024. The deployment drew criticism from China, which maintains a large arsenal of intermediate-range missiles and has described U.S. actions in the region as destabilizing.

The Army fired the Typhon system from northern Australia during the Talisman Sabre drills in July. The Marines Navy-Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, or NMESIS, made its Philippines debut in April, operating in the Batanes, a group of islands between Taiwan and Luzon, during this years Kamandag exercise.

The BrahMos unveiling came a week after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his Philippine counterpart, Gilbert Teodoro, announced the formation of a new military task force, to be led by a general or admiral, to deter aggression in the South China Sea.

The new BrahMos batteries could help deter Chinese expansion not only at Scarborough Shoal but also around other Philippine waters and islands, said Paul Buchanan, an American security analyst based in New Zealand.

They could be effective against any landing vessels as well as warships, he told Stars and Stripes by email Monday.

Still, the new capability is unlikely to alter the broader balance of power in the region, said Patricio Abinales, a professor at the University of Hawaiis School of Pacific and Asian Studies.

But it is a big morale boost to the Philippine Marines which can now say it is truly back to its main role of external defense and not anymore an anti-insurgency force, he said by email Monday.
The aircraft carrier USS George Washington, seen here leaving its homeport in Japan on Oct. 30, 2025, concluded its first visit to South Korea since 2014 on Nov. 9, 2025. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)



Pyongyang condemned the USS George Washingtons visit to South Korea as a brazen provocation, as the aircraft carrier departed the port city of Busan on Sunday following its first visit to the Korean Peninsula in more than a decade.

The carrier left Busan Naval Base after four days, accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Robert Smalls and the guided-missile destroyers USS Shoup and USS Milius, the U.S. 7th Fleet said in a Sunday news release.

While in port, the carrier hosted leaders from both militaries, according to the release. A fleet spokesman did not immediately respond to an email requesting additional details Monday.

The Navy described the visit as an opportunity to strengthen the long-standing U.S.-South Korea alliance. But North Korea said the deployment heightened tensions between Pyongyang and Seoul.

North Korean Defense Minister No Kwang Chol said the George Washingtons presence amid joint U.S.-South Korean air force drills  known as Freedom Flag  represented a critical excess.

That exercise was scaled down from two weeks of combined training to one week of U.S.-only drills and one week of joint operations to maintain readiness during last months Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, a South Korean Ministry of National Defense spokesman told Stars and Stripes by text message at the time.

In a Saturday statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, No warned that future threats would become direct targets of North Korea.

We are ready to respond to everything, he said.

A day before Nos statement, North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea. It flew about 500 miles before landing outside Japans exclusive economic zone, according to the countrys defense minister.

On Saturday, Seoul urged Pyongyang to halt actions that further escalate regional tensions, a defense ministry spokesman said by text message to Stars and Stripes on Saturday.

Our military strongly condemns North Koreas recent missile launch and expresses deep regret over its criticism of the annual South Korea-U.S. combined exercises and conferences, he wrote.

Some South Korean government officials are required to speak to the media on condition of anonymity.
Italian and American flags fly in front of the U.S. Army 173rd Airborne Brigade headquarters in Vicenza, Italy. The Army and Air Force are working with the Pentagon to find a way to pay thousands of Italian workers who missed their October paychecks. (John Hall/ U.S. Army)



NAPLES, Italy  The Army and Air Force are looking to pull funding from their budgets to pay thousands of local-national workers at Italy bases who didnt get October paychecks because of the U.S. government shutdown, according to the Italian foreign affairs ministry.

The action follows a call for the U.S. to quickly settle up with about 2,000 Italian workers, mostly at Aviano Air Base and U.S. Army Garrison Italy in Vicenza, the ministry said in a statement Saturday.

Efforts by the two military services were confirmed by the U.S. Embassy in Rome, the ministry said. The Italian government is in talks to emphasize the need to immediately find a solution, even a temporary one, regardless of the end of the shutdown, the statement said.

The U.S. government shutdown began Oct. 1 and is now the longest in American history.

On Sunday, the Senate appeared poised to end the shutdown, advancing a legislative package that would reopen the government and fund most federal agencies through January, The New York Times reported on Monday. The measure would require the approval of both houses of Congress.

Last month, a labor union representing Italian workers at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily urged Italys government to apply political pressure on the U.S. to ensure local-national workers at American bases throughout the country received their October pay.

The plea came after the Joint Civilian Personnel Committee, Italy notified two unions representing thousands of Italians working at U.S. bases in Italy that some of those employees could see their October paychecks delayed. The committee represents the Army, Air Force and Navy in Italy in employment matters.

That interruption specifically would impact Italian workers for the Air Force and Army whose salaries are paid with appropriated funds.

Conversely, local-national employees of the U.S. Navy who work in jobs financed with appropriated funds would be promptly paid through funds for October payrolls, the committee said.

Italian employees whose jobs are funded by nonappropriated funds, such as those working at the Navy exchange or Army and Air Force Exchange Service, are not affected and would be paid on time, according to the memo.

U.S. bases in Italy employ thousands of Italians at retail stores, food courts, gyms and child care centers. Others work as engineers, architects, plumbers, electricians and firefighters, among other positions.

About 500 local-national employees paid with appropriated funds work at Aviano, while roughly 220 of its Italian workers are paid with nonappropriated funds.

It wasnt clear Monday how many local-national workers are employed at Vicenza or at U.S. Navy bases in Naples and Sicily.
Eric Mueller, left, and Maarten Otte hoist an American flag back onto the Henry Gunther memorial in Chaumont-Devant-Damvillers, France, after repairing the flagpole, Nov. 6, 2025. The two have taken it upon themselves to care for some of the more than 140 American memorials scattered across the area where the U.S.-led Meuse-Argonne Offensive occurred in late 1918. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)



CHAUMONT-DEVANT-DAMVILLERS, France  From a hilltop overlooking miles of farmland, American retiree Eric Mueller stood beside a stone monument and pointed to a spot in the valley below where the last U.S. soldier killed in World War I is thought to have fallen.

A former Michigan Air National Guard lieutenant, Mueller has traveled to northeastern France twice a year for nearly a decade, logging the GPS coordinates of trench lines, bunkers and other wartime sites for a digital mapping project.

But while scouring old battlefields, he became troubled by something he never set out to find: monuments to American military units and soldiers weathered by age and suffering from neglect.

At the hilltop monument in the Meuse region, an inscription about the Armys 79th Infantry Division and Sgt. Henry Gunther, the aforementioned soldier, was barely legible and cracks ran through a panel embedded in the stone.

It bothers me that their sacrifices were recognized by these monuments and then forgotten, Mueller said. These guys deserve better.

So in 2019, he teamed up with Dutch historian and author Maarten Otte, whose research focuses on U.S. involvement in World War I. Since then, the two have taken it upon themselves to care for some of the more than 140 American memorials Otte says are scattered across the area north of Verdun, where the U.S.-led Meuse-Argonne Offensive occurred in late 1918.

Throughout western Europe, thousands of small, privately funded memorials stand at sites where Americans fought and died during the world wars. As the 107th anniversary of World War Is end is marked Tuesday, experts say maintaining many of them has never been more difficult.

A frayed American flag is exposed to the elements Nov. 5, 2025, at a neglected monument to the all-Black U.S. Army 371st Infantry Regiment near Ardeuil-et-Montfauxelles, France. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)



One of the primary challenges is the disappearance or death of the organizations or people originally responsible for the monuments. In such cases, towns and various associations sometimes step in to help with maintenance.

But in sparsely populated areas of northeastern France  where American memorials stand among numerous French and other Allied monuments from both world wars, as well as older ones from the Franco-Prussian War  resources are limited.

Eric Mueller, left, and Maarten Otte repair a flagpole at a monument to Henry Gunther, believed to be the last American killed during World War I, at Chaumont-Devant-Damvillers, France, Nov. 6, 2025. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)



Otte, who lives in the region, routinely checks on the condition of the monuments. When Mueller returns for his visits, the pair tend to those that need attention.

They replace worn-out American flags with ones Mueller brings from the U.S. and do light cleaning and restoration work. Occasionally, they hire professionals to remove heavy moss and lichen buildup.

We always do this before Nov. 11, when more Americans visit the area, Otte said, referring to what is observed as Armistice Day in Europe and Veterans Day in the United States.

On Thursday, he was scrubbing algae from a flagpole at a memorial in the Argonne Forest honoring troops of the U.S. Armys 77th Infantry Division.

We want the memorials to look good so people can see theyre cared for, Otte said.

A neglected monument to the U.S. Armys 371st Infantry Regiment stands in a windswept field, near Ardeuil-et-Montfauxelles, France, Nov. 5, 2025. The 371st largely consisted of poor Black laborers from segregated South Carolina. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

Some names of U.S. soldiers who served in the 371st Infantry Regiment during World War I are illegible on a memorial honoring the all-Black unit near Ardeuil-et-Montfauxelles, France, as seen Nov. 5, 2025. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)



Locations with lesser allure

While the Meuse-Argonne region welcomes a steady stream of visitors each year, its hardly a tourist hot spot.

In Normandy, by contrast, World War II tourism helps sustain the regional economy, so officials make sure monuments and cemeteries are kept in pristine condition.

The Normandy American Cemetery alone welcomes more than a million visitors each year, according to the American Battle Monuments Commission.

The Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, which holds the graves of more than 14,200 Americans and is the largest cemetery of its kind in Europe, receives only about 15,000 annual visitors, staffers said.

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, a 47-day campaign that helped bring World War I to an end, remains the largest and deadliest battle in U.S. military history.

When fighting finished, American units, veterans groups and families independently built hundreds of memorials on European soil to honor fallen soldiers and commemorate military milestones.

But as Gen. John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, toured the Continent in the early 1920s, he noticed that many of these tributes lacked coordination and upkeep.

Concerned that they might deteriorate and reflect poorly on the United States, he urged the creation of a national body to oversee Americas overseas commemorations.

Congress responded in 1923 by creating the American Battle Monuments Commission, appointing Pershing as its first chairman. But the agencys responsibility does not extend to most privately funded monuments.

The memorial to the U.S. Armys 316th Infantry Regiment in Sivry-sur-Meuse, France, is stained with brown growth in this image taken Nov. 5, 2025. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)

The American Battle Monuments Commission is responsible for hiring contractors to maintain the 316th Infantry Regiment Memorial in Sivry-sur-Meuse, France, pictured here on Nov. 5, 2025. But the agency has had difficulty finding someone to do the work. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)



Only about three dozen have been accepted into the commissions Private Memorials Program, through which the agency is paid to ensure that contractors maintain sites on behalf of the groups that own them.

And in northeastern France, the ABMC is struggling to find contractors to care for at least one of those sites, the 316th Infantry Regiment Memorial in Sivry-sur-Meuse, underscoring how difficult it can be to preserve even well-funded U.S. monuments at times.

Adam Leigland, who manages the Private Memorials Program, has received complaints about the sites condition and has been searching for a contractor for several months.

If you were to go out there today, youd be really displeased, he said.

Stirring hearts and minds

For Americans and Europeans today who have never experienced the realities of war firsthand, smaller monuments can be especially effective because they often convey more personal details, said Ann Rigney, a former professor of comparative literature at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

She specializes in cultural memory and the ways societies commemorate the past.

Sometimes you need these very shocking small little details to bring home in a new way the awfulness of war  rather than being something you ritualistically yawn at when Nov. 11 comes around, Rigney said.

Another American who understands the impact of such monuments and shares the sense of urgency to preserve them is Lilian Pfluke, a retired U.S. Army major who formerly ran the Private Memorials Program.

During her decadelong tenure beginning in the 1990s, Pfluke often heard from people concerned about neglected American war monuments that fell outside the agencys authority.

The steady stream of complaints inspired her to establish the nonprofit American War Memorials Overseas in 2008.

The organization documents, promotes and helps preserve smaller, privately built military memorials honoring Americans around the world, often encouraging local groups to act and assist with fundraising. Its database now includes more than 4,600 sites.

We dont have troops in France anymore, said Pfluke, who lives in Avignon. Our monuments and cemeteries are our strategic presence here. They show what America has done, reflect our alliance with France and preserve the legacy of our cooperation during the world wars.

A nearly illegible commemorative stone, seen here on Nov. 5, 2025, marks the spot between the French towns of Cunel and Brieulles-sur-Meuse where U.S. soldiers Lt. Willoughby R. Marks and Lt. Georg M. Hollister were killed while fighting in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive during World War I. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes)



People like Mueller and Otte are not alone, Pfluke said. Others across Europe quietly do similar work, often if they live by a memorial or have personal or family ties to an area where one is located.

And with war once again raging in Europe, the need to maintain that legacy feels especially urgent today, she said.

We need to keep those memories alive, she said. We need to remember what this is all about.
Army Maj. Adam Moore, commander of the VFW post in Hohenfels, Germany, places a flag on the grave of U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Eric Roberts on Nov. 9, 2025, before the annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Durnbach War Cemetery near Gmund am Tegernsee, Germany. Roberts was shot down Oct. 8, 1943, during an attack on Stuttgart. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)



DURNBACH, Germany  Army Maj. Adam Moore and his family traveled 250 miles round trip over the weekend to pay their respects to four American service members in World War II interred alongside the fallen of other Allied nations.

The annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Durnbach War Cemetery, near the southern edge of Bavaria, drew about 100 attendees. The Moores appeared to be the only Americans in a crowd that mixed British, Canadian and German visitors.

They made the trip to place flags on the graves of 1st Lt. Stanley Penner, 1st Lt. Eric Roberts, Tech Sgt. James Hannon and Flight Officer William Shearer. All four served in the U.S. Army Air Forces and were shot down in 1943 or 1944.

Moore is the commander of the local VFW post in Hohenfels, about a two-hour drive away. With him were his Air Force veteran wife, Kelly, and their 5-year-old daughter Emily.

Theyre all kids, Kelly said, her voice wavering as she stood before Hannons gravestone.

She had crafted homemade flag holders topped with red poppies, a symbol of remembrance in the U.K.

Not much is known about Penner, Roberts, Hannon and Shearer, and no relatives of any of the roughly 3,000 buried there were in attendance.

About 100 attendees gather for the annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Durnbach War Cemetery near Gmund am Tegernsee, Germany, on Nov. 9, 2025. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

U.S. Army Air Forces Flight Officer William Shearer, second from left, died with a Canadian crew on July 25, 1944, about 30 miles west of Stuttgart, Germany, when his Lancaster bomber was shot down during a raid. (Chelmsford War Memorial)

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Stanley Penner died Feb. 25, 1944, when his plane was shot down during an attack on Schweinfurt, Germany. He and three other American service members killed in World War II are buried in the Durnbach War Cemetery in southern Germany. (Find a Grave)

A bagpiper plays a funeral dirge at the annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Durnbach War Cemetery near Gmund am Tegernsee, Germany, on Nov. 9, 2025. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

A man walks among the headstones during the annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Durnbach War Cemetery near Gmund am Tegernsee, Germany, on Nov. 9, 2025. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

British air force members assigned to NATO in Munich salute during the annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony honoring war dead from World War II at the Durnbach War Cemetery near Gmund am Tegernsee, Germany, on Nov. 9, 2025. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)

U.S. Army Air Forces Flight Officer William Shearer, whose grave marker is seen here at the Durnbach War Cemetery near Gmund am Tegernsee, Germany, on Nov. 9, 2025, died with a crew of Canadians on July 25, 1944, when their Lancaster bomber was shot down about 30 miles west of Stuttgart. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes)



Most of the graves are those of aircrew members and former prisoners of war from the United Kingdom and Canada.

The Durnbach War Cemetery was chosen by the U.K. as the final resting place for its World War II service members who died in southern Germany. At the time, it was located in the American occupation zone.

One grave contains the ashes of British spies who died at the Flossenburg concentration camp, 25 miles east of the U.S. Armys present-day Tower Barracks in Grafenwoehr.

The U.S. had a base at Bad Tolz, less than 10 miles to the west until 1991 when it closed during the post-Cold War drawdown.

The cemetery has 2,934 Commonwealth graves, including 93 containing the remains of unknowns. There are believed to be more than two dozen Americans buried there, but most of them were flying for the Canadian air force so they are not marked as such.

Although the U.S. usually sends a delegation to the annual remembrance, it did not this year because of the government shutdown, organizers from the Royal British Legion said.

The ceremony began in a steady rain to the solemn dirge of bagpipes. Dozens of British expatriates, U.K. airmen and embassy officials gathered around the cemeterys Cross of Sacrifice monument.

A priest offered prayers, which was followed by two minutes of silence.

Neil Munro, an 81-year-old Scot from Portsmouth, England, has been volunteering at the ceremony since 1988, when he moved to Germany for work. He greeted attendees and passed out poppy pins.

I come here because my mother lost her brother in the war, he said. Ive always thought how lovely it would be just to look after them for once, because we have everything because of them. Everyone does.
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern Lebanese village of Tayr Debba on Nov. 6, 2025. Israel struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Nov. 6, 2025, as the group rejected the prospect of direct political talks between the countries and vowed to defend itself. (Fadel Itani, Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)



(Tribune News Service)  The U.S. is ready to back Lebanons army to help implement a plan to disarm militant groups, which was announced in August but has yet to make tangible progress amid a spat with the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.

The U.S. officials, in a meeting with Lebanons President Joseph Aoun, expressed readiness to help the war-battered country stabilize security in the south, where Israel has been regularly carrying out strikes on targets belonging to Hezbollah, according to the Lebanese state-run news agency NNA.

The support would aim to end armed activities and enable authorities to control the entirety of the Lebanese territories, the report said, without specifying the kind of backing the U.S. could offer. Aoun received a Treasury Department delegation headed by Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the U.S. president, at the presidential residence on the outskirts of Beirut.

Aoun, who was named president in January after a ceasefire agreement ended a two-month war between Israel and Hezbollah in late 2024, reiterated the importance of pressuring Israel to halt its continuous assaults on Lebanon.

Last week, the Jewish state launched some of its heaviest airstrikes on Lebanon since the U.S.- and French-backed truce came to effect, fueling concerns that the conflict could be reignited. The Israeli army ascribes its post-ceasefire attacks on Lebanon to Hezbollahs attempts to rebuild its military capabilities, which were greatly degraded during last years war.

Israel must adhere to the peace deal in order for Lebanese military troops to be deployed near the southern borders and implement the U.S.-backed disarmament plan, said Aoun. He commissioned the army in the summer to set out a plan to keep all weapons in Lebanon under state control by years end.

Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and an envoy for Lebanon, said the Lebanese government was struggling to seize Hezbollahs weapons. The group has refused to hand over its arms, citing Israeli aggression. The precarious situation in Lebanon threatens an already-shaky ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, another proxy of Iran and an ally of Hezbollah.

The truce in Gaza is part of U.S. President Donald Trumps plan to end the war that erupted in the coastal enclave over two years ago, and led to another between Israel and Hezbollah, which stepped in to support Palestinians.

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The Russian authorities measures on "hidden mobilization" indicate that neither contract soldiers nor foreigners involved in the war in Ukraine are covering the enemys losses in battles, in particular for Pokrovsk (Donetsk region), Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD) under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, has said.

"The Russians will try to cover up the large losses in the battles for Pokrovsk and in other areas with hidden mobilization, " CCD said on Telegram on Monday.

CCD said several things should be understood by "hidden mobilization": "the recruitment of conscripts for contracts, as well as the recruitment of reservists for the "protection of significant facilities," which the Russians announced in many regions."

"This is a sign that the current flow of contract soldiers to the Russian Federation has decreased, and the recruitment of foreigners also does not cover the losses in battles," the CCD said.

As reported, according to the General Staff as of November 9, the enemys total combat losses from 02/24/22 to 11/09/25 amounted to approximately 1,151,070 personnel.
Congress this week is set to vote on a spending package that would reopen the government and provide full-year funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs and Pentagon construction programs that modernize facilities and build troop housing. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)



Congress this week is set to vote on a spending package that would reopen the government and provide full-year funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs and Pentagon construction programs that modernize facilities and build troop housing.

The $153 billion legislation, one of three fiscal 2026 spending bills lawmakers are weighing as they move to end the longest government shutdown ever, would allocate $133 billion in discretionary funding for the VA and about $20 billion for military construction.

The Senate could vote on the measure, which is attached to a stopgap appropriations bill to fund the government through Jan. 30, as soon as Monday. The House is expected to come back from its weekslong recess to vote on the plan on Wednesday at the earliest.

If passed, the military construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill would also provide $263.7 billion in mandatory funding for veterans benefits as well as $115.1 billion for veterans medical care and an extra $52.6 billion for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxins.

The legislation includes $1.4 billion to support the construction of new VA hospitals and veterans cemeteries as well as $19.7 billion for about 300 military construction projects in the U.S. and around the world, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The latter sum includes $1.9 billion for military family housing, $1.3 billion for the construction of barracks and other unaccompanied housing and $1.3 billion for hospitals, schools, child development centers, fitness centers, dining facilities and mess halls.

More than $7 billion would also be spent on modernizing infrastructure critical to warfighter readiness, including training ranges, maintenance and logistics facilities, storage warehouses, munitions facilities and airfield control towers.

Another $2 billion would pay for infrastructure for new and emerging technology, such as next generation hangars to support advanced weapon platforms, and $482 million would cover the U.S. share of NATO construction projects.

The plan also allocates $1.5 billion to the Navys Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program, an initiative to refurbish four aging public shipyards in Virginia, Maine, Washington state and Hawaii. The program is a key part of the Trump administrations efforts to boost American shipbuilding amid competition from China.

Apart from construction, the Defense Department would continue to operate under fiscal 2025 spending levels through the end of January as part of the emerging deal to end the shutdown.

Seven Democrats and independent Sen. Angus King, of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, voted alongside Republicans to advance the agreement on Sunday in a 60-40 vote. It is unclear how the spending package will fare in the House.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said Sunday that the VA and military construction measure was an improvement over stopgap funding provided for 2025 but was released prematurely.
Peoples Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak (Holos faction) has said anti-corruption agencies searched the residedences of the Minister of Justice Herman Galushchenko and the offices Joint Stock Company National Nuclear Energy Generating Company (JSC NNEGC) Energoatom".

"And Herman Halushchenko was also searched by National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). What a coincidence. And thats not all," Zheleznyak wrote on Telegram on Monday morning.

"And theyre talking about Energoatom too. Its not just a day, its a holiday," he added later.

According to the MP, "Mindich, Herman, Energoatom - all in one of our investigations and then one application to NABU."

Later, Zheleznyak said that he initiated the dismissal of Halushchenko, as well as Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk.

"I submitted a request to Parliament to dismiss Herman Halushchenko from the position of Minister of Justice (and de facto Minister of Energy). "For systemic corruption, failure to prepare for the protection of the energy sector and connections with the traitor Derkach," he wrote.

"I have also submitted a resolution to the Rada to dismiss Svitlana Hrynchuk, the de jure Minister of Energy, from her position. She is also a representative of Mindichs interests in the Government, before that she represented his interests as the Minister of Ecology," the MP added.

Earlier, information appeared about the NABU searches on the morning of November 10 of the co-owner of the Kvartal 95 studio, Tymur Mindich, and Zheleznyak reported that he left Ukraine right before the searches and "will be hiding in Israel and Austria."
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed two decrees implementing National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) decisions on the application of personal special economic and other restrictive measures, his press service reported.

"Russia is trying to prolong the war, expanding its efforts to justify aggression and normalize the occupation of Ukrainian territory. Recently, Russia also issued a demonstrative political decision to impose sanctions on Ukrainian officials, including the Prime Minister of Ukraine. Such behavior by Russia warrants far greater global pressure and an expansion of that pressures scope," the president said.

The first decree imposes sanctions on eight individuals involved in crimes against Ukraine and Ukrainians, who appropriated assets in the agricultural sector, grain crops, cultural heritage objects, conduct information operations against the state, and introduce Russian educational standards with anti-Ukrainian narratives in temporarily occupied territories.

The sanctioned individuals include Russian officials, an FSB agent involved in information sabotage, a representative of the Russian General Staffs information directorate, as well as financier Kirill Dmitriev, an associate of Russias leadership who works to attract Russian investment into key sectors of foreign economies, along with individuals who justify Russias armed aggression.

The head of state emphasized that Ukraine will present additional sanction proposals to its partners.

The second decree imposes sanctions on five legal entities  Russian publishing houses that promote aggression, spread Russian propaganda globally, and cultivate anti-Ukrainian sentiment in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.

"We will work to ensure these publishers are barred from participating in international book fairs and that their products are removed from online sales platforms worldwide," said Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the presidents sanctions policy commissioner.

According to the NSDC decision of November 9, 2025, enacted by Zelenskyys decree, the sanctions list includes: First Deputy Minister of Education of Russia Alexander Bugaev; Russian military commander and negotiation group representative Alexander Zorin; FSB Fifth Service head Alexei Komkov; Russian Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut; and Deputy Minister of Science Andrei Omelchuk.

Sanctions were also imposed on the following five Russian publishers: Knizhny Mir LLC, Veche Publishing LLC, Tsentrpoligraf Publishing LLC, Yauza Publishing LLC, and Piter Publishing House LLC.
SUR in English Gibraltar Monday, 10 November 2025, 10:37 Share

Minister Nigel Feetham addressed representatives of the Affiliation of Micro-European States (AMES) at the Gibraltar Finance Centre on Thursday, 6 November, during a meeting hosted by the Gibraltar Deposit Guarantee Scheme.

The working group, operating within the European Federation of Deposit Insurers (EFDI), brought together delegates from deposit guarantee schemes and investor compensation schemes across the UK, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Malta, and Andorra.

During the discussions, Feetham emphasised Gibraltar's steadfast commitment to robust financial safeguards and its position as an open, resilient and highly competitive jurisdiction on the global stage. The meeting aligned with the EFDI's mission to contribute to the reinforcement of regional financial stability.

The gathering provided an opportunity for Gibraltar to demonstrate its regulatory framework and financial infrastructure to key stakeholders from European micro-states and territories.
SUR in English Gibraltar Monday, 10 November 2025, 13:43 Share

The Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, spoke at length early this morning with the UK Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, ahead of her lunch meeting in London today with Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares.

Their conversation centred on the outstanding matters still under negotiation as work continues to finalise the legal text of the treaty between the United Kingdom and the European Union, following the agreement in principle reached in June concerning Gibraltars future relationship with the EU.

Commenting on the discussion, the Chief Minister said: I had a very positive and constructive conversation with the Foreign Secretary this morning, ahead of her lunch meeting with Jose Manuel Albares. We are both fully committed to ensuring that the final legal text of the treaty properly reflects the agreement reached in June and safeguards Gibraltars interests in every respect. The discussions are progressing with care and determination, and I remain optimistic that they will arrive to a successful conclusion.
SUR in English Gibraltar Monday, 10 November 2025, 10:13 | Updated 14:18h. Share

A collaborative effort between the Elderly Residential Services (ERS), the Royal Gibraltar Post Office, the Royal British Legion, and community members has resulted in striking handcrafted poppy displays across Gibraltar to mark Remembrance Day 2025.

Building on the success of previous Dementia Awareness "Post Box Toppers" campaigns, director of postal services Peter Linares invited ERS Dementia Coordinator Karen Truman to lead a similar initiative for Remembrance Day. Since February, the Activities Team at Mount Alvernia has worked alongside ERS residents to create an impressive display featuring over 3,000 hand-crafted woollen poppies now adorning the facade of the Main Street Post Office.

The project has also seen the creation of more than 20 post box toppers by a group of crochet enthusiasts led by Kim Gravett, a long-standing Royal British Legion member. These toppers incorporate over 1,000 handmade poppies and aim to raise awareness of the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal, which supports veterans and their families.

The initiative has brought together contributors spanning multiple generations, from 12-year-old Sophie Erica Pitto to 87-year-old Joan Waterworth, demonstrating strong intergenerational participation.

Peter Linares expressed his gratitude to all involved: "Sincere thanks to everyone involved in this initiative. It is an excellent example of different departments and members of the community working together to deliver a project that offers both artistic and social value. Special thanks to the ERS residents for their creativity and dedication. Their work has been warmly received by both locals and visitors, and stands as a symbolic gesture acknowledging the courage and sacrifices made by those who served in times of conflict."

Lysandra Debono, acting director general of the Gibraltar Health Authority, added: "This initiative beautifully reflects the spirit of remembrance and the compassion of our community. The dedication shown by our ERS residents and staff is truly inspiring, demonstrating how creativity and collaboration can unite generations in a shared act of respect and gratitude."
Ignacio Lillo Malaga Monday, 10 November 2025, 14:03 Share

Another atypical week in November started in Malaga province this Monday, with temperatures significantly above the usual average for this time of year. However, a drop is expected over next weekend due to the arrival of a front with moderate rainfall.

Director of Spain's Aemet meteorological centre in Malaga Jesus Riesco hints at the possibility of rain in the second half of the week. Although discharges are most likely on Friday, there could also be rainfall a little bit earlier. The Atlantic storm might also extend to the beginning of the following week.

Riesco says that it is too early to make predictions about the amount of rainfall. However, he does not expect it to be too heavy in Malaga province.

Spring-like temperatures

A warm subtropical ridge will cause the higher temperatures in the middle of the week. Values will be especially high between Tuesday and Wednesday, when they may even reach 26C, which is 6C higher than normal for this time of year. A significant drop to 20C is forecast for Friday. This sharp change in temperatures is conducive to people picking up colds and flu.

The inland parts of the province will also experience abnormally high November temperatures, from 22C on Monday to 26C on Thursday. Then, Friday will arrive with a colder and wetter mass from the north, bringing thermometers down to 18C.
Marina Martinez Malaga Monday, 10 November 2025, 17:52 Share

Some friends had already seen him in a taxi and on the underground in China and at Hong Kong airport. He could not believe it until one time, on his way to Beijing, he saw himself on the plane. There was Sergio Moreno, preparing rice pudding on the screen in front of him. It is all thanks to 'Milk, a running river of civilization' , a documentary that is shown in different transport networks in the country which show the chef from Malaga preparing his own version of rice pudding.

"Here the consumption of milk is not as important as in Europe, they wanted to transmit the values that we give it in western culture," explains Moreno. He is speaking from China about this work produced by DOClabs Beijing Media Technology, which explores the role of milk in different cultures, from Latin America to the Middle East. The Malaga chef's brief was to make a dish that, obviously, contained milk and that was "original and creative".

With siphon and nitrogen

"I just happened to be changing the menu of a new restaurant I'm advising in Chengdu and I had in mind a rice pudding with persimmon, which was in season at the time. I marinate the persimmon in a citrus syrup, which is sweet but also has a bit of acidity. It is a fairly creamy rice pudding, I add coconut milk. I make the traditional recipe and then I crush some of it with a bit of white chocolate and put it in a siphon and then in liquid nitrogen to give it a more airy and crunchy texture. It is made at the table, with a bit of showcooking, accompanied by a cinnamon biscuit," describes Sergio Moreno, always on the lookout for surprise and innovation. Moreno explains, "It was about 14 hours of filming. I did the moment of pouring the milk more than forty times."

After eleven years in China, Moreno, who is originally from Benalmadena, is starting to think about returning to Spain for good. "I'm having a great time in Asia, I like it a lot, but on the other hand I'm tired of coming and going," he says. He currently straddles both continents for personal and professional reasons.

Between Spain and China

He is constantly receiving proposals for collaborations, projects, workshops and has even spent a few days training at Aponiente and has taken part in various competitions in Spain. He has also taken on a personal challenge: the wine he makes in Valdepenas (his partner's homeland), which he is already importing to China.

Moreno's creations include Brussels sprouts with Manchego cheese souffle and hazelnut pesto, escabeche with pickled corn, strawberry gazpacho with sambal frape (a typical Indonesian condiment), stewed razor clams with gazpachuelo and lightly smoked caviar quenelle with lime gel, tripe with egg yolk, grilled mackerel with ginger and wasabi vinaigrette and tempura kale chips and sugar cane souffle finished with rum and sultana ice cream.

He is also used to creating dishes from Asian cuisine, always with his own personal touch, such as his curious quesadillas with chilli oil or oxtail soup with mint. He has a lot of projects in the pipeline, including one with the Gaga company, which has nearly a hundred restaurants in China and now doors have also opened for him in Indonesia.

"In the short term I'm still here, but with my sights set on returning home permanently to open something and start sowing seeds there, which I'd like to do, above all to be with my family." The app he uses to fly has already told him that he spends more than 370 hours in the air a year. "Too much jet lag".
Juan Soto Malaga Monday, 10 November 2025, 10:00 Share

Thousands of people marched through the streets of Malaga city centre at the weekend to defend public healthcare and criticise the actions of any political party that prioritises the privatisation of services. According to the National Police, around 20,000 people walked under the slogan 'We defend public healthcare'. The demonstration, which took place in all Andalusian provinces, was organised by the Mareas Blancas platform.

In Malaga, the manifesto was read at Plaza de la Merced. Around 20 professional organisations, patient associations and trade unions supported the cause.

A variety of slogans could be seen during the demonstration: 'Health is not a business', 'More health professionals, less rubbish contracts' or 'Health is not to be sold, it is to be defended'. The organisers stated that the demonstration did not target any political party in particular and that it was a gesture of universal criticism against any government that might take away people's healthcare rights.

The manifesto denounced the "neoliberal policies that the Andalusian government has been applying". It highlighted that the regional government is "destroying the public sector and endangering the principles of dignified, universal and quality care" for economic benefits. Such agendas, the rally organisers said, are dehumanising and turning people "into mere merchandise".

The demonstration also addressed the cancer screening programme crisis in Andalucia. "More than 2,000 women have been abandoned by these policies," the manifesto read. It also criticised the economic strategies in the private sector, "where contracts are awarded on economic, not health criteria, to companies that cut back on technical staff, reduce quality controls and prioritise savings and profit over health and life".

Among the organisers was doctor and Marea Blanca member Ana Belen Espejo, who said that they had collected "more than 50,000 signatures" in defence of public healthcare back in September. With this action, they sought to "prevent referrals to private centres".

Spokesperson for Zona Norte Diego Romero said that Andalucia is going through a "very serious" healthcare crisis, marked by "daily deterioration". He specifically drew attention to rural areas, in many of which "there is no doctor on a daily basis", which forces sick people to travel.

Member of the Rincon por la Sanidad platform Juan Tomas Rodriguez denounced public healthcare cuts and highlighted that, if a person who is seriously ill is given an appointment in 20 days, they might die by the time they get to see a doctor.

The regional minister of health's invitation

The CCOO and the UGT trade unions agreed with the manifesto. Meanwhile, representatives of the left Josele Aguilar and Toni Valero denounced the "privatisation and cuts" that Andalusian healthcare has been undergoing. They directly blamed president of the regional government Juanma Moreno.

Regional minister of health Antonio Sanz said that, while he "always respects any demonstration", he hopes that the organisers will accept his invitation to a dialogue. According to him, progress is much more likely to be achieved through agreements and finding solutions together.
Ignacio Lillo Malaga Monday, 10 November 2025, 11:51 Share

The ongoing political confrontation between Spain's PSOE-led central government and the opposition Partido Popular is jeopardising the main infrastructure project currently under way in Malaga province - the airport expansion. Airport operator Aena warns that the amendment to freeze airport taxes proposed by the main opposition party (PP) threatens all infrastructure improvement projects scheduled for Spain's terminals.

According to the operator, if "the Spanish Parliament were to limit by law the remuneration of Aena's aeronautical activity without any rational economic argument, the damage to the Spanish airport system, to Aena and its shareholders could be considerable". This would prompt Aena to "review the investments planned for Spanish airports in the coming years", which would further negatively impact tourism destinations.

"The legislative proposal in question should be met with serious reflection. No political dispute can excuse damage to the proper functioning of airports," Aena warns

Aena states that "the legislative proposal in question should be met with serious reflection". The operator says that "no political dispute can excuse damage to the proper functioning of airports", which would undoubtedly be caused by the amendment, tarnishing Spain's reputation and economy.

Aena has also expressed surprise over the opposition's proposal to freeze airport taxes, given that the operator's business model "corresponds" to the PP's credo.

The PP's defence

In response, secretary general of the PP in Malaga Jose Ramon Carmona demanded that the central government stop "using semi-public companies" to oppose the PP and, above all, stop "making excuses and start the expansion of the airport now".

Jose Ramon Carmona from the PP urges the central government to stop making 'excuses' and 'start the airport expansion' now

Carmona called Aena's claim that the PP's amendment to freeze airport taxes between 2027 and 2031 would endanger investment "scandalous". He interpreted the central government's warning as a threat to not advance "this much-needed expansion".

"The people of Malaga are tired and fed up with a government that constantly punishes a dynamic and thriving province," he said.
Matias Stuber Malaga Monday, 10 November 2025, 14:30 Share

Employees of the former ambulance service at Malaga Airport gathered outside the facilities on Friday to protest over pending salaries. According to the CC OO trade union, the reason why they have not been paid for September and October is that the airport changed the concessionaire of the ambulance service.

The new concessionaire began operating in November, subrogating the former employees. Francisco Aranda from CC OO told SUR that the previous company "had disregarded the workers" and failed to pay them. Since then, the workers have had no success in trying to contact their former employer.

The workers have signed the corresponding complaint. The conflict is already in court and Aranda demands that airport operator Aena appear as a responsible subsidiary. "They can do it with the money withheld that was going to the old company, which has stopped providing the service," he said.
Juan Soto Malaga Monday, 10 November 2025, 11:07 Share

Hotel chain Marriott International has announced the cancellation of the agreement with rental company Sonder over licensing disputes. This has forced the immediate closure of all establishments operating under that partnership, one of which is the Salitre Malaga Centro hotel on Calle Plaza de Toros Vieja. Marriott asked all guests to leave the hotel by 9am on Monday.

Sonder properties are no longer available for booking through Marriott's channels. The termination of the agreement has also forced the closure of the Bresc restaurant, owned by Malaga chef Pablo Rutllant. The young chef is also the owner of Mi Nina Lola, which has recently been recommended by the Michelin Guide.

The 95-room hotel was only open for a few months, since August, to be precise. Sonder had expressed its excitement to run a beautiful establishment in such a strategic location.
Jose Carlos Garcia Marbella Monday, 10 November 2025, 16:30 Share

Marbella town hall has launched a campaign with which it seeks to raise awareness among officials, business owners and residents to their shared responsibility in maintaining the old town clean. 'Manten limpio el casco antiguo' ('Keep the old town clean') includes the distribution of 1,500 information leaflets in Spanish and English.

Councillor for the west district Alejandro Gonzalez and commerce advisor Carmina Serrano presented the initiative as part of the regional government's tourist plan for large towns. Gonzalez said that the public cleaning department "carries out constant work in the area, but the collaboration of the locals is essential to maintain the old town's appearance".

Rules, obligations, bans and sanctions

Gonzalez reminded the public that the basic rules of coexistence include respecting the timetables for depositing waste, folding cartons before discarding them and avoiding leaving furniture outside the containers without having informed the collection service.

"This campaign is not intended to scare, but to raise awareness. The old town is the heritage of all Marbella residents," Serrano said, alluding to the sanctions and obligations outlined in the campaign.
Photo: Interfax-Ukraine / Oleksandr Zubko

Russian shelling of Ukrainian energy facilities is aimed at stopping the supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine, said Arseniy Yatsenyuk, chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum (KSF) and former Prime Minister of Ukraine (2014-16).

"What Putin is doing is a crime against humanity. After all, the bombing of Ukrainian infrastructure and energy facilities falls under the international definition of war crimes against humanity... The United States has postponed the decision to transfer Tomahawks to Ukraine. And this is not just a matter of victory from a military point of view. These missiles are not just one of the elements of deterrence against Russia, including from attacks on Ukrainian energy. We need long-range weapons so that the Russian Federation understands that Ukraine will also strike at Russian energy and military facilities," Yatsenyuk said during an extraordinary session of the KSF on the situation in the energy sector and the economy of Ukraine.

He thanked Ukrainian energy workers "for the fact that we have survived more than one winter and will survive this one too," and noted that "in order for us to win, it is extremely important for us to gather our forces, means and resources and get through this difficult winter."

Speaking about the financial component, the head of the KBF recalled that two-thirds of the state budget funds go to defense. There is still no necessary amount of funding for next year. And here Kyiv is counting on the support of European partners. "To survive this year and win this righteous war," Yatsenyuk said.
Police investigators on the Costa del Sol have upgraded their understanding of how organised crime works and how it has evolved. What the police have noticed is that criminal networks are increasingly hiring underage hitmen, mostly from Northern European countries and often unrelated to the organisation. In addition, the mafia are becoming wealthier thanks to drug-trafficking, which helps them invest in strengthening security measures through the purchase of military-grade weapons, state-of-the-art drones and frequency jammers.

One of the most concerning developments is the hiring of underage individuals to execute the murders, as they often charge less. "They used to ask for 50 or 60,000 euros and now they do it for 20,000," a police investigator told SUR . The mafia benefit from the minors' inexperience and lust for "violence". "They find it easier to pressure them into committing the act if they think about backing out and they don't hesitate to extort money from the target's family as well."

The latest death related to organised crime on the Costa del Sol happened on 3 October, when Swedish rapper Hamza Karimi (Hamko) was shot outside a Marbella club in Puerto Banus, while talking on the phone. The 25-year-old musician was killed in broad daylight.

A few months earlier, on 31 May, two men of Scottish origin, both in their 40s, were shot dead while watching the Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan in the outdoor area of a crowded bar in Fuengirola.

The hitmen hired for these murders are only the tip of the iceberg of the complex network that operates along the coast. Malaga province's location makes it the perfect station for drug-trafficking operations. The port, which receives ships from South America, has become one of the main gateways for cocaine, while the proximity to Morocco allows the entry of hashish and its subsequent distribution to the mainland, where it is sold at a higher price. In the last month alone, the National Police have seized nine tonnes of narcotics (hashish and cocaine) from criminal organisations in the province.

With the constant flow of drug money, the mafia can stock up on arms, from small arms and automatic rifles to military-grade weapons. In addition, they can increase security measures to avoid getting caught. They have started using encrypted applications, state-of-the-art drones for surveillance and counter-surveillance and frequency jammers that block tracing by the police.

Their sophistication translates into long and arduous investigations. Nevertheless, police efforts end up bearing fruit. A total of 55 people have been arrested in recent months and the police have seized 37 firearms, 40 vehicles and more than 150,000 euros.
Paco Grinan Malaga Monday, 10 November 2025, 16:08 Share

Netflix is gaining momentum in Malaga. Following this year's premiere of Javier Castillo's latest book adaptation The Snow Girl 2: The Soul Game, Carmen Mola's story Two Graves, which turned into a worldwide hit, and the arrival this Friday of the romantic film Mango, all of them filmed in the Costa del Sol province, the streaming platform has already fixed a date for its new international blockbuster set in Ronda. Seven Dials is based on a mystery novel by the queen of crime, Agatha Christie - The Seven Dials Mystery. The capital of the Serrania de Ronda area makes an appearance in the trailer for this British period drama, which has positioned itself as one of the major releases for the US streaming service's lineup at the beginning of next year.

Zoom The Fuente de los Ocho Canos in Ronda, in a still from the series. Netflix

In the first images released from the series, Ronda's historic bullring is prominently featured, where the popular actor Martin Freeman (of Nightwatching and Black Panther fame, among others) faces off against a fierce bull with sharp horns from which he tries to escape. These stills are particularly significant right now, as the bullring has been closed for several months and is currently undergoing renovations due to unstable ground and the reinforcement of the roof to the bullring's upper gallery. Filming for this international production of mystery and intrigue took place in September 2024, before renovation work had started.

The series, its complete title being Agatha Christie: Seven Dials, will premiere on Netflix on 15 January. The story is set in England in 1925 and starts with a lavish party at a country house, where a harmless prank takes a terrible and deadly turn. The astute and inquisitive Lady Eileen 'Bundle' Brent (played by Mia McKenna Bruce) seizes the opportunity to investigate the case and unravel the secrets hidden by certain members of English high society.

Zoom Mia McKenna Bruce stars as the young detective in this mystery blockbuster. Netflix

A plot brimming with twists and turns so typical of the tales penned by the grand dame of mystery also takes us to Ronda, where other iconic locations around the town can be seen, such as the Casa del Rey Moro (the Moorish king's palace) and the Fuente de los Ocho Canos (the fountain with eight waterspouts). Apart from these locations, the 100-plus actors and technicians who formed part of the film crew for Seven Dials also shot scenes at the New Bridge (Puente Nuevo) over the Tajo gorge, Duquesa de Parcent square, the Arab baths and the Alameda del Tajo park and more besides.

Zoom A bull's horn appears in the trailer for Agatha Christie: The Seven Dials, filmed at the Maestranza bullring in Ronda. Netflix

Alongside the young lead, played by Mia McKenna Bruce (of How To Have Sex fame), and Martin Freeman, the cast also includes Helena Bonham Carter (Sweeney Todd and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Corey Mylchreest (Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story), Ed Bluemel (Killing Eve and Sex Education) and Nabhaan Rizwan, who filmed another Netflix blockbuster Kaos in Malaga that was ultimately cancelled. Ironically, during filming, the casting team looked for a double for Scottish actor Iain Glen (Ser Jorah in Game of Thrones), but the official cast list does not include him, so it is still unknown whether he ultimately dropped out of the project or has a surprise role in the plot.

Zoom The Casa del Rey Moro house also lends its centuries-old walls to the plot of this Agatha Christie-esque series Netflix

Palma Pictures, one of Spain's leading production companies specialising in filming foreign and Hollywood series and movies, spearheaded the Ronda shoot for this new international series. This Mallorca-based production company brought the Netflix franchise The Crown to Malaga, using various locations in the Costa del Sol capital and province to film scenes supposedly set in Australia. They also brought the recent Movistar mafia drama This City is Ours, filmed on the Costa del Sol and in Antequera, which also stars another Game of Thrones actor, Sean Bean.

For its part, Ronda is also a frequent destination for productions that seek a unique backdrop for their storylines with the town's surrounding mountains and iconic Tajo gorge. In recent years, several series have focused on the town, such as the third season of HBO's Dark Matter and also Feria, a crime drama produced by Netflix Spain.
Nuria Triguero Malaga Monday, 10 November 2025, 12:32 Share

The countdown to the New Year is already under way but, for thousands of self-employed people and small business owners in Malaga province and across Spain, 2026 will bring yet another worry: adapting in time to the new regulation that requires them to use computerised invoicing systems (RRSIF is the acronym, but it is more widely known as Verifactu). This regulation lays out new requirements for electronic invoicing systems used by businesses and professionals, with the aim of preventing and detecting fraudulent practices such as modifying invoices once they have been issued or maintaining two sets of accounts through so-called dual-use software. As of 1 January for companies and 1 July for the self-employed, having software that is not certified by the Spanish tax agency (AEAT) can result in a fine of 50,000 euros for the user. In the case of software manufacturers, the penalties for selling non-certified software can reach 150,000 euros (the sales ban on non-compliant software has been in effect since July this year).

Accounting firms have been working overtime these past few months resolving queries from clients concerned about the impact of this regulation on their business. This concern stems from a lack of information, the barrage of warnings from AEAT, confusion surrounding the e-invoicing regulation (which still does not have a formal start date) and also the half-truths being spread by some companies for their own commercial gain.

Ruben Candela, founder of the financial consultancy company that bears his name, explains: "There's a lot of inaccurate information circulating on social media, which is often self-serving and driven by manufacturers of e-invoicing software. They have been launching alarmist messages with the sole intention of selling their products."

Who is exempt from the new regulations?

One of the rumours circulating about Verifactu is that, once it comes into effect, every business will have to issue an invoice for everything it sells, be it a kilo of apples at the market or a coffee in a bar.

This is not true: as the general council for all professional associations in Spain for financial advisors and consultants (CGCGA) has clarified, Verifactu only affects companies and self-employed workers who are already using computerised invoicing systems (SIF). In other words, the new regulation does not require those not previously obliged to invoice (for example, small retail businesses selling to the end consumer) to start invoicing, nor does it affect those who create their invoices by hand or with simple programs, such as Word or Excel without using macros.

AEAT itself specifies in its FAQ section on its website that the regulation "does not affect those who invoice manually or use programs that are limited to generating and printing invoices without any additional functionalities".

"Imagine a market stall selling fruit, which is not required to issue invoices unless the customer prunes the fruit. That fruit vendor can continue as before: creating the requested invoices by hand, or with a Word or Excel document, but without having an invoicing programme", explains Manuel Mendez, dean of Malaga's association of economists.

However, if the merchant already issues invoices (for instance, to business customers) through their electronic cash register, they will have to change it if it is not adapted to Verifactu.

So, who is subject to Verifactu?

The impact of this regulation will therefore focus on small businesses and the self-employed who already use invoicing software. Those with a turnover exceeding six million euros are already subject to the requirement to submit such information promptly to the tax authorities.

The accounting firms are doing their best to send out reassuring messages: "It's not the end of the world, we simply have to adapt because there are things that used to be done a certain way and now cannot be done", says Ruben Candela, referring to practices that are currently commonplace "that don't necessarily have fraudulent purposes", such as changing the issuer or the date of an invoice after it has been issued. "That can still be done, but only by issuing a revised invoice, so that each change is recorded."

Ana Maria Feria, senior associate in the tax department of Montero Aramburu & Gomez-Villares Atencia, says: "There's no need to worry, just take action. There are almost two months left for companies and eight months for self-employed individuals, which is enough time to prepare, but let's not rest on our laurels."

"AEAT is bombarding companies with questions and this is generating unease and the feeling that they will be under intense scrutiny, but this really shouldn't be cause for alarm. It is, however, another bureaucratic burden being added to the many others that companies have taken on in recent years: data protection law, time-tracking, anti-harassment protocols, the equality plan...," says Mendez.

How much does it cost to adapt?

Adapting to the new system will not be free, but neither will it be prohibitively expensive. Those using non-compliant software will have to switch providers, and software that has been adapted to Verifactu is taking advantage of this requirement to raise subscription costs. In some cases, this will be compounded by the need to expand cloud storage capacity or replace obsolete IT equipment. "The biggest investment will be time and effort in adapting," says Ana Maria Feria. "Time is precisely what the self-employed have the least of," is the criticism from Lorena Garcia, president of Malaga's provincial federation business entrepreneurs. She adds: "Companies are better informed because most already use electronic invoicing systems, but there are many self-employed people who still don't know what this is all about and it's going to cost them. There's a significant digital divide."

As for Malaga's business hospitality association (Mahos), spokesperson Ana Perez Marcos views this regulation as yet another push towards digitalisation and expresses concern about this being "an additional burden" for a sector that "is already facing many challenges with adapting to the latest regulations, the increase in sick leave and wage costs".

Is there a free alternative?

In any case, there is a free alternative to commercial invoicing systems: AEAT has developed an application designed for the self-employed, professionals and small businesses with a low volume of transactions to issue electronic invoices and send them directly to AEAT without needing to purchase or subscribe to proprietary software. It can now be downloaded now from the AEAT website.

What requirements must certified invoicing systems meet?

The new requirements for invoicing software basically consist of generating and saving a summary of the invoice - called an invoice record - at the point when it is issued. This record incorporates a series of security and control measures, such as a digital fingerprint of the data and the inclusion of information from the previous record generated. The goal is to provide evidence of any subsequent alteration to the invoice. They must also include a QR code on each invoice issued to facilitate the transmission of information should the tax authorities require it.

Can AEAT always view my invoicing?

The control capabilities that AEAT gains with Verifactu have led to it being labelled as 'the Big Brother of invoicing'. However, the claim that the tax authorities will have real-time access to all invoices is only a half-truth. In reality, each business can choose between two options: one is called Verifactu, in which the AEAT does indeed have online access to a summary of each invoice, and the other is Non-Verifactu, in which this information is kept by the user and is only sent to the AEAT if requested. Nevertheless, in either case, invoices must include the aforementioned QR code.

In the case of the free application developed by AEAT, the only available mode of use is Verifactu, thereby giving AEAT real-time access to the information.

Which mode of operation is more convenient? "It depends on the client: whether the software they are currently using can be easily adapted, whether it is perhaps the best time to opt for a customised system adapted to their needs, or whether it is a small business with very few operations for which the AEAT app may suffice," says the lawyer from Montero Aramburu & Gomez-Villares Atencia.
Galicia was under an amber alert due to storm conditions at the weekend.

C. P. S. Madrid Monday, 10 November 2025, 11:34 Share

The sea claimed four lives in Spain on Saturday, 8 November.

The first death was reported in the Galician city of A Coruna, where a 72-year-old man fell into the water while fishing in a rocky area. A witness called the emergency services around 4pm. He said that he could not locate the victim among the rocks. Although the maritime rescue service sent a helicopter, the emergency team were unable to save the man's life. They only managed to recover his body.

On that same day, a wave swept ten people who fell into the Atlantic Ocean from the Puerto de La Cruz dock in Tenerife. One woman died, while three people were admitted to hospital in a serious state and six others sustained more minor injuries.

The middle-aged woman that drowned was still alive when she was recovered from the water. The emergency team started performing CPR, but they couldn't save her.

The other victims were taken to different health centres in the north of the Canary Islands. In the meantime, the security forces launched a search operation in case there were any missing people.

Also in the early afternoon, the emergency services discovered another body floating off the coast of Tenerife, near the El Cabezo de Granadilla de Abona beach. His death was later confirmed by the medical workers who had tried to resuscitate him.

Another man died in similar circumstances in the north of Tenerife on Saturday afternoon. He fell into the sea in the Charco del Viento area around 4.40pm, but the cause is still under investigation.
Syracuse, N.Y.  An off-duty security officer for Onondaga Community College was wounded in a shooting outside a Syracuse bar early Sunday morning, officials said.

Around 1:05 a.m., the officer was shot outside McAvans Pub, 1217 W. Fayette St., according to Sgt. Thomas Blake, a Syracuse police spokesman. The officers injuries were not life-threatening, Blake said.

The officer was shot in the right leg, according to Onondaga County 911 Center dispatches.

The officer, part of OCCs campus safety and security department, is recovering, according to Roger Mirabito, a college spokesperson. He said police have started a criminal investigation.

Police said no arrest has been made.

Officers were initially searching for a female suspect, according to 911 dispatches.

The college and police would not provide more information about the shooting.
Developers have started cleaning up a 2.5-acre vacant lot where they intend to build senior apartments for the second phase of the new East Adams neighborhood, near the Interstate 81 viaduct.

The block is just south of McKinney Manor, where 25 apartment units have been torn down to make way for the first phase of the project.

The vacant lot is owned by the Syracuse Housing Authority. SHA with McCormack Baron Salazar, a Missouri developer, plans to build 125 new apartments for low-income seniors on the site. Construction on the new four-story building at the corner of Burt and South State streets is expected to begin in January, according to Allyson Carpenter, vice president of development for MBS.

It is part of a massive $1 billion plan to tear down nearly 700 units of public housing along the elevated Interstate 81bridges, which will also come down over the next three years. Overall, the plan is to build 1,351 new units for current residents and new tenants paying market-rate rent.

The first three phases of the East Adams project are expected to bring 404 new apartments online by the end of 2027 on blocks where just 50 apartments are torn down. The idea is to move residents from vacated apartments in McKinney Manor and Pioneer Homes into the new buildings so the older units can be razed.

Crews have started cleaning contaminants from a vacant site in the new East Adams neighborhood. The Syracuse Housing Authority and McCormack Baron Salazar plan to build 120 new apartments for low-income seniors on the site next year. Provided photo

But first, the parcel on Burt Street needs to be cleaned up.

Since the late 1800s, the site has had residential buildings, carriage manufacturing and painting, carpenter shops, a stone works yard, bridge manufacturing, a clothing factory, a scrap metal yard, a gas station, a chapel, an upholstery shop, a paper baling facility and auto repair, according to an environmental report submitted to the state.

From 1961 to 2003, it was used by the Salvation Army for a thrift store. The housing authority bought the site in 2003 and demolished most of the buildings. Since then, they have used it as a parking lot, the report said.

Crews from the firm the environmental firm Langan Engineering started cleanup about two weeks ago.

Early environmental studies showed several contaminants exceed state standards.

That includes vaporous chemicals and metals in the soil and groundwater. These are likely attributed to historic uses of the site, including the gas station with petroleum storage tanks, the report said.

Nothing to be afraid of because were getting rid of it all, said Brian Gochenaur, associate principal for Langan.

They have already found an empty 1,000-gallon tank, likely used by the gas station.

The tank and layers of soil will be removed to meet state safety standards for residential property, he said.

During the cleanup, the firm is conducting air monitoring to be sure no vapors or dust are contaminating the neighborhood, he said.

As an extra step, they plan to add a vapor mitigation system to the building to protect residents, he said.

Developers are using $3.7 million from the states Brownfield tax credit program and $3.5 million from a federal grant to clean up the property. They have not yet closed on the housing tax credits they will use for the building, Carpenter said.
Lucy Lang is New Yorks 11th Inspector General and also serves as the New York State Welfare Inspector General. New Yorkers who suspect fraud or corruption in the welfare system should report it by calling 1-800-Do-Right.

As New York State Welfare Inspector General, I see every day how public benefit programs are not abstract policies  they are lifelines. They feed hungry children, keep aging New Yorkers warm in winter, and give working families a measure of dignity and stability. These programs reflect our shared values and our collective commitment to one another.

That promise hangs in the balance as millions of Americans face the terrifying prospect of losing their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits because of the ongoing federal shutdown and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Following lawsuits brought by states, nonprofits, and municipalities  and two federal court orders directing the administration to act  the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said it would tap its contingency fund to issue partial November SNAP benefits.

Then, last Thursday, a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the administration to fully restore funding by Friday, finding that the government failed to consider the harms individuals who rely on those benefits would suffer, and declaring that the recipients of these critical benefits have gone without for too long and that Not making payments to them for even another day is simply unacceptable. The judge also rebuked the President for publicly suggesting that benefits would not resume until after the shutdown  remarks later walked back by the White House. The appeals court ruled against the administration again late Sunday. However, the Supreme Court has paused the ruling until at least Tuesday.

Despite these promising developments, millions of families still dont know when or whether theyll receive their full benefits. For those already living paycheck to paycheck, continued delays may mean difficult choices between food, medicine and rent. This whiplashing uncertainty and the fact that millions of Americans must rely on emergency court rulings to secure access to basic nutrition is a sobering reminder of how fragile the nations social safety net has become.

Mercifully, in this moment of federal instability, New York is stepping up. The state is fast-tracking $106 million in emergency food assistance to support food banks, soup kitchens and other hunger relief programs across New York. This action will help fill shelves and stomachs  but it cannot and should not replace the federal governments obligation to the people. SNAP is one of the most effective anti-poverty programs in existence and has helped our communities avoid the plague of food insecurity for almost 15 years. Just as importantly, SNAP also supports the lifeblood of New York and the nation  small businesses like neighborhood bodegas and farmers markets, which both depend on and serve SNAP customers.

The federal shutdown and the OBBBAs punitive work and documentation mandates are a one-two punch against struggling New Yorkers. They introduce bureaucratic hurdles that will push thousands off assistance, while simultaneously threatening state budgets by penalizing administrative errors. These are not efficiency measures; they are acts of neglect disguised as reform.

As Inspector General, my responsibility is to ensure that programs like SNAP operate with integrity  that they reach those who qualify and are not exploited by those who dont. So shouldnt I be thrilled about more rules and processes ostensibly intended to make my job minimizing waste and fraud easier?

No. Because integrity is not fraud prevention alone; it includes ensuring fairness and function. It means making sure we help our neighbors overcome challenges, not penalize them for having challenges in the first place. Rules that make it harder for veterans, working parents or aging New Yorkers to prove their eligibility dont protect the system  they weaken it.

These are not partisan talking points  they are daily realities for those of us on the front lines of public service. We know that policy made from afar often suffers from blind spots that are obvious to those of us on the ground. The reality is that most SNAP recipients who can work already do. Those who are unemployed often face barriers such as lack of transportation, childcare, health concerns, or unstable housing. Adding administrative hurdles is unlikely to stop fraud  fraudsters will still find ways to fake paperwork. It will, however, disproportionately hurt working New Yorkers who live under the poverty line, who may not understand the new requirements or dont have time for even more tasks in between work and taking care of their families.

As Thanksgiving nears and we look towards an uncertain future for so many vulnerable New Yorkers, my office remains committed to protecting public assistance programs from misuse while defending New Yorkers access to the help they need. We will continue working with our state partners to strengthen safeguards, improve accuracy, demand accountability and root out fraud, but we will never lose sight of the fact that the measure of our state lies not just in how tightly we police our programs, but in how fiercely we protect those who depend on them. In this moment of federal failure, New York will once again do what it has always done best: stand up, step in, and move, as our state motto tells us, ever upward  together.
A Great Lakes dinosaur is once again swimming in an Upstate New York creek, thanks to recent stocking efforts by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

DEC, in partnership with the Seneca Nation of Indians and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, released 1,000 eight-inch lake sturgeon into Cattaraugus Creek in mid-October.

This stocking is the first step in a 25-year plan to reestablish a spawning population of adult lake sturgeon in the Cattaraugus Creek, a major Lake Erie tributary.

New York is making tremendous strides in restoring and improving the health of the Lake Erie ecosystem, DEC Commissioner Amanda Lefton said. The successful collaboration leading to this sturgeon release sets the path to re-establishing historic spawning populations and bolstering growth of the wild Lake Erie sturgeon stock for years to come.

DEC, in partnership with the Seneca Nation of Indians and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, recently released 1,000 eight-inch lake sturgeon into Cattaraugus Creek, the first step in a 25-year plan to reestablish a spawning population there. NYS DEC

Lake Erie historically supported at least 19 spawning populations of lake sturgeon, including Cattaraugus Creek, according to traditional knowledge provided by the Seneca Nation of Indians.

But now there are only two Lake Erie spawning populations: one in the east basin near Buffalo Harbor, and the other in the west basin in the St. Clair Detroit River System.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service raised the sturgeon at the Genoa National Fish Hatchery in Wisconsin. Each fish has a tag implant for identification after release.

The released sturgeon will become familiar with Cattaraugus Creek and eventually travel to Lake Erie where, if all goes well, theyll spend 8 to 10 years maturing into adults before returning to Cattaraugus Creek to spawn.

The goal of DECs 25-year stocking plan is to create a population of 750 mature sturgeon that spawn in Cattaraugus Creek by 2040.

DEC, in partnership with the Seneca Nation of Indians and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, recently released 1,000 eight-inch lake sturgeon into Cattaraugus Creek, the first step in a 25-year plan to reestablish a spawning population there. NYS DEC

Often referred to as living dinosaurs, lake sturgeon are directly descended from an ancient group of fish that had bony plates for skin and cartilaginous skeletons. They are NYs largest freshwater fish. Mature adults can live more than 100 years, sometimes reaching lengths of seven feet long and weighing more than 300 pounds.

Sturgeon mature after eight years and will breed intermittently in swiftly flowing rivers and large creeks. Efforts to restore Lake Sturgeon populations across the state can be found on DECs website.

Fishing for lake sturgeon is prohibited in NY. Overfishing and habitat degradation led to severe declines, leading the state to list it as threatened species in 1983.

Since 1993, DEC and USFWS have collaborated on a lake sturgeon stocking program. The big fish has been re-established across the state, and many current stocking efforts seek to enhance the genetic diversity of the stocked populations.
Syracuse, N.Y.  The size of Tuesdays blue wave in Central New York, like across the nation, caught almost everyone by surprise.

It swelled so large here that it swept in candidates up and down the ballot, from state supreme court justices to local highway superintendents to a neighborhood leader running on a third-party line. Onondaga Countys legislature flipped to blue for the first time in nearly 50 years. Salinas town board is now all blue.

Some cast votes in protest of President Donald Trumps policies and Congresss inactions. But they also told local candidates they wanted something different, leaders and public officials who tackled challenges that so many are facing in their daily lives. Paying bills. Finding affordable housing. Stretching local tax dollars to do more for the people who are providing them.

This town always goes Republican, voters told Ellen Magnarelli Terrien, an East Syracuse school teacher who ran for Onondaga Town Board, as she went door-to-door.

It doesnt have to be that way, shed say back.

Turned out, she was right. Magnarelli Terrien is the first Democratic board member elected in Onondaga in 40 years.

Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard talked with five candidates who won Tuesday night. Some said they had hints along the campaign trail that voters might be on their side. Some said voters wanted to talk about local concerns as much as national angst. But the overwhelming support for local Democrats surprised them all.

Here are a few of our new local leaders:

Raul Huerta

Raul Huerta challenged Republican Nick Paro to try to address local and personal issues, he said. Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com Scott Schild | sschild@syracuse.com

When Raul Huerta canvased for votes in Salinas supervisor race, he wore a black hat that said Make Lying Wrong Again.

It got people talking, he said. Especially people not enrolled as a Democrat or Republican.

But often what they wanted to talk about were local issues. A town pool that closed. Roads that needed to be fixed.

People are trying to make ends meet, he said.

Huerta, 75, decided to challenge Republican Nick Paro to try to address some of those local and personal issues, he said.

He knew he was an underdog in the race against Paro, who was going for his third term. Huerta has only lived in Salina four years.

Everyone, including my wife, thought I was crazy to run, he said.

He campaigned on trying to put more businesses in Mattydale. He wants people to be able to walk into Salina Town Hall and talk to the supervisor, without an appointment. He wants to decrease the salary of the leader of Onondaga Countys third-largest town.

He, like many other Democrats across the region and nation, won handily: 3,597 to 2,637. He funded most of his campaign, which raised about $10,000. He received $500 each from U.S. Rep. John Mannion and Francis Conole. On Thursday, Huerta told syracuse.com he plans to return all donations made to his campaign.

Huerta said he came from a family interested in politics. He grew up in New Mexico and moved to Central New York in the mid-1980s. Hes retired now after directing a program at SUNY Morrisville for international students. He speaks Spanish and Japanese, he said.

Now that hes won, he says he wants to hear more from residents about what they want. That includes how to invigorate local businesses that will employ local people.

We need to invest in local businesses and local people who will work there so the money circulates in our community, he said.

 Elizabeth Doran

Nicole Watts

Nicole Watts, a Democrat who ran on the Working Families Party line, won a seat on the Onondaga County Legislature in November 2025. Provided photo

Nicole Watts has preached about affordability and other Democratic priorities for years. But it was a scramble by Democrats a few months ago that put her on the ballot, and in an odd way.

Instead of running as a Democrat in a Syracuse-based district for Onondaga County Legislature, Watts ran on the Working Families line. In most cases, that would doom a candidate.

But Watts had three things going for her. The Democratic line remained empty because Democratic incumbent Palmer Harvey was disqualified from the ballot. Watts, a Virginia native and a trained preacher, had immersed herself in the citys North Side.

And she had the blue wave.

Watts credits her mission of community building for her win Tuesday. But it wasnt until election night that she realized she might win.

I started getting reports of story after story of folks showing up, bringing their friends and family to the polls, Watts told syracuse.com.

The voters showed up for her, like she has showed up for so many of them. During Covid, her non-profit Hopeprint knocked on 300 doors to find out what families needed. For years, shes sat at their kitchen tables and in their backyards. She says she believes government can do more for them without spending more money.

She points to efforts to improve housing as an example of a system that is often inefficient and fragmented between city and county governments. Same goes for issues like housing and food security. Even when thinking about countywide issues, like Micron Technologys arrival, Watts said shed balance the regional impact with how it would impact her neighborhood.

Now, with a seat on the Legislature and with Democrats in power, shes got the chance to put those ideas in motion.

Ive had amazing conversations, she said. Its a dauting lift. How do we make this happen?

 Douglass Dowty

Ken Stoneburg

Ken Stoneburg was elected Camillus Highway Superintendent as part of a "blue wave" in Onondaga County on Nov. 4, 2025. (Provided photo) Provided photo

Democrat Ken Stoneburg got hints of peoples feelings about the current state of Washington politics as he knocked on doors in Camillus and asked voters to rely on him to care for the towns roads.

Im big into accountability, and I think weve been experiencing on the national level a lack of accountability, and people are just tired of it, he said.

Instead of wanting to talk about issues like snow plowing, they talked about their dislike for Trump and his policies toward immigrants and his failure to bring down grocery prices, he said.

I think theres a general feeling of disgust, he said. The lack of integrity and behavior, you know, saying one thing and doing another.

Stoneburg, 63, has 40 years of experience as a home remodeler. In 2016, he started Ken Stoneburg Creative in the Delavan art studios in Syracuse, where he makes custom epoxy countertops, shower surrounds and tables.

He said he did not expect to see voter dissatisfaction with Trump play out so strongly in this years local elections, including his own for highway superintendent in Camillus. He said he thought he would see the blue wave in next years mid-term elections instead.

Clearly, lots of voters didnt wait that long.

On Tuesday, Stoneburg defeated 10-year incumbent Paul Legnetto, a Republican, 3,265 to 2,814.

Four years ago, the outcome was different. Stoneburg lost to Legnetto in his first run for the position in 2021.

I think people are finally pulling the wool off their eyes, starting to say this cant happen anymore, he said.

People arent willing to let political rhetoric keep slipping into locker room behavior, he said. Its not acceptable anymore, he said.

 Rick Moriarty

Ellen Magnarelli Terrien

Ellen Magnarelli Terrien is the first Democrat to win a seat on the town board in Onondaga in 40 years. Provided photo

The last time a Democrat was elected to the town board in Onondaga, Ellen Magnarelli Terrien was 1 year old.

Magnerelli Terrien, 41, ended that drought as part of Onondaga Countys blue wave, becoming the first Democratic town board member since 1985.

To get there, she says, she knocked on close to 1,000 doors in a town with about 17,000 voters. Canvassing is in her DNA. She started when she was 7. Even political novices in Syracuse could guess why: Her uncle is long-time Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli, a Democrat from Syracuse, and her family has long been involved in local politics.

With that experience, Magnerelli Terrien said, she spent a lot of time listening to voters on front stoops.

They talked about their worries over well water and neighborhood flooding. Some said those living farther from Onondaga Hill felt cut off from the towns decisions, while others thought the towns newer, pricier neighborhoods were driving up housing costs.

And on their own, she said, some also brought up national concerns, like increasing immigration raids and decreasing SNAP benefits.

Occasionally, shed hear Good luck. As in good luck being a Democrat in a Republican town.

But its not. The enrollment is almost split equally among Democrats, Republicans and independents, with Democrats technically ahead. Still, the board has remained solidly Republican for decades.

It doesnt have to be that way, shed tell voters.

Magnerelli Terrien, a former U.S. Department of Homeland Security employee and now an English as a New Language teacher at East Syracuse Elementary School, said she believes her education and government experience may have contributed to her unexpected victory.

It does show that people arent satisfied with the way things are being done in our country right now and in our government, Magnarelli Terrien said. Even if we cant necessarily do anything on the state and federal level, it feels amazing to be able to go out and knock doors to be able to do something about it.

 Julia Boehning

Gregg Eriksen

Gregg Eriksen is the newly elected Onondaga County legislator for the 6th district, representing Skaneateles, Marcellus, Spafford and part of Camillus. Courtesy of Gregg Eriksen

Skaneateles Democrat Gregg Eriksen recognizes that his win over a three-term GOP incumbent county legislator came on a night when his party had success everywhere.

Im not going to pretend that Im a giant political genius, said Eriksen, who defeated Republican incumbent Julie Abbott in the 6th District, which includes all of Skaneateles, Marcellus, Spafford and part of Camillus.

But after serving eight years on the Skaneateles Village Board and working in the Democratic committee, hes no novice. Hes learned how to listen to voters and latch onto their worries.

That meant taking issues like affordability seriously, he said.

I cant tell you how many people told me they are looking for that, said Eriksen, who grew up in the Hudson Valley and is now a lawyer in Syracuse. I talked to so many voters who told me their kids want to move back home but cant affordable housing.

And it didnt hurt that many people, including Eriksen, see the countys $100 million Inner Harbor aquarium as a symbol of the lack of reality in peoples rising grocery, property tax and utility bills.

People are struggling to get through the week, struggling to find affordable housing, Eriksen said. These are people with good jobs and good work ethic and theyre wondering: Why is the county burning $100 million on an aquarium when we could have tax breaks and other more worthwhile spending.

But beating Abbott, a former television reporter who also served for years on the Skaneateles school board, by 3 points was a feat even seasoned Democrats didnt see coming. The district has 1,000 more Republicans than Democrats.

I think we had a good message, he said, noting that Abbott is a good opponent running in a tough district for Dems.

But Im not totally surprised, he added.

 Don Cazentre

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated how much John Mannion contributed to Raul Huertas campaign. Mannion contributed $500, which Huerta is planning to refund.
Operation Midas: Notebook with the logo of the Russian Security Service found in office of co-organizer of criminal scheme

Photo: https://t.me/nab_ukraine

Anti-corruption authorities found a notebook with the logo of the "Security Service of the President of the Russian Federation" during searches at the co-organizers of a large-scale corruption scheme in the energy sector, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine has said.

"During a search of the office of one of the co-organizers of the corruption scheme in the energy sector, the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the State Anti-corruption Prosecutor's office (SAPO) found an interesting artifact," NABU said on Telegram on Monday.

The bureau added a photo of the aforementioned "artifact" to this post.

As reported, NABU and SAPO are conducting a large-scale operation to expose corruption in the energy sector.

"15 months of work and 1,000 hours of audio recordings. The activities of a high-level criminal organization have been documented. Its participants built a large-scale corruption scheme to influence strategic state-sector enterprises, in particular JSC "NAE "Energoatom". Details later," the report said.

According to the NABU report, the main direction of the criminal organization's activities was the systematic receipt of illegal benefits from Energoatom's counterparties in the amount of 10% to 15% of the value of contracts. In particular, Energoatom's counterparties were imposed conditions for paying kickbacks for avoiding blocking payments for services provided/products supplied or deprivation of supplier status. This practice was called "slagbaum."

The head of the criminal organization involved the former deputy head of the State Property Fund, who later became an advisor to the Minister of Energy, as well as a former law enforcement officer who held the position of executive director for physical protection and security of the company, in the implementation of the scheme.

The special operation of the anti-corruption authorities was called "Midas."
If youve ever lost your iPhone, you know the sinking feeling that follows  the panic, the frustration, and the small hope that someone honest might return it. But now, Now, cybercriminals are exploiting that hope by sending fake found iPhone texts claiming their missing devices have been located.

The Swiss National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued a warning about a phishing scam targeting iPhone owners who have recently lost their devices. The fake text messages or iMessages sent by scammers pretend to help you recover your lost or stolen device, when in reality, theyre trying to steal your Apple ID login details to unlock and resell them.

How The Scam Works

When an iPhone is lost, owners can use Apples Find My feature to display a custom message on the lock screen  often including a contact number or email address. Unfortunately, scammers have learned to exploit that very feature.

According to the NCSC, fraudsters send SMS or iMessage texts pretending to be from Apples Find My team, and claim that the missing phone has been located. They even like the iPhones model, color, and storage size, which can be read from the locked device itself.

Losing your iPhone is always annoying. Not only is the device gone, but your personal data may also be lost, wrote the NCSC.

Once the initial panic has passed, most people are left hoping that someone honest will find it. But if scammers have your phone, they may try to exploit this hope. They send text messages or iMessages that appear to come from Apple, claiming that the lost iPhone has been found abroad. 

A typical message might read:

We are pleased to inform you that your lost iPhone 14 128GB Midnight has been successfully located.

To view the current location of your device, please click the link below: <phishing url>

If you did not initiate a lost device report or believe this message was sent in error, please disregard it or contact our support team immediately.

The link leads to a fraudulent website that looks identical to Apples Find My page. Anyone who enters their Apple ID and password, their credentials directly go to the scammers, giving them full access to the account.

What Scammers Want

The attackers main goal is to bypass Apples Activation Lock, a built-in security feature that ties each iPhone to its owners Apple ID and prevents thieves from erasing or reselling stolen devices.

Since Activation Lock cant be bypassed without the owners credentials, scammers rely on social engineering to trick users into willingly revealing their credentials. Once they have your Apple ID, they can remove the lock and resell your iPhone.

How They Get Your Contact Info

According to the NSCC, its still unclear how scammers obtain victims phone numbers from lost devices. In some cases, the SIM card might still be active inside the lost phone if not blocked. In others, it could be from the phone number or email displayed on the Lost Mode lock screen  the custom message owners set when marking the device as lost.

This can be very helpful if the finder is honest  but in dishonest hands, the same information can be used to launch a targeted phishing attack, the NCSC notes.

How To Stay Safe

To stay safe, the NCSC recommends iPhone users to:

Ignore suspicious texts claiming your phone has been found, as Apple never contacts users this way.

Never click on links in unsolicited messages or enter your Apple ID on non-Apple websites.

Activate Lost Mode immediately through the Find My app or com/find.

Limit contact info shown on your lost devices lock screen  use a dedicated email instead of your main phone number.

Keep your SIM protected with a PIN to prevent misuse of your number.

Never remove your device from your Apple account, as that disables the Activation Lock.

The Takeaway

This scam preys on the natural hope of getting your lost phone back. If you get a found message about your lost device, resist the urge to click  and remember, Apple will never text or email you about a found device.
UN says refugees stuck in vicious cycle of conflict and climate



Geneva, Nov 9 (AFP) Nov 09, 2025



Millions of refugees are trapped in a vicious cycle of conflict and climate extremes, the United Nations said Monday, urging the COP30 summit to provide financing for the most vulnerable.

UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said that within 15 years the places currently hosting nearly half the world's refugees could be facing extreme exposure to climate-related shocks.

"Climate change is not only amplifying existing vulnerabilities -- it is also fuelling displacement trends, creating complex and compounding risks for refugees... leaving many with no escape from its impacts," it said in a report.

It said climate shocks were increasing humanitarian needs and amplifying the risks of repeated displacement.

UNHCR said that by mid-2025, 117 million people had been displaced by war, violence and persecution.

Of those, three in four are living in countries facing high-to-extreme exposure to climate-related hazards, it said.

It added that over the past 10 years, weather-related disasters had caused around 250 million internal displacements within countries.



- Hardship and devastation -



"Extreme weather is... destroying homes and livelihoods, and forcing families -- many who have already fled violence -- to flee once more," UN refugees chief Filippo Grandi said in a statement.

"These are people who have already endured immense loss, and now they face the same hardships and devastation again. They are among the hardest hit by severe droughts, deadly floods and record-breaking heatwaves, yet they have the fewest resources to recover," he said.

The UNHCR said that by 2050, the hottest 15 refugee camps in the world -- in The Gambia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Senegal and Mali -- are projected to experience nearly 200 days of hazardous heat stress per year.

"Many of these locations are likely to become uninhabitable due to the deadly combination of extreme heat and high humidity," it said.

The report said the number of countries facing extreme exposure to climate-related hazards is projected to rise from three to 65 by 2040.

Those 65 countries host over 45 percent of all people currently displaced by conflict.



- Funding slashed -



Under President Donald Trump, the United States, traditionally the world's top donor, has slashed foreign aid.

Washington previously accounted for more than 40 percent of the UNHCR's budget, and other major donor countries have also been tightening their belts.

"Funding cuts are severely limiting our ability to protect refugees and displaced families from the effects of extreme weather," Grandi said.

"To prevent further displacement, climate financing needs to reach the communities already living on the edge," he said. "This COP must deliver real action, not empty promises."

The UNHCR report saw an "opportunity" in refugee-hosting places where ecosystems are deteriorating, saying sustainable financing for environmental restoration could create jobs and build local climate resilience.
Amazon poised to host toughest climate talks in years



Belem, Brazil, Nov 10 (AFP) Nov 10, 2025



An odor of oil hung over last year's UN climate conference in Baku, capital of fossil fuel-rich Azerbaijan.

Starting Monday, the 50,000 participants of COP30 will instead feel the heavy, humid air of the Amazon rainforest in Belem, Brazil, where they face the daunting task of keeping global climate cooperation from collapsing.

Unfazed, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva insisted on holding the event here despite a dire shortage of hotel rooms.

His aim: to make the Amazon itself open the eyes of negotiators, observers, businesses and journalists - in a city where locals carry umbrellas both to shield themselves from the blazing morning sun and from the tropical downpours that follow in the afternoon.

"It would be easier to hold the COP in a rich country," Lula declared in August. "We want people to see the real situation of the forests, of our rivers, of our people who live there."

The Amazon rainforest, which plays a vital role in the fight against global warming through its absorption of greenhouse gases, is itself plagued by a host of ills: deforestation, illegal mining, pollution, drug trafficking, and all manner of rights abuses against locals, especially Indigenous peoples.

While the Brazilians have been active on the diplomatic front for the past year, they're lagging behind on logistics. Many pavilions were still under construction as of Sunday.

"There is great concern about whether everything will be ready on time from a logistical standpoint," a source close to the UN told AFP. "Connections, microphones, we're even worried about having enough food," the source added.

The real uncertainty lies in what will actually be negotiated over the next two weeks: Can the world come together to respond to the latest, catastrophic projections for global warming?

How can a clash between rich nations and the developing world be avoided?

And where will the money come from to help countries hit by cyclones and droughts -- like Jamaica, devastated in October by one of the world's most powerful hurricane in nearly a century, or the Philippines, battered by two deadly typhoons in just two weeks?

And what to make of the "roadmap" on fossil fuels that Lula put on the table Thursday at the leaders' summit? The oil industry -- and the petrostates that depend on it -- have rallied since the world agreed in Dubai in 2023 to begin the gradual transition away from fossil fuels.

"How are we going to do it?" Andre Aranha Correa do Lago, the Brazilian president of COP30 said Sunday. "Is there going to be a consensus about how we are going to do it? This is one of the great mysteries in COP30."



- Sans Trump -



For 30 years, the countries that are party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change -- adopted here in Brazil at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro -- have met annually to strengthen the global climate regime.

Those efforts culminated in the 2015 Paris Agreement, which commits the world to limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, while pursuing efforts to keep it below 1.5C.

The process continued even during US President Donald Trump's first term.

But UN chief Antonio Guterres has acknowledged in recent weeks that it is now "inevitable" the 1.5C threshold will soon be breached, urging that the overshoot be kept as brief as possible.

That means finally bringing down global greenhouse gas emissions, which come mainly from burning oil, gas and coal.

A group of small island nations is fighting to have the need for a response to this failure placed on the official agenda.

"1.5 degrees is not just a number, not just a target, but that's a lifeline," Manjeet Dhakal, an advisor to the least developed countries block of countries at COP, told AFP. "We cannot be a part of any decision where there is a discussion about (how) we can't achieve 1.5 degrees."

The United States, the world's largest economy and second-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, is absent for the first time in the history of these meetings.

Trump, however, hasn't entirely ignored COP30. On Sunday, he took to his social network to denounce what he called the "scandal" of trees being cut down near Belem to build a new road, after seeing a segment that aired on Fox News.

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Brazil's Lula urges 'defeat' of climate deniers as COP30 opens



Belem, Brazil, Nov 10 (AFP) Nov 10, 2025



The UN's climate conference opened in the Brazilian Amazon on Monday with pleas for the world to keep up the fight against global warming, even as the United States turns its back.

Some 50,000 delegates are gathering for the two-week COP30 meeting in Belem, the hot and humid metropolis at the edge of the rainforest where they are facing the daunting task of keeping global climate cooperation from collapsing.

"Climate change is no longer a threat of the future. It is a tragedy of the present," Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said at the conference, which started with song and dance from a trio of Indigenous people wearing feathered headpieces.

Lula slammed those who reject scientific evidence and "spread fear, attack institutions, science, and universities."

"It's time to inflict a new defeat on the deniers," he said, adding that it was far cheaper to fight to protect the climate than to wage war.

Weighing on the talks is the absence of the United States, the world's top oil producer and second-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, whose climate-skeptic President Donald Trump champions the fossil fuel industry and derides renewable energy.

Delegates will also have to face the world's failure to meet the landmark Paris Agreement's safer goal of limiting warming to 1.5C, after scientists and the UN warned in recent days that surpassing that level temporarily is now all but inevitable.

UN climate chief Simon Stiell called on nations to move "much, must faster" to reduce emissions and keep the 1.5C target alive.

"Lamenting is not a strategy. We need solutions," said Stiell.

Activists fear that geopolitical tensions -- from wars to trade feuds -- are distracting nations from combatting climate change, even as supercharged storms recently devastated communities in the Caribbean and Asia.

"The larger geopolitical context for COP30 is the most difficult of all COPs I think, which means COP30 could be one of the most difficult," Bill Hare, chief executive of Climate Analytics, told AFP.

Lula defended his decision to hold the event in Belem despite logistical challenges, which included a dire shortage of hotel rooms. Many COP30 pavilions were still under construction on Sunday.

Lula's aim was to bring negotiators, business and journalists to the Amazon to see for themselves the challenges that nature faces.

The Amazon rainforest, which plays a vital climate role through its absorption of greenhouse gases, is itself plagued by a host of ills: deforestation, illegal mining, pollution, drug trafficking, and all manner of rights abuses against locals, especially Indigenous peoples.



- Tough negotiations -



Tough negotiations lie ahead.

Rich nations and developing countries regularly clash at COPs over how to provide the funds needed for poorer regions, which are the least responsible for planet-heating emissions, to adapt to climate change and transition away from fossil fuels.

Major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia oppose language that would step up commitments to moving away from fossil fuels -- a transition that was agreed at COP28 in Dubai in 2023.

Lula put on the table at a leaders summit last week a "roadmap" on fossil fuels but the proposal lacks details.

For 30 years, the countries that are party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change -- adopted in Brazil at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro -- have met annually to strengthen the global climate regime.

Those efforts culminated in the 2015 Paris Agreement, which commits the world to limiting global warming to 2C above pre-industrial levels, while pursuing efforts to keep it below 1.5C.

But UN chief Antonio Guterres has acknowledged in recent weeks that it is now "inevitable" the 1.5C threshold will soon be breached, urging that the overshoot be kept as brief as possible.

That means finally bringing down global greenhouse gas emissions, which come mainly from burning oil, gas and coal.

A group of small island nations is fighting to have the need for a response to this failure placed on the official agenda.

"1.5 degrees is not just a number, not just a target, but that's a lifeline," Manjeet Dhakal, an advisor to the least developed countries block of countries at COP, told AFP.

"We cannot be a part of any decision where there is a discussion about (how) we can't achieve 1.5 degrees."

burs-lth/klm/des
UK water firm says 'highly likely' behind plastic pellet pollution incident



London, Nov 10 (AFP) Nov 10, 2025



One of the UK's under-fire water companies apologised Monday after plastic pellets washed up en masse on beaches in southern England, conceding it was "highly likely" behind the recent pollution.

Southern Water, which provides water and sewage services to millions of customers across a swathe of southern England, blamed a "failure" at one of its treatment facilities.

It is just the latest polluting incident involving one of the country's much-criticised water firms, which have drawn the ire of communities across Britain for repeatedly pumping sewage into waterways and seas.

In response, the government has begun to overhaul the water regulation system, including tightening sanctions against sector executives.

Environmental monitoring group Strandliners estimated the latest incident has resulted in millions of pellets washing up at Camber Sands in East Sussex, calling it "the worst plastic pellet pollution incident we have ever seen here".

"The impact on the environment and local wildlife can be catastrophic, it added, noting that birds and marine animals easily mistake the toxic plastic pellets for food.

After completing the initial stages of an ongoing investigation, Southern Water said it was "highly likely that the beads have come from our Eastbourne Wastewater Treatment Works".

It added "a failure of a screening filter" appeared to have led to "beads used in the treatment process being released into the sea during heavy rainfall".

"We are very sorry this has happened and are doing everything possible to investigate and resolve the problem," the firm said in a statement.

Water Minister Emma Hardy said she was "deeply disappointed" and had spoken to the company's CEO.

"The immediate priority now needs to be addressing any environmental damage and minimising further impacts," she added.

Hardy noted the Environment Agency watchdog was conducting "a thorough investigation" and "looking at what regulatory action should be taken".

The black "bio-beads", a few millimeters in size, are used to filter bacteria in wastewater treatment plants and are hard to remove once mixed with sand and algae.

Once ingested by wildlife, they are difficult to expel and animals either die of starvation or from the cumulative effects of the toxins they contain, according to Strandliners.

Rother District Council, the local authority leading the clean-up, said it hoped that the majority of the pellets would be removed by Monday, after six days of efforts by volunteers and professionals.

It added that more pellets would continue to wash ashore with the tides.
The liquidation of Russians in the northern part of Pokrovsk is ongoing, the most intense fighting is currently in the industrial zone. The enemy's infiltration routes to this area are under the control of the military, the 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has said.

The corps emphasized that the enemy continues to increase the number of assaults on Ukrainian positions in the Pokrovsk agglomeration. Last week, the Russians attacked Ukrainian units 132 times, which is almost 20% more than the previous week.

At the same time, the Ukrainian military is stopping attempts by the Russians to gain a foothold in the high-rise buildings of Pokrovsk, which the enemy wants to use as dominant heights. Such counteraction allows other units of the Defense Forces to carry out tasks to clear the enemy in the city.

"The liquidation of Russians in the northern part of Pokrovsk continues. The most intense fighting is currently in the industrial zone. The enemy's infiltration routes to this area are under the control of our military. The enemy has limited opportunities to replenish losses," the report says.

At the same time, the unit emphasized that the enemy is trying to concentrate efforts in other areas of the city and on the western outskirts for further advancement towards Hryshyne, which is northwest of Pokrovsk.

"The Ukrainian military is holding back the enemy, in particular, thanks to a multi-lane defense system. Logistics in Hryshyn allows for the fulfillment of specified tasks," the report says.

The Myrnohrad defensive operation is also continuing. The corps assured that logistics are being provided, and food and ammunition supplies are being replenished on time.

Yes, the enemy is trying to attack Myrnohrad from the southeast.

"The defense forces manage to eliminate the enemy on the approaches to the city, preventing the enemy from penetrating into the city," the Defense Ministry reported. Over the past week, Ukrainian military forces have eliminated 236 Russians, another 136 were wounded. The soldiers also hit one tank, three armored combat vehicles, and 23 units of automobiles and motorcycles.
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Frida Kahlos "El sueno (La cama)"  translated as "The Dream (The Bed)"  is generating considerable buzz among art historians, with its estimated value of $40 million to $60 million.

This remarkable sum could see it become the most expensive work ever sold by a female or Latin American artist when it goes to auction later this month.

Sothebys auction house will present the painting for sale on 20 November in New York, following a high-profile exhibition tour across London, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, and Paris.

Mexican art historian Helena Chavez Mac Gregor, a researcher at UNAMs Institute of Aesthetic Research and author of "El liston y la bomba. El arte de Frida Kahlo," noted the significant interest. "This is a moment of a lot of speculation," she remarked.

open image in gallery The world is currently privately owned, hence why it can be put up for auction ( AP )

In Mexico, Kahlos work is protected by a declaration of artistic monument, meaning pieces within the country cannot be sold or destroyed. However, works from private collections abroad  like the painting in question, whose owner remains unrevealed  are legally eligible for international sale.

The system of declaring Mexican modern artistic heritage is very anomalous, said Mexican curator Cuauhtemoc Medina, an art historian and specialist in contemporary art.

Judas in bed

El sueno (La cama) was created in 1940 following Kahlo's trip to Paris, where she came into contact with the surrealists.

Contrary to contemporary belief, the skull on the beds canopy is not a Day of the Dead skeleton, but a Judas  a handmade cardboard figure. Traditionally lit with gunpowder during Easter, this effigy symbolizes purification and the triumph of good over evil, representing Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus.

In the painting, the skeleton is detailed with firecrackers, flowers on its ribs and a smiling grimace  a detail inspired by a cardboard skeleton Kahlo actually kept in the canopy of her own bed.

Kahlo spent a lot of time in bed waiting for death, said Chavez Mac Gregor. She had a very complex life because of all the illnesses and physical challenges with which she lived.

Frida and surrealism

Although Kahlos painting is being auctioned alongside works by surrealists like Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning, she did not consider herself a member of the movement, despite having met its founder, Andre Breton, in Mexico and had an exhibition organized by him in Paris in 1939.

Breton was fascinated by Fridas work, because he saw that surrealist spirit there, said Chavez Mac Gregor.

Kahlo, a committed communist, considered surrealism  a movement proposing a revolution of consciousness  to be bourgeois. As Chavez Mac Gregor noted, Frida always had a critical distance from that.

Despite this, specialists have found elements of surrealism in Kahlos work related to the dreamlike, to an inner world and to a revolutionary and sexual freedom  a concept visible in a bed suspended in the sky with Kahlo sleeping among a vine.

open image in gallery Once the work is sold, it will likely disappear from public view ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved )

Crazy-priced purchases

El sueno (La cama) was last exhibited in the 1990s, and after the auction, it could disappear from public view once again, a fate shared by many paintings acquired for large sums at auction.

There are exceptions, including Diego y yo ( Diego and I), which set Kahlos record sale price when it sold for $34.9 million in 2021.

The painting, depicting the artist and her husband muralist Diego Rivera, was acquired by Argentine business owner Eduardo Costantini and then lent to the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires (Malba) where it remains on exhibit.

Medina, the art historian, regretted that the crazy-priced purchases have reduced art to a mere economic value.

He lamented that when funds purchase art as mere investments  like buying shares in a public company  the works are often relegated to tax-free zones to avoid costs. Their fate, he said, may be worse; they may end up in a refrigerator at Frankfurt airport for decades to come.

The current sale record for a work by a female artist is held by Georgia OKeeffes Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1, which fetched $44.4 million at Sothebys in 2014.

However, the auction market still reflects a profound disparity as no female artist has yet exceeded the maximum sale price of a male artist. The current benchmark is Salvator Mundi, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, which was auctioned by Christies for $450.3 million in 2017.
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Oscar Isaac has expressed hesitancy about working with Disney on another Star Wars film following the companys controversial decision to suspend late-night host Jimmy Kimmel in September.

The 46-year-old actor, who starred as X-wing fighter pilot Poe Dameron in three of the franchises latest films, was originally against the idea of reprising his role. He once joked that he would only return if he needed another house.

However, in August, the Emmy-nominated actor told Variety that he would be open to another Star Wars movie, if there was something good to do with that.

Speaking to GQ in a new interview, Isaac was asked about his change of mind.

Yeah. I mean, Id be open to it, although right now Im not so open to working with Disney, he said. But if they can kinda figure it out and, you know, not succumb to fascism, that would be great.

open image in gallery Oscar Isaac blasted Disney over its controversial decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel in September ( Getty )

open image in gallery Oscar Isaac starred as Poe Dameron in three Star Wars films ( Lucasfilm/Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock )

The outlet noted that Isaacs comments were made two days after Kimmels suspension due to the comedians remarks about the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

But if that happens, then yeah, Id be open to having a conversation about a galaxy far away, Isaac conceded. Or any number of other things.

Four days after Isaacs interview, Kimmel was reinstated by Disneys network ABC.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! initially faced indefinite suspension in mid-September due to an on-air quip he made about Kirks death.

We had some new lows over the weekend, the comedian said, with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and with everything they can to score political points from it.

open image in gallery Jimmy Kimmels late-night show was briefly canceled in September due to remarks he made about Charlie Kirks death ( Getty )

ABCs decision to briefly pull the plug on Kimmels show caused an uproar among politicians and fellow celebrities, who warned it was an attack on free speech.

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Upon his return, Kimmel addressed his suspension in an emotional monologue.

This country has become so authoritarian, the Germans are like, Come here. Cut loose, he joked at one point, going on to thank everyone who supported our show, cared enough to do something about it, to make your voices heard so that mine could be heard. I will never forget it.
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Two Blue Plaques are set to be unveiled on 10 November 2025, marking what would have been legendary actor Richard Burtons 100th birthday.

The commemorations will simultaneously honour Burton and his influential mentor and adoptive father, Philip Burton, celebrating the profound cultural impact of both Welsh figures.

The significant plaques will be placed at Richard Burtons birthplace and at the former residence of Philip Burton, the teacher credited with recognising and nurturing the young actors extraordinary talent.

The unveiling ceremonies are expected to draw family members, admirers, and local community figures, forming a central part of the wider Richard Burton Centenary celebrations scheduled throughout November.

Philip Burtons legacy extends beyond his pivotal role in Richards career; he is also celebrated for shaping generations of performers through his work as a producer, theatre director, and co-founder of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York City.

Richard Burtons own remarkable journey, from his humble beginnings in Pontrhydyfen, Port Talbot, to global stardom, will also be highlighted, recalling his acclaimed performances in films such as Cleopatra, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

These Blue Plaques aim to underscore the vital importance of mentorship, opportunity, and cultural pride in fostering artistic excellence. They will also integrate into Neath Port Talbot Councils heritage strategy, supported by the community to champion regional creativity and identity.

open image in gallery Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in Cleopatra ( Getty Images )

The unveilings will coincide with a rich programme of centenary events, including poetry and play readings, a lecture at the Richard Burton Archives, guided tours, and a Centenary Gala featuring performances from Michael Sheen, Jeff Wayne, and the West Glamorgan Youth Theatre.

The celebrations will culminate with Matthew Rhys performing Playing Burton at Bethel Chapel Cafe.

Richard Burtons daughter, Kate, and granddaughter, Charlotte, are available for interviews to discuss how these plaques will honour both mens legacies and inspire future generations.

Burton joins many other esteemed figures to have been commemorated on blue plaques in the UK.

Last year, actor Audrey Hepburn and musician Marc Bolan were posthumously given plaques in London. Other names that will be celebrated in the London scheme from English Heritage are novelist Barbara Pym, artist Graham Sutherland, ballerina Alicia Markova and Jamaican writer and campaigner Una Marson.

The markings on buildings, which need the owner of the building to approve them, began in 1866 and have been run by English Heritage since 1986.

In 2024, the scheme was officially expanded outside of the capital, with the woman credited as the first black matron in the NHS, Daphne Steele, becoming the principal honouree with a Yorkshire plaque.
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A tearful Alex Kingston opened up about the condition that made dancing the paso doble difficult during Saturday nights episode of Strictly Come Dancing.

The Doctor Who and ER actor, 62, told host Claudia Winkleman that she is numerically dyslexic and has therefore struggled to dance to music without lyrics.

Kingston and her dance partner Johannes Radebe performed to Amparito Roca by Jamie Texidor, a traditional paso doble track without lyrics.

The judges noted that she seemed considerably less confident than she has in previous weeks, with Motsi Mabuse noting that this marked the first time that Ive felt a little bit of insecurity from you.

She also suggested that the performance lacked spatial awareness and fire, while Craig Revel Horwood went a step further and branded it a little bit middle of the road.

When Kingston headed up to the Clauditorium for her post-routine interview with Winkleman, she revealed that she struggles with numerical dyslexia, or dyscalculia.

According to the NHS, dyscalculia is a persistent difficulty in understanding numbers. It is thought to impact one in 20 people.

open image in gallery Kingston admitted that dancing to a track without lyrics had proved problematic ( BBC )

The thing is, I'm numerically dyslexic so I can't count, Kingston said. And that's quite difficult.

Winkleman reminded her that as a contestant, she is not supposed to love every dance, prompting Kingston to reveal that performing without lyrics had been a struggle.

But I should love this one because it's drama, she said. But I'm used to dancing to lyrics and I didn't know that I can't do that.

Winkleman encouraged the rest of the contestants and professional dancers to comfort Kingston, prompting praise on Twitter/X.

open image in gallery Kingston and Johannes Radebe picked up 30 points ( BBC )

Claudia really is the perfect presenter and her moment comforting Alex demonstrates this so clearly  shell be a real loss to the show, one fan wrote.

Watching Claudia and the rest try to cheer Alex up in the Clauditorium on Strictly was so sweet omg, another agreed.

Kingston received 30 points, leaving her in the lower half of the leaderboard after a high-scoring episode that saw Vicky Pattison receive her first perfect 10s from the judges.
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Ali Larter has hit back at critics of her Landman character and defended the shows creator, Taylor Sheridan.

The former model, 49, plays Angela Norris, ex-wife of Billy Bob Thorntons oil rig executive Tommy Norris. The show was devised by Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace. It is based on Wallaces own podcast, Boomtown, about the Texas oil industry.

Landman returns for a second season November 16.

Since the series debuted last year, Larters character has been criticized as over-sexualized. However, the actor pushed back at those claims in an interview with People, saying: Taylor is a provocateur.

Larter continued: He loves to write characters that make people respond, that initiate a reaction, a feeling. And I think that what's incredible about our show, and a lot of the shows that Taylor makes, is that theyre all wildly original and authentic to themselves.

open image in gallery Ali Larter at a screening of 'Landman' season 2 in Los Angeles on October 30, 2025 ( Monica Schipper/Getty Images )

She went on to describer her character as a fierce mama bear.

Youre watching this woman leave a life behind of luxury, leave a life of comfort behind, because she's gotten to the age and to the point in her life where she wants to be with the person she loves, Larter said. And she wants to laugh. Being able to kind of create that arc and weave that into the first season was really interesting and fun to be able to do.

The actor also applauded Sheridan for making the inner workings of the oil industry so appealing. You would never know on paper that this show would be so riveting or so many people would love it, different generations of people who live in different places. That they find a connection to it, I think, is super fascinating."

open image in gallery Taylor Sheridan is behind a string of hit shows including Landman, Yellowstone and Mayor of Kingstown ( Getty )

When the first season aired, Thornton also defended Larters character and addressed criticisms of the show.

Speaking about Sheridan, Thornton told Deadline: I mean, hes such a powerful guy. Its easy to knock him down. But hes had the best reviews hes ever had for Landman.

Some of them mentioned the women and how Alis character may be a little cartoonish or whatever. And I got to tell you, I was raised down there in Arkansas and Texas, and women like Ali exist. Its hard to look that good, but some of em do.

He continued: I mean, there are women around that Dallas-Fort Worth area who look like models, and theyre just like elbows and eyebrows every minute.

Landman is available to stream on Paramount+.
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Jimmy Kimmels wife, Molly McNearney, has opened up about the betrayal she feels towards her Trump-supporting family members amid her husbands ongoing feud with the president.

McNearney  the head writer and executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live!  appeared on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast alongside her husband recently, where she explained that she grew up in a very conservative, Republican household in St. Louis, Missouri.

So theres like a little bit of sympathy I have for people in my family that I feel are kind of being deliberately misinformed every day, she said on the episode.

However, she went on to admit she has lost touch with some relatives due to their political views.

Ive sent many emails to my family, like right before the election, saying, Im begging you. Heres the 10 reasons not to vote for this guy. Please dont. And I either got ignored by 90 per cent of them or got truly insane response from a few, McNearney said.

open image in gallery Jimmy Kimmel and Molly McNearney made a joint appearance on 'We Can Do Hard Things' ( Treat Media )

open image in gallery McNearney admitted shes lost relationships with family members due to their support of Trump ( Getty )

It hurts me so much because of the personal relationships I now have, where my husband is out there fighting this man, and to me, them voting for Trump is them not voting for my husband and me and our family. And I unfortunately have kind of lost relationships with people in my family because of it.

The producer continued, saying that, for her, politics were no longer about Republican versus Democrat, but about family values.

I personalise everything now. When I see these terrible stories every day, Im immediately mad at certain aunts, uncles, cousins who put [Trump] in power.

Kimmel and McNearney have been married since 2013 and share two children: daughter Jane, 11, and son Billy, eight.

Kimmel was suspended by ABC in September after he criticized President Trump and his supporters for their response to right-wing activist Charlie Kirks killing. His suspension sparked outrage throughout the country and fears over censorship.

In September, Kimmel, who has been a longstanding critic of Trump, had his late-night show suspended due to comments he made about the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

Trump made no secret of his delight last month when ABC announced it was taking Kimmels show off air indefinitely, saying that the host had been fired for lack of talent.

However, after just six days, Kimmel was reinstated with the shows parent company, Disney, saying it had thoughtful conversations with Kimmel over the comments, which it described as ill-timed.

In his return to the airwaves, Kimmel addressed the Kirk controversy, telling the audience it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.
USA is our strategic partner for many years, respect at core of Ukraine's relationship with them  Zelenskyy

Relations with US President Donald Trump are constructive and very substantive, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with The Guardian published on Sunday.

The interviewer asked Zelenskyy whether the Financial Times report that Trump was furious and was throwing cards during their last meeting was true.

"No, he didn't throw anything. I'm not shy about telling the truth. I believe that the shortest distance in dialogue between people and achieving results is to tell it like it is. Well, maybe not to tell everything, but to tell it like it is. And if you're asking whether any cards were thrown, then nothing was thrown, absolutely nothing," Zelenskyy replied.

The Guardian correspondent asked to characterize the current relationship with Trump.

"Constructive, very concrete. I understand, well, everyone's afraid of Trump. Everyone in the world. And that's true. This is the United States of America. And they are the leaders," Zelenskyy began to explain.

"Are you afraid of Donald Trump?" the interviewer asked.

"No. I think he's a human being, elected by the people. We must respect the choice of the people of the United States of America. I'm a human being, elected by the people. And I think that's the level it should be. We're not a threat to the United States of America. On the contrary, I think the United States of America is our partner, a strategic partner. I believe it's a strategic partner for many years, I don't know, maybe even decades, hundreds of years. This is important. Because Ukraine has chosen a vector for itself, which, by the way, isn't new, but rather a return to Western values, to Europe. And therefore, in my view, only respect. Respect. It's the enemies who should be afraid. But we're not enemies with America; we're friends, so why should we be afraid?" Zelenskyy responded.
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Meghan Markle is releasing a Netflix holiday special.

The Duchess of Sussex announced Monday that a special episode of her lifestyle series With Love, Meghan, will arrive on the streaming platform in just a few weeks.

Embrace traditions and make new ones this holiday season. With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration arrives December 3rd on @netflix, she shared to her Instagram account.

Markle, 44, also teased a look at her festive holiday table in the post, wearing a green dress and looking over what appears to be a dinner table with candles, glassware, ribbons, and greenery.

Netflix said in a statement: This December, join Meghan in Montecito, California, for a magical holiday celebration as she shares how she likes to make this time with family and friends especially memorable and meaningful. Together, friends and family deck the halls, create holiday feasts, craft heartfelt gifts, and share lots of laughs  and give you simple how-tos to follow at home.

open image in gallery Meghan Markle teased that the holiday special will feature gift wrapping techniques ( Netflix )

Markle, Prince Harry, and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, moved to the California coastal town in 2020, and her show is filmed at a studio just down the road from the familys $14.65 million mansion.

Last month, the former Suits actress teased that the new holiday special would be a really good one while speaking at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington, DC. She added that in the special, lots of gift wrapping techniques will be included.

You guys know I used to teach gift wrapping at Paper Source and advanced gift wrapping, Markle said. So you know, all of those things that you do as an auditioning actor. Thats not the full circle I was expecting, but here we are.

open image in gallery Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have lived in Montecito since 2020 ( Netflix )

Ahead of the holiday season, the duchesss lifestyle brand, As ever, also released a festive collection last month, featuring candles, flower sprinkles, and fruit spreads, which Oprah Winfrey included on her annual Favorite Things list.

Markles reported $100 million partnership with Netflix is expected to launch her return to acting after an eight-year hiatus. She said at the summit: What weve designed is being able to have so much robust support in year one, where you have the show complementing the brand or content and commerce or meeting, and then still enabling me to have autonomy, to build out my own team and scale it in the way that I envision.

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With Love, Meghan premiered in March. The eight-part series features Markle share hosting tips and cooking with her celebrity friends like Chrissy Teigen and Mindy Kaling. The shows second season aired in August and received mixed reviews, with The Independents Helen Coffey saying the show was like being gaslit by a multiillionaire.
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Strictly Come Dancings Balvinder Sopal has opened up about the impact of her beloved mothers death.

In an emotional clip shared during Saturdays (8 November) episode, the EastEnders star revealed that last year had been terrible for her and her family as they dealt with the loss of their relative.

Last year was a terrible year for us, the soap star said, telling viewers that her mum had been her biggest cheerleader.

Losing my mum felt like and still does feel like I lost a part of me. Me and mum had a brilliant relationship.

The actor revealed how she loved returning from filming to spend time with her mum, sitting down, having a cup of tea with mum wrapped in a blanket. We'd just be warm together.

Sopal, 46, explained that she had turned down recent opportunities until she was offered a spot on Strictly, which she knew she had to accept because mum would want me to be seen.

open image in gallery The actor became emotional as she discussed her mums death ( BBC )

I'd said no to every single thing that came my way and then Strictly came along, she said.

I thought, yeah, I'm gonna do it, this is my yes year. And I'm gonna do it because I wanna be seen, and because mum would want me to be seen.

open image in gallery Sopal and her dance partner Julian Caillon performed a Bhangra-inspired routine ( BBC )

She added that her mum will be incredibly happy and dancing, wherever she is, shining down on me.

During tonights show, Sopal and her dance partner Julian Caillon performed a Bhangra-inspired Couples Choice routine to Sapphire by Ed Sheeran and Arijit Singh.

Judge Motsi Mabuse thanked Sopal for opening up about her grief in her pre-performance VT, telling her: I know your mum is watching and shes so proud of you.

Head judge Shirley Ballas, meanwhile, praised the routine as Sopal and Caillons best dance so far.

open image in gallery The star has ended up in the dreaded dance off multiple times ( CREDIT LINE:BBC/Guy Levy )

The pair, who have ended up in the dreaded dance off three times throughout the series so far, received a total of 34 points from the judges.

Fans on Twitter/X praised their emotional performance, with one viewer writing: Balvinder did her mum so proud with that dance, so so gorgeous and full of joy!!

Theres a very proud Mum looking down, another suggested, while a third wrote: Yessss!! Balvinders couple choice was phenomenal her mum would be so so proud of her! What a perfectly timed dance at this point of the competition!
Ukraine attacked by seven missiles, 67 UAVs overnight, with drone strikes reported at nine locations  AFU

Ukrainian Defense Forces neutralized 52 enemy targets on Monday night, including hits from 15 attack UAVs at nine locations. Details on the seven missiles that attacked Ukraine are still being clarified, the press service of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.

"On the night of November 10 (from 18:30 on November 9), the enemy attacked with two X-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles from the airspace of Tambov region, five S-300/S-400 anti-aircraft guided missiles from Kursk region, as well as 67 Shaheds, Gerberas and other types of attack UAVs from the directions of Kursk, Millerovo, Orel, Bryansk of Russia, Hvardeyske  TOT of Autonomous Republic of Crimea, about 40 of them were Shaheds," the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on the Telegram channel on Monday.

According to preliminary data, as of 9:30 a.m., air defense forces have shot down or suppressed 52 enemy Shaheds, Gerberas and other types of UAVs in the east, south, and center of the country. Fifteen attack UAVs were hit at nine locations.

Thus, the air defense effectiveness has already exceeded 77%.

Information on the missiles is being clarified. No reports of attacks or hits have been received.

The air attack was repelled by aircraft, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, and mobile fire teams of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
Critica Limited has identified a secondary high-value opportunity within its flagship Jupiter clay-hosted rare earths deposit near Mt Magnet in WA which shows gallium oxide as a viable by-product with a leach recovery of about 63% through the companys proven beneficiation-first flowsheet.

The breakthrough, tied to the production of Criticas first mixed rare earth product (MREP), elevates the strategic allure of the companys stunning 1.8 billion tonne Jupiter rare earths resource - considered Australias biggest inferred clay-hosted rare earths endowment. The move adds about 70,000 tonnes of contained gallium oxide to its already impressive profile.

Critica Ltd is rapidly de-risking its giant Jupiter project near Mt Magnet in WA, with successive rounds of test work enhancing rare earths recoveries and honing gallium production, while also scouting possible germanium and scandium as additional by-products.

Located near Mt Magnet in Western Australias mineral-rich Murchison region, the Jupiter project, which features excellent nearby infrastructure, shows low impurities, where the uranium and thorium content is well below International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) thresholds. Its grades average a solid 1700ppm total rare earths oxides (TREO) at a 1000 ppm cut-off grade.

The deposits newly discovered gallium distribution is remarkably consistent at about 39ppm gallium oxide across the resource model, with hot-spots exceeding 50ppm, underscoring its homogeneous scale and potential for straightforward extraction.
After lying dormant for two decades  a period in which gold prices started low but skyrocketed to record highs  West Wits was handed the keys to one of South Africas most famous goldfields in 2018, when the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy gave the company approval to reopen the legendary Witwatersrand Basin.

Between 2021 and 2023, a series of scoping and feasibility studies mapped out the projects full potential, outlining a colossal global resource of 5.025 million ounces grading a respectable 4.66 grams per tonne gold. The company quickly zeroed in on the Qala Shallows deposit as the logical starting point  a near-surface, easily accessible orebody packing 10.7 million tonnes at 2.98g/t for 1.026 million ounces of contained gold.

Adding to its appeal, Qala Shallows already boasts an existing adit, decline and shaft  all of which have since been refurbished to provide rapid underground access for sampling and survey work. One early foray into the old workings produced a 150-kilogram bulk sample that confirmed the continuity and quality of the ore grades.

Five months ago, West Wits unveiled its much-anticipated definitive feasibility study  and the numbers turned heads. The study modelled a net present value of US$500 million (A$766 million) at a 7.5 per cent discount rate, paired with a post-tax internal rate of return of a staggering 81 per cent.

The mine is tipped to produce about 70,000 ounces of gold a year, generating a cumulative free cash flow of US$983 million (A$1.5 billion) over a 12-year mine life based on a very conservative assumed gold price of US$2850 an ounce (A$4368). Even more compelling is its cost profile with the forecast for all-in sustaining costs per ounce coming in at just US$1289 (A$1975) per ounce, putting the project squarely within the lowest quartile of global producers.

Perhaps the most attractive element, however, is the modest price tag. Given West Wits is reopening a historic operation rather than starting from scratch, much of the underground infrastructure remains intact and has already been brought back to working order. The total capital cost to bring Qala Shallows into production sits at just US$60 million (A$92 million).

Peak funding requirements are capped at a lean US$44 million (A$67 million), comfortably covered by the companys already approved loan facilities. That financial headroom gives West Wits the breathing space to bring South Africas newest underground gold mine back to life  leaner, faster and more profitably than anyone could have imagined when the lights first went out 20 years ago.

Absas involvement offers more than just financial muscleit brings a strategic endorsement from one of Africas biggest banks, with deep experience in corporate and investment financing across the continent. The partnership could also position West Wits favourably for future expansion and refinancing options as its development footprint grows.

The company now finds itself fully funded thanks to Absa banks syndicated loan, a recent US$35 million (A$53M) funding package from United States-based Nebari Natural Resources Credit Fund II and $17 million from a fresh capital raising.

With mining now in full swing and the first pour expected as soon as the new year, Absas equity-for-fees move is a strong vote of confidence from one of Africas biggest banks and appears a clear validation of West Wits strategy.

And for West Wits, the message seems clear. The old Witwatersrand Basin is stirring again  this time powered by modern mining, strong institutional backing and the golden tailwinds of a booming metal price.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
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Eating outJust open $15 martinis, midnight spag and Bloody Mary salad. Inside Lygon Streets new public house The owner of hatted restaurant Etta has opened a more easygoing and economical venue, Daphne, just down the road. Its fun, loose and for you to use as you see fit. Tomas Telegramma November 10, 2025 Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Melbourne has been lucky when it comes to new bars this year. Heres whats opened over winter and spring, ready for all the summer fun you can throw at them. See all stories .

Daphne, the sophomore opening for Hannah Green  owner of hatted Brunswick East diner Etta  has been created as a chameleon. Its not a pub or a wine bar or a restaurant. Its all of the above and more, intended to be a neighbourhood institution. A few doors down from Etta on Lygon Street, Daphne is what Green calls her public house. The 125-seat bar and restaurant is fun, loose and for you to use as you see fit, she says. Its a more easygoing  and economical  experience than what Etta has flourished into. Hannah Greens Daphne is a pub, wine bar and restaurant rolled into one neighbourhood institution. Ashley Ludkin Designed by IF Architecture (Etta, Cutler, Baker Bleu), Daphne is a fresh face for the space once home to the long-standing Cafe Romantica, but known most recently as Bar Romantica. I wanted to pay respect to the site because it was fairly iconic, Green says. But I also wanted to bring light in.

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While the original terrazzo floor and popcorn-look vermiculite ceiling remain, the room has been brightened in a big way. Everything is reflective, Green says, from the iridescent 3D-printed lightshades to the stainless-steel open kitchen. New street-side seating flows into a casual front bar where you order at the counter. Beyond: a full-service bistro with clothed tables and a curtained-off private dining room. 1 / 9 From left: Pip Littore, chef Diana Desensi and owner Hannah Green. Kristoffer Paulsen 2 / 9 Wood-fire oven roasted half chook with blistered grapes and a salty-sweet agrodolce-like sauce. Kristoffer Paulsen 3 / 9 The former Bar Romantica space has been redesigned by IF Architecture. Shelley Horan 4 / 9 Daphne is Ettas more affordable, casual sibling venue. Shelley Horan 5 / 9 Potato flatbread with mussels escabeche and whipped cod roe. Kristoffer Paulsen 6 / 9 Bloody Mary salad. Ashley Ludkin 7 / 9 Ricotta tortellini with artichoke, radicchio and milk sauce. Shelley Horan 8 / 9 A curtained-off private dining room lies at the rear. Shelley Horan 9 / 9 Olive oil cake. Shelley Horan Previous Slide Next Slide Presiding over the food is Diana Desensi, former head chef of Montalto and the now-closed Saint George, who has a simple motto: If it hasnt been done before, were not doing it. But thats not to say she isnt putting her own flair and flourishes on familiar dishes. The same menu runs across the front bar and bistro, featuring a dish Desensi cooked for Green to help her get the gig. Its a half chicken thats brined, dunked in herb butter so the whole thing kind of mummifies, then roasted to golden perfection in the wood-fire oven before being served with blistered grapes and a salty-sweet agrodolce-like sauce.

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If it hasnt been done before, were not doing it. Daphne chef Diana Desensi Other highlights include a fermented potato flatbread with mussels escabeche and whipped cod roe, and unusually exciting salads like a colourful cobb and an heirloom tomato medley with all the flavours of a Bloody Mary. Weekly neighbourhood nights each have a different hero item. Go for $15 martinis on Mondays (and get an olive stamp on your loyalty card so your 10th is free), $30 steak with fries on Tuesdays, and $25 handmade pasta on Wednesdays. Theres also a kids menu, and a supper menu on Fridays and Saturdays. With last orders at midnight, it appropriately stars a midnight spaghetti jam-packed with anchovies and capers. The Guinness Americano cocktail tastes like a chocolate negroni. Shelley Horan As at Etta, the cocktails are a cut above, curated by drinks maverick Sam Peasnell who also lent his expertise to the drinks lists at Barragunda and Doms Social Club. His take on the Americano Perfecto (topped with lager instead of the Americanos usual soda) subs in Guinness, which floats atop the Campari and vermouth for a low-ABV drink that he says tastes like a chocolate negroni.

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Related Article Lygon Street hatted restaurant Etta to open more affordable sibling (and its close by) Sommelier Ashley Boburkas wine list puts Victoria centre stage, including pinot gris and chilled sangiovese by Yarra Valley winemaker Valentine, both on tap for $10 a glass. After dinner, the old Bar Romantica sound system cranks up for late-night DJ sets. Daphne opens today, November 10 at 52-54 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, daphne.melbourne Open dinner Mon-Sat

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These trends can get written off as twaddle or, in modern parlance, as brain rot. But perhaps they are something else: a kind of gleeful obfuscation, an effort to be unknowable by a generation that has, virtually since birth, been relentlessly on display. I think they kind of know that everyone is watching them, says Alma Fabiani, 29, the head of content at the youth-focused digital publisher Screenshot. Isnt it more fun  and more enigmatic  to turn the joke around on the people looking? In the internet age, keeping up with changing language is impossible for most adults. Experts argue its a way for young people to create space for themselves. Credit: iStock Swingin on the Flippity-Flop For as long as there has been teen slang, there has been a desire for adults to penetrate its meaning  and an impish urge among young people to exploit their curiosity. Its practically a rite of passage.

In November 1992, The New York Times published a lexicon of grunge speak quoting Megan Jasper, a 25-year-old sales representative at Caroline Records in Seattle. After the article was published, Jasper revealed that she had made up several of her contributions, including lamestain (an uncool person) and swingin on the flippity-flop (hanging out). The papers eagerness to write up a loose scenes nonexistent lingo had inspired Jasper to go rogue. You react by trying to make fun of it, she later said. When it came time to needle Gen X, Jaspers generation, Millennials had a tool that had not been available to their parents: the internet. Clarissa Hunnicutt remembers endlessly repeating phrases, including Im a snake, a line from a viral YouTube video from 2010, to her parents bafflement and frustration. They finally just got to this point where they were like, Were going to accept that we have no clue what you are talking about, says Hunnicutt, 32, who works for a nonprofit foster-care agency.

She thinks that Millennial parents like herself have struggled to do the same. Because she grew up steeped in internet culture, she feels that she should be able to get to the bottom of slang like cooked and rizz that her three children are learning online. In her day, most buzzy terms alluded to a single YouTube video or movie; now, the origins can be a lot more diffuse. I think its funny that shes really, like, trying to get all of these words into her brain. Ashlyn, 10 years old, on her mums attempts to learn the latest lingo Algorithm-driven social media platforms have also sent the natural cycle of slang formation into overdrive. In the ceaseless search for novel material to feed users, those platforms elevate new trends and coinages at a rate that can be exhausting for those trying to keep up. Ive put so much time into studying these words, Hunnicutt says, laughing with exasperation. Ashlyn, her 10-year-old daughter, sat next to her with a small grin. I think its funny that shes really, like, trying to get all of these words into her brain, she says.

Parents like Hunnicutt can consult a booming content economy that dissects youth trends for curious adults and marketers. Take chopped, a synonym for unattractive that was covered by the Times, Fox News and Parents.com, and appeared in newsletters including The Culture Translator and After School. Loading Some with particular proximity to young people  like middle-school teachers and parents  have also made careers of explaining what, exactly, kids mean when they say they are aura farming. If todays adults seem more anxious to have such terms elucidated for them, that may be because platforms like TikTok have provided unusual visibility into teenagers habits.

Theres so much breathless interest in youth culture, myself included, says Casey Lewis, who writes After School, a newsletter about Gen Z and Gen Alpha. And so its fun to frustrate the olds. Lewis, 38, wonders whether 6-7 was a bit of a message to the adults who appear nosier than ever: Let us exist in our own space, she says. Gen Alpha, the generation below Gen Z, seems to already be embracing, and amplifying, that attitude, according to Fabiani of Screenshot. Adults tend to treat young people like a riddle that needs solving, she says. But that may prove to be a self-defeating task. When parents, teachers and The Today Show co-host Savannah Guthrie pulled on their 6-7 costumes last week for Halloween  perhaps satisfied that they were at last in on the joke  these adults were probably already behind the ball on an even newer bit of slang. Lexie Frensley, 37, a middle-school teacher in Beaverton, Oregon, predicted the next 6-7 was already on its way.
Homicide detectives are investigating the death of a one-year-old boy who was taken to hospital unresponsive by his mother and her partner last week.

Police said they were told the child had become unresponsive at home in Sebastopol, in Ballarats south, about 12pm on Tuesday, November 4.

The boy was then taken to hospital by the 26-year-old mother and her 18-year-old male partner but died two days later.

Sadly, the child passed away in a Melbourne hospital on November 6, a police spokesperson said.
Shock and devastation of November 11 Shocked and devastated by the 1975 dismissal, a band of politically savvy year 11 students at my all-girls Catholic school donned black armbands. Calmly questioned by the principal as to why we were breaching uniform regulations, our righteous rage was accepted and a blind eye was turned. Years later, I returned to my old school on a teaching round. Yes, a year 11 politics class. Apparently a parent rang the principal after one of my classes to complain that a communist was teaching her daughter. Of course, Jesus was a socialist, she told the parent. She then cited passages from the gospels that supported her stance. The parent withdrew his claim. Bravo Sister! All of those miscreants went on to serve the needs of those with less in our community. Angela Killingsworth, Abbotsford

Fifty years on, Australians are still coming to terms with the Whitlam government dismissal. Discussion of the dismissal plotters and their politics  Kerr, Mason, the US ambassador, Fraser, the Royal house and their ructions  are rightly being dissected (thank you, Jenny Hocking). Yet, I see the politics that informed Whitlams own philosophy to crash or crash through his radical economic class agenda (which many of us benefit today) have been ignored. The Great Wars informed Whitlams politics, with his serving in the Royal Australian Air Force Pacific bombing raids during WW2. Whitlams war duties coaxed him into believing in free nations and peoples to have their own independence. His visits to Vietnam (1966) and China (1973) were seen as communist collaboration by the US and at home by White Australia besties, who believed in their Cold War right to interfere in other nations elections. To me, Whitlams crashing through way of politics seemed an inevitable course to break old stifling political bonds to free nations and local people from their propertied overlords. Imagine what Albaneses majority government could achieve if it chose to skip incremental steps and use a little bit of Whitlam DNA politics to claw back class inequality and global warming? Leon Zembekis, Reservoir

Pine Gaps role in Australian sovereignty

Re US plot got Gough (9/11). I was an 18-year-old university student in Brisbane when Gough Whitlam was dismissed on November 11, 1975  my brothers birthday. I knew even then that something was very amiss with the whole event. As a family we all watched the events on TV.

No one will ever forget Gough Whitlam standing outside Parliament House and saying: Well may we say God save the queen, because nothing will save the governor-general.

Pine Gap has always been important to the United States over the decades. The US needs us more than it would like to admit, and is important in Australian sovereignty.

Margaret Forster, Aberfeldie

Find courage to lead with bold initiatives

Re PM be warned, believers are achievers (10/11). Sean Kellys article encapsulates the parlous state of our politics. He rightly identifies the language of Zohran Mamdani as being articulate, courageous and bold, and making no excuses for what he wants to offer New Yorkers.

It is a reminder of the Gough Whitlam days (not faultless) where hope and daring policies were achieved in education and advocacy services to the most disadvantaged. What Labor needs with its vast majority is to have courage and not bow at the altar of caution, and not to underestimate the readiness of ordinary people for bold initiatives that are transparent, have integrity and forge a just, equitable and sustainable future for our children and grandchildren.

Judith Morrison, Nunawading

THE FORUM

Remembrance Day

At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month we observe a minutes silence to remember the soldiers who died during World War I and II.

My minutes silence is not just for those killed but for the many women, like my great-grandmother, Rose Pearlman, who didnt join celebrations when World War II ended.

Rose, like other mothers, were still waiting for news about their missing children serving overseas despite World War II officially ending on September 2, 1945. I dont know how Rose and other women coped with the waiting and wondering. And I cant pretend to know the emotions they experienced when the women and families had to say goodbye to family members going to war.

Rose, who was a widow at the time, had to wait until 1946 for the official telegram to tell her that her son, Leslie, was presumed dead. These stories need to be told and remembered to right historical omissions in books about the experiences of women at home during war.

The stories of Rose and other women also remind us of how cruel war can be.

Erica Cervini, Prahran

Jewish lobby

I commend NSW Premier Chris Minns for his unequivocal condemnation of the neo-Nazi rally outside NSW Parliament House at the weekend. His response was measured, moral, and necessary  a reminder that there are moments in civic life when bold and uncompromising language is necessary. When men in black salute on public steps, the line between dissent and dehumanisation is no longer academic.

But there is a savage irony here that cannot be ignored. While the premier rightly calls out the far-rights antisemitism in the streets, the radical lefts digital echo of the same rhetoric goes unchallenged. On social media  the new public square  one can read, almost word for word, the same vilification of the Jewish lobby and the same insinuations of secret control, dual loyalty, and moral corruption. The language differs only in dress: One wears boots, the other hashtags.

Both are driven by the same ancient impulse  the need to locate evil in the Jew. That this is happening in a state built by survivors and their children should chill every serious citizen.

The danger is not only in the mob that marches, but in the ideas that make their march seem justified.

Simon Tedeschi, Newtown, NSW
Victoria has been named Australias worst state for doing business, finishing last for the second year running in the Business Council of Australias annual comparison of taxes and red-tape burdens.

Despite recent planning changes in the state designed to slash housing permit-approval times and spur construction, the 2025 report ranks Victoria eighth, citing high property taxes, uncompetitive payroll tax settings and onerous business licensing requirements.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and SUBCO chief executive Bevan Slattery at the announcement of a submarine cable laying project. Credit: Joe Armao

Labor-led South Australia topped the Business Councils comparative analysis of state and territory tax and regulatory systems for the third year running. It was praised for low payroll tax rates, streamlined approvals and relatively consistent planning rules.

To come up with its ranking, the Business Council compares each jurisdiction in 10 categories including taxes, trading hours, insurance and compensation schemes, business licences and planning conditions.
Three more members of Sussan Leys shadow cabinet have opened the door to quitting the frontbench if the Liberal Party dumps support for net zero emissions by 2050, just two days before a crunch party room meeting designed to settle the fractious debate.

On Sunday, opposition housing spokesman Andrew Bragg told the ABCs Insiders program that he would quit if the Coalition walked away from the Paris climate agreement and dumped net zero.

Sussan Ley at a short press conference on Friday. Credit: David Beach

Well, sure, he said, but I dont imagine we will ever leave Paris.

He added that conservative MPs who wanted to put a fatwa on the use of two words  net zero  in the policy were being absolutely ridiculous.
G7 FMs meeting will take place in Canada on Nov 11-12, Sybiha invited

Canada will host the Group of Seven (G7) Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Niagara, Ontario, from November 11 to November 12, 2025.

As reported on the website of Canada, which holds the G7 presidency, Foreign Minister Anita Anand invited the foreign ministers of the G7 member countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union.

Canada is also pleased to host ministers from several partner countries, reflecting shared global priorities and partnerships. These include Australia, Brazil, India, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, and Ukraine.

"This important meeting will provide an opportunity to advance Canada's agenda within the G7 on pressing global economic and security challenges, including maritime security and prosperity, economic resilience, energy security, and critical minerals," the message reads.

The US State Department also confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Canada from November 11 to November 12 to attend the G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting. Rubio will advance US interests in peace and security, strategic cooperation, and global stability.

"Discussions will focus on advancing President Trump's peace initiatives in Ukraine and Gaza, maritime security, Haiti, Sudan, supply chain resilience, and critical minerals," the message reads.

In October, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha thanked his Canadian counterpart, Anand, for inviting her to the upcoming G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting and expressed hope for further important decisions in support of Ukraine.

Canada began its annual G7 presidency on January 1, 2025, and will hold the presidency until the end of the year.

The Group of Seven (G7) is an informal association of the world's seven leading economies and the European Union. Its members meet annually at the G7 Summit to discuss global economic and geopolitical issues.
All bus depots to witness infrastructure boost under PM e-Bus Scheme: Mayor





Mayor, Jagat Bahadur Singh giving instructions to senior officials and representatives of ad agencies during the meeting.

Staff Reporter :

All bus stops in Jabalpur will soon be made fully equipped with passenger amenities and cleared of encroachments as part of major preparations under the PM e-Bus Scheme, which will introduce 100 air-conditioned electric buses in the city, said Mayor Jagat Bahadur Singh while chairing a review meeting to discuss operational readiness, maintenance planning and related infrastructure. Municipal Commissioner Ramprakash Ahirwar, Jabalpur City Transport Services Limited (JCTSL) CEO Sachin Vishwakarma, Assistant Sheetal Upadhyay and representatives of advertising agencies also attended the meeting.

During the discussion, the Mayor directed senior officials to ensure that all existing bus stops are upgraded and encroachment-free before the rollout of the new fleet. He said very soon, all bus stops operated by the Municipal Corporation will be equipped with basic passenger facilities. Old bus stops will also be cleared of encroachments, he added. Taking serious note of the poor condition of several bus shelters, the Mayor and Municipal Commissioner issued stern instructions to the advertising agencies responsible for their maintenance. They warned that legal action would be taken against agencies showing negligence.

They said the condition of many bus stops is extremely poor. Agencies are not taking proper interest, leading to encroachments and unhygienic surroundings. The Mayor asked the agencies to ensure cleanliness and proper maintenance of allotted bus stops or they will face stern action. Municipal Commissioner Ahirwar also directed the JCTSL CEO to ensure that all work assigned to agencies strictly adheres to the prescribed guidelines and standards. Any negligence will invite accountability in the next review meeting, he said. Ahirwar said the PM e-Bus Scheme aims to modernise urban transport by providing eco-friendly and comfortable travel options. The arrival of 100 new AC buses will not only improve city mobility but also set a higher benchmark for public transport services in Jabalpur.
Mera booth, sabse mazboot: A new era of grassroots communication





NEW DELHI :

PRIME Minister Narendra Modis Mera Booth, Sabse Mazboot campaign has become one of the most powerful ways to connect directly with people. It is not just a campaign but a new model of communication that brings together technology, booth-level Karyakartas and citizens from every corner of the country. What makes this campaign truly special is that even after leading the country for more than two decades, PM Modi continues to connect directly with Karyakartas, hearing their direct feedback and also asking about their well-being. He has always kept the spirit of a Karyakarta alive within him. It is a rare quality for any leader to remain so deeply connected with the grassroots. This simplicity and personal connection make Mera Booth, Sabse Mazboot one of the most unique and inspiring initiatives. The interactions as a part of this campaign are held through the NaMo App, which allows PM Modi to directly reach out to Karyakartas and booth workers across India.

In Bihar, the response to Mera Booth, Sabse Mazboot has been tremendous. The campaign has brought an unprecedented wave of enthusiasm at the booth level. PM Modi himself has been the X factor, inspiring and mobilising ground workers across Bihar with his direct communication. His words have infused new energy into party cadres and Karyakartas. People from all walks of life, including youth, women, farmers, first-time voters and people belonging to the EBCs, have felt personally connected through the Mera Booth, Sabse Mazboot campaign. One of the indicators of mobilisation of Karyakartas and people is social media engagement. In the run-up to the Bihar elections, three audio interactions have been held through the NaMo App.

The success of these interactions can be seen in the numbers- PM Modi has personally spoken to 15 Karyakartas across Bihar for more than 180 minutes. On the ground, more than one lakh events have already taken place with a record number of registrations. The interactions have been a hit on social media, with the combined crossing over 12 crore. The enthusiasm has been particularly high on YouTube and Facebook. The campaign has reached all 38 districts of Biha,r covering over 65,000 booths and involving around 9,000 Shakti Kendras. Across the state, lakhs of participants have joined these efforts, making Mera Booth, Sabse Mazboot an inclusive and statewide movement. An innovative way to connect Mera Booth, Sabse Mazboot is showing how digital innovation, personal outreach and local participation can bring people closer to each other. It has turned every booth into a centre of dialogue and every Karyakarta into a messenger of change.

This campaign is helping build stronger connections, greater participation and a more active democracy. The success of this effort lies in the idea and the way it has been implemented. Such a technology could have been potentially very expensive, but this was solved with the usage of the NaMo App for the interactions. Karyakartas register on the NaMo App and get a chance to interact with the PM and hear his inspiring words. Thus, they are cost-effective and entail effective engagement too. In the run-up to such events, BJP Karyakartas take part in innovative mobilisation events and bring fellow Karyakartas together to hear their favourite leader. This campaign is a great example of mass contact in this era!
Municipal Commr helps street vendor enrolled under PM SVANidhi Scheme





Staff Reporter :

In a heartwarming gesture of empathy and public connect, Municipal Commissioner Ramprakash Ahirwar on Saturday stopped during an inspection to personally interact with a roadside vendor and ensured his inclusion in the PM SVANidhi Scheme. While reviewing the citys cleanliness arrangements near Prem Mandir in Wright Town, the Municipal Commissioner noticed an elderly vendor sitting by the roadside, selling small items to earn a living. Moved by the sight, Ahirwar walked up to him, greeted him affectionately and asked, Dadaji, have you received Rs 10,000 under the PM SVANidhi scheme?

The vendor, identified as Ballu Chaudhary, a resident of Ranital Dhobighat replied with folded hands that he had not yet received any benefit but was hopeful after the Municipal Commissioners visit. Touched by his response, Ahirwar immediately assured him that the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation would soon send a team to help him avail the benefit of the scheme so that he could continue his business with dignity and stability. The Municipal Commissioner then directed the concerned officer over the phone to process Ballu Chaudharys application without delay and ensure he received the financial support at the earliest. Ahirwars humane gesture drew appreciation from those present on the occasion. It reflected his commitment to reaching out personally to the citys poorest citizens. The PM SVANidhi Scheme, launched by the Government of India, provides working capital loans up to Rs 10,000 to street vendors to help them restart or expand their businesses with self-respect and financial independence.
Pak forced to step back as conflict with Afghanistan proves too costly





NEW DELHI :

PAKISTANS brief military confrontation with Afghanistan has exposed the countrys deep internal vulnerabilities and lack of international backing, forcing Islamabad to opt for a ceasefire instead of prolonging hostilities. Following its airstrikes inside Afghan territory aimed at targeting Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operatives, Islamabad quickly found itself on the back foot. Analysts say political fragility, economic strain, and foreign policy failures have rendered Pakistan incapable of sustaining a long-term conflict.

Afghanistan has little to lose, but as a more stable nation, Pakistan should avoid irresponsible actions. Such attacks will not eliminate the TTP; they will only increase its support, political analyst Sami Yousufzai told the Daily Asian Age. Security expert Ihsanullah Tipu noted that over 6,000 TTP fighters could infiltrate Pakistan in retaliation. Joshua White, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, said Islamabads predicament was largely of its own making, as the Taliban it once supported now shelters anti-Pakistan militants, the report added. Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have deteriorated since the Talibans takeover in 2021, compounded by rising TTP attacks and Pakistans expulsion of nearly half a million Afghan refugees. Islamabad has lost much of its strategic relevance to the West since the US withdrawal, said Dr Chietigj Bajpaee of Chatham House.
Parth Pawar land row Random accusations raised in poll season; truth will surface soon, says Ajit





PUNE :

FORCED to do the firefighting to defend his son in a controversial land deal, Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Sunday wondered how a document can be registered without a transaction of one rupee and sought to link the allegations with elections to local bodies. He reiterated that the ongoing inquiry will reveal the truth about the land deal to the public. The sale of 40 acres of land in Punes upscale Mundhwa area for Rs 300 crore to a company in which Ajit Pawars son Parth Pawar is a majority partner is under scrutiny amid allegations of irregularities and a lack of requisite clearances. Opposition leaders alleged that the market value of the land was Rs 1,800 crore. Earlier too, allegations of (irregularities of) Rs 70,000 crore were raised against me; its been 15 to 16 years since then. Whenever there are elections, multiple accusations are made against us.

We try to work transparently, but as soon as we do, people start digging up and alleging against random land deals, Pawar told reporters at Baramati in Pune district. Elections to various local bodies in the state are scheduled to be held on December 2. Pawar said he had already clarified his position on various ongoing issues over the past few days. An inquiry has begun, and the truth will soon come before the public. I still dont understand how a document can be registered without even a transaction of one rupee? Well know within a month why the person who carried out this registration actually did it, the NCP leader said. He further said Chief Minister Fadnavis has appointed the inquiry committee. The NCP chief appealed to authorities to take appropriate action if his close associates or relatives invoke his name and make any statements that violate the rules.

Even if my close workers or relatives use my name and say something, if its not as per the rules, the officials concerned must act on it, he added. First Information Reports (FIRs) have been registered against signatories and vendors regarding the land deal involving Amadea Enterprises. However, the name of Parth Pawar has not been included in the police case, though his relative, who is a partner in the firm, has been booked. The accused named in the FIR lodged by the Inspector General of Registrars office include Digvijay Patil, Shital Tejwani (who represented the 272 owners of the land through the power of attorney), and sub-registrar R B Taru for alleged misappropriation and cheating. Facing flak, Pawar had announced that the sale deed executed by Parths firm had been scrapped. According to officials, the company will have to pay double the stamp duty, which comes to Rs 42 crore, to get the transaction cancelled. Pawar had claimed Parth was unaware that the land purchased by the entity belonged to the government. The NCP chief took stock of the preparations for the local body polls on Sunday.
Law enforcers detain one of suspects in embezzlement of almost UAH 6 bln of Ukrtatnafta  PGO

Law enforcement officers detained a man who was on the international wanted list on suspicion of misappropriating more than UAH 5.8 billion of assets of a fuel and energy enterprise, the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) reports.

According to the investigation, between 2017 and 2022, a group of individuals that included officials of a major oil refinery and representatives of affiliated commercial entities organized a scheme for the illegal misappropriation of fuel and lubricants, the PGO reported on its website on Monday.

The National Police said the case concerns PJSC Ukrtatnafta.

According to the report, the affiliated companies received petroleum products without payment, then sold them to other business entities, transferring the proceeds to their own accounts and embezzling the funds. To make these operations appear legitimate, they signed contracts with deferred payment terms, in some cases extending up to two years after the end of martial law.

Based on the findings of an economic examination and audit data, the companys losses amount to over UAH 5.8 billion.

The suspect, who had been notified of suspicion back in 2024, subsequently fled abroad and was declared internationally wanted.

On November 7, 2025, he was detained on suspicion of large-scale misappropriation of property committed by an organized group (Part 5, Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). At the request of prosecutors, a preventive measure was chosen for the perpetrator.
RSS is recognised as a body of individuals: Bhagwat to critics





Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat pays tribute to Bharat Mata during the 100 Years of Sangh Journey: New Horizons event in Bengaluru on Sunday. (PTI)

BENGALURU :

Everyone is welcome in the RSS and all those who consider this land their motherland can join the Sangh, says Mohan Bhagwat We support policies. We will exert our force to support the right policy, not an individual, not a party, but policy, explains RSS chief

IN A veiled remark against the Congress leaders criticising Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for operating without registration, the Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday said his organisation is recognised as a body of individuals. RSS was established in 1925, so do you expect us to have registered with the British Government? Bhagwat asked while replying to a question during an in-house question and answer session organised by the RSS. He added that after the Independence, Government of India did not make registration compulsory. We are categorised as body of individuals, and we are a recognised organisation, Bhagwat explained. Bhagwat said, everyone is welcome in the RSS and all those who consider this land their motherland can join the Sangh. No Brahmin, Shaiva, Muslim or Christian is excluded from the Sangh. Only Hindus are allowed -- and by Hindu, we mean all those who consider this land their motherland. People from different denominations can come to the Sangh; only keep your separateness aside, he said.

According to him, IT Department and courts have termed RSS as a body of individuals and the organisation was exempted from income tax. We were banned thrice. So Government has recognised us. If we were not there, whom did they ban, the RSS chief asked. Bhagwat added there are many things, which are not registered. Even Hindu Dharma is not registered, he remarked. On the issue of RSS respecting only the saffron flags and not recognising the Indian tri-colour, Bhagwat said while saffron is treated as a Guru in RSS it has high respect for the Indian tri-colour. We always respect, offer tribute and protect our tricolour, the RSS chief said. Bhagwats remarks came as Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge recently said RSS should be banned.

His son and Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge demanded ban on RSS activities in Government institutions and public places. He even questioned the registration number of RSS and their source of funding. Bhagwat clarified that RSS does not support any political party. We do not participate in vote politics, current politics, election politics, etc. Sanghs work is uniting the society and politics, by nature, is divisive, so we keep out of politics, he stated. The RSS chief said the organisation supports policies. We support policies. We will exert our force to support the right policy, not an individual, not a party, but policy, he explained. Citing example of movement to build Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Bhagwat said the Sangh volunteers supported it, the organisation stood by its construction. So BJP was there (to support it). If Congress or any other party had supported we would have supported them as well, he explained. We dont have special affinity towards one party. There is no Sangh party. No party is ours and all parties are ours because they are Bharatiya parties, he stated.

Bhagwat said RSS wants to organise entire society without keeping anybody out and believes in Sabka saath, sabka vikas without giving a slogan. On Indias relationship with Pakistan he said Sangh always wants peace with Pakistan. It is Pakistan which doesnt want peace with us, and as long as Pakistan gets some satisfaction of causing harm to Bharat, it will keep on doing it. So way to peace with Pakistan is that we dont breach from our side the peace. But if Pakistan wants to breach that peace, it will never be successful, he asserted. Reminding Pakistan of the consequences it had faced in 1971 war, which led to the formation of Bangladesh, Bhagwat said, if the neighbouring country do not mend its ways Pakistan will learn a lesson one day. It is better to cooperate than to fight. I dont think they understand any other language. So we have to speak the language they understand. We have to give befitting answer and defeat them, always, each time, causing them some loss that they will repent forever, he added. On casteism in the society, he said there is no casteism but caste confusion. There is no system, but there is caste confusion for concessions and for elections. So there is no need to do any effort to eradicate caste. There is need to do effort to forget caste. And that is very easy. We individually can forget caste, he noted. On Love Jihad  the RSS chief asked people not to give too much thought on what others do. Rather, they should think what they should do. He asked people to inculcate Hindu Samskara at home to deal with it.
by Xinhua writers Shi Yifei, Wang Aihua and Xiao Bowen BEIJING, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- With a few keystrokes and a click, artificial intelligence (AI) generates sophisticated midterm essays, sleek PowerPoint presentations and a crisp summary of 100-page readings in just seconds. This type of homework, without AI intervention, would typically take university students hours or even days to complete. Seemingly omnipotent AI-powered chatbots, such as DeepSeek and ChatGPT, have quietly infiltrated campuses in China and beyond. But as more students turn to AI for help, educators are growing concerned about its broader impact and believe it is time to refine the role of AI in higher education. At the Beijing Forum 2025, held from Friday to Sunday, education experts from around the world voiced worries that AI's growing presence in academic assignments -- could erode the ability of students to think independently and creatively. Jeffrey Lehman, vice chancellor of New York University Shanghai, said at the forum that if students rely too much on AI for article summaries, they will be less able to understand the author's intent and question the validity of the content -- critical skills needed to read and analyze the arguments contained in an article. "If students begin outsourcing tasks to AI that are fundamental skills they need to develop, they may harm themselves in the long run," Lehman warned. Yang Junjie, a philosophy PhD student at China's Peking University (PKU), told Xinhua at the forum that he found brainstorming processes involving AI particularly enlightening. "It helps me clarify concepts, argument chains and underlying assumptions that I might not fully grasp on my own," Yang said. While he acknowledges that AI can't generate entirely new knowledge or ideas -- he sees it as a useful tool to refine his thinking. "We tell our students. You're the pilot and AI is the co-pilot. It's usually good to have multiple co-pilots," Lehman added. "It's helpful to have support, but you still need to steer the ship." Lehman's concern about a possible decline in students' ability to engage critically with content is echoed by Laurie Ann Paul, a professor of philosophy and cognitive science at Yale University. For Paul, the value of academic work lies in the personal process of thinking and writing. "The first draft of an essay is difficult, but it's an expression of your own mind. For better or for worse, it's part of who you are," she said. "Students mustn't lose that ability to wrestle with their thoughts and express them authentically." Paul also spoke about the risk of AI's "hallucinations" -- generating false or misleading information. She stressed the importance of students remaining skeptical and critical when using AI. Yet, some scholars take a more cautiously optimistic view of AI's pervasive presence. Michael Levitt, the 2013 Nobel laureate in chemistry and a professor at Stanford University, uses several different AI chatbots every day and views AI as a tool to spark curiosity, not replace it. He advised that while AI provides the answers, it is essential to "stay curious like an eight-year-old, and be wise like an 80-year-old" to ask the right questions. The broader academic world is also adjusting to the inevitable integration of AI. Gong Qihuang, president of PKU, observed that AI is influencing not just how students learn -- but the very principles and ecosystem of higher education itself. "The true value of AI in higher education lies in its ability to drive widespread changes in academic approaches, teaching methods and talent development systems through technological innovation," Gong elaborated. As the technological revolution unfolds, Tan Eng Chye, president of the National University of Singapore, believes the focus should be on ensuring students are equipped with foundational data and computational thinking skills. "AI literacy must go beyond a basic understanding. It should be integrated across all disciplines -- from the arts to business to social sciences. An interdisciplinary approach, where AI is connected to real-world applications, will help students see its relevance, use it meaningfully and better prepare them for an AI-driven workforce," he added. Despite AI's potential to help bridge education gaps among regions and student groups from diverse backgrounds -- experts also caution that its benefits may not be equally accessible to all students. Bao Wei, a professor with the Institute of Education at Xiamen University in east China, shared their findings that college students from disadvantaged families tend to use AI at a higher proportion compared to other groups. However, their use tends to be more superficial -- often limited to basic applications rather than deeper, more interactive engagement. Bao attributes this to the education these students have received, which often discourages deeper interaction and critical questioning. He also pointed to the current course evaluation system -- which, at times, incentivizes students to focus on utilitarian outcomes rather than a more reflective and exploratory approach to learning. At the forum, speakers highlighted how AI could revolutionize academic assessments, opening up new avenues for more personalized learning, such as adaptive quizzes, intelligent tutoring -- and more authentic evaluations where students collaborate with AI or even predict its outcomes. "Ultimately, the AI-driven transformation in higher education brings us back to a fundamental question: What is the true purpose of education?" Cheng Lesong, a professor of philosophy and religious studies at PKU, asked at the forum in Beijing. "For a long time, universities have been seen as places for transferring knowledge," Cheng said. "But that's secondary. In my view, the true purpose is to help students shape their character -- to help them develop the courage to face life's challenges, a clear sense of their personal values, and the critical skills to engage meaningfully with the world around them." In this context, Cheng argued, AI has prompted educators to revisit this fundamental purpose -- the cultivation of human qualities that technology, no matter how advanced, cannot replace.
Participants in the large-scale corruption scheme in the energy sector, dubbed "Midas," considered the issue of building protective structures at energy facilities as a regular source of profit, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) reported in a video on its YouTube channel on Monday.

"Members of the criminal organization viewed the protection of energy facilities merely as an ordinary source of profit," the NABU stated.

According to the bureaus detectives, who referred to recordings of conversations between members of the criminal group, they discussed, among other things, raising the "kickback" rate from 10% to 15% in connection with the construction of protective structures at the Khmelnytsky Nuclear Power Plant.

The NABU recordings also indicate that the schemes participants discussed a contract worth UAH 4 billion for building protective structures for autotransformers and complained about receiving insufficient bribe proceeds from a previous contract. Given that their average "kickback" rate ranged between 10% and 15%, they allegedly decided to wait for a more profitable offer, which occurred a month later  in September 2025, during a period of mass Russian attacks on Ukraines energy infrastructure, the bureaus detectives reported.

"And on October 10, 2025, at the very moment when the President of Ukraine was holding a meeting on the protection of energy facilities, members of the criminal organization were discussing how to raise their kickback rate from 10% to 15% during the construction of protective structures at the Khmelnytsky Nuclear Power Plant," the NABU report stated.

In addition to the issue of energy facility protection, NABUs video report also cited an example illustrating how the corruption scheme operated: one company that supplied Energoatom with materials worth UAH 12 million in 2024, after coming under the control of the criminal organization, received contracts worth UAH 435 million in 2025.

NABU noted that Operation "Midas" had been under development since summer 2024 and has now entered its final stage.

As previously reported, among those identified by NABU as participants in the large-scale energy sector corruption scheme, codenamed "Midas," are Serhiy Pushkar, a member of the National Energy and Utilities Regulatory Commission (NEURC); businessman Tymur Mindich; former Executive Director for Physical Protection and Security at Energoatom, Dmytro Basov; and former adviser to the Minister of Energy, Ihor Myroniuk.
Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER  Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 112,034 shares of the ride-sharing companys stock, valued at approximately $10,453,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Uber Technologies during the first quarter worth about $27,000. West Oak Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Uber Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its position in Uber Technologies by 498.5% during the 1st quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 407 shares of the ride-sharing companys stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in Uber Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in Uber Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 80.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Uber Technologies Price Performance

Shares of UBER stock opened at $92.03 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $95.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.32. The firm has a market cap of $191.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 1.46. Uber Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.33 and a 1-year high of $101.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Insider Activity at Uber Technologies

Uber Technologies ( NYSE:UBER Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The ride-sharing company reported $3.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $2.44. The business had revenue of $13.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $13.25 billion. Uber Technologies had a net margin of 33.54% and a return on equity of 68.17%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Uber Technologies, Inc. will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In other news, insider Tony West sold 100,000 shares of Uber Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.38, for a total value of $10,038,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 171,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,220,992.04. This trade represents a 36.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jill Hazelbaker sold 31,250 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.42, for a total value of $3,013,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 86,531 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,343,319.02. This trade represents a 26.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 604,946 shares of company stock worth $58,950,116 over the last quarter. 3.84% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a buy rating on shares of Uber Technologies in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Uber Technologies in a report on Monday, September 29th. They set an outperform rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $115.00 price target (up previously from $95.00) on shares of Uber Technologies in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a buy (b) rating on shares of Uber Technologies in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Uber Technologies from $107.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Uber Technologies has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $108.26.

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About Uber Technologies

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Uber Technologies, Inc develops and operates proprietary technology applications in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia excluding China and Southeast Asia. It operates through three segments: Mobility, Delivery, and Freight. The Mobility segment connects consumers with a range of transportation modalities, such as ridesharing, carsharing, micromobility, rentals, public transit, taxis, and other modalities; and offers riders in a variety of vehicle types, as well as financial partnerships products and advertising services.

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Centerspace (NYSE:CSR  Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from the ten brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $68.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CSR shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Centerspace from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Centerspace from $68.00 to $60.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Centerspace in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. They set a neutral rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Centerspace from $67.00 to $60.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Centerspace from a sell (d+) rating to a hold (c) rating in a research note on Friday.

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Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Centerspace

Centerspace Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Centerspace stock opened at $59.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.05 and a quick ratio of 0.05. Centerspace has a 1 year low of $52.76 and a 1 year high of $75.92. The company has a market capitalization of $999.17 million, a P/E ratio of -33.23 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $59.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.62.

Centerspace (NYSE:CSR  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $71.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $69.07 million. Centerspace had a negative return on equity of 2.81% and a negative net margin of 9.13%. Centerspace has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.880-4.960 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Centerspace will post 4.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Centerspace Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 29th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 29th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.1%. Centerspaces dividend payout ratio is currently 172.07%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centerspace

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Centerspace by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 224,583 shares of the companys stock worth $13,228,000 after acquiring an additional 21,337 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Centerspace by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,111 shares of the companys stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Centerspace by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 5,270 shares of the companys stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 645 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Centerspace during the 3rd quarter worth $252,000. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC acquired a new position in Centerspace in the 3rd quarter worth $222,000. 79.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centerspace Company Profile

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Centerspace is an owner and operator of apartment communities committed to providing great homes by focusing on integrity and serving others. Founded in 1970, as of September 30, 2023, Centerspace owned interests in 71 apartment communities consisting of 12,785 apartment homes located in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

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Atria Investments Inc reduced its stake in Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX  Free Report) by 62.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,086 shares of the building manufacturing companys stock after selling 11,901 shares during the period. Atria Investments Incs holdings in Louisiana-Pacific were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Louisiana-Pacific by 33,243.5% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,588,787 shares of the building manufacturing companys stock valued at $222,610,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581,023 shares during the last quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 32.1% during the 1st quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 2,618,643 shares of the building manufacturing companys stock worth $240,863,000 after purchasing an additional 635,817 shares during the last quarter. Palestra Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 173.5% during the first quarter. Palestra Capital Management LLC now owns 911,621 shares of the building manufacturing companys stock worth $83,851,000 after buying an additional 578,248 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific by 252.2% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 682,164 shares of the building manufacturing companys stock valued at $62,746,000 after buying an additional 488,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Louisiana-Pacific during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,409,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.73% of the companys stock.

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Louisiana-Pacific Stock Performance

Louisiana-Pacific stock opened at $78.51 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 1.80. Louisiana-Pacific Corporation has a 12 month low of $76.25 and a 12 month high of $122.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.84 and a quick ratio of 1.67. The stocks 50-day moving average is $90.09 and its 200-day moving average is $90.81.

Louisiana-Pacific Dividend Announcement

Louisiana-Pacific ( NYSE:LPX Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The building manufacturing company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $663.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $670.26 million. Louisiana-Pacific had a return on equity of 18.67% and a net margin of 10.34%.The firms revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Louisiana-Pacific Corporation will post 5.27 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Louisiana-Pacifics payout ratio is currently 36.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ozey K. Horton, Jr. sold 500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.00, for a total value of $50,500.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 29,728 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,002,528. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LPX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c) rating on shares of Louisiana-Pacific in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Securities lowered their price objective on Louisiana-Pacific from $97.00 to $91.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Vertical Research initiated coverage on Louisiana-Pacific in a research note on Monday, October 20th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Louisiana-Pacific from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Louisiana-Pacific from $114.00 to $104.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Louisiana-Pacific presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $106.33.

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About Louisiana-Pacific

(Free Report)

Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides building solutions primarily for use in new home construction, repair and remodeling, and outdoor structure markets. It operates through Siding, Oriented Strand Board, LP South America, and Other segments. The Siding segment offers LP SmartSide trim and siding products, LP SmartSide ExpertFinish trim and siding products, LP BuilderSeries lap siding products, and LP Outdoor Building Solutions; and engineered wood siding, trim, soffit, and fascia products.

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Ukraine has appealed to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with a demand to urgently convene the Board of Governors in order to form mechanisms to prevent Russian attacks on critical infrastructure and increase international pressure on nuclear and radiation safety issues.

This was announced by Deputy Minister of Energy Mykola Kolisnyk on the air of the United News telethon, separately drawing attention to the Russian attacks on substations that provide power to the Khmelnytsky and Rivne nuclear power plants.

"This is not the first targeted strike on key high-voltage transmission lines. Damage to them forces nuclear generation to temporarily reduce output in order to avoid the risk of accidents and cascading outages in the system," he said.

Kolisnyk added that the Ministry of Energy is currently in constant contact with Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

According to the deputy minister, the situation in Ukraines power system remains difficult following the latest massive Russian attack.

"The enemy used 45 missiles of various types, more than 30 of which were ballistic and cluster munitions. This attack was one of the most technologically complex. Russia is using intelligence data to strike precisely at critical elements of the power systems technological infrastructure," he emphasized.

Currently, hourly power outages are being enforced in most regions for all categories of consumers, along with power limitation schedules for industry and businesses. At present, up to four rounds of hourly outages are being implemented simultaneously. The most severe situation remains in Poltava and Kharkiv regions, due to electricity transmission deficits caused by damage to high-voltage lines.

Restriction measures are also in effect in Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia, Kirovohrad, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, Khmelnytsky, Zhytomyr, Kyiv regions, and in the city of Kyiv.
Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO  Get Free Report) (NYSE:BMO) had its target price boosted by research analysts at TD Securities from C$170.00 to C$182.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. TD Securities price target indicates a potential upside of 3.81% from the companys current price.

BMO has been the subject of a number of other reports. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$180.00 to C$185.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. National Bankshares set a C$173.00 price target on shares of Bank of Montreal and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$169.00 to C$179.00 in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered Bank of Montreal from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from C$168.00 to C$163.00 in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Bank of Montreal from C$150.00 to C$157.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$168.83.

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Bank of Montreal Trading Up 1.1%

Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of Montreal

Shares of BMO traded up C$1.94 during trading hours on Monday, reaching C$175.32. The stock had a trading volume of 756,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,817,421. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of C$176.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$158.94. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of C$121.31 and a 12 month high of C$182.90. The company has a market capitalization of C$125.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.38.

In other Bank of Montreal news, insider Steven Lloyd Tennyson sold 9,072 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$163.89, for a total value of C$1,486,782.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 21,866 shares in the company, valued at C$3,583,553.14. This represents a 29.32% decrease in their position. Also, insider Alan Tannenbaum sold 9,824 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$175.12, for a total value of C$1,720,408.35. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,883 shares of company stock worth $5,989,740. Insiders own 0.03% of the companys stock.

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

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Bank of Montreal is a diversified financial-services provider based in North America, operating four business segments: Canadian personal and commercial banking, U.S. P&C banking, wealth management, and capital markets.

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The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE:BK  Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $111.17 and last traded at $111.22, with a volume of 863179 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $109.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BK. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Bank of New York Mellon from $101.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Bank of New York Mellon from $118.00 to $119.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Bank of New York Mellon from $106.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of New York Mellon from $91.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Bank of New York Mellon from a buy (a-) rating to a buy (b) rating in a research report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of New York Mellon has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $111.29.

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Bank of New York Mellon Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $107.06 and a 200 day moving average of $98.13. The firm has a market cap of $77.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.13.

Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The bank reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 12.86%.The business had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of New York Mellon Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 27th were given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 27th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Bank of New York Mellons dividend payout ratio is presently 30.59%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of New York Mellon

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BK. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of New York Mellon by 78.9% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 288 shares of the banks stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of New York Mellon in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in Bank of New York Mellon in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of New York Mellon during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Bank of New York Mellon during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. 85.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Bank of New York Mellon

(Get Free Report)

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation provides a range of financial products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Securities Services, Market and Wealth Services, Investment and Wealth Management, and other segments. The Securities Services segment offers custody, trust and depositary, accounting, exchange-traded funds, middle-office solutions, transfer agency, services for private equity and real estate funds, foreign exchange, securities lending, liquidity/lending services, and data analytics.

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TELUS (TSE:T  Get Free Report) (NYSE:TU) had its target price reduced by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from C$24.00 to C$23.00 in a report released on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. BMO Capital Markets price objective indicates a potential upside of 10.95% from the companys previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Desjardins reduced their price target on shares of TELUS from C$25.00 to C$24.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of TELUS from C$25.00 to C$26.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. CIBC raised their target price on shares of TELUS from C$24.00 to C$25.00 in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, National Bankshares set a C$23.00 price target on TELUS and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, TELUS has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of C$23.38.

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TELUS Stock Performance

TELUS Company Profile

TSE:T traded down C$0.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching C$20.73. The stock had a trading volume of 3,106,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,090,562. The firm has a market capitalization of C$31.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.89, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$21.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$21.92. TELUS has a twelve month low of C$19.10 and a twelve month high of C$23.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 183.41, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.69.

(Get Free Report)

Telus is one of the Big Three wireless service providers in Canada, with its 9 million mobile phone subscribers nationwide constituting about 30% of the total market. It is the incumbent local exchange carrier in the western Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, where it provides internet, television, and landline phone services.

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Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ  Get Free Report) (NYSE:CNQ) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Raymond James Financial from C$55.00 to C$56.00 in a research report issued on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. Raymond James Financials price objective points to a potential upside of 25.93% from the stocks current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$53.00 to C$54.00 in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources from C$64.00 to C$62.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. National Bankshares lifted their price target on Canadian Natural Resources from C$45.00 to C$48.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company set a C$47.00 target price on Canadian Natural Resources and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on Canadian Natural Resources from C$54.00 to C$58.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$54.40.

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Canadian Natural Resources Stock Up 0.2%

Insider Activity

CNQ stock traded up C$0.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching C$44.47. 2,430,111 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,403,603. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is C$44.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$43.22. The company has a market cap of C$92.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 25.79, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.84. Canadian Natural Resources has a 1-year low of C$34.92 and a 1-year high of C$48.92.

In other Canadian Natural Resources news, Director Stephen W. Laut sold 7,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$43.92, for a total value of C$307,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 895,350 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately C$39,323,772. The trade was a 0.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Ronald Keith Laing sold 20,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$45.17, for a total transaction of C$903,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$92,553.33. The trade was a 90.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders sold 31,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,415,815 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 4.26% of the companys stock.

About Canadian Natural Resources

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Canadian Natural Resources is one of the largest oil and natural gas producers in western Canada, supplemented by operations in the North Sea and Offshore Africa. The companys portfolio includes light and medium oil, heavy oil, bitumen, synthetic oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas. Production averaged 1.16 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2020, and the company estimates that it holds over 11.5 billion boe of proven and probable crude oil and natural gas reserves.

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CF Industries (NYSE:CF  Get Free Report) had its price target cut by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $100.00 to $95.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a sector perform rating on the basic materials companys stock. Royal Bank Of Canadas price target suggests a potential upside of 15.24% from the stocks current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on CF. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CF Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Saturday. Scotiabank reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $82.00 price objective (up from $81.00) on shares of CF Industries in a report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on CF Industries from $96.00 to $91.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays raised CF Industries from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered CF Industries from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $96.77.

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CF Industries Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CF traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $82.44. 518,195 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,670,865. The firms fifty day moving average price is $86.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 3.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. CF Industries has a 12 month low of $67.34 and a 12 month high of $104.45.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The basic materials company reported $2.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.13. CF Industries had a return on equity of 17.10% and a net margin of 20.19%.The business had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.55 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 21.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that CF Industries will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CF Industries

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new position in shares of CF Industries during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in CF Industries by 78.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 292 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in CF Industries during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its holdings in CF Industries by 114.1% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 379 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of CF Industries by 396.2% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 387 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 309 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About CF Industries

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CF Industries Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of hydrogen and nitrogen products for energy, fertilizer, emissions abatement, and other industrial activities in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Ammonia, Granular Urea, UAN, AN, and Other segments.

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Constellation Software (TSE:CSU  Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by Royal Bank Of Canada from C$6,000.00 to C$5,600.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. Royal Bank Of Canadas price objective would suggest a potential upside of 70.18% from the stocks current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CSU. National Bank Financial lowered Constellation Software from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Constellation Software from C$5,450.00 to C$5,480.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Desjardins upgraded shares of Constellation Software to a moderate buy rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Constellation Software from C$5,700.00 to C$5,400.00 in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, TD Securities set a C$5,700.00 target price on shares of Constellation Software and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$4,897.14.

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Constellation Software Trading Down 2.8%

Insider Activity at Constellation Software

TSE:CSU traded down C$95.05 during trading hours on Monday, hitting C$3,290.71. The company had a trading volume of 91,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,947. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 169.83, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of C$3,991.59 and a 200 day moving average price of C$4,545.04. The company has a market capitalization of C$69.74 billion, a PE ratio of 108.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.58. Constellation Software has a 52 week low of C$3,183.37 and a 52 week high of C$5,300.00.

In other news, insider Mark Robert Miller purchased 275 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, September 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$3,695.14 per share, for a total transaction of C$1,016,163.50. Following the purchase, the insider owned 11,753 shares in the company, valued at C$43,428,980.42. This trade represents a 2.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. 5.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Constellation Software

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Constellation Software Inc is a Canada-based company that develops and customizes software for public- and private-sector markets. The firm acquires, manages, and builds vertical-specific businesses. Its operations are organized in two segments: Public Sector and Private Sector. The portfolio companies serve various markets including communications, credit unions, beverage distribution, tour operators, auto clubs, textiles and apparel, hospitality, and community care.

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Shares of Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI  Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $428.9286.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Cummins from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a market perform rating and set a $475.00 target price on shares of Cummins in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI restated an outperform rating on shares of Cummins in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b) rating on shares of Cummins in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Cummins from a hold rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th.

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Cummins Stock Performance

Shares of CMI stock opened at $474.10 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $65.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.07. The firms 50 day moving average price is $420.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $369.77. Cummins has a one year low of $260.02 and a one year high of $482.53.

Cummins (NYSE:CMI  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $5.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.83 by $0.76. The company had revenue of $8.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.97 billion. Cummins had a return on equity of 26.96% and a net margin of 8.72%.Cumminss revenue was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cummins will post 22.54 EPS for the current year.

Cummins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 4th. Investors of record on Friday, November 21st will be paid a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 21st. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Cumminss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.52%.

Insider Transactions at Cummins

In other Cummins news, VP Amy Rochelle Davis sold 5,002 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $402.88, for a total value of $2,015,205.76. Following the sale, the vice president owned 20,738 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,354,925.44. This represents a 19.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert Enright sold 1,860 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $402.26, for a total transaction of $748,203.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 955 shares in the company, valued at $384,158.30. This trade represents a 66.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,949 shares of company stock worth $15,674,705. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cummins

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Cummins by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,112 shares of the companys stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Cummins by 157.6% in the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,280 shares of the companys stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 1,395 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cummins by 15.0% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 770,571 shares of the companys stock valued at $241,528,000 after buying an additional 100,313 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cummins by 4,533.3% during the 1st quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 834 shares of the companys stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 816 shares during the period. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Cummins by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,109 shares of the companys stock worth $2,542,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. 83.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cummins

(Get Free Report)

Cummins Inc designs, manufactures, distributes, and services diesel and natural gas engines, electric and hybrid powertrains, and related components worldwide. It operates through five segments: Engine, Distribution, Components, Power Systems, and Accelera. The company offers diesel and natural gas-powered engines under the Cummins and other customer brands for the heavy and medium-duty truck, bus, recreational vehicle, light-duty automotive, construction, mining, marine, rail, oil and gas, defense, and agricultural markets; and offers parts and services, as well as remanufactured parts and engines.

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FS KKR Capital Corp. (NYSE:FSK  Get Free Report) insider Daniel Pietrzak bought 10,000 shares of FS KKR Capital stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $15.15 per share, with a total value of $151,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 59,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $905,970. This trade represents a 20.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

FS KKR Capital Stock Up 0.8%

FS KKR Capital stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Monday, reaching $15.35. The company had a trading volume of 2,678,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,981,807. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $15.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.30. FS KKR Capital Corp. has a 1-year low of $14.05 and a 1-year high of $24.10.

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FS KKR Capital (NYSE:FSK  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $0.57. The company had revenue of $373.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $374.89 million. FS KKR Capital had a net margin of 17.24% and a return on equity of 5.63%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that FS KKR Capital Corp. will post 2.89 EPS for the current year.

FS KKR Capital Cuts Dividend

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FS KKR Capital

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 16.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 3rd. FS KKR Capitals payout ratio is presently 263.92%.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FSK. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in FS KKR Capital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Beacon Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of FS KKR Capital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in FS KKR Capital during the first quarter worth $29,000. Eastern Bank increased its stake in FS KKR Capital by 355.6% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 2,000 shares of the companys stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,561 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in FS KKR Capital by 51.0% in the second quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,525 shares of the companys stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. 36.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on FSK. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c-) rating on shares of FS KKR Capital in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on FS KKR Capital from $18.00 to $15.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on FS KKR Capital from $18.50 to $18.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of FS KKR Capital from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of FS KKR Capital from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $15.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, FS KKR Capital presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $17.67.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on FSK

About FS KKR Capital

(Get Free Report)

FS KKR Capital Corp. is a business development company specializing in investments in debt securities. It provides customized credit solutions to private middle market U.S. companies. It invest primarily in the senior secured debt and, to a lesser extent, the subordinated debt of private middle market U.S.

Further Reading

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Fidelis Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS  Free Report) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,314 shares of the investment management companys stock after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLCs holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $5,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC grew its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 617,504.5% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 29,058,291 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $20,566,005,000 after acquiring an additional 29,053,586 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $897,185,000. Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $408,780,000. AGF Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 2,429.6% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 485,375 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $343,524,000 after purchasing an additional 466,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 13.6% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,891,260 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $967,193,000 after buying an additional 225,993 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.51, for a total transaction of $6,754,590.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 106,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,755,196.68. The trade was a 7.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.55% of the companys stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $786.03 on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $439.38 and a fifty-two week high of $825.25. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $778.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $702.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $235.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.41.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The investment management company reported $12.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $10.27 by $1.98. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 13.18%.The company had revenue of $15.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $13.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $8.40 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $4.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 2nd. This represents a $16.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The Goldman Sachs Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c+) rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $725.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $752.00 to $830.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. HSBC boosted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $652.00 to $677.00 in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on The Goldman Sachs Group in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a market perform rating and a $785.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, The Goldman Sachs Group presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $779.50.

Read Our Latest Analysis on The Goldman Sachs Group

About The Goldman Sachs Group

(Free Report)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, a financial institution, provides a range of financial services for corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide. It operates through Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management, and Platform Solutions segments. The Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial advisory services, including strategic advisory assignments related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings, and spin-offs; and relationship lending, and acquisition financing, as well as secured lending, through structured credit and asset-backed lending and involved in financing under securities to resale agreements.

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First Dallas Securities Inc. lessened its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (NYSE:HPE  Free Report) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,826 shares of the technology companys stock after selling 2,547 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc.s holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise were worth $998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HPE. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the first quarter worth $27,000. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 126.7% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 74.4% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,611 shares of the technology companys stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank bought a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 2,937.2% in the 1st quarter. Transce3nd LLC now owns 2,369 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,291 shares in the last quarter. 80.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on HPE. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. They set a market perform rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c) rating on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $22.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hewlett Packard Enterprise presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $25.41.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Performance

NYSE HPE opened at $23.45 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.98. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company has a 12-month low of $11.97 and a 12-month high of $26.44. The firm has a market cap of $30.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.60, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The technology company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $9.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.77 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a net margin of 3.77% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The companys revenue was up 19.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.880-1.920 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 0.560-0.600 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company will post 1.85 EPS for the current year.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 18th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 18th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Hewlett Packard Enterprises dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, Director Gary M. Reiner sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.58, for a total transaction of $983,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 83,869 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,061,500.02. This represents a 32.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Antonio F. Neri sold 166,666 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.52, for a total transaction of $3,753,318.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,919,060 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,217,231.20. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 543,738 shares of company stock valued at $12,922,932 over the last three months. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company Profile

(Free Report)

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company provides solutions that allow customers to capture, analyze, and act upon data seamlessly in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. It operates in six segments: Compute, HPC & AI, Storage, Intelligent Edge, Financial Services, and Corporate Investments and Other.

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Photo: https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official

Putin is in a dead-end situation, having failed to achieve his promised goals and is under pressure to deliver results, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with The Guardian published on Sunday.

Answering an interviewer's question about why Putin is provoking Europe now, Zelenskyy expressed the opinion that Putin is at a dead end.

Putin is in a dead-end situation in terms of real success. Its more like a stalemate for him. Thats why these failures could lead him to look for other territories. Its very difficult for us but we are at home and defending ourselves. Society, of course, defends, the military defends, the body of the state defends itself from this attack. But he has a different story. Firstly, he radically oriented his society toward this through information. Secondly, he promised goals. He didn't achieve them. And so he needs to show some achievements," Zelenskyy said in an interview with The Guardian.
Future Fund LLC purchased a new position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS  Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 19,892 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $727,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $265,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 1.5% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 597,698 shares of the companys stock worth $19,712,000 after purchasing an additional 8,822 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 36.4% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 74,842 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,468,000 after purchasing an additional 19,959 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor by 39.8% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 105,039 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,464,000 after purchasing an additional 29,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor during the second quarter valued at $380,000. 83.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Stock Performance

ZWS stock opened at $47.42 on Monday. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has a twelve month low of $27.74 and a twelve month high of $50.03. The firm has a market cap of $7.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.34, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.12. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $46.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Increases Dividend

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor ( NYSE:ZWS Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $455.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $442.62 million. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 16.26%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.34 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cors previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cors dividend payout ratio is 39.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ZWS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho set a $49.00 target price on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a neutral rating on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b-) rating on shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer set a $53.00 target price on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $42.83.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor

Insider Activity at Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor

In other news, Director Timothy J. Jahnke sold 17,844 shares of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.55, for a total transaction of $848,482.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 311,120 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $14,793,756. The trade was a 5.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 31,957 shares of company stock worth $1,500,135 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.60% of the companys stock.

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor Company Profile

(Free Report)

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, PEX pipings, fittings, and installation tools under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names.

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United Dominion Realty Trust (NYSE:UDR  Get Free Report) and Gadsden Properties (OTCMKTS:GADS  Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

United Dominion Realty Trust has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gadsden Properties has a beta of -8.36, meaning that its share price is 936% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for United Dominion Realty Trust and Gadsden Properties, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score United Dominion Realty Trust 1 13 4 0 2.17 Gadsden Properties 0 0 0 0 0.00

Profitability

United Dominion Realty Trust currently has a consensus price target of $41.43, suggesting a potential upside of 20.96%. Given United Dominion Realty Trusts stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe United Dominion Realty Trust is more favorable than Gadsden Properties.

This table compares United Dominion Realty Trust and Gadsden Properties net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets United Dominion Realty Trust 8.80% 4.51% 1.39% Gadsden Properties N/A N/A N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares United Dominion Realty Trust and Gadsden Propertiess gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio United Dominion Realty Trust $1.70 billion 6.65 $89.58 million $0.44 77.85 Gadsden Properties N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

United Dominion Realty Trust has higher revenue and earnings than Gadsden Properties.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.8% of United Dominion Realty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 3.4% of United Dominion Realty Trust shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of Gadsden Properties shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

United Dominion Realty Trust beats Gadsden Properties on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About United Dominion Realty Trust

(Get Free Report)

UDR, Inc. (NYSE: UDR), an S&P 500 company, is a leading multifamily real estate investment trust with a demonstrated performance history of delivering superior and dependable returns by successfully managing, buying, selling, developing and redeveloping attractive real estate communities in targeted U.S. markets. As of December 31, 2023, UDR owned or had an ownership position in 60,336 apartment homes including 359 homes under development. For over 51 years, UDR has delivered long-term value to shareholders, the best standard of service to Residents and the highest quality experience for Associates.

About Gadsden Properties

(Get Free Report)

Gadsden Properties, Inc. is a Nevada corporation that was formed on December 28, 2010. Gadsden concentrates primarily on investments in high quality income-producing assets, residential developments and other opportunistic commercial properties in secondary and tertiary markets across the United States. The Company derives value from smaller, flexible retail investments that range from $5 million to $50 million and off-market mixed-use properties ranging from $50 million to $250 million. As a result of this chosen strategy, we believe that Gadsden is developing a unique competitive advantage that generally allows the Company to invest in markets and assets that are often overlooked by larger institutional investors, such as publicly-traded REITs and other large institutional investors. As part of its strategy, Gadsden attracts specific sellers that prefer the tax deferral advantages offered through issuing operating partnership units in exchange for their properties. These real estate assets are typically operated by independent owners that are seeking to monetize their real estate holdings, and who are typically not well capitalized or well-seasoned real estate operators. These transactions create a variety of outcomes for Gadsden and the sellers typically resulting in lease-up and value-added opportunities that may not be otherwise achieved.

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Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI  Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Gold Fields from $24.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. Zacks Research raised Gold Fields from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Gold Fields in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a buy rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Gold Fields from $30.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Gold Fields in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. They issued an overweight rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Gold Fields has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $40.43.

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View Our Latest Stock Report on Gold Fields

Gold Fields Trading Up 6.3%

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gold Fields

Shares of NYSE GFI traded up $2.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.43. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,119,694 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,493,956. Gold Fields has a 1-year low of $12.98 and a 1-year high of $47.18. The firms fifty day moving average price is $39.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.21.

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Gold Fields by 84.7% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,549,220 shares of the companys stock valued at $131,350,000 after buying an additional 2,545,579 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Gold Fields by 32.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,919,432 shares of the companys stock valued at $116,443,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,594 shares in the last quarter. DJE Kapital AG boosted its holdings in shares of Gold Fields by 19.7% in the second quarter. DJE Kapital AG now owns 4,511,125 shares of the companys stock valued at $105,260,000 after buying an additional 742,174 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Gold Fields by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,507,327 shares of the companys stock worth $99,567,000 after purchasing an additional 45,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Gold Fields by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 4,371,211 shares of the companys stock valued at $183,416,000 after buying an additional 1,062,242 shares during the last quarter. 24.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Gold Fields

(Get Free Report)

Gold Fields Limited operates as a gold producer with reserves and resources in Chile, South Africa, Ghana, Canada, Australia, and Peru. It also explores for copper and silver deposits. The company was founded in 1887 and is based in Sandton, South Africa.

Further Reading

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Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE  Get Free Report) shares dropped 5.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $10.85 and last traded at $10.8950. Approximately 602,508 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 2,156,177 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Hawaiian Electric Industries to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a sell (e+) rating on shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $11.94.

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Read Our Latest Analysis on Hawaiian Electric Industries

Hawaiian Electric Industries Trading Down 3.4%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firms fifty day moving average is $11.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.12. The firm has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.07 and a beta of 0.67.

Hawaiian Electric Industries (NYSE:HE  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by $0.39. The business had revenue of $790.61 million during the quarter. Hawaiian Electric Industries had a negative net margin of 3.66% and a positive return on equity of 10.76%. Analysts predict that Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hawaiian Electric Industries

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries in the first quarter worth $261,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,470 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,771 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries by 119.2% in the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 225,662 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,399,000 after acquiring an additional 122,737 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Hawaiian Electric Industries in the 1st quarter worth about $126,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Hawaiian Electric Industries by 445.2% in the second quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 118,083 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,255,000 after buying an additional 96,425 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.91% of the companys stock.

About Hawaiian Electric Industries

(Get Free Report)

Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electric utility businesses in the United States. It operates in three segments: Electric Utility, Bank, and Other. The Electric Utility segment engages in the production, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, and Molokai.

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Premier Foods (OTCMKTS:PRRFY  Get Free Report) and Armanino Foods of Distinction (OTCMKTS:AMNF  Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, risk, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.1% of Armanino Foods of Distinction shares are held by institutional investors. 30.2% of Armanino Foods of Distinction shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

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Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Premier Foods and Armanino Foods of Distinction, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Premier Foods 0 1 0 0 2.00 Armanino Foods of Distinction 0 0 0 0 0.00

Valuation and Earnings

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Premier Foods $1.45 billion 1.33 $159.36 million N/A N/A Armanino Foods of Distinction $69.40 million 4.58 $14.61 million $0.53 19.28

This table compares Premier Foods and Armanino Foods of Distinctions gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Premier Foods has higher revenue and earnings than Armanino Foods of Distinction.

Dividends

Premier Foods pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Armanino Foods of Distinction pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Armanino Foods of Distinction pays out 37.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Premier Foods and Armanino Foods of Distinctions net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Premier Foods N/A N/A N/A Armanino Foods of Distinction 23.37% 48.23% 33.09%

Risk and Volatility

Premier Foods has a beta of 0.44, meaning that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Armanino Foods of Distinction has a beta of 0.18, meaning that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Armanino Foods of Distinction beats Premier Foods on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Premier Foods

(Get Free Report)

Premier Foods plc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes branded and own label food products in the United Kingdom, other European countries, and internationally. The company operates through Grocery, Sweet Treats, and international segments. It offers a portfolio of product categories, including flavorings and seasonings under the Bisto, OXO, Paxo, and Saxa brands; cooking sauces and accompaniments under the Sharwood's, Loyd Grossman, Spice Tailor and Homepride brands; quick meals, snacks, and soups under the Batchelors and Smash brands; ambient desserts under the Ambrosia, Bird's, and Angel Delight brands; and ambient cakes under the Mr Kipling and Cadbury brands. The company also provides dumplings under the Atora brand name; plain flour under the Be-Ro brand; dried milk under the Marvel brand name; plain and self-raising flour under the McDougalls brand; and plant based food under the Plantastic brand name. It offers its products through supermarkets, discounters, convenience stores, and wholesale and food service facilities, as well as through e-commerce channels. The company was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Saint Albans, the United Kingdom.

About Armanino Foods of Distinction

(Get Free Report)

Armanino Foods of Distinction, Inc. produces and markets frozen food products in the United States. The company offers gourmet beef, Italian style beef and pork, and smoked turkey meatballs; grated parmesan and 3 cheese blend cheese; and various pesto, such as basil, artichoke, cilantro, dried tomato and garlic, roasted garlic, roasted red bell pepper, and southwest chipotle. It also provides frozen pasta, which includes beef cannelloni, cheese manicotti, cheese stuffed shells, cheese tortellini; pasta sheets, potato gnocchi, and tricolor cheese tortellini, as well as beef, butternut squash, four cheese, cheese and spinach, and wild mushroom ravioli; and various sauces, comprising creamy garlic, alfresco, Bolognese, chimichurri, harissa, and romesco. The company offers its products under the Armanino brand. It markets its products through a network of food brokers and sells to retail and foodservice distributors, club-type stores, and industrial accounts. The company was founded in 1978 and is based in Hayward, California.

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Hodges Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS  Free Report) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,280 shares of the investment management companys stock after selling 397 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $5,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GS. Ibex Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in The Goldman Sachs Group during the second quarter worth about $778,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,230,000. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 35.2% in the 2nd quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 99,128 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $70,158,000 after buying an additional 25,821 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,284 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $3,739,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Finally, Davis R M Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 30.3% during the 2nd quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 52,027 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $36,822,000 after acquiring an additional 12,087 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.21% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GS. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $652.00 to $677.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on The Goldman Sachs Group from $725.00 to $790.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c+) rating on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $600.00 price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $720.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $779.50.

Insider Transactions at The Goldman Sachs Group

In other news, COO John E. Waldron sold 9,244 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $750.11, for a total transaction of $6,934,016.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 115,268 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $86,463,679.48. This trade represents a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.55% of the companys stock.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

The Goldman Sachs Group stock opened at $786.03 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $778.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $702.51. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $439.38 and a 12 month high of $825.25. The company has a market capitalization of $235.75 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The investment management company reported $12.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.27 by $1.98. The Goldman Sachs Group had a return on equity of 14.79% and a net margin of 13.18%.The company had revenue of $15.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $13.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.40 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 EPS for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $4.00 per share. This represents a $16.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Groups payout ratio is presently 32.50%.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, a financial institution, provides a range of financial services for corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide. It operates through Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management, and Platform Solutions segments. The Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial advisory services, including strategic advisory assignments related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings, and spin-offs; and relationship lending, and acquisition financing, as well as secured lending, through structured credit and asset-backed lending and involved in financing under securities to resale agreements.

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Shares of Hong Kong & China Gas Co. (OTCMKTS:HOKCY  Get Free Report) traded down 5.4% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $0.87 and last traded at $0.87. 24,673 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 21% from the average session volume of 20,417 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.92.

Hong Kong & China Gas Trading Up 0.2%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $0.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

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Hong Kong & China Gas Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.0123 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 411.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hong Kong & China Gas

Hong Kong & China Gas Company Profile

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Hong Kong & China Gas stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Hong Kong & China Gas Co. ( OTCMKTS:HOKCY Free Report ) by 26.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,441 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 27,860 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers holdings in Hong Kong & China Gas were worth $107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

(Get Free Report)

The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, produces, distributes, and markets gas, water supply and energy services in Hong Kong and Mainland China. It is involved in the provision of smart energy, piped city-gas, upstream and midstream projects, water supply and wastewater treatment, urban waste resource utilization, and natural gas filling stations, as well as new energy exploration and utilization activities.

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Ibex Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Agree Realty Corporation (NYSE:ADC  Free Report) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,201 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after acquiring an additional 5,598 shares during the quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors owned about 0.09% of Agree Realty worth $7,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADC. AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Agree Realty during the first quarter worth about $358,000. Twin Tree Management LP raised its position in shares of Agree Realty by 615,421.4% in the 1st quarter. Twin Tree Management LP now owns 86,173 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $6,652,000 after acquiring an additional 86,159 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd boosted its stake in Agree Realty by 77.7% during the 1st quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 112,702 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $8,699,000 after acquiring an additional 49,282 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Agree Realty during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,161,000. Finally, Ascent Group LLC bought a new stake in Agree Realty in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,459,000. 97.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Craig Erlich purchased 360 shares of Agree Realty stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.84 per share, with a total value of $25,502.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 52,846 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,743,610.64. This trade represents a 0.69% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Greg Lehmkuhl purchased 750 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $72.84 per share, with a total value of $54,630.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 27,684 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,016,502.56. This represents a 2.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders acquired a total of 36,742 shares of company stock worth $2,601,704 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.80% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Agree Realty from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Agree Realty from $78.00 to $77.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Barclays decreased their target price on Agree Realty from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Agree Realty from $84.00 to $82.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Agree Realty from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $80.73.

Read Our Latest Research Report on ADC

Agree Realty Price Performance

NYSE ADC opened at $73.39 on Monday. The firms 50 day moving average is $72.50 and its 200-day moving average is $73.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a PE ratio of 42.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.55. Agree Realty Corporation has a 12-month low of $67.58 and a 12-month high of $79.65.

Agree Realty (NYSE:ADC  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.02. Agree Realty had a net margin of 28.11% and a return on equity of 3.52%. The business had revenue of $183.22 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.87 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Agree Realty has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.310-4.330 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Agree Realty Corporation will post 4.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agree Realty Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a $0.262 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This is a positive change from Agree Realtys previous monthly dividend of $0.26. Agree Realtys dividend payout ratio is 183.63%.

Agree Realty Company Profile

(Free Report)

Agree Realty Corporation is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that is RETHINKING RETAIL through the acquisition and development of properties net leased to industry-leading, omni-channel retail tenants. As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned and operated a portfolio of 2,135 properties, located in 49 states and containing approximately 44.2 million square feet of gross leasable area.

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Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR  Free Report) by 214.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,945 shares of the insurance providers stock after acquiring an additional 53,871 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Funds holdings in Progressive were worth $21,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 2.1% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 13.4% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 338 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 3,824 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total transaction of $556,230.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,724 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $11,466,664.72. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total value of $7,543,953.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 476,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,194,933.16. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 58,500 shares of company stock valued at $14,430,089 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b-) rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $214.00 price objective on Progressive and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Progressive from $350.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $269.90.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Progressive

Progressive Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $217.16 on Monday. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $199.90 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $127.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $233.53 and a 200 day moving average of $251.96.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $21.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Profile

(Free Report)

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.

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Shares of Imperial Oil Limited (NYSEAMERICAN:IMO  Get Free Report) (TSE:IMO) have been given an average recommendation of Reduce by the twelve brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $115.00.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Wednesday. Cibc World Mkts cut Imperial Oil from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. TD Securities reissued a sell rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Zacks Research cut Imperial Oil from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Imperial Oil in a research report on Monday, August 4th.

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Check Out Our Latest Analysis on IMO

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Imperial Oil Price Performance

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Amundi increased its holdings in Imperial Oil by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 617,706 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $42,368,000 after buying an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Imperial Oil by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 199,021 shares of the energy companys stock worth $14,393,000 after acquiring an additional 3,889 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc bought a new position in Imperial Oil in the second quarter valued at approximately $237,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Imperial Oil by 68.6% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 79,692 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $5,763,000 after purchasing an additional 32,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Imperial Oil by 32.0% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 31,278 shares of the energy companys stock worth $2,482,000 after purchasing an additional 7,588 shares during the last quarter. 20.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NYSEAMERICAN:IMO opened at $93.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.40 and a beta of 0.83. Imperial Oil has a 1-year low of $58.76 and a 1-year high of $96.09. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Imperial Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Imperial Oils payout ratio is presently 31.87%.

Imperial Oil Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Imperial Oil Limited engages in exploration, production, and sale of crude oil and natural gas in Canada. The company operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream and Chemical segments. The Upstream segment explores and produces crude oil, natural gas, synthetic crude oil, and bitumen. The Downstream segment transports and refines crude oil, blends refined products, and distributes and markets of refined products.

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UN Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie met with Ukrainians living in the frontline cities of Kherson and Mykolaiv.

I visited Mykolaiv and Kherson in Ukraine this week to meet families living on the frontline. I was in protective gear, and for me, it was just a couple of days. The families here live with this every single day. Theyve moved their schools, clinics and daycare into reinforced basements, determined that life will go on. It was hard but inspiring to witness. Many people spoke to me about the psychological burden of living under continual threat  and the deeper fear of being forgotten by the world, she said on Instagram.

Jolie noted that the drone threat in Kherson region is constant and severe. You hear a low hum in the sky. Its become known locally as a human safari, with drones used to track, hunt and terrorize people, constantly. There was a moment when we had to pause and wait while a drone flew overhead, she said.

Jolie stressed that it is difficult to understand how, in a world with such a strong capacity for diplomacy, civilians in Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza, Yemen, the DRC and so many other places suffer daily - as if there is nothing that those in power can do to end those conflicts and to protect all civilians, equally.

What gives me hope is the incredible courage and skill of local organizations and volunteers and those who support them, like @marshzhinok @gen.ukrainian @fightforrightngo and @helpukraine_team. If they can find the strength, governments ought to able to do the same, she summed up.
AMA Group Limited (ASX:AMA  Get Free Report) insider Brian Austin purchased 2,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of A$0.10 per share, with a total value of A$198,000.00.

Brian Austin also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Tuesday, August 26th, Brian Austin bought 4,005,550 shares of AMA Group stock. The stock was bought at an average price of A$0.10 per share, for a total transaction of A$400,555.00.

On Wednesday, August 27th, Brian Austin bought 1,010,000 shares of AMA Group stock. The stock was bought at an average price of A$0.10 per share, with a total value of A$101,000.00.

AMA Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 420.06, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $258.26 million, a P/E ratio of -14.29 and a beta of 1.08.

AMA Group Company Profile

AMA Group Limited operates vehicle and heavy motor collision repair facilities in Australia and New Zealand. It operates through three segments: Vehicle Collision Repairs, Heavy Motors, and Supply. The company offers rapid repairs of cars; specialized facilities for all commercial vehicle repairs; and genuine, reclaimed, and aftermarket parts, as well as collision repair consumables for the mechanical and collision repair sectors.

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Avon Protection plc (LON:AVON  Get Free Report) insider Rich Cashin purchased 8 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 1,904 per share, for a total transaction of 152.32.

Rich Cashin also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Friday, September 5th, Rich Cashin bought 8 shares of Avon Protection stock. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 1,931 per share, for a total transaction of 154.48.

Avon Protection Stock Performance

Shares of AVON stock opened at GBX 1,864 on Monday. Avon Protection plc has a 1 year low of GBX 1,202 and a 1 year high of GBX 2,230. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 47.69, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 2.27. The firm has a market cap of 552.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 88.34, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.35. The stocks 50-day moving average is GBX 1,984.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 1,891.73.

Avon Protection Company Profile

We are a world leader in protective equipment, with a reputation for innovative design, high-performance quality and specialist materials expertise.

Our two businesses, Avon Protection and Team Wendy, supply our respiratory and head protection portfolio to customers across the globe from our manufacturing sites in the UK and North America.

With over 900 talented people our shared purpose and core beliefs are to be #FIERCE about Protecting Lives.

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iShares Canadian Financial Monthly Income ETF Common Class (TSE:FIE  Get Free Report)s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as C$9.47 and last traded at C$9.45, with a volume of 64323 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$9.43.

iShares Canadian Financial Monthly Income ETF Common Class Price Performance

The businesss 50-day simple moving average is C$9.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$8.86.

About iShares Canadian Financial Monthly Income ETF Common Class

(Get Free Report)

The investment objective of the Fund is to maximize total return for investors, consisting of distributions and capital appreciation. To achieve funds objective the investment strategy of the Fund is to invest its net assets, together with borrowings under its loan facility, in a portfolio consisting primarily of common shares, preferred shares, corporate bonds and income trust units of issuers in the Canadian financial sector.

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Shares of iShares MSCI Israel ETF (NYSEARCA:EIS  Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $104.45 and last traded at $104.45, with a volume of 6523 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $102.87.

iShares MSCI Israel ETF Stock Performance

The firms 50-day moving average is $98.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.01. The stock has a market cap of $513.81 million, a P/E ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 1.03.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Israel ETF during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI Israel ETF by 49.8% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 301 shares of the companys stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Israel ETF during the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Israel ETF by 141.8% in the first quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 532 shares of the companys stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI Israel ETF by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 572 shares of the companys stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period.

iShares MSCI Israel ETF Company Profile

The iShares MSCI Israel ETF (EIS) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI Israel Capped index, a market-cap-weighted index of Israeli firms. EIS was launched on Mar 26, 2008 and is managed by BlackRock.

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Meridian Mining UK Societas (TSE:MNO  Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as C$1.34 and last traded at C$1.34, with a volume of 155888 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$1.25.

Meridian Mining UK Societas Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of C$553.69 million, a P/E ratio of -22.17 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of C$1.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$0.90.

Meridian Mining UK Societas Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Meridian Mining UK Societas along with its subsidiaries engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and mining activities in Brazil. It focuses on exploring and developing the Espigao manganese project, the Ariquemes tin JV area, and adjacent areas in the state of Rondonia. It also undertakes the Cabacal Project, Mato Grosso.

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Mitsubishi Estate (OTCMKTS:MITEY  Get Free Report) issued an update on its FY 2025 earnings guidance on Monday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.090-1.090 for the period. The company issued revenue guidance of $12.5 billion-$12.5 billion.

Mitsubishi Estate Price Performance

Shares of Mitsubishi Estate stock traded down $1.46 during trading on Monday, reaching $20.90. 10,134 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 51,446. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.33. Mitsubishi Estate has a 1-year low of $12.78 and a 1-year high of $24.06. The company has a market cap of $26.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10 and a beta of 0.20. The firms 50-day moving average price is $22.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.06.

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Mitsubishi Estate (OTCMKTS:MITEY  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Mitsubishi Estate had a return on equity of 5.65% and a net margin of 12.09%. Mitsubishi Estate has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.090-1.090 EPS.

About Mitsubishi Estate

Mitsubishi Estate Co, Ltd. engages in the real estate activities in Japan and internationally. The company develops, leases, manages, and sells office buildings and commercial facilities; operates rental offices, coworking space, virtual offices, hourly meeting rooms, home delivery storage service, commercial nursing homes, and building garages; offers real estate management, as well as building management services, such as security, facility management, cleaning, and planting services; and operates hotels and airports.

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Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (NYSE:MEG  Get Free Report) fell 6.7% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $24.32 and last traded at $24.19. 63,811 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 470,557 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MEG shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Montrose Environmental Group from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a sell (d-) rating on shares of Montrose Environmental Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Montrose Environmental Group from $26.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Montrose Environmental Group from $31.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Montrose Environmental Group from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $34.40.

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Montrose Environmental Group Stock Down 4.5%

The companys fifty day simple moving average is $28.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $874.56 million, a PE ratio of -27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:MEG  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.01. Montrose Environmental Group had a positive return on equity of 0.17% and a negative net margin of 2.52%.The firm had revenue of $224.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $201.46 million. Montrose Environmental Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. will post 0.13 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Montrose Environmental Group

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Montrose Environmental Group by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,378,212 shares of the companys stock valued at $33,913,000 after purchasing an additional 97,035 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Montrose Environmental Group by 44.6% during the second quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 656,814 shares of the companys stock worth $14,378,000 after purchasing an additional 202,541 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Montrose Environmental Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $627,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Montrose Environmental Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $690,000. Finally, IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd acquired a new position in Montrose Environmental Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $690,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.87% of the companys stock.

Montrose Environmental Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Montrose Environmental Group, Inc operates as an environmental services company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Assessment, Permitting and Response; Measurement and Analysis; and Remediation and Reuse. The Assessment, Permitting and Response segment provides scientific advisory and consulting services to support environmental assessments; environmental emergency response and recovery; toxicology consulting and environmental audits and permits for current operations; facility upgrades; new projects; decommissioning projects; and development projects.

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National Bank of Canada (OTCMKTS:NTIOF  Get Free Report)s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $112.95 and last traded at $112.95, with a volume of 153 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTIOF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cibc World Mkts raised National Bank of Canada from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a sector perform rating on shares of National Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Zacks Research lowered National Bank of Canada from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an outperform rating on shares of National Bank of Canada in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold.

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National Bank of Canada Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.83. The stock has a market cap of $44.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

National Bank of Canada (OTCMKTS:NTIOF  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.95 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.98 by ($0.03). National Bank of Canada had a net margin of 15.34% and a return on equity of 16.05%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that National Bank of Canada will post 7.63 earnings per share for the current year.

National Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Saturday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a $0.8531 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 29th. This represents a yield of 313.0%. National Bank of Canadas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.79%.

About National Bank of Canada

(Get Free Report)

National Bank of Canada provides financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional clients, and governments in Canada and internationally. It operates through four segments: Personal and Commercial, Wealth Management, Financial Markets, and U.S. Specialty Finance and International. The Personal and Commercial segment offers personal banking services, including transaction solutions, mortgage loans and home equity lines of credit, consumer loans, payment solutions, and savings and investment solutions; various insurance products; and commercial banking services, such as credit, and deposit, investment solutions, international trade, foreign exchange transactions, payroll, cash management, insurance, electronic transactions, and complimentary services.

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DoubleVerify (NYSE:DV  Get Free Report) had its target price cut by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $23.00 to $20.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canadas price objective suggests a potential upside of 91.11% from the stocks previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on DV. Barclays raised their price target on DoubleVerify from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of DoubleVerify from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of DoubleVerify from $18.00 to $16.50 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on DoubleVerify from $13.00 to $10.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a sell (d+) rating on shares of DoubleVerify in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, DoubleVerify currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $17.59.

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DoubleVerify Trading Up 11.4%

NYSE:DV traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $10.47. 1,230,373 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,759,368. The companys 50 day moving average is $12.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.89. The company has a market capitalization of $1.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.98. DoubleVerify has a twelve month low of $7.64 and a twelve month high of $23.11. The company has a quick ratio of 4.41, a current ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

DoubleVerify (NYSE:DV  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $0.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $188.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $190.43 million. DoubleVerify had a return on equity of 6.59% and a net margin of 6.10%.The firms quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. DoubleVerify has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that DoubleVerify will post 0.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew E. Grimmig sold 4,096 shares of DoubleVerify stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.99, for a total transaction of $53,207.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 96,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,250,949.99. This trade represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lucy Stamell Dobrin sold 6,392 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.51, for a total value of $92,747.92. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 11,488 shares of company stock valued at $157,255 over the last quarter. 3.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DoubleVerify

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in DoubleVerify by 582.9% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,322 shares of the companys stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of DoubleVerify by 572.1% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,386 shares of the companys stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,031 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of DoubleVerify by 178.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,447 shares of the companys stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of DoubleVerify in the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in DoubleVerify by 3,035.6% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,167 shares of the companys stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 3,066 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.29% of the companys stock.

About DoubleVerify

(Get Free Report)

DoubleVerify Holdings, Inc provides a software platform for digital media measurement, and data analytics in the United States and internationally. The company provides solutions to advertisers that enable advertisers to increase the effectiveness and quality and return on their digital advertising investments.

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IGM Financial (TSE:IGM  Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from C$55.00 to C$61.00 in a report issued on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. Royal Bank Of Canadas target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.40% from the companys previous close.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on IGM. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of IGM Financial from C$57.00 to C$64.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Scotiabank raised their target price on IGM Financial from C$64.00 to C$67.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. National Bankshares upped their price target on IGM Financial from C$58.00 to C$60.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on IGM Financial from C$50.00 to C$54.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on IGM Financial from C$47.00 to C$49.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of C$61.83.

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IGM Financial Stock Performance

Insider Activity at IGM Financial

Shares of TSE IGM traded up C$2.05 during trading on Monday, reaching C$55.76. 354,419 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 302,070. The stock has a market cap of C$13.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.06. The firms fifty day simple moving average is C$51.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$47.30. The company has a current ratio of 3.61, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 97.24. IGM Financial has a 12-month low of C$38.89 and a 12-month high of C$56.01.

In related news, Director Brent Jason Allen sold 1,451 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$48.56, for a total transaction of C$70,460.56. Insiders sold 2,840 shares of company stock worth $137,909 in the last three months. 66.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

IGM Financial Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

IGM Financial is the largest non-bank-affiliated asset manager in Canada. The firm is part of the Power Financial group of companies, which includes Great-West Life, London Life, Canada Life, and Putnam Investments. IGM has two main operating divisionsasset management (operated through Mackenzie Investments) and wealth management (via its Investors Group Wealth Management and Investment Planning Counsel subsidiaries)that provide investment management products and services.

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A project to create an energy hub, which will facilitate the transition of the city's energy supply system to alternative energy sources, is planned to be developed in Kharkiv, said the city's mayor, Ihor Terekhov.

"This project can be implemented not only in Kharkiv but also in other major Ukrainian cities. We will receive the necessary technical expertise from our colleagues in France. To carry out this project, we will use not only the city budget but also attract funds from investors and international financial institutions," said Terekhov, as reported on the Kharkiv City Councils Telegram channel.

He clarified that similar innovations have been applied in Strasbourg, France, and Kharkiv will now adopt this experience.

The report notes that Terekhov visited an energy hub during his working trip to Strasbourg.

"This facility is part of a system that supports the transition from gas to alternative energy sources  including biomass, heat from waste, and treated wastewater. This approach helps to reduce carbon emissions and strengthen the citys energy independence," the Kharkiv City Council post stated.
Samalin Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its position in shares of Realty Income Corporation (NYSE:O  Free Report) by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,966 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after selling 921 shares during the quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLCs holdings in Realty Income were worth $977,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in O. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Realty Income by 2.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 142,511,359 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $8,267,084,000 after buying an additional 3,274,853 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Realty Income by 3.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 12,108,561 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $702,381,000 after acquiring an additional 451,307 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Realty Income by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,421,973 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $662,589,000 after purchasing an additional 48,024 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Realty Income by 9.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 11,356,883 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $658,813,000 after purchasing an additional 992,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Realty Income by 1.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,112,801 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $586,644,000 after buying an additional 123,501 shares during the period. 70.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on O shares. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Realty Income from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wolfe Research downgraded Realty Income from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c) rating on shares of Realty Income in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Realty Income from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Realty Income from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $62.33.

Realty Income Price Performance

Shares of O stock opened at $56.83 on Monday. Realty Income Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $50.71 and a fifty-two week high of $61.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.17, a PEG ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.77. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $59.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.87.

Realty Income (NYSE:O  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 3rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.35 billion. Realty Income had a net margin of 16.77% and a return on equity of 2.34%. Realty Incomes revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Realty Income has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.250-4.270 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Realty Income Corporation will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Realty Income Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be given a $0.2695 dividend. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. Realty Incomes dividend payout ratio is presently 299.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mary Hogan Preusse sold 11,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.43, for a total value of $664,730.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,211 shares in the company, valued at $1,160,920.73. This trade represents a 36.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Realty Income

(Free Report)

Realty Income, The Monthly Dividend Company, is an S&P 500 company and member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index. We invest in people and places to deliver dependable monthly dividends that increase over time. The company is structured as a real estate investment trust (REIT), and its monthly dividends are supported by the cash flow from over 15,450 real estate properties (including properties acquired in the Spirit merger in January 2024) primarily owned under long-term net lease agreements with commercial clients.

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Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality (NYSE:PRSU  Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $42.00 to $43.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus price objective would suggest a potential upside of 29.30% from the stocks current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Oppenheimer restated an outperform rating and issued a $48.00 target price on shares of Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c) rating on shares of Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $33.67.

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Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality stock traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $33.26. The company had a trading volume of 24,056 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,778. The company has a market cap of $940.29 million, a P/E ratio of 2.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.76. Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality has a twelve month low of $26.66 and a twelve month high of $46.66. The companys 50-day moving average is $36.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality (NYSE:PRSU  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.56 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $62.88 million for the quarter. Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality had a net margin of 51.67% and a return on equity of 21.30%. Analysts anticipate that Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality news, Director Jill Bright purchased 1,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $36.77 per share, for a total transaction of $36,770.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 6,311 shares of the companys stock, valued at $232,055.47. This trade represents a 18.83% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PRSU. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality by 4.1% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 11,535 shares of the companys stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP increased its position in Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality by 3.8% in the third quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 16,546 shares of the companys stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality by 3.3% during the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,157 shares of the companys stock valued at $698,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality in the second quarter valued at $38,000. 89.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality

(Get Free Report)

Pursuit Attractions & Hospitality, Inc engages in the provision of hospitality and leisure activities, experiential marketing, and live events. It operates through the following segments: Pursuit, Spiro, and GES Exhibitions. The Pursuit segment provides travel experiences that include recreational attractions, unique hotels and lodges, food and beverage, retail, sightseeing, and ground transportation services.

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Summit X LLC trimmed its position in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM  Free Report) by 42.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,607 shares of the companys stock after selling 1,945 shares during the period. Summit X LLCs holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PM. Linscomb Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of Philip Morris International by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 83,205 shares of the companys stock valued at $13,207,000 after buying an additional 2,669 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 7.3% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,583,903 shares of the companys stock worth $568,873,000 after acquiring an additional 242,799 shares during the last quarter. First American Trust FSB raised its position in Philip Morris International by 80.0% during the first quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 56,382 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,949,000 after purchasing an additional 25,063 shares during the period. SpringVest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Philip Morris International during the 1st quarter valued at $253,000. Finally, SFE Investment Counsel purchased a new position in Philip Morris International during the first quarter worth $327,000. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Philip Morris International Trading Up 2.2%

PM opened at $153.26 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $238.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.77, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.43. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.12 and a 12-month high of $186.69. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $158.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.38.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

Philip Morris International ( NYSE:PM Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 9.33% and a negative return on equity of 122.14%. The company had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. This is a boost from Philip Morris Internationals previous quarterly dividend of $1.35. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 3rd. Philip Morris Internationals payout ratio is 106.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PM. Citigroup restated a buy rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Thursday, September 4th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Philip Morris International from $177.00 to $166.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 5th. KGI Securities initiated coverage on Philip Morris International in a report on Monday, August 4th. They issued an outperform rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $175.00 price objective on Philip Morris International and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a buy (b) rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $194.00.

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Philip Morris International Company Profile

(Free Report)

Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches.

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First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its holdings in The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA  Free Report) by 77.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,747 shares of the aircraft producers stock after acquiring an additional 12,071 shares during the period. Boeing accounts for 2.3% of First Dallas Securities Inc.s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. First Dallas Securities Inc.s holdings in Boeing were worth $5,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Boeing during the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Boeing by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. IFC Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Boeing during the first quarter worth $225,000. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Boeing by 10.2% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 6,377 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $1,088,000 after buying an additional 589 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Boeing by 5.4% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 1,057,661 shares of the aircraft producers stock valued at $180,384,000 after buying an additional 54,513 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.82% of the companys stock.

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Boeing Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BA opened at $194.40 on Monday. The Boeing Company has a 1 year low of $128.88 and a 1 year high of $242.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.76 billion, a PE ratio of -14.21 and a beta of 1.44. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $216.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $214.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boeing

Boeing ( NYSE:BA Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The aircraft producer reported ($7.47) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.51) by ($6.96). The business had revenue of $23.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($10.44) EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Boeing Company will post -2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

In other Boeing news, Director Mortimer J. Buckley purchased 2,200 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $226.10 per share, with a total value of $497,420.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $497,420. This represents a  increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Boeing from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a sell (d-) rating on shares of Boeing in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup restated a buy rating on shares of Boeing in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Boeing in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a buy rating on shares of Boeing in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $241.80.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on BA

Boeing Profile

(Free Report)

The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems, and services worldwide. The company operates through Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Global Services segments.

Further Reading

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Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC  Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at UBS Group from $24.00 to $29.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the banks stock. UBS Groups price objective would indicate a potential downside of 3.04% from the companys current price.

BSAC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Citigroup lowered shares of Banco Santander Chile from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Banco Santander Chile from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c) rating on shares of Banco Santander Chile in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Banco Santander Chile from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Reduce and a consensus target price of $27.67.

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View Our Latest Research Report on Banco Santander Chile

Banco Santander Chile Stock Performance

BSAC traded up $0.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $29.91. 163,950 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 343,597. Banco Santander Chile has a 52 week low of $18.19 and a 52 week high of $30.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $26.85 and a 200 day moving average of $25.16. The stock has a market cap of $14.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.74.

Banco Santander Chile (NYSE:BSAC  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $581.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $732.50 million. Banco Santander Chile had a net margin of 24.74% and a return on equity of 22.18%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Banco Santander Chile will post 2.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Santander Chile

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander Chile in the 1st quarter worth $206,000. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Banco Santander Chile by 41.0% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 14,894 shares of the banks stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 4,330 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC grew its holdings in Banco Santander Chile by 2,389.8% during the first quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 29,056 shares of the banks stock worth $681,000 after acquiring an additional 27,889 shares during the period. RWC Asset Management LLP raised its position in Banco Santander Chile by 45.3% in the first quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 826,754 shares of the banks stock worth $18,850,000 after acquiring an additional 257,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Banco Santander Chile in the 1st quarter valued at about $238,000. 6.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Banco Santander Chile

(Get Free Report)

Banco Santander-Chile, together with its subsidiaries, provides commercial and retail banking services in Chile. It operates through Retail Banking, Middle-Market, Corporate Investment Banking, and Corporate Activities segments. The company offers debit and credit cards, checking accounts, and savings products; consumer, automobile, commercial, mortgage, and government-guaranteed loans; and Chilean peso and foreign currency-denominated loans to finance various commercial transactions, trade, foreign currency forward contracts, and credit lines, as well as mortgage financing services.

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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Speaker of the Serbian Parliament Ana Brnabic in Kyiv.

"The main attention during the conversation was paid to the process of European integration. This is a strategic goal for both of our countries," Zelenskyy said in the Telegram channel on Monday.

The parties also discussed interstate cooperation, partnership for regional security.

Zelenskyy thanked Serbia for supporting the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

"I thank the First Lady of Serbia for participating in the summits of first ladies and gentlemen and for paying attention to the problem of Ukrainian children who were abducted by Russia. This is a crucial issue for Ukraine, and we appreciate the support," he said.
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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed two decrees enacting decisions of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on the application of personal special economic and other restrictive measures, his press service has reported.

Russia is trying to prolong the war, expanding its efforts to justify aggression and normalize the occupation of Ukrainian territories. Russia has also recently made a demonstrative political decision to impose sanctions against Ukrainian officials, in particular against the Prime Minister of Ukraine. Such behavior by Russia deserves far greater global pressure and a broader scope of that pressure, the President said.

The first decree imposes sanctions on eight individuals involved in crimes against Ukraine and Ukrainians  those who appropriated agricultural property, grain crops, and cultural heritage sites, conduct information operations against our state, and introduce Russian educational standards with anti-Ukrainian narratives in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

The sanctions target Russian government officials, an FSB agent engaged in information sabotage, a representative of the information directorate of the Russian General Staff, and financier Kirill Dmitriev, a close associate of the Russian leader involved in spreading propaganda and attracting Russian investments into key sectors of foreign economies, as well as individuals who justify Russias armed aggression.

The Head of State emphasized that Ukraine will share its proposals for new sanctions with the relevant partners.

The second decree imposed sanctions on five legal entities  Russian publishing houses engaged in justifying aggression, spreading Russian propaganda worldwide, and instilling anti-Ukrainian sentiment in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson regions.

We will work to ensure that these publishing houses are barred from participating in international book fairs and that their products are removed from online sales platforms around the world, Advisor, Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk said.

According to the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) dated November 9, 2025, implemented by decree of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the sanction list includes: First Deputy Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Alexander Bugayev, Russian military commander and representative of the Russian Federation in the negotiating group Alexander Zorin, head of the 5th FSB Service Alexei Komkov, Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Oksana Lut, and Deputy Minister of Science Andrei Omelchuk.

In addition, sanctions have been imposed against the following five Russian publishing houses: Knizhnyi Mir LLC, Veche Publishing House LLC, Centerpoligraf Publishing House LLC, Yauza Publishing House LLC, and Piter Publishing House LLC.
Ukraine is preparing agreements with several European countries, in particular, on strengthening the protection of the sky and energy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, following a diplomatic meeting.

"We are preparing agreements with several European countries, including on strengthening our protection of the sky and our energy. We are constantly adding precisely such agreements with European countries that allow us to recover step by step after Russian strikes," Zelenskyy said in an evening address on Monday.

He also said he had held a meeting with representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers and the President's Office on the situation in frontline communities.

"We are preparing new support measures for our people in frontline and border communities," the president said.
Suspect held

|

Guwahati, Nov 9: In a significant development in Mizorams ongoing efforts against cross-border drug trafficking, police have apprehended another key suspect connected to the States largest heroin seizure.

Mizoram Police on Friday confirmed that Joseph Lianthangpuia (42) from Chanakya Place, New Delhi, was taken into custody in the National capital on November 5.

He has been linked to Saitual Police Station Case No. 63/2025, registered under Sections 21(c), 25, and 29 of the ND&PS Act along with Section 14 of the Foreigners Act.

The case revolves around the recovery of 15 kg of heroin from a vehicle in August this year, marking the biggest drug haul in Mizorams history. The drugs were seized on August 23 from a vehicle (registration MZ-01X-1909) driven by Lalliancheua (20), son of Challianzula from Falam, Myanmar. The incident revealed a well-structured drug trafficking network operating along the India-Myanmar border. This arrest comes shortly after another operation earlier this week, which saw Lalchhuanthangi (50), a suspected drug kingpin from Aizawl now in New Delhi, being apprehended in a separate case. NE NOW
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Ukraine, based on the results of the year in the supply of weapons in the defense industry, must fulfill all the tasks that were, now practically every day long-range sanctions against Russia are being applied, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

"There was a report by Minister of Defense Denys Shmyhal. Based on the results of the year in the supply of weapons in the defense industry, we must fulfill all the tasks that were. Both in providing the front, and in financing our army, and in our deep strikes. Now practically every day Ukraine applies its long-range sanctions against Russia," Zelenskyy said in an evening address on Monday.

The president also said the enemy does not have any significant results on the frontline.

"Pokrovsk axis, Dobropillia districts, Donetsk region, in general we are defending our positions," Zelenskyy said.
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Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset congratulated Ukraine on the thirtieth anniversary of its accession to the organization, dedicating a message to this event, "European Story, a Shared Future," in which he assured that the Council of Europe stands with Ukraine.

The text of the congratulations was distributed by the press service of the Council of Europe.

Today, we remember the day Ukraine joined the Council of Europe 30 years ago. It was a different Ukraine. It was a different Europe, too. Democracy seemed unstoppable. Freedom and independence were sweeping across our continent. Three decades later, war has returned to Europe, and the men, women, and children of Ukraine have paid a heavy price. This anniversary is an opportunity to honour their courage, to reaffirm our solidarity, and to recommit ourselves as Europeans to building a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, Berset said.

According to him, Europes strength lies not in power over others, but in the principles we live by together. The Council of Europe is advancing accountability for Ukraine. The Register of Damage is now operational. A future International Claims Commission will soon follow. This is where justice begins, with recognition and compensation for what has been lost. It lives in the European Court of Human Rights, the only international court adjudicating violations of human rights arising from this war. And it continues with work on a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression, because a war born of a violation of international law cannot end in impunity, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe is convinced.

Berset emphasized that the long, patient work of reconstruction has already begun, even as fighting continues on the frontline. The Council of Europe is strengthening the foundations of democratic security through judicial reforms, anti-corruption measures, and free and fair elections. This is an integral part of the most ambitious Action Plan in our history. An entire generation has only ever known a Ukraine inside the Council of Europe. Their values are our values. Their hopes are our hopes. And their future is our future, he stated.

The Secretary General also believes that anniversaries remind us of who we are, and what we stand for. Ukraine remains our top priority. The Council of Europe is with you. When it is hardest. When it counts most, Berset wrote.
OUAGADOUGOU, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The inaugural China-Burkina Faso Friendship Harvest Festival has kicked off in Boulbi, Kadiogo Region, celebrating a milestone in agricultural cooperation between the two countries. The festival, which opened on Thursday, drew Chinese and Burkina Faso officials, agricultural experts, and over 100 local farmers to Boulbi, about 20 km southeast of the capital, Ouagadougou, which also hosts a demonstration base for new rice varieties. Chinese Ambassador Zhao Deyong and Secretary General of Burkina Faso's Ministry of Agriculture Gaoussou Sanou opened the event by cutting the first sheaves of rice. Participants then toured demonstration plots showcasing 16 new Chinese hybrid rice varieties, observing growth and evaluating this year's rainy-season yields. Zhao praised the bilateral agricultural cooperation, saying, "Agriculture is fundamental to a nation's development. China will continue working closely with Burkina Faso to share experience, deepen cooperation, and help the country achieve food self-sufficiency and agricultural modernization." Sanou highlighted the importance of the partnership for national food security. "Three hybrid rice varieties selected by Chinese experts have performed exceptionally well in regional trials... Approved for national cultivation in 2024, these varieties feature strong adaptability and high yield, effectively complementing local strains," Sanou said. Rice farmer Issaka Ouedraogo expressed his delight: "This year's harvest has surpassed previous ones. We are very satisfied with the new varieties. Thanks to the hard work of Chinese experts, and we hope China will continue its support, which is crucial for improving yields and achieving food self-sufficiency." Burkina Faso has long faced food shortages, with rain-fed agriculture vulnerable to harsh weather, droughts, and floods. As a staple crop, rice is critical for national food security, and the government has prioritized rice development in its 2023-2025 Agropastoral and Fisheries Offensive Plan to achieve self-sufficiency. Since diplomatic relations resumed in 2018, the Chinese agricultural technical assistance team has launched aid projects to bolster food security and rural livelihoods in Burkina Faso. According to the Chinese team, the first two phases of aid projects helped develop 2,000 hectares of lowland rice and expand 30,000 hectares of new cultivation areas. The third phase, beginning in March 2025, involves eight experts in rice cultivation, irrigation, agricultural machinery, animal husbandry, and fisheries, aiming to promote high-yield hybrid rice, reduce rural poverty, and establish demonstration villages and variety exhibition zones. Hu Yuzhou, head of the Chinese technical assistance team, said that this year, 95 hectares of Chinese hybrid rice were planted in two pilot villages -- Nariou in Nando Region and Kouzoughin in Kadiogo Region -- producing an expected nine tonnes per hectare, far above the national average of 2.3 tonnes. "Since the launch of the third phase, the team has trained 1,041 local technicians and farmers, helping put practical technologies into use," Hu added. "This is the first time I've seen rice grow so fast and the panicles so full. We believe this will change how we farm and improve our lives and our families' future," said Khadija Kiemde, a farmer from Nariou. In Kouzoughin, farmer Ousmane Ilboudo noted, "At first, we were hesitant to switch from local varieties, but hybrid rice proved to be higher-yielding, drought-resistant, and water-saving. We now realize this is a real opportunity to boost both production and income." Naze Boureima Traore, liaison officer for China-Burkina Faso agricultural cooperation at the Ministry of Agriculture, said the high yields highlight the potential of bilateral agricultural cooperation. "These outcomes clearly show the effectiveness of the partnership and reflect China's strong expertise in agricultural innovation," Traore added.
On April 2, while Donald Trump was battering the world with tariffs, high-ranking officers of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), dressed in camouflage uniforms and armed with shovels, were digging in the earth during a voluntary reforestation day in Beijing. The activity, which has been carried out since the 1980s, included top leaders from the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC, the highest authority over the armed forces) and other Communist Party officials. Since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, members of the military high command had never missed the event. This year was different. Those who follow the capricious twists and turns of Chinese politics immediately noticed the absence of General He Weidong, the PLAs second-in-command.

He, who was then second vice chairman of the CMC and one of the 24 members of the Politburo, the Communist Partys top decision-making body, last appeared in public on March 11. Shortly before, he had delivered a speech on the need to intensify the fight against corruption within the PLA. He was a close ally of Xi Jinping, who had placed him at the head of his troops three years earlier. According to the Pentagon, he played a key role in planning live-fire exercises around Taiwan after Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, angered China by visiting Taipei in August 2022.

His prolonged absence from the public eye was a clear indication that something was amiss. On October 17, the Ministry of Defense announced the expulsion of He and eight other high-ranking officers from the Communist Party and the PLA, all accused of corruption. He officially became the highest-ranking general dismissed since the end of Mao Zedongs rule in 1976. And his dismissal, along with that of the other officers, is just one more in a cascade of removals that have intensified since 2023, following a similar pattern: first, the officers disappear from public life; then, weeks or months later, the government announces a corruption investigation and expulsion from the party amid accusations of serious misconduct.

Something is stirring within the PLA, though no one knows exactly what. Several analysts point to a move by Xi Jinping to eliminate divisive factions within the armed forces, strengthen his control over the promotion system, and secure the future loyalty of the next generation of generals.

Lin Ying-Yu, an assistant professor at Tamkang University in Taiwan specializing in the capabilities of the Chinese military, supports this view. The Chinese president has sought to reset the system by targeting the Political Work Department of the CMC, the body responsible for overseeing the appointment of new generals. Under the guise of combating corruption, he has aimed to destroy a group that [...] would not always be willing to follow his orders, Lin explains by phone from Taiwan.

Whats peculiar is that the nine disgraced military officers were high-ranking tigers  senior generals  and that the purge spanned a wide range of military services, writes Masaaki Yatsuzuka, a senior fellow at Japans National Institute for Defence Studies, in a recent article for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. This purge also raises questions about Xis control over the military, he adds.

Many of these generals were linked to the elite 31st Army Group and were considered close to Xi, having worked with him since his days as a local leader. They were promoted after careful consideration by the president. It is unclear whether their downfall indicates a shift in trust between Xi and the military leadership, or an increasingly fierce power struggle within the army, Yatsuzuka acknowledges.

The initial stages of the crusade Xi launched upon assuming the presidency  a crusade that has investigated millions of officials at all levels  served to project an image of discipline and cleanse the ruling partys reputation. During that initial phase, heavyweights of the military fell, a bastion that until then had enjoyed considerable autonomy and complex networks forged during the eras of Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao. However, the offensive has taken a new turn since Xi secured a third term: now even men he trusted are not safe. According to a Bloomberg investigation, 14 of the 79 generals promoted under his leadership have disappeared or been investigated in the last two years. To find parallels with this situation, one must go back to the 1970s.

The disciplinary offensive has climbed the military hierarchy, from strategic units to the very pinnacle of military power. The sequence of dismissals traces an upward trajectory since the abrupt removal, in the summer of 2023, of Li Yuchao and Xu Zhongbo, the two top commanders of the PLAs Rocket Force, responsible for controlling the Asian powers nuclear arsenal. That episode marked the beginning of an escalation that intensified in 2024 with the expulsion from the party of former Defense Minister Li Shangfu (dismissed months earlier, just six months after his appointment) and his predecessor, Wei Fenghe.

The offensive has continued in 2025, reaching an unprecedented level. He Weidong has become the first sitting vice chairman expelled from the CMCs top leadership since the Cultural Revolution, and the third member to fall from grace since the current commission took office three years ago. The first was Li Shangfu himself, in October 2023; he was followed by Miao Hua, director of the Political Work Department, in November 2024. Considered until then an ally of the Chinese leader, Miao is another of the nine generals whose departure from the party was formalized last month.

Among the other dismissed officials are a diverse group. They range from He Hongjun, Miaos deputy in the department specifically tasked with ensuring loyalty to the party within the military, to Wang Houbin, former commander of the Rocket Force. Meanwhile, Zhang Shengmin, head of the PLAs disciplinary body, has replaced the dismissed He at the CMC. However, these changes have left the top of the organization with two vacancies and only two members other than the president and the two vice presidents.

The strategic nature of the Rocket Force  created in 2015 and a key unit for Xi Jinpings military modernization  has fueled suspicions that part of the uncovered corruption network may have originated within its ranks. The concentration of procurement contracts, the management of silos and launchers, and the expansion of new bases would have provided opportunities for influence peddling and embezzlement.

Lin Ying-Yu believes that with the new structure, Xi also intends to ensure that the appointments of new generals are of loyalists, so that when he retires or leaves one of his formal positions as general secretary, president of the country, or chairman of the CMC, the military establishment will remain under his control. Xi is ultimately the supreme leader of the armed forces in a country where Mao Zedong famously declared decades ago: Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. In Professor Lins words, If you control the PLA, you can control Chinese politics.

The PLA is, first and foremost, the army of the Communist Party of China. Its military personnel swear allegiance to the party, of which they are members, and receive orders from Xi Jinping, as commander-in-chief. The army wields weapons; it is the armed group charged with carrying out the partys political tasks and constitutes a solid pillar for safeguarding our red regime and defending national dignity, reads an editorial in the PLA Daily, which condemns the vile conduct of the nine disloyal generals dismissed in October. The more it combats corruption, the stronger, purer, and more effective the PLA will be in battle, it continues.

On Wednesday, General Zhang Youxia, the other vice chairman of the CMC, noted in an article that the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) aims to strengthen the armys capabilities. He also pledged to take measures against false loyalty and two-faced individuals, and called for the elimination of poisonous influences and persistent problems.

Zhang, Chinas highest-ranking general and a member of the Politburo, was the focus of news reports from that April morning when top officers in uniform went out to reforest the outskirts of Beijing. After more than an hour of hard work, they planted more than 800 trees, Xinhua reported. The article made no mention of the missing He.

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Rarely does a scientific study have such a beneficial impact on the daily lives of so many millions of people, explain cardiologists Valentin Fuster and Borja Ibanez. A couple of months ago, their team presented the results of a clinical trial with 8,500 volunteers that showed that beta-blockers  drugs that have for decades been prescribed for life after a heart attack  provide no benefit whatsoever to the majority of these patients, those who retain their hearts pumping capacity.

Were talking about tens or hundreds of millions of people worldwide; its staggering, says Ibanez, in a room at Spains National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) overlooking northern Madrid. The researchers conclusions, however, met with some skepticism. The number two at the Spanish Ministry of Health, family physician Javier Padilla, went so far as to say that there were contradictory articles in this field and even criticized the siren songs of findings that may be very striking.

The controversy affects the millions of people who take one or two of these tablets every day. Beta-blockers can be lifesaving for those with arrhythmias, chronic heart failure, or heart dysfunction. These drugs dilate blood vessels, which lowers blood pressure and heart rate, but they often have unwanted side effects, such as constant fatigue and decreased libido. They should only be taken if there is a genuine medical reason. The Spanish team announced new results on Sunday, and this time they are irrefutable, according to Ibanez, scientific director of the CNIC. The authors analyzed data from five clinical trials in eight countries, with nearly 18,000 participants, and confirmed their previous conclusion: the ubiquitous beta-blockers are not necessary for patients who, after surviving a heart attack, retain proper heart contractile function.

Ibanez does the math. He estimates that, in Spain alone, there may be 1.2 million people taking beta-blockers daily unnecessarily, but points out that there are another 500,000 patients for whom these drugs are indeed recommended. No one should stop their treatment without first consulting their cardiologist, warn Ibanez and Fuster. Their findings, presented on Sunday in New Orleans at the American Heart Association Annual Meeting, were published in the specialized journal The New England Journal of Medicine.

Valentin Fuster directs the CNIC in Madrid and also chairs the Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital in New York, which has borne his name for the past two years. The renowned cardiologist says he stopped prescribing beta-blockers to his patients with uncomplicated heart attacks a decade ago. It wasnt an easy decision, he explains. Fuster, 82, is a disciple of Desmond Julian, the British physician who half a century ago spearheaded the ambitious clinical trial that demonstrated the benefits of beta-blockers after a heart attack. The usefulness of these drugs, however, declined after 2005, when the implantation of coronary stents  the small metal mesh tubes that prevent the arteries from becoming blocked after a heart attack  became widespread.

I worked with Desmond Julian, so I witnessed the development of the beta-blocker concept firsthand. For a few years, it was practically gospel: you had to prescribe beta-blockers after a heart attack, no exceptions. I stopped prescribing them 10 years ago, but that decision was heavily criticized, recalls Fuster.

His team is now calculating the savings this could generate for public healthcare. Beta-blockers are medications from the 1970s that are now off-patent, such as bisoprolol, developed by the pharmaceutical company Merck, and metoprolol, historically associated with AstraZeneca. A box of 40 tablets costs about 4 ($4.60) in Spain. They are very inexpensive, but if one million patients stop buying their daily capsule, the savings could reach around 35 million ($35.5 million) each year, according to an initial estimate by Ibanez. We are going to save millions for the public healthcare system, he says.

Cardiologists Valentin Fuster and Borja Ibanez, at the National Center for Cardiovascular Research, in Madrid. Juan Barbosa

The new analysis includes nearly 18,000 volunteers, primarily from Spain, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Italy, and Japan. All had suffered a heart attack, but retained their hearts pumping capacity. Half of the patients received beta-blockers, and the other half did not. After nearly four years of follow-up, doctors observed similar results in both groups: around 8% of participants suffered a major cardiovascular event, whether heart failure, another heart attack, or even death. Taking beta-blockers or not made no difference. These data are conclusive, says Fuster.

Their previous study, called REBOOT and conducted in a hundred hospitals in Spain and Italy, produced concerning results in women. For every 100 patients treated with beta-blockers, there was one adverse outcome  death, reinfarction, or hospitalization  attributable to the drugs themselves, the authors explained at the time. The publication of the Spanish-Italian research coincided with another similar study, but with fewer patients, conducted in Denmark and Norway. The results seemed contradictory. The Nordic study, with 5,600 volunteers, had detected that beta-blockers slightly reduced the risk of death or a serious cardiovascular event. When all data were analyzed together, the supposed beneficial effect disappeared, and the possible harmful impact to some women is no longer considered statistically significant.

In 2014, the European Society of Cardiology commissioned Borja Ibanez to develop its treatment guidelines for myocardial infarction, a condition that affects two million people annually across Europe. The cardiologist explains that he found a complete lack of evidence regarding the current efficacy of beta-blockers in uncomplicated heart attacks, despite millions of people taking them daily. This led to the idea of testing them. The result is revolutionary, says Ibanez, who understands the skepticism of two months ago. People in general, and the medical community is no exception, are very afraid of change, but among heart attack experts, these findings havent surprised anyone.

Ibanez and Fuster predict an immediate change in heart attack treatment guidelines worldwide. The lead authors of the new study include Danish cardiologist Eva Prescott, Japanese cardiologist Neiko Ozasa, and Spanish cardiologist Xavier Rossello. The president of the Spanish Society of Cardiology, Ignacio Fernandez Lozano, also believes this international analysis settles any doubts. Currently, 70% of patients recover without significant long-term effects or damage after a heart attack, with their heart function preserved, and they dont benefit from beta-blockers, so theres no reason to prescribe them, he says. This cardiologist, from the Puerta de Hierro Majadahonda public hospital in Madrid, insists that no one should stop their treatment without consulting their doctor first.

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The leader of Spains leftist governing coalition is facing political and legal turmoil, but remains confident that the truth will prevail and says he wants to run for re-election in 2027

Its Thursday morning and Spains prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, 53, arrives at the Miro Room in La Moncloa, the seat of government, dressed in a blue suit and in good spirits. He seems eager to continue the fight. Neither the fierce legal pressure nor the withdrawal of parliamentary support by the Catalan separatist party Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia), announced just an hour earlier, appear to have affected the Socialist Party (PSOE) leader. On the contrary, during the interview he affirmed that he will run again in the 2027 general elections, and even allowed himself a touch of sarcasm regarding the new memoir by Spains emeritus king Juan Carlos I: I havent read it yet, but Ill also tell you that it wont be one of the books I recommend this Christmas, given whats happened.

08:25 Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez during the interview (in Spanish) Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez during the interview with EL PAIS at La Moncloa Palace. Photo: Carlos Rosillo | Video: EPV

Question. No prime minister has ever served an entire term without a budget, nor experienced a parliamentary deadlock like the one announced by Junts [whose support for the governing coalition is key to pass legislation inside the Congress of Deputies, where Junts has seven seats]. Is that sustainable?

Answer. First, parliamentary complexity is a result of the will of the people as expressed in the elections. Second, the only option for governance is the one that exists today with a progressive coalition holding a parliamentary minority. Third, this parliamentary complexity is not a problem; it is a reality in Europe, Spain, and Catalonia. Fourth, parliamentary complexity can be aligned with good governance. The economic and social data of the last seven years bear this out.

Q. And you havent considered calling elections to break the deadlock?

A. I insist, we are not in that situation right now. We are fulfilling our agreement. We have more than 40 legislative initiatives approved in Congress. On the issues that fall entirely within our jurisdiction, we have honored our pledges with Junts and the other parliamentary groups, and on those that do not, we are working to ensure compliance.

Q. You have spoken about the bid to make Catalan an official language in the European Union with the chancellor of Germany. Did he give you any assurances?

A. There is a dialogue process underway with the German government, and we have a clear, unequivocal, and total commitment to achieving the full normalization of the political situation in Catalonia. This government opted for pardons and the Amnesty Law [passed last year to acquit those who participated in the failed October 2017 breakaway bid led by Catalan separatists]. We are recognizing political actors who, after 2017, due to mistakes made by themselves and by others, placed themselves outside the political arena. We are very aware that there is a political crisis and conflict, which is why we reached the Brussels agreement with Junts, and we are prepared to honor it. Regarding the use of co-official, or rather constitutional, languages in EU institutions, it is part of our national identity, and I have explained this to the other member states. It is a debate that must take place sooner or later.

On the issues that fall entirely within our jurisdiction, we have honored our pledges with Junts

Q. Things may have become normalized in Catalonia, but elsewhere the mood is highly polarized, something that benefits the far right. Why is a policy of agreements with the [mainstream conservative] Popular Party (PP) not possible?

A. I agree that it is necessary to forge more agreements with the main opposition party. But reality is stubborn. For example, after the summer wildfires, I proposed a national pact to address the climate emergency, but what we saw is [PP national leader Alberto Nunez] Feijoo making deals with the far right to deny that very climate emergency. The PP has surrendered to the far right and embraced absurdity. This is the reality we have to work with. But the governments willingness to reach agreements is absolute. And every time an agreement has been possible, it has been reached; for example, with the renewal of the General Council of the Judiciary.

The right wing is running its smear campaign to cover up the fact that the country is booming economically

Q. But hasnt that agreement been a failure? The General Council of the Judiciary is currently divided and dominated by the right wing.

A. Failure would have been to continue the paralysis. There are sufficient elements to foster a culture of state agreements. We did it, for example, in the fight against terrorism. We did it in the past and also in this political term with the renewal of the State Pact against Gender Violence. And I believe we must do it also in the face of the climate emergency. But precisely in the Valencia region, which has been a victim of the climate emergency, what we are seeing is Feijoo leaving the solution in the hands of [ultranationalist Vox leader Santiago] Abascal, who is a climate change denier...

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at La Moncloa last Thursday. Carlos Rosillo

Q. When was the last time you spoke with Feijoo?

A. A long time ago...

Q. And would you be willing to discuss these issues directly with him?

A. The climate emergency, of course. It is not only urgent, but also important. The government is open to dialogue with all political forces: we are in a parliamentary minority and, therefore, obliged by both conviction and necessity to reach agreements with multiple parties. This complexity, I insist, is not a problem, and can go hand in hand with good governance, as demonstrated by the fact that Spain is reducing unemployment and driving 40% of the Eurozones growth.

Q. The macroeconomic data is looking very good, and even the stock market is breaking records. But 15% of the population suffers from chronic poverty, according to Eurostat, and just today we published a study by Caritas indicating that social exclusion in Spain has doubled since 2007 and has trapped 2.5 million young people. There is an underlying discontent that is fueling anti-establishment sentiment. What is happening? Why hasnt this been fixed after seven years of government?

A. These reports indicate the stark reality of inequality in our country and how much remains to be done. But we have accomplished a great deal in the last seven years. Thanks to our redistribution policies, poverty levels are lower than they were before the 2008 financial crisis. In any case, I ask myself, and I also ask the readers of EL PAIS who may read this interview, how is it possible that, if this central government has given regional authorities 45% more public resources to spend [300 billion more than former PP prime minister Mariano Rajoy], this has not translated into improvements in social services and the fight against poverty in some of them? Well, Ill say it clearly: because its not just a matter of public resources, its also a matter of conviction and your model of society. And what regions governed by the PP, such as Madrid, Andalusia, Extremadura and Valencia, have done is to provide tax breaks for the elites. How is it possible that some regional governments, driven by ideological dogmatism, reject debt relief that would alleviate their financial burden? How is it possible that they refuse to implement the Housing Law, which would allow them to address the main crisis facing young and not-so-young people alike? Mr. Feijoos main contribution has been to open the regional governments wide to the far right.

More agreements with the PP are needed. But it has surrendered to the far right and is committed to absurdity

Q. And why do you think Vox is rising in the polls? Some argue that this radicalization benefits them, because it activates their vote.

A. Its not good news in any democracy that the far right is growing. But I also say that the political, media, and intellectual [mainstream] right, in its goal to prevent progressive forces from governing, is capable of whitewashing the far rights rhetoric. For example, when the far right says that eight million migrants in our country should be deported, the right, instead of confronting them with arguments and data that refute this absurdity, simply bows to that claim, equates migration with crime, or claims that our country is suffering an invasion. All of this is false, and, for example, in the last year alone we have reduced irregular immigration by 35%.

The European context, so heavily tilted towards the far right, has convinced me and my family that I should run for re-election in 2027

Q. You speak of the rights responsibility for the rise of the far right. But can the left also offer some self-criticism? What has happened to the left to make young people more right-wing than ever, according to the polls?

A. I dont entirely agree with this analysis. Young people are overwhelmingly committed to solidarity, to addressing the climate emergency, to immigration, and to democratic values. This new reality must be attributed to social media, which these days doesnt spread the truth, but rather misinformation. It doesnt promote coexistence, but rather polarization. And that has a lot to do with the political aims of tech oligarchs who are clearly influencing electoral processes. Weve seen it in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Hungary... And Im convinced that well also see it in Spain when those elections take place. Theres a well-organized far-right international movement, and what we progressive forces must do  Im discussing this with Boric, Lula, Orsi and many other progressive governments  is to provide a positive response to this entire far-right phenomenon. The Spanish path is inspirational for many other progressive governments and societies. Furthermore, this reactionary wave is beginning to show signs of exhaustion, as we have just seen in the U.S., in several states, and in the financial capital of the world, New York. These are symptoms of a resurgence of progressive options.

The Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, during the interview with EL PAIS. Carlos Rosillo

Q. You opened a TikTok account in September. Abascal has had one since 2022; Vox since 2020. Is the left late to social media? Zohran Mamdani [the newly elected Democratic mayor of New York] has secured victory for the left with a very powerful social media campaign.

A. I think its more about algorithms than about having a presence. Its about what debates are fostered on social media and which ones are prioritized over others. Originally, social media was an open door to democratization processes. Today, its a cesspool, places where even the most basic rules of civility are disregarded.

Q. Lets move on to the legal issue, which is increasingly important in Spanish politics. You yourself have said that last July you considered resigning because of the Santos Cerdan case [involving a former senior government official under investigation over a corruption scandal]. And a year earlier you said something similar regarding the investigations into your spouse. If your wife and brother are convicted [in a separate case brought by a far-right group] will you remain in your position?

A. Look, I trust in justice and I believe that the truth will ultimately prevail in these two cases. And in the case that is currently dominating the headlines and the debate, which is the trial of the attorney general [Alvaro Garcia Ortiz, on trial for allegedly leaking confidential information] the government continues to believe in his innocence, even more so after everything that has come to light.

Q. If the attorney general is ultimately convicted, will you still consider him innocent?

A. I insist, the government of Spain believes in the innocence of the attorney general and, after what has been heard and seen this week, even more so.

Q. But if he is convicted, will you still maintain that position?

A. I respect your question, but I believe the truth will ultimately prevail. And the truth is that the attorney general is innocent.

Q. And if he is innocent yet he is in the dock, is it because the case has been politically exploited?

A. I leave that to your analysis, as well as to public opinion. But I insist, I believe I have been clear in stating that the government trusts in the innocence of the attorney general, especially after what we have seen this week.

Q. And would it not have been better for the process if he had resigned from the position to avoid the contradiction of the prosecutor in the case being his own subordinate?

A. That would mean that the presumption of innocence is not upheld. I honestly believe that the government has supported an innocent person with arguments and reasons, and that we trust in the justice system.

Q. You say you trust in the justice system, yet you filed a complaint against Judge Peinado and even went so far as to say in an interview that some judges are engaging in politics. Do you think these judges are being manipulated by the PP or Vox?

A. These cases affect family members, and therefore I have to be very scrupulous and respectful of these legal proceedings. Citizens are informed enough to know the difference. The only thing I want to emphasize is this: the moment these proceedings were initiated, I criticized the smear campaign that the right and far right have set in motion. And I did so because far-right pseudo-unions like Manos Limpias and Hazte Oir file complaints based on cuts, and what the opposition, the right and the far right, do is amplify them with statements, going on television programs and to digital tabloids to say that all of this is a scandal. Then they create ad hoc committees like the one in the Senate, where the goal isnt accountability, but rather the spread of misinformation. The strategy is to make noise to cover up the reality. This country is booming in economic terms, in job creation, in economic growth, and also, of course, in everything related to the legacies of the past, whether it be the territorial crisis or the social resistance to the counter-reforms implemented by the right. The Spain of 2025 is much better than the one I found in 2018. My theory is that we are witnessing a political and intellectual collapse of the center-right in Spain and in Europe. They have no project; they have become mired in noise, defamation, and the spread of misinformation.

Why did Koldo get so far? Thats a question youll have to ask Abalos

Q. And dont you think that the noise surrounding all these processes, which is heard on one side of the political spectrum, but also sometimes on the other, leads to a loss of public trust in the institutions?

A. Polarization is asymmetrical. Completely. I dont insult anybody, I dont threaten anyone. You havent heard me say that a leader of a political party should go to prison or be hung by their feet. In the last seven years, the Socialist Party has suffered more attacks on its municipal headquarters than any other political organization. We have over 200 of them recorded, if memory serves. And when we proposed in the Senate to condemn acts of vandalism against the headquarters of any political organization, the PP voted against it, with its absolute majority, claiming it was freedom of expression. And look, anti-politics breeds anti-politics. And the intellectual, political, and even stylistic whitewashing that the political right has carried out with the far right to justify its regional and municipal agreements with Vox is the ultimate explanation for why the far right is growing in our country. Look at what happened in the Valencia region following the biggest institutional crisis and the biggest catastrophe caused by the regional governments negligence [regional premier Carlos Mazon of the PP has decided to resign, a year after the devastating floods that killed 229 people]: the PP is not offering to give back their voice to the citizens of Valencia so that they can choose their own future, but rather is handing that capacity over to the far right and Abascal.

Q. And how are you personally handling the judicial investigation of your brother and your wife?

A. With confidence; I am convinced that everything will fall into place and that the truth will prevail. And I certainly have the conviction and determination that underhanded tactics cannot triumph. And those of the PP, Vox, and the right-wing media outlets should not be the future offered to the Spanish people.

Q. You have acknowledged that you once considered resigning because of your wifes case. What has happened to change this, and to make you consider running for re-election?

A. I am aware of the responsibility I have. The positive results of policies in Spain and in the European context, so heavily skewed towards the far right, make it clear that we need to continue consolidating social democratic policies. This has led me to reflect, not only with my party, but fundamentally with my family, who directly suffer the consequences of this commitment and responsibility, and to announce that I am indeed taking this step and that I will run for re-election in 2027.

Pedro Sanchez during his interview with EL PAIS. Carlos Rosillo

Q. And arent you afraid that the cases involving [former minister Jose Luis] Abalos and Cerdan, and what might be discovered in court, could end up affecting your plans to run in the 2027 elections?

A. First, lets see how this whole investigation ends. Second, the PSOE and I have taken responsibility for acting decisively and resolutely. We have cooperated with the justice system and, of course, we are implementing measures both internally and institutionally, with the Anti-Corruption Plan developed with the OECD.

Q. Doesnt the fact that two PSOE Organization Secretaries have had to resign consecutively due to serious judicial investigations support the theory that there may have been illegal financing in the party?

A. The data is there. We have explained it and shared it with the courts. I can guarantee to the public that there has been absolutely no irregular financing. The Socialist Party is financed through legal channels. In 2024, 75% of our income came from public subsidies and the remaining 25% from membership dues and the fees paid by senior officials. Where there was indeed irregular financing with a final court decision was in the PP.

Q. But how could someone like Koldo Garcia [a former adviser to ex-minister Abalos now under unvestigation over contracts for facemasks during the Covid-19 pandemic] get so far? Did no one tell you that this man was negotiating directly with regional presidents?

A. Well, thats a question youd have to ask Jose Luis Abalos, who was minister at the time. What I have seen, in the case of Angel Victor Torres [regional head of the Canary Islands from 2019 to 2023], is that it shows the Canary Islands government did everything legally at a time of maximum pressure, with all administrations searching for facemasks and ventilators.

Q. Do you still have confidence in Torres?

A. Without a doubt.

I had political confidence in Abalos. I was unaware of a personal aspect of his life that has caused me deep disappointment

Q. And do you understand why citizens might be shocked to hear those conversations between Koldo and Torres now coming to light, and wonder how a government can function like that?

A. Excuse me, a government doesnt work that way. For the peace of mind of the public, a government has many, many guarantees, both ex ante and ex post. Theres the State Comptrollers Office and the Court of Auditors. In all those contracts that are currently under investigation, the law has been followed. If there have been individuals who have committed illegal acts, as is being investigated in the case of Jose Luis Abalos and Koldo Garcia, then it will be up to the courts to determine those responsibilities. We, from a political point of view, unlike other parties, have acted decisively.

Q. The question many citizens are asking is why you kept Abalos on the electoral lists after dismissing him as minister.

A. Because peoples political careers dont end when their institutional or, in this case, party responsibilities end. Jose Luis Abalos was well-liked among the rank and file, and also among the party leadership. That was certainly acknowledged. But this isnt something that only happens in the Socialist Party. How many people in other organizations have previously been organizational secretaries or ministers, and have gone on to become senators, members of parliament, or members of the European Parliament?

Q. And in retrospect, was it a mistake?

A. From the point of view of political trust, it is clear that I had it in Jose Luis Abalos, but I was also unaware of a personal facet of his everyday life that, of course, has caused me a deep disappointment.

It is good to acknowledge the lights and shadows we have with Mexico in our history in order to understand each other better

Q. You have begun a diplomatic thaw with Mexico. What are the next steps? Would Spain be willing to apologize to the Indigenous peoples of Mexico, along with the president of Mexico?

A. We are at a moment in which diplomacy demands, even requires, a certain discretion. But I can guarantee that for Spain, normalizing our relations with a country we consider very close in every way is a priority. Furthermore, I have always conveyed to Mexican officials that the Spanish government, in this long, deep, and close historical relationship we share, has always emphasized the positive aspects. For example, during the Spanish Civil War, a Mexican president like Lazaro Cardenas sent ships to welcome and protect the exiles from that war. But indeed, our history has its lights and shadows, and it is good to acknowledge these lights and shadows in order to understand each other better and, therefore, continue building these relations on much more solid foundations.

Q. Your government didnt congratulate [Venezuelan opposition leader] Maria Corina Machado on her Nobel Peace Prize. This was viewed by some sectors as a sign of neutrality towards a regime that is in power through electoral fraud. Was it a mistake? Would you do it again?

A. I dont have a tradition or a habit of acknowledging the winners of Nobel Prizes, but Ill give you some figures. Compared to when Mariano Rajoy was prime minister [2011 to 2018], we have granted more than 200,000 permits for humanitarian reasons to reside in Spain. With Rajoy, it was less than 10,000.

Do we want to leave our young people a world armed to the teeth by spending 5% of GDP on defense?

Q. What do you think of Donald Trump? What is your relationship with him?

A. He is the president of the United States, and beyond our ideological and political differences, which are obvious and clear, what I want is to have the best possible relations from an institutional, economic, and social point of view. Many Spanish investments are contributing to the economic development of the United States.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez during the interview with the editor of EL PAIS, Jan Martinez Ahrens, and the newspaper's political correspondent, Carlos E. Cue. Carlos Rosillo

Q. At the NATO summit, you stood firm on 2.1% of GDP to meet Spains military obligations. Others signed on for 5%. Dont you think that 2.1% generates misgivings in countries that are closer to the war in Ukraine, like Poland or the Baltic states?

A. Those countries know that Spain is present. The deployment of Spanish armed forces on the eastern flank of Europe, and therefore involved in the protection of Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, Estonia... affected by Putins neo-imperialism, is the best proof that Spain is a reliable country from the perspective of the Atlantic Alliance and from the perspective of capabilities. I have a fundamental disagreement, which is that I believe the commitments of allies are not measured so much in terms of GDP, but in terms of capabilities, and Spain fully meets those capabilities.

Q. Does it make sense to spend 5% of GDP on defense when you dont even reach 5% on education?

A. What kind of world do we want to leave for our young people when they reach our age? A world where European countries allocate 5% of their budgets to defense? We need to do diplomatic work so that by 2035 we dont have a Europe armed to the teeth, but rather one of solidarity and a guarantor of international law. But we cant be naive either. The geopolitical reality is changing. If Europe wants to gain autonomy, we will have to increase our defense and security budgets. The opposition criticizes me for fulfilling a commitment I didnt make, a commitment that was finalized in 2014, which is 2% of GDP, and which I have implemented.

We are pragmatic about nuclear energy. If they guarantee safety and dont ask us to pay for it with taxes, we are willing to study the proposal

Q. Nuclear energy is gaining ground lately in the debate on emissions reduction. Are you in favor of extending the lifespan of nuclear power plants?

A. Spains commitment is to renewable energy. Its development has allowed us not only to grow and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but we have also managed to lower electricity prices by 50% compared to 2017. This makes us more competitive and helps us attract investment. What we need to do is change how electricity prices are determined at the European level. And then, regarding nuclear energy, the Spanish government does not have a dogmatic position at all, but a pragmatic one. What do I mean by that? I mean that if the owners of nuclear power plants guarantee the safety of the territories and the energy supply, and dont ask Spaniards to pay more taxes so they can make a profit, then we are willing to study their alternative, their proposal. But they have to meet these three requirements which, in my opinion, are pure common sense.

King Juan Carloss book is not one I will recommend. Democracy didnt fall from the sky; it was the fruit of the struggle of the Spanish people

Q. What do you think of whats coming out in Juan Carlos Is memoir? Should he return to Spain for his final years [he abdicated in favor of his son Felipe in 2014, and now lives in self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates]?

A. I havent read the book yet. But Ill also tell you that its not going to be one of the ones I recommend for Christmas, given what Ive seen. The current head of state is doing a commendable job. Ill answer some of the things that have surprised me, about who did or didnt usher in democracy. Democracy didnt fall from the sky; it was the fruit of the struggle of the Spanish people, of ordinary people, of the pedestrians of history, as [writer Manuel] Vazquez Montalban said.

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Saint-Laurent, QC (H4T1V6)

Today

Cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 13F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 13F. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph.
Following US President Donald Trump's claim that the American populace would receive a tariff "dividend" of at least $2,000 per person, treasury secretary Scott Bessent has offered more insights into how this could take place.

This comes amid a group of eight Democrats on Sunday night (local time) aiding Republicans in a 60-40 vote in the Senatethe first of many steps in a bid to end the 40-day government shutdown, which is said to be the longest in US history.

In an interview on Sunday (local time) with ABC News' 'This Week', Bessent explained that the Trump administration's dividend idea was part of a larger effort to "re-balance trade".

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent almost immediately walking back the obvious about Trumps $2,000 tariff dividend:



The $2,000 dividend could come in in lots of forms. It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing in the President's agenda



Oofpic.twitter.com/XF1CimsE3R  Zack Guzman  (@zGuz) November 9, 2025

"Tariff income will be substantial at the beginning. It will come down. And then domestic tax revenues will climb as corporate taxes go up and all of these high-paying jobs are created," he explained.

When asked how the $2,000 dividend would be distributed to Americans, Bessent said there was no formal proposal for the plan yet, as he had not yet discussed it with Trump.

However, Bessent also speculated that the $2,000 tariff dividends could be made available to the public by means of tax cuts.

This would exclude "high income people", as Trump clarified in a recent Truth Social post, though the US President did not offer further clarification on an upper limit.

"You know, it could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president's agenda. You know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security. Deductibility of auto loans. So, you know, those are substantial deductions that, you know, are being financed in the tax bill," Bessent said.

Trump's strong two-part reaction in favour of the blanket tariffs comes days after Supreme Court justices (including conservatives) questioned the legality and the need for the tariffs that he had said were necessary to restore America's manufacturing power and fix its trade deficits.

"The whole thing is ridiculous! Other Countries can Tariff us, but we cant Tariff them??? ... Businesses are pouring into the USA ONLY BECAUSE OF TARIFFS. HAS THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT NOT BEEN TOLD THIS??? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON???" he wrote in a Truth Social post after the Wednesday hearing.

Calling those against tariffs "fools" in another post, he went on to claim that the tariffs were raking in "trillions of dollars" that would be used to repay the country's debts.
When the Pakistan Navy arrived in Bangladesh for the first time in fifty years, PNS SAIF got the historic honour to be docked in Chittagong. It was the first warship from Islamabad to dock at Bangladesh since 1971  pushing open a long-shut corridor for military-to-military interaction between the two countries. It is also being viewed as Dhakas naval diversification strategy, reducing dependency on India and balancing its existing defence ties with China, Turkey, and the United States.

Pakistan Navy ship PNS SAIF commanded by Captain Shujaat Abbas Raja, arrived at Chattogram Port. The ship was warmly received on behalf of Commander Chattogram Naval Area.



This goodwill visit is expected to further strengthen the friendly relations between Bangladesh & Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/ajqCerieRP  Defense Technology of Bangladesh-DTB (@DefenseDtb) November 8, 2025

Pakistans Navy chief Admiral Naveed Ashraf on Sunday met Bangladeshs Army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman and held talks with his counterpart Admiral M Nazmul Hassan during his visit to bolster bilateral defence ties, according to an official statement.

The four-day visit came a day after a Pakistani naval ship, PNS SAIF, anchored off Bangladeshs main port in southeastern Chattogram for a four-day goodwill visit. Pakistan Navy said in a statement, "...the development is a coordinated engagement that underscored Islamabads commitment to strengthen longstanding ties and improve maritime collaboration with Bangladesh".

ALSO READ | From Pakistans ISI to Zakir Naik: How Bangladesh's new alliances threaten India's security

Here are five things to know about the Chinese-built PNS SAIF, which is often regarded as a beaming beacon of Sino-Pakistan friendship.

PNS SAIF is an F-22P frigate which was commissioned in 2010. Also called FFG-253, the Zulfiqar-class frigate is Chinese-built multi-mission guided missile frigates, in service with the Pakistan Navy. PNS SAIF was the third ever F-22P frigate that Beijing handed over to Pakistan.

Built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard Co. in Shanghai, PNS SAIF was delivered ahead of schedule by China, Pakistani media reports dating back to 2010 said. During its commissioning, the then Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Noman Bashir had declared that Pakistan was prepared to counter forces challenging its sovereignty, regional peace and security, and that it would continue its relationship with China in all fields, particularly defence. "The present geopolitical situation demands further strengthening of our relations, and I assure you that Pakistan is deeply committed to achieving our shared objectives," multiple media reports had quoted him as saying.

PN Ships NASR & SAIF arrived at Malaysian port of Langkawi to participate in Langkawi Intl Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition 2017 pic.twitter.com/iYwIoqKNmz  Pakistan Navy (@PakistanNavy) March 21, 2017

According to a report by Content Delivery Network (CDN) for the website Turkiye Defence News (TURDEF), the Zulfiqar-class frigates are equipped with a 76-millimetre AK-176 main gun and two H/PJ-12 30-millimetre close-in weapon systems. The guided-missile power of the frigates consists of one HQ-7 surface-to-air missile with eight launchers and two C-802 surface-to-surface guided missiles with four launchers. The ships also have two triple ET-52C torpedo tubes and two six-launcher RDC-32 antisubmarine warfare rockets. Based on the Chinese Jiangwei class frigates, the F-22Ps are armed with eight Chinese C-802 surface-to-surface missiles (SSMs) and an upgraded version of the LY-60N short-range theatre defence missile. They are also equipped to operate an ASW-capable Z-9EC helicopter (helipad infrastructure suitable for operating a 10-ton class helicopter).

"Over the years, PNS SAIF has undergone electronic warfare enhancements and integration upgrades to support Pakistans indigenous naval missile ecosystem, including the Harbah cruise missile family, potentially giving the ship land-attack capability in future iterations," Defence Security Asia said in a report. According to information available on Wikipedia, PNS SAIF has a standard displacement of 2,500 tonnes, increasing to 3,144 tonnes when fully loaded. The ship measures 123.2 metres (404 feet 2 inches) in length, with a beam (width) of 13.8 metres (45 feet 3 inches) and a draught (depth below water) of 3.76 metres (12 feet 4 inches). Its CODAD (Combined Diesel and Diesel) propulsion system allows for a maximum speed of 29 knots (54 km/h) and gives it an operational range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 km).
Throughout Pakistans history, very few legislative measures would have so much sweeping impact as the 27th Constitutional Amendment introduced in the Senate on Saturday, and promptly approved by a joint sitting of Pakistans parliamentary law and justice committees on Sunday.

The bill completely legitimises the absolute rule of Pakistan by Field Marshal Asim Munir, while the political executive, parliament and the judiciary remain passive bystanders. Munir already heads the Pakistani army.

The amendment mainly brings about changes in Article 243 of the Pakistan Constitution, creating the post of the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and subordinating all elements of Pakistani military architecture to it.

Not just the military, the bill considerably undermines civilian control and oversight. It also proposes the setting up of a Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), which will substantially reduce the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court by handling the interpretation of the Constitution.

Besides ensuring total control over policy, finance, internal security, and strategic affairs, the newly-appointed CDF will also head the Strategic Plans Division (SPD), ensuring his control over the nuclear arsenal.

What was once the charter of the PM-chaired National Command Authority (NCA), where the Pakistan President, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCSC), service chiefs, and ministers of defence, interior, and finance, and the director-general of the SPD were members, will now be the sole mandate of the CDF.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), as of January 2025, Pakistan possesses about 170 nuclear warheads that can be delivered through a triad of land, air and sea.

The DG, SPD, who headed the NCA secretariat, will now report directly to the CDF.

Not just the SPD, a myriad of military institutions have been brought under the Army Chief, who is also the CDF. These institutions are Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR)both raised under the Joint Staff Headquarters (JSHQ)Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Air Force, PMC (Pak Marine Corps), Cyber Command, Aerospace Command, and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), among others.

Eventually, for long operating in the shadows, the Army has come out of controlling from the shadows and set to govern with legal sanction. That makes Pakistan a military dictatorship in the offing.
The deal is only the first step to ending the longest partial closure ever and sets off a crisis within the Democrats, who have yet to secure a commitment on health subsidies

Thirty-nine days and 20 hours had passed since the start of the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history when the spark of an agreement ignited in the Capitol. It was around 7:00 p.m. on Sunday when the first reports arrived that Democrats and Republicans had reached a preliminary understanding in the Senate to reopen the flow of federal funding, which had been cut off since October 1.

After 14 failed votes, a new proposal  presented hours earlier by Senate Republicans, led by John Thune  managed to convince eight Democratic senators, among them the negotiators Tim Kaine (Virginia), Angus King (Maine), and Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire). With their support, the conservative bloc (which holds 53 seats, plus one dissident, the veteran Rand Paul of Kentucky) reached the 60 votes required to achieve the qualified majority demanded by the Senates filibuster rules to pass major decisions  such as budgetary ones.

This agreement does not mark the definitive end of the shutdown, which this time has suspended the food stamp program for millions of people in need, pushed thousands of federal workers  deprived of their pay  into food lines, and caused chaos in airports across the country. It is rather the beginning of the end of the shutdown.

There were still three extraordinary votes to be held in the Senate before the end of a day that would normally be one of rest on Capitol Hill, but which made an exception on Sunday due to the circumstances. After that, the pact will move to the House of Representatives for ratification and then to U.S. President Donald Trump for his signature. That process could take several days.

The agreement, whose details remain somewhat unclear, guarantees federal government funding until January 30. Then, if the discord between both parties persists, the fight could return to square one and trigger a new shutdown.

The budget proposal includes a provision that Democrats had sought: the reinstatement of federal employees dismissed during the shutdown, along with a guarantee that there will be no more mass layoffs until the end of January. It also eliminates Trumps earlier threat that federal workers would not receive, as is customary, retroactive pay for the wages they missed during these 40 days. In addition, it funds the food stamp program through the end of 2026.

Left out, however, is the Democrats major goal: preventing the expiration at years end of the Affordable Care Act, the health subsidy program created during the pandemic as part of the law known as Obamacare. Sundays deal only includes the Republicans commitment to hold a separate vote in Congress on that issue  a vote that, given the current balance of power, is highly unlikely to pass.

Trump versus the insurers

Trumps stance on the ACA hasnt helped. Over the weekend, the U.S. president proposed on his social network, Truth Social, that the ideal solution would be to give Obamacare money directly to citizens, bypassing what he called money sucking insurance companies. In recent days, Trump has also been especially insistent that his allies in the Senate eliminate the filibuster. In the end, that wasnt necessary.

On Friday, Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer presented his own proposal to reopen the flow of public spending. His condition was a one-year extension of ACA subsidies so that, from that point, negotiations could proceed with the government reopened  something Thune had been demanding for weeks.

We need Republicans to just say yes, Schumer urged. But they immediately replied no. On Sunday, in a Senate speech, the Democratic leader announced that he would not support the latest Republican proposal because it does not do enough to address the crisis in American healthcare. Because of Republicans, Americans are going to suffer immensely as this health care crisis gets worse, he said.

And make no mistake about it, the American people know who is inflicting this healthcare trauma on them: Donald Trump and the Republicans, Schumer added, predicting that Americans will remember Republican intransigence every time they make a sky-high payment on health insurance.

Five of the eight Democratic senators who ultimately decided to vote with the Republicans justified their decision in a joint press conference. This bill is not perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdowns hurt, said Durbin in a statement. The Democrats also argued that securing a separate vote on the ACA program would serve to expose Republicans before voters.

A screen showing numerous canceled and delayed flights at Atlanta Airport on Sunday. CONTACTO via Europa Press (CONTACTO via Europa Press)

The decision by these senators to break the unity their party had maintained over nearly 40 days has sparked yet another internal crisis in the party  one that comes just days after the brief joy of sweeping electoral victories in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and California last week. Those wins had been a shot of confidence, coming exactly one year after Kamala Harriss crushing defeat to Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

Everything suggests that the agreement was accelerated by the decision of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) early Friday morning to order the cancellation of hundreds of flights at the nations 40 main airports to cope with the air traffic overload caused by absences or resignations among controllers  federal employees affected by the government shutdown. On Sunday alone, more than 1,600 flights were canceled, and delays continued to mount on the third day of a measure with few precedents.

The administrative freeze has shut down or severely reduced the operations of dozens of federal agencies due to lack of funds. Nearly 13,000 air traffic controllers and thousands of airport security workers have not been paid since October 1. Many have decided to take leave to find other sources of income to cover household expenses.

Another consequence of the shutdown has been the battle between the Trump administration and Democrats  with interventions from a couple of federal judges and, ultimately, the Supreme Court  over the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), vital for 42 million Americans. The government fought tooth and nail to avoid paying benefits starting last week. This Sunday, it emerged that it had even ordered states to recover the money they had spent on food stamps during the judicial tug-of-war.

There are 750,000 federal employees suspended without pay, who feared that the ordeal might drag on until just before Thanksgiving (which this year falls on November 27). They followed Sundays news from the Capitol with understandable interest. Others  air traffic controllers among them  are considered essential and are required to continue working, but without pay.

Dozens of museums, monuments, and national parks have been forced to close their doors or operate without supervision or basic services such as trash collection. If Sundays tentative agreement holds, the government could reopen in the coming days  once they regain the public funding lost amid the feud between Democrats and Republicans.

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In 2023, Finnish filmmaker Jalmari Helander, who directed the R-rated action thriller Sisu, said that if the film were successful, he would consider making a sequel. We are finally getting one, three years later. Helander quietly worked on the follow-up, titled Sisu: Road to Revenge, which arrives in Indian theatres on November 21.

Actor Jorma Tommila, who plays the seemingly invincible human protagonist who eliminates enemies with the same efficiency as Sylvester Stallone's John Rambo, is reprising his character, Aatami Korpi.

Helander praised Tommila for his "relentless, almost machine-like intensity and energy" he brings to the table.

Its always a pleasure to work with Jorma because he is uniquely capable of creating emotions, including rage and grief, with almost no dialogue. We experience what Aatami is feeling and thinking just by his face and gestures, Helander told IANS.

Elaborating further on the character, Tommila, who also wrote the film, calls him a family man" whose life was irrevocably altered by the war. "Hes lost everything and thus had nothing else to lose. But somehow, when we see him in this film, Aatami has found a new purpose in life and has, in some ways, overcome the horrors of war. Now, he thinks there may still be some kind of future for him.

In the sequel, Aatami will be pursued by Stephen Lang's Red Army commander responsible for the tragedy that devastated the former, while attempting to rebuild his life after the events of the first film.

The official logline: "After returning in 1946 to Soviet-occupied Karelia, where his family was brutally murdered during World War II, Aatami Korpi, the man who refuses to die, dismantles his old family house, loads it on a truck, and is determined to rebuild it somewhere safe in their honor. When the Red Army discovers Korpi's arrival on their soil, Igor Draganov, the man who killed his family, comes back hellbent on finishing the job: kill the legendary ex-soldier by any means necessary."

Sisu: Road to Revenge is produced by Mike Goodridge and Petri Jokiranta.

Interestingly, Helander is working on a Rambo prequel set before the events of the first film. It will be headlined by The Recruit actor Noah Centineo, set to portray the younger days of John Rambo and his military career. In an interview with Dexerto, Helander said his version won't be "as dark as the last two Rambo films. His take will be a "little more adventurous, with which he hopes to inspire a new generation of 10-year-olds to go into the forest to play Rambo."
In a historic and progressive move, the Karnataka government has approved one day of paid menstrual leave per month for all women employees across government and private sectors, making it the first state in India to institutionalise menstrual leave as a legal right rather than a company-specific policy.

The announcement has sparked widespread debate and reflection among working women across India, ranging from corporate professionals and factory workers to teachers, nurses, and daily wage earners.

While a handful of private companies such as Zomato, Swiggy, and Byjus had earlier introduced menstrual leave policies on their own, Karnatakas move marks a watershed moment in recognising menstrual health as a workplace issue rather than a personal inconvenience.

'One additional day of paid leave'

Under the new directive, women employees in both government and private organisations will be eligible for one additional day of paid leave each month, separate from their existing sick or casual leave quotas. The decision applies to all female employees regardless of designation or pay scale, and implementation guidelines will be issued soon.

This is not a privilege; its a matter of dignity and equality, say experts who've been championing this cause. We have to move beyond the stigma and recognise that women experience genuine physical discomfort and pain during menstruation. This policy is about empathy, not special treatment," says Kamayani Mahabal of Jan Swasthya Abhiyaan.

For many women, the decision has brought both relief and validation. Every month, I push myself through meetings and presentations even when I can barely sit upright because of cramps. Knowing I can now take a day off without guilt or judgment makes a huge difference, says Charu Khurrana, a creative professional from New Delhi.

In hospitals, we cant even sit down sometimes. A days break during those painful days will help us return to work more focused and rested, says Jemmy Joseph, a nurse from Bombay hospital in Mumbai.

Will it affect the hiring?

However, reactions are far from uniform. Some women worry that menstrual leave might inadvertently reinforce gender stereotypes and lead employers to view women as less dependable. My only fear is that this could backfire. Employers might think twice before hiring women if they see us as requiring extra leave, says a tech employee working at a private firm in Bengaluru.

Activists and gender rights groups have long advocated for menstrual leave as part of larger conversations on menstrual equity and workplace inclusion.

Policies like these break the silence around menstruation, say womens rights activists. For decades, menstruation has been treated as taboo, something women must hide or manage quietly. Karnatakas step forces institutions to acknowledge menstruation as a normal biological process that deserves accommodation, adds Swati Panchami, a student of Tata Institute of Social Sciences who studies gender rights.

However, experts caution that implementation will be key. Private sector enforcement is often patchy, and without clear accountability mechanisms, many companies might ignore or resist the directive, says a HR consultant from a well-known IT firm in Mumbai.

Globally, countries like Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, and Spain have already implemented versions of menstrual leave. Spain made headlines last year when it became the first European country to legalise paid menstrual leave.

In India, the Menstruation Benefit Bill introduced in Parliament in 2017 proposed two days of paid menstrual leave each month for all working womenbut it never became law. A similar move by Bihar in 1992 applied only to government employees, not to the private sector. Karnatakas decision therefore, represents a landmark shift from policy-level discussion to tangible implementation.

Flexibility and inclusivity

Some experts argue that the policy should remain flexible and inclusive. The next step is to ensure inclusivity for transgender and non-binary individuals who menstruate, and to normalise workplace conversations around menstrual health, say LGBTQI activists.

Others have suggested allowing the leave to be taken cumulatively or substituted with work-from-home options, particularly for women in physically demanding jobs or remote areas.

While opinions remain divided, Karnatakas move is undeniably significant in mainstreaming menstrual health as a public policy issue. This decision sends a powerful message that menstruation is not shameful, that womens bodies deserve rest when needed, and that equality also means recognising difference," says Mahabal. But at the same time, she also adds that, "while Karnatakas policy is a welcome step, a one-size-fits-all solution may not adequately address the diverse spectrum of menstrual experiences. A more nuanced strategy is essential to ensure flexible work arrangements, including options for remote work or adjustable hours, improved hygiene facilities within workplaces, sensitisation campaigns to reduce stigma and foster understanding and also an optional menstrual leave, allowing usage without mandatory disclosure."

As India grapples with issues of gender equity, workplace inclusivity, and health rights, Karnatakas policy may well mark the beginning of a broader cultural shift, from silence and stigma to sensitivity and support.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said senior police and security officials are at the Red Fort metro blast site and all "possibilities" are being probed. Shah visited the blast site and the injured persons at the hospital.

Reacting on the developments, Union Home Minister Shah said, "A blast occurred in a Hyundai i20 car at the Subhash Marg traffic signal near the Red Fort in Delhi. The blast injured some pedestrians and damaged some vehicles."

Shah said senior police officials rushed to the spot soon after they received information of the incident. "Within 10 minutes of receiving the information of the blast, teams from the Delhi Crime Branch and Delhi Special Branch arrived at the spot. The NSG and NIA teams, along with the forensic experts, have now begun a thorough investigation. Orders have been given to examine all nearby CCTV cameras. I have also spoken to the Delhi police commissioner and the Special Branch in-charge," he added.

#WATCH | Delhi: Blast near Red Fort Metro Station | Union Home Minister Amit Shah holds a meeting with Delhi Police CP Satish Golcha and other officials as he arrives at Lok Nayak Hospital. pic.twitter.com/xONGyu4qCF  ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2025

"We are exploring all possibilities and will conduct a thorough investigation, taking all possibilities into account. All options will be investigated immediately, and we will present the results to the public," the Union home minister said.

A high-intensity blast rocked the national capital on Monday evening. As many as 24 people suffered injuries in the blast, and the death toll has touched eight. Several state police forces including Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala have intensified security measures in respective states.
Aam Aadmi Party chief and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal condoled the deaths in the tragic Delhi Red Fort Metro blast and said the news was "extremely alarming".

Condemning the incident, Kejriwal said in a post on X, "The news of the explosion near the Red Fort is extremely alarming. It is reported that some people have also lost their lives in it, which is extremely tragic."

Kejriwal sought a thorough probe into the matter and urged authorities to investigate the possibility of a larger conspiracy behind the blast. "The police and government should immediately investigate how this explosion occurred and whether there is any larger conspiracy behind it." However, the AAP leader also launched cryptic criticism against the Centre over the attack: "Negligence regarding Delhi's security cannot be tolerated," he said.

A high-intensity blast rocked Delhi on Monday evening, resulting in the death of 13 people. Over 20 people suffered injuries in the blast, and they are undergoing treatment at the LNJP Hospital, Delhi. The blast occurred around 6.52pm near the Red Fort traffic signal, police said. According to Delhi police, an i20 car moved slowly as it approached the signal, and there were occupants inside the vehicle when the blast occurred.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said all "possibilities" are being probed, and senior police officials are probing the incident. Earlier, the Union minister visited the blast site and the injured persons at the hospital, and inquired about their well-being. In a tweet after visiting the victims, Shah said, "Top agencies are investigating the incident with full intensity, and will go in-depth into the incident."

Sleuths from the National Security Guards, National Investigation Agency and the forensic department have rushed to the spot, and they are investigating. According to the Delhi Fire Department, six cars, two rickshaws and one autorickshaw were gutted in the fire.

The blast comes hours after security forces from Jammu and Kashmir uncovered a white collar terror module involving the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Forces have arrested eight people, including three doctors, and have seized 2,900 kilos of explosives and ammunition.
After a high-intensity blast ripped through a car near the Red Fort in Delhi on Monday evening, gutting several vehicles and killing over 10 people, there has been calls on social media for 'Operation Sindoor 2.0'.

It is to be noted that no government sources confirmed that this is a terror attack.

However, many on social media demanded that if Pakistan is involved in the incident, it is time to start 'Operation Sindoor 2.0'.

If #CarBlast near #RedFort turns out to be remotely a Terrorist attack then i would actually want a full clean up within cutting total terror infrastructure and support within than Operation Sindoor 2.0. No terror attack can ever happen without internal support. #DelhiBlast pic.twitter.com/3UjBbTHuYs  Ganesh (@me_ganesh14) November 10, 2025

It's time government should start Operation Sindoor 2.0, said a user.

Unpopular opinion:



This is the right time to resume Operation Sindoor 2.0.



Precaution is better than cure.  Akshit Singh  (@IndianSinghh) November 10, 2025

Prevention is better than cure, said another, calling for another operation against Pakistan.

Curiously, the tweet "If Pakistan is involved in this, then enough is enough, @narendramodi Ji . We cant talk sense into them when terrorism is in their DNA. Delete Pakistan from the worlds map completely. Start Operation sindoor 2.0 start now," has been copy pasted by many X handles.

If Pakistan is involved in this, then enough is enough, @narendramodi Ji . We cant talk sense into them when terrorism is in their DNA. Delete Pakistan from the worlds map completely. Start Operation sindoor 2.0 start now #RedFort pic.twitter.com/c5fF2OqGdL  Yash Mishra (@YashInnerCosmos) November 10, 2025

Another wrote: "If #CarBlast near #RedFort turns out to be remotely a Terrorist attack then i would actually want a full clean up within cutting total terror infrastructure and support within than Operation Sindoor 2.0."

Now the country needs Operation Sindoor 2.0 as soon as possible, wrote another.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday condoled the deaths of victims in the Delhi Red Fort blast and wished speedy recovery for the injured.

Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi earlier this evening. May the injured recover at the earliest. Those affected are being assisted by authorities. Reviewed the situation with Home Minister Amit Shah Ji and other officials, the PM posted on X.

Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi earlier this evening. May the injured recover at the earliest. Those affected are being assisted by authorities. Reviewed the situation with Home Minister Amit Shah Ji and other officials.@AmitShah  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 10, 2025

This comes after Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the Delhi police chief and the director of the Intelligence Bureau to take stock of the situation. He visited the LNJP Hospital where the at least 24 of the injured were admitted. At least eight people have lost their lives in the blast.

Shah has directed the chiefs of the National Security Guard (NSG), National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other agencies to send expert teams to the blast site.

Delhi car blast | At least 8 dead and several injured after an explosion outside Red Fort Metro Station



Delhi is on high alert after a car exploded near the Red Fort metro station in the national capital. About three to four adjacent cars caught fire in the blast, and pic.twitter.com/tmuZXEKMio  THE WEEK (@TheWeekLive) November 10, 2025

Earlier in the evening, Delhi Police commissioner Satish Golcha said the blast took place in a slow-moving vehicle near the Red Fort traffic signal. The car was later identified as a Hyundai i10, which had two to three occupants when the explosion occurred.

Extremely distressing to hear about the news of a car explosion near Red Fort Metro Station, Delhi. Initial reports suggest that several precious lives have been lost in this incident.



In this moment of grief, our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families, and we pray  Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) November 10, 2025

The Congress termed the blast as "extremely distressing", seeking a thorough and speedy investigation. The party, however, said the country stands united in this difficult moment.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Extremely distressing to hear about the news of a car explosion near Red Fort Metro Station, Delhi. Initial reports suggest that several precious lives have been lost in this incident. In this moment of grief, our thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families, and we pray for the swift recovery of the injured."

"The government must ensure a prompt and thorough investigation into this blast which has taken in a high security and often crowded place, so that those responsible for this lapse and incident are held accountable," he added.

Calling the deaths extremely heartbreaking, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said the report of the deaths of several innocent people in this tragic incident is very painful.

In this hour of grief, I stand with the bereaved families who have lost their loved ones and express my deepest condolences to them. I hope for the swift recovery of all the injured," he said in an X post.
Hours after the high-intensity blast that rocked the Gate 1 of the Red Fort metro station in Chandni Chowk, Delhi police revealed that the Hyundai i20 car inside which the blast occurred is registered in Haryana.

The car was previously registered in the name of one Mohammad Salman from Gurugram who sold the vehicle to one Devender in Delhi's Okhla around one-and-a-half years ago, said reports. Devender was also questioned by police to trace the chain of ownership.

#WATCH | Several agencies, including NSG, Delhi Police, FSL and others carry out investigation at the spot where the blast took place in a Hyundai i20 car today at around 7 pm.



Due to the blast, eight people have died so far. pic.twitter.com/QshaHfeMbv  ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2025

A report by CNN News 18 claimed that the car was later sold to one Nadeem Khan from whom it was purchased by one Tariq from Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir.

Forensic probe has suggested that the explosion might not have been caused by IED as no shrapnel has been recovered nor were any craters found at the blast site.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said it is difficult to say what caused the blast. Until the samples recovered from the blast site are analysed by forensics and NSG, we can't say anything. But we are not ruling out anything and investigating all angles, he added.

#WATCH | Delhi: The NSG team, along with a sniffer dog, present at the spot in Delhi where the blast took place in a Hyundai i20 car today at around 7 pm.



Due to the blast, eight people have died so far. pic.twitter.com/eRRuI0q0bZ  ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2025

Interestingly, the blast comes hours after another Haryana-registered Swift Dzire was seized from Faridabad after Jammu and Kashmir police recovered one AK Krinkov rifle with three magazines, a pistol with live rounds, two empty cartridges, and two additional magazines from the vehicle. The car belonged to Dr Shaheen Shahid, a resident of Lal Bagh, Lucknow.

The Swift Dzire seized from Faridabad was in possession of Dr Muzammil Shakil, 35, who hails from Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir Police also recovered 14 bags of ammonium nitrate, 84 live cartridges, one AK-47 rifle, timers, and 5 litres of chemical solution from Dr Muzammil's rented home in Faridabad.
The high-intensity blast in Delhi has put the nation on alert, with state police forces beefing up security in their respective states. As many as eight people have died in the powerful explosion near the Red Fort metro station in the national capital, and the health condition of three people are critical.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke with the Delhi Police Commissioner and took stock of the situation. Sleuths from the National Security Guards, National Investigation Agency and the forensic department have rushed to the spot. Shah also spoke with the Intelligence Bureau chief and discussed the security situation.

As per reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke with Home Minister Amit Shah. Delhi Police chief Satish Golcha said he has briefed the Union minister about the incident. Golcha said, "The explosion happened in a slow-moving vehicle near the Red Fort traffic signal around 6.52pm, and occupants were present inside the vehicle.

According to reports, 24 people suffered injuries in the attack, and they were rushed to the hospital nearby. The Delhi Fire Department said they doused the fire soon after they received the call around 7.29pm, and the situation is under control now. According to the fire department, six cars, two rickshaws and one autorickshaw were gutted in the fire.

The blast comes hours after security forces from Jammu and Kashmir uncovered a white collar terror module involving the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind and spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Forces have arrested eight people, including three doctors, and have seized 2,900 kilos of explosives and ammunition.

Delhi police have enhanced surveillance at all border points connecting Delhi with Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Security has been stepped up in sensitive zones such as railway stations, and metro premises. A senior officer told PTI that all district units, including the Special Cell and Crime Branch, have been put on alert, and teams have been directed to conduct random checks of vehicles and lodges near the Delhi-Haryana border.

In Maharashtra, a "precautionary alert" has been issued by police. "All the unit commanders at the district level in Maharashtra and commissioners of cities have been instructed to remain alert to avoid any untoward incidents", a police official said.

According to ANI, Kerala Police Chief Ravada Azad Chandrasekhar has directed the police to strengthen security across the state.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, after receiving information about the incident, has given instructions to keep the entire police force in Uttar Pradesh on high alert and ensure intensive checking and security arrangements.
About 350 kilograms of ammonium nitrate, along with other ammunition, were recovered from Faridabad near Delhi after a tip-off from an arrested doctor who had terror links. The recovery by the Jammu and Kashmir police on Sunday has been described as one of the largest seizures of explosives linked to the region in recent years.

Ammonium nitrate is an odourless, white crystalline chemical that can trigger explosions when exposed to intense heat.

#WATCH | Haryana | 360 kg of possible ammonium nitrate, assault rifle and other ammunition recovered by J&K Police during investigation in Faridabad.



Visuals from Fatehpur Taga in Faridabad where a search operation by Haryana Police is underway. This is about 4 km away from the pic.twitter.com/BJFdJitlwP  ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2025

The material famously caused the massive warehouse explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, in 2020, which killed at least 1000 people after 2,750 tonnes of it were stored at a port without safety measures.

Mixed with other substances, it can be used to make bombs.

Sources said that if the amount recovered was mixed with other substances, it could create a blast that would have a radius of 50 to 100 metres. A third of the area would be destroyed. It would also cause damage to structures that are within 120 metres of the explosion.

What exactly is ammonium nitrate?

Ammonium nitrate is a salt of ammonia, NH3 and nitric acid, HNO3, making it NH4NO3.

Commercial, industrial ammonium nitrate is a major component of nitrogen-rich fertilisers. It is water-soluble and used as part of irrigation. It is also used in explosives for mining and quarrying.

The presence of nitric acid in the material makes it an oxidiser, which means it can contribute to the oxidation of other materials or oxidise itself.

However, the material is not explosive by itself, especially when it's stored safely, away from heat and contamination.

One way the material could explode is by being exposed to fire or a combustible substance during a fire. The accident in Lebanon occurred in this manner.

The other way is by combining it with another explosive substance, like fuel, for instance, which would turn it into a cheap bomb.

The 350 kilograms of the salt, when mixed with a fuel like diesel, could produce energy equivalent to 140 kilograms of TNT. An explosive device made with the material, if dropped in the middle of the city, could kill about 500 to 1000 people. The heat from the material would also create fires.

Earlier, the material found at the doctors residence was reported to be RDX, or hexogen, another explosive compound that is also white, odourless, and tasteless. RDX is more expensive and more widely used in the creation of explosives and is much more sensitive than ammonium nitrate. It can explode just with minimal sparks or force.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has launched a broadside against the Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka after a few purported videos surfaced on social media showing inmates of Bengalurus Parappanna Agrahara Jail receiving VVIP treatment.

Opposition leader R. Ashoka alleged that the state government has no control over law and order.

"The rapists, smugglers, and extremists in Parappana Agrahara prison are throwing all jail rules to the wind and enjoying unlimited fun with TV, mobile, internet, item songs, and more, he said.

BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra, too, hit out at the government and even accused senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of enabling terrorists inside the jail to create unrest across the nation.

Not only do Radical elements and ISIS operatives enjoy a free hand outside, but even the Prisons in Karnataka have been turned into Government-sponsored Recreation Clubs for terrorists!, he said.

Rahul Gandhi, who frequently travels abroad and seeks external interference in Indias internal matters - is he now enabling these terrorists and using their networks to create unrest across the nation and destabilise our democracy for artificial regime change with the help of the same foreign forces?, the BJP leader further asked.

Not only do Radical elements and ISIS operatives enjoy a free hand outside, but even the Prisons in Karnataka have been turned into Government-sponsored Recreation Clubs for terrorists!



Rahul Gandhi who frequently travels abroad & seeks external interference in Indias internal  Vijayendra Yediyurappa (@BYVijayendra) November 10, 2025

Meanwhile, Home Minister G. Parameshwara has convened a meeting of senior officials to review the situation and has also promised strict action against those involved in the incident.

The videos that have gone viral on social media showed a person supplying liquor, drugs and mobile phones to the inmates of Parappanna Agrahara Central Jail, also known as Bengaluru Central Jail, sparking a massive outrage.

Fresh videos of booze, partying and access to mobile phones emerge from Bengaluru Central Jail confirming a hand of support to this VVIP facilities for dreaded criminals in Karnataka under Congress state sponsored patronage



First we saw videos from Parapan Agrahara prison pic.twitter.com/hI9ZK5Skhn  Shehzad Jai Hind (Modi Ka Parivar) (@Shehzad_Ind) November 10, 2025

"The media has reported illegal activities in the jails in the state. We have taken it very seriously. Government will not tolerate it at any cost, Parameshwara said.

All the officers concerned and the head of the prisons are responsible. After making them in charge of the prisons, it is their duty to manage them properly.

The minister further noted that a few officers have been placed under suspension and an FIR has been filed against them in connection with the incident.

According to reports, those seen in the videos included Umesh Reddy, a serial killer on death row, and Tarun Raj, who was convicted in a gold smuggling case.

An ISIS operative brought from Dubai by the National Security Agency (NSA) was also seen in the video, an ANI report claimed.
Donald Trump is unhappy with the pace of deportations, which remain below his target of one million per year, so the administration is looking for ways to accelerate them. The latest proposal is a plan to hire bounty hunters to locate undocumented migrants, who could then be added to the deportation list.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is seeking private companies to find individuals targeted by the agency in exchange for payment, according to a document obtained by The Intercept. The agency says it is exploring the possibility of hiring bounty hunters and asks interested parties to submit proposals.

It is very dangerous, warned Latoya Macbean Pompy, a New York immigration attorney with a YouTube channel. This proposal would allow contractors to earn monetary bonuses based on how many immigrants they locate, turning human lives into numbers and incentivizing overreach, wrongful targeting and civil rights violations. [...] [It] could certainly include U.S. citizens, green card holders and documented and undocumented immigrants.

According to the document, companies contracted by ICE would be provided with information packages on 10,000 immigrants at a time for location purposes, increasing in increments of 10,000 until reaching one million. The bounty hunters task would be to verify that the addresses provided by ICE  home or work  are correct.

The vendor should prioritize the aliens residence, but failing that will attempt to verify place of employment, the document states.

If the information ICE has on file is incorrect, the contracted company must provide new location data to the government that can allow the government to easily locate the individual. This data could include addresses, phone numbers, place of employment, information about vehicles, property, and social media.

Additionally, contractors must provide ICE with photos and documents that verify the information submitted. The agency can either close the case or request that the contractors deliver documents to the migrants under investigation, which must be done in person with a signed receipt. Any adult residing at the address can receive the documents.

For surveillance and verification, the agency encourages bounty hunters to use all technological systems available on the market, including enhanced location research, which entails automated and manual real-time skip tracing. ICE already uses software programs to track the phones of targeted migrants.

ICE plans to offer incentives, including monetary bonuses based on performance, to encourage fast results. For example, contractors could receive a bonus for identifying the correct address on the first attempt or for locating 90% of their targets within a set timeframe.

Pressure to increase deportations

The immigration agency made its urgency clear in the leaked document: ICE has an immediate need for skip tracing and process serving services, the request states. Interested parties were required to submit their proposals by November 6. ICE has not responded to EL PAISs request for information on how many companies submitted bids.

The government has reported that around 400,000 people have been deported this year and plans to end the fiscal year with 600,000 expulsions (although these numbers also include people denied entry at the border). This figure is still below the one-million target, set as the goal for achieving the largest deportation effort in history, a top priority for President Trump.

The way ICE agents have carried out arrests has led many detainees to claim that bounty hunters apprehended them, even when that was not the case. Immigration officials arrive at raid sites in unmarked vehicles, approach migrants with their faces covered, without uniforms, and do not present any identification.

They say theyre ICE agents, but were not sure. When we ask for their credentials, they dont show them to us, Rocio Treminio-Lopez, mayor of Brentwood, Maryland, told EL PAIS in a recent interview. In her view, the lack of training and professionalism among those claiming to be federal agents, evident in videos of arrests, shows that they are not working for ICE. Additionally, the vehicles used bear license plates from other states, such as Florida

Treminio-Lopezs municipality has been heavily affected by raids, and the Democratic mayor has called on the Maryland Assembly to regulate bounty-hunting activity. She complains that masked individuals detaining Latinos in her community rely on racial profiling, and recounts the case of a young U.S. citizen whom the unidentified agents tried to take into custody, and only avoided capture thanks to the opposition of local residents.

Authorities, however, have denied that there has been any collaboration between ICE and bounty hunters, at least so far.

Chuck Jordan, president of the International Bounty Hunter Union, an organization linked to the National Association of Fugitive Recovery Agents, acknowledged in a phone conversation that the lack of identification by agents causes confusion but denied that they are bounty hunters.

Bond and fugitive recovery agents have been arresting undocumented immigrants for decades, but its done within the framework of the bail bond industry, he said. We can arrest migrants who have fled after posting bail and return them to custody, if the company that paid the bail hires us. But we cant go out and randomly search for undocumented immigrants, like ICE does. Thats not legally permitted.

The type of contracts ICE is preparing would expand its role, but Jordan insists that detention is not part of it: Any reward ICE might be paying would be solely for information that anyone could provide. They are not asking bounty hunters to detain undocumented immigrants or paying for that service, he said.

The idea of having people outside ICE go out into the streets in search of migrants to detain, however, is not new. This year, at least three states considered legislative proposals to incentivize migrant hunting. Legislators in Missouri and Mississippi rejected a Republican initiative to pay $1,000 to citizens for each undocumented immigrant they captured. Arizona also had a proposal on the table to pay $2,500 to police for each migrant detained and subsequently deported.

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A controversy has erupted in Karnataka after a video showing a group of people offering namaz on the premises of Bengalurus Kempegowda International Airport went viral on social media.

Expressing strong objections to the act, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party asked whether Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and cabinet minister Priyank Kharge would approve of this.

According to reports, the individuals offered namaz at Terminal 2 were the relatives of passengers departing for Mecca.

"How is this even allowed inside the T2 Terminal of Bengaluru International Airport?, asked BJP spokesperson Vijay Prasad.

Sharing the video on X, Prasad questioned whether these individuals had obtained prior permission to offer namaz in a high-security airport zone.

How is this even allowed inside the T2 Terminal of Bengaluru International Airport?

Honble Chief Minister @siddaramaiah and Minister @PriyankKharge do you approve of this?



Did these individuals obtain prior permission to offer Namaz in a high-security airport zone?

Why is it pic.twitter.com/iwWK2rYWZa  Vijay Prasad (@vijayrpbjp) November 9, 2025

He further accused the government of double standards, referring to the objections it had raised against the Path Sanchalan (route march) organised by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Why is it that the government objects when the RSS conducts Patha Sanchalana after obtaining due permission from the concerned authorities, but turns a blind eye to such activities in a restricted public area? Does this not pose a serious security concern in such a sensitive zone?, he asked.

It was IT minister Priyanka Kharge, son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who urged the government to impose a ban on all RSS activities in government institutions and public premises across the state.

In a letter to the chief minister in October, Kharge claimed that the RSS has been conducting its shakhas in government and government-aided schools, as well as on public grounds.

Following his request, the government issued a GO that required private organisations to obtain prior permission before conducting any activities on government-owned premises.

The Karnataka High Court, however, has placed an interim stay on the order after a public interest litigation was filed against it.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee, during an administrative meeting in North Bengal on Monday, hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party with strong words, saying, You can cut my throat, but dont cut the name of a single genuine voter. Mamata also termed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) as 'super emergency' and said that the Election Commission of India(ECI) should stop the process.

You have kept officials busy intentionally so that they cant work for three months; this is a super emergency," said Mamata, who spoke in the backdrop of election officials being busy with election work and unable to carry out their function effectively, hampering the working of the state government.

17 deaths in 14 days in the name of Silent Invisible Rigging (SIR) in Bengal. In Delhi, citizens protest against toxic air.



The kind of stories the legacy media are too skittish to touch.



Am on Instagram: https://t.co/NxyzSAXQdp pic.twitter.com/5eveEyJvUz  Derek O'Brien |  ' (@derekobrienmp) November 10, 2025

I will stand by this, SIR should be stopped," added Mamata, who also said that SIR is a direct attempt to malign voters, and the EC should not take away the rights of people to vote. West Bengal goes to polls in the first half of 2026, and the SIR is being conducted in 12 states and Union territories, including poll-bound states like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala.

The West Bengal chief minister also questioned why no condolence message has been issued by the EC, despite people dying due to fear of SIR. TMC says there have been 17 deaths across the state in two weeks due to fears of SIR.

Banerjee lashed out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah, questioning what happened to infiltrators in Bihar, where the BJP is in power. As a home minister first, you should resign. Internal security, border, CRPF, BSF are your responsibility," said Mamata.

The TMC has been vocal against SIR, calling it a backdoor National Register of Citizens (NRC) orchestrated by the BJP. The SIR process began on November 4, and on the same day, Mamata and her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, had hit the streets and took out a protest rally against SIR. Abhishek is also about to take the fight all the way to Delhi.
Velan, a 50-year-old, a resident of Madurai Meenakshipuram, in Urappakkam panchayat on the outskirts of Chennai, on Monday searched for his name in the voter list online. On entering his EPIC number and the name of his assembly constituency, he found the name and contact number of the Booth Level Officer (BLO) assigned by the election commission.

He immediately called her up to locate her to collect the enumeration form and update his name in the draft rolls. But to his surprise, the officer on the other side said, Sir. I am confused. I am not able to find the address in the forms I have with me. I am at the Pillaiyar Temple. Come here and collect your form, the BLO said. Velan was completely shaken as he believed that the BLO would visit him door to door and give the enumeration forms to revise the voter list. I did not expect this. I have now asked all my neighbours to call the BLO and take the form in person. Following Velan, at least 50 residents from the Urappakkam Panchayat would have called the BLO and taken the enumeration form the same day.

Far away from Urappakkam, in T. Nagar assembly constituency in South Chennai, considered to be one of the strongholds of the DMK, the BLO seems to be steadfast, quick to answer phone calls. But here too, the BLO tells the voter to collect the enumeration form. You check the details in the form and keep it with you. I will take it from you in a day or two, he told Senthilnathan, a 78-year-old resident of Ashok Nagar.

I called him to check as there are four votes in my house. He answered the call and asked me to collect the enumeration form in person. I will collect it today, said Senthilnathan. But he is not sure if all his family members names are in the draft list.

Six days since the work on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) began in Tamil Nadu, confusions prevail on the ground with the voters trying to find their names in the voter list and fetch the contact numbers of their BLOs. I checked my name in the draft list. I didnt find it. I will register if the BLO comes to my house whenever I am at home. Otherwise, I will not vote. It is that simple, said 21-year old Susheel Rajarathinam, an engineering college student living in Thiruvanmiyur. He voted in the 2024 Parliament election for the first time as a resident of Adyar. Susheel had moved from Adyar to Thiruvanmiyur recently and is clueless how he can update his address and which part and series his vote will be. I checked the 2005 rolls. My name is missing from the list. I dont know how my fresh details can be verified now, says Susheel.

Chennai city alone has over 40 lakh voters, which has to be verified in a months time by the BLOs and updated to be published as the draft rolls by December 4, 2025, by the Election Commission of India. Many of the voters who voted in 2001 say their names can be traced in the 2005 draft roll list published by the ECI on its website. The 2005 draft roll is the key document used for cross verification to validate a voter for the SIR now. The ECI in its website has this provision to allow the people to verify their names in the older voter list. I checked. I dont see my name on the roll. I voted in every election from 2001 to 2024. I have shifted from Velachery to Thiruvanmiyur. I called the BLO. He is also clueless, said Radhika Santhanam, one of the residents near the Marundeeswarar temple in Thiruvanmiyur.

While the government has allowed multiple proofs for address and verification of the voter names in the 2005 rolls, the voters feel that most of their names may still get deleted. It is the discretion of the ECI official. Imagine if my BLO is not able to trace my address till the last date and I too doesnt reach out to her. She will remove my name from the list. This is obvious, contends Velan.

The BLOs are supposed to visit at least 500 houses a day in the area assigned to them. I am able to reach out to only 30 to 35 houses a day. How can I cover 500 houses? People have multiple questions and doubts, said one of the BLOs who did not want to be named.

Despite all these discrepancies on the ground, the ruling DMK and the opposition AIADMK are at loggerheads over the SIR. While the DMK is strongly opposing it, saying that it is one of the strong tools used by the BJP to curb the regional powers, the AIADMK is of the opinion that the DMK is opposing it because it fears that rigging will not possible if a fresh voter list is published. The DMK will launch a statewide protest on Tuesday opposing the SIR. The AIADMK has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to be impleaded in a plea filed by the Tamil Nadu government challenging the implementation of the SIR.
In a significant revelation with regard to the adulterated ghee used to make the ladoo offering at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirumala, a Uttarakhand-based dairy was said to have supplied 68 lakh kilograms of ghee to the temple, without procuring milk from any source. The dairy is said to have supplied ghee worth Rs 250 crore in this regard.

The CBI received the details of the fraud following the arrest of Ajay Kumar Sugandh, who supplied various chemicals such as monodiglycerides and acetic acid ester to Bhole Baba Organic Dairy. The dairy, operated by its promoters, Pomil Jain and Vipin Jain, won the contract from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam in 2019, and the practice continued till 2024, according to a report by The Times of India.

The company was disqualified and blacklisted in 2022, yet continued to supply fake ghee to the TTD by successfully bidding for contracts through other dairies, including Tirupati-based Vaishnavi Dairy, Uttar Pradesh-based Mal Ganga, and Tamil Nadu-based AR Dairy Foods.

It was in September 2024 that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Nair revealed that the previous Jagan Mohan Reddy government allowed the use of adulterated ghee to make the prasad in the temple. Tests revealed the ghee may have contained beef tallow, fish oil, and pig lard.

An investigation was launched, following which it was revealed that the adulterated ghee was being supplied by AR Dairy and Vaishanavy Dairy.

The probe report said four tankers of ghee supplied by AR Dairy were found to be adulterated with animal fat. The tankers were rejected by the Tirupati trust in July last year, but the Bhole Baba Dairy diverted these tankers to Vyshanavi Dairy, where the labels were changed and reprocessed, and sent back.
A day after 360 kg of explosives and weapons were seized from a rented house in Faridabad's Dhauj, a woman doctor from Lucknow was arrested over her alleged involvement with a terror module spread across Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Police said they recovered one AK Krinkov rifle with three magazines, a pistol with live rounds, two empty cartridges, and two additional magazines from a Haryana-registered Swift Dzire car belonging to Dr Shaheen Shahid.

Who is Dr Shaheen Shahid?

Dr Shaheen Shahid is a resident of Lal Bagh, Lucknow. After her arrest, Jammu and Kashmir police brought her to Srinagar by air for interrogation. The investigators are probing whether she transported the explosives by herself or provided logistical support. Her financial transactions and messages are also being examined to find out if she was aware of the terror module's plans.

#WATCH | Haryana | 360 kg of possible ammonium nitrate, assault rifle and other ammunition recovered by J&K Police during investigation in Faridabad.



Visuals from Fatehpur Taga in Faridabad where a search operation by Haryana Police is underway. This is about 4 km away from the pic.twitter.com/BJFdJitlwP  ANI (@ANI) November 10, 2025

The car seized from Faridabad was in the possession of Dr Muzammil Shakil, 35, a physician residing in Koil, Pulwama, who was arrested earlier for storing explosives. The operation was executed by the J&K Police and the IB team with assistance from the local police.

Earlier, the investigators searched several premises linked to Dr Muzammil and recovered about 14 bags of ammonium nitrate, 84 live cartridges, one AK-47 rifle, timers, and 5 litres of chemical solution. The explosives reportedly reached him around 10 days ago.

The module was busted after Kashmir-based Dr Adeel Ahmad Rather from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, was arrested for allegedly putting up posters supporting Jaish-e-Mohammed in Srinagar. Officials also said that they had already uncovered an AK-47 rifle and ammunition from a locker belonging to Dr Adeel at the Government Medical College in Anantnag.

Dr Adeel's interrogation revealed that a network of doctors had been radicalising recruits since 2021. Their handler was identified as Dr Omar aka Hashim from Srinagar. Several other medical professionals from the region are also under scrutiny for alleged involvement with groups like the Jaish-e-Mohammed and Ghazwat-ul-Hind.
The students of Panjab University continued to protest on Monday even after the Education ministry rescinded the order to restructure the university's senate and syndicate, its two governing bodies. The Chandigarh UT Police used canes to control the protesting students and others who joined the demonstrations.

The student demanded a poll schedule after the centre withdrew its earlier notification ordering the reconstitution and recomposition of the Universitys two governing bodies on November 7.

VIDEO | Chandigarh: Police resort to lathicharge to disperse protesting students at Panjab University who were demanding the conduct of senate elections.



Heavy police deployment continues around the campus after clashes broke out between students and security personnel. pic.twitter.com/oIRQhd4Qwa  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 10, 2025

Students under the banner 'Panjab University Bachao Morcha' called for a shutdown and refused to end the agitation to press the government to announce the senate election, which had not been held for over a year.

What were the changes proposed by the Education Ministry?

The original order to restructure the Panjab Universitys governing bodies  senate and syndicate  was made in an October 28 notification.

The ministry sought to downsize the senate and turn the syndicate into a nominated body instead of members being elected.

The original system from the 1947 act allowed for 85 ordinary fellows in the Senate. It would also comprise 32 elected members, 26 chancellors' nominees from persons of eminence, 15 members elected by registered graduates of the university, professors, and principals from among themselves, and two members of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. In total, it would have about 90 members.

The university's syndicate would be headed by the VC and comprises officials from Punjab and Chandigarh, along with 15 members who are elected by the faculty.

The changes proposed included downsizing the Senate to just 31 members. The number of ordinary fellows would be reduced to 24, which meant removing the election of members by registered graduates, the Chancellor nominating two eminent alumni, and a reduction of elected members of faculty to just 14. Chancellor's nominees from persons of eminence would be downsized to 6.

As for the syndicate, the notification added the Higher Education Secretary of the Education Ministry, and replaced the elected members with nominees of the VC.

The changes were proposed to reduce the lengthy processes in the elections. It was met with strong opposition from the Punjab government, including the Chief Minister, who said that it was unconstitutional to make such changes via a notification.

The notification was withdrawn after feedback and protests from students, teachers and former VCs.

Students who protested on Monday were joined by farmer leaders. They called for a 'PU Bandh' until the senate election schedule was announced. Authorities put up barricades around the campus and deployed buses, and set up checkpoints.

The agitation disrupted traffic in some parts of the state. Several students were also detained by police.
After more than a decade of waiting, Israel has officially received the remains of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, who was killed and taken by Hamas gunmen in an ambush in the Gaza Strip in August 2014. The Israeli military confirmed that Goldin, then 23, has been formally identified and will now be laid to rest. He leaves behind his parents, Simcha and Leah, a sister, two brothers, and his fiancee.

Goldins body was returned under the US-mediated truce agreement that began in mid-October, marking the end of more than two years of war between Israel and Gaza. Under the deal, Hamas delivered the last 20 surviving Israeli hostages and committed to handing over 28 sets of remains, including that of Goldin. His return, 4,118 days after the abduction, closes the longest-running hostage case since Israels 2007 withdrawal from Gaza.

Goldin was killed on August 1, 2014, just over an hour into a 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire during Operation Protective Edge. His unit, on patrol in the southern city of Rafah, was ambushed by Hamas fighters emerging from a tunnel. Two soldiers were killed, and Goldin was taken away. He became one of four Israelis held by Hamas for nearly a decadealongside the remains of Oron Shaul and two civilians suffering from mental illness, Avera Mengistu and Hisham alSayed.

Efforts to secure their return were stalled for years. Hamas demanded Israel free hundreds of prisonersmany convicted of deadly attacksin exchange for the captives. Successive Israeli governments refused, arguing the price was too high for fallen soldiers and mentally ill civilians. Colonel (ret.) Doron Hadar, who worked on Goldins case for years, later said negotiations never came close to a viable agreement.

The 2011 release of Staff Sergeant Gilad Shalit in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners perhaps influenced Hamass expectations. Among those freed in that deal were Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Rawhi Mushtaha, who would later lead the groups military operations and negotiations.

A painful dimension of the Goldin case was its low visibility within Israel. Unlike the massive public pressure that drove the Shalit campaign, the plight of Goldin, Shaul, Mengistu, and al-Sayed rarely stirred national mobilisation or government urgency. The Goldin family worked relentlessly to keep Hadars memory alive. His parents, Leah and Simcha, and his twin brother Tzur, established the Goldin Foundation and led frequent protests. In 2019, Simcha Goldin staged a demonstration outside the Knesset featuring an inflatable chicken to symbolise what he called government cowardice. In 2022, a march organised by the family from central Israel to the Gaza border drew fewer than a thousand participants.

The family accused Israeli leaders of moral failure for not exerting greater pressure on Hamas while allowing Gazan workers and reconstruction materials to enter Israel. A 2023 report by the Israeli State Comptroller seemed to validate their criticism, finding that the role of Israels chief hostage negotiator had never been formally defined.

The long-running stalemate also shaped Hamass strategic thinking. Hadar later argued that Israels inability to reach an agreement convinced Yahya Sinwar that Hamas could win major concessions only by capturing many more hostages. This reasoning must have influenced Hamas's strategy on October 7, 2023, when it abducted 251 people from Israel. The likely objective was to create maximum leverage to secure the release of senior prisoners and weaken Israeli morale.

Goldins case eventually became intertwined with the broader negotiations that followed those attacks. In January and February this year, the remains of Oron Shaul were recovered, and the two civilians, Mengistu and al-Sayed, were released along with other hostages taken on October 7. Hamas later announced that it had located Goldins body in a tunnel and transferred it to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The return was not without controversy. Reports suggested Hamas sought to condition the handover on safe passage for up to 200 Hamas operatives trapped in tunnels beneath Rafah. Although Israeli officials denied that the Benjamin Netanyahu government had approved any such arrangement, there are reports that US negotiators have asked Israel to permit the safe passage.

Hadar noted that Israel has now released most of the prisoners Hamas had sought for a decadeyet the exchange was achieved only after enormous bloodshed and under international mediation.

For the Goldin family, the return of Hadars remains after eleven years brings a measure of important closure and relief, allowing them at last to move on with their lives. His mother, Leah, described the long uncertainty as a knife constantly making new cuts. She said the fight to bring Hadar home reflected the sacrosanct pact between Israel and its soldiers. Hostages and Missing Families Forum spokesperson Lior Horev said Goldin and Shaul paid the price for Israels prolonged reluctance to confront Hamas more forcefully and its readiness to accept a temporary calm.

Notwithstanding the familys criticism and accusations, Netanyahu appeared to take credit for the recovery, saying that he had always kept the photographs of Shaul and Goldin in his office. We didnt give up on bringing him home, he said. I know the agony that his familys been through, I know the longing for his return that united the people of Israel, and today were united in bringing him finally to his parents, to his family, to a grave in Israel.
With the upcoming local body elections and the assembly polls in sight, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has completed his Gulf tour, which was seen as an outreach to woo expatriate Malayali voters. During the visit, the CM claimed that the state has surpassed the United States in the fields of healthcare and road development.

The tour, which began in Bahrain, continued through Oman and Qatar, and concluded in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. The visit was held as part of the 70th anniversary celebrations of Keralas formation, under the banner of Malayalotsavam, an event organised by the Malayalam Mission to bring together the diaspora from the state.

In his speeches, which lasted for more than two hours, the Chief Minister highlighted Keralas developmental achievements made possible through political and administrative continuity. Kerala ranks number one in India in areas such as social welfare, education, and business environment, he asserted.

If the infant mortality rate in the United States is 5.6, Keralas rate is only 5. In that aspect, Kerala has gone ahead of America, he claimed. He added that the state outperformed the US even in its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. While some of the worlds richest countries were shaken by the pandemic, Kerala had sufficient ICU facilities, hospital beds, and oxygen support in place, he said.

Referring to a visiting Malayali-American family, the Chief Minister remarked that they had praised Keralas roads, saying they were better than those in New York. He pointed out that Kerala stands out globally as a state without extreme poverty. Kerala offers the most conducive environment for starting industries and ranks number one in ease of doing business, he added.

Pinarayi also said that Gulf countries are keen to invest in Kerala and that his government aims to raise the standard of living in the state to match that of the middle class in developed nations. The ultimate goal is to build a Nava Keralam (means new Kerala), he emphasised.

During his Gulf tour, the Chief Minister also held meetings with leaders and officials of several Gulf nations.
India has signed the bilateral Hajj Agreement with Saudi Arabia ahead of the 2026 pilgrimage, thereby confirming that Indias quota for the pilgrimage will be 175,025.

Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who arrived at the Kingdom for an official visit from November 7 to 9, met Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al Rabiah, following which the pact was signed.

Both ministers also reviewed the ongoing Hajj preparations, discussed measures to enhance coordination and logistical support, and reaffirmed their shared commitment to further streamline the pilgrimage process for Indian pilgrims, an official statement read, adding that the discussions focused on improving facilities, transportation, accommodation, and health services to ensure a smooth and comfortable pilgrimage experience.

Rijiju also held an internal review meeting with officials of the Embassy of India, Riyadh, and the Consulate General of India, Jeddah, to assess the ongoing preparations for the pilgrimage season and undertook field visits to key Hajj and Umrah-related sites in Jeddah and Taif, including Terminal 1 and Haramain Station in Jeddah, to gain firsthand insight into the infrastructure and facilities available for pilgrims, the statement said.

He also interacted with some of the members of the Indian diaspora in Jeddah and Taif.
Contrary to the US claims that the recent military operations wiped out Irans firepower, the Islamic regime is preparing for another war, and it would only be a matter of time before the outbreak of the conflict, according to a report.

With the negotiations dead and Irans continued work to enrich the Uranium buried at the Pickaxe Mountain without the supervision of IAEA inspectors, the result is a dangerous stalemate, according to The New York Times. The report added that many in the Gulf believe another Israeli attack on Iran is inevitable. Iran is likely to respond to any Israeli attack in a far less restrained way than it did in June, Ali Vaez, the Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, told The NYT.

He added that Iranian officials have told him that missile factories were working 24 hours a day. If there is another war, they hope to fire 2,000 at once to overwhelm Israeli defenses, not 500 over 12 days as they did in June, he added.

Vaez said that there is no evidence that a new attack was imminent. Israel feels the job is unfinished and sees no reason not to resume the conflict, so Iran is doubling down on preparedness for the next round, he added.

The NYT also quoted another expert, who claimed that regional powers were working to preserve their relationship with Iran, though Iran has been considerably weakened. Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, believes the countries do not want another regional war. They respect Irans ability, however weakened, to create instability through its own military forces and through proxies in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, the Persian Gulf and elsewhere, she said.

That said, analysts are certain that Israel could strike again, considering the pace at which Iran was rebuilding its nuclear abilities. Israel wants to ensure that Irans nuclear program is contained, and they wont get it through negotiations, so I suspect the Israelis intend to strike again, H.A. Hellyer, a senior associate at the Center for American Progress in Washington and at Londons Royal United Services Institute, told The NYT. The Iranians are rebuilding, but once they are past a certain line, Israel will attack again.
Recently, the ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan made an announcement at the India Manufacturing show in Bangalore that could change everything: ISRO wants to hand over 50 per cent of PSLV rocket development work to private Indian companies. Yes, you read that right! Half the work of building India's most reliable rocket will soon be done by the private sector.

Why is this such a big deal? Well, think about it this way. For decades, ISRO has been India's pride, launching satellites, sending missions to Mars and the Moon, and making our country a space superpower. But ISRO cannot do everything alone. If India wants to launch 50 rockets per year instead of just 10 or 12which is Prime Minister Modi's ambitious targetthen private companies must step in and share the load.

Narayanan had said that Indian industries were already making 80 to 85 per cent of the systems used in ISRO missions. For instance, the PSLV rocket that ISRO plans to launch by February this financial year, 2025-2026, has been completely built by an Indian industry consortium for the very first time. Once they successfully complete two launches, ISRO will officially give them 50 per cent of all future PSLV development work.

The beauty of this decision lies in understanding what rocket technology really means. The PSLV, or Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, is India's workhorse rocket. It's the one that launched Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan missions. It's reliable, proven, and now fully understood by Indian industries. Unlike sensitive technologies like nuclear weapons or advanced military systems that countries guard jealously, rocket technology for satellites has matured enough that ISRO feels confident sharing it with private players, explained space analyst Girish Linganna.

With 50 per cent of the PSLV work being offloaded, ISRO will still oversee everything, but the actual manufacturing, assembly, and testing will increasingly happen in private factories across India. What about money and royalties? Narayanan mentioned that ISRO has already given SSLV technology to HAL through a Rs 511 crore agreement. This means HAL paid ISRO for the knowledge, designs, and technical know-how to build the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle.

It is like buying a franchise, you pay upfront, learn the recipe, and then you can cook it yourself. The plan is to build 16 SSLV rockets in private industries. This creates jobs, builds expertise, and makes India truly self-reliant in space technology, added Linganna.

Today, around 450 Indian industries work with ISRO, and after the government announced space sector reforms, the number of space startups exploded from just 3 or 4 to over 330. These young companies are designing satellites, making rocket components, and dreaming up innovative space solutions. ISRO and HCL have even developed a 32-bit Indian computer processor, reducing our dependence on foreign electronics. India now operates 56 satellites for communication, navigation, and Earth observation, and this number will triple or quadruple in the coming years.

ISRO's decision to share rocket-making with private industries is not about stepping back; it's about stepping up together. It's about trusting our own capabilities, building an ecosystem where government and private sector work hand-in-hand, and ensuring that India doesn't just participate in the global space race but leads it. From carrying rockets on bicycles to aiming for 50 launches a year, we've proven that when India dreams, it dreams big and then makes those dreams come true.
In an explosive allegation, a key aide of ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has claimed that the Clinton family and a top humanitarian agency of the US government were behind the 2024 uprising in the country.

In an interview to a Russian TV channel, Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury, the former shipping minister, claimed that Bangladeshs unwillingness to condemn Moscow over the Ukraine invasion was one of the reasons the US wanted to oust the prime minister.

The weeks-long violent protests, led by students, claimed over 700 lives and toppled Hasinas 15-year reign in Bangladesh. The Awami League leader fled the country in August 2024, paving the way for the formation of an interim government. Notably, Chowdhury was one of the key negotiators between the protesters and the authorities.

In his interview to Russia Today, the former minister alleged that the violent agitation was instigated by a few NGOs, including the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

"Certain actions of some NGOs, especially from the USI mean USAID, or the International Republican Institutewere running campaigns against our government since 2018," he said.

Chowdhury further alleged a nexus between the family of former US president Bill Clinton and his wife, former state secretary Hillary Clinton, and the head of the Bangladesh interim government, Muhammad Yunus.

"This relationship reflects a deeper attempt by the Clinton Foundation and Yunus to push for regime change under the guise of democracy and development," he said.

Referring to the UN resolution against Russia over the Ukraine invasion, the former minister said while many other countries in South Asia were slavishly following what was being dictated to them, Bangladesh had to carefully balance its international relations, given its long-term relations with Moscow.

There was a resolution that was brought in the UN. And there was intense lobbying for Bangladesh to vote against Russia. So our position was that we are going to abstain from voting, he said.

Chowdhurys remarks came days after Hasina, in an exclusive article in THE WEEK, accused the interim government, led by Yunus, of silencing the media, jailing her political allies, and intimidating minorities and opposition voices.

Bangladesh is now ruled by an unaccountable elite paying lip service to democracy while the country cries out for free and fair elections, she wrote, calling the present situation a betrayal of the peoples faith in the ballot.
Thirty-three years after the signing of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the Rio Earth Summit, and a decade since the landmark Paris Agreement, a global accord signed in 2015 by nearly 200 nations to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, the worlds nations have reconvened in Brazil to confront the widening gap between climate ambition and reality. This time, the city of Belem has become the epicenter of global climate diplomacy as the annual Conference of the Parties (COP), now in its 30th iteration, is being held there.

COP30 unfolds amid intensifying ecological urgency and geopolitical turbulence. Brazil, holding the rotating presidency, has chosen to return the summit to its symbolic roots, hosting it in the Amazon to spotlight the worlds forests, which remain under siege from logging, mining, agriculture, and fossil fuel extraction. The country has urged participants to focus not on new pledges, but on fulfilling past commitments, especially those made at COP28 to phase out fossil fuels.

Tropical forests forever facility

One of the most significant developments at COP30 is the launch of the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), a bold initiative led by Brazil to channel large-scale finance into forest conservation. Endorsed by 53 countries, including 34 tropical forest nations representing over 90 per cent of the worlds tropical forests, the TFFF aims to reward countries for preserving forest cover through performance-based payments verified by satellite monitoring.

The facility is structured around two pillars: a secretariat (TFFF) and an investment arm, the Tropical Forest Investment Fund (TFIF). The TFIF will invest sponsor contributions in sustainable assets, excluding fossil fuels and deforestation-linked sectors. Returns will be used to repay investors and fund conservation efforts, with at least 20 per cent earmarked for Indigenous peoples and local communities, recognising their vital role in forest stewardship.

Norway has pledged $3 billion over the next decade, while Brazil and Indonesia reaffirmed commitments of $1 billion each. France, China, and the UAE have expressed political support, though financial contributions remain pending. India, despite being a tropical forest nation, has yet to formally endorse the initiative.

Global positions: Shifting leadership and fractured consensus

Immediately upon taking office, President Donald Trump announced that the US would exit the landmark Paris Agreement, dismissing it as a costly burden on American industry and sovereignty. The withdrawal, scheduled to take effect in January 2026, marked a dramatic reversal of US climate leadership. In a speech that drew widespread condemnation at the United Nations General Assembly last month, Trump declared climate change the worlds greatest con job, accusing other nations of setting climate policies that have cost their countries fortunes.

This combative stance has shaped the US role, or lack thereof, at COP30 in Belem. Beyond its withdrawal from the Paris framework, the Trump administration has actively undermined international efforts to address environmental crises. Earlier this year, during negotiations for a global treaty to curb plastic pollution, US officials pressured other countries to reject proposals that would cap plastic production.

In October, the administration escalated its tactics by threatening visa restrictions and economic sanctions against nations supporting a UN shipping agency plan to impose a global carbon price on ocean freight. These threats led the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to postpone the decision by a year, stalling progress on regulating one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

In contrast, China and Brazil have stepped into the leadership vacuum, advocating for stronger climate finance and forest protection. The European Union, long a climate champion, faces internal discord. Despite ambitious CO-cutting policies, EU members failed to agree on a 2040 climate target until days before the summit. A compromise was reached to cut emissions 90 per cent from 1990 levels by 2040, though with flexibilities that may dilute its impact.

India, led by Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, has positioned itself as a voice for developing nations. At the pre-COP meeting in Brasilia, Yadav called for COP30 to be the COP of Adaptation, emphasising the need for predictable, grant-based funding for adaptation and loss and damage. India insists that new processes must not undermine the Paris Agreements framework and that trust can only be restored if developed nations honor their past commitments.

From Baku to Belem: The climate finance challenge

COP30 builds on the outcomes of COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, where negotiations yielded a pledge to mobilise $300 billion annually by 2035 for climate finance in developing nations. While a step forward, this figure remains far below the $1 trillion experts deem necessary. The Belem summit seeks to operationalise these commitments, with a focus on accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to renewables and delivering on the promises made in Baku.

Yet, the path is riddled with obstacles. Economic uncertainty, energy security concerns, and political resistance continue to hamper progress. Only a third of countries have submitted updated emission-reduction strategies ahead of COP30, despite expectations under the Paris Agreement. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has acknowledged that temporarily overshooting the 1.5C target now appears inevitable.

As COP30 progresses, the first week has seen negotiators laying out priorities and gauging positions. Themes are emerging, and countries and corporations are unveiling action plans and financial pledges. The second week will bring national ministers to the table to finalise decisions, with the two-day Leaders Summit setting the political tone. Brazils insistence on accountability over ambition has reframed the summits ethos. The emphasis is on realising past promises, protecting vulnerable ecosystems, and empowering communities on the frontlines of climate change.

Vaishali Basu Sharma is a security and economic affairs analyst.
Two top executives of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) resigned on Sunday following accusations of bias, including in the way it edited a speech by US President Donald Trump.

The resignations of Director General Tim Davie and the CEO of BBC News, Deborah Turness, came amid mounting pressure after an internal report by a former standards adviser cited failings in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war, transgender issues, and a speech by Trump.

Trump welcomed their departures, calling the duo very dishonest people.

The broadcaster faced immense criticism after its flagship Panorama programme edited together two parts of one of his speeches, so that he appeared to be encouraging the Capitol Hill riot of January 2021.

"Overall, the BBC is delivering well, but there have been some mistakes made and as Director-General I have to take ultimate responsibility," Davie said in a note sent to the staff on Sunday afternoon.

Turness, who also submitted her resignation, noted in a statement that the controversy around Trumps edited speech was causing damage to the broadcaster.

"In public life, leaders need to be fully accountable, and that is why I am stepping down. While mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong, she said.

 EXCLUSIVE: The BBC is accused of editing a Trump speech to make him seem to back the Capitol riot.



A whistleblower memo says Panorama completely misled viewers by cutting key lines



Watch @gordonrayners full breakdown  pic.twitter.com/A6nngI44Ll  The Telegraph (@Telegraph) November 3, 2025

The internal report, which was leaked to the Daily Telegraph, alleged that BBC Arabic had shown anti-Israel bias in its reporting of the war in Gaza.

It also claimed that an effort to cover a group campaigning for single-sex spaces had been suppressed by a small group of staff who saw it as hostile to the transgender community.

In its report about the resignations, the broadcaster admitted that it was unprecedented for both the director general and the head of BBC News to resign on the same day.

Davie has led the BBC since 2020, while Turness has been CEO of News and Current Affairs for the past three years.
As world leaders, negotiators, and climate experts gather in Belem, Brazil, for the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP30, the focus will remain on unmet targets, mounting global climate concerns, and the road ahead to mitigate them.

During the two-week conference, from November 10 to 21, the focus will remain as much on multilateralism and cooperation, marking a decade since the landmark Paris Agreement, adopted by 195 countries in 2015, from which the United States later withdrew unilaterally and without any repercussions.

Notably, Brazil, the host of this years negotiations, has said its primary goal is to strengthen the trust in this multilateral system, so as to enhance climate outcomes.

Along with strengthening multilateralism, the talks are expected to be focused on adaptation and enhancing implementation. Adaptation will be a key issue, said Bhupender Yadav, the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, at a briefing.

The focus is also expected to be on forests. Notably, Brazil, the home of the Amazon rainforest, has launched the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF).

The initiative incentivises global finance for the conservation of tropical forests by proposing that countries with tropical forests be paid annually to maintain their standing forest.

India has said it would join the TFFF as an Observer. Progress is also anticipated on the Global Goal on Adaptation, which aims to strengthen collective action and measurable outcomes in climate adaptation.

The developing nations will have their issues on hand, especially when it comes to climate financing and technology, areas that developed countries are obligated to support.

At the same time, India is expected to present its transition to renewable energy, an area it has been working on consistently. It might also present its NAP (National Adaptation Plan) and NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions), which arent directly linked to COP30, but India might use the platform to present these.

Notably, it hasnt released its NDC targets for 2035, which are mandated under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

With the United States out of the picture, China, another major emitter, is expected to play a more prominent role in the negotiations.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed the world figure who helped him restore his relations with US President Donald Trump after the public fallout during his first visit in February.

The Ukrainian President credited King Charles for playing a crucial behind-the-scenes role in encouraging Trump to support Ukraine more enthusiastically, after the public spat which saw Zelenskyy being kicked out of the White House. I dont know all the details, but I understand His Majesty sent some important signals to President Trump, Zelenskyy told The Guardian, about the meeting King Charles had with Trump during the latters state visit to the UK in September.

He said Trump respected the king and considered him to be very important, which the President thought was a genuine compliment, as it did not extend to many people.

His Majesty is very sensitive to our people. May be sensitive is not the right word. Hes very supportive, Ukraines president said about King Charles.

Zelenskyy: "I am not afraid of Trump. King Charles helped me build a relationship with Trump. During the state visit to the UK in September, Trump held a private meeting with the King. His Majesty sent several important signals to Trump. Of course, we would like the arrival of pic.twitter.com/ciqcKbw1Yc  Diana Panchenko  (@Panchenko_X) November 10, 2025

Trump has been very vocal about his likeness for the King, even suggesting an interesting nickname for Charles. I asked King Charles, Why dont we call you Charles the Conqueror? He said no. I dont think so. But hes a great guy, and hes doing a great job, an unbelievable job, he said during the state visit. Trump also said he planned to invite King Charles and Camilla to the United States next year.

He had also violated royal protocol several times, patting on the Kings back.

Trump didnt throw the map

In the interview, Zelenskyy also addressed media reports that Trump threw away the map of Ukraine while dismissing the possibility of a counterattack, during the second meeting in White House in October. "He didn't throw anything away. I'm sure of it," Zelensky. The Ukrainian president also described his relationship with the White House leader as " normal," "businesslike," and "constructive."

Earlier, there were reports that Trump rejected maps of the front lines in Ukraine and insisted that Zelensky hand over the entire Donetsk region to Putin. People familiar with the matter told the publication that the meeting repeatedly degenerated into "arguments," during which the US president " cursed constantly."
A 23-year-old student from Andhra Pradesh who recently graduated from a university in Texas, US, was found dead after suffering from a severe cough and chest pain for 2 days.

According to a GoFundMe campaign launched by her cousin, Rajyalakshmi Yarlagadda, also called Raji, graduated from Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi.

Yarlagadda was looking for a job to begin her career after graduating with her MS in computer science. Last week, she fell sick and suffered from a severe cough and chest pain for two to three days. Three days before her death, she told her family that she was experiencing a cold and fatigue.

Her cousin said that she did not wake up when her alarm rang on the morning of November 7.

On the GoFundMe page, her cousin Chaitanya YVK, who lives in Denton City, Texas, writes, She came to the USA with hopes of building a better future for her family, who rely on their small farmland. She was looking for a job to begin her professional career.

The exact cause of her death is unknown. Medical examinations of Yarlagaddas body are underway to determine the causes.

Yarlagaddas parents are farmers in Karmechedu village of Bapatla district, Andhra Pradesh.

In the fund page, the cousin writes, "Raji's family has always found strength and purpose in the small piece of farmland in their village. Their crops and animals are more than a source of income. Their youngest, Raji, carried a heart full of hope for the future, dreaming of helping her parents build a better tomorrow.... Her sudden death has left the family not only heartbroken but also facing financial hardship."

The aim of the campaign is to fund the student's funeral, transport her body back to India, repay student loans, and provide financial support to her parents.
Pacific Valley Bancorp (OTCMKTS:PVBK  Get Free Report) and Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB  Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

2.8% of Pacific Valley Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.7% of Prosperity Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of Prosperity Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

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Volatility and Risk

Pacific Valley Bancorp has a beta of 0.22, meaning that its share price is 78% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Prosperity Bancshares has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Pacific Valley Bancorp $30.26 million 1.73 $4.42 million $0.79 13.41 Prosperity Bancshares $1.19 billion 5.38 $479.39 million $5.61 12.03

This table compares Pacific Valley Bancorp and Prosperity Bancsharess revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Prosperity Bancshares has higher revenue and earnings than Pacific Valley Bancorp. Prosperity Bancshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Pacific Valley Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Pacific Valley Bancorp and Prosperity Bancshares net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Pacific Valley Bancorp 12.14% N/A N/A Prosperity Bancshares 30.28% 7.06% 1.37%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Pacific Valley Bancorp and Prosperity Bancshares, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Pacific Valley Bancorp 0 0 0 0 0.00 Prosperity Bancshares 0 6 11 0 2.65

Prosperity Bancshares has a consensus target price of $80.50, suggesting a potential upside of 19.26%. Given Prosperity Bancshares stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Prosperity Bancshares is more favorable than Pacific Valley Bancorp.

Summary

Prosperity Bancshares beats Pacific Valley Bancorp on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pacific Valley Bancorp

(Get Free Report)

Pacific Valley Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Pacific Valley Bank that provides various banking products and services in the United States. The company offers personal and business banking, including checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, and certificates of deposit; and online solutions, such as online and mobile banking, bill pay, remote deposit capture, positive pay, e-statements, and order checks. It also provides commercial or agriculture lines of credit, commercial or agriculture terms loans, commercial constructions loans, agriculture production lending, and government guaranteed loan programs; and debit card, incoming wire instructions, ATM locator, fraud prevention, identity theft, and FDIC insurance estimator services. The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Salinas, California.

About Prosperity Bancshares

(Get Free Report)

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; term loans and lines of credit; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery. In addition, it provides internet banking, mobile banking, trust and wealth management, retail brokerage, mortgage services, and treasury management, as well as debit and credit cards. The company was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

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Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Secom and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Secom $7.88 billion $713.52 million 20.21 Secom Competitors $4.59 billion $168.23 million 39.09

Secom has higher revenue and earnings than its peers. Secom is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

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Profitability

This table compares Secom and its peers net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Secom N/A N/A N/A Secom Competitors 2.40% -160.87% 1.73%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

Dividends

63.3% of shares of all BUSINESS SVCS companies are held by institutional investors. 14.9% of shares of all BUSINESS SVCS companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Secom pays an annual dividend of $0.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Secom pays out 26.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, BUSINESS SVCS companies pay a dividend yield of 1.7% and pay out 61.0% of their earnings in the form of a dividend.

Risk and Volatility

Secom has a beta of 0.41, indicating that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Secoms peers have a beta of 4.25, indicating that their average stock price is 325% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Secom peers beat Secom on 7 of the 11 factors compared.

Secom Company Profile

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SECOM CO., LTD., together with its subsidiaries, provides security services in Japan and internationally. The company operates through Security Services, Fire Protection Services, Medical Services, Insurance Services, Geospatial Information Services, BPO and ICT Services, and Other Services. The Security Services segment offers static guard, armored car, merchandise, and other services, as well as online security systems. The Fire Protection Services segment provides fire alarm systems, fire extinguishing systems, and maintenance services to office buildings, production facilities, tunnels, cultural properties, ships, and residences. The Medical Services segment offers home nursing, pharmaceutical dispensing, home delivery services, health and preventative care services, and personal and outpatient care services; and cloud-based medical reporting services and SECOM LINKus application. This segment also operates the general hospital and residences for seniors; and sells medical equipment and pharmaceuticals. The Insurance Services Segment provides fire insurance, automobile insurance, and cancer treatment insurance services. The Geospatial Information Services segment offers geospatial information services to public-sector entities, such as national and local governments; private sector customers; and overseas government agencies. The BPO and ICT Services segment provides contact centers and back office support services, data center, disaster preparedness, information security, and cloud-based services, as well as SaaS solutions. The Other Services segment offers real estate leasing, construction, and installation services. The company was incorporated in 1962 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

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Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM  Get Free Report) and Monarch Cement (OTCMKTS:MCEM  Get Free Report) are both construction companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings, dividends and risk.

Dividends

Martin Marietta Materials pays an annual dividend of $3.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Monarch Cement pays an annual dividend of $3.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Martin Marietta Materials pays out 17.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Monarch Cement pays out 20.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Martin Marietta Materials has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years.

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Profitability

This table compares Martin Marietta Materials and Monarch Cements net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Martin Marietta Materials 16.47% 11.88% 6.25% Monarch Cement 19.56% 12.31% 10.87%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

Risk and Volatility

95.0% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Martin Marietta Materials shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 26.0% of Monarch Cement shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Martin Marietta Materials has a beta of 1.06, suggesting that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Monarch Cement has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Martin Marietta Materials and Monarch Cements top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Martin Marietta Materials $6.90 billion 5.33 $2.00 billion $18.97 32.16 Monarch Cement $268.05 million 2.91 $66.05 million $16.07 13.26

Martin Marietta Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Monarch Cement. Monarch Cement is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Martin Marietta Materials, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Martin Marietta Materials and Monarch Cement, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Martin Marietta Materials 0 5 13 2 2.85 Monarch Cement 0 0 0 0 0.00

Martin Marietta Materials currently has a consensus price target of $632.88, indicating a potential upside of 3.74%. Given Martin Marietta Materials stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Martin Marietta Materials is more favorable than Monarch Cement.

Summary

Martin Marietta Materials beats Monarch Cement on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Martin Marietta Materials

(Get Free Report)

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc., a natural resource-based building materials company, supplies aggregates and heavy-side building materials to the construction industry in the United States and internationally. It offers crushed stone, sand, and gravel products; ready mixed concrete and asphalt; paving products and services; and Portland and specialty cement for use in the infrastructure projects, and nonresidential and residential construction markets, as well as in the railroad, agricultural, utility, and environmental industries. The company also produces magnesia-based chemicals products; dolomitic lime primarily to customers for steel production and soil stabilization; and cement treated materials. Its chemical products are used in flame retardants, wastewater treatment, pulp and paper production, and other environmental applications. The company was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

About Monarch Cement

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The Monarch Cement Company engages in the manufacture and sale of portland cement in the United States. The company also provides masonry cement, ready-mixed concrete, concrete products, and sundry building materials. It primarily serves contractors, ready-mixed concrete plants, concrete products plants, building materials dealers, and governmental agencies. The company sells its products principally in the State of Kansas, the State of Iowa, southeast Nebraska, western Missouri, northwest Arkansas, and northern Oklahoma. The Monarch Cement Company was founded in 1908 and is based in Humboldt, Kansas.

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Shares of M&G plc (LON:MNG  Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of Moderate Buy from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is GBX 280.33.

Several research firms have commented on MNG. Berenberg Bank upgraded M&G to a buy rating and increased their target price for the company from GBX 225 to GBX 342 in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of M&G from GBX 240 to GBX 265 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. UBS Group reiterated a buy rating and set a GBX 275 target price on shares of M&G in a research report on Friday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of M&G from GBX 305 to GBX 315 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of M&G from GBX 214 to GBX 260 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th.

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M&G Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of M&G stock opened at GBX 270 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of 6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -108.00, a P/E/G ratio of -2.76 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 218.70. The businesss 50 day moving average is GBX 258.46 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 250.20. M&G has a 12-month low of GBX 171.55 and a 12-month high of GBX 279.

M&G (LON:MNG  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The company reported GBX 10.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. M&G had a net margin of 1.85% and a return on equity of 4.31%. Equities research analysts predict that M&G will post 24.2485207 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

M&G Company Profile

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M&G plc is a leading savings and investments business, managing investments for both individuals and for large institutional investors, such as pension funds, around the world.

We have a single corporate identity, M&G plc, and two customer-facing brands: Prudential and M&G Investments. Prudential offers savings and insurance for customers in the UK and Europe and for asset management in South Africa.

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Shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB  Get Free Report) have received an average rating of Moderate Buy from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $96.00.

Several research firms recently weighed in on KTB. Weiss Ratings restated a hold (c+) rating on shares of Kontoor Brands in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BTIG Research restated a buy rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $114.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Kontoor Brands from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, September 11th.

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Kontoor Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Kontoor Brands stock opened at $72.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.27. Kontoor Brands has a 52 week low of $50.00 and a 52 week high of $96.80. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $80.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $853.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $879.10 million. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 63.21% and a net margin of 7.68%.Kontoor Brandss quarterly revenue was up 27.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. Kontoor Brands has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.500-5.500 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.640-1.640 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Kontoor Brands will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from Kontoor Brandss previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Kontoor Brandss payout ratio is currently 53.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kontoor Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands in the third quarter worth about $557,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 93.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 962 shares of the companys stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,606,199 shares of the companys stock valued at $207,897,000 after purchasing an additional 53,107 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 11.4% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 29,547 shares of the companys stock worth $2,357,000 after purchasing an additional 3,027 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 532.3% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 392 shares of the companys stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Kontoor Brands

(Get Free Report)

Kontoor Brands, Inc, a lifestyle apparel company, designs, produces, procures, markets, distributes, and licenses denim, apparel, footwear, and accessories, primarily under the Wrangler and Lee brands. The company operates through two segments: Wrangler and Lee. It licenses and sells apparel under the Rock & Republic brand name.

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Shares of Eldorado Gold Corporation (NYSE:EGO  Get Free Report) (TSE:ELD) have earned an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

A number of research firms have weighed in on EGO. National Bankshares reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of Eldorado Gold in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Eldorado Gold from $32.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an outperformer rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Eldorado Gold from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Eldorado Gold from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Eldorado Gold from $25.50 to $33.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Eldorado Gold Stock Performance

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EGO. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Eldorado Gold in the first quarter valued at approximately $374,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Eldorado Gold by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 278,300 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $5,669,000 after acquiring an additional 26,000 shares during the period. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd lifted its holdings in Eldorado Gold by 43.5% during the 1st quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 3,802,895 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $63,970,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152,909 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Eldorado Gold by 645.2% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 167,708 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $2,821,000 after purchasing an additional 145,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Eldorado Gold by 17.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,289,210 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $22,806,000 after purchasing an additional 193,586 shares during the period. 69.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

EGO opened at $26.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 0.49. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $27.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.05. Eldorado Gold has a 1 year low of $13.29 and a 1 year high of $30.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 3.23 and a quick ratio of 2.65.

Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO  Get Free Report) (TSE:ELD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.08). Eldorado Gold had a return on equity of 8.79% and a net margin of 26.07%.The firm had revenue of $436.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $422.25 million. Equities analysts expect that Eldorado Gold will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Eldorado Gold

(Get Free Report)

Eldorado Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the mining, exploration, development, and sale of mineral products primarily in Turkey, Canada, Greece, and Romania. The company primarily produces gold, as well as silver, lead, and zinc. It holds a 100% interest in the Kisladag and Efemcukuru mines located in Turkey; Lamaque complex located in Canada; and Olympias, Stratoni, Skouries, Perama Hill, and Sapes gold mines located in Greece, as well as the 80.5% interest in Certej development projects located in Romania.

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BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. decreased its holdings in Motorola Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:MSI  Free Report) by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,062 shares of the communications equipment providers stock after selling 494 shares during the period. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc.s holdings in Motorola Solutions were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFC Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. IFC Advisors LLC now owns 4,043 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $1,700,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Motorola Solutions by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 701 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. increased its holdings in Motorola Solutions by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 692 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in Motorola Solutions by 17.1% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 185 shares of the communications equipment providers stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Motorola Solutions by 5.1% during the second quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 557 shares of the communications equipment providers stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. 84.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MSI shares. Piper Sandler reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $465.00 target price (down previously from $495.00) on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Motorola Solutions from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Motorola Solutions from $509.00 to $495.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a buy (b) rating on shares of Motorola Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Motorola Solutions from $490.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $506.43.

Insider Transactions at Motorola Solutions

In related news, CEO Gregory Q. Brown sold 50,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.50, for a total transaction of $24,175,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 46,936 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $22,693,556. This represents a 51.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rajan Naik sold 8,014 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $474.45, for a total value of $3,802,242.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,244 shares in the company, valued at $4,860,265.80. This trade represents a 43.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 248,493 shares of company stock worth $116,848,278. 1.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Motorola Solutions Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MSI opened at $391.44 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $65.20 billion, a PE ratio of 31.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $452.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $436.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.86. Motorola Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $387.77 and a 12-month high of $507.82.

Motorola Solutions (NYSE:MSI  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The communications equipment provider reported $4.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.85 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Motorola Solutions had a net margin of 19.08% and a return on equity of 134.30%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.74 EPS. Motorola Solutions has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 4.300-4.360 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 15.090-15.150 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Motorola Solutions, Inc. will post 13.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Motorola Solutions Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.0109 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Motorola Solutionss payout ratio is currently 34.99%.

Motorola Solutions Company Profile

(Free Report)

Motorola Solutions, Inc provides public safety and enterprise security solutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Products and Systems Integration, and Software and Services. The Products and Systems Integration segment offers a portfolio of infrastructure, devices, accessories, and video security devices and infrastructure, as well as the implementation and integration of systems, devices, software, and applications for government, public safety, and commercial customers who operate private communications networks and video security solutions, as well as manage a mobile workforce.

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Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of Fair Isaac Corporation (NYSE:FICO  Free Report) by 15.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,923 shares of the technology companys stock after selling 2,021 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Funds holdings in Fair Isaac were worth $19,967,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fair Isaac in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Fair Isaac in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in Fair Isaac during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Geo Capital Gestora de Recursos Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Fair Isaac during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Fair Isaac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. 85.75% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Fair Isaac Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of FICO opened at $1,739.98 on Monday. Fair Isaac Corporation has a 12 month low of $1,300.00 and a 12 month high of $2,402.51. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $1,607.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1,666.87. The company has a market cap of $41.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 68.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

Fair Isaac ( NYSE:FICO Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The technology company reported $7.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.36 by $0.38. Fair Isaac had a negative return on equity of 48.88% and a net margin of 32.80%.The company had revenue of $515.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $512.38 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.54 earnings per share. Fair Isaacs revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Fair Isaac has set its FY 2026 guidance at 38.170-38.170 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Fair Isaac Corporation will post 24.15 EPS for the current year.

In other Fair Isaac news, CEO William J. Lansing sold 6,011 shares of Fair Isaac stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,537.50, for a total value of $9,241,912.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 42,138 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $64,787,175. The trade was a 12.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 18,032 shares of company stock worth $28,094,085 in the last 90 days. 3.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer lowered Fair Isaac from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Fair Isaac from $1,900.00 to $1,960.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Fair Isaac from $1,590.00 to $1,640.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Griffin Securities set a $1,800.00 target price on shares of Fair Isaac in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Fair Isaac from $2,300.00 to $2,400.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $2,118.50.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Fair Isaac

About Fair Isaac

(Free Report)

Fair Isaac Corporation develops analytic, software, and digital decisioning technologies and services that enable businesses to automate, enhance, and connect decisions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Scores and Software. The Software segment provides pre-configured analytic and decision management solution designed for various business needs or processes, such as account origination, customer management, customer engagement, fraud detection, financial crimes compliance, and marketing, as well as associated professional services.

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Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its stake in shares of Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO  Free Report) by 13.8% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 292,514 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 46,992 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Funds holdings in Southern were worth $26,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Southern by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 228,602 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $21,020,000 after buying an additional 38,587 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 20.0% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 6,884 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Southern during the first quarter valued at $204,000. Realta Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in Southern in the first quarter valued at $200,000. Finally, Platform Technology Partners grew its position in Southern by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Platform Technology Partners now owns 3,872 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.10% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SO shares. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Southern from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Southern in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an in-line rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a buy (b) rating on shares of Southern in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Southern in a research report on Monday, October 27th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $99.56.

Southern Price Performance

Southern stock opened at $91.39 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. Southern Company has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.09. Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm had revenue of $7.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.39 earnings per share. Southerns quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $0.74 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 17th. This represents a $2.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Southerns dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.27%.

About Southern

(Free Report)

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.

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Sysco (NYSE:SYY  Get Free Report) and TreeHouse Foods (NYSE:THS  Get Free Report) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, earnings and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Sysco and TreeHouse Foods net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Sysco 2.21% 112.04% 8.32% TreeHouse Foods 0.62% 6.35% 2.45%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sysco and TreeHouse Foodss gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Sysco $82.03 billion 0.44 $1.83 billion $3.73 20.17 TreeHouse Foods $3.35 billion 0.29 $26.90 million $0.39 49.04

Sysco has higher revenue and earnings than TreeHouse Foods. Sysco is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TreeHouse Foods, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Sysco has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its stock price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TreeHouse Foods has a beta of 0.25, meaning that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Sysco and TreeHouse Foods, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Sysco 0 6 9 0 2.60 TreeHouse Foods 2 7 0 0 1.78

Sysco presently has a consensus target price of $87.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.66%. TreeHouse Foods has a consensus target price of $23.33, indicating a potential upside of 22.01%. Given TreeHouse Foods higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe TreeHouse Foods is more favorable than Sysco.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

83.4% of Sysco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.8% of TreeHouse Foods shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Sysco shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 11.1% of TreeHouse Foods shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Sysco beats TreeHouse Foods on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sysco

(Get Free Report)

Sysco Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the marketing and distribution of various food and related products to the foodservice or food-away-from-home industry in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and internationally. It operates through U.S. Foodservice Operations, International Foodservice Operations, SYGMA, and Other segments. The company distributes frozen food, such as meat, seafood, fully prepared entrees, fruits, vegetables, and desserts; canned and dry food products; fresh meat and seafood products; dairy products; beverages; imported specialties; and fresh produce products. It also supplies various non-food items, including paper products comprising disposable napkins, plates, and cups; tableware consisting of glassware and silverware; cookware, such as pots, pans, and utensils; restaurant and kitchen equipment and supplies; and cleaning supplies. The company serves restaurants, hospitals and nursing facilities, schools and colleges, hotels and motels, industrial caterers, and other foodservice venues. Sysco Corporation was incorporated in 1969 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About TreeHouse Foods

(Get Free Report)

TreeHouse Foods, Inc. manufactures and distributes private brands snacks and beverages in the United States and internationally. The company provides snacking products, such as crackers, pretzels, in-store bakery items, frozen griddle items, cookies, and candies; and beverage and drink mixes, including non-dairy creamer, coffee, broths/stocks, powdered beverages and other blends, tea, and ready-to-drink-beverages. It also offers groceries comprising pickles, refrigerated dough, hot cereal, and cheese and puddings, as well as natural, organic, and gluten-free products. The company sells its products through various distribution channels, including retailers, foodservice distributors, food-away-from-home customers, refrigerated and frozen formats, and co-manufacturers, as well as industrial and export, which includes food manufacturers and repackagers of foodservice products. TreeHouse Foods, Inc. was founded in 1862 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

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COLOMBO, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a 100 million U.S. dollars financing package to build on Sri Lanka's progress toward macroeconomic stability and to help achieve sustainable growth following the economic crisis, the ADB said in a statement on Monday.

Sri Lanka has made commendable progress in restoring fiscal and debt sustainability following an unprecedented economic crisis, ADB Country Director for Sri Lanka Takafumi Kadono said.

He added that this program also aims to improve the credibility and execution of public expenditure, enhance domestic revenue mobilization, and foster a more predictable and transparent investment climate.

This program will help improve efficiency and transparency in public expenditure management and enhance revenue mobilization, said ADB. In the meantime, it will support the government's efforts to improve the enabling environment for private sector participation, and will also focus on strengthening the management, transparency, and accountability of state-owned enterprises (SOE), ADB said.

Several first-time initiatives in Sri Lanka will be supported, including a draft law on public-private partnerships, a comprehensive Fiscal Risk Statement, and a climate finance strategy, the statement said.

It also addresses gender gaps through Sustainable Development Goals budget tagging, a new gender sensitive Nationally Determined Contribution, and public procurement reforms to enhance its development impact and inclusivity.

These innovations, together with newly established institutional mechanisms, such as the SOE credit risk framework and specialized monitoring units, will lay the foundation for sustained impact, the ADB said. 
Summit X LLC bought a new position in shares of Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC  Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,251 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BAC. Boston Common Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 10.5% in the second quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 259,680 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $12,288,000 after buying an additional 24,740 shares during the period. Disciplined Investments LLC bought a new position in Bank of America during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $217,000. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. increased its stake in Bank of America by 121.0% in the first quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 62,041 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,589,000 after purchasing an additional 33,963 shares in the last quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Bank of America by 7.3% in the second quarter. Sunbeam Capital Management LLC now owns 6,476 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CCG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Bank of America in the second quarter worth $287,000. 70.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BAC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Bank of America from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Bank of America from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Bank of America from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Argus boosted their price objective on Bank of America from $53.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Bank of America from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $57.86.

Bank of America Stock Down 0.1%

BAC stock opened at $53.22 on Monday. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $51.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.63. Bank of America Corporation has a 1-year low of $33.06 and a 1-year high of $53.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $388.62 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $28.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.05 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 15.70% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Bank of America Corporation will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Bank of Americas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.52%.

Bank of America declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 23rd that permits the company to repurchase $40.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 11.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the companys management believes its shares are undervalued.

Bank of America Profile

(Free Report)

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. It operates in four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, and Global Markets.

Further Reading

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SFE Investment Counsel purchased a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. (NYSE:TSM  Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 948 shares of the semiconductor companys stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of TSM. Powers Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the 2nd quarter worth about $240,000. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. now owns 236,503 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $53,566,000 after purchasing an additional 21,648 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 452.2% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 47,425 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $7,873,000 after acquiring an additional 38,837 shares during the last quarter. RFG Holdings Inc. grew its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 66.1% in the second quarter. RFG Holdings Inc. now owns 3,898 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,551 shares during the period. Finally, Duquesne Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 456.9% in the 1st quarter. Duquesne Family Office LLC now owns 598,780 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $99,397,000 after acquiring an additional 491,265 shares during the period. 16.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TSM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup reiterated a buy rating on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Friday, October 17th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a positive rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from a buy (b-) rating to a hold (c+) rating in a research note on Friday. Itau BBA Securities started coverage on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. They set an outperform rating on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a buy rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a report on Monday, October 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $371.67.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Price Performance

Shares of TSM opened at $286.56 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stocks 50 day moving average is $279.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.24. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. has a twelve month low of $134.25 and a twelve month high of $311.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.49 trillion, a PE ratio of 29.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.31.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The semiconductor company reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.33. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 36.06% and a net margin of 43.72%.The business had revenue of $32.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $951.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 40.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has set its Q4 2025 guidance at EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. will post 9.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 11th will be given a dividend of $0.8348 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 11th. This is an increase from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.97%.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Profile

(Free Report)

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides a range of wafer fabrication processes, including processes to manufacture complementary metal- oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, embedded memory, bipolar CMOS mixed-signal, and others.

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Cypress Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) by 33.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 678 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Cypress Capital LLCs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $529,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Blume Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 46.7% during the second quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 44 shares of the companys stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the second quarter worth about $35,000. TD Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 129.2% during the first quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 55 shares of the companys stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 66 shares of the companys stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, Director Gabrielle Sulzberger acquired 117 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $641.18 per share, with a total value of $75,018.06. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,703 shares in the company, valued at $1,733,109.54. The trade was a 4.52% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director J Erik Fyrwald acquired 1,565 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $642.33 per share, for a total transaction of $1,005,246.45. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 74,578 shares in the company, valued at $47,903,686.74. The trade was a 2.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 4,314 shares of company stock worth $2,766,929. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LLY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Leerink Partners reaffirmed a market perform rating and set a $715.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $930.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,010.00 to $900.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $925.00 to $985.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c+) rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $960.88.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on LLY

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Eli Lilly and Company stock opened at $923.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.28. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52 week low of $623.78 and a 52 week high of $955.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $872.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $799.97 and a 200-day moving average of $775.01.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $7.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $6.42 by $0.60. The firm had revenue of $17.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $16.09 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 92.72% and a net margin of 25.91%.The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 53.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. Eli Lilly and Company has set its FY 2025 guidance at 23.000-23.700 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio is presently 29.35%.

Eli Lilly and Company Profile

(Free Report)

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity.

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Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO  Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 91,907 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,388,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 73.4% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 197,244 shares of the companys stock valued at $11,564,000 after purchasing an additional 83,491 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in Altria Group by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 2,406 shares of the companys stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Altria Group by 85.0% in the second quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 712,415 shares of the companys stock worth $41,769,000 after buying an additional 327,429 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Altria Group by 6.2% during the second quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,589 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 972 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Altria Group by 11.8% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 290,340 shares of the companys stock worth $17,023,000 after acquiring an additional 30,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.41% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $72.00 price objective on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Altria Group from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Altria Group from $49.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a buy (b) rating on shares of Altria Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Altria Group from $57.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $62.33.

Altria Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MO opened at $58.02 on Monday. The stocks 50-day moving average is $64.16 and its 200 day moving average is $61.89. The company has a market cap of $97.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.51. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $50.08 and a 1 year high of $68.60.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.01. Altria Group had a negative return on equity of 295.26% and a net margin of 37.24%.The firm had revenue of $5.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Altria Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.370-5.45 EPS. Analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $1.06 dividend. This represents a $4.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.3%. This is a boost from Altria Groups previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Altria Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.92%.

Altria Group declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 30th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the companys board believes its shares are undervalued.

Altria Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.

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Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN  Free Report) by 1.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 64,868 shares of the information technology services providers stock after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Funds holdings in Accenture were worth $19,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Accenture by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 436,202 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $130,376,000 after purchasing an additional 28,685 shares during the period. Redwood Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Accenture by 6.2% in the first quarter. Redwood Investments LLC now owns 22,087 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $6,892,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares in the last quarter. Lipe & Dalton grew its stake in Accenture by 2,087.4% during the first quarter. Lipe & Dalton now owns 5,031 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 4,801 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in Accenture by 34.7% in the 2nd quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,055 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $1,212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Accenture by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 70,887 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $21,187,000 after buying an additional 4,281 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.14% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ACN shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Accenture from $325.00 to $270.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a hold rating on shares of Accenture in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Accenture to a moderate sell rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Accenture from $313.00 to $295.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Accenture in a report on Thursday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Accenture has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $294.25.

Accenture Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of ACN stock opened at $245.87 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Accenture PLC has a fifty-two week low of $229.40 and a fifty-two week high of $398.35.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The information technology services provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.98 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $17.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.34 billion. Accenture had a net margin of 11.02% and a return on equity of 26.45%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.66 earnings per share. Accenture has set its FY 2026 guidance at 13.190-13.570 EPS. Q1 2026 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Accenture PLC will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Accentures previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. This represents a $6.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Accentures payout ratio is 53.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 5,917 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.62, for a total transaction of $1,459,250.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 8,599 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,120,685.38. This represents a 40.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Manish Sharma sold 6,902 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.01, for a total transaction of $1,725,569.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 1,860 shares of the companys stock, valued at $465,018.60. The trade was a 78.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 33,319 shares of company stock worth $8,335,225 in the last three months. 0.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Accenture Profile

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Accenture plc, a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, industry X, song, and technology and operation services worldwide. The company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management; intelligent automation comprising robotic process automation, natural language processing, and virtual agents; and application management services, as well as software engineering services; strategy and consulting services; data and analytics strategy, data discovery and augmentation, data management and beyond, data democratization, and industrialized solutions comprising turnkey analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions; metaverse; and sustainability services.

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Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS  Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $280.00 to $268.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trusts stock. Wells Fargo & Companys price objective would indicate a potential upside of 4.12% from the stocks previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $297.00 to $295.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Essex Property Trust from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Essex Property Trust from $279.00 to $271.00 and set a cautious rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Essex Property Trust from $304.00 to $285.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Essex Property Trust from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price target for the company from $355.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, August 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $294.28.

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Essex Property Trust Stock Down 1.2%

ESS stock traded down $3.03 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $257.40. The companys stock had a trading volume of 21,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 480,025. The company has a market cap of $16.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.82. The firms 50-day moving average is $262.33 and its 200-day moving average is $272.37. Essex Property Trust has a 12 month low of $243.25 and a 12 month high of $316.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Essex Property Trust (NYSE:ESS  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The real estate investment trust reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.01. Essex Property Trust had a return on equity of 14.70% and a net margin of 45.46%.The firm had revenue of $473.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $472.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.91 earnings per share. Essex Property Trust has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 3.930-4.030 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 15.890-15.990 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Essex Property Trust will post 15.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ESS. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in Essex Property Trust in the first quarter worth $31,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Essex Property Trust by 300.0% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 100 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in Essex Property Trust during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Essex Property Trust in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.51% of the companys stock.

Essex Property Trust Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.

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Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW  Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $31.00 to $30.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the real estate investment trusts stock. Wells Fargo & Companys price target suggests a potential upside of 3.47% from the stocks current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c) rating on shares of Highwoods Properties in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Highwoods Properties from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Sunday, October 19th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Highwoods Properties from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Highwoods Properties from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $31.00.

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Highwoods Properties Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:HIW traded down $0.37 on Monday, reaching $29.00. 35,780 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,011,914. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79 and a beta of 1.20. Highwoods Properties has a 1-year low of $24.18 and a 1-year high of $34.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. The companys 50 day moving average is $30.75 and its 200-day moving average is $30.35.

Highwoods Properties (NYSE:HIW  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.86. The business had revenue of $201.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $205.74 million. Highwoods Properties had a net margin of 15.98% and a return on equity of 5.48%. Highwoods Propertiess revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Highwoods Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.410-3.45 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Highwoods Properties will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David John Hartzell sold 4,300 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.10, for a total value of $138,030.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 27,489 shares of the companys stock, valued at $882,396.90. This trade represents a 13.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Highwoods Properties

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HIW. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Highwoods Properties by 35.7% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 28,920 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 7,601 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Highwoods Properties by 3.4% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 17,106 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Highwoods Properties by 87.4% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,118,701 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $181,358,000 after buying an additional 2,852,877 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Highwoods Properties by 14.0% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 981,140 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $29,081,000 after buying an additional 120,568 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its position in Highwoods Properties by 17.1% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 14,976 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.31% of the companys stock.

Highwoods Properties Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Highwoods Properties, Inc, headquartered in Raleigh, is a publicly-traded (NYSE:HIW), fully-integrated office real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns, develops, acquires, leases and manages properties primarily in the best business districts (BBDs) of Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Raleigh, Richmond and Tampa.

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EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP  Get Free Report) had its target price raised by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $187.00 to $196.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an overweight rating on the real estate investment trusts stock. Wells Fargo & Companys price objective suggests a potential upside of 10.62% from the companys previous close.

EGP has been the subject of a number of other reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $180.00 to $179.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c) rating on shares of EastGroup Properties in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of EastGroup Properties from $190.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $183.00 price objective on EastGroup Properties and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $170.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $190.07.

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EastGroup Properties Trading Down 0.3%

EastGroup Properties stock traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $177.19. The company had a trading volume of 29,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,112. The firm has a market cap of $9.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.01 and a current ratio of 0.01. EastGroup Properties has a 1 year low of $137.67 and a 1 year high of $188.89. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $171.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.70.

EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.28 by ($0.01). EastGroup Properties had a return on equity of 7.28% and a net margin of 35.58%.The business had revenue of $182.14 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $181.88 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. EastGroup Properties has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.940-8.980 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 2.300-2.340 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that EastGroup Properties will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard Reid Dunbar sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,630 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,610,250. This represents a 8.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of EastGroup Properties

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in EastGroup Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,703,000. Syon Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 85.1% in the 3rd quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,733 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $632,000 after buying an additional 1,716 shares during the period. First National Bank of Omaha purchased a new stake in shares of EastGroup Properties in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,396,000. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 101.7% during the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 4,862 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $823,000 after acquiring an additional 2,451 shares during the period. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 37,545 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $6,355,000 after acquiring an additional 10,800 shares during the period. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EastGroup Properties Company Profile

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EastGroup Properties, Inc (NYSE: EGP), a member of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and Russell 1000 Indexes, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina.

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Wealth Forward LLC acquired a new position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG  Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,346 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Texas Yale Capital Corp. increased its position in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 1.6% during the first quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 6,496 shares of the companys stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. VAUGHAN & Co SECURITIES INC. grew its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. VAUGHAN & Co SECURITIES INC. now owns 6,539 shares of the companys stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vestia Personal Wealth Advisors now owns 2,167 shares of the companys stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 3.0% during the first quarter. Tempus Wealth Planning LLC now owns 3,830 shares of the companys stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Howland Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 0.8% in the first quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 13,949 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,380,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.63% of the companys stock.

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iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of AGG stock opened at $100.20 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $134.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 124.57 and a beta of 0.25. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF has a 1 year low of $95.74 and a 1 year high of $101.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.06.

About iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

IShares are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on national securities exchanges as well as certain foreign exchanges. iShares are attractive because of their relatively low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account.

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Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT  Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at Royal Bank Of Canada from $111.00 to $110.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector perform rating on the real estate investment trusts stock. Royal Bank Of Canadas target price points to a potential upside of 7.74% from the companys current price.

CPT has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Camden Property Trust from $138.00 to $130.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Camden Property Trust in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. They issued a neutral rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Camden Property Trust from $115.00 to $108.00 and set an in-line rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a hold (c) rating on shares of Camden Property Trust in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Camden Property Trust from $131.00 to $123.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Camden Property Trust currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $119.17.

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Camden Property Trust Stock Up 0.3%

Camden Property Trust stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $102.09. 227,080 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 997,597. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.18 and a current ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $10.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.37, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a fifty day moving average of $105.10 and a 200 day moving average of $110.61. Camden Property Trust has a 12-month low of $97.17 and a 12-month high of $127.65.

Camden Property Trust (NYSE:CPT  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.02. Camden Property Trust had a return on equity of 3.30% and a net margin of 9.99%.The firm had revenue of $398.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $397.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Camden Property Trust has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.710-1.750 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 6.830-6.87 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Camden Property Trust will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Camden Property Trust by 47.4% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 491 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Camden Property Trust by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 78,474 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $9,597,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in Camden Property Trust by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,476 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $1,770,000 after buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Camden Property Trust by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,333 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in Camden Property Trust by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 2,514 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. 97.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Camden Property Trust Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Camden Property Trust, an S&P 500 Company, is a real estate company primarily engaged in the ownership, management, development, redevelopment, acquisition, and construction of multifamily apartment communities. Camden owns and operates 172 properties containing 58,250 apartment homes across the United States.

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People gather near the wreckage of a car bombed by an Israeli drone in Bisariyah near Sidon, southern Lebanon, Nov. 10, 2025. A Hezbollah commander was killed Monday in an Israeli airstrike on the Sarafand-Baysarieh highway in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese security and official sources. (Photo by Ali Hashisho/Xinhua)

BEIRUT, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- A Hezbollah commander was killed Monday in an Israeli airstrike on the Sarafand-Baysarieh highway in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese security and official sources.

A Lebanese army intelligence source told Xinhua that the victim was identified as Samir Ali Faqih, a Hezbollah commander. The source did not provide further details.

Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that Faqih was killed in an Israeli drone strike targeting his car.

According to the Lebanese source, Israeli warplanes on Monday carried out around 20 air raids on Hezbollah positions in eastern and southern Lebanon, launching about 40 air-to-ground missiles.

These intense Israeli attacks came amid escalating Israeli threats and calls for Hezbollah to disarm -- demands the group has firmly rejected.

On Monday, Mahmoud Qomati, deputy head of Hezbollah's Political Council, reiterated the group's refusal to disarm, saying its weapons remain "a guarantee of Lebanon's existence and strength" and serve to deter "Israeli aggression."

A U.S.- and French-brokered ceasefire has been in effect between Hezbollah and Israel since Nov. 27, 2024, largely halting the cross-border clashes that erupted following the Gaza war.

Despite the truce, the Israeli army continues to launch occasional strikes inside Lebanon, saying they target "threats" posed by Hezbollah, while maintaining its forces in five main positions along the Lebanese border. 
Enbridge (NYSE:ENB  Get Free Report) (TSE:ENB) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $67.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an outperform rating on the pipeline companys stock. Royal Bank Of Canadas price objective suggests a potential upside of 49.89% from the companys current price.

ENB has been the subject of a number of other reports. CIBC lowered Enbridge from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Argus upped their price target on Enbridge from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Enbridge from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cibc World Mkts downgraded shares of Enbridge from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, National Bankshares reiterated a sector perform rating on shares of Enbridge in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $63.00.

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Enbridge Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE ENB traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $48.04. The companys stock had a trading volume of 770,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,847,423. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.66, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.76. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $48.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.58. Enbridge has a twelve month low of $39.73 and a twelve month high of $50.54.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB  Get Free Report) (TSE:ENB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 7th. The pipeline company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.39 by ($0.06). Enbridge had a net margin of 10.11% and a return on equity of 10.77%. The business had revenue of $7 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Enbridge will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Enbridge by 25.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 51,995 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $2,338,000 after acquiring an additional 10,488 shares in the last quarter. 111 Capital purchased a new position in shares of Enbridge in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,887,000. Loudon Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Enbridge by 40.6% in the 2nd quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC now owns 29,801 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 8,600 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its position in Enbridge by 37.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 71,834 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $3,256,000 after purchasing an additional 19,655 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Enbridge by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,142,927 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $187,705,000 after purchasing an additional 32,268 shares during the last quarter. 54.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Enbridge

(Get Free Report)

Enbridge Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company. The company operates through five segments: Liquids Pipelines, Gas Transmission and Midstream, Gas Distribution and Storage, Renewable Power Generation, and Energy Services. The Liquids Pipelines segment operates pipelines and related terminals to transport various grades of crude oil and other liquid hydrocarbons in Canada and the United States.

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Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE:BKD  Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Barclays from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $14.00 price target on the stock. Barclayss price target indicates a potential upside of 38.41% from the stocks previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on BKD. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Brookdale Senior Living from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a sell (d-) rating on shares of Brookdale Senior Living in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $10.33.

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Brookdale Senior Living Stock Up 7.3%

BKD traded up $0.69 during trading on Monday, reaching $10.12. 901,228 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,902,184. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $8.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 39.87, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Brookdale Senior Living has a fifty-two week low of $4.45 and a fifty-two week high of $10.14. The stock has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.62 and a beta of 0.96.

Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE:BKD  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.16) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $813.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $825.59 million. Brookdale Senior Living had a negative return on equity of 107.19% and a negative net margin of 7.60%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Brookdale Senior Living will post -0.56 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brookdale Senior Living

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BKD. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Brookdale Senior Living in the first quarter worth about $47,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Brookdale Senior Living by 55.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 9,576 shares of the companys stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 3,428 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Brookdale Senior Living in the first quarter valued at $61,000. Levin Capital Strategies L.P. acquired a new position in Brookdale Senior Living during the third quarter worth $85,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brookdale Senior Living in the 3rd quarter valued at $85,000.

Brookdale Senior Living Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Brookdale Senior Living Inc owns, manages, and operates senior living communities in the United States. It operates in three segments: Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). The Independent Living segment owns or leases communities comprising independent and assisted living units in a single community that are primarily designed for middle to upper income seniors.

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Hodges Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,664 shares of the payment services companys stock after selling 217 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc.s holdings in American Express were worth $4,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AXP. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Express in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new stake in American Express in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in American Express in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Solstein Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Express during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of American Express in the first quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.33% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AXP. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on American Express from $277.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on American Express from $343.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. HSBC set a $295.00 target price on shares of American Express and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $371.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an outperform rating on shares of American Express in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Express has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $332.65.

American Express Trading Up 0.9%

AXP stock opened at $368.90 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $254.12 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a current ratio of 1.61. American Express Company has a one year low of $220.43 and a one year high of $370.00. The companys 50 day moving average price is $339.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $314.74.

American Express (NYSE:AXP  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 17th. The payment services company reported $4.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.98 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $18.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $18.03 billion. American Express had a net margin of 14.97% and a return on equity of 33.41%. The firms revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.49 EPS. American Express has set its FY 2025 guidance at 15.200-15.500 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that American Express Company will post 15.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Express Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. American Expresss dividend payout ratio is currently 22.01%.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other news, CEO Stephen J. Squeri sold 112,272 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $329.86, for a total transaction of $37,034,041.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 92,810 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $30,614,306.60. This represents a 54.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Elizabeth Rutledge sold 50,000 shares of American Express stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.21, for a total transaction of $18,010,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 85,577 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,825,691.17. The trade was a 36.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 193,292 shares of company stock worth $65,363,878 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the companys stock.

American Express Company Profile

(Free Report)

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.

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Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM  Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from $141.00 to $144.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas companys stock. Piper Sandlers price target suggests a potential upside of 22.88% from the companys current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on XOM. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Exxon Mobil in a research note on Friday, October 17th. They issued an overweight rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Exxon Mobil from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Exxon Mobil from $143.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Melius began coverage on shares of Exxon Mobil in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a hold rating and a $111.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Exxon Mobil from $134.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Exxon Mobil has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $128.67.

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Exxon Mobil Stock Performance

Shares of Exxon Mobil stock opened at $117.19 on Monday. Exxon Mobil has a 12 month low of $97.80 and a 12 month high of $123.21. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $113.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $494.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 17th. The oil and gas company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter. Exxon Mobil had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 9.17%.The company had revenue of $57.55 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts anticipate that Exxon Mobil will post 7.43 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Darrin L. Talley sold 2,158 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.45, for a total transaction of $238,351.10. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 13,829 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,527,413.05. This represents a 13.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.03% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Exxon Mobil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XOM. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. acquired a new stake in Exxon Mobil in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Exxon Mobil in the third quarter worth $30,000. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Exxon Mobil during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd boosted its stake in Exxon Mobil by 396.7% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 298 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Exxon Mobil by 1,500.0% during the first quarter. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC now owns 320 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 61.80% of the companys stock.

About Exxon Mobil

(Get Free Report)

Exxon Mobil Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and internationally. It operates through Upstream, Energy Products, Chemical Products, and Specialty Products segments. The Upstream segment explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas.

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Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK  Get Free Report) and AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR  Get Free Report) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends and risk.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Graphic Packaging and AptarGroups revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Graphic Packaging $8.61 billion 0.54 $658.00 million $1.70 9.34 AptarGroup $3.66 billion 2.05 $374.54 million $6.25 18.28

Risk & Volatility

Graphic Packaging has higher revenue and earnings than AptarGroup. Graphic Packaging is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AptarGroup, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Graphic Packaging has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AptarGroup has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Graphic Packaging and AptarGroup, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Graphic Packaging 1 9 1 0 2.00 AptarGroup 0 3 4 0 2.57

Graphic Packaging currently has a consensus price target of $22.63, indicating a potential upside of 42.54%. AptarGroup has a consensus price target of $168.60, indicating a potential upside of 47.56%. Given AptarGroups stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe AptarGroup is more favorable than Graphic Packaging.

Profitability

This table compares Graphic Packaging and AptarGroups net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Graphic Packaging 6.18% 21.13% 5.74% AptarGroup 10.84% 15.39% 8.60%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

99.7% of Graphic Packaging shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.5% of AptarGroup shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Graphic Packaging shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of AptarGroup shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Graphic Packaging pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. AptarGroup pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Graphic Packaging pays out 25.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AptarGroup pays out 30.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Graphic Packaging has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and AptarGroup has raised its dividend for 31 consecutive years. Graphic Packaging is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

AptarGroup beats Graphic Packaging on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Graphic Packaging

(Get Free Report)

Graphic Packaging Holding Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, produces, and sells consumer packaging products to brands in food, beverage, foodservice, household, and other consumer products. It operates through three segments: Paperboard Manufacturing, Americas Paperboard Packaging, and Europe Paperboard Packaging. The company offers unbleached, bleached, and recycled paperboard to various paperboard packaging converters and brokers. It also provides paperboard packaging products for consumer packaged goods companies; and cups, lids, and food containers for foodservice companies and quick-service restaurants serving the food, beverage, and consumer product markets, including healthcare and beauty. The company also designs, manufactures, and installs specialized packaging machines. The company sells its products through sales offices, as well as through broker arrangements with third parties in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. Graphic Packaging Holding Company was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About AptarGroup

(Get Free Report)

AptarGroup, Inc. designs and manufactures a range of drug delivery, consumer product dispensing, and active material science solutions and services for the pharmaceutical, beauty, personal care, home care, and food and beverage markets. The company operates through Aptar Pharma, Aptar Beauty, and Aptar Closures segments. It also provides pumps for nasal allergy treatments; and metered dose inhaler valves for respiratory ailments, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases; elastomer for injectable primary packaging components; and active material science solutions. In addition, the company offers dispensing pumps, closures, elastomeric components, and aerosol valves to the digital health solutions. It primarily sells its products and services in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. AptarGroup, Inc. was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois.

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Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (OTCMKTS:IDCBY  Get Free Report)s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $16.6445 and last traded at $16.5650, with a volume of 7272 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $16.2450.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. Trading Up 1.4%

The stock has a market cap of $293.69 billion, a PE ratio of 6.01 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

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Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (OTCMKTS:IDCBY  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $28.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $27.38 billion. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. had a net margin of 24.10% and a return on equity of 8.96%.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. Company Profile

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides banking products and services in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company operates through Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, and Treasury Operations segments. The Corporate Banking segment offers financial products and services to corporations, government agencies, and financial institutions.

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Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE  Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $31.00 to $41.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the industrial products companys stock. Morgan Stanleys target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.20% from the companys current price.

SEE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Sealed Air from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Mizuho upped their target price on Sealed Air from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Raymond James Financial reiterated a strong-buy rating and set a $50.00 price target (up from $39.00) on shares of Sealed Air in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Truist Financial reissued a buy rating and set a $45.00 price objective (up from $40.00) on shares of Sealed Air in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Sealed Air from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $42.64.

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Sealed Air Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE SEE traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $36.87. 260,753 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,573,788. The company has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.38. Sealed Air has a one year low of $22.78 and a one year high of $37.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.18. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is $34.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.18.

Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. Sealed Air had a return on equity of 60.61% and a net margin of 5.46%. Sealed Air has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.250-3.350 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Sealed Air will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sealed Air

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Sealed Air by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 105,651 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $3,053,000 after purchasing an additional 9,052 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Sealed Air by 43.1% during the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 519,339 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $15,009,000 after purchasing an additional 156,309 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Sealed Air by 1.9% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,545,129 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $362,555,000 after purchasing an additional 228,937 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Sealed Air by 137.4% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 16,207 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $468,000 after buying an additional 9,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Sealed Air during the 1st quarter worth approximately $308,000. Institutional investors own 94.40% of the companys stock.

About Sealed Air

(Get Free Report)

Sealed Air Corporation provides packaging solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. It operates through two segments, Food and Protective. The Food segment offers integrated packaging materials and automation equipment solutions to provide food safety, shelf life extension, reduce food waste, automate processes, and optimize total cost for food processors in the fresh red meat, smoked and processed meats, poultry, seafood, plant-based, fluids and liquids and cheese markets under the CRYOVAC, CRYOVAC Grip & Tear, CRYOVAC Darfresh, LIQUIBOX, Simple Steps, and Optidure brands.

Further Reading

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Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H  Free Report) had its price target upped by Barclays from $156.00 to $161.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on H. Citigroup raised shares of Hyatt Hotels from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $138.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Hyatt Hotels from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Hyatt Hotels from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report on Sunday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Hyatt Hotels from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their price target for the stock from $147.00 to $168.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Hyatt Hotels from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hyatt Hotels currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $158.60.

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Hyatt Hotels Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:H traded up $1.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $156.96. 432,807 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 950,173. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $14.99 billion, a PE ratio of 37.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.15. Hyatt Hotels has a fifty-two week low of $102.43 and a fifty-two week high of $168.20.

Hyatt Hotels (NYSE:H  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.30) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.79). Hyatt Hotels had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 6.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hyatt Hotels will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hyatt Hotels Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 24th. Hyatt Hotelss dividend payout ratio is currently -64.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hyatt Hotels news, insider David Udell sold 4,051 shares of Hyatt Hotels stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $587,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,756 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,429,620. This trade represents a 19.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 23.70% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hyatt Hotels

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bamco Inc. NY raised its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 5,955,212 shares of the companys stock valued at $831,645,000 after acquiring an additional 166,249 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Hyatt Hotels by 21.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,715,085 shares of the companys stock valued at $669,221,000 after buying an additional 843,121 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,920,488 shares of the companys stock worth $480,260,000 after acquiring an additional 21,190 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Hyatt Hotels by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,765,785 shares of the companys stock valued at $392,548,000 after buying an additional 545,003 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Hyatt Hotels by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,877,447 shares of the companys stock worth $229,987,000 after acquiring an additional 160,461 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.54% of the companys stock.

Hyatt Hotels Company Profile

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Hyatt Hotels Corporation operates as a hospitality company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Owned and Leased Hotels, Americas Management and Franchising, ASPAC Management and Franchising, EAME Management and Franchising, and Apple Leisure Group segments. The company manages, franchises, licenses, owns, and leases portfolio of properties, consisting of full-service hotels and resorts, select service hotels, and other properties, including timeshare, fractional, residential, vacation, and condominium units.

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Rolls-Royce Holdings plc (LON:RR  Get Free Report) insider Birgit Behrendt bought 97 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 1,129 per share, for a total transaction of 1,095.13.

Birgit Behrendt also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Tuesday, October 7th, Birgit Behrendt purchased 96 shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc stock. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 1,148 per share, with a total value of 1,102.08.

On Tuesday, September 9th, Birgit Behrendt purchased 102 shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 1,074 per share, with a total value of 1,095.48.

Rolls-Royce Holdings plc Stock Performance

Shares of RR stock traded up GBX 7 on Monday, hitting GBX 1,138.50. 10,090,760 shares of the stock traded hands. The firms 50-day moving average price is GBX 1,133.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 999.31. Rolls-Royce Holdings plc has a twelve month low of GBX 196.45 and a twelve month high of GBX 537.20. The stock has a market capitalization of 97.64 billion, a PE ratio of 41.50, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc to a hold rating and upped their target price for the stock from GBX 240 to GBX 1,080 in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Rolls-Royce Holdings plc from GBX 641 to GBX 1,101 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an overweight rating on shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc in a report on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc from GBX 1,040 to GBX 1,245 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Shore Capital reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of Rolls-Royce Holdings plc in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Rolls-Royce Holdings plc has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of GBX 1,161.50.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Rolls-Royce Holdings plc

About Rolls-Royce Holdings plc

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Rolls-Royce Holdings plc develops and delivers complex power and propulsion solutions for air, sea, and land in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Civil Aerospace, Defence, Power Systems, and New Markets. The Civil Aerospace segment develops, manufactures, markets, and sells aero engines for large commercial aircraft, regional jet, and business aviation markets, as well as provides aftermarket services.

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Molina Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:MOH  Get Free Report)s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $152.06, but opened at $145.00. Molina Healthcare shares last traded at $144.9260, with a volume of 322,711 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MOH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Molina Healthcare from $272.00 to $184.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a sell (d+) rating on shares of Molina Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Molina Healthcare from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Molina Healthcare from $284.00 to $220.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Molina Healthcare from $207.00 to $167.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $203.64.

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Molina Healthcare Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $180.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.63 billion, a PE ratio of 8.73 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68.

Molina Healthcare (NYSE:MOH  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $3.97 by ($2.13). Molina Healthcare had a net margin of 1.98% and a return on equity of 22.95%. The company had revenue of $11.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.01 EPS. Molina Healthcares revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Molina Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 14.000-14.000 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Molina Healthcare, Inc will post 24.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Molina Healthcare

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Molina Healthcare by 20.6% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 93,369 shares of the companys stock worth $17,867,000 after purchasing an additional 15,949 shares in the last quarter. Tredje AP fonden raised its position in shares of Molina Healthcare by 119.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 9,968 shares of the companys stock worth $1,907,000 after purchasing an additional 5,424 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its stake in Molina Healthcare by 68.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 241,581 shares of the companys stock valued at $46,229,000 after buying an additional 98,431 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP boosted its holdings in Molina Healthcare by 359.7% in the 3rd quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 20,409 shares of the companys stock worth $3,905,000 after buying an additional 15,969 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Molina Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $227,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.50% of the companys stock.

Molina Healthcare Company Profile

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Molina Healthcare, Inc provides managed healthcare services to low-income families and individuals under the Medicaid and Medicare programs and through the state insurance marketplaces. It operates in four segments: Medicaid, Medicare, Marketplace, and Other. The company served in across 19 states. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Long Beach, California.

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QUITO, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- At least four inmates were killed Sunday in a prison riot in Machala, the capital of Ecuador's southern coastal province of El Oro, the national prison administration agency SNAI said.

The unrest broke out in the early hours at Prison No. 1 in Machala, SNAI said in a statement.

Local media reported that the riot was sparked by the "reorganization" and transfer of inmates to a maximum-security facility, leaving at least 40 people injured.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa on Tuesday declared a new 60-day state of emergency in five coastal provinces and three municipalities in the central provinces of Cotopaxi and Bolivar to quell "grave internal unrest" fueled by escalating violence from organized crime. 
Canadian Utilities (TSE:CU  Get Free Report) had its target price increased by research analysts at CIBC from C$42.00 to C$43.00 in a report released on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. CIBCs price objective would suggest a potential upside of 2.55% from the stocks current price.

Canadian Utilities Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of CU stock traded up C$0.85 on Monday, reaching C$41.93. 270,576 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 523,187. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 158.34, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 1.30. Canadian Utilities has a one year low of C$33.19 and a one year high of C$42.19. The stock has a market cap of C$11.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$38.81 and a 200 day moving average price of C$38.29.

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Canadian Utilities Company Profile

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Canadian Utilities Ltd, a subsidiary of holding company Atco, offers gas and electricity services. The companys main divisions include electricity (generation, transmission, and distribution), pipelines & liquid (natural gas and water), and Retail Energy. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, the firm mainly operates in Canada and Australia, along with some operations in the United States and Mexico.

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Rogers Communication (NYSE:RCI  Get Free Report) (TSE:RCI.B) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Barclays from $33.00 to $36.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an equal weight rating on the Wireless communications providers stock. Barclayss price target points to a potential downside of 4.59% from the stocks previous close.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Cowen reissued a buy rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a hold (c) rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a sector perform rating on shares of Rogers Communication in a report on Monday, October 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $36.00.

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Rogers Communication Trading Up 0.8%

RCI traded up $0.30 during trading on Monday, reaching $37.73. The company had a trading volume of 435,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,193,061. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Rogers Communication has a 52 week low of $23.18 and a 52 week high of $40.26. The stock has a market cap of $20.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.20, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.35.

Rogers Communication (NYSE:RCI  Get Free Report) (TSE:RCI.B) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The Wireless communications provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.33 billion. Rogers Communication had a net margin of 32.49% and a return on equity of 17.14%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Rogers Communication will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Rogers Communication

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in shares of Rogers Communication during the 3rd quarter worth $2,624,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Rogers Communication by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 395,919 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock worth $13,633,000 after acquiring an additional 57,159 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Rogers Communication during the 3rd quarter worth $20,881,000. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its position in Rogers Communication by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 80,132 shares of the Wireless communications providers stock valued at $2,758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cumberland Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Rogers Communication in the third quarter valued at about $204,000. 45.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Rogers Communication Company Profile

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Rogers Communications Inc operates as a communications and media company in Canada. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The company offers mobile Internet access, wireless voice and enhanced voice, device financing, device protection, global voice and data roaming, wireless home phone, bridging landline, machine-to-machine and Internet of Things solutions, and advanced wireless solutions for businesses, as well as device shipping and express pickup services; and postpaid and prepaid services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands.

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Cargojet (TSE:CJT  Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from C$120.00 to C$100.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. Stifel Nicolaus target price suggests a potential upside of 46.01% from the stocks current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. ATB Capital reduced their target price on Cargojet from C$155.00 to C$145.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Cargojet from C$140.00 to C$135.00 in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Desjardins set a C$149.00 price target on shares of Cargojet and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. TD Securities decreased their price target on Cargojet from C$160.00 to C$120.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a C$132.00 price objective on Cargojet and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and nine have issued a Buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of C$133.15.

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Cargojet Trading Down 1.2%

About Cargojet

Shares of Cargojet stock traded down C$0.84 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting C$68.49. The stock had a trading volume of 183,482 shares, compared to its average volume of 94,664. The firm has a 50-day moving average of C$89.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$94.35. The firm has a market cap of C$1.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.70 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 98.69. Cargojet has a 12-month low of C$65.60 and a 12-month high of C$139.54.

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Cargojet Inc operates a domestic air cargo co-load network between sixteen major Canadian cities. The company provides dedicated aircraft to customers on an Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance basis, operating between points in Canada, USA, Mexico and Europe. The company also operates scheduled international routes for multiple cargo customers between the USA and Bermuda, between Canada, UK and Germany; and between Canada and Mexico.

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Fairfax Financial (TSE:FFH  Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by analysts at Raymond James Financial from C$3,050.00 to C$2,900.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. Raymond James Financials price target would suggest a potential upside of 32.39% from the companys current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on FFH. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Fairfax Financial from C$2,050.00 to C$2,200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Fairfax Financial from C$2,900.00 to C$3,050.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. National Bankshares lifted their price target on shares of Fairfax Financial from C$3,000.00 to C$3,200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Cormark cut shares of Fairfax Financial from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$2,764.29.

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Fairfax Financial Stock Down 0.9%

About Fairfax Financial

Shares of FFH stock traded down C$20.17 on Monday, reaching C$2,190.46. The companys stock had a trading volume of 59,132 shares, compared to its average volume of 53,676. The company has a market capitalization of C$48.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.13, a PEG ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.45. Fairfax Financial has a 12-month low of C$1,836.92 and a 12-month high of C$2,522.33. The stocks 50 day simple moving average is C$2,374.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$2,359.73.

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Fairfax Financial is a holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and the associated investment management.

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goeasy (TSE:GSY  Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from C$225.00 to C$194.00 in a research note issued on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. Jefferies Financial Groups price target points to a potential upside of 53.86% from the stocks current price.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on GSY. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of goeasy from C$232.00 to C$226.00 in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank raised shares of goeasy from a hold rating to an outperform rating and set a C$225.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. TD Securities dropped their price target on goeasy from C$210.00 to C$160.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday. National Bankshares decreased their price objective on shares of goeasy from C$265.00 to C$245.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on goeasy from C$226.00 to C$208.00 in a report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, goeasy currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$203.00.

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goeasy Stock Performance

About goeasy

Shares of GSY traded down C$3.37 on Monday, reaching C$126.09. 130,725 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 75,423. goeasy has a 12 month low of C$126.09 and a 12 month high of C$216.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 287.63, a current ratio of 82.04 and a quick ratio of 28.46. The stocks 50-day moving average price is C$178.04 and its 200-day moving average price is C$173.55. The firm has a market cap of C$2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.92.

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goeasy Ltd provides financial services to own furniture, electronics, computers, and appliances. It offers merchandise leasing of household furnishings, appliances, and home electronic products to consumers under weekly or monthly leasing agreements. The company also offers unsecured installment loans to consumers.

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Constellation Software (TSE:CSU  Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by research analysts at Raymond James Financial from C$5,250.00 to C$4,300.00 in a report released on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. Raymond James Financials price target indicates a potential upside of 30.67% from the stocks current price.

CSU has been the topic of a number of other research reports. National Bank Financial lowered Constellation Software from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. CIBC increased their price target on Constellation Software from C$5,450.00 to C$5,480.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. National Bankshares lowered shares of Constellation Software from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and dropped their price target for the company from C$5,500.00 to C$4,500.00 in a research report on Friday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Constellation Software from C$5,700.00 to C$5,400.00 in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Constellation Software from C$6,000.00 to C$5,600.00 in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$4,897.14.

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Constellation Software Stock Down 2.8%

Insider Transactions at Constellation Software

Shares of TSE:CSU traded down C$95.05 during midday trading on Monday, hitting C$3,290.71. 91,577 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,947. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 169.83, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.93. Constellation Software has a 52-week low of C$3,183.37 and a 52-week high of C$5,300.00. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is C$3,991.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$4,545.04. The company has a market capitalization of C$69.74 billion, a PE ratio of 108.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.58.

In other news, insider Mark Robert Miller purchased 275 shares of Constellation Software stock in a transaction on Friday, September 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of C$3,695.14 per share, for a total transaction of C$1,016,163.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$43,428,980.42. This represents a 2.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. 5.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Constellation Software Company Profile

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Constellation Software Inc is a Canada-based company that develops and customizes software for public- and private-sector markets. The firm acquires, manages, and builds vertical-specific businesses. Its operations are organized in two segments: Public Sector and Private Sector. The portfolio companies serve various markets including communications, credit unions, beverage distribution, tour operators, auto clubs, textiles and apparel, hospitality, and community care.

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SandRidge Energy (NYSE:SD  Get Free Report) and PostRock Energy (OTCMKTS:PSTRQ  Get Free Report) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares SandRidge Energy and PostRock Energys net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

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Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets SandRidge Energy 51.77% 10.05% 7.96% PostRock Energy N/A N/A N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares SandRidge Energy and PostRock Energys revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio SandRidge Energy $155.93 million 3.02 $62.99 million $1.78 7.19 PostRock Energy N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

SandRidge Energy has higher revenue and earnings than PostRock Energy.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

61.8% of SandRidge Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of SandRidge Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 79.2% of PostRock Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for SandRidge Energy and PostRock Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score SandRidge Energy 0 1 0 0 2.00 PostRock Energy 0 0 0 0 0.00

Given PostRock Energys higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe PostRock Energy is more favorable than SandRidge Energy.

Volatility & Risk

SandRidge Energy has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PostRock Energy has a beta of -9.07, suggesting that its share price is 1,007% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

SandRidge Energy beats PostRock Energy on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SandRidge Energy

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SandRidge Energy, Inc. engages in the acquisition, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States Mid-Continent. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

About PostRock Energy

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PostRock Energy Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, production, and gathering of crude oil and natural gas. It focuses on the Cherokee Basin project in southeastern Kansas, northeastern Oklahoma, and central Oklahoma. The firm also owns and operates minor oil and gas producing properties in the Appalachian Basin. The company was founded in July 2009 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK.

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American Integrity Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE:AII  Get Free Report)s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $25.43 and last traded at $25.5850, with a volume of 27460 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AII. Citigroup restated an outperform rating on shares of American Integrity Insurance Group in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Raymond James Financial restated an outperform rating and set a $24.00 price target (up previously from $22.00) on shares of American Integrity Insurance Group in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of American Integrity Insurance Group from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on American Integrity Insurance Group from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a market outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on American Integrity Insurance Group from $22.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $25.20.

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American Integrity Insurance Group Price Performance

The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $22.25. The company has a market cap of $496.74 million and a PE ratio of 6.70.

American Integrity Insurance Group (NYSE:AII  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $74.50 million for the quarter.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Integrity Insurance Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AII. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in American Integrity Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Integrity Insurance Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $653,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust purchased a new position in American Integrity Insurance Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,037,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in American Integrity Insurance Group during the second quarter worth approximately $4,790,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Integrity Insurance Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,382,000.

About American Integrity Insurance Group

(Get Free Report)

We are a profitable and growing insurance group headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Through our insurance carrier subsidiary, American Integrity Insurance Company of Florida, Inc (AIICFL), we provide personal residential property insurance for single-family homeowners and condominium owners as well as coverage for vacant dwellings and investment properties, predominantly in Florida.

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Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN  Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Monday. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01, Manual reports. Guardian Pharmacy Services had a return on equity of 31.73% and a net margin of 2.90%.The business had revenue of $377.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $381.16 million. Guardian Pharmacy Services updated its FY 2025 guidance to EPS.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of GRDN traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.55. 80,221 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 216,835. Guardian Pharmacy Services has a twelve month low of $17.78 and a twelve month high of $37.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $26.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.04 and a beta of 0.96.

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Institutional Trading of Guardian Pharmacy Services

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GRDN. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in the first quarter valued at about $233,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 48.0% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,027 shares of the companys stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,956 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 1,783.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,895 shares of the companys stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 14,104 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 121.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 16,174 shares of the companys stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 8,860 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services during the second quarter valued at about $214,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Guardian Pharmacy Services in a report on Friday, October 10th. They issued an outperform rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a sell (d+) rating on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Guardian Pharmacy Services from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Sunday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Guardian Pharmacy Services presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $29.33.

Read Our Latest Analysis on Guardian Pharmacy Services

Guardian Pharmacy Services Company Profile

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Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc, a pharmacy service company, provides a suite of technology-enabled services designed to help residents of long-term health care facilities (LTCFs) in the United States. Its individualized clinical, drug dispensing, and administration capabilities are used to serve the needs of residents in lower acuity LTCFs, such as assisted living facilities and behavioral health facilities and group homes.

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Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS  Get Free Report) EVP D. Zachary Hudson sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $6,499,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,735 shares of the companys stock, valued at $892,637.65. This represents a 87.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Las Vegas Sands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LVS traded up $0.86 on Monday, hitting $66.07. The stock had a trading volume of 5,559,854 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,620,664. The firms 50 day moving average price is $54.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.42, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 0.89. Las Vegas Sands Corp. has a twelve month low of $30.18 and a twelve month high of $67.40. The company has a market capitalization of $44.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.03.

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Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The casino operator reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.04 billion. Las Vegas Sands had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 73.14%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Las Vegas Sands Corp. will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Las Vegas Sands Announces Dividend

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 4th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 4th. Las Vegas Sandss payout ratio is presently 45.25%.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LVS shares. Argus raised their price target on Las Vegas Sands from $60.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Las Vegas Sands from $59.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Las Vegas Sands from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Sunday, September 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Las Vegas Sands from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Las Vegas Sands from $52.50 to $58.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $64.13.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Las Vegas Sands

Institutional Trading of Las Vegas Sands

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 175,297 shares of the casino operators stock worth $6,772,000 after purchasing an additional 20,080 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Las Vegas Sands by 44.5% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 27,710 shares of the casino operators stock valued at $1,070,000 after buying an additional 8,529 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Las Vegas Sands during the first quarter worth about $318,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Las Vegas Sands by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 875,052 shares of the casino operators stock worth $33,803,000 after buying an additional 79,675 shares during the period. Finally, MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Las Vegas Sands in the 1st quarter valued at about $564,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 39.16% of the companys stock.

Las Vegas Sands Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Las Vegas Sands Corp., together with its subsidiaries, develops, owns, and operates integrated resorts in Macao and Singapore. It owns and operates The Venetian Macao Resort Hotel, the Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Cotai Strip, and the Sands Macao in Macao, the Peoples Republic of China; and Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

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Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Anhui's total import and export value of goods trade has expanded by three consecutive 100-billion-yuan increments, rising from 545.15 billion yuan at the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period to 864.37 billion yuan in 2024, with an average annual growth rate of 12.2%. This growth rate is 4.2 percentage points higher than the national average and ranks first in the Yangtze River Delta region. The data reflects a robust leap in the scale of Anhui's foreign trade and strong growth momentum, showcasing a remarkable performance. In the first three quarters, Anhui's total foreign trade import and export value reached 726.25 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.7%. The province's national ranking in foreign trade value jumped from 13th to 9th place. By focusing on targeted policy support and industrial services, Anhui has continuously stimulated innovation and vitality among market entities, optimized its foreign trade structure, and maintained a steady and positive development trend, demonstrating strong resilience and dynamism. Anhui has implemented "one chain, one policy" measures to enhance the quality and upgrading of emerging industries such as new energy vehicles, new materials, advanced photovoltaics and new energy storage, electronic information, and high-end equipment manufacturing. In the first half of this year, the province ranked first in the country in terms of automobile production, new energy vehicle production, and automobile exports. Currently, 10% of the world's display panels, 50% of China's photovoltaic glass, 20% of its photovoltaic modules, and 15% of its home appliances are produced in Anhui. As the province's industrial chains progressively move up to the mid-to-high-end segment, the quality, grade, and added value of its export products have correspondingly improved. Foreign trade statistics show that since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Anhui has exported 55.63 billion yuan worth of flat-panel display modules and 84.84 billion yuan worth of integrated circuits, representing year-on-year increases of 110% and 990%, respectively. The proportion of electromechanical products in the province's total export value has risen from 59% at the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period to over 70%. During the same period, the share of labor-intensive products in total exports has declined to less than 10%. The number of enterprises with actual import and export performance has reached 13,000, an increase of nearly 4,000 compared to the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period. Since the launch of the 14th Five-Year Plan, Anhui has focused on building a multi-dimensional international logistics corridor integrating "shipping, rail, and air transport," helping foreign trade achieve "accelerated growth." In water transport, Anhui has actively promoted the integration of its ports into the Yangtze River Delta's world-class port cluster. The "coordinated unloading" customs model has been fully implemented across all water transport ports in the province, reducing transshipment time by 50% and inland transportation costs by 30% for enterprises. In air transport, Anhui has continuously enhanced the capacity of its logistics hubs, vigorously supporting the construction of the Hefei International Air Cargo Distribution Center and the Wuhu Specialized Air Cargo Hub. The province has now cumulatively launched over 20 international air routes, connecting major economic and trade hubs across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the annual average growth of cargo throughput at Hefei Xinqiao Airport Port has exceeded 16%, with this year's volume projected to reach 40,000 metric tons. At Wuhu Xuanzhou Airport, cargo volume has already surpassed 10,000 metric tons this year. In land transport, Anhui has fully promoted the "Railway Express Clearance" model for China-Europe freight train services, reducing transit time by 12 days and cutting enterprise logistics costs by 30%. The cumulative number of China-Europe freight train trips from Anhui has reached 4,029. Among these, Hefeis China-Europe freight train has launched international routes covering 177 stations in 20 countries. In the first three quarters of this year, Anhui's total trade value with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative reached 391.94 billion yuan, accounting for 54% of the province's total tradean increase of 8 percentage points compared to the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period. Imports and exports with emerging markets such as ASEAN, Latin America, and Africa all maintained double-digit growth. Transitioning from an "inland hinterland" to an "open frontier," Anhui has now joined the ranks of major foreign trade provinces. With a confident posture, it is embracing the world; with innovative wisdom, it is connecting globally. Product exports, brand globalization, and industrial chain expansion are advancing side by side. The rise of "Anhui Manufacturing" is transcending not only geographical boundaries but also developmental limits. Driven by the dual engines of openness and innovation, a more resilient and dynamic Anhui is striving to write a new chapter in high-level opening up, sharing fresh opportunities for development with the world.

Source: anhuinews.com
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Analysts have raised Malaysia's industrial production index (IPI) forecast after Malaysia's September IPI rose higher than projections at 5.7 percent.

MBSB Research said in a recent note that it has revised its forecast for Malaysia's IPI growth for 2025 to 3.2 percent from the previous forecast of 2 percent, taking into account the more resilient IPI growth in recent months.

RHB Investment Bank also said in a note that, given the stronger-than-expected year-to-date IPI performance, recovery in mining output, and improvement in external trade, it has revised Malaysia's full-year IPI projection upward to 3.6 percent year-on-year from 3.2 percent previously, compared to the current year-to-date growth of 3.1 percent.

"The sustained momentum in manufacturing and the turnaround in export performance for September reinforce our view that the final GDP estimate for the third quarter will likely remain at 5.2 percent year-on-year, with potential upward revisions to our full-year 2025 GDP forecast to 4.5 percent," the research house noted.

According to RHB, the manufacturing sector is expected to receive near-term support from sustained strength in domestic-oriented industries, easing tariff-related risks, continued resilience in electrical and electronics (E&E) exports, and steady investment activity.

Hong Leong Investment Bank Research said in a note on Monday that Malaysia's industrial activity has continued to strengthen since bottoming at 0.3 percent year-on-year in May, supported by a resilient manufacturing sector and a recent recovery in the mining sector.

Although caution among manufacturers amid higher U.S. tariffs, elevated geopolitical tensions and risks of economic slowdown in major economies, the research house noted that Malaysia's diversified economic structure is expected to help cushion growth against external headwinds. 
ANKARA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkiye, together with Qatar, is mediating efforts to resolve the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday, adding that senior Turkish officials are scheduled to visit Islamabad next week to discuss the tensions.

Erdogan told reporters on his return flight from Azerbaijan that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yasar Guler, and National Intelligence Organization chief Ibrahim Kalin will visit Islamabad in an effort to help end the conflict, according to the semi-official Anadolu Agency.

"Our goal is to put in place measures and mechanisms that will make the ceasefire sustainable and to permanently end terrorist incidents in the region," Erdogan was quoted as saying.

While expressing hope for a permanent ceasefire and peace, Erdogan said Turkiye continues to urge both sides to exercise restraint.

The two-day peace talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan ended in Turkiye's largest city Istanbul without any tangible result, Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Saturday.

"Due to the irresponsible attitude and lack of cooperation of the Pakistani delegation, the meeting ended without any tangible result," Afghanistan's state-run Bakhtar news agency quoted Mujahid on Saturday as saying.

Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said on Friday that the peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan held in Istanbul stalled without any agreement.

"The talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan are over and have entered an indefinite phase. Right now, negotiations are over," the minister told local media.

The dialogue process between Pakistan and Afghanistan was launched after border clashes in early October that left several soldiers and civilians dead on both sides, with Turkiye and Qatar stepping in to mediate following the clashes. 
Former Tesco boss Sir Dave Lewis has been appointed as chief executive of Diageo as the Guinness and Johnnie Walker drinks giant looks to boost its flagging performance.

Sir Dave will take on the role on January 1, replacing Nik Jhangiani  the groups previous chief financial officer  who has been acting as interim chief executive since Debra Crew resigned abruptly in July.

Mr Jhangiani will revert back to being chief financial officer once Sir Dave starts in the post.

Sir Dave will resign as chairman of consumer healthcare firm Haleon at the end of December to take the helm at Diageo.

Shares in Diageo jumped around 8% higher in morning trading on Monday after the announcement.

He led Tesco as group chief executive for six years until 2020, having previously spent nearly 30 years at Ben & Jerrys and Marmite firm Unilever earlier in his career.

His appointment comes at a challenging time for Diageo as it grapples with weaker sales and a sinking share price.

On Thursday, the group alerted over tough trading once again, cautioning over weaker demand from consumers in China and the US, meaning it could sell fewer drinks this year, which sent its shares slumping further.

Diageo chairman Sir John Manzoni, who led the appointment process, said: Having conducted an extensive and thorough global search, the board unanimously felt that Dave has both the extensive CEO experience, and the proven leadership skills in building and marketing world-leading brands, that is right for Diageo at this time.

We are confident that Dave will work with the team to take Diageo into its next successful chapter in the evolving consumer environment.

Sir Dave said: The market faces some headwinds but there are also significant opportunities.

I look forward to working with the team to face these challenges and realise some of the opportunities in a way which creates shareholder value.

Sir Dave, who was knighted in the 2021 New Years Honours, will be paid an annual salary of 1.5 million, plus 210,000 in pension contributions, as well as performance-based bonuses.

Diageo has seen its share price pummelled in recent years, with the FTSE 100 stock down by a fifth over the past six months and nearly halving in value over the past two years.

Ms Crew had launched a major cost-cutting plan just months before she stepped down, looking to save 500 million US dollars (380 million) as its trading has come under pressure and as it faced a 150 million US dollar (114 million) annual hit from higher US tariffs.

Its sales had already dropped for the first time in around four years during the 2023-24 financial year, dragged lower by a weaker performance in Latin America.

Her resignation in the summer followed just a two-year tenure.

Ms Crew had taken over from former boss Sir Ivan Menezes, who died in June 2023, becoming its first female chief executive.

Richard Hunter, head of markets at interactive investor, said: The announcement is clearly being seen as a potential inflection point for the group given the new hires proven ability in brand building.

Neil Wilson, UK investor strategist at Saxo Markets, added: His laser focus is going to be vital to turning things around after years of trouble and a profits warning last week sent shares to a 10-year low.

He brings strategy and execution.
04/11/2025

Grimsby Town 5 - 3 Everton U21s

With no possibility of progressing in the Vertu EFL Trophy this season, Everton U21s were humbled by conceding 5 goals at Grimsby Town on Tuesday night.

The Young Blues took the lead through Jacob Beaumont-Clark but were pegged back before the break when they went in 2-1 down to the home side in this final Group C game of this season's Vertu EFL Trophy competition.

By the hour mark, they were 4-1 down, but William Tamen pulled one back. Grimsby notched another for a humiliating 5-2 scoreline in the final minutes but George Morgan made it marginally less embarrassing in added time.

Everton U21s: Tyrer, Tamen, Thomas (45' Boakye), Campbell, Finney, Gomez (56' J Patterson), Akarakiri (73' Morgan), Van Schoor, Beaumont-Clark (33' Loney), Bates, Ebere (73' Welch).

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From our view . . .

If Kansas conservatives want to move into the future and don't want to be typecast as the bad guys from Footloose . . . They need to drop support for provincial, anti-intellectual and silly crackdowns on books.

Books can't hurt people. Name a horrible book that has "caused" untold misery and human suffering . . . Something like "Entertaining" by Martha Stewart. Even a defenseless youngster sitting alone in the company of a "deplorable" like that book won't confront any physical harm . . . At the very least they might just get some bad ideas about the popularity of crab cakes.

The point here: Myopic parents hoping to limit the spread of ideas are misguided and essential attempting to enforce Anti-American ideas based on a mistaken premise that text is inherently dangerous. This impulse is the OPPOSITE of conservatism and substitutes reactionary impulses for moral principles.

Still, in fairness, we wanted to share this note that offers more deets about the ruckus over literature . . .

Last month, at a meeting of the Hays Public Library Board, local residents were up in arms over a Banned Books Week display that contained books one resident and his son described as pornographic. . . . Hays Public Library Board President Amy Feauto said the books were displayed in the young adult section and were part of an American Library Association awareness campaign that runs for one week every year.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .
Tirupati Cabs and Car Rentals, a trusted local cab provider, is setting new standards in transportation with its professional Taxi in Tirupati, Airport Cabs in Tirupati, and Outstation Cab services. Known for its punctuality, safety, and customer satisfaction, the company continues to be recognized as the Best Cabs in Tirupati for local and long-distance travel.



(TRAVPR.COM) INDIA - November 7th, 2025 -

Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh  In the heart of one of Indias most visited pilgrimage cities, Tirupati Cabs and Car Rentals has become a household name for travelers seeking reliability, safety, and comfort. With an expanding fleet of well-maintained vehicles and a commitment to excellence, the company provides seamless Cab Booking in Tirupati for both residents and visitors.

The companys mission is to simplify travel for every customer  whether its booking a quick Local Taxi in Tirupati for errands, a call taxi Tirupati for temple visits, or arranging Airport Cabs in Tirupati for timely transfers. Each service is tailored to ensure stress-free travel experiences backed by professionalism and transparency.

Our goal has always been to make travel in Tirupati easy, affordable, and dependable, says the founder of Tirupati Cabs and Car Rentals. We believe every passenger deserves comfort, safety, and trust in their ride, whether its a short city trip or an outstation journey.

With years of experience in the transportation industry, Tirupati Cabs has built a strong reputation as a customer-focused brand. Its fleet includes a wide variety of vehicles  from economical sedans to spacious SUVs  all equipped with modern amenities and driven by experienced chauffeurs who understand the local routes and tourist destinations.

The companys Outstation Cabs in Tirupati service has become increasingly popular among families and tourists exploring nearby destinations like Chennai, Bangalore, and Pondicherry. The ease of booking, transparent pricing, and round-the-clock support have positioned the brand as one of the most trusted names in the travel sector.

Beyond transportation, Tirupati Cabs and Car Rentals plays a vital role in promoting tourism in Andhra Pradesh by helping pilgrims and travelers navigate the city effortlessly. From convenient Tirupati Taxi Booking to personalized packages for temple visits and sightseeing, the company strives to deliver an exceptional customer experience every time.

As the demand for reliable cabs in Tirupati continues to grow, the company remains dedicated to expanding its network and adopting modern technology to enhance convenience and safety. Their online booking system and GPS-enabled rides ensure that passengers always have a comfortable and secure travel experience.

With its continued focus on service quality and customer care, Tirupati Cabs and Car Rentals is not just offering rides  its redefining how people travel in Tirupati and beyond.

Address: 21-4-93/A, Madhav Nagar, Shiv Jyothi Nagar, Near Seven Hills High School, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, 517501

Phone: +91 7780226799

Email: info@tirupaticabsandcarrentals.com

Website: www.tirupaticabsandcarrentals.com

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Kimono Rental Mimosa offers visitors the chance to walk through Kyotos historic streets in authentic kimonos. Located near Kiyomizu-dera and Yasaka Shrine, Mimosa provides professional dressing, hairstyling, and photography for unforgettable memories.



(TRAVPR.COM) JAPAN - November 10th, 2025 -

Kyoto, Japan  November 2025 

Travelers visiting Kyoto can now immerse themselves in Japans traditional culture through an unforgettable kimono experience at Kimono Rental Mimosa.

Located conveniently near Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Yasaka Shrine, and the Gion district, Mimosa offers an extensive collection of kimonos suitable for any occasion  from elegant formal wear to casual strolls through Kyotos picturesque streets.

Guests can enjoy a full-service experience including:

Professional kimono dressing

Custom hairstyling by stylists experienced with traditional looks

Optional photography sessions to capture the beauty of Kyotos heritage settings

Whether youre visiting as a couple, a group of friends, or a solo traveler, Mimosa provides plans tailored for everyone, including couples, students, and men. Same-day reservations are accepted, making it easy for spontaneous visitors to enjoy this authentic experience.

We believe that wearing a kimono in Kyoto is not just about the outfit  its about connecting with Japans living tradition and feeling part of its story, said a spokesperson for Kimono Rental Mimosa.

For more information or reservations, visit https://mk-mimosa-e.top/

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 10. The National Flag Day of the Republic of Azerbaijan is celebrated annually on November 9. This holiday symbolizes statehood, independence, national identity, and unity of the Azerbaijani people, Political scientist Azer Garayev told Trend.

Noting that the flag is an expression of the freedom and sovereignty of each nation, reflecting its history, culture, and ideals, the political scientist recalled that during the time of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the tricolor state flag of the Azerbaijan Republic was adopted by a government decision on November 9, 1918.

"On November 17, 1990, by a decision of the Supreme Majlis of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, the tricolor flag was adopted as the state flag of Nakhchivan. Later, on February 5, 1991, the Supreme Council of the Azerbaijan Republic approved the tricolor flag as the state flag of the Azerbaijan Republic," he said.

Garayev also recalled that by decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, dated November 17, 2009, November 9 became celebrated as National Flag Day.

"Today, Azerbaijan's tricolor flag is not only a state symbol, but also the embodiment of the heroic history of the people, national pride, and ideals of freedom. This flag now flies proudly over the territories of Azerbaijan liberated from occupation. One of the greatest achievements of the Azerbaijani people in recent decades has been the liberation of the occupied lands and the complete restoration of the country's territorial integrity," Azer Garayev added.

He noted that the Azerbaijani people had been eagerly awaiting the day when the tricolor flag of Azerbaijan would be raised in Karabakh for many years.

"President Ilham Aliyev has achieved not only a military victory, but also a political and diplomatic one. The head of state has proven to the international community that Karabakh is an integral part of Azerbaijan and that this issue cannot be subject to negotiation. Under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, the country has entered a new era - an era of restoration and creation. Roads, schools, hospitals, and cultural centers are being built on the lands liberated from occupation, and people are returning to their native lands. And the tricolor flag of Azerbaijan proudly flies over every new building," the political scientist concluded.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 10. Azerbaijan was elected as a member of the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to Its Countries of Origin or Its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation (ICPRCP) for the period 20252029 at the 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference held today in Uzbekistan's Samarkand, the publication of Azerbaijani MFA on social media account said, Trend reports.

"Today, during the 43rd session of the UNESCO General Conference in Samarkand, Azerbaijan has been elected as a member of the Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation (ICPRCP) for the 20252029 term.

This election is a recognition of Azerbaijans strong advocacy for cultural heritage protection and restitution," the post reads.
Photo: Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Azerbaijan

BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 10. The graduation ceremony for the 34th edition of the 10-week NATO Regional Cooperation Course (NRCC-34) took place at the NATO Defense College (NDC) in Rome, Italy, the Ministry of Defense told Trend.

Throughout the course, participants from NATO member and partner nations engaged in classes, seminars, and practical sessions focused on strategic thinking, regional security, international cooperation mechanisms, and field research.

Lieutenant Colonel Farman Mammadov, an officer of the Azerbaijan Army, successfully completed the course.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the graduates were presented with diplomas by the NDC leadership.
VIENTIANE, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The 10th ordinary session of the Lao National Assembly's ninth legislature opened on Monday, marking an important step forward in advancing the country's legislative process and policy development.

The session, chaired by Lao National Assembly (NA) President Saysomphone Phomvihane, will run until Nov. 21, Lao News Agency reported on Monday.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Saysomphone emphasized the session's importance in guiding Laos' next phase of national development. Lawmakers will review the ninth five-year national socio-economic development plan for 2021-2025 and discuss the framework for the 10th five-year plan for 2026-2030. They will also deliberate on the state budget and monetary plans for 2025 and 2026.

Other key agenda items include reviewing national programs aimed at addressing economic and financial challenges, strengthening drug control efforts, and evaluating the performance of key oversight bodies.

During the session, NA members will deliberate on pressing national issues to promote transparency and accountability in governance.

The session serves as an important platform to assess progress under the current development plan and to lay a solid foundation for Laos' next phase of socio-economic growth. 
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 10. Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur honored over 100 service members for their contributions to international military missions in Iraq, Mozambique, and EU naval operations, highlighting their role in strengthening Estonias security and global alliances, Trend reports citing the country's Defense Ministry.

This time, 50 service members received medals and 51 were honored with clasps.

During the ceremony, the minister expressed gratitude to the personnel for their dedicated service in military operations in Iraq (as part of the U.S.-led coalition Operation Inherent Resolve and NATO Mission Iraq), Mozambique (under the European Unions Military Assistance Mission EUMAM MOZ), and in EU naval operations in the Red Sea region and the Mediterranean (EUNAVFOR ASPIDES and EUNAVFOR Med/Irini).

Every service member participating in an international operation makes a significant contribution to achieving Estonias national security and defense policy goals. Their contribution carries strategic importance, as reflected in the continued presence of U.S. and other key allied forces in Estonia. Thanks to the professionalism and dedication of our troops abroad, we can feel safer at home and confident that Estonias alliances and defense capabilities are in strong hands, said Minister Pevkur.

Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) was Estonias largest international military operation in recent years, based in Erbil, Iraq (Kurdistan), where Estonia contributed personnel from 2016 onward. Led by the United States, the coalitions mission has been to coordinate military efforts against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

During my visit to the Estonian contingent in Iraq this July, I witnessed firsthand the high regard in which our service members are held by our allies. Their professionalism and dedication have become a mark of quality recognized internationally, Minister Pevkur added.

The return of the Estonian contingent leadership and National Support Element in September marked the conclusion of nearly a decade of Estonias involvement in Operation Inherent Resolve. In total, more than 500 Estonian service members served in the operation.
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, November 10. UK exports to Turkmenistan surged in the four quarters to Q2 2025, reaching $112.8 million, up 59.3 percent (or $41.9 million) compared with the previous year.

The sudden leap put Turkmenistan in the UKs export lineup as the 138th largest destination, making waves in the trade waters.

Data obtained by Trend from the UK Governments Department for Business and Trade (DBT) shows that goods exports accounted for $44.6 million (39.5 percent of total exports), while services dominated with $68.2 million (60.5 percent).

Top 5 UK goods exported to Turkmenistan:
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 10. Azerbaijan exported non-oil products worth $70.2 million to Kazakhstan in the period from January through September 2025.

The data obtained by Trend from the State Customs Committee indicates that this figure decreased by $18.7 million, or 21 percent, compared to the same period last year.

In the first nine months of last year, Azerbaijan exported non-oil products worth $88.9 million to Kazakhstan.

The value of non-oil and gas exports was dominated by supplies to Russia (33.2 percent), Turkiye (16.5 percent), Switzerland (9.4 percent), Georgia (9.2 percent), Ukraine (5.6 percent), the UAE (3 percent), Kazakhstan (2.7 percent), Belarus (2.1 percent), Uzbekistan (2 percent), Turkmenistan (1.9 percent), and other countries (14.6 percent).

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan exported non-oil products worth $2.6 billion to these and other countries from January through September this year.

According to the data, this is $184 million, or 7.5 percent, more in value compared to the same period in 2024.
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ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, November 10. Turkmenistan and the European Union held the 24th meeting of the TurkmenistanEU Joint Committee in Ashgabat, focusing on expanding cooperation in the economic, transport, energy, and humanitarian sectors, Trend reports, citing Turkmen MFA.

The Turkmen delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Finance and Economy Babaniyaz Yalakov, while the EU delegation was headed by Audrone Perkauskiene, Deputy Managing Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at the European External Action Service.

Discussions focused on macroeconomic progress, trade relations, and Turkmenistans process of joining the World Trade Organization (WTO). The parties examined opportunities for modernizing transport infrastructure, advancing renewable and energy-efficient technologies, and enhancing digital collaboration within the framework of the EUs Global Gateway initiative. Special emphasis was placed on implementing the e-CMR electronic consignment note system to strengthen trade and logistics connectivity.

The sides also addressed the diversification of energy supply routes, joint efforts in environmental protection, and the expansion of academic and humanitarian cooperation, including the annual TurkmenistanEU Human Rights Dialogue and education-oriented initiatives.

Following the meeting, the sides agreed to develop a TurkmenistanEU Roadmap for the coming years and to organize a series of sectoral forums in Ashgabat aimed at deepening practical cooperation.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 10. Kazakhstans Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov met with LanzaJet CEO Jimmy Samarit and Vice President of Commercial Affairs Stefan Tion to discuss industrial and technological cooperation on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production, Trend reports.

The meeting focused on plans to build a SAF plant in Rudny, Kostanay region, with an annual production capacity of 54,000 tons of aviation fuel and up to 100,000 tons of bioethanol processing. The project aims to localize advanced technologies and support the countrys green aviation and agricultural sectors. A feasibility study for the plant has already been completed.

LanzaJet, a subsidiary of U.S.-based bioengineering firm LanzaTech, produces SAF from ethanol derived from various feedstocks, including grains, corn, and potatoes. The project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and aligns with Kazakhstans climate and energy priorities.

Prime Minister Bektenov emphasized government support for the initiative, noting that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev aims to develop Kazakhstan as an international aviation hub and ensure a reliable supply of high-quality, eco-friendly aviation fuel.

LanzaJet is backed by major global investors and airlines, including International Airlines Group, Shell, British Airways, Microsoft, ANA, Airbus, and others, and has long-term offtake agreements with leading carriers worldwide.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 10. Kazakhstan and Russia reached an agreement to jointly assess prospective cargo volumes passing through their shared border checkpoints and to support the further development of the NorthSouth corridor to increase bilateral and transit freight, following the 26th meeting of the KazakhstanRussia Intergovernmental Commission in Astana, Trend reports.

The meeting, co-chaired by Kazakhstans Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, focused on expanding railway shipments, including prospects linked to the September launch of double tracks on the DostykMoynty section and growing ChinaEuropeChina transit.

Kazakhstan also raised concerns about the reduced stay period for foreign drivers in Russia, and the Russian side confirmed readiness to facilitate restoring the 180-day allowance for Kazakh international transport operators.

Furthermore, the two countries agreed to expand trade in agricultural products, including exploring the removal of phytosanitary restrictions on flax and lentil seeds and enabling grain transit through Russia. Discussions covered cooperation in energy, finance, oil and gas, nuclear power, industry, IT, tourism, education, and standardization.

The delegations signed the session protocol, with the next Intergovernmental Commission meeting scheduled for 2026 in Omsk, Russia.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 10. According to Georgias National Statistics Service, residents made 784,700 outbound trips in the third quarter of 2025, up 3.4% year-on-year, Trend reports.

Travelers aged 31-50 accounted for the largest share of trips, 41.4%. Of these, 599,700 were by Georgian residents, slightly down 0.6% from the same period in 2024.

Georgian residents carried out 412,600 tourist visits abroad, a 2.6% increase compared to Q3 2024. Women accounted for 47.6% of visits, and 45.9% of tourists were aged 3150.

Visiting friends and relatives remained the most common purpose of travel, making up 36.1% of trips. Turkiye and Russia were the top destinations, with 213,600 and 113,700 visits, respectively. The average stay was 7.9 nights, slightly longer than the 7.86 nights recorded in Q3 2024, and 97.8% of trips were repeat visits.

Spending on outbound visits totaled 699.9 million lari ($259 million), up 3.6% from last year, with the average cost per visit rising 4.1% to 1,167.2 lari ($431.57).
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, November 10. Uzbekistan has allocated 230 trillion soums (around $20 billion) to the healthcare sector in recent years, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said during a meeting with medical and pharmaceutical workers, Trend reports.

"This figure is 45 trillion soums ($3.73 billion) more than this years budget and six times higher than in 2016," he said.

According to the president, as a result, 187 new clinics and hospitals have opened across the regions, while 1,244 facilities have been renovated and equipped with modern medical technology. The capacity of primary healthcare institutions has increased by 60%, making medical services significantly more accessible to the population.

More than 400 advanced diagnostic and treatment methods, previously concentrated in the capital, are now being implemented in regional centers. Hundreds of complex surgeries have been moved to regional hospitals, and minimally invasive procedures are now available at the district level.

"For the first time, kidney transplant operations have been carried out in 45 districts, demonstrating the tangible results of our efforts to improve public health," President Mirziyoyev added.
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, November 10. Asman Airlines will launch regular direct flights between Almaty and Karakol starting December 5, 2025, Trend reports via the airline.

Flights will operate twice a week, on Fridays and Sundays, departing Almaty at 11:35 AM with return flights from Karakol at 12:35 PM. Ticket prices start at 6,500 Kyrgyz soms (approximately 39,000 tenge or $75).

The route was previously served in the 2010s, but regular commercial flights have not been available since the 1970s.

The service is expected to cater primarily to tourists and travelers from Kazakhstan, particularly those visiting Karakol, a popular winter holiday destination.
BEIJING, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday sent a congratulatory message to Alassane Ouattara on his re-election as Cote d'Ivoire's president.

In his message, Xi said China and Cote d'Ivoire are fellow travelers and good partners on the path toward modernization.

Xi stated that bilateral relations have maintained a strong momentum of development, with fruitful achievements in various areas and deepening friendship between the two peoples.

The world is currently witnessing accelerated changes unseen in a century, Xi said, adding that the strength of the Global South has been growing remarkably.

Xi said he attaches great importance to the development of China-Cote d'Ivoire relations and is willing to work with Ouattara to deepen the bilateral strategic partnership and jointly promote solidarity and cooperation among the Global South. 
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, November 10. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev highlighted the need for more effective use of resources in the healthcare sector during a meeting with medical and pharmaceutical workers, Trend reports.

Over the past five years, specialized medical centers have received 7.5 trillion soums (around $623 million), he said, and have been equipped with thousands of modern devices.

"Can any center claim a shortage of medicines? But how are these funds, equipment, and medications actually being used? Unfortunately, only 25% of the equipments capacity is being utilized," the President noted.

He stressed that healthcare centers, as well as district and regional health administrations that fail to embrace digitalization, seek international partnerships, update clinical protocols, and build modern teams for advanced diagnostics, prevention, and treatment, will have no future.

President Mirziyoyev also emphasized the importance of analyzing disease patterns in specific districts and communities, developing precise plans for prevention and effective treatment, and ensuring that national centers guide local facilities using such data-driven approaches. He said that making full use of expensive, modern medical equipment is more critical than ever.
Photo: The Ministry of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan

TAHSKENT, Uzbekistan, November 10. As part of his working visit to the United States, Minister of Digital Technologies Sherzod Shermatov signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ribbon Communications to enhance cooperation in telecommunications and cybersecurity, Trend reports via the ministry.

The agreement was signed with Bruce McClelland, President and CEO of Ribbon Communications, and Leon Tylevich, President for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It outlines plans to implement an anti-spoofing system within Uzbektelecom networks and to develop and deploy advanced cybersecurity solutions across the countrys telecommunications infrastructure.

Ribbon Communications, an international provider of innovative telecom and cloud solutions, supports voice, data, and secure communications for operators and large corporate clients worldwide. The partnership aims to strengthen Uzbekistans digital security, improve network reliability, and advance the countrys telecommunications capabilities in line with global standards.
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, November 10. Kyrgyzstan plans to expand its energy infrastructure, with new hydroelectric and solar power projects aimed at overcoming electricity shortages and achieving energy self-sufficiency, President Sadyr Zhaparov wrote on his social media, Trend reports.

Zhaparov detailed the ongoing construction and modernization of hydropower plants across the country. Already this year, we are commissioning new solar and hydroelectric stations. By the end of 2027, around 100 small and medium hydroelectric plants will be completed, and the 1,200 MW thermal power plant in Kara-Keche will fully cover the winter energy deficit, he said.

The president emphasized that modernization projects are also underway at existing facilities. At Toktogul HPP, all four units have been upgraded, adding 240 MW of capacity - equivalent to building a new hydroelectric plant, Zhaparov noted. Additional upgrades are ongoing at the Uch-Kurgan, Kambar-Ata, At-Bashin, and Lebedinovka plants.

Looking ahead, the government plans a series of small and medium hydroelectric plants from 2025 through 2030, including the Orto-Tokoy HPP (21 MW), Kulanak HPP (100 MW), Turgent HPP (26 MW), and others. Zhaparov stressed that these projects will enable Kyrgyzstan to gradually eliminate winter energy deficits and become an exporter of electricity.

By completing these projects, Kyrgyzstan will be energy-secure, self-sufficient, and resilient. Citizens cooperation in conserving electricity today contributes to this national goal, he said.
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, November 10. Kyrgyzstan is taking steps to reduce the national energy debt and achieve long-term energy self-sufficiency, President Sadyr Zhaparov wrote on his social media, Trend reports.

Zhaparov highlighted the achievements of his administration in stabilizing the energy sector. Before 2020, the energy systems debt amounted to 137 billion soms ($1.5 billion). Thanks to reforms and the elimination of corruption, we have reduced it to 25 billion soms ($285.8 million). With Gods help, next year we will be debt-free, and by 2027, our energy system will start generating profit for the first time in history, he said.

The president urged citizens to conserve electricity, noting that the water volume in Toktogul Reservoir is currently two billion cubic meters lower than last year. Each extra kilowatt-hour costs the state more money, your money. Please use electricity economically, he added.

On national debt, Zhaparov reported that over 285 billion soms ($3.3 billion) have been allocated to repay the state debt from 2020 through 2025, including 170.5 billion soms ($1.9 billion) in external debt and 114.9 billion soms ($1.4 billion) in domestic debt. We expect to eliminate external debt completely by 2035 without difficulty, he said, stressing that economic growth and large-scale investment projects, such as the Kambar-Ata hydroelectric power station and the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, will support this goal.

He also encouraged public understanding amid temporary energy shortages and called for continued reforms and vigilance in electricity use.
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, November 10. Kyrgyzstan has developed a draft resolution introducing a six-month temporary ban on the export of timber and timber products outside the customs territory of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Trend reports via the Ministry of Economy.

The draft has been submitted for public discussion. According to the document, the restriction will apply to timber products classified under codes 4401, 4403, and 4407 of the EAEU Commodity Nomenclature for Foreign Economic Activity (CN VED). If approved, the ban will take effect 15 days after its official publication and will be enforced three days later. Humanitarian aid shipments provided by the Cabinet of Ministers will be exempted.

The ministry explained that the measure aims to prevent the re-export of timber imported from other EAEU countries. Kyrgyzstans own forest resources are extremely limited, with domestic timber production relying almost entirely on imports. In 2024, the country imported 69,932.5 cubic meters of sawn timber, including 64,020.5 cubic meters from Russia.

Meanwhile, the similar six-month export ban was imposed in 2024. The renewed restriction aligns with non-tariff regulatory measures recommended by the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, which advised member states to apply export restrictions or quotas on certain goods, including timber.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 10. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved a USD 1 billion Climate-Focused Policy-Based Financing (CPBF) loan to support Brazils efforts to meet its climate goals under the countrys Nationally Determined Contributions, Trend reports via AIIB.

The financing will back policy and institutional reforms aimed at advancing sustainable finance, energy transition, and green, resilient infrastructure through Brazils Ecological Transformation Plan.

Jin Liqun, AIIB President and Chair of the Board, said the program couples policy ambition with practical market reforms, adding that the support will help channel private capital into sustainable finance, accelerate energy transition, and build climate-resilient infrastructure, delivering tangible benefits for people, nature, and the economy.

Tatiana Rosito, Vice Minister for International Affairs at Brazils Ministry of Finance, noted that the CPBF demonstrates how climate action and development can go hand in hand. She highlighted that the partnership is helping create markets for sustainable finance, develop carbon market mechanisms, advance blended finance initiatives like Eco Invest Brasil, and support low-carbon growth and biome regeneration.

The CPBF will focus on three pillars: sustainable finance, energy transition, and green and resilient infrastructure. Key expected outcomes include establishing governance for a national carbon market, mobilizing private resources for sustainable infrastructure and forest conservation, producing low-GHG sustainable aviation fuel, deploying early-warning systems for extreme heat, and strengthening forest and mangrove restoration.

The program will be reviewed semi-annually, complementing existing policy loans from the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, while building on AIIBs research on natural ecosystems as infrastructure and the integration of infrastructure investment with environmental and climate health outcomes.
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, November 10. Turkmenistans Ambassador to Romania, Annamammet Annayev, met with Stefan Vuza, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Chimcomplex, to discuss prospects for expanding bilateral cooperation in the energy and industrial sectors, Trend reports via the Turkmen Embassy.

During the meeting, the Turkmen side presented the countrys strategic plans for developing its oil, gas, and industrial sectors, highlighting modernization programs and efforts to enhance regional energy security.

The sides noted Chimcomplexs successful participation in the OGT 2025 international exhibition in Ashgabat in October, which contributed to strengthening business ties and sharing technological expertise.

Meanwhile, discussions focused on potential collaboration in gas processing, chemical production, and investment in new industrial facilities. Vuza confirmed Chimcomplexs interest in expanding cooperation with Turkmenistan.

The meeting concluded with an agreement to continue the dialogue and identify specific projects for mutually beneficial partnership.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 10. COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev inaugurated the COP30 conference in Belem, calling for the fulfillment of commitments in the field of climate finance, Trend reports.

The statement was shared on COP29s official X account.

Babayev presented donor countries with an invoice that calls for the delivery of climate finance commitments, including the historic Baku Finance Goal agreed at COP29 last year.

The document, titled COP29 Invoice for Climate Justice, calls for full implementation of these commitments.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 10. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev received Chairman of the Supreme Audit Chamber Alikhan Smailov, who presented a report on the agencys performance over the first nine months of the year and outlined plans for 2026, the Kazakh president's office said, Trend reports.

According to Smailov, state auditors carried out 18 major inspections covering 32 trillion tenge ($61.1 billion) - 22.8 trillion ($43.5 billion) more than in the same period last year. As a result, 112 billion tenge ($213.8 million) were reimbursed and restored to the state. To address identified violations and shortcomings, the Government and audited entities received 96 recommendations and about 800 mandatory directives, while 42 audit cases were forwarded to law enforcement agencies.

Tokayev was informed that a new digital information system has been introduced to automate all stages of the Chambers audit process.

In 2026, around 40 audits are planned, focusing on areas such as support for domestic pharmaceutical producers, investment attraction, road development, operations of Kazakhtelecom, Kazpost and the Interior Ministrys penal system, as well as state information policy.

Following the meeting, President Tokayev gave specific instructions aimed at further improving the system of state audit in Kazakhstan.
Archaeologists observe the excavation site of the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Nov. 8, 2025. A prehistoric tomb dating back between 12,000 and 13,000 years was discovered in south China's Hainan Province, which is believed to be the earliest tomb found on the island. The tomb, discovered at the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya's Jiyang District, belonged to a child who was buried on his or her side with bent limbs. Shell ornaments were found near the head and waist, believed to be the earliest of their kind in China, offering valuable insights into Hainan's prehistoric culture and its cultural exchanges with Southeast Asia. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

SANYA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- A prehistoric tomb dating back between 12,000 and 13,000 years was discovered in south China's Hainan Province, which is believed to be the earliest tomb found on the island.

The archaeological research was jointly conducted by the Hainan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, the School of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University, and the Sanya Museum.

The tomb, discovered at the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya's Jiyang District, belonged to a child who was buried on his or her side with bent limbs. Shell ornaments were found near the head and waist, believed to be the earliest of their kind in China, offering valuable insights into Hainan's prehistoric culture and its cultural exchanges with Southeast Asia.

The age of the tomb was established using carbon-14 and uranium series dating methods.

The Luobi Cave site, discovered in 1983, has yielded human fossils, stone tools, bone implements and animal remains, providing the earliest evidence of human activity in southern China.

The new discoveries are highly significant for understanding the activity history of prehistoric humans on Hainan Island, reconstructing the island's prehistoric cultural sequence, and studying the exchange and spread of stone tool technology and culture with humans in South China, Southeast Asia and beyond, said Gao Xing, a research fellow at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. 

Archaeologists sort soil samples collected from the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Nov. 8, 2025. A prehistoric tomb dating back between 12,000 and 13,000 years was discovered in south China's Hainan Province, which is believed to be the earliest tomb found on the island.

The tomb, discovered at the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya's Jiyang District, belonged to a child who was buried on his or her side with bent limbs. Shell ornaments were found near the head and waist, believed to be the earliest of their kind in China, offering valuable insights into Hainan's prehistoric culture and its cultural exchanges with Southeast Asia. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Archaeologists observe the excavation site of the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Nov. 8, 2025. A prehistoric tomb dating back between 12,000 and 13,000 years was discovered in south China's Hainan Province, which is believed to be the earliest tomb found on the island.

The tomb, discovered at the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya's Jiyang District, belonged to a child who was buried on his or her side with bent limbs. Shell ornaments were found near the head and waist, believed to be the earliest of their kind in China, offering valuable insights into Hainan's prehistoric culture and its cultural exchanges with Southeast Asia. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Archaeologists observe the excavation site of the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Nov. 8, 2025. A prehistoric tomb dating back between 12,000 and 13,000 years was discovered in south China's Hainan Province, which is believed to be the earliest tomb found on the island.

The tomb, discovered at the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya's Jiyang District, belonged to a child who was buried on his or her side with bent limbs. Shell ornaments were found near the head and waist, believed to be the earliest of their kind in China, offering valuable insights into Hainan's prehistoric culture and its cultural exchanges with Southeast Asia. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Archaeologists observe samples unearthed from the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Nov. 8, 2025. A prehistoric tomb dating back between 12,000 and 13,000 years was discovered in south China's Hainan Province, which is believed to be the earliest tomb found on the island.

The tomb, discovered at the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya's Jiyang District, belonged to a child who was buried on his or her side with bent limbs. Shell ornaments were found near the head and waist, believed to be the earliest of their kind in China, offering valuable insights into Hainan's prehistoric culture and its cultural exchanges with Southeast Asia. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Archaeologists observe the excavation site of the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Nov. 8, 2025. A prehistoric tomb dating back between 12,000 and 13,000 years was discovered in south China's Hainan Province, which is believed to be the earliest tomb found on the island.

The tomb, discovered at the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya's Jiyang District, belonged to a child who was buried on his or her side with bent limbs. Shell ornaments were found near the head and waist, believed to be the earliest of their kind in China, offering valuable insights into Hainan's prehistoric culture and its cultural exchanges with Southeast Asia. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

This photo taken on Nov. 8, 2025 shows the excavation site of the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province. A prehistoric tomb dating back between 12,000 and 13,000 years was discovered in south China's Hainan Province, which is believed to be the earliest tomb found on the island.

The tomb, discovered at the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya's Jiyang District, belonged to a child who was buried on his or her side with bent limbs. Shell ornaments were found near the head and waist, believed to be the earliest of their kind in China, offering valuable insights into Hainan's prehistoric culture and its cultural exchanges with Southeast Asia. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

Archaeologists observe the excavation site of the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Nov. 8, 2025. A prehistoric tomb dating back between 12,000 and 13,000 years was discovered in south China's Hainan Province, which is believed to be the earliest tomb found on the island.

The tomb, discovered at the Luobi Cave relic site in Sanya's Jiyang District, belonged to a child who was buried on his or her side with bent limbs. Shell ornaments were found near the head and waist, believed to be the earliest of their kind in China, offering valuable insights into Hainan's prehistoric culture and its cultural exchanges with Southeast Asia. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 10. Kazakhstans President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Denis Manturov to discuss key areas of bilateral cooperation ahead of Tokayevs upcoming state visit to Moscow, Trend reports.

During the meeting, President Tokayev highlighted the importance of the visit and expressed confidence in successful negotiations. He emphasized the active coordination between the governments of both countries, noting that Russia remains one of Kazakhstans leading trade and economic partners.

Tokayev recalled the agreement reached with Russian President Vladimir Putin to increase bilateral trade to $30 billion in the near future. He also noted Russias leading role in investment in Kazakhstan, with total Russian investments reaching $4 billion in 2024, and praised the activities of major Russian companies operating in the country as a sign of mutual trust.

Deputy Prime Minister Manturov expressed gratitude for the warm reception and reaffirmed Russias commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation. He noted the strong foundation already established for joint projects and expressed confidence in their successful implementation.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 10. Kazakhstans President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev will pay a state visit to Russia on November 1112 at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin announced, Trend reports.

During the visit, the two leaders are set to discuss key issues in the development of the strategic partnership and alliance between Russia and Kazakhstan, covering political, trade-economic, and cultural-humanitarian cooperation, as well as major regional and global topics.

Putin and Tokayev are also expected to address participants of the XXI Forum of Interregional Cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan via videoconference. The forum will take place in the Kazakh city of Uralsk.

Several important bilateral documents are scheduled for signing during the visit, underlining the continuing deepening of ties between the two countries.
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, November 10. Kyrgyzstans Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeenbek Kulubaev met with Ambassador of Japan to Kyrgyzstan Hideki Goda to mark the conclusion of his diplomatic mission, Trend reports via Kyrgyz MFA.

Minister Kulubaev expressed gratitude for Ambassador Godas contributions, highlighting his role in strengthening bilateral relations based on mutual trust and respect. He emphasized the importance of further deepening political dialogue, as well as economic and humanitarian cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Japan.

The minister also thanked Japan for its technical assistance and support for key socio-economic projects aimed at promoting sustainable development in Kyrgyzstan.

Ambassador Goda reciprocated the appreciation, acknowledging the warm cooperation and support he received during his tenure. He expressed confidence that ties between the two countries would continue to grow and expand.

During the meeting, both sides discussed current issues in bilateral relations and multilateral engagement within international organizations.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 10. For the first time, governors from the Caspian littoral countries will gather in Rasht on November 1718 for a landmark meeting aimed at enhancing regional cooperation, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei announced at a briefing, Trend reports.

The initiative, proposed by Iran during the third Caspian Economic Forum, received approval from all five littoral states.

The event will see participation from governors representing the coastal provinces of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan. Irans Foreign Minister and Interior Minister will officially inaugurate the session.

In addition to provincial governors, several autonomous regions from the littoral countries are also expected to join, with a total of nine provinces and regions participating, Baghaei said.

The meeting aims to foster dialogue and collaboration on regional development, economic initiatives, and shared challenges across the Caspian region.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 10. Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili sharply criticized the European Union for its approach to Georgia, accusing Brussels of abandoning key European values, particularly respect for democracy, Trend reports.

Papuashvili in his social media post argued that true respect for democracy cannot coexist with interference in another nations electoral process. He singled out the EU and some of its ambassadors for allegedly intervening in Georgias 2024 elections, calling it a violation of both UN rules and the Vienna Convention, as well as broader norms of international order.

The speaker also condemned what he described as Brussels dismissive attitude toward Georgias judicial system. Citing cases involving former officials, including Mikheil Saakashvili, Nika Melia, and Giorgi Gvaramia, he claimed the EU had repeatedly misrepresented the outcomes of Georgian courts in favor of politically motivated narratives.

Papuashvili further criticized the EUs failure to condemn violence during the October 4 events, suggesting that financial interests had taken precedence over principles.

The path to restoring relations with the Georgian people lies in respecting European values. If Brussels wants to return to those values, the first step is recognizing and respecting democracy, he said.
By Nicole Lyons, November 10, 2025

Jean Norman, vice president of Member Support for the College Media Association, left, presents Associate Professor

Julie Lewis with a Distinguished Adviser Award during the College Media Associations MediaFest Convention.

Julie Lewis, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Central Missouri (UCM) and faculty adviser to The Muleskinner, has been named a recipient of the College Media Associations (CMA) 2025 Distinguished Adviser Award.



The honor was presented during the Fall 2025 National College Media Associations MediaFest Convention, hosted Oct. 15-18 in Washington, D.C. The Distinguished Adviser Award is one of CMAs most prestigious recognitions, and only nine advisors received the award in 2025.



Its such an honor to be recognized by the College Media Association, Lewis said. Advising student journalists is one of the most meaningful parts of my career. Our Muleskinners student journalists curiosity, creativity and commitment to telling important stories about our MuleNation inspire me every day.

The award celebrates advisers with five or more years of experience who demonstrate exceptional leadership, mentorship and dedication to student media. Recipients are recognized nationally for advancing journalistic excellence, ethical reporting and student growth through education and experience.

The Muleskinner staff is fortunate to work with such a dedicated and enthusiastic sponsor as Dr. Julie Lewis, said David Pearce, executive director for Governmental Relations. The Distinguished Adviser Award shows that Dr. Lewis is not afraid to challenge her students and encourage them to try new things. She brings an infectious attitude to the Muleskinner staff, who strive to excel in their craft. What a role model!

Candidates are evaluated by a national review board composed of journalism faculty and students. Lewis was nominated by Muleskinner student staff members, followed by faculty endorsements and a comprehensive portfolio review. Through this rigorous process, Lewis was recognized as a top collegiate media adviser in the nation, representing UCM alongside advisors from private and Division I institutions.

Dr. Lewis represents the very best of UCMs commitment to experiential learning, said Laurel Hogue, Ed.D., vice provost for Online and Learning Engagement. Her work with The Muleskinner prepares students to enter the media industry with both skill and purpose.

Earlier this year, Lewis received the Adviser of the Year Award from the Missouri College Media Association (MCMA) during its 2025 convention, which was hosted at UCM.

Dr. Lewis has devoted her career to mentoring student journalists, and she is truly deserving of this award, said Sadie Staker, editor-in-chief of The Muleskinner and vice president of MCMA. Our team is lucky to have her, and we are incredibly grateful for her leadership, support and kindness. She has built us a culture of trust and excellence in our newsroom. She challenges us to think critically and tell stories that matter.

Lewis recognition highlights UCMs continued excellence in student media and the strength of its hands-on, student-centered journalism program.
SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's jobless claims turned downward last month due to lower demand in the construction and manufacturing industries, government data showed Monday.

The number of new applicants for job-seeking benefits decreased 16.2 percent over the year to 75,000 in October after growing in double digits in the previous month, according to the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

The benefit applicants reduced in the construction, the manufacturing and the wholesale and retail sectors, but the reading was unchanged in the water supply, sewage and waste management industry.

The job-seeking benefits are offered by the government to help the unemployed find jobs, taking up a majority of unemployment benefits. It is financed by the state employment insurance fund.

The number of benefit recipients totaled 576,000 in October, down 2.0 percent from a year earlier.

The total payment of job-seeking benefits swelled 4.9 percent to 1.05 trillion won (721.9 million U.S. dollars) in the cited month. 
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Blast in a moving car near Red Fort in Delhi

At least eight people have been killed in a blast which took place in a moving car near Red Fort in New Delhi Monday November 10, 2025

New Delhi: At least eight people have been killed in a blast which took place in a moving car near Red Fort in New Delhi Monday November 10, 2025.

The blast took place in a Hyundai i20 car at 6.52 PM near the Red Fort Metro Station, leaving mangled bodies and wrecked cars scattered in the busy area, NDTV reporting Police officials.

"The blast took place in a slow-moving vehicle that came to a halt at the Red Fort traffic signal. There were occupants in the car. The blast damaged cars nearby," Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha told reporters.

The i20 car had Haryana number plate, according to reports.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the blast site soon after the tragic incident. He said the incident is "being probed from all the angles".

The blast occurred in the i20 car around 07:00 PM near Subhash Marg signal. Few nearby cars have also been damaged and some pedestrians too have suffered injuries because of the blast, Amit Shah said.

The blast was so powerful that it shattered the windows of vehicles parked several metres away. The sound was heard as far as ITO, a few kilometres from the spot, according to The Indian Express.



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Britain's King Charles III (front), Prince William (2nd L) and Prince Edward attend the Remembrance Sunday ceremony in London, Britain, on Nov. 9, 2025. The Remembrance Sunday ceremony is an annual event to pay tribute to the war dead of Britain and the Commonwealth, which is held on the nearest Sunday to the anniversary of the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer attends the Remembrance Sunday ceremony in London, Britain, on Nov. 9, 2025. The Remembrance Sunday ceremony is an annual event to pay tribute to the war dead of Britain and the Commonwealth, which is held on the nearest Sunday to the anniversary of the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, attends the Remembrance Sunday ceremony in London, Britain, on Nov. 9, 2025. The Remembrance Sunday ceremony is an annual event to pay tribute to the war dead of Britain and the Commonwealth, which is held on the nearest Sunday to the anniversary of the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

People attend the Remembrance Sunday ceremony in London, Britain, on Nov. 9, 2025. The Remembrance Sunday ceremony is an annual event to pay tribute to the war dead of Britain and the Commonwealth, which is held on the nearest Sunday to the anniversary of the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

Veterans attend the Remembrance Sunday ceremony in London, Britain, on Nov. 9, 2025. The Remembrance Sunday ceremony is an annual event to pay tribute to the war dead of Britain and the Commonwealth, which is held on the nearest Sunday to the anniversary of the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)
It took Washington State University nine months to approve a medical education course examining youth gender medicine. It took just two days to suspend it after a single activist blogger sounded the alarm.

The rapid reversal has ignited a fierce debate about academic freedom, raising uncomfortable questions: Should universities bow to external pressure campaigns? Who decides what doctors are allowed to learn? And how much power should activists wield over academic institutions?

The Timeline That Shocked Faculty

The course in question wasn't hastily thrown together. The Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM) spent nine months working with WSU's continuing medical education office to ensure the video series met national accreditation standards. On June 2, 2025, the university gave its approval.

The course offered physicians continuing medical education credits for watching presentations from SEGM's 2023 international academic conference. Topics included brain science, treatment protocols, and how different countries approach gender dysphoria in young peopleparticularly the more cautious, psychotherapy-first approaches adopted by health authorities in the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Finland.

For months, the course ran without incident. Healthcare professionals across the country earned their CME credits. Then came October 29.

Transgender activist Erin Reed published a critical article on her "Erin in the Morning" Substack, labeling SEGM an "anti-trans hate group"a designation the Southern Poverty Law Center made in 2023, which SEGM strongly disputes as politically motivated. Reed invited her readers to file complaints with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the body that accredits institutions like WSU.

The response was swift. Within hours, complaints flooded in. By October 31just two days laterthe course was suspended.

"I am very sorry about this situation  I've never seen anything like this from a national accrediting body," a director of WSU's continuing medical education office wrote to SEGM in an email obtained by Fox News Digital.

Reed celebrated the suspension on Bluesky: "I'm pleased to announce that following our reporting, multiple people have reported that a formal inquiry is being made into SEGM's accreditation, and that the CME courses are at least temporarily pulled down."

Faculty Divided: Academic Freedom vs. Ethical Oversight

The controversy has split WSU's faculty down the middle, exposing deeper fault lines about how universities should handle contentious topics.

On one side stands Dr. Erica Li, an assistant professor of pediatrics who introduced SEGM to the accreditation team. In an impassioned open letter, Li described the organization as "responsible and evidence-based" in a field increasingly shaped by political motives rather than scientific inquiry.

"I urge the university not to bow to activist pressure," Li wrote, framing the suspension as a test of institutional courage. "This is about whether we stand for academic freedom or allow external campaigns to dictate what our faculty and students can examine."

On the other side, faculty members posting to the WSU Senate discussion board raised concerns about oversight of external educational partnerships with "potential clinical and ethical implications." They called for more faculty involvement in vetting courses that touch on politically sensitive medical topics.

The divide reflects a broader dilemma facing universities nationwide: How do institutions balance legitimate concerns about course quality with the risk of censorship? Where's the line between responsible oversight and caving to pressure?

"Almost Immediately After": The Speed Raises Red Flags

SEGM officials say they were blindsided by how fast the investigation materialized.

"We were perplexed by how quickly the ACCME acted to open an inquiry into the course  and by how rapidly it was suspended," a SEGM spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "The timing was striking: it occurred almost immediately after an activist published a blog post criticizing the course. That simply isn't enough time to have meaningfully reviewed several hours of educational content for factual accuracy or compliance."

The spokesperson pointed out the jarring contrast: "The course had been available for months without any intervention. The sudden reversal suggests the process was driven more by external pressure than by a careful scientific review."

The speed of the action has become the focal point for critics who see the suspension as capitulation rather than due diligence. If the course material was problematic, why did it take an activist campaign to trigger scrutiny? If it wasn't problematic, why pull it so quickly?

Dr. Graham McMahon, president of the ACCME, told "Erin in the Morning" that the characterization of SEGM "raises questions that appear appropriate for an inquiry." But he hasn't addressed concerns about the compressed timeline or whether complaints were evaluated for merit before launching the investigation.

What This Means for Medical Education

The WSU case isn't happening in a vacuum. It's part of a larger pattern where asking certain scientific questions in gender medicine is treated as inherently suspect.

"Across the U.S., CME courses on youth gender dysphoria overwhelmingly present only one perspective," SEGM noted. "Meanwhile, European health authorities in the U.K., Sweden, and Finland  after conducting systematic evidence reviews  have moved toward more cautious, psychotherapy-first approaches for gender dysphoric youth. Those developments have received almost no representation in American CME programs."

The organization's course was designed to close that gap, giving physicians access to the full international evidence base. Yet while many CME programs contain claims that go unchallenged, SEGM's carefully vetted course was singled out for scrutiny within 48 hours of activist complaints.

"That imbalance raises serious questions about whether ideology is shaping what doctors are allowed to learn  which erodes trust in the system and harms the already vulnerable population we all aim to serve," SEGM said.

The controversy follows similar incidents at other prestigious institutions. Earlier in 2025, Harvard Medical School postponed a "transgender health" course after legal scrutiny. A McMaster University research team led by Dr. Gordon Guyatt faced activist pressure after publishing systematic reviews finding "low or very low" certainty of evidence that puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries improve overall well-being in gender-dysphoric youth. The team issued a public apology in August.

The Bigger Question: Who Controls Academic Discourse?

At its core, this controversy asks a fundamental question about power in higher education: Who gets to decide what's taught, studied, and debated?

Should universities respond rapidly to community concerns, even if it means suspending courses before full investigations? Or should they resist external pressure campaigns to protect academic inquiry, even when the topics are controversial?

The answer may depend on your perspective. Activists argue they're protecting vulnerable communities from harmful misinformation disguised as science. Faculty defending the course argue they're protecting doctors' ability to make informed decisions based on the full range of international evidence.

What's clear is that the nine-month approval followed by the 48-hour suspension has created a precedent that universities nationwide are watching closely.

WSU spokesperson Pam Scott said in a statement: "We are working with the ACCME to confirm that all accredited materials comply with ACCME standards. While this process is ongoing, course materials are suspended. We remain committed to providing high-quality, evidence-based Continuing Medical Education courses."

The videos remain available online for public viewing, but healthcare professionals cannot earn CME credits until the investigation concludes. The university has until November 16 to provide ACCME with documentation showing how it approved the course.

As the inquiry proceeds, one thing is certain: The speed of this suspension has raised more questions than it's answered. And those questions extend far beyond one course at one universitythey strike at the heart of academic freedom in an age of instant online mobilization.

The final outcome may determine whether universities can still serve as places where difficult questions are examined, or whether they've become institutions where the loudest voices determine what's permissible to discuss.

The course materials were developed from presentations at SEGM's 2023 international academic conference. SEGM disputes its characterization as a hate group and describes itself as an organization advocating for evidence-based approaches to gender dysphoria treatment. The investigation is ongoing.
Southern Miss Alumnus and U.S. Army Band Director Col. Bruce R. Pulver to Return as Artist-in-Residence

Mon, 11/10/2025 - 09:16am | By: Dr. Mike Lopinto

Col. Bruce R. Pulver

The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) is proud to announce that Col. Bruce R. Pulver (88), retiring commander of The United States Army Band Pershings Own, will return to his alma mater as artist-in-residence in the School of Music beginning July 1, 2026.

Pulver, a 1988 graduate of Southern Miss with a degree in music education, has led a distinguished career spanning more than three decades in the U.S. Army, culminating in his appointment as the 12th leader and commander of Pershings Own during its centennial year. His career has included international tours, leadership of Army bands in Europe and the United States, and service as chief of Army bands.

Its been an honor to serve in the military for the past 32 years, said Pulver. As I prepare to retire from active duty, Im excited to be returning to my alma mater. Im passionate about serving the needs of veterans, connecting with the community, and shaping future generations of musicians in partnership with the incredible music faculty at Southern Miss.

In his new role, Pulver will conduct ensembles throughout the School of Music, provide clinics across the country, and mentor the next generation of musicianscontinuing the legacy of excellence that shaped his own career.

Southern Miss President Dr. Joseph S. Paul praised Pulvers return as a full-circle moment for the institution.

Col. Pulvers career is a testament to the power of a Southern Miss education. His leadership at the highest levels of military music has inspired musicians worldwide. To have him return home to guide and mentor our students is an extraordinary giftnot only for the School of Music, but for our entire community.

During his time at Southern Miss, Pulver studied percussion with Dr. Sherman Hong and conducting with Dr. Thomas Fraschillo, who later attended Pulvers change of command ceremony in Washington, D.C. Pulvers USM legacy also includes teaching in Mississippi public schools before embarking on his military career, making his return to campus a homecoming for both the educator and artist he has become.

We are so excited for this full-circle moment in welcoming Col. Pulver back to his alma mater, said Dr. Lance Nail, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. The excellence that started at USM returns to extend that excellence for future generations of musicians.

Dr. Chris Winstead, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, added, His presence will not only provide our students with extraordinary mentorship but will also elevate the visibility and distinction of our music program on a national stage.

As commander of The United States Army Band, Pulver leads some of the nations finest musicians. In addition to the concert band, Pershings Own comprises several other world-class ensembles, including an orchestra, chorus, The Army Blues jazz band, rock/show band, herald trumpets, brass quintet, woodwind quintet, and numerous chamber groups. Pershings Own regularly performs for official functions at the White House, events for senior military and government officials, and memorial support at Arlington National Cemetery, and at major national and international music events.

Pulvers military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit; the Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters; the Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster; the Army Achievement Medal; the Army Good Conduct Medal; the National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star; the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; the Armed Forces Service Medal; the NATO Medal; the Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal; the Humanitarian Service Medal; the Army Service Ribbon; the Overseas Service Ribbon; the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon; the Army Superior Unit Award; the Air Assault Badge; and the Parachutist Badge.

Dr. Colin McKenzie, director of the School of Music, highlighted the impact of Pulvers presence on campus. Our students will benefit tremendously from Col. Pulvers wealth of experience, his artistry, and his commitment to excellence. His work with The United States Army Band represents the pinnacle of professional music-making, and his return to Southern Miss ensures that our students will be trained and inspired by one of the finest leaders in the field.

Pulver will conclude his tenure with Pershings Own before assuming duties at Southern Miss as artist-in-residence.

He and his wife, Dianne (91), are lifelong supporters of the arts and higher education. Their children, Christine (12) and Zachary (20), also carry on the Golden Eagle tradition.
A convoy carrying the remains of Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin arrives at a forensic institute in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Nov. 9, 2025. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Israel said on Sunday forensic test confirmed the remains handed over by Hamas earlier in the day were those of Hadar Goldin, an Israeli soldier killed by the Palestinian group in 2014.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement the identification process had been completed. "The Government of Israel expresses its deep condolences to the Goldin family and to all the families of the fallen hostages," it said.

"IDF (Israel Defense Forces) representatives informed the family of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin that his body has been returned for burial," the military said in a statement.

Goldin, 23, was killed by Hamas fighters about an hour after a ceasefire took effect following one of the previous Israeli military campaigns in Gaza. His family conducted a public campaign for 11 years to bring back his remains.

The recovery of his body was part of an exchange amid a ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10 this year. Hamas has released 20 living hostages and the remains of 24 other hostages. Four bodies are still held in Gaza -- three Israelis and one Thai national abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023.

Gaza's health authorities said Israel has released the bodies of about 300 Palestinians, most of whom have yet to be identified.

Despite the ceasefire, Israel has continued strikes and demolitions in Gaza, killing hundreds. Gaza's health authorities on Saturday put the overall death toll from Israeli strikes since October 2023 at 69,169. 

A convoy carrying the remains of Israeli soldier Hadar Goldin is pictured in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Nov. 9, 2025. (Photo by Jamal Awad/Xinhua)
Vietnam Briefing has developed into a premium source for insight on doing business in Vietnam. It publishes business news concerning foreign direct investment into Vietnam, including the most important tax, legal and accounting issues. The Vietnam Briefing Magazine was first published in 2009, and is contributed to by investment professionals based in Vietnam.
MOSCOW, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Russia's largest bank Sberbank expects its net profit in 2025 to grow by about 6 percent year-on-year and aims to set a new record for dividend payments in 2026, its CEO Herman Gref said on Monday, RIA Novosti news agency reported.

"This year we paid 787 billion rubles (about 9.68 billion U.S. dollars) in dividends, a record for the Russian market. No company in history has ever paid that much," Gref said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We hope to beat that record next year. We expect our profit this year to be around six percentage points higher than last year, so next year's dividends will also be higher," he said.

Sberbank reported a record net profit of 1.58 trillion rubles (about 19.4 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024 under the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Under its current dividend policy, the bank distributes 50 percent of its IFRS net profit as dividends, provided that its total capital adequacy ratio under Russian Accounting Standards remains at or above 13.3 percent.

The Russian government controls 52.32 percent of the bank's ordinary shares, equivalent to 50 percent plus one share of its authorized capital. 
Photo-Illustration: New York Magazine; Source: Robert O. Ballou, Harper & Brothers, Random House, Wilcox & Follett

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The plot of every Jewish holiday goes something like this: They tried to kill us, we survived, lets eat. On Purim, we revel in the tale of a Persian court adviser who tries and fails to exterminate the Jews. We skip the part where, after he is hanged, those same Jews kill 75,000 Persians as a form of preemptive self-defense. At Seder, we make a meal out of being slaves in Egypt; Hagar, the Egyptian slave owned by Abraham and Sarah, tends to go unmentioned.

These details didnt make it into my religious education. They would have complicated the larger narrative that many Jews tell ourselves and others about who we are: a powerless, morally infallible minority struggling to stay alive in a world that wants us dead.

I understand the appeal of this story. Telling it keeps us tethered to our past, which all too often has been a history of persecution. As Peter Beinart points out in his recent book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza, there are still fewer Jews alive today than there were in 1939. Its not surprising, then, that victim often feels like our natural role. And its not just history: The past year has seen deadly attacks against Jews in Washington, D.C., and Boulder, Colorado. To some, Hamas massacre on October 7 was proof that the story is as relevant now as ever.

Israels genocidal campaign in Gaza has laid bare the plot holes in this story. One especially glaring inconsistency is that while we are a small minority, and though we are persecuted in many quarters, we are not powerless. In fact, Jews in the United States and Israel wield a great deal of power  economically, politically, and militarily. According to a Pew survey conducted in 2020, about half of American Jews report their income as being at least $100,000, much higher than the percentage of all U.S. households at that level. From 2010 to 2020, a third of Supreme Court justices were Jewish, though Jews make up less than 3 percent of the U.S. population. Israel is a wealthy country with a robust military widely believed to have nuclear weapons. That country has killed at least 66,000 Palestinians since October 7, around half of whom were women and children. So much for moral infallibility.

But Jewish power is often mere subtext to our story. Acknowledging it can feel like giving fuel to antisemites, who see in those statistics evidence of a vast conspiracy. Thats not the only reason we struggle to accept our power. It also scrambles our collective sense of self and forces us to take responsibility for what has been done in our name. It evokes something unnerving, Beinart writes, something our tradition knows: that Jews can be Pharaohs too. But where in our tradition? Im not a student of the Torah, but I am a novelist, and for the past hundred years, the novel, not the Torah or the Talmud, has been the medium through which many American Jews work through questions of identity and morality. And so I sifted through a century of stories in the hope of understanding how Jewish writers in America have addressed their ever-changing relationship to power.

One doesnt need to have read Henry Roths opus Call It Sleep to know the narrative tropes of the Jewish American immigrant experience. They were illustrated in Sydney Taylors childrens series, All-of-a-Kind Family, and committed to celluloid in films like Once Upon a Time in America and, more recently, The Brutalist. Growing up in the 90s, I first encountered many of them second-hand, as in the Simpsons episode in which Krusty the Clown is revealed to be Herschel Krustofsky, a rabbis son who grew up on the Lower East Side of Springfield.

These stories all deal in one way or another with the challenges of the Jewish immigrant, in particular poverty and marginalization. So I was surprised to discover, in my late 20s, a body of early Jewish American fiction that deals with a seemingly opposed set of problems: those of assimilation and success. In fact, the first major Jewish American novel, 1917s The Rise of David Levinsky, by Abraham Cahan, reads like Ragged Dick on downers: The eponymous hero pulls himself out of poverty only to end up wealthy but alone, trapped in a life devoid of significance. As it turned out, Jewish American writers have been worrying about the cost of power since the first great wave of immigration brought millions of Eastern European Jews to these shores.

A similar trajectory  rags to riches to regret  haunts the fiction of Anzia Yezierska, the other major Jewish American writer in the decades before Call It Sleep. Like many Jewish immigrants of her generation, Yezierska fled the Russian empire and landed on the Lower East Side, where she worked in sweatshops, restaurants, and laundries. Her first story to achieve recognition, The Fat of the Land from 1919, is a cautionary tale of upward mobility, a theme she would return to throughout her career.

When we first meet Hanneh Breineh, the protagonist, she is half-mad with hunger and struggling to feed her six children. All the hallmarks of Jewish immigrant fiction can be found in the storys first pages: the cramped tenement, the stale bread, the pushcarts. Without money, she tells her neighbor, Mrs. Pelz, Im a living dead one. Years later, one of Hannehs sons finds success in the garment business and moves his mother uptown. On Riverside Drive, Hanneh cant relate to her new neighbors. Her spoiled children criticize her immigrant manners. She feels cut off from air, from life, from everything warm and human, her material comforts having choked and crushed the life within her. Fed up with her luxe accommodations, Hanneh eventually returns to Delancey Street to stay with Mrs. Pelz. When she arrives, however, she finds she cant tolerate the cold, the mice, the soiled mattress. She may not feel at home in her new life, but she isnt home in her old one, either.

The story ends with Hanneh standing in the rain outside her Riverside Drive apartment, unable to enter, and yet knowing full well that she would have to enter. Other characters in Yezierskas fiction meet a similar fate upon getting a taste of the good life. Some essential part of them is always left behind.

Its no surprise that writers like Cahan and Yezierska cautioned against extravagant material wealth; like many Lower East Side Jews, they were socialists. But the story is not simply about politics. After publishing her first collection  a year after The Fat of the Land  Yezierska received a telegram from a Hollywood agent asking her to  telephone immediately. Too poor to call the movie studio, she pawned her mothers Sabbath shawl for a quarter, which she fed into a pay phone. When she reached the agent, she learned Samuel Goldwyn wanted to buy the film rights to her book for $10,000. In the press, Yezierska soon became known as the Sweatshop Cinderella, spirited away from Hester Street to Hollywood by limousine.

The fairy tale came to a fittingly Yezierskan end. She later wrote that her success left her feeling like the beggar who drowned in a barrel of cream, cut off from the people and the poverty that had been her creative inspiration. Within a decade, she had vanished into obscurity. (A critic accused her of exhausting the one story she had to tell.) In an article for Cosmopolitan called This Is What $10,000 Did to Me, she wrote that she had lost her soul.

After World War II, anxieties about assimilation inspired an increasingly morally complex literature. Writers like Philip Roth, Saul Bellow, Grace Paley, Norman Mailer, Cynthia Ozick, and Bernard Malamud trained their considerable energies on questions of identity, exploring what it meant to hold dual loyalties to a democratic ideal and to ones own tribe. Unlike Yezierska, these writers were born and raised in America (or Canada, in Bellows case) and wrote in the American Century. Native English speakers with public educations, they mostly occupied a higher social status than their parents, from whom they inherited what the critic Irving Howe called an ironic relationship to power. To Howe, this was their cultural legacy.

Roth probed that relationship in his breakout 1959 short story, Defender of the Faith. Its subject is Sheldon Grossbart, a military trainee who exploits his Judaism for personal gain. He gets out of barracks cleanings by claiming he has to go to shul. He demands special meals despite not keeping kosher. Yet no matter how much Grossbart bothers his super visor, Sergeant Nathan Marx, the sergeant finds himself defending his trainee. If Grossbart represents a certain kind of Jewish figure  powerless but clever, surviving by his wits  Marx represents another and, at the time, newer type: the half-assimilated company man, torn between tribal solidarity and his duties to the dominant culture (in this case, the U.S. military) that has granted him a measure of conditional power. Like Roth, who insisted he was not an American Jewish writer but an American writer, Marxs loyalty is to his country  but all it takes is a Yiddish term of endearment to undo him. Leben! he thinks, when he hears Grossbart use the word. My grandmothers word for me!

Toward the end, Grossbart goes over Marxs head and pulls some strings to get himself out of combat duty. Marx retaliates by pulling a string of his own, getting Grossbart back on the list of soldiers headed to the Pacific, potentially turning his co-religionist into cannon fodder. This is not a decision he makes lightly: The story ends with Marx resisting with all my will an impulse to turn and seek pardon for my vindictiveness. But he does resist and takes responsibility for what hes done.

When Defender was published in The New Yorker, it caused an uproar. Establishment Jews felt Roth had painted them in a poor light. The problem was Grossbart, whose conniving seemed to corroborate the worst stereotypes about the Jewish people  and so soon after the Shoah. Today, as debates rage on about whether Israel can be both a Jewish state and a true democracy  for Beinart, the answer is no  its Sergeant Marx who seems more likely to offend hard-line Jewish Zionists, prioritizing democratic principles over tribal affinities. Such decisions arent easy, Roth suggests, especially when a third of the tribe in question has just been wiped off the face of the earth. Still, even those with limited access to power have a responsibility to their principles.

In 2016, I was excited to learn that Jonathan Safran Foers new novel, Here I Am, his first in 11 years, would be set entirely in the present day. I had grown up reading Foer in the aughts, a decade that saw a resurgence in Jewish American fiction. A 2009 essay in Vanity Fair, Rise of the New Yiddishists, by David Sax, cited such figures as Nathan Englander, Michael Chabon, Dara Horn, Nicole Krauss, and Foer as redefining what it meant to be a Jewish American writer, seeking inspiration in Jewish history, folk tales, and mysticism. Theirs were best -selling, prizewinning books much discussed in Jewish families like mine.

As Sax pointed out, the New Yiddishists emerged during a turning point for American Jewish identity. Never in history have Jews been so integrated and accepted into the mainstream of a Diaspora country. This acceptance allowed them to plumb the past and write unabashedly, unambiguous[ly] Jewish stories. Just as notable was what they didnt write as much about: their own lives as American Jews in the new millennium. In The Nation, William Deresiewicz wrote that they appear to be avoiding their own experience because their own experience just seems too boring. Instead of engaging with the meaning of this new sense of security, which was likely to be temporary and conditional anyway, this new generation of Jewish writers sought inspiration in past historical traumas  the Civil War (All Other Nights), the Dirty War (The Ministry of Special Cases), World War II and the Holocaust ( Everything Is Illuminated, The History of Love, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay)  or, in the case of Here I Am, imagined ones.

Here I Am is the story of a family in Washington, D.C., and much of the novel is concerned with the domestic: a sick dog, a funeral, a divorce. In other words, the stuff of much contemporary fiction, albeit from a Jewish perspective, featuring Jewish characters with uniquely Jewish preoccupations: a boys bar mitzvah speech, the state of Steven Spielbergs foreskin. Two hundred and fifty pages into the novel, however, an unlikely earthquake leads to a war between Israel and an unlikelier  Transarabian alliance. (The earthquake is a convenient way to get a war going without getting bogged down in questions of accountability.) Although dozens of pages are devoted to the war, it remains in the background, rendered as a series of headlines and news interviews.

This is undoubtedly part of Foers broader point about the safety of being Jewish in America, the danger of being Jewish in the Middle East, and the distance  spiritual as well as geographic  between these states of being. But as I read the back half of the novel, I started to suspect that Foer didnt trust that his readers would be moved by the mundane lives of his characters and so contrived a disaster to hang them on.

Jacob, the protagonist, is constantly bemoaning his small problems, small thoughts, and small feelings. Of course, there is nothing small about a divorce or the death of a loved one; everyday domestic affairs animate many, if not most, major works of literary fiction. But reading Here I Am, I found they did feel small, largely because Jacob keeps fretting that they are. Unlike his Israeli cousins, his life is not in danger. Unlike his grandfather, he is not a Holocaust survivor. Assimilation and security have robbed him of the sense that his life is meaningful, urgent, and important.

This might have been fruitful terrain for Foer had he not so plainly shared his characters concerns. Rather than explore what it means to be a Jew in a time and place where, for once, we arent staring down extinction, Foer felt the need to raise the stakes  as though there could be no Jewish story without widespread suffering. His previous novels, both best sellers, centered on world-historical tragedies: the Holocaust, the bombing of Dresden, 9/11. Lacking a contemporary tragedy for Here I Am, Foer seemed forced to invent one, inadvertently revealing the crisis at the heart of Jewish American identity.

These are strange times to be an American Jew. Antisemitic hate crimes are on the rise; at the same time, antisemitism has been weaponized by the Trump administration  and by mainstream Jewish American organizations  to quash dissent. We find ourselves in the uncomfortable position of straddling vulnerability and complicity. The contemporary Jewish American novel that may best capture this moment is Joshua Cohens Moving Kings. Published in 2017, the book has become newly relevant for its portrayal of the 2014 Gaza War  and the wars impact on Americans.

The first of the novels three sections follows David King, an outer-borough outsider at a fancy party prowling for customers and political connections. He runs his own moving-and-storage company, and his politics are aspirational, inferior. Like a 21st-century Sergeant Marx, hes stuck between stations. Like many Jews of his generation, he doesnt see himself as white, much less a gentrifier: His color was Jewish. His arguments with his daughter about Israel will be familiar to any Jewish person.

The second section belongs to Davids Israeli cousin, Yoav, and his army friend, Uri. As soldiers, they have the power to terrorize Palestinians by destroying their homes  a power they exercise out of boredom or for no reason at all. As ex-soldiers, however, they are lost, traumatized by what theyve seen and done and hated everywhere they go for being Jews, or Israelis, or (in ironic cases of mistaken identity) Arabs. Cohen excels at describing the existential aimlessness afflicting young men set loose upon the world after completing their compulsory military service. Many of them surf and pay for sex while backpacking through Southeast Asia. Yoav and Uri wind up working for David.

The third section introduces another main character, Avery Luter, a.k.a. Imamu Nabi, a Vietnam veteran facing eviction. The job falls to Yoav and Uri. The premise of the novel lies in the parallels between the Israeli occupation and the eviction of a Black Muslim from his home by Jewish American and Israeli movers: They were still going into a house and checking the rooms by the floor. Checking for people, checking for possessions. Clearing the people before clearing the possessions. The possessions would stay with them, the people were allowed to go wherever, provided it was always on the other side of the propertyline.

Moving Kings is the rare contemporary novel to grapple with the paradox of power and persecution that defines Jewish life in the U.S. today. Whether American Jews want this is another story. Moving Kings was released to mixed reviews: celebrated in the Washington Post, panned in the New York Times. Cohens next novel, The Netanyahus, was set in the 1950s and focuses on the only Jewish professor at a fictional college, a man on the receiving end of much antisemitism. The novel not only won the Pulitzer Prize, it won a National Jewish Book Award. Given the differences in reception between these two books  one set in the present in which Jews are persecuting people and one set in a past defined by the persecution of the Jews  it seems clear which dynamic many of us would prefer to linger on.

Its still too soon for novels written and set after October 7, but some stories have begun to trickle out. Cohens My Camp, published last year in The New Yorker, follows a writer who protests the war by raising money on behalf of the IDF and sending it to charities for Gaza  but not before buying himself a place in the Pine Barrens. A slew of new nonfiction books explores similar terrain. The British writer Rachel Cockerells Melting Point, published earlier this year in the U.S., is a formally inventive history of the early days of Zionism. Pulitzer Prize winner Benjamin Moser is also working on a history of Zionism, as told from the perspective of Jews around the world who resisted it, called Anti-Zionism: A Jewish History. Times reporter Marc Tracy is writing a history of (and present report on) the Jewish Diaspora with the working title Far-Flung.

Then theres Beinart. From the destruction of the Second Temple to the expulsion from Spain to the Holocaust, he writes in Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza, Jews have told new stories to answer the horrors we endured. We must now tell a new story to answer the horror that a Jewish country has perpetrated, with the support of many Jews around the world. The challenge facing Jewish fiction writers today is in telling that story or stories like it  stories in which Jews behave badly in the name of Judaism  without fear that our work will be used against us or co-opted to nefarious ends.

Then again, thats practically an occupational hazard. Countless Jewish American writers have been accused of sketching unflattering portraits of their people; the Zionist activist Eliahu Ben-Horin called Defender of the Faith an ugly piece of antisemitic literature. But literature is not public relations and, in any case, cannot be written from a place of fear. Defending Defender in 1963, Roth cautioned against allowing antisemites, or non-Jews generally, to control the conversation. This is not fighting antisemitism, he wrote, but submitting to it.
Maximum of six dogs per flight and only on domestic routes.

Italy has updated its air travel rules allowing large and medium-sized dogs to fly in the cabin, Italian deputy premier and transport minister Matteo Salvini said on Friday.

Under the new guidelines, approved by the transport ministry and Italy's civil aviation authority ENAC, the maximum weight for dogs travelling in the cabin has been raised from 25 kg to 30 kg.

Dogs will be able to fly alongside their owners, in dedicated spaces, with a maximum of six animals allowed per flight, an increase from the previously announced maximum of two dogs per flight.

In a post on X, Salvini hailed the move as the continuation of a "battle for civilisation" and called for more dog-friendly beaches - in addition to planes and trains - "for a more modern and animal-friendly Italy".

The changes have not yet been published on the ENAC website, however this is not the first time Salvini has personally unveiled travel updates before the official announcements.

Nuove linee guida Enac: anche gli animali domestici fino a 30 kg potranno volare in cabina, accanto ai propri padroni  in totale sicurezza e nel rispetto delle procedure.



Massimo 6 animali per volo

Solo su rotte nazionali

Postazioni dedicate e comfort per tutti pic.twitter.com/FLRZYcPI0M  Matteo Salvini (@matteosalvinimi) November 7, 2025

He did so last September when, during the Sole 24 Ore Pet Forum, he announced the first experimental scheduled flight carrying dogs free of carriers, which took off a couple of weeks later.

On board were Honey and Moka, a mixed-breed and a Labrador, becoming the first large dogs in Italy to travel in the cabin of a plane.

Salvini, a driving force behind the move to allow large dogs to fly in the cabin, travelled with the animals on board the the ITA Airways flight from Milan to Rome, vaunting it as a "game changer for millions of passengers".

The move came a few months after the transport ministry loosened the rules, to allow large dogs to travel in the cabin alongside their owners, instead of in the hold.

Until now, airline companies have had varying rules relating to the transportation of pets, with many low-cost carriers prohibiting all animals in the cabin except for guide dogs.

Last year, before the new rules were introduced in May, Italy's flag carrier ITA Airways had raised its weight limit for pets in the cabin from 8 kg to 10 kg on domestic flights.

The latest changes announced by Salvini represent a further loosening of the rules which will faciliate the travel of larger dogs, many of which risked missing out by just a few kilos under the previous weight limit.

The heads of ENAC and ITA Airways have stressed that passengers who are not particularly accustomed to travelling near animals, due to allergies or personal reasons, will be protected by ensuring adequate space distribution on the aircraft, newspaper Corriere della Sera reports, with "pet-friendly" and "pet-free" zones.

The guidelines allowing dogs to travel in the hold, however, are merely the options available to airlines which can decide independently how they wish to comply - if at all - with fares and travel conditions.
Meloni joined a recent lunch in Roman Forum to boost Italy's UNESCO bid.

Italy has stepped closer to gaining UNESCO recognition for Italian cuisine after the United Nations' cultural body expressed initial approval for the bid on Monday.

After viewing Italy's candidature, UNESCO experts recommended that Italian cuisine be included in the UN body's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, with a final decision expected next month.

Italy's bid for Italian cuisine, which underlines the close links between Italian food, culture and lifestyle, is the result of a joint proposal from the ministries of culture and agriculture.

In September, Italy boosted its candidature by holding an open-air Sunday lunch in the Roman Forum attended by Italian premier Giorgia Meloni and the ministers of culture and agriculture, Alessandro Giuli and Francesco Lollobrigida respectively.

Meloni, who appeared live on the Domenica In television programme during the lunch, hailed Italian cuisine as "one of the most extraordinary things we have, expressing our culture, our identity, our tradition, but also our strength."

Photo Alessandro Giuli X
TOKYO, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The 11th China-Japan Education Exchange Conference has been held in Tokyo as representatives from over 100 universities and educational institutions gathered to discuss new directions for bilateral educational cooperation.

The conference on Sunday, themed "Mutual Learning and Collaborative Innovation -- Looking Ahead to the Next Decade of China-Japan Educational Exchange," also attracted nearly 1,000 educators and experts.

In his remarks, Zhao Baogang, minister counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Japan, said educational exchange remains a vital and long-term component of China-Japan relations.

Currently, around 130,000 Chinese students are studying in Japan, and more than 600 Japanese high schools offer Chinese language courses, he said.

Over 9,000 inter-university cooperation agreements have been signed between the two countries, Zhao noted, expressing hope that the conference would inject new vitality into bilateral education ties and contribute to the long-term development of China-Japan relations.

Takafumi Yamamoto, associate managing director of the University of Tokyo, emphasized the importance of providing more international opportunities for young students.

He noted that cross-border learning and communication broaden academic horizons and enhance mutual cultural understanding, saying that understanding diverse ways of thinking will be a valuable asset for the younger generation.

During the conference, five thematic sub-forums were held, including the China-Japan University Presidents Forum, Basic Education Forum, and Vocational Education Exchange Meeting, focusing on internationalization, talent cultivation, and institutional collaboration.

The event was hosted by the China Education Association for International Exchange and co-organized by the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Center and Chuo University. 
A major housing development on the outskirts of Waterford city has been refused permission to commence.

The development plans consisted firstly of the demolition and removal of two existing agricultural structures in Kilbarry. A total of 243 dwellings were then planned to be constructed at the site.

The proposal comprised of houses and apartments.

The planned childcare facility ranged in height between one and two storeys, and included a private outdoor play area and dedicated vehicle parking/drop-off spaces.

A large amount of appeals were submitted by concerned locals regarding the development, and this week, Waterford City and County Council refused permission.

In deciding to refuse permission, Waterford Council outlined that the development did not comply with objectives set out in the Waterford City and County Development Plan.

The local authority also said that agricultural traffic movement from an existing farm via the proposed development would endanger public safety.

The proposed development would detract from the residential amenity of existing residential properties in the surrounding area, the Council further stated.
A judge at Waterford District Court has refused jurisdiction in a case of a man accused of attacking his pregnant girlfriend.

The man in his 30s was before Judge John Cheatle charged with assault causing harm and criminal damage in June this year.

He was also charged with being intoxicated in a public place and with threatening and abusive behaviour.

Sergeant John Phelan told the court that the defendant is accused of grabbing his girlfriend by the hair, dragging her around the room and insulting her before throwing her to the ground and punching her in the face.

The alleged assault was the result of a row, and during the dispute, the defendant is alleged to have caused 1,000 worth of damage to a bedroom door.

Judge Cheatle refused jurisdiction due to the value of the damage exceeding the District Court threshold and put the matter back to December for DPP instructions for referral to a higher court.

Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme.
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CultureBooksReview Kerry Greenwoods final Phryne Fisher novel is joyous, witty and fun Sue Turnbull November 11, 2025  2:30am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Whats good, whats bad, and whats in between in literature? Here we review the latest titles. See all stories .

Photo: CRIME

Murder in the Cathedral

Kerry Greenwood

Allen & Unwin, $32.99 The first 50 pages of Murder in the Cathedral, Kerry Greenwoods 23rd Miss Fisher adventure, made me laugh out loud. The last one made me cry, not because anything awful happens, but, as Kerry herself might have said, its just perfect, and a fitting conclusion to this always entertaining historical crime series. Sadly, Kerry died in March this year and there will be no new Phryne adventures to enjoy in the bath with a glass of champagne. Which is how Kerry herself once informed a rapt audience she imagined her books might be read. In reflecting on Miss Fishers career, its evident that while her creator became more confident, relaxed and witty over the years, there was also a determination to tackle serious issues from a feminist perspective. Cocaine Blues, the first in the series published in 1989, shone a light on backstreet abortions in the Melbourne of 1928. Meanwhile, in the pursuit of her own amorous trysts, Phryne readily availed herself of a Marie Stopes contraceptive device.

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All the adventures in this series have been set in the same time frame with a different scenic backdrop that motivates the plot, and Murder in the Cathedral is no exception. On this occasion, were off to the city of Bendigo where Phrynes wartime friend Lionel is about to be enthroned as bishop. This is a lark, the ebullient Lionel cheerily informs Phryne in his letter of invitation. However, a lark is not quite what it promises to be as Phryne and her maid Dot travel by train across the boring flat basalt plains to the north-west of Melbourne. Arriving in the splendid gold town, they are transported to The Shamrock Hotel in Lionels Bentley with Phryne dangerously perched on the running board as her luggage takes up most of the room. This is hardly surprising, since Phryne travels with an outfit for every eventuality. The late Kerry Greenwood in her garden. David Greagg But first, theres lunch. Suspicious of the wine list Phryne orders a jug of beer accompanied by roast beef and vegetables, a dessert of baked apple and raisin pie liberally drenched in fresh cream, followed by a rather fine tawny port. Inevitably, theres a nap before Phryne dresses for dinner. This time its lamb with exemplary green beans in butter, strawberry tart and a rather decent dessert wine. As always, theres an Enid Blyton-ish relishing of every sumptuous repast. Another ongoing delight is the fashion notes. As well as her usual Erte and Patou, here Phryne dons a new emerald green gown with a diamante border by Callot Soeurs. (Having googled this French fashion house, I spent a happy hour exploring the history of the three sisters who ran it and their fabulous frocks.)

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Another diversion involved a YouTube version of the 9th-century hymn Veni Creator Spiritus, which in the book is sung by an extraordinarily beautiful young man during Lionels inauguration  right before one of the attendant deacons collapses in a pool of blood, stabbed through the heart. Related Article Literature Kerry Greenwood had two burning ambitions in life. She achieved them both At which point the game is definitely afoot and Phryne is on the job, assisted by the capable Constable Watson whose career has hitherto been stymied because the Bendigo force is under a masonic jurisdiction. Inevitably Phryne remedies this situation while sorting out everyone elses troubles in her most kindly way. As Phryne astutely observes, although she doesnt always start things, she certainly finished them. While there are multiple suspects with a diverse array of possible motives for offing the fusspot deacon, its a given that Phryne will assist (ahem) the police in locating the suspect. But not before many entertaining characters are interviewed and much energetic sleuthing is undertaken. And for old times sake (see the second in the series Flying High), theres also a breathless chase in a Gypsy Moth piloted by Phryne with the anxious Watson up back. Joyous, witty and undeniably fun, Murder in the Cathedral may indeed be just what you need after a long week. So run the bath, crack open the champagne and raise a toast to Miss Fisher for the last time. Her creator would most certainly approve. The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from Jason Steger. Get it delivered every Friday.
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Updated NationalNSWCourts Road rager jailed for killing young tradie who was dragged 100 metres down street Clare Sibthorpe Updated November 10, 2025  11:32am ,first published November 10, 2025  9:32am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

A man who killed a young tradesman in a road rage incident in Sydneys west, dragging him 100 metres down the street while he was pinned to the side of a ute, will spend at least the next decade in prison. Bradley Wilkinson killed 27-year-old Rhyce Harding in an altercation at Blackett in June 2024 before fleeing and driving to work. In the NSW District Court on Monday, the 40-year-old was sentenced to 16 years jail with a non-parole period of 12 years. Rhyce Harding was killed in a road rage incident in Blackett. World Gym Harding, a landscaper and avid kickboxer, was on his way to work when the incident occurred. CCTV footage played earlier in court showed Wilkinson cutting off Harding after exiting a roundabout and refusing to allow him to merge to avoid a parked car, forcing him to stop.

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Feeling threatened by Wilkinsons behaviour, Harding got out of his car while both vehicles were stationary. He approached the window of the white ute, words were exchanged and Wilkinson reached out to grab Hardings jumper. The footage showed Harding either clinging to or being held against the side of the vehicle as it was driven along Jersey Road before he fell under its wheels. He later died of his injuries. Wilkinson left the scene, continued to travel to work and handed himself in to police the next day. Loading The courtrooms public gallery was filled with Hardings loved ones for the sentencing.

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At an earlier sentence hearing, Hardings brother, Michael Grech, brought his brothers ashes into the courtroom. One by one, his family members testified about the devastating impact of Hardings death, as well as his kindness, generosity and compassion. His sister, Stephanie Grech, said she was working a police shift when she heard about a fatal road rage incident over her radio. Upon checking the details of the cars involved, she realised it was her baby brother and cried out in pain. She said that, while her brother would want her to forgive Wilkinson, she did not know if she ever could. His mother, Mary Harding, said her son would wake up daily at 4.30am to make her breakfast, adding there was not enough paper or ink that would fulfil the person he was.

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His father, John Harding, described his son as the glue that held his family together. Related Article Courts Road rage victim intentionally held against moving vehicle, police allege As a parent, you dont ever think youre going to organise your own childs funeral, he said. Wilkinson this year pleaded guilty to manslaughter and failure to stop and assist after a vehicle impact causing death. On Monday, acting Judge Paul Conlon said he was satisfied that Wilkinsons expressions of remorse to Hardings family in letters tendered to the court were genuine.

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Conlon said the Crown pointed to Wilkinsons prior criminal record, which included cases of acting in a violent and threatening manner, resulting in several common assault and stalking convictions between 2006 and 2014. The Crown submitted these past crimes would contribute negatively to his prospect of rehabilitation. In earlier sentencing submissions, Wilkinsons lawyer suggested Wilkinson did not intend to kill or cause grievous bodily harm. Following Hardings death, Sydney woman Stacey Disbray described him as her best friend. She told the Herald he was a funny and dedicated man who helped raise her young children. There was never a time he didnt think of everyone else above himself, she said at the time.

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He was an amazing, one-of-a-kind man who has left everyone who loved him absolutely shattered. Conlon sentenced Wilkinson to an aggregate term of 16 years prison, expiring on June 20, 2040. His non-parole period will make him eligible for parole on June 20, 2036. Once released, he will face a 12-month licence disqualification. With AAP Start the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
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Exclusive NationalNSWExtremism The avowed Nazi who signed protest application letter to police commissioner Patrick Begley and Riley Walter Updated November 10, 2025  5:35pm ,first published November 10, 2025  1:27pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

A four-page letter addressed to NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon outlining plans for an anti-Jewish rally outside parliament was signed by an avowed racist and neo-Nazi, according to a copy of the Form 1 application seen by the Herald. The history of public antisemitism and racism by 28-year-old Jack Eltis  the NSW leader of the National Socialist Network (NSN) who last month called to deport every last non-white from Australia  raises questions as to why the protest plans were never flagged with Lanyon or senior politicians. The National Socialist Network rally outside NSW Parliament House on Saturday. Flavio Brancaleone The miscommunication was on Monday afternoon amplified by revelations Deputy Commissioner Peter Thurtell was aware of the protest plans but did not relay the information to the commissioner. Thurtell on Monday night told the Herald he had been made aware of plans for the NSN to hold its protest five days before the event, but had not relayed the briefing because he had not received any information that suggested that any aspect of the demonstration would be illegal.

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In hindsight, it was an oversight of mine not to tell the commissioner because of the organisational, political and public interest in this group, and I have since apologised to the commissioner for that oversight, Thurtell said. Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) director-general Mike Burgess last week warned of an increasing likelihood that the NSNs propaganda would prompt spontaneous violence. Two months ago, NSW Police assured the public that the NSN was being constantly monitored by officers from the engagement and hate crime unit, the state intelligence group and the counter-terrorism command. Eltis signed his Form 1 letter on behalf of White Australia, a brand increasingly used by the NSN as it plans to register as a political party. Outlining the proposed slogan Abolish the Jewish Lobby, Eltis said the event would focus on free speech issues, including new laws around protests and incitement of racial hatred. He cited a High Court case and legislation, promising the rally would not violate anti-discrimination laws, as it would not target Jewish people as an ethnic or religious community.

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We look forward to a safe and impactful event, he wrote. But the polite, deferential tone adopted in the letter was a far cry from Eltis public record of hateful rhetoric and the tenor of the rally itself, which criticised Jews position at the head of [the] table, promoted a highly offensive conspiracy theory and contained Hitler Youth chants, including blood and honour, which is banned under German law because of its connection to the Nazi party. Related Article Investigation

Extremism An Andrew Tate insider is helping Australian Nazis recruit teens Lanyon was not made aware of the protest until after the Herald sent questions to NSW Police about the demonstration. He told a press conference on Saturday afternoon that, as a result of the communication error, he had not briefed Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley. The rally had not been opposed by the Sydney City local area command, which had sought legal advice on the proposed Abolish the Jewish lobby banner, and Minns has suggested the government may seek to pass new laws.

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According to the legal advice given to police, the wording used on the banner did not constitute an offence, and there were no legal grounds upon which to oppose the demonstration. What Im disappointed about is one [protest] that was going to have so much obvious attention, is one that I would have expected to know about, Lanyon told Sky News Sharri Markson on Monday night. Legal advice was available to police attending Saturdays rally to determine if any offences were being committed, but advisors did not attend the rally in person, Lanyon said, adding that current legislation had a high legal test. This is not what we all want to see on the streets of NSW, but as police we need to work within the legislation that actually exists, he said. Eltis unabashed racism was on display in the Sydney March for Australia rally in August, which this masthead revealed was infiltrated and organised by NSN members.

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Sydney members took to the stage for an open mic section of the protest held at Victoria Park in Camperdown, where they led chants of heil Australia and blood and honour, the same Hitler Youth slogan used on Saturday. Proud to be racist: Jack Eltis being interviewed by a reporter after the March for Australia rally. Nine News This land was built by white Australians, Eltis told the crowd. You dont have to join our organisation, but we must come back more organised, more disciplined. We have the solutions. We want to send them back. No debate. No discussion. We want to send them back to their land. This is our land. And most importantly, our organisation has the strength to do this. After his speech, Eltis told a reporter, All the men in our organisation are proud to be racist. Asked if he and other NSN and White Australia members were neo-Nazis, Eltis said, Yes, we are national socialists.

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After March for Australia, Minns said police would examine the speeches for possible violations of new laws against the public incitement of racial hatred, which came into effect mid-August. Related Article Updated

Extremism NSW looks to mirror German laws banning Hitler Youth chants In a statement, NSW Police said Eltis was known to authorities, and was spoken to by officers at Saturdays rally. Police are reviewing Saturdays rally for possible violations of the same laws. Police said no offences were identified by the officers in attendance on Saturday. In September, Eltis used a public social media account to blame social problems on Jewish power and Jewish brainwashing of our people. In more recent messages, he attributed the NSNs successes to a culture of fanaticism and stressed an absolute commitment to deporting every last non-white from Australia.

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Why China's electric vehicles are chosen as the 'official pick' for the climate summit: Global Times editorial

Global Times) 08:49, November 10, 2025

Participants attend the Belem Climate Summit ahead of the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Belem, Brazil, Nov. 6, 2025. Photo: Xinhua

The 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will be held from November 10 to 21 in Belem, northern Brazil. Ahead of the conference, at the Belem Climate Summit, representatives from multiple countries arrived in Chinese vehicles. This has became a highly symbolic scene prior to the official opening of the conference. It reflects China's efforts to promote a green, low-carbon transition, and deep involvement in global climate governance.

The "official debut" of China's new energy vehicles is just one piece of the "Chinese green puzzle" at COP30. In Belem, located in the Amazon River basin, global media could easily find green and low-carbon Chinese elements. The New York Times described it this way: "the streets were gridlocked, but the clouds of exhaust were thinner than they had once been. The roads were dotted with electric cars, humming quietly in the midday traffic. Dignitaries zipped around in convoys made up of GWM pickup trucks. Electric buses shuttled passengers around the city." These scenes have become an integrated part of daily life.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, and COP30 represents a critical moment for all parties to move from negotiation to implementation. It has even been described as the "last chance to avoid an irreversible rupture in the climate system." Over the past decade, global climate governance has faced many setbacks - from the US repeatedly "withdrawing from the agreement," to developed countries' prolonged failure to fulfill their funding commitments, as well as shocks brought by sudden geopolitical conflicts, a once-in-a-century pandemic, and trade wars. Even so, humanity has still made significant overall progress compared with 10 years ago - and behind this progress, no country has been a greater driving force than China. As The Wall Street Journal put it, China "is saving the Paris Climate Accord."

China is recognized by the international community as one of the countries with the firmest will, the strongest actions, and the most remarkable results in fulfilling its emission reduction commitment, making it an undeniable doer in the global fight against climate change. This is something the international community is increasingly "seeing" and acknowledging. The Wall Street Journal believes that the plummeting cost of clean energy is helping offset a sharp drop in climate finance from wealthier nations, as one of the cheapest sources of electricity in many developing nations these days isn't coal but solar panels paired with batteries, both made in China. Amid numerous challenges in global climate governance, China's green production capacity is not "excessive," but rather a highly sought-after rarity.

From Paris to Belem, China's role has undergone a profound transformation over the past decade. 10 years ago, Western commentators criticized China for not matching the emission reduction efforts of developed countries in a condescending manner. However, a decade later, even Western media have to acknowledge that, at the time of the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015, few anticipated that Chinese clean technology manufacturers could scale up so rapidly, which is "good for the planet." At the same time, China's diverse practices in "exporting green products" have broken the barriers of "camp-based" climate governance by focusing on pragmatic cooperation without attaching political conditions. This has allowed developing countries to achieve more equitable and sustainable climate governance while sharing opportunities for green development. China's climate governance practices have always been closely linked to global destiny, with each step reflecting its commitment as a major power that honors its promises.

Behind these significant achievements lies the fundamental driving force of China's adherence to the concept that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets." China has neither overlooked its environmental responsibilities in pursuit of development nor sacrificed developmental rights to achieve emission reductions. Instead, it has embarked on a path of green transformation driven by technological innovation and coordinated industrial advancement. The successful practice of the "two mountains" concept provides a vivid example for the world to resolve the contradiction between "development and environmental protection," illustrating that climate action and economic development are not mutually exclusive for developing countries. Through technological innovation, industrial cooperation, and policy guidance, a positive interaction between the two can be fully realized. The "two mountains" concept has now been included in multiple United Nations documents, transitioning from "Chinese practice" to "global sharing."

While certain countries remain watchful of China's new energy vehicles, many others are embracing this green wave with an open attitude. Global unity in addressing climate change is crucial. In the face of this challenge confronted by all humankind, no country can remain insulated, and the international community must work together and take collective action. Hopefully, more countries with significant global influence will meet China halfway to jointly embrace a sustainable future for humanity.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
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CAIRO, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani affirmed on Sunday their commitment to continuing efforts to consolidate the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

During a phone conversation, the two officials also discussed developments regarding the ongoing consultations on the implementation of U.S. President Donald Trump's peace plan for Gaza, according to a statement issued by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

They stressed the necessity of linking the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to ensure the unity of the Palestinian territories, highlighting the importance of Palestinians assuming management of their affairs while preserving the unity of Palestinian decision-making.

Both sides discussed the ongoing consultations in the United Nations Security Council concerning the deployment of the international forces in Gaza, stressing the need to define its mandate and powers in a manner that supports early recovery and reconstruction efforts.

They also reviewed the situation in the West Bank, emphasizing their unequivocal rejection of all settlement activities and repeated violations that undermine peace prospects and escalate tension.

An ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza took effect on Oct. 10 after two years of conflict. The long-awaited ceasefire deal was reached through the mediation of Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye, and the United States. 
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PoliticsFederalAsylum seekers Dirty deals: Nauru rorting, bikie gang allegations to be referred to NACC Matthew Knott and Nicole Precel Updated November 10, 2025  2:48pm ,first published November 10, 2025  2:29pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

Allegations of rorting, graft and bikie gangs infiltrating critical border security operations are set to be referred to the national anti-corruption watchdog as more disturbing evidence emerges of Australias secretive offshore detention regime in Nauru. This masthead and 60 Minutes revealed over the weekend that the Finks bikie gang had won a key taxpayer-funded contract to provide security on Nauru to former immigration detainees slated to be deported from Australia. President of Nauru, David Adeang and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a signing ceremony following a bilateral meeting at Parliament House in Canberra last year. Alex Ellinghausen On Monday, it was revealed that a high-ranking Home Affairs Department official had put his job on the line to allege that Australian taxpayers had paid millions of dollars for nonexistent or unnecessary asylum seeker services to prop up Australias offshore detention regime. Greens immigration spokesman David Shoebridge said: When you have a system as rotten as offshore detention, its no surprise that bikies are the only ones willing to work there. A morally corrupt system will attract actual corruption.

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[The government] views Nauru as a colony, a place they can do all their dirty deals and human rights abuses without oversight and without care for those who live there. For decades, the Liberal and Labor governments have encouraged corruption and abuse in offshore detention by denying scrutiny with extreme secrecy measures. Greens senator David Shoebridge. Alex Ellinghausen My office is working to gather the threads of what we know of this scandal and refer it to the NACC. To be honest, I have little hope that will adequately deal with the systemic corruption issues given the NACC also operates in total secrecy and has achieved so little to date.

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Labor MP Josh Burns, chair of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, said he believed it was important that government contracts be held to high standards. Related Article Exclusive

Investigations Pouring money into a trough: Senior public servant blows whistle on allegedly corrupt millions If there are concerns around who those contracts are being awarded to and how theyre being conducted, then that needs to be investigated fully and ensure that our dollars are going to where they should be, not anywhere else, he said. He said public money shouldnt be used to underpin income for bikies, and that when taxpayer contracts were awarded they were put through high standards of probity. I dont know where its up to within government, but all I can say is that Ive seen those reports and we take these sorts of things very seriously, he told reporters on Monday.

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Former Australian soldier Oisin Donohoe told this masthead that Finks gang members, led by the groups feared international president, Ali Bilal, are part of the security operation launched to help the Albanese and Nauruan governments manage the so-called NZYQ cohort. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, when asked about the corruption claims, said the minister would respond to that, but added I note that those issues, as I read them, come from a period before we were in government. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke declined an interview request and did not answer questions relating to the governments role in the contracts. In a one-sentence statement, he said he had full confidence in the relevant agencies.

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Government sources, speaking anonymously to discuss sensitive matters, said that separate allegations by Home Affairs acting assistant secretary Derek Elias about alleged rorting by the recipients of Australian contracts on Nauru related to agreements made under the Morrison government. Former spy agency boss Dennis Richardson canvassed such issues in his 2024 report into integrity concerns about the management of regional processing arrangements and made recommendations for improvements, they added. Opposition home affairs spokesman Jonno Duniam said: The Labor government launched the Richardson Review into integrity concerns with contracts associated with regional processing. It is now up to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke to explain to Australians whether the Richardson Reviews recommendations have been implemented in full and if not, why not. Labor MPs have been active in criticising the management of these contracts under past governments and, to be consistent, they should now be holding their own colleagues to the same standards.

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Asylum Seeker Resource Centre chief executive Kon Karapanagiotidis said the revelations of alleged dodgy deals, corrupt contracts, and peoples lives being traded in secret had been shocking. Related Article Exclusive

Investigations Mind-boggling: Whistleblower reveals how global bikie boss won Nauru security deal Independent MP Monique Ryan applauded the whistleblowers for shining a light on secretive and concerning practices surrounding Home Affairs management of offshore processing and the governments multi-billion dollar deal with Nauru. The government must release all documents relating to its agreements with other nations for the offshore rehousing of individuals who have sought to settle in Australia, Ryan said. We need to know that our duty of care to those individuals is being exercised, and that taxpayers money is being spent responsibly and ethically. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
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Political Sketch PoliticsFederalThe Dismissal The Dismissal: Norman Gunstons moment, while a boy got high on a king Tony Wright November 11, 2025  2:50am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

It was so mid-70s Australia, so perfectly Canberra on that dying day of the freshly executed Whitlam government. A roiling crowd, overwrought with excitement and outrage, spilled across the road in front of the squat old Parliament House and on to the lawns beyond. Gales of chanting swept the zone. We want Gough! We want Gough! Part of the crowd outside Parliament House, Canberra, on November 11, 1975. Michael Rayner Well, of course.

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The crowd was overwhelmingly of young people  hair everywhere  and Whitlam and his government had swept aside a lot of old Australia for them. Military conscription was gone, a university education was free, the vote was granted to those aged 18, down from 21, multiculturalism was blessed with official approval, universal health care eased fear of hospital bills, no-fault divorce replaced the need to hire creepy bedroom investigators, there was a new sole-parent pension and laws were passed to provide equal pay for women. Cocking a snook at lingering conservatism in the arts, Whitlam approved the purchase, for a scandalous $1.3 million, of Jackson Pollocks abstract expressionist drip painting, Blue Poles. The Establishment howled, unable to comprehend that it would become among the most popular works in the National Gallery of Australia, valued today in the hundreds of millions. We want Gough, cried the bereft, forgiving him the chaotic economy, the crazy loans affair and all the rest that so offended middle  and middle-aged  Australia. And there with all the political players gathered on the steps of the white-painted parliament building stood Norman Gunston, the little Aussie bleeder with a microphone, interrogating the crowd.

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What I want to know, is this an affront to the Constitution of this country? cried Gunston of the Dismissal. Yes, screamed the gathering. Or was it just a stroke of good luck for Mr Fraser? continued the marvellously gormless, knowing Norman. No, roared the crowd. Thanks very much, just wondering, said Gunston, grimacing madly.

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No Australian comedian has since touched such a peak of audacious absurdity as that scaled by the actor Garry McDonald in the guise of his alter-ego Norman Gunston that day. Norman Gunston, on the spot in 1975 with the sacked Gough Whitlam. ABC-TV screen grab The professional cringe-maker Gunston, thrusting his microphone at the imperious but amused Whitlam, not a hint of intervention from security, was a scene that could not have occurred anywhere but in Australia. Everyone up to a prime minister, particularly a freshly ex-PM, knew Gunstons camera team could make them immortal. Amid it all, a young man climbed the hideous statue of King George V stuck away in a corner of the lawn.

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He sat up there puffing a huge joint, a blissful smile on his face, high (literally) above the bellowing crowd. There were police about, but the boy was safe. No one in Canberra had been successfully busted for smoking marijuana since the start of 1974. Loading Whitlams attorney-general, Kep Enderby, ordered police to quit arresting pot smokers in Canberra after it became plain anyone who could string three words together in front of an ACT magistrate could waltz through a loophole in the law. In an attempt to clear things up, criminal penalties in Canberra were replaced with a $100 fine for possession of less than 25 grams, but the police appeared to be over the whole damn thing by then.

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We want Gough! Cool. I was a mere gawker on the lawns on the afternoon of that turbulent day. An awkward outsider. Id been a journalist for the previous four years, and had even worked a year at The Canberra News (an afternoon tabloid published briefly by Fairfax) back in 1972-73. But Id cast myself adrift from the craft in 1975, intent on recapturing my youth.

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I was employed as a roadie for rock n roll bands and as a novice sound-mixer at concerts. Tony Wright, rock n roll roadie, in 1975. On November 11, a couple of mates and I were at Canberras funkiest music lair, where we kept a mountain of high-powered sound equipment. The radio blared that Whitlam had been sacked by the governor-general, John Kerr. We had trouble digesting this. It was remote from our world.

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Far out, one of my mates muttered, continuing to play a riff on his guitar. Crowds, we heard, were gathering outside parliament house. I climbed into my clapped-out sports car, got the boys to give it a push-start and headed to the parliamentary zone. History and old newsreels will forever report the high drama of Whitlams thundering condemnation of Kerr and Fraser: Well may we say God save the Queen because nothing will save the governor-general followed by his mighty sledge at Fraser: Kerrs cur. Out on the edges of the crowd on the lawn, I was at a rueful remove from it all, having voluntarily detached myself from the privilege of all those journalists gathered on the parliamentary steps to absorb the peak moments of this political history. Feeling adrift and awkward, I contented myself with memorising the surreal performances of Gunston and the boy on King Georges horse.

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A couple of weeks later, politics and rocknroll merged when Whitlams people hired my mates and me to deliver the amplified sound for a Whitlam re-election campaign rally. Ahead of Whitlams speech in the town of Queanbeyan, the we want Gough rising to the clouds, bands mounted on a semi-trailer parked on a football ground fired up the crowd. We supplied a massive 10,000-watt amplification system, enough to blow down the Walls of Jericho. Gough Whitlam at one of his campaign rallies after the Dismissal in November 1975. Michael Rayner Perched on the flat roof of a nearby concrete toilet block, we sat around a sound-mixing desk that wouldnt have been out of place at a Rolling Stones concert. The dunny-desk was connected by cables to a forest of microphones on the semi-trailer.

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Just as Whitlam approached his microphones and began to speak, I accidentally kneed the mixing desk, its internal reverberation spring creating a crashing echo rolling like thunder. Id made Gough sound like the voice of God. Nothing, however, could save him when the post-Dismissal election rolled around on December 13 and conservative middle Australia got its own back with interest. I returned to journalism a few months later. After 1975 and the business with the accidental voice of God, a typewriter seemed mercifully tame. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
ADEN, Yemen, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Each morning under the pale sun, clusters of young Yemenis gather at busy intersections, hoping to secure a day's work before the heat rises.

This daily wait has become a familiar sight across a nation where job opportunities continue to vanish as a prolonged conflict grinds the economy to a halt.

Once home to expanding businesses and promising development projects, Yemen has seen its labor market shrink dramatically. Factories have closed, investors have withdrawn and thousands of young graduates now search for work that no longer exists.

According to government figures, Yemen's economy has contracted by nearly 50 percent, while poverty rate has climbed to around 80 percent. Earlier this month, Yemen's Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Mohammed Al-Zaouri said youth unemployment had approached 60 percent.

In major cities like Aden, Taiz, and Lahj, the crisis manifests in groups of young men waiting near construction sites and crossroads, wishing for temporary work. For many, employment has become a matter of chance rather than qualification.

"Some days I find work, many days I don't," said 28-year-old laborer Ammar Nasser, who waits daily at a roadside in Aden. "No one imagined a future where we would compete for a few hours of work."

Muath Salem, 32, graduated with an arts degree six years ago but never found work in his field. He turned to construction and contracting in Aden, helping build homes and offices. Now even those jobs have disappeared.

"There was a time when patience paid off and you would eventually find work," he said. "Now I spend the whole day waiting and return home with nothing. It is painful to want to work and have no chance."

For 26-year-old economics graduate Nisreen Ali, the struggle is similar. "There is no space for us in the labor market," she said. "Many of my male classmates are trying to leave the country."

Local aid groups warned that prolonged unemployment leaves young Yemenis vulnerable to exploitation and recruitment by armed groups or other informal or risky work.

"The economy is at a standstill, and families are under heavy pressure," said Aden-based humanitarian official Haithm Rashdi. "If youth remain outside workplaces, the damage will last for generations."

And even those who find work are struggling to survive, as wages have lost much of their value.

"A public-sector employee earns between 150,000 and 200,000 Yemeni rials a month -- about 90 to 120 U.S. dollars. With the rapid depreciation of the currency and rising prices, salaries no longer cover basic needs. Many people are forced to take two or three jobs simply to put food on the table," said economic analyst Ramzi Sultan.

"The core of the problem is a sharp imbalance between supply and demand. Jobs are scarce, but those searching for work are increasing every day," he said.

For 35-year-old Hamdi Abdullah, the loss of a banking job forced him to make a painful choice. After months of unsuccessful job searching, he had to sell his wife's jewelry to fund his travel to Saudi Arabia, hoping to try his luck there.

"Leaving my children was the hardest part," he said. "But staying without income was not possible."

Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthi group seized several northern provinces, forcing the internationally-recognized government to flee capital Sanaa. The war escalated in 2015 with the intervention of a Saudi-led coalition, fueling what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. 
JERUSALEM, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Israel said on Sunday that Turkish troops would not be part of the planned multinational force expected to take control of Gaza once Israeli forces withdraw.

"There will be no Turkish boots on the ground," government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian told reporters.

U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end the two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas calls for a temporary international stabilization force to gradually take over security in Gaza from the Israeli army. Washington has reportedly been in talks with Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia, Turkiye, and Azerbaijan to contribute to the force.

On Friday, Turkiye's Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued arrest warrants for 37 Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on charges of "genocide" and "crimes against humanity." Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar denounced the warrants, calling them a "PR stunt" by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 
Maria Serena Colombo, an engraver with Italian handmade jewelry brand Manzoni Gioielli, carves on-site at the Consumer Goods Exhibition area during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

SHANGHAI, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- For Massimo Albizzati, co-founder of Italian handmade jewelry brand Manzoni Gioielli, their first trip to the China International Import Expo (CIIE) recently held in the Chinese metropolis of Shanghai has proved encouraging.

"This is our first time joining the CIIE -- and it has been truly impressive," Albizzati, also a veteran goldsmith with over 40 years of experience in the Italian high-end jewelry industry, told Xinhua in an interview at the expo.

At the 8th CIIE, which concluded Monday, Manzoni showcased collections that integrate handicraft techniques of Italian fine jewelry -- such as engraving, filigree and openwork carving.

For example, the honeycomb openwork technique, a signature of Italian jewelry artistry, can take hours of meticulous labor to balance the geometric precision of the beehive pattern with the sensitivity of the human hand, explained Maria Serena Colombo, an engraver with Manzoni.

She added that these collections have attracted many visitors and business partners at the expo, who expressed interest in both the handmade products and the stories behind them.

"In an era dominated by mass production, we have chosen the more difficult path, but also the most authentic one -- to create by hand without compromise," Albizzati said. "Handmade jewelry carries emotion and character that machines cannot reproduce."

As the designer and creative director of Manzoni, Albizzati said he often sketches ideas drawn from natural forms -- a leaf, a curtain or a glimmer of light. "Sometimes the inspiration comes from a stone. By looking at it, I immediately understand what kind of ring or piece of jewelry it could become," he said. "The uniqueness is what sets us apart from big brands."

Participating in the six-day event, the world's largest import-themed expo, has offered a rare opportunity to present the techniques and creativity of Italian jewelry to Chinese consumers face to face, he added.

"The CIIE allows small and independent brands like ours to connect directly with Chinese distributors and consumers," he said -- emphasizing the expo's role in helping them understand local preferences and make corresponding adaptations.

Albizzati also noted that the company looks forward to deepening cooperation with Chinese partners and exploring more opportunities for cultural and creative collaboration.

"We have seen great public interest in our jewelry," he said. "We'll come back to next year's CIIE stronger -- with more products and new collections." 

Maria Serena Colombo, an engraver with Italian handmade jewelry brand Manzoni Gioielli, carves on-site at the Consumer Goods Exhibition area during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

This photo shows an exhibit at the booth of Italian handmade jewelry brand Manzoni Gioielli at the Consumer Goods Exhibition area during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

Maria Serena Colombo, an engraver with Italian handmade jewelry brand Manzoni Gioielli, carves on-site at the Consumer Goods Exhibition area during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)
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By Jonathan McCambridge, PA

A bid to force Northern Irelands education minister Paul Givan from office following controversy over his recent visit to Israel has failed.

During a bad-tempered debate in the Assembly, DUP minister Mr Givan called a no-confidence motion against him a calculated attempt to drive a unionist minister from office.

However, Sinn Fein claimed the minister intended to cause rancour and division with his trip to Israel and called him a genocide denier.

Parties supporting the motion said Mr Givan should not have used departmental resources to share images of his visit to a school in Jerusalem.

The motion was brought by People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll (Liam McBurney/PA)

The motion was brought by People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll and supported by Sinn Fein, the Alliance Party and the SDLP.

It was opposed by the DUP, the Ulster Unionist Party and TUV.

The no-confidence motion was supported by 47 out of 80 MLAs who voted, but fell because it did not gather support from a majority of both nationalist and unionist representatives, as required by the rules of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

During the debate, Mr Givan told the Assembly that he welcomed the opportunity to expose the toxic mix of antisemitism and hypocrisy at the heart of this motion.

We have witnessed a calculated attempt to drive a unionist minister from office Paul Givan

He added: This debate has exposed the ugly face of pan-nationalism and its fellow travellers.

When votes are cast I am confident that the attempt to drive me from office will have failed but in the process some deeper truths will have been revealed.

These truths will not be lost on the unionist community.

We have seen the informal creation of a new coalition of Sinn Fein, the SDLP, the Alliance, under the leadership and direction of Gerry Carroll.

We have witnessed a calculated attempt to drive a unionist minister from office, not for misconduct but simply for daring to dissent from the prevailing anti-Israel orthodoxy of Irish nationalism.

Mr Givan said those supporting the motion were seeking a political lynching.

He said: This is not principled politics, it is an attempt at ideological purging.

We have had a glimpse into a new Ireland, not a land flowing with milk and honey but a land where unionists serve only at the pleasure and on terms dictated by nationalists and republicans, aided and abetted by the Alliance Party.

It is a vision not of equality but of subjugation.

This motion has not just targeted me but has sent a chilling message to the unionist community that our convictions, our values and our right to engage with the wider world are to be policed and punished.

Sinn Fein MLA Declan Kearney called Mr Givan a genocide denier (Liam McBurney/PA)

Sinn Fein MLA Declan Kearney said the participation of the education minister in his Israeli state-sponsored propaganda stunt was an obscene act, one which has caused deep offence.

He added: It has also been roundly condemned by teachers unions, students and all right-thinking people across these islands, but Minister Givan knew exactly what he was doing.

His participation was premeditated. He knew that the use of his departmental social media would provoke widespread outrage  that too was premeditated.

In doing so, he chose to ignore Israels sadistic depravity and genocide against the Palestinian people.

If there was ever the slightest doubt before, there is no doubting now  he is a genocide denier.

An amoral, inhuman, incredulous and grotesque position for anyone to adopt, but especially someone in public office.

It is clear that the confidence of teaching unions, the wider public and a majority of wider parties in this chamber has been shattered by the ministers behaviour. Eoin Tennyson

Alliance Party deputy leader Eoin Tennyson said public confidence in Mr Givan had been shattered.

He told the Northern Ireland Assembly: Confidence ultimately goes to the heart of this issue, and the manner in which the minister has responded to this fiasco has not helped in this respect.

It is clear that the confidence of teaching unions, the wider public and a majority of wider parties in this chamber has been shattered by the ministers behaviour.

He could at any point have recognised and apologised for the hurt caused, committed to an independent review of his and his departments actions or referred himself to the standards process.

Instead he lashed out and doubled down.

Ulster Unionist Party MLA and deputy leader Robbie Butler branded the no-confidence motion as performative, divisive and deeply hypocritical.

Those bringing this motion should be honest with the people of Northern Ireland  it is politicking, pure and simple, and it will achieve little but further entrench the views and attitudes across our society, he said.

SDLP opposition leader Matthew OToole (right) with the partys leader Claire Hanna MP (centre) and the partys Stormont MLA team, speaks to the media (Liam McBurney/PA)

SDLP leader of the opposition Matthew OToole said his party supported the no-confidence motion not because of Mr Givans views on the Israeli conflict, views he described as reprehensible and abhorrent, but because the minister, he claimed, had broken Stormont rules.

Mr OToole said the education minister had breached rules around Civil Service impartiality and a legal requirement for him to have at least one official present at any official meeting he conducts as a minister.

Had Mr Givan simply embarked upon a tour as a private MLA, as a DUP representative as he first claimed he did, we probably would not have been here today, Mr OToole told the Assembly.

Mr Carroll, who brought the motion, called the Israel visit a propaganda junket.

TUV MLA Timothy Gaston condemned the motion, describing it as Punch and Judy politics.
COMMUNITY NOTES: BALLYHAUNIS - WESTERN PEOPLE (NOVEMBER 11 EDITION)

The passing of a Brickens man in New York marks a farewell to a proud retailing tradition and the celebration of a generation who helped carve a path for a wave of Irish emigrants seeking a better life in Americas biggest city.

When Tom Concannon was laid to rest in Yonkers, there were many tributes to his stewardship of Morleys supermarket on Yonkers Avenue, which he ran for decades with his brother John who passed away in 2016.

Both men emigrated from Brickens to work in the store, which had been established in 1935 by their aunt and her husband, William and Cecelia (Morley) Concannon. A third brother, Liam, also worked in the business, which for a time expanded to several stores.

Tom had visited Brickens earlier this year, explained Eugene Delaney, whose brother Martin worked in Morleys when, like many Irish, he moved to New York during the 1980s.

Many Irish emigrants who hadnt gotten around to opening a bank account had their first cheques cashed at Morleys, explained Eugene. It was the 1980s and a lot of people were going to America, every other week you were bringing someone to Shannon [airport], recalls Delaney.

Morleys supermarket is today operated as the Ideal Fresh Supermarket and carries a range of goods appealing to a very diverse local population including a large New York Irish population which has traditionally congregated on a strip running from Yonkers Avenue eastwards into the Woodlawn district of the Bronx.

Retail was a tradition in the wider Concannon family who ran a drapery store on Main Street in Ballyhaunis in the building which now houses Phillips Menswear.

Tributes were paid to Tom by the Aisling Irish Centre in Woodlawn, a meeting point for the local Irish community and their American-born children.
Eva Osborne

Monday's concluding episode of the RTE documentary series Trackers: The People v The Banks is set to examine why many of the same banks involved in the biggest consumer overcharging scandal in the history of the State use confidentiality clauses to potentially stop those most affected from sharing their stories.

The actions of the banks during the tracker mortgage scandal were, as late as October 2017, being labelled by the then Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe as disgraceful.

The programme seeks to understand why those worst affected should not be able to unburden themselves without the threat of litigation.

The former chair of the Finance Committee and current Leas-Cheann Comhairle, John McGuinness TD, has called for legislation to be introduced if needed to protect victims of the tracker mortgage scandal.

He said he believes the public interest is not best served by these clauses being used in such agreements and that such clauses should be lifted.

It would not surprise me to see a bank take on a customer that signed a confidentiality clause that breaches that clause," he said.

"It does worry me, and I think that legislation needs to be introduced to deal with that issue I think that they need protection."

Cavan couple

Back in 2006, it was a time of great excitement for Sonia and Michael Grace when they bought their forever home in Cavan.

They took out a tracker mortgage to fund the purchase and, a few years later, moved bank and fixed their rate for three years.

But in 2011, when they sought to revert to a tracker mortgage, they were told in no uncertain terms that this was not an option.

Sonia calculated that the difference between what they should have been paying and what the bank were charging them in the first four months was approximately 600 per month.

Had they been let return to their tracker mortgage, Sonia said: We wouldnt have had to choose between fuel, food, and coal. Our life ended up spiralling after that unfortunately, downhill.

It is a familiar tale, told repeatedly to the RTE documentary series. However, another concerning aspect to Michael and Sonias story has emerged.

As part of the Central Banks unprecedented investigation into the tracker mortgage scandal, Sonia and Michael eventually got their tracker back and were paid just over 14,000 in compensation.

They were deeply unhappy with the amounts on offer, which included a payment of 59.99 in recognition of the time value money lost to them for the years they went without their tracker.

All of my health was impacted because of the overcharge, because of the stress. Michael's health as well, you know, and our marriage too, had suffered, Sonia said.

"I ended up setting up an office in the sitting room and I said 'This is war.'

They appealed their case through an independent appeal panel set up and run by their bank, under guidelines issued by the Central Bank.

Sonia answered detailed questions in front of an oral appeals panel. Eventually, they won their case.

They were awarded an additional 64,000 in compensation, a figure which they felt was still nowhere near enough to compensate them, for the trauma they experienced at the hands of their bank.

But when the settlement agreement arrived, it contained a confidentiality clause. They are adamant that they felt obliged to sign it or risk losing their award from the panel.

"You get your award, but then you have to sign this confidentiality agreement where it's a non-disclosure and it's ex gratia payment," Sonia said.

You had to sign it. You weren't given any other choice. It's a gagging order. We didnt do anything wrong.

They just want it sort of kept hushed, kept quiet. I think people need to know what people have to go through," Michael added.

The banks say that such clauses are common and allow both sides to maintain the confidentiality of their negotiations and mediated settlements.

Debt campaigner David Hall, whose iCare charity supported Sonia and Michael Grace, personally attended their oral appeal hearing out of solidarity.

He noted that only one in 10 of those who were identified as impacted by the Central Bank investigation went on to pursue an appeal.

When there was only one in ten appeals, the banks don't want that rising to two and three in ten appeals if people hear there's been some that have been successful, he said.

He believes such clauses have one clear intent.

That is to be very clear, they're in charge, they're in control. You do as you are told. And if you don't do it, by the way, if you don't sign it, you don't get your settlement, and the whole thing comes unstuck.

"And if you do sign it and breach it at some point in the future, we reserve our position to come and attack you, again. So this is designed to silence people. This is designed to gag them.

The concluding episode of Trackers: The People V The Banks will run Monday night at 9:35pm on RTE One and RTE Player.
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The number of unemployed persons in Malaysia declined by 0.2 percent to 519,900 persons from 520,900 persons in the third quarter, official data showed Monday.

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that the unemployment rate for the third quarter stood at 3 percent.

Meanwhile, the labor force expanded by 0.7 percent quarter-on-quarter, recording 17.49 million persons.

The labor force participation rate edged up by 0.1 percentage points to 70.9 percent, compared to 70.8 percent in the preceding quarter.

Following this upward trend, the number of employed persons also rose by 0.7 percent to 16.97 million persons from 16.85 million persons in the second quarter.

As for September, the unemployed decreased further to 518,600 persons, recording an unemployment rate of 3 percent.

"Malaysia's labor market is recording its best performance in over a decade, with promising prospects for the coming year in terms of employment opportunities, economic stability, and social development," the DOSM said.

It expects the labor market to expand steadily, with a strong focus on human capital development, entrepreneurship, and strategic sectors such as the halal industry and digital technology. 
MOSCOW, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Russia's foreign trade surplus fell 11.02 percent year-on-year to 101.7 billion U.S. dollars from January to September 2025, Russia's Federal Customs Service (FCS) said Monday.

Exports dropped by 14.7 billion dollars to 302.8 billion dollars, while imports declined by 2.1 billion dollars to 201.1 billion dollars, according to the data.

Russia's overall trade turnover between January and September decreased by 3.23 percent compared with the same period in 2024, totaling 503.9 billion dollars.

Russia's exports to Europe declined by 15.7 percent during the period, while shipments to Asia slipped slightly by 1.9 percent. Trade with Africa weakened overall despite higher imports, while exports to the Americas recorded modest growth.

According to the FCS, mineral products -- Russia's largest export category -- fell 14.3 percent year-on-year to 168.7 billion dollars. Machinery, equipment and transport vehicles remained the top category of imports, though their total value declined by 7 percent to 96.7 billion dollars. 
Wits researchers call for Africa-centred approach to nature-based climate solutions ahead of COP30

Scientists from Wits University are calling for a fundamental rethink of how natural climate solutions are implemented across Africa, in the lead up to COP30.

In a new Nature Sustainability commentary, Professors Laura Pereira and Sally Archibald, and Dr Kim Zoeller, together with 12 African co-authors, propose six guiding principles to ensure that climate actions benefit both people and ecosystems on the continent.

The paper, titled: Six Principles to Get Natural Climate Solutions Right in Africa argues that many global initiatives to address climate mitigation overlook Africas diverse ecological and social contexts. From grasslands and savannas to rich coastal ecosystems, these landscapes are often misclassified as degraded which in turn lead to misguided interventions such as tree planting in open ecosystems that can eventually harm biodiversity and local livelihoods.

Africa cannot be treated as a blank slate for carbon offset projects, explains Professor Laura Pereira, Director of the Wits Global Change Institute and a researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Centre. Our ecosystems and communities have co-evolved for millennia. Climate action in Africa must start with African evidence, African priorities and African leadership.

The authors warn that many nature-based projects, while well-intentioned, risk deepening inequality or damaging ecosystems if they fail to recognise local realities. Instead, they propose six principles (categorised as foundational, enabling, and implementation) to guide more equitable and sustainable decision-making:

Six Principles for Equitable and Sustainable Decision-Making

Acknowledge Africas development priorities and needs

Climate and biodiversity goals must align with the African Unions Agenda 2063 and local development aspirations.

Allocate financial resources for the greatest co-benefits

Move beyond narrow profit-driven carbon markets to support livelihoods and ecosystems.

Prioritise solutions that maintain options for the future

Avoid irreversible land-use changes and respect Indigenous and local knowledges.

Be transparent about trade-offs and opportunity costs

Recognise who gains and who loses from interventions and ensure fair compensation.

Ensure local buy-in and co-design

Engage communities as equal partners in defining desired futures.

Use accurate, Africa-specific data

Global datasets often misrepresent African conditions and investment must fill data gaps.

We need to stop assuming that what works elsewhere will work here, says Dr Kim Zoeller from the Future Ecosystems for Africa programme. Climate finance should reflect Africas realities and not impose external models. The evidence from African ecosystems is clear - when local knowledge leads, outcomes for people and nature are stronger.

With COP30 approaching, these principles offer a practical framework for aligning climate mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity goals. They also call for true cost accounting of carbon projects, factoring in the social and ecological costs borne by African communities and for transparent finance flows that genuinely support sustainable development.

The authors call on negotiators to integrate the six principles into Africas COP30 position under the African Group of Negotiators.

This isnt just about protecting nature, Pereira concludes. Its about shaping a future where Africas people, ecosystems and economies thrive together and where climate action strengthens, rather than undermines, our collective resilience.

QUICK SUMMARY

Six Principles for Getting Natural Climate Solutions Right in Africa
Amathole community in High Court to demand access to water

CALS will be in the Eastern Cape High Court on 18 November 2025 representing a community calling on the Amathole District Municipality to provide water

Next week, the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) will represent residents of three villages in the Amathole District Municipality in the Eastern Cape High Court. The community members seek to compel the Municipality to fulfil its constitutional obligation to provide sufficient water to 1,200 people living in the area.

Residents from the villages of Khomkulu-Toboyi, Merilis and Kunene in the Eastern Cape have approached the High Court with the assistance of the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS) at the University of the Witwatersrand. The community argues that the Amathole District Municipality has failed to fulfil its constitutional obligation to supply the villages with sufficient water.

There are approximately 1,237 people residing in the three villages in the area. Less than half of the residents have water tanks to collect rainwater, while the majority are compelled to get their water from communal tanks, which are reportedly only filled sporadically. Many people are thus forced to walk long distances to rivers and streams to get to access water.

Lack of sufficient water places everyone living in the area at risk. Reports by water experts show that recurring droughts within the district, coupled with poor water service delivery, have left most of the residents with little to no access to safe water. Three water samples taken from sources used in the villages demonstrated that there is a high concentration of bacteria in the water and infections may occur if the water is not treated.

In other words, residents not only have to put their safety at risk by travelling in the dark to collect water, but that water is also extremely poor quality and dangerous to their health. Women and girls largely bear the social burden of carrying water for domestic use. Lack of access to sufficient water presents gendered harms affecting their rights to equality and education, including when girls are forced to miss school because they have no access to proper sanitation.

Regulations made under the Water Services Act set out minimum standards for basic water supply and basic sanitation. They provide that the minimum standard for basic water supply is at least 25 litres per person per day, or 6 kilolitres per household per month within 200 metres of a household. The residents do not have a water supply that meets the minimum standard. They therefore have no option but to approach the Eastern Cape High Court in an effort to compel the Municipality to provide them with potable water in the short-term, and an end to the water crisis in the long-term.

Its clear that the Municipalitys failures violate the residents constitutional rights to safe and sufficient water, says Thuto Gabaphethe, attorney in the Home, Land and Rural Democracy programme at CALS. But this right does not exist in isolation. Water is so central to human existence that this failure also infringes on other rights such as dignity, equality and education.

The matter is set to be heard in the High Court in Mthatha on 18 November 2025.

CALS is represented in the matter by Adv Siphelo Mbeki and Prof Tracy-Lynn Field.

A number of organisations have applied to join the litigation as friends of the court, including Sonke Gender Justice represented by Lawyers for Human Rights as well as Equal Education Law Centre and I-Menstruate.

Read our founding documents in the matter here.

For inquiries, please contact:

From the Centre for Applied Legal Studies:
BEIJING, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- China on Monday added the United States, Mexico and Canada to a list of countries requiring special export licenses for specific precursor chemicals.

The new rule, effective immediately, was jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Emergency Management, the General Administration of Customs and the National Medical Products Administration.

The adjustment involves revising the management catalog of precursor chemicals for export to specific countries or regions, as well as the catalog of specific countries or regions -- officially adding the United States, Mexico and Canada to the latter.

Furthermore, 13 specific types of precursor chemicals were included in the management catalog, with the new controls explicitly targeting exports to these three North American countries.

Exporters are now required to apply for a license when exporting related chemicals to the United States, Mexico or Canada. 
Colombian President Gustavo Petro attends a joint declaration press conference during the fourth summit between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) in Santa Marta, Colombia, Nov. 9, 2025. The fourth CELAC-EU summit opened Sunday in Santa Marta, Colombia, where the two sides issued a joint declaration on energy, environment and energy transitions. (Photo by Andres Moreno/Xinhua)

SANTA MARTA, Colombia, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The fourth summit between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) opened Sunday in Santa Marta, Colombia, where the two sides issued a joint declaration on energy, environment and energy transitions.

The declaration proposed deepening cooperation in renewable energy, food security, technological innovation, cultural exchanges, and other fields.

It also reaffirms that both sides adhere to the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, especially the sovereign equality of states, respect for territorial integrity and political independence, non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and peaceful settlement of disputes.

"We reiterate our opposition to the threat or use of force and stress the importance of prioritizing conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding as essential elements for lasting peace in both regions," said the declaration.

The two-day event was co-chaired by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, whose country now holds the rotating presidency of the CELAC, and European Council President Antonio Costa.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro and other heads of state or government also attended the summit.

In his opening speech, Petro called on all parties to adhere to dialogue and cooperation, uphold peace and justice, and jointly promote global democracy and sustainable development.

The two sides agreed to hold the fifth EU-CELAC Summit in 2027 in Brussels, Belgium. 

Colombian President Gustavo Petro (2nd R), European Council President Antonio Costa (2nd L), Uruguay's Foreign Affairs Minister Mario Lubetkin (1st L), and European Union (EU) High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas attend a joint declaration press conference during the fourth summit between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) in Santa Marta, Colombia, Nov. 9, 2025. The fourth CELAC-EU summit opened Sunday in Santa Marta, Colombia, where the two sides issued a joint declaration on energy, environment and energy transitions. (Photo by Andres Moreno/Xinhua)

European Council President Antonio Costa attends a joint declaration press conference during the fourth summit between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) in Santa Marta, Colombia, Nov. 9, 2025. The fourth CELAC-EU summit opened Sunday in Santa Marta, Colombia, where the two sides issued a joint declaration on energy, environment and energy transitions. (Photo by Andres Moreno/Xinhua)

Colombian President Gustavo Petro attends a joint declaration press conference during the fourth summit between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) in Santa Marta, Colombia, Nov. 9, 2025. The fourth CELAC-EU summit opened Sunday in Santa Marta, Colombia, where the two sides issued a joint declaration on energy, environment and energy transitions. (Photo by Andres Moreno/Xinhua)
KABUL, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Security forces in the drive against illegal arms discovered and seized a quantity of arms and ammunitions including five pieces of Kalashnikov assault rifles in the northern Afghanistan Sari Pul province on Sunday, spokesman for the provincial police office, Naqibullah Alamyar, said Monday.

The haul, which included five pieces of Kalashnikovs, two hunting guns, a set of walkie-talkie and hundreds of rounds of ammunitions were recovered during a series of operations in different districts of the province, the official added.

Alamyar did not say if anyone has been arrested. However, noted that the security personnel as part of efforts to ensure law and order in the province will not allow anyone to keep or carry arms illegally.

Earlier in similar crackdown, police discovered illegal weapons in the eastern Panjshir province and arrested an alleged weapon smuggler on Saturday. 
The Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi  Dorduncu Enternasyonal (Socialist Equality Party  Fourth International) was officially established on August 1, 2025, as the Turkish section of the International Committee of the Fourth International. The party received a letter dated September 15, 2025, signed by Muhsin Senturk, Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals, and titled Review of the Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi  Dorduncu Enternasyonals Constitution and Program. It requested changes to our constitution and program, which were unanimously adopted its at its founding congress on June 1315, 2025. As a major figure in the Turkish state, the Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals is appointed by the president.

The issues concerning the constitution are technical in nature. However, we categorically reject the demands expressed regarding our program (Statement of Principles) which asked to change or remove demands such as education in ones mother tongue and Kurdish becoming an official language with constitutional guarantees, as they constitute political interference. Below we are publishing the Sosyalist Esitlik Partisis official response to Supreme Court of Appeals Prosecutors Office. We call on readers of the World Socialist Web Site and all defenders of democratic rights to oppose this unacceptable intervention and to share our statement as widely as possible.

***

November 3, 2025

To the Supreme Court of Appeals Prosecutors Office of Turkey

We hereby inform you that our party, the Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi  Dorduncu Enternasyonal (hereinafter referred to as the Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi), which was officially established on August 1, 2025, has received your letter dated September 15, 2025, numbered 51047475/ 2025-1372, with the subject Review of the Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi  Dorduncu Enternasyonals Constitution & Program, signed by Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals, Muhsin SENTURK, has been reviewed by our partys leadership.

Accordingly;

Regarding our Constitution, you have noted that Although Article 1 of the Party Constitution specifies that the Partys name is Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi  Dorduncu Enternasyonal, the use of the term Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi as the Party name in many places throughout the Party Constitution has created confusion.

Therefore, changes to the Constitution and Program have been requested. But these assessments are incorrect. Because Article 1 of our Party Constitution also states that the abbreviated form of the Party name is Socialist Equality Party. This indicates that Socialist Equality Party can be used as the abbreviated form of the party name in the Constitution, the Program, and other texts.

Considering the technical nature of certain other matters specified in our Constitution, a resolution has been taken to convene an Extraordinary Constitution Congress.

However, the party leadership has concluded that the points raised regarding our Program constitute an interference with our partys freedom of expression and independence, and that the demands for changes to the Program constitute a violation of rights. Therefore, it has been decided that no changes will be made to the Program.

The Supreme Court of Appeals Prosecutors Office states the following regarding our Program in its relevant letter:

In the Party Program: Under the heading Proletarian internationalism against nationalism; Section 52; [It reads:] Fighting for education in the mother tongue, for the constitutional guarantee of the Kurdish language and for the recognition of all other democratic and cultural rights as well as freedom for political prisoners, the Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi insists that the only way to the lasting peace and democratic rights that the working people long for is the unification of workers of all nationalities in the Middle East and in the imperialist countries in the fight for global socialism and against war and neo-colonial oppression. It means fighting for the Socialist Federation of the Middle East, which will be part of a world socialist federation. [Emphasis in Prosecutors Offices letter] Section 53; The Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi also resolutely fights against chauvinist attacks and historical falsification against minorities who were a major part of Turkeys population and culture in the past and whose proportion in the population has been gradually reduced by systematic state policies. It seeks to unite these communities under the revolutionary leadership of the working class. [Emphasis in Prosecutors Offices letter] The following statements in the Party Programs aforementioned sections are contrary to the following constitutional and legal provisions: Fighting for education in the mother tongue, for the constitutional guarantee of the Kurdish language  the Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi and The Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi also resolutely fights against chauvinist attacks and historical falsification against minorities who were a major part of Turkeys population and culture in the past and whose proportion in the population has been gradually reduced by systematic state policies. The Constitution and Law No. 2820 on Political Parties [states]; -The Turkish State is an indivisible whole with its country and nation. Its language is Turkish. No language other than Turkish may be taught or instructed as a mother tongue to Turkish citizens in educational and teaching institutions; [Article 3 of the Constitution] -Political parties cannot change the provisions regarding the language of the Turkish State as explained in Article 3 of the Constitution; They cannot create distinctions based on language or race; They cannot pursue this goal or engage in activities aimed at this goal, nor can they incite or encourage others to do so. They cannot claim that there are minorities within the territory of the Republic of Turkey. Accordingly, the statements in the Program that are contrary to the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey and Law No. 2820 on Political Parties must be amended. In light of the above explanations; 1- Your Party Constitution and Program shall be revised in accordance with the Turkish Constitution and Law No. 2820 on Political Parties, eliminating any inconsistencies/contradictions, 2- The outcome shall be reported to our Office of the Chief Prosecutor within 60 days of the notification of this letter, 3- No contrary actions shall be taken until the Party Constitution and Program are amended, 4- Otherwise, in accordance with Article 104/1 of the Political Parties Law No. 2820, our Chief Prosecutors Office will file a warning lawsuit with the Constitutional Court. We request your attention and action regarding these matters.

The response of the Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi  Dorduncu Enternasyonal to the demands for program changes cited above from the Supreme Court of Appeals Prosecutors Offices letter titled, Review of the Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi  Dorduncu Enternasyonals Constitution and Program is as follows:

The Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi  Dorduncu Enternasyonal rejects the demands to change or remove the demands in our Program, such as education in ones mother tongue, and to make Kurdish an official language with constitutional guarantees, which are legitimate democratic demands supported by broad masses in Turkey and expressed in various forms in the programs of many other official political parties, as an unacceptable intervention not only against our party but also against the fundamental democratic rights of other political parties and citizens who defend these demands.

These rights are protected in the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, albeit with significant limitations, as follows:

VII. Freedom of thought and opinion ARTICLE 25  Everyone has the freedom of thought and opinion. No one shall be compelled to reveal his/her thoughts and opinions for any reason or purpose; nor shall anyone be blamed or accused because of his/her thoughts and opinions. VIII. Freedom of expression and dissemination of thought ARTICLE 26- Everyone has the right to express and disseminate his/her thoughts and opinions by speech, in writing or in pictures or through other media, individually or collectively. This freedom includes the liberty of receiving or imparting information or ideas without interference by official authorities.

The international socialist movement, which our party defends as its legacy, has historically been the most consistent defender of fundamental democratic rights in order to secure the international unity of workers in the struggle to establish socialism worldwide. This requires opposing any official or unofficial oppression or discrimination against any community, or any form of privilege, and defending political equality for all individuals and peoples. On this matter, with all its limitations, the current Turkish Constitution states the following:

X. Equality before the law ARTICLE 10- Everyone is equal before the law without distinction as to language, race, colour, sex, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion and sect, or any such grounds.

The Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi, as stated in its Program, demands full equality for all people and defends unequivocally their democratic rights. Our party explains that the concepts of equality and democracy cannot be considered independently of social classes, economic and political conditions. Therefore, our program states: The defense of democratic rights is inseparably bound up with the struggle for socialism. As there can be no socialism without democracy, there will be no democracy without socialism. Political equality is impossible without economic equality. It is essential that the working class consistently defend democratic rights and political equality in the struggle to build a socialist society that will ensure true equality for all people worldwide.

The denial and disregard of the fundamental democratic rights of the Kurdish people, including their language, violates the provision highlighted by the Supreme Court of Appeals Prosecutors Office that the Turkish State is an indivisible whole with its country and nation and results in creating distinctions based on language or race. Although the exact number is unknown because it has not been officially counted in Turkey, it is widely known that the Kurdish people consist of millions of individuals. The existence of multiple official languages that cater to different language communities living in a country is not divisive but unifying. Switzerland, where German, French, Italian, and Romansh are official languages, is a well-known historical example in this regard.

The Soviet Union, which did not have a single official language, paid great attention to the democratic rights of all peoples and to the language issue, particularly in its early years, with the aim of uniting workers and peasants of countless nationalities on the basis of fraternal equality. The decree signed by Vladimir Lenin on December 26, 1919, entitled On the eradication of illiteracy of population in the RSFSR, [1] made it compulsory for everyone between the ages of 8 and 50 who could not read or write to learn to read and write in their native language or, if they wished, in Russian. The principled stance of the Soviet government on nationalities, which aimed to establish a socialist world society that would eliminate all sources of oppression, was not limited to its own citizens. During the same period, it was the Soviet government, led by Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, that rushed to the aid of the national liberation movement against imperialist colonial occupation in Turkey, providing both political and military support.

Lenin, left, and Trotsky

The Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi advocates a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish question, a fundamental political issue that has persisted since the founding of the Republic of Turkey [in 1923], through the recognition of basic democratic rights; it calls on the working class and other sections of the people to fight in a mass movement for the achievement and securing of these fundamental rights. We explain that this means fighting for global socialism against the socio-economic conditions that give rise to national oppression and inequality. Only in this way can a sense of brotherhood and trust be developed among workers and peoples, and only in this way can a lasting solution be achieved to this question, which has led to paying great prices for decades.

Our party argues that such a solution is only possible with a socialist constitution, but at the same time it is fighting for the immediate achievement and implementation of fundamental democratic rights. Moreover, the Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi is not the only party advocating for the replacement of the 1982 Constitution, imposed by the military junta [that came to power with the 1980 coup], with a new constitution. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) is perhaps the best-known party for its demand and call for a new constitution since it has been in power since 2002.

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the following on this subject in a speech on October 8, 2025:

Both the 1961 Constitution and the 1982 Constitution are riddled with traces of distrust toward democratic processes, political partiesan integral part of these processesand, in particular, the national will. This spirit of tutelage, which permeates the essence and wording of the constitutional texts, has built bastions, castles, and towers in many places to perpetuate its existence. Despite recent comprehensive revisions, the need for a new and civilian constitution has not been fully met. A civilian constitution that draws on the wisdom of the nation rather than coups, rejecting the negative legacy of military interventions that have fragmented our democratic experience, remains the greatest aspiration of our citizens. [2]

The fact that there is widespread support for education in ones mother tongue in Turkey is clearly evident in the data presented by Nejla Demir, Member of Parliament for Agr from the Peoples Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), in her speech at the Turkish Grand National Assembly session on February 20, 2025. [3] Expressing democratic demands such as, For lasting peace and a dignified life, restrictions on the Kurdish language must be lifted immediately, the right to education in ones mother tongue must be recognized at all levels of education, and Kurdish (Kurmanci and Kirmancki) must be recognized as an official language, Demir also pointed out that in the current education system in Turkey, children whose mother tongue is not Turkish start the education process at a disadvantage, and this situation leads to pedagogical, psychological, and sociocultural problems.

The survey titled Research Report on the Level of Use of Native Languages Other Than Turkish in Turkey and Related Demands and Trends, conducted by the Sosyo Politik Saha Arastrmalar Merkezi (Center for Socio-Political Field Research) in 22 cities between January 28 and February 11, 2025, which was referenced in the same speech, is highly informative. [4] Focusing on Kurdish citizens, 97.5% of the 1,285 participants in the study stated that their ethnic origin was Kurdish. 97.8% of respondents answered Yes to the question, Would you like your child to be educated in their mother tongue? The percentage of those who answered Yes to the question Do you think your mother tongue should be protected and developed? was 97.7%. More than 80% of the answers to the question What do you think is the greatest threat to the survival of your mother tongue? consisted of the following three answers: Lack of education in the mother tongue (46.5%), Oppression and assimilation policies (19.6%), Lack of legal status (15.1%). The survey also indicates that native language use decreases as the age of household members decreases and points to the process of extinction of languages other than Turkish spoken by citizens of the Republic of Turkey.

The importance and necessity of education in ones mother tongue has been the subject of numerous studies and international agreements. As stated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), of which Turkey is a founding member, on International Mother Language Day 2023, While mother-tongue-based education is essential to the full development of individuals and to the transmission of linguistic heritage, 40% of the worlds students do not have access to education in the language they speak or understand best. Such a situation severely undermines learning, cultural expression and the building of social relations, and significantly weakens the linguistic heritage of humanity. [5] UNESCOs International Mother Language Day 2024 message also emphasized the importance of mother tongue education, stating, The scientific studies are clear: learning in ones mother tongue is essential to success at school. This boosts self-esteem, awakens curiosity from an early age, and facilitates cognitive development. [6]

In 2012, Law No. 6287 issued by the AKP government and Circular No. 2012/37 on Optional Courses published by the Turkish Ministry of National Education introduced Kurdish and other languages spoken in Turkey as optional courses under the name Living Languages and Dialects. It should be emphasized that this is not education in the mother tongue, but rather an extremely limited and inadequate application.

Another example of constitutional and legal inadequacies and contradictions regarding education in ones native language can be seen in the following statement made by Mehmet Ucum, chief advisor of president, in December 2024:

Kurdish language courses are available as electives in public schools. Kurdish language courses are available as electives in private schools. Universities offer undergraduate programs in Kurdish language and literature/culture, as well as graduate programs. It is possible to open Kurdish language courses. It is permissible to open private schools where Kurdish is the language of instruction. [7] [Emphasis added]

The last sentence by Ucum refers to the following amendment made to the relevant law on March 2, 2014:

(Additional clauses: 2/3/2014-6529/11) Furthermore, private schools may be established for the purpose of providing education and instruction in different languages and dialects traditionally used by Turkish citizens in their daily lives, subject to the provisions of the Private Education Institutions Law. The languages and dialects to be used for education and instruction in these institutions shall be determined by a decision of the President. The principles and procedures regarding the establishment and supervision of these institutions shall be regulated by a regulation to be issued by the Ministry of National Education. [8]

This amendment to the law, which could be interpreted as unconstitutional because it involves education and instruction in different languages and dialects, has not been implemented because the Ministry of National Education has not issued any regulations. Moreover, the Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi opposes the establishment of separate private or public schools for children with different native languages, as this would serve to deepen artificial divisions and alienation between peoples, and advocates for all children to be provided with education in their native language in common public schools. The elimination of any privileges granted to a particular language or any discrimination imposed is of great importance in building people to form a brotherly unity based on respect for each others languages, cultures, and fundamental rights from childhood onwards.

As we have stated, the right to education in ones mother tongue or an official language is freedom of expression that should be defended by both political parties and individuals through democratic means. At the 13th meeting of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Commission established in the Turkish Grand National Assembly in the name of resolving the Kurdish issue, held on October 2, 2025, the lawyers who were heard emphasized the importance of education in the mother tongue.

For example, Serhat Cakmak from the Ozgurluk icin Hukukcular Dernegi (Lawyers for Freedom Association) proposed amending Article 42 of the Constitution to read: In addition to Turkish, education may be provided in native languages and dialects in educational institutions. [9]

Prof. Dr. Fazl Husnu Erdem, a constitutional law expert and an academic at Dicle University Faculty of Law, stated the following in the same commission meeting:

Without exaggeration, one could say that the mother tongue is at the heart of this issue... The best way to ensure the implementation of cultural identity rights, including those related to the mother tongue, is for Turkey to recognize these rights at the constitutional level... I also have a three-paragraph proposal regarding the article on linguistic rights. The first paragraph [of proposal] reads: Everyone has the freedom to express and disseminate their thoughts and opinions in their mother tongue. Everyone has the right to establish, operate, and benefit from written, visual, and auditory communication in their mother tongue. The second paragraph states: Everyone has the right to receive an education in their mother tongue. Third paragraph: Everyone has the right to receive public services in their mother tongue and to use their mother tongue when interacting with public authorities. [10]

In its document titled Legal Requirements and Recommendations for Social Peace in the Context of the Kurdish Issue in Turkey, published in October 2024, the Diyarbakr Bar Association states the following:

Using, learning, and developing ones mother tongue in all areas of life, as well as receiving an education in ones mother tongue, is a fundamental right. Article 42 of the Constitution, which stipulates Turkish as the language of education, essentially prohibits the use of Kurdish in education and instruction by excluding schools that provide education and instruction in Western languages such as English, French, German, and Italian. This prohibition undoubtedly applies not only to Kurdish, but also to all other native languages, disregarding the cultural diversity of Turkish society. Article 42 also creates distinctions without legitimate legal justification between non-Muslim students whose native language is not Turkish; students receiving education and instruction in Western languages; and students belonging to ethnic groups, such as Kurds, Laz, Bosniaks, and Arabs, who are Muslim but whose native language is not Turkish. This demonstrates that the state discriminates among its citizens with regard to the fundamental human right to education. Furthermore, a significant proportion of Kurdish children living in the eastern and southeastern regions of the country do not learn Turkish by the time they reach school age. Thus, this constitutional obstacle to education in the Kurdish mother tongue also prevents equal educational opportunities. To ensure equal educational opportunities for all students, regardless of their ethnic, cultural, or religious identity, the constitutional article regulating the right to education must not prohibit education in ones mother tongue. The new regulation must constitutionally guarantee the right to education in ones mother tongue. [11]

Numerous examples exist of administrative penalties imposed for requesting an education in ones mother tongue being overturned by Turkish courts and condemned as human rights violations by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

In the fall of 2001, students at Istanbul University submitted 500 petitions to the rectors office, demanding education in their mother tongue. [12] According to another news report, 32 students who applied for elective Kurdish language courses were expelled by the Istanbul University Disciplinary Board in 2002. [13] 38 students were suspended for two semesters, and seven students were suspended for one semester. According to the same report, in December 2002, an Administrative Court ruled that the penalties imposed on the students were unlawful and overturned them. The court stated that the students petition or expression of their opinions could not be grounds for disciplinary action. On December 12, 2017, the ECHR, to which eight students applied;

2. Declares, by a majority, the complaints concerning alleged denial by the authorities of the applicants right to education on account of the disciplinary sanctions imposed on them admissible;  4. Holds, by five votes to two, that there has been a violation of Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention; [14]

The relevant article from the European Convention on Human Rights regarding the Right to Education is as follows:

No person shall be denied the right to education. In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions. [15]

The ECHR ruled in favor of 18 Afyon Kocatepe University students who were disciplined for making the same request on education in their mother tongue between December 2001 and January 2002. The court found that the Right to Education article had been violated. In December 2003, the Council of State in Turkey accepted the students appeal. In announcing its rule, the ECHR stated the following:

As regards the principle of proportionality, the Court observes that the applicants were subject to a disciplinary sanction for merely submitting petitions which conveyed their views on the need for and the necessity of Kurdish language education and requested that Kurdish language classes be introduced as an optional module, without committing any reprehensible act. In this connection, the Court finds that, in view of the information contained in the case file, the applicants did not resort to violence or breach or attempt to breach the peace or order in the university. The Court finds therefore that the applicants were sanctioned because of the views expressed in their petitions [16]

Lastly, two closure cases were filed against the Education and Science Workers Union (Egitim-Sen) because its constitution advocated that everyone shall have a right to receive an education in their mother tongue. The union had 167,000 members at the time. On September 25, 2012, the Republic of Turkey was found guilty of violating Articles 10 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (Freedom of expression and Freedom of assembly and association articles). Following the second closure case, Egitim-Sen removed the phrase education in the mother tongue from its constitution but reinstated it at its 8th Ordinary General Assembly on May 15, 2011. [17]

The relevant ruling of the European Court of Human Rights states the following: 66. The Court reiterates that the fact that their activities form part of a collective exercise of freedom of expression in itself entitles political parties to seek the protection of Articles 10 and 11 of the Convention  67. It further reiterates that freedom of expression constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society. Subject to paragraph 2 of Article 10, freedom of expression is applicable not only to information or ideas that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive or as a matter of indifference, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb the State or any sector of the population. Such are the demands of that pluralism, tolerance and broadmindedness without which there is no democratic society. 

Courtroom of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg [Photo by Adrian Grycuk / CC BY-SA 3.0

70. The Court lastly observes that, in a democratic society based on the rule of law, political ideas which challenge the existing order and whose realisation is advocated by peaceful means must be afforded a proper opportunity of expression through the exercise of the right to freedom of association.  76. In conclusion, the Court finds that the proceedings initiated for the dissolution of the applicant union  forcing it to delete the impugned wording from its constitution  were disproportionate to the aims pursued and were not therefore necessary in a democratic society. [18]

Article 81 of Law No. 2820 on Political Parties, which is referenced in the letter from the Supreme Court of Appeals Prosecutors Office concerning our partys Program under the heading Prevention of the Creation of Minorities, states:

Political parties: a) shall not claim that there are minorities within the territory of the Republic of Turkey based on national or religious culture, sect, race, or language differences.

This article contradicts historical facts, academic studies, and political reality. The following is an example of the latter: On March 27, 2025, the Communications Directorate of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey reported that AKP Chairman and President Erdogan met with representatives of religious minorities at an iftar dinner and said he was very pleased to share the iftar table with representatives of religious minority communities in Turkey. [19]

In terms of historical facts and official minorities, the Lausanne Peace Treaty, signed on July 24, 1923, and considered a founding document of the Republic of Turkey, levelled all Muslim peoples under the Turkish identity through a political decision. Only non-Muslim religious minorities (Armenians, Greeks, and Jews) were recognized. These provisions are detailed in the section titled Protection of Minorities (Articles 3745). [20]

Article 90 of the Turkish Constitution clarifies the inconsistency between the provisions of the Lausanne Treaty and Law No. 2820 on Political Parties, stating the following:

International agreements duly put into effect have the force of law. No appeal to the Constitutional Court shall be made with regard to these agreements, on the grounds that they are unconstitutional. (Sentence added on May 7, 2004; Act No. 5170) In the case of a conflict between international agreements, duly put into effect, concerning fundamental rights and freedoms and the laws due to differences in provisions on the same matter, the provisions of international agreements shall prevail.

The Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi does not propose the artificial creation of minorities in its Program. Based on historical, social, and political facts, it resolutely fights against chauvinist attacks and historical falsification against minorities who were a major part of Turkeys population and culture in the past and whose proportion in the population has been gradually reduced by systematic state policies. It seeks to unite these communities under the revolutionary leadership of the working class.

In conclusion, the above explanations clearly demonstrate why the changes demanded in our partys program contradict freedom of expression and the right to engage in democratic politics. Without compromising its program or principles, the Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi will continue to struggle for genuine democracy and socialism, which will only be achieved through the independent mass mobilization of the international working class against the capitalist system.

For your kind attention,

Ulas Sevinc

Chairman of the Sosyalist Esitlik Partisi  Dorduncu Enternasyonal

Footnotes

[1] See https://lenin.shm.ru/en/decree-on-eradication-of-illiteracy-among-the-population-of-the-rsfsr/

[2] See https://www.iletisim.gov.tr/turkce/haberler/detay/cumhurbaskani-erdogan-barisin-tum-yukunu-hamasa-ve-filistinlilere-yuklemek-ne-adildir-ne-dogrudur

[3] See https://www.evrensel.net/haber/543742/nejla-demirden-ana-dilinde-egitim-hakki-icin-meclis-arastirmasi-talebi

[4] See https://sahamerkezi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/anadil_calismasi_basin_metni_ocak_2025-2.pdf

[5] See https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000384469_eng?posInSet=1&queryId=N-863087c6-61d0-466c-a0ed-ae8a477825fa

[6] See: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000388791_eng?posInSet=1&queryId=N-a3bbfcc4-5585-4145-ba25-69f42848fbb4

[7] See https://serbestiyet.com/featured/mehmet-ucumdan-anadilde-egitim-aciklamasi-egitimde-zorunlu-tek-dil-turkcedir-191032/

[8] See https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/MevzuatMetin/1.5.2923.pdf

[9] See https://www.tbmm.gov.tr/Tutanaklar/TutanakGoster/5252

[10] See https://www.tbmm.gov.tr/Tutanaklar/TutanakGoster/5252

[11] See https://www.diyarbakirbarosu.org.tr/public/uploads/files/T%C3%9CRK%C4%B0YE%E2%80%99DE%20K%C3%9CRT%20MESELES%C4%B0%20BA%C4%9ELAMINDA%2C%20TOPLUMSAL%20BARI%C5%9E%20%C4%B0%C3%87%C4%B0N%20HUKUK%C4%B0%20GEREKL%C4%B0L%C4%B0KLER%20VE%20%C3%96NER%C4%B0LER%20(1).pdf

[12] See https://bianet.org/yazi/16-yil-once-anadilinde-egitim-istiyoruz-talebiyle-bir-kampanya-baslatmistik-192429

[13] See https://bianet.org/haber/aihm-den-istanbul-universitesi-nde-kurtce-dersi-karari-192356

[14] See https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-179408%22]}

[15] See https://www.echr.coe.int/documents/d/echr/convention_ENG

[16] See https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-91532%22]}

[17] See https://bianet.org/haber/aihm-anadilde-egitim-hakki-talebi-ifade-ozgurlugudur-141077

[18] See https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-113410%22]}

[19] See https://www.iletisim.gov.tr/turkce/haberler/detay/cumhurbaskani-erdogan-dini-azinlik-temsilcileri-ile-iftarda-bir-araya-geldi

[20] See https://www.mfa.gov.tr/lausanne-peace-treaty-part-i_-political-clauses.en.mfa
Mass deportation efforts labeled Operation Midway Blitz have continued in Chicago since September with no end in sight. Homeland Security officials will offer no information on the whereabouts of the more than 3,000 people who have been kidnapped from the metro area in the two months of the blitz.

People protesting the violent actions of federal immigration agents in Little Village as Chicago police officers protect the agents, Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in Chicago. [AP Photo/Erin Hooley]



For those still being held in the area, conditions are horrific. Attorneys for some of the hundreds of detainees held in a processing facility in suburban Broadview, Illinois, say their clients are being held under conditions that violate the most basic human rights. The Broadview facility is not a detention center and does not have adequate sleeping or sanitary facilities. Detainees are being held in quarters so close they cannot even lie down on the floor, as there are no beds. They are being denied food, clean water and medical care. These conditions, which amount to a form of torture, are aimed at compelling detainees to sign self-deportation orders.

No politicians, medical staff or clergy have been permitted to enter the facility. Last Wednesday, a federal judge ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to improve conditions in the facility after a group of detainees sued. Calling their treatment unnecessarily cruel, Judge Gettleman said, People shouldnt be sleeping next to overflowing toilets. They should not be sleeping on top of each other. He ordered that the facility be cleaned and detainees be given bottled water.

Court finds Border Patrol chief lied under oath about use of force

Last week, Judge Sara Ellis of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled for complete relief to plaintiffs in a suit brought by media organizations against Kristi Noem, who heads the Department of Homeland Security for the Trump administration.

In the course of the assault on the city, Customs and Border Protection chief Gregory Bovino has appeared in multiple videos physically assaulting, tackling and tossing teargas canisters at demonstrators and journalists.

In depositions ordered by Ellis, Bovino testified that he was not aware of a single incident of excessive force used by federal agents. However, he admitted lying about being hit with a rock before throwing tear gas canisters and assaulting demonstrators and journalists.

In comments lasting more than an hour, Ellis said federal agents, including Bovino, repeatedly lied about threats posed by protesters and about their own actions. She detailed how federal agents indiscriminately tackled, tear gassed and beat residents, as well as firing on them with pepper balls and aiming weapons at them.

In addition to routinely ramming cars, throwing people to the ground and breaking windows, agents were videoed in late October mocking residents who opposed kidnappings and throwing tear gas canisters at them, while shouting, Have fun! and Hey, throw another just for fun!

I find the governments evidence to be simply not credible, Ellis said. The use of force shocks the conscience. This conduct shows no sign of stopping.

Describing rapid response networks and neighborhood moms as professional agitators shows just how out of touch these agents are, and how extreme their views are, Ellis said. She was referring to the growing networks of residents involved in neighborhood alert and family support efforts. Spontaneous demonstrations as well as coordinated defense actions take place all over the city multiple times a day in an attempt to stop the state violence that is only intensifying.

Ellis issued a broad injunction on federal operations, blocking assaults on journalists, and clergy and residents exercising their right to dissent, including inappropriate orders to disperse. The injunction states that use of force by federal agents is permitted only when objectively necessary to stop an immediate threat of the person causing serious bodily injury or death to another person. Two warnings also must be made before force can be used, she ruled. This has been appealed by the Trump administration, which in any case flouts court rulings.

Earlier this year, another judge at the US District Court, April Perry, stated that federal officials assertions about facing violence were simply unreliable. This was in a separate case against Trumps deployment of 700 National Guard troops to Chicago.

Intensifying assaults on workers in the city

Citywide as well as in the suburbs, CBP and ICE thugs, among other federal agents, using unmarked trucks and vans drive up to workers. Armed, masked men with no identification or warrants leap out to wrestle workers to the ground on their job sites, in retail stores and on parking lots, throwing them into vehicles and taking them to detention centers.

Diana Patricia Santillana Galeano, a teacher and legal resident from Colombia, was violently kidnapped last week after being followed from her home by Trump Gestapo, who attacked her at 7 a.m. in the doorway of the Spanish-language immersion nursery school where she works. She was disappeared without a warrant, according to her attorneys. The night of her disappearance, hundreds of residents gathered in a park in the North Center neighborhood to demand her return and the departure of ICE from the city.

Over the weekend, agents swarmed shopping centers, kidnapping workers from home improvement and warehouse grocery stores. In response to the spontaneous protests against the kidnappings that have coalesced in parking lots and on residential streets, the federal goons have thrown stun grenades and canisters of tear gas. They have also sprayed Mace, a toxic irritant, from their vehicles. One family driving through a retail center parking lot with their infant daughter captured the moment on video when agents sprayed Mace into their car.



Businesses in neighborhoods on the southwest side, where many Spanish-speaking families live, are struggling due to the terror. People are not leaving home, going to work, going shopping or going to school.

In addition to the well publicized street-level interventions by the community, residents and businesses have also organized grocery and meal support and walk children to and from school so parents are not targeted. Thousands of meals have been delivered by restaurants working with residents.

Some residents are facing increasingly desperate conditions, sometimes sleeping rough, in cars, or on their job sites to avoid being picked up traveling to and from work. Homeless immigrants face extreme risk of being targeted while living in tents in parks. The Chicago Parks district, now overseen by Democratic Socialists of America member Carlos Ramirez Rosa, is permitting the Trump Gestapo to use Warren Park as a staging area. It has since become the site of protests.

An older Pilsen resident told the WSWS the Halloween holiday was a complete ghost town. He said:

I grew up in Pilsen, Ive lived here my whole life. Every Halloween there were tons of kids with their parents trick or treating, and this year it was sad. It was a complete ghost town. Nobody came, because theyre too afraid of getting scooped up by ICE.

After patrolling the southwest side of the city on Thursday, ICE and Border Patrol agents returned to Little Village on Saturday morning, flaunting their violence and Bovinos infamous theatrics. Bovino was seen on videos surrounded by masked and armed goons marching along a commercial avenue.

As police flooded the area, residents came onto their porches and into storefronts. One resident was standing outside a shop with a group of workers and customers watching Chicago police swarm Kedzie Avenue with hundreds of officers and scores of vehicles following CBP/ICE as they attacked the side streets.

Raising his voice over the wailing sirens and low-flying helicopters, the resident said:

Its literally a terror campaign. I kind of expected this to happen eventually because they have been circling the area for weeks. Scouting the area with helicopters up until they can jump out on people. Obviously, people are afraid, theres a whole lot of anxiety. Business has been real slow. The majority of the area is of Hispanic descent, a lot of our customers are immigrants as well. Of course, people are afraid to leave. We have been affected by this as well. Its been slowing down business, with barely any walk-ins at this point. Our business thrives off walk-ins. Were just not sure how its going to go. So we are familiar with the same problems facing the restaurants as well.

He added that CPD (Chicago Police Department) is here trying to subdue the locals, who are getting real riled up from the ICE presence.

Speaking with neighbors gathered on porches in Little Village, WSWS reporters asked what it has been like living through the raids and terror. One resident said:

Its been sad. People are hiding. People dont go out, people who have lived here for years, built the community, and now they cant go out. Ive never seen anything like this. We heard the commotion, we just walked out. Were just concerned, you know, the situation is really getting out of hand. Everybodys scared, everybodys worried. It doesnt matter if youre an immigrant or not now.

Speaking with demonstrators who mobilized rapidly into the neighborhood once word of ICEs presence got out, one woman said, As soon as we arrived, there was a wall of police pushing us back. They had huge guns out.



She went on:

They got between us and ICE to protect the kidnapping and then arrested someone who looked like a minor. They also took someone who was with us. Im not sure where they took him, we last saw him in a police car.



I cant be sitting at home watching this. I came here by myself. I heard the whistles and came to help. I probably should have brought someone with me.

While Democrats in Chicago and Illinois are calling on residents to trust the courts and wait for legal remedies, the Trump administration has already made it clear that it will defy rulings that interfere with its operations. At the national level, the Democratic leadership is simply ignoring the unfolding assault on democratic rights.

New organizations of mass struggle are required. No illusions can remain in the Democratic Party when it comes to defending against fascist attacks on the working class.

The Socialist Equality Party calls for the building of a new form of organization, rank-and-file committees, in every workplace, neighborhood and school to unify the working class and mobilize its vast industrial and economic power against the Trump regime.


25 years ago: Deadliest rail disaster in Austrian history kills 158

On November 11, 2000, a fire broke out on a funicular railway train inside the Kaprun tunnel in Austria, killing 155 people and leaving only twelve survivors from those traveling to the Kitzsteinhorn glacier. The disaster claimed lives from Austria (92), Germany (37), Japan (10), the United States (8), Slovenia (4), the Netherlands (2), the United Kingdom (1), and the Czech Republic (1). The tragedy was caused by a defective electric fan heater in the conductors compartment, which ignited a blaze inside the tunnel just minutes after departure.

Safety failures contributed to the toll: the tunnel did not have a sprinkler system, fireproof emergency zones or evacuation areas. Survivors reported that the train doors jammed, trapping passengers as smoke and flames filled the tunnel. The investigation found that budget cuts and the shift of safety inspections to private operators had left funicular systems under-regulated; the Kaprun railway had not received a government safety inspection for three years.

The funicular train that caught fire, photographed before its ascent into the tunnel leading to Kitzsteinhorn glacier

The disaster exposed the negligence of both the operating company, Kapruner Gletscherbahnen AG, and the government agencies responsible for oversight. A relentless drive for cost-cutting created conditions of extreme danger. The tunnels design offered no means of escape, and its ventilation system drew fresh air upward, feeding the fire and directing lethal smoke toward those attempting to flee.

Further evidence highlighted the states poor safety record. Former Transport Minister Caspar Einem (1997-2000) admitted that the department responsible for public transport oversight suffered from severe understaffing, calling it a failure that we did not do anything about. At the time, only 11 technicians monitored the safety of more than 3,000 funicular railways, cable cars, and ski lifts across Austria. A 1997 report from the Auditor General, ignored by officials, found that railway authorities had for years not fulfilled their tasks or only partially completed them.

Budget cuts had also shifted inspection and maintenance duties to private operators. Although regulations required a government inspection every five years and annual checks by operators, the Kaprun funicular had not undergone an official inspection since 1997, three years before the fire.

While the Alpine resort of Kaprun remained a renowned destination for winter sports, its transformation into a site of tragedy revealed the consequences of privatization and weakened public oversight. The catastrophe could have been prevented had safety and public welfare been prioritized over austerity and profit.

50 years ago: Canberra Coup ousts Labor from power in Australia

On November 11, Australias Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, using archaic reserve powers derived from the British monarchy, summarily dismissed the twice-elected Labor government of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. In its place, Kerr installed Liberal Party leader Malcolm Fraser as a caretaker prime minister. The anti-democratic removal of the elected prime minister would become known as the Canberra Coup.

The immediate pretext for Whitlams removal was a constitutional crisis manufactured by the Liberal opposition, which had used its control of the Senate to block the Labor governments budget bills, threatening to paralyze the state by depriving it of funding. Despite major support in the working class for a general strike against the Liberals, Whitlam worked to block such a movement and instead called on Kerr to act against the opposition.

Spontaneous protest occupying the width of George street, Sydney, outside the Sydney Town Hall, about 6.45 p.m. on November 11, 1975, the afternoon of the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor Government by the Govenor-General, Sir John Kerr. [Photo by Tirin / CC BY-SA 3.0

Instead, Kerr conspired with Fraser, dismissed Whitlam and secured a promise from Fraser that he would pass the budget and then immediately call an election. The coup was successful in part due to a dirty trick tactic whereby Labor senators were not informed of Whitlams dismissal before a critical vote that allowed the budget to pass. They had mistakenly believed the Liberals had capitulated when they returned prepared to approve the bill.

The coup came in response to the ruling class counteroffensive against the global upsurge of the working class during the period. Following the election of the Whitlam government in 1972after 23 years of conservative Liberal Party rulethe Australian working class, inspired by international movements, launched a massive offensive. A 1973 referendum to grant the government power over wages was resoundingly defeated, unleashing the greatest strike wave since 1919 and securing the largest-ever wage gains for Australian workers.

The Australian ruling class and its international allies, particularly in Washington, were terrified. The Whitlam government, unable to contain the wages movement, was now viewed as a liability. Facing a deep global recession and the consequences of the US defeat in Vietnam, Washington grew concerned about the reliability of its alliance with the Australian government, a critical foothold for imperialism in Asia.

Declassified documents have confirmed the deep involvement of the US and its Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the coup. Ambassador Marshall Green, a coup master involved in the 1965 Indonesian bloodbath, held secret discussions with key Labor Party and union figures, including ACTU President Bob Hawke, who provided critical information on internal Labor and trade union discussions. Kerr himself was a long-time intelligence asset, referred to by CIA officials as our man Kerr.

When news of the dismissal broke, a massive, spontaneous movement of the working class erupted, with strikes and mass protests across the country demanding a general strike. This movement was actively suppressed, not so much by the state, as by the Labor and trade union bureaucracy.

Whitlam himself called on workers to maintain your rage. Above all, his role was to channel the revolutionary anger back into the safe confines of the electoral system. Hawke, another CIA asset, fearing the movement would snowball into violence, worked tirelessly to prevent a general strike from developing in response to the coup.

75 years ago: Missouri Supreme Court weakens racial segregation in schools

On November 13, 1950, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the St. Louis Board of Education must admit African American students to white schools when equivalent courses are not available in black-only institutions.

The case, State ex rel. Brewton v. Board of Education of the City of St. Louis, was brought by two African American brothers, Wesley and Wilbert Brewton, who sought to study aircraft mechanics at Hadley Technical High School, a white-only institution. Their own school, Booker T. Washington Technical High School for Negroes, did not offer such a course. The brothers were denied admission solely because of their race, prompting a legal challenge that became a test of the separate but equal doctrine in Missouris segregated education system.

The Missouri courts decision relied heavily on two landmark U.S. Supreme Court rulings from June 1950Sweatt v. Painter and McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regentswhich had forced white state universities to admit black students to programs unavailable on a substantially equal basis at black colleges. The Missouri court extended this reasoning beyond higher education, concluding that denying black high school students access to essential technical courses violated the constitutional requirement of substantial equality.

Educational separation in the US prior to Brown v Board of Education

In a cynical response to the ruling however, St. Louis school officials announced just weeks later that the aircraft mechanics program at Hadley would be cancelled altogetherdepriving not only the Brewton brothers but also forty-seven white students of the opportunity to study aeromechanics. Rather than integrate a single classroom and allow the entry of two black students, the Board of Education chose to eliminate the course entirely.

Following the two US Supreme Court cases from June, the Missouri high court in State v. Board of Education, while ruling in favour of certain restrictions on segregation, never considered striking down the separate but equal doctrine itself, which was established in the notorious 1896 Supreme Court ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson. It would not be until the 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools would be deemed entirely unconstitutional, owing to its violation of the equal protection clause contained within the Fourteenth Amendment.

100 years: First exhibition of surrealist painting opens in Paris

On November 13, 1925, the first exhibition of surrealist painting, La Peinture surrealiste, opened in Paris at the Galerie Pierre. The group show featured works by Man Ray, Pablo Picasso, Hans Arp, Paul Klee, Andre Masson, Max Ernst, Joan Miro, Pierre Roy, and Grigorio De Chirico. The preface in the exhibition catalog, in which the paintings titles provided the narrative thread, was coauthored by Andre Breton and Robert Desnos. The artists assembled at the exhibition were some of the most insightful and talented of the 20th century.

The show was enormously popular, with hundreds of visitors attempting to crowd into the small gallery, although the work did not necessarily receive the approval of art critics, one of whom described the paintings as fashions of a day, already tarnished by an unbearable intellectual and graphic jargon.

Robert Delaunay illustration on cover of Yvan Goll's Surrealisme, Manifeste du surrealisme, Volume 1, Number 1, October 1, 1924

Surrealism began primarily as a literary movement by Andre Breton, a poet, with his First Manifesto of Surrealism in October 1924. Breton defined surrealism as pure psychic automatism, by which one proposes to expressverbally, by means of the written word, or in any other mannerthe actual functioning of thought. Dictated by the thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern.

This conception was to play an enormous role in freeing artists from prevailing aesthetic conventions, although these had largely begun to break up at the end of the 19th century in movements such as impressionism, dada, and cubism.

The exhibition was a prelude to the establishment of the Galerie Surrealiste in 1926, a permanent home for surrealist art.
Are you an autoworker at Ford or another other company? Fill out the form at the bottom of this article for information on building rank-and-file committees to fight the job cuts.

Ford workers at Rouge Electric Vehicle Center [Photo by Ford Media]

Ford Motor Company has extended layoffs at its massive Dearborn Rouge complex, idling both the Dearborn Truck Plant (DTP) and the adjacent Rouge Electric Vehicle Center (REV-C), where the F-150 Lightning is assembled.

On November 6, a United Auto Workers Local 600 official told workers that both plantswhich currently employ a total of 4,000 UAW memberswould be shut this week, without explanation or any return-to-work date.

This brings the shutdown to four weeks at REV-C and three weeks at DTP. Workers have been told only to watch for robocalls.

On October 23, UAW Local 600 DTP Unit Chairman Nick Kottalis told the 500 remaining REV-C workers they would be laid off indefinitely, then abruptly retracted the statement. It is clear the UAW bureaucracy had advance notice of layoffs and concealed this information, while Ford executives and Wall Street analysts debated whether to abandon the companys flagship electric pickup project.

The same day that workers received notice that both plants would be idled this week, the Wall Street Journal revealed that Ford is in active discussions about scrapping the F-150 Lightning entirely. The Journal called the Lightning money-losing and noted that the company has already racked up multibillion-dollar EV losses. Neither Ford nor the UAW has provided workers a word of explanation.

Dearborn Truck workers who spoke to the WSWS described growing economic insecurity and denounced the complicity of UAW officials.

One worker said:

We were laid off in the second week of October, but REV-C had already been off for almost a month by that time. They sent us a text last Thursday saying we would be off this week. They keep pushing back our return date. People are very angry.

Addressing the broader assault on workers, he added:

Cutting food stamps and SNAP payments is horrible. People are already starving to death. This is a direct attack on the working class. Trump is pushing to create an authoritarian government and there are people who work for the government who are not being paid. They do not care about the working class. We need to get together with the rank-and-file committees and discuss what were going to do about this.

Another worker said:

I remember when [UAW President] Shawn Fain was pushing his endorsement of Donald Trumps plan for getting America back on track. He said tariffs would bring back jobs. Look where we are now. Im four weeks into the shutdown. Employees are being denied unemployment with no help. Every Thursday we get a robocall saying were laid off another week.

A third DTP worker told the WSWS:

This will be my fourth week off. The shutdown is all about the company making money. Cutting food stamps and SNAP is murder. Im hoping that the people here in the United States are getting to the point where they say, We have had enough. And we are ready to make some drastic changes. That time is coming and it cant come soon enough.

Ford once presented the Lightning as a modern Model T and the foundation of a new era of American EV manufacturing. The UAW bureaucracy paraded it as proof that union jobs would be secured for a generation. Yet in October, Ford sold roughly 1,500 Lightnings, compared to about 66,000 gas-powered F-Series trucks, and has lost more than $13 billion on EVs since 2023. The company, with the assistance of the UAW bureaucracy, is now imposing the costs on the backs of workers.

A coordinated assault across the auto and logistics industries

Fords reversal mirrors similar moves across the industry. General Motors will reduce Detroits Factory Zero electric vehicle plant to one shift in January 2026, eliminating about 1,200 jobs. GM is also pausing battery cell output for six months at its Ultium plants in Warren, Ohio, and Spring Hill, Tennessee, affecting another 2,100 workers through temporary and indefinite layoffs. Dana Thermal Products is permanently closing its Auburn Hills, Michigan, EV component plant, opened only recently to build battery cooling plates, destroying roughly 200 jobs amid what the company called lower-than-expected EV volumes.

The shift from Bidens EV incentives to Trumps tariff nationalism is tactical. Both serve the same class objective: restructuring the auto industry against workers while preparing for geopolitical confrontation with China. Biden promoted EVs and battery production to secure industrial supply chains and catch up with China in critical technologies and minerals essential for the military. He collaborated with the UAW bureaucracy to impose labor concessions and automation, and both hailed the sellout of the 2023 auto strike as a victory that paved the way for a just transition to EVs.

Trump scrapped EV credits and imposed tariffs, claiming the EV transition benefited China. The objective is to force production to the United States under lower labor costs and intensified automation, while escalating trade war. In practice, both strategies produce layoffs, job insecurity and speedup.

The US Labor Department under both administrations opposed the lawsuit by socialist Mack Trucks worker and UAW presidential candidate Will Lehman and upheld the fraudulent 2022-23 UAW election, which installed Shawn Fain despite tens of thousands of autoworkers never receiving ballots. The aim was to ensure a leadership aligned with state-corporate restructuring.

Mack Trucks worker and UAW presidential candidate Will Lehman speaking with Ford Dearborn Truck Plant workers on October 16, 2023.

Workers are discovering that reshoring does not mean restoring secure jobs. It means relocating production only to eliminate labor through automation once it arrives.

Automakers cannot raise vehicle prices further without collapsing demand, so they are demanding massive cost reductions from suppliers, which produce more than 70 percent of vehicle content. This is driving a new wave of robotics and artificial intelligence across the supply chain.

As Automotive News reported, Lear is openly boasting about its lights-out manufacturing process. CEO Ray Scott told investors the companys new Rochester, Michigan, facility shows how a plant can run without human intervention, calling the elimination of labor key to winning onshoring.

He stated: Reduced labor overhead can offset the cost of moving production from Mexico. In other words, production is coming back only to automate workers out of existence. And the UAW bureaucracy is aiding the process by dividing US workers from their brothers and sisters in Mexico, Canada, China and other countries and suppressing resistance.

GMs decision to shift gas-powered pickup production from Mexico to Orion Township, Michigan, will add roughly $1,000 per vehicle, Automotive News reported. GM plans to recover the cost through layoffs, speedup and automation. Ford is following the same strategy.

This offensive is also underway in logistics and other economic sectors. UPS and Amazon are eliminating tens of thousands of jobs through AI-driven scheduling systems, automated sorting, warehouse robotics and smart logistics platforms. UPS is rolling out autonomous hub systems and AI routing to permanently reduce its workforce. Amazon continues to deploy robotics, machine vision and algorithmic management to eliminate positions and intensify workloads. Technology is deployed not to lighten labor but to cheapen it and tighten control over workers.

On November 6, as Ford workers received layoff notices, Shawn Fain held a town hall. Instead of opposing cuts, he boasted about the success of Trumps targeted tariffs and said the UAW was working with the administration on revising the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to shift production to the US.

During the town hall event, rank-and-file workers posted dozens of comments denouncing the UAW bureaucracy for doing nothing to fight job cuts or bring laid off workers back to work. Unhinged, Fain lashed out at a worker at the Warren Stamping Plant who had been laid off for more than a year, saying, Get real, the union doesnt lay people off.

In another demonstration of utter contempt, Fain claimed that autoworkers had been really lucky for the last 15 years since the 2008-09 recession. Back in the day, he said, in the 1990s and after that, we ran in a cyclical nature in this industry, and every three to four years, wed have downturns and there would be layoffs. Weve been blessed to have these profitable years, for 15 years, where our members have done well.

This decade and a half may have been good for Fain and the rest of the UAW bureaucracy, but it has been a disaster for workers. The years since the massive concessions Fain backed during the 2009 Obama-UAW restructuring of the industry have been defined by halved wages, gutted pensions and the creation of a vast tier of disposable temporary workers now being thrown into unemployment.

The town hall confirmed what workers increasingly recognize: The UAW bureaucracy speaks for the corporations and the government, not for the workers.

The Ford layoffs are part of a coordinated corporate-government strategy to slash jobs and impose speedup and automation across auto, logistics and other industries. Workers must organize independently of the UAW apparatus through rank-and-file committees in every plant.

These committees should mobilize the power of shop floor workers to demand an end to layoffs, full income and benefits during shutdowns, democratic control over production and safety, and unity with workers in Mexico, Canada, Europe and Asia against nationalism and trade war. This must be combined with a fight to defend immigrant workers, demand an end to the deployment of ICE agents and troops to major US cities, and drive Trump and his fascist cabal from power.

The global assault on jobs marks the beginning of a new stage of struggle. The task is to organize, unify across borders and prepare a conscious fight for the expropriation of the oligarchs and for socialism.

Technology like AI and automation must be used to shorten the workweek and raise living standards, not destroy livelihoods. The auto and logistics industries must be reorganized as publicly owned and democratically controlled enterprises serving human need, not private profit.

To fight against layoffs, attend the online meeting hosted by the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) and the Socialist Equality Party (US) on Sunday, November 16, at 3:00 p.m. US Eastern Time. Register here.
Striking Genesys nurses on the picket line in Grand Blanc

Management at Henry Ford Health has announced it is unilaterally imposing a new contract on 700 nurses and case workers at Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc, Michigan after declaring an impasse in negotiations.

The workers, members of Teamsters Local 332, have been on strike since September 1 to demand an end to unsafe staffing ratios, overwork and steadily eroding working conditions.

This latest provocation by managementfollowing their strikebreaking efforts, which included the hiring of scab nursesis an escalation of Henry Ford Healths attempt to break the will of the nurses.

According to recent news reports and the hospitals own statements, Henry Ford Genesys Hospital management announced last week that it would begin unilateral implementation of contract terms, claiming negotiations had reached an impasse after months of deadlock.

Justifying its action, the hospital touted wage increases of up to 8.6 percent, a promise of a more comprehensive and competitive benefits package, and the stated intention to maintain previously agreed staffing ratios. The hospital claimed nurses will see an average salary increase of 5.3 percent in the first year under these terms.

But on the picket line Thursday, nurses denounced the move. One nurse said, They are declaring an impasse, but legally we have not come to that. We were already working under a system where there are supposed to be staffing ratios, but they are never met. Now they want to remove them completely.

In addition to the fact that the new contract does not address the number one issue among nursesmandatory staff-to-patient ratiosthe claimed wage increases do not even rise to one-half of the cumulative increase in the cost of living over the last three years, which is 11 percent.

While the hospital previously hired scab nurses at more than $100 an hour to keep operations running, management is refusing to budge from insufficient wage increases, hoping to force nurses back on the job on the hospitals terms.

A younger nurse, who went into the profession during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, saw firsthand the devastating outcomes for patients and staff. I flip flop on whether or not the system can be reformed, he said. There is a feeling we are not going back until we get what we want.

Another nurse drew a direct line to broader social issues, expressing outrage at cuts to food stamp (SNAP) benefits and the erosion of laws guaranteeing emergency care. She warned, You are going to have dead bodies piling up in the street. The hospitals are shaking in their boots over the cuts to healthcare. We are already in deep trouble.

Throughout the strike, the Teamsters leadership has refused to broaden the struggle or mobilize the full power of the workforce to defeat Henry Fords offensive. While Teamsters Local 332 President Dan Glass has made public statements condemning managements illegal imposition of contract terms and denouncing their anti-union stance, the union apparatus has not called for an expansion of the strike, for mass actions by other sections of the working class including patients, or for active outreach to other sections of health care workers.

From the beginning, the Teamsters bureaucracy has limited its actions to press releases, isolated statements to the media and a stunt rally on the picket line featuring Teamsters International President Sean OBrien that has left workers on their own while the hospital has escalated its strikebreaking campaign.

One nurse interviewed on Thursday said: I am almost 60 and I am a good nurse. I can run circles around you, but it is impossible to care for patients, with the existing staffing ratios.  Centers for Medicaid are requiring rules on safe patient staffing ratios, which is what we are fighting for.

The strike is at a crucial juncture. Either the struggle is expanded into a broader fight uniting healthcare workers across Michigan and the US, or the strike will be defeated. The bankrupt strategy of the Teamsters has been to deliberately demoralize workers. Strikers have observed a reduction in the number of pickets since the early days of the action.

Nevertheless, there is a strong sentiment among rank-and-file workers for determined resistance, along with growing frustration with the lack of a fighting program or strategy from the union.

The WSWS calls for the immediate formation of a rank-and-file committee at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital.

Only such an independent body, democratically controlled by the strikers themselves, can chart a course toward victory by taking the conduct of the struggle out of the hands of the Teamsters bureaucracy and linking the fight to a broader movement of healthcare workers, support staff and other workers in the Grand Blanc-Flint area.

A rank-and-file committee would fight for:

Enforcement and improvement of safe nurse-to-patient ratios and the restoration of workplace protections.

An immediate halt to all strikebreaking measures, including the hiring of scabs.

Mobilization of support from hospital workers in other departments, as well as the healthcare industry and wider working class throughout the region.

Appeals to workers facing similar attacks on staffing, compensation and patient care nationwide.

The future of patient safety and working conditions at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital requires a struggle against the control of healthcare by giant hospital chains, insurance conglomerates and pharmaceutical monopolies. The struggle for mandatory staffing ratioswhere the well-being of patients and nurses alike is the priorityrequires a socialist political program aimed at removing capitalist and financial interests from the healthcare industry.

As the strike continues into its third month, the determination of the workforce in Grand Blanc demonstrates the potential strength of the broader working classprovided it takes up the fight for its own interests, independent of the bureaucracies that seek to contain and betray every genuine struggle.
The long-standing division between infectious (communicable) and non-communicable (chronic) diseases is collapsing under the weight of new epidemiological evidence. Mounting data reveal that viral pathogens are not transient threats but durable drivers of chronic conditionschief among them, cardiovascular disease (CVD).

This reorientation is underscored by a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis led by Dr. Kosuke Kawai and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association in October 2025. The researchers reviewed 155 studies and demonstrated consistent, significant associations between viral infections and later cardiovascular events. Acute infections such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2 were linked to sharply elevated short-term risksup to a four-fold increase in myocardial infarction (heart attack) and a five-fold rise in stroke within the first month after infection. Long-term infections including HIV, hepatitis C, and herpes zoster were likewise associated with higher levels of risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke.

The authors conclude that viral infections represent underrecognized and potentially preventable contributors to global CVD burden. This emerging scientific consensus effectively reframes chronic disease as, in many cases, the delayed consequenceor sequelaof infection.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks alongside Food and Drug Administration administrator Dr. Martin Makary, left, and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, as they announce that the government would no longer endorse the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children or pregnant women. [AP Photo/Health and Human Services]

Yet this paradigm shift stands in sharp contrast to the federal public health policy announced by right-wing anti-science quack Robert F. Kennedy Jr., placed in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services by Donald Trump. Kennedy publicly vows to combat chronic disease while simultaneously advancing anti-vaccine positions, dismantling vaccine-advisory structures, and reducing investment in immunization and other methods of prevention of infectious disease. By separating vaccination and infection surveillance from chronic-disease prevention, Kennedy repudiates the very scientific linkage now being illuminated between infection and non-communicable illnesswith profound implications for public health.

Acute and chronic viral infections as major cardiovascular risk factors

The UCLA teams meta-analysis delineates two interrelated dimensions of viral impact on cardiovascular health: acute short-term risk following infection and chronic, long-term burden stemming from persistent viral disease.

Chart shows impact of infections on chronic disease risk [Photo: UCLA study]

For acute infections, the evidence was striking. Laboratory-confirmed influenza infection was linked to a four-fold increase in heart attacks and a five-fold increase in strokes within the first month after infection. Likewise, COVID-19 showed consistent and pronounced cardiovascular effects. During the first 14 weeks after infection, the risk of myocardial infarction or stroke was roughly three times higher compared with uninfected individuals, with elevated risk persisting up to one year. Long-term follow-up indicated a 74 percent higher risk of CHD and a 69 percent higher risk of stroke among those previously infected. As researchers noted, infections like COVID are the visible tip of an iceberg, triggering inflammatory and vascular damage across multiple organ systems, with the cardiovascular system bearing a disproportionate burden. These findings reinforce the necessity of preventive interventionsespecially vaccinationto mitigate infection-driven cardiovascular disease.

The study also established that viral infections can produce enduring cardiovascular harm. HIV infection was associated with a 60 percent long-term increase in CHD risk, 45 percent higher stroke risk, and nearly double the risk of heart failure. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) conferred a 27 percent higher risk of CHD and 23 percent higher risk of stroke. Reactivation of varicella-zoster virus (herpes zoster) was linked to elevated CHD and stroke risks lasting up to a decade after infection.

This pattern underscores that viral infections amplify cardiovascular vulnerability across populationsbut most acutely among those already burdened by preexisting risk factors or limited access to healthcare. As with many infectious and chronic diseases, the intersection of biological and social determinants means that low-income communities and populations in low- and middle-income countries bear the greatest cumulative risk.

Infections as upstream drivers of chronic disease

Beyond cardiovascular pathology, a wide spectrum of cancers, autoimmune conditions, and neurological disorders are now understood to be initiated or accelerated by infectious agents. A 2020 Lancet Global Health modeling study estimated that 130 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) from non-communicable diseases8.4 percent of the total global NCD burdenare attributable to infection, acknowledging this as a conservative lower bound.

A wide range of research, coupled with the 2025 UCLA findings on viral infections and CVD, underscores a single, powerful conclusion: many so-called non-communicable diseases are conditions derived from the long-term health effects of communicable diseases.

Florida seniors have their temperatures taken before receiving the second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at Jackson Health System in Miami [Credit: AP Photo/Marta Lavandier]

This reconceptualization has profound policy implications. Recognizing that chronic disease frequently arises from infectious origins opens a path to preventing irreversible outcomes by interrupting infection early. The historical precedent is instructive: when the bacterial cause of peptic ulcer disease was finally accepted in the 1980s, it overturned decades of dogma attributing ulcers to stress or lifestyle and revolutionized treatment through antibiotics. Today, the emerging infection-NCD paradigm demands a similar transformationone that integrates vaccination, surveillance, and pathogen elimination directly into chronic-disease prevention frameworks.

Vaccination must therefore be repositioned not merely as an acute-disease intervention but as a foundational pillar of cardiovascular and chronic-disease care, alongside blood-pressure control, lipid management, and smoking cessation. Any policy that undermines vaccination or infectious-disease control strikes at the heart of chronic-disease prevention itself.

COVID-19 pandemic as a case study of the let-it-rip policy

The COVID-19 pandemic offers a sobering large-scale case study of how a single infectious agent can generate a massive non-communicable-disease burden at the population level. In the United States, confirmed COVID-19 deaths exceeded 1.2 million by October 2024. Yet this figure captures only part of the health crisis. The pandemics true toll must be measured through excess mortalitythe number of deaths from all causes above what would have been expected based on pre-pandemic trends.

Between 2020 and 2023, the United States experienced roughly 3.63 million excess deaths: approximately 1.01 million in 2020, 1.10 million in 2021, 820,000 in 2022, and 705,000 in 2023. During the first year alone (March 2020February 2021), a National Bureau of Economic Research analysis estimated 646,514 excess deaths, with 83.4 percent directly attributed to COVID-19. While some excess mortality arose from indirect causessuch as delayed cardiac care, stroke interventions, and rising overdosessubstantial evidence indicates that infection-related cardiovascular and metabolic complications also contributed to these elevated deaths.

Excess deaths in the US during the initial stages of the CoVID pandemic. [Photo: Our World in Data]

Even as acute viral mortality declined, the overall death rate remained abnormally high. By 2023, COVID-19 had fallen to the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, yet total mortality levels remained markedly elevatedfar higher than in peer high-income nations. This sustained excess reflects both the long-term sequelae of infection and a weakened public-health infrastructure unable to manage the transition from acute crisis to chronic-disease control.

The so-called let-it-rip approach, characterized by premature reopening, minimal infection-control measures, and an emphasis on personal responsibility over collective protection, effectively allowed uncontrolled viral spread. This strategy, rooted in the false premise that population immunity through mass infection would end the pandemic, has instead left an enduring legacy of preventable death, disability, and chronic illness. The COVID-19 case demonstrates that infectious-disease policy and chronic-disease prevention cannot exist in isolation: they are two faces of the same public-health imperative.

Cardiovascular mortality reversal during the COVID-19 pandemic

A critical component of the pandemics excess mortality is the surge in cardiovascular deaths, marking a reversal of decades of progress in US heart-disease prevention. Between 2020 and 2022, researchers estimated 228,524 excess cardiovascular deathsabout 9 percent more than expected based on pre-pandemic trends. The increase was not evenly distributed: younger adults experienced the sharpest relative rise. By the second year of the pandemic, the observed-to-expected heart-attack mortality rate had jumped 29.9 percent among adults aged 2544, compared with 13.7 percent among those 65 and older. Such findings strongly indicate that the direct vascular and inflammatory effects of SARS-CoV-2 amplified existing cardiovascular risk, even within populations traditionally considered low-risk for acute coronary events.

Although the federal public-health emergency formally ended in 2023, COVID-19 continues to exact a mortality toll comparable to major injury causes such as automobile crashes. As of 2024, confirmed US COVID-19 deaths still number roughly 50,00060,000 per year, according to CDC reporting. Yet these figures represent a significant undercount: with only 27 of 50 states maintaining consistent reporting, analysts estimate that the true annual toll is about 36 percent higherbetween 78,000 and 94,000 deaths. Even the lower range equals or exceeds a severe influenza season (typically 30,00050,000 deaths).

This ongoing mortalityoccurring alongside the continued rise in cardiovascular deathsunderscores the long-term, infection-mediated burden left in the pandemics wake and the failure of post-emergency policies to address it as an ongoing public-health crisis.

Long COVID and the infection-driven surge in chronic disease

The continuing elevation in US mortality points to a hidden epidemic of Long COVID, or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). Far from being limited to lingering fatigue or mild symptoms, Long COVID encompasses sustained organ injury and elevated chronic-disease risk across multiple systems. It represents not merely the aftermath of infection but the creation of a new population-level burden of non-communicable disease.

Long COVID has been consistently associated with increased incidence of cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, kidney impairment, and autoimmune disorders. According to modeling from the Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative, the average American has now experienced approximately 4.7 SARS-CoV-2 infections, implying more than 1.6 billion cumulative infections and reinfections in the US alone. This staggering exposure base ensures that even relatively small per-infection risks translate into a vast chronic health impact.

The defining body of evidence emerged from the Veterans Affairs national healthcare database, analyzed in a series of landmark studies by Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly and colleagues. Tracking millions of patients for years, these studies showed that even a single infection sharply increases the risk of death and long-term sequelae across organ systems. In pooled analyses, individuals four weeks or more after acute infection faced a six-fold higher risk of myocarditis, a three-fold increase in thromboembolic events, and roughly double the risk of heart failure and stroke compared with uninfected individuals.

Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly [Photo by Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly]

Subsequent research across independent cohorts has confirmed and extended these findings. A 2024 UK Biobank study reported that post-COVID cardiovascular risk was comparable in magnitude to having type 2 diabetes or peripheral artery disease, highlighting that infection itself functions as a chronic-disease trigger. Likewise, multiple cohort studies demonstrated that COVID-19 survivors have significantly greater odds of developing new-onset metabolic diseasenotably type 2 diabetesand autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus within six months after infection.

The danger multiplies with repeat exposure. In their Nature Medicine paper, Acute and post-acute sequelae associated with SARS-CoV-2 reinfection, Al-Aly, Bowe, and Xie showed that reinfection compounds risks of death, hospitalization, and chronic organ damageindependent of vaccination status. Compared with individuals infected only once, those reinfected experienced more than double the rate of cardiovascular complications. SARS-CoV-2 inflicts damage on the vascular endothelium (the inner lining of the arteries). This injury can persist for at least six months, during which clot formation is more likely. Additional infections during this vulnerable period intensify the injury, creating a cumulative, compounding risk profile.

Taken together, these findings reveal that every reinfection adds to the aggregate burden of chronic disease. Preventing transmission is therefore not merely about avoiding short-term illnessit is the only viable strategy to avert a long-term epidemic of infection-mediated cardiovascular and metabolic disorders.

Dissecting the anti-vaccine myth: how MAHA rhetoric misattributes the cardiovascular death surge

The surge in cardiovascular mortality observed during the pandemic has been seized upon by movements like Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) and prominent figures with anti-vaccine agendas as purported evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are causing excess heart attacks and strokes. This claim flatly contradicts scientific evidence and relies on misleading temporal associations rather than credible causal analysis.

Epidemiological data show that the major upswing in cardiovascular deaths in the United States began almost immediately in early 2020well before any COVID-19 vaccine was authorized in December 2020. Rather than tracking vaccination campaigns, excess cardiovascular mortality closely tracked infection waves. For example, the initial surge in CVD deaths occurred in MarchJune 2020, entirely pre-vaccine; a second pronounced increase occurred during the Delta-variant surge (JuneNovember 2021).

Moreover, biological and demographic data erode the unsupported and counter-intuitive claim by Kennedy and other anti-vax charlatans that vaccines rather than infection was responsible for adverse cardiac events. In fact, mortality increases were steepest during periods of intense viral spread.

Large systematic reviews of vaccination and cardiovascular outcomes further refute the anti-vax narrative. A meta-analysis of 15 studies found no consistent increase in heart attack, stroke, or arrhythmia following COVID-19 vaccination; in many instances, full vaccination correlated with reduced cardiovascular risk compared with unvaccinated populations. In short, the claim that vaccines triggered the cardiovascular-mortality rise lacks any scientific support.

In advancing this fallacious claim, Kennedys Make America Healthy Again and like-minded groups divert attention from the infection-to-chronic-disease pathwaywhere vaccines play a protective roleand undermine the logic of integrating infectious-disease prevention into chronic-disease policy. The death toll tied to SARS-CoV-2 and its sequelae demands investment in vaccines, surveillance, and elimination strategiesnot the scapegoating of immunization.

The socioeconomic aspects of infection-mediated chronic disease

The intersection between chronic disease, infectious triggers, and patient outcomes is profoundly shaped by socioeconomic stratification, producing deep and enduring inequities in morbidity and mortality. Long before the pandemic, individuals in low-income communities were already facing cardiovascular hospitalization rates two to three times higher than those in affluent areas, alongside markedly greater burdens of diabetes, hypertension, and chronic respiratory disease. By contrast, residents of higher-income neighborhoods not only experience lower baseline disease prevalence but also have greater access to preventive care and post-acute follow-up.

When COVID-19 struck, these preexisting inequities translated into a disproportionate toll on lower-income and minority populations. Structural factorsincluding income inequality, occupational exposure, multigenerational housing and an inadequate social safety netintensified vulnerability. Between March 2020 and March 2022, excess mortality was highest among populations with the lowest vaccination rates, an empirical reality that directly refutes the anti-vaccine movements central narrative. Low vaccine uptake was not the result of vaccine harm, but rather of policy failure: the absence of mandated paid leave, inaccessible vaccination sites, and the erosion of trust in public institutions after decades of neglect.

This unequal access to protection has long shaped the pattern of cardiovascular deaths. Even for seasonal influenza, studies have shown that an 18 percent vaccination gap between major demographic groups significantly contributes to disparities in CVD mortality. On a global scale, the same pattern holds: the burden of infection-related NCDs falls most heavily on the Global South, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where inadequate sanitation, limited healthcare infrastructure, and reduced vaccination coverage perpetuate high rates of infection-driven chronic illness.

Vaccines, far from causing harm, offer demonstrable protection against cardiovascular disease triggered by infection. The major UCLA meta-analysis led by Kawai confirmed that viral infections such as SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and herpes zoster substantially elevate cardiovascular risk, underscoring that vaccination can serve as a preventive tool for cardiovascular health as well as infection control. Supporting this conclusion, a 2025 Nature Portfolio study found that pre-infection COVID-19 vaccination reduced the risk of major acute cardiovascular events (MACE) by 30 percent and all-cause mortality by 70 percent in the year following infection.

These findings dismantle the anti-vaccine movements claim of vaccine-induced injury and reveal the opposite reality: immunization mitigates the cardiovascular consequences of infection, protecting precisely those communities who are most exposed and least defended by the current health system.

Vaccination as cardiovascular protection

Further studies have quantified this protective effect across multiple pathogens, vaccine types, and dose schedules. The landmark Influenza Vaccination After Myocardial Infarction (IAMI) trial, published in Circulation (2021), demonstrated that administering an influenza vaccine during hospitalization for an acute myocardial infarction reduced cardiovascular death and major adverse events by 41 percent over one year. A 2023 exploratory sub-study, Optimal Timing of Influenza Vaccination Among Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction, published in Vaccine, found that the benefit was greatest when vaccination occurred early during hospitalization, producing the most pronounced reduction in all-cause mortality.

Comparable findings extend to COVID-19 vaccination. A 2024 meta-analysis encompassing millions of individuals reported no overall increase in risk of heart attack, arrhythmia, or stroke following vaccination. In contrast, the data indicated a clear protective trend, particularly after booster doses: the third dose was associated with an 81 percent lower risk of stroke and a nearly 100 percent reduction in myocardial infarction relative to unvaccinated controls. These results align with large-scale population analyses.

A comprehensive UK population study covering 46 million adults found that the incidence of arterial thromboses (heart attacks and ischemic stroke) was consistently lower after each vaccine dose compared with pre-vaccination or unvaccinated periods. Following the second dose, rates of arterial thrombosis were 27 percent lower after the AstraZeneca vaccine and 20 percent lower after the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine. Together, these findings dismantle the central premise of anti-vaccine propaganda: rather than precipitating cardiovascular harm, vaccination significantly reduces infection-related cardiovascular events and deaths.

Vaccination recognized as a cornerstone of cardiovascular prevention

The European Society of Cardiology (ESC)s 2025 Clinical Consensus Statement, Vaccination as a New Form of Cardiovascular Prevention, published in the European Heart Journal in June 2025, represents a historic shift in cardiovascular medicine. For the first time, the ESC formally elevated infectious-disease preventionparticularly through vaccinationto a foundational pillar of cardiovascular prevention, standing alongside the traditional triad of blood-pressure control, lipid management, and glucose regulation.

The statement codifies what years of research have established: that infections such as influenza, pneumococcal pneumonia, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) substantially heighten the risk of heart failure and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). It affirms that vaccination is not merely a tool to prevent acute illness but a core intervention in chronic-disease prevention.

The ESC panel synthesized a vast body of evidence detailing the multi-phase mechanisms by which infectious agents damage the heart and the cardiovascular system as a whole. Drawing upon numerous clinical studies showing that vaccination reduces major cardiac events linked to influenza, COVID-19, pneumococcal, and herpes-zoster infections, the panel established that immunization is a cardiovascular intervention, conferring quantifiable reductions in heart-attack, stroke, and mortality risk, comparable to medication-based therapies.

Crucially, the ESC declares that vaccination rates should now be treated as population-level indicators of cardiovascular health, equal in importance to hypertension or cholesterol control. This re-orientation mandates a global policy shift: integrating immunization into standard cardiovascular-prevention guidelines, funding vaccine access as part of chronic-disease programs and measuring vaccine coverage as a determinant of national cardiovascular outcomes.

This scientific consensus exposes the reactionary and anti-public-health agenda of organizations such as Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) and allied movements, which systematically deny these findings. Their rejection of vaccination as medical tyranny reflects a broader ideology of hyper-individualism, one that subordinates collective welfare and scientific reality to private profit and political manipulation. By portraying community immunization and disease surveillance as infringements on personal freedom, such movements directly imperil public health, deepening the very chronic-disease crises they claim to oppose.

Conclusion: The life expectancy crisis and the necessity of a revolutionary transformation in public health

The new understanding of non-communicable diseases as downstream consequences of exposure to infection marks a turning point in medical science comparable to the germ theory revolution. Just as germ theory exposed the microbial origins of acute illness, the new understanding reveals that many chronic diseasesonce attributed to lifestyle or heredityare in fact the biological residue of previous infections. This breakthrough erodes the artificial divide between communicable and non-communicable disease and makes it possible to unite prevention strategies into a single public-health continuum.

Yet the very consensus that made these discoveries possible is collapsing under the weight of a historic life-expectancy crisis. In the United States, life expectancy fell from 78.8 years in 2019 to 76.4 years in 2021the largest two-year decline since World War II and the steepest drop among high-income nations. Although provisional data for 2023 show a modest rebound to about 77 years, the country has still lost over two full years of life expectancy compared with the pre-pandemic baseline. This reversal erased two decades of progress: national longevity has returned to roughly its 2001 level. No other industrialized nation experienced such a sustained decline.

Life expectancy is a critical measure of social health, reflecting not only mortality from infectious disease but also chronic illness, inequality, and access to medical care. The contraction of US lifespandespite the enormous growth of scientific and medical capacityreveals a structural failure: the subordination of public health to private profit. It demonstrates that biological outcomes now move in the opposite direction of scientific potential, a defining feature of capitalist decay.

In 1900, the average American lived only 47 years; by 2019on the eve of the pandemicit had reached 79. The COVID-19 catastrophe began to reverse this trajectory. The population of the United States, because the first Trump, Biden and second Trump administrations adopted a deliberate policy of mass infection and social neglect, is suffering the consequences. The US now trails every other major industrialized country in public health indices.

Excess death rates in the US are far worse than in peer nations [Photo: Our World in Data]

Globally, vaccination programs since 1974 have averted 154 million deaths and added 10.2 billion healthy years of life, quantifying one of humanitys greatest collective achievements. The regression now underway in the US represents not a natural fluctuation but a social catastrophe. The Missing Americans analysis shows that even before COVID-19, the US was losing over 620,000 lives per year compared with peer nationsa figure that surged beyond one million annually once the pandemic began. Most of these were working-age adults. Their premature deaths were neither inevitable nor biological; they were the collateral damage of capitalisms war on public health.

The catastrophic decline in life expectancy cannot be understood apart from the social system that produced it. The same political forces that dismantled public health, privatized medicine, and subordinated scientific policy to corporate profit are those now weaponizing anti-vaccine and personal responsibility narratives. The ruling classs acceptance of mass infection as an economic necessity marks the degeneration of capitalist governance itself.

Breakthrough research such as the UCLA meta-analysis on viral infections and cardiovascular risk confirms the scientific basis for prevention: infection drives chronic disease, and vaccination prevents it. But this entire frameworkobjective science, preventive medicine, and collective responsibilityis now under sustained political assault. The dismantling of pandemic surveillance, the defunding of infectious-disease research, and the removal of vaccine recommendations are not bureaucratic mistakes. They are conscious class policies, designed to reconcile profit accumulation with mass morbidity.

The defense of life expectancy and the restoration of public health cannot be entrusted to the same political apparatus that presided over its collapse. Only the international working class, organized independently on a socialist program, can secure the material foundations for genuine public health: universal vaccination, equitable healthcare, and the democratic control of science and medicine.

Science itself now stands in conflict with the capitalist order. Its continuation depends on a social transformation that aligns the means of productionand the means of lifewith human need rather than private gain. The struggle for public health is therefore inseparable from the struggle for socialism. It is a revolutionary fight for life, longevity, and the future of humanity.

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Following a political operation led by the Conservative Party and backed by the Trump administration, Tim Davie, the director-general of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), resigned on Sunday. BBC News CEO Deborah Turness also stood down.

Tim Davie, the then BBC Director General at an event in Liverpool in May 2022 [Photo: Department for Culture, Media and Sport]

This followed days of criticism of the BBCs news coverage, after the Telegraph published a leaked internal dossier containing the findings of a former external adviser to its Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee (EGSC), Michael Prescott.

The criticisms of Prescottwho left his role in the summercentred on a documentary about Trump which aired in October 2024. Prescott accused the BBCs Panorama programme of splicing together clips from separate parts of the infamous speech Trump made in Washington on January 6, 2021, prior to a mob of his supporters invading the Capitol building and attempting to block congressional certification of Joe Bidens presidential victory.

Prescott wrote that the spliced-together version of Trumps comments aired in Trump: A Second Chance? had him saying,Were gonna walk down to the Capitol and Ill be with you and we fight. We fight like hell and if you dont fight like hell, youre not gonna have a country anymore.

In his actual speech, Trump said 15 minutes in,Were gonna walk down to the Capitol and Ill be with you. The second half of the sentence that was aired by Panorama, and we fight. We fight like hell..., came 54 minutes later.

In an extraordinary response to this spurious complaint, accompanied by claims that Trump, the President of the United States, had supposedly been misrepresented, the head of the BBC capitulated, lending credence to the false narrative that Trump did not support the violent attempt to overthrow the constitution and prevent the election of Biden.

Everyone knows what Trumps aim was in his January 6, 2021 speech, no matter in what order or when his words came out. On his first day in office for his second term, he signed an executive order granting a full, complete, and unconditional pardon to approximately 1,500 individuals convicted of, or awaiting trial or sentencing for, offenses related to the events that occurred at the Capitol.

Responding to Davies resignation, BBC presenter Nick Robinson stated on BBC Radio 4 Today that while the BBC had made mistakes in coverage, There is also a political campaign by people who want to destroy the organisation that you are currently listening to. He was backed by another BBC veteran John Simpson, who said Robinson was exactly right.

Another senior journalist, the former political editor of Sky News, Adam Boulton, posted on X that it was BS [bullshit] to claim that the BBC were biased in the coverage of Trump in the Panorama piece, adding that it was fake news to suggest Donald Trump did not egg on what happened on 6 January.

Despite this, within just five days of the pro-Tory Daily Telegraph publishing a front-page article headlined, BBCs Trump bias exposed in memo leak, Davie fell on his sword. On Monday, the BBCs cave-in was complete as its chairman Samir Shah, in a letter to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee of MPs, said that Trumps speech was edited in a way that gave the impression of a direct call for violent action and The BBC would like to apologise for that error of judgement.

None of this sated the far-right forces around the would-be American dictator. On Friday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the BBC was a taxpayer funded leftist propaganda machine publishing purposefully dishonest material and 100% fake news. Trump responded in glee to Davies resignation and following the BBCs formal apology threatened to sue the organisation for $1 billion. His lawyers said the BBC had until 5pm EST (10pm UK time) on November 14 to comply.

Every day from Tuesday until Davies resignation, the Telegraph leaked other parts of Prescotts letter, setting off an avalanche of right-wing anti-BBC denunciations. Elsewhere in the paper, an article details Prescotts concerns that the BBCs Arabic news service chose to minimise Israeli suffering in the war in Gaza so it could paint Israel as the aggressor. On Wednesday, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch was interviewed demanding that heads should roll.

The fact that Prescott cites content on the BBC Arabic news channel only highlights the fact that the BBC understands the pro-Israel coverage churned out by its main English language news service would be impossible to broadcast in the Middle East.

To complete the rights set of favourite talking points, Prescotts other complaints were that the BBCs coverage of transgender issues was effectively censored by specialist LGBT reporters who promoted a pro-trans agenda. He also complained that During my time as an advisor to the EGSC it became clear the BBC fell too easily for putting out ill-researched material that suggested issues of racism when there were none.

Prescott, who left his role in the summer, ludicrously claimed in his letter written in September 2025 that he has no axe to grind. I think it is important to state that I have never been a member of any political party and do not hold any hard and fast views on matters such as American politics or disputes in the Middle East. My views on the BBCs treatment of the subjects covered below do not come with any political agenda, he wrote.

Prescott is in fact a close friend of Robbie Gibb, a former Downing Street communications director (from 2017 to 2019 under Tory Prime Minister Theresa May) and the brother of a former Tory schools minister Nick Gibb. Robbie Gibb joined the BBC board in 2020 under Mays Tory successor, Boris Johnson. He was a player in the launch of right-wing channel GB News.

In 2021 Gibb headed a consortium who bought the Jewish Chronicle, a Zionist newspaper. He authored his own document critical of the BBC in September, the same month as Prescott. The Guardian reported Monday it was told by sources that Gibb was instrumental in the appointment of Prescott as an adviser to the BBCs editorial guidelines and standards committee.

The reason for Davie falling on his sword, when many in the BBC were arguing for opposition to Prescotts claims, is suggested by his own appointment to head the BBC in 2020 being central to plans to shift it further right.

The WSWS noted on his appointment that after a career in marketing, he stood as a Conservative council candidate in Hammersmith in 1993 and 1994 and was deputy chairman of his local Conservative Party. Taking over, Davie said the BBC had no inalienable right to exist. He opposes the subscription model but suggested axing output by up to one-fifth, cutting channels and slashing the BBCs budget.

Davie headed a BBC Board stacked with Tory government appointees. For the government and a media demanding more control over the state broadcaster, and ideally its demise, having a Tory as director general was a good start.

This year the Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM) provided damning evidence of systematic bias against the Palestinians in the BBCs coverage of Israels genocide. The CfMM report was published after the BBC, under Davie, shelved the documentary Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, saying the film risked creating a perception of partiality.

But none of this was enough to satisfy the cabal of leading Tories and MAGA Republicans.

After Davie resigned, Nigel Farage, the leader of the far-right Reform UK and a friend of Trumps, stated that the resignation of Davie and Turness must be the start of wholesale change. The Government needs to appoint somebody with a record of coming in and turning companies and their cultures around and Preferably, it would be someone coming in from the private sector who has run a forward-facing business.

This is a UK version of Gleichschaltung: the Nazi regimes effort to bring into line all aspects of political and cultural life and subordinate them to the states ideology. Trump, a known admirer of Hitler and his regime, is seeking to emulate the Nazis in the US with his attack on the Corporation for Public Broadcastingwhich is shutting down following his move in July to halt all its funding. This campaign is now being extended to Britains state broadcaster and, by extension, the rest of the worlds media.
This speech was delivered by Peter Schwarz, member of the International Editorial Board of the WSWS, on November 2 at an event organised by Mehring Verlag at the Left Literature Fair in Nuremberg.

The city of Nuremberg had previously threatened to ban the event if the description of Israels actions in Gaza as genocide and the condemnation of the German governments war policy were not removed from the text announcing the meeting. Mehring Verlag protested against this with a leaflet, which it distributed to all visitors at the book fair. The response was overwhelming. Around 120 visitors crowded into the completely overfilled cinema hall to listen to the lecture and protest against censorship. The publishers at the book fair also unanimously passed a resolution against the censorship.

Eighty years ago, on 20 November 1945, the trial of the main Nazi war criminals began in the Nuremberg Palace of Justice, just three kilometers from here. Leading politicians, military personnel and officials of the Nazi regime stood trial before the International Military Tribunal, which had been set up specifically for this purpose, accused of crimes against peace (for planning and waging a war of aggression), crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The trial broke new legal ground: the principle of Nulla poena sine lege, which states that an act may only be punished if its criminality was already established by law at the time of the act, was partially suspended. This move appeared inevitable, however, given the scale of the crimes committed by the Nazis.

The trials were intended to expose these crimes to the world and ensure that nothing similar would ever happen again. Important principles of international criminal law, which were later enshrined in the UN Charter and international law, can be traced back to the Nuremberg trials.

The memorial plaque that stands in front of the courtroom today reads:

In Nuremberg, the International Military Tribunal implemented the idea of an International Criminal Court for the first time. The principles developed at that time became known as the Nuremberg Principles and formed the basis of modern international criminal justice. It was, however, only with the Rome Statute of 1998 and the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague that the demand for a permanent legal authority for international criminal law was fulfilled...

We know, of course, that this law has largely remained on paper. There has been no shortage of war crimes that have gone unpunished over the last 80 years. Just think of the Vietnam War or the Iraq War. Nevertheless, it must be said that the scale of such crimes has taken on a new dimension.

As Katja Rippert mentioned at the beginning, the city of Nuremberg censored the text announcing our meeting and threatened to ban it if we did not delete the phrases genocide in Gaza and war crimes of the German government. One of the reasons given was that the description of Israels actions in Gaza as genocide relativises historical crimes. This is, to say the least, a strange argument.

The city does not address the question of whether Israels actions against the Palestinians constitute genocide. It ignores the facts, the legal opinions, and the statements of renowned human rights organisations and international institutions that prove this. Instead, it declares that this question should not even be askedlet alone answeredbecause to do so relativises the Holocaust.

This turns the significance of the Nuremberg Trials on its head. They were intended to ensure that genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes would never again be committedand that those responsible for such crimes would face severe punishment.

Now the city of Nuremberg is saying that such crimes should not be named and prosecuted because this would relativise the crimes of the Nazis. It is thus transforming the Nuremberg Trials from a weapon against war crimes into a general amnesty for them. A crime can no longer be called a crime because doing so relativises another crime.

Genocide in Gaza

The fact that the Israeli government is committing genocide in Gaza is undisputed in the eyes of the vast majority of the worlds population. Millions have taken to the streets in London, Jakarta, New York, Berlin and hundreds of other cities to protest against it.

The International Criminal Court, which the city describes on the memorial plaque in the Palace of Justice as the embodiment of the Nuremberg Principles and whose authority is recognised by Germany, issued an arrest warrant a year ago against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his then Defence Minister Yoav Galant. They are accused of serious war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Israeli army dropped 18,000 tonnes of bombs on Gaza in the first seven weeks of the conflict. Since then, there have been no reliable figures. If this amount has remained constant, the total would now stand at 275,000 tonnes of explosivesthe equivalent of 18 Hiroshima bombs. They exploded in an area that covers just one percent of Bavaria and is home to more than 2 million people.

Hospitals, universities, schools and mosques were deliberately destroyed; 90 percent of all homes lie in ruins; multi-storey buildings were deliberately collapsedoften without the residents being able to leave in time. Doctors, paramedics, aid workers and over 200 journalists were killedmore than in any other armed conflict. Journalists reporting on these crimes from Gaza are risking their lives. Journalists from international media are not allowed in at all.

Let me add that the latest so-called peace agreement does not change this.

The last surviving Israeli hostages have been released, but the killing continues unabated. Hardly a day goes by without Israel bombing targets in Gaza killing dozens of people. The supply of food and medicine is once again being restricted after brief openings to allow food in.

Even if the fighting were to come to a halt, the eternal peace announced by Trump would resemble a graveyard: Gaza would be transformed into a protectorate under the supervision of Donald Trump and the British war criminal Tony Blair. The Israeli army would continue to occupy the border and a significant area of the Gaza Strip. And the Palestinians would not have the slightest democratic rights.

But let us return to Israels actions. Since the Hamas attack, anyone in Germany who criticises Israels warfare is denounced as antisemitic.

Artists have been banned from performing, academics have been dismissed, and numerous demonstrators have been beaten and arrested for showing their solidarity with Palestine. Although Germanys Basic Law guarantees freedom of expression and expressly prohibits censorship, there isas in the days of the German Empirean officer of the political police present at every pro-Palestinian rally to censor banners and leaflets before they are allowed to be distributed.

The persecution of opponents of the Gaza war as antisemites also serves as a lever to eliminate democratic rights in Germany and establish a police state. It is not surprising that the AfDwhich is teeming with genuine antisemitesenthusiastically supports this course.

Antisemites are not those who denounce the crimes of Netanyahu and the Zionist state, but those who hold Jews collectively responsible for these crimes. Antisemites are those who claim that the Zionist state acts in the interests of Judaism as a whole.

This is refuted by the fact that numerous Jews around the world are participating in demonstrations in defence of the Palestinians and rejecting the crimes of the Israeli government. The issue becomes even clearer when examined historically.

The Logic of Zionism, from Nationalist Myth to the Gaza Genocide

In this context, I warmly recommend the book The Logic of Zionism, from Nationalist Myth to the Gaza Genocide, which we are presenting in this meeting.

The author, David North, is editor-in-chief of the WSWS and chairman of the SEP in the United States. He has been active in the socialist movement for over 50 years and has written numerous books on political and theoretical issues.

As he recounts in this book, North himself has Jewish roots. Many members of his family were murdered in the Holocaust. Before the First World War and during the Weimar Republic, his grandfather was one of Germanys leading conductors and composers. He managed to flee to the United States in time, where he founded the first black classical orchestra. But his career was subsequently ruined.

North demonstrates that the Zionist project, as he writes, was based from its origins on a reactionary ideology and a reactionary program. Until the German catastrophe, a large proportion of Jewish workers and intellectuals linked their own emancipation to the overcoming of capitalist class society and oriented themselves towards the Marxist movement.

The social democratic and later also the communist parties had a high proportion of Jewish members. These parties also played a leading role in the fight against antisemitismas did the French socialist Jean Jaures in the Dreyfus affair.

This was also the real reason for Hitlers antisemitism. It was not Rothschild, the capitalist, but Karl Marx, the Socialist, who kindled Adolf Hitlers anti-Semitism, writes Konrad Heiden, who wrote one of the first biographies of Hitler. For the same reason, Hitler agitated against the Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy.

The Zionism developed by Theodor Herzl in the 1890s was directly opposed to this socialist perspective. He countered the internationalism of the socialist labour movement with the establishment of a Jewish nation-state in Palestine.

Herzl did this at a time when the nation-state, whose development was closely linked to the bourgeois revolution, no longer played a progressive role. The First World War, which broke out in 1914, was an expression of this fact. Its fundamental cause was the incompatibility of the world economy with the nation-state, which the capitalists attempted to overcome through a violent redivision of the world.

From the outset, it was clear to the Zionists that their project of a Jewish state required the violent expulsion of the Palestinian population and could only succeed if it was supported by imperialist powers, if one or more major powers could be convinced that a Zionist state would serve their imperialist interests in the region.

In this context, North quotes Vladimir Jabotinsky, the leader of the ultra-right wing of the Zionist movement and mentor of the later Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, who wrote in 1934:

I need not dwell on the well-known truism of Palestines importance from the viewpoint of British imperial interests; I have only to add that its validity depends on one paramount condition: namely that Palestine should cease being an Arab country.

The Second World War undermined the Zionist alliance with British imperialism, which was reorienting itself in the Middle East. Some Zionists responded with terrorist attacks on British institutions. In 1946, for example, a bomb attack by the Zionist underground organisation Irgun on the King David Hotel, the headquarters of the British Mandate, killed 91 people and injured dozens more.

Norths book states:

But the alliance with imperialism continued. Israel, following its establishment in 1948, functioned as an essential ally of British and French imperialisms struggle against the rising tide of Arab nationalism. In 1956, Israel joined Britain and France in an invasion of Egypt aimed at overthrowing the nationalist regime led by Nasser and regaining control of the Suez Canal. However, after the United States compelled Britain and France to end the war and withdraw their forces from Egypt, Israel prioritized its relationship with American imperialism.

The founding of the Israeli state was accompanied by extreme violence. Zionist militias massacred well over 100 (some sources say 250) villagers in Deir Yassin in order to spread fear and terror and drive out 750,000 Palestiniansabout half of the population of Palestine at the time.

For two years, outrage over the Hamas attack has been constantly fuelled. What is being ignored is that it was Zionism that brought terror as a method of struggle to the Middle East. Among the victims of Zionist terror were British officials at the King David Hotel, the inhabitants of Deir Yassin and numerous other villages, as well as the United Nations mediator, Count Folke Bernadotte, who was killed in 1948. The murder was ordered by Yitzhak Shamir, who later served as Israeli Prime Minister from 1983 to 1992, with a brief interruption.

North summarises:

The maintenance of a Jewish apartheid state, violently suppressing the Palestinian people while at the same time veering toward fascism within Israel itself, is inextricably connected to its role as a linchpin of imperialism in the Middle East.

It is clear that American support for Israel had nothing to do with sympathy for the Jews or reparations for the Holocaust. The US, which closed its borders to Jewish refugees during World War II, continued to restrict the admission of Jews to its universities until the 1960s. And there are numerous antisemites in Trumps MAGA movement. The US arms Israelon this both Republicans and Democrats agreebecause it needs and uses it to dominate the Middle East.

The same applies to Germany. We recently reviewed the book Israel and German State Reason by historian Daniel Marwecki on the WSWS.

Marwecki shows that the close cooperation between Germany and Israel had nothing to do with reparations, atonement for the Shoah or anything similar. It was a mutual arrangement: Germany supplied the beleaguered Zionist state with weapons, economic and financial aid; in return, the Israeli government turned a blind eye to the continued presence of Nazi elites in the state and economy of the Federal Republic and helped it gain international prestige.

This has remained the case. Germany is Israels second largest arms supplier after the United States. In recent years, it has supplied about 30 to 47 percent of all Israeli arms imports, including anti-tank missiles, warships, rockets and engines for tanks, as well as important components for land vehicles and naval equipment. In return, Israel serves Germanylike the United Statesas a bridgehead for its imperialist interests in the Middle East.

Our movement, the International Committee of the Fourth International, defends Palestinian workers and youth in their struggle against oppression. But this oppression cannot be overcome by a two-state solution.

The creation of a purely Palestinian state alongside a purely Jewish state would inevitably perpetuate the conflict and lead to a new wave of expulsions. Such a state would be economically unviable and a puppet in the hands of the imperialist powers and their reactionary allies in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Arab states.

The entire history of national movementsfrom the PLO in Palestine to the LTTE in Sri Lanka to the Kurdish PKK, to name but a fewshows that they have no solution for the oppressed masses. They have either failed miserably or turned into henchmen of one imperialist power or another.

National oppression todaylike any form of oppressioncan only be overcome through the independent struggle of the international working class with the perspective of socialist revolution. David Norths book states:

The great historical and political paradox of the present situation is this: The Israeli working class cannot defend its own democratic rights without fighting for the democratic rights of the Palestinian people against Zionist oppression. And the Palestinians cannot achieve their aspirations for democratic rights and social equality without forging a fighting alliance with the Israeli working class. The only viable perspective is not a mythical two-state solution, but a unified socialist state of Jewish and Arab workers. No matter how heroic the struggle of the Palestinians, the intolerable conditions they confront will not be resolved without the development of an international movement of the working class for socialism.

This is a huge and difficult task, but it is the only realistic solution. Its significance becomes clearer when one considers the war in Gaza in its international context.

Sounding the Alarm: Socialism Against War

This brings me to the second book we want to present today: Sounding the Alarm: Socialism Against War. It contains 10 May Day speeches delivered by David North between 2014 and 2024. They trace the dramatic escalation of imperialist militarism, the growing danger of a third World War and the rise of Donald Trump.

They show that the same contradictions to which the ruling class responds with war and dictatorship also create the objective conditions for the intensification of the class struggle and for socialist revolution. The entry of the American and European working class into bitter class struggles is a factor that will dramatically change the entire world situation.

The Middle East is only one front in a rapidly escalating third World War. Other fronts are the war in Ukraine and the encirclement of China by the US and its allies. The cause of these escalating wars isas in the First and Second World Warsthe incompatibility of the bourgeois nation-state with the international character of the world economy. The imperialist powers are no longer satisfying their hunger for raw materials, markets and cheap labour through peaceful competition, but through a violent redivision of the world.

Lenin already demonstrated this brilliantly in his book on imperialism, written during the First World War. It is definitely worth reading this book again today.

The driving force behind this development towards war is the USA. It emerged from the two world wars as the dominant imperialist power and is attempting to compensate for its relative economic decline by using its military superiority. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which had set certain limits on its imperialist ambitions, the USA has been at war practically without interruption: in Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq again, Libya, Syria and Ukraine.

The rise of Donald Trump, this gangster from the real estate and gambling industry, must be seen in this context. He is waging war on the working class at home and escalating wars abroad. The 2,000-pound bombs that Israel is dropping on Gaza all bear the inscription Made in the USA. In total, the US has supplied Israel with some 15,000 different bombs over the past two years. Israel could not wage war for a single day longer without the political, financial and military support of the US.

Washington considers China to be its most important adversary and is systematically preparing for war against it. The genocide in Gaza must be seen in this context. The Palestinians, Iran and its allies are an obstacle to imperialist efforts to bring this energy-rich, strategically important region under imperialist control. China imports large quantities of oil and natural gas from the region, and some of its most important export routes run through it.

I will discuss the war in Ukraine in a moment.

The US and its allies are building the largest military force in history against China. US military spending now amounts to $1 trillion (1,000 billion) a year. That is 37 percent of global military spending. A large part of this total goes towards modernising the nuclear arsenal.

The US is not prepared to accept China overtaking it economically. It is forming a ring of military allies around China, including Japan, Australia and several East Asian countries. High-ranking US generals have openly stated that they expect a war with China within the next five years. The Republicans and Democrats are united on this issue.

Germany, too, is preparing for war and arming itself in a manner unseen since Hitler. It is not doing so because it is a vassal of the US, as Oskar Lafontaine and the Wagenknecht party claim, but because it is pursuing its own imperialist goals. Germanys ruling class has never come to terms with the fact that it had to take a back seat militarily after the failure of Hitlers war of annihilation. This is most clearly evident in the war in Ukraine.

As with all imperialist wars, not a word of the official propaganda should be believed. The German media, especially the so-called public media, have, at the latest since the war in Ukraine, degenerated into propaganda instruments of a government that no longer tolerate dissent.

This war did not start because a diabolical villain by the name of Putin first occupied Crimea and then invaded Ukraine. Nor does it serve to defend Western values (whatever that means) and democracy. It is the result of NATOs continued eastward expansion after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union, contrary to all assurances, and its encirclement of Russia. Putin had long threatened a military response if NATO integrated Ukraine, Georgia and other countries into its military structures. NATO knew this and deliberately provoked the Russian invasion.

This is not an insignificant issue. At the end of the Second World War, Stalin had negotiated a buffer zone controlled by the Soviet Union after Germanys war of extermination had cost the lives of 27 million Soviet citizens. These issues are deeply rooted in the collective consciousness of the Russian people. But while the German government constantly refers to Germanys responsibility for the Holocaust in the Middle East, the responsibility for the siege of Leningrad, which claimed 1.1 million lives, and for the murder of millions of Russian partisans, Jews, forced labourers and prisoners of war apparently plays no role.

We also know how the US government reacted when the Soviet Union stationed missiles in Cubaa sovereign countryin 1962. It risked nuclear war. And we can imagine how the current US government would react if Mexico signed a military pact with China and stationed Chinese troops in the country. American troops would cross the Rio Grande the next day, and Mexico City would lie in ruins.

Germany played a central role in the preparation and escalation of the war in Ukraine. We are not just saying this today. In 2013, we closely followed how more than 50 leading politicians, journalists, academics, military personnel and business representatives, as part of a project by the government-affiliated German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) and the Washington-based think tank German Marshall Fund (GMF), developed a new foreign policy strategy, which was then implemented by the new federal governmenta grand coalition of the CDU/CSU and SPD.

The paper was entitled New PowerNew Responsibility. Elements of a German foreign and security policy for a changing world. With the document, the German bourgeoisie is returning to militarist, great power politics following two world wars and horrific crimes, we wrote at the time.

The overthrow of the elected Ukrainian President Yanukovych, which was accompanied on site by then Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, was the first practical test of this strategy. Yanukovych was not overthrown by a peaceful Maidan revolution, but by fascist militias such as the Right Sector, which glorify former Nazi collaborators such as Stepan Bandera and wear Nazi insignia. At the time, Steinmeier met personally with the leader of the far-right Svoboda party, Oleh Tyahnybok.

Following the coup, the Ukrainian army collapsed completely. Germany and NATO began to build and arm a new army. Meanwhile, fascist militias, mostly financed from the private coffers of Ukrainian oligarchs, held their ground in Russian-dominated eastern Ukraine, terrorising the population and keeping the war going. Russia responded by attacking Ukraine.

With this war, Germany is pursuing two main goals that it had already pursued and failed to achieve in the two world wars: economic dominance in Eastern Europe and Ukraine with its valuable raw materials. There are now numerous agreements and treaties that leave no doubt about the real interests at stake. The second goal is the subjugation and destruction of Russia.

That is why almost unlimited sums are being spent on supporting Ukraine and military rearmament, for which the working population will ultimately have to foot the bill. Hitler had tried to dominate Europe in order to rule the world. Faced with the global crisis of the capitalist system, trade war and growing social conflicts, the German bourgeoisie is now following the same path again.

Our rejection of the war policies of the British government and NATO does not mean that we support Putin. David North explains this very well in his May Day speech on May 1, 2022:

The imperialist character of the war being waged by NATO does not justify, from the standpoint of the international working class, the decision of the Russian government to invade Ukraine. The International Committee condemns the invasion as politically reactionary. The Putin governments decision to invade has killed and injured thousands of innocent Ukrainians who are in no way responsible for the policies of the corrupt Kyiv government, divided the Russian and Ukrainian working class, and played into the hands of the imperialist strategists in Washington.  It has provided German imperialism with the opportunity to massively rearm. The dangers that now confront Russia are, in the final analysis, the consequence of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 by the Stalinist bureaucracy and the restoration of capitalism. ... The warnings of Leon Trotsky, brilliantly elaborated in his 1936 treatise, The Revolution Betrayed, have been vindicated. Capitalist restoration has resulted in the impoverishment of large sections of the Russian population, the replacement of the bureaucratic regime with dictatorial oligarchic rule and the imminent threat of Russias breakup into semi-colonial statelets controlled by imperialist powers. The fact that the Putin regime could not find an answer to the dangers confronting Russia other than by invading Ukraine, and now threatening a nuclear response to NATOs provocations, testifies to the political bankruptcy of the regime of capitalist restoration. The Russian capitalist oligarchy, whose wealth is derived from the systematic plundering of the nationalized property of the workers state, repudiated all that was progressive in the social and political foundations of the Soviet Union.  Putin, a bitter enemy of socialism and the heritage of the October Revolution, is incapable of making any genuinely democratic and progressive appeal to the Ukrainian working class. Instead, he invokes the reactionary legacy of tsarist and Stalinist Great Russian chauvinism.

We oppose NATOs war by fighting for the unity of Ukrainian and Russian workers and the overthrow and expropriation of the oligarchs on both sides of the border.

Our Ukrainian comrade Bogdan Syrotiuk has been in a Ukrainian prison for over a year, where he is denied even essential dental treatment, because he stands for this perspective. President Zelensky, whose term of office expired long ago, defends democracyi.e., the rule of the corrupt oligarchsby suppressing media, parties and people who oppose the NATO war. He sends armed gangs through the streets to force young men to the front as cannon fodder.

We are fighting against NATOs war by mobilising the working class in Germany, the United States and all other imperialist countries against it. The objective conditions for this are developing rapidly. The relentless attack on wages, social benefits, jobs and democratic rights necessary to make society fit for war is provoking resistance and fierce class struggles.

The No Kings demonstrations in the United States, in which 7 million people participated, are a harbinger of this development. Its success requires a break with the American Democrats, their left wing, the DSA, the German Left Party and all other organisations that express limited criticism of war policy and social attacks, only to create the illusion that pressure from the streets can force the ruling class to change course.

The real task of these parties and their leaders, such as Bernie Sanders in the US, Jeremy Corbyn in Britain and Heidi Reichinnek here in Germany, is to absorb resistance and prevent it from being directed against capitalist class society. When they come to power, such figures, such as Alexis Tsipras in Greece, do the dirty work for the capitalists.

The success of the resistance to war and social cuts also requires a break with the trade union apparatuses, which support trade wars, war policies and the shift to war production, organise job cuts and wage reductions in the workplaces and suppress any resistance to them.

The International Committee of the Fourth International has taken the initiative to build the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) and calls for the establishment of action committees in all workplaces and neighbourhoods to organise the struggle against social cuts and political repression.

I would like to conclude my presentation with the final paragraphs, from the book presented here, of the May Day speech of 2023:

The dangers confronting humanity should not be minimized. The first responsibility of a genuine revolutionary is to state what is. But this requires the recognition that objective reality presents not only the danger of World War III and the annihilation of humanity but also the potential for world socialist revolution and a stupendous advance in human civilization. The program of the Fourth International, the World Party of Socialist Revolution led by the International Committee, is to realize this potential by building a mass movement against imperialist war and fighting for the transfer of power to the working class to build socialism throughout the world. This is the perspective that animates, despite all difficulties and dangers, todays celebration of May Day.
On Friday, Sarah Cotte, a student from University of Londons School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) appeared at Londons Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey) charged with terrorism offences for speaking out on campus against the Gaza genocide.

Sarah is 21 years old and completing a masters degree in international development. She was charged under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act (2000) on March 4 this year, for a speech she gave at SOAS in October 2023 as a member of the Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! student society, condemning the Gaza genocide and defending the right of the Palestinian people to resist Israels illegal occupation.

Police allege Sarah was inviting support for a proscribed organisation, i.e., Hamas. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment.

A guilty verdict would criminalise free speech and assembly in defence of the Palestinians on university campuses across Britain.

On the day Sarah was charged, police arrested her comrade, who was standing outside Hammersmith police station waiting for her release. Eyewitnesses say the student was targeted for holding Sarahs bag, which contained her phone and other personal items later impounded by police. Together, they are known as the SOAS 2.

Fridays preliminary hearing set a court date of June 5, 2026, for full legal arguments over expert evidence. Sarah spoke with the World Socialist Web Site and explained why her case matters for students and the working class.

WSWS: Sarah, can you explain the purpose of todays hearing?

Sarah: Weve asked legal jurists and academics to produce reports for my defence on two key issues in my case. One is the international right of occupied peoples, and specifically the Palestinian people, to resist occupation, including (through) armed struggle. The other point is about the resistance in Palestine, the different groups which make up the resistance, the history of the resistance, and the different political trends within it.

Both are important in setting the political context, but also our right to support the resistance in Palestine as solidarity activists here in Britain. The prosecution will argue that these reports are irrelevant, inadmissible, and dont relate to the matter at hand. We need to broaden the scope of the debate. Its not a mistake that Ive been prosecuted, and its certainly not because the British state has a real concern that I might be a terrorist. Its because of British support for Zionism. Its because of British imperialism.

WSWS: Can you speak about your involvement in protesting the genocide and the kind of political statements being designated as terrorist activity.

Sarah: The terrorism designation is, first off, a racist designation against the Palestinian people. Its used to delegitimise their struggle. It sets up the groundwork for Israel to then exterminate basically all the Palestinians in Gaza, right? Theyre all terrorists, and if theyre children, well, they will grow up and be terrorists, so theyre a threat that needs to be dealt with.

We need to be clear. We are speaking about resistance fighters and freedom fighters. Thats what the vast majority are doing in terms of fighting back against Israels illegal occupation, genocide, and so on.

When we look at the history of terrorism legislation in Britain today, I was arrested and charged under the Terrorism Act 2000, but that came out of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which is much older and was put in place in reaction to the liberation struggle in the occupied north of Ireland. That wasnt put in place to make violence against civilians illegal, because theres already so much existing legislation which does that. It was to make illegal support across Britain for the Irish people, for Irish liberation.

In 2000, the Blair [Labour] government extended those powers to make illegal, support for a whole host of different causes and national liberation movements. So thats how were seeing that support for the Palestinian people, support for the Kurdish people and so on can be amalgamated into terrorism. Thats why we are calling for the scrapping of the Terrorism Act 2000. It does nothing to protect us against violence. All it does is provide the tools for the state to attack working class people, attack students, attack people who rise up against Zionism and British imperialism.

WSWS: Are you the first university student to ever be charged under this legislation?

Sarah: To my knowledge, I am. Weve seen loads of repression across university campuses, whether that be at SOAS, whether that be at Kings College London, for example, with Usama [Ghanem], whos potentially facing the removal of his visa and being sent back to Egypt, which is horrific, and we need to organise against that. But I think its a new height in terms of state repression to have young people, international students, with no track record of causing trouble, to be charged under this legislation. What were seeing is more respected professionals, people like journalists and lawyers in respectable society, who are being attacked with this legislation. So, the way we fight that is with solidarity as a movement. We need to defend the resistance, the right to defend Palestine, and we need to organise as a working class, as solidarity activists, as socialists, as anti-imperialists, to fight back against British imperialism.

SOAS student Sarah Cotte outside the Old Bailey Central Criminal Court in London, April 11, 2025.

WSWS: Can I ask you to discuss the initial circumstances of your arrest back in January 2024?

Sarah: When I was arrested, four months had already passed since my initial offense. The reason why it took so long was because the Zionists were the ones who essentially brought the case to the attention of the Metropolitan Police and who drafted up, you know, a whole case for them, so that they wouldnt have to do any police work and they could just come up to my flat and arrest me. It was on January 31, at around 7am, when seven police officers showed up at my flat.

They go through my possessions, my devices, political literature, political leaflets, my keffiyeh. They spend their time looking through my things even after Ive been taken to the police station. Its a scary and violating experience to know that the police can show up at anyones door and arrest you and take you away, and theres nothing you can do about it.

WSWS: You were not charged until March of this year?

Sarah: I was charged over a year and two months after my initial arrest. We knew when coming to the police station on March 4 that I was going to get charged. What we couldnt predict though is that one of my comrades would get arrested the same daythats how we became the SOAS 2. That comrade is also a student from SOAS. They were arrested while supporting me outside the police station. So, while I answered my bail, while I was getting charged, my comrade was outside waiting for me to come back out, but I never saw them again that day because the police had arrested them by the time I was finished. And we later learned that while they were being arrested, their flat was being raided by the police.

Twelve police officers showed up at their flat, seized political literature, seized their keffiyeh, looked around all their things, and seized their devices as well. They were arrested under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act, like myself. But theyve not been charged yet.

WSWS: What happened when you were being interrogated?

Sarah: They start off trying to convince you that they are your friend and theyll say, I mean, for me specifically, saying things like, Well, youre a nice young girl, you go to this good university, youve come here from France and so on, and we know you dont want to be in trouble. We know this is scary for you. So, if you cooperate, itll be done quickly, and you can go back home, and this can all be over. Theyre really trying to pull on your heartstrings, your feelings, because at that point youre feeling isolated. Youve been in the police station for hours. You might not have gotten to speak to a member of your family or a close friend to explain your situation and get some reassurance. They say this knowing that everything you say will be used against you.

If youre a political person who knows not to say anything to the police, then theyll get much more straightforward about what their intentions are and say things which you obviously didnt say. So in my case, I remember the police saying things like, Do you know what Hamas did on the 7th of October, raping women, killing babies, and so on. Do you support that? Do you support the killing of all Jews? Do you support the violent destruction of Israel? And they say these things to elicit a reaction out of you. So even shaking your head, no, will be used as saying something, and whatever you give them, theyll then turn that against you. Its an intimidating experience. Its an isolating experience.

WSWS: Would you be able to speak about the political context of your initial arrest in January 2024?

Sarah: Its a general trend that weve seen in British politics and successive governments have tried, unfortunately successfully, to restrict the right to protest and to express dissent in general. Theres been opposition to that, for example with the Kill the Bill protest, but never on the scale there should have been. In universities and schools, Prevent [forcing teachers to report signs of radicalisation to police] is also a very big tool in discouraging young people, students from being vocal about their political opinions, from politicizing themselves. And when they are vocal, when they are political, being referred to authorities, being criminalized, and so on.

Labour have not broken at all from this kind of trend initiated by the Tories. If anything, the climate has grown more repressive in the past year with more and more people being arrested, being charged, being convicted, and obviously the proscription of Palestine Action. Everybody should feel concerned by this. Everybody should really be afraid, even people who dont care about Palestine or who dont care about whats happening in the Middle East. They should at the very least be concerned about their democratic rights and whats happening to them at this moment right now.

WSWS: The full hearing of your case is next year. If you are found guilty, what is the maximum penalty and what would be the broader repercussions?

Sarah: The full hearing of my trial will formally start the week beginning June 22, 2026. That feels like a long time away, but itll be here very, very soon. The maximum penalty I could get is 14 years of prison time, which is incredibly harsh. But more serious is the precedent it would set for expressions of support for the Palestinian resistance being treated as illegal speech under the Terrorism Act 2000, as expressions of support for proscribed organizations. We must fight back against this, because it would restrict our freedom of speech even further. The repercussions on the movement here would be far ranging and dangerous. We need to bring more awareness to these cases. All I ever did was speak about a right that the Palestinians have under international law, and for that I could go to prison.

Readers of the World Socialist Web Site are urged to sign the petition in defence of the SOAS 2, demanding the dropping of all charges.

Organisations and individuals can add their name to the following open letter to the Crown Prosecution Service.
An artisan makes a wardrobe in Al-Thawra Neighborhood, Omdurman, Sudan, Oct. 28, 2025. (Photo by Mohamed Khidir/Xinhua)

KHARTOUM, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- In the shattered landscape of Sudan's Khartoum State, where factories stand as hollowed shells and streets bear the scars of conflict, a quiet revival is taking shape. From metal workshops to sewing rooms, artisans are reclaiming their livelihoods, one handmade piece at a time.

Across the central Sudanese state, the sounds of hammers and sewing machines now echo where gunfire once dominated. These modest workshops, often little more than repurposed ruins, have become centers of both survival and resilience.

In the city of Omdurman city, Mohamed Abdul Qader, once a skilled worker in a metal furniture factory, now crafts simple doors in a workshop built from the remnants of his old workplace.

"This little space keeps me alive," he said, bending over a heated piece of iron, with sweat streaking his face. "These are the tools I pulled from under the rubble -- and they still work."

Not far away, Fatima Al-Tahir, once a seamstress in a bustling factory, now sews for her neighbors and displaced families in a small self-made atelier.

"I sew to survive, for my children, and so that I do not forget who I once was," she said softly behind a sewing machine, her little daughter playing with bright fabric scraps in the corner.

The determination extends to the cities of Khartoum and Khartoum North. In Al-Haj Yousif neighborhood, Abdullah Hussein, once a technician in an aluminum plant, now repairs windows in a dim workshop powered by a small generator.

"The factories have vanished, yet we build again, piece by piece -- with bare hands and shared tools, drawing light from humble generators to keep our work alive," he said.

Meanwhile, in Kober neighborhood, 50-year-old carpenter Abdul-Muttalib Abdul-Majid restores wooden furniture salvaged from the ruins. Behind him lie simple tools -- a hand saw, a hammer missing its handle, and nails gathered from here and there.

"The war took everything," he said. "Now it's just me, my son, and the wood we find among the ruins. Carpentry is my life -- every plank holds a story."

To economics professor Al-Tayeb Al-Hassan, these humble efforts have reflected something larger than survival.

"These workshops represent the roots of a productive shadow economy," he said. "They show how Sudanese society adapts, rebuilding the economy from the bottom up -- from individuals and small groups who refuse to surrender."

According to recent data, Sudan's poverty rate has surged from 21 percent to 71 percent since conflict erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in April 2023. The war has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, with a late October report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) showing Khartoum State alone accounting for over 3.77 million displaced persons.

Yet signs of return are emerging. The IOM report showed that more than 1 million people have returned to Khartoum State between November 2024 and September 2025, though this represents just 26 percent of those displaced from the state.

"The scale of return to Khartoum is both a sign of resilience and a warning," a news release by IOM on Oct. 27 quoted the organization's Deputy Director General for Operations Ugochi Daniels as saying.

"I met people coming back to a city still scarred by conflict, where homes are damaged and basic services are barely functioning. Their determination to rebuild is remarkable, but life remains incredibly fragile," Daniels said after her Sudan visit.

In the meantime, food security remains critical throughout the country, with 21.2 million people, 45 percent of Sudan's population, facing high levels of acute food insecurity in September, according to a Nov. 3 report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.

Still, in Khartoum's markets and makeshift workshops, the rhythm of recovery continues. As Al-Hassan noted: "When institutions collapse, people return to craftsmanship. These workshops -- this human resilience -- are the true heartbeats of reconstruction." 

An artisan makes a wardrobe in Al-Thawra Neighborhood, Omdurman, Sudan, Oct. 28, 2025. (Photo by Mohamed Khidir/Xinhua)
During the past week, on Sunday and Wednesday, two workers employed at different factories in Sri Lanka lost their lives at work.

The first death occurred when a machine exploded at a latex rubber processing factory located on the Kiriporuwa Estate at Yatiyanthota, 75 kilometres east of Colombo. The second death was at the Maussakelle Tea Factory in Maskeliya, in the central hill country, where a workers head was caught in a tea-rolling machine.

Rajinikantha

Those who lost their lives were Rajinikantha, a 25-year-old unmarried young man at the rubber products factory, and Krishnan Vijayakumar, a 49-year-old widower with four children employed at the tea factory.

The death at the Kiriporuwa Estate

The rubber products factory where Rajinikanthas death occurred belongs to Dipped Products Company, a subsidiary of the Hayleys Group of Companies. The group is chaired by prominent Sri Lankan billionaire businessmen Dhammika Perera and Mohan Pandithage.

Workers who witnessed the incident told World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) reporters that Rajinikantha sustained severe injuries to his chest and face when parts of the rubber-rolling machine he was operating exploded and struck him. One of his arms was severed.

Two other workers, Shriskandarajah (47) and Pushpanagam, injured in the same accident, have been admitted to the nearby Karawanella Hospital.

Shriskandarajah at the hospital

According to the company, the latex production is carried out using centrifugal machines. Experts have pointed out that the explosion of such a machine could have occurred due to the lack of proper safety measures and maintenance.

In particular, safety features such as over-speed trip systems, vibration and temperature sensors, automatic shutdown interlocks and explosion-proof casings are essential. However, workers said the machine was more than three decades old and appeared to lack most of these safety provisions.

Although modern machinery equipped with advanced safety systems can be used to protect workers lives, it is evident thatlike other capitalists who place their profits above workers livesthe owners of this company continued to operate dangerous, outdated machines instead of installing new equipment with such safety mechanisms.

Male workers take up work in the factory because it allows them to earn slightly more than the 1,350 rupees ($US4.50) they make daily from rubber tapping on the Kiriporuwa Estate, where the factory is located. However, they receive work at the factory only for a few days each month.

To meet the production targets, workers have to work from around 7 am until 10 pm.

One worker said: If you complete the target of 10 rounds, you can earn about four times the normal wage. But since the machines heat up, its hard to work while wearing safety gear. If we do, we cant meet the target. So were compelled to work without safety gear.

Rajinikanthas father, mother and sister surrounded by neighbours

Neighbours, expressing sorrow, said Rajinikanthas siblings are married and living separately, so that with his death, his parentswho depended on his incomehave been left helpless.

According to family members, no assistance or compensation has yet been received from the Dipped Products Company.

One injured worker said: We dont know whether we were properly protected by insurance. But the factory says that compensation will be paid.

The death at Maskeliya

The Maussakelle Tea Factory and estate, where Vijayakumar was killed, belongs to the Maskeliya Plantations Company, controlled by the Richard Peiris Company (ARPICO), another major corporate group in Sri Lanka.

On Vijayakumars funeral day on Saturday, his family members and fellow workers spoke to WSWS reporters. The workers, who were shocked and angered by the death of their colleague, said ARPICO must be held fully responsible.

Maussakelle estate workers speaking with WSWS reporter at the funeral of Krishnan Vijayakumar

A worker explained: I work on a machine adjacent to the one Vijayakumar was operating. These machines, which have three legs, are supposed to have three safety guards. If these guards are in place, they prevent hands or other parts of the body from getting caught in the machine.

But the machine Vijayakumar was working on had none of the three safety guards. Thats why his jacket got caught in the machine. He got pulled in, and the back of his head hit the machine. If the guards had been there, his life could have been saved.

Another employee, who was previously assigned to operate the machines in this factory and now works at another institution, said there should be a separate official responsible for ensuring workers safety.

Before a worker begins work, the machine should be inspected. In fact, the machine hadnt had guards for many years. Not only that, the workers safety gear should be properly checked. Thats why his jacket got caught in the machine.

In reality, workers havent been given knowledge about such hazardous situations. In any case, the primary cause of the death was the absence of safety guards. The company must be held fully responsible for this death.

Referring to the recent fire at the nearby Laxapana Tea Factory, he pointed out that there was no fire alarm system there. Although the Maussakelle factory had water and sand buckets, the workers were not given any training on how to actually put out a fire.

Another worker said the switches used to start and stop the machine are exposed and give electric shocks. I told the tea maker (the factorys responsible official) several times, but no action was taken. Now I have to operate the switch using a wooden stick.

He said that the rolling of tea leaves at the factory begins at 10 pm, and on days with heavier work, they have to continue until around 1.30 pm the next day. Although workers are entitled to overtime pay for the extra hours, it is limited to one or two hours, and any additional overtime pay is deducted.

Even though we are exploited that much, the companies say they cannot increase our wages. Whether we suffer, whether we get hurt, or die like Vijayakumar after getting caught in a machinethat doesnt matter to them. What they want is for us to die so they can make money. This must be stopped.

Banner commemorating the life of Krishnan Vijayakumar

In an attempt to pacify the growing anger among the workers, the estate manager has promised Vijayakumars children that compensation will be provided for his death. The workers say that such a verbal promise cannot be trusted.

All the capitalist media outlets have reported the death caused by the explosion of the latex machine at the Kiriporuwa Estate factory as an ordinary incident, and the death at the Maussakelle factory as merely resulting from a workers jacket getting caught in a machine, demonstrating their disregard for the lives of workers.

Industrial murders

These two deaths would not have occurred if there had been safety mechanisms to protect workers. They amount to industrial murders. These big companies are only interested in extracting profits, regardless of lives.

The trade union bureaucracies work hand-in-glove with companies, and successive governments are responsible for these crimes committed by the employers. One worker stated: Without the support of the trade union leaders and the government, the companies wouldnt be able to behave like this. But the union leaders and the government do nothing about it.

Plantation workers, who make up one of the most oppressed sections of the Sri Lankan working class, are deprived of both a monthly salary and paid leave.

According to calculations by the Department of Census and Statistics in 2023, a family of four requires a minimum monthly income of 90,000100,000 rupees to meet basic needs. However, with the cost of living now even higher, the average pay packet of a plantation worker is around 25,000 rupees. They live in 12-by-10-foot barrack-like line rooms, most of them built around 100 years ago and repaired several times.

The line room of Krishnan Vijayakumar who died on November 5, 2025 while working at Maussakelle tea factory

The number of workers in Sri Lanka who are injured or killed in industrial accidents is rapidly increasing. According to the latest International Labour Organisation statistics, approximately 2,000 non-fatal workplace accidents and 6080 fatal accidents occur annually in Sri Lanka.

Some recent deaths reported include:

On August 8, 2025, a 51-year-old prime mover driver was killed in an accident at the Colombo Port International Container Terminal.

A 35-year-old man from Ratnapura died in an industrial accident in Makola, Sapugaskanda, a Colombo suburb, in late August 2025 after being caught in machinery.

Deaths in workplaces are rising globally, from the so-called industrialised countries to backward countries. For instance, on October 10, an explosion at the Accurate Energetic Systems (AES) munitions plant in Bucksnort, Tennessee, in the US resulted in the deaths of 16 workers. On October 14, a fire erupted at a garment factory in the Mirpur area of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, where 16 workers burned to death.

These deaths, caused by cutting safety measures in the pursuit of profit, are not simply industrial accidentsthey are murders produced by capitalism.

The Socialist Equality Party urges workers to build workers action committees in every factory, estate and other workplace which can take action to save their lives as well as fight for their jobs and wages.

Such committees must halt production under unsafe conditions, demand the full disclosure of all safety data, and bring to justice those responsible for deaths and injuries.

It is essential to establish the international solidarity of the working class in this struggle. The International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees is fighting to mobilise workers internationally in the struggle against capitalism and for international socialism.
Food distribution queue outside the Abundant Grace Christian Center in San Diego, California.

The cutting of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for 42 million people in the United States has propelled vast sections of the working class into desperation, as millions struggle to feed themselves and their children. The ongoing government shutdown is being exploited by the Trump administration to eviscerate what remains of the tattered social safety net in the United States.

On Friday night, the Supreme Court allowed Trump to continue withholding $4 billion in food aid, expressing the ruling classs deep hostility and disdain toward the masses. After more than a week of cuts, food banks across the country are reeling as they struggle to meet the growing hunger of the population.

In Southern Californias San Diego County, food banks have reported a spike in demand over the past week following the cutoff of federal SNAP (CalFresh) benefits. The county is home to more than 400,000 recipients, whose assistance was abruptly halted at the start of the month.

At a single drive-through event, the nonprofit Feeding San Diego distributed more than 60,000 pounds of foodenough for over 50,000 meals. Staff said turnout was among the largest since the pandemic. Such scenes have become increasingly common across the county, reflecting the devastating impact of the war being waged on the living standards of the working class.

WSWS reporters spoke with several people waiting in line for food assistance at distribution sites across San Diego. Among them was Ricky, a freelance videographer, who arrived with his partner at the Abundant Grace Christian Center. Although both work full time, they are still forced to rely on food assistance.

Ricky said that while their refrigerator was not yet empty, they were trying to get ahead of the massive lines they expect in the coming weeks. Were trying to stock up before things get worse. In a few weeks, these lines will be three times as long. He added that SNAP officials told him to simply reapply after his benefits expired, but noted, theres no guarantee therell even be any funds left.

He denounced the governments priorities: How do you take away SNAP and health benefits, then send billions overseas for wars like in Ukraine? That doesnt help all the people out here on the streets. Its ridiculous. Ricky warned that continued benefit cuts would drive up desperation and crime. If they dont bring the benefits back, the streets are going to be way worse.

He concluded by saying that working people are being left to fend for themselves while the wealthy live comfortably in utter indifference. We should all get free food, he said, scoffing at the idea that basic social rights like free food and healthcare are considered radical or insane.

San Diego residents queue for food outside the Abundant Grace Christian Center in San Diego, California.

Another food recipient, a father who had just picked up food with his wife and two infants, spoke to the WSWS about how the SNAP cuts had affected his family. Despite both he and his wife working six days a week, and despite it being the start of the month, he said they had already run out of food. Its kind of disappointing, he said with clear frustration, adding that while he and his wife can manage, our main concern is making sure our children dont go hungry.

He explained that SNAP assistance had been essential for feeding their kids. We care more about them than we care about ourselves, he said. We could always figure things out, but they depend on us. Im more upset about it for my kids than anything.

The food crisis in San Diego is part of a broader social catastrophe gripping the United States. Alongside the slashing of food assistance for 42 million people, skyrocketing living costsespecially in regions with the highest housing pricesare driving growing numbers of families into homelessness. The situation has become so dire that school districts are now intervening to find temporary shelter for their rising populations of homeless students.

The San Diego Unified School District, the second largest in California, has approved the opening of a temporary safe parking lot at the now-closed Central Elementary School. Homeless families of district students will be allowed to sleep in their cars overnight at the site. Although planning for such programs dates back years, this one is scheduled to operate for only a year, after which the property will be converted into affordable housing for district employees.

Nearly 20,000 students in San Diego County are homeless, up from about 18,000 last year. In the San Diego Unified School District alone, some 8,000 students have experienced homelessness. Even these figures are a vast undercount. Statewide, the official homeless population in California stands at roughly 187,000 people.

San Diegoone of the most expensive cities in the countryhas long faced a deepening housing crisis. A recent report by United Ways of California found that about 307,000 households in the county, or 31 percent, struggle to meet basic living costs. While the federal poverty line for the area is set at $30,900 a year, the studys Real Cost Measure estimates that a family of four must earn $116,000 annually to cover essentials such as housing, food and childcare. This figure exceeds the countys median household income of $108,000, forcing many families to take on multiple jobs just to survive. Unemployment in San Diego has also risen to its highest level since 2021.

The social crisis in San Diego is not an isolated event, but part of a broader assault on the working class across California, the United States and the world. The fascist Trump administrations Big Beautiful Bill represents one of the greatest attacks on living standards in modern history. The legislation cuts more than $1 trillion from Medicaid and SNAP while handing $3 trillion in tax breaks to the corporate and financial elite.

It has stripped nearly 12 million low-income and disabled workers of medical coverage and 11 million peopleincluding 4 million childrenof food assistance, while diverting an additional $300 billion to the military and domestic repression. This brutal redistribution of wealth from the working class to the rich has intensified hunger and homelessness nationwide.

This austerity program is bound up with the massive military buildup in preparation for a new world war and the advanced plans for establishing a presidential dictatorship in the United States. The fascist Trump administration is preparing a military invasion of Venezuela, continuing the genocide against the people of Gaza and engaging in nuclear brinkmanship at levels not seen in decades. At home, the White House is deploying the military for law enforcement operations in American cities, shredding basic democratic rights and wielding starvation as a political weapon against the working class.

The Democratic Party is fully complicit in this social catastrophe. Even as the federal government slashes over one trillion dollars in social spending, the Democrat-controlled California legislature has voted to cut billions more from healthcare and other social programs. The 202526 fiscal year has also seen the elimination of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program, leaving hundreds of thousands of workersparticularly the undocumentedwithout access to healthcare, housing and other necessities.

California, the worlds fourth-largest economy, has a GDP of $4 trillion and nearly 200 billionaires. There is no shortage of wealth to end this crisis. But the Democratic Party, as the political representative of the capitalist oligarchy, is compelled to plunder the working class in an effort to resolve the deepening crisis of American and global capitalism.

The desperation gripping the nation exposes the rot and bankruptcy of the capitalist system. Although enough food is produced globally to feed everyone on earth, the United Nations reports that as of October 2025, some 673 million people live in hunger. This reality makes clear that the global food crisis is not caused by environmental factors or natural disasters, but by the capitalist system and its subordination of all human needs to private profit.

Only the socialist reorganization of society on a world scale can guarantee food, shelter and healthcare for all. What is urgently required is the building of independent organizations of working class struggle, armed with a socialist program for the conquest of political power. The Socialist Equality Party calls for the formation of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) in every workplace, school, and neighborhood to organize resistance to the fascist austerity program of the Trump White House and its Democratic enablers. Only the international working class, independent of all capitalist parties and armed with a scientific socialist perspective, can end the forced starvation and imperialist war produced by the decaying capitalist system.
It was 100 years ago that Dmitri Shostakovich, as a young music student at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, completed his First Symphony. He finished the work in April 1925, and did not turn 19 years old until five months later.

Shostakovich: Symphony No. 1  Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra  Paavo Jarvi

This was a level of precocity almost unmatched in the 20th century. The teen-aged composer even bears some comparison to Franz Schubert and Felix Mendelssohn of a century earlier, and to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart before them. Shostakovichs work, composed as a graduation piece at the Conservatory, is by no means simply a student work. It almost immediately entered the repertory of orchestras, not only in the Soviet Union, but around the world. The young man, shy but unwavering in his determination to devote his life to music, rocketed to fame.

Dmitri Shostakovich in 1925

World-famous German conductor Bruno Walter, who was soon after forced from his homeland when Hitler took power, led the Berlin Philharmonic in Shostakovichs First Symphony in 1927, only a year after its premiere in Leningrad. He was soon followed by Arturo Toscanini and Otto Klemperer. The critical as well as popular verdict on the work was uniformly enthusiastic.

None of the young prodigies mentioned above simply appeared out of the blue. While there are factors unknown to us, and no doubt genetics, associated with such musical precociousness, the intense giftedness was also shaped by the world into which they were born and in which they developed. This is especially true of Shostakovich. He was born one year after the 1905 Revolution in Russia, and marked his 11th birthday in the midst of the epochal events of 1917. The February mass uprising overthrew the Romanov dynasty after three centuries of rule, and the October Revolution, led by the Bolshevik Party eight months later, brought the working class to power. The Revolution emerged victorious after the three-year Civil War, in which it faced the intervention of the combined imperialist forces of the whole world.

The parents of young Dmitri were members of the liberal intelligentsia. By no means revolutionaries themselves, they nevertheless traveled in radical circles. An aunt and an uncle were Bolsheviks. Shostakovichs mother was a pianist who strongly encouraged her sons musical gifts. Dmitri, usually far more interested in music than in politics, was nonetheless inevitably exposed to the world-changing events around him. He attended the mass funeral for the victims of the February Revolution in April 1917 at the Field of Mars. You Fell Victim to a Fateful Struggle, the Russian revolutionary folk song sung on that occasion as well as on many others, was incorporated by the composer in several of his later compositions, notably his Symphony No. 11, The Year 1905.

Alexander Glazunov

Shostakovichs gifts were recognized early on by his parents. He entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1919, when he was only 13 years old. The renowned institution had been founded back in 1862 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, the composer of Scheherazade and other well-known works. Rimsky, who died in 1908, was succeeded by another famous name in Russian music, Alexander Glazunov. This prolific composer now shifted his attention to administration and the training of a young generation. Glazunov was among those musical figures who proved loyal to the new workers state.

The year 1919 was the height of the Civil War, when the Revolution was most threatened. Conditions at the Conservatory were severely affected by the famine and economic collapse facing revolutionary Russia. There was no heat, and also no reliable transportation system. The students walked to school, in Shostakovichs case several miles each day during the severe Russian winter. They attended classes clad in hats and overcoats.

Shostakovich is remembered by contemporaries who were interviewed many decades later as a student of single-minded determination, even as a young teenager. The resolve was accompanied by highly unusual musical gifts. He was an expert sight-reader and a pianist of great skill, based not merely on technique but above all on serious thought and a conception of what he was playing.

The First Symphony, though it was the first of his work to achieve wide acclaim and to be regularly performed, was by no means the first of Shostakovichs serious compositions. His Op. 2 Preludes date from 1919-20. This was followed by Three Fantastic Dances, Op. 5. The young composer began giving concerts in 1923, at the age of 17. A large part of his programs included his own work. In November of that year, for instance, he performed the Appassionata, one of Beethovens most famous classics, along with his own Preludes, Fantastic Dances, and Theme and Variations.

First Symphony (petruccilibrary.us)

One critic wrote:

I shall be so bold as to greet this youth with the same words I greeted the young Heifetz. In Shostakovichs playing one is struck by that same joyously serene confidence of genius. My words relate not only to the exceptional playing of Shostakovich, but to his works as well. What wealth of fantasy and astonishing conviction, confidence in ones own work (especially in the Variations)at just seventeen years old!

Shostakovichs coming of age musically occurred during the early years of the Revolution, which had an enormous impact on culture as well as politics, education and every other sphere of social life. This was the time of the Constructivism of Rodchenko and Tatlin, the Suprematism of Malevich, the Futurism of Mayakovsky and the avant-garde theater of Meyerhold.

Mikhail Druskin, a pianist and musicologist who knew Shostakovich very well in the early 1920s, was quoted on this subject almost 70 years later, in Elizabeth Wilsons valuable Shostakovich: A Life Remembered (1994):

The fresh wind of the Revolution revitalized the whole pattern of life, thrown up as it was on the open spaces of the streets and squares. Youth, driven by the force of its tempestuous gusts, avidly reached out for all that was new and futuristic; often their ideas were idealized and illusory, and did not relate to reality. For only a few creators of spiritual values knew how to listen to the true voice of history, the Noise of Time, to use Alexander Bloks expression. One way or another the times held sway over people, and left their imprint on them, the impressionable Shostakovich included. His future as an artist was conditioned and formed by those years. Shostakovich had many diverse and significant sides to him, comparable to the multifarious levels of artistic and cultural life of the time.

Leon Trotsky

Leon Trotsky lucidly summed up the general situation of culture in these first years in The Revolution Betrayed:

While the dictatorship [of the proletariat] had a seething mass-basis and a prospect of world revolution, it had no fear of experiments, searchings, the struggle of schools, for it understood that only in this way could a new cultural epoch be prepared. The popular masses were still quivering in every fiber, and were thinking aloud for the first time in a thousand years. All the best youthful forces of art were touched to the quick.

During this busy period, the young Shostakovich was active in a circle of student composers. They met regularly to discuss the works of Stravinsky, Schoenberg, Hindemith and others, including Les Six, the group of French composers whose most prominent figures were Darius Milhaud and Francis Poulenc, and who advocated an openness to new forms of musical expression, including jazz. Shostakovich brought his own compositions to this group, where contemporary work was debated.

There was also the direct attempt to bring culture to the working class. Shostakovich joined with a violinist and a cellist to perform trios for Red Army soldiers, and at local factories. During this period, Shostakovich also met Mikhail Tukhachevsky, a young civil war hero who was also a music lover and amateur violinist, and who expressed enthusiastic admiration for the young musician. Tukhachevsky later became a leader of the Red Army, before perishing in the Stalinist purges of 1937.

During this period, Shostakovich lost his father after a short illness. For a period of time he was obliged, in order to support the family, to perform as a cinema pianist, work he found tedious and often distasteful, accompanying silent films which were usually of low artistic quality. He also came down with tuberculosis of the lymphatic system, less deadly than the usual form of the disease but nonetheless serious. Glazunov, well aware of Shostakovichs importance even though as part of the older generation he had some difficulty relating to his pupils music, directly appealed to Anatoly Lunacharsky, then the Commissar of Culture, to have the young man sent for rest and medical treatment to the Crimea. The death of such a person would be an irreplaceable loss for the world of art, he wrote. A stay of several months was arranged.

The First Symphony was conceived in 1923, during this period of whirlwind activity and the give-and-take of young musicians. It was written the following year, mostly between December 1924 and April 1925.

Nicolai Malko

Shostakovichs youthful symphony announces a new musical presence, a distinctive one, not simply derivative of 19th or early 20th century composers such as Tchaikovsky or Mahler. As Nicolai Malko, the Soviet conductor, later recalled, describing Shostakovichs performance of the work for him on the piano,

I was amazed both by the symphony and by his playing it was extremely noticeable that this symphony did not have the academic stamp that usually characterizes the beginning composer It was immediately clear that this First Symphony by Shostakovich was the vibrant, individual, and striking work of a composer with an original approach. The style of the symphony was unusual; the orchestration sometimes suggested chamber music in its sound and its instrumental economy

To the extent there is any forerunner in terms of the mood of the work, it might be his fellow Russian Sergei Prokofiev, 15 years older than Shostakovich and already well known.

The impression left by Shostakovichs First Symphony is a modern one, very much of the 20th century. Especially in its opening and concluding movements, it exhibits a nervous energy, with a series of contrasting episodes which seem to express the great contradictions and struggles of the period.

The youthful composer here already stakes his claim to greatness, and employs some of the same techniques for which he would become well known. The composer of the later symphonies, especially the 5th, 7th and 8th, with their well-known tragic and heroic associations, is anticipated in the dynamic range and unexpected shifts in tempo of the first movement, the humor of the somewhat sardonic scherzo, the stillness and somber quality of the slow movement and the drama of the finale.

The prominent use of the piano stands out. This instrument, on which Shostakovich excelled as a soloist, had been used in orchestral music, of course, but only in concerto form. The piano as a solo instrument contrasting with the orchestra was featured in some of the most famous works of such 19th century masters as Beethoven (his Emperor Concerto, among others) and Brahms. It was never used by Beethoven or Brahms as part of the orchestra, however, nor by any other major composer before the 20th century. Its use here, with particular prominence in the 2nd and 4th movements, underscores the percussive energy characteristic of the work as a whole.

Johannes Brahms

The opening minutes of the symphony set the overall tone: nervous energy, unexpected shifts of tempo and melodic direction, a quirkiness that returns, especially in the finale. This is followed by the scherzo second movement, a brisk and energetic interlude, characterized by wittiness and also a somewhat mocking tone, of the type that Shostakovich would be identified with for most of his career. The piano is important and conspicuous throughout, with several solo sections.

The Lento slow movement is another contrast, music of a somber quality, the music leading to a long and impassioned solo violin climax. The finale, which follows the slow movement without pause, returns to the impetuous and unexpected qualities of the first movement. After developing themes related to those heard at the beginning of the work, a famous passage for solo kettledrum is introduced by a brass fanfare, about three minutes from the conclusion. The music races to a thrilling and dramatic finish, characterized by a march-like brass fanfare and cymbals in the closing measures.

Following the premiere of his symphony, many of the leading lights of the music world wanted to find out more about the young composer. Shostakovich had a chance to meet some of the most well-known cultural figures of the day, among them the European composers Franz Schreker, Darius Milhaud, Artur Honegger and Alban Berg.

Milhaud, the composer of Le Boeuf sur la Toit and Scaramouche, later wrote: Despite its rather conventional form and construction [the Symphony] betrayed genuine gifts and even had certain qualities of greatness, if it is to be remembered that its composer, Shostakovich, was only eighteen at the time . . .

Berg, the leading pupil of Arnold Schoenberg and the composer of Wozzeck, the atonal opera that premiered in the same year that Shostakovich completed his symphony, wrote to Shostakovich after hearing a performance of the symphony in Vienna a few years later: It was a great joy for me to get to know your symphony. I find it quite marvelous, especially the first movement.

Inside the USSR, in addition to additional orchestral and symphonic efforts, Shostakovich collaborated with theater director Vsevolod Meyerhold and poet Vladimir Mayakovsky in 1929, supplying an original score for a production of Mayakovskys satirical play The Bedbug.

Kurt Weill in 1932

The First Symphony was part of a musical ferment that characterized the 1920s. Classical composers made use of jazz idioms and popular and folk elements without dumbing down their compositions. This was the period of George Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris, Kurt Weills Threepenny Opera and Mahagonny and much more.

There was also the Viennese musical giant Schoenberg and his Second Viennese School. While Schoenberg declared war on tonality in favor of his twelve-tone system, a lively debate persisted between rival solutions to the question: whither music for the 20th century.

This was the atmosphere in which Shostakovich was launched on his five-decade career. He was to become a composer who moved millions, and in the sheer consistency and length of his career he towered over his contemporaries.

He was a genius whose emergence coincided with the heroic early years of the Russian Revolutionmore accurately, the very end of that heroic period. This was a period of the flowering of the avant-garde, in close proximity to the struggle for revolutionary social transformation. Many artists and a section of the intelligentsia were won to the cause of the working class.

Four geniusesShostakovich, Meyerhold, Mayakovsky, Rodchenko

And yet, Shostakovich was destined to live the bulk of his life, the last 45 years, in the shadow of the monstrous degeneration of the revolution that had aroused the hopes of masses of workers and the oppressed on every continent. This degeneration, which saw the decimation of a generation of revolutionary fighters, also threatened composers like Shostakovich, Prokofiev and others with repression.

This became especially threatening in 1936, as the Stalinist Great Terror began, and also in 1948, when Shostakovich and others were denounced and threatened with ostracism or worse by the bureaucratic ignoramuses for the crime of formalism. Although the situation eased greatly after Stalins death in 1953 and the de-Stalinization that followed, the climate of fear and bureaucratic control persisted until the composers death. Apart from whether he fully understood this historical processand it is clear that he did notShostakovich became a symbol of persistence and survival, of the sacrifices of the Soviet people and of what remained of the revolutionary conquests of the past, in the face of Stalinist despotism.

The composer found a way, in his grand compositions, in the 5th, 7th and 8th symphonies, and later the 11th, 12th and especially the 13th (Babi Yar), to evoke the triumph and great tragedies of a whole century. At the same time, he alternated these with lighter works, such as his 6th and 9th symphonies, as well as his film scores. Only very rarely did he oblige the ruling clique with work of which he was not proud.

Shostakovich remained quite active musically in the post-World War II period, and he stands out, along with his close friend Benjamin Britten and not many others, for successfully resisting the dogmas of atonality and serialism during these decades.

He left behind a body of work that is, for quality as well as quantity, without peer for the 20th century. It includes 15 symphonies; 15 string quartets; two piano concertos, two violin concertos and two cello concertos; two piano trios; a piano quintet; two operas; more than two dozen orchestral suites (including his two famous jazz suites and his suite from The Gadfly) and three dozen film scores; and much more besides. Most of his symphonies, concertos and other orchestral music is regularly performed, and his chamber music is widely recorded and often heard.

This year also marks, in addition to 100 years since the beginning of Shostakovichs public career, a half-century since his death, on August 9, 1975. Dozens of books and thousands of pages have been written about the composer during this period.

In the first decades after his passing, a number of critics and musicologists insisted on elevating Shostakovich (degrading would be a more fitting word) into a symbol of anti-communism. These polemicists used the fact of Shostakovichs persecution by the Stalinist regime to equate the Stalinist betrayal of the revolution to the revolution itself. This was simply an extension of the age-old anti-communist canard equating Lenin with Stalin.

In Shostakovichs case, ample use was made of some of the composers own reminiscences, as an old, ailing and disappointed figure, as recounted by Solomon Volkov in his 1979 book, Testimony. This book, combining some interviews with Shostakovich with various anecdotes and gossip, was misleadingly called the memoirs of the composer. The anti-communist view of Shostakovich persists today in the often superficial and ignorant program notes accompanying performances of his work, in which he is depicted simply as the victim of communist tyranny.

The one-sided and fallacious interpretation of Shostakovichs work and legacy has been answered by works which examined his life more objectively. Among them the biographies by Laurel Fay and Elizabeth Wilson stand out. The World Socialist Web Site has also examined Shostakovichs life in some detail, and has written separately about some of his important works, among them the 1st, 5th and 7th Symphonies.

A Shostakovich Casebook, published some 20 years ago, includes a few dozen separate essays, articles and reviews from approximately the first 25 years after the composers death. It serves as an excellent antidote to those who go to sometimes absurd lengths to make the ludicrous and false claim that everything Shostakovich ever wrote was dedicated to the struggle against communism.

British musicologist David Fanning comments,

But if I believe that [Shostakovich] was revolted by many manifestations of Stalinism and post-Stalinism, certainly from the mid-1930s and maybe from some time before that, do I have to equate that with anticommunism? What evidence is there against the possibility that Shostakovich remained wedded to at least some communist ideals, to the point where he could regard many of the things that happened in its name as indeed distortions rather than expressions of it?

And British composer Gerard McBurney, discussing the Fifth Symphony, writes in his essay in A Shostakovich Casebook, No one can or ought to deny the wider engulfing Terror of that time, nor could they ever take away the tears of those who heard the first performances of the Fifth Symphony  However different this work might first appear from most of the pieces Shostakovich wrote before it, it could only have been written by someone who had travelled on the journey that had led to it Shostakovich was, and in some very peculiar senses remained to the end of his life, a child of his time, the Soviet 1920s; and  he took the already intriguing inheritance of that age and made it into something utterly his own.

Shostakovichs First Symphony can be enjoyed on its own merits, but an understanding of the work is deepened when one considers the 50 years of Shostakovichs life that followed. The composer was a very contradictory figure: a man of tremendous reserve who was nevertheless seen as an international symbol, a figure of musical integrity and originality but nevertheless facing the dictates of a parasitic and reactionary bureaucracy. His music cant be fully appreciated apart from the October Revolution, which created the circumstances under which it was composed. It flowed from and is completely bound up with the history of the Soviet Union itself.
QUITO, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Ecuadorian national prison administration agency SNAI confirmed Sunday that another 27 prisoners have died of asphyxiation in a prison riot in a southern coastal province, bringing the total death toll to 31.

The riot broke out in the early hours of the same day at a prison in Machala, the capital of the southern coastal province of El Oro, leaving four prisoners dead and many others, including a police officer, injured, according to initial official reports.

Local media reported that the riot was sparked by the "reorganization" and transfer of inmates to a maximum-security facility.

Machala is one of the most violent cities in the South American country.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared a new 60-day state of emergency on Nov. 5 in five coastal provinces and three municipalities in the central provinces of Cotopaxi and Bolivar to quell "grave internal unrest" fueled by escalating violence from organized crime. 
SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- A South Korean special counsel on Monday indicted former President Yoon Suk-yeol on charges of benefiting the enemy.

A spokesperson of Cho Eun-suk, special counsel leading the investigation into Yoon's insurrection and other charges, told a press briefing that the independent counsel team charged Yoon with a crime of aiding the enemy and abuse of power.

A former defense minister and a former counterintelligence commander were also indicted on the same charges.

The spokesperson noted that Yoon undermined the military interests of South Korea by increasing the risk of armed conflict between the two Koreas with an aim of creating conditions for the martial law declaration.

The ousted leader was apprehended in the presidential office on Jan. 15 and was indicted under detention on Jan. 26 as a suspected ringleader of insurrection.

He was released on March 8 as prosecutors decided not to appeal against the court's release approval, but he was taken into custody again on July 10.

The constitutional court upheld a motion to impeach Yoon on April 4 over his botched martial law bid last December, officially removing him from office. 
NEED TO KNOW

The 137-carat Florentine Diamond has finally been found

The jewel, worn by European royalty for centuries, went missing more than 100 years ago at the end of World War I

The diamond was revealed to be in a bank vault in Canada, and was part of a longstanding family secret

The famous Florentine Diamond  missing for more than a century  has finally been found.

The 137-carat, pear-cut diamond with a signature yellow hue was worn by European royalty for centuries, but had not been seen since around 1918. Now, it has been located in a bank vault in Canada, per a special report from The New York Times.

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The diamond is currently owned by descendants of the Austro-Hungarian royal family, who have finally come forward to share their family secret and reveal how the jewel made it out of Europe.

The stones last known owners were Charles I, the last emperor of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and his wife, Empress Zita. The pair fled Austria with their children at the end of World War I, and it was widely believed that the jewel was lost. Charles I died in 1922, and Zita and the rest of the family eventually relocated to Canada to evade the Nazis during World War II.

Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Glass replica of the Florentine Diamond Glass replica of the Florentine Diamond

There have been numerous theories about what happened to the diamond, including one that hypothesized that the displaced royal family sold the stone to an unknown buyer for much-needed cash. According to another, the diamond was gifted to a family servant, who then took it to South America, per The New York Times.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

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However, the couples grandson, Karl von Habsburg-Lothringen, told the outlet that his grandmother traveled with the diamond, as well as several other prized jewels, in a cardboard suitcase through their various moves. He said he assumes that she placed the treasures in the Canadian bank upon arriving in Canada, adding, And in that bank safe, it just stayed."

Von Habsburg-Lothringen said that Zita, who died in 1989, only told two other people about the whereabouts of the diamond  her sons Robert and Rodolphe  and she requested that they keep the location of the stone a secret for 100 years after the death of her husband.

The less people know about it, the bigger the security, von Habsburg-Lothringen explained.

Hulton Archive/Getty Empress Zita and Emperor Charles I circa 1916 Empress Zita and Emperor Charles I circa 1916

Austrias former imperial court jeweler, Christoph Kochert, has since examined the diamond and confirmed its authenticity.

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Its cut pattern corresponds almost exactly to representations in historical sources, he said in a statement to The New York Times. All of this gives me certainty that this is the genuine, historical Florentine Diamond.

As for what Charles and Zitas grandchildren  who now live in Europe  plan to do with the diamond now?

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

They say they would like to display the stone and the other previously hidden jewels in an exhibition in Canada in order to thank the country for providing a safe haven for their family during difficult times.

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It should be part of a trust here in Canada. It should be on exhibition in Canada sometimes, so that people can actually see those pieces, von Habsburg-Lothringen said.



Read the original article on People
Warning: The following post contains discussions of suicide.

Caroline Flack was just 40 years old when she died in February 2020. Two months before her death, she appeared in court after being charged with assault following an incident with her boyfriend, Lewis Burton.

In the new docuseries Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth, Flacks mother investigates the truth about her daughters final months, uncovering new details and examining pressures that shaped Carolines last days. Scroll down for everything we know about the late Love Island UK hosts death and the weeks that led up to it.

How did Caroline Flack die?

Flack died by suicide, coroner Mary Hassell confirmed in August 2020. It was ruled that she died from hanging.

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During a two-day inquest, Hassell revealed that the public scrutiny stemming from Flacks pending trial for the assault charge attributed to her death. Although Flack pleaded not guilty to the charge against her, she learned she was going to be prosecuted and took her own life ahead of the planned March 4, 2020, trial.

I find the reason for her taking her life was she now knew she was being prosecuted for certainty, and she knew she would face the media, press, publicity  it would all come down upon her, Hassell said. She also added, Her trauma was played out in the national press and that was incredibly distressing for her.

What happened to Caroline Flack?

Flack was charged with assault in December 2019. In Search for the Truth, it was revealed that her altercation with Burton took place after she confronted him about a message he received from a woman on his phone. Burton suffered a minor head injury after Flack hit him with a phone during the confrontation.

Burton called the police as the situation escalated. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) initially did not plan to press charges, noting that the injured party does not support the allegation. However, the Metropolitan Police appealed the decision and said it was in the public interest to charge Flack with assault.

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At the August 2020 inquest, Flacks mother told the court that her daughter was seriously let down by the authorities and in particular the CPS for pursuing the case. She also claimed that Flacks position as a public figure was the reason she was charged, telling authorities, No real evidence was put forward. If it was an ordinary person, you wouldnt have been bothered. You should be disgusted with yourself. That girl killed herself because you put an appeal through.

Burton told the court that the last time he saw Flack she was not in a good place, noting that the media were constantly bashing her character and writing hurtful stories about her.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or dial 988. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

Caroline Flack: Search for the Truth, Streaming Now, Hulu

Read the latest entertainment news on TV Insider.
Weve said it before and well say it again: Vogue Germany isnt the magazine it once was. Time and time again, the magazine disappoints. Not even covers starring the likes of Bill Kaulitz, Tilda Swinton, Emilia Schule, Emma Corrin, Paloma Elsesser, and Chloe Sevigny have managed to impress over recent months. Kerstin Weng, who has served as head of editorial content since 2021, now welcomes Dakota Johnson onto the cover of Vogue Germany, who fronts the November 2025 edition of the magazine. Fresh from the cover of ELLE Brazil, the newly minted Valentino brand ambassador appears before the lens of Gregory Harris. Styled by Jorden Bickham, the American actress wears pieces from TWP Clothing and Brioni in the cover shot.

Dakota Johnson for Vogue Germany November 2025

IMAGE | VOGUE.DE

Read below the reactions of theFashionSpots forum members:

Cover looks as bland as her, remarked thiago upon checking out the cover.

Terribly boring. Vogue Germany could stop existing, and no one would notice, Avonlea stated.

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Dreadful, and bland beyond belief. Im dumbfounded as to how anyone would visit a newsstand and feel compelled to pick up a copy of such a depressing and sad-looking cover. The styling, the photography, the art direction. all just so bland, voiced vogue28.

Yet not everyone was so disappointed. A little boring, but she looks beautiful, reasoned justaguy.

Absolutely gorgeous. I love Dakota, I love what she represents in Hollywood as a storied legacy of film actresses. The cover is very now, with the menswear dominance that has taken over womenswear, forum member jeremydante commented.

I love her, so its a yes for me, chimed in fauxfashion.

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See more of Dakota Johnson from the Vogue Germany November 2025 cover shoot and click here to join the conversation.

The post Youll Either Love or Loathe Dakota Johnson as Vogue Germanys November 2025 Cover Star appeared first on theFashionSpot.
Former Full House star Lori Loughlin is getting plenty of support from friends amid her split from husband Mossimo Giannulli  but her Varsity Blues scandal sister Felicity Huffman is rolling her eyes over the sitcom sweeties brokenhearted bellyaching, sources say.

Lori and Felicity were never close friends, an insider shares. On the acting totem pole, Felicity still sees herself as several notches above Lori.

The When Calls the Heart heroine, 61, and designer Mossimo, 62, who got hitched in 1997, have not filed for divorce  but a rep for the ex-jailbirds says the couple is living apart and taking a break from their marriage, per People.

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As National Enquirer readers know, the parents of Isabella Rose and Olivia Jade did time after pleading guilty to criminal charges related to the Varsity Blues college admissions investigation.

Prosecutors say the deep-pocketed duo paid over $500,000 in bribes to have their two kids falsely designated as rowing recruits for the University of Southern Californias crew team to have the girls admitted to the academically competitive school.

Lori was sprung from the slammer in December 2020 after nearly two months in federal prison, while Mossimo served almost five months before his April 2021 release.

Meanwhile, Desperate Housewives mom Felicity, 62, did 11 days behind bars in 2020 after her guilty plea for paying a $15,000 bribe for a proctor to correct wrong answers and falsify the results on her daughter Sophia Macys SAT exam.

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Lori and Felicity overlapped in this case accidentally, almost coincidentally, the insider explains. They and their teams did get to know each other better after the cheating scandal story broke, and the cultures did not click. But this situation has bound them together forever in the worst possible way. Its incredibly awkward.

Felicity bounced back with a role on the Fox medical drama Doc, while Lori eventually landed a part on the Amazon series On Call.

The source adds, Felicity is more firmly in the center of show business and can work a room the way Lori cant. Thats why Felicity is back on network TV, making a great salary. She knows how to work the system and Lori never has.

Read More From National Enquirer

This story Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman Were Never Close Friends Despite Varsity Blues Scandal Involvement first appeared on National Enquirer. Add National Enquirer as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Dont mess with (a potential) Miss Universe. Organizers of this years contest has removed Nawat Itsaragrisil and imposed several other sanctions against him. The pageant executive berated Mexican contestant Fatima Bosch during an official livestream. A number of other Miss Universe contestants walked out of the room after his comments.

Nawat Itsaragrisil had a heated exchange with Miss Mexico, Fatima Bosch

The president of the Miss Universe pageant has announced that Nawat Itsaragrisil has been dismissed from this years competition. In a social media video, Raul Rocha said (in Spanish) that the contests officials have taken several steps against the executive.

In a clip posted to the pageants official Instagram page, he said: I have restricted Nawats participation in the events that are part of the 74th Miss Universe competition, limiting it as much as possible or eliminating it entirely, per People.

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He added that he wished to express his great indignation towards Nawat for the public aggression he committed against Fatima Bosch  whom he humiliated, insulted, and showed lack of respect to.

He concluded: I will not allow the values of respect and dignity towards women to be violated. Nawat, you need to stop.

The confrontation happened on a Facebook livestream. Itsaragrisil chastised Miss Mexico for allegedly refusing to take part in a photo shoot, which she denied. He ultimately referred to her as a dumbhead.

Itsaragrisil has since apologized for his comments. He said during a press conference on November 5: I am human. I didnt want to do anything like that.

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The pageant will take place on November 21, and Miss Mexico is reportedly still in the running.

In more wholesome beauty pageant news, Miss World Chile recently went viral for her very unexpected talent performance.

TELL US  HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ACCUSED OF BEING A DUMBHEAD?

The post Miss Universe Executive Dismissed After Drama With Miss Mexico Contender Fatima Bosch appeared first on Reality Tea.
This drone photo taken on Nov. 9, 2025 shows a farmer picking up coffee beans at a coffee plantation in Champasak Province, Laos. Champasak Province is the main coffee-producing area of Laos. Boasting suitable climatic conditions and fertile volcanic soil, the area provides exceptional advantages for the growth of coffee trees. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)

Farmers pick up coffee beans at a coffee plantation in Champasak Province, Laos, Nov. 9, 2025. Champasak Province is the main coffee-producing area of Laos. Boasting suitable climatic conditions and fertile volcanic soil, the area provides exceptional advantages for the growth of coffee trees. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)

This aerial drone photo taken on Nov. 9, 2025 shows a coffee plantation in Champasak Province, Laos. Champasak Province is the main coffee-producing area of Laos. Boasting suitable climatic conditions and fertile volcanic soil, the area provides exceptional advantages for the growth of coffee trees. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)

A farmer picks up coffee beans at a coffee plantation in Champasak Province, Laos, Nov. 9, 2025. Champasak Province is the main coffee-producing area of Laos. Boasting suitable climatic conditions and fertile volcanic soil, the area provides exceptional advantages for the growth of coffee trees. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)

A farmer demonstrates newly-picked coffee beans at a coffee plantation in Champasak Province, Laos, Nov. 9, 2025. Champasak Province is the main coffee-producing area of Laos. Boasting suitable climatic conditions and fertile volcanic soil, the area provides exceptional advantages for the growth of coffee trees. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)

This photo taken on Nov. 9, 2025 shows coffee beans at a coffee plantation in Champasak Province, Laos. Champasak Province is the main coffee-producing area of Laos. Boasting suitable climatic conditions and fertile volcanic soil, the area provides exceptional advantages for the growth of coffee trees. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)

A farmer picks up coffee beans at a coffee plantation in Champasak Province, Laos, Nov. 9, 2025. Champasak Province is the main coffee-producing area of Laos. Boasting suitable climatic conditions and fertile volcanic soil, the area provides exceptional advantages for the growth of coffee trees. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)
A popular rapper is in custody as part of an investigation into the murder of a a Tawainese influencer.

The BBC reported that Malaysian rapper Namewee 42, was the last person seen with 31-year-old Iris Hsieh, who was found dead in a Kuala Lumpur hotel bathtub two weeks ago.

Namewee, real name Wee Meng Chee, is in custody to assist in the investigation, according to the BBC.

He has denied drug allegations despite testing positive for amphetamines, methamphetamine, ketamine, and THC.

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The rapper, often in his trademark beanie and in sunglasses, is known for his satirical and profanity-laced music. He has 3.6 million subscribers on YouTube and 856,000 followers on Instagram and is extremely popular in Taiwan and China.

Namewee has posted a clip to Instagram saying he had arrived at the police station and would fully co-operate with the police to provide answers to the public and the bereaved family.

I wont run away, he said.

Read the original article on mlive.com.
The Gist

Sisters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are said to be absolutely devastated by the continued fallout surrounding their parents, the former Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.

Amid the brouhaha, Beatrice flew to Saudi Arabia and kept a standing commitment to host a tea party at the Future Investment Initiative.

No one would have blamed her if she had pulled out of this high-profile event, a source told The Daily Mail.

Along with sharing an emotional hug with her younger sister Princess Eugenie late last week in London, Princess Beatrice jetted off to Saudi Arabia recently, where she hosted a tea party for wealthy dignitaries amid the scandal surrounding her parents, the former Prince Andrew (now Andrew Mountbatten Windsor) and Sarah Ferguson.

Getty Princess Beatrice on October 13, 2025 Princess Beatrice on October 13, 2025

In the past month, both Andrew and Fergusons Duke and Duchess of York titles, respectively, have been stripped, as has Andrews princely titles and all other royal titles and privileges. The former couple, who divorced in 1996, cohabitated together at the 30-room mansion Royal Lodge, and both are moving out and into their own respective new homes, with Andrew headed for a home on the Sandringham estate. Amid all the brouhaha, Beatrice and Eugenie will retain their princess titles and their Her Royal Highness stylings.

Getty Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie on September 14, 2023 Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie on September 14, 2023

Neither Beatrice nor Eugenie is a working royal; Beatrice, for her part, is a vice president at the U.S. software company Afiniti. Beatrice was in Saudi Arabia at the Future Investment Initiative, according to The Daily Mail, touching down in Riyadh and hosting the aforementioned tea party at the five-star Ritz-Carlton in the city. In photos obtained by the outlet, Beatrice wore a long black dress, matching pumps, and a black bow in her hair as she led the event for women business leaders.

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In Saudi Arabia, Beatrice was treated very much as a VIP by those in attendance, with many attendees reportedly curious whether Beatrice would even show up for the Riyadh event, given the tumultuous events occurring back home. Despite both Beatrice and Eugenie being absolutely devastated by the latest scandal surrounding their parents and their association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Beatrice kept her commitment.

Getty Princess Beatrice on May 15, 2025 Princess Beatrice on May 15, 2025

It cant have been easy fronting the tea party, a conference attendee told The Daily Mail. No one would have blamed her if she had pulled out of this high-profile event, but she was determined to grit her teeth and carry on with the show, and I think people respected that.

Ferguson previously said of her daughters that they are out there doing the work. Eugenie does a lot with The Anti-Slavery Collective, Beatrice does an enormous amount in technology and with dyslexia and really believes in humanity in the workplace, with compassion.

Getty Princess Beatrice, Sarah Ferguson, and Princess Eugenie on April 23, 2025 Princess Beatrice, Sarah Ferguson, and Princess Eugenie on April 23, 2025

Getty Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Beatrice at Borne's Wonderland Gala on March 6, 2025 Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Princess Beatrice at Borne's Wonderland Gala on March 6, 2025

Beatrice was also granted a new royal role even after Andrews scandal broke in the past few weeksshe and her uncle Prince Edward will serve as Deputy Patron and Lead Patron, respectively, of Outward Bound, a charity that encourages children to grow through exposure to nature and one that was fiercely supported by Beatrices grandfather (and Edwards father) Prince Philip during his long life.

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With the Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Beatrice working alongside us, were embarking on a new chapter, Martin Davidson, Chief Executive of Outward Bound, said in a statement (per People). One where every young person has the chance to test their limits, build confidence, and discover that anything is possible. Their support reflects a shared belief that adventure changes lives.

Read the original article on InStyle
NEED TO KNOW

Rachel Zoe opened up to PEOPLE about how shes moving forward amid her divorce from husband Rodger Berman

Zoe, who previously starred on Bravos The Rachel Zoe Project, is returning to reality TV this fall with The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

The former stylist reflected on how her life has changed since the first show ended 12 years ago

Rachel Zoe is trying to keep things positive.

The fashion stylist-turned-reality star opened up to PEOPLE exclusively at the Baby2Baby Gala on Saturday, Nov. 8, about joining the cast of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills 12 years after the end of her first Bravo series The Rachel Zoe Project.

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I loved being an ensemble, Zoe, 54, said about the difference between the two shows. It was really nice to it not just be on me and about me and always me. And I'm so much more interested in other people's lives than I am my own, so that was really nice to kind of be with the other women all the time.

She added, And listen, we're all going through stuff, so I think it's nice that we kind of had each other to do that with.

Stefanie Keenan/Getty Rachel Zoe at the Baby2Baby Gala on Nov. 8 Rachel Zoe at the Baby2Baby Gala on Nov. 8

But the things Zoe is dealing with now are quite different than what was going through when she first started filming The Rachel Zoe Project, which premiered in 2008.

I have full-blown children now and obviously I'm getting divorced, so that's a whole 'nother thing, she said. Zoe filed for divorce from husband Rodger Berman in July, after 26 years of marriage. They share sons Skyler, 14 and Kaius, 10.

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Life is life-ing really hard on all sides right now, so I just have a lot, she said.

As for how she keeps her mind in a more positive space, she said, I compartmentalize what I can't process in the moment and I move. She said its a juggle to balance my mom life, my work life and my personal life and my brand life.

And I have to stay positive because if I break, everything breaks. So there's no breaking, she said.

Michael Kovac/Getty Rachel Zoe (left) and Rodger Berman in 2023 Rachel Zoe (left) and Rodger Berman in 2023

The Rachel Zoe Project ended when Sky was 1 and I was about to give birth to Kaius, she remembered. And then this one started when Sky was graduating middle school. So it's actually really wild. It's like this giant circle that happened.

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As for what fans will see of Zoe on when RHOBH returns this December, she joked, I'd have to kill you if I tell you, but I can't tell you anything. Still, she added, We had fun. I think it'll be interesting.

Zoe and Berman announced their separation in Septmeber 2024. The pair first became a couple in 1991 and tied the knot on Feb. 15, 1998. They met at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

A few weeks after the announcement, Zoe opened up to PEOPLE about how she was feeling on the red carpet at an event for the Goldie Hawn Foundation.

"I'm doing things that make me feel good  like tonight  and being with my incredible support system of girlfriends and friends, honestly, and just working hard, mom-ing hard and going out and being with people I love who just make me feel really good," she said. "I wake up with my heart full every day so that's all I can ask for, right?"



Read the original article on People
Scott Steiner has spoken glowingly about fellow WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash, revealing how his connection with him began even before wrestling.

Steiner and Nash's paths have crossed a few times over the course of their legendary careers, which include wrestling together in both WCW and TNA. However, Steiner recently recalled in his appearance at "Geek'd Con" that he and Nash became friends in the '80s, after a chance meeting at a gym in Atlanta. He said that their friendship grew because they were both from Michigan.

"I know Kevin for a long time. I knew Kevin before I even got into wrestling," said Steiner. "We used to work out in the same gym in Atlanta, Georgia, when I was wrestling for NWA at that time. Of course, he's from Michigan too. You always got that kind of bond. Usually people from that same area usually has the same kind of thoughts because we grew up the same way. He's a good guy, man. Still friends with him to this day. I talk to him, you know, quite a bit."

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Nash and Steiner's off-screen friendship eventually made its way on-screen, as the two were part of the nWo in WCW, though they often feuded with each other in the promotion as well, both in singles and tag team matches. Over a decade later, they reunited on the same side in another promotion, TNA, as members of the Main Event Mafia, a faction that also included other WWE Hall of Famers like Sting, Booker T, and Kurt Angle.

Read more: Celebrities Who Got Into Fights With Wrestlers

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Read the original article on Wrestling Inc.




The Texas Hill Country could soon be in store for exciting celebrity sightings. Clint Orms Engravers & Silversmiths, an award-winning western luxury brand, has expanded into Kerrville's downtown with a new expansive showroom store.

The brand previously had a showroom in Ingram, Texas, about 7 miles northwest of Kerrville, but its new facility will serve as its first flagship store, elevating its retail experience for clients who have supported the storied brand for decades. The 11,000-square-foot flagship will feature a 2,500-square-foot retail showroom and a state-of-the-art production studio/facility where 19 real-live artists will chisel away at handcrafted sterling silver, solid gold belt buckles, money clips, hat adornments and other accessories on century-old equipment while collectors and shoppers alike search for their next piece.

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MySA first learned about Orms' plans for the showroom in 2024.

The beloved artisan is a legendary engraver and silversmith in the western world, with many of his pieces worn by celebrities like Post Malone, Dwight Yokum, Garth Brooks, Tommy Lee Jones, Nolan Ryan, Robert Earl Keen, Lyle Lovett, Ben Crenshaw and even former President George W. Bush, some rappers and even a queen or two.

PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 01: Post Malone acknowledges the audience during the Austin Post Runway Show on September 01, 2025 in Paris, France. Post Malone has worked with Kerrville silversmith and engraver Clint Orms on multiple occasions. (Kristy Sparow/Getty Images)





Who knows? Maybe we'll see Posty stop by the new location ahead of his rumored appearance at the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving show. The musician is known to collect Orms' jewelry-grade belt buckles, earrings, cufflinks, and hat accessories.

Clint Orm's artisan silver and gold work will be featured at a new showroom in Kerrville. (Jason Risner/Courtesy of Clint Orms Engravers & Silversmiths)





The Texas brand was founded in 1992 by Orms, gaining recognition for his hand-engraved sterling silver and gold belt buckles, jewelry and more.

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The new showroom is located at 741 Water Street, Kerrville, TX 78028, just about 10 minutes from another iconic Texas lifestyle brand, James Avery. The charm-bracelet empire was founded in Kerrville and stepped up to the plate this past July, joining a number of other local businesses to donate more than a million dollars to flood relief efforts. It's another Texas staple that the Orms dynasty is happy to be setting up shop near.

"James Avery is one of the best companies in the world," Orms told MySA."They truly are, and it's a real Texas treasure."

Though the two lifestyle brands make very different products - Orms primarily makes elevated belt buckles - the company joins James Avery in wanting to be a part of Kerrville's future.

The engraver told MySA that he's looking forward to the store's grand opening downtown as the city continues to rebuild. When asked if he feels the showroom is a symbol of some of Kerrville's progress, he answered, "We sure want it to be," later emphasizing the brand's commitment to Western values and the resilience of the cowboy culture it represents. That commitment, he added, is grounded in a familiar symbol.

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"No matter where you are in the world, the American cowboy is, really, a hero," said Orms. "It doesn't matter what religion you are, whatever, it's still admired as, you know, a symbol of honor and hard work, integrity, and grit, and doing what you have to do to keep going," he concluded.

A grand opening celebration will be held from November 13 to 15, with both VIP and public events scheduled, including an all-day shopping event on Friday, November 14, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Guests will get a better look at what goes into the Orms signature design process.

Detail shot of celebrity silversmith and engraver Clint Orms' work on western cowgirl hat. The award-winning jeweler recently opened a new showroom in Kerrville, Texas. (Jason Risner/Courtesy of Clint Orms Engravers & Silversmiths)





The award-winning jeweler recently opened a new showroom in Kerrville, Texas. (Jason Risner/Courtesy of Clint Orms Engravers & Silversmiths)





Womens' jewelry line and artisan belt buckle. Clint Orms Engravers & Silversmiths in Kerrville has officially opened a new showroom. (Jason Risner/Courtesy of Clint Orms Engravers & Silversmiths)





"We are thrilled to open our flagship showroom in Kerrville, our home for more than two decades," Orms said in a news release. "This new space allows us to bring customers into the heart of our craft, to see the work, meet the makers, and celebrate the spirit of the American West."

This article originally published at Star-backed jeweler takes on James Avery in small Texas town.
Serbian filmmaker Stefan Djordjevic is prepping his sophomore feature, The Leaves Hang Trembling, a hybrid docufiction that explores the impact of a teachers life and work on the people around her. The project took home the top prize last week at the Crossroads Co-Production Forum in the Thessaloniki Film Festivals industry section, Agora.

As with Djordjevics feature debut, Wind, Talk to Me, which premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival this year before winning the top prize at Sarajevo, The Leaves Hang Trembling is a cinematic ode to the directors late mother, who he describes as the most important person in my life.

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Djordjevics first film  a deeply personal attempt to reckon with his mothers death  earned a rapturous review from Varietys Guy Lodge, who praised the marvelous docufiction for how it worked through grief with wit, grace and imaginationweav[ing] fact, fiction and memory into a heart-bursting tribute to [the directors] late mother.

The Leaves Hang Trembling is a companion piece to that film, broadening its scope beyond the four walls of the Djordjevic family home. Wind, Talk to Me was about how [my mother] inspired my family, the director told Variety. But with The Leaves Hang Trembling, we can also see how she touched others as well.

The film documents the life of Djordjevics mother, Negrica Neca orevic, who in 2002 was hired by a local elementary school, where she worked for more than a decade as a beloved teacher, community leader and president of the teachers union. Fourteen years later, she was summarily dismissed without cause, leaving her devastated emotionally, and with the sense that her faith in community and loyalty [had been] betrayed, according to the director.

In her darkest moment, however, Necas students rallied behind her and rose up in her defense, rekindling her hope and her faith in her community. Using direct quotes from her diaries and letters, as well as contemporaneous audio recordings of the events as they unfolded, The Leaves Hang Trembling will tell the story of an inspirational woman who gave so much of her energy, and also dedication and caring and love to her family, her students and her community.

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Djordjevic said the film explores what it means to care beyond rules, to connect with others in ways that endure, while also urging audiences to feel the courage and compassion of the teacher, to witness the quiet strength of everyday care, and to leave believing in the transformative power of human connection.

The Leaves Hang Trembling is being produced against the backdrop of a broad, student-led protest movement that for the past year has galvanized the Serbian public against President Aleksandar Vucic. It began last November, after the collapse of a railway station canopy in the city of Novi Sad that killed 16 people, sparking outrage over the endemic corruption and the culture of impunity that many Serbians blamed for the disaster.

At this weeks industry award ceremony in Thessaloniki, where The Leaves Hang Trembling won the top prize in the Crossroads Co-Production Forum, producer Dragana Jovovic, of Belgrade-based Non-Aligned Films, whos producing the film in co-production with Vanja Jambrovic of Restart, dedicated the win to Dijana Hrka, the mother of a 27-year-old man, Stefan, who was killed in the Novi Sad tragedy. Earlier this month, Hrka launched a hunger strike in front of Serbias National Assembly, demanding a real investigation into the events at Novi Sad and calling for the liberation of all arrested students during the protest, according to Jovovic.

While Djordjevic said he wants to make a universal film, he also recognizes that the events of The Leaves Hang Trembling and the current political crisis in Serbia are connected. Since last year, many Serbian teachers and university professors have been summarily dismissed for supporting the student protests; in many cases, noted Djordjevic, the students have rallied in their teachers defense.

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Thats why the director sees The Leaves Hang Trembling as not only a testament to his late mother and the lives she touched, but as a part of his countrys collective memory  a history that continues to be written in real time.

The events depicted in the film didnt just happen nine years ago, Djordjevic said. Its still happening, and on a bigger level.

The Thessaloniki Film Festival runs Oct. 30  Nov. 9.

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Without Gordon Lightfoots ballad, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald might have faded into history alongside thousands of other Great Lakes wrecks. He was inspired to write the song after reading the first Newsweek article about the tragedy.

Released in August 1976, less than a year after the tragedy, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald appeared on Lightfoots Summertime Dream album. It hit No. 1 in Canada and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, transforming a regional maritime story into a worldwide memorial.

RELATED: The Mystery of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald: What We Still Dont Know 50 Years Later

'According to a Legend of the Chippewa Tribe'

Lightfoots haunting first verse came almost directly from the Newsweek article that first reported on the disaster. The piece opened:

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According to a legend of the Chippewa tribe, the lake they once called Gitche Gumee "never gives up her dead." Modern-day mariners of Lake Superior know the legend has some basis in fact: the largest and most treacherous of all the Great Lakes, Superior is also the coldest  deadly not only to man but also to the organisms that infest drowned bodies and bring them to the surface. During the gales of November  caused by the cold air of the Arctic meeting the lingering warm autumn weather  the lakes can become especially forbidding.

He lifted that imagery nearly verbatim for his opening lyric  transforming journalism into poetry. The Newsweek story also described how the storm hit Lake Superior  by evening, the ship was rocking through 30-foot waves and fighting hurricane-force winds. Only 15 miles from the relative calm of Whitefish Bay  the Andersons Capt. J.B. Cooper remembers only that he lost sight of the Fitzgeralds running lights  and that "the next thing we knew they were off the radar screen."

RELATED: Country Stars Mourn Death of Giant in the Music Industry John Wesley Ryles

That paragraph alone inspired three of Lightfoots most vivid verses: "the captain wired in he had water comin in," that the ship was 15 more miles from safety, and the chilling speculation that it might have split up or they might have capsized/ They may have broke deep and took water."

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Lightfoot told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he thought the Newsweek article was too short, too brief  a fleeting summary that didnt honor the magnitude of the tragedy. I wasnt forgetting about it, he said. I knew everyone had forgotten about it, but I knew I hadnt.

'The Lake, It Is Said, Never Gives Up Her Dead / When the Skies of November Turn Gloomy'

The opening line borrows directly from that legend. It gives the song a mythic chill rooted in fact: Lake Superiors water temperature hovers around 36F, cold enough that, as divers note, it truly never gives up her dead.

Reaction-video creator Polo Mars said during his first listen, Beautiful storytelling  when hes singing it, you can visualize what hes saying. I feel like Im watching a movie.

RELATED: 70s Folk-Rock Singer Behind Iconic Marijuana Hit Dies at 84

'The Captain Wired In He Had Water Comin In / And the Good Ship and Crew Was in Peril'

Lightfoot, who once called the song "my masterpiece," wove real Coast Guard transmissions into his lyrics, later explaining that he tried to be as accurate as possible. He eventually changed the line a main hatchway caved in after meeting with victims families who objected to the suggestion of crew error. There is a responsibility, he said.

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Bassist Rick Haynes, who played on the original single, told the Associated Press, When you listen to the record 'Edmund Fitzgerald,' its like hes putting you right there, like he was right there. And thats pretty hard to do with a tragedy like that.

The song is unique in that it doesn't have a chorus. It simply tells the story verse after verse like a poem set to music. Mars called the instrumental breaks between the verses almost like a moment of silence" for the lives lost.

RELATED: Folk Legend Clears the Air About Paul Simon Stealing His Song

'Does Anyone Know Where the Love of God Goes / When the Waves Turn the Minutes to Hours?'

Lightfoots most famous lyric turns reportage into prayer, echoing the agony of families waiting on shore. The Fitzgerald was only 15 miles from Whitefish Bay, making that hope-turned-tragedy even crueler.

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For Debbie Gomez-Felder, whose father Oliver Buck Champeau died on the Fitzgerald, the song was initially unbearable. I put it on the record player and I thought, Oh no, this music is eerie, she told the AP. I turned it off."

"But the part that says All that remains are the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters, I thought there wasnt a word he missed, Gomez-Felder said. There wasnt anything he didnt recognize.

RELATED: Bob Dylan Disappointed a Lot of People, Folk Legend Recalls of His Earliest Days

'They Might Have Split Up or They Might Have Capsized  And All That Remains Is the Faces and the Names'

Even now, the precise cause of the sinking remains uncertain. Lightfoots repetition of might have mirrors that mystery, while his closing image immortalizes the grief of the families left behind.

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Does anyone know where the love of God goes

When the waves turn the minutes to hours?

The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay

If they'd put 15 more miles behind her

They might have split up or they might have capsized

They may have broke deep and took water

And all that remains is the faces and the names

Of the wives and the sons and the daughters

Mars said softly after the line ended, That is a really hard verse right there  Powerful. I got chills with that.

'It Was About Other People'

Lightfoot often said his best work wasnt about himself. Artists that do selfless things like that  where they just make songs to memorialize and remember people  I just find that respectable, Mars said in his reaction video.

Lightfoot agreed. Its about something that would be forgotten very shortly thereafter, which is one of the reasons I wrote the song in the first place, he told the Journal Sentinel. He later created a scholarship fund for maritime students at Northwestern Michigan College, adding, It still runs to this day.

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The Bell That Rings for Him Now

When Lightfoot died in 2023, the Mariners Church of Detroit tolled its memorial bell 30 times  once for each of the Fitzgeralds 29 crewmen, and a 30th for the man who made sure they would never be forgotten. The church had been immortalized in his lyric as the Maritime Sailors Cathedral  and now it honors Lightfoot, too.

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His widow Kim Lightfoot told the AP, The Edmund Fitzgerald was always present in Gordons mind  Paintings, models and tributes adorned the walls  If Gordon were with us today, he would have been intent on helping keep the candle of memory lit.

Half a century later, that candle  and that bell  still burn and ring each November. Thanks to Lightfoot, the legend of the Edmund Fitzgerald will never fade beneath the waves.

This story was originally reported by Parade on Nov 10, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Hows Gibbs doing in the Alaskan wilderness? Well, NCIS: Origins is going to give us that answer, with Mark Harmon returning onscreen for the prequels half of the crossover with the mothership airing on Tuesday, November 11.

Last we saw Gibbs, it was in the prequels series premiere, he was still in Alaska, where NCIS left him upon Harmons exit as a series regular in Season 19. Now, the two shows are crossing over, with a case opened in the 90s taking the NIS team to a small town following a death. Then, that case is reopened in the present day after a prison break.

Below, Mark Harmon opens up about returning onscreen as Gibbs, seeing the world of Origins, and more, including if hed appear onscreen again in the future.

In your statement when your appearance was announced, you said that David J. North and Gina Lucita Monreal came to you with an idea for Gibbs you liked. What can you share about those conversations and did you suggest anything that ended up being used?

Mark Harmon: I very rarely suggest things to either one of em. Theyre really talented and I mean, thats kind of why theyve developed this show and thats how it started. Those two were so special during the course of the mothership and my time there. And when they talked about doing what became Origins, I said, those two are the ones you got to go after. So I just trust them. This is their show, and its a different day. But the mothership in the beginning, I think people think that that show just jumped out, it was a hit right off, and it wasnt. It took years to develop that, and it was a different time, different network, all of that. But this is a process, and its been pretty interesting to watch this develop and also have a memory of what it was like 20 years ago when the mothership was started. So for me, other than doing the voiceover, I just trust these two showrunners and what their ideas are. Thats my job to support that. And this is part of their thought of what is right for the show. So thats why Im part of it.

Mark Harmon in 'NCIS'

CBS

David and Gina said that Gibbs is no longer alone. What can you tease about that other person and what that person means to him?

I just think that goes back to the basics of the character. He was pretty unsuccessful in his life being married, had a bunch of ex-wives, and by design from the very first day was kind of a loner. So much of this is his writing into this journal. Theyve depicted that already, that this is a guy that by the rules didnt talk much and was kind of his own individual and how he did things. So for him to be in the middle of wherever he is or wherever he is living or has been for the past number of years, that was his choice. I think he finds a solidarity in that works for him. So it shouldnt be surprising that hes chosen to be that right now versus what he had been doing for so many years.

Talk about filming for this Origins crossover and stepping back into Gibbs shoes.

Oh, thats a comfortable spot, and that has to do with the creative process and who youre working with. And these two were so special as writers and its also why those two developed the Origins footprint on their own. And I certainly backed that their choice to do that. Its comfortable. I mean, the sets are comfortable. Theyre comfortable. I know who they are. You have a big backlog of time together with people and theyre special. Thats what 20 years in the saddle does  it gives you a comfort that is somewhat rare. I dont know that thats on every set Ive ever been on. And it is also important that the crew and all those people are people.

When I spoke with the producers from both shows, they told me that Gibbs learns one of his rules in the crossover, and its what its about. And we all know how important Gibbss rules are to this franchise. What can you say about that and anything about what weve seen about that rule on the mothership with you?

I think he was in the beginning, the whole rules thing was something that was added to. This episode, theres another rule and then there was another rule and the number of rules kept changing. I just think those rules came from his relationships, his wife, thats where that came from. And I think that not only story-wise became something that the audience loved being introduced to, but also seeing how he adapted to those. I just think that he was someone of lesser words than most, and I just think his actions really kind of drove the character versus whatever he said. But part of that came from his wife and her establishing a set of standards that were basically to live by. So I think hes got a discipline with that and thats something that never leaves him.

What can you say about what the case means to the Gibbs (Austin Stowell) back then in the 90s and also to your Gibbs looking back at this case?

I think its all been like a building structure. Theyre pieces that fit together in filling out a character. I dont know that it ever gets completely filled out. I think hes learning at the same time that everybody else is learning. He was developed as a character that had a lot of questions, and he was someone who took pride in doing things his way and standing up to that good or bad. And I am just reminded in going back and even being a small part of it in this present time period, all the time about what it was in the beginning and how it took time to develop. It didnt happen overnight. And thats true for all the characters and also for this show that the characters developed along with the show and that took years  years, not like weeks, years.

Now that weve gotten you back on screen, what are the chances of seeing you again in the future, whether again on Origins, on the mothership, would you say?

I dont know. Gina and David had an idea. I obviously like them, I admire em, worked with em for a very long time. Theyre very good. They had an idea and I liked the idea. I try really hard to think about whats best for the show or what possibly can work for this show. But part of that also is giving them the ability to write what they feel is right for the reasons they feel its right. I try hard not to bother them, not to make their job harder than it is, and its plenty hard just developing this new show. And Im reminded by that because its exactly what the mothership was when it first debuted. And this is on a similar path, which is not a bad idea if it works. So well see.

Theres a clip out already of a sneak peek of you in the crossover, and we see that some things never changed, like Gibbs just using whatevers around him as a glass, pouring out the nuts and bolts and the screws and just drinking out of that. How many Easter eggs like that are we getting specifically about Gibbs in this crossover?

I didnt count, but he is who he is. And I dont think much of that is going to change. I mean, those are all things that are part of the real texture of the character and age doesnt change that, time doesnt change that, location doesnt change that whether he is behind the desk or if hes in the wilds of Alaska. So I expect there will be some in this. Yes, definitely.

What has surprised you the most about Gibbss past as you stepped into narrating and executive producing Origins?

Some of it  I mean, David and Gina are creating this, so it is kind of like backloading it, right? So you started something which is basically 20 years later or whatever. Now youre going backwards. So youve really got to try to take things apart a little bit to go inside all these different characters, not just Gibbs. Theres a number of different characters and where they came from. Im looking forward to finding out about Lala [Mariel Molino], right? Mariels great in this role and were fortunate to have her, but Im wondering why you could do a show for 20 years and hes never mentioned Lala. So I think thats part of their gift in writing this. And those are those same, I guess they call em Easter Eggs, right? Theyre surprising tidbits for the audience, but theyre all character-driven. Theyre all part of what build a character and build the show. And I love that theyre doing that. I mean, theyre two gifted writers. They both came to this show about the same time, ad it was early. I mean, theyve very much been there David for sure. Hes been there from the very, very beginning. He was a coffee getter on the show, and he became a writer through his own initiative. And then Gina joined soon after that. But they were both there in the very, very beginning.

How settled do you think Gibbs is in Alaska?

I think hes very comfortable on his own. He probably has more challenges being around lots of people than he does being alone, but hes not alone anymore, right? So that part was intriguing. This is an idea David and Gina had, and it was like, oh, thats cool. Im trying to help them. Its why the voiceover thing was something that they pitched from the beginning in the idea of this show, and it keeps me physically involved. Its something I do like every 10 days, I go in and do however many loops we have or shows we have to do. And that narrative has been fun to try to get behind and understand things that were just during the course of the show presented weekly that you just took as being true and move forward. But now maybe you get a chance now to understand a little more or to find a little more, or even show how it was developed because youre a number of years advanced to what weve already shown audiences. And thats been an interesting process for me from the beginning, sitting in that room and watching actors come through the door to play people that you knew later in their lives. So its all been new, and thats pretty interesting on a show thats 20 years old.

NCIS & NCIS: Origins Crossover, Tuesday, November 11, 8/7c, CBS

Read the latest entertainment news on TV Insider.
[This story contains spoilers from the two-episode Pluribus premiere.]

When the audition for Vince Gilligans Pluribus came along, Karolina Wydra not only hadnt acted in five years, she didnt even have representation.

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Bialy/Thomas & Associates  the same casting directors who cast all of the major players on Gilligans previous hit shows, including Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul  searched around the world until they remembered Wydra from a 2016 horror movie theyd assembled. They proceeded to request a tape through her commercial agent, however she was no longer a part of that agencys roster either. The available information was so outdated that it only appeared as if she was.

As a devoted Breaking Bad fan, the Polish-American actor had been dreaming for years of landing an audition for Gilligan. Her ambition only intensified when she worked opposite Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston a decade ago on Sneaky Pete, the crime series he co-created after wrapping the 12-time-Emmy-winning juggernaut. But Wydra soon abandoned her hope of working with Gilligan when no opportunities came her way during Better Call Saul.

Then, out of the blue, an audition for a highly secretive new Apple TV series came her way with Gilligans name attached. One would think shed be doing cartwheels in response to this lucky break, but she initially hesitated, despite receiving the very chance shed long wanted. After some inner back and forth, Wydra took the plunge anyway, later discovering that a familiar face happened to influence the fact that she was now in contention for a series regular role.

At one point, [Gilligan] said, I just spoke to Bryan Cranston about you. I was like, What is happening? Where are the hidden cameras? Is this a joke? Here I am talking to Vince Gilligan, and hes telling me that he talked to Bryan Cranston about me, Wydra tells The Hollywood Reporter.

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She soon landed the mysterious role of Zosia opposite Rhea Seehorns Carol Sturka, and the two-episode series premiere has already made the case that Wydra is the latest example of Gilligans unique ability to turn journeyman actors into stars. To be where I am today, I get emotional about it, Wydra says as she begins to cry. Its beyond my wildest dreams  being employed by Vince Gilligan, holy shit.

[Spoiler warning.] The sci-fi series begins with the global outbreak of an extraterrestrial psychic glue that forms a hive mind among the worldwide population. Carol, whos somehow immune, lost her personal and professional partner, Helen (Miriam Shor), during the apocalyptic melee, so she rejects any and all overtures from the people she holds responsible, especially since they still want to try and turn her.

Written and directed by Gilligan, episode two, Pirate Lady, begins with Wydras Zosia cleaning up a dead body in Morocco. Suddenly, an impulse leads her to get on a motorbike and ride to an airfield so she can then fly a C-130 military aircraft to Albuquerque and serve as liaison to Carol on behalf of the collective known as the Joined or the Others. The Joined are able to tap into virtually any persons existing thoughts, memories and know-how in order to achieve a particular task or objective, thus everyone can do everything and everyone knows everything. That includes flying a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. (In a previous conversation with THR, Seehorn insisted the series is not meant to be commentary on AI.)

Carol still doesnt react too kindly to her unsolicited chaperone, particularly because she sees through the Joineds attempts to manipulate her by way of Zosias purposeful resemblance to an embryonic version of a pirate character she created for her Winds of Wycaro romance book series. Only she and Helen knew that the haughty corsair of Raban was originally a female character, leading to the unwelcome revelation that Zosia and the Joined possess all of Helens memories. She may have died from complications during the transitional event, but not before she joined long enough to have her innermost thoughts accessed.

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Zosias offer to speak for Carols lost loved one is met with fiery rage, causing Zosia to convulse. This turn of events reveals that Carols emotions are the Joineds kryptonite. If she gets mad enough, she can potentially kill millions of these interlinked people across the globe at the same time, just like the Joined did when their outbreak took the lives of nearly 900 million people worldwide.

With Zosia, Wydra had quite the tall order in playing a character who personifies practically everyone on the planet.

Its just too big to imagine playing the whole world, Wydra says. We would have conversations of who they are, and then I would tackle what was needed for each scene.

She also had to maintain composure at all times to represent how serene it is to be among the Joined, thereby creating a contrast to the highly volatile Carol.

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I did a lot of [meditation and] body work to feel content and at peace so that Zosia wasnt affected by whatever Carol was throwing at her, Wydra says. Zosia has to believe so deeply in our cause and that our biological imperative needs to be shared. She believes the Joining needs to be experienced because its so good and so blissful. Whenever Carol is struggling, Zosia has to have that in mind, so that, in due time, Carol will also experience this, hopefully.

Actors often feed off each others energy, so it was certainly awkward for Wydra to not be able to meet Seehorns intensity level at least halfway. It was really challenging at times to watch somebody have their emotional journey and not be able to go on it, Wydra admits. I just had to trust that what Im doing is not too robotic and find that sweet spot that the Others live in.

Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Wydra also addresses whether she knows who Zosia was before the Joining.

***

Congratulations on being employed by Vince Gilligan.

(Laughs.) Thank you for putting it that way. Its true.

Theres no question that Zosia is a career-defining role for you. Actors, by nature, have to be an optimistic bunch, but have you always been hopeful that an opportunity like this would come along?

I always had a dream to work with Vince Gilligan, but to think it would ever be a possibility, you have to be delusional. Every actor has to be delusional on some level to go to Hollywood. You have to have blind faith that, someday, its going to work out despite millions of other actors trying to work. But Ive had this dream ever since I saw Breaking Bad. I was a huge, die-hard fan. I begged my team to get me in the room for Vince Gilligan. I didnt care how big or how small the part was; I just wanted to work with Vince Gilligan.

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When I did Sneaky Pete, I worked with [Breaking Bad star] Bryan Cranston, whos phenomenal. And as I was working with him, I kept thinking, My God, Im so lucky to work with Bryan. Hes incredible. I hope one day I get to have the experience that he got to have with Vince Gilligan. But I never got an audition for Vince Gilligan during that time [of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul], so I let go of that dream. But then I got an audition with his name attached, only I didnt know what the project was. I didnt know how big the character was. I just got the sides, so I knew nothing. It was one of those things where you get very little, and you have to make it your own.

When I finally had that moment Id dreamt of, my first reaction was, Dont do it. Its never going to happen. And then there was another part of me that said, Karolina, just do it. Its such a funny thing about us humans. You think youre going to react a certain way to something youve always wanted, but then you have another reaction. You just never know.

It also came at a time that I didnt have an agent or a manager. If it wasnt for casting [Sharon Bialy, Sherry Thomas, Russell Scott], I wouldnt be here. They searched me out and contacted me. Vince told me they looked for my character for a very, very long time. They searched the world, and they couldnt find her. So thank God to casting for remembering me [from 2016s Incarnate] and getting in touch with my commercial agent that I wasnt working with at the time to request my tape. I was still somehow on their roster.

So I was like, You know what? Im just going to give it a try. And to be where I am today, I get emotional. [Wydra begins to cry.] What is happening? Its beyond my wildest dreams  being employed by Vince Gilligan, holy shit.

Do you know if Vince ever asked Bryan about you?

Yes, he did! Before we tested, Vince wanted to have a conversation on Zoom to tell me how the day was going to go and the process of the test and what it was going to look like. I had a million questions after I read the first two scripts. At one point, he said, I just spoke to Bryan Cranston about you. So that was another moment where I just was like, Where are the hidden cameras? Is this a joke? Here I am talking to Vince Gilligan, and hes telling me that he talked to Bryan Cranston about me. The whole thing was so surreal, and getting the role was wild. I didnt think this dream was possible, and even though it happened, I still feel like Im dreaming in the best way.

Bryan clearly gave a glowing review.

He must have. I had so much fun working with him on Sneaky Pete. Hes one of a kind.

Ive covered a lot of different shows, and theres definitely a lasting bond among Vinces casts and crews thats unique from most. (Even at the premiere, a lot of faces from each Gilligan show made a point to show up and support the latest endeavor.)

Vince creates that type of environment. Most of the crew has been with him since Breaking Bad and they keep coming back because of who he is. I feel very lucky to be a part of his creative family. No matter how big or how small your part is, you feel supported, welcome and safe. The cast on this show is so close. We genuinely have so much love for one another, and we support each other so much. It starts at the top with Rhea Seehorn. She is on another level, not just as an actress, but as a human being and a woman. Shes the real deal. I adore her and Vince so much. I have such adoration, respect and love for them.

Rheas character, Carol Sturka, is described as the most miserable person on the planet, so were you directed to play the most blissfully happy person on the planet?

Yes, I was. After the virus spreads, the world is utterly at peace. Its happy, content and unflappable. There is no longer any suffering, prejudice and crime. Theres just pure goodness. They [the Joined] are really good.

Yeah, thats the thing, youre not actually playing an individual person. How does one approach playing a character who is really a global collective?

Its such a big idea and wild concept that you cant tackle it like that. Its too big to imagine playing the whole world. We would have conversations of who they are, and then I would tackle what was needed for each scene.

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I also did a lot of meditation in order to go in that state where you feel at one with the world. Thats what meditation does. If you do it long enough, you get into this particular state of being. I also did a lot of body work to feel content and at peace so that Zosia wasnt affected by whatever Carol was throwing at her. She couldnt go on the emotional journey with her, and she couldnt react to what she was experiencing. Zosia has to believe so deeply in our cause and that our biological imperative needs to be shared. She believes the Joining needs to be experienced because its so good and blissful. Whenever Carol is struggling, Zosia has to have that in mind, so that, in due time, Carol will also experience this, hopefully.

So it was really challenging at times to watch somebody have their emotional journey and not be able to go on it. I just had to trust that what Im doing is not too robotic, and find that sweet spot that the Others live in.

We meet Zosia while shes doing cleanup of a dead body in Morocco. Suddenly, someone arrives to replace her, and she motorbikes to an airplane that she herself flies to Albuquerque. From there, she disrobes in the middle of an airport and takes a shower. What was your first reaction upon reading that bonkers introduction on the page? (Theres a cool detail when Zosia enters the bathroom. Someone is curling hair extensions in order to make her look more like Raban.)

I was excited! Ive never been asked to do anything like that. I thought, What an epic journey for this character. When you first meet her, you dont know her past, but she already has the virus. So you watch her go on this journey, and see the flow and the choreography of how the Others move about the world. Its a beautiful dance that they do, and its all silent because theyre communicating telepathically. So it was wild to read, and wild to shoot it. We did a bunch of rehearsals.

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On top of that, I really got to taxi the C-130 [aircraft]. It was me doing it. Vince asked the pilots if they would let me do it, and the pilots were not sure at first. But on the day of the rehearsal, I learned whatever they threw at me about the plane, and they realized that I am very committed to what Im doing. So then they felt safe enough to let me do it at the Albuquerque Airport.

You alluded to her unknown past, and Im very curious about who Zosia was before the Joining. Do you know that answer? Or is it still an open question?

To be honest with you, I didnt ask Vince who she was, and we didnt talk about it. I didnt want it to color my performance because she is not who she was. We, as humans, come with a lot of history, and while that history can be positive or negative, thats not who she is today. Shes not experiencing her past; shes experiencing today. So my focus was only on who she is today, and thats whats fascinating about the beginning of episode two. So her past is very questionable.

Vince and Rhea have both said Carol is a hero, which would imply that Zosia and the Joined are the villains. But to the Joined, Carol could easily be the villain since her anger is their kryptonite. She could potentially kill them all if she wanted. How do you view these hero-villain dynamics?

Well, its interesting and very complex. If you ask Zosia, theres a belief she lives by, and its that they have a biological imperative to spread the virus. She wants to have the Old-Schoolers come join them. Somebody might think thats manipulative or villainous, but they really believe what theyre experiencing is worth experiencing. With Carol, Zosia already knows what its like to be her, but Carol doesnt know what its like to be them. So the idea of Carol being a hero is based on her belief that fighting for individuality is more important. They both have two great points of view, and the perspective of who is the hero depends on how you are looking at it.

After the summit involving a half-dozen Old-Schoolers fails, why do you think Carol stopped Air Force One to reclaim Zosia from Mr. Diabate (Samba Schutte)?

Shes in the grieving process. She suffers a great loss as you see in episode one. And if she goes off to be by herself, theres an incredible loneliness shell experience. And Zosia being so kind and loving as her chaperone, she does help her feel less alone. So I think thats why she decides its better to have someone than no one. Zosia is someone who has a familiar enough face to her own [fictional] creation of [Raban]. So that would be my guess.

Theres been a lot of questions so far about what the show is truly saying underneath its quirky sci-fi concept. Theories involving AI, political division and religion have all been bandied about, but besides those subjects, I actually glommed onto the idea that its Vince commenting on the celebrity hes attained. Anyway, what themes resonated with you while inside of it?

To be honest, when we asked him those questions, he just said that an idea came to him and he ran with it. He wasnt trying to think of all these political topics to write about; he just had an idea. So, for me, its about human nature. Thats why I love sci-fi. It brings up questions: How would people behave if this happened, and what would the world look like?

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Are there similarities to AI? Are there similarities to whats happening politically? Even if the intention is not there, great art brings up these questions for us to go, Huh, isnt it interesting how this is on par with whats happening [in real life]? Life is imitating art, and art is imitating life.

So thats why Vince is so brilliant because hes created something that brings up so many questions, and theyre all valid questions and interpretations of the show. So all of them are going to be talked about, and youll have these conversations just like we had all these conversations on set.

***

Pluribus two-episode series premiere is now streaming on Apple TV, with new episodes available every Friday. Read THRs previous interviews with creator Vince Gilligan and star Rhea Seehorn.

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Backpacking in your 30s hits differently. Youre still up for adventure, but youve learned to appreciate a comfy bed, a great meal, and a little peace between train rides. Europe makes that balance effortless, its a playground of history, culture, and connection, whether youre hiking mountain trails or sipping wine in a cobbled square. These countries arent just budget-friendly, theyre travel-smart, offering rich experiences without the chaos of party crowds. Its travel for people whove outgrown hostels that never sleep, but not the thrill of waking up somewhere new.

The best part? You can blend adventure with comfort and never feel out of place. A backpack still works, it just carries good coffee and a solid travel journal now. Youll meet fellow wanderers who talk more about life than hangovers, share rides instead of shots, and chase experiences that actually stay with you. From fjords to vineyards to volcanic islands, these destinations prove backpacking isnt an age, its a mindset. Here are 15 European countries made for explorers who know exactly what theyre looking for.

Portugal

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Portugal is Europes perfect blend of sunshine, surf, and slow living. From Lisbons tiled streets to Portos riverfront views, every corner hums with life but never feels rushed. The food is simple and soulful, grilled sardines, flaky pastries, and cheap but incredible wine. Buses and trains make getting around easy, and the people are as warm as the weather. You can chase waves in Ericeira or lose yourself in the cobbled lanes of Alfama.

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For backpackers over 30, its paradise, affordable, cultured, and endlessly walkable. Youll find boutique hostels that feel more like homes, ocean-view cafes where locals still outnumber tourists, and coastal hikes that lead to hidden beaches. The pace invites you to slow down, breathe, and actually stay awhile. Its not just a trip, its a gentle reset for the soul. Portugal proves budget travel can still feel luxurious when you know what matters.

Slovenia

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Tiny, green, and ridiculously charming, Slovenia feels like a secret Europe forgot to tell the world about. One minute youre kayaking on Lake Bled, the next youre sipping coffee in Ljubljanas riverside cafes. The mountains, forests, and vineyards all blend into a perfect postcard of calm adventure. Everything is clean, organized, and easy to navigate, ideal for travelers who want nature without chaos. Slovenia may be small, but it feels infinite.

Backpackers over 30 will love how relaxed it is. You can hike through Triglav National Park, rent a bike through wine country, or just float in turquoise lakes under the Alps. Prices are lower than Western Europe but the quality rivals it. Locals are friendly, English is widely spoken, and every corner feels like it was designed for slow exploration. Slovenia is the quiet overachiever of Europes travel scene.

Spain

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Spain is the backpackers dream, warm, flavorful, and wildly diverse. From Barcelonas art-filled streets to Sevilles orange-scented plazas, the country dances to a rhythm all its own. Food, wine, and late-night conversation are practically national pastimes. You can party if you want to, but Spain rewards those who rise early and wander deeper. The magic is in the mornings, when the cities stretch and glow in the sun.

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For 30-something travelers, Spain offers more than tapas and beaches, its a masterclass in balance. You can hike the Camino de Santiago, explore medieval villages in Catalonia, or sip Rioja in the vineyards. Affordable trains and hostels make travel easy, while small towns offer calm and charm. Youll leave feeling inspired, full, and sun-warmed. Spain isnt just a trip, its a lifestyle worth borrowing.

Croatia

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Croatia is the Mediterranean dream you can actually afford. Its coastline is a masterpiece of crystal water, hidden coves, and ancient towns. Dubrovniks walls are stunning, but the real beauty lies in the smaller spots, Sibenik, Korcula, Vis. Ferries link the islands like a floating road trip, and each stop feels like a new story. Youll swim, eat, repeat, and wonder how this isnt the worlds top destination already.

Backpackers over 30 will love the blend of adventure and ease. You can kayak the Adriatic, hike coastal trails, or enjoy seafood dinners for under 20. Accommodation ranges from seaside apartments to heritage hostels with local charm. Its a place to slow down, connect, and fall back in love with travel. Croatia is proof that beauty doesnt have to break your budget.

Czech Republic

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Affordable, cultural, and full of personality, the Czech Republic is a dream for smart travelers. Prague might be the headline act, but cities like Brno and Cesky Krumlov have their own magic. Youll find Gothic towers, cozy pubs, and riverside walks that feel frozen in time. Trains are cheap, beer is famously good, and theres art and history at every turn. Its old Europe without the attitude.

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For backpackers over 30, it hits the sweet spot between budget and brilliance. You can enjoy comfort without overspending, explore museums and castles without crowds, and find great company in mellow hostels and cafes. Theres a timeless energy here, creative but grounded. Its for people who prefer conversations over chaos and culture over clubbing. The Czech Republic is quiet confidence in travel form.

Greece

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Greece is a feast for the senses, olive groves, whitewashed villages, and sea views that stop your heart. Its affordable if you skip the flashy islands and explore places like Naxos, Milos, or Meteora. Locals treat strangers like family, and food is slow, fresh, and unforgettable. Ferries connect the islands like chapters in an endless summer. History whispers from every ruin and sunset.

Traveling Greece in your 30s means appreciating both chaos and calm. Youll hike, swim, eat, nap, and repeat it happily. Hostels are stylish, buses easy, and the scenery spectacular. Youll meet travelers chasing meaning, not nightlife. Greece reminds you that joy doesnt have to be loud to be real.

Hungary

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In Budapest, thermal baths bubble beside ruin bars, the perfect symbol of Hungarys mix of comfort and edge. The city is stunning, with grand architecture and affordable luxury everywhere. You can soak in 19th-century spas by day and listen to jazz under fairy lights by night. Beyond Budapest, rolling hills hide wineries and medieval towns that rarely make the guidebooks. Its history with heart.

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Backpackers over 30 will find Hungary easy, beautiful, and full of texture. You can indulge without overspending, from $2 glasses of wine to world-class museums. The train network is solid, locals are welcoming, and the pace feels just right. Theres a creative energy that hums through its streets without trying too hard. Hungary is where culture and comfort meet in perfect balance.

Italy

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Italy is passion, flavor, and art wrapped into one irresistible country. You can live on espresso and gelato, or spend afternoons wandering through open-air museums disguised as cities. Rome, Florence, and Venice never get old, but smaller gems like Lecce or Bologna might steal your heart. Every alley hides a story, and every piazza feels like a scene from a movie. Its chaotic, beautiful, and endlessly generous.

For travelers over 30, Italy offers deeper joy, slow meals, quiet countryside stays, and late-night walks through glowing streets. Trains are fast and cheap, hostels are boutique-level chic, and food always feels like a celebration. Youll spend less than you expect if you travel smart. And youll leave with your heart, and camera roll, overflowing. Italy is timeless, just like the travelers who fall for it.

Scotland

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Wild, poetic, and impossibly beautiful, Scotland is for travelers who crave nature with soul. One day youre exploring castles, the next youre hiking misty glens or sipping whisky by a fire. The landscapes are dramatic, the people warm, and the stories endless. Backpacking here feels like stepping into a fantasy that just happens to have great pubs. The Highlands alone could keep you wandering for weeks.

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For the over-30 crowd, its heaven, adventure with depth and space to breathe. You can camp, road-trip, or stay in cozy B&Bs that feel like home. The roads are empty, the air crisp, and the views mind-blowing. Nights are best spent under endless stars or by a crackling hearth. Scotland feeds both the wanderer and the dreamer in equal measure.

Poland

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Poland is Europes most underrated gem. Krakow glows with medieval charm, Gdansk hums with coastal cool, and Warsaw pulses with creativity. Its affordable, fascinating, and full of surprises. Street food is hearty, history is deep, and nature, from the Tatra Mountains to Baltic beaches, is breathtaking. Everything feels grounded, genuine, and alive.

Backpackers over 30 will find Poland the perfect balance of past and progress. You can explore castles, forests, and post-industrial art spaces all in one trip. The trains are modern, the people open, and the value unbeatable. Its a destination that keeps unfolding the longer you stay. Poland rewards curiosity like few places can.

Montenegro

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Montenegro may be small, but its mighty in scenery and spirit. The Adriatic coast gleams, the mountains rise sharp, and the towns feel like living postcards. Kotor Bay alone could steal your heart, medieval walls climbing cliffs above turquoise water. Its quieter than Croatia, cheaper than Italy, and every bit as stunning. This is the Balkans best-kept secret.

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For travelers over 30, Montenegro is pure adventure without the crowds. You can kayak through fjord-like bays, hike mountain trails, or unwind in seaside cafes. Boutique guesthouses and friendly locals make it easy to feel at home. Its the kind of place where you plan to stay two nights and end up staying a week. Montenegro is small enough to explore, but big enough to move you.

Estonia

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Estonia is where medieval meets digital, a country of Wi-Fi in forests and fairytale towns glowing under snow. Tallinns Old Town is a maze of cobblestones, cafes, and pastel walls. Beyond the city, youll find islands, bogs, and beaches straight out of folklore. Everything feels sustainable, simple, and smart. Its modern Europe with an old soul.

Backpackers over 30 will love Estonias mix of solitude and sophistication. You can work remotely from eco-cabins or hop between towns by clean, efficient buses. Locals are kind but quiet, and nature always feels close. Prices are fair, the air is pure, and the vibe is grounded. Estonia is for travelers who love calm with character.

Ireland

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Ireland is one big conversation wrapped in green. Every pub, every cliff, every rain-soaked lane tells a story. Dublin is vibrant, but its the countryside that captures hearts, wild coasts, stone fences, and sheep-dotted hills. The people are funny, open, and impossibly charming. You come for the views, but you stay for the warmth.

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Backpackers over 30 will appreciate the ease of travel, friendly hosts, music in every town, and landscapes that never stop surprising. You can hike, road-trip, or simply wander into local pubs and make friends for life. Theres beauty in every downpour and laughter in every misstep. Ireland feels like a hug you didnt know you needed. Its less a destination and more a state of heart.

Austria

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Austria is all elegance and order, a place where mountains, music, and museums blend perfectly. Vienna charms with coffeehouses and classical notes, while Salzburg sparkles with storybook beauty. Beyond the cities lie lakes, trails, and villages straight from a postcard. Everything runs on time, and everything looks good doing it. Its peaceful, scenic, and deeply satisfying.

For travelers in their 30s, Austria offers comfort without excess. You can backpack the Alps, relax by turquoise lakes, or dive into art and architecture. Prices are mid-range but the quality is top-tier. Every meal, every train ride, every sunrise feels perfectly balanced. Austria is proof that calm can be just as thrilling as chaos.

Romania

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Romania is Europes wild frontier, full of castles, forests, and folklore. Transylvanias misty hills feel cinematic, while Bucharest hums with creative energy. Its affordable, authentic, and packed with stories that blur the line between myth and reality. Youll find mountain villages where time stands still and cities reinventing themselves daily. Romania is rough around the edges, but thats part of its charm.

Backpackers over 30 will find adventure everywhere, hiking trails through the Carpathians, ancient monasteries, and train journeys that feel like time travel. Guesthouses are cozy, food is hearty, and locals love to share their traditions. Its a country that surprises you again and again. Romania is travel in its purest form, real, raw, and unforgettable.
BEIJING, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- China has protested to the European Parliament over "Taiwan independence" politicians attending the "Inter-Parliamentary Alliance summit" in the building of the European Parliament, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday.

Lin made the remarks at a regular news briefing when asked to comment on the apparent strengthening of "outreach" by Taiwan to Europe as Taiwan's Hsiao Bi-khim called for greater support for Taiwan in a rare speech to a European Parliament group in Brussels on Friday while Tsai Ing-wen is expected to give an address in Berlin on Monday.

"The European side noted that the European Parliament's commitment to the one-China policy has not and will not change, relevant meeting was not held at the invitation of the European Parliament, relevant individuals were not invited by the parliament and the parliament leadership did not have any contact with them. The personal actions of individual Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) do not represent the official position of the European Parliament," Lin said.

Noting that the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance (IPAC) is funded by multiple anti-China institutions and is accustomed to spreading disinformation about China, Lin said the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities use IPAC, a group that has no credibility at all, to solicit foreign support for their separatist agenda.

"The political theatrics staged by 'Taiwan independence' politicians and IPAC are merely aimed at grabbing attention. Such attempts are doomed to fail," Lin said.

He reiterated that no matter what gambits the DPP authorities and "Taiwan independence" separatist forces resort to and whatever "outreach" they try to seek, it will only make their separatist agenda more evident and can never stop China's reunification.

"We hope the European Parliament will make no mistake about the true nature of the DPP authorities, abide by the one-China principle, not to send any wrong signal to 'Taiwan independence' forces, and avoid being used," he said.

"As for the certain leading figure for 'Taiwan independence' you mentioned, let me point out that China's position is consistent and clear," Lin said, reaffirming that China firmly opposes any "Taiwan independence" separatists visiting countries having diplomatic ties with China under any pretext.

He urged Germany to abide by the one-China principle, unequivocally oppose all "Taiwan independence" moves, refrain from sending any wrong signal to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, and earnestly uphold the overall bilateral relations with China.

The spokesperson said certain leading figure for "Taiwan independence" who has already left office is still making every futile attempt to solicit foreign support for the independence agenda, adding that the ill-intentioned attempts will never succeed. 
Can Aldis $40 Thanksgiving meal bundle truly serve 10 people?

Thats the question Beacon Journal reporters Tawney Beans and Kerry Clawson busted their buns to answer.

We purchased, cooked and served the meal bundle to 10 Beacon Journal staffers, ourselves included, to test the international grocery chains claim. You may be surprised by our findings.

The bundle comes with a total of 21 products, which together make 11 dishes and accompaniments. Items can be purchased in person or online for curbside pickup or delivery, though in any case, items are selected individually.

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But why go through all this effort just to test a theory?

Weve seen concern over grocery prices increase due to recent events and the fast-approaching holidays.

Greater Akron residents are reassessing their grocery needs as prices rise and tens of thousands lose their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits due to the ongoing government shutdown.

Others worry that President Donald Trump's tariffs, which have already impacted the cost of coffee, could mean an additional price hike at the checkout counter for other items this holiday season.

While it's centered around traditional Thanksgiving food, Aldis offer will be available through Christmas Eve.

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If you've ever been the mastermind behind a family holiday meal, you know transforming ingredients off the grocery store shelves into a memorable dinner is a rollercoaster. Feel free to judge whether ours managed to stay on the tracks.

Shopping for Aldi's $40 Thanksgiving meal

Before you shop for Aldi's 21 food items, it's a good idea to look them up online at aldi.us to see what size and price the store offers for each to get a feel for how the prices will break down within the $40 total.

The list includes ingredients for a turkey main course, gravy, eight sides and dessert for just $4 per person. The foods are:

A whole turkey

Brown gravy

Green bean casserole

Sweet potato casserole

Stuffing

Cranberry sauce

Mashed potatoes

Baby carrots

Macaroni and cheese

Hawaiian rolls

Pumpkin pie

ALDI Thanksgiving for 10 under $40 shopping list.

The Aldi list calls for 3 pounds of yellow onions, 3 pounds of sweet potatoes and 10 pounds of russet potatoes, while some other sizes are self-evident because the store has just one choice.

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At first, we were price shopping and calculating best deals, until a helpful Aldi employee pointed out that the Thanksgiving items for the $40 feast were all marked with a red label saying "more savings more feasting" on the shelf price tag.

Those red labels take the guess work out. For example, the Aldi list calls for two, 6-ounce boxes of chicken or cornbread stuffing at $.79 each rather than a 12-ounce box in the same Chef's Cupboard stuffing brand, which is more expensive at $2.19.

The Aldi list doesn't group ingredients according to each side dish recipe. So for anyone wondering, the evaporated milk is used to make mashed potatoes and the chicken broth, onions and celery enhance the cornbread stuffing mix.

A shopping cart filled with items in Aldi's $40 Thanksgiving meal bundle.

By the way, the list calls for two "cut green beans," which means two cans. We also bought whole cranberry sauce in a can.

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The one menu item that's adjustable when you're buying everything on the $40 list is the main one: the turkey. Aldi indicates the feast includes a 14-pound Jennie-O turkey, but after some turkey wrangling, we ended up with a 12.92-pound turkey for $9.95.

That's after we went up to the cash register with just a 10.65-pound turkey that cost $8.20. Once we realized we had up to $1.90 left to spend for a $40 feast, Kerry ran back to the frozen Jennie-O turkeys and slung a good 20 of them to find the right size and price.

In total, with the nearly 13-pound turkey, we spent $39.85. Whew!

Cooking Aldi's $40 holiday feast

Kerry: For cooking, I looked up simple recipes for sweet potato casserole, cooked carrots and pumpkin pie.

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For the sweet potato casserole, I used a recipe with 3 pounds of sweet potatoes that serves 16, adding brown sugar and vanilla extract from my pantry as well as butter (an extra Aldi purchase). I did not add pecans from the linked recipe.

For the cooked carrots, I boiled 1 pound of the vegetable and coated them with butter (an extra Aldi purchase) plus 2 tablespoons of honey from my pantry.

The pumpkin pie recipe, made with an unbaked Aldi crust, included cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt from my pantry as well as sweetened condensed milk (an extra Aldi purchase) and two eggs from my refrigerator.

The whole, canned cranberries just went into a small bowl, where I stirred them up. Peeling 10 pounds of potatoes for mashed potatoes, of course, was the most labor intensive.

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Tawney: My goals in the preparation of the meal deal were simple: Dont serve raw turkey and make everything else edible.

In those, at least, I succeeded.

I created compound butter with the poultry seasoning and shoved it under the birds skin before covering it in melted butter and another dusting of poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. When it came time to cook, I simply followed the directions that came with the Reynolds oven bags I had on hand.

A 12.92-pound turkey from Aldi smothered in compound butter just after emerging from the oven.

Mixing the gravy packets was easy, though I did use juices from the cooked turkey to make it.

I thinly sliced half an onion and two stalks of celery before sauteing both in a pan with butter. These were added to the cornbread stuffing, which was made using its back-of-the-box instructions.

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Throwing together green bean casserole is pretty self-explanatory, but I used this Allrecipes recipe for cook times.

Necessary additions and their costs

Tawney: While the Aldi meal deal has many items to create a comprehensive holiday meal, its missing some key ingredients necessary to make the dishes palatable.

The most significant of these is butter, of which we bought two pounds for $6.98. The turkey, mashed potatoes, carrots, and the rolls require a significant amount of butter to cook and serve with.

A Thanksgiving meal with ingredients from ALDI for $40 was prepared by Akron Beacon Journal staff writers Kerry Clawson and Tawney Beans to serve 10 people, Oct. 29, 2025, at the Akron Beacon Journal in Akron, Ohio.

Pie crust and pureed pumpkin does not a pumpkin pie make. So, we needed to purchase a 14-ounce can of sweetened, condensed milk for $1.69 and use two eggs from Kerrys fridge. Had we needed to buy a carton, that wouldve cost $1.96.

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Other pantry staples were needed for the sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie and carrot side dish. Those included half a cup of brown sugar, two tablespoons of honey, a teaspoon of cinnamon and half a teaspoon of ginger and nutmeg.

In total, we spent an additional $8.67 at Aldi to make the meal worth eating.

Can Aldi's $40 deal serve 10 people?

Kerry: This $40 Aldi deal truly is enough to amply feed 10 people Thanksgiving dinner. In fact, we had leftovers for everything but the pumpkin pie.

Our meal had plenty of turkey and all the fixings for 10, with just shy of 1.3 pounds of turkey per person. Our co-workers didn't look like they were holding back, and everyone could have gone back for seconds.

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In fact, 11 people ate our meal, including our staff photographer.

"For all told, everything we got here, I think it's a great value. Forty bucks for all this food for 10 people is good," said reporter Derek Kreider. "Everybody could probably go back for leftovers."

On this $40 shopping list, three pounds of onions are well more than enough, as are the 10 pounds of Russet potatoes.

A Thanksgiving meal with ingredients from ALDI for $40 was prepared by Akron Beacon Journal staff writers Kerry Clawson and Tawney Beans to serve 10 people, Oct. 29, 2025, at the Akron Beacon Journal in Akron, Ohio.

You can easily make just 5 pounds of mashed potatoes and have more than enough for 10 people. But at Aldi, buying 10 pounds of potatoes is a better deal than buying 5 pounds of baking potatoes.

The miniature marshmallows, which come in a 10-ounce bag, were also more than enough for the sweet potato casserole, leaving about  of the bag. The Hawaiian sweet rolls came in a pack of 12, so we had extra.

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The only thing that had to be divided in quite small servings was the 9-inch pumpkin pie. To get 10, evenly sized pieces, I printed and cut out a pentagon template from the Internet and held it above the pie, placing toothpicks at each point to score five pieces to the center. I then cut those in half.

The sweet potato casserole and cornbread stuffing were the biggest winners with the staff who dined with us.

"Everything hit the way it should for a Thanksgiving meal," said editor Joe Thomas. "I wouldn't be able to tell that this is a budget meal. If you hadn't told me otherwise, I would have thought this cost a lot more than it did."

How we would adapt the $40 feast

Kerry: My first priority would be to add a second, 9-inch pumpkin pie to the meal, since each of our 10 diners got such a small piece with just one pie. Two ready-to-bake pie crusts came in a box on the Aldi list, so that part's handled. And we had plenty of leftover whipped topping.

Akron Beacon Journal staff writers Kerry Clawson (seen here adding whipped topping to a pumpkin pie slice) and Tawney Beans, cooked a pre-Thanksgiving meal with ingredients from ALDI for $40 intended to serve 10 people, Oct. 29, 2025, at the Akron Beacon Journal in Akron, Ohio.

Adding another can of pumpkin pie filling and a can of sweetened condensed milk would cost $2.78. If I changed the canned cranberries to fresh and cooked them (yum), saving 60 cents, and eliminated the two boxes of macaroni and cheese ($2.38) from the original list, I'd trim enough to stay within the $40 budget.

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That would give 10 guests larger dessert portions.

Tawney: Now, I am a quality over quantity person who loves carbs and hates cheese, so keep that in mind when reading these suggestions.

My preferred version of this Aldi meal bundle would be to eliminate the carrots, onions, celery, two gravy mixes, cranberry sauce and macaroni and cheese. Taking those out frees up $8.04.

I would focus that extra money on bulking up or adding sides of substance. Purchasing two additional boxes of cornbread stuffing is an easy $1.58.

Bacon green beans are a staple on my familys dining table during the holidays, so three more cans of green beans and a pound of bacon would come out to $6.45. Only half of the bacon would be used in the dish, so the extra could be part of a hearty Thanksgiving Day breakfast.

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For those who dont want another dish with green beans or wont eat pork, another option is making Thanksgiving noodles with the chicken broth and turkey juices.

Purchasing three more boxes of chicken broth will set you back $2.97 and wide egg noodles are $1.79 for one 16-ounce bag, according to Aldis website. That's $4.76 plus $1.58 for the two additional cornbread stuffing boxes I suggested, with $1.70 left over.

The point is, as long as you do the math, customizing the meal deal to fit your familys holiday traditions or preferences isnt too out of reach.

Got a story recommendation? Contact Beacon Journal reporter Tawney Beans at tbeans@gannett.com and on Instagram @TawneyBeans. And follow her adventures on TikTok @akronbeaconjournal. Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Can Aldi's $40 Thanksgiving meal deal really feed 10? We checked
Long before the era of protein powders and brightly wrapped supermarket snacks, the ancient Greeks had their own version of an energy bar, and they called it pasteli. It only requires two ingredients  honey and sesame seeds  which provide quick fuel from natural sugars and sustained energy from healthy fats and plant-based protein. The combination offered everything an active lifestyle demanded, whether that was giving soldiers the jolt they needed before battle or providing athletes with an energy boost. Its minimal ingredient list also made it easy to prepare, store, and transport without refrigeration.

Pastelis stuck around primarily because they were practical and simple (what's not to love?). Honey acted as both a sweetener and a natural preservative, while sesame seeds brought a rich, nutty taste along with essential minerals and oils. When gently heated together, the two formed a cohesive, portable bar that could last for weeks without going bad; compared to modern energy snacks loaded with stabilizers and synthetic flavorings, pasteli is proof that functional food doesn't need complexity to be effective. The recipe has barely changed in thousands of years, which says as much about its efficacy as it does about the long-lasting appeal of honey and sesame in Mediterranean cooking.

Read more: Once Popular Ice Cream Flavors You Hardly Ever See Anymore

Pasteli's place in Greek culture, then and now

Honey and sesame seeds energy bar against a white background - takepicsforfun/Shutterstock

It's important to remember that, outside of a convenient source of calories, pasteli was also a reflection of Greece's agricultural heritage. In ancient times, it was tied closely to seasonal cycles because honey would be harvested after the peak bloom of flowers, and sesame was collected toward the end of summer. The marriage of the two ingredients was symbolic in that honey represented health and longevity, while sesame was considered a food of vitality and fertility (in association with the goddess Demeter). That symbolism, paired with how easy it was to transport the bars from place to place, made it a fixture in both daily life and festive occasions like weddings.

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Pasteli remains widely available even today throughout Greece, particularly within the Cyclades. In village markets and urban bakeries alike, you'll find it sold in slim, golden bars, sometimes wrapped simply in paper, other times sealed in plastic for tourists and locals on the go. And though the traditional version uses only sesame and honey, modern adaptations may include almonds, pistachios, or orange zest for extra flavor notes. This balance of old and new mirrors the way other nostalgic foods, like handmade pastries or preserved sweets, evolve to suit changing tastes while staying rooted in their origins. Pasteli continues to thrive because it offers both nourishment and a tangible connection to Greek culinary history.

How to make your own pasteli at home

Honey being drizzled into a bowl with a honey dipper with honeycomb in the background - Rapeepong Puttakumwong/Getty Images

Recreating pasteli at home doesn't require specialized skills, and if you're not trying to go the modern route, you're looking at just a few minutes of focused cooking. Start with equal parts sesame seeds and honey by weight, adjusting if you prefer a chewier or crunchier result. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry skillet until they become fragrant, which enhances their nuttiness. In another pan, heat the honey over medium-low until it thickens and bubbles gently, and then stir the sesame seeds into the honey, making sure every seed is coated. Lastly, pour the mixture onto a parchment-lined tray, or, if you have bar-shaped molds, you could use that, too.

If you use the parchment paper, be sure to spread it evenly to your preferred thickness, and while it's still warm, score it with a sharp knife into bars or diamonds. Once completely cooled, break along the scored lines. For extra flavor, you can fold in chopped nuts, sprinkle the surface with cinnamon, or mix in lemon or orange zest before spreading. Stored in an airtight container, pasteli will stay good for a few weeks, so it's a much better no-bake recipe alternative to processed bars when you want quick energy.

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As much as Thanksgiving turkey gets the starring role as the centerpiece of most holiday tables, lets be honest: Its rarely the culinary highlight. When we polled readers and Allrecipes staff members about their favorite Thanksgiving recipes, pies and casseroles, even bread and potatoes, earned far more rave reviews than turkey, which some folks view as dry, boring, and still somehow essential to the holiday meal.

When we asked a panel of eight professional chefs about their thoughts on turkey, they all agreed that it is possible to make a stand-out bird. Not only can it look deliciously tempting, but it can also deliver serious flavor and incredibly juicy, tender bitsboth on Thanksgiving day and as leftovers.

A whole lot of science happens in the oven when heat meets the bird to result in a juicy, tender turkey, says Peter Som, a New York City-based culinary creator. The proteins in the meat begin to break down, which will help trap moisture. Plus, the collagen in turkey, especially the dark meat, will break down into gelatin, which will add to the moisture factor. At the same time, the fat in the turkey will render during cooking which will then baste the meatand as we knowfat means flavor and juiciness.

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This all sounds great in theory, but how can you lock in that flavor and juiciness in the meat, rather than it all sinking to the bottom of the roasting pan or evaporating in steam? Read on to hear our chefs top tips to make this years bird your best yet.

Our Panel of Turkey-Savvy Chefs

Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

The #1 Trick for a Juicer Turkey

With seven out of eight chefs recommending it as the secret to a juicy turkey, the top tip is to brine your bird. This is also the first step for our Perfect Turkey recipe, which has more than 1,500 five-star reviews.

Sure, brining adds another step to dinner prep, but cooking the turkey is pretty hands-off after that. All you have to do is mix some seasonings, apply them to the turkey, and just let it marinate in the fridge. It's a simple extra step, but according to Wright, it's the key to ensuring the turkey stays juicy and packed with flavor, whether you opt to roast, grill, smoke, or fry it.

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Petito Jr. confirms that brining changes turkey on a cellular level. The salt in the brine breaks down muscle proteins, allowing the turkey to retain more water as it cooks. This not only helps the meat stay juicier, but with aromatic vegetables and herbs in the mix, a brine also seasons it from the inside out, making every bite an explosion of flavor.

How to Brine a Turkey

The chefs recommend soaking a turkey in a wet brine, which is typically made with water and salt, and sometimes sugar, vegetables, citrus, and herbs. Add your turkey to a large bowl or bucket breast-side down, submerge in the brine, and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

If you dont have extra room in your fridge, you could also opt for a dry brine instead. Petito Jr. suggests rubbing approximately 1 tablespoon of salt per 5 pounds of turkey, and, of course, your preference of spices.

Whether wet or dry, brining makes the biggest difference in terms of retaining moisture and enhancing flavor throughout the meat, Petito Jr. says. Both types of brining draw out moisture at first, but then that reabsorbs the salty liquid, resulting in flavorful, tender meat.

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For more inspiration and instructions, check out our step-by-step guide on how to brine a turkey, or try one of our recipes for Citrus Turkey Brine, Brined Thanksgiving Turkey, Thanksgiving Turkey Brine, or Maple Turkey Brine.

Tips for the Juiciest Turkey

The key to a juicy turkey is all about moisture retention and even cooking, says Laguatan. In tandem with brining, here are more tips for how to help your turkey retain its juices and flavor.



Opt for a Fresh Bird

If possible, start with a fresh turkey that hasnt been frozen. According to Stilianessis, "Frozen turkeys lose moisture during the defrosting process, which leads to dry meat. Fresh turkeys retain more moisture and have better flavor.

Cook the Stuffing Separately

Humblepieliving

When stuffed in the cavity of the bird, bread or rice stuffing takes quite a bit of time to reach the safe minimum temperature of 165 degrees F (75 degrees C). Instead, cook stuffing separately for both food safety and better moisture retention in the turkey," Stilianessis says.

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Don't have a stuffing recipe yet? Try our Bread and Celery Stuffing, which fans confirm is a big hit at our house and is packed with flavor. Bonus: You can easily customize this recipe with vegan butter and vegetable stock and share it with any plant-based guests.

If Using Frozen, Thaw Turkey Well

According to Wright, you should plan for about 24 hours of thawing time for every 3 to 5 pounds of meat. Cooking a turkey that's coldor even worse, partially frozenwill result in uneven cooking, Som says.

The exterior will cook faster than the inside, often leading to dry breast meat since the interior will slowly be coming up to temperature while the rest has reached a safe temp, Petito Jr. adds. After thawing, make sure to remove the turkey from the fridge 30 to 60 minutes before roasting so that it comes closer to room temperature by the time you start cooking.

Consider Spatchocking

Dont be intimidated by the name. This simply means slicing out the backbone so you can flatten, or essentially butterfly the bird, so it cooks more quickly and evenly. To learn more about how to spatchcock turkey, read our guide here. If you don't want to go the spatchoking route, you could also simply separate the legs and thighs from the breast, which is leaner.

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Dark meat and white meat cook differently, Hales says. By separating them, you can take the pieces out to rest once each reaches the USDAs safe minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).

Kelly Cline

Rub Butter and Herbs Under the Skin

Although some recipes call for rubbing the skin with butter and seasonings, Plush and Morrison both advise against this. Applied externally, butter is unable to penetrate the skin and can easily burn as the turkey cooks. Instead, mix softened butter with chopped fresh herbs, minced garlic, and lemon zest, then use clean fingers to gently separate the skin from the flesh of the bird.

Spread this butter mixture under the skin, which Som says, traps moisture under the skin for a succulent bird." The butter essentially bastes the turkey as it roasts, Petito Jr. explains. This also prevents the oven temperature from fluctuating, which would happen if you had to open and close the door to baste yourself.

Cover the Turkey in a Butter-Soaked Cheesecloth

If youre set on the idea of butter on the outside of your bird, follow Petito Jr.s lead and soak a large piece of cheesecloth in melted butter, or a mix of melted butter and broth, then drape this over the turkey before putting it in the oven. This method helps keep moisture in and results in beautifully golden, crisp skin," he says. "Remove the cheesecloth in the last 30 minutes of cooking to allow the skin to brown further."

Roast Turkey Low and Slow

Meat is made up of proteins like collagen and muscle fibers. As the turkey cooks, these proteins start to firm up and tighten. According to Hale, cooking low and slow allows "the muscle fibers [to] shrink slightly but retain moisture, making the meat tender and juicy. If you cook at too high of a temperature the proteins tighten too much, squeezing out the juices."

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The chefs we spoke to recommend roasting around 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Once the meat nears 165 degrees F (75 degrees C) and the skin isnt as golden and crisp as you like, crank up the heat to between 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for the final 20 minutes to help accelerate the crisping process.



Melissa Goff

Invest in a Reliable Meat Thermometer

If your turkey comes with a plastic pop-up thermometer, Stilianessis says dont trust it: They're set to go off at 185 degrees F (85 degrees C), which results in an overcooked, dry turkey. Use a real meat thermometer, like Oxo Good Grips Chef's Precision Digital Thermometer and ThermoPro TempSpike Plus. When the thickest part of the breast reaches 165 degrees F (75 degrees C) and the thigh hits 175 degrees F (80 degrees C), Petito Jr. suggests pulling your bird from the oven.

Allow the Meat to Rest

Youve made it to the finish line and now its time to enjoy the fruits (okay, poultry) of your labor. But the last step is a crucial one: patience.

As the meat cools slightly, the juices that were pushed to the surface during cooking redistribute back into the meat, keeping it moist when sliced. Slicing the turkey too soon after it comes out of the oven can cause the juices to run out, leaving the meat dry, Hales says. A very juicy cutting board and a dry turkey is not exactly what were going for, Som continues. Let the meat rest for 20 minutes after pulling it from the oven, then its time to carve your succulent, flavorful, and perfectly-cooked turkey.



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Steak is sometimes thought of as a special treat, a fancy dinner, or simply out of reach. Since the price of steak has risen more than 40% since 2020, according to Visual Capitalist, that may seem like a safe assessment. But one reason prices are so high is simple supply and demand  people still want steak for dinner, special treat or not. But even though beef is increasingly in demand, U.S. cattle herds have diminished in size and drought has hurt supply  thus driving higher prices.

The gold standard is to support your local farm or rancher. Buying from the source means reinvesting in growing herds, boosting supply, and ultimately, driving down costs. That said, if you're unable to source from your local farmer, there are a multitude of options at the grocery store. You can still snag quality steaks if you know where to look.

The national average for steak in U.S. grocery stores is $12.26 per pound, but of course, this averages higher-end cuts like ribeye and strip with lower-end cuts like chuck and round and doesn't account for regional differences. So we did a deep dive and checked out prices across several popular grocery stores to find the cheapest cuts of steak. We looked at price per pound across each store's regional locations, factored each store's national average, and then compared them to see where you can get the cheapest cuts.

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Prices are as of the date of publication and may vary based on region.

Read more: The Most Popular Cuts Of Steak Ranked Worst To Best

Aldi

Poultry and beef section at an Aldi store - QualityHD/Shutterstock

Aldi began as the world's first discount store and still remains one of the best places to find affordable items. So perhaps it's no surprise that Aldi comes in as the store with the cheapest cuts of steak when strictly comparing prices, though its prices are a little higher than the national average for U.S. supermarkets. The biggest drawback is that Aldi doesn't offer many steak cuts, so your options are fairly limited. But you'll find basic cuts like ribeye, strip, sirloin, round, and skirt, and if you think the lower prices are indicative of lower quality meat, you would be mistaken. We think these are some of the best steak cuts you can buy at Aldi.

Take, for instance, the almighty ribeye, one of the most coveted pieces of meat. A little higher than the overall supermarket national average for ribeye (about $10), you can score this most scrumptious cut for about $13 per pound, which is the cheapest ribeye on our list. Likewise, Aldi offers the cheapest New York strip (but on par with Trader Joe's) for $14.44. However, if you're looking for cheaper cuts than those, Aldi also offers top round and eye of round for about $8, and we think that's a valuable find.

Trader Joe's

Outside store front of Trader Joe's. - refrina/Shutterstock

Similar to Aldi, Trader Joe's revolutionized discount food shopping by offering customers lower prices on specialty brands and private-label products. Its unique offerings could be one of the reasons you tend to buy more than what's on your shopping list when you visit a Trader Joe's. It may not be as cheap as Aldi, but you can certainly find affordable items, including cuts of steak. But like Aldi, your steak options are somewhat limited.

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You'll pay more for ribeye at Trader Joe's  the national average for the chain is $15.49 per pound. This is a few dollars more than Aldi and about $5 over the national supermarket average. New York strip is about the same price as Aldi, between $14 and $15, but sirloin comes in about a dollar cheaper than Aldi, making it your best option for this cut. If you're looking for a fancier cut of steak, maybe for a truly special dinner, then you're in luck. Trader Joe's features some of the most affordable filet mignon at $21.99, which is pretty close to the national average for all supermarkets.

Walmart

Beef section at a Walmart - PJ McDonnell/Shutterstock

Walmart is well-known for its giant Supercenters, which feature endless aisles of food and drink, plus sprawling produce and deli sections. The iconic store is also known for its low prices and wide range of products, including name brands and private labels. If we were choosing an overall best option for variety and reasonable prices, Walmart would come out on top. It's easy to find a cut that you can both afford and enjoy.

But comparing price to price, you'll pay more for ribeye, strip, and sirloin than you would at Aldi or Trader Joe's. However, in relation to the other stores on our list, you'll get the best deal on skirt steak at just over $10 per pound, porterhouse for $13.47, and flank for about $12  all of which are a couple of dollars over the national supermarket average.

Walmart is one of the few stores on our list to offer the most steak choices  from upscale cuts like ribeye, strip, and porterhouse to tougher cuts like chuck and various cuts of round. You can even source Wagyu ribeye and strip at Walmart for just under $28 per pound.

Costco

Meat section at Costco. - PJ McDonnell/Shutterstock

Costco has come under fire from customers for rising beef prices, though, as stated previously, prices have risen just about everywhere. But when you pay for a store membership in order to, hopefully, cut bottom-line costs, it's disappointing when prices are actually higher than at stores that don't require a membership. The membership fee itself only equates to between $5 to $10 per month (before tax), but what's the point if it doesn't save you money in the long run? You just might be better off shopping for steak elsewhere. But Costco sells in bulk, and that's an obvious benefit over smaller, non-wholesale grocery stores.

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Even though prices are increasing at Costco, you'll find some of the cheapest ribeye (after Aldi), as well as some of the most affordable top round, tri-tip, and flank steak. So if you have a Costco membership, no worries; there are still plenty of options to choose from while sticking to a tight budget. And if you feel like splurging on a special cut of beef, consider the filet mignon, which is the cheapest on our list at $19.99  on par with the national supermarket average. Bonus: Get Costco ground beef in bulk during the holiday season if you're after high-quality beef.

Sam's Club

Meat section at Sam's Club. - PJ McDonnell/Shutterstock

Sam's Club is another wholesale, membership-based grocer with fees ranging from a couple of bucks to $10 per month, depending on the level you choose. It's also one of the best supermarkets to find certain cuts of steak at incredibly affordable prices. Though you'll pay more at Sam's Club for cuts like ribeye and strip than you would at Walmart and Costco (about $3 to $6 per pound more for ribeye and $1 more for strip), you'll pay less for chuck and round.

Sam's Club also offers skirt, flank, and tri-tip at excellent prices: about $11, $11.50, and $10.50 per pound, respectively. Though you may not be as familiar with these cuts as ribeye, strip, or chuck, this could be a good time to practice your cooking skills. Buying in bulk at low cost is a less risky way to learn how to make a restaurant-worthy tri-tip steak or master the best way to serve up skirt steak. And don't forget to impress your friends and family with a grilled balsamic flank steak at your next gathering. Cheap steak doesn't have to mean bland steak.

Publix

Outside store front of Publix. - PJ McDonnell/Shutterstock

Publix is a well-loved Southern supermarket chain that has earned its reputation as a shopper's delight with its commitment to fresh food, in-house butchery, and BOGO deals that turn higher prices into instant bargains. Of course, it's also loved for specialty items like its Supreme Cakes and fried chicken.

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When it comes to steak cuts, Publix lands somewhere in the middle with its prices and options. After Aldi and Trader Joe's, Publix offers some of the cheapest New York strip at about $17 per pound, which is on par with Costco and Walmart. But unlike Aldi and Trader Joe's, Publix has a wider range of cuts to choose from.

You'll find cuts like porterhouse and T-bones for around $17, sirloin, flat iron, and tri-tip for between $14 and $15, and chuck and round for roughly between $12 and $13. However, Publix is known for its sales, especially around the holidays, when standing rib roasts are marked down to $6.99 per pound. But instead of roasting the entire piece of meat, you can slice it into individual cuts of steak, and voila, you've got yourself some seriously cheap ribeye.

Albertsons

Outside store front of Albertsons. - Rivernorthphotography/Getty Images

Albertsons was founded in 1939 as a one-stop market that focused on offering quality items at competitive prices. Today, it has continued that legacy by stocking a wide array of steak cuts, from premium ribeye and strip to the more affordable chuck and round. Albertsons caters to budget-conscious shoppers by offering frequent promotions. While it may not undercut deep-discount rivals like Walmart or Costco with its everyday pricing, the chain holds its own with mid-price steak cuts. The fact that it offers such a wide range makes it a great choice for those looking for variety.

Comparatively speaking, Albertsons has some of the cheapest porterhouse and T-bone steaks for between $12 and $14, more affordable than Kroger, Publix, or Whole Foods. It also offers up some of the cheapest flat iron and tri-tip at about $11 per pound, giving you more ways to expand your meaty expertise. These under-the-radar cuts open up opportunities to create dishes like herby grilled flat iron steak and smoky tri-tip tacos, keeping both your stomach and wallet happy.

Kroger

Outside store front of Kroger - Imagesbybarbara/Getty Images

Kroger got its start as the pioneer of in-house grocery store bakeries in 1883, and eventually expanded to thousands of locations. It has a long history of competing with the biggest supermarkets in the U.S. and still offers low prices on everyday selections. However, it's not one of the cheapest stores on our list when it comes to steak.

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Kroger may not shine when it comes to inexpensive, higher-quality cuts. Ribeye, strip, filet mignon, and sirloin are priced pretty high, with ribeye and strip costing an average of more than $20 per pound  but it does stock a handful of other cuts that are much more reasonably priced. So though you may not be rushing to grab the ribeye, Kroger features top and bottom round and eye of round, with price ranging from $9 to $12. Kroger stocks flat iron, skirt, flank, and tri-tip for under $15, which is comparable to Sam's Club, Costco, and Albertsons.

Whole Foods

Meat butcher counter at Whole Foods. - PJ McDonnell/Shutterstock

Whole Foods isn't really a supermarket that comes to mind when you're talking about cheap cuts of steak, but it lands on our list for offering customers some of the cheapest cuts of round. For under $10 per pound, you can get eye of round steaks or the entire round. Top round is about $12 while tri-tip and sirloin hover around $15 or $16. Like most grocery stores, ribeye and strip are on the higher end at over $20 per pound.

Whole Foods is mostly known for its sky-high standards for sourcing. That makes it tough to compare its flat iron steak to the run-of-the-mill version found at discount stores like Walmart or Costco. That said, the chain occasionally drops deals on premium cuts, matching the lower prices seen at the other stores on our list. Amazon Prime members receive discounts on selected items, but these may vary.

Methodology

Large section of meat department at grocery store. - ACHPF/Shutterstock

To research steak prices for some of the most popular grocery stores in the U.S., we assessed the prices of 17 different cuts of steak across nine stores. We gathered prices for each cut at each store using multiple locations. To determine each store's national average, we compiled data from every region (if the store was located there). It was interesting to note that each store was pretty consistent with its pricing of steak across its locations. That's to say that the ribeye at Aldi generally costs the same at its locations in Florida and Oregon.

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We pulled the prices for the national average price per pound for retail steak across all supermarkets using the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2024 National Beef Retail Report as a baseline. We also noted the various styles and grades available at each store on our list, which created a price range for many cuts.

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Read the original article on Tasting Table.
With stunning beaches, tax-free shopping, and a rich history, Delaware gets increasingly busy every summer, with tourists flocking to its popular beach resorts to cool off. Because these resorts get crowded or booked out in advance, many travelers have begun taking advantage of Delaware's nearby small towns, using them as a base of operations. One such town deep in Sussex County offers unique shops, exciting local festivals, and easy access to the coast. That town is Bridgeville, sporting almost 300 years of history and a strong community spirit.

The community that would later become Bridgeville was first established in 1730 with the construction of Bridge Branch, a bridge over a part of the Nanticoke River. Centuries and multiple expansions later, the modern town of Bridgeville still retains its old-world charm and historical character, leveraging its history to create new community events. It's also becoming known for its eclectic shops specializing in antique wares and cozy eateries with delicious, farm-fresh food. While Bridgeville's hotel scene may be scarce, there are plenty of places to stay in nearby towns like Seaford (approximately eight miles away) or Georgetown, an underrated town with great food and history that is just 15 miles away.

Its remote location makes it peaceful and quiet, but it means you'll need a car to get around. While there are smaller regional airports nearby, like the Salisbury Regional Airport (31 miles away) or Wilmington Airport (72 miles away), the most convenient option is the Baltimore/Washington International Airport, 80 miles from Bridgeville. From there, it's a little over an hour drive to get to Bridgeville, as there isn't any other public transport. But having a car at your disposal makes it much easier to take advantage of Bridgeville's proximity to Delaware's beach towns and nearby attractions.

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Read more: The Best Vacation Destinations Where The US Dollar Goes Furthest

Use Bridgeville as a base to explore Delaware's famous beaches

the sky turns orange and pink with the sunset as waves lap the shore of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware - Karen Leisey/Shutterstock

While Bridgeville has enough attractions to keep you occupied, one of its strengths is its proximity to many of Delaware's famous beaches. The state's coast has some of the most stunning and high-quality water in the entire country, consistently ranking in the top spots for swimming water quality. In a 2013 report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), two of Delaware's beaches were among just 13 beaches to get a perfect score for their excellent water quality. Both of these beaches are around 35 miles from Bridgeville.

The first is Rehoboth Beach, home to one of America's best boardwalks. There's delicious food with ocean views at cozy eateries along the boardwalk, quirky shops, and even Dolles Candyland, a classic sweet shop famous for its saltwater taffy and candied popcorn. The beach itself has clear, clean waters  perfect for swimming and splashing around in. If you're there over the weekend and in the mood for a party, you can even catch a mini concert at the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand, which regularly hosts up-and-coming local talent.

Just below Rehoboth Beach is Dewey Beach, the second 5-star rated beach in Delaware. Known for its more laidback party vibe compared to Jersey Shore, Dewey Beach absolutely turns up after dark. While daytime in the small town is great for splashing around in the water or parasailing, nighttime is where it's at in Dewey Beach. The small town turns into a bustling nightlife hub, with drinks flowing freely at the bars along the beach and people gyrating to exciting live music on the sands. Rehoboth Beach may be the better family-friendly destination, but if you're looking for a party, Dewey Beach is your place.

Sift through quirky antique items at Bridgeville's underrated shops

a display of fall-themed decor and gift items at a stall in Antique Alley, Bridgeville - team_copper_kettle/Instagram

You'd think a tiny town in the middle of the countryside wouldn't exactly be what one might call "a shopping hub." And while Bridgeville may not be a designer fashion destination like Paris or Tokyo, it definitely holds its own in the home decor category, with unique antique stores and charming boutiques.

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The largest antique spot in Bridgeville isn't just a store, but a 20,000-square-foot mall on Sussex Highway. With over 70 vendors offering everything from paintings to decor to dinner sets, Antique Alley is the go-to destination in Delaware for antique items. While it might be difficult to lug back one of their solid wooden grandfather clocks, you can take your pick of smaller items like jewelry, cute cat paintings, china sets, or miniatures, many of which are no longer in production and may only be available in this little town. Jane Houtman, the owner of Antique Alley and its sister shop Downtown Alley, told Delmarva Life she's used to people finding unique antique items that remind them of their childhood or summers spent with grandma (via Jane Houtman on YouTube). If antiques aren't your thing, you can instead head over to Downtown Alley, a more up-to-date boutique with modern items that'll fit right in at home. Both stores have swiftly changing inventories, as many of the items they sell are one-of-a-kind.

Bridgeville also has a number of specialty gift shops and the annual Apple Scrapple Festival held every year in October. The Apple Scrapple Festival honors the town's agricultural history with special stalls at the T.S. Smith Orchard Point Market or the RAPA Scrapple Plant, which has been making scrapple since 1926. Apart from food, the festival also features vendors selling souvenirs, antiques, gift items, and more.

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Read the original article on Islands.
Situated about 100 miles from Wilmington and 42 miles from Dover is a Delaware destination that any visitor to The First State should experience. With a population of just over 4,000 residents, Laurel is a welcoming community with plenty of historic attractions (such as the Laurel Heritage Museum), fun shops, and great restaurants. While Delaware might have eclectic beach towns such as Bowers on its coast, skipping Laurel's parks, including Trap Pond State Park and Phillips Landing Park, would be a big mistake.

Laurel, Delaware, is a picturesque little town with quaint shops such as This-N-That Country Store. The store offers Southern-inspired apparel, farmhouse decor, scented candles, crafts, and collectibles. Visitors of the store give it an overall Google rating of 4.8 stars out of five. Another great shop to visit while in town is Route 13 Market, marked the third best "thing to do" in Laurel on Tripadvisor. Route 13 Market is a flea market full of vendors selling gifts, clothing, books, tacos, and cosmetics.

What makes Laurel such a historic gem is the town's plethora of old buildings. Laurel was founded in 1683 and officially became an incorporated town in 1883. The Laurel Historic District takes visitors back to those times. The Queen Anne architectural style of the 1880's and 1890's can be seen throughout the town. The Laurel Heritage Museum, located in the old Laurel train station, is a fun visit; visitors can learn the history of the town while exploring old historical documents and artifacts, such as early photographs and items, that helped the town prosper. Old Christ Church is also a historic gem; it was built in 1772 and is one of the last surviving unchanged wooden constructions from the 18th century. Visitors are taken back to 18th century Colonial America while in the historic chuch. Guided tours are available upon appointment.

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Read more: The Rick Steves-Approved Checklist To Always Do Before Vacation

Parks are perfect destinations in Laurel

colorful trees over water under blue sky - Sue Jackson/YouTube

Parks are a major attraction in Delaware. When you see places such as the pristine Cape Henlopen State Park full of historic sites and trails, you can understand why. Trap Pond State Park is rated the No. 1 park to visit in Laurel on Yelp; the nearly 4,000 acre park is brimming with beauty and bald cypress trees, which are the true wonder at Trap Pond State Park (it's the United States' northernmost naturally occurring bald cypress swamp).

There are great trails at Trap Pond State Park, too. There's Bob Trail Full Loop, which is 4.5 miles in length. You can take a scenic walk in the woods to see foliage during the autumn months and views of the pond and cypress swamp. It's perfect for birdwatching (herons and geese can be found on the trail), hiking, and biking. Then there's Trap Pond Loop, which is about 5 miles total and delivers views of scenic landscapes along with diverse wildlife. Other trails include the 1.9-mile Huckleberry Trail (white-tailed deer and pileated woodpeckers can be spotted here) and the half-mile Island Trail.

About 6 miles from Laurel is Phillips Landing Park, where visitors can see the monument that is dedicated to the colonists who came to Chesapeake Bay and Broad Creek in the early 17th century. Archaeologists estimate that this area was probably where Captain John Smith encountered the Nanticoke Native Americans for the first time. The park offers a relaxing environment for those wanting a calm day. Fishing, bird watching, and taking in the picturesque views are great activities at the park.

Where to eat and stay in Laurel

closeup of a veggie loaded pizza - Food magic/Shutterstock

If you're looking for great places to eat in Laurel, you have several options. Rated the No. 1 restaurant on Tripadvisor, Abbott's on Broad Creek is excellent. Serving up locally sourced foods and providing a bar and live music, Abbott's is a great stop with menu items such as French onion soup, shrimp and grits, and short rib pot roast. Another great option is Laurel pizzeria -- according to its website, it's voted as having the best pizza in southern Delaware. If you're craving something quick and scrumptious, then Smash N' Dash Burgery has you covered. Using all fresh, never-frozen angus beef, Smash N' Dash is a burger joint that also offers up chicken nuggets, hot dogs, fries, and homemade and hand-dipped ice cream and milkshakes.

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For Lodging in Laurel, you don't have many options. There are affordable motels, such as Relax Inn and Lakeside Motel. If you're willing to travel, there's the Gillis Grier Bed & Breakfast in Salisbury, Maryland, which is about 14 miles away from Laurel. Like Maryland's Chesapeake Country Scenic Byway full of historic sites, the Gillis Grier Bed & Breakfast is a historic gem; it's a Victorian home that was constructed in 1887 and is filled with Queen Anne and Victorian furnishings. In addition to the variety of rooms and seasonally inspired breakfast menus, there is a reading nook perfect for those looking to relax with afternoon tea and a good book. If you're wanting to travel to Laurel, your best bet is to fly to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. It's about 96 miles away from town.

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Bill Darden opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in 1968 in Lakeland, Florida, intending to make fresh seafood accessible and affordable to everyone, even those who do not live by the coast. Since then, the seafood chain has grown into a massive empire with more than 500 locations worldwide. Among other fascinating facts about Red Lobster, the chain is credited with coining the term "popcorn shrimp" in 1974 and hosting the annual Lobsterfest during Valentine's Day. It has made a name for itself as an innovative seafood destination for occasions and events.

However, the restaurant's success has not been without challenges. In May 2024, the chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed more than 50 locations as a result of financial obstacles and decreased foot traffic. But now it has emerged from bankruptcy and is planning a major comeback under new leadership. Whether you're a first-time diner or a frequent flyer at Red Lobster, we've collected some helpful dining rules to make your next experience extra enjoyable. From reservation tips to daily specials and fan-favorite menu items, here's what you should know about the seafood chain before your next trip in.

Read more: Texas Roadhouse Rules Every Diner Should Know

Endless shrimp is a thing of the past

Plate of shrimp - Lauripatterson / Getty Images

In 2004, Red Lobster launched a highly successful Endless Shrimp campaign that became an instant hit with customers. For a fixed price, patrons could eat as many shrimp as they could stomach. While it may have helped brand identity, the promotion was not exactly a financial win for the company. When it filed for bankruptcy protections in 2024, headlines everywhere claimed that the Endless Shrimp promotion was the reason for the chain's financial strain. It became known as the $11 million shrimp mistake. One customer on Reddit even claimed, "I ate them out of business."

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Despite sensationalized headlines; however, there were several other factors that led to the chain's filing for bankruptcy. That being said, the Endless Shrimp promotion was officially retired under current CEO Damola Adamolekun, who explained in USA Today that shrimp was a "very expensive product to give away endlessly." However, the company and its new leadership acknowledged its customer base's affinity for shrimp and launched a new promotion in September 2025. The company calls it "Ultimate SpendLESS Shrimp" which features shrimp served three different ways for $15.99.

Don't miss out on the unlimited Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Cheddar bay biscuits - EQRoy / Shutterstock

Many customers believe that a trip to Red Lobster isn't complete without an order of the Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Red Lobster's chief experience officer, Sara Bittorf, stated, "We've won over the hearts and stomachs of our guests for more than 30 years with Cheddar Bay Biscuits," and fans online agree. A customer on Reddit stated, "I want these biscuits to be my last meal." These cheesy, buttery biscuits are famous for their golden exterior and soft, fluffy interior, complete with garlic powder, onion, and parsley.

And what's better? The biscuits are unlimited. Rumors swirled in 2020 that the restaurant had put an end to the unlimited Cheddar Bay Biscuits, fueled by some confusing language on the company site that reads, "All entrees come with two warm, house-made Cheddar Bay Biscuits. Not enough? Order extra here." However, to the overwhelming relief of biscuit fans everywhere, these warm, fluffy bites are still free and unlimited with the purchase of any entree for customers who dine in-store. Or, for a homemade option, you can try a copycat Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit recipe right at home.

Not all locations take reservations

Red Lobster restaurant - Tada Images / Shutterstock

If you're planning an evening out with a large group or for a special event, you might want to look into making a reservation to avoid long wait times. The company site recommends this especially during high season or on weekends, and in the evening. However, it's important to note that not all Red Lobster locations take reservations. The best way to check if the location near you accepts reservations is to visit the company's site, use the Red Lobster app, or give the location a call.

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You can also book a reservation through OpenTable, an app that allows you to easily view booking availability and reserve online. If you aren't able to snag a reservation, you should plan on getting to the restaurant early, just in case it's busy. This way, you can make your way onto the waitlist. Lastly, those with party sizes of more than 10 people must call instead of booking online.

Get freebies by joining the rewards program

Red Lobster rewards app - Premio Stock / Shutterstock

Red Lobster has a rewards program called the Fresh Catch Club that is worth using whether you're a frequent diner or a first-time customer. When you sign up for the program, you get free offers right off the bat. These include a free appetizer or dessert with the purchase of two dinner entrees, as well as a birthday offer. Be sure to join the program at least 10 days before your birthday to receive your birthday coupon.

Not to mention, you earn points for every dollar you spend, which can be collected to earn other free items through the My Red Lobster Rewards App. The company frequently runs promotions like 10% off for dine-in customers and free Cheddar Bay Biscuits on to-go orders when you sign up. And $1=1 point, and you can redeem free reward options every 125 points. Additionally, the rewards program offers special discounts and offers, opportunities for bonus points, and early access to new menu items. Points are rewarded on dine-in visits as well as to-go orders.

You can now order a seafood boil

Seafood boil in plastic bag - The Image Party / Shutterstock

Red Lobster added seafood boils to the menu in June 2025 in an effort to reignite excitement among younger customers following the bankruptcy news the year prior. Other restaurants like Subway, Chipotle, and Panda Express have capitalized on customers' desire for customizing their own unique meals just the way they like them. Nichole Robillard, chief marketing officer, stated, "Whether you're a longtime Red Lobster lover or participating in Crabfest for the first time, we've got something to bring everyone joy." The menu features two main boil options, which can be customized to the preferences of each customer.

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The Mariner's Boil features Maine lobster tail, shrimp, and snow crab legs, while the Sailor's Boil features shrimp and smoked sausage. Both are served with corn and red potatoes. Customers can choose from several seasoning flavors, including Cajun Butter or Roasted Garlic Butter. The boil is served in a warm bag and packed with flavor. One Tiktoker reviewed the boil and explained that while customers should not expect an authentic Louisiana-style seafood boil, the Red Lobster boil was impressive for a chain restaurant.

Daily deals and happy hour

Margarita, mozzarella sticks, and chips with queso - Red Lobster / Facebook

Whether you're going to Red Lobster to celebrate an occasion or just looking for a hearty meal and delicious drink to go with it, the daily deals and happy hour menu provide great value to customers. The seafood chain has different deals every weekday, including a pound of snow crab legs for $24.99 on Tuesdays, a classic pairing of steak and lobster for $24.99 on Wednesdays, and fresh fish & chips on Fridays for only $15.99. Note that prices may vary based on location.

In addition to daily deals, Red Lobster has its happy hour menu available from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday at participating locations. The happy hour menu offers $5 drink specials and $2 off select appetizers for dine-in guests. Some drinks included in the special include the classic margarita and the top-shelf Long Island iced tea. Some participating appetizers include seafood-stuffed mushrooms and crab queso, among others. One customer described the crab queso as "bright, peppery and thoroughly seasoned" and the stuffed mushrooms as "luxuriously tender."

Be prepared to tip

Waitress holding plates of food - Lyndon Stratford / Getty Images

Customers online debate whether or not Red Lobster is considered fine dining. Some fans recall the chain being a fancier establishment in the '80s; one Redditor posted, "My parents would get cocktails there in specialty glasses, candles burning on the table." However, others claim that over time, it became commercialized, and it earned a reputation for being more of a fast casual chain than fine dining.

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Regardless of whether you see the restaurant as a fast casual dining experience or high-end place to celebrate a special occasion, you should be prepared to tip your server. One person took to Reddit to ask how much to tip servers at Red Lobster. A server replied, "Servers love 20%, but if you have a wonderful experience leave more!" Even if it is considered a fast casual dining experience, your server is still taking your order, answering questions, and ensuring your drinks and Cheddar Bay Biscuits get replenished, so you should be prepared to leave an appropriate tip.

There is an impressive number of sides to choose from

Red Lobster meals

While Red Lobster is most well-known for its seafood offerings, including lobster, shrimp, and crab, the chain also has an impressively long list of delicious sides to be paired with almost any meal. While there are some less popular dishes you might want to avoid ordering at Red Lobster, the restaurant regularly adds new concoctions to the menu to keep it fresh. They recently added crab-topped asparagus, crab-topped baked potatoes, and crab-topped mashed potatoes to the sides menu.

Fans online appreciate the clam chowder, although you may need to give it some love with salt and pepper. Other fans are fond of the Caesar salad and have even searched for the dressing recipe online to try to recreate it at home. But no appetizer can beat the overwhelming love for the Cheddar Bay Biscuits, which Red Lobster hand-mixes right in house. To many customers' delight, these biscuits can now be bought at the grocery store as well to be enjoyed right at home, although fans agree they are not quite as good as the fresh offerings you get when you dine-in.

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This week on FYI Philly, we have a list of hangouts as the holidays approach, from a new University City food hall featuring worldly flavors, to a historic Hatboro brewery and tea time in Doylestown.

Mecha Noodle Bar recently opened it's latest location in one of the hottest culinary corridors of Philly.

The growing brand is now in six states and was started in a college dorm by childhood friends Rich Reyes and Tony Pham.

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Mecha means "mom and pop" in Vietnamese, and pays homage to Chef Tony's Asian-American upbringing - his parents owned a pho shop when he was growing up.

The menu has a variety of ramen, pho, baos, and dumplings, plus beverages like bubble teas, sakes and more.

The co-founders also worked in a charity element to their business model. For every bowl of ramen, fifty cents goes to a local charity. Their decision to pay it forward has resulted in over $1 million dollars being raised over the 10 locations of Mecha.

Mecha Noodle Bar | Instagram | Facebook

1700 North Front Street Philadelphia, PA 19122

At the newly-opened Gather Food Hall, the mission is in the name, creating the go-to place for people to gather, with food as the connector.

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The new food hall is located inside the old Bulletin Building, right beside 30th Street Station.

There is the Bulletin Bar, where you can grab a drink and order from any of the 5 food stalls. Mucho Peru is from a husband and wife team serving Peruvian comfort food.

El Mictlan is a contemporary Mexican taco bar, highlighting the flavors of Mexico's West Coast. Federal Donuts & Chicken also has an outpost here.

There's even a fast casual healthy Indian concept called Bowl'd Masala and Cambodian flavors from a chef who launched her Sahbayy Food at the Southeast Asian Market in FDR Park and became famous for her lemongrass cheesesteak.

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Gather Food Hall is giving back to the community as well through a program called Believe in Students by creating low cost options for all college students and free meals for students in need.

Gather Food Hall | Instagram

gatherfoodhall@hosphq.com | 267-222-4330

3025 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Concordance Ferments brews an array of beers to pair with a seasonal dining menu.

Located inside a historic grist mill built in 1724, the building hosted George Washington and his troops during the Revolutionary War. And the brew pub embraces that history, with many of the historic features like the stone fireplace and original beams being prominently restored.

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There are three floors. The first is a lounge-like taproom with a handmade wood bar and comfortable couches and chairs along with board games and cards for guests to enjoy.

The second floor is the dining room with nearly 50 seats and an open kitchen. The dishes rotate seasonally and feature handmade pasta, meatballs and desserts.

The third floor is a private dining or party room. Guests can rent the space out for special events or the brew pub hosts special events of its own, like Yoga & Beer happening November 16th.

Concordance Ferments | Facebook | Instagram

18 Horsham Road, Hatboro, PA 19040

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At Flight Club, you can sidle up to the bar for a craft cocktail or settle into one of the 12 oches.

It's your toe line to throw for a game of high-tech darts, with an innovative tracking system designed by a former NASA astrophysicist.

Flight Club was founded a decade ago in London, with the mission of combining dining and darts to create social connection.

The Philadelphia location is the 9th in North America and it's proving popular for both parties and date night.

Flight Club is housed in the former Philadelphia Stock Exchange Building, on Walnut Street just west of Broad Street.

The vibe is Victorian fairground, right down to the hand-spun cotton candy.

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Flight Club Philadelphia | Facebook | Instagram

1417 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102

John Robert Cellars has opened a new wine tasting room, serving locally made wines and tapas in Delaware County.

Best friends of 50 years, John Irving and Robert Goodwin opened their first wine tasting room in Essington, Pennsylvania in 2019 and added the second location over the summer in Media.

The intimate space offers bar seating, perfect for watching a game while enjoying new dishes, such as their Bikini Shrimp, which pairs well with their Pinot Grigio.

They both worked as engineers before achieving their goal of owning a winery for their retirement.

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John Robert Cellars | Facebook | Instagram

115 W State Street, Media, PA 19063

The Snarky Tea House in Doylestown is a new Alice In Wonderland-themed 'spot for a spot of tea'. It's the creation of Jenni-Lyn Williams, who founded Snarky Tea as an e-commerce business for loose leaf teas.

Jenni-Lyn's sister, Courtney Nicholas, manages the location for guests who visit to have afternoon tea, or to shop in the retail store - or both.

Seatings for tea time last 90 minutes, are by reservation only, and include unlimited choices of Snarky Tea flavors.

Also part of the experience is a tiered tray of treats, like homemade sandwiches, scones, and confections.

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The retail shop carries the full line of teas, as well as supplies for making and enjoying tea at home.

The Snarky Tea House | Instagram | Snarky Tea | Instagram

24 North Main Street, Doylestown, PA 18901

"Brand X Editions: Innovation in Screenprinting" is a new special exhibit at the Philadelphia Art Museum.

The print publisher, Brand X Editions, is gifting more than 45 years of work to the Museum.

"They've been around since 1979, producing the most amazing screenprints," says Louis Marchesano, Curator of "Brand X Editions: Innovation in Screenprinting" and Marion Boulton "Kippy" Stroud Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs and Conservation at the Philadelphia Art Museum. "We're the caretakers of their archive and we'll also be receiving one new impression of everything that they publish for the next ten years or so."

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The artist, Marisol, has a work titled "New Chest, Peigan" on view. It's the largest print in the collection, printed on one sheet of paper.

Brand X Editions worked with a range of artists to translate their work into limited-edition prints, produced by hand.

Ninety of the works are on view through November 16.

"Brand X Editions: Innovation in Screenprinting" | Link to Tickets for Philadelphia Art Museum

2600 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19130
If you've ever looked to the night sky and been disappointed by how few stars are lighting it up, it might be time to head somewhere more remote. Lake Hudson, near the Ohio-Michigan border, is just the place. Located just 10 miles from the state's border, and 7 miles east of the town of Hudson  a small community with a downtown that's on the National Register of Historic Places  this park offers a serene escape into nature with forests, lakes, and night skies perfect for stargazing.

Before the sun sets and the stars come out, there is plenty to explore on the ground. Lake Hudson's no-wake policy makes it a peaceful spot to cast a line, paddle, or swim. The park also recently added a self-serve kayak rental right on the shore  just scan a QR code to rent a kayak any day of the week from 8 a.m. to sunset. Rentals cost $20 an hour, $30 for two hours, or $50 for a full day. If kayaking's not your thing, the lake also has a boat launch for a day spent fishing. A popular fishing spot, Lake Hudson is known for muskie, large-mouth bass, crappie, and walleye. For another fishing excursion, head an hour and a half east to the "Walleye Capital of the World," Port Clinton on Lake Erie. Once you're ready to head to dry land, check out Lake Hudson's surrounding forest, where trails invite hikers to explore and the woods open up to hunters of every season.

Read more: These Are The Most Dangerous Cities In America For 2025 (And Why You Might Want To Avoid Them), According To Research

Where to hunt and hike at Lake Hudson

Views along the shore of Lake Hudson - Joe Behm/Shutterstock

Beyond the lake, Lake Hudson Recreation Area features hiking trails, wildlife viewing, and hunting spots waiting to be explored. The park has hunting blinds that are free to reserve, but you'll need a pass to park. An annual pass costs $14 per Michigan-registered vehicle and $41 for other vehicles, giving you access to all state parks and recreation areas in Michigan. Hunting season typically runs from fall through spring. Hunters can find deer, waterfowl, coyotes, opossums, squirrels, and more. Lake Hudson also offers opportunities for hunters with disabilities, including track chairs that are available for free on a first-come, first-served basis.

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The park is also great for hikers. A mile-and-a-half-long trail winds through the park and along Lake Hudson. The trailhead begins at the picnic shelter on the northeastern part of the lake and goes to the lakeview cabin, a relaxing spot to end the day and stay the night. If you're looking for another way to extend your trip, the semi-modern campground has 48 campsites with electrical hookups and two cabins. While there are no modern restrooms, a water pump at the front of the park makes it easy to fill up for your stay. And when the sun goes down, the adventure continues: The park opens up to some of the clearest night skies in the state, showcasing a view you won't want to forget.

Lake Hudson has the first dark sky preserve in a Michigan state park

Bench on Lake Hudson at night - arthurgphotography/Shutterstock

When night falls, Lake Hudson transforms into a stargazer's paradise. It contains the first area in Michigan's state park system to be designated as a dark sky preserve, which offers views free from light pollution, making constellations, planets, and the Milky Way visible on clear nights. The preserve is located near the picnic shelter and is a great place to lay a blanket down and watch the night sky. On some evenings, you might even catch a meteor shower streaking across the darkness.

Thanks to those clear skies, Lake Hudson and several other places across Michigan are also among the best Midwest destinations to spot the Northern Lights. If you want to chase the stars to the Upper Peninsula, road trip to Keweenaw, another dark sky preserve in Michigan with awe-inspiring waterfalls. From quiet mornings on the lake and forest hikes to breathtaking nights under the stars, Lake Hudson has it all. Paddle the calm waters, spot wildlife in the woods, or settle in at the campground  the park is a scenic escape worth the drive.

Ready to discover more hidden gems and expert travel tips? Subscribe to our free newsletter and add us as a preferred search source for access to the world's best-kept travel secrets.

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From the F&W Archives: In November 1978, just a few months into its existence, Food & Wine published a 12-page spread on the burgeoning trend of "la nouvelle cuisine" which had yet to fully conquer the United States, save for the occasional ooh-la-la traveling chef dinners showcased at New York City's temples of gastronomy. This was writer Justine de Lacy's account of where the trend came from  and how it nearly became a parody of itself.

Related: 9 Nouvelle Cuisine Recipes That Helped Change the Way We Cook

What is nouvelle cuisine?

Dont take it to heart if you dont know what a kiwi is: 99% of the French think its a bird from New Zealand  it is  and 99% of Americans think its a brand of shoe polish. But the kiwi in question  enfant terrible of nouvelle cuisine  is a fruit that hails from northern China: its Kelly green inside, brown and furry outside. Now kiwis arent all that bad. In fact, they might be downright tasty if they hadnt come to symbolize the self-consciously exotic nature of much of what is being dished up today in the name of nouvelle cuisine.

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Dont get me wrong. Theres still much to be said for the culinary closet-cleaning now underway in France. But the trick these days is not where to find nouvelle cuisine, but how to tell the genuine article from the myriad malodorous melanges being served in restaurants from Bordeaux to Bligny-sur-Ouche.

Meet "la bande a Bocuse"

When a group of Lyonnais chefs, commonly referred to as la bande a Bocuse, announced that they were launching a new style of French cooking a few years back, even cautious connoisseurs agreed that French cuisine could use a bit of shaking up. For decades it had staggered along, buried in bechamel, drowned in demi-glace, sagging under the weight of Escoffiers elaborate directives. French chefs were judged on their ability to reproduce the classic repertoire, not on imagination.

The nouvelle cuisine, as the chefs called it, was to be the first real change in French cooking since Escoffier. Its tenets included lighter, flour-free sauces, shorter cooking times (or none at all, in the case of the suddenly popular raw fish), and combinations such as sweet and sour and fruit with meat, inspired by the Orient and heretofore heresy in the presentation  small bits of fish, meat, vegetables, and fruit set in quasi-geometric arrangements on large plates  also revealed an Eastern influence.

It sounded easy. With vegetable purees suddenly in fashion, for example, all you had to do was plug in a processor to be king. Less was More, the press proclaimed, and with that, the Emperors New Clothes syndrome came to France. There was just one hitch. Like abstract art, this nouvelle cuisine required a chef to be the master of basic technique before he could go his own way. (All would-be Picassos must first prove they can draw.) Or, as Raymond Oliver put it, You must know how to make a bechamel even if you never use it.

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Related: How to Make Perfect Bechamel, According to Chefs

The nouvelle larder, according to F&W in 1978

1. Ubiquitous lattice-rimmed German-made plate

2. Raw salmon, fresh noodles, red caviar

3. Kiwis

4. Julienne of vegetables and truffles

5. Snow peas

6. Raspberries

7. Fresh coriander

8. Orange zest

9. Fresh ginger root

10. Pistachios

11. Green peppercorns

12. Sorrel

13. Undercooked duck breast

14. Creme fraiche

15. Baby-smooth vegetable purees

Undercooked duck, garlic as a vegetable, and the same salad on repeat

The problem was that only 20 or so chefs in France had acquired the combination of skill, imagination, and common sense that the grande aventure de la nouvelle cuisine required. And so, just as they had diligently duplicated the dishes of Escoffier, half the chefs in France now set about copying the nouvelle cuisine as fast as Ohrbachs copies Cardin.

Culinary espionage took on James Bondian proportions. In a town 300 miles from Lyon and just as far from the sea, youd find Bocuses sea bass en croute. Two hundred miles from Paris they were serving Jacques Manieres salade folle. On a trip from Bordeaux to Burgundy last year, I was served this same salade folle five nights in a row. (This mixture of al dente green beans, foie gras, truffles, and an occasional crayfish tail also parades under the name salade gourmande, salade joyeuse, salade exquisite, etc.) Where were the great regional dishes of France?

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The list of culinary cliches soon included poached fish with julienned vegetables, salmon with sorrel a la Troisgros, cold fish terrines, vegetable puree, and whole garlic cloves (ail doux) served as a vegetable. Chicken wings were big. So was duck, on condition that it be served practically raw, as magret  a duck steak whose main claim to fame is that no one can tell its duck  or as aiguillettes, curly slivers from under the wing.

"'Raw duck! Raw duck!' complained surfeited visitors to Paris, begging for addresses of restaurants where they could get a rack of lamb."

Justine de Lacy

Raw duck! Raw duck! complained surfeited visitors to Paris, begging for addresses of restaurants where they could get a rack of lamb. Then, in their 1977 Guide de la France, food critics Henri Gault and Christian Millau began handing out bright red chefs hats  toquettes  to nouvelle cuisine restaurants, while those serving classic French dishes got run-of-the-mill black toques.

Some Gault-Millau readers were for the new system; some were not. There hadnt been much brouhaha over the red and the black in Paris since Stendhal. Restaurants that had served traditional food of the southwest, Normandy, or Lyon now switched to nouvelle cuisine in a last-ditch attempt to trade in tired black toques for shiny new red ones. Suddenly there was a kiwi in every cocotte. Duck with kiwis. Lamb with kiwis. Candied kiwis. Kiwi sherbet. Chefs rushed to be the first on their block to saute radishes or poach cucumbers. Parisians compared the stampede to the 30s, when cocktails were la mode. Then you could put anything in a glass and people would drink it, says chef Jacques Maniere. It was the same with the nouvelle cuisine.

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Related: One Type of Poultry Is Popping Up in Restaurants Everywhere, and It Isn't Chicken

8 chefs who practiced "authentic" nouvelle cuisine in Paris, with "not one kiwi in [their] cocotte"



Alain Dutournier (Le Trou Gascon): Known for regional Gascon specialties and dictatorial advice, such as not drinking red wine with his foie gras.

Jacques Maniere (Dodin-Bouffant): Focused on exceptionally fresh seafood, using a vast network of saltwater tanks and a specialized steamer.

Jean-Pierre Morot-Gaudry (Morot-Gaudry): Famed for adapting less expensive foods, like his ragout de joue de boeuf (cow's cheek).

Pierre Vedel (Pierre Vedel): Offered the least expensive nouvelle cuisine in Paris in a cozy bistro.

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Claude Peyrot (Le Vivarois): Helmed the only three-star restaurant in Paris owned by its chef; a lone pioneer of the new cuisine since 1966. Famed for pourpre de turbot.

Claude Perraudin (Les Freres Perraudin): Studied with the Troisgros brothers; signature dishes: navarin de homard and pot au feu de poissons.

Jean-Jacques Jouteux (Les Semailles): Represented the "apotheosis" of nouvelle cuisine with meticulously arranged plates and a popular menu degustation (menu a la chinois).

Guy Girard (Le Petit Coin de la Bourse): Offered a mix of classic and nouveau dishes in a quintessential Paris bistro setting.

Gotta have a gimmick

There were endless debates over who had been the first to launch the magret and who had copied whom. It began to be helpful to know the right peasants: half the chefs in Paris were on a waiting list for a Basque shepherd who could find them a Pyrenees cheese no one else served. From salade folle to cuisine folle was a short step as ingredients became increasingly exotic and recherche.

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If kiwis were everywhere, it was ditto for mangoes, passion fruit, kumquats, and limes. Any fruit was fine as long as it had arrived by jet. Any oil was fine as long as it wasnt huile darachide  peanut oil, now viewed as banal  that has always made the best vinaigrette. Olive oil, too, was now considered a bit base and was soon replaced by walnut oil, hazelnut oil, even truffle oil, obtained not by squeezing the costly, subterranean fungi but by marinating them. Nor would good old wine vinegar suffice. It had to be vinaigre de vin de Xeres, sherry vinegar. White pepper was banished, green peppercorns exalted. All of a sudden the peripatetic poivre vert was everywhere. At a recent dinner  it took place in New York, I grant you, but the chef was French  dessert was strawberries with green peppercorns!

"Chefs now cooked not to feed, nor even to please, but to astonish."

Justine de Lacy

This was all part of a new gotta-have-a-gimmick attitude not previously associated with French cuisine. Chefs now cooked not to feed, nor even to please, but to astonish. People tasted rather than ate as the nouvelle cuisine became the latest Parisian parlor game. Guess what we had for dinner last night? fashionable Parisians queried. It got so you were afraid to ask.

What would they dream up next? The debate raged on. The one thing no one was debating, however, was that Less was More MONEY. Prices in the nouvelle temples of antigastronomy were astronomical, and gradually, the question changed from Guess what we ate? to Guess what we paid?

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Related: The Top 25 Food Trends of the Past 25 Years

A brief listing of some of the restaurants in North America "either devotedly married to or flirting with la nouvelle cuisine" in 1978

New York: Coup de Fusil, The Four Seasons, The Palace, Regine's, Le Perigord-Park, Restaurant Raphael, Le Premier, La Boire, Lutece, La Folie, Claude's, Restaurant Leslie Boston: Dodin-Bouffant, The Modern Gourmet Philadelphia: Maureen's Washington D.C.: Le Lion d'Or Chicago: Le Perroquet, Le Francais New Orleans: Winston's Restaurant Denver: Dudley's San Francisco Bay Area: Chez Panisse, Narsai's Los Angeles: L'Ermitage, Bernard's, Ma Maison, L'Orangerie Seattle: The Other Place Montreal: The Beaver Club, Les Halles Toronto: Gaston's

What's in a name?

While new pretentiousness was all too evident in the ingredients  would there soon be a return to the day of Careme, when thousands of larks tongues were consumed at a sitting?  it also appeared in the names given the new concoctions. Many were irritating misnomers used for shock value. Pot-au-feu-de-poissons, for example, suggests a fish stew. For this dish, however, each of five varieties of fish are poached separately, as are the vegetables, and served in a light cream sauce.

As appellations got longer, menus got larger and began to smack of Howard Johnsonian hyperbole uncharacteristic of the French. Fish now came with filaments of saffron on a bed of cabbage; melon arrived under a necklace of jambon de Parme. Watercress was no longer cresson but petals of cresson; leeks had become blancs de poireaux. Then there was the plat de journee. What had happened to the good old plat du jour?

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"Surely when Fernand Point said, 'Faites simple!'  'keep it simple'  he meant vocabulary, too."

Justine de Lacy

The worst offender, though, was the poulet de Bresse pattes bleues, a name that leads you to believe this is a special Bresse chicken with blue feet, when all true-blue Bresse chickens have blue feet. Surely when Fernand Point said, Faites simple!  keep it simple  he meant vocabulary, too.

Related: The 25 Recipes That Changed How America Cooks

A return to the basics

But there are no revolutions without excess  as Robespierre found out  and today it looks as if the nouvelle cuisine is at last coming into its own. Its incontestable contributions  shorter cooking times for fish, the rehabilitation of the vegetable, emphasis on color and design  are here to stay, while many of the most flagrant abuses are on the wane. Chefs in the provinces may still be slapping foie gras and green beans together in hopes of getting a red toque, but in Paris, at least, the salade folle has at last bitten the dust.

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Yet this is France, and now that food can go out of style as fast as dresses, 1978 has spawned its own culinary cliches: jambon doie, delicious meat from the wing of the goose, smoked over beech wood and served en salade; the ubiquitous soupe de fruits, an uncooked compote, usually served with fresh mint; and seaweed that looks like tiny green beans but is crunchier. One maitre d proudly described the exact spot in Brittany from which this wondrous tuft springs. He was crushed when I told him Id had it the day before for lunch.

"You can make anyone happy with truffles and foie gras."

Jean-Pierre Morot-Gaudry

Today, however, many of the best nouvelle cuisine chefs are abandoning once-standard features like vegetable purees for more varied ways of cooking vegetables  delicious, silver-dollar-sized crepes of corn or green beans, for example  and commonly available fruits such as currants seem to be edging out the kiwi. These days I only see ail doux on occasion, about as often as last years espadrille. And, in place of such once de rigueur luxury ingredients as crayfish, foie gras, and truffles  among the reasons why the nouvelle cuisine costs so much  the better chefs are finding a challenge in adapting the less expensive foods and lightening such delicious but leaden dishes as cassoulet.

You can make anyone happy with truffles and foie gras, says chef Jean-Pierre Morot-Gaudry, who has invented a nouvelle cuisine version of boeuf bourguignon using the once-scorned joue de boeuf, cows cheek. Worried that the great regional dishes of France may die out, some chefs are considering putting a few of the specialties of their hometowns back on their menus. Paradoxically, the best nouvelle cuisine chefs today are circumspect about using such a label. They prefer "cuisine nouvelle" which, in French, implies adaptation and interpretation rather than the invention and creation that are suggested when the adjective comes first. They are careful to point out that this is not a revolution but an evolution. To be honest, says Jacques Maniere, Ive only created five or six dishes in my life. And four of them, I didnt like.

More Food History

Read the original article on Food & Wine
JERUSALEM, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Israeli soldiers killed at least two Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Monday, the military said, describing them as militants who crossed a demarcation line separating areas under Israeli military control.

In a statement, the army said that two "terrorists" were shot after crossing the "yellow line" and approaching Israeli troops in southern Gaza, claiming they "posed an immediate threat." An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson confirmed to Xinhua that the incident occurred in the Khan Younis area.

The statement added that Israeli forces remain deployed "in accordance with the ceasefire agreement" but would "continue to act to remove any immediate threat."

According to Palestine's official news agency WAFA, two Palestinians, including a child, were killed on Monday in an Israeli drone strike east of Khan Younis.

Citing medical sources, WAFA said the victims were hit when a drone targeted a group of civilians in the town of Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis.

Although a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has been in place since Oct. 10, skirmishes between the two sides continued. At least 242 Palestinians have been killed and 622 wounded since Oct. 11, the Gaza health authorities said, bringing the total death toll from Israeli fire since Oct. 7, 2023, to 69,179, with 170,693 injured. 
About 25 minutes from Greenville, South Carolina, is the charming small town of Marietta. Surrounded by outdoor adventures, hiking trails, and waterfalls, the small community has a population of around 2,000 people and is the perfect place to slow down and experience natural wonders. Visitors to this area have their pick of five stunning state parks that are less than a 30-minute drive away, including Caesar's Head State Park, which is home to sweeping viewpoints and a mysterious passage.

Families can enjoy quality time together at several campgrounds at these state parks, which cater to both RVs and tent campers. Or, you can rent a boat or kayak for the weekend and relax on one of several lakes, such as Lake Keowee at Keowee-Toxaway State Park, which also offers a zipline through the pristine South Carolina wilderness. With the city of Greenville a quick drive away, Marietta makes for a fantastic weekend getaway without being too far from the conveniences of a populated urban center.

Read more: Avoid The Hassle Of Checking Luggage With Samantha Brown's Space-Saving Hacks

Things to do in Marietta, South Carolina

A peaceful river with fall colors - Gordon Magee/Shutterstock

The many state parks nearby offer some incredible hiking opportunities for visitors. Just a 20-minute drive, Paris Mountain State Park is the closest state park to Marietta, where there are several peaceful scenic hikes ranging from the easy Lake Placid Trail to the difficult Sulphur Springs Trail. And at Table Rock State Park, the Pinnacle Mountain Trail is particularly beautiful during autumn when the expansive forest begins to change colors.

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There's an abundance of pristine waterfalls surrounding Marietta, including two at Jones Gap State Park, located about 20 minutes from Marietta. As one of South Carolina's best state parks, Jones Gap is a secluded mountain haven, and its crown jewel is Rainbow Falls, a 420-foot waterfall that can be accessed from a 2.2-mile trail. The second waterfall drops 50 feet and can be viewed via a lovely, 1-mile hike along the river. For an easier waterfall hike, Pleasant Ridge Park is just outside of the center of Marietta and has a short (less than a mile) hike to the Pleasant Ridge Falls along the Leroy Nature Trail.

The small town has a handful of eateries to grab a quick bite, including 3 Deddys for pizza, wings, and hoagies, and Cruell's Country Cafe for catfish and peach cobblers. Marietta is just 8 miles down the road from Traveler's Rest, another serene town that's a dream for outdoor adventurers and foodies. Although Marietta doesn't have much in the way of accommodations, Traveler's Rest has several chain hotels and motels, plus vacation rental cottages.

Planning a trip to Marietta, South Carolina

A tent under the moon - Ciambra/Getty Images

If you plan on flying into the area and renting a car, the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport is about a 30-minute drive from Marietta and has a number of major airlines to choose from, plus several rental car companies. Or, the Amtrak train stops in Greenville on the Crescent line. Renting a car is almost a necessity, however, as it's the best way to explore all the surrounding nature.

If you plan on camping at one of the state parks, you can stock up on supplies at the general stores in Marietta. Table Rock has the best opportunities for camping with two different campgrounds consisting of 25 and 69 sites for RV and tent campers. Paris Mountain State Park caters more to RVs, but some tent sites are available. Keowee Toxaway has a handful of traditional camping sites, though check out its cozy cabins and lodges if you're seeking an elevated camping experience. If you prefer primitive, backcountry escapes away from the crowds, Jones Gap State Park and Caesar's Head are the best state park options near Marietta.

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Lake Atitlan, located in the Guatemalan highlands, has quickly become a popular budget-friendly vacation spot for adventurous travelers  but it's been inhabited by indigenous Mayan people for generations. Tourists adore swimming in the sparkling water, hiking to the tops of massive volcanoes, and indulging in various wellness-related activities.

Lake Atitlan has been dubbed the "Land of Eternal Spring" due to its pleasant climate. The stunning Central American destination is surrounded by picturesque villages and is the deepest and highest altitude lake in Central America. Three massive volcanoes tower above the lake: Atitlan, San Pedro, and Toliman. Many travelers list Lake Atitlan among the most beautiful lakes in the world, and it has become a haven for backpackers and spiritual tourists. Many believe that the lake is an energy vortex and that it can have a profound spiritual, physical, and emotional impact on visitors. For this reason, many travelers flock to this sacred Mayan destination from around the world in search of inspiration, healing, and natural beauty.

Visitors who are interested in ancient history will love learning about Samabaj, a Mayan spiritual site that disappeared beneath the water's surface nearly two thousand years ago due to a volcanic eruption. The ruins offer a fascinating glimpse into the region's rich history and the spiritual practices of the Ancient Mayans. Tourists can learn more about the history of the forgotten Mayan city, which has been compared to the lost city of Atlantis, at the Museo Lacustre.

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Read more: Dangerous Vacation Spots In Central America

The discovery of Samabaj in Lake Atitlan

A scuba diver near the Samabaj ruins in Lake Atitlan - Youtube

In 1998, a Guatemalan man named Roberto Samayoa was scuba diving in Lake Atitlan. It wasn't the first time he had explored the lake's crystal clear waters, but on that day he made a fascinating archaeological discovery. He noticed what appeared to be the ruins of a great city beneath the water's surface and quickly reached out to archeologists to tell them about his miraculous find. His discovery was met with scrutiny until he shared photos of what appeared to be stone staircases and a town square.

When archaeologists arrived on the scene they quickly realized the significance of Samayoa's discovery. Time has taken its toll on many of our world's ancient ruins. Looters and grave robbers have stolen valuable objects, vandalism has destroyed structures that could have provided a glimpse into past civilizations, and colonizers destroyed countless sacred sites in an attempt to assert dominance over indigenous people  but the lost Mayan ruins under Lake Atitlan have remained untouched for hundreds of years.

Over the next several years archaeologists worked to understand the ruins and came to the conclusion that the city was once considered a deeply sacred place. Ancient Mayans from all over the region would visit the site as a religious pilgrimage. When they arrived they would cleanse themselves physically and spiritually in sweat lodges  similar to the temazcal saunas that are still used today. There were also several temples and places to make sacrificial offerings to the gods. In total, there were 16 different sacred structures discovered beneath the lake.

Learning more about the Samabaj ruins

An aerial view of Panajachel along the shores of Lake Atitlan - Gianfranco Vivi/Getty Images

The ruins of Samabaj are believed to be over 1,700 years old. Experts estimate that the city began to sink between 250 and 300 CE when the massive Atitlan volcano erupted and the lava dammed up the lake. As the rains continued, the water level slowly rose, eventually sinking the small island where the city of Samabaj was built. It may have taken up to a year for the city to become fully submerged, which would have allowed residents plenty of time to escape.

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Although there are scuba diving tours offered around the thrilling, adventure destination of Lake Atitlan, the ruins themselves are currently closed to scuba diving tourists in order to preserve the historical site. Research is ongoing, and much of the ruins remain unexplored since it's challenging to perform archaeological projects underwater. The best way to explore the fascinating history of Samabaj is by visiting Museo Lacustre, also known as the Museum of Underwater Maya Archaeology. The museum is located in the town of Panajachel, which is often referred to as "Pana" by locals. You'll find the museum at Hotel Posada de Don Rodrigo. Inside, you can see ancient artifacts discovered around the lake, learn about Mayan history, and explore an exhibit dedicated to the discovery of Samabaj. To get a better feel for what the underwater ruins look like, tourists can visit the Iximche ruins, located about 1.5 hours from Panajachel by car. To get there, you will need to hire a taxi in town and arrange for return transportation.

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Travelers know to expect the unexpected when it comes to hotel bills. Even the most seasoned globetrotter has probably faced a head-scratching add-on at checkout, like a vaguely worded resort fee or a hefty cleaning charge. Japan is no exception, but the good news is that the fee you'll encounter most often is straightforward and relatively small. It's the accommodation tax, a government-imposed charge that most tourists to the country will pay. To make sure you're not caught off-guard when it appears on your bill, it's worth knowing where it applies, how much the tax is, and why it exists.

You may have seen recent headlines claiming that Japan is introducing a brand-new tourist tax. But the truth is, in many parts of Japan, the accommodation tax has been around for years. It was first introduced in Tokyo all the way back in 2002, and other popular spots, including buzzing Osaka and historic Kyoto, followed in 2017 and 2018, respectively. And in most places, it doesn't just apply to hotels but to private lodgings (think Airbnbs), too.

What is new in 2025 is the expansion of this tax to new cities and municipalities. In March 2025, 11 new places joined the list, ranging from cities on the northern island of Hokkaido to Hiroshima Prefecture near the tip of Honshu. More regions look set to follow in the near future.

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Read more: 10 Dangerous Cities You Should Never Visit Alone

How much is Japan's accommodation tax, and why does it exist?

Japanese hotel room with futons and screened windows - Yagi Studio/Getty Images

The amount you'll pay depends on the cost of your accommodation, but it tends to range from 100500 yen per night (about $0.70 to $3.40 at the time of writing). That's a modest charge in the context of a larger hotel bill. Kyoto is an outlier, with the nightly charge for the most expensive accommodations currently 1,000 yen (around $6.80). This is likely to increase to 10,000 yen (about $65) per night soon for top-tier stays. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, accommodations that cost under 10,000 yen per night don't incur the fee, giving you a great reason to check out the city's budget-friendly capsule hotels! Your accommodation will usually collect the tax, though it may or may not be included in your bill when paying online, so you might need to ask to be sure.

But what exactly are these fees for? It's no secret that Japan has seen soaring visitor numbers since opening its doors to tourism again in 2023. In the major centers, overtourism is becoming a real issue, with certain towns even seeking to limit tourist numbers. But another approach to coping with overtourism is the accommodation tax. Most municipalities use or intend to use the revenue collected to develop tourism facilities. This might fund infrastructure, like public transport, or the repair of cultural sites, benefiting both locals and tourists alike. Think of the accommodation tax as your small contribution to keeping Japan a beautiful destination.

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Named after legendary frontier scout and showman Buffalo Bill, whose real name was William Frederick Cody, the Wyoming town of Cody is every bit as fantastic as Buffalo Bill's famous Wild West Show. Cody is also a gateway to Yellowstone. It's surrounded by a beautiful landscape of rugged mountains and rolling Western plains. There's great fishing, and it's home to one of the biggest museum complexes dedicated to the West. Cody even gained a reputation among travelers as one of the 5 best "cowboy core" vacation destinations.

There's also a great gallery scene if you're artistically minded. If you're more about cowboys and horses, though, Cody hosts a renowned nightly rodeo. This Western town is rugged and scenic, with plenty to do and lots of open space. You'd want to visit for all these reasons and more, but imagine spending the golden years of your life there. If you're looking to retire, Cody invites you to embrace life at your own pace. Among Yellowstone entrances, Cody gets a bit more traffic than the hidden gateway to the north tucked into the pristine Custer Gallatin National Forest in Red Lodge, Montana, so it can get crowded. But that trade-off means more amenities and services.

This is a town where over 40% of the population is over 45, where the crime rate is below the national average, and where property values just go up. For these reasons, in addition to Cody's undoubtable Western charm and Wyoming's easy tax laws, it's no wonder that smartasset.com listed Cody as the top place to retire in Wyoming and in the top 100 nationwide. At the least it's worth a visit, and if you decide to fly to town, the Yellowstone Regional Airport in Cody is where your adventure starts.

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Read more: One Of West Virginia's Best-Kept Secrets Is A Train Ride Through A Canyon You Can't Reach By Car

There's a lot to do in Cody, Wyoming

Cowboys team roping at Cody Stampede Rodeo - Mlenny/Getty Images

It makes sense that a town named after one of the West's greatest ringmasters is home to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, five museums in one. You could spend a day every week of your retirement exploring Western history here, from cowboys to Native Americans to ancient life, and given Buffalo Bill's legendary shooting accuracy, one of the biggest collections of firearms anywhere. While the Buffalo Bill Center is home to the Whitney Western Art Museum, you could also peruse the galleries in town for some artistic inspiration. After purchasing your new Western home (the median price is about $555,000 at time of publication), you'll want some art to match. With no personal income tax in Wyoming, you'll probably have money left over for art.

For those looking to find a forever home in a town with real cowboy action, the Cody Stampede Rodeo happens every night all summer. While the world's largest outdoor rodeo is found to the east in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Cody's rodeo earned it the nickname of "Rodeo Capitol of the World." If your dream retirement looks like an episode of "Yellowstone," this town still boasts real ranchers and cowboys happily mingling with newbies and tourists, Stetson hat and all. You'll want to eat steak here, and the Cody Steakhouse is fantastic. For breakfast or lunch, check out Sitti's Table, which Guy Fieri visited on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives."

Outside of Cody, there's a universe of lakes, rivers, and streams to fish, and several fly shops in town more than happy to give you advice. The mountains hemming in the valley rise out of plains that stretch on forever, making for glorious sunsets. And there's Yellowstone, just a little over an hour away.

Live among legends in Cody

Old Trail Town cabins in Cody, Wyoming - Panas Wiwatpanachat/Shutterstock

Retirement is a great time to reflect on history and legends, and Cody is just the place to do that. Bill Cody himself founded the town in 1895. You can even visit the original site, Old Trail Town, made up of charming old cabins saved from around the area and moved to the spot where Buffalo Bill first planned the town. Colonel William F. Cody was more than an exhibitionist. He had a vision for a town that could grow, thanks to its proximity to Yellowstone, and even envisioned the irrigation and dam projects that made it into a fertile valley. Now that town has grown into the kind of place a Western-minded retiree could be happy.

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In town, you can hang out at a hotel Cody built. The Irma, named after his daughter, was founded in 1902 and still welcomes guests today. The cherry wood bar was a gift from Queen Victoria to Buffalo Bill and European royalty used to stay there on exotic hunting trips to the Americas. Calvin Coolidge attended the Cody Stampede on July 4th, 1927, and President George H.W. Bush fished near Buffalo Bill's hunting lodge in 1989. Maybe they were attracted to the fact that the town is 19.5% seniors, and they felt like they were among their peers.

Of course, long before there was a city, there were trappers, tribes, and scouts, such as Cody himself. In his later years, he decided to found his own town and chose this stretch of land between the Big Horn and Absaroka mountains he remembered from his scouting days. In a way, he made his own personal retirement village. It makes sense, then, that Buffalo Bill's namesake town is a place where the Wild West lives on, and where you can live on with it.

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Google had been winning the P.R. battle with Disney over the absence of ESPN, ABC, and other Disney-owned channels from YouTube TV by doing nothing. Mainly because Disney and ESPN have been regularly stepping on rakes.

But Google has found a rake of its own. Instead of automatically applying a $20 credit to the accounts of millions of users who haven't gotten what they automatically pay for every month, you have to go claim it.

It is  and I say this with full appreciation of the fact that YouTube and its parent company, Google, and its parent company, Alphabet, are a multi-trillion-dollar conglomerate  bullshit. They're adding an obstacle knowing that some people won't realize that the credit has to be claimed, won't know how to do it, won't have the time to do it, or will forget to do it.

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And so we beg each of you to GO DO IT. NOW. Heres the link. Go get your money.

It is your money. They charged you for something they didn't deliver. It's not a gift. They're doing the right thing by giving you a partial refund.

Actually, the right thing to do would be to apply an automatic credit. But every customer who forgets to do it is $20 in found money for Google. That's how they're viewing it. Don't let it happen.

GO GET YOUR MONEY. NOW.

I just did it. It's easy. But they're counting on people not doing it.

And both sides to this lingering dispute can now officially go straight to hell.
Gov. Ron DeSantis confers with base officials following a mass shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola on Dec. 6, 2019. (Photo via Governor's Office)

A federal appeals court has reinstated a portion of a lawsuit filed against Saudi Arabia by survivors of servicemembers killed by a Saudi Air Force pilot training at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in 2019.

A federal trial judge had dismissed claims under numerous causes of action as precluded by the federal Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act.

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However, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled Monday that another law  the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act  would allow claims that the Saudi government failed to properly vet the accused shooter, Mohammed Saeed Al-Shamrani, despite extensive evidence he was affiliated with al-Qaida and adhered to extremist views.

The court rejected claims including that the Saudi government failed to properly supervise Al-Shamran or that his allegedly intentional crime fell under an exemption to that governments sovereign immunity. The government wasnt liable for alleged acts of omission in screening Al-Shamrani, the opinion says.

However, The Amended Complaint sufficiently alleges that the Kingdom committed grossly negligent acts of commission rather than omission, the court said.

Furthermore, in clearing Al-Shamrani to attended training at the NAS, the government cited false information that was knowingly submitted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States, the court continued.

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Second, the Amended Complaint asserts that on multiple occasions, Saudi Arabia conducted security screenings for Al Shamrani  deliberate and affirmative acts of will or exertion designed to accomplish an objective of enrolling him in the training program.

Third, Saudi Arabia nominated Al-Shamrani for, and awarded him, a scholarship which enabled him to go to Texas to learn English from August 2017 until May 2018, and then to participate in the flight training program at NAS Pensacola from May of 2018 until the time of the attack on December 6, 2019, the court said.

Deliberate steps

These were all affirmative acts, deliberate steps undertaken by the Kingdom, not acts of omission. These acts enabled Al-Shamrani to enter and live at the military bases in San Antonio, Texas and then at NAS Pensacola. Finally, the Kingdom was responsible for the affirmative act of sending Al-Shamrani to the United States.

Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus wrote the opinion for his colleagues Jill Pryor and Britt Grant. The ruling sends the case back to the trial court in the Northern District of Florida.

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The shootings ended in the deaths of Airman Mohammed Sameh Haitham, Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson, and Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters. Six other servicemembers and seven Escambia County Sheriffs deputies were wounded.

Court records include evidence Al-Shamrani was affiliated with al-Qaida and advocated for:

The killing of Shia Muslims, non-Muslims and people who do not pray;

The unfounded conspiracy that the Shia sect of Islam was founded by Jews to divide Muslims;

That Christians and Jews are the enemy of Islam, particularly to the Sunnis; and

That Islam is under attack and threatened by Christians, Jews and Western culture.

Al-Shamrani also echoed the radical and violent teachings of Anwar al-Awlaki, a Yemeni-American cleric and member of AQAP [al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula] who was described as perhaps the most prolific jihadist ideologue of all time, the court said.

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Despite the repeated public expression of extremist and violent views, Al-Shamrani was one of two students in his RSAF class of hundreds awarded a scholarship to enter a joint military program in the United States, it continued.

Taking the allegations presented in the Amended Complaint as true (as we must at this stage in the proceedings), we are satisfied that under the terms of the congressional enactment in JASTA, this bundle of claims falls within one of the exceptions to foreign sovereign immunity, the court wrote.

These claims are facially sufficient because they are based on a series of acts of commission (rather than acts of omission) taken by the Kingdom in hiring and vetting Al-Shamrani that rose to the level of gross negligence under Florida law.

NAS Pensacola is home to the Naval Aviation Schools Command, which provides flight training to U.S. personnel plus members of allied armed forces. Al-Shamranis supervisors reportedly were unaware that hed purchased the Glock-45 handgun he used in the shootings.

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Following the shootings, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he expected the Saudi government to pay.

I think theres obviously going to be a lot of questions about this individual being a foreign national, being a part of the Saudi air force, and then to be here training on our soil to do this, the governor said during a news conference at the base.

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A teenager accused of killing a 64-year-old woman inside her home earlier this year has pleaded guilty to multiple charges, according to our media partner WCPO-9 TV.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Sheila Denise Tenpenny, 64, was found dead inside her home on Germania Street in Fairfax on Feb. 2.

The Hamilton County Coroners Office said in a preliminary autopsy report that she had trauma to her head and neck.

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The teen, who was 13 at the time of Tenpennys death, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, and strangulation on Monday, WCPO-9 reported.

The boy will be in custody at the Department of Youth Services until he turns 21.

Prosecutors said the boy looked up how to strangle someone online and on social media in the months leading up to the victims death.

WCPO-9 reported that the boy broke into the womans home between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. and found her sleeping.

At that point, he hit her and strangled her until she died, prosecutors said.

Officials said that Tenpenny fought hard and scratched the boys face, which made him bleed on scene.

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Investigators found the boys hair in Tenpennys hands, his DNA under her broken fingernails, and his blood throughout the house, WCPO-9 reported.

After leaving Tenpennys home, the boy reportedly got online and notified his social media people.

WCPO-9 reported that the prosecutors said the boy posted, This one was a fighter.

In court on Monday, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation Agent David Ward said hes worked on violent crimes for more than 20 years.

I must say this is the first time Ive ever had a person of this age commit this type of crime, Ward said. And to add to that, the premeditation of the offense is just chilling to me. As the investigation went on and continued, his social media communications with individuals ... there were several other communications that are very disturbing.

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The teens search history showed that he looked up how to defeat a police interrogation, Ward added.

After the day we did our canvassing and swabbed the defendant, he indicated to whoever he was communicating on several social media outlets about I think I just got caught, Ward said. So its very disturbing. I understand the limitations to the law and the fact that he can only be incarcerated until hes 21  my fear is he made missteps in this case. He made mistakes. He left his DNA; he tried to clean up the crime scene with items that wouldnt have been successful. It was good luck for us that he did make those mistakes, but in the future, is he going to learn from those mistakes? Thats what Im concerned about.

News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.

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An 18-year-old co-defendant charged and convicted in connection with the death of a 61-year-old woman in Bacliff has been sentenced to life in prison for his role, according to the Galveston County Sheriff's Office.

A jury found Uriah Urick guilty of capital murder, and he was also sentenced without the possibility of parole.

ORIGINAL REPORT: Galveston County Sheriff's Office identify 61-year-old grandmother found dead in Bacliff home

Back in February, a woman, Tammy King, was found shot to death inside her home in the 4700 block of 15th Street after a concerned neighbor said no one had heard from her.

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Officials determined that the woman's granddaughter, 17-year-old Tara King, and her boyfriend, Urick, were initially named as "persons of interest" before being upgraded to suspects.

Tara was a student at Dickinson High School and was being raised by her grandmother, officials said.

According to investigators, Tara was upset that Tammy did not allow Urick to spend the night, possibly leading to the shooting. At least two weapons were recovered from the crime scene that night.

Court records said Tammy's boyfriend also told investigators that Tammy and Tara had argued about Tara skipping school.

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The two teens fled the area, and a manhunt ensued. Soon, capital murder charges were filed against them.

Court documents revealed that the two suspects hitched a ride with a known drug dealer on the day of the murder. Officials said they offered money to multiple people to offer them a ride out of town. The dealer, 35-year-old Hodge, was later arrested and charged with hindering apprehension.

Five days after the murder, the teens were captured in Laredo, Texas.

The trial for Tammy's granddaughter, Tara, is set for January 2026, according to records.

SEE ALSO: Teens wanted in Bacliff grandmother's death arrested after days-long manhunt, authorities say
A deal announced in October means that Indianapolis' top five TV news stations could be owned by just two companies in the future  raising questions about what consolidation could mean for local news coverage.

Residents on social media largely reacted with skepticism and concern. "There goes the news," "our media being a monopoly is not good at all," and "so happy to get all my 'news' from one source" were a few comments that encapsulated the sentiment.

The Indianapolis TV news ecosystem hasn't changed much in recent history, and pending acquisitions have served as a "shock to the system," said Terry Heifetz, a Ball State University professor who spent 30 years in TV news.

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IndyStar spoke with Heifetz and two other media experts about how news coverage in the Indianapolis market could change, what consolidation could look like and whether their TV guide could have fewer or more local offerings.

"It's not completely surprising that there's consolidation happening right now as more people are getting their news streaming and in other digital ways," he said. "And at the same time, the regulatory environment in Washington is very different now."

Who owns whom?

Circle City Broadcasting announced a $83 million deal Oct. 28 to purchase ABC affiliate WRTV-TV Channel 6 from the E.W. Scripps Co. WRTV saw some high-profile resignations and layoffs earlier this year.

If the sale is approved the Federal Communications Commission  and that's not a certainty  the locally owned company could control WRTV, WISH-TV Channel 8 and MyINDY-TV 23.

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WISH-TV has been the subject of a barrage of headlines after more than 20 employees left or were terminated by Circle City Broadcasting recently when the station required staff to sign a new, expanded non-compete clause. A former WISH-TV meteorologist is also suing the company in a dispute over her non-compete agreement.

Circle City Broadcasting's chief competitor in the Indianapolis TV market is Nexstar Media Group, which owns both Fox affiliate WXIN-TV Channel 59 and CBS affiliate WTTV-TV Channel 4. The company could soon also own the NBC affiliate WTHR-TV Channel 13, if the FCC approves Nexstar's estimated $6.2 billion acquisition of TEGNA.

Does the FCC allow this much consolidation?

The FCC still needs to decide whether it will allow Nexstar to buy TEGNA, which owns 64 stations across the country. Circle City Broadcasting will also need approval to buy WRTV.

Each expert raised some doubts over whether these deals will actually happen, since it will require a change in long-held FCC policy forbidding one entity from owning two of the four largest television stations in local markets. However, the rise of the internet and streaming media have exponentially increased the ways news can be shared with the public.

Will news coverage change?

If the FFC approves the deals, the answer is likely yes. Experts told IndyStar that it's too hard to tell in what way so early.

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Experts raised a number of questions about how each station's identity could change, whether newscasts could air at different times and if owners would stoke competition between their stations. They also said it's possible certain stories would be covered through one viewpoint or not at all.

"It could go a bunch of different directions, and some are good and some are not as positive potentially," Heifetz said. "But a lot can change between now and when this deal goes through  if it goes through."

One potential issue raised is whether story coverage will become monotonous. Poynter Institute Senior Vice President Kelly McBride and Indiana University professor Tony Fargo Fargo both said that having less competition opens the door to one point of view dictating how a sizable amount of the market reports the news.

McBride said she's especially concerned that the consolidations will mean there are fewer journalists working in Indianapolis, asking questions and requesting records at city hall.

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"I think, ultimately, it will eventually mean that there are less voices represented in the market and fewer stories being told," she said. "And so, I generally think consolidation is harmful to the consumers, but we just don't know in what ways this particular consolidation ... is going to play out."

It also may lead to stations running more national and trending news to save on costs, Fargo said.

"You'll probably see less local news and probably a little bit more click bait on at least some of the channels than you did before," Fargo said, "because I think they will be tempted to cut to the bare bones ... and then share that content across all of their stations."

However, Heifetz took a more optimistic view. He said that if one reporter is assigned to cover a car crash for both channels, for instance, that could free up another journalist to work on something more in-depth.

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"As a journalist, of course, I'd be a little bit nervous because that's a lot of consolidation," he said. "But each station will still have a lot of news time to fill."

Circle City Broadcasting and Nexstar did not respond to IndyStar requests for comment.

Will consolidation lead to layoffs?

Each expert mentioned the possibility of layoffs and other financial impacts.

It's likely there will be some consolidation of each station's staff, including reporters, Fargo and McBride said. Stations probably will have their own anchors and meteorologists, Fargo said, but reporters and their news segments may be repeated.

McBride said the production of each channel could see its operations moved to one building and parts of their productions streamlined under one system.

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"The owners are going to be trying to find economies of scale that they can use to earn back some of the money they just spent buying these stations," Fargo said.

Will I lose access to channels?

Many Indianapolis residents have openly worried that, since WISH-TV isn't available currently on DirecTV, it means WRTV won't be in the future, either.

However, both Heifetz and Fargo said the opposite may be true. They both speculated that Circle City Broadcasting, once armed with an ABC affiliate in WRTV, could have more leverage to negotiate a deal in which both stations could be carried by DirecTV.

The USA TODAY Network - Indiana's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners.

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Have a story to tell? Reach Cate Charron by email at ccharron@indystar.com, on X at @CateCharron or Signal at @cate.charron.28.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How news coverage could change if WRTV, WTHR station sales go through
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS)  Veterans Day is a U.S. federal holiday on November 11th that honors all who have served in the United States Armed Forces.

Here are events in the Shreveport-Bossier area and beyond, honoring all who have served.

Bricks of Honor Ceremony

The American Legion Post 14 Bricks of Honor Ceremony is taking place on November 11 at 10 a.m. at their 5315 S Lakeshore Drive facility.

Veterans Day Event in Jefferson Texas

The American Legion and VFW Posts in Jefferson are sponsoring an event to honor past service members. The event will take place on November 11 at Otstott Park in downtown Jefferson at 11 a.m., followed by a free lunch for veterans.

LSUS Veterans Day Program

The university honors military veterans with a special program for Veterans Day on November 11. Russell Mathers, the director of STRIKEWERX and a veteran of 27 years in the U.S. Air Force, will be the keynote speaker. The event is scheduled for 11 a.m. in the LSUS Collaboratory, located on the first floor of the Technology Building.

Centenarys Veterans Day Tribute

Centenary College welcomes local veterans, along with their friends and families, to join for a Veterans Day Tribute on November 11 at 11 a.m. This event will take place at the Hargrove Memorial Amphitheatre, featuring a keynote address from Major General Jason R. Armagost.

Shreve Memorial Library North Shreveport Branch Veterans Day Program

The North Shreveport Branch of Shreve Memorial Library will host a Veterans Day celebration featuring a program and a Freedom Tree lighting ceremony on Tuesday, November 11. This event is free and open to everyone.

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The list will be updated as more information becomes available.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com.
PHNOM PENH, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia attracted a total of 889,089 Chinese tourists in the first nine months of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 46.3 percent, said a report from the Ministry of Tourism released on Monday.

The number of Chinese tourists accounted for 20.3 percent of the 4.37 million international tourist arrivals to the kingdom during the January-September period this year.

China was the third-biggest source of foreign holidaymakers to the Southeast Asian country after Thailand and Vietnam.

Thourn Sinan, chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association Cambodia chapter, said the growth of Chinese tourist arrivals indicated strong and growing interest from China.

"The rising middle class in China, coupled with targeted marketing and expanded flight routes, should further boost Chinese arrivals," he told Xinhua.

"However, maintaining this growth will depend on sustained flight connectivity, visa facilitation, and the continued appeal of Cambodia's tourism offerings to Chinese travelers," Sinan said.

He added that the Cambodia-China Tourism Year 2025 has also given a further boost to the inflow of Chinese tourists to the kingdom.

Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting Cambodia's economy in addition to garment, footwear and travel goods export, agriculture, and construction and real estate. 
Senate Democrats embrace of a shutdown deal that doesnt guarantee extended health care subsidies is already an electoral issue.

Nearly every major Democratic Senate candidate panned the deal, from Texas hopeful Colin Allred, a former member of Congress, deriding it as a joke to Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton condemning it as a complete betrayal of the American people. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), the partys most vulnerable incumbent in 2026, voted against advancing it, as did several senators eyeing a 2028 White House bid.

Pathetic, California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on X . This is not a deal  its an empty promise, Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois said . Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called it a bad deal.

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The Sunday agreement even caused a familial dispute: Stefany Shaheen, who is running in a crowded Democratic primary for an open House seat in New Hampshire, said she couldnt support a deal that failed to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Her mother, retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, was one of the lead Democratic negotiators of the deal.

Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who is running to replace Jeanne Shaheen, creating the very opening her daughter is vying to fill, also rejected it in a statement Monday .

After looking to make soaring health care costs an albatross for Republicans in the midterms, Democrats deal to reopen the government after 40 days without language extending the expiring insurance subsidies delivered a blow to their base. The result was so fraught, even Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) opposed it amid intense criticism for allowing eight members of the Democratic caucus to side with Republicans.

Now its creating a litmus test for candidates in competitive midterm races next year, as Democrats fight to retake the Senate  a tough task they feel better about after routing Republicans in last weeks off-cycle elections throughout the country. Theyd need to net four seats in order to seize control of the upper chamber.

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The infighting over the deal will fade quickly and by the time we get closer to the midterms, its very clear that Democrats will aggressively prosecute the case against Republicans on health care, said Matt Bennett of the centrist think tank Third Way. They will say Republicans yanked lifesaving money away from millions of Americans to fund tax cuts for the rich. And that will have the benefit of being true.

Thirty-three Senate seats are up for grabs next year and Democrats are making a serious play for holding or flipping at least a dozen of them. A quartet of candidates vying for open seats  Graham Platner in Maine, Mallory McMorrow in Michigan and Zach Wahls and Nathan Sage in Iowa  reiterated their opposition to Schumers leadership as news of the deal spread.

Chuck Schumer failed in his job yet again, Platner said in a video on X . We need to elect leaders who want to fight.  Call your senators and tell them Chuck Schumer can no longer be leader. Call your congressman and tell them that they cannot vote for this when it comes to them.

In Michigans three-way primary, each candidate panned the deal, representing the ideologically vast opposition within a party otherwise mired in internal dispute.

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This is a bad deal, McMorrow said in a video late Sunday, adding that the old way of doing things is not working. Abdul El-Sayed slammed the shit agreement and castigated Democrats for giving up their leverage when we actually can force [Republicans] to the table after their electoral losses last week. Rep. Haley Stevens said the deal doesnt work for Michigan and that shes going to need a whole lot more than empty promises that were going to lower costs. She did not say how shed vote on the measure in the House. Stevens team confirmed she would vote against the measure in the House.

Senate Democrats capitulation opened an off-ramp to the record-breaking government shutdown that has snarled air travel and led to missed paychecks and lapsed food assistance. The agreement now advancing through the Senate would fund some agencies and programs for the full fiscal year and extend others until Jan. 30, 2026. It also promises Democrats a December floor vote on extending the expiring Obamacare subsidies, though its uncertain to pass the GOP-controlled chamber and Speaker Mike Johnson wont promise to bring up such a vote in the House.

But in cutting a deal, Senate Democrats infuriated a party reinvigorated by its off-year electoral blowout, sparking accusations that the party again squandered its only leverage in the Republican-led Congress  and ensuring Schumers leadership will remain a touchstone in competitive Senate races.

None of the eight Democrats who voted to break the shutdown stalemate are facing voters next year. Two are retiring; the rest are not up for reelection until at least 2028.

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They cited the financial pain the prolonged federal funding lapse was inflicting on their constituents. They cast the pending floor vote on the tax credits as a win for Democrats. And they touted other concessions they secured, like the rehiring of federal workers laid off during the shutdown.

This bill is not perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdowns hurt, Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat who is retiring next year, said Sunday.

The Democrats vying to replace him disagree. Stratton, whos previously called for new Senate leadership, cast Democrats cave as a complete betrayal of the American people. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly both said the outcome failed to help millions of people whose health care premiums are set to skyrocket.

Across the Senate map, opposition spanned Schumers handpicked recruits  whove been largely silent about the shutdown  to the insurgents whove called for his ouster.

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This is a bad deal for Ohioans, former Sen. Sherrod Brown said in a statement. Maine Gov. Janet Mills panned the promise of a vote [on the subsidies] that wont go anywhere. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper  Democrats best chance for flipping a Senate seat and the last major candidate to weigh in on the deal  said in a statement that any deal that lets health care costs continue to skyrocket is unacceptable.

Sage slammed the Senate Democrats who caved and accomplished nothing. Jordan Wood, another Democrat running in Maine, said America needs an opposition party willing to fight for them. Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said in a video , we deserve so much more than this bullshit. Hours later, she was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) , who voted against the deal.

If people believe this is a deal, I have a bridge to sell you, said Flanagans rival, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), adding that shes a no when the measure comes up for a vote in the House. Im not going to put 24 million Americans at risk of losing their health care.

Senate Democrats who brokered the spending deal argued Sunday that they had succeeded in hanging rising health care costs on Republicans necks heading into the midterms.

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If Republicans want to join us in lowering costs for working families, they have the perfect opportunity, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada) said Sunday at the Capitol. If they do choose not to come to the table, they can own the disastrous premium increases.

Democrats continued to target their own.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who was elected the next governor of New Jersey in last weeks blue wave, denounced the deal as malpractice. Zohran Mamdani, New York Citys incoming mayor who Schumer declined to endorse, said the compromise and anyone who supports it should be rejected.

Thats not a deal, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), who drew a primary challenge last week, said Sunday . Its an unconditional surrender.

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Anger toward Senate Democrats also appears to be fueling the partys recruitment efforts. Run for Something, a progressive candidate recruitment organization, saw double the number of signups over seven hours Sunday night  as the shutdown deal moved through the Senate  than over the same time period last Tuesday night as Democrats won elections across the country, according to co-founder Amanda Litman. The group saw 838 signups Sunday night versus 417 on election night.

The political blast radius is extending to Schumer, who is up for reelection in 2028.

Some progressive Democrats and advocacy groups called for his ouster as leader, blaming him for failing to keep his caucus in line even as he voted against the deal he said didnt address the health care crisis and vowed to keep fighting.

Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a potential 2028er, blasted out on X . On Monday, Khanna turned that push into a pitch to pad his supporter list.

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The Sunrise Movement called for Schumer to step aside. Justice Democrats urged voters to reject the eight Senate Democrats who allowed the funding patch to proceed.

I dont think the Democrats leading this surrender effort understand the trust they are shattering in their own voting coalition, Andrew ONeill, the national advocacy director for Indivisible, warned Sunday night.

Schumer voted against the bill because it does nothing to address a health care crisis he called devastating. He pledged to keep fighting.

As House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, too, vowed to fight on, ONeill called for his caucus to follow suit. Several said Sunday that they would.

Adam Wren and Elena Schneider contributed to this report.
Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The British government on Monday said a person who was removed to France recently returned to Britain with a small boat of migrants, the second return of a migrant deported under the so-called "one in, one out" arrangement with France.

The Home Office said the man was part of a group of nearly 400 people who crossed the Channel from France to Britain on Sunday. Officials used biometrics to determine the man was one of 94 people who had been removed to France over the past two months, The Guardian reported.

Immigration officials first removed the man to France less than a month ago, The Independent reported. The Home Office said he will be sent back to France again "as quickly as possible" under an expedited process.

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"Anyone looking to return to the U.K. after being removed under the UK-France agreement is wasting their time and money," a spokesperson for the Home Office said. "The message is clear: If you try to return to the U.K. you will be sent back."

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the news is "evidence of the system working."

"He was immediately detected at the front door, thanks to those biometrics being taken," the spokesperson said.

Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to a deal in July that would see the two countries exchange migrants on a one-to-one basis. France would accept the return of one migrant who arrives without permission in Britain in exchange for each migrant with a legal asylum claim that Britain takes in.

The agreement went into effect Aug. 6, and the first removal took place in mid-September.
Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Three drones were spotted flying over the Doel Nuclear Power Plant in northern Belgium on the evening of Nov. 9, according to Deutsche Welle.

Operations at the power plant near Antwerp were not impacted by the drone sighting, a spokesperson for local energy company Engie said.

Several unidentified drone sightings have occurred in recent days near Belgian infrastructure. On Nov. 3, the Belgian army issued orders to shoot down unknown drones spotted over the country's military bases in response to the sightings.

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On Nov. 4, Belgium suspended air traffic at Brussels Airport due to a reported drone sighting in the area, according to the Belga News Agency. Some flights were diverted to the country's Liege Airport, which was later temporarily closed because of another drone sighting.

Meanwhile, suspicious drones were spotted over Belgium's Kleine Brogel Air Base for three nights in a row between Oct. 31 and Nov. 2, local media reported.

Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken said that the sightings near military bases appear to be part of an espionage operation, not naming the culprit but linking the incidents to recent Russian airspace violations in Europe.

The drone sightings have caused disruptions in several European countries, including Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands. As investigations continue, authorities have not ruled out that the drones may be Russian.

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Amid the drone sightings, Ukraine is set to open defense production offices in Berlin and Copenhagen by year's end as Kyiv seeks to boost its weapons exports, President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists on Nov. 3.

The two cities were chosen as Denmark and Germany are both co-production partners for the Ukrainian defense industry, Zelensky told journalists, adding that "opening two export capitals" will fund the "domestic production of scarce goods."

Ukraine has previously signalled it is ready to help its allies produce drones using its wartime knowledge as Europe increasingly faces signs of hybrid warfare from Russia.

Read also: Russias air defenses are wide open  theres just one problem

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings has taken on former U.S. Rep. David Jolly in the Democratic primary fight to be the partys nominee for governor next year.

Demings filed papers to raise money for a campaign Oct. 31, and made a formal announcement Nov. 6. Jolly in the meantime has been campaigning since June.

The son of a Gadsden County sharecropper and Alabama taxi driver, Demings said he would focus on the need to make Florida more affordable.

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Our state has become more expensive and less fair for everyone, all while power is being stripped away from local communities that know their residents best, Demings told the USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida in an interview.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings discusses impacts of the Florida Legislature's action on the Reedy Creek Improvement District during a news conference Thursday, following the annual Orange County Regional Economic Summit in Orlando.

The Orlando native said his politics was forged as a Florida State University business student in the 1970s when he attended church at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Tallahassee, where legendary civil rights leader C.K. Steele was pastor.

I met a lot of people on that campus. Muhammed Ali, Angela Davis, Andy Young, H. Rap Brown. The university was wonderful in bringing in speakers of the day ... and I went to C.K. Steele's church. He was one of Dr. Kings field generals and he would bring in people like the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Demings said.

Jolly welcomed Demings to what he hopes will be a spirited discussion about how to create affordable housing and health care, and secure the future of public education, among other things.

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Whoever emerges as the winner of the Democratic primary will face long odds against the eventual Republican nominee, who will enjoy a large advantage in voter registration numbers and campaign contributions.

David Jolly a Democratic candidate for governor speaks to the Capital Tiger Bay Club, September 18, 2025

U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Naples, and former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner of Palm Coast are seeking the GOP nomination. First Lady Casey DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jay Collins have been mentioned as possible candidates.

Donalds is endorsed by President Donald Trump.

If Demings and Donalds emerge as their partys nominees, it will mark a unique moment in Florida history  two Black candidates vying to be governor after eight years of Gov. Ron DeSantis policies deemphasizing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) speaks following the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump during an event at Capital One Arena on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

While acknowledging that a Black Democratic and Republican nominee for governor has never happened anywhere in the U.S., Jasmine Burney-Clark of the voter education group Equal Ground, also said the two candidates come from different backgrounds and see the people and the constituents they serve differently.

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These two Black men are not monolithic. They come to this race with different experiences. Demings may prioritize working class individuals, while Donalds may prioritize the special interests of the business community, Burney-Clark said in an interview.

Three questions for Jerry Demings as he runs for governor

(Questions and responses edited for clarity and brevity.)

Q: At a rally, you said you would tackle the rising costs of living, specifically mentioning housing. How does one do that?

Demings: I will do what Ive been doing here in Orange County. One, stabilize the cost of housing and incentivize developers to build workforce housing at a lower cost. Two, build affordable housing closer to where people are going to work, especially low wage earners. They save money because they no longer have to drive long distances or may not need to own an automobile.

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And I will insist that we use the Sadowski Housing Trust Fund for what its intended purpose was instead of reallocating billions of dollars for purposes that has nothing to do with affordable housing.

Q: Another plank in your platform is to strengthen local government authority in light of recent moves by the Legislature to preempt city and county regulations and policies to the state. What do you have in mind?

Demings: Im going back to the days when we let local governments make decisions. They set their budgets and are required to manage them. Im not trying to get into local governments ability to manage their budgets other than to say that should be their discretionary authority.

Local governments are seeing tremendous (population) growth and the state has preempted local governments from controlling many of their land use issues. Lets have the state work with local governments to empower them to make decisions for themselves.

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Q: Media reports describe you as a political centrist. Do you agree?

Demings: Im a moderate Democrat. I tend to work across political lines to bring constituents with mutual interests together to make mutual decisions. Im as big a bipartisan person as anyone. I'm in the center where the majority of people are in terms of their beliefs and their policy positions.

Follow up Q: A moderate who supports Medicaid expansion?

Demings: We have been leaving money on the table from the federal government by not expanding Medicaid eligibility.

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James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahassee.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: 3 questions for Jerry Demings as he runs for Florida governor
WASHINGTON (AP)  The senators  eight in total  faced almost instant blowback from Democrats as they broke ranks and voted to allow the Senate to move forward on compromise legislation that would reopen the government.

Their decision Sunday night was labeled a betrayal" and pathetic by some of the most prominent voices in the Democratic Party.

To my mind, this was a very, very bad vote, said Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats.

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The group of defectors consisted of several senators who are retiring next year, as well as a number of former governors. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana praised them Monday morning, saying they decided to put principle over their personal politics.

The senators surely knew the criticism that was coming. But after huddling for hours  often in the Senate basement  over the last week, each senator reached the same conclusion: It was time for the government shutdown to end.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire

Shaheen, a senior Democrat who will be retiring from the Senate, often took the lead in negotiating the compromise legislation to end the shutdown. She had made it a priority to extend subsidies for health plans offered under the Affordable Care Act, but she had also expressed reservations about voting to shut down the government.

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In the end, she settled for a pledge from Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota to hold a vote in December on the health subsidies.

This was the only deal on the table. It was our best chance to reopen the government and immediately begin negotiations to extend the ACA tax credits that tens of millions of Americans rely on to keep costs down, she said at a news conference following the Sunday night vote.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois

Durbin is another senator who will be retiring after a long Senate career. Durbin holds the No. 2 position in Democratic leadership and broke ranks with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York after saying that the shutdown had caused too much pain for the American people.

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In a statement before the vote, Durbin, who argued that Republicans are still to blame for the shutdown, said, This bill is not perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdowns hurt. Not only would it fully fund SNAP for the year ahead, but it would reverse the mass firings the Trump Administration ordered throughout the shutdown.

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia

Kaine, a former Virginia governor, was one of the last Democrats to join the group willing to vote to advance to the bill. He said that, as late as Sunday evening, he was checking over the legislation with his staff. For him, the deciding factor was language in the funding bill that prevents President Donald Trump's administration from conducting more mass layoffs  an issue that is particularly important for his state.

He called the agreement a moratorium on mischief" and said he was only able to get the agreement as negotiations reached a crucial juncture.

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The kinds of just non-strategic mass firings and (reduction in force actions) that have traumatized federal employees since Inauguration Day, they cant do them anymore, Kaine said.

Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire

Hassan, a former governor, had been involved with negotiations from early on and emphasized that the threats to federal food aid had made the situation more urgent.

Hassan said she heard from families about the deep pain that the government shutdown has caused, made worse by a president who illegally and repeatedly chose to cut off help for families who are just trying to buy groceries."

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After weeks of bipartisan conversations, she said Sunday, "I voted today to reopen the government so that we can get back to the work of helping Granite Staters.

The government funding bill refills funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, as well as ensuring that states that spent their own funds to keep it running during the shutdown will be reimbursed.

Sen. Angus King of Maine

King is an independent who caucuses with the Democratic Party and is a former governor. He had been voting since the outset to reopen the government, yet he also played a key role in the negotiations, including often hosting senators for talks in his Capitol basement office.

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He has consistently said that he is opposed to using a government shutdown as a negotiating tactic, yet he also wanted Congress to extend the health care subsidies. After Republicans rejected a proposal from Schumer to extend the ACA tax credits for one year, King said it showed that the shutdown was not working.

The question was: Does the shutdown further the goal of achieving some needed support for the extension of the tax credits? Our judgment was that it would not produce that result, King said.

Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada

Rosen has grown increasingly irate as the shutdown has worn on and Republicans refused to give in to Democrats' demands on the ACA credits. As air travel was increasingly affected by the shutdown, the economy of her home state of Nevada, a political swing state, was also under threat.

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In a statement, Rosen said that Trump and fellow Republicans are weaponizing their power in alarming ways to inflict unimaginable pain and suffering on working people, like fully withholding SNAP benefits and gutting our tourism industry by grinding air travel to a halt."

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada

Cortez Masto is another Democrat who has been voting to reopen the government. She also emphasized that the impact to travel had been particularly harmful to Nevada and that the impacts to food assistance programs provided a new sense of urgency. She said that lines at food banks were the longest she has seen since the coronavirus pandemic.

The stories were horrific, she said.

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Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania

Fetterman, who was elected in 2022, has also been voting to reopen the government, breaking with his party as he does on many other issues. He has criticized Democrats for using the shutdown to demand concessions on health care.

Im sorry to our military, SNAP recipients, gov workers, and Capitol Police who havent been paid in weeks, he said on social media. It shouldve never come to this. This was a failure.

___

Follow the AP's coverage of the federal government shutdown at https://apnews.com/hub/government-shutdown.
BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First)  The Louisiana State Police is investigating after an 88-year-old man from Glynn was killed in a single-vehicle crash Saturday afternoon in Pointe Coupee Parish.

According to troopers, the crash happened around 12:30 p.m. on LA 416 near LA 981. LSP said that Joseph Bajoie was driving a 2005 Dodge 1500 pickup truck, heading west on the highway. For reasons still under investigation, the truck ran off the right side, then returned to the road before veering off the left side and hitting a tree.

Bajoie was not wearing a seat belt and died at the scene, according to LSP.

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Baton Rouge among worst cities for veterans, study says

Troopers dont suspect impairment, but they collected a toxicology sample for the investigation.

Troopers wish to remind motorists to always make good decisions while in a motor vehicle. Never drive impaired, fatigued, or distracted; follow all traffic laws, and always ensure every occupant is properly restrained. While not all crashes are survivable, taking simple precautions such as these can often mean the difference between life and death, LSP said.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Louisiana First News.
A 99-year-old driver is accused of critically injuring an 80-year-old bicyclist after hitting him with her car and fleeing the scene in a small New Jersey town over the weekend, authorities said.

Authorities responded to the crash around 12:36 p.m. Saturday on Main Street in Helmetta, a suburb about 41 miles southwest of New York City, and found an 80-year-old bicyclist who had suffered serious bodily injuries as a result of the crash, the Jamesburg Police Department said.

The victim was transported by paramedics to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, about 10 miles away in New Brunswick.

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He is currently listed in critical but stable condition, police said.

Meanwhile, the 99-year-old woman driver fled the scene of the crash, but was quickly located by police in Spotswood, a small borough about two miles down the road.

A 99-year-old driver is accused of critically injuring an 80-year-old bicyclist in a hit-and-run on Saturday in New Jersey (Getty/iStock)

Main Street in Helmetta was temporarily closed as police conducted an on-scene investigation, authorities said.

The crash is being investigated by the Jamesburg Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office.

Jamesburg police patrol Helmetta, a borough of less than a square mile in size, as it does not have its own police force, according to NJ.com.

It was not immediately clear if the driver involved is facing any charges. Authorities have not publicly named the driver or victim.

The Jamesburg Police Department did not immediately return a request for comment from The Independent.
Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, said Sunday that Democrats in the Senate should join a majority of Senate Republicans to vote to reopen the government, regardless of whether both sides reach a deal on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies.

The government needs to open and it needs to open immediately. We need the president to demonstrate leadership, bringing people together, endeavoring to get through whatever negotiations need to get through, whether its before or after, Spanberger told CBS Face the Nation on Sunday, before senators came to an agreement that could potentially end the shutdown.

She added that her priority as the incoming governor of Virginia is focusing on the needs and the devastation, frankly, that more than 300,000 Virginians are facing.

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Asked whether congressional Democrats should view Democratic victories last week as a sign that voters support their push to keep the government closed until they reach a deal on ACA subsidies, Spanberger said, Absolutely not.

Our victory was a victory that was based on a campaign that was addressing concerns related to costs and chaos, the governor-elect said, adding later: Virginians need to and Virginians want to see the government reopen, and my expectation is that we will see a Congress, a Senate and ultimately a president driving us in that direction.

Virginia is home to hundreds of thousands of federal workers, many of whom are furloughed or working without pay for the duration of the shutdown, which is set to enter its 40th day on Monday.

The entirety of Virginias economy is impacted by the shutdown, just as weve been impacted by DOGE attacks, and the government needs to reopen quickly, added Spanberger, who won her states gubernatorial election last week.

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Any measure to temporarily reopen the government would need to get 60 votes in the Senate. Republicans currently have 53 seats in the chamber.

Congressional Democrats have raised alarms over ACA subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year, noting their expiration could double or triple insurance premiums for many Americans next year.

But Democrats and Republicans are still at a stalemate. Republican leaders say they will negotiate on the ACA subsidies after Democrats vote to open the government.

Democrats, like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, say they wont reopen the government without a concrete plan to extend the subsidies.

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I dont think that the House Democratic Caucus is prepared to support a promise, a wing and a prayer from folks who have been devastating the health care of the American people for years, the minority leader said Sunday on NBC News Meet the Press.

Last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer offered a proposal that would extend ACA subsidies for one year and form a bipartisan commission to study how to handle the subsidies after that.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Saturday called the plan a nonstarter.

On Sunday, Spanberger urged her Senate Democratic colleagues to vote alongside Republicans to reopen the government.

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Eight Democrats could cross the aisle, she said, adding: We absolutely need everyone to vote to open the government, and thats not to say that the challenges were facing within our health care system are not also immediate and acute.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
This story has been updated to add new information.

The addition of 30 provisional ballots cast in Brevard and Rosmans municipal elections Nov. 4, but not counted until after the election, has shifted those towns vote tallies.

They broke a tie in Rosman and cemented the rankings in Brevard, where second and third place in the two-seat race had been separated by a single vote.

There were a few clear winners according to unofficial vote counts for Transylvania County, the North Carolina Board of Elections reported hours after the polls closed Nov. 4, but in some cases the provisional ballots had the potential to tip the scales.

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There were 27 provisional ballots in Brevard and three in Rosman, Transylvania County Elections Director Jeff Storey told the Times-News Nov. 4 after unofficial totals were reported.

A voter can cast a provisional ballot if there are issues with their registration records, or if, for instance, they dont have their ID with them or go to the wrong precinct. Provisional ballots arent counted until officials check on voters eligibility, according to the NC Board of Elections website.

The Transylvania County Board of Elections met Nov. 7 and reviewed staff reports on provisional voters eligibility status.

Multiple voters were found ineligible because their addresses fell outside of city limits, among other reasons, Transylvania County Board of Elections staff member Julie Dennis told the Times-News Nov. 10.

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There were 10 Brevard ballots and three Rosman ballots approved by the board in a "cut and dried" meeting Nov. 7, Storey told the Times-News Nov. 10.

Businessman Dean Lytle was first in the race for Brevard City Council as soon as the counts were reported, apparently safe because the margin greater than 27. He had 1,446 votes last week and now has 1,451, according to NC Board of Elections data.

But sitting Council member Aaron Baker and small business owner Doug Miller, second and third place, were separated by just a single vote, 1,313 to 1,312. Provisional ballots widened that margin to four votes, 1,318 to 1,314, with Baker still ahead.

Rosman Board of Aldermen candidates Geri Morgan and Nathan Moody were tied after Election Day with 47 votes each. Provisional ballots pushed Morgan over the top into third place, and an apparent win for the boards third opening, with 49 votes to Moodys 48.

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Hope Hollingsworth and Missy Hendricks remain in first and second place in that race, with Hollingsworth up two votes, and Hendricks up three from Election Day, for totals of 69 and 68.

Brevard Mayor Maureen Copelof won handily with nearly 75% of the vote against challenger Chris Wiener.

There were five to seven write-in votes in each of the three races.

The Transylvania County Board of Elections plans to vote on certifying the results Nov. 14.

More: 'Close as you can get': provisional ballots likely to tip Brevard, Rosman election results

More: NC Attorney General sues FEMA over $17.5 million in withheld grants for emergency workers

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George Fabe Russell is the Henderson County Reporter for the Hendersonville Times-News. Tips, questions, comments? Email him at GFRussell@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Provisional ballots reshuffle Brevard, Rosman election outcomes
LEBANON COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM)  A Pittsburgh man is accused of trying to solicit sex acts with a young girl in Lebanon County, according to Attorney General Dave Sunday.

An agent from Sundays office went undercover online on a website where they began messaging with Eric Gillespie, 57, according to investigators. That website was noted by investigators to be used by offenders who try to meet up with children.

Sunday said that Gillespie then allegedly tried to meet up with a girl in Lebanon County. There was also evidence regarding contact with children, Sunday said.

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Our Child Predator Section proactively uncovered this defendant who, under an online pseudonym, was lurking online to access children, Sunday said in a statement. This case is yet another example of the dangers that exist online in anonymous chat platforms and other communication venues.

The Lebanon County District Attorneys Office assisted Sundays office in the investigation. Sunday said the investigation is ongoing.

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Gillespie faces felony charges of unlawful contact with a minor and criminal use of a communication facility, online court records show.

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He was placed in Lebanon County Prison with bail denied. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for November 20.

Senior Deputy Attorney General Janie Swinehart is prosecuting the case.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27.
BEIRUT, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Two Hezbollah members were killed Sunday in separate Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.

According to the NNA, an Israeli drone fired two guided missiles at a car near Al-Ma'sarah on the Houmine Al-Fawqa road in Nabatieh district, killing one person. A second strike targeted a pickup truck between Al-Sawwaneh and Khirbet Selm in southeastern Lebanon, killing another.

A Lebanese military intelligence source told Xinhua that the victims were Hezbollah members: engineer Abbas Al-Jawad, killed in Houmine Al-Fawqa, and Hassan Ali Sultan, killed near Al-Sawwaneh.

Separately, the NNA said the Israeli army is carrying out excavation work at a new military site near Aitaroun in southwestern Lebanon.

A Lebanese military intelligence official said the expansion is part of Israel's efforts to reinforce one of five fortified positions along the border. The Israeli team, equipped with bulldozers and excavators, is building earth berms, fortified shelters for armored vehicles, and surveillance structures overlooking Lebanese territory.

A U.S.- and French-brokered ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel has been in place since Nov. 27, 2024, ending the clashes that followed the Gaza war. Despite the truce, Israel continues occasional strikes in Lebanon, citing the need to eliminate Hezbollah "threats," and maintains five main positions along the border. 
United States President Donald Trump has held talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House, as the Department of the Treasury announced suspending sanctions against Damascus for a further six months.

The meeting on Monday capped a stunning year for al-Sharaa, a 43-year-old former al-Qaeda commander who toppled the longtime hardline leader of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, last December.

Al-Sharaa, who wants to unify his war-ravaged nation and end its decades of international isolation, was the first ever Syrian leader to visit the White House since the countrys independence in 1946.

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The Syrian presidency said al-Sharaa and Trump held talks focusing on bilateral relations between Syria and the United States, ways to strengthen and develop them, and a number of regional and international issues of common interest.

For his part, Trump heaped praise on al-Sharaa after the meeting.

He comes from a very tough place, and hes a tough guy. I like him, Trump said of the Syrian president.

Well do everything we can to make Syria successful, because thats part of the Middle East. We have peace now in the Middle East  the first time that anyone can remember that ever happening.

But Trump also gave a nod to al-Sharaas controversial past. Weve all had rough pasts, he said.

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Al-Sharaa later told Fox News that his association with al-Qaeda was a matter of the past and was not discussed during his meeting with Trump. Syria is now seen as a geopolitical ally of Washington and not a threat, he added.





Muted welcome

The meeting between the two leaders came six months after their first meeting in Saudi Arabia, where Trump announced plans to lift sanctions, and just days after the US said that al-Sharaa was no longer a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

Al-Sharaa, who was captured by US forces in Iraq during Washingtons occupation of the country, later led al-Qaedas branch in Syria.

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His group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, split from al-Qaeda in 2016. But the US, less than a year ago, had a $10m reward for information leading to al-Sharaas arrest.

Since removing al-Assad, al-Sharaa has further reinvented his image, dropping the name he was also known as, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, for his birth name and promoting a tolerant and inclusive Syria. The interim leader addressed the United Nations General Assembly earlier this year, saying that his country is reclaiming its rightful place among the nations of the world and has sought to strengthen economic ties with the US and the European Union.

Still, al-Sharaa received a muted welcome at the White House on Monday. He entered the White House through a side door and was not greeted by Trump outside. And there was no photo opportunity in front of the press or joint news conference between the two leaders.

As al-Sharaa left the compound, he exited his motorcade just in front of the White House and briefly greeted a cheering crowd of supporters, some waving Syrian flags.





Shortly afterwards, a senior US official told The Associated Press and AFP news agencies that Syria has formally confirmed that it would join the global coalition against the armed group ISIL (ISIS), becoming its 90th member.

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The official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the US would also allow Syria to resume operations at its embassy in Washington so the two countries can better coordinate on counterterrorism, security and economic issues.

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian government.

Such a move could pave the way for the withdrawal of US troops from the country.

Just hours before the landmark talks, word emerged of two separate ISIL plots to assassinate al-Sharaa that had been foiled over the last few months, according to a senior Syrian security official and a senior Middle Eastern official.

Over the weekend, the Syrian Ministry of Interior launched a nationwide campaign targeting ISIL cells across the country, arresting more than 70 suspects, state media said.

Chance at greatness

The new sanctions relief announced by Washington on Monday suspends punitive measures under the Caesar Act, which prohibited US business dealings with the Syrian government and military, for an additional 180 days.

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Removing US sanctions will support Syrias efforts to rebuild its economy, provide prosperity for all its citizens, including its ethnic and religious minorities, and combat terrorism, the US Treasury Department said in a statement.

It added that Trump is delivering on his commitment to give Syria a chance at greatness and to let them rebuild and thrive by lifting US sanctions and ensuring accountability for harmful actors.

While the Caesar Act sanctions are currently waived by Trump, a permanent repeal would require Congress to act.

One option is a proposal from Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, that would end the sanctions without any conditions. The other was drafted by Senator Lindsey Graham, a hawkish Trump ally who wants to set conditions for a sanctions repeal that would be reviewed every six months.

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But Syria advocates argue that any repeal with conditions would prevent companies from investing in Syria because they would fear potentially being sanctioned.

Mouaz Moustafa, the executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, likened it to a hanging shadow that paralyses any initiatives for our country.





Israel ties

Al-Sharaa, who arrived in Washington, DC, on Sunday, also met with Congressman Brian Mast, chair of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee and one of the most staunchly pro-Israel politicians in the country.

Last evening, the new Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and I broke bread. We had a long and serious conversation about how to build a future for the people of Syria free of war, ISIS, and extremism, Mast, who previously wore an Israeli army uniform to Congress and argued that there are no innocent Palestinian civilians, said in a statement.

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The Republican congressman is reported to be sceptical of the push to lift sanctions against Syria.

Since the fall of al-Assad, Israel has been regularly bombing Syrian military installations and state institutions. The Israeli military has also been advancing in the south of the country, well beyond the occupied Golan Heights.

Al-Sharaa had said early on that Syria would not pose a threat to Israel, and his government has detained senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) members in the country. But the proverbial olive branch has not stemmed the Israeli attacks.

Al-Sharaa has said that his country is seeking a security agreement with Israel to secure the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the areas they occupied over the past year.

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On Monday, Trump told reporters he was working with Israel on getting along with Syria.

You can expect some announcements on Syria, he said when asked about the possibility of an agreement between Syria and Israel.

We want to see Syria become a country thats very successful. And I think this leader can do it. I really do. And people said hes had a rough past. Weve all had rough pasts.

The US president said later on his Truth Social platform that he plans to meet and speak with al-Sharaa again.





US priorities for Syria

Trumps focus on Syria comes as his administration seeks to keep intact a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas and push forward on his 20-point plan for an end to the two-year-old war in the Palestinian enclave.

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Trump has been claiming that the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza has brought historic peace to the Middle East, despite Israels continued daily deadly attacks across the occupied Palestinian territory and Lebanon.

Thomas Warrick, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said the White House is motivated by a series of regional strategic objectives that it hopes the Trump and al-Sharaa meeting will help achieve.

The United States has three priorities for Syria, Warrick told Al Jazeera.

One of them is a counterterrorism cooperation to make sure that the so-called Islamic State [ISIL] never comes back into power in Syria or Iraq. Second is reducing Irans malign influence in Syrian affairs. And then third is improved relations between Syria and Israel, including eventually  although it wont happen anytime soon  Syria joining the Abraham Accords.

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On the first issue, al-Sharaa and Trump are very closely aligned, Warrick said. And on the Abraham Accords, al-Sharaa has clearly decided that working diplomatically to engage Israel and the United States is the way for Syria to regain full sovereignty over those parts of Syrian territory that Israel currently has troops on, Warrick said.

While there has been some measurable progress on the issue, clearly, there is a long way still to go on that, he added.
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday demanded air traffic controllers return to work as travelers endured another day of flight cancellations, which the administration ordered to manage staff shortages during the government shutdown.

Trump's comment came after the U.S. aviation system has suffered serious disruptions in recent days as air traffic controller absences soared while they work without pay. Some are absent as they need to work second jobs or cannot afford child care.

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An airline trade group said 1.2 million customers on Saturday and Sunday had flights delayed or canceled due to air traffic issues.

Threatening to curtail the pay of any controller who did not return to work, Trump said he would award those who have not taken time off during the 41-day shutdown $10,000 bonuses and would welcome the resignations of the rest.

"All Air Traffic Controllers must get back to work, NOW!!! Anyone who doesnt will be substantially 'docked,'" Trump wrote on social media. "REPORT TO WORK IMMEDIATELY."

Even before the shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration was about 3,500 air traffic controllers short of targeted staffing levels. Many had been working mandatory overtime and six-day weeks.

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Officials said it was unclear how the White House could deny pay under the controllers' union contract once the government reopens, as Trump threatened, or how the president would pay for the proposed $10,000 bonuses.

"I don't know - I'll get it from someplace," Trump told Fox News late on Monday.

STAFFING ISSUES AT TWO DOZEN AIRPORTS

There were strong indications the longest government shutdown in U.S. history will end later this week after a compromise was approved by the U.S. Senate late on Monday.

But it was unclear when Congress would give its final approval and when airline operations could return to normal as the U.S. approaches the busy Thanksgiving holiday travel period.

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Some 20% to 40% of air traffic controllers have been absent on any given day at the 30 biggest U.S. airports during the shutdown, the FAA said last week.

Despite Trump's threatening social media post, the FAA reported late on Monday that it had staffing issues at nearly two dozen air traffic facilities across the United States.

The FAA imposed ground delay or ground stop programs due to staffing issues at nine airports including Houston, New York, Newark, Chicago, San Francisco, Phoenix and Las Vegas and it was slowing flights in Florida. Airlines have canceled more than 2,380 U.S. flights and delayed 8,900 on Monday, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking website.

Given how extensive the disruptions were, airline executives were pessimistic that the FAA would lift the restrictions anytime soon.

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On Sunday, 2,950 flights were canceled and nearly 11,200 delayed in the single worst day for flight disruptions since the government shutdown began on October 1.

Shares of the biggest U.S. carriers, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, turned negative after Trump's social media post.

FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS SET TO RISE

The FAA instructed airlines to cut 4% of daily flights starting last week at 40 major airports. That is scheduled to rise to 6% on Tuesday and then hit 10% on Friday.

Staffing issues worsened over the weekend and the number of air-traffic control centers with staff shortages rose to 81 on Saturday, the peak since the start of the shutdown on October 1, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on Sunday.

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Duffy has sought to retain controllers who could retire, speed hiring and undertake a $12.5 billion overhaul of air-traffic control systems.

Asked about Trump's comments, including the bonus plan, National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Nick Daniels said on Monday controllers would appreciate any recognition.

"We'll work with the administration .... Air traffic controllers will continue to show up during this shutdown," he said.

Trump scolded controllers who have taken time off and called those who have continued to work "GREAT PATRIOTS."

Representative Rick Larsen, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives committee overseeing the FAA, said the controllers "deserve our thanks and appreciation, not unhinged attacks on their patriotism."

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'SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE,' AMERICAN AIRLINES EXECUTIVE SAYS

Airlines urged quick approval of a bill the U.S. Senate voted to advance on Sunday that would reopen the government. It was unclear when Duffy would lift the flight restrictions.

"The government shutdown must end and so must the disruption caused to our customers and the federal employees who are being forced to work without pay," Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan said.

American Airlines said more than 250,000 customers' flights were canceled or delayed over the weekend. "This is simply unacceptable and everyone deserves better," American Chief Operating Officer David Seymour told employees.

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The FAA said late on Sunday it was also suspending private-plane traffic at 12 airports with air traffic control staff shortages, including Chicago O'Hare and Reagan Washington National.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Sanders, Cynthia Osterman and Jamie Freed)
US President Donald Trump hosts Syria's interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday in the first visit by a Syrian head of state since independence in 1946, with Damascus expected to formally join the US-led coalition against the so-called Islamic State group.

"Part of the president's efforts in diplomacy to meet with anyone around the world in the pursuit of peace," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said of the visit.

The meeting follows their May encounter in Saudi Arabia, the first official US-Syria contact since Bill Clinton met Hafez Assad in 2000.

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Trump described al-Sharaa after the Riyadh meeting as a "young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past, very strong past. Fighter." The US president recently said al-Sharaa is "doing a very good job so far" and that "a lot of progress has been made with Syria" since Washington eased sanctions.

The talks are expected to see Damascus officially join the US-led coalition against the IS, a move that will allow it to work more closely with US armed forces.

Al-Sharaa seeks end to sanctions

The UN Security Council voted Thursday to lift sanctions on al-Sharaa and government officials. US UN ambassador Mike Waltz said the vote signals Damascus has entered a new era since the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Al-Sharaa seeks permanent repeal of sanctions that punished Syria for human rights abuses under al-Assad's government. Trump has waived Caesar Act sanctions, but Congress must act to abolish them permanently.

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Advocates argue that an unconditional repeal would prevent company investment in Syria due to potential sanction fears. "Repealing sanctions with conditions is like a hanging shadow that paralyses any initiatives for our country," said Mouaz Moustafa, Syrian Emergency Task Force executive director.

Related

Al-Sharaa led rebel forces that toppled al-Assad in December and became interim leader in January. Two decades ago, he was held in a US-run Iraq detention centre after joining al-Qaida militants fighting US forces.

Since ousting al-Assad, al-Sharaa  who cut al-Qaida ties years earlier  conducted a largely successful effort establishing ties with countries that shunned al-Assad's government after its 2011 brutal crackdown on protesters spiralled into a 14-year-long civil war.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WHNT)  Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced on Monday that she selected Will Parker to serve on the Alabama Supreme Court.

Parker will fill the vacancy left by Bill Lewis.

Balloon release held in honor of Huntsville shooting victim

Ivey previously appointed Lewis to the Alabama Supreme Court before President Donald Trump selected him for a federal judgeship.

Parker has served as Iveys General Counsel since December 2019 and first joined her office in June 2017.

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Will Parker is the exact kind of person you want serving on the Alabama Supreme Court. He is not only highly capable and dedicated to the rule of law, but he is a truly good man with the utmost integrity, said Governor Ivey. He has been an outstanding General Counsel, easily explaining the complexities of the law and constitution in understandable verbiage. That will no doubt serve the Court well. While I will miss having him as General Counsel, I am thrilled for the people of Alabama, as well as for Will and his family, as he takes on this new role.

Parkers appointment is effective immediately.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com.
Nov. 9The Spokane County Democrats on Saturday selected a West Plains water commissioner as its next chair  the third person to lead the party in as many months amid interparty and legal conflicts.

Precinct officers overwhelmingly supported Steven McCray II to become the new chair after McCray and fellow chair nominee, Jackson Deese, voiced their visions for uniting the party, securing its finances and mediating future disagreements Saturday morning at the downtown Spokane Public Library. The officers voted 48-24 in favor of McCray.

McCray, 46, is an elected water commissioner for the Four Lakes Water District and last year ran unsuccessfully against Republican state Rep. Mike Volz for his position. McCray said he works part-time at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane as a substance abuse prevention intern.

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"Right now, our party is under attack at all levels," McCray told the nearly 50 people Saturday who attended in person and the several others who watched virtually. "Our democracy is under attack at all levels. The opposition has no problem in breaking the law, violating the constitution, sending ICE into our communities, sending in National Guard. And they are violating every rule and norm of our country right now, and we need people that are willing to stand up, and I'm willing to stand up and I have stood up."

McCray takes over for acting Chair Matthew Sorey, who is facing a DUI charge after a Washington State Patrol trooper pulled him over Sept. 7. Sorey's blood alcohol content was 0.14 at the time of his arrest, according to court documents.

As vice chair, Sorey, 25, assumed chair duties after Naida Spencer announced her resignation as chair Sept. 10.

Spencer wrote in her resignation letter that she had unwillingly become the center of interparty conflict and felt stepping down was necessary for the party to move forward.

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McCray told The Spokesman-Review after Saturday's meeting that repairing the party's reputation is one of his priorities.

"Unfortunately, the last few months we've taken some damage from things that have gone on in the press and we need to work on that," he said.

Sorey, whose vice chair term runs through 2026, told The Spokesman-Review Saturday that his DUI arrest "had nothing to do with my decision to not run" for chair.

He said serving as vice chair and chair was a huge commitment and he wants to spend time working on campaigns. He was campaign manager for Zack Zappone, who won re-election last week to his Spokane City Council seat.

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Sorey said he wants to work on a campaign next year and didn't want to have a "conflict of interest" working on a campaign and serving as chair of the Democratic Party.

"I feel like I got my experience as chair, and it is a lot for somebody who works full time," Sorey said.

He said he was thankful for the opportunity and that McCray and Deese stepped up to run, and now he can focus on his vice chair role.

"I'm thankful for all the people that stepped up in the office," Sorey said. "There's a lot of great folks that volunteer in the office that I've cultivated really strong relationships with, so I'm very, very thankful for that."

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Deese, a 24-year-old legislative assistant to Zappone, told The Spokesman-Review he still plans to be involved with the Spokane County Democrats and was excited to support McCray.

"I've been a Democrat since I was 11 years old watching Barack Obama run for re-election," Deese told precinct officers. "That's not going to change anytime soon."

He said his youth and the fact many of the precinct officers didn't know him well because of his short time with the organization may have worked against him Saturday.

"I believed in my vision for it, but I understand why people had their hesitations about me," Deese said. "I get it, and maybe I'll run again in the future."

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Deese graduated from Mead High School and then the University of Washington before moving back to the Spokane area. He said Democrats have struggled locally and nationally and that the party needs to "get back on track" by finding an identity.

"I think we need to band together to get a plan together and execute that plan," Deese said.

Meanwhile, McCray has chaired multiple committees within the Democratic Party. He's a precinct committee officer in the 6th Legislative District.

He recently graduated from Eastern Washington University with a bachelor's degree in social work and a minor in psychology, he said. McCray founded the EWU Student Democrats.

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He was recently re-elected to the Four Lakes Water District commission.

One precinct officer questioned Saturday whether McCray met residency requirements to be Four Lakes Water District commissioner.

McCray, who filed for divorce in June, moved out of the Four Lakes residence he shared with his wife and into a Spokane house in June, according to court documents.

McCray responded to the precinct officer's question that his home, voter registration and mail addresses are still at Four Lakes. He said that's where he goes home most nights as well.

When the officer pressed McCray again, citing the court filing that he moved out of the Four Lakes residence and into a Spokane home, McCray again said his home, voter registration and mail address are still in Four Lakes.

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McCray told The Spokesman-Review after Saturday's meeting that he has already spoken with water district officials and intends to resign immediately after he is sworn into his water commission position in January. He said he filed to run for the position in the spring while living in Four Lakes and then moved to Spokane in June, the month after the deadline for candidates to remove their name from the ballot.

He said he's been living at his Spokane residence, and recently signed a lease there, but he said he wasn't using that as his permanent address because of his "fluid" situation. He said he and his girlfriend just purchased a home in Cheney, so that is expected to be his new permanent home.

McCray said he's "fully within the requirements of the law."

He said he was, "caught off guard that he was pulling my divorce decree," when asked by The Spokesman-Review why he didn't clarify the situation at Saturday's meeting.

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McCray told attendees his main goal as the Spokane County Democrat's chair is to address ongoing money issues.

"We have to secure ourselves financially if we want to do anything this next year," McCray said.

He said the organization had $3,900 and the party spends about $3,000 a month just to "keep the lights on" at its office on Washington Street and Boone Avenue, just north of downtown.

"That's rather frightening and has me very worried," he said of the "dire" financial situation.

McCray said the party is locked into a lease at its Washington Street office for at least another two years, and the idea of breaking the lease will create "severely bad press" for the party. So, he said the plan is to "suck it up" and continue paying the lease until it expires. He said he would then love to explore other options, like moving into a labor union building.

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"They are our greatest ally in the community," he said.

The county Democratic Party has two primary fundraisers each year, but McCray suggested hosting additional, smaller fundraisers all over the county. He said the current fundraisers are primarily in Spokane, which neglects the smaller towns within Spokane County.

"There's a great opportunity for us to have a much bigger footprint in these communities," he said.

One precinct officer asked the two chair nominees how they would mediate interparty conflict given the party's recent tensions.

"I'm well aware of the interpersonal conflicts that have gone on in this party and it's very unfortunate," McCray said. "When conflicts happen in the shadows, it creates an opportunity for them to just get larger and larger."

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He said if people are unable to resolve issues through discussions, the issue needs to go to the party's grievance committee.

"I've never been afraid to reach out to somebody when I have a problem with them," McCray said.

He called the Spokane County Democrats a "bottom-up organization," and as chair, he would represent the precinct officers and county voters alike. Any issues within the party would be put to a vote.

"As a democratic organization, the best way to unite people is by giving everybody in the organization a vote and a choice in the direction that we go," he said.

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Some precinct officers expressed concern about the many responsibilities of the chair and the susceptibility to "burn out."

McCray said he will rely on others to help him.

"The chair's primary job should be finding the right people to do the jobs and letting them go to work, and then finding the money to support the office," he said.

He said he started his master's degree program, but already made arrangements to put his education and job at the VA on hold to focus on his party leadership role.

"This will be my top priority," he said. "I will take it as a full-time job."

McCray told the newspaper he's willing to fight for his beliefs and stand up for his party.

"I am a proud Democrat," he said.
PANAMA CITY  On Nov. 6, the American Hospital Association (AHA) recognized Ascension Sacred Heart Bay in Panama City with the 75-year AHA Membership Milestone Award.

The AHA honors milestone members annually to celebrate their commitment to advancing health in the communities they serve. Ascension Sacred Heart Bay is part of Ascension Florida.

For 75 years, Ascension Sacred Heart Bay has exemplified what it means to be a trusted community health partner, delivering compassionate care, fostering innovation, and working collaboratively to improve lives, Rebecca Jolley, AHA regional executive, said in a press release. We are proud to recognize their lasting commitment to advancing health in Panama City and beyond.

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Previous coverage: Ascension Sacred Heart Bay hospital marks World Stroke Day

We are proud to celebrate this moment and honor the legacy of service that has defined Sacred Heart Bay for the past 75 years, Robin Godwin, president and CEO of Sacred Heart Bay, said in the release. This milestone is a shared achievement with our community, reflecting our ongoing mission to provide high-quality, critical care access across to the communities we serve.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Ascension Sacred Heart Bay receives national honor
A slew of major airports were not accepting private planes this week amid ongoing aviation restrictions stemming from the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

The move follows the Federal Aviation Administrations Nov. 6 order for flight reductions at 40 airports across the country in order to maintain the highest standards of safety in the national airspace system.

Those airports were ordered to reduce operations by 4% on Nov. 7. The reductions will progressively increase to 6% by Nov. 11, 8% by Nov. 13 and 10% by Nov. 14.

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More than 10,000 flights were delayed and more than 3,200 others were canceled on Nov. 9 alone.

The restrictions on private flights that went into effect on Nov. 10 will only add to the disruptions. Private jets make up roughly one in six flights handled by the FAA, according to a 2023 environmental impact report by the Institute for Policy Studies.

The affected airports include:

Chicago OHare International Airport

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York)

Los Angeles International Airport

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

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Above all, this moment underscores the need to reopen the government to serve all Americans, Ed Bolen, president and CEO of the National Business Aviation Association, said in a Nov. 9 news release about the restrictions.

The FAA did not immediately respond to USA TODAYs request for comment.

Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on November 7 2025. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. Forty airports were due to slow down, including the giant hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. Travelers arrive at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, on November 7, 2025. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. Forty airports were due to slow down, including the giant hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. A TSA agent directs people as they wait in line at a security checkpoint at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on November 7 2025. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. Forty airports were due to slow down, including the giant hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. A screen shows United Airlines 2619 landing at Chicago International Airport O'Hare, a day after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that he would order 10% of flights at 40 major U.S. airports to be cut starting Friday unless a deal to end the federal government shutdown is reached, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., November 6, 2025. Air travelers face the morning commute at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, a day after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that he would order 10% of flights at 40 major U.S. airports to be cut starting Friday unless a deal to end the federal government shutdown is reached, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. November 6, 2025. A crew member walks at the airport, as air travelers face the morning commute at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, a day after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that he would order 10% of flights at 40 major U.S. airports to be cut starting Friday unless a deal to end the federal government shutdown is reached, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. November 6, 2025. A person walks at the airport, as air travelers face the morning commute at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, a day after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that he would order 10% of flights at 40 major U.S. airports to be cut starting Friday unless a deal to end the federal government shutdown is reached, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. November 6, 2025. A passenger stands by a screen showing delayed flights due to the government shutdown, at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California, U.S., November 6, 2025. Travelers arrive at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, on November 7, 2025. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. Forty airports were due to slow down, including the giant hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas on November 7, 2025. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. Forty airports were due to slow down, including the giant hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. See the impact of the government shutdown as agencies shutter or fight to stay open 1 of 10 Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on November 7 2025. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. Forty airports were due to slow down, including the giant hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Major airports now off limits to private jets amid FAA flight cuts
President Donald Trump on Friday downplayed his role in a pretty grim 2025 election for Republicans.

I watched that election, which I was not much involved in, Trump said in the Oval Office alongside Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

I didnt support Virginia, the [gubernatorial] candidate. I didnt do a lot of support for the other candidate [in New Jersey]. They asked me about [New York City mayoral candidate Andrew] Cuomo, and I said, well, its a question  do you want a thug or do you want a communist?

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So I wasnt involved in that stuff too much.

But however you want to characterize Trumps role in Tuesdays off-year elections in Virginia and New Jersey, there is no question they were about him.

In fact, the results appear to have been more of a direct rebuke to Trump than any previous election that didnt actually feature him on the ballot.

Perhaps one of the biggest lessons of this week is that the anti-Trump vote appears stronger than ever. And, as notably, the pro-Trump vote appears as weak as ever.

Even before the election, this was perhaps my biggest takeaway from the CNN poll released Monday.

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It showed 41% of registered voters said that if they were voting for Congress today, their vote would be meant to show opposition to Trump. Meanwhile, just 21% said their vote would be meant to show support for Trump.

So about twice as many anti-Trump votes as pro-Trump ones.

Thats not normal. While unpopular presidents are not exactly uncommon these days, that was actually the biggest such gap in CNN polling in nearly 20 years.

The last time twice as many voters viewed their vote in a non-presidential election as opposing rather than supporting the president was in 2006. At the time, 36% of registered voters viewed their vote as against George W. Bush, while just 15% viewed it as pro-Bush. (Republicans got shellacked in that election.)

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The numbers werent quite as pronounced ahead of Trumps first midterm election, in 2018, when 38% of voters described their votes as anti-Trump, versus 25% who were pro-Trump.

Okay, thats national polling. So, did this show up on Tuesday in the election? It sure did.

While we didnt have a nationwide election, the exit-poll data we do have from the key states suggests the anti-Trump vote was stronger than before.

The gap between anti-Trump votes and pro-Trump votes in Virginia went from 17 points in 2017 (34%-17%) to 22 points on Tuesday (38%-16%).

It grew even more in New Jersey, going from 17 points in 2017 (28%-11%) to 28 points this time (41%-13%).

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And 2017 was the worst-polling year of Trumps first term.

The gaps between anti- and pro-Trump votes in these states were also significantly larger than they were nationally in either the 2018 or 2022 midterms, when both measured at 12 points. (Trump was out of office in 2022, of course, but he still loomed large in American politics.)

Thats not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, given Virginia and New Jersey lean modestly to the left. (Trump lost both states in 2024 by 6 points.) But its not like these are deep-blue states, either.

And New Jersey is a state Trump and his allies have tried to pitch as a swing state in the making. Yet there were three times as many anti-Trump voters there Tuesday as pro-Trump ones.

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All of which suggests a couple things.

The first is that the massive size of the No Kings rallies was no fluke. The anti-Trump movement appears as strong, motivated and robust as ever. Its adherents might not be keen on the Democratic Party these days, but that doesnt mean they arent engaged and even prepared to vote.

The second point hasnt gotten as much attention. And thats that, for all of Trumps huge power grabs and his political domination of the Republican Party, his base actually doesnt seem terribly enthused right now.

Just 1 in 5 registered voters said in the CNN poll ahead of the election that their vote would be intended to support Trump. It was even less than that in New Jersey and Virginia on Election Day, according to CNNs exit polls

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These are not the numbers of an all-powerful, domineering force whose actions are beloved by half the country and who can marshal voters to the polls when he decides to get more involved.

And it suggests theres something to the data were seeing where Trumps base isnt exactly gung-ho about some of his policies. I wrote about this back in July  the idea that there was something of a malaise setting in on the right. It looks like thats a real electoral problem for Trump and the GOP now.

Whatever the case, these numbers are worth paying close attention to moving forward.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
COLOMBO, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- At least one person was killed and around 40 others injured when a private bus overturned in Thalawa, Sri Lanka's North Central Province, on Monday, local media Ada Derana reported, citing the police.

According to the police, students sitting for the nationwide G.C.E. Advanced Level Examination were among passengers on the bus, which veered off the road and toppled into a 5-foot-deep ditch. The injured have been taken to nearby hospitals.

Authorities said further investigations are underway to determine the cause of the accident. 
A federal appeals court has turned down the Trump administrations bid to avoid paying full food stamp benefits for November, but the ruling is on hold due to an earlier order from Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

In an opinion issued just before midnight Sunday, a unanimous three-judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals declined to block an order from a district court judge. Rhode Island-based U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr. had directed the administration to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by Friday after federal officials failed to ensure that the partial funding they were previously ordered to provide actually reached recipients.

Writing for the appeals panel, Judge Julie Rikelman said halting McConnells ruling would produce immense harm to the nearly 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP.

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Without SNAP, tens of millions would go hungry  the first among a cascade of other health and financial harms that would befall those forced to go without enough food, particularly in the months leading up to winter, wrote Rikelman, a Biden appointee. These immediate, predictable, and unchallenged harms facing forty-two million Americans who rely on SNAP benefits  including fourteen million children  weigh heavily against a stay.

Rikelmans 29-page opinion was joined by Judge Gustavo Gelpi, another Biden appointee and Chief Judge David Barron, an Obama appointee.

Despite the action by the Boston-based appeals court, McConnells order requiring the Agriculture Department to send states full SNAP funding for November remains on pause after Jackson stepped in late Friday. Jackson, a Biden appointee, issued a temporary order in response to the Trump administrations emergency appeal. Her order allows officials to delay full payment to states for another 48 hours, or until Tuesday night, while the high court considers whether to grant a more extended delay.

If the court proceedings drag out further, they could become moot. The stalemate that has shuttered the government and interrupted SNAP funding appeared to break Sunday, as the Senate voted to move forward with legislation that could lead to a re-opening and continued funding for federal programs.

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The legal morass around the SNAP funding for November has already produced several intense rounds of recriminations between Democratic-led states and Trump administration officials.

Some states sent out full payments last week after McConnell ordered them and the Agriculture Department said it was working to comply with his order, but the administration has since said the states actions were unauthorized and they are obligated to undo any full payments.

Spokespeople for the White House and the Agriculture Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Rishika Dugyala contributed to this report.
(Getty Images)

Health care providers sent Arkansas officials more than 300 proposals for how to utilize federal funding the state expects to receive to bolster rural health care in the face of impending changes to Medicaid.

State officials applied Oct. 31 for nearly $1 billion of the $50 billion in the Rural Health Transformation Fund, which was set aside in the federal budget reconciliation law passed in July. The state asked for $200 million per year over five years, and many of the applicants that sent their proposals to the state in October provided five-year plans for their funding requests.

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All 50 states have applied for a share of the federal fund. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said it will notify states by Dec. 31 if their applications are approved.

Arkansas requested $996.8 million to support four initiatives:

$150.5 million for Healthy Eating, Active Recreation and Transformation (HEART)

$393 million for Promoting Access, Coordination and Transformation (PACT)

$161.55 million for Recruitment, Innovation, Skills and Education for Arkansas (RISE AR)

$266.75 million for Telehealth, Health-monitoring and Response Innovation for Vital Expansion (THRIVE)

The remaining $25 million would cover administrative costs, according to the states application.

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Arkansas-Rural-Health-Transformation-Program-Application

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a Wednesday news release that the federal aid would allow us to build on all we have done so far, like investing in maternal health, combatting food insecurity, and promoting better health and nutrition statewide.

On Thursday, Republican state Sen. Missy Irvin of Mountain View praised the robust response to the states call for applications and the excellent ideas proposed. Irvin chairs the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee and represents a largely rural North Arkansas constituency.

The Advocate obtained the individual funding requests from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration via a public records request. Many of the proposals pertained to at least one of the four initiatives.

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For example, the Arkansas Health Care Association School of Nursing asked for more than $9.25 million to train and retain licensed nurses in rural areas. The proposal would likely fit in the RISE AR category.

This is not simply a training program  it is a transformative career pathway model that builds capacity, strengthens communities, and ensures that every Arkansan, regardless of ZIP code, can receive quality care from a skilled and compassionate nurse, the application states.

The AHCA represents 90% of the states long-term care providers, according to its website, and its nursing school offers training leading to licensure for practical nurses and certification for medication assistants.

Hospital systems applications

If Arkansas receives all the funding it requested from the Rural Health Transformation Fund, not all the applicants would get all the money they requested. Mercy Health, based in Missouri with several hospitals in Arkansas, asked for $200 million in capital funds for equipment and infrastructure upgrades. Multiple Mercy hospitals made their own funding requests, such as the Waldron locations $794,300 request for facility renovations and the Ozark locations $9,950 request to improve its telehealth services.

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The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Childrens Hospital also submitted rural health funding proposals.

UAMS proposal included forming a clinically integrated network of at least 30 rural hospitals and clinics that shares data, care teams and purchasing power so rural health care providers can get paid for delivering better health. The plan would require between $100 million and $153 million depending on Medicaid population inclusion.

2025.10.7 FINAL RTF with Cover

Arkansas Childrens requested $34.2 million over five years to bring specialized pediatric care to rural areas and treat chronic conditions in children.

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Effectively deploying care and resources to areas with the fewest and sickest kids proves to be a significant challenge due to current funding and workforce frameworks, the hospitals proposal states. Americas healthcare system is not built with the rural child in mind.

Some hospitals funding requests sought to address specific areas of medical care. Washington Regional Hospital in Fayetteville asked for $12 million to improve its diagnostic imaging capabilities for neurological care, and Johnson Regional Medical Center in Clarksville asked for between $500,000 and $700,000 for mammography services to improve its breast cancer detection capacity.

Other funding requests

Other applicants included small local health care providers and initiatives, such as Coleman Pharmacy of Alma. State Sen. Justin Boyd, the locations pharmacist and a Republican from Fort Smith, submitted the pharmacys proposal.

Expanding pharmacists prescriptive authority for hypertension and cardiovascular care would improve access, reduce hospitalizations, and save an estimated $11 billion over 30 years, Boyd wrote.

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An addiction treatment center in Berryville called 29:11 Healing and Recovery Center estimated a need for $200 million to broaden its reach via telehealth, behavioral health services, mobile health units and recruitment and retention of health care professionals in five Northwest Arkansas counties.

In Northeast Arkansas, the Arkansas Methodist Medical Center requested $175,321.37 for a new ambulance. The Paragould hospital was among 17 rural hospitals to receive federal COVID-19 relief funds from the state between 2022 and 2024.

The Arkansas Ambulance Association also requested funding for several initiatives, including replacing outdated vehicles, training more paramedics and expanding telehealth capacity. The organization requested $88.4 million over five years.

A 2023 study found that all 75 counties in Arkansas have at least one ambulance desert, meaning it takes paramedics longer than 25 minutes to drive to some residents homes. Hundreds of thousands of Arkansans rely on Medicaid, particularly in rural areas, and emergency medical services professionals said this causes financial strain for rural ambulance services.

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The new budget reconciliation law cuts more than $1 trillion from Medicaid, the federal-state public health insurance for low-income Americans, over the next decade to help pay for tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthy. Those cuts include $155 billion less in rural Medicaid spending over 10 years, as estimated by KFF, a nonprofit health policy and research group.

Experts, hospital leaders and lawmakers from both political parties fear that Trumps signature legislation will particularly gut rural hospitals and clinics, which see larger proportions of patients insured through Medicaid. This raises concerns that $50 billion for rural health aid might not be enough.

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MAGNOLIA, Ark.  Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division reported that it is investigating an officer-involved shooting of a Magnolia man.

According to a spokesperson, the investigation was requested by the Magnolia Police Department.

Arkansas State Police investigating possible hit and run after man found dead in Dermott

Officials reported that on Nov. 9, an MPD Officer on patrol along South Fredrick Road stopped a 53-year-old man from Magnolia, who allegedly pulled out a firearm and shot at the officer. The officer responded by firing back, hitting the suspect multiple times.

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The suspect was taken to a Little Rock hospital, where he is still being held, officials said.

Special Agents will compile an investigative file for the Columbia County Prosecutors Office, which will decide whether the use of deadly force aligns with Arkansas law, officials said.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK.
BAMAKO, Mali (AP)  Armed men in Mali killed a TikTok influencer who had posted videos in support of the West African nation's military, authorities said Monday.

The young TikTok user Mariame Cisse was abducted by armed men on Friday while she was at the weekly market in Echel ... The following day, at dusk, the same men brought her back to Independence Square in Tonka and executed her in front of a crowd, Yehia Tandina, the mayor of Timbuktu, told The Associated Press.

The mayor of Tonka in the Timbuktu region, Mamadou Konipo, confirmed the killing but said he didn't have more information.

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Tonka is a village along the Niger River, roughly 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Timbuktu. Members of the al-Qaida affiliate Jamaat Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin, or JNIM, are known to operate there.

No group has taken responsibility for the killing.

Cisse, who was not a member of the military, sometimes posted images of herself in military fatigues to her more than 140,00 followers, which is thought to have drawn attention from the armed men.

Cisse received death threats several days before she was abducted, according to the Timbuktu mayor.

Mali has been battling armed groups since 2012, a fight that has escalated over the past decade. The military seized power in 2020 on the pretext of curtailing the insecurity. Another military officer seized power in a coup the following year. Insecurity has worsened since then, according to monitoring groups.

Armed groups, primarily JNIM, operate in large swathes of rural regions. The landlocked nation is currently under a fuel blockade by JNIM.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will host a virtual public information session at 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Nov. 13 to discuss plans to conduct extreme drawdowns at Cougar, Green Peter, Lookout Point and Fall Creek reservoirs.

The information session will detail why the Corps are dropping the reservoirs to extreme low water levels, this years drawdown schedule and allow for questions.

The drawdowns are required under the federal Endangered Species Act and imposed by the 2024 National Marine Fisheries Services Biological Opinion (BiOp).

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The 2024 NMFS BiOp includes measures, such as reservoir drawdowns, that aim to help endangered salmon exit the reservoirs through the dams to migrate downriver.

Water levels seen on Oct. 31 are low due to this year's drawdowns at Green Peter Reservoir.

Spring Chinook salmon are surface-oriented, so lowering reservoir levels closer to the dam outlets improves their ability to move out of the reservoir and downstream, said Kathryn Tackley, a program manager at the Portland District who is working to implement the BiOp.

The drawdowns are conducted to mimic natural river conditions and help juvenile salmon and steelhead migrate safely downstream.

These drawdowns should be considered the new normal for these reservoirs until USACE constructs physical fish-passage structures to replace the need for the drawdowns, said Tackley.

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The Corps encourages those interested to attend the session and learn more about the fall reservoir drawdowns. The session will include time for questions from the public.

How to join the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers meeting on Oregon reservoir drawdowns

Date: Thursday, Nov. 13Time: 5:30-6:30 p.m. Where: Microsoft Teams link: https://tinyurl.com/2tbru9ts

Meeting ID: 993 480 682 325 Passcode: me6Nk25g Dial in by phone +1 601-262-2433 Conference ID: 935 611 193#

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 18 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors and BlueSky at oregonoutdoors.bsky.social

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: US Army Corps holding meeting on Oregon reservoir drawdowns
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS)  A new collaborative art exhibit between the City of East Lansing and Michigan State University has been unveiled.

Skywalk art installation (City of East Lansing)

Colored film has been placed in the windows of the East Lansing Skywalk, located along Albert Avenue between the Marriott Hotel and the Charles Street parking garage.

According to the city, the display was installed by Michigan State University Assistant Professor Barbara Pearsall and the 18 students in her Color and Design course. Each student created a paper design, which was then converted into colored film.

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The East Lansing Parking Department funded the art project.

We hope this installation marks the beginning of many future collaborative art projects with the City of East Lansing, Pearsall said in a news release sent to 6 News.

MSU students actively contribute to the vibrancy and identity of our community, and how art can play a vital role in strengthening our community.

When I signed up for this Color and Design class, I definitely wasnt expecting to get the chance to be part of such a cool project in East Lansing. I love how each window has its own personality and color palette, said Caitlin Jones, a freshman studying graphic design, in a news release sent to 6 News.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WLNS 6 News.
An Alabama man was found in north Georgia after a manhunt involving multiple law enforcement agencies, officials said.

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Gary Jody Childers was arrested around 9:15 p.m., following several days of investigation and a chase, according to authorities.

He faces charges of attempted murder and firearm possession in DeKalb County, Ala.

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In addition to the charges in Alabama, he also faces federal charges, although the specifics of these charges have not been detailed.

We are grateful for the prompt response of our officers and partner agencies, whose coordination ensured that this hazardous situation was resolved safely, said DeKalb County Sheriff Nick Welden.

Childers will remain in custody in Floyd County, Georgia, until he is extradited to DeKalb County, Ala.

Sheriff Nick Welden concluded his statement with gratitude for the successful resolution of the situation, emphasizing the effective collaboration between the involved agencies. God Bless! he added.

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(FOX 5/KUSI)  A vehicle that was involved in a pursuit through several Southern California counties evaded American authorities and crossed into Mexico.

Southern California authorities reported the vehicle stolen out of Ventura around 10:30 a.m., according to authorities who spoke with KTLA.

See real-time road conditions on the FOX 5/KUSI Live Traffic Map

The vehicle was spotted around 20 minutes later, and officers attempted to make a stop. When the vehicle continued driving, the pursuit started.

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The pursuit continued into Los Angeles County across several freeways and into Orange County, reaching Irvine by around 12 p.m.

At around 12:30 p.m., the vehicle entered San Diego County, eventually continuing onto southbound I-805.

In the 1 p.m. hour, the vehicle reached the end of the I-805 and continued through the U.S.-Mexico border.

Shortly before 1:30 p.m., a helicopter crew that was following the pursuit informed FOX 5/KUSI that the San Diego County Sheriffs Offices ASTREA team confirmed the vehicle had entered Mexico.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News.
Deputies made an unusual arrest in Florida.

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The Indian River County Sheriffs Office wrote in a social media post that a barricaded suspect was hiding in a house attic.

But he fell through the ceiling and into the arms of SWAT officers.

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The sheriffs office said the man was accused of stealing a truck.

When deputies found him, he ran into a house and refused to come out.

A SWAT team was sent to the scene.

After several hours, the suspect, identified as Keith Rodgers, fell through the ceiling, and SWAT members arrested him.

He is facing several felony charges.

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The BBC has been forced to correct two stories a week about the Gaza conflict since the Oct 7 attacks on Israel, The Telegraph can reveal.

BBC Arabic has had to make 215 corrections and clarifications over the past two years on stories that were found to be biased, inaccurate or misleading.

The figures follow a week of revelations by The Telegraph of one-sided reporting at the BBC, disclosed in an 8,000-word dossier compiled by a whistleblower, which also accused BBC Arabic of choosing to minimise Israeli suffering in the war in Gaza to paint Israel as the aggressor.

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On Monday, the BBC is also expected to apologise for the misleading editing of a Donald Trump speech in a Panorama documentary, putting further pressure on Tim Davie, the BBCs director general, to quit.

The media bias campaign group Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (Camera) obtained the corrections after more than 100 of its complaints over BBC Arabics coverage were upheld. They work out as an average of two stories a week.

A whistleblowers 8,000-word dossier accused BBC Arabic of painting Israel as the aggressor since the Oct 7 attacks - Carl Court/Getty Images

One of its complaints involved a BBC Arabic report in January this year about the treatment of hostages by the Al-Qassam Brigade, in which the Hamas unit was described as guarding the hostages and being responsible for securing the hostages, rather than holding them captive.

BBC Arabic  which is part of the World Service and is funded mainly through the licence fee  has also been forced to make more than 40 corrections after Camera complained about stories that incorrectly referred to communities inside Israels internationally recognised territory as settlements and their residents as settlers.

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Responding to the figures, Baroness Deech, a former BBC governor, said the broadcasters own Executive Complaint Unit (ECU) has failed in its obligation as an internal standards watchdog.

She said: While BBC Arabic rightly continues to receive condemnation from politicians from all sides of the House for its repeated breaches of BBC guidelines and its flagrant anti-Israel bias, the BBCs ECU considers it to be entirely blameless.

The ECU is turning a blind eye to bias within BBC Arabic. We need an independent complaints process because the BBC simply cannot be trusted to mark its own homework.

Baroness Deech has said the BBC cannot be trusted to mark its own homework - Andrew Crowley

Michael Prescott, who until June was an independent adviser to the BBCs Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee (EGSC), was so appalled by the corporations lack of action over numerous instances of bias that he sent a memo to all BBC board members, which is now circulating in government departments.

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In a copy of the letter, which was last week published by The Telegraph, he said that BBC Arabic gave a platform to journalists who had made extreme anti-Semitic comments.

Among the examples of bias highlighted by both Camera and Mr Prescott were the differences in stories about an attack by Hamas on Oct 1 2024 that killed seven Israeli civilians in Jaffa.

While the BBC News English version reported how the civilians were killed on a train and railway platform, the BBC Arabic version presented the attack as a military operation with no mention of the civilian victims.

Another BBC Arabic report in January this year described the Al-Qassam Brigade as guarding the hostages and as being responsible for securing the hostages, rather than holding them captive.

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It also featured two female Israeli hostages thanking their captors for the good treatment they received while in custody.

Following a complaint from Camera that the video omitted the horrific reality of the torture and execution of hostages, BBC Arabic was forced to amend its story.

It removed the section that claimed the hostages had received good treatment and added a brief reference to Hamas abuse.

However the BBC, in its statement, defended the video for being duly accurate and containing due context.

Camera appealed to the ECU on the grounds that even the amended video did not state that members of this unit had killed hostages, such as Ofir Tzarfati. Instead, the broadcaster presented this fact as something Israel said, even though Hamas itself has claimed that Tzarfati was murdered by his guards.

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However, the ECU concluded that specific mention of the murder of Tzarfati was not necessary in a short video.

Another complaint from Camera was that a BBC Arabic series about Hamas, its ideology and the motivation behind the Oct 7 attacks, made no mention of the terror groups founding charter  which pledges to destroy Israel and create an Islamic state.

Camera complained that instead the programmes gave a platform to Hamass justification for the attacks.

The BBC dismissed the complaint on the grounds that the focus of the series was not the ideology of Hamas. The ECU upheld the finding, ruling that in this context an understanding of the Hamas charter was not directly relevant.

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Hadar Sela, co-editor of Camera, said: This report exposes the scale of misinformation spread by BBC Arabic in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war and the rise in anti-Semitism across the West.

Since the Hamas massacre on Oct 7, BBC Arabic has issued 215 corrections after we flagged stories that were inaccurate, misleading, or biased.

Yet when our complaints are rejected and we appeal to the BBCs internal watchdog, the Executive Complaints Unit, the outcome is predictable: the ECU sides with BBC Arabic.

The ECUs own view of due accuracy and impartiality is far removed from any reasonable understanding of honest journalism.

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Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservatives, wrote to Mr Davie in February this year to complain about BBC Arabics coverage, describing it as a platform for terrorists that was promoting appalling anti-Semitism to millions of viewers.

BBC Arabic had previously given a platform to journalists who had made extreme anti-Semitic comments.

Ahmed Qannan, a regular BBC Arabic contributor, described a Palestinian who killed four Israeli civilians and a police officer in March 2022 as a hero.

When a friend of his posted on Facebook we want to see some throats cut in response to a shooting near a Jerusalem synagogue, which claimed the lives of seven civilians on Holocaust Memorial Day in January 2023, Mr Qannan replied: Dont give up on your ambition.

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The BBCs internal review found he had appeared on BBC Arabic 217 times in the 14 months to April 2025.

Ahmed Alagha, who described Israelis as less than human and Jews as devils, appeared on BBC Arabic 522 times between November 2023 and April 2025, the BBCs internal review found.

Danny Cohen, the former director of BBC Television, said: It has been obvious for a long time that BBC Arabic employs anti-Semites pumping out anti-Israel propaganda  paid for by UK taxpayers  but BBC executives have buried their heads in the sand.

You would think having to issue so many corrections would raise red flags that there was a problem, but Tim Davie has failed to sort it out. Global news director Jonathan Munro refuses to accept anything is wrong.

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In fact, he said BBC Arabics reporters are an unrivalled source of knowledge and editorial content for the wider BBC. This is deeply concerning and speaks volumes about the BBCs failings during the Israel-Hamas war.

The blame lies at the door of BBC executives in London who are only interested in protecting their reputations. The BBC must finally act to stop the rot.

The BBC has defended its Arabic channel, pointing out that since Oct 7 2023, BBC News Arabic has published more than 11,000 articles on its site and that during the same time period, Camera submitted 159 complaints about content on the site.

A BBC spokesman said: BBC News Arabic strives for the highest standards of journalism across its services. Whenever mistakes are made or clarifications are needed, we take action to ensure clarity and accuracy for our audiences.

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The Executive Complaints Unit works outside of BBC News and assesses complaints independently.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
YANGON, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- A total of 50 people were killed and 291 were injured in 155 traffic accidents on Myanmar's Yangon-Mandalay highway between January and October this year, according to the highway traffic police force on Monday.

This marks a decrease in accidents, fatalities and injuries compared with the same period last year, which recorded 174 accidents, resulting in 82 deaths and 325 injuries, an official from the highway traffic police force told Xinhua.

The traffic accidents also caused damage estimated at over 760 million kyats (about 361,904 U.S. dollars), he said.

The 587-km Yangon-Mandalay expressway connects the country's commercial city of Yangon and the second-largest city of Mandalay. 
Armored vehicles rumbling through narrow alleys. Rifle shots cracking in heavy crossfire. Helicopters and weaponized drones firing from above. Soldiers in military gear engaged in violent combat. Bodies scattered on blood-slicked streets.

These could be scenes from a war zone. But on October 28, they unfolded not on a desolate battlefield but on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro  a postcard city better known for its breathtaking coastline and lively bossa nova music scene.

Operation Containment brought 2,500 police officers, soldiers and snipers up the slopes of Rios Complexo da Penha and Complexo do Alemao favelas, home to roughly 110,000 people.

A man stands next to cars burnt during a barricade in Rio's Complexo da Penha on October 28. - Mauro Pimentel/AFP/Getty Images

Their target was the Comando Vermelho (CV), or Red Command, a criminal organization that has ruled these hillside shantytowns for decades. During the operation, at least 117 suspected gunmen and four police officers were killed, and about 100 people were arrested. Authorities said they seized 118 weapons, including 91 rifles and 14 explosive devices, as well as a ton of drugs.

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The raid followed a year-long investigation into the Red Command and was triggered in part by the gangs expansion into new territories, a recent surge in violence and an effort by authorities to reassert state control.

Officials called the raid a success. But with at least 121 dead, and early reports putting the toll at 132, the operation drew sharp criticism from local and international human rights groups. It also laid bare a deep divide over how to confront Brazils entrenched organized crime syndicates.

Life in a crossfire

Its not the first time we see blood being spilled for a greater good, said Thaina de Medeiros, who lived in Complexo da Penha for 35 years. But this good never comes.

Now a community organizer and member of an anti-violence collective who works in the favela, Medeiros is no stranger to how the Red Command instills fear in its territories. You walk around and see people carrying big rifles on every corner, standing by your door with grenades and pistols, he said. No one feels safe. And there is always the risk of instability  of another operation like this.

A drone view of Complexa da Penha in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on November 4. - Jorge Silva/Reuters

The gangs also determine who gets in and operates inside the communities, said Rafael Alcadipani, a member of the Brazilian Forum on Public Security, a nonprofit civic group. Internet companies, for instance, need to pay them a fee to offer service in the area. They issue permits for people to build houses  not the government.

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The rise in violence, weaponry and gang control in the favelas has made it increasingly difficult for government officials and police to access these areas.

The state abandons these communities, and then gangs end up gaining even more control, Alcadipani said.

Brazils criminal organizations have also extended their reach from the illegal economy to politics through such means as vote-buying, violence, intimidation and the funding of political candidates, as studies and police investigations have found, helping them to become one of the most powerful gangs in South America.

A necessary operation

Luiz Lima, a right-leaning congressman representing Rio, defended the October 28 raid as unavoidable.

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It was a necessary operation, Lima told CNN. What happened that day  117 criminals killed  happens every day in Brazil. With more than 38,000 homicides last year, thats 106 deaths a day, he said.

Lima insisted that the public backs a tougher stance and that the vast majority of favela residents supported the operation.

Members of the military police special unit detain suspected drug dealers during the operation in Complexa da Penha on October 28. - Aline Massuca/Reuters

Mourners react as people gather around bodies October 29, the day after a deadly police operation against drug trafficking in Complexa da Penha. - Ricardo Moraes/Reuters

The people living there are extorted, he said. Their shops are extorted. Women are raped by traffickers. Its unbearable.

But Daniela Fichino, deputy director of the human rights group Global Justice, blames a state policy that defines an entire population as disposable. She added: Brazil doesnt have the death penalty, and yet the state acts as if it does  simultaneously finding, prosecuting and executing young, Black, poor residents under the banner of public security.

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The result, Fichino said, is a perpetual cycle of war that reinforces the very criminal structures it claims to dismantle.

The debate over lasting solutions reveals the complexity of how criminal organizations have grown so powerful, weaving themselves into nearly every layer of Brazilian society over time.

A faction born from dictatorship

The Red Command was founded in 1979 inside an island prison off the coast of Rio, the Candido Mendes Penitentiary, where common criminals were locked up alongside leftist political prisoners opposed to the Brazilian military dictatorship that ruled the country from 1964 to 1985. In the harsh conditions there, what began as an informal alliance for protection soon became an organized network.

One of its founders, William da Silva Lima, spent more than 30 years behind bars after being convicted of armed robbery, extortion and kidnapping. In prison, he became a spokesman for other inmates and negotiated with authorities.

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The deplorable conditions inside the nineteenth-century Candido Mendes  long known among inmates as the Cauldron of Hell  pushed prisoners to organize in resistance, da Silva Lima wrote in his 2010 book, recounting the origin of the Red Command and his part in creating the Brazilian organized crime group.

When political prisoners were released in 1979, da Silva Lima wrote, members of what was then called the Falange Vermelha or Red Phalanx, began orchestrating mass prison breaks and investing in the burgeoning cocaine trade.

By 1985, the Red Command controlled roughly 70% of all drug-selling points in Rio  and the citys deadly turf wars with other factions began.

According to Marcio Sergio Christino, a Sao Paulo state criminal prosecutor and author of a book on the gangs, while the Red Command is Brazils oldest faction, it is not the biggest  although its recent expansion shows it aims to achieve that goal. Its main obstacle is not the police or the government, he said, but a competing faction: bigger, better organized and highly influential in South America.

Brazils biggest underground empire: The PCC

Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC), or First Capital Command, is a criminal organization created in 1993 that also has its genesis in a prison  the Taubate Penitentiary in Sao Paulo. Its founders were survivors of the Carandiru massacre the year before, when 111 inmates were killed by military police.

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It wasnt until February 2001 that the group revealed its full reach. In what became known as the big rebellion, PCC members coordinated uprisings in 29 prisons simultaneously. About 27,000 inmates were involved, leaving at least 16 killed and 77 injured, among those incarcerated and police officers. At the end of the 27-hour uprising, the flag of the PCC  black and white, some accompanied by handmade signs reading peace and justice  was raised across Sao Paulos penitentiaries. The message was clear: the state had lost control.

Brazilian mounted police stand guard outside Carandiru Prision in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on February 18, 2001, after rioting prisoners took guards and visitors hostage in a revolt that spread to other prisons across the region. - Dado Galdieri/AP

At first, their focus was  controlling the prison environment, Christino explained. Then they began to grow, to organize, and one of their main pillars became the drug trade.

To obtain a higher-quality supply of cocaine, the PCC expanded into Brazils border states with Bolivia and Paraguay  two of South Americas main cocaine sources. With the US market already dominated by Mexico and Colombia, cocaine producers in landlocked Bolivia focused on reaching Europe, and a deal was struck.

Bolivia agreed to sell only to the PCC, Christino said. In return, the PCC handled transport, logistics and sales  to Europe, Africa, and beyond.

From friends to rivals

Until then, the Red Command and PCC were not enemies. But their fragile coexistence collapsed once the Red Command, blocked from Bolivia, turned to Peru and built a cocaine trade that operates almost entirely within Brazil. Notably, the gang came to dominate supply routes through the northern part of the country, using the major rivers and their tributaries of the Amazon region.

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Competition over these routes ignited a series of prison riots and massacres across northern Brazil, Christino said.

If you look at those uprisings  dozens, sometimes hundreds of deaths, even cannibalism  that was all about the routes, he said. It was a territorial war.

Relatives wait for information following a riot that ended with at least four prisoners killed inside Desembargador Raimundo Vidal Pessoa Public Jail in Manaus, in Brazil's Amazonas state, on January 8, 2017. Deadly prison riots intensified in Brazil since a truce broke down between the country's two largest drug gangs, the First Capital Command (PCC) and the Red Command (CV). - Raphael Alves/AFP/Getty Images

The syndicates now clash for control of Brazils highways, rivers and prisons as they branch out into other criminal realms.

A 2025 study by the Brazilian Forum on Public Security found that gangs such as the Red Command and PCC generated 146.8 billion Brazilian reais ($27 billion) in 2022 through the illegal trade of gold, fuel, alcohol and cigarettes  nearly 10 times more than from cocaine trafficking, which was estimated at 15 billion reais ($2.8 billion).

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They also engage in money laundering and invest in construction firms, transport companies, fuel distributors and even crypto markets to wash billions of reals in illicit profits.

Inside the command centers: An ongoing battle

Investigations by the Public Ministry of Rio de Janeiro show that gang leaders continue to issue orders from behind bars  through coded messages, letters and encrypted apps.

While high-risk inmates have been isolated in individual cells, the flow of information never truly stops, said Christino. Theres no such thing as absolute isolation, he said. Cellphones still get in, and when they dont, messages travel through lawyers or visitors. Theres always a way.

In a statement to CNN, the Federal Districts Secretariat of Penitentiary Administration said that intelligence units operate in close coordination with other security forces and the judiciary to monitor faction-linked inmates. They work to determine an inmates position in the hierarchy and isolate leaders to prevent them from issuing orders, the secretariat said.

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Despite these measures, investigators acknowledge that Brazils penitentiaries remain the backbone of command and communication for its largest criminal organizations  a paradox that the state struggles to contain.

The states militarized response only strengthens the factions, Alcadipani said. Each operation kills dozens, but the leadership remains. For every man who dies, another fills the gap  What we have now is reactive  a war without an endgame.

We were about to launch a partnership with UNICEF to help favela youth enter the job market, said Medeiros, the community organizer. Career fairs were scheduled for the day after the deadly operation in the Rio favelas. We had to cancel everything, he told CNN.

Honestly, I thought today Id be finalizing the details for that beautiful day, he said. Instead, we were cleaning bodies from the streets. And now, were bracing for whats next.

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Scott Bessents interview with George Stephanopoulos quickly devolved into a verbal sparring match on Sunday.

The Treasury Secretary appeared on This Week and spent a good portion of his interview speaking over and throwing jabs at the ABC host.

Tensions rose when Stephanopolous asked about the government shutdown, with the duo raising their voices while Bessent derailed into bashing the former Democratic advisors book sales.

Scott Bessent and George Stephanopoulos quickly devolved into arguing during a discussion about the shutdown. / ABC

Stephanopoulos opened a segment about the shutdown, asking Bessent what he thought about President Donald Trumps fixation on scrapping the Senate filibuster in order to push votes through.

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Is that the best way to end this shutdown right now? Is that what the administration position is? he asked.

No, George, the best way to do it... Bessent began, before abandoning the question and opting to attack Stephanopoulos political career.

Stephanopoulos held a senior advising position during the first Clinton administration and later wrote a book, All Too Human: A Political Education, about the experience.

Asked about Trump's filibuster idea, Bessent instead went on a rant about Stephanopoulos calling Republicans 'terrorists.' / ABC

Bessent evaded discussing the shutdown by referencing the one that took place nearly 30 years ago.

Look, you were involved in a lot of these in the nineties, Bessent said. And you know, you basically called the Republicans terrorists and, you know, you said that it is not the responsible party that keeps the government closed.

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Bessent was attempting to use analysis Stephanopoulos made decades ago regarding President Bill Clintons 1995-96 shutdowns to blame Democrats today for the record-breaking shutdown under Trump.

So what we need is five, brave, moderate Democratic senators to cross the aisle, Bessent continued. Because right now it is fifty-two to three, five Democrats could cross the aisle and reopen the government. Thats the best way to do it, George.

Stephanopoulos called Bessent's words a 'mischaracterization of history,' after the duo whiled away a long minute of raising their voices over each other. / ABC

George quickly responded: I can disagree with you about the history there, but we dont need a history lesson right now.

Things then fell apart completely, with both men speaking loudly over each other as Stephanopoulos tried to move on.

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If you want, Ive got all your quotes here, George, said Bessent, with the ABC host interjecting: Im sure you do, but lets talk about the situation right now.

The ABC host was once a Democratic advisor, and was communications director for Bill Clinton's White House during the 1995-96 shutdown. / Cynthia Johnson/Getty

Bessent raised his voice further. Ive read your book, so you got one purchase on Amazon this week, he said with a smile. And thats very much what you said.

Stephanopoulos retaliated: Thats a mischaracterization of history.

He returned to the question that started the argument, asking once more: But I do want to talk about right now. Is the best way to end the shutdown right now to end the filibuster?

Bessent sidestepped either supporting or condemning the filibuster nuclear option, that Trump has repeatedly called for, but repeated: The best way is for five Democratic senators to come across the aisle.

Last month, Donald Trump named Stephanopoulos as the reason he no longer wanted to talk to 'ABC fake news.' / Roberto Schmidt / Getty Images

Bessent has remained ever-loyal to Trump, who last month made it clear that Stephanopoulos was at the top of his list of enemies after the ABC star cut short a similarly tense interview with JD Vance.

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Alongside dubbing the host George Sloppodopoulos, Trump raged to an ABC reporter: Youre ABC fake News. I dont take questions from ABC fake News.

After what you did with Stephanopoulos to the Vice President of the United States, I dont take questions from ABC fake News.
When Marsha Mitchells racial solidarity organization, Community Coalition, participated in Day of the Dead celebrations this month, she honored her grandparents. They were born in the Jim Crow South, in Arkansas, and didnt enjoy the same rights that she grew up with, like the right to vote.

Mitchell, who lives in South Los Angeles, wanted to remember her grandparents at a moment when Black voting power is once again being challenged.

Californians on Nov. 4 approved Proposition 50, a measure to allow the state to redraw its congressional map and flip up to five House seats for Democrats. This move is a counterpunch to Texas Republicans decision in August to engage in mid-decade redistricting that might net them five additional seats.

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This maneuvering sparked a nationwide redistricting arms race  one that could have major ramifications for Black Americans ability to elect representatives who will advocate for them when it comes to health care, the environment, infrastructure, and a host of other issues.

We dont want voices silenced in other places, Mitchell told Capital B. Its about balance, and its about defending democracy. Black folks are the ones who have made the promise of democracy real for America.

More than 80% of Black registered voters identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, according to the Pew Research Center, while around 10% of Black adults identify with or lean toward the Republican Party. This means that, in most states, race and political party are closely correlated, and drawing maps that dismantle Democratic seats could weaken Black Americans power to elect candidates of their choice.

A lot of these things that have racial implications are being shielded by this notion of no, its partisan gerrymandering, but in practice, theyre often the same thing, Jovita Lee, the program director for the North Carolina Black Alliance, told Capital B. In North Carolina, we have 14 congressional districts. Why the focus on Congressional District 1  the district that includes the states Black Belt region?

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Lee was referring to North Carolina Republicans passage in October of a map that could give them another seat by diluting a district that includes all the states majority-Black counties and has been represented by Black lawmakers since the 1990s.

While most attention has been directed at the fight over congressional districts, there have also been significant changes on the state level.

Mississippi Democrats in November seemed to break the Republican supermajority in the state Senate after winning special elections. Johnny DuPree and Theresa Gillespie Isom, who are both Black Democrats, triumphed in two formerly Republican-controlled districts that federal judges in April had ordered to be redrawn to more accurately reflect the states Black population.

Just weeks later, on Nov. 18, a federal judge approved a state Senate map that could expand Black representation in the Alabama capital of Montgomery.

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The all-out war over maps will likely continue ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, as lawmakers in red and blue states seek to aggressively redraw congressional districts in the hopes of helping their respective party control the House.

Read on to learn more about these redistricting efforts.

California

Who is leading the effort? Democrats

What is the status of the effort? Hours after voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 50, Republicans filed a lawsuit to block the redistricting measure. Theyre arguing that it violates the U.S. Constitution  specifically the 14th and 15th Amendments, ratified during Reconstruction to make Black Americans full citizens  by drawing congressional district lines based on race.

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How many seats are at stake? As many as five Democratic seats could be added. An analysis by the Public Policy Institute of California finds that the proposed plan would include two Black, six Asian American, and eight Latino influence districts, meaning that a district has a share of a certain racial or ethnic group thats high enough to help decide an election outcome, even if that group doesnt make up a majority of the district. (The center uses 30% as its influence threshold.) California has 52 House seats.

What could this mean for Black voters? Some political leaders have described the proposed changes as key to protecting Black access to things such as health care.

If Republicans win in the 2026 midterms because of redrawn maps, we will lose access to medical care, our hospitals in our communities will close, labor and delivery units will become unreachable, and the health disparities that impact the Black community will worsen, state Sen. Akilah Weber-Pierson, a Democrat and the chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, told The Sacramento Observer.

Indiana

Who is leading the effort? Republicans

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What is the status of the effort? Responding to pressure from President Donald Trump, Republican Gov. Mike Braun called a special legislative session that began on Nov. 3 to consider redrawing the states congressional districts. Its unclear how long the session will last. Indiana House Republicans released their proposed map on Dec. 1.

The passage of the map remains uncertain, and an Indiana state senator has pledged to vote against the map because of Trumps recent use of an ableist slur against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat. The lawmaker, Michael Bohacek, has a child with Down syndrome.

How many seats are at stake? Two Democratic seats could be flipped. One of those seats is currently held by U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, the states only Black representative. His district is about 33% Black. Indiana has nine House seats.

What could this mean for Black voters? The Indiana Black Legislative Caucus held a rally with faith leaders the same day that the special session started. They said that the new map isnt what the people want  its what the Trump administration wants  and it jeopardizes residents ability to choose representatives to champion them.

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The idea for doing this has come from people who are eliminating means for health care for all of our people around the state of Indiana, Willis Bright, the chair of the African American Coalition of Indianapolis, told protesters. Its from people who are eliminating means for quality and equitable education for children.

Maryland

Who is leading the effort? Democrats, though the party is split on the issue

What is the status of the effort? Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, announced on Nov. 4 a five-person commission that will convene public hearings, collect feedback from residents, and make recommendations to Moore and the Maryland General Assembly within the next couple of months on how to improve the states current congressional map, the governor said in a statement.

How many seats are at stake? Democrats could flip the states one Republican seat, held by U.S. Rep. Andrew Harris, which would allow them to control all eight seats. Harris district is 15% Black. State Sen. Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, has voiced skepticism about redrawing the map, saying in a statement that he fears that the effort might backfire in our courts and give Trump one or two more seats.

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What could this mean for Black voters? While Black Marylanders already have robust representation, Moore has defended the panel as a way to push back against the broader attack on our democracy that many say is represented by the dismantling of Black districts elsewhere. In September, Moore said that Trump is attempting to gerrymander Black leaders out of office, which, by the way, amounts to nothing more than political redlining.

Missouri

Who is leading the effort? Republicans

What is the status of the effort? Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Republican, signed a redrawn map into law in September. This map is being challenged in court, and Missouri voters are attempting to collect enough signatures to force a veto referendum election that would allow them to block the map.

How many seats are at stake? The map would give Republicans another seat, specifically by flipping Congressional District 5. U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat, has held the seat since 2005. His district is about 22% Black. Missouri has eight House seats.

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What could this mean for Black voters? Demetria McCain, the director of policy for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, has denounced the map as racially discriminatory for targeting Cleavers district, which has long provided Black electoral opportunities.

This is a blatant and direct attack on the nearly 700,000 Black residents in Missouris rights, McCain said in a statement, characterizing the map as an attempt to secure power at the expense of Black voters and other voters of color.

North Carolina

Who is leading the effort? Republicans

What is the status of the effort? The states Republican-controlled General Assembly approved a new map in October. The state Constitution doesnt allow Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, to veto the map. Stein at a recent press conference criticized Republicans for abusing their power to take away the peoples power, the voters power. A panel of three federal judges in North Carolina said on Nov. 26 that the state can use the Republican-friendly map.

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How many seats are at stake? Republicans would gain another seat in Congressional District 1. U.S. Rep. Donald Davis, a Democrat, has held the seat since 2023. The district is about 39% Black. North Carolina has 14 House seats.

What could this mean for Black voters? Davis district has long been a bastion of Black political representation in the state. [The new map] ignores the historical value of the district, Lee, at the North Carolina Black Alliance, told Capital B. These are real folks dealing with real issues, and they need real representation.

She added that some of the counties affected by the new map are ones that have for years grappled with issues such as threats to their property because of rising sea levels.

Ohio

Who is leading the effort? Republicans

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What is the status of the effort? Even before Trump called on red states to engage in mid-decade redistricting, Ohio was constitutionally required to take up a new bipartisan congressional map. The Ohio Redistricting Commission  which consists mostly of Republican elected officials  adopted a new map in October.

How many seats are at stake? The new map would make two Democratic-controlled districts slightly more Republican: U.S. Rep. Greg Landsmans 1st Congressional District, which is about 19% Black, and Rep. Marcy Kapturs 9th Congressional District, which is about 12% Black. Ohio has 15 House seats.

What could this mean for Black voters? Ohio has been involved in a battle over its congressional maps for years, with Black residents often caught in the crosshairs. Historically, our communities have been cracked and packed into districts that dont allow us to meaningfully engage in political processes, or have healthy competition between candidates for representation in the Statehouse, Jeniece Brock, the policy and advocacy director for the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, told the Ohio Capital Journal in 2024.

Eric Holder, the chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, said in an October statement that while the new map isnt ideal, it isnt a worst-case scenario, because it allows sitting Democrats to continue to compete in all their existing congressional districts.

Texas

Who is leading the effort? Republicans

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What is the status of the effort? Gov. Greg Abbott signed a new map into law in August. This map triggered the nationwide redistricting arms race and compelled Texas Democrats to leave the state in an effort to prevent it from being passed. Federal judges in November temporarily blocked the map. Abbott then appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which on Dec. 4 said that Texas can use the map in next years elections.

How many seats are at stake? Republicans could gain five additional seats. They hope to do this by redrawing the boundaries of districts held by veteran Black lawmakers such as U.S. Rep. Al Green, whose 9th Congressional District includes a portion of the Greater Houston area. Texas has 38 House seats.

What could this mean for Black voters? Democrats have lambasted the new map, which dilutes Greens district. The Black voting-age population of the district could drop from 39% to 11% under the new map, meaning that it would be much more difficult for Black voters to influence election outcomes there.

The Texas congressional map is an obvious racial gerrymander, Valencia Richardson, legal counsel for the Campaign Legal Centers voting rights division, previously told Capital B, adding that the mid-decade redistricting battle is leaving Black voters out in the cold.

Utah

Who is leading the effort? Republicans

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What is the status of the effort? Republicans passed a map in October after a court struck down a previous one as a partisan gerrymander; Gov. Spencer Cox signed it into law. Republicans also approved legislation to limit courts ability to rein in gerrymanders. Voters have filed a lawsuit challenging the law, saying that it disproportionately burdens Democrats.

How many seats are at stake? Republicans still have an advantage in all four congressional districts. But one district is more competitive, giving Democrats a chance of winning.

What could this mean for Black voters? The larger potential effects of the map arent clear, given that just about 2% of the states population is Black. But there are groups such as the Utah Black Roundtable that are working to minimize racial and ethnic disparities in the state.

Virginia

Who is leading the effort? Democrats

What is the status of the effort? The Democratic-led General Assembly in October advanced a constitutional amendment to allow the states congressional map to be redrawn. The amendment must be passed again next year. If it clears that hurdle, lawmakers must then call a special referendum, and if voters approve the ballot measure, then the map can be redrawn.

How many seats are at stake? Democrats could gain as many as three additional seats. Currently, they control six of the 11 House seats.

What could this mean for Black voters? Like their neighbors in Maryland, Black Virginians are already well-represented in the House. But more seats could mean more voices to push back against the Trump administrations actions, including the dismantling of the federal workforce.

Virginia has been hit especially hard by the cutting of federal jobs. Black Americans account for about 26% of the federal workforce in the state, according to the Economic Policy Institute, and make up around 18% of the total state population.

This story has been updated.

The post We Dont Want Voices Silenced: Black Voting Power at Risk in Redistricting Battle appeared first on Capital B News.
Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire speaks at a press conference on Nov. 9, 2025, following a vote on advancing legislation to end the government shutdown. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., is at left. At right are independent Sen. Angus King of Maine and Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Tim Kaine of Virginia. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

Though the U.S. Senate has taken steps toward resolving what has become the longest federal government shutdown in history, some current and former Democratic leaders in Maine are calling on members of their party to hold the line.

Since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, Maines congressional delegation has been divided in its approach to the short term spending deal, with U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden splitting over the initial bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. In the Senate, independent U.S. Sen. Angus King has consistently voted with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and other Republicans for the stopgap plan, which did not include an extension of health care subsidies that Democrats have been pushing for.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said late Sunday that he would hold a separate vote on the credits no later than the second week of December. But such a deal would also require a vote in the U.S. House, and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has made no such commitment.

On Monday, Pingree, who represents the 1st Congressional District, said she will keep fighting to secure a real solution before the U.S. House takes up the Senate proposal in a vote slated for later this week.

A deal that lets enhanced Affordable Care Act credits expire, which will drive premiums higher for families already stretched thin, fails the millions of families counting on us to keep their health care affordable, she said. That is not a compromise. It is capitulation.

After the vote Sunday, Gov. Janet Mills wrote on social media that tens of thousands of Mainers are facing rising health care costs because of President Donald Trump and Collins, who helped lead negotiations as head of the Senate Appropriations Committee and who Mills is challenging in the November 2026 election after she terms out as governor.

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Maine people deserve affordable health care  not just the promise of a vote that wont go anywhere, she wrote on X. Fight back.

Collins, on the Senate floor, encouraged her colleagues to back the legislation and end the unnecessary harm to the security of our families and our nation. She said, We must not delay any longer.

Another Democratic Senate candidate, Graham Platner, similarly said that increasing health care premiums can destroy families in eastern Maine.

Putting blame squarely on the U.S. Senate minority leader, Platner said, This happened because Chuck Schumer failed in his job yet again because they do not understand that when we fight, we win. When we hold the line for working families, for working people, we win.

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Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who is vying to fill Mills open seat in the Blaine House, called it a terrible deal.

If they cant stand up now when the Constitution is in tatters, seniors and kids are hungry and industries are on the brink of disaster, when will they? Wheres the fight? she wrote in a social media post.

Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, who is also in the running for governor, said the Democratic and independent senators who voted with Republicans Sunday are making a huge gamble.

But they arent gambling with their own health, they are gambling with yours, Jackson said. Mainers and Americans deserve better.

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Late Sunday, King joined the handful of Senate Democrats who voted with Republicans to advance the spending bill in a press conference during which he cast doubt on the effectiveness of the shutdown to win support for the tax credits.

Rather, he said the almost seven weeks of fruitless attempts had only caused harm for federal workers and recipients of federal food assistance.

King said he believes the vote Sunday night moved them closer to a vote on the ACA tax credits, citing Thunes promise to bring a Democratic health care bill to the floor.

But Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Ryan Fecteau doubted the reliability of congressional Republicans promising to hold the December vote.

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Ill stand corrected if this somehow pans out, but I think Senator Kings deal is as thin as November ice on a Maine lake  its gonna fall through, he wrote on Facebook.

State Auditor Matt Dunlap, who is the only Democrat currently in the running to replace Golden, who announced last week that he wont seek reelection next year, said we can do better.

This deal gets us nothing, Dunlap said, noting that the point of the Democrats stand was to preserve the tax credits. A vague promise of a vote in December on the Affordable Care Act is laughable from a Republican majority that has made repeal of the ACA one of their highest priorities as they protect their rich friends in the insurance industry.

Golden was the only House Democrat to back the initial proposal in the House. On Monday, a spokesman for the congressman said he looks forward to continuing bipartisan conversations in the coming days about how to build support for extending the tax credits and preventing massive price increases.

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Blue Origin's long-awaited mission to launch its massive New Glenn rocket on a mission sending twin NASA spacecraft on a journey to Mars will have to wait a little longer.

New Glenn, one of the largest active rockets in the world, was set to take off on a rainy day from Cape Canaveral, Florida, before clouds forced Blue Origin to postpone the Nov. 9 launch attempt.

The mission, which Blue Origin refers to as NG-2, would only be the second time ever that billionaire Jeff Bezos' space technology company has launched the rocket. Designed to compete with billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon rockets in the orbital spaceflight market, New Glenn made its debut in January 2025.

Here's everything to know about the upcoming Blue Origin New Glenn launch, as well as when the rocket could now lift off in Florida:

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New Glenn launch: What to know as Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin prepares to launch New Glenn rocket for 2nd time

What is Blue Origin? Jeff Bezos' company postpones New Glenn launch

New Glenn was fueled up and vertical on the launch pad ahead of an impending launch before Blue Origin ultimately called it off about 90 minutes after the window opened.

The scrub came as Blue Origin's launch team monitored cloud cover rolling into the area, which ultimately foiled the liftoff attempt.

What is NASA's ESCAPADE Mars mission?

During its second-ever mission, New Glenn is due to propel NASA's twin ESCAPADE spacecraft on their trek to Mars, where they will orbit the red planet and take simultaneous observations of solar winds and space weather.

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The ESCAPADE satellites  short for Escape and Plasma Acceleration Dynamics Explorers  are due to arrive in Martian orbit in 2027.

The mission also doubles as a commercial venture. New Glenn will additionally carry technology from telecommunications company Viasat that could be used for NASA missions in low-Earth orbit.

When is the New Glenn launch?

Darkness falls as a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket is prepped for launch Saturday, Nov. 8 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The rocket was scheduled to launch Sunday, Nov. 9 on NASA's ESCAPADE mission before Blue Origin ultimately was forced to postpone liftoff due to weather.

Blue Origin is now working toward a launch of its New Glenn rocket on Nov. 12, according to its website.

The window would be open from 2:50 p.m. to 4:17 p.m. ET, with the rocket getting off the ground from Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Base. The site is one that Blue Origin invested $1 billion to rebuild.

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The hours are outside of the restrictions the Federal Aviation Administration recently enacted on commercial space launches amid the ongoing government shutdown. Under a Nov. 6 order, which went into effect on Nov. 10, commercial launches were to be limited to between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time.

NG-2 Launch Update: Our next launch attempt is no earlier than Wednesday, November 12, due to forecasted weather and sea state conditions. We worked with the FAA and range to select a launch window from 2:50 PM  4:17 PM EST / 19:50  21:17 UTC. The live webcast starts at T-20  Blue Origin (@blueorigin) November 10, 2025

It's unclear why Blue Origin's NG-2 mission is exempt from the order, though the company indicated in a post on social media site X that it "worked with the FAA and range to select a launch window." The USA TODAY Network left a message on Nov. 10 with a Blue Origin spokesman seeking more information.

The New Glenn rocket also needs to launch at a certain time of day to get it on a correct trajectory to Mars.

When the rocket does lift off, Blue Origin will once again attempt to land the first stage, or booster, on a drone ship several hundred miles offshore in the Atlantic. The upper stage carrying the payload fairing will then continue in space, helping to propel NASA's ESCAPADE satellites to Mars.

What is Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket?

Named in honor of NASA astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, New Glenn is a powerful two-stage heavy-lift launch vehicle manufactured by Blue Origin.

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The New Glenn spacecraft is not to be confused with Blue Origin's much smaller New Shepard rocket that the company launches from West Texas on brief trips taking paying passengers high above Earth's atmosphere.

The rocket, which stands at 322 feet tall, is built to be reusable, with the first stage designed to last for at least 25 flights, according to Blue Origin. The booster being used in the upcoming spaceflight is nicknamed Never Tell Me the Odds.

Blue Origin envisions that New Glenn will be capable of shuttling Amazon's Project Kuiper satellites to orbit and undertaking other missions for paying customers  including NASA and telecommunications providers.

The rocket's first stage is powered by seven of Blue Origin's BE-4 engines, while the upper stage, which flies in orbit, operates with two of the company's BE-3U engines designed for the vacuum of space.

When was the 1st New Glenn rocket launch?

The spacecraft has only launched once so far, with its maiden flight on Jan. 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

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While the upper stage reached orbit in the debut, the booster itself was lost during the descent.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blue Origin postpones NASA Mars mission. When New Glenn could launch
Boston Police seized over two kilograms of Fentanyl in a coordinated drug enforcement operation across Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury this past week.

The operation, conducted by the District D-4 (South End) Drug Control Unit in partnership with the Citywide Drug Control Unit, was initiated in response to numerous community complaints about suspected drug activity in the Southwest Corridor area.

During the operation, search warrants were executed at multiple locations, including 176 Stratton Street in Dorchester, 127 Hazelton Street in Mattapan, and 1059 Tremont Street in Roxbury.

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The operation involved multiple units, such as the District B-2 (Roxbury), B-3 (Mattapan), C-11 (Dorchester), D-14 (Allston/Brighton), and E-13 (Jamaica Plain) Drug Control Units, as well as the Youth Violence Strike Force, Massachusetts State Police, MBTA Police, and Boston Housing Authority Police.

In addition to the Fentanyl, officers seized thirty-two rounds of ammunition, digital scales, drug packaging materials, and over $3,000 in U.S. currency.

Additionally, three individuals were taken into custody and charged as a result of search warrants. They are as follows:

Ricky Wilson Soto-Arias, 36, of Dorchester, was arraigned in Dorchester District Court

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Trafficking of Class A

Unlawful Possession of Ammunition

Doris Baez, 37, of Mattapan, was arraigned in Dorchester District Court

Trafficking of Class A

Unlawful Possession of Ammunition

Bryan Mejia, 31, of Mattapan, was arraigned in Roxbury District Court

Trafficking of Class A

Jeiel Hernandez, 44, of Boston, was arraigned in Roxbury District Court

Trafficking of Class A

Stephen Smith, 37, of Boston, was arraigned in Roxbury District Court

Warrants issued out of Roxbury District Court for Breaking and Entering, Nighttime, and Larceny over $250

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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A Palestinian child receives vaccination at a field hospital in central Gaza City, on Nov. 9, 2025. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

GAZA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Health authorities in the Gaza Strip on Sunday launched a vaccination campaign targeting children under three years old, aiming to prevent outbreaks of infectious diseases after two years of disrupted immunization services caused by the war.

In a press statement, Gaza's health authorities said the campaign is being conducted in 150 health centers across the strip in coordination with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), with support from the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The authorities said the campaign will last 10 days and will be implemented in three phases, each separated by one month, to reach children who missed routine vaccinations since the outbreak of the war in October 2023.

Salim al-Qirm, medical director of PRCS al-Saraya Field Hospital in Gaza City, told Xinhua that approximately 45,000 children in Gaza have not received essential vaccines over the past two years.

"The interruption of vaccination programs has increased the likelihood of outbreaks of serious infectious diseases," he said, adding that malnutrition and anemia further weaken children's immunity.

Al-Qirm noted that hundreds of children have died over the past two years due to weakened immunity and poor health conditions. "The health situation of children in Gaza is extremely dire due to shortages of vaccines, food, and infant formula, in addition to the deterioration of healthcare."

He said medical teams have begun administering vaccines for polio, measles, smallpox, and hepatitis, with parents responding positively.

At a vaccination point near the PRCS hospital, Aya Abu Obeid said she brought her two-year-old son to receive his first vaccine dose since 2023.

"I rushed here as soon as I heard about the vaccination campaign because my child had not received any dose for two years due to disruptions in health services," she told Xinhua.

Abu Obeid said that children in Gaza are vulnerable to various diseases due to polluted water, poor sanitation, and accumulated waste, making vaccination urgent.

In al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, Sumaya Ayoub brought her younger child after her older son contracted chickenpox during displacement. She said she had searched in vain for vaccines and saw the campaign as a chance to protect her children from preventable diseases.

On Thursday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced that the organization would provide routine immunizations, nutrition services, and growth monitoring to approximately 44,000 children in Gaza, noting that Gaza children "have been cut off from life-saving healthcare for nearly two years due to the conflict." 

A Palestinian child receives vaccination at a field hospital in central Gaza City, on Nov. 9, 2025. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

A Palestinian child receives vaccination at a field hospital in central Gaza City, on Nov. 9, 2025. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
CAIR, founded in 1994, had the mission of fighting anti-Muslim discrimination in the US by trying to inform and educate the public about Islam.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim civil rights nonprofit based in Washington, DC, and operating in about 20 states, aims, according to the organization, to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

CAIR was founded in 1994 with the mission of fighting anti-Muslim discrimination in the US by creating initiatives to educate and inform the public about Islam and combating Islamophobia. Yet, all three of the founders have alleged ties to terrorism.

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During the course of its roughly 30 years of existence, CAIR has promoted itself as standing up for the rights of Muslims in America, but it has also faced extensive criticism over ties to extremist movements and ideologies. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), key CAIR leaders often traffic in openly antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric.

During the past years, as the Israel-Hamas War grabbed global attention, CAIR has come into the spotlight for its involvement in pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel advocacy.

In the lead-up to the November New York City mayoral election, Muslim-American activist Linda Sarsour claimed that CAIR was a main backer of Zohran Mamdanis winning campaign. The Washington Free Beacon reported that Mamdanis campaign received $100,000 from a CAIR-affiliated PAC.

New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani holds a press conference at the Unisphere in the Queens borough of New York City, US, November 5, 2025. (credit: Reuters/Kylie Cooper)

Mamdani has been accused by many Jewish and pro-Israel organizations of holding antisemitic positions, including defending calls to globalize the intifada and a refusal to recognize Israels right to exist as a Jewish state.

How does CAIR operate?

CAIR is organized by state, with about 32 chapters across the US. On its website, it lists work in civil rights, media, countering Islamophobia, and youth work as some of its current initiatives.

CAIRs legal work

According to CAIR, the organization provides legal representation on behalf of Muslims and others who have experienced religious discrimination, defamation or hate crimes.

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Earlier this year, CAIR-MI filed a lawsuit against the Oakland County Sheriffs Office in Michigan on behalf of a Muslim woman who was forced to remove her hijab during her booking.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas War, CAIRs legal department has focused heavily on defending anti-Israel activists from legal action. For example, over the past six months, CAIR has taken legal action against tech companies such as Meta and Apple, as well as universities such as the University of Missouri and Northwestern University.

CAIR has also voiced support for activists such as Mahmoud Khalil and Rumeyza Ozturk, non-citizen anti-Israel students whom President Trumps administration attempted to deport.

CAIR in politics

CAIR, headquartered in the nations capital, is also deeply involved in US political activity. The organization lobbies the government through its political section, CAIR Action.

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According to CAIRs government affairs partner, CAIR representatives have testified before state legislatures and Congress and sponsored initiatives designed to bring Muslim concerns to their elected representatives.

Although CAIR cant legally endorse candidates, CAIR Action does so, maintaining lists of state and federal endorsements. Notably, it refused to endorse a major presidential candidate in the 2024 election, citing dissatisfaction with both Trumps and Kamala Harriss support for Israel.

Instead, the group encouraged voters to vote for third-party options such as Green Party candidate Jill Stein, whose vocal anti-Israel viewpoint resonated with many American Muslims.

According to CAIR polling, a slight majority of Muslim voters preferred Jill Stein over any other candidate.

Controversial founders

Co-founders of CAIR Omar Ahmad, Nihad Awad, and Rafiq Jaber have all faced government scrutiny over their ties to Islamist terrorism. Ahmad, Awad, and Jaber co-founded CAIR together, and Ahmad served as chairman of the board of directors until 2005. Awad currently serves as the organization's Executive Director.

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Ahmad, according to the FBI, led a pro-Hamas conference in Philadelphia in 1993, where he and Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development (HLF) and Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP) members discussed how to best support Hamas while concealing their true beliefs, such as support for Hamas conquering all of Israel, from the US.

Awad worked as the public relations director at the IAP and supported Hamas before its designation as a terrorist group, although he publicly withdrew his support for Hamas in 2006.

Jaber served as president of the IAP, where he refused to condemn suicide bombings, saying that, I don't believe we are in a position to judge the people [for] what they do and what they do not do. Because the one in the field is different than the one sitting in the chair like me here.

IAP and HLF: what are they?

The IAP was founded by senior Hamas member Mousa Abu Marzook. He has called for donations to Hamas-affiliated charities. In 2004, both the HLF and the IAP were found liable for aiding Hamas in the murder of 17-year-old David Boim, whom Hamas members shot at a Jerusalem bus stop in 1996, leading to the IAPs closure.

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The HLF was designated as a terrorist organization by the US in 2001. In 2004, five HLF officers were charged with providing material support to Hamas, accused of collecting money for charity in the US and distributing it through Hamas-controlled charities in the West Bank and Gaza.

In 2008, all five were convicted of funneling over $10 million to Hamas. CAIR was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the HLF case, avoiding prosecution.

Current criticism of CAIR

Local leaders of CAIR chapters have also made controversial statements against Israel and Jews, dating back years before the Israel-Hamas War.

In 2021, Zahra Billoo, Executive Director of CAIRs San Francisco Bay Area chapter, claimed that 'Zionist synagogues' were behind Islamophobia, leading to pushback from Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL.

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CAIR backed Billoo after her remarks, calling the condemnation a smear campaign. Two years earlier, Billoo was reportedly kicked off the Womens March board over antisemitic statements.

Ibrahim Mossalam, Vice President of the Board of Directors of CAIR-NY, made statements online praising the October 7 attacks. Mossalam, a commercial pilot, was suspended by United Airlines but still serves in his CAIR-NY role.

After the October 7 attacks, Nihad Awad, founder and leader of CAIR since 1994, made a statement commending the massacres. This led to condemnation from the Biden administration, which called his words antisemitic.

Whats next?

Despite decades of relatively low scrutiny, there have been instances where CAIR has been targeted for its ties to extremism.

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In August of this year, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark) asked the IRS to investigate CAIRs tax-exempt status, citing ties to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. CAIR rejected Sen. Cottons claims as debunked conspiracy theories and half-baked legal arguments.

Months earlier, in June, Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fl) introduced a bill to the House of Representatives proposing the designation of CAIR as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, again citing ties to terrorist groups.

Three decades after its founding, CAIR currently stands at a crossroads. To its critics, the organization is a front for Islamist terrorist groups, while to many American Muslims, its a valuable resource and a defender against Islamophobia.
SAO PAULO  Gavin Newsom is about to take the stage at a global climate summit where world leaders are scarce  and a turn in the spotlight is wide open.

The California governor's task at United Nations climate talks in Belem, Brazil, this week isnt to negotiate sweeping policy changes or break into closed-door talks reserved for nations. Its to put on a show: proving his state is still cutting emissions despite President Donald Trumps rollbacks, nudging governments and businesses to do the same, and reminding the world that the U.S. might one day pick the climate agenda back up  perhaps under a President Newsom.

Newsom kicked off his trip on Monday in Sao Paulo, where he told an investors summit hosted by the Milken Institute that the Trump administration was doing everything to vandalize California's leadership in this space, and they've been reasonably successful in nine and a half months to put a lot of sand in the gears. That said, we continue to persist, and we continue to thrive.

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The reason Im here is the absence of leadership coming from the United States, he continued. There is a different picture that we can paint subnationally.

Its a well-rehearsed role for California, which has staked out a leading role in international climate diplomacy for decades under both Democratic and Republican governors. The Trump administrations dismantling of climate policies to favor oil and gas interests  and planned absence from the Brazil talks  only give California more space to fill, said former Gov. Jerry Brown, who got a heros welcome himself at the United Nations climate talks in 2017, the first year of Trumps first term.

Trump, he's saying one thing, Brown said in an interview. Newsom is saying something else, very important. The impact, he said, will be determined in Belem. That's why it's exciting. There's not an answer yet.

The conflict was already taking shape last week. At an energy conference in Greece, U.S. and Greek officials touted a new deal for Exxon Mobil to explore drilling in the Mediterranean, with U.S. Interior Department Secretary Doug Burgum saying, there is no energy transition, there is just energy addition. In Brazil, meanwhile, Colombian President Gustavo Petro called for an economy free of oil and natural gas during an opening speech to the climate talks, saying, Mr. Trump is against humankind.

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That gives Newsom an opening  and also presents a risk. Where Brown led a coalition of states eager to demonstrate continued commitment on climate in Trump's first term, Newsom will arrive in Belem, near the mouth of the Amazon River, at a time when U.S. politics are tilting rightward and even Democrats are pulling back on embracing climate policies.

Californias own claim to climate leadership has also lost some shine. Trump laid waste to its nation-leading vehicle emissions standards, getting Congress to overturn them in June, and state regulators have yet to propose making up the emissions losses. Other blue states were already getting cold feet about following California's rules, citing the cost of switching to electric vehicles and equipment. Newsom himself has backtracked on some policies, including a profit cap on refineries, an acknowledgment that high gas prices are a liability. And while the state has met its own emissions targets so far, it was off track to meet its 2045 carbon neutrality goal even before the federal government began attacking renewable energy.

Newsom argues that Trumps policies are hurting competitiveness. China is sprinting ahead on clean energy to a scale and degree that I don't think most Americans fully appreciate, and I'm deeply worried about how they will outpace this country and how we may not be able to catch up, he said.

Amid his feuding with Trump and the passage of a nationally watched gerrymandering campaign benefitting Democrats, Newsoms profile is soaring. He headlined a rally in Texas over the weekend and is rising on presidential primary shortlists.

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White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers declined to comment on Newsom's attendance at COP but pushed back on his embrace of low-carbon energy.

President Trump will not allow the best interest of the American people to be jeopardized by the Green Energy Scam," she said in a statement. "These Green Dreams are killing other countries, but will not kill ours thanks to President Trumps commonsense energy agenda!

Theres little Newsoms team, which includes ex-State Department climate negotiators, can actually do to influence the closed-door talks reserved for countries. Instead, the team is focusing on expanding its list of voluntary bilateral or multilateral agreements with other subnational and national governments, some of which have been purely symbolic and some of which have led to research and policy exchanges. Among the most substantive are agreements with Chinese provinces, some dating back to Browns time but which paved the way for Newsom to take a headline-generating trip to China focused on climate change in 2023.

Newsoms agenda in Belem includes a first-ever meeting with Jochen Flasbarth, Germanys Secretary of Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, on Tuesday. The two are expected to discuss and renew a climate agreement their predecessors first signed in 2017. Newsom is also scheduled to meet with Thekla Walker, the environment minister for the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg, which in 2015 co-founded the Under 2 coalition with California for states and cities looking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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Hes also expected to give plenary remarks at COP in Belem later this week, where top-tier global involvement is lacking. The Brazilian hosts billed this year's climate talks as a chance to turn lofty promises into results. But no sweeping agreement is on the table, and many countries are behind on their emissions goals.

Only a smattering of European leaders are in attendance, and the European Unions 27 member countries could not agree on a climate goal to present at the conference until mere days before its start  and only after watering down existing pollution-cutting rules to get a deal. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, a former U.N. climate representative, stayed home. Also absent is Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose country tops the U.S. as the worlds No. 1 greenhouse gas polluter but is also moving aggressively towards renewable electricity.

The Brazilian organizers have pivoted toward implementation  focusing on things cities and states can do on their own, from forest protection to electric vehicles and disaster resilience. That will leave at least some in the crowd of government officials, NGOs and industry groups hungry for input from California, with its massive economy and Democratic-leaning population. Christiana Figueres, the former executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, named Newsom as the person she expected to generate the most chatter in Brazil.

It is already predictable that, of course, Gavin Newsom will get quite a bit of media attention because he represents the huge state of California, but also because of his high-profile pushback on President Trump, she said in an interview.

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Ken Alex, a former senior policy adviser to Brown who's traveled with him to several international climate talks, said climate diplomats know where to look for a stand-in from the United States under a Trump administration.

Gov. Newsom is seeing the same thing we saw in the Brown administration, he said. Countries and other places in the world start reaching out to California because the U.S. is missing.

Zack Colman and Josh Groeneveld contributed to this report.
Nov. 10A Carlisle man accused of choking his children's mother while driving a minivan in April with their three young children and his mother inside before intentionally crashing in Franklin was sentenced to probation.

What was he sentenced to?

Riley Blaine Bowman, 37, was sentenced last week by Warren County Common Pleas Judge Robert Peeler to three years of community control; he also must pay a $375 fine, complete outpatient drug and alcohol treatment and must pay $1,895 restitution to his victim and not have any contact with her, according to sentencing documents.

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What were the charges?

Bowman initially was indicted by a county grand jury for felony counts of strangulation and endangering children and three OVI counts in addition to driving under suspension, all misdemeanors.

He pleaded guilty to one felony count of endangering children and to three misdemeanors: domestic violence, OVI and driving under suspension, with the other counts dismissed as part of his plea.

What was he accused of doing?

Franklin police were dispatched around 7:30 p.m. April 30 for a hit and run crash near the intersection of Park and Miami avenues. A witness who called 911 reported the driver of a 2010 Honda Odyssey, later identified as Bowman, hit a fire hydrant and stop sign before fleeing. The caller followed the minivan to a South Avenue residence, according to a Franklin Division of Police report.

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Police spoke with a woman who had marks around her neck who told officers that Bowman was choking her in the van before he intentionally crashed. She said he refused to let her and the children out but did take them home before he left on foot with his mother. Police later found Bowman in Franklin.

Officers reported Bowman smelled of alcohol and that he admitted to drinking four or five shots. According to the police report, his blood alcohol level tested at .171, which is more than two times Ohio's .08 legal driving limit.
A police chase ended with a police-involved shooting in Orange, New Jersey on Sunday.

The incident happened on Sunday, just after 2 p.m., near I-280 Exit 11 westbound.

Authorities say state police shot and wounded a suspect who got out of a vehicle they were pursuing.

The New Jersey State Attorney General's office is investigating.

An eyewitness who started recording as he saw New Jersey state police troopers with guns drawn can be heard shrieking over the burst of gunfire. A man was then seen running from the vehicle... we're stopping the video before he's struck and falls.

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There is no word on the suspect's identity or condition.

A grey Acura at the scene was left riddled with bullet holes.

"I was picking up a delivery and then I came through here and I just heard a bunch of sirens, tires squealing...and then there was a slight collision. and then I just heard gunshots, like rapid amounts of gunshots," said Zach McDowell.

Someone who spoke with the black Mercedes driver told Eyewitness News he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, just off exit 11. He even had children in the car who were taken to a hospital to be checked out -- and that both the suspect and state troopers opened fire.

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There is no word on what led up to the barrage of gunfire in the middle of a Sunday afternoon.

McDowell had kids in his car, too.

"My kids heard the sounds. My son, he asked, 'Daddy, what's that sound?' I was like, 'Don't worry about it. We'll get out of here,'" he said.

There is no word on why the vehicle was being pursued or if there were any other suspects. The suspect's condition is also unknown.

State police have referred all questions to the state Attorney General's office, which isn't yet providing the details.

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Competing accounts of violations, civilian harm, and disarmament obligations shape how each country portrays its actions during close to a year of ceasefire.

Just days after the truce took effect, Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, posted on X/Twitter: Again, a ceasefire according to Israel is you cease, I fire.

That day, Israel killed five Palestinians despite the truce. In the first month after the pause in fighting, reported deaths exceeded 200. In Lebanon, the pattern is familiar: on the eve of the ceasefires first anniversary, November 27, the death toll there had surpassed 340. Israeli officials counter that enforcement actions are part of the deal: Israel will continue to defend all of its borders, and we continue also to insist on the full enforcement of the ceasefire agreement between Lebanon and Israel, government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian told reporters on Thursday.

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Its not really a ceasefire, its a unilateral ceasefire, so its not a ceasefire in the true sense, Lebanese analyst Abdallah Khoury told The Media Line. When the agreement was formalized, the US allowed Israel to strike any perceived threat from Hezbollah.

Under that rubric, the IDF has conducted near-daily operations in Lebanon. Essentially, it was a ceasefire imposed on the weaker side, because at that point Hezbollah was willing to accept anything to stop the Israeli bombing, Khoury added. Reported Israeli strikes last fall killed 4,000 people and displaced at least 1 million.

Most attacks have hit southern and eastern Lebanon, areas with large Shi'ite communities and political support for Hezbollah. While the Lebanese army has reinforced certain border villages, Israeli troops continue to occupy five strategic positions along the frontier. Alongside stepped-up diplomacy, marked by frequent visits by US officials, Israel has widened its target set.

A Lebanese military vehicle drives, after Israeli troops withdrew from most of south Lebanon, in Mays al-Jabal, near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, February 19, 2025. (credit: Mohammed Yassin/Reuters)

Several construction projects valued in the tens of millions of dollars have been destroyed, delaying reconstruction in already damaged districts. Tens of thousands remain displaced since October 8, 2023, when cross-border fire began. The IDF says it uses precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and advance warnings to mitigate harm, and argues that Hezbollahs siting of weapons in populated areas violates the accord.

IDF targets Hezbollah terror infrastructure

Tensions rose last week after Israeli soldiers raided the border town of Blida before dawn, killing a municipal employee. On Thursday, the IDF carried out a major strike in southern Lebanon, saying raids targeted Hezbollah military reconstruction activities near the border and issued evacuation orders via its Arabic-language spokesperson, who warned of strikes on infrastructure used to rebuild the groups operations.

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In the near future, the IDF will target Hezbollahs terrorist infrastructure throughout the south to counter its prohibited attempts to rebuild its activities in the area, said military spokesman Avichay Adraee in a statement. Israeli statements the same day said the targets included weapons depots and infrastructure linked to Hezbollahs Radwan unit, which Israel accuses of rebuilding in breach of the 2024 agreement.

Lebanese military sources say Hezbollah has largely observed the ceasefire, withdrawing much of its arsenal from the south and violating the truce only once. The Israeli military disputes that assessment, saying Hezbollah continues attempts to restore terror infrastructure in southern Lebanon and is focusing on rebuilding the Radwan Forces capabilities.

Citing those activities, the IDF said the presence of Hezbollah infrastructure and weapon stores constituted a violation of the November 2024 ceasefire deal, which it says permits responses to immediate threats.

Israel has reportedly committed more than 4,500 violations to date, according to several Lebanese media outlets. The United Nations reports that at least 103 civilians were killed in Israeli attacks over the past year. Israel is basically doing whatever it wants in Lebanon, said a resident of Tyre, the main coastal city in the south.

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No one controls them, he told The Media Line. Israel rejects that characterization, saying Hezbollah remains armed in defiance of the accord.

Netanyahu warns Lebanon

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Israel would act if Lebanon fails to disarm Hezbollah under the ceasefire, while Defense Minister Israel Katz said Beirut must fulfill its commitment and pledged intensified efforts to protect northern Israel.

Theres one side that won the war last year and is trying to impose every possible condition, and it has the support of the Americans, Khoury said. What can we do? he added. Frankly, very little. The Lebanese are very aware of their weakness, and that is why they try, by all means, to preserve some of their sovereignty, but without much success, he said.

The truce called for Hezbollahs disarmament, the only Lebanese armed group to retain weapons after the 1975-1990 civil war. Israeli officials argue that this clause is the core of the deal; We will not allow Hezbollah to rearm or to recover the military strength that was shattered by Israels ground and air war in 202324, Bedrosian told reporters on Thursday.

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Over the year, Lebanese forces have removed much of Hezbollahs arsenal from the border region, in coordination with the Shi'ite Islamist party and armed group. As the process moved north, Hezbollah refused to surrender its remaining weapons.

Israel says it will maintain strikes until there is concrete progress on limiting Hezbollahs armaments and has advanced its case in the media. Haaretz reported last week that army intelligence has warned that the organization is working intensively to restore its military capabilities, and security officials believe that Hezbollah intends to maintain its status as the most powerful military force in Lebanon.

Independent tracking by security analysts also recorded numerous Israeli operations between Octover 27 and November 2 targeting Hezbollah operatives and assets both south and north of the Litani River, which Israel framed as enforcement of ceasefire limits.

The Hezbollah terror organization continues attempts to restore terror infrastructure in southern Lebanon and is focusing on rebuilding the [Radwan Forces] capabilities with the aim of harming the State of Israel, the IDF said. The military added that it took steps to mitigate civilian harm in the strikes, including by issuing evacuation warnings and using precision munitions, aerial surveillance, and other intelligence.

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The IDF said the existence of the Hezbollah infrastructure and weapon depots constituted a violation of the November 2024 deal. In several incidents this past week, Israeli warnings were issued publicly ahead of strikes, an unusual step over the last year, telling residents of specific villages in south Lebanon to evacuate immediately.

Lets ask direct questions. Does Hezbollah today, even if it smuggles short-range missiles through channels in Syria, pose a fundamental threat to Israel? Does this suggest that Hezbollah can impose a deterrent on Israel, as it attempted to do in the past? No, it doesnt, because the quantity of weapons they smuggle is relatively limited, Khoury said.

"The Israelis are trying to justify this more aggressive stance, and, along with the Americans, they are pressuring the Lebanese government to make political concessions, he added. Israeli officials respond that the issue is cumulative capability, not single consignments: The IDF has repeatedly warned of military reconstruction activities and says it will strike to prevent Hezbollah from restoring launch capacity near the border.

Beirut under pressure

Beirut is under sustained pressure from both allies. Despite initial resistance, the government and Hezbollah agreed to advance a US-backed plan that brings Lebanese civilians into ongoing talks with Israel.

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Government officials did not respond to The Media Lines requests for comment. As the truces first anniversary approaches, the Israeli military has characterized recent strikes as time-bound enforcement actions rather than a return to open war, and said this week it had completed a set of operations against Hezbollah targets tied to rearmament.

Although Lebanon enjoys greater sovereignty than Gaza, decision-making remains constrained by external actors.

The Lebanese, under immense pressure, are yielding to American and Israeli conditions. They are attempting to do so in a limited way, but they are yielding, Khoury said. The Americans are no longer enthusiastic about the idea of war, so, seeing that the Lebanese are giving in, they are willing to continue down this path," he explained.

He concluded that "sooner or later, we are faced with two paths: Either the Lebanese accept some kind of compromise that satisfies both the Israelis and the Americans, or we will return to war, that is, a state of armed conflict where the Israelis will force us to accept their terms because we are in no position to resist."

Israel maintains that avoiding that outcome requires full Lebanese implementation of the disarmament clauses and an end to what it describes as Hezbollahs rearmament under cover of the truce.
Get ready to experience Michigan's Indigenous cultures this weekend at a powwow in the eastern Upper Peninsula.

Bay Mills Community College is a tribal college within the Bay Mills Indian Community, a federally recognized Ojibwe tribe in Brimley, about 17 miles west of Sault Ste. Marie in the U.P. The college is inviting the public to its Pow Wow on Nov. 15 at the Ojibwe Charter School Gymnasium in Brimley.

Michigan is celebrating Native American Heritage Month in November, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist announced in a Nov. 1 proclamation.

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"We celebrate the rich, diverse cultures, traditions, and histories of Native Americans, while acknowledging the significant contributions they make to government, education, economics, art, science, literature, and more in Michigan and the United States," the proclamation read.

The state has 12 federally recognized tribes and is the ancestral homeland of Anishinaabe peoples, namely the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi, the historic Council of Three Fires alliance.

The college welcomes anyone to attend its upcoming Pow Wow, but for non-Native attendees, remember to keep certain guidelines in mind to be a respectful observer.

A complete list of Bay Mills Community College's Native American Heritage Month events can be found online.

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Here's what to know about the Bay Mills Community College Pow Wow.

What to expect

The Bay Mills Community College Pow Wow will be a celebratory gathering filled with singing, drumming, regalia, dancing, competitions and dining, Bay Mills Community College said.

There will be vendor spots on a first-come, first-served basis, with one table per vendor, the college said. A donation for a spot dance will be the vendor fee.

The Pow Wow will begin with two Grand Entries, the ceremonial openings to the Pow Wow, at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., featuring dancers entering the arena in regalia, per the college.

Dances will include the Dance Specials, competitive dancing across several categories. There will be three winners per category; ages 16 and above will get prizes, and ages zero to 15 will get money, the college said. In the evening, there will be a community Round Dance exhibition.

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The Pow Wow will feature Summer Cloud as Host Drum, along with Big River, Warrior Bear, Wolf Cloud and others as invited drums, per the college.

Dancers will pause for a dinner break at 4:30 p.m., a meal provided for all attendees by the Pow Wow Committee, the college said.

When is the Bay Mills Community College Pow Wow?

The Bay Mills Community College Pow Wow will be Nov. 15, 2025.

Where will the Bay Mills Community College Pow Wow be?

The Bay Mills Community College Pow Wow will be at the Ojibwe Charter School Gymnasium at 12099 W. Lakeshore Drive in Brimley in the Bay Mills Indian Community in the eastern Upper Peninsula, along the Lake Superior shoreline about 17 miles west of Sault Ste. Marie.

What are Michigan's Indigenous roots?

Present-day Michigan is the ancestral homeland of the Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi, Anishinaabe peoples forming the historic Council of Three Fires alliance, with the Indigenous presence pre-dating European settlements by more than 10,000 years.

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The state is now home to 12 federally recognized tribes across both peninsulas, with more than 240,000 Native American or Alaska Native residents statewide, 2.4% of Michigan's population, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.

What is Bay Mills Community College?

Bay Mills Community College is a fully accredited, tribally controlled community college in Brimley in the Bay Mills Indian Community in the eastern U..P, about 17 miles west of Sault Ste. Marie, according to its website.

What is a powwow?

A powwow is a Native American gathering filled with celebration, dancing, singing and other activities, according to United Indians of All Tribes Foundation.

"It is a time of learning and carrying on rich cultural heritage. There is a spiritual significance in the dances, songs, and customs observed, along with the preparations for the event. It is also a chance to display artistic ability with the many arts and crafts common to the Indian people," Michigan State University's Office of Multicultural Enrichment and Advocacy's website says.

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Indigenous dancers typically wear regalia, cultural attire reflecting their tribe's cultural heritage and their personal style. Regalia provide a form of self-expression, with the apparel representing the dancer's life, interests and family background, the Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage says.

What else is Bay Mills Community College doing for Native American Heritage Month?

Here are BMCC's additional upcoming events through November to celebrate Native American Heritage Month:

2025 BMCC Fall Feast at 11:45 a.m., Nov. 12 in BMCC Adikameg Hall, attendees can bring a dish to pass

Venison jerky and canning workshop from noon to 6 p.m. Nov. 13 at Waishkey Bay Farm, meal provided

Snow snake workshop from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 15-16 with Jesse Bowen, lunch served; children must be with an adult

Tobacco pouch workshop from 5-7 p.m. Nov. 17 at Waishkey Bay Farm with Rachel Butzin, meal provided

T-dress workshop from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 22-23 at BMCC Adikameg Hall with Chelsey Moon, lunch served

Ribbon apron workshop from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 29-30 at BMCC Adikameg Hall with Chelsey Moon, lunch served

Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Bay Mills Community College to host Pow Wow in UP. When to visit
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  A central Ohio-based ramen chain recently opened its newest location in north Columbus.

Kyushu Ramen began welcoming customers at 784 Bethel Road in the Olentangy Square retail center on Nov. 3, according to its social media. The new restaurant marks the chains third location.

Ohio State offers free mobile lung cancer screenings

The ramen concept debuted in Grandview Heights at 1280 W. Fifth Ave. in 2022, and opened a second restaurant in Lewis Center at 6418 Pullman Drive in 2023.

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Kyushu Ramen aims to provide the most authentic and flavorful ramen noodle to central Ohio, according to its website. The brand also states the noodles are prepared under a chef who was specially trained in Osaka, Japan.

(Courtesy Photo/Kyushu Ramen Bar) (Courtesy Photo/Kyushu Ramen Bar) (Courtesy Photo/Kyushu Ramen Bar) (Courtesy Photo/Kyushu Ramen Bar)

The chain offers a variety of ramen dishes, including the Kyushu Classic Tonkatsu with pork or chicken, soft-boiled egg, mushroom and bamboo shoot. A spicy miso ramen and vegetarian ramen are among the other options on the menu.

In addition to ramen, the restaurant serves rice and stir-fried noodle bowls featuring a variety of meat and vegetable combinations, as well as sushi. Starters, like honey walnut shrimp, pan-fried gyoza and edamame, are also available.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.
Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo speaks at a ceremonial bill signing at the Utah State Capitol on April 15, 2025 (Alixel Cabrera/Utah News Dispatch)

Rep. Tyler Clancy, who currently works as a detective with the Provo Police Department, admitted that when he was first approached by the governors office about becoming the states next leader of Utahs Office of Homeless Services, he said he turned down the job a couple of times.

He knew the role of state homelessness coordinator is a tough job, tasked with navigating a complex web of state and local systems on controversial issues impacting the lives of the states most vulnerable.

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Clancy, R-Provo, said he was mostly reluctant to step down from representing District 60 in the House and leave his job in law enforcement. But the position makes sense for Clancy, who during his time in the Legislature has sponsored several bills focused on homelessness policy.

Clancy eventually accepted, he said, because he sees Utah  and the federal government  at a crossroads when it comes to changing the way homeless services function.

Were in a unique moment, Clancy said in an interview last week with Utah News Dispatch. And this is where I can make an impact and continue to serve my state.

Last month, Gov. Spencer Cox announced Clancy would be taking the place of the states current homelessness coordinator, Wayne Niederhauser, after he retires on Dec. 5. Clancy was publicly named Niederhausers successor just nine days after Niederhausers retirement announcement.

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Clancy wont step into his new job as state homeless coordinator until after the Utah Legislatures 2026 session, which begins Jan. 20 and ends March 6. But come March 9, hell no longer be called Rep. Clancy.

Call him Coordinator Clancy.

Niederhauser, Clancy acknowledged, leaves some big shoes to fill. A former state Senate president, Niederhauser has long been lauded as a skilled collaborator with strong relationships and trust on Utahs Capitol Hill, which has been key for significant new investments in the states homeless system over the past five years.

Its a daunting task, Clancy said of replacing Niederhauser. I dont know that if theres a state or a city we can look and say, Well they got (homelessness) right. Thats what were really trying to do, be a leader in the space to find results-oriented solutions that help people heal and continue on their path to self-sufficiency.

Wayne Niederhauser, the state homeless coordinator, talks to a packed meeting with community members at the Day-Riverside Branch library in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025 to discuss the newly announced site for a homeless services campus. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Niederhauser, in a recent interview with Utah News Dispatch after his retirement announcement, said when he took the job in 2021, he didnt expect to stay as long as he did  but come December, he said he felt it was time to pass the baton. He said it was a mutual decision between him and the governor.

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Its not an easy space. Its fraught with controversy and politics and all of that, and you know, some fresh energy, I think, will be really good, Niederhauser said. He added that the politics have changed over time, including on the federal level, and so we need some fresh energy, some fresh ideas, and well just hand the baton off and go from there.

Whats next?

Niederhausers departure announcement comes at a time when a major project is unfinished: a proposed 1,300-bed homeless campus that the governor has thrown his full weight behind, recently calling it a top priority as he begins to prepare his 2026 budget recommendations for lawmakers.

Finding funding for the expensive project  estimated to cost at least $75 million to build and more than $34 million a year in ongoing money to operate  will be a major obstacle, but the governor said he hopes some federal dollars could help make it a reality.

That transformative campus is key for the governor and other state leaders vision to not only increase the states currently maxed out homeless shelter capacity, but also make homeless services more focused on healing and accountability.

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Plans for the campus are still taking shape. But the states top homelessness leaders have proposed including hundreds of beds for people who are civilly committed  or court ordered into mental health treatment  along with a secure facility for substance abuse treatment as an alternative to jail, where people who are sanctioned to go there would not be able to leave voluntarily.

How Trumps vision fits in

Their vision coincides with President Donald Trumps executive order issued in July, titled Ending Crime and Disorder on Americas Streets. That executive order encourages cities and states to enforce stricter anti-camping laws, expands power to involuntarily treat and civilly commit people experiencing homelessness, and directs federal officials to end support for Housing First strategies, an approach to homelessness that prioritizes providing housing while offering  but not requiring  treatment.

But months before Trumps executive order, Utahs Republican state leaders had said they wanted Utahs homeless system to start moving away from Housing First policies  policies the state once championed  that they now say lack accountability.

Clancy, earlier this year, successfully sponsored a resolution urging the federal government to change federal homelessness regulations to provide more flexibility for federal homelessness funding. Block grant funding, the resolution says, would provide Utah with tools to better leverage Department of Housing and Urban Development money by granting the state more discretion over the allocation of funds, enabling local agencies to design more effective programs tailored to the specific needs of Utahs homeless population.

That resolution (approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor in February) also included a request to rescind housing first policy mandates to permit flexibility for housing options that meet the diverse needs and preferences of families experiencing homelessness, including sobriety, goal-setting, and accountability.

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Clancy said thats context he feels has been looked over as Utah recently gained national attention after The New York Times published an article titled In Utah, Trumps Vision for Homelessness Begins to Take Shape.

We were working really hard on this mission of reform before President Trump took office, he said. Weve been working on reforming Housing First, looking at an all-of-the-above model, even when President Biden was in office.

Clancy said Utah state leaders vision aligns with Trumps  including expanding mental health care for those who really do need those acute mental health services, he said. He added that hes confident that Utah leaders will continue to collaborate with the Trump administration as they figure out next steps.

What are those next steps? Clancy said that resolution puts Utah in the drivers seat to help lead the way since we have already identified that were willing to do this.

Clancy talks next steps

If not for the ongoing government shutdown, Clancy said we would be having a lot of those conversations. But the minute it reopens, were going to be working very, very closely with the Trump administration to get every dollar and cent that the state of Utah can get.

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We will work for that and make sure that were using that money to help save lives and change lives, he said.

Clancy said due to legislation passed over the past several years, Utahs existing homeless system has already been set up to be ready for whenever the federal government changes how funds are distributed through local homeless services networks known as continuums of care.

So whenever the changes are enacted on the federal level, providers who receive the funding will be allowed to enact more accountability requirements, he said. Now its just a matter of when the federal government will act.

So I think whats next is for the federal government to repeal those very restrictive (Housing First) rules on the existing federal funding, Clancy said.

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But for now, due to the shutdown, were kind of in that holding pattern, he said, but Utah is ready to act on that mission.

People congregate on Rio Grande Street in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Concerns and criticism

Big changes dont come without trepidation. In recent months, some homeless providers have been feeling nervous and skeptical about whether the changes will actually help more people  or create more punitive and chilling policies that could leave more people falling through the cracks, deprioritize permanent supportive housing and destabilize people who are currently housed.

In a July letter urging the states Homeless Services Board to fulfill Trumps executive order, the governor, House Speaker Mike Schultz and Senate President Stuart Adams said to, among other things, ensure any funding requests are accompanied by a clear strategy that aligns with the Presidents executive order, with a focus on reprioritizing existing resources.

How can the state reprioritize existing funding without leaving some housing or homeless service providers unfunded? Clancy said, to him, reprioritization is more about recognizing what are the unique challenges facing certain subpopulations of homelessness and making sure were matching appropriate funding to those needs.

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If theres a program or programs that are not successful, the onus would be on every government official to make sure that were being wise stewards of taxpayer dollars, Clancy said, but he added he doesnt see it as something that will jeopardize needed housing programs during a time when Utahs housing affordability issues are worse than ever.

Instead, he said he sees it as an opportunity to allow  but not require  providers to add accountability measures on programs. Under current federal policies, Clancy said right now, theres a prohibition, but reprioritization would mean removing that restriction and then seeing where the results lay.

When we talk about Housing First, its this idea that severe addiction and severe untreated and persistent mental illness will magically melt away if you give someone a key to a single-room occupancy apartment, he said. That, I think, youre going to see a shift away from. Does that mean we still dont need capacity? No, of course we do. But how is that capacity linked to engagement?

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Some, including Democrats and homeless service providers, have criticized the homeless campus proposal as an expensive project that will need to be fully funded in order to succeed  but meanwhile, the states current homeless shelters and other existing resources like deeply affordable housing, substance use treatment, mental health treatment, and jail capacity have long gone underfunded.

Clancy acknowledged those criticisms  and to a certain extent he agrees, particularly in the mental health space, he said, especially for people who are facing serious psycho-effective disorders to the point they may not realize theyre mentally ill and theyre living on the streets in the middle of winter.

Thats where I would probably agree with critics who say, This is heavily driven by funding, he said, but he added he would disagree when it comes to other people who cycle through the same programs six, seven, eight times, to no success because its not meeting the severity of their needs.

Clancy said he believes hes not criticized for advocating for more funding  but rather for highlighting the need for higher engagement programming to add more accountability measures on services for people suffering from drug addiction or other issues.

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What were talking about is not involuntary versus voluntary treatment, he said. Were talking about voluntary treatment or an unchecked spiral into this world of hell.

As for mental health capacity, Clancy said he doesnt see a need to drastically change Utahs existing laws in order to civilly commit more people than already qualify for that legal status  but rather he said the state needs to focus its efforts on increasing capacity.

In September, Rep. Steve Eliason  a lawmaker who has a long track record of legislation related to homelessness, mental health and civil commitment  estimated that theres at least 1,000 people under civil commitment on the streets with no available inpatient beds for them.

So thats where I think when we talk about working together with the federal government, its about making sure our mental health services have the right funding to make sure we can match people up with the needs that they have, Clancy said. In Utah in particular, I think were in a really good place with civil commitment on the legal level, but our challenge is largely driven by capacity.

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While critics see Utahs vision as one focused on treating homeless people like criminals, Clancy said its more of a matter of putting treatment and recovery first.

We want that system of care to be recovery focused, for people who have faced serious trauma in their lives, he said. Its not a one-size-fits all issue, we always say that. But now its time to put it into action.

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HANGZHOU, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Getting medical advice in China has never been easier than it is now. Via a simple tap on a smartphone and a brief conversation, an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant can instantly deliver a preliminary diagnosis based on clinical expertise of China's top medical professionals.

This AI support stems from an app named AQ, which was displayed at the World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit in east China's Zhejiang Province. Han Xinyi, CEO of Ant Group, shared the group's original intention in developing this app when speaking at a sub-forum focusing on digital health in Wuzhen on Saturday.

"We know minor issues can be handled at local clinics, but the urge to consult a specialist at a big hospital remains," he said -- adding that this app is designed to make quality medical services accessible for the broadest possible population.

Han's words underscore the harsh reality of unevenly distributed medical resources in China. In response to this long-standing challenge, the government has launched a raft of initiatives to boost the capacity of primary-level health institutions. This effort is now poised to be supercharged by the country's rapid advances in AI and new policies to integrate this technology into healthcare.

Riding the wave, Ant Group launched the AI-powered AQ app in June 2025. Notably, this app is trained by using the collective clinical expertise of China's top doctors. It not only provides services like AI-assisted consultation and test report analysis, but can also serve as an assistant for doctors, according to Han.

While AQ focuses on online consultations, another "star" at the summit - an AI-powered massage robot - is redefining in-person therapy with cutting-edge precision and convenience.

Developed by EaseFuture, the AI-Powered Massage Robot can accurately identify 74 acupoints on the back within just three seconds, replicating the techniques of experienced human therapists, according to Zhiyong Yu, founder and CEO of EaseFuture.

These robots are already in operation at senior care centers and wellness hotels across 76 percent of China's provincial-level regions, having delivered over 350,000 massage sessions to date, Yu told Xinhua.

Chinese scientists and entrepreneurs are also setting their sights on a seemingly less exciting area -- sleep.

At the sub-forum, Lu Lin, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the national medical center for mental diseases, described a future where AI-powered beds and pillows could monitor one's rest, play calming music and even morph into a robot that performs chest compressions and summons a doctor in the event of sudden cardiac arrest.

He noted that several companies are already directing research efforts toward AI-assisted sleep.

Lu expressed hope that in the future, every village and community will have access to "AI doctors" capable of addressing common public health issues. However, he stressed that AI cannot replace physicians in the short term and can only serve as an assistant to human doctors.

When asked about the challenges of promoting smart healthcare solutions, Yu acknowledged that high manufacturing costs remain a key barrier to widespread adoption.

"It will take some time before these robots become common household devices," he said. "But I'm optimistic that as products and supply chains mature, AI-powered massage robots will find their way into more everyday scenarios -- truly making the benefits of technology accessible to everyone." 
BEIJING (Reuters) -China has suspended sanctions on U.S.-linked subsidiaries of South Korea's Hanwha Ocean Co Ltd for a year, its commerce ministry said on Monday.

The suspension of sanctions imposed on October 14 takes effect immediately, the ministry statement said.

(Reporting by Liz Lee and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Tom Hogue)
China has launched a new K-visa programme aimed at attracting science and technology workers, a move that could open doors for skilled IT experts.

The initiative, rolled out in November, forms part of Beijing's broader strategy to compete with the US for global talent and advanced technology.

It comes as uncertainties surround the US H-1B programme under tightened immigration policies implemented by President Donald Trump.

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Indian national Vaishnavi Srinivasagopalan, who has worked in both India and the US, is actively seeking opportunities in China and views the K-visa as a significant prospect.

(The) K-visa for China (is) an equivalent to the H-1B for the U.S., she said.

It is a good option for people like me to work abroad.

A passenger arrives at the Capital Airport in Beijing (AP)

Ms Srinivasagopalans interest in China's working environment and culture was sparked after her father spent several years at a Chinese university.

The K-visa complements China's existing visa schemes for foreign professionals, such as the R-visa, but introduces more flexible requirements. Crucially, applicants are not obliged to secure a job offer before applying, streamlining the process for international talent.

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This strategic move by China comes amidst stricter US policies towards foreign students and scholars under Mr Trump. These measures include a substantial increase in H-1B visa fees for new skilled worker applicants, now reaching $100,000, prompting many non-American professionals and students to consider opportunities elsewhere.

Students studying in the US hoped for an (H-1B) visa, but currently this is an issue, said Bikash Kali Das, an Indian masters student of international relations at Sichuan University in China.

China wants more foreign IT workers

China is striking while the iron is hot.

The ruling Communist Party has made global leadership in advanced technologies a top priority, paying massive government subsidies to support research and development of areas such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors and robotics.

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Beijing perceives the tightening of immigration policies in the U.S. as an opportunity to position itself globally as welcoming foreign talent and investment more broadly, said Barbara Kelemen, associate director and head of Asia at security intelligence firm Dragonfly.

Unemployment among Chinese graduates remains high, and competition is intense for jobs in scientific and technical fields. But there is a skills gap China's leadership is eager to fill. For decades, China has been losing top talent to developed countries as many stayed and worked in the U.S. and Europe after they finished studies there.

The brain drain has not fully reversed.

Many Chinese parents still see Western education as advanced and are eager to send their children abroad, said Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore.

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Still, in recent years, a growing number of professionals including AI experts, scientists and engineers have moved to China from the U.S., including Chinese-Americans. Fei Su, a chip architect at Intel, and Ming Zhou, a leading engineer at U.S.-based software firm Altair, were among those who have taken teaching jobs in China this year.

Many skilled workers in India and Southeast Asia have already expressed interest about the K-visa, said Edward Hu, a Shanghai-based immigration director at the consultancy Newland Chase.

Questions about extra competition from foreign workers

With the unemployment rate for Chinese aged 16-24 excluding students at nearly 18 per cent, the campaign to attract more foreign professionals is raising questions.

The current job market is already under fierce competition, said Zhou Xinying, a 24-year-old postgraduate student in behavioural science at eastern China's Zhejiang University.

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While foreign professionals could help bring about new technologies and different international perspectives, some Chinese young job seekers may feel pressure due to the introduction of the K-visa policy.

Kyle Huang, a 26-year-old software engineer based in the southern city of Guangzhou, said his peers in the science and technology fields fear the new visa scheme might threaten local job opportunities.

A recent commentary published by a state-backed news outlet, the Shanghai Observer, downplayed such concerns, saying that bringing in such foreign professionals will benefit the economy. As China advances in areas such as AI and cutting-edge semiconductors, there is a gap and mismatch between qualified jobseekers and the demand for skilled workers, it said.

The more complex the global environment, the more China will open its arms, it said.

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Beijing will need to emphasise how select foreign talent can create, not take, local jobs, said Michael Feller, chief strategist at consultancy Geopolitical Strategy. But even Washington has shown that this is politically a hard argument to make, despite decades of evidence.

A person walks past a sign board for the Baiyun airport in Guangzhou in southern China's Guangdong province (AP)

China has disadvantages, even with the new visa

Recruitment and immigration specialists say foreign workers face various hurdles in China. One is the language barrier. The ruling Communist Party's internet censorship, known as the Great Firewall, is another drawback.

A country of about 1.4 billion, China had only an estimated 711,000 foreign workers residing in the country as of 2023.

The US still leads in research and has the advantage of using English widely. There is also still a relatively clearer pathway to residency for many, said David Stepat, country director for Singapore at the consultancy Dezan Shira & Associates.

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Nikhil Swaminathan, an Indian H1-B visa holder working for a US non-profit organisation after finishing graduate school there, is interested in Chinas K-visa but skeptical. I wouldve considered it. Chinas a great place to work in tech, if not for the difficult relationship between India and China, he said.

Given a choice, many jobseekers still are likely to aim for jobs in leading global companies outside China.

The US is probably more at risk of losing would-be H-1B applicants to other Western economies, including the UK and European Union, than to China, said Mr Feller.

"The US may be sabotaging itself, but its doing so from a far more competitive position in terms of its attractiveness to talent, he said.

China will need to do far more than offer convenient visa pathways to attract the best.
China and the US suspended port fees on each others vessels, a sign the two nations fragile trade truce was holding.

Washington had imposed levies on Chinese-built or -operated vessels, saying it was intended to protect US shipping and shipbuilding, leading to Beijings retaliation. But tensions have eased, with China recently pausing export controls on vital minerals and the US reducing tariffs.

The end to the port fees is welcome, but the US is still highly exposed to Chinas industrial might: Last year, US shipyards built just five oceangoing vessels, Semafors Andy Browne noted. China built as many as 1,700. Any trade fight is unwinnable for Washington, he said, if Beijing starts weaponizing its industrial strengths.
A Chinese official threatened to behead the Japanese prime minister after she suggested Japan could become involved in a war over Taiwan.

Sanae Takaichi, the Japanese leader, said Chinese military action against Taiwan, such as a blockade, could trigger a survival-threatening situation, which could force Japan to become involved.

In response, Xue Jian, Chinas consul general in Osaka, threatened to cut off a dirty neck without a moment of hesitation in a post on X along with a news article citing Ms Takaichis comments.

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Are you ready for that? he added, followed by an angry-face emoji.

The Chinese diplomat also shared several posts written by other people, including one which said that if Japan were to attack Chinese forces, it would immediately provoke a counterattack from China, and if Ms Takaichi wants to casually talk about initiating war as if its nothing, the country is finished.

Xue Jian, Chinas consul general in Osaka, posted the threat on X - Alamy

Minoru Kihara, Japans top government spokesman, told reporters on Monday the post was extremely inappropriate.

He said Japans foreign ministry and the Japanese embassy in China lodged a protest and asked for the post to be deleted.

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The post is no longer visible on Mr Xues official X account.

Lin Jian, Chinas foreign ministry spokesman, said on Monday that the country had lodged a serious protest with Japan over Ms Takaichis comments, claiming attempts by Japanese officials to meddle on cross-strait affairs would cause serious damage to China-Japan relations.

Ms Takaichi stood by her comments on Monday when asked in parliament to clarify her position.

Although I did state a number of possible scenarios, I also said the government will make a comprehensive judgment on whether the situation constitutes a survival-threatening situation taking into account all information, she said.

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Beijing maintains it has sovereignty over Taiwan, which the government in Taipei firmly rejects.

Most Japanese leaders have chosen to stay away from the hot-button issue to avoid confrontation with China.

Japan is one of Taiwans closest neighbours, with its closest island less than 70 miles away, and hosts more than 50,000 US troops, which experts have referred to as the tip of the spear if the US were to come to Taiwans defence.

The initial comment by Ms Takaichi on Friday was made in response to a question about what would be considered a survival-threatening situation.

Ms Takaichi said a line of Chinese ships around Taiwan would not fall into that category, but if Beijing carried out a naval blockade while fighting was taking place, that would constitute a survival-threatening situation and Japans Self-Defense Forces would be sent in to offer support.

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Since Mr Xues post on Saturday, many in Japan, including the countrys ambassador to Australia, have called for him to be designated a persona non grata and expelled from the country, claiming the post was excessively rude.

George Glass, the US ambassador to Japan, also responded to Mr Xues social media post, saying it was time for Beijing to behave like the good neighbour it talks repeatedly about  but fails repeatedly to become.

Chinas ministry of foreign affairs criticised Ms Takaichi earlier this month for meeting with Taiwan officials on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
When my flight from Phoenix touched down in Detroit at 8:20 a.m. Monday, it was a homecoming that had been marked by frustration and air travel uncertainty during the government shutdown.

There was a long delay on a flight getting to Arizona, and then a canceled flight back on Sunday, that included some finagling to rebook, and another long wait  and additional delays  at the airport there.

Even before leaving sunny Arizona sometime in early morning hours on Monday, a fellow flight passenger, Matt Johnson, told me hed be "very happy" to be back in Detroit, despite the Michigan snow.

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The 44-year-old Toledo resident was still wearing shorts and a University of Michigan sweatshirt. His wife and teen daughter had fallen asleep in a chair and on the terminal floor. The weather in Detroit when the flight landed: 27 degrees.

Flight cancellations at Phoenix airport on Nov. 9, led to long delays.

There's hope that the end of the longest federal government shutdown in history  and along with it a looming air travel crisis  may be in sight with the Senate voting 60-to-40 on Sunday to clear a way to a deal. The measure still must be approved by both houses and then signed by the president, and many flights are still being canceled and delayed.

More: Flight cancellations, delays continue to pile up at Detroit Metro Airport

Still, an up-close look at my two flights aboard Delta  from Detroit to Phoenix and back again  offers a glimpse of the fears lawmakers face if the government shutdown doesnt end before Thanksgiving.

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At the same time, the flights also showed how many airport workers, despite challenges, continued to labor with grace.

It could have been worse

My two flights to and from Phoenix put into perspective just how much worse it might have gotten during Thanksgiving, when an estimated 31 million people are forecast to take to the skies to go home for the holiday.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had said on CNN on Sunday that if the shutdown was not resolved, air travel would be "reduced to a trickle" ahead of the holiday.

I took the two flights  from Detroit to Phoenix and then back to Detroit  to attend a conference in downtown Phoenix at Arizona State Universitys Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

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Other conference participants flights from elsewhere were disrupted as well, and organizers said an editor and featured speaker who planned to fly in from New York couldnt make it at all as a result of the air travel complications.

Others, flying back to Detroit from other events, got caught up in cancellations in Phoenix, too.

Some fliers said they went to the airport extra early but ended up with long delays, curling up in chairs and on the floor with their belongings wherever they could find space.

In my case, the flight to Phoenix last Thursday was already delayed five hours, one hour on the tarmac. It was too much for one passenger, who was traveling with a cat, and exited the aircraft at the last minute.

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Still, during both trips, airport workers seemed to remain as upbeat as they could.

On the way to Phoenix, a Delta representative made sure fliers got $12 meal vouchers and free snacks.

On the way back to Detroit, a TSA official patiently waited for me to boot up my phone to swipe my rebooked digital boarding pass that was rejected by the electronic reader. The TSA official sent me back to ticketing for a printed pass, but was especially empathetic.

Delays, frustration and an apology

When Delta canceled the flight back from Phoenix, it automatically booked me on another flight leaving at about 1 a.m. Monday with a plane change and layover in Minneapolis to fly the rest of the way, taking off at 6:10 a.m. to Detroit.

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The ticketing agent rebooked me on a direct flight and said, "Im sorry."

I appreciated the contrition.

It didnt put to rest the uneasiness of being stuck at the airport without compensation or abate the uncertain feeling of wondering whether there would be more delays.

It also meant I had to wander the Phoenix airport for hours.

By about 7 p.m. local time, Delta sent an alert to my phone that the rebooked flight would be further delayed, this time nearly an hour and a half. Then, just after 9:30 p.m., the airline sent a second alert pushing the delay back another hour.

The new takeoff time: 2:17 a.m.

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"Ill be happy when we get on the plane," a groggy Richard Temkin, who arrived at the airport about the same time I had, told me.

The 80-year-old Farmington Hills resident, who was there for a different conference, had been keeping himself busy surfing the web and reading the e-edition of the Free Press.

He was unconvinced that the newest delay was the last one.

Temkin added: "Ill be even happier when we take off."

At 2:45 a.m., the aircraft finally did.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Air travel delays, chaos reflected in all-night flight ordeal
A simple idea continues to make a big difference. Coats for Kids and Families, now in its 29th year, is once again collecting warm coats to help people across Massachusetts stay comfortable  and maintain dignity  during the winter months.

Boston 25 is proud to serve as the media sponsor of the annual coat drive, which partners with Antons Cleaners, Jordans Furniture, and Rockland Trust.

Arthur Anton, COO of Antons Cleaners, said his company has been cleaning donated coats for free since the campaign began.

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There are about 200 drop-off locations across the region. You can bring coats to any Antons Cleaners, Jordans Furniture, or Rockland Trust branch  and each coat stays within the community where its donated.

Donations are being accepted now, and organizers say every clean, gently worn coat helps a child or family in need.

The goal is to collect 50,000 coats. To find the nearest drop-off location or learn more about the effort, visit www.antons.com/cfk.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
DENVER (KDVR)  The end of a 40-day government shutdown is reportedly set to end, with moderate Democrats agreeing to a tentative deal to reopen the government.

The shutdown has resulted in federal employees going weeks without pay, food assistance stopped, flights canceled and delayed across the nation and many federal employees have lost their jobs.

Senate is poised to take the first steps to end 40-day shutdown

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New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan and Maine Sen. Angus King said they would vote to reopen if the Senate passed three annual spending bills and extended the rest of the government funding until January.

Several Colorado Democrats remain in opposition to the government reopening, citing lingering concerns surrounding healthcare.

Colorado officials have released statements in response to the prospective deal.

Sen. Michael Bennet

Instead of bringing forward a plan to extend the health care premium tax credits, President Trump and Washington Republicans have chosen once again to make it harder for everyday Americans to buy health care for themselves and their families. As a result, I will vote no on their funding proposal.

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If Congress fails to extend the tax credits now, millions of Americans, and more than 280,000 Coloradans, will see their health care premiums double, triple, or even quadruple.

Colorado families already face skyrocketing costs on everything from housing to child care to groceries. We should reopen the government, but I refuse to do it at the expense of families who are simply trying to pay for health care. Coloradans deserve better.

Sen. John Hickenlooper

Coloradans want lower costs and affordable health care. Todays bills failed to address skyrocketing health care premiums caused by the Republican Big Bad Bill. So I voted NO.

Every Senate Democrat believes every American should have health care, but Republicans refused to come to the table and work to tackle the health care crisis.

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We will continue to fight every day for universal health care until every American has coverage.

Rep. Gabe Evans

Democrats are practicing the politics of pain on the American people. Federal law enforcement, air traffic control, and other federal employees are working tirelessly without pay. Millions across the U.S. are suffering. But remember  this is their leverage.

Rep. Jason Crow

Im a hard no on this deal. I dont take promises from Trump or Republicans in Congress anymore. Im no fool. My constituents deserve enforceable guarantees for their health care and our democracy. Come back to me when youre serious.

Rep. Joe Neguse

Ill be voting NO.

Rep. Brittany Pettersen

This is not a deal. This does nothing to address the skyrocketing costs of health care facing American families and I would never trust a promise to vote on the ACA later from Republicans. While I join all of you in deep disappointment, this fight is far from over.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser

Its hard to believe that a cohort of Senate Democrats are willing to take an empty promise and risk millions of people losing access to health care. We need Democrats who can stand their ground and fight for what we believe in. And we need a Congress that can get serious.

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Several Colorado Republicans have yet to release a public statement surrounding the potential deal.

The Senate vote is still in process.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.
NEED TO KNOW

An Illinois middle school teacher has been charged with three felony counts stemming from allegations she sexually assaulted a former student who is underage

DuPage County authorities said neighbors began calling police after noticing the underage boy making several visits to the home of 34-year-old teacher Jessica Bergmann

Authorities allege Bergmann was a teacher at the boy's former middle school and that the alleged sexual assault took place when he was a high school sophomore

An Illinois middle school teacher has been charged with three felonies after she was accused in court last week of sexually assaulting an underaged former student.

Jessica Bergmann, a 34-year-old teacher at Washington Middle School in Aurora, Ill., was charged with felony criminal sexual assault, and two felony counts for aggravated criminal sexual abuse, the DuPage County States Attorneys Office announced in a statement on Saturday, Nov. 8.

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Authorities said in their statement that investigators began receiving information in October about the teachers potentially inappropriate sexual relationship with the child. DuPage County authorities alleged that Bergmann met the boy when he was a student at Washington Middle School.

Sometime after the student graduated, the middle school teacher and her former student began communicating via text messages and phone calls, the DuPage County States Attorneys Office alleged in its statement. Saturday. The alleged victim was a high school sophomore when the alleged sexual assault began, according to authorities.

It is alleged that at some point in time, the relationship between the two turned sexual, the statement said. It is further alleged that the relationship progressed further and that the victim would frequently go to Bergmanns home, occasionally staying overnight, where the two would engage in sexual intercourse.

Citing court documents, The Daily Herald reported that neighbors became concerned after noticing the boy at Bergmanns home and began contacting police.

Wheaton Police Department Jessica Bergmann Jessica Bergmann

DuPage authorities said Bergmann was taken into custody without incident on Friday. She was released from custody after her initial court appearance and was ordered to have no contact with anyone under the age of 18 years old, according to the states attorneys office.

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Bergmann is due back in court on Dec. 1.

The profound abuse of trust and authority allegedly displayed by Ms. Bergmann is extremely disturbing and will be met with the full force of the law, DuPage County States Attorney Robert Berlin said in the statement. Teachers are entrusted with our students wellbeing. They are given the awesome responsibility to guide and protect our students, not to harm or exploit them. A teacher who takes advantage of a student, as alleged in this case, is not only breaking the law, but they are also breaking the trust placed in them by the community, the school and the victims family.

Wheaton Chief of Police P.J. Youker said in the statement that cases involving alleged abuse by a teacher strike at the core of community trust, adding, this behavior is unacceptable.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

Read the original article on People
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) attends a ceremony to commemorate the 87th anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkiye, at Ataturk's mausoleum in Ankara, Turkiye, Nov. 10, 2025. Commemorations were held in Turkiye on Monday to mark the 87th anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkiye. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua)

ISTANBUL, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Commemorations were held in Turkiye on Monday to mark the 87th anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkiye.

Sirens wailed, ships whistled, traffic stopped, and people observed a moment of silence to honor the late Turkish leader at 9:05 a.m. local time (0605 GMT), the exact time of his passing.

In Istanbul, thousands gathered at Dolmabahce Palace and queued to visit the room where Ataturk spent his final moments, and laid carnations at his bed in tribute. In front of the palace, divers emerged from the Bosporus waters carrying a large Turkish flag and a portrait of Ataturk, accompanied by boats sounding sirens.

On the Asian side of the city, people formed a human chain along the Kadikoy coastline to pay tribute to the late Turkish leader.

In the national capital, Ankara, government officials, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, laid wreaths at Ataturk's mausoleum and observed a moment of silence in his honor.

National songs associated with Ataturk were played in public squares, and commemorative marches were held across the country to honor his legacy.

Ataturk declared the republic in 1923, ending the rule of the Ottoman Empire after the Independence War. He served as Turkiye's first president until 1938, when he died at the age of 57. He led a series of reforms that modernized Turkiye's political, social and cultural life. 

People commemorate the 87th anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkiye, at Ataturk's mausoleum in Ankara, Turkiye, Nov. 10, 2025. Commemorations were held in Turkiye on Monday to mark the 87th anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkiye. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) attends a ceremony to commemorate the 87th anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkiye, at Ataturk's mausoleum in Ankara, Turkiye, Nov. 10, 2025. Commemorations were held in Turkiye on Monday to mark the 87th anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkiye. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua)

People commemorate the 87th anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkiye, at Ataturk's mausoleum in Ankara, Turkiye, Nov. 10, 2025. Commemorations were held in Turkiye on Monday to mark the 87th anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkiye. (Mustafa Kaya/Handout via Xinhua)
Roman Novak, the convicted Russian crypto swindler who vanished in early October, has been found dead, alongside his wife Anna, in the desert in the United Arab Emirates.

Investigators say the couples dismembered bodies were discovered in the desert near the city of Fujairah, according to Fontanka.

The Novaks last known stop was Hatta, a mountain resort on the outskirts of Dubai, for a meeting with potential investors. Investigators, however, suspect the meeting was a trap and evidence from the crime scene paints a gruesome tale of torture and panic.

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The killings mark another ugly turn in the spate of wrench attacks, brutal offline attempts to steal cryptocurrencies from victims, that have surged over the past year.

Earlier this year, the crypto security firm Chainalysis warned that physical attacks against cryptocurrency owners are expected to increase in 2025.

The Saint Petersburg police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Convicted of fraud

Before his disappearance, Novak presented himself as the founder of the payment platform Fintopio, a crypto wallet service that raised around $500 million from a swell of prominent investors from China, the Middle East and other countries, according to The Mirror.

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Yet after securing the funds, he allegedly fled, leaving employees and investors without their money.

In early October, Fintopio announced that it was closing its crypto wallet services to take time to review our operations and determine the best path forward.

This was not the first time Novak wouldve used his influence in this way. In 2020, he was convicted of fraud and sentenced to six years in prison in a case involving the Transcrypt crypto exchange, Fontanka reported.

He moved to the UAE in 2023 after gaining parole.

Investigators are exploring whether the killing was a revenge plot by aggrieved investors, according to Fontanka.

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The attackers allegedly demanded access to the couples crypto wallets, which were linked to investor funds, but the wallets were empty.

Investigators say the assailants then murdered and mutilated the couple before burying them in the desert, according to Fontanka.

Seven individuals have been arrested, including a former Russian homicide cop turned smuggler and two combat veterans from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to Fontanka.

Osato Avan-Nomayo is our Nigeria-based DeFi correspondent. He covers DeFi and tech. Got a tip? Please contact him at osato@dlnews.com.
The COP30 climate summit in Brazil, kicking off Monday, will be defined largely by the absence of the US, a space that will be partially filled by China, analysts said.

Washington isnt sending any high-level officials to the gathering in the Amazon rainforest, but President Donald Trump will still loom over the event as nations grapple with the White Houses heightened animosity toward clean energy and climate action, Semafors climate and energy editor noted.

While Chinas leader also isnt attending, COP will showcase the inroads Beijings clean-tech industry has made in Latin America.

Brazil chose Chinese EVs to shuttle attendees, a signal that the world is moving on, even without US political and technological leadership, an expert said.
The conference is being held in Belem, at the gateway to the Amazon rainforest, bringing together nearly 190 national delegations and up to 50,000 participants.

Brazils presidency has called it the Cop of the people, Cop of truth, Cop of action, but the summit faces an unclear agenda and sharp disagreements over how  or even whether  a final declaration can be reached.

Just over a month ago, countries were due to publish their new climate plans. Barely more than half have done so, and their combined ambition falls short. The world is still heading for 2.4C of warming by the end of the century  which scientists warn is a catastrophe for humanity and the planet.

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To avoid another failure, the Brazilian presidency is not attempting a grand final declaration. It wants instead to launch more concrete commitments with a group of willing states, in a bid to save what can be saved of global climate cooperation.

World leaders face Amazon reckoning on a decade of climate promises

Fossil fuel fight

At a summit of heads of state three days earlier, several leaders  including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva  said it was necessary to prepare for the end of fossil fuels. But beyond that political signal, there is almost no chance of finding consensus, as oil-producing countries remain firmly opposed.

How are we going to do this? Is there going to be consensus about how we are going to do it? This is one of the great mysteries of Cop30, conference president Andre Correa do Lago said.

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My preference is not to need a Cop decision. If countries have an overwhelming desire for a Cop decision, we will certainly think about it and deal with it.

Do Lago said emerging countries were appearing at this Cop with a different role. He noted the rise of Chinas importance in the talks as the US seeks to exit the Paris Agreement in January and the European Union struggles to maintain its level of ambition amid worries over energy security.

Emerging countries are appearing in this Cop with a different role. China is coming with solutions for everyone, Do Lago added, pointing to inexpensive green technologies from China now leading the energy transition worldwide.

Europes climate progress overshadowed by worsening loss of nature

Indigenous voices

Civil society is making its return after three Cops in authoritarian countries, and it intends to be heard. Indigenous leaders in particular are demanding a real say in decisions that affect their lands and future.

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Brazilian groups are joined by visiting delegations who arrived on Sunday evening by boat after travelling 3,000 kilometres from the Andes to the Brazilian coast.

They want stronger control over how their territories are managed as climate change worsens and industries such as mining, logging and oil drilling push deeper into forests.

We want to make sure that they dont keep promising, that they will start protecting, because we as indigenous people are the ones who suffer from these impacts of climate change, said Pablo Inuma Flores, an indigenous leader from Peru, who also criticised oil spills and illegal mining along the river.

EU ministers agree weakened climate target to take to Brazil summit

Money gap

Adaptation to natural disasters that are already hitting is another key issue for Southern countries, especially in Africa.

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Negotiators are tasked with defining 100 indicators to measure how prepared countries are. But what vulnerable states say they mainly need to adapt is money.

Money is the final major challenge at this Cop. Last years summit ended in failure, with rich countries promising $300 billion per year within 10 years to help the poorest countries, when at least four times more would be needed.

Brazil wants to propose reaching $1.3 trillion, but the question of where to find the money is expected to cause tension.

Countries also want to address financial and action targets for adapting to a warmer world, with hopes that development banks can reform enough to ensure more money  including from the private sector  goes to these goals.

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Ahead of the summit, scientists at dozens of universities and institutions from Asia, Africa and Europe sounded an alarm over the worlds thawing glaciers, ice sheets and other frozen areas.

The cryosphere is destabilising at an alarming pace, they said in an open letter to Cop30 published on Monday.

Geopolitical tensions or short-term national interests must not overshadow Cop30. Climate change is the defining security and stability challenge of our time.

The first point of order for Cop30 is to vote on an agenda.

Do Lago said countries had been wrangling for months over what to include, describing this as a healthy exchange of priorities.

By Monday morning, 106 governments had submitted new climate plans, with more expected this week.

(with newswires)
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced on Nov. 6, 2025, that Costco has recalled about 941,400 bottles of its Kirkland Signature Prosecco Valdobbiadene sparkling wine because the bottles pose a laceration hazard.

Costco has further stated that unopened bottles of its private label Prosecco Valdobbiadene have a risk of shattering, even when not "handled or in use."



How To Identify the Recalled Kirkland Signature Prosecco Valdobbiadene

The recalled "Kirkland Signature Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG" was sold in green bottles with purple labels and foil tops at Costco stores in the following states: Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The UPC is 196633883742, and Costco identifies the bottles with the item number 1879870.

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The wholesale club first alerted its customers to the recall on Sept. 12, and then again this week. The bottles at risk of shattering were purchased between April 25 and Aug. 26, 2025, but may still be in customers' possession.

What To Do if You Have the Recalled Kirkland Signature Prosecco Valdobbiadene

If you have unopened bottles of the sparkling wine, you should dispose of them immediately. Costco says the safest way to do so is by wrapping the unopened Kirkland Signature Prosecco Valdobbiadene bottles in paper towels and placing them in a plastic bag before throwing them in the garbage. That way, if the bottles do shatter, you can avoid the broken glass in the trash can.

Because the bottles pose a shattering risk, Costco does not want customers to return the recalled prosecco to its stores. Instead, throw the bottles away, then return to the store with the letter Costco sent to its members announcing the recall to receive your refund.

To date, F&F Fine Wines International, Inc. (DBA Ethica Wines) has received 10 reports of the bottles shattering or breaking, resulting in one laceration injury.

If you have any questions regarding this recall, you can contact Ethica Wines at customercare@ethicawines.com or 786-810-7132.

Read the original article on Allrecipes
Every year, hundreds of millions of travelers pack their bags and hiking gear to explore national parks across the U.S. From Alaska's Denali National Park (which can be explored on a tight budget) to North Carolina's Great Smoky Mountains that brim with hikes and seclusion, the country's park system of more than 85 million acres is dedicated to preserving natural landscapes and protecting wildlife. Now, China is stepping into the spotlight with an ambitious plan to build the largest national park system in the world. Its goal is to safeguard biodiversity, preserve ecosystems, and show that conservation and tourism can go hand-in-hand.

Although China has a reputation as the world's largest polluter, it pledged in 2020 to reach carbon neutrality by 2060. In recent years, the government has made environmental moves and now aims to establish 49 national parks by 2035. China launched the first five in 2021. The parks combined cover more than 88,000 square miles of protected land that is home to almost 30 percent of the country's most important wildlife species. These include habitats for endangered big cats in the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, rare primates in the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park, and thousands of pandas in the Giant Panda National Park. Over the next decade, that footprint is expected to expand to more than 270 million acres across mountains, forests, wetlands, and deserts. If completed, China's network would be about three times the size of the entire U.S. National Park System.

Read more: 25 Gorgeous Islands For Vacationing That Won't Break The Bank

China's national park system aims to protect biodiversity and bolster tourism

A panda sitting on a branch, behind a tree trunk in China's Giant Panda National Park - ZCFei/Shutterstock

Since China created its first batch of national parks, wildlife populations have started to rebound. Tibetan antelopes increased from fewer than 20,000 in the 1980s to more than 70,000 today. Even the Hainan gibbons grew from 35 to 42, and wild leopards from 42 to 80. Officials credit much of this recovery to efforts focused on restoring natural ecosystems.

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Each of China's initial five parks includes zones where development is banned and human activity is limited. However, there are surrounding buffer areas that allow tourists to spot rare species, including exploring panda habitats. For travelers used to the bustle of Beijing or Shanghai's unexpected attractions, these parks offer a glimpse of wilderness that few outsiders have experienced. Some areas that are under consideration for future parks include the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Yellow River Basin, and the Yangtze River Basin.

According to the government, expanding the park system will help protect the country's biodiversity while opening new doors to tourism. Local communities are encouraged to take part in eco-friendly businesses and park management. Officials say locals are already seeing benefits from new jobs as park rangers and guides. In some parks, early initiatives like nature observation events and monitoring programs are showing how conservation and livelihoods can thrive together.

Ready to discover more hidden gems and expert travel tips? Subscribe to our free newsletter and add us as a preferred search source for access to the world's best-kept travel secrets.

Read the original article on Islands.
France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy can leave prison and serve his five-year sentence under judicial supervision pending his appeal in a criminal conspiracy case, a Paris appeals court ruled on Monday.

A lower court had convicted Sarkozy in September of participating in a criminal organization in connection with alleged campaign finances from the late Libyan dictator Moamer Gaddafi.

The 70-year-old was ordered to report to prison on October 21, despite his team having launched an immediate appeal against the conviction, and has spent the past three weeks behind bars at Paris' La Sante prison.

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Sarkozy applied for conditional release immediately after starting his sentence. In France, such a provision applies to inmates aged 70 and older, allowing them to serve their sentence outside prison under certain conditions.

The Libya affair revolves around allegations that Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign received illegal funds from the Gaddafi regime.

While the Paris criminal court found no evidence of illegal campaign funds, it concluded in its ruling that the conservative politician and close ally of Gaddafi had at least attempted to obtain funds from the Libyan leader.
BERLIN (AP)  A man under investigation in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann is allowed to leave Germany, a court said Monday, overturning one of the conditions under which he was released after serving a sentence in an unrelated case.

The German national, who has been identified by media as Christian Bruckner, was released in mid-September after serving a sentence that stemmed from his 2019 conviction for the rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal.

A court in Hildesheim at the time imposed conditions for a five-year period, including that he wear an electronic ankle monitor and report regularly to probation services and remain resident in Germany.

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On Monday, a higher state court in Celle said that it upheld most of those conditions imposed in the Oct. 28 ruling, but overturned the stipulation that he must reside in Germany. It said that interfered with European Union citizens' freedom of movement within the 27-nation bloc.

It added that it would in principle be possible to issue a temporary ban on the man leaving Germany, for example to arrange technical matters, or to ban him from going to specific regions, but that the lower court in Hildesheim would have to decide exactly what arrangements to make.

In June 2020, German prosecutors said the man was being investigated on suspicion of murder in connection with McCanns disappearance from an apartment complex in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz. They said they assumed the girl was dead.

Police have since carried out more searches in Portugal, where the man spent many years. But the suspect, who has denied any involvement in the three-year-old's disappearance, has not been charged in the case. The investigation wasn't affected by his release.

Friedrich Fulscher, the man's lawyer, has said charges would have been filed against his client long ago if there had been sufficient evidence.
Just a heads up: some of these stories can be quite gruesome.

1. "A man had a heart attack and died on his waterbed. It broke and the sun heated the water (this is Arizona by the way) and cooked him like a f*cking stew."

GoogleWasMyIdea49

Kali9 / Getty Images

2. "Had someone who forced his older mother to eat rocks, and I mean a sh*tload of rocks, to the point where she died. He told the police that he was feeding her rocks to weigh her down so God couldnt take her yet."

Ejgee

Related: "I Was Shaking Like A Leaf": Sorry, But It's Physically Impossible For Me To Stop Laughing At These 27 Hilarious Fails From Last Week

3. "An adult son died in his room, and it caused his mother to snap. One of her children came over, unaware of what had happened, and noticed a smell in the house. The mother explained that he was going to wake up like Jesus did. The daughter called 911 and fled the house. She barricaded herself in the house for five more days with the body."

[deleted]

Steven Puetzer / Getty Images

4. "I did a case once where the home had burnt down. As was always the case, the homeowner was asked to provide a list of everything in the home. So, the homeowner emails me a list, comprising all 190 pages in 12-point Arial font, single-spaced. The first 48 pages were all the books in the house. Every single book, and I mean ALL of them, over 3,200 in total, were biographies, memoirs, and other books related to serial killers. Police arrested him two months later when the house was demolished and six bodies were found in the crawl space under the house."

lostatsea12a

5. "I do fire investigations, and one that stuck with me was a girl who started 'speaking to god' at the dinner table. Then, that night, she lit her room on fire with her in it. I think about that one a lot."

Sillyblowfish

Douglas Sacha / Getty Images

6. "I worked in CSI in Mexico. Once, we went to a safe house where the police found 14 people who were tortured and executed. You could smell the iron from the entrance. In the upstairs bathroom, they found a woman tied to the toilet, who had died of dehydration, had urinated and defecated on herself for days. One of the rooms had five shackles on the wall and in the center a metal bucket with water. The five people died of hunger and from beatings. The sickest was in the backyard, in a warehouse without windows, where there were several bodies that had their faces and hands removed. It was like watching a horror movie."

sad_mtfkr

Related: My Innocence Has Been D-E-S-T-R-O-Y-E-D After Learning These Terrible, Disturbing, And Creepy Things

7. "Used to work in the field. The wildest case was a chap who tied a steel cable to a tree, then through his car window, secured it around his neck, then floored the car. The cable ran out of slack, and, well, 'pop!' It always amazed me how clean it came right off. Decapitations are normally pretty messy, but this guy's creativity led to a fairly clean, instant, and memorable death for those who worked his case."

Thunderballs87

William Whitehurst / Getty Images

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8. "A fair few years ago now, I was involved in an investigation where a zookeeper who had nurtured this pack of male wolves from pups was, out of the blue, attacked and eaten by them. That was a bit gruesome, shall we say."

Meadmug

9. "I was an intern, but... a guy found out his lover was cheating on him, flew into a jealous rage, and stabbed the guy to death with the handle of a frying pan. He got him the first time in the kitchen. The victim managed to get free and ran up the stairs. Got caught and stabbed again. Got free again and made it to the bathroom, where he got cornered in the tub and stabbed to a bloody pulp. Another intern and I were tasked with picking bits of organic matter from the drain with tweezers."

z0mbiegrl

Ajax9 / Getty Images

Related: 42 Horrifically Self-Absorbed, Entitled, And Just Plain Rude People Who Proved We're In An Epidemic Of Selfishness Right Now

10. "We had an older couple who were found frozen to death under a foot of nearly perfectly clear ice."

kreider637

11. "I was a med student doing a trauma rotation in NYC. A guy came into the ER super torn up, escorted by more than a few police officers, and handcuffed to the gurney. Long story short, he snapped that morning, stabbed both of his parents a bunch of times, then jumped in front of a subway train and got rolled up underneath it. He survived and remained conscious and even conversational as we literally cleaned tar off his skull. Not head, skull. Like holding flaps of skin back and pulling sticky tar and dirt from the bone. He couldn't see anything because his face was so badly injured."

toolatealreadyfapped

Paul Taylor / Getty Images

12. "My dad used to be a HERO driver. It's the people who help you when you have a flat tire and stuff like that. Sometimes they are at accident scenes. So, my dad was the first at the scene of a woman who was driving the wrong way on the highway and hit someone in a head-on collision. It caused her to fly out of the windshield and end up being run over and trampled by cars. Her jaw looked so broken that her lower face was flat and her eyes were wide open."

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13. "Im a cop, and my first body on the job was interesting. A man who had very little contact with the family hadnt checked in for over five weeks. The niece popped over, and the locks were changed so she couldn't get in. However, there was a bad smell at the front door. We arrived, forced entry into the property, and there he was, dead for a long time, and the smell was atrocious, all through the house. He had decomposed that badly in the locked-up house. Mold was on the walls, and he had begun to liquify into the sofa he was on and into the carpet. I also remember that he had no eyes, and the mould around them turned him into nightmare fuel. The coroner has to double bag him as he was quite 'liquidy.'"

Leighmer

Tetra Images / Getty Images/Tetra images RF

14. "My mother knew a coroner in the 1990s. The IRA tried bombing our local theatre, but it went off prematurely outside, killing both of the bombers. I am told it looked like someone emptied a butcher's shop onto the street."

Oh-Shit-Its-Will

Related: Restaurant Workers Are Sharing The 25 Dumbest Interactions They've Had With Customers  And Honestly, Some People Should *Only* Be Allowed To Order Takeout

15. "I work at a funeral home, and one night I was asked to help pick up the body of an overweight male. The guy had been dead for a few days, and the stench was horrific. The corpse was infested with maggots, not to mention incredibly bloated. He died on the floor of his upstairs bedroom, and we had some trouble getting him to the van. We ended up loading him into a disaster bag and sliding him down the stairs."

HerobrineRemoved

Kali9 / Getty Images

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16. "Former SCADA technician here. Once, a high-voltage transformer blew, causing a blackout for the entire town. When we arrived on site, we found the man burned to a crisp. It turned out he was trying to steal copper when he touched the live wires. The wires arced with him in the middle, and he shorted out all of the electricity coming into town."

AltseWait

17. "My father was a firefighter for over 30 years and had to investigate causes for some fires. He always said the worst were the two or three people a year who would smoke while using the nasal oxygen things. It was almost always compounded by their being on a mattress. He responded to one where the spouse reached in to try to pull them off the bed by the arm, but the skin just slid off. Also, apparently, the smell of burnt flesh never leaves you."

DrTardis89

Joos Mind / Getty Images

Responses have been edited for length/clarity.

So, crime scene investigators of the internet: What are some of the most disturbing and horrific cases you've worked on? Let us know in the comments. Or, if you prefer to remain anonymous, leave your submission in the form below.

Also in Internet Finds: 19 True Crime Cases That Were So Wild And Upsetting, The Truth Was Almost Unguessable

Also in Internet Finds: 17 Posts From The Internet This Week That Are Literally Just So Wholesome

Also in Internet Finds: People In HR Revealed Truly Unhinged Reasons Employees Got Fired, And My Jaw Is On The Floor

Read it on BuzzFeed.com
By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Privacy activists say proposed changes to Europe's landmark privacy law, including making it easier for Big Tech to harvest Europeans' personal data for AI training, would flout EU case law and gut the legislation.

The changes proposed by the European Commission are part of a drive to simplify a slew of laws adopted in recent years on technology, environmental and financial issues which have in turn faced pushback from companies and the U.S. government.

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EU antitrust chief Henna Virkkunen will present the Digital Omnibus, in effect proposals to cut red tape and overlapping legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation, the Artificial Intelligence Act, the e-Privacy Directive and the Data Act, on November 19.

According to the plans, Google, Meta Platforms, OpenAI and other tech companies may be allowed to use Europeans' personal data to train their AI models based on legitimate interest.

In addition, companies may be exempted from the ban on processing special categories of personal data "in order not to disproportionately hinder the development and operation of AI and taking into account the capabilities of the controller to identify and remove special categories of personal data".

"The draft Digital Omnibus proposes countless changes to many different articles of the GDPR. In combination this amounts to a death by a thousand cuts," Austrian privacy group noyb said in a statement.

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Noyb is known for filing complaints against American companies such as Apple, Alphabet and Meta that have triggered several investigations and resulted in billions of dollars in fines.

"This would be a massive downgrading of Europeans' privacy 10 years after the GDPR was adopted," noyb's Max Schrems said.

European Digital Rights, an association of civil and human rights organisations across Europe, slammed a proposal to merge the ePrivacy Directive, known as the cookie law that resulted in the proliferation of cookie consent pop-ups, into the GDPR.

"These proposals would change how the EU protects what happens inside your phone, computer and connected devices," EDRi policy advisor Itxaso Dominguez de Olazabal wrote in a LinkedIn post.

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"That means access to your device could rely on legitimate interest or broad exemptions like security, fraud detection or audience measurement," she said.

The proposals would need to be thrashed out with EU countries and European Parliament in the coming months before they can be implemented.

(Reporting by Foo Yun CheeEditing by Alexandra Hudson)
People visit the 29th NZ Sculpture OnShore exhibition in Auckland, New Zealand, Nov. 9, 2025. The exhibition opened here on Saturday, featuring more than 120 works by artists from all over New Zealand. (Xinhua/Long Lei)

A Lijian-1 Y9 carrier rocket carrying two technical experiment satellites blasts off from the Dongfeng commercial space innovation pilot zone in northwest China, Nov. 9, 2025.

The rocket blasted off at 11:32 a.m. (Beijing Time) and successfully sent the satellites into the planned orbit. (Photo by Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

An aerial drone photo taken on Nov. 9, 2025 shows skyscrapers amid dense fog in Kuwait City, Kuwait. (Photo by Asad/Xinhua)

A rider competes in the 2025 Royal Horse Show in Toronto, Canada, on Nov. 8, 2025. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)

A band performs on a rooftop stage at a fashion landmark district in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 9, 2025. In recent years, Shanghai has focused on optimizing historical and cultural districts, developing urban cultural lifestyle areas, enriching citizens' cultural lives, and promoting the deep integration of culture and tourism. (Xinhua/Cai Xiangxin)

People visit a chrysanthemum exhibition held at Xihu Park in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Nov. 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

Artists perform during the opening ceremony of China's 15th National Games in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Nov. 9, 2025. (Xinhua/Lu Hanxin)

This photo taken on Nov. 9, 2025 shows a general view of the opening ceremony of China's 15th National Games in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

People attend the 72nd anniversary of Cambodia's Independence Day in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Nov. 9, 2025.

Cambodia on Sunday commemorated the 72nd anniversary of its national independence from French colonial rule. (Photo by Sovannara/Xinhua)
Gov. Ned Lamont released the call for a special session of the Connecticut General Assembly Friday afternoon after revealing a re-worked version of a housing bill that he spent months negotiating with lawmakers and municipal leaders.

In addition to taking a second bite at the apple of housing reform, Connecticut lawmakers will take up immigration, food assistance, a hospital acquisition and other issues when they convene in Hartford next week for a two-day session.

Among the most pressing issues is the ongoing federal government shutdown that threatens to cut off funding for food stamps, energy assistance and other programs that send federal money flowing into Connecticut. In addition, Democrats want to pass new protections for immigrants that would prevent personal data from being shared by state agencies with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Connecticut State Capitol on Jan. 7, 2025.

The session agenda also includes a bonding package that would provide funding to expand the UConn Health system, as well as a bill to replenish the states firefighter cancer relief fund with a new surcharge on monthly phone bills.

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House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, said lawmakers will take up those items through several separate bills rather than combining them into one omnibus measure.

The special session will take place over two days to pass the bills, with the House meeting on Nov. 12 followed by the Senate on Nov. 13. While Republicans are expected to oppose some items on the call, Democrats control both chambers and are expected to send the entire slate of bills to Lamonts desk.

Its going to be a long day, but it should be relatively smooth, Ritter said.

Budget reserves

In order to prepare for the loss of federal funding due to the ongoing government shutdown  which became the longest in U.S. history this week  or other cuts that may emerge from the Trump administration, Lamont and lawmakers have agreed to direct another $500 million into the states rainy day fund.

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That fund is currently full, at its statutory limit of $4.3 billion or 18% of the general fund. The special session legislation will temporarily raise that limit to $4.8 billion through the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2026.

Lamont will have broad discretion over how to spend the additional $500 million, Ritter said, as long as it is related to the loss of federal revenues.

In particular, lawmakers in both parties have been pushing Lamont to use the states ample budget reserves to prevent the loss of any federal benefits through programs such as food stamps or the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which provides winter heating assistance.

Generally I am supportive of doing something to mitigate the impact from the government shutdown, including the loss of SNAP and LIHEAP, said House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford.

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Speaking to reporters on Friday, Lamont said that he had already authorized the state Department of Social Services to fully fund SNAP benefits through the end of this month by using up to $72 million from the states rainy day fund.

The announcement came after the Trump administration sought permission from a federal appeals court to only partially fund the program, even as it appeared to have reversed course. Roughly 360,000 Connecticut residents rely on SNAP benefits to purchase food.

This herky-jerky back and forth is driving people crazy, Lamont said. Lets take care of people. We can afford to do it."

Immigration

In response to a months-long push by Democrats and local activists, the special session will also include legislation prohibiting immigration officers from wearing masks while making arrests, and limiting when state agencies such as the Department of Motor Vehicles can share residents data with federal officials.

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In addition, the bill is will codify a policy put in place by the Connecticut Supreme Court earlier this year preventing federal agents from making immigration related arrests within state courthouses without a warrant.

Those changes are aimed at bolstering an existing state law, the Trust Act, which generally prohibits local and state law enforcement from arresting someone solely on the basis of a request from ICE to do so. There are some exceptions, such as when ICE presents a judicial warrant, if the person is on a terrorist watch list or if they have been convicted or pleaded guilty to certain felony crimes.

The Trust Act was been the subject of intense debate in the state legislature earlier this year, and changes were eventually passed that expanded the list of crimes for which police officers could hand someone over to ICE and opened an avenue for people to sue cities and towns that cooperated with ICE in violation of state law.

But in the wake of high profile detentions by ICE, including enforcement activities in the courthouse in Stamford, in downtown Danbury and at a car wash in Newington, advocates have been calling on state lawmakers to further limit federal officials ability to access information or enter certain facilities.

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In September, 92 organizations wrote a letter to the governor asking that the state limit the amount of personal data shared between state agencies and the federal government, prohibit ICE from making arrests at courthouses and continue to offer state health insurance to unauthorized migrant children and pregnant women.

Now is the time for our elected officials to meet this moment with the urgency it requires, the letter said. This moment makes it clear  Connecticut must not be complicit in the federal governments abusive immigration enforcement tactics or its creeping authoritarianism.

The latest bill is expected to attract pushback from Republicans, who have accused Democrats in Connecticut of hindering federal law enforcement operations.

By not allowing arrests in courts, and not cooperating with the federal agencies, ICE has become sort of a lone ranger, Candelora said.

Hospital money

The legislature will vote to authorize a bonding package to fund the expansion of UConn Health. The planned expansion includes the purchase of Waterbury Hospital from bankrupt hospital operator Prospect Medical Holdings, as well as the acquisition of two other private, independent hospitals that are also struggling: Bristol Hospital and Day Kimball Hospital in Putnam.

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If approved by the legislature, the state could borrow as much as $390 million to invest in the hospitals over a five-year period, according to a presentation during an Oct. 3 meeting of the University of Connecticuts Board of Trustees and the UConn Health Board of Directors.

The debt would be added to the UConn 2000 bonding package and go towards the acquisition of Waterbury Hospital and capital improvements projects at all three facilities. The financing to purchase Bristol and Day Kimball Hospitals would be handled separately, State Comptroller Sean Scanlon told The Connecticut Mirror last month. He said Waterbury Hospital, in particular, would need a major influx of capital funding to bring it up to the states standards for medical facilities.

On Friday, UConn Health submitted a $13 million offer to acquire Waterbury, including $4 million for the operating assets and $9 million for the real estate. The state will also assume a limited set of the hospitals liabilities, bringing the deals total value up to $35 million, according to the terms laid out in court documents.

During a press conference, Lamont highlighted the effort it took to find a buyer for the struggling hospital.

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We had to work really hard after what Prospect did to that hospital. Weve got a strong bidder, Lamont said. I want people to know Waterbury Hospital is going to thrive under new leadership."

Firefighters and other items

The session will also include an update to recently-passed legislation imposing a 5-cent fee on monthly phone bills to provide a steady revenue stream to the Connecticut firefighters cancer relief account. The account provides wage replacement benefits for both paid and volunteer firefighters diagnosed with cancer.

While the fee was originally approved by lawmakers as part of budget legislation earlier this year, the language included an opt-out provision that has been difficult for the phone companies to implement, according to Todd Murphy, a spokesman for the House Democrats.

As a result, lawmakers are planning to remove the opt-out provision and delay the implementation of the fee until a later date, Murphy said.

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Republicans had voiced opposition to the fee when it was first proposed, and some may do so again when it is brought back up in the special session. The Senate Minority Leader, Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield, called the firefighters fund a noble cause, but suggested the roughly $3 million that is expected to be collected from the fees could come from other areas.

Id much rather see that in the confines of the state budget than to see it off budget and collected as some kind of fee, Harding said.

Lawmakers will also take up a childrens behavioral health bill that passed with bipartisan support in the House in June, only to die in the Senate. There are also smaller changes having to do with applications for the Temporary Family Assistance program as well as clarifying procedures around the creation of electoral districts.

John Moritz, Katy Golvala and Emilia Otte are reporters for The Connecticut Mirror (https://ctmirror.org). Reporters Keith Phaneuf, Ginny Monk and Sasha Allen contributed to this article. Copyright 2025  The Connecticut Mirror.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Housing, immigration, food help focus of special session at CT Capitol
Australia banned under-16s from social media in a world-first crackdown on Wednesday, declaring it was time to "take back control" from formidable tech giants.A raft of popular apps and websites -- Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and X among them -- face US$33 million fines if they fail to purge Australia-based users younger than 16.Australia becomes one of the first nations to push back so forcefully against tech companies with immense political power, in a move other countries are looking at closely. "Enough is enough," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. "It is one of the biggest social and cultural changes that our nation has faced."We will take back control."The government says unprecedented measures are needed to protect children from "predatory algorithms" filling phone screens with bullying, sex and violence. The laws came into effect after midnight local time across Australia. Hundreds of thousands of adolescents woke up to find themselves locked out of apps they once scrolled through for hours each day.Bianca Navarro, 10, was already counting the years until she could log in again to YouTube. "It will be pretty sad because I have six years until I can watch it," she told AFP. - Blacklisted -Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat and Reddit are forbidden from creating or keeping accounts belonging to users in Australia under 16. Streaming platforms Kick and Twitch are also on the government's blacklist, as are Threads and X. The ban has been hailed as a godsend for parents sick of seeing children stuck to their phones. Mia Bannister blamed social media for the suicide of her teenage son Ollie, who killed himself last year after he was bullied online. He was also being served endless dieting videos that fuelled an eating disorder, she said. "I'm sick of the social media giants shirking responsibility," she told AFP in the lead-up to the ban. "The problem is we hand them a phone and we hand them the greatest weapon we could hand them."A growing body of research suggests too much time online is taking a toll on teen wellbeing. But it is hard to draw firm conclusions that separate phone use from other lifestyle factors, experts say.Father-of-five Dany Elachi said the restrictions were a long-overdue "line in the sand". "We need to err on the side of caution before putting anything addictive in the hands of children," he told AFP.- 'Really distracted' -Tech-savvy teenagers the world over have taken an interest in Australia's measures. "Students nowadays, they are really distracted," said Nigerian high-schooler Mitchelle Okinedo, 15."Social media today is very important for expressing yourself, no matter how old you are," said Santiago Ramirez Rojas, 16, from Mexico City. YouTube, Meta and other social media giants have lined up to condemn the ban.Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said children were already flocking to darker online spaces."We've consistently raised concerns that this poorly developed law could push teens to less regulated platforms or apps," the US-based firm told AFP in a statement. "We're now seeing those concerns become reality."Elon Musk's X told young users the ban was "not our choice"."It's what the Australian law requires." Lesser-known chat and image-sharing apps Lemon8 and yope, which are not currently listed in the social media ban, have shot up the download charts in Australia.While most platforms have begrudgingly agreed to comply, for now, legal challenges are in the wind. Online discussion site Reddit said Tuesday it could not confirm local media reports that said it would seek to overturn the ban in Australia's High Court. An Australian internet rights group has launched its own bid to have teenagers re-instated to social media. - Rushed or reasonable? -Australia's efforts will be closely watched by all those worried about the dangers of social media. New Zealand and Malaysia are mulling similar restrictions. The Australian government concedes the ban will be far from perfect at the outset and canny teenagers will find ways to slip through the cracks. But platforms face the threat of Aus$49.5 million (US$33 million) fines if they fail to take "reasonable steps" to stop this happening. It remains to be seen how Australia's internet safety regulator will interpret what counts as reasonable. Social media companies bear the sole responsibility for checking users are 16 or older.Some platforms say they will use AI tools to estimate ages based on photos, while young users may also choose to prove their age by uploading government ID. Which platforms fall under the ban continues to be debated. Popular apps and websites such as Roblox, Pinterest and WhatsApp are currently exempt -- but the government has stressed that the list remains under review.Most social media platforms already require users be at least 13, a legacy of US laws setting the minimum age for data collection without parental consent. sft/djw/pst
Subscribe to The Yall  a weekly dispatch about the people, places and policies defining Texas, produced by Texas Tribune journalists living in communities across the state.

Audio recording is automated for accessibility. Humans wrote and edited the story. See our AI policy, and give us feedback.

A Dallas-area company seeking to install 43 high-capacity water wells in East Texas is suing the local groundwater conservation district for holding up the process.

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The proposed project  backed by Conservation Equity Management and its CEO Kyle Bass  drew the ire of East Texans this year, including a state lawmaker who tried to stop the project during a special session. Bass has argued that the companys goal is to explore how much water is in the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer before beginning to draw from its depths.

He wants the project to move forward.

At this early stage in the process, the applicant, here Plaintiffs, is unsure whether water will even be produced, Bass attorneys wrote in the lawsuit. The purpose of the drilling permit is to allow the applicant to conduct the work needed to determine whether drilling would be fruitful at all.

The groundwater district declined to comment.

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The lawsuit was first reported by The Texas Lawbook and The Dallas Morning News.

The applications were deemed administratively complete, a legal term meaning they were filled out properly, by the Neches & Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District in April 2025. Completing that step brought the project closer to final approval from the district.

Community members, business owners and lawmakers all raised alarm bells because the wells would be able to pump billions of gallons from the aquifer, potentially draining their own wells. Wayne-Sanderson Farms LLC, which has three complexes in East Texas, filed a lawsuit against the groundwater conservation district to stop the district from approving the application.

In mid-October, board members of the groundwater conservation district agreed to allow their attorneys to negotiate a settlement with the poultry farm. One of the terms of that settlement would void the districts original decision that the permits were complete.

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A district judge approved that settlement on Oct. 23 and ruled that the district cannot approve any applications that may result in withdrawals of 3,000 acre feet of water or more until the aquifer can be studied. It also voided the original decision that Basss permits were administratively complete.

This lodged Basss company in administrative limbo, the attorneys wrote.

The company is also intervening in the Wayne-Sanderson Farms lawsuit, asking for the judges order to be vacated because it took away or impaired another persons statutory and constitutional rights without the affected person even being named a party.

The company requested a hearing by Nov. 14.
Dallas and Fort Worth will host parades on Veterans Day to honor those who served.



Dallas and Fort Worth are hosting Veterans Day parades at 11 a.m. on November 11, remembering those who served in the Korean and Vietnam wars.

The Greater Dallas Veterans Day Parade Committee is holding the 11th Hour Ceremony and Parade at Fair Park. The ceremonies will begin at 11 a.m. at the Hall of State, featuring a traditional 11th Hour Ceremony  a tribute to the signing of the Armistice at the end of World War I in 1918.

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The 2025 parade theme will be Commemorating 75 Years of the Korean War. The ceremony will include a laying of the wreath, taps, and a Missing Man Formation military flyover.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson will deliver remarks, and members of Congress and local officials will also be in attendance. After the ceremony, the parade will pass in review in front of the Hall of State.

This event is being planned as an educational and family oriented event to honor our nations veterans and military for their service and sacrifice for this great nation we all love, the groups website reads.

The same day, the Tarrant County Veterans Council will hold the annual Veterans Day Parade, starting at 11 a.m. at the Tarrant County Courthouse in Fort Worth. This years theme is Saluting Vietnam Veterans, while honoring all veterans.

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Marchers will proceed from the courthouse, down Main Street, and through Sundance Square, according to a press release.

Fort Worths annual Veterans Day celebration began more than 100 years ago, as an armistice procession downtown in 1919 to honor veterans from World War I. Vietnam veterans served from November 1, 1955, to May 15, 1975, so America has now marked 50 years since the Vietnam War.

Everyone can join our Vietnam veterans salute, as well as those military veterans who have, are and will continue to make great contributions, said TCVC President Dan Zmroczek in the release.

Zmroczek pointed residents to the groups website for more information. Group officials asked people to attend and spread the word to honor those who served.
Late October and early November are for large wind storms in the Great Lakes. One such "November witch" lead to one of the most infamous ship sinkings in U.S. history.

On Nov. 10, 1975, 50 years ago this evening, a large ship hauling iron ore, the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, sank in a storm in eastern Lake Superior.

All 29 crew members were lost, including the ship's captain, Ernest McSorley, when the ship capable of hauling up to 27,500 tons of iron ore suddenly went down just north of Whitefish Point, Michigan.

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It was the largest of over 1,000 known ships to have sunk in the Great Lakes, according to the National Weather Service.

NOAA

The Edumund Fitzgerald left Superior, Wisconsin, on Nov. 9, headed for Zug Island on the Detroit River when it quickly encountered about as terrible conditions as possible for Lake Superior.

According to a 2006 modeling study, sustained winds of 55 mph and waves up to 50 feet may have occurred around the time and location of the sinking as intensifying low pressure raced northward over the lake.

It's still not known exactly what happened in those final moments. There was no distress signal received from the ship.

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A second ship, the Arthur M. Anderson, followed a similar track and was about 10 miles behind the Fitzgerald when the Anderson's first mate Morgan Clark radioed, "By the way, Fitzgerald, how are you making out with your problems?"

"We are holding our own."

That was the last heard from the Fitzgerald.

NWS-Marquette, Michigan

Six months later, a Navy submersible first documented the ship's wreckage over 500 feet below the lake's surface.

According to the Coast Guard, the sinking of this giant ship happened rapidly, possibly in a matter of seconds. That may be due to how low the ship sat in the water and several hatch covers that were found not to have closed properly in a routine inspection 10 days before the sinking. This meant water could more easily splash onto the deck, then leak into the cargo area, adding yet more weight to the already massive cargo.

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In 1995, the Fitzgerald's bell was recovered by divers and a duplicate engraved with the crew's names was left at the site. The original bell is at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Whitefish Point.

In commemoration of the tragedy, Gordon Lightfoot composed "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald", a song that reached number two on Billboard's Hot 100.

Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
Richard Hodgson rounds up cows on his New Mexico ranch. (Jerry Redfern/Capital and Main)

About two months ago, a slow fall hit rock bottom for Richard Hodgson and his son Kaleb Hodgson when a white pickup truck drove through the middle of an elk hunt on their property in far northwest New Mexico. Elk scattered, their hunting clients left, and the Hodgsons realized that the oil companies that had drilled their land for decades might not be their friends after all.

It just drives me totally insane, Richard said.

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Hes the patriarch of three generations of Hodgsons who live on a spread he started 42 years ago in the high, dry country he loves. Richard was born and grew up in nearby Farmington but always wanted to be a cowboy in the San Juan Basin, among the regions green and tan mesas under an electric blue sky.

This story originally appeared in Capital & Main and is republished with permission.

As a young man he bought the ranchs initial parcel with money made from driving trucks and working as a roustabout for oil and gas companies. In lean ranching years hed go back to the oil patch for the money, using that to buy more land.

Today the family runs around 200 mother and calf pairs on the 5,600 acres it owns and roughly 32,000 it leases from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. And everywhere you look on that land, theres an oil or gas well  the family doesnt know how many. I dont know if we really want to know, said Kaleb, Richards eldest son. Its kind of overwhelming, honestly.

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Kaleb said a movie crew came to the ranch a few years ago to shoot scenes for a film and loved the place  but wont be back. Crew members told him it cost too much to digitally remove all the wells that appeared in the background.

Father and son think they have room enough to run another 60 to 100 cow-calf pairs, but recent droughts have shriveled the forage and dried up the natural watering holes. The oil and gas that come out of the ground in the San Juan Basin contribute to the changing climate thats drying the region. This summer, the dust was so thick on the grass that it wore down the cows teeth. It takes years off their life, Kaleb said.

Everythings an uphill battle out here, Richard said. All I ask for is respect.

Kaleb Hodgson, Luke Whitley and Richard Hodgson stand in a pasture on the Hodgson ranch. Years ago, the well tanks behind them leaked and flooded the pasture with produced water and oil. (Jerry Redfern/Capital & Main)

Kaleb Hodgson, Luke Whitley and Richard Hodgson stand in a pasture on the Hodgson ranch. Years ago, the well tanks behind them leaked and flooded the pasture with produced water and oil.

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And the family feels it isnt getting any from its biggest neighbor, Hilcorp Energy Co. The Houston-based company is one of the largest privately held oil and gas producers in the country, with operations in nine states. In 2017 the company began a massive acquisition campaign in the San Juan Basin when it bought ConocoPhillips assets. In the New Mexico portion of the basin, it now operates 11,400 wells. Roughly 1,600 of them pepper the area on and around the Hodgsons lands.

Hilcorp and the Hodgsons are close neighbors because of a legal quirk called a split estate, under which the property rights to the surface land are separate from those of the minerals that lie beneath. The Hodgsons own the surface rights, and the federal government owns the underlying mineral rights, which, in this area, it leases primarily to Hilcorp. By law, landowners must allow subsurface rights owners to have access to those minerals. For the Hodgsons, that access takes shape in a spiderweb of roads and wells stitching their thousands of acres of pine-dotted mesas and valleys.

For years, that arrangement between the Hodgsons and Hilcorp worked  until very recently, when it didnt.

Hilcorp did not respond to Capital & Mains repeated requests for comment.

* * *

Over the years, relations with oil companies were manageable, if not always great.

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Richard recalled his days as a roustabout and truck driver decades ago and what he called the industrys almost complete lack of environmental controls at the time.

One example: He said that companies used natural gas to flush out newly drilled wells, then lit the polluted mixture on fire in massive flares. This whole country at night was orange, he said. It was so wasteful.

Richard Hodgson. (Jerry Redfern/Capital & Main)

Another example: Wastewater from oil production  often called produced water and laden with hydrogen sulfide  was dumped in ditches and ponds throughout the region. I done it. I was sent out to do it, Richard said. Hes sure that all of the ground beneath waste pits near older wells are contaminated from that dumping.

Another example: A few years ago, he watched a neighbors cow drink from a puddle of filthy water pooled beneath a pumpjack. The cow stumbled off, bellowing, then fell in a ditch and died.

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And another: On a hot summer day, before he could grab its collar, one of Richards dogs jumped into an open waste pit to cool off. The dog swam around and came out covered in grease, immediately got sick and went deaf. The dog lived for a couple of years before it was run over by a truck it couldnt hear.

One more: In November, 2023, there was a spill at a well he could see from his front door. He worked for a whole day alongside a crew hired by Hilcorp to dig out 1,000 yards of petroleum soaked soil. We got out of the hole, and everybody had a headache [from the fumes]. It was that dirty, he said.

Richard said he left for a few hours. When he returned, the company had fenced off the pit and said their work was done. In April, 2024, Richard called the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division  the states primary oilfield enforcer  to get Hilcorp to remove more contaminated soil. Nothing more was removed, and two weeks later Hilcorp submitted a closure report to the Division, saying the company had finished its cleanup work. The Division closed the case the same day. The Divisions response read, in part, Since the release occurred within an area reasonably needed for production operations (on-pad), the reclamation report will be due after the gas well has been plugged and abandoned. That may be a while. Last year the well produced 25,500,000 cubic feet of natural gas, worth roughly $56,000.

When a previous company wanted to put a well atop the untouched mesa behind Richards home, he offered a spot at the base of the mesa, 500 feet from his front door. Id rather have that than destroy this last piece of land we got, he said. There are now 30 active gas wells within a mile of Richards house.

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The family coped with all of it over the years with different companies.

We did have a good working relationship to them, Kaleb said.

A truck hauling sand for a fracking job passes Kaleb Hodgson as he drives a road on his ranch. (Jerry Redfern/Capital & Main

And the Hodgsons do a lot of work in their three main businesses on the ranch: raising cattle, hosting elk hunts and maintaining the maze of dirt roads connecting all the wells on the property. That maintenance happens  happened  through a long-running series of agreements with oil companies going back years.

Richard and Kaleb said that earlier this year, a new landman  the person companies hire to deal with landowners  began slowly cutting them off. They dont know why. The landman didnt take their calls. He said if the Hodgsons had anything to say, they could call Hilcorps lawyers.

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The Hodgsons said Hilcorp also canceled its agreement with them to maintain the roads on the property. In addition to clearing access to the wells, that work channeled the regions intermittent  and occasionally torrential  rains off the roads and well pads and onto surrounding grasslands. The work was good for the oil crews, good for the Hodgsons and good for the livestock and wild game. Plus, there was no way the Hodgsons could afford to do the work without the contract.

They come up fighting like Ive never seen an oil company do after 40 years, Richard said. Ive never had a company just stomp their feet  and say, We aint going to deal with you.

In September, after months of deteriorating relations with Hilcorp, a line was crossed.

The Hodgsons nurture the elk population on their land. We take care of them all year round, Richard said. We provide feed, shelter and water. And then we do harvest some. Hunters pay thousands of dollars for that privilege. But its not easy to track wild animals over thousands of acres, and successful hunts arent guaranteed. Many factors can spoil a hunt.

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To keep some variables in their favor, every year Richard and Kaleb have negotiated with Hilcorp and its predecessor companies to keep trucks off certain roads in the early mornings and early evenings. That allows elk to gather in herds to eat and drink, increasing the chance that hunters can find them amid the mesas. Kaleb said he texted the landman the day before a scheduled bow hunt, asking Hilcorp to keep trucks away from specific areas, and the landman agreed.

It was 6 a.m. the next day, just before dawn. One of Kalebs nephews was walking slowly between pine and cedar trees in the faint light atop a mesa, leading a small group of bow hunters. They had spent the night in a camp to be ready at first light. At that point, they could see elk gathering in the valley below.

Then they heard a truck, and the elk scattered.

The nephew texted Kaleb to explain what happened, but the damage was done. The hunters hiked to the next valley over, hoping to find more elk, but didnt.

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Weve had these hunters for five years, Richard said. Theyve always paid a deposit for next year, and [this time] they didnt pay no deposits. I dont think theyre coming back.

The spoiled hunt was a clarion call for the family. It showed us that they put a bullseye on us, Richard said.

Meanwhile, other problems grew. A week and a half after the botched hunt, water from a colossal cloudburst ran off the mesa behind their houses, washed over one of the untended roads and flooded a well pad with two and a half feet of water. The water flushed the sludge from two open-top below-ground storage tanks, creating a pond of black goo. Kaleb kept a mason jar filled with a sample, which had the consistency of old motor oil.

Kaleb Hodgson holds a mason jar filled with oily sludge he collected from a spill site in September. (Jerry Redfern/Capital & Main

Several days later, while standing next to the muddy well pad, Kaleb explained how much waste Hilcorp told him was flushed from the tanks. They say it was only 21 barrels, but it covered that whole entire berm, he said. At two and a half feet deep, the 5,400-square-foot area inside the berm could hold roughly 2,400 barrels of liquid.

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Kaleb said that much of the oil and water simply sank into the ground. As he spoke, workers from a cleanup company shoveled contaminated soil into a vacuum truck that could hold 80 barrels, the second that Kaleb had seen at the site.

Contaminated dirt should have been dug out, he said.

Kaleb said he sees the resulting problem as twofold. Theres the obvious groundwater contamination from the spilled sludge, and then theres the wasted rain water. If the roads had been maintained, the runoff would have bypassed the well pad and filled a pasture the Hodgsons have nurtured over the years, turning two hundred acres of scrubby dirt to a grassland that feeds cattle and other animals.

We wasted all that water, Kaleb said. And the waste may have polluted the land where the familys cattle and elk graze.

A cleanup crew sucks up the oily remnants of waste sludge that was sluiced from two underground tanks by a rainstorm on the Hodgson ranch in September. (Jerry Redfern/Capital & Main)

* * *

Though Hilcorp didnt respond to requests for comment for this story, after Capital & Main visited the ranch, the Hodgsons said company representatives asked them if they had been talking with journalists. I think we somewhat got their attention, Richard said.

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He said Hilcorp sent a new landman, who allowed the Hodgsons to fix the washed-out road near the flooded well pad so it wouldnt flood again. Hilcorp also tested the soil there. They did some core drilling, but I wont accept that, Richard said. Well have to dig it out and find out what we got.

He said Hilcorp also hired a company to take care of another spill he recently came across. After months of problems, Richard and Kaleb are skeptical of the quick about-face.

Theyre getting really worried about these spills because they know that Im upset, and Im going to make some noise, Richard said.

Im not saying, Do not drill. Im just saying, Do it reasonably, he added. I mean, hell, the countrys making you just very, very wealthy. Why would you not put a little bit back into what you tear up? he asked. Thats all I want these companies to do. Just be reasonable.

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After the Hilcorp truck spoiled the elk hunt, Richard and Kaleb got in touch with their nearest neighbors, Don and Jane Schreiber, who live about 15 miles away. There are not very many of us that live out here, Richard said. So anybody who can live out here and appreciate the land is a friend of mine.

The Schreibers are known for fighting oil and gas companies that thoughtlessly drill or poorly maintain wells on their land. And like Richard, Don grew up in Farmington and harbored a dream of running a ranch. Also, like the Hodgsons, the Schreibers own land is split-estate.

Don Schreiber looks over paperwork from a years-long battle with Hilcorp Energy about a spill on his ranch. (Jerry Redfern/Capital & Main)

The Schreibers bought their ranch in 1999 and over the years they have slowly sold off their cattle and leased the land to other ranchers. I turned my back on my dream, Don said. Instead, they spend much of their time raising awareness about how oil and gas drilling has degraded the landscape in the northwest corner of the state.

We had two blissful years out here, Don said of their earliest ranching days. But then the fights started.

He said a childhood friend who worked for an oil company explained to him what companies thought of the Schreibers ranch and lands like it: Pard, I dont want to hurt your feelings, but wed just as soon have this S.O.B. paved.

After a half-dozen years of contesting sporadic oil and gas well proposals on their land  which they lost  the Schreibers big fights with oil and gas companies began in earnest in late 2007, when a company proposed drilling 44 new wells on their property. The Schreibers thought most of those should be twinned, by adding the new wells to existing well sites, which would preserve untouched ranch land from more well pads and connecting roads. After an intense fight, the company put in just 22 new wells, all twinned on existing pads, Don said.

So in the end, we did win, he said. But, he added, I mean, every time you drill a well, you lose a bit.

Over the years, Don and Jane recorded each tussle, filling binders with letters, emails and documents recording the slow but relentless fights to protect their land. Don also keeps a small display with photos of nine separate incidents in which he got a company to clean up an unacknowledged mess or unnecessary well. He shows it off at public meetings and to company representatives at their first meetings. He said its message for them is clear: I dont know if its gonna take four years or 14 years  were gonna beat you. In his experience, constant, determined pressure gets a company to do what you want it to do.

Its a style of work familiar to the Hodgsons.

In late September on an afternoon spent driving to a far corner of the ranch, a thin column of diesel smoke from a distant fracking site was the only thing that marred a crisply blue sky. The San Juan Mountains in southern Colorado sketched a dark jagged blue line on the horizon. Richard, his grandson Luke Whitley and Kaleb were out to round up some cows that had wandered off a pasture.

One of the Hodgsons dogs corners loose cows near a natural gas compressor station on the familys ranch. (Jerry Redfern/Capital & Main)

Aside from their Ford dually pickup and cellphones peeking from their pockets, the three could have walked off a Western film set a century ago. Each wore a cowboy hat  Kalebs in black felt  as well as scuffed boots with worn spurs. Later, they donned scarred chaps to protect their pants from the sage, juniper and pinon trees. Three calm horses and a clutch of excitable ranch dogs rode in the trailer behind. The leather on the horses saddles was dull on the sides and polished in the seats from years of use.

As he drove, Kaleb described how he and his family trained horses  an integral part of running the ranch.

Horses are very smart, complicated animals. But also theyre very simple, he said. They react off of your pressure. Pressure from the reins, pressure through the knees. Pressure and release. Slowly pressure the horse in the direction you want it to go  then release the pressure.

You do that a few times. And then you ask for half an inch. And then you do that a few times and you work your way up to an inch. Then youre asking at the end of it for a foot, he said.

Kaleb said all horses react to pressure and release in some way. Even bucking horses, he said. Theyll react to pressure and release if youre just consistent with it.

Eventually, no matter how big or powerful the horse, careful, determined pressure gets it to do what you want it to do.

The same principle appears to be working in their relationship with Hilcorp.

After meeting with the Schreibers and calling Capital & Main, the Hodgsons said Hilcorp honored their recent late-September elk hunt hours and have been working on the spill sites. But Kaleb and Richard remain ready to apply more pressure.

I dont know where were going to go with all of it, Richard said. [Were] just not letting anything lie.
Many Georgians are still enduring what has become the longest government shutdown in history. Now, finally, the end might be in sight.

On Sunday, the Senate cleared a tentative agreement that, if fully approved, would bring the shutdown to an end. However, it's not over yet, and not everyone is happy with the terms. Here's what we know:

What's in the deal to end the government shutdown?

The agreement would fund SNAP through September 2026, reverse layoffs of thousands of federal workers, and fund many other government programs through Jan. 30 (until Congress passes more spending bills).

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There is also a commitment to vote in December on potentially extending expiring Obamacare subsidies. Many Democrats are upset with this outcome and see it as caving since the gridlock was largely about ensuring those subsidies were extended rather than leaving it to a vote, especially since President Donald Trump has opposed them.

Who are Georgia's senators?

Georgia has two seats in the U.S. Senate which are held by Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.

FILE - U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff, left, and Raphael Warnock, right, attend the memorial ceremony for former President Jimmy Carter in the Rotunda at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 7, 2025 in Washington, DC. Ossoff and Warnock were two of many Democrats in the Senate who were unhappy with the recent agreement struck to end the government shutdown.

Did Jon Ossoff vote to end the government shutdown?

Ossoff was one of the many Democrats who voted against the deal. He released this statement following the vote:

"Premiums are set to double for 1.4 million Georgians and nearly half a million Georgians could lose health insurance altogether. The President refuses to fix it and withholds SNAP benefits while the House has not even to come to work for six weeks. With health care votes ahead, the question is whether Republicans in Congress will join us to prevent catastrophic increases in health insurance premiums."

If ACA tax credits expire at the end of the year, Victoria and hundreds of thousands of Georgians could be forced off their health insurance. pic.twitter.com/NxdmFEQ6D8  Ossoff's Office (@SenOssoff) October 23, 2025

Did Raphael Warnock vote to end the government shutdown?

Warnock also voted against reopening the government under this deal. He also released a statement explaining his vote. Here's part of it:

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"It doesn't provide relief to the 1.2 million Georgians who are about to see their health care premiums double and more....At the same time, I understand the overwhelming pain that has been inflicted on people in my state by President Trump and Republicans, from needlessly firing federal workers, including 600 CDC workers last month in Georgia, to forcing some of our most vulnerable families and children to go hungry by eliminating SNAP benefits. Choosing between making health care affordable and stopping the endless chaos and damage of this President, including starving hungry children and seniors, should never be a decision we have to make in the United States."

Which Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to end the government shutdown?

Eight Democrats in the Senate voted in support of the agreement:

Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada

Dick Durbin of Illinois

John Fetterman of Pennsylvania

Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire

Tim Kaine of Virginia

Angus King of Maine

Jacky Rosen of Nevada

Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire

When will the government shutdown end?

The senate returns today for a procedural vote to reopen the government. The House will then have to vote to end the shutdown, likely sometime this week, and will then need to be signed by Trump. Barring any delays, the government shutdown could end by later this week. However, it's worth remembering that any senator could delay consideration.

How many days has the government shutdown been going?

The shutdown began on Oct. 1 meaning today marks the 41st day in this shutdown. It became the longest in history earlier this week followed by the one from Dec. 22, 2018 to Jan. 25, 2019. Both have taken place under the Trump Administration.

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Zachary Schermele and Joey Garrison of USA Today and Lori Comstock of the Bergen Record contributed to this article.

Miguel Legoas is a Deep South Connect Team Reporter for Gannett/USA Today. Find him on Instagram @miguelegoas and email at mlegoas@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Georgia Senators Ossoff, Warnock on new deal to end government shutdown
Thousands of laid off federal workers would keep their jobs as part of a deal to end the federal government shutdown that also prohibits new terminations through Jan. 30.

The legislation advanced in the Senate Nov. 9 after eight Democrats joined with Republicans to approve the measure.

Citing a need to trim costs during the shutdown, the Trump administration initiated layoffs on Oct. 10 but they were paused by a federal judge in California.

Adult Education Manager with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Maria Lopez, of Woodland Park, holds boxes of food as she awaits the next vehicle, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Leonie. The bank distributed approximately 2,000 boxes of food to federal workers and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients who have been affected by the government shutdown. Asia Lester, a volunteer at Anderson Interfaith Ministriees in Anderson, helps distribute food in Anderson S.C. Thursday, November 6, 2025. Many who normally receive SNAP benefits being cut line up at Anderson Interfaith Ministries for food. With SNAP benefits cancelled during the government shutdown, All Access Community Development Corporation, a Hackensack non-profit, is doing an early distributions of turkeys and other food. Joellen Green, Chief Operations Officer at All Access Community Development Corporation, hands a box of food to David Gregorea in the parking lot of the Majestic Elks Lodge on Nov. 4, 2025 in Hackensack, N.J. Jessica Hogan sits next to a neighborhood food pantry, on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, that she set up outside of her home, at 422 Eventide Drive, in Murfreesboro. Hogan thinks no one should be going hungry and created the pantry to help those in need, especially during the time when people have lost SNAP benefits. Neighbors are contributing as well as receiving a variety of items from food, to toiletries, to clothes. A sign in her yard states there is no judgement and no questions regarding the pantry. Sherry Tillman and passenger Nellie Johnson, sit in their car near Sarah Ann Bannister, left, Director of Resource Development at Anderson Interfaith Ministries in Anderson S.C. Thursday, November 6, 2025. Food distribution started at 9 a.m. and Tillman got there at 6:30 a.m. Many who normally receive SNAP benefits being cut line up at Anderson Interfaith Ministries for food. Kenneth Brown, left, gets help from volunteers Pat Field, center and Rick Norquist, from Arlington Community Services, with his food allotment Thursday November 6, 2025. The federal government shutdown is increasing demand at food pantries because many federal workers are not getting paychecks and the federal government cut back on SNAP benefits. One in five households in Arlington depends on SNAP to help put food on the table. Clients were picking up food at the pantry In Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday. With SNAP benefits cancelled during the government shutdown, All Access Community Development Corporation, a Hackensack non-profit, is doing an early distributions of turkeys and other food. Joellen Green, Chief Operations Officer at All Access Community Development Corporation, in the parking lot of the Majestic Elks Lodge. Taj Indian Restaurant and Bar offers free meals for those affected by the lapse in SNAP payments, taken on Nov. 4, 2025, in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Dolly Fant, a volunteer for six years at Anderson Interfaith Ministries gets ready for a food distribution in Anderson S.C. Thursday, November 6, 2025. Many who normally receive SNAP benefits being cut line up at Anderson Interfaith Ministries for food. Dolly Fant, a volunteer for six years at Anderson Interfaith Ministries brings some of the carts of food for a 9 a.m. food distribution in Anderson S.C. Thursday, November 6, 2025. Many who normally receive SNAP benefits being cut line up at Anderson Interfaith Ministries for food. Willie's Copper Top serves as a soup kitchen on Tuesdays and Saturdays in Owsley County. Leeomi Smith rode into the Owsley County Food Place, a food bank that distributes boxes of food each Tuesday, in Booneville, Ky., Nov. 4, 2025. Donal Dickens, Regional Branch Coordinator, Willamston Branch, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina helps set up before the food distribution at the Jockey Lot in Williamston, S.C. Friday, November 7, 2025. The event fed over 900 families. Sandwiches or AuSnap SandiesAu are offered to those who need them at The Goose in Oklahoma City on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. Kent Useary, 65, who lives on Detroit's east side, rides his scooter during a food distribution event at Jesus Tabernacle of Deliverance Ministries in Detroit, Mich., Nov. 5, 2025. Simone Matthew, a volunteer with Feeding South Florida, (L) hugs Tammy Norton, a Department of Treasury worker, as she stops to pickup essential food items on Oct. 28, 2025 in Dania Beach, Florida. As the government shutdown nears four weeks, Feeding South Florida launched a food distribution site for government employees who have been impacted. The organization handed out food items to approximately 250 families in need during the event. Federal workers, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and air-traffic controllers, receive food parcels at Newark Liberty International Airport as the workers have been impacted by the government shutdown on Oct. 27, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. The morning event was organized by the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), the state's largest anti-hunger organization. The dozens of federal workers who attended the event received one box of nonperishable items, one premium 10-pound produce box, along with potatoes, spaghetti squash, and apples. Federal workers are set to miss their first full paycheck on Wednesday, October 29th, as the government shutdown continues. Federal workers, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and air-traffic controllers, line up to receive food parcels at Newark Liberty International Airport as the workers have been impacted by the government shutdown on Oct. 27, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. The morning event was organized by the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), the state's largest anti-hunger organization. The dozens of federal workers who attended the event received one box of nonperishable items, one premium 10-pound produce box, along with potatoes, spaghetti squash, and apples. Federal workers are set to miss their first full paycheck on Wednesday, October 29th, as the government shutdown continues. Federal workers, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and air-traffic controllers, receive food parcels at Newark Liberty International Airport as the workers have been impacted by the government shutdown on Oct. 27, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. The morning event was organized by the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), the state's largest anti-hunger organization. The dozens of federal workers who attended the event received one box of nonperishable items, one premium 10-pound produce box, along with potatoes, spaghetti squash, and apples. Federal workers are set to miss their first full paycheck on Wednesday, October 29th, as the government shutdown continues. Betty Anne Gallagher a volunteer with Feeding South Florida, helps load essential food items into the vehicles of government workers on Oct. 28, 2025 in Dania Beach, Florida. As the government shutdown nears four weeks, Feeding South Florida launched a food distribution site for government employees who have been impacted. The organization handed out food items to approximately 250 families in need during the event. Employees of DMARC, Catholic Charities, and Food Bank of Iowa hold signs during a press conference on the loss of SNAP benefits during the government shutdown at DMARC headquarters on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in Des Moines, Ia. Sparse shelves at Golden Harvest Food Bank are seen on Oct. 28, 2025 in Augusta, Ga. Golden Harvest Food Bank is facing shortages as the government shutdown puts SNAP benefits at risk. Working at a food bank in Fort Collins, Colorado, on Oct. 28, 2025. Because of the federal government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that federal food aid will not be distributed on Nov. 1. An assortment of food sits at the Food Bank for Larimer County in Fort Collins, Colo. on Oct. 28, 2025. Food Bank for Larimer County is feeling the pinch as the government shutdown stretches on, endangering SNAP benefits for 600,000 Coloradans. Faith communities, nonprofits and volunteers step up amid the federal block of SNAP 1 of 24 Adult Education Manager with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Maria Lopez, of Woodland Park, holds boxes of food as she awaits the next vehicle, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Leonie. The bank distributed approximately 2,000 boxes of food to federal workers and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients who have been affected by the government shutdown.

The American Federation of Government Employees sued to block the 4,000 layoffs and more that President Donald Trump announced were coming. The union argued the layoffs were unlawful because they were arbitrary and capricious.

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U.S. District Judge Susan Illston temporarily halted all layoffs imposed or pending.

Contributing: Bart Jansen

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thousands of layoffs reversed in deal to end shutdown
WASHINGTON (AP)  A legislative package to end the government shutdown appears on track Monday after a handful of Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to break the impasse in what has become a deepening disruption of federal programs and services, the longest in history.

Whats in and out of the bipartisan deal drew sharp criticism and leaves few senators fully satisfied. The legislation provides funding to reopen the government, including for SNAP food aid and other programs, while also ensuring backpay for furloughed federal workers the Trump administration had left in doubt.

But notably lacking is any clear resolution to expiring health care subsidies that Democrats have been fighting for as millions of Americans stare down rising insurance premiums. That debate was pushed off for a vote next month, weeks before the subsidies are set to expire.

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President Donald Trump noted the deal as he arrived at the White House after watching the Washington Commanders game on Sunday evening against the Detroit Lions, on the 40th day of the funding lapse. It looks like were getting close to the shutdown ending, he said.

The Senate could wrap up passage as soon as Monday. The bill cleared a procedural hurdle, 60-40, late Sunday, with eight Democrats joining most Republicans. In a rare dissent, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York voted against because it failed to fully address the health care funds.

It would next go to the House, where lawmakers have been away since September but were being told to prepare to return to Washington this week. Then, its to Trumps desk for his signature.

Heres a look at the deal as its moving through Congress:

Funding to reopen the government, for now

Included is funding to keep much of the federal government running for the next couple of months, to Jan. 30, with a stopgap measure. It largely funds government operations at their current rates.

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Yet in a breakthrough for whats considered a more normal appropriations process, the package also includes several bills to fully fund other government operations including agricultural programs and military construction along with veterans affairs for the full fiscal year, through September 2026.

Additionally, the package ensures states would be reimbursed for money they spent to keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, and the Women, Infants and Children program, or WIC, running during the shutdown.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the chair of the Appropriations Committee, said she was relieved.

This shutdown has gone on far too long, she said. And I also think its highly significant that well have three yearlong appropriations bills attached. Veterans Day is coming very soon, and it would be wonderful if we get the full-year Veterans Affairs bill signed into law.

Health care funding still up for debate

The Democrats failed to secure their main demand during the shutdown, which was an extension of the health care subsidies that many of the 24 million people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act rely on to help defray costs.

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Instead, the package guarantees a vote on the issue in December  which was not enough for most of the Democrats, who rejected the deal and voted against it.

The American people want us to stand and fight for health care, said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Federal workers get a reprieve

The package seeks to roll back some of the Trump administrations shutdown-related hits to the federal workforce. Employees have faced repeated threats of firings and mass layoffs this year.

The stopgap measure reinstates federal workers who had received reductions in force, or layoff, notices and protects against such future actions.

It also would provide back pay for federal workers who were furloughed or working without pay during the shutdown  something thats traditionally provided but that the Trump administration had threatened was not guaranteed.

Getting the bill to the presidents desk

Political and procedural hurdles remain as Congress, which is controlled by Republicans, slogs through more voting and the shutdown entered its 41st day Monday.

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Senators hope to skip past a series of steps that could drag voting out all week if the dissenters put up a prolonged fight.

One Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against advancing the package Sunday, and he is said to have concerns over a hemp industry provision. And three ultra-conservative GOP senators held up voting for more than two hours as they demanded consideration of their ideas. It is unclear if any of them plans to stage further protests.

Democrats, who have fought for the past month in their hopes of preserving the health care subsidies, also could delay final passage, and their next steps are uncertain.

And the package faces fresh scrutiny once it goes to the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana holds a slim GOP majority and would likely need almost all Republicans to support the bill in the face of objections from Democrats who are holding out for the health care funds.

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House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said the party will fight the bill, forcing the Republicans in the House to pass it largely on their own.

We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits Jeffries said. Donald Trump and the Republican Party own the toxic mess they have created.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Senate Republican and Democratic leaders say they need to resolve an objection from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) about a provision in the government funding deal before they can accelerate consideration of the bill to end the 41-day shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Monday morning there is only one objector to speeding up Senate consideration of the government funding package, referring to Paul, who wants to strip a provision from the package that would prevent the unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp-based products.

Paul said hes just doing his job by standing up for Kentuckys hemp industry. He argued hes fully entitled under the Senate rules to use all the procedural time at his disposal to scrutinize the government funding package  which he opposes.

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Just to be clear: I am not delaying this bill. The timing is already fixed under Senate procedure. But there is extraneous language in this package that has nothing to do with reopening the government and would harm Kentuckys hemp farmers and small businesses, Paul said in a statement posted on the social platform X.

Standing up for Kentucky jobs is part of my job, he wrote.

Paul wants to strip out language from the bill funding the Department of Agriculture that would ban the unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp-based or hemp-derived products, such as Delta-8, from being sold online or at gas stations and corner stores. The deal the Senate advanced Sunday includes full-year funding bills for military construction, veterans affairs, the Department of Agriculture and the legislative branch.

A spokesperson for Paul said the Kentucky senator wants to reopen the government right away, but he has a major problem with provisions in the bill that unfairly target Kentuckys hemp industry.

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Dr. Rand Paul affirms his commitment to reopening the government without delay. However, he objects to the inclusion of provisions in the government-funding package that unfairly target Kentuckys hemp industry, the aide said.

Pauls spokesperson said the language is unrelated to the budget and the government-reopening goal.

The Senate voted Sunday night to end debate on a motion to proceed to a House-passed continuing resolution to fund the government, taking a major first step toward passage of a funding bill.

Senate rules require 30 hours of post-cloture time to elapse on the chamber floor before senators can vote to proceed to the legislative vehicle.

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Then senators still need to hold four more votes to pass the bill to reopen government and send it to the House.

They need to vote on ending debate on the substitute amendment, on adopting the substitute  which is the bipartisan deal negotiators unveiled on Sunday  and then they need to vote on ending debate on the underlying legislative vehicle before voting on final passage of the whole package.

It requires consent from all 100 senators to speed up the timeline for passing the bill, which would otherwise take days under the Senates procedural rules.

Thune told reporters Monday morning that Paul is the only senator who isnt yielding back time to get the bill over to the House more quickly.

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I dont think its anyones best interest to drag this out, Thune told reporters.

He confirmed that Paul has an objection to a provision in the Ag appropriations bill.

A Senate GOP aide said the Senate could vote immediately on proceeding to the underlying legislative vehicle if Paul lifts his objection.

Paul said hes seeking a vote on an amendment to strip the hemp provision from the bill, an amendment he has already filed.

The aide acknowledged that the Senate rules technically call for a full 30 hours of debate to elapse on the floor after senators vote to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to a bill.

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A coalition of advocates for the beer, wine and distilled spirits industry circulated a letter to senators Monday urging them to defeat Pauls amendment.

The American Distilled Spirits Alliance, the Beer Institute, the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., Wine America and the Wine Institute urged senators to oppose Pauls proposal.

Manufacturers of beverage alcohol, one of the most highly regulated consumer products, urge the Senate to reject Sen. Pauls attempts to allow hemp-derived THC products to be sold devoid of federal regulation and oversight across the country, they wrote.

The groups said they would work with Congress and the Trump administration to enact regulations to protect consumers and ensure a safe, orderly marketplace for these intoxicating products.

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Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a key negotiator on the deal to reopen government, said Monday night there arent any Democratic objections to moving swiftly to approve the government funding deal.

I dont know of anybody on the Dem side whos going to slow it down between votes, he said.

Updated at 3:08 p.m.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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ISLAMABAD, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani security forces killed 20 terrorists in two separate operations in the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the military said Monday.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military wing of the Pakistan Army, said eight militants were eliminated in an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan district, while 12 more were killed after a firefight in Dara Adam Khel.

The ISPR said that counterterrorism efforts would continue to ensure a lasting peace. 
PARADISE, MI  Ric Mixter of one of only a few people who can say theyve seen the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald with their own eyes.

On July 4, 1994, Mixter spent almost two hours on the bottom of Lake Superior in a submersible as part of Expedition 94, a controversial private dive to the wreck 18 years after the sinking. The dive was financed by businessman Fred Shannon.

The project, controversial from the start, would become a turning point in how the public  and maritime law  view the Great Lakes most famous shipwreck.

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Mixter produced and directed a one-hour documentary on the expedition, which made use of a yellow submersible, the Delta, which had been used only months earlier by ocean explorer Robert Ballard on a dive to the sunken ocean liner Lusitania.

Descent into Darkness

On that calm July morning off Whitefish Point, Mixter and pilot Dave Slater began their descent through Superiors quickly darkening water.

At 200-feet the sunlight disappeared, Mixter recalled. At 400 its pitch black. At 500 we get a sonar hit that the bottoms coming up, so the pilot kicks on the lights  and as soon as we hit bottom, a giant plume of 15,000-year-old silt goes up.

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It looked like a moonscape.

The expedition was fortunate to find a guideline down to the wreck that was left from a prior Canadian survey. As the Delta drifted over the Fitzgeralds bow section. Mixter watched the wrecks steel hatches materialize followed by the yawning tears in the hull.

The port side of the ship is ripped away from the hull, he said. And I noticed right away theres no taconite there.

What He Saw Below

For nearly two hours, Mixter filmed the shattered vessel, peering through submersible portholes barely 6 inches wide. He saw the freighters mangled port side nameplate, a steering pole bent forward toward the pilothouse and a heavy rope that appeared to have been tied down by hand  perhaps by crewmen in the storms last moments.

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A tarp fluttered near the wheelhouse where spray once froze on the glass. The radar masts, as Captain Ernest McSorley had radioed before the ship vanished, were gone.

Mixter and Slater circled the pilothouse twice, then turned back toward the mid-section while looking for exposed vents. The lack of taconite around torn area really led me to believe that theres no way it went down in one piece, that it broke on the surface and spilled out, he said. And that was confirmed when we went to the stern section.

Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

It took about 15 minutes to reach the stern while dealing with a compass thrown off by the surrounding iron and steel. The Delta found the stern lying upside-down about 170 feet from the bow section. Mixter looked for hull scarring that might indicate the ship struck Caribou shoal, as wreck sleuths and other captains had speculated. There was none.

Theres not a single scratch to show it bottomed out, he said.

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Behind the stern, he saw a massive pile of taconite, leading him to believe it spilled out when the ship was tearing into two pieces and the mid-section disintegrated.

After an hour and 45 minutes, they surfaced. The next dive that day, by a tug owner and his son, would find the body of a crewman near the bow  sparking outrage from victims families and setting the stage for Ontarios restrictions on dives to the site.

A Theory on the Sinking

Mixter was a teenager in Marquette during the 1975 storm. He learned to dive as a television reporter in Saginaw and went on to become an author, shipwreck documentarian and historian after the 1994 expedition.

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Hes spent years collecting and reviewing footage from dives to the Fitzgerald. He believes that the ships demise began with leaking cargo-hatch covers and the vessel was eventually put under by a huge wave reported by Capt. Bernie Cooper of the Arthur M. Anderson, the Fitzgeralds companion on the voyage across Lake Superior.

Outshore Outposts

I saw hatches one and six collapsed into the deck from a giant wave that pushed them under, Mixter said. Most of the clamps werent dogged down. There was leakage coming in there and the Coast Guard estimated that would have taken about three hours for it to fill enough to be susceptible to that big wave.

Mixter believes the ship slowly filled up with water coming in from leaking hatch covers and open deck vents, a theory that hews closely to the 1977 Coast Guard report, which blamed massive flooding of the cargo hold caused by faulty or poorly fastened hatch covers.

That poor ship was getting lower and lower in the water, he said. Then, all of a sudden, the big wave that Cooper reported that was almost three stories tall put her under.

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Fitzgerald crew family members have disputed that poorly sealed hatches were to blame, but Mixter said that wasnt the deckhands fault. They werent ordered to do it.

He blames a hard-driving captain caught in a perfect storm.

McSorley never missed a fight on Lake Superior, Mixter said. He went through three in 1975 alone, and one more on Lake Huron. To blame anything other than a captain that really thought that that ship was indestructible is kind of silly.

More Great Lakes news

Read the original article on mlive.com.
A Delta Air Lines pilot has gone viral for his soothing message to travelers nervous to fly as the government shutdown continues to wreck havoc across the nations airports.

In the viral clip, which has gained over 10 million views since it was shared on TikTok on Saturday, the captain tells passengers that he promised to get his young daughter ice cream upon his return  vowing absolutely nothing would stop him from delivering on that promise.

I know we have probably quite a few nervous flyers today. It is perfectly understandable. I want to emphasize this aircraft does not move a single inch unless both my co-captain, Michael, and myself are absolutely certain it is safe to do so, the pilot says in the clip.

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Before I left the house on this trip, my little one learned the word ice cream and she made me make sure I promised to get her ice cream when I get back home from the trip, he continued.

The pilot added, That being said, nothing  and I mean absolutely nothing  unsafe comes in between me and that little girl and her ice cream.

A Delta pilot has gone viral for his reassuring message to travelers during a recent flight. Many travelers have heightened concerns as air traffic controllers go without pay now for over 40 days, and after a UPS cargo plane had a fiery crash last week, killing 14 people (TikTok @sisterhoodwomentravelers)

The captain, identified by social media users as Christopher Pennington, then encouraged passengers to use the in-flight WiFi to text their loved ones and make plans to get ice cream upon their arrival.

Internet users praised the pilot for his heartwarming message amidst what has been a chaotic time for traveling. Many Americans have expressed concerns about flying amidst the government shutdown, which has left air traffic controllers without pay for over 40 days. Concerns are also heightened after a UPS cargo plane had a fiery crash at a Kentucky airport last week, killing 14 people.

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This would have instantly calmed me, one TikTok user commented.

Another chimed in, You see a pilot, I see a good dad.

People talking about Deltabut this is 99% of pilots. They wanna go home to their families. I dont think people realize how much precision they put into their work, another TikToker wrote.

Delta yall better take care of this champion! one person wrote. Another added: Delta pay this man more.

Not all commentators found the words calming. Some even lamented that pilots and flight staff shouldnt have to be reassuring passengers that they will be kept safe  and placed the blame on the Trump administration for allowing the situation to become so dire.

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This should not have to be necessary. The current administration is the worst, one person wrote on TikTok.

Another added: Insane that they have to even make this type of speech.

The government shutdown has caused chaos for travelers across the country (AFP/Getty)

Travel delays and disruptions have piled up this week as the Federal Aviation Administration cuts flights at major airports and air traffic controllers go without pay thanks to the federal shutdown.

The FAA said last week that airlines at 40 major airports will cut 4 percent of their flights starting Friday. That requirement will rise to 6 percent by Tuesday, and 10 percent by Friday this week.

An end to the shutdown may be in sight as eight Democratic senators got behind a Republican plan to reopen the government. However, the measure still needs final Senate approval. Itll also need approval from the House of Representatives  and President Donald Trumps signature  before it becomes law.

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Still, it remains unclear when the shutdown will end, and even after it does, air travel wont immediately go back to normal, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Duffy said it could take days, if not a week, for flights to return to full capacity after the shutdown ends.

"The problem is the airlines have to then put those flights back out for booking again, and so it's going to take some time for the airlines to respond," Duffy told Fox Newss America Reports on Friday.

"So once we see more controllers in the towers, then airlines have to respond to that, so it can be, you know, days, if not a week, before we get back to full-forced flights when the shutdown ends, he added.

Sunday was the worst day for air travel in the U.S. since the start of the government shutdown, with 11,000 flights delayed and nearly 3,000 cancellations (AFP/Getty)

More than 2,700 flights into, out of, or within the U.S. have been delayed so far on Monday, while more than 1,600 flights have been canceled altogether, according to FlightAware.

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Meanwhile, Sunday was the worst day for air travel since the shutdown began, with more than 11,000 delays and nearly 3,000 cancellations.

On Saturday, 7,545 flights were delayed and 1,566 flights were canceled.

Air traffic controllers have missed one paycheck so far, and are set to miss their second paycheck on Tuesday, Duffy said on Friday.

The pilots reassuring message also comes days after a UPS cargo plane crashed at an airport in Louisville, Kentucky, killing 14 people, officials said.

The crash Tuesday at UPS Worldport killed the three pilots on the plane, which was bound for Honolulu. A large fire developed in the left wing and an engine separated on takeoff, causing the plane to crash into businesses nearby.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is facing the wrath of his own party after eight members of the Democratic caucus broke ranks to vote with Republicans on ending the government shutdown.

The Senate on Sunday voted 60-40 to advance a compromise bill that would fund the federal government through Jan. 30, 2026, and includes three longer-term appropriations bills to fund food aid, veterans programs and agricultural programs for the full fiscal year.

Notably, the deal did not secure an extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that will expire on Dec. 31 a key Democratic demand that has dominated negotiations for nearly six weeks. Instead, the package guarantees a vote on the issue in mid-December.

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Schumer joined 39 other Senate Democrats in voting against advancing the package in a step toward ending the 40-day shutdown.

Following the Senate vote, several congressional Democrats maligned Schumers leadership and called for him to be removed from his position.

Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) posted Sunday on X. If you cant lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) criticized Schumer for not endorsing New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in last weeks pivotal election and suggested Democrats look for new Senate leadership.

Dont endorse or say who you voted for in NYC despite there being a Dem candidate.



Get Dem Senators to negotiate a terrible deal that does nothing real about healthcare.



Screw over a national political party.



Profile of scourge?



Next.  Mark Pocan (@MarkPocan) November 10, 2025

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), who is challenging incumbent Sen. Ed Markey in the 2026 Democratic primary, called Schumer an ineffective leader.

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Tonight is another example of why we need new leadership. If Chuck Schumer were an effective leader, he would have united his caucus to vote No tonight and hold the line on healthcare, Moulton said in a post on X. Maybe now Ed Markey will finally join me in pledging not to vote for Schumer?

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) did not directly name Schumer but said the Senate bill was an unconditional surrender that abandons the 24 million Americans whose health care premiums are about to double.

Average out-of-pocket health insurance premiums are projected to surge in 2026, climbing from $888 to $1,904 per year  more than doubling if the enhanced COVID-era ACA subsidies expire, according to estimates from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).

This healthcare crisis is so severe, so urgent, so devastating for families back home, that I cannot in good faith support this [resolution] that fails to address the healthcare crisis, Schumer said.

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Some notable Democrats did defend Schumer amid the blowback within their party, however.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Monday answered yes and yes when asked if Schumer was still effective and should remain in his position, according to POLITICO.

Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), cast the blame on President Donald Trump and said he still stands with his partys leadership.

As this vote moves to the House, I stand with Democratic leadership as they refuse to rubber stamp the full-scale Republican assault on Americans health care and I am proud of the majority of Senate Democrats who opposed this vote, Martin said in a statement. The voters will never forget the day Trump turned his back on them so he could focus on building his gilded ballroom.

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After Senate Democrats joined Republicans to advance a government funding bill late Sunday night, fellow party members  and possible 2028 presidential hopefuls  unleashed a torrent of criticism.

Democrats held the line for more than six weeks to extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, leading to the longest government shutdown in history. But eight senators  seven Democrats and Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with Democrats  broke ranks Sunday.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., previously offered to give Democrats a vote on the expiring subsidies after the government was reopened. But there is no official guarantee a vote will be held on the matter  which Democrats reportedly eyeing the nations highest office have been quick to point out:

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Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who ran for the White House in 2020, called it a bad deal. Everyday life  making it better and more affordable  must always be our bottom line.

Sen. Ruben Gallego of Arizona  who was among the prominent Democrats who recently helped Reps. Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger successfully campaign for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, respectively  called the compromise a show.

Theres a phrase in Spanish, Con salud, lo hay todo; sin salud, no hay nada, Gallego wrote on X. It means With good health you have it all; without your health, you have nothing.

Rep. Ro Khanna, who is leading the charge on a discharge petition to force a vote to release all of the governments files related to Jeffrey Epstein, called for the ouster of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer: Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced. If you cant lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?

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Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who ran for president in 2020, said she voted against the budget bill because it does not prevent health insurance premiums from doubling for so many Americans. The President and Congressional Republicans should have come to the table to work with us to lower these costs.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, considered a serious contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, called the move to advance the funding bill pathetic and lambasted the senators who defected, writing on X, America deserves better.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose name has also been floated for the partys nomination, said the deal lets down all constituents, not just registered Democrats. People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. Its about peoples lives. Working people want leaders whose word means something, she wrote on X.

Said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who has locked horns with the Trump administration over immigration raids and the surge of federal forces in Chicago, This is not a deal  its an empty promise.

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Sen. Elissa Slotkin from the swing state of Michigan also reaffirmed her decision to vote no on a deal to reopen the government. She posted to social media, Since July, I have been clear: to earn my vote, Republicans would have to do something to bring down the cost of health care for working and middle-class Michiganders. The promise of a vote in over a month does not meet that threshold.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) speaks at the Health Care Over Billionaires Rally at the US Capitol on September 30, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Senate is bracing for a government shutdown after they failed to pass the Republican Appropriations and Extensions Act which would provide a temporary extension on government funding. Tasos Katopodis via Getty Images for Fair Share America

Democrats across the partys ideological spectrum slammed an emerging deal to end the countrys largest government shutdown as a betrayal on Sunday night, arguing a deal cut by Senate moderates falls well short of the partys goals and gives up political leverage.

Notably, the harshest critiques came from elected officials and candidates with little say in the deal and thus little to lose by criticizing it. The deal was negotiated by Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, along with Angus King of Maine. All of the Democrats who backed it are either retiring or not facing reelection until 2028, insulating them from political pressure.

Politics: Jimmy Kimmel's Wife Reveals Extreme Outcome Of Rift With Her Trump-Loving Family

Some party officials also expressed frustration with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who personally voted against the deal even as seven members of his caucus broke ranks with the party.

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The deal, which would end a shutdown now causing widespread flight delays and empowering President Donald Trumps administration to put food aid at risk, would promise Democrats a future vote in the Senate on extending Obamacare subsidies  a vote almost guaranteed to fail  in exchange for reopening the government. It would also reverse government employee layoffs made during the shutdown and include the passage of a trio of bipartisan appropriations bills.

The haul seems paltry for the end of a 40-day shutdown that polls indicate most voters are blaming on Republicans and which party strategists have said has successfully raised the salience of health care, an issue where Democrats have major advantages over the GOP.

Notably, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin made an extraordinary statement bashing a deal negotiated by members of the party. DNC leaders typically stay out of intraparty policy disputes.

Politics: Trump's Limo Ride Had A Strange Moment, And Everyone Could See It

As this vote moves to the House, I stand with Democratic leadership as they refuse to rubber stamp the full-scale Republican assault on Americans health care and I am proud of the majority of Senate Democrats who opposed this vote, he said.

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The number of Democrats willing to back up the seven senators who voted for the deal is low. Notably, Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) said she would not support a deal negotiated by King, an independent senator who caucuses with Democrats.

Tens of thousands of Maine people are facing skyrocketing health care costs because of Donald Trump and Susan Collins, Mills, who is the establishment pick to challenge GOP Sen. Susan Collins, wrote on social media. Maine people deserve affordable health care  not just the promise of a vote that wont go anywhere. Fight back.

Graham Platner, the progressive oysterman who is Mills main competition for the nomination, was also adamantly opposed to the deal.

Politics: Longtime Trump Defender Goes Scorched-Earth On 'Weak And Rudderless' President

Senate Democrats need to hold the line. No healthcare, no deal, Platner wrote on social media. Mainers want a Democratic Party that fights for them, not one that rolls over. When we fight, we win.

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Progressives and moderates were also allied in the House, where House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is expected to try to unite his caucus against the deal. (One House Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, will almost certainly vote with the GOP.)

A deal that doesnt reduce health care costs is a betrayal of millions of Americans counting on Democrats to fight for them, said Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Republicans want health care cuts. Accepting nothing but a pinky promise from Republicans isnt a compromise  its capitulation. Millions of families would pay the price.

Moderates agreed. Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.) said he would have voted to end the shutdown if it delivered relief on health care, tariffs or ending Trumps corruption. Democrats must stop playing by the old rules in a broken Congress, he wrote on social media. If it comes to the House, Im a No.

Politics: Donald Trump Tells Some Whopping Lies In Fox NFL Interview

And it seems likely opposition to the deal will quickly become a major litmus test in a handful of Senate primaries around the country.

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Ive said it since the start of this shutdown  Republicans do not negotiate in good faith, and any deal that fails to protect healthcare is not a deal at all, said Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, one of a handful of major candidates running to replace retiring Sen. Dick Durbin in Illinois. For Democrats to cave now would be a complete betrayal of the American people.

Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), three other Senate candidates, also said they opposed the deal.

Moulton, Iowa state Rep. Zach Wahls and other younger Democrats running for Senate also took aim at Schumer, the septuagenarian party leader whose approval ratings tanked after he voted to avoid a government shutdown fight in March.

Politics: Those Hemp-Based THC Drinks Are On The Verge Of Getting Banned

But many of the critiques of Schumer came from Democrats with no direct say in whether he remains in power.

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Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced, wrote Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), a potential 2028 presidential candidate. If you cant lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?

Political Updates

Read the original on HuffPost
A group of Democrats and one Democratic-aligned independent have helped clinch an agreement to end the government shutdown, saying they had secured a vote on the Affordable Care Act subsidies at the center of the standoff.

The negotiators argued that Republicans flat refusal to move on Democrats earlier proposals made clear that this is the best possible offer we could secure.

Heres a look at some of those members, and their rationale for ending the shutdown.

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Four of them are former governors of their home states and none are up for reelection in next years midterms.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois

Durbin, a veteran member of Democratic leadership retiring at the end of his term, broke with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who opposes the deal.

In a statement, Durbin said that this bill is not perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdowns hurt.

He underscored the cost of the disruptions caused by the shutdown.

For 40 daysthe longest shutdown in U.S. historyfederal workers went without paychecks. This includes our air traffic controllers, whose towers were already understaffed. They continued to work 10 hours days, six days per week to keep our airspace safe, with this additional stress at a life-saving job, he said.

Sen. Angus King of Maine

King, an independent, was just elected to a third term in 2024. While he caucuses with the Democrats, King has a penchant for bipartisan dealmaking and was also among the key negotiators expressing alarm about the consequences of the ongoing shutdown.

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The question was, is, as the shutdown progresses, is a solution on the ACA becoming any more likely? It appears not, King said Sunday. I think people are saying were not going to get what we want, although we still have a chance  because part of the deal is a vote on the ACA subsidies  but in the meantime, a lot of people are being hurt.

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia

Angus King and Tim Kaine are seen during a press conference following a vote on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, on November 9, 2025. - Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images

Kaine was also elected to a third term in 2024. The former governor pointed to both ACA subsidies and efforts to defend the federal workforce, a key pressure point in his state, home to roughly 300,000 employees.

I have long said that to earn my vote, we need to be on a path toward fixing Republicans health care mess and to protect the federal workforce, Kaine said in a statement about the vote.

Kaine said the deal guarantees a vote to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, and also that it will protect federal workers from baseless firings, reinstate those who have been wrongfully terminated during the shutdown, and ensure federal workers receive back pay.

Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania

Fetterman, elected to the Senate in 2022, has been breaking with Democrats and voting for the House-passed short-term funding resolution. He said that the shutdown has more than run its course.

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If we have the votes, its probably going to be the minimum if it does, he warned.

Our party could be overplaying its hand, he added. I dont think much anything has been accomplished for the last 40 days except a lot of chaos and a lot of upheaval.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire

Shaheen has announced she would not seek reelection in 2026.

In a statement Sunday, Shaheen said that waiting longer will only prolong the pain Americans are feeling because of the shutdown.

Lets be clear: This is a major step that was not predetermined. I have spent years as the lead sponsor of this legislation. There is no one in the Senate who wants to see these tax credits extended more than me. But weeks of negotiations with Republicans have made clear that they will not address health care as part of shutdown talks, Shaheen said.

Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire

Maggie Hassan is seen during a press conference following a vote on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, on November 9, 2025. - Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images

Hassan, another former governor, won reelection in 2022 to her swing-state seat. She told reporters that she had been hearing from residents both affected by looming spikes in health care costs and by people affected by the government shutdown.

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Our work to deliver relief for families now enters an important phase, she said. Congress has one month to engage in serious bipartisan negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Acts expiring tax cuts that help people afford their health insurance.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat from Nevada, left, and Senator Angus King, an Independent from Maine, at a news conference during a vote at the US Capitol in Washington DC, on November 9, 2025. - Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Cortez Masto also voted to end the shutdown. Her term expires in 2028.

Too many Americans, hardworking individuals, seniors, children were suffering, she said at a press conference, adding that she was seeing lines at food banks that rivaled the need during the Covid-19 pandemic.

We can open the government and we can still fight to address this looming health care crisis, she added.

Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada

Rosen, the other Democrat from Nevada, joined her colleague in voting to end the shutdown. She was reelected last year.

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Unfortunately, its become clear as we go deeper into the second month of this Republican government shutdown that President Trump and Washington Republicans are weaponizing their power in alarming ways to inflict unimaginable pain and suffering on working people, like fully withholding SNAP benefits and gutting our tourism industry by grinding air travel to a halt, Rosen said in a statement.

What opponents are saying

Many prominent members of the Democratic caucus opposed the deal and voiced ongoing concerns.

Im voting no on the continuing resolution that would double healthcare premiums for 20 million Americans, kick 15 million people off Medicaid & allow 50,000 Americans to die unnecessarily every year. All to give $1 trillion in tax breaks for billionaires, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders wrote on social media, live-streaming a speech opposing the deal.

Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, who is eying a 2028 presidential bid, also said he was a firm no.

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Theres a phrase in Spanish, Con salud, lo hay todo; sin salud, no hay nada. It means With good health you have it all; without your health, you have nothing. Its with that phrase in mind that I stand firm in my decision to vote no so that families across the country can get the health care they need, Gallego said in a statement.

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Department of Homeland Security agents were shot at during an immigration enforcement operation in Chicago Saturday, the agency said  as federal agents were also accused of using pepper spray and flash-bang grenades against protesters across the Chicago area.

The incidents come as Chicago has emerged as the center of tense standoffs between federal agents carrying out immigration enforcement operations and frustrated and angry community members protesting the Trump administrations wide-ranging deportation campaign. A federal judge issued a ruling Thursday limiting federal agents use of force in Chicago, after they repeatedly used tear gas and other forms of force against protesters.

The shooting took place in Chicagos Little Village neighborhood Saturday morning, according to DHS. A male driving a black Jeep opened fire at Border Patrol agents, then fled the scene, said the agency. A suspect from Mexico was arrested in connection with the shooting, DHS said in a post on X Monday.

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DHS has framed the incidents as part of a series of attacks they say target federal agents. The violence in Chicago against law enforcement is unprecedented, said Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement shared with CNN. These attacks are the consequence of vitriolic smears from sanctuary politicians and the media.

But immigrant advocates, local politicians, and legal groups said it is federal agents who are driving violence and chaos against angry but peaceful protesters and bystanders.

Yesterday was a day of terror, said Alderman Mike Rodriguez, who says he witnessed flash grenades detonated in the street. It follows an agenda of terror by this president.

Alderman Mike Rodriguez and a crowd confront Border Patrol agents as they detain a man along West 26th Street in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood on Saturday. - Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service/Getty Images

Several DHS statements about its immigration crackdown in Chicago  Operation Midway Blitz  have later been contradicted by local officials, a civil rights attorney and a legal filing, fueling mounting skepticism of the agencys claims. In Thursdays ruling, a federal judge said Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino admitted that he lied when he claimed he threw tear gas at protesters after a rock was thrown near his head, and said video disproved his account.

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The governments evidence was simply not credible and its portrayal of Chicago untrue, US District Judge Sara Ellis said.

The Trump administration filed a notice Sunday appealing Ellis order limiting the use of force by federal agents involved in the Chicago immigration crackdown. The court document did not include the grounds for appeal.

It is not immediately clear when the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals will take up the case.

The National Lawyers Guild Chicago said nine people in all were arrested and taken into federal custody Saturday. DHS says Border Patrol arrested eight US citizens and one illegal alien.

Agents shot at by driver, DHS says

Border Patrol agents were accosted by a hostile crowd while conducting an immigration enforcement operation around 9:30 a.m. Saturday near 26th Street and Kedzie Avenue, DHS said. The crowd boxed them into a street and alleyway, the agency said.

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As they were apprehending a subject, agents came under direct gunfire when a male driving a black Jeep Wrangler fired multiple rounds, reads DHS statement. He immediately fled the scene.

There were no reports of anyone struck by gunfire, according to the Chicago Police Department, which responded to help secure the scene.

Bovino didnt name the suspect in an interview on Fox News Monday but described him as an illegal alien with a previous firearms conviction. CNN has reached out to DHS for more information. The FBI told CNN it does not comment on potential investigative matters.

After the incident, an unknown number of agitators also threw a paint can and bricks at Border Patrols vehicles, according to DHS. The agency said no Border Patrol agents were injured in the incident.

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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said at a Monday news conference he had heard about the shooting. He said Bovino and federal agents have absolutely no credibility because of the repeated lies, both to the courts and to the public, so we have no way to verify the reports, but that federal authorities were investigating.

While I do not welcome federal agents operating in this capacity, I unequivocally condemn violence directed at them, the mayor said in a post on X.

After leaving the scene of the shooting, Border Patrol agents encountered a vehicle that attempted to ram their convoy and deployed a Controlled Tire Deflation Device, DHS said. Another driver was arrested after attempting to ram the convoy as agents proceeded toward an FBI facility, according to DHS.

Flash bangs deployed in Little Village

Then the Border Patrol agents encountered protesters lying in the street near 26th and Pulaski, according to DHS. The agency said the rioters refused to comply with basic instructions and began throwing objects and agents used crowd control measures.

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Matt DeMateo, a pastor at New Life Community Church, said he was driving at the intersection of 26th Avenue and Pulaski Road when he saw federal agents exit their vehicles, guns drawn. He says he didnt hear any warning before flash-bang grenades were deployed.

Videos from the scene taken around 11:10 a.m. show what appear to be agents in tactical gear exiting their vehicles in the street. Another video shows people standing around a white vehicle, some seemingly filming with their phones.

A passenger in the white vehicle is seen in the video tossing an object out of the window. A loud bang sounds and smoke explodes, scattering bystanders as the vehicle starts to drive away. One person is seen in the video throwing something at the vehicle.

Whistles  a signal community members have used to alert others to the presence of federal immigration agents  ring out. Get the f**k out of here, one person was heard yelling.

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Alderman Rodriguez said he was attending his sons chess competition nearby but stepped outside to join rapid responders.

People were vociferously protesting, he said. But the federal vehicles had a clear path to move out, he said, and echoed DeMateos statement that he didnt hear any warnings before the flash-bang grenades were detonated. He said he didnt see any objects thrown at agents before the flash-bangs.

A person carries a whistle to alert community members of the presence of federal agents after an immigration raid in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood on Saturday. - Carlos Barria/Reuters

One flash grenade exploded just a foot away from him, said the alderman, who represents Chicagos 22nd ward, sending him ducking for cover.

I think we stand here today, sick and tired of whats happening here, not just in our country and not just in our city, but in our neighborhood and on our streets, he said. We want peace. We want tranquility.

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Bovino was spotted at 26th and Pulaski by DeMateo, the pastor, in the Little Village neighborhood where DHS and the Border Patrol chief originally claimed he was hit in the head with a rock by a protester.

I saw right next to my van, Bovino pull the pin on another grenade, threatening to throw it, said DeMateo. The Border Patrol chief had an interaction with neighbors and then got into his vehicle, DeMateo said.

It was just days after Ellis said Bovino had lied about being hit before using tear gas and ordering restrictions on federal agents use of force.

Video from the scene appears to show Bovino holding a shiny object and yelling back up after a flash bang went off. He then approaches a vehicle. Bovino isnt seen throwing the object or deploying tear gas in any videos obtained by CNN.

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DHS has not responded to CNNs repeated questions about Bovinos presence in Little Village and his role on Saturday.

Community outrage

At Sundays news conference, local politicians and activists expressed their anger and frustration at federal agents actions Saturday.

Chicagos mayor said Monday ICE raids are meant to be provocative.

They are trying to incite chaos, Johnson said. And they are putting our police officers right in the middle of it to clean up the mess that they are creating.

Victor Rodriguez, who described himself as a lifelong community resident, said he was struck by both the anger and the great lament of his neighbors Saturday.

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We have people here running home, mothers and fathers scared to leave their house, he said.

Federal agents detain a man during an immigration raid in Cicero, Illinois, on Saturday. - Carlos Barria/Reuters

Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia, who represents Illinois 4th Congressional district, decried the unconstitutional, illegal and barbaric acts of federal agents who continue to inflict violence on our community.

He lauded the nonviolent resistance that Chicago protesters have engaged in and called the city the forefront of a fight for new civility and civil rights in America.

State Sen. Celina Villanueva characterized Saturdays operations as state-sponsored terrorism and praised community efforts to fight back.

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We dont have tear gas, we dont have pepper spray, she said. We literally have our bodies and whistles, and were fighting back with that because its about humanity.

Meanwhile, DHS blamed liberal politicians, saying they fueled an environment of lawlessness and assault on federal law enforcement.

Make no mistake: Our mission will continue despite the violence, said Assistant Secretary McLaughlin in the agencys statement. And if you lay a hand on law enforcement, you will face the consequences.

CNNs Graham Hurley contributed to this report.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Memphis Police chase numbers obtained by WREG show just how deadly police chases can be, even if you are not the one being pursued.

Every time they chase somebody, somebody die. Stop chasing people, one Memphis driver said.

Its why finding alternatives to protect the community and still get the suspects is so important.

Its the most dangerous event that an officer engages in, said Tim Morgan, Pursuit Alert CEO. A high-speed chase is the single event that endangers the public the most.

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Tim Morgan saw the danger firsthand as a Chief Deputy in South Carolina.

The most troubling event of my career was a young man killed in a high-speed chase. I felt a great sense of responsibility for that, even though I wasnt directly involved; it was our policies and procedures, Morgan said.

Its why he developed the Digital Siren, which is an app that allows people to sign up, download the free app, and get a pursuit alert, like an amber alert, if they are driving in an area where a high-speed chase is taking place.

 MORE ON: WREG Investigators

Our goal is to give the public a 30 to 45 second notice when theyre near a high-speed pursuit. So we have this digital alerting technology that does that.

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The high-pitched alert allows you to be aware of oncoming danger and move over, possibly preventing a crash.

As for whether it would be just another driving distraction, Morgan says, Its an audible alert, you dont have to look at your phone, so there are various ways to get the alert.

Morgan says it costs about $300 a year to put the automated system into each patrol car. They use modems already in the car or can insert a device that triggers information once an officer activates their blue lights.

Its been a great opportunity for some agencies to say, hey, we know these things are dangerous, this is why were doing this, Morgan said. And this is what were doing to protect you, and quite often, people just want to know that the people they entrust their familys safety to are actually taking positive action to protect them. And, so its been very well received.

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In 2022, Mobile County, Alabama, had the highest number of digital sirens in the country, equipped in 289 vehicles.

Mobiles Police Chief said no bystanders were injured or killed during a chase since they adopted the sirens. He credits the app but also the experience of officers.

 See more breaking news, local news and weather from WREG.com for Memphis and the Mid-South.

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The officer has to balance and outweigh the need for apprehension versus the danger to the public. Thats never taken lightly. There are certain things that maybe we would not pursue, but then there are certainly those most egregious violent crimes that we would pursue, said Paul Prine, Mobile Police Chief. Law enforcement has to stay on the cutting edge of this technology in order to warn the best we can the motoring citizens of the county to let them know they could be in danger.

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Morgan says officers can be simply doing their job, but high-speed chases endanger everyone in the vicinity.

In a typical pursuit, the fleeing vehicle often outpaces the sound of the siren. They, they blow through stop signs and red lights, the fleeing car, and theres absolutely no warning for the public, Morgan said. So what, what our technology does is to help trigger an alert inside the vehicle. Theres a pursuit in progress, and you know, get your head on a swivel, pay attention. So our goal is to get people to clear the intersection before they go through.

For drivers who dont want the worry behind the wheel, this may be a welcome safety measure.

Theres no good pursuit like theres no good war, and we understand that, but were going to continue to have both of them. I think we just need to mitigate the risk the best that we can, Morgan said.

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WREG asked the Memphis Police Department about their plans to take part in the digital siren program. They sent the following statement below,

The Memphis Police Department is always exploring innovative ways to enhance public safety and reduce risk during police operations. We continually evaluate new technologies and strategies that help keep both officers and community members safe. We are currently exploring technology that provides supervisors and officers with alerts, which could promote safer outcomes for citizens and officers. While we dont have any specific updates to share regarding which system is most effective, MPD remains committed to evolving and adopting practices that support a Stronger, Safer Memphis.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
National parks offer a prime venue to celebrate Veterans Day, Nov. 11, and amid a historic government shutdown, your visit will remain free, albeit with reduced services.

"Many national parks have direct connections to the American military  there are dozens of battlefields, military parks, and historic sites that commemorate and honor the service of American veterans. In addition, every national park is part of our collective identity that defines who we are and where we came from as a nation. They are tactile reminders of the values, the ideals, and the freedoms that our veterans protect," the park service's website said.

Consider heading to one of Michigan's six national park service sites to enjoy the day, but keep in mind your visit could be affected if the federal government shutdown continues into Veterans Day.

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Here's what to know about visiting national parks on Veterans Day.

How may the federal shutdown affect your visit?

The U.S. is currently on day 41 of the longest federal government shutdown in the nation's history, and while it's on the verge of ending, it's unclear whether the federal government will reopen by Veterans Day, Nov. 11.

The shutdown has led to limited operations by the National Park Service; Michigan's sites staying open with limited services, closed visitor centers and skeleton staffs. The visit is free as park service sites in Michigan are not selling permits or collecting fees amid the shutdown.

"More than 350 of our national park units are open in some capacity," an NPS spokesperson said in a statement. "That includes many of the most-visited sites across the country. Each parks status is determined by its contingency plan and local conditions, but were doing everything possible to keep Americas parks accessible and safe for visitors."

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Due to the shutdown, the NPS website and social media pages are not regularly monitored and updated.

When is Veterans Day in 2025?

Veterans Day is Nov. 11, 2025. Nov. 11 marks the date World War I ended with an armistice, and was once known as Armistice Day. It was later renamed Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.

What is Veterans Day?

Veterans Day honors those who have served in the U.S. armed forces, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

How can you visit NPS sites for free on Veterans Day?

When you visit a National Park Service site in Michigan on Veterans Day, entrance fees are typically waived, allowing you to visit for the day for free, the NPS said. As long as the government shutdown remains in effect, the NPS won't be collecting entrance fees regardless.

Where are Michigan's NPS sites?

Here are Michigan's National Park Service sites:

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What is the National Park Service?

The U.S. National Park Service is a federal government agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages national parks, monuments, lakeshores and preserves throughout the United States.

USA TODAY contributed.

Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How to visit Michigan's national parks for free this Veterans Day
CHONGQING, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Over the past decade, the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity has emerged as a flagship project for international cooperation, successfully enhancing connectivity between China's western regions and Southeast Asia.

Marking its 10th anniversary, the initiative, launched on Nov. 7, 2015, stands as the third major inter-governmental collaboration between China and Singapore, following the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park in east China and China-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City in north China.

A press conference held on Monday highlighted five key achievements covering trade, financing, data, air connectivity and people-to-people exchanges -- as major steps in boosting connectivity.

The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, for example, has become a logistics artery for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). As of the end of October, it had connected to 581 ports in 127 countries and regions, helping drive total trade value between western China and ASEAN to over 1 trillion yuan (about 141 billion U.S. dollars) -- a remarkable increase of 75.3 percent since its launch.

Facilitating capital flow for the BRI, a cross-border financing corridor has, meanwhile, catalyzed a cumulative cross-border financing value of 21.7 billion U.S. dollars over the past decade.

People-to-people exchanges have also been boosted along with bilateral trade. Official data shows the Chongqing-Singapore air route had witnessed a passenger volume of 252,400 trips in 2024 -- a surge of 237.3 percent year on year, according to Sun Xiyong, deputy director of the Chongqing Commerce Commission. The two sides have also become major tourist destinations for their respective citizens, with themed cultural events developing into signature exchange platforms.

"Differing from the Suzhou and Tianjin projects, the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative is distinctively defined by enhancing connectivity, driving development in western China and pioneering institutional innovation," said Li An, deputy head of the department of Asian affairs of the Ministry of Commerce. "It is not merely a flagship Belt and Road project for China and Singapore -- but has become a vital platform for the inland west to go global." 
LONDON  An accusation about a "doctored" President Donald Trump speech. Allegations of systemically biased reporting and news decisions. Senior, longtime executives forced to quit and apologize.

Britain's storied BBC news organization was plunged into crisis on Nov. 9 after a leaked internal memo revealed that a documentary aired by its flagship current affairs program misled viewers. The BBC Panorama documentary edited together two parts of a Trump speech he made prior to the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.

The BBC's director general, Tim Davie, and Deborah Turness, chief executive of BBC News, resigned after The Daily Telegraph newspaper first published details of the leaked memo. The memo was written by a former journalist who was an independent external adviser to the broadcasters editorial standards committee.

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Crisis at the BBC: boss, head of news quit after Trump documentary edit criticism

How deep do the problems at the BBC go? Here's a brief explainer on the turmoil.

What are the BBC allegations related to the Jan. 6 Trump speech?

The leaked memo concluded that the BBC Panorama documentary "Trump: A Second Chance?," which was first broadcast in Britain in October last year, misleadingly juxtaposed comments by Trump in a way that made it appear as if he explicitly encouraged the attack on the Capitol.

In his speech on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C., Trump said: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women."

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In the Panorama edit, spliced together words in Trump's speech made about 50 minutes apart, Trump is shown saying: "We're going to walk down to the Capitol  and I'll be there with you. And we fight. We fight like hell."

No-drama certification: Trump wins, 4 years after Capitol riot

Trump's "fight like hell" remarks were made while he was talking about U.S. elections and corruption allegations.

There are wider BBC bias claims. What are they?

The BBC has regularly been accused of bias over the last decade or more. There has been criticism that it shies away from covering stories that raise difficult questions about race, transgender issues and immigration.

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The BBC is funded by a taxpayer "license fee" supplemented by commercial revenue.

It has been accused of being too deferential to Britain's royal family and politically compromised by a majority metropolitan, left-leaning liberal outlook on topics such as Britain's withdrawal from the European Union, known as Brexit, as well as exhibiting varying strains of anti-Americanism, antisemitism and bias about the war in Gaza.

Britains media regulator Ofcom ruled earlier this year that the BBC had committed a "serious breach" of its broadcasting rules by failing to reveal that the narrator of one its documentaries about Gaza was the son of a Hamas official. The news organization was heavily criticized over the summer for failing to cut away from a live performance by a musician who led chants against Israel's military during the Glastonbury music festival.

Michael Prescott, who wrote the memo leaked to The Daily Telegraph, said that the new organization's BBC Arabic unit has repeatedly given a platform to a journalist there who had posted antisemitic comments.

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"Journalists get things wrong, but when they always point in the same direction, that's a clear pattern of institutional bias," Chris Middleton, a former BBC journalist turned independent writer and commentator, said in a WhatsApp message. "The issue is that too many BBC journalists see themselves as activists for a cause rather than relayers of truth."

What's been the reaction, and what now for the BBC?

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused the BBC of being "purposefully dishonest" over its characterization of Trump's speech ahead of the Capitol attack in Washington. And after the BBC's Davie and Turness resigned, Trump himself posted on his Truth Social platform about the matter.

"The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught "doctoring" my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th," Trump wrote.

Trump also threatened legal action against the news organization, according to CNN. He is demanding at least $1 billion in damages. A BBC spokesperson told CNN it was reviewing a legal letter sent by Trump.

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In his resignation statement, Davie said the BBC was "not perfect, and we must always be open, transparent and accountable." On Nov. 10, Turness went further in the news organization's defense, saying that "I'd like to make one thing very clear  BBC News is not institutionally biased."

People walk outside BBC Broadcasting House, in London, on Nov. 10, 2025. REUTERS/Jack Taylor

Some of the BBC's most senior journalists have also come its defense in recent days.

"Its clear that there is a genuine concern about editorial standards and mistakes," Nick Robinson, the presenter of the BBC's flagship morning radio show, "Today," wrote on social media on Nov. 8. "There is also a political campaign by people who want to destroy the organization  Both things are happening at the same time.

But Matthew Goodwin, a right-leaning former academic who is a frequent critic of the news organization, wrote in his daily newsletter on Nov. 10 that the BBC has "thrown impartiality to the wind and imposed a narrow liberal progressive worldview on everybody else."

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Goodwin drilled down on one specific example, noting that the BBCs "push notifications" sent to users' devices showed what he described as a "glaring lack of balance" on the issue of immigration, which he said "also happens to be the most important issue in the country."

In September, 2023, Goodwin said that of the 219 push news alerts the BBC sent out that month "just four were about illegal migrants and asylum seekers  and three of those focused on the 'poor conditions' that allegedly face people who are breaking our laws."

In a post on LinkedIn, Dominic Ponsford, the editor of Britain's Press Gazette, which focuses on the journalism industry, said the BBC had "made a hash" of dealing with its impartiality allegations and the Panorama documentary about Trump. Ponsford also noted that at a time when truth and objective facts are under "concerted attack," including from Trump's White House, "strong BBC journalism is needed as never before."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: BBC leadership resignations: Turmoil after 'doctored' Trump speech
The White House press secretary has mocked the BBC following Tim Davies resignation as director-general.

Mr Davie resigned on Sunday evening, along with CEO of News Deborah Turness, following criticism that a BBC Panorama documentary misled viewers by editing a speech by US president Donald Trump.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted screenshots of two news articles, one showing Trump criticising the BBC, captioned shot, and another regarding Tim Davies resignation, captioned chaser.

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The BBC had been expected to apologise on Monday following concerns about impartiality, including how a speech by US president Donald Trump was edited in an episode of Panorama.

A clip within the programme Trump: A Second Chance?, which was broadcast by the BBC the week before last years US election, spliced clips together from sections of the US presidents speech on 6 January 2021 to make it appear he told supporters he was going to walk to the US Capitol with them to fight like hell.

It underlined previous concerns about impartiality within the broadcaster, which has been accused of bias by groups from across the political spectrum.

Ms Leavitt was highly critical of the broadcaster after details of the edited clip were revealed by The Telegraph, citing a memo by Michael Prescott, a former external adviser to the BBCs editorial standards committee.

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This purposefully dishonestly, selectively edited clip by the BBC is further evidence that they are total, 100% fake news that should no longer be worth the time on the television screens of the great people of the United Kingdom, she told the newspaper.

Ms Leavitt was highly critical of the BBC (Getty Images)

Mr Davies resignation was greeted with approval by politicians on the right, who have accused the BBC of institutional bias.

In a resignation statement published by the broadcaster, the former director general said he must take ultimate responsibility due to the nature of his position.

Mr Davie thanked the Chair and Board for their unswerving and unanimous support throughout my entire tenure, and emphasised that his decision to leave was entirely my decision.

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He also paid tribute to the organisation, which he said is of unique value and speaks to the very best of us - although he accepted the broadcaster is not perfect and must always be open, transparent and accountable.

Tim Davie took over the job of director-general in September 2020 (Hannah McKay/PA) (PA Archive)

Culture secretary Lisa Nandy thanked Mr Davie for his service and said he had led the BBC through a period of significant change and helped the organisation to grip the challenges it has faced in recent years.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, meanwhile, called on it to signal in the start of wholesale change.

He added: The Government need to appoint somebody with a record of coming in and turning companies and their cultures around. Preferably it would be someone coming in from the private sector who has run a forward-facing business and understands PR.

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But Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the BBC must take the opportunity to turn a new leaf, rebuild trust and not give in to the likes of Nigel Farage who want to destroy it.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch welcomed the resignations but said this has been a catalogue of serious failures that runs far deeper.

She added: The Prescott report exposed institutional bias that cannot be swept away with two resignations - strong action must be taken on all the issues it raised.
At least 31 inmates have been found dead in a prison in southern Ecuador, including 27 who had been hanged, officials say.

Four prisoners were killed and more than 30 injured in clashes between rival gang members in El Oro prison in the city of Machala in the early hours of Sunday.

Hours later, security guards who had been alerted to a fresh outbreak of gang violence found the others who had been hanged on the building's third floor, Ecuador's prison service said.

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The country's overcrowded prisons have been the scene of a series of deadly riots and gang fights in which hundreds of inmates have been killed in recent years.

Ecuador's prison service, known by its initials as Snai, said that the clashes had been triggered by plans to move some of the inmates to a newly-built prison.

El Oro prison was the site of another deadly incident in September when 13 inmates and a guard were killed in clashes between rival gangs.

Relatives of the prisoners have asked the authorities to step up security inside the prison, including keeping rival gangs separate, whilst residents of Machala have long demanded that the facility, which is located in the city centre, be relocated.

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Earlier this year, the government of President Daniel Noboa announced the construction of a new maximum security jail in the province of Santa Elena.

The new prison, named El Encuentro, is expected to open in late November, and according to the interior minister, will boast all the latest security measures.

Prison gangs have for years played a key role in the rise of violent crime in Ecuador and two of them, Los Lobos and Los Choneros, were declared Foreign Terrorist Organisations by the US Department of State in September.
The News

DR Congo authorities have suspended a major Chinese-owned copper and cobalt operation after a dam collapse spilled contaminated water into Lubumbashi, the countrys second-largest city.

A containment dam belonging to Congo Dongfang International Mining (CDM) spilled several million cubic meters of electrolytes on Nov. 4 that flooded hundreds of homes in three neighborhoods, forcing residents to flee the area. Environmentalists also warned of pollution to well water, which many homes use daily.

The leakage is the latest environmental accident in the Copperbelt region between DR Congo and Zambia. In February, a Chinese-owned dam holding mining waste collapsed, releasing acidic effluent into the Kafue River, a critical water source for 60% of Zambias population. In 2023, mining operations at Boss Mining, a subsidiary of Eurasian Resources Group, were suspended after floods caused enormous environmental damage and fatalities in Kakanda, between Kolwezi and Lubumbashi.

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There have been growing calls from African governments and critics of Chinese mining operations, which dominate the sector, for improved safety standards.

DR Congos Mines Minister Louis Watum criticized CDMs explanation, saying its waste storage and processing facilities do not meet any international standards, citing the lack of watertight barriers, structural stability, control devices and an emergency plan.

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Early assessments by experts suggest serious environmental damage. Water in the region has been heavily contaminated with lead, arsenic, and other substances, according to OCC, a government-commissioned group of independent environmental researchers. We are already seeing biodiversity loss, especially fish and insects, said Dickson Kabange, a member of the commission, after taking samples from the Lubumbashi river.

There are also concerns that the health impact on the city of more than 3 million people could be more significant than currently thought. Some people will inhale toxic substances evaporating from the river, warned Kabange. Fish poisoned by the spill could also reach local markets, endangering thousands. Kalwa Ghislain, a civil society leader in Haut-Katanga, told RFI of the panic following the burst of the CDM dam and warned of the diseases and pollution that may follow.

Elisha Iragis view

Local environmentalists said the latest crisis comes after prior warnings over the years of slow contamination of local waters and soil by toxic effluent from the CDM facilities. Two NGOs, Resource Watch and the Consortium Mazingira pour Tous, noted, in a statement seen by Semafor, that there have been earlier concerns about health risks and industrial negligence in the region.

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A 2022 report by Africa Resource Watch documented pollution levels well above World Health Organization standards in the three affected Lubumbashi neighborhoods: Kasapa, Kamatete, and Kamisepe. Lead levels in the water at the time was four times above the recommended WHO threshold while copper, mercury, and nickel levels in the soil all exceeded permissible levels.

Step Back

CDM is a subsidiary of Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Co based in Tongxiang, Zhejiang province, in China. It started operations as a cobalt processor in DR Congo in 2006, then started mining the following year. DR Congo is the worlds largest producer of cobalt, which has become a highly strategic mineral used in the production of electric vehicle batteries and other green energy technologies. According to data from the mining ministry, in 2024 CDM generated $1.1 billion in revenue, down from $1.52 billion in 2023, mostly from copper exports.

The View From Zambia

Zambia is still grappling with the fallout from the February Kafue River disaster, after a tailings dam at Chinese-owned Sino Metals collapsed, releasing toxic waste into the waterway that sustains millions. Reports have alleged the company initially tried to cover up the spill, delaying emergency warnings. While the Zambian government acted swiftly to neutralize acidity and launch investigations, critics say its response has been too lenient and slow to hold the firm fully accountable. Despite official assurances that water safety has been restored, independent tests suggest contamination and ecological damage persist.

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Update as of Nov. 8, 2025: Payments for South Dakota SNAP recipients expected for Nov. 10 have now been paused because of a late U.S. Supreme Court ruling Nov. 7, according to the South Dakota Department of Social Services (DSS) The ruling is administrative stay of a lower courts ruling issued earlier that day.

DSS awaits instruction from Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) before resuming its implementation, a statement from DSS reads. The Department will provide updates as it receives them.

Earlier story: South Dakotans who benefit from the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will not have their payments disrupted this month.

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The South Dakota Department of Social Services announced in a Nov. 7 press release that it plans to issue the full allotment of SNAP benefits to enrolled recipients in November.

SNAP payments are expected to be distributed on Nov. 10. Benefits are provided to South Dakotans on the 10th of every month. Any delays in distribution will be "communicated as soon as they are known,' per the press brief.

A look inside one of the Feeding South Dakota storage bins as donations come in for the food drive on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025, at Downtown Siouxland Library in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

We understand how important these benefits are to families across South Dakota, Matt Althoff, DSS secretary, stated in the Nov. 10 release. Knowing this reliance, there is a relief within our department that the federal shutdown will not impact the families who have qualified for the aid we administer. SNAP administration is one of DSSs core responsibilities because of the access to food  a basic need  for those who need it most.

According to DSS' latest data, nearly 75,000 people  41,261 adults older than 18, and 33,198 children  in South Dakota use SNAP funds to pay their grocery costs, with the average household receiving about $393.98. The program covered an average monthly cost of $14.9 million in SNAP benefits from January-September 2025.

Federal court rulings tie up food funds

The payment decision comes after the federal Food and Nutrition Services, an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, issued guidance to South Dakota and other states that it would make the food funds fully available.

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More: Full SNAP benefits coming, USDA tells states. When remains unclear.

President Donald Trump's administration initially indicated SNAP benefits for November would not be available if the ongoing federal government shutdown sustained beyond a Nov. 1 funding deadline.

A day before the deadline, however, two federal judges ruled President Donald Trump's administration had to continue at least partial payments for the food-aid program using contingency funds, according to The Associated Press.

On Nov. 6, a federal judge in Rhode Island ordered the Trump administration to fully cover federal food assistance for 42 million Americans in November by Friday, according to USA Today.

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That same day, the Justice Department appealed the order.

South Dakota initially planned to allow benefits to lapse without a statewide response. Gov. Larry Rhoden encouraged residents to support people in their communities and asked churches to hold food drives, but he did not initiate a separate plan to pay missing benefits amid the shutdown, according to previous Argus Leader reporting.

South Dakota food-aid groups uncertain hunger needs could be filled without federal support

Hunger relief groups in South Dakota responded with uncertainty about whether it could fill the void left by SNAP.

Linda Duba, a former state representative who sits on the advisory board of Midwest Food Bank, an Illinois nonprofit that distributes food to communities in South Dakota, told the Argus Leader in late October it would be a "hard ask" for churches and food banks to make up for SNAP.

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More: Rhoden calls for churches to respond to SNAP lapse. Dems say state should cover costs

Feeding South Dakota Executive Director Lori Dykstra told attendees of an Downtown Sioux Falls Rotary Club panel discussion in October that "we ... cant meet the entire gap," according to South Dakota Searchlight.

DSS noted a "tremendous response" from food-aid organizations and South Dakotans in its Nov. 7 news release.

"Many grocers and retailers have also extended relief through discounted meals and gift cards," the department's release stated. "DSS extends its sincere appreciation and gratitude for this generous response. This charitable giving has been directed to the same segment of our population that is served daily by DSS."

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota SNAP payments now paused after Supreme Court ruling
At least 27 inmates were found dead from asphyxiation Sunday at a prison in Ecuador where a riot broke out that left four others dead and dozens injured earlier in the day, officials said.

The inmates found at the Machala prison in El Oro province in southwestern Ecuador had "among themselves committed asphyxiation, which caused immediate death by suspension," officials said in a statement, Agence France-Presse reported.

The deadly day at Machala's prison marks the latest spasm of prison unrest in the South American country.

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Earlier on Sunday, a riot broke out at the prison that officials said stemmed from the "reorganization of inmates" to a new maximum-security prison that will soon begin operating in a different province. The violent incident happened less than two months after 14 inmates died at the same facility in what authorities described as a dispute between gangs.

Local residents could hear gunfire, explosions, and cries for help coming from inside the prison's walls, AFP reported.

Police officers stand guard at the entrance of the prison after an armed riot that left four dead and dozens more injured in Machala, Ecuador, on Nov. 9, 2025. / Credit: LUIS SUAREZ/AFP via Getty Images

Officials said authorities regained control of the facility following the riot, which also injured one police officer. In addition to the four inmates killed, 33 inmates and one police officer were injured.

Authorities did not specify the identities of the deceased or confirm whether the violence was another case of inter-gang fighting.

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Ecuador's prisons have become among the deadliest in Latin America as overcrowding, corruption and weak state control have allowed gangs connected to drug traffickers in Colombia and Mexico to proliferate. Many are heavily armed with weapons smuggled in from the outside and continue to organize criminal activity from behind bars.

Another clash between drug gangs last month claimed at least 17 lives at a prison located in the coastal city of Esmeraldas, near the Colombian border.

More than 500 people in the country have died in prison riots since 2021. Last year, a series of coordinated riots across multiple prisons led to the hostage-taking of 150 prison guards.

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LAKE SUPERIOR, MI - It was 50 years ago today that the Edmund Fitzgerald was being loaded with 26,000 tons of iron ore, prepped for what would become her tragic final voyage.

Once the largest ship on the Great Lakes, the 728-foot Fitzgerald left Superior, Wisconsin at 2:15 p.m. on Nov. 9, 1975. Her crew planned to cross Lake Superior to deliver the load at Detroits Zug Island.

But a day later, the ship was gone, broken in two and laying on the lakes bottom in 530 feet of water. All 29 souls aboard were lost.

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In the last half century, Gordon Lightfoots poignant song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald has become a cultural phenomenon. It helps keep alive the memory of whats become the Great Lakes most famous shipwreck. In some circles, its considered the Titanic of the Great Lakes.

Gordon Lightfoot performs In concert

But the Fitzgeralds captain and crew were also sons, brothers, husbands and fathers. They hailed from Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota and beyond.

As we remember them, here are the highlights of the Fitzgeralds final trip and the fierce, hurricane-like November Witch storm that sank it.

Investigators would later say that in the big freighters last hour, it battled sustained winds of 60 mph, and waves higher than 25 feet. It may have even encountered The Three Sisters - a trio of rapidly-hitting waves that are higher than the others around them.

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One thing the marine experts agree on: The Fitzgerald was in the worst possible place as it tried to make for the shelter of Michigans Whitefish Bay.

Edmund Fitzgerald

NOV. 9, 1975

2:15 p.m. The Edmund Fitzgerald, captained by Ernest McSorley, finishes loading 26,116 tons of taconite in Superior, Wisconsin, and departs for Detroits Zug Island. The storm that would later sink the ship is gathering force over Kansas and is on a path toward Lake Superior.

5 p.m. The Fitzgerald encounters the Arthur M. Anderson, captained by Jesse Cooper, and the two ships proceed east on similar courses, separated by about 10 to 20 miles. Three hours later, the National Weather Service issues a Gale Warning for all of Lake Superior.

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Read More on the Fitzgeralds legacy: Edmund Fitzgerald has become Titanic of the Great Lakes, maritime historian says

This is a 1959 photograph of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Cleveland musician Jerry Popiel combines his maritime experience with musical talent to honor the crew members lost in the 1975 Lake Superior disaster.

NOV. 10, 1975

1 a.m. The Fitzgerald passes approximately 20 miles due south of Michigans Isle Royale.

2 a.m. The Fitzgerald and Anderson agree to take a northern route across the lake for protection from the gale. NWS upgrades the forecast to a Storm Warning, predicting northeast winds of 35 to 50 knots and waves of 8 to 15 feet.

7 a.m. The Fitzgerald calls its company office to report a delayed arrival due to worsening weather conditions. The ship is approximately 35 miles north of Copper Harbor.

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1 p.m. The Fitzgerald is 11 miles northwest of Michipicoten Island. The Anderson is approximately 20 miles northwest of the island, reporting 20-knot winds and 12-foot waves.

Arthur M. Anderson

1:40 p.m. The Fitzgerald radios the Anderson to talk weather and course changes. Capt. McSorley reports his ship is rolling some. The Fitzgerald cuts closer to Michipicoten Island while the Anderson cuts west a bit to take rising seas from astern.

2:45 p.m. The Anderson changes course to avoid the Six Fathom Shoal area north of Caribou Island. The Fitzgerald is about 16 miles ahead. Heavy snow begins to fall and the Fitzgerald is lost from sight. Its the last time the ship would be seen by human eyes.

3:20 p.m. The Anderson records 43-knot winds and 12 to 16-foot waves.

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3:30 p.m. The Fitzgerald calls the Anderson to report damage and say the ship would slow to let the Anderson catch up. Minutes later, the Coast Guard issues directions for all ships to find safe anchorage because the Soo Locks have been closed.

McSorley: Anderson, this is the Fitzgerald. I have sustained some topside damage. I have a fence rail laid down, two vents lost or damaged, and a list. Im checking down. Will you stay by me til I get to Whitefish?

Cooper: Charlie on that Fitzgerald. Do you have your pumps going?

McSorley: Yes, both of them.

4:10 p.m. The Fitzgerald radios the Anderson to request navigational help.

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4:30 p.m. The Fitzgerald passes 3 to 5 miles east of Caribou Island. Many theorize the ship unknowingly struck the poorly marked 6 Fathom Shoal on the islands north side, but that has never been conclusively proven. The debate rages to this day.

4:39 p.m. NWS revises the forecast again, predicting northwest winds 38 to 52 knots with gusts to 60 knots and waves 8 to 16 feet.

5:30 p.m. The Fitzgerald is advised by the Swedish ship Avafors that the Whitefish Point beacon and light are disabled by power failure.

Avafors: Fitzgerald, this is the Avafors. I have the Whitefish light now but still am receiving no beacon. Over.

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Fitzgerald: Im very glad to hear it.

Avafors: The wind is really howling down here. What are the conditions where you are?

Fitzgerald: (Undiscernable shouts overheard) DONT LET NOBODY ON DECK!

Avafors: Whats that, Fitzgerald? Unclear. Over.

Fitzgerald: I have a bad list, lost both radars. And am taking heavy seas over the deck. One of the worst seas Ive ever been in.

Avafors: If Im correct, you have two radars.

Fitzgerald: Theyre both gone.

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

6 p.m. The Anderson is struck by a 25-foot wave.

7:10 p.m. The Anderson calls the Fitzgerald with navigation instructions. The ship is about 10 miles behind the doomed freighter.

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Anderson: Fitzgerald, this is the Anderson. Have you checked down?

Fitzgerald: Yes we have.

Anderson: Fitzgerald, we are about 10 miles behind you, and gaining about 1 1/2 miles per hour. Fitzgerald, there is a target 19 miles ahead of us. So the target would be 9 miles on ahead of you.

Fitzgerald: Well, am I going to clear?

Anderson: Yes. He is going to pass to the west of you.

Fitzgerald: Well, fine.

Anderson: By the way, Fitzgerald, how are you making out with your problem?

Fitzgerald: We are holding our own.

Anderson: Okay, fine. Ill be talking to you later.

7:15 p.m. The Fitzgerald disappears from the Andersons radar. More than an hour later, the Coast Guard begins an active search. The Anderson and her crew turn back into the storm to search for the Fitzgerald. (Hear the radio transmission here).The 29 crew members aboard the Fitzgerald all perish.

Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

More Edmund Fitzgerald Stories

Read the original article on mlive.com.
Egypt is advancing significant steps to diversify its energy mix, aiming for a 42% share of clean electricity by 2030.

This clean energy target was underscored by Egypts Minister of Local Development and Acting Minister of Environment Manal Awad during the Conference of Parties 30 (COP30) Leaders Roundtable on Energy Transition held in Brazil.

Awad highlighted Egypts progress in developing solar, wind, and green hydrogen projects, along with investments in energy efficiency, infrastructure upgrades, and green ammonia.

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Together, these initiatives reportedly form the core pillars of Egypts strategy for a low-emission energy future.

Speaking at the roundtable, chaired by Brazil's President Lula da Silva and attended by heads of state and ministers from several countries, Awad emphasised the importance of accelerating the global energy transition.

She stated that the transition is vital for sustainable development, energy security, and fulfilling commitments under the Paris Agreement.

Awad highlighted the hurdles Egypt faces in this transition, including the high cost estimated at $250bn by 2050.

She also noted the limited access to concessional climate finance, which she said disproportionately affects developing countries.

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In her remarks, Awad called for an equitable energy transition, stressing the need for technology transfer, capacity building, and fair international partnerships.

The session addressed the expansion of sustainable fuel use, the strengthening of grids and storage, and tackling energy poverty.

The discussion underscored the critical role of the energy sector in global climate action.

Awad also reaffirmed Egypts commitment to an energy transition that promotes fairness, opportunity, and sustainable development for all nations.

"Egypt clean energy targets: 42% share by 2030 highlighted at COP30 " was originally created and published by Power Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.




At least eight people were killed and dozens more injured after a car exploded near an underground railway station in the Indian capital, Delhi.

Police are exploring all possibilities as to the cause of the blast which occurred at 7pm Monday by the Red Fort, one of Indias most recognisable monuments.

Images from the scene showed flames and smoke billowing from multiple vehicles on a congested street in the old part of the city. Others showed shop windows shattered from the force of the blast.

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Cities remained on high alert on Tuesday morning, as police had still not ruled out terror as a possible motive.

Early evidence suggested that three people had been inside the car when it exploded, however their identities and relationship to each other remained unknown.

Police said several people were inside the car when the blast went off - Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times

Police were using CCTV to track the cars movements, and sources told local media that officers were looking into whether it had been stolen, borrowed or hired prior to the blast.

The owner of the vehicle was arrested hours after the explosion. The man, aged in his 30s, had reportedly bought the Hyundai i20 in October, and prior to that it had been sold multiple times.

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Police sources told Indian media that they had linked several people to the car, and suspected that some fake identifications were used.

CCTV footage showed the car entered a carpark opposite Red Fort shortly after 3pm Monday. It was parked there for about three hours before exiting the parking and driving near to the monument and underground station before it suddenly burst into flames.

Amit Shah, the Indian home affairs minister, said a slow-moving vehicle stopped at a red light with passengers inside when it exploded.

A shopkeeper who lives nearby said the impact threw him off his feet. I fell down because of the force of the explosion. I thought we were all going to die, he said.

Shop windows were shattered by the force of the blast - Elke Scholiers

We heard a big sound, our windows shook, one resident told NDTV.

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When we reached the spot, body parts were spread across the road. Several cars were smashed. No one could understand what had happened, another witness said.

I was at the metro station, going down the stairs, when I heard an explosion. I turned around and saw a fire. People started running helter-skelter, Suman Mishra, whose husband owns a hotel in a nearby area, told Reuters.

About 10 cars and rickshaws were burnt or crumpled by the explosion and the subsequent fire, Delhis deputy fire chief said.

Police tried to clear crowds that gathered around the site of the incident opposite the Red Fort.

The Red Fort, known in India as the Lal Qila, is a 17th-century, Mughal-era fort located in the old city and visited by tourists throughout the year. Indian prime ministers address the nation from its ramparts on Independence Day, and it features on the largest banknote.

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Cities across the country were put on high alert, and a two-kilometre area around the tourist site was cordoned off as police gathered evidence.

Delhi Polices Special Cell and forensic experts are examining the wreckage to determine the cause of the blast.

At least six vehicles and three rickshaws caught fire in the explosion - SAJJAD HUSSAIN/AFP via Getty Images

Droupadi Murmu, the Indian president, wrote on X: I convey my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in the blast that has taken place in Delhi. I pray for the quick recovery of those injured.

Narendra Modi, the prime minister, said in a statement on the social media platform: Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones in the blast in Delhi earlier this evening. May the injured recover at the earliest.

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Those affected are being assisted by authorities. Reviewed the situation with Home Minister Amit Shah Ji and other officials.

A vehicle fragment found near the scene of the explosion - RAJAT GUPTA/EPA/Shutterstock

India and Pakistan  both nuclear powers  had a brief conflict earlier this year, which saw the neighbours on the brink of an all-out war.

Following the military conflict with Pakistan, India ruled that any future act of terror would be considered an act of war.

Delhi was the target of blasts during the 1980s and 1990s, with public places such as bus stations and crowded market areas hit during attacks blamed on Islamist militants or separatists from the northern Sikh state of Punjab.

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About a dozen people were killed in a briefcase explosion outside the Delhi High Court in 2011, the last such major incident in the city.

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(Reuters) -MeiraGTx Holdings has signed a deal with Eli Lilly, potentially worth over $475 million, granting the pharma giant rights to its experimental gene therapy for a rare, inherited disorder that causes severe vision loss from birth.

Shares of the gene therapy developer rose 12.5% to $9.55 in premarket trading on Monday after the news.

Under the deal, MeiraGTx will get an upfront payment of $75 million and potentially over $400 million more in milestone payments. MeiraGTx is also eligible to receive tiered royalties on licensed products.

This marks Lilly's latest effort to tap the market for eye treatments and bolster its focus on gene therapies, after signing a deal valued at up to $261.7 million to buy gene therapy developer Adverum Biotechnologies in October. Adverum is developing an eye injection for wet age-related macular degeneration, or wAMD, a leading cause of blindness among the elderly.

MeiraGTx's experimental therapy, AAV-AIPL1, is being studied to treat one of the most severe forms of Leber congenital amaurosis 4, caused by mutations in the AIPL1 gene, and is delivered via subretinal injection to children.

Through a one-time administration, AAV-AIPL1 is designed to deliver functional copies of the AIPL1 gene to photoreceptors in the retina, to restore vision.

Lilly will also receive worldwide exclusive rights to MeiraGTx's gene therapy technologies for use in ophthalmology and gains certain rights to its proprietary riboswitch technology for use in gene editing in the eye.

(Reporting by Sahil Pandey in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)
ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- A high-level Group of 20 (G20)-Africa dialogue on debt sustainability, cost of capital, and financing reforms was held on Monday, calling for strengthening partnerships.

The conference, organized by G20 Presidency South Africa in collaboration with the African Union (AU) at the AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

AU Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry, and Minerals Francisca Tatchouop Belobe addressed the event that the resilience of African nations is being tested by an unsustainable debt burden and a financial system that penalizes Africa.

"The rising debt burden is a cause for Africa's financial constraints," Belobe said, highlighting that in 2024 alone, debt service payments exceeded 70 billion U.S. dollars as a significant number of African governments are spending more on servicing debt than on investing in human development.

Noting that Africa's public debt has grown from approximately 100 billion dollars in the 1990s to roughly 1.8 trillion dollars now, or about two-thirds of the continent's GDP, she said the continent's rising costs of public debt servicing are diverting scarce resources.

The AU commissioner said about 57 percent of Africa's population lives in countries where debt servicing surpasses social spending, underscoring that the situation is "unsustainable, not only economically but morally."

"Such iniquities in the global financial system restrained African nations of the means to invest in what truly matters, such as education, healthcare, infrastructure, energy transition, and the green and digital economies that will define the future," Belobe warned.

The AU commissioner called for a partnership that treats Africa "not as a risk to be managed, but as a partner to be empowered." She also outlined AU initiatives, including efforts to establish an African debt monitoring mechanism for fiscal transparency and Africa's financial autonomy.

South Africa's Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Alvin Botes stressed the urgency of the dialogue to address "one of our foremost priorities -- ensuring debt sustainability for low-income countries."

He said the policy space available to developing countries is significantly constrained by their debt servicing obligations, with many countries paying more for debt costs than critical development enablers like social welfare, health care, and education.

"We are working to ensure that the sovereign credit ratings are fair and transparent and to address high risk premiums for developing economies," Botes said, adding that South Africa is reviewing the cost of capital during its G20 presidency.

The high-level dialogue served as a critical platform for experts and policymakers to amplify Africa's collective voice within the G20. Participants pushed for fairer global financing, lower cost of capital, and reforms that drive sustainable growth. 
The Senate passed a key test vote Sunday night on a plan that would be a major step toward reopening the government.

After 40 days of a standoff, the bill advanced by a vote of 60-40, just barely meeting the 60 votes needed to keep it moving forward.

The vote was gaveled down to applause in the chamber at 10:49 p.m. ET.

Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine, Dick Durbin, Maggie Hassan, Jeanne Shaheen and Jacky Rosen were the Democrats who flipped to vote for this bill.

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Government shutdown updates

They join Democrats Catherine Cortez Masto, John Fetterman and Independent Angus King, who have been voting in favor of a government funding bill for weeks. Sen. Rand Paul was the only Republican to vote against it.

The vote was a big test to gauge whether enough Democrats would vote with Republicans to break the impasse, even though they wouldn't get an extension of Obamacare subsidies that expire at the end of the year, which they have been holding out for through the 40-day shutdown, the longest in U.S. history.

Multiple Senate sources told ABC News' Jonathan Karl earlier on Sunday that the bill would extend funding to Jan. 31 as well as provide funding for the remainder of the fiscal year to other agencies like the Department of Agriculture to pay for SNAP benefits and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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A senior Democratic senator told Karl there would be more than enough Democratic votes to pass this, although a majority of Democrats, including most of the leadership, voted against it.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP - PHOTO: Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 7, 2025.

Democrats would get nothing on health care beyond a promise that the Senate will vote on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies before the end of the year -- essentially what Senate Majority Leader John Thune offered more than a month ago and Democrats objected to.

Although most Senate Democrats may have opposed this bill, they were resigned to the fact that this part of the fight is over, sources said. They will take the battle over health care to the midterms and argue that Republicans refused to do anything for the millions of Americans who will see their health insurance premiums skyrocket.

Passage of the bill does not immediately reopen the government. The House will also have to approve the bill. The House has been out of session since September and Speaker Mike Johnson would need to call his members back to Washington to consider this bill before it could head to President Donald Trump's desk.

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Bessent says no formal White House health care proposal as shutdown drags on

The Senate wants to modify the bill in a number of ways. Now that the bill has passed the test vote, the debate can begin. There are some key modifications that senators want to make to the bill:

They want to change its expiration date from Nov. 21 to the end of January.

They want to attach three full-year funding bills to it. The government is usually funded through 12 full-year appropriations bills. The three that senators hope to include are Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, the Legislative Branch, and the Department of Agriculture. If lawmakers fail to fund the government by the new deadline, programs covered by these bills would be fully funded through the end of the fiscal year.

There could be the inclusion of some sort of language guaranteeing Democrats a vote by a certain date on a bill to address health care. There could also be some sort of language to reverse some of the administration's reductions in force of government workers that occurred during the shutdown.

Unless there's total agreement by all senators to quickly adjust the bill, it could take the Senate up to a week to process it.

ABC News' Jonathan Karl contributed to this report.
Foreign Minister Saar opens Israels 3rd new embassy this year, establishing a permanent presence in NATO/EU member Estonia. A delegation will boost hi-tech and cyber ties.

Israels new embassy in Estonia will officially open on Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry confirmed. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar will inaugurate Israels new diplomatic home in Tallinn, Estonias capital.

The Tallinn embassy marks the third new Israeli embassy opened in the last year at the decision of the Foreign Minister. In February, the embassy in Moldova was opened, and in August of this year, the embassy in Zambia was opened.

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Estonia, much like Israel, is one of the worlds leading countries in the hi-tech field, and is a member of both the European Union and NATO.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar speaks during a stakeout before attending a Security Council meeting at UN headquarters in New York City, U.S., August 5, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/EDUARDO MUNOZ)

Israel and Estonia have maintained diplomatic relations since 1992, with Estonia operating an embassy in Israel since 2009.

While in Estonia, Minister Saar will meet with the countrys Prime Minister Kristen Michal, Speaker of Parliament Lauri Hussar, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, and Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur.

Israel sends tech, cyber delegation to Estonian embassy

An elite economic and business delegation, comprised of entrepreneurs and representatives from various Israeli economic organizations, will accompany the Foreign Minister.

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The focus of the delegation will be on technology, cyber, and defense. Dozens of Estonian firms will participate in an economic business forum on Israeli technological cooperation, co-chaired by Sa'ar and Tsahkna.

The delegation, initiated by the Foreign Minister, is organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the Export Institute, the Ministry of Defense, and the Manufacturers Association of Israel.
A landlocked Jewish cemetery west of Boynton Beach has withdrawn its application for a zoning change that would have enabled it to more than double its size.

Palm Beach County commissioners were scheduled to act on the application of Eternal Light Cemetery on Nov. 4, but the night before, the owner notified officials it would not pursue the expansion. Also withdrawn were plans for a Chabad synagogue west of Delray Beach, which was part of the application.

When such a decision is made, it is often because the votes were not there to approve it. The project had a huge hurdle to overcome: the rule that restricts development to 40% of a parcel in the county's Ag Reserve. The rule was created to protect farming and control growth in the reserve, which encompasses 22,000 acres in the southern part of the county between Floridas Turnpike and the Arthur R. Marshall National Wildlife Refuge.

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GL Homes had agreed to sell about 70 acres it owns near two of its 55-plus developments  the already built Valencia Grand and the under-construction Valencia Del Mar. The problem is that the land was already preserved and cannot be built upon to allow those two developments to be built.

Eternal Light's application called for the county to allow the parcels to be unpreserved so it could expand westward toward State Road 7. The move, though, would have lowered the ratio from 60-40 to 50-50, marking the first time that the 60-40 rule would have been adjusted.

The cemetery is on the east side of State Road 7, about 1.6 miles south of Boynton Beach Boulevard. The two developments encircle the cemetery.

Planners urged rejection of cemetery plan, fearing precedent

County planners had recommended that the project not move forward because of the precedent it might set, warning that other developers might also ask for the same consideration. The Planning Commission, though, recommended by a vote of 7-3 that the county commission approve the zoning change during an Oct. 10 meeting. A majority concluded that the project was too beneficial to the community for it not to move forward.

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The cemetery is running out of room. If it were allowed to expand, its agent, Jennifer Morton, said it could continue to operate for another 30 years. And to help the Chabad of West Delray, GL Homes would donate 5 acres of preserved land for it to build a new synagogue.

Eternal Light Cemetery was founded in 1978 and sits on a 49-acre site west of Boynton Beach. Leaders say it will be at capacity in about nine years.

County Commissioner Maria Sachs, whose district includes the cemetery, said she recommended to Morton that the application be withdrawn.

"She is the district commissioner, and we want to work with her to see if we can address her concerns to allow this project to move forward," Morton said in an interview. She said her clients expect to soon return with a different proposal for the commission to consider.

Sachs said she does want to find a site for the Chabad and for the growing congregation of Orthodox Jews west of Delray Beach and Boca Raton. adding: "We are working to see that that happens."

Would altering the Ag Reserves 60-40 rule be a slippery slope?

Sachs said she could not support altering the 60-40 rule, noting that staff was against it. "That was significant for me," she added.

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County planners warned that the proposed zoning change represents a significant policy change from what the county commission adopted in 1995 and further reinforced in 2001 following the recommendations of the Agricultural Reserve Master Plan.

Supporters argued that expanding Eternal Light Cemetery addresses the need for additional burial space.

Eternal Light was founded in 1978, before the adoption of the Ag Reserve master plan. It will be at capacity in about nine years, its leaders say. It is already undergoing a significant expansion project, adding a second floor to a mausoleum that is expected to soon be completed.

Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jewish cemetery withdraws plan to expand west of Boynton Beach
In September, more people fled from Ukraine to the European Union than in any month in the past two years, data from the EU statistics office Eurostat showed on Monday.

The surge follows a relaxation of exit restrictions for men, allowing young men aged 18 to 22 to cross the border.

About 79,000 refugees were granted temporary protection, a 49% increase from August, it said.

Previously, like conscripts aged 23 to 60, they were generally barred from leaving due to martial law and mobilization following Russia's invasion in February 2022.

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Since the start of the war, more than 4.3 million people have fled Ukraine to the European Union, Eurostat figures showed, with Germany hosting the largest share - more than 1.2 million (28.3%).

Many Ukrainian refugees are eligible to work in the EU and receive social benefits and medical care without applying for asylum.

About two months ago, EU countries extended this protection status until March 2027.
EVANSVILLE  Evansville police are accusing a local bail bondsman of attempted rape, promotion of sex trafficking and multiple other charges after he allegedly harassed a woman he helped bail out of jail, placed tracking devices on her car, and adopted an alias to trick her into meeting.

A Monday news release from EPD also claimed he recorded sexual encounters with other women at his home without their knowledge and entered people's houses without authority. EPD says "numerous victims have been identified," and more could still come forward.

Timothy C. Moyes, 42, faces preliminary counts of the charges mentioned above, as well as kidnapping, criminal confinement, burglary, stalking, sexual battery, voyeurism, failure of a bail agent to collect a full premium, residential entry, impersonation of a public servant, and battery resulting in bodily injury.

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"Many of these charges have multiple counts each," the release states.

EPD spokesman Sgt. Anthony Aussieker told the Courier & Press Moyes had been arrested and was still in the process of being booked into the Vanderburgh County jail as of Monday afternoon. His name has yet to show up in jail bookings or court records.

What police say about Timothy Moyes

According to the release, the investigation into Moyes launched on July 2 when officers were dispatched to the West Side Walmart for an alleged disorderly conduct.

"Multiple calls were received saying two bondsmen were trying to arrest a female. When officers arrived, the female (victim) stated she was afraid of Moyes and accused him of harassing her," the release states. "The victim was transported to the hospital for treatment for injuries sustained in the incident."

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Six days later, during an interview at the jail, the woman said her run-ins with Moyes began after a prior arrest.

"While she was in jail, Moyes contacted her, telling her that her mugshot was 'cute,'" the release states.

After another arrest, the woman contacted Moyes about bailing her out of jail. She told police their subsequent conversations were "regularly sexual in nature."

"Moyes later bonded the victim out and brought her to his residence," police say. "While there, Moyes and the victim engaged in sexual activity."

The woman later tried to keep her distance from Moyes. Police say that's when Moyes and at least one another associate put tracking devices on the woman's car multiple times.

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Soon, she reportedly started receiving phone calls from a man named "Jeremy." He implored her to give Moyes another chance.

"'Jeremy' told the victim she would not have to pay back any of her bond premium if she gave Moyes a real 'shot.' It was later determined that 'Jeremy' did not exist," authorities wrote. "(He) was made up by Moyes to deceive the victim. Moyes posed as 'Jeremy' by using a second phone to impersonate him."

Moyes reportedly pretended to be "Jeremy" to set up a meeting with the woman on July 2: the same day police responded to the disorderly conduct call at Walmart.

Hidden camera and body cam footage

The release says investigators "discovered" more victims as the case wore on  due in part to a hidden camera Moyes allegedly kept in his home bedroom.

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Police say he used it to record sex with women without their consent. One piece of footage allegedly shows him "help" a woman use unnamed narcotics. He then reportedly took nude pictures of her after she fell asleep.

Investigators also seized body camera footage from Moyes showing him entering multiple residences when no one appears to be home, the release states. At least once he went in without proper authority and searched around the home, claiming to be looking for guns or cash.

In other footage, police say he can be seen entering a home that didn't belong to the person he was looking for. He eventually took that person, a woman, into custody on an outstanding warrant. But instead of taking her to jail, Moyes drove her to his home after promising to drop her off at rehab.

A bail bonds company containing Moyes' address is listed on Nextdoor, but Indiana Secretary of State records don't have any businesses listed under his name or address. Vanderburgh Circuit Court records, however, do list Moyes as the "interested party" in a bail bond issue from May.

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EPD's news release asks anyone who believes they could be a victim of Moyes to call the force's domestic and sexual violence unit at 812-436-7949.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville bail bondsman accused of attempted rape and stalking
The city of Everett plans to open a third tiny-home shelter site for women and children experiencing homelessness.

Everett City Council approved an agreement on October 29 with Volunteers of America Western Washington for the project.

Itll be located at Sievers Duecy Boulevard and Glenwood Avenue.

It will include 20 pallets, two community buildings, and restroom/hygiene facilities on site. Residents will be provided with a secure and safe site, with program and security staff available 24/7.

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In 2022, the city approved $2.7 million in COVID-19 relief funds for pallet shelter projects.

Everett Gospel Mission (EGM) installed the citys first pallet shelter village the year prior. It had 20 units at the time. Its near the Mens Shelter on Smith Avenue. Due to the success of this pilot program, 20 additional units were installed in 2022, bringing the total to 40 beds.

The second village opened in 2023. Its located in the Madison neighborhood behind Faith Lutheran Church. It features eight units and is a collaboration between the church and Interfaith Family Shelter.

The third shelter is set to open in December. An exact date has not been announced.
Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol, currently in jail after being impeached and removed from office, has been charged with additional offences, including supporting an enemy state, prosecutors said on Monday.

Yoon, 64, is accused of attempting to provoke a military conflict between South and North Korea by covertly sending drones into the North, in an effort to legitimize a state of martial law he declared late last year.

Prosecutors argued that the drone deployment in October 2024 led to the leak of military secrets to the North as the vehicles crashed near Pyongyang, according to Yonhap news agency.

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The conservative politician has been in pre-trial detention for months and already faces charges over the declaration that include high treason, a crime punishable by life imprisonment.

Yoon's dramatic action on December 3 plunged the country into a deep political crisis. He justified the move by claiming that the left-wing opposition had been infiltrated by communist and anti-state forces, though he presented no evidence to support the allegations, and it was soon overturned.

Left-leaning Lee Jae Myung is now president. He won an early presidential election in June following Yoons removal from office in April.
More and more Americans are finding it harder and more expensive to insure their homes as major insurance companies pull out of vulnerable areas. With rising global temperatures supercharging storms, wildfires, and other extreme weather events, companies have been shelling out more than ever on claims.

What's happening?

New data from Texas has revealed that homeowners in disaster-prone regions are losing coverage at nearly double the rate of those in less at-risk areas. In Harris County, home to Houston, data from the Kinder Institute shows that 55% of homeowners are at risk of increasingly intense weather.

According to ABC13 News, 4,192 policyholders lost their insurance coverage in 2023. Houston Association of Realtors treasurer Troy Cothran said this is becoming more common.

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"What we're seeing is they're saying, 'We want to limit our risk.'  We've seen that here in Texas for the last four and five years. We've seen a lot of companies pull out," he explained.

For those who can still get coverage, costs are skyrocketing, as remaining companies are increasing their rates. Cothran said policies have "at least" doubled, with some "three or four times the cost."

Why is this concerning?

With fewer policies available and skyrocketing costs, families are more vulnerable to losing their homes altogether, especially after disasters.

This cycle is unfolding in other states, too, including Florida and California, where insurers have also retreated from hurricane- and wildfire-prone regions, leaving residents with only high-cost "last resort" policies. And for families who are still paying mortgages or required to have insurance by their homeowners associations, this can mean much tighter budgets  and even sacrifices to afford policies.

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This is just another example of how increasing global temperatures are affecting communities everywhere. With human-generated pollution continuing to overheat the planet, stronger and more destructive weather is becoming more common, with insurance companies choosing to cancel coverage in the very areas that need protection the most.

What's being done about it?

There's no fix-all to this situation, but homeowners can take steps to better protect themselves. Shopping around is a good option  independent insurance agents can often find better rates.

Also, disaster-proofing homes by elevating foundations, reinforcing roofs, and using fire- or flood-resistant materials can help lower risk, maintain coverage, and even prevent excessive damage in the case of extreme weather.

As for the bigger picture, cutting the planet-warming pollution contributing to wild weather shifts is the key to preventing disasters from continuing to grow more frequent and costly. Individuals can help by supporting clean energy initiatives, and policymakers can protect communities by backing federal disaster relief programs.

Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.




San Francisco police shot an off-leash dog and his owner on a busy stretch of Market Street near Union Square after the dog bit a person Sunday afternoon, authorities said.

After the shooting, the dog ran away, then returned to the scene and bit an officer in the leg, police and fire officials said.

The pet and his owner were shot around 4:30 p.m. near Market and O'Farrell streets as officers tried to detain the man and "secure the dog," police and fire officials said.

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Police did not say how many officers fired their guns.

Both the man and the dog were expected to survive. Paramedics transported the man to a hospital, and animal control officers took the dog to the agency's shelter. The dog - a male German shepherd husky mix - suffered a gunshot wound to his right front leg, an injury a veterinarian treated, animal control officials said.

The injured officer was treated at the scene, police and fire officials said.

The original bite victim had flagged down officers in the area, police said, adding that officers learned that the attack was unprovoked and that the dog continued to show aggression toward others in the area. The victim took himself to a hospital, police said.

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The German shepherd husky mix had been barking around Market and Fourth streets at 4:25 p.m. when police tried to subdue him, said Kristy Palmore, who witnessed the incident. The dog's owner, an apparently homeless man, became "a little confrontational" when questioned by police, who tried to detain him, she said.

The dog continued barking and moved toward the officers, who shot him in the right front leg, Palmore said. Both the dog and the man ran from the officers, who shot the man in the left leg, she said.

San Francisco police tend to a man they had shot after a chase Sunday afternoon. Police say the man's off-leash dog bit an officer and another person. (Courtesy of Lauren Belfer)





The man, who appeared to be in his late 30s or early 40s, was taken by ambulance to a hospital. Neither the man nor the dog appeared to be severely injured, Palmore said.

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Video posted on the Citizen app showed shoppers and other onlookers standing behind yellow crime tape, some of them recording on their cellphones, as officers secured the area. Police asked people to avoid the area around Market and O'Farrell streets while emergency crews were on the scene, and Muni buses were advised to reroute.

Street performer Andrew Byrne, 48, was banging his drums on Market Street when the two shots burst out just behind him. He saw the dog running west on Market, right after he saw the victim on the ground with officers swarming around him.

"That was the fastest police response I've ever seen," said Byrne, who has been drumming on Market Street for 15 years. He said the shooting startled him like nothing else he's seen on Market.

Byrne kept drumming briefly while police tended to the victim about 15 feet away, and a large group of people yelled at the officers to get away from the man. More police units arrived, and they shoved the crowd back, he said.

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"Everything was going nice, then I heard these two gunshots and I saw the German shepherd limping toward me with a bullet wound in his right leg," Byrne said. "It was awful."

The police department, the San Francisco District Attorney's office and the San Francisco Department of Police Accountability are investigating the shooting.

Former Chronicle staff writer Kevin Fagan contributed to this report.

This article originally published at S.F. police shoot dog, then owner, on busy downtown street.
Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The Federal Aviation Administration on has imposed restrictions on private flights at 12 major U.S. airports, a business aviation trade group said.

The new rule -- called a Notice to Airmen, or NOTAM -- bans all non-scheduled operations at the 12 airports, which "will effectively prohibit business aviation operations," the National Business Aviation Association said in a statement Sunday. The restrictions went into effect at midnight Sunday.

The organization said the move "disproportionately" impacts private flights, "an industry that creates more than a million jobs, generates $340 billion in economic impact and supports humanitarian flights every day."

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The announcement comes amid shortages in air traffic controller staffing in response to the federal government shutdown. At 41 days Monday, it's the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Commercial airlines began cutting flights Friday after the FAA ordered a 5% reduction in traffic at 40 major airports in the United States. The government said the restrictions will increase to 10% by Friday if a resolution isn't passed to fund and reopen the government by then.

It may not get to that point, however, after the Senate on Sunday voted to advance a proposal that, if passed by Congress, would fund the government through January.

NBAA President and CEO Ed Belen said the announcement Sunday "underscores the need to reopen the government to serve all Americans."

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"NBAA stands with the rest of the aviation community in calling upon Congress to end the shutdown immediately, and for the NOTAMs to be repealed when the government opens," he added.

The NBAA said the new restrictions apply to private flights at:

-- Chicago O'Hare International Airport

-- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport

-- Denver International Airport

-- General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport in Boston

-- George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston

-- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

-- John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City

-- Los Angeles International Airport

-- Newark Liberty International Airport

-- Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

-- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

-- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Egyptians queue up to vote at a polling station during the first phase of House of Representatives elections in Giza, Egypt, Nov. 10, 2025. Voting began on Monday in the first phase of Egypt's 2025 House of Representatives elections, which will last till Tuesday. (Photo by Mohamed Asad/Xinhua)

CAIRO, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Voting began on Monday in the first phase of Egypt's 2025 House of Representatives elections, which will last till Tuesday.

A total of 35,279,922 voters are eligible to participate in this phase of the elections, according to the supreme elections committee.

The first phase covers 14 governorates, including Giza, Fayoum, Beni Suef, Minya, Assiut, New Valley, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, Red Sea, Alexandria, Beheira, and Matrouh.

The House of Representatives comprises 568 elected members, including 284 elected through a closed-list system and 284 through an individual system, in addition to members appointed by the president.

On Nov. 7, Egyptian expatriates around the world cast their ballots at embassies and consulates.

Voting in the second phase will take place on Nov. 21 to 22 for expatriates and on Nov. 24 to 25 for citizens inside the country in the remaining 13 governorates. 

Egyptians queue up to vote at a polling station during the first phase of House of Representatives elections in Giza, Egypt, Nov. 10, 2025. Voting began on Monday in the first phase of Egypt's 2025 House of Representatives elections, which will last till Tuesday. (Photo by Mohamed Asad/Xinhua)

An old lady casts a vote at a polling station during the first phase of House of Representatives elections in Giza, Egypt, Nov. 10, 2025. Voting began on Monday in the first phase of Egypt's 2025 House of Representatives elections, which will last till Tuesday. (Photo by Mohamed Asad/Xinhua)
(Refiles Nov. 10 FACTBOX to provide a more detailed description of the case in paragraph 12)

LONDON (Reuters) -The BBC's director-general and head of news resigned on Sunday following mounting accusations of editorial bias at the British broadcaster, including in the editing of a speech by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The publicly funded broadcaster has faced growing scrutiny after the Daily Telegraph published details from a leaked internal memo by a former standards adviser. The report highlighted shortcomings in the BBC's coverage of the IsraelHamas conflict, transgender issues, and its handling of Trump's remarks.

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Key findings from the memo, which was written by Michael Prescott to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines and Standards Board, include:

TRUMP PROGRAMME

Prescott said that an edition of the BBC's flagship Panorama show broadcast a week before the U.S. election, "Trump: A Second Chance?", "seemed to be taking a distinctly anti-Trump stance", noting that critics of Trump far outnumbered his supporters.

The programme spliced together two separate excerpts from one of Trump's speeches, creating the impression that he was inciting the January 2021 Capitol Hill riot, he said.

Trump was shown telling his supporters that "we're going to walk down to the Capitol" and that they would "fight like hell", a comment he made in a different part of his speech. He had actually said his supporters would "cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women".

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ISRAEL-HAMAS COVERAGE

Prescott noted that several contributors to the BBC's Arabic service had selectively covered stories critical of Israel.

On one occasion, the BBC's main English-language news site published 19 separate articles about the hostages taken by Hamas on the day of the October 7 attack in 2023, while BBC Arabic published none. By contrast, every article critical of Israel that appeared on the BBC News website was also featured on BBC Arabic.

The memo also highlighted that while BBC Arabic often ran the same stories as the BBC's English-language website, there were significant differences in tone, headlines, and emphasis, with coverage generally more critical of Israel.

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Prescott also criticised the BBC for allegedly misreporting the proportion of Palestinian women and children killed by Israeli military actions, as well as for inaccurately portraying the likelihood of children facing starvation under Israel's aid blockade.

TRANSGENDER COVERAGE

Prescott said stories raising "difficult questions" about transgender issues were often overlooked, even when they had been widely reported and debated by other media outlets. He also noted that some features presented the transgender experience in an overly one-sided manner, lacking sufficient balance and objectivity.

The memo said the BBC failed to cover a case in which a group of nurses sued their employer over a policy allowing a transgender woman to use the women's changing room.

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IMMIGRATION ISSUES AND HISTORIANS

Prescott noted that the BBC sent few push notifications about illegal migrants or asylum seekers to its 7 million news app users, even as less significant stories received extensive coverage.

The memo also said that producers of four BBC programmes with historical content favoured non-expert academics who offered quotable sound bites on racism and prejudice, producing oversimplified and distorted narratives about British colonialism, slavery, and their legacy.

RACISM

Prescott wrote in his memo that the BBC "fell too easily for putting out ill-researched material that suggested issues of racism when there were none". He cited a report claiming that people living in areas with a high proportion of ethnic minority residents paid more for car insurance, even though road accident and crime rates were similar.

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He noted that the reporting and commentary ignored other factors that can influence insurance costs, relied on outdated and unsuitable data, and featured only one guest who supported the claim. The Association of British Insurers declined to appear, and its statement, which provided crucial context, was selectively quoted. The report was later taken down.

(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Paul Sandle and Conor Humphries)
The Senate voted to move toward passing a stopgap funding bill Sunday night.

A tentative deal seeks to reopen the government after the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

RELATED COVERAGE >>> Senate takes first step toward ending the government shutdown

One of the top concerns in the shutdown fight has been Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, which have seen a back-and-forth in the courts over payments during the last few days.

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Even with the Senates latest move, theres still a lot of uncertainty and confusion about SNAP benefits.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture overnight released new guidance to states that have already processed full SNAP payments to millions of people.

The Trump administration is directing states to stop issuing full SNAP benefits and take steps to undo the action to make payments for November.

RELATED COVERAGE >>> Trump administration demands states undo full SNAP payouts as states warn of catastrophic impact

The USDA said existing payments were unauthorized, adding that states that fail to comply could suffer serious consequences, including the cancellation of future federal money.

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The USDA did not explicitly say how states should take back the money already distributed to millions of people.

On Friday, a judges ruling opened the door for Gov. Josh Shapiro to rush out SNAP benefits to people who get them during the first seven days of the month.

RELATED COVERAGE >>> Federal judge orders Trump administration to fully fund SNAP benefits in November

They immediately processed the batches of Pennsylvanians who were owed money on SNAP through our vendor that sends those federal dollars out and started to get that money flowing again, Shapiro said.

RELATED COVERAGE >>> Pennsylvania Gov. Shapiro says SNAP recipients owed benefits should get them by Friday evening

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But just a day later, a Shapiro spokesperson told CNN the state had since paused issuing full allocations to additional people, presumably, those who get their benefits after the seventh of the month.

That spokesperson also tells CNN that Pennsylvanians who received their benefits are still able to spend them.

The governor on Friday said he and his legal team plan to push back against any attempt to stop the flow of snap benefits.

My appeal to the Trump administration is, just do the right thing. Give up. Youre gonna lose again in court, Shapiro said.

If this bipartisan deal is passed, it is reportedly expected to fund the SNAP program through next September.

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At Aurelian Springs Global Institute of Learning, an elementary school in Halifax County, 11 of its 14 teachers come from other countries. Photo: Ariel Gilreath/The Hechinger Report

In Halifax County, North Carolina, 101 of 156 teachers are international. A new $100,000 fee on H-1B visas could effectively slam the door on future hires

HALIFAX COUNTY, N.C.  When Ivy McFarland first traveled from her native Honduras to teach elementary Spanish in North Carolina, she spent a week in Chapel Hill for orientation. By the end of that week, McFarland realized the college town on the outskirts of Raleigh was nowhere near where shed actually be teaching.

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On the car ride to her school district, the city faded into the suburbs. Those suburbs turned into farmland. The farmland stretched into more farmland, until, two hours later, she made it to her new home in rural Halifax County.

I was like, Oh my God, this is far, McFarland said. It was shocking when I got here, and then I felt like I wanted to go back home.

Nine years later, shes come to think of Halifax County as home.

In this stretch of rural North Carolina, teachers hail from around the globe: Jamaica, the Philippines, Honduras, Guyana. Of the 17 teachers who work at Everetts Elementary School in the Halifax County school district, two are from the United States.

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In this rural school district surrounded by rural school districts, recruiting teachers has become a nearly impossible task. With few educators applying for jobs, schools like Everetts Elementary have relied on international teachers to fill the void. Districtwide, 101 of 156 educators are international.

Ivy McFarland goes over a lesson with her first grade students at Everetts Elementary School in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. Photo: Ariel Gilreath/The Hechinger Report

Weve tried recruiting locally, and it just has not worked for us, said Carolyn Mitchell, executive director of human resources in the eastern North Carolina district of about 2,100 students. Halifax is a rural area, and a lot of people just dont want to work in rural areas. If theyre not people who are from here and want to return, its challenging.

Around the country, many rural schools are contending with a shortage of teacher applicants that has ballooned into a crisis in recent years. Fewer students are enrolling in teacher training programs, leading to a shrinking pipeline thats made filling vacancies one of the most challenging problems for school leaders to solve in districts with smaller tax bases and fewer resources than their suburban and urban peers. In certain grade levels and subject areas  like math and special education positions  the challenge is particularly acute. Now, some of the levers rural schools have used to boost their teacher recruitment efforts are also disappearing.

This spring, the federal Department of Education eliminated teacher residency and training grants for rural schools. In September, President Donald Trump announced a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa applications  visas hundreds of schools like Everetts Elementary use to hire international teachers for hard-to-staff positions  saying industries were using the visas to replace American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor. A lawsuit filed by a coalition of education, union, nonprofit and other groups is challenging the fee, citing teacher shortages. Rural schools are also bracing for more cuts to federal funding next year.

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Were not only talking about a recruitment and retention problem. Were talking about the collapse of the rural teacher workforce, said Melissa Sadorf, executive director of the National Rural Education Association.

Related: Become a lifelong learner. Subscribe to The Hechinger Reports free weekly newsletter featuring the most important stories in education.

Most of Halifaxs international teachers arrive on H-1B visas, which allow them to work in the U.S. for about five years with the possibility of a green card at the end of that period. About one-third of the districts international teachers have J-1 visas, which let them work in the country for three years with the possibility of renewing it for two more. At the end of those five years, educators on J-1 visas are required to return to their home countries.

A few years ago, Halifax County Schools decided to shift from hiring teachers on J-1 visas in favor of H-1B, hoping it would reduce teacher turnover and keep educators in their classrooms for longer. The results have been mixed, Mitchell said, because within a few years, some of their teachers ended up transferring to bigger, higher-paying districts anyway.

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There are trade-offs for the teachers, too. Mishcah Knight came to the U.S. from Jamaica both to expand her skills and increase her pay as an educator. In the rural North Carolina county, finding transportation has been the biggest challenge for Knight, who teaches second grade.

She lacks a credit history needed to buy a car, leaving her reliant on carpooling to work. A single taxi driver serves the area, which doesnt have public transit, Uber or Lyft. Sometimes, hes in Virginia, Knight said. Its lucky when we actually get him to take us somewhere.

Being away from family also takes its toll on teachers. Nar Bell Dizon, who has taught music at Everetts Elementary since 2023, had to leave his wife and son back home in the Philippines. He visits in the summer, but during the school year, he sees them only through video calls.

This is what life is  not everything is smooth, Dizon said. There will always be struggles and sacrifices.

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Dizons first year in Everetts Elementary School was hard  it took time adapting to a different teaching style and classroom management. Now that hes in his third year, he feels like hes gotten his feet beneath him.

When you can build a rapport with your students, things become easier, Dizon said.

When her international teachers are able to stay for longer, the students perform better, said Chastity Kinsey, principal of Everetts Elementary. I know the benefit the teachers bring to the classroom, Kinsey said. After the first year or two, they normally take off like rock stars.

Mishcah Knight leads a reading lesson with her second grade students at Everetts Elementary School in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. (Photo: Ariel Gilreath/The Hechinger Report)

Related: Trumps cuts to teacher training leave rural school districts, aspiring educators in the lurch

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Trumps new fee does not address any of the challenges the Halifax district had with the H-1B visa, and it effectively slams the door on future hires. Now, the district will have to rely on J-1 visas to recruit new international teachers, meaning the educators will have to leave just as theyve acclimated to their classrooms.

We just cant afford to, Mitchell said of paying the $100,000 fee. Other districts, she said, might turn to waivers allowing them to increase class sizes and hire fewer teachers, among other strategies.

Since the applicant pool began drying up about a decade ago, the make-up of the districts teaching staff has slowly shifted to international teachers.

At the heart of the problem is that when a position opens up, few, if any, citizens apply, said Katina Lynch, principal of Aurelian Springs Institute of Global Learning, an elementary school in Halifax County.

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When Lynch had to hire a new fourth grade teacher this summer, she received three applications: Only one was a licensed teacher from the U.S.

Nationally, about 1 in 8 teaching positions are either vacant or filled by teachers who are not certified for the position, according to data from the nonprofit Learning Policy Institute, published in July. In addition to fewer college students graduating with degrees in education, diminished public perception of the teaching profession and political polarization of schools are to blame, school leaders said. In some states, the growth of charter and private school options has made competing for teachers even harder. On top of a widening pay gap between rural and urban districts, its a perfect storm for schools in more remote parts of the country, said Sadorf.

Related: Schools confront a new reality: They cant count on federal money

Districts are experimenting with different strategies to help, she said, including introducing students to teacher training pathways starting in high school, building grow-your-own programs to train local people for teaching jobs, and offering loan forgiveness and housing support.

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Sadorfs organization is in favor of creating an educator-specific visa track that would allow international teachers to be in communities for longer. The group is also in favor of exempting schools from the $100,000 H-1B fee. Stabilizing federal support is something that really needs to be focused on at the federal level, Sadorf said.

At Everetts Elementary in Halifax County, McFarland, the educator from Honduras, is among the most senior teachers in the school. She has adapted to the rural community, where she met and fell in love with her now-husband. She gets asked sometimes why she hasnt moved to a bigger city.

Education has taken me places Ive never expected, McFarland said. For me, being here, theres a reason for it. I see the difference I can make.

Contact staff writer Ariel Gilreath on Signal at arielgilreath.46 or at gilreath@hechingerreport.org.

This story about the visa fee was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Hechinger newsletter.
Russian forces have increased the number of assaults on positions of Ukraine's defence forces in the Pokrovsk agglomeration in Donetsk Oblast. The fiercest fighting in Pokrovsk has been taking place in the industrial zone.

Source: 7th Rapid Response Corps of Ukraine's Air Assault Forces on social media

Quote: "The 7th Rapid Response Corps of Ukraine's Air Assault Forces is holding its line of defence. Over the past week, Ukrainian troops have killed 236 Russian soldiers, with a further 136 wounded. Our soldiers have also hit a tank, 3 armoured fighting vehicles and 23 vehicles.

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The enemy continues to ramp up the assaults on Ukrainian positions in the Pokrovsk agglomeration. Last week, Russian forces attacked our units 132 times, which is almost 20% more than the week before."

Details: Ukrainian troops are preventing Russian attempts to gain a foothold in Pokrovsk's high-rise buildings, which the Russians want to use as commanding high ground. This enables other defence forces' units to mop up Russian forces inside the city.

Ukrainian forces continue to wipe out Russian troops in the northern part of Pokrovsk. The fiercest clashes are taking place within the industrial zone. The routes that the Russians try to use to infiltrate this area are under Ukrainian control, which leaves Russia with limited options to make up its losses.

The Russians are also trying to concentrate efforts in other districts of the city and on its western outskirts in order to push towards Hryshyne, to the north-west of Pokrovsk. Ukrainian forces are holding them back, in part thanks to a multi-layered system of defence. Logistics in Hryshyne allow Ukrainian troops to carry out their planned tasks.

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The defensive operation in Myrnohrad is ongoing. Supplies are being delivered and stocks of food and ammunition are being replenished on time.

Russia is attempting to attack Myrnohrad from the south-east. Ukraine's defence forces are wiping out Russian units on the approaches to the city and are preventing infiltration.

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A voter deposits a mail-in ballot in a drop box in Chester County, Pa., on Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Peter Hall/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday took up a Republican-backed challenge to counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day.

Depending how the justices rule, the case could be consequential for states that vote by mail.

It stems from a lawsuit against a Mississippi state law allowing mail-in ballots received within five business days after Election Day to still be counted. Roughly 30 states have similar laws, with varying grace periods.

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The decision could also have ramifications for next years high-stakes midterms, which will decide whether Republicans maintain control of both the U.S. House and Senate. The court will likely hear arguments and rule by mid-2026.

A federal judge in Mississippi upheld the states law, ruling the states statute isnt preempted by federal law, which says Election Day is the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

But a federal appeals panel sided with the laws challengers, the Republican National Committee and the states Republican and Libertarian parties. The appeals judges cited the U.S. Constitutions clause that gives states the power to regulate elections, but also noted that clause says Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations.

President Donald Trump, in his first term, appointed the three judges who issued that decision.

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The legal question now is whether election day is when voters cast their ballots, or also when they must be received. The appeals court decided that ballots arent cast until election officials get them.

While the ruling doesnt apply in Washington, if the Supreme Court upheld it, the ballot-counting system here would also be thrown into question.

Mississippi officials appealed to the Supreme Court to protect their five-day grace period. The states attorney general, a Republican, wrote in a brief to the high court that the appeals decision would require scrapping election laws in most States.

The stakes are high: ballots cast by  but received after  election day can swing close races and change the course of the country, Attorney General Lynn Fitch wrote.

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The laws opponents say these measures deprive the electorate of a clear nationwide deadline that puts all voters on the same footing.

In the 2024 general election, Washington election officials received nearly 120,000 valid ballots after Election Day that were postmarked on time.

Attorneys general from other states filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Supreme Court to side with Mississippi. They note the appeals court decision jeopardizes the ability of military service members and their families stationed abroad to have their timely cast ballots counted.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly attacked mail-in voting.

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In a March executive order, for example, he urged U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to stop states from counting absentee or mail-in ballots received after Election Day in federal elections.

The Supreme Court is already grappling with other litigation focused on mail-in ballots.

Last month, they heard arguments in the case of an Illinois congressman who sued over a law in his state counting ballots received up to 14 days after Election Day. That case deals with the more procedural issue of the standard plaintiffs must meet to be allowed to sue over an election law.

This report was originally published by the Washington State Standard, part of the States Newsroom nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com.

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Flags are at half-staff across Connecticut, and have been so since last Tuesday, in honor of former Vice President Dick Cheney, who served as a powerful and deeply polarizing second-in-command to then-President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009.

Cheney, a Republican, also served as Secretary of War and represented Wyoming in the House of Representatives. While vice president, he was one of the architects of the Iraq War and a vocal advocate for the waterboarding of alleged terrorists, which many critics described as torture.

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In recent years, despite his conservative politics, Cheney, along with his daughter - former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney - became foils for President Donald Trump, breaking with him over his denial of his 2020 election loss and the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

While Cheney backed then-Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, he never was embraced by Democrats because of his hard-line support for the Iraq War. Notably, neither U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal nor Chris Murphy released a statement noting Cheney's death from complications of pneumonia, cardiac and vascular disease last week at age 84.

While the White House directed on Nov. 4 that flags be lowered in remembrance of the former vice president, it declined to make a further statement on Cheney's passing, and Trump himself had been silent on the news as of Monday.

Cheney was mourned by his running mate, with Bush writing on Instagram last Tuesday that his vice president was a "decent, honorable man."

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"History will remember him as among the finest public servants of his generation  a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence, and seriousness of purpose to every position he held," Bush wrote.

According to flag tracking website HalfStaff.org, flags throughout the country, including in Connecticut, will stay at half-staff until Nov. 14.

When the flag is to be flown at half-staff is governed by a proclamation issued by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1954; generally, it is when the nation is in a period of mourning.

The regulations stipulate that the flag should fly at half-staff for 10 days after the death of a vice president, as well as the chief justice of the Supreme Court or the speaker of the House.

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In addition to Cheney, flags have been lowered to half-staff in Connecticut this year for the deaths of notable figures, including former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Francis and Christian conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

This article originally published at Flags are flying at half-staff in Connecticut this week. Here's why.
Congress is making progress toward ending the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, a deadlock that has forced the cancellation of thousands of flights across the United States.

But even if lawmakers finalize the a deal this week, travelers shouldnt expect an instant return to normal at the nations airports.

Flights have already been reduced at 40 of the countrys busiest airports to offset air traffic controller shortages, leading to a wave of uncertainty for travelers. Experts warn those disruptions will linger long after the shutdown officially ends.

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"There's going to be extensive disruption across the entire nations air transportation system," Henry Harteveldt, and airline industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group, an independent travel analytics firm, told USA TODAY. And the consequences could last longer than the shutdown.

Why flight cuts will continue even after the government reopens

Even if the shutdown ends soon, travelers shouldnt expect those cuts to disappear overnight.

Experts say the impact on air travel will stretch well beyond the shutdown's end as airlines work to untangle complicated flight schedules and recover from staff shortages that cant be fixed instantly.

"It's going to be a step-up, phased-in approach to cutting flights," Harteveldt said. "For an airline to be told by the government theyve got 36 or so hours to start dismembering their carefully built flight schedules doesnt give airlines a lot of time."

Why recovery won't be immediate

When flights are canceled, its not just one plane or route affected. "Airlines have to consider the flow of aircraft and crew when they cancel flights, said Ahmed Abdelghany, associate dean for research at the David B. O'Maley College of Business at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. "If you cancel both flights of a round-trip loop, the aircraft and crew end up in the right place later. That avoids stranding planes and crew, which is what makes recovery possible."

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Major hubs like Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Chicago OHare International and Los Angeles International are seeing widespread impacts, but travelers connecting through other airports are also likely to feel the effects. Shye Gilad, a professor of practice in management at Georgetown University and a former airline pilot, said connecting passengers "are potentially even more at risk, more likely to experience fare increases, less frequent flights, fewer options, and much longer layovers."

Story continues below.

Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on November 7 2025. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. Forty airports were due to slow down, including the giant hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. Travelers arrive at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, on November 7, 2025. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. Forty airports were due to slow down, including the giant hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. A TSA agent directs people as they wait in line at a security checkpoint at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on November 7 2025. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. Forty airports were due to slow down, including the giant hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. A screen shows United Airlines 2619 landing at Chicago International Airport O'Hare, a day after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that he would order 10% of flights at 40 major U.S. airports to be cut starting Friday unless a deal to end the federal government shutdown is reached, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., November 6, 2025. Air travelers face the morning commute at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, a day after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that he would order 10% of flights at 40 major U.S. airports to be cut starting Friday unless a deal to end the federal government shutdown is reached, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. November 6, 2025. A crew member walks at the airport, as air travelers face the morning commute at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, a day after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that he would order 10% of flights at 40 major U.S. airports to be cut starting Friday unless a deal to end the federal government shutdown is reached, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. November 6, 2025. A person walks at the airport, as air travelers face the morning commute at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, a day after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that he would order 10% of flights at 40 major U.S. airports to be cut starting Friday unless a deal to end the federal government shutdown is reached, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. November 6, 2025. A passenger stands by a screen showing delayed flights due to the government shutdown, at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California, U.S., November 6, 2025. Travelers arrive at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, on November 7, 2025. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. Forty airports were due to slow down, including the giant hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas on November 7, 2025. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. Forty airports were due to slow down, including the giant hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. See the impact of the government shutdown as agencies shutter or fight to stay open 1 of 10 Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on November 7 2025. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. Forty airports were due to slow down, including the giant hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.

Delays could linger for weeks

Even after government operations resume, the FAA's ongoing staffing crisis may keep limits in place. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the agency is short between 1,000 and 2,000 air traffic controllers, with retirements accelerating during the shutdown.

"I used to have about four controllers retire a day before the shutdown," Duffy told CNN. Now up to 15 to 20 a day are retiring.

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That shortage means capacity restrictions could remain until staffing stabilizes. "It's not that the day the shutdown ends, this capacity restriction is lifted," said Hopper analyst Hayley Berg. "They're not going to lift this capacity reduction until air traffic control and the FAA are operating at the staffing level they need  and that might not happen immediately."

Abdelghany agrees that the ripple effects will take time to unwind. Even if the government reopens, recovery will still take time, he said. Some passengers will have to be refunded and removed from the system because capacity simply cannot absorb everyone. The severity and duration of this reduction will determine how long recovery takes.

Story continues below.

Longer-term travel ripple effects

Experts warn that some Thanksgiving travel plans could still be disrupted even if the shutdown ends this week. "That could mean more traffic on the highways, other modes of transport, or simply people not being able to travel at all," Gilad said. And beyond travelers, Harteveldt said, "The financial impact will be felt not just by airlines and airport concessions but also by the destinations that see fewer visitors."

(This story has been updated with new information.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yes, flights will still be canceled even if the shutdown ends
Eggs laid by dinosaurs have provided paleontologists with a new way to tell prehistoric time. By looking to radioactive minerals taken up by eggshells in the deep past, experts have uncovered a novel method to determine when those eggs were laidone that could put ancient ecosystems on a more accurate timeline

The new research, published today in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, adds to a growing body of evidence that fossil eggshells hold mineral clues that will allow experts to date them directly. Rather than deriving the dates of fossils from the rocks in which they are encased, the studylead by Dr. Ryan Tucker from Stellenbosch University's Department of Earth Sciencesproposes that radioactive minerals like uranium in fossil eggshells can be used to directly date the fossils and refine prehistoric timelines that have previously been mysteries. (In September, a team of Chinese paleontologists announced they had dated eggs using clues in the mineral calcite contained within the fossils.)

Paleontologists excavate and study fossils so we can reconstruct the story of life on Earth, but a story without a timeline is at best nonsensical, and, at worst, misleading, says study coauthor and North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences paleontologist Lindsay Zanno, who is a National Geographic Explorer. Without a sense of when a prehistoric organism lived, she says, a fossil out of context in time and space is as useful as lips on a chicken.

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(How to dig up 55 tons of dinosaur bones in the world's fiercest desert)

Up until now, the prehistoric timeline has been set by the rocks in which fossils are buried. When ancient volcanoes belched out molten rock and ash, for example, the outpourings of the eruptions contained radioactive minerals like uranium. Uranium turns to lead at a constant rate over time, what is sometimes referred to as its half-life, and for decades geologists have been able to look at the ratio of uranium to lead in a rock sample to calculate just how long ago that rock must have formed.

Exposed dinosaur eggshell fragments at Teel Ulaan Chaltsai, Eastern Gobi Basin. A new dating method could help paleontologists more accurately understand prehistoric ecosystems and timelines. Lindsay Zanno

The problem for paleontologists is that many fossils are found in sediments that lack these radioactive timekeepers. When an expert says a dinosaur is about 75 million years old, that usually means that their fossil was found in a rock layer in close association with a rock layer that contained something like an ash bed that could be dated correctly. Or that a fossil resembles another fossil found in such association with an ash layer. If a dinosaur fossil wasnt found in a rock layer full of ash or solidified volcanic rocks, paleontologists could only roughly estimate the fossils age. The famous, well-preserved fossils of Mongolias Gobi Basindinosaurs such as the famous Velociraptorfall into this category, their true age uncertain without a direct way to tell geologic time.

There are important dinosaur sites in North America and Asia that preserve eggshells and bones but these havent been accurately dated due to lack of ash layers, says University of Calgary paleontologist Darla Zelenitsky, who was not involved in the new study. Though she cautions that dinosaur eggshells arent found very often, she notes that with uranium-lead (U-Pb) dating, when they are [found], they could help us figure out the age of fossil sites, especially in places that dont have volcanic ash layers.

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(Is this a teen T. Rex ... or a totally different dinosaur?)

Previous research on relatively recent eggshells has shown that those shells took in uranium from surrounding sediment when they were buried. The same was true of eggs many millions of years oldand so Zanno and colleagues looked to dinosaur eggs from two different places to test their hunch.

The first set of eggs came from prehistoric Utah, laid by parrot-like dinosaurs called oviraptorosaurs and buried between two ash layers that were directly dated to about 99 million years old. The dates on these eggs with U-Pb dating came out to about 97 million years old, very close to the dates drawn from the rocks. The experts note that the porous nature of the eggs and the particulars of how the eggs were preserved likely yielded a slightly younger date than the ash, but the figures are so close that the findings still indicate eggshells can provide a close age estimate when ash beds are not available.

The exposed fossil-bearing strata in Teel Ulaan Chaltsai, Eastern Gobi Basin, Mongolia. The team found that fossilized eggs from the site were buried about 75 million years ago, confirming that the dinosaurs there were living during the Late Cretaceous. RTTucker2025

Our study demonstrates that dating dinosaur eggshell is just as reliable, and in some cases even better, than historical methods used to date fossils outside of ash layers, Zanno says.

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With the close accuracy of the new technique established, Zanno and colleagues tried out the method on eggs laid by an unknown species of dinosaur from Mongolias Gobi Desert. The site, known as Teel Ulaan Chaltsai, has been thought to be anywhere from Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous in age, anywhere between 145 and 66 million years old. The new results found that the dinosaur eggs from the site were buried about 75 million years ago, confirming the dinosaurs there were living and nesting during the Late Cretaceous.

This dating method is still in the early stages, but its showing real promise, Zelenitsky says. The method could allow experts to get a much clearer view of big-picture evolutionary and ecological questions. The more dating tools we have, the better we can understand big questions like how dinosaurs evolved and their ecosystems changed over time.

(New megaraptor discoveredwith its final meal still in its mouth)

The method will be refined through future studies. We knew we needed to establish how dinosaur eggshells incorporate radioactive elements and what checks should be performed to ensure that an age date from a dinosaur egg is reliable, Zanno says. But Zanno and colleagues see the potential for better assessing other fossil sites around the planet that are rife with eggs but are of uncertain age. South Africas Elliot Formation, for example, contains multiple egg and nest sites from long-necked herbivorous dinosaurs called sauropodomorphs but lacks volcanic rocks to determine accurate ages, just like egg sites in the Auca Mahuevo site in Patagonia that are rife with the eggs of huge, long-necked plant-eaters called titanosaurs. Looking at the possibilities, Zanno says I couldnt be more excited about the future.

The nonprofit National Geographic Society, committed to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world, funded National Geographic Explorer Lindsay Zanno's work. Learn more about the Societys support of Explorers.
The French parliament will be debating a 2 levy on low-value fashion imports this week, aiming to jump-start a similar measure that will only come into force EU-wide in 2028.

The move is an attempt to target Chinese budget e-commerce retailers like Shein and Temu, who have swamped the bloc with super cheap products that undercut local production, while also causing concerns about waste production due to their questionable durability and short life cycles.

The European Commission estimated that a torrent of deliveries, most of them from China, entered the bloc in 2024.

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"Around 4.6 billion low-value consignments, ie goods with a value not exceeding 150, entered the EU market equalling to 12 million parcels per day ... raising numerous concerns," the Commission report stated.

The EU executive has also said these products undercut European production standards, often contain counterfeit goods and have a "negative environmental and climate footprint".

The French parliament is considering going one step further, adding an additional 5 environmental footprint levy, which could rise to 10 per package by 2030.

The initial French 2 levy could face its first vote next Monday.

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Below 150, customs duties are generally not charged for goods imported into the EU but VAT still applies.

The French government forecasts that the levy on small parcels could raise 500 million by the end of next year.

Related

The law instituting the 2 levy has passed the initial Senate vote, and is now facing final parliamentary approval.

In a speech on 29 April before the rollout of the bill, French Budget Minister Amelie de Montchalin insisted that this proposal is "in anticipation of the reform of the (EU) Customs Union in 2028".

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It would "advocate for the rapid introduction of an administrative fee mechanism on every small package entering Europe," de Montchalin explained at the time.

"This is not a tax on consumers. It is a way to make those who currently benefit from a system without assuming their responsibilities pay their fair share," she concluded.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday met with Syrian interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa at the White House, widely seen as a crucial step in normalizing U.S.-Syria relations.

No reporters and cameras were allowed to get access to the meeting in the Oval Office.

Syria is putting the permanent repeal of U.S. sanctions as its top priority, while Washington focuses on bringing Damascus into the U.S.-led global coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) group, officials from both countries revealed before the Monday talks.

Trump waived the Caesar Act sanctions on Syria for 180 days when he met with al-Sharaa for the first time in Saudi Arabia in May, but a permanent repeal would require Congress to act.

Syria has launched a large-scale security operation across several provinces to track down IS cells, said Syria's interior authorities on Saturday, when al-Sharaa arrived in Washington.

Al-Sharaa's visit is "part of the president's efforts in diplomacy to meet with anyone around the world in the pursuit of peace," said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.

Ahead of al-Sharaa's arrival, the UN Security Council voted Thursday to remove al-Sharaa and Syrian interim interior minister Anas Khattab from the IS and al-Qaeda sanctions list. The White House followed suit the next day.

Al-Sharaa once joined al-Qaeda and was wanted by the United States as a terrorist with a bounty of 10 million U.S. dollars on his head, but severed his ties with the terrorist organization years ago and led the rebel forces that toppled then Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, bringing the country's brutal 14-year-long civil war to an end. 
France has paused suspension proceedings against Chinese online retailer Shein after the company removed illegal products from its platforms, the country's Finance Ministry has announced.

French authorities initiated proceedings to suspend the operations of online fast-fashion retailer after they found prohibited products, including childlike sex dolls and illegal weapons, being sold on its platform.

The action came on the same day the fast-fashion company opened its first physical store in a Paris department store.

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In early November 2025, Frances economy minister, Roland Lescure, warned that Shein could be barred from the French market if childlike sex dolls reappear on its e-commerce platform.

The ministry announced that it would suspend Sheins entire website in France, not just its marketplace, if banned products persisted.

On Friday 7 November, the French consumer watchdog confirmed that all illegal items, including medicines, had been taken down from Shein.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu requested a fresh assessment within one week, adding: "Shein will remain under close surveillance by state services."

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The company told Reuters: "Shein remains committed to dialogue with the French authorities in order to address the concerns raised and to present the measures we have put in place to continue improving."

Lecornu also stated that separate judicial proceedings seeking the suspension of the platform are unaffected by the decision.

Founded in China in 2012 and now headquartered in Singapore, Shein operates its own clothing line and a marketplace for third-party sellers.

"France pauses Shein suspension after illicit products removed " was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand.




France's former president Nicolas Sarkozy left La Sante Prison in Paris on Monday after serving nearly three weeks of a five-year prison sentence, escorted by a police convoy to his home in the capital's upscale 16th arrondissement.

A Paris appeals court had earlier ruled that Sarkozy could await his appeal trial in freedom under judicial supervision. The trial is expected to begin in the spring.

A lower court had convicted Sarkozy in September to a five-year sentence for involvement in a criminal organization in connection with alleged campaign finances from the late Libyan dictator Moamer Gaddafi.

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The 70-year-old was ordered to report to prison on October 21, despite his team having launched an immediate appeal against the conviction, and has spent the past three weeks behind bars.

Such a harsh sentence for a former head of state is unprecedented in recent French history.

Sarkozy applied for conditional release immediately after starting his sentence. In France, such a provision applies to inmates aged 70 and older, allowing them to serve their sentence outside prison under certain conditions.

Judicial supervision instead of a cell

Sarkozy was housed in an isolated, specially protected area but in a standard, simple cell. His lawyers immediately applied for his release, which has now been granted.

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For the court decision on his release, Sarkozy and his lawyers were connected via video link from the prison to the Paris courthouse. He attended the hearing dressed in a dark blue suit jacket, jumper and shirt.

"It's hard, it's very hard, certainly for any prisoner. I would even say it's gruelling," Sarkozy tolf the court.

His wife, Carla Bruni, was among the family members attending the hearing in person.

One of the conditions the court imposed for Sarkozy's release is that he is not allowed to leave France. A restraining order also prohibits him from contacting those involved in the trial, as well as Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin.

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Darmanin, criticized for visiting Sarkozy in prison, said the visit was to ensure security conditions were adequate.

From France's highest office to jail

The Libya affair revolves around allegations that Sarkozy's 2007 successful presidential campaign received illegal funds from the Gaddafi regime.

While the Paris criminal court found no evidence of illegal campaign funds, it concluded in its ruling that the conservative politician and close ally of Gaddafi had at least attempted to obtain funds from the Libyan leader.

Sarkozy has consistently maintained his innocence, calling his conviction an "intolerable injustice" and a scandal.

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For Sarkozy, prison marks a dramatic fall from grace and his most bitter defeat yet in years of battles with the courts.

The former president had previously been convicted in two other cases, one of which was final.

He served three months under electronic monitoring for bribery and undue influence, only allowed to leave his home at specified times. The original one-year sentence was reduced due to his age.

Sarkozy's term at the Elysee Palace from 2007 to 2012 was marred by scandals involving wealthy friends, nepotism and an oversized government bureaucracy.

He lost the 2012 election as incumbent to socialist Francois Hollande and, five years later, failed to win his party's internal nomination.

Despite ongoing legal battles and holding no official position, he remained an influential figure among supporters of France's conservative right.
A Fullerton police officer intervened when he saw a man in plain clothes pointing a gun at a female driver on a busy street in Santa Ana. The man later identified himself as an immigration agent and accused the driver of "following him" during an "operation," a refrain increasingly heard as agents push back on people recording their movements.

The brief, but tense encounter Sunday, caught partially on video, raises concerns as it joins a growing list of cases of masked and plainclothes agents being mistaken for criminals and vice versa.

The officer had just dropped off an inmate at the Orange County Jail and was returning to Fullerton when he noticed a man exit a vehicle at an intersection and draw his weapon on the driver behind him, according to a statement from the Fullerton Police Department.

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"The officer immediately stopped to assist, not knowing the identity of the armed male or the circumstances unfolding in front of him," the statement read.

After the agent identified himself, the officer told him "he could not assist with someone following or recording him if no crime had occurred, and that local law enforcement was en route."

"This is just another example of sanctuary policies undermining public safety by promoting lawlessness," said DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin. She said the driver screamed at the agent and "attempted to cause a collision."

The agent followed training, activated the emergency lights, exited the vehicle, identified himself and "ordered the aggressive driver to stop," she said in a statement.

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"To defend himself, following the aggression of the driver and her refusal to follow law enforcement commands, our officer followed his training and drew his weapon." No shots were fired.

The FBI recently issued a memo suggesting agents clearly identify themselves while theyre in the field after a string of incidents in which masked criminals posing as immigration officers robbed and kidnapped victims.

In a video posted on social media by local journalist Izzy Ramirez and apparently taken from the driver in Santa Ana, a bald man with sunglasses, a green T-shirt and black jeans where his badge was attached, walks toward the driver holding a gun out.

He points it down toward the ground as he walks up to the police officer who has pulled alongside the driver.

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What are you doing, the woman's recording says. What the f is your problem?

Are you for real right now, she said, before panning to show a Fullerton police vehicle. And now these cops are helping them.

The agent can be seen speaking to an officer.

Im just driving, she said.

Youre following us, ma'am, we are doing an operation," the agent says.

"You are following me, she responds.

"I thought cops aren't supposed to collaborate with ICE, what the f  are you doing."

You cant be following us like that, the ICE officer shouts.

I live here, the woman yelled back.

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Someone along the street shouts out "la migra."

Its OK to pull your gun on a woman, what the f, the woman says.

The scene mirrors others across the country as immigration agents confront protesters and people recording, and local police are drawn into the confrontations.

Last month a U.S. congressional candidate said Customs and Border Patrol agents in Chicago  where the most intense crackdown has been  surrounded his vehicle, brandished a weapon and harassed him as he tried to warn neighbors about their presence.

In Southern California last month three women were indicted on charges of illegally doxing a U.S. Customs and Immigration agent after, according to the indictment, the women followed an ICE agent from the federal building on 300 North Los Angeles Street in downtown L.A. to the agents residence in Baldwin Park.



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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Angry Democrats exploded in fury after details emerged of the Senate agreement that would end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Democratic lawmakers and activists slammed the deal for not properly resolving one of their top priorities, funding healthcare extensions.

The backlash was fierce and widespread from party officials, Axios reported. Its complete BS. A concept of a possible vote, Vermont Rep. Becca Balint, 56, said, summing up the outrage among progressives and House liberals who feel Senate Democrats have now effectively caved to GOP pressure.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has vowed to oppose the measures if they reach Congress. / Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images

Another House Democrat, speaking anonymously with the outlet, stormed, People are furious. Its an awful deal and a total failure to use leverage for anything real.

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Others outside the Capitol only amplified that fury. This deal is a surrender that all congressional Democrats should reject out of hand, Ezra Levin, co-founder of progressive grassroots organization Indivisible, said.

While Senate Minority Leader Schumer also opposed the pact, many feel he has failed to rein in his caucus. / Alex Wong/Getty Images

A spokesperson for liberal advocacy group MoveOn was equally blunt, accusing too many Democrats in Congress of failing to listen to voters and warning the deal would screw over millions of working Americans.

The Senate plan, which passed with support from eight Democrats, temporarily funds the government until January while promising a December vote to extend Obamacare tax credits, otherwise set to expire at the end of the year. But the measure would have a 60-vote threshold, meaning it is unlikely to pass.

California Rep. Jared Huffman called it a lousy deal to me, while his Ohio colleague, Greg Landsman, said, I assume all of us that have been fighting to protect our constituents from soaring healthcare costs will vote against this.

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries similarly declared the Senate plan had failed to address what he termed the Republican healthcare crisis, vowing to oppose it if it reaches the House floor.

The discontent has reportedly spread like wildfire across party group chats. People are pissed it seems like they are just tired, one lawmaker said. Another described near universal frustration, adding, Everyone seems to be united that we should be opposed and that this isnt a good deal.

That anger has further prompted talk of potential primary challenges against the eight Senate Democrats who supported the agreement. Though Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer opposed the bill, many reportedly feel he has wholly failed to lead his caucus.
GALLAWAY, Tenn.  The mayor of Gallaway, Tennessee, was arrested after deputies say they found crack cocaine in his possession during a traffic stop last Friday on Highway 59 South.

Jamie Mayo, 65, was charged with drug possession, manufacturing/delivering/selling a controlled substance, and drug paraphernalia. His bond was set at $10,000.

Tipton County deputies say they found 0.25 grams of crack cocaine under the passenger seat of a vehicle where he was sitting.

Deputies say they saw a red Dodge Ram 1500 driving northbound on Highway 59 South around 10:27 p.m. with dark window tint and non-functioning tag lights.

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A traffic stop was then conducted.

The driver was informed about the dark tint and tag light not functioning properly, deputies say. During that time, the passenger, identified as Jamie Mayo, was accused of having nervous behavior and had requested to exit the vehicle.

Ex-Grizzlies star Tony Allen released from jail after drug charges in Arkansas

Another deputy arrived at the scene and assisted Mayo out of the vehicle.

The driver then gave deputies verbal consent to search the vehicle, when they found a white crystal rock substance under the front passenger seat, where Mayo had previously been sitting.

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Deputies say the crystal substance tested positive for cocaine.

Mother seeks justice after losing daughter in tragic shooting

Mayo was then taken into custody and charged.

According to Attorney Van Turner for the City of Gallaway, Jamie Mayo bonded out of jail and remains in the position of Mayor of Gallaway. He is in his second term as the mayor.

Mayor Mayo maintains his innocence. There are no plans for Mayor Mayo to step down at this time, and he is working with his private attorney to address this matter in court, his attorney wrote to WREG.

Mayo is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

Gallaway, in Fayette County just northeast of Arlington, had an estimated 521 residents in 2024.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
Ukrainian medics are reporting cases of gas gangrene, a condition once closely associated with the trenches of the First World War and long thought to have been all but eradicated in Europe.

The bacterial infection, which destroys muscle tissue at a deadly pace, has made a resurgence in Ukraine due to the harsh realities of modern trench warfare.

Military medics told The Telegraph that drone warfare has made evacuating wounded soldiers almost impossible  conditions that are causing infections once consigned to the history books to spread with alarming speed.

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We are seeing injury complications that have never been seen by any living person in wartime, said Alex, a foreign volunteer medic in the Zaporizhzhia area.

These types of delayed evacuation times have never been seen in the last 50 years  probably since the Second World War, and maybe not even that. And were seeing pathology that weve never seen before.

Underground facilities are often ill-equipped to cope with the complications that cause gas gangrene - Maria Senovilla/EPA/Shutterstock

Gas gangrene is a severe muscle infection caused mainly by Clostridium bacteria, named for the gas bubbles that form beneath the skin.

Clostridium bacteria thrive in oxygen-deprived, necrotic tissue, causing severe pain, swelling, tissue discolouration and a cracking sensation for the patient as gas moves.

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Usually, gangrene results from poor blood supply, does not involve bacterial toxins or gas formation, and develops much more slowly than gas gangrene.

The infection usually follows traumatic injuries, like deep gunshot or blast wounds, particularly when medical care is delayed, as is common in Ukraine.

We have people coming into the hospital whove been injured for a couple of weeks, just sitting at underground stabilisation points, being kept alive as best we can, said Alex.

Gas gangrene is something you learn about in school In Ukraine, though, you see it, because people are sitting with these types of wounds and not getting proper care  you simply cant move them back to a hospital fast enough to treat them properly.

An anti-drone net covers the street in a residential neighbourhood in Kherson - Efrem Lukatsky/AP

The treatment of gas gangrene is difficult, and recovery is far from guaranteed, even in the best hospitals.

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Normally, treating gas gangrene involves surgical debridement [removal of infected flesh] along with very strong doses of intravenous antibiotics, Dr Lindsey Edwards, a Senior Lecturer in Microbiology at Kings College London, said.

Its an extremely life-threatening infection: left untreated, the mortality rate is close to 100 per cent.

But in Ukraine, debridement, as well as the targeted use of antibiotics, is often near-impossible in the immediate period after injury due to limited access to laboratories.

Normally, you would screen the microbes, culture them, and use various techniques to determine whether theres any drug resistance, explained Dr Edwards.

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Youd also test which antibiotics would be most effective Of course, all of that goes out the window in a field hospital in the middle of nowhere.

Soldiers in the First World War fought in muddy, wet trenches and on fields often fertilised with manure  both of which carried Clostridium bacteria - Fototeca Gilardi/Getty Images

Gas gangrene is historically associated with the First World War due to the unique combination of battlefield conditions, severe injuries, and limited medical care.

Soldiers fought in muddy, wet trenches and on fields often fertilised with manure, both of which carried Clostridium bacteria.

Projectiles like bullets and shrapnel caused deep, complex wounds with extensive dead tissue, creating the ideal environment for the bacteria to thrive.

Evacuation and surgical intervention were often delayed, and without prompt debridement, infections spread rapidly.

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Antibiotics were not yet available, and wound hygiene was rudimentary.

Historically, its thought of as a World War Oneera phenomenon. Since that time, its become much rarer, largely because of early wound debridement, timely surgery, antibiotics, and better wound management, explained Mr Alastair Beaven, an orthopaedic consultant and Medical Officer with 202 Field Hospital, who served in Afghanistan.

However, all of those measures require significant resources, including medical support, logistics, and the ability to move casualties quickly.

Drone attacks are becoming more frequent and severe in Ukraine - Yevhen Titov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

In the Second World War, the introduction of antibiotics dramatically reduced mortality from battlefield infections.

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Today in Ukraine, however, challenges with evacuation and issues with antibiotics are allowing diseases once thought consigned to history to re-emerge.

Drug resistance was a serious problem now, said Dr Edwards. If you end up with a strain thats resistant to antibiotics, treatment becomes much more complicated.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Ukraine is rising due to conflict-related injuries, delayed or incomplete antibiotic treatment, disrupted healthcare services, and the frequent use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, all of which encourage the spread of drug-resistant bacteria.

One of the biggest problems were having is theres been a huge uptick in antibiotic resistance, said Alex.

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Drone warfare has also forced people underground. If you step out into the open, you will be killed by a drone. Thats not an exaggeration, said Alex.

He added that most medical care now takes place in bunkers and basements of abandoned buildings  the only places drones cannot reach.

One medic who recently returned from one of these makeshift clinics did not see above ground for almost three weeks because it is simply too dangerous.

Bunkers and basements are the only places drones cannot reach - Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/REUTERS

According to Alex, these underground facilities are ill-equipped to cope with the complications that cause gas gangrene.

Theyll perform whats called damage control surgery, said Alex. Thats basically fixing only the most immediate, life-threatening injuries in the first 24 to 48 hours.

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The facilities are also often non-sterile, and even delivering supplies to equip them is extremely challenging, as convoys and vehicles are frequently targeted.

We have people coming into the hospital whove been injured for a couple of weeks, just sitting at underground stabilisation points, being kept alive as best we can, said Alex.

Mr Beaven added: [But] The longer you wait, the more limited your reconstructive options become, because of the progression of dead and dying tissue. the major concern becomes infection in those types of wounds.

According to Alex, teams of surgeons are now ready and waiting to provide the life-saving treatments required, but are waiting for hours at a time for patients because evacuation is too complicated.

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When The Telegraph spoke to him last week, evacuations were already running eight hours behind.

The impact on human life has been devastating.

Were seeing more people with injuries that should be survivable  amputations, for example, or cases where someone just needs a blood transfusion  who are dying in the field, said Alex. So many of them cant be evacuated in time, and they simply dont make it.

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There is only a small link between social media use and well-beingand even that partly comes down to genetics. So say Dutch researchers after examining data from more 6,000 people on a Netherlands twin registry.

They also found that more social media use wasn't always linked to negative traits. For instance, "flourishing was positively associated with having more social media accounts" and with more time spent on social media, they write in a paper for Behavior Genetics. "Although strong claims are often made on the negative effects of social media use on wellbeing" (here they point to Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation), "these are not substantiated in the current study."

Overall, correlations between social media habits and measures of well-being were modest"statistically significant, yet small," write the researchers. And there is evidence that those associations "are partly driven by overlapping genetic influences."'

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"We shouldn't let headlines like 'social media is toxic' distract us from what really matters: each person's unique background and current state of life," lead author Selim Sametoglu told the Max Planck Society.

Beyond 'Either "Good" or "Bad" for Everyone'

Sametoglu's findings suggest that there's no one-size-fits-all reaction to time spent on social media, nor a universal benefit to staying away from it. They cut against "zombie bite" theories of social media effectsin which mere exposure to certain content or algorithms will inevitably produce the same resultsand against public policies based on the idea that broadly protecting people from such exposure will cure social or psychological ills.

"Our research helps move the conversation away from simplistic claims that social media is either 'good' or 'bad' for everyone," Sametoglu told the Max Planck Society. "We show that the effects are modest, and more importantly, at least partly shaped by individual genetic differences."

Sametoglu's team analyzed data from 6,492 people in the Netherlandsall of them twins, with some part of identical pairs and some of fraternal pairs. They ranged in age from 16 to 89 years old, with an average age of 35; 71 percent were women.

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The data set included information on their social media habitsincluding number of platforms used, total time spent on social media, and frequency of postingas well their mental health and well-being, measured via questions covering anxiety and depression symptoms, life satisfaction, happiness, flourishing, and quality of life.

By studying twins, the researchers hoped to unravel how much social media habits and their effects might be influenced by genetic factors. More similarities between identical twins than between fraternal twins generally could indicate that genetics plays a big role.

And indeed, Sametoglu's team found evidence that genes influence social media habits. "Social media use was heritable with estimates as high as 72% when measured through time spent daily on social media," states their paper. That means genes may explain up tot 72 percent of the variation in time spent on social media. They also found that genetic factors could explain up to 54 percent of the variance in social media posting frequency.

Overall, posting more frequently on fewer platforms was associated with lower well-being than being passively engaged on a greater number of platforms.

Genes and Context Matter

"Simply blaming social media use, or restricting access to platforms, won't solve our well-being and mental health challenges," said Sametoglu. "Instead, we need to focus on the individualbecause genes, context, and support all matter."

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This seems so simple that it should be common sense. But at this point, a lot of forces are working against common sense when it comes to technology.

There are academics and pundits who have built their careers on doomsaying about social media, and who are loathe to admit any evidence that counteracts their chosen narrative.

There are politicians who perhaps genuinely want to help but can't control things like genes or life circumstances, and so instead seize on what they can control: the regulatory environment around online platforms. There are also politicians and other authorities who want more power over the internet generallyto spy, to censor, to control political narrativesand seize on the toxic-social-media narrative as a pretext for those other aims.

And there are countless people who seemingly need to believe that tech companies are to blame for either their own problems or various worrisome trends they see around them. They can't believe that so many people might genuinely have radically different values than their own, so they tell themselves that online misinformation or algorithms are the real culprit. They can't believe that their guy lost (or the other guy won), so it must be the nefarious influence of big tech. They find it too convolutedor politically unpalatableto consider all the complicated factors that might be fostering anxiety, atomization, etc., so they settle on something that's simple. They can't admit that they're making bad choices about how much time or emotional energy to invest in social media, so it must be that algorithms render free will impossible.

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Yes, individuals can genuinely struggle with social media. But we need to admit that these problems stem from a complex mix of individual factorsincluding genetics, life circumstances, and moreand as such must be addressed at the individual level, not with grand interventions designed under the assumption that everyone reacts the same way to technology.

One-size-fits-all solutions unfairly punish people who aren't problematic users and the companies who run these platforms, and they unnecessarily restrict free markets and free speech. Studies like this one suggest they'll also fail at resolving the underlying issues they're meant to solve.

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 A federal court issued a blow to Colorado's law requiring warning labels on social media. "Today's decision is a victory for free speech," said Paul Taske of the tech industry trade group NetChoice. "The government cannot force private businesses to act as mouthpieces for its preferred view."

 A young adult graphic novel re-imagining Little Women with Jo questioning her sexuality has been removed from elementary- and middle-school shelves in Benton, Arkansas, "after a parent complained it was 'grooming' children by portraying LGBTQ+ characters," the Arkansas Times reports.

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 The Children Harmed by AI Technology (CHAT) Act won't protect kids, but it could break the internet, suggest the Libertas Institute's Devin McCormick and Tom Pandolfi.

 "The federal government is fanning Americans' hysteria about China in an attempt to ban the sale of a particular company's wireless routers," argues Reason's Joe Lancaster.

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Phoenix | 2018 (ENB/Reason)

The post 'Genes Matter,' Says Scientist Studying Social Media and Mental Health appeared first on Reason.com.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday asked his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, to pardon the imprisoned Franco-Algerian author Boualem Sansal.

"Such a gesture would be an expression of humanitarian sentiment and political foresight. It would reflect my longstanding personal relationship with President Tebboune and the good relations between our countries," Steinmeier said in Berlin.

Sansal, who won the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade in 2011, was arrested in mid-November last year upon landing in Algiers.

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In March, he was sentenced to five years in prison for undermining national unity and security.

The charges stem from an interview in which he stated that Morocco's national borders had been altered in Algeria's favour during the French colonial era.

The German president noted that Sansal has been in prison for a year. In view of his advanced age and fragile health, Steinmeier suggested that Sansal be allowed to leave Algeria for Germany and offered to provide him with medical care.

Sansal's conviction earlier this year was met with sharp criticism in France.
NEED TO KNOW

Ghislaine Maxwell, a convicted child sex offender linked to Jeffrey Epstein, is planning to seek a commutation of her 20-year prison sentence from President Donald Trump

House Democrats wrote a letter to Trump on Monday, Nov. 10, that Maxwell plans to file a commutation application for the Trump administrations review, according to reporting by NBC and CBS

A source close to Maxwell tells PEOPLE that nobody knows what the President will do"

Ghislaine Maxwell is planning to seek a commutation of her prison sentence from President Donald Trump, according to multiple news reports.

The disgraced 63-year-old former British socialite is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for her role in sex trafficking underage girls alongside financier Jeffrey Epstein.

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Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee wrote a letter to Trump on Monday, Nov. 10, saying that Maxwell is planning to file the commutation application for Trump's administration's review, according to reporting by NBC and CBS.

NBC cites a whistleblower and CBS cites a letter obtained by Democrats on the Judiciary Committee and seen by the news outlet.

Per CBS, the letter from the committee's Democrats says it has received information that shows "either that Ms. Maxwell is herself requesting you release her from her 20-year prison sentence for her role as a co-conspirator in Jeffrey Epstein's international child sex trafficking ring, or that this child sex predator now holds such tremendous sway in the second Trump Administration that you and your DOJ will follow her clemency recommendations."

A source close to Maxwell tells PEOPLE that nobody knows what the President will do. Trump has been known to have had a social relationship with Epstein and his name was listed in Epstein's flight logs released by the attorney general in February.

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The letter from House Democrats further claims Maxwell is receiving concierge-style treatment at the minimum-security federal prison camp in Bryan, Texas, where she was transferred in July, NBC News reported.

Per the BOP website, FPC Bryan is described as a facility with dormitory housing, a relatively low staff-to-inmate ratio, and limited or no perimeter fencing, compared to the double-fenced perimeters at FCI Tallahassee, where she was housed before. At the time, a BOP spokesperson would not confirm the reason Maxwell was moved, PEOPLE previously reported.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Sigrid McCawley, an attorney who has represented Epstein accusers including Virginia Giuffre, said, "the news of Ghislaine Maxwell seeking a modification to her prison sentence is deeply disturbing and offensive to the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. It would be the greatest miscarriage of justice to give any privilege to Maxwell who is a convicted sex offender of young girls."

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Maxwell has been seeking a pardon or commutation from Trump in exchange for information on associates of Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 in what was controversially ruled a suicide as he faced sex trafficking charges.

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Earlier this summer, she spoke with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, reportedly speaking about 100 ex-associates of Epstein, and was subpoenaed to testify in front of Congress. That court date has since been postponed, per NBC. However, she has said she intends to assert her Fifth Amendment rights unless she gets immunity from prosecution, PEOPLE previously reported.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.



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Bulgarian President Rumen Radev (3rd L) meets with visiting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (3rd R) in Sofia, Bulgaria, Nov. 10, 2025. (Photo by Marian Draganov/Xinhua)

SOFIA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said on Monday that Bulgaria could play a significant role in Lebanon's recovery and economic development.

Radev made the remarks following talks with visiting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. He said they discussed cooperation in various fields, including economy, investment, trade, defense, and agriculture.

A joint commission for economic, scientific, and technical cooperation was proposed to create an institutional framework for closer coordination between the two sides.

The two leaders expressed hope that the direct air link between Beirut and Sofia will be restored to facilitate people-to-people and business exchanges. 

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev (R) speaks after meeting with visiting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in Sofia, Bulgaria, Nov. 10, 2025. (Photo by Marian Draganov/Xinhua)
Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime co-conspirator of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is preparing a commutation application to be reviewed by the Trump administration, according to a new document obtained by the House Judiciary Committee Democrats.

If approved by President Donald Trump, Maxwell could see her sentence  20 years for her role in Epsteins sex trafficking scheme  significantly reduced. She wrote in an apparent message to her lawyer Leah Saffian, provided to Judiciary Democrats by an unidentified whistleblower, that she would send application materials through the warden.

I am struggling to keep it all together as it is big and there are so many attachments, she wrote in a very brief message with the subject line RE: Commutation Application.

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She added, More coming to replace others..hopefully it will all make sense.

The Supreme Court has already rejected Maxwells appeal to her conviction, meaning Trumps pardon could be her only clear means to escape her decadeslong sentence. The president has not ruled out granting her a pardon.

Even years after Epsteins apparent suicide behind bars in 2019, the case has presented a political quagmire for the GOP, given Trumps relationship with the disgraced financier (Trump has said the two had a falling out years ago).

Democrats, meanwhile, have sought to stoke division within Trumps base by arguing his administration has reneged on a promise for transparency in the case.

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In July, Maxwell sat for a prolonged two-day interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, in which she extolled the president and said she had never seen him in an inappropriate setting. She also claimed to have never, ever [seen] any man doing something inappropriate with a woman of any age during the interview, although a host of evidence has supported her role in Epsteins schemes.

Shortly afterward, Maxwell was transferred from a Florida low-security prison to a Texas prison camp. Democrats have argued she has received special treatment since she began cooperating with the administrations renewed review of the case.

In a letter to Trump, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, also pointed to additional information provided to his office, suggesting that Maxwells meals have been customized and prepared by federal prison camp staff. Additionally, the information suggested that Maxwells guests could bring computers, and the warden helped organize visits for Maxwell that included snacks and refreshments for her guests.

Maxwell was also given special time to play with a service dog in training, per the information from the whistleblower.

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You should not grant any form of clemency to this convicted and unrepentant sex offender, Raskin wrote in a letter to Trump. Your Administration should not be providing her with room service, with puppies to play with, with federal law enforcement officials waiting on her every need, or with any special treatment or institutional privilege at all.

Raskin asked that Blanche, who interviewed Maxwell, sit for a public hearing with the committee. Democrats, currently in the minority, do not have the power to subpoena witnesses or hold formal hearings.

Raskin also asked Trump, in the letter, whether he had previously discussed the potential commutation with his staff and whether he had directed special treatment for Maxwell.




Not long ago, Galveston Island Brewing threw a launch party for Ghost Coast, its red lager named in honor of the so-called 'ghost wolves' that have become synonymous with the island. Among the guests of honor were Dr. Kristin Brzeski and Dr. Bridgett vonHoldt, professors who, a few years back, discovered genetic material in Galveston's coyote population linking them to the red wolf-a distant canine cousin that disappeared from the Gulf Coast decades ago.

The launch was a smashing success, reportedly the best the brewery has ever had.

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"Huge turnout," Jo Hewett, a resident of Galveston's East End who has become deeply involved in the efforts to preserve ghost wolves' habitat, told Chron last week. "Locals came; some people traveled; Kristen and Bridgett traveled for it. It was like everybody was there honoring [the coyotes], but they were also celebrating community and conservation."

Galveston Island Brewing enjoyed a "huge turnout" for the launch party for its new Ghost Coast red lager, local coyote advocate Jo Hewett said. (Jo Hewett)





After co-starring in an episode of PBS' Chasing the Tide last year, these unique coyotes' profile continues to rise. Film crews for both CNBC and National Geographic were recently on the island. Blind View Productions' forthcoming documentary for National Geographic surveys wolf populations nationwide, and "our lovely little section of ghost wolves down here definitely made the cut," Josh Henderson, supervisor of the City of Galveston's Animal Services Unit, told Chron.

CNBC, meanwhile, is working on a project about Colossal Biosciences' genetic-engineering breakthrough earlier this year. Besides effectively resurrecting the long-extinct dire wolf, the Dallas-based company also used ghost wolf DNA to clone four such coyote hybrids named Hope, Cinder, Blaze, and Ash. The crew did not quite get all the footage they were looking for, though, so Henderson had to step in.

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"I've got a giant Google Drive folder of my footage to help them fill in the gaps," he said. "Currently uploading as we speak."

Galveston's ghost wolves as seen in the 2024 PBS docuseries Chasing the Tide. (Chasing the Tide/PBS)





Using GPS data compiled by the Gulf Coast Canine Project, Henderson estimates there are as many as 11 packs on the island and roughly eight coyotes per pack, plus "holes" between the packs' discrete territories. That works out to between 80 and 100 ghost wolves currently on the island, though the population will fluctuate during breeding season, Henderson said. The City of Galveston maintains an online map of reported coyote activity over the past few years; on it, thousands of green (sighting) and yellow (encounter) paw prints spread the length of the island, from East Beach to San Luis Pass.

Fall, Henderson said, is the time young coyotes may explore territory beyond their pack's home turf-and potentially meet an untimely demise at the hands of an "inept or vengeful" driver. Still, the island's ghost wolf numbers have been healthy and stable for the past several years, he added, as their novelty has gradually worn off for their human neighbors. Many of those neighbors, perhaps surprisingly, have rallied to the animals' defense.

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"Ten years ago, good luck finding anybody talking about habitat conservation for, of all things, coyotes in Galveston," Henderson said. "This was not a conversation that was being had, certainly not publicly or by any renowned voice."

A beach trash bucket; and ghost-wolf researcher Dr. Kristin Brzeski next to the painting she aquired on a recent trip to the island (Ron Wooten/Jo Hewett)





Compare that with last month's Galveston City Council meeting, where Mayor Craig Brown thanked developer Mohamed Eldawy's Royal Crown Enterprises for incorporating community feedback-much of which has focused on preserving as much wildlife habitat as possible-when planning his blockbuster West End development Sachs on the Seawall. The council unanimously approved the $540 million project shortly thereafter.

Eldawy has also been communicating with Hewett's group and has been similarly receptive to its interest in the coyotes' welfare, she reported.

"Granted, they're still building, which is always a concern," Hewett said. "And they haven't broken ground, so we don't know. But verbally, and in his email that he sent, it shows this is a genuine interest [in] trying really hard to integrate the data and the community values."

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To be sure, not every new development on the island has been quite as enlightened regarding its canid neighbors. Multiple team members have reached out multiple times to the high-rise Margaritaville now under construction on East Beach (though the cranes seem to have been dormant for quite a while) to no avail, Hewett said.

Josh Henderson, the City of Galveston's Animal Services Unit supervisor, estimates that around 100 ghost wolves currently live on the island, though the number may fluctuate during breeding season. (Ron Wooten)





By this point, approaching four years since a New York Times Magazine article first brought national attention to Galveston's ghost wolves, the animals have done more than sway developers and politicians. Perhaps more importantly, they've also captured the imaginations of the island's artists, musicians, and schoolchildren.

Last year around this time, Galveston Arts Center hosted San Antonio-based Richard "Ricky" Armendariz's exhibition Dance of the Ghost Wolves/Baile de los Lobos Fantasmas, whose mixed-media pieces linked the coyotes' unique genetic makeup with the cultural cross-currents surrounding the U.S.-Mexico border. Coyote signs pop up at Strand souvenir shops and paintings at the art galleries along Postoffice Street; Island nonprofit La Izquierda used a surfing coyote as the logo for its 2024 Save the Locals summer concert series.

A piece from San Antonio artist Ricky Armendariz's 2024 exhibition Dance of the Ghost Wolves/Baile de los Lobos Fantasmas; and a sign found in a souvenir shop on the Strand (Galveston Arts Center/Jo Hewett)





On her recent visit, Brzeski even found a painting of two red coyotes by artist Jean Dibble, a professor emerita at the University of Notre Dame, at a local antique shop. Cosmically, it doesn't feel like a coincidence. Ghost wolves have also infiltrated the ecology lessons and art classes of Galveston's elementary schools.

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Ron Wooten, an outreach specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Galveston office-and the man who, about a decade ago, first noticed the coyotes around his West End home looked a little different, ultimately sparking Brzeski and vonHoldt's discoveries-has found a warm reception for the coyote-human relations classes he's been recently teaching at the Rosenberg Library.

"The kids will tell their parents more about these animals than the parents know, which is awesome," Wooten told Chron. "And I think schools teaching it is primo for getting this word out."

More ghost-wolf art from Galveston ISD (Maddy Avina/Galveston ISD/Ron Wooten)





Still, it's one thing to buy a T-shirt or a painting with ghost wolves on it. It's another when, as Henderson said, that coyote shows up in someone's backyard and starts snarling at their treasured Yorkie. But the ghost-wolf supporters' efforts to encourage 'hazing' (or using non-lethal measures such as loud noises or exaggerated hand gestures to convince a coyote to leave the area) have slowly been paying off. More islanders are now content to admire their canine spirit animals from a safe distance.

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"We've had a lot of success this year alone with being able to educate those folks and employ appropriate management practices through community-based hazing," Henderson said. "So, let's talk to your neighbors and figure out why these animals are in your neighborhood: what can you, as a property owner, do to make your property less inviting? We've seen the animals act in kind and move on."

More Gulf Coast

News | Obsolete bridge now a major headache for Galveston leaders

Travel | Here's all the insane stuff left behind on Gulf, Atlantic cruise ships

Lifeline | Ambitious project could bring new water supply to Texas Gulf Coast

Mystery | What is that shipwreck in the middle of Galveston Bay?

For more Gulf Coast news and features from Chron, sign up for The Third Coast newsletter here.

This article originally published at 'Ghost wolves' tighten their grip on Galveston.
A report from WL Gore & Associates medical division has confirmed that a study of the GOREVIABAHN FORTEGRA venous stent for individuals with deep venous iliocaval obstruction met its primary endpoint.

The multicentre, single-arm, international, prospective, non-randomised trial involved 89 subjects diagnosed with deep venous disease.

It assessed the performance of the device over 12 months in those experiencing symptomatic disease. The trial also includes the inferior vena cava (IVC), as well as the iliac and femoral veins.

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The findings were presented by the trials co-primary investigator and the UKs St Thomas Hospital surgery chief Stephen Black during the VEINS (Venous Endovascular INterventional Strategies) educational event held in Las Vegas in the US state of Nevada from 1 to 4 November 2025.

All subjects who received the treatment had thrombotic disease: acute, subacute, chronic or post-thrombotic syndrome, with 94.3% presenting with lesions affecting three vessel regions, including the IVC and bilateral iliofemoral veins.

68.5% of subjects needed stents that were placed below the inguinal ligament into the common femoral vein.

After 12 months, primary patency was achieved in 83.4% of subjects. The findings also indicated a patency rate of 96.5% within the IVC, 88.9% in the left iliofemoral region and 89.8% in the right iliofemoral region.

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The study reported no stent embolisations or migrations, vascular injuries, fractures, or clinically significant pulmonary embolisms during 12 months of follow-up, with no mortalities or major bleeding events related to the device recorded within the 30 days.

Black said: These trial results demonstrate promising outcomes for patients with significant iliocaval disease.

This is an important step forward in establishing additional treatment options for patients with deep venous obstruction, particularly those with complex anatomy or advanced disease.

The self-expanding nitinol stent is designed for restoring and maintaining patency in both the IVC as well as iliofemoral veins.

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It is not currently commercially available and remains under premarket approval review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"Gores venous stent study meets primary endpoint" was originally created and published by Medical Device Network, a GlobalData owned brand.








Despite the Trump administration's demand that states "undo" SNAP benefits that were paid out under a judge's orders last week, Gov. Ned Lamont said Connecticut won't be pulling the money back.

Lamont took to X on Sunday afternoon to rebuke the demand.

"No, Connecticut does not need to take back SNAP benefits already sent to the 360,000 people who depend on them for food and who should have never been caught in the middle of this political fight," he said.

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday stayed the lower court ruling, pausing the SNAP payments and continuing a legal battle over the program used by 42 million Americans, the Associated Press reported.

The AP reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Undersecretary Patrick Penn demanded states that sent out the payments, which help Americans buy food, "immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025." He said states could face penalties if they did not comply.

In a follow up post Sunday, Lamont said his administration continues to assess the impact of Penn's memo, "but those who received their benefits should not worry about losing them."

Penn's directive came after the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday granted the administration's appeal to temporarily block a court order to fully fund SNAP payments, according to the AP. The administration asked to continue partially funding payments for November, it reports.

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Lamont announced on Saturday that full SNAP benefits were loaded on to EBT cards of recipients in Connecticut. He said about 65% of the funding is from the federal government as directed by the court order, and the remainder is state funding that has been authorized.

"Families in need of food assistance never should have been used as political pawns by the Trump administration," Lamont said Saturday. "While I wish the federal government would have honored its obligation to provide full funding, Connecticut is stepping up and ensuring that recipients receive their full benefits for the month."

This article originally published at Gov. Lamont defies Trump, says Connecticut will not take back SNAP payments from residents.
Gov. Tina Kotek has signed the $4.3 billion transportation package into law, she announced on Nov. 10, allowing the process to start for a potential referendum focused on the legislation's cost increases on Oregon taxpayers.

Kotek had until Nov. 12, or 30 days after the bill was passed, not including weekends, to sign it. Without her signature or veto, it would have gone into effect after that date. A signing letter for the bill was dated Nov. 7.

This bill will help us keep state highways and local roads safe and open to traffic while preserving transit service and halting the pending layoffs of essential transportation staff, Kotek said in a statement.

Gov. Tina Kotek held a press conference after the Oregon Senate passed the transportation package on Sept. 29. Kotek announced she had signed the bill Nov. 10, more than month after it was passed by lawmakers.

A new charge for electric vehicles, bumps to the payroll tax, vehicle registration and title fees and an extra six cents per gallon on gas are expected to bring in $4.3 billion over the next decade.

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That revenue will go toward funding transportation throughout the state and prevented nearly 500 layoffs at the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Kotek has faced bipartisan criticism for not signing the bill sooner that she called a special session for.

"The Governors decision to stall signing the gas tax bill isnt about deliberationits about deflection. By waiting, shes denying voters a voice on a tax that will hit every working household," Senate Minority Leader Bruce Starr, R-Dundee, said in an Oct. 23 newsletter.

Starr is one of the leaders of a referendum effort that has been preparing to collect the 78,116 signatures needed to refer the bill's cost increases to the ballot but could not do so until after the bill became law.

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He's joined by Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Stayton, and Jason Williams of the Taxpayers Association of Oregon in spearheading the initiative, which plans to hold a "Sign Across Oregon" event on Nov. 22.

The group must now file paperwork with the Secretary of State's Office for approval before they can begin circulating signature sheets. If certified, they would have until Dec. 30 to gather signatures. The transportation package is set to go in effect Dec. 31.

Attempts to pass new taxes with voter approval have historically been unsuccessful.

A phone poll of 500 Oregonians between Oct. 15 and Oct. 25 found 67% of those surveyed would be strongly or somewhat more likely to vote against the increases.

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The polling, done by Riley Research Associates and commissioned by the referendum group, also reported 21% of respondents would be more likely to vote in support of maintaining the increases and 13% were unsure.

The governor's office did not answer prior questions from the Statesman Journal about when the bill would be signed, instead repeating the statutory deadline of Nov. 12.

Oregon transportation package faced challenges

Normally, the timeline to sign a bill wouldn't come with so much fuss.

But the circumstances around passing HB3991 strayed from the typical process.

After a transportation package failed in the regular 2025 session, lawmakers went home with their heads down and the jobs of nearly 500 ODOT workers on the chopping block.

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Kotek called a special session for Labor Day weekend, forcing legislators to come back and consider her proposal.

The session dragged initially with the House being delayed for quorum. After representatives passed the bills, progress stalled for nearly a month due to health issues for Sen. Chris Gorsek, D-Gresham, forcing Democrats to wait for the last vote necessary to pass the bill in a gridlocked Senate.

Pending layoffs and cuts to vacant positions were canceled after the bills passed and ODOT rushed to begin hiring ahead of winter.

What does the Oregon transportation package do?

The transportation package, made up of House Bill 3991 and its corresponding budget bill House Bill 3992, is estimated to bring in $4.3 billion over the next 10 years.

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House Bill 3991 goes into effect on Dec. 31. It includes:

A 6-cent increase to the state gas tax for a total of 46 cents per gallon.

A $42 and $132 increase in vehicle registration and title fees.

A doubling of the 0.1% payroll tax to fund public transit until Jan. 1, 2028.

A $30 supplemental registration fee for electric vehicles, and

A new "road usage charge" to be phased in for electric and hybrid cars starting in 2027.

New accountability measures, including audits and legislative reviews.

The referendum effort is seeking to refer only the increases to the gas tax, payroll tax and registration and title fees to the ballot for voter approval.

If all the necessary signatures are collected and verified, the entire bill would be paused until voters could weigh in.

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Anastasia Mason covers state government for the Statesman Journal. Reach her at acmason@statesmanjournal.com or 971-208-5615.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Gov. Tina Kotek signs Oregon transportation package. What to know
Federal legislators are moving to reopen the government, potentially ending the longest shutdown in United States history.

U.S. senators voted 60-40 on Nov. 9, with eight Democrats voting alongside 52 Republicans on potential legislation, marking the first steps toward ending the shutdown.

A final Senate vote could occur as early as Nov. 10, as the U.S. Senate is set to reconvene at 11 a.m.

Help families in need: Give A Christmas 2025: Learn how to apply, donate and give back this holiday season.

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This legislature must then get approved by members of the House. No vote has been scheduled yet in the House for this action.

If members of both chambers vote in favor of the deal, it would be sent to U.S. President Donald Trump for signing.

The U.S. Capitol on the 40th day of the partial government shutdown on Nov. 9, 2025.

What does the Senate deal include?

The proposed Senate deal is set to fund the government until Jan. 30 and provide full-year funding for various programs, including SNAP and veteran benefits.

Back pay would also be provided for federal employees, and any reductions in federal employment sizes during the shutdown would be reversed. Further protection against such layoffs are to be ensured through the end of the fiscal year.

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The legislation also comes with a vote in December on extending subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, more commonly referred to as Obamacare.

These subsidies, which help lower-income Americans pay for private health insurance, have been a leading topic for Democrats during the shutdown and are currently set to expire Dec. 31.

High school sports: South Jersey Monday High School Roundup for Nov. 10

How do New Jersey figures feel about this legislation?

Some New Jersey politicians spoke up on the proposed Senate deal, voicing their disagreement for one major reason  health care.

Democrat Mikie Sherrill, the New Jersey governor-elect who beat Republican Jack Ciattarelli on Nov. 4, shared her opposition to the proposed Senate deal in a social media post, stating that making this deal is malpractice.

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Voters made it clear: the American people want leadership with a backbone, her post read. And at a critical moment when they need leaders to stay strong under pressure, the Senate is on the brink of caving on a bill that the American people cant afford.

Make no mistake, if this deal passes, it will lead to New Jerseyans paying far more for their healthcare, when they are already paying more and more for everything.

U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, D-New Jersey, echoed similar sentiments, noting in a social media post that he cannot support the bill.

It doesnt meet the urgency of the moment and deliver actual relief that can pass both chambers of Congress, his post read. Ive been clear that we need real action to stop the devastating health care cost increases that are hurting millions of families.

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Risha Inaganti writes about trending topics across South Jersey for the Courier-Post. If you have a story she should tell, email her at rinaganti@gannettnj.com. Subscribe to stay up to date on the news you need.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Sherrill, Kim react to potential end of government shutdown
Expect a high of 38 degrees that feels more like 31, with an overnight low of 20. Forecasters predict it will be mainly cloudy and colder with a couple of snow showers; any heavier snow shower could quickly make some roads slippery and reduce visibility.

There will be light snow during the day, forecasters from AccuWeather predict, with less than an inch of snow likely. Throughout the day, wind will be blowing north northwest at 8.1 miles per hour.

You can search for more information on hourly, daily, and monthly weather forecasts and current air quality conditions for your location here.

What to know about Monday's Guernsey County weather

Asthma: Weather conditions create a lowered risk of weather-related asthma attacks, and will help to make attacks less severe and of shorter duration.

Driving: Driving conditions are fair.

Dry skin: The weather is favorable for rough, dry skin. It is recommended to apply moisturizers to maintain skin hydration.

Hair frizz and dust: Some frizz is possible, especially for people with naturally curly or wavy hair. Indoor dust and dander levels will be high. Actions to control indoor dust and dander are recommended.

Weather almanac: How Monday's forecast compares to other years

Guernsey County saw a record-breaking temperature high for Nov. 10 in 2020 at 78 degrees. On this day in 1957, a record low of 17 degrees was set.

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Historically, this day is usually a bit wet, with an average 0.09 inches of precipitation.

The forecast high is below average for this time of year. The 30-year average maximum temperature for Nov. 10 is 56 degrees. The forecast low is 15 degrees cooler than the established normal of 35 degrees.

USA TODAY Co. is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across Ohio, generated with data from AccuWeather. Please leave any feedback or corrections for this story here. This story was written by Ozge Terzioglu. Our News Automation and AI team would like to hear from you. Take this survey and share your thoughts with us.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Jeffersonian: Guernsey County weather forecast for Monday, Nov. 10: Colder with snow showers
Students walk on campus at New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord. NHTI is one of two New Hampshire community colleges that have a national accredited early childhood education program. (Photo by Maya Mitchell/New Hampshire Bulletin)

New Hampshire has a child care workforce shortage, and it is looking to its community colleges to address one part of that issue: the development pipeline. For Diana Menard, the department chair of education and child and family services at New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord, the shift in early education happened almost a decade ago.

Back in 2014 and 2015, we had really good numbers coming in out of high school students. We had two sections of courses during the day, Menard said. Now we have one section of day classes, and maybe itll have 10 to 15 students.

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The early childhood education sector often looks to high school and apprenticeship programs, such as Career and Technical Education, to help develop interest in the field. The goal is that after high school graduation, students will pursue accreditation through a higher education institution and begin their careers in early care and education.

CTE aims to prepare students for college and high-demand careers by providing them with hands-on, career-focused programs that combine learning and technical skills training, and are a huge contributor to the early childhood education workforce pipeline.

However, over the past decade, CTE programs have been reducing their early education options, largely because jobs in the industry tend to be low-paying. Today, around a quarter of the states CTE programs offer early childhood education training.

Menard said the cuts at the high school level have depleted community college programs, as fewer young people are being introduced into the industry.

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The impact has been felt across the state. Between 2017 and 2024, the number of licensed providers in the Granite State able to care for children under the age of 5 has declined by nearly 13%, according to the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute.

With the states aging population, unlivable wages, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which put further strain on the workforce, many providers have retired or left the field entirely.

New tuition assistance efforts

In an effort to reinvigorate that pipeline, the Community College System of New Hampshire has expanded its tuition assistance program for students pursuing early childhood education.

The Early Childhood Tuition Assistance program now covers community college tuition, fees, and books for approved courses as students pursue a certificate or associates degree in early care and education. In the previous version of the program, ECE students were eligible just for tuition assistance and only for one course per semester.

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The state allocated $2.5 million last budget cycle for the program. Teri LaFlamme, college access program coordinator for CCSNH, said the program has given students the financial freedom to explore the field.

[The funding] has opened up the door for a lot of expansion, LaFlamme said. Before, the students typically were only able to take one class, and they were living paycheck to paycheck.  I think itll be a clearer path for students.

According to LaFlamme, the assistance program has covered the cost for 1,200 courses and awards were given to over 643 students. She said most students get coverage for all of their classes.

To qualify, students must be an ECE degree student, in good academic standing, and have applied to the Federal Assistance Student Financial Program. Students also need to either be a New Hampshire resident or employed by a New Hampshire child care program if they are not.

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LaFlamme said very few students have been turned away from the program.

Expansive development efforts

High schools across the state have also partnered with community colleges to create an early college system. Students can take college classes at their high schools, online through a college faculty member, or at the community colleges themselves, and earn college credits. These credits are generally transferable to community or four-year colleges in New Hampshire or out-of-state.

Additionally, while all seven New Hampshire community colleges offer early care and education degrees or certificates, NHTI and Manchester Community College have recently been accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Menard said the certification is a quality seal that proves students in the schools programs demonstrate certain competencies. Through program accreditation, students will have an easier time transferring credits to a four-year college, specifically if that college is out of state.

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Nashua Community College has also applied for accreditation, although the process has been put on hold due to the federal government shutdown.

Better teachers help children be successful, LaFlamme said. That rollover effect, I really think that is great.
LJUBLJANA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Slovenia plans to launch a temporary weapons amnesty allowing citizens to surrender illegal firearms without penalty, Prime Minister Robert Golob announced Monday.

The measure, aimed at strengthening national security, follows a deadly October attack in Novo Mesto that sparked public outrage and political fallout, including the resignation of two ministers.

The government will soon consider legislation enabling voluntary surrender of illegal weapons before stricter enforcement begins. Authorities have also reinforced police presence in the southeast and deployed army units to support border operations.

The move comes amid rising concern over illegal firearms after several shooting incidents near Roma settlements. The planned amnesty, the first since 2009, will coincide with new legislation expanding police powers and promoting Roma community integration. 
Gaddafi was abducted in 2015 by insurgents in Syria, where he was living in exile with his Lebanese wife and children.

Hannibal Gaddafi, the youngest son of Libya's late leader Muammar Gaddafi, was released on Monday after almost a decade of detention without trial in Lebanon over the disappearance of a Shi'ite Muslim cleric, Lebanon's National News Agency said.

Gaddafi was abducted in 2015 by insurgents in Syria, where he was living in exile with his Lebanese wife and children after his father was killed in the uprising that erupted in Libya in 2011.

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Lebanese authorities took custody of him that same year and accused him of concealing information about the fate of Imam Musa al-Sadr, a Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim cleric who disappeared with his companions while on a trip to Libya in 1978.

Hannibal was only two years old when Sadr disappeared and had held no senior official position in Libya as an adult.

Human rights organizations decried the circumstances around his detention, calling the charges "spurious." In 2023, Gaddafi went on a hunger strike to protest his incarceration, and his health subsequently deteriorated, requiring hospitalization.

Hannibal Gaddafi, son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, attends the signing of an agreement in Tripoli October 14, 2010. (credit: REUTERS/Ismail Zitouni/File Photo)

Lebanon's judiciary ordered Gaddafi freed, set bail at $11 million

Last month, Lebanon's judiciary ordered that he be freed and set bail at $11 million. His lawyers objected, and the court reduced the bail to roughly $900,000, a Lebanese judicial source said. The updated decision also lifted a travel ban on Gaddafi.

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"Gaddafi's release came after his defense lawyers paid the bail," the National News Agency reported.

The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) of Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah expressed its appreciation to the Lebanese president and parliament speaker for their "collaboration that has led to the release of Gaddafi."

The mysterious disappearance of the Muslim cleric Sadr nearly half a century ago sparked decades of accusations between Libya and Lebanon.

In its statement, GNU welcomed "the sincere intentions expressed by the Lebanese leadership to reactivate diplomatic relations between the two countries and to develop cooperation in the political, economic, and security fields."
Theres new concern that a deal to reopen the federal government could come with a major price tag for people who rely on plans through the Affordable Care Act.

For millions of Americans, including 340,000 Massachusetts residents, Marketplace insurance is what keeps doctor visits and prescriptions affordable. However, that stability could be shaken if temporary subsidies that helped lower costs arent renewed in full. Governor Maura Healey is now calling on Washing to act soon.

What needs to happen now is republicans and the president need to get back together in congress and work through a vote to make sure these tax credits are extended, Gov. Healey said during a press conference Monday.

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The enhanced subsidies, first expanded during the pandemic, have helped hold down premiums for the past few years. Without them, experts like MIT economics professor Jonathan Gruber, say prices could jump by as much as $25,000 a year for people like small business owners or entrepreneurs.

That person is the person who does not happen to be lucky enough to work for a firm that offers health insurance, Gruber explained.

Some argue its a tough balance; lawmakers are trying to rein in federal spending, while keeping health coverage within reach for millions. As lawmakers vote to fund the government, many families are watching closely, wondering whether that deal to keep Washington open could also make their own budget a lot tighter, with some Americans likely being forced to forgo having insurance at all.

If 4 to 5 million people lose health insurance, were talking about on the order of 5,000 extra deaths everything year because we have not extended these subsidies, Gruber put into perspective.

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Governor Healey is calling on D.C. because she said theres not much the state can do if these tax credits are not extended, other than working with local partner to help residents find a plan that works for them.

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Heart O the Hills Camp for Girls, a historic summer camp in the Hill Country, will relocate several miles north of its original location along the Guadalupe River after it suffered serious damage during the deadly July 4 flooding, according to a statement from new camp management.

The camp is one of the first to announce it would relocate since the devastating floods that claimed more than 130 lives, including 25 campers and two counselors at Camp Mystic. Jane Ragsdale, the camp director of Heart O the Hills, was also killed, however no campers were on site during the flooding.

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The floods death toll sparked a movement within the Texas Legislature to bolster camp safety requirements, especially among those within floodplains. Heart O the Hills new site will have cabins, dining areas and activity spaces carefully constructed out of the floodplain, according to the Heart O the Hills website. The camps previous location was one of five camps along the Guadalupe River with at least a third of its structures in the floodplain, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of flood and property maps.

The new property is gorgeous, with abundant waterfront and all camp facilities well above any floodplain, read a statement signed by Kathy Ragsdale, Jane Ragsdales mother.

Camp operators have expressed frustration with the states new safety requirements, worrying that the added restrictions would be too costly and force them to close. Many of the camps along the Guadalupe River that were impacted by the flooding have announced plans to reopen in 2026, including Camp Mystic.

The parents of the 25 campers and two counselors who died at Camp Mystic in September publicly condemned its decision to reopen in 2026, calling the move unthinkable less than three months after the tragedy.

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In addition to the new location, Heart O the Hills will also be under new ownership. Elisabeth and John Hay, a real estate agent and attorney respectively, will take over as the operators of the camp. The Ragsdales sold the camp to the Hays after John offered some of his property as a new site for the camp.

Today I feel the bitter sweetness of seeing a beloved daughter get married: the emotion of knowing she is no longer under your wings but stretching her wings to soar with her new partner, Kathy Ragsdale said in a statement.

While the state Legislature is no longer in session, two committees were created in October with the intent of investigating the circumstances surrounding the July 4 flooding. Neither of the committees, one each in the state House and Senate, have scheduled a meeting yet.
IAF Commander Herzl Budinger (1992-96) passed away. A Yom Kippur War ace and "pilot's commander," he spearheaded long-range upgrades and admitted the first female pilot.

Maj. Gen. (Res.) Herzl Budinger, who led the IAF in the 1990s and opened the elite pilots course to women, passed away Sunday at the age of 82, his family announced.

Budinger, the IAFs 12th commander, served from 1992 to 1996, a period marked by major air operations in Lebanon and significant technological upgrades. His son, Ilan, announced his death on social media: Our general, literally, recently landed and said goodbye to us We choose to remember everything he accomplished in his life, and not what he missed.

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Born in Haifa in 1943 and raised in Kiryat Motzkin, Budinger joined the air force in 1961. After flight school, he was assigned to various combat squadrons, surviving several close calls early in his career. In a 1964 training accident, his plane caught fire, forcing an emergency landing that left him with a back injury.

During the 1967 Six-Day War, Budinger took part in raids on Egyptian and Iraqi airfields. In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, he shot down a Syrian MiG-17 while flying a Mirage fighter. After his commander was killed, he was appointed head of Israels famed 101st Squadron.

In 1974, amid renewed clashes with Syria, Budinger downed a Syrian MiG-21 over Lebanon. A year later, he piloted the first locally produced Kfir jet delivered to the IAF by Israel Aerospace Industries. Over the next decade, he commanded the Air Force Flight School, the Ramat David air base, and served as Air Force Chief of Staff.

IDF SOLDIERS stand at the Western Wall in June 1967 after it was captured during the Six Day War. (credit: DEFENSE MINISTRY/REUTERS)

In 1985, Budinger ordered the downing of two Syrian MiG-23s approaching Israeli aircraft over Lebanon. An inquiry later urged greater discretion but concluded that his decision was reasonable in light of the data he received.

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As Air Force commander, Budinger oversaw Operation Accountability in 1993 and Operation Grapes of Wrath in 1996, both targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon. He personally flew a nighttime sortie during the latter, his 451st and final operational mission.

Budinger: Tech upgrades and opening IAF pilot course to women

Under his command, the IAF improved long-range strike capabilities, introduced Black Hawk helicopters, and decided to procure F-15I fighter jets.

Budinger also played a role in modernizing the Air Forces personnel policies. In 1994, Officer Alice Miller petitioned Israels High Court after being denied flight training because she was a woman.

Though the military initially argued the course was unsuitable for women, the Court ruled in Millers favor in 1996, compelling the IAF to admit female candidates for the first time.

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Known for his discipline and professionalism, Budinger was respected as a pilots commander, a leader who demanded excellence while leading by example.

After retiring in 1996, he became president of Rada Electronic Industries and later chaired the defense industry committee of Israels Manufacturers Association. He briefly served on a Defense Ministry commission reviewing the 2006 Lebanon War but resigned for personal reasons.

Budinger also studied economics and business administration at Bar-Ilan University and completed an executive program at Harvard. In 2013, Budinger was a finalist for Israels National Security Advisor, though the position was given to Yossi Cohen, a career Mossad officer.
A student at North Myrtle Beach High School was arrested for becoming violent with staff members after being told she couldnt have her phone in class, police say.

Horry County police responded to the school, located at 3760 Sea Mountain Highway in the Little River area, after receiving reports of an assault on Oct. 29.

When police arrived, they found one of the victims, an assistant principal at the school, trying to calm the student down and keep her from running out the door, according to the police report. The student was ultimately arrested, and it was later revealed that she hit two staff members after they asked for her phone, the report says.

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Horry County Schools spokesperson Lisa Bourcier confirmed that a student became physical with staff in an email to The Sun News, and wrote that appropriate student disciplinary consequences were issued. Bourcier said she was unable to share additional information because of student and staff privacy.

Bourcier did not respond to questions about the students background or the victims injuries.

The officers reports says police could see the assistant principal keeping his distance from the student, who charged at him. This led the officer to step in, telling the student that she was not going to charge at him, the report says.

The student then started screaming more and ran toward the security guard who was coming down a back stairwell near the buildings exit doors, the report states.

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Because of the students violent and erratic behavior, the officer tried to restrain her to keep her from running outside to the busy highway, the report claims. The student then hit the officer with her phone, according to the report.

The schools security helped the officer restrain the student on the floor, calm her down and escort her to a conference room, the report states.

How the incident began

One staff member told police that the incident started when the student was told she wasnt allowed to have her phone in class, the report claims. The staff member reportedly asked for the students phone, but the student refused.

Horry County Schools implemented a policy that prohibits personal electronic devices, including cell phones, during the school day. The policy began in January 2025 after the state legislature passed a bill last year requiring school districts adopt such a policy.

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When the staff member said they would contact the schools administration, the student came up behind her and hit her several times in the head.

The officer wrote in the report that the staff member had visible red marks on top of her forehead.

The staff member went to leave the room and get administration involved, but the student followed, hitting her in the back, the report says. The assistant principal then reportedly stepped between them.

The student reportedly said in a post-Miranda interview she acted because she didnt want her phone taken, and that she would have continued to hit the staff member if the assistant principal had not stepped in.

The student was transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice, according to the report.
House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, and her running mate Ryan Wilson held a Capitol press conference on Nov. 10, 2025. (Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer)

House Speaker Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, announced Monday that attorney Ryan Wilson will be her running mate in her bid for Minnesota governor next year.

Wilson narrowly lost his campaign for state auditor in 2022 and has long been involved in the conservative legal movement in Minnesota as a constitutional lawyer.

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Its time for some accountability in the highest level of our government, and Ryan Wilson is the one that will help me deliver that accountability, Demuth said in a statement.

Wilson is an attorney at the firm CrossCastle, which represented House Republicans earlier this year after House Democrats brought a lawsuit over control of the chamber. House GOP floor leader Harry Niska also works at the firm.



At a Capitol press conference Monday, Demuth said she was announcing her lieutenant governor candidate early in the campaign to underscore her leadership.

It is important for Minnesotans to recognize that this isnt just something that Ive stepped into  just wanting to run for governor. Ive come in strong with a plan, strong with a running mate (and) strong with a plan for Minnesotans going forward. That is what people want, Demuth said.

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Wilson is the founder and a former CEO of Symbios Clinical, a medical device company based in Blaine. Wilson in 2020 joined Lawyers for Trump as a volunteer poll watcher on Election Day.

Demuth launched her campaign for governor last week, joining a growing field of GOP candidates who are seeking to beat Gov. Tim Walz in next years election, including GOP Rep. Kristin Robbins; 2022 GOP nominee for governor Scott Jensen; and Kendall Qualls, an army veteran and health care executive.

I am honored that speaker Demuth has asked me to serve as her running mate in this pivotal election to send Tim Walz into retirement, Wilson said in a statement. Lisa is a proven fighter and leader. Shes the only candidate in this race who has stood up to Walz, stared him down and won.

Demuth and lieutenant governor candidate Wilson will begin a statewide campaign tour later this week.

Walz has not chosen a lieutenant governor candidate for his third term campaign. Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is running for U.S. Senate.

Wilson lives in Maple Grove and has four children.
At least seven people died and hundreds were missing after a boat carrying members of Myanmars persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority sank near the Thailand-Malaysia border on Sunday.

At least 13 survivors had been found by Monday morning, an official from Malaysias maritime authority said.

Thai officials said earlier on Monday that their search had found four dead people.

The boat that sank was reportedly carrying about 70 people. The status of two other boats in the fleet carrying about 230 people remained unclear.

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More victims could be found at sea as rescue efforts continued, First Admiral Romli Mustafa, the maritime authority director of the northern Malaysian states of Kedah and Perlis, said.

Rescuers were combing an area of around 170 square nautical miles near Langkawi island, he added.

Images from the agency showed one survivor covered with a sheet and another on a stretcher.

A member of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency searches for survivors (Reuters)

Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar's impoverished Rakhine state have suffered years of conflict, hunger and ethnic violence. Driven out of their homeland following a brutal 2017 military crackdown, over 1.3 million Rohingya now live as refugees in densely packed camps in neighbouring Bangladesh. Smaller numbers have fled to Malaysia, Pakistan and the Gulf nations as well.

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Rohingya Muslims are seen in majority Buddhist Myanmar as foreign interlopers from South Asia, who are denied citizenship and face widespread abuse from both the state and largely non-Muslims ethnic militias.

Among the survivors found in the waters off Langkawi were two Rohingya men and one Bangladeshi man, state media outlet Bernama reported, citing the Kedah police chief Adzli Abu Shah. The body of a Rohingya woman was also found.

A member of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency checks on a survivor rescued by a fishing boat's crew (Reuters)

The sailors, looking to reach Malaysia, had initially boarded a large vessel but were told to transfer into three smaller boats as they neared the border to avoid detection by the Malaysian authorities, Mr Adzli was quoted as saying.

The status of the other two boats was not known and a search-and-rescue operation was ongoing, he said.

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Facing violence at home in Myanmar and increasingly difficult living conditions in the Bangladeshi refugee camps, Rohingya from both countries regularly attempt perilous journeys by sea, including to Malaysia.

More than 5,100 Rohingya took boats from Myanmar and Bangladesh between January and early November this year, with nearly 600 people reported dead or missing, according to data from the UN refugee agency.

Additional reporting by agencies.
Left to right: Alabama Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman; Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey applaud during a press conference at the Alabama State Capitol on Feb. 12, 2025 promoting a law enforcement package in the Legislature. Ivey said last week that she would not call a special session of the Alabama Legislature to address the suspension of SNAP benefits, saying state law prevented use of rainy day funds to do so. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)

The states General Fund budget was in trouble in 2012.

Expenses were up, revenues were down and the economy was still trying to shake off the hangover of the Great Recession. A huge hole had opened in the General Fund, which pays for Medicaid, prisons and most non-education services.

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The Legislature found a solution: Borrow $437 million from the Alabama Trust Fund, a repository for oil and gas revenues. One problem: that was against the law.

So lawmakers figured a way out. They passed a budget moving the money to the General Fund, then put a constitutional amendment before voters that September  a few weeks before the General Fund took effect  asking them to approve it. Voters did so by a 2-to-1 margin, staving off major cuts.

The Legislature didnt have to do this. They could have cut funding and let the consequences fall as they pleased. But that would have hurt Alabamians, especially when it came to finding health care. So they kept the budgets whole.

When Alabama leaders see an emergency, even one that exists solely in their heads, they move fast.

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That makes the passivity of Republican leaders during the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) crisis even more notable.

The federal government shutdown, which may be headed toward an end, put over 726,000 Alabamians  15% of the population, nearly half of them children  at risk of hunger after the Trump administration stopped paying SNAP benefits earlier this month. But Alabama leaders have responded with a collective meh.

Gov. Kay Ivey, who ricocheted around the state in fury when Mercedes-Benz workers tried to get more regular shift-scheduling, took several days to act. At first, her office read a script that could have been handed to it by the Trump administration. Ivey blamed congressional Democrats, most of whom were trying to prevent people from losing their health insurance. She was silent on the White House refusing to implement a SNAP contingency plan.

She read the condemnation again on Tuesday, when she sent $2 million to eight food banks around the state. That money, if used entirely on food, will pay for 10 million meals.

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Thats good. But with 726,000 SNAP recipients, that works out to about 14 meals per person. Roughly four to seven days of help. And that doesnt include the non-SNAP recipients the food banks continue to serve.

Alabama Democrats proposed using emergency funds and excess money in state agency budgets to fund the approximately $142 million a month it will cost to feed SNAP recipients. According to the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, those savings accounts held about $4.8 billion in October 2024.

Two of those accounts  rainy day funds for the Education Trust Fund and General Fund  are set up in constitutional amendment. Ivey said Tuesday that the state could not tap into those accounts, which held roughly $1.1 billion last year, unless the state goes into proration, when state revenues cant fund state agencies to their budgeted amount.

But the other accounts were set up by statute. By lawmakers. Which means they can be rewritten by lawmakers to address pressing needs.

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Its not like legislators treat the Code of Alabama as holy writ. They have amended the Rolling Reserve Act, controlling most of the other emergency funds, five times over the last 14 years.

You can make arguments against using the money this way. Our public school system relies on income and sales taxes that can vanish during a recession. Back-up funds could be critical in maintaining school operations.

But lawmakers arent arguing about stability. Theyre pleading helplessness. No matter that Republicans threw $180 million at rich families for private school tuition, which makes zero sense for the long-term health of public education. Subsidizing the states top income earners is critical. Preventing starvation is not.

Alabama cant fund SNAP on its own without some radical overhaul of its tax code. But it could provide sustainable short-term relief for 726,000 men, women and children.

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Our leaders choose not to.

Im sure they dont want to get crossways with President Donald Trump, their one and only constituent. U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville thinks that only inner-city Democrats use SNAP. This should be news to the rural and heavily Republican Wiregrass, where SNAP uptake is higher than the state average in several counties.

But at the basic level, Republican leaders in this state dont seem to view hunger as an emergency. Theyve tolerated the states high rates of poverty for decades. Ivey has approved Trumps destruction of the U.S. Department of Education, which feeds many Alabama schoolchildren.

What do they consider emergencies? Large corporations not getting enough of your tax dollars. The existence of transgender people. It took them all of a week this year to force definitions of sex into the state code. They even limited House debate on the measure to speed up its passage.

But when hunger rears its head?

Suddenly, our lawmakers are powerless before the law. Suddenly, a government that knows how to punish cant figure out how to help.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, or ICE, showed up in Fremont early Saturday morning.

It happened in the Sundale neighborhood, home to a very diverse community. Some community activists are concerned that certain ethnic groups may have been targeted.

"To me, that is nothing sort of racial profiling. And to me, it is so disheartening to see these ICE agents terrorize our community," says Harris Mojadedi, a long-time Afghan community organizer, who grew up in Sundale.

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Mojadedi says the area is home to many Afghan refugees. They came here legally. But earlier this year, many were threatened that their humanitarian parolee visas would be revoked.

"And we see that when ICE comes into communities and conducts raids like this, the aftermath is that kids don't go to school. That people don't seek health care," explains Mojadedi.

He adds that many Afghan refugees are currently SNAP recipients. So they are doubly impacted, by the federal government shutdown as well.

MORE: British journalist Sami Hamdi detained at SFO after DHS deems him a threat to national security

British journalist and political commentator Sami Hamdi had his visa revoked at San Francisco International Airport Sunday morning.

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Fremont Mayor Raj Salwan confirmed that ICE did contact Fremont police ahead of its deployment.

"We were very alarmed when we first heard about it. We were informed this is a 'knock and talk' program. Where it is a voluntary program, And they talk to folks and they try to see if they will come talk to them. And that is all we know," says Mayor Salwan.

The Fremont Police Department says it got notice just before 7 a.m. on Saturday about the ICE deployment. And that ICE concluded its activity around 10 a.m.

Mayor Salwan reminds residents that Fremont is a sanctuary city.

"We follow state laws. And we make sure that we focus on crimes, and we don't worry about people's immigrant status," says Mayor Salwan.

MORE: Misinformation about federal raids leaves SF immigrant community afraid to leave homes

Fear about the deployment of federal agents to their neighborhoods is making immigrants throughout the Bay Area question everything they see.

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In a statement to ABC7 News, Fremont Police Chief Sean Washington says that while the police department can't stop federal immigration enforcement efforts, Fremont police did not assist or provide resources for this deployment.

He concludes by saying: "The Fremont police department was not provided with details or information related to the results or actions of federal law enforcement deployed in the City of Fremont. We have no reports or information regarding the number (if any) of detentions or arrests."

ICE did not return request for comment.

"I don't understand this strategy around going door-to-door in terms of immigration enforcement," says Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas.

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This past week, Supervisor Fortunato Bas proposed a county-wide immigration enforcement response plan. She is raising concerns about how the trump administration is deploying ICE.

MORE: Federal agent operations canceled in the Bay Area amid ongoing protests, Oakland Mayor Lee says

"This administration has really ramped up immigration enforcement. And it doesn't seem to be targeted to what they said, which is looking for people who have criminal records," says Fortunato Bas.

California State Senator Aisha Wahab's district covers all of Fremont. One of her concerns is the lack of transparency with local law enforcement and elected officials.

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"The lack of transparency. The lack of dialogue. Even with other law enforcement agencies. So our local (police department), as well as our county sheriffs, the fact that they are kept in the dark when things like this are taking place," says Senator Wahab. "Elected officials, like (me), when we have to actually to do digging rather than getting a notice that, 'Hey, something like this is going to be conducted in your district.' That is a problem. That erodes public trust."

On Monday, ICE sent a statement to ABC7 News writing:

"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is executing its mission of identifying and removing criminal aliens and others who have violated our nation's immigration laws. All aliens in violation of U.S. immigration law may be subject to arrest, detention and, if found removable by final order, removal from the United States, regardless of nationality.

For operational security and for the safety of our law enforcement personnel, ICE does not confirm, deny, or otherwise discuss ongoing or future operations. The agency publicly announces operational results when appropriate."



If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live
The IDF killed two Palestinian terrorists near Gazas Yellow Line and intercepted a drone attempting to smuggle weapons into Israel, the military reported.

The IDF killed two Palestinian terrorists, who were spotted crossing Gazas Yellow Line and approaching Israeli soldiers, the military said on Monday.

The IDF said the terrorists were approaching soldiers in a threatening way.

Additionally, soldiers foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons into Israel via drone from the west, the military confirmed. Surveillance units, working with the air control system, detected the drones incursion and alerted troops who intercepted it. Three M16 rifles were found attached to the aircraft.

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On Thursday, Defense Minister Israel Katz instructed the army to change its rules of engagement to more effectively deal with aerial drones smuggling weapons from Egypt.

One terrorist was killed after approaching the Yellow Line alongside another terrorist in northern Gaza, the military announced on Saturday evening, confirming a similar incident. They were identified by the IDF as terrorists before the military opened fire on them.

The IDF intercept a drone attempting to smuggle three M16 rifles over the Egyptian border, November 10, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

IDF continues dismantling terror tunnels, infrastructure in Gaza Strip

The military has also continued to destroy terror infrastructure, including tunnels in the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday, the IDF noted that the 10th Brigade killed dozens of terrorists and dismantled several tunnels.

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Over the past month, soldiers operating under the 36th Division were assisted by Yahalom Combat Engineers in uncovering and dismantling at least four terror tunnels.

Meanwhile, Hamas terrorists holed up in the Israeli-held Rafah area of Gaza will not surrender to Israel, the group's armed wing said on Sunday, urging mediators to find a solution to a crisis that threatens the month-old ceasefire.

Sources close to mediation efforts told Reuters on Thursday that terrorists could surrender their arms in exchange for passage to other areas of the enclave under a proposal aimed at resolving the stalemate.

Jerusalem Post Staff and Reuters contributed to this report.
BERLIN, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- German politician Sahra Wagenknecht on Monday announced her stepping down as leader of the political party that bears her name, the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW).

This is a young political force founded in early 2024 after Wagenknecht broke away from the Left party (Die Linke). The party's new leadership will be formed by the current co-chair, Amira Mohamed Ali, and Member of the European Parliament Fabio De Masi.

Wagenknecht will instead lead a new commission on fundamental values within the party.

The 56-year-old politician's decision came amid the party's efforts to rebrand to attract more supporters.

Besides the leadership reshuffle, the party is also considering changing its name, a decision to be made later this year at a party conference.

The BSW narrowly missed the five-percent threshold to enter the lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, during the elections earlier this year. It is currently demanding a recount of the votes. 
Zamir called for a wider inquiry into all of the government and defense bodies involved in Israel's national security, leading up to and on October 7.

Five out of 25 of the earlier probes the IDF carried out of the October 7 disaster have failed, which will require those investigations to be redone, the military said on Monday.

Further, although the IDFs probe of the earlier probes led by Maj.-Gen. (res.) Sami Turgeman did make private recommendations to Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir about which commanders should be fired or otherwise reprimanded for their own personal failures on October 7, those recommendations are not being shared with the public at this time.

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Rather, Zamir himself, at some later unspecified date, will decide what happens to the officers in question, and he has signaled that he will avoid shaking the boat too much for officers who had significant successes with other aspects of the war, as the war drew on.

For example, all signs are that intel chief Maj.-Gen. Shlomi Binder will remain in his post, despite the fact that Turgeman has found greater failures regarding his conduct on October 7 than the original probes found.

Turgeman's probe report runs over 700 pages and includes over 70 extended interviews and another 80 meetings or receipts of critical information from IDF officers and others covered by the probe.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen Eyal Zamir and Maj.-Gen. (res.) Sami Turgeman submit their findings to Defense Minister Israel Katz, November 9, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The original probes were commissioned by then-chief of staff Herzi Halevi in March 2024 and were presented to the public in February, shortly before Zamir replaced Halevi.

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Upon taking office in March, Zamir appointed Turgeman and 13 other senior officials to investigate whether the original probes had sufficiently analyzed and learned from the IDFs vast October 7 errors, as well as how to discipline those officers who had failed.

Halevi had decided early on in the probes process that the investigations he oversaw would only diagnose and describe the IDFs various failures, but not seek to discipline or fire specific officers for their failures.

Moreover, Halevi has said that his general message to officers who were at the center of the October 7 failures was that the whole defense establishment was responsible, and that he would trust each of them to take responsibility  meaning resign  at the point at which they felt most appropriate.

Most top IDF officials most directly involved in the October 7 failure have resigned

In March 2024, Col. A. and Military Intelligence analysis chief Brig.-Gen. Amir Saar resigned due to their roles in October 7.

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In August 2024, intelligence chief Aharon Haliva and Gaza Division chief Brig.-Gen. Avi Rosenfeld resigned, with Unit 8200 head Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Yisraeli resigning a month later.

Halevi himself resigned in March, along with Southern Command head Yaron Finkelman.

Although by March, most top IDF officials most directly involved in the October 7 failure had resigned, many were criticized for not resigning within six months, let alone staying on for a year or more after the disaster.

Binder is one of the few top commanders who was in place on October 7 in a key post who was later promoted, and regarding whom there is no sign he will be forced to resign.

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Halevi found that Binders failures stemmed from the flawed intelligence he was given, not his own failures, and both Halevi and Zamir have been impressed by his leading Israel through the victories over Hezbollah in fall 2024 and over Iran in June.

Five failed probes need to be redone

Regarding the five probes that Turgeman decided were failures, he said the missteps were not an active cover-up, but simply involved officers who were leading the probes who lacked sufficiently deep experience in some of the areas they were investigating.

In addition, he noted that the probes commissioned under Halevi were carried out in a silo  a disconnected fashion  with each investigator looking only at their specific area of focus, such as only looking at the Intelligence Directorate or only looking at the Operations Directorate.

In contrast, Turgeman has found that his staff were able to see additional critical failures that the earlier probes missed, by virtue of being able to view and analyze all of the key probes at once and as a continuous corpus of work.

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The five probes they said needed to be redone included probes into the IDFs: 1) broader strategy for Gaza, 2) preparations by the operations command relating to the IDF General Staff, 3) the decision-making process on October 6-7, the eve of the invasion; 4) the Operations Directorate itself, and 5) the navy.

Of the other 20 investigations that Turgeman's commission investigated, one-third were found to have been performed at the highest levels, with no need for amendments, while about one-third were found to need significant revisions and supplementary follow-up, though the probes were still factually and structurally sound enough that they would not need to be entirely redone like the five failed probes.

Regarding the two-thirds of the probes that were found to be partially useful, but requiring significant revisions, sometimes the problem was that the conclusions drawn at the end of the probe were not harsh enough.

In other words, the earlier probe may have gathered all the necessary facts and analyzed all the right issues, but because of unclear reasons  some would say so as not to be too harsh on their fellow commanders  the conclusions drawn against fellow involved commanders were too lenient.

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This also seems to be true for how Turgeman is likely to be critical of Binder in private to Zamir, but it appears Zamir will disregard taking harsh measures against Binder.

Besides those findings, Zamir called for a wider inquiry into all of the government and defense bodies involved in Israels national security leading up to and on October 7.

The destruction caused by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Kissufim on October 7, 2023, near the Israeli-Gaza border, in southern Israel, November 20, 2023. (credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

While Zamir did not specifically call for a state commission of inquiry according to the set law that provides for a High Court justice to lead such an inquiry, wield subpoena power, and grant the power to declare who failed, he left little doubt that he believed such an inquiry is needed.

Although Zamir did not name Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu specifically as needing to be probed, he did refer to the political echelon having joint responsibility for Israeli security along with the IDF.

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Even Turgeman still did not probe the intersection of the IDF, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and the police, such that Zamir believed that any future state inquiry would also need to investigate overlapping issues relating to all three security bodies.

Most notably, the Turgeman commission said that the probe into the Nova festival was inherently incomplete because it did not resolve the contradictory policies and jurisdictions between the IDF and the police, something which, if not directly addressed, will make it likely that the same problem could recur.

Successful probes will save Israel from making similar mistakes in the future

Previously, when Halevi and other senior IDF officers presented their resignations to the public, they virtually all called specifically for a state inquiry, saying that only such a probe would save Israel from making similar mistakes in the future at all levels of the nation.

Having said that, both Zamir and Turjeman insist on the IDF taking full responsibility for failing in its role to protect the nation on October 7, regardless of the failures of others.

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Regarding Halevi himself, Zamir has not yet said anything.

Zamir is in an awkward position criticizing Halevi, not only because they are fellow IDF chiefs, but also because Halevi beat out Zamir for the post in 2023, and criticism could be seen as personal or a conflict of interest.

Still, Zamir may at some later point present Turgemans criticism of Halevi.

This could include that the former IDF chief could have ordered more forces into the field on the eve of October 6-7, when unusually dangerous intelligence signs were received, such as Hamas activating Israeli cellphone SIM cards in Gaza  something that would suggest a potential invasion.

Israeli soldiers in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, near the Gaza border, in southern Israel, October 20, 2023 (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

Turgeman also analyzed the IDF's failed handling of the Jericho Walls documents

In addition, Turgeman analyzed the IDFs failed handling of the Walls of Jericho documents that the IDF seized from Hamas in 2021-2022, but regarding which most senior commanders ignored.

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These documents described Hamass actual plans for its eventual October 7 invasion, but top IDF commanders downplayed it, viewing it as a fantasy and something Hamas would never try to carry out, since it was deterred by Israels military might.

The IDF said serious debates were held about multiple versions of the Walls of Jericho in 2021 and 2022, based on a 2018 version of the invasion and a 2022 version of the invasion.

However, the army said that top IDF officials involved in mid-2021 and then again in late 2022 analyzed the dangers, wrote statements about the dangers, but neither did anything large to prepare for the dangers, nor did they sufficiently highlight the document to their successors.

At one point, there was a meeting in May 2022 of the head of IDF intelligence Haliva, the previous head of the Southern Command Eliezer Toledano, the previous Gaza Division head, and the previous deputy of the operations directorate Yaron Finkelman, but when three of these officers moved on, they did not pass on information about it to their successors.

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The IDF did not fully answer why Haliva did not take the issue more seriously, given that he stayed in office through October 7.

It also did not explain why Finkelman did not take it more seriously, given that he changed positions, but became the next head of IDF Southern Command  meaning that he was in a parallel post for dealing with the same issue.

Finkleman has told the Post and other select media that he wrote and analyzed thousands of issues as deputy head of the operations command, and that since neither Toledano nor his senior intelligence officers flagged the Walls of Jericho documents as important when he took over Southern Command, they essentially dropped off his radar screen.

But generally speaking, Turgeman felt that the probes managed by Halevi were too forgiving of IDF officials for ignoring Hamass Walls of Jericho plan.

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He and his commission believe that it was gravely negligent of top IDF officials to have failed to take any concrete actions in the field to prepare for the scenario of a possible Hamas invasion once they had been exposed to that intelligence.

Also, the Turgeman commission found that the IDF had properly warned Netanyahu and the government multiple times in 2023 that the judicial overhaul debate rocking society and the IDF had weakened Israeli readiness and made Israel look more vulnerable in the eyes of Hamas.

Destroyed houses from the October 7 massacre almost a year ago, in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, southern Israel, September 19, 2024 (credit: Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Yet, it found that even if Netanyahu and the government did not respond to these warnings by halting the judicial overhaul push, the IDF still could have taken new measures to secure the border in light of the worsening dangers.

In contrast, critics of Netanyahu say that since he was the initiator of the judicial overhaul debate, he is more responsible for any negative impacts from that debate than the IDF, which would just be trying to respond indirectly to those impacts, without really having the ability to stop them.

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Turgeman criticized the IDFs actions leading into and on October 7 for many similar failings to those highlighted by the earlier Halevi probes.

But he did suggest even more than the Halevi probes that the culture of the IDF at all levels, even up to the high command, had fallen into a state of never being ready for a surprise ground invasion.

Regarding the air force, Turgeman reached some similar conclusions to the prior probes, which had said that the air force was not ready from either a planning or operational standpoint to help prevent an invasion on the ground.

However, Turgeman added that the air force still could have started to bomb the Israel-Gaza border much earlier than it did.

Ultimately, the air force only gave the order to bomb the border after 10 a.m. on October 7.

If the order had been given earlier, although the air force could not have stopped the first wave of Hamas invaders, which took Israel completely by surprise, Turgeman believes it could have stopped the second and third invasion waves, which would have substantially reduced the loss of life and number of hostages taken.

Zamir has directed Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Tamir Yadai to implement the lessons learned from Turgemans probe into the militarys structure and operations to make sure there are no repeat mistakes from October 7.

The IDF chief said that October 7 was a dark day and needed to be fully vetted, but that the IDF had arisen in many ways stronger over the course of this war and that his emphasis would be on continuing to strengthen it.
ALLIANCE  Northeast Ohio meteorologist Mark Johnson is returning to Q92 WDJQ FM in Alliance just in time for what's expected to be a wintry end to fall.

The announcement was made during the Christian & Lauren morning radio show Nov. 10.

"He's back everybody!," Christian Bigglesworth said.

Both morning show hosts were super enthused over the announcement, which had been teased on social media recently. And Johnson was equally ebullient. So were listeners, who posted online messages welcoming back the popular and award-winning weatherman.

Q92 WDJQ is an Alliance, Ohio-based FM radio station and streaming platform.

"I'm so happy to be back with my Q92 family," Johnson said in a prepared statement. "We are ready to help prepare the greater Canton area for a cold and snowy winter."

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Johnson also will be providing forecasts for Q92's sister AM station 1310 WDPN in Alliance.

Johnson, a former longtime meteorologist at Channel 5 in Cleveland, found new employment this past summer when he began making weather forecasts for TEGNA, the parent company of WKYC (Channel 3), on a contract basis, TEGNA Senior Director of Communications Molly McMahon told the Akron Beacon Journal.

Mark Johnson is also joining WKYC Channel 3

Johnson is also returning to Cleveland television at WKYC as the daily meteorologist, beginning this week during the 5, 7 and 11 p.m. broadcasts.

"He is renowned for his precision in forecasting and his unwavering dedication to keeping viewers informed," WKYC said on the station's website. "His distinguished career includes multiple Emmy Awards for excellence in weather broadcasting, and in 2024, he was inducted into the Broadcasters Hall of Fame, cementing his status as one of the regions most trusted meteorologists."

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Popular weatherman returns Former WEWS meteorologist Mark Johnson finds employment with WKYC parent company TEGNA

The Cleveland native served as meteorologist at WEWS for more than 30 years. The Kent State University graduate holds a meteorology certification from Mississippi State University.

Johnson first became the Q92 meteorologist in 1998

Johnson has a long history with Q92, first serving as the station's meteorologist in 1998. His work with the Alliance station was continuous except for six months this year, said Laruen Capo, director of operations for WDJQ and WDPN. Capo is also Bigglesworth's co-host during the morning show.

"Mark not only provides our listeners quality and reliable forecasts but he's a friend of our stations (Q92 WDJQ and AM 1310 WDPN), community and region," station General Manager Don Peterson said in a prepared statement. "We are elated to have Mark back on air serving our listening audience and are looking forward to the future."

Northeast Ohio meteorologist Mark Johnson is returning to Q92 WDJQ FM in Alliance. Johnson will be making daily forecasts on the station, as well as joining morning show hosts Christian and Lauren on the air each Monday.

Johnson will be making daily forecasts for Q92, as well as joining Christian and Lauren on the air each Monday.

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With snow in the forecast, Johnson was sharing his insight on what he said could be a white November and December.

WHBC weather Hollie Strano, former WKYC TV meteorologist, gets new gig in Stark County

Bigglesworth said Johnson is the official Q92 meteorologist. Johnson, who was interviewed during the morning show, referred to himself as "Mark J at 3News."

"You could tell how happy he is to be back," the DJ said of Johnson. "That was awesome."

Reach Ed at ebalint@gannett.com. Follow on Instagram at ed_balint and TikTok @edwardbalint

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Meteorologist Mark Johnson joins Q92 radio in Alliance and WYKC
A driver was arrested after police said they were going nearly three times the speed limit near a school.

A driver was arrested for DUI after being caught speeding at 133 mph on Highway 138 near Swint Elementary School in Clayton County on Oct. 25, Clayton County police said.

D.R.E. Flounory who was operating a Light Detection and Ranging device, observed the vehicle traveling at nearly three times the posted speed limit of 45 mph.

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The driver was stopped in a gas station parking lot at Highway 138 and Crown Way, police said.

Upon making contact with the driver, the deputy noted a strong odor of alcohol and observed that the driver had red, bloodshot, watery eyes. According to the arrest report, the driver admitted to consuming a beer and a shot of tequila.

The driver agreed to perform voluntary field sobriety tests, during which he exhibited several signs of impairment, leading to his arrest for DUI.

A subsequent GCIC check revealed that the drivers license was suspended due to a prior DUI offense.

The drivers identity wasnt disclosed. Channel 2 Action News reached out for more information.

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Nicolas Sarkozy has been released from prison in Paris, just three weeks into his five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy.

The former president will remain under judicial supervision pending an appeal over his sentence for obtaining campaign funds from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafis regime.

Sarkozy, 70, was found guilty in September of criminal conspiracy in a scheme from 2005 to 2007 to finance his campaign with funds from Libya in exchange for diplomatic favours.

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He was incarcerated at Le Sante prison since 21 October until 10 November, despite his legal team having requested alternatives such as an electronic tag or house arrest. The former French premier walked free on Monday afternoon.

The former French president and his wife Carla Bruni (AP)

Who is Nicolas Sarkozy?

Sarkozy began his political career in the 1970s with the Gaullist party, rising to prominence as mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine and later serving as Frances interior and finance minister. Elected president in 2007, he pursued economic and security reforms and played an active role in global affairs, notably during the 2011 Libya intervention.

After losing re-election in 2012, Sarkozy remained influential within the conservative Les Republicains party but became embroiled in corruption and campaign finance scandals, leading to multiple trials, including the recent case over alleged Libyan campaign funding.

Sarkozy could be released from prison this week (AP)

Why was he jailed last month?

In September, the former French president was sentenced to five years in prison in the case of suspected illegal campaign funds from Gaddafi.

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The accusations can be traced back to 2011, when Gaddafi revealed that the Libyan state had secretly funnelled millions of euros into Sarkozys 2007 campaign. Investigators claimed Sarkozy had forged a corrupt pact with the Libyan government.

Although presiding judge Nathalie Gavarino said there was no proof that Sarkozy made such a deal with Gaddafi, nor that the money sent from Libya reached Sarkozys campaign, she found him guilty of criminal conspiracy for allowing close aides to engage with people in Libya to secure campaign financing.

Sarkozy had fiercely denied wrongdoing and pointed to the fact that even after years of investigation, no smoking gun had been discovered. Gaddafi was toppled and killed during the Arab spring in 2011, ending his four-decade rule of Libya.

Sarkozy was kept in a cell at La Sante prison (AP)

What was prison life like for Sarkozy?

Sarkozy spent almost three weeks incarcerated in La Sante prison, in the east of the Montparnasse district of the 14th arrondissement in southern Paris.

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The former president did not meet any of the other inmates face to face because of security fears. He was kept in continuous solitary confinement on the top floor of the isolation wing, away from other inmates and was always been accompanied by a guard. Sarkozys personal security detail, a perk of being a former president, was not allowed in.

Sky News reported that Sarkozy was subjected to death threats on his first day at La Sante after a video, which appeared to have been filmed by an inmate, showed verbal threats being made as he arrived.

The prison, among the most famous in France, has been home to some of the countrys most famous inmates in the past century.

French modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, a close associate of the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, was found dead in his prison cell in La Sante in 2022. The 76-year-old had been held there for over a year as he was investigated on suspicion of the rape and trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation. He had denied any wrongdoing.

A regular cell at La Sante (AP)

Why did he appeal his sentence?

Sarkozy has consistently denied wrongdoing and appealed, calling himself a victim of revenge and hatred.

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Attorney Christophe Ingrain said after Sarkozy went to jail that his client did not meet any of the legal justifications for provisional detention and had always abided by the judicial process.

He will be banned from leaving the French territory, the court said.

It's one step, a lawyer for Sarkozy told reporters of the decision. The next step is the appeal trial.

What next for the former president?

Sarkozy was seen arriving back at his Paris home shortly after being released from prison on Monday.

He will continue his appeal against his conviction after the court said he was not a flight risk and therefore did not have to remain in prison.

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His release, under judicial supervision, which includes a ban on leaving France and a ban on talking to any justice ministry official, was based on specific criteria and is no indication of whether his appeal is likely to succeed.

He told the court he would respect any demand from the judiciary if he was freed. I'm French, sir. I love my country. Im fighting for the truth to prevail. I will comply with all the obligations imposed on me, as I always have," he said.
CAIRO (AP)  Intense fighting in central Sudan displaced some 2,000 people over the past three days, the U.N. migration agency said Monday, the latest in a war that has convulsed the country for more than two years and killed tens of thousands.

The International Organization for Migration said the displaced fled from several towns and villages in the area of Bara in North Kordofan province between Friday and Sunday.

Kordofan has been one of two areas, along with the western Darfur region, that recently became the epicenter of the war between the Sudanese army and its rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

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The RSF capture of the key city of el-Fasher left hundreds dead and forced tens of thousands to flee to overcrowded camps to escape reported atrocities by the paramilitary force, according to aid groups and U.N. officials. The IOM said nearly 92,000 people have left el-Fasher and surrounding villages.

The war between the RSF and the military began in 2023, when tensions erupted between the two former allies that were meant to oversee a democratic transition after a 2019 uprising. The fighting has killed at least 40,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, and displaced 12 million. However, aid groups say the true death toll could be many times higher.

In late October, RSF fighters launched attacks in the town of Bara in North Kordofan, killing at least 47 people, including women and children, the local aid group Sudan Doctors Network said at the time.

The IOM estimated that nearly 39,000 people had fled several villages and towns in North Kordofan since Oct. 26. They were mostly headed north, toward the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and the adjacent Omdurman region, as well as Sheikan in North Kordofan.

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Also Monday, the RSF claimed its fighters entered the town of Babanusa in West Kordofan province and were heading toward the army headquarters.

Salah Semsaya, a volunteer with the local group Emergency Response Rooms, told The Associated Press that other volunteers from the town of Babanusa working with charity kitchens in the area reported a decline in the number of families coming to get food  apparently an indication that many had left or fled the area. Definitive figures could not be confirmed.

Darfur atrocities

In Darfur meanwhile, Sudan Doctors Network reported on Sunday that the RSF collected hundreds of bodies from the streets of el-Fasher and buried some in mass graves while burning others.

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The RSF was acting in a desperate attempt to conceal evidence of their crimes against civilians, the network said.

Satellite images analyzed last week appeared to show the RSF disposing of bodies after they seized and rampaged through el-Fasher. Images by the Colorado-based firm Vantor show a fire at the Saudi hospital in el-Fasher on Thursday, near a collection of white objects seen days earlier in other Vantor photos.

The Yale School of Public Healths Humanitarian Research Lab described the images as showing the burning of objects that may be consistent with bodies.
Iowa Rep. Josh Turek, Sen. Zach Wahls and Democrat Nathan Sage, from left, Democratic candidates running for Iowa's U.S. Senate seat in 2026, delivered remarks at the Iowa Democratic Partys Liberty and Justice Dinner in Des Moines Nov. 9, 2025. (Photos by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch; photo illustration via Canva)

Iowa Democrats running for U.S. Senate called Sunday for their party to continue the fight to extend health care subsidies amid reports the federal government shutdown may end with a promised future vote on the issue.

Candidates and Democratic officials spoke Sunday about the importance of the 2026 elections at the Iowa Democratic Partys Liberty and Justice Dinner in Des Moines. They also talked about the problems caused by the current government shutdown, which reached day 40 on Sunday.

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The shutdown has largely centered on the extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits. Democrats and health care advocates have said the scheduled end of these tax credits would lead to premiums doubling for people who receive health insurance through Affordable Care Act Marketplaces.

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However, some Democrats at the Iowa event criticized U.S. Senate Democrats for potentially ending their effort to extend these tax credits and pass a continuing resolution to fund the government. Nathan Sage, a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate who is a military veteran and former Knoxville chamber of commerce executive director, told the crowd he was flustered while giving his address because he was just hearing that we might end this shutdown and not have a deal for those ACA tax credits.

Millions of Americans are going to lose their health care, Sage said. Millions of Americans are not going to know what to do. 

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He attributed economic concerns to Democratic wins in the Nov. 4 elections across the country. And if anything, we learned anything from Tuesday night, its that people need affordability. People need a life where they can actually make it in this world. People need a life where they can actually afford the food and afford the health care they need. And it seems like we dont have leadership thats willing to fight for that.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune promised Senate Democrats a vote in December on the ACA subsidies in order to end the shutdown.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said she thought it was difficult to trust Republicans in promising to hold a vote on the issue.

I have a hard time trusting that, you know, I think that theyre going to have to have some kind of guarantees that theres actually going to be some kind of a vote, some kind of a movement, Hart said. Because theyve had a long, long time  So for them to promise things without a real, concrete way to cash in on that, I think thats really difficult.

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State Sen. Zach Wahls, who is also running for U.S. Senate, released a statement Sunday, saying Senate Democrats shouldnt cave  when working families health care is on the line, you fight. Wahls also brought up Senate Democratic leadership in his remarks. While he did not directly address the shutdown agreement, he said he would push back against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats views on states like Iowa.

Some of the toughest fights are about the future of our own party, Wahls said during his speech Sunday. I will never hesitate to challenge Democratic leaders like Chuck Schumer, who said that we should write off blue-collar voters in rural America. He was wrong, but we are the ones paying the price. And that is exactly why Iowa needs a senator who doesnt work for Chuck Schumer, or for Donald Trump or the billionaires. We need a senator who works for us.

State Rep. Josh Turek, also a U.S. Senate candidate, released a statement Sunday, saying health care is worth fighting for.

As the cost of everything goes up, Washington Republicans have proven time and time again that theyd rather cut taxes for billionaires, Turek said. Without ACA subsidies, 125,000 Iowans will see their premiums double or triple. No one in the richest country on Earth should have to choose between health care and putting food on the table. No protection for health care, no deal.

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Turek said at the event that as a person born with spina bifida who uses a wheelchair, he understands the fight for health care in a very deep and personal way. He said he believes health care is a human right, and pointed to former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, who was in attendance at the Sunday event, as a key inspiration for his work on the Americans with Disabilities Act.

I will tell you, it is going to be something thats going to be beautifully poetic, that the man that is going to get Sen. Harkins seat back is only there because of his work on the American with Disabilities Act, and (will) once again be a champion for the people, Turek said.

The three Democratic candidates are competing for the seat currently held by U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, who announced in September she will not run for reelection. U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson has launched a campaign to become the Republican candidate for the seat and gained endorsements from President Donald Trump and several GOP congressional leaders.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat who took office in 2020, was scheduled to speak at the event, but was not able to attend. The U.S. Senate was in session Sunday, ending the day with a tentative deal to pass appropriations bills and end the government shutdown.

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Kelly said in video remarks played at the event that he remained in Washington, D.C. this weekend trying to find solutions, but its not easy when one chamber of Congress isnt even here, including Iowas all-Republican House delegation.

Thats not what our leaders should be doing when millions of Americans are being hit with unaffordable increases to their health care premiums, Kelly said. Im frustrated too, but thats something we can change. We saw it start to change this week in Virginia, in New Jersey and in California, by people speaking up, not checking out, by getting loud, not giving up.

Hart said she was sad Kelly was not able to come to Iowa, but said she was happy he was working hard in D.C. to put an end to this shutdown.

As you know, Sen. Kellys leadership is quite different from what weve been seeing from Iowas Republican representatives, who have been on an eight-week vacation while children and families are struggling to put food on their tables, Hart said.

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The shutdown will not end with the Senate vote, as the U.S. House must still return to approve the measure. One of the largest impacts of the continued shutdown is the disruption of food benefits provided through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

While the court battle continues on whether the Trump administration must pay November SNAP benefits, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials wrote in a Saturday memo states should only fund 65% of food stamps. States that have already authorized full payments should immediately undo this action, the memo stated.

In addition to speaking on the impacts of cutting SNAP benefits, Democrats solicited donations for the Food Bank of Iowa at the event, raising more than $2,700. Hart also called for attendees to participate in the state Democratic Partys day of action to support the Food Bank of Iowa later in November and thanked county Democratic parties for their advocacy and work to address food insecurity in their communities during the shutdown.

The state party was also soliciting support and funds for Democratic candidates running in 2026 Sunday. Hart joked there was not enough time to hear from all the Democratic candidates running for Iowa statewide and federal offices at the event, saying isnt that a great problem to have? Videos were shown from congressional candidates, while Democratic gubernatorial candidates Rob Sand and Julie Stauch, alongside the U.S. Senate hopefuls, spoke to the crowd in person Sunday night.

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Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, another Arizona Democrat, also spoke at the event. Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt in 2011, spoke about her recovery journey and struggles with paralysis and aphasia. She said there are words today I struggle to speak, but Ive not lost my voice.

America needs all of us to speak out, even when you have to fight to find the words, she said.

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Tehran, Iran  Iran has branded accusations from the United States and Israel that it was hatching a plot to assassinate the latters ambassador to Mexico as ridiculous.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters on Monday that Tehran believes Israel is trying to damage its friendly relations with other countries through an absurd allegation.

Unnamed US and Israeli senior officials told news outlets late last week that the Quds Force, the external operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), plotted to assassinate Israeli envoy Einat Kranz Neiger beginning in late 2024 and remaining active into mid-2025.

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The plot was contained and does not pose a current threat, the officials said, without offering any evidence.

Israels Ministry of Foreign Affairs then released a statement thanking the Mexican security and law enforcement services for thwarting a terrorist network directed by Iran that sought to attack Israels ambassador to Mexico.

The Israeli security and intelligence community will continue to work tirelessly, in full cooperation with security and intelligence agencies around the world, to thwart terrorist threats from Iran and its proxies against Israeli and Jewish targets worldwide, a ministry spokesman said.

However, Mexicos foreign relations and security ministries have since denied knowledge of such an incident.

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In a joint statement, they said they have no report with respect to a supposed attempt against the ambassador of Israel in Mexico.

The statement emphasised that Mexico has not initiated disruption to diplomatic ties with any country.

Irans embassy in Mexico on Monday called the accusation a media intervention and a great lie and said it considers betraying Mexicos interests to be betraying our own.

Baghaei said: Our embassy stated that we found this allegation so absurd and ridiculous that we did not even think it required an official response from the spokesperson.





Attacks in Australia

Baghaei was quick to point out that Israel has previously made similar accusations against Iran, citing attacks on Jewish synagogues in Australia in late 2024.

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That appeared to be a reference to a testimony given by the New South Wales Police Force to the upper house of the Australian parliament in early October, which presented the result of an investigation into suspected Iranian links to 14 incidents of attacks on synagogues, graffiti, firebombings, and attacks on cars and homes.

The NSW Police Force has nil holdings in relation to foreign agents perpetrating these incidents, a police representative told lawmakers at the time.

Despite official statements by Australian police rejecting any connection to Iran, Israel has continued to insist on Tehrans involvement, Baghaei said.

However, in late August, Australia accused Iran of directing two anti-Semitic arson attacks in the cities of Sydney and Melbourne and gave Tehrans ambassador seven days to leave the country, the first such expulsion since World War II.

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Canberra also designated the IRGC a terrorist organisation and withdrew its diplomats from Tehran.

At the time, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation had gathered credible evidence that Iran orchestrated last years attacks on a kosher restaurant and a synagogue, but did not release the evidence.

Australias move to cut ties with Tehran and proscribe the IRGC came shortly after the US and its European allies condemned Iran for what they called a surge in attempts by Iranian intelligence to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty.




Iran plotted to assassinate Israels ambassador to Mexico, according to US officials, in what may have been the latest attempt to take its shadow war against Israel overseas.

The plan to kill Einat Kranz-Neiger was allegedly hatched at the end of 2024 by Irans Revolutionary Guards and thwarted earlier this year by the Mexican authorities, with the help of the US and Israeli intelligence services.

Iran rejected the accusations on Monday, calling them absurd. The Mexican authorities also denied knowledge of such a plot.

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A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plan had been contained and did not pose a threat, but did not offer evidence or details on how it was thwarted.

The official said: This is just the latest in a long history of Irans global lethal targeting of diplomats, journalists, dissidents and anyone who disagrees with them, something that should deeply worry every country where there is an Iranian presence.

The conspiracy allegedly included recruiting operatives from Irans embassy in Venezuela, where Nicolas Maduro, the disputed Leftist president, has a tactical alliance with Iran.

No report of supposed attempt

Israels foreign ministry thanked the authorities in Mexico on Friday for thwarting a terrorist network directed by Iran that sought to attack Israels ambassador.

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However, Mexicos foreign and security ministries said they had no report of a supposed attempt against the ambassador of Israel in Mexico.

Esmaeil Baqaei, Irans foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters that the very ridiculous and absurd claims were an attempt to destroy Irans friendly relations with other countries.

Ms Kranz-Neiger, when asked about the conflicting statements, said she was unaware of the reasons for Mexicos denial.

She told Mexicos Radio Formula: Those who acted to neutralise this threat were the Mexican security and intelligence authorities.

The US has long accused Iran of seeking to assassinate its current and former officials, and those of the Israelis, on American soil.

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Tensions between the two countries have been heightened since the US took part in Israels bombing of Irans nuclear facilities in June.

Cautious stance

Mexico, which has a tradition of non-intervention in international affairs, has taken a more cautious stance on the Gaza war than other Leftist-led Latin American countries.

Although it has called for an investigation into allegations of Israeli war crimes, it has also maintained diplomatic relations with Israel.

The reports come amid growing accusations from Western countries of assassination, kidnapping and harassment plots by Iranian intelligence services abroad.

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Britains spy agencies said last year that Tehran was using proxies to carry out violent attacks, saying 20 Iran-linked plots had been disrupted since 2022.

In July, a report by the Parliaments intelligence and security committee concluded that Iran posed a wide-ranging, persistent and unpredictable threat to the UK, comparable but not on par to that of Russia and China.

It warned that Iran had made at least 15 attempts to kill or kidnap people in Britain, highlighting the particular threat it posed to prominent Jewish individuals and dissident media organisations.

In May, four Iranian men were arrested in Britain on charges of terrorism. A separate plot to target the Israeli embassy in London was also thwarted.

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UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The civilian crisis in Sudan's North Darfur state has been deepening since the capture of El Fasher city, while casualties mount in the neighboring Kordofan region, UN humanitarians said Monday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said violence in North Darfur has spread beyond the state capital of El Fasher following the takeover by the Rapid Support Forces on Oct. 26. Clashes continue to be reported along key access routes, trapping civilians and cutting off aid.

OCHA said the latest Yale School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab analysis of satellite imagery indicated possible mass body disposals in El Fasher, and the closure of a key escape route once used by civilians.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that nearly 89,000 people have fled El Fasher and nearby villages since Oct. 26. Many have sought refuge in the Tawila, Melit and Saraf Omra regions.

The IOM said that in Tawila and Ad Dabbah, the United Nations and its partners provide food, clean water, sanitation, health care and psychosocial support, among other life-saving aid. But needs far exceed available resources.

The office said that some families from El Fasher fled west to the Tina region, near the Sudan-Chad border, where local volunteers reported that more than 3,000 displaced people urgently need food, shelter and health care. Across the border in eastern Chad, already overwhelmed host communities and partners are preparing for new arrivals as people continue to seek safety and assistance.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it verified that the reported attack on Dilling Hospital in South Kordofan state on Thursday killed six people, including a 12-year-old child, and injured 12 others. The agency said it was the 192nd verified attack on health care in Sudan since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the hospital's X-ray department was destroyed, severely compromising the facility's ability to provide medical services, and he repeated WHO's call for the protection of all health facilities, their patients and staff.

OCHA repeated its call for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the protection of civilians and humanitarian workers, an end to attacks on hospitals and civilian infrastructure, and safe, unhindered access for aid to reach those in need across Sudan. 
"Israel feels the job is unfinished and sees no reason not to resume the conflict, so Iran is doubling down preparedness for the next round."

Another outbreak of war between Israel and Iran is only a matter of time, The New York Times reported Sunday, citing regional officials and analysts.

US President Donald Trump has insisted that US strikes obliterated Irans nuclear enrichment program during the 12-day war in June. However, the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a deal between Iran and several global powers to dismantle Irans nuclear program, expired last month.

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Negotiations appear to be dead, and Irans claims that its 11 nuclear facilities are either buried or under rubble are not convincing to Israel, according to the NYT's report.

Additionally, Irans new enrichment site, Pickaxe Mountain, is underway, and international inspectors have been prevented from accessing it, as well as other suspected nuclear sites.

With no negotiations underway, no certainty on Irans stockpile, and no nuclear oversight, another Israeli attack is almost inevitable, said the NYT.

A woman stands next to an anti-US mural during the 46th anniversary of the U.S. expulsion from Iran, in Tehran, November 4, 2025. (credit: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)

Iran likely to respond to an attack from Israel

Ali Vaez, the Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, said that Iran is likely to respond to an attack from Israel in a less restrained way than it did in June. Vaez was informed by Iranian officials that missile factories are working 24 hours a day, and if there is another war, Iran hopes to fire 2,000 at once, compared to the 500 they sent over a span of 12 days.

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There is no certain evidence to brace for a forthcoming attack, but Vaez remarked, Israel feels the job is unfinished and sees no reason not to resume the conflict, so Iran is doubling down on preparedness for the next round.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said two days following the ceasefire that he would pursue a policy of enforcement in an attempt to prevent Iran from rebuilding its air power. His comments suggested that Israel was considering further strikes, according to a June report from the NYT.

Though Iran is currently isolated from the West, its neighbors, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates continue to foster economic ties with the US, with hopes to build a lasting peace deal in Gaza. Additionally, Syria is seeking America's support under its new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, noted in the report that those same regional Arab powers are still working to preserve their own relationships with Iran.

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They do not want another regional war, and they respect Irans ability, however weakened, to create instability through its own military forces and through proxies in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, the Persian Gulf and elsewhere," she said.

Iran is weaker than at any point since the US invasion of Iraq, but not so weak as to be irrelevant, said Iran expert and director of the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution, Suzanne Maloney. A weaker Iran is easier for the Gulf States to engage and keep close because Iran, in its desperation, could become more dangerous.

According to the report, Israel is prepared to attack Iran again if it moves closer to producing a nuclear weapon, officials have warned.

Israel recognizes that Irans nuclear program wasnt destroyed, particularly because Trump stopped the war in June sooner than Israel wanted.

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H.A. Hellyer, a senior associate at the Center for American Progress in Washington and at Londons Royal United Services Institute, said she expects Israel to strike again if Irans nuclear program remains checked out of negotiations.

The Iranians are rebuilding, but once they are past a certain line, Israel will attack again, she said.

The Arab states are continuing to encourage new nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, but with little progress. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran said that Washington had offered unacceptable and impossible conditions, including direct talks and a complete, verifiable halt to Irans enrichment of uranium.

He again rejected direct talks and an end to enrichment, but he repeated that Iran remained open to indirect talks under certain conditions.

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Speaking to Al Jazeera, Araghchi also warned Israel of dire consequences for any future attack.

Vaez discussed the diplomatic deadlock with the NYT, saying that some Iranian officials want to compromise and make a deal with Trump, and others favor confrontation, believing it is impossible to deal with Him.

But both camps consider another round of confrontation with Israel inevitable, So the country is doubling down on preparedness for the next round, and they want it to produce a new equilibrium that will wipe out the sense of Iranian weakness, Vaez said.

The NYT report stated that the majority of Irans stockpile of highly enriched uranium survived the war, but its status remains unclear. It was estimated that Iran has roughly 400 kilograms of 60% enriched uranium  close to weapons grade.

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While the region's eyes all focused on Gaza, Vaez believes a nuclear Iran remains a concern. However, Vakil argued that there are nuances in the regional positions.

There is a window of opportunity for more compromises with Iran, weaker and more isolated, she said. And there is worry that in another round of the Iran-Israel war, Iran would be less restrained."
On Tuesday, Iraqis from across the country will head to the polls to elect a new parliament.

Analysts and observers believe the voter turnout will indicate whether Iraqis have any confidence left in the current political system to provide security and improve basic services.

Both issues have plagued Iraqis since the United States invaded in 2003 to topple then-President Saddam Hussein, an invasion that ruptured Iraqs social fabric and prompted a rebellion against the US occupation.

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Whats more, the occupation triggered fighting between Shia and Sunni militias from 2006 to 2008 and between Iraqi government forces and ISIL (ISIS) from 2013 to 2017.

Since the first elected government in 2005, Iraqis have grown disillusioned with their governments failure to improve the lives of citizens and the predominance of unchanging faces heading militarised parties. Yet many will still head to the polls.

Heres all you need to know about the parliamentary elections:

How does it all work?

Well, voters will select 329 members of parliament.

Of this number, at least 25 percent  83 seats  will go to women.

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Early voting for Iraqs security personnel and its 26,000 displaced people took place on Sunday.

For the rest of the population, polls will open at 7am (04:00 GMT) on Tuesday and close at 6pm (15:00 GMT).

They will cast their ballots at polling stations across 18 of Iraqs 19 provinces. The recently created province of Halabja will be included with Sulaimaniya in the vote.





How many people are running?

There are 7,744 candidates running, most affiliated with sectarian political parties and blocs  a direct outcome of the muhasasa (quota) system ushered in after the US invasion.

Muhasasa was an attempt to bring about proportional representation among Iraqs diverse ethnic and religious communities.

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According to the system, the speaker of parliament will always be a Sunni, the prime minister a Shia and the president a Kurd.

Interactive Iraq elections

Who are the major players?

This election will see a powerful Shia bloc headed by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki run in the elections as well as a coalition headed by the current leader, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.

The latter is aiming to secure a second term as prime minister, yet analysts believe his chances are slim due to deep divisions within the Shia Coordination Framework (SCF), which is the principal Shia political bloc.

The SCF was formed in 2021 and appointed al-Sudani as prime minister in 2022.

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Meanwhile, the main Sunni political force running in the elections is the Taqaddum (Progress) Party, headed by parliamentary Speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi. His partys supporters mainly hail from Sunni heartlands in the west and north of the country.

The major Kurdish parties competing in the elections are the Kurdistan Democratic Party, which is trying to secure larger shares of oil reserves to boost the budget in the semiautonomous Kurdish region of Iraq.

The rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which favours closer relations with the government in Baghdad, will also be competing for seats and influence.





Anyone boycotting?

Powerful Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has urged his followers to boycott the elections.

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Al-Sadr commands a large following in southern and central Iraq, which he can easily mobilise onto the streets, according to analysts.

Al Jazeera previously reported that al-Sadr boycotted the elections to protest the muhasasa system, which he reportedly wants to replace with a government formed by the blocs that win a majority in elections.

Critics fear that abandoning proportional representation along sectarian lines could eventually pave the way for a new dictatorship.

Nevertheless, the refusal of Sadrists to participate in the elections could damage the legitimacy of the next government, Tamer Badawi, an Iraq expert with the Royal United Services Institute, told the Atlantic Council.

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He added that any crisis of confidence in the next government could hurt its ability to provide adequate services.

Interactive Iraq elections

How many people will vote?

Probably not as many as in previous elections.

Only 21.4 million out of a total of 32 million eligible voters have signed up from 19 provinces to partake in the elections, down from four years ago when 24 million people registered.

Many observers and analysts believe voter turnout on Tuesday could dip below 2021s 41 percent, the lowest turnout on record.

The lack of participation in Iraqs elections has been attributed to growing disenfranchisement among Iraqi youth over the muhasasa system, which many perceive as enabling corruption and injustice.

Whats at stake?

Al-Sudani is pursuing a second term as prime minister, and his bloc is positioned to win the most seats, yet he may still fail at securing the backing of major Shia parties to retain his post.

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Al-Sudanis first term saw him under increasing US pressure to crack down on the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), or Hashd al-Shaabi, a quasi-state paramilitary group that fought and defeated ISIL in 2017 and that the US views as aligned with Iran, which has been influential in Iraq since the US invasion.

Al-Sudani has promised to integrate PMF units into the government and fully submit them to the chain of command of the Iraqi army and other conventional security forces.





This has been an increasingly delicate task since PMF groups have accrued their own power by entrenching themselves in the economy and creating political parties prominent in the SCF, power that could enable them to win significant seats and compete for major posts in the next government.

Yet according to the Atlantic Council, the larger player in the SCF is al-Maliki, who harbours ambitions to become prime minister for the third time despite being widely blamed during his two consecutive terms (2006-2014) for exacerbating sectarian grievances, which led to the rise of ISIL.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani called the vote decisive for the country's long-term direction, as it comes amid political splintering, voter fatigue, and realignments among key factions.

Iraq completed early voting on Sunday, closing a day that saw security personnel and displaced citizens cast ballots ahead of the nationwide parliamentary election. The Independent High Electoral Commission reported a turnout of 82.42%, saying just over 1.1 million people voted out of the roughly 1.34 million eligible in this phase.

Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. and shut their doors at 6 p.m., marking the final major step before Iraqs 21 million registered voters head to the polls on Tuesday. The commission has prepared 8,703 centers for election day, with 7,744 candidates competing for 329 seats in the Council of Representatives.

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The political atmosphere in Baghdad has grown increasingly charged as the vote approaches. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, in a national address before campaigning paused, urged citizens to participate, calling the vote decisive for the countrys long-term direction. He reminded Iraqis that they are the decision-makers, encouraging them to approach the polls with responsibility.

The country enters the contest amid political splintering, voter fatigue, and realignments among key factions. Sudani, who enjoys broad public support and is seeking another term, faces resistance from competing Shi'ite power brokers and a governance system built to limit any single leaders authority.

In the north, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan head into the election cycle still without a government nearly a year after their own regional vote, while Sunni leaders remain split among themselves.

A displaced man from the Yazidi minority votes during special voting, two days before polls open to the public in a parliamentary election, at the Sharya camp, in Duhok, Iraq, November 9, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/ARI JALAL)

Government expands protection of voting centers

The government has expanded security operations ahead of Tuesdays polling. Military checkpoints dot Baghdads main arteries, and tens of thousands of security personnel have been deployed nationwide to protect voting centers. Many citizens say stability remains their foremost concern, along with economic revival and the assertion of national sovereignty.

Younger voters have taken an active role in registration drives and neighborhood outreach, hoping to lift participation after the low turnout recorded in 2021.
Israel has handed over the bodies of 15 more Palestinians to the Gaza Strip as part of a ceasefire deal with Hamas.

The health authority in Gaza controlled by the Palestinian Islamist movement announced on Monday that the remains had been handed over with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

This brings the total number of Palestinian bodies handed over since the ceasefire began a month ago to 315. However, less than a third of these have been identified so far.

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Israel and Hamas agreed on the exchange as part of the ceasefire agreement struck in October. According to the agreement, for every Israeli hostage whose remains are released, Israel must hand over the remains of 15 deceased Gaza residents.

The exact circumstances of the Palestinians' deaths are not known. It is believed that Israel kept their bodies in a military camp.

Hamas has already released all 20 surviving hostages who were kidnapped during the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. They were released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

However, the handover of the dead hostages has proceeded more slowly than agreed.

According to Israel, the bodies of four hostages are still in the Gaza Strip.
A terrorist opened fire on Israel Police officers near Hebron, prompting a return of fire that resulted in the terrorist's death. No officers were injured in the incident.

An individual opened fire on Israel Police officers near Hebron in the West Bank, police said Monday.

According to the police report, officers from the Hebron station noticed suspicious activity in a vehicle and stopped it for inspection.

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When the vehicle was stopped, an armed terrorist exited and fired at the officers, who then proceeded to kill this assailant.

"The officers decisive engagement and rapid reaction led to the immediate neutralization of the threat and prevented harm to both security personnel and civilians," the West Bank District Commander, Deputy Commissioner Moshe Pinchi, said.

Border Police arrest three for throwing Molotov cocktails

In a separate incident, assailants threw several Molotov cocktails towards a Border Police position in the West Bank over the weekend, police said Monday.

Border Police officers track assailants who threw Molotov cocktails towards officers in the West Bank, November 2025. (credit: ISRAEL POLICE SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

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Border Police officers collected footage in order to identify the assailants, including the route they took to escape to a nearby village after the incident.

This led to officers identifying one of the scooters used by the assailants.

Officers then used drone surveillance and other technological means to identify and track the assailants, arresting three.
The Israeli military launched a series of airstrikes on Monday targeting pro-Iranian Hezbollah in southern and eastern Lebanon.

An airstrike hit a car south of the coastal city of Sidon, killing one person, the Health Ministry in Beirut reported.

The state news agency NNA reported various Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon, with loud explosions heard in the targeted areas.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it targeted Hezbollah "terrorist infrastructure," including sites in the Nabatieh and Beqaa Valley used for weapons production, storage and rocket launches aimed at Israel.

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Since a ceasefire took effect in November 2024, the Lebanese Health Ministry reports there have been nearly 300 deaths. The UN reports that 100 of these deaths were civilians. Hezbollah has not released any figures on its own casualties.

The government in Beirut is under pressure to implement the disarmament of Hezbollah, a process proposed by the US and approved by the Cabinet.
At least two people including a child have been killed in an Israeli drone strike east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, according to Al Jazeera reporters in the besieged Palestinian territory.

Hamas condemned Israels daily and continuous violations since a truce came into effect last month, accusing it of maintaining a campaign of bombardments and demolitions across the besieged enclave.

In a statement published on Telegram on Monday, the group said Israeli attacks had killed 271 people, over 90 percent of them civilians, and wounded 622 more since the ceasefire took effect on October 10.

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The Israeli military said the Palestinians killed on Monday posed an immediate threat to its forces.

Israeli forces have also been systematically destroying homes inside the so-called yellow line, a temporary withdrawal boundary agreed in the ceasefire.

Al Jazeeras correspondents on the ground have said demolition operations in eastern Khan Younis have intensified. Every two-storey building or house is being targeted, said Hamdan Radwan, mayor of Bani Suheila, the largest municipality in the area.

Al Jazeera correspondents have confirmed Israeli forces are blowing up residential blocks in central Gaza as well. Satellite images and field footage show large swathes of neighbourhoods reduced to rubble.

Palestinians walk around their tents in Gaza City on November 3, 2025, during a ceasefire in the two-year-long Israeli war on Gaza [File: Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP]

Israel continues to restrict aid deliveries

Israel also continues to restrict aid deliveries to Gaza, violating one of the key terms of the ceasefire. Hamas said Israel had refused to allow at least 600 aid trucks daily, including 50 carrying fuel, despite the agreement.

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On Sunday, only 270 trucks entered Gaza through the Karem Abu Salem (known in Israel as Kerem Shalom) and al-Karara (Kissufuim) crossings.

According to Al Jazeeras reporters, the deliveries included 126 trucks of humanitarian aid, 127 carrying commercial goods, 10 with fuel and seven transporting cooking gas.

While aid flow has increased since the ceasefire began, Palestinians across Gaza continue to suffer from extreme shortages of food, medicine, clean water and essential goods.

Many remain homeless, with entire neighbourhoods destroyed by nearly two years of relentless Israeli bombardment.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) says between 500 and 600 trucks of supplies are needed daily to meet Gazas most basic needs. But Israels restrictions have left the agency struggling to deliver aid.





John Whyte, UNRWAs senior deputy director for Gaza operations, told Irish news outlet The Journal that Israel has barred the agencys vehicles from entering altogether.

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They just wont let anything thats owned by UNRWA go in, Whyte said. Theyre requiring us to hand our supplies to other agencies and remove the UNRWA logo before they can cross. Its creating enormous logistical delays.

Israel outlawed UNRWA last year, with the ban taking effect in January, cutting off a critical lifeline for Gazas displaced population.

Reporting from Deir el-Balah, Al Jazeeras Hind Khoudary noted that Palestinians were promised 600 trucks of aid daily as part of the ceasefire. Weve been monitoring the situation, and the majority of trucks entering are non-essential commercial ones, she said. According to the UN and Reuters, only around 200 trucks of humanitarian aid are entering each day.

Khoudary added that in northern Gaza, where many displaced families are returning, the UN has reported no direct aid entry for 75 days. People told us they go to bed hungry. They queue for hours for water and cant afford meat or eggs, she said.





Israel hands over Palestinian bodies

As part of the ceasefires body exchange arrangement, Israel on Monday handed over the remains of 15 Palestinians to authorities in Gaza. A medical source told Wafa news agency that the Red Cross transferred the bodies to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis.

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It was the 12th such exchange under the deal, bringing the total number of bodies returned to 315. Only 89 have been identified so far due to decomposition and a lack of proper equipment in Gaza. Wafa reported that most of the recovered bodies showed signs of torture.

Hamas said it had fulfilled its obligations under the agreement, handing over 20 living captives within 72 hours despite extremely difficult field conditions. It said it had retrieved 24 of 28 bodies and shared coordinates for others located in areas under Israeli control.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that al-Kheir Hospital in Khan Younis has resumed operations after months of closure due to Israeli attacks. The WHO said it helped rehabilitate the facility by restoring power, sanitation and water systems, and providing medical equipment.

A new 20-bed nutrition stabilisation centre has also opened in the hospital, bringing the total number of such centres across Gaza to eight. These facilities treat children suffering from severe malnutrition complicated by infections and dehydration, conditions that have become widespread amid the continuing Israeli blockade.




A young Palestinian has been killed after he was shot by Israeli troops during a raid on Fara refugee camp in the south of Tubas town in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian authorities.

Abdel Rahman Darawsha, 26, succumbed to gunshot wounds he sustained when Israeli forces stormed the camp and opened live fire on Saturday night, the official Wafa news agency said, citing the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Darawsha was rushed in a Palestine Red Crescent ambulance to Tubas Governmental Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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The Wafa report said Israeli soldiers raided the camp on Saturday, deploying infantry units at the entrance and firing live ammunition.

Israeli forces also carried out raids near Jenin and Ramallah, and in the north of occupied East Jerusalem.





Separately, a group of about 50 Israeli settlers attacked a Bedouin community in the east of Jaba village near occupied East Jerusalem on Sunday, injuring seven Palestinians, said Wafa, adding that they also burned the communitys properties, causing significant damage.

Another Palestinian was wounded in an attack by Israeli settlers in the village of Umm al-Khair to the south of Hebron.

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The attacks came just days after the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said October saw the highest monthly number of settler attacks in the occupied West Bank since the organisation began documenting the situation in 2006.

The UN office said there were more than 260 settler attacks last month in the occupied West Bank  an average of eight per day  resulting in injuries, property damage, or both.

Violence in the Palestinian territory has soared since the war in Gaza broke out in October two years ago, with more than 1,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces or settlers since, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

During the same period, 43 Israelis, including soldiers, were killed in Palestinian attacks in the territory, official Israeli figures show.
Italian pasta could largely disappear from US supermarket shelves as producers say 107% tariffs make exports uneconomic.

Washington announced 92% anti-dumping duties on 13 Italian companies  which account for most Italian pasta imports to the US  on top of 15% duties on all goods from the EU.

American pasta makers regularly complain that their Italian rivals are underpricing their goods. But one Italian pasta CEO told The Wall Street Journal that the high penalties are not about dumping, but an excuse to block imports.

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A New York Times opinion writer, meanwhile, lamented having to use American noodles, which he noted have less flavor and a mushier texture than Italian brands that use bronze dies instead of Teflon ones.
TRIPOLI, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Monday launched a digital platform for Libyan youth, aiming to strengthen their participation in the country's structured dialogue process.

The platform, announced by the UN mission in Libya on its official Facebook page, targets young women and men aged 18 to 35 residing in Libya, enabling them to express their views and opinions on key issues discussed in the dialogue, thereby supporting the efforts of youth directly participating in this political process.

Subscribers to the platform will have the opportunity to share their perspectives with members of the structured dialogue, ensuring that youth voices from across Libya are heard in political decision-making.

"The youth in Libya are not only the country's future, but also its present. They are the most affected by the current political crisis and the greatest beneficiaries of a peaceful transition that allows them to elect leaders of their choice," Hanna Tetteh, UN secretary-general's special representative for Libya, said in the statement. 
TOKYO (AP)  Japan was involved in a war of words with China this week after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a survival-threatening situation" for Japan requiring the use of force.

Takaichi, who was elected as the countrys first female prime minister last month, said Friday that Chinese use of force around Taiwan would qualify as an existential threat."

Her comment sparked sharp criticisms from Beijing over the weekend.

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We have no choice but cut off that dirty neck that has been lunged at us without hesitation. Are you ready? Chinese Consul General Xue Jian said in a message posted on X, which was later deleted. Xue also criticized past remarks made by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other Japanese lawmakers that of Taiwan emergency is Japan emergency as blatant interference of Chinese internal affairs and violation of sovereignty that require a retraction and apology.

On Monday, Japans Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Tokyo had protested to Beijing over Xues X message.

While the intent of (Xues) post is not entirely clear, we must say the comment ... was extremely inappropriate, Kihara said. Japans Foreign Ministry has since lodged a strong protest and demanded the post deleted. Kihara urged China to provide an explanation.

On Tuesday, Kihara reassured that the Japanese government's position on one-China policy is unchanged and that the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait is essential not only to Japan's national security but also for the international community.

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Kihara said Tokyo provided the explanation in response to Beijing's protest and request for clarification about Takaichi's remarks. He reassured Japan's intention to develop constructive and stable relationship with China, as the two leaders confirmed at their recent meeting.

The row suggests that Japan-China relations may not be smooth under Takaichi, despite what appeared to be a cordial meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea during the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Japan's new leader has committed to beefing up the military and met Taiwans representative to the summit the day after her meeting with Xi, angering China.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Xues post was a personal one directed at the erroneous and dangerous remarks that attempt to separate Taiwan from Chinas territory and advocate military intervention in the Taiwan Strait.

He blamed some Japanese politicians and media for hyping the issue to confuse public perception and divert attention.

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China has lodged solemn complaints and protests with Japan over Takaichis remarks, Lin said. China urges Japan to immediately stop interfering in China's internal affairs stop making provocations and crossing lines and not go further down the wrong path.

Is Japan attempting to challenge Chinas core interests and obstruct the great cause of Chinas reunification? he said. Where does Japan intend to take China-Japan relations?

China regards Taiwan part of its territory and has not renounced the use of force to bring the self-governing island under its control.

The latest diplomatic spat started on Friday when Takaichi was asked in parliament about scenarios that would constitute a threat to Japan.

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The ultraconservative Takaichi cited the examples of a Chinese naval blockade on Taiwan and any military action to prevent the arrival of U.S. forces.

If it involves the use of warships and military actions, it could by all means become a survival-threatening situation in which Japan could use force for defense, she said.

Her response was seen as deviating from her predecessors remarks and triggering a controversy that caused her to backpedal later and pledge that her remarks were within the previous official line.

___

Moritsugu reported from Beijing.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Sunday vowed to oppose a new Senate deal in the works to end the nearly six-week government shutdown.

In a statement, the Democratic leader dug his heels in on his partys position that any legislation to reopen the government must include an extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of the year, raising premiums for millions of Americans.

House Democrats have consistently maintained that bipartisan legislation that funds the government must also decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis. For seven weeks, Democrats in the House and Senate have waged a valiant fight on behalf of the American people, Jeffries wrote in a statement.

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It now appears that Senate Republicans will send the House of Representatives a spending bill that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, he continued.

As many as 10 Democrats in the Senate could support a bill to reopen the government as soon as Sunday evening or early Monday morning, after a group of moderate Democrats, and even some liberals, engaged in secretive negotiations over the weekend to end the record-length shutdown.

The legislative package would combine some full-year funding bills for parts of the government with a continuing resolution to reopen the government through Jan. 30. The legislation would also address some of the Trump administrations mass layoffs of federal employees during the shutdown.

Jeffries said he would fight the legislation, if it returns to the House for a vote, citing its apparent failure to address Democrats health care concerns.

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America is far too expensive, Jeffries wrote. We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.

We will fight the GOP bill in the House of Representatives, where Mike Johnson will be compelled to end the seven week Republican taxpayer-funded vacation, he continued.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Until three days ago, the United States still officially regarded Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syrias president, as a specially designated global terrorist.

Following one of the most dramatic rehabilitations in recent memory, the former jihadist was received by Donald Trump on Monday in what may be the most astonishing meeting ever hosted in the White House.

That Mr Sharaa is the first Syrian president ever to cross the threshold of the West Wing would make the occasion extraordinary enough, not least because he had a $10m bounty on his head.

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A year ago, the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, toppled by Mr Sharaas Islamist rebels last December, was a pariah, ostracised by the West and closely allied to Russia and Iran.

But even that pales beside the background of Mr Trumps guest  a man once so inspired by 9/11 that he copied Osama bin Ladens look, pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda and led a militia that used suicide bombers to wage jihad in Syria and Iraq.

Shielded from the media and television cameras, a grainy picture of Mr Sharaa was the only indication that he had arrived at the White House.

Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives at the west entrance of the White House - JIM LO SCALZO/EPA/Shutterstock

Mr Sharaa entered the building through West Executive Avenue, adjacent to the White House, rather than being driven to the front door of the West Wing as is customary for the arrival of world leaders.

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It was a sign of the sensitivity of the meeting, which remained closed to the press, who had been primed to ask the president about why he had invited the former jihadist to the Oval Office.

Mr Sharaa left the White House about two hours later and greeted a throng of supporters gathered outside under the watchful eye of his large security detail.

Mr Trump and Mr Sharaa first met in May in Saudi Arabia.

At the time, the president described Mr Sharaa as a young, attractive guy. Tough guy. Strong past, very strong past. Fighter.

This time, the pleasantries of the meeting remained closely guarded. But the president is said to have agreed to lift sanctions against the state for 180 days.

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Pictures later released by the travelling delegation showed the two leaders shaking hands and smiling in the oval office. JD Vance, the vice-president, was also in attendance.

Mr Sharaa shakes hands with Donald Trump in the Oval Office

At a later event, Mr Trump praised the Syrian mission he had hosted earlier but ignored reporters questions about whether any deals had been made.

Hes a very strong leader, he said in the Oval Office.

He comes from a very tough place, and hes a tough guy. I liked him. I get along with him... the new president of Syria, and well do everything we can to make Syria successful.

The last time Mr Sharaa was officially a guest of the Americans was as an inmate in Iraqs military prisons between 2005 and 2011. For a while he was held at Abu Ghraib, whose notorious regime of abuse can hardly have endeared him to the US cause.

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The exact reason for his arrest remains unclear, though he was reputed to be a skilled bomb maker and is alleged to have been caught planting roadside bombs targeting US troops.

After returning to Syria in 2011, as the uprising against Assad began, he founded a Syrian branch of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadis Isis movement. His groups suicide attacks against regime targets killed hundreds of civilians.

Later, after falling out with Baghdadi  killed on Mr Trumps orders in 2019  Mr Sharaa realigned himself with al-Qaeda.

Given this chequered past, some question the wisdom of Mr Trumps courtship of the Syrian leader, whom he described as young, attractive and tough after they first met in Saudi Arabia in May.

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Its a colossal gamble, says a former Western diplomat who served in the Middle East. He could be a valuable ally. He could be the devil incarnate.

Ahmed al-Sharaa has served as the president of Syria since Jan 2025

Mr Trump has chosen to give him the benefit of the doubt. Last week, the United Nations Security Council backed a US resolution lifting sanctions on Mr Sharaa.

Ahead of their meeting, the US president said: I think hes doing a very good job. Its a tough neighbourhood, and hes a tough guy, but I get along with him very well.

Mr Trump may govern by instinct on occasion but his embrace of the Syrian leader is unlikely to be based on mere hunch.

There are clear strategic advantages to a rapprochement.

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Spurning Mr Sharaa could drive him towards Moscow and Tehran. By contrast, a Syria inside the Western fold could be less likely to permit Iran to resupply its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah through its territory, cutting the groups main lifeline.

Damascus has already cancelled Russias naval access to the port of Tartous, undercutting the Kremlins reach in the Mediterranean.

Mr Sharaa also has incentives to align with Washington.

Some have questioned Mr Trumps courtship of the Syrian leader given his troubled past

He needs the goodwill of Turkey and Saudi Arabia, Western allies crucial to Syrias reconstruction, and has shown himself to be a pragmatist more interested in power than ideology.

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Those Westerners who met him as a jihadist commander believe he used political Islam as a vehicle for ambition rather than conviction.

After carving out a fiefdom in Idlib in northwestern Syria in the midst of the countrys civil war, he evolved from a hardline Islamist who banned Christmas and persecuted minorities into a leader who apologised to Christian clergymen and restored their property.

Under Turkish encouragement, he allegedly began quietly cooperating with the CIA, MI6 and other Western services  even while still on Washingtons terrorist list.

At the Wests request, he detained wanted jihadists, particularly those linked to Europe, and is said to have allowed Western spooks to interrogate them in his jails. He may even have assisted the American operation that killed Baghdadi.

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Mr Sharaa denies any intelligence ties, but he cultivated Western contacts  among them Jonathan Powell, now Sir Keir Starmers National Security Adviser, who visited him in Idlib in the years before he toppled Assad.

Such relationships have fuelled claims in jihadist circles that Mr Sharaa is a Western intelligence asset. Such claims appear far-fetched.

In reality, Syrias new president appears to be acting, as ever, in his own interests. For now, those interests align with Washingtons. Since seizing power, he has continued to restrain extremists and help foreign intelligence agencies pursue al-Qaeda and Isis cells.

Whether he can succeed is another question. Syria remains riddled with armed factions and Sunni extremists nominally loyal to his government have carried out atrocities against minorities, most notably targeting the Druze and Assads Alawites.

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Some analysts warn these militants could yet turn on Mr Sharaa himself, reigniting civil war.

For Washington, then, Syrias president is an unlikely ally  but in a shattered country with few alternatives, the Trump administration appears to have concluded it is worth taking the risk.

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Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough slammed Democrats wringing of hands after a late-night deal struck Sunday to end the government shutdown and, instead, urged the party to take the win  arguing the process exposed the Trump administrations priorities.

Eight members of the Democratic caucus ignited fury from some quarters of the party after voting for the resolution to end the 40-day shutdown, the longest in U.S. history.

Democrats claimed they were holding out to force the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies that lapse at the end of the year. The deal promises a vote on the matter next month.

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With few believing that the ACA vote would pass, backlash came from prominent Democrats, like California Governor Gavin Newsom, and congressional lawmakers who were furious that the resolution had passed.

Pathetic.  Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) November 10, 2025

Speaking on Mondays Morning Joe, Scarborough told Democrats that the Republican Party and Trump admin had exposed themselves as allied to billionaires  pushing for tax cuts for the richest of the rich while working overtime to take food assistance from working Americans:

This is just Democrats, I get it, they have the best week that theyve had in a year and a half and then fear and loathing and the wringing of hands because they may reopen the government because, yes, there are some Democrats who understand that people are going hungry. And what have they done? They have found out and they have exposed a White House that is working overtime to give tax cuts to billionaires at the same time theyre working overtime to take SNAP assistance, to take food assistance, from working Americans. And this has exposed just how much the Republican party hates the idea of helping working Americans, helping middle class Americans, who are struggling with health care.

Scarborough continued to argue that Democrats had secured massive and historic election wins in the last week that even MAGA loyalist Steve Bannon acknowledged had erased ten years of Republican gains in one night:

So all this fear and loathing and all this whining, I wish Democrats, for once, just once, could take a win and then understand the Republicans, they were never going to help working Americans  they learned that through this process. So, you know who else learned that through this process? The American voter! Donald Trump was exposed and the administration was exposed and Republicans were exposed as the party that fought like hell to give tax cuts to billionaires, to multinational corporations, to the richest of the rich. And we learned just last week they were trying to extend those tax cuts to even more billionaires, to give them even bigger tax cuts. At the same time they were fighting like hell to stop working Americans from getting basic food assistance and just a helping hand, just a little helping hand with our health care costs. So, yeah, the government shutdown is going to come to an end but the reality of what this Republican party stands for today, the reality of what Donald Trump was fighting for this past week, that will stay with voters for years to come.

Rounding on the same Democrats later in the show, Scarborough jibed that those protesting loudest were posing to try to be posing so they can look tougher for their presidential run in 2028.

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He added that Democratic voters are going to be seeing who stays united and who tears the party apart.

Watch above via MSNBC.

The post Joe Scarborough Urges Dems to Take the Win on Shutdown Deal, Argues Trump Admin Exposed Itself first appeared on Mediaite.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has promised to finally swear in Adelita Grijalva  now that enough Senate Democrats have signed on to Republicans spending bill to end the government shutdown.

According to a source on a private conference call with House Republicans on Monday, Johnson, R-La., said that the first order of business will be to administer the oath to Grijalva, who was elected in a special election in September to represent Arizonas 7th Congressional District.

The person spoke about the call on condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to discuss it publicly.

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Until now, Johnson has delayed Grijalvas swearing in, repeatedly saying she would be seated once the government reopens.

Grijalva and House Democrats argued that Johnsons stance was arbitrary and that nothing prevented him from calling the House back into session to swear her in.

Grijalva and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes sued the U.S. House in October, arguing that the delay was denying Arizonas right to full representation in Congress.

This delay never should have never happened in the first place, Grijalva said on Monday after hearing of Johnsons relenting on swearing her in.

For seven weeks, 813,000 Arizonans have been denied a voice and access to basic constituent services. This is an abuse of power that no speaker should have, she said.

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Johnson said the House is on track for a Wednesday vote on the spending bill, according to the source who was on the call.

While I am eager to get to work, Grijalva said, I am disappointed that one of my first votes will be on a bill that does nothing to protect working people from skyrocketing premiums, loss of health coverage, or do anything significant to rein in Trumps abuse of power.

Grijalvas official entry into Congress also means she will be the final signature on a petition to force a House vote to release files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which some House Democrats speculated was the reason for Johnsons delay.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
A federal judge seemed to agree that a former Florida wildlife biologists Instagram joke about whales reacting to the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk was political speech protected by the First Amendment.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker heard argument in Tallahassee Nov. 10 in what may be the first suit in Florida by an employee fired for a social media post about Kirk's assassination.

Brittney Brown, who was a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) biologist, had reposted another account's post on her private Instagram story. It said, "the whales are deeply saddened to learn of the shooting of charlie kirk, haha just kidding, they care exactly as much as charlie kirk cared about children being shot in their classrooms, which is to say, not at all."

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Kirk was killed Sept. 10; Brown filed suit Sept. 30. Walker did not rule immediately, but his decision may sway other federal courts in viewing the speech rights of public employees who comment on political issues in their off hours.

At first, FWC attorney Taylor Greene said this wasn't protected speech. But the judge countered: "Help me understand how that kind of satire does not fall under the heart of the First Amendment," Walker said, while questioning Greene.

"This was a joke making fun of the violent attack of a political figure," Greene said. When pressed further by the judge, he said, "I'd be willing to concede that point."

More: Former FWC biologist sues after firing over post on Charlie Kirk

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Brown, a Bay County resident who worked at the agency for about seven years, was fired Sept. 15 at a time while others in the public and private sectors across Florida also were undergoing termination or disciplinary action for critical posts related to Kirk's death.

But the day before, her post came to light after the hard-right social media account called LibsofTikTok posted her LinkedIn page and a screenshot from her Instagram story. The account posted: "Your tax dollars pay her salary. She should be fired ASAP."

Gary Edinger, a Gainesville-based First Amendment attorney representing Brown, told the judge her repost was an "offhand, whimsical social media post." He expressed this was political speech discussing more than Kirk's assassination, but a greater issue of gun violence in the country.

"It's a political statement on a matter that everybody in America is talking about," Edinger told Walker.

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Greene, the FWC attorney, told the judge Brown was fired because of the backlash after her repost, saying she was "making fun of the political assassination."

When FWC fired Brown, it posted on X: "The comments and actions of this individual are not in line with the FWC, our values, or our mission. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards the promotion of violence and hate, and we will not stand for such behavior."

Brown wants her job back, even before final resolution of the case. If the judge agrees, she would go back to work as an FWC biologist, without lost pay from the time she was fired, but the case would go on to determine whether FWC retaliated against her in violation of her free speech rights.

This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Stephany Matat is based in Tallahassee, Fla. She can be reached at SMatat@gannett.com. On X: @stephanymatat.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Court hears case on Charlie Kirk post that got state worker fired
A judge on Monday allowed the continued deployment of more than 300 West Virginia National Guard members to patrol the streets of Washington, D.C., as part of President Donald Trumps push to send the military into Democratic-run cities.

Kanawha County Circuit Judge Richard D. Lindsay made the ruling after hearing arguments in a lawsuit by a civic organization that argued Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey exceeded his authority when he authorized the Guards deployment in August.

"The question before this court is whether or not state law allows West Virginia to do this, Lindsay said. The court has found that.

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The judge added: This court believes that the federal law allows for the request made by the president to the governor,.

West Virginia is among several states that sent National Guard members to the nations capital. While the state National Guard has said its deployment could last until the end of November, it is consulting with the governors office and others on the possibility of extending the stay.

Formal orders were issued last week extending the deployment of the District of Columbia's National Guard in the city through the end of February.

We are pleased with the judges decision, Jace Goins, the states chief deputy attorney general, said outside the court in Charleston. The National Guard are going nowhere. Theyre staying in D.C. Theyre not going to be redeployed to West Virginia.

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The judge made the determination that the governor made a lawful decision deploying the National Guard to D.C. by a lawful request of the president.

The West Virginia Citizen Action Group, which filed the lawsuit, argued that under state law the governor could deploy the National Guard out of state only for certain purposes, such as responding to a natural disaster or another states emergency request.

The civic group claimed that it was harmed by the deployment by being forced to refocus its resources away from government accountability and transparency. The state attorney generals office sought to reject the case, saying the group has not been harmed and lacked standing to challenge Morriseys decision.

"It was a simple issue of a broad, lawful request by the president and a lawful deployment by the governor. Thats all, Goins said.

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Aubrey Sparks, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Unions West Virginia chapter, said she didnt believe it was the correct decision.

I think that West Virginia law is clear, Sparks said. I think what the state was permitted to do here is to skirt past West Virginia law simply because Trump asked them to. And thats not how the law works. We remain deeply concerned about it.

Trump issued an executive order in August declaring a crime emergency in the nations capital, although the Department of Justice itself says violent crime there is at a 30-year low.

Within a month, more than 2,300 Guard troops from eight states and the District of Columbia were patrolling under the Army secretarys command. Trump also deployed hundreds of federal agents to assist them.

Separately, a federal judge heard arguments Oct. 24 on District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb s request for an order that would remove National Guard members from Washington streets. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, did not rule from the bench.
Members of the National Guard walk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on. Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. President Donald Trump announced plans to deploy federal officers and the National Guard to the District in order to place the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department under federal control and assist in crime prevention in the nation's capital. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images)

Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Richard Lindsay dismissed a lawsuit Monday that questioned whether Gov. Patrick Morrisey acted lawfully when he sent members of the West Virginia National Guard to Washington, D.C. earlier this year at the request of President Donald Trump.

The case was brought against the state by the West Virginia arm of the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the state Citizen Action Group. On Monday, Lindsay dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled if circumstances change.

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The ACLU and CAG were requesting Lindsay to issue a preliminary injunction that would have brought the West Virginia National Guard out of D.C. and sent back home. Since the court found that the deployment was lawful, no preliminary injunction was issued.

Moreover, Lindsay said he was persuaded by arguments from Chris Etheredge, a lawyer with the Attorney Generals Office representing the state, to dismiss the case.

In general, Lindsay ruled that because Trump did request states to send their National Guard members to D.C., standards were met that made the deployment legal. The situation would have likely been different, he said, if the troops were sent to another state without the request and consent of that states governor.

If the matter before this court was the deployment of our National Guard to another state over the objection of a state governor, then this court would have a problem with it, Lindsay said. [But] this case truly is different than every other National Guard deployment thats been in the news over the last year. Its an important fact to the extent that the president was acting within his authority according to local law [and federal law].

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Morrisey announced in August that he would be sending 300-400 members of the West Virginia National Guard to Washington D.C. after Trump declared a public safety emergency in the nations capital. That declaration ended in September, but troops have remained in the district.

In late September, a spokesperson for the states National Guard said members could remain in D.C. through November.

Monday was the third hearing held in the now-dismissed case. Lindsay said that, since the court found that the governors actions were legal, there was no further litigation necessary to prove alleged harm against CAG.

In their lawsuit, the ACLU argued that CAG was suffering real harm due to the National Guard deployment because staff were forced to use more time and resources to both educate the public about it and ensure the government acted properly.

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Etheredge argued in an earlier hearing that these alleged harms against CAG were not real and were not clear. He previously argued that the only parties who could claim to be directly harmed by the ongoing deployment are residents of D.C. or members of the Guard themselves.

Billy Wolfe, communications director for the ACLU, said in a statement Monday that the organization was disappointed in Lindsays ruling but was also thankful that the court treated the issue with the attention it deserved.

The court was clear that [CAG] had a right to hold the government accountable, and that the governors authority to deploy the Guard is not absolute, Wolfe wrote. Were going to keep an eye on this important issue.

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The Supreme Court has turned down a bid to have the justices revisit the courts landmark decision a decade ago that guaranteed the right to same-sex marriage nationwide.

The high court on Monday turned down a petition from Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky who objected on religious grounds to issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Davis urged the court to use a lawsuit against her as a vehicle to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in all states.

No justice noted any dissent or released any opinion as the court rejected Davis case in a routine order list.

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Obergefell was issued on a 5-4 vote, with conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy joining the liberals to establish the same-sex marriage right. With Kennedys retirement in 2018 and President Donald Trumps appointees later shoring up a 6-3 conservative majority, Davis lawyers hoped to muster the four justices needed to get the court to take up the issue again. But Davis petition, which appeared to many court watchers as a long-shot bid, fell short.

One member of the court, Justice Clarence Thomas, has called for the court to revisit Obergefell.

In 2022, when the Supreme Court ended the federal constitutional right to abortion, Thomas urged his colleagues in a concurring opinion to reconsider the same-sex marriage ruling. However, writing at the time for the courts majority, Justice Samuel Alito insisted that nothing in this opinion should be understood to cast doubt on precedents that do not concern abortion.
A juvenile has died following a water rescue from the Texas City Dike on Sunday, according to officials.

Texas City officials said they received a 9-1-1 call for a water rescue after two young people were in the water near the boat ramp. Texas City says members of its police, fire, and EMS departments responded to the scene.

Furthermore, officials say windy conditions at the dike also led to the hospitalization of six first responders. Officials said the conditions pushed the boat into rocks, causing it to flip over.

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They say four of those first responders remain in the hospital and are being monitored.

One of the juveniles was pronounced dead, and the other's condition is not known at this time, according to officials.

Two of the six first responders were released from the hospital; the four remaining are still hospitalized, officials confirmed.

ABC13 is working to uncover additional details and will bring you the latest updates on Eyewitness News throughout the day.

For news updates, follow Chaz Miller on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
ALMATY, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) will allocate about 2 million U.S. dollars to support the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices in northern Kazakhstan, the country's Ministry of Agriculture reported Monday.

According to the agreement signed between the UNDP and Kazakhstan's national grain operator, the Food Contract Corporation (FCC), the initiative is being implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and the UNDP, with support from the Global Environment Facility.

The partnership provides forward financing to agricultural producers over three years for the cultivation of legumes and perennial grasses. In return, farmers will apply modern agricultural technologies, follow crop rotation practices, and diversify their sown areas.

"By combining the efforts of state institutions and international partners, we aim to strengthen Kazakhstan's food security and support farmers in transitioning to environmentally friendly and financially sustainable farming practices," said UNDP Resident Representative in Kazakhstan Katarzyna Wawiernia during the signing ceremony.

FCC Chairman Asylkhan Dzhuwashev noted that Kazakhstan has become the first country in Central Asia to join this program. He said the collaboration with the UNDP will help diversify crop production and introduce new mechanisms to stimulate agribusiness development in Kazakhstan. 
Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, middle, answers a question from Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ashli Watts, left. Kentucky Senate President Pro Tem David Givens, R-Greensburg, sits next to Osborne. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer)

LEXINGTON  Republican leaders in the Kentucky legislature during a Monday conference forewarned of challenges to crafting a state budget next year, particularly with potential funding cuts and extra costs shifted to state governments for health care and food assistance.

A slew of state lawmakers shared their perspectives on the next state budget and other topics ranging from energy policy to transportation at the Kentucky Chamber of Commerces conference that served as a preview of the upcoming legislative session in 2026.

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Lawmakers will meet at the start of next year to craft a two-year state budget consisting of more than $100 billion that funds local school districts, state agencies and covers a portion of costs for federal programs including Medicaid, which provides health care to low-income people and other qualifying recipients.

State governments including Kentucky will also have to grapple with significant costs shifted to them by Congress for large federal assistance programs  namely Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP  through the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act this summer.

It will impact the way we do the budget, said Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, speaking before the crowd of business interests. I think this budget is going to present some unique challenges because there really are disparate ideas on how we approach this budget.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act shifted more administration costs to states for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which provides nearly 593,000 low-income Kentuckians with funding to buy food. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act also changed how much cost-share states cover for SNAP depending on how often a state makes an error in determining SNAP benefits for a recipient.

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Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, the chair of the Kentucky Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee, told the crowd the increased SNAP costs would amount to an immediate $180 million hit to the state budget, also mentioning there would be additional things to address related to Medicaid in the future.

The Congressional Budget Office projected the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would reduce federal spending on Medicaid over a decade by $911 billion and increase the number of uninsured people by about 10 million. The National Conference of State Legislatures wrote that the decreased Medicaid spending is largely attributed to stricter eligibility for Medicaid  such as adding work requirements  and limiting the use of provider taxes that states use to cover their share of Medicaid costs.

But McDaniel was clear the state legislature wouldnt be a backstop for programs negatively impacted by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Rethink your strategy, McDaniel said. The state is not going to backfill federal programs that get changed. Its just not going to happen. We simply do not have the bandwidth or the financial wherewithal to do so.

Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, left, and Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Ryland Heights, talked about the upcoming process to craft a two-year state budget next year at a conference of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Monday, Nov. 10, 2025 in Lexington. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer)

Rep. James Tipton, R-Taylorsville, the chair of the Kentucky House Postsecondary Education Committee, said during the conference the legislature had to be ready if change does come in regards to education funding. Federal education budget proposals from the White House and U.S. House Republicans call for deep cuts to funding for the nations K-12 schools.

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One lawmaker also brought up looming financial questions facing Kentucky hospitals with the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, particularly the law limiting state taxes on health care providers that hospitals rely on to get better reimbursement rates for treating Medicaid patients.

Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, the chair of the Senate Health Services Committee, mentioned to the crowd an assessment from the Kentucky Hospital Association that 35 hospitals in the state could close with the planned scale-down of provider taxes that hospitals rely on. Meredith told the Lantern he believed Congress would ultimately make changes to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

I think our congressmen and women will say, Weve got to put a stop to this or make some adjustments, said Meredith, a former hospital CEO. We cant let 35 hospitals close. So something will happen.

State funding uncertainty

State lawmakers during the one-day conference also alluded to facing a tighter budget in the next year as a result of uncertainty in state revenue in part triggered by federal trade policy under President Donald Trumps administration.

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The Consensus Forecasting Group, a group of economists charged with creating state government revenue forecasts, during its last meeting in September projected state revenues would fall over $300 million short of what is budgeted for the new fiscal year that began in July. That projected shortfall amounted to about a 2% decrease of the more than $15 billion budget for the fiscal year. The chairman of the forecasting group cited uncertainty with tariffs and trade for the revised revenue projection, though Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear also noted the decreases in income tax revenue.

The group will meet again in December to revisit its revenue projection for the current fiscal year and also project revenue for the upcoming two-year state budget to be considered by the legislature in 2026.

A significant question facing lawmakers regarding state revenues is what to do with the states income tax rate, something that the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and GOP leadership want to eventually eliminate.

Osborne said there are disparate ideas on how to approach the states income tax rate this year and how much to spend from the billions of dollars in the states rainy day fund.

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The GOP-controlled legislature, through a landmark law passed in 2022, created a system of fiscal triggers related to state revenues and the states rainy day fund before it can lower the states income tax rate by a half percentage point.

Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, left, sits by other state lawmakers during a panel on the sustainability of Medicaid. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer)

Its a shared goal of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and GOP legislators to eliminate the states income tax rate, though the state failed to meet the systems fiscal triggers this year to lower the income tax rate by another half percentage point in 2027. Fiscal triggers were hit last year, allowing the state income tax rate to drop 3.5% at the start of next year. The legislature changed the fiscal trigger system in this years legislative session to allow lawmakers to potentially reduce the income tax rate by less than a half percentage point.

House Majority Floor Whip Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, argued on a panel with McDaniel that the legislature had actually met the fiscal triggers to reduce the income tax rate by another half percentage point in 2027. He asserted the timing was off for when revenue amounts were checked, arguing that not all state revenues had been accounted for.

Osborne said it was the state budget directors opinion that the fiscal triggers were not met. But he also said we can make policy however we want to make it.

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Theres going to be conversations around this budget we havent had in the last several years that I think are going to be pretty interesting, Osborne said. Not necessarily disagreements or fights, but just different philosophies.

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LONDON (AP)  King Charles III led Britains annual ceremony of remembrance for the countrys war dead on Sunday, under November sunshine and the shadow cast across Europe by the almost 4-year-old war in Ukraine.

As Parliaments Big Ben bell tolled 11 a.m., thousands of military personnel, veterans and members of the public gathered in central London fell still for two minutes of silence, broken by a single artillery blast and Royal Marines buglers sounding The Last Post.

The 76-year-old king, dressed in the uniform of an army field marshal, laid a wreath of red paper poppies on a black background at the base of the Cenotaph war memorial. Erected over a century ago to honor the British and allied troops killed in World War I, it has become the focus of annual ceremonies for members of military and civilian services killed in that war and subsequent conflicts.

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The national ceremony of remembrance is held every year on the nearest Sunday to the anniversary of the end of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918, at 11 a.m. Similar memorial services are held in dozens of towns and cities across Britain and at U.K. military bases overseas.

A military band played as heir to the throne Prince William followed his father in laying a wreath on the simple Portland stone monument inscribed with the words the glorious dead.

Other members of the royal family followed, including the kings youngest brother, Prince Edward  but not former prince Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. The king stripped his brother Andrew of his titles last month and evicted him from his royal mansion over his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Wreaths were also laid by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, other political leaders and diplomats from across the Commonwealth of Britain's former colonies.

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Queen Camilla, the Princess of Wales and other members of the royal family watched from their traditional place on a balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Many of the wreaths were made of poppies, and most people in attendance wore paper poppies on their lapels. The scarlet flowers that bloomed on the muddy battlefields and makeshift graveyards of northern France and Belgium during World War I  made famous by the poem In Flanders Fields  have become a symbol of remembrance in Britain and other countries.

Like many other NATO members, Britain has increased its defense spending since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Britain says it will spend 3.5% of GDP on defense by 2035.

After the wreath-laying, some 10,000 military veterans with gleaming medals marched past the Cenotaph, accompanied by jaunty military music and applauded by well-wishers lining the sidewalks. Among them, in wheelchairs, were about 20 of the dwindling band of WWII veterans, the youngest of them 98 years old.

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Donald Poole, 101, who served in as a Royal Army Ordnance Corps explosives handler in the conflict that ended 80 years ago, said it was a great honor to be able to pay tribute to the poor souls who have died in all conflicts.

I know how lucky I am to still be here thanks to all those who have fought and served, past and present, he said. I also want to pay tribute to the civilian services who suffered during the Second World War, particularly the fire service, who saved so many lives during the Blitz  many of whom lost their own.
WASHINGTON  Senate appropriators released the text of their three-bill spending package to fund a slew of federal agencies for the remainder of the 2026 fiscal year as part of efforts to reopen the government and end the 40-day shutdown.

The three-bill framework, known as a minibus package among senators, includes funding for the legislative branch, the Agriculture Department, and the bill for veterans programs and military facilities. Those bills will be attached to a larger bill to temporarily fund the entire government until Jan. 30, which could be voted on as early as this week.

The text was released on Sunday afternoon after weeks of negotiations between both parties in the House and Senate. The framework received support from three of the four top appropriators in Congress, including Democratic Sen. Patty Murray. Her House counterpart, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., is the only one who rejected its contents.

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Heres a look at whats inside the three-piece appropriations bill.

Agriculture Department

The agriculture appropriations bill lays out the spending used to fund farm programs, food assistance such as SNAP, the Food and Drug Administration, and other rural development priorities.

The framework includes $8.2 billion for the Women, Infants, and Children program, a program under the USDA that provides food assistance and nutrition education to low-income women with children under 5 years old. Thats a $603 million increase from last fiscal year.

The bill allocates $460 million toward the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, which provides low-income adults over 60 years old with nutritious foods provided by the USDA. It also fully funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which has experienced some lapses in funding during the shutdown that has left millions of families at risk.

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The FDA will receive $6.9 billion in funding, which includes $9 million toward cosmetics regulation; $2.5 million for diabetes research; $2 million for the Tobacco Task Force; and $116 million for the State and Local Food Inspections Program.

The bill carves out $1.7 billion for rental assistance to support families in rural areas with accessing safe and affordable housing. Thats a $73 million increase over last year.

The legislation also includes language to prohibit the unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp-based or hemp-derived products from being sold online, in gas stations, or in corner stores. However, it preserves the sale for non-intoxicating CBD and industrial hemp products.

Legislative branch

The second part of the three-tiered spending package is language to fund Congress and related offices on Capitol Hill.

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Offices included in that spending include the House and Senate, Capitol Police, the Library of Congress, the Government Accountability Office, the Copyright Office, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Architect of the Capitol, among others.

Capitol Police will receive $852 million for the fiscal year, a $46 million increase from the year before. That money includes resources to recruit and retain officers.

The bill also allocates $203.5 million in new funding for member security, a major request from earlier this year among an uptick in threats toward lawmakers  especially after the assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University in September.

The Congressional Budget Office, which provides analyses to lawmakers on how much certain pieces of legislation will cost, will receive $74.8 million. The Congressional Research Service, which handles the legal and policy analyses, will receive $136 million.

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The bill provides $1.5 billion in funding for the Senate and another $2 billion for House operations. The framework also includes language to prevent any scheduled pay raises for lawmakers, a freeze that has been in place since 2009.

Military and Veterans Affairs

The final piece of the minibus package is the funding bill for the Department of Veterans Affairs and other related agencies.

The bill would provide $115 billion in discretionary funding for VA medical care, a $2.3 billion increase from fiscal year 2025. It would also include $49.8 billion in mandatory funding into the Cost of War Toxic Exposures Fund, a program that provides healthcare benefits and medical research for veterans who are exposed to toxic substances such as burn pits during their time of service.

Part of the medical care funding includes $342 million for access to rural healthcare; $3.5 billion toward housing assistance for veterans experiencing housing insecurity; $18.9 billion toward mental health resources; and $27.5 million for child care support, among other things.

The bill carves out $263.7 billion for mandatory veterans benefits, which includes disability compensation programs, education benefits, and rehabilitation training.
Rhode Island senators voted against a deal reached Sunday to reopen the federal government, the first procedural step to end the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

A group of moderate Democrats agreed to proceed without a guaranteed extension of health care subsidies, angering many in their caucus who say Americans want them to continue the fight.

In the first in a series of required procedural maneuvers, the Senate voted 60-40 to move toward passing compromise legislation to fund the government and hold a later vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire Jan. 1.

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If the deal is to be approved, it must pass the House, and President Donald Trump then must sign it. Final passage could be several days away, NBC News reported.

See also: RI Attorney General Neronha Sues Trump Administration For SNAP Funding Freeze

Rhode Island Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse voted against the deal.

"I am a no on the CR agreement," Reed said in X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter.

"I respect my colleagues on both sides, but the American people dont deserve a preventable increase in health care costs," Reed said.

"I voted no tonight," Whitehouse posted to X.

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See also: Rhode Island Gov. McKee Declares State Of Emergency Over SNAP Funding Freeze

"But the next phase of Democrats health care affordability fight is starting," Whitehouse said.

"While I personally dont believe Republicans will keep their promise to work with us on lowering health care costs, I would be thrilled to be wrong," he said.

The agreement does not guarantee the health care subsidies will be extended, as Democrats have demanded for almost six weeks. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York voted against moving ahead with the package, along with all but eight of his Democratic colleagues.

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A group of three former governors  New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine  broke the six-week stalemate on Sunday when they agreed to vote to advance three bipartisan annual spending bills and extend the rest of government funding until late January in exchange for a mid-December vote on extending the health care tax credits.

See also: Rhode Island SNAP Benefits Won't Go Out In November, Officials Confirm

Five other Democrats also voted in favor of the measure. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, home to tens of thousands of federal workers, also voted in favor of moving forward on the agreement. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen also voted yes.

The agreement includes a reversal of the mass firings of federal workers since the shutdown began on Oct. 1 and would ensure that federal workers receive back pay.

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The pact also agreed to fund parts of government  food aid, veterans programs and the legislative branch, among other things. All other funding would be extended until the end of January, giving lawmakers more than two months to finish additional spending bills.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune quickly endorsed the deal and called an immediate vote to begin the process of approving it as the shutdown continued to disrupt flights nationwide, threaten food assistance for millions of Americans and leave federal workers without pay.

See also: Trump Admin Resumes Some Student Loan Forgiveness: What To Know In RI

"The time to act is now," Thune said.

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Schumer, who said he could not in good faith support the deal because it doesnt restore health care subsidies, vowed Democrats will not give up the fight.

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said capitulating on health care would be a horrific mistake, and Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said in last weeks elections, people voted overwhelmingly Democratic to urge Democrats to hold firm.

Democrats had voted 14 times not to reopen the government as they demanded the extension of tax credits that make coverage more affordable under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans said they would not negotiate on health care, but GOP leaders have been quietly working with the group of moderates as the contours of an agreement began to emerge.

See also: Rhode Island House Speaker Calls For Break On Energy Bills During Shutdown

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House Democrats swiftly criticized the Senate.

Texas Rep. Greg Casar, the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said a deal that doesn't reduce health care costs is a betrayal of millions of Americans who are counting on Democrats to fight.

Accepting nothing but a pinky promise from Republicans isn't a compromise  it's capitulation, Casar said in a post on X. Millions of families would pay the price.

Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota posted that if people believe this is a deal, I have a bridge to sell you.

See also: SNAP Benefits May Change In Rhode Island Due To Government Shutdown

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House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries blamed Republicans and said Democrats will continue to fight.

"Donald Trump and the Republican Party own the toxic mess they have created in our country and the American people know it," Jeffries said.

It's unclear whether the two parties would be able to find any common ground on the health care subsidies before a promised December vote in the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, has said he will not commit to bringing it up in his chamber.

Some Republicans have said they are open to extending the COVID-19-era tax credits as premiums could skyrocket for millions of people, but they also want new limits on who can receive the subsidies and argue that the tax dollars for the plans should be routed through individuals.

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See also: Rep. Amo Meets With Behavioral And Mental Health Leaders About Shutdown

Other Republicans, including Trump, have used the debate to renew their years-long criticism of the law and called for it to be scrapped or overhauled.

Meanwhile, the consequences of the shutdown have been compounding. U.S. airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights on Sunday for the first time since the shutdown began, and there were more than 7,000 flight delays, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks air travel disruptions.

Treasury Secretary Sean Duffy said on CNN's "State of the Union" that air travel ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday will be "reduced to a trickle" if the government doesn't reopen.

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At the same time, food aid was delayed for tens of millions of people as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits were caught up in legal battles related to the shutdown.

See also: Trump Freezes $13.4M In RI Funding To Pressure Democrats To End Shutdown: Report

And in Washington, home to tens of thousands of federal workers who have gone unpaid, the Capital Area Food Bank said it is providing 8 million more meals ahead of the holidays than it had prepared for this budget year  a nearly 20 percent increase.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

See also: How Government Shutdown Could Impact Social Security Benefits In Rhode Island

Lawmakers Move To End Shutdown: How RI Senators Voted originally appeared on the Across Rhode Island Patch
WASHINGTON  The Senate took a first big step Sunday night toward ending the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown amid mounting pressure for Congress to act as Americans cope with halted food stamps and canceled flights weeks before the holidays.

On Day 40 of the shutdown, the Senate voted 60-40 to advance a deal to reopen the government after a group of eight Senate Democrats relented from policy demands and broke from their party ranks to strike an an agreement with congressional Republicans.

The action puts the shutdown on track to potentially end this week, but a final vote is still required by the Senate and then the House before the continuing resolution heads to President Donald Trump's desk.

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More: Tentative Senate deal to reopen government would provide funding for SNAP

Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on November 7 2025. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. Forty airports were due to slow down, including the giant hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. A traveler sits in front of departure display screens showing a small number of cancellations of flights at Denver International Airport on Nov. 9. 2025. People enjoy the weather at the closed National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, on Oct. 20, 2025. The US government shutdown dragged into a third week, with Congress gridlocked in a clash over spending and no resolution in sight to a crisis that has already cost thousands of jobs. A child peers into the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, which closed after the prior years funding it was using to remain open temporarily, ran out during the continuing U.S. government shutdown in Washington, D.C., Oct. 12, 2025. The Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC is closed to visitors temporarily as the U.S. federal government shutdown drags on, along with other Smithsonian Museums on Oct. 13, 2025. The Smithsonian Institution drew on funds from the prior year to stay open for 11 days after the shutdown began on Oct. 1. Visitors to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum find its doors are closed due to the continuing U.S. government shutdown in Washington, D.C., Oct. 13, 2025. The U.S. Capitol behind construction sandbags in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 8, 2025, the eighth day of the federal government shutdown. A woman walks past a sign indicating the Smithsonian's National Gallery of Art is closed as the federal government continues its shutdown Oct. 6, 2025, in Washington, DC. A view of North Capitol Street and the U.S. Capitol's rotunda as the federal government continues its shutdown on Oct. 6, 2025, in Washington, DC. The Cades Cove Visitor Center,Cades Cove and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Blount County, Tenn., reopened during the government shutdown thanks to a group of local and state leaders. Oct. 4, 2025. A man is reflected on the window door to the entrance of the New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park Visitor Center in New Bedford, Mass., as he crosses William Street. The tape hides hours of operation due to the center being closed due to government shutdown. (L-R) A group of friends and family traveling on a road trip, Harriett Green of Milford, New Jersey, Eveyn Hauck of Bangor, Pennsylvania, Colleen Abahazy of Easton, Pennsylvania, and Sharon Reuss of Easton, Pennsylvania, look through the locked gate to Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine on Oct. 3, 2025 in Baltimore, Md. The fort is closed due to the government shutdown that began early Wednesday after Congress failed to reach a funding deal. People visit the Smithsonian National Zoo as the US government is shut down for the second day on October 2, 2025 in Washington, DC. Efforts to swiftly end the US government shutdown collapsed October 1, 2025 as Democrats in Congress went home without resolving an acrimonious funding stand-off with President Donald Trump and the White House threatened public sector jobs. Smithsonian institutions receive federal funding and shut down during a federal government. The Smithsonian, a federal government entity, says on its website that it will use money from the last fiscal years budget to stay open at least through Monday, Oct. 6. A would-be visitor looks into the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum which is closed, on the first day of a partial U.S. government shutdown, in Boston, Mass. on Oct.1, 2025. The United States Capitol seen on the morning of the first day of the federal government shutdown on Oct.1, 2025 after President Donald Trump and congressional leaders failed to reach a funding compromise. Tinker Air Force Base is pictured in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. The base employs thousands of civilian employees and is the largest employer in the city's metro area. Many will be impacted by the shutdown. People wait in line to enter the Federal Building in Los Angeles, California on October 1, 2025, where services are experiencing significant disruptions due to the federal government shutdown, as essential workers continue working without pay and non-essential federal workers are furloughed. The United States Park Service place a notice on the visitors entry door notifying of the closing of the Washington Monument to visitors on the first day of the federal government shutdown on October 1, 2025. Members of the National Guard patrol along the grounds of the US Capitol on the first day of the US government shutdown in Washington, DC, on October 1, 2025. Essential services, like military and law enforcement, remain working. A man walks past Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site which is closed on the first day of a partial U.S. government shutdown in New York City, New York, October 1, 2025. Travelers pass through a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security screening at Hollywood Burbank Airport during the first day of a partial U.S. government shutdown in Burbank, California, October 1, 2025. The United States Courthouse in White Plains, N.Y. remained open Oct. 1, 2025 even with the shutdown of the federal goverment. The United States Capitol Rotunda and the United States Capitol closed to tours on the first day of the federal government shutdown on October 1, 2025 after President Donald Trump and congressional leaders failed to reach a funding compromise. A U.S. Park Service employee cleans up trash on the National Mall on the first day of the government shutdown on October 1, 2025 in Washington, DC. A child tries to look inside the visitor center of the Washington Monument, which is closed because of a partial government shutdown, in Washington, D.C., October 1, 2025. Tourists stand outside the entrance to the Capitol Visitors Center, which is closed due to the federal government shut down, on October 1, 2025 in Washington, DC. U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) sits on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on October 1, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Library of Congress is closed to visitors during the federal government shut down on October 1, 2025 in Washington, DC. Visitors look through the window of the closed U.S. Botanical Gardens during the federal government shut down on October 1, 2025 in Washington, DC. A worker locks the gate to the entrance of Everglades National Park Shark Valley due to the government shutdown on October 1, 2025, in Everglades National Park, Florida. The park will remain open to visitors, but with minimal staffing. The U.S. government shut down at midnight, with President Donald Trump and Democrats blaming each other for failing to reach an agreement. The Internal Revenue Office in White Plains, N.Y. remained open Oct. 1, 2025 even with the shutdown of the federal goverment. The Social Security office in White Plains, N.Y. remained open Oct. 1, 2025 even with the shutdown of the federal goverment. A person walks by the African Burial Ground National Monument Visitor Center, which is closed on the first day of a partial U.S. government shutdown, in New York City, October 1, 2025. People look up at the Washington Monument ticket office window with a notice of closure following the United States Park Service placing a note on the ticket office window notifying of the closing of the Washington Monument to visitors on the first day of the federal government shutdown on October 1, 2025. A man walks across the otherwise empty U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, closed to the public on the first day of a partial U.S. government shutdown, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., October 1, 2025. A Park Closed sign in the driveway for the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, N.Y. on October 1, 2025. All of the facilities on site are closed, but the grounds are currently open to the public, however there are no rest rooms, nor will trash be collected. Denise McGregor peers through a window to catch a glimpse inside the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, on Oct. 1, 2025. Due to the shutdown the building was closed. Stones River National Battlefield, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. is currently closed on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, due to a partial government shutdown. A sign referring to the federal government shutdown is hung on the door on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025 at the Natural Resources Conservation Service Office in Oklahoma City. A sign indicating that the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum is closed due to a lapse in federal appropriations on October 1, 2025. A Park Closed sign in the driveway for the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum on October 1, 2025. All of the facilities on site are closed, but the grounds are currently open to the public, however there are no rest rooms, nor will trash be collected. See the impact of the government shutdown as agencies shutter or fight to stay open 1 of 41 Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on November 7 2025. Hundreds of flights were canceled across the United States on Friday after the Trump administration ordered reductions to ease strain on air traffic controllers who are working without pay amid congressional paralysis on funding the US budget. Forty airports were due to slow down, including the giant hubs in Atlanta, Newark, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles.

The deal negotiated by Republican leaders and the eight Democrats reverses federal layoffs, promises a vote in the future on expiring Obamacare subsidies, and fully reopens the government through Jan. 30.

It appears to be a turning point toward the end of the monthlong political crisis that has left millions of Americans unable to travel, afford food, or send their kids to preschool (among many other rapidly mounting consequences).

Yet drawing criticism from many Democrats inside and outside of Congress, the agreement does not guarantee the extension of the health care subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year and send health care premiums skyrocketing.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) speaks with reporters outside the Senate Chamber after the vote on the 40th day of the partial government shutdown, in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 9, 2025.

More: 'Making this deal is malpractice.' It's Democrat vs. Democrat as shutdown nears end

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For weeks, Senate Democrats had stayed mostly unified and held off supporting a Republican-backed to reopen the government unless it also extended the subsidies.

But the group of Democratic defectors  which include four former governors and mostly moderates  argued it was time to end the shutdown after Republicans agreed to hold a vote on the Obamacare subsidies in December.

More: What's in the deal to end the government shutdown?

No further Senate votes expected tonight

The moon creates a silhouette of the Statue of Freedom atop the U.S. Capitol during a continuing partial federal government shutdown in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 8, 2025.

No additional votes in the Senate are expected Sunday night. The chamber could send its funding package to end the shutdown over to the House of Representatives as soon as Monday (if not then, certainly in the coming days).

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After voting late into the evening, lawmakers started departing the Capitol before the Senate recessed until 11 a.m. Monday.

Democrats break with party to advance spending bill

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to reporters outside the Senate Chamber on the 40th day of the partial government shutdown, in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 9, 2025.

Senators late Sunday night cleared a procedural hurdle to begin the process of ending the shutdown.

Along with most other Republicans, seven Democrats and one independent senator (Maine's Angus King, who caucuses with the Democrats) voted to move toward advancing a funding agreement that could reopen the government as soon as this week.

More: Which 8 Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to end the government shutdown?

The other Democrats who broke with their party were Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Tim Kaine of Virginia and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, voted against the measure.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), left, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), center, and Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), right, arrive for a press conference following a vote on Capitol Hill on November 9, 2025 in Washington, DC.

10K+ flights delayed on third day of government-mandated cuts

Sundays flight cancelations and delays were the single worst day for flight disruptions since the government shutdown began on Oct. 1.

Earlier in the day, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that air travel will only continue to get worse as airlines dealt with a third day of government-mandated flight cuts and air traffic control staffing shortages.

Morning inbound air traffic arrives (back) while other planes taxi to and from gates at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (CLT) on November 9, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The FAA has targeted 40 "high-volume" airports, including Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, for flight cuts amid the government shutdown.

The FAA is 1,000 to 2,000 controllers short of full staffing, Duffy told CNN. The Federal Aviation Administration previously said it had staffing issues at 12 towers.

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By late Sunday night, more than 10,000 flights within, into, or out of the United States had been delayed, according to FlightAware. Over 2,800 flights were canceled for the day. - Thao Nguyen

Democrat vs. Democrat on ACA subsidies

Democrat Mikie Sherrill wins New Jersey governors race, defeating Republican Jack Ciattarelli in a key contest.

The eight Democratic defectors who joined Republicans to try to reopen the government are facing widespread criticism from within their party for supporting a deal that does not guarantee the extension of expiring health care subsidies.

New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill, who was one of Democrats biggest winners during last weeks off-year elections, accused her Democratic colleagues in the Senate of caving on a bill that the American people cant afford.

Make no mistake, if this bill passes, it will lead to New Jerseyans paying far more for their healthcare, when they are already paying more and more for everything, said Sherrill, who is currently a fourth-term New Jersey congresswoman. Making this deal is malpractice.

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For weeks, Democrats have refused to reopen the government unless legislation also included the extension of subsides in the Affordable Care Act, which are set to expire at the end of the year and send premiums skyrocketing for millions of Americans.

But the deal reached with Republicans only ensures a vote later on extending the subsidies.

Pathetic, California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote in a one-word post on X.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks after a special election on Proposition 50, a measure that would temporarily redraw congressional districts in a manner that favors Democrats, in Sacramento, Nov. 4, 2025. The vote is a response to Republican efforts in Texas, Florida and other states.

Several Democratic candidates for Senate in 2026 expressed their disapproval as well. This moment demands fighters, not folders, said James Talarico, a Democratic state representative in Texas who is running for U.S. Senate.

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Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, attacked the leadership of Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer as he voiced his frustration  even though Schumer voted against the deal.

Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced, Khanna said in a post on X. If you cant lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, in a statement, said he wants nothing more than to reopen the government, get folks back to work, and end the needless hardship this Republican shutdown is causing.

But he added: I cannot support a deal that still leaves millions of Americans wondering how they are going to pay for their health care or whether they will be able to afford to get sick.

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By opposing the deal, Warner broke from his Virginia colleague in the Senate, Sen. Tim Kaine, who is among the eight Democratic defectors. - Joey Garrison

Key dates to watch

U.S. White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles looks out from Marine One as she and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 9, 2025.

This week : Proposals to reopen the government will start to work their way through both chambers of Congress.

Thanksgiving : Congressional leaders have indicated the shutdown will be over by the holiday. Sunday's agreement made that assertion much more likely.

Second week of December : The Senate will hold a vote on extending expiring Obamacare subsidies. It's unclear if such a measure would pass.

Jan. 30: The short-term funding measure lawmakers plan to pass this week would turn the government's lights back on until Jan. 30. If more full-year appropriations bills aren't passed by then, the government could shut down again, though only partially.

What happens next?

U.S. President Donald Trump pumps his fist next to U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as they attend the Washington Commanders-Detroit Lions NFL football game at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, U.S., November 9, 2025.

Now that some Democrats have signaled new support for reopening the government, Congress has to clear a number of procedural hurdles.

When the new funding deal passes the Senate, which could take several days, the bills will then have to pass the House of Representatives, which hasn't taken a vote in weeks. Lawmakers in the House have been on a 48-hour return notice, so it would likely take several days (barring any travel issues lawmakers might experience) for them to pass any Senate bills.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, indicated last week he didn't think the shutdown would last past Thanksgiving.

What's in the deal?

The agreed-to deal would reopen the government until Jan. 30. It would also include full-year funding for several agencies and programs, including food aid and veterans' benefits. Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, would continue through September at higher levels.

Another component of the agreement includes a commitment to a vote in the second week of December on a bill to potentially extend expiring Obamacare subsidies. The tax credits, which millions of Americans rely on for help paying premiums, have been the issue at the center of the shutdown fight.

In addition, the deal will reverse the layoffs of thousands of federal workers, while barring any potential firings until Jan. 30. The terminations have been temporarily barred by a federal court.

Shutdown pain has been growing

Flight timings and cancellations are displayed on the departures board, a month into the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., November 9, 2025.

Pain connected to the shutdown has been steadily intensifying in recent weeks and days. Even Abigail Spanberger, the governor-elect in Virginia who swept to victory last week, said that her win shouldn't be viewed as an excuse to prolong the shutdown.

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"Virginians need to  and Virginians want to  see the government reopen," she said Sunday on "Face the Nation" on CBS.

On Nov. 7, thousands of federal workers missed another paycheck. Hours later, the Supreme Court said the Trump administration didn't have to promptly pay full food assistance benefits.

Then, on Nov. 9, thousands of flights were canceled or delayed. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that unless the government reopens soon, flights could be reduced to a "trickle" ahead of Thanksgiving.

Asked on CNN how many Americans could be separated from their families over the holiday due to air travel issues, Duffy said that "the number's going to be substantial."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Government shutdown updates: Lawmakers reach deal and take a big step
BEIRUT (AP)  Lebanese authorities released the son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Monday after he paid a $900,000 bail, ending his 10-year detention for allegedly withholding information about a missing Lebanese cleric, security officials and a member of his defense team said.

One of Hannibal Gadhafis lawyers, Charbel Milad al-Khoury, told The Associated Press that Gadhafi was released Monday evening after necessary paperwork was finished. Two security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, also confirmed that Gadhafi was set free.

The release came days after Lebanese authorities lifted a travel ban and reduced the bail for Hannibal Gadhafi, paving the way for his release.

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Thursdays decision by the countrys judicial authorities to lift the travel ban and reduce the bail from $11 million came days after a Libyan delegation visited Lebanon and made progress in talks for the release of Gadhafi.

In mid-October, a Lebanese judge ordered Gadhafis release on $11 million bail, but banned him from traveling outside Lebanon. His lawyers said at the time that he didnt have enough to pay that amount, and sought permission for him to leave the country.

On Thursday, his bail was reduced to 80 billion Lebanese pounds (about $900,000) and the travel ban was lifted allowing him to leave the country once he pays the bail.

The two judicial and one security official said the bail was paid by the Libyan delegation. The Justice Ministry of the Tripoli-based government also posted on its social media platforms that the Libyan delegation paid the bail.
Lebanon County fire crews assisted in the Pennsylvania Game Commission in rescuing a male black bear from a tree in Millcreek Twp over the weekend, according to officials.

The Womelsdorf Volunteer Fire Company reported that emergency crews responded to Round Barn Road for a report of a 385-pound bear climbing the trees. Crews said their ladder truck was requested to help with efforts to get the bear down.

Lebanon County fire crews assisted the Pennsylvania Game Commission in rescuing a 385-pound male black bear from a tree in Millcreek Twp. over the weekend. Officials said they were able to sedate the bear, and it was safely relocated to another area.

"While a few creative ideas  like using honey, picnic baskets, marmalade, or porridge  were reportedly tossed around to lure the bear down, officers ultimately decided that sticking with more traditional methods was the way to go," the fire company reported on its Facebook page.

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An officer was planning to use an aerial ladder to encourage the bear to climb down on its own, according to officials. But after crews learned the bear had previously been aggressive and had climbed even higher, officers chose to tranquilize it instead for everyone's safety.

Once the 385-pound male black bear was sedated, crews carefully removed the him from tree. The bear was then loaded into a containment trailer and safely relocated to another area.

Lebanon County fire crews assisted the Pennsylvania Game Commission in rescuing a 385-pound male black bear from a tree in Millcreek Twp. over the weekend. Officials said they were able to sedate the bear, and it was safely relocated to another area.

Officials reported that over the years, Womelsdorf Volunteer Fire Company helped to recover a variety of animals, including dogs, cats, ducks, iguanas, macaws and recently a deer.

Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on X at @DAMattToth.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Fire crews rescue 385-pount black bear from Millcreek Twp. PA tree
A Hialeah woman who drove to Southwest Florida to help a friend put up Christmas decorations is dead after authorities said her ex-boyfriend stabbed her multiple times.

Leosbey Cuesta de Armas, 31, who was arrested in Polk County, faces charges of second-degree murder and burglary with battery in Lee County.

Just before 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, Lee County sheriff's deputies responded to the 300 block of Lake Avenue, in Lehigh Acres, Sheriff Carmine Marceno said during a Nov. 10 news conference.

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Deputies found the victim suffered several stab wounds to her chest.

"The victim died at the scene," Marceno said. He later described what detectives uncovered as "truly horrifying."

Marceno said the victim traveled to Lehigh Acres with her children to spend time with friends and put up Christmas decorations.

"After several hours, a resident of the house went to get something out of the pantry and noticed the door seemed stuck," Marceno said. "When she looked through the small opening of the door, she saw the suspect."

Marceno said Cuesta de Armas glared at the resident as he held a knife.

The witness, according to Marceno, screamed in terror as Cuesta de Armas ran past her "and immediately attacked the victim."

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When the victim collapsed, Marceno said, Cuesta de Armas got on top of her and continued to stab her.

"Once he was done, he stood up and ran from the residence not saying one word," Marceno said, adding that he did not harm anyone else at the home. It was not clear if he took any items, as it relates to the burglary charge.

Authorities learned Cuesta de Armas was driving north through Florida. His last-known whereabouts were in Hardee County, Marceno said.

On Nov. 9, Hardee County sheriff's deputies and fugitive warrants detectives found Cuesta de Armas in his vehicle and attempted to make contact.

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"As soon as he saw law enforcement approaching, he sped away, leading them on a pursuit through Hardee County into Polk County.

Local authorities, along with Florida Highway Patrol troopers, took Cuesta de Armas into custody after he crashed.

Cuesta de Armas was not invited into the Lehigh Acres home, Marceno said.

"He basically stalked, went in, committed a burglary while inside, and a battery, and here we are," Marceno said.

Marceno said Cuesta de Armas did not have a prior criminal history.

"Domestic violence is incredibly hard to stop," Marceno said. "We can't physically knock on everybody's door and ask them, 'How is your situation?'"

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This was the third major incident in Lehigh Acres in the past two weeks. One of the other two incidents involved death.

Three people died Nov. 3 in what authorities ruled a murder-suicide, and stemming from a separate incident that same day, a husband and wife remain in custody without bond after officials described a failed "suicide pact."

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Bluesky @tomasfrodriguez.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Hialeah man accused of murder in Lehigh Acres, Lee County Sheriff says
NEW DELHI, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- At least one person was killed and a few others injured when a huge blast occurred inside a car parked near the historic monument Red Fort in Delhi on Monday evening, police said.

The injured were admitted to a local hospital.

The blast triggered panic among the public. A red alert sounded across the Indian capital city following the blast.

As a result of the blast, a few other cars in vicinity caught fire. Fire-extinguishers were called in and the fire was put off, said media reports.

Investigation was underway to determine the cause of the blast, police said. 
(The Center Square)  U.S. Senate Republicans have offered Democrats a face-saving way out of the government shutdown: in exchange for support to reopen the government, Republicans will guarantee a vote on the expiring Obamacare subsidies and also reverse some of the Trump administrations mass layoffs.

Those two concessions are as far as Republican leaders are willing to go to end the ongoing shutdown, which has lasted a record-long 40 days as Democrats held out over health care policy demands.

After Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., kept lawmakers in session over the weekend, the Senate Appropriations Committee released an updated Continuing Resolution on Sunday night, which outlines the details of Republicans offer.

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The new CR would extend government funding to Jan. 30, requiring another vote in the U.S. House, which would reopen the government, avoid the risk of lawmakers ramming through a bloated omnibus in December, and give Congress enough time to finish the normal-order appropriations process.

Republicans have also paired the CR with the Senate-passed minibus, which would knock out three of the 12 appropriations bills that provide fiscal year 2026 funding for federal agencies. The minibus funds Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; the Food and Drug Administration, Agriculture department, and rural development; and the Legislative Branch.

Crucially, the deal also includes a promise that lawmakers will vote on extending the sunsetting enhanced Obamacare Premium Tax Credit. Senate Democrats voted 14 consecutive times against reopening the government since Sept. 30 over demands that a funding deal also extend the subsidies.

A mere vote on the subsidies does not necessarily guarantee an extension, however. So Republican leaders have sweetened the deal by vowing to reverse some of the Trump administration's legally dubious Reduction-in-Force (RIF) actions, where it laid off thousands of furloughed federal workers during the shutdown. The funding deal would also prevent the administration from conducting RIFs as long as the CR remains in effect.

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Thune needs at least seven lawmakers in the Democratic Caucus to vote yes in order for the CR to pass. Although many Democrats have already come out and condemned the offer as insufficient  including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.,  others have expressed support, with promising results.

Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa.; Angus King, I-Maine; and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; have already voted with Republicans to reopen the government for the past few weeks.

Now, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; Dick Durbin, D-Ill; and Tim Kaine, D-Va.; all indicated support Sunday for Republicans compromise CR.

This bill is not perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdowns hurt, Durbin said in a statement. Now that Democrats secured these wins, its time for Leader Thune to keep his promise to schedule a vote on the ACA tax credits in December and we will see to it that he makes good on his word for the millions of Americans worried they wont be able to afford health care in January.
It has become a customary way of saluting military veterans and thanking them for their service and sacrifice. Restaurants offering special deals and hot meals on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, the federal holiday set aside for honoring veterans of the United States Armed Forces.

Tuesday is no exception in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. Heres a list of eateries with their message and special deal for veterans on their special day.

Applebees

This Veterans Day Applebees is proud to honor those who serve and have served our country. All active duty military, veterans, reserves and National Guard members who dine in-restaurant will receive a complimentary full-size entree from an exclusive Veterans Day menu as a heartfelt thank-you for their service. Click Here for details

Another Broken Egg Cafe

Another Broken Egg Cafe, known for its Southern-inspired breakfast, brunch and lunch, is inviting all veterans, active duty and retired military personnel to enjoy a complimentary Patriot French Toast topped with strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream  paired with Barista House Blend Coffee  on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, for dine-in guests presenting a valid Military ID. Click here for details

Bob Evans

This Veterans Day, Bob Evans Farmhouse Kitchen proudly continues its tradition of honoring those who have served by offering a free, farm-fresh meal to all veterans and active-duty military personnel on Tuesday, Nov. 11. Available for dine-in only, the 2025 Veterans Day menu features 10 hearty favorites, served all day long at Bob Evans restaurants. Click here for details --

Buffalo Wild Wings

This Veterans Day, Nov. 11, Buffalo Wild Wings is honoring past and present armed service members by offering 10 FREE Boneless Wings and Fries with valid ID. Available dine-in and walk-in at participating locations. Click here for details

Chicken Salad Chick

All veterans and active military receive a free meal with one side and drink on Tuesday, Nov. 11. Valid in restaurant or drive thru only. Not valid on online orders or delivery orders. Must show military ID/DD214 to redeem this special offer. Valid at ALL Chicken Salad Chick locations. Click here for details

Chilis

Today and every day we thank you, our veterans and active military members who define selfless service. We look forward to once again showing our gratitude with a free Veterans Day meal as a small way to honor your service and the sacrifices youve made for our country. All veterans & active military members can get a free meal on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2025 at all participating Chilis Grill & Bar restaurants. Available in-restaurant only for select items. Click here for details

Chipotle

The military community can enjoy any entree and get a second entree for free from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. local time on Veterans Day, Tuesday, Nov.11 at restaurants across the U.S. All guests with a valid military ID are eligible for the promotion. How It Works: On Tuesday, November 11 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. local time, guests who present their valid military ID at any U.S. Chipotle restaurant and enjoy an entree in-restaurant will receive a second entree for free.* The promotion applies to Chipotle bowls, burritos, salads and taco entrees. Click here for details

Cracker Barrel

Veterans, we thank and salute you. Enjoy a free sunrise pancake special this Veterans Day. Valid on 11/11/25, while supplies last. Dine-in only, proof of military service required. Click here for details

Dennys

This Veterans Day, Dennys invites active and retired military personnel to Americas Diner to enjoy a FREE Original Grand Slam from 5 a.m. (store open) to noon local time at participating locations nationwide. The iconic, guest-favorite meal features two delicious and fluffy buttermilk pancakes, two crispy strips of bacon, two sausage links and two eggs made to order. To redeem this offer, veterans and active-duty military need to present a valid military ID or DD 214. Click here for details

Firebirds Wood Fired Grill

This Veterans Day, treat a hero to a FREE meal. On Nov. 11, Veterans and active-duty service members receive a complimentary lunch or dinner when dining with a guest on Veterans Day.

Freddys

As a small token of our appreciation for their service to our country, all veterans and active military personnel who visit Freddys on Veterans Day will receive a FREE Freddys Combo meal card. No purchase is necessary to receive this special offer. Cards may be redeemed through Dec. 31, 2025. Click here for details

Golden Corral

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Military Appreciation Night, where we will continue our tradition of honoring our active and former military members. Military Appreciation Night will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 11, from 4 p.m.  close. We will once again honor our military heroes with a free thank you meal. Click here for details

Hooters

On Nov. 11 all military eat free. Active and retired military can choose one free meal from our special menu. Click here for details

IHOP

This Veterans Day, on Tuesday, Nov. 11, were giving our vets a free Red, White & Blueberry Pancake Combo! Enjoy two buttermilk pancakes topped with glazed strawberries, blueberry topping and whipped topping. Served with two eggs, hash browns and your choice of two strips of crispy hickory-smoked bacon or two pork sausage links. Click here for details

Joes Crab Shack

We honor those who have served and invite Veterans to enjoy 20% off their meal when they dine-in this veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2025. Click here for details

Little Caesars

In keeping with its longstanding tradition of giving back to those who serve, Little Caesars is once again offering a free HOT-N-READY Lunch Combo to veterans and active-duty military members this Veterans Day.

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On Tuesday, Nov. 11, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., veterans and active military can enjoy a complimentary Lunch Combo, which includes four slices of Little Caesars signature Detroit-style Deep Dish pizza and a 20-ounce Pepsi beverage. Click here for details --

Logans Roadhouse

This Veterans Day, our miliary eats free on Tuesday, Nov. 11, from 11 a.m.  3 p.m. Active-duty military and veterans enjoy one free meal from our Veterans Day menu with proof of service. Click here for details

Mission BBQ

Free sandwich on Veterans Day for American heroes  our veterans. Join us at noon for our live National Anthem. Click here for details

Outback Steakhouse

Were honoring military mates with a free Aussie 3-course meal. Enjoy a starter, choice of select entree, and dessert when you dine in restaurant on Nov. 10 and 11 to celebrate the Marine Corp birthday and Veterans Day. Show your military ID to your server to redeem. Click here for details

Pilot

On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, Pilot is offering veterans, military personnel and their families who are authenticated with ID.me in the Pilot app their choice of a free breakfast sandwich and coffee or lunch item and fountain drink. This limited-time offer can be claimed at participating Pilot locations through the Pilot App (https://pilotcompany.com/pilot-app) Click here for details

Red Robin

Were honored to serve you! Veterans and miliary members enjoy a free Reds Big Tavern Burger exclusively on Veterans Day for dine-in. Click here for details --

Shanes Rib Shack

Nationwide, Shanes is gearing up to honor our local heroes this Veterans Day. To express our gratitude, we will be offering a free slow-smoked BBQ pork or chopped BBQ chicken plate on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. This offer is valid for all active, inactive, and retired military personnel. Offer Valid In-Store Only. One free meal per veteran. Must show proof of Service to redeem. Click here for details

Sonnys BBQ

Free BBQ for the brave. Veterans and active military receive a Pork Big Deal on Nov. 11. Verify your status on website and sign up for rewards by Sun. Nov. 9. Only available for one meal per check, for orders placed Tuesday Nov. 11, 2025. Click here for details

Starbucks

On Veterans Day, veterans, military servicemembers and military spouses can enjoy a free tall (12 fl.oz) brewed coffee (hot or iced) on us. Offer valid at participating U.S. stores. Offer valid 11/11/2025 on cafe and drive-thru orders only. Click here for details

Texas Roadhouse

On Veterans Day, were honored to offer free meals to veterans and active military members across the country. Click here for details

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Police are investigating after recovering a body in the Ohio River Nov. 10, according to a news release from Louisville Metro Police.

LMPD responded to a report of a body in the Ohio River near the base of the Abraham Lincoln Bridge around the Louisville shoreline just after 10 a.m., spokesperson Aaron Ellis said. LMPDs River Unit located a body that appears to be an adult, though gender, race and age are unknown, Ellis said.

We will know more after a postmortem examination is completed, Ellis said.

LMPDs Homicide Unit is leading the investigation.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: LMPD: Body found in Ohio River near Lincoln Bridge
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV)  Tuesday is Veterans Day  a time to honor those whove served and sacrificed for our country. Coastal Georgia has a strong military community, and veterans make up over 7% of the population within the state.

Every veteran has a remarkable story, one of them being Chatham County veteran Gilbert Terry, who risked everything in the skies over Vietnam. The former Army pilot was shot down not once  but twice  and lived to tell the story. He earned the Distinguished Service Cross  an award second only to the Medal of Honor.

A photo provided by Gilbert Terry

At just 19 years old, Gilbert Terry took to the skies over Vietnam as a Huey gunship pilot. Young, fearless, and tasked with protecting troops on the ground.

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Fortunately, when youre that age, youre bulletproof. We were a bunch of kids, and we pretty much all felt that way, said Terry.

However, that feeling didnt last long. Every mission meant flying into danger, and Terry carried the weight of protecting others.

Well, it was at times almost an overwhelming sense of responsibility for them. And also protected unarmed helicopters, for instance, the medevac or the dust-off helicopters, said Terry. So, we had to protect those guys.

That sense of duty was put to the test the day his helicopter was hit and was going down fast.

I remember saying out loud to myself, and I didnt key the mic so anyone else could hear it, but I said, Well, this is it. Then we crashed and rolled over and over. When it came to a stop, it was deathly quiet. And I remember looking at my hands going, Im still alive, said Terry.

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Gilbert Terry was shot down not once, but twice, while surrounded by the enemy, and still found a way to survive.

I almost landed on the enemy, and I got chased for two hours. All of us were injured or wounded. And I had a crew chief who was seriously wounded. So, youre trying to take care of him while also trying to figure out what way to go, detailed Terry.

He and his crew crawled for over two hours through enemy territory to reach safety  even as North Vietnamese soldiers closed in.

And I remember looking at that compass and going, We need to go that way. Any other way wouldnt have worked, said Terry.

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Through chaos and survival, he says what mattered most wasnt medals it was the men beside him.

A photo of one of the helicopters in Vietnam was provided by Gilbert Terry.

Its not patriotism. Its you have your buddys back and hes got yours. Its just that you get very close to those guys, Terry explained.

Today, Gilbert Terry leads tours at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum, sharing stories of service and sacrifice that show heroism comes in many forms.

We can live anywhere we want to live. We can do what we want to do. Surely theres a price for that. And Im just glad I was willing to pay the price. And many other people as well, said Terry.

Gilbert Terrys story is a reminder that courage often comes from ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV.
A local woman won thousands of dollars after accidentally purchasing the wrong scratch-off ticket at a self-serve kiosk, according to a release from the Ohio Lottery.

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Nancy, from Auglaize County, accidentally hit the wrong button while buying a Cash Explosion ticket at Wagners IGA at 257 E 4th Street in Minster.

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The Ohio Lottery said Nancy didnt think her mistake would lead to a TV debut on Cash Explosion.

Nancy won $7,500 and the Ticket Jackpot in the first round.

Soon after, she won $50,000 after her name appeared three times during the Second Chance Cash Challenge, the Ohio Lottery said.

Nancy decided to take her time with the $1,000 worth of Win It All scratch-off tickets.

She said she tried to wait until Thanksgiving, but they were burning a hole in her pocket, the Ohio Lottery said.

Nancy scratched the tickets off throughout the day and added another $785 to her winnings.

She and her husband plan to build an addition onto their home so they can have the first-floor owners suite of their dreams, according to the Ohio Lottery.

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(This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.)

MANITOWOC  Sure, we all love to sit down to a big table full of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and all the fixings on Thanksgiving, but not all of us want to work over a hot stove to get there.

For those of you who would like someone else to do the cooking, these local restaurants will be open for the holiday:

Harborside Restaurant, 701 York St., Manitowoc, 4 to 9 p.m.

Four Seasons Family Restaurant, 3950 Calumet Ave., Manitowoc, 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Golden Flame Family Restaurant, 2604 Custer St., Manitowoc, 6 a.m. to noon.

Perkins Restaurant and Bakery, 4525 Calumet Ave., Manitowoc, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

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Read more: Manitowocs Peters Pantry sees rising demand amid soaring food prices

Susie Kay's Cafe offering free meal

For those looking to participate in a free meal on Thanksgiving, Susie Kay's Cafe, 1110 Washington St., is offering one for takeout, delivery or dine in from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 27.

The restaurant has a limited amount of dining space, so wont be able to accommodate large groups.

Meals will include turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green been casserole, mixed veggies, dinner rolls and dessert.

Pre-orders will start after 11 a.m. Nov. 11 and end at 5 p.m. Nov. 24 and can be made by calling 920-652-0522.

After Nov. 25, people will have to do a walk in, and because of food planning, the restaurant will not be able to give large group quantities.

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If you'd like donate food or money, or to volunteer, stop into the restaurant or call and ask for Susie.

Free meals offered in Two Rivers, Denmark

221 Wisconsin, a free and confidential service that connects you with thousands of local programs and services, also lists free meals offered at the following:

Two Rivers Senior Center: The center will host a free Thanksgiving Day community dinner open to all. Pre-registration is required by calling 920-793-5596. Transportation can be arranged within the city limits.

Denmark: A Thanksgiving meal is available for carry-out (delivery is available for homebound individuals only). Meals must be picked up by Nov. 26. They are made to be heated at home. Reservations must be made by Nov. 14. The free meal is offered to people living in Denmark, Maribel, Cooperstown, Glenmore, Kellnersville and Stark. Call 920-883-2384.

Read more: Where to get help  or provide help  in Manitowoc County as SNAP funding is paused

Hunger Coalition will not offer a free meal this year

The Manitowoc County Hunger Coalition will not be serving a Thanksgiving meal this year.

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Grow It Forward CEO and Director Amber Daugs said the group decided instead to assist groups already providing free meals.

Kohler Credit Union is also providing funding for 125 meals for Grow It Forward Inc.

Daugs noted local food pantries, including Peters Pantry and The Salvation Army, will be offering meal kits that include turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie and other Thanksgiving meal favorites. Contact Peter's Pantry at 920-682-6989 or The Salvation Army at 920-684-7117.

Have something to add? If you wish to have your business added to this list of establishments open on Thanksgiving Day or offering a free meal, email us at pzarling@usatodayco.com or call 920-606-2575.

This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc restaurants open on Thanksgiving, where to get a free meal
Since being appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in February as Florida's attorney general, James Uthmeier has kept a steady pace of sweeping legal and policy initiatives:

He came up with the name of the undocumented immigrant detention center, "Alligator Alcatraz," and defended it in court.

He is suing Democratic-run states over their immigration policies.

He slammed local elected Democrats in Orange County and got them to reverse course.

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And hes challenging streaming and tech companies Roku and Roblox.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (right) attends the 50th annual Red Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More alongside new Attorney General of Florida James Uthmeier (left) Wednesday, March 19, 2025.

The moves won Uthmeier, 37, praise and an endorsement from President Donald Trump, effectively squashing any potential primary challenge in 2026.

James Uthmeier is a Strong Conservative Fighter and Prosecutor, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement  HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN! Trump posted on Truth Social last month.

Democrats, however, have grown alarmed at some of his actions, including on Nov. 6 when Uthmeier filed suit against Planned Parenthood in the state's 1st Judicial Circuit, alleging the group misrepresented the safety of abortion drugs.

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Its another politically motivated attack in an effort to defund Planned Parenthood, said Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, who previously worked for Planned Parenthood. Uthmeier, who is unelected, an appointed Attorney General, continues to weaponize his bully pulpit to attack and to restrict access to care causing confusion among patients.

With nearly two months until the next legislative session, hes also laid out an ambitious agenda that will require support from fellow Republican lawmakers, which could also be challenging.

Uthmeier flexing policy muscles in legislative session

On Oct. 31 Uthmeier said he wants to limit the insanity defense for violent criminal cases to the sentencing phase of the trial  a major reworking of criminal law in the state.

Alleging that you cant tell right from wrong should not exonerate you from a violent crime, Uthmeier said in a video posted on X. Moral incapacity should only be used during sentencing to determine if someone should spend the rest of their life in prison or in a high security hospital.

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Uthmeier also wants to prohibit the release of convicted sex offenders before sentencing, increase retirement benefits for state prosecutors and ban registered sex offenders and those convicted of animal abuse from adopting children.

In addition to that slate, Uthmeier has added to lawmakers to-do list by declaring an appellate court ruling overturning Floridas ban on carrying guns openly in public applies statewide. Hes also said the Legislature will likely have to clarify existing law in light of the ruling.

Despite the GOPs supermajority in both chambers of the Legislature, a bill to allow open carry hadnt passed ahead of the court ruling.

Hope Florida connection could complicate matters

And the rest of his agenda could face difficulty as well. Earlier this year the House probed a 2024 settlement between Centene, a major Medicaid provider, and the state. Centene paid $67 million to settle claims it overcharged the state, but $10 million of that was diverted to the Hope Florida Foundation.

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That charity is linked to the initiative spearheaded by First Lady Casey DeSantis to help connect those in need to private nonprofits and church groups, for example, and lessen reliance on traditional government welfare programs.

But the foundation passed the $10 million through two other nonprofits, which then funneled the money to a political committee run by Uthmeier, at the time DeSantis chief of staff. That committee used the funds to campaign successfully in defeating ballot measures that would have legalized recreational marijuana and enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution.

A grand jury recently convened to look into the matter, but no report and no charges have been issued. Uthmeier hasnt been accused of any wrongdoing. But the issue could lead lawmakers to view his agenda more skeptically.

The fact that the Florida House has exposed some serious allegations of Uthmeier that are now being discussed in a grand jury, itll impact his ability to shepherd his agenda through, Eskamani said.

Attorney General James Uthmeier attends the Speaker Designate Ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025.

'Making Florida the safest place to raise a family'

But Uthmeier is confident hell be able to persuade lawmakers to pass his agenda.

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Attorney General Uthmeier is focused on making Florida the safest place to raise a family. His legislative proposals are common sense efforts to protect kids, provide prosecutors a better retirement, and ensure criminals stay behind bars, Uthmeier spokeswoman Isabel Kilman said in an email.

She also noted Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, and Rep. Sam Greco, R-St. Augustine, are working on a bill that would become Missys Law  one of the main planks of Uthmeiers agenda.

The proposal is named after Tallahassee 5-year-old Melissa "Missy" Mogle, who was allegedly killed in May by her stepfather, Daniel Spencer, who had been convicted the prior month after an online sex sting but released pending sentencing.

Uthmeier wants the Legislature to bar the release of convicted sex offenders before sentencing. Moreover, he wants lawmakers to ban sex offenders  and those convicted of animal abuse  from adopting children or using surrogacy. Uthmeier calls it the Protecting Kids from Predators Pursuing Parenthood Act.

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I hope to work with the Legislature to ensure that registered sex offenders, people that have preyed upon kids are in no way eligible to obtain children through surrogacy adoption or foster care. And this will apply to people that abuse animals as well, Uthmeier said in an Aug. 7 video posted on X.

If you abuse animals you have no purpose becoming a new parent. We cannot endanger our kids.

Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Uthmeier expands conservative legal agenda in Florida
An inmate at the El Paso County Jail Annex was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to a murder charge for his role as a lookout during the vicious beating death of another inmate two years ago.

Cristian Carrillo, now 27, was one of six inmates accused in the death of 57-year-old Jesus Torres, who was stabbed in the eye, strangled and brutally beaten inside his cell on Nov. 26, 2023.

Christian Carrillo pleaded guilty to murder in the death of Jesus Torres, 57, a fellow inmate at the El Paso County Jail Annex on Nov. 26, 2023.

Court records show his first name spelled as "Cristian" while a jail log shows it as "Christian."

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The El Paso District Attorney's Office announced Carrillo's sentence on Friday, Nov. 7. District Attorney James Montoya declined to comment because the cases against the other defendants are pending.

More: El Paso Sheriff Oscar Ugarte addresses concerns with Downtown jail after deaths of inmates

Carrillo pleaded guilty to a murder charge and was sentenced on Nov. 4 by Judge Patricia C. Baca of the 346th District Court. He was given jail credit for more than two years (797 days) he spent incarcerated, court records showed.

A housing unit in the El Paso County Jail Annex which hosts 24 people per unit.

The killing of Torres took place while Carrillo was jailed awaiting trial on a smuggling of persons charge following his arrest by the Texas Department of Public Safety in August 2023. The smuggling case was dismissed on Nov. 4, court records showed.

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Murder cases are still pending in court against the other five defendants: Manuel Alejandro Vargas, Juan Alberto Ortiz, George Lopez, Jesus Adrian Rocha and Jovani Dionicio Ramos.

Brutal killing inside the El Paso County Jail Annex

An investigation by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office found that Torres was allegedly an ex-member of the Barrio Azteca prison gang and had personal issues with another inmate, Manuel Alejandro Vargas, then 31, the complaint affidavit stated.

The Barrio Azteca is a prison gang established in Texas prisons nearly 40 years ago by prisoners from the El Paso-Juarez border region.

Jesus Torres, 57, was killed by other inmates while incarcerated at the El Paso County Jail Annex on Nov. 26, 2023.

Torres was in jail awaiting trial in a drug possession case after being arrested in June 2023.

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Sheriff's investigators used cell block security camera recordings to establish a timeline of the deadly attack on Torres, who was brutally beaten, stomped, kicked, strangled and hit with a wooden cane by a group of inmates inside his cell.

The investigation found he was also stabbed in the eyes and suffocated with a plastic bag over his head tied around his neck with earbud cords, according to court documents. An autopsy deemed the death was a homicide caused by "the combined effects of strangulation, suffocation and blunt trauma."

Six inmates are accused of murder in the death of Jesus Torres, 57, a fellow inmate at the El Paso County Jail Annex on Nov. 26, 2023. Top left to right: Manuel Alejandro Vargas, Juan Alberto Ortiz, George Lopez. Bottom left to right: Christian Carrillo, Jesus Adrian Rocha, Jovani Dionicio Ramos

After Torres was dead, the attackers cleaned up the cell and covered him with a blanket to make it look like he was sleeping on a bottom bunk.

The assault began about 7:04 p.m. on Nov. 26, 2023, but detention officers didn't discover Torres was dead until about 12 hours later when he was found with a plastic bag filled with blood wrapped around his head about 7:53 a.m. Nov. 27, which is listed as the death date on Sheriff's Office documents.

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The family of Torres has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit claiming his violent death occurred due to "lax customs and practices" resulting in a lack of supervision and protection within the El Paso County Jail system.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso County Jail Annex murder: Lookout pleads guilty, sentenced
A Sixth Ward Middle schooler was expelled after striking a boy who reportedly was sharing AI-generated nude photos of her, her attorney said.

The Lafourche Parish School Board held a hearing on the matter Nov. 5 to decide whether to uphold the school districts decision to expel the child. Attorneys Matt Ory and Benjamin Comeaux spoke on the girls behalf, telling board members that she went to her teacher, the guidance counselor and the school resource officer for help. At the end of the day, she was placed back on the bus with the boy, where he and others were sharing the photo.

The 13-year-old eighth grader then took matters into her own hands, Ory said.

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She went for help not once, but twice," Ory said. "The people that were supposed to protect her did not protect her, so she protected herself. And when she did, she was expelled.

School board members voted to allow the girl to return to school but also upheld the expulsion. Because the expulsion was upheld, she is not allowed to participate in extracurricular activities until the end of a 90-day probationary period, which, according to Ory, is another 20 to 30 days.

Yes she is a victim. I agree with that, but if she had not hit the young man, we wouldnt be here today, Board Member Valerie Bourgeois said. It wouldnt have come to an expulsion hearing.

Board Member Henry LaFont asked if the girl asked to call her father and was denied. Bourgeois said the transcript reflected that she was told they werent bringing parents into the investigation at that time. Then added that the girl had a cell phone.

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Her phone was never taken. We know they use their phones all the time, Bourgeois said. She could have called him later.

The school board staff advised board members that the person sharing the photos in the bus videos was not the same person the girl hit.

The young man who was walking around the bus showing the pictures was not the young man that was assaulted, Director of Child Welfare and Attendance Gregory Cook said.

More: U.S. News & World Report's ranking of the best middle schools. Top 11 in Louisiana here

More: 'The cabinets are bare': Residents visit food banks as hunger rises in Bayou Region

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Martin said many kids were passing around that photo that day. He said he had no evidence as to who, when or how the image was created. He said the right to privacy of the students has to be weighed against the seriousness of the allegation, so the board passed the investigation to the Sheriffs Office.

There were multiple students having reported to multiple other students having engaged in this behavior, and even on the video that you watched there were at least well over half a dozen students that were circulating this photo on the bus, Martin said. Unfortunately, this despicable behavior had become pervasive that particular day among many students.

According to Lafourche Parish Sheriffs Office Public Information Officer Brennan Matherne, the investigation is ongoing, and one person has been charged. Matherne said the department would not disclose any further information about the case due to it involving juveniles.

Louisiana State Rep. Bryan Fontenot said he is crafting legislation as a specific result of this situation. According to Fontenot, the two laws authorities are likely looking at are Louisiana Revised Statutes 1473.13, and 1473.14.

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It shall be unlawful for any person, with the intent to coerce, harass, intimidate, or maliciously disseminate or sell any video or still image created by artificial intelligence that depicts another person who is totally nude or in a state of undress so as to expose the genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or female breast, when the person disseminating the video or still image knows or has reason to know that the person is not licensed or authorized to disseminate or sell such video or still image, 1473.14 states. Whoever violates the provisions of this Section shall be imprisoned for not more than six months, fined not more than seven hundred fifty dollars, or both.

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Middle school student expelled for lashing out over AI-generated nude photos
The Supreme Court rejected a petition asking the court to reconsider its 2015 landmark ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in the US.

The request came from Kim Davis, a former Kentucky court clerk, who gained national attention for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the courts decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. Davis was appealing a lower courts requiring her to pay $360,000 in fines and damages to a couple to whom she refused to grant a marriage license.

The court issued a brief, unsigned order stating that her petition is denied. The order was shared as part of a group of orders on pending cases. No justices commented on the case, and no explanation was given.

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Mat Staver, founder of the conservative legal organization Liberty Counsel, called the decision heartbreaking in a statement on Monday.

Kim Davis resolve will raise up many more challenges to this wrongly decided opinion. The day will come. The days of Obergefell are numbered, Staver, whose organization was representing Davis, wrote.

Davis has not publicly commented on the decision.

Start your day with essential news from Salon.

Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson praised the courts rejection of the petition.

Today, love won again, Robinson wrote a statement. The Supreme Court made clear today that refusing to respect the constitutional rights of others does not come without consequences.

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The Democratic Party called gay marriage the law of the land in a brief message on social media. Colorado Governor Jared Polis said the decision would encourage others to continue fighting to ensure equality under the law.

Todays Supreme Court decision not to hear a case banning gay marriage reaffirms that love is love, Polis wrote on X.

The post Love won again: Supreme Court rejects case seeking to overturn gay marriage ruling appeared first on Salon.com.
ST. PETERSBURG, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Two separate freight train derailments disrupted rail operations in northwestern Russia on Monday, though no injuries or environmental damage were reported, Russian transport authorities said on Telegram.

In the Murmansk region, five freight cars carrying fuel oil derailed at Apatity station of the Oktyabrskaya Railway at around 11:12 a.m. Moscow time (0812 GMT), the railway's press service said.

The incident took place during shunting operations. No injuries were reported, and officials said there was no threat to nearby residents.

Emergency response teams, including two recovery trains, were dispatched to the site. The derailment did not affect overall rail traffic, and no fuel leakage was detected, according to the Northwestern Transport Prosecutor's Office.

Earlier on Monday, another derailment occurred in the Leningrad region, where four freight cars loaded with crushed stone went off the tracks at the Yanega station. The wagons remained upright, but the incident caused delays for a passenger train traveling between St. Petersburg and Petrozavodsk, as well as 17 freight trains, the prosecutor's office said. 
Lieutenant-Commander Nick Cook, who has died aged 95, was a consummate Fleet Air Arm pilot who flew in the Korean War and later with BOAC before becoming a successful estate agent.

The Korean War was not a forgotten war, wrote Cook, it was ignored. When communist North Korea, backed by China and the Soviet Union, invaded democratic South Korea on June 25 1950, the superpowers were rapidly involved and it became a significant event in the Cold War. United Nations forces were led by the US, while the war in the air, too distant from friendly airbases, was fought from American, Australian and British aircraft carriers.

Cook flew the Hawker Sea Fury in 802 Naval Air Squadron from the carrier Ocean, attacking machine-gun posts, coastal batteries and bridges; he was credited with destroying 13 bridges, two of them on the same day, July 25 1952.

Cook, third left, in 1956 with comrades in 1835 Naval Air Squadron

We flew three times a day, he recalled. Rocket attacks were hopeless, so we used mainly 500lb bombs we threw the book away about diving and angle of dive and worked out a 40-degree dive. There was sporadic opposition from Russian MiG-15s, but heavy gunfire was more dangerous. Cook was wingman to his commanding officer Lt-Cdr Donald Dick DSC on July 26 when Dick was shot down while attacking a sampan.

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Cooks aircraft was hit on three occasions: once he heard this terrible clunk, and a shell passed through the cockpit from side to side, creasing his shoulder blades.

The report on Cook covering February to December 1952 stated that he was a gifted pilot with considerable dash and determination who did extremely well in 137 offensive sorties over Korea. Always cheerful, often entertaining, he was a great asset throughout.

Nicholas James Cook was born on November 22 1929 in Chigwell, Essex, where his father was a solicitor. His early education at Galloway in Scotland and in Stafford was interrupted by wartime evacuations, before he settled at Forest School, Epping.

Cook in the Far East in 1952

Called up for National Service in 1948, Cook volunteered for the Navy and found himself a naval airman 2nd class at a naval air station in Cornwall, where he so excelled as a parachute-packer that he was selected for officer training and sent to sea in the battleship Anson.

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In 1949, when he learnt that national servicemen were eligible for flying training, he immediately volunteered. He flew solo after seven and a half hours in a Percival Prentice (a f------ awful aeroplane), and had begun advanced flying training in the Seafire 17 (Wonderful, wonderful) when it was discovered that his National Service was about to expire. Cook promptly renounced the months he had already served in order to finish flying training.

By 1951 he was flying the Sea Fury (Nothing can compare with flying the 2,500hp Sea Fury on your 21st birthday). But he was demobbed, and had joined the RNVR Air Branch, flying Seafires and Sea Furies at Culham (the best flying club in the world).

Then on a Friday afternoon in January 1952 in Ye Grapes pub in Shepherd Market, Mayfair, he learnt that because of the attrition among aircrew (33 were lost in the three years of the Korean War), 802 Naval Air Squadron was recruiting for service in the Far East.

The report on sub-lieutenant Cook from the captain of HMS Ocean in 1953

Cook took a taxi to the Admiralty, where he demanded to be recalled, and that Sunday night he took the sleeper to Penzance, only to find that there was no aeroplane for him. Undeterred, he flew out to Malta in a Viking (a right old boneshaker); the refuelling in Nice was Cooks first ever visit overseas. Waiting for him in Malta was a brand-new Sea Fury, which he practised in for 11 days before embarking in Ocean and going off to war.

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After the Korean War, Cook transferred from RNVR to a regular commission and took part in the flypast over the Coronation Review of 1953, described by the naval historian Ned Wilmott as the last parade of the Royal Navy as the worlds greatest and most prodigious navy.

This came despite his crashing into the sea and passing under the ship when the catapult on Theseus failed. He recalled that in the water off Torbay his hands were so cold that he could not lift himself into the helicopter strop but had to be rescued by the seaboat from the destroyer Cadiz.

Cook off Torbay in 1953 awaiting rescue: he had crashed into the sea when the catapult on Theseus failed

Joining 804 NAS, Cook converted to flying the jet Sea Hawk (so easy) under the instruction of the future Admiral Ray Lygo and the command of the legendary Eric Winkle Brown, and for the next several months he was Browns wingman.

Next, Cook qualified as a weapons instructor and served in Southern Air Division (a reserve organisation) flying the jet Attacker (the most awful aeroplane ghastly, terrible). Then, though he had only three years seniority as a lieutenant, he was given command of 1835 NAS until it was disbanded during the Sandys Defence Review.

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In all, Cook flew 1,270 hours in 12 types of naval aircraft and made 335 deck landings on five carriers  Triumph, Ocean, Theseus, Unicorn and Illustrious. He flew a further 1,914 hours as a commercial pilot with BOAC.

After a short spell with Associated Rediffusion, run largely by ex-Navy officers and the first commercial TV station serving London, Cook started a property company in Belgravia, Kensington and Chelsea.

Nick Cook with his wife Eliza, Marchioness Conyngham

Cook was erudite and had a prodigious memory. He was a great raconteur, conversationalist and public speaker with a resonant voice, and could have been an actor. He was gregarious and generous, curious and thoughtful, and very interested in family life despite having no children of his own.

A member of Boodles, for many years he was doyen of the annual Cradock Night dinner and was a patron of the Fleet Air Arm Officers Associations Taranto Night dinner, which commemorates victory over the Italian fleet in November 1940.

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Following a brief, early marriage, Cook shared homes in London and Somerset with Elizabeth (Eliza), Marchioness Conyngham before they moved to the Isle of Man in 2013. She survives him.

Lieutenant-Commander Nick Cook, born November 22 1929, died October 24 2025

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Luigi Mangione, who is accused of being the shooter behind the assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, has also been alleged to have been in Thailand months before the incident took place. In a book published anonymously, an American author claims to have met Mangione during his travels across Asia. As per an incident described in the book, Mangione got into a bar brawl in 2024 in a sex bar in Bangkok.

Reports suggest Luigi Mangione was beaten up in Bangkok

As reported by The New York Times last month, workers at a sex bar allegedly beat up Luigi Mangione in Bangkok, Thailand. Mangione, who travelled to Asia in 2024, reportedly met with a man named Christian Sacchini and his friend at a pub in the aforementioned city. The anonymous author of Last Known Contact: The Untold Story of Luigi Mangione described the alleged bar brawl in his book.

The author claims to have met Mangione while backpacking in Thailand. He also shared screenshots of alleged WhatsApp messages between him and Mangione from their time there. As per the excerpts shared by The Daily Mail, Mangiones alleged texts to the author contain an image of his hand showing scratches and bruises on his arm. An alleged text from Mangione reads, F*****g nuts story from last night I gotta tell you. The author wrote in his book that he did not witness the brawl in person, but that Mangione told him about it. However, the authenticity of the book has not yet been verified.

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As per the article published by The New York Times, Mr. Sacchinis friend allegedly made plans to travel to Vietnam with Mangione; however, he later decided to return to Japan. The friend, whose identity remains anonymous, also mentioned that Mangione spoke about Pokemon and video games, as well as the high cost of health care in the United States. A few months later, Brian Thompson was shot and killed outside the Hilton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan on December 4, 2024, allegedly by Mangione.

The post Luigi Mangione Allegedly Beaten up in Bangkok Months Before Arrest appeared first on Mandatory.
Todays edition of quick hits.

* A growing list: The U.S. military killed six people on Sunday in two more strikes on boats suspected of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Monday. The latest strikes raised the death toll in the campaign to 76 people in 19 attacks in the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea since early September.

* In related news: At least three U.S. military aircraft, including a heavily armed attack plane, have begun flying missions out of El Salvadors main international airport in an expansion of the extraordinary U.S. troop buildup in the Caribbean, according to an analysis of satellite images, air traffic control communications and flight tracking data.

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* A closely watched case: A federal judge in Oregon on Friday issued a permanent injunction barring the Trump administration from deploying the National Guard on the streets of Portland in response to protests against the presidents immigration policies.

* Uh oh: The Supreme Court said on Monday that it would hear a challenge to Mississippis counting of mail-in ballots received after Election Day, a case that could upend mail-in ballot rules in dozens of states, creating chaos leading up to the 2026 elections.

* Speaking of SCOTUS: The Supreme Court declined to review Kim Davis petition asking the justices to overturn the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, which recognized same-sex marriage rights. The expected denial came on Monday via the courts routine order list announcing the latest action on pending appeals. It would have taken four justices to grant to review. No justices noted any dissent from the denial.

* Trump sure does like Viktor Orban: President Trump has granted Hungary a one-year exemption from sanctions the United States has imposed on countries buying Russian oil after meeting with the Hungarian prime minister at the White House on Friday.

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* A story worth keeping an eye on: The Congressional Budget Office, lawmakers nonpartisan bookkeeper, was hacked by a suspected foreign actor, according to an agency spokeswoman, potentially exposing the key financial research data Congress uses to craft legislation.

* A failing DeSantis experiment: New College of Florida appears to be the most financially inefficient school in the university system, according to a study conducted by the state, with expenses per student and per degree far above average.

* When you continue to cling to the Sleepy Joe line, you really only have one job: President Donald Trump hosted one of the more attention-grabbing press events of his term in the Oval Office this week, announcing price cuts for weight-loss drugs, only to be interrupted when one of the attendees collapsed in a faint. Before that dramatic turn of events, however, Trump appeared to struggle to stay awake. ... A Washington Post analysis of multiple video feeds found that Trump spent nearly 20 minutes apparently battling to keep his eyes open at the Thursday event.

* Remember this one? A federal court dismissed a lawsuit against pollster J. Ann Selzer over her pre-election poll showing Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump in Iowa during the final days of the 2024 campaign.

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* Ryan Walters is out in Oklahoma, but hes still generating news: New records obtained by News 4 reveal fresh concerns about former State Superintendent Ryan Walters, including a taxpayer-funded bonus to his press secretary who now works with him at an activist group, taxpayer-funded travel to events hosted by that same group, and behind-the-scenes videos of Walters promoting a specific Bible brand he later sought to place in public schools.

See you tomorrow.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
We're on day 40 of the government shutdown, and though the Senate recently passed a deal aimed at ending the US's longest shutdown streak in history, we're not there yet.

Stockyme / Getty Images

Meanwhile, Americans are caught in the crossfire, as President Donald Trump promised on Truth Social that the nearly 40 million residents who rely on SNAP will not receive food assistance until the government reopens.

Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / Getty Images

Related: 42 Horrifically Self-Absorbed, Entitled, And Just Plain Rude People Who Proved We're In An Epidemic Of Selfishness Right Now

It's important to note that, as HuffPost reported, "The US Department of Agriculture has a special fund to help supplement the program in an emergency, [but] the agency said...it wont use it during the shutdown."

Considering the program helps feed Americans across the political spectrum, it's no surprise that MAGA and conservative voters are also feeling the weight of losing their benefits ahead of Thanksgiving.

Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / Getty Images

One such conservative includes this son whose post about Thanksgiving affordability is going viral.

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Related: My Innocence Has Been D-E-S-T-R-O-Y-E-D After Learning These Terrible, Disturbing, And Creepy Things

"Well," they wrote, "since SNAP benefits are going to be paused, that effects my mom's ability to get Thanksgiving items for Thanksgiving dinner.. does anyone know where we could get a turkey..? (Thanks alot you scumbag democrats..)"

The post spawned tens of thousands of reactions on Reddit.

Related: The 6-7 Quiz

"Trump canceled 94 million pounds of food aid to food banks recently," one person added. "94 million pounds in food aid to food banks. Yup. That's the guy they voted for!"

Others didn't even bother arguing.

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Related: People In HR Revealed Truly Unhinged Reasons Employees Got Fired, And My Jaw Is On The Floor

Most comments were summed up thusly: "Vote better next time."

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.

Also in Internet Finds: 19 True Crime Cases That Were So Wild And Upsetting, The Truth Was Almost Unguessable

Also in Internet Finds: Restaurant Workers Are Sharing The 25 Dumbest Interactions They've Had With Customers  And Honestly, Some People Should *Only* Be Allowed To Order Takeout

Also in Internet Finds: 17 Posts From The Internet This Week That Are Literally Just So Wholesome

Read it on BuzzFeed.com
Update, 1:20 p.m.:

LEHI, Utah (ABC4)  The city of Lehi has released new information on Sunday mornings fire at an apartment complex under construction near the Point of the Mountain.

Just before 10:20 a.m., Lehi Fire personnel responded to reports of an apartment building under construction on fire near Flight Park Road in the Traverse Mountain area.

Upon arrival, fire crews found a four-story structure fully engulfed in flames, as well as an adjacent one-story structure engulfed. The majority of the building has collapsed, officials said, and crews are closely monitoring two nearby cranes.

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The fire is now contained, and no injuries have been reported, a press release from Lehi City states. The fire does not pose a threat to nearby homes, and the cause is under investigation.

The Utah County Sheriffs Office, Spanish Fork Police Department, Draper Police and Fire departments, Saratoga Springs Fire Department, American Fork Fire Department, Pleasant Grove Fire Department, Orem Fire Department, Utah County Fire, and Lone Peak Fire District all responded to this incident.

Residents and drivers are asked to avoid the north end of Traverse Mountain, including Flight Park Road and nearby walking trails, until further notice. Frontage Road is reportedly open.

Original Story:

LEHI, Utah (ABC4)  A major fire has sparked at an apartment complex under construction in Lehi. Multiple fire units are responding at this time.

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This incident occurred Sunday morning, Nov. 9, near Point of the Mountain in Lehi.

ABC4 has reached out to fire authorities for more information. Please avoid the area at this time.

This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as more information becomes available.

Latest headlines:

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Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
The investigation comes amid disputes over the re-introduction of the ride-sharing app Uber to Israel, which threatens to disrupt the local taxi services.

About 80% of Israeli taxi drivers failed to turn on their meters during a nationwide undercover operation by the Tax Authoritys bookkeeping unit, officials said Monday. The inspections, part of the Good Ride reform with the Transportation Ministry, checked compliance with the law requiring the use of smart meters to record trip data and fares.

The operation, which included roughly 100 inspections nationwide, also uncovered irregularities such as duplicate license plates and unauthorized smart meters. Drivers found violating the law are being summoned for questioning and could face sanctions, including book invalidation and tax assessments.

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Under the current law, only licensed taxi drivers with permits and green number plates are allowed to transport paying passengers at regulated fares. Currently, there are approximately 30,000 authorized drivers operating in Israel.

However, growing participation of drivers operating in the ultra-Orthodox sector operates without licenses, insurance, or regulatory oversight, undercutting those who have completed training courses, passed tests, and invested about NIS 200,000 to obtain a certification.

Uber to return to Israel?

Transportation Minister Miri Regev approved the entry of the Uber-hailing app Uber to Israel in September, which was met with criticism by leaders in the Taxi Drivers Association.

Israeli taxi drivers protest outside Ben Gurion International Airport on February 29, 2024. (credit: AVSHALOM SASSONI/FLASH90)

Uber withdrew from the Israeli market in 2023, citing a need to focus on its main global markets.

If you want to regulate the passenger transport sector, then change the law and create full equality for taxi drivers, who today are subject to a long list of rules and regulations, including costly and lengthy training, said the chairman of the organization's Histadruts independent forum, Zohar Golan.
WASHINGTON  The eight Democratic Senate Caucus defectors who joined Republicans to reopen the government are facing widespread criticism from within their party for supporting a deal that does not guarantee the extension of expiring health care subsidies.

New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill, who was one of Democrats biggest winners during last weeks off-year elections, accused her fellow Democrats in the Senate of caving on a bill that the American people cant afford.

Make no mistake, if this bill passes, it will lead to New Jerseyans paying far more for their healthcare, when they are already paying more and more for everything, Sherrill, currently a four-term New Jersey congresswoman, said in a statement. Making this deal is malpractice.

Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) Dick Durbin (D-IL) Maggie Hassan, (D-NH) John Fetterman (D-PA) Tim Kaine (D-VA) Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Sen. Angus King (I-ME) Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) 8 Senate Democratic Caucus members who broke ranks to end the 2025 government shutdown 1 of 8 Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)

More: Which 8 Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to end the government shutdown?

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For weeks, Senate Democrats refused to reopen the government unless legislation also included the extension of subsidies in the Affordable Care Act, which are set to expire at the end of the year and send premiums skyrocketing for millions of Americans.

More: Democrats want health care tax credits to end the shutdown. Why the GOP says not yet.

But the deal reached with Republicans only ensures a vote during the second week of December on extending the subsidies. In addition to reopening the government through Jan. 30, the continuing resolution would also reverse recent cuts to the government workforce that President Donald Trump made during the shutdown.

Pathetic, California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote in a one-word post on X.

Who are the eight Democrats who voted with Republicans?

The seven Democrats and one independent who voted to advance the bill included the four senators who had already voted with Republicans multiple times to reopen the government  Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire  plus four other senators who flipped: Dick Durbin of Illinois, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Tim Kaine of Virginia.

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Their decisions to relent on their health policy demands came after Democrats had a wildly successful off-year election last week that injected hope into the party ahead of the 2026 midterm races.

More: Lawmakers reach deal to end government shutdown: Live updates

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), left, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), center, and Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), right, arrive for a press conference following a vote on Capitol Hill on November 9, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Several Democratic candidates for Senate in 2026 expressed their disapproval with compromise. This moment demands fighters, not folders, said James Talarico, a Democratic state representative in Texas who is running for U.S. Senate.

U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Michigan, who is running for Senate in Michigan, also objected to the deal.

"We all want this shutdown to end, but if this is the deal the Senate is sending us, it doesnt work for Michigan," Stevens said in a post on X. "Republicans already raised health care costs for hundreds of thousands of Michiganders and voted to threaten Medicaid for so many people in our state. Im going to need a whole lot more than empty promises that were going to lower costs."

'This makes no sense'

Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the left-leaning Center for American Progress and a former White House aide to President Joe Biden, predicted Republicans won't end up negotiating the expiring health care subsidies with Democrats.

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"This makes no sense. They are not going to negotiate with you. There was no reason they couldn't negotiate before. They just spent the weekend attacking the ACA," Tanden wrote on X.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-California, attacked the leadership of Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer as he voiced his frustration over the deal  even though Schumer voted against the continuing resolution.

Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced, Khanna said in a post on X. If you cant lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?

Sen. Angus King (I-ME) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) are seen during a press conference following a vote on Capitol Hill on November 9, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Senate convened for a rare Sunday session in an attempt to end the government shutdown.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, in a statement, said he wants nothing more than to reopen the government, get folks back to work, and end the needless hardship this Republican shutdown is causing.

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But Warner broke with his fellow Virginia senator, Kaine, by voting against the deal: I cannot support a deal that still leaves millions of Americans wondering how they are going to pay for their health care or whether they will be able to afford to get sick," Warner said.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democrats attack each other over deal to end government shutdown
The Maldives has implemented a generational ban on tobacco, CBS News reports. The ban prohibits anyone born on or after January 1, 2007, from purchasing, using, or being sold tobacco products within its borders. The sweeping legislation, which took effect on November 1, 2025, applies to both residents and foreign visitors.

According to the press release from the Office of the President of the Maldives, the measure aims to safeguard public health and protect future generations from the harmful effects of tobacco. The ban addresses one of the worlds leading preventable causes of death and disease at its source by ensuring younger generations never legally start smoking. It also follows the Maldives comprehensive prohibition on e-cigarettes and vaping devices for all ages.

Details Of The Smoking Ban

The generational ban specifically targets individuals born on or after January 1, 2007, permanently prohibiting them from purchasing or using any form of tobacco products throughout their lifetime, even as they age. Action on Smoking and Health notes that this means anyone who is 18 or younger today will never be legally permitted to smoke in the Maldives.

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Furthermore, the Maldives has established strict enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance with the new tobacco regulations. Retailers are required to verify customers ages before selling tobacco products, with violations resulting in substantial financial penalties.

Euronews reports that selling tobacco to someone underage can lead to fines of up to 50,000 Maldivian rufiyaa (approximately $3,200). Individuals caught using banned products, particularly vaping devices, which are prohibited for all age groups, may face fines of 5,000 rufiyaa (around $320).

How The New Law Could Shape Tourism In The Maldives

The Maldives, known globally as a premier coastal paradise, attracts thousands of international visitors each year to its nearly 1,200 small coral islands in the Indian Ocean. The Health Ministry has explicitly confirmed that the new smoking regulations apply equally to tourists, requiring visitors born on or after January 1, 2007, to adhere to the same restrictions as residents.

This makes the Maldives the first nation to implement such restrictions that directly affect both international visitors and its own citizens. New Zealand previously attempted a similar generational smoking ban, which would have prohibited tobacco sales to anyone born after a specific date. Still, that legislation was repealed in 2023, less than a year after it was introduced.

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The United Kingdom, under its previous administration, also considered comparable measures that would have progressively increased the legal smoking age. According to CBS News, this proposal is still moving through the legislative process.







The post Maldives Implements Smoking Ban For Young People, Including Tourists appeared first on Travel Noire.
Italians everywhere are embroiled in a new case of penne-clutching over the latest indignity that has been forced upon their beloved "bella cucina".

Theyve finally done it. They put carbonara in a can.

Heinz, the US manufacturer famous for its ketchup, spaghetti hoops, soups, baked beans and baked beans and sausages, has released the new product. The Heinz spaghetti carbonara in a can is set to hit UK supermarkets this month with a 2 (2.37) price tag.

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The company describes the pasta in a creamy sauce with pancetta as the perfect solution for a quick and satisfying meal at home. Unsurprisingly, the news that one of Italys most revered national dishes has been canned for easy consumption  mostly by Brits, probably  has set Italy ablaze.

Speaking to The Times, Alessandro Pipero, the head chef of Michelin-starred restaurant Pipero in Rome, said the new canned pasta is so abhorrent it amounts to cat food.

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However, Italian shock over what some see as food crime is nothing new. A quick scroll through TikTok or other social media sites, and you can find reams of Italians reacting in abject horror whenever carbonara is debased.

The list of culinary carbonara cardinal sins is limitless to any true-blooded Italian, but you can narrow it down to three classics: using a pork product that isnt guanciale  peppered cheek sourced from a very particular breed of pigs  adding garlic, and most harrowing, adding cream.

A traditional carbonara (aside from the basil leaf) - Canva

With its pancetta and cream sauce, Heinz has broken at least two of these rules. Theyve added an entirely new transgression by tinning the recipe.

Any Italian chef worth his or her salted pasta water will tell you that carbonara has just five ingredients: pasta (usually spaghetti, or alternatively, bucatini), guanciale, pecorino romano cheese, egg yolks and black pepper.

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But some believe this is where Italians need to get real because, according to research, carbonara isnt some sacred recipe carved into stone tablets centuries ago that can never be made in another way. As food history professor Alberto Grandi has pointed out, carbonara is in fact less than a century old.

The most convincing account for carbonaras origin is that an Italian Army cook named Renato Gualandi amalgamated a few other recipes  namely pasta gricia, which can be described as eggless carbonara  in 1944 for a group of US soldiers, taking advantage of the Americans access to high-quality ingredients, and most importantly, powdered egg yolks.

Delicious creamy carbonara - Canva

Whose carbonara is it anyway?

The oldest extant recipe for carbonara isnt even from Italy. Its from a 1952 Chicago cookbook that features bacon instead of the hallowed guanciale.

Yet, Italians are quick to defend their famous dish by saying that cacio e uova, a Neapolitan pasta made with melted lard, beaten raw eggs and cheese, documented in Ippolito Cavalcanti's 1839 Neapolitan cookbook, is carbonara's true precursor.

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Furthermore, domestic outlets like La Stampa have mentioned carbonara as early as 1950, often as a Roman dish popular with American soldiers.

However, is it such a problem if Heinz wants to put spaghetti carbonara in a can? Clearly, the new product is popular. According to the Heinz website, it's already sold out.

Besides, recipes over the years have added and subtracted ingredients as they saw fit. Some like Grandi believe that Italys approach to its culinary and cultural heritage, ossifying the ingredients and cooking style of a dish, should be criticised instead.

If the US wants to create an affordable and easy meal version of spaghetti carbonara that doesn't have to be true to its roots, who are the Italians to stop them? After all, the Americans were just as instrumental in its invention in the first place.
This photo taken on Nov. 9, 2025 shows the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., the United States. The U.S. Senate on Sunday night advanced a bipartisan spending package in a bid to end the longest government shutdown, which has entered its 40th day and caused a series of escalating disruptions. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate on Sunday night advanced a bipartisan spending package in a bid to end the longest government shutdown, which has entered its 40th day and caused a series of escalating disruptions.

The upper chamber voted 60-40 in a key procedural vote to move forward a spending package, which would fund most federal agencies at current levels through Jan. 30, and fund the Agriculture Department, the Veterans Affairs Department and military construction projects, and the operations of Congress, for the full fiscal year.

This package will provide full-year funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program known as SNAP, whose funding has been put in jeopardy amid the prolonged government shutdown.

Meanwhile, the Affordable Care Act subsidies, which help lower-income Americans afford private health insurance and are set to expire at the end of the year, are not guaranteed under the agreement, a key point of concern for Democrats.

As part of Democrats' agreement to end the shutdown, Senate Majority Leader John Thune promised Senate Democrats a vote "no later than second week in December" to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies.

However, the funding agreement has revealed significant divisions within the Democratic Party.

"For me, it's no deal without health care," Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, was quoted by CNN as saying. "So far as I'm concerned, health care isn't included, and so I'll be a no."

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York also voted against advancing the package.

After the key procedural vote to end the filibuster, the spending package will possibly be approved in the Senate's final vote. The revised proposal still needs to be approved by the House of Representatives and sent to President Donald Trump for his signature.

As the two parties made progress, nearly 3,000 flights were canceled and over 10,000 were delayed nationwide on Sunday, underscoring the shutdown's increasing impact on Americans' daily lives. 

This photo taken on Nov. 9, 2025 shows the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., the United States. The U.S. Senate on Sunday night advanced a bipartisan spending package in a bid to end the longest government shutdown, which has entered its 40th day and caused a series of escalating disruptions. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)
The man accused of killing six people by ramming a car into crowds at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg admitted on Monday that he was behind the wheel during the incident.

"I am the one that drove the car," Taleb al-Abdulmohsen said on the first day of his high-security trial, one of the largest in Germany's post-war history.

Almost 11 months after the attack, which killed five women aged between 45 and 75 and a child, and injured 338, many of those affected were also present in court.

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Prosecutors have charged 51-year-old al-Abdulmohsen with six counts of murder and 338 counts of attempted murder in relation to the attack on December 20 of last year.

Al-Abdulmohsen, a Saudi national, came to Germany in 2006, where he worked as a doctor with mentally ill offenders in a psychiatric facility.

At the start of the trial, senior public prosecutor Matthias Bottcher and his colleague Marco Reinl recounted al-Abdulmohsen's deadly drive through the Christmas market, giving the details of names, injuries, operations and hospital stays in a statement lasting more than two hours.

Bottcher said al-Abdulmohsen first struck pedestrians waiting at a crossing, before driving the rental car into the market itself. He reportedly covered a distance of about 350 metres at speeds of up to 48 kilometres per hour.

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Acting out of "supposed personal frustration," the accused zig-zagged through the crowd to hit "as many people as possible," Bottcher said.

The car ran over some people, while others were hit by flying objects. There were repeated accounts of fractures and brain injuries among the women, men and children affected. One pregnant woman was so badly injured that her waters broke, and the baby was born a day later, the prosecution said.

Al-Abdulmohsen was arrested immediately after the crime and has been in custody ever since.

Al-Abdulmohsen shows no remorse

During his testimony from a secure glass box in the courtroom, al-Abdulmohsen - who was flown in to Magdeburg by helicopter - did not apologize or show any sign of remorse.

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Instead, he spoke in a tearful voice with a handkerchief covering his face about alleged cover-ups by the police and criticized the media.

He repeated a gesture from earlier in the day, holding up his laptop to show the words "Sept 2026" on the screen. "That's when the next political election will be held in Saxony-Anhalt," he explained.

A new state parliament is set to be elected in Saxony-Anhalt on September 6, 2026.

Presiding Judge Dirk Sternberg instructed the defendant to avoid political statements and stick to the matter at hand.

Historic trial

Around 180 victims and bereaved relatives are taking part in the trial as co-plaintiffs, represented by around 40 lawyers, making it one of the largest trials in Germany's post-war history.

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To enable all those affected to take part, a temporary court building was erected in Magdeburg.

Federal Victims Commissioner Roland Weber spoke with the victims present before the trial began. "The majority of them seem calm and composed," he said.

However, many of the plaintiffs were represented by their lawyers at the start of the trial and did not attend in person.

"When you talk to the joint plaintiffs, it's clear that they prefer to observe the trial from a distance through us as lawyers," said Petra Kullmei, who is representing more than 100 victims.

"The defendant, the perpetrator, is in the court building, and many are afraid of this confrontation. Many also have psychological problems and are not in a position to come here to the courtroom," she added.

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The court building is surrounded by a fence with barbed wire and mobile bollards. Some 100 police officers were on duty, according to information available to dpa.

The trial is set to continue on Tuesday. The Magdeburg Regional Court has initially scheduled just under 50 trial days until March 12, 2026.
Police say a man armed with a knife broke into a home in Philadelphia's Overbrook neighborhood late Sunday night.

It happened at the residence on the 1200 block of Marlyn Road around 11:00 p.m.

Police say the man, wearing all black, entered the home through a rear door and threatened a 31-year-old woman with a knife before stealing her cell phone.

He was last seen driving off in a white Honda.

Investigators say the woman was not injured.

Anyone with information is asked to call Southwest Detectives at 215-686-3183.
A man is facing murder charges after allegedly admitting to deputies that he fatally shot two people inside a New Mexico home after receiving an encrypted message in a cockroach that he needed to kill, authorities say.

Alexis Hernandez, 25, was arrested and charged with two open counts of murder in connection with a Friday incident inside a southwest Albuquerque home, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office.

Hernandez was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Saturday morning, and it is not immediately clear if he has retained a lawyer.

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Authorities have not identified the men killed in the incident or the two young children who were also found inside the house at the time.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit filed at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court, deputies responded to reports of gunfire in southwest Albuquerque just before 10:30 p.m. When deputies arrived, they were met at the front door by Hernandez, who had a firearm on his waistband and a Marine Corps Sabre on his hip, the arrest warrant said.

The Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office has arrested 27-year-old Alexis Najera Hernandez after deputies say he confessed to shooting and killing two men inside a home in Albuquerque, N.M. (Crime Stoppers of New Mexico)

Hernandez, who was immediately detained, told deputies he was in the Marines and had to do what he had to do, the warrant states. He then allegedly stated there were two dead bodies inside the residence.

Once inside the house, the warrant states, deputies found one dead man with possible gunshot wounds in the front of the house and a second man with apparent stab wounds in an attached apartment.

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The two children who were found inside were safely removed from the residence, the arrest warrant states.

In an interview with deputies after he was taken into custody, Hernandez said that he knew the two slain men, one of whom was the owner of the property, according to the warrant. He then allegedly said he had believed the property owner was a friend who had been stalking him during the days leading up to the incident.

The warrant states Hernandez alleged the friend had placed cameras in the lights. Hernandez also told deputies that he was allegedly hearing creepy voices coming from the vents and had been getting signs that he had to end the property owner before he ended him.

Hernandez later allegedly told deputies that he also had received an encrypted message in a cockroach that he needed to kill the property owner, the warrant says. He added that the property owner allegedly did not like cockroaches.

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The warrant states that Hernandez had previously purchased a Glock handgun, which he said he had for protection. Hernandez told deputies that on Friday the two men allegedly took him to the back room of the home and that he was afraid for his life at this point.

He said he shot the property owner in the head and the other in the kitchen, the warrant says. At one point, Hernandez allegedly told deputies, he had gone to his Honda Pilot to reload his gun before going back to each victim and shooting him again.

The sheriffs office told NBC News on Monday that an autopsy is in progress and they have not yet received official findings about the details of the second man's cause of death.

The warrant states Hernandez admitted that he did not know what to do after the attack, so he stayed on scene and walked around. He allegedly added that he knew about the two children at the house and that they saw him shoot the two men.

He added that he was not going to take the kids or do anything to them, the warrant says.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Many people on SNAP benefits are frustrated and anxious, as they still haven't received their SNAP benefits for November. And while this food fight makes its way through the courts, they're struggling to put food on the table.

"Right now I'm spending my last paycheck to get dinner for the week, so it's like we're doing weekly shopping every day and you're not getting enough to feed anything," said Jessica Robinson, of West Philadelphia.

Robinson said she hasn't received her SNAP benefits for November and is doing everything she can to make ends meet.

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"You barely get anything with cash, so it's hard for us to try to make do with what we have. The food banks if you don't make it in time, you don't get no food," said Robinson.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said he's fighting for Pennsylvanians. On Friday, the state began issuing SNAP payments after a lower court ruling allowed funding to move forward.

But the Trump administration is now demanding that states reverse those payments, following a U.S. Supreme Court Justice's decision to put a temporary hold on that ruling.

In a court filing late Saturday night, the administration said states were not authorized to issue full SNAP benefits, arguing,

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"To the extent that States decided to submit their files early knowing that Defendants had appealed the Court's injunction and intended to seek a stay, and in the face of direction to the contrary, they are responsible for the consequences of that action."

"My appeal to the Trump administration is just do the right thing. Give up. You're going to lose again in court," said Governor Josh Shapiro, Friday.

Pennsylvania and New Jersey officials told action news they are monitoring the changing situation. Delaware, meanwhile, is using state funds to partially support SNAP recipients.

Meantime, advocates like Brian Mazelis said they're doing everything they can to fill the gap.

"It's incredibly frustrating, and we're stepping in where we can to provide assistance for people you know, taking donations for either gift cards or different food baskets," said Brian Mazelis, of West Philadelphia.
A Massachusetts Police Chief was arrested after he allegedly solicited sex for a fee.

According to officials, Cheshire Police Chief Michael Alibozek, 53, of Adams, was arrested last Thursday in the parking lot of Hoosac Valley Middle and High School around 9:45 pm.

The Berkshire District Attorneys office says that Alibozek had been communicating online with an undercover Detective belonging to the Berkshire State Police Detective Unit of the Massachusetts State Police.

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Alibozek was relieved of duty after the arrest and placed on paid administrative leave by the Town Administrator and the Chair of the Selectboard.

His town-issued firearm and access to the police station were seized.

An investigation remains on going.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Police have arrested 56 people across Massachusetts who they said created, possessed or shared explicit images of children, part of a widespread operation to address a growing trend of child exploitation via the internet.

Dubbed Operation Firewall, the investigation brought together the Massachusetts State Police, federal officials, district attorneys in multiple counties, and local police in at least 30 towns. It nabbed suspects from 40 communities in every corner of the state, from successful businesspeople to parents and relatives of the child victims, Lt. Col. Dan Tucker, commander of the state polices Division of Investigative Services, said at a news conference Monday afternoon.

Tucker said the suspects ranged from age 18 to 75 and included 55 men and one woman.

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If you think you may know the type of person who commits these types of crimes, I can assure you there is no profile when it comes to child exploitation, Tucker said.

Across three days, police executed 34 search warrants and seized 229 electronic devices. Twenty-five of the arrests were for possession of child sex abuse images, also known as child pornography. They had an alarming amount of illegal content on their electronic devices, Tucker said.

Nineteen people were charged with enticement of a child after agreeing to meet for sex with an undercover officer they believed to be a minor.

Seven of the suspects had warrants for failing to register as a sex offender. Five people were arrested on warrants for rape and assault and battery on a child, Tucker said.

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The suspects targeted our most vulnerable victims, our children, State Police Col. Geoffrey D. Noble said.

Crimes against children made possible by access to the internet and electronic devices are on the rise, Tucker said. Since the pandemic, tips to the Massachusetts Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force have increased by 270%.

Every parent in Massachusetts needs to know whats on their childrens devices, Noble said. They need to monitor who theyre speaking to online. And they need to set clear expectations that its never okay to create or share explicit material of yourself or another person. As a father of three myself, I understand how difficult those conversations can be, but theyre essential.

Noble said the operation lasted months and required enormous effort from state police troopers and numerous other law enforcement agencies.

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Without the work and their work to secure dozens of complex warrants and coordinate the movements of several multifunctional law enforcement teams, this operation would not have been possible, Noble said.

He said the investigation required overcoming the tactics internet criminals use to hide their identities online through encryption, decoy IP addresses and other technologies.

The disturbing nature of the investigation also required investigators to set aside personal feelings about the suspects and their behaviors and follow the evidence, Noble said.

Working on these cases and reviewing this explicit material comes with an enormous personal cost as we recognize the indelible scourge of these crimes on victims and their families, Noble added.

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Police expect to make additional arrests in the coming days. Several cases are ongoing, Tucker said.

This is one of the hardest parts of our job, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early said at the news conference Monday. Its something you never get used to. Its something you never really understand.

He said the spread of exploitative images on the internet can have destructive, cascading effects on the victims for years to come, leading many to turn to substance abuse or fall into the criminal justice system.

Early urged families aware of child exploitation to call police or their district attorneys office, because we know too often this goes under the radar until theres an effort like this to bring it forth.

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Berkshire District Attorney Timothy Shugrue, who began his career prosecuting child abuse cases in Springfield in the 1980s, said technologies used to investigate the cases have advanced since then. But he said the mission remained fundamentally the same: protecting societys most vulnerable victims.

This kind of work is not easy, Shugrue said. Its time-consuming, its taxing, its expensive, and requires an extraordinary level of care and precision.

In a presentation on the operation, state police thanked local departments from Abington, Attleboro, Boston, Bernardston, Bellingham, Brockton, Chelsea, Dartmouth, Clinton, Framingham, Falmouth, Foxborough, Grafton, Holland, Hull, Lawrence, Lynn, Natick, Milton, Millbury, New Bedford, North Andover, Plymouth, Springfield, Stoneham, Sutton, Templeton, Waltham, West Springfield and Worcester.

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The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has launched a new campaign to support young adults in quit vaping and stopping the use of other tobacco or nicotine products.

The campaign, called This Ad Wont Make You Quit Vaping, aims to reach 1824-year-olds who vape or use other nicotine products,

According to the 2023 Massachusetts Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 14 percent of young adults vape and 48% have no plans to quit.

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The campaign

The campaign introduces young adults to resources that are free and ready when they are.

The evidence is clear: people who get support are more likely to succeed in quitting nicotine, said Department of Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, MD, PhD. This campaign makes those supports visible and accessible, and it does so in a way that reflects the voice of young adults themselves.

According to the DPH website, the campaign is funded through the settlement the Attorney Generals Office reached with Juul Labs, Inc. in 2023.

This campaign is about righting the wrongs of Juuls predatory marketing, said Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell. By investing settlement funds into prevention and cessation programs, we are giving young people the tools, resources, and support they need to break free from nicotine addiction and build healthier futures, she added.

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For more information, visit the link here.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday sought to pump the brakes on the Chicago Board of Educations search for the next leader of the nations fourth-largest school district by suggesting the process is not close to completion after all.

The mayor distanced himself from the names floated as final-round contenders and indicated further applicants should throw their hats in the ring, despite district leadership and an outside firm spending the last half year getting to this point.

There are others that will continue to apply and seek the position, but in no way do I have a strong opinion about any of the individuals that are making their way through a process, Johnson said at an unrelated City Hall news conference, following reporting from Chalkbeat and WBEZ/Sun-Times that the school board had settled on two finalists who were slated to be interviewed this week. Im not aware of a scenario in which people have been deemed as finalists.  That just has not been what has been reported back to me.

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Johnson also pointed out that one of the candidates, Denver Public Schools Superintendent Alex Marrero, already pulled out since his name was leaked. The other name reported was Meisha Ross Porter, former leader of New York Citys schools system, who was also floated as a potential schools chief under Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. She was still in the running as of Monday afternoon, but her interview didnt happen that day.

The mayor sidestepped a question on whether his team was considering blowing up the monthslong CEO search process entirely and starting over. That was a concern from some elected school board members after his ally, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates, sent a letter to Johnsons handpicked school board President Sean Harden last week criticizing the process as untransparent and arguing Johnson retains the final authority to install the next head of CPS.

In the letter, Davis Gates pointed to a section of Illinois school code, which states: The Mayor shall appoint a full-time, compensated chief executive officer, and his or her compensation as such chief executive officer shall be determined by the Mayor.

The section was written in 1995, when CPS was put under mayoral control. But it was not changed when legislation was passed in 2021 to establish an elected school board.

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The process the Board is undertaking complies with neither the letter nor the spirit of the law, Davis Gates wrote. Chicagos students, parents, educators, and voters deserve to have this remedied at once.

Asked whether he agreed with Davis Gates, the mayor pivoted to speaking broadly on the school boards task ahead of transitioning to a fully independent body by 2027. But he asserted the current process of appointing a CEO remains ongoing and people can still apply.

Youre going to have folks who are going to continue to advocate on behalf of their particular constituency, and thats her responsibility, to advocate on behalf of her members, Johnson said about Davis Gates letter. As I understand, the process hasnt ended, right, and I know there are a number of people who would love to be able to serve this city.

The school board, Johnson and a community panel had been slated to interview finalists for the citys schools superintendent this week. Were they to have arrived at a pick, that would have been the final stage to moving on from ex-CEO Pedro Martinezs messy firing without cause in December 2024, after a protracted power struggle between the former schools chief and Johnson during the final years of mayoral control over CPS.

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The dispute at the heart of that spat hinged on district finances, including a disputed pension payment, and a controversial loan to cover that cost and the start of the new CTU contract inked earlier this spring.

Harden, the mayors handpicked school board president, did not immediately return requests for comment on Monday. He and Johnson have remained aligned throughout those ups and downs, but the school board makeup remains hybrid for now and even elected members endorsed by the CTU have bucked the mayor when it came to his schools agenda.

His handpicked interim CEO, Macquline King, also rejected Johnsons latest push to borrow to avoid pushing the district further into debt  a move that split members of the board. She is not a finalist for the permanent role, which Johnson reacted to on Monday by taking another shot at how her budget plan that passed was not the best way that I would encourage someone to balance a budget off of a projection or hope and prayer.

CPS hired an executive search firm to lead the superintendent search in May. The firm concluded a community engagement process this summer, which included community gatherings, surveys and more than 70 interviews and focus groups.

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Unlike other large, urban school systems, the district opted not to officially name its finalists. Board members signed nondisclosure agreements, leading some to criticize the process for a lack of transparency.

In her letter to Harden, Davis Gates said the prospect of board members signing NDAs was wholly inappropriate for a process that is supposed to be democratic.

The voters of Chicago did not elect a school board to have it conceal one of the most important decisions it will make, she wrote.

However, two reported candidates names were leaked regardless. Marrero has now withdrawn, while Ross Porters next move remains up in the air. Should she also turn down the role, CPS may have to return to square one with finding its next leader.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate on Sunday night advanced a bipartisan spending package in a bid to end the longest government shutdown, which has entered its 40th day and caused a series of escalating disruptions.

The upper chamber voted 60-40 in a key procedural vote to move forward a spending package, which would fund most federal agencies at current levels through Jan. 30, and fund the Agriculture Department, the Veterans Affairs Department and military construction projects, and the operations of Congress, for the full fiscal year.

This package will provide full-year funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, whose funding was put in jeopardy amid the prolonged government shutdown.

Meanwhile, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, which help lower-income Americans afford private health insurance and are set to expire at the end of the year, are not guaranteed under the agreement, a key point of concern for Democrats.

As part of Democrats' agreement to end the shutdown, Senate Majority Leader John Thune promised Senate Democrats a vote "no later than second week in December" to extend ACA subsidies.

However, the funding agreement has revealed significant divisions within the Democratic Party.

"For me, it's no deal without health care," Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, was quoted by CNN as saying. "So far as I'm concerned, health care isn't included, and so I'll be a no."

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York also voted against advancing the package.

The subsidies have become a focal point in ongoing discussions over government funding.

Before the key procedural vote, President Donald Trump said Saturday that funds currently being used for ACA subsidies should instead be sent directly to consumers.

In a Truth Social post, he wrote that "the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and have money left over."

The move was likely to further complicate the ongoing government shutdown stalemate, as Democrats have been holding out for a straightforward extension of the ACA subsidies and have made clear they are not interested in trading them for other changes, according to an Axios article.

After the key procedural vote to end the filibuster, the spending package will possibly be approved in the Senate's final vote. The revised proposal still needs to be approved by the House of Representatives and sent to Trump for his signature.

As the two parties made progress, nearly 3,000 flights were canceled and over 10,000 were delayed nationwide on Sunday, underscoring the shutdown's increasing impact on Americans' daily lives.

Beyond disrupting everyday life, the record-breaking government shutdown is now affecting other areas as well.

U.S. military base grocery stores could begin closing in early December if the federal shutdown continues, with unit leaders warning that about 168 stateside commissaries may wind down soon after Thanksgiving, Task & Purpose reported Saturday, citing messages to service members and the Defense Commissary Agency.

The agency, which operates roughly 235 commissaries on military installations worldwide, said stores will remain open through the holiday. However, its director told an industry webinar that while commissaries can "sprint through Thanksgiving," they would begin closing U.S. locations in early December without new funding. 
The prestigious Weizmann Institute of Science has awarded former German chancellor Angela Merkel an honorary doctorate in recognition of her contributions to global diplomacy and her steadfast support for Israel, it announced on Monday.

The award cited Merkel's "unparalleled contributions to global diplomacy and international partnerships," as well as her "solidarity and friendship with Israel" and "determined efforts to combat antisemitism."

Under Merkel's leadership, Germany deepened political and military ties with Israel and expanded bilateral cooperation, it said. The Weizmann Institute also praised her key role in stabilizing the European economy during the eurozone crisis.

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Located in Rehovot, south of Tel Aviv, the institute is one of the world's leading research centres. During Merkel's farewell visit to Israel in 2021, the institute named a scholarship in her honor.

Merkel has often described Israel's security as being Germany's "Staatsrason" (reason of state).

The institute's campus was heavily damaged in June when Iranian missiles struck Israel amid heightened tensions, destroying dozens of research buildings and causing an estimated 530 million ($613 million) in losses

Merkel's spokeswoman said no meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was planned during the visit.

Merkel also cancelled her attendance at German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's 70th birthday celebration on Tuesday due to the trip.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  Frida Kahlos El sueno (La cama)  in English, The Dream (The Bed)  is causing a stir among art historians as its estimated $40 million to $60 million price tag would make it the most expensive work by any female or Latin American artist when it goes to auction later this month.

Sothebys auction house will put the painting up for sale on Nov. 20 in New York after exhibiting it in London, Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and Paris.

This is a moment of a lot of speculation, said Mexican art historian Helena Chavez Mac Gregor, a researcher at UNAMs Institute of Aesthetic Research and author of El liston y la bomba. El arte de Frida Kahlo (The Ribbon and the Bomb. The Art of Frida Kahlo)."

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In Mexico, Kahlos work is protected by a declaration of artistic monument, meaning pieces within the country cannot be sold or destroyed. However, works from private collections abroad  like the painting in question, whose owner remains unrevealed  are legally eligible for international sale.

The system of declaring Mexican modern artistic heritage is very anomalous, said Mexican curator Cuauhtemoc Medina, an art historian and specialist in contemporary art.

Judas in bed

El sueno (La cama) was created in 1940 following Kahlo's trip to Paris, where she came into contact with the surrealists.

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Contrary to contemporary belief, the skull on the beds canopy is not a Day of the Dead skeleton, but a Judas  a handmade cardboard figure. Traditionally lit with gunpowder during Easter, this effigy symbolizes purification and the triumph of good over evil, representing Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus.

In the painting, the skeleton is detailed with firecrackers, flowers on its ribs and a smiling grimace  a detail inspired by a cardboard skeleton Kahlo actually kept in the canopy of her own bed.

Kahlo spent a lot of time in bed waiting for death, said Chavez Mac Gregor. She had a very complex life because of all the illnesses and physical challenges with which she lived.

Frida and surrealism

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Although Kahlos painting is being auctioned alongside works by surrealists like Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning, she did not consider herself a member of the movement, despite having met its founder, Andre Breton, in Mexico and had an exhibition organized by him in Paris in 1939.

Breton was fascinated by Fridas work, because he saw that surrealist spirit there, said Chavez Mac Gregor.

Kahlo, a committed communist, considered surrealism  a movement proposing a revolution of consciousness  to be bourgeois. As Chavez Mac Gregor noted, Frida always had a critical distance from that.

Despite this, specialists have found elements of surrealism in Kahlos work related to the dreamlike, to an inner world and to a revolutionary and sexual freedom  a concept visible in a bed suspended in the sky with Kahlo sleeping among a vine.

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Crazy-priced purchases

El sueno (La cama) was last exhibited in the 1990s, and after the auction, it could disappear from public view once again, a fate shared by many paintings acquired for large sums at auction.

There are exceptions, including Diego y yo ( Diego and I), which set Kahlos record sale price when it sold for $34.9 million in 2021.

The painting, depicting the artist and her husband muralist Diego Rivera, was acquired by Argentine business owner Eduardo Costantini and then lent to the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires (Malba) where it remains on exhibit.

Medina, the art historian, regretted that the crazy-priced purchases have reduced art to a mere economic value.

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He lamented that when funds purchase art as mere investments  like buying shares in a public company  the works are often relegated to tax-free zones to avoid costs. Their fate, he said, may be worse; they may end up in a refrigerator at Frankfurt airport for decades to come.

A female artist

The current sale record for a work by a female artist is held by Georgia OKeeffes Jimson Weed/White Flower No. 1, which fetched $44.4 million at Sothebys in 2014.

However, the auction market still reflects a profound disparity as no female artist has yet exceeded the maximum sale price of a male artist. The current benchmark is Salvator Mundi, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, which was auctioned by Christies for $450.3 million in 2017.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  Federal prosecutors in Mexico arrested another alleged accomplice in the 1994 assassination of presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio, a crime that shocked the country and remains unsolved, even though the confessed killer has been imprisoned for more than 30 years.

A federal official who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed Monday to The Associated Press that Jorge Antonio Sanchez Ortega was arrested in Tijuana in connection with Colosio's assassination. The official did not specify the charges against Sanchez Ortega, who is being held in a maximum-security prison in central Mexico, awaiting trial.

According to the National Registry of Detentions, the arrest took place on Saturday.

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Colosio, the 1994 presidential candidate for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), was shot twice during a rally in the northern Mexican city of Tijuana. Since 2024, federal prosecutors have been seeking to prosecute an intelligence agent assigned as his bodyguard, identified only as Jorge Antonio S, as the alleged perpetrator of the second shooting.

As of Monday, the prosecutor's office had not officially commented on the arrest of Sanchez Ortega.

Mario Aburto has been serving a 45-year prison sentence since 1994 after declaring himself the sole perpetrator of the assassination, a confession he later retracted, claiming he was tortured.

As a result of Aburto's complaints, during the administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (2019-2024) the National Human Rights Commission recommended that the federal prosecutors office reopen the investigation.

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Colosio's murder triggered a major political crisis in Mexico and was always surrounded by controversy fueled by the possibility that it was encouraged by certain spheres of power, amid internal struggles within the ruling PRI to choose a successor of then-President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

In a January 2024 statement, the Attorney General's Office said there was evidence that the agent assigned to Colosios security was at the scene and had clothing stained with the victims blood. It also stated that ballistic evidence indicated that he fired a weapon  with only a difference of seconds between the two shots  and witnesses saw him flee immediately after the shooting.

In the same statement, the agency considered it confirmed that the National Security and Investigation Center, which in 1994 was under the Ministry of the Interior, sent the agent to the scene of the assassination only to later cover for him and take him out of Tijuana urgently and surreptitiously. The statement concluded that the agents immediate release was an evident criminal cover-up." ____

Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
NEED TO KNOW

A New Mexico man is facing murder charges in connection with the death of two adult males

The accused has been identified as 25-year-old Alexis Hernandez, per an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by PEOPLE and online jail records

Hernandez said that he'd also received an encrypted message in a cockroach that he needed to kill before the shootings, per the document

A man in New Mexico is facing murder charges in connection with the death of two victims before telling authorities that a cockroach ordered him to do it.

On Friday, Nov. 7 at approximately 10:27 p.m. local time, Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office (BCSO) South Valley Command deputies "responded to reports of gunfire near the 1400 block of Entrada Bonita SW," per a Facebook post.

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The BCSO said, "When deputies arrived, they located two deceased adult males inside the residence with apparent gunshot wounds."

"Three additional adults and two young children were also found inside the home. The adults were detained for questioning, and the children were safely removed from the scene," the post stated, adding that one suspect was in custody.

The suspect has been identified as Alexis Hernandez, per an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.

Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office Alexis Hernandez Alexis Hernandez

According to jail records seen by PEOPLE, Hernandez, 25, was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on the morning of Saturday, Nov. 8 and is facing two open counts of murder in the first degree charges.

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After officers responded to the shooting on Friday, they were allegedly met by Hernandez at the front door, and he had a firearm on his waistband and a Marine Corps Sabre on his hip, the arrest warrant affidavit filed at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court stated.

The suspect reportedly told officers he was in the Marines and had to do what he had to do, the warrant noted. He was detained and had allegedly said there were two bodies inside the property.

Getty A stock photo of a cockroach A stock photo of a cockroach

Hernandez allegedly believed that the owner of the property had been stalking him by placing cameras in the lights, the document stated. He also heard creepy voices coming from the vents."

Officers discovered a deceased man with possible gunshot wounds in the front of the house after entering the residence, while a second man with apparent stab wounds was found in an attached apartment, the warrant said.

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One of the victims was the owner of the property, the report stated, with authorities adding that the suspect had confirmed he knew both of the deceased men.

Hernandez said he'd "been getting signs" to kill the property owner. The document noted that the suspect had "received an encrypted message in a cockroach because [the property owner] did not like cockroaches. This message told Alexis he needed to kill [him]," adding that the suspect had allegedly been "seeing signs all around him that he saw and couldn't ignore."

The suspect had previously bought a Glock handgun for "protection," the warrant stated, adding that he'd been "afraid for his life" when the two men reportedly took him to the back room of the house.

Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office/Facebook A photo of a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office vehicle A photo of a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office vehicle

Hernandez then allegedly shot the property owner in the head and the other man in the kitchen, the warrant said. He then allegedly shot the victims again after going back to his Honda Pilot to reload his gun, the document added.

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The suspect insisted "he was not going to take" the two children that were in the house, "or do anything to them," but he did say he knew the juveniles were in the property and that they'd seen him shoot the two victims, per the warrant.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

The BCSO said in their Facebook post, "BCSO Homicide Detectives have taken over the investigation ... detectives are continuing to gather evidence and interview witnesses."

"Additional information, including the identities of those involved, will be released once next of kin notifications are complete and the investigation allows," the sheriff's office added.

The Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information.



Read the original article on People
Michelle Obama isnt too fond of the changes President Donald Trump has made to the White House.

Last month, Trump demolished the East Wing, where the First Ladys offices were typically located, to build a $300 million, 90,000-square-foot ballroom.

In an interview with Vanity Fair published on Thursday, November 6, the Becoming author, 61  who served as First Lady from 2009 to 2017  criticized the renovations.

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When we talk about the East Wing, it is the heart of the work, she told the outlet. And to denigrate it, to tear it down, to pretend like it doesnt matterits a reflection of how you think of that role.

The IMO podcast host also noted that what goes on in the East Wing does affect the president.

Whether the West Wing understood it or not, I used to tell them: All the stuff we do on the East Wing, from the clothes I wear to [family dogs] Bo and Sunny to Malia and Sasha and grandma, those were five extra approval points that he got, because we provided a balance, she explained.

Earlier last week, Michelle subtly addressed the renovations with Jenna Bush Hager on Today with Jenna and Friends as they discussed the strange job of being the First Lady.

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Theres no guidebook, theres barely a staff, Michelle stated. Now we dont have a building.

I know, R.I.P. the East Wing, Bush Hager, 43  whose mom Laura Bush was also First Lady  remarked.

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This story Michelle Obama Says President Trumps East Wing Demolition Is a Reflection of How He Views the Role of First Lady first appeared on Globe. Add Globe as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel at a Lansing Pride Press Event discussing GOP Threats to LGBTQ+ Michiganders. June 5, 2024. Photo by Jon King.

On Monday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order declining to take up a case seeking to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 case that granted same-sex couples the right to marry nationwide.

The case, brought by former Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis, argued that Daviss First Amendment rights to free exercise of religion had been infringed upon by requiring her to issue marriage licenses to gay couples. One of those couples, David Moore and David Ermold, took Davis to court and were eventually granted $50,000 each, a decision upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in March. The Supreme Court declined both Daviss petition to overturn that monetary award, as well as the broader question of same-sex marriage rights.

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In Michigan, Attorney General Dana Nessel expressed relief for the decision, but noted that it would likely not be the last legal threat to same-sex marriage rights or Obergefell.

I am relieved for todays decision reaffirming same-sex couples continued right to dignity and protection under the law, but we cannot take those protections for granted, she said in a press release. Members of this Supreme Court have already told us they are willing to overturn Obergefell. Its only a matter of time before they do.

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Michigans constitution currently has an explicit ban on same-sex marriage, which is not in effect because of the Obergefell decision. If federal courts were to overturn that, the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act would ensure that previous marriages, as well as same-sex marriages in other states, would have to be recognized by the state  but same-sex marriage would become illegal in Michigan.

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Democrats in both the state House and Senate have introduced bills that would put forth ballot proposals to remove that language from the constitution, which if passed would make same-sex marriage legal even if federal courts overturned their decision from a decade ago.

State Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Bloomfield Township) introduced a resolution on Thursday to do just that, while state Rep. Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor) introduced his version in the House in March, just after the appellate courts decision in Daviss case. Both specifically cited concerns about a future Supreme Court decision as influencing their decision to introduce the resolutions.

Regardless of the outcome of Court action, its well past time to remove the discriminatory and, as of now, unconstitutional marriage ban language in our states constitution, Moss wrote in a press release announcing the introduction of his resolution.

Todays victory allows us a reprieve, an opportunity to bring our state Constitution into alignment with the protections our residents are entitled to and have enjoyed for more than a decade, Nessels press release continued. Now is the time to act.

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Communities across Michigan will celebrate Veterans Day on Tuesday, Nov. 11.

As Michiganders commemorate the service of veterans in the nation's armed forces, you'll have to reschedule your bank visit or trip to the post office on the state and federal holiday.

While many state and national government institutions will be closed for Veterans Day, you'll still be able to shop and get your packages on time. Many local businesses and delivery services will remain open.

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Here's what to know about what's open on Veterans Day in Michigan.

When is Veterans Day in 2025?

Veterans Day is Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025.

Who does Veterans Day honor?

Veterans Day recognizes military veterans who have served in the U.S. armed forces, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Is Veterans Day a federal, state holiday?

Yes, Veterans Day is a federal holiday in the U.S. and a state holiday in Michigan.

Is there mail on Veterans Day?

No, the U.S. Postal Service will not deliver mail, and post offices will not be open on Veterans Day.

Are banks open on Veterans Day?

No, most banks will close on Veterans Day in observance of the federal holiday. However, bank ATMs and digital banking features will typically still be available.

Will city and county offices in Michigan be open?

Because the day is a state and federal holiday, local government offices will be closed, including courts. Emergency service, fire departments, police and ambulances will be staffed.

Are schools open on Veterans Day?

Check with your local district for specific schedules.

Do delivery services run on Veterans Day?

Yes, UPS and FedEx will be open and offer pickup and delivery services, with some holiday adjustments, on Veterans Day.

Is there trash pickup on Veterans Day?

Check with your city or local municipality's schedule for trash pickup on Veterans Day.

Are grocery stores open on Veterans Day?

Yes, most grocery stores will operate normally on the holiday.

Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Are banks open on Veterans Day? What to know in Michigan
(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

A Michigan Democrat seeking his partys nomination for the U.S. Senate scrubbed his past support for defunding the police from his X account, CNNs Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck found.

Most major US cities spend WAY TOO MUCH on police departments to police poverty & WAY TOO LITTLE on public schools, health departments, recreation departments, & housing to eliminate poverty. Fixing that is what the #Defund movement is about, declared Abdul El-Sayed in 2020.

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The police have become standing armies we deploy against our own people, read another one of the thousands of tweets deleted by the progressive Democrat, who was also a CNN contributor at one point.

From Kaczynski and Stecks report:

A CNN KFile review of comments El-Sayed made from 2020 to 2021 found he repeatedly

said US police departments were overfunded and promoted what he called the refund

movement  a plan to redirect taxpayer money from police budgets to social services for schools, libraries, parks and clinics. A CNN tally of his deleted tweets found he posted about a dozen times in support of the

defund the police movement. Past versions of El-Sayeds campaign website during his failed run for governor in 2018 also included a 20-page policy document on criminal justice reforms. The proposal offers a litany of progressive policies, including improving police training and accountability, prison and sentencing reform, ending cash bail, hiring more public defenders, and assisting recently released prisoners.

Other tweets from El-Sayed submitted that Defunding the police is disinvesting in the means of incarcerating someone or killing them on the streets and investing more in the means of educating and empowering and engaging communities, and When we talk about the question of quote-un-quote defunding the police, its a question of asking, how do we right-size government away from the racist ideologies that have led us to investing in war material for policing rather than public health for children?

The post Michigan Democrat Deleted Tweets About Defunding the Police first appeared on Mediaite.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers meets with GOP party fixtures at a dinner honoring the late state Sen. George McManus at Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City, Mich. Aug. 8, 2025 | Photo by Ben Solis/Michigan Advance

Mike Rogers, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate who is seeking to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Gary Peters in 2026, brought election denialism in Michigan to new heights last month when he claimed, without evidence, that a van showed up carrying ballots at a Detroit counting location to swing the election against him.

Official election results, and a subsequent standard audit, show Rogers was defeated by now-U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin in 2024, who won by a slim margin but won all the same.

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Rogers made the remarks in a speech he delivered last month in Muskegon, The Detroit News reported Sunday after reviewing two videos of the late October speech, and another given earlier in the month at a separate event.

Notably, Rogers comments come a full year after the dust settled on the election that took place in November 2024. Rogers made no initial claims of fraud or wrongdoing immediately following that election, in which he quickly conceded his loss. Regardless, Rogers now claims that it was stolen from him much like Republicans claimed, again, without evidence, that the 2020 election was stolen from current President Donald Trump when he lost handily to former President Joe Biden.

Rogers said in Muskegon on Oct. 17 that a van in Detroit showed up in the very early morning after the election with ballots, and noted the election was lost by some 17,000 votes.

As The Detroit News notes, Rogers conceded his race shortly after results showed that Slotkin would win the day. The reality of that election now runs counter to Rogers new claims.

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A request for comment to Rogers campaign for comment has yet to be returned.

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) and former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers at the Grand Rapids debate, Oct. 8, 2024 | Michael Buck/WOOD TV8

Rogers apparently also made the claim at an event earlier in October, as well, marking two times now that the candidate has told Republican voters and donors in Michigan that he believes, without evidence, that the election should have swung in his favor.

While Slotkins office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, all three Democrats seeking to run for the open seat next year were clear in denouncing Rogers claims.

U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham), one of the three vying to be Rogers Democratic opponent in the Senate race next fall, took to X to call him out.

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The 2024 election wasnt stolen, Stevens wrote. Mike, you lost fair and square last year and youll lose again next year.

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak), who is also seeking the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat, wrote on X that, just like Donald Trump, when Mike Rogers loses, he claims it must be rigged.

Michigan deserves better, McMorrow said.

Abdul E-Sayed, another contender in the Democratic nomination hunt for the seat, also called Rogers onto the carpet over his new claims.

Or  maybe you just lost because you voted to raise Rx drug costs 60 times when you were in Congress, El-Sayed wrote on X. Or because you retired to Florida to be a Pharma lobbyist. Or because you smile like everyone else frowns.

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A state agency directed its SNAP benefit vendor to resume issuing full payments to recipients in Michigan on Monday, Nov. 10, providing clarity for residents depending on food assistance during the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Here's what we know about the situation for SNAP benefits in Michigan as of Monday, Nov. 10.

Is Michigan sending out SNAP benefits?

Yes, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which administers SNAP benefits in the state, announced Nov. 10 it had directed its SNAP vendor to resume issuing full payments to recipients.

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SNAP recipients in Michigan who receive their benefits on the ninth of each month should receive their full SNAP benefit allotment in the next 48 hours, according to MDHHS.

The state had paused payments after a series of court orders before the Nov. 10 announcement.

What have the courts said about SNAP?

On Sunday, Nov. 9, a U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals panel rejected a request from President Donald Trump's administration to overturn a lower court ruling to withhold SNAP funding during the government shutdown. The U.S. Supreme Court had previously allowed the White House to partially withhold benefits during a legal appeal, after Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued what's known as an administrative stay.

The administration filed its request to the Supreme Court to allow it to freeze SNAP funding during the shutdown the morning of Nov. 10, the Associated Press reported. Jackson previously set a Nov. 11 morning deadline for the cities, nonprofit groups and others challenging the administration to respond. The court case has unfolded as a group of states, including Michigan in an amicus brief, had taken the U.S. Department of Agriculture to court in an attempt to have SNAP benefits fully funded during the shutdown. Michigan is also part of a separate lawsuit filed in Massachusetts seeking for the USDA to fully fund the SNAP program.

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The SNAP program helps households across the country with grocery payments.

When did Michigan pause benefits?

The legal back and forth between the states and the Trump administration has created uncertainty over how SNAP recipients will receive benefits, which are distributed at the state level.

On Nov. 7, Michigan Attorney General said that more than 200,000 households, which normally receive benefit payments before the 8th of each month, received their SNAP distributions after a federal judge ruled benefits must be issued. But after the Supreme Court issued the administrative stay that allowed the USDA to pause SNAP allocations, pending its appeal to the high court, the funding situation for states became significantly murkier. The stay halted payments in Michigan, although MDHHS signaled they'd resume Nov. 10.

After the stay was issued, the USDA sent a memo to states Nov. 8 advising them to roll back full benefits that had been distributed before the order, and instead only distribute partial benefits. Michigan, however, is proceeding with full benefits for recipients.

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"We are glad to be able to provide assistance to Michigan families to help them put food on the table, Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director, said in a news release. The uncertainty, confusion and frustration caused by the USDAs request to block SNAP payments for the more than one million Michigan residents who rely on food assistance has been unfair, and in Michigan, we will continue to do everything we can to help those affected.

Could the shutdown be close to ending?

Late Nov. 9, the Senate approved a procedural measure setting the chamber up for a vote on a bill that would fund the government through Jan. 30 of next year. A group of Democratic senators, which didn't include either of Michigan's U.S. Sens. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, or Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, voted with Senate Republicans.

As part of the underlying deal  which is still subject to another vote in the Senate, and would have to get approved by the Republican-controlled U.S. House before it could be signed into law by President Donald Trump  the USDA would be fully funded through Sept. 30, 2026.

More: Senate to vote on shutdown deal in near future as Democrats remain divided. Live updates

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The USA Today Network and Washington Correspondent Todd Spangler contributed.

Contact Arpan Lobo: alobo@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan orders full food stamp benefits to resume
Stock splits don't change a company's underlying business or prospects. However, the market often responds well when major corporations resort to this move. There are likely several reasons why. Let's consider two of them. First, it makes a whole share of a company more accessible to average people. Netflix's current stock price is about $1,100. Many may not have the cash to buy a share at current levels. True, fractional shares are available on many online brokers' platforms. Even so, after its stock split, Netflix's stock will trade at about $110 apiece, based on its current price, which looks much cheaper even if it isn't, considering how stock splits work.

The company reported a tax dispute with Brazilian authorities that cost it an additional $619 million in expenses during the quarter. The result: Netflix's bottom line fell short of expectations. That's what led to the sell-off. The bears could point out that, since Netflix's shares remain expensive by traditional valuation metrics, there could be even more downside, and the stock certainly isn't likely to gain 20% in the next year, as Wall Street predicts. Let's see whether that's the case.

The market set high expectations for Netflix ahead of its third-quarter earnings report. The company has been trading at high multiples through most of the year (and longer). In fact, the streaming specialist still has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 37, much higher than the 22.3 average for communication services stocks. Netflix's shares were bound to fall off a cliff post-earnings if there was any hiccup in its quarterly update. Turns out, there was.

Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) had a busy past few weeks. The company reported its third-quarter earnings, which disappointed investors and led to a massive sell-off. However, Netflix then announced it would conduct a 10-for-1 stock split, which jolted the stock, though it didn't recoup all those post-earnings market losses. Amid all this, analysts on Wall Street remain bullish on the stock. The company's current price target of $1,347.32 implies an upside of 22.3% from its current levels.

Story continues

Second, stock splits may signal management's confidence in the business. If Netflix's leadership team expects the stock to soar from its current (already expensive) levels, a stock split makes even more sense. That said, investors should focus on Netflix's underlying business. Whatever temporary boost the announced stock split provides, it will be just that, temporary, unless Netflix has other growth catalysts that allow it to perform well over the next 12 months.

Why Netflix stock is still a buy

Netflix's business remains incredibly strong. The tax dispute with Brazilian authorities won't have a meaningful impact on its results moving forward. That was the only blemish in an otherwise excellent quarterly update. Netflix's revenue for the period came in at $11.5 billion, 17.2% higher than the year-ago period. The company continues to record strong free cash flow, which came in at $2.66 billion, 21.2% higher than the prior-year quarter.

Netflix is still the king of streaming and continues to thrive despite mounting competition. And one factor driving revenue growth should improve meaningfully in the next year: ads. Netflix's ad business is still pretty new, but the company is making progress. Though it did not disclose specific dollar amounts, Netflix said the third quarter was its best ever for ad sales. And the company is still showing strong momentum here, since it doubled its upfront ad commitment in the U.S.

Netflix's ad business still accounts for a relatively small percentage of its total sales, but it can help boost sales as it scales. As the company sees plenty of growth ahead in that department, we could see that over the next few quarters, along with continued membership growth. Netflix has earned its premium and, even at current levels, looks like an attractive long-term buy for investors. Can the stock gain 20% in the next 12 months? In my view, there is a reasonable chance of that happening.

However, even if it doesn't, it will pay to stay the course and hold the stock through the next five years and beyond.

Should you invest $1,000 in Netflix right now?

Before you buy stock in Netflix, consider this:

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1 Stock-Split Stock to Buy Before It Soars 22%, According to Wall Street was originally published by The Motley Fool
A handful of Democratic senators voted with Republican colleagues in the U.S. Senate to advance a resolution that could reopen the federal government after the longest shutdown in the nation's history.

Michigan's two Democratic U.S. senators, Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, voted against the resolution, however, as it passed a key procedural hurdle late Sunday, Nov. 9, by a vote of 60-40.

The resolution  which could still take some days to finalize and would have to be adopted by the U.S. House before being sent to President Donald Trump to be signed  would fund government through Jan. 30 of next year. It would also prohibit the Trump administration from firing federal workers en masse until that time and require those fired since the shutdown began Oct. 1 to be rehired. Workers who are furloughed or have been working without pay would receive compensation.

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Also, an underlying deal between Democrats and Republicans would result in appropriations bills being passed that fully fund the U.S. Department of Agriculture  which oversees food assistance programs including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) initiative  and veterans programs through Sept. 30, 2026. It also calls for a vote in the Senate before the end of the year on whether to extend subsidies to help people with health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, pay premiums that are set to expire on Dec. 31.

Democratic votes were needed in order for the 53 Republicans in the majority in the Senate to get the 60 votes necessary to pass a resolution to fund the government, but prior to Sunday, too few had refused to do so, insisting that Republicans negotiate on the Obamacare subsidies before premiums skyrocket next year. But over the last two weeks, pressure has been building, with the Trump administration moving to stop paying SNAP benefits and ordering airlines to cancel flights to reduce pressure on air traffic controllers working without pay.

Peters, who is not running for reelection next year, had been one of a group of Democrats working to negotiate a deal with Republicans but said the agreement wasn't adequate.

Im frustrated that this deal doesnt take action on health care," said Peters, who had proposed a one-year extension on Obamacare subsidies, which was rejected by Republicans. "But Im relieved that it will not only protect but increase resources for desperately needed food assistance, especially now that President Trump has shown he is comfortable both denying people affordable health care and letting children go hungry in order to get what he wants."

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It is a positive step forward that the Senate is passing real bipartisan funding bills, including a bill the Senate previously passed with strong bipartisan support to ensure our nations veterans receive the support they earned through their service," Peters added. "But right now millions of Americans are getting the rug pulled out from under them as they see their health care costs are going through the roof. Many will lose their health insurance altogether."

Slotkin, who joined the Senate in January, announced her vote against the resolution in advance, saying, "Since July, I have been clear: to earn my vote, Republicans would have to do something to bring down the cost of health care for working and middle-class Michiganders. The promise of a vote in over a month does not meet that threshold."

For me, this was never about politics or Beltway gamesmanship. President Trumps Big, Beautiful Bill has plunged America into a health care crisis. This emergency has real life victims, and in Michigan, the average price of health care is increasing across the board with some expected to see their premiums more than double," she added.

One Republican member of the Senate, Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against the resolution, bringing to eight the number of votes Republican leaders needed to pass it. Democratic senators voting for it were Catherine Cortez Masto and Jackie Rosen of Nevada, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Dick Durbin of Illinois, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Tim Kaine of Virginia. Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with the Democrats, voted for it as well.

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Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler.

This story has been updated

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan's U.S. senators reject deal to end shutdown
Katherine Ostler votes while her 8-year-old son, Henry, looks on in November 2024 in Salt Lake City. Ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, battles are already underway across the country over state ballot measure campaigns. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

When Missouri Republican lawmakers approved a new district map in September to help their party in Congress, progressive activist Richard von Glahn was ready. Hours after the state legislature passed the gerrymandered map, von Glahn had submitted a proposed ballot petition to put it to the voters.

It would be more than a month before the Republican-controlled secretary of states office approved the petition, squeezing the number of days in which Glahns group, People Not Politicians, has to gather signatures.

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Missouri Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins argued the group couldnt begin collecting signatures until the governor signed the map into law, two weeks after its legislative passage.

People Not Politicians is now suing Hoskins over the fate of some 90,000 signatures collected after lawmakers approved the map on Sept. 12 and before the secretary of state approved the petition on Oct. 14. The group faces a mid-December deadline to gather roughly 106,000 signatures.

A year out from the 2026 midterm elections, such legal fights and procedural maneuvering over ballot measures and referendums are already well underway in states across the country. The disputes will go a long way in determining not only what ballot measures and referendums are put before voters, but also how those questions are summarized on ballots and other official documents.

Some ballot measure campaigns argue that partisan state officials, such as secretaries of state and attorneys general, have put their thumb on the scale with misleading or inflammatory official summaries and have used arcane procedures to slow them down. More and more, campaigners say, their planning anticipates extensive litigation.

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Legal challenges have also been launched against new state laws regulating citizen-led ballot measures. Critics of the regulations argue that in many cases theyre effectively restrictions, while proponents claim the rules are necessary for election integrity and to combat abuses of the ballot measure process.

Between 2018 and 2024, more than 200 lawsuits involving ballot measures were filed in state and federal courts

Missourians have had this constitutional right for 150 years, and if the [secretary of states] logic holds Missourians of today and tomorrow will not have the same rights as their parents did to petition their neighbors for redress of government overreach, von Glahn, speaking about the referendum process, told Stateline in a statement.

While many states have allowed voters to place issues on the ballot for decades, those elections have attracted significant attention in the past few years as states vote on abortion rights and other divisive issues. Between 2018 and 2024, more than 200 lawsuits involving ballot measures were filed in state and federal courts, according to data gathered by the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

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Even in states without a citizen-led process, state legislatures have often referred controversial measures to voters. Mid-decade congressional redistricting is emerging as the latest flash point, with California voters last week approving a ballot measure referred by state lawmakers that allows a Democratic gerrymander of the state to take effect.

Twenty-four states  including every Western state except New Mexico and Hawaii  have a citizen-led ballot measure process, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, with 17 fairly described as Republican-leaning or swing states. Several are currently the site of pitched legal and political battles over the ballot measure process.

In Montana, the state attorney general has rewritten summaries  the language voters see on ballot measures  for proposals aimed at ensuring nonpartisan courts, prompting a lawsuit thats pending before the state Supreme Court. Arkansas civic and campaign groups have sued to block a series of new ballot measure rules, including a requirement that canvassers ask potential petition signers for a photo ID.

Florida lawmakers passed a bill requiring ballot measure campaigns to turn in petition signatures more quickly. Oklahoma lawmakers imposed new geographic distribution requirements for signature collections. And in Utah, lawmakers voted to require campaigns to provide detailed information on how a proposal would be funded and whether it would require a new tax.

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Democrats and other progressives expect upcoming state legislative sessions, many of which begin in January, to bring more measures aimed at the ballot measure process.

Missouri is a good indicator of what were going to face in 2026, said Chris Melody Fields Figueredo, executive director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, which aids progressive ballot measure efforts across the country.

And this has been true for the last several years, she said. One of the major tactics that those who are opposed to direct democracy  they go after the signature-gathering process to invalidate legitimate signatures, to prevent issues that voters want from getting onto the ballot.

How do officials view their role?

Many Republicans defend their approach to ballot measures as necessary to ensure fairness in the process and prevent fraudulent signature collection. Some also voice concerns that state constitutions have become too easy to amend, as Democrats and progressives turn to ballot measures to enact policies such as minimum wage increases and abortion access that are often blocked in GOP-controlled statehouses.

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Missouris secretary of state, Hoskins, has cast his approach to the People Not Politicians referendum petition as defending the state constitution from out-of-state actors.

While People Not Politicians is suing the secretary of state in Missouri court, Hoskins is suing the group in federal court. In a lawsuit brought jointly by Hoskins and Missouri Republican Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, Hoskins argues that under the U.S. Constitution, the power to draw congressional maps rests with the state legislature.

My job is to uphold the Constitution and make sure the process for changing it is fair, transparent, and understood by Missouri voters, Hoskins said in a statement to Stateline after this story published.

The right of initiative and referendum is a fundamental part of our state, but the integrity of that process matters. Missourians deserve to know exactly what they are being asked to vote on, especially when constitutional amendments have lasting effects, Hoskins said. I will continue to follow the law, defend the rule of law, and safeguard the trust Missourians place in this office.

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Chuck Hatfield, a Missouri attorney who has long worked on litigation related to ballot measures in the state, said secretaries of state have historically viewed their role as ministerial.

Youre supposed to move paperwork from the left side of the desk to the right side of the desk, he said.

I dont think this secretary of state sees his role that way, said Hatfield, who is one of the lawyers representing People Not Politicians in its lawsuit against Hoskins. I think he sees himself as more of an advocate.

Missouri Secretary of State communications director Rachael Dunn wrote in an email that Hoskins role is ministerial and administrative, and that the secretary believes voters deserve clarity, accuracy, and full context when asked to amend the state constitution.

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That is not activism. That is stewardship of a process that belongs to the people, Dunn wrote.

Hoskins more aggressive stance toward ballot measures echoes the posture of Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, a Republican who this year has rewritten the ballot language of proposals concerning state courts despite finding the measures met legal requirements.Montanans for Fair and Impartial Judges and Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts are both proposing similar measures to require nonpartisan judicial elections. Judicial elections have been nonpartisan in Montana since the 1930s, but the groups want to codify the practice in the state constitution.

Knudsen rewrote the ballot language of the measures to emphasize that nonpartisan elections also prohibit political party labels including labels like independent. The two groups say the phrase suggests independent candidates cant run in judicial elections and have filed lawsuits challenging the rewrites.

Knudsens office didnt respond to an interview request. But Amanda Braynack, Knudsens communications director, has previously called the lawsuits frivolous. Liberal activists appear to be worried that Montanans will see the facts of what makes an election nonpartisan rather than their own opinion on the ballot, Braynack told the Flathead Beacon in October.

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Caitie Butler, a spokesperson for Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts, said state law does give the attorney general leeway to rewrite ballot language if its clearly biased or argumentative, but she emphasized that the group believes its language was neither. She called ballot language rewrites a growing challenge in Montana over the past couple of election cycles.

Election Reformers Network, a nonpartisan group that advocates for the impartial administration of U.S. elections, in a January 2025 report said that in 85% of states with a citizen-led ballot measure process, a single party controlled the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature  with 13 Republican trifectas and nine Democratic trifectas in those states.

In recent years, voters in both Republican- and Democratic-leaning states had approved ballot measures with policies opposed by lawmakers, the report found. Examples included a 2020 Colorado vote that lowered tax rates, a 2024 California vote increasing certain criminal penalties, a 2020 Oklahoma vote to expand Medicaid, and a 2020 Florida vote to raise the minimum wage, among others.

The report highlighted the role of partisan state officials in the ballot measure process. In every state with citizen-led ballot measures, partisan officials play a role in reviewing and drafting ballot language. In nearly 60% of states, they also play a role in signature verification.

There are definitely elements of our system that allow for partisan manipulation of elections in very different domains than in the polling station or around mail ballots, but instead in the domains that control options voters have, Kevin Johnson, co-founder and executive director of Election Reformers Network, said in an interview.

Tighter rules

State legislatures can also exercise significant influence over the ballot measure process by setting rules that make qualifying proposals for the ballot either more or less difficult.

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Arkansas lawmakers earlier this year approved a series of measures tightening requirements surrounding ballot measure proposals and gathering signatures. Under the new laws, canvassers must inform potential signers that petition fraud is a criminal offense and request photo ID from potential signers.

Potential signers must also now read a petitions ballot title or have it read to them. And ballot titles must not be written above an eighth grade reading level.

These bills are not restrictive. What these bills are is they provide safeguards or guardrails, and the reason you need guardrails is because there have been plenty of accidents along the way, Arkansas state Sen. Kim Hammer, a Republican, said during floor debate in February.

Hammer, a candidate for Arkansas secretary of state and the lead sponsor of some of the bills, didnt respond to a request for comment. He said on the Senate floor that he rejected the idea that the measures were taking away the rights of the people, but that they are intended to address increasing outside interference in the ballot measure process.

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The League of Women Voters of Arkansas and several ballot measure campaign groups have sued in federal court to block the new laws. A judge held a hearing in late September but hasnt yet ruled on whether to grant a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the requirements as the lawsuit plays out.

In Missouri, a state court trial in People Not Politicians lawsuit against Hoskins over its referendum petition signatures was abruptly postponed last week because the judge was ill. A new hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, though its not clear when the judge will rule.

People Not Politicians can almost certainly block the gerrymander for the 2026 election if the group collects enough valid signatures by a Dec. 11 deadline outlined in state law. A successful referendum petition will place the map before voters in November 2026, and Missouri would be prohibited from using the redrawn lines in the meantime.

On Nov. 5, People Not Politicians announced it had collected more than 200,000 signatures  or roughly double the minimum number it needs.

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Editors note: This story has been updated to add comments from Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and his office. Stateline reporter Jonathan Shorman can be reached at jshorman@stateline.org.

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On the Monday, November 10, 2025 episode of The Excerpt podcast: For the first time in decades, migration flows are reversing. The Arizona Republics Daniel Gonzalez joins The Excerpt to explain why thousands of migrants are giving up on their U.S. dreams and what that means for the regions future.

Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here

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Dana Taylor:

President Donald Trump campaigned on securing the nation's borders and deporting undocumented immigrants he described as dangerous criminals. Since taking office, his administration has pursued an aggressive enforcement agenda, deploying ICE agents, conducting workplace and neighborhood sweeps, and ramping up deportations. As a result, migrants planning a new life in the US are increasingly reconsidering the risky trek north. Welcome to USA TODAY's The Excerpt, I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Monday, November 10th, 2025. Trump's crackdown on undocumented migration is now contributing to a reversal of flows in Mexico and Central America. Longtime immigration reporter, Daniel Gonzalez of the Arizona Republic, traveled to Mexico's southern border and to Panama to speak with migrants reevaluating their American dream.

Daniel, thank you so much for coming on The Excerpt.

Daniel Gonzalez:

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Thank you so much for having me.

Dana Taylor:

Let's start with what border crossing numbers look like now, how drastic is the change at the US-Mexico border?

Daniel Gonzalez:

Impact at the southern border is very, very dramatic. I've been writing about immigration here in Arizona for 25 years and have never seen a situation like we're having in now, where there's so few people crossing. We visited the border extensively back in April, and there were hardly any migrants crossing at all. It's a very, very remarkable dramatic decrease in migration, following record numbers of encounters that were taking place during the previous four years. Just to give you an example, in August of 2023, border-wide, there were 232,000 encounters of undocumented people along the southern border. In August of this year, there were 9,000. So, it gives you an idea of what a tremendous decrease we are seeing at the border in people attempting to enter the United States, either asylum seekers or people trying to come in illegally.

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Dana Taylor:

Daniel, not only has migration slowed, but it's even reversing, with many would-be border-crossers turning around and going back south. Where are they going? Are they returning to their home countries?

Daniel Gonzalez:

Well, when we visited the southern border of Mexico and Panama, we came across this growing new phenomenon of people headed south. The people who are headed south include migrants who had been on their way to the United States, heard about the shutdown, they heard about migrants who crossed illegally being arrested and prosecuted on criminal charges, they've seen the footage of some of the aggressive ICE arrests taking place in cities around the country, and they decided that it wasn't worth it for them to continue on their journey to the United States. Many of the migrants who were headed to the United States came from very specific countries, predominantly Venezuela, Cuba, and Haiti, and the migrants that we met who were en route were now trying to get back to either Venezuela or to another country in the region where they felt like they could try to maybe make a better life.

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Dana Taylor:

I want to talk about the people you spoke with, many of whom were hoping to come to the US, some even selling everything they had to try and come north. Tell us about one of them.

Daniel Gonzalez:

When I arrived in Panama, we drove up to this little, basically a small little pier of fishing boats, and there were all these people gathered there and they all had these plastic bags, and what they were doing is they were getting ready to board these fishing boats to head back to Columbia and then back to Venezuela. And I came across a man, a younger man in his, maybe he was late 30s, and he was with his father who was in his 60s, and then they were with their extended family. There was a total of nine people. And what had happened to them is that they were trying to get to the United States, they had stopped in the state of Chiapas, Mexico, where they were working in construction, trying to save enough money to make it to the US border, and they were also waiting to see if these policies were going to continue.

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And when they saw that there was really no hope for them to get in the United States, they had decided to turn around. So, they had already passed from Southern Mexico all the way back through Central America, now they were in Panama, waiting to get on these boats to go back to Venezuela. And they had sold everything that they owned in Venezuela to start this journey, and now they were borrowing money to try to get back to Venezuela. I remember asking the guy, "What's going through your mind right now as you get ready to get on this boat?" And the guy just kind of choked up, he said, "Well, on one hand, I'm happy because I'm going to be back in Venezuela with my family, but on the other hand, I'm sad because we gave up everything for this hope of achieving the American dream," and they had to give that up. And he also told me that, "We don't know what kind of situation we're returning to in Venezuela."

As most people know that the economic and political situation in Venezuela is very, very dire, there are increased tensions right now going on between the United States and Venezuela with the United States military strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats leaving Venezuela. So, it was still a very, very dire situation, so it was very mixed feelings that they had.

Dana Taylor:

Daniel, this dramatic slowing of migrants coming over the border is a solid win for the Trump administration. What do policy experts say about this?

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Daniel Gonzalez:

There's no question that this is a solid win for the Trump administration, that is what the Trump administration campaigned upon, and they've been able to accomplish that in a very short amount of time, and we're only talking about months into the Trump administration to see these dramatic changes. However, what policy experts will tell you is that the migrants themselves, they haven't disappeared, they didn't just vanish, the conditions that they fled in their countries have not changed, and in some of those countries, the conditions have gotten worse. So, there's this pressure being built up in Latin America now. You have to be aware that many of the migrants who left, for example, Venezuela, eight million Venezuelans have been displaced since 2014, many of those people never went to United States, they're living in countries neighboring Venezuela, and now you have people going back into these countries.

So, what the policy analyst has told me is that there's this ballooning effect that's taking place now in Latin America, where the conditions that people fled have not changed and migrants are kind of waiting things out, trying to find a better life that potentially could lead to another major surge somewhere down the road.

Dana Taylor:

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Daniel, you've clearly looked deeply into this issue for a very long time. What long-term policies, either from the US or Latin American countries could address the root causes rather than just the symptoms of migration?

Daniel Gonzalez:

We've been interviewing for many, many years, experts who address these issues, and what they'll tell you is that the long-term solutions, first of all, have to do with addressing the root causes in these countries where migrants are leaving. And they are very, very complex issues. Economic needs, jobs, opportunities, political stability, organized crime, gang violence, extortion, corruption... Those are all the different types of reasons that migrants are leaving their countries, those are very, very complex problems that there are no short-term solutions, those are solutions that have to be addressed over years and decades. And if anything, what we're seeing now is a backsliding of that because many of those countries have been receiving millions of dollars of aid from the United States that has now been eliminated, decimated by the Trump administration, that were meant to provide some kind of stability in those countries, some kinds of job opportunities and security.

And then, the other long-term issue is that, what experts will tell you is that many, many sectors of our economy are heavily dependent on immigrant labor sectors, like construction, hospitality, agricultural work, caregivers, elder care... But currently, our immigration system does not have clear opportunities for people who want to come and fill those labor needs. People always say, well, people just need to come the legal way, well, the legal way in the United States right now is you either have to have someone who's in the United States who is a legal permanent resident or US citizen who can sponsor you, or there has to be an employer who can sponsor you, those are the main ways to come to the United States legally. If you are like many of the migrants who are coming to the United States, and just want to come here for a chance to build a better life, for the most part, those opportunities do not exist.

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Dana Taylor:

You've covered the border for many years, as we've said, you've seen multiple administrations try to tackle the migration issue, how does this moment compare to previous shifts you've witnessed, like the caravan years or Title 42 expulsions?

Daniel Gonzalez:

Well, different administrations, both Democratic and Republican have tried different solutions for addressing the border, and oftentimes the main way that the border is addressed is primarily through an enforcement-only lens. And that's been done by both Democrats and Republicans. For example, under the Clinton administration is really when we started to see the border become much more fortified under Operation Gatekeeper and Operation hold the Line. But what we're seeing now is no question the most dramatic, tough stance towards migration, where access to asylum at the border has been almost completely shut down, where we're seeing border-wide consequences to people who cross the border, including asylum seekers, where they're arrested and prosecuted, the aggressive stance by ICE throughout the United States that we're seeing in cities like Chicago and Los Angeles, we have not seen that to this scale before. And also, that this is really just the beginning.

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Under the so called Big Beautiful Bill, there are tens of billions of dollars that will be devoted to immigration and border enforcement in the coming years, so really we're just seeing the beginning of a much wider crackdown at the border and of immigration, we're going to see the hiring of thousands of more border patrol and ICE agents, and also the tremendous expansion of ICE detention facilities that will put in place the machinery to do much more larger scale immigration enforcement.

Dana Taylor:

Daniel Gonzalez is the immigration reporter for the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network. Thank you for coming on The Excerpt, Daniel.

Daniel Gonzalez:

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Thank you for having me.

Dana Taylor:

Thanks to our senior producer, Kaely Monahan for production assistance, our executive producers, Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think of this episode by sending a note to podcasts@usatoday.com. Thanks for listening, I'm Dana Taylor, I'll be back tomorrow morning with another episode of USA TODAY's The Excerpt.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thousands who dreamed of life in the U.S. are now turning back | The Excerpt
Nov. 10 (UPI) -- A Minnesota man visiting Ireland stopped at a famous ice cream shop to attempt the Guinness World Record for the fastest time to eat a 130-gram ice cream cone.

Spring Lake Park resident James Clark paid a visit to Teddy's in Dun Laoghaire and attempted the ice cream-eating speed record, which was previously set at 24.97 seconds.

Teddy's shared a video on Facebook showing the ice cream cone being weighed at 130 grams before Clark attempted his feat.

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The footage shows Clark completing his attempt in 24.72 seconds, appearing to take the record, although it must still be reviewed and certified by Guinness World Records.

Clark said the record would be his 35th Guinness World Records title.
With thousands of hunters venturing into the woods during Minnesotas firearm deer hunting season, the state's missing persons investigators are asking for reports of anything unusual they might find.

The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office has updated its list of open missing person cases, according to a Department of Public Safety news release. In 2024, a total of 716 Indigenous people were reported missing in Minnesota, and more than half were women. While Indigenous women are only about 1% of the state's population, they accounted for 10% of missing women.

"Families across Minnesota are waiting for answers," Ana Negrete, the office's community planner, said in the news release. "Even the smallest of clues can bring closure and healing to a family who has carried the pain of an empty seat at the dinner table for far too long."

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Here's what to know if you've got plans to head outdoors any time soon.

Related: What happens to seized items? Inside Stearns County and St. Cloud police forfeiture sales

When should I report something I've found to the police?

If you find clothing in an unexpected place or remote area where it doesn't belong or any bones or remains that do not appear to be from animals, call 911 and report it, according to the Department of Public Safety.

What do I do if I find something suspicious?

If you discover anything suspicious, the Department of Public Safety says:

Don't touch or disturb the scene. Take pictures if possible.

Mark the location and save the coordinates to a GPS device or drop a pin on a phone's map application.

Report the discovery to police and share the saved location information and a detailed physical description of any clothing and observations at the scene.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: What to do if you find something suspicious while deer hunting
Self-proclaimed Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said at a government meeting on Monday 10 November that official talks are soon to take place between Minsk and a US delegation.

Source: European Pravda, citing BelTA, a Belarusian state-owned news outlet

Details: Lukashenko said the situation on the Lithuanian-Belarusian border will be on the agenda.

Quote from Lukashenko: "We hardly transport anything across that border now because of the sanctions. Only a few types of goods go through  the ones the Lithuanians or Poles really, really need. If they really need something, they order it and we send it. If they don't, we don't. And with regard to the Kazakhs, Russians, Chinese and the rest, they [the Lithuanians] will have to do more than just offer an explanation; they'll have to sort it out. Because no one should act like that.

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We'll talk about everything else once talks start with the delegation from the United States of America. I have a feeling we cannot do without them now."

Background:

It was recently reported that US President Donald Trump has nominated John Coale, whom Trump described as "one of our Country's truly GREAT lawyers", as his special envoy to Belarus.

In recent weeks, the Trump administration has sought to re-establish contact with the Lukashenko regime, and this has been reflected in the release of Belarusian political prisoners.

As part of these efforts, the United States has lifted sanctions on the Belarusian state-owned airline Belavia.

On Tuesday 4 November, the US Treasury Department eased certain sanctions on Belarus, lifting restrictions on the national airline and permitting operations connected to Lukashenko's aircraft.

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Monroe County may get a bit more snow the morning of Monday, Nov. 10, according to the National Weather Service in Indianapolis. Heres what you need to know.

How much more snow will Bloomington get?

The area may get up to another half inch of snow before the precipitation stops between 11 a.m. and noon, said Matthew Eckhoff, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis.

Is there a travel advisory?

Yes.

Monroe County is under a travel advisory, according to Monroe County Emergency Management. That means routine travel or activities may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation, and people should use caution to avoid those areas.

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Officials cautioned drivers to be extra careful, to drive slowly, to avoid using cruise control and to leave more space between their vehicles and the vehicles in front of them.

How much snow did Indiana get?

The Bloomington area will have gotten close to 1 inch of snow if it gets another half inch, but Eckhoff said areas north got a lot more: Frankfort and Logansport got about 3.5 inches, Valparaiso got near 9 inches, and South Bend got almost a foot.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said at 7:29 a.m. Monday that it had seen 50 crashes since midnight, or about twice the usual number during that time frame.

Whats the forecast for Monday night into Tuesday?

Eckhoff said snow in Bloomington should melt throughout Monday, and no more snow is expected in the afternoon or during the night into Tuesday. The NWS is forecasting mostly clear skies after noon.

Is there anything drivers should be aware of?

Eckhoff said as temperatures drop again Tuesday evening, some puddles may refreeze and cause slick spots, though he expected those to be isolated.

How cold will it get into Tuesday?

The NWS predicts a low temperature of 22 degrees Fahrenheit over night, and Eckhoff said Tuesday morning could be breezy, with felt temperatures as low as 10 degrees.

Whats causing the cold weather?

An upper level low pressure system is moving south through the area and bringing colder Canadian air to the Midwest.

Are the cold temperatures sticking around?

No. Eckhoff said the system is moving through the area very quickly, and Bloomington might see highs on Wednesday near 60 degrees.

Is snow this early unusual?

No. Eckhoff said November averages about an inch of snow, so seeing snow in mid-November is not unusual.

Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: NWS warns of wind chill near 10 degrees, possible patches of black ice
A screen shot of an automatic assistant for residents who have questions about the Montana Blue Cross Blue Shield data breach, which could affect as many as 462,000 residents. (Photo via Montana Commissioner of Insurance website)

Technology may have been partly responsible for the data breach that may have exposed more than 460,000 Montanans financial and health information, and technology may be part of the answer to keeping compromised information safe, according to the Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance.

In response to a massive information breach by Montana Blue Cross-Blue Shield, announced publicly last month, Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance James Brown has implemented an artificial intelligence tool to help residents navigate protecting their data.

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Brown said its the first-of-its-kind solution implemented in response to a case like this.

Montana Blue Cross-Blue Shield announced last month one of its vendors had a data breach that lasted for several months, and could have opened up financial information and medical records for anyone who uses it. Montana BCBS is the largest insurance carrier in the state.

Browns office said that with that many people affected, and with a range of concerns, the AI tool on the website can help pare down the options and assist residents. If Montanans still need help, they can contact the office. But, the AI tool can also help direct residents to staff members or service providers who can help with specific problems related to the breach.

A spokesperson for the office told the Daily Montanan the agency took steps to make sure that the AI assistant is designed not to become a technology breach of its own.

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The AI assistant is not connected to any sensitive database or systems that contain personal information. Its designed strictly to provide guidance and resources, not to store or process private data, spokesman Tyler Newcombe said. All interaction are encrypted, monitored for security; and run with state-approved platforms that comply with privacy standards.

In addition to updating the site with new information as it becomes available  the company informed the Commissioners office in October, months after the breach was discovered and closed in February  the AI tool allows customers to get helped at any time of the day, not just when the office is staffed.

Browns office said the AI-powered tool helps directly answer questions about the data breach, understanding rights, and steps to take to safeguard data. The office is asking that residents dont share their personally identifying information.

The assistant is there to walk people through the next steps  for example, how to freeze credit, monitor for identity theft or file an insurance claim  but it doesnt require or request personal data, Newcombe said. If a case requires that level of detail, the AI will escalate the issue directly to a trained staff member.

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The office said AI can help the small number of staff recognize issues that crop up.

AI allows us to triage questions, identify patterns and route complete cases to staff freeing our team to focus on those who need one-on-one assistance, Newcombe said.

This is about taking swift action and setting a standard, Brown said. When Montanans are affected, we move fast. Our mission is to protect themand this new technology helps us do that in real time.

In addition to the announcement about the breach, several residents have filed a class-action lawsuit over the breach as well.

For more information or to connect with the AI assistance portal, visit the Commissioners website at csimt.gov.
The Better Cotton Initiative stated that cotton meeting its traceability requirements is currently sourced from 15 producing nations, demonstrating the expansion of its traceability solution since its rollout two years ago.

Launched in November 2023, BCI Traceability has attracted over 60 retailers and brands that have registered to source traceable BCI cotton, referred to as Physical BCI Cotton.

In addition, 17 Better Cotton Initiative retailer and brand members have received products containing this type of cotton.

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The group confirmed that nearly a quarter of all retailer and brand members have either procured or committed to sourcing this physically traceable cotton.

Better Cotton Initiative traceability director Jacky Broomhead said: The complexity of textile supply chains, combined with increased legislation, makes traceability non-negotiable. To continue delivering on our mission to support cotton farmers around the world and ensure BCI farmers can access key markets, we needed to make BCI Cotton traceable.

In terms of scale, over the past two years, over 23,000 metric tonnes (mt) of Physical BCI Cotton have been traced from cotton gins through to BCI retailer and brand members. This figure represents an increase from the 90mt recorded by November 2024.

According to Better Cotton Initiatives calculations, with an average 100% cotton t-shirt weighing around 180 grams, this volume would be enough fibre to manufacture more than 127 m t-shirts.

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The cotton governance group has now implemented its traceability solution across every country where it runs field-level programmes. It continues to work with supplier and manufacturer members to ensure alignment with its Chain of Custody (CoC) Standard. This standard determines requirements for handling Physical BCI Cotton and is intended to maintain supply chain integrity.

Over the previous 12 months, the traceability system has expanded into Australia and Brazil. During this period, the number of suppliers and manufacturers complying with the CoC Standard increased from 700 in 2024 to over 2,000 today.

Broomhead continued: Making traceability both accessible to the market and inclusive of all BCI farmers has been a key goal of ours. Achieving this has been a truly collaborative effort made possible through the invaluable contributions of our retailer and supplier community, who helped develop the solution, and the many companies now sourcing Physical BCI Cotton."

The expansion of BCI Traceability is directly linked to the introduction of a new product label, which became available last month.

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This label can be used by retailers and brand members wishing to claim on products containing Physical BCI Cotton.

According to Better Cotton Initiative, the label confirms that products contain cotton certified by a third-party organisation and traced back to its country of origin.

This certification makes the label a source of reassurance for consumers, while enhancing the credibility of retailers and brands, according to the cotton sustainability initiative.

Physical BCI Cotton enters global supply chains using three CoC models. These include segregation (single country), segregation (multi-country), and controlled blending.

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The single and multi-country segregation models require complete separation from conventional cotton at the farm level onwards, while multi-country segregation does not allow mixing or substitution between origins or with conventional fibre throughout processing.

Controlled blending is being introduced as a transitional approach. It allows some mixing at production sites when demand outpaces supply, resulting in a percentage-based claim on batch composition.

In September this year, Better Cotton partnered with Stockholm-based climate technology firm Planboo to assist cotton farmers in lowering greenhouse gas emissions and generating carbon credits.

"More than 50% of BCI cotton traceable across global supply chains" was originally created and published by Just Style, a GlobalData owned brand.




This year's exhibition was brimming with activities, while the tasting areas bustled with enthusiastic buyers and visitors. Numerous renowned importers, wholesalers, retailers, and e-commerce platforms actively attended the event for sourcing, including: XIAMEN C&D International Wines & Spirits Group Co., Ltd, Lianhua Supermarket Holdings Co., Ltd., Jiuxian, 1919.cn and Jiujiajiu from Chinese Mainland; Specks Food & Liquor Group PTY LTD from Australia; Mikkeller APS from Denmark; Munjral Brothers (Distribution) Pvt Ltd from India; Mercian Corporation and The Thousand Kyoto from Japan; Hotel Kazakhstan Almaty from Kazakhstan; Shinsegae L&B and Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas from South Korea; Luen Heng F&B Sdn Bhd from Malaysia; Vno.sk s.r.o. from Slovakia; Grupo Alpom Importaciones SL from Spain; Phu & Em Group from Vietnam and more.

The spirits market is becoming increasingly diversified. Following the HKSAR Chief Executive's announcement in last year's Policy Address to reduce the duty on high-end liquor, this year's Wine & Spirits Fair introduced a new World of Spirits zone. Exhibitors in this zone accounted for more than a third of the total, and featured whiskies, Chinese baijiu, brandy, tequila, gin, vodka, rum and more from 14 countries and regions, allowing buyers to gain deeper insights into the cultures and trends of various spirits."

Jenny Koo , Deputy Executive Director of HKTDC, remarked: "This year's Wine and Spirits fair brought together over 620 exhibitors from 23 countries and regions. In addition to Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, we welcomed exhibitors from the rest of Asia, Europe, and the Americas, who showcased wines and spirits from more than 40 origins. Seminars, networking events, competitions and tasting sessions were held to further industry development and reinforce Hong Kong's role as a regional wine and spirits trading hub.

HONG KONG - November 9, 2025 ( NEWMEDIAWIRE ) - The 17th Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair (Wine & Spirits Fair), organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), successfully wrapped up yesterday. Beginning on 6 November, the three-day event attracted over 8,200 trade buyers from 57 countries and regions. On the final day, the "Wine Fiesta" zone welcomed over 11,000 adult members of the public who sampled and purchased wines and participated in master classes, tasting sessions, and seminars.

Story Continues

Chinese baijiu targets new generation of consumers; emerging markets show potential

Chinese baijiu was a highlight in the "World of Spirits" zone. The scale of the pavilion has reached a record high. It also brings six of the "Top 10 Chinese Baijiu Brands".

One of the exhibitors, Luzhou Laojiao from Sichuan, made a grand debut on the first day of the Wine & Spirits Fair by launching a brand-new product, "Guojiao 1573 Beautiful Hong Kong". The bottle design thoughtfully incorporates iconic Hong Kong landmarks, highlighting the city's cultural identity. In recent years, Luzhou Laojiao has actively pursued strategies to attract younger demographics by lowering the alcohol content and introducing lighter series, successfully attracting next-generation consumers and emerging market buyers.

Ryan Leung, Regional Brand Promotion Manager said, "During this fair, we held individual meetings with buyers from South Africa, Malaysia, India, Japan, and other regions to exchange views on the market potential and consumption trends of Chinese baijiu. Several orders were secured during the event, including hotel distributors and supermarket chains. The result reflects the brand's efforts in internationalisation and innovative positioning, marking a successful step forward in expanding into international market."

Another exhibitor, Chen Neng En from Zhejiang Yuanguo Winery Industry Co., Ltd, said, "Participating in this fair in Hong Kong has given us a deep sense of the market's diversity and vibrancy, helping younger consumers discover baijiu. We connected with some 50 buyers from across the globeincluding India, Indonesia, Canada, and various countries and regions in Southeast Asia. These included import liquor agents, high-end restaurateurs, and boutique liquor retailers.''

In addition, buyers believe that China's liquor industry is showing unprecedented potential for internationalisation. Kenneth Soh, Managing Director of Malaysian beverage distributor Luning F&B, said, "We have already imported some Chinese baijiu, but have yet to introduce wines from Chinese Mainland. I am planning to source both red and white wines from Ningxia, while also expanding our Chinese baijiu product line. Our annual procurement is expected to reach between USD million to USD5 million."

Global wines cater to diverse tastes

Beyond Chinese baijiu, the Wine and Spirits Fair showcased wines and spirits from around the globe, including Japanese sake, Irish whiskeys, Russian vodka and Austrian wines, and more fully demonstrating how the Wine & Spirits Fair helps brands both "bring in" and "go global". David Morris, Chief Executive Officer of the Australia China Business Council Tasmania, said that they successfully connected with buyers and distributors from across Asia and promoted Australian whisky.

Einav Nixon, Commercial Consul and Head of the Israel Economic and Commercial Mission in Hong Kong and Macau, expressed her appreciation for the tasting session. She also noted, "Although Israeli wines are still considered niche in Hong Kong, buyers and media have shown keen interest in our wines and spirits, reflecting significant market potential." Nixon added that they plan to expand their presence at the Wine & Spirits Fair next year.

Local brands exhibiting at the fair actively expanded their market presence, successfully attracting attention from overseas buyers. Queenie Lau, Business Development Director of Forever Profits International Trading Limited, shared that the company's new product, "MLW Whiskey Highball," has expanded into both local and overseas markets just three months after its launch. The brand focuses on low-alcohol beverages, with only 6% ABV, catering to diverse market preferences. The product is now available at major Japanese department stores, and the brand is currently in discussions with hotels and venues in Macau. "During the wine and spirits fair, the brand attracted significant attention from Chinese Mainland, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and more. Multiple distributors proactively sought us out enquired, reflecting the appeal of Hong Kong-manufactured products in Asian markets. We also received orders from several bars, and received an overwhelming response from buyers at the fair!"

Eunbin Park, a buyer from the Korean liquor distribution company, Shinsegae L&B said, "We had a budget of USD20,000 mainly allocated for Portuguese wines from the fairair but I also visited the Australian pavilion as well, and the quality of their wines was a pleasant surprise. I am considering placing an additional order of USD10,000 for two of their wines." Furthermore, the Wine and Spirits Fair facilitated multiple collaborations. Derek, Chairman of Hong Kong Dragonfly International Group Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Zhang Qin, the brand representative of Xinjiang's Sunyard Vinery, for a collaboration valued at at RMB300,000. The agreement covers a range of products, including low-alcohol sparkling wine, premium white wine and ros, demonstrating buyers' interest in diverse wine categories.

Exciting Events Explored Market Trends - Tasting Sessions Receive Enthusiastic Response

45 events were held during the Wine and Spirits Fair, offering insights into the latest industry trends. Three Masters of Wine, Debra Meiburg, Jennifer Docherty, and Xing Wei, hosted key sessions. Debra Meiburg discussed how AI is transforming the wine industry in Wine Industry Conference: AI in Wine Business; Jennifer Docherty led a seminar titled Off the Beaten Path, Gems from Unsung Regions, introducing wines from Tasmania, Hungary, South Africa, and China and featuring a tasting session. While Xing Wei hosted Savour the Wines of Chinese Terroir, offering a deep dive into unique wines from Chinese Mainland.

The Wine & Spirits Fair once again featured a blind tasting event, hosted by Master of Wine, Xing Wei, sommeliers Carlito Chiu and Calvin Choi. They selected a total of 17 of their favourite wines and spirits, covering red wine, white wine, Chinese baijiu, sake/rice wine, whisky, and other spirits. These specially selected wines and spirits had special labels affixed at the fair for easy identification. Among the selections, Hong Kong's first local whisky brand, 'Kowloon Distillery'' was included in the whiskeys and spirits list. Max Rybinski, Founder of Kowloon Distillery, said, "This recognition has greatly increased our visibility. Many buyers use this list to source products which enhances the credibility of our offerings and underscores the value of our high-quality ingredients."

Multiple tasting sessions were held to provide industry professionals an in-depth understanding of the unique characteristics of wines and spirits from different origins. These included events such as the Cathay Global Wine and Spirits Awards Asia Winner Tasting, Exploring Yamagata Sake Terroir and Sichuan Brews, Qiong Charm - Savoring Together in Fragrant Harbor - Qionglai Production Area Tasting Event. The sessions attracted numerous buyers and wine and spirits enthusiasts who arrived early to actively participate, creating an atmosphere of knowledge sharing and interactive engagement.

The public day featured a Mixology Party with professional bartenders from Hong Kong, Indonesia and Koreaperforming live. Among them were mixologists from bars listed in the "Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025" list, drawing enthusiastic participation from wine lovers.

Under the EXHIBITION+ hybrid mode, buyers could use the Scan2Match function of the HKTDC Marketplace App to scan exhibitors' unique QR codes during the physical exhibition. They could also bookmark favourite exhibitors, browse product information and continue discussions with exhibitors online after the show. Exhibitors and buyers can also engage in online business negotiations and matching through the Click2Match smart business matching platform until 15 November 2025.

Photo download: https://bit.ly/4hONsYX

HKTDC Media Room: mediaroom.hktdc.com

Website

Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair: https://www.hktdc.com/event/hkwinefair/en

Media enquiries

Please contact the HKTDC's Communications & Public Affairs Department:

Katy Wong

Tel: (852) 2584 4524

Email: katy.ky.wong@hktdc.org

About HKTDC

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong's trade. With over 50 offices globally, including 13 in Chinese Mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the Chinese Mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on @hktdc and LinkedIn
BERLIN (AP)  A Saudi doctor went on trial on murder charges Monday over the car-ramming attack on a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg last year that left six people dead.

The 51-year-old suspect, Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, was brought by helicopter to a temporary courtroom in the eastern city specially set up for the trial, and sat behind a bulletproof glass screen.

Five women and a boy died, and many more people were wounded, in the Dec. 20 attack that lasted just over a minute. The defendant is charged with six counts of murder and 338 of attempted murder in the trial at the Magdeburg state court, for which sessions have been scheduled until March. He could face a life prison sentence if convicted.

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Prosecutor Matthias Bottcher told the court that al-Abdulmohsen had acted out of supposed personal frustration" and aimed to hit as many people as possible in order to gain the attention he wanted, German news agency dpa reported.

There are no formal pleas in the German legal system. But the defendant told the court: I am the one who drove the car.

He didn't immediately give further details or offer any apology, dpa reported. Instead, he talked about alleged police cover-ups and criticized the media, and the presiding judge admonished him to address the matter at hand.

Investigators have said that the attack was carried out with a rented BMW X3, which reached speeds of up to 48 kph (30 mph) during the rampage. They said when they filed the indictment that he wasn't under the influence of alcohol and apparently acted out of dissatisfaction with the outcome of a legal dispute and the failure of various criminal complaints. They also have said that he planned the attack without accomplices.

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Officials have said the suspect doesnt fit the usual profile of perpetrators of extremist attacks. The man described himself as an ex-Muslim who was highly critical of Islam and on social media expressed support for the far-right. He had previously come to authorities attention for threatening behavior but wasnt known to have committed any violence.

The Magdeburg car-ramming was one of a series of attacks involving immigrants that pushed migration to the forefront of the campaign for Germanys national election in February. The defendant arrived in Germany in 2006 and had received permanent residency.
The Muskingum County Board of Developmental Disabilities recently broke ground on a new home for individuals with disabilities on Central Avenue.

The home, set to be completed by spring 2026, will accommodate three individuals and feature two ramps, a large common space, and a fully accessible kitchen and bathroom, according to a community announcement.

This home represents a marvelous example of government working to the benefit of all the people, especially those who are vulnerable and in need of genuine assistance, Mayor Donald Mason said in the announcement.

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The project is part of the Boards Capital Housing Program, which aims to provide safe, affordable, and accessible housing options for people with disabilities. The program supports independence and community inclusion, with houses purchased or built using Capital Housing Grant funding from the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities.

These homes are located in various neighborhoods throughout the community, offering diverse living options for those in need.

We were proud to participate in the groundbreaking of a new residential home for our Muskingum County Board of DD, which expands the vital services for our residents. This investment reflects the continued commitment to supporting inclusive growth and improving the quality of life for all members of our community, County Commissioner Melissa Bell said in the announcement.

For more information, call 740-453-4829 or visit muskingumdd.org.

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This story was created by Jane Imbody, jimbody@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct/.

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Accessible housing expanding in Muskingum County
By Chinmay Kashyap

Every year, thousands of students across New Jersey take part in lockdown drills: lights off, doors locked, silence in the dark. For many, that silence isnt calm  its fear pretending to be preparedness.

As a graduate of the Flemington-Raritan School District in Hunterdon County and now a high school sophomore, I remember those drills vividly. Today, my younger sibling walks the same FRSD hallways, practicing the same drills, still wondering if enough is being done to actually keep us safe.

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More than a decade ago, on Dec. 14, 2012, tragedy struck Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Twenty children and six educators were killed in one of the deadliest school shootings in American history. It was a wake-up call that safety must never be an afterthought or a budget variable. Sandy Hook was a quiet, low-crime community. Thats proof that tragedy can reach any town, no matter how peaceful it seems. We shouldnt wait for heartbreak to remind us that prevention is worth every dollar.

Local school safety: more than budget numbers

The reality of school shootings is not just history; it is a threat that shapes our schools today. When safety is left up to referendum politics, communities risk letting budget votes decide whether students and staff are truly protected. The 2025 FRSD referendum forced residents to weigh rising costs against keeping critical protections in place, like dedicated Class III security officers for every building, and even teacher jobs.

Superintendent Kari McGann made it clear in this years town halls: If the budget doesnt pass, we are reducing 30 teachers, all class three officers, and JV sports. Even if the budget passes, we still have to reduce positions, she stated on Feb. 25.

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She stressed that safety should never be a trivial item on a ballot, yet in practice thats exactly what it has become.

Other New Jersey districts lead with innovation

FRSD is not alone in its struggle to balance cost and safety. Bridgewater-Raritan has split the costs of police officers with its municipality, a solution suggested in FRSD board discussions and public comments but never seriously pursued (Bridgewater-Raritan shared services).

Clinton Township capped its costs via shared-services models. State and federal grants  like the School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) grant under the STOP School Violence Act  provide millions of dollars per year that other districts use to keep students protected without tax increases.

A statewide pattern of strain

The problem is widespread. Jackson Township, Hillsborough, and Hunterdon Central have all faced staff cuts, program losses, or tax spikes due to New Jerseys strict budgeting laws and inadequate funding. The 2% annual tax levy cap, rising healthcare costs, and mandates for special education and safety outpace funding.

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Suburban and urban districts alike are making hard choices, sometimes cutting even basic student protections, a fact brought up throughout FRSDs public sessions.

Call to action: A task force for real solutions

Flemington-Raritan has the partnerships and talent to lead, but it needs purposeful action.

I urge the Flemington-Raritan Board of Education and superintendent to form a Safety and Funding Task Force, inviting students, parents, police, and town officials, dedicated solely to researching grants, evaluating shared-services deals, and advocating for permanent solutions that do not depend on referenda.

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Safety for students must never be left in the hands of budget cycles or public votes.

I would gladly serve on such a task force, bridging the gap between our schools and community to find every option available.

Safety is our responsibility

Lets stop dwelling on what cannot be done and start leading with what is possible. School safety cannot wait on election results or funding mechanisms. Every day we delay, more students walk through doors wondering if silence in drills must one day become real.

Calling your elected representative in the state Assembly or Senate is the most effective way to influence policy. To find your state Assembly member and Senator to voice your position, go to the New Jersey Legislature websites Legislative Roster.

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Chinmay Kashyap is a sophomore at Hunterdon Central Regional High School and a graduate of Flemington-Raritan School District.

Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
She was on cloud nine.

Navy helicopter pilot Lt. Jennifer Bennie, one of the fearless female veterans featured in the 2025 Pin-Ups For Vets calendar, was flying high on the glam that comes with being a calendar girl.

I had never been so pampered. I felt so beautiful. I had my makeup professionally done, my hair. I was like, I dont even know I could look like that,' Bennie, 47, told The Post ahead of Veterans Day.

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Bennie, a North Carolina native twice deployed to Iraq, serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in 2000 and 2003, respectively, explained the significance of the car she posed in front of  a 1945 Chrysler Town and Country.

That was the last time they put wood on a car because they needed the metal for the war effort, so I loved it historically-wise, she said.

Navy helicopter pilot Lieutenant Jennifer Bennie posed for the 2025 Pin-Ups For Vets calendar. Courtesy of Jennifer Bennie

And I loved paying homage to the pin-ups and how this image really helped with morale during World War II.

Until the mid-90s, women werent even allowed to fly in combat, so Bennie, whose maiden name happens to be Mitchell  like Tom Cruises Top Gun character  said changing the mindsets of her male counterparts was one of the best things about her job.

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I would have so many guys say to me, Miss Mitchell, I didnt like women in the military, but I like you,' she said, laughing.

So I didnt cut the trail. But I helped pave the road.

The North Carolina native was deployed twice to Iraq. Courtesy of Jennifer Bennie

I flew up to the clouds and I could see my shadow on the clouds, and it was just me and the cockpit. I put my hand on the windscreen and I was like, I never felt more accomplishment in my life,' she recalled of her first solo flight.

Courtesy of Jennifer Bennie

When she entered Naval Aviation School after graduation from Penn State on a full Navy scholarship, she was one of the first women in her fleet squadron and given the call sign Yoko, because I broke up the band of guys.

Bennie, whose parents were both in the Air Force, graduated first in her class in flight school  surpassing all the men.

I beat everyone in the pool. You have to swim a mile in full flight gear. And I could always lift a guy on my shoulders, she said.

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Three days before she got her wings in 2001, the Sept. 11 attacks shook the nation  and she was ordered to report to Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego.

Bennie flew every mission with an NYPD patch on her uniform. Courtesy of Jennifer Bennie

Before she left, Bennie  whose Italian maternal grandfather immigrated to Jackson Heights, Queens and served in World War II, and whose mother was born and raised there as well  made sure to stop at Ground Zero with her cousin.

When they arrived, it was after midnight, and Bennie approached a police officer to ask where she could purchase an NYPD patch.

I said, Im a Navy pilot. Im about to ship out to San Diego. I would really like to fly with a patch  and he ripped it off his coat, she recalled.

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I never got his name, but I flew with it on every mission.

I brought all my men back alive, said Bennie, when asked about the career accomplishment that makes her the most proud. Courtesy of Jennifer Bennie

As a helicopter pilot on small Navy ships, where really, youre the only air asset they have, Bennies role was multifaceted.

So youve got to be really good at landing the helicopter on a small postage stamp in the water, she said.

We would do eight-hour flights, usually at night, and you didnt know what your job was gonna be. It could be surveillance, or it could turn into search and rescue, or it could turn it into medevac, someone could have a medical emergency, or it could turn into a man overboard.

Bennie travels around the country to visit the veterans who came before her. Courtesy of Jennifer Bennie

Bennie and her husband, Scott, at the Navy Ball in October, which celebrated the U.S. Navys 250th birthday. Courtesy of Jennifer Bennie

Bennie, who is now living in Millington, Tennessee  the human resources hub of the Navy  with her husband, Scott, a Navy commander, earned a masters degree in history under the GI Bill.

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The mom of three now runs a YouTube channel called Walk With History, where she takes viewers on tour around historical sites.

Although she will lie low on Veterans Day, she honors the sacrifice her fellow servicemen have made throughout the year by visiting veterans homes around the country.

I visit every veteran in the home and some dont get visitors, she said. So when you walk in, they just light up.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services cannot reduce Medicaid payments to providers of a service to children with autism, a Superior Court judge ruled Monday.

Special Superior Court Judge Clayton D. Somers granted a preliminary injunction to children who had sued through their parents over the rate cuts.

Somers ruling means payment rates to providers of Applied Behavioral Analysis cannot be cut before a trial. ABA aims to improve social skills and communication, increase positive behavior and reduce negative behavior, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

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Starting Oct. 1, NC DHHS cut rates to Medicaid providers anywhere from 3% to 10%, claiming the legislature did not appropriate enough money to the insurance program to see it through the budget year.

Attempts by the legislature to approve increased Medicaid funding became tangled in disagreements between House and Senate Republicans. Republicans have criticized the Medicaid cuts as unnecessary.

Last week, Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, called the General Assembly back for a special legislative session on Nov. 17 to approve more Medicaid money. The legislature is not required to approve additional funding at the special session.

The lawsuit against NC DHHS was brought by 21 children through their parents or guardians, who say the 10% cut to ABA is discriminatory because it targets children with a disability.

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All the children who sued are on Medicaid and rely on behavioral healthcare treatment for autism or are on waiting lists for that care, said Michael Easley Jr., one of their lawyers.

Easley described his clients as unfairly caught in the middle of a political budget impasse that could lead to the denial of Medicaid services they rely on, placing them at increased risk of institutionalization or segregation.

But an attorney for DHHS said the agencys cuts to ABA therapy are not discriminatory. Adrian W. Dellinger, a lawyer with the state Department of Justice representing the agency, said it also made 10% rate cuts to other services, including to surgical centers, anesthesiology providers and free-standing birth centers.

These cuts were made with deliberation, not malice, Dellinger said.

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ABA providers received a 15% rate increase on Jan. 1, 2024, Dellinger told the court. After that increase, spending on ABA increased sharply, with five providers accounting for 41% of the increased spending.

In 2023, before the rate increase, Medicaid spent $199 million on ABA. Costs were projected to increase 425% by 2026.

Even with the reduction, Dellinger said, NC Medicaid will pay more for ABA than it did in 2023, and at rates higher than in 42 other states.

Somers, who served as chief of staff to former Republican House Speaker Tim Moore, pressed Dellinger on whether the legislature could be trusted to come up with the additional money. Moore appointed Somers to the bench in 2023.

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Somers also repeatedly asked Dellinger if DHHS Secretary Dev Sangvai could be trusted to reverse the rate cuts if the legislature appropriated more money.

At the end of the day, this is about trust, Somers said. Medicaid wont run out of money until May, he said, while the children could suffer irreparable harm.

Somers said Sangvai used a scalpel to make the cuts. One might say he made these cuts with surgical precision, Somers said, echoing a 2016 federal appeals court ruling that struck down a Republican election law the court found targeted Black voters.

Rhonda Huey of Charlotte smiled with relief after Somers blocked the ABA Medicaid rate cut.

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Huey, who attended the hearing with other parents, said she has two sons with autism, an 8-year-old and an 11-year-old.

She attended school every day with her eldest son for six years, but no longer has to because of the improvements brought about by ABA. He has now moved out of classes for exceptional children and into a regular classroom, she said.

ABA just turned it around, Huey said.

She was worried because her sons provider had said they may no longer accept Medicaid if rates are cut.

You could see the difference and impact, she said. My baby had missed a lot of birthday parties. We couldnt go to church. We couldnt do a lot of things.
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the motion of former North Carolina congressman and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to have his Georgia state court criminal prosecution for allegedly seeking to subvert the 2020 election moved to federal court. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

North Carolinas Mark Meadows is among 77 people recently pardoned by President Donald Trump, five years after Meadows was involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election that Trump lost.

Meadows, a former congressman, served as Trumps chief of staff in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

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Ed Martin, the U.S. pardon attorney, posted the full list of people pardoned by Trump on social media Sunday night. It does not include Trump himself, but does name Meadows and another North Carolina native  attorney Sidney Powell, who led challenges to election results in key states as part of Trumps legal team.

Trumps pardon proclamation says it ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 presidential election and continues the process of national reconciliation.

Meadows and Powell are not accused of any federal crimes, rendering the pardons largely symbolic. They were both indicted as part of the Georgia investigation into the electoral scheme, which is still pending in state court. (Meadows asked to have his case moved to federal court; that request was rejected.)

Prior to his role in the White House, Meadows represented the western 11th district in the U.S. House, chairing the Freedom Caucus and growing to be one of the presidents closest allies during his first term. He has regularly made appearances on Fox News in recent months defending Trump and the administration.

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Meadows and his wife were also investigated over allegations that they voted improperly in 2020, using the address of a mobile home in Macon County. They were not charged.

Powell in 2023 pleaded guilty to six misdemeanor counts of election interference, flipping her plea to testify against her co-defendants in the Georgia case. She was sentenced to six years of probation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel's fight against its enemies in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip is far from over.

According to his office, Netanyahu told the Israeli parliament that the two groups are rearming and have not abandoned their goal of destroying Israel.

Netanyahu said that Israel is determined to enforce the ceasefire agreements with "an iron fist."

Many in Lebanon fear a new escalation of the conflict between Israel and the Shiite militant Hezbollah.

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Although a ceasefire has largely held for nearly a year, Israel accuses Hezbollah of rearming and has carried out near-daily strikes on the militia's targets across the border.

With US support, Israel is pressing for Hezbollah's disarmament, with US envoy Tom Barrack warning of further measures if the group does not comply.

Netanyahu credited military pressure on Hamas, including the Gaza City offensive, as well as diplomatic pressure from the US to isolate Hamas as key to securing the return of all living hostages and most of the deceased.

Critics, including relatives of the abductees, argue that a Gaza deal could have been reached earlier, potentially saving more lives.

Under the US-mediated deal, 20 living hostages and 24 deceased have been released or transferred so far. Four bodies of people abducted from Israel to Gaza remain unaccounted for.
Nevadas DMV just rolled out a slick new online system, letting folks snitch on cars with bogus or missing tags, and boy, is it causing a stir. In a mere fortnight, over 7,600 tips poured intalk about turning the heat up on slackers dodging registration fees.

California Driver Caught Using Hand-Drawn License Plate

Dubbed "Registration Spotter," the platform targets drivers who cling to out-of-state plates to sidestep Nevadas steeper costs. And lets be real, this isnt some niche problem. Unregistered rides clog up packed neighborhoods, slipping through the cracks while cops bust their tails on bigger fish.

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Heres the kicker: Nevada calculates fees based on a cars original sticker price, so folks from Arizona or California laugh all the way to the bank. Now, with everyday Joes playing traffic cop, the states hoping to claw back some cash.

How to Survive a Submerged Car: Essential Steps for Every Driver

But not everyones cheering. Critics gripe that its asking too much of regular people, turning citizens into tattletales instead of letting the law handle it. Online, tempers flaresome call it lazy governance, others worry about bogus reports gumming up the system.

Love it or hate it, the things taken off like wildfire. What comes next? Officials will sift through the mountain of tips, figuring out how many actually stick.

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Its Nevadas latest tech-powered hustle to crack down on sketchy registrations, blending crowdsourcing with cold, hard bureaucracy. Whether its genius or just passing the buck, well, thats up for debate.





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California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) slammed President Trump on Saturday while attending a rally to rail against Texass successful redistricting efforts.

Were dealing with an invasive species by the name of Donald Trump, Newsom told the crowd in Houston.

He is an historic president, however. A historically unpopular president, under every key category, he added.

Trumps approval rating has been falling during his second stint in office.

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A CNN/SSRS poll released Monday showed 37 percent of American respondents approve of the job Trumps doing in the Oval Office, while 63 percent said they disapprove.

Recent polling also shows large shares of Americans blame the president and the Republican Party for the government shutdown.

Newsom has long feuded with the president, but the beef intensified earlier this year when Trump refused to meet with him amid the California wildfires.

The California governor has ramped up his criticism ahead of midterm elections with the goal of helping Democrats regain a majority in the House.

We cannot rest until we take it back, Newsom said on Saturday. There is no more important race in our lifetime than the House of Representatives and taking back the House.

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This past week, voters in the Golden State approved Proposition 50, a ballot measure that allowed politicians in office to redraw congressional maps outside of the census period. It was the first redistricting effort that is poised to help Democrats, after several red states passed similar measures at Trumps urging.

Sabatos Crystal Ball shifted 11 congressional races in favor of Democrats after Proposition 50 passed.

Newsoms strategy to rewire districts followed that of GOP lawmakers in the Lone Star State, which approved adopting a new map that favors Republicans in August.

Texas Democratic legislators attempted to block the effort by fleeing the state, but eventually had to return for votes.

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However, on Saturday, Newsom credited those party members at the local level for sparking Democrats pushback on redistricting nationwide.

You woke us up, Newsom said, speaking to those lawmakers.

You didnt just have your back here, you had our back in the state of California.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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A Ukrainian man imprisoned in Italy and accused of involvement in the 2022 bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, has made serious allegations against his captors.

"I am being held under armed guard, in complete isolation and under constant surveillance," the defendant, identified only as Serhij K in line with privacy laws, said in a letter quoted by his lawyer on Monday.

The man, who is due to be extradited to Germany for criminal proceedings, began a hunger strike more than a week ago "because the Italians are ignoring my requests and violating my rights as a prisoner of war and as a human being," he said.

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Lawyer Nicola Canestrini published the letter, which was written in Ukrainian and had not been delivered to him through official channels.

Recently, a court in Bologna had approved K's transfer to the German authorities. However, Canestrini said he would bring the case before Italy's Supreme Court in Rome again and lodge an appeal.

The court already stopped the extradition once before. It is unclear when the next hearing at the Court of Cassation will take place.

According to Canestrini, K's detention raises serious questions about "compliance with international humanitarian law and the treatment of captured combatants abroad."

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His client, although an officer in the Ukrainian armed forces, is being "thrown away like an old shoe  forgotten by those who should have defended him," the lawyer said.

Over the weekend, Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets expressed concern about K's condition and stressed that his situation required immediate action.

The 49-year-old is considered the alleged mastermind behind the attacks on gas pipelines from Russia in the Baltic Sea three years ago following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

German prosecutors accuse him of jointly causing an explosion on the pipelines and of anti-constitutional sabotage. He is therefore to be tried in Germany.
Key Points

Dutch Bros' culture is its competitive strength.

Its expansion runway is wide open.

Profitability is improving fast.

These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires 

Dutch Bros (NYSE: BROS) might not have the size of Starbucks, but it's quickly brewing something special. With a strong sense of community, a loyal following, and an expanding drive-thru footprint, the Oregon-based beverage chain has become one of the more interesting consumer growth stories of late.

While the stock has experienced ups and downs since its 2021 initial public offering (IPO), the long-term bull case is based on three core ideas: a distinct brand, a long runway for expansion, and improving profitability.

Here's why investors are increasingly optimistic about Dutch Bros' future.

Image source: Getty Images.

A distinctive brand with strong cultural resonance

Dutch Bros doesn't just sell coffee -- it sells energy, friendliness, and a sense of belonging. That might sound cliche, but in an industry where experience matters as much as taste, Dutch Bros has carved out an identity that feels genuinely different.

More than 80% of its sales come from cold and energy drinks, not traditional hot coffee. That matters because it makes Dutch Bros relevant throughout the day, not just in the morning. Drinks like the Blue Rebel, its proprietary energy beverage, and a rotating lineup of creative cold brews have turned the chain into a lifestyle brand as much as a caffeine stop.

But what truly sets Dutch Bros apart is its people-first culture. Its "broistas" -- the upbeat employees who run the drive-thrus -- are central to the company's brand identity. They're trained not only to move cars quickly, but to build small moments of connection with every customer. The company invests heavily in training and internal promotions, cultivating a culture of ownership and community that scales with each new location.

For investors, this kind of culture isn't just feel-good PR -- it's a competitive advantage. In an era of copycat coffee chains, Dutch Bros has built emotional loyalty that generates repeat traffic and word-of-mouth growth.

A massive, underpenetrated growth runway

Once you understand the brand's appeal, the next question is scale -- and here's where the numbers get exciting.

Dutch Bros currently operates approximately 1,043 stores -- 725 are company-operated, the rest are franchises. Management guided that its addressable market is north of 7,000 shops nationwide, roughly 7 times the current base. That kind of expansion potential is rare for a brand that's already proven its model.
Photo by WEWS.

Of the school levies in Northeast Ohio that failed Tuesday, the majority would have raised homeowners taxes.

Of the 38 school ballot issues, 23 passed and 15 failed. But there was a clear difference in the type of levy that was passed.

Renewal levies, which do not raise your taxes, passed 18 out of 20 times. While additional fund levies, which will increase your bills, failed 7 out of 10 times. This was the case for Elyria City Schools.

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It breaks my heart because I know what we do for our students and families. And any time you have to look at making cuts, no matter where the cuts are, its going to affect something, Ann Schloss, the superintendent for Elyria City Schools, said.

But one of the three that succeeded was Shaker Heights City School District

I just wanna acknowledge and commend our community for their overwhelming support of the Shaker School District, particularly in todays day and age, David Glasner, Shaker superintendent, said.

A day and age where Glasner and all other public school leaders are facing cuts in state funding.

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Nonpartisan research group Policy Matters Ohio found that the state slashed the expected public education spending by nearly $3 billion over the next two years.

Were already under strain, so it would cause additional strain, Parma Schools Superintendent Dr. Scott Hunt said about what would happen if his levy failed.

Four bond issues also failed, as well as half of the four substitute levies.

On Wednesday, OhioHouse Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) was asked what he says to the schools that are asking for the state to step in and provide more financial support.

Its kind of this, I guess, two-sided coin when folks say We want local control of our schools, but our local folks wont approve levies. We, therefore, want the state to give us the money, even though our local folks wont support that,' Huffman responded.

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The state is trying to deal with lowering property taxes, but Huffman added that schools need to be more fiscally responsible if their levies fail.

An understanding that schools have to be more precise in their spending, Huffman said. Theyre not going to be able to hire, especially on the administrative side, the people theyve hired before.

Districts facing failed levies argue that they have been responsible, while voters told us that the cost of living is too high to pay more.

Why do you think Shaker was able to beat those odds? Glasner was asked.

I think Shaker was able to beat those odds because we have an incredible community that has historically and continues to support our public schools, and that really understands how valuable public schools are, not just to the students and families who are in them, but to the broader community as a whole and really, I would say, kind of an even bigger picture to our country and the health of our democracy, he responded.

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The City of Shaker Heights has been a district at the forefront of both state and federal political discussions.

The community not only shows up to vote, but had a turnout rate of nearly 70% during the 2024 presidential election, according to data from the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections. The city of about 30,000 voted for former VP Kamala Harris by nearly 90%.

The district being so engaged in how school funding works is a factor, Glasner added.

The levy will play a critical role in advancing the districts equity goals  racial, economic, ability-based, and beyond, the Stand Up for Shaker Schools levy campaign page wrote.

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Funds will help every student access high-quality educational opportunities.

The superintendent also acknowledged that socioeconomic factors played into the passage.

Census data shows the average Shaker Heights home is valued at around $300,000. Passing the levy will make tax bills go up more than $1,000 per year.

Throughout our coverage of levies over the past few years, schools with more affluent families typically tend to pass, while many lower-income areas struggle.

Follow WEWS statehouse reporter Morgan Trau on X and Facebook.

This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and is published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content-sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets as it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)  Ohios top nursing union is demanding action after a nurse was allegedly strangled by a patient at the Ohio State University Hospital.

Rick Lucas, president of the Ohio Nurses Association and former president of the OSU nursing union, wrote leadership at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center after a postpartum nurse was injured on the job and allegedly did not receive support from management or administration.

Marti Leitch, chief spokesperson for Wexner Medical Center, said steps in the post-event notification process were missed, delaying support services until the next day.

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Lucas said a postpartum nurse intervened during an altercation between a female patient and a male family member around 6:50 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6. The man was allegedly holding an infant in his arms, possibly endangering the baby.

Former Ohio State quarterback sued over crash that injured 3 women

Lucas said the nurse stepped in to help and was strangled by the man. Leitch said the nurse was pulled into the hall by her shirt collar.

Leitch said the baby was unharmed, and the man was taken to the emergency department for evaluation because of his behavior. Leitch said medical center security and Ohio State University police both responded to de-escalate and protect the baby.

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Lucas said OSU police were only called once they confirmed the name of the man involved, and officers said they had received a call about the same person the day before.

Lucas said the nurse was not seen in the emergency department, and no hospital officials checked on her well-being.

When she called me, she broke down again  not just because of the attack itself, but because no one asked her if she was okay, Lucas said. Not one person. That is an institutional failure of compassion.

Ohio State faculty raise questions about new civics center

Leitch said the hospitals support services were delayed but were delivered the next morning to the nurse and other involved staff. She also said the hospital is correcting its process to ensure a similar delay does not happen in the future.

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Lucas said the nurses union is demanding that the hospital preserve and provide all camera footage, hold a debriefing with hospital administration, ban the man from the hospital unless he needs medical care, and that the hospital give the nurse paid leave. Leitch said in cases like this, employees are told they have the right to press charges.

A spokesperson for OSU police said charges were filed for violation of a protection order, unlawful restraint and assault.

Lucas said he and the nurses union will continue to push for accountability.

This altercation is a troubling example of a persisting national problem. No one should face the threat of harm at work, Leitch said. We remain firmly committed to providing a safe and secure environment for everyone who comes to our facilities to work, learn or receive care.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Political commentator Bill OReilly suggested Friday that Tuesdays blue election sweep can be tracked to voters issues with affordability and a rising cost of living just 10 months into President Trumps second term, saying, People are angry.

Responding to Real Time host Bill Mahers suggestion that Americans are looking for more normal leaders, OReilly said Democrats won because of broken promises.

The reason that Democrats won is people are angry, the former Fox News host said during Fridays show. They are angry, and not just in the three states and in New York City.

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He added, They are angry because there were promises made by President Trump to lower food prices and gas prices.

OReilly claimed that at the place Im staying in Los Angeles, a cheeseburger costs $36.

I can buy the cow for $36, he said, met with applause by the audience. When youre working for a living and you have to pay these high prices in the grocery store, youre not happy. And excuses walk.

When youre not happy, the incumbency loses every time, going all the way back to [former President] John Adams, he added.

Maher prefaced OReillys comments with: My takeaway from this is, if you were a Republican running on Tuesday, you had no chance, because people wanted to send a message.

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Democrats ran a victory lap after successful wins during Tuesdays elections. Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) won the race for governor in Virginia, as did Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) in New Jerseys gubernatorial race. New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D) defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (I), who was backed by Trump.

On the West Coast, Californians voted to overwhelming pass Proposition 50, a measure that allows the Golden State to redraw the House map in favor of Democrats ahead of next years midterms. The effort was a direct response to Trumps redistricting campaign in a number of GOP-led states, including Texas.

Democrats have all of the momentum in the world, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said at a press briefing on Wednesday. Republicans woke up this morning and realized that they are no longer in a 2024 electoral environment. Thats over, and theyre done.

Republicans have admitted defeat, with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) calling the outcome a disaster.

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It was an electoral blowout. The results in New Jersey were disastrous, the results in Virginia were terrible, Cruz told Fox News host Sean Hannity in an interview Wednesday night.

Vice President Vance said Republicans will need to focus more on addressing rising costs in order to win back momentum for the 2026 midterms.

Trump has rejected the affordability argument, however, and blamed the GOPs losses at least partially on the ongoing government shutdown  which at 39 days is the longest lapse of federal funding in U.S. history.

Last night, it was not expected to be a victory. It was very Democrat areas, Trump told Republican senators earlier this week. I dont think it was good for Republicans.

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He added, Im not sure it was good for anybody. But we had an interesting evening, and we learned a lot.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Transportation officials announced the installation plan for a new sign along Idaho Highway 55 that they hope will help reduce traffic frustrations on the busy road between Boise and McCall.

Crews will use a crane to install the overhead digital messaging sign starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday at mile marker 102 in Round Valley, just south of Cascade near the descent toward Rainbow Bridge, according to an Idaho Transportation Department news release.

The department said the sign should be operational by the end of the year.

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The installation could last through Wednesday afternoon. Drivers should expect single-lane traffic and short delays, as well as an extended 15-minute closure while the structure is first lifted into place, the release said.

Drivers often experience limited cellphone service in the canyon in that area, making it difficult to know when and why there are delays on the highway along the Payette River.

The new sign will make SH-55 safer by providing real-time alerts about wildfires, delays, and other emergencies along one of Idahos busiest mountain corridors, the department said in the release.

The new sign is part of the departments ongoing efforts to improve the travel experience along Idaho 55, which has seen sharp traffic increases recent years. The Idaho Transportation Departments automatic counter north of Banks recorded an average of 6,251 vehicles per day in July 2010, and that number was up to 8,186 in July 2024.

Jason Brinkman, an Idaho Transportation Department district engineer, told the Idaho Statesman that Idaho 55 between Eagle and McCall saw close to the most number of cars that you can fit through a given segment of the road in a given time period during the summer of 2025.
A shopper who receives SNAP benefits slides an EBT card at a checkout counter. (Photo by U.S. Department of Agriculture)

In part of its tug-of-war game with Congress, the Trump Administration announced last week they would be cutting payments to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamp) families as a way to pressure Congress to end the federal government shutdown.

This means 1.4 million Ohioans will have benefits reduced this month. Since the average per-person benefit is $186, that means Ohio will lose about $130 million in food support in November if the administration goes through with this threat.

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While the SNAP program is ostensibly about food assistance, the program has a range of impacts.

According to at least some research, SNAP is an effective food insecurity program. Urban Institute researchers estimate SNAP recipiency reduces the chance of being food insecure by 30%.

Researchers at the Center for Science in the Public Interest followed families that newly received SNAP, finding their food insecurity rates dropped by 11% six months into the program.

SNAP is also an income support and antipoverty program. Since families still usually spend more of their income on food than their SNAP benefits cover (try feeding even your most peckish family member for a month on $186), SNAP benefits effectively free up resources for households to make other purchases.

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Urban Institute researchers found that the 2021 update to the Thrift Food Plan used to set SNAP benefits kept 2.9 million Americans out of poverty.

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On top of being a food insecurity and antipoverty program, SNAP is also an economic stimulus program.

When low-income people receive payments, they tend to spend them, which then puts money in the pockets of workers at grocery stores, who use it to pay rent, buy their own groceries, and purchase other necessities.

The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that every $1 spent on SNAP leads to $1.54 in increased Gross Domestic Product.

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This can be especially important during economic downturns, when SNAP acts countercyclically to pump more money into the economy when the country needs spending the most.

So if Ohios federal support for fighting food insecurity, poverty, and stimulating the economy is going away, are there things the state can do to pick up the slack?

One option the state of Ohio has is funding nutrition education.

Initiatives like the SNAP-Ed program are effective tools for helping families meal plan and spend money strategically, showing in randomized controlled trials in other states to reduce food insecurity by as much as a third.

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This can be a strategy the state can use to reduce food insecurity even in the face of SNAP cuts.

To fight poverty, Ohio lawmakers can use tax credits like the earned income tax credit or the child tax credit.

These sorts of programs put cash in the pockets of low-income workers while helping children get off on the right foot, supporting their health and income in the long-run.

To stimulate the state economy, one of the most powerful tools lawmakers have is state education spending, particularly early education spending.

Expanded access to high-quality prekindergarten education is a tool that can be as effective as well-designed economic development incentives at increasing local incomes in the long-run.

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Ohio lawmakers can only do so much to control federal politics.

But if lawmakers want their constituents to be food secure, free from poverty, and to have economic opportunities in a thriving economy, they have options to let them do that.

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A rent sign is displayed in front of an apartment building. (Getty Images)(This image cannot be republished unless you have a subscription to Getty.)

When I moved to Oklahoma over a decade ago, I had no idea that state laws here give the upper hand to bad landlords and give tenants struggling with catastrophic issues  think raccoon infestations, flooding and mold  little recourse if repairs arent made.

But then I watched my then-boyfriend wage an unsuccessful campaign against an Oklahoma City metro apartment complex after an odd, smelly black substance began to grow around a ventilation shaft in his bathroom and air conditioning unit. Property management refused to treat it and told him he could fork out hundreds of dollars in his own money to identify whether the substance was indeed mold.

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Naively, I encouraged him to call the county health department because I thought this apparent fungal growth was a public health issue. But the health department said it was not within their purview to police apartment mold infestation. I could not find any other governmental entity that might regulate it. Shortly after that, the complexs management coincidentally had his second vehicle towed without notice while he was away at work. That was despite his lease agreement allowing him to park two vehicles on the premises. He had to pay hundreds of dollars to get it out of impound, and the complex refused to give him a break on his rent to rectify the error.

But the icing on the cake was when he arrived home not long after and found a supply line on his toilet had ruptured, flooding his apartment so much that the carpet was floating inches above the floor. There was so much water, it seeped through the walls into his neighbors apartment. His neighbor apparently thought the deluge was from flood waters that frequently seeped into their apartment after heavy rain.

Management refused to replace the ruined carpet and the waterlogged drywall. They told him he had to file a renters insurance claim to replace his destroyed furniture. And if he didnt like it, they told him, he could move out.

So he did. But as a final middle-finger salute, the landlord required a months rent as compensation for not giving at least 30 days notice. He had to threaten to take them to court to get the remainder of his security deposit back.

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All of that seems unfair and wrong, but that doesnt mean what the property managers did was illegal.

Thats because state law leaves tenants with little recourse.

Oklahoma law does not allow tenants to withhold their rent as leverage to get things fixed. If a tenant withholds rent in an attempt to pressure a landlord to fix the premises, they face automatic eviction. And any eviction makes it even harder for renters to get subsequent housing.

Oklahoma is inexplicably only one of six states where tenants dont have antiretaliation protections, Oklahoma Watch reported last week. That means tenants largely have little recourse if landlords refuse to repair things like standing sewage and holes in a roof. Instead, landlords have all the power. They can retaliate by increasing rent, ending leases, adding new fees or even evicting people for complaining about untenable living conditions, the nonprofit reported.

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Legal Aid Services Oklahoma reported that 60% of their clients are struggling with repairs not being made.

State law does allow tenants to pay for the repairs on their landlords property. If they keep good records, they can then attempt to deduct those from their rent as long as the repairs dont exceed a full months rent.

But making repairs should be the responsibility of a landlord, not a tenant. And frankly, its a really bad idea to allow anybody to make structural repairs to a property they dont own.

Oklahoma Watchs reporter spoke with two women facing eviction in Oklahoma County for refusing to pay rent to landlords who wouldnt repair what appear to be catastrophic issues.

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One womans apartment routinely floods to the point that she had to buy a shop vac to dry things out. The woman said she told the landlord she wasnt going to pay rent until they made her apartment liveable, so they evicted her.

The second woman had a raccoon fall through a hole in her daughters ceiling at 2 a.m. while the 6-year-old girl slept. The woman had pictures documenting the hole in the ceiling, apparently caused by a water stain, progressively getting larger and larger each week. The raccoon destroyed the room as it tried to escape and terrified the little girl.

The woman had also gone to the landlord in September to complain about possible mold.

Her landlord filed to evict her because she didnt pay her rent.

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Even if a landlord is negligent, Oklahoma Watch reported state law gives court judges little option but to evict.

Thats completely outrageous.

I dont blame the judges. I blame our Legislature for inexplicably refusing to properly regulate the rental industry and pass laws that also ensure the safety of tenants.

Pretty much every other state has stronger protections and those have not caused their rental markets to collapse.

But the sad truth is landlords have more financial resources and a stronger lobbying power than their renters. Those with money tend to make the rules.

I have always been lucky enough to have responsive landlords who do the right thing and promptly make fixes. But obviously there are bad landlords who just want to pocket the rent.

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Thats not how this is supposed to work. Those who rent properties should have a legal and moral obligation to adequately maintain them.

Its time for lawmakers to set up a system that gives tenants some power to force neglectful landlords to make repairs. Tenants should have the power to withhold rent, and judges should have the discretion to not evict someone if a landlord legitimately has refused to make repairs.

And if a landlord doesnt like it, tough. They probably shouldnt be in this business.

Because thats how we wind up with slum lords.

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A 14-year-old admitted in court on Nov. 10 that he killed his 64-year-old Fairfax neighbor earlier this year. Investigators said he planned the killing for months and communicated with others about it over social media.

As part of a plea deal, he will be sent to a youth prison until he is 21.

Few details about the Feb. 2 killing of Sheila "Denise" Tenpenny had been released, but Assistant Prosecutor Linda Scott revealed the boy, who was 13 at the time of slaying, had researched how to strangle people, how to "choose the perfect victim" and how to get away with it.

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"For months, he did this sort of research," Scott said. He also communicated with people online about what he had done.

"This one was a fighter," the teen wrote in online communications after the killing, according to Scott.

She did not give additional details about the nature of the social media interactions, but the people he communicated with are still being investigated by Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Investigation, an agent said.

The BCI agent said the teen used ChatGPT and other search engines to do research including on how to defeat a police interrogation.

The teen admitted to charges of aggravated murder, aggravated burglary and strangulation as part of a plea deal. Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the remaining charges and the "serious youth offender" indictment, which would have left the window open for a longer term in adult prison if the teen committed serious misconduct while in a youth prison.

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The teen's family cried as he told Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Kari Bloom that he was pleading to the charges. He came to court in grey shirt and black jacket and answered Bloom's questions directly.

Ohio's Department of Youth Services will hold the teen in a locked facility until his 21st birthday.

Tenpenny was found dead in her Germania Street home on Feb. 2 by her brother, police said. On a 911 call, the brother said he found her with a pillow over her head. The Hamilton County's coroner reported she suffered head and neck injuries.

Scott said Tenpenny fought back during the attack, scratching the teen's face and making him bleed. Tenpenny also was able to pull out some of his hair. This allowed investigators to collect DNA, which led them to the teen, Scott said.

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The teen was arrested Feb. 12 and has been held at the Hamilton County Youth Center since then. Since his arrest, his lawyers have said he suffers from cerebral palsy and should be released to await trial at home. However, Judge Bloom kept him detained at the Hamilton County Youth Center.

Following the killing, the teen's parents, who are divorced, filed a joint motion with the Hamilton County Domestic Relations Court on Feb. 7 to allow the teen and his twin brother to move to Long Beach, California. The parents' attempt to do this was not addressed in court on Nov. 10.

Since he was under the age of 14 at the time of Tenpenny's killing, the teen could not have been tried as an adult.

Five members of Tenpenny's family and either spoke in court or had statements read in court during the hearing. Ohio BCI agent Richard Ward also spoke.

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Ward said the case was "chilling" and that he'd never seen anyone so young spend so much time planning a killing. He said he is worried the teen could continue his behavior after he is released.

"He made missteps. He made mistakes," Ward said. "In the future, is he going to learn from those mistakes?"

Tenpenny's family described her as kind and peaceful.

In a statement, her niece told the teen that he chose Tenpenny because he thought was was alone and no one would care, but he was wrong. Her whole family loved her deeply.

"You took my aunt, my second mother. She was a constant in my life," she said. "The fame you wanted doesn't exist. The punishment doesn't match the cruelty of your actions."

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While Tenpenny's relatives spoke, the teen looked down at the table in front of him.

"I do feel sorry for you. Sorry you had a family that did not teach you right from wrong," Tenpenny's brother-in-law said. To the boy's parents, he said: "Some day this offspring of yours will be out. He may be looking you up next. Good luck."

Neither the teen's family nor his attorney, Travis Dunnington, spoke about the teen's motivation on Nov. 10. Dunnington said the focus of the hearing should be on Tenpenny's family, and that he believes in the guiding principal of juvenile justice.

"Acts committed, especially at this young of an age, do not need to define who you will always be," Dunnington said.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Teen planned for months before killing Fairfax neighbor
Gov. Patrick Morrisey announces on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, at the state Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia, that he is working to resolve issues with the states vendors that process Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. (Photo courtesy of the West Virginia Office of Gov. Patrick Morrisey)

Issues with outside vendors handling West Virginias Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits are the hold up to thousands of residents getting their food stamps amount, while some other states have already begun distributing benefits.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey told reporters on Monday that he is aggressively pushing vendors to get partial benefits loaded onto residents EBT cards  what they use to make food purchases with SNAP  as quickly as possible.

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A Saturday memo from the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food and Nutrition Service said states should fund 65% of SNAP benefits, and West Virginia has to calculate that amount for about 275,000 residents who use the program.

Morrisey said the SNAP processing vendors were having a lot of technical issues and feasibility issues. The companies involved are Fidelity Information Services and Optum State Government Solutions, both of which the state contracts with to handle different parts of SNAP enrollment and benefits processing. Fidelity has already started processing SNAP benefits for other states.

Ive made it clear that I want us to be running as fast as possible to be able to get these systems working, he said. Ive had calls and meetings today on that to really challenge all the contractors to move very fast  They must. I mean, peoples lives are at stake, and we need people to do their job confidently.

SNAP benefits were delayed for millions of Americans at the start of this month due to the federal government shutdown.

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As a result, West Virginia food banks have seen a high increase in need. National Guard members continue to help with food distributions around the state.

Morrisey said that if the government reopens, he believed the state could quickly load EBT cards with full benefits for residents.

I want to emphasize the quickest way all this comes to an end is for the shutdown to end, because what they say, from a technical perspective, is that they can more quickly load up the full benefits than any of the partial benefits, the governor said.

While West Virginia figures out its SNAP calculations, a national legal battle from the Trump administration over food stamps could impact the amount residents will receive, as well.

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A federal appeals court on Sunday rejected a bid from President Donald Trump to pay only partial benefits to Americans during the shutdown. In response, the Trump administration told the Supreme Court that it intends to continue seeking a stay of a lower courts order requiring full payment of November SNAP benefits until the shutdown ends.

Morrisey announces another $2M for food banks, still mulling special legislative session

While the SNAP processing issues continue, Morrisey announced another $2 million in funding on Monday for food banks, bringing the states contribution to more than $13 million.

We dont know the exact date in terms of when the government would be open, and I want to make sure that no one goes hungry, Morrisey said.

There is a bipartisan deal advancing in the U.S. Senate that could move to end the government shutdown after key Democrats split from their party Sunday night to join Republicans in moving the measure forward. The package restores pay and protections for federal workers and would also fully fund SNAP through next September.

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It doesnt extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at the end of the year that Democrats had been holding out for.

The GOP-controlled House would still need to vote on it before it could head to Trumps desk to be signed.

Morrisey promised around $14 million to food banks during the SNAP delay and said hed call in the Legislature for a special session to appropriate more funds if the need exceeds that amount.

With the unknowns in Washington, D.C., Morrisey is still considering bringing in the Legislature.

From the conversations with the food banks, were in a good position to at least Nov 17, Morrisey said. But I dont want to fall behind this  So if its later today or tomorrow  I want to make sure that were gauging whats going on  if I need to call the Legislature back in, Ill probably know in the next 24 to 36 hours. I wont be afraid to do it.

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The governor urged residents in need of a home food delivery to call or text 211, the states 24/7 helpline.

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I know we all love learning about history , but sometimes, the classroom can't cover everything. So, in the interest of learning something I didn't know before, I decided to ask our very own BuzzFeed Community to share historical facts that aren't usually taught in school, but they think really ought to be. Here are some of the most interesting. Enjoy!

1. "We have whole units dedicated to the Holocaust in almost every grade. This is incredibly important to show the dangers of fascism and remember the victims. However, we never really hear about the millions who died under Mao or Stalin . I think its important to recognize the victims of all forms of political extremism."

Photo 12 / Getty Images

Anonymous, 24, Utah

Heritage Images / Getty Images

"Also, Columbus was such a terrible governor of the Spanish West Indies that he was recalled by the crown, but not before he committed genocide. Why does he have a holiday?"

Anonymous, 27, Texas

Related: Millennials Are Sharing The Normal '90s Behaviours That Are Considered "Wildly Inappropriate" Now, And It's Baffling To Anyone Born After 1997

3. "The Stonewall Riots and the AIDS crisis . Everything I have learned about these events is from my own research, and I wish I had learned about it in school."

New York Daily News Archive / Getty Images

Anonymous

4. "Growing up with a disability and history being my favorite subject, I always wondered about the history behind Special Ed. I didn't learn about the disability rights movement until my master's degree in disability studies."

Bettmann / Getty Images

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"Also, the history of the oppression that disabled people have faced for centuries, especially all the grisly details like the American eugenics movement inspiring Hitlers actions leading up to WWII.

Or the horrendous conditions discovered by Geraldo Rivera and Robert F. Kennedy of the 'naked pits' or 'human warehouses' (the most infamous being Willowbrook and Pennhurst) that often got away with calling themselves schools by providing the minimum level of classes to earn that name."

Anonymous, 29, Virginia

5. "The Haymarket affair in Chicago. In general, more about labor history in America."

Chicago History Museum / Getty Images

Anonymous, 76, North Carolina

6. "Castle walls were usually plastered , so the exposed stone visible today would have been much tidier and less decrepit-looking than commonly depicted. The plaster would have even been richly painted."

Eye Ubiquitous / Getty Images

"Furthermore, superstructures of timber would have been built atop the main stone building. So castle walls standing 50 feet tall today could have easily pushed 100 feet when accounting for buildings whose foundations literally began on castle walls."

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Anonymous, 27, Florida Panhandle

Related: 14 Celebrities Who  Yes, It's True  Killed People

7. "I think it's super important for Chicagoans and those residing in the greater Chicagoland area to learn that DuSable Lake Shore Drive was named after Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable . He is regarded as the first permanent non-Native settler of what would later become Chicago, Illinois, and is recognized as the city's founder."

Stock Montage / Getty Images, Nurphoto / Getty Images

"I did not know this and lived in the 'burbs my entire life. Dude was of African descent and married to a Native American Potawatomi woman, Kitihawa. Now that's a history lesson!"

Anonymous, 44, Chicago

Graphicaartis / Getty Images

Anonymous, 41, Oklahoma

9. Madam CJ Walker was one of the first female millionaires in the US at the beginning of the 20th century, a successful business owner who employed over 40,000 African Americans and was a Black American herself. Among her many forward-thinking endeavors, she owned and drove an electric car in the early 1900s: the Waverly Electric car. I learned about her way after K-12 grade school  but my kids know about her because we like learning!"

Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

Anonymous, 40, Georgia

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Anonymous, 23, Illinois

Related: 24 Absolutely Bizarre Historical Events I Can Hardly Believe Actually Took Place

11. "I'd like English schools to accurately teach what happened in Ireland during the potato famine. There was plenty of food, but the invading English took it to feed themselves. They also brought the potatoes and the blight. This makes their use of potatoes to stereotype Irish people particularly crass."

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Anonymous, 48, United Kingdom

12. "That some of the deadliest wars in European history, like the Thirty Years' War , were fought over relatively minor differences in Christian theology, and that this was the primary driver behind the move to religious toleration. Because when a religion gets an army, everyone suffers."

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Anonymous, 51, Chicago

13. "They need to teach more of the truth about this nation's injustices done to Native Americans. Like how the US illegally sterilized thousands of women without their consent, and to this day, there has been no apology."

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Anonymous, 52 Nevada

14. were all British. What did they cry out instead? 'The regulars are coming out.' And what were they coming for? To disarm the colonists. Surprisingly, I never learned that in school." "On April 19, 1775, when the British marched on Lexington in Concord, no one said 'the British are coming ,' because weall British. What did they cry out instead? 'The regulars are coming out.' And what were they coming for? To disarm the colonists. Surprisingly, I never learned that in school."

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Anonymous, 67, Vancouver, Washington

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Anonymous, 69 Kalamazoo, Michigan

Related: "It Was Really Toxic": People Are Revealing The '00s Trends That Were Genuinely Awful Looking Back

16. "The internment of innocent Japanese Americans during WWII. I didnt know about this until finding out by accident in the mid-'80s. I assume no children in red states are ever taught about this."

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Anonymous, 68

17. "The Japanese Americans who were detained in internment camps during WWII (over 120,000, many of whom were American citizens by birthright and given NO due process) lost the equivalent of billions of dollars of property in today's dollars."

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"They were given six days' notice to pack up their entire lives before being forcefully relocated. They slept in horse stalls for days before being transferred to their camps.

My grandparents, who met and married in the Poston Internment Camp (both born and raised in California), lived the rest of their lives in fear of being seen as Japanese Americans instead of 'just American.' My daughter's high school AP US history class textbook doesn't even mention the camps. It's a terrible blemish on our country's history, and one that we can see being repeated today. Shameful!"

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Anonymous, 44, Southern California

So, what do you think? If you're inspired to share your own historical fact you think ought to be taught in school, feel free to tell me all about it in the comments. Or, if you want to write in but prefer to stay anonymous, feel free to use the form below! Who knows  your take could be included in a future BuzzFeed article.

Please note: some comments have been edited for length and/or clarity.

Also in Rewind: 50 Famous People Who Died In Embarrassing, Nightmarish, Scandalous, Horrifying, Disturbing, Or Even Darkly Funny Ways

Also in Rewind: 12 Mind-Blowing Facts That Sound Totally Made Up By The Internet (But Aren't)

Also in Rewind: Here Are 19 Very, Very, Very Common Historical Facts That We All Assumed Were True, But Are Actually Just Myths

Read it on BuzzFeed.com
HOLYOKE  Responding to a widening food security crisis, PeoplesBank has donated $100,000 to food banks, survival centers and food pantries in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The money is in addition to hundreds of thousands of dollars that the bank already had put toward fighting food insecurity over the course of 2025, said Matthew Bannister, PeoplesBank senior vice president of corporate responsibility and sponsorships.

Bank employees were stepping forward, he said. They were asking what PeoplesBank could do to help.

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Its a moment of attention, he said.

The government shutdown delayed or stopped SNAP benefits for many New Englanders this month.

The political drama may resolve itself in the next 24 hours. It may drag on for weeks and weeks. But the food insecurity issue is still going to be there, Bannister said.

In Western Massachusetts alone, more than 191,000 people depend on SNAP to put food on the table. SNAP brings $35 million every month into the region.

With a 30% surge in demand, were deeply concerned about meeting every clients needs while maintaining the quality of care and support we strive to offer, Shannon Rudder, CEO of Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services, said in a prepared statement. Families are feeling more vulnerable than ever, and the emotional toll is growing.

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PeoplesBank has begun to distribute $5,000 to $10,000 grants to the following organizations: The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts; Connecticut Foodshare; The Care Center of Holyoke; Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services; Rachels Table of Western Massachusetts; Amherst Survival Center; Northampton Survival Center; Lorraines Soup Kitchen; Neighbors Helping Neighbors; Providence Ministries  Margarets Pantry; Salvation Army Holyoke Corps; Family Outreach of Amherst; Gifts of Love; Midwest Food Bank New England; Hands on Hartford; Interval House of Hartford; Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford; and Friend to Friend Food Pantry.

PeoplesBank had made food programs a focus of its philanthropy and had prior relationships with the organizations, Bannister said.

We already knew them, (and) we already knew the work there were doing, he said.

Bannister said PeoplesBank wants to set an example.

Were trying to get other people to do the same, Bannister said.

Read the original article on MassLive. Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
UK-based aircraft leasing company AerFin has disclosed an asset-backed financing arrangement involving the acquisition of three Airbus A320neo airframes in collaboration with private investment company Turning Rock Partners.

The deal will see the aircraft integrated into a revenue pooling framework, with AerFin responsible for managing the dismantling, maintenance, and distribution of parts.

AerFin operates logistics centres in the UK, the US and Singapore, providing support to airlines and maintenance organisations worldwide.

The company has noted that its approach aims for efficient use of parts recovered from the disassembled airframes, offering steady returns over the course of the investment.

ORIX Aviation acted as transaction adviser and offered technical inspections for Turning Rock Partners.

Legal advice was provided by Holland & Knight, with Deloitte serving as accounting and tax adviser.

Turning Rock Partners' senior adviser Michael Platt was also involved in reviewing the financing arrangements.

Turning Rock Partners credit head Sha Khoja said: Were excited to partner with AerFin on this transaction, which demonstrates Turning Rocks ability to originate and structure differentiated investments backed by tangible assets.

This investment underscores TRPs continued focus on sourcing opportunities in asset-heavy sectors where capital inefficiencies and market dislocation create compelling entry points.

AerFin CEO Simon Goodson commented: This partnership reflects the confidence investors have in AerFins ability to maximise value from next-generation assets like the A320neo.

Our technical expertise and proven track record in strategic asset monetisation enable us to deliver efficient, sustainable solutions that unlock value and create long-term benefits for our partners.

"AerFin and Turning Rock partner on Airbus A320neo acquisition" was originally created and published by Leasing Life, a GlobalData owned brand.




A person of interest is in custody in connection to a stabbing that left a 47-year-old woman dead inside a Harlem apartment early Monday morning.

The attack happened around 4:30 a.m. inside the building on West 129th Street in Manhattan.

Police say the suspect was caught on surveillance camera waiting for his victim in the third-floor hallway of her building.

When she arrived, the suspect stabbed her multiple times all over her body.

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She was rushed to Mount Sinai Morningside in critical condition, where she was pronounced dead.

Her name has not been released. However, her neighbors and friends say she was a mother to four young children, and lived with them and her mother.

Neighbors said she mostly kept to herself but was often seen with her children and was always pleasant.

"It hurts just to see you know, happened to a young girl I know of," said neighbor Ella Thomas. "My daughter is her age that was raised in this building."

Neighbor Basilio Gonzalez said he saw the blood on the stairs, and learned that the murder victim was his neighbor who he had been friendly with for about 20 years.

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"She's a good woman, and she had four kids. It's bad," Gonzalez said.

Police say a person of interest was taken into custody at the hospital where he was being treated for injuries apparently suffered during the stabbing.

He is believed to be the victim's ex-boyfriend. No charges have been immediately filed.

"This seems like something more passionate and possibly domestic violence, that hasn't been confirmed as that, but the person who did this, something is wrong with them in terms of mind and spirit," said Dr. Iesha Sekou with Street Corner Resources.

The surveillance video has not been released.

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Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The government of Peru expelled Cuba's ambassador, Carlos Zamora, after questioning his diplomatic activities amid allegations of his alleged ties to Cuban intelligence.

The Foreign Ministry said Zamora was summoned Oct. 28 by Deputy Foreign Minister Felix Denegri Boza "to discuss the activities carried out during his mission."

After the meeting, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that "based on what was discussed at that meeting, Ambassador Zamora concluded his functions in Peru and left the country permanently." No further details were provided.

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Although several Peruvian lawmakers said the diplomat had been expelled, the government only announced the end of his mission in the same statement in which it declared Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum persona non grata after Mexico granted asylum to former Prime Minister Betssy Chavez.

Zamora, known as "El Gallo," was appointed ambassador to Peru in December 2021 during the administration of former President Pedro Castillo. With a diplomatic career spanning more than five decades, he has represented Cuba in Ecuador, Panama, Brazil, El Salvador and Bolivia.

However, his tenure in Lima was marked by allegations of presumed ties to Cuban intelligence, according to the newspaper Peru 21.

In August, the Naval Union of Peru, a group of former Navy officers, called on the government to expel Zamora, saying he posed "a national security risk." The group claimed that the ambassador and his wife, Maura Juampere Perez, held the rank of colonels in Cuba's intelligence service.

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Lawmakers welcomed the Foreign Ministry's announcement.

Jose Cueto, chair of Congress's Intelligence Commission, said the decision responded to an "outcry" within the Armed Forces and the National Police, saying there was evidence of interference attributed to the diplomat since his arrival during the Pedro Castillo administration, according to the newspaper El Comercio.

Congressman Jorge Montoya said Zamora was "known as an international intelligence agent" and that, for the Foreign Ministry to request his departure, there must have been clear evidence of activities that violated international law.

Representative Norma Yarrow welcomed the decision on X, saying Peru "does not accept spokespeople or defenders of dictatorships."

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However, the Peruvian outlet La Republica reported that Zamora was not expelled or explicitly asked to leave, but had concluded his diplomatic mission and went to the Foreign Ministry simply to say goodbye.

There has been no official reaction from Havana regarding the departure of its representative in Lima. The Cuban Embassy removed institutional information from its digital platforms shortly after the announcement.
Unless Arizonas farmers and tribes can strike deals to bail out the states growing cities, Arizonas largest population centers will likely start to face water restrictions on the Colorado River.

Cities like Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson could lose more than 20% of their river allocations, triggering public debates in council chambers and municipal offices over how to respond, what to sacrifice and what to prioritize.

Arizonas cities have been shielded from existing cuts for the past three years by agreements with tribes and through compensation from fast-depleting pools of federal money. But those agreements and that money are set to run out by the end of 2026. Water managers and officials dont know how big the cuts will be, but most agree on one thing: real cuts are possible.

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Most cities have enough water to keep themselves going for years, saved through their own efforts or through the Arizona Water Banking Authority, established in 1996 to store unused Colorado River water in central and southern Arizona.

Cities can pump and use the saved water during shortages, but living on savings is unsustainable in the long run. Some cities may have to halt growth until they can find new long-term supplies, possibly worsening housing shortages and leading to lawsuits from developers who were promised water for their projects.

The Arizona Republic asked water managers how they would sustain a 20% cut in their allocation of municipal and industrial water from the Central Arizona Project, the aqueduct that brings Colorado River water to the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas. This is the level of cuts in CAP water that Arizona originally proposed to take under most hydrological circumstances after 2027, unless farmers in western Arizona agree to take some of the burden off the CAP  which they are not obligated to do.

Each city will approach changes in water supplies differently, depending on what's in their bucket.

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Water shortages: Without a deal on the Colorado River, deeper cuts loom. How 9 Arizona cities will respond

How much water does Phoenix have to work with?

Without a deal with farmers, Colorado River supplies for Phoenix could drop below what it needs to meet its normal usage, triggering the use of backup supplies from the Salt River and underground aquifers. The city may face a choice between filling the holes left by Colorado River shortages or asking residents to reduce their use, according to city officials.

Much of northern Phoenix relies almost entirely on Colorado River water, which provides about 40% of the citys clean water. If proposed cuts fall entirely on the CAP without any creative deals with farmers or tribes, it will affect the tap water supplies for more than 400,000 residents  almost every Phoenix resident or business north of Dunlap Avenue (more specifically, north of the Arizona Canal).

Phoenix typically provides about 147,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water to its customers each year. In the Republic's scenario, Phoenixs delivery of CAP water could drop below that amount, reaching 127,956 acre-feet. That would leave about 20,000 acre-feet of unmet demand for Colorado River water, roughly equal to the annual water use of 200,000 Phoenix residents.

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New study: Colorado River can't keep up with demand and needs immediate help

So what would Phoenix do in a shortage?

Understanding the true scale of what may happen with Phoenixs water is always tricky, Phoenix Water Resources Management Advisor Max Wilson said. City officials have struggled to predict water availability in the recent past, especially as the ongoing drought on the Colorado River has continued delivering terrible water years.

As the city was planning a drought pipeline in 2015, officials estimated a 5% chance that the Colorado River would go under official shortages in Arizona, and yet that exact scenario came true less than a decade later.

Phoenix has been preparing for worst-case scenarios by building access to backup supplies. The city completed a $280 million drought pipeline in 2023, designed to bring supplies of Salt River water to the areas of Phoenix that rely on the Colorado. Phoenix has also stored water underground for use in times of emergencies.

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I know that was a very long project, and as somebody who loves going to the mountain preserves every weekend, I know it was a project that sometimes caused some ire in the community, but that pipeline is a very critical part of being able to ensure that we can continue to meet demands all throughout the city, Wilson said.

Still, the capacity to deliver that backup water, and the backup itself, is also limited. Theres only so much water in SRP reservoirs that the city can use to fill holes in Colorado supplies, and Phoenix only has so many wells hooked up to its water delivery system that it can draw on at a given time.

Rep. Greg Stanton and members of the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Council and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers formally break ground for a new pipeline on Sept. 12, 2025, to enhance water supplies on the tribe's Tucson reservation.

Are there other sources of water for Phoenix?

The city would not tell The Republic exactly how much Salt River water it had available to use in CAP-dependent areas, or how much groundwater it could pump on demand, meaning it is impossible to calculate how much CAP water the city can replace with its backup supplies at a given time. (Due to the ongoing negotiations among the Colorado River Basin states, it would be premature for the City to comment on specific supply and demand conditions at this time, a city spokesperson wrote in an email.)

Nonetheless, Wilson suggested that in some scenarios, the shortages in CAP water may be too large to comfortably address with backup supplies alone. Wilson said Phoenix doesnt want to use up those backup supplies too quickly, meaning the city may have to decide between replacing all the lost Colorado River water and conserving some of its backup supplies.

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You can't live on your backups forever  backups are supposed to be backups. So we need to invest in infrastructure that will allow us to be able to offset those impacts, Wilson said.

Climate reporter on journey: The Republic's climate reporter is biking the Arizona Trail. You can follow her journey

Could Phoenix residents be asked to cut water use?

If it doesnt replace all lost Colorado River water, the city could ask users to make up the difference by using less water.

That's a management choice that every city in the Valley is going to have to make as they look at the pool of backup resources that they have available and decide how they want to utilize those, Wilson said. If (backup supplies) do prove to be insufficient, the drought management plan authorizes the director to get to work with the community to make the types of demand reductions that would be necessary.

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Under Phoenixs drought management plan, the city can impose water use reduction regulations and a drought surcharge on customers once it reaches Stage 2 of its drought plan, triggered by an insufficient supply situation. The city entered Stage 1 of its drought plan in 2022, triggering a public education campaign and outreach with water users.

The process of deciding whether to impose restrictions will likely be public. Wilson said the Phoenix City Council will debate the issue in public meetings, and the citys drought management plan allows for the creation of a stakeholder group representing different Phoenix communities to guide the citys policies when dealing with shortages.

There's not a simple answer of, we have X gallons available, it's going to go to Y demands. It will depend on how the mayor, council, city manager and the community want us to utilize those resources, Wilson said.

Is more growth possible in a shortage?

In the meantime, the city will have to manage with continued growth in areas that rely on the Colorado River. That includes development around the new Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company plant in far north Phoenix. The facility is spurring an explosion of growth and development meant to serve businesses and workers at the new plant, all in the area of Phoenix that relies on the Colorado River.

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North Phoenix is experiencing remarkable growth, anchored by TSMC, a massive semiconductor investment, and the dozens of businesses that are following. None of this growth is possible without reliable, sustainable water infrastructure, Phoenix Vice Mayor Ann O'Brien said at an Aug. 8 news conference.

Cutting off growth is not an option if Phoenix wants to thrive, Wilson argued.

I've got three kids, Wilson said. I want them to be able to grow up in a world where they have jobs, right, where they have opportunities. And ultimately, I'm only gonna be able to give my house to one of them. So we're gonna need two more houses, unless they need to go someplace else.

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What Phoenix will do if Colorado River cutbacks continue
The police chief of Cheshire appeared for an arraignment in North Adams on Monday on a charge of engaging in sexual conduct for a fee.

Michael Alibozek, 53, of Adams, was placed on paid administrative leave by Cheshire town officials last week.

A probable cause report states that Alibozek made an overt act to meet up with a woman  who was an undercover law enforcement officer  for a sexual relationship, according to court filings.

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Prior to meeting, [Alibozek] communicated their intentions to be a customer for a sexual relation and agreed to pay, to engage in sexual conduct, reads an affidavit by Dt. Lt. Ryan Dickinson of the Massachusetts State Police.

Alibozek made a brief appearance in Northern Berkshire District Court, where the facts of the case were not discussed, and a judge entered a plea of not guilty.

He was released on personal recognizance and is due back in court on Dec. 22.

He looks forward to his day in court, his attorney, Elizabeth Quigley, said after the arraignment. He is presently most concerned with addressing the underlying charges in a consistent manner and preserving his privacy, especially regarding his family.

Arrest on school parking lot

Alibozek had been communicating online with an undercover state police detective and arranged for a meet-up at 9:45 p.m. on Nov. 6 at the Hoosac Valley Middle and High School, the Berkshire County District Attorneys Office previously said.

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State police arrested him at the school parking lot.

After being read his Miranda rights, Alibozek told state police that he went on a website to try to get girls off the street, court documents state.

He meets with them, talks with them, and attempts to set them straight, court documents state. He has touched base with approximately 4 or 5 females in the past year.

Alibozek told investigators that he found the website about a year ago, and described meetings with the women as more of a talk and attempt to get them on a straight line than doing anything with them.

He has met with one woman from Pittsfield and one from Lenox in the past four to five months, he told investigators.

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Alibozek was relieved of his duty as chief of the Cheshire Police Department after his arrest and placed on paid administrative leave by the Cheshire town administrator and the chair of the Cheshire Select Board, the office said.

His town-issued gun was also seized and he no longer has access to the police station.

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Update at 10:46 a.m.

CHARLESTON, Ill. (WCIA)  Normal operations at EIU have resumed after police responded to a report of an armed person on campus Monday morning.

In a news release, EIU officials provided this latest update and revealed more information about what prompted the police response. They said that around 9:20 a.m., an unidentified person called a nonemergency line with unconfirmed and noncredible information that an armed person was on campus.

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EIU Police, in coordination with the local law enforcement agencies, immediately activated emergency protocols and issued an Alert EIU notification to students, employees, and community members, officials said. By 9:45 a.m., officers had conducted building walkthroughs and reviewed campus surveillance footage. No individual matching the report was located, and the report appears to be unfounded.

Normal operations may resume at the university, officials said. But if anyone sees suspicious activity, they are urged to call 911 immediately.

Officials added that if any student of employee would like support following this incident, counseling services are available through EIUs Counseling Clinic by calling 217-581-3413, or by visiting the clinic on the first floor of the Human Services Building.

The safety of EIUs students, employees and community remains the Universitys top priority, officials said.

CHARLESTON, Ill. (WCIA)  Police responded to Eastern Illinois University Monday morning after someone reported they saw an armed person on campus.

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An emergency alert was sent to the campus community at 9:26 a.m. on Monday, saying a caller had reported an armed person. A follow-up alert added that police had walked through campus buildings and reviewed surveillance footage, but no one matching the description they received was found.

EIU approves Turning Point USA chapter, overrides rejection by student government

Police are still present in campus buildings, and people are advised to call 911 immediately if they see anyone suspicious.

Lake Land College also said they are aware of the alert, and the Lake Land Police Department and Policy Group are monitoring the situation.

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EIU Police confirmed the emergency response but could not share further information. The Coles County Sheriffs Office confirmed some of its deputies responded as well but, did not share any more details.

This is a developing story. We will share updates as we learn more.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WCIA.com.
Update Monday, Nov. 10: A federal appeals court late Sunday rejected the Trump administrations bid to halt an order requiring full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments during the government shutdown. Read more here.

DENVER (KDVR)  Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said the state has not reversed full SNAP payments sent to tens of thousands of Coloradans before a Supreme Court order halting full payments because they were allowed at the time.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has ordered states that began rolling out full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to reverse course after the Supreme Court temporarily halted an order to release the funds.

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States told to undo SNAP benefits that have been paid out: reports

Nearly 32,000 people in Colorado were among those around the country who had already received full payments, with 560,000 Coloradans still waiting after the Supreme Court pause.

The USDA told states that those who do not comply may lose out on federal cost-sharing of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, according to the directive sent out on Saturday to regional SNAP directors.

Heres what Polis said on the full payments in a statement sent to FOX31:

Nothing is preventing the Trump administration from fully funding SNAP benefits. They are simply choosing not to. Following court orders last week, the state worked diligently to provide full SNAP benefits. As a result, nearly 32,000 Coloradans received full support to put food on the table before the Administration asked the Supreme Court to halt all efforts to keep children and families fed. The state has not reversed those payments as they were allowed at the time.

The USDA directive also says states are liable for the overissuances that result from the noncompliance.

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Polis said Colorado is continuing to move forward with the partial SNAP payments, with a 35% reduction that states are still required to send out.

Those Coloradans who will get the reduced benefits should begin to see those payments over the next few days, Polis said. The fastest way to clean up this mess would be for the federal government to drop its court appeals.

The Colorado Department of Human Services said the 65% payments should be processed and loaded onto recipients cards this week.

Meanwhile, the state and local governments are making efforts to fill the gap as the shutdown continues.

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Jefferson County declares emergency disaster as SNAP funds in limbo

Colorado, in late October, approved up to $10 million to assist Coloradans affected by the SNAP pause.

Jefferson County on Saturday issued an order declaring an emergency disaster because of the imminent and long-lasting health and economic effects taking hold in our county and allocated $250,000 to local food banks.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver.
A Malaysian court remanded popular rapper Namewee in custody on Monday, his lawyer said, part of a murder investigation looking into the death of a Tawainese influencer in a Kuala Lumpur hotel room.

Namewee, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, handed himself over to police on Wednesday after he was named a "person of interest" in the probe into the death of Iris Hsieh, also known as Hsieh Yu-hsin, or "nurse goddess" to fans.

The 31-year-old influencer was found dead on Oct. 22 in a bathtub at a high-end hotel in the Malaysian capital. She was in Malaysia to discuss a commercial video Namewee had agreed to direct, her social media manager told the BBC.

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The probe was reclassified from a "sudden death report" to a murder case, with police saying they wanted to question Namewee, believed to have been the last person in Hsieh's company.

Namewee, 42, has denied any wrongdoing and said in an Instagram post earlier this month that "the truth will speak for itself."

His lawyer, Joshua Tay, told AFP that "the investigation is still ongoing and this is why the police is asking for an extension of the remand," which he said the court granted for another three days.

Malaysian media reported Namewee contacted emergency services shortly after midnight on Oct. 22 after he found Hsieh unresponsive in the bathroom.

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Police arrested Namewee that same day, after they found nine blue pills believed to be ecstasy in the hotel room, the BBC reported. Namewee denied he had used drugs but tested positive for several illicit substances, including amphetamines, methamphetamine, ketamine and THC, police said, according to the BBC.

On Monday, he pleaded not guilty to the drug charges and was released on bail, the BBC reported.

Namewee, an outspoken hip-hop artist, actor and filmmaker, is hugely popular in China and Taiwan. He sings mainly in Mandarin.

Malaysian rapper Wee Meng Chee, known by his stage name Namewee, gestures during a press conference in Taipei on November 15, 2021. / Credit: SAM YEH/AFP via Getty Images

Known for his trademark beanie and often wearing sunglasses, Namewee was blacklisted by Beijing in 2021 after he penned a Mandarin song poking fun at Chinese nationalists.

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The track hit more than 30 million views on YouTube.

Namewee has also repeatedly been at the center of controversy in Malaysia, which he hails from.

In 2007, he released "Negarakuku," a parody of the Malaysian national anthem which sparked outrage due to its flippant lyrics.

In 2016, he was detained for several days for allegedly insulting Islam over a video partly filmed inside a mosque in the Muslim-majority country.

He was arrested again two years later again for allegedly insulting Islam with a Lunar New Year video that featured dancers wearing dog masks and performing suggestive moves.

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Hsieh has over half a million followers on Instagram. She had four other social media accounts suspended for "adult sexual solicitation," CNA reported.

Hsieh's social media manager, who asked only to be referred to as Chris, told the BBC that her family were unable to go to Malaysia to follow up on the case because of their "severe disabilities."

"The Wounded Generation": Bearing the invisible scars of war

Faith Salie on the addictive internet meme "6-7"

In the mail: Viewers respond to 60 Minutes interview with President Trump
In recent months, youth-led protests have toppled governments around the world, from Nepal to Peru, driven by rising disillusionment with political elites and high rates of unemployment. These uprisings have followed in the footsteps of last years protests in Bangladesh, which have been credited as the first successful Gen Z revolution.

Some observers might dismiss this new wave of activism as irrelevant to the future of established democracies, Christian Caryl writes. But such complacency might be ill-advised. If this new revolutionary movement has demonstrated anything, its that no one should underestimate its infectiousness.

What unites these far-flung movements, and what can they reveal about the future of protest? This edition of the Reading List explores these questions and more, providing insight into individual countries Gen Z-led uprisings, global trends, and what might be on the other side of revolution.

Demonstrators hold banners and cheer as they gather for a protest rally outside City Hall in Antananarivo, Madagascar, on Oct. 13. LUIS TATO/AFP via Getty Images

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Gen Z Is Taking to the Barricades

Heres why you should be paying attention, according to Christian Caryl.

People light candles during a silent tribute in honor of those killed during the recent Gen Z protests at the Maitighar Mandala monument in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Sept. 17.Arun Sankar/AFP via Getty Images

Nepals Discord Vote Might Be the Future of Protest

The popular social media platform has helped choose an interim prime minister, Aja Romano writes.

Crowds of people gather to demonstrate after soldiers entered the presidential palace, seizing power and suspending the constitution, in Antananarivo, Madagascar on Oct. 14.Rafalia Henitsoa/Anadolu via Getty Images

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Madagascars Coupvolution Is Following a Familiar Pattern

Gen Z protesters now have buyers remorse, Salah Ben Hammou and Jonathan Powell write.

A farmer arranges crops in a shape of the map of India while participating in a protest against the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis government during a nationwide farmers strike following the recent passing of agriculture bills in Kolkata on September 25, 2020. DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP)

Indias Biggest Problem Is Its Own Backyard

The Indian governments global ambitions are undermined by regional uprisings from Bangladesh to Nepal, Safina Nabi writes.

How Gen Z Sees the World

A conversation between FPs Ravi Agrawal and Zoomer author and commentator Kyla Scanlon.
TOKYO (AP)  A powerful quake rattled northern Japan Sunday evening, followed by several more temblors, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency. A tsunami advisory was issued.

The earthquake, with an upgraded magnitude of 6.9 and depth of 16 kilometers (10 miles), struck off the coast of Iwate prefecture at 5:03 p.m. Japan time.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage, or any reports of abnormalities at the two nuclear power plants in the area.

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The agency issued an advisory for a tsunami of up to 1 meter (3 feet) along the northern coastal region, and subsequently said the water could reach as high as 3 meters in some spots.

A tsunami of about 10 centimeters (4 inches) was detected at Ofunato city in Iwate Prefecture, Ominato port, Miyako and Kamaishi, and subsequently as high as 20 centimeters (8 inches) in the coastal area of Kuji. The tsunami that followed in Ofunato also reached 20 centimeters (8 inches), according to the agency.

Tsunami waves that follow earthquakes can continue for a few hours afterward, hitting the coast repeatedly, and can possibly get bigger with time.

While the advisory was in place, people were warned to stay away from the ocean and coastal areas and told more shaking could follow in the area.

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The tsunami advisory was lifted about three hours after the initial quake, but the meteorological agency told reporters the area was at risk for strong quakes for about a week, especially the next two or three days.

More quakes were recorded in Iwate Prefecture, and the northernmost major island of Hokkaido was also rocked by the series of quakes.

Northeastern Japan is prone to earthquakes, including a triple disaster of a quake, tsunami and a nuclear meltdown in Fukushima, just south of Iwate, in March 2011, that killed nearly 20,000 people, mostly from the tsunami, and severely damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station.

More than a decade later, people still remain displaced from the no-go zone. Demonstrations are still periodically held, as recent as Saturday, to protest what is being seen as a lack of recognition by the authorities of the serious risks of nuclear power.

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An agency official, briefing reporters late Sunday, said there was nothing to indicate the latest quake was directly related to the one in 2011, except that the region was generally at risk for major quakes, including another one that hit in 1992.

Bullet trains in the area were temporarily delayed, according to JR East railway operator. Japan, which sits on the Pacific ring of fire, is one of the worlds most earthquake-prone countries.

___

AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama contributed to this report.
Nov. 10 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump is pardoning Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and dozens of other allies who have been accused of trying to subvert the 2020 election, according to U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin.

The list of 77 people pardoned by Trump was published late Sunday on Martin's personal X account.

"No MAGA left behind," he said.

The proclamation signed by Trump was dated Friday.

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"This proclamation ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 presidential election and continues the process of national reconciliation," the document states.

Those pardoned were tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including participation in what has become known as the fake electors scheme. The strategy involved the creation of false slates of pro-Trump electors in every battleground state that he lost to Biden, including Georgia.

Among those pardoned were four of Trump's 17 co-defendants in a case concerning the effort in Georgia, including Kenneth Chesebro, the alleged architect of the scheme. Powell, Scott Hall and Jenna Ellis were the other three.

Trump, who was among those charged in Georgia, was specifically not granted a pardon.

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"This pardon does not apply to the president of the United States," the document states.

Others granted pardons include Mark Meadows, Trump's former chief of staff during his first term, and former Trump adviser John Eastman.

On his first day of his second term in office in January, Trump issued pardons and commutations of sentences for more than 1,500 people convicted for their participation in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, including those who injured police officers.

He has also issued pardons to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, convicted on corruption charges, former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer and former Las Vegas City Council member Michele Fiore.
Tata Groups global battery business Agratas has released new aerial footage showing ongoing construction progress at its 4bn ($5.27bn) battery manufacturing plant in Bridgwater, Somerset, UK.

The site, which spans 308 acres near junction 23 of the M5 motorway, aims to advance clean technology and sustainable energy.

The facility will manufacture battery cells for use in electric vehicles and for storing energy as part of the effort to support UK's energy transition.

Current images highlight progress on Building One, the first phase of the project, where teams have started work on multiple floor levels.

Workers have already poured 3,000 tonnes of locally sourced concrete to construct the phase's lower and mezzanine decks.

The steel frame for a central utilities building measuring 100m in length has also begun to emerge.

This separate structure will eventually house systems responsible for monitoring and managing functions such as data and power supply across the facility.

Around 450 personnel, including staff from Agratas, supply partners, and construction contractor Sir Robert McAlpine, are now working at the location.

According to Agratas, the initial manufacturing building alone will support more than 2,200 direct jobs and approximately 7,500 roles within the broader supply chain during construction.

Agratas Global Manufacturing Engineering and UK Construction vice-president Chris Love said: Our project will create many positive opportunities and benefits for Somerset and the South West [England], so were hugely proud of the progress our team and partners have made to date.

Its exciting to see the facility taking shape, moving us a step closer to delivering sustainable, world-class battery production here in Somerset.

Construction activity started in 2024 and is scheduled to continue through to 2026.

Recruitment for up to 1,600 operational positions is expected to commence next year to prepare for battery cell production.

Agratas expects that once fully operational, the facility will contribute over 700m each year to the South Wests economy.

Sir Robert McAlpine Industrial Sector managing director Craig Allen said: Were proud to be playing a key role in delivering this landmark facility for Agratas. The scale and complexity of the project showcase the very best of UK engineering and collaboration.

Together, were building the foundations for a sustainable future - one that will create jobs in the region, drive innovation, and support the transition to clean energy.

In July last year, Agratas selected Sir Robert McAlpine as the delivery partner for Building One at the battery manufacturing facility.
The main suspect in the 2007 disappearance of toddler Madeleine McCann is allowed to leave Germany, a court has ruled.

That overturns one of the conditions under which the German national was released after serving his sentence in an unconnected case.

The man, identified by media as Christian Bruckner, was released in mid-September after serving his sentence for raping an elderly American woman in Portugal.

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At the time, a court in Hildesheim imposed conditions that applied for five years, including that he wear an electronic ankle monitor, report regularly to probation services, and remain resident in Germany.

On Monday, a higher state court in Celle said that it upheld most of the conditions imposed in the 28 October ruling, but overturned the stipulation that the man must reside in Germany.

It said that earlier ruling interfered with European Union citizens' freedom of movement within the 27-nation bloc.

Lawyer Friedrich Fuelscher leaves a German prison in a black car carrying Christian Bruckner, a suspect in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann, who sits in the back seat behind tinted windows (AP)

It added that it would, in principle, be possible to issue a temporary ban on the man leaving Germany, for example to arrange technical matters, or to ban him from going to specific regions, but that the lower court in Hildesheim would have to decide exactly what arrangements to make.

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In June 2020, German prosecutors said the man was being investigated on suspicion of murder in connection with Madeleines disappearance from an apartment complex in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz. They said that they assumed the girl was dead.

Police have since carried out more searches in Portugal, where the man spent many years. But the suspect, who has denied any involvement in the three-year-old's disappearance, has not been charged in the case.

The investigation was not affected by his release.

Friedrich Fulscher, the man's lawyer, has said charges would have been filed against his client long ago if there had been sufficient evidence.

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In a short-lived GoFundMe post that went live earlier in November, Bruckner asked for thousands of pounds to help him leave Germany for a country that does not have an agreement with Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office, according to The Telegraph.

That means he could avoid extradition back to Germany on any further charges.

It is unclear which country Bruckner is hoping to move to, but his lawyer previously named Suriname in South America as a possibility in comments to The Mirror.
The Indiana Senate Chamber during session on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)

A new nonprofit with deep ties to President Donald Trump on Monday launched a six-figure advertising effort to back Indiana congressional redistricting efforts in the upcoming session.

After California and what is coming in Virginia, we feel it is important that Indiana steps up and gives the party an opportunity to pick up two seats in the House, said Marty Obst, the chair of Fair Maps Indiana. The 501(c)(4) nonprofit will target Senate districts to educate voters and urge them to contact their Senator and urge passage of redistricting, he said.

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Gov. Mike Braun called legislators back to the Statehouse Nov. 3, but GOP leaders of the House and Senate delayed the start of redistricting work until Dec. 1.

Lawmakers will consider redrawing the states two blue congressional districts red ahead of the 2026 midterm elections  following a months-long pressure campaign by Trump and his administration officials for a mid-cycle flip. Hoosier Republicans currently hold a 7-2 advantage in the U.S. House, but redistricting supporters seek a 9-0 map.

The state Senate has become a potential stumbling block for redistricting proponents. While the Indiana Houses GOP leader has confirmed enough support within his caucus to pass new maps, his counterpart in the Senate has repeatedly said the votes arent there.

Obst said Fair Maps Indianas grassroots work will include constituent calls, digital and television advertising, as well as mail in targeted districts  focusing on Senate Republicans who havent come out with public support of redistricting.

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Obst is founder and president of MO Strategies. He served in senior leadership roles in Trumps 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, and was a senior political adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence.

Others on the Fair Maps Indiana team include: Chris LaCivita, a national campaign strategist who served as senior adviser for Trumps 2024 presidential campaign; and political consultants Chip Englander and John Brabender.

Politico first reported the creation of Fair Maps Indiana, saying it is a project of Defending Americas Comeback Inc.

But Obst said funding for the new nonprofit is not disclosed for reporting purposes. If an affiliated Super PAC is formed for primaries, then contributions will be disclosed.

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The flotilla, widely reported as the Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), set sail in late August and included dozens of vessels and hundreds of activists from multiple countries.

The prosecution filed a motion on Monday seeking the permanent confiscation of 50 foreign-flagged vessels that attempted to breach Israels naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.

The Global Sumud Flotilla set sail in late August and included dozens of vessels and hundreds of activists from multiple countries.

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Israels navy intercepted the flotilla in early October, detaining more than 400 participants. Israel maintains that the maritime blockade is lawful and necessary to prevent arms shipments to Hamas. Organizers argued that the flotillas humanitarian goal and maritime-law protections justify their attempt.

The request by the prosecution notes that a significant number of the vessels were either owned or financed by Hamas or affiliates, including a front company named Neptune Cyber linked to the NGO Palestinian Conference for Palestinians Abroad.

The request rests on international law precedent that allows a blockading state to seize vessels that attempt to breach a lawful naval blockade.

Activists including Greta Thunberg, stand on a boat that is part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a humanitarian expedition to Gaza, as seen from the port in Barcelona, Spain August 31, 2025 (credit: BRUNA CASAS/REUTERS)

According to the filing, the first wave of 41 vessels was intercepted on October 1, with a second wave of nine vessels intercepted about a week later. The prosecution said the flotilla was unprecedented in scale and scope... organized and centrally-directed... and that its movement resembled military vessels sailing in formation.

Flotilla carried less than five tons of aid

The motion notes that the flotilla carried less than five tons of humanitarian aid between all vessels  approximately a quarter of what a single truck entering Gaza normally brings  arguing this undercuts the claim that the mission was primarily humanitarian. By contrast, humanitarian organizations report hundreds of trucks enter Gaza daily. Critics have said that the flotilla was more about symbolism and media attention than aid delivery.

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Numerous activists alleged mistreatment while in Israeli custody  including beatings, denial of medical access, being held with weapons pointed at their heads, and being forced to sleep on floors. Israeli authorities denied the abuse allegations, stating that detainees rights were upheld and accusing activists and their legal representatives of spreading brazen lies.

The case now lies with the Haifa District Court, sitting in its maritime jurisdiction, as the prosecution will seek judicial approval to permanently seize the vessels. The outcome could set a precedent for the enforcement of naval blockade provisions and the treatment of foreign-flagged vessels engaged in such missions.
There is a court update on the video that went viral showing a dog in a trailer in Northwest Indiana amid frigid weather.

In February, Indiana State Police opened a criminal investigation after seeing a video of a dog being transported in an open trailer.

The man who took the video says he spotted the dog while traveling on eastbound I-80/I-94 near Calumet Avenue in Hammond on Tuesday morning.

The video in the player above is from a previous report.

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PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Man admits to putting dog in trailer on NW Indiana interstate in frigid weather, prosecutors say

Prosecutors say Erik McClinton admitted to putting the dog in the trailer, but says he put a blanket over the dog's cage that blew off.

He added the dog, named Midnight, was outside the truck because there were puppies inside.

McClinton was facing a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty.

In November, court documents showed McClinton received deferred prosecution in the case. Meaning, the State of Indiana agreed to withhold prosecution of the case for six months, at which point they'll dismiss the charges if McClinton complies with each and every term of the agreement.

According to the agreement, he must pay court costs and fees and "relinquish all ownership rights or proprietary interests in and related to the canine ("Midnight") confiscated during the course of this investigation."
COLOMA, CA  Ankle-deep in a stream, James W. Marshall bent over and grabbed a shiny object that caught his eye. He placed it on a rock and began striking it with another. The shiny material pounded flat, which told him nearly everything he needed to know.

He had struck gold  literally.

Looking down at his feet, Marshall saw more glimmering particles. Over the next half hour, the carpenter and businessman filled his hat with gold worth about $15 (the equivalent amount would now be worth about $2,500). He must have felt rich: At the time, he was leading construction of a sawmill by the river. His men, working for $1 a day plus room and board, soon abandoned their jobs to search for gold.

Two miners being outfitted for the High Sierra, circa 1856. Two miners with gold nugget stick pins, circa 1853. California mining scene, circa 1858. Murphy's Camp, Calaveras County, July 1853. Chinese-American miner with equipment, circa 1875. Daguerreotype showing a view of San Francisco harbor, January 1851. Illustration of prospector carrying mining tools, cookware, and food as he walks to California, circa 1849. Lithograph of gold mining in California. Published by Currier & Ives, c1871. The way they go to California lithrograph. Published by N. Currier, c1849. Illustration showing birds-eye view of San Francisco from the bay looking Southwest, circa 1878. California Gold Rush images chronicle dreams of striking it rich 1 of 10 Two miners being outfitted for the High Sierra, circa 1856.

Marshall's Jan. 24, 1848, discovery at Sutter's Mill sparked the California Gold Rush, one of the most significant events in America's nearly 250-year history. The news of readily accessible gold attracted prospectors from across the country and around the world, launching a mass migration and a quest for success, the spirit of which lives on in the region today.

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USA TODAY is tracing these epic journeys as part of our coverage of America's upcoming 250th birthday.

California historian Ed Allen sees connections between the Gold Rush era and the state's entrepreneurial culture, which has propelled California into a global powerhouse  the nation's most populous state and the world's fourth-largest economy.

The state is now the epicenter of another quest: Instead of prospectors armed with pickaxes and gold pans, tech workers in Silicon Valley hunt for riches on computer screens, server farms and complex algorithms.

"I can see a similarity between the Gold Rush and the tech hub of the Bay Area  people from all over the world coming there, the education level that is concentrated there," said Allen, the park historian at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.

Ed Allen, park historian at the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park next to the replica of Sutters Mill in Coloma, Calif.

Standing in front of a replica of the riverside sawmill where Marshall discovered gold, Allen continued: "The Gold Rush was a flash in the pan, and I think we're on to a whole nother track with AI and, basically, the Silicon Valley."

What was the Gold Rush?

Just days after Marshall's discovery, California became a U.S. territory with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War. Newcomers began to arrive almost immediately, with the growth driven by the forty-niners  the gold-seeking pioneers who began flocking west in 1849.

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The territory's non-Native American population at the time of Marshall's discovery stood at about 14,000. By 1852, with California newly named a state, there were 250,000 non-Native Americans, according to California State Parks.

James W. Marshall, circa 1884.

Boomtowns like Coloma sprang up to support the new arrivals. San Francisco transformed from a "sleepy port town" to a bustling city "filled with makeshift tent-houses, hotels, stores, saloons, gambling halls and shanties," according to the National Park Service. And Sacramento became a supply hub and staging ground for gold-seekers.

The rest of the country benefited, too. Businesses back East provided supplies and profited from the gold the prospectors brought back. In 1852, at the peak of the Gold Rush, an estimated $81 million worth of gold was found in California.

Daguerreotype image of San Francisco harbor, January 1851

"Our economy just went through the roof," Allen said.

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But getting to California wasn't easy. It could take as long as six months to cross the country by covered wagon in dreadful conditions with limited food and water, he said.

"In fact, most of the people that got rich in California, if they crossed the prairies and so forth, they were going to go home by boat," Allen said.

A route had recently opened through the isthmus of Panama, making the journey from the West Coast to the East Coast faster.

"Panama had a railroad on it after 1854, and so you didn't have to walk through the jungles and catch all kinds of diseases," Allen said.

Illustriation of prospector carrying mining tools, cookware, and food as he walks to California, circa 1849.

Those who made it west more often struck out than struck it rich.

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But even a small amount of gold could make the poor farmhands who rushed west feel wealthy.

"They had never had money," Allen said, "and of course, this first money you get, you're most likely going to spend it and have a good time."

Rush led to a devastating bust

The rush for gold was devastating for the region's Indigenous people.

The 1900 census recorded the Native American population in California at 15,377, which Allen said was a historic low point, compared to the estimated 300,000 Native Americans living in the region at the start of the Spanish mission era in 1769. Much of that decline came between 1846 and 1870, during the height of the Gold Rush, according to the National Museum of the American Indian.

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The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill brought "one of the darkest episodes of dispossession, widespread sexual assault and mass murder against the native people of California," reported the California Native American Heritage Commission.

Ed Allen, park historian at the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park holds small pieces of gold, similar to what miners searched for during the gold rush.

In 1850, California passed a Foreign Miners' License Tax intended to drive foreigners out of rich mining areas.

The tax ordered non-American miners to pay upward of $20 a month to mine in the state. It was primarily enforced against miners of Mexican, Latin American, Chinese and German descent, who often worked together while facing intense discrimination and violence, said Gregorio Mora-Torres, a retired Mexican American studies professor at San Jose State University.

"You also had people coming from South America, Chile and Peru who had this incredible knowledge of mining," Mora-Torres said. "But they weren't entitled to take part in finding mineral wealth like everybody else. Sad."

Across oceans, mountains and deserts, these routes led dreamers to gold and a new frontier.

The tax was largely repealed in 1852, "but the damage had been done. They obviously couldn't afford it. They were priced out," Mora-Torres said.

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After 1852, gold became harder to reach, and large-scale, environmentally destructive mining practices took over.

For California, the bust was just as defining as the rush.

Some of the boomtowns that fueled the dreams of fortune-seekers became dusty ghost towns, according to the Autry Museum of the American West.

"In the end, very few gold miners became rich from finding gold," the museum reported. "The people who ended up making a lot of money during the California Gold Rush were the people who sold different products and services to the gold miners."

They sold things like mining tools, clothing, pots, pans and food, Mora-Torres said. "They were the ones smart enough not to get their hands dirty."

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Some of the businesses that got their start during the Gold Rush include Wells Fargo & Co., a bank that initially provided financial services to hopeful prospectors, and Levi Strauss & Co., which offered sturdy denim clothing for gold miners.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks during a press conference at San Francisco City Hall on Oct. 23, 2025.

Today, billionaire Daniel Lurie, a renowned philanthropist and heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, serves as San Francisco's mayor.

Still chasing the American Dream

Now, the rise of artificial intelligence is being billed as a modern-day Gold Rush, fueling the growth of Bay Area tech companies such as Apple, Nvidia, Google and Meta.

Congresswoman and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco said in a retirement announcement, posted to the social media site X on Nov. 6, that the area doesn't "fear the future, we forge it."

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"From the Gold Rush to the miracles of science and technology," Pelosi said, the area has always been "the cradle of innovation, buzzing with optimism and creativity."

Attendees take pictures of the next generation iPhone 17 during an Apple special event at Apple headquarters on Sept. 9, 2025 in Cupertino, Calif. Apple unveiled a new generation of iPhones and updated Apple Watches and AirPods during a special event at Apple headquarters.

As with the 19th century Gold Rush, the tech boom is bringing people from around the world to California. About 60% of top AI scientists currently working in the United States were born abroad, according to the National Foundation for American Policy, a nonpartisan nonprofit involved in public policy research.

The diverse array of intellectuals swarming Silicon Valley to advance AI is comparable to the multicultural collection of miners who scoured that same land for gold nearly two centuries ago, said Makeda Best, a deputy director of curatorial affairs at the Oakland Museum of California, which features a longstanding, popular Gold Rush exhibit.

"They come here to make their way, to find creation and community," Best said about the foreign tech workers who venture to Silicon Valley.

Zededa CEO Said Ouissal believes just as California's Gold Rush diversified America, artificial intelligence (AI) will create similar opportunities for many diverse and innovative minds today in Silicon Valley. We havent even mined all of the AI gold yet," he said.

Take longtime tech executive Said Ouissal, who moved to the United States from the Netherlands in 2010. Now, he's CEO of Zededa, an AI-based software company headquartered in San Jose.

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"As a techie, coming to California was a no-brainer for me," Ouissal told USA TODAY. "This is the ground zero of innovation."

Sandesh Patnam agrees. Hes the managing partner for Premji Invest, a Silicon Valley-based venture fund that has invested more than $16 billion in tech companies.

Sandesh Patnam, a Managing Partner at Premji Invest at his office in Menlo Park, Calif. Patnam came to the US as a teenager from India to attend college, eventually migrating with other would-be innovators worldwide to Silicon Valley during the massive 1990s tech boom in California.

"This is my version of the American Dream. Silicon Valley definitely has so much of that rebellious spirit. I cant imagine I would be in this position had I just stayed back home," said Patnam, a native of the Indian city Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore.

One difference with the Gold Rush, Patnam said, is that there has been more than one boom-bust cycle in tech.

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He's weathered four periods of ups and downs in the past two decades in Silicon Valley, including the rise of the internet, the cloud, social networks and now the AI explosion.

"Every time you kind of think, 'Gosh, you know, is the Valley done?" Patnam said. "But then again, with tech, there's always something big just around the corner.

The search for gold goes on.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: We prospected for gold in California's past and present
A U.S. Army truck at the former Roosevelt Roads Naval Station on Sept. 10, 2025. Credit - Kendall Torres CortesAnadolu/Getty Images

The sight from Puerto Ricos southern coast was surreal. Off the usually tranquil shores of Arroyo and Guayanilla, beachgoers watched in disbelief as helicopters whirred and the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship, appeared from nowhere. Many scrolled through their phones for information, trying to make sense of what they were seeing.

The Marines began large-scale amphibious warfare maneuvers, disembarking hundreds of troops around August 31, 2025, as part of a U.S. military buildup amid rising tensions with Venezuela. Puerto Rico now hosts approximately 10,000 troops, including Marine Corps F-35 fighter jets, Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drones, a range of surveillance aircraft and support personnel. Officials in Washington have described the activity as regional readiness, while U.S. naval vessels move closer to Venezuelan waters under the campaign against so-called terrorist drug cartels. On October 31, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administrationunder direction from the Department of Defenseestablished Temporary Flight Restrictions for Special Security Reasons off the southeast coast of Ceiba, in place through March 31, 2026. The move deepened local anxieties

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By expanding these operations and reactivating former bases such as Roosevelt Roads Naval Base in Ceiba, the United States is reviving a chapter many Puerto Ricans believed had ended. Roosevelt Roads was closed in 2004, a year after the Navy abandoned its bombing range in Vieques following years of mass protests. At the time, Admiral Robert Natter, commander of the Atlantic Fleet, stated bluntly: Without Vieques, there is no way I need the Navy facilities at Roosevelt Roadsnone. Two decades later, that logic has been reversed.

Read More: How Puerto Ricos Colonial Status Deepens the Immigration Crisis

The remilitarization of Puerto Rico has sparked divided reactions. Some, including the governor, frame it as a symbol of U.S. partnership and security. But for others, the ongoing buildupincluding renewed presence of heavy equipment and reports that President Trump authorized covert CIA operations against Venezuelaraises fears that Puerto Rico could once again become a live-fire zone.

These fears are not unfounded. The history of U.S. military bases in Puerto Rico is, at its core, a history of political interests rather than protection. Since the 1898 invasion, the island has functioned less as a shield than a springboard for U.S. power, pulling Puerto Rico into regional conflicts and peril, including during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. Bases such as Roosevelt Roads, Ramey Air Force Base, Fort Buchanan, and Camp Santiago were built to advance American interests and confront perceived threats, from Nazi submarines in World War II to communist movements during the Cold Warand now, the 21st-century war on cartels.

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For decades, the U.S. Navy used Puerto Ricos offshore islands for live-fire training, displacing residents and destroying ecosystems. The justification was always the same: the Navy needed realistic training sites. Puerto Ricans, denied political representation, had no say in the matter. By the 1950s, Roosevelt Roads had become a linchpin of U.S. Southern Command operations, coordinating intelligence and logistics for interventions across Latin America. Military planners called Puerto Rico the unsinkable aircraft carrier of the Caribbean, a fixed platform for enforcing U.S. dominance in the region.

At the height of the Cold War, the U.S. military controlled roughly 13 percent of Puerto Rican land. Entire communities were uprooted in Ceiba, Vieques, and Culebra. Agriculture and fishing collapsed, and the promised economic benefits never arrived. Most jobs were temporary; profits went to U.S. contractors.

Environmental damage was extensive. Decades of bombing left Vieques littered with unexploded ordnance and contaminated with heavy metals. Cancer rates and respiratory illnesses soared. The death of civilian guard David Sanes Rodriguez in 1999 during a bombing exercise ignited a mass movement that ultimately forced the Navys withdrawal in 2003. But even that victory proved partial: contamination remains, and cleanup is incomplete.

Now, two decades later, the cycle appears to be repeating. The reactivated Roosevelt Roads base once again houses stealth F-35 fighters. The Marines conduct amphibious landings along Puerto Ricos southern coast. Just beyond the horizon, the Navy tests nuclear-capable weapons. And an unarmed Trident II D5 ballistic missile was launched from a submarine off Florida, its blazing trail visible from Puerto Rico on September 21. The Navy hailed it as a routine success. For those who looked up that night, it was a reminder that our skies and our future remain tied to someone elses wars.

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The trauma comes back, said Yamilette Melendez, a resident of Vieques, to a local newspaper. It comes back because for years we lived with the sound of bombs, planes at all hours, while sleeping, at school.

US Marines unload from an Osprey V-22 aircraft at Jose Aponte de la Torre Airport, formerly Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, on September 13, 2025, in Ceiba, Puerto Rico. Miguel J. RodriguezAFP/Getty Images

Washington insists these actions are about protecting democracy, deterring narcotics traffickers, and maintaining regional stability. But the pattern is unmistakable: Puerto Rico is again being used as a strategic pawn in the projection of U.S. power. Each chapter reinforces the same story: Puerto Rico as Americas unsinkable aircraft carrier, indispensable to U.S. strategy yet disposable to its costs. The Marines on our beaches, the stealth jets in Ceiba, and the missile streaks across our sky are not symbols of protection; they are symptoms of colonial dependence.

The future of Puerto Rico must be written not with missiles and war games, but with the aspirations of a people determined to live in peace. Puerto Rico could serve as a bridge of peace and environmental recovery in the Caribbean, not a forward operating base. To get there, Puerto Ricans must demand transparency about military activities, insist on environmental justice, and hold accountable both local officials who enable this militarism and federal agencies that perpetuate it.

Roosevelt Roads could become a hub for renewable energy, marine research, and cultural exchange. Plans already exist. In 2021, a $79 million grid upgrade and a federally funded Marine Innovation Center were proposed to support the islands blue economy, yet the project remains mostly on paper. Under the Trump administration, however, $365 million once earmarked for rooftop solar and batteries in Puerto Rico was redirected to fossil-fuel infrastructure instead. More than $7 billion in clean-energy projects were canceled nationwide. And even as the island loses billions in federal funds, including $20.7 million for minority programs, and funds for climate resilience efforts, the repaired base keeps getting upgrades.

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The paradox is cruel. Puerto Ricodenied sovereignty and voting rights in Congress, constrained by an unelected fiscal control board, and still rebuilding from Hurricane Mariahas no power over the defense or foreign policy decisions that shape its fate. Yet it bears the consequences.

This is colonialism not only in political form but in practicethe transformation of land, water, and people into instruments of someone elses security.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
A federal judge has resigned so that he can freely speak out on the judicial abuses of Donald Trump.

Judge Mark L. Wolf, a Reagan appointee who sat on the bench for 40 years, penned an op-ed in The Atlantic on Sunday explaining his decision.

My reason is simple: I no longer can bear to be restrained by what judges can say publicly or do outside the courtroom, he wrote.

Mark Wolf served as a judge in a Massachusetts bench for 40 years. / MediaNews Group/Boston Herald vi / MediaNews Group via Getty Images

Wolf, 78, served the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts since 1985. In his op-ed, he enumerated the abuses committed by Donald Trump that he felt he could no longer silently observe.

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President Donald Trump is using the law for partisan purposes, targeting his adversaries while sparing his friends and donors from investigation, prosecution, and possible punishment, he said.

This is contrary to everything that I have stood for in my more than 50 years in the Department of Justice and on the bench. The White Houses assault on the rule of law is so deeply disturbing to me that I feel compelled to speak out. Silence, for me, is now intolerable.

Wolf outlined his issues with Trump, including the indictments of his political enemies on weak cases; shielding his friends and administration members from prosecution; eliminating the Justice Departments cryptocurrency enforcement unit as he launched his own cryptocurrency; signing unconstitutional executive orders related to his deportations; and disobeying orders from federal judges.

Wolf worked for Deputy Attorney General Laurence Silberman in 1974 and Attorney General Edward H. Levi from 1975-1977 following the resignation of Richard Nixon for the Watergate scandal.

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He compared the difference between Richard Nixons corruption with Trumps presidency, saying, What Nixon did episodically and covertly, knowing it was illegal or improper, Trump now does routinely and overtly.

Wolf said now that he is no longer judge, he will use his new privileges to speak out, support litigation, and work with other individuals and organizations dedicated to protecting the rule of law and American democracy. He also said he intends to advocate for the judges who cannot speak publicly for themselves.

Wolf (left) served as an assistant to the Attorney General following the Watergate scandal. / Boston Globe / Boston Globe via Getty Images

During Wolfs 40 years on the bench, he ruled on landmark cases, including 2008s Parker v. Hurley, where he said religious parents do not have the right to exempt their children from education on homosexuality, and 2018s Calderon v. Nielsen, where he ruled that ICE was illegally detaining undocumented immigrants pending resolution of their immigration case.

When Wolf was made a senior judge in 2013, his successor was appointed, meaning his vacancy will not be filled by a Trump appointee.
Real estate is booming in parts of tony Connecticut as wealthy Big Apple residents rush to snap up homes there thanks to the Mamdani Effect, according to brokers.

Realtors in leafy Greenwich said their open houses have been packed and that selling prices are going through the roof after Zohran Mamdanis mayoral win in New York City sparked fears over everything from unsafe city buses to an economic meltdown.

Mary Ann Heaven, a broker for Berkshire Hathaway in Greenwich, Ct., said she expects 50 or 60 parties at an open house there over the weekend  three times more than normal. Douglas Healey

Every lot is desirable in Greenwich now, said Mary Ann Heaven, a broker for Berkshire Hathaway in Greenwich  noting that she expects 50 or 60 parties at an open house for a colonial home over the weekend, or roughly three times more than normal.

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Greenwich is extremely stable, and people are confident that the winds of change that are happening down there [in New York City] are not happening up here, she said.

Other brokers agreed that a flood of well-heeled Big Apple residents  generally couples ages 30 to 45 with kids  are selling their apartments to move to bedroom communities in Fairfield County, which also includes New Canaan, Stamford and Norwalk.

The people leaving New York City now are not like the people who left New York City four or five years ago, said Realtor Marshall Heaven of M.H. Heaven Real Estate in Greenwich who is married to Mary Ann Heaven.

Theyre not the ultra-rich that are going to keep their apartments in Manhattan and just buy another place here and another place there, Marshall said.

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These are people that are selling their apartments in New York City and moving their families to Greenwich, Connecticut.

Heaven said he sold a house this week for $2.5 million, more than $500,000 over its asking price, in part because of the Big Apple exodus.

Dimitry Melnikov, a local home design consultant, called the Connecticut housing market hot. Douglas Healey

Other real-estate agents said Mamdanis free-buses-for-all plan  which critics warn could turn the vehicles into havens for violent criminals and the mentally ill  may have scared off some New Yorkers.

I think the major thing that will affect people would be something as simple as free bus tickets, as bad as that sounds, said John Antretter, a broker in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

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If people feel unsafe sending their kids across town on the bus every day or if they have to switch to private car services or Ubers or the parents driving them  thatll be the No. 1 driving force.

Dimitry Melnikov, owner of the home interior firm Putnam Design in the Cos Cob neighborhood in Greenwich, said, The [local housing] market is screaming, its hot.

Places are selling for much more than they are worth, he said.

My friend put a house up last Friday. Within 12 hours, by Monday morning, he had 90 offers. I dont think its normal. I dont think its good. I know its not good for New York City.

I grew up in Belarus; Im familiar with socialism, Melnikov said. Its not going to work in New York City. To lay socialism on top of capitalism? Thats not going to work.
It turns out, the government shutdown ended because some senators want to be able to keep campaigning on Obamacare.

Seven Senate Democrats and one independent caved on the government shutdown Sunday, leaving their party empty-handed after a grueling 40-day deadlock with Republicans.

Those senators included Dick Durbin, Catherine Cortez Masto, Jacky Rosen, Maggie Hassan, Jeanne Shaheen, John Fetterman, and Tim Kaine, as well as independent Angus King. All eight lawmakers are either retiring or wont face another election for several years, making the alleged behind-the-scenes rationale for the crumbling stalemate even more asinine.

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More than a dozen House and Senate Democrats expressed anxiety that actually preserving premium subsidies for the Affordable Care Acts enhanced premium tax credits through their shutdown demands could strip them of a winning issue in the coming midterms, reported The New York Times. Their secondary anxiety involved the powerful Senate filibuster, fearing that conservatives might actually bow to Donald Trumps demands to ax the disruptive legislative tool.

The political logic of the shutdown fight was inverted: If Democrats got the tax credits extendedif they wonthey would be solving a huge electoral problem for Republicans, reported the Times. If Republicans successfully allowed the tax credits to expireif they wonthey would be handing Democrats a cudgel with which to beat them in the elections.

Without the premium tax credits, health insurance premiums for more than 20 million Americans are expected to double.

The result, according to policy experts, will be a mass exodus from Obamacare plans altogether, leaving roughly four million Americans uninsured. The spike in uninsured Americans will spur a public health problem that has historically proved to make premiums more expensive for the insured as hospitals look to recoup the lost cash.

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Low-income regions of the country, such as Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina, will be particularly hard hit as recipients decide whether they can afford the rising costs. That is, apparently, a potential electoral opportunity, according to congressional Democratsregardless of how many people will be at risk for physical and financial ruin in the interim.

The message is as simple as it is disastrous: Democrats will do anything to stay in power, even if it means undermining the needs of their constituents.
A soldier killed in World War II, who had been classified as missing for over 80 years, was returned to his Massachusetts hometown over the weekend.

The remains of U.S. Army Private Alfred Thomas Langevin, which were identified in July, arrived in Weymouth, a suburb south of Boston, on Saturday morning, Boston 25 News reported.

Langevin, who worked as a grocery store manager before he enlisted in the Army when he was 29, went missing in 1944 while on patrol in a German forest fighting the Axis powers. He fought in some of the most intense combat operations of the war, according to his obituary.

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Langevin was declared dead a year after his deployment, though officials never learned what happened to him.

The exact circumstances of his loss remain uncertain, though it is believed he was killed in his defensive position amid heavy artillery bombardment, his obituary noted.

A soldier killed in World War II was flown back to Massachusetts this weekend after his remains were positively identified over 80 years later (Town of Weymouth)

Private Alfred Thomas Langevin went missing in World War II and presumed dead. His remains have now been returned to the US after being identified. (Keohane Funeral Home)

In the years that followed, American efforts to locate his remains were hindered by treacherous terrain, landmines, and the chaos of war. His name was etched on the Walls of the Missing at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands, as a tribute to his sacrifice, the obituary continued.

In June 2021, a renewed identification effort led by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and the American Battle Monuments Commission discovered a set of remains from the Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium, known only as X-2756, his obituary said.

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Those remains ended up being positively identified as Langevin after his nephew provided DNA, and it was a familial match.

He will be buried next to his sister, Irene, her husband, and their mothers parents.

Langevin had a wife, Helen F. Langevin, and they shared a daughter, Mary, who was a toddler at the time of his deployment.

He is survived by his nephew Patrick and the extended Langevin family, according to his obituary.

DNA from the missing soldiers nephew helped identify his remains (Town of Weymouth)

On Saturday, Lagevin was welcomed home with a dignified transport from Logan International Airport in Boston to Keohane Funeral Home.

Calling hours will be held from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at Weymouth Town Hall, where Langevin will lie in honor for the public to pay their respects. A funeral procession and burial with full military honors is scheduled for Monday.

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Pvt. Langevin will be honored by his hometown with a series of tributes recognizing his bravery, sacrifice and long-awaited return, the town of Weymouth wrote on its website.

The procession will leave Keohane Funeral Home at 10 a.m., travel through Weymouth, including Jackson Square, where Lagevin was born and raised, and end at Fairmount Cemetery.
A former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, Michael Blake, announced this month he is challenging fellow Democrat Rep. Ritchie Torres next year for his New York congressional seat representing the Bronx.

Blake, a former state assemblyman who once worked in the Obama administration, is hanging his platform on Torres' ardent support of Israel during the brutal Israel-Hamas war  an issue that has deeply divided sections of the Democratic party.

In a two-minute campaign video posted to Blake's social media account Nov. 5, images show social media users slamming Torres for his acceptance of funds from the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC, and for his vocal support of the Israeli government.

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New York politics: John F. Kennedy's grandson Jack Schlossberg is running for Congress

Democratic Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, votes at The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts on Nov. 4, 2025 in the Queens borough of New York City. Voters in NYC are voting for who will be replacing Mayor Eric Adams between the front runner New York Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani and New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa. More than 735,000 people have voted early, according to the Board of Elections, more than four times as many as in the 2021 contest. This election also has other city offices on the ballot, as well as six proposals. Independent mayoral candidate and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo departs after voting at a polling location at the High School of Art and Design in the Manhattan borough of New York City on Nov. 4, 2025. Election workers transport ballots on a cart during a special election on redistricting at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center in City of Industry, California, November 4, 2025. A display shows an advertisement for betting on the New York City mayoral election, featuring Democratic candidate for New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani and Independent candidate for New York City mayor and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in Times Square, in New York City, November 4, 2025. A poll worker poses for a photo during Pennsylvania Municipal Election in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 4, 2025. Mary Wellington, from left, with Ventura County Elections Division, helps first-time voter Makailee Lindbergh, 18, cast her provisional ballot on Proposition 50 at the Best Western Plus Thousand Oaks Inn in Thousand Oaks, California on Nov. 4, 2025. New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), (L) is cheered by supporters as she exits the polling center after casting her vote on Nov. 4, 2025 in Montclair, New Jersey. Sherrill faces off against Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli, in a tightly contested race for New Jersey governor. A person exits a polling center after casting her vote on Nov. 4, 2025 in Montclair, New Jersey. Virginia voters cast their ballots at Robius Elementary School Nov. 4, 2025 in Midlothian, Virginia. Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger faces off against Republican candidate Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in the Commonwealth of Virginias off-year election for governor and other statewide offices on November 4, a race that will lead to the first female governor in the commonwealths history. Bob Elsea, poll clerk at Ward 6 Precinct 1 at Trinity United Methodist Church, shouts out "polls are open" at 7 a.m. during election day in Anderson, South Carolina., Nov. 4, 2025. Shunmuga Sankaran displays the sticker he recieved while voting at Cherry Hill East High School in Cherry Hill, New Jersey on Nov. 4, 2025. Michael Powers, 63, of Pontiac, votes at precinct nine in the gymnasium at the Kennedy School in Pontiac, Michigan on Nov. 4, 2025. The Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. smiles as he waits to turn in his ballot alongside his wife Robin Kinloch early on Election Day inside Chrysler Elementary School in Detroit on Nov. 4, 2025. People vote at the Old Portage Masonic Temple on Nov. 4, 2025, in Akron, Ohio. Eight people are vying for four seats on the Akron Public School District board. Election officials check in mail-in votes at the Buttonwood Warming House polling station in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Election workers process mail-in ballots at the Lebanon County Courthouse in Pennsylvania on Nov. 4, 2025. MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - NOVEMBER 4: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (C) submits his ballot with his daughter Freida Frey as he holds his child Estelle Frey at a polling place on Election Day on November 4, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey is seeking reelection to his third term in office as he is opposed by three other local Democrats. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) Voters cast their ballots in the municipal election on Nov. 4, 2025, at Holly Tree Elementary in Wilmington, North Carolina. Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins talks with election worker Rhonda Lewis Warren before voting at the Runyon Heights Community House in Yonkers Nov. 4, 2025. Jenkins is running for his first full four-year term for County Executive after winning a special election earlier this year to replace former County Executive George Latimer who had been elected to the U.S. Congress. Mayor Mitch Colvin hugs a voter at a polling site at Cliffdale Recreation Center in Fayetteville on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. Hope Mills Commissioner Bryan Marley, left to right, Hope Mills Mayor Jessie Bellflowers and Chilleko Hurst talk outside a polling site at Hope Mills Recreation Center in Hope Mills on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. Shortly before 6 a..m., a voter arrives to cast their ballot at Cherry Hill East High School in Cherry Hill, NJ, on Election Day, Tuesday, November 4, 2025. New Yorkers vote to pick their new mayor at an election site in a church in Manhattan on November 4, 2025 in New York City. The latest polls show the front-runner continues to be Zohran Mamdani, holding a clear lead over independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Hope Mills Commissioners candidate Ronald Starling talks to a voter outside a polling site at Hope Mills Recreation Center in Hope Mills, North Carolina on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. People register to vote at the Lakewood Municipal Building Tuesday morning, November 4, 2025. New Jersey voters decide on who will be the next governor of New Jersey, in addition to the Assembly, and county and local elections. Keith Sjostrand holds his granddaughter, Ila Barrett, 2, while poll worker, Kathleen Forman hands her a voting sticking. Behind them Ila's great-grandfather, Donald Sjostrand, watches with a smile.The family voted at Licking County Church of God in Newark, Ohio, Nov 4, 2025. Two days before election day, Lakewood, NJ, voters and their families wait to cast their early ballots late Sunday afternoon, November 2, 2025, at the Municipal Building on 3rd Street. First time poll worker, Benita Neely, dances with her arms in the air to call people over to drop their ballots in the ballot box at Cherry Valley Elementary in Newark, Ohio, Nov 4, 2025. A volunteer for the Working Families Party speaks to a voter during the Pennsylvania Municipal Election in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 4, 2025. Michael Lopez, 13, takes a selfie with his mother, Olga, after she voted at Burncot High School on Tuesday, Nov. 4. The photo was for Michael, an 8th grader at Burncoat Middle School, to receive extra credit in Steven Mendard's social studies class which was learning about the election process. Bruce Williams fills out a ballot during Election Day at China Grove AME Church in Madison, Miss., on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. Election workers extract ballots as part of ballot processing during a special election on redistricting at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center in City of Industry, California, November 4, 2025. See candidates and constituents cast their ballots on Election Day 2025 1 of 32 Democratic Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, votes at The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts on Nov. 4, 2025 in the Queens borough of New York City. Voters in NYC are voting for who will be replacing Mayor Eric Adams between the front runner New York Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani and New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa. More than 735,000 people have voted early, according to the Board of Elections, more than four times as many as in the 2021 contest. This election also has other city offices on the ballot, as well as six proposals.

"I am running for Congress because the people of The Bronx deserve better than Ritchie Torres," Blake said in the video's social media post. "I am ready to fight for you and lower your cost of living while Ritchie fights for a Genocide. I will focus on Affordable Housing and Books as Ritchie will only focus on AIPAC and Bibi. I will invest in the community. Ritchie invests in Bombs. I want to end credit scores for housing. Ritchie only wants to take credit."

'We sent a message.' 5 takeaways from Democrats' 2025 elections sweep

Blake mounted an unsuccessful bid this year for New York City mayor. He challenged Torres for New York's 15th Congressional District seat once before, losing in the June 2020 primary.

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In a statement to Politico, Torres spokesperson Benny Stanislawski responded to the critical claims, saying Torres has been "laser-focused on issues like public housing and affordability while standing up to Donald Trump."

Michael Blake is not interested in the Bronx," Stanislawski said. "Hes only interested in using it to run for office for the fifth time, and the result will be the same as before: another loss.

Michael Blake speaks during a Democratic mayoral primary debate, June 4, 2025, in New York.

Support for Israel and anger over its military operations in Gaza since late 2023 has opened up one of the starkest divides within the Democratic party in recent years, bogging down candidates in last year's race up and down the ballot. Former Vice President Kamala Harris encountered fierce criticism from the left flank of the party over the issue during her bid for the White House last year, and early 2026 midterm campaigns indicate it will once again play a significant role in the election cycle.

Poll: Majority of Americans support a Palestinian state

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Aside from Blake in New York, other Democratic congressional challengers in several races across the country have also centered their early campaign messages on promises to rebuff pro-Israel lobbies, including in California, Michigan and Maine. Pro-Israel groups, including AIPAC and The United Democracy Project, spent millions in Democratic races in 2024, in many cases supporting more centrist, pro-Israel candidates against left-wing challengers who took pro-Palestinian positions.

Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kapalmer@usatoday.com and on X @KathrynPlmr.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michael Blake challenging Ritchie Torres in 2026 over Israel support
A new report on disabled State of New Mexico workers' grievances lists, among other complaints, "extreme delays in the processing of ADA requests." (Getty Images)

A new report says 80% of disabled State of New Mexico employees have considered quitting because of difficulties receiving accommodations. The list of grievances including extreme wait times of more than a year, denials without engaging in the process, and inappropriate and discriminatory comments by supervisors.

The union that represents state public workers looked into disability access and Americans with Disability Act, or ADA, compliance issues for about a year. The president of the Communications Workers of America local 7076, Megan Green, said they found many disabled employees are considering leaving the state because they felt, quote, bullied and dismissed when seeking ADA accommodations.

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Union vice-president, Lindsay Hurst, said employees are often left with nowhere to turn with little to no legal support.

Most of the employees that we advise to file with human rights choose to leave state service or remain in unhealthy or unsupportive work situations due to fear of retaliation, she said. And Im very serious about this, a lot of people just go quiet, and then they leave.

Hurst said the union is asking for an external audit, copies of written denials for accommodations with reason for the denial given, a 20-day response time to requests for accommodation, and a clear and accessible appeals process.

We need support to ensure that state buildings are accessible for everyone, she said.

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Hurst and Green presented the report to lawmakers in the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee Wednesday evening, along with the Chair of the Unions Disability Justice Committee, Sunny Gonzales.

The committee, established by the union in September 2024, has been evaluating discrimination by training under the Southwest ADA Law Center , and teaming up with civil rights experts at Disability Rights New Mexico , conducting interviews, focus groups and surveys of state workers with disabilities.

Also present at the presentation was Dylan Lange, director of the State Personnel Office. He pointed out that his agency follows federal law when it comes to disabilities, and that each individual state agency is responsible for its own ADA compliance, and must appoint its own ADA coordinator. He said that ties his agencys hands when providing support to disabled state employees.

We came here to listen, to acknowledge that those stories that we heard today are hard to hear, he said, but we are willing to be part of these groups to have a concerted effort to ensure that we are being inclusive throughout the state.

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Hurst said the union is also calling for legislation to ensure ADA rights last into the future. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham vetoed a bill that would have done just that, saying state agencies are already ADA-compliant.

Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
Drones have once again been spotted over critical infrastructure in Belgium, this time over a nuclear power plant near Antwerp.

Operator Engie said the drones had no impact on the activity of the Doel power plant, Belga news agency reported late on Sunday.

A total of three drones were sighted. According to Belga, the police declined to comment.

Earlier, according to reports, several drones had also been sighted again at Liege Airport. Air traffic was subsequently suspended for just under an hour in the evening.

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Drones had recently been sighted several times in Belgium, including at the Belgian military base, also used by NATO, in Kleine-Brogel in Flanders. According to unconfirmed reports, the airbase is one of the locations in Europe where US nuclear weapons are stored.

Last week, traffic was also temporarily suspended at Brussels and Liege airports due to drone sightings.

The German Defence Ministry announced last week that the German armed forces would support Belgium in its defence against drones. Belgium had requested this support.
UPDATE @ 10:52 P.M.

The U.S. Senate passed a key hurdle on a bipartisan deal on a government funding bill, which could point towards the end of the shutdown.

[DOWNLOAD:Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The U.S. Senate cleared a procedural 60-vote threshold on Sunday night.

The final vote was 60-40.

Both Ohio Senators, Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno, voted yay.

Senator Husted announced the final vote tally.

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CNN reports that this deal has enough support to fund the government through Jan. 30.

However, it does not mean the package has cleared the Senate.

CNN says if the Senate approves it, it would still have to go back to the House for passage before heading to President Trumps desk for his signature.

We will continue to update this developing story.

-INITIAL VOTING-

The U.S. Senate has reportedly reached a deal on government funding, which would point toward the end of the shutdown, according to multiple media reports.

[DOWNLOAD:Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

CNN reports that this deal has enough support to fund the government through Jan. 30.

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Fox News says on social media that the agreement was negotiated by three Senators who caucus with the Democrats.

BREAKING: Senators have reached a deal to end the government shutdown.



The agreement was negotiated by Sens. Angus King, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, as well as several GOP senators, and there are enough Democratic caucus members in favor of the deal, sources tell Fox News. pic.twitter.com/1RZFxQMHAY  Fox News (@FoxNews) November 10, 2025

Politico reports that the Senate is poised to vote later Sunday night to advance the House-passed stopgap.

CBS News reports that President Donald Trump spoke to reporters as he returned to the White House from the Washington Commanders game on Sunday.

It looks like were getting close to the shutdown ending, he said. Youll know very soon.

Senator Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on Sunday that we plan to vote today, on a funding measure as part of a plan to end the shutdown, CBS News says.

We will continue to update this developing story.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP)  Malaysian rescuers searching for dozens of people still missing after a boat carrying migrants from Myanmar capsized last week recovered five more bodies on Monday, bringing the death toll to 12.

The bodies of two men, two women and a boy were found in waters off northern Langkawi island, close to the Thailand border, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said.

First Adm. Romli Mustafa said in a statement that an estimated 70 people were on board the capsized boat, based on survivors' account. Of those, 13 have been rescued over the past two days, with dozens still missing.

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Officials said a larger vessel carrying some 300 people departed from the town of Buthidaung, in Myanmars Rakhine state. The passengers were believed to have been split into three smaller boats once the vessel neared Malaysia. One of the boats was believed to have sank near Tarutao island in southern Thailand on Thursday.

The timing and exact location of the incident is not known. The fate of the other two boats is also unclear, officials said.

Malaysian rescuers supported by air surveillance scoured a wider area on Monday, and will continue their operation Tuesday,

Authorities have said some of those rescued were Rohingya Muslims, from Myanmar, where they have faced persecution for decades. Malaysia is a popular destination for Rohingya seeking to enter illegally because of its dominant Malay Muslim population.

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Malaysia has accepted Rohingya in the past on humanitarian grounds but has tried to limit their numbers, fearing a mass influx of people arriving on boats. In January, Malaysian authorities turned away two boats carrying nearly 300 people believed to be Rohingya refugees.

There are around 117,670 Rohingya registered with the U.N.'s refugee agency in Malaysia  about 59% of the total refugee population in the country.
New research has revealed just how incredibly resilient North America's most adaptable predator is.

Earth.com reported that a new study tracked the remarkable recovery of eastern coyotes in South Carolina following a three-year removal campaign.

The research, published in the journal Ecosphere, devised an innovative model to assess coyote density in the protected Savannah River Site. The Integrated Population Model combined data from howl surveys, trail cameras, and scat to estimate coyote population density within the SRS.

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Before the removal campaign, which began in 2010, there were approximately 50 coyotes per 100 square kilometers. After nearly 500 coyotes were eliminated over three years, that figure plummeted to just 14. However, that sharp population decline was short-lived, as by 2014, coyotes were back up to 44 per 100 square kilometers.

"Coyotes can bounce back very rapidly." said Heather Gaya, the study's lead author.

Thousands of coyotes are killed every year in the United States, often at enormous taxpayer expense. These misunderstood predators are perceived as a threat to livestock and game species and have no legal protection against even the most barbaric hunting practices. Even if morality is put to one side, the research is clear: Lethal control of coyotes simply does not work and actually makes the issue worse.

As the Coyote Project points out, coyotes have a self-regulating reproductive system in which the pack's dominant pair does most breeding. Culling only fractures the family unit, causing more litters to be born and fewer experienced packs to emerge, which are more likely to attack livestock.

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Coyotes fill the void left by the loss of large predators such as wolves and cougars in the ecosystem. Coyotes protect birds by competing with mesopredators, and they aid humans by feasting on disease vectors and cleaning up carrion.

The study calls for a different approach to managing coyotes in the wild: one based on a stronger understanding of the species rather than on outdated, ineffective methods. This can include revising hunting limits and improving habitats to limit conflict between coyotes and hunters.

Ultimately, ignorance is probably the biggest hurdle to overcome, and that's something that can be addressed by keeping up to date on the issues and having productive conversations with family and friends to spread the word.

Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
A federal court has ruled that a nuclear plant in New York can dump radioactive waste into the Hudson River, a decision that overrides a 2023 ban on releasing treated wastewater into the river.

What's happening?

As Surfer Magazine reported, the ruling will allow Holtec, a nuclear-power-focused energy company, to release around 45,000 gallons per year of treated wastewater from the decommissioned Indian Point plant into the Hudson.

The site is only 40 miles from Rockaway Beach, one of the most popular surfing locations in the state and the only one within NYC's limits.

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U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas ruled that federal authority over nuclear regulation supersedes the prior ban that was the result of the "Save the Hudson" campaign, which was in response to a proposal by Holtec to release radioactive wastewater into the river.

Holtec will now be allowed to dump the materials  mostly tritiated water, which Surfer explained "contains the nuclear-energy byproduct tritium  into the Hudson, with around 1.5 million gallons expected to enter the river in the next several years.

Even though the 45,000 gallons set to be dumped annually is within safe limits, according to the federal government, the public and environmental organizations like Riverkeeper worry about how the waste will affect people's health and the surrounding ecosystem.

"The biggest concern that Riverkeeper and NY lawmakers have is how it will impact the public's perception of the Hudson," Larissa Liebmann, an attorney with Riverkeeper, told Surfer.

Why is the dumping of radioactive waste concerning?

While the U.S. Department of Defense noted that tritium is "relatively harmless" and that most of it is excreted through urine and sweat, a study published in ACS Chemical Health & Safety found that it can cause "significant internal radiation damage" if ingested in large doses.

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Even though it's unlikely anyone would inhale enough of the byproduct to cause serious harm, some scientists have expressed concern about releasing tritium in waterways.

"We really don't know enough about how tritium behaves in the environment [at diluted levels] to assess potential long-term consequences to the environment, to the food chain, and ultimately to humans," Timothy Mousseau, biologist at the University of South Carolina, told Chemical & Engineering News.

There are also concerns that fewer people will want to surf and swim in the Hudson because of the new regulations.

Surfer reported that the river had only recently become a "viable recreational waterway" and that dumping radioactive waste may deter people from visiting.

What is Holtec doing to protect the public?

"Holtec has a very simple means of greatly reducing the risk," Liebmann told Surfer. "It has a 12-year halflife. Could just store it for 12 years and radioactive levels would be halved. That would go a long way towards making the public feel safer and continue wanting to interact with the Hudson River."

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Riverkeeper also suggested running additional tests to ensure the tritiated water won't negatively affect the Hudson, along with public awareness campaigns, to minimize its impact.

Nuclear energy offers numerous benefits for the climate, including producing reliable, low-carbon electricity, stabilizing the energy grid, and having a small physical footprint. If waste is properly managed, nuclear has the potential to create a greener, healthier future.

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Several people, including a journalist for Reuters, were injured after around 50 masked Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians gathered for an olive harvest in the occupied West Bank.

The incident took place in the Beita area, south of Nablus city, a hotspot for violent attacks by settlers. The attacks have been rising since Israel launched a devastating war on Gaza in 2023.

The Reuters news agency said two of its staffers, a journalist and a security adviser, were injured after being repeatedly beaten by Israeli men wielding clubs and sticks.

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The attack was captured on camera. Footage showed masked men beating Palestinians with sticks and clubs.

The Israeli military said it sent soldiers to the scene after receiving reports of a confrontation during an uncoordinated olive harvest in an area that requires coordination.

It added that police would conduct any further review of the incident.

Reuters security adviser Grant Bowden helps journalist Raneen Sawafta after an Israeli settler attack near Nablus in the West Bank (Reuters)

Jonathan Pollak, an Israeli rights activist who was at the scene, said about 50 masked settlers descended from a settler outpost on the hill and attacked everyone gathered for the harvest.

He said that Reuters photographer Raneen Sawafta was attacked and the men beat her up without mercy, continuing to stone her while she was on the ground and then continuing to attack everyone who was coming to her help.

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They changed in Hebrew, saying, "Go from there."

At least 30 Palestinian villagers, activists and about 10 journalists had gathered for the harvest.

Ms Sawafta was accompanied by Reuters security adviser Grant Bowden who was also beaten as he tried to protect her. Her camera equipment was smashed.

The two were wearing helmets and Press jackets when they were attacked, Reuters reported. Ms Sawaftas helmet had a large dent and an ambulance took them both for medical checks and treatment.

Reuters journalist Raneen Sawafta is carried on a stretcher at the Rafidia Hospital in Nablus after being injured by Israeli settlers during an attack at the Palestinian village of Baita in occupied West Bank (AFP via Getty)

"We call upon Israeli authorities to investigate this incident and hold those responsible accountable," Reuters said, and to ensure that journalists can work freely and without harm.

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The Palestinian Authoritys health ministry said that among the injured was Oded Yedaya, an Israeli art school principal, who reportedly sustained a broken jaw and cheekbone.

His shirt was soaked in blood and his head was split open, an activist who was at the scene told the Haaretz daily.

A 19-year-old Palestinian Red Crescent volunteer was also injured after being hit in the head by an attacker.

The olive-picking season in the Palestinian territories, which started in October, has seen a wave of attacks by settlers.

The settlers sometimes come in a group with people from Israel and abroad, Jewish and otherwise.

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The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Friday that they recorded 264 settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank last month.

Since 2006, OCHA has documented over 9,600 such attacks. About 1,500 of them took place just this year, roughly 15 percent of the total, it said in a statement.
AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

The studies used to support a link between Tylenol usage during pregnancy and autism are deeply flawed and do not ultimately support an association between the two, a new review has found.

The review from the British Medical Journal looked at nine of the top studies, which found a correlation between use of the over-the-counter pain medication while pregnant and child neurodevelopment.

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The review included the study touted by officials within the Trump administration to back up their repeated warnings to pregnant women not to take acetaminophen.

BMJ found that the studies contained critical flaws and were of very low quality, coming to the conclusion that [e]xisting evidence does not clearly link maternal paracetamol use during pregnancy with autism or ADHD in offspring.

Some of the issues with the previous studies include having no comprehensive search of the scientific literature, not listing excluded studies or why they were excluded, inaccurate study designs, and the use of non-standard tools for bias risk assessments.

Dr. Shakila Thangaratinam, co-author of the review and executive dean of the Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences at the University of Liverpool, told ABC News that the news study comes in part because of the new scrutiny on the topic brought about by President Donald Trump.

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Because the issue gained a huge amount of media attention, Thangaratinam said she and her colleagues wanted to look at all of the existing evidence in the space, look at the quality and make sense of it and interpret it, so that it would help health care providers in discussion with women and their families.

Trump and his Health and Human Services chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have continuously pushed the issue, with press conferences and White House reports claiming a clear link between Autism and the popular pain medication.

Pregnant Women, DONT USE TYLENOL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, the president wrote in an October Truth Social post.

One major flaw within eight of the nine studies the new review examined was a failure to account for shared familial factors using a sibling control analysis, which considers whether an apparent link could be due to shared genetics. Thangaratinam found that when the studies were adjusted to control for this factor, there was no association between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism.

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The review also found that not only did many of the studies use the same research for their analyses, but seven of the nine reviews actually warned against drawing a link between Tylenol and neurodeficiency.

The reviews authors rated the studies as low or critically low in confidence, meaning they could not be relied on to provide an accurate and comprehensive summary of the available studies.

Kennedy admitted to insufficient evidence for his claims in October, telling reporters that [t]he causative association between Tylenol given in pregnancy and the perinatal periods is not sufficient to say it definitely causes autism.

There should be a cautious approach to it, he said.

The post New Review Shows Studies Linking Autism and Tylenol Are False, Contradicting Trump first appeared on Mediaite.
A sticker welcoming SNAP recipients seen on the door of La Familia Meat Market in Providence's Silver Lake neighborhood. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)

Update: Gov. Dan McKees office responded to Rhode Island Currents repeated inquiries for comment Monday night. Olivia DaRocha, a spokesperson for McKees office, referenced a federal judges order from earlier Monday that temporarily prevents the federal administration from clawing back food assistance as an answer to the governors intent to comply with the federal order.

We are committed to ensuring Rhode Islanders continue to access 100% of their benefits for the month of November, DaRocha said.

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Gov. Dan McKee made clear the Trump administration was to blame for the chaos and hardship created by the series of conflicting directives over federal food assistance for low-income families.

But McKees Sunday afternoon statement was fuzzy on whether Rhode Island will comply with an eleventh-hour U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) memo, demanding states undo the payments that in some cases had just been distributed to recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) hours earlier.

We have reached out directly to Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) within the USDA related to the latest federal communication, McKee said. At this time, recipients [electronic benefit transfer] cards remain active, and we are seeing Rhode Islanders successfully using those cards.

He also alluded to in-progress contingency strategies, promising, we will continue to keep Rhode Islanders updated.

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DaRocha declined to share details on contingency strategies Monday night.

The routine transfer of funds to debit cards for SNAP recipients at the beginning of each month has been anything but ordinary during the government shutdown. Funding ran dry ahead of Nov. 1, stoking fears among the 42 million SNAP beneficiaries across the country, along with community nonprofits and grocery stores who depend on the business.

Just in time, on Oct. 31, a pair of federal court rulings in Rhode Island and Massachusetts presented what looked like relief by ordering the Trump administration to tap emergency federal funding to revive the program  first with partial payments, and then, the full amount ordinarily given per recipient per month. By Friday, the money started flowing to recipients; 79,000 Rhode Islanders had received the full monthly payments as of 4:30 p.m. Saturday  a little over half of the 140,000 total beneficiaries in the state  according to McKees office.

All SNAP recipients have received full benefits as of Monday night, DaRocha said.

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A few hours later, the infamous USDA memo ordered states to undo payments, warning that the move was unauthorized.

Other Democratic governors stated outright they would not comply with the USDA order. Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin summed up his response in a single word, no, while Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey challenged President Donald Trump to a legal fight, declaring we will see him in court.

Even Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, who like McKee has attempted to walk the line between condemnation and conversation with the federal administration, said he would not pull back the SNAP payments already distributed to Connecticut residents, according to news reports.

McKees moderated response mirrors his administrations messaging toward Trump through most of the year  critical, but not bombastic.

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I think its in keeping with his relative unwillingness to sort of play the fighter against the Trump administration for lack of a better word, Adam Myers, an associate professor at Providence College, said in an interview Monday. Some governors really thrive on that and are trying to make a national name for themselves. That hasnt really been [McKees] approach.

Myers also sought to distinguish the SNAP funding fight from other battles states have led against the Trump administration for overstepping federal authority on immigration policies, public health, and education, among others. By contrast, federal food assistance has historically been propped up entirely by federal dollars, with states acting as program administrators.

Intergovernmental programs like food stamps make it difficult for voters to hold government accountable because they dont know which level of government is at fault, Myers said.

McKee, who is already facing a stiff reelection battle next year, made clear the blame lies with Trump and the USDAs whipsaw memo.

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Helena Buonanno Foulkes, the former CVS executive who is challenging McKee in the 2026 Democratic gubernatorial primary, criticized the governor in a statement Monday afternoon.

As Governor, I would refuse to take back SNAP benefits from families who are counting on them to feed their children, Foulkes said. This is a president who was trying to make people go hungry as a bargaining chip and I will use every legal tool available to protect Rhode Islanders from President Trumps harmful attacks.

But finger-pointing offers little assurance for the low-income Rhode Islanders who depend on the federal food assistance program to afford groceries each month.

The back-and-forth continues to play out in court  both the U.S. Supreme Court and a separate case being heard in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate advanced a short-term funding bill Sunday night that includes full funding for SNAP.

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As of Monday, full payments appear to still be available for Rhode Island SNAP beneficiaries, said Kate MacDonald, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Food Bank. The Rhode Island Department of Human Services, which administers the program on behalf of the state, did not respond to requests for comment Monday.

La Familia Meat Market in Providences Silver Lake neighborhood, which accepts EBT cards, saw fewer shoppers last week and over the weekend, cashier Maria Hernandez told Rhode Island Current on Monday afternoon. The bodega was quiet except for the hum of fluorescent lights and refrigerators.

They already dont have that much money, now they cant even put anything on their (EBT) cards, she said in Spanish.

But 500 feet down Pocasset Avenue at Chapines Market, shoppers were seen ordering cuts of meat and picking up plantains from one of the fruit crates near the entrance.

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Its more or less the same here, said cashier Evelyn Quiroa.

Local food pantries and soup kitchens reported surges in clients in late October, suspecting the increase was because people were trying to stock up ahead of the loss in monthly federal food assistance.

Meanwhile, questions and concerns about food assistance flooded the phone lines for United Way of Rhode Islands 211, a 24/7 service provider line. The nonprofit reported 970 calls in total within the first week of November  30% higher than the typical volume, Michael Cerio, a spokesperson for United Way, said in an interview Monday. Questions specific to food pantries were up 250%, while calls seeking information about the latest guidance on SNAP rose 157%, Cerio said.

Call data does not reflect in-person interactions through United Ways outreach services. The nonprofit regularly sends employees to community service locations, including food pantries, to educate, answer questions and help people apply for federal food assistance.

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Reporter Christopher Shea contributed to this story.

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By Pratima Desai

LONDON (Reuters) -Premiums for consumers buying aluminium on the physical market in the U.S. have hit record highs, driven by steep import tariffs and tight supplies globally.

President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on aluminium imports to 50% on June 4 with the aim of supporting investment in U.S. production of the metal, which is used in construction as well as power and packaging.

Buyers on the U.S. physical market typically pay the benchmark price on the London Metal Exchange plus a premium that covers costs such as freight and taxes.

The duty-paid Midwest premium has surged since June, hitting a record 88.10 cents a lb or $1,942 a metric ton on Friday. Added to the aluminium price of $2,850 a ton, a U.S. buyer in the spot market would pay $4,792 a ton.

At $2,850 a ton, the duty on U.S. aluminium imports would be $1,425, up from around $560 a ton at the start of the year.

Consultancy Harbor Aluminum said the surge was also due to falling aluminium stocks in the U.S. and a "strong conviction" that the tariffs would be permanent, without any exemptions for Canada after Trump called off trade negotiations with its neighbour in October.

U.S. aluminium imports from Canada were more than 2.7 million tons or 70% of the total last year, according to Trade Data Monitor.

"Trump basically said no deal until the end of his term. So even the optimists around a potential deal have retreated from their position for now," said Dmitri Ceres at U.S.-based aluminium trader PerenniAL.

U.S. consumers also face intense competition sourcing aluminium, partly due to China's 45 million ton production cap.

Panmure Liberum analyst Tom Price expects an aluminium market deficit of 1.8 million tons this year.

"Over the last 2-3 years, China's net exports of refined metal and semi fabricated products have fallen by 900,000 tons a year to 1.9 million tons a year," Price said.

"Over the same period, aluminium metal production outside China has fallen 1.1 million tons a year. Together, thats a two million ton decline in aluminium availability outside China."

(Reporting by Pratima Desai; editing by Alexander Smith)
Taissa Farmiga, left, and Morgan Spector, right, are shown in Mrs. Berwinds bedroom at The Elms in Newport in Season 3, Episode 2 of HBO's 'The Gilded Age.' (Photo by Karolina Wojtasik/HBO)

Weve all heard the word resilient tossed around when talking about strong economies. But in Rhode Island, its not just a buzzword, its a reality. Our tourism economy has bounced back from the COVID pandemic with impressive strength, and thats great news for local businesses, workers and taxpayers.

A new economic impact study by Tourism Economics reveals that a record 29.4 million visitors came to the Ocean State in 2024, a 3.5% increase over the previous year. These visitors spent a whopping $6 billion, generating a total economic impact of $8.8 billion and supporting 88,509 jobs. Thats not just resilience. Its Rhode Island showing off.

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This kind of economic activity ripples through every corner of our state. It supports restaurants, hotels, B&Bs, boutiques, hair salons, retail shops, tour operators and kayak rentals down by the cove. Its a rising tide that truly lifts all boats.

And lets not forget the hotel and meal taxes paid by these visitors. They help fund state and local budgets, giving Rhode Island taxpayers a bit of breathing room. Thats a win-win if ever there was one.

Despite challenges  like the loss of Canadian group tours to Newport this year  the tourism sector continues to thrive. At The Preservation Society of Newport County, weve seen this firsthand. In 2024, the Newport Mansions welcomed 871,683 visitors, up from 797,750 in 2023. And the first nine months of 2025? Even stronger than the same period in the previous two years.

Our niche, heritage tourism, is booming across the state. Travelers today arent just looking for beaches, stuffies and lobster rolls (though we have plenty of them). They want to connect with history, culture and stories that endure. A 2018 economic impact report put the value of heritage tourism in Rhode Island at nearly $1.4 billion. Thats proof: Preservation is good business, and good for Rhode Island.

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Preservation, it turns out, isnt just about saving old buildings. Its about investing in our economy, our identity and our future. Add in Rhode Islands compact size, natural beauty, endless charm and countless recreational opportunities on and off the water, and youve got a destination thats hard to beat.

But lets not get too comfortable. The success of our tourism industry didnt happen overnight. The Preservation Society was founded 80 years ago by a visionary group of women and men who saw the potential of heritage tourism and rolled up their sleeves to make it happen. It took decades of collaboration across the state to build tourism into the powerhouse it is today. And it will take continued effort to keep it thriving.

In 2024, the Newport Mansions welcomed 871,683 visitors, up from 797,750 in 2023. And the first nine months of 2025? Even stronger than the same period in the previous two years.

Recent policies like the film and television tax credits have helped showcase our states beauty to the world. Just look at HBOs The Gilded Age. When fans discover that some of their favorite scenes were filmed at the Newport Mansions, they pack their bags and head our way. Strengthening these credits is one way the General Assembly has supported this vital sector and will, we believe, continue to do so.

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Another thing we can do is reform the Historic Tax Credit program, as advocated by Preserve Rhode Island, Grow Smart Rhode Island and the Preservation Society. This program doesnt just preserve buildings, it creates housing. In fact, about 20% of all new housing in Rhode Island comes through this program, including 20% of affordable housing. Thats preservation with purpose.

Its also time to ask voters to approve a new historic preservation bond to fund grants through the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission. The last bond, in 2021, supported 18 projects in 12 towns and cities, including several at the Preservation Society.

Of course, tourism brings challenges. No place feels that more acutely than Newport, where traffic congestion, strained infrastructure and the soaring cost of housing are daily realities. But these arent unsolvable problems, they are calls to action.

We need smart investment in public transit and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure to ease congestion and reduce environmental impact. We need housing policies that prioritize affordability for the workers who make our tourism economy thrive. And we need state and local governments to reinvest a larger portion of tourism-generated revenue directly into the communities that host these millions of visitors.

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Lets treat tourism not just as an economic engine, but as an investment in our future by preserving our past. Because resilience isnt just about bouncing back, its about building forward, together.

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The brutal killing of Roman Novak, a Russian crypto millionaire, and his wife, Anna, has shocked both the crypto and international business communities. Their dismembered bodies were discovered in the desert near Hatta, southeast of Dubai, after they vanished following a supposed meeting with investors.

The crypto story of Roman Novak is one of wealth, deception, and revenge, a chilling reminder of how greed and betrayal can turn fatal in the world of digital fortunes.

Who Was Roman Novak? The Rise and Fall of a Crypto Tycoon.

Roman Novak was a Russian entrepreneur and crypto investor who built his reputation through ambitious crypto ventures. Presenting himself as a tech visionary with alleged ties to Telegram founder Pavel Durov, Novak founded Fintopio, a platform that claimed to revolutionize cross-border cryptocurrency transfers.

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His project attracted investors from Russia, China, and the Middle East, raising hundreds of millions in funding.

However, behind the polished image and luxury lifestyle lay a darker truth. Novak had a criminal record. In 2020, he was convicted in St. Petersburg for large-scale fraud and sentenced to six years in prison for defrauding investors of millions of dollars.

Released early in 2023, he moved to Dubai, where he resumed his crypto activities. Reports suggest he raised nearly $500M through Fintopio before accusations of another massive scam surfaced. Despite his wealth, Novaks reputation as a manipulative operator followed him, earning him powerful enemies within the global crypto scene.

DISCOVER: 10+ Next Crypto to 100X In 2025

The Murder: Desert Trap, Ransom Demand, and Brutal Execution

On October 2, 2025, Roman and his wife, Anna Novak, traveled to Hatta, near the UAE-Omani border, reportedly to meet new investors. Their driver dropped them off at a car park near a lake, where the couple switched cars and vanished.

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Investigators later discovered that the meeting was a trap. They had been lured to a rented villa under the guise of investment talks, where they were kidnapped, tortured, and held for ransom.

(Source)

The abductors demanded access to Romans crypto wallets, allegedly tied to funds stolen from previous investors. However, the wallets were empty. When Roman failed to deliver, the kidnappers murdered and dismembered both victims.

Their remains were found the next day, October 3, buried in the desert near Fujairah. Traces of Annas blood were discovered at the villa and in a rental car, alongside knives used in the crime. Surveillance and phone data revealed that the killers attempted to mislead authorities by leaving the victims phones active across Oman and South Africa. Still, the UAE and Russian investigations quickly uncovered the deception.

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Seven suspects have since been detained. Among them are Konstantin Shakht (53), a former homicide investigator turned drug smuggler, and Yuri Sharypov (46) and Vladimir Dalekin (45), both veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Authorities believe they were among the investors who organized the abduction to recover stolen funds. Five additional young Russians reportedly assisted with logistics, unaware of the murder plot.

According to Russian investigators, the killers had accomplices who rented cars and premises where the victims were held. After the murder, they disposed of the knives and personal belongings in different Emirates.

DISCOVER: 15+ Upcoming Coinbase Listings to Watch in 2025

Why Was Roman Novak Targeted?

The motive appears to be rooted in revenge and financial gain. Novaks reputation as a fraudster made him a target for those he allegedly deceived. Several suspects had lost substantial sums in his ventures, including businessmen from China and the Middle East, who believed they were financing legitimate crypto operations. When Novak refused (or was unable) to transfer the demanded funds, the meeting turned deadly.

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Reports from Russian outlet Fontanka indicate Novak messaged a contact saying he was stuck in the mountains near the Oman border and needed $200.000 just before being killed. The tragic irony: despite being labeled a crypto millionaire, Novaks wallets were likely drained, leaving nothing to ransom.

Their death has left two children orphaned, now under the care of relatives. The case continues to unfold as Russian and UAE authorities work together to trace financial flows linked to Novaks empire and uncover whether others ordered the hit.

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Read original story Who is Roman Novak? Why Was Crypto Millionaire and Wife Murdered in Desert? by Ivan Andonov at 99bitcoins.com
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto voted Sunday in support of a deal to end the 40-day government shutdown.

The Senate voted 60-40 to proceed to a House-passed continuing resolution to reopen the government, taking a big first step toward ending the shutdown after a group of centrist Democrats negotiated a funding deal with Senate Republican colleagues and the White House.

Rosen voted yes after previously not joining a handful of Democratic senators in supporting Republicans plan to reopen the government. She said expired health care tax credits were a sticking point and even clashed with Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo after he wrote a letter urging her to vote with other Democrats, including Cortez Masto, in reopening the federal government.

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Rosen, Lombardo clash over health care, food funding amid shutdown

Cortez Masto has voted with Republicans to reopen the government 15 times.

In a statement Sunday evening after voting in support of the deal, fully fund SNAP for a year, and secure a vote on extending the Affordable Care Acts tax credit, Rosen said:

For the last 40 days, Ive been fighting tooth and nail to hold President Trump and my Republican colleagues accountable and make sure Congress takes action to prevent a massive spike in health care costs for millions of hardworking families who will be financially devastated by these increases. Unfortunately, its become clear as we go deeper into the second month of this Republican government shutdown that President Trump and Washington Republicans are weaponizing their power in alarming ways to inflict unimaginable pain and suffering on working people, like fully withholding SNAP benefits and gutting our tourism industry by grinding air travel to a halt.

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Trump and his Republican cronies on Capitol Hill do not give a damn about hurting working people, and their conduct over the last month has been nothing short of appalling. The concession weve been able to extract to get closer to extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits is a vote on a bill drafted and negotiated by Senate Democrats. Let me be clear: I will keep fighting like hell to ensure we force Republicans to get this done. Nevadans and all Americans deserve access to affordable health care, and Senate Republicans need to work with us in a bipartisan way before the next deadline.

Cortez Masto also released a statement Sunday saying:

I have consistently voted against shutting down the government because I know the pain it is causing working families, from TSA agents to government contractors. We must extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits, but that cant come at the expense of the millions of Americans across our country impacted by a shutdown.

With the government open, we can focus on passing a full, bipartisan budget for 2026. That starts with a minibus that will restore funding President Trump cut, deliver millions of dollars in critical funding to Nevada, and block the Administration from future RIFs.

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We also have an opportunity now to put Republicans on the record on the ACA. If Republicans want to join us in lowering costs for working families, they have the chance to do so. And if they do not come to the table, they will own the premium increases they cause.

Republicans needed five Democratic votes to reopen the government. Eight Democrats voted to take up the House bill.

The proposal would fund military construction, veterans affairs, the Department of Agriculture and the legislative branch through Sept. 30 of 2026. It also includes a stopgap measure to fund the rest of the government through Jan. 30, 2026.

The compromise proposal includes language to retain more than 4,000 federal workers targeted for layoffs during the shutdown as well as language to prevent the Trump administration from firing additional federal workers through reductions in force (RIFs) for the length of the newly drafted continuing resolution  until Jan. 30.

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Senate votes to advance proposal to end 40-day government shutdown

As the roll call neared its end with enough Democratic votes to move forward, the vote was temporarily delayed as Texas Sen. John Cornyn had not yet arrived to cast the decisive 60th vote. Republican leaders held the vote open as Cornyn was expected to arrive shortly.

The bill still needs to pass the House, which hasnt voted since Sept. 19. It then needs to go President Trumps desk for a signature.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Russian oblasts have begun recruiting reservists on a large scale into units tasked with protecting critical infrastructure.

Source: Kommersant, a Russian media outlet

Quote: "This work is ongoing in 20-odd federal entities of the Russian Federation. For this period, reservists, engaged primarily to counter hostile drones, will receive the status of service personnel with all due benefits, including social guarantees and payments."

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Details: Kommersant reports that on 4 November, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin signed a law permitting reservists to be deployed for such purposes in both war and peace, although the formation of special reservist detachments began before the amendments took effect.

The authorities in Russia's Leningrad Oblast were among the first to announce the creation of a BARS-47 detachment at the end of October. The unit is intended to repel UAV attacks and thwart sabotage operations.

Recruitment of reservists to guard various critical facilities (oil, fuel and energy, petrochemical complexes and others) has also begun in Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. Important refineries and plants in these regions have repeatedly come under drone attack.

In the border Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk oblasts of Russia, BARS detachments were created back in 2024 under local authorities to perform similar tasks to protect strategic sites and infrastructure. Under the new reservist law, additional units are now planned in Bryansk and Kursk oblasts to operate alongside the existing detachments.

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It has been reported that reservists sign a standard contract stipulating they will be deployed only within their home region.

However, in the border oblasts, reservists will not be limited to guarding fuel and energy facilities and counter-UAV duties; they will also be required to confront reconnaissance and sabotage groups, assist with civilian evacuations and support the so-called "counter-terrorist operation regime".

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A marriage agency to find wives for single soldiers returning from war in Ukraine has been proposed by Russian officials.

Yulia Belekhova, head of the Committee on Families of Soldiers of the Fatherland, claimed Moscows fighters needed psychological rehabilitation after returning from the front lines.

She told volunteers and activists at the Patriots of the Urals forum on Sunday: After all, who is the first psychologist for someone returning from the front? His wife and his family.

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When a man has a good woman by his side, everything works out: rehabilitation, reintegration, finding a job, Ms Belekhova continued.

The Kremlin is reportedly concerned that a poorly managed reintegration of hundreds of thousands of demobilised soldiers could trigger unrest.

Artem Zhoga, Vladimir Putins envoy to Russias Ural Federal District and a military officer of Russias proxy separatist forces in Donetsk, called for lawmakers to develop a more detailed plan for the project, though he warned that it should be treated with care as love is a complicated matter.

Yulia Belekhova says Moscows troops need psychological rehabilitation once back from the front line

In recent months, so-called black widows who dupe Russian servicemen into marriage to secure death payouts have caused a public outcry. The payouts can amount to 20 times the average Russian salary.

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In May, lawmakers in the State Duma proposed to make military compensation a soldiers personal property, not subject to division with his spouse if the marriage was registered after Feb 24 2022, the date of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

The authors of the proposal said that it was in response to increasingly frequent cases of marriage among soldiers motivated not by creating a family and building long-term relationships, but by selfish goals of gaining access to significant cash payments, according to RIA, a state news outlet.

If the marriage agency comes to fruition, it will be the latest state-backed effort to pair off young Russians after Western dating apps Tinder, Bumble and Badoo left the Russian market.

For Love, a new dating app which has been called the Orthodox Tinder, was announced in July by Maria Lvova-Belova, Russias ombudswoman for childrens rights who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children.

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Creators said that the app, due to launch this year, arose from discussions about how to connect participants of youth events at Orthodox churches across Russia.

Vitaly Milonov, a State Duma deputy, suggested in May that Russian dating apps should be created based on the Orthodox Church.

In a brochure on its website, the For Love app targets those seeking partners who embody traditional values, including patriotism, service to the Fatherland and responsibility for its fate, historical memory and the unity of the peoples of Russia.

For Love was also promoted on a series of Orthodox and nationalist Telegram channels, including Pavel Ostrovsky, the celebrity blogger-priest, who boasts almost 250,000 followers on the app.

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Users told Verstka, the Russian independent investigative outlet, that the app is largely made up of military personnel who identify as Orthodox Christian, and that sexual subtext is banned.

Amid hundreds of thousands of war deaths and a mass exodus of young Russians seeking to dodge mobilisation, the Kremlin has intertwined its campaign to address the countrys demographic crisis with increasingly strident promotion of traditional values.

As part of a raft of measures aimed at countering low birth rate, the Russian government announced a ban on child-free propaganda in 2024 and introduced payments to schoolgirls who become pregnant.

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San Francisco police confirm a 10-year-old boy who went missing Monday morning has been found.

They had been searching for the boy in the Forest Hill neighborhood, where he had last been seen via security camera around 6:15 a.m. He was wearing red plaid pajamas.

SFPD says he was spotted six hours later on camera in another part of the city.

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO)  There are still questions around when South Dakota SNAP recipients will receive their full November benefits. They thought they would get those funds by Monday, but that has been put on pause after a Supreme Court ruling on Friday.

Amid the uncertainty, one Sioux Falls restaurant is helping feed people in need.

People were packed into Sanaas Gourmet Mediterranean for a Syrian brunch.

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We have yogurt cheese, we have pickled olives, a lot of unique dishes. You wont recognize them, but you have to taste them, owner Sanaa Abourezk said.

The meal was $20. All the proceeds will go to Feeding South Dakota.

Im getting a good deal for my contribution, customer Tom Pokela said.

DSS now pauses plan to distribute SNAP payments

We shouldnt allow any child in the United States to go hungry irrespective of their income status, political party, anything, Abourezk said.

This is not the first time Sanaa has held a fundraiser for people in need. Its something she picked up from her father.

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My dad was very generous. They always help people, and they say its karma. When you help somebody, somebody else helps your children. Child hunger is my issue, and it just breaks my heart knowing any child go hungry, Abourezk said.

And Sunday, a steady stream of people came out to support her latest mission.

Oh, its just great. It just shows a lot of people understand how good her food is, Pokela said.

Seeing this and seeing how Americans, we help each other. We stand by each other. We love each other. It doesnt matter the politics. Whatever they say, we like each other; we are good together. Thats what gives me hope, Abourezk said.

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A day to enjoy good food and give back.

Sanaas goal was to raise $5,000, and she says she raised over $10,000 Sunday.

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Recurring snow drought in the Tibetan Plateau poses a major threat to 1.5 billion people who rely on it for freshwater.

What's happening?

A study published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment found that warming global temperatures have caused premature melting and reduced snowfall in the region.

This creates a snow drought, which occurs when there is an unusually low amount of snowpack.

Snowpack is the layers of snow that accumulate and stay frozen throughout the winter. It creates a natural reservoir that is especially useful during warmer months. The melted ice provides crucial freshwater to communities.

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Climate-driven snow drought has become a major issue in the Tibetan Plateau, according to the study.

The plateau, known as the Asian Water Tower, feeds into 10 different river systems in the continent. These include the Yangtze, Indus, and Ganges. Scientists say that 1.5 billion people get their water supply from these sources.

Why is snow drought concerning?

As planet-warming pollution exacerbates extreme weather events such as snow drought, billions of people are impacted.

As snowpack depletes, vulnerable communities have less access to water. One study already predicted that 66% of the global population will not have enough access to clean water by 2100. It is critical to preserve our natural resources in order to ensure a safer, healthier future.

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Additionally, rapidly melting ice is expected to expand waterways downstream of the Tibetan Plateau by the end of the century. One study found that overflowing Tibetan lakes could flood around 500 communities if preventative measures aren't taken. This puts residents at risk of losing their homes in the coming decades.

What's being done about snow drought?

The first step in mitigating the issue of rising temperatures is to learn more about the shifting climate. That way, we can better understand the various ways we can curb heat-trapping pollution and reenergize our local ecosystems.

Scientists continue to search for ways to manage the impact of climate-driven snow drought and water scarcity. For example, as our freshwater reservoirs deplete, researchers have looked into ways to desalinate seawater to provide more access to clean water.

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Research scientists developing a climate record by studying aging layers of Antarctic ice discovered that the deepest layer of ice in the South Pole Basin contained trace amounts of sediment, according to the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (via Phys.org).

The scientists believe the presence of sediment is due to the ice gradually moving down a mountain range underneath the glaciers, picking up sediment that became deposited in the basin.

"We were not expecting this," said Duncan Young, a research scientist at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics. "We think that as the ice melted, the basal unit carried small amounts of material from the mountain range and left sediment behind."

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He further explained that it was likely a gradual process that happened over 14-30 million years.

What's happening?

Researchers have been studying climate change through the analysis of ice cores drilled from the Antarctic ice sheet for years. The chemicals and bubbles of air that the ice traps provide information about how the planet's climate has changed over time.

Similar to a tree's rings that show growth patterns over time, ice is frozen in chronological order.

Where the ground is rich with sediment, there is more geothermal heat, so the ice sheet melts at the base and forms lakes. These findings help researchers on the quest to find places with the oldest continuous ice, which can date back further than the current oldest sample, estimated at 800,000 years old.

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The further back the ice can be dated, the more scientists can learn about how the climate is changing over time and how we can slow the warming of the planet with our current actions.

Why is studying glaciers important?

Glacial melting has a significant impact on the environment. Rising sea levels are a risk to communities along the coast.

From home damage to complete destruction, to the decrease in property values and lack of access to affordable homeowner's insurance, the rising sea levels are bad news for homeowners. They can also lead to saltwater flowing into rivers and impacting freshwater ecology.

What's being done about the new information?

The research continues in hopes that by studying the past, we can create a better future. Young explained that "understanding how the heat flow varies at the base of the ice sheet and what the temperature is there is critical for finding places where the oldest continuous ice might be preserved."

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Rescue crews are working to find a miner trapped inside Alpha Metallurgical Resources' Rolling Thunder mine in Nicholas County, West Virginia, after water flooded the mine Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Leslie Rubin/WCHS)

A massive search operation is underway for a coal miner who was trapped after water flooded a Nicholas County, West Virginia mine over the weekend. Rescue crews continue to focus on removing the water as quickly as possible after diving teams made multiple rescue attempts.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey said all resources, including national experts, have been made available to rescue crews at the Alpha Metallurgical Resources Rolling Thunder mine.

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Weve been doing whatever we can. There is nothing that we would spare to try to save the life of the miner, Morrisey said during a news conference Monday.

A mining crew hit an unknown pocket of water Saturday about three-quarters of a mile into the mine near Drennen, Nicholas County Commissioner Garrett Cole said in a Facebook post.

All other miners involved were able to safely evacuate except for the one who is still unaccounted for, Cole said.

May Gods will be done, but it is our sincere prayer that it is to keep this miner safe and returned to his family, friends and coworkers, he posted.

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MetroNews reported that the flood happened after the seal to an old mine works gave way, but its unclear if that is where the water was backed up, leading to the flood.

Morrisey said there have been concerns with removing water at the same time as dive crews were searching in the mine, so the efforts on Monday were more focused on lowering the water levels.

This is a very serious situation dealing with not only the water, but what happens with the gas and the lack of oxygen in an area. And, we also want to make sure were protecting the safety of the  divers who are going down there, he said.

The governor said that he is working with a number of state and federal agencies as well as the National Cave Rescue Commission to access any available resource to help with the complicated rescue. Specially-trained rescuers are needed to perform the difficult search into the dark and flood mine.

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Ive personally been in touch with people around West Virginia and across the country in an effort to try to make sure, if theres anything humanly we can do to save the miners life, we want to do it, Morrisey said.

The United Mine Workers of America issued a statement about the situation in Nicholas County on Monday, saying, The coal mining family has suffered two incidents in the last week in West Virginia: a fatality in Tucker County and now a missing miner in Nicholas County. I have ordered our safety experts to the Rolling Thunder mine in Nicholas County to provide professional assistance to the teams working to find the missing miner.

The hearts and prayers of the entire United Mine Workers of America family go out to these miners and their families.  the statement continued.

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BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) -China's internet platforms are quietly reviving consumer lending, taking Beijing's push to make household borrowing cheaper as a signal that regulators may be easing a years-long crackdown on the sector, four industry sources said.

Beijing began reining in what it described as "disorderly expansion" by internet platforms in 2020 by pulling the IPO of Alibaba-affiliated Ant Group, followed by business restructuring orders and fines on Ant and others.

In August, however, needing to spur weak consumption while managing a trade dispute with Washington, China introduced consumer-loan interest subsidies, naming Ant and Tencent-backed WeBank alongside traditional banks as eligible lenders.

INTERNET PLATFORMS COME UP FOR AIR

Internet platforms read the move, and earlier high-level meetings between Chinese leaders and prominent private-sector bosses, as a green light to cautiously expand in consumer lending.

"The regulatory landscape has become more accommodative," said an industry source. "With the current economic situation being challenging, the economy needs to rely on large internet finance platforms."

"At this point, expansion is a strategic choice and no longer a regulatory constraint," said the source, echoing similar remarks from three others. All commented on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to media.

China's finance ministry and National Financial Regulatory Administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The central bank declined comment.

Analysts and industry executives say the more stable regulatory environment positions companies like Ant and financial arms of food delivery firm Meituan and TikTok-owner ByteDance, for faster growth and fatter margins, though they warn Beijing may tighten the noose again if defaults surge.

Ant Group, ByteDance, Meituan and Baidu also didn't respond to requests for comment. Tencent declined to comment.

UBS expects lending through online platforms to rise 7.6% in 2025 from last year to 5.4 trillion yuan ($758 billion), then grow at a 7.4% compound annual pace through 2029, up from 5.7% in 2020-2024.

The sector as a whole, which accounts for about a quarter of overall consumer lending, is expected to see profits surging 9.8% this year to about 110 billion yuan, UBS estimates.

Its head of Greater China financials equity research, May Yan, says the "dramatic tightening" in regulations appears to have ended, which bodes well for the industry.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan talks to demonstrators as hundreds of people protest the immigration policies of the Trump administration during and after a press conference with United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem at the The Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building Friday, Oct. 24, 2025. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist who twice campaigned for the Democratic nomination for president, announced Monday that he is endorsing Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan for Senate.

Minnesota has a real choice in this primary. We dont need more corporate Democrats in the Senate. We need Peggy Flanagan wholl fight for working people, Sanders said in a Monday press release.

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Flanagan is running against U.S. Rep. Angie Craig for the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat that will be vacated by Sen. Tina Smith, who is retiring, at the end of her term.

The Republican field is headlined by Royce White, who lost to Sen. Amy Klobuchar by 16 points in 2024.

Flanagan is running to the left of Craig, whose time in the House has been defined by her willingness to work across the aisle. Flanagan has already been endorsed by Massachusetts Democratic Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, who campaigned for Flanagan at the State Fair.

No one has fought harder to restore dignity and make life more affordable for working Americans than Bernie Sanders, Flanagan said in a press release.

The Democratic primary is Aug. 11.
Washington  Seven Democratic senators and one independent who caucuses with Democrats voted late Sunday to reopen the government and end the shutdown.

Three of them have consistently voted for Republicans' short-term funding patch  which passed the House in mid-September  to keep the government funded until Nov. 21 at current levels. The measure narrowly advanced in the Senate after it secured the support of five more Democrats with the expectation that it will be amended to extend funding until Jan. 30.

After more than a dozen votes on the bill with no progress in flipping the remaining handful of Democrats needed to advance the proposal, a bipartisan group of senators reached a deal that would guarantee a vote on expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits. A majority of Democrats opposed the deal because they felt a vote on the health care subsidies would be unlikely to pass in the GOP-led Senate and instead wanted something more concrete from Republicans.

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The deal also includes three full-year appropriations bills and would reverse layoffs made during the shutdown while preventing any cuts until the end of January.

Here are the Democrats who have voted to end the shutdown:

John Fetterman of Pennsylvania

Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, on Oct. 1, 2025 at the U.S. Capitol. / Credit: Kent Nishimura / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who has blamed his party for shutting down the government, has voted for the House-passed continuing resolution since the upper chamber's first vote on Sept. 19, when he was the sole Democrat to vote in favor.

He missed two votes on the House-passed measure in October, but otherwise has consistently voted in favor of the Republican plan and later the bipartisan deal reached in the Senate.

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Fetterman is up for reelection in 2028.

Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada speaks at a press conference with other Senate Democrats who voted to restore government funding, in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 9, 2025. / Credit: Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada defected from her party in the second vote on the House-passed measure on Sept. 30, one day before the government shut down.

She has voted to reopen the government in every vote since then, explaining that a shutdown harms her constituents and hands "even more power to this reckless administration."

In a statement Sunday after voting to advance the latest path forward, Cortez Masto called for an extension to the expiring Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits, but said "that can't come at the expense of the millions of Americans across our country impacted by a shutdown."

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Cortez Masto is up for reelection in 2028.

Angus King of Maine

Sen. Angus King of Maine speaks at a press conference with other Senate Democrats who voted to restore government funding, in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 9, 2025. / Credit: Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

Sen. Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, also split with the Democratic Party in the second vote and has voted to reopen the government in every vote since then.

King, who helped negotiate the Senate deal, which guarantees a vote on the Affordable Care Act subsidies, called the agreement "a win for the American people."

"The odds are that we have a better chance of doing something about the ACA, than we did not, going into this. At some point you have to decide, what is the best strategic step forward? And we believe that the evidence is that what we were doing wasn't working, and therefore let's try something else," he said Sunday night.

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King is not for up for reelection until 2030.

Dick Durbin of Illinois

Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 3, 2025. / Credit: Graeme Sloan / Bloomberg via Getty Images

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who is not running for reelection in 2026, was the only member of Senate Democratic leadership to vote on Sunday to advance the deal to end the shutdown.

Durbin said the measure "is not perfect, but it takes important steps" to reduce the pain inflicted on those affected by the shutdown. Durbin cited funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, also known as SNAP or food stamps, and the reversal of the Trump administration's mass firings ordered during the shutdown.

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Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire

Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire speaks during a press conference following a vote on Capitol Hill on Nov. 9, 2025 in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Anna Rose Layden / Getty Images

Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, who helped broker the bipartisan agreement, voted Sunday to advance the deal.

"At a time when families desperately need relief, Washington's dysfunction is making life harder for families, and the last 39 days are proof. A record-long government shutdown paired with record-high health insurance cost increases is not the kind of history that the American people want Congress to make," she told reporters.

Hassan said she's heard from constituents "who can't afford a doubling of their health insurance costs" and others "about the deep pain that the government shutdown has caused."

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Hassan is not up for reelection until 2030.

Tim Kaine of Virginia

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia speaks to reporters outside of the Senate Democrats' caucus lunch meeting in the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 6, 2025. / Credit: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who represents a large share of federal workers, also supported the bipartisan deal, which includes a provision to reverse government layoffs implemented by the Trump administration during the shutdown.

On Sunday, Kaine told reporters he joined negotiations "48 hours ago."

"This legislation will protect federal workers from baseless firings, reinstate those who have been wrongfully terminated during the shutdown, and ensure federal workers receive back pay, as required by a law I got passed in 2019," he said in a statement Sunday.

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Kaine is not up for reelection until 2030.

Jackie Rosen of Nevada

Sen. Jackie Rosen at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 8, 2025. / Credit: Allison Robbert/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Sen. Jackie Rosen of Nevada said in a statement Sunday that she was convinced to support the measure because "President Trump and Washington Republicans are weaponizing their power in alarming ways to inflict unimaginable pain and suffering on working people."

"Trump and his Republican cronies on Capitol Hill do not give a damn about hurting working people, and their conduct over the last month has been nothing short of appalling," she said. "The concession we've been able to extract to get closer to extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits is a vote on a bill drafted and negotiated by Senate Democrats. Let me be clear: I will keep fighting like hell to ensure we force Republicans to get this done."

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Rosen is not up for reelection until 2030.

Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire speaks at a press conference with other Senate Democrats who voted to restore government funding, in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 9, 2025. / Credit: Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, who is retiring next year and helped negotiate the framework to end the shutdown, said Sunday that "this was the only deal on the table."

"It was our best chance to reopen the government and immediately begin negotiations to extend the ACA tax credits that tens of millions of Americans rely on to keep costs down," she said.

How Senate Democrats and Republicans reached a deal that may end government shutdown

Eye Opener: Senate advances funding measure that could end government shutdown

"The Wounded Generation": Bearing the invisible scars of war
The government shutdown is one step closer to ending after the Senate passed a stopgap funding bill Nov. 9.

The measure passed in a a 60-40 vote. Voting on the funding extension fell mostly along party lines, with most Republicans voting yes and Democrats voting no.

The deal would reopen the government through Jan. 30, reverse federal layoffs and promises a future vote on expiring Obamacare subsidies, USA TODAY reported.

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Democrat Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin issued a statement Nov. 9 opposing the deal, saying it "fails to stop health care costs from skyrocketing" for Wisconsin residents who utilize health insurance from the Affordable Care Act.

Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, alongside several other Republican legislators, introduced the Shutdown Fairness Act Oct. 16 to ensure federal workers and armed forces are paid during shutdown periods.

Johnson also reversed his stance on eliminating the Senate filibuster Nov. 5 after President Donald Trump called for its end following a wave of Democratic election wins across the nation. "I'll help him sell it," Johnson told reporters, in response to Trump's idea.

The Senate is set to reconvene Nov. 10 for further votes, USA TODAY reported.

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So, how did Wisconsin senators Johnson and Baldwin vote? Here's what to know:

How did Wisconsin senators vote Nov. 9 to end the government shutdown?

The below graphic, created by USA TODAY, shows which senators on Nov. 9 voted yes or no to end the shutdown by extending federal funding.

For Wisconsin, Johnson, a Republican, voted yes while Baldwin, a Democrat, voted no.

More: Judge temporarily blocks Trump order to 'undo' FoodShare resumption in Wisconsin

Why did the government shut down?

Legislators have been at a stalemate over expiring healthcare funding and tax credits for the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as Obamacare, USA TODAY reported.

How long has the government been shut down?

The shutdown began Oct. 1 and is in day 40.

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It's the longest government shutdown in history.

How long will the government shutdown last?

The shutdown will end when Congress passes the measure and President Donald Trump signs an appropriations bill to fund currently shuttered departments and agencies.

It remains unclear how long this process will take. The last shutdown was in 2018, during Trump's first term, and lasted for 35 days.

George Petras, Ramon Padilla and Carlie Procell of USA TODAY contributed to this report.

More: Where things stand with FoodShare in Wisconsin and the government shutdown

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How have Wisconsin senators voted on ending 2025 government shutdown?




While eight Democratic U.S. senators voted Sunday night to possibly end the longest federal government shutdown ever, U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy oppose the compromise legislation that is expected to pass the Senate Monday and bring the House of Representatives back to Washington to finally break the deadlock later this week.

Blumenthal and Murphy said that Republican promises to address the issues of huge insurance rate increases for millions of families insured through the Affordable Care Act, one of the centers of Democratic opposition to the Republican budget that extends tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations, remains their focus.

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The deal to keep the government open through January passed 60-40 late Sunday night and would include the restoration of food stamp funding and support the back pay for furloughed government employees including the air traffic controllers who have been working without pay for more than 40 days, the Associated Press reported.

"My position has always been: no affordable healthcare, no deal," Blumenthal said in a late-night statement Sunday. "I am unwilling to accept a vague promise for a vote at an indefinite time on an indeterminate bill. Millions of Americans and tens of thousands in Connecticut are forced to make impossible choices right now about what health insurance they can afford. The urgency of this moment demands action now to reduce health insurance costs."

A few minutes earlier, after a crucial procedural vote that was also opposed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Murphy echoed similar opposition.

Murphy said that President Donald Trump "illegally" shut off food aid for children.

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"He is hurting people in order to enrich himself, destroy our democracy, and stay in power forever," Murphy said in a statement. "His actions over the past month confirm this. Bullies gain power when their misconduct succeeds in causing righteous people to yield in the face of their wrongdoing. That's why voting for Trump's continuing resolution - without any protection against his health care cuts or his growing illegality - is a mistake."

Democrats who voted with Senate Republicans include New Hampshire Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Hassan, Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen.

Murphy noted a national "blue wave" in voting last week as a rejection of Trump's policies.

"People know the government shutdown hurts," Murphy said. "But people also know that Americans will die when millions cannot afford health insurance next year because of Trump's massive premium hikes. I understand my colleagues' desire to fund the government. What Trump has put people through these last few weeks is abhorrent. Standing up to a tyrant who is willing to impose pain in order to compel loyalty or capitulation is hard. Especially for people of good heart who never want to see people suffer. But there is no path to saving our democracy that doesn't involve hard choices."

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Murphy warned that if GOP lawmakers do not adhere to their promise of reviewing the health care landscape, million of people may suffer "as their health care costs double - all to finance a giant tax cut for billionaires and corporations."

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the chair of the Appropriations Committee, said she was "relieved," according to the AP. "This shutdown has gone on far too long," she said. "And I also think it's highly significant that we'll have three year-long appropriations bills attached. Veterans Day is coming very soon, and it would be wonderful if we get the full-year Veterans Affairs bill signed into law."

About 24 million people, including more than 150,000 in Connecticut have health coverage through the ACA, which is called AccessHealthCT. The pending legislation guarantees a vote next month on extending the subsidies, the AP reported.

"The American people want us to stand and fight for health care," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

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The GOP majority in the House of Representatives would assure final passage of the continuing resolution without Democratic votes. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said his caucus will oppose the compromise. "We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits" Jeffries said, according to the AP. "Donald Trump and the Republican Party own the toxic mess they have created."

This article originally published at Why Connecticut's senators are voting against reopening the government.
Community Bridges, based in Concord, is one of 10 nonprofit area agencies in New Hampshire serving people with disabilities. The agencies "operate within the guidelines and regulations established by the Department of Health and Human Services." (Photo by Allegra Boverman/For the New Hampshire Bulletin)

This is the first in a three-part series on New Hampshires intellectual and developmental disability care system. Click here to access the full series. This story was updated to clarify the Lyme caregivers licensure; she was an LNA not an RN.

A VIDEO RECORDED at a Dunbarton care home for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in February 2019 captured caretakers pinning Lucas Houle to the ground and slapping him repeatedly. Amid his pain and fear, Houle made a tearful plea: I want to go home.

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Four months later, Christine Marie Bill was found dead after several hours in a hot, sealed car in Andover, according to the lawsuit filed in the wake of her death and a State Police incident report. Bill, due to her cognitive disabilities, had a history of leaving the house, and it was her caretakers job to check on her every 15 to 30 minutes.

In March 2023, a woman named Laurie Raymond, who has cerebral palsy and is nonverbal, was living at a residential facility in Lyme when she suffered second-degree burns to her abdomen, legs, and genital area. An employee caring for Raymond placed her under scalding water and then scrubbed the burns, resulting in a $45,000 medical bill, according to a malpractice lawsuit filed by the family.

DO YOU HAVE information or experience with New Hampshires intellectual and developmental disability system youd like to share?

The Bulletin would like to speak with you. Please email wskipworth@newhampshirebulletin.com or send an encrypted message via Signal to WillSkipworth.80.

While every story of abuse and neglect within New Hampshires intellectual and developmental disability care network is unique in the harm caused, collectively they point to the states systemic failures in oversight and accountability. Over the past several months, the Bulletin has learned about people like Houle, Bill, Raymond, and others through court filings, law enforcement documents, state records, and conversations with lawyers, advocates, and family members. Their stories are being reported for the first time here. Each individual tragedy is illustrative of the consequences of repeated breakdowns in care  care that is paid for and overseen by the state.

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According to state records obtained by the Bulletin, New Hampshire investigated 1,405 complaints of abuse, neglect, and exploitation committed against people with intellectual and developmental disabilities receiving state services from January 2023 through the first six months of 2025. Of those, 467 were deemed credible after a state investigation, according to the records. Some of those complaints include physical and sexual abuse. Eighteen of the complaints were withdrawn before the investigations were complete, and 28 complaints were ongoing investigations when the records were produced.

Additionally, state records show 119 people died in New Hampshires intellectual and developmental disability system from January 2023 through the first six months of 2025. Of those deaths, 79 were deemed anticipated by the state  state officials wouldnt answer the Bulletins questions about how they defined anticipated  and at least 22 were categorized under unknown cause of death.

BDSMortalityReportSept2022throughJune2025

This mortality report, obtained by the Bulletin through an open records request, details deaths within New Hampshires intellectual and developmental disability care system. The state declined to provide more documentation to add context to the nature of the deaths.

Holly Haines

Holly Haines, a Manchester attorney who represented the Bill family, said that case taught her a lot about New Hampshires disability care system.

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The state is hiring vendor private agencies, she said. The private agencies are hiring private people, and not training them or educating them adequately, and its ultimately the disabled individuals who are harmed.

There is more fingerpointing, she said, than taking responsibility.

I dont think the state knows whats actually going on in the households, Haines said. Im not sure the vendor agencies even are aware.

In a written statement issued in response to the Bulletins requests for an interview with Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Lori Weaver, among other state officials, for this investigation, DHHS spokesman Jake Leon said that the department cant comment on individual cases but has a process in place to review and investigate complaints made against providers and vendors licensed or certified through the Department.

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The office of Gov. Kelly Ayotte shared a similar statement: DHHS has a process in place to review and investigate complaints, and the Governor will be monitoring this issue closely.

Daily beatings

When Lucas Houle, who has intellectual and developmental disabilities, was pinned to the ground and slapped by his caretakers, he screamed, Please stop, please stop, dont beat me up.

Bikash Shrestha

The incident was captured in a video taken surreptitiously in February 2019 by an employee of Houles care agency and described in detail in a Dunbarton Police Department report obtained by the Bulletin. The video, according to the report, shows an obscured view of Houles live-in caretakers, Bikash Shrestha and Dilux Timsina, pinning Houle to the floor of their Dunbarton home while he cries. As the caretakers straddled Houle and repeatedly slapped him across the face, they advised each other on where and how to strike him in a way that wouldnt leave bruising.

The video, as described in the police report by an officer, shows a caretaker bending Houles finger backward as punishment for brandishing his middle finger, ostensibly what sparked the incident. Houle cries out, Please dont break my finger in response.

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Houle can be heard crying and screaming: I wont do it again, I wont do it again; Ill be good! Ill be good! I promise!; and No, no, no, please stop.

Dilux Timsina

At the end of the video, Shrestha tells Houle he isnt allowed to use a toilet and that he must urinate in the living room. Timsina tells Houle he must remain on the ground. Pitambar Thapa, who recorded the video, told police the two made Houle lie in his own urine for half an hour after the video ends.

Pitambar Thapa told police the physical, verbal, and psychological abuse continued on a daily basis for at least 10 months. He told police he was initially afraid to report the abuse and provide the video to authorities out of fear of retribution.

Houle, in his 40s when the abuse happened, has the mental capacity of a child. Hes been diagnosed with intellectual disability, ADHD, mood disorder, schizophrenia, intermittent explosive disorder, and other disabilities. He has behavioral issues as a result.

In the above graphic, excerpts from pages four and five of the Dunbarton Police Report detail the brutal abuse from the police officers perspective. (Graphics by Molly Rains/New Hampshire Bulletin)

He was living in and receiving care at a home operated by the care agency Summit New Hampshire at the time of the abuse. In New Hampshire, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are entitled to receive services through the Department of Health and Human Services Bureau of Developmental Services, which has contracts with 10 private area agencies, each responsible for a region of the state, to coordinate care. Those area agencies sometimes subcontract with other vendor agencies to provide that care. In Houles case, the area agency Community Bridges hired Summit to provide care and a Vermont-based organization called Aspire Living and Learning to provide behavioral support. The care is paid for through Medicaid and other state and federal dollars.

Uttam Thapa

Pitambar Thapa told police Houles two caretakers  along with a third named Uttam Thapa  would regularly hit Houle with an open hand, step on his calves, and strike him in the arch of his foot. He said the three would lie about their whereabouts, pretending to be in the community when they werent, police records indicate.

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Houles family sued Summit, Community Bridges, Aspire, and several officials at those organizations. The parties settled the case in July. In separate criminal cases, Shrestha and Timsina pleaded guilty to simple assault in 2020 and Uttam Thapa entered a special plea in which he accepted conviction for simple assault but didnt admit guilt. Shrestha and Timsina were sentenced to nine months in jail while Uttam Thapa was fined $500, according to court records. Pitambar Thapa was not charged.

Houle is now living with his mother.

Kristin Ross

Kristin Ross, an attorney representing (along with her law partner Cristina Rousseau) Houles family and speaking on their behalf, told the Bulletin when she first heard what happened to Houle, I was physically sick to my stomach.

It was incredibly difficult to listen to the video and audio and hear Lucas begging for them to stop, she said.

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There were plenty of red flags regarding Houles care that the state missed.

Community Bridges relationship with Summit was new when it hired the agency to care for Houle in 2018. Internal documents from Community Bridges made public during litigation show the formal vetting process for Summit wasnt completed until May 2019, months after Houle was placed in its care.

Also, the caretakers were required by state regulations and the service agreement to submit reports each month detailing their activities with Houle, what progress was being made on his behavioral and developmental goals, and any incidents that occurred. Many of those reports, which were also made public as part of the litigation, are verbatim, or near verbatim, copies of one another. The language appears to be copy and pasted (with the same typos) and small, very specific details repeated. The caretakers supervisors and Houles behavioral team were required to review those reports, but no one appears to have questioned why they never changed.

Progress Notes

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These progress reports, revealed during litigation, show Houles care team writing verbatim, or near verbatim, copies of notes that are supposed to document Houles progress on his goals.

Additionally, Matthew Green, an Aspire employee, was assigned to be Houles behavior analyst and was responsible for his care plan. Green told police he saw the video of Houle being abused, according to the police report. While he reported it to the Bureau of Adult and Aging Services, Green and his colleagues didnt remove Houle from his abusers until almost a month after he was made aware of the footage. Green, who was a defendant in the lawsuit but never criminally charged, didnt respond to the Bulletins requests for an interview or comment, though the July settlement barred him from speaking about the case.

Under the terms of the care plan, Green was required to spend an average of six hours each month observing Houles care team. But billing records revealed during litigation show he spent just 2.5 hours with Houle and his team in total over the roughly eight months between the day of the video and Houles removal from the home. The defendants argued during litigation more time spent with Houle wouldnt necessarily have increased the likelihood that someone wouldve discovered he was being abused and that Aspire may have failed to log all of Greens time spent observing. They also noted he could spend less time one month and more another if it all averaged out to six hours, but no evidence brought in court shows Green provided enough hours the other months to bring the average up.

When the parties in the lawsuit settled under undisclosed terms, they were barred from speaking about the case. The Bulletin reached out before and after the settlement, but Community Bridges and Aspire didnt respond to requests for comment, while Summit declined to comment. The Houle familys lawyers, Ross and Rousseau, spoke to the Bulletin before the settlement, but stopped commenting on the case afterward.

Overheating in a hot car

It was a July evening when Christine Marie Bill, 46, was found unresponsive in a hot car, the doors and windows closed, in the driveway of the Andover home where she lived, according to both the lawsuit and police records. Shed been there for roughly six hours and was pronounced dead at approximately 7:10 p.m. after EMS, State Police, and a medical examiner responded.

Christine Marie Bill was living in Andover at the time of her death. Although Bills family could not talk about her death due to a legal settlement, they did share this photo. (Courtesy of the Bill family)

Ten years earlier, an insulin overdose left Bill with a number of disabilities, including cognitive/memory deficit, brain dysfunction, and a seizure disorder; as a result, she had a history of leaving the house for unexplained reasons, according to the suit. Security footage from the home showed Bill leaving the house and walking toward the car that day herself unbeknownst to the caretakers, according to the police report. It was the caretakers job, as outlined in the care agreement, to check on Bill frequently. A wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family alleges they werent properly trained on what those check-ins entailed.

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For Bills care, Community Bridges contracted with Independent Services Network, which hired the caregivers. The care plan, created by the two organizations in collaboration with the Bill family, explicitly said, She cannot be left alone and requires 24/7 supervision in the home with eyes-on in the community as her safety skills are minimal, according to the suit.

The case was settled in 2023, with the defendants maintaining they werent negligent. The terms of the settlement are confidential and, according to Haines, the plaintiffs attorney, barred the parties from speaking about it. Neither Community Bridges nor Independent Services Network responded to the Bulletins requests for comment or an interview.

What was very clear, Haines, who couldnt comment on Bills case but did discuss the system at large, said, is just the complete lack of oversight that there is in the system itself. Just a complete systemic breakdown. Everyone is checking boxes to try to comply with administrative regulations, but no one is doing anything substantive.

The biggest part of this breakdown, she said, is the lack of change after tragedies to prevent future tragedies.

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Incidents are reported because they have to be reported, she said. But nothing is done to do any sort of root cause analysis or investigation and change to the system.  It really doesnt matter how many incident reports you file if no ones doing anything in response to them.

Burned by scalding water

Malpractice reports from January 2023 to March 2025, obtained by the Bulletin through records requests, reveal that claims of abuse, neglect, and exploitation are common. While state officials said they couldnt say which reports were substantiated upon further investigation, citing state statues, many involve reports of physical, verbal, sexual, psychological, and emotional abuse.

One complainant reported that a resident was kicked in the ribs and had her wrist broken by her aide. Another said the caretaker punched (the resident) in the eye and the jaw. Another said the caretaker grabbed her by the shirt pushed her and kicked her. In another, staff hit him in the face.

Staff were having sexual relations with those in their care, others reported. Multiple others described staff sexually assaulting residents or not preventing residents from sexually assaulting one another.

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Several claimed people who require 24-hour care and supervision for their disabilities were left unattended. There were reports of staff sleeping on the job, intoxication, and drug use. Some cited concerns about unsafe living quarters, including mold in the shower, exposed live wiring, lack of running water, roaches and rodents, and feces or urine on beds and furniture.

Raymond was the subject of one of the reports. Her family ultimately filed a lawsuit. In March 2023, Raymonds caretaker  a licensed nursing assistant from Mississippi hired by travel nursing agency TLC Nursing  allegedly put her under scalding water in the shower at her Lyme care facility, resulting in second-degree burns, according to a malpractice lawsuit filed by the family.

The caregiver, seemingly oblivious to the damage Raymond suffered to her abdomen, legs, and genital area, saw redness on Raymond and allegedly proceeded to scrub the burned areas clean. The caretaker reportedly noted that skin peeled off during the scrubbing, but still didnt realize she was scrubbing burn wounds, according to the lawsuit.

Three round burns, the size and shape of the showerhead, were discovered on Raymond by another caregiver, according to the suit. Raymond was subsequently taken to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, where she was reportedly treated in the burn unit, and incurred $45,000 in medical costs, per the lawsuit.

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The facility where Raymond lived was operated by the area agency PathWays of the River Valley. Like that of Houle and Bill, Raymonds care was overseen by the states Bureau of Developmental Services and paid for through state and federal dollars.

The familys lawsuit, filed in October 2024, named PathWays, TLC Nursing, and the woman who reportedly burned her as defendants. A settlement reached in March bars the family from speaking about the case. PathWays didnt respond to the Bulletins request for an interview or comment, though they were similarly barred from speaking after the settlement.

Coming Wednesday in A System of Harm, Part II: In December 2022, the body of Stevie Weidlich Jr. was found in the woods of the Allenstown house where he was being cared for. His family remembers a once-joyful young man who hoped to one day have a place of his own, a girlfriend, and, above all, a normal life. But those dreams were dashed within a disability care system that was supposed to keep him safe.
Hotel supplies provider GCSTIMES has entered into a strategic partnership with SGS at the 8th China International Import Expo as part of efforts to support carbon reduction initiatives.

During the signing, SGS provided GCSTIMES with the ISO 14064 Greenhouse Gas Verification Statement and the ISO 14068-1 Carbon Neutrality Verification Statement.

SGS is a company involved in testing, inspection, and certification.

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This is the first time SGS China has issued an ISO 14068-1 verification statement within the hotel supply industry.

The agreement aims to promote joint action towards lowering carbon emissions across all stages of the hotel value chain.

GCSTIMES, established in 2011, provides products and services to hotels through operational centres in several global locations, serving clients across 141 countries and regions.

The companys network includes 14 subsidiaries and offices worldwide, supplying over 100,000 hotels.

GCSTIMES said it introduced an industry-specific keycard that complies with ISO 14068 standards on low-carbon practices for hotels.

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SGS and GCSTIMES have already made progress, with GCSTIMES implementing a closed-loop carbon management system, which covers carbon accounting, emissions reduction measures and third-party verification.

The system is designed to manage emissions across both company operations and product lifecycles and is intended as a model for broader adoption within hospitality.

Both companies plan to build on this initial milestone by deepening their collaboration.

They intend to integrate available resources and expertise to advance carbon management practices, develop environmentally responsible supply chains, seek more international certifications, and support sustainable innovation within the sector.

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In a LinkedIn post, GCSTIMES said: Together with SGS, we will continue advancing carbon management, green supply chains, international certifications and sustainable innovation.

"SGS, GCSTIMES advance sustainability in hotel supply sector" was originally created and published by Hotel Management Network, a GlobalData owned brand.




PARIS  More than 50,000 people have visited Shein at the BHV during the first five days since it opened there, according to Frederic Merlin, chief executive officer of the department stores parent company Societe des Grands Magasins in an Instagram post Sunday night.

The location marked the opening of the Chinese ultra-fast-fashion giants first brick-and-mortar store anywhere in the world.

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A real whirlwind of faces, laughter and curiosity, he wrote, adding the average basket had been 45 euros. He said nearly 15 percent of buyers at Shein then went on to purchase in other departments of the BHV.

Today, Shein has a face, Merlin continued. They are no longer numbers but people. Real, curious and caring customers. And this is undoubtedly what makes criticism more difficult. Attacking Shein is attacking these faces. Will some politicians realize this?

The executive then made reference to Emile Zola, the writer who focused on department stores as a place of emancipation and dreams, Merlin wrote. The BHV remains faithful to this spirit: open, accessible, deeply human commerce.

He called the BHV the store of Parisians, that of everyday life, of concrete things, of real life.

People demonstrating against Shein outside the BHV department store in Paris on Nov. 5, 2025.

Online, 80 percent of Sheins clients are women, but in store, since its opening on Wednesday, families, couples and friends all shopping together, according to Merlin.

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This is why we are going to expand the capsule with a more complete mens offering, a childrens area, a wider range of dresses and more accessible basics to suit all lifestyles, he wrote.

Sheins opening  and the run-up to that  lit a firestorm in France. The retailer has faced fallout from childlike sex dolls and weapons that were for sale on its website in the country prior to the brick-and-mortar debut, as well as its ultra-fast-fashion business model, which many view as disrespectful of the environment and workers conditions, among other issues.

Police, protesters and a line stretched down the block on the day Shein debuted.

The French government moved to temporarily suspend Sheins online platform following the sex doll and weapon controversy, but on Friday it halted suspension proceedings after those products were removed from the platform. Shein also suspended its marketplace of third-party vendors, where such products were available.

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However, Shein remains under close surveillance in France, and numerous legal proceedings remain ongoing.

An update on the situation has been requested by Frances Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, who on Friday asked the Paris judicial court to stop the serious damage to public order caused by Sheins repeated failures, according to a press release.

The government also lodged a request with the European Commission for an investigation into Shein, and started four investigations that are now underway in the minors office.

The government said that on Thursday a large-scale strike operation was kicked off at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport to check Shein packages. That is ongoing, and the government said all cases of detected fraud will lead to sanctions.

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As previously reported, on Nov. 4, French department store Galeries Lafayette said it is ending its affiliation with Societe des Grands Magasins following public backlash over SGMs decision to open boutiques for Shein inside its stores. Sheins arrival has triggered a brand exodus from the BHV, with labels Agnes B., A.P.C., Figaret and Rivedroite leaving.

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Approximately 460,000 New Mexico residents rely on the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. (Stock photo by hapabapa/Getty Images)

As New Mexicans, we know what it means to take care of each other. When our neighbors are struggling, we help them. Thats why our state leaders stepped in to make sure families could still get food during the appalling and unprecedented suspension of SNAP food benefits. And thats why the Trump administrations choice to block SNAP during a government shutdown, despite having the emergency funds, struck such a deep nerveits not just cruel, its unnecessary.

When the shutdown ends, many federal workers and families will finally get some relief. But that relief wont last long. The truth is: even after the government reopens, the cuts to food and healthcare programs will keep coming, and they are about to get worse.

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Buried in the details of H.R. 1  the federal budget bill pushed by House Republicans  are huge cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, and marketplace health insurance. These cuts will hurt hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans, ripping away support that keeps our families stable and healthy. These are not temporary disruptions caused by a funding gap  these are long-term structural changes designed to take away food and healthcare from our families.

New Mexicos federal lawmakers arent staying quiet. Senators Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan, along with Representatives Melanie Stansbury, Teresa Leger Fernandez, and Gabe Vasquez are fighting to protect food assistance and healthcare, and rural clinics that are lifelines in our communities.

In New Mexico, weve seen what works. When families have access to healthy food, healthcare, and stable housing, our whole state is stronger. Weve made progress in recent years: expanding child hunger programs, improving access to affordable healthcare, and creating state initiatives that keep working parents on their feet. That progress is now under direct threat from Washington DC.

As our lawmakers prepare for the upcoming 30 day legislative session, protecting that progress must come first. Lawmakers must continue the important work that began in Octobers special session: building state-level solutions to shield New Mexico families from the harshest effects of H.R. 1s cuts. That means investing in our state food assistance programs, protecting healthcare coverage, making sure rural hospitals and clinics are funded, and ensuring no child in New Mexico goes hungry.

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We dont have to accept a future where federal politics decide who in our communities eats, who gets medical care, or who is left behind. The values that define New Mexico  community, resilience, and compassion  are stronger than any budget cut.

The shutdown will end. But our responsibility to one another will not.
Target has seen a meaningful drop in sales.

Many have blamed that on the retailer's political stances.

Its actual problem is much more basic.

Back when I served as general manager for a large toy store, I often spent the weekends interacting with customers. Many of them were regulars and I welcomed them back, perhaps asking them a question or maybe sharing a new item I knew they would want to see.

New customers were greeted with an offer of a tour of our very large store. There was no sales pitch; the goal was simply to make people feel welcome so they would enjoy visiting us.

During the holiday season, we would do over $100,000 in sales on many days, and the lines could back up. To help with that, we opened a second register, and when people paid cash, I would do the transaction on paper and enter it into the register later.

If things got really bad, we might start handing out free coffee, popcorn, ice cream bars or whatever else we had. It wasnt about selling more stuff that day. Instead, the goal was to make sure the experience in our store was always pleasant.

We could not always stop lines from forming, but we were always visibly trying to deliver the best experience possible, and thats what made people come back when it wasnt a traditional gift-giving season.

Target no longer does that. The chain, which is laying off workers at the corporate level, having just changed its CEO, seems to be searching for answers as to why sales are down, and its missing the obvious.

Target has a checkout problem

I used to be a Target regular, someone who just walked around the store looking at stuff. Maybe I'd buy something, or maybe I'd get a coffee at Starbucks, but I liked being at the retailer, and buying stuff was easy enough when I wanted or had to.

That's no longer the case. On my last few visits, across multiple locations, lines back up for 10-15 minutes, and the self-checkout machines allow only a limited number of items and seem to require a manager's intervention for at least a quarter of the transactions.

The chain won't say that it has fewer checkout lines open, but it has clearly degraded the shopping experience.

It's easy to blame Target's falling sales numbers on woke boycotts and core customers being angry about caving in to President Donald Trump on DEI issues.

The reality is that most people do what's convenient for them, and boycotts almost never work. If Target had a better shopping experience than Walmart or Amazon, then people would shop there.

It no longer does, and both its chief rivals often beat it on price.
If you're one of the millions of Americans enrolled in Affordable Care Act health insurance plans  frequently called "Obamacare"  you're likely facing the prospect of sharply higher expenses next year with no guaranteed relief in sight.

A bipartisan deal to end a monthlong government shutdown doesn't change that. The agreement to reopen the government pushes a decision on ACA affordability to December. That's when Congress will decide whether to extend COVID-19 pandemic-era tax credits that make ACA plans more affordable. If the credits aren't extended, they'll expire at the end of 2025.

Though the change doesn't directly affect the pocketbooks of most working-age Americans who get health insurance through their employers, the uncertainty and concerns about affordability will likely prompt some cost-conscious and healthier consumers to drop ACA coverage, experts said.

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"Unfortunately, this deal is going to prolong uncertainty for millions of Americans who get their insurance through Affordable Care Act," said Sabrina Corlette, co-director of Georgetown University's Center on Health Insurance Reforms. "Congress is almost guaranteeing that the marketplaces will lose enrollment of people that you want to keep  the young and healthy folks."

Who does this affect?

KFF estimated 22 million Americans who get Obamacare tax credits will see their monthly premium payments more than double on average. That doesn't mean the price tag of these ACA plans is doubling, but without the add-on subsidies, consumers will pay an average of $1,016 more in 2026. The final amount consumers will pay depends on their age, income, location and coverage level.

Why are consumers facing more expensive Affordable Care Act health insurance?

If Congress approves the bipartisan deal, the insurance tax credits will revert to the original levels of the ACA. Under President Barack Obama's signature 2010 health care law, cost-saving tax credits were limited to those who earn up to four times the federal poverty level.

Congress temporarily approved more generous subsidies during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure more Americans could afford health coverage.

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With the pandemic-era subsidies ending, those who earn more than four times the federal poverty level must pay the full cost of their ACA plans. Lower-income Americans will still qualify for the Obama-era subsidies, but they won't get the COVID-19-era subsidies that sharply reduced their out-of-pocket costs.

How much will insurance costs increase for ACA enrollees?

Health insurance companies typically raise rates based on the underlying cost of medical care and how often consumers get care from a doctor, hospital, or fill prescriptions.

Insurers who sell plans on the ACA federal and state marketplaces are raising rates an average of 26% for 2026 plans, according to an analysis by KFF, a health policy nonprofit.

But the amount most ACA consumers pay out of pocket will increase at a faster rate with the pandemic subsidies expiring.

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Those who earn more than four times the federal poverty level  $62,600 for an individual or $128,600 for a family of four  will have to pay the full amount. Those who earn less than four times the poverty level will get less financial help. In other words, they will get the original Obama-era subsidies based on a sliding scale share of their income.

Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) Dick Durbin (D-IL) Maggie Hassan, (D-NH) John Fetterman (D-PA) Tim Kaine (D-VA) Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Sen. Angus King (I-ME) Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) 8 Senate Democratic Caucus members who broke ranks to end the 2025 government shutdown 1 of 8 Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)

What will happen to consumers who will be asked to pay more?

Consumers will have the option of switching to Obamacare plans that provide less generous benefits. An enrollee in a "silver" plan might choose a bronze plan that charges a lower monthly premium but higher deductibles  the amount consumers must pay before coverage kicks in.

As many as 4.2 million Americans would drop ACA coverage due to the expiration of the pandemic-era credits, according to a June estimate by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Yet if the pandemic-era subsidies are extended, more than 3.4 million Americans would gain coverage each year through 2034, the CBO said.

Entrepreneurs who don't have access to employer health insurance are among those who would suffer if the pandemic tax credits expire, according to the nonprofit Small Business Majority.

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An agreement that would reopen the federal government without renewing the Affordable Care Acts enhanced premium tax credits deals a huge blow to the fortunes of small businesses in America," said John Arensmeyer, the small business group's founder and CEO.

Others who might face higher insurance bills include farmers and gig economy workers who don't get coverage through the workplace, Corlette said.

Without the pandemic-era subsidies, ACA health insurers could face the prospect of serving a larger share of high-cost enrollees, Corlette said.

"We could be in for a stretch where insurance companies have to raise their premiums again to reflect a smaller and sicker market," Corlette said. "So 2027 premiums are likely to be even higher, and some insurance companies may decide this is not a market they want to continue being in."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shutdown poised to end without ACA health insurance deal
Eight Democrats joined Republicans in voting to re-open the government on Sunday, Nov. 9, marking the first step toward ending the ongoing shutdown  which is the longest in U.S. history at 41 days.

Final votes are still needed in the Senate and House before the government re-opens, according to USA TODAY. The Senate is set to reconvene at 11 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 10. But because senators changed the temporary funding measure that the House sent them to extend funding to Jan. 30, the Senate must finalize their vote before the House votes again. Then the bill will be sent to President Donald Trump.

Is the 2025 government shutdown over?

The deal, which the Senate voted 60-40 to advance, includes reopening the government through Jan. 30, reversing federal worker layoffs and a promised vote in December on expiring Obamacare subsidies.

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The bill, however, would not guarantee the extension of the subsidies  which Democrats have demanded for weeks. The eight Democrats and Independents are facing widespread criticism from within their party for giving in on one of their long-touted principles  which similarly happened in March during a potential funding standoff that didn't ultimately result in a government shutdown.

How did Kentucky senators Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell vote on the government shutdown?

Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, voted against the funding extension, according to the U.S. Senate website, and Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, voted yes.

Paul has consistently voted against the bill and he is the only Republican senator to do so since the beginning. McConnell has consistently voted yes, but the Kentuckian did not vote on Oct. 14.

Which Democrats voted to re-open government?

The following senators joined Republicans in their vote to re-open the government:

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Catherine Cortez Masto, D-NV

Dick Durbin, D-IL

John Fetterman, D-PA

Maggie Hassan, D-NH

Tim Kaine, D-VA

Angus King, I-ME

Jacky Rosen, D-NV

Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH

Tell us what you think. Submit your letter to the editor.

USA TODAY Network reporters Joey Garrison, Bart Jansen and Hannah Hudnall contributed. Reach Marina Johnson at Marina.Johnson@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Government shutdown 2025: Is it over? Senate takes first step to end shutdown
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek speaks at a ceremonial bill signing on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. (Photo by Ben Botkin/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Gov. Tina Kotek on Friday signed Oregons long-awaited transportation bill into law, setting the stage for opponents to begin collecting signatures for a referendum effort to overturn it.

After Democrats in the Oregon Legislature secured enough votes to pass the transportation bill in a special session that ended in late September, Kotek had 30 working days, or until Nov. 12, to sign it into law. By using almost all 30 days to sign it, Republican opponents have less time to gather the signatures to qualify for a referendum on the November 2026 ballot. If they are successful at gathering enough signatures, a referendum would give Oregon voters the opportunity to reject or approve the new law.

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State Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Stayton, Sen. Bruce Starr, R-Dundee and Taxpayer Association of Oregon Director Jason Williams  the chief petitioners behind the No Tax Oregon referendum effort  submitted paperwork to the Oregon Secretary of State Monday morning to begin collecting signatures. The secretary must review and approve the referendum forms before they can officially start.

Rep. Ed Diehl, R-Stayton, at the Oregon State Capitol on Feb. 12, 2024. (Photo by Jordan Gale/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

We feel pretty confident that by the end of this week, we will be good to go, Diehl told the Capital Chronicle.

Petitioners have 90 calendar days from the Legislatures adjournment to gather 78,116 signatures, which was 4% of the total ballots cast in the most recent gubernatorial election. This means they have until Dec. 30 to submit all the signatures.

The transportation law is expected to raise about $4.3 billion over the next 10 years for road maintenance and operations by:

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Raising the gas tax by six cents.

Increasing annual registration fees from $43 to $85 for passenger vehicles; $63 to $105 for utility vehicles, light trailers, low-speed vehicles and medium-speed electric vehicles; and $44 to $86 for mopeds and motorcycles, beginning Dec. 31.

Increasing title fees for passenger vehicles from $77 to $216, beginning Dec. 31.

Doubling the payroll tax used to fund public transit from 0.1% to 0.2% of a paycheck until January 2028. For the average Oregonian making $68,000 a year, that means paying $136 a year for this tax, or $11.20 a month.

The referendum effort seeks to reject those four components of the law.

Kotek said she is grateful to the broad coalition of cities, counties, transportation workers, truckers and the American Automobile Association for supporting the legislation.

This bill will help us keep state highways and local roads safe and open to traffic while preserving transit service and halting the pending layoffs of essential transportation staff, Kotek said in a statement.

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Starr criticized Kotek for taking a month to sign the transportation funding bill, saying she used a delay tactic that undermines public trust.

At every turn, (Kotek) chose to protect a broken status quo that raises costs on struggling families while failing to fix the structural problems that created this crisis, Starr said in a statement. But Oregonians will not be silenced, and their voices will not be ignored. They will have the opportunity to weigh in, hold their leaders accountable and demand a transportation system that works for the people who pay for it.

The chief petitioners formed a political committee for the referendum on Oct. 2, but on Nov. 4 discontinued the committee because it was filed incorrectly and risked facing penalties, Oregon Secretary of State spokesperson Tess Seger said. Diehl said he and the chief petitioners are reforming the committee.

The Street Trust Executive Director Sarah Iannarone said her organization, an Oregon transportation advocacy nonprofit, opposes the referendum effort.

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This referendum is not about protecting Oregon taxpayers, she told the Capital Chronicle. It is about defunding safety for kids walking to school, dismantling transit service, and blocking the modernization Oregon urgently needs. Whether or not it succeeds, it underscores the unfinished work of our state leaders. Will Oregon keep relying on temporary, stopgap measures, or will we finally ensure safe, reliable, and equitable transportation access for all who use our streets?

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This past week, Sikhs around the world celebrated the 556th birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first Sikh Guru.

He was a spiritual leader and philosopher from India whose teachings founded Sikhism.

He was actually very revolutionary for his time. He was born in 1469, kind of dark times in India, at the north of India. But his message was of hope and unity, said Jay Kang, member of Erie Gurdwara Sikh cultural society.

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Born in the 15th century, Guru Nanak was a philosopher who believed that there is one God who is present within everyone.

Erie Crawford Central Labor Council hosts 9th annual Veterans Day breakfast

He taught three pillars to live by:

Naam Japna  Keep the divine in your heart and daily awareness

Kirat Kiro  Earn an honest living through sincerity and hard work

Vand Chakna  Share with others, especially those in need

Members of the Erie Gurdwara Sikh cultural society celebrated Guru Nanak all weekend long, starting on Friday and concluding on Sunday.

Jay Kang told us that they had a prayer service called Akhand Path in which they read their holy book, Guru Granth Sahib, from cover to cover in a continuous fashion.

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Discover deals and community spirit at Eries Gem City Flea Market

Members of the community from all backgrounds were invited and even offered food.

The president of Eries Sihk Temple said that feeding the community is something that they do every Sunday and told us that everyone is always invited.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com.
A hotel worker in Fargo, North Dakota, was filmed using a bubbling hot tub to treat stained bed sheets. The viral clip, recorded at Expressway Suites, shows an employee tossing piles of linens into the spa water.

When confronted, staff claimed its an occasional method for removing tough stains, but the internet wasnt buying it.

As the footage went viral online, some swore off travel altogether.

When a hot tub doubles as a washing machine

"At first, I thought maybe the hot tub was down, the drain was broken, they were trying to soak up the water, but then he started adding more in there and I was like, what is going on?" video-grabber Alex Kenmille explained to a local news outlet.

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"Are we sleeping on those sheets?" she wondered. "I was really disgusted."

Valley News Live managed to contact another worker at the hotel, who revealed not only why this happened, but that it's a normal practice for the hotel.

"The sheets are put into the hot tub and it gets out tiny little stains, then the hot tub is drained," said the unnamed employee. "It is really heavily cleaned by a huge deep cleaner."

They further claimed that they wash the sheets first. Management later said that using the hot tub like this is a last resort that they do not intend patrons to witness. Typically, they close the pool area and then dump the sheets into the hot tub.

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Managers then assured reporters that they're checking with the city on whether this practice violates health codes. You know, now that someone's caught them in the act and everyone is freaking out.

"I travel with my own linen"

Considering the reputation of hotel sheets and hot tubs, the online reactions ranged from appalled to horrified. Those who know anything about those hot tubs in particular warned others not to use them, regardless of sheet-stain removal policies.

"I used to work for a pool company. NEVER, EVER USE A COMMERCIAL HOTTUB!" said @tammynorth239.

Others had some unfortunate claims about how those sheets get clean.

"Back in the '90s, I spent a day at a factory in downtown Atlanta where all the big hotels send their linen to be 'washed,'" wrote @SandraRose. "I promise you, hotel linens are not washed in soap and water. They're dipped in a pink chemical and then dried. To this day I travel with my own linen."

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Stories like these end up hurting the entire hotel industry as people vow to avoid them all forever.

"Imagine how many more hotels owners are doing this," @banedfromtiktok pointed out. "There is no way this is the only 'hotel' doing this."

"Among the many reasons I chose to curtail my concert touring was the increasing sense of disgust I felt when slipping into a hotel bed," claimed @AaronBoyd123.

The internet is chaoticbut well break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dots newsletter here.

This story was originally featured on The Daily Dot.
A small turboprop plane on a hurricane relief mission to Jamaica crashed Monday morning into a pond in a gated residential neighborhood of the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Coral Springs, killing two people shortly after takeoff and narrowly missing homes, authorities and a local resident said.

The Coral Springs Police Department confirmed the deaths in a statement Monday afternoon. But police did not provide further details about the occupants of the plane and did not immediately return messages seeking more details.

Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department Deputy Chief Mike Moser said emergency crews responded within minutes of a call reporting the crash. Initially, no victims were located during rescue efforts and they shifted to a recovery operation. Moser said no homes were damaged, but crews spotted some debris near the retention pond. Local aerial televised footage showed a broken fence in the backyard of one home bordering the pond where the plane went down.

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There was no actual plane to be seen, Moser said. They followed the debris trail to the water. We had divers that entered the water and tried to search for any victims and didnt find any.

Kenneth DeTrolio told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that he and his wife were in their home when the plane crashed through their backyard, destroying his fence and toppling palm trees before hitting the water. He said the impact left debris scattered across his yard and that his pool and back porch were contaminated with spilled fuel.

The fuel smell was so strong inside his home that it took a few hours to dissipate, he added.

We heard the strangest sound. I never heard anything like it before, and apparently that was when this plane must have flown between my home and my neighbors house, DeTrolio told the newspaper.

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Officials cautioned residents that police would maintain a significant presence in the area throughout Monday and Tuesday as investigators continue collecting evidence.

Broward County, where the plane took off from and where the crash occurred, is home to a vibrant Caribbean American community that sprang into action to collect relief supplies following Hurricane Melissa. A powerful Category 5 hurricane, Melissa slammed into Jamaica late last month, leaving a path of destruction.

Moser said police would take over recovery efforts, and federal aviation officials would investigate the cause of the crash.

The small Beechcraft King Air plane took off from the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport at approximately 10:14 a.m., according to a spokesperson for the City of Fort Lauderdale, which owns and operates the airport. The crash occurred soon after takeoff, with Coral Springs police officers and firemen responding at 10:19 a.m., just five minutes later.

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According to Federal Aviation Administration records, the plane was manufactured in 1976. King Air models can seat between seven and 12 people, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

Federal records showed the registered owner of the plane is listed as International Air Services, a company that markets itself as specializing in providing trust agreements to non-U.S. citizens that enable them to register their aircraft with the FAA. A person who answered the companys phone Monday afternoon declined to answer questions from a reporter, stating no comment and ending the phone call.

The flight tracking website FlightAware shows the plane made four other trips to or from Jamaica in the past week, traveling between George Town in the Cayman Islands and Montego Bay and Negril in Jamaica, before landing in Fort Lauderdale on Friday. It was not immediately clear who was organizing the trips.

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Oct. 28, tied for the strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricane in history. The storm also caused devastation in Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic and prompted relief organizations to mobilize.

Local government officials in Jamaica said in the days after the storm that Melissa had ripped the roofs off 120,000 structures, affecting some 90,000 families in the islands especially hard-hit western region. A week after Melissa's landfall in Jamaica, more than 2,000 people were still reported to be in shelters.
Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins presides over his chamber on June 18, 2024. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins failed his big test for President Donald Trump on Tuesday. He couldnt persuade two-thirds of his fellow Republicans to call a special session to gerrymander Kansas congressional seats. I suspect Hawkins knew how ineffectual he looked (I poked some fun along those lines), and he sure didnt seem amused by his colleagues intransigence.

So the time has come for payback.

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The hammer fell Friday. Hawkins purged holdouts from committee leadership roles. As Kansas Reflector reported, he removed as chairmen GOP Reps. Steven Howe of Salina, Nathan Butler of Junction City and Jesse Borjon of Topeka. Hawkins also removed Rep. Clarke Sanders of Salina and Rep. Leah Howell of Derby from vice chair positions. Further action appears likely, as these changes affect only half of the GOP representatives who refused to support the special session.

Hawkins likely felt he didnt have any choice. After Senate President Ty Masterson easily reached the two-thirds mark in his chamber, Hawkins had to play the disciplinarian in the House.

But I cant imagine the move helps him politically, or makes redistricting any more likely in the 2026 session.

Think about it. Hawkins will leave the House after next session. Hes running for state insurance commissioner and has a strong shot at the office. Hes therefore heading into January as a lame duck. Those he strips of chairmanships or committee seats just need to wait until Hawkins leaves the chamber. What do they have to fear from him?

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In the meantime, why would any Republican publicly humiliated in such a way decide to support gerrymandering now? Surely the smarter move, if Hawkins believed the votes were there in his conference, would be to wait until the regular session and use his power then. Either the speaker allowed his temper to get the better of him or  as I suspect  he knows the votes arent there to split Johnson County into multiple districts.

Let me also suggest this: Among the 87 other Kansas House Republicans, at least one or two have wondered if they might make a better speaker than Hawkins.

Weve seen what happens when Hawkins faces challenges before. He pitched a fit when Lawrence Democrat Dennis Boog Highberger contemplated a symbolic run for speaker. But with Hawkins on the way out, perhaps an ambitious Republican member sees a chance for advancement.

Im just asking questions here!

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Finally, the entire situation highlights a Hawkins tendency to mislead the public.

On Tuesday, when he gave up efforts to call the special session, the House speaker stated the following via news release: Planning a Special Session is always going to be an uphill battle with multiple agendas, scheduling conflicts, and many other unseen factors at play.

Three days later, in his Majority Record newsletter, Hawkins was singing a different tune. There, he wrote: Unfortunately, only 78 of 88 Republican House members signed the petition calling for a November 7th special session. Once we reached the November 7th deadline, the petitions are void and the process would need to start again.

Anyone with with a functioning brain can see what happened here.

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Hawkins got the bad news out of the way with a short, obfuscatory statement. His vanilla-flavored comments about scheduling filled the first round of news stories. But when it came time to communicate at length with constituents, Hawkins described a less-flattering scenario. He didnt just face an uphill battle. No, 10 of his Republican colleagues didnt agree with the cockamamie scheme to hand another GOP seat to Trump.

I might just be old fashioned, but I prefer political leaders who tell the truth up front and dont require an extra three days to ponder their words.

Before signing off today, lets also note that I could be wrong. The Legislature could reconvene in January and whisk through a new congressional map, booting Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids out of Congress. Hawkins could revel in the accolades of fellow Republicans. I dont claim to understand the ways of politicians from either party. They can be strange creatures, and please dont feed them after midnight.

But for now, all Hawkins appears to have is a recalcitrant caucus and appetite for vengeance. What could go wrong?

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
Food stamps in New York were fully funded beginning Sunday despite a ruling from the Supreme Court late last week, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

While Donald Trump has fought relentlessly to keep food off New Yorkers tables, families who rely on SNAP can finally breathe a sigh of relief as benefits begin to arrive, Hochul wrote on social media. Ill never stop fighting for New Yorkers or holding Republicans in Washington accountable.

New York is one of several states that released funds for SNAP following a federal court ruling on Thursday. But Trumps administration appealed the ruling and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson ruled Friday night that the feds dont need to fully fund the program while waiting for a lower court to issue a judgement.

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On Sunday, Trumps administration demanded that states undo full SNAP payments in response to the Supreme Court ruling, calling them unauthorized and threatening to penalize and not reimburse states that made the payments.

States must immediately undo any steps taken to issue full SNAP benefits for November 2025, the USDA said in its statement.

Hochul was one of several governors who responded with anger and promised to fund the program anyway.

Thank you, [Gov. Hochul], for ensuring our families are taken care of and fed, Mayor Adams wrote Saturday. SNAP funds will be dispersed starting [Sunday], but New Yorkers can always access resources to find groceries or meals. We will always take care of each other.

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The court fight over SNAP benefits has left states in limbo and scrambling to react, while 42 million people who rely on food stamps have been stuck wondering if theyll be able to afford food. The fight has stemmed from the ongoing government shutdown, the longest in the nations history.

In the past six days, weve received four different measures of guidance, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Sunday on CBS.
JOHANNESBURG (AP)  An inquiry into allegations that South Africa's Black-led governments interfered with investigations into apartheid-era crimes was postponed on its first day Monday over objections to one of the inquiry's lawyers.

President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered the inquiry in April after decades of pressure from families of victims who say post-apartheid governments have failed them by not prosecuting those responsible. The country's racist system of apartheid officially ended in 1994.

The National Prosecuting Authority on Monday argued that Ishmael Semenya, the inquiry's chief evidence leader, was compromised because he previously advised on a former prosecuting policy for apartheid-era crimes that was declared unconstitutional.

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The inquirys head, Judge Sisi Khampepe, ordered the NPA and others backing the objection, including South Africa's justice department, to file any application for Semenya's recusal by Wednesday. The judge ordered the inquiry to continue on Nov. 26, when the application would be considered. Semenya did not comment.

Around 150 cases of apartheid-era crimes had been recommended for prosecution by South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was established by then- President Nelson Mandela in 1996 and aimed at documenting the era's abuses.

That commission offered some perpetrators amnesty in exchange for their confessions, but many did not ask for or receive amnesty, and the lack of prosecutions has long been a grievance for many South Africans.

Mandela's African National Congress party was pivotal in ending apartheid, but ANC-led governments since then have been criticized for failing to ensure abuses were investigated.

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In 2008, a court in the capital, Pretoria, criticized a National Prosecuting Authority policy as absurd and unconstitutional" and said it did not prioritize prosecutions for apartheid-era crimes. Semenya advised on that policy.

In January, more than 20 families of apartheid-era victims sued Ramaphosa and his government, seeking around $9.7 million in damages and an independent inquiry into possible interference in investigations.

Ramaphosa ordered the inquiry as part of the settlement in that case. Damages are still being considered by a court.

South Africa's government has moved to confront the legacy of apartheid this year by ordering new inquiries into the killings of several prominent figures by apartheid security forces, some of them over a half-century later.

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Last month, a new inquest found that then-ANC leader Albert Luthuli was beaten to death in 1967 and did not die after being hit by a freight train, as an original inquest by apartheid authorities found. Luthuli's family had called for his death to be investigated.

___

AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
Brace yourselves for the coldest morning of the fall.

A cold front is bringing the first significant chill in months to South Florida, with winds that will drop temperatures overnight on Nov. 10 and in the 30s to parts of Palm Beach County early on Nov. 11, the National Weather Service in Miami said.

The forecast calls for low temperatures in the mid- to upper 40s for coastal Palm Beach County, and in the lower 40s for inland communities near Lake Okeechobee. However, northwest winds blowing at 10 to 15 mph, with gusts up to 20 mph, will make it feel like it's in the 30s across the region.

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The cold snap won't last, however. By Nov. 12, high temperatures will rise again to the mid- and upper 70s, said Chuck Caracozza, senior meteorologist for the weather service's Miami office.

"The good news is after (Tuesday) night, the lows are not going to be as cold." said Chuck Caracozza, senior meteorologist for the weather service's Miami office.

"It will drop down to upper 50s to around 60 in the metro areas, and then upper 40s to around 50 across the Lake region. It's going to be short-lived. Once we get through Tuesday, temperatures are going to start to rebound."

Temperatures last dipped into 50s on March 18 in Palm Beach County

Until then, the county will cope with temperatures it hasn't felt since March 18, the last time temperatures hit 50 degrees.

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The drop in temperatures is driven by Arctic air that is seeping into the middle latitudes through a fissure in the polar vortex. North and northwest winds are moving the air south toward the Florida Peninsula.

Winds are forecast to shift to the northeast on the night of Nov. 11, carrying warmer air with them and returning South Florida to normal temperatures.

The weather service has issued a cold weather advisory for inland Palm Beach County from 4- 9 a.m. on Nov. 11 as temperatures near Lake Okeechobee dip into the mid 30s.

As of the morning of Nov. 10, there were no plans to open cold weather shelters in Palm Beach County, a county spokesperson said. Shelters open when sustained temperatures dip below 40 degrees for an extended period.

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Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Cold weather to drop temps in 30s in South Florida, Palm Beach County
Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) is one of the Best Low Priced Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. On October 29, the company announced its Q3 2025 financial results, with total revenue coming at $1.21 billion, reflecting an increase from $1.05 billion in Q3 2024. Its net income stood at $76 million, while adjusted net income amounted to $48 million (Non-GAAP).

Antero Resources (AR) Announces Q3 2025 Financial Results

The company witnessed drilling and completion records during the quarter. Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) completed 3 separate acquisitions for ~$260 million. All of these acquisitions were in the West Virginia development footprint. These transactions included 75-100 MMcfe/d of net production and 10 net undeveloped locations. The acquisitions were financed with a portion of 2025 FCF and were done at attractive valuations of over 20% on a 2026 expected FCF Yield basis.

On October 30, analyst Gabriele Sorbara from Siebert Williams Shank & Co maintained a Buy rating on the companys stock, maintaining a price objective of $42.00. Despite the mixed results in Q3 2025, Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR)s future outlook seems to be promising, added the analyst. This is because of higher production guidance and strategic acquisitions, enhancing its asset base.

Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) increased its land capital budget by $50 million to expand position in the Marcellus Fairway in West Virginia. It added 79 incremental drilling locations YTD via the organic leasing program at an average cost of ~$900,000 per location. Antero Resources Corporation (NYSE:AR) anticipates Q4 2025 production to increase to the range of 3.5  3.525 Bcfe/d, thanks to the acquisitions. Furthermore, FY 2025 production is now anticipated to be at the high end of 3.4  3.45 Bcfe/d range.

While we acknowledge the potential of AR as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If youre looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 13 Cheap AI Stocks to Buy According to Analysts and 11 Unstoppable Growth Stocks to Invest in Now

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
New York Assemblyman Chuck Lavine, a Democrat first elected to state office in 2005, has become one of a handful of unlikely leaders of state efforts to preserve the history of the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol insurrection.

Sitting in front of a bookshelf in his home office in Glen Cove, New York, a historic community just south of the Long Island Sound, Lavine, 78, has a pile of work on his desk  a proposal to establish a deer management program in his county, and material on organizing a youth reading program and promoting a food drive. And while the Jan. 6 riot might have taken place outside his district, Lavine is working to ensure his constituents are fully informed of what happened that day.

He has proposed legislation in New York to require all public school children to receive instruction about the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.

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In the wake of President Trump's reelection and his claims that Jan. 6 rioters were "hostages" and the victims of political persecutions, Lavine's legislation seeks to reclaim the history of the Capitol siege.

"The idea is to require New York students to be instructed about what happened on Jan. 6 and its aftermath," Lavine told CBS News. "We can't sweep history under the rug. If we don't teach our students about the truth of history, we are doing them a grave disservice. And we'd be doing a disservice to our nation as well."

His legislation must be passed by December 2026 to become law. It's one of a series of state and local proposals across America to provide public education or acknowledge the Capitol riot, amid concerns that the history of Jan. 6 is being erased or rewritten.

"This is part of civic responsibility," Lavine said. "People are entitled to their own political beliefs, but they are not entitled to change facts."

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"Anyone of good faith who watched what happened on that day recognizes the threat to democracy represented by what occurred on that day," Lavine said. "The old line is, 'Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat its mistake.'"

In Washington, House leaders have declined to implement a federal law passed in 2023 requiring the hanging of a plaque listing the names of all of the officers of the United States Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia, and other Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies and protective entities who responded to the violence that occurred at the United States Capitol

This past Jan. 6, which marked four years since the attack, leaders in the House and Senate held no vigil or ceremony to pay tribute to the victims.

Rafael Macias, a military veteran and father who won a seat in the Maine Legislature in 2024, introduced a Jan. 6-inspired bill as his first ever piece of legislation. It was promptly passed and signed into law by Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat.

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Macias' law requires Maine to formally "remember and preserve the accounts of the witnesses to the events of Jan. 6, 2021."

He said he decided to run for office because he was "getting very frustrated at home watching our democracy slip away."

Speaking by phone between stops in Maine, Macias told CBS News he's concerned about the rewriting of the history of Jan. 6 and wanted to codify a formal recognition of the attack.

"There are people who still defend it, even calling it 'not a riot,' 'not an insurrection,'" he said. "Some people even blame Nancy Pelosi for it."

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"We're seeing something even more troubling  when history itself becomes one of those spoils. Government websites quietly remove images and documents," Macias said in a a floor speech about his legislation. "Stories of heroism, brutality, courage, and failure  erased or rewritten to match the language or politics of the moment."

The Justice Department deleted its web pages and online catalogue of the Jan. 6 prosecutions, the largest prosecution in U.S. history, shortly after Mr. Trump's inauguration.

In Nevada, a group of state legislators passed a formal resolution to condemn Mr. Trump's pardons of the approximately 1,500 Capitol rioters who were convicted or facing charges. The legislation also formally condemns the Capitol attack itself.

State Assemblymember Steve Yeager, one of the bill's sponsors, told CBS News, "People were outraged not just about Jan. 6, but about the pardons."

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Yeager, a former public defender experienced in handling criminal cases, told CBS News, "The narrative that this was somehow a 'peaceful protest' took hold here in Nevada, too. There has been a whitewashing of this event. It's important to bring light to this issue in a public way. It's important to dispel misinformation about Jan. 6."

Yeager was able to get his resolution passed in a state that supported Trump in the 2024 election, but he said he was not able to secure any Republican support for the initiative, including from legislators who were former law enforcement officers: "It was surprising to me, because politics aside, police were attacked."

Harry Dunn, a former U.S. Capitol Police officer who responded to stop the rioting mob on Jan. 6, testified in support of Yeager's bill in Carson City, Nevada, earlier this year. Dunn told CBS News, "I applaud these states and encourage more to take these efforts and combat Trump's efforts to completely erase what happened on Jan. 6." He added that he was grateful for the state efforts "in light of the U.S. Congress failing to follow their own law and install the Jan. 6 plaque."

Mr. Trump's pardons of the Capitol riot defendants included hundreds who admitted  or were convicted of  assaulting police officers, some with weapons and bear spray. In issuing his pardons, Mr. Trump said the Jan. 6 prosecutions were "a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years."

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Yeager's resolution has no legal impact, but it represents an official statement of the position of the Nevada Legislature, indicating its disapproval of the pardons. A copy has been sent to the Nevada congressional delegation and to the White House by the Nevada legislative clerk.

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New Jersey State Police troopers shot a person in Essex County following a police pursuit of a vehicle Sunday afternoon, according to the state Attorney Generals Office.

The shooting occurred at about 2:10 p.m. following a vehicular pursuit that ended in the City of Orange Township in Essex County, the AGs officer said in a brief statement that was issued Sunday night.

One male civilian sustained injuries, the statement said. His identity and the identities of the law enforcement officers involved are not being released at this time.

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The attorney generals office said the investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.

The condition of the person who was shot was not disclosed by authorities.

Although the attorney generals office did not disclose the roads where the police pursuit started and where the shooting occurred, a local news website reported that State Police fired shots at a suspect on Interstate 280 in Orange.

News 12 New Jersey and ABC7 in New York showed video footage of numerous law enforcement vehicles and investigators on a stretch of I-280 in Orange, and multiple bullet holes could be seen in the windows and doors of a passenger car that appeared to be an Acura.

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Witnesses said they heard an exchange of gunfire between the Acura and State Police, ABC7 reported.

News 12 aired a video clip from a person who was near the highway, off an exit ramp by Freeway Drive, around the same time police converged on the area. In the video, numerous gunshots could be heard ringing out in rapid fire.

Read the original article on NJ.com. Add NJ.com as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
ALBANY, New York  Empire State Democrats are salivating over the possibility of Rep. Elise Stefanik leading the Republican ticket in deep blue New York next year.

Stefanik, a zealous ally of President Donald Trump, launched her long-expected gubernatorial campaign Friday  handing Democrats a chance to tie every Republican in the state to Trumps brand of politics. Its already making some Republicans quietly nervous that down-ballot candidates in crucial House races will suffer.

Trump is easy fodder for Democrats in a state where Republicans have a vast enrollment disadvantage and a GOP candidate hasnt won statewide since 2002. Democrats expect to have plenty of material next year  his trade war , threats to send federal troops to New York City and deep cuts to popular aid programs among them  to weaponize in campaign ads.

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Its about a guy who is hurting people. And thankfully the American people and New Yorkers  despite the BS spin Trump and Stefanik put on this  are saying, We feel this, Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan said in an interview Friday. The harm is only going to get worse. That will certainly motivate folks.

A Stefanik nomination would test whether a Trump-supporting Republican can win in a state thats soundly rejected the president in three elections and where he remains deeply unpopular . New York is home to several swing House seats that may determine control of the narrowly divided chamber next year  making a strong top of the ticket essential for GOP candidates in tight races.

Those stakes, which will determine the future of Trumps final two years in office and the countrys direction, are leading some Republicans to privately panic that a Trump acolytes nomination will dash their chances of retaining power in Washington.

Nominating Elise would be like putting Trump at the top of the ticket next year and hoping everyone survives, said one Republican operative who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the dynamic.

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Elected to the House a decade ago in a deep red district, the 41-year-old Stefanik is the longest-serving New York Republican in Washington and has long been considered a rising star within the party. Known for having sharp elbows, shes emerged as a prominent  and fervent  Trump supporter in an otherwise Democratic-dominated state.

Her potential nomination stands to negate Democratic queasiness surrounding Gov. Kathy Hochul, an incumbent with middling popularity whose weak showing three years ago was cited by Rep. Nancy Pelosi as the reason Democrats lost control of the House. Hochuls campaign on Friday called Stefanik a Trump cheerleader. The governor faces a Democratic primary against her hand-picked lieutenant governor, Antonio Delgado.

Stefanik said a Trump-focused strategy will only work to energize the states Trump voters  noting the president received over 400,000 more votes in New York in 2024 than the governor did in 2022.

As much as Kathy Hochul wishes otherwise, New Yorkers know that his election is about Kathy Hochul and her failed policies making New York the most unaffordable state in the nation, Stefanik spokesman Alex DeGrasse said. Hochuls campaign is turning out low propensity Trump voters for Elise. Thank You Kathy!

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Republicans are counting on the bellwether Long Island suburbs to continue trending their way as they fight to flip two House seats and retain Rep. Mike Lawlers Hudson Valley seat.

Stefanik has already signaled she will leverage Zohran Mamdani and his victory in the New York City mayoral race this week. Her announcement video released Friday morning featured images of Mamdani standing next to Hochul and one of him wearing a bandit-like mask while a narrator calls him a defund the police, tax-hiking, antisemitic communist. Polls have shown Mamdani, who holds anti-Israel views, is unpopular in the politically crucial suburbs.

Trump  or any reference to the president  is not featured in the video.

Stefaniks Republican allies scoff at the idea that Democrats will conversely attempt to cast Trump in a similar light  as a GOP albatross.

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Between Kathy Hochuls sagging approval and Zohran Mamdanis radical socialist agenda, New York Democrats are stuck campaigning under poison-pill leadership, said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Maureen OToole. Republicans will keep focusing on common sense results that work for their communities.

Few New York Republicans have been as closely associated with Trump as Stefanik, a former aide to Paul Ryans vice presidential bid and a MAGA convert.

She ardently defended the Republican president during his first impeachment, earning kudos from a base initially skeptical of her Trump bona fides. Stefanik has voted 100 percent of the time with Trump in the House  including his sweeping domestic policy legislation that will significantly reduce federal funding to New York. She was poised to join his cabinet earlier this year as his United Nations ambassador, only to have the nomination yanked . And Stefanik has proudly declared herself ultra MAGA  a reflection of her own rural House seat that stretches from the Albany area to the Canadian border.

The rest of the state, however, is far less hospitable to the president  especially in vote-rich New York City, where he is highly unpopular.

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Trump has threatened to slash federal aid to New York City and has not ruled in sending National Guard troops to patrol the streets  a vow that stands to be realized now that Mamdani will be sworn in as the Big Apples next mayor on Jan. 1. Spending cuts induced by the federal government shutdown are wreaking havoc on emergency food aid for needy people. Trumps trade war with Canada has hampered farmers and tourism as well  including those in Stefaniks sprawling upstate House district.

Elise Stefanik wraps her arms around Donald Trump and squeezes as tightly as she can, and I dont understand how an intelligent person sees that and thinks she can win statewide in New York, said Morgan Hook, a Democratic operative and former aide to ex-Gov. David Paterson. Its not going to take a whole lot. Theres no argument that Elise Stefanik wants to be as cozy as possible because she says it herself.

Her launch comes just days after New Yorks local elections. Preliminary results indicate the states shift toward Democrats might have been even broader than in 2017  when local results presaged the 2018 Blue Wave election in which Democrats rode anti-Trump fervor to record results.

The leftward shift was especially visible in purple upstate counties where several of the states congressional battlegrounds are located  and where a Republican gubernatorial hopeful needs to run up the score. Democrats won a majority in the Dutchess County Legislature for the second time since 1977 . They made significant gains in races for the Orange County Legislature and Columbia County sheriffs office, and won big in eight of the ten largest upstate towns.

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In Onondaga County  home to Democratic Rep. John Mannions battleground seat  Democrats won control of the county legislature for the first time since President Gerald Fords time in the White House. The party attempted to flip eight Republican-controlled town executive offices and succeeded in seven of them.

Everywhere on the ballot in Onondaga County, in red towns, purple towns, or blue towns, Democrats won and in many cases were put in charge of political subdivisions theyve never been in charge of before, Democratic election commissioner Dustin Czarny said. Theres no comparison in my 30 years of working in politics here in Onondaga.

Czarny said it was easier to energize Democrats off Trump this election cycle compared to eight years ago because of shifts within the Republican Party.

In the first Trump years, the local Republicans would say, Oh, Im not really for all that stuff. Now, nationwide, the party has embraced it.

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Republicans also expect any GOP candidate would be tied to the president.

Democrats have tried to make Trump and his agenda the main issue in each of the past two gubernatorial elections. Former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomos 2018 campaign regularly characterized Republican Marc Molinaro as a Trump mini-me, and Cuomo put up one of the highest margins in state history while running in a wave year.

The attacks seemed to stick less when Trump was out of the White House in 2022: There are people who are obsessed over this theory that the top three issues of New Yorkers are orange man bad, orange man bad, orange man bad, Republican nominee Lee Zeldin said that year .

Some Democrats cautioned that framing the election around Trump without offering a countervailing message is a mistake and pointed to Kamala Harriss failed White House bid last year as a prime example. State Sen. Gustavo Rivera said Mamdanis victory offers a blueprint.

The lesson for the Democratic Party is this is the type of campaign we need to do across the country, Rivera said. Its about the affordability crisis and how we fight against it. The message isnt just that Trump is terrible, but if the message is a positive one, then it will be far more potent.
A BYU researcher has conclusively recovered the name of the woman who received the New Testament letter known as 2 John, according to a new book.

Meet Electa, an early Christian woman whose identity was concealed for nearly 2,000 years due to corrupted Greek texts and centuries of New Testament commentaries that mistakenly believed the original writer called her only an elect lady.

Her name has been considered a mystery because scribes copying original Greek texts accidentally dropped two letters, says Lincoln Blumell, associate dean of research in the BYU Department of Ancient Scripture.

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Part of the problem was that every study of the past 150 years universally accepted the mistake without questioning the manuscript texts.

That error shrouded Electas actual name, which in Greek is Eclecte (eh-KLEK-tay), from billions of Bible readers because scholars thought it was instead the Greek adjective eclecte, meaning elect. (Electa is the Latin version of her name.)

BYU professor Lincoln Blumell and Annie Spach, a research assistant, show pottery and other items with writings on them that they have translated in Provo on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2025. Blumell says he has discovered another person named in the Bible. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Some debated the issue over the centuries, but in 1881, one expert said solving the issue about to whom the letter was addressed was impossible.

On the whole it is best to recognize that the problem of the address is insoluble with our present knowledge, Cambridge professor Brooke Westcott said then.

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Blumell brings to bear new evidence gathered over the past 140 years.

For me, its a stunning discovery, he said. The Bible  especially the New Testament  is probably the most studied book in the world. A lot of eyes have looked at this and yet we can have something so subtle that has such huge implications.

In this case, there should be another woman in our New Testament. Shes been hiding there in plain sight the whole time.

Blumell collated papyri pulled from what he called the rich sands of Egypt since Westcotts statement. He studied inscriptions on graves.

His argument will be published this week in his new book, Lady Eclecte: The Lost Woman of the New Testament.

BYU professor Lincoln Blumell and Annie Spach, a research assistant, show pottery and other items with writings on them that they have translated in Provo on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2025. Blumell says he has discovered another person named in the Bible. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

It compiles powerful corroboration that two simple letters missing from the earliest Greek manuscripts must be restored, and Electa with them.

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One good way to describe what happened to her would be to compare Greek to text messages between teenagers.

Teens today send long texts with no capitalization or punctuation. Now imagine a text like that with no spaces between the words.

That is exactly how ancient Greek manuscripts of the Bible are written, complicating their translation.

Even a trained eye looks at a papyrus from the year 291 and faces an unbroken string of letters. They appear as one long, run-on word written by someone on Red Bull, both knees bouncing.

In the field, it is called scriptio continua, or continuous writing.

In the case of Electa, the confusion centered on the Greek article , which means the. The exact same letters are also the final two letters of Eclectes name.

BYU professor Lincoln Blumell and Annie Spach, a research assistant, show pottery and other items with writings on them that they have translated in Provo on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2025. Blumell says he has discovered another person named in the Bible. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

In the introduction to 2 John in the Greek manuscript, the  at the end of her name was crammed up against the  for the. It looked like this, but without the accents:

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 (in Blumells reading, The elder to Eclecte the Lady).

A scribe or scribes inadvertently dropped one pair of those letters. The scribes may have wanted to save space, Blumell said. They may have thought the double pairs were a mistake. They may have just read over them or simply skipped them accidentally.

What was left with just a single  was elect lady:

   .

For more than 1,000 years, most scholars argued the letters introduction was a metaphor. The letters writer, they said, was referring to the church itself as a lady and to church members as her children.

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The omission of the letters was catastrophic. The name of the only woman to whom a New Testament letter was written was lost.

Blumell shows the reading should be:

    .

Whatever the cause, scribes copied the mistake again and again, and Electas identity was lost for hundreds of years.

In fact, the mistake is perpetuated today in the standard text in the field, Nestle-Alands 28th Edition of the Greek New Testament.

The mistake also led to centuries of wild theories in biblical studies, Blumell said. Some argued the unnamed elect lady might be Mary, the mother of Jesus, or Martha, the sister of Lazarus and Mary.

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One said it might be a love letter. Some even argued the letter was fictional.

No, Blumell said, the Greek just got corrupted. I give dozens of examples of the same kind of error occurring in early Christian manuscripts or papyri, where two are duplicated letters get dropped.

BYU professor Lincoln Blumell and Annie Spach, a research assistant, show pottery and other items with writings on them that they have translated in Provo on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2025. Blumell says he has discovered another person named in the Bible. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Experts say Blumell has proved that Electa should be restored to all editions of the Bible.

Blumell shows conclusively that the addressee of 2 John, one of the 27 books of the New Testament, is a woman named Eclecte, said AnneMarie Luijendijk, the William H. Danforth Professor of Religion at Princeton University, in a statement on the books dust jacket.

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Another expert said Blumells skillset was perfect for recognizing the error and restoring the missing letters and Electas true identity.

His monograph is a demonstration of how painstaking philology, attention to the transmission of history of Christian texts and deep knowledge of papyri can uncover long-hidden meanings, said John S. Kloppenborg, a specialist in Christian origins at the University of Toronto.

Blumell fell for papyrology when, already trained in Greek, he edited a police report from March 17, 291. The record showed a woman in Egypt reporting the kidnapping of her husband.

An ancient family came alive for Blumell.

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Electa is a beneficiary.

Blumells journey to her identity began with reading a commentary by Clement of Alexandria written in the late second century or early third century. He wrote that 2 John was written to a certain Babylonian woman, by name Eclecte.

Blumell found that most commenters spent the next 1,700 years discounting Clement, in part because there is no proof that Electa was Babylonian.

Some of those who dismissed her name said there was no proof that any Greek woman of that period had been named Eclecte.

They called it a ghost name.

One of Blumells contributions is how he pulled together examples of the name from the Roman period. He found 18 examples of Eclecte in Greek and Latin inscriptions on graves. The earliest, from the mid-first century (about 53-62 CE), is a poetic example of a woman commemorating her husband.

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Eclecte made this (inscription), it reads, for herself and for her most devoted spouse, about whom she never had anything to grieve except when he died.

He found several examples where it was used as a second name  Julia Eclecte, Claudia Eclecte, Cuspia Eclecte, Livia Eclecte and Munatia Eclecte.

And yet a leading scholar wrote in 1909 that there were no examples of Electas name. Even though much of todays research and databases didnt exist then, that scholar could have known he was wrong when he wrote it, Blumell said.

In fact, Eclecte was attested as the name of a woman in a book published in 1650, Blumell found. There are more known examples of Eclecte as a name from the Roman period than there are for Lois or Lydia, he found. In fact, it is found more widely than about 25% of the womens names in the New Testament.

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The lesson is that scholars should avoid repeating what others write without testing it, Blumell said.

Another part of his case for Electa in 2 John is how it parallels the address in 3 John.

2 John: The elder to Electa the lady.

3 John: The elder to Gaius the Beloved.

Blumell said this pattern is ubiquitous in that time period. He has found more than 2,000 examples from letters in the Roman period.

The evidence is so compelling, he said, that if the first papyrus with 2 John were discovered today without the baggage of unprovable theories, modern standards would have restored the  because it is a well-attested phenomenon.

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Discovering it now is a staggering seismic shift, said Blumell, who wrote that the Lady Eclectes name is now indisputably established.

(I) will demonstrate, he wrote in his book, that there has always been a book in the New Testament whose principal recipient is a named woman, but that she has been lost in history to the omission of two reduplicated Greek letters.

At the end of the book, Blumell considers Lady Electas possible role. The letter is written to her and clearly shows she has some authority at a house that could have been part of the early Christian network of homes where travelers could have stayed.

The elder instructs her to care for her children in part by turning away some who would arrive saying they were Christian but who would teach false doctrine.

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While some Christian writers coupled lady with the office of deaconess, there is no indication that 2 John carries that meaning.

Still, Lady Electa may have performed some ecclesiastical function, Blumell said.

With the use of lady, he wrote, the elder may have also been subtly signaling Eclectes authoritative position as the female master of the house, which could extend to a position of authority among the Christians who were gathering there.

Blumell hopes Electas name will be printed in future Bibles and he anticipates other scholars will revisit interpretations of her role in the church and the meaning of the letter.
Imagery has been published providing a rare look inside the weapons bays of one of the prototypes of Russias Su-57 Felon fighter, an aircraft you can read about in more detail here. While internal weapons carriage is a key design feature of the Sukhoi jet, the main weapons bays, at least, havent been seen in such detail, with weapons loaded. The footage comes as Moscow embarks on another export drive for the Su-57, which has reportedly so far only been ordered by Algeria.

A recent promotional video from the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), Russias aviation manufacturing conglomerate, shows the prototype T-50-9 being put through its paces ahead of its planned appearance at the Dubai Airshow. The event takes place in the United Arab Emirates next week. In the footage, the T-50-9 performs a variety of maneuvers, but of greatest interest is the forward main weapons bay, opened to reveal a pair of Kh-58UShK anti-radiation missiles.

The United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has released promotional footage of the Su-57 prototype (T-50-9) ahead of its appearance at the 2025 Dubai Airshow. pic.twitter.com/YVl1aQDVB0  OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) November 9, 2025

While we have previously seen imagery of weapons being released from the aircrafts main weapons bays, we havent seen an image with them loaded and on display like this in flight. As such, the plan to display the T-50 at Dubai, with internal weapons exposed, is new  this hasnt been done since the aircraft was first flown in prototype form 15 years ago.

The T-50-9 undergoes final preparations at Zhukovsky International Airport ahead of its appearance at the Dubai Airshow.



 : Gomezismq on TG pic.twitter.com/5QSjk7DHCp  OSINTWarfare (@OSINTWarfare) November 9, 2025

The Felon carries its main weaponry in a pair of notably large internal weapons bays that are arranged in tandem between the engines. Each of the bays is sized for the carriage of two missiles with a maximum length of just under 14 feet and a cross-section of around 16 by 16 inches.

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For reasons that arent entirely clear, it was a long time before Sukhoi began to conduct tests of internal weapons from the Felon. Such trials only began in 2016, six years after the initial prototype T-50 had first taken to the air. In March of 2016, a Felon first launched an undisclosed type of missile from one of its main internal weapons bays.

For the air-to-air role, the large tandem weapons bays are intended to carry two types of beyond-visual-range missiles that were specially adapted for internal carriage. These are the medium-range R-77M (izdeliye 180) and the very-long-range izdeliye 810. You can read more about them here.

New versions of the R-77 spotted on a four Ship #Su57 Felon formation on Russian TV for the first time. The second aircraft carries the newer version of the K-77M (Izdeliye 180) and possibly a ramjet powered K-77ME (Izdeliye 180-BD)?@Firezstarter1 @zone5aviation @hvtiaf pic.twitter.com/izpdFsP4WK  Sameer Joshi (@joe_sameer) October 5, 2020

For offensive missions, the Kh-69 long-range air-to-surface missile was designed specifically for the Felon, again for internal carriage. The Kh-69 is a weapon we have discussed in detail in the past.

Su-57 fighter launch a advanced cruise missiles in Syria, said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. pic.twitter.com/TvEo8AF9Kw   (@lfx160219) May 25, 2018

Meanwhile, the Kh-58UShK supersonic anti-radiation missile seen in the recent UAC video is a further evolution of the older Kh-58 (known to NATO as the AS-11 Kilter).

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Weighing around 1,400 pounds per piece, the Kh-58UShK (in which the K suffix stands for Kompaktnaya, compact) has a missile body that is approximately 24 inches shorter than the baseline weapon. It also has folding fins to fit in the internal bays. The weapon has a reported range of 150 miles when launched from higher altitudes, although this is significantly reduced when launched from lower levels.

A mockup of the Kh-58UShK supersonic anti-radiation missile. Vitaly V. Kuzmin

Other offensive munitions that the fighter can carry internally include the universal Kh-38M air-to-ground missile with a range of different guidance types, the Grom (thunder) missile that adds a range-extending wing kit to the Kh-38M, and the 551-pound KAB-250L electro-optically guided bomb.

The UAC footage also shows the aircrafts ability to carry two additional air-to-air missiles inside the two so-called quick-launch bays  these have previously been seen in some detail, unlike the main bays. The quick-launch bays are located in distinctive underwing fairings, and the design ensures the missile can be extended into the slipstream so it can lock onto its target. Each can be located with a single R-74M2 (izdeliye 760) short-range air-to-air missile. This is another weapon that was developed specifically for internal carriage, derived from the well-established R-73 (AA-11 Archer).

A sequence showing the launch of an air-to-air missile from one of the Su-57s two small wing-root weapons bays. Russian Ministry of Defense screencap

The missile launch clip begins at approximately 1:19 in the runtime of the video below:

Carrying internal ordnance is a prerequisite if its paramount that the Su-57 retains its reduced radar signature characteristics. However, for missions not requiring such a degree of low-observability, the aircraft can carry a heavier weapons load, making use of four pylons under the wing and two under the air intakes. The underwing pylons can also accommodate drop tanks for additional fuel.

Hoy la cosa ha ido de bodegas de armamento pic.twitter.com/hNIR5xgfwO  charly015 (@charly0153) November 9, 2025

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Seems as if the RuAF is testing some larger external fuel tanks for the Su-57. 

At least they are different in shape.https://t.co/oBz6mBgh69https://t.co/L2aezY8c9u



(Images by P. Shapka & V. Grushnikov) pic.twitter.com/E9dgFyB1CM  @Rupprecht_A (@RupprechtDeino) May 24, 2020

Finally, for close-range combat, the aircraft is armed with a 30-millimeter single-barrel cannon within the starboard wing root and provided with 150 rounds of ammunition. You can see it in action here.

The Su-57 fires its onboard GSh-30-1 cannon. YouTube screencap

Showing off the Su-57s relatively impressive capability to accommodate larger internal weapons will, UAC surely hopes, help to drum up more export interest in its product.

Apart from the announcement from Algerias state-run media earlier this year that the country was buying the Su-57, the aircraft hasnt seen any export uptake. The sales fortunes of the Su-57 have so far suffered from a failed partnership with India as well as limited Russian orders and deliveries.

Algerian TV confirms Su-57 fighter jet deal with Russia.



Algerian pilots are training in Russia, and deliveries are expected this year.



Algeria becomes the first Su-57 customer. pic.twitter.com/UGEgFvY92m  Clash Report (@clashreport) February 12, 2025

Combat employment in Russian hands has also been less than impressive, with only questionable capabilities demonstrated in Syria, and little in the way of hard evidence about its service in the war in Ukraine  aside from the reported shooting down of a Russian S-70 Okhotnik-B flying-wing uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV), in circumstances that remain somewhat unclear.

Russian S-70 UAV, which was shot down today [The photos has been cleaned by artificial intelligence] https://t.co/Jec6rz1jPM pic.twitter.com/banwvy8oLy  Dariusz Zawadzki (@Military_oO) October 5, 2024

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Overall, the Su-57 program has made only very slow progress, hampered by a lack of investment in the form of foreign orders. A significant blow was struck by Indias withdrawal from the program, with that countrys investment having been considered vital to speed development. The same had been true in the late 1990s when Indias purchase of the Su-30MKI Flanker essentially secured the development of the multirole version of this fighter, which was only later acquired by Russia.

In terms of domestic orders, the Russian Aerospace Forces only began to receive series-built Su-57s in 2022, part of an order for 76 aircraft  a notably small production run.

A pair of Russian Aerospace Forces Su-57s depart Novosibirsk, on their way to the flight test center at Lipetsk, in May 2022. NSKPlanes

While at least six aircraft were delivered to the Russian Aerospace Forces in 2022, more than 10 were handed over in 2023 before numbers tailed off again in 2024, when likely only two or three more were received. Its unclear if any examples of the Su-57 have been delivered to Russia this year.

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent international sanctions against Russia have had the combined effect of slowing down the pace of Su-57 deliveries and limiting export prospects to all but the staunchest Kremlin allies. After all, any country that receives Russian weapons can expect to be on the receiving end of U.S. sanctions. In an effort to counter this, Russia has also offered a degree of local production of the Su-57, specifically with the hope of securing sales from India and the United Arab Emirates. The Dubai Airshow appearance is almost certainly calculated to try and reinvigorate interest from these two nations in particular.

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At the same time, while demonstrating the Su-57s already celebrated agility and its gradually expanding weapons options, the long-promised advanced Su-57M version has made little progress. The Su-57M is powered by the new AL-51F1 (izdeliye 30) turbofan engine, replacing the current AL-41F-1. It promises increased thrust, lighter weight, and lower operating costs. However, a lack of interest from Russia has done little to help the Su-57Ms chances on the export market.

The revised, flat version of the engine nozzle for the AL-51F1 turbofan (in the left nacelle), alongside the original three-dimensional version (right nacelle). via X

Recent reports based on an apparent leaked official document relating to Su-57 (and other Sukhoi) exports also pointed to official interest in the Felon from Algeria. This document, the leak of which was attributed to the Black Mirror hacktivist group, was, however, several years old and appears to have described possible export orders, rather than reflecting any kind of firm deals. It is also notable that most of the possible export deals in the document related to the Su-35 Flanker, rather than the more advanced Su-57.

This table has generated a lot of buzz lately, but remember that this is a summary of plans as of April 2022, over three years ago.



Su-57 to Algeria,

Su-35 to Iran, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Ethiopia

Su-34 to Algeria pic.twitter.com/yQKgPvJSMY  Piotr Butowski (@piotr_butowski) October 5, 2025

Regardless, the UAC is clearly aiming to make a big splash with the Felon at the Dubai Airshow, where it seems that the planned Su-57 flying display will demonstrate a high level of maneuverability coupled with a heavy missile load  a common sales tactic for multirole fighters. Its also possible that more previously secretive aspects of the design could be revealed in more detail, as the campaign to secure lucrative export sales is ramped up.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com
Officials have identified the two men who were shot and killed during a jewelry store robbery in Little Village.

The crime happened around 5:49 p.m. Saturday at a jewelry store in the 3800-block of 26th Street, Chicago police said.

An armed suspect entered a business at the location, pretending to be a customer and stole property, police and neighboring businesses said.

After the suspect exited the business, he was in an altercation with two victims. The suspect shot the two men multiple times and drove south on Springfield Avenue in a white SUV, CPD said.

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Both victims died at Mt. Sinai Hospital.

On Monday, they were identified as Faustino Alamo Dominguez, 63, and Luis Alamo, 25, of Berwyn, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: 2 men shot, killed during Little Village jewelry store armed robbery, police say

They were father and son, and they were trying to protect their store.

Surveillance video shows a man in a Blackhawks hoodie and mask walking up to the jewelry store. Within about 30 seconds, the suspect ran outside with some merchandise from the store as two men chased after him. That's when you see the suspect pull out his gun and shoot both victims.

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ABC7 Chicago froze the video there before the shots were fired.

Local business owners said the people responsible for the shooting drove around scoping out the area, going in and out of businesses before walking into the store.

The business owner next-door is doing his part to help take care of the Joyeria Angelos, a jewelry store built on a dream for more.

"People that came from Mexico, started a business here in Little Village, and all they wanted was to reach that American dream," Little Village Community Council President Baltazar Enriquez said.

Flowers and candles are now at the store's front door

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Enriquez said the community is in shock.

Cook County Crime Stoppers on Sunday offered a cash reward of up to $10,000 for information that leads to the arrest in the double homicide.

Enriquez is also offering $20,000.

"There's tons of businesses down here, and they never seen anything like this," Enriquez said.

"All Hell broke loose in our neighborhood," 22nd Ward Alderman Michael Rodriguez said. "Tragic loss that didn't have to happen, just didn't have to happen, and it's terrible."

Rodriguez says the shooting happened at the same time U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were detaining people in the neighborhood. The chaos has added to the tragedy as a family tries to find a way to move forward.

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"We hope that we could help them go through this ordeal. But it's not easy to bury two loved ones at the same time," Enriquez said.

No arrests have been made as Chicago police continue to investigate.

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The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide if states can count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day. Its a key issue for President Donald Trump, who has criticized the practice since his 2020 election loss.

The justices agreed to take up the case, after an appeal reached the court from Mississippi. They will look at whether states can accept the mailed ballots after polls close as long as they are sent by Election Day.

Oral arguments will likely be in 2026 with a decision expected by the summer.

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Its a case that could have major implications in the states that allow the practice ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, sixteen states count ballots that arrive late as long as theyre postmarked on or before Election Day.

A panel of three judges nominated by President Trump on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2024 that the Mississippi state law that allows ballots to be counted after Election Day violated federal law.

The issue is pitting Mississippi Republican officials against the Republican National Committee (RNC.) The RNC is arguing against the use of mail-in ballots.

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Some Republican-led states have taken steps to stop counting late ballots, including Kansas and North Dakota. In Ohio, legislation is advancing that requires ballots to be in by Election Day, The Associated Press noted.

Utah lawmakers changed the states voting laws during the 2025 legislative session, including a requirement that mailed-in ballots had to be received by 8 p.m. on election night. Before they only required an Election Day postmark.

The case and other state efforts to reform mail-in ballots come as the practice has been highly scrutinized in recent election cycles, particularly after Trump lost the 2020 presidential election and blamed it on the rigged mail-in ballot laws that were introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The White House confirmed earlier this month that the administration was working on an executive order to strengthen our elections in this country and to ensure that there cannot be blatant fraud.

In March, Trump signed an executive order instructing Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after states that count mail-in ballots and absentee ballots after Election Day.
Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a challenge to same-sex marriage brought by Kentucky former county clerk Kim Davis Monday.

The challenge to the 2015 Obergefell vs. Hodges ruling was filed by Kim Davis, the former clerk of Rowan County, Ky., who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. She argued that it went against her religious beliefs.

Davis asked the court, which features a 6-3 conservative majority, to overturn Obergefell because the decision was based on the 14th Amendment's due process clause. She claimed that was "legal fiction." She also said a decision against her that forced her to pay damages to a couple who was denied a license violated her First Amendment right to free exercise of religion.

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David Ermold and David Moore were refused a license and sued. The case found that Davis had violated a judge's order that required her to issue the license.

Ermold and Moore won $100,000 in emotional distress damages from a jury, plus $260,000 in attorneys' fees.

"The Court should hold her to that representation," The Hill reported that the couple's lawyers wrote. "Reaching the question of whether to overrule Obergefell in the context of this case would also require the Court to first decide thorny questions about how such a ruling would affect Davis's liability."

There are now an estimated 823,000 married same-sex couples in the United States, according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law.

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"There's good reason for the Supreme Court to deny review in this case rather than unsettle something so positive for couples, children, families, and the larger society as marriage equality," Mary Bonauto, a senior director with LGBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders, said when Davis filed her appeal, USA Today reported.

James Obergefell, whose lawsuit led to the legalization of same-sex marriage, told CNN last week that he was "very concerned" about Davis' case.

"At this point, I do not trust the Supreme Court," he said.
An appeal of a verdict against controversial former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, which also took aim at a 2015 decision that legalized same-sex marriage throughout the country, will not be taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The decision was issued Nov. 10 in an order list from the high court. No reason for the denial was included in the two-sentence ruling.

Davis, who drew international attention to her Northeastern Kentucky community 10 years ago when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, had called on the court to strike down a 2023 court verdict that found she owed $100,000 to a couple who she had denied a license in 2015. Her attorneys with Liberty Counsel had also pushed for the Supreme Court to use her case to overturn the Obergefell decision.

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The appeal was considered a longshot. The Supreme Court had previously decided against taking it up, and at a forum earlier this month University of Louisville assistant professor Joe Dunman, an attorney who opposed Davis in court a decade ago, noted the constitutionality of marriage bans was not the central issue in her case, as that issue had already been decided when she refused to issue licenses.

Davis was represented by the Liberty Counsel legal group. After the Nov. 10 ruling, chairman Mat Staver told The Courier Journal the decision was "heartbreaking, certainly for Kim Davis but also for religious freedom."

"The justices know Obergefell was wrongly decided and they need to fix the unconstitutional opinion that they instituted 10 years ago," Staver said. "... We're in this for the long haul. It's not a matter of if, but only when Obergefell will be overturned."

Fellow Liberty Counsel attorney Daniel Schmid previously told The Courier Journal the goal of the appeal was to return the decision of whether to recognize same-sex marriages back to the states. Staver said the organization would continue to work to get a case before the Supreme Court to directly challenge the Obergefell decision.

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The Obergefell ruling was issued in June 2015. Months later, Davis made headlines when she refused to issue marriage licenses to several same-sex couples in Rowan County, citing her religious beliefs and her rights under the First Amendment.

Davis eventually stopped issuing any marriage licenses and was briefly jailed over her refusal to comply with the law. She was released after five days, and the issue was resolved after marriage licenses were amended to remove her name.

Her appeal was centered around a 2023 verdict that found she owed $100,000 to a couple who she had denied a marriage license, and an additional $260,000 in attorney fees.

The Supreme Court has shifted to the right in recent years, with a 6-3 conservative majority. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito have previously argued the Obergefell ruling could be worth revisiting.

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More: Who is Kim Davis? Supreme Court rejects challenge to same-sex marriage decision from Kentuckian

This story may be updated.

Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Supreme Court declines to hear Kim Davis case on same-sex marriage
The Supreme Court on Monday will hear oral arguments in a case where everyone already agrees a persons rights were violated.

The case, Landor v. Louisiana, hinges on whether that person can seek monetary damages since they were in prison at the time of the violation.

In 2020, Damon Landor was serving a five-month prison sentence in Louisiana. Landor is a devout Rastafarian, who grew dreadlocks and did not cut his hair for nearly 20 years in accordance with his faith.

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Just weeks before his term ended, he was transferred to a new prison. Guards at his first prison respected the religious practice of having long dreadlocks, but guards at the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center forcibly cut his hair by handcuffing him to a chair after he waived a physical document outlining the religious liberty law.

Landors case was dismissed by lower courts, leading him to appeal. In June, the Supreme Court agreed to hear his case this term.

Landor contends that the appeals court was wrong in its decision that he had no grounds to sue the prison for monetary damages.

Federal laws in the case

The case touches on two federal laws, both designed to protect religious liberties.

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The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) was passed by Congress in 1993 as a response to a Supreme Court decision in 1990 that made it easier for religious liberties to be violated by the government. RFRA requires there to be a compelling governmental interest and use the least restrictive means if someones religious expression rights were going to be violated.

A few years later, the Supreme Court determined Congress exceeded its authority in RFRA by applying it to state and local levels. As a result of the 1997 decision from the high court, RFRA could only be applied to federal actions.

Congress still wanted to design a law that would protect religious exercise at the state and local level. So, they wrote a narrower law, known as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) in 2000.

RLUIPA focuses on two sources of federal power. The Spending Clause means Congress can put conditions on federal funds going to states, and the Commerce Clause allows Congress to regulate activities that impact interstate commerce.

How do RFRA and RLUIPA impact Landor?

Landor sued the prison employees for violating his rights under RLUIPA. The district court held that the law does not provide damages against individual state officials and the Fifth Circuit affirmed the decision, clearing the way for Landor to bring his case to the Supreme Court.

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Under RLUIPAs Spending Clause, Congress mandates that states follow the law and dont violate inmates religious rights as a condition for accepting federal funding. When the state accepts federal funds, its essentially entering into an agreement that it wont violate the law.

However, the lower courts decided that the state officials, or individual prison guards, are not the direct recipients of the federal funds, and could not be required to provide monetary damages under the Spending Clause. The agreement made was between federal and state governments, not the federal government and state employees, the courts ruled.

Now before the Supreme Court, Landor argues that the precedent from the 2020 case, Tanzin v. Tanvir, should apply. The case was brought by several Muslim men who were placed on the No Fly List by the FBI. They sued under RFRA, claiming their religious exercise was hindered by the federal government. The Supreme Court held that RFRA allowed the men to seek monetary damages.

Landor is arguing that he, too, should receive monetary damages because the statutory language used in the Tanzin decision and RFRA, is the same language used in RLUIPA. However, the relief available under RLUIPA is limited to injunctive or declaratory relief only, not monetary damages.

What can be expected during arguments and the decision?

Oral arguments in the case are on Monday, and will center on the language in each of the laws and the cases that came before Landors.

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In its filing before the Supreme Court, Louisiana acknowledged Landors unfair treatment and strongly condemned what happened. The state also amended its prison grooming policy to ensure that nothing like what happened to Landor can happen again.

Experts predict that much of Mondays arguments will be focused on the precedent set in the Tanzin decision, and tough questions will be asked of either side.

Daniel Chen, counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, authored the organizations friend-of-the-court brief in support of Landor.

Chen said that Landors case presents a very narrow question for the justices to decide, but is actually a pretty simple one.

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Everyone agrees there is an egregious violation of Damon Landors rights. The Louisiana [attorney general] to its credit has said so and condemned the conduct at issue here, he said. But the legal question is whether there can be any mechanism to hold government officials accountable when they egregiously and purposefully violate an inmates religious freedom.

Chen noted that in Landors case, he cant seek injunctive relief from the state since hes been released from prison. Receiving monetary damages are essential to RLUIPAs protections because injunctive relief cannot be achieved in this instance, or other instances.

Without the possibility of liability, prison officials can violate religious liberty in prisons without consequence, he said.

While damages are what Landor is seeking and what oral arguments will focus on, Chen believes theres a broader question the court will be deciding, which is do people who are incarcerated have religious liberty rights if they are no longer in prison? Additionally, Chen said, do those rights have remedies?

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At Becket, and many other religious and non-religious organizations, and in the Trump administration, they believe the answer to those questions is yes.

One of those organizations is the Constitutional Accountability Center. Miriam Becker-Cohen, senior appellate counsel, a lead author on the centers brief before the Supreme Court, argued that RLUIPA authorizes individual capacity damages and is in accordance with the Spending Clause.

Becker-Cohen believes that using a contract law analogy proves that Landor can receive damages from the prison guards. The federal government contracts with the state, which contracts with state employees and must comply with RLUIPA. If the employees dont comply, they are liable for individual capacity damages, she said.

Becker-Cohen noted that damages are Landors only remedy in this case.

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If he isnt allowed to pursue that remedy here, it really makes the free exercise promise of RLUIPA a hollow promise and undercuts the substantive value of that law and its effort to heighten the religious exercise right, she said.

What is at stake in the case?

Zooming out, Becker-Cohen argued that what is at stake in Landors case is whether RLUIPA really means anything.

Everyone agrees that these prison guards violated RLUIPA when they shaved his head, but a right without a remedy is pretty meaningless and without damages against these guards in this case, theres no remedy, she said.

When you think about remedies for violations of rights as sort of the linchpin of whether that right has any meaning, its about much more than just the remedy, but about whether the right protected by the remedy has any sort of meaning or teeth to it, Becker-Cohen continued.

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Chen noted the difficulty of the case since it focuses on the rights of incarcerated individuals, who have been convicted of a previous crime. Theyre not always viewed the most sympathetically, he said.

But, he said, Youre more than the most terrible thing that youve done and you have rights. You have religious liberty rights, even when youve done that.

I think that RLUIPA was passed in the context of thinking about jails and prisons and incarceration, finding that even in those contexts, people dont shed their constitutional rights.
As global markets face challenges such as tech sell-offs and economic uncertainties, Asian stock markets are drawing attention with their potential for value investing. In this environment, identifying undervalued stocksthose trading below their estimated worthcan offer opportunities for investors looking to capitalize on market inefficiencies and long-term growth prospects.

Top 10 Undervalued Stocks Based On Cash Flows In Asia

Name Current Price Fair Value (Est) Discount (Est) Xi'an International Medical Investment (SZSE:000516) CN4.77 CN9.38 49.2% Wuhan Guide Infrared (SZSE:002414) CN12.95 CN25.25 48.7% Takara Bio (TSE:4974) 913.00 1812.29 49.6% Lotes (TWSE:3533) NT$1345.00 NT$2661.47 49.5% LianChuang Electronic TechnologyLtd (SZSE:002036) CN10.15 CN20.06 49.4% EROAD (NZSE:ERD) NZ$1.60 NZ$3.14 49% East Buy Holding (SEHK:1797) HK$20.28 HK$39.94 49.2% Daiichi Sankyo Company (TSE:4568) 3368.00 6603.36 49% CHEMTRONICS.Co.Ltd (KOSDAQ:A089010) 36500.00 72845.41 49.9% Andes Technology (TWSE:6533) NT$260.50 NT$509.06 48.8%

Click here to see the full list of 291 stocks from our Undervalued Asian Stocks Based On Cash Flows screener.

Let's take a closer look at a couple of our picks from the screened companies.

Overview: OceanaGold (Philippines) Inc. is involved in the exploration, development, production, and utilization of gold, copper, silver, and other mineral resources in the Philippines with a market capitalization of 63.84 billion.

Operations: OceanaGold (Philippines) Inc. generates revenue through its activities in gold, copper, and silver mining and production within the Philippines.

Estimated Discount To Fair Value: 14.2%

OceanaGold (Philippines) is trading at 28, below its estimated fair value of 32.63, offering a 14.2% discount. Despite high share price volatility, earnings have grown significantly by 115.5% over the past year and are forecast to grow at 20.57% annually, outpacing the Philippine market's growth rate of 10.9%. Recent earnings show robust performance with Q3 sales increasing to US$141.7 million from US$102.1 million year-on-year, reflecting strong cash flow potential despite a dividend not well covered by earnings.

PSE:OGP Discounted Cash Flow as at Nov 2025

Overview: Shandong Bailong Chuangyuan Bio-Tech Co., Ltd. operates in the biotechnology sector, focusing on the production and sale of functional sugar products, with a market cap of CN8.88 billion.
The conservative Supreme Court on Monday agreed to take on a casebrought about by the Republican National Committeethat could potentially render mail-in ballots received after Election Day null and void.

Watson v. Republican National Committee sees the state of Mississippi defending its mail-in ballot law against an attack from the state party, the RNC, and the Libertarian Party of Mississippi. A favorable ruling for the RNC that comes before the 2026 midterms could have massive implications on a large swath of voters.

With rare outliers, the states mandated that ballots must be received by election officials by election day, the RNC argues in its challenge. But recently, an increasing number of Statesincluding Mississippihave deviated from that practice by permitting at least some ballots to be received after election day.

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Fifteen states currently allow at least some mail-in ballots to be counted after Election Day, although multiple swing statesMichigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsinrequire ballots to be in before Election Day ends. Mississippi allows ballots up to five days after Election Day, as long as they were submitted on Election Day.

Voters make that choice by castingmarking and submittingtheir ballots by election day. The election has then occurred, even if election officials do not receive all ballots by that day, Mississippi state officials wrote in their defense. Under Mississippi law, voters cast their ballots by election day.

This anti-mail in ballot push has clearly been influenced by the whims of President Trump.

ELECTIONS CAN NEVER BE HONEST WITH MAIL IN BALLOTS/VOTING, and everybody, IN PARTICULAR THE DEMOCRATS, KNOWS THIS, he claimed on Truth Social this summer. I, AND THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, WILL FIGHT LIKE HELL TO BRING HONESTY AND INTEGRITY BACK TO OUR ELECTIONS.

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Trump, who himself has voted by mail before, has railed against mail-in ballots for years, asserting without evidence that they are less trustworthy.

There is fraud; they found them in creeks, they found them with the name Trump in a wastepaper basket, he said during a presidential debate with Joe Biden in 2020. This will be a fraud like you have never seen  Theyre being sold and dumped in rivers.

Now, the court hes shaped may once again give him exactly what he wants.
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the disqualification of an attorney accused of improperly accessing voting machines after the 2020 election as counsel in a defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems.

Michigan attorney Stefanie Lambert represented Overstock.com founder Patrick Byrne in the defamation suit brought by Dominion, a voting technology company that conspiracists homed in on in the wake of President Trumps 2020 election loss.

She was removed from the case last year after a judge determined she publicly leaked internal records from Dominion in violation of a court order.

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A lawyer for Byrne contended to the justices that Lamberts apparent expertise in election fraud has made her a threat to Dominion, prompting the companys bid to disqualify her from representing him in the case, even as she represents him in other litigation.

Here, Petitioners counsel of choice is the leading expert attorney and primary counsel in election related cases across the country and other matters involving Respondent, including a breach of contract action, lawyer Peter Ticktin wrote in Byrnes petition to the court.

Respondents motives are evident, because it continues to engage in reactive actions and conduct demonstrating its fear that Petitioners counsel will be able to continue to represent Petitioner in litigation with and involving Respondent, he said.

There is no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Dominion waived its right to respond to Byrnes petition.

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Lambert faces criminal charges in Michigan over an alleged scheme to access voting tabulators following the 2020 election, as Trumps supporters sought evidence that he won instead of former President Biden. She was scheduled to go to trial last week, but a judge pushed the proceeding to March.

Ticktin told The Hill that the case remains open for appeal that Byrne did not have the assistance of the attorney of his choice in the Dominion litigation. He also defended Lamberts actions, saying she gave Dominions discovery file to law enforcement as she was required to do so by statute and describing her as responsible for preventing foreign election interference in the 2024 race.

If you are wondering how it could be that people are claiming that the 2020 Election was stolen and Donald Trump was able to win in 2024, this is why, he said. This is all I can say on this issue at this time.

Dominion Voting Systems was sold last month to Scott Leiendecker, a former Republican director of elections for St. Louis, Mo., and renamed Liberty Vote. The Hill reached out for comment.

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Does Dominion even exist anymore? Ticktin asked, attributing its apparent disappearance to Lambert.

It was not immediately clear whether Trumps sweeping pardon Sunday night for efforts to expose voting fraud would affect Lamberts case.

Though Lambert is not named in the pardon, it grants a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all United States citizens for conduct relating to both the so-called fake electors scheme and any conduct relating to their efforts to expose voting fraud and vulnerabilities in the 2020 presidential election.

However, presidential pardons are limited to federal offenses, not state offenses, so it is not likely that she would immediately be absolved.

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Updated at 12:24 p.m. EST

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  A suspect is still on the run Sunday evening after one person was found shot and killed in a Southwest Oklahoma City home on Saturday morning.

ORIGINAL STORY: One person shot and killed in SW OKC

Officers responded to the 2400 block of Southwest 23rd regarding a shooting, said MSGT. Rob Robertson, with the Oklahoma City Police. Officers got here, and they discovered an adult male had been shot and was deceased inside the residence.

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Police say the suspect ran from the scene.

Person caught on camera running from the scene of a homicide, Image 5 Star Tires and Wheels.

A business near SW 23rd captured this person running from the scene on their security cameras.

The suspect is not in custody, but it is not believed that theres any danger to the public, said MSGT. Robertson.

Police say they believe this is an isolated event, but one neighbor says this house is no stranger to a police presence.

Its been a known, you know, drug house, said Leisa Perkey, a neighbor. Ive been here 30 years. Theres been a lot of traffic, a lot of cops, just a lot of things thatve happened over the last 30 years.

Perkey and another neighbor told News 4 just last month, this same house was crawling with police.

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Behind their property on the fence line, there was a female recovered there, said Perkey.

Behind that house there, they found a dead body, a girl, said Lula Wilson, a neighbor.

Those two events are stirring up mixed emotions for both neighbors who live just feet away.

Im not unsafe or nothing, because Ive been here 30-some years, but this has been going on and on and on and on, and cops have been out here, said Perkey.

I dont like it at all, said Wilson. I dont feel safe now, especially knowing where that happened. Ive heard some pretty bad things about them people.

Police have not arrested anyone in connection with this shooting.

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They do believe this was an isolated event and that the shooter is not a danger to the public.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
The UK will send anti-drone equipment and personnel to Belgium following a series of sightings near airports and military bases in recent weeks, Chief of the Defence Staff Richard Knighton said during a television interview on Sunday.

Over the past week, Belgium's main international airport in Brussels and Liege, one of Europe's largest cargo airports, have been forced to close temporarily due to drone incursions.

The incidents were the latest in a series of unidentified drone flights near a military base where US nuclear weapons are stored.

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Knighton said the UK had agreed to "deploy personnel and equipment to Belgium to help them," following a request from the Belgian authorities.

"We don't know and the Belgians don't know yet the source of those drones, but we will help them by providing our equipment and capabilities, which have already started to be deployed to help Belgium," Knighton said during an interview with the BBC.

Specialists from London to stop drones in Belgium

Defence Secretary John Healey said the UK is sending a team of Royal Air Force specialists to NATO ally Belgium to counter unauthorised drone activity.

"As hybrid threats grow, our strength lies in our alliances and our collective resolve to defend, deter and protect our critical infrastructure and airspace," he said.

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Drone incidents have forced airports across Europe to suspend flights in recent months, with Russian hybrid warfare operations said to be behind some of the incidents.

Belgium has not specified who it believed was behind its recent drone sightings.

Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken said he believed some incidents were part of a "spying operation" that amateurs could not have carried out.

"Grateful to our British friends for their swift support and solidarity. Sending a British anti-drone team to Belgium strengthens our collective security and demonstrates our unity in countering hybrid threats," he wrote on X on Sunday.

Belgium is home to NATO and EU headquarters, as well as Europe's largest financial clearinghouse, which holds tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets.

Many EU countries want to use these assets as collateral to provide loans to Ukraine, but Belgium has so far resisted.
POLAND, Ohio (WKBN)  Part of one lane of Route 170 in Poland Village was closed after a vehicle slammed into a building Monday morning.

The crash happened at the intersection of South Main and College Street. When a First News news crew arrived on scene, they saw the vehicle on its side, crashed into the front window of a business.

Its currently unknown how the crash happened. Police are still collecting statements and reviewing cameras.

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No one was injured. There were people inside the building at the time, but they were not near where the impact happened.

This is one of many crashes across the Valley Monday morning following light snowfall and cold conditions that authorities say contributed to black ice on roadways, causing hazardous conditions.

Kyle Wills contributed to this report.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com.
Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, on Monday was set to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House, days after the United States lifted sanctions on him.

This marks the first visit by a Syrian president to Washington since the country's independence in 1946.

Talks are reported to focus on Syria joining the US-led alliance against the Islamic State militant group.

On the eve of the meeting, the government in Damascus said it was launching a large-scale operation against Islamic State members.

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The group overran large areas of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014, at one point controlling about one third of Syria and 40% of Iraq.

Since the United States led an operation to fight the group, Islamic State is considered militarily defeated, but an estimated 2,500 fighters remain active in both countries and continue to carry out attacks.

Under former ruler Bashar al-Assad, Syria was internationally isolated for years because of the bloody civil war. In early December, a rebel alliance led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) toppled al-Assad.

HTS leader al-Sharaa now leads the country as transitional president, and the new rulers in Damascus want to reintegrate Syria into the international community.

This is al-Sharaa's second visit to the United States. In September, he became the first Syrian president in almost 60 years to address the UN General Debate. He also met Trump in May in Saudi Arabia.
Another planned downtown Tacoma development appears headed for the auction block.

The 16-story project known as Tacoma Tower, 1119 Pacific Ave., is at the center of a debt collection case involving the project lender and the property owner-LLC and various partners.

The case is tied to a $9.94 million loan from December 2021, which was modified two times before default.

The News Tribune first reported on the Tacoma Tower loan default case and other lawsuits against the LLC owner in September of this year.

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A stipulated judgment and decree of foreclosure was granted Oct. 31 by Pierce County Superior Court Judge Grant Blinn. The terms involve 1119 and neighboring 1123 Pacific Ave., along with 1114 Pacific Ave., a parking garage across the street, all owned since late 2021 by 111X Pacific LLC.

The former Key Bank Tower at 1119 Pacific Avenue in downtown Tacoma, Washington, on Thursday, Dec. 23, 2021. Development at the site has stalled amid lawsuits.

The lender, KHRE SMA Funding LLC, affiliated with Knighthead Funding of Connecticut, was awarded more than $14.27 million against the properties.

KHRE was also awarded judgment of nearly $1.8 million against 111X Pacific LLC.

A sheriffs sale was ordered for the 111X Pacific property, with the proceeds to be applied to the payment of the judgment granted  in order to satisfy the Deed of Trust.

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The judgment noted that all redemption rights of 111X and guarantors  are waived.

Unless waived, state law allows for borrowers to reclaim property within a certain time frame after it has been foreclosed by paying what was owed, plus any additional costs.

The order also does not preclude the lender from pursuing judgment against the loan guarantors, it added.

The judgment noted that the case would be taken off the trial calendar, but will remain open pending further order of the court.

A sale date has not been set.

111X Pacific LLCs past plans and other litigation updates

State corporate filings show the propertys owner LLC is led by Rob Brewster of InterUrban Development. Brewster is among the defendants in the Tacoma Tower loan default case.

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InterUrban on its website has described itself as focused on historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and ground up construction projects in urban settings.

It notes that the company develops projects for its own portfolio, on behalf of other landowners, and as an advisory service  including historic tax credits, property acquisition and development, and other complex deal structures.

View of Puget Sound National Bank at 1119 Pacific Ave. around 1941.

In 2021 InterUrbans plans to redevelop the former National Realty Building/Key Tower were made public. 111X Pacific LLC purchased the property for $6.5 million in November of that year. The next month, 111X Pacific LLC purchased the neighboring 1123 Pacific Ave. and a parking garage across the street at 1114 Pacific Ave. for a combined $8.8 million.

Todd Dvorak, responding to questions for InterUrban, told The News Tribune via email at that time that InterUrban is working on a plan to renovate the building to accommodate a mix of office, residential and retail. More details will be coming sometime in 2022.

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In 2022, the Tacoma Tower project received an 8-year multifamily property tax exemption from the city for its plan to convert the office building into 63 market-rate units and office space, as well as ground-floor retail.

In November 2024, InterUrban entered into a general receivership in King County Superior Court.

InterUrban was voluntarily placed into receivership because of the significant fees it is owed on other projects  Tacoma not being one of those, Brewster told The News Tribune in September.

Eric Stokes, a marketing representative for the firm, told The News Tribune in September 2025 via email that InterUrban had no ownership in the property  nor has it ever.

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Last year, 111X Pacific LLC was ordered to pay a default judgment of more than $106,000 as well as nearly $130,000 for a previously unpaid settlement in a case filed by a former local office tenant at the Tacoma Tower site.

In September of this year, a local architecture firm received a default judgment against 111X Pacific LLC, Brewster and Steve DeWalt (also of InterUrban), totaling more than $106,000 for unpaid work.

Also that same month, a new case was filed in Pierce County Superior Court against 111X Pacific by an Arizona investor, who contends he loaned the LLC $220,000 in July 2023 in exchange for an unsecured promissory note which had a two-year term, coming due in July of this year.

According to the complaint, Defendant has failed to pay any principal or interest due under the note.

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No response has been filed in the case, and no attorney is listed representing 111X Pacific.

The foreclosure action is the latest project to take a hit in which InterUrban was involved. The abandoned Gordons Fireplace building in Portland, Oregon, which Brewster and InterUrban had been tied to since 2017 for redevelopment, was auctioned last month.

The site had made headlines in Oregon as a prominent eyesore visible from Interstate 84 just east of downtown Portland.

KGW-TV of Portland reported that the new owners of that building plan to facilitate its sale to the nonprofit Do Good Multnomah to renovate for affordable housing for homeless veterans.

Previous reporting from The News Tribune contributed to this report.
A concerned citizen helped officers arrest a 16-year-old who was allegedly carrying an AK-47 and tools related to car theft at an Ohio park last week.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

The Whitehall Division of Police was called to John Bishop Park after a resident reported a group of four teens smoking marijuana and talking about guns, our news partners WBNS-10 TV reported.

TRENDING STORIES:

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Upon arrival, officers found a 16-year-old with an AK-47, a magazine loaded with 26 rounds of ammunition, and tools police said were connected to stealing cars.

The teen was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possessing criminal tools, WBNS-10 TV reported.

Aris Rosh, who told WBNS-10 TV she visits John Bishop Park during her lunch breaks or to work outdoors, said she was shocked to learn about the arrest.

Most lovely community park, you know, when the children are out from Rosemore (Middle School) for their recess and whatever, and the picnic shelter is a wonderful place to just kind of sit in nature in the city and work, Rosh said.

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Rosh told WBNS-10 TV she couldnt believe a teenager had access to a weapon like that.

The whole thing just sounds fantastical and makes no sense because, as we know, no 16-year-old should have access to that type of, any type of gun, Rosh said.

In a statement sent to WBNS-10 TV, Whitehall Deputy Chief Shawn Wilson said the situation highlights the danger of firearms in public spaces.

This discovery underscores the extreme danger posed when firearms are unlawfully carried, especially by minors, in public spaces, Wilson wrote. Parks are meant to be safe havens for families, children, and community members. The presence of a weapon in such an environment introduces a serious risk of accidental discharge or intentional harm, leading to community fear or serious injury.

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Rosh told WBNS-10 TV she was thankful someone in the community spoke up.

Well, I think that it stands to reason that if you see something, say something, she said. It just goes back to the basic moral character of the folks here who live in Whitehall, and its a very caring community. That person is a community hero.

Police said the investigation is ongoing as they work to determine where the teen got the gun.

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A hit-and-run investigation is underway after an 18-year-old was killed while leaving a party in southeast Houston, the Houston Police Department says.

The crash happened Saturday night near Kassarine Pass and Cherbourg Road, according to police.

Witnesses told authorities the victim was leaving a party and was walking near the intersection at the time.

Police believe a red GMC pickup truck hit the victim at high speed and then fled the scene.

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HPD is conducting an investigation and urges anyone who sees a red GMC pickup truck with front-end or undercarriage damage to contact them.

Yahir Gonzalez said that the victim was his cousin.

"He was the most loving cousin. He always wanted to make you feel included," Gonzalez said. "He was always somebody that you could talk to."

Gonzalez said he still hasn't fully processed the news.

"You know that feeling when your heart drops to your stomach?" Gonzalez said. "It's just like you can't believe that because he's so young."

Gonzalez described his cousin as wise beyond his years, even at such a young age.

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"He didn't get to graduate," Gonzalez said. "That just hurts me so much."

Now, Gonzalez and his family said they are holding on tightly to the memories they had.

"We would go on trips all around Texas," Gonzalez said. "Just go fishing or, you know, just do little fun things all the time. I have beautiful memories with him that will last a lifetime."
The bank received the Customer Loyalty Award, recognized as the bank with the highest customer loyalty and satisfaction in Chile, reflecting a strong value proposition and consistent client experience.

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Q & A Highlights

Q: Can you provide insights on your dividend payout policy and capital management strategy? A: Emiliano Humberto Muratore Raccio, CFO, explained that Banco Itau Chile has been paying the legal minimum payout of 30% in Chile. The bank is currently in the early stages of its capital planning process, which will factor in loan growth and capital ratios. The decision on dividends will be made in the coming months, with more information expected by the next quarterly call. The CFO also noted that the bank's capital discipline has resulted in a significant increase in the CET1 ratio, and there is room for capital deployment through growth or dividends.

Q: What is the sustainable level of financial margin with the market, considering the recent strong performance? A: Emiliano Humberto Muratore Raccio, CFO, stated that while the recent quarter showed a strong financial margin with the market, driven by liability management and a client-oriented strategy, the CLP 28 billion level is not sustainable. The bank expects a sustainable level of CLP 15 billion to 20 billion, with some fluctuations due to market volatility and liability management opportunities.

Q: How sustainable are the current net profit and ROE levels in Chile, and what are the drivers for maintaining these results? A: Andre Gailey, CEO, mentioned that the Chilean operation's RoTE is expected to be sustainable within the 13% to 15% range. The sustainability of these results will depend on maintaining growth in line with the market and the performance of the Colombian operation. The CEO highlighted that the bank is already growing in line with the market in certain sectors and expects to close the gap with the industry pace of growth.

Q: Can you provide more color on the loan growth acceleration in the third quarter and expectations for closing the gap with industry growth? A: Andre Gailey, CEO, explained that the bank has stabilized its portfolio and is now able to grow in line with the market. The bank expects to grow slightly higher than the market in the last quarter and very close to the market by year-end. The CEO also noted that the bank's portfolio management models have allowed it to focus on commercial sectors where it can grow.

Q: What are the asset quality trends in Colombia, and what cost of risk should be expected in the future? A: Andre Gailey, CEO, stated that the NPLs in Colombia are stable, with some volatility in cost of credit due to specific recoveries in the corporate segment. The CEO does not foresee major changes in asset quality and expects the portfolio to perform steadily.

Q: How does the Colombian operation fit strategically within the group, and what is the long-term outlook for its performance? A: Andre Gailey, CEO, explained that the Colombian operation has a regional flavor, providing a differentiated service to major clients and growing the portfolio in loans and services. The retail operation is focused on affluent clients with a digital footprint, aiming for a lighter efficiency ratio. The CEO acknowledged that Colombia has faced macroeconomic challenges, and building strategic positioning will require investments over the next two years.

Q: Are you considering stock buybacks as a way to increase the payout to shareholders? A: An unidentified company representative mentioned that stock buybacks are one of the tools available for capital management, alongside dividends and loan growth. The decision will depend on the feasibility of execution and the bank's business and capital plans.

Q: What is the timeline for achieving an ROE equivalent to the cost of capital in Colombia, and what are the main levers to monitor? A: Andre Gailey, CEO, expects the ROE in Colombia to increase from low single digits to high single digits within the next two years. The main levers include growing the corporate business, focusing on affluent retail clients, improving efficiencies, and digitalizing operations. Over time, the bank aims to reach returns closer to its cost of equity.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
The U.S. Senate reached a tentative agreement on Nov. 9 aimed at reopening the federal government and funding several agencies and programs, including food aid and veterans' benefits.

The agreed-to deal, which was struck with a group of Senate Democrats, would reopen the government until Jan. 30. It also includes a minibus appropriations package that consists of three bills that would fund the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and military construction projects through the end of the fiscal year in 2026.

Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, would continue through September 2026 at higher levels. SNAP emerged as a critical flashpoint in the longest-ever government shutdown, which entered its 40th day on Nov. 9.

Adult Education Manager with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Maria Lopez, of Woodland Park, holds boxes of food as she awaits the next vehicle, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Leonie. The bank distributed approximately 2,000 boxes of food to federal workers and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients who have been affected by the government shutdown. Asia Lester, a volunteer at Anderson Interfaith Ministriees in Anderson, helps distribute food in Anderson S.C. Thursday, November 6, 2025. Many who normally receive SNAP benefits being cut line up at Anderson Interfaith Ministries for food. With SNAP benefits cancelled during the government shutdown, All Access Community Development Corporation, a Hackensack non-profit, is doing an early distributions of turkeys and other food. Joellen Green, Chief Operations Officer at All Access Community Development Corporation, hands a box of food to David Gregorea in the parking lot of the Majestic Elks Lodge on Nov. 4, 2025 in Hackensack, N.J. Jessica Hogan sits next to a neighborhood food pantry, on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, that she set up outside of her home, at 422 Eventide Drive, in Murfreesboro. Hogan thinks no one should be going hungry and created the pantry to help those in need, especially during the time when people have lost SNAP benefits. Neighbors are contributing as well as receiving a variety of items from food, to toiletries, to clothes. A sign in her yard states there is no judgement and no questions regarding the pantry. Sherry Tillman and passenger Nellie Johnson, sit in their car near Sarah Ann Bannister, left, Director of Resource Development at Anderson Interfaith Ministries in Anderson S.C. Thursday, November 6, 2025. Food distribution started at 9 a.m. and Tillman got there at 6:30 a.m. Many who normally receive SNAP benefits being cut line up at Anderson Interfaith Ministries for food. Kenneth Brown, left, gets help from volunteers Pat Field, center and Rick Norquist, from Arlington Community Services, with his food allotment Thursday November 6, 2025. The federal government shutdown is increasing demand at food pantries because many federal workers are not getting paychecks and the federal government cut back on SNAP benefits. One in five households in Arlington depends on SNAP to help put food on the table. Clients were picking up food at the pantry In Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday. With SNAP benefits cancelled during the government shutdown, All Access Community Development Corporation, a Hackensack non-profit, is doing an early distributions of turkeys and other food. Joellen Green, Chief Operations Officer at All Access Community Development Corporation, in the parking lot of the Majestic Elks Lodge. Taj Indian Restaurant and Bar offers free meals for those affected by the lapse in SNAP payments, taken on Nov. 4, 2025, in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Dolly Fant, a volunteer for six years at Anderson Interfaith Ministries gets ready for a food distribution in Anderson S.C. Thursday, November 6, 2025. Many who normally receive SNAP benefits being cut line up at Anderson Interfaith Ministries for food. Dolly Fant, a volunteer for six years at Anderson Interfaith Ministries brings some of the carts of food for a 9 a.m. food distribution in Anderson S.C. Thursday, November 6, 2025. Many who normally receive SNAP benefits being cut line up at Anderson Interfaith Ministries for food. Willie's Copper Top serves as a soup kitchen on Tuesdays and Saturdays in Owsley County. Leeomi Smith rode into the Owsley County Food Place, a food bank that distributes boxes of food each Tuesday, in Booneville, Ky., Nov. 4, 2025. Donal Dickens, Regional Branch Coordinator, Willamston Branch, Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina helps set up before the food distribution at the Jockey Lot in Williamston, S.C. Friday, November 7, 2025. The event fed over 900 families. Sandwiches or AuSnap SandiesAu are offered to those who need them at The Goose in Oklahoma City on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. Kent Useary, 65, who lives on Detroit's east side, rides his scooter during a food distribution event at Jesus Tabernacle of Deliverance Ministries in Detroit, Mich., Nov. 5, 2025. Simone Matthew, a volunteer with Feeding South Florida, (L) hugs Tammy Norton, a Department of Treasury worker, as she stops to pickup essential food items on Oct. 28, 2025 in Dania Beach, Florida. As the government shutdown nears four weeks, Feeding South Florida launched a food distribution site for government employees who have been impacted. The organization handed out food items to approximately 250 families in need during the event. Federal workers, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and air-traffic controllers, receive food parcels at Newark Liberty International Airport as the workers have been impacted by the government shutdown on Oct. 27, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. The morning event was organized by the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), the state's largest anti-hunger organization. The dozens of federal workers who attended the event received one box of nonperishable items, one premium 10-pound produce box, along with potatoes, spaghetti squash, and apples. Federal workers are set to miss their first full paycheck on Wednesday, October 29th, as the government shutdown continues. Federal workers, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and air-traffic controllers, line up to receive food parcels at Newark Liberty International Airport as the workers have been impacted by the government shutdown on Oct. 27, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. The morning event was organized by the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), the state's largest anti-hunger organization. The dozens of federal workers who attended the event received one box of nonperishable items, one premium 10-pound produce box, along with potatoes, spaghetti squash, and apples. Federal workers are set to miss their first full paycheck on Wednesday, October 29th, as the government shutdown continues. Federal workers, including Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers and air-traffic controllers, receive food parcels at Newark Liberty International Airport as the workers have been impacted by the government shutdown on Oct. 27, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. The morning event was organized by the Community FoodBank of New Jersey (CFBNJ), the state's largest anti-hunger organization. The dozens of federal workers who attended the event received one box of nonperishable items, one premium 10-pound produce box, along with potatoes, spaghetti squash, and apples. Federal workers are set to miss their first full paycheck on Wednesday, October 29th, as the government shutdown continues. Betty Anne Gallagher a volunteer with Feeding South Florida, helps load essential food items into the vehicles of government workers on Oct. 28, 2025 in Dania Beach, Florida. As the government shutdown nears four weeks, Feeding South Florida launched a food distribution site for government employees who have been impacted. The organization handed out food items to approximately 250 families in need during the event. Employees of DMARC, Catholic Charities, and Food Bank of Iowa hold signs during a press conference on the loss of SNAP benefits during the government shutdown at DMARC headquarters on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, in Des Moines, Ia. Sparse shelves at Golden Harvest Food Bank are seen on Oct. 28, 2025 in Augusta, Ga. Golden Harvest Food Bank is facing shortages as the government shutdown puts SNAP benefits at risk. Working at a food bank in Fort Collins, Colorado, on Oct. 28, 2025. Because of the federal government shutdown, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced that federal food aid will not be distributed on Nov. 1. An assortment of food sits at the Food Bank for Larimer County in Fort Collins, Colo. on Oct. 28, 2025. Food Bank for Larimer County is feeling the pinch as the government shutdown stretches on, endangering SNAP benefits for 600,000 Coloradans. Faith communities, nonprofits and volunteers step up amid the federal block of SNAP 1 of 24 Adult Education Manager with the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Maria Lopez, of Woodland Park, holds boxes of food as she awaits the next vehicle, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Leonie. The bank distributed approximately 2,000 boxes of food to federal workers and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients who have been affected by the government shutdown.

SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps, lapsed at the start of November for the first time in the program's 60-year history due to the government shutdown. States, cities, and nonprofit organizations have sued the Trump administration to issue full SNAP benefits after it said in October that benefits would not be disbursed in November.

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The Supreme Court late on Nov. 7 allowed the government to continue withholding about $4 billion in funding. SNAP benefits cost about $8 billion to $9 billion per month.

The dispute ended up in the highest court after the government appealed for a second time on Nov. 7, an order from a federal judge to fully fund the program by the end of the day. Rhode Island Federal District Court Judge John McConnell had accused the government of playing political games with the lives of the 42 million Americans who rely on food stamps.

Stuck in limbo: SNAP users brace for hungry weekend after Trump admin appeals order for full SNAP benefits

The majority of recipients are extremely low-income families with children, as well as seniors and people with disabilities. Many have turned to already-strained food pantries, and grocery stores have raised concerns on the SNAP disruption, causing sales drops.

Contributing: Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY; Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senate deal to reopen government would provide SNAP funding
The trial for the murder of Scott Brooks, a well-known restaurant owner in NoDa, resumes on Wednesday with two men accused of the crime.

Prosecutors have presented surveillance footage showing two masked suspects approaching Brooks Sandwich House in 2019.

Their business was shooting when things didnt go their way, said Heidi Perlman, highlighting the alleged modus operandi of the defendants.

The footage showed Scott Brooks arriving at his restaurant before sunrise, unaware that the armed suspects were following him.

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Prosecutors detailed that after Brooks was robbed, he attempted to defend himself with a gun from his coat pocket, leading to him being shot.

As soon as Scott pulled it out to try and protect himself, one of the defendants started firing, and he didnt stop until Scott was on the ground, Perlman described.

TRIAL COVERAGE:

The defense, however, is attempting to cast doubt on the investigation, suggesting that the crime scene was not properly handled by the CMPD.

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Laura Baker, defense attorney for Staples, questioned the integrity of the crime scene, stating, Is that a problem for your original crime scene, when people come in and stash their trash on your original crime sceneYES.

Prosecutors allege that defendants Steven Staples and Terry Conner had a pattern of robbing cash-only businesses and killing victims to cover up their crimes.

An officer testified about a second homicide linked to the defendants, involving a man and woman found dead in a Range Rover, with their hands and faces taped.

Shari Walton, a CMPD crime scene investigator, described the scene inside the vehicle as horrific, with wounds to the victims heads and blood splatter on the interior.

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The trial is set to continue after Veterans Day, with prosecutors expected to further elaborate on the second homicide case linked to Staples and Conner.

Check back with wsoctv.com and watch Eyewitness News for updates.

VIDEO: Opening statements in Brooks murder trial to start Friday
Officials in southeast Texas are urging evacuated residents to stay away from their homes after an eight-inch hole was discovered in a major dam.

The hundreds of residents living south of the Carter Lake dam in Camden, approximately 70 miles north of Houston, were first notified to evacuate their homes on Saturday night due to concerns that the dam had been compromised. Authorities said a resident in the area had reported rushing water leaking from the dam.

Approximately 20-30 homes are located within the impacted area, according to Fox News.

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Emergency crews went door-to-door, warning residents to evacuate. Still, they have since been urged to stay away for an additional three days as the investigation into the dam continues.

The Polk County Office of Emergency Management has released a statement to update locals on the ongoing chaos, which said that the dams owners are pumping water out of the lake to assess the damage.

The goal is to reduce the lake's water level about another 2 ft. from where it is currently to give the dam's property owners a better view of the extent of the damage, a statement from the OEM read. Pumping crews will be monitoring the pumps overnight, and Emergency response partners will be monitoring the area of concern throughout the night.

This map released by the Polk County Emergency Management shows the potential impact of flooding in the area (Polk County Emergency Management)

The dam's property owners hope to begin conversations with an engineering firm tomorrow. The County estimates that it may take up to 3 days to know the extent of the damage and receive assurance from the engineer that the dam is stable and it's safe for residents to return home.

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Persons residing in the evacuation area are encouraged to avoid the area until further notice.

Although no flooding has been reported yet, several major roads have been marked as being at risk.

Those roads include Henry Darden Road, Marie Road, Community Drive, Bo Peep, Herb Collins Road, and Girard.

Residents are currently being housed in a local gym in Livingston, which has been converted into a shelter. Evacuees are being provided with places to sleep and free food, with the American Red Cross providing significant support at the shelter.

Other residents have been encouraged to consider staying with friends or family to alleviate pressure on the Dunbar Gym Shelter.

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Initially, locals were given a flash warning that was being enforced until 6 pm local time on Monday.

Since Carter Lake is a private reservoir, it falls outside the strict oversight laws that are enforced at dams across Texas. As a result, state inspections can be complex and require close collaboration between the dams owners and government officials.

On the other side of the state, locals are still reeling from a horrifying flood at Camp Mystic, which killed 27 girls, some as young as eight, on July 4. Richard Eastland, the camps owner, was also killed in the flood.

As Camp Mystic looks to reopen, parents have accused the camp of choosing to house young girls in cabins sitting in flood-prone areas, despite the risk, to avoid the cost of relocating the cabins.

The area was just one of many affected by the devastating floods, caused by the summers heavy rainfall, which claimed the lives of at least 82 people in central Texas.
CAIRO (AP)  Tens of thousands of Sudanese have fled to overcrowded camps to escape reported atrocities by a paramilitary force since it captured el-Fasher in the western Darfur region, an aid group said Saturday, and the U.N. human rights chief warned that many others are still trapped.

Those who reach shelter in Tawila, about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from el-Fasher, find themselves stranded in a barren area with barely enough tents, many of them improvised from patched tarps and sheets, according to a video posted by the group Sudans IDPs and Refugee Camps. It shows children running across the area as a few adults carry a large pot of food, hoping it will be enough to feed the growing crowds of displaced.

Since the Rapid Support Forces seized el-Fasher from the rival military Oct. 26, more than 16,200 people have fled to the camps in Tawila, said Adam Rojal, spokesperson for the aid group. The International Organization for Migration estimates that around 82,000 people had fled the city and surrounding areas as of Nov. 4, heading to safe spots including Tawila, an area already overcrowded with the displaced from previous attacks, with some making the journey on foot.

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Abu Bakr Hammad, director of medical activities with aid group Doctors Without Borders in Tawila Hospital, told The Associated Press on Saturday that the hospital has received at least 1,500 people who fled el-Fasher since Oct. 26, suffering from a range of injuries including broken fractures.

The RSF and the Sudanese army have been at war since April 2023, following simmering tensions over control of Africa's third-largest nation. At least 40,000 people have been killed, according to the World Health Organization, though the actual toll might be many times higher. Some 12 million people have been displaced, and nearly half the population are facing acute food insecurity.

Last week, the RSF seized el-Fasher after an 18-month siege. The paramilitary rampaged through the Saudi Hospital in the city, killing over 450 people, according to the WHO, and went house to house, killing civilians and committing sexual assaults. The RSF has denied killing anyone at the Saudi hospital, but testimonies from those fleeing, online videos and satellite images offer an apocalyptic vision of the attack.

Fleeing el-Fasher for Tawila

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MSF, the abbreviation for Doctors Without Borders' French name Medecins Sans Frontieres, said Friday that 300 people arrived in Tawila on Thursday alone after fleeing el-Fasher. MSF teams reported extremely high levels of malnutrition among children and adults.

The displaced in Tawila are in urgent need of food, medicine, shelter materials and psychosocial support, Rojal told The Associated Press. He said that families often survive on just two meals a day  and sometimes only one.

U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Turk warned that those left behind in el-Fasher are at risk.

Today, traumatized civilians are still trapped inside el-Fasher and are being prevented from leaving," he said Friday in Geneva.

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I fear that the abominable atrocities such as summary executions, rape and ethnically motivated violence are continuing within the city, he added. "And for those who manage to flee, the violence does not end, as the exit routes themselves have been the scenes of unimaginable cruelty.

Fighting escalates despite ceasefire proposal

On Thursday, the RSF said it has agreed to a humanitarian truce proposed by a U.S.-led mediator group known as the Quad. Meanwhile, the army said it welcomes the Quads proposal, but will only agree to it if RSF withdraw from civilian areas and give up their weapons.

The fighting has spread across Darfur and to the neighboring Kordofan region, with both emerging as the epicenter of Sudans war over the past months. Early this week, a drone attack in el-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan province, killed at least 40 people and wounded dozens more.

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A military official told AP on Saturday that the army intercepted two Chinese-made drones that targeted el-Obeid on Saturday morning. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information.

Jalale Getachew Birru, an analyst for East Africa with Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, said in a statement Friday that the fall of el-Fasher and rising violence in North Kordofan mark a strategic victory for the RSF, but exacerbate human suffering. He estimated that at least 2,000 people were killed across Sudan in a single week between Oct. 26 and Nov. 1.

These events not only deepen Sudans humanitarian crisis but also signal the RSFs growing capacity to expand toward central Sudan, threatening to reverse the success of the Sudanese armed forces and returning the violence to the relatively calm central Sudan, said Birru.
Credit: Frankenburg Technologies

Held in the hands of the chief executive of Frankenburg Technologies, the Mark 1 looks like a scale model of a rocket.

At just 65cm from top to tail, the missile is roughly the size of a baguette and smaller than the average human arm.

As he speaks, Kusti Salm slaps the full-size foam replica into his palm and waves it through the air for emphasis.

But the scope of the project he outlines from a glass-walled office overlooking the airport in Estonias capital, Tallinn, is monumental.

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We are not apologetic about the fact we manufacture weapons, says Mr Salm, the former chief civil servant in Estonias defence ministry.

We are not afraid to say we are manufacturing them to take down Russian long-range drones.

And we are not all apologetic about the fact that this will be the most-needed capability in the Western world in the next five to 10 years.

Kusti Salm, the former chancellor of Estonias ministry of defence, with a foam replica of the Mark 1 missile

In laboratories dotted across Europe and the United States, defence firms are scrambling to produce small, cheap rockets.

Each seeks to answer the challenge posed by Vladimir Putins war in Ukraine: how do you stop barrages of hundreds of drones without bankrupting your country?

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On Sept 9, Nato was forced to deploy F-16s to shoot down around 20 Russian drones that crossed the border into Poland.

They fired missiles worth around 500,000 to intercept Shahed drones each worth less than a tenth of that, and failed in half the attempts.

It does not take a military strategist to work out that is not a sustainable exchange. In response, European leaders promised to set up a drone wall on Natos eastern flank, comprising a variety of electronic warfare systems and methods of interception.

b'

1011 Frankenburg Mk 1 The minature air defence missile that can counter a drone attacks

'

Even for rocket scientists, making one on the cheap poses a series of extremely challenging problems. We want to bring affordability and scalability to an industry that has traditionally been like a designer bag industry, says Mr Salm.

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The missiles in Western defence arsenals are typically exquisite: rare, expensive and capable to the nth degree. By contrast, the tiny Mark 1 aims to just be good enough.

It can fly just 2km (1.2 miles) and would struggle to function in the heat of the desert or chill of the Arctic Circle.

A balance has been struck between the pursuit of cheap parts and overall accuracy, which the company hopes to increase to 90 per cent - currently, the desired level has been met in half of 53 live fire tests.

At just 65cm from top to tail, the missile is roughly the size of a baguette

But driving the capabilities down has helped make the Mark 1 into affordable mass, says Mr Salm. Factories have been set up in two Nato nations, with the aim of producing hundreds of missiles per day.

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Although he does not give a price for the weapon, he says it comes in at less than a tenth of existing rocket air defence systems (a Stinger missile costs around 400,000). For Western nations, it also presents a compelling use case.

In Ukraine, teams of pilots launch interceptor drones to take down Russias barrages. These are cheap (around 2,500 each), but the success depends in large part on the skill of the pilot.

While Kyiv has thousands of trained experts, the West has startlingly few  certainly not enough to protect 2,100 critical infrastructure sites along Natos eastern border around the clock.

With the Mark 1 guided to its target by AI, its launchers can, to an extent, be left to their own devices.

Factories have been set up in two Nato nations with the aim of producing hundreds of Mark 1 missiles per day

There are unique challenges in cramming a warhead, sensor and fuel into a missile not much longer than a keyboard. In a tiny rocket, as fuel burns off, the angle of tilt is dramatically affected by the change in weight.

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The Frankenburg team has experimented with the shape, the positioning of the wings, and the centre of gravity, centre of pressure, you know, all these things in order to maximise accuracy, Mr Salm says.

In order to solve the challenge of rocket science on a tight budget, Frankenburg hired some of the biggest brains in the field.

The chief engineer is Andreas Bappert, who designed the highly sought-after Iris-T air defence system, now in use across Nato and in Ukraine.

It plucked the chief engineer working on the Spear III missile at MBDA UK, a lynchpin project for UK defence that has been hit by delays. And Latvian geniuses have joined the team, says Mr Salm.

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They are doing things that you cannot learn over a weekend from YouTube videos, as you can with drones, he adds. There are no Rocket Science for Dummies books that you can order from Amazon.

Fabian Hoffmann, a missile technology expert, says: There are quite a lot of experts who can build warheads, or sensors or engines. But there are not that many people who can integrate all these sub-systems into a functioning, workable missile  probably a few dozen.

The chief engineers come into their own when things dont work. They typically possess decades of experience that is difficult to codify or write down, says Mr Hoffmann.

When everyone has a big question mark on their face because no one knows whats going on, the one guy with 30 years experience, for example, remembers a trial he did in 2006 that revealed there was a small issue with a bolt that had a crack  and its the same here.

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Frankenburg, Mr Salm says, is able to draw talent to its project because of the simple mission. Theres a lot of people who wake up in the morning, read the news and are angered by the injustice going on in the world, he says.

And were one of the very few places in Europe where you can put your talent to work in somehow ending this madness.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
A 3-year-old girl with a severe dairy allergy was hospitalized after a Qatar Airways flight attendant allegedly gave the child a chocolate bar despite warnings from the toddlers mother not to serve her anything containing milk.

When North Carolina resident Swetha Neerukonda returned to her seat from the bathroom, the shocked parent confronted the flight attendant, who mocked and mitigated her concerns as the toddler went into anaphylaxis and her vital signs declined, according to a $5 million lawsuit reviewed by The Independent.

Upon landing, the childs condition worsened and she spent two days in the intensive care unit until being stabilized, the lawsuit states.

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Its inconceivable  they take it upon themselves to give the child the allergen? attorney Abram Bohrer, who is representing Neerukonda, told The Independent. This was a very serious, life-threatening situation.

The suit, filed October 31 in Alexandria, Virginia federal court, claims the cabin crew did little to help, leaving Neerukonda largely to her own devices.

Swetha Neerukonda, seen here with her 3-year-old daughter, is suing Qatar Airways after the girl was hospitalized following a mid-air anaphylactic reaction the family blames on a flight attendant (Supplied/Getty)

Youd think they would jump into action, calling for ground-based telemedicine support, asking for a doctor on board, Bohrer said. But they were somewhat blase, very indifferent.

A Qatar Airways spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

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Anaphylaxis is an allergic reaction that shuts down the bodys airways and can be fatal without immediate medical intervention. In one instance, a 20-year-old woman with a shellfish allergy nearly died from an anaphylactic reaction that occurred shortly after she kissed her boyfriend, who ate shrimp earlier in the day.

The Federal Aviation Administration does not require airlines to carry EpiPens, but planes are required to carry vials of epinephrine, which only a trained medical professional can administer, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

On April 9, Neerukonda, 33, and her young daughter boarded Qatar Airways flight QR710 from Washington Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Virginia, according to Neerukondas complaint.

They were headed to India, and would catch a connection at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, following the 14-hour flight from Dulles.

Presently, FAA regulations do not require airlines to carry EpiPens aboard their flights, only vials of epinephrine, which require a trained medical professional to administer, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (Getty)

Neerukonda informed members of the cabin crew upon boarding about her daughters allergies to dairy and nuts, and also reiterated the warning during the journey, her complaint continues. Once crewmembers were placed on notice of a passengers food allergy, the complaint argues, they had a duty of care to ensure that food items containing such allergens [would] not be served to that passenger.

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At one point during the flight, Neerukonda needed to use the lavatory, and one of the flight attendants agreed to keep an eye on her daughter while she was gone, according to the complaint. Neerukonda once again reiterated that her daughter suffered from allergies to dairy and nuts, which said flight attendant acknowledged, the complaint states.

But, when Neerukonda returned, the flight attendant was feeding her a Kit Kat bar, according to Bohrer.

Neerukonda then confronted the flight attendant who responded by admitting that she had fed the  snack to the child, and who mocked and mitigated [Neerukondas] concerns, according to the complaint.

The allergen in question was a Kit Kat bar, according to attorney Abram Bohrer (AFP/Getty)

Within a short period, [the young girl] began to suffer severe anaphylaxis as her mental status and vital signs declined, the complaint continues.

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Bohrer said the child experienced a rapid decline in her oxygen saturation rate, and ultimately required an EpiPen injection, which the complaint says Neerukonda administered. However, no PA announcement was made by cabin crew members, in violation of [the airlines] own practices and procedures, according to the complaint.

Moreover, it contends, when [Neerukonda] sought to share information with a fellow passenger whom she believed to be a witness, a flight attendant intervened, claiming that was in violation of the airlines policy.

The girls condition improved somewhat and she made it to Doha for their connection without further incident, the complaint states. Yet, once they landed in India, the child suffered a second anaphylactic reaction and was rushed to the hospital and placed in the ICU for emergency treatment.

In 2023, a Southern California cardiologist flying Qatar Airways from Los Angeles to Sri Lanka died after being denied the vegetarian meal he had ordered, choking on a piece of food while attempting to follow a flight attendants instructions to eat around the meat in the meal he was given instead, according to a wrongful death lawsuit first reported by The Independent.

The mother of the 3-year-old girl who was sickened in the air is demanding $5 million from Qatar Airways (US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia)

A year later, a New York City physician flying Singapore Airlines from Frankfurt, Germany to John F. Kennedy International Airport fell violently ill when she was served a meal containing shrimp, even after having made sure to notify the cabin crew of her severe shellfish allergy, according to a lawsuit filed last June. The flight was forced to divert to Paris, where the woman was transported by ambulance and underwent emergency medical treatment at two separate medical facilities, according to her complaint.

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In June 2024, British reality TV star Jack Fowler experienced what he described as near-fatal anaphylaxis aboard an Emirates flight to Dubai, after being served a chicken curry containing cashew nuts, despite allegedly informing a flight attendant that he had a severe nut allergy.

Cashew is the worst nut for me, Fowler told Good Morning Britain at the time. Straight away I knew my throat was closing up, I couldnt breathe.

Neerukondas lawsuit says her daughter suffered great pain, agony and mental anguish thanks to the candy bar she was given by the Qatar Airways flight attendant, and will likely continue to deal with related problems.

She is demanding a jury trial and $5 million in damages, as well as pre- and post-judgment interest, plus court costs and legal fees.

Qatar Airways has not yet filed a formal response to the allegations.
Japan and China were involved in a war of words on Monday after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute "a survival-threatening situation" for Japan requiring the use of force.

Takaichi, who was elected as the countrys first female prime minister last month, said on Friday that Chinese use of force around Taiwan would qualify as "an existential threat."

The latest diplomatic spat started on Friday when Takaichi was asked in parliament about scenarios that would constitute a threat to Japan.

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The ultraconservative Takaichi cited the examples of a Chinese naval blockade on Taiwan and any military action to prevent the arrival of US forces.

"If it involves the use of warships and military actions, it could by all means become a survival-threatening situation" in which Japan could use force for defence, she said.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a press conference after the APEC Summit in Gyeongju, 1 November, 2025 - AP Photo

Her comments sparked a sharp rebuke from Beijing over the weekend.

"We have no choice but cut off that dirty neck that has been lunged at us without hesitation. Are you ready?" Chinese Consul General Xue Jian said in a message posted on X, which was later deleted.

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Xue also criticised past remarks made by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other Japanese lawmakers that a "Taiwan emergency is Japan emergency as "blatant interference of Chinese internal affairs and violation of sovereignty" that require a retraction and apology.

On Monday, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Tokyo had protested to Beijing over Xue's X message.

"While the intent of (Xue's) post is not entirely clear, we must say the comment...was extremely inappropriate," Kihara said.

People visit the Raohe night market in Taipei, 30 October, 2025 - AP Photo

Japans Foreign Ministry has since lodged a "strong protest" and demanded the post deleted. Kihara urged China to provide an explanation.

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The row suggests that Japan-China relations may not be smooth under Takaichi, despite what appeared to be a cordial meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea during the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

Japan's new leader has committed to beefing up the military and met Taiwan's representative to the summit the day after her meeting with Xi, angering China.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Xue's post was a personal one "directed at the erroneous and dangerous remarks that attempt to separate Taiwan from Chinas territory and advocate military intervention in the Taiwan Strait."

He blamed some Japanese politicians and media for hyping up the issue to confuse public perception and divert attention.

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during a state dinner hosted by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Gyeongju, 1 November, 2025 - AP Photo

China has lodged "solemn complaints and protests" with Japan over Takaichi's remarks, Lin said.

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"Is Japan attempting to challenge China's core interests and obstruct the great cause of Chinas reunification?" he said. "Where does Japan intend to take China-Japan relations?"

China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to bring the self-governing island under its control.
Democratic Reps. Steny Hoyer and Jamie Raskin are inserting themselves into the states redistricting fight, escalating pressure on state lawmakers and the senate president to take up the mid-decade redrawing of congressional lines ahead of the 2026 midterms.

The two prominent Maryland Democrats sent a four-page letter to the entire Maryland General Assembly Monday, where they framed their endorsement of redrawing the states maps as a way to rebuff the presidents "authoritarian attack on democratic elections and voting rights while casting the fight as an ethical moral and political imperative" to act.

That nationwide effort has been stymied in Maryland, where the states Senate president, Bill Ferguson, has rejected the push to change maps in the state.

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We write today to applaud the governors redistricting initiative and urge you to move forward to explore what we can do as a state to help prevent the imminent disaster of President Trump determining the results of the 2026 congressional elections through aggressive mid-decade gerrymandering and therefore clinching control of the U.S. House of Representatives before a single vote is even cast, the lawmakers write.

The letter comes a week after Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) announced the creation of a redistricting advisory commission that is expected to solicit feedback from Marylanders on whether the state should move forward with redrawing maps. Democrats dominate the states congressional delegation and if the party is successful in redrawing the maps it could only pick up a single seat  currently occupied by Republican Rep. Andy Harris, who chairs the House Freedom Caucus.

While the states top Democrats, including Moore and Maryland House Speaker Adrienne Jones, are all on board with exploring redistricting, Ferguson has remained a holdout.

Two weeks ago Ferguson sent his own letter to dozens of state lawmakers bucking his party and outlining why the Maryland Senate would not take up the effort. Part of his rationale was that the Maryland Supreme Court is packed with several justices appointed by Moores successor, former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. He suggests that not only raises the possibility that any new maps that give Democrats an 8-0 advantage could be struck down, but it could trigger a loss of Democratic seats in the state, something he referred to as the downside risk to Democrats is catastrophic.

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Fergusons office acknowledged it had received the letter but did not comment. The Baltimore Sun was the first to report on the letter.

Moore, a potential 2028 presidential hopeful, said in an appearance on CBS Face the Nation on Sunday that Maryland should not stand on the sidelines as other states, especially Republican-led states, jump into redistricting.

If other states are going to have this process and go through this- go through this journey of identifying whether or not they have fair maps in a mid-decade cycle, then so should Maryland, Moore said. I'm just not sure why we should be playing by a different set of rules than Texas, or than Florida, or than Ohio or all these other places.

Theres been pressure mounting on Maryland to move for weeks, and Ferguson is seen as the partys biggest impediment to moving forward. Democrats resounding victories last week in Virginia and New Jerseys gubernatorial races, as well as the overwhelming passage of a ballot initiative passed by California voters to redraw state lines to pick up five liberal-leaning seats to counteract a similar move in Texas to net five Republican-leaning seats, is ramping up the urgency to act.



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Hoyer and Raskins letter calls Ferguson out by name and attempts to undercut some of his reasons for hesitating on moving forward.

While Senator Ferguson is obviously right that there is an element of uncertainty in all litigation, there are some well-established doctrines that courts follow out of deference to the legislatures constitutional power over redistricting, the lawmakers write. Chief among these is the principle that, when a court strikes down a newly enacted map as unlawful, the legislature must be afforded a reasonable opportunity to remedy the violation.

The letter also appears to be aimed at pressuring Ferguson by energizing some of the state lawmakers that he leads, possibly ramping up the stakes they could move against him.

We dont need to remind you that Marylanders have paid a heavy price during the first year of the second Trump Administration, they write, listing off items including 15,000 federal employees that have been fired since Trump returned to power and thousands more workers and federal contractors that have been furloughed since the shutdown began more than a month ago.

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The memo also asks state lawmakers three questions they should answer as to whether they deem the redistricting fight as imminent. Are we in the fight of our lives to defend American democracy and freedom and our Constitution, Bill of Rights and rule of law?... is it an ethical, moral and political imperative to use every lawful means at our disposal to fight back: can we successfully and lawfully redistrict to respond to these GOP assaults?

To all three questions, Raskin and Hoyer write, We believe the answer is yes.
A torpedo firing test from an autonomous submarine was recently conducted to test the vessel's efficacy.



Known as KSOT (Kapal Selam Otomatis Tanpa Awak), the submarine fired a 324 mm lightweight Piranha torpedo. Developed by the state-owned defense industry company PT PAL Indonesia, KSOT vessel enhances the country's submarine warfare capabilities.

The Indonesian Navy expects to induct 30 such submarines by 2026.

Equipped with modern systems

The submarine is equipped with modern sonar systems, torpedo launch capabilities, and low-stealth capabilities, according to reports. Mounted externally on the KSOT, the Piranha torpedo was loaded into the starboard-side launch tube.



Reports revealed that the torpedo was placed using a mobile crane from the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) 2nd Fleet Command pier. The autonomous submarine then moved further into the sea before launching the torpedo.



Indonesian Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin personally led the firing of a Piranha torpedo from an autonomous submarine, monitored by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto via remote communication from Jakarta. In this historic test, the KSOT successfully maneuvered and fired the Piranha torpedo with high precision, according to PT PAL Indonesia.

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The test was conducted at the Fleet Command II Headquarters in Surabaya, East Java.



PT PAL Indonesia claims that it relentlessly delivers innovation and tangible evidence of the progress of the national industry, continuing to support the vision of territorial security.

The test marks a significant milestone in Indonesia's maritime defense technology development.

KSOT shows a diving demonstration

A video released by PT PAL shows the KSOT performing a diving demonstration, although for most of the test, including during the torpedo launch, the prototype remained partially submerged. The prototype is 15 meters long with a breadth of 2.2 metres and a draught of 1.85 meters. It can reach a maximum speed of 20 knots and can operate at depths of up to 350 meters, reported Naval News.



The KSOT full-size model was publicly unveiled for the first time during the Indonesian National Armed Forces 80th anniversary parade on October 5 in Jakarta, according to the report.



The largest maritime manufacturing company in Indonesia, PT Pal has advantages in the design and construction capabilities of naval vessels, commercial vessels, and general engineering. It's also reliable in the ship maintenance & repair and overhaul (OVH) of maritime products, both naval vessels, submarines, commercial vessels, as well as general engineering products for energy and electrification.

Reports claimed that the KSOT is designed to provide a fast, efficient and effective solution to strengthen the Indonesia's maritime combat capabilities, while complementing its existing fleet of conventional submarines.

"The Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) and PT PAL Indonesia will continue to conduct assessments to further enhance its performance so that it can deliver greater benefits, Sjafrie said.


Memphis International Airport has seen more than a dozen flights canceled on Nov. 10.

The cancellations in Memphis are part of more than 1,400 flights canceled nationwide on Nov. 10, the fourth day of a reduction in flights due to the ongoing federal government shutdown.

Memphis International saw 15 cancellations and 24 delays on Nov. 10, according to FlightAware data at 1 p.m.

Mia Harvey, media and public relations program manager for the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority, told The Commercial Appeal that the airport remains under normal operations and reiterated that passengers should frequently check with their airlines for the latest scheduling information.

A look inside Memphis International Airport on Nov. 7, 2025. Nov. 7 marked the first day of flight reductions at 40 airports across the U.S., including Memphis International Airport. The cuts are due to the ongoing government shutdown.

The airlines will have the most up-to-date and accurate information about any flight changes, Harvey said. We also recommend that passengers arrive at the airport two hours prior to their departure time.

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Nationwide, about 5.5% of flights are affected  more than the 4% of cuts presently ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration to offset an air traffic controller shortage. Cuts are scheduled to step up to 10% by Nov. 14, but it's unclear whether a resolution to end the shutdown, which is expected this week, will make a difference.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned Nov. 9 that air travel disruptions would spread.

"It's only going to get worse," Duffy said in an interview with CNN. "I look to the two weeks before Thanksgiving, you're going to see air travel be reduced to a trickle."

More than 2,600 flights were canceled on Nov. 9, making it the fourth-worst day for cancellations since January 2024, according to Cirium, the aviation analytics company. Just over 60% of flights left on time and 30% had delays of more than 30 minutes, Cirium reported.

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Lawmakers reached a deal Nov. 9 to end the shutdown, two sources familiar with the matter told USA TODAY.

But the government isn't reopening yet as lawmakers in Congress still have a winding logistical road before they can actually turn the lights back on. President Donald Trump threatened to dock the pay of air traffic controllers who dont report to work, after the Senate reached a comprise to end the government shutdown.

Earlier in November, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said 20% to 40% of controllers were not showing up for work on any given day, Reuters reported.

A growing number of controllers have also retired since the federal shutdown began on Oct. 1, Duffy said. The FAA is 1,000 to 2,000 controllers short of full staffing, he told CNN.

What flights have been canceled at MEM?

Among the afternoon and evening flights canceled Nov. 9 at Memphis International Airport are:

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Delta 5192 to Detroit departing at 2:10 p.m.

United 6207 to Houston departing at 6:55 p.m.

Southwest 3610 from Denver arriving at 4:10 p.m.

Delta 4924 from Detroit arriving at 5:03 p.m.

United 6301 from Houston arriving at 6:08 p.m.

USA TODAY contributed to this report.

Corey Davis is the Collierville and Germantown reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Corey.Davis@commercialappeal.com or 901-293-1610.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Are flights canceled in Memphis? The latest at MEM amid flight cuts
Key Points

Carnival recovered from its existential crisis during the pandemic.

Robloxs growth cooled after the pandemic's height, but its still expanding.

The cheaper stock is the safer bet in this frothy market.

10 stocks we like better than Carnival Corp. 

In 2020 and 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic stirred up fierce headwinds for some companies but generated strong tailwinds for others.

One of the companies that faced an existential crisis was Carnival (NYSE: CCL), the world's top cruise line operator. But one company that flourished was Roblox (NYSE: RBLX), the online gaming company that encouraged cooped-up kids to build and share their own digital worlds.

As the pandemic's height passed, Carnival's business recovered as global travel resumed. But Roblox struggled as many of its tween users went back to school. Yet over the past four years, Roblox's stock still rallied 33% as Carnival's stock only rose 9%.

Let's see why Roblox outperformed Carnival by a wide margin -- and if it remains the better investment.

Image source: Getty Images.

How Carnival survived its existential crisis

In fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2021 (which ended in November 2021), Carnival's total passengers and occupancy percentage plummeted as global travel ground to a halt.

A series of COVID-19 outbreaks aboard its ships exacerbated that decline, which reduced its annual revenue from $20.8 billion in fiscal 2019 to just $1.9 billion in fiscal 2021. It also racked up net losses of $10.2 billion in fiscal 2020 and $9.5 billion in fiscal 2021, and it stayed unprofitable until fiscal 2024.

To stay solvent throughout that crisis, Carnival idled many of its ships, slashed its spending, and nearly tripled its year-end debt from $11.5 billion in fiscal 2019 to $33.2 billion in fiscal 2021.

But over the following four years, Carnival's business gradually recovered as more passengers returned, its occupancy percentage exceeded 100% again, and its higher average fares and onboard spending boosted its average spending per customer.

In fiscal 2023, Carnival's annual revenue rose to $21.6 billion and finally exceeded its pre-pandemic revenues in fiscal 2019. Its revenue rose another 16% to $25 billion in fiscal 2024, and it finally squeezed out a net profit of $1.9 billion as it reduced its year-end debt to $27.5 billion. The company was still shouldering $26.5 billion in total debt at the end of its latest quarter, but refinanced a large portion of that debt at lower rates to ease the pressure on its balance sheet.

From fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2027, analysts expect Carnival's revenue to grow and earnings per share (EPS) to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5% and 24%, respectively. That growth should be driven by its new destinations in the Bahamas, expansion across Asia, more onboard services, and its addition of 10 more ships (to its fleet of 94 ships across more than 800 ports) by the end of fiscal 2028.
Almost 11 months after a man steered a car into a Christmas market in the east German city of Magdeburg, killing six, his trial - expected to be one of the largest in post-war German history - starts on Monday.

Taleb al-Abdulmohsen, 51, who was working as a doctor in a forensic psychiatric facility, in Bernburg, some 48 kilometres south of Magdeburg, is accused of driving into the crowd on December 20 of last year, killing five women and a child and injuring 338.

Al-Abdulmohsen is from Saudi Arabia and came to Germany in 2006. He was detained immediately after the crime and has been in custody ever since.

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The Naumburg public prosecutor general's office has charged him with six counts of murder and 338 counts of attempted murder, among other charges.

Around 180 victims and bereaved relatives are taking part in the trial as co-plaintiffs, making it one of the largest trials in Germany's post-war history. To enable all those affected to take part, a temporary court building was erected.
According to a report by the Saudi outlet al-Hadath, Kushner told the prime minister that the US would like Hamas terrorists to leave for areas under Hamas control or depart to another country.

The US administration has made it clear to Israel that it wishes to quickly resolve the crisis concerning the 100 to 200 terrorists located in the tunnels in Rafah, a US official told The Jerusalem Post.

We believe they should be allowed to leave with immunity following the return of the body of the kidnapped soldier, Lt. Hadar Goldin, the official said.

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On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US President Donald Trumps envoy, Jared Kushner.

According to a report by the Saudi news channel Al Hadath, Kushner told the prime minister that the US would like Hamas terrorists to leave for areas under Hamas control or depart to another country in order to prevent a crisis.

Finding a solution to this issue will serve as a pilot for the disarmament of Hamas, Kushner reportedly told Netanyahu.

A yellow mark indicates the Yellow Line under the ceasefire deal, in Gaza City, November 2, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/Ebrahim Hajjaj)

An Israeli official said after the meeting that there are still no agreements regarding the terrorists in Rafah, but said that in the meantime, Israel continues clearing the area in Rafah.

Mediators engaged in intensive talks to find a resolution

Behind the scenes, the mediating parties  Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey  are engaged in intensive discussions to find a resolution. A source familiar with the details told the Post that Turkey is playing a significant role in this matter, partly to prove that it must be included in the international Gaza task force.

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It appears that Turkey is not giving up easily on having a presence in the planned stabilization force. Ankara has reportedly begun recruiting 2,000 volunteers from across the Turkish military to take part in the task force it wishes to deploy to Gaza.

Officials in Trumps administration are pressuring Israel to agree to a Turkish presence. However, Israeli sources have been adamant that this is not going to happen.

Another issue raised in the meeting between Netanyahu and Kushner, according to Al Hadath, was the security agreement between Israel and Syria.

A source familiar with the matter said that the US administration wishes to hold another round of talks between senior Israeli and Syrian officials in the near future. The gaps are small, theres no reason an agreement cannot be reached, the source told the Post.

On Monday, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with Trump in Washington, and the issue was also discussed there. The Syrian president is reportedly interested in reaching an agreement, in part to promote the lifting of sanctions on Syria, a matter Sharaa has raised in meetings with members of Congress.
By Nate Raymond and Jack Queen

BOSTON (Reuters) -The availability of food aid for 42 million low-income Americans remained in question on Monday as legal wrangling over the benefits continued even as lawmakers took steps toward ending the record-long government shutdown.

In the latest twist, the administration of President Donald Trump indicated to the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday it would continue to fight an order requiring it to fully fund food benefits known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.

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The administration has blamed Congress for the crisis and said it was up to lawmakers to solve it.

A letter from the administration to the Supreme Court on Monday came hours after a federal appeals court in Boston rejected a bid by the Trump administration to halt a decision on Thursday by a Rhode Island judge requiring the U.S. Department of Agriculture to spend $4 billion to fully fund SNAP benefits, often referred to as food stamps.

The status of the program's funding for November has been thrown into confusion by a series of legal victories and setbacks for nonprofits and Democratic-led states and cities fighting to restore food aid.

As the legal battles played out, the Senate was moving forward on a measure to end the shutdown, although any deal would need approval of the House and the president and could take days.

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STRAINED FOOD PANTRIES, DONATIONS

SNAP recipients have turned to already strained food pantries and made sacrifices like forgoing medications to stretch tight budgets. Community organizations, churches and schools across the country have been ramping up appeals for food donations.

SNAP provides a monthly benefit to eligible Americans whose income is less than 130% of the federal poverty line. The maximum monthly benefit for the current fiscal year is $298 for a one-person household and $546 for a two-person household.

Thursday's court order from U.S. District Judge John McConnell directing the administration to fully fund SNAP benefits set off a chaotic chain of events.

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The USDA told states on Friday it was working to comply with McConnell's order and fully fund benefits.

However, also on Friday U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson put a temporary hold on McConnell's order and that hold remains in place.

On Saturday, the USDA told states they had to "undo" efforts to pay full monthly benefits, or face potential penalties.

Some states were already working before McConnell's order to use state funds to issue full November benefits. Others had moved on Friday to issue full benefits but paused after the Supreme Court order.

For example, North Carolina, which issued partial benefits on Friday morning, was prepared to issue the remainder over the weekend, but stopped after the USDA directive, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

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LEGAL BATTLE GOES ON

On Monday, a federal judge in Boston temporarily blocked the USDA from carrying out its directive that states undo benefits. The judge, Indira Talwani, scheduled a hearing for later on Monday.

The administration has argued that judges cannot force it to find money in the "metaphorical couch cushions" to pay for full SNAP benefits while the shutdown continues.

The White House and USDA did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.

The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston said the evidence showed the administration sat on its hands and did not address the looming crisis as the shutdown lingered.

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We do not take lightly the governments concern that money used to fund November SNAP payments will be unavailable for other important nutrition assistance programs, U.S. Circuit Judge Julie Rikelman wrote for the three-judge panel.

But Rikelman, who like the other judges was appointed by a Democratic president, wrote that a ruling for the administration would have led to "widespread harm" by "leaving tens of millions of Americans without food as winter approaches."

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Jack Queen in New York, Tom Hals in Delaware and Leah Douglans in Washington; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Bill Berkrot)
President Trump is welcoming Syrias transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa for a historic visit to the White House on Monday, a powerful symbol of the countrys return to the international community from its pariah status under the Assad regime.

Al-Sharaa will be the first Syrian leader to ever meet with the president at the White House. The visit is meant to further demonstrate al-Sharaas transformation from a jihadist fighting Americans in Iraq to a global statesman.

The visit comes nearly one year since al-Sharaa led a lightning offensive at the head of the formerly designated terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham into Damascus, sending the countrys dictator for more than two decades, Bashar Assad, fleeing to Russia.

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Since that time, the U.S.  under the Biden and Trump administrations  has taken steps to embrace al-Sharaa, viewing him as the best chance to rehabilitate Syria after more than 11 years of civil war, more than half a century of violent oppression, and ongoing challenges with sectarian violence.

Syrias more-than-four-decade inclusion on the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism is likely to end in December, as the Trump administration works to lift all sanctions on the country.

This regime has done a very good job, in spite of the speed bumps, said Trumps special envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack, speaking during the International Institute for Strategic Studies Manama Dialogue last week.

Not everyone in Washington is sold on al-Sharaas transformation. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast (R-Fla.) is expressing concerns about Trumps desire, and congressional efforts, to fully repeal the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act.

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Discussions on Caesar Repeal are ongoing but my concerns should be obvious to anyone following the situation in Syria, Mast said in a statement to The Hill on Thursday, without elaborating.

Mast is part of a small bipartisan and bicameral group that is cautious about a full repeal, saying the legislation provides a framework to make sure al-Sharaas government follows through on key U.S. priorities: establishing inclusive governance, protection for minorities, religious freedom and ensuring justice.

Sectarian violence against Alawites on the Syrian coast in March, a terrorist attack targeting a church in Damascus in June and Bedouin attacks against the Druze in the south in July further fueled congressional concerns.

The Caesar sanctions were enacted in 2019 amid evidence of grave atrocities committed against civilians by the Assad regime, essentially blocking any international financing with Damascus.

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A larger group of House and Senate lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, and a coalition of advocates  including the original authors of the Caesar act  said the legislation has served its purpose and hinders the new governments efforts to rebuild the country, where an estimated 90 percent of the population is below the poverty line.

We must repeal Caesar sanctions so the Syrian people have a real chance at recovery after decades of dictatorship, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the lead co-sponsor on the effort to repeal, said in a statement to The Hill.

Ending these sanctions will allow American businesses and our allies to invest in a more stable, hopeful future in the Middle East, free from ISIS and the malign influence of Iran, Russia and China.

Without repeal, Trump can only waive Caesar sanctions for six months at a time.

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Meanwhile, the administration sponsored a resolution at the United Nations Security Council last week that removed international sanctions on al-Sharaa and Syrias interior minister, Anas Khattab.

We consider [this resolution] a sign of a growing confidence in the new Syria, its people and its leadership, Syrias U.N. delegate, Ambassador Ibrahim Abdulmalik Olabi, said, describing it as a badge of honor and adding that Damascus continues to extend its hand to all countries of the world.

The Trump administration removed Hayat Tahrir al-Sham from its list of terrorist groups earlier this year, and the State Department on Friday removed al-Sharaa and the interior minister from the list of specially designated global terrorists.

This new Syrian government, led by President al-Sharaa, is working hard to [find] missing Americans, fulfill its commitments on countering terrorism and narcotics, eliminating any remnants of chemical weapons, and promoting regional security and stability as well as an inclusive, Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process, State Department principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

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For Trump, stability in Syria brings a host of benefits to the presidents larger goals in the Middle East, primarily as a strategic state to counter Irans influence  eliminating Syria as a base of operations for Irans proxy forces to proliferate and cutting off the weapons route to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Al-Sharaa is expected to announce at the White House that Syria will join the international coalition to defeat the Islamic State group; remnants of the group across the region remain a persistent threat to peace and security.

Getting Syria to take on a greater security role could help Trump follow through on drawing down the approximately 2,000 U.S. troops in northeast Syria, a move he tried to make in his first term that was stymied by opponents in his administration and bipartisan members on Capitol Hill.

Syrian Minister of Information Hamza al-Mustafa rejected a report this week that the U.S. was looking to establish a military presence in Damascus.

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A major priority for the president is to normalize ties between Israel and Syria, bringing Damascus into the Abraham Accords, Trumps 2020 agreements that he has held up as worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. The president on Thursday welcomed Kazakhstan, which had established ties with Israel in 1992, into the accords.

What the president has done is actually signaled that the momentum of the Abraham Accords is alive and well in the second administration. I think its not just going to be Kazakhstan, but also a number of other countries that join in the months to come, Vice President Vance said Thursday.

Barrack said last week that Israel and Syria are on their fifth set of discussions surrounding their borders, boundaries and de-escalation.

You could very quickly have a realignment of a tapestry that we havent seen in the Middle East, he said.

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What Trump is trying to achieve with Syria fits into his larger vision for the Middle East, moving beyond historic grievances to focus on mutual economic benefit.

At a moment where you have a president of the United States  saying enough. A hundred years of this confusion, of these old thoughts, of these old ideas and people not moving off of them, when you have the most dominant region in the world  if you combine capital with fossil fuels with resourceful people  has got to end, Barrack said.

And thats where he is. Thats what were trying to do.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A new post from President Donald Trump on Nov. 9 is promising $2,000 dividend checks for U.S. citizens, with some limitations.

On Sunday, the president took to Truth Social with a post touting the wealth and respect of the United States internationally, citing the tariffs he has implemented. In this post, he states that there will be a dividend of at least $2,000 per person, excluding high-income earners.

In his Nov. 9 post, the president wrote, "We are taking in Trillions of Dollars and will soon begin paying down our ENORMOUS DEBT, $37 Trillion. Record Investment in the USA, plants and factories going up all over the place. A dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone.

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the dividends could come in many forms, not just checks.

Here is what the American people can expect from the dividends proposed by President Trump.

Is Trump sending out $2,000 checks to U.S. citizens?

While the president is promoting the idea of $2,000 dividends to the American public, these funds will likely be distributed in ways other than checks.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was asked on ABCs This Week on Sunday about Trumps proposal to give people a $2,000 tariff dividend. He said he hadnt yet spoken to the president about it, but that it could come in lots of forms.

It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the presidents agenda: no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security, deductibility of auto loans, he said. So those are substantial deductions that are being financed in the tax bill.

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The U.S. generated approximately $195 billion in tariff revenue during fiscal year 2025, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The Yale Budget Lab projects that Trump's tariffs could raise $2.6 trillion from 2026 to 2035. However, if the Supreme Court invalidates his use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, this revenue could drop by over 50%. The administration has stated it will seek alternative legal methods to impose tariffs even if the current ones are struck down.

When will a tariff dividend be paid?

The president did not provide details about how these checks would be distributed or when they might arrive. It is unclear if these checks are even feasible, as such a proposal would likely require approval from Congress.

How many times has the Trump Administration or Republicans promised dividends?

There have been three instances so far this year in which the Trump Administration has suggested sending checks to the American people, including the latest instance.

The earliest instance of a dividend promise this year was in March, when the idea of dividend checks from savings by the Department of Government Efficiency were proposed.

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Similar to the current dividend idea, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) introduced the American Worker Rebate Act of 2025 on July 28, which would provide a minimum of $600 per adult and dependent child, or $2,400 for a family of four. There has been no movement on the bill so far this year.

What happened to the DOGE dividends?

Earlier in 2025, there was talk of a DOGE dividend, which would be funded by money the department based on its cuts to spending within the federal government.

The idea was initially floated by James Fishback, the original creator of the stimulus check idea, on Musk's social media platform X, suggesting Trump and Musk "should announce a DOGE Dividend  a tax refund check sent to every taxpayer, funded exclusively with a portion of the total savings delivered by DOGE." Musk replied, "Will check with the President."

Although politicians and President Donald Trump himself discussed the idea, the stimulus checks were never formally approved by Congress. There has been no news about this proposal for months. For any stimulus checks to be sent out, Congress must approve the proposal for the checks.

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Jordan Green covers trending news for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jordan.green@commercialappeal.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Is Trump giving Tennessee $2,000 tariff dividend checks? What to know
The presidents bellicose threats of going to war with one of the United States most crucial allies on the African continent took his aides completely by surprise.

Donald Trump has warned he will invade Nigeria guns-a-blazing if the West African countrys government didnt do more to protect Christian civilians from attacks by Islamic extremists. It has since emerged that last weekends threats of military intervention followed after hed watched a Fox News segment on the topic.

The Washington Post now reports the presidents threats blindsided even those who had been pushing the issue, and sparked immediate concern among bewildered officials at United States Africa Command (AFRICOM), which oversees U.S. military interests in the region.

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Ranking members of that division advised subordinates to remain focused on efforts to rescue an American missionary whod been kidnapped earlier in October, the newspaper adds. A source said those efforts were of greater value than anything that can be achieved in Nigeria, given a lack of resources available to expand existing operations in the country.

The day before announcing his willingness to launch a military campaign against a key U.S. security and economic partner in the region, Trump had said he would categorize Nigeria as a country of particular concern.

The U.S. has long provided assistance to Nigeria on its efforts to contain an ongoing Islamic extremist insurgency to the north.

The label, which also presently applied to China, Cuba and North Korea, ordinarily only applies to state actors deemed to have engaged in or otherwise tolerate particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

Nigeria has faced increasing backlash from right wing Christian nationalists who accuse the countrys government of standing idly by as Islamic extremist groups in the countrys Middle Belt and north central states carry out mass attacks against the civilian population.

Sen. Ted Cruz is one among a number of leading MAGA figures to have pushed for harsher action on the issue. / Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Trump also designated Nigeria a country of particular concern during his first term. That designation was eventually reversed by the Joe Biden administration, who determined Nigeria did not meet the necessary legal criteria.

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

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that surprise among Pentagon officials and White House aides was matched by alarm among their Nigerian counterparts. The West African nation has since leveraged diplomatic channels to try and clarify the U.S. presidents intentions, and underscore that any foreign assistance must respect Nigerias foreign sovereignty.

President Bola Tinubu has also publicly hit back against Trumps characterization of Nigeria as religiously tolerant as something that does not reflect our national reality in a country whose population is evenly divided between Christians and Muslims.

Religious freedom and tolerance have been a core tenet of our collective identity and shall always remain so, he said. Nigeria opposes religious persecution and does not encourage it.
President Donald Trump has pardoned some top political allies, including his former personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, and 76 others accused of plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Late Sunday night, U.S. Department of Justice Pardon Attorney Ed Martin posted the acquittal on X, granting a full, complete, and unconditional pardon in connection to the election and for any efforts to expose voting fraud and vulnerabilities in the 2020 presidential election.

Breaking: President Trump pardoned the 2020 Alternative Electors.



Thank you: @POTUS for allowing me, as U.S. Pardon Attorney, to work with @WhiteHouse, along with @AGPamBondi, @DAGToddBlanche & SG John Sauer, to achieve your intentlet their healing begin. #Federalist74  pic.twitter.com/rDOtgpapCB  Ed Martin (@EdMartinDOJ) November 10, 2025

Other names highlighted in the pardon included Mark Meadows, Trumps chief of staff in 2020, U.S. attorney and former prosecutor Sidney Powell and attorney John Eastman, all of whom were entangled in the Georgia election subversion case, brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in 2023.

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Though she was disqualified from prosecuting the case last year, it has not been dismissed.

Many on the pardon list were charged in states like Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin and Nevada, where Trump questioned election malpractice following the race that lost him the presidency to Joe Biden.

Tyler Bowyer, COO of Turning Point Action in Arizona, was also on the pardon list and thanked the Trump administration in an online post.

We were targeted to sideline many of us politically, he said on X. It has nearly bankrupted and caused severe trauma to many good people on this list  this is why it is important to get to the bottom of what was carried out against good faith and active citizens who took to the courts to ask questions about the 2020 election.

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Bowyer added, Trump was also indicted in the election case, but he was not on the pardon list. Whether a president has the power to pardon themselves or not remains untested and debated.

Last year, Bowyer  who was one of the fake electors from Arizona  was on an indictment list with 17 others filed by the Arizona Attorney General for preventing the lawful transfer of the presidency of the United States, keeping President Donald J. Trump in office against the will of Arizona voters, and depriving Arizona voters of their right to vote and have their votes counted under the United States Constitution.

Very grateful for the support of the President, @EagleEdMartin and the many who have looked out for us since this expensive injustice has taken place in the swing states.



We were targeted to sideline many of us politically.



It has nearly bankrupted and caused severe trauma to https://t.co/EqfEzOvo6T  Tyler Bowyer (@tylerbowyer) November 10, 2025

A spokesperson for the states attorneys general office told ABC News the pardon would create no impact on the states case.

Not everyone sees the mass pardon as justice.

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Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern posted on social media that this sends a different message:

If you help the president try to steal an election, youll get a pardon.

This can't get lost in the noise. In addition to the violent mob at the Capitol, Trump & his team plotted a nationwide scheme to nullify the election by subbing in fraudulent electors who would illegally give him the electoral votes of states he lost.



He just pardoned them all. https://t.co/yt8zTTKqGY  Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) November 10, 2025

Giuliani told the New York Post that he was surprised by the pardon.

President Trump ended a long nightmare for innocent people, he said. The president has made the justice system fair again. This pardon decision shows there were two justice systems.

The former New York City mayor emphasized that the prosecution against the president and his allies in the last few years will go down as the darkest chapter in our court system, he said. A lot of these electors who were indicted were regular people.
President Donald Trump sparked new stimulus check conversations on Sunday, Nov. 9, when he posted on social media that a $2,000 dividend from tariffs would be sent to some Americans.

"We are taking in trillions of dollars and will soon begin paying down our enormous debt," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "A dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone."

However, Trump's post did not include details on who would receive the payments or a timeline for when they would be sent out.

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Here's everything to know about the suggested $2,000 stimulus check.

Is Trump issuing $2,000 stimulus checks in 2025?

Trump's post on Truth Social indicated that a $2,000 dividend would be sent out. However, there were very few details included in post and he has yet to say more about the dividend.

In order for a stimulus payment to become a reality, Congress would have to approve the proposal. There have been no formal proposals or news from Congress on this topic.

Tariff stimulus check eligibility

Trump's Truth Social post indicated the $2,000 per person checks would be sent to Americans "not including high income people!"

What is considered 'high-income people'?

Trump provided no more information on what he meant by "high-income people."

When are we getting the $2,000 stimulus check?

There was no timeline for payment provided in Trump's posts on social media.

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Since Congress would have to approve the payments before they could be sent out, it could take awhile before the money is in your hands.

This isn't the 1st stimulus check Trump suggested in 2025

This is not the first suggestion of using funds generated by tariffs to send a stimulus payment to Americans. There was previous discussion of doing this in August 2025.

After Trump originally suggested this idea during the summer, Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley proposed the American Worker Rebate Act of 2025, which would have provided a minimum of $600 per adult and dependent child, or $2,400 for a family of four, according to news officials in August. The bill was referred to a Senate committee, but there were no updates on it as of November.

Earlier in 2025, there was also talk of a DOGE dividend, which would be funded by money the department cut from other groups.

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Though politicians and President Donald Trump himself talked about the idea, the stimulus checks were never formally approved by Congress. There has been no news about this proposal for months.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Is Trump issuing $2,000 stimulus checks in 2025? What to know
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa met President Trump at the White House on Monday, continuing a stunning reversal of fortunes for a man branded until three days ago as an international terrorist by the U.S. government with a $10 million bounty on his head.

The former leader of an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria disavowed Islamic extremism after rising to lead his war-torn country. Nearly a year ago, he led his rebel militia to force long-time dictator Bashar al-Assad out of office and into exile in Russia.

Syria was crippled for decades under sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other nations against Assad, and Al-Sharaa is now seeking to normalize relations.

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A senior administration official confirmed to CBS News on Monday that Syria will be joining the U.S.-led Global Coalition To Defeat ISIS, marking a significant shift in U.S. foreign policy. Al-Sharaa's own former militia, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, opposed ISIS during the latter years of Syria's 14-year civil war, when he went by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani.

Syria's President Ahmed al-Sharaa waves as he greets supporters outside of the White House, Nov. 10, 2025, in Washington, D.C., following a meeting with President Trump. / Credit: Jacquelyn Martin/AP

He was expected to possibly sign a formal agreement with President Trump during their in person meeting on Monday  which will be their third to date  to cooperate on counterterrorism. That would be a highly symbolic moment, indicating a 180-degree turnaround in how Syria is viewed by the U.S. government.

Under Assad about 12 years ago, ISIS was allowed to grow and metastasize into one of the most powerful terrorist organizations in the world. At one point, it controlled a huge swath of land spanning the Syria-Iraq border.

After meeting Al-Sharaa for the first time in Saudi Arabia in May, Mr. Trump called the Syrian leader a "young, attractive guy, tough guy, strong past."

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Over the weekend, he also became the first Syrian leader to shoot some hoops with the U.S. military. Video shared Saturday by the Syrian foreign ministry shows him nailing a three-pointer as he plays with a U.S. admiral and a brigadier general at an undisclosed location in the U.S.

But until Friday morning, the Syrian president was still officially designated a terrorist by the U.S. government, as he had been since 2013. That designation was lifted by the end of the day.

There was expected to possibly be discussion at the White House on Monday about the official lifting of U.S. economic sanctions against Syria, which Mr. Trump put in motion in May with an executive order.

That order removed sanctions on Syria, "while maintaining sanctions on the former president, Assad, his associates, human rights abusers, drug traffickers, persons linked to chemical weapons activities, ISIS and their affiliates, and Iranian proxies," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in June.

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Al-Sharaa's transitional government has pushed the Trump administration for sanctions relief for months, and work had been underway to ease some sanctions even before the president's May announcement, but other measures still need to be formally revoked by Congress.

In an apparent bid to show its determination to crack down on ISIS and other extremists, the Syrian government announced that more than 70 alleged members of the group had been detained just hours before al-Sharaa landed in Washington.

In September, addressing the U.N. General Assembly in New York  another landmark moment as it had been nearly six decades since a Syrian leader had done so  Al-Sharaa told the gathered leaders that his country was "reclaiming its rightful place among the nations of the world."

But to reclaim its place, it also needs to rebuild  a herculean task that Al-Sharaa recently told CBS News' Margaret Brennan in an interview for 60 Minutes will likely cost $600-$900 billion.

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He stressed that it would require the international community's help.

"The world watched this tragedy unfold for 14 years and couldn't do anything to stop this massive crime," he said of the Syrian civil war. "So, the world today should provide support to Syria."

On Monday, he was likely to ask the leader of the world's wealthiest nation to help however he can.

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(Corrects Trump's opponent to Kamala Harris, not Joe Biden, in paragraph 3)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump has pardoned Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and dozens of other allies accused of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, a U.S. Justice Department official said on Monday, in a largely symbolic move that does not apply to any state charges.

Trump, in a proclamation dated on Friday, said the move would end "a grave national injustice" and "continue the process of national reconciliation," according to a document posted on X by Ed Martin, who oversees the department's weaponization group that was set up to look into improper politically motivated cases.

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The Justice Department had been investigating a plan by Trump and his supporters to submit alternative slates of state electors to reverse President Joe Biden's victory in the November 2020 presidential election. Trump won a second term, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.

However, none of the fake electors nor Trumps lawyers were charged by federal prosecutors.

PARDONS INCLUDE AT LEAST 77 PEOPLE

Trump was indicted over the alleged plot to seek phony electors backing his false claims that he won in 2020, but the case was dismissed after last year's election after prosecutors cited Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.

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Several U.S. states, including Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin and Nevada, also investigated the alleged electors scheme, with some filing charges against multiple individuals, although criminal charges in Michigan were dismissed in September.

Trump's pardons include 77 people but could include others not named, the document said. Presidential pardons only apply to federal charges, and do not apply to state cases.

The list also includes Mark Meadows, Jeffrey Clark, Christina Bobb, John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Kenneth Chesebro, among others. The pardon does not apply to Trump, according to the document on X.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt defended the latest pardons on Monday, saying that challenging an election "is the cornerstone of democracy."

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Several of Trumps other recent pardons were not officially announced by the White House as they happened.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Toby Chopra, Conor Humphries and Frances Kerry)
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Release Date: November 07, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

Beta Drugs Ltd (NSE:BETA) reported a 13% increase in total sales, reaching 204 crores compared to 180 crores in the previous year.

The company's EBITDA margins improved from 22.36% to 23.08%, indicating better operational efficiency.

The dermatology division achieved a positive EBITDA of 11.32 lakhs, marking a significant turnaround.

Beta Drugs Ltd successfully completed audits from Mexico and Colombia without any critical observations, enhancing its credibility.

The company has filed 80 new dossiers and received 43 new approvals across various geographies, expanding its market reach.

Negative Points

Gross profit margins declined by 1.5% due to changes in product mix, affecting overall profitability.

International business growth was limited to 10%, attributed to the tender-driven nature of the market.

The company's standalone gross margin saw a sharp reduction, raising concerns about future profitability.

Receivables and inventory days increased, indicating potential inefficiencies in working capital management.

The growth rate of 13% fell short of the initial estimate of 20-25%, highlighting challenges in meeting projections.

Q & A Highlights

Q: What caused the decline in gross profit margins by 3%? A: Nipun Arora, CFO, explained that the decline in gross profit margins, which was actually 1.5% less than last year, was due to the product mix. Some products in the CMO segment experienced price erosion, affecting the overall margin. The gross margin decreased from 52.8% to 51.35%, and other income had no impact on this change.

Q: Can you provide the revenue mix for different segments? A: Nipun Arora, CFO, clarified the revenue mix: Branded oncology contributed 60 crores, CDMO 79 crores, exports 43 crores, API 12.25 crores, and dermatology 9.25 crores. The revenue mix in percentage terms is CDMO at 39%, domestic owned brands at 34%, international at 21%, APIs at 6%, and dermatology at 4%.

Q: Why did the international business grow only by 10%? A: The Chairman and MD, Raul Bassar, explained that the international market is dominated by tender business, which typically occurs in the latter half of the year. Therefore, the sales will reflect in the second half, and a different picture is expected in the upcoming months.
Six of the 15 GOP electors whose charges were later dropped and have received a pardon from President Trump: (clockwise) Kent Vanderwood, Meshawn Maddock, Marian Sheridan, Kathy Berden, Stanley Grot and Clifford Frost

Updated 5:09 p.m.

Late Sunday night, President Donald Trump issued pardons for more than 75 people for offenses related to the 2020 presidential election  including the 16 Michigan Republican electors who allegedly signed a false certification of the 2020 election results for Donald Trump.

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The full, complete, and unconditional pardons were announced on the personal X account of Trumps pardon attorney, Ed Martin, at nearly 11 p.m. on Sunday, writing, Important pardon of Alternate Electors of 2020!!

The pardoned alleged false electors include Republican National Committeewoman Kathy Berden and former Michigan Republican Party co-chair Meshawn Maddock, as well as former Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro. Chesebro pleaded guilty in 2023 to a felony charge of conspiracy for his work to overturn election results in a number of swing states, including Michigan.

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According to testimony from Howard Shock, a special agent investigator with the Michigan Department of Attorney General, Chesebro, at that time a lawyer on Trumps team, allegedly sent an email on Dec. 10, 2020 to Marian Sheridan, one of the Michigan residents who has been pardoned, with a certificate stating that Trump had won Michigans electoral votes in the 2020 election  already listing the vote count of 16 electors, prior to their vote.

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Sheridan, Shock testified, wrote back to Chesebro to say, I believe I can be more effective in getting the other 15 electors involved in this effort for December 14th, referring to the alleged attempt to create an alternate slate of electors that would cast votes for Trump, despite his losing the state by over 150,000 votes in the general election.

Howard Shock, an investigator with the Michigan Department of Attorney General, testifies in the exam of six of the so-called fake electors. May 28, 2024. Screenshot.

The other alleged false electors from Michigan pardoned were Hank Choate, Amy Facchinello, Clifford Frost, Stanley Grot, John Haggard, Mary-Ann Henry, Timothy King, Michele Lundgren, James Renner, Mayra Rodriguez, Rose Rook, Kenneth Thompson and Kent Vanderwood. That list includes a number of local GOP leaders from around the state.

In 2020, President Trump launched an all-out assault against American democracy in his efforts to overturn the presidential election results and preserve his hold on power, Attorney General Dana Nessel wrote in a statement. Today, President Trump pardoned more than 70 individuals, many of whom authored, executed, or otherwise knowingly assisted the Presidents plot and efforts to overturn the election. Any other characterization of this outrageous slate of pardons is only a further attack on our sacred ideals of a government by, for and of the people.

The pardons are largely symbolic, as they only apply to federal charges, which none of the individuals on the list were facing.

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In Michigan, Lansing 54-A District Court Judge Kristen Simmons dismissed the charges against the alleged false electors in September, arguing that prosecutors had failed to give evidence that those signing the document had criminal intent. Those charges were dismissed against 15 of those pardoned by Trump  all except for Renner, who had previously had his case dropped by Nessels office after signing a cooperation agreement.

Renner had argued in court that all 16 of those charged did not believe they were engaging in illegal activity by signing documents saying that they were the states electors, and had been made to believe that it was an appropriate process.

Federal pardons do not apply to state charges alleging violations of state law. My office continues to review the decision of Judge Kristen Simmons to dismiss state criminal charges against Michigan residents who falsely attested to be duly elected electors on behalf of Donald Trump, Nessel added, noting that her office has worked to obtain the trial transcripts of those court hearings but has not received a response or acknowledgement from the court. Once we have the transcript of the District Courts ruling, we will decide whether to file an application for leave challenging the District Courts failure to bind over the false slate.

Another Trump attorney pardoned on Sunday, Sidney Powell, led a number of lawsuits in Michigan seeking to halt the certification of the 2020 election results and overturn them in favor of Trump. She had also pleaded guilty in 2023 to election interference, specifically related to charges in Georgia.

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The pardons also included false electors from Georgia, Wisconsin and Arizona among other states where Trump had sought to overturn election results, as well as notable Trump administration figures, like Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, who both testified in the Michigan House of Representatives in late 2020 in a campaign to unfounded allegations of widespread election fraud.

This story was updated to include statements from Attorney General Dana Nessel.

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President Donald Trump has granted yet another sweeping round of pardons, this time to some of the key players in his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, including his former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, according to his pardon attorney Ed Martin.

Martin posted the proclamation document, which appears to have been signed by the president on Friday, on his personal X account with the caption, Important pardon of Alternate Electors of 2020!!

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The document states, This proclamation ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 Presidential Election and continues the process of national reconciliation.

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Trump has ordered a full, complete, and unconditional pardon to all United States citizens for conduct relating to the advice, creation, organization, execution, submission, support, voting, activities, participation in, or advocacy for or of any slate or proposed slate of Presidential electors, whether or not recognized by any State or State official, in connection with the 2020 Presidential Election, as well for any conduct relating to their efforts to expose voting fraud and vulnerabilities in the 2020 Presidential Election, it continues.

Rudolph Giuliani conducts a news conference at the Republican National Committee on lawsuits regarding the outcome of the 2020 presidential election on Nov. 19, 2020. Trump attorneys Jenna Ellis, left, and Sydney Powell, also appear. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

The pardon applies to 77 people, including some of the attorneys involved in the scheme to undo Joe Bidens victory in 2020, like Giuliani, Sidney Powell, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Chesebro, as well as his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, his longtime aide Boris Epshteyn and Jeffrey Clark, who was a top Justice Department official during Trumps first term and is now acting head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.

The document explicitly states that the pardon does not apply to Trump.

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In a statement shared with HuffPost on the pardons, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, These great Americans were persecuted and put through hell by the Biden Administration for challenging an election, which is the cornerstone of democracy.

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The statement adds, Getting prosecuted for challenging results is something that happens in communist Venezuela, not the United States of America, and President Trump is putting an end to the Biden Regimes communist tactics once and for all.

In a statement to HuffPost, Giulianis rep said Giuliani is deeply grateful for the pardon.

This action further highlights the years of unjust attacks against the mayor and so many others, and reinforces what should now be clear to everyone, the statement reads. Mayor Giuliani deserves to have his bar license immediately reinstated without delay.

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The pardons nature is largely symbolic as none of those listed face federal charges. Besides, Trumps pardons do not apply to state or local charges.

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Four of Trumps co-defendants in the Georgia 2020 election interference case  Ellis, Powell, Chesebro and Scott Hall  had all pleaded guilty in the Georgia 2020 election interference case, which was once considered one of the strongest cases against Trump. The fate of that case is now unclear after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from prosecuting it.

Giuliani, Eastman, Powell, Clark and Chesebro were considered to be among Trumps unnamed co-conspirators in his plot to steal the 2020 election, according to the indictment of the president presented by former special counsel Jack Smith. None of them were charged in the case, which was dropped following Trumps victory in the November 2024 race.

Related...

Read the original on HuffPost
WASHINGTON (AP/Boston 25)  President Donald Trump has pardoned his former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows, and dozens of others accused of backing the Republicans efforts to overturn the 2020 election, a Justice Department official says.

Ed Martin, the governments pardon attorney, posted on social media a signed proclamation of the full, complete, and unconditional pardon, which also names conservative attorneys Sidney Powell and John Eastman. The proclamation, posted online late Sunday, explicitly says the pardon does not apply to Trump.

Read the full proclamation:

Important pardon of Alternate Electors of 2020!! pic.twitter.com/iuDGv9fqyy  Eagle Ed Martin (@EagleEdMartin) November 10, 2025

Presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes, and none of the Trump allies named were charged in federal cases over the 2020 election. But the move underscores President Donald Trumps continued efforts to rewrite the history of the election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. It follows the sweeping pardons of the hundreds of Trump supporters charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, including those convicted of attacking law enforcement.

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The proclamation described efforts to prosecute those accused of aiding Trumps efforts to cling to power as a grave national injustice perpetrated on the American people and said the pardons were designed to continue the process of national reconciliation.

The White House didnt immediately respond to an email seeking comment Monday.

Also pardoned were Republicans who acted as fake electors for Trump in 2020 and were charged in state cases of submitting false certificates that confirmed they were legitimate electors despite Bidens victory in those states.

Trump himself was indicted on felony charges accusing him of working overturn his 2020 election defeat, but the case brought by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith was abandoned in November after Trumps victory over Democrat Kamala Harris because of the departments policy against prosecuting sitting presidents.

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Giuliani, Meadows and others who were named in the proclamation had been charged by state prosecutors over the 2020 election, but the cases have hit a dead end or are just limping along. A judge in September dismissed the Michigan case against 15 Republicans accused of attempting to falsely certify Trump as the winner of the election in that battleground state.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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President Donald Trump has pardoned a long list of prominent allies who backed his effort to subvert the 2020 election, according to Justice Department Pardon Attorney Ed Martin, who posted the relevant document Sunday night.

Among those who received the full, complete and unconditional pardons were Rudy Giuliani, who helped lead an effort to pressure state legislatures to reject Joe Bidens victories in key swing states; Mark Meadows, Trumps chief of staff in 2020 and a crucial go-between for Trump and state officials; John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro, two attorneys who helped devise a strategy to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the election on Jan. 6, 2021; Boris Epshteyn, a longtime Trump adviser; and Sidney Powell, a conservative attorney who launched a fringe legal assault on election results in key swing states.

The pardons are largely symbolic  none of those identified were charged with federal crimes. The document posted by Martin is also undated, so its unclear when Trump signed it. The White House and Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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Giuliani, Eastman and Powell were among those identified by former special counsel Jack Smith as Trumps co-conspirators, though he never brought charges against them. The pardons would preclude any future administration from potentially pursuing a criminal case against them.

The language of the pardon is broad, applying to all United States citizens for conduct relating to the advice, creation, organization, execution, submission, support, voting activities, participation in or advocacy for or of any slate or proposed slate of presidential electors  as well for any conduct relating to their efforts to expose voting fraud and vulnerabilities in the 2020 presidential election.

Though Trump has long insisted he has the power to pardon himself for federal crimes  an untested proposition  it appears he is not yet prepared to test that theory. Though the pardon document indicates it could apply to others who fit the same criteria, it explicitly excludes Trump.

In addition to his inner circle, Trump pardoned dozens of GOP activists who signed paperwork falsely claiming to be legitimate presidential electors, a key component of the bid to pressure Pence.

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Dozens of people on Trumps list were charged in states that also investigated Trumps bid to subvert the election that year, including in Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin and Nevada. But presidents dont have the power to pardon state crimes.

The pardons are the latest attempt by Trump to rewrite the history of his bid to seize a second term he didnt win in 2020, an effort that culminated in the violent attack on the Capitol by a mob of his supporters who attempted to halt the transfer of power. Trump pardoned more than 1,000 of those who joined the mob within hours of his inauguration in January, including hundreds who assaulted police officers protecting the Capitol.

Among those pardoned are a group of former state GOP chairs, including Georgias David Shafer, Arizonas Kelli Ward and Nevadas Michael McDonald, all of whom were charged by state or local officials for their roles in the elector scheme. The pardons included James Troupos, a Wisconsin attorney who is facing similar charges in his state for his role overseeing the elector effort.

The pardons also include Jenna Ellis, a Trump campaign attorney who worked closely with Giuliani but later pleaded guilty to charges in Georgia and cooperated with prosecutors in multiple states. Chesebro, too, pleaded guilty to a felony charge in Georgia and cooperated with prosecutors in Arizona and Nevada.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this report misstated who charged a group of former state GOP chairs. It was both state and local officials.
MADISON  President Donald Trump has pardoned a handful of Wisconsin Republicans who participated in a scheme he created to try to overturn his 2020 election loss.

Trump pardoned most of the Republicans who signed paperwork falsely claiming to be electors for Trump when former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, was elected in Wisconsin instead. He also included two attorneys with Wisconsin ties who are alleged to be the architects of the plan.

The list posted by Trump's pardon attorney late Sunday night, includes: Carol Brunner, Mary Buestrin, Darryl Carlson, Andrew Hitt, Kelly Ruh, Bob Spindell and Pam Travis.

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Also pardoned were attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Jim Troupis, who is a former Dane County judge and represented Trump's campaign during two recounts following the election that sought to throw out all absentee ballots cast in the two populous and Democratic-leaning counties.

Four more Republicans who signed the false paperwork are not on the list, but the proclamation notes the list is not comprehensive of those who were pardoned.

The Republicans who signed the paperwork later said they were acting on the advice of their attorneys.

Hitt, who was chairman of the Wisconsin GOP at the time, said in a statement that he is "beyond grateful to President Trump for the pardon for myself and my fellow electors who acted merely to preserve the President's legal options."

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U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, who was involved in the effort to get the slate of Wisconsin Trump electors to Pence on Jan. 6, 2021, praised the pardons.

"Thank you @POTUS and @EdMartinDOJ for issuing these well-deserved pardons. Its well past time for @JoshKaulWI to end his corrupt lawfare against a good and honorable man, Judge James Troupis," Johnson wrote in a post on X, referring to state charges Attorney General Josh Kaul has filed against Troupis and others.

The pardons are largely symbolic. The order would only shield the Republicans from federal prosecutions.

Law Forward president Jeff Mandell, who brought a civil lawsuit against the Wisconsin Republicans, said the pardons send "an unmistakable message that this White House disdains democracy and will assist, in word and in deed, any effort, no matter how extreme and outrageous, to cling to power regardless of election results."

Former Dane County Judge Jim Troupis, right, makes an initial appearance Thursday, December 12, 2024 in Dane County Court in Madison, Wisconsin. He is facing on felony forgery charges stemming from the alleged scheme to forward fake electors in an effort to overturn the 2020 elections. At left is his attorney Joseph Bugni.

Chesebro, Troupis and former Trump aide Mike Roman, also on the pardon list, face charges in Wisconsin related to the plan.

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Roman is accused of delivering Wisconsin's slate of false elector paperwork to a Pennsylvania congressman's staffer to get them to Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021. Pence rejected them.

The three face 11 felony charges in Wisconsin.

Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Trump pardons Wisconsin Republicans named in efforts to overturn 2020
Welcome back to World Brief, where were looking at competition over Central Asias critical minerals, the United States snubbing COP30, and a key state election in India.

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Fighting Over the C5

U.S. President Donald Trump prepared to host the leaders of five Central Asian nations at the White House on Thursday as part of Washingtons ongoing bid to bolster its sway in the mineral-rich region. But for the so-called C5consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and UzbekistanThursdays talks are about maintaining a delicate balance between seeking U.S. investments and not angering Russia and China, which have long dominated influence in the region.

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Thursdays meeting will address bilateral cooperation across a host of sectors, including energy logistics, infrastructure investments, technology transfers, educational exchanges, and water-resource management. Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is also expected to announce during a meeting with Trump that his country will join the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords, which will normalize Kazakhstans ties with Israel and mark a major win for Trumps self-proclaimed peacemaker-in-chief credentials.

At the top of the agenda, though, will be negotiations over critical minerals. Chinas restrictions on rare-earth exports, some of which were paused during negotiations with the United States last week, as well as Beijings overwhelming monopoly on processing the vital minerals have driven Washington to seek alternative places to both procure the raw materials and process them. However, the latter can be especially challenging, in part because of the high-polluting environmental impact of minerals processing.

If youre the United States and you want to compete, you need to find other countries without strict environmental regulations that are willing to host, former U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan William Courtney told RFE/RL.

Cue Central Asia, which has a wealth of oil, gas, and energy reserves and is also looking to diversify its economic and security partnerships away from Russia and China, particularly after Moscows full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 left the former Soviet states concerned for their own safety.

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During the first six months of Trumps second term, the White House signed trade deals with Central Asia worth a collective $12.4 billion. And this week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly brokered talks between U.S. company Cove Kaz Capital Group and Kazakhstans sovereign wealth fund to develop two massive deposits in the Central Asian nation. The country has access to one of the worlds largest untapped reserves of tungsten, which is key to manufacturing weapons and ammunition.

This comes on top of a slew of critical minerals deals in recent weeks that the United States signed with Australia, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Still, though, competition over Central Asia remains fierce. In June, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended C5 talks in Kazakhstan to boost Central Asian involvement in Beijings Belt and Road Initiative. And last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin joined a C5 summit in Tajikistan to strengthen military cooperation. Even the European Union has tried to get in on the action by inking a strategic partnership during a summit in Uzbekistan in April that included an investment program worth as much as $13.8 billion.

Trump, however, is hoping that Thursdays meeting overshadows these rival efforts and instead secures closer U.S. ties with Central Asia. Yet human rights groups worry that while doing so, the White House will overlook widespread abuses that the regions governments have been accused of committing.

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This summit offers a chanceand testfor the United States to demonstrate that it can play a positive role on human rights and defy expectations that the summit will reflect a purely transactional approach to the region, said Ben Linden, Amnesty International USAs advocacy director for Europe and Central Asia.

Todays Most Read How to Stop the Genocide in Sudan by Mutasim Ali and Yonah Diamond How Beijing Views Trump by Ravi Agrawal Frances Failure in Mali Threatens the World by Bobby Ghosh What Were Following

A notable absence. The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) kicked off its two-day leaders summit in Brazil on Thursdaywith one notable absence. For the first time since the summit began 30 years ago, the United States did not send any top government officials to represent Washingtons interests. Such a snub represents the Trump administrations broader disregard for green technology, clean energy, and the threats from climate change.

The United States is the second-largest carbon emitter in the world after China, accounting for more than 10 percent of total global emissions, according to 2023 data. Yet under Trump, the White House has abandoned climate pledges and instead teamed up with other oil-producing nations to oppose key green legislation, such as a global plastics treaty and a worldwide fee on carbon pollution. In his U.N. General Assembly speech in September, Trump called climate change the worlds greatest con job and trumpeted the use of fossil fuels.

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Experts are unsure whether COP30 can run effectivelyand enact lasting changewithout the presence of one of the worlds biggest polluters. The European Union, which has one of the worlds most ambitious emissions reduction policies, has tried to portray itself as a leader in climate talks. But recent infighting and the weakening of the blocs own reduction target have undermined its influence and put European leaders on shaky ground to start the conference.

Modis litmus test. Millions of people in Indias eastern Bihar state went to the polls on Thursday to begin voting in the countrys largest state election this year. The closely watched contest is expected to be a litmus test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party, which has struggled to counter the destabilizing nature of Trumps trade war and other geopolitical challenges.

Bihar has long been characterized as Indias political bellwether, as it is the countrys poorest state and often bears the brunt of economic upheaval and social inequality. More than a third of households in Bihar live on barely more than $2 a day, according to a 2023 state survey.

Since Trump launched his trade war in April, New Delhi has faced high U.S. tariffs alongside threats of sanctions on purchases of Russian oil. Adding to the countrys instability, the Indian military clashed in May with its historic rival, Pakistan, over militant attacks in Indian-administered Kashmir. Thursdays election is expected to gauge whether voters are still satisfied with Modis government or if they seek a change. The second round of voting in Bihar will occur next Tuesday, and results are expected by mid-November.

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Lack of consent. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum filed a complaint on Wednesday against a man who groped her and tried to kiss her without her consent while she was walking between meetings in Mexico City the day before. According to Sheinbaum, the man appeared drunk and was intercepted by one of her staff members after he touched her. Sheinbaum, like her predecessor, travels with minimal security and is often seen wading through crowds.

If this happens to the president, where does that leave all the young women in our country? Sheinbaum said. No man has the right to abuse womens personal space. According to Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada, the suspect was arrested overnight and is in custody at the Sex Crimes Investigation Unit.

Sheinbaum also blasted local newspaper Reforma for publishing photos of the incident, calling it revictimization and demanding an apology. Sheinbaum, Mexicos first woman president, has previously demanded that sexual harassment be made a criminal offense, punishable by law. Currently, sexual harassment is considered a crime in half of all Mexican states as well as in Mexico City. Last year, the country recorded 797 femicides, according to Statista, though many advocates say these numbers are likely undercounted.

Odds and Ends

For those still questioning how thieves last month were able to break into Pariss Louvre Museum in broad daylight, investigators may have more answers. At the time of the heist, which saw the theft of roughly $102 million worth of priceless artifacts, the password for the Louvres surveillance system was Louvre, according to one museum employee. FPs World Brief writer isnt sure if thats worse than a password of 1234, but its still pretty bad.
US President Donald Trumps designation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern over the killings of Christians by Islamist terrorists, followed by an explicit threat of military intervention, raises fundamental questions about Nigerian sovereignty and global standing.

The Nigerian government has politely reminded Washington that the security crisis in the countrys northern regions remains Abujas sovereign responsibility. But some think President Bola Tinubus administration  like others before it over the past 15 years  has failed in its duty to protect Nigerian civilians irrespective of their religion from daily killings by radical Islamists. Tens of thousands of Nigerians, both Christians and Muslims, have been murdered by terrorists such as Boko Haram and ISWAP, as well as violent Fulani herdsmen, over the past decade.

As Africas most populous country, with 220 million people and one of the continents biggest economies, Nigeria matters. But it also matters Nigeria matters  whether as a source for the extraction of natural resources and rent-seeking by corrupt elites, or as a prosperous and stable country. Its political class is smug, self-entitled, and has proved inept at improving the quality of the lives of Nigerians.

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The persistence of terrorism in Nigeria, whose northern states abut the West African Sahel region, has strategic implications for the country and beyond if the trend is not reversed and decisively crushed. Top of these is the question of the continued existence of the African behemoth itself in its current form. The more jihadist terrorists attack and displace civilian populations  who become refugees in their own country  the more poverty, already acute at 60%, rises and religious freedoms are suppressed. What is at stake, even beyond the difficult present, is Nigerias future.

It was not always this way. Nigeria once held a truly strong position in Africa and globally. Governments over the past decade, however, have failed to demonstrate a clear understanding that, ultimately, the countrys influence, geopolitical positioning, and economic power in the international economy must be anchored in internal national cohesion and strength.

Abuja must now internalize the lesson that the security and prosperity of Nigerians  and not, for example, the successful issuance of eurobond debt  are the most important indicators of stability and progress. As Nigerias constitution states, the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.

Sovereignty is a standing principle of international law and relations, but it means little in practice if the fundamental responsibility of a government to secure the lives and property of its citizens is not met. This is the argument behind the concept of state failure.

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Tinubus response to Trumps threats must now be for Nigerias security and armed forces to demonstrably establish complete and total control of its territory. There should be no ungoverned spaces, and the fundamental rights of citizens of all faiths, or none at all, to life and property must be verifiably protected.

Governments must govern. Thats the job description.
LEFT: Bob Amsterdam RIGHT: Tucker Carlson

Tucker Carlson hailed attorney Bob Amsterdam for defending Christians around the world, and as one of the people that I talk to most off-camera about what is happening to the Christian population of the world in an interview published last week.

During their conversation, Amsterdam downplayed allegations of anti-Christian persecution in Nigeria. He did not disclose, however, that he had previously worked as a lawyer for Nasir El-Rufai, a Nigerian politician with a track record of persecuting Christians.

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A 2021 report put together by International Christian Concern, a persecution watchdog group contains startling accusations against El-Rufai:

It was within a few minutes of sunsetslated for 6:14 that dayon Christmas Eve 2016 when Fulani militants stormed the village of Goska in central Nigerias Kaduna State. The assault didnt last long, but before disappearing into the dim brush surrounding Goska, the Fulani militant attackers managed to burn eighty houses and wound dozens of villagers. Fourteen villagers died, including women and children. The attack attracted international attention because it happened while Goska was rendered helpless by Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who, just five days prior, had ordered the residents of the Jemaa Local Government Area (LGA) where Goska is located into complete lockdown. The lockdown, ostensibly designed to prevent attacks by banning all movement, was enacted after protests of the El-Rufai administrations lackluster response to violence in Jemaa. The month leading up to the attack saw 102 people killed, 215 injured, and an estimated 50,000 houses burned across twenty-five Christian farming communities in Jemaa, a jurisdiction smaller than the city of Houston. However, El-Rufais administration only enforced the Goska lockdown against villagers, who reported that members of nomadic Fulani groups moved about freely in the days leading up to the attack. Despite international condemnation of the lockdown in Jemaa, El-Rufai has imposed at least six lockdowns since the 2016 attack. In a pattern now all too familiar, villagers protest the lack of security provided by the El-Rufai administration and El-Rufai responds to protesting communities by locking them down. These lockdown orders make it impossible for villagers to organize early warning systems, making militant attacks even more deadly as villagers no longer have the warning they need to flee into the bush.

International Christian Concern went on to allege that El-Rufai revived an antiquated rule from Nigerias years under military dictatorship to regulate religious leaders and religious teaching in Kaduna.

El-Rufai has also been widely criticized for declaring that Anyone, soldier or not that kills the Fulani takes a loan repayable one day no matter how long it takes. The Fulani are a mostly Muslim ethnic group. According to the State Department, Fulani militias frequently target the Christian community in Nigeria.

After Carlson asked Amsterdam to give him the actual truth of Christian persecution in Nigeria on his show, Amsterdam touted his ties to the current Nigerian government and insisted that the attacks from Islamic terrorists are not targeted at Christians.

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Nigeria wants to consult with the United States. Nigeria wants assistance in protecting Christians and Muslims, protecting their populations, insisted Amsterdam.

Ted Cruz is upset about whats happening in Nigeria to Christians. Im not against him being upset about that. You say its much more complicated than hes presenting.  probably more tribal than religious. I dont know much about it. But how much has Ted Cruz said about the U.S.-funded destruction of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church? asked Carlson shortly after that.

In addition to representing El-Rufai in a 2009 corruption case, Amsterdam has represented the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, which the Ukrainian government alleges has connections to Russia, the authoritarian regime often praised by Carlson that invaded Ukraine in 2022.

In an interview with The Washington Post last year, Amsterdam appeared to echo Russian propaganda:

Amsterdam claimed in an interview, without providing evidence, that Ukraines Security Service is torturing Ukrainian Orthodox priests for speaking Russian. There hasnt been anything like this since the Nazis, he said. Amsterdams arguments about Ukraine were similar to a propaganda campaign laid out by Kremlin political strategists in internal 2023 Kremlin documents, part of a cache obtained by a European intelligence service and reviewed by The Washington Post. The campaign called for portraying Ukraine as having turned into an anti-Christian society, while those in Zelenskys administration were to be portrayed as behaving like Nazis in their efforts to subdue the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Amsterdam, who was brought in to work on the issue by Vadim Novinsky, a Russian Ukrainian tycoon with close ties to the top leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church, says he is focused solely on the issue of religious freedom, not Moscows agenda. You cant ban a church. Its completely contrary to the rule of law, he said. I never got involved in funding arguments. I never spoke against Ukraine. In the emails to lawmakers, while condemning Ukraine for what they said was the persecution of Ukrainian Christians, the lobbyists have spoken of their steadfast support for Ukraine against Russian aggression. Amsterdam said part of his work for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was financed by Novinsky, but he declined to specify who else was financing him.

Open Doors International, another watchdog, ranked Nigeria at seventh on its 2025 list of the 50 countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution.

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Jihadist violence continues to escalate in Nigeria, and Christians are particularly at risk from targeted attacks by Islamist militants, including Fulani fighters, Boko Haram and ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province), asserted Open Doors. These increased under the rule of former president Muhammadu Buhari, putting Nigeria at the epicentre of targeted violence against the church. The governments failure to protect Christians and punish perpetrators has only strengthened the militants influence.

Carlsons dismissal of the plight of Nigerian Christians is notable given his stated interest in the well-being of Christians around the globe. Much of his focus in this regard has been concentrated on Ukraine and Israel. Neither are included on Open Doors watch list.

Mediaite reached out to the Tucker Carlson Network for comment.

The post Tucker Carlson Guest Who Downplayed Christian Persecution in Nigeria Actually Defended Alleged Nigerian Persecutor of Christians first appeared on Mediaite.
The Senate has passed a plan to reopen the government through January, providing funding for various federal programs.

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The plan includes funding for military construction, veterans affairs, and SNAP benefits through September, as well as back pay for federal workers. However, it doesnt extend expiring Obamacare subsidies.

Thousands of civilian workers at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base are currently furloughed, awaiting the chance to return to work and receive back pay, just like those hoping to have their federal benefits restored.

TRENDING STORIES:

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Yeah, it impacts everyone because theres the uncertainty when they are going to get their money just to live their normal life, Joe Abboud, owner of Stop-N-Save Foods in downtown Dayton, said.

Abboud said more than 10 percent of their customers rely on SNAP/EBT to help buy food there.

You want to eat, you want to move on, and just everythings up in the air, and that could be a frustration, he said.

Abboud told News Center 7 that if his customers cut back on what they can buy, it hurts him too. Hes also tired of seeing workers furloughed, travel plans in jeopardy because air traffic controllers arent being paid, and people worried about whether theyll be able to buy the food they need.

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People are out of work, people are not getting paid who are working, people who need their benefits are not receiving their benefits; this is really a travesty, said Congressman Mike Turner.

Turner told News Center 7 that the House of Representatives did its job and approved a spending bill, but the Senate never came to an agreement.

The deadlock and shutdown forced some Head Start centers in Ohio to close. The one in Dayton needs an agreement to avoid having to do the same thing.

Turner said its time for all sides to use common sense.

This has been really a hardship on a lot of families, and this has been unnecessary, and we certainly hope that they move this forward, Turner said.

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Turner also told News Center 7 that when the Senate finally approves a plan to reopen the government, it would come back to the House of Representatives, where he believes it would be approved, allowing federal benefits to be restored and federal workers to get paid.

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MISSOURI  Members of the Missouri Emergency Response Service  Large Animal Rescue (MERS) helped save two horses over the weekend in Franklin County.

According to MERS, Around 9:45 a.m. on Saturday, they responded to a report of a horse down in a field in Union. The 31-year-old horse had broken through a fence and was unable to get up after the owners were able to free it.

Eight volunteers went out to the site with rescue equipment. They used lifting straps and secured them to a tractor and spreader bar to try to help the horse stand, but the horse could not bear the weight at the time. Rescuers then placed the horse on a glide and moved her closer to a barn, where they tried lifting her up again.

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This time, with the help of rescuers and her owners, the horse was able to stand back up. After the on-site veterinarian approved it, the straps were removed, and the horse was taken to the barn for IV fluids and further care.

Parole shock: Road rage attacker out, victim continues struggle

The next day, MERS got another call, this time in St. Clair, about a 30-year-old horse named Ransom that had gone down in a paddock around 3 p.m.

When the rescue team arrived, Ransom was found lying very close to a metal building with her head downhill. She was believed to have run through a fence before falling.

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Rescuers repositioned the horse to safety using lifting straps and a spreader bar attached to a tractor, and attempted to lift her up several times.

After moving the horse to a flatter area with better footing, they were able to help her stand. Once she regained balance and strength, the vet gave permission to remove the straps, then assessed her condition.

Ransom reportedly suffered some minor cuts and abrasions, including one wound that required wrapping, but is now stable.

Across both the rescues, the MERS teams traveled 51 miles. For more information on MERS Large Animal Rescue, click here.

Photos:

Horse rescue in Union, MO. Photos courtesy of MERS  Large Animal Rescue Horse rescue in Union, MO. Photos courtesy of MERS  Large Animal Rescue Horse rescue in Union, MO. Photos courtesy of MERS  Large Animal Rescue Horse rescue in Union, MO. Photos courtesy of MERS  Large Animal Rescue Horse rescue in Union, MO. Photos courtesy of MERS  Large Animal Rescue Horse rescue in St. Clair, MO. Photos courtesy of MERS  Large Animal Rescue Horse rescue in St. Clair, MO. Photos courtesy of MERS  Large Animal Rescue Horse rescue in St. Clair, MO. Photos courtesy of MERS  Large Animal Rescue Horse rescue in St. Clair, MO. Photos courtesy of MERS  Large Animal Rescue Horse rescue in St. Clair, MO. Photos courtesy of MERS  Large Animal Rescue Horse rescue in St. Clair, MO. Photos courtesy of MERS  Large Animal Rescue Horse rescue in St. Clair, MO. Photos courtesy of MERS  Large Animal Rescue Horse rescue in St. Clair, MO. Photos courtesy of MERS  Large Animal Rescue Horse rescue in St. Clair, MO. Photos courtesy of MERS  Large Animal Rescue Horse rescue in St. Clair, MO. Photos courtesy of MERS  Large Animal Rescue

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Bitcoin jumped past $106,000 for the first time in nearly a week amid multiple reports that the U.S. Senate had reached an agreement to end the 40-day government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history.

The largest cryptocurrency by market value was recently up more than 4%, according to data provider CoinGecko. Other major digital assets also moved strongly into positive territory with Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization recently trading above $3,600, a more than 7% gain and XRP and Solana, the fourth- and sixth-largest coins, both climbing about 6%.

The government impasse seemed to weigh increasingly as it extended more than a month, with Bitcoin tumbling below $100,000 on several occasions for the first time since early August. BTC remains more than 15% off its record high above $126,000, set in early October. Ethereum has lost even more ground over the same period as investors veered away from risk-on assets.

Markets have been turbulent in recent weeks as investors fretted not only about the shutdown but other macroeconomic uncertainties. Over the past eight trading days, the 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs have lost more than $2.1 billion in assets, while net outflows for the nine Ethereum funds have totaled $579 million.

Crypto stocks have also taken a battering, with exchange giant Coinbase plunging more than 9% last week and Bitcoin treasury Strategy falling over 8%.

As this story neared publication, Senate Democrats and Republicans had reached a deal to reopen the government, according to reports in Politico, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. The resolution of the impasse came after a group of moderate Democrats agreed to vote in favor of procedural motions that would fund the government.

Bitwise Solana ETF Sees Steady Demand as Bitcoin, Ethereum Funds Shed Assets

Democrats had insisted on extending health subsidies that would make insurance less expensive, although the length of the government shutdown appeared to trump those concerns.

In a Myriad prediction market, users gave a more than 90% chance that the government closure will end before November 15. That figure rose from about 37% over the last 24 hours. Myriad is a unit of Dastan, Decrypt's parent company.

Editor's note: This story is breaking and may be updated further with additional details.
A further deadly incident shook the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on Monday, as the Israeli military said its troops had killed two Palestinians who posed a threat.

The Hamas-controlled civil defence in the coastal region reported the two deaths in an Israeli attack near the southern city of Khan Younis, including that of a minor.

Two Palestinians approached soldiers who then "eliminated the terrorists in order to remove the threat," an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement said.

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They allegedly crossed the so-called yellow line behind which the Israeli military had withdrawn under the ceasefire of October 10.

There have been similar incidents in recent weeks. According to Gaza's Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 240 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire began.

The IDF said its troops would continue to operate to remove any immediate threat to their safety.

More than 69,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in the Gaza war, which began in October 2023, although the number cannot be independently verified.
Nov. 9After a remnant typhoon hammered Indigenous communities in Western Alaska last month, the state's elected leaders have been fielding questions about how to protect the region that faces growing threats from storms as the climate warms.

At a news conference in late October, Gov. Mike Dunleavy answered the question with one of his own.

"It's a complex question to get the answers to. Not only: What do you do to make a community prepared for the future? But: Where do you get the money and how do you do that?" he said.

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In fact, that question had already been answered, in a report released a year earlier.

The 200-page document was published by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium with contributions from Dunleavy's own administration. And it contains both detailed recommendations to boost village efforts to protect themselves, as well as a specific request for cash from the U.S. Congress: filling an estimated $80 million-a-year funding gap, with money prioritized based on the severity of communities' environmental threats.

Others have floated different ideas about where the money should come from, including a tax on Alaska's oil companies.

But it's clear that bigger budgets are needed to meet the need, and that the damage that occurred last month is evidence of failure by both the state and federal governments, according to Charitie Ropati, a Yup'ik climate advocate with roots in Western Alaska.

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"We have incredible, capable leaders in our villages  incredible youth from those communities who have the capacity and the knowledge to lead," said Ropati. "The issue is that the funding needs to get into their hands."

Scientists say Western Alaska's villages are increasingly vulnerable to events like last month's storm amid a changing climate, and will have to either better protect themselves against floodwaters or relocate entirely. It could cost $4.3 billion to protect infrastructure in Alaska's threatened communities over the next half-century, according to a 2020 estimate cited in the consortium's report.

While the damage and destruction from the recent storm were painful to experience, some advocates and community leaders are now describing them as a wakeup call  one that could help focus attention, and public money, on a problem that they say has failed to draw an adequate government response so far.

"The time for climate commissions and committees and reports and things like that has come and gone," said Rick Steiner, an Anchorage-based advocate who's long pushed Alaska lawmakers to take stronger action in response to climate change. "What we need is tens of millions of dollars available for these communities to do what they know they need to do  to either stay, or pick up and leave and relocate."

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State and federal policymakers have long identified coastal erosion, flooding and permafrost thaw as major problems in Alaska. U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens hosted a hearing in 2004 where tribal leaders warned of government inaction and a lack of coordination between state and federal agencies.

Two decades later, the tribal consortium's report suggests that little has changed.

Indigenous villages along Alaska's coasts  with tight budgets, overburdened staff and spotty internet  still struggle to access government programs for relocation or protection. Federal support remains fragmented and inadequate, the report found.

Raising the money required to relocate Newtok, a single Yup'ik village near the Bering Sea coast, required more than more than a decade of effort and more than 40 grants from 35 separate state, federal and nongovernmental sources, the report said. The cost of that project is now estimated to exceed $150 million, according to ProPublica.

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Other villages have been unable to make use of government programs because of local cost-sharing requirements they can't meet, caps on grant sizes and wariness by agencies to fund protection projects when villages are also making long-term plans to move.

"Trying to navigate all potential government programs to address environmental threats can be like trying to assemble a 10,000-piece puzzle without a picture printed on the pieces," the report said.

None of the three members of the state's congressional delegation agreed to an interview about the long-term outlook for protecting Western Alaska's villages.

A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Nick Begich declined a request.

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A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan pointed to a recent address the senator made at the Alaska Federation of Natives' annual convention, where he touted tens of millions of dollars that the delegation had secured in various bills to fight environmental threats. He also endorsed an idea from a Western Alaska tribal group, the Association of Village Council Presidents, to create a regional emergency response center.

"We think this is a really good idea and we're looking into it," he said, while also acknowledging, "We have more work to do."

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, in a prepared statement, said she could understand "why many feel they were failed by their government." She pointed to a decision by the Trump administration earlier this year to revoke a $20 million grant for erosion control for the tribal government in Kipnuk  the Western Alaska village hit hardest by the recent storm, with nearly all of its buildings destroyed.

Murkowski said she's been working with the tribal health consortium "to ensure that any new framework truly reflects the needs of Alaska and our diverse communities, with a strong focus on mitigation and long-term resilience." After the storm, she said she spoke on the U.S. Senate floor "to remind my colleagues that our role in Congress is to provide protection and infrastructure to communities that cannot shoulder these challenges alone."

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"Every single displaced person is an American whom we have a responsibility to support," she said. "Not only in the aftermath of a disaster, but by ensuring that the next 'once-in-a-generation' storm doesn't tear another community apart."

'A recipe for disaster'

Advocates point out that the low-lying locations of many Alaska villages can be traced back to the era of early colonization. At the time, Native people were drawn from more adaptable, seasonal settlements to permanent communities near schools run by the federal government or religious missions.

That history creates an obligation for the federal government to assist threatened Indigenous communities today, said Ropati.

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"There needs to be some type of monetary reparations for what we're seeing in our region. We didn't choose to live in these flood-prone areas," Ropati said. "Our children were forced to go to these schools, and it leads to realities like this."

The tribal consortium's report says that statewide, more than 140 Alaska Native communities face "some degree of infrastructure damage" from erosion, flooding and permafrost thaw.

The settlements in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta that were pummeled last month are among the most vulnerable. The region, a flat plain at the edge of the Bering Sea, faces an array of interconnected environmental threats stemming from climate change, according to scientists.

Sea level rise alone will cause monthly flooding in the delta within a few decades, and 10 of the 18 outermost villages face relocation, according to another major scientific study published earlier this year with federal, tribal and academic contributors.

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"You throw on the permafrost collapsing and reducing the height of these plateaus these villages are built on, and it's a recipe for disaster that just can't be ignored," Torre Jorgenson, a Fairbanks-based landscape ecologist who worked on the study, said in an interview. But, he said: "The magnitude of the problem and the magnitude of the costs are such that our institutions just can't adequately grapple with it."

The tribal consortium's report, meanwhile, lays out three basic options for threatened communities.

They can better protect infrastructure in existing locations by building up shorelines, improving drainage and elevating buildings above flood levels. Where that's not possible, villages can build new infrastructure at nearby sites, or move existing infrastructure there, in what's known as a "managed retreat."

Full relocation is a last resort.

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All of those options are costly, and the report contains a litany of obstacles to communities raising the necessary cash.

Villages often have a small, overworked staff that's mismatched to the huge amount of work that goes into grant writing and community decision-making around relocation, the report says.

Federal programs, meanwhile, prioritize grants to communities that can show they have bigger staff capacity. Some programs won't fund larger regional or statewide partners that typically have the technical expertise to assist smaller villages with resilience and relocation projects, the report says.

"We should not (have to) be writing grants to protect our communities," the report quotes one Nome-based tribal leader, Melanie Bahnke, as saying.

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'We know what the science says'

Meanwhile, Steiner, the Anchorage advocate, is pushing Alaska's state government to take a more active role in supporting communities threatened by climate change.

The state's commitment to that task has fluctuated over the years. After a fall storm that forced the evacuation of the Northwest Alaska village of Kivalina in 2007, former Gov. Sarah Palin created a climate change team. But the administration of her successor, Sean Parnell, disbanded a key working group that was part of that effort, the consortium's report said.

Parnell's successor, Bill Walker, established his own climate leadership team after more than two years in office, and his successor, Mike Dunleavy, abolished the group in 2019.

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Steiner is now calling on Alaska leaders to convene a "climate disaster summit" in the next few months, where participants could draft a five-year plan to protect the state's communities for the next century.

"We know what the science says. We know what the forecasts are. This is going to keep happening," Steiner said. "The real tragedy of Halong would be if we fail to look forward and apply the lessons, prepare for the next storm and the next storm."

Steiner also wants lawmakers to levy a 20-cents-per-barrel tax on Alaska's oil industry to help pay for needed projects  a proposal he's been pushing for decades that could generate some $35 million a year.

State leaders haven't formally endorsed Steiner's ideas. But they have expressed a degree of openness to longer-term planning for storms and other natural disasters expected to hit Alaska with increasing frequency.

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"We're trying to find the money to do these sorts of things, and it's very important," state Senate President Gary Stevens of Kodiak said in a brief recent phone interview. But, he added, "we've got limited funds."

Bryce Edgmon of Dillingham, the House speaker, said it's premature to comment on Steiner's specific proposals. But he added that state policymakers do need to put a greater emphasis on planning for disaster management  particularly given the increasing likelihood of damaging storms in the future.

A spokesperson for Dunleavy did not respond to questions about Steiner's ideas.

Ropati, the Yup'ik climate advocate, said the widespread damage caused by the most recent storm is evidence the state and federal governments are "failing" communities like hers, "and have historically failed our people," she said.

She pointed out that some of the evacuees from the region's hardest-hit villages may be forced to permanently resettle in urban Alaska communities, severing their ties to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and its subsistence traditions.

Averting those kinds of outcomes will require help from outside the region, Ropati said. But the work needs to happen in a way that "upholds our rights as Indigenous people."

"We need everyone to work together," she said. "And to do it in a way where communities on the front lines have the autonomy to make the decisions."

Nathaniel Herz is an Anchorage-based reporter. Subscribe to his newsletter, Northern Journal, at northernjournal.com.
London  Britain is sending anti-drone equipment and personnel to Belgium after a spate of sightings near airports and military bases, the head of the U.K. military said Sunday.

While Belgium and the U.K. have not accused anyone of flying the unidentified drones, they're the latest in a growing trend of airspace violations by mysterious aircraft in about half of a dozen European nations, including around NATO military bases, that at least one U.S. ally calls part of escalating Russian "hybrid warfare."



In the past week Belgium's main international airport in Brussels and one of Europe's biggest cargo airports, near the Belgian city of Liege, were forced to close temporarily because of drone incursions. Before that, authorities reported a series of unidentified drone flights near a military base in Belgium where U.S. nuclear weapons are stored.

U.S. troop drawdown in Europe brings anxiety, GOP rebuke

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Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton, the head of Britain's armed forces, said over the weekend that the U.K. had agreed to "deploy our people, our equipment to Belgium to help them," after a request from Belgian authorities.

A sign reading

"We don't know  and the Belgians don't yet know  the source of those drones, but we will help them by providing our kit and capability, which has already started to deploy to help Belgium," Knighton told the BBC.



U.K. Defense Secretary John Healey said the U.K. was sending a team of Royal Air Force specialists to NATO ally Belgium "to counter rogue drone activity."



"As hybrid threats grow, our strength lies in our alliances and our collective resolve to defend, deter and protect our critical infrastructure and airspace," he said.

Drones plague European airports amid rising tension with Russia

Drone incidents across Europe have forced airports to suspend flights many times in recent months. While Belgium has not said who it believes is operating the drones, Russia has been blamed in some cases by other NATO allies.

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Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken said that he believed that some incidents were part of "a spying operation" that could not have been done by amateurs.



Belgium is home to the headquarters of NATO and the European Union, as well as Europe's biggest financial clearinghouse holding tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets. Many EU countries want to use those assets as collateral to provide loans to Ukraine, but Belgium has so far resisted.

The most overt blame has been cast by Lithuania, a NATO member that accused Russia and its close ally Belarus at the end of October of escalating a hybrid war against Ukraine's partners two-and-a-half years into Moscow's full-scale invasion.

Lithuania's Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said in an Oct. 27 social media post that the U.S.-led NATO alliance was facing a "deliberate escalation of hybrid warfare from Russia and its proxy, Belarus," calling the spate of recent airspace incursions, "calculated provocations designed to destabilize, distract and test NATO's resolve."

He called for further sanctions against Belarus and stronger NATO security measures to deter the airspace violations, as Lithuania's prime minister warned that any further unidentified balloons entering the country's airspace from Belarus would be shot down.

In this undated photo released by the State Border Guard Service of Lithuania, an officer inspects a balloon used to carry cigarettes into the country by suspected Belarussian smugglers. / Credit: State Border Guard Service via AP

Many of America's European allies have had their airspace breached in recent weeks, mostly by unclaimed drones flying around airports and military facilities in Germany, Denmark and the Baltic states.

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On Oct. 23, a Russian Sukhoi SU-30 fighter and an IL-78 tanker plane flew just under half of a mile into Lithuanian territory, according to the country's ministry of foreign affairs, after departing from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad. The Baltic Sea coastal territory is separate from the rest of Russia, and bordered on two sides by Lithuania and Poland.

Estonia accused Russian fighter jets of flying through its airspace for 12 minutes in mid-September. Russia denied entering the NATO member's airspace and called the flight a routine training exercise.

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The UAE is considered one of the countries amendable to Israel, making it a more desirable presence in Gaza than other countries such as Turkey.

The US wants to see a Gaza international force put in place in the coming months. This is part of the move to phase two, as Hamas has turned over almost all the hostages held in Gaza.

To get international support for an international force, the US has turned to the UN Security Council. The goal is to get a mandate and then move forward with building the force.

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It has been a month since the Sinai ceasefire deal to end the war. The White House has been keeping the pressure on to move forward and make sure things dont fall apart.

Toward that end, US envoyJared Kushner is in Israel this week. Reports about the composition of the international stabilization force, however, continue to present hurdles to the force actually being formed.

The latest news is a report that the UAE might not want to send forces to Gaza. It was never clear if the UAE would send forces.

Aid donated by the UAE for the people of Gaza is stored in a warehouse at the port of Limassol, Cyprus November 7, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/YIANNIS KOURTOGLOU)

Nevertheless, the UAE is considered one of the countries that is amenable to Israel. It is member of the Abraham Accords. Jerusalem doesnt want Turkey in Gaza, for instance.

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The United Arab Emirates does not yet see a clear framework for the proposed international stability force in Gaza and, under the current circumstances, will not take part, a senior Emirati official said on Monday, Reuters reported. Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, said Abu Dhabi would continue to support political efforts toward peace and remain a leading provider of humanitarian aid.

The wording of the report is interesting. The UAE is always a cautious country in some ways, and it also is willing to play the long game in the region.

For this reason, the UAE also was willing to take the risk of signing the Abraham Accords. It has not always been pleased with how this turned out; it had hoped Israels government would moderate rather than become more extreme in its behavior and rhetoric.

The UAE has been very supportive of civilians in Gaza during the last two years of war. It has evacuated some people for medical assistance and moved aid in via Egypt. It has helped with field hospitals in Gaza and also with airdrops of food. As such, it can be seen as a responsible actor in this sense.

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Nevertheless, the issue of who will send forces to Gaza is a complex question. Most countries want to see another country take the lead.

Gaza is high risk, low reward

Some countries dont have experience deploying peacekeepers. They also see no real return on investment for sending peacekeepers if those troops get in a firefight in Gaza. Gaza is high risk and not much of a reward.

On the other hand, one could argue that the UAEs alleged involvement in the Sudan civil war has also been high risk with an unclear benefit.

This means Abu Dhabi must weigh the long-term benefit of a stable Gaza that is influenced by the judicious efforts of the UAE with what might go wrong if there is a deployment.

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The UAE will want guarantees from the Trump administration, which has close ties in the Gulf. As such, it can probably persuade the UAE to play some kind of role. For instance, the UAE has played a role in other conflicts, such as in Yemen.

Perhaps this could mean helping with private military contractors or incentivizing other countries to deploy peacekeepers. The UAE has many friends around the world who could be beneficial in this respect.
Britain is providing military support to Belgium following drone incursions on its airspace which are suspected to have been carried out by Russia.

Drones have been spotted above Belgian airports and military bases in the last week.

It comes after a string of recent drone sightings over European airports, including in Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

The UKs new Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, said his counterpart in Belgium asked this week if the UK would be prepared to provide support.

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Sir Richard, who took up his role in September, told the BBC's Sunday Morning With Laura Kuenssberg programme: "The Defence Secretary (John Healey) and I agreed at the end of last week that we would deploy our people, our equipment to Belgium to help them."

A flight information board displaying cancelled and delayed flights at Brussels Airport following the drone sightings (Belga/AFP via Getty Images)

Brussels Airport closed temporarily on Thursday night after drones were spotted nearby.

Air traffic was also suspended there and at Liege Airport on Tuesday because of drone sightings.

Sir Richard said: "It is important to be clear, though, that we don't know - and the Belgians don't yet know - the source of those drones, but we will help them by providing our kit and capability, which has already started to deploy to help Belgium."

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He added the UK and its 31 Nato allies "will work to support each other, and that's why the Defence Secretary and I are very happy to see UK military personnel deployed to support Belgium".

Some officials have blamed Russia for drone overflights in the European countries' airspaces but the Kremlin has denied any involvement.
Ukraine's military command on Monday acknowledged supply problems for the eastern city of Pokrovsk and nearby Myrnohrad as their defenders struggle to repel encroaching Russian forces.

However, reports of Myrnohrad being fully surrounded are not true, the General Staff in Kiev told the Ukrainska Pravda news website.

Spokesman Major Andriy Kovalov did not specify what the supply issues were, but refuted claims that Russian troops now have complete fire control over Ukrainian logistics routes.

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The troops at Myrnohrad were supplied with new ammunition on Sunday and their wounded evacuated, he said.

In Pokrovsk, Ukrainian units were continuing to fight off the Russian invaders, Kovalov said.

After a year of intense combat, Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad may be close to falling to Russia. Ukrainian positions, now reduced to a few square kilometres, are largely in the line of sight of Russian drones, leaving any movement highly vulnerable to attack.

In Moscow, the Ministry of Defence on Monday repeated its claim that the Ukrainians had been totally cut off in both locations. Relief attacks from outside were successfully repulsed, according to Russia's military.

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At the same time, Russian forces claimed to continue their advance in districts of Pokrovsk and near Hnativka. However, such statements often turn out to be embellished.

The Donbass region mining city of Pokrovsk, now almost completely destroyed, had a population of around 60,000 before the war. As a railway junction, it was important for supplying Ukrainian troops after the Kremlin ordered a full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Ukraine has requested the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to convene an urgent meeting of its Board of Governors in response to the latest Russian strikes on energy infrastructure.

Source: Ukraine's Ministry of Energy; Mykola Kolisnyk, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Energy, during the national joint 24/7 newscast

Quote from the energy ministry: "Ukraine has formally requested that the Agency convene the Board of Governors as a matter of urgency. The aim is to develop mechanisms to prevent Russia's attacks on critical infrastructure and to push for greater international action on nuclear and radiological safety."

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Details: The Ukrainian energy ministry is in constant contact with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi.

Quote from Kolisnyk: "Following the latest attack, emergency repair works have been underway 24/7. Last night, the enemy used 45 missiles of different types, more than 30 of them were ballistic and cluster munitions.

This strike has been one of the most technologically complex. Russia is using intelligence to hit key elements of the [Ukrainian] power system's technological chain."

More details: Kolisnyk drew attention to Russian strikes on substations that supply Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants.

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Quote from Kolisnyk: "This is not the first targeted strike on key high-voltage lines. Damage to them forces nuclear power generation to temporarily reduce output to avoid the risk of emergencies and cascading outages in the system."

Background:

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) regained access to backup power from the grid for the first time in six months, following the completion of repairs to its second power transmission line.

On 7 November, an IAEA-brokered ceasefire came into effect near the ZNPP to enable repair work to be carried out to strengthen the plant's connection to the power grid and prevent a nuclear disaster.

The IAEA earlier said Russian forces had struck key substations that support Ukraine-controlled nuclear plants, which caused at least one plant's power units to operate at lower capacity.

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Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Ukraine's military reportedly struck a Russian oil depot near the village of Gvardeyskoye in occupied Crimea late on Nov. 9, Russian Telegram media channel ASTRA reported.

Residents reported hearing several explosions near the oil depot amid reports of a wider Ukrainian drone attack on the region. Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that air defenses shot down 10 Ukrainian drones over the peninsula.

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A photo posted on social media appears to show a bright night sky over the village of Gvardeyskoye following the attack on the oil depot.

The Kyiv Independent cannot immediately verify the reports. Ukraine's military has not yet commented on the reported attack.

The oil depot has been a subject of Ukrainian attacks in recent months. On Oct. 17, Ukraine's Special Forces confirmed that its drones inflicted damage on Gvardeyskoye's oil depot and a plant, attaching a video supposedly showing the attack from a drone view.

The oil depots are located near the Gvardeyskoye airbase, which is used to as a launch site for various Russian aircraft used to attack Ukraine.

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Ukraine routinely launches deep strikes against military and industrial facilities in Russia, primarily relying on domestically developed drones.

Russia's oil and gas production has continued to come under attack as Kyiv attempts to cripple Moscow's primary source of funding for its war in Ukraine.

Read also: Russias air defenses are wide open  theres just one problem

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Detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) are conducting searches at the home of Justice Minister Herman Galushchenko, who previously served as minister of energy, Ukrainska Pravda sources have reported.

Source: Ukrainska Pravda sources in law enforcement; Ekonomichna Pravda

Details: Earlier, MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak reported that searches were taking place at Galushchenko's home and at Energoatom, Ukraine's state-owned nuclear power company.

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"NABU is conducting a search at Herman Galushchenko's place. And they're talking about Energoatom as well," he wrote.

This information has been confirmed by two independent Ukrainska Pravda sources.

Ukrainska Pravda has requested an official comment from NABU, which will be published once received.

Ekonomichna Pravda also contacted the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) regarding the searches, but SAPO declined to comment on the investigative actions.

Later, NABU confirmed that it is carrying out a large-scale operation together with SAPO to expose corruption in the energy sector.

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174 of the 8,200 U.S. soldiers who are buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery are Black.

Nearly one million African American soldiers fought in Europe during World War II. Now, plaques at a memorial site honoring the sacrifice of African American soldiers in the Netherlands have been removed at the only U.S. cemetery in the country.

According to NRC, the two panels celebrating the Black Liberators of the Netherlands from Nazi rule were removed from display earlier this summer without an exact reason given as to why.

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More than 8,200 U.S. soldiers are buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten. One hundred seventy-four of those troops were African Americans. Lawmakers in the Netherlands have called for either a temporary replacement of the plaques or a permanent monument to be erected in honor of the Black soldiers who helped build the cemetery, calling their removal indecent and unacceptable.

One of the panels at the memorial site celebrated the Black soldiers fight on two fronts: against Germany and racism in the U.S. military. The military was desegregated in 1948.

Initially, that exhibition paid no attention to African-American soldiers whatsoever, Kees Ribbens, a senior researcher at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies and endowed professor of popular historical culture of global conflicts and mass violence at Erasmus University Rotterdam, said. Ribbens says he was shocked to learn that the plaques commemorating the soldiers had been removed and offered an opinion as to why it happened.

It aligns with the Trump administrations policy, he said.

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In January, President Trump signed an executive order regarding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in federal agencies, ordering all agencies to shutter programs and eliminate positions dedicated to diversity. One of those centers, the American Battle Monuments Commission, drew criticism from the Heritage Foundation for refusing the order, as then-Chief Diversity Officer Priscilla Rayson held her title. Rayson was quietly removed from the role in March, and information regarding her role was taken down. The issue saw swift backlash and the U.S. Air Force restored a Tuskegee Airman video after removing it due to Trumps DEI policy.

The ABMC falls under the executive branch and oversees 26 permanent American military cemeteries, 31 federal memorials, monuments, and markers, in 17 foreign countries, according to their website.

We hope that the panels will come back, because of the importance of the contribution of Afro-American soldiers to the liberation of the Netherlands, Theo Bovens, a Dutch lawmaker who serves as the president of the Black Liberators told Newsweek.

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I havent completely exhaled, to be honest, he said. Weve got a lot of time and money in this, and so to see the product leave today was as big a step  maybe a bigger one than when we brought plants in.

James Mondl, owner of Klondike Cannabis micro cultivation facility in Farmington, just watched his first harvest ship Tuesday to another licensed facility for the manufacturing phase.

Like Blum, many of these owners stopped looking for funding and finally decided to put their life savings into getting the business off the ground. Now theyve either had their first harvest this month or are expecting one in the next few weeks.

Up until this summer, the state had approved only a handful licenses to commence operations  which involves meeting rigorous health standards and security protocols. But in the past few months, the microbusiness community has finally started to fill in, with the state greenlighting a surge of cultivation licensees.

The microbusiness program  sometimes called the social-equity cannabis program  was designed to boost opportunities in the industry for people in disadvantaged communities that have been most impacted by the war on drugs. It began in 2023, after passing as part of the constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana in 2022.

Blums facility is among the 12 microbusinesses the state has approved to begin operating out of 68 total licenses issued. Two are dispensaries. The rest are wholesale licenses like Blums that can grow up to 250 plants and manufacture marijuana products.

Despite the setback, her family rallied to fix the wall, and now their business, Bud Wizard, is expected to have its first harvest in the coming weeks.

To go from such a high to such an incredibly bottom low she said. Its been such a roller coaster.

After two years of blood, sweat and tears, they finally received the states final approval to begin operating on Sept. 3. But just hours after the states email arrived, a massive storm crushed one side of the greenhouse.

So she and her longtime partner, Anthony La Pietra, decided to give up and fund the entire operation themselves, cashing in La Pietras retirement to build a greenhouse in Adrian, an hour outside of Kansas City.

Samantha Blum hasnt been able to secure investors for her small-scale marijuana cultivation facility in the two years since Missouri awarded her a microbusiness license.

Brenton Ihms, lead grower and part owner of Klondike Cannabis in Farmington, tends to marijuana plants (photo submitted).

Story Continues

Wholesalers products can legally only go to the two operational microbusiness dispensaries at the moment: 816 Dispensary in Platte City and Kush 21 in Poplar Bluff. The Missouri Constitution mandates that micro cultivators only sell to micro dispensaries.

Lesley Turek, chief equity officer with the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation who oversees the program, says the success of the micro community is like a puzzle because it depends on enough growers and dispensaries being up and running at the same time.

And both of them depend on the middleman  the manufacturers  or wholesalers who have gotten approval to make things like edibles and vapes.

My excitement lies in the next six months, Turek said.

As anticipation around more micros opening builds, so does the pressure to succeed.

Some license owners have already hit a number of road blocks and arent sure how much more they can invest into getting the business off the ground. Sam Vosburg, whose cultivation facility in Aurora has been operational since March, fears he invested his retirement on a failed business.

Were suffering right now, Vosburg, owner of Ozark Mountain Gypsy LLC, told The Independent in October. I dont know how much longer I keep my lights on. Our electric bills are crazy, and were not making any money. So, yeah, its not looking good.

However last week, Vosburg was approved to become one of the first two manufacturers, so he says he sees a light at the end of the tunnel.

Blum is the chairwoman of the Missouri Microbusiness Association, and she says her passion for the industry is a major driving force in making it through one of the hardest things Ive ever done in my entire life.

The other driver is her four daughters.

One day theyll have dreams, Blum said of her daughters, and theyll want to do something big, thats insurmountable and accomplish it because they watched their mom and their dad accomplish it.

Winning the lottery

Jimi Poe is the owner of 816 Dispensary, which was the first micro dispensary to open its doors to the public on Aug. 16. Hes quickly become a pillar for the microbusiness community, as someone to not only buy wholesalers products but also offer guidance on getting started.

Im not going to succeed if I cant get wholesalers to succeed, he said.

October was his biggest month yet, he said, with 1,500 transactions. He works closely with Blume LLC, one of the first operating wholesalers, because he says theyve been killing it on their craft marijuana buds, or what the industry calls flower.

Up until now, a major challenge for Poe has been that no wholesale facility had the capability to manufacture products, such as edibles or vapes, because it can require expensive equipment.

With the state approving Vosburg and Kansas-City area microbusiness Urban Farm to manufacture products, Poe only expects his sales to grow. Another one in the Farmington area, Levity Cannabis, has also applied for approval, according to the division.

Nearly 20 years ago, Poe was sent to prison for 14 months on a non-violent marijuana felony  a charge that made it hard to find work or a place to live. Because the program aims to mend some of the harm marijuana prohibition has caused on peoples lives, his offense made him eligible to apply for the microbusiness program.

When I was in prison, I was telling myself I was never going to sell cannabis again, he said. And now Im legally able to sell cannabis at my own store. So its been a crazy journey, that is for sure.

In 2023, Mitchell Alexander submitted one microbusiness application with his uncle, Jesse Greco, who qualifies for the program as a disabled veteran, and paid a $1,500 fee. Their application was entered into the lottery with more than 1,600 applications, and they were picked.

He and I got together and decided to do it because we had nothing to lose, Alexander said. Because the lottery was: if you lose, you get your money back. If you win, you get your license.

Alexander runs ReLeaf Dispensary in Kansas City, and hes excited to grow in the way that he believes produces the best weed: living soil.

No chemicals, no pesticides, he said. Its literally, were just feeding the soil, and its as organic as it gets.

For Greco, cannabis has always been something he turned to in his life for his PTSD, Alexander said. Theyve invested their own money and resources, and hes optimistic about their first harvest thats expected just before Christmas.

Jimi Poe, owner of 816 Dispensary, stands with his wife, Summer, who is assistant manager at the dispensary in Platte City (photo submitted).

We take so much pride in being completely independent, he said. We didnt have any consulting groups help us out. We really just grassrooted this, and thats exactly how were going to run this company.

The team at Monsta Farms LLC in Sarcoxie has a similar mantra. Its a group that includes two couples whove all pulled together their own money and time. They all have a strength in the building, said co-owner Chris Hampel, and everyones doing something theyre passionate about.

I like watering the plants, for example, Hampel said. My wife hates watering the plants. But shell sit over there with dirt and pot plants all day long. And she loves that. I hate that.

However, they each balance their cannabis work with their fulltime jobs, including two who work as nurses. Their collective dream is to make it their fulltime jobs.

They just had their first harvest on Monday.

Chad Sommer, an owner of Strainworx LLC in Lebanon, is also expecting his first harvest soon, he said, after two years of trying to keep everything in check.

I mean, trying to keep family in check, trying to keep my fulltime job in check, and then also wanting to try to build this out, he said.

His specialty is industrial automation systems, and its taken time to finetune that process, he said. He got into cannabis because he suffered from migraines. He realized a cannabis gummy worked a lot better at controlling them than the expensive shots he was receiving.

So from that point, its held a special position in my heart, Sommer said.

Now his migraines are gone. His team had to hit several retirement funds, to start up the business, but theyre optimistic.

One thing that is a challenge is for many of the microsstarting resources, he said. It is a tough start. Everything is so expensive with the hope that one day you get a return.

Financial troubles

Greg Fehrenbach, facility manager of Ozark Mountain Gypsy wholesale microbusiness, works in the greenhouse. (photo submitted).

When Vosburgs cultivation facility Ozark Mountain Gypsy LLC got its approval to open in March, he was feeling very optimistic.

The only thing I didnt calculate was the delays from the state, he said.

State marijuana rules mandate that regulators approve labels before products are sent to stores. And it took months for that approval to come back.

Now theyre putting all these tutorials on how to do this, Vosburg said of the labels and packaging. We were doing this from scratch with no help.

Turek said the division has worked to improve tutorials, and now each facility has a designated compliance representative who can help guide the micros through the labeling and packaging approval process.

Another challenge for his team has been the lack of manufacturing equipment. Its been hard to compete with the other companies that are selling only flower and pre-rolled joints.

All together, Vosburg estimates theyve put $500,000 of their own money into the business. And he fears they could lose it all at any moment.

But as of last week, Vosburg was approved to manufacture products on a small scale, providing him with a way forward.

I could pay my electric bill if I can sell a few dabs by the end of the month, he said.

Veteran David Huckins owns a dispensary license in Columbia with his wife, and they lead a weekly podcast to help microbusinesses share resources on a variety of topics.

But they arent anywhere close to being able to open, he said.

While the cultivators can often find land to build a facility in rural areas, dispensaries need to be in places with high visibility and traffic. And thats hard when landlords often dont want to lease a building to dispensaries, Huckins said, and he cant get capital to buy a building.

The Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation is not aware of any microbusinesses that have received loans from banks, a spokesperson said.

Its so hard for the cannabis businesses, he said. I dont qualify for small business loans. So far, this has not been the blessing that I hoped it was going to be.

This article was updated at 8:30 a.m. Monday to correct a spelling error.
The website of the South Dakota Department of Social Services displays a sample EBT card, which is what participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program use to buy food. (Screenshot by South Dakota Searchlight)

The South Dakota Department of Social Services says it began preparations over the weekend to issue partial food assistance benefits for this month, but the department is also keeping open the possibility that it could pay full benefits.

In either case, said an advisory on the departments website as of Monday afternoon, benefits wont come until later this week. The 10th day of the month, which was Monday, is the normal day for payment of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in the state.

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RF Buche, whose Buche Foods stores serve many SNAP participants in South Dakota, said its not clear when benefits might come or whether those benefits will be the full amount or a partial amount.

Right now, were just sitting and waiting, Buche said. Waiting to hear what comes next, and hoping that what we hear next will be accurate.

Rapidly changing situation

The confusion comes in response to federal government shutdown-related chaos affecting the program that helps 42 million Americans, including 75,000 South Dakotans, afford groceries.

On Thursday, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to pay the programs full November benefits, despite the ongoing shutdown.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture told states it was releasing full November funding for SNAP, and the South Dakota Department of Social Services said it would pay full benefits Monday.

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Later Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked the order from the lower court, which the Trump administration had appealed. A decision from the Supreme Court is expected Tuesday. The South Dakota Department of Social Services reacted Saturday by saying it had paused implementation of its plan to provide full benefits.

A Saturday memo from the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food and Nutrition Service said states should fund 65% of benefits. In South Dakota, said the Department of Social Services, paying partial benefits involves several days of system programming and approval.

Meanwhile, the department said, it is also monitoring the probability that Congress will act to re-open the federal government this week. On Sunday night, the U.S. Senate advanced a bill that could end the shutdown, but the legislation still needs final Senate approval and also needs approval from the House of Representatives and President Donald Trump.

DSS will issue November benefits  either partial or full, depending on the timing of Congresss actions  later this week, said a message on the state departments website as of Monday morning.

Crow Creek eying backstops

Crow Creek Tribal Chairman Peter Lengkeek took to his tribes Facebook communications page to warn members that no SNAP checks would come Monday, but that state officials assured me they are working diligently on the issue.

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The tribe is also working to fill that gap by partnering with private entities, local churches and tribal programs to provide the necessary food items as needed, Lengkeek wrote. I will pass along information as I receive it.

In an interview with South Dakota Searchlight, Lengkeek said Social Services Secretary Matt Althoff took his call Monday and told him the agency intends to get SNAP benefits of 65% out to South Dakotans by Wednesday.

About 40% of people in Buffalo County, where the tribes headquarters are located, receive SNAP benefits.

The Crow Creek tribe has worked on building a food sovereignty program since 2020, Lengkeek said, in response to near-shortfalls in food availability during the COVID-19 pandemic. The tribe purchased a herd of elk, as well as buffalo and cattle, and built up a processing plant.

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Typically, the livestock operation functions as a money-maker for the tribe, Lengkeek said, but the animals can also serve as a backstop in situations where food may run out. The tribe is prepared to slaughter some of its buffalo and cattle if necessary, Lengkeek said.

The tribe also recently set up a soup kitchen in Fort Thompson that opens three times a week, serving as many as 300 each time. That happened before the government shutdown, the chairman said.

Wages are stagnant, benefits have been stagnant, so weve had to do that to fill the gap, he said.

Grocer uses nonprofit to distribute food vouchers

RF Buche is president of Buche Foods, a grocer that serves many tribal communities, including on the Crow Creek reservation. Like Lengkeek, he said SNAP payments arent high enough at current prices.

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The payments are nonetheless critical for many South Dakota families, Buche said.

Three of the nations most SNAP-dependent counties are centered on tribal land in South Dakota, and benefit recipients in those low-population counties represent an outsized share of the $15 million in monthly SNAP benefits paid throughout the state. Those counties include Todd County, home of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, and Oglala Lakota County, home of the Pine Ridge Reservation.

In Todd and Oglala Lakota alone, youre looking at $2.5 million in benefits, Buche told South Dakota Searchlight, estimating that another $5 million in benefits flow to families who live in the other tribal communities served by his stores.

There have been some inventory and ordering headaches for Buches store managers over the past few weeks and into the weekend, but those issues, he said, are minute in comparison to what families are going through when they dont know where their next meal is coming from.

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Team Buche Cares, the grocers nonprofit arm, distributed about $300,000 in food vouchers to SNAP-eligible families over the weekend. That was facilitated in part by donations that came after the SNAP concerns bubbled over with the government shutdown.

A Wagner business owner donated enough to feed 50 families without being asked, Buche said, and a Pine Ridge stores appearance in a CNN article spurred additional donations.

People from all over the country have been sending anything from $10 on up, Buche said. Its been very humbling.

In his interview with Searchlight, Lengkeek said hes been grateful to Buche for the assistance on the Crow Creek Reservation. Anna Halverson, an Oglala Sioux Tribal Council representative, expressed a similar sentiment. Its nothing new for Buches charitable arm to offer aid to Pine Ridge, she said, but its also not especially uncommon for tribes to find themselves in the position of needing help.

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Its not supposed to be like that, Halverson said. Treaties inked between the U.S. government and tribal leaders in 1851 and 1868 were meant to guarantee food security for Native Americans in exchange for land. Halverson said cuts or proposed cuts to SNAP, as well as the threat of benefit losses in a shutdown, open old wounds from broken treaty promises.

As leaders, it feels like our peoples basic human needs are being used as bargaining chips, Halverson said. Food should never be a weapon.

Feeding South Dakota: More people using food network

Stacey Andernacht, a spokeswoman for Feeding South Dakota, said her organizations statewide food distribution network has also seen a boost in support over the past month.

Shortly after the shutdown began, the group put up a banner on its website asking for support to provide 500,000 more meals in response to both a pre-shutdown spike in need and the anticipated need that would appear with a loss or cut in SNAP benefits.

The help has been welcome and necessary, but Andernacht said its unrealistic to expect donations to cover the loss of SNAP. The program provides nine meals for every one that Feeding South Dakota does, she said.

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Youd be talking about trying to grow our inventory ten times, she said.

Feeding South Dakota does about 100 mobile food distribution events each month. Last week saw 25 such distributions. Not all of them saw an increase in visitors, but the average increase for those that did was 21%.

In July, the organization asked for $3 million from state government in the states upcoming budget to continue to help the same number of families it historically has. Earlier this month, Feeding South Dakota said its need has grown beyond that amount; meanwhile, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden told South Dakota Searchlight he was unaware of the funding request.

On Monday, Andernacht said the organization has been hyperfocused on the response to the SNAP situation and hasnt re-engaged with lawmakers on funding. She expects the topic to come up when the Legislature convenes for the 2026 session in January, though.

The community is engaging and were getting great support, but its hard when you start from behind, she said.

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National Geographic released its annual Best of the World list for 2026

A less obvious U.S. city was highlighted in the feature due to its bustling arts scene and a number of attractions opening next year

The outlet also spotlighted other destinations in North Dakota, Oklahoma and Hawaii

While Pittsburgh may not be at the top of every travelers bucket list, there are a number of reasons why its worth making the trip next year, according to National Geographic.

The outlet recently released its Best of the World list for 2026, highlighting a number of international and domestic destinations for U.S. travelers to consider when booking their next getaway.

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Nathan Lump, editor-in-chief of National Geographic, shared some insight with CNN as to why Pittsburgh is a top destination.

Pittsburgh is a favorite city of mine in America. Its an easy long weekend, Lump said, highlighting the fantastic museums and fun neighborhoods that the city has to offer. CNN also notes how the city boasts a young population buzzing with creativity thanks to the many universities in the area, from Carnegie Mellon to the University of Pittsburgh.

Thomas O'Neill/Getty Pittsburgh skyline Pittsburgh skyline

The Pennsylvania city made the list not only for its scenic river views and sparkling skyline, but for its growing arts and culture hotspots that are perfect for those who love an urban getaway, Nat Geo explains.

The outlet spotlights Carnegie Museums of Art and Natural History as a must-see, noting that the 59th Carnegie International exhibition, which is only held every four years, is set to draw a number of contemporary art lovers to the city when it opens in May next year.

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Additionally, the outlet highlights the Andy Warhol Museum's $60 million expansion that will be bringing a new performing arts venue to the Pop District of the world famous artist's hometown.

Another noteworthy development is Arts Landing, a four-acre city park in Downtown Pittsburgh featuring public art, greenery and performance space set to soft open in April 2026.

The city also boasts 90 unique neighborhoods that travelers can take their time exploring during their getaway. For direct views of the skyline and surrounding foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, Mount Washington is the place to visit.

Jean-Erick PASQUIER/Gamma-Rapho via Getty

In addition to Pittsburgh, National Geographic recommends a trip to the North Dakota's Badlands to witness the grand opening of the 93,000-square-foot Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in July 2026 to honor the 26th president of the United States.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Another getaway worth considering next year is an Oklahoma road trip in celebration of Route 66s 100th anniversary. Ahead of the milestone, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation invested $82 million in the revitalization of the historic highway that stretches 400 miles through the state, per National Geographic.

Maui also made the list for 2026, as the Hawaiian island has proved its resilience since the devastating 2023 wildfires and has continued to rebuild.



Read the original article on People
The consequences of climate change have already driven millions of people worldwide to flee their homes, according to figures released by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) ahead of the 30th annual UN Climate Change Conference set to start on Monday in Brazil.

"Over the past decade, weather-related disasters have caused some 250 million internal displacements  equivalent to over 67,000 displacements per day," the agency said in a report released on Monday.

The organization speaks of a vicious circle of conflicts and climate crises. Three-quarters of the people displaced by conflict live in countries that are particularly vulnerable to the consequences of climate change.

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The UNHCR cites, among other things, floods in South Sudan and Brazil, record heat in Kenya and Pakistan, and water shortages in Chad and Ethiopia.

"Climate change is compounding and multiplying the challenges faced by those who have already been displaced, as well as their hosts, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings," the report said.

Only a quarter of the funds made available for adaptation to the consequences of climate change reached countries threatened by conflict, which often took in many refugees themselves, according to the UNHCR.

The UN's annual climate summit, known as COP30, is often used as a stage for poorer nations to call for more funding from prosperous countries to adapt to increasingly hostile climate conditions.

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"If we want stability, we must invest where people are most at risk," said UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi. "To prevent further displacement, climate financing needs to reach the communities already living on the edge."

Grandi went on to call on participants at the climate conference to deliver: "This COP must deliver real action, not empty promises."

Around 50,000 participants from more than 190 countries are meeting in the Brazilian city of Belem, in the Amazon rainforest, for two weeks of talks starting on Monday.

They will discuss how to curb the climate crisis and its devastating impacts.
United Airlines is posting a running tally of cancelled flights for Saturday, November 9, Sunday, November 10, and Monday, November 11.

The airline, like other U.S. carriers, must comply with a federal directive to reduce the number of flights in response to the government shutdown.

As a result, United has posted daily lists of flight cancellations. You can find today's list here.

The good news is that travelers are entitled to a refund.

How Can You Get a Refund If Your United Airlines Flight Is Cancelled?

What happens if your United flight is cancelled because of the government shutdown? Are you entitled to a refund?

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"If youre traveling during this period and do not wish to fly, youre eligible for a refund  even if your flight isnt impacted. That includes non-refundable tickets and Basic Economy tickets. For more information, see Travel Waivers," United wrote.

United has a web page where travelers can request refunds.

In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration announced in its press release mandating the cutbacks, "Airlines will be required to issue full refunds. They will not be required to cover secondary costs. This is the normal procedure when a delay or cancellation is not at the fault of the carrier."

United Airlines planes at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in Newark, New Jersey, US, on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary ground stop for some flights to Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday due to staffing, according to an advisory. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

According to NBC News, "Passengers will be eligible for refunds if their flight is cancelled due to the government shutdown and they choose not to accept a rebooked flight."

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In addition, major airlines must "automatically rebook passengers whose flights are canceled at no charge  or refund the airfare if the passenger decides not to accept the new flight," NBC News reported.

NBC Washington confirmed, "If your flight is canceled and you no longer want to take the trip, or have found another way of getting to your destination, the airline is legally required to refund your money, even if you bought a non-refundable ticket."

The FAA Is Mandating a 10 Percent Reduction in U.S. Flights

According to the FAA, "A 4 percent reduction in operations will take effect Friday, November 7, ramping up to 6 percent by November 11, 8 percent by November 13, and 10 percent by November 14." That's for all carriers, not just United, though.

"Since the beginning of the shutdown, controllers have been working without pay, and staffing triggers at air traffic facilities across the country have been increasing. This has resulted in increased reports of strain on the system from both pilots and air traffic controllers," the FAA noted.

United Airlines Promised Travelers It Will Provide 'Rolling Updates to Our Schedule'

"The FAAs goal is to relieve pressure on the aviation system so that every airline can continue to operate safely. That is the FAAs highest priority, and ours as well. No matter what environment were operating in, we wont compromise on safety," United wrote on its website.

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"Well make rolling updates to our schedule if the government shutdown continues. Uniteds long-haul international flying will not be affected, nor will flights that connect our hub airports: Chicago OHare, Denver, Houston Intercontinental, Los Angeles, Newark Liberty International, San Francisco and Washington Dulles," added United.

Related:

This story was originally reported by Men's Journal on Nov 9, 2025, where it first appeared in the Travel section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
New Mexico has 84 accredited medical residency programs; 74 of them are offered through the University of New Mexico School of Medicine.

Nearly 800 of the approximately 850 resident physicians training in New Mexico are completing their residencies through UNM.

Unquestionably, UNM is the major institution training doctors in the state. And now, with patients clamoring for care amid a shortage of medical providers, the university has promised to double its medical school enrollment  expanding each class from about 100 students to 200  over the next decade.

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We clearly have a health care provider shortage, and training doctors is one of the ways you can help address that, said Dr. Mike Richards, executive vice president of the UNM Health Sciences Center and CEO of the UNM Health System.

Becoming a doctor requires not only medical school but also completion of a residency, known as graduate medical education, a yearslong process designed to ensure doctors get the hands-on training they need to practice independently. Graduate medical education spans three to seven years under the supervision of an attending physician, and it often involves a fellowship during which doctors specialize in certain areas of expertise.

As UNM expands its medical school, it also is working to grow its residency programs, Richards said. Since 2018, the university has expanded its residency programs by 32%, adding 19 new programs to its catalog.

Residency program locations

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Data from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education shows recent approval for UNM residency programs ranging from ophthalmology to vascular surgery to various pediatric subspecialties.

Medical residency basics

After completing four years of undergraduate education and four more years of medical school, graduates undergo whats known as the match process. One day in the spring, tens of thousands of medical school grads across the country receive the results of their residency applications and learn where they will continue their training over the next several years.

Which doctor fills which residency spot depends on an algorithmic match process, during which soon-to-be residents and residency programs rank their top choices, and the two are matched together based on those preferences.

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The match process means residents dont have full control over where theyll complete their graduate education, Richards said.

Many doctors form professional connections and meet mentors during their yearslong residencies, in addition to building relationships in the community that lead to friendships and family.

What we know is that where you train has an influence over where you ultimately practice, Richards said.

New Mexico retains about 39% of the physicians who attend medical school in the state and nearly 70% of physicians who complete both medical school and graduate medical education here  figures consistent with the nationwide median retention rate, according to 2023 data from the Association of American Medical Colleges.

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However, the state retains only about 40% of the doctors who complete only their graduate medical education here  a figure about 5 percentage points below the national median.

Statewide retention efforts

Retaining doctors trained in New Mexico has also been a point of focus for the state Legislature in recent years.

Budget bills passed in both 2024 and 2025 list the percent of UNM-trained primary care residents practicing in New Mexico three years after completing their residency as one of the key performance measures when it comes to funding for the UNM Health Sciences Center, which in both years totaled more than $800 million.

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In 2019, lawmakers created a statewide graduate medical education expansion grant program, designed to establish and expand physician residency programs with an emphasis on the primary care specialties of family medicine, pediatrics and internal medicine.

That work is still underway, with three new programs established since 2019, Tim Fowler, a spokesperson for the state Health Care Authority, wrote in an email to The New Mexican.

However, one of the three new programs  the Medicos de El Centro Family Medicine Residency Program in Espanola  is slated to shut its doors by the end of the year.

Two more primary care rural residency programs are due to open before July 2026, Fowler added.

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Reginald Heber Fitz Hall serves as the University of New Mexico School of Medicines primary building. However, the facility was built in 1967 and is not representative of contemporary educational facilities for medical education, said Dr. Mike Richards, executive vice president of UNM Health Sciences and CEO of UNM Health System.

Lawmakers unanimously passed House Bill 23 in 2021, which created new licensure requirements for New Mexico medical schools  currently just UNM and the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine in Las Cruces  requiring them to create new residencies with a preference for primary care programs  in urban, frontier and rural medical facilities.

A group of House Republicans  who have long voiced concerns about New Mexicos shortage of doctors, particularly in rural areas  also introduced House Bill 512 during the 2025 legislative session, which would have provided $3 million for student loan repayment grants for doctors who agree to work in New Mexico for five consecutive years. The bill was never heard in a House committee.

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According to the American Medical Association, most physicians graduate from medical school with $200,000 or more in student loan debt.

Residency expansions at UNM

Richards attributed the recent growth of UNMs residency programs to two things: state support and an expanded network of care available through the UNM Health Sciences Center.

Were able to [grow] because were growing our clinical delivery system, and were able to do it because the state has provided us support through Medicaid to grow our residency programs, Richards said.

Residency program types and enrollment

Growing UNMs clinical delivery system  the people and institutions that provide medical care through the university  is an essential step in accommodating not only more medical students but also more residents, Richards said.

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Health profession education doesnt just happen in the classroom, he said. It happens in the lab and then the simulation space. But especially in the last two years [of medical school], it happens in the clinical environment.

Residents work under the supervision of attending physicians. As a result, Richards said, more space and more patients bring more faculty, which also brings more residents.

The UNM Health Sciences Center has seen some significant expansions in recent months. In October, UNM Hospital officially opened its new adult critical care tower, which provides 684,000 square feet of training space with 192 beds and 18 operating rooms.

Design work is also underway for a new building to house the School of Medicine. During the upcoming legislative session, UNM plans to work with the Legislature and governor to secure an appropriation to begin building the new facility, Richards said.

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If successful, the new medical school would be open to students by fall 2029.

During the push to build a new medical school, Richards said, UNM will still work to expand its residency programs, noting they can grow a bit sooner and faster than the school.

Well continue to grow the residency spots as we grow the medical school, he said.
The union that represents 3,500 UPS pilots is working to comfort the families of three colleagues lost in lasts catastrophic jet crash and provide support services to members feeling emotional strain.

Were just heartbroken for the families of our crew that were on the aircraft, their families and the victims that were on the ground when the aircraft impacted, said Bob Travis, president of the International Pilots Association, in an interview.

Travis, an active pilot with 31 years of service at UPS (NYSE: UPS), said he previously flew with two of the three crew members who operated the MD-11 freighter that careened into an industrial park last Tuesday seconds after taking off from the UPS air hub at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Kentucky.

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Fourteen people were killed in the accident, including 11 people on the ground, according to the official death toll. UPS identified the pilots on board Flight 2976 as Capt. Richard Wartenberg, First Officer Lee Truitt and International Relief Officer Capt. Dana Diamond According to video footage and the National Transportation Safety Board, the left engine separated from the wing during takeoff, causing a fire.

Diamond was riding along as the third pilot to replace one of the other crew members when they timed out on their allowable hours of service or werent able to fully carry out all their tasks. He was number four on UPSs seniority list and had the most seniority flying the MD-11, said IPA spokesman Brian Gaudet, who said he knew Diamond since 1997.

Our focus right now as an association is twofold. First and foremost, were providing support to family members. Ive spoken to all three spouses of our crew members who were on board. Those are always tough calls to make, Travis said. The IPA is also assisting the NTSB with the investigation into the cause of the accident.

IPA incident response teams are also providing counseling to pilots who were either on the taxiway waiting for their turn to takeoff, and witnessed the accident happen, or were at the crew base preparing for flights that afternoon, the union chief said. Support services are also being provided to pilots in other hubs around the world who are coping with a range of feelings.

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Words cant express the sorrow we feel over the heartbreaking Flight 2976 accident, Nando Cesarone, UPS executive vice president, U.S. & UPS Airlines, said in a statement last week. Our hearts go out to every UPSer who has been impacted and all in our Louisville community  supporting you and ensuring you receive the care and resources you need is our priority.

On Saturday, the Federal Aviation Administration prohibited MD-11 flights until all freighter aircraft can be thoroughly inspected because of concern the problem with Flight 2976 could be present in other units. There are about 70 of the freighter aircraft currently in service, including 27 at UPS and 28 at FedEx. The airlines had already grounded their MD-11 fleets at Boeings recommendation.

The NTSB has invited UPS and the IPA to participate in the investigation.

Travis, who was an instructor pilot on the MD-11 and is very familiar with the aircraft, said the IPA has an accident coordinator that works closely with NSTB officials and subject matter experts who will participate in various subgroups tasked with investigating areas such as the engines, the airframe, hydraulic systems, pilot performance and maintenance.

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We have trained accident investigators who will provide feedback and analysis that could help with the investigation, said Travis.

This is the third UPS freighter disaster in 15 years. In 2010, a Boeing 747-400 crashed after taking off from Dubai, killing both pilots. Investigators determined a load of lithium batteries caught fire, damaging the flight control system and filling the flight deck with smoke, hampering the ability of the pilots to operate the plane.

Two more pilots were killed in 2013 when an Airbus A300-600 crashed during a nighttime landing in inclement weather in Birmingham, Alabama. The NTSB cited pilot error and fatigue as contributing factors in the accident.

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

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UPS and FedEx halt MD-11 flying to conduct safety review

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UPS begins phaseout of older MD-11 cargo jets

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NTSB crash investigators try to minimize disruptions for UPS customers

The post UPS pilots mourn loss of colleagues killed in plane crash appeared first on FreightWaves.
After more than 40 days, an end to the longest government shutdown in history appears to be in sight.

On Nov. 9, the Senate voted 60-40 to advance a bipartisan deal that would fully reopen the government until Jan. 30.

Seven Democrats and one independent who caucuses with Democrats stepped across party lines to agree with congressional Republicans on the negotiated deal. However, the shutdown, which started on Oct. 1, isn't over yet.

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The Senate  which needs to cast a final vote to pass the funding agreement  is set to reconvene on Monday, Nov. 10 at 11 a.m. ET. After that, the measure will need to make its way through the House and then be signed by President Donald Trump.

Here's the latest to know on the government shutdown as of Monday, Nov. 10.

Live updates: Shutdown appears on verge of ending as Democrats divided on Senate deal

Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) Dick Durbin (D-IL) Maggie Hassan, (D-NH) John Fetterman (D-PA) Tim Kaine (D-VA) Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Sen. Angus King (I-ME) Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) 8 Senate Democratic Caucus members who broke ranks to end the 2025 government shutdown 1 of 8 Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)

Is the government still shut down?

As of morning on Monday, Nov. 10, the government is still shut down.

Although the Senate voted on Nov. 9 to advance a deal that would fully reopen the government, the measure still needs to pass several steps before the crisis comes to an official end.

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A government shutdown ends when both chambers of Congress pass funding appropriations, which Trump then has to sign into law.

What needs to happen to end the government shutdown?

The U.S. Capitol on the 40th day of the partial government shutdown on Nov. 9, 2025.

Though the Senate appears on track to approve a temporary funding measure that would reopen the government until Jan. 30, it still needs to vote to pass the agreement.

If the Senate passes the continuing resolution, the House will then have to vote on the deal. Once approved in Congress, Trump will have to sign the bill into law.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries indicated that House Democrats would not support the legislation. However, Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House. No House vote has been scheduled yet.

What to know about the deal to end the government shutdown

The temporary funding measure that advanced in the Senate on Nov. 9 would fully reopen the government through Jan. 30.

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More: What's in the deal to end the government shutdown?

It includes reversals of federal layoffs, a promise to vote in the future on expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies and the allocation of more money into the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program through next September.

As part of the deal, Congress will also again fund other agencies and programs, including for veterans' benefits and military construction.

Democrats' main sticking point throughout the shutdown has been an extension on subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, that are set to expire Dec. 31. Obamacare premiums are set to double without an extension.

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In the latest deal, GOP lawmakers in Congress agreed to vote on the subsidies, likely in the second week of December.

Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.

Contributing: Zachary Schermele, Joey Garrison and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is the government still shut down? Latest to know on Nov. 10
By Waylon Cunningham

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Twenty-six U.S. senators and 82 House representatives have written to Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, urging the company to resume talks with its workers union, the lawmakers said on Monday.

We have heard of a troubling return to union busting, states the letter from the group of senators led by Senator Bernie Sanders, which was seen by Reuters. It said Starbucks must bargain a fair contract in good faith with these employees.

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House representatives, led by the House Labor Caucus and Representative Pramila Jayapal, penned a similar letter sent on Monday. No Republicans signed either letter.

SIDES BLAME EACH OTHER

Talks between Starbucks and Starbucks Workers United, which represents roughly 9,500 workers, began in April last year but have since stalled. Both sides blame the other for ending talks and say they are ready to return to discussions.

Starbucks said in a statement the union represents only 4% of its workforce and that the company already offers the best job in retail. Starbucks offers employees who work at least 20 hours a week benefits including healthcare, parental leave, and tuition for online classes at Arizona State University.

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Starbucks Workers United has filed more than 100 charges against the company since December for alleged unfair labor practices, such as retaliation against unionizing baristas, according to the letters.

The letters also said Starbucks has the money to reach a fair agreement, noting that in 2024 Starbucks spent several billion dollars on dividends and stock buybacks and compensated Niccol $95 million, which largely covered shares he left at Chipotle.

Starbucks said its stock actions benefited workers who own shares through a company program as well as institutional investors and pension funds.

The union said last week workers are prepared to strike if a contract is not finalized by November 13, the company's high-sales Red Cup Day, and that strikes could hit more than 25 cities initially and escalate if there is no progress.

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Niccol has sought to overhaul U.S. store operations in a bid to win back customers. The coffee company suffered six quarters of sales declines before October 29, when the company reported 1% global sales growth.

Starbucks in September shut more than 600 stores, including its flagship unionized outlet in Seattle, and trimmed its corporate workforce as part of the turnaround efforts.

(Reporting by Waylon CunninghamEditing by Rod Nickel)
US mediator Jared Kushner has met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the fragile US-backed ceasefire in Gaza.

Kushner, the son-in-law of US President Donald Trump who helped broker the agreement, met Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Monday as part of US efforts to stabilise the tenuous truce.

The meeting comes a month after Washington and regional powers pushed Israel to agree to a ceasefire. The truce has partly halted two years of Israeli bombardment, which levelled much of Gaza and killed more than 69,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Palestinian authorities.

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The talks focused on some of the most contentious elements of Trumps 20-point plan to end Israels two-year war on the Palestinian territory, according to Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian.

The officials discussed plans for the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of international security forces and the establishment of a technocratic government in the territory that excludes Hamas, she said.

Hamas has repeatedly insisted that relinquishing its weapons is a red line.

Addressing Israels parliament, the Knesset, Netanyahu promised that Gaza would be demilitarised, either the easy way or the hard way, in what was a thinly veiled threat to escalate the war.





Hamas fighters in Rafah

A key point of contention remains a group of roughly 200 Hamas fighters trapped in tunnels beneath Rafah, an area still controlled by Israeli forces. Hamas has demanded their safe passage to Gazas interior, but Israel has refused.

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The USs envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, described the proposal to grant the fighters safe passage in exchange for disarmament as a test case for the broader peace plan.

A Hamas official confirmed that negotiations over the issue were ongoing, saying the group was eager to resolve the dispute to remove any pretext Israel could use to undermine the ceasefire agreement.

However, he ruled out surrendering the fighters. Another Palestinian source speaking to Reuters warned that any Israeli attempt to forcibly extract them could risk the entire truce.

Beyond the immediate crisis, the ceasefire also requires agreement on a transitional governing council for Gaza excluding Hamas, the formation of the proposed stabilisation force, and conditions for reconstruction and disarmament. Each of these steps is expected to face resistance from both Hamas and Israel, given the political and security implications.

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The proposed international force could require a United Nations mandate before deployment, and few nations have expressed willingness to participate without one. Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye are among the potential contributors.

However, the United Arab Emirates has signalled hesitation. Under such circumstances, the UAE will probably not participate in such a force, Emirati presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said at the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate Forum.




It might seem strange that one of the largest navies in the world is having to cannibalize its own aircraft and submarines to keep others operational. However, this is the situation as revealed by a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. The report details how U.S. Navy technicians are having to salvage spare parts from Virginia-class submarines and F/A-18 Super Hornets to keep others in service. As well as reporting on the F/A-18 and Virginia-class submarines, the report also looked at the Stryker, Littoral Combat Ship, and F-35 programs.

According to the GAO, maintenance crews often face delays that could stretch to months waiting for components. In these instances, they're left with few alternatives other than stripping other assets for the parts they needed. In some cases, such as procuring F/A-18 radio frequency cables, the replacement cables could only be sourced from the original manufacturer, a process that was controlled entirely by the vendor's schedule  not ideal given the cost of an F/A-18 Super Hornet. The same scenario applies to the Virginia-class submarine fleet.

Program officials reported to the GAO that many repair and maintenance procedures require parts that can only be acquired from the original manufacturer, and again, parts are supplied at the vendor's convenience and not to the Navy's desired timeline. Additionally, the GAO identified that maintainers often have limited access to technical data and intellectual property, meaning they are unable to repair equipment without the support of contractors. The workaround? Cannibalize usable parts from other assets.

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Read more: Every Japanese Aircraft Carrier Sunk In WWII

Repairing the system behind the repairs

F/A-18 Super Hornet taking off from an airbase - U.S. Navy

The problems the GAO identified seem to be more procedural than fiscal. The report attributes the problem to limitations in data rights, vendor control, and sustainment planning. In short, although the Navy owns the hardware, it doesn't own the full intellectual property and data rights for many individual and often key components.

The U.S. Navy has a responsibility to keep its assets (especially one of the Navy's deadliest attack submarines) operating safely, and supply chain issues like this make this more difficult and expensive. When replacement parts are unavailable or have delivery dates that only suit the manufacturer, then the maintenance delays ripple through entire fleets, depriving the Navy of valuable assets that could otherwise be in service. The GAO noted that the situation had become so bad that Navy officials explored the idea of reverse engineering certain components to address the shortages. However, it was concluded that the process would be too expensive to justify.

The situation not only strains budgets and workloads, but if cannibalization is overused, it effectively creates a self-perpetuating backlog. In other words, the continual salvaging of parts from aircraft and submarines only shifts the problem down the line. To address the situation, the GAO put forward three recommendations: It urged updating the procedures and guidance for intellectual property and data rights, assessing new tools for reviewing technical data, and sharing lessons across procurement programs. It's hoped that such steps could reduce costs and ease maintenance bottlenecks. And, ultimately, keep more Navy assets mission-ready.

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Read the original article on SlashGear.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Boeing (NYSE:BA) has kicked off a $1 billion expansion of its North Charleston campus in South Carolina, doubling down on its bet that U.S. manufacturing could be entering a new growth phase. The investment adds 1.2 million square feet of production space and 1,000 new jobs over the next five years, part of a broader plan to increase output of its 787 Dreamliner. The groundbreaking event carried a distinctly political tone, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent praising President Donald Trump's push to rebuild American industry and calling Boeing a cornerstone of that effort. Bessent told employees that where there's a Trump trade deal, there's a Boeing sale, underscoring how Washington's trade strategy and Boeing's order book could remain closely intertwined.

The expansion marks the latest chapter in Boeing's long-running shift from Washington state to South Carolina, where it consolidated all 787 assembly operations in 2021 after closing its Everett line during the pandemic downturn. Boeing executives say the move reflects performance, not politics. Our customers want this airplane, said Scott Stocker, who leads the 787 program, crediting the local team's skill and dedication for earning the right to expand production. CEO Kelly Ortberg told analysts the new facility could allow Boeing to lift monthly 787 output into the teens, well above current levels, as new orders from carriers such as Uzbekistan Airways, Air Astana, and Somon Air continue to fill the backlog.

Still, the road ahead may not be smooth. Analysts caution that Boeing's ramp-up could be tested by lingering labor shortages, seat-certification delays, and the need to rebuild a reliable supply chain. After years of production setbacks and quality issues, the company is under pressure to scale without slipping. Yet Boeing now sits on roughly 1,000 Dreamliner ordersa pipeline that could signal a turning point if execution holds steady. With rival Airbus (EADSY) pushing its own A350 output higher, Boeing's South Carolina expansion could be the company's strongest statement yet that it intends to compete hard in the next widebody cycle, while aligning with what Bessent described as an industrial revival powered by American hands.
Sources say Washington proposed safe passage for Hamas terrorists in Rafah in exchange for the return of Lt. Hadar Goldins remains.

Washington promised Hamas terrorists safe passage in exchange for the return of deceased hostage Lt. Hadar Goldin, sources involved in the negotiations told Walla on Sunday.

The source stated that the terror group approached the US negotiation delegation via intermediaries and requested the safe passage of approximately 200 terrorists holed up in the Israeli-held Rafah area of Gaza.

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However, the source did not clarify where the terrorists would be transferred to, stating that it is possible they will be transferred to Egypt, rather than into the Gaza Strip.

Turkish officials claimed to be instrumental in facilitating Goldin's return to Israel after "intensive efforts (reflecting) Hamas' clear commitment to the ceasefire."

"At the same time, we are working to ensure the safe passage of some 200 Gazan civilians currently trapped in the tunnels," an official told Reuters.

IDF honor guard carries the coffin of Lt. Hadar Goldin after his return from 11 years of captivity in Gaza, November 9, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Goldin held meters from IDF troops in Gaza

N12 News reported that Turkey pressured Hamas not to surrender Goldin until the terrorists were guaranteed safe passage. However, Goldin was returned before the IDF agreed to return the terrorists trapped in Rafah.

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N12 reported that Goldin's body was returned after Hamas learned that the IDF had discovered Goldin's location and could thus no longer delay his return.

Goldin was held in a tunnel system that the IDF was calling the "White Sparrow. Soldiers were operating meters from his body for months, but were unable to locate his body.

Hamas terrorists murdered Goldin in Gaza on August 1, 2014, during Operation Protective Edge.

Hamas terrorists holed up in the Israeli-held Rafah area of Gaza will not surrender to Israel, the group's armed wing said on Sunday, urging mediators to find a solution to a crisis that threatens the month-old ceasefire.

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Sources close to mediation efforts told Reuters on Thursday that terrorists could surrender their arms in exchange for passage to other areas of the enclave under a proposal aimed at resolving the stalemate.

Egyptian mediators have proposed that, in exchange for safe passage, terrorists still in Rafah surrender their arms to Egypt and give details of tunnels there so they can be destroyed, said one of the sources, an Egyptian security official.

US likely to pressure Israel to ease stance on terrorists in Rafah tunnels, official tells 'Post'

Senior Israeli officials estimate that US pressure will push Israel to show flexibility regarding the issue of the terrorists in the Rafah tunnels, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post.

Outwardly, everyone declares that Israel will not allow those 100200 terrorists to leave the tunnels, even if they lay down their arms, the official said. But behind closed doors, everyone admits: if there is significant American pressure on this issue, Israel will have no choice but to compromise.

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US officials also made it clear in recent days that they want to resolve the issue of Hamas terrorists in the tunnels, saying that they "think [the terrorists] should get free passage, after Goldin's release."

Amichai Stein, Jerusalem Post Staff, and Reuters contributed to this report.
By Mike Stone

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren is escalating pressure on the defense industry to stop opposing military right-to-repair legislation, as House and Senate negotiators work to finalize the fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act.

In a sharply-worded November 5 letter to the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) obtained by Reuters, Warren accused the industry group of attempting to undermine bipartisan efforts to give the Pentagon greater ability to repair weapons and equipment it owns.

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She called the group's opposition "a dangerous and misguided attempt to protect an unacceptable status quo of giant contractor profiteering."

Currently, the government is often required to pay contractors like NDIA members Lockheed Martin Boeing and RTX to use expensive original equipment and installers to service broken parts, versus having trained military maintainers 3D print spares in the field and install them faster and more cheaply.

The Massachusetts senator's intervention comes as congressional negotiators reconcile competing versions of the National Defense Authorization Act, an annual U.S. bill that sets policies and authorizes funding for the Department of Defense and national security.

The House and Senate versions contain provisions requiring defense contractors to provide technical data necessary for military personnel to repair equipment in the field. Warren's letter appears aimed at preventing industry lobbying from weakening or eliminating those provisions during final negotiations.

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"Your organization's attacks are based on unproven conjectures and self-serving projections," Warren wrote to NDIA President David Norquist, demanding transparency about which member companies oppose the reforms and how much they have spent lobbying against them.

Both House and Senate versions of the defense bill include language that would save taxpayers billions of dollars while enhancing military readiness, according to Warren. The provisions have garnered support from Democrats and Republicans, the Trump administration, military veterans and more than 300 small businesses.

The Pentagon in April directed the Army to review existing contracts and ensure future agreements guarantee repair rights, building on momentum for the reforms.

Warren cited recent Government Accountability Office reports detailing how contractor restrictions have forced military maintainers to cannibalize grounded aircraft for parts and wait weeks for original equipment manufacturers to authorize repairs.

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In one example, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll revealed a Black Hawk helicopter screen control knob that costs $47,000 as part of a full assembly could be manufactured independently for just $15.

(Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Jamie Freed)
By Andrew Chung

(Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority appeared inclined on Monday to reject a Rastafarian man's bid to sue state prison officials in Louisiana after guards shaved him bald in violation of his religious beliefs in a case brought under a federal law protecting incarcerated people from religious discrimination.

The justices heard arguments in an appeal by Damon Landor, whose religion requires him to let his hair grow, of a lower court's decision to throw out his lawsuit because it found the statute at issue did not allow him to sue individual officials for monetary damages.

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The law, called the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, or RLUIPA, prohibits religious discrimination by state and local governments in land-use regulations and also protects the religious rights of people confined to institutions such as prisons and jails.

The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, has expanded the rights of religious people and institutions in a series of rulings in recent years.

But the conservative justices seemed on Monday to favor a view that because the law at issue implicates the power of Congress under the Constitution's so-called Spending Clause, the measure may impose conditions only on the state or government entity that is the actual recipient of federal funds, not individual employees who do not themselves receive the funds.

"They didn't have a direct relationship with the federal government. They didn't get directly any federal financial assistance. So you don't have the same basis for liability as we do in the other typical Spending Clause case, right?" conservative Chief Justice John Roberts asked Landor's lawyer, Zachary Tripp.

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Tripp said the jobs of the people who his client sued were necessarily subject to the conditions in the law Congress passed.

Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch expressed doubt that the law gives state officers sufficient notice that they could be held individually liable for violations.

"Where did the individual defendants agree with the federal government to be bound? And what notice do they have?" Gorsuch asked.

HANDCUFFED AND SHAVED

Landor, 46, had grown his hair over 20 years into long locks that reached his knees. In 2020, near the end of a five-month prison sentence for drug possession, Landor was transferred to the Raymond Laborde Correctional Center in Cottonport, Louisiana.

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There, Landor reminded officials that the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had already ruled in a 2017 case that Louisiana's policy of cutting the hair of Rastafarians violated the 2000 law, even handing over a copy of that ruling.

But a guard threw it in the trash, according to court documents, and Landor was then handcuffed to a chair, held down and shaved.

Landor, who lives in Slidell, Louisiana, sued, but a federal judge threw out his case. In 2023, the 5th Circuit upheld that decision.

Without a damages remedy, RLUIPA would provide no deterrent against abuse by officials, Landor's lawyers told the Supreme Court. Landor's lawyers have said RLUIPA is similar to a 1993 law called the Religious Freedom Restoration Act that prohibits religious infringement by the federal government.

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In 2020, the Supreme Court allowed for money damages claims under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in a case involving a bid by three Muslim U.S. citizens to sue FBI agents who they accused of placing the men on the government's "no-fly list" for refusing to become informants.

The court's three liberal justices seemed sympathetic to Landor. They pushed back on the idea that the individual officers did not have the required notice that they could face liability for money damages.

"We never think of needing some express consent to say, 'I'm bound by the law,'" Justice Sonia Sotomayor told Tripp.

But Gorsuch said that without such limits Congress could use the Spending Clause to permit lawsuits against employees in all sorts of scenarios.

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"If a coach at a federal funds-receiving university allows biological men on a women's sports team, a female trying to make the team could sue for a million dollars. Or an employee of a federal funding recipient in a state agency dealing with family affairs gets an abortion, the father can sue the employee for a million dollars," Gorsuch said.

President Donald Trump's administration participated in the case, backing Landor.

The liberal justices noted that other federal statutes allow liability beyond the state entity that receives federal funding.

Ruling in favor of Louisiana in this case "would put at risk dozens of federal statutes, correct?" Sotomayor asked U.S. Justice Department lawyer Libby Baird.

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"I think that would be ground-breaking," Baird said of such a decision.

Louisiana Solicitor General Benjamin Aguinaga told the justices that they should leave it in the hands of Congress to allow for individual damages in RLUIPA.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)
The US supreme court announced on Monday it will hear a high-stakes case about whether states can accept mail-in ballots that arrive after election day, even if they are filled out and mailed before then.

The case, Watson v Republican National Committee, involves a challenge to a Mississippi law that allows ballots to count if they are received within five business days of election day.

Election officials in Mississippi, citing longstanding precedent, argue that a voter has cast their ballot on or before election day the moment a ballot is postmarked in the mail, and that how it gets to an election office after that is an administrative issue.

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Related: US supreme court rejects call to overturn decision legalizing same-sex marriage

As a matter of plain meaning, an election is the conclusive choice of an officer. Voters make that choice by casting  marking and submitting  their ballots by election day, argues the state of Mississippi in its petition to the supreme court for review. The election has then occurred, even if election officials do not receive all ballots by that day.

Sixteen states, as well as Washington DC, Guam and Puerto Rico, allow a mail-in ballot from a domestic voter to count if it arrives in a certain timeframe after election day but is postmarked by the election, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The policy is designed to ensure that voters who put their ballot in the mail ahead of election day are not punished if the mail is slow.

A federal judge in Mississippi upheld the states law, but it was reversed by the US court of appeals for the fifth circuit, one of the most conservative courts in the US. The majority in that court said that federal law sets one day as the day for federal elections and allowing ballots to arrive after that undermines the law.

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The fifth circuit decision distinguished between an individual voters selection of a candidate and the publics election of the candidate. the Republican National Committees response to the supreme court appeal application said, quoting the fifth circuit decision. An election is final only when the final ballots are received and the electorate, not the individual selector, has chosen.

Justices are considering a dispute over who has the right to sue in a second case involving mail-in ballots, Bost v Illinois, which challenges Illinoiss practice of counting ballots postmarked by election day but received up to two weeks later. Mississippi asked the court to refrain from considering the Watson case until it had ruled on the Illinois case.

The court is also hearing a major challenge to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and appears likely to limit the scope of the landmark civil rights law.

Donald Trump and Republicans have railed against the practice of allowing ballots to arrive after election day. At least three states this year have ended the practice of allowing late-arriving ballots, and a March executive order by the president sought to punish states that allowed the practice. Lawsuits against this portion of the executive order are still ongoing.
By Andrew Chung

(Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court rejected on Monday a bid by a former Kentucky county official to overturn its landmark 2015 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide, as the justices steered clear of the contentious case some 3-1/2 years after its conservative majority reversed abortion rights.

The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, turned away an appeal by Kim Davis, the former Rowan County clerk who was sued by a gay couple after refusing to issue any marriage licenses following the 2015 decision that recognized a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Davis has said same-sex marriage conflicts with her religious beliefs as an Apostolic Christian.

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Davis appealed after lower courts rejected her claim that the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment right to free exercise of religion shields her from liability in the case. Davis was ordered to pay more than $360,000 in damages and legal fees for violating the same-sex couple's right to marry.

The 2015 ruling in the case called Obergefell v. Hodges represented a historic victory for LGBT rights in the United States. It declared that the Constitution's guarantees of due process and equal protection under the law meant states cannot ban same-sex marriages.

"The Supreme Court's denial of review confirms what we already knew: same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, and Kim Davis's denial of marriage licenses in defiance of Obergefell plainly violated that right," said William Powell, an attorney representing the plaintiffs.

"This is a win for same-sex couples everywhere who have built their families and lives around the right to marry," Powell added.

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Mat Staver, founder of the conservative Christian legal group Liberty Counsel representing Davis, called Monday's decision to reject the case heartbreaking but he vowed to continue the effort to overturn the Obergefell precedent.

"We will continue to work to get a case to the high court to overturn Obergefell," Staver said. "Obergefell will be overturned because it has no basis in the Constitution. The justices know that and they should address this issue."

The Obergefell ruling was 5-4, with now-retired conservative Justice Anthony Kennedy joined by four liberal justices. Kennedy wrote in the decision that the hope of gay people intending to marry was "not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right."

Overturning Obergefell would allow states once again to pass laws against same-sex marriage.

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Four conservative justices dissented in Obergefell, three of whom still serve on the court - Clarence Thomas, John Roberts and Samuel Alito. The court's conservative bloc also includes three justices appointed by Republican President Donald Trump during his first term in office.

The Trump administration did not weigh in on the Davis case as the Supreme Court considered whether to take up the matter.

The court has a different ideological makeup now than a decade ago, becoming more conservative on a range of issues.

In 2022, the court overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had recognized a woman's constitutional right to abortion and had legalized the procedure nationwide. That ruling raised the hopes of many conservatives and Republicans who opposed Obergefell that the court would consider reversing the same-sex marriage decision as well.

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TIME IN JAIL

Davis, who was elected to her post, refused to issue marriage licenses in her county in the aftermath of the Obergefell ruling. Davis also served six days in jail for contempt of court for violating a judicial order to issue marriage licenses.

The appeal by Davis came in a civil rights lawsuit by David Ermold and David Moore, who accused her of violating their constitutional right to marry as recognized in the Obergefell ruling. Ermold and Moore received a license from the county while Davis was jailed.

U.S. District Judge David Bunning in 2022 rejected the assertion by Davis that she is protected from liability in the case because issuing the marriage license to a same-sex couple would violate her constitutionally protected religious beliefs.

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"Davis cannot use her own constitutional rights as a shield to violate the constitutional rights of others while performing her duties as an elected official," Bunning wrote.

A jury awarded the plaintiffs $100,000 in damages in 2023, and Bunning later ordered Davis to pay more than $260,000 in attorneys' fees and expenses.

The Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled against Davis, concluding in March that under Supreme Court precedent, the First Amendment protects only private conduct, not the actions of government officials carrying out their duties.

As for the argument by Davis that the Obergefell ruling should be overturned, the 6th Circuit said she waived that argument at the outset of the case.

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The Supreme Court in 2020 rebuffed a previous appeal by Davis at an earlier stage of the dispute. In an opinion accompanying that action, Thomas, joined by Alito, wrote that the same-sex marriage ruling continues to have "ruinous consequences" for religious liberty.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Airlines canceled more than 2,700 U.S. flights and delayed more than 10,000 on Sunday, the most disruptions on a single day since the U.S. government shutdown began.

Major airlines were dealing with a third day of government-mandated flight cuts along with rising air traffic controller absences, which has caused thousands of delays and cancellations. Delta Air Lines was especially hard hit, cancelling or delaying 52% of its mainline flights on Sunday.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
Utahs housing market has been one of the countrys fastest-growingbut also one of the hardest-hit by rising costs.

The Realtor.com State-by-State Housing Report Card gave the Beehive State a C, reflecting a steep drop in affordability and lagging new construction relative to demand. The reportpart of the Let America Build campaigngrades states on how well they manage the balance between home prices and new housing supply.

President Donald Trump recently put pressure on homebuilders to increase construction nationwide, given the issues with construction in the country. In a post on his Truth Social platform in early October, he accused major builders of hoarding lots to prop up priceslikening them to OPEC, which restricts oil output to maintain high prices.

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Theyre my friends ... but now, they can get Financing, and they have to start building Homes. Theyre sitting on 2 Million empty lots, A RECORD, Trump wrote. He urged Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to intervene and get Big Homebuilders going to restore the American Dream.

Utahs grade shows that while the state continues to attract new residents and businesses, its housing pipeline hasnt kept pace.

Utahs C grade explained

Realtor.coms analysis gave Utah a total score of 51, placing it squarely in the middle of affordability nationwide. The states median listing price climbed to $602.230 in 2024, while the median household income reached $88,438strong earnings but not enough to offset high home prices.

Utah accounted for just 1.6% of national housing permits in 2024, despite holding 1.0% of the U.S. population. That results in a permit-to-population ratio of 1.0, a moderate figure that looks solid on paper but falls short in meeting the needs of one of the nations fastest-growing populations. The new construction premiumthe price difference between new and existing homeswas 9.3%, reflecting high material and land costs that have pushed new builds out of reach for many families.

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Realtor.com economists note that Utahs housing challenges stem from a perfect storm of strong demand, limited land availability, and rising construction costs. Even with steady permitting, supply cant keep up with population growthparticularly along the states Wasatch Front corridor.

The Wests affordability crisis

Nationally, new construction is helping narrow the affordability gap, but the West continues to lag behind other regions. The Realtor.com New Construction Insights report found that the median new-home price held steady at $450,797, while resale prices climbed 2.4%. That brought the national new construction premium to just 7.8%, the lowest in recorded history.

But the West saw a different trend. Realtor.com data show that while the total number of homes under construction has risen, the share of new-construction listings has droppedthe result of higher costs, restrictive zoning, and limited buildable land.

But again, the pinch is being felt all over.

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America is short more than 4.7 million homes, and every new home built helps close that gap while fueling local economies," says Shannon McGahn, executive vice president and chief advocacy officer at the National Association of Realtors.

"NAR research shows that the U.S. has faced a persistent housing shortage for more than a decade, driving up prices and limiting options for buyers. Expanding housing supply creates jobs, supports small businesses, and affords families the opportunity to build generational wealth.

Governor Coxs housing reforms take shape

During his 2024 State of the State address, Governor Spencer Cox announced a goal to build 35,000 starter homes in Utah over the next four years.

Since then, he's made strides to increase construction, but is looking to do more by changing the laws around zoning and permits.

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On October 30, 2025, Cox served as the keynote speaker at the Ivory Prize Summit, held at the University of Utahs David Eccles School of Business. The event brought together more than 100 housing experts from across the country to discuss solutions to the nations housing affordability challenges.

One of the central theme of the summit was Utahs ongoing debate over how much authority the state should exert in addressing the housing crisiswhether local governments need more state support and autonomy, or whether the state should intervene directly to meet housing goals.

During a discussion at the event, Cox said he believes that, without government regulations, housing shortages would be less severe, citing Texas as an example of a state that has reduced restrictions to allow more flexible development.

The governor also previewed what he described as a more aggressive strategy to increase housing supply, which could include statewide zoning preemption measures allowing for smaller and less expensive housing units, regardless of local ordinances.

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Utah has recently enacted several housing-related policies aimed at accelerating development, including limited preemptions requiring local governments to approve housing near public transit and to expedite permitting.

This article was produced with editorial input from Dina Sartore-Bodo and Gabriella Iannetta.
Autumn 2025 finds Uzbekistan at a turning point for its hospitality industry. In just nine months of 2025, 8.6 million foreign tourists have visited the country, according to figures from the countrys Tourism Committee, 112 per cent more than in the same period a year earlier.

This surge places Uzbekistan among the fastest-growing destinations in Central Asia and underscores a broader trend. The hotel sector is no longer just a part of tourism, but a driver of economic growth.

That shift took centre stage at HORECA EXPO Uzbekistan 2025 in Tashkent.

Horeca Expo Uzbekistan - Euronews

The international exhibition brought together more than 100 companies, 67 speakers and over 3,000 professionals from the hotel, restaurant and catering industries. Its theme, Investment in Service and Comfort: Business Solutions for HORECA, captured the mood of the year  one focused on quality, training and smarter infrastructure.

A growing market, a new mindset

According to Shukhrat Isakulov, head of the Department for Tourism Development under Uzbekistans Ministry of Ecology, the rapid rise in visitor numbers is driving new priorities for the sector.

Shukhrat Isakulov, Head of the Department for Tourism Development under Uzbekistans Ministry of Ecology - Euronews

If in 2016 we had just over three million foreign tourists, this year we expect 11 million, he told Euronews. Such growth requires new hotels, better infrastructure and qualified staff. Thats why events like HORECA EXPO matter.

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Isakulov noted that the government now offers targeted subsidies for investors in tourism infrastructure, including hotels, cableways and recreation facilities  part of a wider effort to modernise the hospitality landscape and create new jobs.

European expertise meets local opportunity

For Akustik Norco Interior, a Swedish company specialising in acoustic and interior solutions, Uzbekistans fast-changing market presents an opportunity to bring European design standards to Central Asia.

Its a learning session for us, said Andreas Hultfeldt, sales director. Acoustics arent yet fully developed here, so we can bring our experience and bespoke design to fit the market. If Uzbekistan grows, our solutions can grow with it.

Andreas Hultfeldt, Sales Director at Akustik Norco Interior - Euronews

Hultfeldt says the companys integrated engineering and production model enables it to manage projects from the first concept to completion  an approach well-suited to Uzbekistans expanding hotel sector.

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Technology is also changing how hotels reach guests. MyBooking.uz, a domestic online platform developed by Overture Technologies, positions itself as a national alternative to global booking systems. Unlike international services, which often charge high commissions and prioritise major hotel chains, MyBooking.uz promotes local properties and works directly with independent hotels, guesthouses, and eco-lodges.

We promote the country first, and then the hotels, said Matvey Kuznetsov, head of business development. Our goal is to make Uzbekistan more visible while keeping more of the value inside the local market.

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The platform uses smart algorithms to tailor recommendations for travellers based on language, budget, and location preferences. Integrated payment tools and automated feedback collection help hotel owners analyse demand and adjust prices in real time.

Developers say the systems machine-learning module will soon enable hotels to forecast occupancy levels and seasonal trends  a feature that can make smaller businesses more competitive without large marketing budgets.

Local suppliers find their place

At the same time, domestic companies are taking on a bigger role in the value chain. Enterprises such as Hotel Line  a local manufacturer of hotel textiles, furniture and amenities-, now supply an increasing share of Uzbekistans hospitality market. In its Tashkent workshop, sheets and towels are produced to international standards, while designers work on custom furniture and decor for new hotels and guesthouses.

Company representatives say demand has grown sharply over the past two years as international operators begin sourcing more materials locally. The shift not only shortens delivery times but also allows hotels to maintain consistent quality while supporting the local economy.

Maria Safarova, Head of Marketing at Hotel Line - Euronews

Were seeing more interest from both foreign and domestic clients who want reliable supply within the country, says Maria Safarova, head of marketing at Hotel Line. When hotels open in Samarkand or Bukhara, they often look for products that meet global expectations but are made here in Uzbekistan.

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In the historic city of Bukhara, Miragha Seyidov, manager of Mercure Bukhara, sees the change firsthand. The property, part of the French Accor chain, is one of the few internationally branded hotels in the region. Behind its restored brick facade, it combines local craftsmanship, carved woodwork, and hand-woven fabrics with international service standards.

We work closely with Uzbek companies providing textiles and hotel amenities, says Seyidov. Its about building trust and quality together. Guests notice when local materials are used. It gives the place character, and it keeps value within the community.

Miragha Seyidov, Manager of the Mercure Bukhara Hotel - Euronews

For Seyidov, cooperation with domestic suppliers has become part of the hotels philosophy. The approach mirrors the broader shift across Uzbekistans hospitality market, where global brands increasingly rely on local partners to meet rising standards and growing demand.
As business travelers confront the challenges posed by the sudden cutbacks in air travel, they might look to Holly Mulcahy as a shining example of how to navigate the new reality.

A Chicago-based violinist, Mulcahy serves as the concertmaster of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, and has to regularly make the roughly 700-mile flight between Illinois and Kansas as a result. So when Mulcahy learned the Federal Aviation Administration was cutting traffic by 10% at 40 key airports throughout the country  including Chicagos OHare International Airport  because of the federal government shutdown, she immediately thought of her scheduled trip this upcoming Tuesday to Wichita.

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Mulcahy realized that if her flight got cancelled, she might not make it in time for a Wednesday orchestra rehearsal and other key meetings and events. So shes built in some back-up plans; shes looked at schedules to fly into nearby cities  hello, Tulsa, Okla.  and even booked cancellable rental-car reservations at those destinations to complete the journey to Wichita. Shes also calculated the drive time from Chicago, down to the last minute  namely, 10 hours and 27 minutes  if that becomes a necessary option.

Finally, shes put out feelers to those with private planes, even offering to provide a free solo concert in return for a flight to Wichita.

Ive got a plan A, B, C, D, E and F, Mulcahy told MarketWatch.

Chicago-based violinist Holly Mulcahy is putting nearly every travel option on the table in order to make it to Wichita, Kan., next week for concerts and events. - Courtesy Holly Mulcahy

Such is the state of affairs in this country, with so many travel plans now being upended. On Sunday, nearly 9,000 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were delayed and more than 2,500 were cancelled altogether, according to data from FlightAware. And with no immediate end to the shutdown in sight, that pattern is likely to continue.

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Of course, its not just business travelers who are affected: Those flying for vacation or to attend special occasions are also in the same boat (or plane). And that could become all the more significant if the shutdown lasts through Thanksgiving, one of the busiest times of the year for personal travel.

But business travel is a $1.48 trillion global industry, and airlines are naturally a key part of that. And to hear businesspeople tell it, the shutdown cutbacks are making air travel, already a challenging proposition on the best of days, a new nightmare of uncertainty.

Its stopping business for me, said Shamekka Marty, a San Francisco-based health advocate and cybersecurity expert who flies constantly. Marty told MarketWatch that shes put some upcoming travel plans, including trips to Canada and Miami, on hold while she waits to see how the situation plays out.

Some travelers say they cant afford not to travel, however, so theyre putting all options on the table  from booking rail tickets to gassing up their cars.

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In the case of Toni Ferrara, a Phoenix-based public-relations executive, shes considering booking a flight on a semiprivate charter jet for a business trip to Las Vegas next week. Ferrara admits she could also just drive to the Nevada city, but she dreads the prospect of a four-hour-plus ride.

Im not the kind of girl who likes to drive, Ferrara said.

Business travelers who are willing to chance flying commercially say they think another key to braving the current mess is being as nimble as possible. Leticia Barr, an educational consultant who lives in the Washington, D.C., area, learned that firsthand on Friday when her flight from Indianapolis, where she attended a conference, was cancelled.

Barr wasted no time, getting on an airline app and booking a new flight within minutes. She didnt want to think about spending another night out of town.

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We all just want to get home, she said.

Still, the best strategy may be to follow what Mulcahy is doing and work out as many contingency plans as possible in advance, experts say.

Evan Oshan, an aviation attorney with offices in New York and Seattle, and a regular business traveler himself, also emphasizes that its important to build in extra travel time during the current situation. He says those flying commercially should think in terms of arriving the day before to their destination city.

The shutdown has made same-day business travel a gamble most companies cant afford to take, he concluded.

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The Venezuelan army's commanding general was seen this weekend promoting FPV drone simulators.

They look almost identical to the video game "FPV Kamikaze Drone," which goes for $3.99 on Steam.

Tell-tale similarities include the simulator's level-select menu, engine physics, and UI.

Venezuela's military academy for army officers promoted a new set of FPV drone simulators this weekend, touting clips of young cadets performing virtual attack maneuvers.

The simulator software bears a striking resemblance to a video game sold online for $3.99.

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Dressed up to resemble arcade machines in digital camouflage, each simulation station features a flat screen, a trackball, a joystick, and a remote controller.

The promotional videos, filmed at the country's Military Academy of the Bolivarian Army in Caracas, were released amid soaring US-Venezuela tensions that have sparked fears of open war between the two nations.

"These young people who are here are ready to destroy the enemy," General Johan Hernandez Lare, the Venezuelan army's commanding general, says in Spanish during one clip published on Friday.

The camera pans to show several uniformed personnel standing to attention, before one cadet volunteers to demonstrate a simulator.

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An operator helps him fire up the screen, which appears to show a level-select menu.

A Business Insider annotation highlights the level-select screen on the simulator. Screenshot/Official Channel of the Bolivarian Army of Venezuela

The menu resembles that of "FPV Kamikaze Drone," a video game developed by the Russian firm HFM Games. Copies are sold on the online marketplace platform Steam for $3.99.

Level-select images for FPV Kamikaze Drone look a lot like the one in Venezuela's simulator. Business Insider Screenshot/FPV Kamikaze Drone

The similarities continue once the virtual mission loads. The cadet is seen flying his virtual FPV drone toward a target at a building complex.

A cadet flies his virtual drone toward a target in the Venezuelan military's touted simulator. Screenshots/Official Channel of the Bolivarian Army of Venezuela

The user interface elements, engine physics, computer graphics, and the visual appearance of the payload on the virtual drone match those found on "FPV Kamikaze Drone."

User interface elements for the Venezuelan simulator are identical to those of FPV Kamikaze Drone. Business Insider Screenshot/FPV Kamikaze Drone

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HFM Games' cofounder, Aleksei Kolotilov, told Business Insider in an email that his studio was unaware that its video game was featured at the academy.

"We have never been in contact or coordinated with the Venezuelan military or any government body, nor have we made any adjustments to the game for military training or related purposes," Kolotilov wrote.

The game developer wrote that "FPV Kamikaze Drone" was created "solely for civilian use and entertainment purposes."

"That said  if the Venezuelan government ever decided to send us a couple of barrels of oil as a 'thank you,' we'd be happy to fix a few more bugs in return," Kolotilov added, sending a winking emoji.

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The simulators were again promoted on Saturday by the Venezuelan academy's social media page.

"The Bolivarian Army Military Academy receives FPV drone simulators thanks to the joint effort and support of our Bolivarian National Armed Forces," a presenter for the academy said in a selfie video.

The promotional clip showed a row of simulators in a corridor, with cadets in dress uniforms operating the machines.

"FPV" stands for first-person-view, or the category of inexpensive hobby drones that have become a staple in the Ukraine war.

Years of constant use and a largely stagnant frontline have turned the FPV drone into one of the conflict's deadliest weapons, prompting militaries around the world to expand their light drone arsenals and beef up training to pilot and counter them.

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To that end, dozens of software developers have since released video games and programs that aim to simulate flying FPV drones in combat. Some developers even virtually recreate real scenarios described by frontline pilots.

The Military Academy's video also showed cadets and officers playing with the simulator. Screenshot/Military Academy of the Bolivarian Army

It's not unusual for troops to learn with virtual drone programs. The US Army has designed its own computer programs, such as the Unmanned Advanced Lethality Course, to train soldiers on how to operate small drones using just a controller and a computer.

But training rarely stops at just the simulator. Aspiring drone pilots in Ukraine, for example, often must test their skills on a live range before they're trusted to perform on the battlefield.

"FPV Kamikaze Drone" appears to simulate battlefield conditions in Ukraine or western Russia, featuring mostly open terrain with patches of forest, small towns, and isolated buildings.

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It's unclear how effectively its virtual missions can be applied to the diverse terrain in Venezuela, which includes rainforests, highlands, and mountain ranges.

The Venezuelan Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment sent to a contact email address on its website.

November 11, 2025: This story was updated to reflect a response from HFM Games' cofounder, who said the studio has no affiliation with the Venezuelan military.

Read the original article on Business Insider
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Burger King is aiming to grow its footprint in China from approximately 1,250 today to more than 4,000 by 2035. To facilitate this expansion, parent company Restaurant Brands International has signed a joint venture with CPE, an investment firm with a portfolio that focuses on three sectors  technology and industrial, consumer and healthcare, and infrastructure.

The transaction, expected to close in Q1 2026, includes a $350 investment from CPE into Burger King China to support growth, marketing, menu innovation, and operations. With the joint venture, Burger King is expected to leverage CPEs local knowledge to accelerate development. It also fits into RBIs previously disclosed target of hitting 5%-plus net restaurant group toward the end of its 2024 to 2028 outlook period.

Additionally, the transaction fits into RBI's plan to return to a more simplified, highly franchised business, the company said.

"China remains one of the most exciting long-term opportunities for Burger King globally. Our recent investments and this joint venture underscore our confidence in the Chinese market," RBI chief executive officer Joshua Kobza said in a statement. "CPE is a well-capitalized, proven operator with exceptional leadership and extensive consumer and restaurant experience, making them an ideal partner to fuel the next chapter of Burger King China's growth. Together, we can unlock the business's full potential by combining our iconic brand and global scale with CPE's local market and operational expertise."

Following completion of the transaction, CPE will own approximately 83% of the business and RBI will hold a minority ownership position of approximately 17% along with a seat on the board of directors. Also under the terms of the transaction, a wholly owned affiliate of Burger King China will sign a 20-year master development agreement, granting it exclusive rights to develop the Burger King brand in China.

Following the transaction, RBI will recognize royalties from the Burger King China business in its international segment, with a step up to the business's full historical royalty rate over time.

"Burger King is a world-renowned brand with enduring appeal among Chinese consumers," CPE managing director Mark Mao said in a statement. "Our investment reflects our confidence in Burger King's long-term potential in China. Leveraging our commitment and deep understanding of the Chinese consumer, we aim to bring Burger King's flame-grilled burgers to even more guests across the country."
Nov. 9 (UPI) -- A New York City firefighter died of a "medical episode" Saturday while battling an "all hands" blaze in Brooklyn, authorities said.

Patrick Brady, 42, was an 11-year FDNY veteran, according to a Sunday statement by department commissioner Robert Tucker.

"Firefighter Patrick Brady gave his life protecting the city we all love; there is no sacrifice that is more selfless than the actions that took place this evening," Mayor Eric Adams said in the statement.

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Brady was fighting a fire on the roof of a building at 9407 Kings Highway in Brooklyn, which was initially classified a five-alarm blaze, when he went into cardiac arrest, the department said. He was treated by emergency medical personnel on the scene before being transported to Brookdale hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

"A resident of Queens, he is survived by his wife Kara, and his two brothers, Jimmy and Brian, who are both FDNY firefighters," the department said in a statement. Other family memes, including cousins and uncles, are also FDNY firefighters, the department said.

Brady joined FDNY in July 2014, and worked on Ladder 120 since 2022.
PERRY, Iowa  The VFW Floyd Foster Post 2060 lead a dedication ceremony for a Iwo Jima Mural in Perry Sunday. The mural dedication comes a day before the 250th birthday of the Marine Corps.

Eddie Diaz, a member of the VFW Floyd Foster Post 2060 and one of the organizers behind the mural, said that the ceremony was inspiring.

Its really inspiring. When we come together for anything and we need to do that more as a country, and this is one way we can continue doing it. Oftentimes, we get lost in what some of the challenges are going on and this shows that as Americans, we can come together regardless of the circumstances, Diaz said.

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Authorities investigating after truck strikes Pagliais Pizza in Johnston

The mural was painted by Iowa artist Shawn Palek and depicts the iconic flag raising at Iwo Jima during WW2.

Dirk Cavanaugh, the Mayor of Perry, said that he is proud to see the support that the community has given the Mural.

Its really great, but its just something we do. Weve been doing it the last few years have been kind of hard here in town, but everybody steps up. Theyve been doing it for years before that and its just good to see the community rally around something so, Cavanaugh said.

The Mural is located on the side of a building near downtown Perry at 1221 1st Ave, Perry, IA 50220.

Iowa News:

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com.
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB)  In honor of Veterans Day on Tuesday, Nov 11, several counties in the Panhandle will host community events to honor our brave veterans and active-duty military.

JACKSON COUNTY

The Marianna community will line the streets for their Annual Veterans Day Parade. The lineup will start at 1:30 p.m. and the parade will kick off at 2:30 p.m. in Downtown Marianna on Highway 90. For anyone interested in participating, sign up here.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

The St. George Lighthouse Association partnered with the SGI Veterans Reveille Group and the 106th American Legion in Apalachicola for an Annual Veterans Day ceremony.

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The ceremony will start at 11 a.m. at Lighthouse Park on St. George Island. Seating will be limited, so guests are encouraged to bring their own chairs. Collins Vacation Rentals and Century 21 will be sponsoring lunch, dessert, and refreshments for all attendees.

BAY COUNTY

The Bay County Board of Commissioners, in partnership with the Bay County Veterans Council, will host Bay Countys annual Veterans Day Parade.

The parade will be at 8:30 a.m., starting at Frankford Avenue and 12th Street in St. Andrews, and will travel east along 11th Street to the Bay County Government Center. Following the parade, there will be a wreath-laying service at 10 a.m. at the Government Centers main entrance.

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To participate in the parade, call Veterans Services at (850) 248-8280.

Join the 52nd Annual Veterans Day Freedom Celebration Tribute & Cruise. It will depart from Capt. Andersons Marina at 9:30 a.m.

This celebration is free for veterans, retired military, and serving military, and their families.

Tickets are free but required; call (850) 234 -3435 to reserve your spot. Concessions will be available onboard, and Capt. Maxs Upper Deck will be serving food and drink specials throughout the day.

The City of Callaway is hosting a Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 11 on Cherry Street. Line-up begins at 1 p.m. and the parade begins at 2 p.m.

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The parade is free to participate in, and everyone is welcome.

FSU Panama City marks Veterans Day early, featuring nearly 300 guests from Bay District Schools JROTC on Nov. 10. This event is free and open to the public. It will take place at the St. Joe Community Foundation Lecture Hall at the Holley Academic Center, 4750 Collegiate Drive in Panama City.

Rutherford High School JROTC will do the presentation of the flag. Free lunch will be provided for all registered participants and guests.

WALTON COUNTY

The City of DeFuniak Springs will host their 20th Annual Veterans Day Celebration from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at John V. Lawson Amphitheatre, 1183 Circle Drive, DeFuniak Springs.

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Mayor Bob Campbell will present the welcome. The posting of the service flags will be presented by Walton High School ARJROTC, and the color guard will be presented by Eglin AFB Color Guard.

PANAMA CITY BEACH

The Veterans Memorial Park, a newly renovated memorial that honors all branches of the U.S. Military, will hold a ceremony at 3 p.m. to honor those who served our great country. Its located on West Park Drive just south of Aaron Bessant Park at Pier Park. Ceremonies are held at the site each year, honoring Veterans Day. For more information, click here.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com.
Tuesday, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day, a time for the U.S. to honor all military personnel who served time fighting for the U.S.

Veterans Day, always held on Nov. 11  when World War I reached an armistice (or, truce) in 1918  is a federal and state holiday observed across the U.S.

"A celebration to honor Americas veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good," the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said.

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In Michigan, ceremonies are scheduled on Veterans Day and later in the week to honor those who served in the Armed Forces.

Local, state government agencies will be closed in observance such as courts and the U.S. Postal Service. Though, grocery stores, and other delivery services like UPS and FedEx will remain open.

Here's what to know about Veterans Day in Michigan 2025:

When is Veterans Day 2025?

Veterans Day is always observed on Nov. 11, which lands on a Tuesday this year.

More on Veterans Day: Michigan to celebrate Veterans Day Tuesday. Here's what will be open

Is Veterans Day a federal holiday?

Yes. Veterans Day is a federal holiday and a state holiday in Michigan.

What was Veterans Day originally called?

When Nov. 11 was declared a legal holiday in 1926, it solely honored WWI veterans and was originally called "Armistice Day." After World War II, President Dwight D. Eisenhower widened the holiday in 1954 to honor all U.S. veterans who served in all wars, renaming it Veterans Day, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

How you can observe Veterans Day in Michigan 2025

Here are some events planned in Michigan this week for Veterans Day:

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There are several veterans memorials in Michigan for residents to visit, according to Pure Michigan, such as Traverse City's Grand Traverse Area Veterans Memorial; Grand Rapids' Veterans Memorial Park; Withington Park in Jackson and more.

How does Memorial Day differ from Veterans Day?

While both honor U.S. service members, Veterans Day and Memorial Day are not quite the same.

Memorial Day honors the men and women who died while serving in the military. The solemn occasion is a time to reflect on these American patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice.

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Veterans Day, recognizes all who have served in the Armed Forces.

Contact Sarah Moore @ smoore@lsj.com

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Is Veterans Day a federal holiday? Yes. Ceremonies planned in Michigan
Veterans Day honors those men and women who have donned the uniform in service to the nation.

Yet, November 11th has somber origins as it signifies the armistice which halted the carnage of World War I, once called the Great War or War to End All Wars. After five failed German offensives beginning in March 1918, negotiations between the allies (France, Great Britain and the United States) and the German high command settled on a truce to commence on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918.

After the notifications, the trench lines between the opposing forces awaited the appointed hour. The German forces merely hunkered down. However, allied commanders took various measures leading up to 11 AM. Some commanders ordered their men to sit in their positions while others just lobbed artillery shells at the German lines.

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Inexplicably, some ordered charges across no-mans land to gain more terrain before the cease fire. It was a bloody morning with 11,000 casualties and 3,000 killed in numbers exceeding the daily rate for the war. The loss was 10% higher than the allied casualties suffered on D-Day 26 years later. The last American to die was Henry Gunther of Baltimore, Maryland who fell only a few seconds before 11 AM. The irony is tragic. The men on D-Day were storming the beaches to win; on Armistice Day men died for a war already decided.

It is nigh impossible for those of us so far removed from 1918 to understand the emotion that welled up in the aftermath of the four year conflagration. On average 2,250 men were killed daily and another 5,000 wounded.

For the entire war there were 8 million military dead and 21 million wounded. Civilian deaths totaled 6 million. France lost 11% of its population killed and wounded; Great Britain 8%; Germany 9% and the U.S. 0.37%. America lost nearly 117,000 killed in only 19 months of fighting. One in every five West Pointers deployed to France died. By 1918 France had 600,000 widows and 1 million fatherless children. In 1914 the English population was growing at a rate of 10.4%; in 1918 it was 4.7%. By 1921 there were 55 British women for every 45 men in the marriage age group of 20-39.

Perhaps the best visual to understand the magnitude of the loss can be depicted in a manner described by Joseph H. Persico in his book, "11th Hour, 11th Day, 11th Month, Armistice Day 1918." If we stood at the Ron Jon Surf Shop in Cocoa Beach at 9 AM Monday morning and watched the spirits of the dead British walk by four abreast, the column would stretch 97 miles and take 20 hours to pass our position. If the dead French followed, it would take an additional 51 hours and the trailing Germans another 59 hours. Considering all the dead, the column would stretch nearly 386 miles or the distance from Paris to halfway through Switzerland or New York City to Cleveland.

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The British are credited with the idea of commemorating Armistice Day. On November 17, 1919 King George V proclaimed henceforth at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, there may be for a brief space of two minutes a complete suspension of our normal activities.

2024 Veterans Day ceremony held at Florida Tech.

November 11th soon became a national holiday in many of the former allied nations. In 1920, President Wilson declared the Sunday nearest November 11th as Armistice Sunday and suggested services be held in pursuit of international peace. In 1921 the United States followed a British and French custom to inter an unknown soldier in the nations highest place of honor. The U.S. exhumed a body from each of the four European cemeteries where American soldiers were buried.

On October 21, 1921 a decorated soldier, Sergeant Edward Younger, selected one of the caskets and it was transported to the U.S. for internment on Armistice Day. President Harding asked all American flags be flown at half staff from sunrise to sunset that day. Between 8 AM and midnight on November 10th 50,000 people passed by the bier in the Capitol Rotunda. At 8 AM on November 11th the body was carried to Arlington National Cemetery followed by President Harding, Vice-President Coolidge, the Supreme Court Justices and numerous civilian and military dignitaries. After two minutes of silence the coffin was lowered into the crypt followed by three artillery salvos, the playing of Taps and a 21-gun salute.

In 1926, Congress passed a resolution inviting Americans to observe November 11. By the late 1930s twenty-seven states had made the date a holiday and Congress declared it a national holiday in 1938. Within a few years World War II broke out and 16 million Americans served in the armed forces. In 1947 Raymond Weeks organized a National Veterans Day in Birmingham, Alabama choosing the word Veterans rather than Armistice.

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The Korean War followed and soon the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and other veterans groups petitioned Congress, which in 1954 amended the 1938 legislation and changed the word Armistice to Veterans. But Congress, in its wisdom, caused an issue with the 1969 Uniform Monday Holiday Act which mandated a three day weekend for federal workers and pushed Veterans Day off of its November 11th commemoration.

Lee Wyatt is a retired Army colonel who served as professor and deputy head of the Department of History at the Military Academy at West Point. He also taught 17 years at Eastern Florida State College and was a visiting lecturer for a number of summer terms at the University of Hawaii.

On the first Monday observance in 1971, confusion reigned. Forty-six states kept the November 11th date and soon many states petitioned the federal government to reestablish the original date. Finally, in 1975 President Ford signed a law stating that beginning in 1978 the observance of Veterans Day would return to November 11, and as he stated, a date too significant to change. Veterans continue to be recognized as conflicts in Vietnam, the Cold War, Persian Gulf War and more recent ones in Afghanistan and Iraq have swelled their ranks.

Today, Veterans Day is commemorated with ceremonies at Arlington Cemetery at the Tomb of the Unknowns where the 3rd U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard) keeps vigil 24 hours a day. The President, or his representative, places a wreath at the tomb, two minutes of silence is observed, a bugler sounds and Taps is played. Various veterans groups also conduct a parade of flags.

Veterans Day is set aside to honor those who have served our nation honorably but we should not forget the immortal tie it has to those who served in that fateful conflict more than a century ago.

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Lee Wyatt is a retired Army colonel who served as professor and deputy head of the Department of History at the Military Academy at West Point. He also taught 17 years at Eastern Florida State College and was a visiting lecturer for a number of summer terms at the University of Hawaii.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Veterans Day history: How Nov. 11 honors World War I dead
As Veterans Day approaches, I am reminded that the hardships of military service provided me with the most valuable lessons of civics.

In the days after driving off the battlefields of Iraq, I faced a personal epiphany about the fragility of civilization and the value of our republic. I wish every American understood what I saw; it would change our politics and bring us closer to the hopeful words of Abraham Lincolns first inaugural address, We are not enemies, but friends.

I went to war at 28, an old soldier, having spent a decade preparing for it. I was a single infantry captain in the division specially trained for desert warfare. I was happy to go to war.

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Soldiering is supposed to be hard, and late summer in the Saudi Desert certainly was. During that long stretch from August to January, I was surprised by the enemy's idiocy. To this day, I remain shocked that Saddam Hussein didn't leave Kuwait and keep the oil fields in the north. That is the first lesson: Tyrants  unconstrained by legislatures, courts or voters  do crazy, damaging things.

But it was direct combat and its aftermath that really opened my eyes to the need to hold civilization tightly.

In the days before Desert Storm launched, I watched an entire Saudi city evacuate on a two-lane road. Cars piled with belongings moved slowly around the clock for two days. The haggard looks of children staring through dust-covered windows haunt me.

That second lesson was that the failure of a tyrannical government reaches far beyond the battlefield.

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From the start of Desert Storm on Jan. 17, 1991, until I returned to Saudi Arabia in March, I didn't change clothes and ate only two or three hot meals. Letters and news of the world stopped coming as we endured the early, and largely unreported, fights on the border with Iraq.

These weeks included possible chemical attacks that set off our alarms, forcing us to don gas masks for long periods. Its best not to dwell too much on how we determined it was finally safe for everyone to unmask.

The lesson: Nothing an imaginative mind can conjure matches the reality of a failed nation and the horror it unleashes.

Then we attacked. The ground war  100 hours of constant movement  remains sketchy in my mind. I slept no more than two or three hours each night. Riding behind the lead armored battalions, we moved so fast that each battlefield was still full of Iraqi soldiers, living and dead. Most were still armed but wisely chose not to continue the fight against us. The living stared blankly at us, no doubt having their own epiphany about their civilization and its many failures.

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On the last night of the war, we drove down a highway outside Basra, directly behind the lead tank battalion. The dead clustered along the roadside, spilling onto the highway and under overpasses. They hung across burning tanks, trucks and personnel carriers. The smoke from these fires hung low in deep layered blankets, fueled by the corpses of the enemy.

We were far too tired to retch at the smell, yet the real lessons of the failure of tyranny were still ahead of us.

After the ceasefire, civilians and deserters descended upon us. Our medic delivered a baby in the midst of this filth. Throngs of enemy soldiers walked toward survival  most eagerly, some unwisely still trying to fight.

Civilians, families weeping, walked or drove through our lines. We fed them and offered water, yet surely filled them with the deepest fear. I shudder to think on their plight. Imagine your family car stopped by heavily armed men in chemical suits, then being questioned by an officer (me) so covered in filth that days later he was forced to burn all his clothing before being allowed into a field shower.

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This lesson: Liberty is a gift  traveling without harassment from armed men, living openly in a free society, expecting decency and tolerance.

I served in other places, too. I was in Germany when the Berlin Wall came down. I served in peacekeeping missions along the Egypt-Israel border, and I served along the border of North Korea. In all these places, something we take for granted was missing.

Our Republic endures because we expect much of citizens and give them much in return. Our founders made clear that, to survive, we had to do the hardest of things. We had to leave behind us the failings of our past civilizations  mostly European  and make something new, unlike anything before it.

Here we judge you not on who your father was, but on what your sons and daughters might become. Our founders made clear that freedom was for all of us, not just those of us who spoke the same language or worshipped at the same church. And, quite wisely, they acknowledged that these freedoms were beyond the dictate of government; they were gifted by the Creator.

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Believing these truths is among the hardest of human tasks; living them is even harder. We learn most by outlining our points of failure.

If you hate Jews, Muslims or Presbyterians, you fail this test of American civilization. If you deny the inherent human dignity of transgender people, you fail the test of our Constitution. If you call yourself a Christian Nationalist, you are neither Christian nor American in the truest sense.

There can be no such thing as a Heritage American. We left that behind us.

I cherish my military service for many reasons, chief among them this: It taught me that the highest calling of an American is attending to citizenship. The greatest thanks you can give a veteran is not for their service, but by honoring the Constitution we fought for.

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Michael J. Hicks is the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research and the George and Frances Ball distinguished professor of economics in the Miller College of Business at Ball State University.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: On Veterans Day, how to thank a veteran
MAGA Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has issued a stark warning to President Donald Trump amid their high-profile divorce. The Georgia Republican told CBS News that she is starting to feel very sorry for the 79-year-old, saying that his attacks on her reflect poorly on him. The great schism began when Greene, 50, broke with him on the cost-of-living crisis, which Trump insists is a hoax, and the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
The cohosts of The View were at odds on Monday (November 10) morning over the news that several Senate Democrats broke from their party to join the Republicans in advancing a bill to reopen the government without the GOP addressing the extension of healthcare subsidies at issue in the government shutdown.

While some of the panelists were in support of the decision, others were staunchly and vociferously opposed to the decision. After reviewing footage of the senators who voted in favor of the resolution, and the reaction of Bernie Sanders, who condemned it, Whoopi Goldberg was the first to weigh in.

I have no faith that theyre going to negotiate and come back to the table, Goldberg said of the prospect of a separation action on the Affordable Care Act subsidies, whose expiration inspired the Democrats to oppose the resolution in the first place. People will get rehired, supposedly federal workers, and reinstate SNAP benefits, but a 50-50 chance of extending the subsidies, I dont believe it. 

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Alyssa Farah Griffin then revealed her reasons for supporting the deal, saying, So, Ive been saying from the outset, I dont think anyone wins in a government shutdown The fight over extending the Obamacare subsidies is about addressing 22 million Americans who are going to see their health care premiums skyrocket. I believe thats important. Im with Marjorie Taylor Greene. Im with Mike Lawler and a number of Republicans who believe we have to extend those for at least a year. However, in the interim, while the government remains shut down, 42 million people are losing SNAP benefits ahead of the holidays. So, to me, Weve got to hold out for those 22 million whose premiums are going to go up, but deny these people SNAP benefits in the meantime? That math doesnt math for me.

She also mentioned the fact that Donald Trump has been suggesting that, if the shutdown didnt come to an end soon, that the senator majority leader should nuke the filibuster, a procedural rule requiring 60 votes to advance a measure. She also cautioned that, Democrats are going to look like losers if theyre just attacking each other in this.

Sunny Hostin, for her part, pointed fingers at the Republicans for the issues that caused the shutdown. Look, lets be clear, the Republicans run the House, the Republicans run the Senate, the Republicans run the White House, the Republicans run the Supreme Court, as far as Im concerned. This was a choice by Republicans to cut SNAP benefits. This was a choice by Republicans to cut ACA subsidies. This was a choice by the Republicans to gut the federal government and federal employment. Democrats had nothing to do with it. I want an opposition party. I think the Democrats caved. I think the Democrats let down the American people, and like you, Whoopi, I have absolutely no faith that the Republican Party will come to the negotiating table in good faith.

She went on to say, Shame on the Democrats for even believing that the Republicans will even vote on it. Theres no guarantee in this new deal that theres going to be a vote. Theres no even commitment to have a vote. So the bottom line is, the Democrats went into this after a blue wave out of the American people, saying, We do want the opposition. We the working people want the Democratic Party to fight for them, and now they just caved and surrendered. I think Chuck Schumer, his days are over. If he cannot keep his caucus together, he needs to go.

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Sara Haines joined Griffin in supporting the move to reopen the government, even without guarantees on the ACA subsidies because of the real economic pain that comes with a shutdown. Our food banks, all weekend We were delivering non-stop, and we kept getting notifications. Theyre empty again. Theyre empty again. Opposition. People can vote in a blue wave and say, but opposition, when you have no power, is not helping us at all. They need food on the table. We need our flights back up in the air. The holidays are coming. She also pointed out that reopening the government will finally take away the reason for House Speaker Mike Johnson to keep delaying the swearing in of a Democratic representative-elect in Arizona who promised to vote for the Jeffrey Epstein file release.

Then, Ana Navarro revealed that she experienced seeing TSA workers who werent receiving paychecks as a result of the shutdown amid a series of flight cancellations over the weekend in Miami.

I was going through Miami International the afternoon, and they were talking about, Oh my god, theyre voting. Theyre voting again. Our TSA workers, at the same time that they have the stress and responsibility of keeping us safe in the sky are also having to be [watching] whatever vote results there are in Congress. That is ridiculous, and it is shameful, she said.

Navarro also insisted that blame for all of it lays with Donald Trump. The one that has the biggest bully pulpit here is Donald Trump. He is the president of the United States, much to my chagrin, but that means he has the responsibility to lead to convene Republicans and Democrats, set them around the table, and have them craft a deal. But you know what Donald Trump was doing this weekend? Same thing he was doing last week. He was at Mar a Lago at a fancy party. Last weekend, there was the Great Gatsby theme. This weekend, he was hosting another fancy party with towers of seafood and champagne. The president of Argentina was at the fancy party this weekend, dancing happily. You know why? Because Donald Trump bailed him out with $40 billion of your U.S. taxpayer money, while he refuses to fund SNAP benefits.

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At the end of the segment discussion, Goldberg announced that Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, who was one of the yea votes on the CR, will be joining The View to discuss that and other current events.

The View, weekdays, 11a/10c, ABC

Read the latest entertainment news on TV Insider.
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Some Virginia social studies leaders are sounding the alarm over a proposed change to how student performance in history and social science is measured, warning it could swap critical-thinking assessments for memorization-driven multiple-choice exams.

Their concerns come as the State Board of Education prepares to continue its discussions on the proposed accountability changes, a debate that has been underway since the summer.

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According to the Virginia Social Studies Leaders Consortium, or VSSLC, about 63 of the states 132 school divisions already use locally awarded verified credit through alternative assessments. The consortium is worried revisions could upend that process, which currently includes a portfolio of student work and inquiry-based state tasks.

What our organization was hoping for was local flexibility, said Danyael Graham, VSSLC president.

Under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, or ESEA, any state  including Virginia must update its Consolidated State Plan and secure approval from the U.S. Department of Education. That process is significantly faster than going through the Virginia Administrative Process Act, which can take months or years.

ESSA only requires states to assess students in reading, math and science. Adding history and social science to the state accountability model is optional, not federally mandated.

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The proposed changes stem from Virginias recent overhaul of its accountability system and are intended to allow the state to submit data from the first year of that redesign. They also incorporate feedback from stakeholders, including community members and educators such as Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, who urged the board in a June 2 letter to add U.S. History or Civics in the state accountability system.

VanValkenburg signed the letter alongside representatives from the American Historical Association, National Council for the Social Studies, Virginia Social Science Association, Virginia Council for the Social Studies, iCivics, the CivXNow Coalition and Virginia Civics. The letter argued that although Virginia is stronger than many other states in emphasizing social studies education, the subject still has been de-prioritized in recent years.

The groups asked the board to join other states in adding social studies as a measure of school quality and incorporating it into Virginias accountability structure.

They added that such move is critical not just for the sake of social studies knowledge and skills, but because when students have deeper content knowledge and vocabulary, it bolsters their reading proficiency, their ability to make sense of the world around them, and their confidence in navigating our public democratic institutions.

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The VSSLC declined to sign the letter, citing a lack of guarantees that inquiry-based assessments remain in place. Members also said the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) didnt consult them before last months board discussions.

VanValkenburg said he made the request because he believes one of the most important parts of public education is to foster civic knowledge and civic understanding so that people can be good citizens.

Last August, the board approved a split accreditation model  one system to determine whether schools meet legal and regulatory requirements, and another to provide timely and transparent information on student and school performance.

The regulations are tied to the boards stated goals of high expectations and learning recovery following pandemic-era losses.

Conflict claims

Social studies leaders argue the proposed revisions create several conflicts including one tied to whether teachers can develop their own instructional resources. They also claim the proposal clashes with legislation that supports permissive local alternative assessment  the backbone of the locally awarded verified credit option  instead of Standards of Learning (SOL) multiple choice exams in non-federally mandated subjects.

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That language was included in House Bill 1957, sponsored by Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, earlier this year to strengthen how statewide tests are administered and evaluated. VanValkenburg sponsored a similar bill that failed last session.

VanValkenburg said the legislation was intended to place guardrails on local assessments to ensure they are done well and meet a certain quality,noting that some are rigorous while others fall short.

Graham said educators were excited to move toward local assessments in social studies because they shifted testing from quiz bowl style testing to document-based questions and inquiry, where students are answering questions using sources.

Beau Dickenson, a consortium board member recently named the 2025 National Social Studies Leader of the Year by the National Social Studies Leaders Association, said the move toward locally designed assessments was meant to replace older methods focused on rote memorization.

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Its really innovative, its the future of the discipline and I would say its more rigorous than discrete facts and can bubble in a scantron sheet, Dickenson said.

He added that educators arent rejecting accountability  they are asking the board to find consistency and balance across the commonwealth, because reverting to content-heavy tests would mean taking several steps backwards.

Consortium members also say the revisions contradict prior VDOE assurances that teachers could develop their own instructional and resources.

It doesnt seem that this (plan) provides that, (and) it was also something that was promised to us in our standards, Graham said.

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Social studies leaders say they are unsure whether locally developed assessments will count toward accountability and whether changes would be implemented mid-school year or in 2026-2027.

A VDOE presentation published last month shows the board will review numerous elements of the Consolidated State Plan on Thursday, including how the state measures success, which courses qualify as advanced, and how struggling schools receive support.

A final review is scheduled for Dec. 11 before the plan is submitted to the U.S. Department of Education.

Kenita Matthews, a VDOE spokeswoman, said no final decisions have been made about history and social science because the agency is still gathering stakeholder input.

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We look forward to continued collaboration with our educators and families to prepare students to be civically engaged citizens and ready for success in college, career, and military pathways, Matthews said. Their input is essential as we work to increase expectations and continue aligning with research-based practices.

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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has added amendment options to her proposal for the European Union's next long-term budget after the European Parliament threatened to block it, according to a letter seen by dpa.

Von der Leyen informed European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and the current EU Council presidency in writing of possible amendments to her proposal, dpa has learned.

The options include giving regions more say, offering possible safeguards for the agricultural sector and strengthening the European Parliament's role in allocating money from the EU budget.

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If EU member states agree, a share of EU budget funds could be reserved specifically for the development of rural regions, in addition to earmarked spending under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

According to the letter, the additions are intended to support the adoption process of the EU's financial framework for 202834. The long-term budget would allow spending of around 2 trillion ($2.3 trillion)  roughly 700 billion more than during the current seven-year budget period.

The move comes after the leaders of the main political groups in the European Parliament told von der Leyen in a joint letter that they partly reject the commission's initial proposal.

In the letter sent in late October, the senior EU lawmakers express regret that the commission's proposal presented in July did not take into account the parliament's position on preserving the role of regional policy and the parliament's say in spending decisions.

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The letter was signed by the leaders of the Conservatives, Social Democrats, Liberals, Greens and other senior legislators working on the file.

The signatories criticize the fact that instead of dividing the money into several separate funds, each EU country would come up with individual spending plans in the next budget period.

This could lead to large sums of money being not transparently allocated, prompting imbalances, the letter said.

The EU's budget, dubbed the multi-annual financial framework, spells out the bloc's policy priorities for the coming years and how much money is allocated to different areas.

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The budget is adopted under a special legislative procedure: EU member states must approve it unanimously and the European Parliament must give its consent. If parliament does not reach the required majority, the proposal fails.

To prevent such a scenario, von der Leyen has invited senior representatives, including Metsola and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen - who currently holds the EU Council presidency - to a high-level meeting on Monday.
It is rumored that Bybit is considering the acquisition of Korbit, South Koreas fourth-largest cryptocurrency exchange. Some sources claim that Bybit has met with Korbits management to begin the acquisition process.

Bybit to Start with SK Planets Stake

Though no official announcement has been made concerning the acquisition, it could serve as an avenue for the international exchange to expand its roots in Asias crypto market. Noteworthy, NXC, the parent company of Nexon, owns about 60.5% of Korbit.

Another 31.5% is under the ownership of SK Planet, and this is where Bybit intends to start. The sources familiar with the matter stated the exchange will kickstart the deal by first taking up SKs stake before moving on to full ownership. It is worth noting that Binances expansion in the Asian market has played a significant role in encouraging other exchanges to enter the region.

For context, Binance recently received approval from the Financial Intelligence Unit for the replacement of GOPAX executives. This favorable nod effectively allows foreign exchanges to own local platforms in the region. In the meantime, Korbit told BloomingBit that the Bybit acquisition is a baseless rumor.

South Korea Boosts Crypto Landscape with Regulations

In September 2025, South Koreas Financial Services Commission (FSC) released new guidelines for lending services on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges (CEXs). The authorities in the region realized that as demand for crypto spiked in the country, it was necessary to improve regulation as well.

Crypto lending interest in South Korea is now capped at 20%. Meanwhile, lending is limited to only tokens within the top 20 by market capitalization and listed on at least three won-based exchanges.

At the beginning of 2025, Kim Byoung-hwan, Chairman of the FSC, revealed plans to accelerate cryptocurrency institutionalization. This demonstrated a stronger commitment to investor protection while staying in line with global trends. South Korea is obviously moving its weight to become one of the top crypto hubs in Asia.

Read original story Bybit Eyes South Korean Expansion with Korbit Acquisition by Godfrey Benjamin at Coinspeaker.com
The Wall Street Journal on Sunday condemned Donald Trumps idea of giving Americans a $2,000 dividend from the revenues that have been generated from his controversial tariff policy.

The newspapers conservative editorial board slammed the proposal as nothing more than a Hail Mary pass from the president.

Read the full editorial in The Wall Street Journal.

Trump has a big tariff problem, said the outlet, which has repeatedly slammed his widespread imposition of taxes on products imported from other countries into the United States.

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Tariffs are raising prices for consumers, are unpopular and may even soon be ruled illegal by the Supreme Court, it noted.

Weve advised Mr. Trump from the beginning that tariffs would do economic harm, and so they are, said the Journal. Theyre also doing political damage to the GOP, which is why hes floating rebates that contradict his other tariff claims.

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The IDF also hit Hezbollah terror infrastructure in Bekaa and Nabatiya, including a strategic weapons production facility and storage site.

The IDF killed three Hezbollah terrorists in several airstrike operations in southern Lebanon, the military said on Monday.

IDF footage of two airstrikes killing three Hezbollah terrorists, southern Lebanon, November 10, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The military struck Samir Ali Faqih near Srifa on Monday. Faqih was involved in smuggling weapons for the terror organization.

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The IDF also killed two other terrorists in the Houmin al-Fawqa and al-Sawana areas in southern Lebanon on Sunday.

According to IDF statistics, this raises the total number of Hezbollah terrorists killed in Lebanon to 15 since the beginning of November.

The military also conducted strikes on Hezbollah terrorists and terror infrastructure across southern Lebanon, including a rocket launch site, an earlier statement confirmed on Monday.

An illustrative silhouette of two armed terrorists with the Hezbollah flag painted on a wall. (credit: zmotions/Shutterstock)

The rocket launch site had been identified as a location where "Hezbollah terror activities" occurred in recent months, the military noted, adding that weapons aimed towards Israel were hit.

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In addition, the military destroyed terror infrastructure in the Bekaa area, including a strategic weapons production facility and a storage site. Other infrastructure was also destroyed near Nabatiya, the military confirmed.

Continued attempts to smuggle weapons over Egyptian border

Earlier, the IDF confirmed that soldiers from the 512th "Paran" Brigade, responsible for securing the Israel-Egypt border, intercepted a drone attempting to smuggle weapons over the border.

The IDF intercept a drone attempting to smuggle three M16 rifles over the Egyptian border, November 10, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The drone was carrying three M16 rifles, which the IDF seized.
President Donald Trump was hit by a booming chorus of boos from fans at the Washington Commanders game on Sunday when he took the microphone and conducted a swearing in ceremony for members of the U.S. military.

The jeering blitz was caught by Fox News, which broadcast part of Trumps address.

He was reading the U.S. Armed Forces Oath of Enlistment, but that did not stop fans at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland from voicing  or in this case, shouting  their displeasure.

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The oath reads as follows:

I, (state name of enlistee), do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. (So help me God).

Trump put a little extra oomph into the So help me God! as the loud razzing continued. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was flanking Trump to his right as he read the oath.

He later told the Fox broadcast team it was an honor to swear in such a tremendous group of young people.

The cold reception probably should not come as much of a surprise, considering how the surrounding areas voted. Former Vice President Kamala Harris (D) won more than 90% of votes in Washington, D.C., and she also received 62% of votes in Maryland. Harris also scored a victory in Virginia, although that margin was much smaller.

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Conservative influencer Benny Johnson shared a clip of the fans booing Trump on X and said it doesnt get much more disrespectful than this.

Trump also celebrated what he called the greatest flyover ever when he flew over the stadium before the Lions-Commanders game.

Watch above, via Fox News.

The post WATCH: Trump Blitzed By Chorus of Boos at Washington Commanders Game first appeared on Mediaite.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, in a CBS interview on Sunday, made clear his state could take an active role in the nationwide battle over redistricting championed by President Donald Trump.

Were not just going to sit on our hands because Donald Trump tells us to, Moore said during an appearance on Face the Nation. Thats not the way this process is going to work.

Moores statement comes after he announced the creation of a redistricting commission last week as Democratic states across the country have sought to respond to Republican efforts to redraw House districts in their favor. That commission will hold hearings and get constituent feedback about how the states districts are currently demarcated, Moore has said.

News: Retired Reporter Recalls Edmund Fitzgerald Story That Led To Classic Ballad

In states including Texas, Missouri and North Carolina, Republican-led legislatures have already approved plans to redistrict their House maps to the benefit of the GOP. As a result, Republicans could gain five House seats in Texas, one in Missouri and one in North Carolina.

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has also championed a ballot measure, Proposition 50, in a bid to counter Republicans gains. Under Proposition 50, which passed with roughly 64% of the vote last week, Californias maps will be redrawn in a way that could net five more House districts that are favorable to Democrats in the state.

Moore signaled that he supported Maryland embracing a more aggressive approach on the issue.

Presently, Maryland has one Republican-held district, which could be redrawn by the Democrat-led state legislature. Marylands Democratic State Senate President Bill Ferguson, however, has expressed his opposition to the effort and raised concerns about how it could backfire.

Moore said on Sunday, Im just not sure why we should be playing by a different set of rules than Texas or then Florida or then Ohio.

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West Michigan Regional Airport is celebrating the completion of a major infrastructure project.

The North Business Park Taxi Lane represents a $2.27 million investment, honored with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 24. The event was attended by roughly 50 community leaders, business partners and aviation stakeholders, according to a community announcement.

"This project represents more than asphalt," wrote airport manager Matt Neyens. "It's about creating opportunities for businesses to grow and thrive in West Michigan.

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"The North Business Park Taxi Lane will enhance operational efficiency and make our airport more attractive to aviation-related businesses looking to locate in our community. We're grateful for the strong partnerships with (Holland, Zeeland and Park Township) that made this investment possible."

West Michigan Regional Airport is celebrating the completion of a major infrastructure project.

The project was funded with a combination of federal, state and local tax dollars.

This story was created by reporter Nida Tazeen, ntazeen@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: West Michigan Regional Airport celebrates major infrastructure addition
Sergei Lavrov is missing.

In the past week Russias veteran foreign minister has skipped a key meeting with Vladimir Putin, been sidelined from the G20 summit, and all-but vanished from his ministrys own news feed.

On Saturday, he briefly resurfaced for an interview with state media  illustrated with a year-old photograph  but he is yet to actually be seen.

Is he ill? Has he been fired? Or, perhaps, fallen out of a window?

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And if Vladimir Putins chief envoy has finally reached the end of the line, could Russias aggressive foreign policy change too?

Lavrov at a meeting in Moscow on Oct 22, before he vanished from the public stage - Ramil Sitdikov

The clues

On Wednesday last week, Lavrov was the only permanent member of the countrys security council to skip a meeting where Putin ordered the military to prepare for a possible resumption of nuclear weapons testing.

The day before, the Kremlin announced that Dmitry Oreshkin, a deputy head of the presidential administration, would lead Russias delegation to the G20 summit in Johannesburg later this month.

Lavrov has represented Russia at every G20 leaders summit since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine put a stop to Putins own attendance in Rio de Janeiro in 2024, New Delhi in 2023 and Bali in 2022.

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His most recent official statements before the weekend interview are strangely low calibre: a brief address to the winding-up meeting of a volunteer group involved in this years commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the Second World War; an official message of condolences on the recent death of a prominent television presenter; another marking the 60th birthday of a former minister of health.

The theories

So whats happened to him?

Andrei Kolesnikov, the long-serving and well connected Kremlin correspondent for Kommersant, a leading broadsheet, was briefed that Lavrov skipped the security council by agreement  if there was any further explanation, he didnt mention it.

But the Moscow Timess Russian edition on Thursday decided that he had likely fallen out of favour with Putin over the cancellation of a planned summit between the Russian president and Donald Trump in Budapest.

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That plan fell apart, reportedly, after Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, concluded after a testy call with Lavrov on Oct 21 that Russia was not going to give any ground when it came to Putins key demands. The Kremlin flatly denied any rift between Lavrov and his boss. Its completely untrue, said Dmitry Peskov, Putins spokesman said on Friday.

The unshakeable Dmitry Peskov (left) has become Putins favoured public defender of Russian policy - Turar Kazangapov/Reuters

Of course, he may just be ill. His travel schedule is still punishing and the level of his physical exhaustion is very visible, notes Alexander Gabuev of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.

His fondness for Johnnie Walker Black Label  a fashionable drink when he was ambassador to the United Nations  has not gone away. Nor has his smoking habit.

At the Bali G20 summit in 2022, a photograph put out to dismiss rumours of ill-health after he disappeared from a number of sessions was geolocated to a hospital. He is old to be doing such a demanding job. Turning 75 this year, he will be 80 by the time Putin stages his next rubber-stamp election and reshuffle in 2030. Perhaps retirement beckons.

Lavrovian foreign policy

Number 32-34 Smolenskaya-Sennaya Square, the Mordor-esque foreign ministry headquarters that Lavrov has captained for 21 years, is silent on the ministers fate. But Russias diplomats know their long-serving boss is reaching the end of the line, partly because of his age and partly because he has become something of a dinosaur.

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Eloquent, charming when he needs to be, on top of things, knowing all the issues in more detail than any of his counterparts, Lavrov represents the very best that the Soviet diplomatic tradition could produce. But he is also a master of the darker side of that Soviet heritage: the bullying, trolling, transparent lying and intimidation  and those have become more pronounced as demand for the former set of skills has dwindled.

Over his 20-year tenure, Lavrov has seen Putin concentrate real foreign policy decision-making in the Kremlin, and rely more and more on soldiers and spies  not diplomats  to implement his fevered visions.

Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, and especially since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the field where the Lavrovs of the world excel  a formal and institutionalised relationship with the West  has simply withered. The UN Security Council, OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe), Iranian nuclear talks, arms control: all the areas on which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs led have grown irrelevant, and the skills to navigate them redundant.

Lavrov, the arrogant, chain-smoking product of a system designed to dominate such environments, is left with the stultifying task of retroactively justifying whatever his chief comes up with next. Like a woolly mammoth stomping the tundra after the ice-age retreated, he is a creature bereft of the world he was built for.

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None of that means he wants to quit, says Gabuev. On the contrary, he seems to have clung to power with ever more determination in recent years. And mammoths endured for centuries on Russias remote Arctic islands.

Successors

There are potential successors inside the system, including Sergei Ryabkov, his 65-year-old deputy, and Igor Morgulov, the current ambassador to China  both of whom are cut from the same cloth.

There are also outsiders. A long-running rumour postulates that Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putins never-flustered spokesman, might take the job. Meanwhile, Kirill Dmitriev, the financier who has cultivated ties with Steve Witkoff, Americas special envoy to the Middle East, clearly fancies himself as a roving emissary, America-understander and expert on Gulf-Arab monarchs (he is considered a bureaucratic lightweight, however, and Lavrov clearly regards him as an amateur).

But, before any of these ambitious men make their move, it might be wise for them to note how Lavrov has survived so long at this level. The key is to stick like glue to your patron  Lavrov has been nothing if not loyal to Putin  and to be as slavishly hawkish as possible.

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Lavrov probably knew exactly what he was doing in that phonecall with Marco Rubio. Far better, he may have calculated, to make bullying, impossible demands of the US secretary of state than get creative and set the boss up for a summit where he may not get what he wants. And if it has the benefit of discrediting a rivals amateur-hour attempts at White-House whispering, so much the better.

Ultimately, Lavrovs most skilful diplomatic game has not been played abroad at all, but surviving so long in Putins regime at home.

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President Donald Trumps pardon of political allies for crimes related to the 2020 election raises a host questions, one of them being: Why did Trump go out of his way to exclude himself?

After listing dozens of allies and supporters, including Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman and others, who have faced legal exposure in various venues, the order said that it does not apply to the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. Ed Martin, Trumps failed U.S. attorney nominee-turned-pardon attorney and weaponization czar, posted the order on social media on Sunday night from his personal account and then again on Monday morning from his official account.

That presidential caveat doesnt appear in Trumps proclamation from the beginning of his second term that pardoned, commuted and ordered the dismissal of Jan. 6 cases. Like the new clemency order, the earlier one claimed to end a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people.

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The two proclamations differ in that the Jan. 6specific one involved cases in which people had pending federal prosecutions or had already been convicted, whereas the new one applies to people who arent presently the subject of federal prosecutions. Trump and some of his allies and supporters, including the latest pardon recipients, have been the subject of state prosecutions, though the presidential pardon power is for offenses against the United States, meaning federal, not state crimes. The Georgia state case, in which Trump and others were charged (some have already been convicted), is nearing a deadline for a new prosecutor to take over after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified. (As I have explained previously, the case may have effectively ended already with Willis disqualification, but it technically remains alive pending word on a new prosecutor.)

Still, the difference between those two proclamations doesnt necessarily explain why Trump excluded himself in the new pardon. At least, it doesnt necessarily explain it legally  which, of course, could be beside the point if this latest proclamation is more of a political document, given its seemingly limited legal effect on nonexistent federal prosecutions and state prosecutions that presidents cant pardon. (Im not sure of a political explanation, either, because the animating principle of the pardon is that Trump thinks the beneficiaries were victimized and did nothing wrong; perhaps the implication is that he is so above the law, which operates against ordinary people, that he neednt stoop to being pardoned as ordinary people, even his allies and supporters, would.)

Another potentially relevant aspect is that Trump has no reason to worry about being prosecuted anywhere in the short term. Not that this subservient Department of Justice would prosecute him, but the DOJ has a policy against prosecuting sitting presidents, which is what led to his two federal cases going away. And for reasons underlying that DOJ policy, he likely wouldnt stand trial in the Georgia case if it were to go forward against his co-defendants while hes in office. Plus, the Supreme Court gave him broad criminal immunity, the limits of which havent been fully litigated. (If the Georgia case moves forward, those limits could be further explored pretrial, even if such litigation wouldnt happen until he leaves office.)

Again, the legal reason (if there is one) for Trump going out of his way to exclude himself from the new pardon, as opposed to just not mentioning himself, isnt clear. But given the lack of any imminent prosecutions moving against him, it wouldnt be necessary yet for him to make the legally untested move of a self-pardon. If he is contemplating such a move, he could wait until the last minute before he leaves office to cover any and all federal exposure he might otherwise face.

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This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
When Robyn Thomson typed rabies into the search engine, her heart sank  the situation was far worse than the family had ever envisaged.

In February, her mum Yvonne Ford had been reclining on a sun-lounger in Morocco when she was lightly scratched by a puppy. The 59-year-old thought nothing of it  it was minor, leaving no teeth marks or broken skin.

But four months later, Ms Ford developed an unbearable headache while on a campervan trip in York. It was her first symptom yet by this point, it was already too late to save her.

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I can remember when my husband texted me, when they said it could be rabies, her daughter recalls. The first thing that comes up when you Google rabies is that it is almost always fatal.

Ms Ford soon lost her ability to walk, swallow or sleep. She also developed an intense fear of water and was horrendously hallucinating. She died on June 11 at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield.

Robyn with her husband, children and parents on a family holiday to Disneyland - Robyn Thomson

Yvonne was just 59 when she died from rabies - Robyn Thomson

It was heartbreaking, because we were watching my mum deteriorate so rapidly in front of us  and knew what the outcome was going to be, said Robyn, a 33-year-old paediatric nurse.

Its a horrendous disease to watch someone go through  she was so, so poorly. I do have a background in nursing but nothing prepares you to see your mum pass away in general, never mind with such a horrendous illness like rabies.

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Rabies has long been eliminated in the UK  the last locally-acquired case was reported in 1902  but across the globe at least 59,000 people still die from the zoonotic disease every year, according to the World Health Organization.

While human vaccinations and post-exposure treatments are available, much of the work aiming to curb the virus is focused on dogs, the primary reservoir for the disease.

The animals are responsible for transmitting some 99 per cent of infections to people through their saliva, a bite or a scratch. But effective canine vaccinations also exist and, if 70 per cent of dogs in a given area are protected, experts say the cycle of transmission can be broken.

Which is why Ms Thomson and her husband decided to raise 4,000 and travel 6,000 miles to Cambodia, where they took part in a record-breaking canine vaccination campaign.

Robyn and her husband on the volunteering trip - Robyn Thomson

Organised by Mission Rabies, the drive inoculated 221,000 dogs in just a fortnight, including 10,000 animals in a single day on October 23, at a cost of around 3 per dog. The charity, which has been running these annual intensive efforts in Cambodia since 2023, said this is Asias largest single rabies vaccination campaign to date.

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Roughly 750 volunteers were involved in the vaccination and community education campaign, including the Thomsons  who personally inoculated hundreds of dogs in the area around the capital, Phnom Penh.

I mean, she would have been scared stiff, said Robyn, laughing when asked what her mum would have made of their hands-on volunteering efforts.

But she knows that Im a driven person that wants to make a difference, and shed have been cheerleading from the sideline. She was such a strong person, and shes made me a strong person.

I need to channel this grief into something positive, she added. For Mission Rabies, the aim is to eradicate rabies by 2030  imagine just saying that youve been part of that. If that actually happens, imagine saying youve been part of that world-changing event of eradicating rabies I feel like Im doing this in my mums legacy.

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Cambodia is one of a dozen hotspots where Mission Rabies operates, and Robyn hopes to join another mission or return to southeast Asia next year.

Data is patchy, but it is estimated that roughly 800 people die every year in Cambodia after contracting rabies. In recent years, the government has ramped up its response, launching a national strategy in 2023 that includes mass vaccination drives and better community education  especially in schools, as the majority of fatalities are children.

Tuk-tuks prepare to dispatch volunteers to vaccination sites - Mission Rabies

What we are trying to do is skew the probability, so that if a rabid dog comes into an area, we want to up the stakes that it will bite another dog that is already vaccinated  stopping the chain of transmission, Dr Luke Gamble, founder and CEO of Mission Rabies, said when the campaign first launched in partnership with the government in 2023. Were trying to get herd immunity.

This week, he added: In 2021, our teams were called for 7,400 dog bite cases  and [in] 2025 to date, this has been 3,909. So we have halved incidence of dog bites through our education programmes, alongside a massive reduction in rabies incidence.

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Internationally, vaccination is widely seen as one of the key pillars of any strategy to curb rabies, but experts stress that inoculations of dogs alone will not solve the problem.

The gold standard approach involves also sterilising stray dogs to control the population, to ensure the birth rate does not exceed the vaccination rate and leave gaps in the overall coverage. The Worldwide Veterinary Service, which spearheads Mission Rabies, currently runs year-round spay and neuter programmes at a clinic in Phnom Penh.

Ensuring people know when and where to get preventative treatment is also critical. Once the viral disease reaches the central nervous system and clinical symptoms appear, the prognosis is fatal. This is one reason children are disproportionately impacted. They may never tell their parents that they were scratched or licked.

Mass dog vaccination is one of the best tools to fight against rabies  vaccinating stray dogs or temple or community dogs will create a protective blanket reducing risks for humans, said Dr Filip Claes, head of FAOs Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases in Asia and the Pacific.

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Of course, this should go together with vaccinating humans that are at risk of being in contact with rabid dogs or other animals through their profession or customs, he added.

The canine vaccination campaign inoculated 221,000 dogs in just a fortnight - Mission Rabies

Closer to home, Robyn is advocating for changes to make British travellers more aware of the risks. She wants holiday resorts in known rabies hotspots to display warnings detailing the risks, and has contacted travel agencies to urge them to ensure holiday-makers know they can get a rabies vaccine before travelling to an endemic country.

As a paediatric nurse, shes also working with her NHS Trust to improve guidelines for health workers.

In my whole training, I have never once had any training on rabies whatsoever, she said. I think thats because its eliminated within the UK, but that doesnt mean its irrelevant. People are travelling further and further afield, to different places in the world.

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She added that, although its been tough to talk publicly about her mums death, she hopes doing so will help other families avoid going through the same devastating experience.

[Mum] would do anything for everyone.. She was such a warm, loving person, Robyn said. We always said from the start, from when she passed away, that if one person could hear our story and learn from it, then hopefully weve saved a life.

I just want people not to underestimate rabies, when theres such a simple fix to get the vaccine if youre scratched. Just go and do it.

Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security

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It was a hug that sent a thousand divorce lawyer hearts a-flutter. At a recent Turning Point USA event in Mississippi, Vice President JD Vance and Erika Kirk reminded a nation why right-wing Christians used to favor the awkward side hug over full body contact. The vice president and widow of the recently assassinated Charlie Kirk got tongues wagging when, during an onstage embrace, she put her hand in his hair and he touched her hip, demonstrating a level of affection he doesnt seem to have for his actual wife, Usha Vance. The gossip mill, both on and offline, exploded, with people speculating that Kirk and Vance are having an affair. The rumors were amplified by a comment Kirk made during the same event. No one will ever replace my husband, she said. No, but I do see some similarities of my husband in JD.

The wild speculation about the nature of their friendship is ironic when considering that both have built their careers by taking an intrusive, judgmental interest in dictating the personal lives of strangers. Vance has a long rap sheet of insulting women who dont get married and have children according to his exacting timetable, calling them miserable and cat ladies who are destroying the nation with their alleged selfishness. Along with her late husband, Kirk has routinely prescribed that women forgo college degrees and careers  even though she has both  so they can fully commit to being submissive housewives.

The fevered rumors have exposed not a secret affair but a political liability: Vances marriage is an increasingly poor fit for his political brand, which has become increasingly based on praising the virtues of white supremacy and retrograde gender roles.

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In Republican politics, especially in the MAGA era, a politicians wife is an important part of establishing his reputation as a real man to a base who eschews thinking and nuance in favor of emotional reactions. Vance not only wants to be president, but he also has a well-financed machine backing him, and they will doubtless want a good return on their investment in his future. Based on the xenophobia and anti-South Asian sentiment that courses through the MAGA body politic, the vice president could be better marketed as President Donald Trumps successor if he had a wife who looked more like Erika Kirk.

This tension came to a head at the same event where Vance and Kirk shared their infamous hug. During a question-and-answer session, an audience member asked Vance how he navigates being married to Usha, who has not chosen to convert to his Catholic faith but instead maintains her Hindu religious heritage taught by her immigrant parents, while also identifying as agnostic. After triumphantly declaring that their three children are being raised as Christian, Vance admitted he wanted her to convert: I believe in the Christian Gospel, and I hope eventually my wife comes to see it the same way.

The vice presidents comments set off a firestorm, and not just because of religion. Vance has grown increasingly loud about his obvious embrace of blood-and-soil nationalism. While never coming right out and saying so, hes made it clear that he sees the U.S. as a nation of and for white people. In the same breath he expressed his hope for Usha Vances conversion, he praised the 1920s-era law that explicitly restricted immigration to preserve the countrys Anglo heritage. Hes defended Republican operatives who were caught texting I love Hitler. He recently argued that its totally reasonable and acceptable for Americans to expect next door neighbors to speak the same language.

The MAGA base may thrill to hear that such a minor annoyance justifies destroying the lives of millions of people. But its hard to square with Vance having a wife whose family immigrated from a country that now deserves, he has insinuated, being placed on a restricted immigration list.

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When it comes to his wifes religion, Vance said she has free will  an admission he made in his usual self-congratulatory tone. This view, though, is increasingly at odds with what the MAGA base wants from their leaders, especially the radicalized young men that Vance is doing his best to court  along with far-right authoritarians in Silicon Valley who have funded him every step of the way. Those circles are all about the tradwife, a view that women should not have autonomy but exist to submit to and serve their husbands. Even though Usha Vance left her career as a high-powered lawyer to be second lady, she hasnt bothered to mask her discontent and her desire to return to the legal profession.

So yes: A hug and a couple of weird statements dont quite justify the widespread speculation that Vance wants to dump his wife to marry someone who better fits the tradwife model.

But the rumors reflect a much deeper reality that people are exactly right to perceive: Vance is a soulless striver who will sell off anything if he thought it would give him more power. We dont have to ask if he would betray his wife and kids. He does so nearly every day by promoting a vision of America that has no room for them in it.

The gossip, though, is not advantageous at this moment for either Vance or Kirk, if only because its interfering with the larger MAGA effort to canonize Charlie Kirk as a fascist martyr whose murder they clearly hope can be used to justify endless atrocities. Theres already strong signs that Charlie Kirk is not shaping up to be the American version of a Horst Wessel, whose death in Germany at the hands of communists in 1930 allowed the Nazis to elevate him to martyrdom. The rumors about Vance and Kirk threaten to completely derail the already failing efforts to turn Charlie Kirks murder into a flashpoint from which our collapse into total fascism is inevitable.

Want more sharp takes on politics? Sign up for our free newsletter, Standing Room Only, written by Amanda Marcotte, now also a weekly show on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Its terrible stuff, but at least we get to witness some darkly funny efforts by both Vance and Kirk to make these rumors go away. Vance used the only rhetorical skill he has: Fake umbrage. He called his critics disgusting and insisted on X, Ill continue to love and support [Usha] and talk to her about faith and life and everything else, because shes my wife. Tacking because shes my wife onto the comment was not helpful, of course, because it only makes it sound like a duty and not a pleasure. The replies to his post were filled with scoffing.

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Kirk has been hustling to put this to bed even harder, sitting down for a full hour with Jesse Watters on Fox News. There were cameras all over my husband when he was murdered, she complained. There have been cameras all over my friends and family mourning. There have been cameras all over me analyzing my every move, analyzing my every smile, my every tear.

This would be a sympathetic complaint if all the non-stop filming hadnt been the express desire of both Charlie and Erika Kirk. His murder happened at an event he regularly staged on college campuses to generate clips for social media saturation. As the New York Times reported, Erika Kirk carefully stage-managed the days and weeks after her husbands murder, making sure to photograph and publish every potentially cinematic moment of her grief. Its why rubbing Vances head in public was so odd. This is a woman who knows her way around a camera, so its hard to imagine she would be unaware of what people would project with her highly unusual head-touching hug style.

Even Fox News pitched in on clean-up duty, giving Erika Kirk a newly minted Charlie Kirk Legacy Award during a televised event. But its doubtful any of this will work. Vance should know this. After all, he has seemed to take special pleasure in spreading ugly, unfounded rumors about people, such as defaming Haitian immigrants by claiming they eat peoples pets. He knows a dramatic story will defeat the boring truth any day, especially if its one people want to believe.

Everyone with two eyes can see hes in a pickle, having burdened himself with a wife in his youth who quickly became unacceptable in the political fantasy he is trying to create, one that is increasingly indistinguishable from Nazi propaganda imagining a homeland populated only by strong-jawed Aryan men and their buxom blonde wives. If Vance doesnt like these rumors about Erika Kirk, maybe he should pause to consider why they are just so easy for people to believe.

The post Why JD Vance and Erika Kirks hug made tongues wag appeared first on Salon.com.
Cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, the worlds second-largest by trading volume, is reportedly in talks to acquire Korbit, South Koreas fourth-largest crypto exchange, according to South Koreas Maeil Business Newspaper.

According to multiple industry sources, Bybit executives have recently met with Korbits management to discuss a potential acquisition. While negotiations are said to be in the early stages, market observers view the move as a natural progression following similar consolidation trends in the region. Korbit declined to comment, stating that it cannot share details on matters currently under discussion.

Foreign Crypto Giants Target South Korea

Founded in 2018, Bybit is a fast-growing exchange with Chinese roots that rose to global prominence through its strong derivatives trading infrastructure and user-friendly platform.

The companys reported pursuit of Korbit follows Binances successful acquisition of Gopax, South Koreas fifth-largest exchange, finalized last month after a prolonged regulatory review.

These developments indicate a shift in the stance of South Koreas financial authorities, who have traditionally imposed strict controls on the domestic crypto industry. With local firms constrained by heavy compliance burdens, foreign exchanges appear increasingly set to fill the gap.

Regulatory Green Light Spurs Expansion

Industry insiders suggest that the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU)part of South Koreas Financial Services Commission (FSC)has indirectly paved the way for such deals.

In mid-October, the FIU approved Binances long-pending request to change Gopaxs management, effectively allowing a foreign exchange to own and operate a local platform for the first time.

That approval, granted two and a half years after Binance first applied in March 2023, has emboldened other global players like Bybit to explore similar acquisitions. Analysts say it marks the start of a new phase in South Koreas crypto marketone where foreign capital and expertise increasingly shape domestic competition.

Strategic Stakes and Market Impact

Korbit is majority-owned by NXC, the parent company of gaming giant Nexon, with a 60.5% stake, while SK Planetholds 31.5%. SK Group has reportedly been unwinding its crypto-related investments, which could make its stake a primary target for Bybit. Industry sources say the exchange is also considering acquiring NXCs portion to secure full control.

With South Korea ranking as the worlds second-largest crypto market after the United States, Bybits entry could intensify pressure on local financial institutions, which remain barred from engaging in digital asset activities under the countrys strict separation of finance and industry laws.
WASHINGTON  The record-breaking U.S. government shutdown appears headed for its end after more than a month of Washington gridlock caused real pain on main street.

It's welcome news to many in Washington and around the country after the stalemate led to furloughs and firings of hundreds of thousands of federal workers, while millions more Americans were unable to travel, afford food, or send their kids to preschool.

Still, not everyone got what they wanted out of the final deal.

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More: What's in the deal to end the government shutdown?

Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) Dick Durbin (D-IL) Maggie Hassan, (D-NH) John Fetterman (D-PA) Tim Kaine (D-VA) Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) Sen. Angus King (I-ME) Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) 8 Senate Democratic Caucus members who broke ranks to end the 2025 government shutdown 1 of 8 Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)

Senate Democrats backed down from their long-held policy demands involving health care. Republicans who want to cut more spending aren't thrilled with President Donald Trump's White House.

More: Tentative Senate deal to reopen government would provide funding for SNAP

Add it all up and it's Politics 101, which means there are always winners  and losers:

The winners

(Some) moderate Democrats: Moderate Democrats like Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire were happy to see a deal finally come together Sunday night. Shaheen called her decision to advance a revised funding bill a "big step forward towards protecting the health care of tens of millions of Americans."

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Centrists in the party have been itching to reopen. They've been negotiating with Republicans for weeks. The bipartisan back-channeling has ebbed and flowed, but was notably curtailed last week by Democrats' sweeping election wins.

In politics, however, there are no absolutes. Other moderates, such as freshman Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Michigan, fumed at the compromise. She was initially part of bipartisan talks to reopen, but said Sunday her participation had wavered in more recent days.

"We've got to do something concrete on health care, and it's hard to see how that happened," she told reporters.

Transportation Security Administration staff receive boxes of food at a mobile food pantry set up for TSA employees and other federal workers affected by the government shutdown, at MinneapolisSaint Paul International Airport on Oct. 29, 2025.

Federal workers: The agreement is a boon for federal workers, including air-traffic controllers, who've missed several paychecks since the government was shuttered Oct. 1. Hundreds of thousands have been furloughed while others worked without pay. The deal guarantees them all backpay.

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The agreement also rescinds the firings of the more than 4,000 federal staffers across the government who were laid off after the shutdown began. Those firings have since been paused in court. If the legislation passes, it will restore the Education Department's special education division, among many other offices that were wiped out.

Read more: For this senator, Trump's special ed layoffs are personal amid shutdown showdown

Republicans (kind of): Some Republican leaders, like Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, were thrilled to see the compromise come together. She was a main driver behind bipartisan negotiations to end the crisis.

I look forward to voting for this legislation and ending the unnecessary harm to the security of our families and our nation," she said on the Senate floor on Sunday.

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President Donald Trump has also been increasingly vocal about needing the shutdown to end, calling on senators to stay on the job without weekends until then.

The losers

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks to reporters outside the Senate Chamber of the US Capitol Building on November 8, 2025 in Washington, DC. Today marks the 39th day of the government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history.

Progressive Democrats: Progressives balked at the proposal on Sunday.

I will not support a deal that does nothing to make health care more affordable," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts. "The fight to lower costs is a righteous fight, and we must not give it up."

While senators will take a vote in mid-December on extending the health care subsidies at the center of the shutdown battle, Republicans wouldn't fully commit to approving them. An uncertain vote would be tantamount to "caving," Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, told reporters last week.

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Obamacare enrollees: Millions of Obamacare enrollees could see their premiums skyrocket next year if Congress doesn't vote in December to extend the subsidies that help make their health care more affordable.

Republicans (kind of): The most conservative lawmakers, especially in the House of Representatives, likely won't be happy with the proposed increased spending levels for some agencies and programs. The White House is also conceding by reversing federal worker layoffs and committing to encroach less on Congress' spending authority.

Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.

(This story has been updated with more information.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Here are the winners and losers in the government shutdown deal
A person of interest is in custody in connection to a stabbing that left a 47-year-old woman dead inside a Morningside Heights apartment early Monday morning.

The attack happened around 4:30 a.m. inside the building on West 129th Street in Manhattan.

Police say the suspect was caught on surveillance camera waiting for his victim in the third floor hallway of her building.

When she arrived, the suspect stabbed her multiple times all over her body.

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She was rushed to Mount Sinai Morningside in critical condition, where she was pronounced dead.

Her name has not been released. However, her neighbors and friends say she was a mother to four young children.

Police say a person of interest was taken into custody at the hospital where he was being treated for injuries apparently suffered during the stabbing.

He is believed to be the victim's ex-boyfriend. No charges have been immediately filed.

The surveillance video has not been released.

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While it may sound like part of the Mandalorian creed, experts at ITER claim "The Way" here on Earth is headed to an unimaginable goal: everlasting energy.

Experts at ITER, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (and also Latin for "the way," per the agency) are working to harness fusion reactions, the same energy source that powers the sun, according to the project's website.

If successful, the experts in southern France could provide a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels and nuclear fission with "arguably the most complex machine ever designed," ITER's communications lead Laban Coblentz told Euronews Next.

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Nuclear energy is far from new science, and while there have been well-reported disasters, the technology is stable with the right personnel oversight and protection from natural disasters like earthquakes. Fission is used to power the 436 nuclear reactors around the world and requires slamming neutrons into larger atoms to create energy, splitting them into smaller particles. The process does not contribute significant greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, but it does produce radioactive waste.

Fusion, on the other hand, forms a heavier atom when two smaller particles slam together. The result is far more energy than fission, and without the radioactive waste, all per the United States Department of Energy.

The ITER team wants to prove that the process can be industrialized. They have been at work on the project since at least 2005. Testing includes the largest magnetic confinement chamber on the planet, which the researchers call a tokamak.

When complete, the chamber will weigh more than 25,000 tons, withstanding temperatures of up to 302 million degrees Fahrenheit. It creates power by using some of the hot particles to heat water, which would power a turbine via steam, all per Euronews.

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The process requires unfathomable heat. For reference, USA Today reports that our 4.5 billion-year-old sun is 27 million degrees Fahrenheit at its core.

"You try to take something up to 150 million degrees [Celsius]. You try to make it the scale that is needed and so forth. It's just a difficult thing to do," Coblentz told Euronews.

The project hasn't been without setbacks. The cost was originally budgeted at about $5.5 billion. But Euronews reports that it's now nearly $22 billion. To stay on schedule, Coblentz told the online news agency that the experts plan to skip "first plasma"  a testing milestone  "to get to fusion power initially in 2035."

"We'll make sure that that testing gets done in another way so that we can stick as much as possible to that date," he said.

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He added that the complex nature of the project is a challenge, often because it is groundbreaking research.

"Simply due to the complexity and the multitude of first-of-a-kind materials, first-of-a-kind components in a first-of-a-kind machine," he said to Euronews.

This isn't the only team working on novel nuclear projects. American icon Westinghouse is developing a small fission reactor set to go online in 2029. It's unique because it's portable and can power remote locations for about eight years without water, reducing upward of 55,000 tons of air pollution annually, according to the company.

ITER's team is looking sunward for inspiration. And instead of waiting for the sunbeams to fall to our solar panels, they want to harness the source.

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With planetwide overheating ravaging the world, the team is also feeling the heat.

"The longer that we wait for fusion to arrive, the more we need it," Coblentz said in the Euronews report. "So the smart money is: get it here as fast as possible."
Two years ago, a power struggle erupted between two factions of Sudans military. Today, this conflict is spiralling out of control, with thousands being killed in what a United Nations report has called slaughterhouses.

Last week, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group battling Sudans army, captured the city of El Fasher, the last hold-out in the western Darfur region held by the military.

Soon after, reports of ethnically motivated massacres emerged. The World Health Organization said 460 people were killed in just one incident at the citys hospital. Witnesses described widespread executions and sexual violence targeting certain ethnic groups.

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A UN fact-finding mission found already last year that both sides in the conflict have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Rights groups and analysts are now sounding the alarm about a possible genocide taking place. Some say the killings are reminiscent of the start of the Rwanda genocide in 1994, which killed a staggering 800,000 people.

The atrocities are also following the same troubling pattern as in Darfur 20 years ago, which killed an estimated 300,000 people.

Back then, celebrity activists such as George Clooney helped put Darfur on the map. It became a major foreign policy issue in the United States, Europe, Africa, and elsewhere. The genocide in Rwanda was still relatively fresh in peoples minds. The slogan never again was still taken somewhat seriously.

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The global attention eventually led the International Criminal Court to indict Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for allegedly directing the campaign of mass killings in Darfur, the first sitting head of state to be indicted.

Sudan is now home to the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Hundreds of thousands have been killed since 2023, 12 million people have been displaced and 21 million people face what the UN calls high levels of acute food insecurity.

Yet, compared to the early 2000s, the international community has been largely silent.

The silence is deafening. Civilian men, women, and children are being slaughtered in Sudan.



Estimates of over 150,000 killed & 14 million displaced since April 2023. Considered the worlds largest humanitarian crisis.



No mass protests. No daily political statements/demands. No https://t.co/cKfF2iXd4u  John Spencer (@SpencerGuard) October 30, 2025

Why global attention matters

It would be tempting to say the wars and suffering in Gaza and Ukraine have overshadowed Sudan in the minds of global leaders and concerned citizens alike. But this does not mean the world cant do anything.

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Global awareness did not solve anything by itself in Darfur 20 years ago, but it was a first step. It led to the eventual deployment of a peacekeeping mission by the United Nations and the African Union.

The mission was too small and limited, but it showed that international peacekeepers can still have a positive impact in the 21st century. They can monitor ceasefires, implement disarmament programs, protect civilians and prevent further escalations of violence.

More attention  and pressure  also needs to be placed on the external actors supporting both sides in the current conflict. These countries are pursuing their own strategic interests in Sudan and consider the power struggle a chance to increase their influence in the region and exert control over Sudans natural resources.

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) are backed by Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Russia. The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, has been accused of funding and providing weapons to the Rapid Support Forces in clear violation of an arms embargo.

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While these countries deny arming both sides, rights groups say a flood of weapons has nonetheless entered the country. The United Arab Emirates, in particular, is accused of covertly supplying drones, howitzers, heavy machine guns and mortars to RSF fighters in Darfur.

The United Arab Emirates has only just started to distance itself from the RSF following the recent atrocities in El Fasher.

FT: A UN panel found credible evidence the UAE supplied weapons to Sudans RSF via Chad, while Bulgaria told UN investigators mortar rounds seized from the militia in 2024 had been exported to Abu Dhabi without re-export approval.



Amnesty also said advanced Chinese missiles pic.twitter.com/lUUXYlEtAo  Mintel World (@mintelworld) November 4, 2025

Whats needed to bring peace

A ceasefire must urgently be agreed to, so humanitarian corridors can be opened to allow aid organisations to do their work.

All outside military support to the warring parties must end immediately. The current arms embargo is too limited and has been poorly implemented  it needs to be strengthened.

The UAE needs to be held accountable for its arming of the genocidal RSF. That's why I have introduced my Stand Up for Sudan Act that would block sales to the UAE until they stop sending weapons to the RSF.  Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (@RepSaraJacobs) October 29, 2025

And more sanctions should be imposed, especially on the perpetrators reportedly responsible for international crimes. In January, the Biden administration levied sanctions on the RSF commander and several UAE-based companies supporting him  these must now be expanded.

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This would make it more difficult for Sudans lucrative gold trade to continue to be used by both sides to sustain the war.

For the peace to hold in the long term, both sides must also agree on a mechanism to disarm or integrate the RSF fighters into the regular forces.

Establishing some form of justice and reconciliation process can also contribute to preventing further violence. This sends a clear signal that committing crimes will not be rewarded. It can also help communities heal and give peace a better chance.

Nothing of this sort has really happened in Darfur over the past couple decades. Instead, political actors continued to exploit and aggravate ethnic tensions. The RSF, in particular, has recruited fighters from the infamous Janjaweed militias responsible for the Darfur atrocities in the early 2000s.

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A further complication is the increasing fragmentation of the situation, as the Sudanese Armed Forces and RSF are not perfectly integrated armies. They do not have centralised control over their various coalitions of fighters.

This means that while getting the leaders to agree on a ceasefire is important, it may not be sufficient.

As a result, peace initiatives must include local agreements with individual rebel leaders and smaller factions of fighters, which can greatly increase the security of the population in particular areas.

To be clear, lasting peace does not come from some miracle peacemaker. In fact, nothing tangible came out of previous attempts at peace talks aimed at ending the conflict this year.

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But this is where other actors can play an important role. The United Arab Emirates, for example, may now feel pressured to exert a more positive influence on the RSF and urge it to come to the negotiating table. The same applies to Egypt and the Sudanese Armed Forces.

And a more comprehensive plan then needs to be worked out, ideally through an international organisation like the United Nations or the African Union, with the goal of empowering the people of Sudan to make their own political decisions.

Sudan is a stark reminder that making lasting peace takes huge efforts. The devastating situation in the country demands the world keep trying.

Philipp Kastner is a senior lecturer in international law at the University of Western Australia.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The post Can the World Prevent a Genocide in Sudan? appeared first on Katie Couric Media.
WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD)  President Donald Trump pardoned several notable figures who were involved with efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, The Hill reports. Among those pardoned was the Wyoming mayor, who was accused of trying to send Michigans electoral votes to Trump.

Trump announced the pardons in a signed proclamation posted on social media by U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin late Sunday night. The proclamation grants a full, complete, and unconditional pardon to all citizens for conduct relating to their efforts to expose voting fraud and vulnerabilities in the 2020 Presidential Election.

This proclamation ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 Presidential Election and continues the process of national reconciliation, it says.

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Those pardoned include the presidents former personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, the former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and current Wyoming Mayor Kent Vanderwood, 71.

Vanderwood was originally charged in July 2023 for his role in allegedly attempting to redirect Michigans 2020 electoral votes to Trump. Fifteen other people faced identical charges including conspiracy to commit forgery, two counts of forgery, conspiracy to commit uttering and publishing, uttering and publishing, conspiracy to commit election law forgery and two counts of election law forgery, according to the Michigan Attorney Generals Office.

The AGs office alleged that on Dec. 14, 2020, after it was clear that President Joe Biden had won Michigan in the presidential election, the 16 people worked together to try to establish Trump as the winner. Evidence in a 2023 civil suit later showed the mayors signature on an invalid elector document. Ultimately, they failed, and Michigans electoral votes went to Biden.

In September of this year, Ingham County Judge Kristen Simmons dismissed the charges against Vanderwood and the other defendants, saying that she saw no intent to commit fraud by the defendants because they had genuine concerns about the validity of the election, The Associated Press reported.

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This entire episode has now been unmasked for what it always was: a partisan ploy to score political points, Vanderwood said in a statement after the charges were dropped. I love my country, my State, and my City. We wont always agree on every policy, but the use of state resources to harass law-abiding citizens needs to stop.

The text of the pardon proclamation says it was signed by the president on Nov. 7. The pardons, like all presidential pardons, do not extend to state charges. None of the 77 people listed in the proclamation were facing federal criminal charges, making the move largely symbolic.

 The Hill contributed to this report.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com.
NEED TO KNOW

Erin Merryn, who survived sexual abuse as a child, is lobbying every state in the U.S. to pass curriculum that teaches "personal body safety"

Now 40 and a mom of four, she says, "My goal is to give kids a voice and lock predators up"

With Erin's Law being passed in much of the country, Merryn says, I realized I could do something positive

If Erin Merryn could talk to the little girl she was at 6 years old growing up in Schaumburg, Ill., the one who was sexually abused by a neighbor and then later by a relative, Merryn would tell that child that its not going to destroy the rest of your life  and all the good you'll be able to do.

"I wish, she says, I'd be able to tell her that she is going to make a difference."

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Merryn, 40, has spent most of the last two decades speaking out about her experience and working to protect future generations of children, believing that kids need to be taught in schools about personal body safety, appropriate touch and appropriate adults to trust.

My goal is to give kids a voice and lock predators up," she says.

That idea is enshrined in Erins Law, which has passed in 38 states.

We teach and mandate tornado drills, fire drills, mass shooting drills, Merryn says. All things we need, but kids are far more likely to be sexually abused.

Solutions can start with something simple: I wished someone had come into the classroom and told me, You will be believed,  Merryn says. Children who are being abused are told, Keep it a secret. Ill kill you. "

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That's what happened to her, she says: The neighbor who raped her had warned "he would burn my house down if I said anything."

courtesy of Erin Merryn From left: Erin Merryn meeting with Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers From left: Erin Merryn meeting with Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers

In 2004, Merryn published a memoir, Stolen Innocence, based on her childhood diary. Erins Law took shape from there. Shes since traveled state by state to press for its passage, quitting her job as a youth counselor in 2010 to work on her advocacy full time. (She shares four kids, ages 3 to 11, with husband David Merryn, who works at a gas company.)

Something these legislators learn about me is I don't go away," says Merryn, who recently drove from her home in the Chicago suburbs to Madison, Wisc., to meet with Gov. Tony Evers.

We make it very simple to teach," she says of the abuse-prevention curriculum for students of all ages as well as school employees and families. "It's very age-appropriate and at no cost.

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It's basically requiring one hour out of a school year to teach kids personal body safety and identifying trusted adults to go to, she says.

There have been challenges, Merryn says.

Some legislators make the argument: Erin, this is a conversation parents should be having, not in school,  she says. Parents talk about stranger danger. But 90% of the time kids are being abused by someone they know and trust.

There's [also] parents that get concerned and think this is sex ed, she continues. This isn't sex ed. This is teaching about boundaries.

The risks of doing nothing, she feels, are far greater.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

courtesy of Erin Merryn Erin Merryn (right) with her family Erin Merryn (right) with her family

The other argument I get is schools don't have time for this. But those kids that are being abused and keeping silent are taking up far more time in the classroom throwing tantrums like I did, she says. The school district made me repeat first grade as a result of all my behavior problems.

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And after it took eight years for New York to pass Erins Law, which they did in 2019, an elementary school principal was convicted of sexually abusing multiple students.

Local authorities credited that investigation to the abuse prevention curriculum implemented as part of Erin's Law.

"The argument I now make in the 12 remaining state capitals? There were 7-, 8- and 9-year-olds on the stand testifying [in that case], Merryn says. New York could have passed this law eight years prior and some of those kids weren't even born could have been saved.

With a documentary in the works, she says, "I never thought I'd be so public about it. I was so ashamed and depressed then I realized I could do something positive. I did not want my perpetrators to win by staying miserable, and that's why I've tried to make a difference."



Read the original article on People
Two of Iowa's Democratic U.S. Senate candidates are calling for Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to step down as Democratic leader after a group of Senate Democrats agreed to reopen the federal government without a guarantee of extending health care subsidies.

Eight members of the Senate Democratic Caucus voted Nov. 9 to begin the process of ending the government shutdown after striking a deal with Republicans that does not include the extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies  a key demand of Democratic leadership.

The eight senators siding siding with Republicans were Catherine Cortez Masto, Dick Durbin, John Fetterman, Maggie Hassan, Tim Kaine, Angus King, Jacky Rosen and Jeanne Shaheen.

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State Sen. Zach Wahls, D-Coralville, who is running for the Democratic nomination for Iowa's U.S. Senate seat, called the deal "unacceptable" and a "betrayal." Speaking on a call with reporters on Nov. 10, he faulted Schumer's leadership, despite Schumer voting against the deal.

"Sen. Chuck Schumer was unable to lead this party at the exact moment when it was time to fight," Wahls said. "And I think it is clear as day that it is time for him to step down from his leadership role and make way for a new generation of leaders who are willing to fight."

Zach Wahls, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks during the Iowa Democratic Partys Liberty and Justice Dinner at Iowa Event Center in Des Moines on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025.

Wahls had previously said he would not vote for Schumer as leader if elected to the U.S. Senate. On the press call, he said, "I have come to the belief that a change in leadership needs to happen even sooner."

The federal government shutdown has stretched more than 40 days and is the longest in U.S. history.

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Democrats had refused to vote to fund the government without assurances that Republicans would extend the enhanced Obamacare subsidies and reverse Medicaid spending cuts.

The deal struck over the weekend does not guarantee an extension of the tax credits, although it would fund the government through January, reverse President Donald Trump's mass firing of federal workers and provide federal employees with back pay.

Without congressional action, the enhanced ACA subsidies will expire at the end of the year, leading to increased health insurance premiums in 2026. The enhanced tax credits provide assistance to those making more than 400% of the federal poverty level, as well as making plans more affordable for currently eligible enrollees.

The Urban Institute estimates that 24,000 Iowans could lose health insurance without the enhanced subsidies and KFF estimates that more than 117,000 would see their premiums increase.

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Wahls said rising health care costs are one of the top concerns he hears about on the campaign trail.

"Youre talking about 135,000 Iowans who are being directly impacted by the expiration of these important investments in the Affordable Care Act and youre talking about 20 million Americans all over the country who are facing a similar situation," Wahls said. "So from my perspective, this is something that is absolutely worth fighting for."

Wahls said Democrats "got essentially nothing for their votes last night."

"They threw in the towel, and as a result there are going to be over 100,000 Iowans whose health care costs are going to sharply increase, 25,000 Iowans who are going to lose their health insurance altogether," Wahls said. "Thats not acceptable and if thats the best that Chuck Schumer can do, he shouldnt stay in the job."

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Wahls did not name a candidate he would support as Democratic leader in place of Schumer. He said he's running a campaign "that communicates to Iowans that I will answer to them, not to party bosses in D.C."

"If elected to the United States Senate, I will be looking in the next leader for someone who is in touch with the challenges that are facing our state and who is willing to work with me in actually addressing those challenges," he said.

And Wahls said the blame for the shutdown lies with Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, for refusing to negotiate to extend the ACA subsidies.

"It was Republicans like Ashley Hinson who refused to extend these investments in the first place, which is why we were in this mess," he said.

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Hinson, who is running for the Republican nomination for Iowa's U.S. Senate seat, said she supports reopening the government.

"We support affordable health care and paying our troops, air traffic controllers, and helping the most vulnerable," Hinson said in a statement. "My Democrat opponents support chaos and uncertainty  keeping the government shut down and using people as political pawns. Thats not leadership, its partisan politics at its worst, and Iowans are sick of it."

'Chuck Schumer? Get out of here' Democrat Nathan Sage says

In a video shared to social media on Nov. 10, Nathan Sage, another Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Iowa, said "Senate Dems caved and Chuck Schumer let it happen. Its time for him to go."

Nathan Sage, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks during the Iowa Democratic Partys Liberty and Justice Dinner at Iowa Event Center in Des Moines on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025.

Sage called the Senate Democrats who voted for the government funding deal "spineless" and "shameful."

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"And Chuck Schumer? Get out of here," Sage said. "He lacks the leadership to get the caucus in line to actually fight. He's the most pathetic minority leader and it's long past time for him to get the hell out of the way."

Later in the day, Sage issued a statement urging fellow Democratic Senate contender and state Rep. Josh Turek to call on Schumer to step down as leader.

"It's time for Josh Turek to join me in bucking Chuck Schumer and demanding he step down as leader of Senate Democrats," Sage said in the statement. "Iowans deserve better than the failed leadership we've seen over the past 24 hours and it's about damn time anyone who is asking for their support be ready to call out piss poor leadership when they see it."

Turek's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Turek, of Council Bluffs, previously said he opposed the deal and that "health care is worth fighting for."

"Without ACA subsidies, 125,000 Iowans will see their premiums double or triple," Turek said in a statement Nov. 9. "No one in the richest country on Earth should have to choose between health care and putting food on the table. No protection for health care, no deal."

Former state lawmaker Bob Krause has also said he intends to compete for the Democratic Party's 2026 U.S. Senate nomination.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Wahls, Sage call on Chuck Schumer to step down as shutdown ends
KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday he wants to order 25 Patriot air defense systems from the United States, as Ukraine desperately tries to fend off relentless Russian aerial attacks that have brought rolling blackouts across Ukraine on the brink of winter.

Zelenskyy acknowledged that the Patriot systems are expensive and that such a large batch could take years to manufacture. But he said European countries could give their Patriots to Ukraine and await replacements, stressing that we would not like to wait.

Combined missile and drone strikes on the power grid have coincided with Ukraines frantic efforts to hold back a Russian battlefield push aimed at capturing the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk. Meanwhile, international peace efforts appear to have dissipated, nearly four years after Russia invaded its neighbor.

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Zelenskyy said Ukraine recently received more Patriot systems from Germany. It is not known how many Patriot systems are in Ukraine. But on the whole air defenses remain stretched thin across wide expanses of Ukrainian territory, and the threat to the provision of heating and running water in the bitter winter is acute.

NATO is coordinating regular deliveries of large weapons packages to Ukraine. European allies and Canada are buying much of the equipment from the United States. The Trump administration is not giving any arms to Ukraine, unlike the previous Biden administration.

Russias attacks on energy infrastructure have grown more effective. It launches hundreds of drones, some equipped with cameras to improve targeting, that overwhelm Ukraines air defenses, especially in regions where protection is weaker. Also, this year it is striking region by region, hitting local switchyards and substations, instead of taking aim at the centralized national grid.

Ukraines Energy Ministry said Monday that Russian attacks caused more damage to its power infrastructure, resulting in scheduled blackouts in most of the countrys regions. It urged Ukrainians to rationalize their use of electricity, especially during peak consumption hours in the mornings and evenings.

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Meanwhile, the two sides were locked in a battle for control of Pokrovsk, in Ukraines eastern Donetsk region where Zelenskyy says Russia has assembled 170,000 troops for a renewed push.

There has been a relative lull in fighting in recent days, according to reports gathered by the Institute for the Study of War. But the Washington-based think tank said it expected Russian forces to quicken the tempo of their attacks in coming days as they move more troops into the city.

___

Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
In his victory speech after winning the New York mayoral election last week, Zohran Mamdani came out swinging.

The speech included, among other dramatic flourishes, a reference to the socialist titan Eugene Debs, shoutouts to the citys Senegalese taxi drivers and Uzbek nurses, tributes to Jawaharlal Nehru and Fiorello La Guardia, sprinkles of Arabic  and it was all delivered with the cadence and command of a hip-hop emcee. Many who were listening could not help but wonder: how the hell did he pull that off?

A healthy portion of the credit should go to Julian Gerson, the speechwriter on the Mamdani campaign who typifies the young, leftwing lieutenants powering this insurgent operation  a 29-year-old outer-borough dweller (in his case, Brooklyn) with unerring message discipline. He is especially unabashed when it comes to the words he puts in his bosss mouth that draw inspiration from socialist greats and the multicultural city that the Mamdani campaign holds dear.

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Related: The full transcript of Zohran Mamdanis victory speech after being elected NYC mayor

When this campaign has sung the most is when it feels like a love letter to New York, Gerson told the Guardian.

To write the victory speech, Gerson began working a week in advance, collaborating with Mamdani and his campaign consultant Morris Katz on overarching themes, before locking himself in his apartment until he had a draft ready for Mamdani to review on the Saturday before the election. (Mandani never saw a draft of the concession speech, which Gerson said was not fun to write.) Push yourself to think of speechwriting as more than just the written word, he said Mamdani told him  which is to say the 34-year-old Muslim and Indian Ugandan state assemblyman was already thinking about the space his victory would occupy in the annals of history. Gerson threw out a couple names he hoped to quote in the speech  and recalls Mamdani responding: OK, but can you make sure to quote Eugene Debs? And I was like, Actually, hes already on the list.

Gerson, the son of a Texas-born mediator with strong ties to the local Democratic scene and a Belgian NYU professor, did most of his growing up in the West Village and attended the prestigious Dalton school in Manhattan. One early exposure to professional writing came when his father, Stephane, published a book about his younger brother Owen dying in a rafting accident at age eight. It was a very formative, very hard part of my childhood that taught me how to express myself through the written word, said Gerson, who gave notes on early drafts.

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Gerson got his start in politics as a high school summer intern in Mike Bloombergs New York mayoral administration. For university, he went to Middlebury College in Vermont, where he served as the communications director for the Middlebury College Democrats. After graduation, he worked for Manhattan congressman Jerry Nadler  whom he commends for his bravery leading the first impeachment of Donald Trump and for voting against the Iraq war  and did a two-year stint ghostwriting for New York governor Kathy Hochul.

Gerson joined the Mamdani campaign in March as political director, soliciting endorsements from elected officials across the state while working with Mamdani to deepen his relationship with a panoply of constituents across the city. A lot of that was figuring out, how do we get him into parts of Black New York? How do you have him speaking with gay and trans New Yorkers? Those ground-level experiences wound up supplying Gerson with steady fodder for speeches that would pull straight from the communities Mamdani was courting.

For the victory speech, Gerson found the opening Debs quote  I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity, also cribbed by Martin Luther King  inside William Safires speech compendium titled Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History. The quote comes from a speech made when the labor organizer and perennial Socialist party candidate was sentenced to prison in 1918 for denouncing the USs involvement in the first world war. Thats it! Gerson recalls saying when he came upon it.

Fortunately, we live in New York, inspiration is everywhere, and people are loud and eager to share it Julian Gerson

It was in many ways inevitable that the speech would draw comparisons to Barack Obamas 2008 presidential victory address in Chicagos Grant park, widely regarded as one of the greatest orations in modern American history. He called it a formative memory of what a speech can mean and how it can speak to people, he said. It was the only speech I really read in depth before I started writing.

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Like Obamas speechwriters, some of whom Gerson said he spoke to for advice, Gerson enjoys the benefit of writing for a deft multimedia performer. In the days leading up to election night, Gerson subbed in for Mamdani to give his voice a break. At a certain point I would get into it and try to give a performance, and its crazy how different and how much better the speech is when you have somebody who just has this innate talent for knowing when to pause, knowing which syllables to emphasize. The most successful speechwriter-principal relationships are those where its close to a partnership, where they engage with the material really intensively and make it theirs.

Obamas many rhetorical imitators in the Democratic party  US senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia, Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro  latch on to his pentecostal intonations in their public speaking. But Mamdani, who once pursued a rap career under the name Mr Cardamom and who still psyches himself up for work by playing Many Men by 50 Cent (a vocal critic of Mamdanis plan to tax the rich), embraces the language and swagger of hip-hop. The kiss-off he delivered to rival Andrew Cuomo in his victory speech  wishing him only the best in private life while quoting his father, Mario, the former New York governor, without attribution (A great New Yorker once said that while you campaign in poetry, you govern in prose)  was a mic-drop moment straight out of a New York rap cypher.

We all know Mr Cardamom exists in the world, Gerson said. But when youre in the midst of a campaign, you have to shave off parts of your life. First goes exercise, then reading, then grocery shopping  until youre hoping you just make it to election day with laundry. Cultural consumption shrinks too, but music can still fill the liminal space.

Gerson works in his own musical tastes, too. For a May rally, he drew inspiration from a song by the Chilean American electronic musician Nicolas Jaars band Darkside, using a Spanish lyric: si no funciona, no me digas que funciona (translation: if it doesnt work, dont tell me it does)  to set the tone for the rally speech Mamdani gave last month assailing Trumps agenda. The campaigns impulse to tie its populist ideas to musical references is a throwback to the community building and social activism that gave rise to hip-hops birth in the Bronx.

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Mamdanis victory speech was not a universal hit, of course. CNN pundit Van Jones was among the critics who took issue with a speech he described as sharp and combative. I think he missed a chance tonight to open up and bring more people into the tent, Jones said.

Gerson makes no apologies. In response to Van Jones: this campaign and this mayoralty will absolutely be inclusive to every single New Yorker. Zohran had that final line in his long list of thank yous where he said: Many of you voted for me, others of you did not and many didnt vote at all  and I want to be the mayor for each of you. To New Yorkers, theres a genuine eagerness to serve and prove that were going to follow through and that this is going to be a great four years.

Related: Lend me your ears! The art of political speechwriting

Mamdani and Gerson wanted New Yorkers to come away from the victory speech feeling as if they would also have an important part to play in the new administration, and that no suggestion was too small. That includes an Arabic line that made it into Gersons final draft  ana minkum wa ilaykum, which can translate to I am of you and for you.  One of the uncles in Mamdanis Astoria neighborhood pitched it to Mamdani while he was there shooting a campaign video in Arabic.

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When youre looking for inspiration, you have to look everywhere, Gerson said. Fortunately, we live in New York, inspiration is everywhere, and people are loud and eager to share it.

 This article was amended on 10 November 2025 to clarify that the Arabic line in Gersons final draft was pitched to Mamdani by an uncle in Astoria while he was shooting an Arabic-language campaign video. It was also amended to remove an incorrect reference to Gerson soliciting Hochuls endorsement.
Looking for a break? Test your knowledge of this week's news from the Yakima Valley.
The digital euro project has gained crucial support in the EU, but some banks and lawmakers still oppose it. | Credit: Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images.

Key Takeaways

The EU is divided over whether to adopt CBDCs.

Some commercial banks oppose online digital euro payments that may compete with private sector solutions.

While Member States are on course to approve the central banks proposal, there is more skepticism in the European Parliament.

As the European Central Bank (ECB) advances its digital currency agenda, opposition to the project is mounting.

With lawmakers and commercial banks among those voicing concerns, the EUs central bank digital currency (CBDC) plans have exposed deep divides over what the future of money should look like.

Banks Divided Over Digital Euro

Digital euro advocates argue that the eurozone needs a retail CBDC to counter the influence of American payment systems.

When the ECB first started evaluating the idea in 2020, Visa and Mastercard created the most immediate backdrop to digital sovereignty debates.

But in 2025, USD stablecoins are increasingly viewed as the more pressing threat.

In the most ambitious version of the digital euro presented by the ECB, offline functionality would rival card systems, while online CBDC payments would compete with stablecoins.

However, in a statement reported by the Financial Times last week, 14 of Europes largest banks warned that online digital euro payments would also compete with private sector solutions currently being developed.

The current design of the retail digital euro largely addresses the same use cases as private solutions, without offering any clear added value for consumers, firms including Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, and ING stated.

Separately, a group of Italian banks backed the ECBs plans a few days later, but with the caveat that they should be able to spread the cost of implementation over a longer period, Reuters reported.

ECB board member Piero Cipollone has said he expects the digital euros technical infrastructure to be in place within two to three years once a political agreement is reached.

At a meeting in September, Eurozone finance ministers agreed on a governance framework for the CBDC, setting the stage for the Council of the European Union to vote on legislation before the end of next year.

But although member states appear to be on board, the digital euro faces tougher opposition in the European Parliament.

European Parliament Leans Toward Offline-Only CBDC

Even if it receives a green light from the Member States, the ECBs digital euro proposal still needs to be approved by the European Parliament.

Compared to the centrist-dominated Council, the EUs lower chamber reflects a much broader range of views.
When you see headlines about CEOs of large companies earning tens of millions of dollars per year, while at the same time these companies conduct layoffs or clash with employee demands for salary increases, youre probably not alone in thinking that executives could take a pay cut.

Read Next: If Mark Zuckerbergs Wealth Were Evenly Distributed Across America, How Much Money Would Every Person Get?

Learn More: 6 Subtly Genius Moves All Wealthy People Make With Their Money

The reality, however, is that the direct effects of cutting CEO pay are typically small, although the psychological effects might be higher.

Also see how one CEO went from $100,000 in savings to a billionaire.

Median CEO Compensation vs. Median Employee Compensation

Since 2017, as part of the Dodd-Frank Act, publicly traded companies have had to publicly disclose the pay ratio between the CEO and median employee.



In 2024, the median CEO pay ratio for companies in the S&P 500 was 192-to-1. That marked an increase from 186-to-1 in 2023, according to research from Equilar and the Associated Press (AP).

Most of this gap comes from the huge stock awards to CEOs at large public companies, with these accounting for 71.6% of median pay package of S&P 500 company CEOs in 2024, per Equilar and the AP. Still, those awards cut into a companys net income, and the same amount could theoretically be distributed in other ways, such as granting more stock to all workers to raise their total compensation. Or shareholders might be more accepting of higher compensation expenses if there are fewer stock grants diluting their ownership stakes.

Check Out: If Bezos Wealth Was Evenly Distributed Across the US, How Much Would We Get?

What If CEO Compensation Were Cut in Half?

So if the median CEO had their total compensation cut in half, that would essentially free up $8.55 million to redistribute in some way to employees. That may sound like a lot, but consider S&P 500 companies employ roughly 28.5 million people, according to a Chart Kid Matt analysis. For the sake of this hypothetical, lets divide that up evenly, which would give us 57,000.

So dividing $8.55 million by 57,000 results in each employee getting just $150 more.



That said, the smaller the company, the greater the effect could be, although small companies often have lower CEO pay.

Hypothetically, though, suppose theres a small business where the CEO earns $1 million per year and pays 20 employees $50,000 each. If the CEO cut their pay in half, distributing $500,000 among those 20 employees means each would get an extra $25,000, boosting their pay by 50%.
Video | The opening ceremony of China's 15th National Games was even greater than the Olympics or the Super Bow!!

The opening ceremony of the 15th National Games was even more spectacular than the Olympics or the Super Bowl!  said Eugene Seroka, Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, after attending the 15th National Games Opening Ceremony on November 9.He praised the 44-year friendship between Guangzhou and Los Angeles, saying that coming to Guangzhou felt just like coming home.

2025-11-10 18:19:01
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has told the opposition a formula that how BJP can be defeated in the next Lok Sabha elections? Giving a big statement, Nitish has said that BJP will be limited to 100 seats. Attacking Nitish Kumar on this issue, BJP said that he should first handle Bihar. Don't dream of becoming PM
During this visit, he met his brother and handed him a mobile phone with instructions to destroy it in water if anything happened to him. The brother followed these instructions, but investigators recovered the device from a pond near their home in Pulwama and successfully extracted the critical information.
According to officials, the doctors were not related, nor did they attend the same educational institutions, but their social media activity revealed a pattern of radical thinking. Their professional backgrounds allegedly provided a cover for facilitating terror operations.
SEVENUM, The Netherlands - November 10, 2025 (NEWMEDIAWIRE) - Redcare Pharmacy's Supervisory Board has designated Hendrik Krampe as member of the Managing Board and Chief Financial Officer, effective 1 December 2025. He succeeds Jasper Eenhorst, who stepped down to pursue new professional opportunities. The appointment of Hendrik Krampe is on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting to be held in April 2026 for consultation. Bjorn Soder, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, welcomes the planned appointment, saying: "With Hendrik, we are gaining an internationally experienced finance leader with a deep understanding of digital business models. His perspective from two of the world's most successful online stores will help us build on our strong financial foundation and drive the next phase of profitable growth. We are delighted to welcome him to the Managing Board of Redcare Pharmacy." Hendrik Krampe has twenty years of experience in the financial management of fast growing e-commerce businesses. Since 2014, he worked at Amazon where he held the role of Finance Director of the European marketplace business for the last eight years. From 2004 to 2014, Hendrik was at eBay in Germany as well as in the US in various roles including Finance Director of eBay's Retail Media business. His broad expertise in efficiently scaling digital businesses, particularly marketplaces and Retail Media, complements Redcare Pharmacys strategy and will strengthen its core Rx and OTC business. The planned appointment of Hendrik comes at a time of continued growth momentum following strong Q3 results. It will support the company's aim to increasingly capture economies of scale and improve profitability. Hendrik Krampe comments: "I am looking forward to joining Redcare Pharmacy at such an exciting stage of its development. The company has built an excellent foundation for continued growth across all the markets it serves. I am impressed by the clear vision and deep expertise of the leadership team and the loyalty of its customers. The key ingredients for sustainable success are certainly there." Investor Relations Contact:

Monica Ambrosi (Associate Director, Investor Relations)

investors@redcare-pharmacy.com Press Contact:

Sven Schirmer (Director, Corporate Communications)

press@redcare-pharmacy.com About Redcare Pharmacy Originally founded in 2001, Redcare Pharmacy N.V. (formerly known as Shop Apotheke Europe N.V.) today is the leading e-pharmacy in Europe, currently active in seven countries: Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Headquartered in Sevenum, close to the Dutch city of Venlo and in the heart of Europe, the company has locations in Cologne, Berlin, Munich, Tongeren, Warsaw, Pilsen, Settala (Milan), Lille and Eindhoven. As the one-stop pharmacy of the future, Redcare Pharmacy offers over 13.5 million active customers a wide range of more than 250,000 products at attractive and fair prices. Besides OTC, nutritional supplements, beauty and personal care products as well as an extensive assortment of health-related products in all markets, the company also provides prescription drugs for customers in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Pharmaceutical safety is of top priority. Being a pharmacy at its core, Redcare stands for comprehensive pharmaceutical consultation service. Since care is at the heart of everything Redcare does, the company provides services for all stages of life and health. This ranges from its marketplaces to unique delivery options and medication management. Redcare Pharmacy N.V. has been listed on the Regulated Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Prime Standard) since 2016. As of 19 June 2023, the company is a member of the MDAX selection index.
The fishermen were arrested by the Lankan Naval personnel while they were fishing near Katchatheevu and taken to Kaarainagar in the island nation.
BEIJING (Reuters) -China's market regulator said on Monday that it granted conditional approval for a lithium-related joint venture between Chile's state-run copper giant-Codelco and local lithium producer SQM .

The decision was made after the regulator sought feedback from relevant government bodies, industry associations, rivals and downstream consumers, China's State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement.

"In the event of a major supply change, both sides should make reasonable and best efforts to continue the supply of lithium carbonate products to Chinese customers ... they should not turn down, restrict or delay supply to Chinese clients," the regulator added.

Codelco and SQM planned to form a joint venture for lithium production in the Atacama salt flats, part of President Gabriel Boric's plan to widen state control over the lithium industry and expand production.

Chile's competition regulator greenlighted the deal, joining decisions reached in the European Union, Brazil, Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, with the market awaiting approval from the Chinese regulator.

Chile's newly appointed Economy Minister Alvaro Garcia said in August he expected Codelco and SQM to finalise a major lithium partnership deal before the current administration left office in 2026.

The joint venture faced pushback from legislators and lawsuits from China's Tianqi, a major investor in SQM.

(Reporting by Amy Lv, Ethan Wang, Xiuhao Chen and Joe Cash; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Kate Mayberry)
By Eduardo Baptista

BEIJING (Reuters) -China has granted exemptions to export controls on Nexperia chips for civilian applications, the commerce ministry said on Sunday in a move that will help to relieve supply shortages for carmakers and automotive suppliers.

The announcement is the strongest signal yet from Beijing that it will ease pressure on the global auto industry caused by export curbs imposed after the Dutch government took control of Nexperia, a large manufacturer of basic chips used in automotive electrical systems.

Nexperia is based in the Netherlands but owned by Chinese company Wingtech.

China's commerce ministry did not specify what it considered to be civilian use, but its announcement follows statements from German and Japanese companies saying that deliveries of Nexperia's Chinese-made chips had resumed.

Nevertheless, bilateral ties between China and the Netherlands, and by extension the European Union, are likely to remain strained until the dispute over Nexperia's ownership and operations is resolved.

The Dutch government took control of Nexperia on September 30, saying that Wingtech was planning to move the company's European production to China and that this would pose a threat to European economic security.

China responded by cutting off exports of the company's finished chips, which are mostly packaged in China, though it said last week that it would begin accepting applications for exemptions after a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on October 30.

China's commerce ministry has repeatedly said it was protecting global chip supply chains while the Netherlands was failing to take action to resolve the dispute.

The ministry's statement on Sunday said that China hoped the EU would "further intensify" efforts to urge the Dutch side to revoke its seizure of Nexperia.

"China welcomes the EU to continue leveraging its influence to urge the Netherlands to promptly rectify its erroneous actions," the ministry added.

(Reporting by Eduardo BaptistaAdditional reporting by Ethan Wang, Kevin Yao and Shuyan WangEditing by Alison Williams and David Goodman)
By Casey Hall

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -U.S. exporters of agricultural goods to China are optimistic that trade between the two countries will return to normalcy after a framework agreement reached last month by their leaders, according to several exporters and industry officials.

The mood this year in the U.S. pavilion at the China International Import Expo (CIIE), China's largest import expo, which began on November 5 and wraps up in Shanghai on Monday, is positive.

"I think people are very hopeful," Jeffrey Lehman, chair of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, which counts over 1,000 companies among its members, told Reuters at the U.S. Pavilion, which housed exhibits from industry bodies dealing in wine, ginseng, potatoes and more, and was 50% larger than last year's.

"I think the reason why they're here is because they want to engage with new customers. They want to find new opportunities for partnership, and I think they're here because they think that's going to happen," he added.

CIIE kicked off just a week after a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in South Korea that led to a framework agreement to roll back a number of tariffs and export control measures that had been put into place this year, including some that had overtly impacted exhibitors of agricultural products such as soybeans and sorghum.

"We just had this successful meeting in Busan, and so we're celebrating that, but (we) had plans to come even before that meeting. I think that's important to note that we didn't give up on the relationship, that we were working to maintain and continue to strengthen the relationship, even if there were some troubles," said Jim Sutter, CEO of the U.S. Soybean Export Council.

China had shunned soybean purchases from the U.S. 2025 harvest amid rising trade tensions between the two countries but has resumed purchases recently.

Mark Wilson, chairman of the U.S. Grains and BioProducts Council, pointed to recent shipments of soybeans and sorghum bought by China as a positive signal for future trade returning to normal. Prior to this year, China accounted for 95% of the U.S. export market for sorghum, he added.

"I do have hope that they continue talking, because if they can continue talking, they can hopefully work things out, because that's what it takes," Wilson said.

CHINA'S EXPANDING TRADE SURPLUS

Despite optimism from the U.S. agricultural associations in Shanghai, analysts say the latest trade detente hammered out by Xi and Trump may be no more than a fragile truce in a trade war with root causes still unresolved.
Chinese construction companies are looking to the Middle East in the wake of a domestic property slowdown, but are running into roadblocks in the unfamiliar market.

Saudi Arabia now is like China 30 years ago, a Shenzhen-based contractor told Caixin, as infrastructure spending in the region booms.

But Chinese builders said theyve grown frustrated  particularly in Saudi  by strict contractual terms, fierce competition, and rules around local hiring requirements and ESG standards, which arent common in China.

Its another setback for Chinas property sector following a prolonged slump, which Beijing hopes to offset by boosting manufacturing.

But the countrys real estate market is so absolutely gargantuan that the entire economy is suffering, an Economist editor told Bloombergs Odd Lots podcast.

 J.D. Capelouto
European Union, MiCA license, digital euro, crypto regulations, European Parliament Digital Euro CBDC. Photo by BeInCrypto

Patrick Hansen, Director of EU Strategy and Policy at Circle, has once again pushed back against claims that Europes new Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AMLR) will ban self-custody wallets or peer-to-peer crypto transactions.

It comes just over a week after the Circle executive warned that Dual MiCAPSD2 licensing could double compliance costs for EU stablecoin firms.

No, the EU Isnt Killing Self-Custody: Patrick Hansen Busts AMLR 2027 FUD

In a post on X (Twitter), Hansen called out misinformation circulating among major cryptocurrency accounts.

Again, a bunch of big crypto accounts are claiming upcoming AML rules will ban self-custody or anonymous crypto & Bitcoin transactions in the EU. That's wrong, he articulated.

His comments come as debate intensifies ahead of the AMLRs expected implementation around summer 2027.

The comprehensive framework is designed to combat money laundering and terrorist financing across the European Union.

What the AMLR Actually Doesand Doesnt Do

Contrary to social media panic, Hansen clarified that the AMLRs obligations apply only to crypto-asset service providers (CASPs). These include exchanges, brokers, and custodial wallets, not individuals using self-custody solutions.

Key takeaways include:

No ban on self-custody or P2P transactions. The regulation does not restrict peer-to-peer transfers or the use of private wallets.

Hardware/software wallets excluded. Providers like Ledger and MetaMask remain outside the AMLRs compliance scope.

Standard KYC for CASPs. Exchanges will continue to follow existing AML rules established under AMLD5 and MiCA.

10,000 cash limit. The regulation caps physical cash payments, though member states can adopt stricter thresholds.

In other words, AMLR reinforces existing practices rather than introducing sweeping new bans.

The impact on self-custody wallets and CASPs is very limited, almost zero, Hansen explained in an earlier thread.

From FUD to Facts: Advocacy Softened Earlier Proposals

The final AMLR text marks a win for crypto advocacy groups. Early drafts proposed severe restrictions, including 1,000 limits on self-custody payments and extending AML obligations to DAOs, DeFi projects, and NFT platforms.

Those measures were ultimately removed after extensive industry engagement. Hansen credited education and advocacy efforts for ensuring a balanced outcome that preserves Europes innovation potential while maintaining regulatory safeguards.

For European crypto users, the distinction is critical. The AMLR focuses on intermediaries, not individuals managing their own crypto assets.
Some things at Costco are just hard to resist.

Freshly made bagels? Yes, please.

Kerrygold Butter for a fraction of the cost at a regular grocery store? Check.

And how about Costcos signature rotisserie chicken, a perennial bestseller often praised for its affordability and convenience for the bargain price of $4.99? It's hard to pass it up.

Yet the chicken is drawing renewed scrutiny after a recent report highlighted persistent food-safety concerns.

While the product remains widely enjoyed, shoppers may want to pay closer attention to handling and cooking precautions.

The wholesale giant sells more than 100 million chickens each year at a $4.99 price point.

Source: Seeking Alpha

A nonprofit food-safety group, Farm Forward, found that Costcos supplier, Lincoln Premium Poultry, repeatedly received the U.S. Department of Agricultures lowest safety rating  Category 3  for elevated levels of salmonella contamination over multiple years.

Source: Farm Forward

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1 in 25 packages of chicken at the grocery store are contaminated with salmonella.

Source: CDC

Costco sells more than 100 million birds a year. UCG/Getty Images

Whats wrong with the Costco chicken

A rotisserie chicken is typically pre-cooked and ready to eat; however, the report suggests that the source poultry may carry an elevated microbial risk even before it reaches shoppers.

The USDA standard allows for a certain percentage of positive salmonella samples in processing plants; a USDA Category 3 rating signals that a plant exceeds those thresholds, raising questions about baseline safety performance.

Related: Costco shares key plan to keep prices down

While reduced to a percentage statistic, the implications are meaningful: Contamination before cooking may increase the risk of illness if reheating, improper storage, or cross-contamination occurs.

In other words, even ready-to-eat items demand careful handling. The report notes that although no official recall has been announced in connection with the current findings, the last major recall tied to Costcos rotisserie chicken dates back more than a decade.

Costco chickens have been flagged as dangerous in the past

Costco has previously faced food-safety issues tied to its chicken products.

In 2013, approximately 39,755 pounds of rotisserie chicken from a Costco store in San Francisco were recalled due to possible Salmonella Heidelberg contamination. Later, in 2016, the USDA issued a health alert over rotisserie chicken salad sold at a Costco store in Washington, tied to illnesses with the strain salmonella , as reported in Supermarket News.
Europes biopharma stakeholders should seek innovation through AI to meet the challenges of treatment resistance, drug affordability, and a creeping patent cliff, channelling the continents health data to catch up to more competitive industries in the US and China.

This was the view Montserrat Daban outlined in her keynote address at the 2025 CPHI conference, which took place on 2830 October in Frankfurt. Daban is the director of strategic foresight and international relations at Biocat, a public-private entity to support the healthcare ecosystem in Catalonia, Spain.

She said that stakeholders in the European biopharma industry could find innovative solutions to challenges in several key areas by using AI to leverage the vast amounts of data collected by health systems for drug discovery and improved trial design.

Daban identified several key challenges faced by the global biopharma industry today, including logistical ones like scaling up cell and gene therapies, improving clinical trial speeds, drug affordability, as well as the uncertainties of supply chain resilience, sustainability, and pandemic preparedness.

Meanwhile, she noted the industry faces an oncoming wave of drug patent expiries, risking billions of dollars in total annual revenues: Pipelines are thinning  pipeline growth slowed.

Additionally, current research trends have a lopsided focus on development in metabolic, immunological, and oncological diseases at the expense of other indications.

To avoid the pitfalls of what Daban termed therapeutic saturation  too many molecules developed for too few targets  she said all stakeholders in European biopharma must cooperate in addressing several key domains: aging populations, brain health, cancer, antimicrobial resistance, health equity, and rare disease. To do so, she pointed to upscaling the utilisation of Europes extensive health databases.

Daban said that improved use of data from wearable devices can open the door to digital phenotyping, improved biomarkers, and centralised endpoints in neurological trials. For example, in oncology, she suggested exploring adaptive trials and federated analytics so that data from multiple sources can be analysed without needing to be centralised.

But Daban told attendees that a vast data store was useless if its not processed, and we need technology for that. Hence, AI would prove key to effectively processing health data as a means to developing faster clinical trials with more focussed endpoints, she said.

We are at a crossroads. We have to seize the moment for Europe  we have to expect more competition, but also more breakthroughs, Daban concluded.
By Hannah Lang

(Reuters) -As companies focused on stockpiling bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies come under pressure amid market saturation and souring sentiment, new entrants are pushing into less popular tokens, stoking worries over increased volatility.

Buoyed by U.S. President Donald Trump's crypto-friendly stance and inspired by the meteoric success of Michael Saylor's Strategy, the number of publicly-traded companies investing in cryptocurrencies in the hopes they will appreciate has boomed.

As of September, there were at least 200 digital asset treasury, or DAT, companies - mostly focused on bitcoin - with a combined capitalization of around $150 billion, up over threefold from a year earlier, according to an analysis by law firm DLA Piper.

More companies, many of them penny stocks seeking ways to boost profits, are launching daily. But as bitcoin sags, they are turning to esoteric, more volatile tokens in a bid to amplify returns, according to a Reuters analysis of more than three dozen company announcements.

RISKS AHEAD FOR INVESTORS?

In recent weeks, for example, Greenlane, OceanPal and Tharimmune announced plans to stockpile BERA, NEAR and Canton Coin, respectively.

The trend illustrates how the often-volatile and speculative world of cryptocurrencies is becoming more entwined with traditional markets, creating potential hazards for investors.

"DATs are expanding towards more exotic and less liquid cryptocurrencies, and that's exactly where the risk could be much higher," said Cristiano Ventricelli, vice president and senior analyst of digital assets at Moodys Ratings.

"When markets drop, there is more pressure on the equity of these companies," Ventricelli added.

A VOLATILITY PIPELINE

Since April, many DATs have funded token purchases via private placements or PIPEs - selling shares directly to private investors - usually at a discount.

At least 40 DATs raised more than $15 billion combined via PIPEs between April and November, only five of which were focused on bitcoin, Reuters' analysis found. Bitcoin registered a monthly loss in October for the first time since 2018.

Heavyweight crypto investors in these deals include Winklevoss Capital, Galaxy Digital, Jump Crypto, Pantera Capital, Kraken and DWF Labs, public data shows.

While some institutional investors can buy tokens directly, DATs offer the chance to leverage returns and let more cautious investors gain crypto exposure through regulated public firms.

PIPEs allow companies to quickly access cash, but shareholder dilution and the potential resale of shares when lockup periods end often stoke stock price volatility. And because many DAT companies are so reliant on PIPEs, they are especially vulnerable when markets fall, say analysts.
Diageo has appointed former Tesco CEO Sir Dave Lewis as its new chief executive.

The move concludes the Guinness and Johnnie Walker owners search for a successor following Debra Crews departure in July.

Lewis takes on the role as of January next year. Interim CEO Nik Jhangiani will lead the company through December and then return to his former CFO position, Diageo said in a statement today (10 November).

Deirdre Mahlan, who returned to Diageo as interim CFO in July, will continue to support the transition.

Commenting on the appointment, John Manzoni, Diageos chair, said: Having conducted an extensive and thorough global search, the board unanimously felt that Dave has both the extensive CEO experience, and the proven leadership skills in building and marketing world-leading brands, that is right for Diageo at this time.

Lewis led the British retail chain Tesco as group CEO from 2014 to 2020. He also spent almost three decades at Unilever, where he held executive committee roles overseeing marketing and business performance.

He has also chaired consumer healthcare company Haleon since its formation in 2022 and works as a non-executive director at PepsiCo.

The Captain Morgan producer said Lewis will step down from Haleon on 31 December 2025 ahead of assuming his new post at the start 2026.

Lewis said: Diageo is a world leading business with a portfolio of very strong brands, and I am delighted to be joining the team. The market faces some headwinds but there are also significant opportunities.

I look forward to working with the team to face these challenges and realise some of the opportunities in a way which creates shareholder value.

The leadership update follows Diageos revised sales and profit guidance issued last week.

In a trading statement for its fiscal first quarter, the distiller said it expected organic net sales growth to be flat to slightly down.

Diageo pointed to the adverse impact from Chinese white spirits and a weaker US consumer environment than originally planned for.

The group had previously forecast its organic net sales growth would be at a similar level to its previous financial year, with growth sitting more in the second half of the year. It had also expected its organic operating profit to grow by mid-single digit.

It now expects this growth to sit between low to mid-single digit.

For the three months ended 30 September, the Don Julio distiller booked flat organic net sales on 2024, while they declined 2.2% on a reported basis to $4.9bn.

In Diageos North America business, organic net sales were down 2.7% at $1.84bn. The unit, which makes up 38% of the companys total sales, saw its organic net sales being hit by a challenging environment across consumer goods.
US-based Entergy Arkansas has unveiled plans to invest $1.6bn in the construction of a 754MW natural gas power plant near Redfield, pending approval from the Arkansas Public Service Commission.

The facility, named Jefferson Power Station, is expected to begin operations in 2029 and will be situated at the companys White Bluff site in Jefferson County.

Entergy Arkansas said this project will aim to address increasing electricity demand across the state and maintain customer rates below the national average.

Construction activities are projected to generate an estimated $2.9bn in total economic impact and support more than 3,600 jobs throughout the projects development.

The build-out is also expected to contribute $128m in local, county, and sales taxes, with funds allocated to schools, transportation infrastructure, and other public services.

Once completed, the site will employ roughly 22 full-time staff members.

The planned Jefferson Power Station is being designed with combined cycle combustion turbine technology capable of powering over 355,000 homes.

The plant will operate consistently, providing dependable generation capacity when renewable sources are unavailable and supporting stable electricity supply during periods of high usage or extreme weather.

Company officials state that this facility will feature technology approximately 40% more efficient than older generation units, which should lower fuel and operating costs for customers.

Entergy Arkansas president and CEO Laura Landreaux said: Jefferson Power Station represents a cornerstone investment in Arkansass energy future. This facility will strengthen reliability, keep costs low for our customers, and provide the dependable energy supply our communities need to thrive. Were building for the next generation of Arkansans.

This investment demonstrates Entergys proactive preparation for Arkansas economic future. While continuing to deliver reliable service to existing customers, this investment will also give new businesses and industries confidence that Arkansas has the reliable, affordable power they need to grow.

Entergy Arkansas intends to engage local suppliers during construction and has encouraged prospective vendors in the state to register for consideration.

The company highlighted additional plans at the White Bluff location, including a potential conversion of existing coal units to natural gas for peaking power needs and integration with projects such as Arkansas Cypress solar and battery storage.

These measures aim to diversify energy resources available to customers and provide stability against natural gas price volatility.
NYSE Arca Approves ProShares Ultra XRP ETF: A Breakthrough for XRP in 2025. Photo by BeInCrypto

The US Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has listed nine spot XRP Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), intensifying expectations of a November launch pending US SEC approval.

With the potential US Senate deal to end the government shutdown, this could speed up SEC reviews and push XRPs price to a high of $2.46.

DTCC Listing Expands XRP ETF Landscape

The list includes Bitwise XRP ETF and Franklin XRP ETF, among nine spot XRP ETFsCanary XRP ETF (XRPC), Volatility Shares XRP ETF (XRPI), ETF Opportunities T-REX 2x Long XRP (XRPK), CoinShares XRP ETF (XRPL), Amplify XRP 3% Monthly ETF (XRPM), ETF Opportunities T-REX Osprey XRP (XRPR), Volatility Shares 2x XRP ETF (XRPT), and Franklin XRP ETF (XRPZ)indicating market readiness.

https://twitter.com/Xaif_Crypto/status/1987718446487138558?s=20

The Senates progress in halting a 40-day shutdown may restore SEC staffing, aiding approval. However, Ripples unresolved SEC litigation since 2020, with a year-end decision expected, poses risks. Over the past week, XRPs trading volume increased to approximately $27.3 billion.

XRPs trading volume: CoinGecko

Global Markets Monitor Regulatory Progress

The XRP price surge to $2.45 follows a breakout above the 50-day moving average, with analysts targeting $3 by Q1 2026.

XRP price chart: BeInCrypto

Technical analysis indicates that near-term support levels lie at $2.0 and $1.9, while key resistance lies at $2.5 and $2.62.

This movement occurs as XRP ETP success contrasts with Asias cautious stance. Asian exchanges like Bitget are awaiting clarity from US regulators. Analysts caution that a delay in the SECs regulatory approval could push prices down to $1.80.

the 50-day moving average, targeting $3 by Q1 2026 : FXEmpire

JP Morgan estimates a launch could draw $3-5 billion in inflows, similar to Bitcoin ETFs, enhancing XRPs institutional appeal. The Senate deal, if finalized, may accelerate this, though uncertainty persists. Europes success offers a global adoption model, but investors await clarity from the SEC and legislators.

Read original story ETF Greenlight? Government Shutdown Deal Could Trigger Massive XRP Rally by Shigeki Mori at beincrypto.com
(Reuters) -Russia's second-largest oil producer, Lukoil, is facing growing disruptions to its international operations following U.S. sanctions and Washington's refusal to approve the sale of its overseas assets to Swiss commodity trader Gunvor.

Lukoil's global footprint spans upstream oil and gas projects, refining, and fuel retail networks across Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas.

The company produces half a million barrels of oil per day outside of Russia, or 0.5% of global oil output, in countries such as Iraq, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

Below are details about its international assets:

UPSTREAM OPERATIONS

MIDDLE EAST

Lukoil operates Iraq's 480,000 barrel-per-day West Qurna 2 oilfield, one of the world's largest, and holds a 75% stake.

Lukoil has declared force majeure at the field, after Iraq halted all cash and crude payments to the company, sources told Reuters.

In Egypt, Lukoil holds a 50% stake in the West Esh El Mallaha (WEEM) and WEEM Extension oilfields alongside Egypt's Tharwa Petroleum. It also holds a 24% stake in the Meleiha concession while Italy's Eni holds the remainder.

In the UAE it holds 10% of the Ghasha offshore concession, a large gas and condensate project, operated by ADNOC.

CENTRAL ASIA

Lukoil holds stakes in major Kazakh oil and gas projects, including 13.5% in Karachaganak and 5% in Tengiz. It also has a 12.5% stake in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which exports oil from Tengiz to the Black Sea.

The company also owns nearly 20% of the BP-operated Shah Deniz gas field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea.

Lukoil also operates the South-West Gissar gas field in Uzbekistan and holds a 90% stake in the Kandym fields development near the country's border with Turkmenistan.

AFRICA AND LATIN AMERICA

Lukoil has upstream interests in several offshore exploration blocks in West Africa, including in Cameroon, Nigeria and Ghana, as well as a 25% interest in Congo's LNG producing Marine XII block which is operated by Eni.

In Mexico Lukoil also has stakes in several offshore blocks where it partners with Italy's Eni. It also has a 50% stake in the Amatitlan onshore block, operated by Petrolera de Amatitlan SAPI de CV. REFINING ASSETS

BULGARIA Lukoil owns the 190,000 barrel-per-day Neftohim Burgas refinery, the largest in the Balkans. In response to the sanctions, Bulgaria's parliament recently passed legislation allowing the government to take control of the refinery, citing national security concerns. It also stepped up security measures at the site ahead of the potential takeover.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Release Date: November 05, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

Ford Otomotiv Sanayi AS (FOVSY) maintained its leadership in the commercial vehicle market with a 27.5% market share.

Export volumes increased by 13%, with revenues up by 12%, driven by the ramp-up of commercial vehicle production.

The company improved its adjusted EBITDA margin to 8.1%, with a per unit EBITDA of 1,832.

Net cash from operating activities reached 1.5 billion, showing significant improvement in cash management.

The electrification of the product portfolio progressed, with electric vehicles now comprising 15.8% of production.

Negative Points

Domestic revenues decreased by 6% despite a 7% increase in domestic volumes.

The Turkish domestic market faced intense pricing competition, particularly in the passenger vehicle segment.

Export markets showed signs of demand reduction, impacting sales out of Turkey.

Profitability in the passenger car and SUV segments diminished due to competitive pricing pressures.

The company faced increased net exchange losses, impacting pre-tax and post-tax profits.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Could you explain the outflow in working capital during Q3 and your CapEx outlook beyond 2025? Also, are there any plans for bond issuance or addressing liquidity needs next year? A: The working capital outflow in Q3 was due to inventory management and receivables/payables terms. We are focusing on optimizing these areas. Regarding CapEx, we are concluding a heavy investment period, so expect a tapering down in future years. As for bond issuance, we are proactively looking into market opportunities based on our cash flow needs. (Answered by CFO and Corporate Finance Leader)

Q: Are there any new models planned for 2026, and do you expect price competition in the domestic market to continue? A: We are nearing the end of our major electrification and model introductions, with some carryover launches. Price competition, especially in the passenger vehicle segment, is expected to continue due to cost pressures and market dynamics. (Answered by CFO)

Q: What is the EV sales percentage needed to comply with European regulations, and how do you plan to achieve it? A: We are not directly impacted by compliance issues as we sell to Ford Motor Company, which handles distribution. The plant is ready for EV production, but demand-side support is lagging. We are supporting Ford Motor Company in optimizing plans to meet regulatory requirements. (Answered by CFO)
The Philippines' finance app GCash has rolled out the Virtual US Account, a service enabling Filipinos to accept US dollar payments and remittances directly into their GCash digital wallet account.

The new service removes the requirement for users to have an American bank account.

Meridian Payments US issues and maintains GCash Virtual US Accounts under a "for benefit of" arrangement.

GCash noted these accounts do not function as traditional bank accounts and are not considered deposits, meaning they are not covered by deposit insurance schemes.

According to GCash, the service is positioned to support freelancers in the Philippines, who often contend with substantial transaction fees that diminish their earnings and delay fund access.

The Virtual Account is intended to lower platform fees and foreign exchange costs, allowing users increased take-home pay and improved receipt of remittances.

GCash stated that the service eliminates high withdrawal fees and hidden charges. Funds transferred from the US are made available instantly in users e-wallets. These can be converted into Philippine pesos at what the company describes as competitive exchange rates within the app.

The feature is available to fully verified GCash users.

It could help increase dollar inflows from the US, which accounts for about 40% of Philippine cash remittances between January and August in 2025, according to the data from the countrys central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The new service is designed to facilitate cross-border payments for freelance workers and aims to broaden financial access for Filipinos working with clients abroad.

GCash International general manager Paul Albano said: "With the GCash Virtual US Account, GCash users can hold US dollars and only convert to Philippine pesos when they need to.

This enables them to avoid unnecessary fees and convert their money at their most favourable time.

"GCash launches new service for dollar transfers to Filipino users" was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand.




16-Day Gathering Unites Over 20,000 Participants From 50 Nations in a Royal Vision for Compassion and Collective Renewal

THIMPHU, Bhutan, Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid a time of global division and collective fatigue, the small Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is offering something extraordinary: a 16-day Global Peace Prayer Festival , bringing together more than 20,000 participants from over 50 nations in a shared call for compassion, peace, and shared purpose.

Presided over by His Holiness the Je Khenpo (Chief Abbot) and hosted by the Royal Government of Bhutan, the Central Monastic Body, and the Centre for Bhutan and GNH Studies, the festival runs November 410, 2025, across Thimphu's sacred grounds and public spaces.

Bhutan's Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay described the event as a "royal vision," launched under the guidance of His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, who asked his nation to "gather the world in prayer" at a time when humanity faces mounting conflict, disconnection, and spiritual fatigue.

"Bhutan is showing the world that shared attention heals," said Hon. Namgay Tshering, former Finance Minister. "In a fractured world, collective prayer becomes not just a religious act, but a civic one, and a reminder that unity begins with presence."

Previewed this fall at the United Nations, the festival represents Bhutan's soft diplomacy in action, a state-sanctioned offering of peace, compassion, and cultural resilience from one of the world's most peaceful democracies.

The event coincides with the 70th birthday of His Majesty the Fourth King, celebrated nationwide on November 11, and reinforces Bhutan's guiding philosophy of Gross National Happiness (GNH), which holds that true development balances material progress with emotional and spiritual well-being.

Reimagining Public Ritual as Civic Healing

The Global Peace Prayer Festival redefines the role of collective ritual in modern society, transforming spiritual practice into an act of global citizenship.

Program highlights include:

Global Peace Prayer (Nov. 810): A non-sectarian, collective meditation for peace.





Public Blessing Day (Nov. 10): A day of shared compassion and renewal.

By dawn each day, Thimphu's stadium fills with mothers holding prayer beads, monks in maroon robes, and visitors from every continent. The air carries the scent of incense as choirs of monks intone the Bazaguru mantra for peace, their voices echoing through the surrounding hills. For many Bhutanese, it is a once-in-a-generation convergence. For visitors, it's an immersion in the living practice of Vajrayana Buddhism, an experience rarely open to such large-scale participation.
Grant Thornton has announced the appointment of four new partners: Tom Kelly, Zoe Sheehan-Kohli, Howard Shortt, and Ian Wilson in the advisory and audit practices.

Kelly and Wilson will join the audit division, while Sheehan-Kohli and Shortt will be in the advisory practice.

The new appointments coincide with a period of change within the firm, as its multinational Grant Thornton Advisors platform grows following recent international partnerships.

Kelly joins the audit team in Bermuda, bringing nearly three decades of experience from his previous tenure at KPMG in New York and Bermuda.

His background covers audit and advisory work primarily for insurance and reinsurance clients, along with experience in regulatory frameworks such as PCAOB, SEC, NAIC, and local Bermuda requirements.

Wilson also joins as an audit partner, with a focus on asset management, including funds, private equity, and structured finance.

He has overseen engagements across various jurisdictions and is versed in Irish & UK GAAP, IFRS, and US GAAP standards.

In advisory, Zoe Sheehan-Kohli will lead the business consulting segment for the asset management industry.

Her 17-year career spans roles in both buy-side and sell-side technology consulting. She has previously managed technology consulting practices across the US and DACH regions.

Howard Shortt takes up the position of cyber partner in Irelands advisory practice.

He has advised organisations on cybersecurity issues including risk management, incident response, infrastructure security, and adherence to evolving regulations in several markets.

These appointments follow the recent news that Steve Tennant, managing partner of Grant Thornton Ireland, has taken on additional responsibilities as CEO for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).

Tennant said: We are delighted to welcome Tom, Zoe, Howard, and Ian as partners at Grant Thornton. Each brings deep expertise and proven leadership that will be instrumental in strengthening our Advisory and Audit capabilities.

At Grant Thornton, quality is at the heart of everything we do, and these appointments will further ensure we continue to deliver exceptional service to our clients.

"Grant Thornton adds four partners in advisory and audit divisions " was originally created and published by International Accounting Bulletin, a GlobalData owned brand.




Grindr holds a celebration outside the New York Stock Exchange as the company goes public on Nov. 18, 2022. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

The West Hollywood-based queer dating app Grindr could soon go private after the chair of the board submitted a buyout bid and stepped down from his position.

James Lu, who served on Grindr's board for more than five years, said last week he was resigning to focus on personal business pursuits. In October, Lu and fellow board member Ray Zage made an offer to take Grindr private in a nearly $3.5-billion deal.

Lu and Zage collectively own 60% of Grindr's outstanding shares and offered to buy the rest for $18 each in cash. Shares were valued at around $15 each in midday trading Monday.

"My decision to resign from the Board is not a reflection of my views on Grindr," Lu wrote in a letter to board members announcing his resignation. "I remain optimistic about Grindrs long-term prospects, as demonstrated by the proposal and my desire to take the company private to refocus and execute on opportunities to grow the business."

Read more: Tinder bets on group dating feature to win back Gen Z

Lu and Zage said they were interested in closing the deal in the first few months of 2026. The pair led the company's initial public offering in November 2022.

The board formed a special committee in October to respond to the unsolicited take-private proposal. The Manhattan Beach-based sneaker company Skechers and the Los Angeles-based fashion brand Guess were also taken private this year.

"There is no assurance that this proposal will result in a transaction or any other strategic outcome," Grindr said in an Oct. 24 release.

Grindr posted its latest earnings last week, reporting a total revenue of $116 million for the third quarter, a 30% year-over-year increase. The company's quarterly net income was $31 million.

Read more: Younger daters are tired of swiping. A host of new L.A. startups is vying for their attention

Grindr executives said 2025 has been the most successful year in the company's history in terms of profitability and engagement growth. Other mainstream dating apps, including Tinder and its parent company Match Group, have been struggling to retain users.

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, a batch of dating app startups have crowded the market and hope to win over users with creative approaches to online connection.

Grindr's shares have fallen more than 15% this year.

In his letter to board members, Lu said his buyout offer valued shares "at a significant premium for shareholders."

Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Hamilton Reserve Bank has completed the deployment of the latest Temenos Digital platform, with support from technology partner Tailwind Business Ventures.

The Caribbean-based financial institutions upgrade is part of a broader adoption of the 2024 Temenos banking software release.

Tailwind, serving as a primary implementation partner, leveraged its in-house Fincoder platform to streamline the process.

The platform applies artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to financial technology deployment.

Tailwind designed and executed the technical architecture, along with establishing project governance and integration across Temenos modules.

Tailwind partner Paulo Vieira said: Hamilton Reserve Bank's visionary leadership and superb capital strength made them our first-ever client to adopt our AI-based Fincoder platform.

Their forward-thinking approach and trust in our innovative technology allowed us to deliver this transformative solution in record time.

Together, we've created a blueprint for how AI-driven implementation can revolutionise financial services delivery.

Hamilton Reserve Bank, which serves clients in over 150 countries, initiated the digital transformation to enhance its global banking services.

The banks operations span 126 currencies and support customers in 15 languages.

Tailwind said that its approach included developing cloud-native infrastructure, implementing digital customer journeys with biometric authentication.

It also includes establishing compliance and risk management systems, in line with industry best practices.

The Fincoder platform automated development cycles, testing, and integration, allowing the bank to go live with the new digital platform in a two-month timeframe, according to Tailwind.

Hamilton Reserve Bank CFO Antonio Kenyatta said: The partnership between Hamilton Reserve Bank's vision and Tailwind's execution capabilities, powered by Fincoder, has resulted in a digital banking platform that sets new standards for the industry.

This is more than a technology implementationit's a complete transformation that positions HRB as a world-class financial powerhouse with global reach and capabilities.

Temenos, listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, provides banking technology solutions for institutions worldwide, supporting both on-premises and cloud-based services.

Earlier this year, private equity firm Montagu agreed to acquire Temenos global fund accounting software business, Multifonds.

"Hamilton completes digital transformation with Tailwinds AI platform " was originally created and published by Private Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand.
Support comes from new and existing investors, including life science, technology, growth, and sovereign wealth investors

Financing closely follows announcements of Iambics clinical data for IAM1363 at the ESMO Congress and entry into a clinical collaboration with Jazz Pharmaceuticals

SAN DIEGO, November 10, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Iambic, a clinical-stage life science and technology company developing novel medicines using its AI-driven discovery and development platform, today announced raising over $100 million in an oversubscribed financing round with balanced support from new and existing investors, including Abingworth, Alexandria Venture Investments, Alumni Ventures, ARK, Ascenta, Catalio, Everbright Biofund, Freeflow Ventures, Illumina Ventures, Mubadala, Pegasus Tech Ventures, Qatar Investment Authority, Regeneron Ventures, Sequoia, Tao Capital Partners, Terra Magnum Capital Partners, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and others.

"We are thrilled to have the support of many outstanding and committed investors who are partnering with Iambic to advance our mission of creating technologies to bring better medicines to patients," said Tom Miller, PhD, Iambic Co-Founder and CEO. "We are proud of the scientific and business progress Iambic has made across its pipeline, partnerships, and platform over this past year and view this fundraise as a testament to the exceptional work of the Iambic team. We look forward to continuing Iambic's progress and anticipate our KIF18A and CDK2/4 programs entering the clinic as well as additional discovery and technology enablement collaborations in the near term."

The announcement of this financing closely follows Iambics presentation of clinical data for IAM1363 at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress, where IAM1363 demonstrated anti-tumor activity and a favorable safety profile across HER2-wild-type and HER2-mutated cancers, as well as in multiple disease indications. Subsequently, Iambic announced a research collaboration with Jazz Pharmaceuticals to evaluate combination therapy with zanidatamab with IAM1363 in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer previously treated with Enhertu.

Earlier this year, Iambic announced a novel technology-enablement collaboration with Revolution Medicines which is providing access to proprietary data and Iambic is providing access to its NeuralPLexer technology for protein-ligand structure prediction. Iambic also reported industry-leading benchmarks for Enchant, its multimodal transformer model that makes high-confidence predictions of clinical and preclinical endpoints.
Patrick Montgomery founded KC Cattle Company with little ranching experience after leaving the Army.

His startup went viral overnight  then he had to learn how to scale fast.

KC Cattle Company has thrived as demand for premium American wagyu beef is surging nationwide.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Patrick Montgomery, a former Army Ranger and the founder of KC Cattle Company, an American wagyu farm. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I thought I'd spend my whole life in Special Operations as part of the First Ranger Battalion  but when life had other plans and I left the Army in 2014, I certainly didn't expect to become a wagyu rancher.

I went back to school at the University of Missouri, planning to become a large-animal veterinarian. I loved the hands-on work, the adrenaline of working with farm animals, and a career where I could stay connected to the outdoors.

But when I started running the numbers for opening up my own clinic  six figures of student debt for a $60,000 salary  it just didn't add up. Around that time, I was also taking entrepreneurship classes. I found myself drawn just as much to balance sheets and business models as I was to anatomy charts, and began thinking of building something of my own.

In 2016, after a job interview left me feeling like I'd be selling my soul to a defense contractor, I called my wife and told her I was either going to start a company or return to the military. She didn't miss a beat and asked me what kind of company we'd be starting.

That's how KC Cattle Company was born  an idea rooted in my twin passions for animals and business, even though I had almost zero ranching experience.

Learning the hard way

I spent the next few years making what I called "tuition payments at the school of hard knocks" while I figured things out the hard way. I interned at vet clinics, worked on research farms, and learned from anyone who would let me tag along.

Eventually, I bought 420 acres of land about 45 minutes northwest of Kansas City and started raising a few dozen head of cattle. Now we run about 200 animals on the ranch, with partnerships across the country, many of them with fellow veterans.

At the time, I didn't know much about wagyu beyond that it was premium beef with an incredible marbling score. The Japanese use a grading scale from 1 to 12, where US "prime" beef barely hits a 4. Our average wagyu now ranks around 7, with some cuts scoring as high as 10. It's beef that genuinely melts in your mouth.
Italy has conditionally cleared the sale of truck manufacturer Iveco to Tata Motors, according to a parliamentary document cited by Reuters.

The decision was taken on 31 October, the report added.

Tata Motors agreed in July to acquire Iveco in a deal valued at 3.8bn ($4.36bn).

The transaction has been structured to maintain Ivecos operational independence. Plans include keeping the headquarters in Turin, safeguarding jobs and production sites under binding non-financial covenantsno layoffs, and no plant closures for at least two yearsand largely preserving the current board with independent oversight.

Separately, Ivecos defence subsidiary, Iveco Defence Vehicles (IDV), was sold to state-controlled defence group Leonardo for 1.7bn.

In September, Bloomberg reported that Tata Motors was arranging a 3.875bn bridge facility to fund the Iveco commercial vehicle acquisition.

The 12-month loan is supported by a letter from Tata Sons, the Tata Groups investment holding company.

According to analysis by GlobalData, the parent company of Just Auto, the tie-up would place the enlarged company alongside Traton and Volvo Group in global truck market share and production capacity.

Following the merger, the combined commercial vehicle business would generate roughly 22bn ($26bn) in annual revenue, with manufacturing sites across Europe, Asia and Latin America.

From a product and geographical viewpoint, Tatas dominance in India and Southeast Asia is highly complementary to Ivecos presence in Europe and Latin America, with no significant overlap in product lines or manufacturing geography.

The deal also gives Tata Motors access to Ivecos FPT Industrial powertrain technologies, including electric, hydrogen, and natural-gas platforms, providing it with scope to expand its net zero ambitions.

"Italy grants conditional approval to Tata Motors 3.8bn purchase of Iveco" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.




The nice thing about Roth IRA accounts is that withdrawals are not taxed in retirement, so you don't have to reserve a portion of each distribution to satisfy an IRS bill at that time.

Until you retire, you can also help yourself by contributing to a Roth IRA or 401(k) or doing a Roth conversion if you don't currently have funds in one of these accounts. Doing so often depends on your taxable income now and anticipated taxable income in the future.

If you wont have a high income in retirement, its that much more important to minimize your payments to the IRS and to make the most of any tax incentives, such as Trumps recent One Big Beautiful Bill, which offers a $6,000 individual tax break to seniors between the 2025 and 2028 tax years.

That said, there are steps you can take to reduce your tax burden, stretch your savings and live well in retirement on a $550,000 nest egg. Here are some strategies to consider.

That means youd have about $46,000 per year to work with. But as of 2023, the average annual spending among Americans 65 to 74 was closer to $65,150, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (4). In other words, a $46,000 annual income could leave you with a shortfall of about $19,000.

Of course, Social Security benefits will factor into your retirement income as well; the average benefit for retired workers today is approximately $2,005 per month, or $24,000 per year (3).

If you apply the 4% rule for withdrawals to your $550,000 in savings, you get an annual income of about $22,000.

Robert Kiyosaki says this 1 asset will surge 400% in a year  and he begs investors not to miss its explosion

Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake  heres what it is and 3 simple steps to fix it ASAP

Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100  and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how

To put your savings in perspective, the new magic number Americans believe theyll need to retire comfortably is $1.26 million, according to Northwestern Mutual (2), putting the $550,000 at just halfway to that target.

Take the following scenario: Assume you were 56 and want to retire in 10 years with $550,000. Your savings may align with many others your age  the average American aged 65 to 74 has about $609,000 saved (1). But that doesnt mean youre looking at sufficient retirement income. Here are a few things to consider.

Moneywise and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue through links in the content below.

Story Continues

When it comes to picking an IRA, one of the easiest ways to invest is to open a self-directed trade account with SoFi. Their DIY approach allows you to invest with no commission fees, plus, for a limited time, you can get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new account.

With their rollover IRA, you can also move your money from a tax-qualified retirement account  such as an employer-sponsored 401(k)  into an IRA that you manage yourself. Typically, youll get a broader range of investment options than you would with an employer-sponsored account. Plus, your income keeps growing tax-deferred.

SoFi is designed to help you learn investing as you go, with real-time investing news, curated content and the data you need to make smart decisions about the stocks that matter most to you. Plus, get a 1% match on IRA rollovers and contributions with no minimum amount required.

Another option, although one that needs long-term planning, is to capitalize on the backdoor Roth IRA method. If you have a high net worth, this might be something you want to start thinking about for your retirement.

Roth IRAs dont allow joint filers earning above $246,000, or individuals making more than $165,000 in modified adjusted gross income, to make contributions. But theres no rule stopping you from contributing to a traditional IRA and then converting it into a Roth IRA.

If that sounds complicated  and it is  the experts at Range are here to help. They provide all-in-one white-glove wealth management services for high-earning professionals making at least $250,000 and households making over $300,000.

This includes navigating the complexities of the backdoor Roth IRA tax strategy and even the mega-backdoor Roth IRA method. But Range advisors can also offer proactive advice across your entire financial life, including alternative assets management  not just taxes.

And the best part? Unlike many white-glove investment services, Range offers a transparent, flat annual fee  no hidden costs or percentage-of-assets surprises  to help scale your wealth.

Of course, everyone's situation is unique, and you want to balance using these accounts in the most tax-advantaged way. Make sure to consult with a qualified investment or tax professional before proceeding with a Roth conversion.

Trending: Warren Buffett used 8 simple money rules to turn $9,800 into a stunning $150B  start using them today to get rich (and then stay rich)

Delay your Social Security claim for larger monthly benefits

If you were born in 1960 or later, your full retirement age for Social Security is 67. That's the age when you can claim your monthly benefits without a reduction.

However, for each year you delay your Social Security claim until age 70, your benefits get an 8% boost. And that boost is a permanent one. This means that if you're eligible for a monthly Social Security benefit of $2,005 at age 67 and you wait until 70 to file, you'll be able to get approximately $2,486 per month instead  for life.

Larger Social Security benefits can take some of the pressure off of your nest egg (assuming you arent relying on it to postpone your Social Security benefits), allowing you to leave your savings intact longer so you can continue generating returns. These returns can also come in handy if your savings start to dwindle.

Another way to stretch your savings further? Cutting back on expenditures you dont need  like monthly subscriptions youve forgotten about  and budgeting where you can.

If managing a budget feels overwhelming to you, apps like Rocket Money can simplify the process.

Rocket Money tracks and categorizes your expenses, providing a clear view of your cash, credit and investments in one place. It can even automatically uncover forgotten subscriptions, helping you cut unnecessary costs and save potentially hundreds annually.

For a small fee, the app can also negotiate lower rates on your monthly bills, making it a valuable tool for keeping your finances on track.

Move to a state with lower costs

When you're working, you may have to live in a certain part of the country to get access to jobs in your field. In retirement, you have the freedom to move to any state you choose, which could help you lower your costs.

It could mean that housing is more affordable, or that life is more affordable because state income taxes are low or non-existent.

These U.S. states have no income tax:

Alaska

Florida

Nevada

New Hampshire

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Wyoming

Washington also doesn't have a state income tax, though residents may be subject to capital gains taxes. To be clear, a state with no income tax is not automatically a low-cost state. But you can use this list as a starting point.

If changing states sounds like the right move, make sure to take a hard look at any home insurance payments. Some states can have higher home insurance rates due to extreme weather. To make sure you're getting a good deal try to shop around.

This is where services like OfficialHomeInsurance.com can come in.

In under two minutes, this free service can help you find the best rates for you in your area. How it works is simple: Just answer a few questions, like about your ZIP code and property type, and OfficialHomeInsurance.com will connect you with providers in your area.

Even better, this side-by-side comparison tool can save you an average of $482, depending on your situation.

Consider downsizing

Whether you own or rent a home, downsizing is a great way to lower your monthly expenses. It's also a good option if you're looking to shed costs in retirement, but relocating isn't an option.

As of 2022, U.S. homeowners aged 65 and over had a median $250,000 in home equity, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Downsizing could be a great way to capture that equity and use it to pad your retirement savings. If you dont own a home but are able to lower your monthly rental costs by moving to a smaller home, that could make a big difference, too.

The added flexibility could buy you freedom to travel, seek new hobbies and generally have the kind of retirement you envisioned for yourself.

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Article sources

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

Federal Reserve (1); Northwestern Mutual (2); SSA (3); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (4)

This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: I've done the math: I can retire at 66 with $550,000 in the bank and not a penny more. How do I make it last?

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Q : For the new home business, the company's performance seems to be diminishing. What are the reasons, and how should investors view the growth potential? A : Tao Xu, CFO, explained that while recent performance has been affected by market volatility, the company remains confident in long-term outperformance. The new home market in China has matured, and KE Holdings is shifting to a growth-driven strategy. Factors affecting recent performance include attractive pricing of existing homes and a high base effect from previous quarters. The company plans to expand into more cities and enhance service capabilities to drive future growth.

Story Continues

Q: How did the leasing service business turn last year's losses into operating profit by Q3 this year, and what opportunities remain for improvement? A: Tao Xu, CFO, highlighted that profitability improved due to economies of scale and operational efficiency. The number of managed rental units increased significantly, and revenue grew by 45.3% year over year. The company adopted a light asset model, improving margins and reducing risks. Operational efficiency improvements, such as AI-driven management, also contributed to profitability. Future improvements will focus on scaling rental units and enhancing operational efficiency.

Q: The renovation business has done well in cities like Beijing and Shanghai. How will you motivate agents to sell renovation services in cities where you don't have a high market share? A: Tao Xu, CFO, stated that second and third-tier cities are critical for long-term growth. The company is focusing on building operational capabilities in core cities before expanding. They have implemented a systematic framework to engage agents, including training, incentives, and AI tools to identify high-potential properties. The strategy is to ensure sustainable growth before aggressively expanding into new markets.

Q: Could you elaborate on the measures to control costs and the outcomes seen so far? A: Tao Xu, CFO, detailed that cost reduction has been achieved through organizational optimization and technological integration. Labor costs have been reduced by streamlining operations, and material costs have decreased through supply chain integration. AI and digital tools have improved efficiency across various business segments. The company expects continued operational optimization to enhance profitability as market conditions stabilize.

Q: What are the key opportunities for growth in the new home market, given the current challenges? A: Tao Xu, CFO, identified several opportunities, including expanding into more cities, increasing broker channel penetration, and enhancing service capabilities for high-end products. The company is piloting lighter product offerings in lower-tier cities and optimizing content and operational strategies to reach more buyers. These initiatives aim to capture growth in a maturing market.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
French crypto hardware wallet provider Ledger is weighing a potential New York listing as surging cyberattacks push 2025 revenues into the hundreds of millions, according to CEO Pascal Gauthier.

Founded in Paris in 2014, the company is experiencing its strongest year yet as individuals and institutions rush to secure their digital assets from increasingly advanced hackers.

Were being hacked more and more every day ... hacking of your bank accounts, of your crypto, and its not going to get better next year and the year after that, Gauthier told the Financial Times.

The boom follows a record year for crypto-related thefts, with $2.2 billion stolen in the first half of 2025  already surpassing the total for 2024. Roughly 23% of attacks targeted individual wallets, the FT reported, citing Chainalysis.

More News:

Gauthier said Ledger secures around $100 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC) and may benefit further from holiday demand spikes. The firm could raise funds through a private round or U.S. listing as it expands its New York operations, emphasizing that money is in New York today for crypto.

Related: Ledger CTO warns of shocking NPM attacks by crypto hackers

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Nov 10, 2025, where it first appeared in the Business News section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Lenskart shares recovered after a soft start to finish slightly above the offer price on Monday, following the Indian eyewear retailers 72.8 billion ($821 million) IPO that sold out within hours but stirred debate over its valuation.

The stock opened at 395, below the IPO price of 402, and fell as much as 11% to 356.10 during the session before recovering to close at 404.55. The closing price valued Lenskart at about 702 billion (around $8 billion). The IPO was heavily oversubscribed with bids coming in at about 28 times the shares available, led primarily by institutional investors.

Lenskarts pitch to investors is that its vertically integrated model  where it controls everything from manufacturing to retail stores  can outpace legacy optical chains and online rivals. But the 15-year-old company faces competition across price points from Titan Eye+ to new direct-to-consumer players, raising questions about how quickly it can scale profitably in India and overseas.

The company reported a profit in the fiscal year 2025 (which ended in March), with revenue rising 23% year-over-year to 66.53 billion (about $750 million). Net profit came in at 2.97 billion (around $33 million), boosted by a 1.67 billion (about $19 million) accounting gain (not actual cash) linked to its acquisition of Owndays. Excluding that one-time item, the companys core profit stood at 1.30 billion, or roughly $15 million.

The company had sought a valuation of 700 billion  around $7.9 billion  at the top end of the IPO price range, placing it among the most richly valued of Indias new-age consumer brands, alongside firms such as Honasa and BlueStone. The valuation represents a more than 60% jump from the roughly $5 billion level at which Lenskart shares traded hands in a secondary share sale last June involving late-stage backers Fidelity and Temasek. Fidelity later marked up Lenskarts valuation by 12% to $5.6 billion in November last year.

The proposed valuation implied about 230 times Lenskarts core net profit and roughly 10 times its revenue, fueling debate among retail investors and on social media. DSP Asset Managers, which invested in the company ahead of the listing, defended the deal, despite acknowledging it was expensive, saying in a post responding to the criticism that the business remains strong and scalable.

Chief executive Peyush Bansal, who has gained wider public recognition as a judge on Shark Tank India, said the issue was fairly priced, citing feedback from institutional investors.

We didnt build Lenskart to reach a valuation, he said at the IPO ceremony in Mumbai. We did it to reach people, from Delhi to the smallest towns of India.
President Trump signed legislation Wednesday evening to end the federal shutdown after a record-long 43-day stoppage.

Government employees began resuming work Thursday, though a full recovery from the stoppage is expected to take some time.

"The federal government will now resume normal operations," President Trump promised Wednesday just before he signed the package, saying it will "get our country working again."

The law gives federal workers back pay and keeps the government open until Jan. 30. It also funds certain federal programs, such as the Agriculture and Veterans Affairs departments, for the entire fiscal year, and imposes limits on Trumps ability to fire federal workers.

The focus will now turn to the economic effects, with the accounting there likely to go on for weeks.

Kevin Hassett, the director of Trump's National Economic Council, estimated Thursday that the shutdown cost about $15 billion per week and that 60,000 non-federal workers lost their jobs because of the economic impacts.

An October analysis from the Congressional Budget Office estimated that a six-week shutdown  almost the exact length of this stoppage  would end up cutting into Q4 GDP growth by 1.5 percentage points before the economy rebounds by early next year.

President Donald Trump after signing the funding bill to end the US government shutdown at the White House on November 12. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)  REUTERS / Reuters

The effect on economic data delays are also likely to linger, with the White House saying that both the Consumer Price Index for October is unlikely to ever be released and that economic data "will be permanently impaired."

Hassett added Thursday that an eventual jobs report for October could include the top-line job total number but will arrive without the unemployment rate because of the different ways that data is collected.

Headaches at the airport will also take time to unwind as travel delays continued on Thursday. Trump said Wednesday evening that a total of 20,000 flights were cancelled or delayed during the shutdown.

One group who should see relief soon is the approximately 42 million Americans whose food benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have been in legal limbo.

Payments are now set to resume within days, and these millions of low-income families can expect food security for a bit longer. This weeks deal includes funding for the Agriculture Department, which oversees the SNAP program, until next October.

Read more: How the government shutdown impacts your money: student loans, Social Security, investments, and more

Here are the latest updates on the impacts of the government shutdown.

LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER

86 updates
Magnachips third quarter was marked by a sharp decline in revenue and a negative market reaction, as persistent pricing pressure on legacy productsespecially in Chinadrove down sales and margins. Management, led by interim CEO Camillo Martino, acknowledged operational challenges and described the quarter as a reflection of the companys ongoing transition to a pure-play power products business. Martino was blunt in his assessment, stating, we have failed to execute on our promises, while emphasizing immediate efforts to reposition the product portfolio, reduce costs, and increase transparency. The communications segment provided a rare bright spot, with significant sequential and annual growth.

Is now the time to buy MX? Find out in our full research report (its free for active Edge members).

Magnachip (MX) Q3 CY2025 Highlights:

Revenue: $45.95 million vs analyst estimates of $46 million (17.1% year-on-year decline, in line)

Adjusted EPS: -$0.01 vs analyst estimates of -$0.12 (91.7% beat)

Adjusted EBITDA: -$3.96 million vs analyst estimates of -$3 million (-8.6% margin, relatively in line)

Revenue Guidance for Q4 CY2025 is $40.5 million at the midpoint, below analyst estimates of $47.6 million

Operating Margin: -25.1%, down from -8.1% in the same quarter last year

Inventory Days Outstanding: 91, in line with the previous quarter

Market Capitalization: $81.55 million

While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention.

Our Top 5 Analyst Questions From Magnachips Q3 Earnings Call
In the early 2000s, Dustin Moskovitz helped build Facebook alongside Mark Zuckerberg, transforming the startup into a global tech empire. Now, he and his wife, former journalist Cari Tuna, are devoting their lives to giving their money away.

Tuna, 40, met Moskovitz, 41, in 2009, surviving on an entry-level journalist salary at The Wall Street Journal, where she covered enterprise tech and Californias economy. Moskovitz had a philanthropic mindset early on, and Tuna turned that vision into action.

Since then, the couple has donated more than $4 billion total, including more than $600 million in 2025 alone. Their goal is to donate as much as quickly as they can.

Moskovitzs $10 billion fortune traces back to his early days at Facebook when he helped launch the platform with his then-roommate Zuckerberg in 2004. Today, Facebooks parent company Meta is worth $1.6 trillion. After Facebook, the cofounder went on to build his now-$3 billion project management platform Asana in 2008, where he recently stepped down as CEO.

Since 2011, Tuna has been chipping away at giving their wealth away, cofounding and becoming chair of Good Ventures, a philanthropic foundation. The couple has placed another $10 billion into the foundation.

The couple has signed The Giving Pledge

To solidify their commitment to giving, the couple were among the first donors to sign Gates and Warren Buffetts Giving Pledge in 2010 when Cari was 25, making her the youngest signatory in the Pledges history.

The Giving Pledge invites the worlds wealthiest individuals and families to publicly commit to giving away at least 50% of their wealth to philanthropy, either during their lifetimes or in their wills. Despite hundreds of billionaires signing the Giving Pledge, not all have followed through.

We will donate and invest with both urgency and mindfulness, aiming to foster a safer, healthier and more economically empowered global community, Moskovitz wrote when pledging his efforts in 2010.

Tuna funded pandemic prevention and AI safety research

After founding and chairing Good Ventures in 2011, Tuna guides the couples giving with Open Philanthropy, a funder and advisor that grew out of a partnership between GiveWell and Good Ventures and became independent in 2017.

Long before COVID-19 or ChatGPTs takeover, Tuna was funding pandemic prevention and AI safety research. Their largest grants include at least $300 million to the Malaria Consortium, $200 million to Evidence Action, and $100 million to Helen Keller International, all chosen for measurable impact on public health.
Bank Of Sharjah P.J.S.C. has demonstrated significant earnings growth, with a 262.7% increase over the past year, surpassing its five-year average of 58.3% annually. The bank's recent quarterly earnings report highlighted net income of AED166.45 million, up from AED124.9 million the previous year, indicating strong financial performance despite a large one-off gain impacting results by AED101 million. The company maintains an appropriate Loans to Deposits ratio of 82% and a moderate Assets to Equity ratio of 11.5x while primarily relying on low-risk customer deposits for funding, although its Return on Equity remains low at 12.1%.

Operations: The company's revenue is derived from two main segments: Commercial Banking, contributing AED450.68 million, and Investment and Treasury, accounting for AED326.19 million.

Overview: Bank Of Sharjah P.J.S.C. operates as a provider of commercial and investment banking products and services in the United Arab Emirates, with a market capitalization of AED3.84 billion.

The Middle Eastern stock markets have recently shown mixed performance, with Abu Dhabi's benchmark index gaining ground due to strong performances by key companies, while Dubai's index experienced slight fluctuations. In this context, penny stocks remain an intriguing area for investors looking to explore smaller or newer companies that may offer unique growth opportunities. Despite being considered a niche investment category today, these stocks can still hold potential when backed by solid financials and strategic positioning in the market.

Story Continues

ADX:BOS Debt to Equity History and Analysis as at Nov 2025

Simply Wall St Financial Health Rating: 

Overview: Ihlas Holding A.S. operates in construction and real estate, media, manufacturing and trading, as well as healthcare and education sectors in Turkey and abroad, with a market cap of TRY5.37 billion.

Operations: The company's revenue is primarily derived from its marketing segment, which generated TRY4.78 billion, followed by media at TRY2.29 billion and construction at TRY855.60 million.

Market Cap: TRY5.37B

Ihlas Holding A.S. has a market cap of TRY5.37 billion, with significant revenue from its marketing segment at TRY4.78 billion and media at TRY2.29 billion, although it remains unprofitable with a net loss of TRY639.72 million in Q2 2025. The company's board and management team are experienced, boasting average tenures of 9.2 and 13.8 years respectively, while its debt to equity ratio has improved significantly over five years to a satisfactory 7.7%. Despite stable weekly volatility compared to other Turkish stocks, Ihlas faces challenges with less than a year of cash runway based on current free cash flow levels.

IBSE:IHLAS Debt to Equity History and Analysis as at Nov 2025

Simply Wall St Financial Health Rating: 

Overview: Alarum Technologies Ltd. offers web data collection solutions across various global regions and has a market cap of 347.02 million.

Operations: The company generates revenue primarily from its web data collection segment, which accounts for $29.83 million.

Market Cap: 347.02M

Alarum Technologies Ltd., with a market cap of 347.02 million, focuses on web data collection, generating US$29.83 million in revenue primarily from this segment. Despite recent sales declining to US$15.92 million for the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year, earnings guidance indicates potential revenue growth of approximately 78% year-over-year for Q3 2025. The company maintains a strong financial position with short-term assets exceeding liabilities and more cash than debt, while its earnings have grown by 39.1% over the past year, surpassing industry averages despite high share price volatility recently observed in the market.

TASE:ALAR Financial Position Analysis as at Nov 2025

Taking Advantage

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include ADX:BOS IBSE:IHLAS and TASE:ALAR.

This article was originally published by Simply Wall St.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com
Adobestock 1096224749

Bankruptcy |

By Caroline Bourque

Its been more than two years since Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, ceasing operations at its nationwide retail locations and North Carolinabased manufacturing facilities. The companys outlook changed quickly in the weeks that followed: A Delaware Court judge converted the case from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7 in October 2023, putting the company on track for liquidation in order to pay back creditors. Soon after that, fellow furnishings brand Surya acquired MG+BWs intellectual property, manufacturing equipment and some of its inventory before relaunching the brand last summer. Despite that fresh start, proceedings related to the companys Chapter 7 filing are still playing outand now, a number of entities MG+BW did business with in the weeks leading up to its bankruptcy are in the crosshairs.

Eskayel is one of those brands. The company had partnered with Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams in 2022 to release a line of licensed wallcoverings. Even when MG+BW went under, Eskayel founder Shanan Campanaro felt compelled to fulfill orders that designers had already placed and paid for, even though her business never received the payment. Since we provided wallpaper under our nameit was Eskayel for Mitchell Gold + Bob Williamseverybody who ordered wallpaper, [when MG+BW] folded and they couldnt get in touch with anyone about their order, got in touch with us and said, Hey, I placed this order with MG+BW. Now theyre closed. What can you do? recalls Campanaro. So we fulfilled a bunch of orders that we never got paid for because our name was attached to it.

Ultimately, Eskayel never received payment for roughly $8,000 in MG+BW ordersproduct the company chose to fulfill anyway so customers werent left in the lurchin addition to royalties worth around $7,500 for the year. So it was all the more surprising when the company received notice in mid-October that the Chapter 7 trustee of MG+BW was suing them for the payments they had received for wallpaper in the months leading up to the bankruptcy filing.

How is that possible? Through the Chapter 7 process, the funds generated by the liquidation of the companys assets are distributed among the bankrupt entitys creditors. Those creditors also have another way to recoup fundsby going after what is classified as preferential payments, which is any payout made in the months leading up to the companys collapse that gives the creditor more than they would have received through the bankruptcy process. Essentially, the idea is to prevent a distressed company from playing favorites when choosing which payments to make; the 90-day window implies that a company careening toward insolvency has chosen which debt to pay off while knowing that it would soon enter bankruptcy.
Molson Coors reported on Nov. 4 sales decreased 2.3% in the third quarter, continuing more than 12-month trend.

New CEO Rahul Goyal attributes the loss to generational changes in attitude toward alcohol, health and wellness focus, and macroeconomic pressures.

In the U.S., these macro impacts have had a disproportionate effect on the lower income and Hispanic consumer, Goyal said on a call with analysts.

More: Q&A: Retiring Molson Coors CEO Hattersley on beer industry, Miller's Milwaukee legacy

The company reported no meaningful profit or losses for the quarter as the company plans to eliminate hundreds of salaried jobs, many of which are open positions the company is choosing not to fill.

Goyal believes some of the economic pressure is cyclical.

Theres something different this year, Goyal said. Right now theres these structural issues that weve all talked about in the industry whether its health and wellness, whether its the generational change. But this year theres been a lot of other macro issues, whether its the economic impact of tariffs, immigration, so we still believe that this year, or going into next year, its cyclical. Once we get through some of these macro issues behind us, we should be getting back to pre-2025 levels.

One area the company is focusing on is on its economy beer like Keystone Lite and High Life.

We firmly believe that all price segments matter, Goyal said. And while, as an industry, we are not seeing trade down at the brand level, in today's environment, more than ever, economy is an important segment.

As it looks to the final months of the year and next year, the company is also going to try to stabilize Blue Moon.

To be frank, we haven't seen the success we would like, Goyal said adding there been some promise in the non-alcoholic version of the Belgium white beer but it is challenged.

Molson Coors is also planning on leaning heavily into its non-alcoholic brands in its portfolio.

The places where we need to fill some gaps are probably in the beyond beer, Goyal said. So in terms of deploying capital, you will see us probably lean in a lot more on the beyond beer space than the beer space.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Molson Coors sales decrease 2.3% in quarter, continuing recent trend
Beijing announced on Sunday that it had granted exemptions for certain semiconductor exports in a move seen as easing tensions with the Netherlands over control of Dutch-based Nexperia.

A Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said about the previously restricted semiconductor exports that China has taken practical measures to exempt compliant exports for civilian purposes.

The announcement follows a social media post by European Commission trade chief Maros Sefcovic on Saturday saying that the EU had reached an agreement with Chinas commerce ministry to restart semiconductor flows disrupted by the Nexperia crisis.

The Chinese ministry's spokesperson added, "I would like to emphasise that we welcome the continued influence of the European side and urge the Dutch side to correct its wrong practices as soon as possible."

The latest signs of a thaw between Beijing and The Hague over semiconductor controls that grew increasingly heated over the past months and worried carmakers on the continent pushed Wingtech Technology, the Shanghai-listed parent of Dutch chipmaker Nexperia, to extend last weeks rally.

The company closed with a 3.02% increase after marking an intraday peak at 6% on Monday before trading ended in Shanghai.

That follows a sharp jump on Friday, 7 November, when the stock surged by a whopping 9.7%.

Nexperia's ripple effects on the global auto industry

The battle for control of a little-known chipmaker has threatened global auto production by choking off the semiconductor supply chain.

Nexperia makes semiconductors such as switches and logic chips, inncluding those that run things like airbag sensors, window controls and power management in cars.

The company is headquartered in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, and it is a subsidiary of Wingtech Technology, which is partially owned by the Chinese government.

In late September and October 2025, The Hague moved against Nexperia after deeming the companys governance and supply continuity risks to be a serious enough threat to European chipmaking demand.

Using the rarely invoked Goods Availability Act, the government granted itself veto powers over major Nexperia decisions after citing national security concerns, including risks to crucial chip know-how and claiming operations on Dutch and EU soil could be undermined or shifted abroad. A court subsequently suspended Nexperias chief executive.

As a response, China froze chip exports, and automakers feared factory stoppages because many of these legacy chips do not have quick substitutes.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) is one of the Best Low Priced Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. On November 4, the company released financial results for Q3 2025, achieving a quarterly record with total revenue of $2.9 billion, reflecting a rise of 5% compared to Q3 2024.

Is Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) One of the Best Low Priced Stocks to Buy According to Analysts

It posted adjusted EPS of $1.20, surpassing the guidance of $1.14, and reflecting a rise of 17% compared to Q3 2024. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH)s results exhibited the strength of its business, the broad appeal of its multi-brand portfolio, and healthy execution.

On November 4, Stephen Grambling, an analyst from Morgan Stanley, maintained a Hold rating on the companys stock, and the associated price target was same at $27.00. Despite surpassing its Q3 2025 guidance, the companys results did not meet the firms or consensus expectations, added the analyst. Furthermore, Q4 2025 guidance was also set lower, hinting at potential challenges in pricing power. For Q4 2025, on a constant currency basis, the company expects a net yield of between ~3.5%  4.0%.

However, moving into Q4 2025, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH) continues to see the benefits of its strategic focus on Caribbean itineraries, which are bringing in more families to the Norwegian brand. It anticipates this to continue into 2026, with Load Factor surpassing the 2024 levels. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH)s total revenue growth was mainly because of higher Capacity Days and robust demand, partially mitigated by the lower air program participation, which reduced air-related costs, mainly because of changes in itinerary mix. For FY 2025, the company expects adjusted EBITDA of ~$2.72 billion.

While we acknowledge the potential of NCLH as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If youre looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 13 Cheap AI Stocks to Buy According to Analysts and 11 Unstoppable Growth Stocks to Invest in Now

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Nvidia's stock continued to slip on Friday, wrapping up a rough week for the world's leading AI chipmaker. Shares fell about 4% on Friday afternoon trading, following a 3.7% drop on Thursday and a more than 7% decline over the past five sessions.

Investors appear uneasy about Nvidia's exposure to China and the sustainability of massive AI infrastructure spending. Adding to the caution, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman clarified that the company isn't seeking government guarantees or bailouts for its $1.4 trillion AI data center investments, after earlier comments from its finance chief drew attention.

Despite recent weakness, Nvidia still holds roughly a 40% gain for the year. Analysts such as LPL Financial's Thomas Shipp say optimism around AI's long-term potential remains intact, even as costs and valuations rise.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also said during a visit to Taiwan that there were no active discussions about selling the company's new Blackwell AI chips to Chinese clients. The company currently does not anticipate material revenue from China, which it says could imply a quarterly sales shortfall of roughly $2 billion to $5 billion.
By Shariq Khan

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil prices settled higher on Monday as analysts focused on potential fuel supply disruptions from fresh U.S. sanctions and Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries, although predictions of a crude supply surplus kept gains in check.

Brent crude futures rose 43 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $64.06 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures advanced 38 cents, or 0.6%, to close at $60.13 a barrel.

Fuel futures led gains in the oil complex as U.S. gasoline futures closed over 1% higher and diesel futures rose close to 1%. A string of refinery issues in the U.S. and drone strikes on Russian refineries have helped lift fuel prices, analysts said.

"Refinery issues in the Great Lakes and West Coast have kept prices elevated," GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan wrote in a blog post. He added that thousands of U.S. flight cancellations due to the federal government shutdown could also create more gasoline demand ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Airlines canceled more than 2,800 U.S. flights and delayed more than 10,200 on Sunday in the worst day for disruptions since the start of the shutdown.

RUSSIAN SUPPLY CONCERNS

In Russia, oil major Lukoil's Volgograd refinery halted operations last Thursday after it was struck by Ukrainian drones, three sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. On Monday, Russian forces destroyed four drone boats near the country's Black Sea port of Tuapse, a local task force said.

Lukoil also declared force majeure at Iraq's giant West Qurna-2 oilfield, four sources with knowledge of the matter said on Monday, after Western sanctions on the Russian oil major hampered its operations.

Lukoil's operations faced mounting disruptions as a U.S. deadline for companies to cut off business with the Russian company looms on November 21 and after an agreement to sell the operations to Swiss trader Gunvor collapsed.

FUEL LEADS, OIL LAGS

The oil market is split between rising volumes of crude stored at sea weighing on oil prices and limited availability of Russian refined products sustaining fuel prices, PVM analyst Tamas Varga said.

The volume of oil stored aboard ships in Asian waters has doubled in recent weeks after tightening Western sanctions curtailed imports into China and India, and onshore inventories were also on the rise in the U.S..

Both crude oil benchmarks fell about 2% last week, their second consecutive weekly decline, on expectations that crude oil supply will exceed demand in the months ahead due to higher OPEC+ production and record U.S. output.
The simplest way to benefit from a rising market is to buy an index fund. When you buy individual stocks, you can make higher profits, but you also face the risk of under-performance. That downside risk was realized by RHI Magnesita N.V. (LON:RHIM) shareholders over the last year, as the share price declined 36%. That's well below the market return of 22%. However, the longer term returns haven't been so bad, with the stock down 12% in the last three years. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 10% in the last three months.

Given the past week has been tough on shareholders, let's investigate the fundamentals and see what we can learn.

AI is about to change healthcare. These 20 stocks are working on everything from early diagnostics to drug discovery. The best part - they are all under $10bn in marketcap - there is still time to get in early.

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

Unfortunately RHI Magnesita reported an EPS drop of 75% for the last year. This fall in the EPS is significantly worse than the 36% the share price fall. It may have been that the weak EPS was not as bad as some had feared.

You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

LSE:RHIM Earnings Per Share Growth November 10th 2025

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for RHI Magnesita the TSR over the last 1 year was -33%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 22% in the last year, RHI Magnesita shareholders lost 33% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 3% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Case in point: We've spotted 4 warning signs for RHI Magnesita you should be aware of, and 1 of them makes us a bit uncomfortable.
Exhibitors eager to tap Chinese market opportunities at CIIE

09:04, November 10, 2025 By Tu Lei, Ma Jingjing, Chen Zishuai ( Global Times

A range of foreign "local specialties," such as beef from Argentina, coffee from Colombia, and dairy products from New Zealand have been well-received, with many visitors sampling them on-site at the ongoing 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai.

Foreign agricultural representatives interviewed by the Global Times noted that high-quality products from their countries are competing to enter the Chinese market, and they hope to seize this opportunity.

"It is not the first time we have come here, but it is the first time we are promoting our premium quality of beef, grain-fed Angus beef," Patricio Casiraghi from Frigorifico General PICO S.A. told the Global Times during the CIIE.

We are in the province of La Pampa in the center part of Argentina, in the place where it is green pastures, and we have the best animals in the world. We need to let Chinese customers know about this, and we need to dare to compete against other origins that have been in the market longer, he added.

During the interview, the Global Times noted that a chef in white was grilling beef on an iron griddle inside a transparent display window at the booth of the Argentine Beef Promotion Institute (IPCVA). The large pieces of beef, bigger than the palm of a hand, sizzled as they were placed on the griddle, with the aroma wafting across the exhibition area.

Casiraghi's comments were echoed by Georges Breitschmitt, president of IPCVA.

He cited two key figures: 70 percent of Argentina's beef production is consumed domestically, while the remaining 30 percent is exported. Of that export volume, nearly 70 percent is destined for China. "The Chinese market is promising. We think that we can increase the set of products we sell here, not only commodity, but high-value offers," he said.

The industry has noticed that the beef industry in China is fiercely competitive.

Rodrigo Ariel Gomez, a diplomat from the economic and trade section of the Embassy of Argentina in China, noted that in the past, Argentina's premium beef was primarily exported to the US and Europe. However, with China's growing demand for quality beef, Argentine companies are eager to seize the opportunities presented by the Chinese market, he said.

We have direct competitors with important big producers in the world, such as Brazil, Australia, the US, New Zealand and Uruguay. The competition is quite fierce, but we believe from Argentina that competition makes us better, he said.

This year's CIIE is the first session since June, when China expanded zero-tariff treatment to 53 African countries that have diplomatic ties with China.

At this year's CIIE, exhibitors have come from 123 Belt and Road Initiative partner countries, up 23.1 percent year-on-year. The CIIE has expanded the Africa products section to help African countries having diplomatic ties with China make full use of the policy of zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent of tariff lines. The number of African exhibitors increased by 80 percent year-on-year, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Xing Xian, head of the Chinese business division at Alvain Honey Co, a Zambian honey trader owned by a Shanghai company, told the Global Times that through the CIIE platform, Zambian honey has not only entered the Chinese market but also received orders from many countries around the world.

"Some pharmaceutical companies in Germany have already started purchasing honey raw materials from our factory in Zambia. Previously, we collaborated with about 100 local beekeepers, but now that number has expanded to 300," he said.

An employee of the honey company said that after graduating from high school, he joined this Chinese-held enterprise. Starting as a manual laborer handling shipments, he has grown into a supervisor and plans to get married in the second half of this year. "I am grateful to my Chinese partners and the opportunities brought by the Chinese market," he said.

The CIIE this year has attracted participants from 155 countries, regions, and international organizations, and the scale of participating enterprises from countries including Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, and Peru reached a record high.

Roy Francis Van Den Hurk, a representative of Milk New Zealand Dairy, told the Global Times during the CIIE that China is a major importer of dairy products, with growing demand for healthy, high-quality goods.

"The CIIE helps improve our relations and helps a lot of smaller New Zealand companies coming here," he said.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
Paystand, a business-to-business payments network leveraging blockchain technology, has purchased Bitwage, a platform specialising in cross-border payments using stablecoins.

Bitwage, established in 2013, claims to serve more than 90,000 payment recipients and 4,500 businesses across various nations, facilitating blockchain-based payment automation for international workforces.

Through this acquisition, Paystand aims to offer enterprise-level settlement using stablecoins and foreign exchange across its network.

The company states that its network has processed over $20bn in payment volume for more than 1,000 enterprises and various global businesses.

The integration of Bitwage will provide an application programming interface (API)-driven and compliance-tested payout engine that backs Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), as well as local currencies in around 200 nations.

This technology will now be incorporated within Paystands accounts receivable and accounts payable network to facilitate quick cross-border settlements.

Paystand noted that with the combined offering, chief financial officers will be able to move liquidity between various corporate entities and regions within minutes, due to round-the-clock stablecoin settlement.

The merged company introduces enterprise governance built to comply with both the GENIUS Act in the US and international regulatory requirements.

Paystand already supports a receivables and payables network for thousands of enterprises. Bitwage builds on that foundation by enabling mass payouts, foreignexchange handling, and vendor and supplier disbursements  uniting global ordertocash and procuretopay workflows in a single programmable platform.

Paystand CEO Jeremy Almond said: Stablecoins just crossed from crypto curiosity to regulated money movement. Whats been missing is an enterprisescale network to apply them to realeconomy use cases  supplier payments, trade, logistics, energy, and manufacturing.

Paystand + Bitwage connects stablecoin rails to the $100tn B2B economy with the automation CFOs require  faster settlement, lower costs, and programmable treasury  without adding bank fees or complexity.

Following this acquisition, Paystand will become what it describes as the first network to offer enterprise-scale, compliant, programmable money movement that connects real businesses  not just banks or exchanges  into the on-chain economy.

Integration of Bitwages services into Paystands infrastructure will start immediately for selected enterprise customers, with gradual expansion planned based on specific regions and currencies.
One of the most compelling acquisition sagas in the pharma industry in recent times has come to an end, with Pfizer prevailing over Novo Nordisk in a fierce bidding war to acquire obesity biotech Metsera.

After mulling over competing offers from both Pfizer and Novo Nordisk, Metsera has decided to go with the formers $10bn offer. As per the agreed merger deal, Pfizer will acquire Metsera for up to $86.25 per share, consisting of $65.60 per share in cash and a contingent value right (CVR) of up to $20.65 per share.

Novo Nordisk said it does not intend to make an increased offer to acquire Metsera.

In a statement, Metsera said it determined that [Pfizers] revised terms represent the best transaction for shareholders, both from the perspective of value and certainty of closing.

The agreement marks the final chapter in an intense fight, which included lambasting statements and legal retaliation, to buy a company whose technology could unlock the next frontier of the obesity market.

Metseras offerings centre around longer-lasting injectable and oral peptides for weight loss. The biotech has developed a platform that allows for less frequent dosing  targeting monthly administration. This would be a significant improvement on the weekly dosing seen with approved weight loss therapies.

The crown jewel in Metseras portfolio is MET-097i, an injectable glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) touted as having the potential for both weekly and monthly dosing schedules. Both frequencies are in Phase II development (NCT06897202 and NCT06973720). Phase IIa data with MET-097i dosed on both a weekly and monthly regimen have demonstrated robust weight loss after 12 weeks.

Not only does the Metsera buyout provide an avenue into the lucrative obesity market, but it also shores up revenue streams as patent expiries loom for Pfizer. The big pharma company is expected to lose market exclusivity for Eliquis (apixaban), Ibrance (palbociclib), and Xtandi (enzalutamide) over the coming years. Blood thinner Eliquis alone generated $13.3bn in global sales in 2024.

Metseras choosing of Pfizer means the two companies will continue a relationship that already has well-formed communication channels. Pfizer originally agreed to buy the biotech for up to $7.3bn in September 2025, and for a while it looked like the deal would close without a hitch. However, Novo Nordisk swooped in with an unsolicited bid for up to $8.5bn at the tail-end of October, in what Metsera called a superior offer.

Pfizer called the Danish drugmakers proposal reckless and unprecedented and pointed to a violation of US antitrust laws. As part of its retaliation, the big pharma company filed lawsuits against Novo Nordisk, accusing the Danish drugmaker and Metsera of contractually breaching the merger agreement.
PNC Bank, a subsidiary of PNC Financial Services Group, has unveiled its expansion plans to open more than 300 new branches across nearly 20 US markets by 2030.

This move will add 100 new branches to its previous commitment, announced in November 2024, and raising its total investment to around $2bn.

The previous announcement included plans for new branch openings in Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Orlando, Raleigh, San Antonio, and Tampa.

As part of the expansion, the bank intends to open new branches in Nashville, Chicago, Sarasota, and Winston-Salem markets.

Also, PNC restated its objective to renovate its entire branch network by 2029 and plans to hire more than 2,000 new employees to support its retail expansion strategy.

PNC retail banking head Alex Overstrom said: At PNC, we know the importance of building deep local connections. Our branches serve as vital community hubs where trusted relationships are built and financial aspirations made real.

The build-out of these 300 new branches allows us to deliver our unique blend of hospitality and financial advice to more clients in more neighbourhoods across the country.

It's about making PNC the most convenient bank in each of these markets, ensuring we can meet people where they are and help them thrive.

In Nashville, PNC intends to add around 35 new locations, building on its presence since entering the city in 2018.

It will add 40 branches in six other Southeast cities, including Fort Myers, Lakeland, Sarasota, Asheville, Winston-Salem, and Wilmington, North Carolina.

The bank will increase its footprint in Chicago with around 25 new branches, supplementing its existing 113 locations in the area.

The branch count is expected to further grow with the pending $4.1bn acquisition of FirstBank, strengthening PNCs position as a retail bank in Denver and Phoenix.

Tennessee PNC regional president Mike Johnson said: Were excited to grow our footprint in Nashville, a city celebrated for its music, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit.

The additional branches strengthen our ability to provide valuable resources and expertise, reflecting our commitment to supporting the region's dynamic economy and vibrant communities.

Through continued local investment, PNC is creating more opportunities to deliver tailored financial guidance, innovative solutions and expanded access to resources that help individuals, families, and businesses thrive.

PNC Bank operates the fourth-largest branch network in the US, with more than 2,200 branches nationwide.

The bank also provides services through more than 58,000 PNC and partner ATMs, digital banking platforms, and a customer care centre.
Pybar, an underground metals mining specialist and a Thiess company, has been awarded a three-year underground mining contract for the rehabilitation and development of the Rosebery Mine in Tasmania.

The contract covers underground mining restoration and development services at MMGs Rosebery Mine, reinforcing Pybar's presence at the polymetallic base metal operation.

The company has been operating at the Rosebery Mine since April 2023 under a three-year contract for shotcrete and cemented rockfill (CRF) works.

The new agreement expands the scope of Pybars work at the site, which is located approximately 300km north-west of Hobart and has been continuously operating for almost 90 years.

Pybar general manager James Glover said: We look forward to furthering our work with MMG at the Rosebery mine, which directly contributes to Australias standing as a major global supplier of critical minerals.

Our team is mobilising to site to commence work on this additional new scope, committed to quality outcomes.

The Rosebery Mine produces zinc, copper and lead concentrates containing gold and silver payability, as well as gold dore.

The high-grade ore extracted from the site is vital for manufacturing, technology, energy and construction industries worldwide.

Thiess Group executive chair and CEO Michael Wright said: We are really excited by this contract award  it demonstrates the expanding services that Thiess companies continue to offer our clients, and our expanding focus on critical minerals.

This contract win also strengthens Pybar's partnership with MMG on a project with a great history of success and acknowledges the underground mining expertise that Pybar brings.

Earlier this week, Larvotto Resources appointed Pybar as the underground development contractor for its Hillgrove antimony-gold project in New South Wales, Australia.

"Pybar secures Rosebery Mine contract in Tasmania " was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.




We've learned a lot. We've made mistakes. We've learned from those mistakes. And that's kind of where the evolution series comes in. That's the fourth generation. All the teething problems and things have been sort of fixed by now. We've learned what not to do because it becomes very expensive very quickly if you don't manage the sort of certifications, permitting, and the classification in the right way. And so, this is the most efficient build that we've ever come across. We're using the best hull model that we've designed so far, and we know that we can do that efficiently and cheaply.

Hans Niemi: Yeah, so we built three pilot cases. One of them was sold to Burma, to Myanmar. It's operating there. And so out of the three different models, we're currently operating in London and Gibraltar. And one was sold there. So, different types of technical solutions.

But the question kind of for them is that is it a fish or is it a bird? And it's the same thing that a lot of the Nordic investors in the credit market, when we went into the listed bonds market, a lot of our Nordic investors were sort of trying to understand what it is. Because normally you would place this either in the property, credit portfolio, or then the hospitality. So, we sort of went through that and created the credibility that, hey, these are kind of like the accommodation use that they do for the oil rig in oil and gas. So, this is kind of in that segment.

Hans Niemi: They never come across. That's typically the case. Wherever we usually go, we're the first one to propose this. And since we have the expertise in doing this for decades in different countries and cities, we've also created our own classification inside of DNV for our asset, because there wasn't a classification in the maritime sector that sort of fit what we're doing. We created that as well. So those things give us a boost when we're talking to governments, like in Vancouver, the planning department, and so forth. So, it's a collaboration, always.

Hans Niemi: It's a good question because you usually have to a main class of business, and either you're in the property side of things or a hospitality operating company. This has a lot of different facets to it. And so, I think the short answer is that it's all of those things. We're an operator; we have the cash flow of that. We have all of the assets on our balance sheet. And so, there's that real estate aspect to it, but there's also the operating aspect. So, it's a mix and match. It's going to be hard for you guys to assess it.

Brian Lantier: How do you view the company? Do you think people look at the company as purely a hotel play that you measure by the traditional hotel metrics, or are they valuing it with some of the long-term prospects that you discussed?

Story Continues

And then we've learned a lot from our client base in terms of what they want. What are the aspects from our clientele that they respect and value in our product? And so, we're trying to optimize the operating side and then the build cost, and the way we do this.

Brian Lantier: Do you ever envision a day where you sort of piggyback the Norse model, where you migrate based on seasonality? There's high demand in one part of the country or one part of the world in the summer, and then you move to the summer down south.

Hans Niemi: We had a concept like that, and it was actually for Barcelona and Ibiza, because Ibiza is very seasonal. Barcelona has its sort of peaks and troughs, but it's a more robust market, so the idea was that, hey, let's take the double ADR in Ibiza and then move the vessel. But once you do the numbers, and we're driving at high occupancies of sort of 80%, it actually doesn't pan out. It's not worth it. It's a lot of cost for doing that, so what we realized is that it should be stationary. And so instead of building propulsion systems inside of these vessels, which was kind of your question, we've designed a single propulsion unit system that can be used in all of our fleet; when we need to move them, when we need to maneuver them. So, one investment, but multiple use cases across the fleet.

Brian Lantier: It's interesting. Do you envision that there will be margin opportunities with the new evolution series? You know, as you go beyond just being a hotel space, will there be, you know, do you think that the restaurant business will boost your overall margin?

Hans Niemi: Yes, in terms of our performance for Vancouver, it's already become a substantial part of the business plan in terms of the spa, the floating spa. We have an underwater spa in Vancouver that's going to be pretty cool. So those things will add to the destination. And I would also point out that these are not leisure hotels. These are mixed-use, so we have a lot of corporate clients. And then we have a lot of leisure clients. London is a good example because typically, the East London area is not where the tourists want to go, and so most of those city hotels are relatively empty, running at lower occupancies during the weekend. We're 100% full. So, we've become a destination in our own right in the outskirts of the sort of East London area where the exhibition center is. So, we're still full when most of the other hotels are not. And so that gives us a certain strength and stability for our business.

Brian Lantier: Big picture, have you ever sat around a table and thought, maybe we could address the global housing crisis with a product like this?

Hans Niemi: We are working on those concepts. The world is sinking. I think by 2050, we will have billions of people displaced from the coastal zones. Manhattan will be underwater in time. And so, we need to solve these issues. And we have products and technology now with the concrete cap designs, with the sort of metal designs on the ships, to really create robust products that make a lot more sense than building on land or stilts, and have the dynamic element of it and have the financing element behind it, how to finance things.

Brian Lantier: Super interesting. Any questions from the audience?

Audience Member: So, when you go to this hotel, how much does it move?

Hans Niemi: It doesn't move at all is the answer. We've designed and haven't patented it, because we didn't really see the reason for it, but a damper system. So, these are not moored by conventional rope systems or sort of Seaflex systems, but these are actually moored with steel arms that usually take around 240 tons of push and pull, each one of them. That means that even in hurricane winds, big swells, sea conditions, these are completely stationary.

Audience Member: So, no Dramamine.

Hans Niemi: No, you won't get seasick.

Audience Member: Okay, and then how much does it cost to redeploy from one place to the other? I mean, you said they're meant to be stationary, but I mean, if we were to figure, you know, the moving costs, how much are we talking?

Hans Niemi: If we're doing short distances, it's a couple hundred thousand dollars. Not more than that. It's towing. If we're moving long distances, we usually use submersible vessels. And so, one of the attributes of fast delivery of this, that we can build in between 15 months and 22, 24 months, and then we can deliver them in 45 days anywhere in the world.

That 45-day delivery promise comes with a submersible ship, and then it can cost $3 to $4 million to do that. But that gives the option of actually taking this very expensive asset in a very safe environment, fully insured, on board another transport vessel. And then once you get it there, then you might just tow it or use our own propulsion system. But if I'm taking it long distances, I'm not going to put our own propulsion system on it. It's too unsafe. It takes too long.

And so, the cost is, to answer your question, from a couple hundred thousand dollars in towing to up to like $5 million for long voyages taking it to Australia on a ship.

Audience Member: Once you get it to the place, how long does it take so that it can open?

Hans Niemi: I'd say around a couple of weeks, 10 days to a couple of weeks. We've done this before, and we switched ships and changed them over. So, the couplings and the systems are all designed with that in mind. So that's a relatively quick one. If you have an existing hotel and you're switching it to a new one, you already have the staff and the infrastructure and everything in place. So, you don't need anything. If it's a new site, then it's like any normal hotel opening, soft opening, couple of months, drive and test everything, and then you're up and running.

Audience Member: [inaudible]

Hans Niemi: Well, we've been working with different cruise companies and exploring opportunities and collaborations. They don't really get it because it's like talking to Norse Atlantic and saying, Why don't we do a plane hotel? They're like, you're stupid. We're not going to do that. So, the cruise lines are very focused on passenger movements from A to B. They're making their money out of a captive audience. They want to take out to the sea. They don't want to go to port if they can avoid it.

So, what we saw from the earlier discussions is that Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, Aman Hotels, are all launching their super high-quality, but cruise line businesses. So, they're already in this business, but their business model is still that they go on tours, they have SOLAS, and I am more regulated ships with lots of staff and fuel costs and whatnot. So, we're not interested in that. I don't think they're interested in what we do. And so, I don't think there's a big risk in the cruise line company stepping on our shoulders and seeing the opportunity here. They have their own kind of business model, and we have ours.

Audience Member: You were just mentioning about doing one in Manhattan.

Hans Niemi: Maybe that was a Freudian slip. But there may be a project in Manhattan, correct. We have been engaged with New York for some time, and during the pandemic, we were as far as getting EDC and DEEC approval, and then with the pandemic, we actually iced that project, but the project site is in Manhattan, not too far away from Wall Street.

So, we're hoping to do that over the next year. We're now picking our low-hanging fruit. The low-hanging fruit is London, Vancouver,  Seville, where we're already in advanced stages in permitting. And then there are a couple of others that probably aren't going to come first. New York is notoriously hard to get the permitting through, the lobbying, and the time and the money it takes. So, we're going to drive that, but that's not going to be our priority. The first priority is doing things as fast as we can. And that's going to be these projects that we discussed. Yes, sir.

Audience Member: Since they are moving very seldom, why are they designed as ships?

Hans Niemi: That's a good question. So, I talked about the client perception of the product. So, our clients love the idea of a super yacht. Not many people have 150-meter super yachts that you can go on board. And so, we're creating access to something that's otherwise very exclusive. You're combining the attribute of being in the marina in city centers. And what we've seen over the last years is that all the industrial ports have moved away from the city centers. You don't actually have the industrial activity and the cargo ships coming into New York's Manhattan port; they've moved away. So, you have a lot of free empty space in the prime real estate sites, even in Sydney, Hong Kong, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, you name it.

And why is it a ship? It's a ship because if I go to the cities and say I'm going to build a building that happens to be on a concrete platform, it's going to be 10 stories high, it's going to be blocking everybody's views. Well, they're going to say it's a building, no matter whether it's floating or not. If I bring in a super yacht that has the Finnish flag, IMO certified, DNV classified, and it's clearly a ship, and it's temporary, and it's environmentally friendly, it's energy efficient, it's very cool, it's very hip, they love that idea.

Exactly that. And you know, typically the objections for building event centers in city centers or hotels, your neighbors say, you're blocking my views, you're blocking my air rights, you're creating a nuisance, and blah dee dah dee dah. Well, the argument is that somebody says that I don't like your ship in the port, that doesn't really fly in the permitting process. So, we have the right to be there, and that's why we usually deal with the port authority, where we can get the long-term leases.

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Peter Peng (JPMorgan) requested details on content growth at the largest customer and updates on the CSG restructuring. Management confirmed growth across all major product categories and signaled CSG would likely remain flat due to restructuring impacts.

James Schneider (Goldman Sachs) inquired about inventory trends and cyclical effects in the defense segment. Chesley reported healthy channel inventory and strong demand, especially in power management for data centers.

Harsh Kumar (Piper Sandler) sought clarity on the scale and drivers of the defense and aerospace business. Vice President Philip Chesley described broad-based growth in radar, drones, and electronic warfare, with new U.S. and NATO programs fueling demand.

Christopher Caso (Wolfe Research) asked about expected seasonality for the March quarter and the impact on gross margins. CFO Grant Brown indicated normal seasonal declines but highlighted that product mix and factory actions should strengthen margins year-over-year.

Karl Ackerman (BNP Paribas) questioned the accelerated $200 million decline in Android revenue. Senior Vice President Dave Fullwood explained it is driven by timing of mass-tier product ramp-downs and lower content in future flagship launches.

While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention.

Operating Margin: 14.9%, up from 0.9% in the same quarter last year

Adjusted EPS guidance for Q4 CY2025 is $1.85 at the midpoint, below analyst estimates of $1.87

Revenue Guidance for Q4 CY2025 is $985 billion at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $990.9 million

Is now the time to buy QRVO? Find out in our full research report (its free for active Edge members).

Qorvos third quarter results drew a muted market reaction, with investors digesting managements focus on business restructuring and a pivot away from lower-margin Android products. Management attributed stable operating results to ongoing cost reductions, a strategic shift toward higher-value segments, and improvements in manufacturing efficiency. CEO Robert Bruggeworth stated, We are restructuring to increase our focus on our top opportunities and improve profitability, referencing efforts to streamline product lines and exit underperforming markets. Key drivers included content growth at the companys largest customer and margin expansion from operational changes.

Story Continues

Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters

Going forward, the StockStory team will watch (1) the pace of defense and aerospace growth, especially as new U.S. and European programs ramp; (2) progress on restructuring and cost reductions within CSG and manufacturing; and (3) additional gains in gross margin as product mix shifts to higher-value segments. Adoption of WiFi 7 and ultra-wideband technology will also be key indicators of Qorvos ability to diversify beyond mobile.

Qorvo currently trades at $85.90, down from $93.70 just before the earnings. Is there an opportunity in the stock?Find out in our full research report (its free for active Edge members).

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IonQ (IONQ) just got a boost from the top that can potentially redefine the quantum computing race as we know it.

The quantum upstart just got selected for Stage B of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Quantum Benchmarking Initiative.

Thats a mouthful, essentially meaning the government now wants IonQ to effectively rewrite the rulebook for what real quantum performance looks like. For IonQ, thats a major stamp of approval, validating that IonQs atom-based machines are more than just hype.

Its stock is up 3% on the news, but the bigger win runs a lot deeper, as DARPAs backing positions IonQ in the drivers seat.

From a speculative tech bet, the win is a rare blend of credibility, funding, and future promise that investors will now be watching closely.

IonQ lands a major DARPA role, cementing its position in the quantum computing race.Image source: Sven Hoppe/picture alliance via Getty Images

DARPAs endorsement turns the quantum hype real

In many ways, IonQs Pentagon nod shifts quantum talk from buzzwords to practical benchmarks.

DARPAs backing essentially defines whats real, what working quantum power looks like, and exactly where the hype ends and accountability begins.

What DARPA's Stage B actually means

Put simply, DARPAs Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI) is essentially a reality check for quantum computing players.

As the agency said on its website:

Stage A is where ideas are vetted and refined.

For approximately six months, companies must submit their concept designs and rough roadmaps. In a nutshell, DARPAs looking to quiz its applicants on: "Is this architecture even plausible at scale?" If yes, they roll to the next round.

Related: Google just shook up the AI hardware race in a big way

Stage B is the stage where things get a lot more serious.

Short-listed teams need to spend roughly a year turning those concepts into detailed R&D blueprints, which include milestones, risk management, and prototype plans. Some businesses may even receive funding (of up to the mid-teen millions) in executing their plans.

IonQ just got green-lit for Stage B, and it now needs to deliver a full R&D roadmap through 2033, which entails technical milestones, hardware targets, and performance milestones.

Backing things up, IonQs 2025 roadmap is gunning for 2 million qubits by 2030, 99.99% gate fidelity, along with real-world use-cases testing its offerings out with AWS, Nvidia, and AstraZeneca.

Inside IonQs quantum ambition

IonQ isnt just your average tech startup chasing quantum dreams. Its actually building the foundational hardware behind them.

Its machines, which look like something straight out of a sci-fi flick, use laser-cooled ions trapped in a vacuum, resulting in arguably the most stable and accurate qubits in the business. The companys lineup is superb.
This post originally appeared in the First Trade newsletter.

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Good morning and welcome to First Trade. The longest-ever US government shutdown appears to be close to a resolution . The market is loving it after a rough week, and stock futures are up.

Rundown

But first, let's take a trip down to Old San Juan.

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Luke Lintz, a 26-year-old trader, said he moved to Puerto Rico during the pandemic. Courtesy of HighKey Agency

Market musings

Is Puerto Rico a day-trading paradise?

Picture a place where the beaches are plentiful, the sun is usually shining, and the nightlife is bustling. Oh, and did I mention major tax breaks on capital gains earned in the market?

Believe it or not, such a haven exists, and it's completely accessible for all American citizens.

I'm talking about Puerto Rico, which has emerged as a destination for Gen Z and millennial day traders looking to minimize their tax bills while stacking market winnings.

BI's Jennifer Sor dug into the growing trend, which has only gained steam in recent years. An attorney that Jennifer spoke to  who says he counsels hundreds of investors a year about possible moves to Puerto Rico  estimates that the trader influx doubled in 2024.

One investor who moved to Puerto Rico in 2018  and now uses his sprawling network of lawyers and realtors to "onboard" other traders  says activity in 2025 has already surpassed last year's, and has tripled since he first came.

Jennifer also spoke to a 26-year-old crypto trader who moved to Puerto Rico during the pandemic once he recognized the tax-break potential. He says the town where he lives, Palmas Del Mar, is "mellow" and that the lifestyle is like "being on a permanent vacation."

But it's not necessarily all sunshine and relaxation for new arrivals. Some of the day traders Jennifer interviewed lamented frequent power outages, a lack of clean eating options (since most of the island's food is imported), and no one-day delivery.

Surely the bustling nightlife scene makes up for it? Not quite, Jennifer found. One source characterized the local scene as cliquish, while another said locals can be standoffish, bordering on hostile.
Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki, the entrepreneur and investor best known for teaching millions about financial independence, has renewed his outlook on Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and precious metals, setting ambitious price targets for 2026.

The Japanese-American businessman, who first gained global recognition with his 1997 bestseller Rich Dad Poor Dad, has built a career encouraging investors to prioritize real assets over fiat currency and debt.

Kiyosaki, a former Marine and entrepreneur who once ran a business education company, has spent decades warning against what he calls fake money printed by central banks.

More from TheStreet

Rich Dad Poor Dad author says hes buying Bitcoin and gold

In a post, Kiyosaki said hes increasing his holdings of Bitcoin, gold, silver and Ethereum as he prepares for what he describes as a major economic downturn.

Crash coming: Why I am buying, not selling, Kiyosaki wrote,,

He said his gold projection was influenced by author and economist Jim Rickards, while his Bitcoin forecast aligns with his view that BTC serves as protection against the Federal Reserves fake money.

The Rich Dad Poor Dad author has long referred to Bitcoin as the peoples money, contrasting it with what he calls government-issued trash cash.

Rich Dad Poor Dad author turns bullish on Ethereum

Kiyosaki also said hes adding more Ethereum (ETH) to his portfolio, citing research from Fundstrat Global Advisors co-founder Tom Lee, who has called ETH the backbone of blockchain-based finance.

Ethereum powers stablecoins and real-world assets  thats why it has value, Kiyosaki said, echoing Lees argument that ETH remains essential to the future of global payments.

"I got this from Tom Lee. Ethereum is block chain for Stable coins. This means Ethereum follows METCALFS law. The law of NET WORKS.Bad money drives out good, Kiyosaki wrote. Thats why I save gold, silver, Bitcoin and Ethereum, not fake dollars printed by the Fed.

Metcalfes Law states that the value of a network grows proportionally to the square of its number of connected users. In simpler terms, as more people join a network like Bitcoin or Ethereum, its overall utility and economic value increase exponentially.

More from TheStreet Crypto
South Koreas banks are teaming up with Samsung, Kakao, and Naver to launch the nations first regulated won-backed stablecoins. | Credit: Getty Images.

Key Takeaways

South Koreas major holding companies are rushing to partner with tech giants like Samsung in the wake of upcoming stablecoin regulations.

The countrys financial regulator is expected to introduce a new stablecoin bill before the end of 2025.

Once approved, the stablecoin bill could pave the waysouth for private entities and banks to deal with regulated won-pegged stablecoins.

South Koreas financial heavyweights are teaming up with the countrys biggest tech firms to get ahead in what could become Asias most ambitious stablecoin race.

With stablecoin regulations set to land by years end, major holding companies like KB, Shinhan, Hana, and Woori are scrambling to strike partnerships with platforms such as Samsung Electronics, Naver, and Kakao.

The goal: to launch the countrys first won-pegged stablecoins before regulators open the floodgates.

The Stablecoin Bill That Could Change Koreas Financial Landscape

The race began when South Koreas Financial Services Commission (FSC) revealed plans to introduce a comprehensive stablecoin bill to the National Assembly by the end of 2025.

If passed, the legislation would formally legalize won-backed stablecoins and allow banks to issue or co-issue them with private partners.

It would also merge six separate parliamentary proposals already in motion  covering licensing, reserves, and risk management  into one cohesive framework.

President Lee Jae-myungs administration has been vocal about encouraging regulated stablecoins as part of a broader crypto competitiveness agenda.

Officials see them as a way to modernize Koreas financial infrastructure while maintaining control over national liquidity.

Big Tech Steps In

For banks, building blockchain and payment infrastructure from scratch could take years.

Thats where Koreas tech titans come in.

Under these circumstances, alliances with big tech firms are considered essential, one industry official said, since it would take banks considerable time to develop the necessary technology on their own. Tech giants, on the other hand, already have strong platform ecosystems and are best positioned to secure practical use cases once stablecoins are issued.

These partnerships are already taking shape:
(Reuters) -Grab Holdings will invest $60 million in remote driving firm Vay Technology, the Singaporean firm said on Monday, sending its shares up more than 6% in premarket trading.

The company is trying to leverage its ride-hailing platform to tap into autonomous vehicles, which are largely seen as the future of mobility and a potential disruptive force for companies such as Grab and Uber.

"The future of mobility in Southeast Asia will be a hybrid model that relies on the expertise of our driver-partners alongside autonomous vehicles and remote driving services," Grab CEO Anthony Tan said.

If Vay hits certain milestones, Grab said it would invest $350 million more within the first year.

The milestones include consumer revenue, U.S. cities covered, technology and safety standards, and regulatory approvals for operating in additional U.S. cities.

Vay relies on "teledrivers" to steer its cars to a potential customer, who can then self-drive the vehicle.

The company in January last year launched its first commercial service in Las Vegas.

(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)
Actress and entrepreneur Sofia Vergara joins Skechers as the brands newest ambassador, bringing her signature style and confidence to the world of fashion-meets-comfort footwear.

BOGOTA, Colombia & LOS ANGELES, November 10, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Skechers is proud to announce its newest brand ambassador: globally celebrated actress, entrepreneur, and fashion icon Sofia Vergara. Known for her signature style and charismatic presence on and off screen, Vergara joins the Skechers family to help shape the future of fashion meets comfort footwear.

Throughout her career she has received five Emmy and five Golden Globe nominations, most recently for Griselda, and in 2025 made history as the first Latina nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series at the Emmys.

"I dont do anything unless I believe in it  and I truly believe in Skechers," said Sofia Vergara. "Ive been wearing Skechers for over a year now, and theyve completely changed how I think about sneakers. Theyre not just comfortable  theyre chic, stylish, and easy to wear with everything in my closet. Thats what made this partnership feel so natural."

Skechers first caught Vergaras attention not through business talks, but in a mall. After knee surgery left her searching for supportive, stylish shoes, she discovered Skechers on her own  purchasing multiple pairs before learning her team had already been in talks with the brand.

Now, as the latest face of Skechers, Vergara will appear in a new global campaign that celebrates style, versatility and comfort  hallmarks of the Skechers brand. The campaign will spotlight Skechers iconic Hands-Free Slip-ins Glide-Step styles.

"Sofia embodies everything Skechers stands for  bold, confident, and committed to comfort without compromise," said Michael Greenberg, President of Skechers. "She brings a fresh energy to our brand, and her passion for great design will shine through in everything we do together."

With more than 50 million followers and global recognition from Hollywood to Barranquilla, Sofia Vergara adds unparalleled star power to Skechers legacy of working with beloved figures who resonate across generations.

This collaboration marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter  where effortless fashion and everyday comfort meet in one powerful step forward.

About Skechers Colombia and SKECHERS U.S.A., Inc.

Skechers Colombia is a subsidiary of Skechers U.S.A., Inc., The Comfort Technology Company based in Southern California. Skechers designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle and performance footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children. The Companys collections are available in 180 countries and territories through department and specialty stores, and direct to consumers through skechers.com and approximately 5,300 Skechers retail stores. A Fortune 500 company, Skechers manages its international business through a network of wholly-owned subsidiaries, joint venture partners, and distributors. For more information, please visit about.skechers.com and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Release Date: November 07, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

Skipper Ltd (BOM:538562) achieved its highest ever second quarter revenue at 1,262 crores, marking a 14% year-on-year growth.

EBITDA reached an all-time high at 131 crores, up 16% year-on-year, with margins expanding to 10.4%.

The company successfully resolved a long-pending entry tax demand, eliminating potential future contingencies.

Order book reached its highest ever level of 8,820 crores, providing a strong foundation for future growth.

Skipper Ltd (BOM:538562) is expanding its manufacturing capacity, with a new 75,000-ton capacity now fully operational and plans for an additional 75,000-ton expansion.

Negative Points

Revenue growth was slightly below expectations due to exceptional heavy monsoon in Rajasthan, causing temporary execution delays.

Export orders have been slow to take off, with domestic orders dominating the order book.

The polymer business faces challenges due to volatile and falling commodity prices, impacting value growth.

The company's ambitious target to achieve a 50/50 domestic to export order mix may take 2-3 years to realize.

Finance costs as a percentage of sales remain a focus, with a target to reduce it closer to 4% from the previous year's 4.7%.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Are you on track to achieve the 25% growth target for FY26, given the current revenue figures? A: Yes, we are on track. Historically, our revenue split is 40% in H1 and 60% in H2, so we expect to achieve the required revenue to meet the 25% growth target for the year. (Respondent: Unidentified_3)

Q: What is the current capacity utilization, and how are you addressing export market opportunities? A: We are operating at about 85% capacity utilization. We are exploring new markets, including the Middle East, North America, and Europe, and are in the process of obtaining plant audits and approvals in these regions. (Respondent: Unidentified_3)

Q: Can you provide insights into the order book and expected order inflows by the end of FY26? A: We expect the order book to be between 9,000 to 10,000 crores by the end of the year. Our bidding pipeline is robust at over 30,000 crores, and we are targeting an intake of 6,000 crores plus for the year. (Respondent: Unidentified_3)

Q: What is the company's strategy for the polymer business, and what are the growth expectations? A: We aim to make the polymer business a 1,000 crore brand in the next couple of years, targeting double-digit EBITDA margins. Despite challenges in commodity prices, we have seen a 21% growth in net sales. (Respondent: Unidentified_3)
The continent has a long history of fossil fuel extraction; it holds the second-largest reserves of oil and gas after the Middle East.

But as global oil demand stays strong, and other, richer, countries show few signs of scaling back, their argument is: Why shouldnt oil supply come from South America?

Brazils role as host of the COP30 climate conference , which is supposed to be a landmark summit where countries set out goals to radically reduce planet-heating pollution, adds a particular dissonance to this oil surge.

This new fossil fuel boom is happening just as the impacts of the climate crisis  driven by fossil fuels  are beginning to bite in ever more alarming ways. People in South America are dying in fires , floods , storms and droughts made longer and more catastrophic by climate change.

They are three very different countries: an economic behemoth with an environment-championing president , a biodiversity hotspot with high rates of poverty and an economically volatile country led by a chainsaw-wielding climate denier . Yet they are united in their quest to expand oil production, arguing its vital to their economic and social development.

Countries across the region are ramping up extraction but Brazil, Guyana and Argentina are at the forefront  among the top five drivers of global oil growth outside of OPEC, the group of major oil exporters.

Welcome to South Americas new oil frontier. Its really incredible how fast and how much its expanding, said Nicole Figueiredo de Oliveira, the executive director at environmental non-profit Arayara.

Several thousand miles inland to the south, the wide, dusty plains of western Argentinas Vaca Muerta  dead cow in English  are dotted with oil wells. Fossil fuel production from this enormous shale deposit has boomed over the past decade, putting it on track to produce more than a million barrels a day by 2030, analysts predict.

A few hundred miles north, off the coast of Guyana, companies are already pumping around 650,000 barrels of oil a day from a huge deep-water reservoir discovered in 2015. The find has transformed this rainforest-carpeted country into the planets newest petrostate and highest oil producer per capita.

Off Brazils northeastern coast, where the sediment-heavy water of the vast Amazon River tips out into the Atlantic, are two very different types of treasure. The first is an ecological gem: a 3,600 square-mile deepwater coral reef discovered less than a decade ago. The second treasure puts the first in immediate danger. Billions of barrels of oil may lie in the ancient sediments beneath the seabed, and licenses have just been approved to drill there.

Story Continues

Yet its one of the few regions that didnt take advantage of the oil boom at the beginning of this century due to political riskiness and an aversion to private investment, said Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin America Energy Program at Rice University. But that is changing very significantly, he told CNN.

Recent discoveries have stirred excitement, especially as the oil in South America is typically cheaper than average  deepwater sources, in particular, tend to produce large amounts at lower cost  and it also tends emit slightly lower levels of climate pollution per barrel, as it often requires less processing and is produced using newer infrastructure and cleaner energy.

Huge oil companies including Exxon and Chevron have plowed in, seeing dollar signs in South Americas deep oceans and shale fields just as the US shale boom starts to plateau.

Brazil is a superstar: the regions largest oil and gas producer. Production has reached levels that have never been seen in the region, Monaldi said. This is in large part due to ultra-deep pre-salt oil reserves discovered in 2006 buried under thick layers of ancient salt beneath the ocean.

Crude oil became the countrys top export in 2024 for the first time, overtaking soybeans, and there are hopes production will ramp up much further.

In August, BP announced it had made its largest oil and gas discovery in 25 years off the coast of Rio de Janeiro. Farther south, near Uruguay, oil companies hope the Pelotas Basin could be another new frontier.

Perhaps the most controversial project is the one at the mouth of the Amazon River  the Foz do Amazonas basin  part of whats known as the Equatorial Margin, a stretch of ocean along the northern coast of Brazil.

In June, Brazil auctioned off several offshore oil blocks in the region, 19 of which are in the Amazon Basin, to companies including Chevron, Exxon and Brazils state-run oil company Petrobras.

Petrobras has been trying to drill here for many years. In 2023, Brazils environmental agency IBAMA denied it an offshore drilling license, citing environmental concerns. But last month, the agency gave the greenlight for exploratory drilling after a rigorous environmental licensing process, according to a statement from IBAMA.

The agencys task was to assess the technical feasibility of the project only, not the political or strategic side of oil exploitation, said a spokesperson for Brazils Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, which oversees IBAMA. Any process involving high-risk areas such as the Foz do Amazonas must comply with the strictest technical, scientific, and environmental standards, they added.

The decision is an achievement of Brazilian society, said Magda Chambriard, president of Petrobras, in a statement.

Environmental advocates are strongly opposed, arguing drilling in this ecologically delicate swath of ocean, with its unique reefs and huge stretches of mangrove forests, could bring catastrophic consequences.

Ultra-deep water and strong currents mean any oil spill could quickly be swept across miles of ocean and coastline, and the remoteness of the drilling location from large settlements could delay clean-up operations, said Arayaras Figueiredo de Oliveira.

Approving drilling here mere weeks before the start of COP30 in the city of Belem  known as the gateway to the Amazon  presents tricky optics for Brazil, which is trying to walk a tightrope between environmental champion and fossil fuel power.

The countrys mighty rivers and abundant rains mean most of its electricity comes from clean hydroelectric power. Brazils president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has presided over a sharp decline in deforestation and an increase in renewables.

But Lula has always been pro-oil, Figueiredo de Oliveira said. He greeted Brazils big pre-salt discovery, made during his previous presidential term, with the words, God is Brazilian. A famous photo shows him raising oil-drenched hands at a Petrobras event in 2010.

Lula has firmly rejected claims of hypocrisy. I dont want to be an environmental leader. I never claimed to be, he said at a COP30 meeting last week, adding it would be irresponsible, to quit oil.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva shows his hands covered in oil during his visit to a Petrobras offshore ship platform off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2010. - Felipe Dana/AP

He argues oil wealth can help fund Brazils clean energy transition, although some fear the quest to become a major oil power will only delay it. Every new discovery does set back the effort to move the world off fossil fuels; theres a loss of momentum, said Michael Ross, a political science professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Perhaps Lulas main narrative is that oil revenues will provide a route to development and a pathway out of poverty, especially for the countrys poorer Amazon states. But Brazil is already a powerhouse with many other economic opportunities, Ross told CNN.

The argument oil is vital for development may be easier to make in a country like Guyana, where around 48% live on less than $5.50 a day, according to the World Bank.

Guyana, which has a similar geology to Brazils Equatorial Margin, is experiencing a remarkable oil boom. The 2015 offshore discovery represents one of the most transformative milestones in the countrys modern history, said President Irfaan Ali.

It has transformed the nation of around 820,000 people into the worlds fastest expanding economy. We have never seen a country produce so many barrels per capita in the history of (the region) they belong now in the category of the countries of the Middle East, Monaldi said.

The Guyana Shore Base, an oil and gas logistics hub in Georgetown, Guyana, on August 29, 2025. Guyana boasts the world's largest per capita oil reserves. - Joaquin Sarmiento/AFP/Getty Images

The Kaieteur Falls in a section of the Amazon rainforest in the Potaro-Siparuni region of Guyana, on September 24, 2022. - Patrick Fort/AFP/Getty Images

The government has insisted it can balance oil exploitation with environmental priorities. Guyana is one of the few countries that stores more planet-heating pollution than it produces due to its vast rainforests. It also says that revenues will boost socioeconomic growth.

We do not see a contradiction between the responsible development of our oil and gas sector and our commitment to protecting the planets climate, Ali told CNN. Both are integral parts of a single national mission to cut poverty, boost the economy and protect the environment, he said.

But there are concerns Guyana could fall victim to the resource curse, in which huge windfalls can make life worse for those who live there. Venezuela, for example, holds the worlds largest proven oil reserves, and has descended into authoritarianism and economic crisis.

Ali insists the resource curse is not destiny and oil wealth will translate into benefits for every household. Yet some residents say they face sky- high living costs they blame on oil development, and the countrys health outcomes remain below the regional average, according to the World Bank.

South American oil is not just about deep water. Argentinas huge shale region, Vaca Muerta, often compared to the Permian Basin in Texas, holds the worlds second largest reserves of shale gas and fourth largest of shale oil.

Its Argentinas big hope for economic recovery under libertarian President Javier Milei. Almost everything is about expanding Vaca Muerta, said Gabriel Blanco, a professor in the Faculty of Engineering at the National University of Central Buenos Aires and former national director of climate change in Argentina.

Oil and gas are a very easy sell domestically, Blanco told CNN. Climate change has never ever been on the public or political agenda, he said. Instead, the narrative says that we are going to be rich and were going to develop.

Vaca Muerta is an attractive proposition for fossil fuel companies. Shale is a very different type of investment than deep-water drilling, Monaldi said. Companies can spend relatively small amounts to see if they can recover their money before putting in more. This encourages investment in Argentina, a country with high political and regulatory risk, he said.

But environmental experts fear the impacts of this booming shale field. Fossil fuels are extracted by fracking, a process that involves drilling into the Earth and injecting fluids at high pressure. They use a lot of water, they use a lot of sand and chemicals, and so its a mess, Blanco said.

Oil pump jacks at the Vaca Muerta shale oil and gas deposit in the Patagonian province of Neuquen, Argentina, January 21, 2019. - Agustin Marcarian/Reuters

Exactly how South Americas oil future will unfold is not yet clear. New discoveries in Brazil may turn out to be less viable than hoped. For projects already drilling and pumping, reserves often run out earlier than anticipated, UCLAs Ross said.

Oil demand is also predicted to peak at the start of the next decade, which could mean countries that go hard on fossil fuels will find themselves locked into an unprofitable industry. These countries are getting to the party right as the bar is closing, Ross said.

For now, however, demand remains. While theres still a gap between current production and demand, there will be investment into new projects, said Flavio Ferreira Menten, an analyst at the research firm Rystad Energy.

There are geopolitical considerations, too. If US oil production doesnt keep growing, South America becomes much more important, Monaldi said, otherwise the world risks becoming reliant on countries such as Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Whats happening in South America is reflective of something bigger, according to Blanco. The regions love affair with fossil fuels is part of a global movement, he said: an implicit  and sometimes explicit  consensus that oil exploitation can and should continue for decades to come even in the face of a barreling climate crisis.

It seems like leaders decided to step strongly on the on the gas pedal and move forward with fossil fuels everywhere, he said, no matter what.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Google is set to build a data center campus in a third city in Oklahoma as it continues to compete in the race to expand capacity for artificial intelligence.

Earlier this year, Google joined with Gov. Kevin Stitt in announcing the company would spend $9 billion building a new data center in Stillwater while also expanding and building its existing data center in Pryor.

The Oklahoma Department of Commerce confirmed it is aware of plans for a third Google data center operation in the state following an announcement at the Muskogee State of the City speech by the towns mayor, Patrick Cale.

In his Nov. 6 address, Cale announced Google is set to build two major data centers that will represent a multi-billion-dollar investment in Muskogee.

It marks the most significant economic investment in the communitys history, Cale said. Googles investment marks a defining moment for the community of Muskogee. When one of the world's most recognized brands chooses your community, it sends a powerful message that Muskogee is ready to lead the way in AI and technology innovation."

Google did not respond to requests for comment from The Oklahoman. The company on Friday hosted an AI Summit with the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center, in which a $5 million grant was announced with the aim of educating students and businesses about opportunities connected with the rapidly emerging technology.

More: Google rolls out preferred sources feature. How to add The Oklahoman

Each of the server racks has switches that are connected by a different colored cable. Google keeps these colors the same throughout their Mayes County, Oklahoma, data center so we know which one to replace in case of failure.

Cale praised OG&E for its investment in the areas electric grid, with power being a key consideration for data center expansions.

Construction is already underway on a 100-megawatt data center announced in 2024 by Core Scientific, which specializes in infrastructure for high-performance computing and bitcoin mining.

The Port of Muskogee reported that the Core Scientific development represents over $4 billion in capital investment and $182 million in local net benefits over the life of the project. The Muskogee data center is projected to create 150 jobs with average salaries exceeding $65,000.

Local institutions, including Muskogee County, Hilldale School District, and the City of Muskogee, are expected to receive substantial tax revenue from the Core Scientific data center, with projected property and sales taxes bringing over $12 million to support community growth.

No such projections were mentioned by Cale when he announced the Google deal.

Stardust Power, meanwhile, is building one of the largest battery-grade lithium refineries in the United States in Muskogee.
Chinnapong / Shutterstock.com

Quick Read

Bitcoin does well on back of stimulus announcement

ETH back above $3,500 after a tough week

Some investors get rich while others struggle because they never learned there are two completely different strategies to building wealth. Dont make the same mistake, learn about both here.

After a rather rough week in the markets to start November, the Trump Administration made an announcement Sunday morning that has sent bitcoin and company into the green once again. The Administration plans to make a $2,000 payment to American citizens (excluding the wealthy) funded by the U.S. tariff revenues. What form this comes in remains to be seen, as Treasury Secretary Bessent has commented that the payment form has not been determined yet, and could be seen in taxes possibly. Regardless, a stimulus check brings back memories of spring 2020, and BTC has had a strong showing so far, up over $105k at this time of writing. Funding rates are back over 10% annualized on perpetual contracts, while front month futures are barely in contango at the moment. The White House has made favorable announcements for markets on Sundays vs. the Friday afternoon tweets containing a new tariff or the like. A few more solid green days are needed in order for real momentum to come back to the markets.

Ethereum has had an even stronger performance on the day, trading up over 5% and is back over the $3,500 level. Even with ETH being one of the true blue chips in crypto, its volatility level is still considerably above that of BTC ( 73 vs 45 on the Deribit dvol measurement), so we see more extreme moves on the charts. We will see which DATs were able to capitalize on cheap ETH this past week, and if any other catalysts come out about the 10 year old project. Even with the Sunday rally, there is considerable volume flowing through the 28NOV2025 expiry put contracts on Deribit. Traders are adding more position protection going into the end of the month, especially when a rally can lead to some cheaper positions to be put on around the 25 delta put ($3,250 strike). Stay safe out there.
Swiss business delegates reportedly presented Donald Trump with a Rolex watch for the presidential library and a customised gold bar - Watches of Espionage

Switzerland is nearing a deal with the US to slash its 39pc tariff rate after some of the countrys largest businesses launched a charm offensive targeting Donald Trump.

Negotiators are in talks about cutting the current levy on Swiss exports to 15pc, Bloomberg reported, after executives from the countrys largest businesses met the US president to press their case.

The proposed 15pc tariff rate would match the levy imposed on Switzerlands neighbours in the European Union.

The possible breakthrough came after a group of Swiss business delegates last week presented Mr Trump with a Rolex watch for the presidential library and a customised gold bar.

Among the group attending the Oval Office meeting were executives from Rolex, Richemont and gold miner MKS Pamp.

According to watch trade publication Hodinkee, the executives presented a letter describing the gifts as symbolic gestures of appreciation reflecting the spirit of friendship and enduring ties between the two nations.

Mr Trump hit Switzerland with the surprise 39pc tariff in August, shocking negotiators who had believed they were working towards a reduced rate.

The tiny state was targeted by the US president because of a 29bn trade surplus in goods with the US  driven by exports of gold bars, luxury watches, chocolate and pharmaceuticals.

Mr Trumps tariffs on Switzerland left it with some of the highest import levies, with only countries like China, Laos and Brazil subject to higher trade taxes.

The tariffs hit Switzerlands economic growth, with the Alpine nation already grappling with a slowdown.

The US crackdown has prompted some of Switzerlands biggest brands to consider shifting more production to America to cushion the blow. According to Bloomberg, the chocolate maker Lindt was considering moving more production to America in response to the levies.

Shares in some of Switzerlands biggest companies, including Richemont, climbed on Monday amid a wider surge in global stock prices.

The Office of the US Trade Representative was contacted for comment.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Tilray Medical, a division of Tilray Brands TLRY, continues to expand its global medical cannabis footprint with key international developments. Through its joint venture with Top Tech Global Inc., the company has established Solana Life Group in Panama, which has received a medical cannabis license from the National Directorate of Pharmacy and Drugs to cultivate, manufacture, and distribute medical cannabis locally. Through this partnership, Tilray Medical aims to launch and expand the availability of medical cannabis products across Panama, improving access for patients in need.

TLRY also broadened its European presence by expanding its Tilray Craft portfolio in Germany. The company launched five new cannabis flower products produced in Germany at Tilrays EU GMP certified facility in Neumunster. Tilray Brands solidifies its global leader position in medical cannabis through continuous introduction of new genetics bred to pharmaceutical standards at Neumunster.

Also, the companys wholly owned subsidiary, FL Group S.R.L, entered a strategic partnership with Italys L. Molteni & C. dei F.lli Alitti Societa di Esercizio S.p.A. (Molteni), to broaden the availability of Tilray Medical cannabis extracts for patients across Italy. In Australia, Tilray Brand introduced its first medical cannabis edible, Good Supply Pastilles, a sugar-free, vegan-friendly option, underscoring its commitment to innovation and patient-focused treatment solutions worldwide.

Peer Update

As of June 2025, Village Farms International VFF retained its position as one of Canadas top three cannabis players, even while streamlining its retail portfolio. During the second quarter, the company noted strong performance in international medical export sales that jumped 690% year over year and 116% sequentially. VFF also began commercial shipments to the Netherlands in early 2025, contributing $2.4 million to incremental second-quarter revenues. It continues to distribute several leading cultivars in Germany through third-party partners. Looking ahead, VFF expects momentum in its international medical cannabis sales to remain strong through the remainder of 2025, driven by expanding market access across Europe. It continues to distribute several leading cultivars in Germany through third-party partners.

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. CURLF continues focusing on expanding its international business. The company recently got a license to operate in Turkey, a country with a nascent medical cannabis market. Curaleaf International, part of Curaleaf Holdings, launched Curaleaf-branded products in Australia. This announcement marks the expansion of Curaleaf's presence in one of the world's fastest-growing medical cannabis markets and underscores its commitment to local collaboration, clinical integrity, and patient care. The company also achieved EU-MDR certification for the world's first medically certified liquid cannabis inhalation device with plans to launch in the United Kingdom and other key European and Australian markets as regulations evolve.
Q : What are your plans for filing Semaglutide in the Brazil market? A : Our application is with Anvisa, and we are waiting for approval. We cannot comment on when we expect the approval to come. (Sanjay Gupta, Managing Director)

Q : Can you split the growth across the drivers, volume, price, and new launches for the India business? Also, what was the GST impact during the quarter? A : Our growth for the quarter was 12% versus 8% of the market. Volume growth was 3.7%, price growth was 5.5%, and new products contributed nearly 3%. The GST impact was minimal, around 0.5%, due to additional discounts and some one-off costs. (Aman Mehta, Managing Director)

The U.S. business has faced challenges in returning to profitability due to a prolonged period of no launches.

The U.S. business saw a significant growth of 26%, driven by new launches and increased purchase volumes.

India and Brazil, the two largest branded markets, showed strong double-digit growth, with India at 12% and Brazil at 21%.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript .

Story Continues

Q: When do you see the supply disruption in Germany getting normalized? A: We are working with our supplier to resolve the issue. Indications are that the disruption may continue in Q3, but hopefully, it will be resolved by Q4. (Sanjay Gupta, Managing Director)

Q: Can you comment on the Semaglutide opportunity in Brazil and how critical it is for you? A: The market is significant, potentially reaching $1 billion by the time it goes generic. We aim for a 10% to 15% market share, which would be a material opportunity for Torrent. However, there is uncertainty about the approval process. (Sanjay Gupta, Managing Director)

Q: How have your key brands performed in India, such as Shelcal, Unienzyme, and Tedibar? A: All brands have performed well. Cardiac grew 14%, Gastro 15%, and Derma, including Curatio, grew about 29%. We expect the chronic business to continue its high volume growth. (Aman Mehta, Managing Director)

Q: What is the status of the JB Pharma acquisition, and when do you plan to have operational control? A: We have received SEBI approval for the minimum tender offer, which will conclude in December. We expect to close the transaction in January and will then provide synergy estimates. (Aman Mehta, Managing Director)

Q: How are you managing the field force expansion in India, and what are your plans for new therapeutic areas? A: We plan to expand to 7,000 reps by year-end, with half for existing divisions and half for a new therapy entry. We will announce the new division later. (Aman Mehta, Managing Director)

Q: What are your thoughts on the U.S. business scale-up and future plans for filings and investments? A: We aim to return to profitability without large investments in the U.S. Gx space. We plan to file 4 to 5 ANDAs this year, increasing to 10 next year and 15 subsequently. We are also exploring partnerships for products beyond our current capabilities. (Aman Mehta, Managing Director)

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Toyota Motor has deferred its planned electric vehicle (EV) battery factory in Fukuoka prefecture, Japan for the second time, Nikkei Asia reported.

The Japanese company will use the coming year to review and recalibrate the project in light of softer EV demand, according to Seitaro Hattori, governor of the southwestern prefecture, who spoke after meeting Toyota president Koji Sato.

Now, the project has been pushed back from an original 2028 start.

Some capacity at the site could be redirected to vehicle or component production.

In February, Toyota acquired land worth about Y6bn ($39m) in an industrial park under development in the prefectures northeast.

The sale required construction to commence within three years, and Toyota has signalled its plan to meet that obligation.

The automaker had intended to sign a location agreement with the prefecture in April but told officials it would delay the project until autumn because of weakening EV demand.

Toyotas recent financial disclosures forecast global EV sales, including Lexus, of 277,000 units for the fiscal year ending March 2026, 10% below its August projection.

The company might reconsider plans targeting 1.5 million global EV sales in 2026.

Toyota is stepping up development and sales in China, where EV uptake is stronger and competition from domestic rivals is intensifying. It launched a lower-priced model there in March.

Last year, between April and September, the carmakers overall sales in China declined to 860,000 vehicles, then recovered to 910,000 over the same period in 2025.

Its EV strategy is being tailored by region, with a Lexus plant in Shanghai scheduled to start up in 2027.

Automakers elsewhere are also revisiting battery investments amid slower EV sales.

Nissan Motor in May scrapped a planned $1.1bn EV battery facility on Kyushu, while Honda Motor is delaying the start of an EV and battery plant in Canada by around two years.

"Toyota delays Japanese EV battery plant again  report" was originally created and published by Just Auto, a GlobalData owned brand.




TPG has submitted a binding offer of approximately 1bn ($1.16bn) for the digital banking solutions division of Italian payments technology (PayTech) company Nexi.

The US-based alternative asset managers bid comes after several months of negotiations, reported Bloomberg, citing sources.

Nexis board was notified about the proposal earlier in the week, and the company has until mid-December to determine whether to proceed with the transaction.

The PayTech company confirmed it had received an offer from TPG concerning certain assets within its digital banking solutions unit.

Nexi, in a statement, said: With reference to todays media reports, the Company clarifies that it has received from TPG an offer subject to several conditions for the acquisition of certain assets belonging to the Digital Banking Solutions business unit.

The Board has reserved its right to make any assessment.

This offer follows earlier discussions between Nexi and TPG, which began with a preliminary bid of around 800m ($925m) in March this year.

Last year, Nexi also explored a potential 800m deal with Italian investment fund F2i, which did not materialise.

Negotiations with TPG slowed in recent months due to resistance from some shareholders and concerns about the business units strategic importance.

Nexi, based in Milan and listed on Euronext Milan, has expanded through a series of acquisitions, including the 2020 purchase of Nordic payments company Nets.

The payments sector faces increased pressure on profit margins, with Nexis market value declining by around 75% over the past four years, the report said.

Recently, Nexi teamed up with Visa and Mastercard to integrate their money transfer platforms, Visa Direct and Mastercard Move, into its business services.

This move aims to help Italian businesses transfer funds directly to customer payment cards, making Nexi the first provider in Italy to offer these services.

"TPG makes $1.16bn bid for Nexis digital banking solutions unit " was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand.




President Donald Trump is again promising to put cash in Americans pockets. This time through what he calls a tariff dividend of at least $2,000 per person.

In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump claimed that because of his administrations sweeping tariffs on foreign goods, a dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone. He also accused critics of being fools for opposing tariffs.

Must Read

The comment sparked confusion from economists, as well as a healthy dose of skepticism, since Trump has not proposed a formal plan for how the program would work.

What Trump says  and what it could mean

Tariffs are import taxes, paid by U.S. companies that buy foreign goods. The Trump administration has expanded them dramatically this year, imposing duties on everything from Chinese electronics to European steel, in what it describes as an effort to rebalance trade and bring manufacturing back to the United States.

The Treasury Department collected roughly $195 billion in tariff revenue through the first three quarters of 2025, according to federal data (1). In his post, Trump said that revenue could fund both the $2,000 dividend and payments toward what he called the nations enormous debt.

But under U.S. law, such distributions would require congressional approval, and none of the presidents advisers have yet detailed how the dividend would be structured or who would qualify.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, asked about the proposal Sunday on ABCs This Week by host George Stephanopoulos, avoided specifics.

I havent spoken to the president about this yet, Bessent said. The $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms and lots of ways.

Bessent suggested the payout could take the form of tax reductions, such as Trumps proposals to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime pay, rather than a direct cash rebate.

Would Americans actually get paid?

A similar idea has circulated among populist conservatives for months. Over the summer, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced a bill that would give $600 tariff rebates to most U.S. adults and children, arguing that the legislation would allow hard-working Americans to benefit from the wealth that Trumps tariffs are returning to this country (2).
Earlier this week, President Trump lashed out at "people that are against tariffs."

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In a Truth Social post he promised a "dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone" [1]. The president has also mentioned using tariff revenue to reduce the national debt, which has crossed $38 trillion.

Unfortunately for the president, the majority of Supreme Court judges appear skeptical that he had the authority to impose the tariffs, and it's possible the administration will have to refund some or all of the revenue it has collected to American businesses. At a hearing on Nov. 5, the justices heard arguments from the Trump administration and lawyers of those challenging the tariffs.

Chief Justice John Roberts, who is considered a key vote, called the tariffs an "imposition of taxes on Americans ... that has always been the core power of Congress."

He said, "It's been suggested that the tariffs are responsible for significant reduction in our deficit. I would say that's raising revenue domestically."

Similarly, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, said, You want to say tariffs are not taxes, but thats exactly what they are. They are generating money from American citizens.

The Trump administration has touted the fact that tariffs are bringing in record revenue, but that seems to be at the heart of the question of their legality. In September, the White House said even the "left-wing Congressional Budget Office (CBO) admits President Trumps tariffs will reduce total deficits by $4 trillion over the next decade." The CBO claims to be strictly nonpartisan.

It's unclear at this point when we can expect a ruling. According to The New York Times, "the court typically announces its decisions by the end of June or early July, but a decision in this case could come sooner" [2].

Trimming the deficit

Although they have roiled markets, theres no question that President Donald Trumps trade policy actions have boosted the federal governments customs revenues. The good news is this additional money coming in will help reduce the national deficit as well.
Sentry Equipment, headquartered in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, is a century-old, employee-owned manufacturer that specializes in industrial sampling equipment and solutions for process industries including power generation, water treatment, and oil and gas. It has earned global recognition for its expertise in providing accurate, representative sampling and analysis systems. As a U.S. manufacturer that sources some materials from overseas and sells products globally, Sentry Equipment would seem particularly vulnerable to recent tariff policy changes. But thats not what POWER found when we spoke with Rich Gaffney, the companys vice president of Commercial Operations. His responses reveal a manufacturer experiencing minimal disruptiona perspective that may challenge common narratives about tariff impacts. [caption id="attachment_244698" align="aligncenter" width="400"]

Rich Gaffney, vice president of Commercial Operations with Sentry Equipment.[/caption] POWER: Have tariffs affected your ability to compete internationally or win bids against foreign manufacturers?Gaffney: Not yet. What happens is our channel partners are bringing in some of our components, and they are doing the final integration testing in some cases. POWER: Are you seeing tariffs create ripple effects beyond just material costs, such as longer lead times, reduced supplier options, or quality concerns?Gaffney: One of the greatest challenges weve seen as it relates to tariffs has been in more lead time challenges, especially because everybody was rightsizing their inventory to get things shipped before the tariffs were implemented. We are lucky in that most of our supply chain is U.S.-based, but we do have subcomponents of some of our assemblies that could be coming from overseas. POWER: Have you had to shift suppliers or sourcing strategies as a result of tariffs?Gaffney: No. With any suppliers or equipment that we may have been impacted with longer lead times, we are unable to substitute out, so you just have to live with it. We havent had to make any wild pivots, and anything that we may feel a bit of a pinch on is not negotiable. POWER: How have you approached pricing decisions with customers when tariff costs are unpredictable?Gaffney: The one thing we have been doing as it relates to pricing is checking on older quotes, meaning, if a quote is outside of the expiration date, we are checking the pricing. We have not changed our expiration policy, and we havent had any wild swings, so it has not been a prolific issue yet. POWER: Are customers willing to absorb cost increases or is there pressure to maintain pre-tariff pricing?Gaffney: We havent seen much. With as much public attention that tariffs are getting, I dont think anybody is surprised by the rising costs. POWER: How has serving multiple markets helped buffer tariff impacts versus if you were in a single sector?Gaffney: Because we have a diverse business strategy, we have good penetration across a lot of different markets. However, we also play in a niche spot in each market, so we havent seen one market completely drop POWER: What operational changes have you made to stay agile?Gaffney: We have not had to make any operational changes as a result of tariffs, but as a 100-year-old company, we are constantly looking at how to make our business more successful and sufficient, ultimately remaining agile to be prepared for the next 100 years. For example, we had a recent project where we brought manufacturing of specific components in house to get better control over inventory levels and overall quality. Weve utilized 3D printing as a way to have continued growth in the manufacturing sector, and automation has also played a role. These are not tariff-related changes, but rather growth initiatives for Sentry to remain agile. POWER: For sampling and monitoring equipment used in power generation, are you seeing utilities change their procurement patterns or delay projects due to cost uncertainty?Gaffney: We havent really seen much change from the utility sector. The power generation market is in its renaissance period, driven in large part by the need for all these new data centers. You have companies more than Microsoft willing to invest into the power sector and potentially build their own modular units. Quite frankly, that is one of the sectors that is a little stronger at the moment. POWER: Has there been any shift in demand between fossil fuel, nuclear, and renewable energy sectors that relates to tariff impacts?Gaffney: The fossil fuel market has made a bit of a resurgence for us. That gets back to extending the life cycle of current infrastructure, current plants. The grid has been historically dominated by fossil fuel, so those plants are either getting extended permitting, or if they were going to be shut down, theyre not going to be shut down anymore, so they need to do major upgrades. The fossil fuel market has come back for us. POWER: Are utilities and power plant operators asking for more domestic content or Made in USA documentation?Gaffney: We havent seen a significant shift in policy. Some people already ask for such documentation, but we havent seen a significant shift yet. I suspect we are going to see some of that moving forward. As Sentry, were a proud U.S. manufacturer, so weve always made a point of letting them know that. POWER: Do you view current tariff policies as a temporary disruption or a permanent shift requiring fundamental business model changes?Gaffney: I think tariffs are going to stick around here, and I think its a fundamental shift in trade globally, but how specific or general the tariff laws are written in any country would be the trigger for us to change our business practices moving forward. Some of those sectors or segments, from Sentrys perspective, we wouldnt be dealing with. It would still be a non-issue for us, but it could be a bigger issue for consumers. POWER: What would need to change policy-wise to improve conditions for manufacturers like Sentry Equipment?Gaffney: It would nice if we could just get some more permanency to it, so we just understand what were dealing with. The volatility seems to be going down. POWER: Despite the challenges, are there any unexpected opportunities tariffs have created?Gaffney: Nothing stands out specifically from the tariffs. We already were a proud United States manufacturing company that tried to use as much U.S.-based goods as possible in products that we produce. Sentry has focused on that and continues to focus on that. If there is a shift to reshoring, there are going to be opportunities for some of our product lines, and well be there and be ready to be a U.S.-based supplier. POWER
Footasylum is making a play to expand its European presence.

On Monday, the UK-based footwear and sportswear retailer inked a new strategic partnership with Cologne-based sales agency, Mad Agency, to drive distribution across the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland).

More from WWD

Under the new agreement, Mad Agency will represent Footasylums full brand stable as its exclusive sales agency for Germany and Austria. The partnership officially launches this month and will run for an initial term of three years.

According to Footasylum, the new deal marks a significant step in the companys international growth strategy and reinforces its commitment to expand in key European markets.

Dan Moneypeny, vice president of international at Footasylum, said in a statement that the company is delighted to partner with Mad Agency and its founder and chief executive officer Marc Jentzen on this expansion move.

Mad Agency has a strong track record of scaling emerging fashion and streetwear brands while driving sustainable growth for its partners, Moneypeny said. Were excited to support them in delivering on our brand strategy for the region.

Jentzen added that he is thrilled to help Footasylum have meaningful impact in the region.

Leveraging our expertise in multi-brand, multi-channel distribution across Germany and Austria, we are committed to scaling their presence while delivering strong, long-term value for all partners, Jentzen said. This collaboration perfectly aligns with our mission to support emerging fashion and streetwear brands in reaching their full potential.

This news comes just months after Footasylum CEO David Pujolar touted a standout performance and record results for fiscal 2025.

In July, the company reported that its total revenue for the year increased 9.4 percent to 349.5 million pounds, up from 319.5 million pounds in fiscal 2024. Net profit after text was up 625 percent to 19.9 million pounds in fiscal 2025, up from 2.8 million pounds last year.

Pujolar noted at the time that the companys relationships with brands like Nike, Adidas and New Balance continued to grow in 2025 and remain central to its assortment. New product development is expected to drive further progress in the year ahead, he added.

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By Gianluca Lo Nostro and Leo Marchandon

(Reuters) -Ukraine's Kyivstar is ramping up measures to keep its network online as Russian strikes strain the country's power grid, CEO Oleksandr Komarov said on Monday.

Russia has intensified attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine. On Saturday, a barrage of drones and missiles hit nuclear substations, killing seven people, in what state-owned energy company Tsentrenergo called the largest attack on its facilities since the start of the war in 2022.

"Right now, we have more than 3,500 stationary generators connected to the network in real time," Komarov told Reuters.

"But the pressure on the energy infrastructure is also growing, because this tolerance gap is decreasing with every attack. The only answer we have is to increase the number of generators connected to the network."

Since 2022, Kyivstar has been working to make its network better at withstanding power outages. The core elements that keep the network running currently have backup power that can last up to three days, Komarov said.

In apartment buildings, more than 90,000 local connection boxes have been fitted with backup solutions that let them keep working for 10 to 12 hours during an outage, ensuring most customers have service even if the power goes out.

WAR WEIGHS ON POST-LISTING VALUATION

In August, Kyivstar became the first Ukrainian firm to list on the U.S. stock exchange, although initial enthusiasm has given way to geopolitically driven volatility.

Komarov said he has mostly been meeting large U.S. institutional investors focused on telecoms and emerging markets. Their takeaway is that Kyivstar appears "significantly undervalued" because of the difficult circumstances, he added.

Its parent company Veon is working with the Ukrainian government to enable Ukrainian retail investors to buy Kyivstar shares, Veon CEO Kaan Terzioglu told Reuters in a separate interview. Veon holds an 89.6% stake in Kyivstar, but further dilution is possible, he said.

Earlier on Monday, Kyivstar reported a nearly 20% rise in third-quarter revenue to $297 million as more Ukrainians used its digital services.

Komarov said the result was supported by relative "macroeconomic stability" in Ukraine, a positive impact of the central bank's policies and international support to stabilize the local currency.

(Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro and Leo Marchandon in Gdansk; Editing by Matt Scuffham and Milla Nissi-Prussak)
It's obviously become quite common in recent years for airlines to embrace rewards credit cards, offering customers rewards points on their purchases that they can then use on travel or airfare.

Rewards credit cards have become so common throughout the airline industry that one legislator even went as far as to basically credit card companies that own some planes when proposing some legislation to limit those types of credit cards.

Now, United is embracing a new trend to offer to customers: a rewards debit card, following the lead of Southwest Airlines, which announced a similar move last month.

Rewards Credit Cards Are Common

Rewards credit cards are exceedingly common in the airline industry, and United Airlines is no exception, offering a lineup of rewards credit cards that allow customers to earn MileagePlus miles for spending.

More than 31 million Americans currently hold airline travel reward cards, and 57 percent of all frequent flier miles and points issued in 2023 were generated by airline credit card use. Nearly 16 million domestic air trips were awarded from points earned through the use of an airline-branded credit card in 2023.

United Debuts Rewards Debit Card

Last week, United Airlines announced a new take on a rewards card as the airline rolled out its first rewards debit card.

Were constantly looking for new ways to add value and optionality for our members, and a debit card is a natural next step, said Bob Daly, Uniteds Managing Director of Global Co-Brand Cards. The United MileagePlus Debit Rewards Card offers customers an additional way to earn miles whether theyre spending on United flights and everyday purchases or saving and making plans for the future.

Were proud to partner with United to bring this innovative debit rewards card to market, said Bill Kennedy, Interim CEO and CFO of Galileo Financial Technologies. Its a great example of how leading brands can use Galileos modern platform to move quickly, meet customer demand, and create differentiated loyalty experiences.

For a limited time, new MileagePlus Debit Rewards cardmembers can earn a 10,000-mile bonus after approval and making qualifying purchases. Miles may be earned on dining, retail, groceries, and more, with additional miles earned on United purchases such as flights, bags, onboard snacks, and more.

Follows Southwest Airlines

This move from United comes just a few weeks after Southwest Airlines announced a similar move, debuting its own rewards debit card.

At Southwest Airlines, we are continually exploring new ways for our Customers to experience the benefits of our Rapid Rewards program, said Tony Roach, EVP Chief Customer and Brand Officer at Southwest Airlines, in a statement last month.

With more than 90% of Americans using debit cards, expanding our award-winning Rapid Rewards loyalty program to include a debit card was a natural next step. Whether its a college student looking to book a flight to watch their favorite team, a parent setting up an account for a recent graduate, or a cash-savvy Customer looking for another way to earn rewards, the Rapid Rewards Debit Card offers unlimited options to turn everyday spending into that next Southwest flight.

This story was originally reported by Men's Journal on Nov 9, 2025, where it first appeared in the Travel section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The U.S. governments move to add uranium to its Critical Minerals List highlights the elements importance in energy and national security. For Uranium Energy, this development supports its efforts to expand domestic mining and refining.

See our latest analysis for Uranium Energy.

Momentum has been strong for Uranium Energy. Despite a recent 12.86% dip in the past week, the stocks share price is still up over 60% year-to-date, and its one-year total shareholder return stands at a robust 58.85%. Last weeks government news follows the company ramping up production in Texas and Wyoming, fueling optimism about its long-term positioning in the critical minerals space.

If youre curious about where else investors are finding growth, nows a smart time to discover fast growing stocks with high insider ownership.

But after such impressive gains, is Uranium Energy now undervalued given its long-term prospects, or have investors already priced in the companys future growth potential? Is there still a buying opportunity?

Price-to-Book of 6x: Is it justified?

Uranium Energy currently trades at a price-to-book ratio of 6x, which is well above both peer and industry averages. With a last close price of $12.20, this elevated valuation raises questions about whether the premium is justified in todays market.

The price-to-book ratio measures the market price of a company compared to the value of its net assets. This multiple is especially relevant for resources firms like Uranium Energy, as asset values play a significant role in company health and future potential.

Paying a significantly higher premium compared to both the US Oil and Gas sector (1.3x) and direct peers (4.7x) suggests that investors are expecting either substantial upside or unique strengths. However, unlike some peers, there is no fair price-to-book ratio regression available to indicate what the market could eventually converge upon.

See what the numbers say about this price  find out in our valuation breakdown.

Result: Price-to-Book of 6x (OVERVALUED)

However, a slowdown in revenue growth or persistent net losses could quickly cool investor enthusiasm and challenge the current premium valuation.

Find out about the key risks to this Uranium Energy narrative.

Another View: Discounted Cash Flow Model Shows Potential Upside

Looking through the lens of our DCF model reveals a different angle. The SWS DCF model estimates Uranium Energy's fair value at $13.57, which is about 10% above its current share price. By this approach, the stock appears undervalued and presents a more optimistic scenario compared to the higher price-to-book ratio.
Venmo on Monday introduced a new rewards program, Venmo Stash, offering cash back to customers who transact with their favorite brands on the payments app and engage with Venmos products.

While cashback rewards are a common incentive for credit cards, Venmos rewards  which can be up to 5%  are returned to Venmos Mastercard Debit Card.

The program is designed to incentivize continued use of Venmos service by bringing more funds into the ecosystem, the company explains.

However, this program also represents a new way that todays brands are attempting to reach younger users, many of whom have shown a preference for debit cards over credit cards.

One 2024 study cited by eMarketer indicated that only 39% of Gen Z users reported frequent credit card use, compared with 51% for older generations. Another Morning Consult survey for Cash App Afterpay from earlier this year noted that 63% of Gen Z users said they favored debit cards over other payment methods.

As a result, payment providers and retailers are looking to accommodate younger consumers by rolling out more debit rewards and by offering alternatives at checkout  like the use of buy now, pay later (BNPL) services such as Affirm, PayPal Pay Later, or Klarna.

In Venmos case, the program is designed to offer larger rewards as customers interact more with Venmo products. This keeps them invested in the Venmo ecosystem, the company believes.

It also competes with other cashback incentives offered by Venmos rivals, like Cash Apps offers, which are doled out to its own Cash App debit card customers.

Screenshot Image Credits:Venmo

Initially, customers earn 1% cash back for their Venmo Debit Mastercard when they spend their Venmo balance. Rewards grow to 2% when customers turn on auto reloads to keep their balance replenished automatically. And customers are able to earn 5% cash back when they receive Direct Deposits on Venmo each month.

However, instead of offering a certain percentage back by spending category, like groceries, gas, or dining, Venmos program has customers pick from curated bundles of their favorite brands. For instance, you could pick a group of brands that includes McDonalds, TikTok Shop, Uber, and Uber Eats, or one that offers Amazon, DoorDash, Dominos, and Walgreens.

The PayPal-owned company says that next year Venmo Stash will expand to offer customers rewards when they pay with Venmo at merchants within its nationwide network.
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In 2005, Tony Doyle was injured while serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq. As a result of his injuries, he lost his left leg below the knee and had to retire from the military. At that time, his income dropped by half, leaving his family without the means to pay all of their bills, said Melissa Doyle, his wife.

The family scraped by, racking up debt on credit cards to buy groceries and pay bills, such as electricity, while Tonys paycheck covered the mortgage and car note. During that time living in Arkansas, Melissa couldnt work full-time while caregiving for Tony, his two children and her child.

The Doyles ended up moving to Texas, where Tony could receive the proper therapy for his leg.

The bills just piled, Melissa said. And so did the familys debt.

In 2017, the Doyles caught a break, receiving a home through Home for Our Troops, a non-profit organization that builds mortgage-free, adapted homes for severely injured veterans. Home for Our Troops also requires veterans to participate in a financial planning program with a pro bono financial planner for three years. The organization aims to ensure veteran families can budget and save money to cover expenses such as homeowners insurance and property maintenance.

The Doyles were connected with Susan Williams, a CFP professional who volunteered to help. Melissa, who had a background in accounting, developed a five-year plan before meeting with the advisor, and Williams helped them put that plan into action. It involved paying down their credit card debt, budgeting themselves to zero, and setting aside money for emergencies.

When you have a traumatic injury that hits you in the face, you tend to lose everything that youve learned, and youre struggling to pay the bills to be able to put food on the table and take care of the kids and take care of the husband, going through multiple surgeries and stuff like that, Melissa said.

But with Williams, there was no judgment.

When you open yourself up and you expose yourself, youre very vulnerable and youre open to judgment. And thats hard for us in the military world, Melissa said. So when I presented it to her, it was very eye-opening to see that she was excited about what we had done, and she was very empathetic. We had the conversations of, Yes, you have a mess, you have a bunch of debt, but its not the end of the world. Youve done a great job building out this five-year plan, and you can continue on. Theres going to be a setback, and theres going to be stuff that comes up. It doesnt mean that you fail when you cant stick to the plan precisely every month. You just reorganize.
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Visa and Mastercard have reached a revised settlement with merchants who accused the card networks of charging too much to accept their credit cards, according to a Monday court filing.

The proposed settlement was disclosed in a letter filed in Brooklyn federal court by a lawyer for some of the plaintiffs.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Toby Chopra)
By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Visa and Mastercard announced a revised $38 billion settlement with merchants who accused the card networks of charging too much to accept their credit cards, hoping to satisfy a judge who rejected a smaller accord as inadequate.

Monday's settlement would end 20 years of litigation in which businesses accused Visa, Mastercard and banks of conspiring to violate U.S. antitrust laws, including through the card networks' collection of "swipe fees."

But the accord drew opposition from merchant groups that said it doesn't address concerns that U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie in Brooklyn, New York, whose approval is required, raised in rejecting a $30 billion settlement in June 2024.

These groups including the National Retail Federation, the largest U.S. retail trade group, and the Merchants Payments Coalition say businesses would still pay too much, including to accept the popular rewards cards that dominate the card market.

"You can't just suddenly tell more than 80% of your card customers you're not going to take their cards," Stephanie Martz, the NRF's general counsel, said in an interview. "You would lose a lot of business."

Also known as interchange fees, swipe fees totaled $111.2 billion in the United States in 2024, up from $100.8 billion in 2023 and quadruple the level in 2009, the NRF said.

FEES TO BE REDUCED OR CAPPED

The settlement calls for Visa and Mastercard to lower swipe fees, which averaged 2.35% in 2024 and typically range from 2% to 2.5%, by 0.1 percentage point for five years.

Merchants would be able to choose whether to accept U.S. cards in specific categories including commercial cards, premium consumer cards including many rewards cards, and standard consumer cards.

Standard consumer rates would be capped for eight years at 1.25%, a more than 25% reduction.

Merchants would also get more options to impose surcharges when people pay by card, including an "unfettered" ability to charge up to 3%, according to a court filing.

Visa, based in San Francisco, said the settlement provides merchants of all sizes with meaningful relief.

Mastercard, based in Purchase, New York, said smaller merchants in particular would benefit.

Two economics experts hired by the merchant plaintiffs, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and University of Washington professor Keith Leffler, said ending the "upward spiral" in swipe fees could save merchants $38 billion by 2031.

In a court filing, the experts also said the settlement's reforms taken together could save $224 billion, unlock significant competition, and benefit consumers who bear the cost of today's "inefficient and noncompetitive payments system."
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.B) wants people to know that not everything you see or hear online is real. The company has issued a warning about fake AI-generated videos of Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) making the rounds on YouTube, according to Reuters.

In a statement titled It's Not Me, Berkshire said the deepfake clips show Buffett giving investment tips and opinions he never actually made. The visuals look surprisingly convincing, but the giveaway is in the voice it sounds flat and robotic, nothing like Buffett's signature calm and folksy tone. One fake video, for example, claims to share Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)'s #1 Investment Tip for Everyone Over 50, complete with a made-up speech.

Berkshire said it's worried that people unfamiliar with Buffett could easily fall for these videos. The billionaire, who's preparing to step down from his role at the company, has dealt with fake endorsements before but this new wave of AI deepfakes is spreading faster and getting harder to spot.

Wall Street analysts still see upside in Berkshire's stock, giving BRK.B a Moderate Buy rating and a $537 price target about 8% higher from here.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP)  Billionaire Warren Buffett warned shareholders Monday that many companies will fare better than his Berkshire Hathaway in the decades ahead because of its massive size though others might say the company's prospects will dim because Father Time is catching up with the 95-year-old icon who plans to step down as CEO in January.

Buffett reflected on life and his health in a new letter to shareholders where he announced $1.3 billion in new charitable gifts to the four family foundations run by his children that  along with the Gates Foundation  have been helping steadily give away his fortune since 2006.

Berkshire is known for consistently outperforming the stock market during the past 60 years under Buffett  which helped earn him legions of fans  although that has become harder to do in recent years because of the huge size of the conglomerate. Even Berkshire's biggest acquisition in years  the $9.7 billion purchase of OxyChem announced last month  won't do much to affect the bottom line at a company with more than $1 trillion market capitalization.

Berkshire owns Geico insurance, BNSF railroad, several large utilities and a diverse assortment of manufacturing and retail businesses, including such well known brands as Dairy Queen, See's Candy and Helzberg Diamonds. But Buffett also reassured shareholders that he remains confident in his successor.

Buffett promised to keep in touch with shareholders through Thanksgiving letters in the future, but he confirmed that next year Greg Abel will take over Buffett's famous yearly letter and answer all the questions at the annual meeting after he becomes CEO in January. Buffett will remain chairman.

Buffett's letters have long been one of the best-read reports in the business world because of his remarkable track record and his knack for explaining complex concepts in simple terms.

Hes really thoughtful about the markets and about the economy and the nature of business. And I will miss that. I will miss his words quite a bit, Edward Jones analyst Jim Shanahan said.

Buffett said that through dumb luck, I drew a ridiculously long straw at birth by being born in Omaha, Nebraska, where he met many lifelong friends  including several who helped shape Berkshire's fortune  and both his wives after attending public schools. He said he has been fortunate to have his life saved three times by doctors who lived nearby while managing to avoid the kind of calamities that often cut life short.

Buffett recounted spending several weeks in the hospital after having his appendix out as a child where he turned to fingerprinting all the nuns who were taking care of him just in case they turned to a life of crime later. Buffett previously battled prostate cancer in 2012, but that wasn't considered life threatening.
TD Bank is closing 51 branches and one drive through location across 13 states and Washington, D.C., as it redraws its physical footprint for a more digital world. The cuts are part of a plan to reduce or relocate about 10 percent of its stores while pouring more money into tech forward, advice based services. Executives say they still plan to open new locations in some affected communities, but with a sharper focus on where customers actually show up in person. For now, TD is relying on more than 1,000 remaining U.S. branches plus its apps and online tools to handle the shift.

D.R. Horton is leaning hard on mortgage rate buydowns to keep homes moving in a market where affordability is stretched past its limits. In its latest quarter, nearly three quarters of buyers took a discounted mortgage rate, often starting around 3.99 percent, in order to make monthly payments work. That generosity is not free. Incentives helped push the companys gross margin on home sales down to 20 percent, well below its 2021 peaks, even as net new orders rose 5 percent year over year. The builder is also slowing new starts and managing inventory more tightly, especially in softer markets like parts of Florida and California.

At the same time, politics and policy are bleeding into everyday life, showing up in places like flight schedules and housing costs. Put it all together and you get a picture of an economy that is not crashing, but is being quietly renegotiated in real time. Here is a look at the stories that captured that tension this week.

Across the economy, companies are being forced to get creative. Some are reworking how they price core products, others are quietly shrinking their physical footprint, and a few are openly trying to trade short term stock market love for longer term loyalty. Even the hottest corners of tech are starting to see what happens when the narrative shifts from limitless upside to awkward questions like how much is too much.

If you glanced at the headlines this week, you might think everything is fine. Markets are not in full panic mode, unemployment is not spiking, and earnings season is still producing plenty of upbeat charts for investor decks. Underneath that, though, there is a very different story taking shape about what it takes to keep growth going when people are tired of paying more for less.

Story Continues

Outback Steakhouse quietly closes doors in eight states

It is not your imagination if the nearest Bloomin Onion suddenly disappeared. Outback Steakhouses parent company, Bloomin Brands, has closed 10 U.S. locations across eight states as part of a broader turnaround plan. The casual dining chain is facing higher costs and more cautious diners at the same time its stock has dropped more than 40 percent this year. The company says it chose which restaurants to shutter based on sales, traffic, and investment needs, and is trying to move affected workers to nearby locations. It is another sign that full service chains are feeling the squeeze as consumers trade down or stay home.

The Big Short investor is betting against the AI darlings

Some of the shine came off the AI trade this week after Nvidia and Palantir shares fell on news that Michael Burry is shorting both names. The investor, who became famous for calling the housing crash ahead of 2008, disclosed that his fund bought put options on the two high profile AI plays. His move hit a nerve in a market already debating whether AI stocks are in bubble territory, even as surveys show many investors think they are. Still, the pullback comes after a monster run. Nvidia is up more than 50 percent this year and Palantir has gained well over 100 percent over the same period.

Low-income diners are walking away from fast food

McDonalds latest earnings call confirmed what a lot of families already feel. Fast food is not cheap enough to be a default option anymore for the lowest income diners. The company said industry wide quick service traffic from lower income customers fell by nearly double digits in the third quarter, a trend that has dragged on for almost two years, while higher income traffic keeps rising. Same store sales were up modestly in the U.S. and globally, but still missed some Wall Street expectations. In response, McDonalds is leaning back into value with limited time deals like a 5 dollar breakfast combo and 8 dollar nugget meal, plus digital promotions tied to its Monopoly game.

YouTube TV hides a 60 dollar credit where only power users will find it

After YouTube TV dropped more than 20 Disney owned channels when carriage talks broke down, subscribers expected a meaningful bill break. What many are discovering instead is a somewhat buried offer of 10 dollars off per month for six months, for those who can find and redeem it in their account settings. The credit is not automatic and appears to be available only to some users, which has frustrated customers who already feel shortchanged by the loss of ESPN, ABC, and other major networks. The move follows an earlier suggestion from YouTube that a larger 20 dollar monthly credit might be on the table if the blackout dragged on.

Electric aircraft maker Beta Technologies takes off on the NYSE

Beta Technologies, a Vermont based electric aviation startup, made its public market debut under the ticker BETA. The company priced its IPO at 34 dollars a share, above the marketed range, raising just over 1 billion dollars and implying a valuation around 7.4 billion dollars. Beta builds electric aircraft and charging systems, including a conventional takeoff plane and a vertical takeoff and landing model called Alia, which it has already flown tens of thousands of nautical miles. With contracts that include the U.S. Department of Defense, Beta joins a growing club of electric aviation companies betting that cleaner, quieter aircraft can carve out a real slice of future air travel.

Duolingos earnings are strong, but its stock still fell off a cliff

On paper, Duolingos third quarter looked great. Daily active users jumped 36 percent, revenue climbed 41 percent, and paid subscribers rose by more than a third. Yet the stock dropped around 25 percent after the company told investors to expect much slower growth in total bookings next quarter, a key metric that bakes in future subscription and test revenue. CEO Luis von Ahn said Duolingo is deliberately prioritizing product quality and user growth over near term monetization, particularly as it leans into AI powered teaching tools. The markets reaction shows how little patience some investors have for long term thinking in a choppy tech tape.

Airlines offer rare refunds as the shutdown snarls air travel

United, American, and Delta all said they will offer refunds during the government shutdown to customers who decide not to fly, even if their flights are not technically canceled. The move comes after the FAA ordered a 10 percent cut in flights at 40 major airports because thousands of unpaid air traffic controllers are unavailable. Long haul international routes are expected to mostly hold, but domestic schedules will be trimmed, affecting as many as 4,000 flights a day. The big three are framing the refunds as a customer friendly gesture in a tough situation, while also urging Washington to move quickly to end the shutdown that is disrupting the system they rely on.

This post originally appeared at fastcompany.com

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Key Insights

African Rainbow Minerals' significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public

56% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders

40% of African Rainbow Minerals is held by Institutions

This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality.

Every investor in African Rainbow Minerals Limited (JSE:ARI) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 46% stake, private companies possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And institutions on the other hand have a 40% ownership in the company. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of African Rainbow Minerals, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for African Rainbow Minerals

JSE:ARI Ownership Breakdown November 10th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About African Rainbow Minerals?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

We can see that African Rainbow Minerals does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at African Rainbow Minerals' earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

JSE:ARI Earnings and Revenue Growth November 10th 2025

African Rainbow Minerals is not owned by hedge funds. African Rainbow Minerals & Exploration Investments (Pty) Ltd. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 46% of shares outstanding. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 11% and 5.3% of the stock.

After doing some more digging, we found that the top 2 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
Zurich Insurance Group has appointed Megan Shao as chief claims officer for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, with effect from 1 February 2026.

Shao returns to Zurich after her tenure as head of claims, Asia at AXA XL.

She has accumulated more than 17 years of experience in claims management, including previous experience as head of financial lines & casualty claims for Asia-Pacific at Zurich Insurance.

In her new post, Shao will oversee claims operations across the APAC region.

She is tasked with leading claims strategies and working closely with regional teams to support efficiency and customer service in all lines of business.

Shao is proficient in English, Mandarin and Taiwanese, and is expected to focus on operational practices, team development and regional claims processes.

She will be based in Singapore and report to Zurich Insurance Asia-Pacific chief technical officer and Commercial Insurance head Sean Walker.

Walker said: We are delighted to welcome Megan back to Zurich. Her experience, leadership and technical expertise will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen our claims service to our customers across the region.

In a separate development, Zurich Insurance Asia-Pacific has launched Zurich Edge Assist, a new module within its Zurich Edge Platform.

The tool was developed with input from agents and brokers and is intended to support sales, servicing, and claims teams and intermediaries.

Zurich Edge Assist functions as a single, unified platform for internal and external users, claiming to provide a one-stop solution with role-based access and customised functionality for each user.

"Zurich Insurance appoints new chief claims officer for Asia-Pacific " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand.




The News in Brief Monday, November 10, 2025

The German Foreign Ministry stated that the temporary recall of its ambassador to Georgia, Peter Fischer, was intended as a "very clear diplomatic signal" to the Georgian government amid rising bilateral tensions. Germany summoned Ambassador Fischer was recalled from the country for consultations in Berlin on October 19 and returned to Tbilisi on November 6.A spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry addressed the situation on November 7, confirming the diplomatic friction. "The recall of the ambassador from Tbilisi for consultations a few weeks ago was a very clear diplomatic signal to the Georgian government," the spokesperson noted.Berlin is now closely observing the government in Tbilisi and has issued a specific expectation regarding the returned diplomat. The spokesperson conveyed that Germany expects the Georgian government to "avoid personal attacks on the ambassador."Despite the diplomatic tensions, Ambassador Fischer "will continue his dedicated work" in Georgia, the spokesperson added. Officials confirmed that talks have been held with the Georgian government, stating, "We are now evaluating the Georgian government for its actions. We will draw our further conclusions based on this."Tbilisi City Court ordered Lelo for Georgia opposition party leaders Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze to post GEL 1 million in bail each on Saturday, November 8, 2025. The ruling, issued in the so-called "sabotage" case, fully granted the prosecution's request.Judge Pikria Sikturashvili stipulated that the prominent opposition figures must post the equivalent of approximately 370,000 U.S. dollars within 30 days. The charges are part of a broader legal effort targeting eight opposition leaders for what authorities describe as "crimes committed against the state."This development follows closely on the heels of the ruling Georgian Dream party filing an appeal with the Constitutional Court, seeking to outlaw three major opposition factions.The official charges faced by the eight individuals are wide-ranging and severe. According to the court documents, the allegations include: "sabotage, aiding a foreign country in hostile activities, funding activities directed against the Georgian constitutional order and national security foundations, calling for violently changing the Georgian constitutional order or towards overthrowing the state government."
Across America, a new generation of dairy farmers are stepping into leadership roles, bringing innovation, passion, and a fresh perspective to the industry. Driven by a deep devotion to the dairy industry, these emerging leaders are redefining traditional farming with cutting-edge technology and sustainable practices, and are capitalizing on opportunities that foster connection, communication and collaboration within their communities  showing that the next generation of dairy farmers is ready to carry the tradition forward with energy and innovation. Their commitment not only strengthens the agricultural backbone, but also inspires a renewed confidence in rural America.

Supporting them in this endeavor is the National Young Cooperators (YC) Program. Established in 1950 and managed by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), the YC Program has dedicated 75 years to training and leadership development for beginning dairy farmers, helping them become effective managers and influential leaders while enhancing the resilience and sustainability of their farms. The program offers a comprehensive suite of educational resources, tools, and support through both in-person and virtual events. It also builds a vibrant national network of peers, allowing young dairy farmers to share experiences, address challenges, and collaborate on solutions. Through this connected community, farmers receive valuable support and guidance as they grow in their roles and contribute to the future of the dairy industry.

This past year, we have been fortunate to have served as the chairpersons of the Advisory Board for the YC Program. Our dairy, NexGen Dairy, is a fourth-generation dairy farm and member-owner of First District Association in central Minnesota. Through our involvement in the YC Program, we have witnessed firsthand the bright future of the dairy industry, meeting numerous young dairy farmers from across the country.

While change and challenges are constant, we feel more than ever that our generation is faced with the requirement for an ever-expanding skill set that goes beyond traditional dairy practices. However, young farmers are rising to the challenge and are not only mastering cow and forage management, genetics, and business operations, but also excelling in employee leadership, advanced technology, and market economics. Many young dairy farmers also actively engage in understanding milk pricing, sustainability, and regulatory changes, ensuring their farms thrive in a competitive environment. They are embracing collaboration and ongoing learning, building strong networks with peers and industry leaders, and creating a supportive community that empowers them to succeed and shape the future of dairy farming with resilience and optimism.

Engaging with fellow young dairymen and women through the YC Program, we have observed the determination, talent, and sense of community that defines this new generation of dairy leaders. Witnessing other dairy farmers commitment to innovation, sustainability, and regulatory affairs has highlighted for us the promising path forward for our industry as a whole. We, as young farmers, are not only honoring the traditions that built American dairy, but also boldly reimagining its future. With continued investment from groups such as NMPF, focusing on leadership, innovation, and collaboration, the future of dairy farming rests in capable hands  ensuring our industry will continue to nourish and connect communities for generations to come.

To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com.
The federal government shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history, is sending shockwaves through the dairy industry as uncertainty about consumer spending ramps up. Another area of concern is for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a critical source for millions of low-income families that also plays a large role in grocery and dairy sales.

USDA had initially planned to maintain SNAP benefits through contingency funds but announced last month that the program would not extend into November because of limited resources. Over the first weekend of November, a federal judge intervened, ordering the agency to distribute funds already allocated by Congress. In response, USDA submitted a plan for partial benefits, though Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins cautioned that the process could delay payments for some time. Adding to the confusion, President Donald Trump stated that SNAP benefits would only resume if the government reopened, contradicting Rollins previous plan.

For dairy producers, this policy takes a stab at the main demand: retail grocery spending. Households that are dependent on SNAP regularly purchase milk, cheese, and butter, and any delay or reduced number of benefits risks lowering these sale amounts. Markets have already responded. CME spot butter has fallen to $1.50 per pound, the lowest level since February 2021, with futures contracts hitting contract lows. Class III futures dropped $1.20 per hundredweight in a single week as cheese blocks plummeted by 12 cents, while butter has declined 75 cents since September as retailers cut orders in anticipation of SNAP disruptions.

Cattle markets are adding further pressure. December live cattle futures have plunged nearly $20 per hundredweight since mid-October, with an additional $5 drop this week, driven by President Trumps recent advocacy for Argentine beef imports and limited trade talks with Mexico. Mexican feeder cattle imports remain at a standstill, but reopening of the border could flood the domestic supply.

Adding to the stress are USDA data delays. October Milk Production and Dairy Products reports, typically released by now, remain on hold. Cold Storage figures, which are normally due mid-month, are also delayed. Without these benchmarks, producers, processors, and hedgers lack critical inventory and production insights heading into the winter months.

Milk output is up 0.8% year-to-date with stable cow numbers. Policy disruptions are translating directly into milk checks and product pricing. Tracking SNAP disbursement schedules, market reactions, and USDA data reports once they are available will be essential for risk management in the coming weeks, according to the Nov. 4, 2025, Daily Dairy Report.

To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com.
Technological developments across the board in the dairy industry are saving time, effort, and money  and a recent addition to the University of Wisconsin-Madisons Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (WVDL) just might help save dairy farms, too. Becky is a Biomek i5 robot that automates  under close human supervision  testing of the approximately 5,000 milk samples the lab receives every month. The process is part of USDAs milk testing strategy thats designed to catch instances of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the states dairy cattle population.

The National Milk Testing Strategy, while it comes from a Federal Order, allows for each state to carry out testing in a way that works for the State and aligns with the NMTS standards, according to USDAs Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service webpage on the order. The WVDLs efforts and use of technology were recently showcased in the Campus Stories section of the Universitys website, with a focus on how Becky is streamlining the testing process at the lab, which bears much of the responsibility for dairy HPAI testing. The robot prepares the milk samples about a hundred at a time, with each batch taking upward of an hour. Then, the labs microbiologists perform polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay tests. This combination yields results for both active and prior infections. And although HPAI has not yet been detected in Wisconsins dairy herds, Keith Poulsen, the director of WVDL noted that the federal strategy has teased out cases in other parts of the country, including a new H5N1 strain in the Southwest, along with emerging incidents of the virus in other states.

Wisconsins School of Veterinary Medicine also is contributing to the cause by concentrating on a potential universal influenza vaccine in its Department of Pathological Sciences. Its a particularly tricky assignment when it comes to dairy cattle, because the vaccine ideally will guard against both respiratory transmission and mammary gland infections (the virus hits cows especially hard when the infection is in the udder). Early research shows promise; professor Marulasiddappa Suresh noted that two-pronged immunity is possible after an unbelievably successful experiment.

To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com.
Zhu Jinshis This Triptych is as Gorgeous as the Autumn in a Scented Room (2023) shown on Neo QLED 8K by Samsung. Image simulated for illustrative purposes.

As Australians continue to feel cost of living pressures, Samsung Australia points to new research revealing the nations appetite for art remains strong. This suggests that in challenging times, people turn to art for inspiration. A third (34%) of Australian respondents - rising to almost half (48%) for those aged 25-35 years old - are currently dreaming of the day they get to travel to Paris to visit The Louvre, while nearly half (48%) of 25-35 years old respondents aspire to own a famous piece of art, even if they admit its unrealistic.

The new insights also highlight a growing desire to be exposed to fine art every day, despite the finer things in life feeling increasingly out of reach for many Australians. Nearly half (45%) of respondents say theyd like to have more art in their home[3], while over a third (38%) of respondents say they enjoy visiting art galleries on the weekend to relax and feel inspired.

According to Simon Howe, Director of Audio Visual at Samsung Australia, bringing world-class art into Australians homes has been a long-standing mission for the company. Since pioneering the concept of Art TVs via The Frame TVand Samsung Art Store[4] in 2017; Samsung has continually evolved its Art TV offering to help more Australians curate their own collections, enhance their home decor, and feel inspired, all through their Samsung TVs at home. In fact, in 2025, 90% of Samsungs TV line-up features the Art Store[5], transforming more TVs into beautifully curated pieces of art when not being watched.

The Frame TV and the Art Store were a revolutionary pairing that brought the calibre of MoMA, The Met, and Tate Modern into Australian living rooms, said Mr. Howe. The aim was to provide Australians with a virtual pass to access works from the worlds most talented artists spread across various countries, all from the comfort of home. Today, Australians purchase more Frame TVs per capita than any other country[6] reflecting a local appreciation for fine arts and culture steeped in human creativity.

Mr. Howe added that for Samsung, the goal has always been to make world-class art more accessible, personal, and part of everyday life. Australians are increasingly looking to the technology in their homes not just for function, but to elevate their living spaces and reflect personal style. We also know people want to feel relaxed and inspired at home  and art plays a huge role in creating that atmosphere.

While generative AI art capabilities are increasingly available, Samsung insights reveal 60% of Australians worry that AI-generated art could pose a threat to human creativity and culture. This further highlights the strong value Australians place on authentic, human-made works of art.

Today, Samsungs Art Store features over 3,000 pieces of curated artworks from more than 800 artists and 70 world-class galleries and museums[7]. With the Art Store available on Samsungs range of Neo QLED, 8K & 4K, and select QLED 4K TVs, artists like Australias Mulga and Sarrita King can be showcased alongside new curated collections from the 2025 Art Basel Paris Fair in TV sizes spanning 43 up to 115. Continuing to enhance art experiences, Samsung has also released new innovations such as the Wireless One Connect Box and Glare-Free coating, both available on The Frame Pro and Neo QLED QN990F models, enabling Australians to display art via the Art Store cable-free like a true gallery piece.

With almost half (46%) of our research respondents saying they like when they receive compliments on the art in their home[8], Samsung will continue to drive the Art TV category forward, bringing new ways for more Australians to feel inspired in their homes, Mr Howe concludes.

Samsung has been the Global No. 1 TV brand for 19 consecutive years[9] and was recently voted the Best TV Brand via Finders Most Satisfied Customer Awards for the fifth consecutive year. You can find out more about Samsungs Art TVs and Samsung Art Store here.

TV Deals
President Donald Trump this week cut deals with the drug-makers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to increase access to obesity drugs in a major benefit to American public health.

The agreements are a win-win-win  good for consumers, good for the companies and good for Trump.

One of the most irrational superstitions of our time is that Big Pharma, which has for decades been routinely delivering near-miraculous therapeutics to extend and improve our lives, is a public enemy.

Its latest breakthrough is a class of so-called GLP-1 drugs that make it easier to lose weight, and to avoid associated serious health problems from Type 2 diabetes to heart disease.

The basic dynamic of the Trump deals is that the companies will, through lower prices, expend their market share, thus generating more revenue.

The companies also get tariff relief and expedited review for select drugs.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the MAHA leader with a paranoid streak about modern medical advances, has been hostile to GLP-1 drugs, the most famous of which is Ozempic, sold by Novo Nordisk.

If everyone could do as many push-ups and pull-ups as the hyper-fit 71-year-old Kennedy, perhaps we could turn our backs on GLP-1's.

Certainly, the secretary is correct that Americans should eat better and work out more.

But our body mass index has been increasing for about 150 years, as we've made calories cheaper and more abundant over time.

As it happens, the things we like to eat or drink that are bad for us  fast food, soda, chips, cookies  are cheap, convenient and taste good.

Even if we manage to convince people that they should eat more vegetables and legumes, while getting appropriate levels of exercise, not everyone is going to do it as a matter of lifestyle constraints, individual preference or simple lack of willpower.

There's also the fact that once you put on weight, physiological changes make it more difficult to shed it.

About 40% of Americans are obese.

Wouldn't it be great for them  and for American society at large  if there were a safe, relatively convenient way for them to slim down? Lo and behold, here they are.

The GLP-1's started out as a treatment for diabetes and have exploded in popularity as weight-loss drugs.

Trump's reflex to make it easier for people to obtain Ozempic and the like  while, not incidentally, boosting his reputation as the nation's foremost deal-maker  is the correct one.

Drug pricing is complicated, but by expanding the sale of the drugs direct to consumers, the companies can reduce prices.

Meanwhile, Medicare will do more to cover the drugs, also bringing down their cost.

Already, an estimated 12% of Americans have used a GLP-1 drug at some point, an enormous increase in a short period of time.

That number will keep growing  especially if prices go down, if more oral GLP-1's come online in addition to the injectables and if other benefits of the drugs emerge.

538 GLP-1s easily could match the extensive saturation level of statins, the cholesterol-reducing drugs.

By all means, we should all eat more arugula.

Until then, we have a way to alleviate an ongoing health crisis  and President Trump and the drug companies are to be congratulated for creative cooperation in working to make it available to more Americans.

(COMMENT, BELOW)
The News in Brief Tuesday, November 11, 2025

New legislative amendments have granted the Government Administration the authority to directly request and access highly confidential information from authorized state bodies. The new powers significantly expand the Administration's access to citizens' financial and private records, covering both data classified as tax secrets and a wide range of personal data, including highly sensitive special categories of data.The amendments establish a mechanism allowing the executive branch's central administration to centralize the acquisition of confidential state-held records. This change enables the Administration to request data that has been legally protected under specific secrecy regimes, such as information concerning an individual's tax history and financial standing.The scope of the accessed information extends to personal data, defined under existing law to include various types of private details, as well as "special categories of data." This special designation typically covers the most sensitive personal attributes, such as information related to an individual's health, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, ethnic origin, or sexual life.Georgian prosecutors have arrested a former senior official from the Infrastructure Ministry's Roads Department and filed charges in absentia against three managers of an Azerbaijani construction company and an international expert. The charges are connected to an alleged corruption scheme that resulted in the collapse of a new bridge on the Samtredia-Grigoleti highway in February 2023.Investigators determined that the structure, which the Roads Department initially blamed on flooding, was built with poor-quality materials and failed to meet project specifications. The Prosecutor's Office Department for Combating Corruption Crimes asserts that the collapse and subsequent restoration caused over GEL 16 million in total damage to the state budget.According to prosecutors, the Roads Department contracted the Azerbaijani company Akkord in 2018, while a consortium of international companies was hired for supervision. Despite the supervision never being properly carried out, the former Deputy Head of the Roads Department, Levan Kupatashvili, allegedly signed falsified work completion acts. These actions facilitated the fraudulent appropriation of GEL 3.86 million by the construction company through unperformed work, and the payment of GEL 1.17 million to the absent international expert. Subsequent restoration efforts cost an additional GEL 12 million.Kupatashvili has been arrested and charged with embezzlement and abuse of official authority, offenses that carry a sentence of up to 11 years imprisonment. The Akkord construction managers and the supervising engineer have been charged in absentia with fraud and forgery.
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Family physician Grace Yu discusses her article The backbone of health care is breaking. In this episode, Grace reflects on the urgent decline of the primary care workforce and the growing crisis facing family medicine. She shares personal stories from more than two decades of practicedelivering babies, guiding families, and caring for patients across generationsto illustrate why strong, relationship-based primary care remains essential for equitable and effective medicine. Grace explores how debt, burnout, and institutional culture drive medical students away from primary care and calls for reforms in education, payment, and technology that honor its value. Viewers will learn how revitalizing primary care can restore trust, sustainability, and humanity in health care.

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Transcript

Kevin Pho: Hi, and welcome to the show. Subscribe at KevinMD.com/podcast. Today we welcome Grace Yu. Shes a family physician. Todays KevinMD article is The backbone of health care is breaking. Grace, welcome to the show.

Grace Yu: Thank you. Glad to be here.

Kevin Pho: All right. Lets start by briefly sharing your story and journey.

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Grace Yu: I was born in Taiwan and relocated to the United States when I was about a year and a half. I came from a family of physicians and grew up in Mississippi, and then I relocated to California for medical school. Thats where I really fell in love with primary care and family medicine and saw the impact of family physicians and continuity of care and developed my love of teaching as well. Following medical school, I stayed in the area for the residency program in family medicine, then affiliated with Stanford. Upon my graduation, I joined the family medicine residency faculty here. Nine years ago, I became the program director of the program that I used to train in.

Kevin Pho: Wonderful. And your KevinMD article is, The backbone of health care is breaking. Tell us what led you to write this article and then talk about the article itself.

Grace Yu: It came up in March. I was at this national Residency Leadership Summit, and its an annual meeting of all family medicine program directors across the country. There are 800-plus program director leaders across the United States. Of that group, I am on the board of the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors, and its a group of about twelve program directors. Were all sitting around talking about the 2025 match results.

Although there was some excitement that there were an increased number of spots that would help eventually fill this primary care workforce shortage that is purported to be an even bigger issue in the next five to ten years, we were facing this issue that more programs had gone unfilled in the match.

That news of trying to figure out, Well, on the one hand were expanding the number of positions. On the other hand, our programs are really struggling in competing with one another for faculty recruitment and talented medical students who are applying to all of these different residency programs. Really what we should be doing is not competing with one another for these resources, but putting together a bigger campaign towards changing some of the structural barriers that have led us to this position that were in now.

It was this realization that we cant just keep relying and assuming that family medicine and the other primary care specialties will be there to fill the primary care workforce shortage by expanding slots when youre just putting too much competition for few resources and overworking those that you already have in the system.

Kevin Pho: So take us behind the scenes into that meeting of program directors. What did you guys conclude were some of the root causes that some of these family medicine spots went unfilled?

Grace Yu: I think it goes down to three issues, which are the three Ps. The first one is going to be payment reform, the second one is practice redesign, and the third one is pathway. I think there are other components as well, but those three highlight the biggest issues.

With regards to payment reform, I didnt know this until I was a practicing physician that the same procedure can be done by two different specialists, a primary care physician and another specialist, for the same outcome. Yet they are reimbursed at completely different rates, with the primary care specialist procedure at a much lower rate.

Our system is really built on this fee-for-service model where the more patients that you see, the more procedures that you do on them, the longer the hospitalization is, for the most part, the system gets more reimbursement for that. Whereas really we should be thinking about a much more accountable care organization type of model, value-based, where the better you care for these patients to keep them from developing those consequences and complications, the better the health system is reimbursing those groups that are caring for those patients.

That needs to be an issue because that trickles down. Students are paying so much for medical school tuition right now. If there is not an option to be able to recoup some of that loss or loan forgiveness programs, some way to even the playing field, it will become very easy for students to just not even consider the positions where they will not be able to pay back those loans and get the same type of financial or academic prestige that is necessary.

The second piece of it was practice redesign. Ive been practicing in my clinic, and I work very closely in our residency clinic, and its a lot of work. Youre seeing patients, and we are fortunate to be in a system that gives us a lot of individual clinic flexibility for the number of patients that were seeing per half day, as long as we meet certain targets. But I do know that theres a push to just always see more, and yet theres a lot of, for every patient that youre seeing, all the labs and imaging follow-up results that you have to take care of, all the messages that patients are now able to very easily email back and forth with the physician. None of that is compensated care.

Students see this. Residents are seeing this and thinking, How is this going to be sustainable? I frequently have students work with me when theyre sometimes even in college, just trying to get a sense for if this is a field for them. I have not ever had one who said, I dont love the work you do, but I had one recently who said, I love the work that you do. Its so amazing. And yet I keep hearing about all of the after-hours work and in-basket. These were not things that students had ever thought about or considered before, but they are a considerable issue now.

There are options, like AI, the transformative ways that it can make the clinicians work-life a little bit easier so they can focus more on patient care. That is huge. Were starting to see some of that in my practice and support for some of the answering of messages and things like that. But at the end of the day, everything falls to the PCP. It is the drug prior authorization that needs to be done for that patient of yours to get the medication they need, etc.

The last P is pathway or pipeline. Students often dont see the true value and joy of continuity of care in their medical school rotations, whether its in family medicine, internal medicine, or pediatrics. I remember when I was going through medical school, family medicine was not a required clerkship during your third year. Most people were doing it fourth year, way past the time that theyre selecting their specialty choice. Even when you did, you didnt have the opportunity to work with the same clinician for a long period of time. Youre working with a different clinician every half day, so you dont get a sense. What does it mean when a doctor has been with a patient for 10 years, has taken care of their grandmother, has delivered their baby? All of the intangible benefits of that relationship that occur.

In most IM and peds clerkships, those are very hospital-based. The outpatient component of it is not very big at all. Then there are also some of these elite schools. Mine is one of them that we call orphan institutions because they dont have a department of family medicine. If you have students who dont see leadership in family medicine at the medical school level, theyre not going to even consider that as a practice possibility for them.

Kevin Pho: Im in primary care as well. I do internal medicine, and I cant believe Ive been doing this for 23 years now. A lot of the same solutions that you talked about, weve been talking about every year. Every year its a primary care crisis. What makes this time different? Why havent some of the suggestions that you and your committee came up with, why havent they already been implemented? Ive heard that these solutions need to be done years before. Why hasnt it happened yet?

Grace Yu: There is this fundamental mismatch that I didnt realize until that March meeting that ACGME, the accrediting body that allows new programs to start or programs to expand, they dont look at all to what is the need in a particular community. Youve got different incentives that hospitals have to start a new residency program. Maybe its completely in an area that is saturated with family physicians and family medicine residency programs already, and there are other areas that have very few of those.

Theres this fundamental mismatch that right now they dont speak to each other at all. I think having some way, some regulating body, to say the two have to be working in concert with one another. Most program directors do not know about that at all. I think thats one piece.

Im seeing a lot of change that is starting with our younger generation of residents and students, and its refreshing because in the era that I trained, we did what we were supposed to do. We knew what we would ultimately get to, and it was worth it. I loved the mentors that I worked with, and I would never have questioned that the things that they told me to do as hoops to go through in residency were the things that were needed to achieve my final goal of being a family medicine educator and clinician.

Theres a lot more questioning of that now, and sometimes thats for a really good tension for change. Maybe it will come. As resident unions talk about this, or physician unions talk about the practice redesign piece of it that needs to occur. Im not really sure what the answer is to get the payment reform piece, but that is one of the most important things that needs to be addressed head-on.

Kevin Pho: From a practical standpoint, what happens when a family medicine residency goes unfilled? What are some of the options that they have?

Grace Yu: Theres this time period after they find out where they can go through something called the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program, or SOAP. All the programs, whether its in family medicine or another specialty, get a list of all the unmatched applicants. All the unmatched applicants see the list of the programs that have not filled. They do this match process and interview process again, but it is in a very concentrated, four-day period of time. It is incredibly stressful for the applicants and the programs and very time-consuming during this period.

Eventually, what the general public hears is what are the match results at the end, what are the filled spots? It is true in family medicine and the other primary care specialties, the ultimate filled rate at the end of SOAP is high. It is this unnecessary time period of stress. Also, why does that need to occur in the first place?

Ultimately, there will be a lot of people who may end up choosing a specialty that they didnt initially plan to apply and match in. Then they choose that. That might be in family medicine, it might be internal medicine, it might be peds, or it might be something else. Theres a little bit of a pendulum that shifts. We knew that right after the pandemic, there was a decrease in ER, probably because of what people were experiencing or imagining what ER physicians had gone through during that COVID-19 time period, and then it got better.

What is alarming is that I dont see a way for this next match to change considerably unless theres a reduction in the number of slots or there is a significant change in the number of interested applicants. That worries me.

Kevin Pho: When you talk to the medical students who match to your program, for instance, they chose family medicine despite all the obstacles that we are talking about today. What are some of the major themes why they chose family medicine in the first place, despite everything and all the impediments that we talked about in our conversation?

Grace Yu: Oh, its so wonderful. If you just listen to our residents as well as our faculty talk about why they chose family medicine, its for all the right reasons. They believe in health equity. They believe in the power of a long-term relationship with patients. They believe in being able to do many different things in the scope of care. In our program, we train people to be able to do inpatient work, to deliver babies, and to do outpatient medicine really well. Many of them continue that full scope afterward.

I feel like if everybody heard this message, this would be so motivating in and of itself. Thats why Im about to head into recruitment season when we start interviewing applicants. While its a busy time, its one of my most favorite times of the year because you hear every single day with every interview affirmation of why this field is so important.

Kevin Pho: So what about the future of clinics? Theres a lot of uncertainty out there. In non-academic settings, you have things like private equity buying up practices and cutting costs. I hear stories of physicians sometimes being replaced by advanced practice practitioners, and that makes the future of primary care a little bit uncertain. When I talk to medical students, its that uncertainty that is one of the reasons that prevents them from applying. In terms of the future, given the current climate, how do you address that uncertainty some medical students have about the field of primary care in general?

Grace Yu: I think a lot of people have asked, Are primary care clinicians going to be replaced by machines or robots? The power of that human connection is not going to ever be replaced by a machine. There can be efficiencies that are gained. There can be a different way of practicing that will be available to us in the very near or not-so-distant future.

The very reality that our graduates have no problem at all finding jobs because there is such an immense need for more primary care physicians in this area, and some of them relocate to other parts of the United States, is proof that there will be jobs for them. They may look slightly different, and they may be asked to have different types of skill sets than what we have traditionally trained for in the last 50 years of medicine. But thats the case for all medicine, I think. I think the future still is bright.

Kevin Pho: Were talking to Grace Yu. Shes a family physician. Todays KevinMD article is The backbone of health care is breaking. Grace, lets end with some take-home messages you want to leave with the KevinMD audience.

Grace Yu: I think that if you are a clinician who is not a primary care physician, but you work with one, just appreciate them. Work, partner with them. That is a very important piece, to feel like were working together towards the same goal, not competing.

I think if you have influence, whether its in your church, whether its in your school, whether its in a medical school system or health care system policy, we need to hear all those voices for why its important to invest in physicians and in specialties that are really taking care of our entire populations.

Then I think for family physicians who are practicing, my colleagues, I think it is important to know that you have so much immense value. Your patients adore you and appreciate you. Your students do too. Have joy in the medicine that you chose to do. Share your value openly, out loud, and make people stand up and listen and appreciate the work that youre doing behind the scenes all the time.

Kevin Pho: Grace, thank you so much for sharing your perspective and insight. Thanks again for coming on the show.

Grace Yu: Thank you.
Americas mental health system is failing its seniors, caught in a perfect storm of: a rapidly growing population, a severe shortage of geriatric psychiatrists, and a Medicare model buckling under the weight of chronic, costly conditions. For millions of older adults living with anxiety, depression, or isolation, the system offers little or no treatment; often, the nearest provider is hours away, and waitlists stretch for months. This access crisis is stark: more than 160 million Americans live in federally designated mental health professional shortage areas. The traditional Medicare fee-for-service model, built for office visits, cannot address the provider deficit or reach homebound seniors. For many, the real choice is not between a human therapist and an AI tool, but between an AI tool and nothing. AI-assisted interventions offering consistent, 24/7 support through chatbot-based cognitive behavioral therapy are a critical, scalable lifeline in a system with no other viable alternative.

The catastrophic cost of preventive failure

The current structure of Medicare is failing to provide continuous, preventive mental health care, resulting in a demonstrable and costly shift toward acute care utilization for those with psychological distress. Research highlights a concerning trend: upon reaching Medicare eligibility at age 65, adults with psychological distress experience a significant decrease in outpatient mental health visits with any health care professional and a decrease in psychotropic medication fills.

This reduction in preventive and maintenance care correlates with a troubling consequence: Medicare eligibility is associated with significant increases in acute care use, specifically inpatient admissions and emergency department visits. These increases were primarily driven by non-mental-health-related conditions. This strongly suggests that Medicares limited mental health coverage prevents timely outpatient intervention, leading to untreated psychological distress becoming a threat multiplier that impairs an individuals ability to manage physical chronic conditions, resulting in higher rates of hospitalization for conditions like cardiac disease and accelerated cognitive decline.

From an economic perspective, this represents a costly and inefficient system; since a single psychiatric hospitalization can cost Medicare tens of thousands of dollars, investing in a preventive AI-support tool, whose cost is negligible in comparison, yields a significant, common-sense return on investment by preventing these expensive, traumatic acute events.

Breaking the cycle: Why administrative barriers make AI support essential

Administrative complexity doesnt just frustrate seniors; it actively worsens health outcomes. Medicare Part B and D premiums alone consume nearly 25 percent of average Social Security benefits, yet millions of low-income older adults are eligible for programs like Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs) and the Low Income Subsidy (LIS), which could save them up to $8,400 annually, yet remain unenrolled due to burdensome application processes requiring up to 30 pages of documentation. This same administrative maze blocks access to mental health care: long waitlists, referral requirements, and transportation barriers to distant providers create insurmountable obstacles for seniors already struggling with depression or anxiety.

The result is a vicious cycle. Financial stress exacerbates mental health conditions, while untreated depression and anxiety impair a seniors cognitive capacity to navigate complex paperwork and manage their own care. AI-based mental health support breaks this cycle by offering immediate, barrier-free access; no waitlists, no transportation required. By addressing the mental health component first, these tools may eventually improve a seniors capacity to navigate other beneficial programs and manage their overall health.

While advocacy for eliminating outdated policy barriers, such as the 190-day lifetime limit on inpatient psychiatric hospital services and restrictions on licensed clinical social workers providing care in nursing homes, remains necessary, legislative change moves slowly. The regulatory path forward should prioritize speed: testing AI solutions through Medicare Advantage and CMMI demonstration projects, particularly in mental health professional shortage areas, can generate the evidence needed for broader coverage while providing immediate relief to vulnerable populations.

Addressing legitimate concerns with transparency

As a founder and software developer, I understand the legitimate concerns about quality, privacy, and bias. The answer is not to ban the technology but to regulate it intelligently. Medicare should not reimburse for any tool without clear standards. It should require:

Clinical validation: Data demonstrating the tools efficacy, ideally through frameworks already being developed by the FDAs Digital Health Center.

Data demonstrating the tools efficacy, ideally through frameworks already being developed by the FDAs Digital Health Center. Auditable standards: Adherence to robust privacy laws (HIPAA) and regular audits for algorithmic bias, using frameworks like the one developed by NIST.

Adherence to robust privacy laws (HIPAA) and regular audits for algorithmic bias, using frameworks like the one developed by NIST. Interoperability: Assurance that the tool can share necessary data (with patient consent) with a primary care provider or specialist.

Assurance that the tool can share necessary data (with patient consent) with a primary care provider or specialist. Human-in-the-loop: Require clear escalation protocols to a human provider when AI detects a crisis or its limits, ensuring tools can integrate with existing care teams or function as standalone support in provider-absent regions.

These safeguards are not only possible; they are essential for building trust with patients and providers.

A responsible regulatory path forward

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CMS doesnt need to create a new system overnight. The authority exists to test these solutions responsibly.

Phase 1: Medicare Advantage (MA) innovation: CMS should issue clear guidance allowing MA plans to offer AI-based mental health tools as a supplemental benefit, tracking their impact on hospitalization rates and total cost of care.

CMS should issue clear guidance allowing MA plans to offer AI-based mental health tools as a supplemental benefit, tracking their impact on hospitalization rates and total cost of care. Phase 2: CMMI demonstration projects: Launch focused pilots, especially in designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas, to gather real-world data on how these tools perform in diverse, underserved populations.

Launch focused pilots, especially in designated Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas, to gather real-world data on how these tools perform in diverse, underserved populations. Phase 3: National coverage determination: Based on the data from these pilots and not on speculation, CMS can then make an evidence-based decision about broader reimbursement.

While the crisis demands immediate action, Phase 1 can begin immediately through Medicare Advantage, providing relief to millions of beneficiaries while we gather data for broader implementation.

The cost of inaction

The Medicare Trustees own reports warn of the Trust Funds impending insolvency. We are accelerating this crisis by refusing to pay for preventive solutions, choosing instead to pay multiples more for the acute, catastrophic consequences. This is a failure of both fiscal policy and human empathy. Other nations, including the U.K. and Singapore, are already integrating these technologies to cope with similar demographic pressures. The U.S. should not be lagging in a field it largely invented. We have the technology. We have a clear, step-by-step path to test it. What we need now is the regulatory courage to act.

Ronke Lawal is the founder of Wolfe, a neuroadaptive AI platform engineering resilience at the synaptic level. From Bain & Companys social impact and private equity practices to leading finance at tech startups, her three-year journey revealed a $20 billion blind spot in digital mental health: cultural incompetence at scale. Now both building and coding Wolfes AI architecture, Ronke combines her business acumen with self-taught engineering skills to tackle what she calls algorithmic malpractice in mental health care. Her work focuses on computational neuroscience applications that predict crises seventy-two hours before symptoms emerge and reverse trauma through precision-timed interventions. Currently an MBA candidate at the University of Notre Dames Mendoza College of Business, Ronke writes on AI, neuroscience, and health care equity. Her insights on cultural intelligence in digital health have been featured in KevinMD and discussed on major health care platforms. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Her most recent publication is The End of the Unmeasured Mind: How AI-Driven Outcome Tracking is Eradicating the Data Desert in Mental Healthcare.
Qabil Ashirov



The South Caucasus is no longer a peripheral zone between Europe and Russia. It is rapidly transforming into a geopolitical hub, shaped by shifting global power dynamics and the rise of new actors such as China and India. As global logistics corridors expand and energy routes diversify, the regions strategic importance grows exponentially. Once a buffer between NATO and Russia, the South Caucasus is now asserting itself as a contributor to global realignment  a trend made unmistakably clear by the war in Ukraine.

Indias increasing involvement in the region, particularly through Armenia, is emblematic of this shift. Over the past several years, and especially since 2020, India has ramped up its military support for Armenia. While Armenian officials and media outlets often attribute this to Russias distraction in Ukraine and its inability to fulfil defence obligations, a deeper analysis reveals a more calculated strategy. India is leveraging the geopolitical vacuum to establish its own footprint in the region, not merely as a supplier of arms, but as a rising power seeking influence in Eurasia.

This development is understandably unsettling for regional actors, especially Azerbaijan, which has long suffered from Armenias irredentist and expansionist foreign policies. However, where there is the proverbial poison, there is also an antidote. Indias ambitions are counterbalanced by China, its technological rival in Asia and a global power with growing interests in the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan has responded by deepening its ties with China across political, economic, cultural, and now military domains.

Historically, Azerbaijan relied on Pakistan to offset Indias influence. That partnership remains strong, but now China has entered the equation. Until recently, Azerbaijans defence cooperation with China was indirect, often mediated through third countries. A prime example is the acquisition of the Polonez multiple launch rocket system, co-produced by Belarus and China, which significantly enhanced Azerbaijans artillery capabilities.

The most prominent Chinese-origin platform in Azerbaijans arsenal is the JF-17 Block 3 fighter jet  a joint product of China and Pakistan. This aircraft has dramatically boosted Azerbaijans air force capabilities, with its Chinese-made avionics and weapon systems, including the PL-15E air-to-air missile, which extended Azerbaijans strike range by 4050 percent. No neighboring country, excluding Russia, currently fields a comparable platform.

Speculation about further Chinese acquisitions intensified when Lieutenant General Namig Islamzade, commander of Azerbaijans Air Force, was reported to be evaluating the J-10CE  a fourth-generation Chinese fighter with fifth-generation capabilities. This coincided with Azerbaijans broader efforts to modernize its air fleet, sparking rumors that the country might soon procure advanced Chinese aircraft directly. Unfortunately, this speculation has not turned into reality so far.

However, those rumors gained substance when footage emerged from Bakus streets showing HQ-9BE surface-to-air missile systems  Chinas long-range air defense platform  during preparations for the fifth anniversary of Azerbaijans 2020 military victory. This marked a turning point: Azerbaijan was no longer acquiring Chinese systems through intermediaries. It was now engaging in direct military procurement from Beijing.

This shift signals more than just a transactional defense relationship. It reflects Chinas deeper entry into the South Caucasus and its alignment with Pakistan to counterbalance Indias growing presence via Armenia. For Azerbaijan, this trilateral dynamic  with China and Pakistan on one side, and India-Armenia on the other  offers strategic depth and diversification.

And diversification is key. Prior to 2020, Azerbaijans military arsenal was dominated by Russian, Israeli, and Belarusian systems. Post-war procurement has seen a surge in Turkish and Pakistani platforms. The addition of Chinese systems not only enhances Azerbaijans capabilities but also reduces dependence on any single supplier, making its defense posture more resilient and adaptive.

Azerbaijans pivot toward China and Pakistan is not merely reactive  it is strategic. As India seeks to expand its influence through Armenia, Azerbaijan is building a counterweight rooted in technological sophistication, diplomatic pragmatism, and regional balance. The South Caucasus is no longer a passive stage for great power competition; it is becoming an active player in shaping the future of Eurasian geopolitics. And in this emerging order, Azerbaijan is positioning itself not just as a regional actor, but as a strategic bridge between East and West.
Artefacts from India among items stolen in 'high value' burglary at UK museum

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23:54 High alert, strict security at all railway stations in Delhi Police and other officials at the blast site in New Delhi The Railway Protection Force, in close coordination with the Government Railway Police, is on high alert with strict security arrangements at all stations in the Delhi-NCR region following a bomb blast near the Red Fort that killed eight people and injured many on Monday. The Northern... Read more >

23:30 Veteran actor Prem Chopra admitted to hospital Veteran actor Prem Chopra has been admitted to Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital since Saturday (November 8) due to chest congestion.As per an update shared by his family, the Kati Patang star is recovering well and is expected to be discharged in a few days.More details regarding his health are awaited. Read more >

23:20 Owner of car in which blast took place in Delhi detained A damaged car in blast near Red Fort in Delhi./ANI on X The Delhi police detained the owner of a car in which an explosion occurred near the Red Fort on Monday evening, killing at least eight people and gutting several vehicles, an official said. The police have detained the car's owner, identified as Mohammed Salman, in Haryana's... Read more >

23:18 Salman Khan arrives at hospital to check on Dharmendra's health Actor Salman Khan/ANI Photo Veteran actor Dharmendra was admitted to Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital earlier today (November 10), leaving fans concerned about his health.On Monday evening, his family members, including Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and his wife Tanya, were spotted arriving at the hospital. A while ago,... Read more >

23:13 Red Fort blast: Delhi CM Rekha Gupta appeals to people to avoid rumours NIA team at blast site in Delhi/ANI Photo Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday condoled the loss of lives in the blast near the Red Fort on Monday that killed at least eight people and injured many others, and appealed to people to maintain calm and avoid rumours. Calling the incident extremely distressing and alarming, Gupta... Read more >

22:59 Blast near Red Fort: Gujarat on alert, DGP orders to increase patrolling All police units in Gujarat have been asked to remain alert and increase patrolling as a precautionary measure in view of an explosion in a car in Delhi which killed at least eight people on Monday evening, officials said. As a precautionary measure, all police units have been asked... Read more >

22:47 Delhi blast: Chandni Chowk market to be closed tomorrow The Chandni Chowk market will be closed on Tuesday following a powerful blast near the Red Fort that killed at least eight people and injured 24 others, the market association said. The shops in Chandni Chowk will be closed on Tuesday as there is fear among traders after the blast, said... Read more >

22:42 Amit Shah visits LNJP hospital, meets those injured in blast Union Home Minister Amit Shah meets an injured person at LNJP Hospital/ANI on X Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited the LNJP hospital in New Delhi to meet those injured in a blast near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening. A high-intensity explosion ripped through a slow-moving car at a traffic signal near the Red Fort metro station on Monday evening, killing... Read more >

22:39 Was Delhi blast a terror attack? Amit Shah says... Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaks to media in Delhi/ANI on X Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the investigation into the Delhi blast near Red Fort is underway and all possibilities are being examined. He added that it is too early to determine the cause until samples recovered from the site are analysed. We are keeping all angles open... Read more >

22:25 Prez, PM to attend Sathya Sai Baba birth centenary celebration President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the birth centenary celebrations of Puttaparthi Sathya Sai Baba in Sri Sathyasai district. The prime minister is scheduled to attend the celebrations on November 19 and the president on November 22. Sathya Sai Baba... Read more >

21:54 Delhi blast: Amit Shah orders NIA, NSG to join probe Union Home Minister Amit Shah speaking after the blast in Delhi on Monday./ANI on X Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to the Delhi police chief and the director of the Intelligence Bureau to take stock of the situation following a blast near the Red Fort that has so far claimed eight lives, sources said. Shah also directed the chiefs of the National Security Guard,... Read more >

21:49 Blast occurred in a slow-moving vehicle near traffic signal: Delhi CP Police officials cordon off the area after the car explosion near Red Fort./ANI Video Grab Soon after a car explosion near the Red Fort killing at least eight people, Delhi police commissioner Satish Golcha on Monday said the blast took place in a slow-moving vehicle near the Red Fort traffic signal. Talking to reporters at the blast site, he confirmed multiple deaths and... Read more >

21:34 Delhi blast: Maharashtra on high alert, security tightened in Mumbai A high alert has been issued in Maharashtra following a blast in a car parked near the Red Fort metro station in New Delhi on Monday evening, and security has been beefed up at vital installations, the police said.A senior police officer said a precautionary alert has been issued for Mumbai.All... Read more >

21:31 Army jawan injured in mine blast along LoC in Poonch File image/Umar Ganie for Rediff An Army jawan was injuried in a mine blast along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Monday, officials said. The incident took place in the Tain Mankote forward area of Mendhar tehsil when the jawan reportedly stepped on a mine during routine patrolling, triggering... Read more >

21:24 Dharmendra under observation, please pray for his health: Hema Malini Actor Dharmendra/File image Dharmendra is under observation at a Mumbai hospital and is being continuously monitored, said wife Hema Malini on Monday, urging well-wishers to pray for the veteran actor's good health. I thank everyone for their concern about Dharam ji who is in hospital for observation. He is being... Read more >

21:20 Perpetrators of terror will be brought to justice swiftly: TN BJP chief File image Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party president Nainar Nagenthran on Monday strongly condemned the blast near the Red Fort in Delhi and expressed confidence that the perpetrators of the heinous act of terror will be brought to justice swiftly. Nagenthran said he was deeply shocked and saddened... Read more >

21:10 PM Modi discusses Delhi blast with Amit Shah File image Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took stock of the situation after a blast near the Red Fort here on Monday evening claimed at least eight lives, and spoke with Home Minister Amit Shah, government sources said. A high-intensity explosion ripped through a car near the Red Fort metro... Read more >

20:54 Deeply shocked over blast near Delhi's Red Fort: Mamata West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday expressed deep shock over the explosion near Delhi's Red Fort, which left at least eight people dead and several injured. Deeply shocked to hear about the tragic blast in New Delhi. My heart goes out to the families who have lost their... Read more >

20:47 Committee to probe lapses in Bengaluru central jail, says minister Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara/File image Karnataka home minister G Parameshwara on Monday announced the formation of a committee led by additional director general of police (Law and Order) R Hitendra to probe the lapses in Bengaluru central jail. The announcement comes after videos surfaced purportedly showing inmates having... Read more >

20:42 'Saw body parts on road, several cars damaged' Damaged vehicles at the blast site near Red Fort in Delhi./ANI Photo A massive explosion in a car near Gate No. 1 of Red Fort Metro Station in the heart of the national capital on Monday evening, triggering a blaze that engulfed three to four nearby vehicles through the densely populated area.Eyewitnesses described a deafening blast that rattled windows and left... Read more >

20:30 Rewa-Delhi flight service begins, MP CM says it will boost tourism in Vindhya Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav virtually flagged off the first commercial flight from Rewa Airport to Delhi on Monday, which will boost connectivity and tourism in the Vindhya region, known as the land of white tigers, where sacred pilgrimage sites are located.With the launch, Madhya... Read more >

20:14 Security beefed up across Delhi, border areas after blast A view of the blast site near Red Fort in Delhi./ANI on X The Delhi police ramped up security checks across the national capital in the wake of the recovery of around 360 kg of suspected ammonium nitrate and a cache of arms and ammunition in Haryana's Faridabad, an officer said on Monday. The arms were seized from a Kashmiri doctor's rented... Read more >

20:02 8 killed in Delhi car blast; high alert sounded A view of the the blast site near Red Fort Metro station in Delhi./ANI on X Eight persons have been killed after a high-intensity blast ripped through a car parked near the Red Fort on Monday evening, with the powerful explosion leaving multiple vehicles in flames and shattering window panes. Several people are feared injured, officials said. The police sounded... Read more >

18:59 Rupee falls 6 paise to close at 88.71 against US dollar The rupee depreciated 6 paise to settle at 88.71 (provisional) against the US dollar in a muted session on Monday, weighed down by elevated crude oil prices. However, positive domestic equity markets and a soft US dollar cushioned the rupee's downside, forex traders said. At the... Read more >

18:45 Congress to contest 2028 Tripura polls alone, says MLA Sudip Roy Senior Congress MLA Sudip Roy Barman on Monday said the party will contest the next Tripura Assembly elections without forming any alliance, asserting that the party would take on the BJP on its own.Addressing a programme at Churaibari in North Tripura district, Roy Barman urged people to ensure... Read more >

18:39 India, Russia to ink pact to open jobs for skilled workers India and Russia are expected to sign a bilateral mobility agreement during President Vladimir Putin's visit to New Delhi in the first week of December. This accord will establish a framework for legal migration, protection of workers' rights and expansion of skilled Indian manpower in... Read more >

18:19 Kerala govt appoints K Jayakumar as TDB president Former Kerala chief secretary K Jayakumar The Kerala government appointed former chief secretary K Jayakumar as the new president of the TDB, which manages major shrines including Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala. According to a gazette notification issued on Monday, the term of the outgoing Travancore Devaswom Board president, P S... Read more >

17:50 After DMK, CPM moves SC against SIR in Tamil Nadu The Communist Party of India-Marxist has moved the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Election Commission's directive for a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu, terming the exercise arbitrary, illegal, and unconstitutional'. A bench... Read more >

17:35 College student killed as speeding BMW hits two-wheeler in Gujarat A 20-year-old engineering student was killed after a speeding BMW hit his two-wheeler and dragged it for nearly 200 feet in Gujarat's Rajkot city in the wee hours of Monday, the police said. The police have arrested the BMW driver, son of a local businessman, in connection with the accident... Read more >

17:10 Cyclone Montha caused Rs 6,384 cr damage to Andhra The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday revised the estimate of damage caused by Cyclone Montha to Rs 6,384 crore and sought an immediate relief of Rs 900 crore after a central team visited the state to assess the loss. An eight-member Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) led by Pasumi... Read more >

16:56 Stock markets snap 3-day decline on buying in IT stocks Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty bounced back on Monday after three straight days of losses following buying in IT and financial shares and a rally in global peers. The 30-share BSE Sensex benchmark climbed 319.07 points, or 0.38 per cent, to close at 83,535.35. In the intraday... Read more >

16:41 Dharmendra in hospital, 'not in great state' Veteran actor Dharmendra, who has been in hospital for several days, is in a serious condition but is stable, an industry insider said on Monday. The 89-year-old actor has been in and out of south Mumbai's Breach Candy hospital.Dharamji's health is not in a great state, the insider told PTI... Read more >

16:36 Jaish terror module: AK-47 rifle found in woman doc's car The stash discovered from the doctors A woman doctor from Lucknow was arrested for her role in a terror module spanning Kashmir, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Monday. An AK-47 rifle was recovered from her car, they said. Dr Shaheen was arrested along with seven others. These included Kashmir's Dr Muzammil... Read more >

15:53 Bike aggregator man held for fleeing with iPhone 15 A rider with a bike aggregator service who had allegedly fled with an Apple iPhone 15 meant for delivery in Delhi's Patel Nagar, was arrested after weeks of evading arrest, police said on Monday. The accused, Gurpreet Singh (29), resident of Nangli Dairy, was apprehended on November 8 and a... Read more >

15:43 Crude bomb explosion outside B'desh interim chief Yunus' Grameen bank Unidentified attackers exploded improvised bombs outside the head office of Bangladesh interim government chief Muhammad Yunus' Grameen Bank overnight on Monday. The attack was one of the many instances of sporadic violence that have hit Dhaka amid brewing tensions in Bangladesh's political... Read more >

15:34 US Senate votes to end shutdown The US Senate voted 60-40 on Sunday night to break the weeks-long government shutdown, marking the first major step toward reopening federal agencies as early as later this week, Politico reported.The breakthrough came after eight Senate Democrats agreed to support a bipartisan funding package... Read more >

15:18 Leaner Bank Nifty On Sebi's New Menu The Securities and Exchange Board of India's new framework for non-benchmark indices is expected to trigger around 12,900 crore ($1.5 billion) worth of reshuffling in the National Stock Exchange's Nifty Bank index.Yes Bank and Union Bank of India will join the index under the revised rules,... Read more >

15:17 'I love PM Modi a bit too much' Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief Chirag Paswan on Monday expressed his unwavering support for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying I love him a bit too much, emphasising that he's inseparable from him. Speaking with ANI, he dismissed the idea of a post-poll alliance after the Bihar... Read more >

14:50 Banks' M&A Funding: Sensitive Sector Norms May Need Rethink A rethink of banks' exposure to 'sensitive sectors' may be needed to ease the path of a proposed move to allow them to finance mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the country.The Reserve Bank of India defines capital markets, real estate, and commodities as 'sensitive sectors' in view of the... Read more >

14:44 Jaish-backed docs raised terror funds, radicalised people The university where Muzammil one of the accused taught The Jammu and Kashmir Police has unearthed an interstate and transnational terror module of Jaish-e-Mohamamd and Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind outfits by arresting seven persons, including two doctors, and recovering arms and ammunition, officials said in Srinagar on Monday. The operation was... Read more >

14:24 360 kg of explosives, arms, timers found from J-K doc Representational image Update: A Kashmiri doctor has been arrested in Faridabad with around 360 kg of explosives suspected to be ammonium nitrate and a huge cache of arms and ammunition recovered from his rented accommodation, police said on Monday. The operation was carried out jointly by Faridabad and Jammu and... Read more >

14:00 Cough, chest pain... AP student dies in US 2 days later A 23-year-old Indian student has been found dead in her apartment in Texas, United States, leaving her family and friends in deep shock. The student, identified as Rajyalakshmi (Raji) Yarlagadda, was a resident of Andhra Pradesh and had recently graduated from Texas A&M University-Corpus... Read more >

13:49 10 Of India's First Women Ambassadors The ongoing Netflix series Diplomat has demonstrated powerfully how competent and smart a woman ambassador can be. Which were India's very first lady ambassadors who ably represented India abroad?Take a look. Read more >

13:12 Must ensure no new Jinnah ever rises again in India: Yogi Invoking All-India Muslim League leaders Mohammad Ali Jinah and Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday said those who oppose the national song Vande Mataram are insulting India's unity and integrity. Even today, we would expect that everyone living in... Read more >

12:48 10 Countries With The Smartest People Ever wondered which countries top the charts when it comes to brainpower? And can there be such kinds of charts? According to World Population Review, a few nations consistently produce sharp thinkers and problem-solvers, coming from, it is believed, from a strong link between education and... Read more >

12:38 Govt Taps IISc For Critical Minerals Research The ministry of mines has recognised the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, as one of the centres of excellence (CoE) under the National Critical Minerals Mission, a 16,300 crore initiative to bolster the country's self-reliance in minerals essential for clean energy, defence and... Read more >

12:36 Rare-Earth-Free EV Motors: Centre To Meet With Automakers The ministry of heavy industries (MHI) will soon convene a meeting with automakers and other stakeholders to discuss a research project aimed at developing ferrite and reluctance motors in India, the two types of electric motors that do not use heavy rare-earth permanent magnets, Business... Read more >

12:34 Bihar polls phase II: 4 lakh security personnel deployed Security has been beefed up across Bihar for the second phase of the assembly polls on November 11, with over 4 lakh personnel engaged in election duties, officials said on Monday. Voting will be held at 45,399 polling stations, including 40,073 in rural areas, across 122 assembly seats in... Read more >

12:09 Why Maruti Is Launching 'Pragati Ka Tyohar' The share of small cars in Maruti Suzuki India has gone up sharply after the GST reforms, with the country's largest carmaker witnessing a new profile of customers this festival season, who want to upgrade from two-wheelers to their first car buoyed up by the recent tax cuts.After the GST... Read more >

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10:51 2 J-K docs questioned after 350kg explosives recovered Representational image In an alarming explosives recovery from near the national capital, a team of Jammu and Kashmir police has found 350 kg of ammonium nitrate, an AK-47 rifle, and ammunition from Faridabad in Haryana, reports NDTV. The massive arms recovery was made days after police arrested a Kashmiri doctor... Read more >

10:33 Popular Lenskart IPO opens in loss at Rs 395 per share Much talked about, Lenskart solutions made a weak debut on Monday, listing at a discount of 1.74 per cent to the issue price. The stock opened at Rs 395 per share on the exchanges, against the IPO issue price of Rs 402, resulting in a loss of Rs 7 per share for IPO investors on... Read more >

10:15 Rape accused AAP MLA Pathanmajra surfaces in Australia Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, an accused in an alleged rape case, has surfaced in Australia after remaining absconding since September this year. The Australia Today reported on Monday that Pathanmajra, the Sanour MLA, is wanted by the Punjab Police, which has been on... Read more >

09:58 Nifty, Sensex open flat over global upgrades, IPO buzz, Bihar polls The domestic stock market opened on a flat note on Monday, continuing its sideways movement as investors remained cautious ahead of key domestic and global events. Both benchmark indices registered marginal gains in early trade. The Nifty 50 index opened at 25,503.50, up 11.20 points or... Read more >

09:47 'PM lied on Nehru and Vande Mataram' Congress leader Jairam Ramesh calls out the PM for saying important paras of the Vande Mataram were dropped in 1937: This detailed article by Semanti Ghosh in today's Ananda Bazar Patrika totally debunks and exposes the PM's lies on Nehru and Vande Mataram. It explains how and why Rabindranath... Read more >

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08:57 Senate moves toward deal to end longest US government shutdown On the 40th day of the most extended government shutdown in US history, senators returned from recess Sunday for a rare weekend session, preparing to vote on whether to advance a House-passed spending bill aimed at reopening the government.The Senate needs 60 votes to move forward on the... Read more >
The writer and human rights activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, has been executed in Nigeria despite worldwide pleas for clemency.

The countrys military rulers ordered the execution of Mr Saro-Wiwa and eight other dissidents should go ahead at 0730 local time (0830 GMT).

They were taken in chains to a prison in the southern city of Port Harcourt and hanged.

The activists were condemned to death 10 days ago after being found guilty of involvement in four murders.

Mr Saro-Wiwa insisted they were framed because of their opposition to the oil industry in the Niger-Delta region of southern Nigeria.

At his trial Mr Saro-Wiwa said the case was designed to prevent members of his tribe, the Ogoni, from stopping pollution of their homeland and getting a fair share of oil profits.

Dozens of Ogonis have been imprisoned by the military regime led by General Sani Abacha who seized power two years ago.

The government is fearful of their opposition to mining driving the companies away, especially the Anglo-Dutch group, Shell.

Shell is the largest operator in Nigeria and oil it extracts in the Niger-Delta region provides most of Nigerias export earnings.

The deaths of Mr Saro-Wiwa and the other activists looks likely to lead to Nigerias expulsion or suspension from the Commonwealth whose leaders are currently meeting in New Zealand.

After news of the executions became public, South African President Nelson Mandela said his delegation would recommend Nigerias suspension until a democratic government was elected.

British Prime Minister John Major called the executions judicial murder and said he did not see how Nigeria could now remain in the Commonwealth.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

The following day Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth and the European Union imposed sanctions on the country.

Both the suspension and sanctions lasted until after the death of General Sani Abacha in 1998.

Shells facilities in Ogoniland were sabotaged after the executions and the company was forced to abandon production there temporarily.

However, it continues to be the dominant oil company in Nigeria despite attacks on installations by members of the Ogoni and other tribes.

In September 2001 a court in New York granted relatives of Ken Saro-Wiwa and another of the executed activists, John Kpuinen, the right to sue Shell.

The suit alleges the company fabricated evidence to support murder charges against the two men.

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Two decades ago, Ahmad al-Sharaa was held in a U.S.-run detention center in Iraq after joining al-Qaida militants fighting against American forces there.

Few would have predicted that he would go on to become the first Syrian president to visit Washington since the countrys independence in 1946.

Since rebel forces he led ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad last December, al-Sharaa  who cut ties with al-Qaida years earlier  has gone on a largely successful charm offensive to establish new ties with countries that had shunned Assads government after its brutal crackdown on protesters in 2011 spiraled into a 14-year civil war.

Al-Sharaa met with U.S. President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia in May, where Trump announced that he would lift decades of sanctions.

The two men will meet again on Monday in Washington, where Syria is widely expected to officially join the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group. Al-Sharaa arrived in the U.S. on Saturday ahead of the meeting, according to Syrian state media.

Apart from that agreement, al-Sharaa will use the visit to push for a full removal of the remaining sanctions imposed on his country.

Al-Sharaas media adviser, Ahmad Zeidan, told the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV that the foremost issue on the presidents agenda in Washington is to call for a repeal of the Caesar Act, which imposed sweeping sanctions over human rights abuses by Assads government and security forces.

The Caesar sanctions are currently waived by presidential order, but a permanent repeal will require a congressional vote.

A push to lift the last sanctions

Days ahead of al-Sharaas visit, Trump told reporters that he had moved to lift sanctions from Syria to give them a fighting shot, and I think (al-Sharaas) doing a very good job so far.

Its a tough neighborhood and hes a tough guy, but I got along with him very well, and a lot of progress has been made with Syria, he said.

On Thursday, the U.N. Security Council voted to lift sanctions from al-Sharaa and his interior minister, and the U.S. then removed them from its specially designated global terrorist list.

Meanwhile, senators have advanced a repeal of the Caesar Act through an annual defense authorization bill, but the final legislation is being negotiated with the House, where some top Republicans want to put conditions on it.

Rep. Brian Mast, the Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has expressed reservations about a full repeal. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who is close to Trump, has also pushed for conditions on the repeal, including security and representation for religious and ethnic minorities, maintaining peaceful relations with other states in the region, including the State of Israel, and removing foreign fighters from government and security institutions.

Skeptics of al-Sharaa point to eruptions of sectarian violence over the past year during which pro-government Sunni gunmen killed hundreds of civilians from the Alawite and Druze religious minorities. Al-Sharaa has promised to hold perpetrators accountable, but minority communities remain wary.

The advocacy group Save the Persecuted Christians sent a letter signed by 100 U.S. religious leaders calling on Trump to address the massacre of minorities in Syria and to push al-Sharaa to open a humanitarian corridor from the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights to the Druze enclave of Sweida in southern Syria.

Since Assads fall, Israel has seized a formerly U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria and pushed for a demilitarized zone south of Damascus. The two countries, which do not have diplomatic relations, have been negotiating a potential security agreement.

Meanwhile, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, has led the effort for a full Caesar repeal. Shaheen said that we have a real opportunity in the Middle East right now that we havent had in my lifetime.

Advocates say it is unfair to keep sanctions that were specifically imposed on Assads government as leverage over the new authorities and that the threat of a Caesar snapback would prevent international companies from investing in rebuilding the war-battered country.

Mouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, which lobbied for the imposition of the Caesar sanctions but is now trying to get them removed, said the U.S. government can impose new targeted sanctions if warranted.

But to use Caesar for that is like using a sledgehammer instead of a scalpel  youre going to kill the person youre operating on, Moustafa said.

A strengthened military alliance

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack said last week that Syria will hopefully soon join the coalition of some 80 countries working to prevent a resurgence of IS.

A Trump administration official said Al-Sharaa is expected to sign an agreement to join the coalition during his visit. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to comment when asked about the possibility.

Another U.S. official with knowledge of the situation said that while Syrian forces had already been fighting IS, their formal entry into the coalition will be a milestone and will enable U.S. forces to work more closely with the Syrians.

Both officials were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Syrian officials declined to comment on the discussions about joining the coalition.

While the Islamic State lost hold of all of the territory it once held in Syria and Iraq years ago, cells of the extremist group have continued to carry out attacks in both countries and abroad. MDT/AP

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Chinas exports contracted in October, hit by a 25% drop in shipments to the United States, the government reported Friday.

Persisting trade tensions with Washington may get a respite in the final quarter of the year after President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed earlier to de-escalate the trade war between the two largest economies. But trade friction still appears to be casting a pall on demand elsewhere.

Customs data show a 1.1% drop in Chinas global exports in October compared to a year earlier, the weakest since February, following an 8.3% increase in September.

Imports rose 1% last month from the year before, compared with 7.4% growth in September.

Chinas shipments to the U.S. have already fallen by double-digits for seven consecutive months, while it has diversified its export markets to regions such as Southeast Asia and Africa.

The October decline also was affected by a high base for the same month in 2024, when exports growth soared more than 12.6%, the fastest rate in over two years.

Imports rose 1% last month, compared with a 7.4% growth in September year-on-year. Economists said a prolonged property sector downturn and weak domestic consumption remains a concern.

At their meeting in South Korea in late October, Trump and Xi agreed to lower tariffs and postpone new port fees they had imposed on each others vessels. China paused some of its export controls on rare earths for one year and agreed to purchase more soybeans and other farm products from the U.S.. The U.S. eased some sanctions on Chinese companies.

Goldman Sachs economists said following the Trump-Xi meeting that they expect Chinese export volumes to grow by 5%-6% annually, helping China to gain global market share and driving its overall economic expansion.

The reduction in some of these tariffs as part of the latest U.S.-China trade deal may provide a small boost to exports, Leah Fahy and Zichun Huang, China economists at Capital Economics, wrote in a recent note. But that wont show up until later in the last quarter of this year, they said.

A meaningful U.S. export boost would probably start in the first quarter of next year and then accelerate in the second quarter, said Wei Li, head of Multi-Asset Investments at BNP Paribas Securities (China).

Last week, Chinese Premier Li Qiang told business leaders at the annual China International Import Expo in Shanghai that China would embrace free markets and free trade, while he criticized trade restrictions that hurt developing countries. CHAN HO-HIM, HONG KONG, MDT/AP

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Japan announced Friday that its seafood exports have resumed for the first time since China imposed a ban over the discharge of treated radioactive wastewater from the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant more than two years ago.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters that 6 metric tons (6.6 tons) of scallops harvested in Hokkaido were shipped to China on Wednesday, the first shipment to that country since Beijing banned all Japanese seafood in August 2023.

Beijing announced in June that it would ease the ban and prepare for the resumption of imports, following repeated negotiations between the two sides.

The wastewater discharges from the Fukushima Daiichi plant  debated for years at home over concern about the reputational damage to the region and its local produce  had also become a major political issue between Japan and its neighbors, including China and South Korea.

The ban was a major blow to Japans seafood industry, especially scallop and sea cucumber exports. China was the biggest overseas market for Japanese seafood.

The government takes the development as a positive move, Kihara said as he called on China to continue to re-register pending applications for Japanese seafood exporters.

A ban remains in place for seafood from Fukushima and nine nearby prefectures, which China imposed immediately after the plants meltdowns.

Kihara said Japan will also continue to urge Beijing to lift the remaining bans and resume importing Japanese beef.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China will keep managing Japanese seafood imports in strict accordance with laws and regulations to ensure food safety for the public and that restrictions will be immediately reimposed if any risks are detected. China will also continue international and independent sampling and monitoring of the wastewater discharges.

The Fukushima Daiichi plant suffered triple meltdowns following a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011, causing massive leaks of radioactive wastewater into the basements of the reactor buildings that need to be collected and stored in tanks.

The utility won Japanese government approval and support from the International Atomic Energy Agency for the gradual release of the water into the sea after treatment and dilution. The step is to make space to build facilities needed for the ongoing decommissioning, while avoiding accidental spillage of the wastewater from the tanks.

Japanese officials said the impact of the wastewater to the environment and humans would be negligible and the IAEA comprehensive report later confirmed that the discharges meet international safety standards. MARI YAMAGUCHI, TOKYO, MDT/AP

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Macaus total non-gaming spending by visitors reached MOP20.38 billion in the third quarter of 2025, up 10.7% year-on-year, according to the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

Spending by overnight visitors rose 7.6% to MOP16.76 billion, while same-day visitors increased 27.6% to MOP3.62 billion.

Despite growth in per-capita spending, MOP3,846 for overnight visitors (+5.0%) and MOP595 for same-day visitors (+3.5%), overall per-capita non-gaming expenditure fell 2.6% to MOP1,950, reflecting a surge in low-spending same-day visitors.

Visitors spent primarily on shopping (42.4%), followed by accommodation (26.7%) and food and beverages (21.2%).

Analyzed by source, per-capita spending of visitors from the Chinese mainland decreased 5.0% to MOP2,123, while those from Hong Kong rose 0.1% to MOP1,063 and Taiwan increased 9.8% to MOP2,335. International visitors spent an average of MOP2,261, up 3.3%.

Spending from Southeast Asian markets also grew, notably Singapore (+14.0%), Thailand (+11.9%), and Malaysia (+22.4%). Visitors attending MICE events (MOP4,488) or performances/competitions (MOP3,324) spent relatively more.

In the first three quarters, total non-gaming spending reached MOP58.25 billion, up 3.6% year-on-year, while overall per-capita spending dropped 9.5% to MOP1,963.

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Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told visiting US officials Sunday that Beirut was combating money laundering and terrorism financing, days after Washington sanctioned three Hezbollah members. The US delegation visited as Washington moves to curb funding for Iran-backed Hezbollah and push for its disarmament.

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun told US officials on Sunday his country was tackling money laundering and the financing of terrorism, days after Washington imposed sanctions on three Hezbollah members.

The trio were accused of money laundering to fund Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group, designated a terrorist organisation by the United States and other Western powers.

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The US delegation's visit to Beirut, headed by senior director for counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka, came as Washington works to cut off Iran-backed Hezbollah's funding and Lebanon's government tries to disarm it.

The group was severely weakened in its most recent war with Israel, which was halted by a November 2024 ceasefire.

"Lebanon strictly applies the measures adopted to prevent money laundering, smuggling, or its use in financing terrorism, and severely punishes financial crimes of all kinds," Aoun said he had told the delegation.

On Thursday, the US imposed sanctions on three Hezbollah members allegedly involved in the transfer of tens of millions of dollars from Iran, the group's main sponsor.

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Read moreIsrael targets Hezbollah 'terrorist infrastructure' in south Lebanon strikes

Part of the funding was via money exchange businesses that operate in cash, said a US Treasury statement.

Since January 2025, Iran's Revolutionary Guards have "transferred over $1 billion" to Hezbollah, "mostly through money exchange companies", it added.

"Lebanon has an opportunity to be free, prosperous and secure  but that can only happen if Hezbollah is fully disarmed and cut off from Iran's funding and control," deputy director for counter-terrorism John Hurley said Thursday.

Hurley later posted on X that he, Aoun and Gorka had "discussed ways in which we can partner together to stop the flow of money from Iran to Hezbollah and create a safer and more prosperous Lebanon".

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Israel on Sunday carried out new strikes in south Lebanon, killing two people according to the health ministry, putting the toll from Israeli strikes since Saturday at five.

Aoun called on Sunday for "pressure on Israel to stop its ongoing attacks".

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
Guineas Supreme Court released over the week-end a provisional list of nine candidates cleared to contest the countrys presidential election scheduled for 28 December. Among them, seven candidates will run under political party banners, while two others, including Transitional President General Mamadi Doumbouya, will contest as independents.

Nearly thirty applications were rejected, including those of veteran politicians Lansana Kouyate and Ousmane Kaba.

Abdoulaye Kourouma, leader of the Rally for Renaissance and Development (RRD), expressed confidence after being shortlisted, noting his partys long history of participating in national elections.

Independent candidate Mohamed Cherif Tounkara welcomed the courts decision, vowing to campaign vigorously for victory. The Supreme Court announced that the final list of approved candidates will be published on 13 November, marking the next step in Guineas transition toward a democratic civilian government following years of political uncertainty.
The South African government has dismissed comments made by US President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform, calling them regrettable and not substantiated by fact.

In a statement released over the week-end, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) reaffirmed that the portrayal of Afrikaners as an exclusively white and persecuted community was historically inaccurate.

The ministry said the Governments stance on the matter remained consistent, citing earlier official statements addressing misrepresentations of race relations and farm-related crimes in South Africa.

DIRCO referenced four previous statements responding to similar claims, including reactions to US programmes and diplomatic communications, all of which clarified the realities of South Africas human rights record.

Trumps post, which alleged that Afrikaners were being persecuted, has faced widespread criticism for distorting the countrys social context. The South African government stressed its ongoing commitment to national unity, social cohesion, and global cooperation, describing the nations democratic transformation as a model of reconciliation. It added that South Africa was focused on contributing positively to the global stage and looked forward to hosting a successful G20 Leaders Summit.
Elnur Enveroglu



When Donald Trump declared earlier this summer that Azerbaijan was on the right side of history and that the Trans-Regional Integration Project (TRIP) would reshape the future of Eurasian trade, many in Washington dismissed it as yet another bold flourish from the US president. Yet behind the bombast lay a sober truth: the geopolitical arithmetic of Eurasia is shifting, and both the United States and the broader region are being forced to keep up.

Trumps remarks, made shortly after the landmark 8 August AzerbaijanArmenia peace meeting in Washington, reflected a new American willingness to insert itself into the South Caucasus peace process. This was not the usual rhetorical dip into regional diplomacy, but it was a carefully calculated move. For the first time in years, Washington stepped in as the primary broker for a document now known informally as the Washington Declaration, a seven-clause framework outlining the contours of an eventual peace settlement.

The significance of that meeting should not be underestimated. It represented not merely a step forward in the long and painful post-conflict process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, but also a signal that the United States was ready to reclaim strategic ground in a region long dominated by Russian influence. For many observers, the Washington talks were proof that Baku and Yerevan had finally reached the point where a negotiated future was within touching distance. For the United States, it was a chance to reassert itself as a security provider in a corridor where European and Asian interests increasingly intersect.

In private conversations with diplomats in Baku and Washington, the same point is repeated: the United States simply could not afford to sit on the sidelines. Russias position in the South Caucasus has weakened since it invaded Ukraine, while Chinas expanding economic footprint has made the region a crucial link in its broader Belt and Road calculus. If Washington stood idle, the strategic vacuum would be filled by others.

The 8 August meeting was therefore less about symbolism and more about shaping a durable political architecture. American officials, including Trumps own advisers, have long argued that stability in the South Caucasus is vital for the Middle Corridor, a trans-Eurasian route linking Central Asia to Europe through the Caspian Sea and the South Caucasus. Azerbaijan sits at the heart of this route, not merely as a transit point but as a state that has invested billions in ports, railways and logistics networks. Any long-term connectivity vision, whether American, European or Asian, must run through Baku.

Trumps pointed praise for Azerbaijans leadership was therefore not accidental. The United States understands that without Bakus buy-in, much of Asias westward trade will remain vulnerable to unpredictability, chokepoints and political friction. Azerbaijans geopolitical leverage has risen precisely because it now anchors a corridor the world increasingly depends on.

Meanwhile, several thousand kilometres to the east, Central Asia is quietly undergoing a foreign-policy transformation. For decades, the region balanced cautiously between Moscow and Beijing, with Washington playing a marginal role. But the global race for critical minerals, energy corridors and diversified supply chains has changed the equation.

Recent months have seen a flurry of agreements between the United States and Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. These include cooperation on critical minerals, green technologies, semiconductor-related supply chains and agriculture. What was once a region diplomatically adrift is now one that Washington courts with a seriousness not seen since the early 2000s.

American officials have been blunt: if the United States is to prevent a world in which China controls the lions share of strategic minerals, from rare earths to lithium, tungsten and beryllium, then Central Asia must become a key partner. The region, rich in unexplored deposits, is no longer on the periphery of global politics. It is front and centre.

But minerals alone do not move markets. They must be transported, refined and shipped to consumers. This brings the narrative firmly back to Azerbaijan.

The Middle Corridor: from concept to backbone

For years, the Middle Corridor, also known as the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, was treated as a technical detail in grand economic plans. Today it has become a strategic artery, and Azerbaijan is its beating heart. The route runs from China across Kazakhstan to the Caspian Sea, where cargo then crosses to Azerbaijan, continues by rail through Georgia and exits through Turkiye into Europe.

Within it lies the even more politically charged element: the Zangezur Corridor. Long discussed, often disputed and frequently delayed, this link connecting mainland Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan has gradually moved from theoretical blueprint to actionable project. If fully operationalised, it would shorten transit times dramatically and provide an uninterrupted east-west spine connecting Central Asia to Europe.

For the Central Asian republics, especially Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, this is a dream come true. Their exports have long been trapped between dependence on Russian-controlled routes and the high political costs of dealing with Chinese transit logistics. The Middle Corridor offers a third way: a path to global markets that is faster, less politically entangled and supported by Western partners.

It is no surprise that nearly every Central Asian leader visiting Washington in the past year has made a point of emphasising the Middle Corridor. For them, Azerbaijan is not just another transit state; it is the lynchpin holding the entire project in place.

Azerbaijans unique diplomatic posture, balancing relations with Russia, Turkiye, the West, Central Asia and much of the Muslim world, allows it to act as a bridge at a time when bridges are in short supply. Baku has crafted a foreign policy that is clear-eyed and pragmatic, avoiding zero-sum traps while leveraging its infrastructure and energy resources to maintain autonomy.

In this sense, Trumps remarks about Azerbaijans pivotal role were not just political flattery. They were an acknowledgement of reality. As the United States deepens its economic and security engagement with Central Asia, it finds that it needs Azerbaijan more than ever, not only as a transit partner but as a stable political actor in an often-unsettled neighbourhood.

The renewed American focus on the region is not occurring in a vacuum. Russia remains a major security actor, despite a weakened capacity. China will not sit back as Washington expands its partnerships in Central Asia. Turkiye, meanwhile, continues its push to deepen pan-regional economic and cultural integration. Europe, anxious about its energy security, has also accelerated its engagement with Baku.

This makes competition inevitable. Yet it also creates opportunities for pragmatic cooperation. If the Middle Corridor becomes a space for managed coexistence rather than confrontation, it could emerge as one of the most important stabilising frameworks in Eurasia.

For this to happen, the 8 August peace process must solidify into a lasting settlement. The South Caucasus cannot become a reliable transit hub if it remains trapped in cycles of tension. Washingtons mediation has opened a door, but it is up to Baku and Yerevan to walk through it.

In hindsight, Trumps comments may be remembered not for their rhetoric but for their timing. The world is entering an era of intense competition over minerals, trade routes and influence. Central Asia is no longer a geopolitical afterthought, and Azerbaijan is no longer a regional player boxed into its neighbourhood. Both now sit at the crossroads of interests far larger than themselves.

The future of Eurasias connectivity, whether through TRIP, the Middle Corridor or the Zangezur link, will depend heavily on whether regional and global powers choose confrontation or cooperation. For now, the momentum is on the side of connectivity.

And as the 8 August peace meeting suggested, the United States is ready to return to the board, willing to take up the role of mediator and strategic partner. Azerbaijan, positioned at the centre of Eurasias new transport and political architecture, holds the cards that others increasingly need.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: American Heart Association

A minimally invasive heart procedure to correct irregular heart rhythms called catheter ablation may reduce the risk of stroke enough that some patients can discontinue blood thinners, according to a preliminary late-breaking science presentation Saturday at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2025. The study was simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In the OCEAN Randomized Trial, researchers evaluated whether long-term oral anticoagulation is needed after successful ablation in people with an increased risk of stroke. An international group of researchers enrolled nearly 1,300 adults at multiple sites in several countries and followed their progress for three years after they had ablation to treat atrial fibrillation (AFib). Participants included people with no evidence of irregular heart rhythm recurrence and those with moderate to high stroke risk, which calls for long-term blood thinners.

According to the American Heart Association, AFib increases stroke risk by five-fold and can lead to blood clots, heart failure and death. An estimated 5 million people in the U.S. live with AFib, and it is predicted that more than 12 million people will have it by 2030, per the Association's 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics report.

The condition can be treated with catheter ablation, a minimally invasive nonsurgical procedure that can eliminate the electrical triggers for AFib and prevent the irregular rhythms from returning. Current American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines recommend continuing blood-thinning medications in moderate-to-high risk individuals to prevent stroke, even after a successful ablation.

"We know that ablation for AFib is effective; however, we did not know if elimination of the arrhythmia also reduces the long-term risk of stroke," said study author Atul Verma, M.D., director of cardiology at McGill University Health Center in Montreal. "Many people who have undergone successful ablation will ask 'Can I stop my blood thinners?' Until now, we have told them to continue taking blood thinners because we had insufficient evidence to suggest it was safe to stop. So, it was important to find out if successful ablation could allow discontinuing blood thinners."

Researchers prescribed half of the eligible participants 75160 mg of aspirin (a mild antiplatelet) daily. The other half were prescribed 15 mg daily of oral rivaroxaban, a potent blood thinner.

The study found that prescribing the blood thinner rivaroxaban after catheter ablation to treat AFib offered no major difference in stroke protection than those taking aspirin and increased bleeding risk compared to aspirin. Specifically:

The three-year risk of stroke, including a covert stroke, which is only detectable on brain imaging, was 0.8% in the rivaroxaban group and 1.4% in the aspirin group.

The annual stroke risk was 0.3% in the rivaroxaban arm and 0.7% in the aspirin armvariances not significant enough to indicate a notable difference between groups.

There were no notable differences in major or fatal bleeding complications whether people took rivaroxaban or aspirin.

However, clinically relevant, non-major bleeding (bleeding serious enough to cause people to seek medical attention) was 5.5% for rivaroxaban versus 1.6% for aspirin, or about 3.5 times more likely with rivaroxaban.

"In essence, catheter ablation for AFib reduced the recurrence of atrial fibrillation and can also reduce the risk of stroke associated with this common heart rhythm condition," Verma said. "With the notably increased bleeding risk associated with rivaroxaban, we concluded that the anticoagulant did not offer any advantages in comparison to aspirin for reducing what we found to be a low stroke risk in these individuals. Now, we can advise patients that it may be safe to stop blood thinners, even if they have a moderate stroke risk."

Study details, background and design:

The study included 1,284 adults, average age 66 years, 71% men, who on average were within 16.4 months of their last ablation procedure.

Participants were enrolled in health care centers in Canada, Australia, Germany, Belgium, Israel and China between March 30, 2016, and July 25, 2022, and their progress was followed for three years.

Researchers used the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score, which measures a person with AFib's risk of stroke on a scale of 0 to 9 based on the presence of other conditions, such as heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, prior stroke or vascular disease, plus their age and sex. In this study, the average CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score at enrollment was 2.2, and nearly 32% of participants had a score of 3 or higher, which is considered high risk.

DS -VASc score, which measures a person with AFib's risk of stroke on a scale of 0 to 9 based on the presence of other conditions, such as heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, prior stroke or vascular disease, plus their age and sex. In this study, the average CHA DS -VASc score at enrollment was 2.2, and nearly 32% of participants had a score of 3 or higher, which is considered high risk. Researchers collected data on stroke, systemic embolism and bleeding events, and all participants had brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at enrollment and again at three years.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups for the duration of the trial: aspirin 75-160 mg daily or rivaroxaban 15 mg daily.

Data was analyzed between the two groups: rivaroxaban (anticoagulation) vs. aspirin (antiplatelet).

Among the study's limitations, only a small percentage of participants a CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score of 4 or higher. As a result, the findings may not be relevant to higher-risk individuals.

More information: Atul Verma et al, Antithrombotic Therapy after Successful Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation, New England Journal of Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1056/nejmoa2509688 Journal information: New England Journal of Medicine
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Different skin cancer risk by ancestries. Credit: Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64556-y

Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have developed a new approach for identifying individuals with skin cancer that combines genetic ancestry, lifestyle and social determinants of health using a machine learning model. Their model, more accurate than existing approaches, also helped the researchers better characterize disparities in skin cancer risk and outcomes.

The research is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Skin cancer is among the most common cancers in the United States, with more than 9,500 new cases diagnosed every day and approximately two deaths from skin cancer occurring every hour. One important component of reducing the burden of skin cancer is risk prediction, which utilizes technology and patient information to help doctors decide which individuals should be prioritized for cancer screening.

Traditional risk prediction tools, such as risk calculators based on family history, skin type and sun exposure, have historically performed best in people of European ancestry because they are more represented in the data used to develop these models. This leaves significant gaps in early detection for other populations, particularly those with darker skin, who are less likely to be of European ancestry.

As a result, skin cancer in people of non-European ancestry is frequently diagnosed at later stages when it is more difficult to treat. As a consequence of later stage detection, people of non-European ancestry also tend to have worse overall outcomes from skin cancer.

To help correct this disparity, the researchers analyzed data from more than 400,000 participants in the National Institutes of Health's All of Us Research Program, a nationwide initiative aimed at building a diverse database of patient data to inform new, more inclusive studies on a variety of health conditions. By leveraging the participants in the All of Us program, the researchers were able to ensure the data they used had substantial representation from African, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, and mixed-ancestry populations.

Key findings from the study include:

The new model includes both genetic and non-genetic determinants, including lifestyle choices, socioeconomic variables and medication usage to stratify individuals based on their likelihood of having skin cancer.

The model achieved 89% accuracy in identifying individuals with skin cancer across all populations, with 90% accuracy for individuals of European ancestry and 81% accuracy for people of non-European ancestry.

In a subset of participants who had genetic data but were missing data on lifestyle and social determinants of health, the model still retained 87% accuracy.

Genetic ancestry, especially the proportion of European ancestry, was a strong predictor of risk; individuals of European ancestry were at least 8 times more likely to be diagnosed with skin cancer.

The new model is best framed as a clinical case-finding aid, meaning it can help identify people who should receive full-body skin exams from a dermatologist. This could help enable earlier diagnosis in individuals with darker skin tones, potentially alleviating current disparities in skin cancer outcomes. Additionally, their model may be adaptable to other diseases, paving the way for more equitable, personalized medicine for all.

The study was led by Matteo D'Antonio, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, and Kelly A. Frazer, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Frazer is also a member of UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center.

More information: Matteo D'Antonio et al, A highly accurate risk factor-based XGBoost multiethnic model for identifying patients with skin cancer, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64556-y Journal information: Nature Communications
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MIT-001 Protects Against Ferroptosis-Induced Mitochondrial Damage. MIT-001 inhibits ferroptosis by restoring mitochondrial function and regulating oxidative stress and metal ion homeostasis. This diagram illustrates the proposed mechanism by which MIT-001 prevents ROS accumulation and calcium/iron dysregulation, thereby protecting against mitochondrial dysfunction during ferroptosis. Credit: Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2025.118393

Researchers from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) and CHA University in Korea have announced two major advances to extend reproductive longevity at the inaugural NUS-CHA Reproductive Medicine Symposium.

Asia is facing rapid demographic transitions with declining fertility rates across the region. Male infertility rates in East and South Asia are among the world's highest, contributing to over half of the global burden. With more couples deciding to have children later in life, aging-related reproductive health challenges are increasingly becoming a concern despite advances in assisted reproductive technologies, while diagnostic and therapeutic gaps persist for both sexes.

Leveraging AI and big data for male infertility diagnostics

To tackle male infertility, a significant burden affecting nearly half of the millions of couples struggling to conceive in Asia and globally, Adjunct Assistant Professor Huang Zhongwei from the NUS Bia-Echo Asia Center for Reproductive Longevity and Equality (ACRLE), based at NUS Medicine, and Associate Professor Lee Jae Ho from CHA University aim to combine artificial intelligence (AI) with comprehensive clinical datasets to create novel diagnostic and decision-support tools for male infertility.

"Male infertility remains one of the most under-diagnosed and under-treated aspects of reproductive medicine," said Adj Asst Prof Huang, Deputy Director of ACRLE and Consultant at the National University Hospital's Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. "By applying artificial intelligence to extensive clinical data, we can potentially identify hidden patterns and provide clinicians with actionable insights to improve male infertility diagnostics and treatment."

New research on reversing age-related fertility decline

In parallel, researchers from NUS Medicine and CHA University, led by Adj Asst Prof Huang and Assoc Prof Lee respectively, have identified a way to reverse age-related embryo decline in preclinical models. Aging has long been one of the biggest barriers to fertility and agerelated decline in egg and embryo quality is a major hurdle in fertility, increasingly so as women decide to have children later in life.

Published in Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, the team demonstrated that using a novel compound called MIT-001 to target and block a major culprit behind age-related reproductive declineferroptosis a form of cell death driven by iron and oxidative stress, embryo growth and blastocyst formation in older preclinical models showed significant improvements.

Their findings show that by protecting aging embryos from self-destructing at the cellular level, MIT-001 or similar mitochondria-targeted therapies could open the door to precision therapies for age-related infertility such as precision cellular rejuvenation, moving beyond current hormone-based interventions.

"Beyond fertility, the study may also open doors to tackle broader aging issues because ferroptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction are also key drivers of aging and degenerative diseases. Protecting a cell's energy system may hold the key to extending healthy aging itself," said Adj Asst Prof Huang.

Themed "Advances in Reproductive Medicine in Asia-Pacific," the inaugural NUS-CHA Reproductive Medicine Symposium was a landmark gathering of global thought leaders, showcasing the latest assisted reproductive treatments, IVF discoveries and new possibilities for longevity.

Panels and presentations addressed breakthrough topics such as microfluidic and AI-driven platforms in assisted reproduction, cellular aging in ovarian biology, 3D embryo imaging, artificial endometrium models, clinical automation in IVF laboratories, and innovative sperm selection technologies.

More information: Yu Ha Shim et al, MIT-001 ameliorates ferroptosis-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and enhances embryo quality in preimplantation embryos from aged female mice, Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2025.118393 Journal information: Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy
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Surgeons looking at an X-ray image of a knee joint. Credit: CSIRO

Hip replacement surgery is one of Australia's most common orthopedic procedures, with demand rising as the population ages.

Yet regional patients continue to face persistent barriers to post-operative care: long travel distances for follow-up appointments, limited access to specialists, and uncertainty about recovery progress.

The Fortius Institute for Musculoskeletal Research (FIMR), in partnership with Sunshine Coast Orthopaedic Group identified an opportunity to bridge this gap through the Panacea Pathwaya Concierge Service involving a digitally supported care pathway that delivers a surgeon-approved rapid recovery pathway delivered by nurse practitioners directly into patients' homes.

Co-designing a digital recovery pathway

To bring this vision to life, FIMR partnered with the University of the Sunshine Coast to design a Nurse Concierge health care service for hip arthroplasty patients.

The program connects regional universities and small to medium enterprises to drive research partnerships across Queensland.

For the Sunshine Coast Orthopaedic Group, this partnership opened access to critical research expertise and data capabilities.

With support from the University of the Sunshine Coast, the team collected a more comprehensive dataset than would have been possible independently, laying the groundwork for training AI tools on real-world clinical evidence.

The resulting clinical care pathway and at-home clinical care delivery integrates predictive analytics and AI-driven insights to monitor patient progress remotely and identify risks early, reducing burden on patients while supporting better outcomes.

"Seeing our research directly improve patients' lives has been incredibly rewarding, and this project is demonstrating our approach is leading to safer, better and faster recovery for patients undergoing major orthopedic surgery," said Professor Nick Ralph from the University of Sunshine Coast.

"Working alongside clinicians through the RUIC partnership meant we could refine our data collection methods in real-time, building the robust dataset needed to develop an evidence-based care pathway."

Impact and next steps

The response to the at-home Nurse Concierge service has been overwhelmingly positive.

More than 3,000 at-home clinical appointments have been delivered, significantly reducing travel time and minimizing missed appointments.

Patients also reported greater confidence in their recovery, noting the reassurance and continuity of care provided by their Nurse Concierge.

"This project has demonstrated how remote care and digital health tools can reimagine the patient journey," said Dr. Stephanie Chaousis, Head of Digital Innovation at FIMR.

"By combining clinical expertise with data-driven insights, we're not just improving recovery outcomeswe're establishing a new standard for musculoskeletal care."

The data collected through the project has also provided valuable insights to further enhance care for joint replacement patients.

Building on the hip surgery pilot, the Sunshine Coast Orthopaedic Group plans to extend the pathway to knee replacement procedures.

This Panacea Pathway model has the potential to scale across hospital networks and inform clinical guidelines, expanding its benefits to more Australians through safer, more accessible recovery pathways.

This project was made possible through the Queensland Government-funded Regional University Industry Collaboration (RUIC) program, delivered by CSIRO.
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A generic blood pressure drug called prazosin, made by Teva Pharmaceuticals, is being recalled by the Food and Drug Administration because it contains elevated levels of cancer-causing chemicals called nitrosamines.

The recall, which Teva announced on Oct. 7, 2025, affects more than 580,000 prazosin capsules. Prazosin is prescribed to around 510,000 patients yearly and is used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder as well as high blood pressure.

I am a pharmacologist and pharmacist who has studied nitrosamine contamination of popular blood pressure, diabetes and heartburn drugs, as well as other issues in generic drug manufacturing.

Prazosin has been available as a generic medication for more than 25 years and, like many generics that have been around that long, is now produced by multiple manufacturers. This ratchets up competition on price, which may explain why older generics are more prone to manufacturing issues that may harm patient health.

What are nitrosamines and where do they come from?

Nitrosamines are by-products of many common chemical reactions. They form when a type of chemical building block called a nitrite group interacts with another type called an amine group.

Industrial processes like rocket fuel, rubber and sealant manufacturing can produce high concentrations of nitrosamines during chemical reactions. Bacon, pepperoni and salami are high in nitrite preservatives that interact with the amine groups in the meats to form small amounts of nitrosamines. The chemical reaction that happens when chlorinated water interacts with naturally occurring chemicals that contain nitrogen and oxygen can also form small amounts of nitrosamines.

Occasional and small exposures to nitrosamines are not thought to be dangerous. But some studies have found that certain nitrosamines are carcinogenic when ingested in high amounts for long periods of time

European regulators first discovered in 2018 that prescription drugs could also be contaminated when testing revealed that an active ingredient in a blood pressure drug called valsartan contained a nitrosamine chemical. Since the Chinese company that made the drug's active ingredient sold it to multiple manufacturers of valsartan tablets, many companies, including Teva Pharmaceuticals, recalled the drug at the time.

The FDA then launched a major effort to identify nitrosamines in prescription and over-the-counter drugs and to define unsafe levels for tablets and capsules. It published an initial industry guidance in 2021 and an updated version in 2024.

Based on the agency's new testing requirements, drugmakers have identified nitrosamine contamination in widely used blood pressure, diabetes, heartburn, antibiotic and smoking cessation drugs. Most of the recalled drugs were contaminated during the chemical processing at a manufacturing plant.

What should people who take prazosin do?

Teva Pharmaceuticals' prazosin is just one of many generic versionsbut it's the only one that is contaminated. You can determine whether your medication came from Teva by looking at your prescription label. Search for the abbreviations MFG or MFR, which stand for "manufacturing" or "manufacturer." If it says "MFG Teva" or "MFR Teva," that means Teva Pharmaceuticals supplied the medication.

The first four numbers of a National Drug Code, abbreviated as NDC on the prescription label, also reveal the manufacturer or distributor. Teva products have the number 0093.

If Teva Pharmaceuticals is the distributor, a pharmacist can cross-reference your prescription number to obtain the lot number and compare it with the posted lot numbers on the FDA website for recalled prazosin. If your product has been recalled, your pharmacy may have other generic versions of prazosin in stock that are not part of this recall.

Based on its risk assessment for these tablets, the FDA gave the recall a Class II status, which means that the medication could cause "temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences." If no other prazosin version exists at your pharmacy, do not stop taking your drug without talking with your physician first. The risk of temporarily taking tablets with an elevated amount of nitrosamines may be less than the risk of suddenly stopping this medication.

Your physician may also be able to prescribe an alternative treatment such as clonidine or trazodone.

Do older generics made overseas pose higher risks?

Until recently, it wasn't possible to compare whether the safety records of generic drugs manufactured overseas differed from the same generics made in the U.S., because the FDA does not disclose which manufacturing plants companies use to create their tablets and capsules. But in a 2025 study, researchers managed to triangulate that information from an FDA dataset.

They found that the risk of serious adverse events was 54.3% higher with generics made in India as compared with those made in the United States. And the longer a drug has been available in generic form, the greater the difference in safety risk between its U.S.- and India-made forms.

As my colleague and I wrote in a commentary accompanying the study, the findings suggest that when the market for generic drugs is crowded by multiple manufacturers, lower-priced options naturally sell better. As a result, manufacturers in developing countries are more apt to produce poorer quality products that are less expensive to produce.

Teva Pharmaceuticals has manufacturing plants around the world, including in India. The company has not disclosed where its recalled prazosin capsules and their active and inactive ingredients were manufactured.

The FDA publishes ratings on generic drug quality and claims that generics with an "A" rating meet the same manufacturing quality standards and achieve the same blood concentrations as brand-name drugs. But pharmacies can't tell from those ratings if a drug comes from manufacturing plants that are at higher risk for quality issues.

Patients are at the mercy of choices pharmacies make in the generic versions of drugs they procure for their stores. In my view, if pharmacies could access reliable information about quality, they might be able to make choices that are safer for American consumers.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Chronic fatigue syndrome leaves patients exhausted and struggling with brain fogand it typically gets worse after mental or physical exercise, a phenomenon called post-exertional malaise.

Now, scientists investigating shortness of breath in chronic fatigue patients have discovered that they are highly likely to experience dysfunctional breathing, which could be caused by dysautonomia, abnormal control of innervation to blood vessels and muscles. Targeting treatments toward these breathing problems could potentially offer patients some relief from their symptoms.

"Nearly half of our chronic fatigue subjects had some disorder of breathinga totally unappreciated issue, probably involved in making symptoms worse," said Dr. Benjamin Natelson of Icahn School of Medicine, senior author of the article in Frontiers in Medicine.

"Identifying these abnormalities will lead researchers to new strategies to treat them, with the ultimate goal of reducing symptoms."

Breathe easy

The scientists recruited 57 patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and 25 control participants whose ages and activity levels matched the chronic fatigue cohort. Both groups took part in cardiopulmonary exercise tests over two days.

The scientists measured their heart rate and blood pressure, how effectively they were taking in oxygen, the oxygen saturation of their blood, and how hard they had to breathe to get enough oxygen. They also tracked how fast participants breathed and the patterns of their breathing, to identify hyperventilation and dysfunctional breathing.

Dysfunctional breathing is usually associated with asthma patients, but it can arise from many different causes. Characteristics include deep sighing in the course of ordinary breathing, overly rapid breathing, forcing an exhale from the abdomen, breathing from the chest without using the diaphragm so the lungs are never properly full, and a loss of synchrony between the chest and abdomen, so the different muscles which help with breathing aren't working together.

"While we know the symptoms generated by hyperventilation, we remain unsure what symptoms may be worse with dysfunctional breathing," said Dr. Donna Mancini of the Icahn School of Medicine, first author of the article. "But we are sure patients can have dysfunctional breathing without being aware of it. Dysfunctional breathing can occur in a resting state."

Catching your breath

The scientists found that participants with chronic fatigue were taking in approximately the same amount of oxygen when they breathed compared to the control participantstheir peak VO2 maxes were comparable. However, 71% of the participants with chronic fatigue experienced breathing problemseither hyperventilation, dysfunctional breathing, or both.

Almost half of the participants with chronic fatigue were observed breathing erratically during the test, compared to only four of the control participants.

A third of the chronic fatigue patients hyperventilated, compared to just one control participant. Nine chronic fatigue patients displayed dysfunctional breathing as well as hyperventilation. None of the control participants had this combination of breathing issues.

Both dysfunctional breathing and hyperventilation can cause symptoms similar to chronic fatigue, like dizziness, difficulty focusing, shortness of breath and exhaustion. Combining the two can also cause people to experience heart palpitations, chest pain, fatigue, and (unsurprisingly) anxiety.

These breathing problems, the scientists suggest, could be exacerbating chronic fatigue symptoms or even directly contributing to post-exertional malaise.

"Possibly dysautonomia could trigger more rapid and irregular breathing," said Mancini. "It is well known that chronic fatigue syndrome patients often have dysautonomia in the form of orthostatic intolerance, which means you feel worse when upright and not moving. This raises the heart rate and leads to hyperventilation."

Pulmonary physiotherapy?

This could mean that tackling dysfunctional breathing would relieve some patients' symptoms. The scientists intend to follow up on this research to learn more about how dysfunctional breathing and hyperventilation interact. Although more research will be needed before treatments can be rolled out, they already have ideas for possible therapies that could improve breathing function.

"Breathing exercises via yoga could potentially help, or gentle physical conditioning where breath control is important, as with swimming," suggested Natelson.

"Or biofeedback, with assessment of breathing while encouraging gentle continuous breath use. If a patient is hyperventilating, this can be seen by a device that measures exhaled CO 2 . If this value is low, then the patient can try to reduce the depth of breathing to raise it to more normal values."

More information: Abnormal Breathing Patterns and Hyperventilation are Common in Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome during Exercise, Frontiers in Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1669036
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Adults with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) who took a "polypill" combining medications prescribed for the treatment of heart failure, had improved heart function and symptoms, better quality of life, fewer hospitalizations and greater medication adherence than those taking the medications individually, according to a late-breaking science presentation today at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2025. The meeting, held Nov. 710 in New Orleans, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science.

"In recent decades, there have been important, effective treatment advances for patients with heart failure, however, use of these treatments remains disappointingly low, with only 15% of patients receiving all guideline-recommended therapies at any dose for heart failure after hospitalization," said study author Ambarish Pandey, M.D., M.S., FAHA, an associate professor of internal medicine in the division of cardiology and geriatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and medical director of the center's heart failure with preserved ejection fraction program.

"In our study, we focused on socially disadvantaged populations to demonstrate the positive impact of an easier-to-follow medication regimen of only one pill vs. three pills daily, and we found significant improvements even after six months. Our findings provide the first evidence that a polypill approach could be effective for our patients with heart failure."

The trial included 212 adults with HFrEF who were not receiving guideline-recommended treatment. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: 108 participants were prescribed the polypill regimen, which included metoprolol succinate (a beta-blocker), spironolactone (a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist) and empagliflozin (a SGLT2 inhibitor). The second group of 104 adults were assigned to enhanced standard care, taking guideline-recommended medications as individual pills. Everyone also took an angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI), sacubitril-valsartan, which is dosed twice-daily and not well suited for a once-daily polypill.

After six months, the study found:

Measures of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) improved among all participants, with a 3% higher absolute LVEF among the polypill group vs. the enhanced standard care group.

The polypill reduced heart failure-related hospitalizations and emergency room visits by 60%meaning patients in the polypill group were less than half as likely to need emergency care.

Patients in the polypill group reported higher quality of life scores than those in the enhanced standard care group (72 points vs. 63 points, on a 100-point scale). This approximate 9-point improvement means patients experienced less fatigue, fewer symptoms, and better overall well-being.

Blood tests confirmed that 79% of polypill patients had detectable levels of the tested medications (metoprolol and/or spironolactone), compared to only 54% in the enhanced standard care group, with more than 4-fold greater odds of taking all tested medications with the polypill.

The study group plans more research on how best to address heart failure in specific groups.

"Moving forward, we are planning additional studies to evaluate broader implementation of the polypill approach in heart failure," Pandey said.

Study details, background or design:

212 adults with HFrEF (left ventricular ejection fraction of equal to or less than 40%) were enrolled. Participants were a median age of 54 years old; 22% were female; 54% self-identified as Black, and 33% were Hispanic; 68% of participants had no health insurance or were receiving county-sponsored health coverage; 42% reported food insecurity; and 32% reported housing instability.

Participants were recruited from Parkland Health and Hospital System, Dallas County's safety-net health care system, UT Southwestern Medical Center and the William F. Clements University Hospital, all in Dallas.

The trial enrolled participants over approximately 3.5 years, and enrollment closed in May 2025.

Nearly half of participants were prescribed all four medication types at enrollment, however, 73% had moderate-to-low medication adherence.

When the study started, the participants' average left ventricular ejection fraction was 26%.

Various health measures and data were collected at time of enrollment, one month, three months and the final patient data was collected at six months.

All participants had their heart's left ventricular ejection fraction measured by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at enrollment and at the six-month follow-up.

Blood samples were collected at all study visits to measure levels of a protein hormone that is released by the heart in response to stress, such as heart failure. This is referred to as NT-proBNP testing.

Health-related quality of life was assessed using the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire-12, a standard patient questionnaire.

Medication adherence was assessed through multiple methods including the Morisky Medication Adherence Questionnaire-8, and therapeutic medication monitoring at six months looking at levels in blood samples.
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

For people who grew up in the United States, navigating health care can be complicated and intimidating, according to Sawsan Salah, a doctoral candidate in biobehavioral health at Penn State. Those complications may be magnified when a person is unfamiliar with the culture of medical care in the U.S. or does not speak English.

Salah, the child of U.S. immigrants, and her doctoral adviser, Lori Francis, professor of biobehavioral health, recently investigated how cultural and linguistic barriers affected the pediatric care received by the roughly three million children of immigrants in this country.

Using national survey data that measured whether immigrants felt their pediatricians collaborated on decisions about their children's health and the correlations between this communication and parents' perceptions of their children's health, the researchers found that immigrant parents were less likely than parents born in the U.S. to report shared decision-making with their child's health care provider.

The Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health recently published their study.

Shared decision-making is the process of discussing and implementing a health care treatment plan with a clinician. Prior research, Salah said, has demonstrated that shared decision-making is associated with patient satisfaction, positive health outcomes and adherence to treatment.

"As you might imagine, people are more likely to adhere to their treatment plan when they feel like part of the decision-making process," Salah said. "People who feel left out may not understand the treatment, or they may not agree with it."

Salah was specifically interested in shared decision-making and its impact on pediatric health in immigrant families.

"Fundamentally, this study was motivated by the experiences I had caring for my family," Salah said. "Since I was a child, I have been the primary liaison between my family members and health care. The doctors would explain things, and even though my mom could understand their words, she could not process the implications of what the physicians were saying. I suspected that a lot of immigrant families have similar experiences."

The researchers examined data from 27,082 parents who reported the need to make decisions about their children's health care in the 2021-22 waves of the National Survey of Children's Health, collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. The survey was designed to represent the experiences of everyone in the U.S., the researchers said. Of the parents in the study, 15% were born outside the country.

Results of the study demonstrated that immigrants were 80% more likely than parents born in the U.S. to report they did not share decision-making with their children's medical providers. Immigrant parents who reported needing help coordinating health care for the child were even less likely to report shared decision-making. This is a problem, according to Salah.

"No one should make decisions regarding their own or their children's health care if they are not convinced they are doing the right thing," Salah said.

The researchers also found that immigrant parents were much more likely to report that their children were in "fair" or "poor" healthrather than "good" or "excellent" healthcompared to parents born in the U.S.

"These are not objective measures of a child's health," said Francis, professor of biobehavioral health. "But who understands a child's health better than their parents? If we want healthy childrenand I believe everyone doesthen we need to make sure that parents can communicate and collaborate effectively with health care providers."

The actual importance of shared decision-making could be larger than the study revealed, the researchers said. The National Survey of Children's Health was available only in English and Spanishthe two languages most likely to be spoken by workers in a U.S. health care settingso the results might be even larger for immigrants who primarily speak other languages and could not complete the survey. Those immigrant parents may be less able to communicate during a medical visit.

The researchers agreed that more medical settings need care advocates or social workers who can help bridge the gap between immigrant parents and health care providers.

"I am a health scientist with a doctorate who was born and raised in this country," Francis said. "And as a parent navigating the health care system with my children, there have been many times I was nervous to counter what the doctor recommended. I can only imagine what that would be like for people unfamiliar with the culture and or language."

More information: Sawsan Salah et al, Shared Decision-Making in Children's Healthcare by Parents' Immigrant Status: Findings from the 20212022 U.S. National Survey of Children's Health, Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health (2025). DOI: 10.1007/s10903-025-01771-1
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Metformin 500mg tablets. Credit: public domain

People with atrial fibrillation (AFib) and obesity may have fewer episodes of AFib after ablation if they take the diabetes medication metformin in addition to standard care, according to a preliminary, late-breaking science presentation Sunday at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2025. The meeting, held Nov. 710 in New Orleans, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science.

"Lifestyle and risk factor modification efforts are essential to treating AFib and according to the results of our study could be aided by taking metformin," said Amish Deshmukh, M.D., lead author of the study and clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

According to the American Heart Association, AFib, marked by episodes of irregular and rapid heartbeat, is the most common heart rhythm disorder and can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure or other heart-related conditions.

Metformin is a widely prescribed generic medication that helps control blood sugar levels, primarily in people with Type 2 diabetes. It is often used as an initial treatment due to its effectiveness, long history of use and relatively low cost.

In previous research on adults with diabetes and obesity, those taking metformin to manage blood sugar and weight had a lower risk of AFib as compared to other antidiabetic agents. In studies of laboratory models (for example, cells or animals), metformin directly affected heart cells and reduced irregular heart rhythms. Researchers wanted to find out if metformin could help lower the chances of AFib returning in people treated for AFib who are overweight or obese.

The Metformin as an Adjunctive Therapy to Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation (META-AF) study analyzed 99 adults with AFib and obesity or overweight to determine whether adding metformin to standard care after a catheter ablation procedure would be beneficial. All participants received ablation and then were randomly selected to receive either usual care (lifestyle education about physical activity, healthy eating, sleep and managing other medical conditions) or usual care plus metformin.

During the year after ablation, the analysis found:

78% of the metformin group versus 58% of the usual-care group had no episodes of AFib lasting 30 seconds or more.

The metformin group had fewer patients who needed a repeat ablation or electric shock to restore a normal heart rhythm during an AFib episode (6% versus 16%, respectively).

The metformin group had less frequent AFib episodes during heart rhythm monitoring compared to the usual care group (8% versus 16%, respectively).

Antiarrhythmia medications were used after ablation in 8% of patients in the metformin group and 18% in usual care.

Weight changes were minimal in all participants, consistent with prior studies of metformin use in people without diabetes.

"Treatment with metformin in people with obesity who do not have diabetes and are undergoing AFib ablation seems to lower the likelihood of recurrent AFib or atrial arrhythmias after a single procedure. While most people tolerated the medication well, a significant number stopped taking it due to side effects or because they felt well and did not want to add another medication to their regimen," Deshmukh said.

The results raise the question of whether other medications for diabetes and weight loss, such as GLP-1 receptor agonists, may have similar benefits and side effects in adults without diabetes with AFib and obesity.

Obesity is a common risk factor for AFib, and recurrent episodes of irregular heartbeats are more common in obese and overweight patients after catheter ablation, a procedure to eliminate small areas of tissue generating abnormal heartbeats. According to the American Heart Association's 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, AFib currently affects more than 6 million people in the U.S.

"I would suggest conducting a larger study to investigate metformin and other diabetes treatments. We know that many of these medications offer cardiovascular benefits, and we are starting to gain a better understanding of how they might specifically benefit patients with arrhythmias. A study comparing various medications would be valuable to confirm our findings and also to address questions about tolerability, the feasibility of long-term use and costs," Deshmukh said.

The study is limited by being small and conducted at one medical center. In addition, the findings may not be generalizable to centers with different populations or different techniques for performing catheter ablation.

Study details, background or design:

The study included 99 adults (average age of 63 years; 70% men, mostly white adults) with AFib. 70% of participants were categorized as obese, and the rest were categorized as overweight. 22% of participants had undergone a previous ablation. 46% had AFib that stopped without treatment within a week.

Participants were excluded from the study if they had Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, although 40% had blood sugar levels that met the criteria for prediabetes (A1C results of between 5.7%6.4%).

Additionally, people who were taking other medications to treat diabetes or those for whom metformin would be harmful were also excluded from this study.

All participants were taking blood thinners to help lower the risk of stroke.

The ablation procedure was performed in the pulmonary veins, which is known to be a common possible trigger area for AFib.

No placebo was used, and the participants knew which treatment group they were in (49 were randomized to metformin and 50 to usual care).

After a 3-month period to allow for healing after ablation and increasing metformin to the maximum dose, patients were monitored for recurrence of AFib lasting at least 30 seconds.

Researchers calculated the AFib burden (percent of monitored time spent in AFib based on information from clinical monitoring, handheld monitors, pacemakers and defibrillators) over the one year (at 3-months and at 12-months).

A significant number of study participants (12 of 49) stopped taking metformin due to side effects or because they felt better or didn't want to add a medication to their regimen.

The study was conducted at the University of Michigan between 2021 and 2025.
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The risk of dying is six times higher among patients who become short of breath after being admitted to hospital, according to research published in ERJ Open Research. Patients who were in pain were not more likely to die.

The study of nearly 10,000 people suggests that asking patients if they are feeling short of breath could help doctors and nurses to focus care on those who need it most.

The study is the first of its kind and was led by Associate Professor Robert Banzett from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, U.S. He said, "The sensation of dyspnea, or breathing discomfort, is a really unpleasant symptom. Some people experience it as feeling starved of air or suffocated.

"In hospital, nurses routinely ask patients to rate any pain they are experiencing, but this is not the case for dyspnea. In the past, our research has shown that most people are good at judging and reporting this symptom, yet there is very little evidence on whether it's linked to how ill hospital patients are."

Working with nurses at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, who documented patient-reported dyspnea twice per day, the researchers found that it was feasible to ask hospital patients to rate their dyspnea from 0 to 10, in the same way they are asked to rate their pain. Asking the question and recording the answer only took 45 seconds per patient.

Researchers analyzed patient-rated shortness of breath and pain for 9,785 adults admitted to the hospital between March 2014 and September 2016. They compared this with data on outcomes, including deaths, in the following two years.

This showed that patients who developed shortness of breath in hospital were six times more likely to die in hospital than patients who were not feeling short of breath. The higher patients rated their shortness of breath, the higher their risk of dying. Patients with dyspnea were also more likely to need care from a rapid response team and to be transferred to intensive care.

Twenty-five percent of patients who were feeling short of breath at rest when they were discharged from hospital died within six months, compared to 7% mortality among those who felt no dyspnea during their time in hospital.

Conversely, researchers found no clear link between pain and risk of dying.

Professor Banzett said, "It is important to note that dyspnea is not a death sentenceeven in the highest risk groups, 94% of patients survive hospitalization, and 70% survive at least two years following hospitalization. But knowing which patients are at risk with a simple, fast, and inexpensive assessment should allow better individualized care.

"We believe that routinely asking patients to rate their shortness of breath will lead to better management of this often-frightening symptom.

"The sensation of dyspnea is an alert that the body is not getting enough oxygen in and carbon dioxide out. Failure of this system is an existential threat. Sensors throughout the body, in the lungs, heart and other tissues, have evolved to report on the status of the system at all times, and provide early warning of impending failure accompanied by a strong emotional response.

"Pain is also a useful warning system, but it does not usually warn of an existential threat. If you hit your thumb with a hammer, you will probably rate your pain 11 on a scale of 010, but there is no threat to your life. It is possible that specific kinds of pain, for instance pain in internal organs, may predict mortality, but this distinction is not made in the clinical record of pain ratings."

The researchers say their findings should be confirmed in other types of hospital elsewhere in the world, and that research is needed to show whether asking patients to rate their shortness of breath leads to better treatments and outcomes.

"The latter is a difficult study to do because simply knowing about a patient's dyspnea status will prompt clinicians to do something, and you can't tell them not to do it just for the purposes of having a control group for your study. I am retired and my laboratory is closed, but I do hope others will pursue the next steps. I'm confident that some smart young person will figure it out," Professor Banzett added.

Professor Hilary Pinnock is Chair of the European Respiratory Society's Education Council, based at the University of Edinburgh and was not involved in the research.

She said, "Historically, the monitoring of vital signs in hospitalized patients includes respiratory rate along with temperature and pulse rate. In a digital age, some have questioned the value of this workforce-intensive routine, so it is interesting to read about the association of subjective breathlessness with mortality and other adverse outcomes.

"Breathlessness was assessed on a 010 scale, which took less than a minute to administer. These noteworthy findings should trigger more research to understand the mechanisms underpinning this association and how this 'powerful alarm' can be harnessed to improve patient care."

Dr. Claudia Almeida Vicente is Chair of the European Respiratory Society's General practice and primary care group and a GP in Portugal and was not involved in the research. She said, "Feeling short of breath can be a very unpleasant symptom and it can be caused by a variety of problems including asthma, a chest infection, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and even heart failure.

"This study highlights how a simple dyspnea rating can serve as a strong, early warning sign of clinical decline. New-onset breathlessness during hospitalization carried an especially high risk, far exceeding that associated with pain. For inpatient teams, any rise in dyspnea should prompt rapid reassessment and closer monitoring.

"From a primary care perspective, the elevated two-year mortality in patients discharged with dyspnea signals the need for tighter post-hospital follow-up. These patients may benefit from early visits, medication review, and proactive management of cardiopulmonary disease. A quick dyspnea score offers powerful prognostic value and should inform both inpatient decisions and outpatient planning."

More information: Patient-reported dyspnoea predicts 6-fold hospital mortality, ERJ Open Research (2025). DOI: 10.1183/23120541.00804-2025
Qabil Ashirov



On November 8, 2025, Azerbaijan marked the fifth anniversary of its victory in the Second Garabagh War with a grand military parade in Baku. Among the many displays of national pride and military prowess, one particular revelation stood out: the public unveiling of the "Viking" air defense system, reportedly developed and produced domestically. This moment not only showcased Azerbaijans growing defense capabilities but also signaled a strategic shift toward technological self-reliance in a region defined by complex geopolitical dynamics.

The introduction of the Viking system is more than a technical milestoneit is a political statement. For years, Azerbaijan has relied on foreign suppliers for its defense needs, sourcing equipment from countries like Turkiye, Israel, Russia, and Belarus. While these partnerships have been instrumental in modernizing the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, they also come with limitations: dependency, vulnerability to diplomatic shifts, and constraints on customization.

By unveiling a locally produced air defense system, Azerbaijan is asserting its sovereignty in the defense sector. The Viking system represents a step toward reducing reliance on external powers and building a defense industry that reflects national priorities and strategic autonomy.

The timing of the Vikings debut is no coincidence. As regional tensions simmerwhether in the South Caucasus, Central Asia, or the broader post-Soviet spaceAzerbaijan is positioning itself as a technologically capable and strategically independent actor. The Viking system, if proven effective, could serve as a deterrent against aerial threats and bolster Azerbaijans layered air defense architecture.

Despite the fanfare, details about the Viking system remain scarce. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense has yet to release comprehensive specifications, leaving analysts and observers to speculate about its capabilities. Is it a short-range or medium-range system? Does it rely on radar-guided interceptors or optical tracking? What is its integration level with existing command-and-control infrastructure?

This ambiguity is not unusual in defense circles, where secrecy often serves strategic purposes. However, for the Viking system to gain international recognition and potential export viability, transparency will eventually be necessary. Public demonstrations, field tests, and technical disclosures will help validate its effectiveness and distinguish it from imported alternatives.

Beyond its military utility, the Viking system could have economic implications. A successful domestic air defense platform opens doors to regional exports, especially to countries with limited access to Western or Russian systems. Azerbaijan could position itself as a niche supplier of affordable and effective defense technologies, leveraging its geopolitical neutrality and industrial agility.

Furthermore, the Viking system could catalyze broader innovation in Azerbaijans defense sector. Investments in electronics, software engineering, and manufacturing could spill over into civilian industries, fostering a culture of technological excellence and self-sufficiency.

The unveiling of the Viking air defense system during Azerbaijans national military parade is a landmark event. It reflects the countrys ambition to chart its own course in defense technology, reduce external dependencies, and assert its strategic autonomy. While many questions remain about the systems capabilities, its symbolic value is undeniable.

In a region where power dynamics are constantly shifting, Azerbaijans move toward indigenous defense production is both timely and transformative. The Viking system may be just the beginning of a new era in which Azerbaijan not only defends its skiesbut also builds the tools to do so on its own terms.
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In a 15-patient, Phase 1, first-in-human trial, a one-time CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing therapy safely reduced LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in people with difficult-to-treat lipid disorders, according to a preliminary late-breaking science presentation Saturday at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2025. The meeting, held Nov. 710 in New Orleans, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science. The paper was simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

This trial tested CTX310, an experimental CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing treatment delivered as a one-time infusion. CTX310 uses tiny fat-based particles to carry the CRISPR editing mechanism into the liver, where it switches off a gene called angiopoietin-like protein 3 (ANGPTL3). Turning off this gene lowers LDL ("bad") cholesterol and triglycerides, two blood fats linked to heart disease. It is known that people born with natural mutations that turn off ANGPTL3 have lifelong low cholesterol and triglyceride levels without apparent harmful effects, and a lower lifetime risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

CRISPR-Cas9 is a type of gene-editing technology that can durably change DNA inside cells. For that reason, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends long-term safety monitoring, typically up to 15 years, for all studies using CRISPR-based therapies.

In this trial, both LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels dropped within two weeks after treatment and stayed low for at least 60 days. Researchers said the results were stronger than expected: a 30%40% drop would have been a success; however, CTX310 reduced both LDL cholesterol and triglycerides by nearly 50% or more on average at the highest dose. Importantly, it is the first therapy to achieve large reductions in both LDL cholesterol and triglycerides at the same time, a major advance for patients with both high cholesterol and high triglycerides (known as mixed lipid disorders), who often have elevations in both.

"This is really unprecedented. A single treatment that simultaneously lowered LDL cholesterol and triglycerides," said Luke J. Laffin, M.D., lead study author and a preventive cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. "If confirmed in larger trials, this one-and-done approach could transform care for people with lifelong lipid disorders and dramatically reduce cardiovascular risk."

Key results:

LDL cholesterol and triglycerides were reduced by up to 60% at the highest dose.

Reductions appeared within the first two weeks of treatment and were sustained through at least 60 days, the latest follow-up data included in this analysis.

Three participants experienced minor infusion-related reactions, such as back pain and nausea that resolved with medication, and one participant with elevated liver enzymes at screening had a temporary further rise in liver enzymes that lasted a few days and returned to normal without need for any treatment.

No long-term or serious safety concerns have been observed in any participants to-date. Longer-term safety monitoring is ongoing.

"Adherence to cholesterol-lowering therapy is one of the biggest challenges in preventing heart disease," said Steven E. Nissen, M.D., FAHA, a co-author of the study and chief academic officer at the Cleveland Clinic Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute. "Many patients stop taking their cholesterol medications within the first year. The possibility of a one-time treatment with lasting effects could be a major clinical advance."

Study background and design:

First-in-human trial of CTX310, administered as a one-time intravenous infusion at doses from 0.1 to 0.8 mg/kg during the single infusion, after pre-treatment with corticosteroids and antihistamines.

In this ascending dose study, each participant received a single intravenous infusion of CTX310 at one of five dose levels.

Study participants were 15 adults, ages 1875 years , with a median age of 53 years; 13 male participants and 2 female participants.

All participants had elevated lipid levels despite maximum tolerated therapies, including one with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) (a rare, inherited form of very high cholesterol); five with heterozygous FH; one with mixed dyslipidemia (high cholesterol and triglycerides); and two participants with severe hypertriglyceridemia (very high blood triglycerides).

The study was conducted between June 2024 and August 2025 at six sites in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Participants were followed for safety of the treatment, how the gene therapy was processed in the body, and cholesterol and triglyceride levels. All patients had at least 60 days of safety follow-up for inclusion in this study's analysis cut-off in September 2025.

Patients will be monitored for one year within this trial, with additional long-term safety follow-up for 15 years, as recommended by the FDA for all CRISPR-based therapies.

"This has been a great opportunity to perform a pivotal first-in-human gene editing study of ANGPTL3 in patients in Australia and New Zealand," said Stephen J. Nicholls, lead study investigator and director of the Victorian Heart Institute at Monash University.

High cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, the leading causes of death worldwide. According to the American Heart Association's 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, an estimated 86.4 million U.S. adults (about 35%) have total cholesterol levels of 200 mg/dL or higher.

The Association recently launched the Lower Your LDL Cholesterol Now Initiative, a three-year national effort to help heart attack and stroke survivors better understand their LDL cholesterol, improve testing, and support treatment adherence. A recent survey found that while 75% of survivors reported having high cholesterol, nearly half were unaware of their LDL number, yet 98% said they would get their cholesterol checked if recommended by a health care professional.

This study had several limitations, particularly as an early safety and efficacy trial with a small, primarily male group of adult participants in Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Therefore, the results may not be applicable to people in other countries, women or people in other age groups. Participants also had different types of lipid disorders, so larger Phase 2 studies that include more diverse participants will be needed to evaluate the treatment and to confirm these findings.

Future Phase 2 studies are planned to begin in late 2025 or early 2026, focusing on broader patient populations and long-term outcomes.

More information: Luke J. Laffin et al, Phase 1 Trial of CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing Targeting ANGPTL3, New England Journal of Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1056/nejmoa2511778 Journal information: New England Journal of Medicine
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Whole-blood RNA-sequencing analysis for detection of EPTB immunotypes. Credit: Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-65561-x

Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the world's most common infectious diseases. Although infection with the Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacterium primarily affects the lungs, up to 25% of all infected people will also have it in other parts of their bodies, such as their lymph nodes, bones or brain. Across the world, TB is contracted by about 10 million people every year, 1.25 million of whom will die as a result of their infection.

Up until now, however, the immune response to TB, and especially EPTB, has not been adequately understood. In some parts of the world, as many as 30% of TB sufferers have EPTB, which can affect every single organ outside the lungs. This makes diagnosis and treatment much harder, because there are no readily accessible biomarkers.

To gain a better understanding of the immunological processes at play, the researchers studied the blood of EPTB patients using state-of-the-art multi-omics approaches such as single-cell RNA sequencing of blood cells. Their analysis of transcriptome data revealed complex signaling networks between relevant parts of the immune system that play an important role in fighting pathogens and controlling inflammation.

The work is published in the journal Nature Communications.

Immunotyping furnishes new insights into disease mechanisms

Dr. Sebastian Theobald, first author of the study and research associate at the University Hospital Cologne, says, "The data has enabled us for the first time to assign EPTB patients to one of three distinct immunotypes that reflect different progressions of the disease."

Professor Jan Rybniker, head of the focus area for Clinical Infectious Diseases at the University Hospital Cologne and Deputy Coordinator of the TB Research Field at the DZIF, adds, "This dynamic is facilitating fresh insights into TB's disease mechanism and will hopefully enable us to give patients personalized and more effective treatment in the future."

Co-author Kilian Dahm, a bioinformatician at the University Hospital Bonn and the DZNE, contributed to the study's research during his doctorate at the University of Bonn: "In particular, the interaction between the interferon and interleukin-1 signaling pathways and the activation of T-cells and natural killer cells played a key role in identifying the immunotypes."

Molecular signatures in the blood permit new diagnosis methods

The researchers succeeded in developing gene-expression-based biomarkers that can diagnose both extrapulmonary and pulmonary TB reliably. As things stand, patients have to undergo a tissue biopsy to be diagnosed with EPTB. In the future, however, the identification of signatures based on immunological markers and gene-expression patterns in the blood could serve as readily accessible biomarkers for diagnosing EPTB and thus have a major impact on patient care.

Dr. Thomas Ulas is a bioinformatician at the DZNE and the LIMES Institute at the University of Bonn and a member of the University's ImmunoSensation2 Cluster of Excellence. He says, "Our findings will help improve TB diagnosis and treatment enormously and pave the way for targeted, tailored therapies."

Privatdozent Dr. Isabelle Suarez, a senior physician in Clinic I for Internal Medicine at the University Hospital Cologne, adds, "The clinical characterization of the patients was crucial to categorizing the molecular findings correctly and bridging the gap to clinical practice."

The findings on diagnosing molecular signatures in the blood of EPTB patients that have been gleaned from the investigations conducted to date are currently being subjected to further validation as part of a large-scale clinical cohort known as the mEx-TB study. Led by Rybniker and Suarez, it is based at several DZIF centers in Germany.

More information: Sebastian J. Theobald et al, Deep immune profiling delineates hallmarks of disease heterogeneity in extrapulmonary tuberculosis, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-65561-x Journal information: Nature Communications
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A population-based cohort study evaluated the long-term scrotal surgery rates after laparoscopic nephrectomy in male living kidney donors compared with nondonors. The findings revealed that the cumulative incidence for scrotal surgery among donors was one in eight after 20 years, compared with one in 143 for nondonors. Even with this risk, most males who donate a kidney won't develop this complication, so it shouldn't discourage donation. Encouraging kidney donation remains vital.

The study is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Some males who donate a kidney through a laparoscopic technique end up with fluid building up around the testicle on the same side as the kidney that was removed. This is called a scrotal hydrocele. Over the years, this fluid accumulation can enlarge and cause discomfort requiring surgical drainage. Until now, we haven't had good information about how often this happens.

A team from the London Health Sciences Center Research Institute (LHSRI) and colleagues used linked administrative health care databases in Ontario, Canada to study almost 900 male patients who underwent a laparoscopic donor nephrectomy between 1 April 2002 and 31 March 2023.

These donors were matched in a 1:10 ratio with almost 9,000 male nondonors with similar baseline characteristics.

The researchers found that the rate of hospitalization for surgery to address a unilateral scrotal fluid collection was 8.3 per 1,000 person-years in donors compared to 0.2 per 1,000 person-years in nondonors.

Most surgeries were under general anesthesia and did not require a hospital stay. The hydrocelectomies occurred years after donation when the transplant surgeon was no longer involved in the donor's care. After this type of scrotal surgery, it typically takes a few weeks to fully heal and return to normal activities.

Overall, laparoscopic nephrectomy is associated with a higher long-term risk for scrotal surgery in male living kidney donors, underscoring the need for past and future male kidney donors to be informed about the risk and advised on symptoms to monitor after donation. Research is needed to understand if changing the donation surgery technique can lower the risk of it occurring.

More information: Risk for Scrotal Surgery After Laparoscopic Donor Nephrectomy: A Population-Based Cohort Study, Annals of Internal Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.7326/ANNALS-25-02257 Journal information: Annals of Internal Medicine
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For older people with irregular heart rhythms who are at high risk of stroke and bleeding, standard care (including the use of blood thinners when indicated) was found to be the better choice compared to a promising, catheter-based procedure, according to a preliminary late-breaking science presentation Saturday at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2025. The meeting, held Nov. 710 in New Orleans, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science.

The trial, Left Atrial Appendage CLOSURE in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation at High Risk of Stroke and Bleeding Compared to Medical Therapy (CLOSURE-AF), compared a catheter-based procedure to medical therapy among patients with an irregular heart rhythm known as atrial fibrillation or AFib.

An estimated 5 million people in the U.S. live with AFib, and it is predicted that more than 12 million people will have it by 2030, per the Association's 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics report.

While blood thinners can be highly effective at reducing the risk of stroke among people with AFib, the medication may cause severe bleeding in some people. Due to this risk, researchers are exploring alternative treatments, including this catheter-based procedure.

The procedure, called a left atrial appendage closure, seals a small pouch in the heart called the left atrial appendage, or LAA, where blood clots can form. If these blood clots enter the bloodstream, it increases the risk of stroke. Closing this pouch reduces the risk of stroke. It also can allow people to stop taking blood thinners for clot prevention.

The CLOSURE AF study compared catheter-based left atrial appendage closure with physician-directed standard medical care (including timely anticoagulant blood thinning when eligible) in patients with atrial fibrillation at high risk for stroke and bleeding. The aim of the study was to demonstrate non-inferiority for catheter-based LAA closure regarding risk of stroke, systemic embolism, cardiovascular/unexplained death or major bleeding. However, this was not reached.

"We expected that catheter-based LAA closure would be comparable to physician-directed standard medical care often using blood thinning anticoagulant medications," said study lead researcher Ulf Landmesser, M.D., chairman of the department of cardiology, angiology and intensive care medicine at Deutsche Herzzentrum Charite and professor of cardiology at Charite University Medicine in Berlin. "However, this was not the case in this trial of older patients at very high risk of bleeding and stroke.

"Our findings indicate that standard physician-directed medical care, including blood thinners for eligible patients, remains a valid management option for those older patients with irregular heartbeat who are at very high risk for stroke and bleeding."

Landmesser said that the results of the procedure are different for lower-risk patients, and studies investigating this are currently underway. Moreover, ongoing studies are comparing LAA closure in addition to blood thinning in very high-risk patients.

Because medical treatments and LAA closure for AFib remain in development, the results of this study may not apply to future research, other techniques or procedures.

Study details, background and design:

More than 900 adults with AFib who were at high risk of stroke and major bleeding participated in this study.

Participants' average age was 78 years, and 39% were women.

They were enrolled at 42 health care sites in Germany from March 2018 to April 2024, and they were followed for a median of 3 years.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: standard medical care (including anticoagulant blood thinners, if eligible); or LAA closure.

Researchers compared the frequency of stroke, life-threatening blood clots, cardiovascular/unexplained death and major bleeding between the two treatment groups.
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A 12 lead ECG showing atrial fibrillation at approximately 150 beats per minute. Credit: James Heilman, MD/Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0

New research found a simplified clot-preventing medication regimen following stent placement in adults with atrial fibrillation was just as safe and effective in preventing strokes, heart attack and death, when compared to a standard year-long treatment regimen, according to a preliminary late-breaking science presentation Saturday at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2025. The meeting, held Nov. 710 in New Orleans, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science.

This study included adults with atrial fibrillation (AFib), a common heart rhythm disorder, who received a stent in a heart artery to improve blood flow. Standard treatment after a stent implantation is a prescription for two clot-preventing medications for one year, however, these medications can also increase the risk of serious bleeding, explained study author Yohei Sotomi, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Osaka Cardiovascular Conference Multicenter Clinical Research Lab in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at University of Osaka Graduate School of Medicine in Osaka, Japan.

The two medications included a direct oral anticoagulant, such as dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban and edoxaban to help prevent strokes; and a P2Y12 inhibitor, such as clopidogrel or prasugrel, to prevent clots in the stent.

In this study, the OPTIMA-AF trial, researchers explored if using both medications for one month among people with AFib who received a stent would be equally safe and effective as 12 months of treatment, while helping to reduce bleeding risk associated with the medications.

"Previous studies confirmed that using two anti-clotting agents instead of three reduced bleeding, however, no study has tested whether the duration of dual therapy could be safely shortened to just one month," Sotomi said. "Our study is the first to show that a one-month strategy is both safe and effective, offering real-world benefits for patients and doctors."

Researchers studied more than 1,000 adults in Japan who had AFib and received a stent in a heart artery. After the stent placement procedure, half of the study participants were prescribed both types of medications for one month, then only the direct oral anticoagulant for the remaining 11 months. The other half of participants continued dual therapy for 12 months.

Participants were followed for one year to monitor if they had a stroke, heart attack or died. Researchers also analyzed how many participants had bleeding complications such as gastrointestinal bleeding.

The analysis found:

5.4% of participants in the one-month group and 4.5% in the 12-month group had a heart attack, stroke or died, which researchers said suggests the shorter approach was equally effective.

Participants in the one-month dual-treatment group had notably fewer bleeding complications: 4.8% versus 9.5% in the 12-month group.

Most of the bleeding reduction came from less serious bleeds that required medical attention, which affects quality of life and can increase health care costs for emergency or clinic visits, lab and imaging tests.

"These results may help doctors feel more confident in prescribing shorter durations of dual antithrombotic therapy after stenting among some patients with AFib," Sotomi said. "By reducing the length of time individuals are exposed to combination therapy, we can lower the risk of bleedinga serious concern for many older adultswithout increasing their risk of stroke or heart attack."

Up to 1 in 10 people who receive a stent also have AFib, a disorder that increases stroke risk by five-fold and can lead to blood clots, heart failure and death, Sotomi said. According to the American Heart Association 2025 Heart and Stroke statistics, an estimated 5 million adults in the U.S. have AFib, and it is predicted that more than 12 million people in the U.S. will have it by 2030.

The study was conducted in Japan, so its findings may not directly apply to people in other countries. Another limitation is that study participants mostly had stable heart disease, so results may not apply to patients with higher risk for blood clots. In addition, only about 20% of the study population were women, so generalizability to women is limited.

Study details, background and design:

The study included 1,101 adults with an average age of 75.2 years old; 79% were men; and all had atrial fibrillation and underwent a procedure to implant a drug-eluting stent.

The study enrolled participants with AFib who received stents at 75 hospitals in Japan between October 2019 and September 2024.

Researchers collected data on rates of death, stroke, heart attack, clotting in stents and bleeding events.

The trial compared one-month versus 12-month dual antithrombotic therapy with a direct oral anticoagulant and a P2Y12 inhibitor, followed by the oral anticoagulant alone, with outcomes assessed at 12 months.

Participants and researchers knew which regimen each participant received; however, assignment to the regimens was by chance.
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The cholesterol medication alirocumab, a PCSK9 inhibitor, combined with a statin appeared to reduce LDL cholesterol levels by more than 50% among patients after a heart transplant, according to a late-breaking science presentation today at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2025. The meeting, held Nov. 710 in New Orleans, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science. The research has been simultaneously published in Circulation.

"Our study found treating patients who have had a heart transplant with a more aggressive cholesterol management regimen was safe and lowered their LDL-cholesterol levels significantly," said study author William F. Fearon, M.D., FAHA, a professor of medicine and chief of interventional cardiology at Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, California.

"These results support PCSK9 inhibitors for patients who have high LDL cholesterol levels in conjunction with statin therapy, however, we need more studies testing treatment with PCSK9 inhibitors with longer term follow-up with more participants to confirm if PCSK9s can reduce the development of cardiac allograft vasculopathy."

According to the American Heart Association, high LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, known as "bad" cholesterol, has no symptoms, but it can increase risk for cardiovascular issues because it can cause plaque to build up in the arteries. This buildup may block blood flow or break loose and cause a heart attack or stroke.

In this clinical trial, called CAVIAR (Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy Inhibition with AliRocumab), researchers tested the safety and effectiveness of adding the PCSK9 inhibitor alirocumab to a statin regimen among patients soon after a heart transplant to prevent the development of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV). CAV is common and the primary cause of death for many patients after a heart transplant. The study, which included more than 100 adults after a heart transplant, also evaluated the change in coronary artery plaque volume soon after the heart transplant through one year later. Participants were assigned to take either alirocumab or a placebo, together with rosuvastatin, a commonly prescribed cholesterol-lowering medication.

The trial results showed that one-year post-transplant, alirocumab plus rosuvastatin was safe and effectively lowered LDL cholesterol. The cholesterol-lowering impact of taking both medications was beyond what was achieved with rosuvastatin alone. Coronary plaque reduction was not significant in either group though, and there was no statistically significant difference between the plaque progression in the groups.

After one year, the study found:

The average LDL cholesterol levels decreased by more than 50% among participants in the alirocumab groupfrom 72.7 mg/dL at enrollment to 31.5 mg/dL. The average LDL cholesterol levels among participants in the placebo group did not statistically change from the average 69.0 mg/dL at enrollment.

Although the coronary artery plaque volume increased numerically in both groups from baseline to 12 months, there was no change in plaque volume between the alirocumab and placebo group.

Plaque progression was minimal in both the alirocumab groups and the placebo group.

There were no significant side effects in either group.

The study had some limitations, with researchers noting that because there was less plaque progression than expected between both groups and because the LDL levels were low at baseline in the rosuvastatin alone (placebo) arm, the study power to detect a difference when adding alirocumab was reduced. Based on various research studies, the American Heart Association recommends a "lower is better" approach for cholesterol, especially LDL-C, rather than a single ideal number for everyone. For healthy adults, an LDL-C level below 100 mg/dl is considered ideal. For those with pre-existing conditions like atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or diabetes, target levels are more stringent and the guidelines focus on reducing LDL-C to 70 mg/dL or lower.

Study details, background and design:

The study group included 114 adults who had heart transplants; their mean age was 58 years old.

Stanford University conducted the trial, starting in 2019. Transplant patients were identified at two health care centers: Stanford Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente in Santa Clara, California.

Participants were enrolled in the trial within eight weeks after the heart transplant and randomly assigned to one of two groups: group one (57 adults) was prescribed 150 mg of alirocumab with rosuvastatin; group two (57 adults) was assigned to take a placebo with rosuvastatin.

At time of enrollment in the trial and one year after the heart transplant, all participants underwent additional screening procedures to evaluate the blood flow and plaque buildup in their coronary arteries.

CAV, which causes narrowing and blockage of vessels supplying blood to the heart, is a common complication after a heart transplant and a primary cause of death after a transplant. High LDL cholesterol is a contributing factor to CAV, and it is usually treated with statins. Treatment with statins alone, however, often falls short in achieving the target levels for low cholesterol.

More information: William F. Fearon et al, Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy Inhibition with Alirocumab:The CAVIAR Trial, Circulation (2025). DOI: 10.1161/circulationaha.125.077603 Journal information: Circulation
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Credit: Pixabay from Pexels

Dominic Cipriano couldn't stop shaking. A drug dealer on the streets of Kensington had sold him a bag of what he thought was fentanyl. And when he entered withdrawal, he started rocking from side to side, wracked by uncontrollable tremors.

Cipriano was experiencing the effects of a powerful veterinary tranquilizer, called medetomidine, never approved for human use. It causes sedation so intense that users commonly black out, followed by a constellation of withdrawal symptoms that can be life-threatening.

By early 2025, medetomidine was showing up in 70% of the illicit opioid samples tested in Philadelphia, alongside other unregulated sedatives, industrial chemicals, and synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

Local health officials were still working to understand the drug scene's last major threat, an animal tranquilizer called xylazine and known on the street as "tranq," which had been leaving thousands of drug users with gaping flesh wounds, sometimes even exposing bones.

Medetomidine, the officials learned, does not appear to cause the skin lesions that xylazine does.

But as with xylazine, physicians worried about a sharp rise in dangerous withdrawal casesand uncertainty about its long-term effects.

"With xylazine, when we saw so many people suffering from amputations, I hazarded that there really wasn't anything worse," said Kory London, the director of clinical operations at Jefferson Methodist Hospital. "But I think we have found something worse."

As officials scrambled to understand the new threat, Philadelphians struggling with opioid addiction were finding out in real time.

Drug users would lose consciousness on the street, with their heart rates dropping. The paramedics who found them tried dispensing naloxone, a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses, but couldn't wake them up.

In withdrawal, they would shake and vomit uncontrollably, gripped by intense pain that traditional medications couldn't soothe. Their blood pressure spiked, putting them at risk of heart attacks and other life-threatening complications.

The impact was being felt in hospital emergency rooms citywide, where the number of patients visiting for withdrawal complaints rose threefoldfrom 800 to nearly 2,400in the year that ended this spring, according to Philadelphia Department of Public Health data obtained through an open-records request. It is not clear how many of those cases were medetomidine-related, although the department has linked the rise in ER visits to the drug's sudden ubiquity.

Philadelphia's rapidly changing and increasingly toxic drug supply often acts as a bellwether for other U.S. cities. The city was among the first to see overdose deaths spike after fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid, emerged last decade, and has spent the last five years trying to respond to xylazine.

Dealers have moved on to new additives so fast that medical professionals have struggled to keep pace with treatment. But with medetomidine, doctors and addiction medicine providers rapidly mobilized to track symptoms and develop new protocols for treating them as quickly as possible.

Traditional addiction treatment optionsinpatient rehabs and detox clinicscannot dispense the powerful medications needed to ease medetomidine withdrawal. Hospitals can, but local doctors say that insurance companies won't cover patients admitted to the hospital solely for opioid withdrawal.

Dangerous withdrawal

As soon as emergency rooms saw the rise in patients in severe withdrawal from drugs in spring 2024, doctors in Philadelphia began the search for answers.

Brendan Hart, an emergency physician at Temple Health, recalls examining a patient in the hospital's intensive care unit in late summer whose blood pressure was spiking. The man's heart was racing, and he had become incoherent and so agitated that he had to be placed in physical restraints.

Doctors were treating him with heavy doses of sedatives that are typically used to help patients in withdrawal from alcohol and benzodiazepines. But the man was not responding to the medication.

His medical chart showed that he regularly used opioids, though his symptoms did not match a typical opioid withdrawal. Hart had read the city's warnings that medetomidine had shown up in the illicit opioid supply. And several overdose patients at Temple had recently tested positive for the drug.

Hart was familiar with a similar sedative, marketed as Precedex, that is approved for humans and generally used only in ICU settings. When patients are not weaned off it properly, it causes some of the same withdrawal symptoms as medetomidine.

Doctors typically give patients withdrawing from illicit opioids a controlled dose of a safer opioid-based medication, like methadone, to treat their initial withdrawal symptoms. Then, doctors slowly decrease the dose, keeping patients comfortable. Under close ICU supervision, Hart decided to try the same approach with a combination of opioids and Precedex.

Within a day, the man improved. Hart saw the same results with several other patients in similar conditions treated at Temple over the next few months.

He shared his success story with doctors at other area health systems, who were connected through meetings organized that summer by the city health department to discuss a rise in unusual withdrawal cases.

By November 2024, doctors from Penn, Jefferson, and Temple were comparing notes on medetomidine treatment optionsfrom Precedex to ketamine infusions to blood-pressure medications like clonidine. "We're really throwing the kitchen sink [at it]," one Penn doctor said, according to meeting minutes obtained by The Inquirer.

In May, area physicians shared their experiences with medetomidine and its treatment in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

Three of the city's major health systems identified at least 165 patients admitted to their hospitals in a five-month stretch, beginning in September 2024, who were likely suffering from medetomidine withdrawal. Ninety-one percent of that cohort were so ill they required treatment in intensive care units.

The physicians warned that other emergency departments should note the developing situation in Philadelphia and start testing their area's drugs for medetomidine.

In June, Philadelphia health officials released a set of guidelines on how to treat medetomidine's withdrawal symptoms, including recommendations to try Precedex and clonidine.

Nine months had passed between the identification of the new drug hazard and the release of an official guidance on treating it. This turnaround time is hailed as a grim victory in a city that had seen more than 10,000 people die of overdoses in the last decade.

"This is the fastest I've seen evidence change clinical practice," said Danny Teixeira da Silva, the medical director at the city health department's Division of Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction.

Lessons from the past

Teixeira da Silva credited the rapid response to lessons learned the hard way in the mid-2010s after fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid, replaced heroin in Philadelphia's drug markets. For the next decade, deaths soared in the region, and fentanyl remains the leading cause of overdose deaths in Philadelphia.

A few years ago, xylazine emerged. Suppliers could buy the animal tranquilizer online for as cheap as $6 a kilogram. Opioid traffickers began adding the tranquilizer to fentanyl as a "filler" that extended users' short-lived highand increased dealers' profits, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Within five years, the severe skin lesions associated with xylazine use had created a new public health crisis: Amputations among people addicted to opioids had doubled in Philadelphia.

In 2024, state officials tried to make it harder for dealers to access xylazine by making it a controlled substance, limiting who can purchase it. Several other states have also placed limits on xylazine purchasing.

Between 2024 and 2025, emergency rooms saw the number of opioid-addicted patients with skin infections drop by more than half, city health records show.

Why and how medetomidine emerged so rapidly in the nation's increasingly unpredictable drug supply is unknown.

Some have theorized that difficulties obtaining xylazine led traffickers to search for another tranquilizer to add to illicit drugs.

"It's a lot of speculation, but I think suppliers made an effort to find another substance that had similar effects, that wasn't a controlled substance, that could be mixed in or disguised as a white powder," said Phil Durney, a physician who heads Jefferson Health's inpatient addiction services.

Or traffickers might be searching for more potent drugs to market to customers who have developed high tolerances for tranquilizers, said Alex Krotulski, a director at the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education, a Horsham nonprofit that works with public health officials to test drug samples and identify trends.

Medetomidine first appeared in Philadelphia drug markets on the same spring weekend that it was first detected in Chicago, Krotulski said.

"Medetomidine's proliferation across the U.S. has been a lot faster than xylazine," he said. "It's only been around as an adulterant for about a year, and at this point we've seen it in all regions of the United States."

As with xylazine, tracking cases is challenging, in part because there are no medical billing codes associated with medetomidine or its side effects. Medetomidine also leaves a person's body quickly, making it difficult to track through drug tests.

Medetomidine was detected in about 15% of all fatal overdoses in Philadelphia between May 2024 and May 2025, according to preliminary city data obtained by The Inquirer.

Still, it's unclear whether medetomidine is driving deaths, which have declined citywide in the last two years. Medetomidine's withdrawal symptoms can mimic other health conditions, like a heart attack.

Doctors are also concerned about the long-term effects of medetomidine withdrawal on patients who experience dangerous swings from low to high blood pressure.

"We've certainly seen a number of patients who we've suspected of having, essentially, brain damage from the high blood pressure," Jefferson's London said.

He and his colleagues have begun giving patients at Methodist, the system's South Philadelphia hospital, low doses of Precedex outside the ICU in an effort to free up space there and treat more patients.

"You can see within a matter of a few hours that a patient's symptoms are improving," Durney said.

Medetomidine withdrawal, doctors say, has trapped many patients in a vicious cycle. The medications available for withdrawal at detox programs and rehabs are limited. Many use opioid-based addiction medications like buprenorphine to ease patients' symptoms, but the more effective Precedex generally can be used only in a hospital ICU.

Yet patients in withdrawal typically are not admitted to hospitals until they are experiencing life-threatening symptoms.

Sam Stern, an addiction medicine physician at Temple, recalled a patient who dropped by the health system's mobile clinic, a van that regularly stops in Kensington to treat clients on the streets.

"He had made repeated attempts to go into drug treatment, but the withdrawal was too severe. Really, it was only when he got transferred to the hospital and got stabilized that he was able to stop using drugs," Stern said.

2025 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Hexoskin biometric shirt equipped with electrocardiogram sensors, thoracic and abdominal respiratory bands, a 3-axis accelerometer, and a recording device. Credit: Epilepsia Open (2025). DOI: 10.1002/epi4.70099

Epilepsy is the world's most common chronic neurological condition, affecting about 1 in every 100 people. Those who have it go into seizures of varying intensity, ranging from barely noticeable to dramatic, with convulsions and loss of consciousness.

These seizures stem from excessive electrical discharges in the brain, a kind of "neuronal storm" that, in severe cases, can disrupt breathing and cause sudden death. A more common risk is injurysometimes even bone fracturesfrom falls during seizures.

While anti-seizure medications are the first line of treatment, they don't work for about one-third of people living with epilepsy. Surgery to remove the area of the brain responsible for seizures has proven effective in a limited number of cases. For others, seizures persist despite all available treatments.

That's why researchers are now exploring other avenues, such as detecting or even predicting seizures to prevent the injuries they can cause. This is a key focus of the research of Dang Khoa Nguyen and Elie Bou Assi, both professors in the Department of Neuroscience at Universite de Montreal and researchers at the CHUM Research Center.

'Realizing it's happening'

"Detecting a seizure means realizing it's happening, like opening your umbrella when it starts raining, whereas predicting means realizing that it's coming, like knowing it's going to rain and taking an umbrella when you go out," explained Nguyen, holder of a Canada Research Chair in Epilepsy and Functional Anatomy of the Human Brain.

While prediction remains a complex scientific challenge, real-time detection is within reach thanks to devices equipped with physiological sensors that can be worn or placed next to the body.

Now, a whole range of devicesfrom mattresses to wristbands, shirts and shoesare being tested in the lab for their ability to accurately, continuously and non-invasively measure breathing, heart activity and movement.

Triggering the alarm

One focus of Nguyen and Bou Assi's research is a biometric shirt developed in Montreal. Originally designed for athletes, this "smart" shirt is equipped with sensors to track respiratory activity, electrodes to measure heart activity (ECG) and an accelerometer to detect abnormal movements.

Together, these data can identify the typical clinical signs of a seizure, such as respiratory abnormalities, rapid heart rate and limb tremors. Once a seizure is detected, the device can automatically alert the wearer, a loved one or a health care professional, enabling prompt assistance.

Nguyen and Bou Assi's study, now published in Epilepsia Open, found that the smart shirt can correctly detect up to two-thirds of seizures. The rate of false alarms triggered by intense, rhythmic movements was also considered acceptable.

"In our trials, we had about one false alarm every two days," said Bou Assi. "However, we were able to reduce that number by half, mainly by training our algorithms to better recognize seizures."

The next step is to test the smart shirt in real-world situations outside the hospital.

Hospital gown of the future

Nguyen believes this technology could significantly enhance the quality of life and safety of families living with epilepsy. For instance, children with epilepsy would be able to sleep in their own bedrooms without their parents constantly worrying about missing a nighttime seizure.

Adults with epilepsy could regain their independence, while caregivers of elderly loved ones would no longer have to worry about a seizure leaving them immobile on the floor for hours, the researchers say.

But the potential applications of the smart shirt extend well beyond epilepsy. Scientists are now exploring its potential to monitor cardiac arrhythmias, detect sleep apnea and provide continuous patient monitoring in hospitals.

The smart shirt could someday be "the hospital gown of the future," they say, capable of transmitting real-time patient data without the need for cumbersome wires. Ultimately, it could save countless lives.

More information: Jerome StJean et al, Detection of focal impaired awareness seizures using a biometric shirt, Epilepsia Open (2025). DOI: 10.1002/epi4.70099
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In Mexico's open-air markets, you can find a wide variety of cheap cosmetics and makeup, often sold without any health inspections. Credit: Aleida Rueda.

Across Latin America's cities, a lucrative informal trade in cosmetics and personal hygiene products is thriving.

But, often unbeknown to those who buy them, many of these items are laced with toxic chemicals and heavy metals. They are sold in vast quantities without labels, warnings, or regulation.

Studies reveal the presence of arsenic, mercury, lead and other metals in lipsticks, eyeshadows, nail polish, skin lighteners, and hair products sold cheaply in markets and informal shops.

In downtown Lima, hundreds of people flock daily to the bustling galleries around the historic center El Cercado to buy cosmetics wholesale and retail, largely ignored by municipal inspectors.

"I come here every month or so to stock up () everything is very cheap here," said Zenobia Urquiza, who runs a market stall in Matucana province.

"I take the opportunity to stock up on some makeup items that sell easily, for example, now that it's Halloween I'm bringing black eyeshadows, fluorescent eyeshadows, black and bright colored nail polishes," she told SciDev.Net.

None of these products have a label, brand, or health certificate identifying their source.

"Do you want quality or price? If you want quality, go buy from Aruma [the largest makeup chain in Peru] or from a catalog and it will cost you an arm and a leg," said one vendor.

While regional data is scarce, the informal beauty market represents major losses for businesses. Peru's Chamber of Commerce reported in 2024 that counterfeit shampoos, fragrances, creams, lipsticks, talcum powder, and nail polish cost the country's cosmetics industry over US$260 million.

Some, however, profit enormously. "I make about 5,000 soles [about US$1,500] a day just on this stall, sometimes more, sometimes less (), and in total I have ten stalls," said the same vendor.

Clandestine laboratories have multiplied, producing cosmetics by hand, often in unsanitary conditions.

In July 2025, Peruvian authorities seized nearly two tons of counterfeit cosmetics and hygiene products in El Cercadoexpired, adulterated, or lacking health registration.

"The worrying thing about this case is that the use of these products made with unknown substances poses a health risk, because their use can cause itching, allergies, hair loss and other more serious health problems," explained Rumi Cabrera, a specialist from Peru's Ministry of Health, at the time.

In a 2024 article in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, Abdullah M. Alnuqaydan, a researcher at Qassim University, Saudi Arabia specializing in cosmetics toxicity, says toxins can travel into the bloodstream through dermal absorption and pose a real danger to the human body.

A regional problem

The trend seen in Lima is emerging across Latin America, where demand for beauty and personal care products has exploded. The region's formal market was valued at US$58.71 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach US$95.06 billion by 2034.

Luisa Torres Sanchez, from Mexico's National Institute of Public Health, believes Latin America is particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of some of these products. "Culturally, we use them more, but also our socioeconomic conditions lead us to choose to sacrifice quality for price," she told SciDev.Net.

Added to this, products that are banned in other countries, such as pesticides or plastics are allowed to enter Latin America freely due to weak regulations.

Europe, for instance, banned semi-permanent gel nail polishes containing toxic hardeners such as trimethylbenzoyl diphenylphosphine oxide (TPO) and N,N-dimethyl-p-toluidine (DMPT) from September this year. These substances remain in wide use in Latin America.

"If they are banned in Europe, could they reach our open-air markets? Perhaps we are receiving the cheapest products with the highest concentration of toxic substances. We don't know," Torres warned.

Cancer-causing metals

Researchers are beginning to map the risks. In 2023, as part of her thesis at the National University of San Marcos, Peruvian chemist Evelyn Santos analyzed 30 lipsticks from informal Lima markets using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. All contained heavy metals0.6 ppm of cadmium and 0.2 ppm of mercury on average.

Under US Food and Drug Administration standards, the samples contained permissible amounts of mercury, but cadmium levels exceeded safety limits. By stricter EU standards, most contained heavy metals well above permissible limits.

"What I found in my analysis does not eliminate alarmlip products that are bought in downtown Lima contain heavy metals, they contain cadmium and mercury," Santos warned.

"And the presence of heavy metals is very risky, since these metals tend to accumulate in the body and we don't know what damage this may cause in the future."

Similar findings emerged in Mexico. Researcher Francisco Bautista and his team at the National Autonomous University of Mexico's Center for Research in Environmental Geography analyzed cosmetics sold in Mexican street markets, using spectrophotometry, X-ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy.

They found high concentrations of vanadiuma carcinogenic metalin low- and mid-range lipsticks, "ranging from hundreds [] to thousands," according to an article published in Mexico's Journal of Public Health

"Acute vanadium poisoning affects the respiratory and digestive systems and causes heart palpitations, exhaustion, depression and tremors in the fingers and hands," the article said.

The researchers also detected copper, nickel, tin, lead chlorate, and other minerals, especially in cheaper brands.

"Ideally, heavy metals such as lead, nickel, vanadium and cadmium should not be among the components of lipsticks, as there are no safe concentrations for the human body," they added.

Children at risk

Children and teenagers are also increasingly affected. "Schoolgirls buy a lot of makeup because it's cheap and allows them to be fashionable," says Peruvian market trader Urquiza.

A study in Sao Paulo found high arsenic levels in children's costume makeup, with cancer risks exceeding accepted limits.

Meanwhile, teenagers, influenced by social media, often use products designed for adult skin. Experts warn that this can lead to risks such as hormonal imbalances, allergic reactions, and exposure to chemicals such as parabens, phthalates, sulfates, and formaldehyde.

Bautista explained that so-called "influencers" on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram have their own makeup brands. In his study, several samples of lipsticks and eyeshadows containing heavy metals came from beauty influencers.

"They don't even know what they're selling, but they're promoting it, and it's full of heavy metals () If I had daughters, I would tell them: "Forget about these cheap influencer brands.'"

Long-term threat

Assessing the health impact of these products is challenging because damage develops slowly.

"It's not easy to study," said Martha Tellez-Rojo, an epidemiologist at Mexico's National Institute of Public Health. She added, "If I use a deodorant with aluminum today () it's a very slow process."

Her team has followed 800 women and their children in Mexico City for more than 30 years. In most cases, they found traces of heavy metals in urine and evidence of early neurodevelopmental and hormonal effects, revealing that these substances can be passed from mother to baby.

"I couldn't say if it's the deodorant or the cream or the eyeliner, but there are metabolites in their urine associated with effects that we observe from a very early age, very small, that accumulate and affect their neurodevelopment, endocrine system, their sleep patterns or their lipid processing," Tellez-Rojo explained.

Nanotechnology specialist Paulina Abrica Gonzalez, from Mexico's National Polytechnic Institute, agrees that studying these associations is difficult and time-consuming. She focuses on evaluating the potential harm of nanoparticles used in cosmetics to give skin a smoother appearance.

"I may not wear a lot of makeup, but I do apply it daily () And we use it for almost our entire lives, from a young age or childhood, so what we're going to see are the long-term effects," she said.

Abrica and her team used animal tests known as comet assays to test titanium oxide nanoparticles found in cosmetics for genotoxicitythe ability of a substance to damage genetic material (DNA) in a cell. This damage can lead to mutations, which may result in diseases such as cancer or birth defects.

Although they found greater DNA damage at higher nanoparticle concentrations, it takes time for the substance to accumulate. Abrica said, "We won't have results for another five or ten years."

The researcher warned that this poses a challenge for regulatory bodies which assessand approvethe safety of cosmetics based on immediate tests that may not be suitable for determining long-term effects. "That's why we often find out too late that a product is harmful," she added.

Precautionary principle

Experts agree that the time taken to generate evidence must not delay regulation.

"It's not that we want to say, 'Don't use nanoparticles!' () But we do want to raise awareness about the concentrations, the types of nanoparticles, and the skin types," Abrica said.

Consumers, she added, deserve transparency about ingredients and concentrations.

Torres agreed: "I believe that as consumers we have the right to demand to know what we're putting into our products. Yes, I'll buy your cream, but tell me what's in it."

Bautista believes that if the risk is particularly high, consumers should be alerted. "That is called the precautionary principle () If we applied the precautionary principle, many cosmetic products, lipsticks and eyeshadows would be withdrawn from the market," he said.

Ultimately, he warned, "We have to stop using these products () The use of these products by minors should be strictly prohibited."

Yet informal sales continue across the region. For many, the choice is economic. As Urquiza, the makeup vendor, put it: "If they had labels they'd be more expensive and we wouldn't be able to buy them, and poor people also have the right to look good, right?"

SciDev.Net requested comments from health authorities in Mexico and Peru but received no responses ahead of publication.

Provided by SciDev.Net
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Myeloid immune cells alongside red blood cells in an electron micrograph of human blood. Credit: National Cancer Institute

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-associated disease (MOGAD) is a rare autoimmune condition in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the protective myelin sheath of nerve fibers in the central nervous system. Although MOGAD induces symptoms similar to multiple sclerosis (MS), its underlying biology appears to be fundamentally different. Understanding these distinctions is crucial for developing effective, disease-specific treatments.

A new international study under the contribution of ImmunoSensation2 member Prof. Anne-Katrin Probstel and her team now sheds light on these immune differences. The results have been published in Science Translational Medicine.

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodyassociated disease (MOGAD) is an autoimmune disease that shares symptoms with other demyelinating conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (MS). Like MS, MOGAD can cause inflammation of the optic nerve and spinal cord, potentially resulting in long-term disability.

However, despite clinical similarities, MOGAD is driven by a distinct pathophysiology. This difference is thought to underlie the limited effectiveness of current immunomodulatory treatments that are otherwise used successfully in MS. Yet, studies exploring the underlying disease mechanisms have been scarceuntil now.

Defining MOGAD as a distinct disease entity

A collaborative team of researchers from the Universities of Zurich, Munich, Toulouse, Lyon, Basel and Bonn has provided important new insights into the rare disease. The researchers performed detailed immune-cell profiling of MOGAD patients, comparing the results with data from individuals with MS and healthy controls.

The analysis revealed striking differences across multiple immune-cell subsets, including natural killer (NK-), T-, and B-cells. These findings demonstrate that MOGAD is characterized by a unique immunological signature that sets it apart from MS and other neuroinflammatory diseases.

"These findings support MOGAD as its own disease entity, distinct from other neuroinflammatory conditions such as MS," explains Prof. Dr. Probstel, managing director of the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), Member of the ImmunoSensation2 Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn and research group leader at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE).

Towards disease-specific treatment strategies

While MS therapies have long relied on broad immunomodulation, patients with MOGAD often respond poorly to these established treatments. Prof. Probstel and colleagues now provide a detailed map of the immune landscape in MOGAD, offering crucial clues for future therapeutic approaches.

"Importantly, this work lays the foundation for hypothesis-driven research aimed at understanding MOGAD's unique immunopathology and developing targeted therapies," adds Prof. Probstel.

By defining how immune cell populations differ between MOGAD and MS, the study paves the way for a more personalized approach to treating neuroinflammatory diseases. Before application in medical practice, the hypotheses developed on the basis of the profile data obtained must be validated in clinical studies.

More information: Jonas Schmid et al, Immune signatures link myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodyassociated disease to other autoantibody-mediated conditions, Science Translational Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adw0358 Journal information: Science Translational Medicine
Akbar Novruz

Energy cooperation between the European Union and Azerbaijan continues to play a crucial role in reducing the blocs dependence on imported fossil fuels, particularly Russian gas, as outlined in the EUs REPowerEU plan, Azernews reports.

EU Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jorgensen highlighted this in a written response to a European Parliament inquiry, noting the strategic importance of the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC).

Since 2021, Azerbaijan's gas supplies to the EU through the Southern Gas Corridor have increased by more than 40 per cent. The SGC is directly connected only to Azerbaijani gas fields and is not integrated with the countrys national gas transportation system. Therefore, it is not used to transport Russian gas to the EU, Jorgensen emphasised.

According to him, Azerbaijan imported less than 1 billion cubic meters of gas from Russia for domestic needs in 2023, a volume that sharply decreased in 20242025. At the same time, Azerbaijans total gas exports in 2024 exceeded 25 billion cubic meters, nearly half of which went to the EU market, a clear indication of the countrys major contribution to Europes energy diversification.

Jorgensen also reaffirmed the EUs support for lasting peace in the South Caucasus, noting that it is of utmost importance that both countries continue to make progress towards full normalisation of relations. He praised the initialling of the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement in Washington on August 8, 2025, calling it a significant step toward ending the long-standing conflict, and reiterated that the EU stands ready to support the implementation of the Washington agreements.
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Young people in Scotland are experimenting with nicotine pouches and reporting adverse effects such as sickness and fainting, according to new research from the Scottish Center for Social Research (ScotCen) published in the journal Addiction.

Nicotine pouches, which entered the UK market in 2019, are small tobacco-free sachets placed between the lip and gum to deliver nicotine. They are currently unregulated in the UK and can be legally sold to under-18s, although the UK Government's Tobacco and Vapes Bill proposes new age restrictions on their sale.

Researchers from the Scottish Center for Social Research (ScotCen), conducted the first qualitative study in the UK to explore how 1416-year-olds understand and use nicotine pouches. The study involved 16 focus groups with 77 pupils and interviews with 13 school staff across four Scottish schools.

Key findings:

High awareness and experimentation: Most pupils knew about nicotine pouches, often referring to them as 'snus' or 'upper deckies.' Experimental use was common, and more established use was also reported, particularly among older male pupils.

Discreet use in schools: Many young people said they liked that pouches can be used discreetly, including during school hours or on public transport, unlike vapes or cigarettes.

Adverse health effects: Pupils reported negative effects from using pouches, from gum pain and burning sensations in the mouth and throat, to sickness, sweating and fainting.

Perceived as safer than vaping: Despite these effects, some young people believed pouches were "better for you" than vaping or smoking, because they avoided lung damage. One male pupil told researchers: "I'd rather have worse gums than worse lungs."

Staff unaware of use: School staff members had good knowledge and awareness of vaping among pupils in schools, and were taking measures to address this. In contrast, they had limited knowledge of nicotine pouches and were largely unaware that pupils were using them.

Andy MacGregor, Director of Policy Research at the Scottish Center for Social Research, said, "Our study shows that awareness and experimentation with nicotine pouches among young people is already widespread and that these products are being used under the radar in schools.

"Because pouches can be bought by under-18s and used discreetly, they pose a unique challenge for teachers, parents and policymakers. Stronger regulation and better public health messaging are urgently needed."

Allison Ford, Associate Professor at the Institute for Social Marketing and Health at the University of Stirling and Principal Investigator of the New Nicotine Products (NNPs) in Scotland (NIPS) Study, said, "This important paper highlights the accessibility of nicotine pouches to young people in Scotland and young people's awareness of nicotine pouch marketing and promotion.

"The wider NIPS study is examining the retail availability, marketing and display of NNPs in Scotland. Its findings will help the Scottish Government decide if new rules are needed on how vapes and nicotine pouches are displayed and marketed in shops, to protect young people from using these products."

Jamie Pearce, Professor of Health Geography at the University of Edinburgh, said, "Nicotine pouches are becoming more widely used among young people in Scotland which may lead to long-term and harmful effects for health. There is an urgent need to take steps to reduce the marketing, availability and sale of nicotine pouches to young people."

More information: Andy MacGregor et al, 'I'd rather have worse gums than worse lungs': Young people's views of nicotine pouches in the UK, Addiction (2025). DOI: 10.1111/add.70214 Journal information: Addiction
The rain gods have played spoilsport with the BJPs meticulously laid out plans to complete one of the citys most important civic projects  the concretisation of designated roads  before the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections early next year.

Now, with the clock ticking, the ruling party is closely monitoring the speed of work, with a deadline to wrap it up by the end of January 2026. If any roads remain, they will be taken up after the civic elections.

Ameet Satam, MLA and BJPs city chief, clarified that the idea was to complete the work by December, especially those roads partially finished before the monsoon. But the unexpected rain had pushed the completion schedule to next January and Satam said he was in regular touch with civic officials to monitor the progress.

While Satam denied reports of pressuring the BMC to finish the work before the elections, highly placed sources in the civic body indicated otherwise. Around 157.98 km of road concretisation has started, which BMC plans to complete in the next 75 days. We have plans to complete all ongoing road concretisation by January. Only after completing this work will we take up remaining roads for concretisation, said Additional Municipal Commissioner Abhijit Bangar.

According to a senior civic official: Concretisation was planned to give citizens relief from the potholes, but from our experience, when work started in the first phase, people started criticising us as they were affected by the dug-up roads, he added.

In September, Assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar had held a high-level meeting that had MLA and BJP city chief Amit Satam, civic chief Bhushan Gagrani, and other officers in attendance. The decision to finish the concretisation by December was taken at this meeting.

The engineer of the company that undertook road concretisation said, Around 30-35 per cent of the work is supposed to be completed before February, while the remaining work is planned to be completed before the next monsoon. If we get all the sites clear, we will try to complete the work in January.

Anil Gagali, a civic activist, said, It will be very difficult to complete road work by January. If they speed up work, that can impact the quality of the road. If they maintain the quality and timeline, they need to work very promptly with vigilance. Debasis Chakarverty, a resident of Santacruz West, said,  We are suffering a lot with this work. If we see the speed of the work, I dont believe the work will be completed in January 2025. Nikhil Desai, a resident of Matunga, said, This is a difficult task. If we see the past speed of the work, I dont think the work will be completed in just two months.

BOX: THE ROADMAP TO CONCRETE ROADS

The BMC started the concretisation of 698.73 km of road in two phases, a project worth Rs 12,000 crores. The first phase includes 324 km of roads, which started in 2023, while the remaining 377 km road work was undertaken in 2024. The first phase was supposed to be completed in 2025 and 2026. While the work in South Mumbai is delayed now, this phase will complete in 2027 with the second phase. Around 64 percent of the first phase is completed.

The BMC had planned to start work on 157 km of 575 roads in October, which were half complete before the monsoon. But due to sudden rain, the work on around 90 roads did not start.

Around 775 roads of the 208.48 km are planned for concretisation, but the work has not started and will only begin after the current work is completed. According to the civic plan, the full project will be completed in 2027.


A drone sighted hovering near Matoshree, the residence of former Maharashtra chief minister and Z-plus protectee Uddhav Thackeray, on Sunday morning sparked a major security controversy. The incident raised questions over protocol and communication lapses between government agencies and security personnel guarding high-profile leaders.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Anil Desai told Mumbai Mirror that the security team stationed at Matoshree was unaware of any authorised drone activity in the vicinity. There is a clear rule  if a government agency is using a drone near the residence of a Z-plus protectee, the security detail must be informed in advance. That did not happen, addedDesai. The drone, reportedly facing Matoshree for several minutes, caused alarm among security staff before it was learned that the device was being used by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) for a pod taxi corridor survey.

Senior Sena (UBT) leader Anil Parab said, We were told later that a drone survey was underway for the pod taxi project. But if the drone was focusing on Matoshree, what kind of survey was that? Even hours later, there has been no detailed clarification on what exactly was being filmed. What if the security team shot it down, mistaking it for a threat?.

A senior Mumbai Police official confirmed that MMRDA obtained prior permission for the survey. Drone survey with permission by MMRDA is going on in BKC and Kherwadi area, said DCP (Zone 9) Manish Kalvania.

However, the incident prompted sharp criticism from Aaditya Thackeray, who took to social media to question the intent and execution of the operation. A drone was caught peeping into our residence this morning... What survey allows you to peep inside homes and fly away when spotted? Why werent residents informed? Thackeray posted on X (formerly Twitter), tagging both MMRDA and Mumbai Police.

Responding to the allegations, MMRDA issued a clarification, stating that the drone survey was part of a routine visual mapping exercise for the Pod Taxi Project from Kurla to Bandra via BKC.

All necessary permissions were obtained from the Police Department. The certified drone operator followed all prescribed protocols, and the operation remained fully compliant and within the approved alignment, MMRDA said in its statement. Despite the clarification, the controversy triggered a larger debate over communication gaps in drone operations near high-security zones. Officials and security experts warned that such lapses could have led to a serious confrontation had the protectees team perceived the drone as a threat.

Aaditya Thackeray further questioned: Even if MMRDA claims it was doing a survey of BKC, but by not informing the [residents], how many peoples homes they have looked into?When the EC refuses footage of public voting booths, to protect women from privacy concerns, here the drone operator is peeping into our window, and later MMRDA says for the whole of BKC. No other government agency, globally, would be able to justify such police state actions under the name of survey.

The core question remains unanswered: Why was the Z-plus security team at Matoshree not informed beforehand and what if the drone was shot down by the Z-plus protectees guards? There is no such rule, the government agency has taken permission to conduct a drone survey, they should have informed the residents of the area where they are doing the survey, a senior officer of the Mumbai Police said, requesting anonymity.


Central Railway (CR) and the Government Railway Police (GRP) are locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation over the Mumbra train tragedy fallout, with neither agency willing to yield an inch.

Now, CR sources claim that GRP is refusing to share the report based on which it has charged two CR officials for having a role in the June 9 accident that claimed five lives and injured several other commuters.

The standoff began with the GRP lodging an FIR on November 1 indicting two CR officials  Assistant Divisional Engineer Vishal Dolas and Senior Section Engineer Samar Yadav  for criminal negligence. The detailed report, prepared by the Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI), Matunga, was commissioned by the GRP.

However, in its findings released earlier, CR had attempted to blame the tragedy  caused by two local trains coming dangerously close on a curve of the tracks  on a passengers hanging hand and bag protruding from the compartment.

Central Railways contention

Since the GRPs escalation of the case, Central Railway has been pushing hard for access to the VJTI findings, alleging they are being kept in the dark about the technical basis of the charges. We have written a letter to the GRP asking for the VJTI report. They (GRP) have refused to give us the report, a railway official confirmed. CR officials further allege that the GRP did not take the opinion of railway experts into account when filing a case and charged the engineers without understanding the technical aspects of the accident.

The GRP, however, remains unyielding, suspecting a deliberate attempt by the railway establishment to prepare a counter-strategy based on the technical report.

Agency insiders are convinced that sharing the report now would invite manipulation and tampering with evidence. They feel that there is enough evidence to show that the very officials entrusted with maintaining Mumbais lifeline were criminally negligent due to missing welds, uneven tracks, and a sunken track foundation  all of which were known to those accused in the FIR.

A senior officer from GRP detailed the agencys stance. We are not bound to share the report with Central Railways. We are bound by the court. When the matter goes to court, we will submit the VJTI report to the court. It is not necessary to share the report with Central Railways right now, he said.

He further added that sharing the report with CR will allow the agency to prepare its defence in court. The railways have a battery of engineers; there is a high chance the report will be manipulated and evidence will be tampered with. Therefore, we are not going to hand over the VJTI report, he said.

Links to past incidents

Crucially, the GRPs investigation is not limited to the June 9 disaster and the agency is also probing whether more CR officials are involved. The GRP has also reopened past Accidental Death Reports (ADR) of deaths that were caused by people falling off local trains at the same deadly curve near Mumbra. While the CRs internal investigation focused merely on how the June 9 accident happened, the GRPs probe, armed with the VJTI report, is digging deeper to investigate if this tragedy was the latest in a series of such accidents at the same spot and crucially, if the men in charge at CR knew about the lapses but ignored them.


An internal inquiry into a complaint filed by Kiran Narendra Patil at Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital (Sion Hospital) remains incomplete, over nine months after it began, a Right to Information (RTI) response has revealed.

My wife went into KEM Hospital for treatment and never came back. All I have received are letters saying the inquiry is under process. How long does it take to find the truth? questioned Patil.

His wife Tejaswini Patil, who was 24 weeks pregnant, was referred from a Panvel hospital to KEM in January for what the family described as a minor surgical procedure. Her husband alleges that post-operative negligence at KEM led to her death on January 25. He also accused KEM of overcharging for medicines and diagnostic tests.

According to documents accessed through the RTI, Sion Hospital confirmed that an inquiry committee was constituted under the hospital chiefs directive to examine Patils complaint. However, the process has yet to progress beyond the preliminary stage. Officials stated that the report is still under review, and no final findings have been submitted.

The RTI response further clarified that the hospital has not communicated with BMC, the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), or the state health department regarding the case. When approached for comment, officials declined to elaborate, citing ongoing proceedings and confidentiality provisions under the RTI Act. The hospital also withheld certain documents under Section 8(1)(h), which allows denial of information that could impede the process of investigation or apprehension.

Despite limited disclosure, the hospitals Public Information Officer confirmed that the complaint was formally received and that an inquiry committee is active. We have advised the complainant to file a first appeal within 30 days if dissatisfied with the response. The appeal will be reviewed by Dr Vidya Mahale, Deputy Dean and designated Appellate Authority under the RTI Act, 2005, said the officer.

The RTI Act was created to ensure time-bound transparency and accountability, said Advocate Sarjerao Patil, representing the complainant. When inquiries drag on indefinitely, justice is delayed  and often denied.

This is not an isolated instance. Over the years, Sion Hospital, like several other civic-run facilities, has faced repeated complaints about staff conduct, administrative lapses, and delayed patient care. Multiple inquiries have been launched, but few have led to concrete outcomes or systemic reforms.

A senior civic health official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, Most committees are composed of senior staff who already manage daily hospital operations. Without external oversight, these investigations often remain pending until someone from higher up intervenes.Audit reports from previous years have consistently shown that complaints lodged against public hospitals under the BMC frequently face long procedural delays.

Every administrative inquiry must be time-bound  ideally concluded within 90 days, said Advocate Rajesh Chavan, health activist and former member of the BMCs health committee. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also expressed displeasure over the Health Departments failure to submit a report on an alleged case of medical negligence at KEM Hospital, which resulted in the death of 32-year-old Tejaswini Patil earlier this year.

Despite multiple reminders since August, the department has not filed its findings, prompting the NHRC to issue a final deadline of December 19 and warn of coercive action under the Protection of Human Rights Act if the report remains pending. An NHRC official confirmed that the Commission is deeply concerned about the recurring pattern of bureaucratic indifference in medical negligence cases from Maharashtra.


In what could become a significant win for air travellers weighed down by refund delays and complex fare rules, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a draft regulation that would compel airlines to process ticket refunds within 21 working days, even for bookings made through travel agents.

The draft also introduces a look-in window of 48 hours post-booking for passengers to cancel or amend tickets without facing extra charges (save for fare difference), for flights booked directly with airlines  though this applies only if the departure is at least five days away (domestic) or 15 days away (international).

Framing the move as an acknowledgement of mounting consumer grievances  from prolonged refund waits to airlines steering passengers into future credits  the DGCA says it believes the time has come to fix some minimum benchmarks to stem the growing dissatisfaction among the passengers regarding the refund procedures adopted by some airlines.

The proposed rules

One of the key proposals in the draft guidelines, as mentioned above, is a 48-hour look-in window, allowing flyers to cancel or modify their tickets within two days of booking without losing any money or paying extra. When people are booking their own tickets, they tend to make mistakes, says Kalsi. And they end up losing a lot of money.

The draft rules also shield passengers from unnecessary penalties  airlines cant charge for fixing minor spelling errors in names, as long as the correction is made within 24 hours of booking. In India, Rajeev can be spelt with a jeev or a jiv, explains Kalsi. Aggarwal can be spelt in four different ways. So, its tough.

Furthermore, the proposal lays down clear refund timelines  a long-standing sore point for flyers. Refunds for tickets paid by credit card must be processed within seven days. Those purchased in cash should be returned immediately at the point of purchase. For bookings made through travel agents or online portals, the airline will now bear the responsibility of ensuring the refund reaches passengers within 21 working days. Some of this needs to be put into perspective, says Kalsi. When we pay the airlines to issue tickets, then why does the refund come to a wallet (credit shell) and not my bank account? So, as a travel agent, how do I pay the customer back?

Airlines will also have to be more transparent about their charges. The draft makes it mandatory to display cancellation fees upfront at the time of booking  and caps them at no more than the basic fare plus fuel surcharge. Even for non-refundable or promo tickets, passengers will be entitled to a refund of all taxes and airport charges  including UDF, ADF and PSF  if they cancel or fail to show up for the flight.

The new rules wont spare foreign carriers either  international airlines flying to and from India will have to follow both their own countrys refund norms and Indias Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) on refunds.

Kalsi emphasises why including international carriers in the guidelines is imperative. For example, if youre booking a flight from Delhi to Singapore to Bali. Your flight from Delhi departs at 11 pm, and by the time it lands in Singapore, its the next day. And if, while booking the onward journey to Bali, you put in the wrong date, youve lost all your money.

The unfortunate part today is that people are being made to pay for inconveniences. Earlier, people would pay for convenience, and now companies create inconveniences to hike up fees, says Kalsi about the plight of air travellers today. Once you buy and pay online, the relationship is more or less over. Making any changes after that costs you a bomb.

What the DGCA said

The DGCAs draft, titled Refund of airline tickets to passengers, is open for public/stakeholder comment till November 30, after which final rules will be issued.

The draft issued by DGCA chief Faiz Ahmed Kidwai says: Issue of refund of tickets by airlines has become a major source of grievance amongst airline passengers. A large number of complaints are regularly received, which can broadly be divided into: delay in refund of unused tickets; amount refunded by airlines against cancelled tickets; and policy of not refunding ticket amount but adjusting against tickets to be purchased by the passenger for future travel in the same airline, which is also valid for a limited time.

While the government does not want to interfere in the commercial practices of airlines, the volume of complaints necessitates some affirmative action to safeguard the interest of the travelling public. The onus rests with the government to fix some minimum benchmarks, as far as the refund policy is concerned, to stem the growing dissatisfaction among the passengers regarding the refund procedures adopted by some airlines. Protection from the government is essential today, adds Kalsi. This was much needed for a very long time.

If cleared, these proposals could mark one of the most passenger-friendly shake-ups in Indias aviation sector, setting clear refund benchmarks and nudging airlines towards greater transparency and accountability.


Mumbais most crucial water-supply decisions often rest not with civic engineers armed with degrees and CAD maps, but with a group of aging, under-recognised men known as valve men or, in BMC slang, chaviwallas.

These are the citys silent troubleshooters, the only ones who truly understand Mumbais century-old, poorly documented maze of water pipelines, much of it laid long before Independence and even longer before modern mapping.

While BMCs engineering department relies on paper drawings, digitised maps, and hydraulic models, the valve men depend on something far more valuable: lived memory. With thousands of valves worn down by age and corrosion, only these veterans know which valve needs four and a quarter turns, which one requires a tap before the turn, and which rusted wheel must be coaxed instead of forced.

In a crisis, whether a major pipeline burst, low-pressure complaints, or a repair shutdown, its the chaviwalla who is called first, sometimes even before the engineer arrives. They know the underground grid like a family tree: who feeds whom, which line is temperamental, and exactly where an undocumented junction sits beneath a busy road.

And yet, despite carrying Mumbais water network in their heads, many of these valve men are on the verge of retirement, with no formal mechanism to transfer their knowledge. Engineers privately admit that losing even a handful of these men would leave the citys water operations partially blind.

As Mumbai pushes for smart water systems and GIS-based mapping, the civic body still leans heavily on human memory, proof that in this city, the oldest infrastructure often survives only because someone remembers how it works.

The life of a chaviwala

Rafel Pereira, a chaviwalla with the K-West Ward (covering Andheri and Jogeshwari West), recalls: I joined the BMC water department in 1993 as an apprentice. After a years break, I joined permanently. Since then, I have been here. I saw the July 26 flood, but even that didnt stop our work. We work round the clock, we cant give reasons for being late, because this is water supply work. We understand how people suffer if the supply is delayed even for a few minutes. At some locations, we need to operate valves in heavy traffic, but its our duty. Managing water supply is not our only work, we are emergency workers too. If theres a pipeline burst, we rush immediately. We even check fire hydrants regularly for emergencies.

On a busy Andheri road, valve-men Dilip Horambe and Anil Kadam continue their work amid honking traffic. Arent you scared of speeding vehicles? Mirror asked. Horambe laughs, Its our daily work. If we are scared, who will do it? We accept this work as duty, no excuses.

He explains, Andheri Wests water supply is divided into 15-16 zones operating 24 hours. Our team works in three shifts. We dont count turns, our minds are trained. When we close one valve, we must open another to balance the flow. There are risks, but we work in groups, so theres no fear.

Our work runs round the clock

Veteran Manohar Supe, who has worked for over 30 years in the department, 20 of them as a chaviwalla in two wards, says, We cant be late by even a minute. A few minutes delay can make people suffer. I have walked kilometres carrying a heavy chavi. Once, we were heading to Cuffe Parade but got stuck at Lion Gate due to an accident. My team and I walked the rest of the way because being late was not an option.

Supe and his team remain on 24-hour alert. We regulate the wards water supply, ensure quality, handle contamination or punctured pipelines, and reach immediately when needed. Sometimes we even skip meals for emergencies.

Working in the shadows

At 3 am, Damodar Aaladar and his Kurla-based team are out checking valves along the trunk main between Vidyavihar and Kurla. Reaching the Cosmos Society in Shiv Shrushti, they work in near-zero visibility. No, we are not scared, says Uttam Zore. We work as a team. Yes, theres a risk, even snakes, but its daily work. We know how many turns each valve needs; our hands just stop automatically.

During Diwali, civic chief Bhushan Gagrani visited their Kurla East colony. Our super boss came to celebrate Diwali with us, that gave us energy, says Zore. I live in civic quarters for workers, and I must be available 24 hours. If my team calls, I go.

Raghunath Ghige, another veteran, adds, When we work at night, no one notices. But that doesnt matter, its our duty. If a pipeline breaks, we rush immediately.

Damodar Aldar, who was trapped in the infamous 26 July 2005 floods, recalls, We were returning after repairing a pipeline in Santacruz when we got stuck near Shita Talkies, Kurla West. My team and I spent the night there with others stranded in the flood.

Our hands are the meters

Experience has turned these men into human sensors. We dont need to count valve turns, says Supe. Our hands and minds work together and we know when to stop. Even with low-pressure complaints, we judge water height by the flow. Yes, there are pressure metres, but sometimes we rely on our experienceour jugaad.

Pereira nods: Our bodies have become clocks. We dont even look at the time, our hands know when to start. We dont count valve turns; our hands stop automatically.


Diving into cultural symphony of Turandot

Xinhua) 09:11, November 10, 2025

XI'AN, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- As the ethereal strains of the Chinese folk song Jasmine Flower intertwined with the soaring tenor of Nessun Dorma, the opera Turandot reached a breathtaking climax, leaving some 1,500 audience members in rapturous applause.

On Sunday, a reimagined version of Puccini's renowned opera was staged at the Shaanxi Opera House in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, marking the finale of the 25-day 11th Silk Road International Arts Festival.

Regarded as one of the world's greatest operas, Turandot tells the story of a beautiful Chinese princess who decrees that any prince wishing to marry her must solve three riddles, with failure punishable by death.

In this production, Italian tenor Marco Berti took on the role of Calaf, a Tartar prince who ultimately melts the princess's icy heart with love.

"Turandot was born from Westerners' curiosity about China. Puccini never visited China in his lifetime, yet the Chinese folk song Jasmine Flower became his point of reference for understanding the country and was used as a central motif for the heroine Turandot," Berti said.

According to him, Turandot is a point of connection between the West and East. "The opera blends delicate Chinese melodies with references to Chinese ritual in ancient times, creating an atmosphere that allows Western audiences to feel the essence of Chinese history and culture. For Chinese audiences, it introduces Western operatic conventions and symphonic traditions," he said.

"For years, Turandot has been an iconic example of cultural exchanges between China and Italy, and that's why we decided to rearrange it this time," said Wang Wentao, project manager of the opera at the Shaanxi Opera House.

According to Wang, the theater opened in 2017 with its first self-produced performance of Turandot, and unlike some Westernized versions that emphasize exoticism, this production aimed at highlighting Eastern culture.

The production team designed costumes and sets to showcase Chinese cultural elements, incorporating traditional Qinqiang Opera, a folk genre dating back to the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 B.C.), alongside ornamental patterns characteristic of the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

Italian director Lorenzo Nencini, the revival director for this performance, emphasized that he views Turandot more as a fairy tale than a realistic drama. While staying true to the original score, he incorporated projections and vibrant costumes to create a fantastical world seen through a child's eyes. For instance, at the start of the second act, the three ministers -- Ping, Pang and Pong -- are depicted playing on a seesaw and a wooden horse.

"Every production is a different adventure," said Nencini, who was previously engaged in the production of two other versions of Turandot.

Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of Turandot's debut. As one of the most frequently performed operas worldwide, its enduring appeal lies in its captivating melodies, elegant lyrics, oriental charm, celebration of love, and much more.

"What's always interesting of masterpieces is that you can really look into them and always find new things, just as directors with different backgrounds will bring various ends to the story," said Nencini, adding that the opera's popularity shows how music can transcend cultures and resonate with people across eras and countries, with younger generations finding their own way to embrace it alongside older audiences.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
The trial of Armenian citizens accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity continued on November 7 at the Baku Military Court, with prosecutors presenting evidence against David Babayan, former official of the so-called regime in Garabagh, Azernews reports.

Tugay Rahimli, Assistant to the Prosecutor General for Special Assignments, introduced to the court the part of the case materials and evidence concerning the accused.

According to the prosecution, Babayan joined the activities of the illegal separatist structure in 1998 and held various positions within it until 2023. Evidence, including his own testimony and official documents, confirms his involvement in the political and ideological framework of the organization that operated during Armenias occupation of Azerbaijani territories.

Although Babayan was not a serviceman, the prosecution stated that he played a direct role in shaping and promoting the ideology of the criminal organization, inciting hostility, and legitimizing the occupation through propaganda. His statements on social networks and in interviews reportedly called for the continuation of the occupation and even the seizure of new Azerbaijani territories.

The prosecution referred to the Nuremberg precedent, emphasizing that criminal liability for an aggressive war extends not only to those who take up arms but also to those who plan, justify, and promote it.

It was concluded that by directly participating in the preparation, organization, and ideological legitimization of the aggressive war, Babayan contributed to war crimes and crimes against peace and humanity.

The trial of Armenian citizens accused of participating in such crimes, including genocide, terrorism, and violations of the laws and customs of war, continues in the Baku Military Court.
In a 2001 Fortune magazine article, Warren Buffett  the worlds most famous stock market investor  introduced a ratio that came to be known as the Buffett Indicator. It was the ratio of the total value of all publicly traded stocks in a country to the size of its economy.

Buffett termed it as probably the best single measure of where valuations stand. Basically, the indicator tells us how expensive or cheap stocks in a particular country are at a given time.

If the ratio drops to around 70 per cent or 80 per cent, its usually a good time to buy stocks. But if it climbs close to 200 per cent  like it did in 1999 and 2000  it means the market is very expensive and risky. In the late 1990s, the US stock market had seen a dotcom and a telecom bubble, where the stock prices of companies with next to no earnings and business models had reached sky-high levels. It was one of the biggest investment bubbles of all time.

So, how do things look now? The indicator shows that American stocks are valued at more than twice the size of the economy  levels last seen in the late 1990s. This surge has been driven largely by soaring technology stocks riding the wave of the artificial intelligence boom.

Buffett has never been one to get swept up in market hype. Thats why Berkshire Hathaway  the company he runs and invests through  is sitting on a record cash pile of $382 billion and selling more stocks than its buying.

Does this mean that Buffett feels that a stock market crash in the US is around the corner? Does he know for sure when its going to happen?

What Buffett knows for sure is that US stock prices are far above what their underlying businesses can justify. He also knows such lofty valuations cant last forever  even if neither he nor anyone else can predict exactly when the tide will turn.

A good way to understand this is to know the plot of Karan Arjun  a movie starring Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan  which was released more than three decades back in early 1995. Heres the plot: Two brothers, Karan and Arjun, are murdered by a ruthless landlord. Their mother keeps praying for their return, and keeps saying, mere Karan Arjun aayenge (My Karan and Arjun will come.) Years later, they are reborn into new families and come back and avenge their deaths.

As the audience, we all knew that Karan and Arjun would return to avenge their deaths before the movie ended  we just didnt know exactly when.

Buffetts decision to accumulate cash is a tad like that. He knows that high stock prices cannot continue forever, and the situation is going to change sooner or later. In that sense, this is Buffetts Karan Arjun moment, and it teaches us a few things.

First, its easy to identify investment bubbles when they are on. Its impossible to know when the air will start coming out of them and theyll burst.

Second, since no one can truly predict the future, its wise to prepare for bad days during good ones  just as Buffett is doing. Hes slowing down on stock purchases and building up cash, so he can buy when prices drop to more reasonable levels.

Further, by going slow on stock purchases, hes limiting Berkshire Hathaways exposure to overpriced stocks. When prices eventually fall, hell be in a far more comfortable position than most others.

Third, Buffett isnt following the herd  the easiest way to invest and, while prices rise, the easiest way to make money. In doing so, hes giving up some gains during good times to be better prepared for the bad. After all, no one knows when the turn will come. Or as Edwin Lefevre writes in Reminiscences of a Stock Operator: In a bull market and particularly in booms the public at first makes money which it later loses simply by overstaying the bull market.

Fourth, as Buffett wrote in 2000: But a pin lies in wait for every bubble. And when the two eventually meet, a new wave of investors learns some very old lessons. First, many in Wall Street  a community in which quality control is not prized  will sell investors anything they will buy. Second, speculation is most dangerous when it looks easiest.

Fifth, and finally, what applies to Wall Street also applies to Dalal Street. Every boom plants the seeds of its own bust. The wise prepare while others celebrate. Buffetts play may look dull today, but when the music stops, its individuals with some cash  and not only confidence  who will have the last laugh. Of course, no one knows exactly when.

Vivek Kaul is an economic commentator and a writer


President Donald Trump issued a message recognizing the month of November as National Native American Heritage Month.

Trump was Mondays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are his words:

This National Native American Heritage Month, we celebrate Native Americans enduring contributions to our Nations greatness.

From the earliest days of our Republic, our founding principles have endured and guided us. Liberty, equality, and the rule of lawthese ideals have guided our country for two and a half centuries, and will continue to light our way for generations to come. But America is more than these abstract ideasit is a nation. America is a country with borders, laws, and institutions. We are a peoplewith a common language, history, and cultureand we share a bright future. As we prepare to celebrate 250 glorious years of American independence, we honor the generations of Native Americans whose service have strengthened our country.

As President, I remain committed to advancing the prosperity and well-being of all Native Americans. Shortly after retaking office, I delivered on a promise to advance full federal recognition of the great Lumbee Tribe of North Carolinaa recognition that was long overdue. We are also expanding educational freedom and opportunity by allowing students eligible to attend Bureau of Indian Education Schools to use their federal funding for the education option that best meets their needs, including private, faith-based, or public charter schools.

Native Americans have played an instrumental role in helping make the United States the greatest Nation in the world. Their rich culture, traditions, and achievements continue to enrich our society and strengthen the promise of America.

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP)  Bonnie Watson Coleman, who was the first Black woman elected to represent New Jersey in the U.S. House, said Monday she wont seek reelection next year.

Watson Coleman, 80, said in a statement that she decided not to seek another term after tremendous thought and reflection and discussion with her family. A message seeking more detail about her decision was sent to her office.

I am confident it is the right choice for me and my family who have graciously sacrificed by my side when I placed serving our community above all else and I can truly say, I am at peace with my decision, she said.

Watson Coleman, a Democrat representing New Jerseys 12th District including the state capital Trenton as well as Princeton, was first elected to the House in 2014. She previously served as a state legislator from 1998 until 2014.

The seat has been reliably Democratic in recent elections.

A self-described progressive, shes been critical of President Donald Trump and said she was proud of her record aimed at fighting poverty and helping create an economy for all.

She was outside an immigration detention center in Newark along with Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver when authorities arrested the citys mayor on a trespassing charge. It was later dropped, but McIver is being prosecuted on assault charges, which she has pleaded not guilty to.

Watson Coleman supported McIver, calling the charges against her purely political.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Maine Democratic Rep. Jared Golden are also retiring.
GREENBELT, Md. (AP)  U.S. government attorneys say they have cleared all the hurdles needed to send Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia and are asking a federal judge to dissolve an order blocking his deportation.

Abrego Garcias mistaken deportation to his home country of El Salvador earlier this year has helped galvanize opposition to President Donald Trumps immigration policies. His attorneys claim the administration is now manipulating the immigration system in order to punish him for successfully challenging that deportation.

A motion from the government filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland late on Friday says officials have received assurances from Liberia that Abrego Garcia would not face persecution or torture there. Further, it says an immigration officer heard Abrego Garcias claims that he feared deportation to the West African nation, but ruled against him.

His attorneys argue in a separate Friday filing that Abrego Garcia has already designated Costa Rica as a country where he is willing to be deported. They claim the government now must send him there. The fact that officials continue to pursue deportation to other countries is evidence that the process is retaliatory and violates due process protections, they argue.

Abrego Garcia has an American wife and child and has lived in Maryland for years, but he immigrated to the U.S. illegally from El Salvador as a teenager. In 2019, an immigration judge granted him protection from being deported back to his home country, finding he faced danger there. But in March, he was deported to El Salvador anyway in what a government attorney later said was an administrative error. Facing pressure from the courts, the administration brought him back to the U.S. in June but has since been pursuing his deportation to a third country.

Much of Abrego Garcias argument against his deportation to Liberia hinges on due process claims. The government tries to tear down those claims, arguing that his due process rights are not the same as a U.S. citizens. Because he entered the country illegally, he should be treated the same as someone who just crossed the border, they argue.

Meanwhile, his attorneys argue that aliens who have established connections in this country have greater due process rights than an alien at the threshold of initial entry, citing a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court case.

As part of his due process rights, his attorneys also say he is entitled to have an immigration judge review the immigration officers determination that Abrego Garcia is unlikely to be persecuted or tortured in Liberia. They argue the officer should have considered the fact that Liberia could re-deport Abrego Garcia to El Salvador. And they say the Liberian government has only agreed to accept him on a temporary basis.

Government attorneys say they have assurances from Liberia that the Secretary of State deems sufficient. The court cannot second-guess that conclusion because that would mean intervening in foreign diplomacy, the domain of the executive branch, they argue.

This Court should therefore dissolve its preliminary injunction and permit Petitioner to be removed to Liberia, they state.

Separately, Abrego Garcia faces human smuggling charges in federal court in Tennessee. He has pleaded not guilty and asked the judge to dismiss the case, claiming the charges are the result of selective or vindictive prosecution. A hearing on that motion is set for December 8.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The pardons of dozens of Republicans accused of participating in efforts to overturn the 2020 election are a continuation of President Donald Trumps attempts to rewrite the history about his election loss.

They come months after Trumps sweeping grant of clemency to all 1,500-plus people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, which was the culmination of the campaign to reverse Trumps loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Unlike the Jan. 6 pardons, the newer ones will have little legal effect. None of the people on the new pardon list had faced federal prosecution for their actions in 2020. The presidential pardon has no impact on state or civil cases.

But they send a signal to those thinking of denying future elections in Trumps favor.

Heres a look at some of the more prominent names who were pardoned:

Rudy Giuliani

The former New York City mayor, who was celebrated as Americas mayor after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, played a pivotal role in pushing Trumps unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud as the Republicans personal lawyer in 2020. He has faced a slew of legal woes and financial setbacks for his advocacy of Trumps false claims, including losing his law license in Washington and New York. He was criminally charged in cases brought by state prosecutors in Georgia and Arizona and pleaded not guilty. Those cases have hit roadblocks but remain unresolved and are not impacted by Trumps pardon. Giuliani was ordered in 2023 to pay $148 million to two Georgia election workers who sued him over lies he spread about them and reached a deal in January to resolve the debt and retain some of his property. The amount the women were set to receive was not disclosed. Giuliani has denied wrongdoing and said he was right to challenge an election he believed was tainted by fraud.

Mark Meadows

Trumps chief of staff during the 2020 election and its aftermath, Meadows was charged in Arizona and Georgia cases and pleaded not guilty in both states. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his effort to move his case in Georgia to federal court, where a pardon would nullify his jeopardy. Meadows has contended his post-election actions were taken in his official capacity as White House chief of staff, though prosecutors and judges have disagreed. Meadows was on the phone when Trump asked Georgias secretary of state, Republican Brad Raffensperger, to find him enough votes to be declared the winner of the state.

Kenneth Chesebro

Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, alleged that Chesebro, an attorney, worked with Georgia Republicans at the direction of Trumps campaign to organize 16 people to sign a certificate falsely claiming that Trump won the state and that they were his duly elected and qualified electors. Chesebro pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count in the state case but unsuccessfully tried to withdraw his plea as the massive case against him and 17 others, including Trump, collapsed due to legal issues. Chesebros law license in New York state was suspended after his plea and he still faces criminal charges in Wisconsin related to an electors scheme there.

Jenna Ellis

A prominent conservative media figure and an attorney, Ellis also pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting false statements and writings in the Georgia case. She apologized in court for advising the Trump campaign on how to overturn its loss and was censured and barred from practicing law for three years in her native Colorado for her conduct in 2020.

John Eastman

A prominent conservative law professor, Eastman wrote a key memo outlining the Trump strategy of trying to reverse the presidents election loss by presenting a slate of alternate electors to Congress. Eastman faces charges in a state case filed by Arizonas Democratic attorney general over that scheme. He was also charged in Fulton County, and the disciplinary board of the California State Bar has recommended he lose his California law license. Eastman has pleaded not guilty in the criminal cases and appealed his license suspension to Californias Supreme Court. He argues he is being punished for simply giving legal advice.

Jeffrey Clark

Clark, as a Justice Department official in the first Trump administration, drafted a letter that said the department was investigating various irregularities and had identified significant concerns that may have impacted the election in Georgia and other states. Clark wanted the letter sent to Georgia lawmakers, but Justice Department superiors refused. A Washington attorney disciplinary panel in July recommended that he be stripped of his law license, finding he made intentionally false statements when he continued to push for the Justice Department to issue the letter after being told by superiors that it contained falsehoods. Clark, who is now overseeing a federal regulatory office in the second Trump administration, said in a post on X on Monday: I did nothing wrong when I questioned the 2020 election in Georgia.

Sidney Powell

A lawyer and staunch Trump ally, Powell filed in battleground states a series of lawsuits that were rejected by courts and played a pivotal role in pushing unsubstantiated claims of fraud. Emails and documents obtained through subpoenas in one lawsuit showed Powell was involved in arranging for a computer forensics team to travel to rural Coffee County, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta, to copy data and software from elections equipment there in January 2021. She pleaded guilty in 2023 to reduced charges in the Georgia case, becoming the second defendant to reach a deal with prosecutors. She was initially charged with racketeering and six other counts but ultimately received probation after pleading guilty to six misdemeanors accusing her of conspiring to intentionally interfere with the performance of election duties.

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

Associated Press
KATHMANDU, Nov 10: The Government of Nepal has appointed Additional Inspector General (AIG) Dan Bahadur Karki as the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the topmost post in the police force.

Karki is currently serving at the Kathmandu Valley Police Office in Ranipokhari.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday made the decision to appoint Karki as the head of the 75,000-strong police force.

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The move comes ahead of the mandatory retirement of the incumbent IGP, Chandra Kuber Khapung, who will retire at midnight on November 12, after completing his 30-year service tenure as per the Police Regulations.

Karkis role during the second day of Gen Z protest on September 9 had courted controversy. Many had criticised him for letting the police stationed across the valley to let down their guard while others had praised his decision of using minimal force on the second day. The Ranipokhari office was vacant during the first day of the protest.

During his tenure as Deputy Inspector General (DIG), he commanded the Lumbini Province Police, and as Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), he oversaw the Kathmandu District Police, including managing sensitive cases such as the Bhutanese refugee issue.

Born in July 1972, Karki joined the police force in March 1998. An alumnus of various international police training programs, Karki has also served as the central spokesperson for the Nepal Police, bringing extensive experience in both operational and strategic policing.
KATHMANDU, Nov 10: Police have arrested one of the defendants in a case relating to the fake Bhutanese refugee scam and presented him before the court.

The arrested individual is Rajan Kumar Kharel, 42, from Phatuha Harsah-9, Rautahat, in Madhesh Province, according to the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police.

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CIB Spokesperson Senior Superintendent of Police, Shiva Kumar Shrestha, stated that Kharel was involved in the scam, allegedly collecting and transferring money via cash and cheques, committing fraud, forging documents, and conspiring with accomplices to misappropriate money from victims.

Acting on a special tip-off, the police arrested him and presented before the Kathmandu District Court on Sunday for further investigation.

Kharel had been facing a charge sheet at the Kathmandu Police Range since the Fiscal Year (FY) 2079-80 BS for fraud, forgery, organized crime and the crime against State. He had been on the run since then.

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KATHMANDU, Nov 10: The new political party being formed under the leadership of Energy Minister Kul Man Ghising will officially be called Ujyalo Nepal (Bright Nepal), party insiders confirmed on Monday.

Supporters and close associates of Minister Ghising have been expediting the groundwork for the partys formation in recent weeks. While earlier discussions had centered on naming the party Rastriya Janasewa Partya name some believed carried a broader public appealthe leadership ultimately reached a consensus on Ujyalo Nepal, viewing it as a symbolic reflection of Ghisings popular legacy for ending load-shedding in Nepal.

Related story Ujyalo Nepal Party launched with calls for sweeping reforms and...

According to participants in the ongoing internal discussions, the party will be led by coordinator Anup Kumar Upadhyay, who is expected to be formally endorsed as the party chairperson. We are still holding internal meetings to finalize the partys activities and organizational structure, said one member involved in the discussions. Once the internal deliberations conclude, we will make our decisions public.

Party officials have indicated that preparations are underway to register the party with the Election Commission either by tonight or tomorrow morning. If the internal documentation and signature process are completed in time, the registration will be done today itself; otherwise, it will be filed tomorrow, the official added.

The formation of Ujyalo Nepal marks a new chapter in Nepals evolving political landscape, drawing attention due to Ghisings reputation as a technocrat credited with restoring uninterrupted electricity across the country during his tenure as the Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority.
President of the Republic of Turkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, Azernews reports.

''Dear Mr. President, my dear Brother,

On behalf of my people and on my own behalf, I sincerely congratulate Your Excellency and the brotherly people of Azerbaijan on the fifth anniversary of the Victory Day.

I hope that the constructive steps undertaken within the peace process launched after this glorious Victory will culminate in a lasting agreement. I believe that a stable and peaceful environment in the Caucasus will contribute to the prosperity of the entire region and further enhance the strategic importance of the Caucasus in global politics.

The progress achieved in the rapid revival and reconstruction of the liberated homeland is commendable. On this landmark anniversary, Turkiye, which considers Azerbaijans sorrow as its own sorrow and its joy as its own joy, feels great pride in witnessing the confident progress achieved by brotherly Azerbaijan both in the region and beyond.

Our high-level relations founded on the One nation, two states principle and our unbreakable bonds of brotherhood drawing strength from our common destiny, grow ever stronger today, just as they have throughout history.

Our allied relations, built upon a solid foundation and the unique collaboration we demonstrate across all sectors, have become one of the most important pillars of regional peace, trust and stability.

Undoubtedly, the achievements attained by dear Azerbaijan under your wise leadership will continue to make significant contributions to the prosperity of our region.

Availing myself of the opportunity, I wish Your Excellency robust health, and friendly and brotherly people of Azerbaijan happiness and prosperity,'' the letter reads.
Individuals named Acwellen are typically perceived as strong-willed, protective, and decisive. They often exhibit natural leadership qualities and a strong sense of responsibility toward those in their care. Historically associated with warrior traditions, modern bearers of this name may display courage in facing challenges and a determined approach to overcoming obstacles. There's often an underlying intensity to their character, combined with practical problem-solving abilities that make them effective in crisis situations.



While they can be perceived as serious or reserved, this often masks a deep loyalty to family and close friends. Their protective nature extends beyond physical safety to emotional and psychological support for loved ones. The name's historical connotations may influence expectations of strength and reliability, which many bearers consciously or unconsciously embody through their actions and decision-making processes. This creates a psychological association between the name and qualities of resilience, making it particularly suited for individuals in protective or leadership roles.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Admina holds deep significance in Hebrew culture as a name connected to the earth and creation. The meaning 'of the red earth' links directly to the biblical concept of Adam being formed from the red clay or earth, symbolizing humanity's connection to the land and divine creation. This name carries echoes of ancient agricultural traditions and the fundamental relationship between people and the soil that sustained them.



Throughout Jewish history, names connected to the earth have represented stability, fertility, and the enduring bond with the promised land. Admina embodies these values while also suggesting a feminine strength rooted in natural foundations. The name reflects traditional Hebrew appreciation for names that carry both literal and spiritual meanings, connecting the bearer to ancestral lands and the cycle of life that springs from the earth.



The cultural resonance of Admina extends beyond religious contexts to encompass broader themes of environmental stewardship and cultural preservation. In modern Hebrew naming practices, it represents a conscious choice to honor traditional values while embracing the feminine principle of nurturing and sustaining life, much like the earth itself nurtures all living things.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Afif holds profound cultural significance within Islamic tradition, representing core values of moral purity and ethical conduct that are central to Islamic teachings. Historically, the name has been associated with individuals known for their upright character and spiritual integrity, often chosen by families aspiring to instill these virtues in their children. In Islamic societies, where names are believed to influence character and destiny, Afif carries the weight of parental hopes for a child who will embody the Islamic ideal of modesty and self-restraint. The name's cultural importance extends beyond mere nomenclatureit serves as a constant reminder of the Islamic emphasis on inner purity and moral excellence. Throughout Islamic history, figures bearing this name have often been respected community leaders, scholars, and individuals known for their trustworthy nature and ethical standing.



In contemporary Muslim cultures, Afif continues to represent a connection to traditional Islamic values while adapting to modern contexts. The name bridges generations, maintaining its relevance as Muslim communities navigate the complexities of modern life while holding fast to core spiritual principles. It's particularly valued in contexts where maintaining cultural and religious identity is important, serving as a marker of Islamic heritage and moral commitment. The cultural significance of Afif also lies in its universalityit transcends specific ethnic or national boundaries within the Muslim world, being appreciated and understood across diverse Muslim communities from the Middle East to Southeast Asia and beyond.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The title Alafin holds profound cultural and historical significance as the supreme ruler of the Oyo Empire, one of the most powerful West African states from the 15th to 19th centuries. The Alafin was not merely a political leader but a spiritual figurehead who served as the intermediary between the Yoruba people and their deities, particularly the god of thunder, Sango. The position represented the pinnacle of Yoruba political organization, with the Alafin ruling from the capital city of Oyo-Ile and overseeing a complex system of provincial governors, military commanders, and councilors.



The Alafin's authority was balanced by the Oyo Mesi (council of chiefs) and the Bashorun (prime minister), creating a sophisticated system of checks and balances unique in pre-colonial Africa. The title symbolized the unity of the Yoruba people and their sophisticated political philosophy that emphasized justice, wisdom, and the welfare of the community. Even after the empire's decline, the title continues to be used by the traditional ruler of Oyo, maintaining its cultural importance in contemporary Yoruba society as a living link to a glorious past.
Individuals named Alaula are often perceived as having a gentle yet resilient nature, much like the dawn they represent. They typically exhibit qualities of optimism, creativity, and inner strength, with an ability to bring light and hope to challenging situations. Their personality often combines the quiet wisdom of tradition with innovative thinking, making them natural bridges between old and new. They tend to be intuitive and spiritually aware, with a deep appreciation for beauty and natural cycles.



While they may appear soft-spoken, they possess a core strength that enables them to navigate life's transitions with grace and purpose. Their presence often has a calming, uplifting effect on others, and they frequently demonstrate patience and perseverance in pursuing their goals. The name suggests someone who illuminates paths for others while maintaining a humble, grounded presence, embodying the gentle but persistent nature of dawn's first light that gradually transforms the landscape.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Albern is a name with deep roots in Christian European tradition, particularly within German-speaking regions where it emerged during the medieval period. The name carries strong associations with nobility and warrior heritage, reflecting the social structures of feudal Europe where Christian values often intertwined with martial virtues. Throughout history, Albern has been predominantly borne by religious figures, monks, and bishops who embodied the Christian ideal of spiritual warfarefighting against sin and evil rather than physical enemies.



The name's Christian significance is further enhanced by its usage among Benedictine monks and other religious orders, where individuals named Albern were often noted for their piety, scholarship, and leadership within the Church. This created a tradition where the name became associated with spiritual nobility and the Christian concept of being a 'soldier of Christ,' blending the original meaning of noble warrior with religious devotion and service to God.
Individuals named Areebah are typically characterized by their sharp intellect, quick thinking, and analytical abilities. They possess a natural curiosity and tend to be excellent problem-solvers who approach challenges with creativity and innovation. Their witty nature often makes them engaging conversationalists who can adapt to various social situations with ease and charm.



Areebahs are known for their emotional intelligence and ability to read people and situations accurately. They often demonstrate strong leadership qualities combined with empathy, making them effective in both professional and personal relationships. Their intelligence is not merely academic but extends to practical wisdom, allowing them to navigate complex situations with insight and discretion while maintaining their characteristic warmth and approachability.
Akbar Novruz



The Speaker of the Milli Majlis, Sahiba Gafarova, delivered a speech at the Leaders' Summit of the 30th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30), held in Belem, Federative Republic of Brazil, Azernews reports.

The Press and Public Relations Department of the Milli Majlis issued a statement on the event.

In her address, Speaker Gafarova provided detailed information about the significant achievements of COP29, which was successfully organized by Azerbaijan under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. Despite global uncertainties and challenges, she noted, Azerbaijan hosted one of the most effective and result-oriented conferences in COP history, leading to a historic consensus among the participating states on several long-standing climate issues.

Gafarova emphasized that Azerbaijan achieved the adoption of the Baku Finance Target at COP29  an initiative to mobilize $300 billion annually for developing countries starting from 2025, marking the largest financial package ever reached under the United Nations framework. Furthermore, COP29 set an ambitious target to raise annual climate finance for developing nations to $1.3 trillion by 2035. To support this goal, Azerbaijan has collaborated with Brazil on the Baku-Belem Roadmap, strengthening continuity between the two presidencies.

The Speaker also underlined other major accomplishments of COP29, including the completion of the rules governing carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, making it fully operational a decade after its adoption. COP29 also finalized the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund, ensuring it will begin disbursing resources by 2025. Additionally, the Enhanced Transparency Frameworka crucial step for accountability and clarity in global climate actionwas launched. Agreements were also achieved on a wide range of issues related to mitigation, adaptation, gender equality, indigenous peoples, and other cross-cutting priorities.

Highlighting Azerbaijans commitment to inclusivity, Gafarova stressed that supporting the most vulnerable groupsparticularly Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs)was a central element of its COP29 Presidency. Azerbaijan financed the participation of representatives from these groups and hosted a special high-level conference for SIDS during the COP29 Leaders Summit, ensuring their concerns were heard globally.

She noted that, alongside negotiations, the COP29 Presidency developed an Action Agenda of 14 initiatives covering all major aspects of the Paris Agreement. The agenda focused on moving beyond commitments toward the creation of infrastructure and implementation of practical measures. Gafarova underscored that one of COP29s most important outcomes was the restoration of confidence in multilateralism, proving that nations can still unite for a shared purpose even amid geopolitical tensions and global uncertainty.

Addressing Azerbaijans future vision, Gafarova stated that the country remains committed to enhancing its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), having advanced its 2050 climate targets by 15 years to 2035. This, she said, reflects Azerbaijans unwavering dedication to climate action, even as it undertakes large-scale reconstruction and demining in its territories liberated after decades of occupation and destruction.

In conclusion, Speaker Sahiba Gafarova expressed Azerbaijans readiness to continue supporting global climate efforts. She reaffirmed Bakus full support for the COP30 Presidencys Executive COP vision and called on Brazil to join hands in sustaining the momentum created at COP29.

Azerbaijan stands ready to fully support and contribute to the realization of COP30s goals  to make decisions and take actions that are vital for our planet and our common future, she concluded.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Athangelos holds profound significance in Armenian cultural and intellectual history, particularly within scholarly and ecclesiastical circles. Emerging during Armenia's Golden Age of literature and scholarship (5th-14th centuries), the name became associated with individuals who served as custodians of Armenian history and cultural memory. These bearers often occupied positions in monastic scriptoria and royal courts, where they meticulously documented Armenia's complex political landscape, religious developments, and cultural achievements.



Throughout Armenian history, the name Athangelos became symbolic of the intellectual tradition that preserved Armenian identity during periods of foreign domination. Scholars bearing this name were instrumental in maintaining the continuity of Armenian historical consciousness, particularly during the Arab conquests and later Ottoman rule. Their works often served not merely as historical records but as acts of cultural resistance, ensuring that Armenian language, Christian heritage, and national narratives survived despite political subjugation. The name thus embodies the Armenian tradition of scholarship as both intellectual pursuit and national duty.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Ayubu holds profound cultural significance across East Africa, particularly within Swahili-speaking communities where it represents the Islamic tradition of naming children after prophets. Derived from the Arabic Ayyub (the prophet Job), the name embodies the core Islamic virtue of 'sabr' (patience) and serves as a reminder of the biblical/Quranic story where Prophet Job maintained unwavering faith despite immense suffering. In coastal regions like Zanzibar, Mombasa, and Dar es Salaam, the name is often given to boys born during challenging times or to families seeking divine protection, symbolizing hope that the child will embody resilience.



The name also reflects the historical Arab trade routes that brought Islamic culture to East Africa, creating a unique blend of African and Middle Eastern naming traditions that characterize Swahili culture today. This cultural fusion makes Ayubu more than just a religious name - it represents centuries of cross-cultural exchange and the enduring strength of coastal communities that have navigated colonialism, economic challenges, and social changes while maintaining their identity. The name continues to be a bridge between African and Islamic heritage, embodying values that transcend specific religious boundaries while remaining firmly rooted in local cultural practices.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Bashshar holds deep cultural significance in Muslim societies as a name that embodies the Islamic virtue of spreading joy and positive messages. Rooted in the Arabic linguistic tradition, the name connects to the concept of 'bushra' (glad tidings) mentioned in the Quran, giving it religious resonance beyond its literal meaning. Historically, the name gained prominence during the Islamic Golden Age, most notably through the famous poet Bashshar ibn Burd, whose literary legacy demonstrated how someone bearing this name could indeed become a source of cultural enrichment and intellectual stimulation. The name reflects the Islamic worldview that emphasizes hope, community welfare, and the importance of conveying positive messages. Across different Muslim cultures from the Middle East to Southeast Asia, Bashshar has been chosen by parents who wish to instill in their sons the qualities of optimism, effective communication, and the ability to be a positive influence in their communities. The name serves as a reminder of the Islamic teaching that believers should be sources of comfort and good news to one another, particularly during challenging times.
Individuals named Bendigeidfran are typically perceived as possessing immense inner strength, profound wisdom, and a deep sense of responsibility toward others. They embody the archetype of the protective guardian - often taking on leadership roles naturally and demonstrating remarkable loyalty to family and community. Their strength is not merely physical but moral and intellectual, showing exceptional judgment in difficult situations and the ability to see the bigger picture when others cannot. Like the mythological king, they tend to be generous to a fault and willing to make great personal sacrifices for the greater good.



However, this noble character often comes with a tragic dimension. Bendigeidfran personalities may struggle with the weight of their responsibilities and the consequences of their decisions, particularly when their trust is betrayed. They possess a deep emotional intensity that can make them vulnerable to profound disappointment, yet they maintain their dignity even in defeat. Their wisdom often comes from experiencing great personal loss, and they have the remarkable ability to provide guidance and protection even from a position of weakness or suffering, much like the speaking head of the mythological king.
Individuals named Berihun are typically characterized by their strong protective instincts and natural leadership qualities. They often emerge as the pillars of their families and communities, known for their reliability and unwavering commitment to those under their care. These individuals possess a unique ability to assess situations holistically and make decisions that benefit the collective rather than just themselves. Their guidance is often sought in times of uncertainty, and they typically respond with wisdom that balances tradition with practical necessity.



Beyond their protective nature, Berihuns are often noted for their diplomatic skills and ability to mediate conflicts. They tend to be excellent listeners who can understand multiple perspectives before offering counsel. Their personality combines strength with compassion, making them both respected and beloved within their social circles. Many Berihuns develop a strong sense of justice and fairness, often championing causes that protect the vulnerable or preserve cultural heritage. They typically approach life with a sense of purpose and responsibility, seeing themselves as stewards rather than mere participants in their communities. This combination of traits often leads them to roles where they can serve as bridges between different groups or generations.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Birdoswald carries significant cultural weight as both a personal name and geographical identifier in northern England. The name is intrinsically linked to Birdoswald Roman Fort (known as Banna in Roman times), one of the best-preserved forts along Hadrian's Wall, representing centuries of Roman occupation and subsequent Anglo-Saxon settlement. This connection places the name at the intersection of Roman British history and early English culture, embodying the layered heritage of the British Isles.



As an Anglo name, Birdoswald reflects the complex cultural transitions following the Roman withdrawal from Britain. The fort itself witnessed occupation from the 2nd century AD through the post-Roman period, making the name symbolic of continuity and adaptation across different eras. In local Cumbrian tradition, the name evokes images of enduring strength and borderland identity, representing the resilience of communities living in historically contested territories between England and Scotland.
Individuals bearing the name Bleecker are often perceived as practical, industrious, and detail-oriented, reflecting the name's occupational origins in textile bleaching. They tend to possess a strong work ethic and methodical approach to tasks, much like the careful process of cloth bleaching that requires precision and patience. These individuals often demonstrate reliability and consistency in their endeavors, with a grounded perspective that values tangible results over abstract concepts. Their practical nature is typically complemented by good organizational skills and the ability to see projects through from conception to completion, making them valuable in both professional and personal contexts.



Beyond these foundational traits, Bleeckers often exhibit qualities of transformation and refinement in their personalities. They tend to be individuals who can take raw ideas or situations and develop them into something more polished and effective. This transformative quality suggests adaptability and growth-oriented thinking. While they respect tradition and established methods, they're not afraid to innovate within structured frameworks. Their communication style is typically direct and clear, preferring substance over style. In relationships, they value loyalty and consistency, often serving as stable anchors for friends and family. The combination of practical diligence and transformative capability makes them particularly effective in careers that require both technical skill and creative problem-solving.
Individuals named Boniface are typically perceived as possessing strong moral character, leadership qualities, and a deep sense of purpose. The name's Latin roots meaning 'do good' and its saintly associations create expectations of integrity, compassion, and principled behavior. Those bearing this name are often seen as natural leaders who approach challenges with determination and ethical conviction, much like the saint who fearlessly confronted pagan traditions.



Psychologically, the name suggests someone who is reliable, thoughtful, and perhaps somewhat traditional in their values. The historical weight of the name may inspire a sense of responsibility in its bearers, encouraging them to live up to its noble legacy. While potentially perceived as serious or formal, the name also implies warmth and genuine concern for others' wellbeing, reflecting the missionary spirit of its most famous bearer who dedicated his life to serving and educating communities.
Individuals named Bonifacius are typically perceived as principled, compassionate, and morally grounded. They often exhibit strong leadership qualities combined with a genuine concern for others' wellbeing, living up to the name's meaning of 'doing good.' These individuals tend to be methodical in their approach to problems and steadfast in their convictions, making them reliable and trustworthy companions who others frequently turn to for guidance and support.



Bonifacius bearers often demonstrate intellectual curiosity and a desire to improve their communities. They may show particular aptitude for teaching, counseling, or organizational roles where they can implement positive change. While sometimes perceived as serious or traditional, they balance this with practical wisdom and emotional intelligence. Their combination of moral integrity and pragmatic problem-solving makes them effective in roles requiring both compassion and decisive action, often becoming pillars in their social or professional circles.



These personality characteristics are further enhanced by a natural inclination toward patience and long-term planning. Bonifacius individuals typically avoid impulsive decisions, preferring to consider multiple perspectives before acting. This thoughtful approach, combined with their inherent sense of responsibility, often leads them to positions where they can mentor others or steward important projects. Their strength lies in balancing idealistic goals with realistic implementation, making them particularly effective in roles that require both vision and practical execution.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Brademagus holds a distinctive place in Arthurian mythology as one of the foundational knights who helped establish the rich tapestry of Camelot's legendary court. Emerging from Welsh Arthurian traditions, his character represents the bridge between historical Welsh chivalry and the more widely known French-influenced Arthurian romances. As a knight of the Round Table, Brademagus embodies the core Arthurian values of loyalty, bravery, and noble service. His presence in medieval texts, while less prominent than figures like Lancelot or Gawain, contributes significantly to the depth and authenticity of the Arthurian world, demonstrating that Camelot was supported by numerous worthy knights beyond the most famous ones.



Historically, Brademagus appears in various medieval manuscripts and romances, often serving as a supporting character who reinforces the ideals of knightly conduct and feudal loyalty. His Welsh origins connect him to the earliest strata of Arthurian legend, predating many of the more romanticized French additions to the cycle. This connection to the Celtic roots of Arthurian tradition makes Brademagus particularly significant for understanding the development of the legends from their probable historical origins to the elaborate literary traditions that followed. His character helps preserve the memory of the Welsh contribution to one of Europe's most enduring mythological cycles.
Turkiye is pursuing its normalization process with Armenia in full synchronization with Azerbaijan, Azernews reports.

President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an made the remarks while speaking to journalists on his return from a visit to Azerbaijan.

He noted that winds of peace have been blowing across the region since Victory, and Turkiye is pleased with this development.

Roads, tunnels, agricultural projects, and housing construction in Garabagh continue to expand. We are contributing to these efforts by providing the necessary support to Azerbaijan, President Erdo?an added.
Those bearing the name Bricta are often characterized by a profound connection to nurturing and healing energies, mirroring the attributes of their namesake goddess. They typically exhibit exceptional empathy and intuition, able to sense emotional undercurrents and provide comfort where it's most needed. Their presence often has a calming effect on others, much like the soothing waters associated with the original deity. Brictas tend to be deeply reflective individuals who value authenticity and emotional honesty in their relationships. They often serve as emotional anchors for their friends and family, offering wisdom and support during times of crisis or transition. While generally gentle in demeanor, they possess an inner strength that enables them to withstand significant challenges without losing their compassionate nature. This resilience stems from their connection to the cyclical nature of healing and regeneration that their name symbolizes. Brictas are frequently drawn to creative expression, particularly forms that allow them to explore themes of transformation, nature, and emotional depth. They make excellent counselors, healers, artists, and environmental advocates, roles that allow them to channel their innate gifts for understanding, restoration, and creating harmony between people and their environments.
In modern usage, Brinton remains a distinctive and relatively uncommon given name primarily chosen by parents seeking a traditional yet unique name with strong English Christian heritage. The name maintains steady but low usage rates, never achieving mass popularity, which contributes to its appeal for families wanting a name that stands out while still sounding established and respectable. It's particularly favored in Christian communities that value both religious tradition and individual distinctiveness in naming practices. Recent years have seen a slight increase in Brinton's usage as part of broader trends toward surname-names and place-name derived given names. The name is most commonly found in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, typically among families with English ancestry who wish to honor their heritage while selecting a name that feels both classic and contemporary. Its rarity ensures that individuals named Brinton rarely encounter others with the same name, providing a sense of individuality while maintaining connection to historical and religious traditions.
Individuals named Broga typically exhibit a complex personality characterized by a commanding presence combined with deep protective instincts. They often project an aura of authority and strength that can be initially intimidating to others, yet this exterior usually conceals a highly principled and loyal character. Brogas tend to be natural leaders who excel in situations requiring decisive action and courage. Their 'terror-inspiring' quality manifests not as cruelty but as an unwavering determination and the ability to confront challenges head-on. They possess strong analytical skills and strategic thinking, often anticipating problems before they arise and preparing accordingly.



In personal relationships, Brogas are intensely loyal to their inner circle, though they may take time to trust others fully. They value honesty and direct communication, and while they can be formidable opponents, they are equally dedicated protectors of those under their care. This combination of strength and responsibility makes them both respected and relied upon in their communities. Brogas often develop a philosophical understanding of power and protection, recognizing that their intimidating qualities must be balanced with wisdom and ethical consideration. They typically mature into individuals who understand that true strength lies not in domination but in the responsible exercise of authority for the benefit of others.
Women named Bushra are often perceived as optimistic, cheerful, and naturally uplifting to those around them. They tend to possess an innate ability to see the positive in situations and people, making them excellent mediators and comforters during difficult times. Their name meaning often translates into a personality that radiates hope and encouragement. Bushras are typically communicative and expressive, with a talent for delivering difficult messages with grace and tact.



These individuals often develop strong emotional intelligence from a young age, understanding how to read social cues and respond appropriately. Many Bushras are described as having a calming presence and natural diplomacy, making them valuable in both personal relationships and professional settings where harmony and positive communication are essential. Their optimistic nature doesn't mean they ignore reality, but rather they approach challenges with a constructive mindset and belief in positive outcomes. This combination of emotional awareness and hopeful perspective makes Bushras particularly effective in caregiving roles, education, and community leadership.
Individuals named Caedwalla typically exhibit strong leadership qualities combined with strategic intelligence and determined willpower. They are natural commanders who inspire loyalty through both their courage and their vision, often demonstrating remarkable persistence in pursuing their goals. These personalities balance martial capability with diplomatic skill, understanding when to employ force and when to negotiate. Their character is marked by a deep sense of honor and responsibility, though they can be intensely ambitious and sometimes ruthless when confronting obstacles. The historical associations suggest individuals who are not merely warriors but thinkers, capable of complex planning and adaptation to changing circumstances.



Beyond their formidable external qualities, those named Caedwalla often possess significant depth and capacity for personal transformation. They tend to be reflective individuals who, despite their worldly achievements, may undergo profound spiritual or philosophical evolution throughout their lives. This combination of outer strength and inner searching creates multidimensional personalities who command respect while also demonstrating vulnerability and growth. Their leadership style typically evolves from raw ambition to more principled governance, reflecting the historical narrative of the name's most famous bearer who transitioned from conqueror to pilgrim. This capacity for change and self-reflection makes them compelling, if complex, figures in any context.
Individuals named Craita are often perceived as possessing a quiet strength and deep connection to their roots. They typically exhibit a thoughtful, introspective nature combined with practical wisdom gained from life experience. Craitas are known for their reliability and steadfast character, often serving as the emotional anchor in their families and communities. Their approach to life tends to be methodical and grounded, with a strong sense of responsibility and commitment to their values.



In social settings, Craitas may appear reserved initially but reveal warm, nurturing qualities to those they trust. They possess excellent observational skills and often demonstrate surprising creativity in problem-solving. Their combination of traditional values with adaptive thinking makes them particularly effective in roles requiring both stability and innovation. Many Craitas develop a distinctive personal style that blends timeless elegance with individual expression, reflecting their ability to honor tradition while embracing contemporary realities.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Dahab holds profound significance in Islamic and Arab cultures, where gold represents not just material wealth but spiritual purity and divine blessing. In many Muslim societies, gold is mentioned in the Quran as one of the luxuries of Paradise, making the name symbolic of heavenly rewards and spiritual richness. Throughout Islamic history, gold has been associated with royalty, wisdom, and enduring value, making Dahab a name that conveys aspirations for a child to possess inner worth and lasting qualities.



The name reflects cultural values that prioritize substance over superficiality, connecting the bearer to traditions that celebrate lasting beauty and intrinsic value rather than temporary appearances. In many Arab communities, naming a daughter Dahab expresses hopes that she will bring brightness and prosperity to her family while maintaining the purity and resilience associated with precious metals. The name also connects to historical trade routes where gold was a central commodity, linking the bearer to stories of cultural exchange and economic prosperity that shaped the Islamic world.
Individuals named Dahwar are typically perceived as strong-willed, determined, and action-oriented. They often exhibit natural leadership qualities and a tendency to take charge in challenging situations, reflecting the name's meaning of 'throwing down' obstacles. Their personality is characterized by a combination of strategic thinking and decisive action, making them effective problem-solvers who don't shy away from difficult decisions. These individuals usually possess a strong sense of justice and moral conviction, often standing up for what they believe is right even when facing opposition.



While they can be perceived as intense or formidable, they typically balance this strength with loyalty to family and community, showing protective instincts toward those they care about. Their determination is usually tempered by a sense of responsibility, making them reliable and trustworthy individuals in both personal and professional contexts. The name's association with decisive action often manifests in practical, results-oriented approaches to life's challenges, with bearers tending to be proactive rather than reactive in their dealings with the world around them.
Individuals named Dakini are often perceived as possessing intense spiritual energy, deep intuition, and transformative power. They tend to be fiercely independent, emotionally intense, and unafraid to confront difficult truths or challenge conventional boundaries. Their personality reflects the dual nature of the mythological Dakini - capable of both nurturing compassion and fierce protection. They often exhibit strong psychic sensitivity, artistic creativity, and a natural inclination toward spiritual or mystical pursuits, with an innate understanding of the interconnectedness of all things.



Dakini-named individuals typically possess magnetic charisma and the ability to inspire transformation in others, though they may struggle with conventional social expectations. Their energy is often described as catalytic - they naturally facilitate change and growth in their environments, sometimes creating turbulence but ultimately leading to greater awareness. While they can be mysterious and sometimes intimidating to those who prefer stability, their depth of character and authentic presence make them unforgettable figures in the lives of those they touch. They embody the principle that true strength comes from embracing all aspects of one's nature, both light and shadow, and they often serve as mirrors reflecting back the hidden truths others need to see.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Dibe holds profound significance in Navajo culture, where sheep represent more than just livestockthey embody survival, tradition, and cultural identity. For centuries, sheep have been central to Navajo life, providing wool for the famous Navajo textiles, meat for sustenance, and serving as a form of wealth and status within the community. The introduction of sheep by Spanish colonists in the 16th century transformed Navajo society, leading to the development of their renowned weaving traditions that continue to this day.



In Navajo cosmology, sheep are seen as sacred beings that connect the people to the land and their heritage. The name Dibe carries this deep cultural memory, representing not just the animal itself but the entire ecosystem of knowledge, skills, and relationships that surround sheep herding. It symbolizes the resilience of Navajo people and their ability to adapt foreign elements into their cultural fabric while maintaining traditional values. For a girl named Dibe, the name connects her to generations of Navajo women who have maintained these traditions through changing times.
On Monday, Ahmed al-Sharaa became the first Syrian president to visit the White House, marking a dramatic turnaround for the former al Qaeda operative now seeking to end Syrias international isolation. During his historic visitthe first by a Syrian leader since the countrys independence in 1946Sharaa is expected to urge U.S. President Donald Trump to permanently lift sanctions on Syria. In return, Trump aims to encourage Damascus to join the Abraham Accords, which normalize relations between Israel and several Arab states.

Sharaa assumed power less than a year ago after overthrowing Syrias longtime autocrat, ending the Assad familys 50-year rule. His rise is extraordinary: he spent five years in a U.S. jail in Iraq, then led an al Qaeda offshoot in Syria while carrying a $10 million bounty on his head.

The visit follows his removal from Washingtons global terrorism blacklist and the lifting of UN Security Council sanctions against him. Sharaa is expected to seek U.S. backing for rebuilding Syria and an end to remaining sanctionsa move that would require approval from both the President and Congress.

Analysts suggest Sharaa may also sign an agreement to join the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS in Syria, aiming to stabilize a country plagued by weapons proliferation and sectarian tensions. Talks are expected to cover relations with Israel and the Golan Heights, where Israeli forces expanded their presence following Assads fall.

For context on the historic visit and its geopolitical implications, FRANCE 24 consulted Roula Merhej, a Middle East expert and columnist at French weekly Geostrategie Magazine.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Domingart occupies a unique position in Arthurian lore as one of the lesser-documented but significant knights of the Round Table. The name appears in various medieval manuscripts and Celtic traditions, often associated with knights who served loyally but operated in the background of more famous Arthurian narratives. In the cultural context of Arthurian Britain, names like Domingart represent the fusion of Celtic and emerging medieval European naming conventions, blending Latin-inspired elements with Germanic or Celtic roots.



The name's rarity in historical records suggests it may have been regionally specific to certain Celtic territories or noble families who maintained their distinct identity while serving the High King. Throughout the Arthurian literary tradition, characters bearing this name typically embody the virtues of steadfast service and regional loyalty that characterized the complex feudal relationships of the period. The cultural significance of Domingart lies in its representation of the countless unnamed or little-known figures who formed the backbone of Arthur's kingdom, reminding us that great historical movements depend not only on famous leaders but also on dedicated supporters whose names history may have largely forgotten.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Dordie has its roots in ancient Greek culture, derived from the concept of 'doron theos' meaning 'divine gift.' In Greek mythology, names carrying the meaning of divine gift were often bestowed upon children believed to be blessed by the gods or born under auspicious circumstances. Throughout Greek history, such names were considered protective charms, with parents hoping the divine connection would bring favor and protection to their children. The name evolved through various Hellenistic periods, maintaining its sacred connotations while adapting to different regional pronunciations and spellings.



During the Byzantine era, names with religious significance experienced renewed popularity, and Dordie, while uncommon, persisted in certain Orthodox Christian communities as a testament to faith and divine blessing. In modern Greek culture, the name represents a connection to traditional values while maintaining a distinctive character. The cultural significance extends beyond Greece through diaspora communities, where the name serves as a marker of heritage and a reminder of the Greek philosophical concept that every human life is inherently valuable and touched by the divine.
Individuals named Edsel are often perceived as having a blend of traditional values and innovative thinking. The 'noble' aspect of the name's meaning suggests someone with strong principles, dignity, and a sense of responsibility, while the 'bright' component indicates intelligence, creativity, and perceptiveness. These individuals typically demonstrate reliability and steadfastness in their personal and professional relationships, often serving as pillars in their communities or workplaces. They tend to approach challenges with both practical wisdom and inventive solutions, making them valuable problem-solvers who can bridge traditional methods with modern approaches.



Their combination of noble character and intellectual brightness often makes them respected leaders who inspire confidence in others. People with this name are frequently seen as having a quiet strength and the ability to remain composed under pressure. They typically value authenticity and integrity, and they're often drawn to roles where they can make meaningful contributions rather than simply seeking recognition. The historical associations with both success and setback in the name's background may also contribute to a personality that understands the importance of resilience and learning from experience. This creates individuals who are both grounded and forward-looking, capable of honoring tradition while embracing progress.
Individuals named Ekhard are typically perceived as strong-willed, principled, and intellectually sharp. They often possess a natural authority and confidence that others find compelling, combined with a deep sense of integrity and loyalty. Their analytical minds allow them to quickly assess situations and make decisive judgments, while their inherent bravery enables them to stand by their convictions even in challenging circumstances.



Ekhards tend to be traditional yet innovative, respecting established wisdom while not being afraid to challenge conventions when necessary. They often excel in leadership roles where their combination of strategic thinking and moral fortitude can shine. While they may appear reserved at first, those who know them well appreciate their dry wit and steadfast reliability. Their strength of character is typically balanced by a deep sense of responsibility toward those they care about, making them both respected leaders and trusted friends who embody the name's historical connotations of both intellectual and moral strength.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Eldrid is a name with deep Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian roots, originally derived from Old English and Old Norse elements. The name combines 'eld' meaning 'fire' or 'age/ancient' with 'rd' meaning 'counsel' or 'advice,' creating the powerful meaning of 'wise advisor' or 'ancient counsel.' Historically, this name would have been given to individuals respected for their wisdom and experience, often elders or leaders in their communities who provided guidance during important decisions. In medieval societies, names carrying such meanings were highly valued as they reflected the qualities communities sought in their leaders and advisors.



The name's preservation through centuries demonstrates its enduring cultural appeal and the continued value placed on wisdom and guidance across generations. In Scandinavian cultures particularly, names with 'eld' elements were associated with ancestral wisdom and the passing down of knowledge. The name Eldrid represents a cultural tradition of honoring experienced individuals whose counsel was essential for community survival and prosperity, making it more than just a personal identifier but a reflection of societal values regarding wisdom and leadership.
Individuals named Eldwin typically exhibit a natural inclination toward wisdom and leadership. They often possess a calm, thoughtful demeanor that inspires confidence in others, combined with a strong sense of responsibility and protective instincts toward those in their care. Eldwins tend to be methodical decision-makers who value experience and tradition, yet they balance this with practical innovation when circumstances demand change.



Their leadership style is characterized by patience and careful consideration rather than impulsiveness, making them excellent mediators and advisors. Many Eldwins demonstrate exceptional emotional intelligence, able to understand complex situations and guide others through challenges with both wisdom and compassion. They often excel in roles requiring long-term planning and strategic thinking, bringing stability and thoughtful direction to any endeavor they undertake. The combination of wisdom and protective nature makes Eldwins particularly effective in mentoring roles.
Women named Elethea typically exhibit a compassionate, intuitive nature combined with strong analytical abilities. They often possess a natural gift for understanding others' emotional states and providing comfort and guidance. Their truth-seeking nature makes them excellent listeners and thoughtful advisors who approach problems with both empathy and wisdom. Eletheas tend to be deeply spiritual individuals who value authenticity and integrity in all relationships, often serving as moral compasses in their communities.



These individuals demonstrate remarkable patience and resilience, particularly when helping others through difficult circumstances. Their healing-oriented personality manifests in both professional choices and personal relationships, where they frequently serve as peacemakers and sources of stability. Many Eletheas develop strong intuitive abilities that allow them to perceive underlying issues and provide meaningful solutions that address root causes rather than just symptoms. They often excel in professions that require both emotional intelligence and practical problem-solving skills.



The combination of truth-seeking and healing tendencies creates individuals who are both realistic and hopeful - able to acknowledge difficult realities while maintaining faith in positive outcomes. Eletheas typically approach life with a sense of purpose and service, viewing their personal gifts as tools for making the world a better place. Their strength lies in their ability to balance clear-eyed assessment of situations with genuine compassion for the people involved, making them trusted confidantes and effective helpers in times of crisis or transition.
Individuals named Ellis are often perceived as thoughtful, analytical, and spiritually inclined. The name's biblical origins suggest qualities of wisdom, introspection, and a strong moral compass. Many Ellises are seen as natural leaders who approach challenges with careful consideration and philosophical depth, reflecting the prophetic tradition of their namesake.



There's also an association with creativity and innovation, as seen in famous Ellises like fashion designer Perry Ellis and author Bret Easton Ellis. This suggests an artistic sensibility combined with practical intelligence. The name carries an air of quiet confidence and reliability, with many Ellises being viewed as trustworthy individuals who value meaningful connections and intellectual pursuits over superficial interactions.



From a psychological perspective, the name Ellis often correlates with individuals who are adaptable yet principled, able to navigate changing circumstances while maintaining core values. They tend to be good listeners and problem-solvers, often serving as mediators in conflicts. The combination of spiritual heritage and modern relevance creates a personality profile that balances tradition with contemporary awareness.
Individuals named Emyr are typically characterized by a blend of thoughtful introspection and decisive action. They often possess natural leadership qualities that manifest as quiet authority rather than overt dominance. Emyrs tend to be perceptive and analytical, carefully considering situations before acting, which contributes to their reputation for wisdom and reliability. Their decision-making process combines intuition with practical reasoning, making them effective in both personal and professional contexts. This balanced approach often makes them sought-after advisors and steadying influences in their social circles.



In interpersonal relationships, Emyrs are known for their loyalty and depth of character. They form strong, lasting bonds and value authenticity in their connections with others. While they may appear reserved initially, they reveal warmth and wit to those they trust. Their communication style tends to be measured and thoughtful, preferring substance over superficiality. This combination of emotional depth and practical competence makes Emyrs particularly effective in roles requiring both empathy and decisive action, whether in family life, friendships, or professional settings. Their personality reflects the name's noble associations through dignity of character rather than pretension.
Individuals named Erec are typically characterized by a strong sense of integrity and a natural leadership presence. They possess a determined nature that combines strategic thinking with decisive action, often demonstrating the ability to balance competing priorities effectively. This reflects their Arthurian namesake's journey of reconciling personal relationships with public duties. Erecs tend to be principled yet adaptable, showing loyalty to their values while remaining open to growth and self-improvement.



In interpersonal relationships, Erecs often exhibit a protective and devoted nature, valuing deep connections with others while maintaining their independence. They typically project quiet confidence rather than overt assertiveness, earning respect through consistent action rather than empty boasts. Their combination of emotional depth and practical competence makes them reliable in both personal and professional contexts. However, like their legendary counterpart, they may occasionally struggle with finding the right balance between different aspects of their lives, though they usually possess the self-awareness to recognize and address these challenges.
Britain is deploying anti-drone equipment and personnel to Belgium following a series of sightings near airports and military installations, the head of the U.K. armed forces said Sunday.

Although neither Belgium nor the U.K. has accused anyone of operating the unidentified drones, these incidents are part of a broader pattern of airspace violations affecting several European countries, including areas around NATO bases. Some U.S. allies have described the activity as a component of escalating Russian hybrid warfare.

In recent days, drone sightings forced temporary closures at Belgiums main international airport in Brussels and at a major cargo airport near Liege. Authorities also reported multiple unidentified drone flights near a military base that stores U.S. nuclear weapons.

Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton said the U.K. responded to a request from Belgian authorities by sending personnel and equipment to assist in countering the drone threat.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Eskild has deep roots in Scandinavian history, particularly in Denmark where it has been used since medieval times. The name likely derives from the Old Norse name Asketill, composed of elements meaning 'god' and 'cauldron', suggesting a connection to Norse religious practices where cauldrons held ritual significance. Throughout Danish history, the name has maintained a traditional, somewhat aristocratic connotation, often associated with families of standing in rural communities.



During the Viking Age and medieval period, names containing the element 'kil' or 'kild' (from ketill, meaning cauldron) were common throughout Scandinavia, reflecting the importance of ritual vessels in Norse religious ceremonies. The name Eskild represents a specifically Danish evolution of this naming tradition, distinguishing itself from the more common Swedish variant Eskil. In Danish folklore, individuals named Eskild were often portrayed as wise, steadfast figures, possibly reflecting the symbolic stability of the cauldron as a household and ritual object.
In contemporary naming practices, Eurayle occupies a unique niche as a mythological name that combines classical heritage with distinctive character. While it remains uncommon on birth certificates, its usage has seen a gradual increase among parents seeking names with historical depth and strong feminine energy. The name appeals particularly to families with Greek heritage, classical scholars, and those drawn to mythological names with powerful associations. Its rarity ensures that each Eurayle stands out, while its classical roots provide a sense of timeless elegance. The name has found particular resonance in artistic and academic circles, where its mythological connections and unique sound are appreciated. Modern Eurayles often report that their name shapes their identity, encouraging them to embrace their individuality and strength. The name's growing visibility in fantasy literature and media has also contributed to its gradual emergence from obscurity, making it a compelling choice for parents looking for a name that is both unique and meaningful.
Cultural & Historical Significance

King Evalac holds a significant position in Arthurian literature as one of the early pagan rulers who converts to Christianity, representing the theme of spiritual transformation that permeates the Grail legends. His story appears primarily in the Vulgate Cycle and later Grail romances, where he serves as a bridge between the ancient pagan world and the emerging Christian order. As the Saracen king of Sarras who witnesses miraculous events involving Joseph of Arimathea and the Holy Grail, Evalac's conversion narrative symbolizes the triumph of Christian faith over pagan beliefs, making him an important figure in the Christianization of the Arthurian world.



Evalac's significance extends beyond his conversion, as he becomes known as Mordrains in later traditions and serves as one of the guardians of the Holy Grail. His character embodies the Arthurian ideal of the righteous pagan who recognizes divine truth, a common motif in medieval literature that allowed Christian writers to acknowledge virtue in non-Christian characters while ultimately affirming Christian supremacy. His reign as a Christian king establishes a precedent for the spiritual kingship that Arthur and his knights would later embody, making Evalac a foundational figure in the Arthurian cosmological hierarchy.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Faraj holds profound significance in Islamic culture, deriving from the Arabic root f-r-j meaning 'to open' or 'to relieve.' In Islamic tradition, the concept of 'faraj' represents the relief and deliverance that follows hardship, reflecting the Quranic promise that 'with hardship comes ease' (94:5-6). This name embodies the Islamic principle of patience (sabr) during difficulties and the certainty of divine relief. Throughout Islamic history, the name has been particularly popular among rulers and scholars, symbolizing their role as bringers of relief and justice to their people.



The name appears frequently in classical Arabic literature and poetry as a metaphor for hope and deliverance, making it not just a personal name but a cultural concept representing optimism and faith in divine timing. In many Muslim societies, naming a child Faraj expresses the parents' hope that their child will bring comfort to others and experience ease throughout life. The name also carries historical weight through various notable figures who bore it, particularly during the Mamluk and Ottoman periods, where it was associated with leadership and governance.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Fiallan represents an intriguing piece of Celtic linguistic heritage, particularly within Irish and Scottish Gaelic traditions. As a name of uncertain but ancient origin, it carries the mystique of early medieval Gaelic society where names often reflected personal qualities, clan affiliations, or spiritual attributes. The name appears in early Irish manuscripts and genealogical records, suggesting it was borne by members of the learned classes, including poets (filid) and religious figures who played crucial roles in preserving Celtic culture during periods of political and religious transformation.



In the broader Celtic cultural context, names like Fiallan connect to a tradition where naming was not merely personal identification but carried deep symbolic weight. Such names often referenced natural elements, virtues, or ancestral connections that reinforced social bonds and cultural identity. The persistence of Fiallan through centuries, despite its rarity, speaks to the enduring power of Celtic naming traditions and the importance of maintaining linguistic heritage in the face of cultural assimilation pressures from neighboring societies.
Individuals named Fionnbarr are often perceived as possessing a natural charisma and leadership qualities, combined with intellectual depth and strong moral convictions. They tend to be articulate, thoughtful, and principled, with an innate ability to inspire confidence in others. Their 'fair-haired' or 'handsome' etymology often translates to an attractive personality that draws people toward them, whether in personal relationships or professional settings. They typically exhibit a balance of traditional values and progressive thinking, making them effective mediators and community builders.



Fionnbarrs are frequently described as having strong integrity and a deep sense of responsibility toward their family and community. They often excel in roles that require both intellectual rigor and interpersonal skills, such as education, law, or community leadership. While they can be reserved in unfamiliar situations, they demonstrate warmth and loyalty in close relationships. Their combination of inner strength and outward grace makes them natural leaders who lead by example rather than authority, embodying the saintly qualities associated with their namesake while maintaining practical wisdom in daily affairs.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Fouad holds deep significance in Islamic and Arab cultures as a name representing the spiritual and emotional center of human existence. Derived from the Arabic word for 'heart' (), it symbolizes not just the physical organ but the essence of consciousness, emotion, and moral character in Islamic tradition. The name appears in classical Arabic literature and poetry, often representing courage, wisdom, and emotional depth. Historically, it gained prominence through royal usage, particularly with King Fouad I of Egypt, which elevated its status across the Arab world. In Islamic spirituality, the heart (qalb/fouad) is considered the seat of faith and divine connection, making this name particularly meaningful for Muslim families seeking to instill spiritual values.



The name's cultural resonance extends beyond religious contexts into broader Arab identity. It represents traditional values of emotional authenticity, courage, and moral integrity. In many Arab societies, naming a child Fouad expresses the parents' hope that their son will grow to be emotionally balanced, compassionate, and spiritually grounded. The name carries connotations of nobility and depth, reflecting the high value placed on emotional intelligence and moral character in Arab cultural traditions. Its continued popularity across generations demonstrates its enduring cultural relevance and the timeless appeal of its core meaning.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Foursan holds deep cultural significance in Muslim societies, particularly in regions with strong equestrian traditions. Historically, horsemanship was not merely a practical skill but a symbol of nobility, courage, and martial excellence in Islamic civilizations. From the early Islamic conquests where cavalry played crucial roles, to the Mamluk and Ottoman empires where elite horsemen formed the backbone of military power, the concept of 'foursan' represented the pinnacle of warrior culture. This name evokes the golden age of Islamic cavalry, where skilled riders were celebrated in poetry, art, and historical chronicles as embodiments of chivalric values and military prowess.



In Bedouin and tribal contexts, the name carries additional layers of meaning, representing mobility, freedom, and the ability to protect one's community. The horse rider in desert cultures was not just a warrior but a navigator, protector, and symbol of tribal honor. This cultural heritage makes Foursan a name that connects modern bearers to centuries of Islamic military tradition, nomadic wisdom, and the romantic ideal of the noble warrior astride his trusted steed, embodying both physical strength and moral character.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Fraine carries significant cultural weight within Christian communities, particularly those with French heritage. Historically, it emerged during the medieval period when names denoting origins or characteristics became popular among Christian families. The meaning 'foreigner' reflects the Christian concept of being 'strangers and pilgrims on earth' as mentioned in biblical texts, symbolizing the transient nature of earthly life compared to eternal spiritual existence.



Throughout European Christian history, the name was often given to children in families that had migrated or converted, serving as a reminder of their spiritual journey and the Christian belief in being citizens of heaven rather than earthly kingdoms. In many Christian traditions, the name came to represent humility, detachment from worldly attachments, and the recognition that true belonging is found in spiritual rather than physical realms. This cultural significance has been preserved through generations, making Fraine a name that continues to carry deep spiritual meaning for Christian families today.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Frewen has deep roots in English Christian tradition, originating from Old English elements meaning 'noble friend.' The name gained prominence during the medieval period as Christianity spread throughout England, with the concept of noble friendship aligning well with Christian values of brotherly love and spiritual companionship. Many early bearers were clergy or members of noble families who embraced Christian virtues. During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Frewen family became particularly notable in English society, producing several prominent clergymen, politicians, and landowners who helped shape local communities and religious institutions. The name's association with nobility and friendship made it appealing in Christian contexts where spiritual kinship and moral character were highly valued.



The name's Christian significance extends beyond its literal meaning to embody key biblical principles. The combination of nobility and friendship reflects the Christian ideal of servant leadership and the importance of spiritual fellowship. Throughout English history, bearers of the name Frewen have often been associated with church leadership, charitable works, and community building, reinforcing its connection to Christian service and moral integrity. The name continues to carry these cultural associations in modern Christian communities that value tradition and meaningful naming practices.
A tornado killed at least five people and injured more than 400 as it destroyed most of a town in southern Brazil, authorities said Saturday, Azernews reports, citing Arab News.

The twister on Friday overturned cars and damaged homes in Rio Bonito do Iguacu, in Parana state, the local weather service reported.

It killed five people and injured 432, the Parana state government said. Two others are missing but this number could rise, it said.

Winds in Rio Bonito do Iguacu, population 14,000, reached between 180 and 250 kilometers per hour (110 and 155 miles per hour), Paranas environmental technology and monitoring agency said.

Civil Defense officials said 80 percent of the town is now destroyed. Images on social media show homes razed by the violent weather.

It is a war scene, Fernando Schunig, head of the Parana Civil Defense agency, told the news outlet G1.

He said the likelihood of more fatalities is high because the twister hit right in the center of the town.

When these events hit an urban area, the damage is major. It is very lethal, Schunig said.

The governor of Parana, Ratinho Junior, said on X that security forces are on alert, mobilized and monitoring the cities affected by the severe storms.

An alert for dangerous storms was in effect for all of Parana as well as the southern states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, according to weather authorities.
Those named Gallehant are often characterized by a distinctive blend of knightly virtues and romantic idealism. They typically possess a strong moral compass guided by concepts of honor, loyalty, and duty, much like their Arthurian namesake. This manifests as reliability in relationships and professional commitments, where they're known for keeping their word and defending those in their care. There's an inherent nobility in their approach to challengesthey prefer direct, honorable solutions rather than deception or shortcuts. Their personality often includes a questing spirit, whether literally in terms of travel and adventure or metaphorically in pursuing knowledge, career advancement, or personal growth.



Socially, Gallehants tend to be charismatic figures who command respect through competence rather than aggression. They balance strength with sensitivity, making them effective leaders who understand both strategy and human nature. There's often a touch of old-fashioned romanticism in their worldviewthey believe in grand gestures, epic love, and causes worth fighting for. This can make them somewhat idealistic, but their practical capabilities usually ground their aspirations in achievable reality. They thrive in environments where they can be protectors and problem-solvers, whether in family roles, careers involving service or leadership, or creative pursuits that allow them to build something lasting and meaningful.
Individuals named Garrey are typically perceived as strong-willed, determined, and protective. The spear symbolism inherent in the name suggests someone who is direct in their approach, focused in their goals, and capable of cutting through obstacles with precision. They often exhibit leadership qualities and a natural ability to take charge in challenging situations. Beyond the obvious strength associations, Garreys are frequently described as loyal companions and dependable friends who will stand by those they care about through difficult times. Their personality combines practical problem-solving skills with a deep sense of responsibility, making them excellent in crisis management and long-term planning. While they can be perceived as intense or serious at first meeting, those who know them well appreciate their steadfast nature and unwavering commitment to their principles and relationships. This combination of strength and loyalty makes Garreys particularly valued in positions requiring both courage and reliability.
People named George are typically associated with reliability, integrity, and quiet strength. The name suggests someone grounded and practical, reflecting its agricultural origins meaning 'farmer' or 'earth-worker.' There's an expectation of steadfastness and dependability - a George is someone you can count on in difficult situations. This perception is reinforced by historical figures like George Washington, who embodied leadership through moral authority rather than flashy charisma. The name carries connotations of traditional values, patience, and the wisdom that comes from experience rather than quick intelligence.



At the same time, the Saint George legend adds dimensions of courage and moral conviction. A George is often seen as someone who will stand up for what's right, even against formidable opposition. There's a quiet heroism suggested by the name - not the flamboyant hero, but the one who does what needs to be done without seeking glory. Many Georges exhibit a balance of practical intelligence and creative spirit, as demonstrated by figures like George Gershwin in music or George Lucas in film. The name suggests someone who is both firmly rooted in reality and capable of visionary thinking, making it suitable for individuals who combine stability with innovation.
Individuals named Geraint are often perceived as possessing strong, noble characteristics rooted in the name's royal and heroic associations. They typically exhibit leadership qualities, courage, and a sense of duty, reflecting the legendary king's attributes. Many Geraints are seen as dependable and principled, with a strong moral compass that guides their decisions. There's often an air of traditionalism and respect for heritage, combined with practical wisdom and resilience.



The name suggests someone who is both grounded and aspirationalable to navigate practical challenges while maintaining higher ideals. In social contexts, Geraints are frequently viewed as loyal friends and partners, embodying the chivalric virtues of their namesake. They tend to be determined and persistent when pursuing goals, yet maintain a sense of fairness and justice in their interactions. The combination of strength and sensitivity makes them effective leaders who can inspire trust and respect from others, while their connection to Arthurian legend adds a layer of romantic idealism to their character.
Individuals named Gerold are often perceived as strong, reliable leaders with a practical approach to problem-solving. They typically exhibit a blend of traditional values and forward-thinking perspectives, making them respected figures in their communities. Gerolds are known for their steadfastness and determination, often approaching challenges with the same resolve suggested by the 'spear' element of their name's meaning.



These individuals tend to be protective of those they care about and demonstrate loyalty in both personal and professional relationships. While sometimes reserved, they possess deep convictions and are willing to stand up for their beliefs when necessary. The combination of spear and rule symbolism suggests someone who can both defend and lead effectively. Gerolds often excel in positions of responsibility where their natural authority and protective instincts can benefit others, whether in family settings, community roles, or professional environments requiring strong leadership and ethical grounding.
Individuals named Gideon typically exhibit a complex blend of strategic intelligence and quiet strength. They often possess a natural leadership quality that emerges in challenging situations, combined with a thoughtful, analytical approach to problem-solving. Like their biblical namesake, modern Gideons may demonstrate initial hesitation or self-doubt when faced with major decisions, but once committed, they show remarkable determination and resourcefulness. Their leadership style tends to be more collaborative than authoritarian, valuing input from trusted advisors while maintaining final decision-making authority.



Gideons often display a strong moral compass and sense of justice, sometimes taking on causes that others might consider hopeless. They tend to be perceptive judges of character and situations, with an ability to see through superficial appearances to underlying truths. While they can be reserved in social settings, they form deep, loyal relationships with those who earn their trust. Their combination of intellectual depth and practical competence makes them effective in roles requiring both strategic planning and hands-on execution, often excelling in fields like law, engineering, academia, or military leadership. The name suggests someone who thinks before acting, values principle over popularity, and possesses the courage to stand alone when necessary.
Individuals named Gilibeirt are typically perceived as having a strong sense of honor and commitment, reflecting the name's meaning of 'pledge.' They often demonstrate reliability and steadfastness in their personal and professional relationships, making them trusted confidants and leaders. Many Gilibeirts exhibit intellectual curiosity and a deep appreciation for tradition and history, often showing interest in cultural preservation and scholarly pursuits.



Their personality tends to blend practical wisdom with creative thinking, allowing them to navigate complex situations with both logic and intuition. While they can be reserved in unfamiliar settings, they reveal warmth and loyalty to those they trust, forming deep, lasting bonds with family and close friends. This combination of traditional values and adaptive thinking makes them effective in roles that require both respect for established ways and innovative problem-solving approaches.
Individuals named Gilmer are often perceived as strong, reliable, and protective, reflecting the name's meaning of 'sword bearer.' They tend to be natural leaders who approach challenges with determination and strategic thinking. Their Scottish heritage often manifests in qualities of loyalty, resilience, and a strong sense of honor. Gilmers are typically practical problem-solvers who value tradition while being adaptable to changing circumstances. They possess a quiet confidence that inspires trust in others and often take on protective roles within their families and communities.



Socially, Gilmers are known for their steadfast nature and deep commitment to their principles. They may appear reserved at first but reveal warm, genuine personalities to those they trust. Their combination of strength and sensitivity makes them excellent mediators and dependable friends. The historical association with weapon-bearing suggests someone who understands both the responsibility and restraint required of true strength. They often excel in careers that require both technical skill and interpersonal intelligence, balancing action with thoughtful consideration.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Goraidh holds profound cultural significance in Scottish history as a name that embodies the ideal of peaceful leadership within clan society. Throughout the medieval and early modern periods, bearers of this name were often clan leaders or respected figures known for their diplomatic skills and ability to mediate conflicts. The name's association with peace made it particularly valued during times of clan warfare and political turmoil, when leaders who could negotiate truces and maintain harmony were essential for community survival.



In Gaelic literary tradition, characters named Goraidh frequently appear as wise counselors and fair judges, reflecting the cultural expectation that these individuals would possess both authority and compassion. The name's endurance through centuries of Scottish history, including the challenging periods of the Clearances and language suppression, demonstrates its deep roots in Gaelic culture. Today, Goraidh serves as a meaningful connection to Scottish heritage, representing both cultural preservation and the timeless values of peaceful leadership and community harmony.
Individuals named Griorgair are typically characterized by their exceptional observational skills and thoughtful nature. They possess a natural ability to assess situations carefully before acting, making them excellent strategists and problem-solvers. This vigilance extends to their personal relationships, where they are often the reliable friends who notice subtle changes in mood or circumstance and offer support before being asked. Their watchful nature makes them particularly adept at anticipating challenges and preparing accordingly.



Griorgairs tend to be deeply loyal and protective of those they care about, embodying the guardian aspect of their name's meaning. They often display a quiet confidence rather than overt assertiveness, preferring to observe and understand before engaging. This can sometimes be mistaken for aloofness, but in reality, it reflects their methodical approach to life. Their combination of patience, perceptiveness, and steadfastness makes them natural leaders in situations requiring careful judgment and long-term planning.
A ferry traveling from the Turkish city of Trabzon has been denied entry to Russias Sochi port and is returning to Turkiye after waiting for more than two days, Azernews reports.

According to the management of SVS Shipping LLC, the ferry waited for two and a half days, but permission to enter Sochi port was not granted, forcing the vessel to return to Trabzon without disembarking passengers in Russia.

The Seabridge ferry, which departed Trabzon on November 6, was refused entry to Russia due to the lack of an entry permit and ongoing military exercises in the area. According to the Russian Tour Operators Association, there were about 20 passengers on board, most of whom are Russian citizens.

The Krasnodar regional administration stated that launching regular ferry service between Sochi and Trabzon would be premature due to unresolved security issues.

The ferry line between Sochi and Trabzon operated from 1993 to 2011. Its restoration was planned for December 2024 but has been repeatedly postponed.
Guivret's personality is defined by a complex interplay of warrior pride, royal dignity, and profound loyalty that makes him one of Arthurian legend's most compelling non-human characters. His initial portrayal often emphasizes combativeness and a fierce protection of his honor, as seen when he challenges knights who enter his territory. However, this defensive pride quickly gives way to deep, unwavering friendship when he recognizes true virtue in others, particularly in his celebrated relationship with Sir Erec. This transformation from adversary to ally reveals a character capable of growth and discernment, valuing genuine merit over superficial appearances or initial impressions.



As a dwarf king, Guivret embodies the classic dwarf attributes of resilience, practicality, and determination, but these are elevated by his royal status and chivalric conduct. He demonstrates strategic intelligence in battle, understanding both the limitations and advantages of his stature, and employs this knowledge to overcome larger opponents. His loyalty, once given, is absolute and enduring, reflecting the dwarf cultural value of steadfastness in relationships and commitments. This combination of earthy pragmatism with noble idealism creates a multidimensional character who serves as both a foil and complement to the human knights of Arthur's court, enriching the Arthurian world with diversity of character and perspective.
Individuals named Guyapi are typically characterized by their strong sense of independence and natural leadership abilities. They possess an innate confidence that allows them to navigate challenging situations with poise and determination. These individuals often exhibit a pioneering spirit, unafraid to chart their own course and make decisions based on their strong moral compass. Their straightforward nature, as suggested by the description 'Frank,' makes them reliable and trustworthy companions who value honesty above all else.



Guyapis tend to be deeply principled individuals with a strong connection to their personal values and beliefs. They approach life with a practical mindset and are often drawn to careers that allow them to make tangible contributions to their communities. While they can be reserved in unfamiliar situations, those who know them well appreciate their loyalty and steadfast nature. Their combination of strength and integrity makes them natural problem-solvers who others frequently turn to for guidance and support in times of uncertainty.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Halsig carries significant cultural weight in northern European Christian traditions, particularly in coastal regions where the name's meaning 'from Hal's island' reflects the geographical and spiritual landscape of early Christian communities. The name emerged during the medieval period when Christianity was spreading through Germanic and Scandinavian territories, often adopted by families living in island or coastal settlements who maintained strong ties to both their geographical identity and their Christian faith.



Throughout history, the name Halsig has been associated with religious leadership and community stewardship in maritime Christian communities. It represents a bridge between traditional northern European culture and Christian values, embodying the resilience and faith of coastal peoples who maintained their religious practices despite the challenges of island life. The name's persistence through centuries demonstrates its deep roots in regional Christian heritage, serving as a living connection to the early Christianization of northern Europe and the unique spiritual traditions that developed in these coastal regions.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Hastiin holds profound cultural significance within Navajo (Dine) society as more than just a word meaning 'man.' It embodies the traditional roles, responsibilities, and virtues expected of Navajo men. In Dine culture, a Hastiin is expected to demonstrate leadership, provide for his family and community, maintain cultural knowledge, and uphold the principles of K'e (relationships and kinship). The term carries respect and denotes maturity, wisdom, and the ability to guide others according to Navajo values and traditions.



Historically, Hastiin was used as an honorific title for respected male leaders, elders, and medicine men who had earned their status through years of service, knowledge acquisition, and demonstrated character. The name represents the ideal of Hozhoogiwalking in beauty and balancewhich is central to Navajo philosophy. It connects the individual to ancestral traditions while emphasizing contemporary responsibilities to preserve language, ceremonies, and cultural practices for future generations. The cultural significance extends beyond individual identity to encompass the collective responsibility of Navajo men to maintain cultural continuity and community wellbeing.
The personality traits associated with Hedda reflect the name's rich etymology and cultural heritage. Bearers of this name typically exhibit a remarkable blend of intellectual acuity and inner strength, often demonstrating sharp analytical skills and strategic thinking in their approach to life's challenges. Their 'battle-maid' heritage manifests not as physical aggression but as mental fortitude and resiliencethey are fighters of ideas and defenders of principles. Heddas tend to be perceptive observers of human nature, possessing an almost intuitive understanding of social dynamics and psychological motivations. This makes them excellent strategists in professional environments and nuanced interpreters in artistic pursuits. However, this depth of perception can sometimes lead to introspection or occasional aloofness, as they may retreat into their rich inner worlds. Socially, Heddas often command respect through their intelligence and composure rather than overt charisma. They value authenticity and depth in relationships, preferring meaningful connections over superficial socializing. Their strength is typically quiet but formidablelike a well-honed blade kept in an elegant scabbardrevealing its power only when necessary. This combination of sophistication and substance makes individuals named Hedda particularly memorable and influential in their chosen fields.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Hid holds particular significance in early English Christian history, emerging during the Anglo-Saxon period when Christianity was being established throughout England. As a name derived from 'hide,' it carried connotations of protection and sanctuary, reflecting the Christian concept of God as a refuge and protector. Many early bearers of this name were associated with monastic communities where the idea of spiritual hiding or retreat from worldly concerns was valued. The name appears in various historical records from the 7th to 11th centuries, particularly in northern England where Christian communities were developing distinct identities.



During the medieval period, the name maintained its religious associations while also acquiring practical connotations related to land measurement and protection, as 'hide' was also a unit of land sufficient to support one family. This dual meaning made the name relevant both spiritually and practically in feudal Christian society. The name's usage declined after the Norman Conquest but experienced minor revivals during periods of interest in early English Christian history and Anglo-Saxon heritage.
The name Hilaire is traditionally associated with a personality that combines intellectual depth with natural cheerfulness. Individuals with this name are often perceived as having a bright, optimistic outlook that draws people to them, while simultaneously possessing a sharp, analytical mind. This combination makes them excellent problem-solvers who can approach challenges with both creativity and logical reasoning. The French origins of the name suggest an inherent elegance and cultural sophistication, often manifesting as good taste, articulate communication, and an appreciation for the arts. Hilaire's tend to be natural diplomatsable to navigate social situations with grace while maintaining their intellectual integrity. They typically value meaningful relationships and intellectual stimulation, often surrounding themselves with people who challenge them mentally while appreciating their warm, engaging nature. This balance of emotional intelligence and cognitive ability makes them well-suited for leadership roles where both people skills and strategic thinking are required. Their inherent optimism often makes them resilient in the face of adversity, able to maintain perspective and find silver linings where others might see only challenges.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Hunfrid is an ancient Germanic name that emerged during the early medieval period, particularly popular among Frankish nobility and clergy. The name reflects the complex cultural synthesis occurring during the Migration Period, combining the martial connotations of 'Hun' with the peaceful meaning of 'frid' (peace). This duality represents the transition from warrior societies to more settled feudal communities where military strength needed to be balanced with diplomatic and administrative skills.



During the Carolingian Empire, bearers of this name often held positions of religious and secular authority, bridging the gap between Germanic tribal traditions and emerging Christian European civilization. The name's popularity among bishops and abbots suggests it was seen as appropriate for leaders who needed to maintain peace while possessing the strength to defend their communities. Its usage declined after the 10th century but remains significant for understanding early medieval naming conventions and cultural values that emphasized the ideal of the peaceful warrior-leader.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Huntington originated as an English surname derived from place names in England, particularly from Huntingdonshire (now Cambridgeshire). The name carries strong aristocratic and landed gentry connotations, reflecting its origins as a locational surname for families who owned or came from hunting estates. In Christian contexts, the name has been associated with stewardship of God's creation through its connection to hunting and land management. The name gained prominence in America through early settlers and has been borne by several notable families who played significant roles in colonial and post-colonial development.



Throughout history, the Huntington name has been associated with educational and cultural institutions, most notably through figures like Collis P. Huntington, who contributed to railroad development and founded Huntington Library. In Christian tradition, the name's connection to hunting has been interpreted symbolicallyrepresenting the pursuit of spiritual goals and the responsible use of God-given resources. The name maintains its prestige in modern times through geographic locations, educational institutions, and continued use by families wishing to preserve their English heritage and aristocratic connections.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Huxeford emerged as a Christian masculine name during the medieval period in England, primarily as a locational surname that evolved into a given name. The name carries strong Anglo-Saxon and Norman influences, reflecting the cultural fusion that occurred after the Norman Conquest of 1066. Its association with river crossings ('ford') made it particularly significant in regions where such geographical features were vital for trade, travel, and settlement patterns.



Throughout Christian history, the name became associated with individuals who demonstrated leadership in establishing communities and religious institutions near important crossing points, often serving as both spiritual and practical guides for travelers and settlers. The name's connection to 'Hugh' further reinforced its Christian character, as several saints bore variations of that name, lending spiritual weight to those christened Huxeford. This dual heritageboth geographical and spiritualmade the name particularly resonant in English Christian communities that valued both practical leadership and religious devotion.
Renowned journalist and media manager Mikhail Gusman was presented with an international media award in Turkiye, Azernews reports, citing Azertag.

The award ceremony took place on November 8 in Alanya, Turkiye. Deputy Secretary-General of the Organization of Turkic States Omer Kocaman presented the media award to Mikhail Gusman.

The event highlighted Gusmans long-standing effective work in the international media space. It was also noted that the journalist is the author of a documentary dedicated to the leadership and political activities of President of the Republic of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdo?an.

The Turkish Journalists Association evaluated his activities as a significant contribution to strengthening international information relations and promoting professional journalism principles.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Huxly emerged as a Christian name in English-speaking communities during the 19th century, reflecting a period when many families began adopting surnames as first names while maintaining religious significance. The name's meaning 'from Hugh's meadow' resonated deeply with Christian values of stewardship over God's creation and the pastoral imagery prevalent in biblical teachings. It represents a harmonious blend of ancestral honor and spiritual symbolism, where the meadow element connects to themes of provision, peace, and natural beauty found throughout Christian scripture. The name gained particular traction among families who valued both their Christian heritage and connection to the English countryside, serving as a bridge between traditional naming practices and emerging appreciation for nature-inspired names that reflected God's diverse creation. Over time, Huxly became associated with families who sought meaningful names that conveyed both spiritual depth and earthly groundedness.
Women bearing the name Imtithal typically exhibit a remarkable combination of strength and grace that defines their interpersonal relationships and life approach. Their 'polite obedience' manifests as emotional intelligence that allows them to understand social dynamics intuitively and respond with appropriate respect and consideration. These individuals are often the emotional anchors in their families - patient listeners who offer wise counsel while maintaining humility. They possess an innate diplomatic skill that enables them to resolve conflicts without confrontation, often finding solutions that honor all parties' dignity.



In professional and social settings, Imtithals demonstrate what might be called 'strategic compliance' - the wisdom to know when to follow guidance and when to gently assert alternative perspectives. They build trust through consistency and reliability, becoming valued team members and leaders. Their strength lies in their adaptability and resilience; like bamboo, they bend without breaking. While deeply respectful of tradition and authority, they are not passive - rather, they exercise influence through example, persuasion, and the quiet power of moral consistency. This balance makes them particularly effective in roles requiring mediation, education, community leadership, or any position where maintaining harmony while driving progress is essential.
Symbolically, Inam represents much more than its literal translation of 'gift'it embodies the entire philosophy of gratitude and reciprocal generosity in Islamic thought. The name serves as a living reminder that human existence itself is the ultimate divine gift, and that each person has the responsibility to recognize and appreciate the blessings in their life. Metaphorically, it represents the concept of 'barakah' (blessing) that multiplies when shared, suggesting that those named Inam are meant to be conduits of divine generosity in the world. In mystical Islamic traditions, the name connects to the concept of 'fayd' (emanation)the continuous flow of divine grace into creation. It also symbolizes the Islamic ideal of community, where each member both receives from and contributes to the collective wellbeing. The name carries the symbolic weight of trustthat the gifts one receives are not merely for personal benefit but are entrusted to be used for greater good. This rich symbolic tapestry makes Inam a name that continuously inspires reflection on one's purpose, relationships, and spiritual responsibilities throughout life's journey.
The symbolic resonance of Intisar extends far beyond its literal meaning of 'triumphant' to encompass rich metaphorical dimensions deeply rooted in Islamic spirituality and human experience. Symbolically, Intisar represents the journey from darkness to light, the transformation of potential into actualization, and the spiritual truth that perseverance through difficulty leads to elevation. In Islamic symbolism, it connects to the concept of 'nasr' (divine help) and the promise that those who struggle in righteous causes will ultimately be granted success. The name also symbolizes the idea that true victory involves inner transformation and moral triumph rather than merely external conquest. Metaphorically, Intisar represents the dawn that follows the darkest night, the harvest that rewards patient cultivation, and the justice that eventually rectifies historical wrongs. It serves as a living symbol of hopethat no matter how difficult the present circumstances, with faith and effort, triumph is not just possible but promised to those who remain steadfast on the path of truth and principle.
Women named Iyangura are typically perceived as natural peacemakers with exceptional diplomatic skills. They possess an innate ability to understand multiple perspectives and find common ground in contentious situations. Their calm demeanor and thoughtful approach to conflict resolution make them trusted advisors and mediators in both family and community settings. These individuals often exhibit patience, wisdom beyond their years, and a deep sense of fairness that guides their interactions.



Beyond their arbitration abilities, Iyanguras are often seen as spiritually attuned individuals with strong connections to tradition and cultural practices. They tend to be responsible, organized, and deeply respectful of rituals and ceremonies. Their nurturing nature combines with a natural authority that allows them to guide others through important life transitions. Many display intuitive understanding of human nature and possess the emotional intelligence necessary to handle sensitive situations with grace and cultural appropriateness.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Jabin holds significant cultural importance primarily through its biblical origins. In the Hebrew Bible, two different kings named Jabin appear as Canaanite rulers who opposed the Israelites. The first Jabin was defeated by Joshua during the conquest of Canaan, while the second Jabin oppressed Israel for twenty years during the period of Judges before being defeated by the prophetess Deborah and military commander Barak. This dual appearance in biblical narrative gives the name layers of historical and theological meaning, representing both opposition to divine will and eventual divine justice.



The name's meaning 'God has built' or 'God has perceived' reflects the Hebrew understanding of divine providence and construction of history, making it a name that carries deep religious significance within Judeo-Christian traditions. Beyond its biblical context, the name represents the complex relationship between power, faith, and historical progression, serving as a reminder that even formidable opposition can be overcome through divine guidance and collective action.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Jafar holds profound cultural significance rooted in early Islamic history. The name gained prominence through Jafar ibn Abi Talib, the cousin of Prophet Muhammad and early convert to Islam, who was known for his eloquence and martyrdom in battle. His legacy established the name as one associated with courage, faith, and sacrifice in Islamic tradition. Later, Jafar al-Sadiq, the sixth Shia Imam, elevated the name's scholarly prestige by founding the Ja'fari school of Islamic jurisprudence and contributing significantly to Islamic sciences, including chemistry and philosophy. His intellectual legacy made the name synonymous with religious scholarship and spiritual guidance throughout the Muslim world.



The name spread across Islamic civilizations from Arabia to Persia, South Asia, and beyond, often borne by scholars, mystics, and rulers. In Persian and Mughal contexts, several prominent figures named Jafar served as viziers and administrators, reinforcing associations with governance and intelligence. The name's journey through different cultures reflects the spread of Islamic civilization itself, while maintaining its core religious significance. Despite modern pop culture portrayals that have complicated its image, the name continues to carry deep religious and historical weight for millions of Muslims worldwide.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Jaffa holds deep cultural significance as both a personal name and a geographical reference to the ancient port city of Jaffa (Yafo) in Israel. The city of Jaffa is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, mentioned in biblical texts and known for its association with the story of Jonah and the whale. As a feminine given name, Jaffa embodies the Hebrew concept of beauty (yofi) and carries the legacy of the historic city's cultural richness, serving as a bridge between ancient traditions and modern Israeli identity.



The name represents not just physical beauty but the beauty of heritage, resilience, and cultural continuity that has characterized the Jewish people throughout history. In Jewish tradition, names carry profound meaning and are often chosen to reflect desired qualities or to honor ancestral connections. Jaffa serves as a living link to one of the most historically significant locations in the Middle East, embodying both the literal beauty of the Mediterranean landscape and the metaphorical beauty of enduring cultural traditions.
Individuals named Jakome are often characterized by their determined and resourceful nature, reflecting the name's meaning of 'supplanter.' They tend to be strategic thinkers who carefully plan their actions and demonstrate remarkable persistence in achieving their goals. This determination is typically balanced with a strong sense of family loyalty and tradition, making them reliable partners and community members who value their roots and heritage.



Jakomes often possess a blend of practical intelligence and emotional depth, enabling them to navigate complex situations with both logic and empathy. They frequently show adaptability in changing circumstances while maintaining core principles, much like the biblical Jacob who evolved from a cunning youth to a wise patriarch. Their combination of resilience and cultural awareness makes them effective bridge-builders between different groups or traditions, often serving as mediators or cultural ambassadors in diverse settings.



These individuals typically exhibit a quiet confidence rather than overt assertiveness, preferring to achieve through careful planning and relationship-building rather than confrontation. They often display a deep appreciation for history and tradition while being forward-looking in their aspirations, embodying the balance between honoring the past and building for the future that characterizes their name's cultural journey.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Jaques has deep roots in Hebrew tradition, deriving from the biblical name Jacob, which means 'supplanter' or 'one who follows.' This refers to the biblical story of Jacob who supplanted his brother Esau as the firstborn. Throughout European history, particularly in French and English cultures, Jaques evolved as a distinctive variant that maintained its connection to the original Hebrew meaning while developing its own cultural identity.



In Renaissance England, the name gained literary prominence through Shakespeare's character Jaques in 'As You Like It,' who delivers the famous 'All the world's a stage' monologue, cementing the name's association with philosophical contemplation and worldly wisdom. The French variation Jacques became particularly significant during the French Revolution with the term 'Jacquerie' referring to peasant uprisings, though the spelling Jaques maintained a more aristocratic and literary connotation in English-speaking contexts.
At 13:02 pm on Sunday, China Eastern Airlines flight MU563, carrying 248 passengers, departed from Shanghai Pudong International Airport bound for Delhi, India, Azernews reports, citing Global Times.

China Eastern becomes the first Chinese mainland-based airline in 2025 to resume direct passenger flights between China and India. The outbound flight achieved a load factor of over 95 percent.

The resumed Shanghai Pudong-Delhi route is operated by Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft, with three flights per week on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

China Eastern said it plans to increase flight frequency based on market feedback and also aims to resume the Kunming-Kolkata route and launch a new Shanghai Pudong-Mumbai route, further expanding the air network between China and India.

This route connects Shanghai and Delhi, India, serving as one of the most strategically important air corridors between the two countries. As key economic centers, the close connection between Shanghai and Delhi will help promote comprehensive exchanges in trade, economy, culture, and other fields, the airline said.

On October 26, after a five-year hiatus, flights between Chinese mainland and India resumed as an aircraft from Indian airline IndiGo landed at Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province.

IndiGo was one of the first airlines to reinstate flights between the two and is now planning to expand its services with more direct routes. The airline has announced a second daily direct connection between Delhi and Guangzhou, scheduled to commence on November 10. This new route will be operated using IndiGo's A320 aircraft.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Jaspar holds significant cultural importance in Muslim communities as a variant that bridges Western and Islamic naming traditions. While its origins trace back to the Biblical Magi, particularly Caspar (or Gaspar), one of the Three Wise Men who visited Jesus, the name has been adopted and adapted within Muslim cultures, especially in regions with historical trade connections to Europe. In contemporary Muslim usage, Jaspar is often chosen for its melodic quality and the positive connotations of wisdom and treasure-keeping, which align with Islamic values of knowledge preservation and spiritual wealth.



The name represents a modern synthesis of cultural influences while maintaining respect for traditional naming conventions. In many Muslim families, Jaspar serves as a name that honors the Islamic tradition of meaningful names while also functioning effectively in global contexts. The association with 'treasure keeper' resonates with Islamic teachings about being good stewards of both material and spiritual blessings, making it a name that carries both practical and religious significance for modern Muslim parents seeking names with depth and international appeal.
People named Jax are typically perceived as confident, dynamic individuals with strong leadership qualities. The name suggests someone who is action-oriented and decisive, often taking charge in situations that require quick thinking and determination. There's an inherent coolness and modernity associated with the name that implies trend-setting behavior and independence. Jax carries an energy of innovation and forward-thinking, suggesting someone unafraid to challenge conventions or explore new paths.



Beneath this strong exterior, the name's connection to Hyacinth hints at deeper emotional sensitivity and artistic appreciation. This creates an interesting personality balance where strength and sensitivity coexist, making individuals named Jax both resilient and emotionally intelligent. They often possess charisma that draws others to them naturally, combined with a loyalty that makes them dependable friends and partners. The name suggests someone who can adapt to various social situations while maintaining their distinct identity, embodying both traditional values of commitment and modern values of individuality.
Individuals named Jeryl are often perceived as possessing a unique blend of strength and open-mindedness, reflecting the name's composite nature. They tend to be adaptable thinkers who can appreciate multiple perspectives while maintaining firm convictions. This balance makes them effective mediators and thoughtful leaders who value both tradition and innovation. Their strength is typically expressed through perseverance and moral courage rather than aggression, while their open-mindedness allows them to consider diverse viewpoints without compromising their principles.



Jeryls typically demonstrate resilience in challenging situations, drawing from the 'spear' symbolism in their name's etymology, yet they approach conflicts with the compassion suggested by the 'dear one' meaning. Their open-minded nature allows them to build diverse social connections and adapt to changing circumstances while maintaining their core values and integrity. This combination often results in individuals who are both reliable and progressive, capable of honoring tradition while embracing necessary change. Their personality reflects the modern Christian ideal of being in the world but not of it - engaged with contemporary society while grounded in enduring values.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Jobina is a feminine derivative of the biblical name Job, which holds profound significance in Abrahamic traditions. The original Job (Iyov in Hebrew) is the central figure of the Book of Job, renowned for his unwavering faith despite extreme suffering and persecution. This name carries the weight of one of the most profound theological explorations of human suffering and divine justice in religious literature. The feminine form Jobina emerged primarily in Christian communities as parents sought to honor the biblical patriarch's endurance while creating a distinctly feminine name. Throughout history, the name has been particularly embraced in Protestant communities where Old Testament names gained popularity during the Reformation. The story of Job's perseverance through unimaginable trialslosing his wealth, children, and healthprovides a powerful narrative backdrop for this name, making it a choice that often reflects deep religious conviction and the hope that the bearer will demonstrate similar resilience in facing life's challenges.



The cultural resonance of Jobina extends beyond religious contexts into literature and art, where the theme of perseverance through adversity has universal appeal. In many cultures, names derived from figures known for their endurance serve as aspirational markers, expressing parents' hopes that their children will develop strong character. The name's relative rarity adds to its distinctive quality, making it a choice for parents seeking a name with deep roots but uncommon usage. In contemporary times, Jobina continues to symbolize the enduring human spirit and the capacity to maintain faith and integrity during life's most challenging moments, serving as a living reminder of one of humanity's oldest and most powerful stories about the relationship between suffering and spiritual growth.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Jochebed holds profound significance in Jewish and Christian traditions as one of the most important matriarchs in Biblical history. As the mother of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, she represents the epitome of maternal courage and faith during one of Israel's most challenging periods. Her story in Exodus demonstrates remarkable bravery as she defied Pharaoh's decree to kill Hebrew male infants, ultimately setting in motion the events that would lead to the Exodus from Egypt.



In Jewish tradition, Jochebed is celebrated for her wisdom and devotion, with rabbinic literature often praising her as one of the few righteous women who enabled the redemption from Egypt. Her name's meaning 'God's glory' reflects her role in bringing forth leaders who would reveal God's glory to the world. The name continues to be particularly significant in Orthodox Jewish communities where Biblical names maintain strong cultural and religious connections, serving as a reminder of the power of faith and maternal love in the face of oppression.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Johanan holds profound significance in Jewish and Christian traditions as one of the foundational Hebrew names meaning 'God is gracious.' In the Hebrew Bible, several important figures bear this name, including Johanan ben Kareah, a military commander who played a crucial role in the aftermath of Jerusalem's destruction. The name gained particular prominence through Johanan ben Zakkai, the rabbi who established the center of Jewish learning at Yavneh, effectively ensuring Judaism's survival after the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. This historical figure transformed Johanan into a symbol of spiritual resilience and intellectual preservation.



In Christian tradition, Johanan appears as one of the apostles in the New Testament, and the name evolved into various forms across cultures, most notably as John, which became one of the most enduring names in Western civilization. The name carries centuries of religious, historical, and cultural weight, representing divine favor, leadership, and the preservation of faith through challenging times. Throughout history, the name has been borne by scholars, religious leaders, and cultural figures who have contributed to the preservation and transmission of knowledge and tradition.
Joska carries rich symbolic weight that extends beyond its literal meaning of 'God is gracious.' The name symbolizes the transformation of divine grace into human relationships, representing how spiritual concepts manifest in everyday life through kindness, generosity, and interpersonal connections. Its diminutive form symbolizes humility and approachability, suggesting that true strength often lies in gentleness and emotional accessibility. The name serves as a metaphor for cultural preservation, demonstrating how linguistic traditions adapt and endure across generations while maintaining their essential character.



In a broader symbolic context, Joska represents the Hungarian spirit of resilience and cultural continuity. It embodies the idea that cultural identity can be preserved through seemingly small, everyday practices like naming conventions. The name also symbolizes the bridge between individual identity and collective heritage, showing how personal names carry historical, linguistic, and cultural narratives. Metaphorically, Joska suggests that the most enduring cultural elements are often those that combine deep roots with flexible adaptation  much like the name itself has maintained its core identity while adapting to changing social contexts across centuries.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Julian holds profound cultural significance rooted in both Roman imperial history and Christian tradition. Originating from the prestigious gens Julia, it was the family name of Julius Caesar and subsequent Roman emperors, symbolizing power, leadership, and noble lineage. The name's connection to Jupiter (Jove) through its etymology gave it divine connotations in Roman society, suggesting celestial favor and imperial authority. This imperial heritage established Julian as a name of prestige and power throughout Western history.



In Christian context, Julian gained additional significance through saints like Julian the Hospitaller and the biblical Roman centurion Julius who protected Paul during his perilous voyage to Rome. This dual heritage created a name that bridges pagan antiquity and Christian civilization, making it acceptable and respected across different historical periods. The name's endurance through medieval Europe among nobility and clergy, its Renaissance revival, and its continued popularity in modern times demonstrate its unique ability to embody both classical virtue and contemporary sophistication across multiple cultures and languages.
Individuals named Kaedee are often perceived as creative and adaptable, possessing the ability to navigate different social contexts with ease. They typically demonstrate strong communication skills and emotional intelligence, making them effective in roles requiring diplomacy and interpersonal connection. Their innovative nature is balanced by a practical sensibility that allows them to implement creative ideas in tangible ways.



Kaedee's tend to be natural bridge-builders who can mediate between different perspectives while maintaining their own convictions. They often exhibit resilience and flexibility, adapting to changing circumstances without losing their core identity. This combination of creativity and practicality makes them well-suited for leadership roles that require both vision and execution. Their name's unique quality often correlates with a comfort with individuality and a willingness to chart unconventional paths while maintaining strong community ties.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Kalena represents an important linguistic bridge between Hawaiian and Western naming traditions. As the Hawaiian equivalent of Karen, which itself derives from the Greek name Aikaterine (meaning 'pure'), Kalena demonstrates how Hawaiian culture has adapted foreign names while maintaining its unique phonetic and cultural identity. The name emerged during the 19th and 20th centuries as Hawaiian language incorporated Western influences while preserving its melodic structure and vowel-heavy patterns.



This name reflects the complex history of cultural exchange in Hawaii, where traditional Hawaiian naming practices (often based on natural elements, ancestors, or significant events) blended with Christian and Western naming conventions. Kalena stands as a testament to Hawaii's ability to absorb external influences while maintaining cultural distinctiveness, representing both purity (from its Greek roots) and the graceful adaptation characteristic of Hawaiian linguistic evolution. The name carries within it the story of modern Hawaii itselfa place where different cultures meet, interact, and create something new while honoring tradition.
CIIE fuels success of Spain's "City of Ham"

09:23, November 10, 2025 By Yan Huan, Xu Hailin ( People's Daily

Visitors taste Spanish ham at the 7th China International Import Expo, Nov. 9, 2024. (People's Daily Online/Weng Qiyu)

Since its debut at the inaugural China International Import Expo (CIIE) in 2018, Spain's Iberian ham has been a staple attraction at the annual event. Its complex aroma and savory depth have consistently drawn crowds, establishing it as one of the Expo's star products. Thanks to the CIIE platform, Iberian ham has progressively entered the culinary landscape of Chinese consumers.

The town of Guijuelo, Spain, produces approximately 60 percent of the country's renowned Iberian ham globally by gourmets for its distinctive marbling and nuanced flavor.

Each autumn, Guijuelo's oak forests yield abundant acorns that nourish free-ranging black Iberian pigs. The region's elevated terrain, characterized by cold, dry winters and brief mild summers, creates optimal conditions for traditional air-curing of hams.

At century-old producer Julian Del Aguilar (established 1895), artisans commence work at dawn. Within curing rooms, thousands of hams suspended from wooden rafters permeate the air with their characteristic savory fragrance.

Master craftsman Ramos, with 41 years of experience at the company, explains: "From initial salting through natural curing, each ham requires at least three years of maturation here. This century-old tradition remains our point of pride." Ramos meticulously inspects each ham before selecting matured specimens for quality grading and packaging.

The transformative impact of CIIE became evident when Spanish producer-distributor La Encina participated in the 2018 inaugural edition with modest expectations. Their initial six-month supply of 500 kilograms sold out within days, catalyzing broader Spanish industry interest in the Chinese market. This year, Jose Maria Aguilar, the fifth-generation heir of Julian Del Aguilar, brought his family's heritage and products to the eighth CIIE.

A staff member of an exhibitor shows Iberian ham at the 6th China International Import Expo, Nov. 7, 2023. (People's Daily Online/Weng Qiyu)

"The CIIE has fundamentally reshaped our strategic outlook," said Jose Maria Aguilar. "China's vast middle-income population represents unparalleled potential for both investment and consumption. The Expo and the Chinese market collectively provide the confidence and platform to transition our family enterprise into a globally recognized brand."

According to Guijuelo's mayor, Roberto Martin, the town has a permanent population of 6,000 and more than 120 ham producers, earning it the nickname "City of Ham." The industry provides jobs for over 90 percent of local residents and creates significant employment opportunities in surrounding areas.

In November 2018, shortly after the first CIIE, China and Spain signed an agreement allowing bone-in Spanish ham to be exported to China, opening up a major opportunity for Iberian ham producers. La Encina has since set up a branch in Shanghai and opened an online store on Chinese e-commerce platforms. Julian Del Aguilar has also invested in its first Iberian ham processing plant in Qingdao, east China's Shandong province.

Data from the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade and the Interprofessional Iberian Pork Association show that in 2024, Spain's exports of ham and cured shoulder products to China exceeded 28 million euros ($32.23 million), up about 60 percent from five years ago. The growth has continued into this year, with exports rising 8.4 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2025.

"The openness of the Chinese market has been crucial for Iberian ham's journey onto the global stage," said Martin. "We hope that through platforms like the CIIE, Iberian ham will gain even more opportunities in China, which not only drives the growth of Guijuelo's entire industrial chain and boosts the local economy, but also encourages the younger generation to stay, continue this craft, and build their own future here."

Since the first CIIE, premium Spanish agricultural products such as ham, wine, and olive oil have become popular highlights at the expo, making China one of the fastest-growing markets for Spanish agri-food exports.

Angel Prieto, vice president for External Affairs at Spain's National Association of European Business and Innovation, said the CIIE provides a valuable opportunity for Spanish companies to enter China and showcase innovative products.

Visitors taste Spain's Iberian ham at the 8th China International Import Expo, Nov. 5, 2025. (People's Daily/Jiang Bo)

"Chinese consumers are increasingly pursuing high-quality products and cultural value," said Martin. "Guijuelo's ham producers are also working hard in that direction."

Maria Naranjo, spokesperson and director of the food industry at the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade, noted, "The Spanish government places great importance on exports and is closely watching China's dynamic market. Meat ranks as the second-largest category in Spain's agricultural exports, and China now accounts for over 30 percent of Spain's pork exports."

Naranjo said the CIIE has become an important platform for strengthening trade ties between Spain and China, and the strong participation of Spanish companies reflects their desire to deepen cooperation with Chinese partners.

"The making of Iberian ham is a testament to tradition," said Martin. "The Chinese market and the CIIE platform have given this tradition a broader and brighter future."

(Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun)
Britain is sending experts and equipment to Belgium to help it combat disruptive drone sightings, which have temporarily closed airports, the head of the British military said on Sunday, Azernews reports, citing Arab News.

Drones have been spotted over airports and military bases in Belgium in the last week, having caused major disruption across Europe in recent months.

Richard Knighton, head of Britains armed forces, told the BBC that his Belgian counterpart had asked for assistance and that equipment and personnel were on the way.

The defense secretary and I agreed at the end of last week that we would deploy our people and our equipment to Belgium to help them, he said, without giving details of what sort of equipment would be sent or how many personnel.

Knighton said it was not known yet who was behind the drone sightings, but noted Russia has been involved in a pattern of hybrid warfare in recent years.

Russia has denied any connection with the incidents.

Drones spotted flying over airports serving the capital, Brussels, and Liege, in the countrys east, forced the diversion of many incoming planes and the grounding of some due to depart on Tuesday.

Drone sightings also forced the temporary closures of airports in several countries including Sweden on Thursday.

The German defense minister suggested a link on Friday between recent drone incidents in Belgium and discussions over the use of frozen Russian assets, held by Belgian financial institution Euroclear, to fund a large loan to Ukraine.
Individuals named Kallita are often characterized by a unique blend of creativity and spiritual depth. They tend to be introspective and thoughtful, with a natural inclination toward artistic expression and emotional intelligence. Their name's connection to beauty often manifests in an appreciation for aesthetics, whether in art, music, or human relationships, and they frequently demonstrate exceptional empathy and understanding in their interactions with others.



Kallitas typically possess strong leadership qualities tempered with humility, making them effective in roles that require both vision and compassion. They are often drawn to helping professions and creative fields where they can make a meaningful impact. While they may appear reserved initially, they form deep, lasting relationships and are known for their loyalty and genuine care for others' wellbeing. Their spiritual nature often guides their decision-making and life philosophy, and they tend to approach challenges with a combination of practical wisdom and faith-based optimism.



These individuals often exhibit a natural grace in their demeanor and are frequently described as having 'old souls.' They value authenticity and depth in relationships, and their creative tendencies often extend to problem-solving and innovation in their professional lives. The combination of their spiritual grounding and creative thinking makes them particularly effective in roles that require both compassion and innovation.
Individuals named Karcsi are typically perceived as possessing strong leadership qualities, determination, and practical intelligence. They often exhibit a natural authority and confidence that inspires trust in others, combined with a methodical approach to problem-solving that makes them effective in both professional and personal contexts. Karcsi's tend to be resilient in the face of challenges, displaying a steadfast character that others find reassuring.



Their masculine energy is often balanced by a thoughtful, analytical nature, allowing them to make considered decisions while maintaining their strong presence. These individuals frequently excel in positions requiring both strategic thinking and decisive action, and they value loyalty and integrity in their relationships. While they can be perceived as serious or intense, those who know them well appreciate their underlying warmth and commitment to those they care about. The name suggests someone who builds lasting foundations in both their professional endeavors and personal connections.
Symbolically, Karimah represents the flowing river of divine generosity that nourishes all it touches. The name embodies the concept that true abundance comes from giving rather than accumulating. In Islamic mysticism, Karimah symbolizes the human capacity to reflect divine attributes - each person named Karimah becomes a mirror through which Allah's generosity becomes manifest in the world. Metaphorically, the name suggests a garden that freely shares its fruits, shade, and beauty with all visitors without expectation of return. It represents the Islamic ideal of ihsan (excellence) - doing beautiful things because they are inherently right, not for reward or recognition. The name also carries the symbolism of a strong, deeply-rooted tree that provides shelter and sustenance while remaining firmly grounded in spiritual values. In contemporary symbolic understanding, Karimah represents the bridge between traditional virtues and modern applications - showing how ancient ideals of nobility and generosity remain relevant and powerful in today's complex world. The name ultimately symbolizes the transformative power of generosity to create ripples of positive change that extend far beyond individual actions.
In contemporary naming practices, Keely has evolved from its traditional masculine Irish origins to become predominantly used as a feminine name in most English-speaking countries. The name experienced its peak popularity during the 1990s, particularly in the United States and United Kingdom, and has since maintained a steady but less frequent usage. While the spelling 'Keely' is common, variations like 'Keeley' are equally popular. The name appeals to parents seeking Celtic names with pleasant meanings and melodic qualities, though its usage has declined somewhat in recent years in favor of other Irish names. Despite its primarily feminine modern application, the name retains its historical masculine roots in Ireland, where it continues to be recognized as a traditional surname and given name with deep cultural significance.
Individuals named Kelvyn are often perceived as adaptable and flowing in their approach to life, much like the river that inspires their name. They tend to be intuitive and emotionally aware, with a natural ability to navigate complex social situations. Kelvyns are typically seen as calm under pressure yet possess a deep current of determination that allows them to persist through challenges. Their personality often combines Celtic creativity with practical problem-solving skills, making them both imaginative and grounded.



Many Kelvyns display a strong connection to nature and tradition while remaining open to innovation and change. They are frequently described as loyal friends and reliable partners who value deep, meaningful connections over superficial relationships. This combination of fluid adaptability and steadfast reliability makes them well-suited to leadership roles where both flexibility and consistency are valued. The name suggests someone who can move through life's challenges with the persistent, shaping force of waterable to wear down obstacles over time while maintaining their essential character and direction.
Individuals named Kendrew are typically associated with characteristics of strength, reliability, and quiet confidence. The name's meaning of 'manly' and 'brave' suggests someone who faces challenges with courage and determination, often displaying resilience in difficult circumstances. These individuals tend to be practical problem-solvers who approach life with a grounded perspective, valuing honesty and integrity in their personal and professional relationships. Their strength often manifests as emotional stability rather than overt aggression, making them dependable anchors for those around them.



Beyond the core traits of bravery and masculinity, Kendrews are often perceived as having a strong sense of tradition and cultural identity. They may demonstrate loyalty to family and community, with a deep appreciation for heritage and history. The Scottish origins of the name contribute to associations with perseverance and endurancequalities historically valued in Scottish culture. While they can be reserved initially, those named Kendrew typically form deep, lasting connections with others and are known for their steadfast nature once trust is established. Their combination of traditional values and quiet strength makes them natural leaders who inspire confidence through action rather than words.
Individuals named Kolinkar are typically characterized by strong leadership qualities, determination, and a natural inclination toward taking charge in challenging situations. They possess an adventurous spirit and are often drawn to careers that allow them to explore new territories, whether literally through travel and exploration or metaphorically through innovation and entrepreneurship. Kolinkars tend to be strategic thinkers with excellent problem-solving abilities, reflecting the name's heritage of conquest and expansion.



Their personality often combines practical wisdom with bold ambition, making them effective in positions of authority and responsibility. While they can be assertive and decisive, Kolinkars also demonstrate loyalty to their community and family, upholding traditions while pushing boundaries. They typically exhibit resilience in the face of adversity and have a strong sense of purpose that drives them to achieve their goals, often inspiring others with their vision and determination. This combination of traits makes Kolinkars natural leaders who can navigate complex situations while maintaining their core values and principles.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Korrigan originates from Breton mythology, where Korrigans were mythical dwarf-like creatures believed to inhabit the forests and megalithic sites of Brittany. These beings were considered both mischievous and potentially dangerous, often associated with ancient pagan traditions. With the Christianization of Brittany, the name underwent significant transformation, evolving from mythological reference to accepted Christian surname. The 'spearman' descriptor suggests possible military or protective connotations, reflecting how Christian families might have adopted names that combined local folklore with practical occupational meanings. This blending of pre-Christian mythology with Christian identity represents the unique cultural synthesis that characterizes Breton history, where ancient traditions were not entirely erased but rather integrated into the new religious framework. The name's survival into modern times demonstrates the resilience of Breton cultural identity within the broader Christian context of France.



The Christian adoption of Korrigan as a surname reflects the complex process of religious inculturation in Brittany, where missionaries and local communities found ways to preserve cultural identity while embracing Christianity. Unlike some regions where pagan names were completely abandoned, Brittany developed a tradition of integrating mythological references into Christian naming practices. This created a distinctive Breton Christian identity that maintained connections to the land and ancestral traditions while fully participating in Catholic devotion. The spearman association further Christianized the name, linking it to concepts of spiritual warfare and protection of the faith, thus transforming what was once purely mythological into a name carrying both cultural pride and religious significance.
Individuals named Kristin are often perceived as compassionate, intuitive, and spiritually inclined, reflecting the name's meaning of 'the anointed.' They typically exhibit strong nurturing qualities and emotional intelligence, making them excellent caregivers and counselors. Kristins are known for their reliability and steadfast nature, often serving as the emotional anchor in their relationships and communities. Their inherent warmth and approachability make them natural peacemakers who excel at mediating conflicts and bringing people together.



Many Kristins demonstrate creative talents, particularly in writing, music, or visual arts, channeling their deep emotional awareness into expressive forms. They tend to be thoughtful decision-makers who value harmony and avoid conflict, though they can be surprisingly resilient when defending their principles or loved ones. Their combination of practicality and intuition makes them effective problem-solvers who approach challenges with both logic and empathy. Kristins often possess a quiet strength that emerges during difficult times, showing remarkable perseverance and grace under pressure. While they may appear reserved initially, those who know them well appreciate their sharp wit, loyalty, and capacity for deep, meaningful friendships.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Lele holds significant cultural weight across multiple traditions. In Christian contexts, particularly in Italian and Hawaiian cultures, it often serves as a diminutive or affectionate form of longer names like Gabriel or Emmanuel, carrying forward the spiritual legacy of these biblical names. The Hawaiian meaning of 'Lele' as 'to fly' or 'to jump' connects it to themes of spiritual ascension and freedom, while in Chinese culture, the similar-sounding '' means 'happy' or 'joyful,' representing positive virtues valued across societies. Historically, the name has been used to signify both familial devotion and spiritual commitment, making it a meaningful choice for parents seeking a name with both personal and religious significance.



Across various Christian communities, Lele has been embraced as a name that embodies Christian virtues of faithfulness and devotion. Its use in religious contexts often reflects the importance of loyalty to faith and community, serving as a constant reminder of one's spiritual commitments. The name's cross-cultural adaptability has allowed it to maintain relevance while preserving its core meaning of steadfastness and reliability, making it a bridge between traditional values and contemporary naming practices.
The municipality of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, has expressed solidarity with Azerbaijan on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Victory Day, celebrated on November 8.

According to Azernews, a giant projection of the Azerbaijani flag was displayed on the digital screen of the city halls impressive MENARA-1 tower. Against the backdrop of the proud tricolor, the message Happy Victory Day, Azerbaijan appeared.

The screen on the MENARA-1 tower, which rises more than 90 meters high, is considered the largest digital display space in Malaysia.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Leman has significant cultural roots in both English and German-speaking regions, originally deriving from topographic origins meaning 'dweller in the valley.' In Christian contexts, the name gained popularity during the Middle Ages as surnames evolved into given names, often associated with humility and connection to the land. The valley symbolism resonated with Christian values of humility and being grounded in faith. Throughout European history, the name appeared among merchant classes and land-owning families, particularly in regions where topography influenced naming conventions. In Swiss culture, Lake Leman (the French name for Lake Geneva) adds geographic significance to the name, though as a personal name it remains more common in English and German traditions. The name's evolution reflects the broader pattern of occupational and topographic surnames becoming first names during the Protestant Reformation and subsequent naming trends.



During the 19th century, the name saw increased usage in America and Britain as families sought to preserve ancestral surnames. The industrial era brought several prominent businessmen and politicians named Leman, further establishing the name's respectable, traditional character. In Christian communities, the name's valley association often connected to biblical references of valleys as places of spiritual testing and eventual triumph, adding theological depth to its usage. The name maintained a quiet presence through the 20th century, never achieving widespread popularity but remaining in use among families valuing heritage and meaningful nomenclature.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Lemuela holds significant cultural importance as the feminine form of the Hebrew name Lemuel, which appears in the Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament. The name's meaning, 'devoted to God,' has made it a cherished choice within Jewish and Christian communities for centuries, representing a deep spiritual commitment and connection to religious traditions. In biblical context, Lemuel was a king who received wisdom from his mother, giving the feminine form Lemuela particular resonance with maternal guidance and the transmission of spiritual values across generations.



The name has maintained its religious significance throughout history, often chosen by families seeking to honor their faith heritage while bestowing a name that conveys virtue and devotion. While never achieving widespread popularity, Lemuela has persisted as a meaningful choice that reflects both religious conviction and appreciation for biblical history. Its rarity has helped preserve its strong cultural associations, making it a name that immediately signals spiritual values and traditional roots within communities that value such connections.
Individuals named Leodegrance are typically perceived as possessing natural authority and regal composure, often demonstrating leadership qualities from a young age. They tend to be protective of those under their care, showing fierce loyalty to family and friends much like the lion symbolism suggests. Their decision-making is usually deliberate and principled, reflecting the weight of responsibility they feel toward their social circles or professional roles.



While they can appear reserved or formal in unfamiliar settings, those who know them well appreciate their deep sense of honor and unwavering commitment to their values. They often excel in positions requiring diplomacy and strategic thinking, balancing strength with wisdom in their approach to challenges. The name carries expectations of dignity and reliability, with bearers often developing a strong sense of personal integrity that aligns with the noble heritage the name represents. Their protective nature extends beyond immediate family to include communities and causes they champion.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Linwood has strong Anglo-Saxon roots as a locational surname that evolved into a given name. The name originates from Old English 'lind' (linden tree) and 'wudu' (wood), referring to someone who lived near a grove of linden trees. In Christian contexts, the linden tree held symbolic importance in medieval Europe, often planted near churches and associated with protection and justice. The name gained popularity in English-speaking countries during the 19th century as part of the trend toward nature-inspired names with pastoral connotations.



Throughout American history, Linwood has maintained a presence particularly in the Southern and Mid-Atlantic states, often associated with established families and traditional values. The name carries echoes of English countryside heritage while adapting well to American naming conventions. In Christian communities, the natural elements in the name's meaning have been interpreted as reflecting God's creation and the stability found in faith, making it a choice that blends natural beauty with spiritual significance.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Loc holds significant cultural importance within Christian traditions, particularly in regions with Celtic Christian heritage. Originating from the concept of dwelling near strongholds or fortresses, the name became associated with spiritual strength and divine protection in Christian contexts. Throughout medieval Europe, the name was adopted by several saints and religious figures, most notably in Brittany where Saint Loc was venerated as a missionary who brought Christianity to the region. The name's connection to physical and spiritual fortresses made it particularly appealing during times of religious conflict, symbolizing the believer's refuge in God.



In Christian symbolism, the 'stronghold' aspect evolved to represent both the Church as a bastion of faith and the individual's spiritual fortress through Christ. The name maintained its religious significance through centuries, often chosen for boys expected to demonstrate strong faith and leadership within their communities. The cultural legacy of Loc extends beyond religious contexts into family traditions, where it sometimes appears as a hereditary name passed through generations, preserving both family identity and religious heritage.
Lohoot is the name given to one of King Arthur's sons in Arthurian legend, representing the continuation of the Pendragon lineage. The name carries connotations of royal inheritance and the legacy of Camelot's ideals being passed to future generations.

Cultural & Historical Significance

Lohoot occupies a unique space in Arthurian mythology as one of King Arthur's sons, representing the continuation of the Pendragon lineage in Welsh and broader Arthurian traditions. His character appears in various medieval texts, most notably in the Welsh Triads where he is celebrated for his bravery and noble qualities. The cultural significance of Lohoot lies in his embodiment of dynastic succession - he symbolizes both the hope for Arthur's legacy to continue and the tragic reality that often accompanies royal inheritance in medieval literature. In different versions of the Arthurian cycle, Lohoot's fate varies dramatically, from dying young to carrying forward his father's work, making him a flexible narrative device for exploring themes of legacy, expectation, and the burdens of famous parentage. His presence in Arthurian lore reflects medieval concerns about royal succession and the transfer of power, while also serving as a poignant reminder of the human aspects behind legendary figures.
Individuals named Luxman are typically characterized by exceptional loyalty and sincerity, often putting others' needs before their own. They tend to be reliable, dependable friends and family members who value deep, meaningful relationships over superficial connections. Their inherent sense of duty and responsibility makes them excellent team players and trusted confidants.



Luxmans often possess a calm, steady demeanor that provides stability in challenging situations, combined with strong protective instincts toward those they care about. While they may not seek the spotlight, their quiet strength and consistent character earn them deep respect. They typically demonstrate practical wisdom, good judgment, and the ability to remain composed under pressure, making them natural problem-solvers and peacemakers in their social circles. Their loyalty is not blind but thoughtful, grounded in strong moral principles and genuine care for others' wellbeing.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Macalister is a distinguished Scottish clan name with deep roots in the Western Isles and Highlands. The name originates from the Gaelic 'Mac Alasdair,' meaning 'son of Alasdair' (the Scottish form of Alexander), and the clan traces its lineage back to the powerful Lords of the Isles through the MacDonald dynasty. Historically, the Macalisters were known as fierce warriors and loyal supporters of the MacDonald chiefs, with their ancestral lands centered on Kintyre and the islands of Arran and Bute.



The clan played significant roles in Scottish history, particularly during the Jacobite uprisings, with some branches supporting the Stuart cause while others remained loyal to the British government. The name carries the cultural weight of Highland tradition, including Gaelic language preservation, clan loyalty, and the complex social structures of Scottish society. Today, the Clan Macalister Society maintains these cultural connections worldwide, preserving the heritage and history associated with this ancient Scottish name.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name MacElroy holds deep significance in Irish culture as a patronymic surname that evolved into a given name. Originating from the Gaelic 'Mac Giolla Rua,' meaning 'son of the red-haired youth' or 'son of the red king,' it reflects the ancient Irish tradition of naming children after physical characteristics or noble lineage. The 'red' element likely refers to reddish hair, a trait historically associated with certain Irish clans and often linked to mythical figures and warriors in Celtic folklore.



Throughout Irish history, MacElroy families were predominantly found in Ulster and Connacht regions, where they maintained strong ties to Gaelic traditions. During the period of English colonization and the Penal Laws, many MacElroys anglicized their name to McElroy while preserving their cultural identity. The name carries echoes of resilience and cultural preservation, representing families who maintained their Irish heritage despite political and social pressures. In modern times, it symbolizes the bridge between traditional Gaelic culture and contemporary Irish identity.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Magnus carries profound cultural significance across Northern Europe, particularly in Scandinavian countries where it has royal and noble associations. Several medieval kings of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark bore this name, including Magnus the Good of Norway and Magnus IV of Sweden, establishing it as a name denoting leadership and authority. In Catholic tradition, Saint Magnus of Fussen was an 8th-century missionary in Germany, while Saint Magnus of Orkney was a 12th-century earl martyred for his faith, giving the name religious significance.



The name's Latin origin ('great') made it popular among educated classes during the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, symbolizing intellectual and cultural aspirations. In modern times, the name maintains its prestige while becoming more accessible, representing a bridge between classical education and contemporary values. Its enduring popularity across centuries demonstrates how a name can evolve while retaining its core meaning of greatness and distinction.
The grand military parade held at Bakus Azadl?q Square to mark the fifth anniversary of Azerbaijans glorious Victory in the Patriotic War has drawn widespread attention from leading media outlets around the world and received extensive international coverage.

According to Azernews, reports highlighted the remarks delivered by President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an of Turkiye, and Pakistans Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif. Coverage emphasized that the parade showcased the full military strength of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and also revisited key moments of the Patriotic War.

The event received particularly comprehensive coverage in leading media organizations of Turkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Outlets such as Anadolu Agency, TRT Avaz, TRT Haber, A Haber, Haber Global, NTV, and newspapers including Milliyet, Hurriyet, HaberTurk, Ak?am, Sabah, Yeni ?afak, Turkiye Gazetesi, and K?br?s Gazetesi devoted significant attention to the ceremony.

Across both brotherly countries, major news agencies, television channels, newspapers, and online platforms brought the speeches of Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, as well as the display of military equipment and weaponry showcased during the parade, to millions of viewers and readers.

Reports highlighted statements by the presidents of Turkiye and Azerbaijan on ensuring lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus, the close solidarity between Baku and Ankara, and the growing prospects for regional cooperation. Anadolu Agency featured quotes in its Top News section, including President Ilham Aliyevs remark that President Recep Tayyip Erdo?ans declaration during the Patriotic War  Azerbaijan is not alone, Turkiye stands with Azerbaijan!  carried a powerful message, as well as his affirmation that the Azerbaijani people will never forget this brotherly support. Anadolu also underlined Erdo?ans comment that this Victory is the cornerstone of the path to lasting peace in the Caucasus.

Particular attention was given to the Turkish Presidents assessment that Azerbaijans historic Victory in the 44-day war reshaped the geopolitical balance across Asia and Europe. Numerous photographs of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Turkiye, and Pakistan were published, and the importance of restoring Azerbaijans territorial integrity and sovereignty for the entire Turkic world was strongly emphasized.

Leading Pakistani media outlets, including ARN News Centre, AAJ News (AAJ TV), The Express Tribune, Brecorder, Geo News, 24 News HD, Minute Mirror, Lead Pakistan, and Dawn, highlighted the scale and grandeur of the military parade, the joint participation of Azerbaijani, Turkish, and Pakistani armed forces, and the display of advanced military equipment and aviation. Special focus was placed on President Ilham Aliyevs address, with extensive coverage of his remarks on Turkiyes and Pakistans unwavering support during the Patriotic War. Reports also noted the Presidents gratitude to Pakistan for its firm backing during Azerbaijans just struggle and his appreciation of Islamabads role in ensuring regional stability in South Asia.

Pakistani media prominently reported Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharifs attendance at the parade and underscored the close military cooperation among the three brotherly nations. Publications noted that the parade reflected regional partnership and contributed to strengthening peace and stability in the South Caucasus. In this context, The Express Tribune highlighted the Prime Ministers statement at the parade: This is a vivid demonstration of friendship and regional solidarity.

Pakistani outlets also covered Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifs visit to Azerbaijan, his meeting with the President of Azerbaijan, and the trilateral meeting of the leaders of Azerbaijan, Turkiye, and Pakistan.

Leading media outlets of the United Arab Emirates, including ARN News Centre, UAE BARQ, Emarat Al Youm, Al Bayan, Sharjah24, and the 20Four portal, provided extensive coverage of the military parade held in Baku to mark the fifth anniversary of Victory in the Patriotic War. Reports highlighted the scale and grandeur of the parade, the advanced military equipment showcased, and the strength of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces.

Special attention was given to the remarks delivered by President Ilham Aliyev, President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an of Turkiye, and Pakistans Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif. The coverage also featured statements by the Azerbaijani and Turkish leaders on regional cooperation and the importance of ensuring peace and stability in the South Caucasus.

Prominent Georgian outlets including 1tv.ge, 24news.ge, aktual.ge, and interpress.ge reported on the military parade and celebrations held in Azerbaijan to mark the fifth anniversary of Victory in the Patriotic War. Their coverage highlighted the festive observance of Victory Day, the large-scale parade in Baku, and the participation of the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkiye, the prime minister of Pakistan, and other officials. The reports also featured material from the speeches delivered by the Azerbaijani and Turkish presidents.

Several Russian publications released articles on the parade as well. Gazeta.ru drew attention to the scale of the event, noting the participation of more than 5,000 service members and the display of over 150 pieces of military equipment, along with naval vessels positioned in the Caspian Sea. News.ru highlighted a symbolic remark from President Ilham Aliyevs speech: They wanted to drink tea in Baku, now they drink Azerbaijani tea in a detention facility. Vestikavkaza.ru emphasized the presence of distinguished guests, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, Pakistans Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates.

Spains EFE agency also devoted special attention to the parade. Its report underscored the participation of the leaders of Turkiye and Pakistan in the ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of Victory in the Second Garabagh War. The coverage focused on statements by the presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkiye and the prime minister of Pakistan, stressing their view that Azerbaijans Victory has opened a new chapter for peace, development, and security in the region. Swissinfo.ch in Switzerland published the same report with attribution to EFE.

Romanias Ultima-ora highlighted a key point from President Ilham Aliyevs address, quoting President Recep Tayyip Erdo?ans affirmation of Turkiyes resolute support for Azerbaijan, its people, and its army from the first day of the Patriotic War.

Moldovas reputable outlet Moldova Today devoted special attention to the joint participation of Azerbaijani, Turkish, and Pakistani armed forces in the military parade held in Baku, as well as to the speeches of the three brotherly nations leaders, the showcased military equipment, and the parades significance for strengthening regional stability. The publication emphasized: This parade is not merely a display of weapons, but the beginning of a new geopolitical reality in the region.

Bulgarias 24 Chasa highlighted President Recep Tayyip Erdo?ans remarks at the parade, including his statement that Azerbaijans Victory is a source of pride for the Turkic world and that the liberation of Karabakh carries great importance for all Turkic nations. The outlet also stressed Turkiyes active support for Azerbaijan and its army, the heroism of Azerbaijani forces, the unity of the Azerbaijani people in achieving Victory, and the progress, peace, and security now taking root in the liberated territories.

Egypts leading media organizations, including Al Shorouk, Al Ahram, and Cairo24, also provided extensive coverage of the parade in Baku. Their reports detailed the participation of high-level guests, the military equipment on display, and the joint presence of Azerbaijani, Turkish, and Pakistani forces. Egyptian media underlined the significance of the speeches by the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkiye, particularly in drawing attention to stability and regional cooperation in the South Caucasus.

International coverage extended further to include Forbes, Saudi Arabias English-language Arab News, and other outlets. A comprehensive Forbes report emphasized that the parade demonstrated Azerbaijans growing military strength, noting in particular the countrys expansion of its air and air-defense forces with state-of-the-art weapons and defense systems.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Malleville originated as a French toponymic surname during the medieval period, typically given to families who hailed from places called Malleville or similar settlements. These locations were often characterized by challenging terrain, poor soil, or unfortunate circumstances that led to the 'mal' (bad) designation. The name reflects the French tradition of using geographical features and settlement characteristics to identify family lineages. Throughout French history, bearers of this name were often associated with resilience and adaptability, having overcome the disadvantages suggested by their ancestral home's name.



During the 17th and 18th centuries, as surnames began to be used as given names in some regions, Malleville transitioned into occasional use as a masculine first name, particularly in Normandy and surrounding areas where the original place names were located. The name carries echoes of French rural history and the social mobility that allowed families to transcend their geographical origins. In contemporary French culture, it represents a connection to ancestral roots and the enduring value of perseverance through challenging circumstances.
Individuals named Maxfield are often perceived as creative, independent thinkers with a strong connection to tradition and heritage. They typically exhibit a blend of artistic sensibility and practical intelligence, combining imaginative vision with grounded decision-making. Maxfields are frequently described as thoughtful and introspective, possessing a natural curiosity about the world and a deep appreciation for beauty in both natural and man-made forms. Their connection to the name's meaning often manifests in a love for open spaces, nature, and environments that allow for freedom of expression and thought.



These individuals tend to be reliable and steadfast, with a strong sense of personal integrity and loyalty to their principles. They often excel in fields requiring both creativity and analytical thinking, demonstrating the ability to see the bigger picture while attending to important details. The name suggests someone who values authenticity and depth in relationships, preferring meaningful connections over superficial interactions. While they may appear reserved initially, Maxfields typically reveal warmth and wit to those they trust, embodying a balance of traditional values and contemporary perspectives that makes them both grounded and forward-thinking.
Those named Medb are often associated with strong leadership qualities, fierce independence, and magnetic charisma. Historical and mythological accounts depict Medb as highly intelligent, strategically brilliant, and unapologetically ambitious. She possessed remarkable determination - famously stating she would never have a husband 'without fear, without meanness, without jealousy' - reflecting her demand for equality and respect in relationships. Modern interpretations suggest individuals with this name might exhibit natural authority, persuasive communication skills, and the ability to inspire loyalty in others.



However, this powerful personality can sometimes manifest as stubbornness, competitiveness, or impatience with perceived weaknesses in others. The mythological Medb's complex nature combined sexual confidence with political acumen, suggesting that contemporary bearers of the name might balance personal magnetism with practical intelligence and a strong sense of self-worth that refuses to be diminished by others' expectations. The name carries an energy of someone who sets high standards for themselves and others, driven by a vision of what they believe is rightfully theirs to achieve or possess.
Individuals bearing the name Medredydd are typically characterized by a profound sense of connection to history and tradition, often displaying the Celtic virtues of loyalty, honor, and cultural stewardship. They tend to be natural preservers of knowledge and tradition, with a deep appreciation for their heritage and a strong sense of responsibility toward maintaining cultural continuity. This connection to the past often manifests as wisdom beyond their years and a thoughtful, contemplative approach to life's challenges. Their decision-making process typically considers both immediate circumstances and long-term implications, reflecting the Celtic understanding of time as cyclical rather than linear.



Medredydds often possess a quiet strength and resilience that enables them to navigate modern complexities while remaining grounded in traditional values. They are frequently drawn to roles that bridge past and present, such as education, cultural preservation, or community leadership. Their personality combines the Celtic warrior spirit with the bardic tradition of storytelling and memory-keeping, making them effective communicators who can articulate complex ideas with clarity and emotional resonance. While they may appear reserved initially, they form deep, lasting relationships built on mutual respect and shared values. This combination of historical awareness and contemporary adaptability makes them uniquely positioned to honor traditions while contributing meaningfully to modern society.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Menassah (more commonly spelled Menasseh) holds significant importance in Hebrew and Jewish tradition as the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The original Menasseh was the firstborn son of Joseph and Asenath, and his name reflects the biblical narrative where Joseph declares 'God has made me forget all my hardship' after his son's birth. This name represents a powerful theme of overcoming past suffering and moving forward. Throughout Jewish history, the name has been borne by prominent rabbis and scholars, most notably Menasseh ben Israel in the 17th century, who was instrumental in advocating for Jewish rights in Europe. The tribe of Menasseh was one of the largest and most powerful Israelite tribes, receiving territory on both sides of the Jordan River, symbolizing their strength and the dual nature of their inheritance.



The cultural significance extends beyond religious contexts into broader historical and social spheres. In American history, figures like Menasseh Cutler contributed to early national development, while contemporary bearers like journalist Menasseh Azure Awuni continue the tradition of impactful public service. The name carries connotations of resilience, leadership, and the ability to bridge different worldswhether geographical, cultural, or spiritual. This multifaceted significance makes Menassah a name that represents both deep tradition and adaptive strength across generations and cultures.
The name Merry carries rich symbolic meanings that extend beyond its literal definition of 'happy.' It represents the human capacity for joy even in adversity, symbolizing resilience and the choice to embrace positivity. In Christian symbolism, Merry connects to the concept of 'joy in the Lord'a deep, abiding happiness that comes from faith rather than circumstances. This makes the name emblematic of spiritual contentment and the biblical idea that 'the joy of the Lord is your strength.' The name also symbolizes light and warmth, much like a candle shining in darkness or a hearth fire gathering people together. Metaphorically, Merry represents the idea that individuals can be sources of light and comfort to others through their cheerful presence.



In seasonal symbolism, Merry is intrinsically linked to Christmas celebrations, representing hope, renewal, and the warmth of community during the darkest time of year. Like evergreen decorations that remain vibrant through winter, the name symbolizes enduring cheerfulness that isn't dependent on favorable conditions. The name also carries agricultural symbolism from its originsthe concept of a 'merry' harvest representing abundance, celebration, and gratitude for provision. Across these varied symbolic interpretations, Merry consistently represents the human yearning for and capacity to create happiness, making it a name that embodies some of our most fundamental aspirations for meaningful, joyful living.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Mikail holds profound significance in Islamic culture as one of the four archangels mentioned in the Quran, alongside Jibril (Gabriel), Israfil, and Azrael. In Islamic tradition, Mikail is responsible for overseeing natural phenomena, including rain, thunder, and vegetation, and is considered the angel of mercy and sustenance. The name appears in the Quran in Surah Al-Baqarah (2:98), establishing its divine importance. Throughout Islamic history, the name Mikail has been bestowed upon Muslim children as a way to honor this revered angel and seek his protective and nurturing qualities.



The name carries spiritual weight, connecting the bearer to celestial guardianship and divine providence. In various Muslim cultures, particularly in the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, the name Mikail has been used for centuries, often chosen by parents who wish to emphasize spiritual protection and divine connection for their sons. The name's usage reflects the deep integration of angelic figures in everyday Muslim life and the importance of celestial beings in Islamic cosmology. The continued use of Mikail across generations demonstrates the enduring relevance of traditional Islamic names that connect individuals to their faith's rich spiritual heritage.
Symbolically, Milada represents multiple layers of meaning that extend beyond its literal translation of 'my love.' It embodies the concept of enduring affection that survives challenges, much like Czech culture has persisted through historical trials. The name serves as a metaphor for national memory and the importance of preserving cultural identity against assimilation pressures. In psychological terms, it symbolizes the integration of strength and tenderness - the capacity to be both resilient and compassionate. The 'mil' root connects to broader Indo-European concepts of kindness and community, appearing in words across Slavic languages related to peace, favor, and pleasantness. Milada also carries botanical symbolism through similar-sounding Slavic words for plants that return annually, representing regeneration and the cyclical nature of life. In feminist interpretation, the name has come to symbolize women's political courage and intellectual contribution to society, particularly through its most famous bearer's legacy. It represents the idea that love - whether romantic, familial, or patriotic - requires active protection and expression rather than passive feeling.
Individuals bearing the name Mlynar are often associated with traits of practicality, reliability, and strong work ethic, reflecting the occupational roots of the name. They tend to be methodical problem-solvers who approach challenges with systematic thinking and attention to detail, much like the precise operation of a mill. There's often an inherent connection to tradition and craftsmanship, with many displaying patience and persistence in their endeavors.



The historical context of milling as both a technical skill and community service often translates into personalities that value cooperation, trustworthiness, and making tangible contributions to their communities. These individuals typically exhibit a blend of mechanical aptitude and interpersonal skills, understanding both the machinery of work and the human elements necessary for successful collaboration. The name suggests someone grounded, resourceful, and capable of transforming raw potential into practical results through diligent effort and technical knowledge.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Saint Mogue (also known as Saint Aidan of Ferns) was a 6th-century Irish saint who founded the important monastic settlement at Ferns in County Wexford. He was known for his missionary work throughout Leinster and is particularly venerated in counties Wexford and Cavan. The name carries strong religious significance in Irish Catholicism and represents the early Christianization of Ireland. Many churches, holy wells, and schools throughout southeastern Ireland bear his name, and his feast day on January 31st is still observed in traditional Irish communities. The name symbolizes the blending of ancient Irish culture with Christian traditions that characterized early medieval Ireland.



The cultural importance of Mogue extends beyond religious contexts to represent Irish identity and resilience. During periods of English colonization and religious persecution, the name served as a subtle marker of Catholic faith and Irish heritage. In local folklore, Saint Mogue is credited with numerous miracles and is often invoked for protection and healing. The continued use of the name, particularly in its traditional heartlands, demonstrates the enduring power of local saints in Irish cultural memory and the importance of maintaining connections to early Irish Christian history.
The Embassy of Azerbaijan in Slovakia held an event in Bratislava dedicated to the celebration of 8 November  Victory Day, bringing together members of the Azerbaijani community, as well as diplomats from brotherly Turkiye and Kazakhstan.

According to Azernews, the event began with a minute of silence in memory of all the martyrs who heroically fought in the Patriotic War and sacrificed their lives for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijans Ambassador to Slovakia, Vusal Abdullayev, stated that under the leadership of the Victorious Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President Ilham Aliyev, the valiant Azerbaijani Army put an end to 30 years of historical injustice and granted the nation a glorious Victory, inscribing a golden chapter in the countrys history.

The ambassador noted that the Iron Fist, which became a symbol of national spirit and willpower, embodied the determination and unity of the Azerbaijani people during the Patriotic War. He also highlighted the political and moral support that brotherly Turkiye provided to Azerbaijan from the first days of the conflict.

In his remarks, the diplomat stressed that large-scale reconstruction and development work is underway in the liberated territories, and that major projects are being implemented within the framework of the Great Return program. He emphasized that the Joint Declaration signed in Washington in August 2025 holds historic significance for the future development and prosperity of the South Caucasus region.

Ambassador Abdullayev added that Azerbaijans glorious Victory is the logical outcome of the wise and forward-looking policy founded by National Leader Heydar Aliyev and successfully continued by President Ilham Aliyev. He noted that the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of Azerbaijan coinciding with the 5th anniversary of the Great Victory makes 2025, celebrated as the Year of the Constitution and Sovereignty, even more meaningful.

Erkan Ozoral, Turkiyes Ambassador to Slovakia and former Ambassador to Azerbaijan during the Patriotic War, stated in his remarks that Armenias occupation of Azerbaijani territories had long been a wound not only for Azerbaijan but for the entire Turkic world. He reiterated that brotherly Turkiye has always supported Azerbaijans just cause and conveyed his sincere congratulations on the historic Victory. He added that Azerbaijani-Turkish brotherhood, built on the principle of One Nation, Two States, continues to make an important contribution to transforming the South Caucasus into a region of peace and stability.

Following the speeches, a video dedicated to Azerbaijans glorious Victory was screened.

The cultural part of the event featured a concert program performed by musician Ruhulla Aziz (kamancha), presenting works by the great Azerbaijani composer Uzeyir Hajibeyli. Musical pieces from the cultures of brotherly Turkiye and Kazakhstan were also performed.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name More has deep cultural roots in both French and English history, originally deriving from the Old French word 'more' meaning 'Moor' or 'dark-skinned person.' This reflects the medieval European encounters with North African Moors during the Crusades and the Islamic Golden Age. In England, the name gained prominence through the influential More family, particularly Sir Thomas More, whose legacy as a statesman, philosopher, and Catholic martyr established the name as one associated with intellectual rigor, moral conviction, and political integrity.



The name carries connotations of wisdom, steadfastness, and principled resistance, shaped by Thomas More's famous refusal to compromise his religious beliefs even at the cost of his life. Throughout European history, the name has been associated with scholarly pursuits, political leadership, and moral philosophy, creating a cultural legacy that emphasizes the importance of conscience and intellectual honesty. The name's French origins connect it to medieval European cultural exchanges and the complex history of Christian-Muslim relations during the Middle Ages.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Muhammad holds unparalleled significance in Islamic culture as the final prophet and messenger of God in Islam. Born in Mecca in 570 CE, he received revelations from God through the angel Gabriel, which were compiled into the Quran. His life, teachings, and actions (Sunnah) form the foundation of Islamic law, ethics, and social norms. The name Muhammad is considered the most blessed and honored name in Islam, and Muslims often name their sons Muhammad as an expression of love and respect for the Prophet, hoping their children will embody his noble characteristics.



The name carries deep religious reverence and is often accompanied by the honorific 'Peace Be Upon Him' (PBUH) when referring to the Prophet. In many Muslim cultures, naming a child Muhammad is seen as bringing blessings to the family and is believed to influence the child's character positively. The name's prevalence across the Muslim world, from Morocco to Indonesia, reflects the universal nature of Islam and the profound impact of the Prophet's message on diverse cultures and societies. This cultural significance extends beyond religious boundaries, as the name represents ideals of justice, compassion, and moral excellence that resonate universally.
Individuals named Muhanned are typically associated with a personality profile that combines strength, integrity, and protective instincts. The sword symbolism suggests someone who is decisive and capable of cutting through complexity to reach clear solutions. They often exhibit natural leadership qualities, showing confidence in decision-making and reliability in times of crisis. This name carries expectations of courage and the ability to stand firm in the face of challenges, much like a sword that remains unyielding. Muhanneds are often perceived as people who can be depended upon to defend others and uphold principles, making them natural protectors in their personal and professional relationships.



Beyond mere strength, the name also implies wisdom and restraintthe understanding that true power lies in controlled application rather than reckless force. Muhanneds are expected to balance their assertive nature with compassion, embodying the concept of the warrior who fights for justice rather than engaging in needless conflict. This creates a personality that is both formidable and principled, capable of strong action but guided by moral compass. The combination of these traits often results in individuals who are respected for their judgment, valued for their loyalty, and trusted for their ability to navigate difficult situations with both strength and wisdom. They tend to be solution-oriented people who approach problems with directness and clarity.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Muir occupies a significant place in Scottish cultural identity as a topographical surname that reflects the nation's rugged landscape. Originating from the Gaelic 'mor' meaning moor or marsh, it identified families living near Scotland's characteristic moorlands, particularly in regions like Ayrshire. The name gained prominence through historic Scottish families such as the Muirs of Rowallan, who trace their lineage to the 12th century. During the Scottish Enlightenment, the Muir name became associated with intellectual and political achievement, most notably through Thomas Muir, the political reformer known as 'The Scottish Martyr' for his advocacy of democratic rights.



The cultural significance of Muir expanded globally through figures like John Muir, the renowned naturalist who brought Scottish values of land stewardship and wilderness appreciation to American conservation. This connection to environmentalism has made the name symbolic of both Scottish heritage and ecological awareness. The name continues to represent Scottish resilience, connection to nature, and intellectual tradition, serving as a bridge between Scotland's past and contemporary values of environmental conservation and cultural preservation. Its evolution from surname to given name reflects the ongoing relevance of Scottish cultural identity in the modern world.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Mukamutara occupies a unique space in Egyptian cultural history, reflecting the sophisticated social structures and naming conventions of ancient civilization. In a society where names were believed to hold magical properties and determine one's destiny, 'Muka-' prefix names carried particular weight. These names served as constant reminders of one's place in the familial and social hierarchy, while also functioning as protective charms that connected the bearer to ancestral spirits. Archaeological evidence from tomb inscriptions and royal annals indicates that women bearing such names often played crucial roles in maintaining political alliances through strategic marriages, serving as living bridges between powerful families and regions.



The cultural practice of naming daughters after their paternal lineage ('daughter of...') was especially prevalent among nobility and royalty, where bloodlines determined succession rights and political claims. This naming tradition reinforced the partrilineal nature of Egyptian society while simultaneously elevating the status of royal women as carriers of legitimate lineage. The specific name Mukamutara suggests connection to the Mutara dynasty, which historical records indicate produced several influential administrators and regional governors during the 18th and 19th dynasties. Modern Egyptologists study these naming patterns to reconstruct family trees and understand the complex web of relationships that governed ancient Egyptian politics and society.
Mukantagara carries deep symbolic meanings that extend beyond its literal translation. The name represents the philosophical concept that true strength is forged in adversity, much like the lotus flower that blooms from muddy waters. Symbolically, it connects to the Egyptian belief in cyclical renewal - that destruction and creation are intertwined processes. The name embodies the warrior spirit not in aggression, but in protection and preservation of what is valuable. It also symbolizes the feminine principle of creation emerging from chaos, linking to the goddess Neith who wove the world into existence. In metaphorical terms, Mukantagara represents the human capacity to find beauty and purpose even in the most challenging circumstances, serving as a living reminder that periods of conflict can give birth to extraordinary resilience and innovation. The name further symbolizes the Egyptian concept of ma'at (cosmic balance), demonstrating how order can emerge from disorder and how peace often follows periods of necessary conflict, making it a name that carries both historical weight and timeless philosophical significance.
Individuals named Mutazz are typically perceived as possessing strong leadership qualities, confidence, and natural authority. They often exhibit a dignified presence that commands respect, combined with a sense of pride that stems from self-assurance rather than arrogance. These individuals tend to be determined and resilient, capable of overcoming challenges through their inner strength and perseverance. Their 'mighty' nature manifests not only in physical or professional achievements but also in their moral character and ability to protect and provide for those under their care.



Socially, Mutazz bearers are often seen as protective figures who value honor and integrity above all else. They may display a strong sense of responsibility toward family and community, with a natural inclination toward leadership roles. While they can be assertive when necessary, they typically balance this strength with wisdom and compassion. Their pride is usually tempered by humility gained through experience, making them respected figures in their social circles. The combination of these traits often leads them to positions where their natural authority and protective instincts can benefit others.
Symbolically, Nabihah represents the Islamic concept of 'noor' or divine light illuminating the human intellect, creating understanding where there was previously darkness. The name embodies the metaphorical journey from ignorance to enlightenment, reflecting the Quranic emphasis on using one's reasoning faculties to comprehend both the physical world and spiritual truths. In Islamic philosophy, intelligence is seen as a trust from God that must be cultivated and used responsibly, and Nabihah symbolizes this sacred responsibility. The name also carries connotations of guidance and leadership, as intelligent individuals traditionally light the way for their communities, much like a lighthouse guides ships through treacherous waters. Metaphorically, Nabihah represents the flowering of human potential through the combination of innate ability, education, and moral development. It symbolizes the ideal Muslim woman who balances worldly knowledge with spiritual wisdom, contributing to society while maintaining strong ethical foundations. The name's symbolic richness extends to representing the bridge between tradition and modernity, showing how timeless values can find expression in contemporary contexts.
Symbolically, Nadwah represents the powerful concept of collective intelligence and community harmony. Beyond its literal meaning of 'council,' the name embodies the metaphorical idea of a gathering place for wisdom, much like an ancient tree under which elders would meet or a oasis where travelers would share knowledge. In Islamic symbolism, it connects to the Quranic concept of shura (consultation) and the Prophetic tradition of seeking collective counsel. The name symbolizes the bridge between individual insight and community wisdom, representing the ideal that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.



Metaphorically, Nadwah can be seen as representing the convergence of diverse streams into a mighty rivereach contribution adding to the collective strength. It symbolizes the Islamic values of unity (ummah), mutual consultation, and the importance of community in individual spiritual and social development. The name also carries connotations of safety and trust, as historical nadwahs were places where people could speak openly and seek genuine counsel. In a broader sense, Nadwah represents the human need for connection, dialogue, and shared understanding in an increasingly fragmented world, making it a name rich with positive symbolic resonance for modern times.
Women named Nairi are often perceived as strong, independent, and deeply connected to their cultural roots. They typically exhibit a blend of traditional values and modern thinking, carrying themselves with dignity and grace that reflects their ancient namesake. Nairis are known for their loyalty to family and community, often serving as cultural ambassadors who preserve and celebrate Armenian traditions. Their connection to the historical Nairi lands gives them a sense of responsibility toward preserving Armenian heritage.



Nairis tend to be creative and artistic, with many excelling in music, literature, or visual arts. They possess natural leadership qualities combined with emotional intelligence, making them effective in both professional and personal relationships. Their strength is often tempered with compassion, and they're known for being reliable friends and partners who value deep, meaningful connections over superficial relationships. The historical weight of their name often inspires them to achieve excellence in their chosen fields while maintaining strong ethical principles and cultural awareness.
A festive event dedicated to November 8  Victory Day and November 9  National Flag Day was held in the German city of Gelsenkirchen. The event was organized by the Europe Azerbaijan Center (AAF) and the AzerbaijanUkraine International Cultural Bridge, with support from the Alliance of Azerbaijanis in Germany.

According to Azernews, the ceremony opened with the National Anthem of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Participants honored the memory of the heroic martyrs with a minute of silence and wished recovery to the veterans.

Zaur Aliyev, Chairman of the Europe Azerbaijan Center and a board member of the Alliance of Azerbaijanis in Germany, emphasized in his remarks that Victory Day symbolizes the restoration of historical justice and international law, as well as national unity and confidence in the future. Highlighting that the national flag is a symbol of identity and pride, he noted that thanks to the historic Victory in the Patriotic War, Azerbaijans tricolour flag now proudly waves across the country, including in Shusha, Lachin, Khojaly, and Khankendi. He stressed the importance of diaspora youth conducting educational work based on historical truths and real facts, and stated that support for such initiatives will continue.

Gunay Huseynova, Chair of the AzerbaijanUkraine International Cultural Bridge, underlined the importance of cultural cooperation and solidarity between communities. Diaspora activist Samira Karimova highlighted the crucial role of promoting facts and delivering accurate information in the media space.

A question-and-answer session followed the speeches, during which participants showed strong engagement. Souvenir gifts were presented to those who answered correctly.
Individuals named Napo are often characterized by their fluid adaptability and emotional depth, much like the ocean waves their name represents. They tend to be natural communicators who can navigate social situations with ease, possessing an innate ability to understand and respond to the emotional currents around them. These individuals typically demonstrate resilience in facing challenges, able to rise to occasions and then recede when necessary, showing wisdom in choosing their battles.



Their personality often reflects the dual nature of wavessometimes calm and gentle, other times powerful and determined. They are frequently drawn to water-related activities and often display a philosophical nature, contemplating life's rhythms and cycles with depth and insight. Their emotional intelligence and ability to 'go with the flow' make them excellent mediators and trusted friends who can weather life's storms alongside those they care about, while their persistent nature ensures they never give up on important goals or relationships.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Neno holds deep cultural significance within the Chamoru community of the Mariana Islands, particularly Guam. As a Spanish-derived term of endearment that has been fully integrated into Chamoru language and culture, it represents the complex colonial history and cultural synthesis that characterizes modern Chamoru identity. The name embodies the affectionate nature of Chamoru family relationships, where terms of endearment are commonly used as given names to express the cherished status of the child within the family and community.



The name reflects the linguistic evolution that occurred during the Spanish colonial period (1668-1898), when Spanish words were adapted and transformed within the Chamoru context. Neno exemplifies how Chamoru culture has maintained its distinct identity while incorporating external influences, creating a unique cultural expression that honors both indigenous traditions and historical encounters. In contemporary Chamoru society, the name serves as a living connection to this cultural history while maintaining its original meaning of deep affection and valued relationship.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Net (more commonly known as Neith in Greek transliteration) stands as one of the most ancient and revered deities in the Egyptian pantheon, with worship dating back to the predynastic period around 3000 BCE. As the divine mother and creator goddess, she was believed to have woven the universe into existence, representing the primordial waters of creation from which all life emerged. Her cult center at Sais in the Nile Delta became one of Egypt's most important religious sites, where she was worshipped as 'Mother of the Gods' and 'The Great Cow Who Gave Birth to Ra.'



Throughout Egyptian history, Net's significance evolved while maintaining her core identity as a warrior-protector and wise creator. She was depicted as a woman wearing the Red Crown of Lower Egypt, often holding bows and arrows, symbolizing her role as a huntress and protector. During the Late Period, her worship experienced a resurgence, and she was increasingly associated with wisdom, weaving, and the cosmic order. The famous 'Veil of Neith' inscription describes her as the one who 'came into being by herself' before all other gods, emphasizing her self-created nature and supreme authority in the Egyptian cosmological hierarchy.
Individuals named Nixkamich are typically perceived as wise, patient, and deeply connected to their heritage. They often exhibit natural leadership qualities combined with a gentle, guiding presence that others naturally respect and seek out for advice. These individuals tend to be excellent listeners who value tradition while understanding the importance of adapting to modern circumstances. Their personality often reflects a balance between strength and compassion, making them natural mediators and community builders.



These traits typically include remarkable emotional intelligence and the ability to see the bigger picture in complex situations, drawing on both traditional wisdom and contemporary understanding to navigate life's challenges. They often demonstrate a strong sense of responsibility toward their community and family, prioritizing collective wellbeing over individual ambition. The name carries expectations of maturity beyond years, with those bearing it often developing these characteristics early in life through both natural inclination and cultural expectation.
As a divine figure, Nodons is characterized by qualities of healing, protection, and mastery. He embodies the compassionate healer who restores health and wholeness to the afflicted, demonstrated through the numerous healing votives at his temple. His association with hunting suggests traits of patience, precision, and strategic thinkingqualities necessary for both successful hunting and effective healing. The marine connections attributed to him indicate a personality that is both deep and mysterious, capable of navigating emotional and spiritual depths. As a protector deity, he would exhibit strong leadership qualities, guardianship, and a sense of responsibility toward his worshippers.



The mythological transition to figures like Nuada with the silver hand suggests resilience, adaptability, and the ability to overcome physical limitations through ingenuity and divine power. These traits combine to create a complex personality of strength tempered with compassion, authority balanced with service, and earthly power connected to otherworldly wisdom. The healing aspect of his nature implies empathy, nurturing qualities, and the ability to transform suffering into wholeness, while his hunting associations point to determination, focus, and the skill to pursue goals with single-minded purpose.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Norville is an Anglo-Saxon surname that evolved into a given name, originating from Old English elements meaning 'north settlement.' The name carries strong English heritage, particularly from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire regions where it first appeared as a locational surname for people who came from northern settlements. Throughout English history, the name has been associated with landed gentry and minor nobility, particularly during the Norman and medieval periods when surnames became hereditary.



The name's evolution from surname to given name reflects the broader English naming tradition where occupational and locational surnames gradually became first names, especially during the 19th century when there was a romantic revival of Old English and Anglo-Saxon names. This transition marked a shift in English naming conventions where family heritage and geographical origins became celebrated through personal naming, making Norville part of the larger movement to preserve English cultural identity through nomenclature.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Nulte holds deep roots in Ulster's Gaelic heritage, particularly associated with the northern provinces of Ireland where it emerged as a distinctive regional name. Historically, it appears in clan records and local histories of counties Donegal, Derry, and Tyrone, often connected to families who maintained strong Gaelic traditions during periods of English influence. The name represents the resilience of Ulster's Irish identity and serves as a marker of regional pride, embodying the unique cultural blend of Gaelic, Scottish, and local traditions that characterize Northern Ireland.



Throughout centuries of political and social change, the name has persisted as a symbol of Ulster's distinct heritage, carried by individuals who maintained Irish language and customs in the face of external pressures. Its usage reflects the complex historical layers of Ulster society, where Gaelic, Planter, and modern influences have created a unique cultural landscape. The name's endurance speaks to the importance of regional identity in Irish naming traditions and the ongoing significance of geographical and clan affiliations in understanding Irish personal names.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The Nulty name holds deep significance in Irish history, particularly within Ulster where it originated as O Anltaigh. This surname represents one of the ancient Gaelic families of County Meath and surrounding areas, with strong connections to the historical Kingdom of Brega. Throughout Irish history, the Nulty family maintained strong ties to land ownership and local governance in the northeastern regions of Ireland.



During the various periods of English colonization and the Plantation of Ulster, many Nulty families remained steadfast in their Catholic faith and Irish identity, often facing significant challenges and discrimination. The name became associated with resilience and cultural preservation, with many Nultys actively participating in Irish nationalist movements and maintaining Gaelic traditions despite centuries of political and religious pressure. The Nulty legacy reflects the broader story of Ulster Irish families who navigated complex political landscapes while preserving their cultural heritage.
Women named Obax are often perceived as embodying the gentle yet resilient qualities of a flower - delicate in appearance but strong in character. They typically display grace, empathy, and natural charm that draws people to them, much like a flower attracts bees and butterflies. Their personality often combines artistic sensitivity with practical wisdom, allowing them to navigate both creative pursuits and real-world challenges with equal finesse.



Like flowers that bloom in difficult conditions, Obax-named individuals often demonstrate remarkable resilience and adaptability, able to maintain their inner beauty and strength even in challenging circumstances. They tend to be nurturing figures who bring harmony to their relationships and environments, often serving as peacemakers and sources of emotional support for those around them. This combination of gentle exterior and inner strength makes them particularly effective in leadership roles that require both compassion and determination.
Individuals named Orbart are typically perceived as ambitious, practical, and financially astute. They often demonstrate strong leadership qualities combined with a methodical approach to problem-solving. Historically associated with wealth and success, Orbarts tend to be strategic thinkers who value stability and long-term planning. Their personality often blends traditional values with innovative thinking, making them effective in both conservative business environments and entrepreneurial ventures.



Orbarts are known for their reliability and sense of responsibility, often taking on leadership roles in their communities or professions. They typically possess a calm demeanor under pressure and are respected for their sound judgment and ability to navigate complex situations with wisdom and foresight. While sometimes perceived as reserved or serious, those who know them well appreciate their dry wit and steadfast loyalty to family and close associates. The combination of practical intelligence and ethical grounding makes Orbarts natural leaders who inspire confidence in others.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Oskar has deep roots in Celtic and Norse traditions, originally derived from the Old Irish 'Osgar' meaning 'deer lover' or 'friend of deer,' though it later evolved through Norse influence to mean 'divine spear' or 'god's spear.' In Celtic mythology, the name carries warrior connotations, associated with strength, agility, and protection. The name gained significant popularity in the 19th century following the publication of James Macpherson's 'Ossian' poems, which romanticized Celtic legends and heroes. Throughout European history, Oskar has maintained its association with artistic and intellectual figures, particularly in German-speaking countries where it became a symbol of creative expression and cultural sophistication. The name's enduring appeal lies in its blend of warrior strength and artistic sensitivity, making it a popular choice across various European cultures.



In modern contexts, Oskar continues to represent a bridge between traditional values and contemporary sensibilities. The name's Celtic origins connect it to ancient warrior traditions while its adaptation across European cultures demonstrates its versatility and enduring appeal. Notable historical figures bearing the name have contributed to its association with courage, innovation, and cultural leadership. The name's journey through different eras and regions reflects the dynamic nature of cultural exchange in Europe, serving as a testament to how names can preserve historical connections while adapting to modern preferences.
Individuals named Osweald are typically perceived as possessing strong leadership qualities combined with deep spiritual conviction. They often exhibit natural authority and confidence, tempered by a sense of moral responsibility and ethical grounding. This combination makes them effective leaders who inspire loyalty and respect. Their 'divinely powerful' namesake suggests someone who approaches challenges with both practical strength and spiritual insight, often serving as moral compasses in their communities or professions.



They tend to be principled, determined individuals who balance ambition with compassion, and are frequently drawn to roles where they can make meaningful impacts on others' lives. While they may appear reserved or serious at first, those who know them well appreciate their steadfast loyalty and deep commitment to their values. The name suggests a person who carries themselves with dignity and purpose, often assuming leadership positions naturally rather than seeking them aggressively. Their strength lies in their ability to combine decisive action with thoughtful consideration, making them particularly effective in roles requiring both practical judgment and ethical discernment.
Individuals bearing the name Ourson are typically characterized by a remarkable combination of strength and gentleness that reflects their bear-inspired origins. They tend to be naturally protective, displaying fierce loyalty to family and friends while maintaining a calm, steady presence in challenging situations. Their bear-like qualities manifest as patience and deliberationthey observe carefully before acting, but when they do commit to action, they demonstrate surprising power and determination. These individuals often possess deep emotional reserves and inner strength that may not be immediately apparent to casual observers, revealing themselves gradually through consistent reliability and quiet competence.



Beyond their protective nature, Oursons typically exhibit strong connections to nature and practical wisdom, often feeling most at home in natural settings or when engaged in hands-on work. They value authenticity and tend to be straightforward in their interactions, preferring honesty over social niceties. While they may appear solitary at times, this reflects their need for introspection rather than antisocial tendencies. Their strength is balanced by a capacity for tenderness, particularly toward those they consider vulnerable or in need of protection. This combination makes them excellent leaders who inspire trust through their consistent character and ability to navigate challenges with both power and compassion.
Individuals named Owin are typically characterized by a strong sense of determination and resilience, reflecting the name's warrior origins. They often possess natural leadership qualities and a protective instinct toward those they care about, combined with a youthful energy that makes them adventurous and willing to take on challenges. Owin's tend to be action-oriented rather than contemplative, preferring to solve problems through direct engagement rather than lengthy deliberation. Their fighting spirit isn't necessarily aggressive but manifests as perseverance in overcoming obstacles and standing up for their principles.



They often exhibit loyalty and commitment in relationships, mirroring the Celtic warrior's devotion to clan and kin. While they can be competitive and driven, they typically balance this strength with a sense of fairness and honor, avoiding unnecessary conflict while remaining prepared to defend what matters to them. This combination of courage and integrity makes Owin's natural leaders who inspire confidence in others. Their youthful energy often translates into creativity and innovation, as they're not afraid to challenge conventions and pioneer new approaches.
Women named Paili are often characterized by remarkable emotional depth and resilience, possessing an innate ability to transform challenging experiences into sources of strength. They typically demonstrate keen intuition and empathy, making them excellent confidantes and counselors who understand human suffering without being consumed by it. Their 'bitter' namesake often manifests as a sober realism rather than pessimism, allowing them to navigate life's difficulties with practical wisdom. Pailis tend to be deeply introspective individuals who value authenticity in relationships.



These women often approach life with a philosophical perspective, balancing their understanding of life's hardships with genuine appreciation for its joys. While they may appear serious initially, they frequently reveal surprising warmth and loyalty to those they trust. Their emotional intelligence enables them to provide profound support to others during difficult times, and they often serve as pillars of strength in their communities. The name's association with bitterness translates not to negative personality traits but to a mature understanding that life contains both sweet and bitter elements, and that wisdom lies in embracing this complexity.
As an Arthurian knight, Passebreul would embody the classical chivalric virtues that defined the ideal medieval warrior. His personality would likely reflect courage tempered by wisdom, loyalty to his sovereign, and adherence to the complex code of honor that governed knightly behavior. Given his position as a supporting character rather than a central hero, he might be characterized by reliability and consistency rather than dramatic flair or revolutionary thinking. This suggests a personality grounded in tradition and duty, someone who understands and accepts his role within the larger structure of Arthurian society. The very obscurity of his character in modern retellings hints at a knight who performed his obligations competently without seeking the legendary status that often came with more dramatic or controversial actions. This portrayal aligns with the medieval understanding of nobility as encompassing both martial excellence and social responsibility, where even knights who never achieved great fame were essential to maintaining the stability and honor of the realm.
Individuals bearing the name Petronille are often characterized by their remarkable stability and inner strength, living up to the name's meaning of 'rock.' They typically possess a calm, grounded demeanor that makes them natural anchors in their social and professional circles. Petronilles are known for their practical wisdom and methodical approach to problem-solvingthey don't make decisions lightly, but once committed, they display unwavering determination. Their reliability makes them sought-after friends and colleagues, as they consistently follow through on commitments and provide steadfast support during crises.



Despite their solid exterior, Petronilles often harbor deep emotional intelligence and sensitivity. They may appear reserved initially, but this reflects their thoughtful nature rather than aloofness. Once trust is established, they reveal warm, loyal personalities with strong protective instincts toward loved ones. Their combination of practicality and empathy makes them excellent mediators and counselors. However, their rock-like qualities can sometimes manifest as stubbornness or resistance to change, particularly when they perceive proposed changes as threatening stability or tradition. Overall, Petronilles bring a sense of permanence and reliability to every environment they inhabit, serving as the foundation upon which others can build.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Pierre stands as one of the most culturally significant names in the French-speaking world, serving as the Gallic incarnation of a name that spans multiple civilizations and millennia. Its cultural importance begins with its biblical origins, where Jesus renamed Simon as Peter, declaring 'you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.' This established the name as symbolic of foundation and leadership throughout Christian Europe. In France specifically, Pierre became embedded in national identity through centuries of saints, kings, and commoners bearing the name. The historical significance is evident in landmarks like Saint-Pierre churches found throughout France and its territories. During the Age of Enlightenment, philosophers like Pierre Bayle carried the name into intellectual circles, while the French Revolution saw Pierre becoming a name of the people rather than just the aristocracy. In contemporary culture, the name maintains its prestige while adapting to modern sensibilities, representing a bridge between France's rich historical legacy and its dynamic present.
Individuals named Pishachi are often perceived as possessing intense, mysterious personalities with strong intuitive abilities. They tend to be deeply introspective, with a natural inclination toward exploring the hidden aspects of life and human nature. Their presence is typically commanding, and they may exhibit a certain magnetic quality that draws others to them while maintaining an air of enigma.



These individuals often demonstrate remarkable resilience and independence, showing little concern for conventional social expectations. They possess sharp analytical minds and can be fiercely protective of those they care about, though they may struggle with trust issues. Their emotional depth allows them to understand complex human motivations, making them excellent judges of character, but they may occasionally withdraw into solitude to process their intense perceptions of the world around them.
Individuals named Poni are often perceived as natural mediators and balanced personalities, reflecting their position as second-born children in traditional Bari culture. They typically demonstrate strong diplomatic skills, able to navigate between different perspectives and find common ground in conflicts. Many Poni-named individuals exhibit reliability and consistency, serving as stabilizing forces within their social circles and families. Their intermediate birth position often translates into excellent teamwork abilities and adaptability, making them valuable collaborators who can both lead and follow as situations demand.



Beyond their mediating qualities, those named Poni frequently develop strong observational skills and emotional intelligence from their bridging role between siblings. They tend to be thoughtful decision-makers who consider multiple viewpoints before acting, and they often excel in roles requiring patience and understanding. While they may not seek the spotlight like firstborns, they possess quiet confidence and the ability to support others effectively. Their personality often blends traditional values with practical adaptability, making them well-suited to navigate both conservative and progressive environments while maintaining their core identity and principles.
Nineveh Governor and Assyrian Church Leaders Discuss Security

In a significant step toward improving the situation of Iraq's Christian population, Nineveh Governor Abdul Qader al-Dakhil met with Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Timotheus Mousa al-Shamani, head of the Diocese of Mor Mattai Monastery and Honorary President of the Assyrian Council in Bartella (Baritle).

The meeting was attended by a delegation of priests, former Iraqi MP Raed Ishaq Matti, and Assyrian Council President in Baritle Sabah Abdul Ahad Tuma. Discussions centered on the status of Christians in Nineveh Plains, with particular attention to local government plans to secure their return to Mosul and towns across the region.

Governor al-Dakhil reaffirmed his administration's commitment to strengthening Nineveh's religious and cultural diversity and to preserving its social fabric, emphasizing that Christians are "an indigenous and integral component" of the governorate.

Archbishop al-Shamani expressed his appreciation for the governor's ongoing support for Christian communities and his efforts to rehabilitate places of worship and promote stability in the province.

In a related development, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani received Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Mosul and its Environs Mar Benedict Younan Hinno and his delegation in Baghdad.

During the meeting, the prime minister stressed that his government remains committed to enhancing security and coexistence among all Iraqis and to safeguarding the rights of all components of society, including Christians. He described Iraq's Christians as "indigenous citizens, respected by all," and praised their historic role in promoting coexistence and peace as an inseparable part of Iraq's national identity.

The Christians of Mosul, particularly the Assyrian communities, endured brutal persecution under the Islamic State (ISIS) when the extremist group seized the city between 2014 and 2015. They were given an ultimatum to convert to Islam, pay the jizya tax, flee, or face death. ISIS imposed a 36-hour deadline, beginning at dawn on Friday, 18 July 2014, forcing thousands to flee their ancestral homes.

Mounther Sabah, head of the Assyrian Tribal Council in Nineveh Plains, described the suffering of the displaced to DW's Iraq Today magazine:

"ISIS took all their money, jewelry, cars, and even their identification documents. We hosted them in our homes from Alqosh to Hamdaniya, in Bartella, Qaraqosh, Karamlesh, Ba'shiqa, Tel Kaif, Batmaya, and Mor Mattai Monastery. The number of displaced people reached about 20,000."

The mass displacement marked one of the most devastating demographic shifts in the region's modern history. The ancient city of Mosul, inhabited by Assyrians since 1000 BC, was left desolate -- its once-vibrant neighborhoods emptied, its churches silent, and its streets shrouded in darkness.
Individuals named Qays are typically perceived as strong-willed, determined, and principled. They possess a natural leadership quality and are known for their unwavering commitment to their beliefs and values. This firmness of character often manifests as reliability and trustworthiness, making them people others naturally turn to in difficult situations. Their resolute nature can sometimes be perceived as stubbornness, but it usually stems from deeply held convictions rather than mere obstinacy.



Qays often exhibits passionate and intense emotions, particularly in matters of love, loyalty, and justice. They tend to be deeply romantic and devoted in relationships, sometimes to the point of obsession, reflecting the legendary character of Majnun Layla. Their strong sense of honor and duty drives them to protect those they care about and stand up for what they believe is right. While they can be serious and focused, they also possess a poetic and artistic side, often expressing themselves through creative outlets. Their combination of strength and sensitivity makes them complex, compelling individuals who leave lasting impressions on those they encounter.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Qutuz carries immense cultural significance primarily through Sultan Saif ad-Din Qutuz, whose leadership during the Mongol threat in the 13th century represents a defining moment in Islamic history. His victory at the Battle of Ain Jalut marked the first substantial defeat of the Mongol Empire and prevented their advance into Egypt and North Africa, effectively preserving the core territories of Islamic civilization. This historical achievement transformed the name into a symbol of resistance, strategic brilliance, and the defense of faith against existential threats.



In Islamic historical memory, Qutuz embodies the ideal of selfless leadership and the willingness to sacrifice personal power for communal survival. His story is taught as an example of how unity and faith can overcome even the most formidable enemies. The name continues to resonate in Muslim communities as a reminder of a pivotal historical turning point and serves as an inspiration for leadership in times of crisis, representing the virtues of courage, determination, and strategic thinking in service of higher principles.
Individuals named Radolph typically exhibit a fascinating duality of character that reflects the name's etymological roots. The 'counsel' aspect manifests as exceptional analytical abilities, strategic thinking, and natural wisdom in decision-making. These individuals are often the quiet centers in social groups, observing carefully before offering insights that prove remarkably prescient. Their thoughtfulness makes them excellent problem-solvers who consider multiple perspectives before reaching conclusions.



Complementing this intellectual depth is the 'wolf' element, which provides strong protective instincts, fierce loyalty to loved ones, and courageous action when needed. Radolphs are known for their reliability in crises and their willingness to defend those who cannot defend themselves. This combination creates personalities that are both reflective and decisivepeople who may take time to consider options but once committed, pursue their goals with unwavering determination. They often excel in professions requiring both intellectual rigor and moral courage, such as law, education, religious leadership, or community organizing.
Individuals bearing the name Rayce often exhibit a distinctive blend of intellectual depth and protective strength that reflects their name's meaning of 'wise protector.' They typically demonstrate natural leadership qualities combined with a thoughtful, analytical approach to problem-solving. Rayce personalities are often characterized by their ability to remain calm under pressure and their tendency to think situations through carefully before acting. This measured approach, combined with their innate protective instincts, makes them particularly effective in crisis situations where both quick thinking and emotional stability are required.



In social contexts, Rayce individuals often become the 'go-to' person for advice among friends and colleagues, naturally fulfilling the 'counselor' aspect of their name's meaning. They tend to form deep, loyal relationships and are known for their reliability and integrity. While they can be reserved initially, once trust is established, they reveal a warm, caring nature with strong protective feelings toward those they care about. Their combination of intelligence, strength, and compassion often leads them toward careers in law, education, counseling, protective services, or leadership positions where they can guide and protect others while exercising their analytical abilities.
Individuals named Rive typically exhibit a personality that mirrors the fluid yet stable nature of shorelines. They often possess a remarkable balance between introspection and outward engagement, much like a riverbank that both contains and interacts with flowing waters. Rives tend to be deeply intuitive and emotionally aware, with an innate understanding of boundaries and transitions in relationships. Their presence often brings a calming, grounding energy to social situations, while maintaining an openness to new experiences and perspectives.



These individuals frequently demonstrate creative problem-solving skills and adaptability, able to navigate changing circumstances with grace and resilience. Like the shore that withstands tides and seasons, Rives typically show remarkable emotional endurance and the ability to support others during turbulent times. They often excel in roles requiring mediation, artistic expression, or environmental awareness, bringing a unique perspective that bridges different worlds or ideas. Their natural curiosity about life's flow and boundaries makes them excellent observers and thoughtful contributors to any community.



In professional settings, Rives often become the stabilizing force in dynamic environments, providing both structure and flexibility when needed. Their name-inspired connection to natural rhythms often translates into excellent timing and instinct for when to hold firm and when to adapt. This combination of steadfastness and fluidity makes them valued friends, partners, and colleagues who can weather life's changes while helping others find their footing.
Individuals bearing the name Roche typically exhibit personality traits that reflect their name's stony origins - they are often perceived as exceptionally reliable, emotionally stable, and possessing remarkable inner strength. Like geological formations that withstand centuries of weathering, Roche individuals demonstrate resilience in facing life's challenges, often serving as anchors for their families and communities. Their practical, grounded nature makes them excellent problem-solvers who approach difficulties with methodical determination rather than impulsive reactions. While sometimes perceived as stubborn or resistant to change, this steadfastness often proves valuable in maintaining consistency and tradition. Roche personalities tend to be deeply loyal, building relationships that endure through time and circumstance. They often excel in leadership roles during crises, providing the stability others need when facing uncertainty. Their quiet confidence and dependability make them sought-after friends and colleagues, though they may need to consciously cultivate flexibility to balance their natural inclination toward permanence. The cumulative effect of these traits creates individuals who embody the metaphorical strength of their name - unshakeable foundations upon which others can depend.
Women named Romaine are typically associated with a distinctive blend of classical elegance and practical intelligence. They often possess a natural authority and organizational ability that reflects the administrative genius of their Roman namesake. Romaines tend to be methodical thinkers who approach problems with logical precision, much like Roman engineers planning aqueducts or roads. At the same time, they frequently exhibit artistic sensitivity and appreciation for beauty, creating a balanced personality that combines analytical and creative strengths.



In social settings, Romaines are often perceived as sophisticated and well-spoken, with a communication style that is both clear and persuasive. They tend to be natural leaders who inspire confidence through their competence and reliability. Many Romaines develop strong interests in history, architecture, or classical studies, reflecting their name's heritage. They typically value education and lifelong learning, often becoming experts in their chosen fields. Despite their classical associations, modern Romaines are usually forward-thinking individuals who respect tradition while embracing innovation. Their strength of character is often complemented by a warm, engaging personality that makes them both respected and well-liked.
In contemporary naming trends, Roman has experienced a remarkable renaissance, becoming increasingly popular across Spanish-speaking countries and internationally. The name consistently ranks among the top 100 baby names in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile, reflecting its enduring appeal. Modern parents are drawn to Roman for its strong, classic sound that works well in both formal and casual contexts. The name's popularity has been amplified by celebrity influence, with famous actors, athletes, and public figures choosing it for their children. In the United States, Roman has climbed steadily in popularity charts, recently breaking into the top 50 names for boys. Its cross-cultural compatibility makes it equally suitable for families in Madrid, Bogota, or Los Angeles, while its easy pronunciation in multiple languages contributes to its global appeal. The name successfully bridges traditional values with contemporary style, offering parents a meaningful yet modern choice that honors historical legacy while feeling fresh and relevant.
The symbolic meanings of Roshin extend far beyond its literal translation as 'light,' encompassing rich layers of metaphorical significance drawn from Hindu philosophy and universal human experience. Symbolically, Roshin represents the eternal struggle between knowledge and ignorance, wisdom and foolishness, consciousness and unconsciousness. In spiritual contexts, it symbolizes the 'inner light' of self-awareness that guides individuals toward enlightenment and self-realization, echoing the Upanishadic concept of 'Atman' or the true self. The name also carries associations with divine guidance and protection, reminiscent of the protective flame that ancient sages believed warded off negative energies.



Metaphorically, Roshin represents hope in darkness, clarity in confusion, and guidance in uncertainty. It symbolizes the spark of creativity that ignites innovation and the flame of determination that persists through challenges. In relationship contexts, the name suggests someone who brings warmth and illumination to others' lives, much like how physical light enables growth and reveals beauty. The cyclical nature of light  appearing each dawn after the darkness of night  makes Roshin symbolic of resilience, renewal, and the promise that difficult periods will eventually give way to brighter times. This multi-layered symbolism makes the name particularly powerful for parents seeking to imbue their child's identity with positive, enduring values.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Ruadhagan holds deep significance in Irish culture as a name that celebrates the distinctive physical trait of red hair, which has been both revered and mythologized in Celtic traditions. The name derives from the Old Irish 'ruad' meaning 'red' combined with the diminutive suffix '-agan', creating the meaning 'little red-haired one'. In ancient Ireland, red hair was often associated with the Otherworld and supernatural beings, with many mythological figures like the warrior Cu Chulainn being described as having red hair that would stand on end during battle fury. The name appears in early medieval Irish annals and genealogies, particularly among learned families and monastic communities where literacy and record-keeping preserved such traditional names through centuries of cultural change.



During the Gaelic Revival of the 19th and 20th centuries, names like Ruadhagan gained renewed importance as symbols of Irish identity and resistance to cultural assimilation. The name's persistence through periods of English domination represents the resilience of Irish language and traditions. In contemporary Ireland, Ruadhagan serves as a marker of cultural pride and connection to ancestral roots, particularly as global interest in Celtic heritage continues to grow. The name's specific association with red hair also connects to modern discussions about genetic uniqueness, as Ireland has the highest percentage of natural redheads in the world, making Ruadhagan both a personal identifier and a cultural emblem.
Assyrian Party Boycotts Iraq's Parliamentary Elections

As Iraq prepares for its parliamentary elections on 11 November, the Beth Nahrain Patriotic Union (Huyodo Bethnahrin Athroyo, HBA) announced it will boycott the vote, declaring that Iraq's political system no longer represents its "original components" and that the electoral process has been "hijacked" by dominant political blocs.

In a detailed interview, Yousef Yaqoub Matti, a senior member of the Bethnahrin National Council (Mawtbo Umthoyo d'Bethnahrin, MUB) and former president of the HBA, explained the reasoning behind the boycott.

"The quota for our Assyrian people was a constitutional right established in 2005," Matti said. "It was the product of decades of struggle and a symbol of recognition in the new federal, democratic Iraq. Yet over time, that right was stripped of its essence and turned into a tool of manipulation."

According to Matti, the first violation occurred when the Iraqi Parliament redefined the community's reserved seats as belonging to the "Christian component," erasing the explicitly ethnic designation enshrined in the constitution. "That change reduced a national identity to a religious label," he said. "We are not merely a faith community; we are an indigenous people of this land."

He called the move a deliberate attempt to "empty the community of its national character," describing it as "the first injustice and a breach of the constitution."

The former HBA President accused major Kurdish and Shia parties of exploiting minority quotas by mobilizing their own voters to install proxy candidates. "This practice destroyed the meaning of the quota," Matti said. "Representation became a facade managed by the major blocs."

Legal Failures and Political Exclusions

Matti also criticized both the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) and Parliament for failing to enact safeguards ensuring that minority seats are filled by genuine representatives of their communities. "There is no mechanism to ensure that only members of the Assyrian community vote for their candidates," he said. "The quota has become vulnerable to outside interference."

Tensions reached a breaking point when several Assyrian candidates were disqualified in what the HBA described as politically motivated exclusions. Among them was Issam Behnam Matti, former district-mayor of Baghdede in the Nineveh Plains, who was barred from running due to "technical reasons." The commission reportedly claimed that his documents could not be processed because forms were sent abroad for printing.

"Such an explanation is absurd," Matti said. "If it was a technical delay, why not leave his slot open? Instead, qualified candidates were removed under vague pretexts -- often based on unverified accusations from the Accountability and Justice Commission."

Although the Federal Cassation Court later ruled the disqualifications unlawful, Matti said the electoral commission refused to reinstate the candidates. "That is a blatant disregard for judicial authority," he argued. "In any democracy, failure to implement a court order carries both legal and moral consequences."

Matti emphasized that the boycott is not a retreat but "a forced withdrawal." He likened it to "a child withdrawing in silence after repeated mistreatment."

"When every legal and political door is closed, abstaining becomes an act of protest," he said.

Four Assyrian parties have joined the boycott, though some individual members are running independently. "We cannot forbid anyone from exercising their constitutional rights," Matti said. "But as institutions, we cannot legitimize an electoral process that marginalizes our people."

He also cited the case of HBA President Joseph Sliwa, a prominent Assyrian candidate, who was reportedly accused of having a criminal ruling issued against him. "They claimed there was a court verdict, but when we asked to see it--nothing existed," Matti explained. "If such a judgment truly exists, the law requires an official copy--what's called a 'judgment extract'--from the court that issued it. Otherwise, this is not law; it's politics disguised as law."

He accused the IHEC of undermining due process. "In Iraqi election law, there is no such thing as exclusion for technical or vague legal reasons," he said. "If the issue were genuinely judicial, then show the document. And if it's merely technical, then it's a national failure of administration. You cannot punish candidates because the system itself is slow or inefficient." The Federal Cassation Court later ruled that several of these exclusions were unlawful, yet, according to Matti, the electoral commission refused to reinstate the candidates. "That is a blatant disregard of judicial authority," he said. "In any democracy, failure to implement a court order carries legal and moral consequences."

The boycott has raised alarm among minority-rights advocates, who see it as another sign of Iraq's weakening pluralism. International monitors have so far remained silent, though Matti confirmed that appeals were sent to the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) and to foreign diplomatic observers.

He warned that the erosion of authentic minority representation undermines Iraq's democratic foundations. "True democracy is measured by how it protects its minorities," he said. "When that pillar collapses, what remains is democracy in name only."

Despite the current crisis, Matti voiced cautious optimism. "Our national rights are rooted in both the constitution and history," he said. "Political crises will pass, but the Assyrian presence in Iraq runs deeper than any election cycle. We will continue to work for reform -- inside or outside parliament."

As Iraq heads toward the polls, the absence of one of its most enduring Christian political movements will cast a long shadow over the credibility of the vote. For Matti and his supporters, the boycott is both a lament and a warning -- a reminder that in Iraq's fragile democracy, even constitutionally protected voices can be silenced by political design.

In his closing remarks, Matti turned directly to the Assyrian people, both inside Iraq and abroad. "Our decision to boycott is final," he said. "I want our people to understand that when your constitutional rights are taken away--when even your vote no longer carries meaning--then participation becomes meaningless." He urged members of the diaspora to use their voices to raise awareness. "To those outside Iraq--spread the word," he said. "If you can't vote because you were displaced by war, then make your protest heard. Post, write, publish. Flood the internet with truth. Every Assyrian, has a role to play, even from afar."
Cultural & Historical Significance

Rufford's cultural significance is deeply rooted in English history and geography. The name first emerged as a place name in medieval England, derived from Old English elements 'ruh' (rough or red) and 'ford' (river crossing), specifically describing locations where rivers could be crossed and the soil had a reddish hue. This practical origin reflects the Anglo-Saxon tradition of naming places by their physical characteristics. The name gained prominence through several important historical sites, most notably Rufford Abbey in Nottinghamshire, established in 1146 as a Cistercian monastery that became a center of religious life, agriculture, and local economy for centuries. The dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII transformed these religious sites into secular estates, with Rufford properties passing to noble families who continued to shape local history.



The name's transition from place name to personal name occurred during the Victorian era, when the romanticization of medieval history and the practice of using surnames as given names became fashionable. Families with connections to Rufford locations in Nottinghamshire, Lancashire, and other counties began using the name to honor their geographical heritage. This practice reflected broader Victorian trends of celebrating English history and family lineage. The name Rufford thus carries layers of cultural meaning - from its practical geographical origins to its religious medieval associations, and finally to its Victorian adoption as a marker of heritage and distinction. This rich historical tapestry makes Rufford a name that embodies centuries of English cultural evolution.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Sahkyo holds profound cultural significance within Navajo tradition as it embodies the deep connection between the Dine people and the natural world. The name derives from the mink, an animal respected for its intelligence, adaptability, and survival skills in the challenging desert environment. In Navajo cosmology, animals are considered sacred relatives who possess unique wisdom that humans can learn from, making animal names particularly meaningful. The naming of a child with an animal name like Sahkyo is not merely descriptive but carries spiritual significance, as it connects the individual to specific qualities and teachings associated with that animal. This practice reflects the Navajo belief in the interconnectedness of all life and the importance of maintaining balance with nature.



The cultural importance of Sahkyo extends beyond its literal meaning to encompass traditional values of resourcefulness, resilience, and observational wisdom. In a culture where survival has historically depended on careful observation of natural patterns and adaptation to harsh conditions, the qualities embodied by the mink are highly valued. The name serves as a reminder of the importance of being alert, strategic, and adaptable while maintaining one's cultural identity. For contemporary Navajo families, choosing traditional names like Sahkyo represents both cultural preservation and the transmission of important values to new generations, ensuring that traditional knowledge and respect for the natural world continue to guide the community.
Women named Sahlah typically exhibit personality traits that beautifully reflect their name's meaning of smoothness and gentle flow. They often possess a natural calmness and emotional intelligence that allows them to navigate life's complexities with remarkable grace. Their communication style tends to be diplomatic and thoughtful, making them excellent mediators who can resolve conflicts by finding common ground. The 'soft' aspect of their name manifests in their compassionate nature and strong nurturing instincts, often making them the emotional anchors in their families and social circles. However, this softness is complemented by an inner resilience that enables them to withstand challenges while maintaining their gentle demeanor. Sahlahs frequently demonstrate adaptability and flexibility, flowing with life's changes rather than resisting them, which contributes to their overall sense of peace and contentment. Their intuitive understanding of people and situations often makes them trusted confidantes and valuable team members in both personal and professional settings. These combined traits create individuals who bring harmony and ease to their environments while pursuing their goals with quiet determination.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Saihah holds profound cultural significance within Islamic tradition, representing the ideal of a woman who embodies goodness and usefulness to her community. The name's Arabic roots connect it to core Islamic values where being beneficial to others is considered a form of worship. Historically, Muslim scholars have emphasized the importance of choosing names with positive meanings, as names are believed to influence character and destiny. Saihah exemplifies this tradition, serving as a constant reminder to the bearer and those around her of the importance of contributing positively to society.



In various Muslim cultures, the name Saihah has been passed down through generations, often given to daughters with the hope that they would grow to become sources of blessing and benefit. The name appears in Islamic literature and poetry as a symbol of virtuous womanhood, combining traditional values with practical contribution. During the Golden Age of Islam, names with meanings related to knowledge, benefit, and goodness were particularly valued, and Saihah fits perfectly within this naming tradition. Today, the name continues to represent the modern Muslim woman who balances religious devotion with active participation in society.
Individuals named Salim are often perceived as calm, composed, and diplomatic personalities who naturally gravitate toward creating harmony in their surroundings. They tend to be peacemakers who avoid conflict and seek balanced solutions to problems. Their inherent sense of completeness makes them self-assured and confident individuals who approach life with measured thoughtfulness rather than impulsivity. Salims are typically reliable, trustworthy friends and family members who value deep, meaningful relationships over superficial connections.



They often possess strong analytical skills and the ability to see situations from multiple perspectives, making them excellent mediators and advisors. While they may appear reserved initially, they reveal warm, compassionate natures to those who earn their trust, embodying the peaceful essence their name represents. In professional settings, Salims are known for their integrity and methodical approach to work, often excelling in fields that require patience, diplomacy, and careful planning. Their name's meaning of 'flawless' often manifests as a pursuit of excellence rather than perfectionism, driving them to high standards in their personal and professional endeavors.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Scanlan holds significant cultural importance as an ancient Irish surname that embodies the resilience and continuity of Gaelic heritage. Originating from the O Scanlain clan in Munster, the name appears in medieval Irish manuscripts and the Annals of the Four Masters, indicating noble status and learned professions among early Gaelic society. The Scanlans were historically associated with hereditary roles as physicians, scholars, and landowners, contributing to the preservation of Irish culture and knowledge during periods of political upheaval. Following the English conquest and subsequent plantations, many Scanlan families maintained their cultural identity while adapting to changing circumstances, with some achieving prominence despite penal laws targeting Irish Catholics. The Great Famine diaspora spread the name globally, particularly to North America and Australia, where Scanlans often became community leaders while preserving Irish traditions. This historical journey makes Scanlan a powerful symbol of Irish cultural endurance, representing both the preservation of ancient heritage and successful adaptation in new environments. The name continues to serve as a connection point for diaspora communities seeking to maintain links with their Irish roots while contributing to multicultural societies.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Seaward carries significant cultural weight in maritime Christian traditions, particularly among coastal communities where the sea represented both livelihood and spiritual testing ground. Originating from Old English 's' (sea) and 'weard' (guardian), the name emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period when coastal protection was vital for survival. In Christian contexts, it invoked divine guardianship over dangerous waters, with many early bearers being sailors who attributed their survival to faith. The name became associated with maritime saints and missionaries who traveled by sea to spread Christianity. During the Age of Exploration, Seaward gained prominence among naval families and coastal clergy, symbolizing the Christian mission to navigate both physical and spiritual waters. The Victorian era saw renewed interest in the name as maritime safety improved and ocean travel became more common, though it remained relatively uncommon compared to other nature-inspired names. In contemporary times, it represents a connection to maritime heritage while embracing modern environmental consciousness.
The symbolic richness of Seeton extends far beyond its literal translation, representing profound metaphorical concepts about human existence and our relationship with the natural world. Symbolically, it embodies the concept of 'ecotones'  those fertile border regions where different ecosystems meet and create enhanced biodiversity. This makes Seeton a powerful symbol for innovation, creativity, and the generation of new possibilities through the integration of diverse elements. The name metaphorically suggests someone who operates effectively in transitional spaces, whether between cultures, disciplines, or life phases. It represents the wisdom of understanding both cultivation and wildness, structure and freedom. In psychological terms, Seeton symbolizes the integration of conscious planning with intuitive flow, much like farmers who must work with both predictable seasons and unpredictable weather. The coastal imagery evokes themes of horizon-watching, exploration, and the meeting of known and unknown territories. Environmentalists might see in the name a symbol of sustainable coexistence between human activity and natural systems. Ultimately, Seeton represents the human capacity to create meaningful lives at the intersection of tradition and innovation, stability and change, making it a name rich with symbolic potential for personal growth and environmental consciousness.
In contemporary naming practices, Shamus occupies an interesting niche as a distinctive Irish name that hasn't experienced the massive popularity surge of names like Liam or Aiden. Current usage trends show it maintaining steady but selective popularity, particularly among families with Irish heritage or those seeking names with cultural depth and historical resonance. The name saw a modest increase during the Celtic naming revival of the 1990s-2000s but remains outside the top 1000 names in the United States, ensuring its distinctive quality. Modern parents often choose Shamus as an alternative to more common Irish names, appreciating its strong masculine sound and literary associations. The name appears more frequently in regions with significant Irish-American populations, such as the Northeast United States and urban centers like Boston, New York, and Chicago. In recent years, the name has also gained traction among parents in creative and academic circles who value its historical depth and cultural significance. Its current usage reflects a balance between honoring tradition and selecting a name that stands out without being overly unusual.
Individuals named Sharif are often perceived as possessing innate dignity and strong moral principles. They tend to exhibit natural leadership qualities combined with a deep sense of responsibility toward others. Their honesty is typically unwavering, making them trustworthy companions and reliable in professional settings. Sharifs often demonstrate diplomatic skills, able to navigate complex social situations with grace and tact. They usually value tradition and family honor, while also maintaining progressive thinking when circumstances require adaptation. Their noble bearing doesn't translate to arrogance; rather, they often show genuine humility and concern for community welfare.



Many Sharifs display intellectual curiosity and cultural sophistication, appreciating art, literature, and philosophical discussions. They tend to be protective of those under their care and often assume mentoring roles naturally. While they can be traditional in their values, they're typically open-minded and fair in their judgments. The name seems to carry an expectation of excellence that many bearers internalize, driving them to achieve in their chosen fields while maintaining ethical standards. Their combination of strength and compassion often makes them respected figures in their social and professional circles.
Symbolically, Shermon represents the powerful combination of governance and craftsmanship, embodying both administrative wisdom and practical skill. The name carries the metaphorical weight of someone who can 'shear away' unnecessary complexity to reveal essential truths, much like a shearman carefully removes wool to create valuable material. As a name derived from shire administration, it symbolizes order, justice, and community stewardship - the capacity to maintain structure and fairness in social systems. The textile connection adds layers of meaning related to transformation, as raw materials become refined products through skilled work. Shermon metaphorically suggests an individual who can take raw potential and shape it into something functional and valuable. The name embodies the balance between leadership and hands-on capability, representing people who understand both the big picture and the detailed work required to achieve meaningful results. It symbolizes the enduring value of both thoughtful governance and skilled craftsmanship in building sustainable communities.
Individuals named Shideezhi are often perceived as nurturing, supportive, and family-oriented, reflecting the name's meaning of 'younger sister.' They typically exhibit strong relational skills, showing empathy and care for others while maintaining a sense of loyalty to their family and community. These individuals often serve as peacemakers and connectors within social groups, bridging gaps between different generations or perspectives. Their personality tends to balance traditional values with adaptability, allowing them to honor cultural heritage while navigating contemporary challenges. The name suggests someone who values harmony and cooperation, often putting collective well-being before individual interests.



Beyond the immediate familial connotations, those named Shideezhi often demonstrate resilience and cultural pride that comes from carrying a traditional name in modern society. They may exhibit a strong sense of responsibility toward preserving cultural traditions and supporting their community. The name carries expectations of maintaining family bonds and cultural continuity, which often translates into personalities that are both grounded and forward-looking. These individuals frequently become keepers of family stories and cultural knowledge, serving as important links between generations while adapting traditional wisdom to contemporary circumstances.
Individuals named Silviu are often perceived as having a strong connection to nature and tradition, reflecting the name's meaning of 'forest.' They typically exhibit qualities of wisdom, stability, and deep-rooted values. Many Silvius are known for their contemplative nature, often displaying patience and thoughtfulness in their decision-making processes. The name suggests someone who is reliable and grounded, much like the ancient trees in a forest that withstand the test of time. These individuals often possess a quiet strength and resilience, able to navigate challenges with grace and determination.



Their connection to the natural world often translates into practical wisdom and an ability to see the bigger picture in complex situations. Silvius are frequently described as having an old soul quality, combining traditional values with modern adaptability. They tend to be excellent listeners and observers, absorbing information before offering insights. While they may appear reserved initially, Silvius often reveal deep emotional intelligence and loyalty in their relationships. Their grounded nature makes them excellent problem-solvers who approach difficulties with calm rationality rather than emotional reactivity. The forest symbolism also suggests a person with hidden depths  someone who reveals different aspects of their personality gradually, like exploring the various layers of a dense woodland.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Sinon holds significant cultural importance primarily through its Hebrew origins as a variation of Simon, meaning 'he has heard' or 'listening.' In biblical tradition, Simon was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, known as Simon Peter, who became the foundational leader of the Christian church. This connection gives the name deep religious resonance in Judeo-Christian cultures. Historically, the name appears in Greek mythology through Sinon of Troy, the Greek soldier who played a crucial role in the Trojan War by convincing the Trojans to bring the wooden horse into their city, making the name associated with strategic cunning and persuasion in classical literature.



The name has maintained its significance across millennia, bridging ancient Hebrew traditions, classical Greek storytelling, and early Christian history, representing a fusion of cultural narratives that span the Mediterranean world. In Jewish tradition, the name connects to important historical figures like Sinon ben Gamaliel, who led the Sanhedrin during challenging times. This multifaceted cultural heritage makes Sinon a name that carries weight across multiple religious and historical contexts, appealing to those who value names with rich, cross-cultural significance.
Women named Sippora are often perceived as possessing a unique blend of strength and gentleness, much like the bird their name represents. They tend to be intuitive and observant, with a natural ability to read situations and people accurately. Their personality typically combines traditional values with independent thinking, creating individuals who respect heritage while forging their own paths. Sipporas are often described as loyal companions and supportive partners, yet they maintain a strong sense of self and are not afraid to take decisive action when necessary.



They possess a quiet confidence that doesn't need constant validation from others, and their wisdom often manifests in practical solutions to complex problems. Their communication style tends to be thoughtful and measured, preferring meaningful conversations over superficial chatter. While they can be protective of their loved ones, they also value freedom and independence, both for themselves and others. This balance makes them adaptable to various life circumstances while maintaining their core values and principles.
Symbolically, Siwili transcends its literal translation to represent complex metaphorical concepts that resonate across cultures and contexts. The fox tail symbolizes the delicate balance between visibility and discretion - knowing when to make one's presence known and when to observe quietly. It represents the wisdom of leaving minimal disturbance while moving through life's journey, suggesting environmental consciousness and thoughtful interaction with the world. In many spiritual traditions, the fox embodies transformation and the ability to move between worlds or perspectives, making Siwili symbolic of bridge-building and intercultural understanding. The tail specifically carries connotations of protection and guidance, as many indigenous stories describe fox tails as talismans that help navigate difficult paths. Metaphorically, the name suggests someone who carries ancestral wisdom while adapting to contemporary challenges, who moves with purpose and awareness, and who understands that true strength often lies in clever strategy rather than overt force. It represents the integration of instinct and intellect, nature and culture, tradition and innovation.
The Spengler name carries distinct personality associations shaped by its occupational origins and notable bearers. Typically, individuals with this surname are perceived as analytical, precise, and systematic in their approach to lifecharacteristics that mirror the meticulous nature of metalworking. There's a strong association with intellectual depth and philosophical thinking, amplified by Oswald Spengler's legacy, suggesting individuals who contemplate larger patterns and systems. Practical problem-solving abilities are another key trait, reflecting the tinsmith's need to create functional solutions from raw materials. Spenglers are often seen as reliable and enduring, with a steadfast quality that recalls the durability of their ancestors' metalcraft. Many demonstrate technical aptitude and innovation, whether in traditional trades or modern technology fields. The name also suggests a certain seriousness and depth of character, with less association with frivolity or superficiality. While these are generalized perceptions rather than deterministic qualities, they create a cultural expectation of competence, intelligence, and substantive contribution that many Spenglers either embody or react against in forming their individual identities.
Individuals named Stevyn often exhibit a distinctive blend of traditional values and innovative thinking that reflects their name's unique spelling of a classic name. They typically demonstrate strong analytical capabilities combined with creative problem-solving skills, making them effective in both structured and dynamic environments. The 'crown' meaning of their name often manifests as natural leadership qualities, though Stevyns tend to lead through collaboration and intellectual persuasion rather than authority alone. They value knowledge and continuous learning, frequently becoming experts in their chosen fields through dedicated study and practical application.



In social contexts, Stevyns are often perceived as reliable and thoughtful companions who form deep, meaningful relationships rather than numerous superficial connections. Their unique name spelling frequently correlates with an appreciation for individuality and self-expression, though balanced with respect for tradition and established systems. Emotionally, they tend to be reserved initially but demonstrate fierce loyalty and protective instincts toward those they care about. The combination of their name's royal connotations and distinctive spelling often results in individuals who are comfortable both in leadership positions and as innovative thinkers who challenge conventions when necessary.
Individuals bearing the name Strang typically exhibit a remarkable combination of inner strength and outward calm that makes them natural leaders and reliable partners. Their strength manifests not as aggression but as steady determinationthey are the anchors in stormy situations, the problem-solvers in crises, and the voices of reason in conflicts. This core stability often makes them sought-after advisors and friends who provide both practical solutions and emotional support. Their powerful presence is tempered by a strong sense of justice and fairness, leading them to champion causes they believe in and protect those who cannot protect themselves. Strangs often possess excellent strategic thinking abilities, approaching challenges with careful analysis rather than impulsive reactions. While they may take time to warm up to new people, they form deep, lasting bonds with those who earn their trust. Their combination of emotional intelligence and practical competence makes them effective in leadership roles across various fields, from business to community service to creative endeavors where strength of vision is essential.
People named Suthleah typically develop personality traits that beautifully mirror their name's pastoral origins. They often exhibit a natural calmness and stability that makes them excellent mediators and trusted confidants. Like a sun-drenched meadow, Suthleahs tend to be warm, approachable, and nurturingoften becoming the 'heart' of their social or family circles. Their connection to the earth gives them practical wisdom and patience, allowing them to approach challenges with steady determination rather than impulsive reactions. Many Suthleahs demonstrate strong caretaking instincts, whether through professional roles in education, healthcare, or environmental work, or through their personal relationships where they provide emotional shelter and growth opportunities for others. The 'south' aspect of their name often manifests as optimism and forward-thinking, helping them see potential where others see obstacles. However, like any meadow ecosystem, Suthleahs require their own periods of rest and renewal, and they thrive best in environments that respect their need for balance between giving and receiving support.
Individuals bearing the name Taidhgin are traditionally associated with a distinctive set of personality traits rooted in the name's historical meaning of 'poet' or 'philosopher.' They typically exhibit deep intellectual curiosity and a reflective nature, often approaching life with a philosophical perspective that seeks to understand underlying patterns and meanings. These individuals tend to be excellent communicators with a natural gift for language, whether through writing, speaking, or other forms of expression. Their poetic inclination often translates into high emotional intelligence, making them empathetic listeners and thoughtful advisors. While they can be introspective and value solitude for creative or intellectual pursuits, they also possess the ability to connect deeply with others through shared stories and experiences. Historically, bearers of this name were expected to demonstrate wisdom, memory, creative problem-solving, and the ability to compose under pressurequalities that continue to be associated with the name. They often balance respect for tradition with innovative thinking, serving as bridges between past wisdom and contemporary challenges. Their combination of creativity and analytical thinking makes them well-suited for roles that require both imagination and intellectual rigor.
Individuals named Takara are often perceived as having a refined and valuable presence, much like the meaning of their name. They tend to be thoughtful, appreciative of beauty in all forms, and possess a natural elegance that draws others to them. These individuals often demonstrate loyalty and depth in relationships, treating friendships and family bonds as genuine treasures. Their personality typically combines traditional values with modern sensibilities, creating a balanced character that respects heritage while embracing contemporary life.



Takaras are often described as having an inner richness that manifests in their creativity, wisdom, and ability to find meaning in everyday experiences. They tend to be protective of what they value and show remarkable resilience when facing challenges. The name suggests someone who brings light and value to any situation, much like discovering a hidden treasure, and who understands that true wealth lies in character, relationships, and personal growth rather than material possessions.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The Tally surname holds significant cultural importance in Irish history, originating from the Gaelic O Taithligh, which means 'descendant of Taithleach.' The name Taithleach itself carries dual meanings - either 'quiet, peaceful one' or 'plunderer,' reflecting the complex nature of medieval Irish society where families might have both peaceful and warrior traditions. Historically, the Tally clan was primarily associated with County Galway and surrounding regions in Connacht, where they were part of the larger tribal groupings that characterized pre-Norman Ireland.



During the period of English colonization and the suppression of Gaelic culture, many Irish families including the Tallys anglicized their names to maintain land holdings and social standing. The name represents the resilience of Irish identity through centuries of political and cultural challenges, serving as a living connection to Ireland's Gaelic past and the survival of indigenous naming traditions despite external pressures. The migration of Tally families during the Great Famine and subsequent economic hardships spread the name globally, creating diaspora communities that maintained their cultural connections while adapting to new environments.
In contemporary naming landscapes, Tavon maintains a distinctive presence as an uncommon but recognizable choice that appeals to parents seeking names with Scottish heritage that feel both grounded and contemporary. The name experienced its peak popularity in the United States during the late 1990s and early 2000s, coinciding with the rising visibility of athletes with the name, particularly in professional football. Current usage patterns show Tavon as a stable but rare selection, typically ranking outside the top 1000 names in the US but maintaining consistent usage across multiple regions. The name demonstrates particular strength in communities with Scottish-American heritage and in urban areas where its strong, single-syllable sound and distinctive quality are appreciated. Modern parents choosing Tavon often cite its balance of cultural significance and distinctive sound as key factors, along with its accessibility across different cultural contexts. The name's usage has expanded beyond its original Scottish associations to become part of the diverse American naming tapestry, while still serving as a meaningful connection to Scottish ancestry for families seeking to honor their heritage.
Individuals named Teremun are typically characterized by a strong sense of loyalty, responsibility, and deep-rooted connection to family traditions. They often exhibit natural leadership qualities combined with a thoughtful, analytical approach to problem-solving, reflecting the name's association with paternal wisdom and guidance. These individuals tend to be reliable, methodical, and possess a quiet confidence that inspires trust in others, much like the dependable nature implied by being 'loved by his father' in the stable, hierarchical structure of ancient Egyptian society.



Their personality often includes a blend of traditional values and innovative thinking, allowing them to honor heritage while adapting to modern circumstances. Teremuns typically demonstrate excellent organizational skills and a protective nature toward those they consider part of their 'extended family' or community. They may struggle with being overly self-critical or carrying excessive responsibility, but their inherent sense of duty and strong moral compass usually guides them toward balanced decisions. The name suggests someone who values knowledge, respects authority while thinking independently, and maintains deep, lasting relationships built on mutual trust and respect.
Individuals named Theodorus are often perceived as thoughtful, principled, and intellectually curious. The name carries an air of classical dignity and wisdom, suggesting someone who approaches life with careful consideration and moral integrity. They tend to be methodical in their thinking and reliable in their commitments, often excelling in fields that require both analytical skill and ethical judgment.



Typically, Theodorus personalities demonstrate a blend of traditional values and innovative thinking. They may show strong leadership qualities tempered by humility, and often possess a quiet confidence that inspires trust in others. Their name's meaning as 'gift from God' can manifest in a sense of purpose and gratitude, driving them to use their talents for meaningful contributions. While sometimes reserved in new situations, they form deep, lasting relationships and are known for their loyalty and dependability.
Individuals named Theoris typically exhibit a unique blend of intellectual curiosity and emotional depth that makes them natural scholars, leaders, and cultural preservers. They possess an innate dignity and grace that commands respect without demanding it, often becoming the moral compass in their social and professional circles. Their 'greatness' manifests through quiet competence rather than loud ambition, with a preference for substantive achievement over superficial recognition.



These personalities are characterized by their ability to synthesize different perspectives and find wisdom in tradition while embracing innovation. They often demonstrate remarkable emotional intelligence, able to navigate complex social dynamics with sensitivity and insight. Theoris-named individuals tend to be lifelong learners with particular interest in history, philosophy, and cultural studies. Their strength lies in their resilience and ability to draw lessons from the past to inform present decisions, making them valuable advisors and visionary thinkers in any field they choose to pursue.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Thermuthis represents one of the most fascinating examples of cultural syncretism in the ancient world. Originally worshipped as Renenet in predynastic Egypt, she was a fundamental agricultural deity responsible for ensuring successful harvests and protecting children. Farmers invoked her blessing for their crops, while mothers sought her protection for their newborns. Her depiction as a cobra connected her to royal power and protection, as cobras were symbols of Egyptian monarchy. The transformation to Thermuthis occurred during the Hellenistic period when Greek historians and settlers encountered Egyptian religion. Josephus, the Jewish historian writing in the 1st century AD, identified Thermuthis as the Egyptian princess who rescued Moses from the Nilecreating a bridge between Egyptian and Hebrew traditions. This adaptation demonstrates how ancient cultures reinterpreted and integrated foreign deities into their own narratives. The worship of Thermuthis was particularly strong in the Faiyum region, where she was associated with the rich agricultural lands and royal child-rearing practices. Her temples served as centers for harvest festivals and child-naming ceremonies, blending practical agricultural concerns with spiritual protection. The enduring legacy of Thermuthis shows how religious figures could transcend their original cultural contexts to become symbols of universal human concerns like nourishment, protection, and the continuity of life across generations.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Thi holds profound cultural significance in Vietnamese society as one of the most common middle names for women. Historically, 'Thi' (the formal spelling) served as a gender marker indicating female identity within the traditional naming system. This practice dates back centuries and reflects the Confucian influence on Vietnamese culture, where family and social hierarchy were emphasized. The name connects generations of Vietnamese women, creating a cultural thread that binds them to their heritage and ancestral lineage.



In contemporary Vietnam, while the mandatory use of 'Thi' has diminished, it remains widely used and carries nostalgic value for many families. The name represents both tradition and the evolving role of women in Vietnamese society. For many overseas Vietnamese communities, maintaining 'Thi' as a middle name serves as a cultural anchor, preserving identity while adapting to new environments. The name embodies the delicate balance between honoring tradition and embracing modernity that characterizes much of Vietnamese culture today.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Thutmose represents one of the most significant royal names in ancient Egyptian history, belonging to four major pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty during the New Kingdom period (c. 1550-1292 BCE). This name symbolizes the golden age of Egyptian imperialism and architectural achievement. The Thutmosid pharaohs, particularly Thutmose III, expanded Egypt's borders further than ever before, creating an empire that stretched from Nubia in the south to the Euphrates River in the north. Their reigns marked a period of unprecedented wealth, military success, and cultural flourishing that defined ancient Egypt's legacy for centuries.



The name Thutmose reflects the deep religious significance of Thoth, the ibis-headed god of wisdom, writing, and the moon. By naming their heirs 'Born of Thoth,' the pharaohs claimed divine lineage and intellectual authority, positioning themselves as both military leaders and wise rulers. The architectural achievements during the Thutmosid period, including massive temple constructions at Karnak and the Valley of the Kings tombs, demonstrate how this name became synonymous with Egyptian power, sophistication, and eternal legacy in the ancient world. The name carries the weight of Egypt's most expansive imperial period and represents the ideal of enlightened monarchy that balanced military might with cultural and religious development.
History's most enduring achievements come from cultural openness, not isolation, says US researcher in Dunhuang

09:26, November 10, 2025 By Li Hang ( Global Times

In 1987, the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, Northwest China's Gansu Province, joined UNESCO's World Heritage List. That same year, Neil Schmid, then an undergraduate at Georgetown University studying Chinese in the US, first set foot in the remote desert city. He says his bond with Dunhuang began with yuanfen, a fateful affinity.

More than thirty years later, in 2018, Schmid became the first full-time foreign researcher at the Dunhuang Academy. At the Mogao Caves, home to the world's largest and best-preserved collection of Buddhist art, his arrival brought a new international dimension to the ancient site. Since then, he has spent thousands of hours examining the caves' murals and sculptures, an experience he describes as "extremely fortunate."

"Each visit reveals something new, and the more time I spend inside them, the more I come to appreciate how these spaces were carefully crafted to engage the body, the senses, and the mind in a profound act of devotion and storytelling," Schmid told the Global Times.

In the interview, Schmid discussed his bond with Dunhuang, his research on its art and history, his outreach to global audiences, and the affection he holds for the place he now calls home.

'A crucible of innovation and creativity'

Schmid's connection to Dunhuang began decades ago in 1986, by chance, in a bookstore in the island of Taiwan. There he discovered an English translation of vernacular narratives from the hidden cache of medieval manuscripts and objects in the Mogao Caves. The endnotes, teeming with insights into the cultural worlds behind the texts, left him spellbound.

Soon afterward, he made the journey to Dunhuang, arriving there for the first time on his birthday. By coincidence, the translator of that book, which he had read about the Mogao Caves, became his PhD advisor at the University of Pennsylvania.

"Now, years later, I find myself living and working at the Dunhuang Academy, a path perhaps shaped by the Chinese concept of yuanfen, the deep affinity that binds lives and places across time and space," said Schmid.

For Schmid, the Mogo Caves are unlike any other place on Earth. The Mogo Caves is a place where visual, textual, and historical worlds converge.

"For me, this makes the Mogao Caves a kind of living laboratory, a place to test hypotheses, ask new questions about medieval life, and immerse oneself in the details of past worlds and lost ways of living on the Silk Road," he said.

His current research "gets at the heart of the Mogao Caves and Dunhuang as a site shaped by centuries of cultural, religious, and artistic exchanges."

One of his current studies centers on a 10th-century mural in Mogao Cave 98 depicting the King of Khotan, a nearby kingdom located in what is now southern Xinjiang, whose rulers once forged alliances with Dunhuang.

According to Schmid, this portrait is remarkable for its stunning details, which present not only notions of Chinese kingship but also strikingly showcase Persian and Central Asian symbols and concepts of kingship and divine authority.

In Cave 25, he discovered a familiar gesture in one of the murals, a hand pose that strikingly resembles that in Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi. The Dunhuang version predates da Vinci by more than five centuries, dating to around 950 AD.

"I'm now researching how might this 'Dunhuang da Vinci' and the portrait from 1500, two very different paintings, could share such extraordinary visual connections across such vast distances of time and space," he said.

Both projects, he believes, underscore Dunhuang's identity as a unique crucible of cultural fusion.

"The caves stand as enduring evidence of how cultural exchange can generate entirely new visual languages and devotional forms, making Dunhuang not just a crossroads, but a crucible of innovation and creativity," Schmid noted.

Sharing Dunhuang with the world

Schmid sees himself not only as a researcher but also as a storyteller.

"Dunhuang is not just an academic subject, it's a cultural treasure that belongs to the world," he said. "To deepen global understanding, we really need to tell Dunhuang's stories in a way that speaks to diverse audiences: scholars, students, artists, and of course the general public."

Over the years, he has advanced that goal through lectures, exhibitions, social media, and documentary work. His current flagship projectis a global guide to Dunhuang studies, a multilingual road map for scholars and students navigating the field.

"Dunhuang studies spans archaeology, Buddhist history, art history, philology, digital humanities, and more, yet there has never been a centralized reference that brings these threads together across cultures and languages, " Schmid told the Global Times.

Now based his long stay in Dunhuang, Schmid says he feels deeply connected to the place and its people.

"Over the years I've always felt welcomed by the people of Dunhuang, with warmth, hospitality, and a deep pride in their heritage," he said.

He has watched the oasis transforming, new roads, housing, and green parks reshaping the desert city. Yet amid the changes, the ancient caves remain his steady source of inspiration.

"Dunhuang teaches us that coexistence doesn't mean uniformity or enforced homogenization; it means exchanges, mutual respect, and creativity. In a divided world, Dunhuang reminds us that history's most enduring achievements often come from cultural openness, not isolation," Schmid said.

(Web editor: Huang Kechao, Liang Jun)
Cultural & Historical Significance

Tiberia carries profound cultural significance rooted in ancient Roman civilization. The name directly connects to the Tiber River (Tevere in Italian), which flows through Rome and served as the lifeblood of the Roman Empire. This association makes Tiberia inherently tied to Roman mythology, history, and the foundation of Western civilization. The river itself was considered sacred in Roman religion, and the name Tiberia evokes images of classical strength, imperial grandeur, and the enduring legacy of Roman culture.



Throughout Italian history, Tiberia has been used to honor Roman heritage and maintain connections to classical antiquity. During the Renaissance, when there was a revival of interest in Roman culture, names like Tiberia gained popularity among educated and aristocratic families seeking to emphasize their cultural sophistication and historical roots. The name represents a bridge between ancient Roman civilization and modern Italian identity, serving as a living tribute to Italy's rich historical tapestry and its central role in Western cultural development.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Tlazohtzin holds profound significance in Nahua culture as a name embodying the concept of cherished love and preciousness. In pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, names were not merely identifiers but carried spiritual weight and reflected one's destined path. Tlazohtzin was often given to daughters born into noble families or those believed to have special spiritual connections, representing the love and value they brought to their community. The '-tzin' honorific suffix indicates respect and nobility, suggesting the bearer was seen as someone worthy of reverence.



During the colonial period, the name became a symbol of cultural resistance, as families continued using traditional Nahuatl names to maintain indigenous identity despite Spanish imposition of Christian names. The persistence of Tlazohtzin and similar names represented quiet defiance and cultural preservation. In contemporary indigenous movements, the name has gained renewed importance as part of cultural reclamation efforts, serving as a bridge between ancient traditions and modern identity. It represents not just personal identity but collective memory and the enduring strength of Nahua cultural heritage.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Tortain occupies a unique position in Arthurian lore as one of the lesser-documented knights of the Round Table, representing the broader tapestry of chivalric ideals that defined the Arthurian tradition. While not as prominent as Lancelot or Gawain, Tortain embodies the concept that every knight contributed to the collective honor of Camelot. His presence in various medieval texts, though brief, reflects the medieval fascination with creating a comprehensive court of noble warriors, each with their own distinct identity and regional affiliations.



The name Tortain likely emerged from French Arthurian romances during the 12th and 13th centuries, when writers expanded the Arthurian canon to include knights from diverse geographical and cultural backgrounds, thus enriching the mythological landscape of Britain's legendary past. This expansion served both literary and political purposes, allowing various regions to claim connections to the Arthurian mythos while reinforcing the ideals of knightly virtue and feudal loyalty that were central to medieval aristocratic culture.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Trisna holds deep significance in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy, where it represents the concept of spiritual thirst or desire that drives human existence. In Sanskrit texts, 'trishna' refers to the fundamental craving that keeps beings bound to the cycle of samsara (rebirth). However, the name also carries positive connotations of aspiration and the noble longing for spiritual enlightenment. In Indonesian Hindu communities, particularly in Bali, Trisna is celebrated as a name that embodies both worldly desires and spiritual aspirations, reflecting the balance between material and spiritual life that is central to Hindu Dharma.



The name is often chosen by parents who wish their daughter to have both worldly success and spiritual depth, representing the harmonious integration of earthly and divine aspirations. In cultural ceremonies and family traditions, the name Trisna serves as a reminder of the importance of channeling one's desires toward positive outcomes and spiritual growth. It represents the Hindu concept of transforming basic human cravings into divine aspirations, making it a name that carries both philosophical weight and practical wisdom for daily living.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Tsiishchili represents an important aspect of Navajo naming traditions that predates European contact. In Dine culture, names are deeply connected to identity, family history, and spiritual beliefs. The practice of giving descriptive names like Tsiishchili (curly haired) reflects the Navajo worldview that emphasizes observation of the natural world and personal characteristics. These names served practical purposes in traditional society, helping to distinguish individuals within communities where surnames weren't used in the Western sense. The name also embodies the Navajo concept of Hozho, or walking in beauty, where physical characteristics are celebrated as part of the natural order. Historically, such names were often given by elders or medicine people after observing the child's appearance or behavior. Today, the continued use of Tsiishchili represents cultural resilience and the ongoing preservation of Navajo language and traditions despite centuries of assimilation pressures. It stands as a testament to the enduring strength of Indigenous identity and the importance of maintaining linguistic heritage in the face of modernization.
Individuals named Udolph are typically perceived as possessing a unique blend of leadership qualities and protective instincts. They often exhibit the 'wolf-like' characteristics of loyalty to their family and community, combined with a strong sense of responsibility and provision. These individuals tend to be natural leaders who approach challenges with strategic thinking and determination, much like a wolf leading its pack. Their inherent sense of protection extends beyond physical safety to include emotional and financial security for those in their care, making them reliable and trustworthy figures in both personal and professional contexts.



The 'wealthy' aspect of the name's meaning often manifests in a practical, resource-oriented mindset. Udolphs are typically good managers of resources, whether financial, emotional, or intellectual. They possess an innate ability to build and maintain stability in their environments and are often drawn to roles where they can provide structure and security. While they may appear reserved or serious at first, those who know them well appreciate their deep commitment and the quiet strength they bring to relationships. Their combination of protective instincts and practical wisdom makes them excellent problem-solvers who can navigate complex situations with both courage and careful consideration.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Uri holds profound significance in Jewish culture as a name deeply rooted in biblical tradition. The name appears multiple times in the Hebrew Bible, most notably as Uri the son of Hur from the tribe of Judah, who was chosen by God to work alongside Bezalel in constructing the sacred Tabernacle during the Exodus. This connection to divine craftsmanship and sacred space gives the name layers of spiritual meaning. Throughout Jewish history, Uri has been associated with wisdom, skill, and divine inspiration.



In modern Israel, the name carries nationalist connotations as well, representing the pioneering spirit of early Zionist settlers who often chose biblical names to reconnect with their heritage. The name's enduring popularity across centuries demonstrates its powerful cultural resonance within Jewish communities worldwide. During the early years of the State of Israel, names like Uri symbolized the connection between the modern Jewish state and its ancient biblical roots, serving as a bridge between past and present.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Verbrugge holds deep cultural significance in Dutch and Flemish societies, reflecting the Netherlands' historical relationship with water and land reclamation. As a toponymic surname derived from 'van der brugge' (from the bridge), it represents the essential infrastructure that connected communities across the country's extensive network of canals, rivers, and waterways. These bridges were not merely physical structures but vital economic and social connectors in a landscape dominated by water.



Historically, bearers of this name were often associated with bridge-keeping, toll collection, or living in proximity to important crossing points. During the Dutch Golden Age, as trade and commerce flourished, those with the Verbrugge name frequently participated in the mercantile networks that relied on efficient water transport. The name embodies the Dutch mastery of hydraulic engineering and their continuous battle against water, symbolizing both literal and metaphorical connections between people, places, and opportunities in the Low Countries.



The cultural legacy of the Verbrugge name extends to representing Dutch resilience and innovation. In a nation where water management has been crucial for survival, those associated with bridges played critical roles in community development and economic growth. This surname serves as a living testament to the Dutch tradition of turning geographical challenges into opportunities for connection and progress.
Individuals bearing the name Waluyo are commonly associated with a distinctive set of personality traits that reflect their name's fortunate connotations. They typically exhibit natural optimism and resilience, often demonstrating an uncanny ability to navigate challenges successfully. Waluyos are frequently described as having excellent intuition and timing, knowing when to act and when to waitqualities that contribute to their reputation for being 'lucky.' Their charismatic nature makes them natural leaders who can inspire and motivate others, while their practical wisdom ensures they remain grounded.



Beyond their fortunate reputation, Waluyos often display strong emotional intelligence and diplomatic skills. They tend to be excellent mediators who can resolve conflicts by understanding multiple perspectives. Their success is rarely accidental; rather, it stems from careful observation, strategic thinking, and the ability to build strong networks of support. Many Waluyos develop expertise in their chosen fields through dedicated effort, though their achievements may appear effortless to observers. They typically maintain strong connections to family and community, viewing their personal success as interconnected with collective wellbeing. This balance of individual ambition and communal responsibility makes them respected figures in both professional and personal spheres.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Wambua holds profound cultural significance among the Kamba people of Kenya as a name deeply rooted in the agricultural traditions and environmental awareness of this Bantu community. The Kamba, historically known for their expertise in hunting, trade, and farming, developed a sophisticated understanding of seasonal patterns and their relationship to human life. Naming a child Wambua served multiple purposes: it documented the time of birth within the community's collective memory, celebrated the arrival of rains that ensured food security, and expressed gratitude for nature's provision. This practice demonstrates how traditional African societies integrated environmental observation with personal identity formation.



The name also reflects the Kamba people's spiritual connection to nature and their belief in the interconnectedness of human existence with natural cycles. In Kamba cosmology, rainfall is often associated with divine blessing and ancestral favor, making a child born during this period particularly special. The name Wambua thus carries not just temporal information but spiritual significance, positioning the child as someone welcomed by both the community and the natural world. This cultural practice has been preserved through generations, maintaining its relevance even as modernization transforms other aspects of Kamba society.
The courage to stand alone

By Mark Alexander

web posted November 10, 2025

You may have heard that there were some off-season elections last Tuesday. The big takeaway from Nate Jackson: Blue States Vote Democrat!

And there was other news last week!

The Schumer Shutdown became the longest on record, as Senate Demos rejected the 14th vote to reopen the government. This is despite increasing pressure from Demo allies, including the largest federal workers union, to cut the crap.

Even their Leftmedia publicists are not buying it. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries's (D-NY) fake shutdown narrative got blown out of the water by CNN.

Thus, Demos continue holding the nation's military and other critical service providers, like air traffic controllers, hostage to their insistence that the temporary emergency subsidies passed during the COVID-19 pandemic to prop up ObamaCare, the so-called "Affordable Care Act," be made permanent.

As you well know, there is no such thing as "temporary" government funding, and yes, that includes taxpayer-funded "free" healthcare for illegal immigrants.

Firing a shot across the Demos' bow, Donald Trump called for Senate Republicans to terminate filibuster rules requiring a 60-vote threshold for legislation. Of course, the conventional wisdom is that if Republicans do so, the next time Demos control the Senate, they will cite the Republican precedent and discard filibuster rules.

However, given the strident leftist surge of Democrat Party socialists, who are Marxists hiding behind a more palatable political facade, they may set that filibuster precedent themselves.

But this column is not about the consequences of shutdowns. It is about the courage to do what is right and speak the truth.



Fetterman

Since the shutdown began 36 days ago, there have been two Democrat senators who have had the courage to stand against the gale-force winds of their party. They are Pennsylvania's John Fetterman and Nevada's Catherine Cortez Masto. Fetterman has broadcast his objections from the mountaintops: "I think it's a core responsibility as a senator to keep our government open. The Democratic Party, my party, the Republican Party, they have different priorities ... you sort those things out. But you don't hold shutting the government down as a hostage. ... I would remind everybody too ... this was designed by the Democratic Party to expire at the end of the year. This is not something taken from the Republicans. They were designed to expire. ... Shutting the government is really what the Democratic Party wants to do. ... I follow country, then party, and it's the wrong thing for the country. ... If you vote to shut our government down, you are going to harm millions of Americans, and why would you do this?"

That display of courage, under constant fire from the Demo crazies, is encouraging!

But there is another person who, though also not a conservative, has stood her ground against far more forceful winds than those against Fetterman and Cortez Masto.

And that would be author JK Rowling.

Yes, although she has earned the political and cultural condemnation of the American Left for opposing their deviant transnormalcy agendas, she is standing strong against that gender-cult deviancy as a citizen of the UK. And the UK has become shockingly oppressive of free speech. There is no affirmation of free speech in the UK, despite Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Apparently, the authoritarians among the UK government have employed the systemic redlining of free speech playbook used by the Biden/Harris regime. That assault on the First Amendment ranks high among the worst degradations of our free speech rights in the history of our nation. Fortunately, that infringement has been largely corrected by the Trump administration.

Rowling has described her political views as left-leaning and fiercely anti-authoritarian, particularly regarding freedom of speech.

Rowling has become one of the leading voices on the planet defending the rights of women against men who pretend to be women. Of the whole sordid so-called "transgender" movement, she says: "'What a woman means has changed over time' makes as little sense as 'what the sky means has changed over time.' No amount of fashionable jargon, pseudo-science or religious belief will alter the nature of women or the sky. You are not God. Reality exists independently of you."

As for the attacks against her exercise of free speech, she boldly notes: "Freedom of speech means freedom to cause offense. The number of supposed liberals who've fallen at this most basic hurdle, because for the first time in their lives they risked losing the approval of their tribe, has been staggering."

And she clearly identifies her detractors: "If you believe free speech is for you but not your political opponents, you're illiberal. If no contrary evidence could change your beliefs, you're a fundamentalist. If you believe the state should punish those with contrary views, you're a totalitarian. If you believe political opponents should be punished with violence or death, you're a terrorist."

Predictably, Rowling has obliterated her celebrity and media critics, as would be expected from a master of words, including some once-close friends. Furthermore, she has boldly restated a list of her beliefs "for handy reference":

Is it my belief that women and girls should have their own public changing rooms and bathrooms? That women should retain female-only rape crisis centres? That men don't belong in women's sport? ... That women should remain a protected class in law, because they have sex-specific needs and issues? That language should reflect reality rather than ideological jargon, especially in a medical context? That women shouldn't be harassed, persecuted or fired for refusing to pretend humans can change sex? That women should not be threatened with violence and rape when they assert their rights? That freedom of speech and belief are essential to a pluralistic democratic society? That troubled minors, especially those who are gay, autistic and trauma-experienced, should be given mental health support instead of irreversible surgeries and drug treatments on non-existent evidence of benefit? ... That cross-dressing heterosexual male fetishists aren't actually oppressed, but having the time of their lives piggybacking off gender identity ideology? That said ideology, and the privileged, blinkered fools pushing it because they suffer zero consequences themselves, have done more damage to the political left's credibility than Trump and Farage could have achieved in a century? Let me have your thoughts.

Who would dare?

Last week, Glamour UK, a women's fashion and beauty magazine, became the latest women's publication to feature men on the cover of its "Women of the Year" edition  in this case, nine men wearing shirts with the message, "Protect the Dolls." Apparently, "dolls" is what trans-dudes like to be called.

Rowling wasted no time issuing her condemnation of the cover, saying: "I grew up in an era when mainstream women's magazines told girls they needed to be thinner and prettier. Now mainstream women's magazines tell girls that men are better women than they are."

And once again, like Fetterman and Cortez Masto standing firm for what is right and speaking the truth out loud, Rowling's courage is encouraging!

Mark Alexander is the executive editor of the Patriot Post.
Individuals named Wiccum are typically characterized by a grounded, practical nature combined with deep spiritual conviction. They tend to be patient, methodical thinkers who value stability and tradition, much like the enduring meadowlands their name references. This practical spirituality often manifests as quiet leadership within their communities, where they serve as steady, reliable figures others can depend on during turbulent times.



Wiccums often possess a strong connection to nature and creation, seeing God's hand in the natural world around them. They're typically observant, detail-oriented people who notice the small blessings in everyday life. While not necessarily outgoing, they form deep, lasting relationships and are known for their loyalty and consistency. Their approach to challenges is typically measured and thoughtful, preferring to build sustainable solutions rather than seeking quick fixesa reflection of the agricultural wisdom embedded in their name's heritage.



These individuals often exhibit what might be called 'meadow wisdom'the ability to nurture growth in others while maintaining their own rooted stability. They tend to be peacemakers who create spaces where others can flourish, embodying the protective, life-giving qualities of the meadow environment that gives their name meaning. Their faith is typically practical and lived out through service rather than dramatic displays.
Individuals bearing the name Wymer typically exhibit a complex blend of strength and sensitivity that makes them both formidable and deeply human. Their core personality often centers around a strong moral compass and innate leadership qualities, making them natural protectors and decision-makers in challenging situations. Wymers tend to be strategic thinkers who approach problems with careful analysis and determination, much like the warriors their name evokes. However, this strength is balanced by a reflective, often spiritual side that seeks deeper meaning in their actions and relationships. They frequently demonstrate remarkable resilience in adversity, drawing on inner resources that others might find surprising. In social settings, Wymers often command respect through their quiet confidence rather than loud assertiveness, and they typically form deep, loyal relationships with those who earn their trust. As they mature, many Wymers develop a philosophical outlook that helps them reconcile the seemingly contradictory aspects of their naturethe warrior and the peacemaker, the leader and the servant. This psychological complexity makes them fascinating individuals who often leave lasting impacts on those who know them well.
Symbolically, Wynston represents the beautiful synthesis of celebration and foundation, joy and responsibility. The 'wine' element carries rich metaphorical weight, symbolizing not just alcoholic beverage but the concepts of communion, transformation, and the alchemy of turning ordinary moments into memorable experiences. In many cultural traditions, wine represents the blood of life, celebration of milestones, and the coming together of community. Meanwhile, the 'farm' component grounds these celebratory aspects in practical realityrepresenting cultivation, patience, seasonal cycles, and the satisfaction of nurtured growth. Together, these elements create a powerful symbolic narrative about creating abundance through careful stewardship and knowing when to celebrate the fruits of one's labor.



The name also carries subtle connections to alchemical symbolism, where the transformation of grapes into wine mirrors personal transformation and refinement. In this interpretation, Wynston suggests someone who understands the value of process and maturationthat the best things in life often require time, care, and the right conditions to develop fully. This symbolic reading positions Wynston as representing enlightened enjoymentthe ability to appreciate life's pleasures while understanding their origins and contexts. The name ultimately symbolizes integrated success: achieving material stability without sacrificing joy, and experiencing celebration without losing connection to what truly matters.
In contemporary naming practices, Wynthrop occupies a unique position as a distinguished but uncommon choice that appeals to parents seeking traditional English names with aristocratic flair without being overly common. While it has never achieved widespread popularity, maintaining its status as a rare selection, the name has experienced a modest resurgence in recent years as part of the broader trend toward vintage and heritage names. Modern usage patterns show concentration among families with English ancestry, particularly those with connections to regions historically associated with wine production or estate management. The name finds particular favor among parents who value names with historical depth, sophisticated sound, and meaningful etymology. Current demographic data indicates that Wynthrop is chosen by parents who typically have higher education levels and appreciate names that convey refinement and tradition. Its rarity ensures that children named Wynthrop are unlikely to share their name with classmates, while its familiarity prevents it from being perceived as overly eccentric. The name's steady, though limited, usage suggests it will continue to be a choice for parents seeking distinctive traditional names with substance and history.
Women named Xocoyotl typically exhibit strong nurturing qualities and deep family loyalty, reflecting their name's meaning as the youngest child who often bears responsibility for maintaining family traditions. They tend to be emotionally intelligent and perceptive, having grown up observing multiple generations within their family dynamic. This position often cultivates diplomatic skills and the ability to mediate between different perspectives, making them effective communicators and community builders. Their connection to their name's cultural roots frequently manifests as artistic expression or cultural advocacy.



Many Xocoyotls demonstrate a unique blend of traditional values and modern adaptability, embodying the bridge between heritage and contemporary life. They often show resilience and determination, qualities that may stem from carrying the weight of cultural expectations while navigating modern society. Their youthful energy typically endures throughout their lives, making them innovative thinkers who respect tradition without being constrained by it. This combination of traits often leads Xocoyotls to roles where they can protect cultural heritage while fostering growth and innovation within their communities.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Zackariah occupies a unique position in cultural history as a name that bridges multiple religious traditions and historical periods. In Jewish culture, the prophet Zechariah's visions of restoration and messianic hope during the Second Temple period made his name synonymous with divine promise and national renewal. His prophecies about the coming messiah and the restoration of Jerusalem became foundational texts that influenced both Judaism and Christianity. The name gained additional significance in Christian tradition through Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, whose story in Luke's Gospel emphasizes faith, divine intervention, and the connection between Old and New Testaments. In Islamic culture, Prophet Zakariya is honored for his steadfastness and his miraculous late-life fatherhood of Yahya (John the Baptist), serving as an example of devotion and trust in God's timing. This cross-cultural reverence makes Zackariah one of the few names that carries substantial weight in all three major Abrahamic faiths. The name's endurance through centuries reflects its deep roots in sacred narratives that continue to shape religious identity and spiritual understanding across diverse communities worldwide. Throughout history, the name has been borne by scholars, religious leaders, and cultural figures who often embodied the intellectual and spiritual qualities associated with their biblical namesakes.
Cultural & Historical Significance

Zahirah holds profound cultural significance within Islamic tradition, deriving from the Arabic root 'Z-H-R' which conveys meanings of shining, appearing, and becoming manifest. This name embodies the Islamic philosophical concept of 'zahir' - the visible, apparent dimension of existence that complements 'batin' (the hidden). In Islamic cosmology, this duality represents the complete picture of reality, with Zahirah symbolizing the outward expression of inner spiritual states. Historically, the name has been particularly favored among families valuing education and intellectual achievement for daughters, as it suggests both brilliance and the manifestation of knowledge. Throughout Islamic history, women named Zahirah have often been associated with educational and spiritual leadership roles, serving as teachers, scholars, and community guides. The name reflects the Islamic ideal that true beauty and worth should be visible through one's character, actions, and contributions to society, making it a name that carries both aesthetic and ethical significance.



The name's cultural resonance extends beyond religious contexts into broader Arabic and Islamic cultural spheres. In many Muslim societies, naming a daughter Zahirah expresses the parents' hope that she will grow to be someone whose inner qualities shine forth visibly, illuminating her path and inspiring others. The name has maintained consistent popularity across different historical periods and geographical regions within the Muslim world, demonstrating its enduring appeal. Contemporary usage continues this tradition while adapting to modern contexts, with many professional women named Zahirah excelling in fields that require both intellectual brilliance and visible leadership. The cultural significance of Zahirah thus bridges traditional Islamic values with contemporary aspirations for female empowerment and visibility.
Cultural & Historical Significance

The name Zair holds significant cultural importance in Muslim communities, particularly in Arabic-speaking regions and South Asia. It derives from the Arabic root Z-W-R, which relates to visiting, pilgrimage, and being a guest. In Islamic tradition, the concept of being a 'zair' carries spiritual weight, as it refers not only to physical visitors but also to those who visit holy sites and seek spiritual enlightenment. The name embodies the Islamic values of hospitality, as guests are considered blessings in Muslim culture, and the importance of pilgrimage in strengthening faith.



Historically, the name has been used to signify someone who is a seeker of knowledge or spiritual truth, reflecting the Islamic emphasis on continuous learning and spiritual growth. In many Muslim societies, names with such meaningful roots are chosen to instill specific values and characteristics in children from birth. The name also connects to the tradition of visiting scholars and saints, where a 'zair' would travel to seek knowledge from learned teachers, making it particularly meaningful in educational and religious contexts.
The name Zavier carries profound symbolic weight that extends beyond its literal meanings of 'bright' and 'splendid.' In symbolic terms, Zavier represents the concept of enlightenment  not just intellectual illumination but spiritual awakening and moral clarity. The brightness associated with the name symbolizes the dispelling of ignorance and the pursuit of knowledge, values highly prized across cultural traditions but particularly emphasized in Islamic teachings about seeking knowledge. The splendid aspect signifies distinction and excellence, suggesting an individual destined to stand out through their virtues and accomplishments. Symbolically, Zavier also connects to the idea of foundation and shelter through its etymological roots meaning 'new house,' representing stability, legacy-building, and the creation of safe spaces for growth and development. In metaphorical terms, someone named Zavier is often envisioned as a beacon  someone who guides others, reveals truths, and creates opportunities through their insight and character. These layered symbolic meanings make Zavier a name rich with positive connotations that parents hope will influence their child's path in life, encouraging them to become sources of light and excellence in their communities and beyond.
COP30 climate summit opens with plea for cooperation

UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell told attendees they should be fighting the climate crisis together rather than fighting each other. Photo: Reuters

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva tells delegates that "climate change is no longer a threat of the future. It is a tragedy of the present." Photo: Reuters

Jamie Clarke reports

The COP30 climate summit opened on Monday with the UN climate chief urging countries to cooperate rather than battle over priorities, as efforts to limit global warming are threatened by a fracturing international consensus.



Host country Brazil brokered a deal on the agenda for the two-week summit in the Amazon city of Belem, deflecting attempts by developing-country negotiating blocs to shoehorn contentious issues like climate finance and carbon taxes into the talks.



It was unclear whether countries would aim to negotiate a final agreement for the end of the event  a hard sell in a year of fractious global politics and US efforts to obstruct a transition away from fossil fuels.



Some including Brazil have suggested that countries focus on smaller efforts that do not need consensus, such as deforestation, after years of COP summits making lofty promises only to leave many unfulfilled.



"In this arena of COP30, your job here is not to fight one another  your job here is to fight this climate crisis, together, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell told delegates from more than 190 countries attending.



He said three decades of UN climate talks had helped to bend the curve in projected warming downward, because of what was agreed in halls like this, with governments legislating, and markets responding. But I am not sugar-coating it. We have so much more work to do."



A new UN analysis of countries' emissions-cutting plans estimated that global greenhouse gases would decrease 12 percent by 2035 from 2019 levels, improving on an earlier estimate of 10 percent published last month.



The new figure takes into account the most recent pledges, including from China and the EU, but was still short of the 60 percent emissions drop needed by 2035 to limit global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures  the threshold beyond which scientists say climate change would unleash far more severe impacts.



Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warned against interests trying to obscure the dangers of climate change.



"They attack the institutions, the science, the universities," he said. "Its time to impose another defeat to denialists.



The worlds biggest historical emitter of greenhouse gases  the United States  opted to skip the summit; US President Donald Trump falsely asserts that climate change is a hoax.



California Governor Gavin Newsom and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham were expected in Belem on Tuesday.



"What the hell is going on here? Newsom said of the US governments absence from the talks, addressing a global investors summit held on Monday in Sao Paulo.



We're in Brazil, one of our great trading partners, one of the world's great democracies. I mean, hell, home to all the rare earth metals we need. This is the country we should be engaging with instead of giving the middle finger with 50 percent tariffs, Newsom said, referring to duties imposed by the Trump administration.



COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago told a news conference: "I think that the absence of the US... has opened some space for the world to see what developing countries are doing." (Reuters)
Almost a Republican sweep last weekif only men voted By Selwyn Duke

web posted November 10, 2025 It's called the "gender gap" (should be "sex gap," really) in voting, and, boy, did it ever manifest itself last Tuesday night. In fact, November 4 was a great day for the GOP. That is, in an alternate universe in which only men vote. Let's go down the list. In Virginia there were three major races, and men broke Republican in all of them. They went for Winsome Earle-Sears for governor (all figures represent percentages), 53-47; John Reid for lieutenant governor, 55-44; and Jason Miyares for attorney general, 57-42. Meanwhile, in the upside-down, women broke Democrat in all three races by even wider margins. They supported Abigail Spanberger for governor, 64-36; Ghazala Hashmi for lieutenant governor, 62-38; and mad texter Jay Jones for attorney general 58-41. The story was similar up north in New Jersey. Men voted for Republican Jack Ciattarelli over Democrat Mikie Sherrill, albeit by a narrow 51-49 margin. Women went for Sherrill 62-38. The only exception was the NYC mayoral race, in which the sexes each offered the communist-in-democratic-socialist-clothing Zohran Mamdani 50 percent support. The only thing we can say for the lads is that they did give Republican Curtis Sliwa two more percent of their votes than the gals did (eight vs. six). This reflects why I try to avoid the Big Granny Apple like the plague: It apparently wreaks havoc on testosterone levels. To the raised eyebrows right now, I'll point out that this political sex gap is not a new phenomenon. In fact, pundit Ann Coulter took note of it in 2007. "It would be a much better country if women did not vote," she wrote at the time. "That is simply a fact. In fact, in every presidential election since 1950except Goldwater in '64the Republican would have won, if only the men had voted." And what of current times? According to a Grok artificial intelligence analysis I ran, President Trump would've won all 50 states in 2024 if only men voted. I'm a little skeptical as to whether the GOP really would have carried Vermont, Hawaii and Massachusetts even absent the female vote, but I pressed Grok on this and it stood by its finding. Whatever the case, if the Democrats did win some states under a male-suffrage-only scenario, it wouldn't be very many. I'll lastly cite one other example. In the 2018 midterms , men broke Republican 51-47; women went Democrat 59-40. The latter enabled the Democrats to retake the House of Representatives and impeach Trump twice. Oh, and here's the kicker: This political sex gap is widening, with young men becoming more conservative (by today's standards, anyway) and young women veering hard left . (And this is another reason why many young fellows aren't marrying. Can you blame them?) As for why women have this affinity for leftism, it's a deep issue beyond this blog's scope. But I did examine it in the following articles, among others: " The Security Sex ."

"' Woke' Culture Is Just Feminine Culture, Says Writerand It's Killing America ." And one more thing. I also examined the racial/ethnic breakdown of last Tuesday's voting, and it supports my theory that non-white voters' "movement toward the GOP" is really just movement toward Trump. In fact, the major racial/ethnic groups voted as they have for decades. Democrats won about 90 percent of the black vote, approximately 65 percent of Hispanic votes, and in the neighborhood of 75 percent of Asian-descent Americans' votes. It all just underlines how old habits die hard. Unfortunately, though, republics, when populated by too many people lacking in virtue, die far more easily. Or, you could just say: As morality dies, Mamdanis rise. Contact Selwyn Duke , follow him on X (formerly Twitter ), MeWe , Gettr , Tumblr , Instagram or Substack or log on to SelwynDuke.com . Home
VMPL New Delhi [India], November 10: In a major development for India's building materials sector, the NGT after reviewing submissions and the findings of the Expert Committee has declined to impose a blanket ban on asbestos-cement roofing sheets in schools and other education institutions, recognizing their continued safe use across the country. The Tribunal noted the absence of conclusive scientific evidence directly linking asbestos-cement sheets in buildings to adverse health impacts under normal use conditions. The verdict in Dr. Raja Singh v. Union of India & Others (O.A. No. 298/2023) was issued after an extensive scientific evaluation by a multi-disciplinary Expert Committee constituted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), pursuant to directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Experts Find No Evidence of Health Risk from Asbestos-Cement Sheets Under Normal Use The expert committee found no data or evidence linking asbestos-cement roofing to health hazards in non-industrial settings such as schools and other education Institution. The report stated: "Asbestosis may be a problem in occupational exposure in employees if exposed to high concentration of asbestos dust over a prolonged period, there is no evidence to suggest that asbestos-cement sheets in normal use cause any harm irrespective of use for any length of time over decades." Experts also confirmed that airborne fiber levels under normal use are well below permissible limits, and that asbestos fibres are locked within the cement matrix, making the material stable, durable, and non-friable and that any potential risk can be minimised through safe handling during installation and removal. NGT Favors Scientific Regulation Over Blanket Ban The Tribunal observed that safe handling and adherence to BIS standards (IS 11769:1987 and IS 459:1992) and other laid out regulations in our country ensure exposure much less than permissible level and environmental safety. It cautioned that unscientific/ unjustified bans could harm affordable infrastructure development, particularly in rural India, where asbestos-cement roofing provides cost-effective and climate-resilient shelter. The NGT's approach underscores the need for evidence-based policy and ongoing monitoring, rather than prohibition unsupported by data. The Tribunal has directed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to "Review the entire scientific evidence/material available and also review global best practices within 06 months and to take appropriate decision and make appropriate policies permitting/minimizing use of asbestos cement roofing sheets and other asbestos contained material in schools, residential houses and other buildings, and proper management and disposal of asbestos waste in accordance with its vison statement with an action plan and appropriate time lines and "Issue detailed guidelines for the manufacture, installation, maintenance, dismantling, and disposal" of asbestos-containing materials to ensure environmental safety and protection of public health. Industry Welcomes the Decision The industry has welcomed the NGT's ruling as a strong affirmation of science-based regulation, safety, and sustainable development. It stated, "The judgment reaffirms decades of responsible manufacturing and effective regulatory oversight," adding that "asbestos-cement sheets continue to be safe, durable, and vital to meeting India's affordable housing and infrastructure needs." The industry further reaffirmed its commitment to high environmental standards, worker health and safety, and public awareness initiatives promoting the safe use, handling, and disposal of asbestos-cement products. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.)
Looking at the structural problems of Canadian conservatism at the end of 2025 (Part Two) By Mark Wegierski

web posted November 10, 2025 The Toronto-based Mackenzie Institute (despite a far higher profile in the late-1980s) appeared to mostly have been (from the 1990s until early 2014) the personal enterprise of one indigent person. The full name of the Institute was rendered in earlier years as The Mackenzie Institute for the Study of Terrorism, Revolution, and Propaganda. In early 2014, The Mackenzie Institute revamped its website and appears to have become more dynamic. The Ottawa-based Centre for Immigration Policy Reform, which was founded around 2011, appears to have become more active in 2014. Its main leading figures were the late Martin Collacott, and James Bissett, both of them formerly being prominent Canadian diplomats and civil servants. The Centre argues for lowered numbers and more responsible selection and screening in immigration, temporary worker, and refugee policies. The author is also aware of an association called Societe Macdonald-Cartier Society. For non-partisan celebration of the Canadian Monarchy, there is the Monarchist League of Canada. The profile of social and cultural conservatism in Canada is rather thin. The main social conservative publications are The Interim: Canada's Life and Family Newspaper (and an associated website, lifesite.net). The longtime magazine Catholic Insight (Toronto) ceased printing in 2015. Lifesite has tried to found a similar magazine, called Faithful Insight. Lifesite has had to defend itself from an irksome libel suit that could have potentially financially crippled the website. (However, the litigant passed away in 2014.) The main pro-life, pro-family association is called the Campaign Life Coalition. There is a French-language, Quebec-based, social conservative intellectual journal, called Egards. The most prominent think-tank of what could be called broadly religious conservatives is Cardus. Cardus has linked with the Centre for Cultural Renewal (formerly the Centre for Renewal in Public Policy). Cardus published a magazine called Convivium, as well as Comment. However, Convivium has become an online-only publication  its last print issue appeared in January 2017. On February 18, 2022, even the online version of Convivium was closed to new submissions  although the website archive is expected to remain. Cardus is a think-tank which does not yet offer scholarships or grants (beyond one, as far as the author of this article can recall). In earlier articles, it had been suggested that Cardus could try to move in the direction of becoming an institution like the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) in the United States. The ISI, which has, for most of its history, been mostly traditionalist conservative, offers very extensive scholarships to students, as well as publishing scholarly journals and books, and holding various seminars and conferences for promising students and academics. There is also the Ottawa-based Institute for Marriage and Family Canada. In British Columbia, there is the Canada Family Action group. And, for many decades, REAL Women of Canada has been a well-known association. To be continued. Mark Wegierski is a Canadian writer and historical researcher. Home
The evolution of the online gaming industry has not only increased exposure among children but also raised concerns over addiction and exploitation, according to a report by CyberPeace. The report highlighted that a systematic policy intervention is needed to safeguard children from these growing risks. The report pointed out that early exposure to online gaming can have a negative developmental impact on young children. It added that researchers, educators, and mental health professionals have increasingly expressed concern over its effects on children's physical and emotional well-being. It stated, "The negative impact of early exposure to online gaming on young children is increasingly becoming a topic of concern" In terms of physical development, the report mentioned that studies have shown that prolonged gaming is linked with various health issues. The PEACH project (Personal and Environmental Associations with Children's Health), a longitudinal observational study, found that children with higher screen time had higher body mass index (BMI) and were more likely to be overweight. Excessive gaming promotes a sedentary lifestyle, leading to obesity and related health problems. The report further stated that teenagers who spend more time playing video games face a higher risk of developing obesity due to reduced physical activity. The growing number of young people being treated for obesity-related issues has also been partially attributed to increased screen time associated with gaming. Incessant gaming can cause repetitive strain injuries such as carpal tunnel syndrome, as continuous mouse clicking or controller use puts pressure on the hands and wrists. The addictive nature of online gaming can also disrupt sleep patterns. In addition, excessive gaming has been linked to cardiovascular problems, the report noted. The report also shared that the mental health effects of excessive gaming extend beyond isolation and social withdrawal, with serious implications for emotional and psychological well-being, the report said. CyberPeace recommended several measures to reduce these risks. It called for a clear methodology for age verification, as the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 mandates such checks but lacks clarity on implementation. It also suggested content regulation with clear guidelines for violence, sexuality, and mature themes, noting that India lacks an equivalent of PEGI for content benchmarking. The report advised expansion of content ratings to include different levels within categories such as violence, gore, and sexual content. Additionally, it proposed a "living legislation" framework that evolves with industry trends to ensure up-to-date protection. It also recommended that game content be legally vetted before release and that both game developers and publishers be brought under a uniform regulation focused on child protection. (ANI)
India PR Distribution Indore (Madhya Pradesh) [India], November 10: BatchMaster Software is proud to announce the General Availability (GA) of its latest release, BatchMaster Web ERP 9.0, marking a significant step in its journey toward a smarter, more connected, and AI-powered ERP platform for process manufacturers. Modern Yet Familiar Built on the .NET Core business layer, BatchMaster Web ERP 9.0 delivers faster load times, smoother navigation, and a responsive user experience. The modernized architecture enables deeper AI and BI integration, ensuring better scalability, performance, and usability while retaining the familiar interface users already love. Key Enhancements in BatchMaster Web ERP 9.0 * Enhanced Security with Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Integrates Google and Microsoft Authenticator apps, adding a critical layer of protection against unauthorized access. * Comprehensive API Library: Enables seamless, secure integrations with data validation. * Enhanced Reporting with Telerik Integration: Customizable, graphical reports in multiple formats. * Embedded Power BI: Real-time, interactive dashboards directly within the ERP interface. AI-Powered Capabilities * AI-Powered Chatbot: Ask BME: Provides instant answers, recommends video tutorials, and downloadable guides. * Sales Forecasting: Analyzes historical data for accurate production planning. * Net Cash Flow Analysis: Converts data into actionable financial projections. * Product Formulation (SRM/NPD): Generates formulations from natural language prompts. Print MBR/BMR Enables direct printing of Master and Batch Manufacturing Records directly from the interface, improving traceability, supporting audits, and strengthening compliance. Commenting on the rollout, Mr. Sanjay Panjwani, Managing Director, BatchMaster Software Pvt. Ltd., said: "BatchMaster has always focused on making business simpler for process manufacturers. The launch of BatchMaster Web ERP 9.0 takes that commitment to the next level." "With this release, BatchMaster continues to evolve as a truly AI-ready ERP platform--offering simplicity, security, and intelligence in one unified experience," he added. The rollout of BatchMaster Web ERP 9.0 ensures customers benefit from faster data processing, stronger security, and the power of embedded AI and BI, thus setting a new benchmark for modern ERP systems. Looking Ahead As technology continues to transform the way businesses operate, BatchMaster's vision is clear--to go bigger on AI and smarter on innovation. The company aims to integrate every meaningful advancement in data, cloud, and automation to help customers run their businesses in the simplest and most efficient way possible. With a focus on continuous improvement and user empowerment, BatchMaster remains committed to building ERP solutions that grow with its customers and keep them ready for the future. About BatchMaster Software BatchMaster Software is a leading provider of ERP solutions designed specifically for process manufacturing industries, including paints, coatings, chemicals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food & beverage. With over 40,000 users worldwide, BatchMaster empowers manufacturers to streamline operations, ensure compliance, and drive business growth. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by India PR Distribution. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
SMPL Vadodara (Gujarat) [India], November 10: The School of Business & Law, Navrachana University, in collaboration with Europa University Viadrina, Frankfurt (Germany), successfully hosted the International Conference on Law, Ethics & Policymaking in Healthcare. The event witnessed a vibrant exchange of ideas among eminent jurists, academicians, healthcare professionals, and students. The conference aimed to bridge the gap between legal theory and healthcare practice, exploring how ethical decision-making and policy formulation impact human well-being. The central theme -- Law, Ethics, and Policymaking in Healthcare -- guided a day of powerful conversations on topics such as bioethics, patient rights, mental health, public health laws, medical negligence, and the ethics of emerging technologies in medicine. The event witnessed 80 abstract submissions from scholars across India and abroad, with 91 delegates selected for paper presentations out of 130 total participants. The research papers showcased an impressive interdisciplinary range -- addressing issues from legal accountability in medical practice to data privacy in digital healthcare systems, gender neutrality in health rights, and ethical dilemmas in clinical policymaking. Justice B.C. Patel, Former Chief Justice of the Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir High Courts and Member, National Human Rights Commission, delivered the inaugural address. He emphasized that pollution is among the greatest threats to public health, causing millions of deaths annually. He urged both citizens and the government to take concrete actions to reduce air, water, and chemical pollution. His address highlighted how law and governance must work together to protect the right to health. Prof. (Dr.) Claudia Maria Hofmann from Europa University Viadrina, Frankfurt presented a keynote session on the Human Right to Mental Health. She discussed the international legal instruments that safeguard mental health rights and the "AAAQ" framework -- Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability, and Quality. Her insights encouraged students to think beyond legal texts and view health as a fundamental human right linked with dignity and equality. Dr. Sandeep Sharma, ICMR Committee Member and Plastic & Cosmetic Surgeon, stressed that a healthy nation depends not only on doctors but also on the strength of its laws. He spoke about ethical responsibilities in healthcare, the dangers of misinformation, violence against doctors, and the need for wellness awareness in India. The valedictory address was delivered by Ms. Shipra Sayal, Senior Civil Judge, Vadodara, who applauded the university's efforts in bridging law, ethics, and healthcare policymaking. She appreciated the active participation of students and faculty, noting how such conferences enhance social awareness, promote civic responsibility, and nurture future leaders in healthcare law. The conference concluded with a vote of thanks to all delegates, emphasizing Navrachana University's commitment to interdisciplinary learning and societal impact. The conference marks the beginning of a continued partnership toward advancing global healthcare law and ethics education. For more information, visit: https://nuv.ac.in/ (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by SMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same.)
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal met a business delegation led by J. Stuart Adams, President of the Utah State Senate, USA, to explore potential cooperation between India and the US in the technology and industry sectors. Goyal shared on X, saying, "Met the business delegation led by Hon. @JStuartAdams, President of the Utah State Senate, USA. Discussions were held on strengthening the collaboration in various domains like AI, clean energy, minerals, academia & research, biotech, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing, etc. Driven by innovation and youthful dynamism, there lies immense potential to shape a future of shared growth and prosperity." The conversation centred on identifying new avenues for collaboration, particularly in sectors where both India and the United States have demonstrated rapid progress and mutual interest. The interaction with the Utah delegation came soon after Goyal visited Melbourne, Australia, on Saturday to hold bilateral discussions with Minister for Trade and Tourism of Australia Senator Don Farrell and Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles. The constructive discussions focused on unlocking the full potential of the India-Australia Economic Partnership, including through an ambitious and balanced India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). During the meeting, the Ministers reviewed the progress made under the CECA negotiations and discussed pathways to elevate bilateral trade and economic partnerships. The discussions covered a wide range of areas, including trade in goods, services, investment and mutually beneficial cooperation. In FY 2024-25, bilateral merchandise trade between India and Australia stood at USD 24.1 billion, with India's exports registering a growth of 14 per cent in 2023-24 and a further 8 per cent in 2024-25. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to work constructively towards the early conclusion of a balanced and mutually beneficial CECA, building on the foundation of the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), which entered into force in December 2022. Piyush Goyal also engaged with select business representatives from the Indian diaspora, accompanied by Minister Farrell and Minister Giles. The interaction highlighted opportunities for stronger commercial linkages and underscored the community's role in advancing bilateral economic ties. (ANI)
In the videos captured by paps, Sunny was seen covering his face with his hands as he reached the hospital with his sons to check on his father's health.

As per the statement shared by Dharmendra's family, "Mr. Dharmendra is stable and under observation. Further comments and updates will be shared as available. Request everyone to pray for his speedy recovery and respect the family's right to privacy."

More details regarding his health are awaited.

The ''He-Man' of Bollywood has a cinematic career spanning over six decades, and he has worked in more than 300 films. Dharmendra is known for his memorable performances in films such as 'Ayee Milan Ki Bela', 'Phool Aur Patthar', 'Aaye Din Bahar Ke', 'Seeta Aur Geeta', 'Raja Jani', 'Jugnu', 'Yaadon Ki Baaraat', 'Dost', 'Sholay', 'Pratiggya', 'Charas', 'Dharam Veer', among others.

In 2023, he was seen in 'Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani', directed by Karan Johar, which was a blend of comedy and romance starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt as the lead couple, Rocky and Rani.

The story centres on their contrasting personalities and their decision to spend three months living with each other's families before marriage.The film explores the cultural clashes, personal growth, and the evolving relationship between the couple.

He also starred in Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon's 'Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya'. He will be next seen in 'Ikkis'. (ANI)
On Monday evening, his family members, including Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and his wife Tanya, were spotted arriving at the hospital. A while ago, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan reached the hospital to check on Dharmendra's health.

As per the statement shared by Dharmendra's family, "Mr. Dharmendra is stable and under observation. Further comments and updates will be shared as available. Request everyone to pray for his speedy recovery and respect the family's right to privacy."

More details regarding his health are awaited.

The ''He-Man' of Bollywood has a cinematic career spanning over six decades, and he has worked in more than 300 films.

Dharmendra is known for his memorable performances in films such as 'Ayee Milan Ki Bela', 'Phool Aur Patthar', 'Aaye Din Bahar Ke', 'Seeta Aur Geeta', 'Raja Jani', 'Jugnu', 'Yaadon Ki Baaraat', 'Dost', 'Sholay', 'Pratiggya', 'Charas', 'Dharam Veer', among others.

In 2023, he was seen in 'Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani', directed by Karan Johar, which was a blend of comedy and romance starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt as the lead couple, Rocky and Rani.

The story centres on their contrasting personalities and their decision to spend three months living with each other's families before marriage.The film explores the cultural clashes, personal growth, and the evolving relationship between the couple.

He also starred in Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon's 'Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya'. He will be next seen in 'Ikkis'. (ANI)
"I thank everyone for their concern about Dharam ji who is in hospital for observation. He is being continuously monitored and we are all with him. I request you all to pray for his welfare and speedy recovery," Hema Malini posted on her Instagram account.

She also shared a throwback picture of Dharmendra in which he could be flashing his hearty laugh.

As soon as Hema Malini shared the update, fans chimed in the comment section and wished the He-Man of Bollywood a speedy recovery.

"Get Well soon Dharam ji," a fan commented.

" Get Well soon Dharam sir. Prayers for him," another user commented.

On Monday evening, his family members, including Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and his wife Tanya, were spotted arriving at the hospital.

A while ago, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan reached the hospital to check on Dharmendra's health.

Dharmendra is known for his memorable performances in films such as 'Ayee Milan Ki Bela', 'Phool Aur Patthar', 'Aaye Din Bahar Ke', 'Seeta Aur Geeta', 'Raja Jani', 'Jugnu', 'Yaadon Ki Baaraat', 'Dost', 'Sholay', 'Pratiggya', 'Charas', 'Dharam Veer', among others.

In 2023, he was seen in 'Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani', directed by Karan Johar, which was a blend of comedy and romance starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt as the lead couple, Rocky and Rani.

The story centres on their contrasting personalities and their decision to spend three months living with each other's families before marriage.

The film explores the cultural clashes, personal growth, and the evolving relationship between the couple.

He also starred in Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon's 'Teri Baaton Mein Aisa Uljha Jiya'. He will be next seen in 'Ikkis'. (ANI)
According to a release, the initiative aims to convert novel health-tech ideas into tangible products ready for validation and commercialisation.

As part of this endeavour, 33 start-up ideas and medical technology products/models were showcased at AIIMS Bhubaneswar. Experts provided guidance for further product validation and market readiness, marking a significant step toward fostering a robust healthcare innovation ecosystem.

Dr Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Department of Health Research, Government of India, and Director General, ICMR, applauding the initiative, remarked that this process, bringing together healthcare, technology, and entrepreneurship, will play a key role in the "Viksit Bharat" movement, encouraging young innovators to translate ideas into impactful products.

Dr. Ashutosh Biswas, Executive Director, AIIMS Bhubaneswar, said, "AIIMS Bhubaneswar is committed to fostering interdisciplinary innovation by collaborating with premier technological institutes like IIT Bhubaneswar, BCKIC, and ILS. The institute aims to build an integrated innovation hub for medical technology in the region."

He further highlighted that AIIMS Bhubaneswar has signed MoUs with international universities, including Western Sydney University, Australia, to introduce integrated PhD programmes for young researchers. The institute has also established a Central Research and Skill Laboratory, inaugurated recently by Union Health Minister JP Nadda, to promote multi-disciplinary research and skill development. Plans are underway to develop a Bio-Incubation Centre to advance innovations in diagnostics, disease forecasting models, and AI-based healthcare tools.

To mark the progress of its research and innovation activities, the institute observed its 3rd Annual Research Day and 2nd Regional Research Conclave 2025. The theme of the event was "Medical Innovation: The Need of the Hour for Atmanirbhar Bharat, Viksit Bharat."

Alongside AIIMS Bhubaneswar's faculty and research staff, representatives from premier institutions such as IIT Bhubaneswar, IIT Kharagpur, VSSUT Burla, NISER Bhubaneswar, IISER Berhampur, ILS Bhubaneswar, KIIMS Bhubaneswar, AIG Hospital Hyderabad, and TMCH Varanasi, as well as 14 start-up firms, participated in the conclave.

The event facilitated meaningful interactions among medical researchers, scientists, technologists, and entrepreneurs, creating pathways to convert start-up ideas into viable healthcare products that address current health challenges. (ANI)
Various India-Nepal border points have been closed for 72 hours ahead of the second phase of the Bihar Assembly election scheduled for November 11. "The election is scheduled to be held on 11 November in Bihar, India. From a security perspective, we have halted border crossings," Mahottari Assistant Chief District Officer, Sanjay Kumar Pokhrel, told ANI. "All border points in Mahottari district have been sealed... The border points were closed from 6 pm yesterday (Saturday)," he added. Meanwhile, as campaigning for the second phase of the Bihar Assembly elections concluded on Sunday, top leaders from the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan made their final push to win voters ahead of polling on November 11. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, addressing a massive rally in Sasaram, set a strong nationalist tone, warning of a "decisive response" to any future terror attacks while announcing plans for a defence corridor in Bihar. "On this sacred land of Shaktipeeth, I am saying, if terrorists fire a bullet, hum goli ka jawab goley se denge," he said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would establish an ordnance factory in the state. In Patna, Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary reaffirmed NDA unity and said that Nitish Kumar will continue to remain Chief Minister if NDA returns to power in the state. "Nitish Kumar is the Chief Minister today and will remain so," he said. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, meanwhile, intensified his attack on the BJP-led government, alleging "vote theft" and urging Bihar's youth to stay vigilant. "Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and the Chief Election Commissioner are stealing votes," Gandhi said, calling on Gen Z voters to "protect their future." He also accused the Centre of neglecting Bihar's industrial potential, asserting, "I want that instead of Made in China, Made in Bihar should be written on mobile phones." From the NDA's side, Union Minister Rajnath Singh framed the election as a choice between development and the "jungle raj" of the past. "You have to decide whether to make Bihar a developed Bihar or take it back to jungle raj. India will become Viksit only when Bihar becomes Viksit," he said at rallies in Gaya and Kaimur, announcing that Bihar will soon have its own defence corridor to boost local industries and employment. With the campaign now closed, Bihar stands at a critical juncture. The second phase of polling will take place on November 11, and results will be declared on November 14. The outcome will determine whether Bihar continues under the NDA's "double-engine" government or witnesses the return of the Mahagathbandhan under Tejashwi Yadav's leadership. The newcomer Jan Suraaj party is also giving tough competition to the NDA and the MGB. (ANI)
BJP leader Ashwini Choubey on Sunday exuded confidence in the NDA's win in the Bihar Assembly election with a massive majority. He also appealed to the voters to turn out in the second phase of the election. "I think we are at 70% and the rest are all at 30%. The NDA government is going to be formed with a massive majority. I appeal to the people of Bihar to vote in large numbers," Ashwini Choubey told ANI. "The NDA government will be formed and Nitish Kumar will become the Chief Minister again," he added. Meanwhile, as campaigning for the second phase of the Bihar Assembly elections concluded on Sunday, top leaders from the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan made their final push to win voters ahead of polling on November 11. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, addressing a massive rally in Sasaram, set a strong nationalist tone, warning of a "decisive response" to any future terror attacks while announcing plans for a defence corridor in Bihar. "On this sacred land of Shaktipeeth, I am saying, if terrorists fire a bullet, hum goli ka jawab goley se denge," he said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would establish an ordnance factory in the state. In Patna, Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary reaffirmed NDA unity and said that Nitish Kumar will continue to remain Chief Minister if NDA returns to power in the state. "Nitish Kumar is the Chief Minister today and will remain so," he said. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, meanwhile, intensified his attack on the BJP-led government, alleging "vote theft" and urging Bihar's youth to stay vigilant. "Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, and the Chief Election Commissioner are stealing votes," Gandhi said, calling on Gen Z voters to "protect their future." He also accused the Centre of neglecting Bihar's industrial potential, asserting, "I want that instead of Made in China, Made in Bihar should be written on mobile phones." With the campaign now closed, Bihar stands at a critical juncture. The second phase of polling will take place on November 11, and results will be declared on November 14. The outcome will determine whether Bihar continues under the NDA's "double-engine" government or witnesses the return of the Mahagathbandhan under Tejashwi Yadav's leadership. The newcomer Jan Suraaj party is also giving tough competition to the NDA and the MGB. (ANI)
Jonathan Bailey isn't looking to have children just yet.

Jonathan Bailey isn't ready to start a family

The Wicked: For Good actor admitted it is something he has considered but thinks that because he is a gay man, he has the "absolute privilege" of not having to worry about his "biological clock" of feeling too old to start a family.

Asked if he wants to have children, he told the upcoming issue of Britain's Esquire magazine: Theres obviously loads of kids that could really benefit from love and support.

I have the absolute privilege of being a gay man  theres no biological clock. Its such a privilege, isnt it, to even be able to have a kid? So, Im aware of it as an idea, as a concept, but it doesnt feel very loud in my head at the moment.

If he does have children, the 37-year-old star is unlikely to raise them in Hollywood because he has no desire to leave the UK.

He said: "Ive never really thought about [living there].

"Every film Ive done has not been filmed in America. In my 20s, people would go out to pilot season. And I was like, I dont want to. I just dont want to do it. I cant explain anything more than its just not for me."

But the Bridgerton star does love to travel.

He said: "I tell you what, I love travelling with work. Being in Toronto filming Fellow Travelers and going to the Muskoka Lakes. I got to experience different communities and attitudes.

"I worked in Johannesburg when I was 23 and then Cape Town the year after that and I went to Thailand last year.

"Its really bonding with the cast when you travel away.

"But this year Ive been at home a lot more and Ive been able to see my nieces at school, and Ive been out to see my friends. Ive been at more birthdays and weddings and that feels good. Im yet to feel any need to move."

Jonathan finds the idea of AI technology being used in the acting industry "upsetting and distressing".

He said: "The idea of the human creative spirit being sidelined or annexed is really upsetting and distressing.

"One thing I found doing Shakespeare this year is that nothing felt more radical or engaged than being in a room with words and people, and being in the round. There was such a crackle in the air.

"Its radical now to get a pen and paper. I think theres going to be such value in that."
Reacting to the alleged irregularities involving Parth Pawar in the Pune land deal case, AIMIM leader Waris Pathan claimed that all cases against Ajit Pawar vanished after he joined the BJP, asserting that "no inquiry will ever take place" against his son. "There were cases of thousands of crores of rupees scam on Ajit Pawar himself... After he joined BJP, all allegations ended and he became the Deputy CM. Where will the inquiry take place on his son?... There will be no inquiry... There is highest level of corruption going on," Pathan told ANI. The controversy surrounds the sale of 40 acres of government-owned land in Pune's Mundhwa area to Amadea Enterprises LLP, a firm linked to Parth Pawar. The deal has been criticised for allegedly undervaluing the land and evading stamp duty. Earlier, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader and former Maharashtra revenue minister Eknath Khadse slammed the Mahayuti government over the multi-crore Pune land deal case, saying that attempts are being made to protect Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's son Parth Pawar. He also demanded Ajit Pawar's resignation on moral grounds. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured that action would be taken against anyone found guilty, stating, "No one will be spared; Inquiry identifying all involved will be completed within a month." Speaking to the media, CM Fadnavis said FIRs have already been filed against the company and its authorised signatories, adding that "no one has been spared." Asked about the Opposition parties' criticism over not naming Parth Pawar in the FIR, he said, "Those who don't even understand what an FIR (First Information Report) is are the ones making such baseless allegations. When an FIR is registered, it is filed against the express parties involved." The Opposition has called for a judicial inquiry, citing irregularities in the transaction. Ajit Pawar has distanced himself from the deal, claiming he has no connection to it. (ANI)
Defence Minister and BJP leader Rajnath Singh has appealed to the voters in Bihar not to bring back RJD's "jungle raj" in the State. He said that gone are the days "when they ruled with katta (a country-made pistol)." "Gone are those days when they ruled with 'katta'. Now no one can dare threaten anyone," the BJP leader said while addressing an election rally in Bihar's Kaimur on Sunday. "It was shocking to see when RJD asked a 7-year-old kid to give a speech on stage. The child said, when he was uneducated, he would go around with a stick, but when Tejashwi Bhaiya became the Chief Minister, he would move around with a 'katta'. Shame on such politics where they want to imbibe such values in an innocent kid," he added. Earlier in the day, in another election rally in Gaya, Singh urged voters in Bihar to decide whether or not they want their state to progress or regress to the 'jungle raj' of yesteryear during the regimes of the Congress and the RJD. "...You have to decide whether to make Bihar a developed Bihar in the coming years or take it back to jungle raj. India is going to become a developed India... I say with confidence that India will become 'Viksit' only when Bihar becomes 'Viksit'," Singh said while addressing a public rally in Gaya ji ahead of the second phase of Assembly elections in the State. The Defence Minister further criticised Telangana CM Revanth Reddy for his "Congress means Muslims" comment, calling it a sheer degradation of politics. "...If anyone can bring development, it's the NDA, and no one else. As far as the RJD and Congress are concerned, they say absurd things. They want to achieve political success by tearing apart the harmony and brotherhood of society in the name of caste, sect, and religion. I heard a statement from a Congress leader, the Chief Minister of Telangana, two or three days ago. He said that 'Congress means Muslims, and Muslims mean Congress'... To what extent does Congress want to stoop to politics?... I also say this to our Muslim brothers. You are being provoked. Think seriously about this..." The first phase of the Bihar elections, which saw a record voter turnout of 65.08 per cent, marked the highest polling percentage in the state's history. The first phase of polling in Bihar concluded recently, with elections for 122 seats scheduled on November 11 for the second phase. The results of the Bihar Assembly elections will be announced on November 14. (ANI)
According to a police official, the body was brought to the Tripura Medical College and Dr BRAM Teaching Hospital on Sunday.

The police have registered a case after the victim's father filed a complaint. The accused will be presented in the court today.

"The dead body of a woman was brought to TMC Hospital. We found that her husband had strangled her to death.

Her father filed a written complaint with the police, and a case has been filed under the relevant sections of BNS.

We arrested the accused, and the interrogation is ongoing. We will produce him in the court tomorrow," the Amtali Police Station Officer-in-Charge said. (ANI)
As Bihar heads into the second phase of polling on November 11, the Imamganj constituency, under the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat, is poised for an intriguing contest. Former Bihar Chief Minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) chief Jitan Ram Manjhi, who previously represented the seat, is once again testing his party's influence in this key region. Once a Naxal-affected area, Imamganj has struggled with underdevelopment for decades. Located near the Bihar-Jharkhand border, it plays a vital role in transit and trade between the two states. The local economy primarily depends on agriculture, with major crops including rice, maize, wheat, and pulses. Imamganj also holds historical significance as part of the ancient Magadha region, once the epicentre of early Indian civilisation. Its proximity to Bodh Gaya, one of the world's most revered Buddhist pilgrimage sites, further enhances its cultural significance. While Naxal activities in South Bihar once posed significant challenges, the security situation has improved considerably in recent years. The constituency also has a substantial Muslim population, and with the seat reserved for Scheduled Castes, social dynamics play a decisive role in determining electoral outcomes. For the upcoming election, HAM(S) has again fielded Deepa Kumari as the NDA candidate. She has represented the seat since 2024, when she won a by-election by a margin of 5,945 votes over RJD's Raushan Kumar after the seat was vacated by Jitan Ram Manjhi's move to national politics. The Mahagathbandhan has nominated Ritu Priya Chaudhary, another woman candidate, potentially intensifying the competition for women voters in the constituency. The Jan Suraaj Party has fielded Ajeet Kumar, although the primary contest is expected to be between the NDA and the Mahagathbandhan. In the 2010 Bihar Assembly elections, Uday Narain Choudhary of the Janata Dal (United) defeated Raushan Kumar of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) by a narrow margin of 1,211 votes, securing 44,126 votes against Kumar's 42,915. In 2015, Jitan Ram Manjhi, chief of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), registered a decisive victory, defeating Uday Narain Choudhary of the RJD by a margin of 29,408 votes. Manjhi polled 79,389 votes, while Choudhary received 49,981. Manjhi successfully retained the seat in 2020, though his victory margin narrowed to 16,034 votes against the same opponent, Uday Narain Choudhary of the RJD. The first phase of the Bihar elections, which saw a record voter turnout of 65.08 per cent, marked the highest polling percentage in the state's history. Elections for 122 assembly seats in the second phase are scheduled on November 11. The results of the Bihar Assembly elections are slated to be announced on November 14. (ANI)
Communist Party of India (CPI) State Secretary Binoy Viswam on Monday condemned the alleged singing of an RSS "Gana Geetham" during the inauguration of the Ernakulam-Bengaluru Vande Bharat Express. Viswam accused the BJP-led central government and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of promoting a "fascist style of functioning" and attempting to "infiltrate their ideology" into official events. Speaking to ANI in Thiruvananthapuram, Binoy Viswam said, "...RSS and BJP are trying to conquer everything and everyone... The fascist style of functioning is being implemented by the RSS BJP government... It's a pure government function of the Southern Railways... But they tried to infiltrate the RSS ideology and the RSS song into that function." "The country cannot be silent about this... The Communist Party criticised what they did in the name of the inauguration. We condemn it and say, as loudly as we can, that what they did was an attempt to smuggle in something that is not our national anthem. It is a big mistake and a crime," he said. A day earlier, Kerala's General Education Minister V Sivankutty ordered an inquiry into the controversy surrounding the alleged singing of the RSS "Gana Geetham" by students during the inauguration ceremony. According to the minister, the government views the incident with utmost seriousness. The Director of General Education has been instructed to submit a report immediately. The minister stated that using students to promote political or communal agendas during government events amounts to a violation of constitutional principles. The inquiry will examine whether there were lapses in involving students in an official function and whether the platform was misused for political or ideological purposes. "Protecting the secular national values of the country is the responsibility of the government, and we will ensure that," Sivankutty said. Based on the inquiry report, further action will be taken, he added. (ANI)
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday said that he has convened a meeting of senior officials to review the situation after a purported video surfaced showing inmates of Bengaluru's Parappanna Agrahara Central Jail receiving "VVIP treatment." The minister said strict action would be taken against those involved. Speaking to the reporters in Bengaluru, G Parameshwara said, "I have called a meeting of all the senior officers today, and I will take stock of the situation. Some of the videos we have seen show someone supplying liquor, drugs and mobile phones. We will look into this matter and take serious steps and actions against those found involved." A purported viral video showed inmates in Parappanna Agrahara Jail, also known as Bengaluru Central jail, enjoying "VVIP treatment" such as getting unauthorised use of mobile phones, TV and such inside the prison. Some of the people allegedly seen in the video were a serial killer on death row, Umesh Reddy, and another inmate, Tarun Raj, who was convicted in a gold smuggling case. An ISIS operative who was brought from Dubai by the National Security Agency (NSA) was also seen using a mobile phone in the prison. The opposition is holding a march to Vidhan Soudha to protest against the incident. Opposition leader R Ashoka of the BJP alleged that the government had no control over law and order. "The rapists, smugglers, and extremists in Parappana Agrahara prison are throwing all jail rules to the wind and enjoying unlimited fun with TV, mobile, internet, item songs, and more, isn't that so Swami? Do you know anything about this, or will you, as usual, brush it off with "I don't know"? In this indecent government, Chief Minister has no control over ministers. Ministers have no control over officials. Overall, no department is in proper order," he said. The BJP Karnataka Chief BY Vijayendra accused Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of enabling terrorists who were inside the jail. Not only do Radical elements and ISIS operatives enjoy a free hand outside, but even the Prisons in Karnataka have been turned into Government-sponsored Recreation Clubs for terrorists! Rahul Gandhi who frequently travels abroad and seeks external interference in India's internal matters, is he now enabling these terrorists and using their networks to create unrest across the nation and destabilize our democracy for artificial regime change with the help of the same foreign forces? Mobile phones, luxury comforts, and ample "fun time", no wonder these radicals find it so convenient to operate under this shameless regime and treat prisons as their favourite holiday destinations, where everything is provided to them free of cost, courtesy of the Anti-National Congress government and our poor taxpayers money! Such blatant compromise of national security is possible only with the active support and direction of the Congress government, acting as per the diktats of their "Supreme Leader" Rahul Gandhi, whose hunger for power outweighs the safety and sovereignty of our nation," he said. Earlier, Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara assured of strict action against jail officials who allegedly allowed "VVIP treatment" of inmates. The state home minister has also called for a meeting of police officials and has sought a report from Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) B Dayanada on the allegations. "We have appointed B Dayananda as the head (of Prisons). He was on leave yesterday, but I have spoken to him. I have told him that this is happening repeatedly; whoever is responsible for this, immediate action needs to be taken against them, and a report should be submitted. "But I will not tolerate this nonsense. Enough is enough," Parameshwara told reporters here. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sanjay Jaiswal on Monday said that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav were "losing sleep" over historic voter turnout in the first phase of Bihar assembly elections. Dismissing the allegations of voter turnout "figures being hidden", he said that nobody takes Tejashwi and Rahul seriously. "Nobody takes Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi seriously. Voter turnout was being announced every hour. There was record-breaking voting for the first time. Naturally, Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi are losing sleep. They know that power has slipped from their hands. They are now trying to win just 20 seats," Jaiswal told ANI in Bettiah. Responding to Rahul Gandhi's allegations of a nexus between the centre and the Election Commission of India (ECI), the BJP leader said that Rahul and Tejashwi dislike that "infiltrators" were being asked for birth certificates. He said that Gandhi's press conferences on "Vote Chori" were "false and lies." "Deleting the names of 18 lakh deceased voters, removing duplicate names and demanding proof of birth from infiltrators are something that Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi dislike due to their vote bank. All press conferences over SIR done by Rahul Gandhi are false and lies. Rahul Gandhi himself doesn't know what he says. In 4 years, he will be a senior citizen. Still, he has no common sense," Jaiswal said. His remarks follow Tejashwi Yadav's request for clarification from the ECI on the unpublished female and male voter turnout in the first phase of the Bihar assembly polls. "It's been almost three days since the first phase of the elections. The Election Commission is yet to disclose the female and male voter turnout," Tejashwi Yadav told reporters earlier. "Why are these figures being hidden? VVPAT slips were found scattered on the streets. CCTV cameras are being shut down. The Election Commission should clarify why this is not being disclosed," he added. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi stated that the "joint partnership" between Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar was undermining India's democracy and constitution. "The main issue is that democracy and Babasaheb's constitution are being attacked by the joint partnership of Modi, Amit Shah and Gyanesh. This is damaging to the country and Bharat Mata," Gandhi told reporters. Following a historic voter turnout in the first phase of polls, voting for 122 assembly constituencies across 20 districts in Bihar will be held during the second phase of the assembly elections on November 11. The results for the legislative assembly elections will be announced on November 14. (ANI)
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin launched a scathing attack on the opposition AIADMK, asserting that no force could ever destroy the DMK, despite repeated political and administrative attempts. Speaking at a wedding ceremony of the son of Srirangam MLA Palaniyandi, Chief Minister Stalin on Sunday said that the DMK was not merely a political party but a continuing movement built on sacrifice, struggle and the unbroken bond with its people. "The DMK is not just a party; it's a movement. A movement never rests, whether in power or not, it keeps working. Our ongoing 'Udanpirappe Va' events show the happiness of our cadres, which inspires me greatly," the Chief Minister said. Speaking on political matters, he sharply criticised the AIADMK, "Our opponents are trying new tactics to bring us down, using the IT Department, CBI, and now the SIR issue as weapons. Such things might work elsewhere, but never in Tamil Nadu. DMK cannot be destroyed." "DMK has already filed a petition against SIR in the Supreme Court. AIADMK, which earlier supported SIR, has now joined our petition. If they truly cared, they would have filed their own case earlier. This only exposes their political drama," he added. Concluding with a sharp jibe at the AIADMK chief, Chief Minister Stalin stated, "In Delhi, the 'Big Boss' commands -- and Edappadi Palaniswami just nods and obeys." "Our opponents keep taking new forms and adopting new strategies to destroy us. They tried to threaten us using weapons like the CBI and the Income Tax Department, but they couldn't do anything. Now, they are trying to use a new weapon called SIR. to destroy the DMK. But let me make it clear, no one can ever destroy the DMK," the Chief Minister added. While blessing the newlyweds, Chief Minister Stalin said, "Former CM Kalaignar conducted Palaniyandi's wedding. I conducted his brother's and elder son's weddings and now his younger son's. I believe I'll conduct his grandchildren's weddings too." Chief Minister MK Stalin attended and presided over the wedding of Vijayabharathi, son of Srirangam MLA Palaniyandi, held near Somarasampettai, Trichy. The ceremony was attended by Ministers KN Nehru, Raghupathi, Geetha Jeevan, Anbil Mahesh, Siva Shankar, Meyyanathan, DMK Deputy General Secretaries Trichy Siva and A Raja, several MPs, MLAs, and party functionaries. Speaking during the event, Minister Anbil Mahesh said, "If I had been the Education Minister during Palaniyandi's school days, I would have ensured he completed college. Tamil Nadu's global success is because of our Chief Minister. In the 2026 elections, the CM will act as the strategist and the Deputy CM as the warrior -- together they will chase away the opposition. DMK will form the government again." Praising the Chief Minister Stalin, DMK Deputy General Secretary A Raja stated, "Even while running the government and implementing welfare schemes, the Chief Minister still finds time to conduct party members' weddings -- this shows his commitment. The DMK is not a family party; it is a party where all families belong. The CM's focus is on Trichy, and his vision extends to the Mutharaiyar community as well." In the event, Trichy Siva remarked, "Dark clouds of political battle surround Tamil Nadu. Enemies are attacking from the shadows, but the Chief Minister is standing firm. We must protect and support him, for when he stands, Tamil Nadu and its people stand." Minister KN Nehru noted, "Our Chief Minister embraces all communities in Tamil Nadu. We will ensure a clean sweep victory for DMK in this region and dedicate it at his feet." Expressing gratitude, MLA Palaniyandi donated Rs 51 lakh as election funds to the DMK, which was received by the Chief Minister. (ANI)
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is holding a protest outside Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's official residence in Bengaluru, after a viral video of Central Jail, showcasing "VVIP treatment" for inmates, including ISIS terrorists and rapists, surfaced online. Officials have been deployed outside the CM's residence to ensure safety. BJP District Incharge, S Harish, criticised the Congress government for creating a safe haven for notorious criminals and terrorists inside Bengaluru prison. "The prisons are not prisons anymore in this Congress government... They have become a safe haven...Terrorists across the country want a transfer to the Bangalore jail because it has become a safe haven... They want this jail only... "he said. He said that the party seeks the immediate resignation of Karnataka Home Minister G. Pareeshwarappa and asked for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to take moral responsibility for the incident. During the protest, BJP MLA CN Ashwnath Narayan also slammed the Congress, saying that the party is in support of terrorists, which is "completely anti-national." "There is no law and order, there is no system, there is no governance...The government has been patronising terrorists...The jail has become a paradise for the terrorists... This kind of support to the terrorists is completely anti-national... Activities have been taking place in jail, even then, the Congress government is not taking anything seriously... They are giving all the support to the terrorists..." he said. BJP Karnataka Chief BY Vijayendra accused Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of enabling terrorists who were inside the jail. "Not only do Radical elements and ISIS operatives enjoy a free hand outside, but even the Prisons in Karnataka have been turned into Government-sponsored Recreation Clubs for terrorists! Rahul Gandhi who frequently travels abroad and seeks external interference in India's internal matters, is he now enabling these terrorists and using their networks to create unrest across the nation and destabilize our democracy for artificial regime change with the help of the same foreign forces? Mobile phones, luxury comforts, and ample "fun time", no wonder these radicals find it so convenient to operate under this shameless regime and treat prisons as their favourite holiday destinations, where everything is provided to them free of cost, courtesy of the Anti-National Congress government and our poor taxpayers money! Such blatant compromise of national security is possible only with the active support and direction of the Congress government, acting as per the diktats of their "Supreme Leader" Rahul Gandhi, whose hunger for power outweighs the safety and sovereignty of our nation," he said. Home Minister G Parmeshwara has assured of strict action in the case. "I have called a meeting of all the senior officers today, and I will take stock of the situation. Some of the videos we have seen show someone supplying liquor, drugs and mobile phones. We will look into this matter and take serious steps and actions against those found involved," he said. Earlier, a purported viral video showed inmates in Parappanna Agrahara Jail, also known as Bengaluru Central jail, enjoying "VVIP treatment" such as getting unauthorised use of mobile phones, TV and such inside the prison. Some of the people allegedly seen in the video were a serial killer on death row, Umesh Reddy, and another inmate, Tarun Raj, who was convicted in a gold smuggling case. An ISIS operative who was brought from Dubai by the National Security Agency (NSA) was also seen using a mobile phone in the prison. (ANI)
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday launched a sharp attack on the ruling BJP-led Central government, accusing it of hypocrisy over its repeated remarks about "infiltrators." Speaking to reporters, the SP chief questioned how the BJP could raise the issue when it has been in power at the Centre for over a decade. He further said that he will raise this issue in the Lok Sabha. The winter session of the Parliament will commence on December 1 and conclude on December 19. "Who is in power in Delhi for the last 11 years. They are making accusations against their own government. If they are talking about infiltrators, it means they are accusing their own government of sending infiltrators for the past 11 years. If Naxalism is ending, it is because of the Central forces. I will raise this question in the Lok Sabha. From where did the infiltrators come for the 11 years, whose government is responsible?" Yadav said. It is worth noting that the BJP leaders have been vocal about the issue of infiltrators across the nation. In the Bihar elections, several senior leaders have raised the issue of infiltrators and made it one of the key election issues. Earlier on November 8, Union Home Minister Amit Shah targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for starting 'Ghushpaithia Bachao Yatra' while addressing a public meeting during an election rally in Banmankhi town of Purnea district in Bihar. "Should the infiltrators be expelled or not?... Rahul Baba and Lalu's son just started a "Save the Infiltrators" Yatra. They want Seemanchal to become a stronghold of infiltrators. But...we will work to expel every single infiltrator not only from Seemanchal, but also from the entire Bihar... They snatch the jobs of our youth. They take away the rations of our poor and also make the country unsafe..." he said. He further emphasised that the Bharatiya Janata Party and the NDA plan to expel infiltrators from the state within the next five years. "We will not only expel the infiltrators, but the encroachment they have made will also be razed to the ground... All the illegal businesses here were established during Lalu's rule and subsequently expanded by infiltrators. In the next five years, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the NDA government will root out every single illegal activity in Seemanchal," he added. (ANI)
Father-of-eight Stellan Skarsgard refuses to give parenting advice to his kids because it's "very dangerous".

Stellan Skarsgard has opened up about parenting

The Dune star, 74, is dad to six grown-up children - Alexander, 49, Gustaf, 44, Sam, 43, Bill, 35, Eija, 33, and Valter, 29 - with his first wife My Skarsgard as well as Ossian, 16, and Kolbjorn, 13, with his second wife Megan Everett and he is also now a grandfather but he's adamant he won't be passing on any of his wisdom about raising families.

He told PEOPLE: "I havent given them [his kids] any advice at all because it is very dangerous to do.

"Because if they listen to my advice and theyre successful, its because of me, and if they listen to my advice and theyre not successful, its my fault. So its a lose-lose situation."

He added of his children: "Watching the characters and seeing how different they are. Even if they have the same genes, its amazing how different they are.

"All my eight kids, theyre very different too. There are some things in common, but they all have personalities."

Four of Stellan's older children have followed him into the acting industry and his two youngest boys are also keen on forging careers in Hollywood with Kolbjorn recently making his acting debut in 2022 miniseries Clark.

However, Stellan previously admitted the youngster has been given a tough time over his famous family connections by bullies at school who branded him a "nepo baby".

Stellan told Vulture: My 13-year-old, Kolbjorn, the youngest, suffers from that. When his pals at school call him nepo baby, he gets so sad. He doesnt have any friends at school.

"He gets isolated. Cruel kids - or cruel and ignorant. They love it on the internet. But it is such a bulls*** thing. Because nobody would hire you, at least not for anything good, if youre not good enough."

He went on to insist his kids have benefitted from his passion for his work, adding: Your work is you to such a big extent. Its not like being an accountant.

"If youre a painter, if youre a musician, you go to work with you and your own material. Combining that with family life is hard.

"But if you become a really good father and you are at home more than you want to be, then suddenly you reduce yourself ...

"Youve become some other person. Its like you would think differently. You would act differently. You need your creative art. Its your stimuli.

"And you are more fun to the kids when you come home and tell them a story that you cant tell them if you havent been stimulated. Im trying to defend myself now."
Former Uttar Pradesh DGP Vikram Singh on Wednesday termed the recovery of a large cache of explosives from Haryana's Faridabad as a "wakeup call," noting that India's intelligence agencies will have to function at a "different level" to prevent terror attacks in the future as well. Noting the magnitude of the explosives recovered, former DGP Singh said that the "NCR was sitting on the tip of a volcano." Speaking to ANI, he said, "It is a matter of tremendous satisfaction and relief. An AK-47 rifle was recovered from his locker in Kashmir. Now, in Faridabad, three quintals worth of RDX and an AK-47 rifle have been recovered. Another accomplice is on a run. I would first compliment the police, intelligence agencies for working the case out wonderfully and professionally. But, it is a wakeup call that the enemy is inside the gates. If you could smuggle three quintals of RDX, imagine the devastating impact." "The entire NCR was sitting on the tip of a volcano. Our intelligence act will have to be taken to a different level, so that nothing goes by default. All suspicious activities will have to be reported quickly, and police have to be proactive so that such people do not survive," he added. Linking the accused to the terror organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), he added, "He belongs to Jaish-e-Mohammad. It is time that India gave a befitting reply. While this module has been neutralised, the JeM has upgraded its act, and now they are recruiting doctors and people with post-graduate degrees as sleeper cells." Earlier today, Jammu and Kashmir Police recovered about 360 kgs of inflammable material and ammunition from Haryana's Faridabad and nabbed two accused, Dr Muzammil and Aadil Rather. Commissioner of Police Satender Kumar Gupta detailed the joint operation involving the J&K Police and Haryana Police. "It is an ongoing joint operation between Haryana police and J&K police. An accused, Dr Muzammil, was nabbed. 360 kg of inflammable material was recovered yesterday, which is possibly ammonium nitrate. It is not RDX... The operation is still underway," he said. Furthermore, he elaborated on the recovered arms and ammunition, including pistols, live cartridges, timers, batteries, walkie-talkie sets, heavy metal, and more. "One assault rifle with 3 magazines and 83 live rounds, one pistol with 8 live rounds, two empty cartidges, two additional magazines, 8 large suitcases, 4 small suitcases and a bucket from which approx 360 kgs of inflammable material has been recovered. It is suspected to be ammonium nitrate. Twenty timers with batteries, 24 remotes, approximately 5 kg of heavy metal, walkie-talkie sets, electric wiring, batteries, and other contraband materials have been recovered. It is not RDX...It is not an AK-47; it is an assault rifle. It is similar to an AK-47, but slightly smaller than it. But it is not an AK-47," Faridabad CP Satender Kumar stated. The arrested accused was a physician at the Al-Falah University in Faridabad, Haryana. CP Gupta said, "This joint operation has been going on for fifteen days... Two accused persons have been booked until now, including Dr Muzsammil from Faridabad, and another accused, Aadil Rather, has been arrested from UP's Saharanpur..." Aadil Rather was detained after an AK-47 rifle was recovered from his locker at the Government Medical College (GMC) by Srinagar Police, with the assistance of the Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) Anantnag. According to Police sources, it was Adil Rather's confession that led to the arrest of Dr Muzammil and the recovery of a large amount of explosives. Further details are awaited. (ANI)
Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Monday said that Jail Superintendent Magery and ASP Ashok Bhajantri have been dismissed following an inquiry into reports of inmates receiving "VVIP treatment" at Bengaluru's Parappana Agrahara Central Jail. Parameshwara said that some videos and photos circulating online were old, but confirmed lapses in prison management. He added that Chief Superintendent of Prison K Suresh has been transferred, and an IPS officer will now head the jail. Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, G Parameshwara said, "The media had reported that an unlawful incident had occurred. A meeting was held to verify the truth of the matter. An investigation has been conducted regarding the media reports. Some videos have been circulating; however, they are from 2023, not from yesterday or the day before. Some photos, only one or two, are from three to four months ago. The responsibility lies with three people. Chief Superintendent of Prison K Suresh. He has been immediately transferred. An IPS officer has been appointed in his place for the first time. From now on, Parappana Agrahara Prison will be managed by an IPS officer." A high-power committee has also been formed to review prison operations and submit a detailed report. "Formation of a new committee, a High-Power Committee. They will review all matters happening in the prisons and submit a comprehensive report. We will provide them with the terms of reference. Jail Superintendent Magery has been dismissed. ASP Ashok Bhajantri has also been dismissed," he said. A purported viral video showed inmates in Parappanna Agrahara Jail, also known as Bengaluru Central jail, enjoying "VVIP treatment" such as getting unauthorised use of mobile phones, TV and such inside the prison. Some of the people allegedly seen in the video were a serial killer on death row, Umesh Reddy, and another inmate, Tarun Raj, who was convicted in a gold smuggling case. An ISIS operative who was brought from Dubai by the National Security Agency (NSA) was also seen using a mobile phone in the prison. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sanjay Jaiswal on Monday accused Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav of being "anti-reservation, anti-backward classes". Speaking to ANI, Jaiswal argued that political minorities, including Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, along with Extremely Backward Classes (EBC), didn't receive reservations in the Panchayati Raj system under the previous Lalu Prasad Yadav government, but received the same when Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar came to power. "Tejashwi Yadav is anti-reservation. He is anti-backward classes. This is why, as long as Lalu Yadav was in power, neither the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, nor the Extremely Backward Classes received reservations in the Panchayati Raj system. When Nitish Kumar came to power, everyone, from Mukhiya to District Council members, received reservations," Jaiswal said. He further alleged that Tejaswi had earlier questioned the constitutional status being given to backward classes. "Reservations are implemented in this country according to Supreme Court rules, and Nitish Kumar recommended it. Today, everyone wants proportional representation and participation. If backward classes were receiving constitutional status, why did he oppose it? Why did Tejashwi Yadav oppose Babasaheb Ambedkar whenever there was a discussion about the constitution and reservations?" Jaiswal said. His remarks come after Tejashwi Yadav accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "snatching away" the 65 per cent reservation quota from Bihar. Earlier, the Bihar government decided to increase the reservation cap from 50 per cent to 65 per cent after conducting a statewide caste survey. However, the decision was struck down by the Patna High Court, labelling it as "unconstitutional". Later, the Bihar government appealed against the Patna HC decision last year. In the first phase, polling was held in 121 seats across 18 districts. Following a historic voter turnout in the first phase of polls, voting for 122 assembly constituencies across 20 districts in Bihar will be held during the second phase of the assembly elections on November 11. These include 11 assembly seats in East Champaran, 10 each in Madhubani and Gaya, nine in West Champaran, eight in Sitamarhi, and seven each in Bhagalpur, Rohtas, Purnia, and Katihar. Six assembly seats will go to the polls in Araria and Aurangabad each. In the second phase of the 2025 assembly polls, the NDA will face a major challenge in maintaining its dominance, particularly in its northern Bihar strongholds, including East Champaran, West Champaran, Sheohar, and Sitamarhi districts, where the ruling alliance currently holds sway over 30 assembly seats. The results for the legislative assembly elections will be announced on November 14. (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party spokeperson Shehzad Poonawalla launched a scathing attack on the Congress-led Karnataka government, amidst the Bengaluru prison viral video controversy. Poonawalla highlighted the corruption and collusion in the Karnataka prisons, which have become a "party zone" for the criminals. "Under the Congress regime in Karnataka, the law and order situation has completely collapsed, and there is such an amount of corruption and collusion that prisons in Karnataka have now become party zones," Poonawalla told ANI. The BJP leader claimed that in the viral video, a rape convict, an ISIS recruiter and a gold smuggler have access to television and mobile phones in the Bengaluru prison. "Look at the brazen manner in which some videos have emerged from the jail in which we can see a convicted serial rapist, who tormented many women in Karnataka, appears to have access to a phone and television. An ISIS recruiter involved in radicalising the youth, who has been arrested by the NIA, has access to a mobile phone. One gold smuggler who has caused significant losses to the country has access to booze, parties, and mobile phones," Poonawalla said. He further alleged that the Karantaka government supports criminals, claiming that they enjoy "seven-star" hotel facilities in the prison. Poonawalla demanded accountability from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Home Minister G. Parameshwara in the matter. "A hand of support from the Congress party and state patronage that has been given to these dreaded criminals, who are enjoying seven-star facilities inside the jail... It is complete corruption within the system, and mere statements and outrage are not enough. There must be accountability from the chief minister and the home minister. They must be held responsible for this. They are the ones who should be resigning today," he said. Meanwhile, the BJP hed a protest outside Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's official residence in Bengaluru on the incident. BJP District Incharge, S Harish, criticised the Congress government for creating a safe haven for notorious criminals and terrorists inside Bengaluru prison."The prisons are not prisons anymore in this Congress government... They have become a safe haven...Terrorists across the country want a transfer to the Bangalore jail because it has become a safe haven... They want this jail only... "he said. He said that the BJP has sought the immediate resignation of Karnataka Home Minister G. Pareeshwarappa and asked for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to take moral responsibility for the incident. A purported viral video showed inmates in Parappanna Agrahara Jail, also known as Bengaluru Central jail, enjoying "VVIP treatment" such as getting unauthorised use of mobile phones, TV and such inside the prison. Some of the people allegedly seen in the video were a serial killer on death row, Umesh Reddy, and another inmate, Tarun Raj, who was convicted in a gold smuggling case. An ISIS operative who was brought from Dubai by the National Security Agency (NSA) was also seen using a mobile phone in the prison. Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said that Jail Superintendent Magery and ASP Ashok Bhajantri have been dismissed following an inquiry into reports of inmates receiving "VVIP treatment" at Bengaluru's Parappana Agrahara Central Jail. (ANI)
As Odisha celebrates 'Mandia Divas', Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said that millet remains an important crop since it effectively grows in less water and "poor soil", apart from being nutritious for the body. Speaking to reporters at Bhubaneswar Airport, Chouhan stated that the government was making efforts to increase millet production. Mandia Shree Anna millet is a food that not only gives nutrients to the body, but it also grows in less water and poor soil. Every possible effort is being made to increase millet production under the guidance of PM Modi. I would like to congratulate the Odisha government on organising the Mandia Divas (millet day) to increase millet production," the Union Minister said. "I will also discuss the 'Dalhan Mission', 'Pradhan Mantri Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana', and natural farming at the ICR institution in Cuttack with the state government, farmers, and scientists," he added. Chouhan is on a one-day visit to Odisha today. During this visit, he will participate in key programmes aimed at enhancing farmers' income, ensuring nutritional security, and promoting natural farming practices in the state, a release from the Ministry of Agriculture said. He was invited to the inaugural session of the 'Mandia Dibasa (Millet Day)' programme as the Chief Guest at the Convention Centre located in the Lok Seva Bhawan. In the afternoon, the Union Agriculture Minister will participate in a joint strategic meeting at the ICAR-Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) in Bidyadharpur, Cuttack. The meeting agenda includes detailed deliberations on strengthening the implementation of key national agricultural initiatives, such as the PM Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojana, the Self-Reliance in Pulses Mission, and the National Mission on Natural Farming. Senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, scientists from ICAR, and representatives from the Odisha Government are expected to attend this discussion. The deliberation will aim to formulate actionable strategies for achieving higher productivity, sustainability, and self-reliance in Indian agriculture. Union Agriculture Minister Chouhan's visit is being viewed as a significant step towards advancing sustainable and self-reliant agriculture in Odisha. Emphasising the importance of Indian farmers in national development, Chouhan has often stated that "India's future lies in the fields of its farmers, and under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are committed to making farming profitable, environmentally friendly, and technology-driven." Union Minister Chouhan has been consistently visiting various states to directly connect with farmers and review agricultural development on the ground. He maintains that policymaking and programme implementation cannot be effective if confined to offices in New Delhi. Instead, success in agriculture requires understanding field realities through direct interaction with cultivators. His ongoing outreach efforts reflect a participatory approach, ensuring that the government's agricultural reforms remain closely aligned with the aspirations and lived experiences of India's rural communities. Through farmer consultations and field inspections, Chouhan aims to identify region-specific challenges, including soil health, crop diversification, water efficiency, and the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. (ANI)
BJD chief and former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday alleged serious violations of Election Commission guidelines in the Nuapada bypoll during the legally mandated silence period and sought the Election Commission's intervention to ensure that "all non-local political leaders vacate the constituency". He sought directions to the district administration and police "to act impartially". In a post on X, Patnaik said that Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has reliable information that leaders and workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from outside Nuapada "are attempting to influence voters". He alleged that the district administration and local police are acting in a partisan manner, serving the interests of the ruling party. Nuapada is witnessing a bye-election due to the death of BJD leader and four-time MLA Rajendra Dholakia. The campaign in the constituency ended on Sunday, and voting will take place on Tuesday. Naveen Patnaik said the hallmark of a true democracy lies in the conduct of free and fair elections. "However, it has come to our notice that in Nuapada, serious violations are taking place during the legally mandated silence period -- 48 hours before polling. As per the Election Commission of India's guidelines, political leaders and campaigners from outside the constituency are required to leave the area once the silence period begins," he said. "Contrary to this, we have reliable information that leaders and workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from outside Nuapada are freely moving around and attempting to influence voters through unfair means," he added. Patnaik said when BJD workers objected, they were detained. "Disturbingly, when local @bjd_odisha leaders have objected to these activities, they have been detained by the police. This clearly suggests that the district administration and local police are acting in a partisan manner, serving the interests of the ruling party rather than upholding electoral neutrality." He said this situation strikes at the "very core of democratic fairness and undermines public faith in the electoral process". "Such actions, if allowed to continue, will cast a serious shadow on the integrity of the polls in Nuapada. We therefore request the immediate intervention of the Election Commission of India to enforce the 48-hour silence period strictly; ensure that all non-local political leaders vacate the constituency as per ECI norms; direct the district administration and police to act impartially and uphold the sanctity of the election process," the BJD leader said. "The people of India have inherited this democracy through the sacrifices of our forefathers, and it is the duty of every institution -- especially the Election Commission -- to protect it from erosion. We seek your urgent action to preserve the credibility of this election," he added. Polling for the Nuapada bypoll will be held on Tuesday, along with seven other bye-election seats in different states. The second phase of the Bihar polls will also be held on Tuesday. A total of 2.53 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in Nuapada to decide the electoral fate of 14 candidates. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav chaired a cabinet meeting at the state Secretariat on Monday, and the council of ministers approved several key decisions, including increasing the monthly financial assistance under the Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana from Rs 1,250 to Rs 1,500. The scheme, launched in March 2023 with a monthly stipend of Rs 1,000, was revised to Rs 1,250 in September 2023. A further increase of Rs 250 has been approved, bringing the total to Rs 1500, effective from November 2025. The Chief Minister will transfer the instalment of this month on November 12, holding a program in Seoni district. In another major decision, the cabinet approved the revised project cost of Rs 2,424.369 crore for several construction works being developed under the Ekta Dham Project in Omkareshwar. The project includes the installation of a 108-foot multi-metal statue of Adi Shankaracharya, a museum based on his life and philosophy, Acharya Shankar Museum 'Advait Lok', the Acharya Shankar International Vedanta Institute, and Advait Nilayam, among other facilities. The Madhya Pradesh Tourism Corporation will execute all works. The Council of Ministers also approved the installation of solar rooftop systems on all government buildings under the RESCO (Renewable Energy Service Company) model as part of the Pradhan Mantri Suryaghar Muft Bijli Yojana. The initiative aims to make all government offices solar-powered without requiring direct departmental investment. Instead, government offices will pay per unit to the RESCO developer, whose rate is expected to be lower than existing power tariffs, resulting in long-term savings. Under the RESCO model, these solar systems will be installed at government buildings and maintained by the developer entity for 25 years. Additionally, the cabinet approved the creation of seven new posts, including one post of Civil Judge (Junior Division), at the newly established court in Mandhata, Khandwa district. (ANI)
The Supreme Court has refused to entertain a plea filed by Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) MP (Member of Parliament) from Punjab's Khadoor Sahib, Amritpal Singh, challenging his April 2023 detention under the National Security Act (NSA). A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria has, however, allowed Amritpal Singh to approach the jurisdictional High Court seeking the same relief. The apex court requested the High Court to decide Amritpal's p`lea within six weeks, taking into account Singh's prolonged detention. "We are requesting the High Court to dispose of it (Amritpal's plea) expeditiously, preferably within six weeks", the Court observed. During the hearing, Senior Advocate Colin Gonzalves, appearing for Singh, submitted that the Waris Punjab De leader has been under detention for more than three years now. Thus, the senior lawyer sought the apex court to hear the matter, considering his clients' prolonged detention under the NSA. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, representing the Central government, argued that six weeks' time is less for the High Court to deal with the matter, as there will be replies filed by either party. However, the apex court was of the view that in habeas corpus pleas where detention is challenged, there is a need to proceed expeditiously. "In habeas corpus and detention matters, time is of the essence", the Court remarked. Thus, it permitted Singh to approach the High Court seeking the same relief. Amritpal is lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail after he was detained under the NSA following his arrest on April 23, 2023. Amritpal Singh lived in Dubai before returning to Punjab in 2022, following the death of Punjabi Actor Deep Sidhu. After his return, he became the chief of Deep Sidhu's pro-Khalistani organisation, Waris Punjab De. He was arrested from Moga's Rode village after he and his supporters on February 23, 2023, staged a protest at the Ajnala police station and clashed with police personnel in an attempt to free one of his aides, who was taken into custody for making inflammatory and pro-Khalistan statements. His detention has been extended twice, once in April 2024 and for the second time in April 2025, since he was taken into custody in 2023. After the latest extension of his detention in April 2025, the pro-Khalistani leader moved to the Supreme Court. (ANI)
Hitting back at RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav for calling the Election Commission "dead" and a "tool", senior BJP leader and MP Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday said that "It is their nature to attack all the crucial organs of democracy", and said that the assembly poll is a fight between "jungle raj" and "good governance". "My counter-allegation is that, whether it is Rahul Gandhi or his allied parties, whenever they don't get what they want, they start making frivolous statements about institutions like the Election Commission, the Courts, the CAG, and the Parliament. It is their nature to attack all the crucial organs of democracy," the BJP leader told reporters here. Prasad further said, "This election is between jungle raj and good governance. Tejashwi is taking forward his father's legacy of bad governance, corruption, and fear. Tejashwi Yadav presides over the legacy of his father's jungle raj... Both times when Nitish Kumar departed from the Lalu family, he said that they had no answer for the corruption in Bihar...," Prasad said. Taking a dig at Tejashwi Yadav's remark questioning why industries are set up only in BJP-ruled states, Prasad said the former Deputy Chief Minister needs to do his homework. "Tejashwi said today, 'Why are all industries set up only in BJP-ruled states? Why not in Bihar or Tamil Nadu?' I always say that Rahul Gandhi does not do homework. Seems like Tejashwi has fallen prey to the same condition after staying with him. Please do some homework, Tejashwi. You are a Chief Ministerial candidate, even though you will never become one...," he added. Earlier today, in a press conference, RJD leader and Mahagathbandhan Chief Ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav demanded an explanation from the Election Commission for not publishing the male and female turnout figures from the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, calling it a "dead" and becoming a "tool." "The first phase of the elections was on November 6. Today is November 10. Even after 4 days, the data has not been made public... Earlier, they used to tell on the same day manually. Why is the data being concealed? The voting is on November 11 and the counting on the 14th. But you won't know for more than 4 days how many votes were cast... BJP will carry on with its sins and the Election Commission will keep covering... The Election Commission is dead and has become a tool," the RJD leader said. The first phase of the Bihar elections, which saw a record voter turnout of 65.08 per cent, marked the highest polling percentage in the state's history. The first phase of polling in Bihar concluded recently, with elections for 122 seats scheduled on November 11 for the second phase. The results of the Bihar Assembly elections will be announced on November 14. (ANI)
The Supreme Court recently dismissed a plea filed by actor Pavithra Gowda, an accused in the Renukaswamy murder case along with actor Darshan and five others, seeking review of the apex court's August 14 decision cancelling her bail. A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan noted that after carefully going through its August 14 order, no case for review is made out. "These review petitions have been filed by the petitioner seeking review of the Order dated 14-8-2025 passed in the captioned Criminal Appeals, whereby the appeals filed by the State of Karnataka were allowed. We have carefully gone through the said Order and the record. In our opinion, no case for review is made out. Consequently, the review petitions are dismissed", the Court noted. The Supreme Court had, on August 14, cancelled the bail of Pavithra Gowda, Darshan Thoogudeepa and five others by setting aside the Karnataka High Court's order of granting bail to them in the Renukaswamy murder case. The Karnataka High Court had, in December 2024, granted bail to Pavithra, Darshan and five others in the Renuka Swami murder case. While overturning the High Court's decision granting bail to the aforesaid accused persons, the apex court had reasoned that the High Court, in its order, had overlooked serious evidence andrelied on inadequate grounds contrary to established legal principles in murder cases. Additionally, the top court had noted that, as per the record, actor Darshan made clearattempts to interfere with the investigation, including being involved in arranging false surrenders by co-accused persons, making payments to conceal the crime, and leveraging connections with police to manipulate the FIR and postmortem process. Actor Darshan and six others were named in the chargesheet in the Renukaswamy murder case, where the 33-year-old resident of Chitradurga was murdered. The victim's remains were discovered in Bengaluru's Kamakshipalya on June 9, 2024. (ANI)
Tim Westwood has been granted conditional bail.

Tim Westwood has been granted bail

The former BBC Radio 1 DJ appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Monday (10.11.25) after being charged with four counts of rape, nine counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual assault in relation to alleged incidents between 1983 and 2016, but the 68-year-old star did not enter a plea.

Westwood spoke to confirm his name, date of birth and address, and when asked at the end if he could hear properly, he told the judge, "not really".

He then nodded as he was granted bail on the condition that he did not contact any prosecution witnesses.

Westwood - who returned to the UK from Nigeria last week - will next appear at Southwark Crown Court on 8 December.

Police previously praised the women who came forward with their allegations and urged anyone with further information to come forward.

Det Supt Andy Furphy, of the Metropolitan police, said: It takes courage to come forward and report allegations of this nature. The women who have done so have put their trust in us and we continue to provide them with all available support.

Our investigation remains open and wed encourage anyone who has been impacted by this case, or anyone with information, to come forward and speak with us. Any reports will be dealt with in the strictest confidence by specialist officers.

The alleged offenses include the indecent assault of a 17-year-old girl in 1983 and the sexual assault of a woman in her 20s in 1986.

In addition, between 1995 and 1996, a female aged 17-18 was allegedly raped and sexually assaulted on another occasion, with the same alleged to have happened to another teenager of the same age between 2000 and 2001.

There is also an allegation a woman in her 20s was raped in 2010 and another woman of a similar age was sexually assaulted. The final charge relates to the sexual assault of a woman in her 20s in 2016.

With the exception of the 2010 sexual assault, which is said to have happened in Stroud, the other alleged incidents are reported to have occurred in London.
Tripura University today observed the birth anniversary of noted thinker and visionary economist Dattopant Thengadi with great respect and scholarly enthusiasm. The commemorative event was attended by Prof. Shyamal Das, Vice-Chancellor (In-Charge), along with other dignitaries, faculty members, and hundreds of students who gathered to pay tribute to the architect of India's Swadeshi economic thought. Speaking exclusively to ANI on the occasion, Dr. Dipak Sharma, Registrar of Tripura Central University, reflected on the enduring relevance of Thengadi's economic philosophy in his address titled "Reimagining the Global Economy: The Relevance of Dattopant Thengadi's Economic Philosophy." Dr. Sharma remarked that the world today stands at a decisive crossroads, facing the intertwined challenges of globalisation, trade wars, and economic nationalism. In this context, Thengadi's philosophy offers a deeply relevant framework for reimagining the global economic order. His vision of Swadeshi, self-reliance, and a balanced "Third Way" between capitalism and socialism presents a pragmatic and ethical approach to sustainable development. Founder of key socio-economic movements such as the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch and the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, Thengadi envisioned an economic model rooted in India's cultural ethos while addressing modern complexities. His renowned work "The Third Way" critically evaluated both capitalism and socialism, arguing for a harmonious model that integrates market efficiency with social welfare, human well-being, and environmental balance. Dr. Sharma emphasised that Thengadi's concept of Swadeshi was often misunderstood as protectionism, while in truth, it was a call for self-reliance, innovation, and resilient local economies--a vision that aligns with the global quest for sustainability and equitable growth. His approach sought not isolation, but confidence in India's ability to compete on equal footing globally. Thengadi's philosophy, Dr. Sharma added, gains renewed significance in the modern era marked by technological upheavals, environmental degradation, and social inequality. His stress on decentralisation, labour dignity, cooperative federalism, and participatory governance continues to offer valuable lessons for inclusive and sustainable economic policies. Highlighting Thengadi's critique of uncontrolled globalisation, Dr. Sharma noted how Thengadi foresaw the vulnerabilities of economic systems overly dependent on global integration--a concern validated by events such as the U.S.-China trade war. His "Third Way" emphasised national sovereignty, domestic production, and cooperative ownership as the bedrock of resilient economies. Summarising Thengadi's key principles, Dr. Sharma outlined four central pillars: diverse self-reliance--building strength in critical sectors like food, energy, and technology; decentralisation--empowering small and medium enterprises for balanced growth; dignity of labour--prioritising workers' welfare and employment opportunities; and national sovereignty--ensuring that economic decisions preserve autonomy and long-term stability. Concluding his remarks, Dr. Sharma stated that Dattopant Thengadi's philosophy serves as a moral compass for policymakers and economists worldwide, offering a culturally rooted and human-centric blueprint for a just and sustainable global economy. The event at Tripura University reflected a profound tribute to Thengadi's intellectual legacy, reaffirming his vision of an economy grounded in ethics, equity, and national self-reliance. (ANI)
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that India has achieved remarkable success in strengthening its cooperative banking sector, with Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) reduced from 2.8 per cent to just 0.06 per cent over the past two years. Speaking at the international conference on the urban cooperative credit sector, 'Co-Op Kumbh 2025' in New Delhi as the Chief Guest, Shah said the focus must now shift to improving operational standards and consolidating the gains made in financial discipline. "Along with this, we must improve operational standards and further strengthen the improvements achieved in financial discipline," Shah said. Highlighting the government's vision to expand the reach of cooperative banks, Shah emphasised that establishing one urban cooperative bank in every city would be possible only by converting existing cooperative societies into banks. He further underscored that the country's progress cannot be gauged solely through Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures. "GDP alone cannot reflect our progress. We must ensure that every person gets some work and their standard of living improves--and that cannot happen without cooperatives," said the Minister. Reiterating the Centre's commitment to strengthening the cooperative movement, Shah said both the central and state governments fully understand the importance of cooperatives. "Now, there is a need to work with renewed confidence and effort in a transparent and result-oriented manner," he pointed out. Shah further said the Cooperative Kumbh of urban cooperative banks and credit societies is being organised to mark the International Year of Cooperatives. "Over the past three-four years, the country's urban cooperative banking sector and cooperative credit society sector have been moving forward with renewed enthusiasm. During Co-Op Kumbh 2025, there will be discussions on policy, technology, and innovation to tap several possibilities related to this sector. The 'Delhi Declaration 2025' of the international conference organised by NAFCUB will serve as a roadmap for the expansion of Urban Cooperative Banks," said the Minister. Through Co-Op Kumbh 2025, he later said the government's dream of expanding urban cooperative banks will be fulfilled very soon. Today, Shah mentioned, Sahkar Digi-Pay and Sahkar Digi-Loan have been launched here by the umbrella organisation. "Through the Sahkar Digi-Pay app, even the smallest urban cooperative banks will be able to offer digital payment facilities." The Minister also said that since the establishment of the Ministry of Cooperation, several important policy decisions have been taken to bring about fundamental changes in every sector related to cooperatives. "Along with this, many steps have also been taken to modernise the cooperative sector, resolve its challenges, and expand the reach of cooperatives. All state governments in the country have accepted the model bylaws for PACS," said Shah, adding, "the Ministry of Cooperation has set four goals." The Minister said another goal is to prepare cooperative societies that are capable of facing all kinds of challenges. He added that the government has also set a target of establishing one urban cooperative bank in every city with a population of more than two lakh within five years. Shah later stressed that "urban cooperative banks must carry out their core functions with a multi-sector approach for the empowerment of young entrepreneurs, self-help groups, and weaker sections of society. "Our goal is to strengthen cooperatives and, at the same time, to strengthen the weaker sections, and no institution other than urban cooperative banks can achieve this. Empowering vulnerable individuals through urban cooperative banks must also be one of our goals," added the Minister. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Monday participated in a workshop on 'Tribal Cluster Development Project, Madhya Pradesh' held at the BJP state headquarters in Bhopal, focusing on livelihood empowerment, rural development, and collective efforts to curb migration. Addressing the workshop, CM Yadav said, "Today, this workshop is being held in view of Janjatiya Gaurav Divas which will be organised on November 15. Along the programs, continuous work is being done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and our government for the tribal sector. I am proud to say that under the leadership of PM Modi, the Tribal Pride Day was started in 2021 in our state. If we recall those glorious moments in our history about the struggle of tribal society against Britishers during the freedom movement, it is venerable for the countrymen." In a true sense, the freedom movement gradually came out from the jungle, to villages and to the city. When the Britishers tried to attack on forest wealth and the tribal freedom fighters came forward and fought against it, the CM said. "Among the tribal freedom fighters, one big name is Birsa Munda and through him, we remember all our great personalities...," the Chief Minister added. Additionally, in a post on X, CM Yadav stated that, "I share my views during a workshop on the topic "Tribal Cluster Development Project, Madhya Pradesh" (a collective effort for livelihood empowerment, rural development, and prevention of migration) held at the BJP state headquarters. On the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary of Lord Birsa Munda (Dharti Aba), grand programs will be organized in Jabalpur and Alirajpur." Earlier in the day, during the cabinet meeting, CM Yadav informed the ministers that Tribal Pride Day would be celebrated with grandeur on November 15 on the occasion of the 150th birth anniversary year of Birsa Munda. The CM emphasised that exhibitions based on tribal heroes will be organised, and foundation laying and inauguration of various development works will also take place to mark the occasion. A series of social and cultural activities will be organised in tribal-dominated districts and blocks. In Pride Day programmes, essay competitions on lives and contributions of freedom fighters and great tribal heroes should be organised, along with honouring tribal youth who have achieved remarkable success and progressive farmers from tribal communities. The programmes should include performances of folk songs and folk arts, as well as arrangements for tribal community cuisines. Participation of tribal public representatives must be ensured in programmes, he added. (ANI)
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel attended the meeting and offered heartfelt floral tributes to the revered departed soul.

Late Joravarsinh Jadav, apart from being a writer and researcher, was also a devoted protector of folk arts and artists who kept Gujarat's cultural heartbeat alive. His unique journey of promoting and preserving folk art, which began in the small village of Akru, remains a remarkable chapter in the state's cultural history.

He was honoured with the Padma Award by the Government of India in 2019 and had served as the Vice Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. He also founded the Gujarati Folk Museum, "Virasat," which was inaugurated by the Chief Minister.

A large number of folk artists, litterateurs, citizens, and admirers attended the prayer meeting, paying their heartfelt tributes. (ANI)
BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday sharpened his attack on RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, framing the ongoing Bihar assembly polls as a contest between "jungle raj and good governance". Speaking at the press conference, "This election is between jungle raj and good governance. Tejashwi is taking forward his father's legacy of bad governance, corruption, and fear. Tejashwi Yadav presides over the jungle raj legacy of his father still... Both times when Nitish Kumar departed from the Lalu family, he said that they had no answer for the corruption in Bihar...," Prasad said. Taking a dig at Tejashwi Yadav's remark questioning why industries are set up only in BJP-ruled states, Prasad said the former Deputy Chief Minister needs to do his homework. "Tejashwi said today, 'Why are all industries set up only in BJP-ruled states? Why not in Bihar or Tamil Nadu?' I always say that Rahul Gandhi does not do homework. Seems like Tejashwi has fallen prey to the same condition after staying with him. Please do some homework, Tejashwi. You are a Chief Ministerial candidate, even though you will never become one...," he added. On Congress leader and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi's visit to Pachmarhi in Madhya Pradesh, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad called him a "political tourist". "From this platform, we had said that Rahul Gandhi is a political tourist. Every day confirms that impression about him... He campaigned a couple of times, and that's it; he is done... If you want to learn the art of repeatedly raising issues that have been beaten down, you should learn from Rahul Gandhi... Rahul Gandhi, keep on enjoying your political tourism. You need some rest in the forest of Madhya Pradesh," Prasad remarked. Earlier today in a press conference, RJD leader and Mahagathbandhan Chief Ministerial candidate Tejashwi Yadav said that the state is poised for transformation and it will become the most developed state. Tejashwi Yadav said, "Bihar will become the most developed state. It saw no success in the last 20 years. Now, after November 14, Bihar will list out its success. There will be food processing units, agro-based industry, facilities for education, medical and opportunities to earn money. There will be IT hubs and educational cities. Superspeciality hospitals will be built. We will make sure no Bihari has to go to other state." The first phase of the Bihar elections, which saw a record voter turnout of 65.08 per cent, marked the highest polling percentage in the state's history. The first phase of polling in Bihar concluded recently, with elections for 122 seats scheduled on November 11 for the second phase. The results of the Bihar Assembly elections will be announced on November 14. (ANI)
After the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address at the Combined Commanders' Conference held in September this year in Kolkata, the Defence Ministry has fast-tracked the process of setting up new theatre commands, which would help the three defence forces to fight the wars of the future in an integrated and joint manner. The responsibility of forming the Theatre Command structures has been assigned to the Department of Military Affairs under the Ministry of Defence, headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. "The DMA has already done the groundwork of enhancing the integration between the three defence forces and making them work jointly. The DMA is also working towards incorporating the lessons learnt during Operation Sindoor against Pakistan in the formation of the structures of the new Theatre Commands," defence sources told ANI. "The frequency of meetings between the three services and the DMA has also been increased to ensure that a detailed discussion is possible on the issue, and the process to activate the proposal at the cabinet level is completed in the near future," they said. The defence forces had agreed in the past to set up three new commands at Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur and Lucknow. The proposed Maritime Theatre Command in Southern India would be responsible for threats from the seas and oceans, while the formation in Jaipur would be responsible for tackling threats from the western side. The northern borders, including those with China, would be the responsibility of the Command in Lucknow. "The defence forces are expected to complete their discussions in the near future and would then make a presentation on the issue to the Defence Minister and the National Security Advisor," the sources said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the Theatre Command issue with top military commanders in Kolkata and praised the role of the forces in Operation Sindoor, where the Indian Air Force played a major role in destroying Pakistan Air Force assets and bases, forcing them to seek a ceasefire. The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Anil Chauhan, played a significant role in making joint decisions in the presence of the three services chiefs in the operations room. The DMA is also now working on a project to integrate the networks of the three forces, where they would be able to interact seamlessly with each other while carrying out operations and also during peacetime. (ANI)
Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Monday termed the explosion near Red Fort as "extremely alarming" and demanded an immediate and thorough investigation into the incident. In a post on X, Kejriwal wrote, "The news of the explosion near the Red Fort is extremely alarming. It is reported that some people have also lost their lives in it, which is extremely tragic." He added, "The police and government should immediately investigate how this explosion occurred and whether there is any larger conspiracy behind it. Negligence regarding Delhi's security cannot be tolerated." Meanwhile, AAP leader Manish Sisodia on Monday expressed concern over the explosion near Gate No. 1 of the Red Fort Metro Station in Delhi, urging citizens to remain united in the face of adversity. In a post on X, Sisodia wrote, "The news of the explosion in Delhi is extremely concerning. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured. I hope that all the citizens of Delhi and the country remain safe. In such times, maintaining peace and restraint is our greatest strength -- terrorism and fear can only be countered through our unity." Meanwhile, Congress leader Pawan Khera expressed grief over the car explosion near Red Fort Metro Station in Delhi and called for a swift and transparent investigation into the incident. In a post on X, Khera wrote, "The news of a car explosion near Red Fort Metro Station is deeply distressing. Early reports indicate that several lives have been lost. In this hour of grief, we stand with the bereaved families and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured. The government must ensure a thorough and speedy investigation into the incident." Businessman Robert Vadra expressed shock over the car explosion. In an Instagram post, Vadra wrote, "I'm deeply shocked to hear about the car blast near the Red Fort. Praying that there are no more casualties. I've heard that one person lost their life near the Red Fort Metro Station, and the explosion also caused a fire that damaged several nearby vehicles." He added, "Please, everyone, stay safe and try to avoid crowded areas for now. My heartfelt prayers for the family of the person who lost their life, and for a speedy recovery of all those injured." Former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi in a post on X called for strict action against the culprits. She wrote, "The news of the explosion near the Red Fort is extremely alarming. I pray to God that there has been no damage and everyone is safe. A thorough investigation of the incident should be conducted as soon as possible so that the truth comes out and strict action can be taken against the culprits. The safety of the people of Delhi is of utmost importance to us." A blast occurred near Gate 1 Red Fort Metro station in the national capital, and eight people died before reaching the hospital, while seven are injured, three of them seriously, a senior Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital official told ANI on Monday. Further details awaited. (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday evening met the people who were injured in a blast at the Red Fort metro station in Delhi, at Lok Nayak Hospital. Eight people were killed following an explosion near Gate No. 1 of Red Fort Metro Station, and several others were injured. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also held a meeting with Delhi Police CP Satish Golcha and a team of doctors at Lok Nayak Hospital. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that a blast occurred in a Hyundai i20 car at the Subhash Marg traffic signal near the Red Fort in Delhi at 7 pm on Monday, and the explosion injured some pedestrians and damaged some vehicles. The Home Minister told ANI that teams from the Delhi Crime Branch and Delhi Special Branch arrived at the spot within 10 minutes of receiving the information of the blast. He said preliminary reports indicate that some people have lost their lives. "This evening, around 7 pm, a blast occurred in a Hyundai i20 car at the Subhash Marg traffic signal near the Red Fort in Delhi. The blast injured some pedestrians and damaged some vehicles. Preliminary reports indicate that some people have lost their lives. Within 10 minutes of receiving the information of the blast, teams from the Delhi Crime Branch and Delhi Special Branch arrived at the spot," Amit Shah said. Amit Shah said the NSG and NIA teams, along with the FSL, have now begun a thorough investigation and orders have been given to examine all nearby CCTV cameras. "I have also spoken to the Delhi CP and the Special Branch in-charge. The Delhi CP and the Special Branch in-charge are present at the spot. We are exploring all possibilities and will conduct a thorough investigation, taking all possibilities into account. All options will be investigated immediately and we will present the results to the public," he said. Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha said earlier that a slow-moving vehicle stopped at red light in the area near Red Fort Metro Station in the national capital and an explosion occurred in that vehicle which damaged nearby vehicles. He said all agencies including FSL and National Investigation Agency have reached the spot. The Police Commissioner said there has been loss of life in the incident and the situation is being monitored. "Today at around 6.52 pm, a slow-moving vehicle stopped at the red light. An explosion happened in that vehicle, and due to the explosion, nearby vehicles were also damaged. All agencies, FSL, NIA, are here... Some people have died, and some have been injured in the incident. The situation is being monitored," he said. Satish Golcha said Home Minister Amit Shah is being briefed about the situation. "Home Minister has also called us, and information is being shared with him from time to time," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation in the wake of blast in Delhi and spoke to Home Minister Amit Shah, government sources said on Monday.The sources said the Prime Minister took an update on the situation. A blast occurred near Gate 1 Red Fort Metro station in the national capital and eight people died before reaching the hospital while seven are injured, three of them seriously, a senior Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital official told ANI on Monday. (ANI)
Bihar Director General of Police Vinay Kumar has issued a high alert in the state after a car explosion near Red Fort Metro Station in Delhi, just a day before the second phase polling in Bihar. Speaking with ANI over the phone, Bihar DGP said that police teams have been put on alert at all borders adjoining Bihar, and intensive checking has also been carried out. Bihar DGP have also urged voters to cast their votes in the second phase of the polling fearlessly and without any apprehension assuring that the state has been on high alert for the past 72 hours because of elections 122 constituencies are set to go to the polls in the second phase of elections on Tuesday. The car explosion at the Subhash Marg traffic signal near the Red Fort comes a day ahead of the polling in Bihar. At least eight people were killed and seven others were injured in the incident, according to a senior Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital official told ANI on Monday. The second phase will decide the fate of 12 ministers from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's cabinet. Among them are JD(U) leaders Vijendra Yadav (contesting from Supaul assembly constituency), Lesi Singh (Dhamdaha), Jayant Kushwaha (Amarpur), Sumit Singh (Chakai), Mohammad Jama Khan (Chainpur), and Sheela Mandal (Phoolparas). Key ministers from the BJP in the fray include Prem Kumar (Gaya), Renu Devi (Bettiah), Vijay Kumar Mandal (Sikati), Nitish Mishra (Jhanjharpur), Neeraj Bablu (Chhatapur), and Krishnanandan Paswan (Harsiddhi). Out of the 122 seats, 11 assembly seats in East Champaran, 10 each in Madhubani and Gaya, nine in West Champaran, eight in Sitamarhi, and seven each in Bhagalpur, Rohtas, Purnia, and Katihar. Six assembly seats will go to the polls in Araria and Aurangabad each. Meanwhile, Nawada, Banka, and Supaul will each witness contests on five seats. Kaimur, Jamui, and Kishanganj have four seats each, Jehanabad has three, followed by two assembly seats in Arwal, and one in Sheohar district. Out of all the seats that will go to the polls tomorrow, the BJP secured a win on 42 seats in the 2020 Bihar assembly elections, while the RJD emerged victorious on 33 seats. The Janata Dal (United) bagged 20 seats, Congress won 11, and Left parties collectively secured five. Compared to the 2015 elections, the BJP's tally in these constituencies dropped to 36, while the grand alliance, comprising JD(U), RJD, and Congress, won 80 seats. In the second phase of the 2025 assembly polls, the NDA will face a major challenge in maintaining its dominance, particularly in its northern Bihar strongholds, including East Champaran, West Champaran, Sheohar, and Sitamarhi districts, where the ruling alliance currently holds sway over 30 assembly seats. A total of 1,302 candidates are in the fight, 136 (about 10 per cent) of whom are women. Polling will be held in 45,399 centres, and the number of eligible electors is 3.70 crore, 1.95 crore men and 1.74 crore women. The NDA comprises the BJP, JD(U), HAMS, LJP (RV), and other parties, and is seeking to retain power for a second term. The Mahagathbandhan, comprising the Congress, RJD, left parties, and the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), is looking to regain power. (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the blast near Red Fort that killed eight people is being probed "from all angles" with no possibility ruled out, including terrorism, as multi-agency teams, including NIA, NSG, and FSL, investigate the incident. "We are keeping all angles open and investigating from all angles. It is very difficult to say what caused the incident. Until the samples recovered from the blast site are analysed by FSL and NSG, it is difficult to say anything about it. However, we do not consider any angle closed. We will investigate all angles with determination," Shah said while addressing media. Amit Shah said a blast occurred near the Red Fort in Delhi at around 7 pm, leaving eight people dead and several injured, with a multi-agency investigation underway, keeping all possibilities open, including terrorism. "A blast took place in a Hyundai i20 car near the Red Fort in Delhi today at around 7 pm. Due to the blast, 3-4 vehicles were damaged, and people also got injured, and some died. As per Hospital sources, eight people have died so far. Some of the injured are being treated here." Shah further stated, "We have launched a thorough investigation, keeping all angles open. As soon as the blast was reported, the Delhi Police Special Cell, Crime Branch, NIA team, SPG team, and FSL team arrived at the scene and are conducting all investigations expeditiously. I hope our agencies will reach a conclusion on the cause of the blast within a short time, and the senior-most FSL team has also arrived." "I received a call from the Prime Minister immediately after receiving the news of the blast. After taking the preliminary information, I also briefed the Prime Minister. I am leaving from here to visit the site, and tomorrow morning, a meeting will be conducted with a team of senior officials at the Home Ministry..." he added. Earlier today, Amit Shah met the people who were injured in a blast at the Red Fort metro station in Delhi, at Lok Nayak Hospital. Union Home Minister Amit Shah also held a meeting with Delhi Police CP Satish Golcha and a team of doctors at Lok Nayak Hospital. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation in the wake of the blast in Delhi and spoke to Home Minister Amit Shah, government sources said on Monday. The sources said the Prime Minister took an update on the situation. (ANI)
Kim Medcalf is returning to EastEnders as Sam Mitchell this Christmas.

Kim Medcalf as Sam Mitchell

The 51-year-old actress will be back in the BBC soap to portray Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and Grant Mitchell's (Ross Kemp's) headstrong and manipulative sister for a "short stint".

She said: "Its such a joy to be asked to come back to EastEnders, especially as its the festive period, and you know there will always be plenty of fireworks.

"I love the character of Sam, she always causes drama wherever she goes, but she also has that vulnerable side, too, which is great to play. Its also lovely being back on set with the fantastic cast and to see old friends and new faces."

Walford has changed immensely since feisty Sam left in 2023 for a life in Spain - even more so with her enemy and Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) murder accomplice Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) now back living on Albert Square.

The killing of the original Queen Victoria pub landlord for the 20th anniversary of EastEnders in February 2005 involved Sam, Zoe and real murderer Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman), who was also Den's wife.

The women sought revenge on Den after he got Zoe into a blackmail plot and conned Sam into having sex, and they later confronted him in the Queen Victoria pub.

The confrontation turned into a horror show as Den attacked Chrissie, and Zoe whacked him on the back of the head with a doorstop, causing the businessman to be knocked unconscious.

Zoe and Sam fled the scene after thinking Den had died, but he then regained consciousness and grabbed Chrissie's leg - resulting in her bludgeoning him with a doorstop.

Sam saw Chrissie kill Den, but Chrissie went on to frame Sam - who was wrongly charged with his murder before she left the country on bail.

However, Chrissie's lie did not last long as she was eventually caught and admitted to killing Den.

She was jailed in December 2005, but freed in September 2024 after being granted early release following a parole hearing.

As Sam and Zoe come face-to-face for the first time in over 20 years, viewers have a few weeks to wait before they find out if the pair put the past aside or if Sam wants to get revenge on Zoe.

Ben Wadey, EastEnders Executive Producer, said of Kim's return: "Im delighted to welcome Kim Medcalf back to EastEnders for a short stint later this year.

"Its no secret that wherever Sam Mitchell goes, drama inevitably follows, and with ex-accomplice Zoe Slater back in the Square, only time will tell if there is space for forgiveness between the pair, or whether battle lines will be drawn."
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday announced a significant hike in financial assistance for families affected by natural disasters, raising the aid for partial loss from Rs. 70,000 to Rs. 1 lakh. The announcement was made during a public gathering at Paddal Ground in Mandi, said the release. Despite limited resources, the state government was steadfastly moving toward making Himachal Pradesh a self-reliant state, the release said. Sukhu stressed that "Atmanirbhar Himachal" was not a political slogan but the passion and commitment of his government. The state had adopted 6,000 orphan children as "Children of the State" and was providing financial assistance for the higher education of widow's children. He added that the government was making every possible effort to assist disaster-affected families from its limited resources in view of the widespread destruction this year. The Chief Minister said, "Building a house takes a lifetime for a family, how can Rs. 1.30 lakh be enough as compensation? The Union Government provides only this amount for rebuilding a house, but I come from a common family and understand the common people's plight. That is why we raised the compensation for fully damaged houses from Rs. 1.30 lakh to Rs. 7 lakh and increased assistance to Rs. 1 lakh for partially damaged houses." Accusing the BJP of politicising relief efforts, Sukhu said that it would have been better if all the BJP MLAs from Mandi district had attended the event despite being invited. "The BJP leaders are insensitive to the suffering of the common man, and their only aim is to do politics and spread lies," he remarked. He stated that even two months after the Prime Minister's announcement, Himachal Pradesh had not received any financial help. "I am ready to go to Delhi under the leadership of Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda. I have no ego, my only goal is to help disaster victims," he said. The Chief Minister reiterated his repeated requests to the Centre to allow the rehabilitation of disaster-affected families on forest land. Sukhu stated that in 2023, the state government provided assistance to 28,311 disaster-affected individuals. "At that time, I had not been Chief Minister for long, but we faced the disaster together. When 300 tourists were stranded in Chandertal lake, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi himself went there in a JCB machine to rescue them. This shows the sensitivity of the Congress Government," he said. The Chief Minister said that the state government was working to strengthen the rural economy. The procurement price for cow's milk had been raised to Rs. 51 per litre and for buffalo's milk to Rs. 61 per litre. The government was also procuring naturally grown wheat, maize, barley and raw turmeric from farmers to enhance their income. The present government earned Rs 450 crore in a single year by auctioning liquor contracts transparently, whereas the previous BJP government misused public funds. "The BJP government built buildings worth Rs. 1,000 crore across the state merely to benefit contractors. In Baddi-Nalagarh, 5,000 bighas of land were allotted to big industrialists for just Rs. 14 lakh under a customised package; yet, not a single industry has come up there. The real market value of that land is Rs 5,000 crore," he added. The Chief Minister stated that the state government reinstated the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) to secure the future of its employees, despite the restrictions imposed as a result. "I am the son of a government employee, and I have pledged that as long as I am Chief Minister, Himachal Pradesh will remain under OPS," he affirmed. He stated that the state government was making significant strides in education and healthcare. "During the BJP regime, Himachal Pradesh ranked 21st in terms of quality education, but today, due to reforms, we have reached the 5th position. The government was establishing 100 CBSE-based schools in the government sector," he said. He added that people of the state were spending Rs. 1,000 crore annually for receiving treatment in neighbouring states, but that was changing. "Robotic surgery has started at Tanda and Chamiyana, and this facility will gradually be expanded to all medical colleges along-with the installation of modern medical equipment," the CM said. Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi said that not only Himachal Pradesh but also Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab were hit by natural disasters this year. Yet, the Union Government discriminated against Himachal by providing greater assistance to the BJP-ruled states. He said the state had urged the Centre to revise the relief norms in view of Himachal's tough geographical conditions, but the request was ignored. "The Chief Minister understood the people's pain and announced the highest compensation package in the country. This special relief package is being implemented across the state to ensure equal support for all affected families, and its rollout has already begun," said the Revenue Minister. He also highlighted that despite road blockages during the disaster, the HPMC procured a record one lakh tonnes of apples from horticulturists. He demanded that the Leader of the Opposition disclose the funds received during the disaster and accused BJP leaders of misleading the public, even in times of crisis. "Under Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's leadership, the state government is implementing reforms that are improving education, healthcare, and ensuring maximum welfare through available resources," he added. Technical Education Minister Rajesh Dharmani said that the Seraj and Dharampur assembly segments of Mandi district suffered severe losses this year due to disaster, while around 500 families were affected in Bilaspur district, who were now receiving financial assistance. Dharmani praised CM Sukhu's dedication, stating that he personally reached out to ground zero to help affected people in 2023, despite his health condition. "The Chief Minister is bringing a systemic change that will make Himachal Pradesh truly self-reliant," he asserted. MLA Chander Shekhar stated that Himachal Pradesh has been experiencing unprecedented natural disasters over the past three years. He said all departments acted swiftly under the Chief Minister's direction to accelerate relief and rehabilitation efforts to help people who have lost their livelihoods and even their land. He emphasised the urgent need for environmental conservation, warning that global warming's impacts are becoming visible and worrisome. "Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu demonstrated great sensitivity by increasing the relief amount from Rs 1.30 lakh to Rs 7 lakh. The Centre has announced Rs. 1,500 crore in aid, but even after 45 days, not a single rupee has reached Himachal Pradesh. Despite these challenges, the state government continues to deliver relief to disaster-hit families," he said. (ANI)
Delhi Police has received a batch of 75 surveillance drones from Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (IGDTUW). Under this event, 75 drones comprised of one large, 15 medium, and 59 small drones. This indicates a successful collaboration between a premier technical education institution and the police force. The drones were reportedly developed/assembled by girl students of IGDTUW, with the technical support from a reputed vendor. According to Delhi Police, the aim is to deploy these drones across all 15 districts of Delhi and along with specialised units like the Crime Branch, Traffic, Railways and Metro, for enhanced precise surveillance and reconnaissance, Crime scene documentation, Disaster response, Crowd control and monitoring traffic, especially during festivals and in crowded markets. Additionally, 108 women police personnel from the Delhi Police have been trained by IGDTUW to operate and manage these drones under an initiative referred to as "Netra-Netrutva-Naari" (Vision-Leadership-Women), highlighting the role of women in technology-driven policing. The Delhi Police has laid down a Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) for drone usage, emphasising compliance with privacy, data protection, Human Rights Laws and compliance with the National Aviation Authority Regulation & The Drone Rules, 2021. They cannot be used for unauthorised facial recognition or personal surveillance. An MoU signing ceremony was organised at the IGDTUW Auditorium, guided by LG V.K. Saxena, Chancellor of IGDTUW, and Commissioner of Police, Delhi, Satish Golcha, today at 11:00 AM. It was attended by dignitaries such as Devesh Chandra Srivastava, Joint CP/Crime Surender Kumar, and Addl. CP/Crime Mangesh Kashyap, Addl. DCP/North Anant Kumar Mittal, Professor. Ranjhana Jha, Vice Chancellor, IGDTUW, A.K. Mohapatra, H.O.D. IT and Chairman of the Drone Project and others. DCP Sanjeev Kumar Yadav signed the MoU on behalf of Delhi Police and Prof. Brijesh Kumar, Registrar of IGDTUW. Addressing the occasion, Spl. CP/Crime Devesh Chandra Srivastava stated that this MoU seeks to enhance police capabilities through academic partnership, technological innovation, and skill modernisation. Delhi Police said that this initiative represents a significant step towards leveraging the University's expertise in cutting-edge technologies, including data analytics, image processing, blockchain analysis, and drone technology, to enhance crime detection, surveillance, and public safety. The launch of these drones was associated with a larger 'Seva Pakhwada' campaign, an initiative of the Delhi Government, and was intended to boost women's safety and general policing in the city. (ANI)
President Droupadi Murmu and Vice-President CP Radhakrishnan have expressed their condolences for the loss of lives in the high-intensity blast near Delhi's iconic Red Fort that occurred on Monday evening, leaving at least eight people dead and many others injured. "I convey my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in the blast that has taken place in Delhi. I pray for quick recovery of those injured," President Murmu said in a post on X. "Deeply anguished by the blast in Delhi this evening. Heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones, and prayers for the swift recovery of the injured," Vice-President Radhakrishnan wrote on X. According to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the blast occurred in a Hyundai i20 car at the Subhash Marg traffic signal near the Red Fort in Delhi at 7 pm on Monday, and the blast injured some pedestrians and damaged some vehicles. The Home Minister told ANI that teams from the Delhi Crime Branch and Delhi Special Branch arrived at the spot within 10 minutes of receiving the information of the blast. "This evening, around 7 pm, a blast occurred in a Hyundai i20 car at the Subhash Marg traffic signal near the Red Fort in Delhi. The blast injured some pedestrians and damaged some vehicles. Preliminary reports indicate that some people have lost their lives. Within 10 minutes of receiving the information of the blast, teams from the Delhi Crime Branch and Delhi Special Branch arrived at the spot," Amit Shah said. Amit Shah said the NSG and NIA teams, along with the FSL, have now begun a thorough investigation and orders have been given to examine all nearby CCTV cameras. "I have also spoken to the Delhi CP and the Special Branch in-charge. The Delhi CP and the Special Branch in-charge are present at the spot. We are exploring all possibilities and will conduct a thorough investigation, taking all possibilities into account. All options will be investigated immediately and we will present the results to the public," he said. Delhi Police Commissioner Satish Golcha said earlier that a slow-moving vehicle stopped at a red light in the area near Red Fort Metro Station in the national capital, and an explosion occurred in that vehicle, which damaged nearby vehicles. "Today at around 6.52 pm, a slow-moving vehicle stopped at the red light. An explosion happened in that vehicle, and due to the explosion, nearby vehicles were also damaged. All agencies, FSL, NIA, are here... Some people have died, and some have been injured in the incident. The situation is being monitored," he said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the situation in the wake of the blast in Delhi and spoke to Home Minister Amit Shah, government sources said on Monday. Medical Superintendent, LNJP Hospital, told ANI that the condition of one of the injured is stable. "Fifteen people have been brought to Lok Nayak Hospital. Eight of them died before reaching the hospital. Three are seriously injured. One is in stable condition," he said. (ANI)
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday urged all political parties to ensure smooth functioning of Parliament, stressing that "systematic stalling" weakens democratic traditions and prevents meaningful debate on public issues. Talking to the media on the sidelines of the Annual Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), India Region, Zone-III held at the Nagaland Legislative Assembly in Kohima, the Lok Sabha Speaker made a strong appeal to all political parties to uphold the dignity of legislative institutions by ensuring their smooth and orderly functioning. He emphasized that democracy provides ample avenues to raise issues, express concerns, and engage in debate through peaceful, structured, and informed discussions. He cautioned that planned disruptions not only undermine democratic processes but also deprive citizens of meaningful deliberations and accountability. He made a strong pitch for preserving the dignity of the House, mentioning that the orderly conduct of legislative proceedings is paramount. Highlighting the vital role of Parliamentary Committees--describing them as "mini-parliaments"--Birla noted that these bodies foster objectivity, transparency, and non-partisan scrutiny of government policies. Referring to the upcoming Winter Session of Parliament, scheduled to commence on 1 December 2025, the Speaker urged all political parties to ensure the smooth conduct of House proceedings. He further stressed that for transparent governance and welfare-oriented policymaking, the legislature must play a more active and constructive role. Responding to a question from ANI during his visit to Kohima, Birla called for smooth functioning of the House. "Systematically stalling the House is not a good practice for democracy. There are other platforms within democracy where you can protest... Within these institutions of democracy, there should be discussions on the expectations, aspirations, and hopes of the people. Issues and bills should be discussed, and any other topics should be discussed as well. But this discussion is for dialogue. We strive to uphold democratic traditions," he said. Earlier, while inaugurating the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region, Zone-III Conference, the Speaker underlined that legislatures must play a pivotal role in transforming public opinion into policy. Shri Om Birla observed that the responsibility of legislatures extends beyond law-making--it is to translate the aspirations and concerns of the people into actionable policies. He emphasized that comprehensive development is possible only through active public participation, noting that true progress occurs when citizens are directly involved in the democratic process. Public representatives, he said, must therefore ensure that citizens' voices are meaningfully reflected in policymaking. The Speaker also highlighted the impact of new technologies and innovations in bringing citizens closer to democracy, pointing out that most legislatures have now transitioned to paperless and digital systems. He reiterated that the foundation of Indian democracy lies in its people, a principle deeply cherished by the framers of the Constitution, and stressed that transparency and accountability must remain central to democratic governance. Birla further urged all legislative bodies to adopt measures such as live telecast of proceedings, citizen-friendly digital platforms, and enhanced outreach mechanisms to foster broader public engagement in the legislative process. "When public opinion forms the basis of policy in any state, that state achieves continuous and sustainable development," he added. The Speaker commended the remarkable digital transformation taking place across the legislatures of the Northeast, noting it as a significant step toward modern and transparent governance. He particularly praised the Nagaland Legislative Assembly for becoming a fully paperless legislature, describing it as a pioneering model of digital governance in India. Shri Birla observed that such digital initiatives not only enhance efficiency and transparency but also make legislative functioning more accessible and citizen-centric. At the same time, he cautioned against the irresponsible use of emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), and urged legislators to adopt AI in ways that promote transparency, strengthen democratic processes, and safeguard the integrity of legislative proceedings. On Centre-State relations, the Speaker observed that while each level of government functions within clearly defined constitutional frameworks, effective collaboration between the two is vital for achieving tangible outcomes. He emphasised that constructive dialogue between the Centre and the States not only strengthens governance but also leads to policies that are more responsive, inclusive, and attuned to regional priorities. Birla further noted that enhanced cooperation in recent years has already led to significant progress in infrastructure, connectivity, and public service delivery across the Northeastern region. Emphasising the need for a comprehensive action plan for the holistic development of the Northeastern states, Shri Om Birla highlighted the importance of factoring in the region's unique geographical conditions and climate-related challenges. He underscored that such a plan must specifically address emerging climate risks, including natural disasters, which have a profound impact on the region's livelihoods and infrastructure. Stressing the importance of sustainable and inclusive growth, the Speaker stated that development strategies for the Northeast should integrate climate resilience, green infrastructure, and active community participation to ensure long-term progress. He further noted that collaborative efforts among the Centre, state governments, and local communities are essential to harness the region's immense potential while preserving its rich biodiversity and cultural heritage. The Speaker observed that it is a matter of pride that all legislatures of the Northeastern region are upholding the tradition of collective deliberation and decision-making while being deeply attuned to local needs and aspirations. He noted that these legislatures are consistently working to strengthen accountability and transparency in governance, reflecting the true spirit of participatory democracy. The Lok Sabha Speaker further remarked that the Northeastern states are witnessing rapid progress in infrastructure development, particularly in road, rail, and air connectivity. In line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, concrete efforts are being made to integrate the Northeast into the mainstream of national development. Highlighting the region's immense potential for growth, Birla noted that its vibrant culture, rich traditions, and natural beauty make it truly unique. He emphasised that promoting local products, arts, culture, and traditional crafts can play a pivotal role in advancing the goal of a self-reliant India (Atmanirbhar Bharat). The Speaker urged that legislatures adopt policies that foster industry and entrepreneurship, thereby creating greater opportunities for local communities and enabling broad-based economic empowerment. Concluding his address, Birla expressed confidence that the two-day CPA India Region, Zone-III Conference would yield substantive recommendations to strengthen democratic institutions across the region, refine legislative practices, and enhance public trust in governance. He extended his warm greetings to all delegates ahead of the upcoming Hornbill Festival, describing it as a global celebration of Nagaland's culture, resilience, artistry, and community spirit. Commending Nagaland's exceptional hospitality, the Speaker noted that such events foster closer bonds among Northeastern legislatures, providing a valuable platform for collective reflection on regional aspirations and developmental priorities. Expressing hope for meaningful deliberations during the conference, He said he was confident that discussions on the theme "Policy, Progress, and Citizens: Legislature as Catalysts of Change" would lead to concrete action plans aimed at making Northeastern legislatures more empowered, accountable, and efficient. (ANI)
The Hanimaadhoo International Airport was redeveloped with financing secured through a line of credit from India's EXIM Bank, the official statement by the Maldivian President's Office noted.

President Muizzu described the project as a catalyst for unlocking the potential of the northern Maldives and enhancing global connectivity and urged all stakeholders to seize this golden opportunity. He also highlighted the employment opportunities expected to arise from the inauguration of Hanimaadhoo International Airport.

As per the Maldivian President's Office, the 2,465-metre runway at Hanimaadhoo International Airport was inaugurated by a Maldivian A320 aircraft carrying the President to the ceremony. Commanded by a captain from Hanimaadhoo, the flight marked the largest aircraft ever to land at the airport.

It further noted that the new passenger terminal, poised to drive transformative economic progress in the northern Maldives, has a capacity to handle 1.3 million passengers annually. Spanning 10,380 square metres, it is equipped with modern facilities designed to support efficient operations.

In a post on X, the President's office said, "President Dr @MMuizzu inaugurates the redeveloped Hanimaadhoo International Airport (HIA), joined by the Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of India, Minister of Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu @RamMNK. Now featuring an aerobridge, the first of its kind in an atoll, the upgraded facility significantly advances the Government's decentralisation policy and enhances international connectivity."

https://x.com/presidencymv/status/1987573479714205965?s=20

In another post on X, the President's office added, "President Dr @MMuizzu launches @bankofmaldives ATM and Dollar counter services at HIA. The service strengthens the new international gateway with seamless foreign exchange access for global travellers and outbound Maldivians, boosting international commerce and enhancing the travel experience."

https://x.com/presidencymv/status/1987583756342001786?s=20

During his visit to the Maldives, Union Minister Naidu also held discussions with Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Khaleel on enhancing air connectivity and deepening cooperation between India and the Maldives. (ANI)
US President Donald Trump came down heavily on top BBC executives who resigned after reports had emerged of tampering with his speech delivered in 2021. Calling his speech delivered in January 2021, "good" and "perfect", the US President, in a post on Truth Social, called the action "a terrible thing for democracy". He said, "The TOP people in the BBC, including TIM DAVIE, the BOSS, are all quitting/FIRED, because they were caught "doctoring" my very good (PERFECT!) speech of January 6th. Thank you to The Telegraph for exposing these Corrupt "Journalists." These are very dishonest people who tried to step on the scales of a Presidential Election. On top of everything else, they are from a Foreign Country, one that many consider our Number One Ally. What a terrible thing for Democracy!" https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115521695808009888 Two top executives at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) resigned on Sunday amid an escalating scandal over impartiality and bias, as reported by CNN. Director-General Tim Davie and the chief executive of the news division, Deborah Turness, both quit, CNN said after the leak of a memo which revealed that the BBC had misleadingly edited a speech by US President Donald Trump to make it appear that he had directly called for violence on January 6, 2021. According to CNN, which cited BBC, Davie announced he was resigning as director general of the British broadcaster in a note sent to staff on Sunday afternoon and said that his resignation was "entirely my decision." Turness, who was also stepping down, said, "The ongoing controversy around the Panorama on President Trump has reached a stage where it is causing damage to the BBC - an institution that I love," in a statement on the BBC website, as noted by CNN. "While mistakes have been made, I want to be absolutely clear recent allegations that BBC News is institutionally biased are wrong," she added. CNN reported that the resignations come after an internal whistleblowing memo seen by British newspaper, The Telegraph, revealed the BBC had broadcast a "doctored" Trump speech, making it seem that he encouraged Capitol Hill rioters, telling them he was going to walk with them to "fight like hell." In fact, Trump said in his speech in Washington DC on January 6, 2021 that "We're going to walk down to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women", CNN said. Citing the leaked internal memo, CNN said that the documentary made the US president appear to say things he never actually said by splicing footage together. (ANI)
Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, attended the swearing-in ceremony of Bolivia's newly elected President, Rodrigo Paz Pereira and underscored India's commitment to strengthening its partnership with the country. In a post on X, he said, "Represented India at the Inauguration Ceremony of H.E. Mr. Rodrigo Paz Pereira @Rodrigo_PazP as President of Bolivia. Met President Paz Pereira and conveyed greetings from Hon'ble Rashtrapati Ji and Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji. India remains committed to strengthening its partnership with Bolivia and working together on shared interests." https://x.com/PmargheritaBJP/status/1987486630760927407?s=20 As per Anadolu Agency (AA), Rodrigo Paz, a centre-right candidate who won Bolivia's presidential elections, was sworn in before the parliament on Saturday to serve as the President for the 2025-2030 term. MoS Pabitra Margherita, during his visit to Bolivia, also inaugurated the India House in La Paz. Taking it to X, the MoS said, "Glad to inaugurate India House in La Paz, the official residence of the Indian Ambassador. It was a pleasure meeting friends of India and local dignitaries at the newly inaugurated residence. This marks a new chapter in India-Bolivia relations, further strengthening our friendship and bilateral ties." https://x.com/PmargheritaBJP/status/1987380565113511997?s=20 He also interacted with the ITEC alumni in Bolivia and wrote on X, "Participants shared their valuable experiences from training programmes in India. Pleased to see the positive impact of India's development partnership on Bolivian professionals." https://x.com/PmargheritaBJP/status/1987303114857402649?s=20 On Saturday, MoS Margherita interacted with the members of the Indian community and Bolivian cultural groups. "Met members of the Indian community and Bolivian cultural groups devoted to Indian music, dance, and yoga. Conveyed my best wishes for their progress and wellbeing, and appreciated their efforts in promoting India's values and traditions in Bolivia. Their goodwill and dedication, along with the vibrant initiatives of @IndiainBolivia, strengthen our friendship and people to people ties," he said. https://x.com/PmargheritaBJP/status/1987224059118334117?s=20 During his visit, he also met representatives of Bolivian business associations and entrepreneurs and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral trade and investment, particularly in the minerals, textiles, tourism, and pharmaceuticals sectors. Earlier, MoS Margherita also planted a tree as a part of the 'Ek Ped Maa ke Naam' initiative at Mallasa Park in La Paz, Bolivia honouring mothers and Mother Earth. (ANI)
US President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday (local time) that the government shutdown is soon coming to an end. His remarks came as CNN reported, citing two people familiar with the discussions, that a group of at least eight Senate Democratic centrists have reached a deal with Senate GOP leaders and the White House to reopen the government in exchange for a future vote on extending enhanced Affordable Care subsidies. While speaking to reporters, Trump said, "It looks like we're getting very close to the shutdown. We never agreed to give any substantial money, or any money to prisoners, illegals that come into our country and I think that the Democrats understand that; and it looks like we're getting close to the shutdown ending. You'll know it very soon". According to the report by CNN, the deal would finally end the longest shutdown in US history and include a new stopgap measure to extend government funding until January and be tied to a larger package to fund several key agencies fully. Citing the GOP aide, CNN said that the Senate is expected to vote on the deal beginning between 8:30 and 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday. It further noted that at least eight Senate Democrats have agreed to vote for the deal, which was brokered Sunday night between three former governors, namely Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Angus King of Maine and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, along with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the White House. CNN noted that it includes no guarantee from Republicans to extend the health care subsidies that had been at the heart of the funding fight; however, Democrats involved in the talks believe that House and Senate GOP leaders will negotiate on a compromise in the coming weeks. It was also mentioned that Senate Democratic leaders have not yet stated whether they support the deal, with the caucus engaged in a closed-door meeting for several hours on Sunday night. However, House Democratic leaders sharply condemned the deal. CNN reported that the House Democrats plan to have their own caucus huddle on Monday, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The first vote taken up by the Senate would see the House-passed stopgap measure. This would require the support of the eight Democrats to advance. After this, the Senate would amend that bill with the larger funding package negotiated between the two parties. If the bill passes the Senate, it will be sent back to the House for final passage, then to the US President Donald Trump's desk, in order to reopen the government. The entire process could take several more days. (ANI)
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, an accused in an alleged rape case, has surfaced in Australia after remaining absconding since September this year. The Australia Today reported on Monday that Pathanmajra, the Sanour MLA, is wanted by the Punjab Police, which has been on the lookout for the AAP leader in connection with an alleged rape and cheating case. The AAP MLA's presence in South Australia's Adelaide has come to light after he appeared in a video interview defending himself, claiming that he would return to India only after securing bail. The Australia Today reported that Pathanmajra's fleeing to Australia comes as an "embarrassment" for the Punjab Police, which failed to find him despite carrying out multiple raids and issuing a lookout notice against the AAP MLA. In an interview with an Australia-based Punjabi web channel, Pathanmajra dismissed the allegations against him as some form of "political conspiracy". "I will return to Punjab only after getting bail," Australia Today quoted AAP MLA Pathanmajra's statement aired on the Punjabi web channel. Pathanmajra, a first-time MLA, faces serious charges relating to "rape, cheating, and criminal intimidation" and has been accused by a woman of "deceiving her" by claiming to be divorced before entering into a relationship in 2021, The Australia Today reported. The woman has also accused the AAP MLA of subjecting her to "sexual exploitation, threats, and harassment". The police attempted to arrest Pathanmajra on September 2 at a farmhouse in Haryana. However, The Australia Today reported, his supporters allegedly pelted stones and fired shots, helping him evade capture. A Patiala court later declared him an absconder after he skipped multiple hearings. Pathanmajra has denied these allegations, telling Indian media he fled because he feared being "killed in a fake encounter." The opposition in Punjab has criticised Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, accusing him of "shielding" his MLA. Meanwhile, the Punjab police have sought the possibility of extraditing Pathanmajra, seeking assistance from India's central agencies to verify his location in Australia. Law enforcement officials told The Australia Today that if confirmed, the case has been referred through diplomatic channels for cooperation from Australian authorities. "A lookout notice and proclamation order are already in place," one officer said. (ANI)
Reaffirming its commitment to the Global South, India has dispatched a consignment of around 2.7 tonnes of life-saving vaccines to Venezuela, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Sunday. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote in an X post, "Supporting global health.As part of India's commitment towards the Global South countries, a consignment of approx 2.7 tonnes of life-saving vaccines has been despatched for the people of Venezuela. " https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1987727268047921194?s=20 The humanitarian assistance is part of India's ongoing efforts to support developing nations through health partnerships and South-South cooperation. The vaccines will help strengthen Venezuela's public health system and benefit thousands of people in need. India and Venezuela have shared warm and friendly ties for over six decades. The two countries celebrated the 64th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2023. Resident embassies in Caracas and New Delhi have been operational for over four decades, reflecting the depth of the bilateral relationship. According to the MEA, "India and Venezuela have always enjoyed cordial relations and share similar views on major international, political, and economic issues. In addition to promoting bilateral ties, both nations cooperate in multilateral forums." Venezuela has emerged as one of India's key oil suppliers, while India exports pharmaceutical products, machinery, electrical equipment, and textiles to the South American nation. In February, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on digital cooperation to share successful population-scale digital solutions for governance and public service delivery. As per MEA, the main items of India's exports to Venezuela are mineral fuels and oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; pharmaceutical products; cotton; nuclear reactors; boilers; machinery and mechanical appliances; electrical machinery and equipment; sound recorders and reproducers; television image and sound recorders and reproducers; articles of apparel and clothing accessories; and miscellaneous chemical products. Meanwhile, the main items of India's imports from Venezuela are mineral fuels and oils and products of their distillation, bituminous substances; mineral waxes, iron and steel, aluminium, edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers, copper and articles thereof, lead and articles thereof, zinc and articles thereof, wood and articles of wood; electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, raw hides, skins and leather, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; edible fruit and nuts; plastic and articles thereof, organic chemicals, miscellaneous chemical products, and articles of iron or steel. There are currently around 50 Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and 30 Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) living in Venezuela. (ANI)
The Avengers star Jeremy Renner is facing explosive new accusations from Chinese filmmaker Yi Zhou, who alleges the actor threatened to "call ICE" during a heated confrontation, sent her explicit images without consent, and verbally harassed her while intoxicated.

Zhou, 34, known for her documentary Chronicles of Disney, took to Instagram and later spoke to the Daily Mail, describing a "terrifying experience" with the 54-year-old Hawkeye star. She claims their professional relationship began in June 2025 after Renner reached out through Instagram, but quickly turned inappropriate when he allegedly sent "unwanted pornographic photos" via direct message and WhatsApp.

Despite the early misconduct, Zhou says the two entered a romantic relationship that evolved into creative collaboration. She invited Renner to participate in two of her upcoming films, Chronicles of Disney and Stardust Future, but what began as mutual artistic excitement spiraled into confrontation.

The alleged breaking point came on August 20 at Renner's Nevada home, where Zhou says the actor became drunk, "screamed for two hours," and left her fearing for her safety. According to text messages shared with the Daily Mail, Zhou contacted colleagues and family that night, saying she had locked herself in a room "to stay safe."

The accusation drawing the most attention is that Renner allegedly threatened to report Zhou to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after she confronted him about his behavior. "He told me he would call immigration on me," she wrote. "I was shocked, terrified, and humiliated." Zhou called the encounter an example of "how women, especially Asian filmmakers, continue to face discrimination and emotional abuse in Hollywood."

Renner's representatives have not issued a comment in response to media inquiries from The Daily Mail or The Daily Beast. The actor, who nearly died in a snow-plow accident in early 2023, has previously faced allegations of violent and erratic behavior from his ex-wife Sonni Pacheco during their custody battle in 2019, claims he denied in interviews with The Guardian and People.

Zhou has since posted partial screenshots of alleged WhatsApp exchanges, one of which includes a message fragment reading, "Immigration will be notified..." though she declined to release the full text publicly.

The filmmaker says she hopes her story encourages accountability in an industry still grappling with inequality and intimidation. "I'm not here to destroy anyone," she wrote. "I'm here to show that power should never equal silence."

Originally published on Latin Times
Two months after the formation of Nepal's interim government and four months ahead of the general elections, Nepali Congress leader and former minister Minendra Rijal has urged the government to build trust with all political parties to ensure smooth and fair elections. In an exclusive interview with ANI, Rijal said that the interim government led by Prime Minister Sushila Karki must gain the confidence of political parties to successfully conduct the polls. "First, winning the confidence of the political parties. And for that, the Prime Minister will have to be able to reassure political parties that this is a government of referees. There will be a level playing field as far as the elections are held, no one in the government will have unfair advantage as far as contesting elections are concerned. So everybody who is in the government will be a referee only, will not be contesting the election and political parties, new or old I mean mainstream political parties, or one may call them legacy political parties, and new political parties who have reasons to believe that they represent people of Nepal more so than the old political parties they can contest at the same level playing field, government has to be able to do that. So it's not just a question of heeding to demands of one set of political parties and not to the demands of the other set. She has to be able to win the confidence of political parties of all hues and colors because election has to be really competitive, competitive in the sense that political parties come up with their manifesto," Rijal said. Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, who appeared in public following the September uprising, also demanded strong security assurances for the upcoming election. Meanwhile, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), led by former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who was ousted after the uprising, has been opposing the proposed March election. The Gen-Z uprising of September 8 and 9, which brought a wave of change in the Himalayan nation, forced Oli's resignation after violent clashes left at least 74 people dead. Following the unrest, the parliament was dissolved and an interim government was formed to steer the country toward elections. After five days of deliberation, former Chief Justice Sushila Karki was appointed as interim Prime Minister, tasked with holding elections on March 5, 2026. The government now faces the challenge of leading Nepal through a fragile transition while maintaining political and public trust. Rijal, who earlier served as Nepal's Defence and Communication Minister, stressed that holding elections is the only way forward for political stability. However, he added that the interim government must act impartially and provide reassurance to all political parties, especially since its cabinet members come from diverse backgrounds. "I would like to see that the government becomes a little more reassuring to all the political parties that their elections will be held in a free and fair manner. It's for the government to assure the political parties that the decisions it will make will not be based on the whims of the movement only. At times, I see people who are the leaders of the movement trying to dictate the terms and conditions to the government. Government cannot do that, the mood of the movement is one, but at the end of the day, things will have to come back to the constitutional order. We cannot run the country from the streets. There has to be order, and for that to happen, government has to be more reassuring and one of the things I've been saying very clearly right from the outset is, in the current government, there are no representatives of any political party. I'm okay with that, as long as the ones who are in the government will also not form their own party and contest the election. If anybody has that platform in mind, if anybody wants to run for the office tomorrow, if anybody wants to form a political party and contest the election, that can be more leaders of the Gen-Z movement, that can even be members of current Council of Ministers, they have to just get out of the government resign from the government and announce their own political party and prepare for the election," Rijal highlighted. Further adding, "I would like to see that the government, the prime minister especially, will be able to guarantee that the members of our cabinet are referees who oversee the elections in a free, fair manner. Only then she can assure political parties, can win their confidence. Rest of her work becomes much smoother after that. So I hope see that she comes out openly and tells the people of Nepal, political parties of Nepal, and members of her cabinet that it is the government of referees only, who would make sure that their elections are held and held in a free and fair manner." (ANI)
India in Shanghai wrote in an X post, "Fair Winds & Clear skies! India emerges as a Global Hub as people-to-people ties grow stronger. CG @PratikMathur1 was at hand to receive the first set of passengers as direct flights resumed between New Delhi and Shanghai."

The move marks a significant step in restoring normal travel and trade links between the two Asian neighbours, whose flight operations had been suspended since early 2020 following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Galwan Valley clash.

The resumption began in phases last month. Indian carrier IndiGo restarted daily flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou on October 26, becoming the first airline to relaunch services after the long suspension.

Following that, China Eastern Airlines resumed its Shanghai-New Delhi route on November 9, completing the restoration of direct connectivity between the two countries.

According to China Eastern Airlines, the Shanghai-Delhi service will operate three times a week, every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, using Airbus A330-200 wide-body aircraft.

Flight MU563 will depart from Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 12:50 pm and arrive in Delhi at 5:45 pm local time, while the return flight MU564 will leave Delhi at 7:55 pm and reach Shanghai at 4:10 am the next day.

The airline said the restored route would "boost people-to-people exchanges and strengthen economic and trade cooperation between India and China."

Earlier, IndiGo had announced plans to expand its China operations further by adding direct daily flights between Delhi and Guangzhou from November 10.

These routes, it said, are aimed at "rebuilding trade and tourism ties" disrupted over the past five years.

Flights between India and China had remained suspended since 2020 due to the pandemic and subsequent diplomatic tensions.

However, the two governments have recently shown renewed engagement following confidence-building measures and discussions on easing border frictions. (ANI)
Nepali Congress leader and former minister Minendra Rijal has urged the interim government in Nepal to actively seek logistical support from India and other friendly nations to ensure the smooth conduct of the upcoming March 2026 general election. Speaking exclusively to ANI, Rijal said that given the current challenges and limited resources, the government must not hesitate to reach out to neighbouring countries, particularly India, for assistance in managing logistics for the polls. "We're not in the ideal time, so given what we have today, we certainly have to be very careful to assess what we need in terms of managing logistics," Rijal said. "We should not be hesitant to ask for the support of our friends, our neighbours, especially because our border with India is much easier, open, porous. Logistics can be just brought so easily from that side of the border than from the northern side of the border. So getting their help, getting their commitment, even other bilateral donors, multilateral organisations, they can be of great help," he added. Rijal said that such cooperation should be viewed as an investment in Nepal's democratic stability. "We should be able to convince them this is an investment, an investment to put the government back together, an investment to put the governance back together, an investment to make sure that the new government that will come after the election will have the mandate of the people," he said. With four months remaining for the election to elect a new House of Representatives, Nepal has already started its voter registration drive. Long queues have been seen outside district election offices as the November 16 registration deadline approaches. Only citizens who turn 18 by March 4, 2026, will be eligible to vote. The Election Commission resumed voter registration on September 26, following the issuance of an ordinance by President Ramchandra Paudel that cleared legal hurdles. The new ordinance allows anyone who will turn 18 by March 4, 2026, to register as a voter. As election preparations gather pace, Rijal said the interim Prime Minister, Sushila Karki, must utilise her international goodwill to secure assistance for the polls. "When the Prime Minister was sworn in, it was quite clear that she had support from a broader spectrum of international actors, from our neighbours to all our bilateral partners," Rijal said. "So I am here to be able to capitalise on that support, get the support to make sure that the logistics are there and naturally, logistics is not the last thing -- somebody has to be there to be able to use that logistics and deliver the results," he added. The call for logistical support comes at a sensitive time in Nepal's political transition. The two-day Gen Z uprising on September 8 and 9 forced former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to resign after violent clashes that left at least 72 people dead. Following three days of deliberation, former Chief Justice Sushila Karki was appointed interim Prime Minister and later recommended the dissolution of parliament. President Paudel subsequently dissolved the House of Representatives on September 12 and announced fresh elections for March 5, 2026. (ANI)
The upcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Bhutan is poised to be highly significant, coinciding with major national and spiritual events, underscoring the "closest partnership" between the two nations, according to the Indian Ambassador to Bhutan, Sandeep Arya. The Ambassador highlighted the dual importance of the visit, noting its timing with the unprecedented Global Peace Prayer Festival and the 70th birthday celebrations of His Majesty the Fourth King of Bhutan. "There is something called the Global Peace Prayer Festival, which Bhutan says is an unprecedented event... that festival is going on right now... praying for world peace and happiness. So Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, will also be participating in the Peace prayer festival, along with the Bhutanese leaders," Arya told ANI. The visit gains a ceremonial depth as PM Modi is scheduled to join the celebrations for the 70th birth anniversary of the Fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. "There is the birthday celebration, the 70th birthday of His Majesty, the fourth King of Bhutan... who has been a very widely respected figure. And there will be a public function... So Prime Minister's participation in that festival is also a matter of honour for India to participate in something which is so special for the country," the Ambassador stated. A key highlight of the spiritual environment is the exposition of the Holy Relics of Lord Buddha brought from India. "We have the visit of the relics of Lord Buddha, which have been brought specially for this time, which is a very significant time, which will be there for public veneration," the Ambassador noted, emphasising the deep Buddhist connection. He elaborated that Buddhism is "very deep in the belief system and in the faith in Bhutan," and India is seen as the "land of Buddha." "Holy relics of Lord Buddha are considered very sacred by all Buddhists... They have been brought for these 10 days for public veneration in Bhutan... it will strengthen that deep connection between the people," he added. Detailing the Prime Minister's packed schedule, the Ambassador confirmed a mix of ceremonial and high-level bilateral engagements. "So, one of the public celebrations will be taking place for the 70th birth anniversary of the fourth King of Bhutan. So the Prime Minister will be participating in that function. He will have bilateral talks with the King of Bhutan. Will also be meeting and interacting with the Prime Minister of Bhutan," the Ambassador outlined. A major economic milestone will be the joint inauguration of the 1020 megawatt Punatsangchhu-II Hydropower Plant. "He will participate in the inauguration, the joint inauguration with Bhutan for a 1020 megawatt hydropower plant called Punatsangchhu-II," he confirmed. The Ambassador hailed the Punatsangchhu-II project as a crucial addition, set to "add about 40% of the total installed capacity of hydro power generation in Bhutan." He stressed the economic synergy, noting that the power "will be used by people of Bhutan, and surplus power will be exported to India." Ahead of his visit, PM Modi expressed gratitude to the people and leadership of Bhutan for the warm reception given to the sacred relics of Lord Buddha. "Heartfelt appreciation to the people and leadership of Bhutan for the reverent welcome accorded to the Sacred Relics of Lord Buddha from India," he wrote on X. During his visit, the Prime Minister will receive an audience with King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and attend the Global Peace Prayer Festival at Tashichhodzong in Thimphu. India and Bhutan share a close relationship rooted in trust, shared spiritual traditions, and people-to-people ties. (ANI)
Nepali Congress leader and former minister Minendra Rijal has credited Nepal's President for preventing a potential refugee crisis during the September Gen-Z protests, which he said could have pushed thousands across the open India-Nepal border. Speaking to ANI, Rijal said, "We were at the verge of becoming a pariah state. Had we become that, then our neighbour would have been forced to inherit our problem. Thank God it didn't. Thank God that the president of Nepal had used his conscience, his long experience of being in politics came to use. He rescued the nation from grief that could have been of enormous proportion." Rijal defended the actions of the president, who intervened amid growing unrest. "Was it justified? I think it was justified. Was it constitutional? Yes, there can be debate about it. But had he just stick with the letters of the constitution only, had he not followed the spirit of the constitution, had he not gotten the call to defend the constitution, protect the constitution, then he might have gotten it wrong. So I strongly support the decision the president of the country made," he said. He added that the president's intervention prevented a major mistake that could have worsened public anger. "Had we not adhered to what they were trying to say, not just about the banning of social media, but also about their frustration with corruption and many other things, we probably would have made a huge mistake," Rijal said. Rijal stressed that the country's next step should be to hold credible elections to restore stability. "Elections have to be held. That's the only mandate the current government has. So it has to put all its effort to be able to do that," he said. He urged the government to act as a neutral referee. "I would like to see that the government, the prime minister especially, will be able to guarantee that the members of our cabinet are referees who oversee the elections in a free, fair manner. Only then she can assure political parties, can win their confidence," he said. According to Rijal, rebuilding confidence among political parties is essential. "First, winning the confidence of the political parties. And for that, the Prime Minister will have to be able to reassure political parties that this is a government of referees. There will be a level playing field as far as the elections are held, no one in the government will have unfair advantage," he said. He added that the administration must guarantee law and order. "How police respond to the demands, how administration responds to the demand that any free and fair election will make on the institution of government, that has to be guaranteed," Rijal noted. Reflecting on the September 8-9 protests, Rijal said the unrest revealed deep frustration among citizens. He described the events as a mix of anger, opportunism, and desperation. "I saw three distinct things. First, a large crowd of people frustrated with politics. Second, those who went inside private properties to lay their hands on whatever they could. And third, people who later scavenged through the ashes to find something," he said. He added, "If we live with two groups of people, one who have everything and others who have nothing, then that rage and anger is there, that clearly is a message that we have not been able to govern the country well." Rijal said Nepal must learn from the crisis. "Had we not done it, I don't know. I don't want to speculate on that. But one would question the response that the president used to quell the situation. I think it was justified," he reiterated. He emphasised that the country's focus now must be on restoring democratic order. "Once the elections are held, free and fair election, then country can go back on track to the constitutionality and the constitution in Nepal will be fully revived and we can move everything from there forward," he said. Rijal concluded that the Congress party must introspect and engage with citizens to regain their trust. "We should understand the message, rise up to it, and be able to talk to people and say, well, these are the mistakes we made in the past. This is how we would like to change," he said. (ANI)
President Droupadi Murmu praised Angola for setting a strong global example in gender-inclusive governance, noting that over 39% of its Parliament members are women. She said this reflects remarkable commitment to equality and democratic empowerment. Addressing the National Assembly of Angola, President Murmu highlighted the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Angola. Murmu said that the 40-year milestone provides an opportunity to deepen and broaden the historical ties shared by the two nations. India's democratic journey since independence, crediting the sacrifices of freedom fighters and the nation's commitment to reforms that have driven progress in agriculture, tourism and other key sectors. She stressed that both India and Africa have built their development models on inclusivity and citizen-centric governance, ensuring that the voices of all people--rather than a select few--shape public policy. Murmu said that she was especially delighted to witness this achievement as the women President of the world's largest democracy. India, too, had taken a historic step by enacting legislation reserving one-third of parliamentary and state legislature seats for women, enabling greater participation of women in national development. This reform strengthens the foundations of our democracy and opens new opportunities for inclusive governance policies. President said that an Indian parliamentary delegation attended a major conference in Africa recently, during which Angola's rising international leadership and the continent's emerging industries were acknowledged. She said that India-Angola ties are anchored in mutual benefit, with strong cooperation across defense, agriculture, food processing, energy and several new and emerging sectors. There are vast opportunities ahead and by harnessing them, we can further strengthen our partnership. She also highlighted India's emphasis on quality legislation, transparency and public welfare, noting that the world's largest Parliament continues to encourage greater participation of women. Drawing attention to India's experience in local governance, Murmu said that the Panchayati Raj system and urban local bodies have deepened democracy and boosted economic activity at the grassroots level. Angola's initiatives to strengthen local governance were described as a welcome step in the same direction. The President said that India's Digital India initiative had transformed governance through technology-driven solutions and now serves as an inspiring model for many developing nations, including those in Africa. Reaffirming India's long-standing support for peace efforts in Africa, she said that India's experience in truth-and-reconciliation mechanisms and peace-building could open new avenues of collaboration. President Murmu also underscored growing cooperation in maritime security and the blue economy, calling it essential for ensuring a secure and prosperous future for citizens of both nations. The presence of distinguished delegates, reflects the shared commitment to advancing this strategic partnership. It notable that Angola, as a rich-resource African state, has the potential to be a gateway for India into Southern Africa and the Atlantic coast. This visit to Angola is a clear signal of India's ambition to expand its footprint in Africa. (ANI)
Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) for undertaking 11 High-Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) in Nepal under the grant assistance of the Government of India were signed on Monday. Along with foundation stone has been laid for construction of school building of Shree Swarnantaral Basic School, Okhaldhunga. Issuing press releases, the Embassy of India, Kathmandu announced that it has signed MoU with Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, Government of Nepal and Project Implementing Agencies of Government of Nepal for the HICDPs. The grant assistance of Government of India for the HICDPs will be used in sectors such as Education, Health and Waste Management with a total estimated cost of Nepali Rupees (NRs) 1.16 billion, as per the embassy. "These 11 projects are: (i) Construction of Shree Janajyoti Secondary School, Sanni Triveni Rural Municipality-4, Kalikot District, Karnali Province, (ii) Construction of Shree Maheshwar Secondary School Building, Bheemdatta Municipality-10, Kanchanpur District, Sudurpashchim Province, (iii) Construction of Primary School's Educational Building, Rajdevi Municipality-4, Rautahat District, Madhesh Province, (iv) Construction of Shree Jana Adarsha Secondary School, Shivganj, Shivasatakshi Municipality, Jhapa District, Koshi Province, (v) Construction of Shree Gokuleshwor Secondary School Building, Shailyashikhar Municipality-9, Darchula District, Sudurpashchim Province, (vi) Construction of Shree Janata Secondary School, Gauradaha Municipality-1, Jhapa District, Koshi Province, (vii) Construction of Patthardaiya Health Post, Bijayanagar Rural Municipality-3, Kapilvastu District, Lumbini Province, (viii) Construction of Municipal Hospital, Triyuga Municipality-5, Udayapur District, Koshi Province, (ix) Construction of Waste Management Centre (WMC), Duhabi Municipality-4, Sunsari District, Koshi Province, (x) Construction of Ilam Hospital Emergency Block, Ilam Municipality-07, Ilam District, Koshi Province, and (xi) Construction of Bhimgithe Health Post, Badigad Rural Municipality-7, Baglung District, Gandaki Province," the release states. Since 2003, Government of India has undertaken 590 HICDPs in Nepal, including the 11 projects for which MoUs were signed today. Out of these, 502 projects have been completed in the areas of health, education, drinking water, connectivity, sanitation and creation of public utilities. These projects are spread across all 7 provinces of Nepal. The remaining projects are at various stages of implementation. "As close neighbors, India and Nepal share wide-ranging and multi-sectoral cooperation. The implementation of HICDPs reflects the continued support of the Government of India in bolstering the efforts of the Government of Nepal in empowerment of its people by augmenting infrastructure in priority sectors," the embassy stated in release. On Monday, the foundation stone for construction of the school building of Shree Swarnantaral Basic School, Toksel at Manebhanjyang Rural Municipality-7, Okhaldhunga was laid today, in a ceremony held online. "The school building of Shree Swarnantaral Basic School is being built with Government of India's financial assistance as a High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP). Government of India's grant is being utilized for the construction of a three and half storey school building with class rooms and toilets for boys and girls," the release from the Indian Embassy states. Since 2003, Government of India has taken up 579 High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) in Nepal. Of these, 93 projects are located in Koshi Province across various sectors, including 5 projects in Okhaldhunga district. In addition, Government of India has gifted 150 ambulances and 62 school buses to various institutions working in the health and education sectors of Koshi Province, including 4 ambulances in Okhaldhunga district. The implementation of HICDPs is an integral part of the multi-faceted development partnership between India and Nepal that aptly reflects the strength of the friendship between both countries. (ANI)
President of Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, extended condolences over the loss of lives in the high-intensity blast near Delhi's iconic Red Fort that occurred on Monday evening, leaving at least eight people dead and many others injured. In a post on X, the Maldivian President said, "Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of lives in the blast in Red Fort, Delhi this evening. Our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and good wishes for swift recovery of the injured. The Maldives stands in solidarity with the people and Government of India in this difficult time." https://x.com/MMuizzu/status/1987953614145605732?s=20 Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah, said that Bangladesh stands with India in this hour. "I & @bdhc_delhi colleagues deeply condole death of at least 10 Indians and many injured in this evening's car blast in #RedFort #Delhi. Our thoughts|prayers remain with all those impacted, including their families. Bangladesh stands by #India at this distressful hour." https://x.com/hamidullah_riaz/status/1987943684722352211?s=20 The Embassy of Iran also expressed deep sorrow and conveyed sympathy. "The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in India expresses its deep sorrow over the loss of lives and injuries of several Indian citizens in the car blast incident in Delhi, and extends its sincere condolences to the Government and the people of the Republic of India. The Embassy also conveys its heartfelt sympathy to the bereaved families of the victims and wishes patience and comfort for them, as well as a speedy recovery for those injured in this tragic incident," it said. https://x.com/Iran_in_India/status/1987935461202137380?s=20 Condolences also poured in from the Ambassadors of Japan, UK and Argentina. The Ambassadors extended prayers for the injured and deceased. President Droupadi Murmu and Vice-President CP Radhakrishnan have expressed their condolences for the loss of lives in the incident. "I convey my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in the blast that has taken place in Delhi. I pray for quick recovery of those injured," President Murmu said in a post on X. "Deeply anguished by the blast in Delhi this evening. Heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones, and prayers for the swift recovery of the injured," Vice-President Radhakrishnan wrote on X. Earlier, speaking with ANI, Home Minister Amit Shah said that a blast occurred in a Hyundai i20 car at the Subhash Marg traffic signal near the Red Fort in Delhi at 7 pm on Monday, and the explosion injured some pedestrians and damaged some vehicles. The Home Minister said that teams from the Delhi Crime Branch and Delhi Special Branch arrived at the spot within 10 minutes of receiving the information of the blast. A blast occurred near Gate 1 Red Fort Metro station in the national capital, killing eight people while injuring seven others, a senior Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital official told ANI on Monday. (ANI)
The Indian Embassy in Thailand shared on Monday that 197 Indian nationals have been repatriated to India from Mae Sot, Thailand, by two special flights operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF). Anutin Charnvirakul, Prime Minister of Thailand, visited Mae Sot in the afternoon to oversee this operation, the Indian Embassy said. It further noted that the Indian Ambassador to Thailand, Nagesh Singh, met him at the airport. "The Prime Minister conveyed Thailand's deep appreciation for the Government of India's efforts in prompt repatriation of the detainees from Mae Sot, and assured of continued cooperation from Thai authorities in facilitating repatriation of Indian nationals released from scam-centres in Myanmar", the Embassy said on X. It highlighted that both sides reaffirmed their steadfast commitment to combating transnational crimes, including cyber scams and human trafficking in the region, and to enhance cooperation among the relevant agencies in both countries for this purpose. According to the Indian Embassy, the Indian nationals deported today were detained in Mae Sot after they had recently crossed into Thailand from Myawaddy, Myanmar, where they were allegedly working in the cyber scam centres. They were detained by Thai authorities for violation of Thai immigration laws when they had entered the country illegally. "Embassy of India, Bangkok and Consulate of India in Chiang Mai, in close coordination with various agencies of the Royal Thai Government, facilitated this repatriation. This is part of Government of India's sustained efforts to ensure safety and security of Indian nationals while in distress overseas. Indian nationals are strongly advised to verify the credentials of foreign employers, and check the antecedents of recruiting agents and companies before taking up job offers overseas", the Embassy said on X. https://x.com/IndiainThailand/status/1987828856456352227?s=20 It also underscored that the visa-free entry into Thailand for Indian passport holders is meant for tourism and short business purposes only, and should not be misused for taking up employment in Thailand. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pay a two-day State visit to Bhutan beginning today and participate in the Global Peace Prayer Festival organised by the Royal Government of Bhutan. During the visit, the Prime Minister will receive audience with Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the King of Bhutan, and the two leaders will inaugurate the 1020 MW Punatsangchhu-II Hydroelectric Project, developed jointly by Government of India and the Royal Government of Bhutan. Prime Minister will attend the celebrations dedicated to the 70th birth anniversary of Jigme Singye Wangchuck, the Fourth King of Bhutan. Prime Minister will also meet the Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay. The visit of Prime Minister coincides with the exposition of the Sacred Piprahwa Relics of Lord Buddha from India. Prime Minister will offer prayers to the Holy Relics at Tashichhodzong in Thimphu. India and Bhutan share a unique and exemplary partnership marked by deep mutual trust, goodwill and respect for each other. The shared spiritual heritage and warm people-to-people ties are a hallmark of the special partnership. Prime Minister's visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to deliberate on ways to further enhance and strengthen our bilateral partnership, and exchange views on regional and wider issues of mutual interest, a MEA release said. The upcoming visit of PM Modi to Bhutan is poised to be highly significant, coinciding with major national and spiritual events, underscoring the "closest partnership" between the two nations, India's Ambassador to Bhutan, Sandeep Arya, has said. The Ambassador highlighted the dual importance of the visit, noting its timing with the unprecedented Global Peace Prayer Festival and the 70th birthday celebrations of the Fourth King of Bhutan. "There is something called the Global Peace Prayer Festival, which Bhutan says is an unprecedented event... that festival is going on right now... praying for world peace and happiness. So Prime Minister of India, will also be participating in the Peace prayer festival, along with the Bhutanese leaders," Arya told ANI. (ANI)
New York, US (PANA)  Somali authorities and the international community must take concrete, coordinated action to consolidate progress and prevent backsliding, amid the countrys fragile transition, a UN expert said on Monday
KYOTO, Nov 10 (News On Japan) - A wave of hit ramen shops and bakeries across Kansai owes much of its pulling power to little-seen specialists who tailor ingredients to each stores recipe, with a Kyoto noodle maker growing annual sales from 70 million yen to 1.3 billion yen by supplying made-to-order noodles and a Kobe bean-paste producer developing more than 500 varieties of anko.

In Kyoto, a popular ramen shop that opened about eight years ago now draws daily queues and has expanded to a second location; inside, a small sign points to its noodle supplier, a Kyoto-based fresh-noodle manufacturer that customizes dough blends and shapes to match each soup. The shop rotates several noodlesthin for a rich broth that clings tightly, flatter cuts for a chewier bitedepending on the bowl. Other noted ramen counters say they do the same, trusting the maker to always have a noodle that fits exactly what we want to serve.

At the suppliers plant in Kyotos Minami Ward, the third-generation president describes a business built entirely around matching noodles to a customers soup. The firm produces five to six tonnes a day and keeps 50 to 60 different flour blends on handsoy-sauce ramen, tsukemen and morewhile cutters known as kiri-ha define width and shape. By swapping straight rollers for crimping rubbers and mixing and matching cutter sets, the factory now turns out more than 300 noodle styles. One flagship dough known as ST uses 100% domestic wheat to highlight natural aroma; a newer wing noodle hides a T-shaped groove that grabs minced toppings and dipping broths. For extra-thick styles inspired by Jiro-type ramen, the company intentionally reverses the usual processcutting a thick sheet with a narrow bladeto leave a serrated cross-section that soaks up soup.

Product development happens side by side with shop owners. Sales staff visit new restaurants with samplesperhaps three thicknesses from the same doughto cook in the house broth and decide on mouthfeel and aroma. Owners say the merits go beyond manufacturing: the noodle maker brings a deep file of case studies, from regional topping trends to small operational tips, and has become a brand in its own right, with many stores displaying its sign.

The pivot to ramen was born of necessity. When the founder fell ill, the family successor returned to rescue a loss-making firm and chose to exit udon and soba to focus on Chinese-style noodles. As the ramen boom intensified, many shops discovered the hurdle of in-house noodle productionmachines cost hundreds of thousands of yen and time is scarceopening the door for an outsourced in-house idea packaged as made-to-order noodles. The strategy pulled the company out of chronic red ink and set the stage for growth to 1.3 billion yen, and the president now talks of exporting as a noodle Lexus to overseas markets.

A similar model underpins a Kobe bakery favorite famed for its bean-paste-filled breads. Chefs there praise a supplier that goes as far as Hokkaido to choose the beans and then cooks them with precise technique, yielding anko customers call mochi-like and beautifully aromatic. That supplier, Matsubara Seiansho, is also led by a third-generation president and sells to more than 300 companies nationwide, posting around 350 million yen in annual sales. Kobes long pastry tradition shaped the business from its founding 78 years ago, and today its catalog spans over 500 itemsfrom classic tsubuan and koshian to seasonal and fully bespoke pastes.

Matsubaras edge lies in R&D. Because high heat can strip delicate flavors from liquids such as ramune or wine, the company developed a proprietary high-heat jelly approach that first traps the aromas in a gel and then blends it into the anko, preserving freshness after cooking. In a development room lined with trial batches, staff work up everything from caramel-milk anko to playful experiments that never made it to marketone squid-based paste reportedly tasted surprisingly good as a savory snackbut the pipeline continues, with requests for items like corn-soup anko and demi-glace-style pastes now in testing. To widen audiences, Matsubara opened a shop last year on Rokko Road called Antennaboth a literal antenna shop and a pun inviting customers to tune in to new ankowhere first-time visitors sample purple-sweet-potato spreads and other unusual flavors. The company hopes to push anko beyond sweets into everyday pantry use as a seasoning.

From grooved noodles that catch every drop of broth to jelly-locked aromas in bean paste, Kansais food orchestrators are turning craft and customization into quiet growth engines, keeping lines long and regulars loyal while letting front-of-house brands shine.

Note: Some minor shop and street names in the source audio were indistinct; this translation preserves meaning and industry context without speculating on uncertain proper nouns. If youd like, I can add confirmed spellings once the original text is clarified.

Source: KTV NEWS
A new feature-length animated adaptation of Peleliu  Guernica in Paradise  is coming to theaters, built on a collaboration with Mone Kamishiraishi, who performs the theme song titled A Miracle-like Thing. The story is based on the brutal Battle of Peleliu, where only 34 soldiers survived out of an estimated 10,000, and is being released to coincide with the 80th year since the end of the war, offering a depiction of friendship forged in the midst of devastating conflict.
Kitakyushu, Nov 10 (News On Japan) - The Mekari Shrine near the Kanmon Strait, connecting Honshu and Kyushu, has overcome a financial crisis through an unconventional initiative: a marine ash scattering business. Drawing on local customs, the shrine began offering plans starting from 70,000 yen, allowing families to have ashes scattered at sea in a ceremony managed by the shrine itself.

Over 11 years, the number of such services reached 3,700, increasing the shrines revenue thirty-fourfold to 170 million yen.

The shrine, with a history spanning 1,800 years, had been struggling to sustain itself on annual earnings of just 5 million yen. Inspired by the local tradition of sending the deceased out to sea on small boats, the shrine launched its own ash-scattering service, with the lowest-priced plan involving the shrine staff performing the ritual on behalf of the bereaved.

A new ceremonial hall was also built, designed to evoke the sea with water and a casket resembling a small boat. The shrine has since expanded its business into franchising, establishing a company separate from its religious activities to share its know-how nationwide.

Among the franchise partners is Hinoe Shrine in Kitakyushu, which adopted Mekaris method using water-soluble paper bags for ashes and personalized name tags written by families. Mekari Shrine provides partners with practical support, including legal guidance based on government regulations, coordination with local authorities and ship operators, and even assistance in creating websites and promotional strategies. The royalty fee is set at 15 percent per contract, and seven shrines have already joined the franchise network.

With staff expanding from one to twelve, Mekari Shrine aims to have 35 affiliated shrines and 370 million yen in royalty income by 2030. Beyond ash scattering, it is also working to strengthen its brand by collaborating with traditional craftsman Nakagawa Masashoten to redesign amulets and talismans, offering the designs to partner shrines as well.

Japan has more than 80,000 shrinesoutnumbering convenience storesbut many face closure due to depopulation. By merging tradition with modern business strategy, Mekari Shrine has presented a new model for shrine management in an era of demographic decline.

Source: Television OSAKA NEWS
TOKYO, Nov 10 (News On Japan) - Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, paid her respects at the mausoleum of Emperor Showa and other imperial tombs in Hachioji, Tokyo, ahead of her official visit to Laos later this month.

Wearing a gray ceremonial outfit, Aiko arrived at the Musashino Imperial Mausoleum around 10:30 a.m. and slowly approached the tombs of her great-grandparents, Emperor Showa and Empress Kojun. She offered a sacred branch and bowed deeply in reverence.

Her visit to Laos is scheduled from November 17th to 22nd. During her stay, she will make a courtesy call on President Thongloun in the capital Vientiane, attend a state banquet, and take part in a luncheon in the ancient city of Luang Prabang.

This will mark Aikos first official duty overseas.

Source: TBS
HOKKAIDO, Nov 10 (News On Japan) - Aerial images of Hokkaido showed a solitary round hole in the mountains near Mt. Yotei, leading a reporting team to Kyogoku Town where an unpaved forest road ended at a dam and, beyond a locked gate and warning signs, at a restricted facility on a ridge that turned out to be a perfectly circular reservoir built on the mountaintop.

Staff explained the site is the upper regulating reservoir for a pumped-storage hydroelectric system. Water stored at the summit is routed through conduits to turbines far below to generate power, then collected in the lower dam; when demand is low, the same machines are driven in reverse to pump the water back uphill so it can be used again. The reservoirs perimeter is about 1,500 meters, with a storage volume on the order of 4.4 million cubic metersroughly three and a half Tokyo Domescreating a vast buffer of potential energy.

The heart of the system lies some 400 meters underground inside a cavernous powerhouse reached through a steep access tunnel. There, water from the upper pool spins the turbines at roughly 500 revolutions per minute to produce electricity. The machinery can switch modes, functioning as generators when water flows downward and as pumps when power is abundant.

Hokkaido Electric Power monitors the network around the clock from a control center in Sapporo, adjusting output moment by moment to keep supply and demand in balance. With solar output prone to rapid swings when clouds pass, the pumped-storage plant absorbs surplus electricity by lifting water uphill and then releases it during peaks, acting, in effect, like a giant rechargeable battery that converts electricity into stored water energy and back again.

The restricted access and sirens heard on approach are part of routine operationsa measure also used to deter bears in the otherwise quiet mountain area. What looked like a simple hole from the sky proved to be the top of an intricate energy storage system designed to stabilize Hokkaidos power supply.

Source: UHB
Investment Minister Karim Zidane called for enhanced youth training programs aligned with future industries as Casablanca positions itself to become an international investment hub attracting major global corporations.

Speaking at the Niqach Al Ahrar (RNI Dialogue) forum, Zidane highlighted Casablancas exceptional economic potential and stressed the necessity of orienting youth education toward future industries and cutting-edge technologies, particularly 5G networks, to support industrial momentum and strengthen the metropoliss attractiveness.

The minister revealed that several major international corporations, notably Chinese and European groups, are seeking to establish operations in Casablanca due to its dynamism and strategic advantages. Casablanca has a very promising future. We already count at least five to six world-renowned companies wishing to establish themselves here, Zidane stated, noting that such installations typically attract additional players in their wake.

Zidane emphasized the need for public policy convergence to support this dynamic by preparing both land resources and qualified workforce capable of meeting new industrial sectors requirements. He urged educational institutions to orient training programs toward future technologies, particularly citing 5G as an indispensable lever for economic, industrial, and medical development.

5G is not a choiceits an obligation. Future industries require elevated technological levels. Tomorrow, a doctor will be able to operate remotely from another country thanks to these technologies, the minister explained, underscoring the transformative potential of advanced telecommunications infrastructure.

Despite current economic challenges, Zidane reaffirmed the governments commitment to maintaining action coherence and complementarity. The Prime Minister sets the major directions, and ministers implement them in a spirit of solid coordination within the coalition, he declared.

The minister also highlighted medias essential role in communicating government achievements and raising citizen awareness about the scope of ongoing projects. His remarks reflect broader government strategy to position Casablanca at the forefront of Moroccos industrial transformation, ensuring the city develops both physical infrastructure and human capital necessary to compete in global high-tech manufacturing and services sectors.
Moroccos tourism sector showcased its strongest performers at the 45th World Travel Market in London, with Agadir and Marrakech selected as featured destinations amid record growth from the critical British market.

Agadir has posted double-digit performance gains driven primarily by British tourists, who represent the destinations leading foreign market and primary driver of overnight stays. Tourism operators from Agadir actively participated in the WTM held November 4-5 at Londons ExCeL exhibition center, aiming to consolidate achievements, forge partnerships, and maintain positive momentum.

The United Kingdom remains Moroccos third-largest source market by value, recording 938,440 arrivals and nearly 2.9 million overnight stays through August 2025. Agadir exemplifies this dynamic, with 1.377 million arrivals and over 5.914 million overnight stays recorded at classified accommodation establishments in 2024.

British tourists constitute Agadirs second-largest clientele after domestic and French visitors, currently serving as the destinations performance flagship. The UK generated 272,073 arrivals and 1.561 million tourist overnight stays in Agadir throughout 2024, significantly boosting attendance through airline connections.

The first nine months of 2025 confirmed this positive trajectory, with British market indicators showing respective increases of 37.76% for arrivals and 34.40% for overnight stays. British clientele maintains its position as Agadirs leading foreign market with a 30.58% market share in overnight stays.

The Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT) deployed a cutting-edge 900-square-meter pavilion featuring immersive design highlighting Moroccos tourism assets, regional diversity, and offerings. For the second consecutive year, ONMT selected Agadir and Marrakech as honored regions at this business-to-business event.

Professionals conducting back-to-back meetings throughout the three-day event focused on consolidating gains, particularly for Agadir, which has posted double-digit growth rates over the past three years. However, sustaining this growth level depends on expanding the destinations accommodation capacity.

The ONMT targets 995,465 passengers from the British market for summer 2025 and winter 2025/26 seasons, representing 9% year-over-year growth. Eight major airlinesincluding Royal Air Maroc, Ryanair, EasyJet, British Airways, TUI Airways, Jet2.com, Wizz Air, and Air Arabiaconnect 12 British airports to eight Moroccan destinations. Total capacity reaches 1.9 million seats for these seasons, up 8% from 2024 and 56% from 2023.
The Sudanese army on Sunday repelled a major assault by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the city of Babnousa in West Kordofan, according to local witnesses.

The RSF reportedly launched artillery fire and advanced with combat vehicles, but were driven back by army troops who later released videos confirming control over the area. The Babnousa Emergency Room, a local relief body, stated that the army had successfully thwarted an attack on its 22nd Infantry Division, though it did not disclose details about casualties or damage.

The committee described Babnousa as a ghost town, noting that nearly 177,000 residents have fled amid continuous clashes between the rival forces. The RSF has not commented on the incident. The army has recently been conducting air supply drops to reinforce its troops in Babnousa, which remains a flashpoint in Sudans protracted conflict. Fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which erupted on 15 April 2023, has so far claimed thousands of lives and displaced millions, with diplomatic efforts to end the war yielding little progress.
Moroccos Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, described the recent UN Security Council resolution on the Sahara as a historic milestone crowning 50 years of efforts in defense of the Kingdoms territorial integrity and national unity.

In a televised interview with Rita Cosby on Newsmaxs Saturday Report, Hilale praised US President Donald Trump for his pivotal role in recognizing Moroccos sovereignty over the region.

This is a moment of unity, Hilale said, adding that the resolution affirms Moroccos legitimate and historical ties to the Sahara.

Hilale also highlighted the text as an achievement to five decades of diplomatic effort, patience, and the enduring loyalty of Saharan populations to the Alaouite monarchy.

Immediately after the resolution was passed, the King gave a speech marking the event as a turning point, followed the same night by public celebrations, with Moroccans taking to the streets in a show of national pride.

The ambassador paid tribute to Trumps 2020 recognition of Moroccan sovereignty, calling it a watershed that ended the diplomatic stalemate at the UN and catalyzed a new regional dynamic.

History will remember President Trump as the first leader of a major power to recognize Moroccos sovereignty over the Sahara, he said.

Hilale drew a symbolic parallel between Moroccos early recognition of US independence over two centuries ago and Washingtons recent support for Moroccos territorial integrity.

He added that this move has encouraged European powers, including France, the UK, and Germany, to back Moroccos autonomy plan as the only viable solution to the regional dispute.

Looking ahead, Hilale expressed hope for regional reconciliation and economic integration, stating. We hope President Trump will visit the Sahara, and that next year we will celebrate reconciliation with our neighbors.

He deplored the lack of regional unity in the Maghreb, describing it as the least integrated region in the world due to the ongoing conflict, while reaffirming King Mohammed VIs commitment to a strategy of patience, outreach, and firm defense of national sovereignty.
Enterprises from 123 Belt and Road partner countries participate in 8th CIIE

Xinhua) 09:39, November 10, 2025

This photo shows bottles of wine from Serbia at the Food and Agricultural Products exhibition area during the eighth China International Import Expo in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. The eighth CIIE opened here on Wednesday. Enterprises from a total of 123 Belt and Road partner countries participated in this year's CIIE, increasing by 23.1 percent year on year. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

An exhibitor from Singapore (L) takes selfies with an exhibitor from Malaysia at the Food and Agricultural Products exhibition area during the eighth China International Import Expo in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. The eighth CIIE opened here on Wednesday. Enterprises from a total of 123 Belt and Road partner countries participated in this year's CIIE, increasing by 23.1 percent year on year. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

This photo shows bottles of liquor from Serbia at the Food and Agricultural Products exhibition area during the eighth China International Import Expo in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 6, 2025. The eighth CIIE opened here on Wednesday. Enterprises from a total of 123 Belt and Road partner countries participated in this year's CIIE, increasing by 23.1 percent year on year. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

An exhibitor shows soaps from Syria at the Consumer Goods exhibition area of the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. The eighth CIIE opened here on Wednesday. Enterprises from a total of 123 Belt and Road partner countries participated in this year's CIIE, increasing by 23.1 percent year on year. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

A visitor tries a wool coat from Mongolia at the Consumer Goods exhibition area of the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. The eighth CIIE opened here on Wednesday. Enterprises from a total of 123 Belt and Road partner countries participated in this year's CIIE, increasing by 23.1 percent year on year. (Xinhua/Ding He)

People communicate with each other at the pavilion of Rwanda during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. The eighth CIIE opened here on Wednesday. Enterprises from a total of 123 Belt and Road partner countries participated in this year's CIIE, increasing by 23.1 percent year on year. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

People communicate with each other at the pavilion of Iran during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. The eighth CIIE opened here on Wednesday. Enterprises from a total of 123 Belt and Road partner countries participated in this year's CIIE, increasing by 23.1 percent year on year. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

A visitor learns about rose products from Iran at the Consumer Goods exhibition area of the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. The eighth CIIE opened here on Wednesday. Enterprises from a total of 123 Belt and Road partner countries participated in this year's CIIE, increasing by 23.1 percent year on year. (Xinhua/Ding He)

An exhibitor shows fans and moisturizing lotion from Ghana at the Food and Agricultural Products exhibition area during the eighth China International Import Expo in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. The eighth CIIE opened here on Wednesday. Enterprises from a total of 123 Belt and Road partner countries participated in this year's CIIE, increasing by 23.1 percent year on year. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Staff members perform at the pavilion of the United Arab Emirates during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. The eighth CIIE opened here on Wednesday. Enterprises from a total of 123 Belt and Road partner countries participated in this year's CIIE, increasing by 23.1 percent year on year. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

People visit the booth of Indonesia's conglomerate Sinar Mas at the Consumer Goods exhibition area of the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. The eighth CIIE opened here on Wednesday. Enterprises from a total of 123 Belt and Road partner countries participated in this year's CIIE, increasing by 23.1 percent year on year. (Xinhua/Ding He)

A visitor learns about coffee at the pavilion of Burundi during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. The eighth CIIE opened here on Wednesday. Enterprises from a total of 123 Belt and Road partner countries participated in this year's CIIE, increasing by 23.1 percent year on year. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

Staff members perform at the pavilion of Georgia during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. The eighth CIIE opened here on Wednesday. Enterprises from a total of 123 Belt and Road partner countries participated in this year's CIIE, increasing by 23.1 percent year on year. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

An exhibitor (1st L) promotes Ceylon black tea at the Sri Lanka Pavilion during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. The eighth CIIE opened here on Wednesday. Enterprises from a total of 123 Belt and Road partner countries participated in this year's CIIE, increasing by 23.1 percent year on year. (Xinhua/Meng Chenguang)

This photo shows a piece of jewelry from the Dominican Republic at the Consumer Goods exhibition area of the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. The eighth CIIE opened here on Wednesday. Enterprises from a total of 123 Belt and Road partner countries participated in this year's CIIE, increasing by 23.1 percent year on year. (Xinhua/Ding He)

Visitors try coffee at the pavilion of Ethiopia during the eighth China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 7, 2025. The eighth CIIE opened here on Wednesday. Enterprises from a total of 123 Belt and Road partner countries participated in this year's CIIE, increasing by 23.1 percent year on year. (Xinhua/Meng Chenguang)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun)
During open enrollment, starting Nov. 1, residents can access affordable plans from Ambetter from Absolute Total Care statewide

COLUMBIA, S.C., Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ambetter from Absolute Total Care, a product offered by a Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) company, a leading healthcare enterprise that provides insurance to under-insured and uninsured populations through the Health Insurance Marketplace, will offer a variety of affordable health insurance plans to South Carolina residents statewide for plan year 2026. The open enrollment period for the Health Insurance Marketplace runs from Nov. 1, 2025, through Jan. 15, 2026. Enroll by Dec. 15, 2025, for coverage starting Jan. 1, 2026.

"With Ambetter Health, we've designed a variety of coverage options to help individuals access practical health solutions designed to meet their unique needs," said President and Chief Executive Officer of Absolute Total Care, John McClellan. "Our commitment is not just to provide high-quality insurance but to build a healthier South Carolina for all, where every member feels valued, supported and equipped to thrive."

Ambetter from Absolute Total Care offers its members access to quality care and convenient services. 2026 benefits and offerings include:

Affordable and Reliable Coverage:

Ambetter from Absolute Total Care provides coverage for all essential health benefits, including preventive and wellness services, maternity and newborn care, pediatric services, mental health services, hospitalizations and prescription drug coverage. Some plans also include dental and vision coverage.





provides coverage for all essential health benefits, including preventive and wellness services, maternity and newborn care, pediatric services, mental health services, hospitalizations and prescription drug coverage. Some plans also include dental and vision coverage. Ambetter Health Solutions:

Ambetter Health Solutions, Centene Corporation's off-exchange marketplace business offerings, delivers individual health insurance plans that are compatible with Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangements ( ICHRAs ). While not an ICHRA itself, Ambetter Health Solutions supports employers who choose to adopt this reimbursement model by providing employees with access to affordable, customizable and dependable coverage options. Available in select states, including South Carolina, these plans empower individuals to choose the coverage that best fits their needs, helping employers control costs while offering greater choice and flexibility to their workforce.



Ambetter Centene ICHRAs ICHRA Ambetter Convenient Online Enrollment:

Through the Ambetter from Absolute Total Care website, people can browse and compare coverage options, determine their eligibility for financial subsidies and directly enroll in coverage  all in one place. The platform is accessible through mobile devices, so people can enroll using smartphones. If a person is unable to complete enrollment all at once, the system will save progress and provide reminders to finish enrollment.





Through the website, people can browse and compare coverage options, determine their eligibility for financial subsidies and directly enroll in coverage  all in one place. The platform is accessible through mobile devices, so people can enroll using smartphones. If a person is unable to complete enrollment all at once, the system will save progress and provide reminders to finish enrollment. My Health Pays*:

Members have access to the My Health Pays program, where they can earn points for practicing healthy eating habits, staying active and leading a healthy lifestyle. Through the program, members can complete health-related activities and challenges to earn up to $500 in rewards in 2026. These rewards can be used for health-related expenses such as premiums, copays and deductibles (pharmacy copays are excluded). My Health Pays also allows members to set and reach health goals at their own pace by providing seasonal suggestions for activities and guidance to help stay on track.





Members have access to the My Health Pays program, where they can earn points for practicing healthy eating habits, staying active and leading a healthy lifestyle. Through the program, members can complete health-related activities and challenges to earn up to $500 in rewards in 2026. These rewards can be used for health-related expenses such as premiums, copays and deductibles (pharmacy copays are excluded). My Health Pays also allows members to set and reach health goals at their own pace by providing seasonal suggestions for activities and guidance to help stay on track. Virtual 24/7 Care**:

Virtual 24/7 Care offers members a licensed provider via telehealth for members to access care for illnesses such as flu, skin conditions, ear infections, fever and respiratory infections  all from the comfort of their home.

South Carolina residents interested in learning more about Ambetter from Absolute Total Care or enrolling in a health plan during the open enrollment period may visit ambetterhealth.com/en/sc.

About Ambetter from Absolute Total Care & Ambetter Health

Ambetter from Absolute Total Care serves under-insured and uninsured populations through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace. Ambetter from Absolute Total Care is underwritten by Absolute Total Care, Inc., which is a Qualified Health Plan issuer in South Carolina. Ambetter Health, offering the Ambetter Health Solutions product, is underwritten by Celtic Insurance Company. For more information visit ambetterhealth.com/en/sc. This is a solicitation for insurance. For information on your right to receive an Ambetter from Absolute Total Care plan free of discrimination, or your right to receive language, auditory and/or visual assistance services, please visit ambetterhealth.com/en/ and scroll to the bottom of the page.

*Healthcare-related costs will vary by member and the plan in which you are enrolled. Funds expire immediately upon termination of insurance coverage. My Health Pays rewards cannot be used for pharmacy copays. Restrictions apply. Members must qualify for and complete all activities to receive $500 or more. Visit Member.AmbetterHealth.com for more details. Your health plan is committed to helping you achieve your best health. Rewards for participating in a wellness program are available to all members. If you think you might be unable to meet a standard for a reward under this wellness program, you might qualify for an opportunity to earn the same reward by different means.

**Cost sharing may apply when using Virtual 24/7 Care or Virtual Primary Care. Virtual 24/7 Care cost share does not apply to HSA plans until the deductible is met and is only applicable when used through the Virtual 24/7 Care program. Ambetter Health does not provide medical care. Medical care is provided by individual providers, which are independent contractors and not agents of Ambetter Health.

SOURCE Ambetter from Absolute Total Care
The euro surged to a new historic high on Algerias black market in November, trading at up to 27,450 dinars for a 100-euro note, marking a deepening pressure on the informal currency exchange system.

Buyers are offering between 27,050 and 27,150 dinars, widening the gap between buying and selling rates, Algerian outlet Maghreb Emergent reported.

This imbalance signals a persistent excess in demand over supply, driven largely by private vehicle imports that require payment in euros.

With Algerias banking system unable to meet this demand, citizens are increasingly turning to the black market, pushing prices upward.

The Algerian dinar has been in steady decline for years. While official exchange rates remain artificially low, the black market reveals the currencys true value, exposing the disconnect between government figures and ground-level conditions.

This discrepancy has allowed Algerian authorities to inflate GDP figures using the official rate, masking economic vulnerabilities. The real purchasing power of Algerians continues to erode, and the informal market has become a more accurate barometer of the countrys financial health.

Traditional sources of foreign currency- tourism, family remittances, and informal trade- are no longer sufficient to meet growing demand. As a result, liquidity in euros is tightening, and market operators expect the upward trend to continue in the coming weeks.
Morocco has secured a sweeping victory in the recent UNESCO Executive Board elections, winning 146 votes and reaffirming its global diplomatic standing. In stark contrast, Algeria failed to obtain a single vote, underscoring a deepening diplomatic isolation.

The outcome reflects growing international support for Moroccos strategic vision, led by King Mohammed VI, which emphasizes intercultural dialogue, sustainable development, and global cooperation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hailed the result as a reinforcement of Moroccos active and constructive role within UNESCO.

Algerias failure comes amid broader diplomatic challenges, including setbacks in its hegemonic policy in the region, tense ties with all its neighbors except autocratic Tunisia and strained relations with key partners such as Spain, the US, France, China, and Russia.

Analysts suggest Algerias confrontational stance toward Morocco has become a strategic liability.

While Morocco strengthens its position as a bridge between Africa and Europe through initiatives like the Atlantic initiative and the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline, Algeria appears increasingly isolated, clinging to outdated rhetoric and losing ground even among traditional allies.

The UNESCO vote serves as a symbolic and strategic turning point, highlighting Moroccos ascent on the international stage and Algerias diminishing influence in multilateral forums.
Advisors to King Mohammed VI Taib Fassi Fihri, Omar Azziman, and Fouad Ali El Himma, met this Monday with the heads of political parties represented in both Houses of Parliament to update the formulation of the Autonomy Plan under Moroccan sovereignty, the Royal Office said in a statement.

The meeting, held in accordance with the high instructions of the King, was devoted to updating and detailing the formulation of the autonomy initiative, within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty, in execution of the royal decision outlined in the speech he delivered on October 31, following the adoption of Resolution 2797 by the Security Council, the statement said, adding that the meeting is part of the Monarchs steadfast commitment to implementing a participatory approach and broad consultation, in all matters concerning the countrys major causes.

During the meeting, the Royal Advisors informed the heads of political parties of the Sovereigns willingness to consult them on this crucial issue to all Moroccans, urging them to submit their organizations visions and proposals regarding the updating and detailed formulation of the autonomy initiative.

The heads of political parties welcomed the positive developments in the Moroccan Sahara issue, and expressed pride in the Royal Decision to involve national political bodies, various institutions, and driving forces of the nation to develop an integrated, updated and detailed vision for the autonomy initiative in the Moroccan Sahara, within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty, capable of guaranteeing the return of our brothers from the Tindouf camps, reuniting them with their families, building their future, and contributing to managing their local affairs, within a unified Morocco, as HM the King emphasized in his recent Speech, the statement said.

They also expressed their continued commitment, under the wise leadership of the King, and their full support for the initiatives and tireless efforts that the Sovereign has consistently undertaken to defend the legitimate rights of our country to consolidate the Moroccanness of the Sahara. These efforts have been rewarded by the adoption of the recent Security Council resolution, which enshrines the Moroccan autonomy initiative as a realistic and achievable solution, within the framework of the Kingdoms sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national unity, as the basis for negotiations to achieve a final resolution of this regional conflict.

The heads of political parties vowed to submit to the Monarch memoranda on this subject as soon as possible.
Frustrated Aussies are taking matters into their own hands as one of the country's worst invaders continues to fill rivers to the brim and shatter fragile ecosystems.

With an estimated 200 to 350 million European carp swimming in waterways across the nation, it's no surprise calls have surged for intervention from the federal government.

As native fish and aquatic plants struggle to survive, pressure is mounting on authorities to release the carp virus (Cyprinid herpesvirus 3), which is proven to cause a fatal disease in the fish.

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However, the federal government has yet to commit to its $15 million National Carp Control Plan (NCCP), which was commissioned almost a decade ago, prompting frustrated recreational fishers to roll up their sleeves and help tackle the growing issue themselves.

This week, dozens of locals from Walgett, in northern NSW, caught and removed 250kg of European carp from the Namoi River in a single day, with an image of the fish heaped in the back of a ute highlighting their impressive, yet concerning, haul.

OzFish Murray-Darling Basin Manager, Michelle Slater, told Yahoo News Australia about 100 people attended the event, collecting a total of 181 carp that were later served to some "very grateful" pigs for lunch.

"The farmer of the pigs was an attendee of the event and offered to dispose of the carp," she explained.

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It is illegal to return carp to the water. The fish should be disposed of in a bin, cooked for human consumption or used as stock feed, NSWs Department of Primary Industries encourages.

Last weekend, a total of 570kg of pest fish, including tilapia and carp, were removed from Gold Coast waterways. Source: Fisheries Queensland/Facebook

Carp haul shows how recreational fishers can make a difference

Namoi River is one of the major sub-catchments in the northern part of the Murray-Darling basin, which also flows through Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT. Carp make up an astounding 80 to 90 per cent of the fish biomass in the Murray-Darling Basin.

"Carp, an invasive species of pest fish, are now the most common large freshwater fish in most of the Murray-Darling Basin, and have significant negative impacts on waterways and native fish," Slater said.

"Every carp removed from an Australian waterway helps to improve the water quality and can help reduce further degradation of our native fisheries. This large haul of carp shows how recreational fishers and locals can make a positive difference to their waterways."

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The message appears to have resonated with many around the country. Last weekend, 570kg of pest fish, including tilapia and carp, were removed from waterways during the Gold Coast Pest Fishing Classic.

In early October, a photo showing 700kg of fish  primarily carp  piled into the back of a ute went viral online, sparking renewed interest in the fight against the destructive species.

A photo showing dozens of carp that were hauled out of the Wyangala Dam in NSW went viral last month. Source: Daniel McCartney

Why are carp so destructive?

Carp are considered a noxious aquatic pest, and they cannot be returned to the water alive or kept without a permit.

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They were first introduced in the mid-1800s as ornamental fish in private ponds. But in the 1960s, when a genetic line called the "Boolara strain" was released into Victorian waters, carp quickly spread throughout the eastern and southern states.

Their impact is severe because they feed by sucking and disturbing sediments at the bottom of rivers and lakes. This behaviour muddies the water, uproots plants, reduces water clarity, and releases nutrients that fuel algal blooms.

Native fish and aquatic plants struggle to survive in these degraded conditions, while carp thrive. The result is poorer water quality, damaged ecosystems, and fewer habitats for native species.

Love Australia's weird and wonderful environment?  Get our new newsletter showcasing the weeks best stories.
Russias second-largest oil producer Lukoil is withdrawing from its core energy interests in Iraq following the recent tightening of the sanctions noose around the country by the West. The latest prohibitions introduced by the U.S. on 22 October included measures directly aimed at Lukoil, and Russias top oil producer Rosneft. Between them, the two companies export approximately 3.1 million barrels of oil per day, which the West sees as vital to Russias ability to keep funding its war in Ukraine. Lukoils almost immediate capitulation of its huge West Qurna 2 oil field and Block 10 assets in Iraq marks a major turning point in the Wests fightback against increasingly aggressive Russia and Chinese moves against the allies, a senior Washington-based legal source who works closely with the U.S. Treasury exclusively told OilPrice.com last week. Its a big Russian major leaving two of its critical oil developments in one of its key areas of interest in the Middle East  it doesnt get much bigger than that, he added. Moreover, Lukoils exit from the major Iraq oil and gas sites opens new opportunities for Western firm to further extend the Wests resurgent influence across Iraq.

Washington and London are delighted with the news, according to the source, for three key reasons. First, Lukoils quick announcement of its exit underscores how effective the new set of sanctions on Russia is. The measures are part of a full range of blocking sanctions overseen by the U.S. Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) including not just the two corporate entities of Lukoil and Rosneft (and their multiple subsidiaries) being added to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List but key individuals connected to the firms as well. Moreover, both firms interests in the U.S. are now blocked, and all the U.S.s companies and citizens are barred from any dealings with either. Targeting Russias top two oil firms is a huge step up from what the previous sets of sanctions that encompassed lower-tier firms such as Gazpromneft and Surgutneftegas, which were in turn part of Washingtons gradual tightening of the screws on Putin. The second reason is that the European Union (E.U.) continued to mirror such prohibitions against the cogs financing Russias war machine in Ukraine, as seen in its 19th sanctions package. These include additional measures targeting Russias shadow fleet of vessels used to evade current restrictions. And for the first time, the E.U. also targeted Russias crucial liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector, having earlier agreed to halt all Russian gas imports by 1 January 2027  one year earlier than previously agreed. This was part of a broader 16 October vote to accelerate the unions phaseout of Russian oil, gas, and LNG, which also saw the proposal to implement a full ban on Russian oil imports into the region from 1 January 2026. The third reason is how difficult Lukoil has so far found it to dispose of its Iraqi assets, which Washington and London are taking as a sign that the sanctions in place against Moscow now appear so strong and well-coordinated that they are a true deterrent to other actors who in the past may have looked to support Russia. Most notable in this context was that Swiss-based trading firm Gunvor has lost interest in pursuing such talks with Lukoil.

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It is also the case, from Iraqs perspective, that it was seeing diminishing returns in its ongoing relationship with Lukoil, not just from the geopolitical pressure the U.S. was bringing to bear, but also from a petro-economic one. On the first point, as analysed in full in my latest book on the new global oil market order, the battle for influence over Iraqs oil fields is about a lot more than just oil. Indeed, a source who works closely with the E.U.s energy security apparatus exclusively told OilPrice.com at the time, that a very high-ranking official from the Kremlin said that: By keeping the West out of energy deals in Iraq, the end of Western hegemony in the Middle East will become the decisive chapter in the Wests final demise. On the second point, Baghdad had long endured problems with Lukoil on the site, which means it may have been happier than it has let on to yield to U.S. pressure regarding the firm. The original development plan for the West Qurna 2 field  with estimated recoverable oil reserves of around 13 billion barrels and one of the lowest lifting costs in the world at just US$2-3 per barrel -- was to produce 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd). However, this was amended in 2013 to a three-stage plan, with peak production set at 1.2 million bpd. Phase 1 would add around 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) to the early 30,000 bpd of production from the sites Mishrif Formation. Phase 2 would add another 400,000 bpd from the full development of the Mishrif Formation. And Phase 3 would add another 650,000 bpd from the development of the deeper Yamama formation.

However, it was around the time of the transition from Phase 2 to Phase 3, scheduled to start in the middle of 2017, that trouble began on the Russian side. Lukoil believed the level of remuneration it was receiving per barrel drilled was too low. It was being paid US$1.15 per barrel recoveredthe lowest rate paid to any international oil company (IOC) in Iraq at that time  and dwarfed by the US$5.50 per barrel being paid to GazpromNeft for its development of the Badra oil field. Making matters worse for Lukoil at that point was that it had already spent at least US$8 billion in developing West Qurna 2, and compounding this grievance was the fact that Iraqs Oil Ministry still owed it around US$6 billion in remuneration on recovered barrels and other development payments. In August 2017, a senior source who works closely with Irans Petroleum Ministry exclusively told OilPrice.com at the time, Lukoil was assured that Iraqs Oil Ministry would very quickly pay the US$6 billion that it owed the company and that a higher compensation rate per barrel would be looked into as soon as was feasible. In addition, the Oil Ministry agreed to extend Lukoils from 20 to 25 years, so lowering the average yearly cost to the Russian firm. It was also agreed that Lukoil would invest at least US$1.5 billion in West Qurna 2 in the following 12 months with a view to raising production from the 400,000-bpd level closer to the 1.2 million bpd peak production target.

Crucially for what followed, though, according to the Iran source, Lukoil knew back then that it was perfectly capable of producing at least 635,000 bpd on a sustained basis, having hit 650,000 bpd production over extended periods in August and September 2017, and with its engineers having assured senior management that 635,000-bpd production was achievable on an ongoing basis with no problems. Unfortunately for the Russians, the end of November 2017 saw Iraqs Oil Ministry discover that Lukoil was holding out on it, followed by a subsequent threat to withhold all payments due to Lukoil until it began to increase production steadily up to the 635,000-bpd level that its own production tests had shown was perfectly achievable. In response, and after several IOCs withdrew from Iraq, Lukoils senior management believed the time was right to try again to force the Oil Ministry to honour its previous promises to increase its per-barrel compensation on the West Qurna 2 field. Surprisingly for the Russians, the Oil Ministrys response was to say that it was fine if Lukoil wanted to leave but that before it did so it would pay compensation in lieu of the upfront investment that it promised in 2017 and promised again in 2019 as it was not meeting the time-sensitive oil production targets that it had agreed to.

As it now stands, the way looks clear for any permutation of Western firms that have re-entered Iraqs oil sector since Donal Trump began his second presidential term to take up where Lukoil left off in West Qurna 2. It might look like a good opportunity for U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil, given its longstanding involvement in the neighbouring West Qurna 1 field. Great Britains BP remains involved in the huge Rumaila field and following its strategy reset in February back to a more fossil-fuel focus it may be a good fit for them. Any Western company would also have the knowledge that Frances TotalEnergies is now also firmly established in country in its US$27 billion four-pronged deal aimed at improving the core infrastructure across Iraqs oil and gas sector. Most notably here, the French firm is building out the vital Common Seawater Supply Project, aimed at boosting pressure in Iraqs key field to increase and extend well productivity.

By Simon Watkins for Oilprice.com

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Despite rising project costs, developers are successfully negotiating up to 15% higher liquefaction fees because buyers in Europe and Asia are willing to pay a premium to secure American LNG supply and reduce dependence on Russian gas.

Encouraged by market conditions, U.S. developers have made final investment decisions (FIDs) on six export projects this year, contributing to a record global LNG finance tally of $72 billion.

American LNG developers have signed sales and purchase agreements for 29.5 million metric tons per year in 2025, a volume that has more than quadrupled compared to the entirety of 2024.

Europes rush to shake off Russian gas dependence and Asias push to buy higher volumes of American energy while negotiating trade deals have created a booming export deal market for U.S. LNG exporters and developers, even at increased liquefaction fees.

Year to date, American LNG developers have signed sales and purchase agreements (SPAs) for existing and future export plants for a total of 29.5 million metric tons per year, according to data from consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group cited by Reuters.

The volume of newly contracted U.S. LNG more than quadrupled between January and October compared to the 7 million metric tons per year (mtpa) contracted for the whole of 2024.

The U.S. LNG industry is now on track to have signed the second-highest export volumes on record, trailing only 2022, when buyers in Europe turned en masse to American gas as Russian pipeline supply to Europe slumped and stopped for many EU markets, including Germany.

Encouraged by the Trump Administrations energy policy, LNG developers are taking advantage of the market and regulatory tailwinds to approve investments in new projects.

So far this year, Australias Woodside has announced the FID for the Louisiana LNG project and plans to start production in 2029. In July, Venture Global took FID and successfully closed the $15.1 billion project financing for the first phase of the companys third project, CP2 LNG, together with the associated CP Express Pipeline. Top U.S. exporter Cheniere has made a positive FID for the Corpus Christi Midscale Trains 8 & 9 and Debottlenecking Project. NextDecade has decided to invest $6.7 billion in the expansion of its Rio Grande LNG facility in Texas, in the second Rio Grande expansion announced this year, while Sempra approved a $14 billion Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 expansion.

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U.S. developers of six export projects have made FIDs and secured financing so far this year, bringing total global LNG finance to a record of $72 billion, energy commodity shipping broker and advisor Poten & Partners said last month.

Six US FIDs in one year is unprecedented the highest number before this year was three US projects. The liquefaction finance tally could continue to climb in the final quarter of this year as a few more projects  also in the US  appear to be nearing FID, Poten & Partners said.

In the near term, the U.S. is set to add 5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in LNG export capacity in 2025 and 2026 alone, as Plaquemines LNG and Corpus Christi LNG Stage 3 projects come online, the Energy Information Administration said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook in October. Additions to LNG export capacity are set to boost total U.S. LNG exports to 14.7 Bcf/d in 2025 and to 16.3 Bcf/d in 2026, up from 11.9 Bcf/d in 2024, according to the EIA estimates.

The surge in U.S. LNG exports and the expected jump in Qatari LNG shipments once Qatars mega expansion projects are completed in 2027 have stoked fears of a coming LNG glut that could depress prices.

Related: Hungary Pushes for U.S. Oil Sanctions Waiver

U.S. developers appear unfazed by this prospect and are even raising their liquefaction fees as project costs soar amid persistent higher financing rates, labor shortages, and an increase in prices of materials.

In March this year, most U.S. liquefaction fees were being discussed at $2.65 per million British thermal unit (MMBtu) to $2.95 per MMBtu, as EPC cost escalations show no sign of abating, Poten & Partners said at the time.

Higher raw material prices, which are seeing further escalation because of tariffs, coupled with rising labor and financing costs are having a pronounced impact on US LNG liquefaction project implementation. The cost increases make it challenging for developers to keep engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts valid as they try to move ahead with their LNG export projects, the broker and advisor said.

Now U.S. LNG exporters and developers are asking about 15% higher liquefaction fees compared to the 2023 average of about $2 per MMBtu, Poten & Partners business intelligence head Jason Feer told Reuters this week.

And they are so far getting these higher fees in new contracts. Buyers are still willing to pay higher liquefaction fees to secure American LNG, which is seen in Europe as a means to cut off Russian supply by 2027 and in Asia as a lever to pull in tariff and trade deal talks with the Trump Administration.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Kyiv and many Ukrainian regions faced extensive power cuts and outages as crews struggled to repair infrastructure battered by Russian air attacks.

Power was reduced in most regions for eight to 16 hours on November 9, state energy provider Ukrenergo said, adding that consumption restrictions were scheduled for November 10 as well.

"The reason for the introduction of restrictions is the consequences of massive Russian missile and drone attacks on energy facilities," the company said.

"It is difficult to recall such a [large] number of direct strikes on energy facilities since the beginning of the invasion," company spokeswoman Svitlana Hrynchuk told Ukrainian media.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly video address that "repair crews are working almost around the clock in most regions."

"Restoration efforts are ongoing, and although the situation is difficult, thousands of people are involved in stabilizing the system and repairing the damage," he added.

Even before the onset of cold weather across Ukraine, Russia had intensified its campaign to take out the country's power grid, as well as natural gas facilities and pipelines, in an effort to freeze and demoralize Ukrainians.

At least seven people were killed and an unknown number of others wounded in the Russian attacks on November 7, prompting Zelenskyy to again urge Kyiv's allies to punish Russia and pressure President Vladimir Putin.

"Any [further] weakeningonly encourages Putin to prolong the war, inflict more damage on our country, our people, and others around the world," he said on November 8.

Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said Russia had targeted substations that provided power to two nuclear facilities.

"These were not accidental, but well-planned strikes. Russia is deliberately jeopardizing Europe's nuclear safety," he said in a post to X. He called for an urgent meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, to respond to the "unacceptable risks."

IAEA director Rafael Grossi warned of the danger of military strikes on nuclear plant electrical substations.

"I continue to call for maximum military restraint in order to maintain nuclear safety and avoid an accident with serious radiological consequences, he said in a statement.

Grossi also said Ukraine's biggest nuclear facility, in Zaporizhzhya, had regained access to back-up electricity from the grid for the first time in six months. The plant, which is under Russian control, has seen interruptions that have endangered critical plant infrastructure, like pumps that supply cooling water.

Russia launched more than 450 drones and 45 missiles in the November 8 barrage, Ukrainian officials said.

Russia's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said it had launched "a massive strike with high-precision long-range air, ground and sea-based weapons" and claimed it targeted weapon production and energy facilities in Ukraine.

Power cuts were also undertaken in the Poltava region under a special emergency outage schedule ordered by Ukrenergo, with Kremenchuk -- a city of 200,000 people -- reporting a complete blackout, prompting the opening of temporary public hubs offering heat, power, Internet, water, and basic aid.

In Dnipro, a Russian drone strike hit a nine?story residential building, with at least three people reported killed. A two-day mourning has been declared.

Russian attacks also cut power to subway stations in Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

Subways and trams have been fully stopped and water supplies have also been disrupted, he said in a post to Telegram.

Ukraine Hits Back At Sites In Russia

For its part, Ukraine has conducted its own near-nightly drone barrage of Russian energy facilities, a campaign that has sharply reduced Russia's ability to produce gasoline and other refined oil products.

In Russian border regions, like Belgorod and Kursk, Ukraine has hit electricity infrastructure, along with municipal heating plants.

More than 20,000 people were reported without power in several border regions on November 9, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Unconfirmed reports said that the municipal heating plant in Voronezh, about 200 kilometers east of the Russian border, had been hit by Ukrainian drones.

The Defense Ministry reported that more than 40 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight, mostly over the Bryansk region. The Defense Ministry made no mention of the Voronezh region.

Kyiv has urged the United States to supply long?range Tomahawk missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia but President Donald Trump has repeatedly rebuffed the requests.

Moscow warned Washington against sending Tomahawks, with Putin calling the move a "completely new stage of escalation" in US-Russia relations.

Pressure Heightens Around Pokrovsk

As Ukraine battled with the latest attacks on its energy sector, its forces were also struggling to hold the strategic Donetsk city of Pokrovsk.

Ukrainian authorities have acknowledged that the situation in the region is "difficult" but have denied Russian claims that Pokrovsk is surrounded.

The city has become the fiercest area on Ukraine's front line this year, with fighting there resembling some of the bloodiest and longest battles of the war.

Ukrainian military expert Oleksiy Hetman told RFE/RL that while the situation is growing difficult, Ukrainian forces still have strongholds prepared west of the city, which would allow them to repel further Russian assaults.

By RFE/RL

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There's an old adage in Washington: Don't believe anything until it is officially denied. Now that the Trump administration's so-called artificial intelligence (AI) czar, David Sacks, has gone on record stating that "[t]here will be no federal bailout for AI," we can begin speculating about what form that bailout might take.

It turns out that the chief financial officer of AI behemoth OpenAI has already put forth an idea regarding the form of such a bailout. Sarah Friar told The Wall Street Journal in a recorded interview that the industry would need federal guarantees in order to make the necessary investments to ensure American leadership in AI development and deployment. Friar later "clarified" her comments in a LinkedIn post after the pushback from Sacks, saying that she had "muddied" her point by using the word "backstop" and that she really meant that AI leadership will require "government playing their part." That sounds like the government should still do more or less what she said in the Wall Street Journal interview.

Now, maybe you are wondering why the hottest industry on the planet that is flush with hundreds of billions of dollars from investors, needs a federal bailout. It's revealing that AI expert and commentator Gary Marcus predicted 10 months ago that the AI industry would go seeking a government bailout to make up for overspending, bad business decisions, and huge future commitments that the industry is unlikely to be able to meet. For example, in a recent podcast hosted by an outside investor in OpenAI, the company's CEO, Sam Altman, got tetchy when asked how a company with only $13 billion in annual revenues that is running losses will somehow fulfill $1.4 trillion in spending commitments over the next few years. Altman did NOT actually answer the question.

So what possible justification could the AI industry dream up for government subsidies, loan guarantees or other handouts? For years, one of the best ways to get Washington's attention is to say the equivalent of "China bad. Must beat China." So that's what Altman is telling reporters. But that doesn't explain why OpenAI, instead of other companies, should be the target of federal largesse. In what appears to be damage control, Altman wrote on his X account that OpenAI is not asking for direct federal assistance and then later outlines how the government can give it indirect assistance by building a lot of data centers of its own (that can then presumably be leased to the AI industry so the industry doesn't have to make the investment itself).

Maybe I'm wrong, and what we are seeing is NOT the preliminary jockeying by the AI industry and the U.S. government regarding what sort of subsidy or bailout will be provided to the industry. Lest you think that the industry has so far moved forward without government handouts, the AP noted that subsidies are offered by more than 30 state governments to attract data centers. Not everyone is happy with having data centers in their communities. And, those data centers have also sent electricity rates skyward as consumers and data centers compete for electricity and utilities seek additional funds to build the capacity necessary to power those data centers. Effectively, current electricity customers are subsidizing the AI data center build-out by paying for new generating capacity and lines to feed energy to those data centers.

The larger problem with AI is that it appears to have several limitations in its current form that will prevent it from taking over much of the work already done by humans and preclude it from being incorporated into critical systems (because it makes too many mistakes). All the grandiose claims made by AI boosters are dispatched with actual facts in this very long piece by AI critic Ed Zitron.

I am increasingly thinking of AI as a boondoggle. A boondoggle, according to Dictionary.com, is "a wasteful and worthless project undertaken for political, corporate, or personal gain." So far, the AI industry mostly fits this definition. But there is a more expansive definition which I borrow from Dmitri Orlov, author of Reinventing Collapse: A contemporary boondoggle must not only be wasteful, it should, if possible, also create additional problems that can only be addressed by yet more boondogglessuch as the need for vast new electric generation capacity that will be unnecessary if AI turns out to be far less useful than advertised. AI boosters say that AI is going to have a big impact on society. I couldn't agree more, except not quite in the way these boosters think.

By Kurt Cobb via Resource Insights

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Demand recovery is uneven, with factors like thousands of flight cancellations during the shutdown curbing jet fuel consumption, and broader macro uncertainty persisting amid delayed economic reporting.

The market's upward movement is limited by persistent oversupply, evidenced by rising U.S. inventories and doubled Asian floating storage, even as global benchmarks have already fallen nearly 15% since mid-September.

Oil prices made modest gains as the U.S. Senate advanced a funding bill expected to end the 40-day government shutdown, which analysts believe could temporarily lift fuel demand.

Oil prices steadied on Monday as Washington moved toward ending a 40-day government shutdown, offering a modest boost to demand expectations but leaving markets weighed by oversupply signals and still plenty of uncertainty.

On Monday at 1:42p.m. ET, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $59.99 a barrel, up 0.40%, while Brent crude was up 0.56% to $63.92. Murban crude stood at $66.25, and U.S. natural gas slipped 0.35% to $4.330 per million Btu.

The U.S. Senate advanced a funding bill late Sunday expected to reopen federal agencies and restore delayed data releases, according to Reuters. Analysts said the move could temporarily lift fuel demand as government operations resume and transportation normalizes.

Global crude benchmarks have fallen nearly 15% since mid-September, pressured by rising non-OPEC supply and a slower-than-expected recovery in Chinese refining demand. Chinas October crude imports were about 11.39 mbpd, up from September, according to customs figures compiled by Reuters.

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Traders remain cautious despite Mondays optimism. Asian floating storage has doubled since October, while U.S. inventories are climbing for a fourth straight week, reflecting persistent supply pressure, per Economies.com. OPEC+ has held off on deeper cuts heading into 2026, signaling discipline but limited appetite to tighten supply further.

Demand recovery is also uneven. Thousands of flight cancellations during the shutdown curbed jet fuel consumption and could dent November refinery margins, DTN reported.

A softer U.S. dollar and improved global risk appetite provided some support, though broader macro uncertainty persists amid delayed economic reporting. With Brent hovering in the low $60s, most analysts said the market appears range-bound absent stronger demand catalysts or new supply disruptions.

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com

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Eni and Petronas plan to start up as many as eight new projects in Indonesia and Malaysia over the next three years, Enis chief executive Claudio Descalzi told Malaysias national news agency Bernama in an interview, following last weeks announcement that the two firms are creating a joint venture to combine their offshore assets in Southeast Asia.

In the next three years, we are going to start eight new projects based on the existing reserves: four in Indonesia, four in Malaysia, Descalzi told Bernama.

We are going to drill wells to test additional exploration reserves that we can further add value to this project, the Italian firms CEO said.

The joint venture, NewCo, announced last week, plans $15 billion in investment in developing the proved (P1) reserves over the next five years.

The 15 billion is the first stage, it is based just on the P1 reserves, Descalzi told Bernama.

Last week, the Italian energy giant and Malaysias state oil and gas firm Petronas said they are combining their upstream assets in Indonesia and Malaysia in a new, equally-owned joint venture.

The joint venture will integrate a portfolio of gas-producing and development assets across Malaysia and Indonesia, with an initial production base of over 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) and plans to grow to more than 500,000 boe/d of sustainable production in the medium term.

The new business in Southeast Asia is part of Enis so-called satellite model strategy, following similar ventures such as Var Energy in Norway, Azule in Angola, and Ithaca in the UK.

The Italian energy giant has approached things differently than its peers, attempting to either divest or create joint ventures for international oil and gas projects, while grouping and spinning off some low-carbon projects in a satellite strategy.

For example, Eni last year agreed with major UK oil and gas producer Ithaca Energy to combine substantially all of its upstream assets in the UK, excluding East Irish Sea assets and CCUS activities, in a strategic move to significantly strengthen its presence on the UK Continental Shelf.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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BALTIMORE, Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Stuart S. Martin, PhD, an internationally recognized breast cancer researcher, has been appointed Chair of the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Department of Pharmacology & Physiology, Dean Mark T. Gladwin, MD, announced today. As the distinguished Drs. Angela and Harry Brodie Professor of Translational Cancer Research, Dr. Martin has served as Interim Chair of the Department over the past year. He also serves as the Deputy Director of the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC), one of 57 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the nation.

"Dr. Martin is an esteemed scientist whose landmark research identifying microtentacles on cancer cells as a pathway to metastasis has significantly advanced the oncology field with the promise of new life-extending therapies," said Mark T. Gladwin, MD, who is also the Vice President for Medical Affairs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and Dean. "His more than 20 years of success at the School have elevated our contributions in basic science on a global scale. We are extremely proud to have him assume this role and know that his leadership will continue to be pivotal in the continued development of the Department."

Dr. Martin stepped into the interim chair role last year after helping guide the merger of the Department of Physiology and Department of Pharmacology into one joint department. At that time, Margaret McCarthy, PhD, Endowed Professor and former Chair of the Department of Pharmacology, stepped down from her Chair role to focus on growing and expanding the University of Maryland - Medicine Institute of Neuroscience Discovery (UM-MIND) where she has been serving as the Director. UM-MIND, launched in 2023, conducts translational research of the brain and fosters collaboration between basic and clinical neuroscientists.

The recently merged Department of Pharmacology & Physiology is dedicated to advancing basic science research efforts with a strong focus on the development of new drug therapies. The Department spans three divisions including Cancer Therapeutics, Molecular Physiology, and Neuropharmacology and maintains strong research partnerships across UMSOM Centers and Institutes, as well as the new BioPark property at 4MLK.

Leading the Race for a Cure

Dr. Martin is highly-regarded for his research focused on bioengineering, tumor cell biology, and the molecular mechanisms to inhibit cancer metastasis. He is best known for his groundbreaking discovery of thin membrane protrusions called "microtentacles," which were found on the surface of breast cancer cells and can enhance how cancer spreads to other parts of the body. In 2020, his research team advanced this critical discovery by inventing a novel device called the TetherChip, designed to improve testing for microtentacles.

The tiny, fluid-filled TetherChip device preserves tumor cells by preventing cell adhesion -- a process that would otherwise destroy the microtentacles. The device has a shelf-life of more than 2 years and can be shipped across the country for patients seeking consultations with other oncologists. Biopsy samples can also be rapidly fixed and stained, so patients can potentially receive their results on the day of their biopsy procedure. In 2020 and 2024, the device was awarded two U.S. patents, and Dr. Martin's research team is currently pursuing FDA approval.

As a leading cancer researcher, Dr. Martin's laboratory has been supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute and the Department of Defense, a VA Merit Award, as well as funding from the METAvivor Foundation, American Cancer Society, Kahlert Foundation, and Maryland Cigarette Restitution Fund Program totaling more than $20 million.

In 2020, Dr. Martin received an endowed professorship established by the Greenebaum Family Foundation in honor of the late Angela H. Brodie, PhD, who, with her husband and longtime scientific collaborator, Harry Brodie, PhD, pioneered the development of aromatase inhibitors, a class of hormone-targeting drugs that has changed the face of breast cancer treatment.

Dr. Martin also previously served as the Co-Director of UMGCCC's Hormone-Related Cancers Program, a group of 45 investigator labs that is focused on translating basic science discoveries in breast, prostate, and ovarian cancers towards clinical treatment of patients.

"I am highly delighted to see Dr. Martin assume his new role as Chair of the Department of Pharmacology & Physiology," said Taofeek K. Owonikoko, MD, PhD, Executive Director of UMGCCC and the Marlene & Stewart Greenebaum Distinguished Professor of Oncology. "Since taking over as Interim Chair in 2024, he has been a steadfast partner and furthered the work of the Department in alignment with the goals of the Cancer Center, including the recruitment of high-profile faculty from leading institutions around the country into the division of cancer therapeutics. I am confident that his leadership of the department will further strengthen our shared mission and impact."

Legacy in Academic Medicine

Dr. Martin joined the UMSOM faculty in 2004, serving as Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology. He rose to the rank of tenured Professor and later transitioned to the Department of Pharmacology in 2020. He took over as interim chair of Pharmacology and Physiology in 2024 after the two departments were merged. J. Marc Simard, MD, PhD, the Dr. Bizhan Aarabi Professor in Neurotrauma, and Professor of Neurosurgery, Pathology, and Physiology, had served as interim Chair of Physiology from 2022 until the Department was merged.

Over the course of Dr. Martin's distinguished career at UMSOM, he has published more than 90 articles in high-impact scientific journals, such as Cancer Research, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), and Nature Communications. He has an h-index of 42 and has been cited almost 5,000 times. In 2010, he was one of only three investigators in the U.S. to receive a five-year, $3.5 million Era of Hope Scholar Award from the Department of Defense recognizing his innovative work on breast cancer metastasis. This award is given to exceptionally talented scientists who are considered the "best and the brightest" and have shown high potential for innovation in breast cancer research early in their careers.

For his excellence in teaching and mentoring, he has also been honored with the Dr. Patricia K. Sokolove Outstanding Mentor Award and the GPILS Teacher of the Year Award from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, which are bestowed upon faculty who are nominated by graduate students.

"During my time on the faculty at the School of Medicine, the highly collaborative environment has always allowed the most compelling science to emerge at the intersections between different fields," said Dr. Martin. "I am enthusiastic to help support the ongoing growth of numerous multi-disciplinary collaborations already underway between the faculty and trainees in this department. Our collective focus on defining fundamental physiological mechanisms and developing new therapeutic interventions provides an exciting opportunity to advance discoveries. Likewise, we look forward to partnering with other departments, institutes and centers to continue building the dynamic research environment at the School of Medicine and develop new treatments for a broad range of medical conditions."

Dr. Martin currently serves as Chair of the American Cancer Society Board for the Baltimore/DC Region, and is an active member of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Dr. Martin received his PhD in biomedical sciences from the University of California, San Diego, after training as a Howard Hughes undergraduate research fellow at the University of Virginia. He also completed a Damon Runyon postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School that combined functional genomic studies with mouse models of breast tumor metastasis, under the mentorship of Dr. Phil Leder.

Issued on behalf of Newswise, online resource for knowledge-based news at www.newswise.com

SOURCE University of Maryland School of Medicine
Two Indian refiners bought a total of 5 million barrels of crude oil from the United States, Iraq, and the UAE on the spot market as they seek alternatives to Russian crude.

Reuters reported, citing unnamed industry sources, that Hindustan Petroleum Corp. had bought 2 million barrels of West Texas Intermediate and 2 million barrels of Murban crude for delivery in January.

The other refiner, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, bought 1 million barrels of Basra Medium, also to be delivered in January, the Reuters sources said.

The search for alternative oil supplies follows the Trump administrations decision last month to sanction Rosneft and Lukoil, which together account for half of Russias oil exports and a significant portion of Indian imports from the country.

The sanctions ignited a rush to secure supplies ahead of the entry into effect of the sanctions, on November 21, while oil buyers look for loopholes to keep their access to discounted Russian crude.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported an unusual move by two tankers, both sanctioned by the European Union and the UK, which performed a ship-to-ship transfer off the Indian coast last week. One of the tankers, the Ailana, had been idling for a couple of weeks prior to the transfer, Bloomberg wrote, noting that after the transfer, the receiving tanker, Fortis, continued to the Indian port of Kochi, while the Ailana set off for Russia.

In separate but related news, Indias president, Droupadi Murmu, said Indian oil and gas companies were seeking long-term relationships with Angolan energy entities, interested in investing both in energy commodities and in critical minerals.

Angola's role in India's energy security is very important. India is a major buyer of Angola's oil and gas. Our oil and gas companies are desirous of entering into a long-term purchase contract with Angola, Murmu said during a state visit to the West African country.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Norways $2.1-trillion oil fund is looking to invest in renewable energy assets in the U.S. and expand its clean energy portfolio in Europe, a senior executive at the worlds largest sovereign wealth fund told Bloomberg in an interview published on Monday.

The fund has recently hired three people in New York, Harald von Heyden, global head of energy and infrastructure at the Norwegian fund, told Bloomberg.

The Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), which is commonly referred to as Norways oil fund because it was created with oil and gas revenues, sees bright prospects of owning solar, wind, and grid projects in the U.S. despite the unfavorable current political climate, according to the executive.

You have political risk everywhere, you just have to be smart, von Heyden told Bloomberg, when asked whether the Trump Administrations assault on renewable energy, especially offshore wind, would weigh on market prospects.

We have to find good deals, first and foremost, but we are optimistic, von Heyden said.

This year and last, youre seeing gigantic projects becoming a reality, not just on the drawing board.

The manager of the Norwegian fund, Norges Bank Investment Management, in September said it would commit $1.5 billion to Brookfield Asset Managements latest energy transition fund, in funds latest investment in unlisted renewable energy infrastructure.

The commitment to Brookfields Global Transition Fund II (BGTF II) will enable us to invest in projects that develop renewable energy infrastructure while also supporting the broader transition to low-carbon solutions across industries, von Heyden said back then.

The largest energy asset deal for Norways fund so far was a transaction announced in September, in which it agreed to buy 46% in grid operator TenneT Germany from its Dutch owner TenneT in a deal worth up to $11 billion (9.5 billion euros), in consortium with APG, investing on behalf of Dutch pension fund ABP and Singapores sovereign wealth fund GIC.

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com

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(Photo by Shoji Kudaka/Stripes Okinawa)



Do you know about sanshin? The three-stringed musical instrument of Okinawa looks and sounds like the shamisen of mainland Japan, but this snakeskin-covered Ryukyu instrument has some differences you can learn about in a short workshop in Mihama American Village.

Many Okinawans are familiar with the sanshin, although the years of practice it takes to master it means it is not very common to play it.

(Photo by Shoji Kudaka/Stripes Okinawa)



I was one of those Okinawans who was satisfied with just listening to the strums of sanshin music and had never picked one up to learn.

However, a recent visit on a rainy day with my editor to Utwuimuchi-Project changed that. Utwuimuchi-Project is a shop for Okinawa cultural experiences like music, dance and other activities.

Here, you can have fun from the get-go, said Kyuuna Morimitsu, who hosts the shop near American Village, as he greeted us.

Utwuimuchi means hospitality in the Okinawan dialect. As its name suggests, this is a place where tourists and visitors from outside can come and experience local culture.

But I found that it was also a great place for a novice Okinawan like me.

Kyuuna ushered us into a tatami room adorned with traditional fabrics and figurines. Before the lesson started, he treated us to a glass of sanpin tea and Kokuto (brown sugar), a common way to welcome guests in Okinawa.

Soon, the instructor passed us a sanshin and began showing us how to hold the instrument and how to pluck a string. We were also given a buffalo horn pick that covered our index finger to make it easier to pluck each string. The neck of the instrument had points marked for finger positions, so we could start playing the instrument in no time.

(Photo by Shoji Kudaka/Stripes Okinawa)



Learning to play

Normally, playing sanshin would require reading kunkunshi, Okinawan notation in kanji, which can be challenging for beginners like us. However, Kyuuna translated it into sol-fa syllables, which was very helpful.

Learning how to play 12 basic notes (one octave plus four notes) would suffice to play many numbers, according to Kyuuna.

To play the sound of so, we pressed down the middle string with the index finger at the top point of the neck.

Unlike the guitar, with which you would pluck several strings to sound a chord, we were told to pluck one string at a time. Following our instructor, we plucked one sound at a time for tuning.

Although Kyuuna mostly spoke Japanese, he was very good at getting the point across by utilizing gestures and diagrams. Plus, his friendly personality made us feel at home.

(Photo by Shoji Kudaka/Stripes Okinawa)

(Photo by Shoji Kudaka/Stripes Okinawa)



Strumming along

Once his lecture on the basics was over, Kyuuna encouraged us to play some simple songs.

The first was Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

Going do do so so , we began our first performance.

Plucking a string while pressing it down with a finger sounded simple, but when it came to doing it in succession for a melody, it took a lot of racking our brains. At first, we played it way slower than it was supposed to sound.

After practicing several times, however, our sound gradually picked up rhythm, sounding more like music.

As we got the hang of it, we tried Mary Had a Little Lamb as well.

More sounds of Okinawa

Toward the end of the lesson, Kyuuna introduced us to sanba, an Okinawan hand-held percussion instrument like the Spanish castanets. The small wooden instrument sits intertwined in your hand and creates a clapping beat sound to help keep the tempo when paired with the sanshin.

We practiced closing and opening our hands with the instrument, then using our other hand to incorporate interesting beats.

After practicing the beats accompanied by Kyuuna on his sanshin, we were given traditional Ryukyu yukata to try on and pose with. We covered a lot during the lesson and were also offered to practice Kachashi, an Okinawan traditional dance, but we saved it for the next visit.

Learning some simple songs on the sanshin and sanba was a great way to spend a rainy day in Okinawa. It was also a great introduction to Ryukyu culture that would be a fun time for visitors of all ages.

Utwuimuchi-Project

GPS Coordinates: 26.318857, 127.756543

Fees for Sanshin Experience: 3,300 yen (approx. $22) for adult (13 years old and above), 2,200 yen for ages 6 to 12, free for ages 5 and below.

Website

Booking

*For the booking, I searched Sanshin Experience on Veltra

*In addition to its sanshin experience lesson, Utwuimuchi-Project also offers programs such as Ryukyu Dance lesson, taking a walk in a yukata (a casual version of Kimono), sanba (percussion instrument) lesson, and more.
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Democratic socialism and social democracy often get mixed up, but they differ in key ways.

Social democrats, especially those in Western Europe and Nordic countries, support social democratic parties that endorse capitalism but push for robust welfare states.

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These policies include universal health care, free public education, and public ownership of certain key resources. For example, Norways oil industry is state-owned to fund welfare programs.

Democratic socialists, by contrast, believe that capitalism and socialism are inherently incompatible. While they often work within the current system, many democratic socialists seek a gradual transition to a socialist society through democratic means.

That includes ending private ownership of key industries and expanding democratic planning in the economy.
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Six principles to get natural climate solutions 'right' in Africa. Credit: Nature Sustainability (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-025-01652-3

In a new Nature Sustainability commentary, Professors Laura Pereira and Sally Archibald, and Dr. Kim Zoeller, together with 12 African co-authors, propose six guiding principles to ensure that climate actions benefit both people and ecosystems on the continent.

The paper, titled "Six principles to get natural climate solutions right in Africa," argues that many global initiatives to address climate mitigation overlook Africa's diverse ecological and social contexts. From grasslands and savannas to rich coastal ecosystems, these landscapes are often misclassified as degraded, which in turn leads to misguided interventions such as tree planting in open ecosystems that can eventually harm biodiversity and local livelihoods.

"Africa cannot be treated as a blank slate for carbon offset projects," explains Professor Pereira, Director of the Wits Global Change Institute and a researcher at the Stockholm Resilience Center. "Our ecosystems and communities have co-evolved for millennia. Climate action in Africa must start with African evidence, African priorities and African leadership."

The authors warn that many nature-based projects, while well-intentioned, risk deepening inequality or damaging ecosystems if they fail to recognize local realities. Instead, they propose six principles (categorized as foundational, enabling, and implementation) to guide more equitable and sustainable decision-making:

Six principles for equitable and sustainable decision-making

Acknowledge Africa's development priorities and needs: Climate and biodiversity goals must align with the African Union's Agenda 2063 and local development aspirations. Allocate financial resources for the greatest co-benefits: Move beyond narrow profit-driven carbon markets to support livelihoods and ecosystems. Prioritize solutions that maintain options for the future: Avoid irreversible land-use changes and respect Indigenous and local knowledges. Be transparent about trade-offs and opportunity costs: Recognize who gains and who loses from interventions and ensure fair compensation. Ensure local buy-in and co-design: Engage communities as equal partners in defining desired futures. Use accurate, Africa-specific data: Global datasets often misrepresent African conditions, and investment must fill data gaps.

"We need to stop assuming that what works elsewhere will work here," says Dr. Zoeller from the Future Ecosystems for Africa program. "Climate finance should reflect Africa's realities and not impose external models. The evidence from African ecosystems is clearwhen local knowledge leads, outcomes for people and nature are stronger."

With COP30 approaching, these principles offer a practical framework for aligning climate mitigation, adaptation and biodiversity goals. They also call for "true cost accounting" of carbon projects, factoring in the social and ecological costs borne by African communities and for transparent finance flows that genuinely support sustainable development.

The authors call on negotiators to integrate the six principles into Africa's COP30 position under the African Group of Negotiators.

"This isn't just about protecting nature," Pereira concludes. "It's about shaping a future where Africa's people, ecosystems and economies thrive together and where climate action strengthens, rather than undermines, our collective resilience."

More information: Laura M. Pereira et al, Six principles to get natural climate solutions right in Africa, Nature Sustainability (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-025-01652-3 Journal information: Nature Sustainability
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The overall PhyE2E framework. Top: the training dataset was augmented with a large-scale synthetic dataset generated by an LLM. MLP, multilayer perceptron. Middle: a variable-interaction technique was integrated to decompose the original symbolic regression problem into simpler subproblems, referred to as D&C. An end-to-end model was trained to predict the target formula using observed data points and prior physical knowledge (referred to as 'physical priors'). Bottom: an MCTS module was adopted to refine the generated formulas, using a context-free grammar pool that includes atomic formulas and the end-to-end generated formula. RMSE, root mean squared error. Credit: Ying et al. (Nature Machine Intelligence, 2025).

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems, particularly artificial neural networks, have proved to be highly promising tools for uncovering patterns in large amounts of data that would otherwise be difficult to detect. Over the past decade, AI tools have been applied in a wide range of settings and fields.

Among its many possible applications, AI systems could be used to discover physical relationships and symbolic expressions (i.e., mathematical formulas) describing these relationships.

To uncover these formulas, physicists currently need to extensively analyze raw data, thus automating this process could be highly advantageous.

Researchers at Tsinghua University, Peking University and other institutes in China have developed an AI framework that can automatically derive symbolic physical representations from raw data. This new model, called PhyE2E, was introduced in a paper published in Nature Machine Intelligence.

"Our goal was to push AI beyond curve-fitting and toward human-understandable discovery: returning compact, unit-consistent equations that scientists can read, test, and build on," Yuan Zhou, co-senior author of the paper, told Phys.org.

"We focused first on space physics, where long, well-curated observational records let us check whether the learned equations really match nature. The approach itself is general, and we expect it to extend to other sciences."

A model that symbolically represents physics data

PhyE2E, the new AI framework introduced by Zhou and his colleagues, was trained on physical data and mathematical equations. During training, the model learned what plausible physics-related formulae "look like," by fine-tuning widely established physics equations and then producing others by synthesizing various unit-consistent variants.

"PhyE2E uses a transformer to translate data directly into a symbolic expression and its units," explained Zhou.

"It applies a divide-and-conquer step that inspects second-order derivatives of a lightweight 'oracle' network to split a hard problem into simpler sub-formulas and performs a brief MCTS/GP refinement to tidy constants and structure. The result is an equation that is compact, interpretable, and dimensionally consistent."

As part of their recent study, the researchers tested their framework on both synthetic data generated by a large language model (LLM) and real astrophysical data collected by NASA.

Ultimately, they were able to derive formulas describing physical relationships in data related to five real space-physics scenarios. Notably, the formulas it derived matched those derived by human physicists or appeared to represent data even better.

For instance, when analyzing data published by NASA in 1993, the model attained an improved formula explaining solar cycles mathematically. In addition, it was able to effectively represent the relationships between solar radiation, temperature and magnetic fields.

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A promising tool for scientific discovery

Essentially, the new AI model developed by this research team learns to break down complex physics problems into simpler parts. Drawing from existing and well-established equations, it can then generate new formulas that effectively describe the relationship between different variables.

"While it's trivial to write a long expression that interpolates the data, and tempting to favor very short ones, neither guarantees physical meaningmany candidate formulas even violate dimensional (unit) consistency," said Zhou.

"We leverage recent advances in large language models to learn a prior over known, unit-consistent equations, then fine-tune it so the system proposes compact, physically plausible expressions that carry genuine insight. We view this as a first step toward abstracting and extending scientific experience to enable automated discovery."

PhyE2E could soon be used to analyze other experimental and astrophysical data, which might yield formulas that better describe specific physical phenomena or interactions. In the future, it could also be adapted and applied to other disciplines, potentially contributing to scientific discovery in a variety of fields.

"We're now extending the framework to calculus-aware operators (e.g., derivatives/integrals for PDE-style laws), strengthening robustness to noisier laboratory data," added Zhou.

"More broadly, the central aim of our research is to advance neuro-symbolic methodology so that predictions from deep neural networks are interpretable. At the same time, we hope that integrating explainability as a design principle can enhance an AI system's capacity to uncover more accurate and reliable scientific laws."

Written for you by our author Ingrid Fadelli, edited by Sadie Harley, and fact-checked and reviewed by Robert Eganthis article is the result of careful human work. We rely on readers like you to keep independent science journalism alive. If this reporting matters to you, please consider a donation (especially monthly). You'll get an ad-free account as a thank-you.

More information: Jie Ying et al, A neural symbolic model for space physics, Nature Machine Intelligence (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s42256-025-01126-3. Journal information: Nature Machine Intelligence

 2025 Science X Network
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Brazilian Indigenous leader and climate activist Txai Surui arrives at the Earthshot Prize 2025 awards ceremony at the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

An odor of oil hung over last year's UN climate conference in Baku, capital of fossil fuel-rich Azerbaijan.

Starting Monday, the 50,000 participants of COP30 will instead feel the heavy, humid air of the Amazon rainforest in Belem, Brazil, where they face the daunting task of keeping global climate cooperation from collapsing.

Unfazed, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva insisted on holding the event here despite a dire shortage of hotel rooms.

His aim: to make the Amazon itself open the eyes of negotiators, observers, businesses and journalistsin a city where locals carry umbrellas both to shield themselves from the blazing morning sun and from the tropical downpours that follow in the afternoon.

"It would be easier to hold the COP in a rich country," Lula declared in August. "We want people to see the real situation of the forests, of our rivers, of our people who live there."

The Amazon rainforest, which plays a vital role in the fight against global warming through its absorption of greenhouse gases, is itself plagued by a host of ills: deforestation, illegal mining, pollution, drug trafficking, and all manner of rights abuses against locals, especially Indigenous peoples.

While the Brazilians have been active on the diplomatic front for the past year, they're lagging behind on logistics. Many pavilions were still under construction as of Sunday.

"There is great concern about whether everything will be ready on time from a logistical standpoint," a source close to the UN told AFP. "Connections, microphones, we're even worried about having enough food," the source added.

The Brazilian city of Belem is home to 1.4 million people -- roughly half of whom live in favelas.

The real uncertainty lies in what will actually be negotiated over the next two weeks: Can the world come together to respond to the latest, catastrophic projections for global warming?

How can a clash between rich nations and the developing world be avoided?

And where will the money come from to help countries hit by cyclones and droughtslike Jamaica, devastated in October by one of the world's most powerful hurricane in nearly a century, or the Philippines, battered by two deadly typhoons in just two weeks?

And what to make of the "roadmap" on fossil fuels that Lula put on the table Thursday at the leaders' summit? The oil industryand the petrostates that depend on ithave rallied since the world agreed in Dubai in 2023 to begin the gradual transition away from fossil fuels.

"How are we going to do it?" Andre Aranha Correa do Lago, the Brazilian president of COP30 said Sunday. "Is there going to be a consensus about how we are going to do it? This is one of the great mysteries in COP30."

Sans Trump

For 30 years, the countries that are party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Changeadopted here in Brazil at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeirohave met annually to strengthen the global climate regime.

Those efforts culminated in the 2015 Paris Agreement, which commits the world to limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, while pursuing efforts to keep it below 1.5C.

The real uncertainty at COP30 lies in what will actually be negotiated over the next two weeks: can the world come together to respond to the latest, catastrophic projections for global warming?

The process continued even during US President Donald Trump's first term.

But UN chief Antonio Guterres has acknowledged in recent weeks that it is now "inevitable" the 1.5C threshold will soon be breached, urging that the overshoot be kept as brief as possible.

That means finally bringing down global greenhouse gas emissions, which come mainly from burning oil, gas and coal.

A group of small island nations is fighting to have the need for a response to this failure placed on the official agenda.

"1.5 degrees is not just a number, not just a target, but that's a lifeline," Manjeet Dhakal, an advisor to the least developed countries block of countries at COP, told AFP. "We cannot be a part of any decision where there is a discussion about (how) we can't achieve 1.5 degrees."

The United States, the world's largest economy and second-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, is absent for the first time in the history of these meetings.

Trump, however, hasn't entirely ignored COP30. On Sunday, he took to his social network to denounce what he called the "scandal" of trees being cut down near Belem to build a new road, after seeing a segment that aired on Fox News.

 2025 AFP
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Express Wash Concepts (EWC), parent company of Moo Moo Express Car Wash, Flying Ace Express Car Wash, Clean Express Auto Wash, Green Clean Express Auto Wash, and Bee Clean Express Car Wash, is proud to once again participate in the Grace for Vets Free Wash Day on Tuesday, November 11. The annual event honors all active and retired U.S. military personnel with a complimentary wash as a small token of gratitude for their service and sacrifice.

All active and retired military members are invited to visit any 125+ EWC locations across Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Indiana and North Carolina, to receive the company's top wash  the Ceramic 4 Ultra Wash (up to $24 value)  free of charge.

Founded more than 20 years ago, Grace for Vets unites car wash operators across the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, and Australia to give back to veterans and active-duty personnel through the simple act of a free wash. Since its inception, the program has provided more than 4.2 million free washes to military heroes worldwide.

Last year, EWC collectively honored more than 5,900 military personnel with free washes across its brands, including 2,700 in Central Ohio. With continued growth and community engagement, the company hopes to surpass that number this year as part of its ongoing mission to enhance people, communities, and cars through the power of clean.

Redemption is simple: On Tuesday, November 11, active and retired military personnel can visit any participating EWC location and mention their service to an attendant to receive their free Ceramic 4 Ultra wash. Guests are encouraged to enjoy complimentary vacuums afterward and connect with team members as part of EWC's culture of gratitude and community connection.

"The Grace for Vets program is one of the most meaningful days of the year for our entire team," said John Roush, Founder and CEO of Express Wash Concepts. "It's our honor to give back to those who have given so much. Offering a free wash is a simple gesture, but it represents our deep appreciation for the brave men and women who have served our country."

In 2024, the car wash industry as a whole gave away more than 392,000 free washes on Veterans Day, continuing a powerful two-decade-long tradition of unity and gratitude through the Grace for Vets initiative.

For participating locations visit www.ExpressWashConcepts.com.

About Express Wash Concepts:

Express Wash Concepts (EWC) operates 125+ award-winning, express car wash locations across six states under the following brands: Moo Moo Express Car Wash, Flying Ace Express Car Wash, Clean Express Auto Wash, Green Clean Express Auto Wash and Bee Clean Express Car Wash. EWC brands feature fast, high quality and environmentally friendly express tunnel wash experiences and free vacuums. The company's popular Wash Smart Unlimited Club offers members the convenience and value of truly unlimited washing at any EWC location.

For more information, please visit www.expresswashconcepts.com.

SOURCE Express Wash Concepts
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A cruise ship sails by Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, which has scrubbed its launch for weather issues at the Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Blue Origin, the space company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced Sunday to postpone the anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket due to unfavorable weather conditions.

Rain and a ground system issue caused delays that were followed by cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, leaving managers with the only option of pushing back the rocket's planned second mission.

The launch had been due to proceed amid intensifying competition between Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX.

To relieve airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting commercial rocket lift-offs starting Monday.

But after scrubbing the launch Blue Origin said late Sunday that, in coordination with the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as Wednesday within the window of 2:50pm to 4:17pm (1950-2117 GMT).

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot (98-meter) New Glenn rocket has the task of sending US space agency NASA's ESCAPADE twin spacecraft to Mars, a bid to study the Red Planet's climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.

Blue Origin's launch is to also serve as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.

New Glenn's inaugural flight in January was marked as a success, as its payload achieved orbit and successfully performed tests.

But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be reusable, did not stick its landing on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during descent.

In its second effort Blue Origin will try once more to recover the booster stage. Thus far, only Musk's company SpaceX has managed that feat.

Progress indicator

The competing companies of billionaires Musk and Bezos are locked in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA opened up bids for its planned moon missionand with complaints emerging that SpaceX was "behind."

George Nielda senior aerospace executive whose work promotes the commercial space industry, and who has flown with Blue Origin in the pasttold AFP the stakes of New Glenn's eventual launch are high.

How it plays out will be an indicator of "how well they're doing and how much progress they've made," he said.

US President Donald Trump's second term in the White House has seen the administration pile pressure on NASA to accelerate its progress to send a crewed mission to the moon amid a race with China.

Mason Peck, an aeronautics professor at Cornell University and former NASA chief technologist, said increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could "expand our options with regard to launch."

"More launches means more ideas in space," Peck said. "It can't be a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind."

 2025 AFP
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A diagram showing the top examples of international drivers of threats to human rights. Credit: Naia Ormaza-Zulueta and Zia Mehrabi/CU Boulder

More than 99% of the world's 7.7 billion people have one or more of their environmental rights threatened, according to new research.

In the most comprehensive analysis of inequality in environmental conditions to date, CU Boulder researchers revealed that nearly half of the global population lives in regions facing three or more environmental problems. Those include polluted air, unsafe water, extreme heat, food insecurity and biodiversity loss.

The analysis was published September 25 in Environmental Research Communications.

It provides strong evidence for urgent climate action, as representatives from nearly 200 countries prepare to convene for the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30), the United Nations' annual climate meeting, in Brazil beginning November 10.

"Over the years, communities around the world have been fighting for local environmental justice," said first author Naia Ormaza-Zulueta, a doctoral student in the Department of Environmental Studies. "We want to stitch their stories into a single, undeniable global tapestry so that they can't be dismissed as isolated problems."

In 2022, the UN formally recognized that everyone on Earth has the right to a healthy environment. The landmark resolution, while urging countries to take action to protect that right for their people, is not legally binding.

The resolution also failed to account for environmental harm caused by activities in other countries, said Ormaza-Zulueta. Extensive research has shown that large, industrialized nations, such as the United States, emit the most greenhouse gases, but lower-income countries experience the greatest impacts.

Pollution without borders

Ormaza-Zulueta and Zia Mehrabi, a data scientist in the Department of Environmental Studies and founder of the Better Planet Lab, wanted to put a number on how many people have had their environmental rights threatened.

They collected large datasets on environmental problems to calculate whether an individual in a given location around the world is experiencing, or has recently experienced, conditions that violated their rights in five core areas defined by the UN: clean air, clean water, a safe climate, healthy and sustainably produced food, and thriving biodiversity and ecosystems.

The team found that almost everyone on Earth lived in places that have recently experienced at least one environmental risk that failed to meet the UN conditions. Over 45%, or 3.4 billion people, had at least three rights threatened, and 1.25%, or 95 million experienced all five conditions.

"The numbers are heartbreaking," said Ormaza-Zulueta.

Having access to clean air, defined as an annual average outdoor particulate matter concentration below the World Health Organization guideline, was the most common threat, followed by access to healthy and sustainably produced food.

In Colorado, a study has revealed that ozone pollution, mainly from cars and oil and gas operations, causes more than 800 deaths each year.

"A lot of people think Boulder has great air quality for being so close to the mountains," said Mehrabi. "But the reality is that our ozone level is high for multiple months during the summer. There are days when the air quality is so bad that our children can't play outside."

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Hotspots of injustice

While most people are at risk of poor environmental conditions, not everyone feels the same impact. Consistent with previous research, disadvantaged populations, such as those with lower incomes, those who are displaced and those living on Indigenous lands, are far more likely to experience poor air quality, limited access to clean water and excessive heat than the rest of the population.

Those living in wealthier areas usually experience the best environmental conditions and are more likely to escape the worst impact as climate change progresses.

Internationally, several environmental impact hotspots stood out in the study: South Asia, for example, contains 41% of all people living with all five threats to environmental rights, despite making up only one-fifth of the world's population.

Much of the poor environmental conditions around the globe result from the activities of wealthy nations, the study found. For instance, pollution from the United States is responsible for 12,000 deaths from poor air quality in India each year and 38,000 deaths in China. Meanwhile, emissions from the 27 countries in the European Union have made extreme weather events 1.8 times more likely in Southeast Africa and the Amazon rainforest.

"No matter where we live, our rights are inherently connected to those of people in other parts of the world," Ormaza-Zulueta said. She added that the large demand for products in the United States and Europe has caused biodiversity loss and deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. The resulting global warming and increased frequency of extreme weather events are felt around the world.

"An unstable environment destabilizes our society," Mehrabi said. "There is already a lot of fear in the United States and elsewhere about conflict, immigration, and other signs of instability. Environmental issues are only going to make them worse."

Even though the statistics are bleak, Mehrabi said they don't tell the whole story. In addition to the five core categories, many people are at risk of other poor conditions that were not measured, such as exposure to toxins released from mining and plastic waste.

"There are many solutions to these environmental problems we're facing now, from responsible clean energy to a more sustainable and just supply chain. We need strong policies that encourage businesses to adopt these solutions," Mehrabi said.

Mehrabi pointed to due diligence laws in countries such as the Netherlands, France, and Germany, which require domestic companies to uphold human rights across their global operations. He said other nations need to follow suit.

The team hopes this study can empower communities and lawyers working on environmental rights issues.

"By showing how these injustices are happening across the world, deniers can no longer dismiss the polluted river here or dirty air there as anecdotes. This can be a critical tool for pushing for policy changes," Ormaza-Zulueta said.

More information: Naia Ormaza-Zulueta et al, Global inequality in environmental conditions underpinning human rights, Environmental Research Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1088/2515-7620/ae0407
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With the help of LiquidEarth, a software program for the interactive visualization of integrated geoscientific datafrom structural models and boreholes to satellite imagesthe copper shale region in Lusatia has been mapped. Credit: Terranigma

Mining is a controversial topic: On one hand, we need raw materials such as copper for the transition to climate-friendly technologies, but on the other hand, exploration and raw material extraction are primarily associated with environmental pollution and exploitation.

A team of 18 European partners coordinated by the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has addressed this controversy in the VECTOR project, linking geosciences with data and social sciences. The results are efficient and low impact exploration methods and human-centered solutions that enable a responsible supply of critical raw materials in Europe.

"Europe needs to rethink its dependence on raw materials. To implement this key requirement of the European Union's Critical Raw Materials Act, which was passed in 2023, new approaches and strategies must be found to ensure the security of raw material supplies in Europe. To this end, prospecting European raw material deposits is of essential importance.

"However, regional mining requires both innovative exploration technologies and social acceptance. Therefore, it is not only the geoscientific perspective that is important, but also the social science aspect when developing new mineral deposits," says project coordinator Dr. Richard Gloaguen (HIF).

Over the past three years, the 18 partners from seven European countries conducted joint research in this area. By using novel exploration and data science methods as well as social science studies, the research team has developed evidence-based knowledge and tools that take both aspects of raw material procurement into account. Their research has been published in Frontiers in Earth Science, Solid Earth, and Geoscientific Model Development.

Innovative tools for mineral prospectivity analysis

For exploring ore deposits, the VECTOR team developed a new toolbox. This toolbox contains several innovative technologies and workflows that allow for the combining and visualizing of a wide variety of geoscientific datae.g., geophysical, geochemical, hyperspectralfrom a defined investigation area in order to better assess its raw material potential.

For example, new passive exploration methods such as magnetotellurics were used. These enable a view into the subsurface without disturbing it. Instead of sending artificially generated signals into the earth, magnetotellurics uses natural electromagnetic fields that are already present. Such methods can uncover geological structures and material properties in depths of more than 1 kilometerin an environmentally friendly and efficient manner.

To confirm and refine the results, existing drill cores were examined by the HIF using hyperspectral imaging. The minerals in the rock absorb or reflect radiation in different ways, producing a measurable signal that is characteristic of the minerals. This technology enables an initial detailed analysis of the mineralogical composition of the subsurface directly on site.

"For the drill core scans, we have developed a unique data processing routine based on machine learning that enables real-time evaluation and visualization of the data. The mineralogical analysis is available just a few minutes after data acquisition. The new workflow supports faster and more informed decision-making in the field. At the same time, the valuable information is used for targeted sample selection. This allows us to get the most out of existing samples quickly, cost-effectively, and with minimal invasiveness," explains Gloaguen.

In addition, scientists have succeeded in bringing together geoscientific data from various sources in an interactive 3D space for the first time. The integration of all data into such an interactive 3D model helps geologists evaluate the subsurface, but it also assists regional stakeholders. It enables real-time collaboration for joint discussions, serves as a knowledge database, and makes complex issues understandable, and tangible which creates transparency, trust, efficiency, and participation.

These and other methods have been validated using data from various pilot sites, such as the Irish Midlands, known for metals such as zinc and lead, and the German copper shale region in Lusatia. However, the approach can be applied to mineral deposits worldwide.

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Cultural context as the key to understanding

Today, the extraction of raw materials is no longer seen solely as a technological issue, but as a social task that is strongly influenced by cultural values and perspectives. That is why, countries and societies deal differently with topics such as energy transition, mining, technology acceptance, and environmental protection.

The research conducted by the VECTOR team showed that, for example, a long tradition of mining significantly influences perceptions of raw material requirements and attitudes toward miningbut concrete experience with mining is decisive. At the same time, there are other values that have a strong influence on opinion formation. If, for example, there is a stronger tendency in society to actively shape the social and natural environmentprogress, competition, and efficiency are viewed positivelythis can influence opinions on raw material procurement.

That is different from an adaptation-oriented attitude, where balance, sustainability, and cooperation are perceived as more important. Societies that are more adaptation-oriented would therefore view technological interventions much more cautiously than shaping societies. Trust in the mining sector also plays a central roleespecially in its integrity and social responsibility.

Based on these findings, recommendations for action were developed on how industry and politics can better integrate social values into their decision-making processes and business models. The tools developed for the public are designed to enable the discourse on raw materials in society at large. These include, for example, the live experiment "100 Perceptions: Raw Materials," which was conducted with 100 volunteers at the National History Museum in London.

"The results of this experiment clearly show that the discussion about raw materials is rarely black and white. Between the extremes, there are many shades of grayfrom responsible mining and fair supply chains to sustainable consumption. The key is to understand the connections and lead to informed decision-making," explains project manager Tina Pereira from HIF.

The VECTOR team makes the project results and tools developed widely available on its web platform, thereby supporting the decision-making process of all relevant stakeholders. The participating companies use the technologies to expand their portfolios and actively drive innovation in the raw materials sectorfor the benefit of the economy, the environment, and society.

More information: Samuel T. Thiele et al, Maximising the value of hyperspectral drill core scanning through real-time processing and analysis, Frontiers in Earth Science (2024). DOI: 10.3389/feart.2024.1433662 Akshay V. Kamath et al, Multiphysics property prediction from hyperspectral drill core data, Solid Earth (2025). DOI: 10.5194/se-16-351-2025 Akshay V. Kamath et al, Tensorweave 1.0: interpolating geophysicaltensor fields with spatial neural networks, Geoscientific Model Development (2025). DOI: 10.5194/gmd-18-7951-2025 Journal information: Frontiers in Earth Science
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CO 2 saved by taking the train. Data collected by course participants Natalia Ruzickova, Valentin Leitner, and Cecelia Mweka, presented at an ISTA Special Institute Colloquium in April 2024. Credit: Natalia Ruzickova | ISTA

Every effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions can help us combat the rampant effects of global warming. While research on sustainability practices is making progress in various aspects of our lives, academic research itself has a considerable environmental footprint that must not be overlooked. In its commitment to sustainable research, the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) actively raises awareness of this topic and seeks effective strategies to mitigate the climate impact of research.

As data is often missing, ISTA Sustainability Manager Jeroen Dobbelaere and professors Paul Schanda and Georgios Katsaros sought to tackle this issue head-on in 2023. They developed a course to quantify the footprint of research practices as part of the ISTA Graduate School curriculum. "Together with the registered students, we sought to tackle one topic a year," says Dobbelaere. "We designed the course with a focus on mentoring and project-based data analysis culminating with a presentation to the campus community."

Their results on the carbon footprint of conference travel in the field of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) have now been published in the journal Magnetic Resonance.

Rising post-pandemic emissions

Multiple academic research activities have a high impact on the climate. These include the production of chemicals and other research consumables as well as the construction and maintenance of research buildings, facilities, and equipment. However, other factors such as commuting to work and conference travel weigh in the balance. One of these factors, the carbon footprint of travel in academia, is of particular interest as it has again started rising considerably after the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

"In-person meetings have a quality that online conferences simply cannot provide," says Schanda. "Many of us had brilliant ideasor thought so at the timewhile having a drink with a colleague after a poster session." Such unique opportunities can hardly be offered in an online setting. Thus, although online-only conferences have a considerably lower carbon footprint, they do not provide scientists with a comparable experience to in-person meetings.

Accounting for the 'hidden' carbon costs

When the course was first offered during the 202324 academic year, the team examined the environmental impact of conference travel in the case of NMR. "Considering the substantial carbon footprint of airplane travel, we asked if train travel was an alternative," says Dobbelaere.

According to ISTA Ph.D. graduate Natalia Ruzickova, one of the course participants and study authors, it is "common knowledge" that trains are less polluting than airplanes. "But there is a 'but': these calculations do not include the cost of infrastructure. While a plane only needs two airports, running a train requires tracks, tunnels, and bridges connecting the origin and the destination. And building and maintaining these tracks costs CO 2 ," she says.

To tackle this issue methodically and account for the "hidden" carbon costs, the course participants made a detailed model that also includes the indirect effects from laying tracks and building train stations. By estimating the "real" CO 2 footprint of travel to various European cities from Vienna, the team still confirmed that train travel had a substantially more planet-friendly impact than flights.

"We found that while the infrastructure emissions associated with a train journey are around three times as high as the CO 2 footprint of actually running the trainmeaning the emissions shown by travel apps, traveling by train still saves on average 85% of CO 2 as compared to the same journey by flight," explains Ruzickova. However, this effect was less clear for long trips exceeding 3,000 kilometers.

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More CO 2 than half a year's worth of research

Next, the scientists took a closer look at the travel emissions from 10 international NMR conferences over the past decade. The researchers showed that traveling to an overseas conference generates a substantial carbon footprint of 4 to 5 tons per participant. This is the case, for example, for traveling from Europe to ENC-ISMAR in California.

"We compared this data to emissions directly related to research activities in NMR at our institute. It turns out that traveling from Europe to one such overseas conference has a higher carbon footprint than half a year of making samples, running experiments, and scientific computing in NMR at ISTA, combined, per person," says Schanda.

While Austria has a 17% share of fossil fuels, research-related emissions are higher in countries with a more fossil-heavy energy mix, such as Germany, which has more than double Austria's share.

Climate-conscious conference attendance

By examining additional scenarios, the team made another important finding regarding conference locations. They explored the possibility of decentralized conferences within Europethat is, meetings held simultaneously at multiple locations and connected virtually. "Such decentralized conferences offer attendees the chance to travel to the conference location closer to their home institution, resulting in carbon savings of up to 25%," says Dobbelaere.

While the study considered the example of NMR, the authors hope that their results will help researchers make informed, climate-conscious decisions about conference travel in various fields. Next, Dobbelaere, Schanda, and Katsaros will continue their efforts by tackling new topics in their course. "Last year, we addressed the carbon footprint of commuting. In the present academic year, we have started exploring the environmental impact of scientific computing," says Dobbelaere.

More information: Lucky N. Kapoor et al, Quantifying the carbon footprint of conference travel: the case of NMR meetings, Magnetic Resonance (2025). DOI: 10.5194/mr-2025-9
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

Websites produced for COP conferences emit up to 10 times more carbon than average internet pages, new research published in the journal PLOS Climate suggests.

Ahead of this year's United Nations climate summit, COP30, researchers have revealed a sharp increase in the carbon emissions generated by the conference's websites over time.

Analysis indicates that between 1995when the first Conference of the Parties (COP) was heldand 2024, average emissions from COP conference websites have risen by more than 13,000%.

While the increase is partly a consequence of huge growth in computing power and internet usethe internet now accounts for up to 3% of all emissionsthe carbon footprint of COP sites is still significantly higher than the average webpage, the team says.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh analyzed web archive data to assess changes in the carbon footprint of COP websites over a 30-year period.

Their findings indicate that emissions remained relatively low until COP14 in 2008, with sites emitting the equivalent of 0.02g carbon per page view.

However, from COP15 onward, emissions have risen sharply, with pages on average emitting the equivalent of more than 2.4g of carbon per visit, with some emitting substantially more. The average website emits the equivalent of 0.36g of carbon per page view, the team says.

The rise corresponded with COP pages increasingly using content that requires greater computing power, such as multimedia files, experts say.

As well as revealing an increase in the environmental impact of COP websites themselves, the team's findings also indicate that emissions caused by internet traffic to the pages have risen exponentially.

Website views during COP3 in 1997the first year with available dataemitted the equivalent of 0.14kg, roughly the amount of carbon that a mature tree can absorb in two days.

In contrast, it would take up to 10 mature trees a full year to absorb the levels of carbon emitted as a result of COP29 homepage visits alone116.85kgan increase of more than 83,000%.

Researchers say it is too early to calculate carbon emissions from the COP30 website, but highlight that it is not hosted on verified renewable energy infrastructure.

Based on their analysis, the researchers make a number of practical recommendations for reducing the digital footprint of websites. These include placing strict limits on page sizes, optimizing site layouts and hosting websites on servers powered by renewable energy.

The analysis is the first example of web archives, such as the Internet Archive, being used to track websites' environmental impact over time, the team says.

The innovative approachusing bespoke computer code that has been made freely availablecould be used to assess the historical environmental impact of other internet pages, they add.

Professor Melissa Terras, of the Institute for Design Informatics at Edinburgh College of Art, said, "The digital footprint of websites, and how they have grown over time, deserves further scrutiny. In this innovative use of web archives as a data source to measure how websites have expanded, we chose first to look at the COP conferences themselves, given they are the focus of so much discussion on climate change.

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"Our research shows that the carbon cost of digital presence is often overlooked by even those who care about, and are meant to protect, the environment. We hope that our recommendations, and our tools, can help institutions identify and tackle this issue."

Ph.D. student David Mahoney, of the Institute for Design Informatics at Edinburgh College of Art, said, "While AI rightly captures much of today's attention, websites remain the longest-standing and most widespread form of humancomputer interaction, and one of the largest contributors to the internet's environmental impact.

"Our work shows how reusing web archives can expose this growing blind spot, even among organizations at the heart of climate discussions, and help identify practical ways to cut digital emissions."

Professor Frauke Zeller, of the Institute for Design Informatics at Edinburgh College of Art, said, "We are excited to showcase this innovative research and how it creates impact on a wider academic, societal and international scale.

"The Institute for Design Informatics is a unique place to develop innovative data analysis tools in an interdisciplinary collaboration between Arts/Humanities and Informatics research, which aim to make a difference not just in academic contexts but also in society."

More information: David Mahoney et al, The growing environmental impact of COP websites: An analysis of UNFCCC COP host country websites (19952025), PLOS Climate (2025). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000767 Journal information: PLOS Climate
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

As world leaders begin COP30 climate negotiations in Brazil, an international team co-led by a University of Sydney researcher has warned of a hidden crisis undermining global biodiversity and carbon targets: the quiet abandonment of conservation projects.

The comment paper, "Conservation abandonment is a policy blind spot," published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, was co-led by Dr. Matthew Clark, a postdoctoral researcher in the Thriving Oceans Research Hub at the University of Sydney and an honorary research associate in the Center for Environmental Policy at Imperial College London.

Dr. Clark said that conservatively, US$87 billion is spent annually worldwide on conservation programs and that figure can climb to US$200 billion depending on what exactly is counted.

"As we grapple with the biodiversity and climate crises, these required investments are expected to be US$540 billion by 2030 and US$740 billion by 2050," Dr. Clark said. "While these investments are essential for meeting both carbon and biodiversity goals, we have virtually no line of sight on how long these programs endure.

"Evidence suggests at least one third are abandoned just a few years after implementation. This blind spot potentially compromises progress announced at events like COP, as meaningful ecological recovery can take decades. If we only count the implementation of programs, this will inflate estimates of progress."

The international viewpoint was co-authored with researchers from Imperial College London, the University of Kent, Monash University and other institutions. The lead authors worked closely with Associate Professor Morena Mills, who leads the Catalyzing Conservation group at Imperial College London.

The paper introduces the concept of 'conservation abandonment'where responsible parties simply informally fail to fulfill their duties or where laws or other agreements are formally changed to reverse formal protections.

These abandoned projects, though inactive, are frequently still included in official reporting, masking the true state of environmental protection.

"We're racing to meet global targets like protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030," said Associate Professor Carly Cook, a co-author from Monash University's School of Biological Sciences.

"But no one's asking if the parks we've established are still being managed, or if the projects that we've started even still exist in any meaningful way."

The team found that the legal protection for conservation areas has been undermined more than 3700 times globally in what are called PADDD events (Protected Area Downgrading, Downsizing and Degazettement). Alongside formal rollbacks, they also reveal widespread abandonment of community-led conservation programs in Africa and South America.

In Chile, 22% of Territorial Use Rights in fisheries assigned to local communities were later discontinued. In Canada, the formal downgrading of a marine conservation area opened up oil exploratory drilling in 26,450 square kilometers. Morocco and Canada collectively disestablished seven conservation areas totaling 2,412 square kilometers.

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The authors warn that Australia is not immune, with many programs underfunded or quietly dropped after initial fanfare.

Associate Professor Cook said, "Australia has a disappointing record of reducing protections for national parks and protected areas, including for the Great Barrier Reef.

"We also have a huge network of marine protected areas but there is very little active management or enforcement." Research from 2021 shows marine protected areas have had protection downgraded 38 times, affecting more than 1 million square kilometers.

Australian research also points to ongoing concerns about the use of biodiversity offsets and carbon credits as compensation for land clearing and carbon emissions.

The authors call for a global monitoring system to track conservation abandonment, more robust long-term funding and greater transparency in environmental accounting.

"The reality is that the launch of a new conservation project is just the beginning," Dr. Clark said. "These initiatives will need to continue for decades, or sometimes in perpetuity, to yield real change. In many cases, when funding ends or when responsibilities are dropped, we go right back to where we started."

Joint corresponding author, Dr. Tom Pienkowski at the University of Kent, said, "This topic is particularly timely given recent global political events that threaten to erode conservation gains achieved over recent decades.

"The Trump administration has cut more than US$365 million in funding for international conservation initiatives. Such policy changes risk legitimizing and foreshadowing an acceleration in conservation abandonment on a global scale."

The findings arrive as COP30 delegates prepare to assess global progress toward biodiversity and carbon goals, highlighting the urgent need for policies that ensure conservation measures persist over time.
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Each year, crews travel to sites around the world where planes crashed in World War II. These are often vast debris fields in remote areas that have been exposed to elements or buried for decades. Jun Sunseri and his lab are working to create a system that teams can use to better orient themselves at crash sites and increase their chances of finding the remains of a fallen service member and  finally  bring them home. Credit: Brandon Sanchez-Mejia/UC Berkeley

Jun Sunseri remembers his grandfather, Stanley, sharing stories about his service in World War II. A mechanic in the U.S. Army Air Forces, Stanley was deployed to North Africa and Italy, where he repaired bombers and fighter planes that flew across Europe.

Sunseri also recalls his grandfather's sadness about the friends who never made it home.

Those stories, and ones from other relatives who served in the U.S. military, have stayed with Sunseri. After earning an engineering degree, he worked in automobile accident reconstruction, studying how cars crumpled and some parts could survive catastrophic crashes. He then pivoted to a special kind of archaeology that uses cutting-edge geophysical instruments to quickly and efficiently survey dig sites.

Now a UC Berkeley associate professor of anthropology, Sunseri is drawing on his array of specialties to develop a first-of-its-kind resource library to help archaeologists around the world recover the remains of fallen service members and finally bring them home.

"Even though I have a mechanical engineering degree, worked in automotive crash reconstruction and failure analysis and had a grandpa who gave me a basic orientation to aircraft anatomy, many folks volunteering on these projects don't have that background," Sunseri said. "They might benefit from some helpful digital resources like those we're trying to build."

Approximately 80,000 U.S. servicemembersprimarily from World War IIremain missing around the world, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). The organization believes approximately 38,000 of those remains are still recoverable.

Comprised of a mix of private archaeology consultants and university researchers, DPAA-backed teams each year excavate sites where planes are believed to have crashed. Sometimes they cut through thick brambles or knock down trees in order to access sites.

The missions can be brief, only about a month or so, Sunseri said. Occasionally the excavation has to pause while a munitions expert disposes of unexploded ordnance.

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses that crashed would leave enormous debris fields. In missions to recover the remains of fallen service members, its important to know whether teams are finding metals from the wing and how to move closer  and more quickly  to areas where pilots or other service members would have been. Credit: Brandon Sanchez-Mejia/UC Berkeley

"If you've got a six-week window, you damn well better make the best out of it," Sunseri said.

But making the most of it can be challenging at a crash site. Scraps of metal can look the same, and highly trained and experienced aircraft experts who could tell the difference between an aluminum shard from a wing and a steel shard from a cockpit are thousands of miles away.

That's where Sunseri comes in.

As a zooarcheologistan archaeologist who uses museum collections of complete animal skeletons to identify animal bone fragments from a digSunseri realized he needed a similar kind of comparative collection for airplanes. To help his colleague, Nicholas Tripcevich of Berkeley's Archaeological Research Facility, on a recovery project, he visited multiple air museums and the National World War II Museum in 2022 to glean a better sense of what might survive a catastrophic crash and 80 years of exposure.

Those trips sparked the idea for his Missing American Aircrews Project.

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"We need to build something," Sunseri remembered thinking. "We need to build a toolkit."

Sunseri's lab has begun developing a three-pronged approach to build a library of 2D and 3D images and video resources that can be used by teams deployed to work at crash sites to help expedite digs and increase the chances of a successful recovery.

The first phase involves crowdsourcing hundredsor perhaps thousandsof high-quality photos and videos of airplanes, military uniforms and aviator life support equipment. People who visit military aircraft museums could take photos or videos on their phones. Collectors with equipment or other personal effects from wars throughout the 20th century could also share their images. Even antique shaving kits could become part of the research archive, Sunseri said.

As Sunseri visited air museums and began thinking about how to build a system to expedite the recovery of fallen service members, he thought of his grandfather, pictured here wearing welding gear while working in Tunisia. His grandfather's hand-embroidered U.S. Army 9th Air Forces patch is the kind of item that will be part of the system his team is buildingsimilar patches have been recovered at crash sites, even decades later. Credit: Brandon Sanchez-Mejia/UC Berkeley

The details are especially valuable when paired with military records chronicling details about the mission the crew was flying and any details about those onboard. Merging all of that information would, for example, allow archaeology teams to better decipher a buckle for a throat microphone in a plane's communications system from an oxygen mask buckle or seatbelt found in the cockpit.

On the ground, that could help the team orient itself within a large debris site.

"You can imagine that there are just too many parts to too many aircraft and too many zippers and too many buttons and too many buckles for any one group of people to know all of them," Sunseri said. "We're hoping that we get a lot of participants from all places pitching in what they know and can send references for."

Phase two draws on the expertise of military history buffs and veterans around the world.

While they may not all be able to travel to museums or have collections in their attics, Sunseri envisions they will be able to help sort and validate the crowdsourced images and scans into useful frameworks for the digital comparative collection. Their work also involves fine-tuning details about specific aircraft, a crew's personal effects and the dates and locations where those missions flew, and preparing the mission-specific packets teams will use in the field.

The final stage is compiling the materials into extensive files, sorted by airframe, period, theater and duty stations, that can be downloaded and accessed on a phone or tablet while offline and in the field. If a diver was investigating a suspected plane that went down in the Pacific Ocean, they could quickly access the packets and have comprehensive 3D models of both the plane and all of its components. That would help navigate the surviving parts of a crash site and better orient themselves in the wreckage.

Students in Sunseri's lab group, including Rory Hinkle, Mario Castillo, Juliette Lovell, Jessica Gallup, Evan Agbayani, Milka Grenier, Andy Matessa and Nathalia Harris, started working on the project with him when they took his seminar last fall that linked low-impact and non-invasive archaeological technologies to real-world deliverables for community partners. Since then, the team has visited local air museums, started working with citizen scientists and participated in field recovery operations.

Over the summer, a team led by Portland State University that included Sunseri and several Berkeley students investigated a possible crash site in Germany. Credit: Tristan Krause/Texas A&M

They continue to build out workflows and tutorials to train new volunteers to contribute to the mission in all three aspects: intake, validation and deployment.

"We're just getting started," Sunseri said, adding that the project is in addition to his teaching load and grant-writing work. "It's a scrappy little lab group of archaeologists here with zero funding, so we're doing our best."

He has completed the week long DPAA partner training and is submitting the project for review with the team that handles long-term collaborations. The hope is that the comparative collection becomes useful enough that the DPAA will take over and deploy it for their partnered teams around the globe.

Sunseri has already seen for himself how the information could be helpful. Last summer, he and several other Berkeley students joined a recovery project in Germany led by Portland State University. While there, he considered how a more comprehensive digital comparative collection in the hands of all the recovery team members could increase the odds of mission success.

Sunseri said he's hopeful the project will one day increase the likelihood of recovery missions being successful. In a way, he said he also sees this project as being about something else.

"I see this as a touch point for how we affect a broader group of Americans and get them excited about something that many people are especially passionate about," Sunseri said. "I've seen some pretty stark political and social rifts in our society bridged by different kinds of Americans working together with a shared sense of purpose in the mission."

Sunseri feels that the nationwide contributions of citizen scientists to recovery efforts could be a regenerative process of community-engaged scholarship that has an immediate, anti-polarizing effect on participants.

"But in the end," he said, "it's about giving these families closure and finally bringing these service members home."
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The late Emeritus Professor Ewan Fordyce, a renowned vertebrate palaeontologist who had a 40-year career at the University of Otago. Credit: University of Otago

The name of a new species of fossil billfish honors a world-leading paleontologist who inspired generations of young researchers.

Zealandorhynchus fordycei is named after the late Emeritus Professor Ewan Fordyce, a renowned vertebrate paleontologist who had a 40-year career at the University of OtagoOtakou Whakaihu Waka Department of Geology.

Professor Fordyce passed away in November 2023 but his legacy lives on.

A paper recently published in the journal Gondwana Research describes two large, rare fossil billfish skulls from the early Eocene (about 50 million years ago) found in Otago, New Zealand.

Billfish are large predatory fish, such as marlins and swordfish, known for their long, spear-like upper jaw which is used to catch prey.

Lead author Dr. Seabourne Rust says the skulls represent early extinct forms of billfish. "The more complete skull belongs to a new genus and species that we have named Zealandorhynchus fordycei, after the late Professor Fordyce," he says.

The latest fossil skull was discovered by study co-author Morne Wium, near the site where another fossil fish skull was found nearly 40 years ago. Both are now housed in the Earth Science New Zealand (formerly GNS Science) National Paleontological Collection.

Due to their large size, they are believed to have come from adult billfish, estimated to be several meters in length.

"These billfish specimens represent notable additions to a rather sparse Early Eocene fish macrofossil record from New Zealand," Dr. Rust says. "They hint at ancient diversity and widespread southern distribution reached by early billfishes during the Eocenethis is very significant as previously known distribution was considered to be nearly exclusive to the northern hemisphere."

After undergraduate study at Otago, Dr. Rust later completed his Master of Science thesis on fossil fish in the Geology Museum collections under the guidance of Professor Fordyce from 1997 to 2000.

"Ewan gave so much to his students, his well-illustrated lectures and legendary field trips brought the subject to life," he says. "He was a guiding mentor for me and many other budding paleontologists. He left such a legacy with his work on fossil vertebrates from Southern Zealandia in particular.

"Many important discoveries were made during fieldwork in North Otago and Canterbury to recover ancient whales and dolphins (Ewan's specialty) and subsequent long hours preparing the fossils unveiled insights into the creatures living in our area millions of years ago.

"My colleagues and I felt very privileged to honor Ewan's memory by naming our new fossil billfish taxon after him."

More information: Seabourne Rust et al, Fossil billfish (Xiphioidei) from the Eocene of Hampden, North Otago, New Zealand, Gondwana Research (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.gr.2025.09.021 Journal information: Gondwana Research
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Cane toad in Western Australia. Credit: Dr. Judy Dunlop

New Curtin University research has found invasive cane toads are on track to reach Western Australia's Pilbara region within the next 10 to 20 years, threatening to cause widespread losses among native species and significant cultural and economic harm.

The study, published in Scientific Reports, predicts that without containment efforts, the toxic amphibians will colonize up to 75% of the Pilbara within three decades, putting 25 native species at risk of serious population declines. These include several species of native marsupial predators like northern quolls, ghost bat and kaluta, as well as frog-eating snakes, blue-tongue skinks and goannas.

Of these, nine native mammals and reptiles are expected to become newly listed as threatened species and push the already vulnerable ghost bat to a higher threat category if the toads are not properly managed.

Lead author Dr. Judy Dunlop, from Curtin's School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said there were simple steps that could prevent the invasive pest from using dams as stepping stones into the Pilbara.

"The Pilbara region's permanent water sources make it an ideal habitat for the invasive species, which have already devastated native wildlife like quolls, goannas, and snakes across Australia's iconic Kimberley region," Dr. Dunlop said.

"Toads are approaching a naturally dry part of the country south of Broome where the Great Sandy Desert meets the ocean. Here, the only water accessible to them is cattle watering points.

"If these points are dams, toads will access and use them as stepping stones to make their way through the desert zone, but simple upgrades to concrete tanks and troughs will make them inaccessible to toads."

Co-author Professor Ben Phillips, also from Curtin's School of Molecular and Life Sciences, said the findings highlighted the urgent need to establish a "toad containment zone" to stop their southward march.

"By establishing a 150km long 'toad containment zone' which limits toad access to artificial waterpoints, we may be able to prevent the invasion and push the species back to the top of the barriermuch like how firebreaks are used to halt the spread of bushfires by removing fuel and creating controlled boundaries," Professor Phillips said.

"There is no doubt that the arrival of toads will cause catastrophic declines in culturally important species, which will be felt by the Traditional Custodians of the Pilbara. The animals most at risksuch as the goanna and bluetongue skinkare culturally important to traditional owners for food, storytelling and bushtucker practices."

More information: Quantifying the potential impact of the cane toad (Rhinella marina) on biodiversity in Australia's Pilbara region, Scientific Reports (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-24017-4. Journal information: Scientific Reports
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A medieval chart of the nine concentric celestial 'spheres' surrounding the Earth. Credit: Oxford University

During the 1240s, Richard Fishacre, a Dominican friar at Oxford University, used his knowledge of light and color to show that the stars and planets are made of the same elements found here on Earth. In so doing, he challenged the scientific orthodoxy of his day and preempted the methods and discoveries of the 21st-century James Webb space telescope.

Following the Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, medieval physics affirmed that the stars and planets were made from a special celestial elementthe famous "fifth element" (quinta essentia) or "quintessence." Unlike the four elements found here on Earth (fire, water, earth and air), this "fifth element" is perfect and unchanging.

Fully transparent, it formed the basis of what were believed to be the nine concentric celestial "spheres" surrounding Earth, as well as the various stars and planets attached to them. These, it was argued, were merely condensed versions of the "fifth element," with each of the first seven spheres having its own planet, and the outermost eighth and ninth spheres containing the stars and heaven itself, respectively.

Color, light and the stars

Lacking access to telescopes and rock samples, Fishacrethe first Dominican friar to teach theology at Oxford Universityopenly rejected the idea that the stars and planets were made from some special "fifth element." In his opinion, they consisted of the same four elements found here.

His reason for asserting this position was his understanding of how color and light behave.

Color, Fishacre noted, is typically associated with opaque bodies. These, however, are always composite, meaning made up of two or more of the four terrestrial elements. When we look up at the stars and planets, however, we see that the light they emit often has a faint color. Mars appears red, and Venus yellow, for example. This suggests, of course, that they are composite and thus made "ex quattuor elementis""out of the four elements."

In Fishacre's opinion, the surest proof that the stars and planets were not made of some special "fifth element" came from the moon. It has a very definite color, and, crucially, every so often it eclipses the sun. Were it made from the transparent fifth elementeven a highly condensed version of itthen surely the sun's light would pass through it, just as it does a pane of glass. This, however, is not the case.

The moon, Fishacre reasoned, must therefore be made of the same elements found on Earth. And if this was true of the moon, which is the lowest celestial body, then it must also be true of all the other stars and planets.

A brave move

In arguing this, Fishacre knew that he was risking criticism. "If we posit this position," he wrote, "then they, that crowd of Aristotelian know-it-alls (scioli aristoteli), will cry out and stone us."

Sure enough, stones were thrown at Fishacreand from high places. In 1250, his teaching was denounced at the University of Paris by St Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, a Franciscan friar who ridiculed in his lectures those "moderns" like Fishacre who foolishly questioned Aristotle's teaching on the celestial fifth element.

Contemporary astrophysics has, of course, vindicated Fishacre's position. The stars and planets are not made of some special fifth element, but rather from many of the same metals and elements found here on our home planet. The James Webb space telescope, for example, recently established that the atmosphere of the Neptune-like exoplanet TOI-421 b, some 244 light years away, contains high quantities of water and sulfur dioxide.

Remarkably, how the James Webb space telescope established thisa process known as transmission spectroscopyis very similar, at least in principle, to the method which Fishacre employed. It detected subtle variations in the brightness and color of the light emitted by TOI-421 b which could only be caused by water and sulfur dioxide.

Given how much criticism his claims received, Fishacre would no doubt have been delighted to know that nearly 800 years after his death, contemporary astronomy, just like him, is using light and color to show that far-flung stars and planets are all made from the same elements.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Since it began in 2014, the Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders has graduated 48 new movement disorder specialists around the world and is on track to graduate 17 more who are currently in training. By 2031, the Fellowship will have produced 103 specialists, increasing access to expert care for 80,000 patients annually.





The Edmond J. Safra Fellowship has grown into a world-renowned program with significant contributions in enhancing access to high-quality patient care and leading scientific advancements toward better understanding and treatment of movement disorders  an urgent need as Parkinson's is the world's fastest growing neurological disease.





Edmond J. Safra Fellowship alumni continue to make an impact by advancing groundbreaking Parkinson's research beyond their training, including through the Edmond J. Safra Movement Disorders Research Career Development Award.

NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The longstanding partnership between The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) and the Edmond J. Safra Foundation continues to open the door toward scientific advances and opportunities to better care for people and families living with Parkinson's disease (PD). Since its launch in 2014, the Edmond J. Safra Fellowship in Movement Disorders annually funds medical centers to train the next generation of Parkinson's doctors as clinician-researchers. These newly trained movement disorder specialists help address the critical and widening gap between the growing number of Parkinson's patients and the limited availability of dedicated, expert care.

For people living with Parkinson's, seeing a movement disorder specialist is key for navigating care and treatment. A study published in the BMJ in March 2025 estimates that the number of people living with Parkinson's will grow to reach more than 25 million by 2050  representing a 112 percent increase from 2021. Given the relationship between Parkinson's and aging, and the increasing number of individuals living with Parkinson's around the world, the demand for specialists is on the rise. Currently, the U.S. has around 660 movement disorder specialists  meaning there is only about one specialist for every 1,000 Medicare beneficiaries living with PD. Especially notable, given about 90 percent of people living with Parkinson's in the U.S. rely on Medicare for their health care coverage.

A shortage of movement disorder specialists can bring challenges in seeking care including long appointment times and unreasonable travel distances. According to a recent survey of our Fellowship alumni, one Parkinson's specialist may see an average of 780 patients every year. Through the commitment of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation, the Fellowship is making a tangible impact around the world by growing the base of clinician-researchers  48 new movement disorder specialists have graduated since the program launched in 2014. The Fellowship program, now reaching an estimated 80,000 patients every year, continues to expand its reach globally, training more clinician-scientists than ever and further strengthening the pipeline of experts advancing Parkinson's research and care.

The Edmond J. Safra Fellowship and the advancements of the most promising Parkinson's research to date have been made possible through the leadership and transformative generosity of the late Mrs. Lily Safra, former chairwoman of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation and MJFF Board member. This generation of clinician-researchers are uniquely positioned to accelerate scientific discoveries, translate them into better treatments and ensure that research momentum delivers real-world impact for people with Parkinson's. The Edmond J. Safra Network is making a critical impact during a pivotal moment in research, with meaningful advances being made in understanding the disease and developing new therapies.

"The Edmond J. Safra Foundation, and the generous vision of the late Mrs. Lily Safra, have long been instrumental in shaping the future of Parkinson's research and care," said MJFF CEO and Co-Founder Deborah W. Brooks. "Today, the Edmond J. Safra Network is a driving force toward critical discoveries, advancing new therapies and delivering expert care to patients with Parkinson's worldwide  laying the groundwork for lasting impact in both research progress and patient care. The Edmond J. Safra Fellowship program continues to fuel hope and momentum that will transform what's possible for generations to come."

Graduating Class of 2025 Advances the Future of Research and Care

Now in its 11th year, the Edmond J. Safra Fellowship has achieved the status of a world-renowned funding opportunity, a distinguished training pathway and a peer-to-peer network.

"The Edmond J. Safra Fellowship gives the community hope  hope that life can be well-lived with Parkinson's, hope for treatments that can change the course of disease, and hope for the future of Parkinson's research and care," said Rachel Dolhun, MD, DipABLM, MJFF's principal medical advisor, fellowship-trained movement disorder specialist, lifestyle medicine physician and Edmond J. Safra Fellowship program lead.

The most recent graduates, part of the eighth graduating class, now move forward in their careers toward caring for people and families with Parkinson's and fueling research momentum globally.

William Barbosa, MD

Fellowship Site: University of Rochester in Rochester, New York

Dr. Barbosa will stay on as faculty at the University of Rochester to treat patients with movement disorders and will continue to address barriers to care by working in a Spanish-language neurology clinic in Rochester. He plans to continue his research, including the rollout of skin biopsy testing in the clinic. Additionally, he plans to develop a new academic exchange program in his home community of Puerto Rico.

Juan Ramon Deliz, MD

Fellowship Site: Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois

Dr. Deliz will stay on as the medical director for one of Northwestern University's satellite facilities in the Chicago suburbs. There, he plans to build a more comprehensive Parkinson's disease center so patients can get care closer to home without needing to travel downtown. Additionally, he hopes to integrate research with services like physical, occupational and speech therapy, and connect people with psychiatry or rehabilitation when needed.

Kacey Hu, MD

Fellowship Site: University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, California

After returning from maternity leave, Dr. Hu will return to the University of Southern California as faculty. There she will continue with research focused on deep brain stimulation, and how clinical and social factors might influence outcomes, clinical trials and caring for patients in clinic.

Taha Adam Omer, MBBS, Dip. Ther, DCSM, MRCPI, MRCP (London), PhD

Fellowship Site: University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta

Dr. Omer aims to join an academic center where he can offer advanced, compassionate care while participating in cutting-edge research. He hopes to help shape a patient-centered, multidisciplinary movement disorders program that doesn't just treat symptoms, but also improves lives.

Emily Tharp, MD

Fellowship Site: The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, Texas

Dr. Tharp will stay on at The University of Texas Health Science Center as faculty, splitting her time evenly between research and clinical care. She remains especially passionate about studying women with PD, including the impact of estrogen exposure on risk for developing the disease.

Mehmet Salih Tuncer, MD

Fellowship Site: Charite-Universitatsmedizin in Berlin, Germany

Dr. Tuncer continues to work at Charite, while completing the remaining training of his residency to care for patients and families. His research in deep brain stimulation efficacy has a goal to individualize predictions of its impact on patients by using imaging.

Duncan Wilson, MBChB, MRCP, PhD

Fellowship Site: Westmead Hospital and University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia

Dr. Wilson will expand the existing movement disorders program in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he will help patients with access to deep brain stimulation for the first time, and in tandem, will further research into Parkinson's, Huntington's disease and dementia.

Isabel Wurster, MD

Fellowship Site: University of Tubingen in Tubingen, Germany

Dr. Wurster will soon finish the specialization exam to become a full, senior neurologist. She will continue working at the University of Tubingen Center for Neurology. She hopes to continue working with patients and supporting longitudinal studies such as the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative and MJFF's Consortium on PRKN and PINK1 to help deliver better personalized care.

The Edmond J. Safra Movement Disorders Research Career Development Awards

To support the sustained contributions of Fellowship alumni to Parkinson's research, MJFF and the Edmond J. Safra Foundation launched a competitive research funding opportunity, the Edmond J. Safra Movement Disorders Research Career Development Awards, in 2022. The program has supported four recent graduates to study Parkinson's and related conditions to amplify the field-wide contributions of the Fellowship network. In May 2025, the inaugural 2022 Awardees presented the final results of their two-year research projects. The additional awardees will present their final results in Spring 2026.

Conor Fearon, BE, MB, BCh, BAO, MRCPI, PhD

Edmond J. Safra Fellowship Class of 2022

Consulting neurologist; Dublin Neurological Institute; Dublin, Ireland

Combining his expertise in electrical engineering and movement disorders, Dr. Fearon aimed to develop quantitative, non-invasive biomarkers to diagnose and track Parkinson's and related parkinsonisms through analysis of eye movements and pupillary changes. Through his research, Dr. Fearon has identified two potentially novel eye movement biomarkers that carry important diagnostic and prognostic information.

Anne Weissbach, MD

Edmond J. Safra Fellowship Class of 2020

Clinician scientist; Institute of Neurogenetics Lubeck and Institute of Systems Motor Science; Lubeck, Germany

Using non-invasive brain stimulation, Dr. Weissbach's research evaluated unique brain signals in people with inherited Parkinson-dystonia syndromes. These diseases have symptoms of both PD and dystonia, a muscle cramping that can be part of PD or a condition on its own. Dr. Weissbach's findings show the differences in motor response by sensory input found in patients with certain genetic mutations. This research is leading to better understanding of and treatments for both Parkinson's and dystonia.

Top-Tier Academic Centers Selected to Train the Class of 2028

Since its inception, the Edmond J. Safra Fellowship has extended funding to 41 world-renowned academic institutions in 13 countries and nine U.S. states. During the most recent round of funding, an external review committee of movement disorder specialists, assembled by MJFF, selected eight top-tier medical centers  six of which are new to the program  from a highly competitive group of applicants to train the Class of 2028. The awardees are:

Corporation CETRAM in Lo Espejo, Chile; Roger Roriguez Monge, MD, MS

University of Zurich in Zurich, Switzerland; awaiting confirmation of selected fellow

Amsterdam University Medical Centers in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; awaiting confirmation of selected fellow

University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia; Biruktawit Tesfay, MD

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri; Dorothy Nguyen, MD

Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina; Victor Diego Armengol, MD

Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network in Toronto, Ontario; Jonas Deppe, MD

University of Alabama at Birmingham in Birmingham, Alabama; Jason Brown, MD

MJFF is now accepting applications from academic centers to train the Class of 2029. A review committee will evaluate applicants on their history of training movement disorder clinician-researchers; the breadth and depth of clinical care and research education; and training opportunities that equip fellows with the skills and knowledge to advance equitable access and diversity across clinical care services, research, education and community outreach. The deadline to apply is Thursday, December 4 at 5 p.m. ET. Application information for the Edmond J. Safra Fellowship Class of 2029 can be found here.

To learn more about the fellowship program, please visit the following resources

About The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF)

As the world's largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson's research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson's disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition today. The Foundation pursues its goals through an aggressively funded, highly targeted research program coupled with active global engagement of scientists, Parkinson's patients, business leaders, clinical trial participants, donors and volunteers. In addition to funding $2.5 billion in research to date, the Foundation has fundamentally altered the trajectory of progress toward a cure. Operating at the hub of worldwide Parkinson's research, the Foundation forges groundbreaking collaborations with industry leaders, academic scientists and government research funders; creates a robust open- access data set and biosample library to speed scientific breakthroughs and treatment with its landmark clinical study, PPMI; increases the flow of participants into Parkinson's disease clinical trials with its online tool, Fox Trial Finder; promotes Parkinson's awareness through high-profile advocacy, events and outreach; and coordinates the grassroots involvement of thousands of Team Fox members around the world. For more information, visit us at www.michaeljfox.org, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn.

About the Edmond J. Safra Foundation

Edmond J. Safra, one of the 20th century's most accomplished bankers and a devoted philanthropist, established a major charitable foundation to ensure that individuals and organizations would continue to receive his assistance and encouragement for many years to come. Led for more than twenty years by his beloved wife Lily, the Edmond J. Safra Foundation draws continuing inspiration from Mr. and Mrs. Safra's values and priorities, supporting hundreds of organizations and programs in more than forty countries around the world. Its work encompasses four areas: education; science and medicine; religion; and humanitarian assistance, culture, and social welfare. The Foundation has provided significant funding for Parkinson's disease research and patient care at dozens of hospitals and institutes in places as varied as Natal (Brazil), Toronto, New York, Grenoble, Paris, London and Jerusalem.

SOURCE The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
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Credit: Sandy Millar, Unsplash

Most expectant mothers have a clear idea of when they will return to work, how maternity leave will be divided, and how their careers will continue. But according to new research from the University of Copenhagen, expectations do not always match reality.

A new study based on a survey of 11,000 Danish women has mapped expectations for work and maternity leaveboth the participants' own and their partners'if they had a child. The responses are linked to detailed registry data showing what actually happened when the women later had children.

"What is special about the study is that we have both expectations and actual outcomesand can compare them directly," explains Sren Leth-Petersen, professor at the Department of Economics and CEBI, University of Copenhagen. Together with researchers from Stanford and New York University, he is behind the study.

Nine months after giving birth: A turning point

The study shows that around nine months after giving birth, there is a significant discrepancy between reality and the mothers' original expectations: Women believe that they will be back at work by this point, but many are not.

"Nine months after giving birth is a critical time when maternity leave expires and many expect to return to work. But this does not happen to the extent expected," says Leth-Petersen.

Although many return later than planned, the data shows that in the longer term, most actually resume work to the extent they had expected.

"This suggests that women do not overestimate their future attachment to the labor market as such, but that they underestimate how long it will take to get there," explains Leth-Petersen.

In the survey, women were also asked whether they believe their partner will take at least two months of parental leave. Here, too, many are mistakenboth in terms of overestimating and underestimating their partner's commitment.

"Even among women who are pregnant at the time of responding, there is considerable uncertainty about their partner's paternity leave. This suggests that planning is not always coordinated or that plans change along the way," says Leth-Petersen.

Experience helpsbut not enough

One would think that women with one child would be better at predicting the course of events with their second child. However, the study shows that errors in expectations are repeatedeven among experienced mothers.

"Experience alone does not seem to correct skewed expectations. This suggests that the very way we form expectations is important," suggests Leth-Petersen.

Overall, the study shows that mothers' expectations of how quickly they will return to work are systematically skewedand that this can have implications for both financial planning and policy design, he assesses.

"If women overestimate how quickly they will return, it can have consequences for their finances, careers and family life. This is important to understand when we talk about gender equality and labor market policy," concludes Leth-Petersen.

The study is titled "Beliefs and Realities of Work and Childcare After Childbirth."

More information: Caplin, Andrew and Leth-Petersen, Soren and Tonetti, Christopher, Beliefs and Realities of Work and Childcare After Childbirth (September 2025). NBER Working Paper No. w34289: ssrn.com/abstract=5544623
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Hierarchical view of polymeralumina direct bonding across multiple length scales. Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University

What makes some plastics stick to metal without any glue? Osaka Metropolitan University scientists have peered into the invisible adhesive zone that forms between certain plastics and metalsone atom at a timeto uncover how chemistry and molecular structure determine whether such bonds bend or break.

Their insights clarify metalplastic bonding mechanisms and offer guidelines for designing durable, lightweight, and more sustainable hybrid materials for use in transportation.

Combining the strength of metal with the lightness and flexibility of plastic, polymermetal hybrid structures are emerging as key elements for building lighter, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The technology relies on bonding metals with plastics directly, without adhesives. The success of these hybrids, however, hinges on how well the two materials stick together.

"The molecular-level mechanisms that determine how strongly these materials bond at the interface have remained unclear," said Takuya Kuwahara, lecturer at Osaka Metropolitan University's Graduate School of Engineering and lead author of this study published in Communications Materials.

Zeroing in on the bond, the team used all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to investigate how polyamides (PAs), in this case nylon, adhere to alumina surfaces. The researchers tested two types of PAs, which differ in rigidity: PA6, which has a flexible aliphatic backbone; and PAMXD6, which contains rigid aromatic rings.

They studied them on both hydroxylated (OH-terminated) and non-hydroxylated (non-terminated) alumina surfaces. "Terminated" here refers to how the outermost layer of a material ends: in this case with a functional OH-group or no functional group.

To track molecular behavior at the interface, the researchers first categorized polymer chain segments.

"Surface-adsorbed segments were classified as 'trains,' non-adsorbed segments existing between two trains as 'loops,' and non-adsorbed end segments connected to the PA interior as 'tails,'" Kuwahara explained.

The polymeralumina interface underwent yielding when subjected to tensile strain. In this context, "yielding" refers to the onset of irreversible atomic rearrangements, where the interface is permanently deformed and atoms can no longer return to their original positions even after the stress is taken away. The researchers analyzed the mechanical response of the polymermetal interface before and after yielding to evaluate the strength, durability, and reliability of materials at the point where they meet, revealing the strength of the bond.

The simulation results showed that adhesion strength depends on both polymer chemistry and surface termination.

"In the elastic regime, or before the interface yields, the tensile stress is determined by PA chemistry," Kuwahara said. "After yielding, however, the alumina surface termination becomes critical."

Before yielding, the aromatic PAMXD6 is stiffer and resists stretching better than PA6. After yielding, the behavior changes depending on the surface: on hydroxylated surfaces, PAMXD6 detaches, or desorbs, whereas PA6 reorganizes, transforming loops into stretched tails without fully detaching. On non-hydroxylated surfaces, both polymers remain firmly attached through trains and loops.

The findings not only clarify why some metalplastic pairs bond better than others, but also offer practical design guidelines for selecting surface treatments and polymer types. These insights facilitate theoretical, mechanism-based materials design, reducing reliance on trial-and-error experimentation.

"By understanding how molecular structure and surface chemistry interact, we can design stronger, lighter joints that help reduce vehicle weight and energy use," Kuwahara said. "Ultimately, this work moves us closer to achieving sustainable, carbon-neutral transportation."

More information: Chemical Functionalities Govern PolyamideAlumina Adhesion through Local Conformational Dynamics, Communications Materials (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s43246-025-00977-y Journal information: Communications Materials
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

More than a half century after the U.S. ignited 67 atomic weapons in the central Pacific Ocean, a former Navy base in the Bay Area continues to carry that nuclear legacy.

Recently, residents were informed by the San Francisco Department of Health that a test taken in November 2024 at the former site of Hunters Point Naval Shipyard showed radiation levels of airborne Plutonium-239 had exceeded the Navy's "action level," requiring the military to further investigate.

The city and the residents were not informed until 11 months after that initial reading.

Hunters Point, a 500-acre peninsula jutting out into San Francisco Bay, served as a military laboratory to study the effects of nuclear weapons from 194669 following World War II. Although the research largely focused on how to decontaminate U.S. warships and equipment targeted with atomic bombs, the experimentation left much of the shipyard laced with radioactive contaminants and toxic chemicals.

For the last 30 years, the Navy has sought to clean up the areanow a U.S. Superfund sitewith the long-term goal of redeveloping it into new housing and parkland.

But some Bay Area community leaders say haphazard remediation work and lackluster public outreach have endangered the health and safety of residents of the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood that sits beside the former shipyard. And they point to the Navy's nearly year-long delay in informing them of the elevated Plutonium-239 reading, taken in November 2024, as just the latest example.

Plutonium-239 is a radioactive isotope and byproduct of nuclear bomb explosions. The elevated readings from November 2024 came from a 78-acre tract of land on the northeast portion of the shipyard, known as Parcel C.

"The City and County of San Francisco is deeply concerned by both the magnitude of this exceedance and the failure to provide timely notification," wrote San Francisco Health Officer Susan Philip in an Oct. 30 letter to Navy officials.

"Such a delay undermines our ability to safeguard public health and maintain transparency. Immediate notification is a regulatory requirement and is critical for ensuring community trust and safety."

Navy officials and some health experts insist the radiation levels detected at the site, while above the Navy's action level, did not pose an imminent or substantial threat to public health. Exposure to this level of Plutonium-239 every day for one year would be less than one-tenth the dose of radiation from a chest X-ray, according to a Navy spokesperson.

"The San Francisco Department of Public Health's letter references a single outlier air sample that detected Plutonium-239 above the regulatory action level," a Navy spokesperson said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times.

"Regulatory action levels are deliberately and conservatively established below levels of health concern, and a single detection of Pu-239 at this level does not pose a risk to human health or public safety."

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The Navy said it has collected more than 200 ambient air monitoring samples from Parcel C since it began performing fieldwork there in 2023. The November 2024 sample was the only reading with elevated Plutonium-239, the Navy spokesperson told The Times.

Plutonium isotopes emit alpha radiation that is relatively benign outside the body, because it cannot travel through solid objects. However, if these radioactive particles are inhaled, they can damage the lungs and increase the long-term risk of developing certain cancers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"What we generally are concerned about for alpha emitters is if you get them into your body, and either through inhalation, ingestion, inadvertent injectionlike somebody gets a cut and it gets into their body," said Kathryn Higley, a professor of nuclear science at Oregon State University.

But it's the lack of transparency and the 11-month delay in reporting the reading that has fomented community mistrust and raised questions regarding the military's competency to safely clean up the polluted shipyard.

In 2000, the EPA admonished naval officials for neglecting to inform residents that a fire had broken out at a hazardous landfill at Hunters Point. In 2017, two employees of the consulting company Tetra Tech, who were hired by the Navy to assess radiation levels at Hunters Point, pleaded guilty to falsifying data in an effort to avoid having to perform additional cleanup on some areas of the shipyard.

The presence of radioactive air contaminantsat any levelcompounds the health risks of the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, which already faces high exposure to toxic diesel particles from big rigs traveling on nearby freeways and cargo ships visiting the Port of San Francisco.

Hunters Point Biomonitoring Foundation, a local nonprofit, has found concerning levels of toxic substances in urine screenings it has provided to several residents of the neighborhood, especially among older individuals and those living closer to the former Naval shipyard.

"Now, you're talking about adding one of the most devastating radionuclides known to the human cardiopulmonary system to the chemical burden," said Dr. Ahmisa Porter Sumchai, the foundation's medical director and principal investigator.

"The particulate load is enough to kill people," Sumchai added. "But you add ... a little Plutonium-239, and it's a recipe for death."

Philip, the San Francisco health officer, said in a statement that she met with Navy officials Oct. 31 and received assurances that air and dust monitoring is "ongoing" and that the military agency is "reviewing their duct control methods to ensure they are fully protective of public health."

As a result, "no immediate action is required from a public health safety standpoint," she said, adding that her office will continue to closely monitor the situation.

Other experts argued the situation was overblown. Phil Rutherford, a radiological risk expert and corporate consultant, called the delayed notification "unacceptable" but said the San Francisco health department's letter was " a storm in a teacup" considering the low levels of radioactive material.

Higley, the Oregon State professor, said the site's long history of delays and scandals likely added to backlash from community members. "I understand (residents') frustration that they want to see this place cleaned up so that they can safely use it," Higley said. "And there's been a lot of reasons for why this process takes so long. But, from a radiological perspective, the actual residual radioactivity at the site is pretty modest."

In November 2024, a Navy contractor was grinding asphalt on the sitea construction project that, while unrelated to the site's historical contamination, triggered the Navy to monitor for any air quality issues. One of its air samplers, in Parcel Ccollected 8.16 times 1015 picocuries per milliliter of Plutonium-239twice the established action levelaccording to a Navy spokesperson.

Navy officials sent the sample to a lab for analysis, and the initial results came back in March 2025, showing high radiation levels. In April, they ordered the lab to reanalyze the sample. In the follow-up analysis, radiation levels of Plutonium-239 were below action levels.

Between May and September, the Navy "further investigated the test results and conducted a methodical review of the laboratory's procedures and practices to ensure they complied with standards," according to the Navy spokesperson. "A third party also conducted an analysis of the lab's performance."

Later that September, the Navy told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and several California state agencies about the elevated airborne radiation from Plutonium-239, in preparation for an upcoming community meeting. That information later trickled down to the San Francisco health department.

At some point, the Navy published some air quality data for Parcel C gathered between October and December 2024 on a website where it curates several environmental monitoring reports. That report only showed the lower Plutonium-239 radiation levels from the reanalysis were below the action level.

A Navy spokesperson told The Times that it was "mistakenly uploaded."

"As soon as the Navy realized an incomplete report was uploaded, it was removed from the website," the spokesperson said, while the Navy worked to verify the results.

All that has contributed to the confusion and concern among locals and advocates. Navy officials are expected to attend a Hunters Point Shipyard Citizens Advisory Committee Meeting on Nov. 17.

When fieldwork is occurring at the shipyard, the Navy monitors for Plutonium-239 and several other radioactive elements that may have resulted from historic fallout from atomic weapons testing.

Acquired by the Navy in 1940, Hunters Point was initially a base where ships were built, repaired and maintained during World War II. After the war ended, it became home to the Navy Radiological Defense Laboratory, a military research facility dedicated to investigating the effects of nuclear weapons and radiological safety.

The Navy bombarded a fleet of U.S. warships with nuclear weapons as a part of atomic testing in the Marshall Islands. The irradiated vessels were towed to Hunters Point, and used as the material and hardware upon which scientists tested decontamination methods.

In 1974, the shipyard was deactivated. Hazardous chemicals and low-level radiological contamination were identified, prompting the U.S. EPA to place the site on its Superfund list in 1989.

The Navy has led cleanup efforts, excavating contaminated soil and demolishing buildings. A largely residential parcel of the base, Parcel A, was turned over to San Francisco and has been redeveloped with new townhouses and condos. A collective of 300 artists live and work in former naval buildings.

But dangers continue to emerge during ongoing remediation work.

In recent years, the Navy has recovered radioactive objects, including dials and deck markers coated with paint containing Radium isotopes to provide a glow-in-the-dark effect. Sumchai, medical director of the biomonitoring foundation, said she has observed large stockpiles of contaminated soil held in areas without any protective fencing to prevent contaminants from spreading off site.

"I view this as a local public health emergency," Sumchai said. "I think that everything should be done to contain it and to remove people safely, if necessary, from documented areas of exposure."

But to the casual observer, the site looks unremarkable.

Hunters Point juts out into the San Francisco Bay just north of where Candlestick Park, the former home of the San Francisco Giants and 49ers, used to stand. Beyond the abandoned barracks and drydocks, the site is now mostly an empty expanse of grass and reeds, with an unobstructed view of the bay.

The cleanup sites, including Parcel C, are still fenced off, and only those with authorized credentials are allowed onto the property.

On a recent weekday afternoon, ravens flew and cawed over the long-vacant shipyard buildings, while construction crews and trucks ferried building equipment up and down Hill Drivea steep road leading to brand new homes standing sentinel over the former shipyard.

And beyond waiting for a new batch of Navy reports, there was no way of knowing what's in the air.

2025 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Calculated RPED patterns of MnTe for circular po-larized light with helicity q || L~ [1100] at the L 3 -resonance ( hbar omega = 639.7eV a-d) or the L 2 -resonance ( hbar omega = 651.8eV e-h). Credit: Physical Review Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1103/pl1p-v5rs

The new big thing in magnetics is altermagnetism, a form of magnetism that promises to power the next generation of electronics. Unlike ferromagnets, like a fridge magnet, where all internal atomic spins align to create a strong magnetic field, altermagnets have no net magnetic pull (strongly magnetic on the inside, but appears non-magnetic on the outside). This is similar to antiferromagnets where internal spins cancel each other out. However, altermagnets retain powerful internal properties that could let them carry and control information more efficiently than traditional magnets.

Because this magnetism has a zero net pull, it is hard to detect using standard measurement tools. In two new papers, researchers detail how they have developed X-ray techniques to map and measure different aspects of an altermagnet's internal structure.

Mapping magnetic domains

In the first paper, published in Physical Review Letters, scientists developed an advanced X-ray method called RIXS-CD (Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering-Circular Dichroism). Older X-ray techniques struggle to reliably map and distinguish the magnetic regions (or domains) in an altermagnetic, but when the team rotated a sample of an altermagnetic material under an X-ray beam, it created a unique magnetic fingerprint for each domain. This allowed them to make precise maps of these magnetic domains.

"RIXS-CD detects the unitary (space) symmetry breaking via T-breaking magnetic orders. This makes RIXS-CD a complementary technique to XMCD, with potential applications to a wider class of anomalous Hall antiferromagnets, including the noncollinear ones," wrote the researchers in their paper.

Measuring strength

In the second paper, also published in Physical Review Letters, Peter Kruger from Chiba University in Japan proposes a new technique, CD-RPED (Circular Dichroism in Resonant Photoelectron Diffraction), to measure the magnetic strength of a single, invisible atomic layer.

This technique works by aiming X-rays at the atoms in an altermagnetic material (AM), which forces them to emit electrons. The surrounding magnetic layers affect these electrons, creating a unique pattern (an echo). Measuring this echo allows the scientists to quantify the magnetic properties of each hidden atomic layer. "Our main findings are valid for any AM and lay the ground for making CD-RPED a powerful technique for the magnetic characterization of AM candidate materials."

Thanks to these two techniques, altermagnetism is no longer invisible. Scientists will be able to map and measure its hidden properties to understand how this form of magnetism behaves and quantify its strength. This could help accelerate the next generation of spin-based computing technologies, leveraging the intrinsic spin of electrons to perform computations.

Written for you by our author Paul Arnold, edited by Gaby Clark, and fact-checked and reviewed by Robert Eganthis article is the result of careful human work. We rely on readers like you to keep independent science journalism alive. If this reporting matters to you, please consider a donation (especially monthly). You'll get an ad-free account as a thank-you.

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Sand mining on the Mekong River at Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Credit: Andy Ball / University of Southampton

Intense sand mining is putting the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia at risk of collapse with catastrophic consequences, a new study published in Nature Sustainability has found.

The huge Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, is one of the world's most ecologically diverse lake ecosystems, home to endangered amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds, with a diverse array of 885 species. It provides livelihoods for almost two million fishers, and its fish feed millions more.

But its future is in danger as the intensity of the unique "reverse flow" that feeds water into the lake has been declining year-on-year.

Scientists have now conclusively determined the cause of this decline to be sand mining in the Mekong River in Cambodia and Vietnam.

Sand mining is the practice of extracting sand from the riverbed, with the majority used in the construction industry.

Rates of sand mining in the Mekong have rapidly increased, with over 100 million tons of sand now being removed every year.

Steve Darby, Professor of Physical Geography at the University of Southampton and co-author of the new research, said, "There has been lots of speculation as to why the intensity of the reverse flow has been declining, with climate change and damming on the Mekong upstream in China and Laos previously being identified as possible causes.

"Our work demonstrates that, while climate change and damming are minor contributory factors, by far the dominant driver has been riverbed incision caused by largely rampant sand mining on the Mekong."

Riverbank collapses triggered by lowered riverbed levels on the Mekong River in Cambodia. Credit: Andy Ball / University of Southampton

The reverse flow system

Tonle Sap Lake is sustained by an unusual reverse flow system. The Tonle Sap River normally drains the lake, flowing downstream to Phnom Penh, where it joins the Mekong River.

But, during the monsoon season, the Mekong's flood pulse rises high enough to force the Tonle Sap River to reverse for several months, filling the lake.

The Tonle Sap Lake stores so much water during this seasonal flood pulse that it acts as a giant "flood capacitor," regulating flood water levels down across the Mekong Deltahome to 23 million peoplebefore releasing the stored freshwater back downstream to the Delta during the dry season.

The study shows that between 1998 and 2018, riverbed lowering of the Mekong River mainstem, driven by sand mining and upstream sediment trapping, has reduced the reverse flow volumes by between 40% and 50%.

Pesticide sheen on the surface of Tonle Sap Lake. Credit: Edward Bellomy

Projections to 2038, with additional riverbed lowering driven by ongoing sand mining, suggest that the reverse flow could decline by up to 69% compared to 1998.

Dr. Quan Le, Research Associate in Delta Flood Risk at Loughborough University and lead author of the study, said, "Rapid urban growth has fueled a global surge in demand for construction sands, increasing river sand mining rates.

"Our study finds that this intensive sand extraction, combined with sediment being trapped by dams in the Lower Mekong basin, has already weakened the Tonle Sap lake's flood pulse, causing lasting environmental harm and underlining an urgent need for sustainable sediment management to ensure that these future projections are not realized."

On average, riverbed levels across much of the Lower Mekong's course in Cambodia and Vietnam have dropped by two to three meters in the last two decades.

"At this rate, within 10 years the system is at risk of a near total collapse," said Professor Darby. "The Mekong is the second most biodiverse aquatic ecosystem in the world, after the Amazon, and its health depends on the normal functioning of the Tonle Sap Lake. A collapse of the lake system would have catastrophic consequences for the biosphere, for millions of people's livelihoods and food sources, and for flooding in the region."

Arrow Head fishing traps are deployed in their hundreds across the Tonle Sap Lake. Credit: Edward Bellomy

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Understanding and mitigating the impact

Scientists are continuing to assess the consequences of sand mining in the region.

A project called Hidden Sands, led by Professor Julian Leyland at the University of Southampton, is investigating the impact of sand mining on the environment and on communities in Cambodia. The team has also been working with agencies in Vietnam to provide a more risk-based approach to the governance of sand mining.

Along with the above researchers, Craig Hutton, Professor of Sustainability Science and director of the Sustainability and Resilience Institute, and Paul Kemp, Professor of Ecological Engineering, both at the University of Southampton, are embarking on a new project to fully understand the ecological impact on Tonle Sap Lake, particularly the impact on fish.

Professor Hutton said, "The lake is estimated to feed about six million people and provide as much as 60% of Cambodia's protein. The disruption in lake levels from sand extraction along with deforestation, illegal fishing and extreme pesticide and fertilizer use are exacting a heavy toll on fish production. This decline is threatening both food security and livelihoods."

Professor Steve Darby conducting fieldwork in Cambodia. Credit: Andy Ball / University of Southampton

Professors Hutton and Kemp interviewed fishing communities during a recent visit to the region.

"Struggling fisher folk have seen as much as an 80% mortality in aquaculture fish, declines in wild catch and mounting household debt," said Professor Hutton.

"One interviewee told us, 'We just want another life for our children now. Anything but fishing.'"

More information: Sand-mining-driven reduction in Tonle Sap Lake's critical flood pulse, Nature Sustainability (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41893-025-01677-8. Journal information: Nature Sustainability
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Scientists have discovered coiled optic nerves in chameleons, a trait not known to exist in any other lizard and one that is rare among all animals. Credit: Collins et al., 2025

Chameleons' wandering eyes have fascinated and puzzled scientists since the days of ancient Greece. Now, after millennia of study, modern imaging has revealed the secret of their nearly 360-degree view and uncanny ability to look in two different directions at once. Behind their bulging eyes lie two long, coiled optic nervesa structure not seen in any other lizard.

"Chameleon eyes are like security cameras, moving in all directions," explained Juan Daza, associate professor at Sam Houston State University and author of a new study describing the trait. "They move their eyes independently while scanning their environment to find prey. And the moment they find their prey, their eyes coordinate and go in one direction so they can calculate where to shoot their tongues."

The authors published their study in the journal Scientific Reports.

The chameleon's darting eyes are easy to observe, but scientists have never fully understood the optic nerve that makes such movement possible. Edward Stanley, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History's digital imaging laboratory, was visiting Daza's lab in 2017 when he first spotted the unique shape in a CT scan of the minute leaf chameleon (Brookesia minima). The coiled optic nerves were unlike anything he'd seen before.

Still, both scientists were initially cautious. Chameleons have been studied for millennia; surely, they were not the first to make this discovery.

"I was surprised by the structure itself, but I was more surprised that nobody else had noticed it," Daza said. "Chameleons are well studied, and people have been doing anatomical studies of them for a long time."

Chameleons are native to Africa, Europe and Asia. Beyond their color-shifting skin, the lizards have an impressive repertoire of tree-dwelling traits. They use their grasping tail to steady themselves and their oven-mitt-shaped feet to creep along branches with a slow, deliberate gait. Chameleons have no need to rush because they have a ballistic tongue, which can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in just a hundredth of a second. This long, sticky tongue can shoot distances over twice the length of the chameleon's own body to snatch up unsuspecting prey.

Charismatic and unique, it's no wonder that chameleons have long captured human attention. Their distinct form and curled tail are even distinguishable among ancient Egyptian petroglyphs. Convinced there must be a published description of these coiled optic nerves out there, the team went deep into the stacks of research in search of evidence, even bringing in language experts to decipher old texts published in French, Italian and Latinand sometimes a confounding mix of multiple languages.

Over two thousand years ago, the Greek philosopher Aristotle erroneously theorized that chameleons lacked optic nerves altogether, instead declaring the eyes were directly connected to the brain, which allowed their independent movements.

In the mid-1600s, Roman physician Domenico Panaroli challenged Aristotle's views, arguing that chameleons do have optic nerves, butunlike in most other animalsthey do not cross. This cross causes the image viewed in the right eye to be processed on the left side of the brain, and vice versa. Panaroli rationalized that without this crossing structure, chameleon eyes could move freely.

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Isaac Newton, also intrigued by the strange structure of chameleon eyes, propagated Panaroli's theory and mentioned the animal multiple times in his 1704 book Optiks, which covers three decades of this work and theories on light and color. In contrast, French anatomist Claude Perrault sketched the animal's two optic nerves crossing before continuing in a straight line in his 1669 book on chameleon anatomy. While overlooked by Newton and many others, this was one of the earliest and most accurate renditions at the time.

As years passed, scientists' observations came close but ultimately fell short of capturing the true shape of the optic nerves in their published research. In his 1852 treatise on the brains and nerves of lizards, Johann Fischer illustrated a section of the chameleon's optic nerve that included part of the coil, but the rest was cut from the figure and the coil itself was never described.

Over a century and a half later, in 2015, Lev-Ari Thidar, a master's student at the University of Haifa, described a section of the chameleon's optic nerve as C-shaped in their thesis. Only after an exhaustive search could the scientists confirm that no published description of the coil yet existed.

So how, after centuries of interest and study, could the true structure of a chameleon's optic nerves remain hidden? The answer lies in the power of CT scanning and open data. In past publications, scientists relied on dissections to get a look at the inner workings of the chameleon's anatomy, but the practice often displaced or destroyed the optic nerves and obscured their true structure.

"Throughout history, people have looked at chameleon eyes because they're interesting," Stanley said. "But if you physically dissect the animal, you lose information that can tell the full story."

Today, CT scanning technology is ubiquitous in medicine and becoming increasingly common in research collections. X-ray CT allows scientists to visualize structures hidden within specimens, including the space beneath a chameleon's skull.

Seeing the coiled optic nerve in a single species of chameleon was informative, but the scientists had plenty more data at their fingertips thanks to oVert (short for openVertebrate). This initiative, launched by a coalition of 18 U.S. institutions and led by the Florida Museum of Natural History, provides free, digital 3D vertebrate anatomy models and data to researchers, educators, students and the public.

"These digital methods are revolutionizing the field," Daza said. "Before, you couldn't discover details like this. But with these methods, you can see things without affecting the anatomy or damaging the specimen."

The research team downloaded and analyzed the CT scans of over thirty lizards and snakes, including three species of chameleons representing the family's diverse clades. They created 3D brain models for 18 of these lizards and measured their optic nerves. All three chameleon species studied had significantly longer and more coiled optic nerves than their fellow lizards. The results confirmed what Stanley had seen in Daza's lab was no fluke.

The team dove further into their research to observe how these unique optic nerves form during the chameleon's development. They measured the optic nerves across three embryonic stages of the veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus). At the earliest stage, the embryo's optic nerves were straight, but before hatching, they lengthened and began forming the loops seen in adults. By the time a chameleon hatchling emerges, it already has two fully mobile eyes.

On an evolutionary timescale, however, pinpointing when chameleons first developed this trait is more challenging. The oldest known chameleon fossils date back to the early Miocene, roughly 16 to 23 million years ago, after many of their tree-dwelling adaptations had already evolved. These fossils do not offer many clues about the order or timing in which these specialized traits evolved, but this new observation can help scientists start to infer why they developed the unique structure in the first place.

Across vertebrates, animals with large eyes tend to employ one of two strategies to broaden their field of view: move their necks or move their eyes. Owls and lemurs are famous for the first approach, swiveling their heads to scan their surroundings while their eyes remain fixed. Others, like humans, have developed stretchy optic nerves that let the eyes move like telescopes. Rodents, similarly, have wavy nerve fibers that allow for greater flexibility.

Because chameleons have limited neck mobility, they likely needed another way to reduce the physical strain of moving their eyes. The solution appears to be the coiled optic nerve, which is an adaptation seen in only a few other invertebrates, such as the stalk-eyed fly. Chameleons may have evolved this feature to give their eyes extra slack, easing the tension created by their remarkable range of motion.

"You can compare optic nerves with old phones," Daza said. "The first phones just had a simple, straight cord attached to the headset, but then someone had the idea to coil the cord and give it more slack so people could walk farther while holding it. That's what these animals are doing: They're maximizing the range of motion of the eye by creating this coiled structure."

Even after thousands of years of observation, the natural world still has more to reveal. Scientists are now curious whether other tree-dwelling lizards have developed similar adaptations, and Stanley and Daza plan to investigate further.

"These giants we've citedNewton, Aristotle and othershave fascinated natural historians for millennia," Stanley said. "It's exciting to be the ones taking the next step along the long road to understanding what on Earth is going on in chameleons."

More information: A new twist in the evolution of chameleons uncovers an extremely specialized optic nerve morphology, Scientific Reports (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-20357-3 Journal information: Scientific Reports
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Most Canadians have access to workplaces that are safe, promote health and autonomy and, most importantly, are protected by the law. But for people in criminalized professions, including sex work, it's a different story.

In Canada, sex work itself is legal. But most aspects associated with doing sex workpurchasing sexual services and communicating for that purposeare illegal.

R. v. Kloubakov, a recent Supreme Court of Canada case, demonstrates how basic elements of the workplace for sex workers are not only contested under the law, but they're also being decided upon without the input of people in the profession.

This ruling upholds the constitutionality of Canada's sex work legislation, which many sex workers advocated against in 2014 when the laws were changed to include the criminalization of clients. This legislative shift negatively impacts sex workers because it creates a climate of anxiety among clients, who can become more aggressive with workers because they fear being "outed" or arrested by police.

For more than two decades, I have had the privilege of learning about these issues directly from women, men and transgender people in India and several Canadian cities, including Vancouver, London and Kitchener-Waterloo, who do this work.

Alongside their intelligence, wit and deep insights into human nature, the sex workers I've known cultivate profoundly meaningful communities and care for one another in exemplary ways.

The 'legal-but-illegal' paradox

When it comes to sex work, there are three primary approaches to legislation, beginning with the abolitionist framework, sometimes called the Sex Buyer Law or the Swedish or Nordic model. This system decriminalizes people who sell sex, provides support to help workers exit sex work and makes the purchase of sex a criminal offense.

Canada adopted this framework in 2014 as part of Bill C-36, the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act.

Next is legalization, a legislative model in which governments introduce specific laws and regulations allowing certain forms of sex work to take place under controlled conditions. Authorities can impose a very controlled framework governing numerous aspects of the sex industry, including forced HIV/STI testing, restrictions on advertising and strict workplace-licensing rules.

Examples of this legislative approach are seen in countries like the Netherlands, Germany and Greece.

The third approach is decriminalization, which removes all laws and regulations that criminalize or penalize sex work, including its sale, purchase, advertisement and involvement of third parties such as managers and brothel keepers. This framework allows sex workers to retain agency and control over their work.

New Zealand and Belgium are examples of countries that have decriminalized sex work.

Over the past decade, Canada's sex work laws, however, have grown increasingly punitive, even though the number of arrests has decreased. Canadian sociologist Chris Smith found sex workrelated arrests peaked at nearly 2,800 in 1992 and fell to just 11 by 2020.

And, as Smith argues, there is a mismatch between legislation and the actual crime, which significantly affects sex workers' conditions and safety.

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Inside the R. v. Kloubakov decision

In a unanimous decision on July 24, 2025, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the constitutional challenge by Mikhail Kloubakov and Hicham Moustaine against Canada's sex work laws. At issue were two parts of Canada's sex-work criminalization legislation: receiving material benefits from sex workers and the procuring of sexual services.

The men, who were drivers for an escort agency in Calgary and were also responsible for transferring money earned by sex workers to the agency operators, pleaded guilty of separate charges related to human trafficking.

The trial judge had found them guilty of violating the Criminal Code by profiting from sex workers. She stayed proceedings on whether current sex work laws impacted the safety of sex workers.

The case challenged the constitutionality of the sex work laws, but ignored the difficulties of working in a criminalized profession subject to intense police surveillance stemming from receiving material benefits and procuring offenses.

These offenses make sex workers vulnerable to a range of harms, including institutional abuse, targeted violence, xenophobic raids leading to deportations and closures of safe indoor workspaces, constant threats of surveillance, and unwanted contact with law enforcement.

Research shows that in some Canadian cities, fears associated with police surveillance (such as being outed as a sex worker and racially profiled) are so prevalent that sex workers hesitate to contact police after facing violent armed robberies.

The court overlooks dignity

In R. v. Kloubakov, the Supreme Court of Canada did not prioritize the safety and security objective in its analysis. Instead, it treated it as just another issue among others. The court also failed to engage meaningfully with evidence relating to the lived experiences of sex workers. Decisions about sex workers' rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms should not be made without sex workers at the table.

Criminalizing sex work is not a benign act with abstract consequences.

It isolates sex workers from society and resources, and positions them as targets for violence, discrimination and labor exploitation. It also contravenes regulatory approaches from the United Nations Human Rights Council, which views the criminalization of sex workers as a form of gender-based discrimination and advocates for a human-rights framework that aligns with decriminalization.

In a country that claims to care about all of its citizens, it's imperative that we stand with those among us who are forced to struggle for basic human rights in their chosen professionwhether taking up that profession is dictated by pleasure, empowerment or survival.

What to expect going forward

This debate is far from over. Some of the issues the court declined to rule on will be raised in the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform v. Canada case that is currently pending before the Ontario Court of Appeal after being struck down in 2021 by the Ontario Supreme Court.

This case challenges several sex work prohibitions on the grounds that they violate sex workers' rights to freedom of expression, life, liberty, security of the person and equality, all of which are protected by the Canadian Charter.

While the case is on hold, Canadians can enhance what they know about sex work from organizations who advocate for sex worker rights, sex workers who write about their experiences and a host of other cultural spaces.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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A moment fro the play Oximoro, entre Solsticios e Equinocios. Credit: The Marionet Theater Company

"People tend to joke about mood swings, saying 'my mood swings throughout the day, I'm already a bit bipolar,' or joke with each other, saying 'everything is bipolar.' And it's not quite like that, as bipolar disorder has a biological component."

This is one of the statements featured in a short trailer on YouTube about bipolar disorder. The video is connected to the play Oximoro, entre Solsticios e Equinocios (Oxymoron, Between Solstices and Equinoxes) by Marionet, a Portuguese theater company that brings scientific research topics to the stage.

The play was developed through an in-depth collaboration with doctors, researchers, and patients, with the goal of informing and raising public awareness about bipolar disorder, helping to reduce the stigma surrounding this and other mental health conditions.

The project also included an analysis of audience responses to the performance, with a specific focus on emotional engagement. The results of this experience are described in a practice insight published in the special issue of emotions and science communication in the Journal of Science Communication (JCOM).

According to the authors, the audience's emotional responseempathy, emotional resonance, and personal identificationhelped facilitate the assimilation of scientific information and contributed to reducing the stigma surrounding mental illness.

A moment from the play Oximoro, entre Solsticios e Equinocios. Credit: The Marionet Theater Company

The Marionet theater company has extensive experience staging works inspired by scientific research, explains Mario Montenegro (Marionet and Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Coimbra). "We have been working with science for 25 years," he says. "But we only started to work on health subjects a few years ago."

The company collaborates with scientific partners such as the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology at the Universidade de Coimbra, which also conducts research on mental health.

For this play, Montenegro and his colleagues collaborated with a group from the center with a project focused specifically on bipolar disorder, as well as health practitioners from the Integrated Psychiatry Responsibility Center of the Coimbra Hospital and University Center.

The scientific component entered the project from the very beginning, during the writing phase, and was complemented by direct testimonies from patients.

"We felt the need to change our creative process, because these were delicate subjects that touched people's lives. We realized we needed to be even better informed," explains Montenegro. "So we based our work on interviews with patients, doctors, nurses, and relativesto hear, in their own words, their experiences with these conditions. From those interviews, we then began building our creative material."

A moment from the play Oximoro, entre Solsticios e Equinocios. Credit: The Marionet Theater Company

Based on these interviews, Montenegro and his colleagues wrote the script for the play, composed of several scenes featuring different characters and situations, rather than a single story with a defined set of protagonists. The play, performed by professional actors, ran for five days at the BlackBox of Convento Sao Francisco in Coimbra, Portugal, from March 20 to 24, 2024, with a total of six performances.

After each show, audience members were invited to complete a questionnaire about their experience. Of the approximately 300 attendees overall, 54 responded. "It was an emotionally very strong play," says Montenegro. "And the emotional engagement from the audience was very strong as well."

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According to the authors' analysis of the questionnaires, emotions proved to be a key factor in helping audiences understand and remember information about bipolar disorder. Engagement, empathy, and personal identification helped assimilate scientific content and contributed to reducing stigma and stereotypes, humanizing the illness.

A moment from the play Oximoro, entre Solsticios e Equinocios. Credit: The Marionet Theater Company

A moment from the play Oximoro, entre Solsticios e Equinocios. Credit: The Marionet Theater Company

A moment from the play Oximoro, entre Solsticios e Equinocios. Credit: The Marionet Theater Company

A moment from the play Oximoro, entre Solsticios e Equinocios. Credit: The Marionet Theater Company

Emotion, therefore, does not interfere with message accuracy, Montenegro believes: when intentionally and thoughtfully guided through staging and language, it strengthens it, motivating audiences to learn more and leaving a deeper, longer-lasting impact than purely informational communication.

As he puts it, "An important aspect of our play was not to offer the audience a pre-established interpretation of the illness or of the situations represented in each scene. We left the interpretation open so that spectators could form their own opinions. In this way, everyone could receive the content in their own way and react emotionally according to their own sensitivitybecause we are all very different."

The paper "Theatre and bipolar disorder: dealing with emotions" by Mario Montenegro, Silvia Carballo and Francisca Moreira is part of a JCOM special issue titled "Emotions and Science Communication."

"Theater is indeed a very powerful way for engaging people in science and health issues; recently, very important initiatives have been developed worldwide, including this (very beautiful) one from Portugal," says Luisa Massarani, researcher at the Brazilian Institute of Public Communication of Science and Technology and one of the guest editors of the special issue on emotions and science communication.

"Despite their significant role, emotions are under-theorized and under-researched in science communicationalthough there is a growing interest among researchers and practitioners in understanding their role in science communication.

"This led usNeta Shaby (UK), Daniel Silva Luna and myselfto propose this special issue, inviting researchers and practitioners around the globe to submit their manuscripts. We hope this special issue inspires other people to think further about the different facets of emotions and science communication , as well as to carry out more studies on the subject."

More information: Theatre and bipolar disorder: dealing with emotions, Journal of Science Communication (2025). DOI: 10.22323/157520250929164851
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Left: Ceramic cup, emblematic of the boom phase of El Argar. Credit: J.A. Soldevilla; ASOME-UAB. Right: Microscopic image of El Argar pottery, showing minerals and fragments of schist, which are key to tracing the origin of the clays used in its production and precisely locating the source of these materials in the northwestern sector of the Sierra de Almenara. Credit: Journal of Archaeological Science (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2025.106394

Most of the pottery recovered from political and administrative centers in El Argar (2200-1550 BCE), such as Tira del Lienzo and Ifre, located in the province of Murcia, was not produced locally, but rather at sites located in the coastal mountains of the southeastern peninsula. This is the conclusion reached by a research team from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) in a study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, which analyzes the composition and circulation of the raw materials used to produce the characteristic pottery of El Argar.

The study contradicts the prevailing idea that each community produced its own pottery using materials available in its immediate surroundings, and reinforces the idea of a complex and hierarchical social and economic system.

"Most pieces, especially the more standardized forms such as cups and jars, were made from red clay formed by the climatic alteration of metamorphic rocks or schists during the warm Pliocene period, and found in the coastal mountains of Murcia, Almeria, and Granada," explains David Gomez, researcher in the Department of Geology and co-author of the study.

"Pottery made from this very distinctive type of clay became exclusive from 1900 BCE onwards, when El Argar reached its peak in terms of territorial expansion and economic development," says Carla Garrido, predoctoral researcher in the Department of Prehistory and first author of the paper.

"Our petrographic studies confirm that the red clays that best match El Argar pottery are found in Pleistocene deposits located on the northwestern slopes of the Almenara mountain range, in the Murcia province, in the area of the current municipality of Lorca," notes Marta Roige, geologist at the UAB who also participated in the research.

"A whole series of small settlements have been documented in this area, located on the plain above this type of clay, which seem to have specialized in the production of large jars and typical El Argar cups. These settlements are very different from the large hilltop settlements, and were located decades ago precisely because of the amount of pottery found on the surface," explains Adria Moreno, researcher at the State Archaeological Service of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany, who has studied the circulation of these pottery pieces to the borders of El Argar.

To carry out the study, researchers surveyed an area of 5,200 square kilometers and analyzed the sedimentary and petrographic composition of more than 140 original raw material deposits, comparing them with objects recovered from four main settlements in El Argar: Tira de Lienzo, Ifre, Zapata, and Cabezo Negro, located in the southern part of the province of Murcia. In addition, they developed spatial models of geographic information to assess the relationships between pottery, raw materials, and regions.

Topographic map of the southeast of the Murcia region showing different locations of the Betic mountain range: (1) Sierra de Carrascoy; (2) Sierra del Algarrobo; (3): Sierra de las Moreras; (4): Sierra de Almenara; (5): Loma de Bas; (6): Sierra de Enmedio; (7): Sierra de las Estancias; (8): Sierra de la Tercia; (9): Sierra Espuna. The legend shows the settlements and clay deposits studied. Credit: UAB

The results, researchers point out, reinforce the interpretation of the El Argar system as a complex and regionally interconnected economy with empirical data that shows a structured organization of ceramic production.

"The technological and compositional homogeneity observed among different settlements suggests planning and control of production processes beyond the strictly domestic sphere. This implies supra-local coordination in the management of resources, technical knowledge, and product distribution, in line with the dynamics of centralization and specialization characteristic of the El Argar state model almost 4,000 years ago," argues Roberto Risch, researcher at the UAB Department of Prehistory and coordinator of the study.

Pottery, key evidence of regional and economic interactions

One of the archaeological characteristics differentiating El Argar, which came to occupy the entire southeast of the Iberian Peninsula (from Alacant to Granada and Jaen), is its pottery. This pottery produced only eight types of vessels in the span of more than 600 years, although some forms range from small cups, such as the typical cup unique to the Iberian Peninsula, to large vessels with a capacity of more than 250 liters.

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Although there are not many interdisciplinary studies on El Argar pottery, the prevailing idea until now was that it was produced domestically or, at most, locallyeach community and settlement produced its own pottery. The uniformity of production and the virtual absence of decoration over such a long period of time was considered to be an expression of the uniformity of social practices involved in the use of this pottery in El Argar settlements.

Based on material evidence, the study published by UAB researchers contributes to consolidating the role of pottery as a key marker of the regional and economic interactions of the El Argar system.

"Although the social and political hierarchy of El Argar is an accepted fact, our results add value by showing how this hierarchy is also manifested in pottery techniques and the organization of material production. Pottery ceases to be merely a consumer object and becomes a means of tracing mechanisms of control, circulation, and ideological cohesion within the territory," concludes Garrido.

More information: Carla Garrido-Garcia et al, The methodological centrality of geo-archaeological surveys in ceramic provenance analysis: A re-assessment of El Argar pottery production and circulation, Journal of Archaeological Science (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2025.106394 Journal information: Journal of Archaeological Science
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Since ChatGPT and other large language models burst into public consciousness, school boards are drafting policies, universities are hosting symposiums and tech companies are relentlessly promoting their latest AI-powered learning tools.

In the race to modernize education, artificial intelligence (AI) has become the new darling of policy innovation. While AI promises efficiency and personalization, it also introduces complexity, ethical dilemmas and new demands.

Teachers, who are at the heart of learning along with students, are watching this transformation with growing unease. For example, according to the Alberta Teachers' Association, 80% to 90% of educators surveyed expressed concern about AI's potential negative effects on education.

To understand comprehensive policy needs, we must first understand classroomsand teachers' current realities.

As a researcher with expertise in technology-enhanced teaching and learning at the intersections of assessment, leadership and policy, I interviewed teachers from across Canada, with Erik Sveinson, a Bachelor of Education student. We asked them about their experiences with generative AI (GenAI) in the classroom.

Their stories help contextualize the reality of AI in a K12 context, and offer insights around harnessing AI's potential without harming education as a human-centered endeavor.

AI policy and teaching wisdom

This qualitative study involved 10 (grades 5 to 12) teachers from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and British Columbia.

We recruited participants through professional learning networks, teacher associations and district contacts, seeking to ensure a variety of perspectives from varied grade levels, subjects and geographic locations.

We thematically coded interview data, and then cross-referenced this with insights from a review of existing research about GenAI use in K-12 classrooms. We highlighted convergences or tensions between theories about assessment, teaching approaches in technology-enhanced environments, student learning and educator practices.

Across interviews, teachers described a widening gap between policy expectations and the emotional realities of classroom practice.

What we heard

The following themes emerged from our interviews:

The assessment crisis: Longstanding tools of assessment, such as the essay or the take-home project, have suddenly become vulnerable. Teachers are spending countless hours questioning the authenticity of student work. All teachers interviewed consistently said they struggled with their current assessment practices and how students may be using GenAI in work. Confidence in the reliability of assessments has been challenging. The majority of teachers shared that they felt they needed to consider students cheating more than ever, given advancing GenAI technology.

Equity dilemmas: Teachers are on the front lines of seeing firsthand which students have unlimited access to the latest AI tools at home and which do not.

Teachers perceive both opportunities and challenges with AI. Great teaching is about fostering critical thinking and human connection. Ninety percent of teachers interviewed faced complex challenges relating to equity and how best to support critical thinking in the classroom while building foundational knowledge. In particular, middle and high school teachers in core subject areas indicated students were using GenAI tools in their own time outside class without ethical guidance.

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'One more thing piled on'

One teacher from central Alberta said, "AI is definitely helpful for my workflow, but right now it feels like one more thing piled onto an already impossible workload. The policy says, 'embrace innovation,' but where's the guidance and support?"

Classrooms are dynamic ecosystems shaped by emotion, relationships and unpredictability. Teachers manage trauma, neurodiversity, language barriers and social inequities while delivering curriculum and meeting student achievement expectations.

Teachers say there's little recognition of the cognitive load they already carry, or the time it takes to vet, adapt and ethically deploy AI tools. They say AI policies often treat educators as passive implementers of tech, rather than active agents of learning.

A high school teacher from eastern Canada shared, "AI doesn't understand the emotional labor of teaching. It can't see the trauma behind a student's meltdown. As much as I appreciate professional learning, when it is all about what tools to use, it misses the mark."

This perspective highlights a broader finding: Teachers are not resisting AI per se; they are resisting implementation that disregards their emotional expertise and contextual judgment. They want professional learning initiatives that honor the human and relational dimensions of their work.

Burnout, professional erosion

This disconnect is not just theoretical, it's emotional. Teachers are reporting burnout, anxiety and a sense of professional erosion. A 2024 study found that 76.9% of Canadian educators felt emotionally exhausted, and nearly half had considered leaving the profession. The introduction of AI, without proper training or support, is compounding that stress.

There's also a growing fear reported by the Alberta Teachers' Association that if not implemented properly with support for teachers new to the profession, AI could deskill the profession.

A teacher in Vancouver shared, "I am a veteran teacher and understand the fundamentals of teaching. For beginner teachers, when algorithms write report cards or generate lesson plans, what happens to teacher autonomy and the art of teaching?"

Turning teaching into a checklist?

Overall, the interview responses suggest what's missing from AI policy is a fundamental understanding of teaching as a human-centered profession. As policymakers rush to integrate AI into digitized classrooms, they're missing a critical truth: Technology cannot fix what it may not understand.

Without clear guardrails and professional learning grounded in teacher and student-informed needs, AI risks becoming a tool of surveillance and standardization, rather than empowerment.

This tension between innovation and de-professionalization emerged across many teacher responses. Educators expressed optimism about AI's potential to reduce workload, but also deep unease about how it could erode their professional judgment and relational roles with students.

A northern Ontario teacher said, "There is hope with new technology, but I worry that AI will turn teaching into a checklist. We're not technicians, we're mentors, guides and sometimes lifelines."

Teachers fear that without educator-led frameworks, AI could shift schooling from a human-centered practice to a compliance-driven one.

Responsible AI policy

If we want to harness AI's potential without harming education as a human-centered endeavor with students and teachers at the core, we must rethink approaches to AI innovation in education. That starts with listening to teachers.

Teachers must be involved in the design, testing and evaluation of AI tools. Policies must prioritize ethics, transparency and equity. That includes regulating how student data is used, ensuring teachers can ascertain algorithmic bias and ethical implications and also protecting teacher discretion.

Third, we need to slow down. The pace of AI innovation is dizzying, but education isn't a startup. It's a public good. Policies must be evidence-based and grounded in the lived experiences of those who teach.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
RALEIGH, N.C., Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Medicom Technologies, Inc. (Medicom), a provider of enterprise imaging interoperability solutions, today announced new contracts with Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN) 10 and 17. Medicom is now fully contracted with 17 of the 18 VISNs within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). This expansion continues Medicom's work in supporting modern image exchange for the nation's largest integrated health system.

VISN 17 serves nearly 500,000 veterans across Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. VISN 10 provides care to more than 685,000 Veterans throughout the lower peninsula of Michigan, Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Indiana.

The new contracts will enable the electronic, bi-directional exchange of radiology imaging and reports between VA facilities and community partners. This supports community care coordination under the Mission Act by providing a digital alternative to manual processes like the transport of CD-ROMs. The platform also provides VA staff with a search capability to locate and retrieve prior medical images from community providers.

"We are proud to support VISN 10, VISN 17, and the VA's mission," stated Malcolm Benitz, President of Medicom. "Our team is committed to providing this technology to help VA staff coordinate care with their community partners. This expansion brings numerous new VA Medical Centers and clinics into the network, and it is a testament to our team's focus on supporting this critical mission."

About Medicom

Medicom provides a modern approach to enterprise imaging interoperability with a federated, peer-to-peer network for medical image and clinical data exchange. The company's technology is used by government entities, academic medical centers, health systems, and life sciences organizations.

Medicom's focus is on addressing data silos to help make clinically relevant data available at the point of care. Through integrations with major EHR and diagnostic imaging systems, Medicom works to solve complex interoperability challenges. Medicom Connect facilitates enterprise imaging exchange for providers and patients, while Medicom Intellect supports secure data collaboration for precision medicine and life sciences research. For more information, visit www.medicom.us.

Required Disclosures In compliance with CFR  852.203-70, Medicom declares that statements made herein do not imply that the Department of Veterans Affairs approves or endorses the Contractor's products and services or considers the Contractor's products and services superior to other products and services.

SOURCE Medicom Technologies, Inc.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus has been detected in 41 at-risk species, including the snowy owl. The snowy owl was recently recommended for listing under Canadas Species at Risk Act. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Since first being detected in Newfoundland in 2021, a subtype of highly pathogenic avian influenza, HPAI A(H5Nx), has had a dramatic impact on North America.

The poultry industry has suffered the most, with almost 15 million birds dying or being culled to control the virus in Canada. The Supreme Court of Canada recently dismissed a British Columbia ostrich farm's bid to stop a cull after avian flu was detected on the farm in December 2024.

The problem has been worse in the United States, with more than 180 million birds and over 1,000 dairy cattle farms being affected.

In the wild, the virus has also triggered mass die-offs of birds. In 2022 alone, at least 40,000 wild birds died of HPAI in eastern Canada, including 25,000 northern gannets and thousands of common murres and common eiders. Mortality due to HPAI has continued, with thousands of birds and many wild mammals being affected.

A(H5Nx) refers to avian influenza virus subtypes that share the H5 surface protein but differ in the N protein; current subtypes circulating in North America include H5N1 and H5N5.

As of yet, there has been no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission of the A(H5Nx) subtypes, leading the Public Health Agency of Canada to conclude that the most likely spread scenario now is occasional infection of humans from infected animals with no further spread.

That said, the World Health Organization reports that globally since 2003, almost 48% of the 990 people infected have died. Closer to home, a teenager in British Columbia was infected, resulting in severe illness, but they thankfully recovered.

This is a virus that is clearly a threat to livestock and human health. Our team, a collaboration of governments and academics across the country, recently assessed the extent of HPAI A(H5Nx) in at-risk species across Canada.

In each province and territory, a NatureServe Canada Conservation Data Center conducts status assessments of wild species and makes the data available through NatureServe Explorer. We identified species of conservation concern in each province and territory, then examined our surveillance data to determine which of these species had detections of HPAI A(H5Nx).

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What we found

Tracking a fast-moving virus across a country as vast as Canada takes an extraordinary network, from field biologists collecting samples in remote wetlands to laboratory scientists decoding viral genomes.

In order to do so, we formed Canada's Interagency Surveillance Program for Avian Influenza in Wildlife in 2005, consisting of the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC), the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Parks Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, academic institutions as well as agricultural and environment ministries from all provinces and territories.

By capturing and testing live birds, as well as testing sick and dead wildlife, we identify cases of HPAI A(H5Nx) in wildlife and make the results publicly available through a national dashboard anyone can explore.

We've found that HPAI A(H5Nx) had been detected in 41 at-risk species across the 10 provinces, including four species that were assessed nationally by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada as at risk: the barn owl, horned grebe, snowy owl and western grebe.

The affected birds represent remarkable ecological diversity: from predators like the peregrine falcon to seabirds like the northern gannet and wetland species like the horned grebe and western grebe. Smaller or more elusive species, especially those living far from people, are likely underrepresented because they're less likely to be found and tested.

The power of public reporting

The detection of HPAI A(H5Nx) in so many at-risk species underscores a troubling reality: emerging diseases are now part of the conservation landscape.

A 2024 study found that 16% of wild bird species and 27% of mammal species with H5N1 infections were listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as conservation concerns. These are species already facing a number of challenges, and disease adds yet another one.

For species already pushed to the brink by habitat loss, pollution and climate change, a new infectious threat can tip the balance toward extinction.

This work illustrates the importance of the public in monitoring wildlife diseases. Every time someone reports a sick or dead wild animal, it contributes to our understanding of disease in wildlife.

People across Canada can play a direct role by reporting observations to the CWHC. It's an easy way for anyone to contribute to national wildlife health surveillance. Without these public reports, we would have far less information about how HPAI A(H5Nx) is affecting wild species, especially in remote areas.

This is citizen science at its most immediate and impactful.

A broader perspective

Our work also speaks to how science and the public can work together in the face of global health challenges. The same systems that detect avian influenza in wildlife also protect the poultry industry, our pets and, indirectly, human health.

It's a reminder that disease surveillance is a public good that depends on investment and co-operation across disciplines, governments and communities.

Further, these collaborations illustrate the One Health approach, which recognizes that the health of humans, animals and ecosystems are interlinked.

The spread of avian influenza in wildlife, livestock and occasionally people underscores how closely connected our health really is. We are only going to address these challenges by working together in a One Health approach.

Lastly, it's important to note that this work reflects the efforts of dozens of people across Canada. Folks from many federal, provincial, territorial and academic institutions all contribute to the surveillance network described here. Their collective expertise and commitment make this work possible.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Kathmandu, Nepal, November 10, 2025: Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Kumar Thapa has urged people not to have any doubts about the House of Representatives (HoR) elections, which are currently scheduled for March 5, 2026 (21 Falgun, 2082 BS).

Urging the people not to have any doubts about the snap HoR elections, Thapa has clarified through a social media, Facebook, post that the Congress will not only participate in the HoR elections but also work to make them successful.

The Nepali Congress has clearly presented its decision to go for the election at the all-party meeting held in the presence of Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki, and that the decision of the Central Working Committee will also be to go for the election, Thapa states.

There is no confusion in the Nepali Congresss Central Working Committee meeting about the scheduled Elections, and the new parliament is the only way to bring the constitution on the right path and ensure democratic stability, Thapa has stated.

Holding of the partys General Convention before the election is needed because it is our stance that only the policies and leadership of the Nepali Congress that emerge from the convention will make us eligible to contest the election effectively, Thapa states in the social media post.
Kathmandu, Nepal, November 10, 2025: CPN (UML) leader Saroj Kumar Yadav has been appointed as the new Chief Minister of Madhesh Province, succeeding the short-lived government of the Loktantrik Samajwadi Party's Jitendra Prasad Sonal.

Province Chief Sumitra Subedi Bhandari appointed Yadav as the Chief Minister of Madhesh Province on Monday. The appointment was made in accordance with Article 168(3) of the Constitution of Nepal. This constitutional provision allows the Province Chief to invite the leader of the largest party in the Provincial Assembly to form a government if a coalition government appointed under Article 168(2) fails to obtain a vote of confidence. The CPN (UML) currently holds the most seats in the Madhesh Provincial Assembly.

The appointment follows the resignation of the previous Chief Minister, Jitendra Prasad Sonal, on Saturday, November 8, 2025. Sonal's government, formed on October 15, collapsed after he was unable to secure a vote of confidence in the Provincial Assembly within the constitutional deadline due to key coalition partners withdrawing support.

The constitutional process shifted to Article 168(3) after the failure of Sonals government, leading to the appointment of the leader of the largest partyCPN (UML)as Chief Minister.

However, the appointment of Yadav, which occurred at a very early hour on Monday morning (with some reports indicating around 5:20 AM), has immediately drawn sharp criticism. This controversial timing is the source of the "suspicion" mentioned in early reports. Leaders from Madhesh-based and other political parties have publicly accused the Province Chief of acting unconstitutionally and avoiding the due political process. They allege she hastily appointed the UML leader to bypass a claim of majority support that was being prepared by an alternative coalition.

The new Chief Minister Yadav is now required to seek a vote of confidence from the Provincial Assembly within 30 days of his appointment. Given the region's history of political instability, which has seen its fourth government since the 2022 elections, forming and maintaining a stable majority coalition in the fractured 107-member Assembly remains a significant challenge for the new UML-led government.
Cozumel suspect accused of killing wife and injuring sister sentenced to 58 years

Cozumel, Q.R.  An island man accused of killing his wife and injuring her sister has been sentenced to 58 years. The State Attorney General (FGE) reported the 58 year and four months prison sentence for Jesus David Nah Argaez for femicide and aggravated injuries against two people.

His sentence is from a December 2023 incident when he hit hit wife in the head with a pressure clamp during an argument. When the sister-in-law attempted to intervene, she too, was hit. His wife died in hospital five days later.

A judge sentenced Jesus David Nah Argaez to 50 years in prison in the death of his wife and an additional eight years and four months for aggravated injuries

According to the FGE report, the events that led to this conviction occurred on December 5, 2023, when Jesus David Nah Argaez was with his wife and her sister drinking alcoholic beverages at the home located on 80th Street in the Emiliano Zapata neighborhood of Cozumel.

At some point, the now sentenced man received a phone call, which led him to start an argument with his wife and subsequently hit her on the head with a pressure clamp, causing her to lose consciousness.

It was then that the victims sister approached and pushed him to prevent him from continuing to assault the woman, so he also hit her. Both women were taken to a hospital for medical attention, however, the wife of the now sentenced man died on December 10th from a traumatic brain injury resulting from the injuries he caused her.

Aside from a prison sentence, Jesus David Nah Argaez must pay a fine of 331,968 pesos in addition to 1,037,200 pesos for material damages and 12,446.4 pesos for funeral expenses related to his wife.

For the crime of aggravated injuries, he was sentenced to generic material damages and moral damages in the amount of 9,000 pesos.
SINGAPORE - Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Alvin Tan has appealed for residents to be considerate to one another after more than 70 LED wreaths were displayed along Gloucester Road for a funeral wake.

That number far exceeds the 10 allowed under the National Environment Agencys guidelines.

In a Facebook post on Nov 9, Mr Tan said that residents of Pek Kio and Farrer Park had expressed concern over the placement of the wreaths opposite Pek Kio Community Centre.

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The way the wreaths were placed also obstructed lines of sight for motorists and pedestrians, he wrote. Parents and students of neighbouring primary and pre-schools had near misses because of the obstruction.

In addition, several of the wreaths had also fallen onto the road in front of a zebra crossing, obstructing traffic and constituting a road hazard.

Mr Tan, who is also Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry, said the town council had reached out to the family and requested that they remove the excess wreaths. Unfortunately, despite the request and repeated gentle reminders, the parties involved were uncooperative and made things difficult for the town council workers, he said. They had also switched on all 70 LED wreaths late into the night, against Town Councils advice. We fully understand and empathise with families when they have lost their loved ones. And we do all we can to support them in their time of grief.

In an update on Nov 10, Mr Tan said the town council physically removed the excess wreaths over the weekend.

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Fines were also issued for non-compliance with town council by-laws, he added.

Guidelines on the use of such wreaths, developed by NEA and the Association of Funeral Directors Singapore, state that the number at each wake should be limited to 10.

They should also be confined to the funeral wake area  such as HDB void decks or pavilions  and are subject to conditions and approvals from the town councils or relevant authorities.

The guidelines also state that wreaths should not be placed near carparks, roads, walkways, business entities or residences, which will obstruct traffic, motorists or pedestrians. They must also be placed at least 5m away from any carpark, parked vehicle or a road. Mr Tan also said that he visits families in the constituency when they hold wakes for loved ones. Most of the wakes are dignified affairs, and the families do not cause disamenities to their fellow residents, he said. I hope we will continue to foster this community spirit and be considerate to one another.

Source: The Straits Times  SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction

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Bench pricing reduced for 2026 to support broader community

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- LabCentral today announced LabCentral First, a new program that provides high-potential life sciences companies with access to LabCentral's lab facilities free of charge for the first six months.

Up to 18 companies are being selected through a highly competitive application process, which has been piloted with a small number of teams to date. Eligible startups must be led by first-time founders/CSOs  either new to entrepreneurship, new to Massachusetts, or targeting underfunded novel indications - pursuing high-impact science.

"As an economic development non-profit, LabCentral has always been committed to supporting early-stage entrepreneurs at the forefront of life sciences innovation in Massachusetts," said Maggie O'Toole, LabCentral President and CEO. "In this particularly challenging funding environment, we are seeing first-time entrepreneurs struggle to get the seed funding that historically allowed them to move in with their initial bench, gather critical early-stage data, and advance their science. LabCentral First provides that crucial 'foot-in-the-door' moment."

In addition to First, LabCentral is also reducing bench rates by over 25% for the upcoming year. These new rates apply to current residents, new applicants, and First program participants.

"As we strive to make a positive impact, we are reinvesting our resources to support teams, strengthen the community, and empower scientific research," said Abby Johnson, LabCentral's VP of Operations.

How to apply

Applications for LabCentral First are now open and are reviewed on a rolling basis. Applicants will go through the standard LabCentral selection process concurrently with an additional review by our First Committee. Teams interested should complete a LabCentral application and email: [email protected] to share their qualifications for the program. More information is available on the LabCentral website.

About LabCentral

A private, non-profit institution, LabCentral is a launchpad for high-potential life-sciences and biotech start-ups with more than 200,000 square feet of space across Kendall Square in Cambridge, Mass., and the Harvard University campus. Founded in 2013, LabCentral offers a full complement of programming and networking to life sciences entrepreneurs in addition to fully permitted laboratory and office space for early-stage and growing life sciences companies. In its first eleven years, LabCentral residents raised more than $20 billion in funding and created more than 7,000 jobs. More information is available at www.labcentral.org.

SOURCE LabCentral
Anyone with even a passing familiarity with the major power tool brands, will know and probably have at least some experience with Milwaukee equipment. The brand launched its first tool offerings just over a century ago, and throughout the company's history, innovation and a care for the tools themselves have been a central theme.

Sure, everyone will have their own preferences, and some may gravitate toward alternative brands to support their needs. Milwaukee isn't a one-stop solution for every job requirement you'll encounter, and there are plenty of things to consider before investing in Milwaukee gear. With that being said, there's a very large cadre of tool users who swear by the red and black brand. I'm among that group, with numerous Milwaukee tools across its catalog including hand tools and both M12 and M18 powered units.

My own experience with the Milwaukee tool list was central to this evaluation of the brand, but it also provided an interesting framework for conversation with other Milwaukee users. In reaching out to friends, colleagues, and professionals in the trades that I've encountered in the past, some of the best aspects of Milwaukee tools and equipment come sharply into focus. I spoke with a handful of people who predominantly reach for Milwaukee tools when performing installations or repairs. As a result, all claims in this article come from interviews conducted with real-life Milwaukee tool users and long-time Milwaukee tool enthusiasts.

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Read more: 13 Niche Milwaukee Tools (And What They're Used For)

The power

closeup of a Milwaukee Fuel impact wrench - John Keeble/Getty Images

Milwaukee tools frequently find themselves at or near the top end of power output compared to other brands. Among a few key specifics that pushed me toward it, rather than a competitor like Makita, was the punch the brand's impact driver delivers. In our research, Flex offers the best impact driver on the market, with Milwaukee at a close second. But beyond just this singular tool, Milwaukee gear frequently delivers excellent fastening, drilling, and cutting power that makes alternative builds feel like toys.

My father-in-law has long been primarily a Bosch power tool user. His driver and many other tools are made by the iconic German tool company. But even he has started to explore the Milwaukee ecosystem after using my tools on a few home renovation projects he lent a hand with around my house. In speaking with him about his newfound affinity for Milwaukee, the power output of my power tool compared to his own stood out the most. When you absolutely need to get a fastener in place or cut through something difficult to manage, he now prefers a Milwaukee tool over any other.

A huge catalog that covers virtually any need

a store shelf filled with Milwaukee tools - Hanley Anak Joliam/Shutterstock

Expanding the conversation, I reached out to a mechanic that I take my car to for tune ups and general service. He's a Milwaukee user as well, and I asked about the underlying reasons for his personal preference over DeWalt (another very common brand spotted in professionals' kits) or other solutions. The vast nature of the Milwaukee catalog was one of the standouts for him. As is the case with any cordless tool you might pick up, having the appropriate battery on hand makes a world of difference. Each brand operates its own specific build parameters, and so generally speaking they're not cross-compatible. It is worth noting though that Amazon brands and other builders have made tools specifically to work with Milwaukee batteries and the same can be said for other major brands).

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Investing in a brand that makes a wide range of equipment isn't just a nice feature. It can mean the difference between buying a cost-effective bare tool and starting all over again with a battery and charger to support a single new tool requirement. Milwaukee makes well over 500 tools and 3,500 accessories. There are over 250 tools in the M18 battery ecosystem alone, allowing a single power source to operate an entire garage or workshop of essential equipment.

A focus on trade-specific tools and equipment

a person using a Milwaukee nail gun - Pj66431470/Getty Images

In 2024, ToolGuyd published a piece bout the success Milwaukee has enjoyed as a tool brand. "Disruptive innovation" was the outlet's key point of focus in exploring the massive growth Milwaukee has experienced in recent years. Rather than doubling down on tools that work well, Milwaukee has spent its modern life under the ownership of TTI (purchased in 2005 by the conglomerate) seeking to innovate and expand its offerings. This has led to numerous sub-sets of its tools, such as individual ratchet and socket set builds designed with individual trade needs in mind.

Part of my own decision to invest in Milwaukee equipment came as a result of specific tools offered by the brand, though the visibility of the equipment played a huge role in that decision, too. It would be incorrect to say otherwise. Specifically, Milwaukee has made itself useful to professional tradespeople in such a wide range of niche areas that it's common to see the gear on any sort of worksite. Seeing pros use the brand in such abundance builds an intrinsic legitimacy that slowly and subtly creates a potent selling point that flies under the radar. The more you see professionals using Milwaukee gear the more you trust the name when considering purchasing a tool for your own project. This built-in advertising resource was created piece by piece as Milwaukee equipment continued to expand into new trade areas and deliver reliable, job-specific equipment.

Genuinely useful small-bodied tools

a Milwaukee M12 Fuel tool - Keith Homan/Shutterstock

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People who don't often work with power tools can easily be surprised by the weight of even a standard piece of equipment. For instance, my SDS drill weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 pounds. It's a tool used in elongated drilling and demolition work, and not one that's particularly easy to operate. Plenty of Milwaukee's mainline M18 tools are lighter than other options, and the brand's full sized SDS hammer drills are one such solution that even haters of the brand can get behind.

Milwaukee also makes a comprehensive range of M12 tools, featuring similar power outputs to the standard lineup but delivering that functionality is significantly scaled down tool bodies. In speaking with a longtime friend who also users Milwaukee tools, one of his most prominent points of praise was in the M12 range's ability to deliver both smaller equipment and ample power. Many small tools strive to act as dedicated replacements to their heavier counterparts but simply miss the mark. The Milwaukee range offers excellent replacement value in standard working conditions, reducing the level of fatigue experienced when working with the equipment for lengthy periods of time. On top of that, Milwaukee's M12 range also delivers enhanced ability to tackle jobs in tight spaces, and they serve exceedingly well in mobile tool kits that need to prioritize space-saving features. This makes them even more useful to a wide range of users.

The brand makes intuitive improvements that users want

a collection of Milwaukee tools - astudio/Shutterstock

My mechanic also noted that the brand does a pretty good job of listening to the needs of customers and tweaking products to accommodate buyers' real world usage needs. Actively exploring the areas that act as sticking points for Milwaukee tool owners helps it stay ahead of problems and remain a relevant presence in the tool market that supports the ongoing needs of professionals and DIYers alike. This might sound like a claim that's hard to really pin down, but others have also noted that Milwaukee appears to be actively engaged in a cyclical improvement process that takes user gripes into consideration.

VCG Construction posted a number of videos on YouTube a few years ago about an issue in the Milwaukee M18 Fuel Impact Driver. The generation 3 release, specifically, featured a retaining spring that didn't work properly, leading to an ability to lose the bit while pulling back on the tool. The VCG group first tried to fix the issue themselves, then later noted that Milwaukee had created a fix for the oversight and was repairing affected models and installing the update in new releases. A brand that's actively engaged with its customer base is one prepared to make changes when problems occur and model its new products off of the needs of their users. This makes Milwaukee not just a tool brand with gear that can perform well, but rather a potentially valuable partner in many user's tool journeys.

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Read the original article on SlashGear.
Five ways Joe Rogan misleads listeners about climate change

Posted on 10 November 2025 by dana1981

This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections

Joe Rogan has one of the most popular podcasts on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and a combined 50 million followers on YouTube, Spotify, and Instagram. And like nearly all of todays most popular online shows, Rogans spreads climate misinformation.

In an October episode of his podcast, Rogan interviewed two octogenarian fringe climate contrarians, Richard Lindzen and William Happer, who together have been spreading climate misinformation since at least 2012. For over two hours, the trio discussed climate myths and conspiracy theories, many of them identical to the misinformation Lindzen and Happer were peddling well over a decade ago. (See here for a brief debunking of 19 of the myths raised on the show.)

Five common techniques of climate denial

As Yale Climate Connections reported earlier this year, about one in five U.S. adults and 37% of adults under 30 say they regularly get news from social media influencers  which means theyre likely consuming a lot of myths about climate change.

I asked John Cook, a cognitive scientist at the University of Melbourne studying climate misinformation, how people can distinguish truth from fiction. I worked alongside Cook in the 2010s to debunk climate myths at the volunteer-run website Skeptical Science.

Cook recommends learning about the common techniques that bad actors use to distort the facts.

Once people spot it in one topic, they can spot it in another, he explained.

In a new book chapter, Cook and coauthor Dominik Stecula outline the five common techniques of science denial.

Fake experts: presenting an unqualified person or institution as a source of credible information

Logical fallacies: arguments where the conclusion doesnt logically follow from the premise

Impossible expectations: demanding unrealistic standards of certainty before acting on the science

Cherry-picking: carefully selecting data that appear to confirm one position while ignoring other data that contradicts that position

Conspiracy theories: an explanation for a situation that rejects the consensus view in favor of a secret plot by powerful groups with a malevolent goal

Cook calls it FLICC for short. And he says when audiences are on the lookout for FLICC tactics, they are better prepared to notice and challenge misinformation.

Rogans podcast often puts FLICC on full display when discussing climate change, so its a good example of how the playbook works.

Rogans fake experts

Rogans podcast tends to invite fringe, unqualified climate contrarians who dispute the expert consensus. Happer is a retired physicist with a scant publication record in the field of climate science. Lindzen has an extensive list of climate publications, but his contrarian claims have been consistently proven wrong. In other words, they have not withstood scientific scrutiny or the test of time.

For example, on the podcast, Lindzen referenced a 2001 paper in which he published his adaptive iris hypothesis. It suggested that as the atmosphere warms, the area covered by high-elevation clouds will contract like the iris of an eye to allow more heat to escape into space, thus dampening global warming.

Numerous subsequent papers identified flaws in Lindzens iris hypothesis. The body of scientific research now indicates that clouds will most likely slightly amplify global warming. Yet Lindzen continues to peddle this debunked myth decades later.

Logical fallacies

In a June episode with guest Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rogan regurgitated a tired logical fallacy: the misleading insinuation that because Earths climate has changed naturally in the past, present-day climate change must also be natural.

The reality is that the Earths temperature has never been static, Rogan said. Its always been up and down.

This is like claiming that because lightning causes some wildfires, arson doesnt exist.

Impossible expectations

In his discussions with Lindzen and Happer, Rogan claimed that climate models have been wrong and thus global warming predictions cant be believed. Its easy to set the impossible expectation that models must be perfect to be trusted, but in reality, climate models have been remarkably accurate, having predicted global warming to a high degree of accuracy for decades.

Read: Computer models have been accurately predicting climate change for 50 years

In contrast, climate contrarians have predicted negligible global warming or even cooling, and have consistently been proven wrong. That includes Richard Lindzen, who in 1989 said he believed Earth had hardly warmed over the prior century and that it would barely warm any more over the next century. An approximate interpretation of Lindzens 1989 comments would look something like this:

An approximate reconstruction of Richard Lindzens 1989 MIT Tech Talk comments (blue) vs. observed global average temperatures from NASA Goddard (black). Created by Dana Nuccitelli as detailed here.

Cherry-picking

In the June episode with Sen. Sanders, Rogan referenced a Washington Post article about a paper led by Smithsonian and University of Arizona researcher Emily Judd.

But Rogan shared only cherry-picked details from the article, not the full context. In doing so, he completely misrepresented Judds study, which reconstructed global temperatures over the past 485 million years.

Rogan misleadingly claimed that the study found that were in a cooling period. He added, This was, like, a very inconvenient discovery.

In reality, as the Washington Post article clearly outlined, Judds study found that global temperatures declined for about 50 million years until around 300,000 years ago, at which point they became relatively stable and modern humans began to evolve. And todays rate of warming is unparalleled.

At no point in the nearly half-billion years that Judd and her colleagues analyzed did the Earth change as fast as it is changing now, the article said.

Judd told the Washington Post: In the same way as a massive asteroid hitting the Earth, what were doing now is unprecedented.

Conspiracy theories

Of all the techniques in the climate deniers playbook, Rogan relies most heavily on conspiracy theorizing.

In his conversation with Lindzen and Happer, Rogan claimed that when he asks the climate-concerned what research theyve done, they invariably say they havent done any, but that the expert climate consensus cant be questioned. The implication is that Rogan views people who are concerned about climate change as unthinking sheep.

While its laudable to research a topic to get better informed, people have limited time and capacity. So its actually reasonable to defer to an expert consensus on a complex subject like climate change  especially when more than 99% of the experts agree that modern climate change is real and human-caused. In fact, accepting an expert consensus protects us against some of these FLICC characteristics like only listening to fake experts and cherry-picking little bits of data that affirm our biases.

In 1999, psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger identified a psychological effect sometimes called meta-ignorance in which people with low understanding in a specific area tend to overestimate their knowledge: Theyre ignorant of their relative ignorance. But even when overestimating your own intellectual grasp of a topic, rejecting an overwhelming expert consensus requires strong justification.

Thats where conspiracy theories come in. In 2020, Cook and cognitive psychologist Stephan Lewandowsky co-authored the Conspiracy Theory Handbook. It documented seven traits of conspiratorial thinking: Contradictory, Overriding suspicion, Nefarious intent, Something must be wrong, Persecuted Victim, Immune to evidence, and Re-interpreting randomness, or CONSPIR for short.

Lewandowsky, S., & Cook, J. (2020). The Conspiracy Theory Handbook. Used with permission.

Rogan also suggested that the expert climate consensus exists because efforts to research alternative hypotheses wont receive grant money or be published in scientific journals, and that liberal academic institutions wont employ those researchers. These claims that climate contrarians are persecuted victims are disproven by Lindzen himself, who was a professor at MIT for 30 years and has published over 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals, mostly on the topic of climate change.

In reality, scientists are motivated to disprove a consensus. Theyre excited by discovery and the prospect of becoming the next Newton, Galileo, or Einstein. But sometimes an expert consensus cant be disproven because its knowledge-based and correct, as with human-caused climate change.

So where does that leave us?

Cook has found that debunking myths with facts alone is rarely sufficient to change peoples minds. But helping people recognize patterns of misinformation can inoculate them against misleading claims.

What my psychology research has continued to reinforce and replicate is the effectiveness of technique-based inoculation, Cook said by email. Build public resilience against misinformation by explaining the techniques that misinformation uses to distort the facts.
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On 20 Brumaire, Year II (more commonly known as this day in 1793), French Revolutionaries celebrated the Festival of Reason in Notre Dame cathedral in a bid to replace Catholicism with an enlightenment cult of philosophers and rational thinking. The festival itself, as well as the efforts to violently suppress Christianity in France, scandalized people in France and throughout Europe and contributed to the chaos and terror that led to the downfall of the revolutionary project.

You may use this page to discuss failed new religions and their holidays, or pursue your own areas of off-topic discourse. Find previous discussions in the Open Thread archive. Excepting the entreaty that you remain on topic, all of Slates usual commenting policies apply.

If you depend on this community and Slates journalism, please consider joining Slate Plus. We appreciate your support.
How are monsters made? In Guillermo del Toros new adaptation of Frankenstein for Netflix, several people inform the title character, surgeon Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac), that he, rather than the creature he assembled out of corpses, is the real monster. Many readers of Mary Shelleys 1818 novel have reached the same conclusion: Victor is one of the all-time assholes of British literature. But the various adaptations of the book take different, even opposed, views of what made him that way, and how his malignity infects the world around him, particularly his creature.

Del Toros Frankenstein is a tale of bad fathers. Victors imperious, cold, demanding physician father drums medical science into his sons head, beats him when he makes a mistake, and mistreats the boys beloved mother, who dies young. Victor blames his father for failing to save his mothers life, and his determination to discover how to conquer death is less a response to grief than a vow to best the older man. In the movie, Victor has a recurring dream of a dark angel, a sort of animated statue, red and surrounded by flames. In the films color scheme, red is the color of blood (of which we see a lot) and fire, but also of Victors late mother. His ambition transforms what might have been tender memories into an avenging horror.

Instead of preserving the quiet, even nervous, disposition of his mother and his boyhood self, the grown-up Victor of the film becomes another version of his father. While he preaches rebellion to a group of stuffy, skeptical, bewigged authoritiesannouncing that truth only comes when coaxed by disobedience, free of fear and cowardly dogmahe bulldozes everyone around him, treating them as means to his own ends. In a brief but very telling scene as Victor sets up his laboratory in a deliriously phallic tower, he subjects his younger brother, William (Felix Kammerer), to the same withholding treatment he suffered as child. When his efforts to animate the creature (Jacob Elordi) finally succeed, Victor, as he tries to teach his child to speak, proves to be a parent every bit as impatient and unaffectionate as his own. Williams fiancee, Elizabeth (Mia Goth), with whom Victor falls in love, summarizes him as a man who tries to control and manipulate everyone and everything around him. Like every tyrant, he delights in playing the victim.

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The many spinoffs of James Whales classic 1931 movie adaptation of Frankenstein iterated on Victor as a grandiose mad scientist, a Faustian figure who obsessively pursued his inventions without regard to the consequences. (It requires no imagination to see why, after the bombing of Hiroshima, this aspect of Shelleys story spoke to the culture.) But the original Victor, Shelleys Victor, is no monomaniac. The fixation that grips him as a student in Ingolstadt and results in the reanimation of the creature only lasts for about a year, and dissipates the moment Victor lays his horrified eyes on the entity he has made. This period of fixation resembles an interlude of madness or addiction. In the novel, the similarity between Victor and an addict is fostered by the fact that Victor keeps his labors and his achievement a secret from everyone he knows. Shelleys Victor is no boastful, commanding maestro, but a man little more than a boy, holed up in his apartment compulsively doing unspeakable things.

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Thats right: apartment. The image of Victor in a storm-battered castle, his gothic laboratory offered up to the sky in exchange for its life-giving lightning, is entirely derived from Whales movie. Any adaptation truly faithful to Shelleys novel would be obliged to acknowledge that the original Victor made his creature in an apartment building, using chemistry rather than electricity, although Shelley is pretty vague about the process. No sooner does he get an eyeful of his unholy creation in action than Victor, overwhelmed with breathless horror and disgust, runs out in the street where he stumbles around all night until he encounters an old friend. The pair return to Victors flat (the friend unaware of might might lurk there), but the creature is gone. Victor succumbs to a nervous fever for a while, and then just  goes back home to Switzerland, sparing not a thought to where his dreadful creation might have gone or what it might be doing.

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Although the novelistic device of the unreliable narrator had yet to emerge in the early 1800s, its not always clear where Shelleys views might differ from Victors, if at all. As Victor sees it, his season of mad science was a passing fever caused by what today wed call an unhealthy worklife balance. The Frankensteins of the novel are a loving, close family, whose company, Victor believes, would have kept him from tumbling over the edge into mania. The other wholesome influence Victor abstains from while making his creature is nature. Shelley was a Romantic, holed up in a villa on Lake Geneva with two great poets of the Romantic era when she got the idea for Frankenstein, and the novel reflects that artistic movements belief that the natural world inspires the best in human nature. I did not watch the blossom or the expanding leavessights which before always yielded me supreme delightso deeply was I engrossed in my occupation, Victor explains. After he collapses upon beholding the results of that occupation and succumbs to a fever, he notes that the divine spring contributed greatly to my convalescence.

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Shelleys novel carries the subtitle The Modern Prometheus, but, while the Prometheus of Greek myth steals the secret of fire from the gods in order to deliver its benefits to humanity, Victor hasnt got a philanthropic bone in his body. His desire to pioneer a new way, explore unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation is fleeting, not the organizing principle of his life, as it is for del Toros Victor. Shelleys Victor is just as narcissistic as del Toros but hes much more vacillating, deciding after he leaves Ingolstadt that he hated my former studies, which were merely a selfish pursuit that had cramped and narrowed me. He becomes once again the same happy creature he was before he went off to university, and waltzes back to his family in Geneva with plans to marry his adoptive cousin, Elizabeth, and without a care in the world.

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In Shelleys novel, Victors rejection makes the creature bitter, and eventually violent. He kills both William (a child in the novel) and Elizabeth in despair at his inability to connect with humanity and in an attempt to make Victor feel as bereft as himself. Del Toro softens this, making the creature gentle unless he is attacked. Both novel and film imply that the creatures immense loneliness, not his status as an abomination, have made him into a monster, that Victor is ultimately responsible for the destruction his child has committed.

But as for Victors monstrousness? Del Toro suggests that the cruelty and arrogance of the father is visited upon and then perpetrated by son, a terrible inheritance of trauma. Shelley seems to think that if Victor had just spent more time with friends and family, eaten sensibly, and taken regular walks in the Alpsin short, if he had had the 19th-century equivalent of a mindfulness practicehed never have fallen down the reanimation rabbit hole to begin with. One thing both versions of Victor have in common, though, is their titanic egocentrism, for which their poor creature serves as heartbreaking rebuke. Any accident of fate can make a man bad, but only selfishness can keep him that way.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- ONE Bow River National Defense Fund is pleased to announce its strategic investment in MotionSafe, a pioneering company at the forefront of vehicle technology and cybersecurity. This investment aims to support innovative solutions that enhance security and privacy in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape.

ONE Bow River National Defense Fund invests in critical technology companies that serve to protect our nation's security and the defense sector at large. MotionSafe is dedicated to delivering cutting-edge solutions that address the pressing challenges of vehicle data privacy and security. With a commitment to driving innovation, we believe MotionSafe is poised to make significant contributions to the future of vehicular technology and data.

"We are thrilled to welcome MotionSafe into our portfolio," said Kevin O'Neil, Chief Investment Officer at ONE Bow River. "Their pioneering approach to technology aligns perfectly with our mission of investing in companies that enhance national security and foster innovation. We believe that this partnership will accelerate MotionSafe's growth and expand its impact in the industry."

Through this investment, ONE Bow River aims to leverage its expertise and resources to support MotionSafe in its mission to develop forward-thinking technologies that safeguard consumer data and privacy.

"At MotionSafe, we're committed to strengthening trust in the connected mobility ecosystem by delivering technologies that manage and protect vehicle data, ensure privacy, and support the operational integrity of fleets and public safety interests," said Jason Roys, Chief Executive Officer of MotionSafe. "Our partnership with ONE Bow River enables us to accelerate innovation and broaden our impacthelping ensure that the technologies shaping the future of transportation are secure, resilient, and responsibly managed."

About MotionSafe:

MotionSafe is revolutionizing the vehicle technology, data, and cybersecurity industry by providing innovative solutions that prioritize privacy, security, and analysis in a fast-changing digital environment. For more information, please visit https://www.motionsafe.com.

About ONE Bow River:

At the heart of ONE Bow River's mission is a commitment to invest in, nurture, and advance companies focused on data solutions for the Government. Guided by the investment principles of the Department of Defense's Office of Strategic Capital, ONE Bow River seeks to identify new opportunities that promote sustainable growth across its portfolio. ONE Bow River strives to deliver unparalleled value to shareholders while significantly enhancing our nation's defense capabilities. For further details, please visit https://onebowriver.com .

Media Inquiries

For Bow River Capital

Deborah Kostroun

[email protected]

SOURCE Bow River Capital
Like A Glove got every call as he returned to the Winners Over Pace level at Truro Raceway on Sunday, Nov. 9 and won the featured contest for back-to-back victories.

He put all five opponents behind him with a push from the pylon post heading into the first turn and was never headed in the $2,500 dash. Marc Whebby rated the four-year-old to :28.4, :58.3, and 1:28.3 fractions with favourite Bettor On Than Off (Ernie Laffin) first-up through the back half. Bettor On Than Off never made it past the leaders wheel, and Bronx Drifter (Robert Laffin) had little say from the pocket as Like A Glove cruised to a 1:56.4 victory by 1-1/2 lengths. Bettor On Than Off rolled up for second in a tough effort. Bronx Drifter finished third.

Like A Glove has been solid for Marc Whebby, who trains the stallion, since returning to the Maritimes in the spring. From 24 overall starts, he has all six of his wins this year in Atlantic Canada, including three at the Winners Over level, and 13 total top-three finishes in the region. Wayne Whebby of Dartmouth, N.S. owns the son of Mcwicked-Twin B Virtue, a 13-time winner in 53 lifetime outings with $79,534 in earnings. Like A Glove paid $4.60 to win.

To view Sundays harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Truro Raceway.

(Standardbred Canada)
Jody Jamieson has said he is okay after being unseated in an accident that resulted in a no contest in the final race at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Sunday, Nov. 9.

Jamieson was leaving with Twin B Courageous from post six when the gelding fell and was collected by Rbstenacious T (Travis Cullen). The collision dislodged Jamieson and Twin B Courageous ran loose on the track, going the wrong way. The judges quickly declared a no contest and all horses and drivers returned to the paddock safely. Twin B Courageous was caught and walked off the track.

Jamieson received attention from EMS and later posted an update on social media, saying that he is okay.

The racing highlights of the card were the two $10,000 Pop-Up Series second-leg divisions for fillies and mares.

My Only Sunshine ($4.10) steamrolled off cover in the stretch to win the first and faster split for Cullen by five lengths in 1:56.1 over the snowy surface rated 'good' with a three-second variant. Missy Rocks (Daryl Thiessen) finished second after breaking the breeze for the winner, followed by a closing Prove Em Wrong (Jamieson). My Only Sunshine is owned and trained by Grace Marshman of Campbellcroft, Ont. The seven-year-old daughter of Sunshine Beach-Hat Trick Honey took her 15th career win in 144 attempts.

In the second division, Just One Bite ($22.60) led early, yielded to Fancy Lettering (Tyler Borth) on the backside, then passed her at the pylons down the lane and resisted Dollydaydream (Louis-Philippe Roy) by a half-length in a 1:57.1 score. Beethreepo (Thiessen) completed the triactor. Ron MacDonald trains Just One Bite, a daughter of Huntsville-Beautiful Secret, for his son, Brett MacDonald of Freelton, Ont., and co-owner Shen Guo of Waterloo, Ont. The four-year-old has won three of 48 career starts.

The Pop-Up Series is for pacing fillies and mares in for an $8,000 tag, with allowances for age.

To view Sundays harness racing results, click the following link: Sunday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.

(Standardbred Canada)
Snke is preparing to launch SnkeXR, an open platform augmented reality (AR) headset specifically designed for the medtech industry.

Snke, which span out of German imaging company Brainlab in June 2025, unveiled the device at the Medical Device Innovation Consortium (MDIC) Medical Extended Reality (XR) summit, which took place in Maryland, US on 4-5 November.

The companys device, claimed to be the first medical grade AR headset, is expected to begin shipping in Q2 2026. It is intended for use across areas such as imaging and orthopaedics. To enhance its specificity for clinical use, SnkeXR has several healthcare-centric features incorporated into its design.

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For example, the device includes a built-in stereoscopic loupe for magnification of up for 3.5x during operative procedures on small structures, and a built-in depth camera to scan surface anatomy or organs at 30 frames per second.

As a medical grade product, Nissan Elimelech, general manager at Snke, told Medical Device Network the company is undertaking all of the relevant tests so the device is in full compliance with regulatory dictates such as the ISO standards for medical devices.

Elimelech said: The safety and performance tests we are doing to ensure the device going to be compliant with all of the stringent regulatory and quality standards required by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or under the European Medical Device Regulation (EU MDR).

AR and virtual reality (VR) headsets are gradually gaining traction in areas like spine surgery, with GlobalData analysts stating that these techniques for advanced image visualisation are thought to enhance surgical planning, provide better intraoperative guidance, and ultimately improve patient care by increasing understanding of anatomy and surgical pathology.

A lack of AR options and medtech specificity

During his time as CEO at Augmedics, an AR technology-focused company, Elimelech said he recognised that the adoption of AR devices was not particularly good and that few companies had embraced the technology. According to Elimelech, the key reason was that there were simply no good enough AR platforms for companies to use to develop applications with for use in healthcare.

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What we're bringing is vendor neutral, open platform AR glasses for the medical industry, Elimelech said.

Were making it easy for legal manufacturers, small and big, to use our glasses, to take them and develop their own proprietary applications and bring those to the market.

The critical part of this, Elimelech says, relates back to the medical grade design of snkeXR versus consumer manufacturers of AR glasses that are not designed or built to support the medical industry in the way that they should be.

Consumer AR devices are sold and the seller walks away, Elimelech said. They're not going to support the buyer if there's any complaint, any investigation, or any question by the FDA or other regulatory body regarding the technical aspects of the device and the tests that they need to go through.

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Elimelech highlights that Snkes key differentiator is that it plans to partner with customers to get the AR glasses cleared and approved, with post marketing surveillance being addressed, too, thereby fostering an ongoing relationship with customers.

He continued: It's not a one-time sale. We don't just sell and forget. We also carry the burden of doing the tests for the regulatory bodies. Customers will not need to do any of this because we're doing everything, including supplying relevant safety reports, either to our partners or to the FDA via a master file submission.

In the case of the FDA, the provision means that Snke will submit all the relevant technical files to the agency.

No one will have to go through the test again. They will just reference our device, validate their clinical application, and get it cleared, instantly, on the market without doing any additional tests.

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"Snke unveils medical grade AR glasses to drive medtech industry adoption" was originally created and published by Medical Device Network, a GlobalData owned brand.




There's a fundamental question you can ask of both the internet and real life: "How do I enjoy my time here without taking unnecessary risks?" In grass-touching meatspace, you can cut out processed foods, carry pepper spray and avoid skydiving without a partner.

But the best methods for staying safe online aren't as intuitive. The internet is a massive town square where people are constantly bellowing deeply personal facts about themselves. It's no surprise that it's become a breeding ground for scams, theft and other criminal activity.

Given the breadth of dangers, it may feel easier to throw up your hands and say that whatever happens will happen. I'm here to tell you, though, that cybersecurity doesn't have to be complex, difficult or time-consuming. You don't need to be a hacker to foil a hacker  you only have to take advantage of simple tips and free apps designed to make you safer online. Whether you commit to all 12 detailed here or only focus on one, you'll be much more secure for it.

One of the most important things you can do to ensure your digital security is to install all software updates as soon as they become available on your devices. When you see the notification, don't wait  train yourself to download the update immediately.

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Not all software updates are about security, but the ones that are form your best line of defense against technical hacks. When developers discover a flaw that can be exploited, they ship an update to fix it. By the time the flaw gets patched, chances are very high that hackers also know about it, so any time lost means you could be the next to get exploited.

As you go down this list, you'll learn that cybersecurity threats are less technical than you think. To counter the ones that are, however, there's nothing more important you can do than install security updates.

2. Use strong passwords

Weak, easily guessed passwords are one of the most frequent causes of data breaches and malware attacks. If a password is one of the ten or so most common, an attacker may be able to guess it with no other information. If it's connected to you  your birthday, say, or mother's maiden name  it may be guessable from information anyone can look up online.

Even if your password is a random string of characters, it might still be guessable if it's too short. Hackers can use programs to guess all possible combinations and try each one on a target account. The longer a password is, the more exponentially difficult it is to guess.

SEAN GLADWELL via Getty Images

That means you need passwords that are both long and meaningless to you. You might rightly complain that these are bastards to remember, but you're in luck: password managers can do that for you. A password manager app or browser extension can create passwords when you need them, store them securely and fill them in automatically. All you have to remember is the one master password that unlocks all the others.

3. Set up two-factor authentication

Even the strongest password might get revealed through no fault of your own, like if it's stored without encryption and leaked in a data breach. That's why it helps to have two-factor authentication (2FA), also known as multi-factor authentication (MFA), as a second secure layer on every account.

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You probably already know 2FA as the irritating extra step that makes you go get your phone  but that's not the only way to do it. Many apps, including Google and Apple, now let you log in through passkeys. These not only don't require you to enter a code or password, but use asymmetric encryption, sharing credentials between your device and the service that runs the passkeys. It's a lot quicker for you, and leaves nothing to steal.

4. Back everything up

Ransomware and its cousins are a growth industry within the cybercrime economy. These attacks corrupt your files or lock you out of them until you pay a fee to get them back. The easiest way to foil a ransomware attack, or to clear any other kind of malware off a device, is to restore the entire system from the most recent backup.

To make sure you actually have a backup, experts recommend the 3-2-1 rule: three different backups, on two different types of storage, with at least one physically distant from the main system. For example, you could have one backup on another device in your house, one in the cloud and one on a portable hard drive. Automatic backup services can save disk images for you at set intervals so you don't have to remember to do it yourself.

5. Learn to spot social engineering

Despite all the technobabble flying around the cybersecurity world, a great many scams and hacks are accomplished through methods a 19th-century con artist would recognize. Scammers pose as experts or authority figures to gain your trust, and use frightening language to bypass your critical thinking. Ticking clocks, emotional manipulation and fake identities are all in the toolbox.

Alex Cristi via Getty Images

Take phishing, in which hackers trick you into giving up your information willingly. A typical phishing email might pose as a bank, credit bureau or other authoritative service. In red letters, it may demand your bank password or social security number to immediately fix an irregularity with your account. Other common approaches include warning you about speeding tickets you never incurred or sending receipts for subscriptions you never bought.

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Social engineering attacks are constantly evolving, but they often fall back on the same strategies. The best way to foil them is to take a deep breath every time you receive a frightening email or text message, then research it in detail: look up the email address, check the visual design to make sure the sender is who they claim to be, and ask yourself if there's any way the message could be true. I highly recommend working through this phishing quiz  it's tough, but fair, and extremely educational.

This is a companion to the previous tip. Social engineering scams don't always try to get you to give up information yourself. They also get you to click on links that put secret malware on your device  like keyloggers that watch you type your passwords or ransomware programs that corrupt your files.

If you're ever not sure about an email attachment or a link you're being asked to click, copy the link (without opening it) and paste it into a URL checker like this one from NordVPN. These free tools can tell you if a link is associated with any known malware domains.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

You can also mouse over any link, then look at the bottom-left of your browser to see what URL it will take you to. If an email is from your bank, any links within it should go to your bank's website. If it's going anywhere else, especially to an unidentifiable string of characters, be suspicious.

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A related tip is to never copy and paste something into your URL bar if you aren't absolutely sure of what it will do. Social engineering doesn't always get you to click the link  sometimes attackers leave it un-hyperlinked so mousing over it doesn't reveal anything. This also goes for the command modules on desktop and laptop computers. In a recent documented attack, hackers convinced AI chatbots to suggest a command that gave them root access to the victim's device. Never copy-paste anything into the command window without verifying it first, especially if an AI told you to do it.

7. Don't overshare

Over the last two decades, lots of us have gotten into the habit of dumping all sorts of personal information on social media. This trend has supercharged the scam economy. It may seem harmless to broadcast the names of your kids or the dates you'll be on vacation, but every piece of data you put into the world makes it easier for a stranger to get hooks into you.

For example, "grandparent scams" are on the rise right now. Grifters contact a target, usually a senior, pretending to be their grandchild. They'll claim to be in a crisis and need money fast. The more information they have on their target, the more convincing their tale of woe will be. Social media is a prime place to study a potential victim.

Oversharing can also be a compounding problem. If you use weak passwords, your public information can be used to guess your credentials or answer your security questions. So, if you don't have a password manager yet, think twice before you engage with that quiz post on Facebook that asks for the name of your childhood pet.

8. Use a VPN

I'm a big booster of virtual private networks (VPNs), but it's important to be realistic about what they can and can't do. Even the best VPNs aren't total cybersecurity solutions  you can't just set one and assume you're safe forever. A VPN can't protect you if you use easily guessed passwords, for example, or click on a malware link. It's about hiding your identity, not making you invulnerable.

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So what can a VPN do? In short, it replaces your IP address (a fingerprint that identifies you online) with another IP address, belonging to a server owned by the VPN. The VPN server does business with the internet on your behalf, while its conversations with your device are encrypted so it can't be traced back to you.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

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This means no third party can connect your online actions with your real-world identity. Nobody will be harvesting data on the websites you visit to sell to advertisers, nor building a file on you that an unscrupulous government might misuse. VPNs also protect you from fake public Wi-Fi networks set up by cybercriminals  even if a hacker tricks you with a man-in-the-middle attack, they can't do much without your real IP address.

Many top VPNs, including my top pick Proton VPN, include ad blockers that can also keep cookies and tracking pixels from latching onto you. So, even if a VPN can't do everything, you'll be far safer and more private with one than without one. If you dont want to pay for a new subscription right now, I've also compiled a list of the best free VPNs that are actually safe to use.

9. Run regular virus scans

The most important time to look for malware is when you're downloading a file from the internet. Not only can unwanted apps hitch rides on seemingly safe files, but links can start downloads in secret, even if you don't think they're meant to be downloading anything. A solid antivirus program can catch malware as it arrives on your system, and if it's uncertain, can lock suspicious files in quarantine until it knows whether they're safe or not.

Dedicated antivirus apps are sometimes even capable of catching malware that hasn't been seen or used yet. AV software uses machine learning to identify the common patterns of malware, filtering out new viruses that behave like old ones.

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But what about malware that's already gotten through the perimeter? An antivirus app can also check your computer at set intervals in search of unwanted apps, including those that might be masquerading as system files. Windows computers now come pre-installed with Windows Defender, which is enough to handle most of these tasks, but I recommend at least one anti-malware program on any device.

10. Use email maskers and private search engines

If you're concerned about your information being misused or mishandled, remember that the less you put out into the world, the less danger you're in. Keeping your private data off social media is one important step, but there are other ways your data gets disseminated  and other options for responding.

For example, you often need an email address to sign up for an online account. If you use your real email, your contact information is now floating around online, increasing the chance of someone using it to scam you (or at least adding you to mailing lists you never signed up for). To stay safe, use an email masker. These services give you a fake email address you can use to create accounts, which automatically forwards messages to your real address.

Sam Chapman for Engadget

Search engines, especially Google, are also notorious for building profiles on users by watching the terms they search for. You can dodge that by switching to a private search engine like DuckDuckGo, which doesn't track anything you do  it's funded by non-targeted ad sales on its search results pages, not by selling your data to brokers.

11. Use a data removal service

Speaking of data brokers: unfortunately, if you've been on the internet at any point in the last 10 years without taking intense precautions, your data is probably in the hands of at least one business that makes money by hoarding and selling it. These data brokers range from public-facing, people-search sites to private backend dealers.

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Data brokers are poorly regulated and lax about safety. The longer one has your personal information, the more likely it is to leak. The good news is that most brokers (though not all of them) are legally required to delete your data if you ask them to.

However, there are a lot of data brokers out there, and they really want to keep your data. Each one makes opting out harder than uninstalling a Norton product  and hundreds of them may have files on you. To make the process easier, you can use a data removal service like DeleteMe or Surfshark VPN's partner service Incogni.

12. Practice physical security

Let's close out the list by getting a little old school. I've already discussed how many online scams depend on classic con artistry to work. By the same token, physical infiltration and smash-and-grab tactics still pose a threat to cybersecurity.

It doesn't take too much imagination to see how this could work. If you leave your laptop or phone unattended in public, for example, someone might insert a flash drive that loads malware onto the system. In one illustrative case, a thief in the Minneapolis area would loiter in bars, watch people unlock their phones, then steal those phones and unlock them himself.

I'm not saying you need to be paranoid every second you're in public. Just use the same level of caution you'd use to protect your car. Lock your phone with a biometric key so only you can open it, and make sure not to leave any device lying around if it can access your online accounts. And at work, be careful not to let anyone into a secure area if they don't have the proper credentials.
Kobre & Kim led litigation leading to one of the largest trade secret verdicts in US history

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In a sweeping 52-page order, Judge Michael Markman of the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, rejected efforts by defendant Phillips 66 Company ("Phillips 66") to knock out the landmark $833 million trade secret misappropriation judgment won by renewable fuels pioneer Propel Fuels, Inc. ("Propel").

The case arose from a proposed acquisition of Propel by Phillips 66. After terminating the deal in 2018, Phillips 66 immediately launched a competing renewable fuels retail business using trade secrets acquired from Propel under NDA during due diligence and quickly grew the business into a multibillion-dollar operation. Per the court's order, "Phillips 66 had decided not to go forward with the acquisition for weeks before it told anyone at Propel that a deal would never close, continuing to use Propel's team to create reports and data that would then later be used by Phillips when it decided to 'go it alone.'"

The case was tried to a jury in 2024, which awarded $604.9 million in compensatory damages, followed by an additional $195 million in exemplary damages added in July 2025 by the court. In issuing the latter award, Judge Markman found that, "Phillips 66's misconduct was 'reprehensible' from a business perspective," citing "troubling aspects of Phillips' handling of the due diligence process," "mismanagement of the transition from a potential acquisition" to the launch of its new business, and in particular, the "duplicitous handling of the wind-down" of the acquisition. Phillips 66 nevertheless brought three post-trial motions attacking both aspects of the judgment. Judge Markman rejected all three in an order issued on October 20, 2025, reaffirming his prior condemnation of Phillips 66's actions.

Among other evidence cited was the testimony of the Phillips 66 executive who ran the due diligence but was then tasked with building the company's competing business after it terminated the deal. Noting the witness' admission that a key spreadsheet compiling Propel's confidential information was "presented for the P66 leadership to decide whether or not to fund the go-it-alone option," Judge Markman said, "For a case like this one, the testimony was unusually dramatic  and direct."

The order brings to a conclusion the trial court proceedings on the trade secret claim itself, though Propel has filed a motion seeking additional compensation for its attorneys' fees and legal costs which will be considered separately. Phillips 66 has indicated that it intends to appeal. During the pendency of any appeal, additional interest liability will accrue at an annual rate of 10 percent pursuant to California statutethat is, an additional $83.3 million every year, or $228,272 per day. As of the date of this press release, interest of more than $22 million has already accrued on the August 5, 2025 judgment.

A copy of the court's order can be accessed here: [LINK]

SOURCE Kobre & Kim
Blue Origin to launch New Glenn rocket on NASA Mars mission. Time, date, how to watch

Update: Blue Origin postponed the launch, with the next opportunity coming Wednesday, Nov. 12. For more information, read here.

Blue Origin is preparing to launch its massive New Glenn rocket on just its second spaceflight in 2025 from Florida on a mission to Mars.

Named in honor of NASA astronaut John Glenn, New Glenn is a powerful two-stage heavy-lift launch vehicle that billionaire Jeff Bezos' spaceflight company is manufacturing for orbital missions. Blue Origin envisions that New Glenn will be capable of shuttling Amazon's Project Kuiper satellites to orbit and undertaking other missions for paying customers  including NASA and telecommunications providers.

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So far, though, the 322-foot-tall spacecraft has only managed to get off the ground once, with its maiden flight occurring in January. While the upper stage reached orbit in the debut, the booster itself failed to land as planned on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean, and was instead lost during the descent.

This time around, New Glenn is the launch service provider of choice for NASA and the agency's ESCAPADE mission to Mars.

On the eve of the scheduled launch window opening up, here's how to watch a webcast as the massive New Glenn rocket gets off the ground from Florida.

New Glenn rocket launch: Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin to launch New Glenn rocket for 2nd time

When is the New Glenn rocket launch?

Blue Origin is working toward a Sunday, Nov. 9, launch of its New Glenn rocket from Florida, according to a company post on social media site X.

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A Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory indicates the launch window is open from 2:45 to 5:11 p.m. ET. The rocket would get off the ground from Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, a site Blue Origin invested $1 billion to rebuild.

After the upper stage reaches space and separates from the booster, Blue Origin will once again attempt to land the first stage on a drone ship, named Jacklyn, several hundred miles offshore in the Atlantic.

How to watch Blue Origin livestream

Blue Origin will provide a live webcast of the rocket launch on its website at this link, and is also likely to provide updates on social media site X.

What is ESCAPADE? What to know about NASA's Mars mission

During its second-ever mission, New Glenn is due to propel NASA's twin ESCAPADE spacecraft on their trek to Mars, where they will orbit the red planet and take simultaneous observations of solar winds and space weather.

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The mission also doubles as a commercial venture. New Glenn will additionally carry technology from telecommunications company Viasat that could be used for NASA missions in low-Earth orbit.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blue Origin to launch giant New Glenn rocket again. How to watch
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

When most people think about immigration enforcement, they picture border crossings and airport checkpoints. But the new front line may be your social media feed.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has published a request for information for private-sector contractors to launch a round-the-clock social media monitoring program. The request states that private contractors will be paid to comb through "Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, VK, Flickr, Myspace, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Reddit, WhatsApp, YouTube, etc.," turning public posts into enforcement leads that feed directly into ICE's databases.

The request for information reads like something out of a cyber thriller: dozens of analysts working in shifts, strict deadlines measured in minutes, a tiered system of prioritizing high-risk individuals, and the latest software keeping constant watch.

I am a researcher who studies the intersection of data governance, digital technologies and the U.S. federal government. I believe that the ICE request for information also signals a concerning if logical next step in a longer trend, one that moves the U.S. border from the physical world into the digital.

A new structure of surveillance

ICE already searches social media using a service called SocialNet that monitors most major online platforms. The agency has also contracted with Zignal Labs for its AI-powered social media monitoring system.

The Customs and Border Protection agency also searches social media posts on the devices of some travelers at ports of entry, and the U.S. State Department reviews social media posts when foreigners seek visas to enter the United States.

ICE and other federal law enforcement agencies already search social media.

What would change isn't only the scale of monitoring but its structure. Instead of government agents gathering evidence case by case, ICE is building a public-private surveillance loop that transforms everyday online activity into potential evidence.

Private contractors would be tasked with scraping publicly available data to collect messages, including posts and other media and data. The contractors would be able to correlate those findings with data in commercial datasets from brokers such as LexisNexis Accurint and Thomson Reuters CLEAR along with government-owned databases. Analysts would be required to produce dossiers for ICE field offices within tight deadlinessometimes just 30 minutes for a high-priority case.

Those files don't exist in isolation. They feed directly into Palantir Technologies' Investigative Case Management system, the digital backbone of modern immigration enforcement. There, this social media data would join a growing web of license plate scans, utility records, property data and biometrics, creating what is effectively a searchable portrait of a person's life.

Who gets caught in the net?

Officially, ICE says its data collection would focus on people who are already linked to ongoing cases or potential threats. In practice, the net is far wider.

The danger here is that when one person is flagged, their friends, relatives, fellow organizers or any of their acquaintances can also become subjects of scrutiny. Previous contracts for facial recognition tools and location tracking have shown how easily these systems expand beyond their original scope. What starts as enforcement can turn into surveillance of entire communities.

What ICE says and what history shows

ICE frames the project as modernization: a way to identify a target's location by identifying aliases and detecting patterns that traditional methods might miss. Planning documents say contractors cannot create fake profiles and must store all analysis on ICE servers.

But history suggests these kinds of guardrails often fail. Investigations have revealed how informal data-sharing between local police and federal agents allowed ICE to access systems it wasn't authorized to use. The agency has repeatedly purchased massive datasets from brokers to sidestep warrant requirements. And despite a White House freeze on spyware procurement, ICE quietly revived a contract with Paragon's Graphite tool, software reportedly capable of infiltrating encrypted apps such as WhatsApp and Signal.

Meanwhile, ICE's vendor ecosystem keeps expanding: Clearview AI for face matching, ShadowDragon's SocialNet for mapping networks, Babel Street's location history service Locate X, and LexisNexis for looking up people. ICE is also purchasing tools from surveillance firm PenLink that combine location data with social media data. Together, these platforms make continuous, automated monitoring not only possible but routine.

ICE is purchasing an AI tool that correlates people's locations with their social media posts.

Lessons from abroad

The United States isn't alone in government monitoring of social media. In the United Kingdom, a new police unit tasked with scanning online discussions about immigration and civil unrest has drawn criticism for blurring the line between public safety and political policing.

Across the globe, spyware scandals have shown how lawful access tools that were initially justified for counterterrorism were later used against journalists and activists. Once these systems exist, mission creep, also known as function creep, becomes the rule rather than the exception.

The social cost of being watched

Around-the-clock surveillance doesn't just gather informationit also changes behavior.

Research found that visits to Wikipedia articles on terrorism dropped sharply immediately after revelations about the National Security Agency's global surveillance in June 2013.

For immigrants and activists, the stakes are higher. A post about a protest or a joke can be reinterpreted as "intelligence." Knowing that federal contractors may be watching in real time encourages self-censorship and discourages civic participation. In this environment, the digital self, an identity composed of biometric markers, algorithmic classifications, risk scores and digital traces, becomes a risk that follows you across platforms and databases.

What's new and why it matters now

What is genuinely new is the privatization of interpretation. ICE isn't just collecting more data, it is outsourcing judgment to private contractors. Private analysts, aided by artificial intelligence, are likely to decide what online behavior signals danger and what doesn't. That decision-making happens rapidly and across large numbers of people, for the most part beyond public oversight.

At the same time, the consolidation of data means social media content can now sit beside location and biometric information inside Palantir's hub. Enforcement increasingly happens through data correlations, raising questions about due process.

ICE's request for information is likely to evolve into a full procurement contract within months, and recent litigation from the League of Women Voters and the Electronic Privacy Information Center against the Department of Homeland Security suggests that the oversight is likely to lag far behind the technology. ICE's plan to maintain permanent watch floors, open indoor spaces equipped with video and computer monitors, that are staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, signals that this likely isn't a temporary experiment and instead is a new operational norm.

What accountability looks like

Transparency starts with public disclosure of the algorithms and scoring systems ICE uses. Advocacy groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union argue that law enforcement agencies should meet the same warrant standards online that they do in physical spaces. The Brennan Center for Justice and the ACLU argue that there should be independent oversight of surveillance systems for accuracy and bias. And several U.S. senators have introduced legislation to limit bulk purchases from data brokers.

Without checks like these, I believe that the boundary between border control and everyday life is likely to keep dissolving. As the digital border expands, it risks ensnaring anyone whose online presence becomes legible to the system.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

OpenAI's recent restructuring of its for-profit arm to a public benefit corporation is a smart move that will allow the organization to increase its investment opportunities and maintain its nonprofit roots, according to a Northeastern University nonprofit management expert.

"They are still keeping their nonprofit legacy intact in many ways," says Cortney Nicolato, a Northeastern lecturer and president and chief executive of the United Way of Rhode Island, a branch of a global nonprofit that provides and funds social service programs to people in need.

OpenAI recently announced after months of negotiations between attorneys general in Delaware, where it was incorporated, and California, where it is currently based, that it had changed the organization's structure.

As part of the reorganization, OpenAI, the well-known AI technology company, changed its for-profit business into a public benefit corporation. A public benefit corporation is a type of for-profit business that, in addition to having shareholders, has committed to pursuing societal causes.

OpenAI's recently renamed nonprofit arm, the OpenAI Foundation, has a 26% equity stake in the company. Microsoft, which has long been one of the company's biggest supporters, has a 27% equity stake in the company. The other 47% equity stake is owned by employees, previous employees, and current and new investors, according to an OpenAI blog post.

Nicolato says OpenAI's pivot to a public benefit corporation makes sense as it is increasingly becoming one of the more popular business models for companies looking to make societal changes.

Similarly, Anthropic, another AI company, is a public benefit corporation.

Other companies that follow a similar structure are Bombas, which in addition to selling socks, also gives them away; Toms Shoes, which gives away a free pair of shoes for every pair sold. They are what are known as B Corporations, which, similar to public benefit corporations, have a social component to their for-profit businesses.

"There are a lot more B Corps now than there were before," says Nicolato. "So I'm not surprised that they went this route because it offers more opportunity to license out products."

At the same time, however, given that the nonprofit's arm retains a large stake in the private arm, it means it is still acting as a check on the organization as a whole, she says.

In addition to the restructuring, OpenAI announced that it is investing $25 billion for the nonprofit arm to focus on two specific areashealth care and AI resilience.

"I think what they've done with their nonprofit arm is really hone exactly what that nonprofit will be focused on," she says.

But why did OpenAI do this restructuring in the first place? What are the economic benefits?

Gaston de los Reyes, an international business and strategy professor at Northeastern University, says this new restructuring significantly increases OpenAI's capital investment opportunities as it continues to spend billions on the development of its AI technologies.

"What this change allows is for a lot more investors to be able to make huge amounts of money by owning a share of OpenAI," he says.

Specifically, this new structure positions OpenAI for a potential initial public offering and removes a previous profit cap for investors, he explains.

"The floodgates of the capital have been opened to keep this arms race going between OpenAI, Google and Anthropic," he says, highlighting the companies' pursuit of artificial general intelligence, a form of AI that is cognitively as capable or more capable than humans.

Notably, OpenAI was incentivized to create the new corporate structure to take full advantage of an investment from the Japanese conglomerate Softbank, de los Reyes says.

Speaking to the nonprofit's now massive $130 billion stake in the for-profit arm, Craig Welton, also a Northeastern lecturer and the chief development officer of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Dorchester, a local branch of the national after-school organization, says the potential societal benefits are massive.

"It will probably be the most well-funded foundation in the country when it's all said and done," he says.

Whether the organization actually lives up to its goals will certainly depend on its nonprofit and for-profit boards in maintaining OpenAI's stated missions and goals, he says.

This story is republished courtesy of Northeastern Global News news.northeastern.edu.
Vietnams tea exports hit nearly 12,000 tons in Oct

By Vietnam News Agency Mon, November 10, 2025 | 5:25 pm GMT+7

Vietnams tea exports in October were estimated at nearly 12,000 tons, worth $20.9 million, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment reported.

Vietnams tea exports near 12,000 tons in October. Photo by VNA.

In the first 10 months of 2025, the country exported over 109,000 tons of tea, earning more than $188 million, down 10.2% in volume and 11.2% in value year-on-year.

The average export price stood at over $1,723 per ton, 1.1% lower than the same period last year.

Despite global headwinds, several key markets showed positive signs. Pakistan, Taiwan, and mainland China remained Vietnams top three tea importers, accounting for 41.2%, 11.5%, and 9.2% of total export value, respectively.

Notably, exports to Pakistan fell by 7.1%, while shipments to Taiwan and mainland China grew slightly by 2.9% and 3.2%.

However, the sector is facing major challenges, as it continues to focus heavily on yield, relying on chemical fertilizers and pesticides that degrade soil, reduce tea quality and plant longevity, and affect worker health.

In an attempt to improve production and value, tea producers have been urged to diversify products, invest in deep processing, and shift toward organic cultivation.

This transformation is seen as crucial to enhancing export value, building a high-quality Vietnamese tea brand, and ensuring sustainable livelihoods for tea growers amid intensifying global competition.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Nov. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa, (RDCY) has been recognized in the 16th edition of Best Law Firms (2026) for its exceptional work across multiple practice areas, reaffirming its standing as one of Florida's premier trial firms.

The firm received the following distinctions:

Regional Tier 1  West Palm Beach in Litigation  Insurance, Personal Injury Litigation  Plaintiffs, and Product Liability Litigation  Plaintiffs

Regional Tier 2  West Palm Beach in Insurance Law and Medical Malpractice Law  Plaintiffs

The Best Law Firms rankings, published by Best Lawyers, honor firms that have demonstrated professional excellence, integrity, and consistent success. Recognition is based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes client and peer feedback, firm data, and independent research.

"We're proud to once again be recognized among the nation's top firms," said Sean C. Domnick , founding member of RDCY. "These rankings reflect the tireless work of our attorneys and staff, and our unwavering commitment to securing justice for our clients when they need it most."

With a decades-long record of landmark verdicts and settlements, RDCY continues to be a leader in high-stakes litigation involving catastrophic injury, wrongful death, insurance bad faith, and product liability.

The full list of 2026 Best Law Firms rankings can be viewed at www.bestlawfirms.com .

About Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa

Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa is a leading Florida law firm dedicated to advocating for victims of mass torts, medical malpractice and corporate negligence. With a track record of holding powerful institutions accountable, the firm fights for justice on behalf of individuals and families affected by preventable harm.

Press Contact:

Natasha Diemer

Chief Strategy Officer (CSO)

Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa

Phone: (561) 516-5168

Email: [email protected]

Agency Contact:

Bridget Mercuri

Public Relations and Earned Media Director

AMPLIFY

Phone: (908)-612-3515

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Rafferty Domnick Cunningham & Yaffa
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A platform for international experts at the interface between humans and technology.

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- MedTech company Ottobock launched its new podcast  Taste of Bionics, on Wednesday, October 22, 2025. In an inspiring series of interviews, Ranga Yogeshwar speaks with experts who have unique insights into bionics and the connection between humans and technology. As a science journalist and physicist, Ranga Yogeshwar is known for communicating complex scientific topics in an understandable, approachable, and passionate manner.

"Taste of Bionics provides an initial, curious take on the world of bionics, exploring what a future in which humans and technology will work ever closer together might look like," he says. "This podcast is not just about technological innovation. It's about the stories of the people behind it: how they use technology to improve lives, and what ideas they have for our shared future. We will be discussing the medical, technological and social opportunities that this brings."

A taste of the future

In each of the eight episodes, released biweekly on popular podcast platforms and YouTube, guests will discuss cutting-edge topics at the interface between people and technology. They include the very latest prosthetics, exoskeletons, neural interfaces, human-machine interaction, artificial intelligence and innovations in medical technology designed to improve lives.

Oliver Jakobi, CEO of Ottobock, says: "With Taste of Bionics, we have created a format that showcases extraordinary people and ideas. It is not your typical corporate podcast. Our goal is to make niche knowledge accessible while actively shaping the conversation around human-technology interaction. Each episode is designed to inform, inspire, and spark curiosity about the future. We're delighted that Ranga Yogeshwar is giving the podcast a powerful voice."

Guests who are pushing boundaries

The guest for the opening episode was John McFall, a British specialist in traumatology and orthopedics, a former Paralympic sprinter and the first member of ESA's astronaut reserve with a physical disability. In conversation with Ranga Yogeshwar, McFall shares the challenges and turning points in his life, starting with the amputation of his right leg after a motorcycle accident at the age of 19 in Thailand. He describes how endurance, resilience and innovative medical technology have enabled him to succeed time and time again in overcoming boundaries and blazing new trails.

His latest milestone marks a historic step in space exploration: John McFall is the first person with a physical disability to receive ESA's medical mission-ready status to potentially go on a long-duration mission to the International Space Station. This achievement is part of ESA's 'Fly!' project, an initiative that explores how astronauts with physical disabilities could take part in future missions, with the broader goal of making space travel more inclusive. Together with ESA and Ottobock, McFall is working on further developing his prostheses for a possible mission to the ISS. In the podcast, he explains the special functions prostheses must perform at zero gravity, including during daily training and when undertaking practical tasks on board the Space Station.

Other guests for this season include:

Minerva Pillai , Co-Founder and Head of Development at SUITX by Ottobock, discussing the potential of exoskeletons to improve employee health, boost industrial productivity, and increasingly support everyday tasks (such as lifting heavy loads).





, Co-Founder and Head of Development at SUITX by Ottobock, discussing the potential of exoskeletons to improve employee health, boost industrial productivity, and increasingly support everyday tasks (such as lifting heavy loads). Hugh Herr, MIT Professor and bilateral amputee, offering insights into his life as a scientist and visionary. He talks about the development of bionic limbs and his vision for a future in which technology and biology will come together to create a new era of mobility.





MIT Professor and bilateral amputee, offering insights into his life as a scientist and visionary. He talks about the development of bionic limbs and his vision for a future in which technology and biology will come together to create a new era of mobility. Jennifer Ernst, specialist in innovative amputation medicine at Hannover Medical School, explaining the latest surgical procedures including targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) and osseointegration. She shows how these techniques not only improve control of prostheses but also enhance quality of life in the long term.

Taste of Bionics is available on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify, and YouTube. New episodes are released biweekly.

Taste of Bionics: An overview

Format: podcast interviews, inspiring conversations with experts from all over the world





podcast interviews, inspiring conversations with experts from all over the world Topics: prosthetics, exoskeletons, neural interfaces, human-machine interaction, artificial intelligence, innovations in medical technology





prosthetics, exoskeletons, neural interfaces, human-machine interaction, artificial intelligence, innovations in medical technology Moderator: Ranga Yogeshwar, science journalist and physicist





Ranga Yogeshwar, science journalist and physicist Guests: John McFall, Minerva Pillai, Hugh Herr, Jennifer Ernst (among others)





John McFall, Minerva Pillai, Hugh Herr, Jennifer Ernst (among others) Language: English





English Platforms: popular podcast services and YouTube





popular podcast services and YouTube Availability: eight episodes released biweekly starting 22 October, 2025





eight episodes released biweekly starting 22 October, 2025 Production: Podstars by OMR

About Ottobock

The global medtech champion Ottobock combines over 100 years of tradition with outstanding innovation in the fields of prosthetics, neuro-orthotics and exoskeletons. Ottobock develops innovative fitting solutions for people with limited mobility and drives the digitalisation of the industry. Founded in Berlin in 1919, the company with around 9,100 employees is active in more than 140 countries today. It operates the largest patient care network with around 380 locations worldwide. With a strong R&D quota in the products and components business and more than 2,500 patent applications and submissions, Ottobock is shaping the human bionics landscape of the future. The mission of improving people's freedom of movement, quality of life and independence is deeply rooted in the company's DNA  as is its social commitment: Ottobock has been a partner and supporter of the Paralympic Games since 1988.

SOURCE Ottobock
When Xavier "X" Atencio was plucked by Walt Disney in 1965 to be one of his early theme park designers, he was slotted on a number of projects that placed him out of his comfort zone.

Atencio, for instance, never would have envisioned himself a songwriter.

One of Atencio's first major projects with Walt Disney Imagineering  WED Enterprises (for Walter Elias Disney), as it was known at the time  was Pirates of the Caribbean. In the mid-'60s when Atencio joined the Pirates team, the attraction was well underway, with the likes of fellow animators-turned-theme park designers Marc Davis and Claude Coats crafting many of its exaggerated characters and enveloping environments. Atencio's job? Make it all make sense by giving it a cohesive story. While Atencio had once dreamed of being a journalist, his work as an animator had led him astray of a writer's path.

Atencio would not only figure it out but end up as the draftman of one of Disneyland's most recognizable songs, "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)." In the process, he was key in creating the template for the modern theme park dark ride, a term often applied to slow-moving indoor attractions. Such career twists and turns are detailed in a new book about Atencio, who died in 2017. "Xavier 'X' Atencio: The Legacy of an Artist, Imagineer, and Disney Legend" (Disney Editions), written by three of his family members, follows Atencio's unexpected trajectory, starting from his roots in animation (his resume includes "Fantasia," the Oscar-winning short "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom" and even stop-motion work in "Mary Poppins").

For Pirates of the Caribbean, Atencio is said to have received little direction from Disney, only that the park's patriarch was unhappy with previous stabs at a narration and dialogue, finding them leaning a bit stodgy. So he knew, essentially, what not to do. Atencio, according to the book, immersed himself in films like Disney's own "Treasure Island" and pop-cultural interpretations of pirates, striving for something that felt borderline caricature rather than ripped from the history books.

Indeed, Atencio's words  some of those quoted in the book, such as "Avast there! Ye come seeking adventure and salty old pirates, aye?"  have become shorthand for how to speak like a pirate. The first scene written for the attraction was the mid-point auction sequence, a section of the ride that was changed in 2017 due to its outdated cultural implications. In the original, a proud redheaded pirate is the lead prisoner in a bridal auction, but today the "wench" has graduated to pirate status of her own and is helping to auction off stolen goods.

At first, Atencio thought he had over-written the scene, noticing that dialogue overlapped with one another. In a now-famous theme park moment, and one retold in the book, Atencio apologized to Disney, who shrugged off Atencio's insecurity.

"Hey, X, when you go to a cocktail party, you pick up a little conversation here, another conversation there," Disney told the animator. "Each time people will go through, they'll find something new."

This was the green light that Atencio, Davis and Coats needed to continue developing their attraction as one that would be a tableau of scenes rather than a strict plot.

Tying it all together, Atencio thought, should be a song. Not a songwriter himself, of course, Atencio sketched out a few lyrics and a simple melody. As the authors write, he turned to the thesaurus and made lists of traditional "pirating" words. He presented it to Disney and, to Atencio's surprise, the company founder promptly gave him the sign off.

"Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)," Atencio would relay, was a challenge as the ride doesn't have a typical beginning and ending, meaning the tune needed to work with whatever pirate vignette we were sailing by. Ultimately, the song, with music by George Bruns, underlines the ride's humorous feel, allowing the looting, the pillaging and the chasing of women, another scene that has been altered over the years, to be delivered with a playful bent.

The song "altered the trajectory" of Atencio's career. While Atencio was not considered a musical person  "No, not at all," says his daughter Tori Atencio McCullough, one of the book's co-authors  the biography reveals how music became a signature aspect of his work. The short "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom," for instance, is a humorous tale about the discovery of music. And elsewhere in Atencio's career he worked on the band-focused opening animations for "Mickey Mouse Club."

"That one has a pretty cool kind of modern instrument medley in the middle," Kelsey McCullough, Atencio's granddaughter and another one of the book's authors, says of "Mickey Mouse Club." "It was interesting, because when we lined everything up, it was like, 'Of course he felt like the ride needed a song.' Everything he had been doing up to that point had a song in it. Once we looked it at from that perspective, it was sort of unsurprising to us. He was doing a lot around music."

Atencio would go on to write lyrics for the Country Bear Jamboree and the Haunted Mansion. While the Haunted Mansion vacillates between spooky and lighthearted imagery, it's Atencio's "Grim Grinning Ghosts" that telegraphs the ride's tone and makes it clear it's a celebratory attraction, one in which many of those in the afterlife prefer to live it up rather than haunt.

Despite his newfound music career, Atencio never gave up drawing and contributing concepts to Disney theme park attractions. Two of my favorites are captured in the book  his abstract flights through molecular lights for the defunct Adventure Thru Inner Space and his one-eyed black cat for the Haunted Mansion. The latter has become a fabled Mansion character over the years. Atencio's fiendish feline would have followed guests throughout the ride, a creature said to despise living humans and with predatory, possessive instincts.

In Atencio's concept art, the cat featured elongated, vampire-like fangs and a piercing red eye. In a nod to Edgar Allan Poe's story "The Black Cat," it had just one eyeball, which sat in its socket with all the subtlety of a fire alarm. Discarded eventually  a raven essentially fills a similar role  the cat today has been resurrected for the Mansion, most notably in a revised attic scene where the kitty is spotted near a mournful bride.

Co-author Bobbie Lucas, a relative of Atencio's colloquially referred to by the family as his "grandchild-in-law," was asked what ties all of Atencio's work together.

"No matter the different style or no matter the era, there's such a sense of life and humanity," Lucas says. "There's a sense of play."

Play is a fitting way to describe Atencio's contributions to two of Disneyland's most beloved attractions, where pirates and ghosts are captured at their most frivolous and jovial.

"I like that," Lucas adds. "I like someone who will put their heart on their sleeve and show you that in their art."